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<br />GUNNISON RIVER DIVERSION PROJECT
<br />
<br />losis, he was carried to the Senate chamber to vote in favor
<br />of the bill.2T
<br />
<br />Against this background of state action and local interest,
<br />the U. S. Geological Survey authorized the expenditure of
<br />$4,000 for a preliminary examination of the canyon to deter-
<br />mine the geological structure of the area through which a
<br />tunnel might pass, the construction difficulties to be antici-
<br />pated, and the probable cost of the work.'s According to popu-
<br />lar accounts, the Chief Engineer of the new Reclamation Serv-
<br />ice in Washington sent a wire to the Denver office, reading
<br />"Advise me if it is possible to divert Gunnison to Uncompahgre
<br />Valley by tunnel under Vernal Mesa?"'"
<br />
<br />The wire was relayed to A. Lincoln Fellows, irrigation
<br />engineer and resident hydrographer of the U. S. Geological
<br />Survey at Montrose, who replied "Immediate preparations
<br />will be made for the exploration of the Gunnison Canon at
<br />the earliest possible date,"'lO
<br />
<br />In the summer of 1901, cooperating with C. H. Fitch, to-
<br />pographer and consulting engineer, Fellows commenced a
<br />survey which would show, by means of contours, the country
<br />dividing the Gunnison and Uncompahgre Valleys, so that the
<br />shortest and most suitable route for a tunnel could be deter-
<br />mined.."
<br />
<br />The Geological Survey placed a party of six men in the
<br />field in June, with headquarters on Vernal Mesa. The topo-
<br />graphic mapping, under the supervision of Jeremiah Ahern,
<br />was completed by September 30." Meanwhile, Fellows, in
<br />charge of engineering features, had run three level lines across
<br />the mesa to the water's edge, in an attempt to find a suitable
<br />wagon route.'" More exciting proved to be Fellows' decision
<br />to run the river from upstream, making a close-at-hand exam-
<br />ination of the canyon from its floor.'"
<br />
<br />Fellows asked for a volunteer-young, healthy, temperate,
<br />unmarried, able to swim, and familiar with the country-to
<br />accompany him on this new assault of the Black Canyon by
<br />
<br />~7 Ibid. Also, Session Laws, 011. cit.,_ p. 374. .
<br />~s V. S. Reclamation Service, First ~1nn1t(l1 Report.. 011. c'/,t., pp. 132-133.
<br />~o Forb~s-Lindsey, op. cit.. 9376.
<br />;10 Ibid., 9377.
<br />:n U. S. Reclamation Service, First Annual Repor(. Gp. cit.) p. 135.
<br />"Ibid., p, 137.
<br />::3 Ibid.,. lIfontrose Enterprise. September 26, 1901. On September 23, Fellows
<br />and others had visited the canyon to inspect the proposed site for the tunnel
<br />portal, "some two miles below Jones cabin and below the narrows in the river.'"
<br />3~ U. S. Reclamation Service, First Ann'ual Report. op. cit._, p. 137. There have
<br />been a number of published accounts of this 1901 trip: in magazines, newspapers,
<br />and books. Unfortunately, as with the 1900 trip, the various accounts differ in
<br />details. The resume presented here is primarily based upon the following sources.
<br />,vith, again, particular dependence upon the newspaper reports: Coe, lac. cit.;
<br />Forbes-Lindsey, op. <:it.) 9376-9378; Marsh, ap. cU.) pp. 96-108; ]Jrontr08e Enter-
<br />prise, August-September, 1901; Rolker and Willey, op. eft.) 514-516; and Shaw,
<br />op. cU.) 1146-1148.
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