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<br />the lapse of a year or two, and the advent into New Mexioo of a
<br />sucoes/lor to Govsrnor Anzi, the project was abandoned.
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<br />The next attempt at irrigation of whioh we have reasonably
<br />authentio information, was made by the Bent Brothers. Upon the oonstruc-
<br />tion of Bent' B Fort on the North Bank of the Arkansas River, about mi d-
<br />way between the ,present cities of La Junta and Las Animas, in the year
<br />1632, a ditoh was b\1Ut taking its water from the river for the irriga-
<br />tion of about 40 aores of land lying in a bend of the river and between
<br />the Fort and the north bank of the etream. This acreage was plowed and
<br />planted to oorn, beans, squash and melons, oultivated and irrigated.
<br />Aooording to the Iltories of oontemporary oocupants of the Fort, the
<br />produotion was quite good, but the harvests were praotioally a failure.
<br />This was' due to the faot that the tribes of Indians who oongregated and
<br />camped near the Fort, during the growing season, either purposely or
<br />inadvertently permitted their ponies to invade, graze upon and destroy
<br />the growing orops. After a felf years the project was abandoned.
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<br />The next irrigation enterprise as to which we have fairly reliable
<br />information, was begun about the year 1841 at the settlement near the
<br />mouth of the Fountain River, by a group of trappers and mountain men,
<br />with their ,Mexioan ,and Indian mates, known aa "The Pu.sblo" - the
<br />progenitor of the present City of P11eblo. These men put a considerable
<br />acreage into cultivation and irrigated the land by waters taken from the,
<br />Fountain. They continued this program quite sucoessfully each year
<br />until on Christmas Day, 1854, the Fort was attacked by a presumably
<br />friendly tribe of Indians, and the inhabitants were praotically exter-
<br />minated.
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<br />There is also some contemporary referenoe to a sWlar settlement
<br />on the bank8 of the Greenhorn, a tributary of the St. Charles, 30 miles
<br />south of the present City of P11eblo, with the irrigation of a oonsider-
<br />able tract of land begun in about the year 1841, or '42 and oontinuing
<br />for at least several years.
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<br />'!be next irrigation enterprise as to whioh we have quite oOmPlete
<br />reoord evidenoe, was that of the construction of the John j!atoher Ditch
<br />on the East bank of the Picketwire River or El Rio de Las Animas
<br />Perdidas en Purgatorio, ~bout 20 miles dorm stream from the present
<br />City Of Trinidad, in September, 1846. This ditoh was, bUUt by John
<br />Hatoher, foreman tor the Bent Brothers, for the purpose of gravnng food
<br />for the ox teams engaged in freighting between Bent's Fort and Taos,
<br />New Mexioo. tn AprU, 1847, water was ,turned into this ditch for the
<br />irrigation of about 60 acres of ,land plant!ld in corn. In the Fall of
<br />that year the Indians raided this ranoh, destroyed the orops, and ran
<br />Hatcher and his employees out of the country. During the next 1, or
<br />18 years,. from ,time to time, individuals squatted upon this land and
<br />farmed or attempted to farm the original 60 acres, with considerable
<br />success. Usually, however, they got into d1tficulties with the Indians,
<br />and abandoned the effort. In the early '60s a man by the name of
<br />Lewellyng settled upon that land, reopened the ditch, and again put
<br />into oultivation the original 60 acres, and oontinuously oocupied the
<br />farm and irrigated this acreage for many years. In the year 1881, at
<br />the first adjudioation prooeedings brought in that Water Distriot, the
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