A River Never the Same: Chapter 3: Notes On Early Water Use In The Klamath Basin

The abundance of water near Linkville (later Klamath Falls ), the largest town in the Klamath Basin , meant that the townsfolk were often confronted with a minor yet disturbing spectacle – snakes! More exactly, large numbers of water snakes who often entwined themselves in great masses and “writhed and hissed among driftwood on the banks of the lake and river.” A common sight in the late 1870s and early 1880s, these phenomena gave rise to a number of tall tales, most notably that the snakes would form themselves into a ball and roll down Main Street . The fact that these snake balls were most often reported on the section of the street where the town’s saloons were located is probably not a coincidence.[1]

Although snake balls on Main Street were legend, the migration of frogs along that road was a solid fact. Large numbers of small green frogs would make an annual migration from Lake Ewauna to Upper Klamath Lake in the late summer. The frogs would often be so thick on the ground that it was impossible to walk without stepping on one. The paving of Main Street in 1910 and the closing of the Ankeny Canal soon after put an end to snakes and frogs in downtown Klamath Falls .[2]

As these examples make clear, water and things associated with water were central to lives of residents of the Klamath Basin . Water use by Native Americans and white settlers in the Klamath Basin in the 19^th century was by far the most diverse the watershed had ever seen. In addition to irrigation and domestic user, residents used the waters of the region to support logging and construction, for transportation and recreation, and as a food source. This article discusses these varied uses and how they changed in the early 20^th century with the coming of the Klamath Reclamation Project.

Although the Klamath Basin had been visited by Europeans as early as 1826, it was not until the 1850s that they were regular visitors. During this period fur trappers and cattle ranchers spent short periods of time in the Basin. In 1859, Wendolyn Nuss, later regarded as the first permanent settler in Klamath County , grazed a band of stock on the banks of the Klamath River a few miles below the present-day site of Klamath Falls .

Significant settlement efforts began with the establishment of Fort Klamath in 1863. Linkville, which later became the city of Klamath Falls , was established in 1867 by George Nurse. Nurse set a ferry across the Link River and a general store that catered at first primarily to Native Americans and later to settlers. The ferry was replaced by a bridge in 1869. By 1872, the town had a population of forty people.[3]

According to the historian Victor L. Jepsen, the growth of settlement in the region was delayed by state land policies. The federal government in 1860 had transferred title to all “swamp land” to the states. In the Klamath Basin , the most fertile land was that adjacent to the lakes, subject to flooding and so classified as swamp. Speculators, known as “Swamp Grabbers,” bought up this land and held out for higher prices. Settlers were forced to buy in more arid upland areas, a situation that was to strongly reinforce the popularity of later efforts at irrigation. As a result, Klamath Falls , the only town of any size in the Basin, had grown to a population of only 447 by 1900, and the surrounding area was only lightly settled.

The coming of the railroad in 1909 triggered a major economic boom in the Klamath Basin that would last for over a half-century. Railroad-related land speculation and the economic impact of cheaper shipping for agricultural products meant that growth was far more rapid than in the previous decades. In addition, the railroad created a market for the timber resources in the area. All of these events would have a significant impact on water use patterns in the 20^th century.

Native Americans long used the water of the Klamath Basin as transportation routes. Captain John C. Fremont noted the use of canoes by the local tribes in 1846, and subsequent explorers noted their continued use, especially by the Modocs.[4]

The earliest record of a watercraft built by white settlers dates to 1862, when the Yreka Semi-Weekly Journal described the construction of a ferry to allow the easy crossing of the Lost River by travelers following the Emigrant Road . Several years later a sailboat began to operate on Klamath Lake , serving to connect Fort Klamath to the Link River and points south.[5] Another ferry was built and operated on the Link River beginning in 1867. George Nurse, the founder of Linkville, had obtained the permit to operate the ferry, and he employed the carpenter Nelson Stevenson to build the boat and Edgar Overton to operate it.[6] The ferry operated until 1869, when it was replaced by a bridge. During the Modoc War in 1873, the Army used a variety of locally made boats in it operations, both for moving supplies and for removing the wounded from combat areas.[7]

The first powered vessel on the Klamath Lake was a locally built flat-bottomed scow constructed in 1871 by Samuel Grubb, an employee on the Klamath Reservation. Built to haul freight across Upper Klamath Lake from Pelican Bay to Jowasta, the boat was powered by a two-horse treadmill. The boat apparently made only a few trips, and almost sank in a storm while carrying Captain Ivan D. Applegate and his new bride, along with their wedding guests, on an excursion.[8]

Between 1872 and 1879 the only freight boat on Klamath Lake was the Mary Moody, a small sailboat. It did relatively little business, shipping some lumber from the Klamath Agency to Linkville and supplies from the town to the Agency and to Fort Klamath . The Mary Moody was replaced in 1879 by the steamer General Howard, which was constructed by carpenters brought in from San Francisco . Built to tow logs from Pelican Bay to the new sawmill on the Link River , the boat also served as a general delivery vessel.[9] The Howard apparently drew too much water to allow for reliable service on the shallow waters of Klamath Lake , and , in 1889, its steam engine was removed and placed in a new hull. The new boat was named the City of Klamath , and it continued to operate until the closing of Fort Klamath .[10]

On the Klamath River , the first steamboat was the Mayflower, built in 1889. A stern wheeler, she operated between Keno and Lower Klamath Lake , delivering logs to sawmills and hauling hay back to Keno.[11]

By the turn of the century, a number of steamers were making regular trips to Pelican Bay , Budd Springs, and Agency Landing from Klamath Falls , hauling logs and carrying passengers. In 1905, the steamer Klamath began to make regular passenger runs to Lairds Landing on Lower Klamath Lake . Gasoline powered boats also made passenger runs from Klamath Falls down the Klamath River . When the railroad came to Klamath Falls in 1909, the Klamath was no longer needed for passenger service and it was moved on rollers from Lower to Upper Klamath Lake . These passenger services gradually went out of business with the construction of rail links into Klamath Falls and the coming of the automobile – by the first World War they had all gone out of business.

In the summer of 1901 the two-deck steamer, Alma, began to make regular Sunday excursion runs for recreation. A variety of boats operated until the mid-1910s, the most famous of which was the steamer Winema, specifically built as a passenger and excursion boat in 1905. At 125 feet long and 22 feet wide, the Winema was the largest vessel ever to sail Klamath Lake . It could accommodate a large number of passengers on its two decks (originally three - the upper deck was removed in 1907 after the wind tipped the steamer over), as well as a band and party supplies. Although used in regular passenger service, she is most fondly remembered as an excursion vessel. She made her last trip in the summer of 1916, and burned at the dock in April 1925. Just as with scheduled passenger service, the railroad and the automobile killed off the excursion boat.

The other major recreational use of water in the Klamath Basin involved hunting for game and fishing in and around the lakes. In the 19^th century, waterfowl and other animals were extremely abundant in the area. According to one source, “any old timer of Klamath Falls who couldn’t shoot a duck from his front porch either had a bad location or poor aim.”[12] Beaver, otter, and minx were also plentiful and were hunted by trapping.[13]

Fishing had been a major food source for Native Americans in the region. Early white settlers caught fish to supplement their diet, but by the late 19^th century fishing had become primarily a recreational sport. Fishing as a sport expanded considerably after the arrival of the railroad in 1909, and a number of lodges and camps were established to cater to sportsmen.
Around the turn of the century small gasoline and steam powered boats became common in the area, particularly on Upper Klamath Lake . These small boats were commonly used for hunting and fishing trips. Small boats were also used to patrol the newly created wildlife refuge on Lower Klamath Lake .[14]

The first water-powered sawmill in the Basin was constructed by Naylor & Hockenouse in 1869 on Spencer Creek, about 18 miles west of Klamath Falls. Powered by an overshot water wheel, the mill cut the timber for the first bridge over the Link River .[15]

William S. Moore built a water-powered sawmill in 1870 at Fort Klamath . The 1864 treaty, establishing the Klamath Indian Reservation, had provided that the government would build and operate a sawmill for use by the tribe for a period of twenty years. The mill that Moore constructed replaced an earlier steam-powered circular mill the Army had installed in 1863. Moore ’s mill was powered by a water turbine and had a capacity of some 3,000 board feet per day. The mill continued to operate until it burned in 1912; it was replaced by a steam-powered mill.[16]

In 1877 Moore relocated to Klamath Falls , and built a sawmill on the west side of the Link River , halfway between the town and Upper Klamath Lake . Moore built a short canal to provide water for a turbine and to float logs to his mill (the canal was extended in 1885 to provide power for the Martin flour mill, the first in the country).[17] He sold the operation to his sons in 1887, and they continued to operate it until 1907.[18] Several other firms set up mills in the next two decades, attracted by the water power and by the easy access to logs by water transport.[19]

The first electrical generating plant was built on the Link River in 1895, providing electrical street lighting to the city of Klamath Falls . A second dynamo was added in 1902, and a new plant replaced the old one in 1906 as demand for power increased. Bu 1909, there were three additional hydroelectric power plants in the Basin – two small installations at Klamath Agency and the town of Keno for electrical lighting, and a larger installation at the Moore Brothers’ sawmill in Klamath Falls that supplied both the mill, the neighboring flour mill, and the towns of Merrill and Bonanza.[20]

In 1913 the plant at Keno was expanded with a new dam and canal, resulting in a 100-kilowatt installation. The resulting power increase was used for pumping for marsh drainage and irrigation, as well as domestic use in the town of Keno . The generating plant was linked to the California Oregon Power Company (Copco) in 1920 and in 1927 Copco bought the facility. It was closed in the early 1950s.

The two Klamath Falls generating systems were acquired in 1912 by Copco after a series of mergers. In 1917 Copco contracted with the U. S. Reclamation Service to build the Link River Dam and other structures to regulate the level of Upper Klamath Lake for power and irrigation. Some of the power generated was used by the Reclamation Service for pumping and other purposes. The dam was finished in 1921, and a new power plant was completed in 1924.

Logs were moved by floating on the various lakes of the Basin in the 19^th century, although large-scale lumbering did not take place prior to the arrival of the railroad in 1909. The only major logging effort to use water transport took place in 1889, when the Klamath River Improvement Company was organized. The firm dammed the Klamath River and used regular releases of water to wash logs downstream to its sawmill near where the Southern Pacific Railroad crossed the river. The dam, located approximately one-quarter mile below the current state route 66 highway bridge, operated only for a short time; complaints by miners downstream whose workings were disrupted by the periodic floods forced the dam’s closure.[21] After a number of delays caused by floods and financial problems, the firm managed to move logs down the river in 1893 by using dynamite to remove rocks and other obstacles.[22]

Although earlier steamships had occasionally been used to haul logs, the first purpose-built tug on Upper Klamath Lake was the Modoc, built in 1910.[23] Prior to that, logs were bundled together and a sail attached to get them to the mill.[24] Joined by the Wasp in 1914, the Modoc was used for a variety of tasks. During the 1920s a number of other boats operated on Upper Klamath Lake hauling logs and hay.[25]

In addition to hauling lots, the Modoc also was used to pull barges full of sand from the mouths of the Williamson River and the Wood River to Klamath Falls . There the wand was used in the construction of the many masonry buildings going up in the newly prosperous downtown. Later on the tugs also moved barges filled with volcanic cinders from Coon Point on the west side of Klamath Lake . The cinders were used as road surfacing material and as ballast on Southern Pacific railway lines. Barge traffic on the lake continued through the 1940s.[26]

To support the barge traffic a number of firms operated larger, more powerful boats as icebreakers. One such boat, the Lilly, was built for the California Oregon Power Company in 1923. The Southern Pacific Railroad also maintained an icebreaker for use in maintaining its track along the shores of Upper Klamath Lake .[27]

In a review of the historical documents relating to the Klamath Basin, it becomes immediately apparent that the water levels have varied greatly in the lakes; in particular, Tule Lake. The basalt reefs in the area of the outlet of Upper Klamath Lake appears to have had a stabilizing effect on the levels of Upper Klamath Lake . However, this, in turn, allowed Link River to go dry, particularly in times of drought or a wind from the south. The reef below Keno appears to had had a similar stabilizing effect upon the levels of Lake Ewauna and the upper portions of the Klamath River, which allowed logs to be towed up river from the Keno area to the sawmills along Lake Ewauna and the Klamath River.

The Klamath Indian name for Link River was “Yulalona,” which literally means to move back and forth or to make the motion of rubbing. When referring to the river, Yulalona means “receding and retuning water.” This name apparently came from the fact that the water of the river would periodically dry up to return later.[28] In the book Fifty Years on the Klamath by John C. Boyle a photograph following Page 30 shows a number of men and boys standing in the bottom of Link River when it is dry; the caption states “ Link River dry caused by high south wind flowing on Upper Klamath Lake , July 18, 1918 .” There are other photographs in the Klamath County Museum , one of that ha a caption “ Link River when blown dry. About 1911.” There are also several undated photographs showing the Link River dry. There have been letters to the editor of the Herald & News within the last several years with people reporting that they or their families had gathered up fish remaining in small puddles in Link River when it dried up during the early 1930’s. References to the drying up of Link River can be found in a number of other places. One of these is an article by Floyd Wynn in volume 4 of Klamath Echoes.

The Bureau of Reclamation keeps records of the net inflow of water into Klamath Lake ; that is the amount of inflow into Klamath Lake less the evaporation and seepage in Klamath Lake . A review of their monthly tabulations for net inflow shows that in June 1992 there was no net inflow into Klamath Lake and in July 1994 there was actually a net loss or a total net inflow of minus 4,500 acre feet of water. It is readily apparent during these times that Link River would have been dry for extended periods of time under natural conditions. The only thing that kept Link River from drying up and, in those cases probably for considerable distance downstream, was the release down the river of water stored in Klamath Lake for agricultural purposes by the Bureau of Reclamation. A review of the net inflow record of the Bureau of Reclamation also shows numerous other months scattered through the years when there was very little net inflow into Upper Klamath Lake .

There is also extensive evidence of wide fluctuations in the level of water in Tule Lake . In the History of the Klamath Project Oregon-California, from May 1, 1903 to December 31, 1912 , compiled and written by I. S. Vorhees, Assistant Engineer for the Department of the Interior, United States Reclamation Service, Chapter 11 states:

Tule Lake, originally called Rhett Lake, is a circular body of water, covering about 96,000 acres in Klamath County, Oregon, Siskiyou and Modoc counties, California, lying for the most part south of the state-line. The chief source of water supply for this lake is derived from Lost River which rises in Clear Lake, about six miles easterly from Tule Lake, and then flows in a big loop for a distance of about 70 miles emptying into Tule Lake. Since the construction of Clear Lake dam, Lost River drains between 600 and 700 square miles and at times may be subject to floods of short duration, amounting to 10,000 second feet or more. Tradition has it that in years past the lake occupied a much smaller area, and that the old immigrant road once crossed where the waters of the lake now stand from 12 to 15 feet deep. In 1883, at a time of unusually high water, the Klamath River broke through its banks at a point about 3 miles south of Klamath Falls, and for a large part of the following year, diverted a heavy flow of water southeasterly through Lost River Slough into Lost River and thence into Tule Lake. This same thing has probably happened in earlier times, and may be largely responsible for the material increase in the size of the northerly boundary of Tule Lake . In 1889, J. Frank Adams and other large land holders along the northerly boundary of the lake, becoming alarmed for the safety of their ranches and buildings, joined forces and built a dike across the upper end of the Lost River Slough, which has since been effective in preventing further inflow from Klamath River. The lands along the northerly margin of the lake are of excellent fertility and, as late as the 80’s, farms were established and drops raised on land now entirely submerged and out in the lake from one to two miles.

Indian legends are to the effect that Tule Lake formerly had a submarine outlet where there was a monstrous whirlpool. Observations of the white man have not borne this out, but we do know that a small outflow occurs into the Modoc lava beds at the southerly end of the lake. These lava beds constitute the entire southerly shore of Tule Lake , and extend for 60 to 80 miles to the southward. The lava rock is especially porous, and there are many great cracks of the unknown depth filled with masses of loose lava rock and ash. Near the lake shore these cracks are filled with a mass of silt, sand, shells, etc. the top line of which appears to slope downward from high water line, on a 15% or 20% slope.

There are numerous stories around about a whirlpool located in Tule Lake that drained a Lake and some people report a log turned on end going down this whirlpool. Other reports are of early settlers along Tule Lake taking their trash out in rowboats near the whirlpool as a way of disposing of it. It is not known by this writer if the whirlpool was located at the site of the present ‘glory hole,” which is diked off to keep the water of the lake from running into it, but a headgate can be opened to drain excess water into it if the need arises.[29]

There are also reports that, at one point in time, Lost River emptied into a subterranean channel. One account of this is found in the unpublished work of Victor L. Jepsen entitled A short History of Klamath Falls Before the Coming of the Railroad in 1909. That work states, in part:

Drainage System: The Klamath area has a peculiar and interesting drainage system. The drainage of the western area has already been described. The larger portion of the area including Klamath, Langell, Poe, and Yanna Valleys is drained by Lost River and its tributaries. This drain derives its name from perhaps two sources, one of which is because of its wandering tendencies. With its source in Clear Lake , it flows northwesterly and then turns and flows southwesterly, a total of approximately 90 miles, emptying finally into Tule Lake only 6 miles from its source. Once Lost River emptied into some subterranean channel and then Tule Lake was dry, even within the memory of living man, and the river was lost indeed. But one day this underground gateway closed and Tule Lake again filled, engulfing Indian villages until the present day, with Lost River again diverted, this time by the United States Reclamation Service. Tule Lake is once more dry and the remains of these ancient villages are exposed to view.[30]

In the summer of 1846, a party of men led by Lindsay and Jessie Applegate came through Klamath County scouting out the immigrant road by which wagon trains could reach the Willamette Valley without the necessity of going down the Columbia River . Lindsey Applegate, when recording the events of that trip 32 years later, stated, in part:

We nooned in a beautiful meadow containing about two sections, near the head of the lake. After spending a couple of hours in this splendid pasture, we repacked and started our way towards the timbered butte, but had not proceeded more than a mile before we came suddenly to a large stream ( Lost River ) coming into the lake. We found this stream near the lake very deep, with almost perpendicular banks, so we were compelled to turn northward up the river. Before proceeding very far, we discovered an Indian crouching under the bank and, surrounding him, made him come out. By signs we indicated to him we wanted to cross the river. By marking on his legs and pointing up the river, he gave us to understand that there was a place above were we could easily cross. Motioning to him to advance, he led the way up the river about a mile and pointed out a place where an immense rock crossed the river. The sheet of water running over the rock was about fifteen inches deep while the principal part of the river seemed to flow under. This was the famous stone bridge on Lost River , so often mentioned after this by travelers. For many years the waters of Tule Lake have been gradually rising, so that now the beautiful meadow on which we nooned that day we discovered the bridge is covered by the lake and the back water in Lost River long ago made the river impassable; it is now probably ten feet over the bridge. After crossing the bridge we made our pilot some presents and, all shaking hands with him, left him standing on the river bank . . . [31]

Other evidence that the Tule Lake had been much lower during earlier periods of time is the existence of petroglyphs located in the vertical face of the peninsula in Tule Lake , which were exposed when the waters of Tule Lake receded after implementation of the Klamath Project. These petroglyphs cover hundreds of square feet and many of them appear to be of American Indian origin.

Their very existence proves that in earlier times the water levels of Tule Lake were much lower. If there was a lake there at all and people were living in the area, it was covered by water and known as Tule Lake when this area was settled in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.[32]

By far the most significant change in water use in the Klamath Basin was the introduction of irrigated agriculture in the late 19^th century. It appears that the first irrigation ditch in the Klamath Basin was dug by George Nurse and Joseph Conger in 1868.[33] At the time Joseph Conger had been hired by George Nurse as a gardener. In addition to extensive vegetable gardens in the bottom of Linkville Canyon and the area where Conger Avenue now runs, they established fruit orchards and berry patches. In 1878 the Linkville Water Ditch Company was incorporated using the old ditch constructed by George Nurse and Joseph Conger which started on the east side of Link River near the outlet from Klamath Lake. The ditch was extended for a length of about two miles and was used primarily to irrigate town lots and vegetable gardens in the town of Linkville and came through about where Pine Street is today.

In 1884, William Steele, a local rancher who was quite critical of the way ranching was done in Klamath Basin, made a deal with the members of the Linkville Water Ditch Company. Klamath Echoes, Volume 7, page 4, reports:

We gave each member of the old company a certificate of one miners inch of water, amounting in all to 40 inches for the privileged of enlarging the old ditch.[34] He then set about work of enlarging and extending the baby project – Klamath’s first. It was here opposition manifested itself, and in several instances condemnation proceedings were used to get through property of irate ranchers.

Steel began the work in 1884. The winter was a very mild one and only half a days work was lost because of snow. The ditch was extended for fifteen miles into Klamath Valley . Farmers who believed they were sure to be ruined by water moved out of the valley and into the foothills. The work cost Steele close to $20,000, a fortune in those days.

The Steele ditch wound southerly along the foothills for eight miles to a point where it divided into two branches. The main branch running southward for seven miles along a natural divide between Klamath and Lost Rivers controlling some of the best lands in Klamath Valley . The east branch continued toward Olean for a short distance. It put about 4,000 acres under water and commanded about 16,000 acres.

It should be noted that Fanny Steele, one of the daughters of William Steele extended the canal as much to obtain title to land through the Desert Land Patent Act as to provide irrigation to the property. However, William Steele had long been known as an outspoken advocate of using irrigation to grow alfalfa in the Klamath Basin, and he was equally well know for predicting a disaster in the Klamath Basin when a hard winter came and people did not have the feed available locally to feed their livestock through the winter. It might be noted that such a winter did come in 1890 with the resulting loss of thousands of head of cattle throughout the Basin.

William Steele died in 1883 and after his death the “Linkville Water Ditch Company” was reorganized as the “Klamath Falls Irrigation Company.” Henry Ankeny owned a one-third interest in the Klamath Falls Irrigation Company. According to the History of the Klamath Project Oregon-California, From May 1, 1903 to December 31, 1912 , complied and written by I. Hess Voorhees:

The canal occupied such a strategic position that it was practically impossible for the government to tap the Upper Klamath Lake as a source of supply for its main canal without first dealing with the Ankeny-Henley people or submitting to endless litigation. This fact being fully realized at the outset, surveys and an estimate were made and an option secured on the property.

“This canal has been diverting water from Upper Klamath Lake for a period of twenty years. As stated on page – it occupies such a strategic position not only at the outlet of Upper Klamath Lake , but also for the first four or five miles of its course, that it was very desirable for the Reclamation Service to acquire it. It was estimated that this company had expended approximately $51,000 in the construction of its system, all of which could be utilized. An option was therefore obtained for the purchase of this canal for $50,000 and the recognition of existing water rights for 1,799 acres of land, owned by the proprietors of the canal. Deed passed on July 28, 1906 , the final consideration being $47,530.65 and the vested water rights of the above mentioned.[35]

Pressure was brought by the farmers as well as the government to affect this deal. And there are farmers today who are wishing the government had effectively been kept out.

A significant amount of history concerning the Van Brimmer Ditch and the Adams Canal is related in Klamath Echoes, Volume 7 starting on page 5 and states:

When the Van Brimmer Brothers, Dan Clint, and Ben, came over to Lost River , they made their home for a time with J. Frank Adams. He was famed for his hospitality and until the Van Brimmers could get settled, he gladly made them welcome.

The Van Brimmers had enjoyed some of the fruits of irrigation. The talk, most of the day and far into the night, was irrigation. Adams soon became an enthusiast.

Summers on the Klamath are warm and dry, but the precipitation, averaging 10 to 12 inches, is light. Few crops could be raised for a certainty without water. Grain, alfalfa, and the hardier vegetables could be grown to abundance with water.

Adams relates that his sleeping and waking dreams were of a great country full of fruitful small farms replacing the great rough country, then covered with sagebrush.

The Van Brimmers made good mates for Adams . They had the money, but Adams made up the difference with his untiring initiative and knowledge of the country.

‘Old Man’ Howard was brought in from Jacksonville to do some surveying by the Van Brimmers. No reclamation engineers had entered the country – there was not so much as a surveyor to be had locally. Howard ran a preliminary survey on the west side of Lost River , with intended head take on the river, but got nowhere with it.

Howard’s bill was $240.00. The plan to irrigate had been generally discussed and was no secret. Everyone within reach of the ditches was to have profited by water, if water was obtainable. The Van Brimmers asked settlers for contributions.

“What for?” was the response. “If we want to hire a surveyor we’ll hire him ourselves.” Community spirit was at its lowest flight on the Klamath. The Van Brimmers swallowed hard, but they paid the $240.00.

They hired no more surveyors, but went to work with a carpenter’s spirit level and straight edge held on a tripod. This was made to serve their purpose.

Adams and the Van Brimmers had an idea that the ‘Little Klamath’ as old-timers called Lower Klamath Lake , was higher than Tule Lake . There appeared to be no practical opportunity to get water out of the river, because of lack of fall and impassable ridges. If it should prove to be the case that Lower Klamath Lake was higher than Tule Lake , the rest would be comparatively easy.

It was a momentous discovery to the Van Brimmers when such proved to be the case. Adams was the only one taken into their confidence. The findings with the spirit level were almost unbelievable – a difference of 28 feet between the elevation of Lower Klamath and Tule Lake .

Very quietly Adams and the Van Brimmers set out to secure filings on every piece of land they could find vacant, particularly such tracts as would prove strategical for ditch building right of ways.

Adams filed on the east side of Lost River and the Van Brimmers filed on the west side. It was several months before they were ready to show their hands.

Scapers, What For? It was the summer of 1882 when the Van Brimmers were ready to proceed with the work of constructing their irrigation project. They had ordered scrapers and the supplies and Albert Whitney and Tom Weedon were sent with teams to Redding to freight them into the Klamath.

Whitney was one of Adams ’ hired men. He had been offered $500.00 of the Van Brimmers money by Adams in order that he might file on a tract of land for himself, but had refused. So closely had the secret of the difference in elevation of Lower Klamath and Tule Lakes been guarded by Adams and the Van Brimmers that Whitney knew nothing about it when he arrived at Redding after the ditch building supplies. It was the difference in elevation that made their plans feasible.

He looked over the unusual pile of freight. “What’s them?” he asked the freight agent. ‘Scrapers’ he was told. ‘Scrapers! Hell – what for? We don’t want to scrapers up our way,’ he ejaculated.

And it was only after considerable persuasion that he loaded the slip scrapers – quite contrary to his own best judgment. He couldn’t understand why a lot of scrapers should be shipped into a cow county. It was before the day of the Fresno type of scraper that is now generally used.

When those scrapers were delivered and the work of construction actually commenced, other settlers who had been kept in ignorance of the deal were greatly incensed. Fires of rancor were kindled that smoldered for a long time, and which still burst into occasional flame.

The Van Brimmers went ahead with the work. They built a small ditch, as ditches go today, to supply water for about 4,000 acres of land adjacent to the California-Oregon line between Klamath and Tule Lakes . It was four years before the ditch was finally completed and the water supplied for irrigation, according to the one official history of Klamath irrigation projects.

While the Van Brimmers were going ahead with their work Adams had also begun operations. He had acquired a surveyor’s level and tripod, learned the rudiments of handling it, and ran his own ditch lines. He completed a small canal six miles long from Lost River to Adams point with the assistance of neighbors, chief among who was ‘Ben’ Crawford.

The water for this canal came from White Lake through the Van Brimmers’ canal, and was delivered on the west bank of Lost River . This was in accordance with an agreement between Adams and the Van Brimmers, which called for delivery of 5,000 inches of water for $5,000.00. The water was carried across the river by flume.

V. Dry Year Troubles. What kept the pioneer ditch builders guessing was a bone dry year they encountered. An unusually light rainfall in the winter of 1887-1888 lowered the water level of White Lake and left the Adams and Van Brimmer’s main canal high and dry.

The ditch builders had believed there would be sufficient seepage through the ancient mass of tule lying between Lower Klamath and White Lake to provide water.

Adams had a level, which showed him that the water in Lower Klamath was much higher at times when water was being withdrawn from White Lakes to provide water. He checked against this data with the more practical method of measuring the full of both lakes and was sure of himself.

Removal of the tule mass between the two lakes presented a problem. The Van Brimmers were very much disgusted and ready to quit. Suits were threatened because of lack of water.

Adams had incorporated “The Little Klamath Ditch Company” for $9,000, there being 4,500 shares at $2.00 each in an effort to raise construction funds, but there was little cash entered in the treasury. It was a close corporation anyhow, Mrs. Adams being the treasurer, for instance, and the other farmers couldn’t see the sense of that. Adams felt that once he lost control that chaos would result in the management.

It was up to him to get water on the land . . . and he did. He learned that tules had been removed on a drainage undertaking in California by the use of Chinamen with hay knives. The coolie labor was about all that was procurable in those days for hard work of that kind. But the Chinese did not want to come to Klamath.

Adams set out to cut a canal with such help as was to be had in the county. It was frightfully hard work. He relates that Dan Van Brimmer came over to see how it was getting along. Adams mischievously forced a hay knife deep into the tule mass and told Dan to try it. Dan could not budge the knife.

Yet it was through that kind of tule formation that Adams set out to cut a channel three and one-half miles long and 24 feet wide through from White to Lower Lake .

Men on the job though Adams was crazy. They did as little work as possible and demanded their pay frequently, for the reason that they did not think he would have the money when the job was completed. Also, they wanted a contract. Adams gave it to them after having his foreman, the best man in the bunch, work a week to see what he could do, and in that way Adams got more out of them than they had been doing when paid by the day.

But the white men thought the canal would be futile and that it would be discovered, when it was completed that the water was as high in one lake as in the other . . .

He had on of the three original irrigation projects. When the reclamation service entered the Klamath country it paid Adams $100,000 for his rights. Adams had, on his own initiative, built a canal 18 miles long, with its head on the Little Klamath together with laterals, to serve 10,000 acres.

The figures given above are somewhat at variance with the figures given in The History of the Klamath Project by I. S. Vorhees, referred to earlier. That history states as follows:

Little Klamath Ditch Water Company ( Adams Canal ). This canal had been built by J. Frank Adams, and had supplied water from Lower Klamath Lake for nearly 20 years to a growing pioneer irrigation community in the vicinity of Merrill , Oregon . Mr. Adams was a public spirited citizen, who cooperated from the first with the reclamation service.

Including a branch canal on the Carr Ranch the Adams’ system consisted of 22 miles of main canal all of which could be utilized in the government project, and on the construction of which it was estimated that Mr. Adams had expended close to $73,000.00. About 8,000 acres were being irrigated under this system. In addition, it was also recognized that it would be impossible to drain the Lower Klamath Lake without cutting off the water supply for this canal. As part of the conveyance, Mr. Adams agreed to surrender all riparian rights claimed by himself or the company to the waters of Tule and Lower Klamath Lakes; and was also to sign up to the Klamath Water Users Association 2,000 acres of land owned by him near Merrill and irrigated from his canal. Although the legal status of the company’s rights to the waters of Lower Klamath Lake were questioned on the ground of navigability, the fact that the settlers had been beneficially served, through a long period of years, was believed to have entitled them to consideration in the plan to drain the lake, and the company to an equitable compensation for its property. Mr. Adams, when consulted concerning the matter, said that he would sell for $100,000.0, basing his estimate of value on the fact that his canal commanded and could furnish water for 10,000 acres from which his revenue would amount to the interest on $10.00 per acre or $100,000.00. Agreement for purchase at this figure was entered into, the contact being approved of by the director of the Klamath Water Users Association, the Board of Engineers, and the Secretary of the Interior. Deed was executed October 15, 1906 , the amount paid being $95,000.00, $5,000 being withheld until Mr. Adams could perfect title to certain portions of the right of way.

The History of the Klamath Project by I. S. Vorhees, referred to the Van Brimmers ditch as follows:

Van Brimmer Ditch. In the summer of 1882 the Van Brimmer brothers began the construction of a small ditch to supply water for 4,000 acres of land adjacent to the California-Oregon line between Lower Klamath Lake and Tule Lake , south of Lost River . After about four years work the ditch was finally completed and water supplied for irrigation. The canal heads in the White Lake and after running northward in common with the Adams canal for about a mile is cut through a hill dividing Lower Klamath Lake from the Klamath Valley proper, it separates and runs southeasterly four miles to Tule Lake. This canal as first built was 6 foot wide at the cut and 12 foot wide for the remainder of the way, being from 1 foot to 3 foot deep. Later it was increased in size to a width from 16 foot to 10 foot and depth of from 2 to 3 foot with a carrying capacity of from 30 to 40 second feet. At first the Van Brimmer brothers owned and maintained the canal and sold water to the farmers at $1.00 per acre. In 1903, they incorporated for $25,000.00 (5,000 shares at $5.00 each) under the name of the Van Brimmer Ditch Co.

When the Bureau of Reclamation, or the Reclamation Service as it was then called, first came to the Klamath Basin most of the other private canals operating sold their canals and facilities as well as water rights that they had established to the Reclamation Service who then sold them to the individual water users as a prorate part of the overall Klamath Project. This was not the case with the Van Brimmer Ditch Company. The Ban Brimmer Ditch Company continued to operate as an independent entity taking water from the Lower Klamath Lake . You get some idea of the early interaction between the Reclamation Service and the Van Brimmer ditch Company from the Report on Repayment Contract for Van Brimmer Ditch Company Klamath Project prepared by Klamath District Office, Bureau of Reclamation, Klamath Falls , Oregon , by R. R. Best, District Manager, United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation sent to the Regional Director with a cover letter on May 19, 1947. On page 5 of that report it states:

10. Development – The Klamath Irrigation Project was originally planned in the early 1900s. When the Bureau began its investigations in the Klamath country it found a number of privately owned canal systems in operations among them the Van Brimmer System. This system, under the direction of the Van Brimmer Bros., had acquired vested water right of 50 cubic feet per second from Lower Klamath Lake by constructing a small canal heading in White Lake, an arm of Lower Klamath Lake, an irrigating some 4,000 acres of land adjacent to the California-Oregon line. At first, the Van Brimmer Bros. owned and maintained the canal, and sold water at $1.00 per acre per year. In 1903, they formed a corporation and under the name of the Van Brimmer Ditch Company and issues 5,000 shares of stock at $5.00 per share. His stock was distributed on the basis of one share to each acre of irrigable land dependent upon the Van Brimmer ditch for its water supply, and thereby relegated an equal water right to each of the 5,000 acres within the company. This stock cannot be sold separately but remains with the land. During the subsequent development of the Klamath Project, the company has maintained its perpetual right to 50 cubic feet per second which is now supplied from Upper Klamath Lake through the main canal system of the project under a reciprocal agreement with the Bureau, which provides for the preservation of this vested right.

The contractual history between the Van Brimmer Ditch Company and the Bureau of Reclamation is also well summarized in the document referred to above starting at page 2 paragraph 4, which states in part:

4. Contractual History – In 1907, when the Bureau of Reclamation prepared plans for the reclaiming of Lower Klamath Lake marsh lands, they were confronted with the problem of maintaining the vested water right of the Van Brimmer Ditch Company, a vested right which was dependent upon the water elevation in Lower Klamath Lake. The reclamation plan involved the utilization of the embankment which the California and Northeastern Railway constructed across the northerly end of Lower Klamath Lake . With the completion of this embankment and the closing of the Klamath Straits in 1917, the water supply to the Van Brimmer Ditch Company was impaired. In anticipation of this, the United States entered into a contractual agreement with the company on November 6, 1909 . This agreement provided, among other things, that the United States , at such times as it interfered with the water supply of the company, would deliver a quantity of water not to exceed 50 cubic feet per second through the “1C” canal of the project into the Van Brimmer ditch during the irrigation season. In return, the company waived and renounced its riparian rights on Lower Klamath Lake to the use and benefit of the United States . . . .

6. Contract 18r-1065, Amendatory and Supplementary Contract between the United States of America and Van Brimmer Ditch Company, was negotiated on February 3, 1943 . The principal features of this amendatory contract allowed the inclusion of the brown and Story lands under the vested right of 50 cubic feet per second and, in addition, agreed that for the year 1942 and subsequent years the company would pay to the United States the sum of fifty cents (50q.) per acre-feet for all water delivered by the United States to the company at the designated points of delivery in excess of an aggregate total amount of 50 cubic feet per second.” Other provisions of 1943 contract relieved the burden of constructing the works and canals provided for in the 1909 contract which had never been done and provided for the delivery of the water in the manner it had been done since 1917 when the water supply of the then Brimmer Ditch Company was cut off.

All of this leaves the Van Brimmer Ditch Company in the unique position within the Klamath Project of being an independent irrigation company that receives it water from Klamath Project. It has a recognized water right to 50 cubic feet per second of water from the Klamath Project, which was never owned by the Bureau of Reclamation.

There were a number of smaller irrigation projects getting started and others proposed in the Klamath Basin about 1903 when surveys were made of the area for possible irrigation by H. E. Green and John T. Whistler of the Reclamation Service. Reference is made to some of these projects in History of Early Irrigation In the Klamath Basin by Clarence Hill, History of the Pacific Northwest, by Dr. Clifford Miller, December 9, 1958 , at page 3, where it states:

The Merrill Mutual Canal Company and, its short-lived successor, the Merrill Irrigation and Improvement Company had developed their grand plans for irrigating some 75,000 to 100,000 acres from Upper Klamath Lake . The start of their proposed canal involved a cut of some 130 feet deep and 50 feet wide and also another smaller cut. On September 17, 1903 promoter, E. Brong of Portland, announced that enough land had been signed up and that he was ready to start construction on the $723,000 project.

Harpold and his Summit Lake Irrigation Company were irrigating land near Bonanza from their reservoir [sic] at Jacks Lake , a few miles from that town. His dam in Lost River at the Upper Gap was providing water for his irrigation system in Poe Valley .

Francis J. Bowne with his proposed steam pumping plant at Bonanza had left for San Francisco in September 1903 to buy the pump he would use.

Abner Weed and others were using or planning to use the waters of Anna Creek in the Wood River Valley near Fort Klamath .

Several ditches had been built near Bly to use the waters of the Sprague River for irrigation.

In early 1903 Captain O. C. Applegate and the Klamath Indians under his jurisdiction as Indian Agent were starting to build an irrigation ditch at Modoc Point to irrigate land on the Klamath Indian Reservation.

It was general knowledge in the community that Klamath Lake would be needed as the source of water for any major irrigation project and was much more important than the Lost River drainage.

Many water right applications for large amounts of water from Upper Klamath Lake were made prior to these reconnaissance trips. The Merrill Mutual Canal Company applied for 30,000 miners inches, then for 100,000 miners inches, and later for another 100,000 miners inches of water. The Lost River Irrigation Company applied for 32,000 miners inches of water.

The writings of editor W. Huse in the Klamath Republican in 1899 and 1900 are filled with certain often repeated themes in regard to irrigation. This county needs an enlarged irrigation ditch with ten times greater capacity than at present or of enough size to irrigate 200,000 acres. Upper Klamath Lake is mentioned as having plenty of water for such an enlarged canal, as a great inland sea, or as a tremendous reservoir [sic].

The comparative great physical size of the watershed of Upper Klamath Lake and the large volume of its many tributary streams were unquestionably recognized by many residents of 1903. Upper Klamath Lake with its watershed of 3,100 square miles dwarfs the 550 square mile watershed of Clear Lake . Its many tributary streams with strong year around stream flow far outyield [sic] the annual stream flow of Willow Creek.[36]

The most controversial of the irrigation projects prior to the Klamath Project by the U. S. Reclamation Service was the Klamath Canal Company. This is probably because construction began about the same time the government was looking into the Klamath project. The Klamath Canal Company purchased the rights of the Merrill Mutual Canal Company and the Merrill Irrigation and Improvement Company. The Klamath Canal Company was attempting a major project that would irrigate most of the same land that was to be irrigated by the Klamath Project sponsored by the government. It was apparent that the government Klamath project and the Klamath Canal Company operation could not both go forward and there was a major controversy in the local population regarding whether the Klamath Canal Company should go ahead and develop the local irrigation or whether it should be developed by the Interior Department of the United States government. A good example of this controversy can be shown from the newspapers published on Thursday November 17, 1904 . The Klamath Republican of November 17, 1904 , carried an article which stated:

Progress of the Canal – The Klamath Canal Company has about 3,700 feet of their tunnel completed. Last week connection was made between shafts 7 & S [sic]. At the rate of progress now being made, by Saturday connection will be made between 6 & 7, and by nest Wednesday, between 5 & 6. This will make a continuous tunnel from Hank’s flat to this side of the mountain, with the exception of 120 feet which will be left to take out of shaft number 4.

They are now working on the approaches, cutting some, and tunneling some. By the present rate of procedure, water will be running through by the holidays. The tunnel on which they are now working, without enlarging, will discharge about 10,000 inches of water, or about four times the carrying capacity of the present Ankeny & Henley

About two miles of the main canal have been practically completed. The section around the Hot Springs , which was the most difficult piece of construction on the entire line, is completed. They have three camps in operation. Camp one is located at the foot of the Fairview addition to the town. Camp two near the Mitchell Ranch and camp three has recently been established near the Harpold Dam where the commencement of the ditch is being made which will irrigate a portion of Poe Valley .

About this time, the Klamath Canal Company had asked to put a canal through downtown Klamath Falls in order to wash out debris and silt and help enlarge the tunnel and upper portions of the main canal. The company wanted to end this canal at the west end of Klamath Avenue , which would have filled up part of the marsh around Lake Ewauna with dirt from the tunnel. There was considerable opposition from some portions of the community in the same paper quoted from above. There was an article entitled “The Knockers Club Organizes, the town trustees are asked to retard development of town. . . .”

Last Thursday evening the board met to consider some bills laid over from the regular meeting and the request of the Klamath Canal Company for ditch franchise, the purpose of said franchise being a temporary ditch to fill up the marsh with dirt from the tunnel and cut later a 60 inch pipe for power purposes.

Some of the members of what is termed a Development Club brought in a protest in writing and added some talk to it.

Now such things may properly come within the scope of a Development Club in Timbuctoo [sic], but in a country that is booming and trying to, the way Klamath County is, there is little apology for such action.

If someone were to come here and ask for a franchise to run a street railway through our town, no doubt these same people would want to confine their operations to the suburbs or ask them to build a raft to run the railroad on. We have no interest in the matter, but it looks as though we were enough of a town to stand in for such certain improvements as filling up a sickness-breeding swamp, even though there is a little inconvenience, in that we were also big enough to think for ourselves without importing “noodles” from effete sections of America, where they hibernate in winter and put in all summer getting ready for the next winter’s sleep. Why not set down on the lobster element of this community and let people know that we are alive and doing things instead of trying to keep people from them. Let’s quit knocking or at least treat the knocker who is busy the way he ought to be treated.

The plain question is – are people to be held up right along in the line of development or are we to be friendly and render them all the assistance in our power. Whereas our lands are worth little more than the taxes on them a few years ago, people who are willing to take the chances of the cost of development have made them a good price, and people who are strenuously opposing the ditch past their places today, not many moons ago would have welcomed an open sewer past their places if it would have made them sell at any kind of a price.

Why not get in and drill awhile, give all knockers a cold shoulder and see if we can not all make money, and while we are thinking of these things it would be well to consider if the cast off incubuses of other places are adding heavily to the revenue of this section, or if the Klamath Canal Company with its weekly pay roll of from $1200.00 to $2,000.00 is the concern that is helping and is entitled to consideration, and its other weekly expenditures, amounting to about $1,000.00 more, is the concern that is helping and is entitled to consideration . . . Citizen . . .

The Klamath Falls Express on the same day, November 17, 1904 , carried the following headlines stating:

Town Trustees Will Consider the Klamath Canal Company Right of Way This Evening; Taxpayer’s Protest Effective; Canal People Should Not be Granted a Perpetual Right pf Way on Main Streets; Only a Limited Franchise on the Outskirts of Town.

The article related to those headlines criticizes the Klamath Canal Company in general, and the paper published a major story against the granting of the temporary ditch. It details the objections of a number of people who indicate that their property and those of other residents in the town would be damaged and the ditch would be a menace to the health of the citizens. Another major article in that paper states:

Considers Big Irrigation Project; Interior Department is Looking Into the Advisability of Watering 300,000 Acres on Klamath in Oregon and California; Expert on Way Here To Make Inspection, Washington, Nov, 12 – One of the biggest irrigation projects ever undertaken by the government is now under consideration by the Interior Department and will be investigated personally by F. H. Newell, of the Geological Survey, within the next few days.. This is the Klamath project in Southern Oregon and Northern California on the border line between the two states, but lying mostly in Oregon . Water for irrigation will be taken from the Klamath River and lakes, and if the project is finally decided upon as being feasible, about 300,000 acres will be put under irrigation. Mr. Newell left Washington two days ago to make an examination, but will first go to the Imperial where he will make another inspection of the Imperial lands, which are proposed to be sold to the government for water users for $3,000,000.

The Oregon and California delegates to the National Irrigation Congress at El Paso , Texas have prepared strong resolutions favoring Federal Construction of the Klamath Project.

Mr. Newell will arrive in Klamath Falls on Saturday the 26^th of this month and stay here for four days.

The people of Klamath County will now have the chance of their lives to secure government irrigation. A meeting of all the land owners of the county interested in government irrigation will be called next week for the purpose of conferring with the chief engineer of the Reclamation Service.

The Klamath Falls Express of Thursday, December 15, 1904 , has an article quite critical of the Klamath Canal Company in which it states in part:

Another Canal Company Scheme. Now that they see that the government and the people are in earnest in securing government irrigation for this section, the Klamath Canal Company people have concocted another scheme with which to cajole the unwary farmer.

Their proposition now is to turn their ditch over to the subscribers after ten annual payments of $2.00 per acre without interest or maintenance, provided they can get 30,000 acres subscribed. If they can get 50,000 they agree to accept $1.50 . .

This new scheme of the Canal Company is predicted on the assumption that the government water will cost $15.00 per acre. It may only cost $10.00. Besides, what would the people have after they had paid for the canal company’s plant? A hole in a hill and a lot of cheaply constructed canals, that would entail a heavy expense for maintenance after the people had the “white elephant” on their hands.

On the other hand, the Government work would be of the most substantial character and maintenance would be only minimal . . .

It can be seen from the articles quoted above and numerous other articles that there was a great deal of controversy over who should build the irrigation project. The Klamath Republican of Thursday, December 22, 1904 has major articles on this subject; one of which is a series of Klamath Canal Company offers. This article states in part:

Makes a Startling Offer to Land Owners of This County. ‘Goes the Government one Better by Offering to Sell Out to the People at Lower Rates and Under Superior Conditions to Federal Proposition’. ‘Klamath Canal Company’s Proposition’. The Company announces that it will give a ten year option to the land owners of Klamath Basin and Poe Valley , to purchase its system on the following basis: First, price to be on a basis of 50,000 acres of land at $15.00 per acre, payable in ten annual installments, without interest; system guaranteed to cover such acreage or more.

It then goes on to list three other options under which it would sell its canal system to the landowners.

The Klamath Falls Express dated December 29, 1904 , has similar articles regarding government versus private irrigation. One of these appears to be a letter to the editor and the main point it seems to make is that the Klamath Canal Company was offering only two canals that would irrigate approximately 50,000 acres, while the government was proposing to put in a system that would irrigate probably 300,000 acres. The other article is entitled: “U. S. Irrigation Committee Refutes Specious Arguments of Klamath Canal Company”; “Government Will Have No Use For The Klamath Canal Company’s Works.”

The article goes on in some other arguments for a time and also makes the argument that the work being done by the Klamath Canal Company would not be usable by the government project, But the main argument appears to be wrapped up in the paragraph that states:

This particular article was signed by a number of prominent men who made up the U. S. Irrigation Committee.

There was considerable pressure applied by both the Canal Company and the Bureau of Reclamation to get farmers to sign up to get water from them. There was also a major campaign waged by both the government and the supports of the Government Reclamation Project and the Klamath Canal Company and their supporters, with one newspaper locally on each side of the issue, as a practical matter. However, the issue of who would develop the irrigation in the Klamath Basin may have been determined by the simple practical matter of who obtained control of the Ankeny/Fienley Canal and its essential geographic position rather than the big public campaign. In The History of Klamath County (1941) by Rachel Applegate-Good, we find the following information located on pages 111 and 112:

The historian is indebted to B. E. Hayden, Resident Engineer of the United States Bureau of Reclamation, for his complete and lucid outline of the history of irrigation in Klamath County , particularly under the Reclamation Service. It is only fair, however, to mention the viewpoint of other citizens who believe that the same results could have been obtained at less cost under private enterprise, and would take issue with the statement that the Klamath Canal Company (C. N. Hawkins, Ben Gould, and William K. Brown) ‘served no useful purpose.’

This point of view is represented by Don J. Zumwalt, an engineer once employed by the Klamath Canal Company. He relates the following bit, rich in human interest, and illustrating the fact that a hasty word sometimes determines the course of events for years to come:

Ankeny sold to the United States Reclamation Service for $50,000.00 and a water right to his own land covered by his ditch. The deal gave the Reclamation Service the toe-hold they needed to pry the Canal Company loose. Soon after that, Hawkins went to Washington and negotiated a sale of the Canal Company interests to the United States .

The Klamath Water Users have at time been at variance with the polices of the Reclamation Service, notably regarding the contract with the California and Oregon Power Company (Copco) for the dam at the head of Link River, though the policies of the Bureau have generally proved wise and beneficial.

The drying up of Lower Klamath Lake , for which the Reclamation Service has been criticized, was not primarily its proposition but was initiated by the Klamath Drainage District, an organization of individuals who had bought land in the area originally patented to the state as swamp land. This shallow lake had been the nesting place for myriad of waterfowl and was declared a national bird preserve by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. Its drying up and the consequent displacement of the birds was bitterly criticized by William Finley, once state game warden and widely known as a friend of wildlife as well as by other nature lovers. The charge that the reclaimed land was worthless, however, has been disproved by successive crops of grain grown on it, though the present plan of the Bureau of Reclamation to restore water for a new bird preserve to a part and leave a part as a natural grass lands is perhaps the wisest use to be made of the region. Be that as it may, it remains true that it was the Government Reclamation Project that transformed the un-forested parts of Klamath County from a grazing to an agricultural area.

The only other canal of any significance was the Moore Brothers’ canal on the west side of Link River . This apparently did provide some irrigation water of the Riverside area to lots and some gardens and orchards even from a very early date with no clear records of just when that irrigation started. Photographs of irrigated gardens in the Riverside area in 1874 are available. We do know from 50 years on the Klamath by John C. Boyle, pages 25 and 26:

In 1877, William S. Moore constructed a ditch and flume 6 ½ feed wide, 4 feet deep and 950 feet long near the head of the rapids or lower reef, on the west side of Link River. These carried about 100 second feet of water used to furnish power for the operation of a sawmill. He obtained the first navigation and booming rights at the head of Link River .

On December 7, 1891 , the West Side Canal Co. filed notice of appropriation of 10,000 inches of water from Link River .

In 1892 Charles and Rufus Moore built another canal heading at the same point and took over the properties of the West Side Canal Co. This latter canal was 3750 feet long and 9 feet wide on the bottom and had a grad of 3 feet to the mile. Its carrying capacity was 15 second feet, part being used for power for a flour mill and the remainder for irrigation of lots and orchards in west Klamath Falls .

On June 22, 1905 , C. S. Moore and R. S. Moore, now owners of the properties of the West Side Canal Co., obtained a water right for 205 second feet on the west side of Link River to use for power, domestic irrigation and industrial purposes. Evidence of the Moore rights was obtained in contracts with the United States Government dated October 16, 1905 when the Moore brothers proceeded with building a powerhouse.

It would have been impossible for the Reclamation Service to construct a proposed canal from Link River to the vicinity of Keno without acquiring the Moore Brothers’ interests. As a result of negotiations, the government purchased the more Canals and riparian and vested rights to waters of Link River , with the stipulation that 205 second feet be delivered to Moore Bros. powerhouse from the proposed canal to Keno by October 1, 1907 . Construction difficulties for 5500 feet of canal delayed completion until October 1908.

The United States Government spent about $104,500.00 to enlarge the canal from the dam to the Moore power plant and assumed a maintenance cost of about $5,000.00 annually.

The headworks of the canal constructed by the United States is still in existence, but the canal was extended upstream to new gates in the Link River dam when it was constructed in 1921. It was permissible for Moore to carry additional water above 205-second feet if the condition of the canal made this possible. The reconstruction of the canal by the U. S. Government was for carrying 635-second feet and besides the headgates, a new saw-tooth spillway with a concrete lined chute to the river was built. The unique wood flume spillway, which discharged surplus water over the top of the powerhouse was eliminated.

In order for the federal government to go ahead with the project they required several things from the states of Oregon and California including the requirement that the states must cede to the federal government all rights and title to the Lower Klamath and Tule Lakes and permit the lowering and raising of the waters of Upper Klamath Lake and cede title to the land uncovered by the waters to (the) United States. These laws were generally referred to as the Cession Acts. The Oregon Legislature in an act approved on January 20, 1905 , and the legislature of California by an act approved on February 3, 1905 , relinquished title to the lake-lands to the federal government including lands, which might be uncovered by drainage. On February 9, 1905 , Congress authorized the changing of the levels of Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lakes , which would destroy their navigability and authorize the disposal of the uncovered lands under the terms of the Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902 .

[1] Ida Momyer Odell, “Water Snakes and Water”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n.1, pp 40-41.

[2] Ibid, p. 41.

[3] Victor L. Jepsen, A General History of Klamath Falls from its Beginning until the Coming of the Railroad in 1909, MA Thesis, University of Oregon, 1939, 00 42-43.

[4] Devere Helfrich, “The First Boats”, Klamath Echoes, v.1, n. 2, pp 1-2.

[5] Ibid, p.4.

[6] Ibid. p. 5.

[7] Ibid, pp. 5-7.

[8] Rachael Applegate Good, History of Klamath County , Oregon , 1941, p. 73.

[9] Ibid, pp. 78-74.

[10] Fred Brown, “ Upper Klamath Lake Boating”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n. 2. p. 13.

[11] Good. P. 74.

[12] Jepsen, p. 16.

[13] Ibid.

[14] `Devere Helfrich, “As Told To Me by Ray Telford”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n. 2, pp. 22-23.

[15] Helfrich, “Sawmills of the Keno Vicinity”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n. 7, p.65.

[16] Helfrich, “The Sawmills of Wood River Valley ”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n. 6, pp.31-32.

[17] Helfrich, “Martin’s Flour Mill”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n. 4, p. 61.

[18] W. E. Lamm, “Early Sawmills”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n. 4, pp. 51-52.

[19] Ibid. p. 52.

[20] Helfrich, “Utilities . . . Telephone & Telegraph”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n. 4, pp.73-74.

[21] Helfrich, “ Klamath City ”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n. 3, pp.9-13.

[22] Ibid. p. 20.

[23] Brown, “ Upper Klamath Lake Boating”, v. 1, n. 2, p. 14.

[24] Helfrich, “As Told To Me by Ray Telford”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n. 2, p. 24.

[25] Ibid

[26] Brown, “ Upper Klamath Lake Boating”, v. 1, n. 2, p. 14.

[27] Helfrich, “As Told To Me by Ray Telford”, Klamath Echoes, v. 1, n. 2, p. 23.

[28] The Klamath Indians of Southwest Oregon , Gatschet (1890); A Study of the Klamath People, Their Language and Myths, Yulalona, A Report on Link River , Jim Spindor, 1993, unpublished.

[29] Marion Palmer advised of the current existence of the Glory Hole, which can still be used.

[30] Quoted in History of Klamath County , p. 3.

[31] History of Klamath County , p. 22.

[32] Kenneth McLeod, Herald and News article, August 22, 1951 ; numerous photographs and other materials upstairs in the Klamath County Museum , Klamath Echoes, v. 8, p.1.

[33] Jim Spindor, Yulalona – A Report on Link River , p. 37.

[34] This was 40 miner’s inches. A miner’s inch is 1.5 cu. ft. per minute – 1/40 cu. ft. per second; the ditch was enlarged from 1 cu. ft. per second (second feet) to 50 second feet.

[35] Recognition of the existing water rights on the 1,799 acres owned by Henry Ankeny to avoid the 160-acre limitation in the Reclamation Act of 1902 and receive water for his entire ranch from the Klamath Project.

[36] Clarence Hill, “History of Early Irrigation in the Klamath Basin ”, History of the Pacific Northwest , by Dr. Clifford Miller, Dec. 9, 1958 , p. 7.