This policy was followed by the Mitchell ditch, the Central, and some of the others farther down the valley.

Winter Creek Canal

The people under the Winter creek canal line, managed to scrape together enough money to have their line run out and cross-sectioned, but the building seemed too large to undertake. Finally Dan D. Johnson grew weary of just laying around and plowed up the ground on a section of the canal line that crossed his land. He was moving some of the dirt to one side, when Will Ripley drove up. "What are you doing, Dan?" asked Will. "Building a ditch," said Dan. "Too big a job, ain't it ?" Will asked. "Well, it won't build itself, "answered Johnson, "and I have both horses and time. Why not be doing something?"

Good advice, and good initiation, started the work. In two weeks teams were at work for the whole length of the canal. Thus was the ditch built.

Our Own Conversion

As the dry years came on in the early nineties, I was at Harrisburg, and Ash ford, doing a little newspaper work, teaching school, and trying my first irrigation farming. Sometime previously, F. P. Reed had built a ditch for the purpose of furnishing power for a mill, which mill was never completed. I rented the land on which this canal was located and did some work in extending it to get it upon our homestead. A small ditch constructed by Jim

Walters to water his timber claim, crossed this homestead making a little garden spot that we could irrigate. All told I had about twenty acres under ditch. Will C. (Pink) Reed and Jake McClune had a few acres under the same canal. The results here, made a profound impression upon anyone who looked it over.