"That
the Gila river rises in the territory of New Mexico, and
flows hence through a generally mountainous country, through
the county of Graham, and other counties, in the territory of
Arizona, in a westerly direction into the Colorado river at
or near the city of Yuma, in the territory of Arizona. That
the San Francisco river is an affluent of the said Gila
river, emptying its waters into the said Gila river at or
near the city of Clifton aforesaid, and above the head of the
Montezuma and other canals, hereinafter described. That Chase
creek is an affluent of the said San Francisco river
emptying its waters into the said San Francisco river above
the city of Clifton. That each and all of said streams are
public streams within the said county of Graham, and the
waters thereof are applicable to the purposes of mining
irrigation, and domestic use. That the plaintiff is the owner
and occupant of about two hundred and seventy-six acres of
land in the Upper Gila Valley, near the town of Solomonville,
and that said land is naturally desert and unproductive
without the application of water thereon by irrigation. That
the predecessors in interest of plaintiff in said land
commenced the cultivation to valuable crops of portions of
the same by means of water diverted from the Gila river
through the Montezuma canal about the year 1872, and
thereafter gradually increased the amount thereof so
cultivated until, for more than fifteen years last past, the
whole of said premises has been continually cultivated to
valuable crops by means of said waters of the Gila river.
"That
the said Montezuma canal, by and through which plaintiff
diverts the water appropriated for use upon said land, as
aforesaid, at all the times mentioned herein headed, and now
heads, at a point upon the bank of said Gila river at or near
the southwest corner of the NE. 1/4 of the NE. 1/4 of section
17, township 7 S., range 26 E., G. & S.R.B. & M., in said
Graham county, at a distance of about twenty-five miles below
the confluence of the said San Francisco river and said Gila
river. That commencing at said head of the said Montezuma
canal, and extending out into and across the said Gila river,
was at all the times mentioned herein, and now is, maintained
a dam for the purpose of diverting the waters of said Gila
river into said canal. That said Montezuma canal is of a
capacity sufficient to, and does, divert and carry three
thousand inches of water, miners' measurement, from the
said Gila river, and said canal extends out through the
farming lands of the valley commonly known and called the
'Upper Gila Valley,' a distance of thirteen and
one-half miles, all within the said county of Graham. That
said canal carries the public water of said Gila river for
the irrigation of more than three thousand seven hundred and
fifty acres of land to which said water was and now is
appropriated, diverted, and applied by the owners and
occupants thereof for agricultural purposes, and drinking and
domestic uses in connection therewith, amongst others, to the
lands of plaintiff. That said canal and dam is maintained by
the owners of said lands and plaintiff, for the purposes and
uses aforesaid.
"That
in the said Upper Gila Valley and county of Graham, and from
a point on said Gila river, at or near eighteen miles below
the confluence of said San Francisco and said Gila rivers, to
a point fifty-three miles below said last-named point,
numerous irrigation ditches, amongst others said Montezuma
canal, were taken out of said Gila river at various times in
and since the year 1872 by divers persons who were then, and
are now, the owners and occupants of irrigable lands lying
upon either side of said Gila river, and by means of said
ditches the public waters of said river have been ever since
appropriated, diverted, and applied to the irrigation and
cultivation of a constantly increasing quantity of irrigable
lands so situated under said canals and occupied by persons
entitled to the use of said waters, amongst others this
plaintiff, until at the time of the institution of this suit
more than twenty-three thousand acres of such lands were so
irrigated and cultivated; and the said lands theretofore
desert and unproductive, were reclaimed and were made to, and
do now, produce alfalfa, grains, vegetables, melons, fruits,
trees, and vines. That at all the times herein mentioned said
ditches have been, and are now, maintained, and said public
waters of said Gila river used upon the aforesaid land for
the irrigation thereof, and the cultivation of valuable crops
as aforesaid, and for domestic and drinking purposes in
connection therewith. That as a result of the use of said
public waters of said Gila river, as aforesaid, a rich and
prosperous farming community has been established upon the
lands aforesaid, supporting the towns of Solomonville, of
Safford, of Thatcher and others, in all a community of more
than eight thousand persons.
"That
in the mountains through which the said Gila river and its
affluents flow, in the neighborhood of the towns of Clifton,
Morenci, and Metcalf, within the county of Graham, are large
deposits of copper ore and that several large mining
companies, including the defendant, the Arizona Copper
Company, Limited, are engaged in the business of mining and
reducing said ores. That mining operations on said deposits
were commenced by miners about the year 1872, and have been
continuously and increasingly prosecuted since that date, and
that said mining industry and the farming industry in the
Upper Gila Valley, in which is situated the town of
Solomonville, were commenced about the same time and have
each grown and increased in volume and importance to the
present time. That the defendant, the Arizona Copper Company,
Limited, is engaged in the reduction and treatment of copper
ore in said mining district, near the upper branches and
affluents of the Gila river. That for the purpose of reducing
and treating the said ores so mined, as aforesaid, said
defendant has established upon the banks of said San
Francisco river and said Chase cheek, and upon the sides of
the canyons debouching into said last-named streams,
concentrators of a capacity sufficient to, and which now
actually, reduce and treat more than three thousand tons of
copper ore each day. That it has invested a large amount of
money in the development of said mining industry, and in the
installation and equipment of concentrators, smelting and
reduction works used in the reduction of the products of said
mines, and that the plants of this defendant company now used
in said operations represent an investment of about
$15,000,000. That defendant, in its mining, smelting, and
reduction of ores gives employment to about three thousand
men, and that a community of about twelve thousand people are
dependent for a livelihood upon the operations of the mining
works of this defendant and of the other mining companies
hereinbefore referred to. That in the reduction of said
copper ores by this defendant said ores are crushed and mixed
with water, and that a portion of the slickens, slimes, and
tailings therefrom finds its way through the creeks,
affluents, and canals upon which the works of said defendant
are situated, into the waters of the Gila river, and becomes
mingled therewith, and is carried by the waters of said Gila
river down to the Upper Gila Valley, in which the farming
operations of the plaintiff are carried on, and by and
through said river and irrigating ditches, in the ordinary
and necessary course of irrigation, to and upon the
cultivated lands of plaintiff, and of others like situated.
"That
the Gila river is normally subject to periods of flood and of
lower water recurrent several times during each year, due to
recurrence of torrential rains, alternating with periods
without rain or with slow-falling rains. That during such
periods of flood said river carries quantities of sedimentary
matter, the product of erosion of the mountains, hills, and
valleys through which it and its tributaries flow. That this
sedimentary matter contains organic fertilizers. That such
matter is, at such periods of flood, carried through said
irrigating canals in the normal and necessary course of
irrigation, to and upon the lands of plaintiff, and upon the
cultivated lands of the valley, hereinbefore mentioned, and
enhances their fertility, thereby in that respect benefiting
said lands. That at such periods of flood the...
