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The Klickitat County Agriculturist, Goldendale, WA., November 13, 1909, page 1
"Klickitat Intelligence"

The total area of the Camas Prairie basin approximates 45 square miles, a territory as extensive as some eastern counties, and the soil of that country is extremely fertile, consisting of decomposed lava from 6 to 20 feet in depth. All this vast tract requires to make it extremely productive, is water for irrigation purposes, and ample water for such purposes flows past this section in the canyon of the Big Klickitat, but the great expense of attending taking this water from the Big Klickitat River and bringing it out on the level of the land has prevented in the past any attempt to use the waters of the Big Klickitat for irrigation purposes. For some time rumors of a camp having been established on the headwaters of the Big Klickitat River have reached us but little attention was paid to it. About fifty men have been employed there for some weeks. It now develops that these men are at work on an enterprise which will actually divert the waters of the Big Klickitat onto the uplands of Camas Prairie and supply ample water power for irrigating the entire Camas Prairie country. There are about 1500 cubic feet of water in this river under normal conditions and all of this water is to be diverted and what is not wanted for irrigation will be used to develop electrical power and transmit it to other parts of the county. This enterprise is being conducted by a company known as The Big Klickitat Valley Development Company. This company is not undertaking this work for the purpose of selling stock or getting bonuses but is composed of capitalists who are quietly putting their money into this proposition as a business enterprise. No stock is offered for sale or can be purchased but the work is going ahead towards completion and will be completed as rapidly as possible. When the purpose of these men is realized all of the dry lands of Camas Prairie will be under ditches and can be irrigated. There is probably no place in either Oregon or Washington where more luxurious timothy, clover and oats can be raised under irrigation. Instead of having a few scattered settlers in that section of the country the entire section will be thickly settled and the large tracts of land owned by the state will be subdivided, improved and occupied, thus making a dense population. This is no pipe dream but will be realized and that very shortly. The work will probably be completed within the next year, and as soon as the people or aware of the fact there will be a big rush into that section of the county. The company has purchased 3,000 acres of land under this ditch which it will improve and subdivide, and the state itself owns 10,700 acres under the ditch which will be sold when the ditch is completed.