Of late the Department has ignored all local letters touching Brown's seizure of the Indian water and the "pending" suit, but goaded and cornered by a Boston philanthropist, the Hon. Cato Sells while not conceding a crime, has agreed that the water "diminished" in that particular ditch; but points pridefully to Departmental activity in bringing water to the lands "this season" by the Wapato Canal; or by the storage system of Medicine Valley or Toppenish Creek "next year." Nay more! another "investigation" by Supt. Carr and Federal District Attorney, Francis H. Garrecht, actually took place in a Yakima hotel lobby last spring, where it was found that: "Differences of opinion between white settlers and Indians regarding Water rights along Medicine Creek have arisen;" and that "it is probable that cases which have already been in court will again have to come up for adjudication." Later in response to an inquiry, Mr. Garrecht intimates that some time and some where some body may be summoned to give testimony in a possible suit against the Reservation Water Hog. During all these weary years, the Indians, who have not died, have been buoyed up by these worthless and hollow promises of "water next year;" inducing some of them, especially Luke Wappet, to repeatedly plant fields only to meet with disappointment and loss of both seed and labor. Wappet had sixty acres under cultivation until Brown stole the Indian ditch dry. Last spring I saw him toiling on a ditch hoping to bring water from another source, but met with failure. His wheat crop withered and blasted as on former occasions. Forty acres of Simon Goudy's allotment lies just east of the Wappet tract, and on the extreme tail of the looted Medicine Valley ditch. Goudy had this north forty under cultivation, now returned to desert sage and weeds. Instead of this land being covered by the Wapato Canal as repeatedly promised, the waterway has been constructed along the east line of his ranch, which irrigates from the west. Goudy cannot irrigate the fraction of an acre from this "bring-water-to-you-next-year" canal. Not only this, but the canal embankment completely closes all avenue of escape for waste water from his south forty acres, heretofore utilized by his neighbor, Simon George, Indian, whose land adjoins him on the east. Simon George received his water through Goudy's lateral, which was severed by the canal. The flimsy, half-sized flume constructed over the canal by the Indian Service for the purpose of a waterway, broke down within a few hours after water had been turned into it. Mr. George was compelled to rebuild the flume, enlarging it to capacity at his own expense. His loss in damaged crops because of this delay was not inconsiderable. [Illustration: =SIMON GEORGE REBUILDING WORTHLESS FLUME PLACED BY INDIAN SERVICE ACROSS WAPATO CANAL= Showing the Embankments of the Canal Which Completely Bars the Escape of Simon Goudy's Waste Water]