A slip (also sometimes called a scoop, scraper, or road scraper) was the common implement for moving dirt when doing such things as digging ponds or making fills where large volumes of dirt were needed.
RIO GRANDE. The Rio Grande rises in Rio Grande National Forest, San Juan County, Colorado (at 37Â°47' N, 107Â°32' W), as a clear, spring and snow-fed mountain stream 12,000 feet above sea level. Its origin is at the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains.
About The River. The Rio Grande forms the border between Texas and Mexico. Starting in the Rocky Mountains, it winds 1,900 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico, making it the fifth-longest river in North America. Under a treaty signed in 1944, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to keep the river flowing and share its water. â Rae Bichell.