Daily Yellowstone journal., 1886-12-29

~oe hehSo' ihis IuuucT Whs lu
August and September, 1886, driven
down Tongue river, to the site of the
dam, and as soon as possible WORK on
this structure commenced.
The work now being done 10 under
the supenntendence of Mr.. T. II.
Robinson, q civil engineer of consider
able experience in the construction of
irrigatiDg bitches. Mr.. Robinson in
forms US that the dam and fumes are
about finished, and that there will be
water In the ditch for practical use in
April or May next.
To properly estimate the great bene-
fit the irrigating ditch will be to Miles
City it Is only necessary to state that
it will, when finished, traverse the
Tongue river and Yellowstone valleys
for twenty-eight miles. These valleys
are an average width of two miles
from river to bluff on the side on
which the ditch runs. This gives an
aggregate of fifty-six square miles, or
80, $40 acres Of land now barren, OF
which 1900 acres directly tributary
to the ditch will be reclaimed to every
variety of agricultural purposes as soon
as subjected to the reviving influences
Of water. The area above stated, when
divided into l60-acre farms, yields 1877
farms. 1t il not difficult for anyone
resident in Miles City to cslculate the
advantage arising from this acreage of
cultivated land in the immediate vi
cinity Of the town. The experimental
farming that las been conducted in
eastern Montana for the past five or
six years has satisfied everyone that
without irrigation success Is not possi-
BILE. Except in extremely dIy years
root crops have been raised success
fully and profitsbly but all attempts
at raising grain or hay have invari-
ably met with the same result; the
spring and early summer rains induce
a most redundant growth but early in
July the earth becomes parched and
during the mont 7pmes two or three
days Of blIs*ay ] hot wind that
catches the grain In the milk and lit
orally dries it upso TIT it,s unfit for
any uses whaieves With irrigation
the moisture denisd by nature at the
critical tirne can be supplied artifici-
ally, and the growing grain and grass
kept robust and succulent enough to
weather the hot winds and mature
into profitable crop. A few years
ago when settlement in the. Yellow
stone valley was new, the dry years
were thought to be exceptional. and
each recurring summer season was
con nfidently looked forward to. with
the expectation that copious and con-
slant rains would set things right
aiain, but experience has now taught
US that the arid summer season il the
in the curing of the nutritious grasses
of the range. but resulting disastrously.
to agriculture. Thus IL is that irriga-
ton becomes a prime necessity and
that the application of 1t to the river
valleys of this locality will cause them
to yield a rich harvest, for which
Miles City offers ample market at good
prices. A rough calculation indicates
that this year nearly $500, 900 has been
sent out of Miles City to pay for hay.
grain and roots that with irrigation
| could have been raised here, and this
/. large amount of money put into circu-
lation at home. Ranch men who
have not the means to prepare their
land for the cultivation of grain or
roots, can by applying water to the
natural sod secure a plentiful crop of
hay, averaging from ton to q ton and
half per acre, selling In Miles
City for pever less than ten
dollars and from that up to fif-
teen per ton. The completion of
the ditch and its practical application to
the purposes of irrigation means more
to Miles City than can be realized
without a careful consideration Of tue
question, and the men who originated
the enterprise and have manfully
stood by it through years Of disaster.
sending good money after bad, deserve
the fullest measure of praise from this
community and in addition all the
profit that may fall to them in the
business management Of the enter
prise. Although private business
scheme, undertaken for profit, il IL
nevertheless great public work, and
of a character that the national gov
ernment could very judiciously employ
| some of its millions In duplicating In
every available locality In the arid
, grazing regions of the west. Another
| phase Of the enterprise that is almost
, "A utiIitarian as Irrigation is the furn-
, ishing of water to Miles City for do
!. mestic and fire purposes. The natural
I fail IN the line of the ditch makes it
: possible to have q head Of eighty feet
, when the water reaches the city,
, which would be more than is needed
for the highest building we will ever
} lhava here Thfa m affor NJ vvafor ann