The Helena independent., 1889-06-18
OUR ARID LANDS.
Government Engineers Now Here to
Begin Investigation OF the
Reclamation Question.
Means OF lrrigating the Most ThiekIY
Populated Section to be First
Inquired Into.
LIT Of QUESTION: for the Benefit Of the
senate COMMITTEES Which Will
soon b. Here.

LET Of questions for the Benefit Of the /
senate Committee Which Will
soon b. Here
II. NJ Wilson. a civil engineer OF c0Dsid- |
erAble experience Ia the west, has arrived
In Montana t0 engage IN a preliminary in
yestigstl0n, undfT the direction OF tue
Uaited stats geological survey, Major
Powell officer ia charge, Of the question VI
irrigation tor the reclamation Of arid lands.
The enure Nork Is under the Immediate
control oi Capt Dutton, who has estab-
hsheJ two divisions, tue ole comprising
the eastern and the other the western slope
Of tie EocB5 mountains. r. ; SettletOn,
state engineer ol Colorado il in charge of
The Work IA The hrsE division, Nhich em-
braces Montana, Colorado and Idaho and
has assigned MT. Wilson to tic work IN
trls territory, while \. d. FOOte, with
headquarters at Boise City. will pursue IN
vestigatlOns ia Idaho and ;. II. BOdfsh
will follow the course OF the Arkansas
riyeT IN Colorado.
Mr. Wilson's intention is % make a pre-
hminafy ylaiL nimself 10 The upper Madi-
son, Jefferson ana Ruby rivers, Ia order 70
be- able 10 set held party Al work 10 the
BEST advantage. II Is designed 10 c0nhne
observations al present "a the more impOT-
tant streams ana TO the sections uI country
most thIcsly settled. where, naturally, the
need ot Irrigation most exists The in
struCtdns under which The work Will be
prosecuted are tu ascertain, tTst, the duty"
of water IA this territory, OF, in other
words, 10 learn now much water Is required
% lTrg@te al acre oi land Ia dInerent
soils and under different climatic condi-
tluns tuI- varies materially, and basis
fOT computation Il Is necessary that the
facts should be established as 10 Montana,
That having been done. the engineer Will
seek u iraTn whether It Is
u.OsJ practicable to IrTIgats By taking
water from the large streams and con
Quoting IL to It's destination through large
dItchts, or, tapping the smaller ana feeding
streams. Use smaller 0ltches ana more OF
tnrn, aud where 1t Will be Practicable 10
establish storage reservoirs. All these
means viii ue carefully Investigated and
the results reported 10 the chief OF the di
VISION, Capt. DuItUn, through whom they
viii De transmitted to Major Powell and
by him sent 10 tile secretary OF The interior.
M Wilson's first work viii be done IN
The vicinity Of the rivers named above aud
near Helena and Great Fails. When his
held party Is sent out surveys Will De made
un a number OF Tracts which appear to
prmtse important results. such surveys
VIII be continued as long as practicable
and a. much ground as possible viii be COW
eTeL. Considerable Information uf a gen
erAl character has already been collected,
Gct " lacks sJ stem and Is Ot comparatively
little value. Rules of science must be ap-
piled before any satisfactory basis tor esti-
mating The possibilities Vt Irrigation can be
reached. Mr.. Wilson states that great
misapprehenslon eNIs : as TO Iut5 needs of
Montana, the engineers of the department
supp0sIuE that very little needs 10 be done
10 meet the needs OF TINS country, His re-
report, which VIII not be made until late in
the Gall, III, doubtless, afford considerable
light 10 LIS supporters at W ashlngLun- IL
Is nls Intention 10 inspect the sun River Ca
nal Al an early day. Ine Gallaun canal
people, ne bell yes, are working with a cor
rect knowledge OF what they are doing and
what can be accomplished.
The Montana Society of Civil Engineers
u taxing an active interest in the subject OF
the government survey for Irrigation, and
viii probably recommend to Gov. White
the Issuance to county officers of
a list of questions similar 10 those which
have been addressed by the governor of
Ltah To county Judges throughout that teT
TItury, the responses 20 be submitted 10 the
senate committee On reclamation of arid
lands, which Is 10 visit this territory late IN
August or early In September, and Df which
senator Stewart, of Nevada, Is the chair
man. The questions as formulated by the
Utah executive are as follows
l. The location of all streams, rivers and
On maps, sketches OF iracings. prepared on
scale of two inches To the mile.
p List OF canals and bitches, giving as
nearly complete as possible:
a. Name of canal OF ditch
b. Name of owners OF officers and their
+. %. address.
c. Date when built OF first in use.
q. Streams from which the water is di-
verted.
c. Number of acres irrigated, and OF cul-
tiyated land.
(. Number of acres Of good land so 10
Gated that they could be irrigated by an
increase of the water supply in the canals
or bitches now constructed
<. Number OF acres that could be irTi-
gated by new dItches OF canals, and new
reservoirs.
h. The available sites for reservoirs, either
in the valley OF mountains, and the probable
size OF such reservoirs.
In addition 10 the above you are request
ed 10 reply To the following questions:
l. What Is the average depth of snow in
your mountains during the winter
2 When does the Irrigation season begin
and end in each valley
3 What Is The elevation of each valley
above the sea-
l. How muca water in miners inches OF
In cubic feet per second nows through each
stream in your county at the point where il
can be used for irrigation during the irTlga-
ton season?
5. How much water could be stored in
year,
q. How much water is required in each
valley or locality 10 irr1gate an acre OF
sandy soil for each crop (small grain,
grass, root crops. corn, orchards, etc,
etc.?
:. How much water is required TO irri-
gate an acre of clayey OF alkaline soil in
each valley or locality for each crop as
mentioned above2
s. How often, and how long at each time.
is the land irrigated?
3. How many acres OF crops have been
lost this year from lack OF water
III the above information could be SUD-
plemented by brief abstract from the
county records of the water rights that
have been recorded II would be of special
interest to the committee, and would give
them reliable data showing the extent of
the appropriation of the water supply.
The abstract should show:
a. The date of record.
b. Name of claimant or grantee
c. The amount OF water claimed, appro-
priated and adjudieated-
d. Nature OF claim, and whether first,
second or third right.
In commenting upon the foregoing list of
queries the Salt Lake Tribune said: cit
tzens should help gather this data and all
other data bearing upon the question of
water supply and Irrigation, for compila-
ton by the judges. The subject is most
important, and the committee that Is cOn-
ing here will be composed Of engineers OF
the geological survey and some of the fore
most members OF the | nited States senate
The data bearing upon the subject in our
territory should be reduced 10 system
and tabulAted, so that IL can readily be IN
derstoOd and the whole territory-fgura-
lively speaking-be displayed at a glance" "
ONLY TIDINGS.