, 1892-03-20
IN AND ABOUT DOUGLAS
A Town Whose Enterprising People
Are Looking into the Future.
Preparations on Foot For the Re-
cIamatiOn of Much Land.
Ditch Companies Organized and
What They Propose to Do.
Public Spirit in the Town as Mani
tested in Public Enterprises.

STAFF Correspondence.
DOUGLAS, Wyo., March 15.-Douglas,
though not now q lively town, is a town
in which the business men are solvent and
building on a solid foundation. The
trade in the past has been from cattlemen,
freighters and small ranchmen, but the
future OF this place depends on the set
Element and cultivation of the rich agri-
cultural lands in this immediate vicinity.
In that respect there is no difference OF
opinion. The lands are here, the water
to make them productive Is here, and the
all important capital to put the water on
the land will be here. 1t is only a matter
OF tune. Land in this vicinity has pro-
duced as high as eighty bushels of wheat
to the acre and thirty.five or forty bushels
is not an uncommon yield. All kinds
of vegetables yield largely. and of
this rich land there are
300, 900 ACRES
Within thirty miles of Douglas. The
Platte river furnishes abundance of water
Tor irrigation and when this vast tract
shall have been watered and settled upon
if in eighty-acre farms 1t will support d.
rectly and indirectly a popnlati m of at
least 10000.
HOW IT WILL BE DONE.
Aud here is tue way the Douglas pso
PIE propos" t. do H.: They :avor cediDg
the arid lands to the state with certain re-
strIctinns These restrictions are that no
mao shall receive from the state more
than eighty acres Of lad and he must he
an actual settler on the land. Capitalists,
of course. mu,t build the bitches and sell
the water t. the farmer. Two large
bitches have rlready been Incorporated
and the
DUG $ N NORTH PLATTE
Ditch campauv proposes to do this: They
will enter into an agreement with the set
tier Whereby the latter pays 50 per acre
for water each year for ten years and at
the end of that lime receive a clear title
to his water right. As such water right
is worth SIS per acre the settler would
have paid IS rental for ten years. The
incorporators of this company, which is a
stock company, are John Storrie, DR.. j..
M. Wilson. W. F. Hamilton and F. Fl.
Harvey, all of Douglas. The ditch has
been surveyed and estimates made for the
first $4,000 acres it will cover amount to
Sl20, 900. By extending the ditch 40, 900
acres can be irrigated. A letter recently
received from the east states that capital
lists Will probably be interested IN this
ditch and work begin this month. These
$4,000 acres are rich bottom land living
along the river on both sides and from
two to five miles from Douglas. The
ditch will leave the Platte about SIX miles
below Glenrock and eight miles above
Douglas. One branch will pass under
the river. OF the $4,000 acres about 5000
lie north and 5000 south OF the river. The
Fetterman reservation is included. The
cost of the ditch will be
Two MILLION DOLLARS.
The biggest undertaking In the way OF
ditch building will be that of the high
land ditch which will leave the North
Platte river near Bessemer and passing
north of Casper will run along the di-
vide north of Douglas at a point some
twelve or fifteen miles out and cover an
almost unlimited amount of land. The
lncorporators of this ditch are DeForest
Richards of Douglas, Geo. w. Baxter of
Cheyenne and others.
1t will be plainly seen hat with 80
much good farming land and plenty of
water for irrigation, Converse county is