The Bessemer indicator., 1894-03-03
STATE CANAL NO. !.
statsns Of worn Already Dose - shs
Big Ditch.

Big Ditch.
As public attention is being drawn
to State Canal No. by the action OF
the state legislature, the following
facts concerning it may be Of interest.
They are taken from the Irrigation
Age.
The builaing Of the State canal by
convict labor in Colorado is several
kinds Of an experiment. 1t is an cx-
pertinent in the use Of convicts, in the
disposal of public lands, in the policy
Of public management OF irri-
CATION works. The work was
authorized by an act of the legislature
Of 1889, but only 81, $50 was realized
from the appropriation Of that year.
The act, however, enabled the board
to receive subscriptions in cash from
persons interested, and to issue Z per
cent scrip, payable, both interest and
principal in water from the canal. In
this manner enough money was raised
to carry on the work with a moderate
force until the Eighth General Assem-
bly, appropriated $50, 900 to continue
the work
The location of the headgate was
decided upon by Hon. James p. Max
we'll, then State engineer, in June,
1889, and is on the south side OF the
Arkansas river, in the Grand canon,
about 1000 feet below the swinging
bridge, or about three and one-half
miles above the mouth of the canon.
This was Immediately followed by the
preliminary surveys under the person
al supervision of Mr.. John s. Titcomb,
then deputy state engineer, and occu-
pied considerable portion Of the sea-
son of 1889. Work was then com
menced on tunnel $50 feet in length
through the "Prison Hogback," that
being the first portion definitely locat,
ed because Of convenience for working
the convicts.
The canal, as located, will irrigatc
about 1000 acres of the open park
Immediately northeast of Canon City.
will cross Eight Mile and Brush
creeks, each at about four miles, Bea-
yer creek at about four and one-half
miles, and Turkey creek at about six
miles from the Arkansas, and will
strike the Fontaine Qui Bouille
about two miles above Wigwam station
on the Denver and Rio Grando rail
road, or about 20 miles north Of Pueb-
10. The final total length will be about
So miles.
The dimensions Of the canal will be.
From the head to about the mouth of
the Grand Canon, the width 12 feet,
depth I feet, with grade Of about
BIS feet per mile. Outside the canon
the width is ID feet, depth 8 feet and
grade l.76 feet per mile. This will
again be changed to width Of % feet,
depth 6 feet, with same grade. The
carrying capacity is estimated at COS
cubic feet per second and is calculated
to irrigate over 20, 900 acres of land.
The Ninth General Assembly made by
Senate bill No. 81 an appropriation Of
$40, 900 to further continue the work,
and it is now being pushed as rapidly
as possible
The amount Of work done since the
commencement up to and including
May, 1893, is as follows;
Clearing and grubbing, 5G.92 acres;
boulders removed from surface, 3,
l244 cubic yards; excavation, earth
work of all classes, 176,9 ,9O9 cubic
yards; excavation, rock work, IL, 11G6;
total, 1877, ,039.
This. at fair contract prices ranging
from l8 cents to IS per yard for exca-
vation, and $25 per acre for clearing,
would have cost $175, 730 80, but has
actually cost by using convict labor
only $40, S43.02. The work so far ac-
complished on the canal has been of a
very difficult character, there being a
great many heavy cuts, some being as
deep as G2 feet, and the soil being Of
such a nsture that three quarters Of it
had to oe blasted to move. This, Of
course, increases the cost, and at the
same time makes the work necessarily
very slow. In all there has been
about three and one-half miles OF
ditch and fume bed built and 1,16O
feet Of tunnels, one $50 feet long
through a limestone and shale forma.
tion, and one 4l0 feet long through
solid red granite.
1t is impossible to fix the date for
the completion of the work, but it is
far better to have delay now than after
crops have been planted. To avoid
injury to prior appropriations a rescr-
voir will be built at Twin Lakes, and
water supplied from this source to
bitches further down stream, when
necessary.
The lands reclaimed by State Canal
No. ] are capable of large and varied
production, not only of ordinary farm
nrnpu hut ~ fr,,;t 30 u.II