The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1895-04-27
PERFORATED WITH WELLS
Brnle County, South Dakota, Be,
lieves in Irrigation.
An Interview With Hon. John II. Bald,
win, state Engineer of Irrigation
Some of the spouters That
Are Death to Drought.

Huron. s. D., April 2O.-While in the city
a day or two ago, Hon. John II. Baldwin.
state engineer of irrigation, talked encour-
agingly of that subject. He is making a
tour of the state examining wells. giving
instructions as to their management and
| locating new wells. Mr.. Baldwin had just
returned from Brule county and gives a
, good report of irrigation there. The coun-
! ty, through Its board of commissioners.
has taken hold of artesian well work I'M
der the law of 1889. whereby the county
pays 10 per cen of the expense, the town.
ship in which the well Is located pays Is
, per cent and the lands directly benefited
pay the balance-65 per cent. according
to relative benefits. This is levied by as
sessment against the land and paid as
other taxes. In 1880 the county commits
s!oners purchased two we'll drilling outfits
and began business. II was thought that
men could be hired to operate the ma
chimes and not give out the work by con-
tract, thus making the cost TO the county
much less. But this plan was not salts
factory SO the commissioners let contracts
and as a result there are now in Brule
county-completed or in course of con-
struction-nineteen artesian wells, all for
Irrigation purposes. Besides these are two
wells in Chamberlain. one In kimball, and
two private wells in the southwest part of
! the county. The wells average six inches
in diameter and 1000 feet In depth. and
much money has been expended in their
construction.
The law under which the work Is being
done requires the county to issue war;
rants covering all expenses, and these war;
rants are to be paid out of moneys as
sessed and collected as taxes against
lands benefited. Warrants issued up to
this time, in round numbers. will aggre-
gate about $4,000. No trouble has been
experienced thus far in collecting the ak.
and up to the list of April something like
$S7 1000 had been paid in. A remarkable
fact connected with the whole matter is
that nominally no litigation has grown
out OF the p%lan-only $3.50 has been paid
out for having" and this was not because
of a desire to interrupt the work, but be-
| cause of a disagreement in the location Of
a we'll.
The count wells referred to are nearly
all completed and the water is utilized for
stock and irrigating farms in their re-
spective localities. bitches, constructed
for the purpose, carry the water to de-
sired points; these bitches vary, but the
average Is about thirteen miles of ditch
ing to each well-a few nave eighteen
miles. Up to last year the water as mostly
used for stock, but since then irrigation
has been in progress quite extensively,
and is being greatly enlarged the present
season. Near Grand View, where there is
an eight inch well. l,225 feet deep and hav-
ing an immense flow, half q dozen or more
farmers will irrigate from twenty to thirty
acres each with water from this we'll; 1t
Is located about ten miles southeast of Al
eXandria. Claus Arp, who lives near by,
is a believer in irrigation and was quite
successful in that line last year. He is
now putting down IN eight inch we'll. has
purchased $50 acres adjoining his home
farm and proposes to engage In farming
OH an extensive scale by ~irrigating. Hen
ry Wilirodt is another enthusiastic irrl-
gator and has a fi,e well on his farm. lie,
Hike others in the same locality, is Il prac-
tical farmer; they work hard, attend to
business and have no time to sit on store
boxes, white and talk politics.
Mr.. Baldwin is much pleased with what
he saw and learned in Brule county. and
will soon visit other counties In the dis
charge of his duties.