Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1895-04-27
PERFORATED WITH Wells
BrHIe County, South Dakota, Be-
lieves in irrigation.
An Interview with Hon. John H. Baid'
win, state Engineer of Irrigation
Some of the spouters That
Are Death to Drought.

Huron, S. D., April 90.-While in the city
a day or two ago, Hon. John IL. BALDWIN,
state engineer of irrigation, talked encour-
agingly of hat subject. lie is making a
tour of the state examining wells, giving
instructions as to their management ana
locating new wells. Mr.. Baldwin had JUST
returned from Brule county and gives a
good report OF irrigation there. the coun-
~. through it's board Of commissioners
has taken hold of artesian well work I'M
der the law of 1889, whereby the county
pays 10 per cent of the expense, the town
shin in which the well is located pays %
per cent and the lands directly benehted
pay the balance-6j per cent, according
| 10 relative benefits. This is levied by as
sessment against the land and PAID as
other taxes. In 1890 the county comnls-
sioners purchased two well drilling outhts
and began business. 1t 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 Brute
eounty-completed or In course OF con-
struction-nineteen artesian wells, all lof
irrigation purposes. Besides these are TWO
wells I'm Chamberlain, one in Kimball, and
| TWO private NtllS III NlS 30 W
the county. The wells average six inches
u 1.d d!a ne g and loo teei IN uep'n' anu
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-
a.. 70 ainnt SSn nl0 No t.Attlla hoe Ia,t,
experienced thus far in collecting the tax,
and up to the LIST of April something like
$4,000 had been paid In. A remarkable
fact connected with the whole matter Is
that nominally no litigation has grown
out Of the plan-only $685. 40 has been paid
out for having and this was not because
of a desire 10 interrupt the work, but be-
cause of a disagreement in the location Of
a well.
The county 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 10 de-
sired points; these bitches vary, but the
average is about thirteen miles Of ditch
ing to each well-a few have eighteen
miles. Up to last year the water as mostly
used for stock, but since then irrigation
lldS llffli III DIoSIfSS Illit tNltllSINf ely.
and is being greatly enlarged the present
season. Near Grand View, whore there is
an eight inch well, 1,225 feet deep and hav-
ing an immense flow, half = dozen or more
farmers will irrigate from twenty 10 thirty
acres each with water from this well. 1t
is located about ten miles southeast of AL
eXandria. Claus Arp, who lives near by,
is a believer i'm irrigation and was quite
successful in that line last year. He is
now putting down an eight inch well, has
purchased 1870 acres adjoining his home
farm and proposes to engage I'm farming
on an extensive scale by irrigating. Hen
ry Wilirodt is another enthusiastic irri-
gator and has a fine we'll on his farm. He,
like others i'm the same locality, is "A prac-
teal 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.