Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-08-29

Comparison Between Irrigated
Crops and Those Left to Jupiter
Pluvius.
Redheid. 3. D., Special Correspondence,
Aug. l0.-"oh, / tell ysu the irrigation cry
that 70 being raised now 10 q very different
thing from the Irrigation cry OF 1871. That
was the cry Of the capitalists, but now the
farmers themselves have taken hold Of 1t
and they will make II GO
8. w. Bowman, who In 1878 turned the
FIRST sod In Sphinx county, Of which Red
Geld Is the county seat, gave this reply TO
the question as to whether Dakota had
done any practical irrigation after the first
failure of the crops. He then explained
how irrigation for South Dakota had been
90 much talked OF In the newspapers In
lso0-91, and how little more than nswspa-
per irrigation had been done. In 1878 he
was the solitary settler In what In now
SPHINX county, considerably west Of Huron,
but In that year and the following a mum
Der Of settlers came into the east part or
tho territory, about Brookings. and when
tie first great crop appeared In 1851 the
South Dakota boom began, and kept up
for about seven years. From 1881 till 1856
there were immense crops; from 1856 till
1901 the crops were a comparative fsllure;
In 1892 South Dakota had the greatest
crop of its history; in 1898 and 1874 there
was nothing but failure all over the state,
ana in 1895 there are heavy crops In the
northern and southern portions Of the state.
but the center is a failure. The counties
Of Beadle, Sphinx, Falk, Hand, CQdrington.
Clark, Miner and Aurora, embracing a belt
Of about a hundred square miles, have this
year suffered greatly from drouth. In tine
late SOS spectators who had sunk capltai
there began to agitate irrigation, but those
who mad the best interests OF the state AT
heart, including the farmers, disapprcved
Of irrigation being spoken Of, because they
feared II would be fatal to the Incoming of
more settlers. Those who were thus most
interested refused to have anything to DO
with the project, still hoping against hope
that the seasons might prove such as 10
render irrigation unnecessary.
Pioneer IrrigationiSt.
8. II. Riggs of Redfeld Is the one man In
the state who from 1885 till now has been
Begging away by word and deed at tho
question OF Irrigation and has now demon
strsted. In myriad bushels OF wheat in
SPHINX county, not only that Irrigation Is
Immensely profitable for one crop but that
irrigation done four years ago can, in the
midst Of barrenness around. produce a
marvellous crop. In February, 1887, Mr.
Riggs, who is an ordinary farmer, but pos
sessed of strong intelligence behind bis
flashing gray eyes, called at Redfeld the
nrst farmers institute. None but local
farmers were invited and asked to read
papers on the agricultural subjects that
concerned Dakota most. Mr.. Riggs took
up the subject Of irrigation himself and
argued that the great crops which the ter
ritory had enjoyed from 1891 till 1886 were
all the result Of the phenomenal snow
storm Of the winter OF 1882. when there
fell over the prairies a level depth of four
feet OF snow, and when, at Huron, the
snow drifts completely covered the tele-
graph poles. His argument was that such
smother snow storm occurring with any
degree Of regularity was an unlikely thing,
and II the moisture from that snow
storm had given good results for
four years was it problematical that
irrig II well done once a year at
most, would produce like results? The
whole institute was against Mr.. Riggs, and
real estate men openly expressed their wish
that he could be got out OF the country.
He pushed his theory, however, so that
a paper was drawn up and signed by the
farmers requesting Col. Foster. the mem
Der for the legislature of the territory. to
bring In a bill defining the laws Of irrlga-
fion. In 1888 a bill was framed and passed
by the legislature defining mems rights
under the irrigation of land. This law
was not repealed when Dakota was taken
into the Union, but was merged In the more
comprehensive Melville law some years
later. The Melville law included the chief
features of the Wright irrigation Jaw Of
California, which stipulated that a certain
number Of counties should form a district
and that the district should ne bonded for
Irrigation purposes. Under the Malyill.
law townships took the place Of counties in
the Wright law, so that they might work
Independently. A difficulty was imsedi.
ately met with In the constitution OF the
state. in which 1t Is enacted that no coun.
&C. taurnghfn Ar ,,.I.t,atE ia -LnrI H. -
sessed TO a greater extent than Ave per
cent of its assessed valuation for public
i'm provements. Beadle, Sphinx and other
counties, by vote Of the townships. under
the Melville law put down n few ~artesian
wells, from which 1t was found that thea
was an abundant supply Of artesian water
all over for irrigation purposes. but the
assessment being limited 10 Eve per cent
It was found that In some townships.
where the assessed valuation was low. Lot
more than one or two wells. at most, could
be put In with the bond money. and, os
this was entirely insufficient to ~lrrigate the
whole township, the farmers who believed
that they would have no chance OF sharing
In the benefits Of the wells, refused 20 vote
the bonds and the matter dropped.
Wants the Limit Removed.
Last legislature again took up the sub
feet Of irrigation and passed a bill to ex-
teuu Iue iiiult VI aSstSS"rnt 10 ID pST Crul.
Mr.. Riggs is strongly of the opinion that
the limit should be entirely renewed: that
tho people OF the townships and counties
understand their local affairs better than
the legislature. and are not under the ne,
cessity Of having guardians to dict9te TO
them the amount Of money to be spent on
their wells. He believes that II all state
restrictions were removed wells would go
On more speedily than they will In present
circumstances, and that there will be a bill
brought before the legislature next year
to have them wholly removed. On a farm
at frankfort, a village ten mics north Of
Rsdheld. Mr.. Riggs made his first practical
experiments In irrigation. That farm this
year Is the cynosure OF al eyes. Farmers
and men interested otherwise In land are
hscking daily to see the huge crops which
are now in shock and which stand out In
bold contrast with the surrounding farms,
which have not produced more than from
two to four bushels an acre. The farm was
visited the other day by a number OF
Northwestern Railway officials, and II IL
hoped that something important will accrue
from the visit Of these officials.
How have the experiments turned out?"
Mr.. Riggs was asked.
'tThey are no longer experiments; they
are results now. and these results have
been to the farmers around the most con-
yincIns argument that could be offered"
He began irrigation at Frankfort I'm $500,
and carried II on In 1891 and 1892. He left
J-rauEforf and ma 70 RadNaId L. 1000