, 1896-03-13

ltHSIn Ol l,0uu miles. 10 say nOtnlnS OF
the small supply bitches. which will be
so or. at most, 100 feet apart. according
to the nature of the ground. over all
the territory covered by the service.
In the initial construction the main
ditch is made eight feet deep and 25
feet wild on the bottom, but it is in
tended eventually to enlarge this to a
depth of 10 feet and a bottom width Of
60 feet, giving a canal that can be used
for transportation. The river must be
crossed and recrossed by huge fumes.
and there are long stretches of what
are known as bad lands" where the
parched earth has cracked of unknown
depth, across which the ditch must be
a timber conduit and not a mere eX-
view of all the requirements. it hardly
seems that the estimated cost, 81, 00O.-
900. has been put sufficiently high.
The State of Wyoming offers for sale
the reclaimed lands of the Big Horn
basin at 80 cents an acre, with certain
restrictions. To prevent English syn
dicates and other spectators from get
ting possession of large tracts and
holding them, u~nimproved, to await
an increase in their value through the
development of adjacent lands by the
efforts of actual settlers. the amount
of land that will be sold to one person
| L,- In.r ,friII,- ,n.tr;,4,l 81, Itn ,,.,,
No title will be given until the intend
ing purchaser can show n certificate of
contract with the irrigation company
for the permanent supply of water to
his land. The state has fixed the out
side limit of charge for a perpetual
supply of water at SIS an acre, but the
company. with a view to encouraging
settlers, has established the much
more liberal figure of $40 an acre for
the irrigation of farming lands. and ar
ranged that this may be paid in install
ments, covering a term of years. This,
It must be clearly understood, is not an
annual charge, but the total cost, for
all time to come, as long as there shall
be any Big Horn basin and anybody to
do farming in it. A total outlay of
sl,6SO VIII put "A man in possession OF
haif a square mile OF goou armin
land where he VIII be permanently Sc
cured against those caprlces OF the
weather which constantly threaten the
farmers whose unhappy lot 1t Is not to
=
i've IN an ard state.
lHE NoRh NDE WAY.
operations on the line OF the main
ditch were begun IN september last,
under the engineering directions of E..
Hayden ana u. NanderVeldt. one hun
dred II hve men were employed,
working from three camps, and by the
time winter set IN the flrst section, u
miles IN length. had been finished. In
some respects thls was the hardest
part OF the work. 1t was high up in the
nils, where the soil, instead OF being
SOU alluVlal deposit. as II IS below, Is
covered ana hlled with powders.
Large plonghs, each drawn by eight
mules, were employed to break up this
compact mass OF obstacles. and the
labor involved was exceedingly severe.
AL the lower end OF the first section
the diverted stream Is dropped sheer
down a depth OF ITO feet-the first OF
several such plunges-to what may
properly be regarded as the head OF the
irrigation system. From this point on
the main ditch Will have a fall of 30
ihches TO the miie-eXcept where the
DIG drops occur-and for the purpose
OF eHpedltins It's completion, the work
Oh construction VIII be given out, in 70
mile sections TO contractors, but undo
lhe constant supervision OF the COM
panys engineers. Exceptionally diff
cult portions, such as the crossing OF
the DAD lahds ana serious engineer
ing problems, like the carrying OF the
dltch over great ravlnes n across the
Shoshone river, VIII be handled by the
companys own engineers and not in
trusted to contractors, as efficiency
ana permanence are deemed more i'm
portant considerations than cost or
haste. II Is promised that by the first
OF June the state VIII have 25.O0O acres
OF fertile irrigated land in the Big