The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1896-07-18
BruIe County's Artesian Wells.
rl,c Greatest IN the word.

The Greatest 1zi the World.
The artcsan wells of Brue county are tho
greatest within given district in the world
greatest in size Of bore greatest i'll pressure aud
greatcstin in volume of water They are the
wonder of even the wonderful West and are at
tracing SO much attention all over the country
that brief description of them seems appropos
at this time.
In early The days OF kimba)i an adequate water
supply for The tcwn a serious problem.
Chamberlain-ut at the west end of the county
constructed u system of watcr.works by erecting
II pumping plant on the bank Of the Missouri
and forcing the water to a reservoir upon the
bluffs above the town. As a last resort KimLali
decided tu try for artcsian we'll. This was
ten year ago. At that time there were outside
of Yanlitun ccunty less than half dozen artc-
sian wells in the state, ard situated Kimball
is upon the highest point between the Missouri
and the jim river, grave doubts were expressed
of ever striking IL flow. But the we'll was 4 uc-
cess, water mains and tirc hydrants we're put in
and a complete system of waterworks con-
structed at cost of less than $1,000. The cx-
years has been practically nothing and the re-
pairs on the well have not exceeded $780, In the
course of a few years Chamberlain abandoned
its expensive pumping plant and also sunk an
artesian well, and which has ever since fur
| nished the town with an abundant supply of
pure water.
From these initial efforts sprang desire for Il
greater water supply all over tho county other
than thnt from tbs. ordinary furr yvrl1 With
an abundance Of the most nutritious grasses
known. climate unsurpassed, all il lacked was
| running streams to make it an ideal stock
| county and where the business could be engaged
in on az extensive scale. Under the operations
of II state law The county began the construction.
| of township artesiai; wells-the township pay
, ing one-fourth the cost, the county one-tenth
| and individual holdings the remainder, by
special assessment in proportion to benefit re-
ceived, in five annual payments. Twenty of
these wells have already been constructed, and
their magnitude will be more readily under
| stood when it is stated that nearly everyone of
| them is capable of fcrcnE water through fifteen
| miles of bitches, the bitches being about the
| size of ordinary meadow brooks. Tho county
| now has over 300 miles of running streams, IN
| addition to tho Missouri on the border. No
| county in Iowa and Illinois is SO well supplied
with running water. Tie water from the ills
| is of high temperature. varying flom 70 to S.
degrees aud as pure as spring water, without its
chilling effect. In addition to the running
| streams, large lakes are frequent, the one in
kimball covering % acres and afTording boating
| and fishing in the GUNNER, skating in the winter
AMI from which is gathered an abundance of
| the purcst ice.
| Curing the past two years irrigation expert
men;s on a small scale have been made by indi-
| vidual farmers tapping the streams from the
| township wells aud with such wonderful success
| that private wells arc now gong down all over
| the county. few were put down last year and
nearly paid for themselves with one crop. BY
the time the planting season arrives in 1896 it is
safe to estimate that the county will hnve forty
| artesian wells all told, sending out millions of
gallons of water every twcnty-fcur hours. -Four
extensive irrigation plants will have been con-
structed-one has already been completed cost
ing from 5000 to $4,000 each, in addition to
other private plants on smaller scale. Over
| 10000 acres will be irrigated in 1896 from these
| private wells, and all of the wells except one or
two are six ard eight inches in diameter and
| flow from so to 60 barrels minute.
| 1t is u peculiar feature that in other part of
| the state or in the world, for that muter-are
| arteslan wells found of such uniform pressure
and volume IN Brule county. Wells which
| throw solid six or eight inch stream three feet
above the opening of the pipe are common. The
| county appears to be located over the very heart
/ OF the great artcsan basin. One of the wells
! recently put dawn in the county throws sn eight
| inch column of water twelve feet above the
| opening. During a test the stream was reduced
to two inches and the tremendous pressure Of
tho we'll threw stream of water 162 feet into
! tho air. The pressure of the we'll is 1Oi pounds
to the square inch and when controlled the well
developes so horse power Tho flow from this
spouter is 1850 gallons II minute or 1ia,%:i:
barrels eve-y "a hours.
Think cf il!
| The ar.csan wells in Brulc county vary ii
depth from $50 to 200 feet, but the average Ii
less than 1,OoD feet. They ara catered all ovcl
the county undit is now easy to estimate with
/ in a foot almost at what depth Cow will hs
struck. The wells range in cost from 81 ,0O0 tt
$1,000. depending upon size of bore. The cos
Is largly determined by the labor and cost o
fuel. Six inch wells capable of irrigating ca
acres of lard have been put down for $1,000,
Tho wonderful fertility OF prairie soil is
subject of discussion among all ngriculturalists
Tho soil of Brule county is not only the riches
known but very deep. The fact that the prairie
countries have dry climate is not mt all advers.
to spil fertility. 1t rather contributes to it,
strength. Light and warmth nrc great fertil
izers. Heavy and frequent rains are DESTRUCTIVE
to fertility because the chemical properties o
the soil that makes it productive are bleachet
out and washed away and unless renewed b!
/ fertilizers thesoil becomes sterile and unpro
/ ductive. Irrigation, however, docs not weaker
i tho sp;l Int STRENGTHENS it. n .Ja
Brn]e county has raised some magniicen
! crops Of corn, wheaf. oats. barley and vegetable
before artesinn wells were thought of. But th
advantage of having great volume of waite
ready for instant use in case Of inmergenc.
even in any country whrere the rainfall is con
slant and regular in normal years is too nppar
ant TO enlarge upon. The climate. soil, tb
grasses, the absence of ieop snow and the waite
supply makes stock farming and general farm
ing in Brule county possible on a greater seal
md Mt less nost than almost any spot on thi
continent Capitalists and visitors are FREQ il
stating that Brnle is destined to be the gardel
county Of the Northwest,