Rocky Ford enterprise., 1899-05-25
MoMrANA.s BIO DITCH.

Isrssasses sysssn which Il - Ne Dsns
Usass state sspssvasssa.
The arid land grant commIssion Of
Montana, In addition to work already
carried forward In different parts OF
the state. II preparing for the immedi-
afo construction Of large canal sys-
tem In Carbon county. In the valley Of
the Clarke's Fork river. and IL desir.
ossn OF forming colony upon the lands
to be irrigated from II. This valley 10
In the extreme southern portion Of the
state. lts typographical and cllmatical
tical with those OF the famous Gallatin
valley, and It embraces q large tract
Of land. which. with irrigation, may
not only be rendered available for agri-
cultural purposes. but will rank among
the most fertile lands Of the north
west. Those best acquainted with this
locality pronounce It especially desir-
able for farming, ~ the blnds are the
choicest In the state. and the water
supply. once directed upon them,
would be abundant and permanent. A
tract Of about 10000 acres L. to be h
rigated by the new canal and Of this
tract Il II estimated that there II now
enough. unoccupied land to furnish
lies: OF II smaller farms are desired, .
greater number could be accommo-
dated. for. n remarked by one Of ths'
leading members Of the commission,
eighty acres utilised to the best adj
vantage will equal In net proits 100
acres farmed with hired labor"
TIE lands selected by the commission
formerly were part<of the old Grow
Indian reservation, and though at pres
ent unsurveyed and therefore not sub
ject to formal entry, they are open to
settlement and possession can be had
At any tine.4
A ready market for the product Of
these farms Il assured from the fact
that Carbon county 10 rapidly becom-
ing one OF the large mineral producern
OF Montana. Hsr coal mines already
rank among the most extensive In the
state and gold and copper mines are
being developed rapidly. By far the
larger part Of the county consists OF
mineral land, with the result that lands
available for agriculture will be limited
In extent, 70 that the demand for farm
products may exceed the supply. A
Touring mill at Bridger and . brewery
at Billines-both in process Of erection
will furnish 4 market for wheat and
barley. r;s;
= In. order to hasten the colonization Of
thia district and the npporti0nment OF
the land among thrifty settlerA the
commission now proposes to employ
thoee settling upon these In the con-
stfuction Of the new canal system. By
this method. II a sufficient number OF
settlers will join the colony to build
this water system. the employment Of
outside labor will be avoided and the
sofflern viii f,e aided In securing and
improving their homes at the least pos
sible cost to themselves and without
profit to any outsider for construction.
The plan proposed by the commission
IL for each farmer or purchaser Of a
water right under this system to be
given a section Of the canal to build,
under state supervision and direction.
the title to the system to remain vested
In the state. For this labor he will be
paid by the state at a certain hxed
rate. in warrants which the stnte in
turn will accept In payment for perpet-
ual water rights. Arrangements have
also been made with the merchants OF
neighboring towns whereby these war
rants will be accepted In payment for
merchandise II the settler 30 desires. :
Surveyors already are on the ground
taking the required surveys for this
Irrigation system. Construction VIII
begin early in June and 1t will be push
ed forward to completion as rapidly as
possible. The commissioners hope that
by that time the lnnd will be taken, ap
piIcations for water rights filed and
the settlers. with their teams be ready
TO assume their part in the work.
Chicago Record. n
-ss.~ ~ shn rurrov eyptem.