Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-07


sattion is already established at the
mouth of the Swan river. To get at
the amount of water passing through
these riveis requires time. and cons.d-
cradle work OF the most careful nature.
It also becomes necessary to know
how much water passes on. of the lake
through the Pend dOreilla river. thus
getting at the possible amount that evap.
ora ties. which must be constdera BILE, by
making proper estimates of the water
coming through the creeks and adding
this to that of the rivers. then compar-
ing with the water passing through the
river at the outlet.
This nhAasuren1tt can only be done
by stlihsfng a cable across the river at
Poison. where ii is narrow, and measur-
ing from a car fastened to the cable.
This viii entail seine eNpense. but is the
only way it can ta done, as there are
no bridges across this river. and all along
the current is swift ana strong, and the
river is difficult TO work in.
furthst4nore, to get at the amount Of
water that must be cared for in WIDEN
ing the outlet it is necessary to keep
an accurate record of the height of wa
ter IN the lake during the entire year,
know how nigh it GETS above low-water
mark. and the times Of greatest height
sun further, there is necessity for a map
OF tAe lake. that the, surface may be de-
tefmlHed. 50 that given rise in depth
may be estimated in cutie feet, and
from the flow at the outlet. having given
the dapuh. width AMI current. the time
necessary to carry off this water may be
determined.
As beginning 70. this work. Mr.. r.
RI. Chapman, of the United States geo.
logical survey. this summer established
TWO points on the banks of the lake Wis
ible from almost any place, that is one
or the the other OF the points may be
seen from any place on the lake. One OF
these points is established near Dayton
pcstotilce, the other nsar Poison post
office.
1t will thus be seen that the proh-
lem is large. There is no desire to lower
the surface of the lake and thus de-
crease it in size. which could readily be
done. Last summer | Went over the en-
tire southern end in our launch, ana es-
dihated that to lower the lake five or
SIN Ieet would uncover many thousands
of acres of land. To decrease the size
OF the lake would be to lessen the evan
Grafton. This the people of the region
tunately situated owing to the prOx-
unity Of this and other smaller lakes
that irrigation is not necessary. The
rainfall of the region is something over
80 inches. as compared with l6 or II at
Missou!a annually.
BY knowing the surface of the lake
its annual rise and fall, the width of the
outlet the current in the lake. the cur
rent at the outlet. and the depth also at
the outlet, 1t then becomes possible to
state whether widening the lake is pos
slbie, and how wide ii must be made
to carry off the water. This also will
give an idea of the amount of material
to be displaced. and the approximate
cost. hence the appropriation necessary.
If this seems preposterous let il be so,
bat to the writer it seems the only way
of getting al the question.
Now it does seem strange that with
all the cry of waste of water in Mon
tana there is a section of the state
that has too much water. ana wants
TO get rid of it. And the amount 10 BE-
gotten rid of is no small item. either
Moreover, owing to the rainfall of the
region. there does not seem 10 he the
demand for the water for irrigation for
they do not irr3ate, and do not need
the water.
The readings at the lower end of the
lake have been made since April 20 of
| the present year. At that time the
| gauge was established, and has been
read every day since. generally twice a
) day. At the time of the establishment
OF the gauge the height of the water
was So feet. This does not mean this
high above anything, as the gauge is set
an arbitrary point, and all that is de-
sired is to note the fluctuation of the
/ water The particular thing to be Sc
! cured is TO put the gauge at depth
50 that 1t will never be out of water,
!, even at the lowest. or have the water
! above it at the highest.
! on the afternoon of May . the lake
reached the high water mark, regis