The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-11-29

Mr.. Perrine received $500 for the
product of an eighty-five acre orchard
last year. and got $50 tons of alfalfa
from a twenty-five acre field. The soil
is a silt mixed with decomposed lava,
which is especially well suited to fruit
and grain. From five to 200 feet below
the surface is a solid underlying stra-
tum of lava.
Mr.. Perrine first saw the POSSIBLE
| ties of the power and of the land
reclamation in this vicinity. He inter-
ested Colonel Miner, a. X. Steunen-
| berg, Brother of Ex-Governor Frank
Steunenberg of Idaho, and j. H. Low
ell of Roswell, Ida, who also became
largely interested. The work on the
first survey was begun in 1893. Three
years ago the Twin Falls Land & Wa
| ter company was organized with cap
ital of 500, 900, divided into 81 shares,
and an agreement was reached with the
state land board of Idaho to reclaim
this vast tract of land under the Carey
act.
The actual commencement of the
work dragged for several reasons. Last
July Colonel Miner bought out some of
the shareholders, giving him So, 800
shares, Mr.. Perrine 10000 shares and
Frank Knox 100 shares. The details
Of the plans for financing the project
nave not been worked out, but most
of the money will be raised by bond
issue.
Will Bring High Price.
It is expected that some of the land
! will bring as high as $25 an acre as
soon as the water is brought to it, and
that it viii sell at a much higher fig
ure as soon as it is brought under Gull
tivation.
The big dam will be constructed
twenty-three miles above ShoshOne
iu to
three dams will be built, for two lofty
islands divide the river into three
streams at this place, and these two
Islands viii be Joined with each other
and with the main land by artificial
bulwarks against the water. The river
is 1915 feet wide at this point The
dams will be fifty-four feet high, and
will raise the level of the river thirty
eight feet There will be a spillway
provided at one side, so that the wa
ter, even in fioOdtime. will never pour
over the top of the dam.
Both canals will leave the river at
this point. Together they will furnish
3.40O cubic feet of water per second.
of which 5000 feet is intended for the
land and 400 feet for the towns. The
larger of the canals which will supply
the land TO the south Of the river
will be eighty feet wide at the bottom
and 40 feet wide at the top, carry
ihS d CONSTANT HOW OF ten IeeL or wa
ter
How Land Was Secured.
Under the provisions of the Carey
act the the state of Idaho acquires the
land from the netionaI government and
sells it to the irrigation company. The
company agrees to put in the neces-
sary irrigation works to furnish water
to the land and to sell it to settlers
at a fixed price in tracts not exceed
ing $50 acres each
The two townsites and the water
power will be handled apart from the
I irrigation scheme. There will be town
at the dam named Miner, but it is ex-
pected that the principal town will be
the one called Twin Falls and located
between the natural Twin falls and
ShCshOne falls, a little higher up the
! river. This will be the terminus of
, the projected railroad. The water
power Will be developed on an immense
scale and transmitted electrically
When the canal is under way a vast
amount of money viii be spent in adj
vertising the land in the east and in
bringing settlers to locate there. 1t
is expected that through this agency
alone thousands of people will be added
to the population and millions Of dol
lars to the wealth of Idaho. and the
entire country Will be tributary to
Salt Lake.