Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1903-07-01
PUTTING IN
THE FLUME
Th~Irty.Thres Carpenters now at Work
on Big Water Course Of New
Electric Light Company.
THE DITCH ALMOST COMPLETED
A Part Of the Machinery Has Arrived
In Great Falls and Is Now Being
Freighted to Lewistown.

In company with J. l.. Bright, the
Argus reporter went up the creek Sat.
urday afternoon to the big ditch which
will convey the water to furnish the
power for the new electric light plant
being installed by the Citizens Elec-
trio Light company.
Work was begun on the big ditch
about three months ago and has pro.
crossed steadily ever since, a force
of from twenty to thirty men having
been employed all Of the time. 1t vas
a big undertaking. as the ditch is ov-
err a mile in length, 6 to 5 feet deep
in places. and, for a large part OF the
way, blasted out of solid rock.
Almost 1000 feet of the water way
will be fumed, the fiume being twelve
feet wide and three feet deep. The
first part of the fume Is started 500
feet from the head OF the ditch and
extends 500 feet. Carpenters have
been at work on this part OF the flume
for the past ten days and are now go.
ing along at the rate OF 100 feet a
day.
w. H. Fellows, who is engineering
the laying of the fiume, stated to the
Argus that water would be running
through the first 800 feet by Saturday
next.
A 1900 foot ditch will carry the wa
ter from the end Of the first fiume
to the beginning OF the next and long.
est one, which will In turn carry the
water 5000 feed down the penstock.
Three hundred and fifty thousand feet
of lumber will be used in the con-
struction of the fiume, this being over
one-half OF the output Of the mill OF
Herbert Atchison. who is furnishing
the lumber. Superintendent Fellows
expects to have the ditch and fiume
completed by August 18th. At pres.
ent there are ten men working on the
fiume and eleven men or the ditch,
which Is being dug under the personal
SUPPLEMENTARY of Pat Walsh.
Some work has been done on the
foundation Of the power house. This
house will be built Of stone and be 30
x So feet in size. The stone work on
the plant proper will not begin later
than the 18th of July and probably
sooner.
One hundred and ten thousand
pounds of the machinery for the plant
are now in Great Falls and will be
freighted to this city within the next
few days. This is the smaller part Of
the plant, the remainder now being in
process of manufacture at different
large shops in the country. The gen
orator will be shipped from the fac,
tory some time from the LIST to the
It'll of July, and other shipments Of
machinery will be made along towards
the first Of the month.
Some idea of the large items con
nected with the erection of the plant
may be gained when II Is known thai
the wire alone will weigh 25,00(
pounds. The wire conducting the cur
rent from the power house into the
city limits will be bare copper No. s
The change from the old to the new
plant will be effected without even
momentary inconvenience to the pa
irons of the light company.
Manager Bright states that the new
plant will be In and ready for use BY
the 18th Of September. When finally
completed It will be able to furnish
power for all purposes In Lewistowr
for several years to come.