The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1903-09-12
IRRIGATION
IN NEVADA
Work Projected by Govern.
ment Discussed by L. II.
Taylor in Gazette

of the United States Geological work
in the eastern part of the state, has
furnished the Reno Gazette with the
following facts regarding the iriiga-
tion project in the Vicinity of Wads-
worth and the Carson sink:
The government canal system in the
vicinity of Wadsworth and the Carson
sink, of which the United States geo.
logical surveyors have just completed
the survey of the main canal between
the Truckee river, at point near
Wadsworth, and the Carson sink, a
distance of thirty-one miles. means
much to the future of Nevada.
The canal will irrigate something
like two hundred and forty thousand
acres of land in this district, but
as yet the limit of irrigatable land
has not been fixed and it is not known
to a certainty what will be included
and what will be out of reach of this
system.
The government land in this section
has all been withdrawn from entry
excepting under the Homestead act.
The United tates land office will at
present accept a filing for 100 acres
under this act, but any person so filing
does so at his own risk.
The secretary of the interior reserv-
es the right to cut such filings down
to forty acres if he sees fit to do so.
No assurance can be given as yet that
the lands taken up now can be given
water for irrigating purposes nor will
the T. S. G. S. be able to furnish such
assurance until the lateral canals have
been surveyed, located and classified.
This is a recent order of the secre-
tary of the interior, that all lands
commanded by the proposed irrigation
canal shall be classified and subdi-
vided into farms or homestead tracts,
each tract to include as near as may
be eighty acres of good irrigatable
land.
This work has Just been commenced
and will be completed some time this
coming winter.
After this work is done the secre-
tary will announce the lands open
for entry, naming the limit of entry.
the price to be paid for water and
the conditions which must be complied
with in order to secure title to land
and water.
1t will be possible to deliver water
to a small portion of this lanu as
early as the spring of 1905, but Tie
major part of it cannot be irrigated
for some time after that.
In taking up this land the settlers
will be required to comply strictly
with the requirements of the Home
stead law in regard to residence. At
this time it seems decidedly inadvis-
able for intending settlers to file upon
the land as it is impossible to make
a homestead before water is available
/ for irrigating purposes.
canal was recently let to Stone Bros
and Warren & Co. The first thirteen
miles of the canal from Wadsworth IS
the Warren & Co. contract and the re-
naming eighteen miles will be con-
structed by Stone Bros.
/ A time limit for the completion of
the work is fourteen months, from the
| letting of the contract.
/ Stone Bros. have already a steam
shovel, wagons. scraper and stock on
4 the ground, and Warren & Co. will
have their material at Wadsworth
next week.
The engineers estimate that there
will never be time during the con-
struction of the canal that 1900 men
will not be employed. The contract
ors have taken the labor question into
consideration and say they will get
labor everywhere they can, that is,
ship it from all points, as they do on
railroad contracts.
There is no authority for the report
that negroes are to be imported from
the south to do the work. and the
story originated in Wadsworth several
months ago, in fact before the bids
were opened AS first told, 200 negroes
were to be imported. and now the
story has grown, as told now, 1909
are TO be brought to Nevada. The
contractors do not anticipate short
/ d in Labor