The Dickinson press., 1903-11-14

of North Dakota Irrigation Congress, J.
S. Let's prepared the following article
and also an illustrated diagram of a safe
and ingenious method of impounding
river and storm waters without expensive
dams or canals. By the adoption of
this method the present settlements can
be supplied Immediately, and the unset
tied regions later on, from year to year,
as fast as the country becomes settled up.
Dickinson, N. D., Oct. 20, 1909.
Mr.. w. H. Brown,
Mandan, N. D.
DEAR SIR: Yours Of the 27th inst.
advising me of meeting Of the execu-
tive committee of the Irrigation Congress
to be held at Fargo November 9, and re.
questing suggestions upon the matter OF
irrigation, is before me.
am glad to note the early action of
your committee and will suggest that, ac-
cording to my views, the system for our
development on the West Missouri
Slope is one OF natures propositions of
perfection OF irrigation landscape.
lake pleasure in pointing out the tact
that all our water sheds traversing the
slope from the Bad Lands to the Big
Missouri eastward have corresponding
descent with that of our paralelling
rivers. 1t will be seen, therefore, that
this descent equals eight or ten feet per
mle-as indicated by attitudes given in
The Northern Pacific railway survey
showing that small bitches can be made
to convey the waters from each of our
rivers into reservoirs on the top of all
our water sheds below the point of inter-
st ction with each river. These bitches
will be Of various lengths, which can
only be determined by the meander
which surveyors will discover. If such
bitches could be cut on straight lines
they would obviously be very short, or,
not more than five to ten miles in length;
but the meander willincrease the length,
ol course, of most of them. Moreover,
each of our perennial streams are fed
from springs that never fail. From this
| it will be seen that when ali the water is
DETECTED into bitches from the river
channels, at any point, that the river
stream supply below will not be cut off;
the springs below will still supply their
flow. Thus each river can be tapped in
! a number Of different places between
their mouths and sources, and on either
side. The undulating valleys or primi-
tive lake beds will be our reservoirs.
Their outlets on the lower ends are
usually very narrow and can be easily
closed up and made to contain large
amounts OF water. These reservoirs
must necessarily be connected IN such a
wav that those farthest down the slope
may be kept supplied from those above,
when needful. These intermediate
bitches will also serve at all times in
completing the perfect distribution of
the water over the whole face OF the
country, and from them the water ION the
TOP line OF each water shed) can be con-
veyed down the lateral divides" all of
which, connecting with the principal
or eastward by south.
No large riverbed dams are contem..
plated or necessary; floods would imperil
such dams and the country below, and
the breaking of one dam would imperil
all below.
Now the foregoing system could not
be made to cover any of the country west
of Dickinson with water from our local
rivers. This would leave vast country,
nearly 200 miles north and south by 60
or 70 miles wide, without irrigation.
This whole section, therefore, must de-
pend upon the Little Missouri river for
water supply. Moreover the Little Mis-
souri, is the most important factor of the
whole system and, to my mind, demands
our first attention at the beginning OF
work, for the following reasons:
FIRST. An immense amount of labor
will be required for building fumes and
dams. If we commence at some point
on the Little Missouri, simultaneously
with the work below, to the end of con-
veying its waters northward, thence into
reservoirs on the top of the water shed
that parallels its course off to the north
east, we can put in dam 80 miles up
that stream in the midst OF heavy pine
and other timber, and the same can be
cut into lumber there and heated down
the ditch to any point below, piece by
piece, as fast as same is cut. This we
did in California in early work there, and
the same can be done here; and by u.s.
ing the Intermediate ditch lines between
the reservoirs for floating lumber, the
plank for shutting up reservoirs will be
found OF vast importance. Lumber for
fumes will be needed also. In many
cases where the draws are narrow that
drain reservoir sites, fills of stone and
earth can be used; but dams of consider
able length Can be made of plank at less
cost and be much more quickly built.
Now it will be seen that no large dams
or canals are contemplated in system
Of this kind. 1t is system designed to
impound the common annual flow of es-
Gaping spring waters from the ruptured
trtesian strata that flow out through the
coal measures and supply our regular
low tide or perennial river supply at low
stages of our rivers. Thus it will be
seen, too that by the system of river tap
ping, with many small bitches (only two
Or three feet deep and four or five feet
wide) we will practically impound the
largest proportion Of all storm waters,
which are more valuable for irrigation
purposes than the spring waters that feed
our rivers, as storm waters carry in So
luton organic matter that greatly enrich
the soil continuously. Thus. too,. our
rivers will be diminished during storm
periods. or rather will not be flooded as
they now are when heavy storms occur
The Little Missouri water shed is ten
or twenty milesin width and ADULTS on
to our local water sheds in such relation
that from its reservoirs on the higher
elevation the water from thence can be
easily conveyed down all our local. water