Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1905-05-11
BIG IRRIGATION WORKS

of 65, 900 Acres of North Dakota
and Montana Land.
One OF the large projects to be
shortly undertaken by the United
States government is the Yellowstone
Irrigation work, that brings the
reclamation Of land into the borders
of this state. The magnitude of the
work is seen in the following:
The farmers along the Yellowstone
below Glendive-where the land is
all in private ownership-have form
ed water users association and
secured the setting aside of 81 100000
from the reclamation fund to con-
struct the works. .
This project oontemplates the
diversion of:the water of Yellowstone
river, at point nineteen miles
northeast of Glendive, Mont, for the
irrigation of about sixty.five thous,
and acres lying In northeastern
Montana and northwestern North
Dakota. The diversion dam will be
so located as to permit the canal to
be taken out in tunnel, thus plac-
ing the read-gates where they will be
protected from the shock of large ice
gorges. which cause damage along
this river every few years. The river
bed presents suitable foundation
for the dam and stone for it's con
struction is near at hand.
. The irrigable land is along the left
bank of the Yellowstone in strip
sixty-ive miles long and five miles
wide at it's widest point. The main
canal will be placed on the side of
bench for about twelve miles.
Below this bench is large amount
of land which will require water and
it is proposed to drop water through
a turbin wheel to this land and at
the same time develope power with
which to pump..water from the main
canal to the bench land above. About
twenty-five miles of the canal will
be in very rough country. There are
thirteen different creek crossings to
be made, one Of which will be ac-
complished by means Of a concrete
steel pressure pipe 5000 feet long and
ten feet IN diameter. The canal will
have a capacity Of about seven hum
dred and fifty second-feet.
The soil of the bench lands Is sandy
loan underlaid with gravel. The
soil of the bottom lands is sandy
loan, but in some places it is mixed
with clay. 1t IS probable that some
of these bottom lands will require
drainage. Alkali does not appear ex-
cept in few places. The lands are
largely in private ownership. As this
ection lies in the semi-arid region,
years of ample rainfall are very in
frequent. On such years abundant
crops of grains and vegetables are
raised, the soil being particularly
veil adapted to potatoes and for
age crops.
This tract is SUR ounded by one of
the largest and finest grazing regions
in the west. The stock requires feed
ing three months of the year and the
quantity of feed available determines
the amount Of stock that can be prof.
itably raised. Within irrigation
alfalfa and other forage crops can be
grown extensively making it one OF
the largest stock feeding points in
the west.
At present few gardens are irri-
gated from small creeks. but no data
is available in regard to them. y
The Northern Pacific railway passes
through Glendive, twenty miles from
the headgates and the Great North
ern has a station at Buford two miles
from the lower end Of the project.
However, the crops best suited to
the soil and climate are forage crops
which can all be fed to the stock
where raised.