Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-08-31

however, all Of the materials neces'
,ary are found on the ground. The
beside the cement mill: the clay must
he carried only about mile. -Four
nunderd tons of machinery and sixty
tons of structural iron were brought
from Chicago for the mill. The raw
materials are ground and mixed auto
maIcally and are dumped into the
kiln by an ingenious contrivance, so
that the heat increases as the mixture
travels down the line. At the upper
end the temperature is 1.20O degrees
Fahrenheit; at the lower end it is
$500 degrees. After the materials
have thoroughly fused and become
cement they pass automatimally into
a cooler and are finally dumped into
storage bins through a chute. This is
claimed to be the most perfect cement
factory ever constructed, but of course
it is only temporary. Everything is
done by electricity. The fuel is Grade
petroleum delivered from California.
| which costs $3.4S per barrel delivered
| in tanks on the ground. The con
| tractor nauls it from the railroad by
means Of traction engine.
The government has its own saw
mill which was bought in Michigan
and located in the timber about twen-
ty miles from the dam. There is plen-
| ty of good pine, some of the trees
having a height of $50 feet and being
| five feet In diameter.
The town in which the workmen
live is called Roosevelt and stands
above the canyon. on what will be the
bottom OF a lake when the water is
turned in. The houses. all built with
in the past eighteen months, are like
the barracks of military post, being
made comfortable and attractive with
wide verandas, window screens, bath
rooms, electric lights and ice plant,
filters, oil ranges and all the improve
ments of a modern apartment house.
Each contractor boards his own men.
or furnishes them quarters IL they pre-
fer to bring their families. The gov
ernment permits certain number of
storekeepers TO sell supplies, but no
liquor can be sold nearer than SIX
miles of the boundary of the reserva-
ton. man has to travel about elev-
en- miles to get drink of intoxicaHts,
There is good deal of social life at
Roosevelt There is ball in the din
ign room of one of the barracks every
Saturday night; an orchestra and
brass band furnish plenty OF music ;
! l ie, I,,h nd ry
society; a baseball club which has
never been beaten and other organiz-
ations furnish diversion. Amateur
, dramatic performances are proposed
for the future.
Roosevelt is a temporary town, of
! course. As soon as the work is com
y pleted, every building will be removed
before the water is turned in. but 1t
will increase in population until
that time The place is reached by a
newly constructed road, IS miles long
from the railroad. 1t cost about $780,
OOO-half OF that sum being contrib
y uted by the neighboring cities. In
places the construction work was very
expensive and cost as much as $25O00
a mile. The road is a permanent
thing and will always be needed
About 100000 pounds of freight pass
! over it every month now.
There has been great difficulty In
l securing labor for construction. Work
= men are scare all through this coun
u try although wages are very high
The road was built largely by Indian
labor-Apaches-w are industrious
: intelligent and orderly. Nearly all
of the employees at the saw mill are
= Apaches also, and the bosses say that
D for ordinary labor they are as good
as anybody; but they know nothing
of mechanics.
Mr.. Hill expects to complete the
dam so as TO turn on the water in
about three years. Almost all of the
> land to be irrigated has already been
taken up and improvements are being
made in some places. But 1t will be
i four or five years before the water
will he available for irrigation.