Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-06-05
Twin Falls, Idaho, May %, 1906,

Twin rams, 1udHO, WAY ~, lSUo.
Editor Tribune: Knowing the in.
terest taken in irrigation subjects by
some Of the people in the vicinity of
Bismarck it occurred to me; a
description of the greatest Irrigation
project in the United States and Sec
ond greatest in the world would make
a good story for Tribune readers
This is no scientific discourse on
irrigation, merely description of
what l have seen.
The sight that greets the eye upon
leaving Pocatello, Idaho, ( westward
bound, as one gazes from the car
window, is not a cheering one For
after crossing the Snake river at
American Falls the tracks of the
Oregon Short Line plunge into the
very heart of the great Snake river
desert. Unlike the prairie country of
Dakota this vast expanse is unrelieved
by knoll or hill of any description,
but is as fat and level as the top of a
table, carpeted over from start to
finish by the ever present sage brush.
Far, far away to the right and left
one catches the CLINT of snow clad
mountain tops, but ahead and back
the desert extends unbroken to the
sky line, a dull gray green expanse.
For So miles the train moves forward
without stop Or interruption, there
being not a house or station of any
description to give a hint of mans in
trusion into the solitude and lone
someness of this arid region. At the
end of the 81 mile run, however, when
the very heart and center of the
desert has been reached the station
of Minadoka is called. What an out.
look there is from the station plat,
form for one coming from some we'll
settled, improved spot in the easttA
bowling wilderness it is indeed. And
how the wind blows and the clouds of
fine yellow dust pepper your clothes,
get into the eyes, eas-s and nose. The
town too, tends to further discourage
| the newcomer. Struggling wooden
! shacks, one story affairs sheltering
for the most part saloons, or bad
smelling restaurants with japanese
proprietors, line the two streets OF
the town in uneven rows. A notice.
able feature in these new western
towns is the lack of dwellings. Every
building is built to shelter some bust
ness institution, its owner living in
the rear or over head. Rooming and
boarding houses are the homes of all
unfortunates whose lot brings them to
that section. Yet this unprepossess.
| ing little village is better known
throughout the whole country than
many city Of the first-class.
Here it is Uncle Sam beheld a
mighty stretch of good land lying
dead for want of water, yet with
| water in abundance flowing through
the very heart of it, needing but the
ingenuity of man to take it from the
confines of its banks to supply the
| missing element in abundance. An
examination Of the soil revealed the
fact that three of the necessities for
the support of plant life were present,
heat, light and food, the fourth being
moisture, was but indifferently sup
piled by natural processes, needing
mans assistance. So a mighty dam
was constructed across that wonder
full stream of water, the Snake river
great canals were dug and the
diverted waters flowed into them
Now all that Is needed to turn the
desert into garden is the agricu'tur
list and irrigator. I%@ l5zs SS
4 Going back to the depot platform
at Minidoka, the passengers wht
L + Z / & . : t.tSS -