The National tribune., 1906-05-31


town site and mineral-land laws. The
Indians on the coded strip are to have
a reasonable time within which to elect
whether to remain there or to have
their Improvements appraised and sold
and to remove to the diminished Reser-
Walton. After the completion Of allOt-
ments to the Indians the residue of the
coded lands Is to be subject to with
drawal and disposition under the recla-
nation act. in SO far as feasible irriga-
ten projects are found therein; pro-
vided, however, that IL the lands with
ton act are not disposed Of within five
years, all OF the lands are to be disposed
Of as are ether lands provided for in
the act. In addition to the cost Of
reclamation the price Of these lands ~
to be 81 per acre when entered under
the homestead laws, to be paid as fol-
lows: One dollar per acre when entry
is made, and the remainder In four
equal annual inStal1ments, the first to
be paid at the end OF the second year.
During the field season of 1904 pre-
liminary surveys were made Of the irri-
gable lands lying south Of Yellowstone
River, and west Of Bighorn River. The
result Of these surveys was to outline
four sub-prOjects for consideration and
further investigation. .
Fort Custer Sub-PHotect.
The lands under this project lie on
the west side Of BfghoTn River and ex-
tend from the mouth OF Two Leggin
Creek nearly to the Yellowstone. The
Burlington Railroad crosses the irrt-
mouth Of the Little Bighorn River, and
will afford transportation facilities for
settlers on these lands The Northern
Pacific Railway passes close to the
southern extremity OF this project and
will do part Of the business.
The irrigabie lands lie In q rather
narrow strip along the river and slope
gently back to the -foot;of a high bench:
They stand approximately 5000. feet
above sea level, and their soil Is rich
and can easily be drained. Under the
canal there are about $4,000 acres OF
acres lie within the limits OF the unced-
ed portion OF the Crow Indian Reserva-
ton and are included within the old
Fort Custer Military Reservation. Most
Of the Indian land has been allotted,
and there are q auRber Of old allot-
ments In the coded portion OF the Res
ervation. under thR Fort Custer canal
line. iii b
canal line 43 miles long has been made.
The topography along this line has been
taken by plane table tp scale 200 feet
equal one inch. On this basis paper
location OF the canal line has been
m msas and Tae s essn ss
crossings, cuiverts.. ETC., have been. de-
signed in a substantial and permanent
manner, and traGtpgS have been pre-
board. This pr0tect,ts In such condi-
ton that 1t can be made ready for con-
struction. at short notice. Aside from
tho com nj i'm fiana a fn a1l0tnnAnfa ate
noted above, this project dsr .. very at
tractfye one for early construction.
It has been planned to. divert water
from Bighorn River by means OF q weir.
so that all the water may be collected, il
necessary, without loss Of land. At
present the minimum discharge Of the
river Is about 1900 second-feet, which
is over three times the amount actually
required, and during most OF the irrf-
eating season there would be muri1
larger excess. A gaging station on Big
horn River was established at Fort Gus
has since been made OF the gage heights.
The maximum discharge In 1905 was
about $4,000 second-feet.
Waco-Sanders Sub-PrOject.
This project comprises three tracts
adjoining Yellowstone River on the
south. The Waco tract extends from
above Waco Station, on the Northern
Pacific Railway. to Bighorn Tunnel. just
beyond Custer Station; tract near Big
horn Station lies at the junction Of Big
horn and Yellowstone Rivers: the San
on the Northern Pacific Railway, to Ar
melis Creek, about six miles west of
Forsythe.
The lands comprised in the tract men,
toned above are all Of fine quality. those
at the lower end being about $500 feet
TH he "Uo
are between 1000 and 5000 acres, at
Bighorn about 1900 acres. and in the
Sanders tract from $4,000 to $4,000
acres, depending on the scheme Of irri-
CATION adopted. All the lands are In the
coded portion Of the Crow Indian Res
east OF the Reservation line. There are
only few Indian allotments in the ter
ritory.
This project has presented numerous
problems and alternatives. A field party
now at work will investigate further the
Sanders Iow-line canal. 1t is a question
whether 1t Is desirable to provide a
gravity system for about 1900 acres
or to resort to power development and
pumping so as to increase this to $4,000
or to $1,000 acres. The Waco ditch
can be utilized, at q small relative ex-
pense, for the production Of power, and
1t Is proposed to use this power in
pumping at Bighorn and at Myers Sta
tion. on the upper end OF the Sanders
tract.
!. The water for the Waco and Sanders
tracts would be taken from Yellowstone
River, and for the Bighorn tract from
Bighorn River. The supply from either
Ii ample and needs no special discus
sion. The diversion for the Waco ditch
was planned to be at the river bottom,
and no provision waY made for weir.
The Sanders low line Was planned to be
handled in the same
Biz Horn Sub-PrOject.
This project comnpiriises large area of
high bench lands west of Bighorn Riv-
err. extending from the mouth of Big
horn Canyon. beyond Peritsa Station, on
the Burlington Railroad. The strip If
lands to be irrigated ais about 40 miles
long. The reduced nap for the Crow
Reservation projects shows the position
OF these lands. ysD
The irrigable lands under the Big
horn high line are among the finest on
the Reservation. They are all high,
well-drained benoh lands, lying at an
elevation Of about 100 feet above sea
level, and from SOS 10 200 feet above
the river. There would be from 10000
to $4,000 acres under the canal. the
amount depending on the exact eIeva-