The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1906-04-20
PROJECT OF IRRIGATION
MAMMOTH SCHEME AT BELLE
FoURcHE WELL UNDER WAY.
TWO MILLIONS TO BE SPENT

Used 100000 In Preparing for the
Work-Dams, Fumes, etc, TO be
Built Of Concrete.
Belle Fourchc, s. d., April lS.--
"Thcrc Is no land that Is worthless"
says the United states government
In accordance Uncle sam has been
spending millions OF dollars in re.
claiming arid lands hitherto considered
useless
The Bcllc Fourchc irrigation pro.
joct. which viii irrlgato about 10000
acres lying north Of the Black Hills
In Butte and Meade counties, IL well
under way, and will cost, when com.
plcted over s2,0O0.0OO. Orman n
Crook of Colorado, who have the mil
lion.dollar contract for the big rcscr.
voir dam, have already spent 100000
In preparatory work.
Tho water will be taken from the
Belle Fourchc river below its cOunu-
enCo with Rodwatcr, from owl Creek
and from Grow creek. Tho divcrting
dam on the Belle Fourcho. one mile
and n half from this city, Is being
built with u view to pcrmarCncy; in
fact, all Of the work in this entire
scheme is most thoroughly and caro-
fully done II IL all Of concrete and
steel, and no wood is used except In
the false work in putting in the con
crete. The fumes are all of steel.
Below this dam Is n concrete and rock
apron for the water to fall upon when
the dam ovornows, and the river banks
will be paved for n distance OF at
least 200 feet From this dam the
water passes through the inlet canal
distance Of six and onchalf miles to
the reservoir dam. This canal Is for.
ty feet wide at the bottom, seventy
feet wide at the top and will carry ten
feet deep Of water.
The large storage reservoir on Owl
creek covers 5000 acres of land and
will hold 100000 acre feet of water.
The dam will be over one mile long,
1l5 feet high, 500 feet wide at the bot
tom and twenty feet wide at the top.
II will he an earthen dam with con
crete facing next the water. The out
er portion of the dam will be arranged
In terraces and II is I'm the contract
that these terraces shall be seeded
down TO some sort Of grass that will
grow best in this section and shall be
kept cared FOR four years after compile.
ton This reservoir is located in n
natural reservoir basin. A high divide
completely surrounds II with the cx-
ccption of the point at which the dam
Is built.
Plenty Of Water.
There will he n sufIiCiorcy OF water
for all settlers. Two main feeders lead
out from tie reservoir, one north and
one south, and from these the small
bitches will branch ont, covering the
country with a network of waterways
The irrigable acreage on the north
side of the canal Is about $1,000 acres,
stn 0o0 NJ which is opcn 10 settlement.
on the south side there are about 90
coo acres which can he irrigated, and
Ill Of this, with the exception of 1000
acres, is private land. According to
the ruling of the secretary of the in
'oriOr the unit decided uDOn for this
section is eighty acres, and the home
Steader can take up, therefore, only
eighty acres of irrigable land.
II Is estimated that the cost Of put.
ting the water on this land will be
from $50 to S35 an acre This Is to be
"A 60 l,,
annual payments. He will he given
a title to his land in five years, though
the payments go on for five years
longer and constitute a lien upon the
land but he Is not permitted, as are
homesteaders in nonirrigated regions,
to commute. Men who own land al.
ready along this irrigation project are
allowed to retain 100 acres, but the re.
mainder OF their land goes in trust to
the Water Users association, which
regulates the use of the water on this
land. When the land is sold the re-
turns, OF course, belong to the original
owner, but ii must be sold to someone
not owning 100 acres of land in this
irrigated section.
All Rich Lands.
Formerly the principal use of these
lands has been for grazing range cat.
tie, although it has been used by
ranchers in some diversified farming.
II is all rich land, capable of produc-
ing the best Of crops. There are two
kinds of soil, one is the sandy with a
clay subsoil and the other is the IA
nous gumbo. The latter is a strong
rich soil, best adapted for raising small
grains and hay; in fact, the best ma.
tive hay grown is found on gumbo
land. The sandy soil is excellent for
vegetables of all kinds, fruits and the
sugar beet Government tests show
tnat the sugar beets raised in this
county carried the largest percentage
of sugar Of any beets raised in the
United States,
Even without irri 90 tipn tho ayarouo