The National tribune., 1906-05-31

/
| line. Forsythe, on the Northern Pacific
| Railway. is few Tnflss east of the Res
! ervati0n, and would be the supply point
| for the Yellowstone Valley below the
mouth Of the Bighorn-
Lnn,is.
Under an act OF Congress approved
April 81. 1904. tine Crow Indians ceded
to the United States a strip of land in
Guiding the northern part of their Res
ervation, embracing about 100000
acres, and the United States agrees to
dispose of the land ceded as provided
by the reclamation act, the homestead,
town site and mineral-land laws. The
Indians on the ceded 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-
vation. After the completion of allot-
ments to the Indians, the residue of the
ceded lands Is to be subject to with
drawal and disposition under the recla-
nation act. in so far as feasible irriga-
ton projects are found therein: pro-
vided, however. that if the lands with
drawn under the terms of the reclama-
ton act are not disposed of within five
years. all of the lands are to be disposed
of as are other lands provided for in
the act. In addition to the cost of
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 installments. the first to
be paid at the end of the second year.
Surveys.
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-Project.
The lands under this project lie on
the west side of Bighorn River and ex-
tend from the mouth of Two Leggin
Creek nearly to the Yellowstone. The
Burlington Railroad crosses the irri-
gable lands at a point opposite the
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 irrigable' lands lie in a 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
irrigabfe land. of which nearly 10,
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 number of old allot-
ments In the ceded portion of the Res
ervation under the Fort Custer canal
line. -;E p
A careful preliminary survey Of a
canal line 43 miles long has been made.
The topography along this line has been
taken by plane table to scale 200 feet
equal one inch. On this basis paper
location of the canal line has been
made and quantities have been esti-
mated. The necessaryshead gates, creek
crossings, culverts, etc, have been de-
signed in a substantial and permanent
manner, and tracipgss have been pre-
pared for the approval of consulting
board. This project Is in such condi-
ton that 1t can be made ready for con-
at short notice, Aside from
the complications as to, allotments. etc,
noted above, this project isF a very at
tractiye one for eaciy construction.
1t has been planned to divert water
from Bighorn River by means of a 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 irri-
eating season there would be murn
larger excess. A gaging station on Big
horn River was established at Fort Gus
ter June 16, 1904, and a careful record
has since been made of the gage heights.
The maximum discharge in 1905 was
about 25,000 secOnd-feet.
Wnco-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
ders tract extends from Myers Station,
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
above sea level. In the Waco tract there
are between 1000 and 5000 acres, at
Bighorn about 1900 acres. and in the
Sanders tract from $4,000 to 23.000I
acres, depending on the scheme of irri-
CATION adopted. All the lands are in the
ceded portion of the Crow Indian Res
except about 5000 acres lying
east of the Reservation line. There are
only few Indian aliotments 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 |
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 10 $4,000
Or to $1,000 acres. The Waco ditch |
can be utilized, at 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 |
ton. on the upper end of the Sanders |
tract. |
The water for the Waco and Sanders !
tracts would be taken from Yellowstone |
Bighorn River. The supply from either
sion. The diversion for the Waco ditch
was planned to be at the river bottom, |
and no provision was made for a weir. |
The Sanders low line Was planned to be
handled in the same way.
Big Horn Sub-PrOject.
This project comprises a large area of |
high bench lands west of Bighorn Riv-
er, extending from the mouth of Big
horn Canyon, beyond Peritsa Station, on |
the Burlington Railroad. The strip of
lands to be irrigated is about 40 miles
long. The reduced map for the Crow
Reservation projects shows the position
of these lands. ysO