Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1906-04-12
The Opening of the Shoshone Res
eryatiOn.

!
The land of profitable opportunity
still lies open to the homesteader.
The Western frontier is rapidly disap-
pearng, but the homesteader and settler
still finds an occasional opportunity to
pick up a quarter section Of govern
ment land One of the last chances of
this kind will be given by Uncle Sam
when the Wind River or ShoshOne |
Indian Reservation lands are thrown /
open to the homesteaders some time ,
this summer
This tract Of something over mil
lion acres is situated in central Wyom-
ing, just east of the Jackson Hole
country and the Yellowstone Park re-
serve
In the mountains, elk, bear, deer and
other wild game have been most abund-
ant. 1t has been without railroad facil-
tiles in the past, but the Wyoming &
North Western railway is now rapidly
laying rails across Wyoming from Cas-
per, the present terminus of the North
Western Line, to Shoshoni, the new
town which has sprung up since the
reservation opening has been announced
and to Lander in the Lander Valley,
one Of the richest spots in Wyoming
where numerous small irrigated farms
produce forty to forty-ive bushels of
wheat, two hundred bushels of potatoes
and sixty bushels oats to the acre.
This new line Of railway opens UP
millions of acres of sheep and cattle
range, where the rich buffalo grass and
/ gramma grass make the best pasturage
on earth, curing like grain, SO that
stock will fatten on it in the fall.
The new.line passes through WoIton,
one of the biggest original wool ship
ping points in the world, and will be
Ecompeted to Shoshoni within the next
sixty days or less.
Shoshoni is two and ,one half miles
from the reservation border, and here
and at Lander the government will
probably establish land offices for regis
tration when the Indian lands are
thrown open.
The reservation has been inhabited
by docile, law abiding people, who are
engaged in farming in a small way.
The most of them have taken up land
/ by allotment, preparatory to abandon
ing the reservation, and the government
is encouraging the leasing of these
, Indian FARMS which are very choice
. lands, to white farmers.
The state of Wyoming controls the
waters Of the Wind river and Little
: Wind river, and the state engineers are
making surveys and preparing for irri
CATION projects under state supervision
y by which a large proportion Of th'
reservation will be placed under waite
and thereby made very valuable. Agri
> culture here without irrigation is prac
tically out of the question, and sucl
q lands do not come under the proposed
} ditch will be used for grazing lands, TO
which purpose they are without
. superior.
- If the state builds the irrigatin
Il canals now proposed, it will give a
;, opportunity for newcomers and settler
~ to secure work
% A large movement of people west
u predicted when the rates for the Sht
~ shone opening are placed in effect.
~ The fortunate settle who secures or
of these Guartar sactions will gee h
n, land at cost of about $50 per acr
~ payable in easy installments, coverin
20 period of several years. This, {
u course, does not include cost of watt
- rights on such lands as are to be irr
gated.