Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1907-06-06

CANON CAMP,
Cody. Wyo.. Nav q. 1907.

Cody, Wyo., May .. 1907.
DEAR KING AS 10 is showing
hard and has been for the last IL
hours and as time hangs q little
heavy on my hands. my thoughts
wander back to old St. Mary's.
was very sorry to see the death
OF Henry Wingate. Many OF our
young men were stimulated 10 seek
a higher life from his teachings and
conversations.
/ hear you are building a big Ho-
tel in Leonardtown, and while i'm
prOvements are good to see. for the
benefit OF the Town, still one can 4
help feeling pang at losing an old
land mark, where so many of our
friends who have crossed over the
River and are resting in the shade,
were accustomed to meet on the old
porch and discuss subjects from the
most sublime &c the most ridiculous.
Well, l am still here at this dam
site. on the Shoshone River, right
between Cedar mountain-over sew
en- thousand feet high-on one side
OF the river. and Rattlesnake noun
tain-over eight thousand feet high
ON the other. We are just between
the two, and the wind blows here
nearly all the time, and often at q
sixty mile clip.
Though we have spent nearly one
hundred thousand dollars, we nave
only been getting ready for the work.
In the first place we had TO build a
temporary dam. fourteen hundred
feet up the river. and from this dam
we had to build a fiume or water
way TO connect with the tunnel, 490
feet long, through the side of the
mountain. The tunnel is 1Ox10 and
and in it will be gates worked from
top OF the mountain.
Now, after high water. which
generally comes about June 10. il
can hold what we have done. then
we will start excavating in the riv-
er bed. We will have to go down
65 feet to solid rock, and then will
commence concreting the dam. which
will be $50 feet thick at base 10 f..
on top. and 3O8 feet high. This dam
will irrigate 1O5. 900 acres OF rich,
but Improbable land. When this
land is taken up by settlers, they
have to pay for dam in water rents.
OF course, in this large area of
country, there are sections now
where ranches have joined together
and put in bitches and found it very
profitable.
To do this excavating and concret-
ing We have two towers, 125 feet
high. connected to tower on the
mountain side with cables 1850 feet
long. On these cables, are attached
"skips" that will lift six tons and
run at the rate of twelve hundred
feet minute. John Macgregor the
engineer in charge OF this work, is
the most industrious man | have ev-
or seen, and while he is lame, he
can get around and over these rocks
equaled only by Rocky Mountain
sheep. The government engineers,
who have charge here. say the fiume
he has built to withstand this mighty
rushing torrent is. and will be
monument to his engineering skill.
Now, Brother King, what about
politics :? 1t strikes me some men
grow too big for their party to fol-
low. 1t reminds me Of my fox and
coon hunting days. when we would
have q dog like Zach S old Winder.
that would run so far ahead of the
pack that even his voice was not
heard. hope our people will get
together as our illustrious Governor
says, and trust they will nominate
a good man whom Democrats can
vote for, as well as the week kneed
and middle-of-the-road kind. Now,
hoping this may be a prosperous
year, both financially and politically
to my st. Mary's friends.
Your old cliff-dwelling friend,
II A RrEnER