The new era., 1909-04-22

PROJECTS
WORK OF CONSTRUCTING BIG
DAM ACROSS PASS CREEK
IN WY0., AND BUILD
ING OF DITCHES
TO START
SOON
Big irrigation projects to water large
tracts Of land in the Saratoga
Valley, and 10000 acres in North
Park, to be conducted by Chicago
company.

The Saratoga Valley irrigation project
in Wyoming has just been financed in
Chicago and the work of construction
will be begun within II short time. This
is the first of series of new projects
that are to be brought to notice within
a short time by Chicagoans interested
in irrigation. The number of these
projects and the amounts involved will
be so great, it is claimed, that all pre-
ious records will be surpassed.
All of the money required to build
the new projects is being furnished by
Chicagoans, and promoters are center
ing their operations in this city. Their
reasons for this are that there is no other
city where both settlers and capitalists
can be reached so easily. Colonization
headquarters have been established here
for many years by railroads and large
land companies on account of favorable
rail facilities, but heretofore the tinan-
cial operations, as rule, were conduct
sd from some other point. During the
last year or two there has been notable
change in this regard, and now the
number of irrigation projects financed
and managed from Chicago is larger
than ever before.
Surveys and other preliminaries for
the new projects are about complete.
AS there are no difficulties to be over
come it is planned to finish the con-
struction work this season so that water
can be delivered to settlers next spring.
Within a few weeks the site Of the pro-
posed dam and bitches will present
scenes of activity and the construction
will be pushed as rapidly as possible. 1t
is the intention to irrigate 10000 acres
of decided land and enough land under
the Carey act to bring the total up to a
bout 60, 900 acres. Ultimately there will
be GO, 900 acres of Carey act land under
irrigation in this valley. The Carey act
land, with water, can be acquired for
$25 an acre, with the customary addi-
tion of so cents an acre to the state
The titled land will be sold at $40. an
acre.
Water for this project is to be taken
from Pass Creek, across which dam is
to be built The total cost of the irriga-
tion works will be 100000. There are
to be two main canals, with an aggre-
gate length of thirty-five miles. The
company that is behind this enterprise
had filings for the water of the North
Platte River antedating those of the
government for the North Platte project
lower on the stream. These rights were
relinquished to the reclamation service,
and the company was permitted instead
to use all the water needed from the
tributaries. The North Platte project
of the reclamtion service involves the
construction of the great Pathfinder
dam, 215 feet high and 500 feet long on
top. This dam is being built fifty miles
southwest of Casper, Wyo. As n result
of the agreement with the representa-
tives of the government and the COM
pany no water for the Saratoga Valley
project will be taken from the North
Platte River.
In connection with the development
of the Saratoga Valley 10000 acres on
the Illinois River in North Park, Colo,
will also he brought under irrigation.
This land is immediately across the state
line to the south and the development
of the two will be simultaneous.
Chicago Record-Herald,