The Kadoka press and Kadoka reporter. [volume] (Kadoka, S.D.) 1910-1923, 1911-02-17
To lrrigate With
The Cheyenne River.

tThe following are extracts from 6
paper byDan Bierwagen, of Milesyille
that was read at the Conservation
Congress at Pierre.)
To the Delegates of the Conserva
| tion Congress and all others inter,
ested.
Not being able to be in attendance
at the conN ention, | yet feel that
have a message of conservation anG
reclamation which | desire to have
presented to your Honorable Body in
convention assembled.
For years it has been my wish to
see the waters of the Cheyenne river
conserved and spread out over the
fertile semi-arid lands lying between
the White and Cheyenne rivers.
In order to remove from your minds
all doubt as to the feasibility of such
project, | will first give you the fol-
lowing data as to elevations:
Low water Cheyenne river near
Buffalo Gap, 1922 feet. Summit be-
tween Cheyenne river and headwat-
ers of Bad river at the town of Wall,
1929 feet. Distance between the two
points about IS miles. From here
eastwards on both sides of lthe Bad
RIVER valley are large table lands
which lack nothing in fertility, and
their elevations have a gradual fall to
the eastward as the following figures
will show.
THE SOUTH DIVIDE
We will take the town of Quinn
which lies near and little lower than
certain reservoir sites which we will
discuss later. Quinn has an eleva-
ton of 2607 feet, next comes Kadoka
with an elevation of 2467 feet, STAN
ford 2404 feet, Murdo 23l7 feet, Draper
2230 feet. Draper is at the head OF
Medicine creek and all the land ly ing
to the eastward has lower elevation.
All along this proposed southern
canal route we have number of large
natural reservoir sites which could be
used to store up the food waters.
From these artificial lakes the distrib.
uting canals can carry the waters to
hundreds of thousands of acres of fer
tile tillable land which now from lack
Of nan1a1 r,,n;Stura ,,,nat lie idle De.
sides this South Divide we have a
still larger
NORTH DIVIDE
Again taking the town of Quinn
with an elevation of 2GO7 feet as a
starting point, we go into the Peno
Basin which has an elevation of 257E
feet. Here we have a large natural
reservoir sitc-dIstanco from Quinn
twenty miles. From here we follow
a chain of natural reservoir sites lol
a distance of thirty-fiye miles to a
point between the heads of Plum and
Grindstone creeks. Here at an eleva-
tion of $500 feet, we can put a ditch
square on the Cheyenne and Bad riv-
er divide. From this place the divide
has gradual fall toward the north
east and large ditch can be con-
structed without having to remove
any great distractions for a distance
of forty-eight miles to the head of
FroZenman creek.
Together on both sides of this north
canal route we haye more than / ZOO,
600 acres of land lying lower than the
proposed ditch routes. Conservativ-
ely estimated, we haye adjacent to
the two main canal routes in Stanley
and Lyman counties, more than one
million acres of irrigatable land, the
fertility of which is unsurpassed any
where.
AS to sufficient water and storage
capacity:
From the head of the Cheyenne
river to point near Buffalo Gap the
Cheyenne river drains territory OF
about ten thousand square miles OF
more or less mountainous country.
As 10 reservoir capacity, the big Dad
lands offer at an elevation of about
27oo feet many square miles of reser.
voir cites. These sites are located in
the following creeks and basins: In
dian creek, Spring creek, Hay creek
Bear creek, Sage creek basin anc
Whitewater basin. The last two nam
ed haye an elevation of about 270t
feet, and alone embrace many square
miles.
Here is an opportunity for our young
statesmen to make themselves worth,
in their service, and lend their effort
toward accomplishing great under
taking, which means homes and ;
sure living for quarter of million
people.
will be an immense undertaking
and will swallow up millions of dol
Iara r,arhap twenty hut eya,, thar