The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-10-18

river drainage project.
NJ. Trimble is the secretary of ths
Hottineau county drainage board ant
also OF the Joint board Of drain com.
mlesioners OF Bottineau and McHenr.
counties. which are doing this work
Among other things he said:
The Mouse river drainage projec,
involves n deepening, widening anj
straightening of the channel Of tn.
Mouse river; the work begins in Nc.
Henry county and extends all tn,
way through Bottineau county anG
fourteen miles into Manitoba; the
channel Of the river 10 practically en-
tirely remade and when the work II
completed will be eighty feet wide al
the bottom and 100 feet wide at the
top and the earth. taken from the
channel will be laid so as to form
new banks for the stream: the total
mount OF earth to be excavated Is
estimated at approximately $500, 00C
cubic yards. and the contract will cal
for payments aggregating approx.
inately $150.000 1t is beyond cues.
ton the greatest drainage project un.
DER way In the northwest at the pres.
ent time. or indeed. that ever has
been carried out in this country.
The France Dredging and Con.
strnction company Of Mansfield, Ohio,
u n contractor and 1t has already
excavated about nine miles Of the
work. and they have handled zoo, 0O0
cubic yards Of earth on the Job this
season; 1t is expected that the work
will eas the latter part Of this
month for the winter. and will be
begun In the early spring, but It will
not be completed until June. 1914
The work IL being done by one OF
the three or four largest steam
dredges ever made and operated; the
dipper alone of this dredge weighs
yards Of earth at each filling.
THE White Swan"
1T is called the White swan" and
10 operated upon a barge which floats
In he channel of the stream, after
the excavation Is done: this barge is
forty-four feet in width by 1O4 feet
n length and was constructed upon
the banks Of the river last winter.
The company also operator on the
river: In connection with the dredge.
an officers boat. lSx36: an employees
boat. 1896 feet. and a cooking and
eating boat 2ox4O feet; a coal barge,
ana In addition a gasoline launch. 80
feet long. to haul fuel and supplies:
some idea can be cleaned Of the
amount Of machinery employed, when
It is learned that a full train load Of
twenty-five cars was required to r
~ 1t in knocked down form: from 1876
to It's tons of coal Is used per month
Tor steam purposes alone.
The men 2 employed in two
shifts of IL 1-2 hours each, and the
dredge stops Just a little less than
n hour out Of each twenty -four;
they do not rely upon moonlight In
the night time, but carry their own
electric light system and at night a
most beautiful sight is presented, par
ttcularly. as the automatic search
light follows the enormous crane in
its work.
ITO indicate the value Of the work
being done one fact Is interesting and
10 that along the nine miles OF work
already done there is considerable fall
the work the level of the water has
been brought below the ground and
land heretofore submerged is now
being used for crop purposes; in a
number Of instances. the Improvement
has been so prompt and efficient that
valuable crops of hay from ten to
Mfteen dollars per acre have been cut
this year upon land upon which peo.
pie could not go for the past ten
years. This n crop Will pay the en-
tire assessment Of the owner. for his
share OF the cost of the work. Ahead
OF the boat the water 10 as high or
higher than II has been for many
years past with the same amount Of
rainfall"
Mr.. Trimble is on his way home
from Fargo where he was in confer
with Geo. A. Bangs. the attorney
for the board in relation to the rail-
road bridges which o the proposed
drain.