Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1914-10-15

The following has been received by
M. Riney, superintendent of bridges
and buildings on the Chicago & North
western, from H. w. Battin, formerly
a resident here and an official on the
road:
Grand Junction, Col,
October 4th, 1914.
Dear Sir and Friend
This is written to sew ral, all Of
whom are interested in details of con-
struction work, and from two or three
of whom request has been received to
give them an idea of the work and the
situation here.
The source of the Grande river is in
the Rocky Mountains to the west Of
Denver and Leadville. The waters fol-
low narrow canyon to Palisade, Mosa
county, near the western boundary of
Colorado, at which place the stream
follows valley that broadens gradual
ly till the space between the mountains
on either side of the river becomes ten
or twelve miles wide. From the river
the land in this valley on its north bank
rises an average of fifty feet to the
mile to the cliffs or mountains that
separate the bench land from the dis
tricts beyond. The object of the Grande
valley Main Canal is to furnish water
to irrigate such portions OF this cult
vable land as are not already under
water from other and private
irrigation projects. An impounding
am is being buildt few miles above
Palisade; the water will be conducted
through canal and tunnels in the narrow
canyon of the Grande until it reaches the
open country where the main canal will
follow the contours from Palisade to
several miles west of the contemplated
present terminus of the large ditch. AS
the canal bottom has drop of only
about seven inches to the mile, one
can readily see that the farther west in
the valley the canal runs, the nearer it
approaches the foot hills of the cliffs
and mountains on the north side The
underlying strata of the whole country
through which the canal is being con-
structed, are shale varying in hardness
from rotten shale near the top to slate
IL or IA inches thick at the bottom. On
top of the shaIe is a fertile silt, evident
ly the result of wash from the noun
tains and foot hills. When the silt
gets water, the resulting fertility is
astonishing. In such portions of the
valley as have been irrigated for
years, orchards of peach, pear, apricot,
and apple trees have a luxuriant
growth beyond ones imagination. The
younger parts of the valley are being
devoted to alfalfa and other forage
crops, with stock cattle, milch cows
and hogs getting the benefit Of the Gull
tivation. Alfalfa hay, which we are
feeding to our horses and mules, is de-
livered baled, (hauled distance of five
miles) for $11.0 per ton. Oats cost us
in the neighborhood of 81. so per cwt. on
cars adjacent to the work, we to do our
own hauling. Coal, which is native and
of excellent steaming qualities, costs us
from So. 81 to $500 delivered on the
work, the actual cost depending on the
length of haul from the mine. Water
for shovel and drag-lines is an ex-
pensive item, the same being
pumped from one-half mile to
FIVE miles, variously according to the To-
cation of the work, and using boost
err pump for the longer distances. The
work which Winston Bros. Company is
doing here, is about 80 miles long, the
same being divided into % schedules,
which vary somewhat from mile in
ength each. Of the total, eight SEIZED
ules have been sub-let to Fred NJ. Crane
of Omaha, Neb. His work is through
orchards, the excavation being uniform
ly about nine feet deep, and the mater
ial being deposited on the sides to form
embankments which vary in height from
Is feet to Is feet above the canal bot
tom. The general depth of water will
be eight feet deep. The canal bottom
varies from % feet wide at the extreme |
east and to 16 feet wide at the |
west end of this work. Side slopes in |
excavation generally one to one
and in embankments are always one
and a half to one. Cranes work |
g being done with two kerosene
lrag-line machines of the Monaghan |
type one has so horse power engine, |
the second being of so horse power
The crew consists of runner, an oil |
er equivalent Of a freman) two men
in the pit and one extra laborer who |
shapes the embankments and does the |
odd work around the outfit, In addition !
there will have to be team or two to |
,bapo the emhankmentS the ton of |