The Dermott news., 1917-08-23

earth dam may seem temporary ex- pedient, although most of the great ir- rigation dams of the world are of that character; and everybody knows that If the water should rise high enough to overflow an earth dam 1t would not last longer than It takes to describe its utter giving way A flood would sweep it out of the way at once.
 The device whereby possible floods are controlled and such dangers avert ed consists of broad channel at one side of the dam. and at such dis tance below its crest that if, through any mischance or natural happening, such as the failure of the SluiCe gates. excessive rains. cloudbursts, or floods, the height of the water is increased until 1t promises to overflow the dam, this opening will carry of the surplus harmlesSly. An earth dam without Il spllway would presage almost certain destruction to all who lived in the val ley below 1t.
 In the case of the Picket Wire dam, the spillway had to be cut and, in part, blasted out of the mountain sidc-that is. through the spur of the mesa. which reached down from its high wall towards the narrowS. There had been series of bunders and mishaps, which included the explosion of Il ship ment of dynamite on the railroad. with very disastrous consequences to accom- | panying rock eruSherS and mixers. and other machinery. The spillway had not been completed. Its opening should l have been about twelve feet below the 1 level of the dam. Nandeventer was not responsible. of course. The chief enci- neer had fumed and protested, but had 1 been directed by headquarters to go ahead with the other work and tackle 1 the spilIWay later There was, indeed l little reason to hold up the building of that particular dam because of the noncompletion of the spillway.
 That WIS Il country, so the most de- voted inhabitants freely admitted. in which 1t was always safe to bet that 1t would not rain. no matter how threatening might be the appearance of the sky: for in ninety-nine times out of hundred the negative would win the bet. Said inhabitants did not say the hundredth time might compensate for all the other failures. The weather was like the little girl with the pro verbal curl-when 1t did rain there was no doubt in anybody's mind as to the fact Sometimes the fountains of the great deep. which. in Holy Scrip turc at least, extended overhead. would be broken open and the violence Of the l fall and the quantity of 1t, and sudden ness of it. would he such that the West erners would graphically call II Il "cloudhurst," which, indeed 1t seemed | to be.
 Outside the rainy season clnudhursts were unheard of. and even in that sea son extremely rure. For the valley of the Picket Wire and Tn the plain beneath carefully tabulatcd reports of the rainfall for years had been consid- cred by the engineers. They had cho- sen the right season for the building of the dam. but when its crest began to rise nbove the designed level of the | Spillway the delay in opening the chan mel gave cause for some alarm. IL Is not the probable or certain that is feared. An old version that. of '.omne l iSuoum pro magninco"--it Is only the unknown of which men are afraid or only the unknown tn be feared Still there was nothing Vandeventer could ! do but obey orders and go ahead. The danger, after all was trihng. Another consequence of the waiting was that in hts inability to work on the spill way, he had more hands to devote to the dam and 1t rose the quicker.
 The shape of the country behind Ii was such that when the Picket Wire flowed with sufficient volume to All it, long lake going back through the val ley, or canyon, and twisting among the hills for some miles would result. In other words, the dam would make n beautiful artificial sheet of water bor- dered on one side by high range of hills, on the other by the dam, and on the third by the hills and the low hog back above Spanish mesa. which sepa- rated the Picket Wire valley from the Kicking Horse gorge up which the rail- road ran.
 Buried In his own thoughts. com muning with himself. considering cease lessly his position. dreaming of the woman he loved, planning new ca- reer. Meade yet explored every foot of the valley and ravine. He climbed to the top of Spanish mesa. and from it's height the whole country clear up the valley to the main range was visible to him. He could look down into the deep ravine of the Kicking Horse, and note the marvellous beauty and airiness of the arch bridge for all 1t so solidly carried the heavy freight trains of the railway.
 He could see far up and around the crooked course of the Picket Wire. The big grass-covered, hut otherwise bare and treeless hogback, that ran from fha nnpar auG nf tha sfona island af