The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1921-09-23
5nOM TANKS tW xol1e5Ha1 xMJ1Eas
BY COLA w. SHEPARD. United States Commissioner
FILING ON A DESERT ENTRY
TALK NO. p
tCopyrighted 1920 by Cola W. Shep-
ard. Colony. Wyo.. and published In the
Powder River County Examiner thru
special arrangement.)

special arrangement.)
On March 3rd, 1877, congress passed
a law providing for the disposal of
certain desert portions of the public
domain to perse ns who might be will
ing to reclaim the same by means of
irrigation. This law applies only to
California, Oregon, Nevada. Washing
ton, Idaho. Montana. Utah Arizona,
New Mexico. North and South Dakota
and Colorado.
As originally passed, each entryman
might take a section of desert land
under its provisions, but it was later
amended so that a20 acres is the limit
that can be taken under its provisions
by any one person that is. person
who has never taken any land under
the homestead avs or any other nom
mineral public land laws, If the en-
tryInan has taken up land under any
of the other nom mineral public land
laws then he, or she, can only take so
much land under this law as will not
exceed $40 acres alto gether. \ per-
son who has taken a $40 acre home
stead cannot thereafter take Il desert
entry, although a person who may
have taken desert entry of 100 acres
may still take 320-acre homestead.
peculiarl aw, but that is the way il
works out. as was eNplaine-, in pre-
Vious talk.
The qualifications for making a des-
ert entry are slightly different frcm
the qualifications for making home
stead entry. For instance, a person
must be an actual resident Of the
same state as the land is. in order to
make a desert entry, but it does not
matter how much land he may hap
pen 10 own at time Of making the en-
try. and married woman may make a
desert entry regardless of whether
her husband is also holding q desert
entry.
The law says that land which viii
not produce some agricultural crop
without irrigation shall be deemed deS-
ert lands, and that this fact shall be
ascertained by the proof of two or
mere credible witnesses. and the de-
termination of what shall be ronsid
cred desert land shall Il" subject to
the decision and regulation of tn.
commits sioner Of the general land Of
fee.
The law also requires that AT the
time of fling his or her applicable II,
the applicant shall pay 70 cents per
acre, and shall furnish a map of the
land with plan for the irrigation of
same. which shall be sufficient to
thoroughly irrigatc and reclaim the
said land and prepare it to raise as-
ricultural crops.
In former wears the land department
was very lax in the enforcement Of
this law. and the ma iCrity Of desert
entries We're never actually irrigat-d:
in fact. many of them never could be
irrigated, Eut this is all changed now
for the departing mt will not allow an
entry until the applicant has had il
surveyed and submits a practical plan
of irrigation and d showing that he
can procure the right TO the use of
sufficient water TO reclaim the tract
The man who would file on a desert
claim without knowing just how he
was going to irrisatc it. but trusting
that he would get a paen some way
If he made his entry ana paid his
money, is now stopped before he be
gins, for unless he intends TO gc on
and irii@ate the land he Will not ex-
pend the money necessary to having
While there is no restriction as tu
the source of water. Yet the depart
ment holds that here mus be q per
manent water supply of some ind II
may be from a running stream. from
springs. from artesian or common
wells. or from flood waters stored in
reservoirs. TIL. entyman may buy his
water from some ditch company, or
build his Cwn irrigation works, or a
number Of cntrymen may club toeeth-
Hr and build a joint project to irrisate
all the land, but they must irrigate it.
and unless they intend to fully com
ply with the law Il is better to leave
the desert entry alone. for. while
many have evaded ne law in the past
and obtained the land without iri.i-
Satin" 1t, the conditions which per
united that have ceased tc exist and
the law is Icing gigidly enforced at
the present time.
1t IS much easier to obtain the ar-
proNal "f the department where the
plan Of irrigation GiarloseS Il running
stream as a source of water supply.
than whore oth"r sources are relied
upon, and whore water supply is floc,l ,
water stored III small reservoirs to pr
constructed by the eutryman. it is yr,,v
difficult to get the department. to ap-
prove IF he plan and allow thu. entry.