The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-11-23
(By MICHAEL KENNEDY

an ace IN the mole IN the DeaQ Mall ;
basin project, the intake canal OF which
is little more than a stones throw from
the windswept outskirts Of ShaWmut.
Built at an almost negligible
considering the scope OF h project
and its intrinsic value Immediately up
on completion-it now looks as hough
the Dead Mans basin intake canal n
possibly an outlet tunnel will be COM
pleted next summer.
Three months g officials estimat-
ed as high as 10 years to finish the
work.
Assurance of specially earmarked
FERA funds to finance completion OF
the work, made recently by Harry L..
Hopkins, federal relief administrator,
to Gov. Frank H. Cooney, has speeded
operations and renewed hopes for quick
completion of the project.
With two giant draglines. two large
cats towing heavily beamed "tum-
blebugs.' some 2 teams and dump Wag-
ons and an average of about 100 relief
pick and shovel laborers, gouging out
the soft, sandy loan characteristic OF
that region during W eight-hour shifts
daily, a lot Of dirt is being moved.
AS late as Sept. l with pick and
shovel workers., fresnos, WheelbarroWs
and dump wagons going full blast,
John w. Hall, chief engineer OF the
Montana relief administration, address
sing a group of 800 citizens vitality in
terested in the program, at Roundup.
said that at that rate "it would take 10
years to complete the project"
At that time expenses were being
prorated out of funds of Wheatland.
Musselshell and Golden Valley coun-
ties, with the Federal Emergency Relief
administration assisting in supplying
material and all relief labor.
At that time also, as now, sixty
percent of the labor came from Mussel-
shell county-principally from Round
up, with its heavy unemployed relief
load of coal miners-30 percent from
Golden Valley and 10 percent from
Wheatland.
Only since Oct. 1, when the first
dragline was placed on the job, did II
look as though the Lil1iputian swarm
of workmen and horses and wheel-bar-
would ever make a sufficient
crease in the earth's surface to carry
the raging early spring overflow wa
ter of the mighty Musselshell to safe
storage for holding in the basin against
the annual late summer aridity in that
region. A week later another OF the
great machine giants went on the job,
and the whole aspect Of the project
changed.
Clanking and groaning, I watched
them tear their 1s-yard bite out of the
soft brown loan with the regularity of
clockwork, working at both ends of the
eight-mile ditch. This intake canal
ditch starts just below the tiny settle
ment of Winnecoop, where a small d.
version dam will later be constructed.
The project is an engineering marvel
in that such a small dam is capable OF
impounding 10000 acre-feet of water.
Actually, the dam does not hold the
water back. Nature was very provident
in creating a great natural basin near
by to do that.
Down the line a ways, dwarfed by
the mountainous sides of the ditch.
chugged a giant caterpillar tractor with
its 72-yard "tumblebug" gouging out a
great strip of brown earth at every trip.
This recent addition to the force, oper-
ated by the FERA, moves as much as
the two draglines together-and they
do an i~nconceivable amount OF dirt
moving as compared with wheelbarrows
and hand labor of July, August and
September. Two other small tumble
bugs" contributed by the three counties
and pulled by lighter and smaller "cats"
are also doing their part.
Gordon B. Paxson, engineer in charge
of the project, told me the upper drag
line Is now moving about 300 cubic
yards of dirt every eight hours, and
the lower one, working near the basin
in rocker soil. moves some 500 cubic
yards every shift.
At various points in the ditch work.
ing in the swirling, biting sand and
dust, forced up by wind that seldom
ceases in this region, n catches sight
of small crews of the relief laborers.
Most of the 100 men who work out their
budgetary requirements there at M
time are doing hand labor. blasting.
clearing out and finishing wherever the
draglines or 'tumblebugs" have COM
pleted their tasks. Quite often one sees
small groups of the Is dump wagons
and teams making their way in and
out of the ditch.
Since late in July some 900 men have
been employed monthly on the project.
but seldom do more than 100 work at
one time. Working an e%ight-hour shift
at gu cents an hour, it does not take
long for them to work out their budget:
which, because the job is always away
from their homes, is augmented by 81
a day above their pay to provide for
board and room. When a mans bud
get is worked out, he goes back home
and a replacement from n of the
three counties comes in Immediately.
Right there is a big problem, but it's
being handled well by the three county
relief administrators concerned, who
have co-operated throughout in the
closest manner possible.
But perhaps I'm getting ahead of
myself. 1t is difficult to conceive of the
project until one has seen it, and I
~~--~~ks0N IN