408 



IRRIGATION. 



and the doors of factories and machine shops were closed, there was 

 a steady stream of pioneers, representing^ the best of the lione and 

 muscle of the country, go'in^ out upon the broad plains and prairies, 

 building up substantial communities and expanding within our own 

 borders the area of the highest type of civilization. All this has 

 passed away. There are no longer to be seen the prairie schooners and 

 the emigrant wagons filled with household goods, with the children on 



Forest reservations 



Fig. 1. — Map .showing location of vacant jmblic land.s. [The open or white .space.s .show the vacant 



lands.l 



top or trailing behind. Only the Pike Count}' wanderer, who is always 

 seeking something better, is still to be found pursuing his aimless 

 search for the promised land. It is true that the railroads have done 

 away with the necessity for the overland journey, but the railroads 

 cover only a very small extent of the vast inland empire of the United 

 States. Stretches of hundreds of miles of vacant public land lie 

 between the railroads, but across these fertile plains the homeseeker 

 no longer travels. 



