NATIONAL RECLAMATION OF ARID LANDS. 483 



$4 per acre for the benefit of the Crow Indians. Tlie Huntley project 

 lands were witlidrawn by the Secretary's order of May 21, 1906, and 

 will probably be opened for settlement in July, 1907. Announcement 

 of the date of opening will be made in the public press in due time. 



The construction of the irrigation works under the Huntley project 

 was authorized by the Secretary of the Interior April 18, 1905, and 

 the work was about two-thirds done on January 1, 1907. The main 

 canal, headworks, and incidental structures are being built in the 

 most substantial manner. The culverts, turn-outs, and waste ways are 

 made of concrete, reenforced with steel. The three tunnels, aggre- 

 gating 2,650 feet in length, are lined with concrete throughout. The 

 small turn-outs and culverts on the distributing system are built of 

 wood, but are heavy and well constructed. A special feature is the 

 pumping plant near Ballantine, which utilizes the power developed 

 by a necessary drop of 33^ feet in the main canal, to lift about 50 

 cubic feet per second of water about 50 feet, to the high-line canal. 

 The main canal is about 32 miles long, and the high-line canal about 

 7 miles long. It is proposed later to extend both these canals to 

 water additional land. A telephone S3^stem has been installed to 

 facilitate construction work, and will be an important part of the 

 operating system. 



The climate is good, the temperature ranging from 100° F. to 

 — 35° F., and the rainfall varying from 9 to 15 inches annually. 



The soils vary from a fine sandy loam to a heavy clay, and in some 

 places are strongly impregnated with alkali. The waste-water ditches 

 are laid out so as to prevent the rise of alkali on the good land, and to 

 allow of the j)oorer pieces being reclaimed. 



The crops will be largeW forage crops and sugar beets. There is a 

 fine free-range countrj- adjoining the valley, which makes stock 

 raising profitable when winter feed is procurable. A new beet-sugar 

 factory at Billings, 13 miles west of Huntley, seems to be very suc- 

 cessful, and with a market as at present the raising of beets is very 

 profitable. Apples and the small fruits can be raised. 



Sun River froiect. — The ultimate development of this project in- 

 volves the reclamation of 250,000 acres of land tributary to the Sun 

 Kiver. A large percentage of the land is public domain. The land 

 is a broad prairie, extending from Teton Eiver on the north to and 

 including the Sun River Valley on the south. The irrigable tract has 

 a length east and west of about 70 miles and north and south of about 

 30 miles. The topography of the country and water supply combine 

 to make the project an attractive one. 



Fort Shaw, the first unit to be reclaimed, will be located on the 

 south side of Sun River and contains an area of 17,000 acres. The 

 unregulated flow of Sun River will afford ample supply for this land 

 during the early irrigation season, and to insure an ample supply 



