THE IRRIGATION PROBLEMS AND 



POSSIBILITIES OF NORTHERN 



WYOMING. 



SOME OF THE AGRICULTURAL PROBLEMS AND 

 POSSIBILITIES OF NORTHERN WYOMING- 

 IMPRESSIONS OF A CAMPING TRIP. 



BY PROF. ELWOOD MEAD. 



Early in 1897, I decided that before snow fell again I would visit 

 Wind river and Jackson hole, the two irrigable districts of the state I 

 had not seen. To do this was no holiday affair. Both are far from 

 railroads- one might truthfully say from good roads of any kind. To 

 make even a hasty examination of their agricultural prospects re- 

 quired so large an outlay of both money and time that I had not be- 

 fore been able to attempt it, thongh it had long been in mind. When, 

 therefore, a proposal to unite our forces came from Captain H. M. 

 Chittenden of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., the offer was gladly 

 accepted. Captain Chittenden wished to examine some reservoir sites 

 in the Big Horn mountains' and we arranged our trip to begin with his 

 work and end with mine. To do this we had to start at Buffalo, Wyo- 

 ming, climb the Big Horn range to the headwaters of Piney Creek at 

 the base of Cloud Peak and from there to return to Sheridan to outfit 

 for the longer journey. As the latter involved a ride on horseback 

 and in wagons of over 600 miles, in which three lofty and rugged 

 mountain ranges had to be climbed, and two of the largest rivers in 

 the state forded, we had to have a good outfit. The need of this was 

 not lessened by the fact that much of the distance would be through 

 a region devoid of either settlers or houses, making the carrying and 

 cooking of our meals, and providing our own shelter not a matter of 

 choice, but of necessity. 



Before we set out so much interest was manifested in the sections 

 we were to visit that our party of two had grown to seven. Clarence 

 T. Johnston, Assistant State Engineer, was added to gage the streams 

 crossed for the U. S. Geological Survey. Hon. Henry G. Hay, State 

 Treasurer and the first government land surveyor in Wyoming Terri- 

 tory, joined us and he was followed by Hon. E. S. Nettleton, ex- State 

 Engineer of Colorado, C. H. Harrison, a hydraulic engineer of St. 

 Paul, and Rev. E. E. Smiley of Cheyenne. While six of the seven 



