THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



81 



DRAINAGE DEPT. 



REMINISCENCES OF A DRAINAGE SURVEY. 



BY C. G. ELLIOTT. 



It has been sixteen years since the subject of the 

 drainage of the Eed River valley in Minnesota was first 

 taken up in a comprehensive way. In view of the active 

 interest exhibited during recent years in ihe construction 

 of ditches in the valley, and the gratifying success which 

 has attended the work in both constructive and legal 

 phases, it may prove of interest to describe some of the 

 pioneer work which preceded the system of improve- 

 ments which is now k-ing carried out. 



The Red River valley has been noted from its 

 earliest settlement as a tpyical wheat growing country. 

 The merits of "Minnesota No. 1 hard'' were appreciated 

 l>y every milling establishment in the A T orthwest, and 

 the superior nutritive value of flour made from it was 

 well understood in the markets. The fame of the im- 

 mense wheat farms which were opened up in the 70's 

 and the reports of money made in operating them 

 brought the valley into prominent notice as a desirable 

 place for the home seeker and speculator in lands. The 

 large or bonanza farms, as they were called, were selected 

 from a large domain and naturally the choicest locations 

 wore first occupied. 



The portion of the valley which became distin- 

 guished in this respect is a strip of prairie land from 

 twelve to eighteen miles wide bordering the Red River 

 and extending from the north line of the state south a 

 distance of two hundred miles. To the casual observer 

 it is a plain diversified by no slopes which suggest ade- 

 quate natural drainage. Such streams as there are 

 have their rise in the higher lands lying to the east, flow 

 westerly towards the Red River, but in crossing the 

 prairie plain many of them loose themselves and form 

 marshes thousands of acres in extent, and then as they 

 approach the river discharge their overflow through 

 diminutive channels /mere ditches into the sluggish 

 Red River of the Norfeh. Upon a closer examination at 

 a time when there is ah abundance of water io indicate 

 the comparative levels,Harge flat areas are discovered 

 with corresponding more elevated tracts, the difference 

 between the two being perhaps from one to three feet, 

 but of such large extent that no drainage outlets are per- 

 ceptible. Another natural feature of this valley are well 

 defined channels six or seven feet deep and often 

 several miles in length which occur at irregular inter- 

 vals, but have no outlet connection with any stream. 

 These are called coulees and are evidently old water 

 channels which have been rendered inoperative by the 

 action of more recent streams from the eastern slope of 

 the valley. 



According to the evidence secured by the geological 

 survey of the state, the valley was at one time a- large 

 inland sea having connection at the north with Lake 

 Winnipeg. Later as the land at the north became 

 higher, the movement of the water as it receded from the 

 higher land was toward the West where it found an 

 exit through the channel of the Red River. As the 

 channel of the river became better defined, the fall of the 

 water was more rapid until at last it passed away leav- 

 ing the lacustrine clay bed upon which the alluvial de- 

 posit was subsequently made. This body of water is 

 called Lake Agassiz. As the waters of this inland sea 



gradually receded from the higher land, beaches were 

 formed which can now be traced and show the successive 

 positions occupied by the shore line of this ancient lake. 

 These beaches often fragmentary, but sometimes con- 

 tinuous, have been located and are marked upon the 

 geological map of the state, and seem to prove con- 

 clusively that the theory of the existence of an ancient 

 inland sea is correct. Artesian wells have been sunk 

 200 feet or more deep through soil, yellow clay and 

 blue clay into a stratum_of gravel where fresh water is 

 found, indicating that rock does not exist at ordinary 

 depths. 



These were the characteristics of the valley as seen 

 by the writer in 1886. At that time the desirability of 

 better drainage had become pretty well impressed tipon 

 the minds of leading business men. A series of wet sea- 

 sons had just closed during which great injury had been 

 done to crops which, in addition to the low price of 

 wheat then prevailing, had worked great hardship upon 

 all classes of settlers. The methods of farming are pe- 

 culiar to the climate and should be briefly mentioned. 

 During the rigorous winters the ground freezes to a depth 

 of six feet, thereby effecting a thorough opening up and 

 pulverization of the soil to that depth. The field for 

 tHe crop is plowed in the early fall and the wheat sown 

 in the spring as soon as the frost passes out of the sur- 

 face sufficiently to leave a few inches of mellow seed 

 bed. The moisture produced by the continual thawing 

 of the frost furnishes all needed moisture for the grow- 

 ing plants during the first part of the season. Early 

 seeding is imperative, otherwise the grain does not have 

 time to mature in the fall before frost overtakes it, 

 resulting in "frosted wheat." If warm rains melt the-. 

 snows on the slopes to east of the valley land quite 

 rapidly, a wave of water moves down the slope and 

 over the fields, causing a suspension of all seeding, 

 often delaying all farming operations for two or three 

 weeks. This may mean to the farmer a difference be- 

 tween a good crop and a total loss. In addition to this 

 annual risk, occasional summer rains drown crops al- 

 ready well started. These discouraging effects were be- 

 coming a serious menace to the prosperity of this wheat 

 growing valley and it was decided that something must 

 be done. The extent of the valley, its level surface and 

 lack of adequate outlets, presented a problem in drain- 

 age which no one had solved. There was much difference 

 of opinion as to what direction the drainage should 

 take. The banks of the few streams which could be 

 utilized were higher than the land bordering them. 

 The coulees were channels with no outlets. Swamps 

 of from 2,000 acres to 30,000 acres which filled up 

 and overflowed the surrounding land intensified the 

 difficulties to be surmounted. That united action of 

 the counties bordering on the Red river should be 

 taken was a proposition finally acceeded to by those 

 who had given the subject consideration. 



A convention was called to meet at Crookston in 

 July, 1886, to formulate a plan of action. The counties 

 were well represented by delegates, who took an active 

 part in the discussion of the plans proposed. Presi- 

 dent J. J. Hill, of what was then known as the St. 

 Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba R. R., was there and 

 encouraged the movement greatly by offering to con- 

 tribute one-half of the cost of a preliminary survey. 

 It was agreed that a topographical survey should be 

 made and" a comprehensive plan of drainage be formu- 

 lated and reported to the same convention, which should 

 be convened at the call of the chairman after the sur- 



