THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



money, fell to the pursuing Indians. Some of the latter 

 did not live long to enjoy their spoils, for among the 

 forty-five Piutes slain in a battle near Owens lake 

 the following month were many on whose bodies were 

 found blankets, coins and other plunder looted from the 

 abandoned wagon. 



Mr. McGee is one of the most highly esteemed citi- 

 zens of Inyo county, and his absolute fearlessness is 

 accompanied by the usual attribute of bravery a mod- 

 esty which minimizes one's own deeds. In this I have 

 told his story, with a few additions from local written 

 history; and so some of the details of the flight, as told 

 by others than Mr. McGee himself, have been omitted 

 details of his own personal conduct, which made him 

 in local estimation of the affair its most important 

 figure, next to the unfortunate negro Charley. 



This was one of the incidents of four years of war, 

 waged while a larger drama was being enacted east of 

 the Mississippi. The government was well occupied 

 elsewhere than in Owens Valley, and could do little to- 

 ward helping the settlers. So it turned out that the 

 pioneers largely fought their own battles, and struck 

 the most telling blows which were to give this fertile 

 valley to civilization. Today the government, too busy 

 to conquer this then wilderness, is seeking by every 

 arbitrary construction of law or official orders to nullify 

 that victory; to deprive the people who risked their 

 lives to win it of the legitimate fniits of their battles, 

 by ordaining that its development shall be perpetually 

 checked. 



Reclamation Service 



I 

 .*, 



The Secretary of the Interior has ordered the suspen- 

 sion of the contract of Messrs. Page & Brinton, of Boise, 

 Idaho, for schedules 2 and 3 on the main canal, Payette- 

 Boise project. On October 5 the contractors were noti- 

 fied that unless within five days from that time they had 

 resumed work on their contract, with force sufficient to 

 complete the work by December 1, 1908, the contract 

 would be suspended. The government has taken over the 

 equipment of the contractors and will proceed at once 

 to complete the work by force account. 



The second unit of the TJmatilla project of the United 

 States Reclamation Service in Oregon has been completed 

 and an additional 2,499 acres will be supplied with water 

 next season. 



Developments on this project have attracted wide- 

 spread interest, owing to the advantageous location of 

 the irrigable lands, the favorable climate, and the exceed- 

 ing fertility of the soil. The project is situated in a sec- 

 tion where the growing season is long and a wide variety 

 of crops are produced, many of which are the first on the 

 markets of Portland, Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane, which 

 cities are tributary to these farms. The project is essen- 

 tially one of small farms, and. fully developed, is likely 

 to become one of the most intensely cultivated areas in 

 the Northwest. 



The irrigable lands are in townships 4 and 5 N., 

 ranges 28 and 29 E., and plats showing the location and 

 area of the various farms which may be entered under 

 the provisions of the homestead laws and irrigable lands 

 in private ownership are on file in the local land office at 

 La Grande, Oregon. 



The water right charges are divided into two parts, 

 namely, for building the works, and an annual charge 



covering the cost of operation and maintenance. The 

 part for building the works has been fixed at $60 per 

 acre of irrigable land and this may be paid in annual in- 

 stalments of $6 per acre or some multiple thereof with- 

 out interest. The part for operation and maintenance 

 until further notice has been fixed at $1.30 per acre ot 

 irrigable land per annum. For new entries one full in- 

 stalment of the charges for building, operation and main- 

 tenance, $7.30 per acre of irrigable land must be paid at 

 the time of making entry and water right application at 

 the U. S. Land Office at La Grande, Oregon. The sec- 

 ond instalment is due and payable December 1, 1910, at 

 the same place, and subsequent instalments on December 

 1 of each year, but the part for operation and maintenance 

 must be paid on or before April 1 of each year. 



For private lands and lands heretofore entered within 

 the irrigable area, the first instalment will be due and 

 payable December 1, 1909. All water right applicants are 

 required to join the Umatilla Water Users' Association, 

 Hermiston, Oregon, which has contracted with the United 

 States, guaranteeing the payment of the water right 

 charges by its members, who give the Association a lien 

 on their lands. 



The acting Secretary of the Interior has changed 

 the form of withdrawal of the following described lands 

 in Wyoming from the first to the second, in connection 

 with the Shoshone irrigation project: S Yi nw J4 section 

 19, T. 52 N., R. 102 W., 6th P. M. 



The Secretary of the Jnterior has withdrawn from 

 public entry, under the first form of withdrawal, in con- 

 nection with the Minidoka project, the following de- 

 scribed lands in Idaho, excepting any tracts the title to 

 which has passed out of the United States: Boise Prin- 

 cipal Meridian Townships 5 and 6 S., R. 31 E., all; 

 Township 5 S., R. 32 E., all; Townships 3 and 4 S., R. 33 

 E., all. 



The following contracts have been awarded in con- 

 nection with the Mabton lateral, Sunnyside irrigation 

 project. Washington: 



H. W. Holden, Portland, Oregon, Schedule 1, in- 

 volving the excavation of about 28,000 cubic yards of 

 material; contract price, $4,382.50. 



Schedules 2 and 3 to .David S. Wilson, of Mabton, 

 Washington, involving the excavation of about 31,500 

 cubic yards of material; contract price, $5,918.50. 



George C. Clark, of Richland, Washington, Schedule 

 4, consisting of 2,100 linear feet of timber flumes, requir- 

 ing about 170,000 feet (B. M.) of lumber; contract price, 

 $5,040.00. 



The Secretary of the Interior has approved the exe- 

 cution of the contract entered into by the engineer in 

 charge of the Payette-Boise irrigation project, Idaho, with 

 Messrs. Conway and Wilhite of Nampa, Idaho, for fur- 

 nishing certain grading equipment, labor, etc. The aggre- 

 gate expenditure to be incurred under the contract is 

 indeterminate, but it is estimated that the amount will 

 approximate $300 per day. The contract may be termi- 

 nated by the United States upon five days' written notice. 



The acting Secretary of the Interior has vacated 

 the first form withdrawal of November 4, 1904. in connec- 

 tion with the Dubois project, so far as it related to the 

 nw % ne 54. s ^ ne ^ and e ^ nw }4 section 30, T. 

 14 N., R. 44 E., B. M., Idaho, and restored such tracts to the 

 public domain, if not otherwise withdrawn, reserved or 

 appropriated, waiving notice by publication limiting the 

 time for settlement and entry, as the tracts are included 

 in an indemnity school selection list filed by the State of 

 Idaho. 



The Secretary of the Interior, on behalf of the United 

 States, has entered into a contract with the Sunnyside 

 Water Users' Association of Sunnyside, Washington, pro- 

 viding for the construction of a number of ditches in con- 

 nection with the Sunnyside unit of the Yakima project. 

 The contract is in conformity with the recently adopted 

 plan of the bureau to promote the active co-operation 



