320 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



July 



the irrigable area by the erection of a 

 central power station convenient to the 

 coal supply, transmitting the power 

 electrically to pumping plants farther 

 down. 



An enormous increase in property 

 values and the insurance of good crops 

 every year would result from the con- 

 struction of this work, and it would be 

 a matter greatly to be regretted if con- 

 tinued neglect on the part of the land 

 owners to embrace their opportunities 

 should make it necessary to transfer 

 operations to other localities. 



Progress on the Shoshone Works 



High water in the river has inter- 

 fered materially with work on the 

 Shoshone project, Wyoming, this 

 spring, and necessitated moving the 

 main camp to higher ground. Bor- 

 ings at the dam site in Shoshone Can- 

 yon and along the line of the Corbett 

 diversion tunnel have been practically 

 completed, surveys for the final loca- 

 tion of the canal between the tunnel 

 and Ralston made, and road grading 

 above the main darn begun. 



It is proposed to complete work on 

 the wagon road through Shoshone 

 Canyon at an early date and construct 

 the temporary buildings at the Cor- 

 bett diversion dam site. A telephone 

 system consisting of about six miles 

 of line will greatly facilitate the work. 

 Topographic surveys of irrigable land 

 will be carried on during the summer 

 and final location of canal lines made. 



Borings along the line of the diver- 

 sion tunnel on the south side of the 

 river will be commenced in a short 

 time, and it is hoped that the prepara- 

 tion of farm unit maps may be made 

 during the summer. 



Poor Postal Facilities Delay worlc 



Engineers of the Reclamation Ser- 

 vice at Glendive, Montana, are ex- 

 periencing much inconvenience and 

 iK-lay in the work on the Fort Buford 

 project, by reason of the inadequate 

 mail facilities, and a postoffice inspec- 

 tor has been looking over the situa- 

 tion. 



It is deemed advisable that a post- 



office be established at Neil Stewart's 

 ranch, which is on the stage line 20 

 miles from Glendive and one mile 

 from the headworks, where a perma- 

 nent camp is established, and that the 

 mail service between Glendive and 

 Mondak be improved. 



At present it takes a week to send 

 mail to Mondak and get reply, a dis- 

 tance of 50 miles, and a great deal of 

 business is carried on at that point. 

 The service to Glendive is also exceed- 

 ingly bad. 



The contractors will have large 

 camps in the vicinity of the Stewart 

 ranch, and several families would also 

 get their mail there. The matter has 

 been taken up with the department, 

 and it is hoped that satisfatcory ar- 

 rangements will be made in the near 

 future. 

 Bids Opened and Contracts L,et 



Bids for the construction of Laguna. 

 dam, Yuma project, California, were 

 publicly opened at the office of the 

 Reclamation Service, Los Angeles, 

 California, at 2 p. m., on June 5, 1905. 

 Eight regular bids were received, as 

 follows : 



J. C. White & Co., New York City, 

 $797,650.00. 



Burrell Const. Co., Oakland, Cal., 

 $799-5 So.oo. 



P. McDonnell, Duluth, Minn., $823,- 

 660.00. 



City Street Imp. Co., San Francisco, 

 Cal., $829,519.50. 



Cotton Bros. & Co., Oakland, Cal., 

 $847,675.00. 



R. W. Faris, Boise, Idaho, $862,- 

 ooo.oo. 



Pacific Const. Co., San Francisco, 

 Cal., $866,560.00. 



N. S. Sherman Machinery Co., Ok- 

 lahoma City, Oklahoma, $1,030,117.50. 



These bids have been transmitted to 

 the Secretary of the Interior for his 

 consideration. 



The project board recommended the 

 construction of a dyke as a part of the 

 irrigation and reclamation works. This 

 dyke is believed necessary for the di- 

 version of the flood waters of the Colo- 

 rado River from the irrigable lands in 



