1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



323 



in connection with the Fort Buford 

 project, North Dakota and Montana. 

 These proposals will be received at the 

 office of the engineer of the U. S. Re- 

 clamation Service, Glendive, Montana, 

 until August 21, 1905. 



Bids were opened on June ist for 

 the construction of the headworks and 

 34 miles of canal, together with the 

 necessary conduits, spillways, sluice- 

 ways, and other structures, and also 

 for 70 miles of telephone line. A con- 

 tract between Lower Yellowstone Wa- 

 ter Users' Association and the Secre- 

 tary of the Interior has been signed by 

 the president and secretary of the As- 

 sociation and will soon be submitted to 

 the department. 



Field parties are at work revising 

 and cross sectioning the 34 miles of 

 canal line preparatory to construction, 

 and other parties are locating the lat- 

 eral system. A soil survey is being 

 made with a view of determining the 

 farm units. As soon as the location 

 of the lateral system has reached a 

 point where plans and specifications 

 can be drawn, bids will be asked for 

 its construction, and a dam across Yel- 

 lowstone River will be advertised at 

 about the same time. 



As much of the land to be irrigated 

 by this system lies on the benches 

 about 90 feet above the river, it will be 

 necessary to raise the water in the 

 river about 5 feet at the headgates by 

 means of the diversion dam. At the 

 pointof diversion, about 19 miles north 

 of Glendive, Mont., the river is rather 

 shallow and has suitable foundations 

 for a low dam, which will be so lo- 

 cated as to permit the canal to be 

 taken out in a tunnel, thus placing the 

 headgates where they will be protected 

 from the shock of large ice gorges 

 which cause considerable damage 

 along the river every few years. 



This project is surrounded by one 

 of the finest and largest grazing re- 

 gions in the West. The stock re- 

 quires feeding three months of the 

 year, and the quantity of feed avail- 

 able determines the amount of stock 

 that can profitably be raised. With 

 this tract of land irrigated and alfalfa 

 and other forage crops extensively 



grown, this will be one of the largest 

 stock feeding points in the West. 



The Secretary of the Interior has 

 advertised for proposals to furnish 

 from twelve to sixteen thousand bar- 

 rels of Portland cement for the Fort 

 Buford project, North Dakota and 

 Montana. 



The bids will be received at the of- 

 fice of the Engineer of the U. S. Re- 

 clamation Service at Glendive, Mon- 

 tana, until July 31, and particulars 

 may be obtained by application to the 

 Chief Engineer, U. S. Reclamation 

 Service, Washington, D. C., or to F. 

 E. W T eymouth, Engineer, U. S. Geo- 

 logical Survey, Glendive, Montana. 



Bids for the construction of the 

 Pathfinder dam, in connection with 

 the North Platte project, Wyoming, 

 were opened at Denver June 16, and 

 the lowest bid was found to be that 

 of W. C. Bradbury $364,940. 



The Secretary of the Interior has 

 also advertised for bids for the con- 

 struction of a pile bridge 350 feet long 

 across the North Platte River, about 

 25 miles southwest of Casper, Wyo- 

 ming. Cement and other material for 

 the dam and related works are to be 

 delivered at Casper, and the proposed 

 bridge is on the shortest route by 10 

 miles between that point and the Path- 

 finder dam. 



The route by the bridge passes 

 through a country where feed for 

 stock is grown, so that feeding sta- 

 tions can be established at points along 

 the road without the expense of haul- 

 ing fodder a great distance. There is 

 also a telephone line in operation 

 along the route which will soon be ex- 

 tended to the dam site, and the road 

 is in a condition to be easily repaired. 

 The Chicago and Northwestern Rail- 

 road and the County Commissioners 

 of Natrona county have signified a 

 willingness to make the needed re- 

 pairs. 



The direct advantage which will re- 

 sult from the construction of the 

 bridge and the consequent shortening 

 of the route over which cement and 

 supplies must be hauled, should mn- 

 teriallv reduce the cost of the dam. 



