THE IKEIGATION AGE. 



309 



Up to 1889 but 350,000 acres of land were under 

 irrigation in this State. The census of 1900 shows 

 that at that time there were 951,154 acres reclaimed 

 either through individual effort or co-operative organ- 

 izations, and this out of 1,697,000 acres under cultiva- 

 tion. The irrigation ditches measured 8,612 miles, and 

 cost $4,683,073. The total value of irrigation products 

 in the State in 1899 was $7,230,042. 



The projects for reclamation of lands in this State 

 by the national Government are Lower Yellowstone, 

 which will reclaim 67,000 acres, with eighty miles of 

 main canal, taking water from the Yellowstone river 

 in eastern Montana; the Milk Eiver-St. Mary project, 

 to reclaim 250,000 acres in northern Montana; the 

 Marias sub-project to reclaim 200,000 acres in the same 

 section; the Madison river project to reclaim 150,000 

 acres in the Missouri, Madison, Crow Creek and Prickly 

 Pear Valleys, the section to be reclaimed lying in the 

 center of the State for a hundred miles along ihe 

 Northern Pacific railway and directly tributary to the 

 splendid markets at Helena and Butte, fifty thousand 

 acres in the Prickly Pear valley lying at the very doors 

 of the capital city, where farmers can market their 

 products without paying tribute to express or railway 

 companies. The Sun River project to reclaim 240,000 

 acres in Cascade and Lewis and Clark counties; the 

 Clarks Fork to reclaim 60,000 acres in eastern Mon- 

 tana; the Huntley project to reclaim 32,000 acres in 

 the same vicinity ; the Fort Custer, in eastern Montana, 

 to reclaim a large area ; the Big Horn High Line, in the 

 same section; the Waco-Sanders, in the same section. 

 These projects, when completed, will add to the tillable 

 domain of the State 991.000 acres. Surveys and esti- 

 mates have been made on all these projects and on the 

 Lower Yellowstone and Huntley projects contracts have 

 been let and the work is under way. Work has also 

 been commenced on the Milk River-St. Mary Lake 

 project. Work will soon be commenced on the Sun 

 River project. On the lands reclaimed under the pro- 

 visions of the National Irrigation Act, the farm unit 

 will probably.be eighty or at the outside 160 acres, to 

 be secured under the homestead laws with the cost of 

 putting on water added. 



Among the private enterprises now under way is 

 that of Mr. W. G. Conrad, by which water is now fur- 

 nished for 100,000 acres in Teton county, which has 

 become thickly settled and a prosperous town (Conrad) 

 has sprung up. Work is under way to furnish water for 

 the irrigation of another like area in the same vicinity, 

 and perpetual water rights can be secured at very low 

 cost. Another private enterprise well under way is 

 that of the Billings Land & Irrigation Company, which, 

 when its ditches are completed, will irrigate 40,000 

 acres. Ten thousand acres are already under ditch and 

 have been sold to settlers and crops are growing. 



Another important enterprise is the reclamation of 

 from 30,000 to 50,000 acres in the immediate front of 

 Helena, by the Helena Power Transmission Company, 

 by pumping by electric power the flood waters of the 

 Missouri. These lands will be extremely valuable, as 

 they are all within driving distance of Helena, where 

 there is a fine market. 



In the Gallatin valley the West Gallatin Irrigation 

 Company is irrigationg 15,000 acres at a cost to the 

 farmer of $2.00 per acre, and the Manhattan company 

 has 20,000 acres, with ditches for irrigating, and is 

 offering its lands in small tracts to settlers, including 

 a perpetual water right. 



In Sweet Grass county an extensive irrigation proj- 

 ect is being carried forward by the Securities Com- 

 pany, of Helena, which will reclaim forty thousand acres 

 of the bench along the Yellowstone River and ten thou- 

 sand acres will be watered from the Big Timber creek, 

 in the vicinity of the city of that name. Under the 

 contract with the State these lands can only be sold to 

 actual settlers in tracts not exceeding 160 acres, and 

 it is expected that the tract will be reclaimed and 

 thrown open to settlement some time during the year 

 1907. 



Nowhere can be found greater attractions and bet- 

 ter opportunities for those seeking homes than in this 

 State. These reclaimed lands can be secured under the 

 homestead laws or by purchase from the irrigation 

 companies at unusually reasonable prices and terms, 

 and will prove the most productive of any to be found 

 in this coimtry. Coupling these advantages with our 

 delightful and healthful climate and home markets for 

 everything that can be produced, and there is no spot 

 in the United States that can compare with Montana. 



RESTORED TO PUBLIC DOMAIN. 



On October 18, 1905, the Secretary of the Interior with- 

 drew from settlement a tract of land in connection with the 

 Lake Basin irrigation project, Montana, and has today re- 

 stored to the public domain that part of it lying in the 

 E. 54 N. E. 54, and E. y 2 S. E. y 2 Sec. 16, T. 2 N., R. 20 E., 

 M. P. M., and reserved it for use by the Forest Service as 

 a planting area. 



Operations under the Okanogan project, Washington, hav- 

 ing reached a point where the engineers have been able to 

 determine that the following lands are not required, the 

 Secretary of the Interior has restored them to settlement. 



WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN. 



T. 32 N., R. 25 E., all Sees. 1, 2, 3 and 10. 



T. 33 N., R. 25 E., all Sees. 1, 12, 13, 24, 25, 26, 35 and 36. 



T. 34 N., R. 25 E., lots 1 and 2, S. E. 54 N. E. 54, E. l / 2 

 S. E. 54 Sec. 1; E. }4 Sees. 12 and 13; N. E. 54 Sec. 24. 



T. 35 N., R. 25 E., N. W. 54, N. y 2 S. W. 54, S. W. 54 

 S. W. 54 Sec. 2; E 54 S. E. J4 Sec. 3; N. E. # N. E. ft, 

 S. 54 N. E. 54, N. 54 S. E. y 4 and S. E. 54 S. E. 54 Sec. 10; 

 N. W. 54 N. W. 54, S. W. 54, S. W. 54 S. E. 54 Sec. 11; 

 E. y 2 , N. E. 54 N. W. 54, E. y 2 S. W. y 2 Sec. 14; E. y 2 

 N. W. 54, S. W. 54, N. y 2 N. E. 54, S. W. 14 N. E. 54, S. 

 y* S. E. 54, Sec. 23; S. W. 54 S. W. 54 Sec. 24; N. E. 54, 

 E. 5^ N. W. 54 Sec. 26; S. 54 S. E. J4 Sec. 36. 



T. 36 N., R. 25 E., S. W. 54 S. W. 54 Sec. 15; S. W. 

 54, W. y 2 S. E. 54, S. E. 54 S. E. 54 Sec. 16; N. 54 N. E. 

 54, N. y 2 N. W. 54, Sec. 21; N. 54 N. W. 54, S. W. 54 

 N. W. 54 Sec. 22; W. y 2 S. W. 54, S. W. 54 N. W. 54 

 Sec. 26; S. E. 54 N. E. 54 Sec. 27; W. 54 Sec. 35. 



T. 33 N., R. 26 E., N. 54 N. W. 54 Sec. 2; S. W. J4 

 Sec. 5; all Sees. 6 and 7; W. 54 Sec. 8; N. W. 54 Sec. 10; 

 N. W. 54 Sec. 16; all Sees. 17, 18 and 19; N. W. 54 Sec. 20; 

 all Sec. 30: N. 54 and S. W. 54 Sec. 31. 



T. 34 N., R. 26 E., all Sees. 2 to 9 incl., 16 to 20 incl., W. 

 54 Sec. 29; all Sec. 30; E. 54 Sec. 35; all Sec. 36. 



T. 35 N.. R. 26 E.. all Sees. 24, 25, 35 and 36. 



These lands will not be subject to entry, filing or selec- 

 tion under the public land laws until ninety days after notice 

 bv such publication as the Department may prescribe. 



The secretary of the Interior has vacated his order of 

 August 19, 1904, withdrawing certain lands in New Mexico 

 in connection with the La Plata irrigation project, is so far 

 as it affects the following described lands, and has restored 

 the tract to entry: 



W. 54 N. W. 54, N. E. 54 N. W. 54, and N. W. % 

 S. W. 54. Sec. 4; S. E. 54 N. E. 54 Sec. 5, T. 29 N.. R. 13 

 W. ; also E. 54 S. W. 54 and N. W. 54 S. E. 54 Sec. 33, 

 T. 30 N., R. 13 W. 



These lands are desired for homestead entry and investi- 

 gations show that their restoration will not affect the La 

 Plata project. They will not become subject to entry, filing 

 or selection under the public land laws until ninety days after 

 the publication of such notice as the Department may pre- 

 scribe. 



