202 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



THE SIDON CANAL WYOMING. 



CLARENCE T. JOHNSTON, 

 State Engineer. 



As illustrative of the value of the Carey Act the 

 Sidon canal in Big Horn County, Wyo., is the model 

 as far as this State is concerned. Under no other na- 

 tional statute can a company, association or individual 

 safely proceed with expensive canal construction. It 

 is often asked why not operate under the provisions 

 of the Desert Land "Act ? The reply is readily furnished 

 by those who have undertaken the building of canals 

 for the irrigation of lands obtained by others who have 

 no financial interest in the undertaking. If it were 

 possible to compel all filings on the tract to be irri- 

 gated to be under the Desert Act and require the en- 

 trymen to show that they have an interest in the irri- 

 gation works projected before title passes, the problem 

 would be simple. The Government, however, never 



OUTLINE VIEW OF SIDON CANAL, WYOMING. 



deals with those who are trying to develop any par- 

 ticular section, but with the individual entryman. He 

 may take up land under the Desert Land Act, the Home- 

 stead Act or the Timber and Stone Act. To prove up 

 on his desert claim he may plow a few furrows from 

 the stream, and as there is but little possibility of an 

 inspection by the Government, he generally feels that 

 he is safe in making the necessary final affidavits rela- 

 tive to reclamation. 



In many sections of the West as soon as surveyors 

 appear on a tract of land entry men begin to flock in 

 and before the irrigation system is completed the land 

 is all taken up. Probably not a single entryman desires 

 to cultivate his land, but hopes to dispose of it at a 

 profit, knowing that the construction of the canals great- 

 ly enhances values. Those who have invested their 

 money are in a condition comparable to that of a rail- 

 road company that completes its lines only to find 

 that there is no passenger or freight traffic. The people 

 of the West have long understood this difficulty and 

 the Carey Act was passed as a remedy. It is a rem- 

 edy, but its operation has been difficult owing to the 

 intricate working of the law as prescribed by the In- 



terior Department. Before an application for segre- 

 gation can be approved by the Secretary of the In- 

 terior, maps, field notes, land lists, affidavits of aridity, 

 records of water supply and .all kinds of miscellaneous 



S'DO.V CANAL, WYOMING. VIEW 1, HEADGATE. 



information has to be brought before him. Sometimes 

 a clerk forgets about an application and holds it for 

 three or four years. Projects have failed owing to this 

 delay. The money is secured and the parties inter- 

 ested are ready for work, but the segregation is delayed, 

 and those desiring to invest become discouraged. The 

 provisions of the law are fairly well understood, but 

 , the rulings of the Interior Department will probably 

 ~*~ never be. The law requires certain information to be 

 laid-before the Secretary of the 'Interior. When the 

 ipproval of the authorities at Washington is secured the 

 lands are conditionally ceded to the State. The irri- 

 gation company is protected by the refusal of the State 

 to allow anyone to settle or gain a title to the lands 

 until they show that they possess an interest in the 

 irrigation works. The State also fixes the maximum 

 rate per acre at which this interest in the irrigation 



SIDON CANAL, WYOMING. VIEW 2, ROCK WORK. 



works is sold. The lands themselves are sold to the 

 settler at fifty cents per acre. The cost of the irriga- 

 tion works runs from $10.00 to $30.00 per acre, depend- 

 ing upon the difficulties encountered in construction. 

 One of the great values of the Carey Act is that it 



