244 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



ture from the old policy of permitting a free-for-all scram- 

 ble, in which the non-resident land-seeker was always at 

 a disadvantage. The method of procedure decided upon 

 is as follows: 



Any person desiring to make entry may, either through 

 the mails or otherwise, present to the register and re- 

 ceiver of the land office at Billings, Mont., his personal 

 affidavit, sworn to before some officer authorized to ad- 

 minister oaths in the Billings land district. These affi- 

 davits must reach the land office between 9 o'clock a. m. 

 June 18 and 4:30 p. m. June 25, 1907. Beginning on 

 Wednesday, June 26, 1907, the register and receiver, under 

 the supervision of a representative of the secretary of the 

 Interior, will publicly open the sealed boxes in which 

 the envelopes have been placed, thoroughly mix the en- 

 velopes, and then as they are selected number them from 

 1 to 1,500. The envelopes will then be opened and each 

 person whose affidavit is found therein will be notified 

 of his number, which will control the time and order in 

 which he may apply to make entry. No person who does 

 not hold a number assigned to him under these regula- 

 tions will be permitted to make entry prior to a date to 

 be fixed by the secretary, when all lands which have not 

 been entered will become subject to settlement and entry 

 under the provisions of the reclamation act of homestead 

 law, subject to the rules announced in the secretary's 

 order. 



Relinquishments in favor of someone else will not be 

 permitted, as the lucky numbers are not transferable. 



The envelopes must be sealed and must not be marked 

 in any way to indicate the sender, and no person may 

 make more than one application. If the rules in this re- 

 spect are not followed the application will be thrown out. 

 All envelopes filed will be opened and recorded. If a 

 person who has drawn a number has filed more than one 

 application, his name and number will be canceled from 

 the list. The event will be a notable one in the history 

 of Montana, inasmuch as the Huntley will be the first 

 project constructed under the reclamation law to be 

 thrown open to entry in .the state. The secretary of the 

 interior will be present when the drawing begins. 



The Huntley project 'is located about twelve miles 

 east of Billings, Mont. The lands lie at an elevation of 

 about 3,000 feet above sea level and slope gently toward 

 the Yellowstone river. Unusual facilities for transporting 

 crops are afforded by two lines of railroads which traverse 

 the tract. The climate of southern Montana is delightful 

 and the soil is of exceptional fertility, producing abundant 

 crops when well watered. Cereals and alfalfa are the prin- 

 cipal products at present, although apples, small fruits 

 and garden vegetables do well. The fine range country pro- 

 duces about five tons of hay to the acre at present and is worth 

 $5 per ton in the stack. With assured crops of hay and feed 

 the ranch men can increase their herds and the improved 

 quality of the stock will make prices correspondingly better. 



A beet sugar factory is now in operation at Billings 

 and the farmers are increasing their acreage in this crop, 

 as it is very profitable. This factory is only twelve miles 

 from these farms and is reached by two lines of railroad. 



The farm units will vary from 40 to 80 acres, depend- 

 ing upon the location, and averaging 40 acres of irrigable 

 land. Wherever practicable a tract of grazing land has 

 been included in the farm unit, bringing the total to 160 

 acres in a number of cases. 



It is proposed to have eight towns in the project at 

 about five-mile intervals along the two transcontinental 

 railroads which now traverse .the tract, and no farm will 

 be more than three miles from a shipping point. Two 

 of the towns will be common to both railroads; four more 

 will be on the Northern Pacific railway, and two on the 

 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. Immediately after the 

 drawing of the farms these town lots will be sold at pub- 

 lic auction, and there will be openings for professional 

 and business men and skilled and unskilled laborers. 



The Huntley project embraces a part of the ceded 

 strip of the Crow Indian reservation, and in addition to 

 the government charge for water rights the settler will be 

 required to pay $4 per acre for the Indian price, $1 at the 

 time of entry and the remainder in four equal annual in- 

 stalments, beginning at the end of the second year. In 

 addition to this, the government will charge the settler 

 for the cost of building the irrigation works $3 per acre 

 for ten years, after which the irrigation system will be 



turned over to the farmers. The cost of maintenance and 

 operation will be about 60 cents per acre annually. The 

 first payment of $4.60 will become due as soon as filing is 

 made by the successful drawer of a farm. Irrigated land 

 in this section is worth from $75 to $200 per acre, accord- 

 ing to the state of cultivation and the crops grown. 



Full particulars concerning the method of drawing and 

 the qualifications required of entrymen can be obtained by 

 addressing the register and receiver of the land office at 

 Billings, Mont., or the commissioner of the general land 

 office, Washington, D. C. 



Mr. Newell Honored. 



Secretary Garfield has designated Mr. F. H. Newell, 

 the director of the reclamation service, as the consulting 

 engineer of the geological survey. This is in recognition 

 of Mr. Newell's long service in building up the engineer- 

 ing work of that bureau, as it pertains to the measure- 

 ment of streams and the determination of the water sup- 

 ply. This work was initiated by him in 1888 and carried 

 on under his direction. It has gradually expanded from 

 a few simple measurements into a system covering the 

 greater part of the United States. 



As a result a large amount of data has been brought 

 together, covering the behavior of streams in different 

 parts of the country and affording material upon which 

 to base substantial development. The importance of 

 these investigations will be readily appreciated when it 

 is known that during recent years from $3,000,000 to $5,- 

 000,000 per annum have been expended in water powers 

 and other works which would not have been invested if 

 it were not for the existence of the data which have been 

 procured by the geological survey. These records of river 

 flow and the fluctuations in high and low water seasons 

 extended through a number of years and are absolutely 

 essential to the engineer and investor in planning im- 

 portant works for stream utilization. 



It is proposed by the geological survey that this 

 work shall be continued and still further expanded in 

 various lines, and to assist in this Mr. Newell has been 

 designated, as above state, as the consulting engineer of 

 the survey. 



A New Lake in Idaho. 



A new lake appears on the latest map of Idaho 

 Lake Walcott and although an artificial body of water 

 it is the largest lake in southern Idaho. Its area is three 

 times greater than that of Big Payette lake, in the western 

 part of the state, and is three-fourths the size of Jackson 

 lake, in Wyoming. 



Lake Walcott is created by the back water above the 

 great Minidoka dam, recently constructed by the reclama- 

 tion service. It covers about 15,000 acres, is 35 miles long, 

 and for more than 7 miles it has a width of about 2 miles. 

 Near the headgates and dam plans are being made for 

 tree planting and otherwise beautifying the shores. Lands 

 bordering the lake will later be watered by means of 

 pumps, thus increasing the attractions of the lake. The 

 fish commission will be asked to stock the lake with fish. 

 Already ducks and geese in large numbers are making it 

 their summer headquarters. The country about the lake, 

 until the advent of the reclamation service about three 

 years ago, was an uninhabited desert. Today a population 

 of 10,000 is living there. Three thriving towns have sprung 

 up and a new railroad has been constructed. 



The Minidoka project promises to become one of the 

 most thickly settled agricultural districts in the state, and 

 Lake Walcott will doubtless in time be a popular summer 

 resort for people living in that part of Idaho. 



For more than a month the reclamation service tried 

 to secure a contractor to construct a simple earth fill 

 dam and accessory structures located on Willow Creek, 

 about five miles northwest of Augusta, Mont., but not- 

 withstanding a wide advertisement of this fact no bidders 

 were secured. The secretary of the interior therefore au- 

 thorized the reclamation service to construct the dam by 

 force account. The estimated cost of the dam by con- 

 tract under the specifications approved was $105,000. It 

 is believed that the work can be done by force account, 

 using the hydraulic method, at a considerable saving over 

 these figures. 



