THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



269 



time and running a fifteen mile gait with ripples, the 

 ride was exciting to say the least. Mr. Schlecht in- 

 sists that THE IRRIGATION AGE turned white about the 

 gills. It was decided on the way over to christen the 

 boat and it was a question whether to call it "The Mary 

 Jane" or the "James Rudolph Garfield." "The Mary 

 Jane" was the choice of one of the party but it was 

 finally decided that "The Garfield" would be an appro- 

 priate title. We would suggest to Secretary Garfield 

 that he time his visit to the Belle Fourche project so as 

 to reach there when the river is in normal flow. The 

 passage of the stream in flood in a boat of this descrip- 

 tion is really dangerous and it is surprising that some 

 serious accident has not resulted from its use. The 

 means of transportation across the stream by this boat 

 is all the more surprising in view of the fact that all of 

 the work of the Rec- 

 lamation Service is 

 usually of a very high 

 grade. This make- 

 shift affair, however, 

 may possibly be con- 

 sidered good enough 

 to use during the 

 short period when the 

 river is in flood. 

 When the stream is 

 in ordinary flow it is 

 forded at this point. 

 We are presenting 

 some illustrations of 

 the Siphon Camp in 

 this issue. 



Some difficulties 

 were encountered in 

 the development of 

 this project as might 

 well have been ex- 

 pected. One feature 

 of more " than ordi- 

 nary moment was the 

 fact that contractors 

 who bid on such work 

 as the tunnel and 

 some other specific 

 sections of the proj- 



--j. _ Jnplinorl fn No - a - Belle Fourche Project potatoes 



CCt wer inclined tO No _ 2 . view showing a series of 20-acre 



hold the Government go. 3. Sugar beets and onions irrigated. 



_-, . , . No. 4. Berry patch near Belle Fourche, irrigated. 



up. This was partio 



of one hundred and sixty and three hundred and twenty 

 acres as in the older states. Some really ornate homes 

 have been erected on the tract by people who were 

 formerly ranchmen and have disposed of portions of 

 their land, thereby securing means with which to erect 

 commodious and comfortable residences. 



As will be seen by some of the illustrations, it 

 would be difficult to find more delightful farm features 

 than may be had in the country surrounding Belle 

 Fourche, and on the project which bears its name. 

 Long stretches of well cultivated land are to be seen 

 on all sides of the town of Belle Fourche, which show 

 thrift and plenty. The roads are excellent, in fact this 

 soil packs so as to make a driveway equal to macadamized 

 streets in the city. All through the valley, cottonwoods 

 and other native trees thrive luxuriantly. All of the 



homes which have 

 been established for 

 any length of time 

 are surrounded by 

 hardy trees and give 

 evidence .of thrift and 

 prosperity. 



In discussing the 

 matter of the coloni- 

 zation of the Belle 

 Fourche project with 

 Engineer Walter, I 

 asked him what, in 

 his opinion, would be 

 a safe sum of money 

 for the colonist to 

 bring with him in 

 order to establish a 

 home without too se- 

 vere hardships. He 

 stated that their line 

 of action had been in 

 the direction of ad- 

 vising prospective 

 colonists to come pre- 

 pared for say six 

 months or one year, 

 until money crops 

 may be produced 

 from their land. This 



ularly true in the 

 case of the splended tunnel which is almost completed. 

 Bids asked for the tunnel were so high that the engi- 

 neers decided to do the work themselves, and a 'saving 

 of something like sixty per cent or better has been made 

 under this plan. This particular case illustrates the 

 good judgment of the engineers in charge, and of the 

 chief engineer, Mr. A. P. Davis. 



It was surprising to the writer to note the large 

 number of new homes which have been erected and are 

 in course of construction over the entire Belle Fourche 

 district. It is safe to say that the homes on the north 

 side of the river along that land which will receive the 

 first water from the reservoir, are as numerous as will 

 be found in any well developed farming section of Illi- 

 nois or Iowa. In fact, it seems that there are more 

 buildings than are to be found in the older states ow- 

 ing to the fact that the farm unit is eight acres instead 



just after irrigation. /-ml/] ,^,,o^ 



tracts farmed profitably near Spearfish, S. D. WOUld mean 



$1,000 for an eighty 

 acre tract, on which 

 the first payment 



would be in the neighborhood of from $250 to $300, and 

 additional expenditure for modest buildings, breaking 

 the soil, etc., $750 or $800. 



That is to say, the colonist who arrives at Belle 

 Fourche with reasonable equipment in the way of farm- 

 ing tools, and live stock, including a good team or two 

 of them, if possible, may, by an expenditure of $1,000 

 after his arrival or during the first year of his residence, 

 become so firmly established as to be beyond the possi- 

 bility of want or worry. These are facts which should 

 be carefully considered by those who contemplate set- 

 tling in the west. One thousand dollars may appear to 

 be quite a sum of money, but it can be very advan- 

 tageously and profitably used in the. deTelopment of a 

 farm and the upbuilding of a home. A man could un- 

 doubtedly make a go of it on half that sum but it would 

 require skimping and trimming and subject the settler 



