336 



THE IBBIGATION AGE. 



Reclamation Service 

 Afeivs 



The Secretary of the Interior has approved the con- 

 tract executed by the engineer in charge of the Umatilla 

 irrigation project with Mr. J. K. Shotwell, of Hermiston, 

 Oregon, for hauling concrete pipe for use in connection 

 with that project. According to the terms of the contract, 

 the aggregate expenditures will amount to not less than 

 $3,250 nor more than $4,062.50, according to the quantity 

 of pipe actually transferred. 



Now that the floods in Montana have somewhat sub- 

 sided, the engineer on the Sun River irrigation project has 

 made an estimate of the damage done to that system. 

 There were 123 breaks in the canal banks, varying from a 

 few yards to 250, and totaling 6,600 yards, the largest break 

 occurring on a steep side hill due to seepage from a pri- 

 vate canal backing up water and overtopping canal banks 

 on Sun ' River system. Some of the culverts will need 

 additions and some concrete pipe at the factory was dam- 

 aged. It is probable that the repair work will not exceed 

 $6,000 in cost. The manner in which the canals and 

 laterals handled the excessive amount of water which they 

 were forced to carry, considering their green condition, the 

 fact that they had never been primed and oftentimes were 

 running bank full and carrying twice the amount of water 

 for which they were planned, was highly satisfactory. The 

 canals, of course, have as yet no vegetation on the banks 

 to protect them from erosion, and yet the entire system 

 suffered less than the old ditches in the immediate vicinity 

 which were subjected to less serious conditions. 



Approximately 85,000 acres of land, which were with- 

 drawn in connection with the Big Bend irrigation project, 

 Washington, have been restored to the public domain and 

 will become subject to settlement and entry on such dates 

 and after such notice by publication as the Secretary of 

 the Interior may prescribe. These lands lie in Townships 

 13 to 33 North, Ranges 26 to 42 East, Willamette Princi- 

 pal Meridian. 



An extension of 75 days has been granted to Messrs. 

 Bailey & Dupee, of Fort Shaw, Montana, within which to 

 complete their contract for canal excavation in connection 

 with the Sun River irrigation project, Montana. The un- 

 usual rains not only delayed the work of the contractors, 

 but destroyed a considerable portion of that already ac- 

 complished, and the date of completion of the contract 

 has therefore been set forward to August 15th. 



The engineer in charge of the Belle Fourche irrigation 

 project, South Dakota, reports that during July 65,000 

 cubic yards of material were placed in the big dam, and 

 that the gap probably will be closed by the first of next 

 July. Progress on this dam is being watched with a great 

 deal of interest by engineers throughout the United States. 

 It will be the largest earth dam in this country and one 

 of the largest in the world, having a length of more than 

 a mile and containing about 42,700,000 cubic feet of ma- 

 terial. When this dam is completed about 100,000 acres 

 of land will be irrigated. At the present time the entire 

 normal flow of the river is being served through the canal 

 system. This consists of about 100 cubic feet of water per 

 second, and where it has been used intelligently some very 

 fine crops are the result. Crops on the upland and dry 

 farms are practically dried up. The services of an ex- 

 perienced irrigator have been secured to help the farmers 

 plan their laterals and prepare the land for irrigation. 

 There are still 16 farm units under the area for which 

 water is now available that have not been filed upon. 



An extension of seven weeks has been granted to Mr. 

 John A. Nelson, of Sidney, Montana, within which to com- 

 plete his contract to construct lateral ditches in connection 

 with the Lower Yellowstone irrigation project, Montana, 

 North Dakota. Unusually severe storms and the difficulty 

 in securing laborers during the harvest time in 1907 de- 

 layed the contractor and the date of completion of his 

 work has therefore been set forward to September 2, 1908. 



An extension of two months has also been granted Mr. 

 James Munn, of Deadwood, South Dakota, for the con- 

 struction of structures under the Lower Yellowstone pro- 

 ject. Mr. Munn was delayed in his work by causes en- 

 tirely beyond his control, and the date of completion of 

 his contract has therefore been set forward to September 

 30, 1908. 



The Secretary of the Interior has awarded contracts 

 for electrical apparatus for use in connection with the 

 power plant, Minidoka irrigation project, Idaho, to the 

 following companies: General Electric Company, of 

 Schenectady, New York, amounting to approximately 

 $7,660; S. Morgan Smith Company, of York, Pennsylvania, 

 about $11,500; Westinghouse Electrical & Manufacturing 

 Company, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, amounting to ap- 

 proximately $115,500; The Allis Chalmers Company, of 

 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, two contracts amounting to about 

 $101,517 and $39,710, respectively. 



Contract has been awarded to the Standard Building 

 Company, of San Francisco, California, and H. K. Luce, 

 of Seattle, Washington, for the construction of the Sul- 

 phur Creek wasteway and structures in connection with the 

 Sunnyside irrigation project, Washington. The work in- 

 cludes the dredging of about 7 miles of channel, involving 

 about 310,000 cubic yards of excavation, and the placing of 

 about 1,600 cubic yards of concrete masonry, and 2,000 

 cubic yards of riprap. The contract amounts to $66,960. 



Officials of the Reclamation Service who have just 

 visited the Umatilla irrigation project in northern Oregon, 

 are most enthusiastic over the prospects of this section. 

 Mr. C. J. Blanchard, statistican, writes from Hermiston: 

 "This is the best new town on any propect I have 

 visited. It is a real town of brick and stone and concrete, 

 and some mighty pretty homes. It's growing, too. It is 

 building an $8,000 house, has two banks, two good hotels, 

 several double two-story brick blocks, etc. 



"The ten and twenty-acre farm unit is the popular 

 scheme here and horticulturists are finding this a most 

 attractive location. Around the townsite five acre orchards 

 are being developed. Broad avenues are being laid out 

 from the town into the country, and trees are being 

 planted which in this country in five years will create 

 shaded boulevards. I am impressed with the fact that the 

 opportunities here for the small orchardist and truck 

 farmer are unequaled. I believe the time is not far dis- 

 tant when this will be one of the show places of the West, 

 as I have never seen a place where the growth of every- 

 thing is more rapid than here." 



The Secretary of the Interior has authorized the con- 

 struction of the highway extension from the Shoshone 

 dam site along the north side of Shoshone river to Kelley's 

 ranch (a distance of about 5 or. 6 miles above the upper 

 end of the new reservoir), and also the construction of a 

 bridge across Shoshone river at the latter point. This 

 road extension is necessary as the Shoshone reservoir will 

 overflow lands extending up both ,the north and south 

 forks of the Shoshone river and will inundate the present 

 public highway from Cody, Wyoming, along the north 

 fork to the Yellowstone National Park. Secretary Gar- 

 field has recently been over the site of this proposed work 

 and has directed that it should be constructed conditional 

 on the performance of certain work by the county com- 

 missioners of Big Horn County, Montana. It is estimated 

 that the work will cost about $60,000. On account of the 

 urgent necessity for the construction of this road, it has 

 been decided to build it under force account and thus 

 avoid the delay incident to advertising, executing con- 

 tracts, etc. 



During July 13,020 cubic yards of material were laid 

 in the Roosevelt dam. Nearly all of this was placed in 

 the gap at the north and bringing this part to an eleva- 

 tion of 30 feet. A flood on the 18th and 19th nearly went 

 over this part of the dam. The south end of the dam is at 

 an elevation of 75 feet. More than 7,000 barrels of cement 

 were ground at the Government mill in July, and 10,197^ 

 barrels were delivered. Well drilling on the Gila Indian 

 Reservation has been in progress and the towers of the 

 transmission line have all been erected. Stringing of the 

 wires is now in progress. During the first part of the 

 month there was a scarcity of water, the lowest stage of 

 the river being reached' on the 7th when the flow amounted 

 to nearly 326 second feet. Crops did not suffer for lack 



