| Show WYOMING rRtOSPEROUS S WYOMINGS RECORD FOR 1901 iOMNGS Population S31 Jncreaso in bank deposits overlOOOCWOO Wealth pr capita over f Allies now railroad built o 4nw land under Irrigation acr 30 Cost ot new tWrncfl o umbc of cheap 5175i7 Increase tn alicep over 1000 over WrJ Wool clip for yejir pound 2jGill < 7 Jnorxse Unjt1 Jn clip over 1W pound 1000000 Value of conl mined tS4M6L 3 Coprl 1I3HW coa OIC iZ9 iroH JO Slhet yj O I PJtLttuJm BWOW JlUnum I Totni output of J 1 mine 5351471075 1nceaso1n mtherI output over c < 1M c 1 1jG I IMPORTANT INDUSTRIAL f EVENTS I I Completion ot Burlingtons Taluca Cody railroad 132 miles Completion of 15S miles of new road 2000foot Sherman tunnel 6000foot Ao pen tunnel In reconstruction work on I Union Pacific costing over 10000000 Discovery oE platinum in the New I Rambler copper mine forty miles southwest of Laramie x Discovery or tho highest grade of Illuminating luminating oil ever found In tho world In southwest Wyoming and establishment establish-ment of numerous wells Building of Wyomings frt omelter at Grand Encampment Establishment of numerous colonies of farmers In tho State Beginning of work on the Laramle ttfahns Peak Pacific railroad which w1 fap the rich mining camps of eoupicrn Carbon and Albany counties and northen Colorado pnd Cheyenne Wyo Dec 31 Twelvemonths Twelve-months ago today the prediction was made In these columns that the year 3901 would witness greater activity In all lines of industry than the State had ever known and that n new era would dawn for this young commonwealth r with the ushering in of tho twentieth century These predictions based as hey were upon the progress made during dur-ing the preceding twelve months and the prospects for tho succeeding year were not Idle boasts for the advancement advance-ment made in Wyoming during 1901 a fully justified the most sanguine expectations Wyoming is no longer an undeveloped State nor are her industries in-dustries confined to the grazing of eheep cattle and horses and the mining mi-ning of coal for today the commonwealth common-wealth r occupies an enviable position among her sister States In the Rocky II mountains and plains region not only In her coal mining and stockraising I but also In the matter of her agricultural agricul-tural possibilities production of precious pre-cious metals railroad building lumbering lum-bering and educational work With tho completion of over threo hundred miles of new railroad during the year an Increase of over half a million tons In coal production an increase of over half a million in th number of sheep and with dozens of new mines added to the list of producers Wyoming has reason to feel proud of tho work done in the year just past And the coming yoar gives promise of witnessing even greater Increase in population and development de-velopment of tho States resources than was wltnessd during the twelvemonths twelve-months Just closing The growth of any community and the status of Its business affairs is always al-ways truly shown by the growth and condition of its banks find similar institutions in-stitutions And so It has been here In Wyoming for along with tho Increase Sn population and steady growth of all fcinds of business banks have sprung 5nto existence In every city and village of an size in any the State All are prospering pros-pering and report business conditions Jn their immediate vicinity conditon vlcnl aent In 1S33 the per capita deposits In this State wore 40 The reports of all banks at the close of business on al tember 30 1001 show aggregate deposits de-posits of S6227GC2 a per capita of ap proximately G for every man woman and child In tho State This per capita is I figured upon the basis of a popula tion of 02000 ns shown by tlie last census and Is exceeded only by per haps one other State In the Union In 1SS9 the rate of Interest ot was ap proximately IS per cent por annum while in 1901 it will probably average 10 per cent per annum many loans having bt > en placed l at S per mat cent Se curities have enhanced in desirability and are Ir the main live desirbity prudent stockman now makes provl maltc plon for the care of his istock during Bcvere weather I and reaps 3 benefit from reduced Interest rates while the banks suffer practically no losses and nrc surer larger dividends from a 10 per cent interest i t rate than was ever realized at 18 to 21 per cent wa eP The States finances were never in better condition than now and under a careful and economic government < of public affairs Wyoming will In a few years be free from debt The bonded indebtedness of the Stole Is 2080723 These bonds are being taken up in an Jiual Installments being paid from In taxes levied from year to year The payment of each Installment of bonds maturing means a reduction of 51200 l per annum In Interest or a O Interet grogs ing of 5i000 In ten grl jng S5Oo years The aggre gate revenue of the State agre all sources for the fiscal year ending Sep tember 30 1901 was 433000 while the 43000 whie disbursements were 5111000 Taxes for all purposes in the year 1594 wre 2Hi mills while for the year 1901 tho average tax was 19 mills The 19rlls fees collected by I State ollicers in 1893 olcers were 1535 while for the 1901 the fees aggregated 31378 In 1892 the aggre gate receipts from the public lands was 511500 while during the present year 115000 was received These figures show plainly that Wy oming is experiencing rapid and sub ntantlal growth and that the Stales resources are now receiving the atten tion of capital nlcn THE MINING INDUSTRY J More attention was paid to mining in Wyoming during the year just cbs ing than Jn any Jive years previous cos to 1901 and It can be said that the results re-sults were profitable and gratifying The outlook for the outook coming year Is in deed very bright and unless nil sign S fall the ial mineral resources will pro duce more wealth to the State than any other There is not a rnlneha known to the chemical or manufactur ing world that Is not found ulthln the confines of this Slate The baser met net Jals 1 are found In abundance and while whie the search for the precious metals ha not been thorough still gold silver cobalt and platinum have btcn found the first two and last named in paying quanttes The mining Industry in the the past year however has beti fconflncd almost entirely to coal entr copper cop-per Iron and gold t Wyoming ctill lacks 1 official report I 1 f from Its mines but the following ontl mates of the production of copper gold silver and platinum which were made up from reports from private sources are believed to be very nearly correct The coal and Iron production Is official Coal J54M621 2o Copper 175341950 gTPCr coir 121965300 32000000 Iron 0 Silver 5Z0 Platinum discovered DecemberS Platnum S 5WWOO Total S 74G75 Coal mining takes the lead of all others and such rapid growth was I shown In this Industry during the past twelve months that the prediction la p freely made that Inside of five years Wyoming will rank with tho first half dozen cdalproduclng States in the Union During the fiscal year ending September Sep-tember 30 1901 the coal mines of the State produced t43247 tons an increase in-crease of 618010 tons over the production produc-tion of 100 The value of the product of 1901 wan 55490C2125 The production was divided among the mines of the Slate as follows S Men Employed Tons Dlamondvlllc 2 1 and 4 0 KWjj t Hock Springs No1 b t 1630S Rock Springs No T 272 20US1 Rock Springs N > S V 0 216S33 Rock Springs No9 34S 291508 Rock Sprlnw No 10 iso 1S OY Swcctwator Nol W 201000 Swcoiwator No 2 MO 15000 Kemmcrcr No1 i IftKft Ilanna No 1 i 300 341512 Carbon No 7 215 52401 Cambria No1 u 3W 1R Cambria No 3 2 r2J2JI Sheridan 1 and 2 22o 1 t731 Spring Valley No 1 161 9223r I Cumberland 1 and 2 v XW 9 Glonrock No 1 100 boOOO Alladln No1 r 40000 Mined at Douglas Rawllne Saratoga Lander Casper Thermopolla and Sheridan estimated ll 00 Tctal 15373 I 4392457 The percentage of accidents fatal and nonfatal during the year was less i In proportion to the tonnage than in i any other State In the Union were it i not for the deplorable accident that io thatd occurred at Diamondvllle on February 25th when twentyeight lives were lost b y fire The total I number accidents in I the mines of the State during the year was fortyfive fatal and thirteen nonfatal In connection with the above table of production it may bo well to say that three of the mines those at Cumberland Cumber-land and Spring valley were opened during the year and did not get to shipping until the year had become well advanced Last year the mines at Almy and Red Canyon contributed to the output but these properties remained re-mained closed during 1901 and produced pro-duced no coal Next In Importance comes copper mining mi-ning The past year was a banner year for Wyoming In the red metal as Increased In-creased activity 1n the older mines and prospects has resulted in Increased production pro-duction and returns beyond the expectations expec-tations of a year ago and these successes suc-cesses spurred the prospectors on to greater efforts all over the State with the result that new camps have been established new fields discovered and now mines opened The production of copper In Wyoming Wyo-ming dates back to 1S82 when 75000 pounds was produced from Q few small prospects The production of 1900 has been officially announced TIS 420377G pounds and when 190L is credited up the total will be swelled to almost twice as much as was produced last year The name Grand Encampment Is synonymous In the popular mind with the copper of Wyoming and justly so but it really embraces but a small part of the < copperproducing district situated sit-uated in the southern part of Carbon county and Albany county and more properly applies to the thriving town of that name on the Encampment river In i southern Carbon county This town forms practically the center of tho new copper mining district the surrounding towns of Holmes at the New Rambler mine just over the Albany county line thirty miles away Battle twelve miles west Rambler two miles west of Battle Bat-tle where the Doane Rambler mine is again coming to the front nnd Rude foha twenty miles away where the famous I fa-mous FerrlsHaggarty is located Tho new town of Pearl just across the Colorado Colo-rado line is another adjacent camp These towns are all connected with L the new town of Walcottt on the Union L Pacific stages being run via Saratoga and Encampment The KurtzChatterton six miles from EnCampment is one of the older mines of the district and is being opened upon up-on a scale that will soon niako it one of the bestpaying copper mines In the West The ore Is a concentrating proposition prop-osition the values occurring o copper sulphides In a granite rock but yields readily to present methods of concentration concen-tration traLon Tho Great Lakes Union Crescent Alameda Calumet Annie and Charter Oak may he named as a few of the stady workers that have made noticeable I notice-able progress during the year in thc Immediate i vicinity of Grand Encampment I Encamp-ment South of Encampment the Beaver Creek country has beenactive and the Kearns Consolidated the Evening Star and Ruby companies have all been working steadily during the year while encouraging reports o strikes in tho Bay Horse Etna and numerous other properties In the same district have been received The mines around Pearl now attracting the most attention are the t Big Creek Wolverine Wagner Green and others Battle is situated on the crest of the main divide of the Sierra Madre mountains moun-tains in the center of the most active aclvQ of the Carbon county mining districts Tho Independence Gertrude and Hercules Her-cules are situated rlgnt in tho town and all are equipped with steam plants and all show copper ore North and east of Battle are located the Cow Creek properties prop-erties where strikes have been made in the Blackfoot Continental Contnental Beulah andIron and-Iron King Here also is located the Battle Luke Tunnel Sites properties The company has acquired the famous Doane Rambler mine and Is pushing anr pushing development work Recently a vein of black oxides of copper and copper glance was found Inl this property which has been a stqttdy shipper OL copper for many years At Rudefeha the FerrlsHaggarb Iras begun shipping ore again to the smelter at Encampment and will not wait for the completion of the tramway tram-way which has been contracted for This mine has produced thousands of i tons of highgrade ore during the year and there is enough ore In sight to keep the mine busy for many years to come The New Rambler mine on Douglas DougIas creek forty miles from Laramie which startled the world a few dcys ago when the discovery was made that its ore yarrlod large quantities of that preciou metal platinum Is so called dlslln gulsh i from tho Doane Rambler at Battle Lake This mine was original opened up as a gold mine during the excitement at Gold Hill and luter uban doncd Some Laramle mOl relocate the property and in a short time opened up one of the richest bodies of pur highgrade copncr oro that ships In j carload lots o high as 49 for cent copper Nearly every form Jar copper oro known to tho mineralogist has mlnemlogIst been r found hero from tho speck of natlv copper and the gorgeous blues nalve green of Tho copper cabondtes to the velvety blues of covel to and the rain bOw tints of bournlto and chalcopgrltc Ordinarily these 1ojt r occur only In mall quantities but hero they nppear IteraHy mtisslvr and one sees only solid ore In many or the workings The discovery of platinum In the ore which was made at the BostonWyo ming smelter at Grand Encampment which handles the entire output from the New Rambler caused Intense ex liement and a A result prospecting is going on at present although the Ground Is covered with snow Other mines located near the New Rambler are working steadily to reach the same rich ore found In the New Rambler I In other parts of the State shipments of copper have been made from small properties Considerable hasbecn done the past year in the Sherman and Rll ver Crown districts Mining in these camps Is being carried on on a scientific asls and as the indications are favorable favora-ble It Is expected that a number of pay ng mines will be opened during the oming year I The very recent strikes In Wild Cat canyon In the northern part of Lara mlo country have renewed Interest in the east central I portion of the State and these with the Michigan Cooney Hill Iconoclast and other copper mines in tho same range of his have restored stored confidence of eastern Wyoming miners Tho mines named all have shipping ore on their dumps and aro now pushing development work to open L he large ore bodies known to cxIsL Several mines in the Wild Cat canyon camp are shipping steadily A number of fine copper prospects have beers opened up in the War Bonnet Bon-net district near Casper in Big Horn county In the Wind River country and numerous other places In the State Indeed In-deed it may be truly said there Is hardy 1 hard-y a scotlon o the State that does not contain a copper mine or a copper property In course of development GOLD MINING Fremont county In the central part of the State Is now and always has been the banner gold producer of Wyoming Ever since the first pioneers found the rich shallow placer diggings on WI1 low creek where South Pass City t sprung into existence during the excitement ex-citement of 69 the South Pass country has contributed regularly to the Na tons store of gold This district contains con-tains the famous Carrlssa mine whose otnl production for the year Is given at nearly a million dollars This mine Is owned bv Chlcairo and Salt Lake cant t al and is operated only on Q limited I scale a tenstamp mill handling the output of ore and the gold being hipped a bullion What might bone d b-one if the mine was worked to its full capacity can only bo 0 matter of conjecture con-jecture J but It Is believed the property would soon prove Itself one of the few r gold bonanzas in the West The South Pass district is I known principally on account of the Carrissa and Miners Delight six miles away and abandoned for many years but recently re-cently it has changed hands and the old mine is to be put on a working baste ba-ste once more Other properties Cat C-at the present time are the Mary Ellen L Tabor Grand Garfield Little Joe ant Ground Hog at Atlantic City the Bear Hidden Hand and Bullion At the later t er mine a cyanide plant has been in operation on tho lowgrado ores for some time Tho placer mines of South Pass At l antic and Miners Delight have and ar Cow n C-ow producing many thousands of dol lam l 4n gold annually The workings of i the old Granler company that operated I hero many years ago but not eat 10t successfully success-fully are now beinfe gone over and improved im-proved methods are saving the gold Within the lost Wihin lat month reports of avery a-very encouraging nature have come in f rom the Jelm Mountain frm and Gold Hill I districts west of Laramie where HI recent copper excitements stimulated 1 gold mining A new properly called the Abandon mine owned cled Clark former of Salt Lake has caused a stir by producing very rich fold ore The Boston men operating t Gold III11 also report encouraging re suIt from the seasons encouTglng Purgatory gulch west of Encamp meat Is now being worked for copper but l all of the ore produced contains cpper gold in paying quantities Scattered over the State are numer ous small placer workings that are seldom heard of but which produce a r n goodly amount of gold every year Those on Snake river near the ilaho ner rhe l Inc also those In Uinta county and In i he Wind River country In the Big Horn anl In Crook county have BIg g been worked during the year and nl II have produced gold The Albany al ty and Douglas creek placers did not lo much the past year low water caus Ing delays at various points < but cus these properties can always be counted on to add considerable to the States output of the yellow metal SILVER AND LAD Silver and lead have been neglected in past years in figuring on the Slates mineral production the silver having usually been associated with the lisa H fled lead ores nnd not being considered of much value Tho work of the PMt year In the northern part of the State has been largely In lead ores carrying silver and it Is believed that before another year the leadsilver production will be considerably increased by this district At Elk Mountain and lfountan on Spring creek In the Encampment country coun-try at BIg creek near Pearl lead and silver ores have been found and properties opened up tho galenacar rylng silver being present in great quantity and Intimately associated with the copper sulphides Nickel has olso been discovered the past year In the copper mines north and east of Laramie but no definite news of shipments can be obtained IRON MINING Iron mining during the year was confined con-fined to the Ilurtvillc and Sunrise and Rawlins district From tho latter steady shipments o red hematite or paint wero made while tho Hartvill and Sunrise Iron mines produced at the rate of 1000 tons per day This entire entre output was mined and used by the Colorado Fuel and Iron company being be-ing transported to the smelters aL Pueblo The ore was mined with thc aid of powerful steam shovels that scooped the product from the sides of the hills Tho ore is 60 per cent pqre iron and there is enough in sight In 1 L the district to supply the entire world L for many years to come The long haul from the mines to the smelters will probably compel the fuel I and Iron company to build furnaces I and mills at the mines and t this is I I done be used larger quantities of the Iron will L THE OIL INDUSTRY Early In the year the world wa I startled by the announcement that the highegtxgrado of illuminating oil eve discovered had been found on the lln S of the Union Pacific railroad In UInt L county At first the report was not be lleved and many expressions of doubt I were heard even among oil men and other Interested In the industry But when a few weeks later returns were received from samples of tho oil sent to New York and California experts for analysis l doubts wero cast aside and the people of the State set about taking advantage of the wonderful dlccovcrles 1 rush set in and for a time i looked ns though the big boom of Beaumont would be reenacted here in Wyoming ThousanJs of acres of land were filed upon In the vicinity of Evanston IIH Uard Piedmont Spring Valley and farther north in what is known as the Fossil fields Companies were formed to develop the fields and Inside of a few wooktKnt least half a dozen drilling rigs were sinking for oil The highgrade Illuminating oil was dIscovered in a well being bored by the Union Pacific for water rho analysis gave the following faults Gasoline 71 per cent white Illuminating l oil 334 per cent yellow Illuminating oil 171 per cent para f ne 111 per cent worthless residue 2 per cent pure oil 17 per cent Oil was found In this ccctlon many years ago and for years tho pioneers I used the raw material for lubricating and Illuminating purposes the product being dipped from springs and sinks In some instances the oil was hauled I lo Evanston and other towns and sold I for local uses J 1 There are at the present time no less than a dozen rigs In the Spring Valley Fossil Piedmont and Hllllard districts all In what are known as the Fossil I fields while many outfits arc either on the road or are being placed In position posi-tion In several of the wells already in operation oil has been struck Among these may bo mentioned the Fossil I Consolidated companys well the Wyoming Wyo-ming Panifilne companys well the Wyoming Illuminating Oil company well and many others Just at present the oil men are handicapped 1 handi-capped In their operations by the scarcity scar-city of competent drillers and other laborers la-borers who are familiar with the work of drilling wells The activity in the California and Beaumont Tex fields has taken all of the men fo bo had but the Indications are that this dlfliuilty will be overcome in the spring Inducements In-ducements will be offered that will I bring to Western Wyoming men In sufficient ¬ suf-ficient numbers to prosecute the work and make producers of many of the wells now In operation During the year the famous Murphy oil wells near Lander were sold to EnC J gush capitalists The new owners fire pushing work and already three or oL four gushing wells have been opened L The flow of oil was stopped and the wells plugged however until such time as the Englishmen secure producing produc-ing wells In sufficient numbers to keep a large refinery going and to justify the building ot a railroad to the district At the rate the new wells arp being bored It Is believed something will be doing in the matter of refinery and railroad building in the Lander fields before the close of the coming year At New Castle in the northeastern part of the State where oil was discovered dis-covered over a dozen years ago Montana Mon-tana and Spokane < Wash capitalists are sinking wells Several stratas o if oilbearing sands have been encountered en-countered and the prediction is freely made that these fields will number a 1 least two producing wells before the close of the coming year As Casper the refinery of the Penn I sylvanla Oil company Is running nigh and day In an effort to fill the orders that were received many month ago Indeed the company Is unable to keep pace with local demands and order that have to be cast aside are being re points celvcd from London and other foreign The Pennsylvania wells PennsYlyanla companys wels seven or eight innumber aro located In I the Salt Creek distinct some forty miles northwest of Casper The oil is i hauled into the refinery In wagons < very expensive mode of transportation The company is sinking new wells to t Increase tho supply and very soon the refinery will be enlarged A plpelhii I has been talked of as one of the 1m 1 provements to bo made iby the Penn sylvanla company this to bring the crude oil from the Salt Creek fields t I 0 the dcfinery and thence to Orin June tlon or some other railroad point where it will bo loaded on the cars In the vicinity of Douglas a number of wells are going down Here the In dicatlons are very encouraging The operators experienced oil men and are going about their work In 3 eys tematlc and Intelligent manner and when they do strike oil In sufilcien t quantities to Justify refineries and other works will be built Oil occurs In many other places In I I the State and there are at least ten o f the thirteen counties In Wyoming that contain oil In paying qunntitles The latest section to claim honors In oil Is i Big Horn county where the indication are equally as flattering as those o f other sections of the State Almost all o the oil districts hav been walling patiently ior the railroad ls to come in and solve the transportation problem but strange to nay the railroads I rail-roads are In no hurry to extend the ir lines to the gushers However if teir oil industry in Wyoming makes the same progress In the coming year that it did In the twelve months Just post t there will be no trouble In securln ig railroads for railroads always go where there is business to be had THE GROWING OF LIVESTOCK Livestock growing and especially that of cattle and sheep and wool has and always will be ono of Wyomings chief Industries The progress made during the year 1901 justifies the justles prediction pre-diction that the coming year will witness wit-ness even greater strides but along different lines than formally Years ago Wyoming was one of the banner range cattle raising sections in tho country but the overcrowding of the ranges and the advent of the sheep man has worked a wonderful change In I the business of this State Tills change which has resulted In the breaking up of the large herds that wero permitted to roam at will on the boundless tracts of treelcsa plains was hardly acceptable to tho cattle baron I at first but now he is submitting to It t the inevitable And this change is having Us good results One of these and probably the most important of all is the tendency to Improve the quality of stoclc Quality and not quantity will be trio watchword of the t Wyoming stockmen from now on rl marked one of Wyomings leading stockmen few a ew days ago and in u cn fow years owing to the ideal cll unto and our capacity to produce the I finest food that can be grown any where In the world with the aid of irrigation ir-rigation Wyoming1 will easily take I first place in the matter I of lie I pure blood of its cattle horses and bh ep The necent order of the United I States court regarding the fencing of Government land will have a tendency to Improve the Wyoming herd and flock The tearing down of the Illegal I fence will restrict the stockman to smaller pa tul s and as a result he will pay more attention to the cure of hfs hords and flocks Better beof and i mutton a lIner grade of wool and a result better breed of horses 1 be the final In cattlegrowing the stockmen of Wyoming are paying particular alLen partcular nten tion to Herefords Shorthorns and the black cattle These breeds experience has shown do better in this section than cny other The pant twelve months were all that ould b desired Good weather hroughout the entire year better ange feed than was ever known In ho tt State before plenty of water for he Irrigated tracts of alfalfa and meadow hay and with prices tending upward the Wyoming cattlegrower is In l high feather I The war with Spain and the war In outh Africa has had much to do with horseialslng1 In Wyoming and this ndustry I is now in better condition han over before During the past t hreo years and especially during the past twelve months the demand f or horses for cavalry purposes almost depleted de-pleted the Wyoming ranges of horses and horsegrowers are now compelled to breed up and Increase their herds During the past twelve months Wyoming Wyo-ming shipped upward o SOOO hoipe Good prices wre received and the coming year promises to witness even arger l sales of Wyoming horseflesh WYOMING THE BANNER WOOL STATE I Tho sheep and wool business of I Wyoming is In excellent condition During the year just closing the State moved from second to first place In tho matter of her wool production and the t number of her sheep and lambs the former having Increased over ji J 000000 pounds over the wool production of 1900 and over 2500000 sheep during the same period Indeed the flocks In Wyoming are increasing so rapidly that It will soon be a difficult problem to find sufficient food for the thrifty animals Tho following statement complied by the secretary of the State Board of Sheep Commissioners Is Interesting In that It shows the number of sheep and lambs In each county in the State and the number of pounds of wool pro tc duced Sheep and Pounds County Iamb Wool Albany 131701 OI773J Big Horn 712171 SJOSbZi Carbon S567Cfi I 2 11 COS Converse MH700 21C7510 Crook H01G7 718 S52 I remont foTrW 7132 SEA Johnson r35034 1 1C52 152 Laiamlo 10SMI 51Sir Sliorlclan 11137 202313 113 23 Natronn 721703 SolOGV Swoetuator 5S71I3 SS7500 5l3 2S15 Ulnta cD3t 293 > 1 Wcston 2I5S71 1IHiO Total 517577 27C7I177 The average weight of fleece for 1901 L was seven and onehalf pounds being 10 per cent less than 1900 The total I number of sheep shipped out of the State up to October 31 1001 was 433167 Total number rejected by United i States sheep Inspectors 97CO three bands Only one sheep could be found I In each band that had scab The census of 1900 credits Wyoming with 3580856 head of sheep n against 3251 3CC obtained by the Board of Shoe Commissioners being a difference S differ-ence of 326190 The excess In favor of e the census bureau Is accounted for on the ground of duplicate returns The statistics show that the lamb crop of the State for 1901 was 52 > percent per-cent of the ewes and wethers com bined a against 67 per cent for 1900 RAILROAD BUILDING STATE n TH A year ago indications Justified the belief that Wyoming would wines great activity during the year Just closing in railroad building Certain consolidations of the big railway corporations cor-porations however caused a change In the plans of the companies that pro 1 osed to build branches and extend 1 lines in Oils State Chief among these was the GuernseySalt Lake extension of tho Burlington which had been Burlnton authorized au-thorized by the directors of the Burlington Bur-lington but which was abandoned during the summer after the comple ton of tho lino from Alliance to Guernsey The entire route was surveyed sur-veyed and a portion of the line was crosssoctloned preparatory to the letting of contracts but the community commu-nity of interests schema stopped the work The Union Pacific had also planned I the construction of a number of I branches and feeders when I twos learned that the Burlington Intended ty Invade the territory but when the latter was forced to give up lit proposed pro-posed extension across the State and I there being no Immediate danger anc a competition from other sources the Union Pacific had no use for Sand S-and abandoned all projects except the completion of the reconstruction work qn fore the main line started the year be foreThe The railroad situation in Wyoming today Is a difficult problem to solve but there Is even Indication that the I coming yoar will witness the construction H con-struction of as many miles of new road as was built during 1901 I this pre diction Is verified there will be no complaint L com-plaint from the citizens of the State During the year Just closing there were constructed and completed In I Wyoming 190 miles of new road Of this added mileage the Union Pacific contributed 158 miles the same being cutoffs on Its main line between Cheyenne and Ogden These cutoffs together with a number of bridges and the Sherman and Aspen tunnels cost upward of 10000000 and also reduced the distance between Cheyenne and ugdcn over thirtytwo miles During the year the company also built several sev-eral miles of additional side or passing tracks which In time will be whih wi used as portions of double track to be Installed by the Overland sooner or later The Burlington completed during the year 132 miles of rOte from Tnluca on the AllianceBillings line to Cody City in the Big Horn basin This piece o road will open and assist In develop ing one of the largest and richest sections tions of country to be found in the West The Big Horn basin has long been knoun a the farmers paradise for no other scat ion 01 the State offers such flattering inducements to the tiller of the poll as are found there Thousands of settlers are coming In and the now road will be a pa4tng institution in-stitution from the start Iadng In Albany county the Laramie llahns Peak it Pacific railroad commenced com-menced work during the latter part of the year on a line to Iun from Larnmle to Gold Hill Battle Lake and Grand Encampment in Wyoming and llahns Peak nnd Steamboat Springs in Colorado Twentyfive miles of the roadbed lune been graded and ma Io ready for lie ti t ° s and steel und the balance of the line has been surveyed and ciORsFectionod Contracts have been let for 100 miles of the road and this will be built just as soon as tho iei titer will permit Graders ltCI wJ permit were at work near Centennial up until two woks ago but owing to the severe weather were compelled to go Into winter quarters But at the first signs I of spilng however the work will be resumed and rushed to completion Surveyors arc now running surveys for a railroad from Walcoll to Saratoga Sarato-ga and Grand Encampment Boston capitalists are behind the project und It is asserted that the road will be built in the spring time but whether or not any of them will over mate ilulixe is a matter o conjecture IRRIGATION AND AGRICULTURE Irrigation and agriculture go hand In hand m this State for without water applied by Irrigation thero would be veiy little farming done In Wyoming As it Is there Is not a stream In the State that carried any great volume of water and during its course flows through anything like levol country butwhat is tapped by the canal and irrigating ditch Indeed such pressing demands have I been made upon most of the streams of the State during the past few yearsthat it is with dufllculty that all of the water needed during the dry season Is carried by tho numerous creeks and rivers but rather to the neglect of the Irrlgalors Jn falling to build rcser volrs and store the flood waters Annual An-nual there runs to waste during the food season more water than could possibly be used were all ot the irrl glble land In the State reclaimed and placed under ditch Many of the larger streams are big rivers during the winter and early spring months but as the snow disappears from the mountains the numerous springs dry up and the rlvero dwindle to small streams and the creeks to mere threads of water As is well known It Is during the late summer that water Is most needed and until such time as reservoirs shall be constructed on the headwaters of the streams agriculture In i Wyoming will not make the rapid progress that would otherwise occur Reservoirs to hold back the floodwaters flood-waters are the salvation of the Wyoming Wyo-ming farmer and Irrigator and with their construction and operation will come success to the farmer and rapid development of the States agricultural resources From the above It must not be understood un-derstood that little or no farming has been done InWyoming for numerous colonies have boon established and are In I successful operation while almost every stockman In the State whether eI he I raises cattle sheep or horses has his irrigated fields upon which he grows alfalfa and other grasses for leading purposes during the long wln lor t months when stock can not find sufficient food In tho pastures or on the open range During the past twelve months upward up-ward of 350000 acres of new land was placed under ditch and was cultivated culti-vated Hundreds of miles of new canals and ditches were constructed and at a cost of over 1200000 It Is estimated Of these new ditches a large i number are located in Big Horn county which Is just now receiving 1 the attention of the Mormon farmer several hundred families having Immigrated Im-migrated from Utah and Idaho durIng dur-ing li l the past two years There are now in i the Big Horn country about lnOOOO I acres under water and there are still I some 500000 acres susceptible to Irrigation Irri-gation with an ample supply of water at handSome hand-Some of the snowfed streams are the Big Horn river Gray Bull nnd I Wood rivers KIrby Nowood Shell and Owl creek and the Shoshone river There is more water In the latter stream than is used in irrigation in I eastern Colorado In the Big Horn country there arc several large canals some alread complete others under construction Of these the canal of the Big Horn Colonization company Is taken from the Shoshone river and Irrigates a large tract In tho vicinity 0 Lovell Three hundred Mormon families hat already settled on this canal and additional addi-tional families will Immigrate to the Big Horn next spring Further wos ton t-on the same stream the Cody Salisbury Salis-bury canal Is being built on the north side of the river This will Irrigate about SOOOO acres of land o unexcelled quality Still further above on the same stream the Cody canal Is In operation oper-ation Both the Burlington and Bench canals Irrigate large tracts In the Basin country New canals have been surveyed and will be constructed dur ing the coming year Among these Is the Cody canal near the town of Cody one near Basin City and another in r the vicinity of Meetectse while there are many smaller canals or ditches either undcc construction or have been projected There are also a number of irrigation irriga-tion enterprises in the southwestern portion 0 the State along Blacks Fork and other streams In the eastern east-ern part of the State the Wheatland colony is the principal Irrigation princpal Irrlsaton enterprise en-terprise The company back of the colony completed during the past year one of the largest reservoirs used for Irrigation purposes anywhere In I the world This reservoir Is located on the Laramie plains and receives Its supply of water from the Laramie river The reservoir will store nearly 100000 acrefeet which Is sufficient to cover the lands of the colony to a depth of about two feet thus insuring an adequate supply of water The completion of this gigantic res I civolr insures the success of the Wheatland colony and settlers are coming in In large numbers over 125 families having purchased tracts of land there during the closing months of the year 1901x A number of colony schemes have been projected and several are now under way Among these may be mentioned the Saratoga colony promoted pro-moted by I Chicago and Denver capitalists I capi-talists Surveys have been made for canals from the Platte river and Brush creek and 225000 acres of rich land will be reclaimed Col Cody and associates hay planned for a gigantic Irrigation colony to be located in the vicinity of Cody City A company of Swedish business men of Chicago have secured title to a large tract ol lard below old Fort Laramie on the Platte river and I Ill there establish a colony of Swe dish farmers Sugar beets will be grown almost exclusively and a bect sugar factory will be built Holland bankers arc negotiating for iricis OL iana in toe vaney Ol tne Green river and will there establish a large colony of Holland and Boer farmers If their plans are carried out In making a comparative statement of the growth In the State by dir tricts during the past year It may be truly said that two portions tho western and northwestern sections of the State have shown more rapid pro gics than any others In the northwestern north-western portion the Immigration of hundreds of Mormon farmers from Utah and Idaho and from other sec Ions the building of the TalucaCody railroad and the increased herds of cattle and locks of shoop together with the discover of copper and gold In the mountains hue contributed to the general activity and giowth of tire section The future growth of that section of the Slate is bound to proceed pro-ceed rapidly and should distance all other parts of the State except possi bly the southwestern portion In southwest Wyoming the discovery discov-ery of highgrade oil and the opening of a number of now coal mines and the building of the Wyoming t Western railroad to tap the coal fields have caused a boom here Then the ilgated farming districts are be lug settled up rapidly with a thrifty class of farmers from Utah and Idaho The bands of sheep and herds of cat tIe and horses have also increased very materially in numbers during the past twelve months whllo the I md lea lions are that tire section will make even greater stride In development and increase In populaton during the coming year At Cumberland the Union Pacific Is opening two mines which contain coal of a superior quality Three hundred and forty men are now employed but this force will be increased as rapidly as the men can be seemed The company com-pany Is building u large number of comfortable cottages for the men churches schoolhouses stores etc and It is the intention to make COm berland one of the best towns In the State At Spring Valley a new mine was opened during the year Nearly two hundred men are employed there and this force will be increased from time to time J Kemmcrcr Is growing rapidly and Is now one of the best towns In the State Being tributary to Salt Lake a large amount of Utah capital has found Investment there and business of all kinds Is nourishing |
