Show I A GIGANTIC IRRIGATION PLAN Ninety Thousand Acres of Arid Land in Belle Fourche Valley Will Be Made to Bear When Work Is Completed Belle Fourche S DAs the work of the government Irrigation scheme north of this city progresses poopln begin to realize tho great difference It will mako not only In the character of the country but also in the chatac ter of settlers who will be attracted by these lands This Dqlle Kour he irrigation project proj-ect as It is ofllclally known will reclaim re-Claim 90000 acres of practically arid land lying north of the Black hills and 2100000 has been appropriated by conga < for the work The work Is under direct supervlsion of the government gov-ernment but eventually will become the properly of the Water Users association asso-ciation which will be composed of all the people holding land under tho project Tho most Interesting feature of tIle work being done here is tIle big darn known as ho Owl creek reservoir Tho water taken from the Hello Fourcho by tho diverting dam Is brought through a canal C4 miles long to this reservoir It is built In a natural basin and the earthen dam 1A miles in length and 115 feet high at the deepest point Is considering both length and height the largest earthen dam In the United States The embankment will contain 1600000 cubic yards of earth and will be GOO feet wide at the widest point at tho bottom C3 feet wide at tho water service and 20 feet wide at the top The entire embankment will bo faced with concrete blocks weighing 3000 pounds each and tho outer surface sur-face will bo arranged in terraces and seeded down to grass The greatest depth of the water will be 100 feet and tho average depth from 25 to 30 feet As the diversion dam and the Inlet canal are practically completed the first water to be used In this scheme will bo the water from the Johnson lateral leading north from tho Inlet canal whore the water will bo turned on some time next spring So far out of time 13 largo projects which have been started tho government govern-ment has completed one the Truskoo o Carson In Nevada where tho water was turned on In June 1906 The reclamation act was passed on Juno 17 1902 and the work on this scheme wan begun the very next day The problem which the government I will have to meet Is that of sediment It Is gonerally stated that tho success of an Irrigation scheme Is In Inverso proportion to the amount of sediment carried by tho river or streams from which tho water is taken It was this very matter that forced so many private pri-vate companies to tho wall and finally made It necessary for the government I OrrrJrJrrrrrrrrrJJJ iKi JJJOOt Itself to take up tho matter It Is OB ttmatcd that these 13 schemes will ro claim about 1500000 acres As there is a considerable cost attached at-tached to tIle taking up of land under these projects n cost varying from 260 to 3 per aero yearly for ten years It will he readily seen that neither nei-ther the very poor nor the very shiftless shift-less will bo attracted by these possibilities possi-bilities The Immediate effect of Irrigation upon tho land values is shown as well In tho Hello Fourcho alley iis anyplace any-place In the world On tin nouth aide of tho river for a short distance n 1 number of farms are under irrigation ° from a private ditch I known as tho ftcdwater ditch This land now soils for 7C an acre Just across the river I where there Is as yet no Irrigation land of Identically tho same character sells from 8 to 12 Peope are rushing rush-ing Into tho country by the hundreds to embrace the opportunity of taking up and along the line of tIle projected ditch and tho next ton years will BOO a wonderful change In this northern country |