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Show OASIS DRAINAGE DITCH. , The big Marlon Steam Shovel Is doing do-ing excellent work In excavating the big drainage canal south and east of Oasis. It began work several weeks ago just south of Oasis near the outlet of the canal where there U a natural drainage Into Mud Lake. The machine ma-chine weighs about 43 tons and a man came out from the factory to superintend superin-tend Its erection. It cost, with freight added, about 7,000. It takes one man to operate the machine while about slit are required on the ground moving the track, putting in snubbing posts. The big swinging crane with Its shovel has a radius of about seventy feet but does Its excavating behind the machine, owing ow-ing moved forward on rollers as the ditch Is excavated. The big ditch is1 thirty feet wide on top and six feet on the bottom and from six to ten feet deep according to the lay of the land. The machine can excavate from 60 to 70 feet per day.- The present ditch will be over a mile long and will run by or through the lands of John Styler, J. C. llawley, Jno. Iverson, Sam Rutherford Ruth-erford Sims llawley and James Ide. While the cost of the work will be considerable It will add greatly to the value of these farms and will make available much land that Is now unproductive un-productive on account of an excess of water. As soon as this canal Is completed com-pleted work will be commenced on a canal to drain the lands west of Oasis. The Dcserct Irrigation company pays for the machine while the owners of the lands benefitted pay for the work. |