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Show ; Duchesne County f r-i T7. ,T:.ta .Trr-r ir r-r iti i i i Iii the second annual report of t ho I'tah State Uiiroan of Immigration. Immigra-tion. Labor and Statistics, II. T. . Haines commissioner appears an article ar-ticle entitled Duchesne County. Tlie report was furnished by 'he I'intah I 'a si n Development League and is as follows: Do yon want a homo, a farm and place all your own, where yon may soon become independent? Perhaps you have investigated the average project wherein water costs from twenty to fifty dollars per acre. You no douht have decided that such prhes are not at all prohibitive, hut do not appear especially attractive. To you and to all homeseekers the sreat I'intah basin olTc-rs special inducements. in-ducements. Why is the I'intah basin undeveloped? undevel-oped? Why is it at this latii date a virgin field for investment, while all the great west has been Liken up? So far as the first opportunities opportuni-ties are concerned, the basin is still nne.vpToited. The reason for this condition is as simple as the history and as apparent as the topography. Duchesne, county, created in 1 9 1 4 , is made up almost entirely of the former I'intah Indian reservation, which was only thrown open to settlement set-tlement a few years ajjo. About six or seven years is all the history we have connecting the while man with our county, excepting that which concerns con-cerns government ollicials. Fort. Duchesne Du-chesne and other military posts, stock men and Indian traders. Prior to the opening of the reservation the only town in Northeastern I'tah, of any importance at all. was Vernal. That section known as the I'intah basin is about 12" miles square, taking tak-ing up the northeastern corner of the stale. The entire area is largely large-ly unclaimed, uuplowed and unknown, un-known, even to the average citizen of our own stale. The reason for this condition is the topography of the country. Our county, including as it does-the does-the greater portion of the basin and nearly ' all the former reservation, is completely surrounded by a moun tain wall, cut only on the north and on the south by Green river. These two canyons are like the Grand canyon can-yon of the Colorado, the walls being be-ing vertical and for many miles the water extends from wall to wall, i On the north is the great Uintah range. A peculiar range of mountains, moun-tains, apparently independent in origin and formation. This range joins the Wasatch mountains near Coalville and continues east along the north boundary to the I'intah county line, then on to Colorado. On the west is the Wasatch range, likewise having no break or gap lower low-er than about 8,500 feet. (The Uintah Uin-tah range lias no opening lower than 10,000 feet). Noar Colton this range seems to divide, one branch having an eastern trend, becoming lower and slightly ilattening out as it near? Green river canyon. From the rivet on the east the same unbroken ndge increases in altitude as it joins the P.ook Cliff range which, in turn, continues con-tinues on past to tin; Itoan Cliff and oil up to the Continental divide. Thus on nil four Hides we have a precipitous precipi-tous mountain wall. Hard climbing is necessary to gel in or out. Before the main divide is reached, one must pass through a cattle range country, no matter from which direction direc-tion the basin is approached Aflei entering the basin a border land of i.a(: ajjd sheep country is met with before one reaches the agricultural section It is entirely proper to say that the I'intah mountains will some day be known as the Switzerland of I lie. !nif:f plates. Thousands of lakes at various altitudes, surrounded surround-ed with timber, alive with fish or set among giant cliffs with perpetual snow banks near by, with Utah's highest peaks, standing out as sen-(inels, sen-(inels, afford a picturesque and delightful de-lightful rendezvous for pleasure seekers. seek-ers. These hills abound in game, which is perhaps more plentiful than elsewhere In the west. These mountains, moun-tains, when a railroad pierces the basin, will soon bcome known as tin su miner resort of the United States. Waterfalls, lakes, forests, glaciers Hint wonderful canyons all contribute 1 1) make a real wonderland- Mhp Dig llrubh Creek cave, the largest of many caves. Is at the mouth about 200 feet wide and 100 feel high, and one can explore its interior to om's hearts content, as if is yet unexplored and. its real depth unknown. The same condition condi-tion applies to many other caves. There are lakes that are ice covered pei-pet uatly, hid by s,i liijts that prevent pre-vent the entiro body from freezing. Duchesne county lakes up most of tlie western slope of the local Green liver drainage- In tlie basin wafer i rurnished by the Strawberry, Duel. Du-el. eMie. Uintah and the Lake Fork rivers with olher minor steams, nil coming rom the Uintah except tho Ktrawbery. which gathers its waters jroni tho Wasatch, A series oj beeches, all sloping towards I lie principal prin-cipal rivers, give us vast tracts of irrigable land. These benches are easily drained and the preparing of the land is simple and inexpensive. These farm lands are from 4,500 to 7.000 feet in altitude. No part of the west is more favorably fav-orably situated for both farming and Jruil raising. During the spring p'onths we have some wind from the west, but during the other seasons sea-sons there is practically no wind. The northern winds, so disagreeable rml well known in Wyoming and .Montana, are unkown in the basin being walled out by the Uintah mountains. moun-tains. All crops easily grown in this 2titude thrive. Largely in the new county of Duchesne Du-chesne is found the farm lands of the L'inlah basin. The Government reserved some of the lands for the Indians both in this county and in Uintah county. The river bottom; Ixiuls were generally selected, leaving leav-ing the bench tracts, and perhaps! the best. Kind, for the white man. As there are less than 1,500 Indians in the entire basin, Duchesne county has few of the red men. The Indian lands are being rapidly sold because too much was reserved for them. It is staled that the original Indians are not. mainlaing their population. There is about one million acres of farm land in (he basin, most of which is in Duchesne county. There :'s ample water for every acre and the projects are simple, requiring neither neith-er expert, engineering nor expensive financing. Many co-operative canals ,'iave been built for lands that were homesteadert, the cost per acre for both land and water ranging from five to leu dollars, which has been aid for largely in actual labor upon the canals and laterals. The Government Gov-ernment has built many large canals o irrigate the Indian lands and settlers set-tlers have in several eases enlarged the Indian canals and secured water it reduced cost. Many large tracts of land, partly owned and some of which is segregated under the Carey act law, are awaiting capital. Near Duchesne, the county seat, for in stance, is the upper P.lue bench, one continuous body 22,000 acres in ox-tent, ox-tent, all owned by farmers, yet unable un-able to use the land because money cannot be secured with which lo4 oi)i)ec;-1 lie niatiVranal. There are at her well known tracts, such as tho West bench, comprising 13,000 acres; Fruitland bench ol' 20,0(jij ueies; the. South .Myton bench, about 15,000 acres, and many olher projects awaiting await-ing financial aid. .The cost of furnishing furn-ishing water for these benches, will range from six to fifteen dollars per acre. So far the bonds cannot bo sold, largely because of our great isolation. Although the basin Jja per cent of tho stale's forested area, we have but 22 per cent or Utah's cattle and horses which are grazed on the forest reserves. It might be supposed sup-posed that having such extensive range that cattle especially would be more numerous than elsewhere in Utah. It is certain that we should have in northeastern Utah one hundred hun-dred per cent more cattle per acre of forest than any other part of the slate Uc-iiig far removed from the railroad, the question of market arises. There is great room for improvement im-provement of the cattle industry. Our summer range, is ample to support x sufficient number of cattle to eat our hay and grain diirinE thw winter months. The growth along this line will take care of the market question ques-tion for a long lime to come. We have produced first class fruit, even peaches thrive, while apples, potatoes and alfalfa exci-d, Ho far ve have escaped the ravages of the army worm and other alfalfa pests, and threfore this crop has been the farmer's best friend. Uccauso of our unique isolation, it is not likely that such enemies of tin farm, as insects and such pests, will make their way into the basin. On our forests in plain view of the broad range is fifty per cent of Utah's total timber area. Duchesne and Uintah counties together to-gether have I he world's total supply of Gilsouite. and this is unlimited in quantity. Duchesne county has the world's supply or lOlulerite ( Wurtzelite). as yet practically untouched. Oil indications, such as oil shales oil sands, natural gas, maltha seeps, perfect geological conditions and a few oil wells that have been drilled, all assure us that here is one of the largest oil basins known to geology. geol-ogy. The United States Geological Survey Informs us that wo have more of the rare hydro-carbons than the rest of the world. We have in this new county about SO feet of coal underlying three-fourths three-fourths of the county's area, although not all is valuable for mining, owing ow-ing to the fact that part of It dips too far under the surface for present mining methods. Much of (his coal, however, is near the surface and easilv mined and Is of the same grade is the Castle Gate and other similar bituminous coals round in tins section sec-tion of the west. Our several mountain streams, coming down from high altitudes from catch basins ten to thirteen thousand feet above sea level to the bench about 5,000 feel in atlitnde. give us many wonderful waterpower sites. These power sites are all easily easi-ly handled and require simple engineering. engi-neering. On our eastern boundary is the Green river, in which runs six-tenths of Utah's total annuaj water wa-ter supply, and several gigantic power pow-er sites are found here awaiting development. de-velopment. We have ample power to drive trains over our ranges and across the former inland sea. To enter the Uintah basin several routes are practicable. The Duchesne Stage and Transportation company have daily auto service for mail and passengers between Helper, on I he Denver and Itio Grande railroad, 3nd Uintah basin points. The Uintah Kail way company's line from Mack, Colorado, on the Denver and Rio Grande, extends north over the Cook Cliff range info Ihe Uintah basin proper, but stops at Watson on the east edge, of Uintah county, from which point a daily auto stage makes connection with Uintah basin towns. There are several other roads over which one may enter the basin, but the above two rurnish the only regular regu-lar auto service. We need a packing plant to make unnecessary the Importation annually annu-ally of more than $50,000 worth of pork and lard. Several good creameries would be very remunerative, because butler fat an be produced more cheaply here than elsewhere in the state. The Carbon county coal camps at. present furnish us the best market in the stale for garden and farm products. Everything we raise can he sold for a fair price. What we want is more capital and more j.eo-ple j.eo-ple to reclaim and farm our vast creage of untilled land. The quality ,of our land is second to none, yet nowhere else can land be secured so j cheaply. I For information concerning the j basin, write to the secretaries of the commercial clubs at one or more of the following towns: Duchesne, Fruitland. Uoneta. Talmage, Altonah, ML Home, Lakefork, Mid view, Myton. My-ton. Roosevelt, Cedarview, White-rocks, White-rocks, Hayden, Dennett and Vernal. |