OCR Text |
Show the Pima Indians within the area to be irrigated under the Salt River project, was executed by the Department on June 3, 1907, and . , $100,000 has been transferred to the reclamation fund out of the amount appropriated for the Pima irrigation system. Shoshoni.-Though work on the Shoshoni Reservation in Wyoming has made considerable progress, not cu, much has been accomplished as.was hoped, because of the impossibility of maintaining a constant laboring force for any considerable time. During the fiscal year 19071 $76,811.05 was expended, mainly on the Coolidge ditch and its lateral systems. On the 1st of July, 1907, $115,500 became available for continuing the work, the Congress having appropriated the bal-ance of the $150,000 provided in the agreement with the Indians ($25,000) and the further sum of $75,000 by the current. Indian appropriation a d (34 Stat. L., 1052), and $15,500 being on hand from the appropriation of the previous 6acal year. The work is going on . ' as rapidly as circumstances will permit. Tongue River.-Some preliminary work has been done on the Tongue River Reservation in Montana, under the supervision of In-spector W. B. Hill. The current Indian appropriation act (34 Stat. L., 1035) contains a special appropriation of $40,000 for an irriga-tion system on this reservation, and it is intended to push the con- . stmction as rapidly 'w possible. Uintah.-The work of constructing the several systems of irriga-tion on the Uintah Reservation in Utah has progressed favorably during the year, with the expenditure of $120,672.32 of the amount appropriated by the act of June 21, 1906 (34 Stat. L., 375). In view of the necessity of using the water in order to hold its appropriation under the laws of Utah, the acting agent was instructed last February to make every possible' effort to lease all allotted land which could be irrigated, wherever the allottees were makingno use of it. Very favorable terms were offered, and by advertising and notices ' wide publicity was given to the fact that these lands could be leased. Many letters of inquiry have been received, but only twenty-six leases have been effected. \ ZuEi PuebZ0.-More than $85,000 was expended'during the year on the ZuCi dam in New Mexico. It is now nearly fini&ed, and work on the canal will soon begin. Owing to ;nnsnal floods, scarcity of labor and difficulty of access, the cost has far exceeded the original estimates; but the dam is a fine example of engineering skill, and the results will doubtless justify the expense if the Indians avail them-selves of the benefits so liberally provided for them by the Govern-ment. ALLOTllil2NTS AvD PATEXTS. Allotment work among Indians has been pushed as rapidly as pos-sible since the date of my last report. |