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<br />THE LITTLE SNAKE RIV]JR VALLEY WYOMmG-
<br />WATER STORAGE, AN URGENT NEED
<br />
<br />COLORADO
<br />
<br />D. H. Christen~en
<br />
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<br />HISTORIC BACKGROUND -- In WWyoming" prep~red by the W.P.A.
<br />WQ rerul:
<br />
<br />"BAGGS. 50.91'1. (6,245 alt., 192 pop.), :lAr.lcd for M~.;;"ie "nd
<br />George B~g~s, sarl~r settlors, is in the Little Snake River Valle~.
<br />Made up partly of false-front Rnd rough log buildi:lGs, partly of
<br />modern concrete, pressed_brick, and p'eled-log structures, the
<br />town h~s a hone-liks, comfortable nir.
<br />
<br />Becpuse of the isolation, Bag~s in the lS80's and 1890's ~~s
<br />a reno.ezvous of 'J~d T!\en. Ton Horn nnd Bob Meldrun, quick-triggered
<br />livestock detectives, frequented th" vicini ty. Ton h~d a rock
<br />fortre~s on the Seven-MileRanch below Baggs; Bob killcd his last
<br />T!\nn here whon Chick Bowmp~..a popular cowpuncher, resisted ~rrest.
<br />The Powder Springs gang, led by Butch Cassidy, cane here to cele-
<br />br~.te holdups in surrounding states. After one $3'),000 hnul in
<br />'flinnermccfl., Nevnd.n., the~r took posse~~ion of B[\,ggs Me.. throw L'10ne~...
<br />and bullets rrbout with abandon. The inhabitants, though not exrrctly
<br />rrt ease during the celebration, knew tho gnng intended no harm.
<br />Fin"-'1cially, the:' profited b:r the visits, for no ouUmi destroyed
<br />property without pnying generously for it. When absent fro~ he~d-
<br />quarters, which wns on a aountrrin 40 miles west, the gnng kept its
<br />swift, stur~' horses under guard nnd ready, its ams and ro1~unitio~
<br />stacked in nili taI"J fashion."
<br />
<br />..J
<br />No story of pioneer life in the Little Snnke River Valley ~c\'l"
<br />
<br />be conplete without nention of Jin Baker.
<br />
<br />"He was born in Belleville, Illinois, on December 18, 1818, a,,,'.
<br />CMe West l'.t the ac~e of 13. He freightec.. trapped ,.lith Jin Bric.,ice,
<br />oPQrntcQ a ferry over Green Rivor on the Oregon Trail, trn~ed Rn~
<br />prospccto<\ in the Sierra Madre region, and acteo. as guiete ~nd sc,,, ",.
<br />In 1~73 he settleet do.m with his tw~ In~ian wives in the Little
<br />Snnke cour.try, where he built a three-story blockhouse for a dweil-
<br />ing. Bnker adopted certain Indi~ tribal customs: in pnrticuln~,
<br />that of having his womenfolk tenet his trap line on the Little Sn:~8
<br />River. He liked to sit and smoke in the clearing before his block-.
<br />house, while his wivos eonbed and curled his flowing light hair and
<br />beard. He etied in 1898."
<br />
<br />;RRI~ATION 'NOT A NIDi PROBL~ -- Irrigation and the cultivnt~on
<br />of seni-arid lands is not a new problem. It is old as civilizatoon
<br />itself. The Honorable Charles H. Leavy of W~shington nptly brouGrt
<br />this to nind on ~larch 4, 1940 when in words of eloquence he paid ~.
<br />be~utiful and deserved tribute to the life anet l~bors of tho late
<br />Congressnrrn Ed. Taylor, the father of reclaQation.
<br />
<br />"ReclArlation, " declared Ed. Taylor, "was n thousand tines 80re
<br />essentinl to the West thAn any other governmental activity. It
<br />neant frl.rn.s, hones, cities, industries, a stable, perY.lfUlent growtb~.. .--
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