Digging a Well

Now that we are snug in our soddy, the next job on our homestead is to find a water supply. The prairie land is often bone dry even after spring downpours, so we collect rain water in barrels and cisterns, as well as visit the nearby creek for water.

Although that sufficed for the first few weeks while we got our home built, it is time to dig our own well. We are going to have to dig deep - perhaps as far as 280 feet or more. Our neighbor has been kind enough to let us use his well, and although it is a mile to his homestead, it's a whole lot easier to walk a mile than to dig a well over 200 feet deep!

We are going to have to dig by hand, beginning with just our shovel and flinging the soil over our shoulder until it gets deep enough that we can rig up a crank and pulley bucket to do the excavating. For that we will need to hire a neighbor to man the crank while we dig below.

There are cautions we are already aware of - so we check our rope each day to make sure it is in good condition and won't break. We also use a candle to check the oxygen levels and do our best to avoid the gases that will be released below the surface.

The first dig only yields us a trickle so we must start over again and again until we find a gushing stream of water. Eventually everybody will pitch in - even the children as the job gets harder and harder.

If we were wealthier, we would hire a professional with a steam powered rig - but at $1 per foot, it is just beyond my means to do so. Once the well is finished, we need an energy source...

Next time we'll do just that...