Full Text of "The Black Hills Illustrated" - Part 3

	This file contains a full text transcription of pages 54-81 of "The Black 
	Hills Illustrated" edited and published under the Auspices of The Black 
	Hills Mining Men's Association by George P. Baldwin.

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	In the tailings-cyanide mills as at the Homestake the ore comes already 
pulverized. The slimes are at present separated and rejected if too low in 
value, though experiments are being carried on having in view their treatment, 
and the sands, after the water in which they were crushed has been removed, are 
treated in a manner similar to that described under wet crushing.

GROWTH OF THE HILLS.

	The growth of mining in the Black Hills is best exemplified by the 
production of gold for the various years from the date of their discovery to 
1903. The table is as follows:

Year.           Total production.
1876 ...............  $1,200,000   
1877 ...............   2,000,000   
1878 ...............   2,250,000   
1879 ...............   2,500,000   
1880 ...............   2,650,000   
1881 ...............   2,550,000 
1882 ...............   2.550,000   
1883 ...............   2,525,000   
1884 ...............  $2,575,000
1885 ...............   2,730,000
1886 ...............   3,250,000
1887 ...............   3,420,000
1888 ...............   3,485,000
1889 ...............   3,550,000
1890 ...............   3,904,160
1891 ...............   4,619,270
1892 ...............  $5,101,630 
1893 ...............   6,750,000 
1894 ...............   6,500,000 
1895 ...............   6,800,000 
1896 .......... ....   6,775,000 
1897 ...............   6,524,760  
1898 ...............   6,800,000 
1899 ...............   7,000,000
1900 ...............   7,250,000
1901 ...............   7,500,000
1902 ...............   7,400,000
1903 ...............   7,229,000
Total ..............$127,408,820

	Owing to the new reduction plants contemplated for this year, and those 
which were put in commission during the latter part of 1903, the production of 
1004 will greatly exceed the figures for 1903. The gold production for 1904 will 
probably amount to nine and one-half million dollars. The general mining 
outlook-the continued investments of large capital, the exploration and opening 
up of new mines and the increasing mill construction-warrant the statement that 
gold mining is in its very infancy in the Black Hills; that the annual increase 
in gold production will continue, and that each succeeding year will show a gain 
over its predecessor far into the coming years of the future until the Black 
Hills shall be the greatest gold-producing district in the world.

AGRICULTURE.

	Gold was the attraction which brought to the Black Hills of South Dakota, 
twenty-nine years ago, the first white settlers, and the inducement which caused 
thousands to brave the dangers of a country beset by hostile Indians and the 
hardships incident to a frontier life. But among the thousands who came in 
search of the yellow metal were many who recognized in the rich soil of the 
numerous valleys which radiate in every direction from the pine-clad mountains, 
possibilities for wealth as great as those offered by the mines as yet 
undiscovered. Among the pioneers were many whose experience on the farm in their 
old homes in the East made them good judges of a country, and as they passed 
through the valleys on their way to the mountains, where,

            With vast foundations seamed and knit,
               And wrought and bound with golden bars,
            The Black Hills' peaks serenely sit
               And challenge Heaven's sentry stars,

they cast eyes of longing on the broad acres which needed only the care and 
attention of man to make them productive. These of the pioneers did not allow 
the subtle influence of gold to keep them under its spell, so it was not long 
before many of them had ventured into the valleys in search of homes, homes to 
build which they knew would require of them the exercise of the highest human 
courage, for the country was as yet a part of the great Sioux reservation, and 
the favorite hunting grounds of all the northern tribes of Indians. On its 
borders, and even in the Hills themselves, at that lime, ranged the great 
northern herd of buffalo, and to hunt the buffalo came the Sioux, the Crow and 
the Cheyenne. These tribes were jealous of the whites who had invaded their 
paradise, and were determined not to give it up without a struggle, so Indian 
raids upon exposed settlers were numerous. Many a home was builded only to be 
reduced to ashes and ruin and their founders scalped and mutilated by the 
Indians during the first few years in which fanning was attempted in the Hills. 
Despite these discouraging conditions, however, the ever-present danger of 
massacre and the despoliation of their flocks and herds, the settlers of the 
valleys persisted in their endeavors, and the results of their bravery have more 
than paid for the loss of life and property which followed in the wake of the 
first attempt to till the soil of the valleys of the Black Hills.

	Indians alone were not the only difficulties with which the farmer had to 
contend, for, with hundreds of miles of a difficult country stretching between 
him and the nearest point from which machinery and supplies could be procured, 
he was forced to content himself with the use of implements which are to-day 
considered obsolete by those who are making agriculture profitable in the 
valleys and in the parks of the upper Hills. It was not until recent years that 
opportunity was given the farmer of the Hills to take the advantage of improved 
machinery in the cultivation of his land, and not for several years after the 
introduction of this machinery was it possible for more than a small portion of 
the men who had builded for themselves homes in the valleys to procure these 
aids to labor, the high freight rates, the difficulty of transportation and the 
exactions of the dealers in them allowing only the most wealthy to purchase.  
Since the introduction of machinery, however, the productiveness of the soil has 
been proven by the annual number of acres placed in seed and the ever-increasing 
harvests of cereals and vegetables, and to-day the 60,000 people who inhabit the 
Hills have no occasion to look further than their own country for all the 
products of the farm. Everything needed from the farm is raised in the Hills, 
and every product finds a ready market at far better prices than the same brings 
in any other section of the country.

	Surrounding the Black Hills, with their fertile acres still unfilled, and

	Stretching in airy undulations far away, 
	As though the ocean in its gentlest mood stood still
	With all its rounded billows fixed and motionless forever." 

are prairie lands which beckon to the homeseeker, and which some day will be 
utilized. They are now the ranges for the immense herds of cattle which have 
taken the place of the exterminated buffalo; but settlers have been coming in 
for years, and fences are being built, homes made and former conditions 
changing. These broad prairies are as much a part of the Black Hills as are the 
valleys which lead to them from the mountain, and their settlers will, like 
those of the valley, in a few years reap the benefit of the splendid market 
afforded here.

	It is recorded that the first actual attempt to cultivate the soil of the 
valleys leading from the foothills was made in the spring of 1876, a man by the 
name of Brown having broken a few acres of ground in the Whitewood valley, a few 
miles below the present town of Cook City. This small tract was planted to oats. 
and in July of that year was ready to be harvested, but when men went to the 
ground for that purpose they were driven off by the Indians, who took an 
especial delight in destroying the ripened crop.

	On the Centennial prairie, six miles north from Deadwood, almost within 
the Hills themselves, and in the Spearfish valley, hay was cut in the summer and 
fall of 1876, and those who did the cutting took their lives in their hands. It 
was customary for large parties to go together to the place where the hay was 
cut, usually in some valley, where a good lookout could be kept from surrounding 
heights, and while one-half of the party cut hay the other half stood on guard. 
The reaping was done with scythes and cradles, nothing like a mowing machine 
being then in the country. But the risk and the labor was thought by those 
engaged in furnishing the markets with hay to be worth the while, for at times 
that commodity sold for 10 cents a pound and higher. These parties were, 
however, driven in by the Indians and the results of their labor destroyed on 
many occasions. During the same year Robert Evans, Judge Beck and Peter Riley 
made garden in Spearfish valley, but many times were compelled to fly for their 
lives from the Indians to a stockade which had been built near where the town of 
Spearfish now stands. Since those days Spearfish valley has become one of the 
most highly-cultivated and most productive valleys in the Hills; in fact, the 
garden spot, while Centennial prairie is dotted with well-cultivated farms, upon 
which are substantial, commodious and handsome buildings, and those occupying 
the land are among the well-to-do of the state.

	Settlers soon flocked to the Redwater, Belle Fourche, Lower Falsebottom, 
Bare Butte, Alkali, Lower Box Elder, Elk, Morse and the valleys of the other 
streams of the northern Hills during the latter part of the same year, but in 
the spring of 1877 the Indians again became so bad that most of them were 
compelled to fly to the neighboring towns for safety. These valleys have since 
then become productive, and almost their entire acreage is to-day being farmed, 
and the products raised sold at good prices within a few miles of where they are 
harvested.

	Early in 1876 the first settlement of the Rapid River valley was made, and 
the town of Rapid City laid out, a blockhouse built and ranches taken up along 
the banks of that beautiful stream. For the first year no attempt was made to 
cultivate the soil, but attention was given to putting up hay. But in this 
occupation the settlers were not allowed to work in peace, the Indians being 
worse in this section than in any other in the Hills, oftentimes keeping the 
settlers besieged within the shadow of the blockhouse. But those days have 
passed, and at the present time the valley, from where the stream debouches from 
the mountains until it empties into the Cheyenne River, forty miles away, has 
been settled, every quarter section being taken. Some of the ranches on this 
valley are among the most productive in the state, and the buildings and 
improvements on them equal to any to be found upon the best farms of older 
states, while the diversity of the crops raised make it one of the richest 
farming sections of the West.

	Lower Spring creek. Fall river, Battle creek, Horsehead and the valleys of 
other streams to the south and east of Rapid began to settle as early as the 
spring of 1877, and while those taking up land were not molested to such an 
extent as the farmers and ranches of other sections of the Hills, they still had 
many hardships to endure and to overcome. These valleys to-day are rich in 
flocks and herds, while the cultivation of the soil brings good profits to those 
engaged in it.

	As early as March, 1876, attempts were made to improve lands on French 
creek, below Custer City, on Bradley Flats, and on the banks of one or two other 
streams there, but so bad were the Indians that the attempt had to be abandoned, 
so it was not until two years later that anything like success was made of 
farming there. This section is now very productive.

	On Jim creek, which is within the Hills, was grown and thrashed the first 
cereal grown in the Black Hills. On one of the large bottoms which reach back 
from the banks of the stream, an enterprising settler in the spring of '76 had 
planted a small field of oats, and as his ground was safe from Indian raids, he 
was allowed to harvest it. The crop, which was an immense one for the acreage 
sown, was thrashed out by the old method described in the Scriptures-it was 
treaded out by oxen. The farmer made a fortune from his harvest.

	Within the Hills, free from danger of Indian attacks, on the upper reaches 
of the Box Elder, Gilbert M. Tower in the spring of 1876 located and built the 
first buildings in the Hills to be used exclusively as farm buildings. Although 
he contented himself during the first year's occupancy of the ranch with cutting 
and putting up hay, in the year following Mr. Tower planted extensively to oats, 
potatoes and other vegetables, and it may be said that he was really the first 
person to engage exclusively in agriculture in the Hills. He occupies the same 
buildings to-day, and for twenty-eight years has tilled the soil of Mountain 
Meadow ranch, one of the best-known places in the country.

	Scattered throughout the Hills are numerous little valleys, and while 
their altitude is too high for those occupying them to make a success of raising 
wheat or corn, oats, barley and every kind of vegetable raised in the valleys of 
the foothills are prolific producers when planted in them, and a crop failure is 
a thing unheard of. All of these little parks and the flats along the streams 
flowing through the mountains are to-day occupied by people who farm them, many 
in addition owning mining ground adjoining, which they also work. As the farms 
in the mountains are generally located on mineral land, and subject to entry as 
such, this fact has been gotten over by those claiming them entering them first 
as placer claims-twenty acres being taken at a time-and then securing patent for 
the ground so taken. Some of the best-paying ranches in the Black Hills are 
located in these parks at the headwaters of the various streams, up where the 
air is light and nature rears her monumental peaks.


[Photo - 2,000-ACRE RANCH OF A. GILES, NEAR BELLE FOURCHE.]


	It was not until 1878 that the first shipment of farming machinery was 
made to the Black Hills, Star & Bullock of Deadwood receiving a consignment of 
plows, reapers, rakes, etc., which, so great had been the demand for them, were 
sold almost so soon as they were unloaded from the bull and mule wagons which 
had hauled them 300 miles through a hostile Indian country. In 1879 the first 
self-binders were brought into the country by the same firm. They were brought 
in as an experiment, but farming had progressed to such an extent by that time 
that all were disposed of, although the modest price of $325 was charged for 
each machine. The freight on a single machine amounted to over $100.

	West of the Hills, but a part of them, Sand creek and Crow creek became 
attractions to the homeseekers, and in 1879 began to settle up, and to-day 
support a large population, many prosperous communities having sprung up in 
these valleys.

	Although the mean height of the valleys of the Hills above sea level is 
something over 3,000 feet, almost every cereal and vegetable raised in the same 
latitude as that of the Black Hills is raised in them, and the production to the 
acre greater than that of many other sections of older states, where the 
cultivation of the soil has been brought to the highest state of perfection. 
Wheat, corn, barley, oats, rye and the other cereals make good crops when 
planted; the soil of the valleys is rich and easily cultivated after it has once 
been broken. It has not been until within the past few years that the farmers' 
entire attention has been given to farming his lands, part of his time having 
been given to raising cattle, horses and sheep, the conditions being such that 
this mixed farming has paid the best, but recently many farmers have devoted 
their whole time to the cultivation of their lands, and where this has been done 
the profits have not only increased, but there is attached to them an element of 
certainty which makes farming in the Black Hills a "sure thing," to use the 
vernacular of the streets. Last year-1903-was an average year, and the following 
estimate, made by J. J. McNamarra of the Rapid City Flouring Mills Company, will 
give the reader a good idea of the capabilities of the soil cultivated:

	Acres of ground seeded to wheat................     10,000
	Average yield per acre, bushels. ..............         17
	Bushels of corn raised. .......................     43,000
	Bushels of oats raised. .......................    127,000
	Barrels of flour made..........................     34,000
	Pounds of by-products manufactured.............  3,300,000
	Bushels of barley raised. .....................      4,000
	Bushels of rye raised..........................     25,000

	It is difficult to estimate the number of bushels of potatoes and onions 
raised during the year for which the above figures are given, but suffice it to 
say, the Black Hills farms raised enough of both to not only supply the home 
demand, but also to export large quantities to northern Nebraska points.

	Cultivated grasses have to a large extent taken the place of the native 
hay, upon which the Hills in years gone by have depended, and timothy, millet, 
alfalfa and other domestic grasses are cultivated to a large extent by the 
farmers, who find a ready sale for it to the cattle and sheep men of the Hills.

	Twenty years ago the first apple trees were set out in the Black Hills on 
Box Elder valley, north of Rapid City, and on the Wells farm in the Spearfish 
valley. From these orchards have been distributed thousands of young trees, 
until to-day not a farm in the northern Hills but what has a few acres set aside 
as an orchard. On Box Elder, the Hale and Thompson orchards are probably the 
largest. From the Thompson orchard in 1903 was gathered nearly 2,000 barrels of 
apples, and from the Hale orchard about 900. Ready sale was found for these 
apples, which were of many varieties and of excellent quality, in the Hills 
towns. The Wells orchard at Spearfish was also a large producer, while several 
orchards in the Whitewood valley produced large quantities of fruits. Prunes, 
plums, cherries, late pears and other northern fruits do well in the Hills, 
while the small fruits, such as strawberries, blackberries, currants, 
raspberries, etc., cannot be excelled in flavor, size or the profusion of their 
production. Altogether, so far as farming is concerned, there is nothing lacking 
to make it a success in the Black Hills, and those who undertake it and who work 
with intelligence and industry receive ample rewards.

	While the products of the Black Hills mines have been worth hundreds of 
millions of dollars since the first settlement of the country, the wealth 
produced by the farms of the Black Hills has equaled them. Although the odds 
were great and the danger imminent at all times during the early settlement of 
the valleys of the Hills, the farmer has triumphed over all of those 
difficulties, and to-day to be owner of 160 acres of land in any of the valleys 
of the Black Hills means that its owner is independent for life.

CATTLE INDUSTRY OF THE BLACK HILLS.

	In 1876 the first cattle were turned loose on the ranges of the Black 
Hills, a small herd in Centennial prairie. Later in the same year M. V. Boughton 
drove in a herd of 200 head, which he grazed on the grasses of the lower 
Falsebottom. This herd was really the first to be turned out upon the range, and 
the experiment proved to be a costly one for Mr. Boughton, for the same fall a 
band of Sioux swooped down upon the cattle and drove them off. During the spring 
of the following year, 1877, however, the first big herd of cattle was brought 
into the country, having been driven over the trail from Texas. There were 
several thousand in this bunch, and accompanying them and guarding them was a 
large band of cowboys. This bunch was brought in by M. C. Connors of Spearfish, 
and the cattle were ranged on the Redwater and tributary streams. Several other 
smaller herds were brought into the country that fall and ranged along the 
Redwater, Spearfish and Belle Fourche.

	In 1880 several large companies drove their herds to the Hills and 
selected ranges on the streams flowing from the mountains. Among those who came 
that year were the Driskill Brothers, the E6, Cross Anchor, BXB and other large 
companies. That year everyone who had money to invest invested it in cattle, and 
the result was that the range was overstocked. Those following the business, 
however, for the first two or three years made money on their investments, but 
in 1886-7 came a hard winter, and the close-cropped range afforded little food 
for the vast herds which depended upon it for their sustenance. The result was 
many brands were lost entirely, some owners never succeeding in rounding up a 
single head of stock bearing their brands. The total loss exceeded 75 per cent 
of the cattle on the range. This was a severe setback to those engaged in the 
business, many being financially ruined, but it did not deter those who could 
stand the loss from again venturing their capital in the business. The country 
was an ideal one for cattle raising- when not overstocked the range afforded 
food, water and shelter for hundreds of thousands of heads of cattle, the native 
grasses furnishing more nutriment than those of any other section of the 
country-so before the following year had passed the ranges were again stocked 
with countless heads in the care of men who had made a study of the business and 
who were careful to not too severely tax the limits of the range. These men 
have, many of them, continued in the business, and those who to-day are grazing 
large herds are meeting with success.

	In 1879 and 1880 the settlement of the Falsebottom, Redwater and Spearfish 
valleys forced the cattlemen to move their herds farther from the Hills into the 
valleys and the plains adjacent to those streams, and along the Belle Fourche 
river. For several years the cattlemen were not disturbed in their possession of 
the range in this section of the Black Hills country, but the time came when the 
small farmer and rancher began the invasion of this territory, too, and as wire 
fences, the segregation of water holes, springs and watercourses were not 
conducive to the best interests of the cattlemen. they were again forced to move 
farther out into the wilderness where they could find room for their cattle to 
range unmolested, feed and water.

	On the south and east sides of the Black Hills the same conditions exist 
as upon the north and west sides. Gradually the farmer and small rancher, with 
their wire fences and cultivated fields, have driven the cattlemen farther away 
from the Hills, and many of those owning large herds have disposed of their 
business or driven their cattle to regions where the free range is more 
extensive and they can find room to move about without danger of trespass. The 
largest cattle outfit now in the Black Hills country is the Western Ranches, 
better known as the VVV brand. This company, which has its headquarters at Belle 
Fourche, makes yearly shipments from that point of several thousands of head of 
cattle. Other large outfits, which also have headquarters at Belle Fourche, ship 
from the same place, their cattle ranging on what is known as the Northern 
Range.

	The first shipment of cattle from the Black Hills by rail was made from 
the town of Buffalo Gap, over the Northwestern road. This shipment consisted of 
but a few thousand head and was made in 1886. As the road was extended into the 
Hills, shipments were made the following year from Brennan, and then followed 
Rapid City, Tilford and Whitewood, from each or which places a large number of 
cattle were forwarded to eastern markets. In 1889 the road was completed to 
Belle Fourche, and that year was the first in which the cattle shipments from 
the Hills began to attract attention.   From this town alone were shipped 1,615 
carloads-twenty steers to a car- valued at $1,615,000, the freight on the 
shipment amounting to $200,000. This was the beginning of the heavy cattle 
shipments from the Black Hills, and every year has seen an increase in the 
number of head sent to the eastern markets, 1902 being the banner year. During 
the cattle-shipping season of that year there were shipped from Belle Fourche 
110,000, valued at nearly $6,000,000, while from Brennan, Oelrichs and other 
places along the line of the Northwestern road shipments were made which brought 
the total up to over 130,000 head. In 1903, owing to a weak market, the 
shipments from Belle Fourche dropped down to 63,000, while those from other 
shipping points along the Northwestern and the Burlington roads also diminished 
for the same reason, and 100,000 would be a conservative estimate of the number 
of head of cattle shipped from the Hills for that year.

	With the disappearance of the large herds which formerly ranged over the 
valleys and the prairies adjacent to the Black Hills, there has been no 
diminution of the number of cattle in the Black Hills; on the contrary the 
number has increased. In the spring of 1888 the writer made a trip through that 
part of the Black Hills country given over to cattle ranges and was impressed at 
the time with the vast number feeding on the range. Last summer he again visited 
the section passed over by him years before. He found the country fenced and 
cultivated, farm houses stood where formerly cattle ranged; in each enclosure 
were numerous heads of cattle, horses and other domestic animals-in fact, many 
cattle in that section as there were in 1888. In the early days one man owned 
10,000 head of cattle; today 100 head of cattle each. These men live in the 
country, are developing it, buying their supplies from home markets and shipping 
their cattle to outside markets, receiving money for them which they invest in 
the Black Hills. The disappearance of the large herds has benefited the country, 
for it has given the small stockgrower an opportunity to make his 160 acres of 
land the best paying investment that he could have placed his money in.

	Although the first pure-blood stock was introduced into the country as 
early as 1879, it has not been until recent years that the taint of the Texan 
has been eliminated from the herds ranging in the vicinity of the Hills, and to-
day the breed, a cross between the wild of Texas and the gentle cattle from the 
east, is so improved that it is difficult to distinguish in it traces of its 
ancient ancestry.

	In 1879 D. T. Harrison of Minnesela and Joseph Reynolds of Rochford 
shipped in the first breeding herds-Herefords-into the Black Hills. While the 
herds were not large, from them have sprung the greater number of improved 
cattle ranging in this vicinity. Other people soon followed the example set by 
Messrs. Harrison and Reynolds, and the effort to improve the breed had the 
desired effect, for to-day in the markets of the East, Black Hills range cattle 
receive the top prices always. Mr. Reynolds of Rochford was also the first 
cattle-grower in the Hills to import Jersey stock, and to-day has a large herd 
of this breed from which he annually sells large numbers.

[Photo - TYING AND BRANDING CATTLE ON THE RANGE.]

HORSE BREEDING.

	While from the first settlement of the Black Hills the broncho was the 
most important part of the cattleman and ranchman's equipment, he was not 
allowed to remain always in the first place in the estimation of the settler. In 
1878 Reiley & Son brought into the country several brood mares and a couple of 
well-bred stallions, which were located on their ranch in the Spearfish valley, 
in the same year J. P. Gammon also imported a number of brood mares and 
stallions, which he placed on his Falsebottom ranch. These were the first well-
bred draft horses brought to the Hills, and since that time the strain of 
breeding has been given to almost every draft horse raised in the Black Hills. 
In 1878 Colonel Benteen of the Seventh United States cavalry offered his 
thoroughbred stallion Williamsburg for service, and was probably the first to 
introduce the thoroughbred strain of horses in the country. He was closely 
followed by T. E. and J. D. Hale of Morse creek, who imported the thoroughbred 
Glencoe and other stallions, as well as a number of thoroughbred brood mares, 
from which have descended some of the fastest horses that have ever raced on a 
mile track. Big Sis, a famous racehorse, was one of these mares, and although 
thousands of dollars were spent in an effort to get a horse to beat her at any 
distance, she was never headed in a race. Her progeny and that of Glencoe are 
plentiful throughout the Black Hills, and wherever met with their breeding is 
noticed. These and other imported horses have given a tone to the equine 
thoroughbred of the Black Hills which is at once is noticeable. There are few 
poor horses raised in the Hills.

	Star & Bullock were the first to breed the standard-bred trotter in the 
Black Hills, and many of their horses have made names for themselves on eastern 
racing circuits. They located on the Belle Fourche river, near the town of the 
same name. This firm engaged in the business of raising standard-bred horses for 
several years, and the strain of Valentine, their principal stallion, has made 
better the average roadster in the Hills. Others followed in the wake of Star & 
Bullock in the business, and so well have their efforts to improve the breed 
been received that it is, as stated, difficult to find a scrub animal bred in 
the Hills.

	Germaine & Co. a few years later imported a number of Norman and Percheron 
stallions and mares from France and located on the Fleur de Lys ranch near 
Buffalo Gap. These animals were magnificent specimens of horseflesh and their 
progeny is to-day numbered among the best draft animals in the Black Hills. This 
firm conlinred in business for a number of years.

	It has been the constant aim of horsemen to improve the breed, and every 
year sees this end nearer accomplishment. There are no bronchos, in the true 
sense of the word, on the Black Hills ranges, even the herds of horses which run 
wild on the prairie having the service of either standard-bred or thoroughbred 
stallions. These horses, owing to the high altitude in which they have been 
raised, are always sound of wind and limb, and when taken to lower altitudes 
give the greatest of satisfaction. The breeding counts, and once halter-broken 
they become as gentle as any old farm horse, but possess a spirit which prompts 
them to respond to any call made upon their endurance or speed. Shipments to the 
eastern markets are growing in size with each passing year, and the prices 
obtained are such that those engaged in the business always make a good profit. 
In 1903 there were shipped from the Black Hills ranges something over 7,000 head 
of horses, and no difficulty whatever was encountered in disposing of them. 
Horsemen consider the Black Hills country the region par excellence for the 
raising of fine stock, and many have entered upon the business on a large scale 
in this section.

SHEEP AND WOOL.

	In 1878 the first large flock of sheep was brought to the Black Hills by 
J. D. Hale, who had located a ranch on Morse creek, in Meade county. There were 
several thousand in the flock, of good breed. Others followed Mr. Hale, and the 
next year there were several large flocks in the country. The business proved a 
profitable one, as the conditions for the first few years were very favorable. 
The wool crop during that time was a large one and profitable. Since the first 
introduction of sheep into the Black Hills flock owners have been careful to buy 
none but of good breed, and some of the finest flocks in the United States now 
range along the Grand and Morreau, the Bad and Little Missouri, a country 
tributary to the Hills, while within the Hills proper are several flocks of 
excellent strains. Last season's clip was a large one, while the animals sold 
for the market have always brought a good price. While in the early days sheep 
flocks were numerous in the vicinity of the Hills and there are yet many 
thousands in the valleys and on the prairies, the flocks have been moved to a 
greater distance, occupying a territory adjacent and contributary to the Black 
Hills proper. Markets for the sale of wool are held every year at Rapid City, 
Sturgis and-Belle Fourche, which are attended by buyers from all over the United 
States. The wool industry is one of the most important in the Black Hills 
region, and the number of flocks is increasing every year. It would be difficult 
to give a correct estimate of the wool crop for 1903, for the reason that many 
of the growers have held their crop back for better prices. A very good idea of 
the magnitude of the industry, however, can be had when it is stated that during 
the year 1903 80,000 sheep were shipped to eastern markets from the Black Hills. 
At the present time there are 2,000 sheep being fed in the vicinity of Belle 
Fourche, while at other places are many thousands more. These sheep are intended 
for the eastern markets and are being fattened before being shipped.

	Hogs, and the products manufactured from them, find a ready market in the 
Hills, and those raised here are not more than sufficient to meet the demands of 
home consumption. There are not many large droves in the Black Hills, but every 
farmer keeps a few. They are profitable animals to keep about the farm, and as 
those raised at home always take precedence over packing-house meat, a farmer 
owning a good drove can always receive about what he asks for them.

	During recent years effort has been made to improve the conditions upon 
the northern ranges of the Black Hills, and to this end reservoirs have been 
built for the storage of water, dams being thrown across small valleys to retain 
the rains which fall heavily in the springtime, but which are rapidly drained 
into the water-courses and lost in the muddy swirl of the Cheyenne. The 
government has also been experimenting and during 1904 will complete more of 
these reservoirs, some of them to be fed with water taken from the various 
streams flowing from the Black Hills, while others will be fed by water flowing 
from artesian wells, a number of which will be bored, it having been proven that 
surrounding the Black Hills and underlying the country is an artesian basin of 
unknown extent capable of furnishing an unlimited supply of water for irrigation 
and other purposes. The work to be undertaken in the vicinity of Belle Fourche 
will reclaim an area of 225,000 acres, of which 150,000 acres is government land 
over which is now ranging cattle. These improvements contemplate, the 
reclamation of land in the vicinity of Redwater, Box Elder, Rapid, Spring, 
Battle, French, Elk and Bear Butte creeks and the Cheyenne and Belle Fourche 
rivers. This will add thousands of acres to the tillable land of the Black Hills 
country, and will be the means of bringing to it settlers and be a boon to many 
cattle men, whose herds at times during the summer in many places suffer for the 
want of water.

	During 1903 there were shipped from the Black Hills over the various lines 
of railroads, horses, cattle and sheep as follows:

	Cattle ................................ 85,000 head
	Sheep ................................. 80,000 head
	Horses ................................  7,000 head

	It is estimated that at the close of 1903 there were grazing and feeding 
upon the Black Hills ranges 300,000 head of cattle, 100,000 head of sheep and 
9,000 head of horses.

	There are two stock associations in the Black Hills and both of them keep 
a corps of inspectors at every principal market in the country to which western 
cattle are shipped, and through their efforts many head of stock, horses and 
cattle which have been taken from their proper owners are accounted for and 
returns made. In no country of the West is the stockman or horseman given better 
protection, and in no country of the United States do better conditions or more 
favorable surround the business of either.

THE BLACK HILLS FOREST RESERVE.

BY SETH BULLOCK, FOREST SUPERVISOR. (Portrait following.)

	The Black Hills forest reserve was established on September 19, 1898, by 
President William McKinley, who on that date by proclamation withdrew from 
settlement practically all of the timbered area of the Black Hills of South 
Dakota, including a small strip in Wyoming along the Dakota line, the number of 
acres of land set aside for this purpose being 1,211,680, all of this large area 
being in the state of South Dakota excepting 48,640 acres in the Wyoming strip. 
The object of the forest reserve is for the purpose of preserving the living and 
growing timber, promoting the younger growth and the regulation of the water 
supply; the dependence of the latter for a sure and sustained flow is wholly 
upon vegetation, which prevents rapid run-off and is best attained by a dense 
and vigorous growth of timber. The permanent industries of the Black Hills are 
wholly dependent upon timber and water; destroy one and these industries will 
disappear, while if both are destroyed, the "richest 100 miles square" will 
become a desert. The withdrawal of the lands embraced in the reserve from 
settlement does not, however, prevent their use by residents in or adjoining, 
nor does it in any way interfere with prospecting, locating- or developing the 
mineral resources thereof, as witness the following extract from the act of June 
4, 1897 (30 Stat, 36), relating to the creation and administration of forest 
reserves:

	"Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the egress or ingress of 
actual settlers residing within the boundaries of such reservation, or from 
crossing the same to and from their property or homes; and such wagon roads and 
other improvements may be constructed thereon'as may be necessary to reach their 
homes and to utilize their property under such rules and regulations as may lie 
prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. Nor shall anything herein prohibit 
any person from entering upon such forest reservations for all proper and lawful 
purposes, including that of prospecting, locating and developing the mineral 
resources thereon; provided, that such persons comply with the rules and 
regulations covering such forest reservations."

	The control and management of the reserve rests with the commissioner of 
the General Land Office, Washington, D. C., under the supervision of the 
secretary of the interior. The local management consists of a forest supervisor, 
with headquarters in Deadwood, assisted by a corps of rangers, who are stationed 
on the reserve, to each of which is assigned a certain area known as a ranger 
district. The duties of these forest reserve officers are to carry out the rules 
and regulations governing the reserves, patrol and protect the forest from fire 
and depredations and the unlawful taking of timber; they also act as game 
wardens and assist the state officers in protecting wild game upon the reserves. 
Timber, both living and dead, may be procured from the reserve in the following 
manner: The law prescribes that it may be had without charge by settlers, 
farmers, prospectors and others residing within or in the neighborhood of the 
forest reserve for individual use, but not for sale. It is refused to 
corporations, companies, sawmill parties and owners of large establishments, who 
are expected to purchase, and to non-residents of the state in which the reserve 
is located. Permits for an amount not exceeding $20 in stumpage value may be 
granted by the forest supervisor. Permits for a larger amount, and within the 
stumpage value of $100, are granted only by the secretary of the interior. The 
same person can apply but once in a year and the permit holds good for six 
months, or less time, in the discretion of the forest supervisor. All kinds of 
timber may be obtained, but generally dry firewood, dry poles and logs; also, if 
really needed, green timber. Applications for the free use of timber must be 
made to the forest supervisor upon blanks furnished by the forest officers, the 
timber must be located by a forest officer, and only the timber applied for can 
be cut, and it must be measured and marked by a forest officer. The applicant is 
required to pile the brush and other debris resulting from his cutting and 
removal of the timber. The purchase of green and dry timber from the reserve for 
use within the state (no timber cut on reserve lands being permitted to be 
shipped out of the state in which it is grown) is made through the forest 
supervisor. The question to be decided by the supervisor before the sale of 
green timber is recommended is whether another growth of timber will replace the 
one removed or whether the land will become waste, and if the removal of the 
timber will in any way affect the water supply by removing the shade from the 
ground, by permitting the gullying of the hillsides, entailing the destruction 
of the seedlings, or will in any way injure the source of the water supply. The 
number of small trees, their kind, their vigor, the seed-bearing capacity of 
those which will be left after cutting, the possible destruction of the young 
growth by logging or fire, all these points must be fully considered. If it 
seems certain that the timber may be safely cut, the best method of cutting must 
be decided-whether the trees below a certain diameter should be left to form the 
next crop-whether a number of seed trees should be left or what system will be 
surest to bring about satisfactory reproduction. If the supervisor decides that 
the sale is advisable and the purchase of the timber asked for, he fixes the 
conditions under which it must be cut and the price. The applicant-then signs a 
definite application, which, with the forest officer's map, forest description 
and recommendation, is sent to the Interior Department in Washington. If 
approved, the timber will be advertised in a local paper for six weeks and bids 
received by the secretary of the interior in Washington for the timber and the 
timber awarded to the highest bidder.   The successful bidder is required to 
deposit with the receiver of the land office the value of the timber purchased. 
The forest ranger then marks each tree to be cut, and after it is cut he 
measures the lumber and cordwood contents and certifies the amounts to the 
forest supervisor twice each month until the cutting is completed. The ranger is 
also required to stamp the letters "U. S." on the end of each log cut.

	The grazing of cattle and horses in limited numbers is permitted on the 
reserve, permits being issued by the forest supervisor. The settlers upon the 
reserve are given the prior right to graze their stock. No charge is made for 
grazing privilege, but the owner of the stock is required to assist the forest 
officers in preventing and extinguishing fires.

	The business of the Black Hills forest reserve exceeds that of all the 
other forest reserves combined, as the following, taken from the commissioner of 
the General Land Office report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902, will 
show:

	Total number of forest reserves.................          54
	Total area of all forest reserves, acres........  60,175,165
	Area Black Hills forest reserve, acres .........   1,211,680
	Grazing permits issued by the supervisor of
	      the Black Hills forest reserve ...........         303
	Greatest number issued by supervisor of any
	      other forest reserve......................          91
	Public timber sales, all forest reserves........          77
	Public timber sales. Black Hills forest reserve           58 
	Amount received from sale of timber, all
	      reserves .................................  $25.431.75
	Amount received from sale of timber in the
	      Black Hills forest reserve ...............   20,269.55
	Free use of timber permits issued, all reserves        1,322 
	Free use of timber permits issued Black Hills
	      forest reserve ...........................         705

	The commissioner in his annual report says:
	"The revenue derived from timber sales in the Black Hills forest reserve 
has been double the expense connected with the work." 


WOMEN'S LITERARY AND SOCIAL CLUBS OF THE BLACK HILLS.

BY MRS. R. ANNA MORRIS CLARK, PRESIDENT THURSDAY CLUB, DEADWOOD. (Portrait 
below.)

	Never before in the history of the world has the great heart of woman beat 
more warm and generous for womankind than it does in this age. The old 
traditions, which commanded woman to keep silence and limited her activities to 
domestic life, have been banished long since by the spirit of self-culture and 
advancement.

	The federative idea which unites women into clubs and brings about free 
interchange of thought for self and mutual improvement in literary research, 
philanthiopic work and social intercourse is sweeping over the land like a flood 
of sunshine, broadening education and brightening homes.

	This club spirit has entered the Black Hills, and perhaps there is no 
section in the country with the same number of inhabitants where there are so 
many woman's literary organizations as there are in this district. For the most 
part, the members of these organizations are eastern born and educated, many of 
them college bred, with fine literary tastes. They have been accustomed to the 
best in lectures, readings and musical entertainments. In coming West, they have 
suffered some loss of privilege and opportunity, but these losses are 
compensated for by the joy of being identified with western energy and the 
beginning of things in this new and beautiful country. It is a great source of 
satisfaction to be a pioneer in establishing well-tried standards in new soil.  
Someone has said, "Woman is the mercury in the thermometer of a community which 
shows the standard of culture." This is true in the West, where woman's 
influence is such an effective force in business as well as in society.

	There is no spot on earth where the door of opportunity stands so wide 
open for women as it does right here in the Black Hills. The response to 
opportunity is true and strong, for under the bluest of skies, surrounded by the 
high and rugged hills, they are nerved to do their very best. No matter how long 
ago the school or the college door closed behind them, they are still students, 
ambitious to preserve their health and to broaden their mental and moral 
training along higher and more effective lines.

	The first women's club organized in the Black Hills was the Round Table 
Club of Deadwood. This took place February 14, 1887, with a charter membership 
of five. Following the organization of the Round Table came the Thursday Club, 
the Culture Club, the Woman's Club and Twentieth Century Club, all of which are 
in Deadwood; the Mothers' Union, Woman's Club and Fortnightly Club in Lead City; 
Current Events, Fortnightly and Tourists' Clubs in Rapid City; Shakespeare and 
Travelers' Clubs in Hot Springs; Twentieth Century and Fortnightly Clubs in 
Spearfish; Ladies' Library Club in Sturgis; the Thursday Club in Keystone; 
Twentieth Century Club in Terry, and the Ladies' History Club in Whitewood, 
making in all nineteen women's clubs in the various towns of the Black Hills. 
Most of these clubs were united under the Black Hills Federation in 1897. This 
organization grew out of a reciprocity meeting called by Miss Clara D. Coe of 
the Deadwood Round Table Club. The emblem of this organization is the pine tree 
and its colors are white and gold.

	From this federation, the president, Mrs. D. F. McDonald of Lead City, and 
Mrs. A. J. Simmons of the Thursday Club of Dead-wood went as delegates to the 
biennial meeting of the Federation of Women's Clubs in St. Louis, May, 1004, 
while the State Federation, which was also organized in Deadwood January 16, 
IQOO, chose as its delegates to the same meeting the president, Miss Clara D. 
Coe, Mrs. Anna Morris dark of Deadwood and Mrs. K. G. Stewart of Hot Springs; 
the district also has one national officer, Mrs. W. T. Coad of Rapid City. 
Besides, the Round Table and Thursday Clubs of Deadwood and the Fortnightly and 
Women's Clubs of Lead are individually federated with the National. This will 
add four more, making in all ten delegates to the national be-ennial meeting.

	The club strength of this section is shown by the fact that in the State 
Federation of South Dakota there are 29 clubs, 10 of which are located in the 
Black Hills.

[Photo - MRS. D. F. McDONALD, President of the Federation of Women's Clubs.]

	The clubs of the Black Hills are following the Bay View and other similar 
courses of study, such as are used throughout the country. Many of them include 
in their plans the study of Shakespeare and the histories of the countries in 
which his plays are located. Each club is loyal to its own, yet there prevails 
among all the clubs a delightful harmony of social intercourse.

	A number of the clubs have done much philanthropic work. Notably among 
these is the Lead Woman's Club, which has brought about the organization of a 
kindergarten and has placed organs in the public schools of that city. The 
Thursday Club of Deadwood lias contributed attractive pictures for the 
schoolrooms and has influenced the city council to bring about better sanitary 
conditions in Deadwood. The Shakespeare Club organized the city library at Hot 
Springs and the Round Table Club organized the city library in Deadwood.

	There are also several flourishing women's Christian temperance clubs in 
the Hills, with the publication of the state paper at Rapid City by Mrs. Alice 
Gossage.

CHURCHES OF THE BLACK HILLS.

BY REV. C. B. CLARK, D. D., SUPERINTENDENT M. E. BLACK HILLS MISSION. 
(Portrait below.)

	Coincident with the discovery of gold and the rush of thousands seeking 
wealth in the Black Hills came the family, the school and he church. These 
fundamental elements of higher civilization so essential to the welfare of any 
community were at once incorporated into and became as soon as possible an 
integral part of the new life. The church shared with other institutions in the 
rude facilities of pioneer life. It did not await improved conditions, but 
assisted in creating them. Its first temples were the groves of pine, the 
miner's shack or the log schoolhouse. Its pulpits a convenient stump or an 
overturned dry goods box. Its preachers were brave-hearted mm, and, as a rule, 
true to their calling. Many of them labored as miners or mechanics during the 
week, but on Sunday they would gather about them a crowd, and the settlers would 
join with them in singing gospel songs, which would be followed by prayer and a 
sermon. Danger often attended the labors of these early evangelists, as in the 
case of Rev. Henry Weston Smith, the first Methodist preacher in the Hills. He 
was shot by the Indians at a point between Deadwood and Galena while on his way 
to his Sunday appointment. His body was found the same day with his Bible lying 
on his breast.

	Thus, before the war whoop of the Indian had died away, was the church by 
its faithful messengers proclaiming its gospel in sermon and song.

	The noble, life-sized statue which on Mount Moriah marks the grave of Rev. 
Mr. Smith was erected by the citizens of the early days, and indicates more 
plainly than words can tell the profound respect entertained by the pioneers 
toward the church and its ministry.

	Rev. Mr. Pickett, superintendent of the Congregational work, whose 
territory was known as the Rocky Mountain district, and who organized the 
churches of that denomination in Deadwood, Central City and Spearfish in the 
year 1877, afterward lost his life by the overturning of a stage coach while 
traveling in the mountains.

	A whole volume might be written on the struggles of the churches in those 
days. Struggles arising, not from opposition or indifference on the part of the 
people, but from the prevailing conditions and hardships of those times. When 
clothing and provisions were hauled overland hundreds of miles, the question, 
"What shall we eat and wherewithal shall we be clothed?" was often a serious 
one, even with the most fortunate. The church felt the burden of this struggle, 
but stood the test with a faithfulness which has retained the confidence and 
support of the people until now, when it enjoys with them the prosperity of 
these better days.

	As new towns have sprung up and flourished churches have increased in 
number. No village or country settlement is complete without its religious 
organization and its house of worship, and as the country becomes older and the 
gridirons of the narrow-gauge railroads push up the gulches and brown sides of 
the hills; as the population increases and the mines settle down to steady and 
scientific operation, the churches will grow stronger and more self-supporting. 
As it is, it is like the heroic work in the "Sky Pilot" and "Black Rock." The 
churches are doing a work which eternity and God alone can estimate.

	The first churches built were of humble proportions, but they have since 
been replaced by larger and more elaborate edifices. Nearly all denominations 
known to Christendom are represented in the Black Hills. While there exists 
among these churches a healthful emulation, such a thing as sectarianism is 
practically unknown. Agreeing upon essentials, nonessentials are left to take 
care of themselves, and all labor together for the common good.

	The line of demarcation between good and evil is strongly drawn in the 
Hills. The spirit of intense worldliness, characteristic of the active life of 
all mining sections, leaves no room for other than the most earnest Christian 
life, with the supreme purpose of saving men.

	The churches are all thoroughly organized for effective work. Besides the 
ordinary services, each church has its women's societies, ladies' aids, 
missionary, etc.  These societies are invaluable, not alone in the promotion of 
social conditions, but as a strong aid in the finances.

	The Sunday-schools are well organized. The various societies of young 
people, Christian Endeavor, Guild, Epworth League, Baptist Young People's Union 
and other organizations of like character are making systematic and earnest 
effort to attract the young people to their services and bring them under the 
influence of the church.

	The ministry of the Black Hills includes many able and scholarly men, 
while the average standard of pulpit efficiency is not at all inferior to that 
of the East.  The Roman Catholics have recently established at Lead City a Black 
Hills diocese, presided over by Bishop Stariha.  Among the most important 
interdenominational organizations is the "Black Hills Sunday-school 
Association," which this year holds its twenty-fifth anniversary under the 
presidency of Rev. R. H. Gunderson of the Lead Baptist church.

	In the work of Christian education and benevolences the Roman Catholics 
have established and maintain two parochial schools, one at Sturgis and the 
other at Lead. They also have two hospitals, located, respectively, at Deadwood 
and at Hot Springs. The Methodists have erected a college at Hot Springs, which, 
while suspended at present, it is hoped will be reopened in the near future.

	The progress of the churches in the Black Hills during the last quarter of 
a century may be summarized as follows:

	Including all denominations, there are 8 church organizations, classified 
as follows: Twelve Catholic, 9 Congregational, 15 Presbyterian, 15 Episcopalian, 
25 Methodist, 8 Baptist and 2 Lutheran, There are in the field 66 ministers of 
the gospel, including priests, rectors and lay readers.

	The combined membership of all the churches approximates 10,000, while the 
Sunday-school attendance is estimated at 5,000.

	There are 57 church buildings, costing from $1,000 to $25,000 each, 
besides 26 parsonages, making, when estimated, the valuation of church property 
amount to $350,000. This is exclusive of schools and hospitals, which in 
themselves are worth $60,000. The total of all property, churches, schools, 
parsonages and hospitals, is $410,000.

SYLVAN LAKE.

	This exceptionally unique and charming summer resort is located six miles 
north of Custer, from which point it is accessible by stages connecting with all 
railroad trains. The lake covers an area of about seventy acres, and is well 
stocked with trout and other varieties of fish, which adds materially to the 
pleasure and entertainment of visiting guests. Elegant rowboats have been 
provided, which afford the opportunity for a ride upon the lake, a pleasing 
feature much enjoyed by visitors.

	A four-story hotel, situated upon a delightful site overlooking the lake, 
amply supplied with every facility necessary to the comfort of patrons, presided 
over by a genial host and a most affable hostess, who anticipate every want of 
their guests, makes it an ideal home for the tourist.

	The climatic conditions prevailing during the summer season are such as to 
commend the place to the most favorable consideration of those who are desirous 
of escaping the oppressive heat incident to the summer months in the lower 
altitudes, excessive heat being entirely unknown in this delightful locality.

	Another pleasing feature which cannot fail to be appreciated is the 
absence of vexatious insects, a common source of annoyance at many resorts of 
this character.

	While it cannot be gainsaid that the excellent hotel accommodations and 
the balmy air of the region are important and pleasing features, the fact 
remains that its peerless scenic surroundings give to it its greatest charm and 
fullest measure of prestige. Nor is this a matter to excite wonder, for it can 
be truly said that in no other known region has there been found a spot 
surpassing it in grandeur and panoramic beauty of its native scenery. Unlike the 
more renowned pleasure resorts of the world, art is not a factor in the make-up 
of its unrivaled attractions, nor will its future popularity materially depend 
upon elaborate artistic adornment, as nature has endowed it with a wealth of 
scenic gifts in comparison with which the highest creations of man pale and sink 
into utter insignificance, a duplicate of which the world's wealth would be 
inadequate to produce.

	Most prominent and impressive among the scenes comprising this marvelous 
medley of scenic attractions are the giant peaks, whose adamantine spires pierce 
the passing clouds, their quaint and fantastic outlines mirrored upon the placid 
bosom of the shimmering lake at their base, which, in the mellow sunlight, 
presents a picture of romantic beauty upon which the eye of the appreciative 
observer delights to dwell.

	Towering cliffs are seen in the distance, whose weird outlines are 
pictured upon the cerulean sky. Upon their lofty summits no human foot has ever 
trod, and the wild scream of the eagle, the murmuring wail of the passing winds 
and the echoing peal of nature's artillery are the only sounds that ever break 
the everlasting solitude.

	Rising in silent grandeur, lifting aloft its rocky heights and towering 
eight thousand feet above tide, Harney Peak, the monarch of the mountains, 
presides as the silent sentinel over the rapturous realm.

	With the brief space at the writer's disposal, anything approaching a 
complete description of this charming resort, setting forth its exceptional 
attractions and the rare opportunities offered for recreation and pleasing 
entertainment, is simply impossible, and he can, therefore, only say in 
conclusion to those who have never enjoyed the pleasure of a visit here that a 
revelation awaits them, which, by reason of its pleasing and impressive 
character, would be ever cherished among life's fondest and most inspiring 
memories.


RAPID CITY.

	Rapid City, termed the Gate City (as the gateway to the Black Hills), is a 
town of 2,000 inhabitants, so located that a line drawn through it north and 
south nearly divides the mountains to the west from the level regions to the 
east, all lying east of it being a prairie country. It lies on Rapid creek, a 
fine stream with ample water power for manufacturing. The town was located on 
February 25, 1876, and is on the line of the Northwestern Railroad, all 
Northwestern trains having to pass through it on the way to the northern Hills. 
It is an especially healthy place, its altitude of 3,100 feet giving it a dry 
climate, while the mountain water stored in its fine reservoir and piped 
throughout the city is noted for its purity. It is also lighted by electricity 
and gas.

	Rapid City has many resources. In the first place, farming and fruit 
raising, which includes all the cereals of our western prairies, fine hay and 
fruits of great variety. It may be said that from Rapid City issues a nucleus of 
the fruit orchards of the Hills in the fact that the finest nursery of the Hills 
is here under the title of "The Black Hills Nursery," C. Thomson, proprietor. 
Large quantities of apples, plums, cherries, several kinds of berries, grapes 
and crab-apples are shipped, not only to the Hills, but to other points.

	To the east are large cattle ranges, some of immense size, with herds 
numbering into the thousands, while the smaller farmers nearly all have herds of 
importance. Once a year thousands of stockmen gather together at Rapid City, 
which is the headquarters of "the Western South Dakota Stock Growers' 
Association." Some of them make their homes at Rapid City, but the greater 
portion pour in vast numbers, and for a few days Rapid City is a bedlam of 
clinking spurs. All these stock growers buy in heavy quantities, and their 
purchases in Rapid City mean for months to come. Thus it can be seen that an 
enormous merchandising business in dry goods, hardware and groceries finds an 
outlet in this direction, for the cattle ranges for a hundred miles away are 
outfitted from Rapid City and thousands of cattle are unloaded here every year 
for the eastern and northern ranges.

	Sheep raising has become a very important factor, and the amount of wool 
shipped annually from Rapid City is counted in the hundreds of thousands of 
pounds.

	The National Smelting Company, described elsewhere in our columns, is 
located to the south of town, employs a great many hands and adds greatly to the 
commercial importance of the city. This will become a greater factor as time 
goes on, because arrangements are being made by C. D. Crouch of Akron, Ohio, to 
build a railroad from Rapid City to Mystic, some thirty miles westward in the 
heart of the Hills and on the line of the Burlington road. This road will not 
only pass through the finest timber land of the Black Hills, but will tap the 
towns of Pactola and Silver City, which are developing some wonderfully fine 
mining properties. Among these are the Richards group of placer mines, which 
will also develop into quartz veins, and which are located at Pactola; the 
Sherman properties, also at Pactola, and the Omega group of eight claims, near 
the same place. It will also serve to connect Rapid City with a number of 
prominent Silver City claims of gold and silver.

	Once arriving at Mystic, it will, in connection with the Burlington road, 
furnish a short line for the ores of Keystone, Hill City, Rochford, Custer and 
many other places, either for high-grade ores, requiring smelting, or the 
concentrates of free-milling ores. Indeed, the mining future of Rapid City is 
such as to allow the prediction that this resource will in time overtop its 
already splendid resources in cattle farming.

	One of the finest flouring mills of the Dakotas is located at Rapid City, 
with a capacity of 100 barrels per day. It is owned by a stock company, of which 
J. J. McNarnara is president and manager. This flour is in great demand, the 
wheat of this section being of the best hard spring variety.

	A brick plant, making a specialty of fire brick, is one of the resources 
of the city, and fire brick is in great demand in the Black Hills, not only for 
building purposes, but for the various reduction works.  A cement plant is 
another resource, and limestone and gypsum in inexhaustible quantities are to be 
found within five miles of the city. There are two newspapers, the Daily 
Journal, a fine sheet, published by Joseph B. Gossage, and the Black Hills 
Union, published by L. G. McManus.

	The Journal was established at Rapid City, January 5, 1878, and has been 
published continuously by the present proprietor, Joseph B. Gossage, who is the 
dean of the newspaper business in the Black Hills country. The Daily Journal was 
first published on February 2, l886, and has continued to appear each morning 
ever since that date. The newspaper owns its own building, a fine three-story 
brick structure, 25x160 feet, which is conceded to be one of the finest office 
buildings within the state of South Dakota. The office is one of the best 
equipped in the state and enjoys a well-earned reputation.

	Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington county, and the United States 
land office and signal station of the United States Weather Bureau are located 
here. Churches are well represented and congregations include the Episcopal, 
Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Christian Science, Baptist, 
Catholic and Congre-gational. The Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, A. O. 
U. W., Modern Woodmen and Red Men are well represented by the men, while the 
ladies have the lodges of the Daughters of Rebekah, Eastern Star, Degree of 
Honor and the Royal Neighbors. The Second Ward public school building has a 
capacity for 300 children and is a fine structure. There are also three other 
ward schools. The South Dakota School of Mines, an internationally famous 
institution, is pictured in our pages and described by its president, Dr. Robert 
L. Slagle. This institution is one of which, not only the Black Hills, but the 
whole of the United States must be justly proud. From its location at the edge 
of one of the greatest low-grade ore belts of the world; with a geological 
formation more instructive than possibly any belt of mountains to be found, the 
pupils have peculiar advantages in the combination of theory and practice which 
can hardly be had elsewhere. This institution is turning out yearly a great many 
young men who are filling the best positions in the mining world.

	The government Indian school, located two miles west of town, is an 
important feature in the business of Rapid City, and a great pride, not only to 
the city itself, but to the government, as it is one of the best in the Indian 
service. The Indians are drawn from their old customs more by this school and 
its gentle, refining influence upon their children than by a dozen forts with 
thousands of troops. The capacity has had to be enlarged by the addition of four 
new buildings, and the government has not been at all niggardly in its 
appropriations for this purpose. The best of results are obtained and the 
children develop a fondness for every civilizing influence. They are regularly 
visited by the parents, who come to Rapid City and make heavy purchases from 
stores before their return.

	Rapid City has three hotels, the two most prominent being the Harney Hotel 
and the International Hotel. The former is owned by a stock company, composed of 
the best business men of the city, and is a large structure of brick, as will be 
seen in our pages. The latter is owned by P. B. McCarthy, who is a large mine 
owner, and the hotel has some forty rooms at popular prices. The Patton House, 
owned by J. D. Patton, is a smaller house of twenty-five rooms near the railway 
station. There arc two banks, the First National Bank of Rapid City and the 
Pennington County Bank.

	The First National Bank was first organized in December, 1879, by Lake, 
Halley & Patterson: later Mr. Patterson's interest was bought out by the other 
partners and the firm remained as Lake & Halley until August, 1884, when the 
bank was organized under national banking laws under its present title. James 
Halley was first cashier of the bank and occupied this office until 1898, when 
Mr. Lake resigned and Mr. Halky became president. The bank is a United States 
depository.

	The capital of the bank is $50,000, and its deposits at times are as high 
as $500,000. At close of business November 17, 1903, surplus and undivided 
profits were $24,026.53. Mr. Halley has become a banker of great prominence in 
the Hills and is also connected with the bank of Hot Springs and the Keystone 
bank, both of which are thriving institutions. He has also other large interests 
in the Hills. Mr. Peter Duhamel is vice-president and H. W. Somers cashier.

	The Pennington County Bank was organized under state laws in 1888 and has 
been a very successful bank. In fact, it has the largest capital, surplus and 
undivided profits of any state bank of the Black Hills. Regular semi-annual 
dividends of 5 per cent are paid, and the deposits have run as high as $370,000. 
Its statement January l, 1004, showed a cash capital of $50,000, a surplus of 
$10,000, and undivided profits of $15,409.96. Its associate banks are the Custer 
County Bank, Custer City, and the Hill City Bank, of Hill City.

	Stephen H. Mills of New York is president; Corbin Morse is vice-president, 
and George F. Schneider, cashier. Its directorate includes other men of great 
wealth in the East. The bank is protected against loss by burglary by the 
Bankers' Mutual Casualty Company.

WHITEWOOD.

	Ten miles north of Deadwood, in Whitewood valley, 3,400 feet above the sea 
level, in the finest farming section of the Black Hills region, lies the town of 
Whitewood. The whole townsite was originally the orchard of the Capt. Knight 
range, owned by William Selbie, one of the early settlers of the Black Hills. 
The Pioneer Townsite Company in 1877 bought from Mr. Selbie the present townsite 
of Whitewood. The town was platted and lots were sold at public auction, 
commencing Thanksgiving Day, 1887. This town-site company was an adjunct of the 
Northwestern railway, which came into Whitewood in that year, making it the 
northern terminus of the road for the time, the basis of supplies for the 
surrounding country and the headquarters for the shipment of cattle for the 
enormous ranches of three counties.

	When the railway later on built to Belle Fourche the cattle industry was 
transferred mainly to that point. At the present time, however, although only 
about 2,000 head of cattle are shipped annually from Whitewood, conditions have 
equalized themselves in the fact that these cattle, which are raised by the 
farmers, are more carefully guarded, give a better quality of beef, and in most 
cases are what might be termed fancy stock. At the same time the farming 
community is extending so rapidly around this section that the trade with 
Whitewood is of a very extensive character and on a very solid basis.

	Whitewood is the center of the best wheat producing territory west of the 
Missouri, 60 per cent of the wheat of the Black Hills being grown within fifteen 
miles of the town. It is of the hard spring variety. The ranches to the east are 
the best in the state, some farms running from 3,500 to 4,000 bushels and 
totaling 60,000 bushels per year. For the last two years this county (Lawrence) 
has run the highest yield per acre of any county in the state, some acreage 
averaging from thirty to forty bushels, and the total average for the county 
being about twenty-two bushels. One man four miles from Whitewood last year 
threshed 395 bushels of measured wheat from ten acres; and at the World's Fair 
of 1893 the gold medal first prize for hard spring wheat was taken by Fred 
Borsch, a German living between Whitewood and Sturgis. Oats and barley are very 
prolific and three crops of alfalfa are annually gathered in the valleys, no 
irrigation being necessary.

	A great deal of fruit is being raised and orchards are increasing rapidly. 
Apples, pears, raspberries, strawberries and small fruits contribute largely. 
North and west of Whitewood the farms and small settlements are owned mainly by 
Danes, who devote themselves almost entirely to dairying, producing the finest 
butter in this section of the country.

	The town now has a population of about 500 and is a village incorporation, 
with three trustees elected yearly, of which Mr. T. O. Mitchell is chairman. A 
fire department of thirty volunteers, with two hose carts, protects the town. 
The water supply is from springs above tie town, the water being exceptionally 
pure and coming from sandstone formation. It comes in by gravity, a tank holding 
50,000 gallons supplying the town and another, called the fire tank, holding 
50,000 gallons also and with 140 pounds pressure, supplying the fire department.

	Trains run daily to Belle Fourche, and there are four trains daily to and 
from Deadwood. Trains also arrive from and depart to the East and West.

	A sawmill in town supplies the lumber for the surrounding country as far 
as 100 miles. An excellent quarry of buff-colored sandstone supplies this and 
other cities with a fine building stone. There are two large general stores, one 
hardware store, a furniture store and one bank.  There are three hotels, of 
which the best, "Hotel Lane," named after the late Enos Lane, by whom it was 
constructed at a cost of $18,000, being a first-class house of local sandstone 
and containing twenty-nine sleeping rooms and heated by steam. The house is 
wired for electric lights. Mr. Lane, who died early this year, was a very 
patriotic and progressive man, and his loss is greatly felt.

	There are three churches-the Presbyterian, Methodist and Catholic. Of 
societies the Odd Fellows and the A. O. U. W. have many members, and the ladies 
have the society of the Court of Honor. An eight-page and eight-column weekly 
paper is published by Robert V. Carr, a writer of note, who has made of his 
organ a successful and handsome sheet.

	The town has a company of state militia and a band of more than average 
merit.

	Veins of bituminous coal are found in the adjoining country and springs 
have been found that gave indications of very good oil. The railroad company has 
erected large coal sheds, and in 1892 T. O. Mitchell and T. W. Thompson, two of 
the most prominent men of Whitewood, erected an elevator where they stored 
wheat, two years later putting up their flour mill by the side of the tracks of 
the railway under the name of "The Whitewood Roller Mills." The capacity of this 
mill is sixty barrels of flour per day, and three brands are manufactured, "Tlie 
Dakota's Best," "The Success" and "Goodenough," all of which have a large and 
ready sale in the Black Hills and west as far as Morecroft. The mill has been a 
very successful one and the flour is considered to have no superior. A great 
deal of chop feed is also ground in these mills.

	Mr. Selbie in 1888 established The Whitewood Banking Company. It was 
incorporated under the state laws of South Dakota with $10,000 capital, Mr. 
Selbie being the president and Mr. H. T. Cooper cashier and general manager. The 
deposits are mainly from farmers and the loans principally on cattle. Mr. Cooper 
was also formerly connected with the Northwestern Express and Stage 
Transportation Company. The handsome building occupied by the bank was erected 
by the bank, which has been a very great success, showing at the close of 
business Jenuary 22, 1904, surplus and undivided profits of $7,834.03. Deposits 
average over $100,000 and loans considerably more. Some of the customers of the 
bank come from over the line in North Dakota. None of the Black Hills banks have 
established a better credit.

	In addition to this a very large part of the banking and mercantile 
business at Whitewood is derived from the cattle growers in the northern part of 
Butte County, who come from a distance of 100 miles and over to do their 
business at Whitewood, although shipping their cattle at Belle Fourche or at 
Everts on the Missouri River.

SPEARFISH.

	The Queen City, as Spearfish is called, is well named from its superb 
location at the head of Spearfish valley in the northwestern part of the Black 
Hills. Everything combines to make this one of the most attractive spots to be 
found in the Hills. Its altitude of 3,700 feet insures a dry climate; its 
glorious stream-the Spearfish River-gives a plenteous water supply and water 
power; its surroundings of fruit farms and beautiful residences; its 2,1.00 
inhabitants-many of them there for pure, good living-its normal school, all 
furnish a rare combination entitling it to the love snd respect of the Black 
Hills.

	In the summer of 1876 Montana people came in and located Spearfish as a 
townsite. Two years later it was deeded to the citizens by the government. It 
was afterward incorporated under a country village charter, and still later the 
charter was amended, and Spearfish was organized as a city with three wards 
under the general laws of the third class, with a mayor and six aldermen, the 
former elected for two years and half of the aldermen elected each year.

	The fine streets are natural except three blocks, which, as Mayor Dotson 
aptly says, are paved with gold, inasmuch as the tailings of a cyanide plant 
were utilized for that purpose, and these tailings are said to average $2.80 per 
ton of gold.

	The town is connected with Deadwood by the Burlington Railway, with daily 
trains over the most picturesque section of the Black Hills; also by a Concord 
tallyho coach, which plies daily to and fro between Spearfish and Deadwood. This 
coach, which is the old original style of 1849, which crossed the plains at that 
time, is the same type as that used by Buffalo Bill under the title of "The 
Deadwood Stage Coach."

	Spearfish has six great resources-the mines, the state normal school, fish 
hatcheries, farming, lumbering and milling.  And an additional resource is the 
great number of cattlemen making Spearfish their home, these men probably 
controlling between 60,000 and 80,000 head of cattle on the ranges to the north. 
In the article on mining the most important mines tributary to Spearfish are 
mentioned, but it might be well to say here that the Hills on both sides contain 
mining property of great value. The Golden Empire is only sixteen miles west and 
the Tinton tin mines are somewhat nearer.

	The state normal school, with Professor F. L. Cook in charge, is described 
more fully elsewhere. It has 400 pupils-mainly from five counties of the Black 
Hills-and the pupils include both boys and girls, each sex being provided with 
dormitories; but many of the pupils board in town. This school prepares most of 
the teachers of this section of the country. There is one public school called a 
high school, which carries children from the first grade through the graduate 
course into the normal.

	The fish hatcheries are an important factor to both Spearfish and this 
whole section of the country, and special space has been devoted to a thorough 
description elsewhere in these pages.

	The farming industry, which is the backbone of this section, is conducted 
in a most intelligent manner, vegetables and unexcelled potatoes in quality and 
quantity being unparalleled in any nearby section. Oats, barley and rye 
contribute largely, and four crops of alfalfa and three of timothy are the 
regular output. The fattening of cattle is becoming an important factor.  The 
amount of fruit raised is positively amazing. The river and the lay of the 
country allow of a most perfect irrigation, insuring the valley from any 
possibility of crop failures. A thorough study has been made of fruit farming, 
and to Professor Cook, Robert Evans and many others is due great credit for 
their tireless study of the best varieties and methods. Professor Cook in one 
season shipped to the markets of the Black Hills and contiguous country from his 
own fruit farm 108,000 pounds of strawberries. One man, Joseph Wells, last 
season raised 1,500 barrels of apples. Other fruits, such as red and black
raspberries, blackberries, currants, gooseberries, dewberries, pears, peaches, 
plums and cherries are raised in great quantities and bring excellent prices.

	Within a radius of five miles from town are six sawmills, with an output 
of 10,000 to 25,000 feet per day each. The Spearfish Milling Company, of which 
L. W. Valentine is president and manager, is located on Spearfish creek, and is 
furnished by the river with 80 horsepower. It has a capacity of 75 barrels of 
flour daily and mills both wheat and corn, as well as chop feed of corn, oats 
and barley, of which latter it has a capacity of 2,000 pounds per hour.

	The town is lighted by electricity, furnished from water power developed 
from the Spearfish River. The water supply is by gravity with 87 pounds 
pressure, which comes from springs in the mountains two and one-half miles away, 
with stone reservoirs blasted out of solid rock. There are two of these 
reservoirs, each with a capacity of 87,000 gallons, one of which is always held 
in reserve for fire protection. The fire department is made up of volunteers, 
having three hose companies and one hook and ladder.

	Spearfish has three hotels, the leading one, "Spearfish Inn," being an 
exceptionally good house, with 44 rooms, furnished with electric lights and hot 
and cold baths. A sash and door factory, utilizing considerable lumber, is 
located in town on the creek. A creamery of large capacity is an adjunct of the 
town. There are four department stores, one exclusive hardware store, one 
exclusive clothing store, one general furnishing goods store, two furniture 
stores, three drug stores and an exclusive grocery. Two business men's clubs, 
one called "The Spearfish Club" and the other "The Spearfish Business Men's 
Club," furnish pleasant retreats for the business men's hours of leisure and for 
the entertainment of the stranger. The latter club was organized to further the 
city's interests, and, being more in the nature of a chamber of commerce than a 
social club, serves to give concerted action to all public enterprises.   In 
churches, the Methodists, Congregationalists and Episcopalians have their own 
edifices, while the Catholics and Presbyterians hold services at specified 
places. Societies are represented by the Masons, Odd Fellows, Woodmen, A. O. U. 
W., Knights of Pythias and Modern Brotherhood of America.  There are two weekly 
papers, the Queen City Mail and the Spearfish Enterprise. The Bank of Spearfish, 
which was established in 1882 as a private bank and incorporated under the state 
laws in 1887, looks after the finances of the town and surrounding country. Its 
capital stock is $10,000, to which can be added a guaranty fund of $15,000 and 
undivided profits of $3,073.45. The deposits on November 17, 1903, were 
$181,257.54. This bank has had a very successful career, as it has large 
deposits and a ready market for its loans. The officers are L. W. Valentine, 
president; Henry Keels, vice-president; J. F. Summers, cashier, and G. P. 
Stebbins, assistant cashier.

	Mayor Hiram Dotson has undertaken an enterprise which bids fair to be an 
accomplished fact in the near future. He has organized a company called the 
Black Hills and Spearfish Valley Electric Railway Company, of which he is 
secretary; Milton C. Connors, president ; J. D. Kingsley, vice-president, and D. 
J. Toomey, treasurer. The idea is to build an electric railway line from 
Spearfish to Dead-wood and thence to Lead via Central City. This should be a 
very paying institution, and it is confidently felt that it will net $30,000 per 
annum profit at once. The fare will be 50 cents each way, instead of $1, as now 
charged by the stage, and greater amount by the railway company. It is proposed 
to start building very soon. Cars will be run each way every hour, and the ride 
will occupy only 35 minutes from Spearfish to Deadwood. The company owns water 
right of 600 horsepower on Spearfish river, and this will furnish all the 
operating power required.

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, SPEARF1SH, S. D.

BY PROFESSOR F. L. COOK, PRESIDENT. (Portrait below.)

	The state normal school at Spearfish was established by act of the 
legislature of 1883. The school opened in 1884, but soon closed. It was reopened 
in September, 1885, and has ever since had a steady and healthy growth. The 
enrollment to date this year, 1904, in the normal department, is 232; in the 
model school, 134. Sixteen classes have been graduated, aggregating 204 persons. 
These graduates have taught a total of about one thousand years, and the 
undergraduates of the school have taught nearly eight thousand years.

	There are two courses of study, an English course and a German-Latin 
course, each five years long, beginning with the ninth grade. Graduates are 
entitled to a five-year state teachers' certificate, which may be renewed again 
and again, provided the holder is a successful teacher. Students completing the 
German-Latin course are usually able to take advanced standing in even the best 
colleges. Though the school is designed for the training of teachers, its 
courses are an admirable foundation for any business or profession. It is the 
aim, then, to make the Spearfish Normal School not only an admirable training 
school for teachers but also the best college preparatory school and school of 
business training that the people of the Black Hills can patronize. These aims 
are not antagonistic, as a superior training school for teachers doing 
considerable academic work must necessarily be adapted to the accomplishment of 
the other purposes named.

	While many of the graduates of the school teach in Black Hills cities, the 
school stands in still closer relation to the villages and the country school 
districts, because a yet greater number of graduates and undergraduates teach in 
them. Owing partly at least to this fact, the schools of the Black Hills are 
better, as a whole, than corresponding schools in most other localities. As the 
normal school gets older and stronger this beneficial influence will increase, 
and on the other hand the other schools will furnish the normal school with 
better prepared students. With the superior country and village schools, the 
numerous excellent high schools, the State School of Mines, and the state normal 
school, the Black Hills offer from an educational point of view strong 
attractions to the home seeker.

	The normal school plant now consists of four important buildings, viz.: 
The Main School Building, Science Hall, the Women's Dormitory, and the Cottage. 
Science Hall contains four laboratories, the library, a music room, a studio, a 
printing office, a gymnasium, manual training rooms, domestic science 
apartments, class rooms, and dressing and bath rooms. As soon as this building 
is equipped much attention will be given to manual training, music, art, natural 
science and athletics.

	The Women's Hall and the Cottage are delightful homes for young ladies. 
Rooms heated by steam, lighted by electricity, and handsomely furnished rent for 
only $15 per year per student. Meals are $2.25 per week. It is believed there is 
not another place in the United States where equal educational advantages are 
offered at so low a cost. The entire expense of attending the school need not 
exceed $125 per year per student.

	The school grounds comprise seventy-five acres of excellent land. Thirty-
five acres of these grounds are the athletic field. In it are golf grounds, 
tennis courts, croquet grounds, an inclosed football and baseball field, and a 
quarter-mile track. Ten acres are devoted to orchard and garden. Many students 
work more or less in the garden. It is the aim to teach them something of 
practical gardening and horticulture, and at the same time afford them 
opportunity to earn a little money. From fifteen to twenty cents per hour is 
paid for student work. The rest of the grounds are as yet unimproved, but will 
be used for lawns, parks, walks and an artificial lake.  It can be made very 
beautiful, and the plans for these improvements are mostly already matured, but 
must await an appropriation by the legislature.


THE FISH HATCHERIES.

	The fish hatcheries, located at Spearfish, are pointed to by the people of 
the Black Hills with a great deal of pride. There is reason for this pride, for 
it is undoubtedly the most successful fishery station in the United States. The 
fish hatcheries are in charge of E. C. Booth, who is superintendent of the 
station. He has three men on his staff to help in the work, which is becoming 
greater every day. These government hatcheries were established in 1809, and 
consist of three buildings; the present intention is to add at least two more 
buildings in the near future.

	Trout is the sole fish handled, and these are mainly of the varieties 
known as the eastern brook trout, Loch Leven, black-spotted and the rainbow 
trout. The black-spotted is a summer fish. The location of this plant is an 
ideal one, as the water, drawn into the various small ponds, comes from the 
Spearfish river, and is very clear and cold, and just what is necessary for the 
best results. About 3,000,000 of the young fish are planted each year. The main 
idea is to place them in the rivers in this immediate section, but Mr. Booth is 
not confined to any particular territory, and ships TO all parts of the country, 
even to Europe, parties receiving them at the other end paying transportation. 
The young fish are from two to eight months old when sent out.

	This station also operates the Yellowstone Park and stocks those streams 
in the western part with eastern trout. A force is kept there all summer to 
collect eggs of the trout of that section and bring them back to Spearfish. Mr. 
Booth has established a camp on the shore of Yellowstone lake; he leaves 
Spearfish the latter part of May or first of June and spends the summer at the 
park. At that season of the year the black-spotted trout, which is native to the 
Yellowstone, leaves the large lake and ascends the small streams. Mr. Booth and 
his co-workers catch the fish in a small seine, sometimes taking in as many as a 
ton at a haul. These are kept until they spawn, and then allowed to go. Last 
summer a great many of these black-spotted trout, something like 33,000,000, 
were shipped all over the country, many of them going as far as Wales. In the 
few years that the fish hatcheries have been established, they have been a great 
benefit to the Black Hills. In some cases it is impossible to plant the fish in 
the streams which are near cyanide mills, and polluted therefrom, but they are 
becoming very prolific in the western part of the Hills and in the streams 
throughout the Hills where they are not affected by cyanide water.

BELLE FOURCHE.

O COWBOY BRAVE 
    OH COWBOY BRIGHT, 
AS IN YOUR DARING, 
    RECKLESS FLIGHT  
SING! OH SING!
    BY DAY BY NIGHT,
ON WESTERN WINDS
    THAT WHEEL THEIR FLIGHT,
BELLEFOURCHE, BELLEFOURCHE, 
    THOU TOWN OF LIGHT,
BELLEFOURCHE, BELLEFOURCHE, 
    THE STOCKMAN'S SITE.

	The little city of Belle Fourche, of less than a thousand people, is 
located in the southwestern portion of Butte county, about eight miles from the 
Wyoming line, and an equal distance from Lawrence county.

	Three thousand four hundred feet above the sea and situated at the 
confluence of the Belle Fourche and Red Water rivers, from which it derives its 
name of "Beautiful Forks," in full view of the highest range of the Black Hills 
to the south and the Bear Lodge on the west, with the slowly flowing Belle 
Fourche encircling the town to the north and the Red Water, a babbling mountain 
torrent, on the east, heavily wooded, with green alfalfa fields in the distance, 
Belle Fourche has one of the most beautiful locations of the foothills.

	The adventurous Marquis De Mores, who sought to advance the material 
welfare of the country which he found so much to his liking, established in '84 
a stage station here on the line connecting Deadwood with Medora, N. D., to 
which he gave the name De Mores.

	In 1890 the Northwestern railway, pushing northward to the range country, 
located the present town, which in 1903 was made a city of the third class. It 
has all lines of business represented, excellent school advantages, two 
churches, two papers, the Bee, edited by E. Ralston, and the Northwest Post, 
published by Fellows & Kirkham. There are two hotels, the Belle Fourche and the 
American. The former, which is pictured in our pages, is conducted by Arnold & 
Horton. It was renovated and refurnished last fall and is one of the best paying 
hotels in the Hills.

	Of the two banks, the Butte County Bank, twelve years old, with a capital 
of $5,000, has a surplus of $60,000 and deposits of $300,000. The cashier, W. B. 
Penfold, was formerly traveling auditor for Clay, Robinson & Co. of Chicago, who 
also have banks at Cheyenne, Wyo.; Camp Crook, S. D.; Central City, Palmer and 
Hyannis, Neb.

	The First National Bank was incorporated January 5, 1903, with a capital 
of $25,000, and has been very successful from the beginning, its deposits at the 
end of the first year being $107,000. T. J. Steele of Deadwood is president; E. 
C. Curry, vice-president, and D. R. Evans, cashier. Mr. Evans has been a 
resident of the Northern Hills for nineteen years, having for eight years 
occupied the offices of county auditor and treasurer.


[Photo - REDWATER RIVER AT BELLE FOURCHE.]


	A flour mill run by waterpower is centrally situated in town and has a 
capacity of 125 barrels per day; directly adjoining are the lumber yards of F. 
E. Bennett, who cuts annually about 250,000 feet of lumber at his sawmill in 
Beulah, most of which is sold from his yards at Belle Fourche.

	One of the unique institutions of the section is the Belle Fourche 
hospital, established by Dr. L. J. Townsend. The hospital occupies the second 
floor of a commodious building and is especially fitted for surgical work. Many 
cases of emergency surgery have been treated since its inception with results 
that are gratifying to the community.

	The Northwestern Stockgrowers' Association has its headquarters at Belle 
Fourche. Organized only a year ago, it already has a membership of 600, 
comprising nearly all of the cattle men and sheep men tributary to Belle Fourche 
as a shipping point.

	The illustrated heading of this article, executed by Joseph H. Thullen, a 
promising young artist of the town, is indicative of the industry which has 
served principally to build up the city.

	Located west of the town are the huge shipping pens, from which are loaded 
the thousands of range cattle and sheep that have made of Belle Fourche the 
greatest original shipping point in the United States. Three thousand cars of 
beef alone have been sent to market in one year, and these cattle have been 
drawn almost entirely from Butte county, S. D.; Custer county, Mont., and Crook 
county, Wyo. The average shipment of cattle is 75,000 head, which, together with 
the sheep and 1,500,000 pounds of wool, makes the railroad exert itself to the 
utmost to furnish transportation.

	Heretofore the agricultural advantages have been overshadowed by the range 
industry. The great cattle outfit with its picturesque accompaniment of cowboy 
and broncho is being gradually but surely replaced by the small stock grower and 
farmer; for beneath the nutritious grasses that have for years fattened live 
stock lies a soil which only needs the touch of the plow and harrow to bring 
forth the most bountiful crops of fruit and grain to repay the toil of the 
husbandman. Already under the forty-mile irrigating ditch east of the town are 
thousands of acres of alfalfa, wheat, oats, barley and all cereals except corn. 
Apples and small fruit do well, and the market demand is much beyond the supply. 
Vegetables of all kinds are produced of a quality not surpassed in the world.

	The government has surveyed a canal for the reclamation of 200,000 acres 
of semi-arid land northeast of the town. Beginning just below Belle Fourche the 
proposed canal traverses a country for fifty miles which requires only the water 
to make crops a surety and furnish homes for thousands of families. It is 
believed that by the time this book is issued the work will have begun upon this 
gigantic project.

	Two of the least understood questions that have vexed the prospective 
homeseeker in this neighborhood have been concerning the climate and water 
supply. The town supply of water is from two six-inch artesian wells flowing 
into a 50,000-gallon tank. And in addition there are a number of private wells 
which give an unlimited amount of excellent water. The thousands of cattle and 
sheep that are on the range without shelter are ample proof of the mildness of 
the winters.

	The Business Men's Club of Belle Fourche, consisting of sixty members, 
acts not only as a social organizaion, but as a unit in all things which are 
conducive to the city's welfare; also in the entertainment of strangers, the 
promotion of public improvement and the dissemination of information.

	It is confidently believed that Butte county, with its wealth of 
unoccupied land, its numerous streams, its extensive beds of coal, good water 
and equable climate, offers to the prospective settler greater natural 
inducements than are enjoyed by the well-settled communities of the East. Its 
people are hospitable and generous and welcome to its borders every one who 
desires to improve his condition by industry and application.

KEYSTONE.

	Probably the most typical mining camp to be found in the Black Hills to-
day is the town of Keystone, in the central and eastern part of the Black Hills 
and located in Battle Creek valley, practically a one-street town, with hills on 
both sides and quartz mines on either hand, many of them right in the town 
itself. Keystone was first located as a placer camp in 1876 and the celebrated 
Mitchell bar was discovered in 1881. The first stamp mill was built in 1880 for 
the Cross mine. It was of ten stamps. The first producing quartz discovery, 
however, was the Holy Terror in 1894 by William B. Franklin and his little 
adopted daughter. Mr. Franklin had promised to name the mine after his wife, who 
in consequence expected it to be called the "Lucy." He did name it after her, 
but not in the way she had expected.

	The Holy Terror produced the highest grade of gold quartz ever found in 
the Black Hills and paid its first owners over $32,000 before they sold it to 
the present company, which has paid about $172,000 in dividends. Alleged lack of 
precautions led to many accidents and the consequent death of a number of the 
employes, resulting in litigation and judgments against the company to such an 
extent that in the summer of 1903 the mine was closed down, but it is well known 
that gold is even more abundant at the lowest level- 1,100 feet-than at the top, 
and the mine will undoubtedly resume operations in the near future.

	Franklin & Reed had built a small prospecting mill at Keystone before the 
Holy Terror was discovered.

	At the present time some excellent properties in the town and surroundings 
are developing and making an excellent showing. Among them are Col. dark's 
syndicated properties and the Bis-mark, Bullion, Lucky Boy, Tycoon, the Tom 
Custer, the Butte, the Juniper, the Bagdad, the Dora Belle, the Columbia and the 
Cross mine group, all mentioned elsewhere.

	The town has an altitude of 4,220 feet and the population is about 1,200. 
The water supply for drinking purposes comes from wells, but the city water is 
supplied from the Holy Terror mine, which pumps the water from its own mine into 
settling tanks from which a six-inch iron water main has been built all over the 
city.

	The city is not dependent upon mining by any means, having a splendid 
backbone in the fine cattle and farming ranges which abound in the valley parks. 
The timber industries and sawmills in the immediate neighborhood also contribute 
largely to its business. There are two general stores, both carrying large 
stocks, as well as hardware, and several blocks of individual business supplies.

	A very excellent hotel called the McDonald contains 26 rooms and is 
managed by George D. Willis, an architect by profession, who is also the 
superintendent of the Butte Mining and Milling Company, a 75-acre claim near the 
Bismark. The fire department is entirely volunteers and consists of 40 members. 
There are four churches, the Congregational, Methodist, Catholic and Baptist. 
The Episcopalians have services monthly in the Methodist church. One of the 
finest school buildings in the state is the Keystone public school, which cost 
$10,000. It accommodates 300 children, employs five teachers and has four 
recitation and five school rooms. The grades run from the first to the eighth 
and pupils graduate to the normal school at Spearfish. Societies are well 
represented and they consist of the Masons, Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, 
Woodmen, Agrarians and A. O. U. W.'s. The ladies have the Eastern Star, 
Daughters of Rebekah and Royal Neighbors. The Keystone Club, a social 
organization of the business men of the city, consists of 30 members and is 
rapidly increasing.

	The Keystone Bank was incorporated January 2, 1900, with a capital of 
$10,000 and the following officers: James Halley. president ; J. J. McNamara, 
vice-president, and W. H. Gates, cashier. At the close of business November 17, 
1903, the surplus and profits were $2,528.26; the deposits were $56,277.88.

	The Keystone Bank has as associate banks the First National Bank of Rapid 
City and the Bank of Hot Springs, Hot Springs. S. D. Mr. James Halley is 
interested in both of these banks and the Keystone Bank has the benefit of his 
great experience in financial matters.