This file is the text of the book, "South Dakota's Ziebach County, History of the Prairie", published in 1982 by the Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree, SD Permission to publish this book in electronic form was given by Jackie Birkeland, member of the Historical Committee. This book is copyright, 1982 by the Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree, SD. Scanning and OCR by Terri Tosh , final editing by Joy Fisher, . South Dakota's Ziebach County, History of the Prairie This book is an Epitaph to those who were beckoned to the call of this great prairie. A DEDICATION My interest in the history of Ziebach County was sparked by afternoons of visiting with Mrs. Alice Shannon and with Mrs. Amy Clown. With their stories, these women brought alive the first half of this century on the prairie. My association with many of the descendants of the Dupris family gave me a feeling of connection with the past and Charles Steen's stories of Narcisse Narcelle intrigued me. All of this led to my joining forces with the ladies of the Ziebach County History Committee and ultimately to more than a year of our researching; visiting, interviewing, and 'bothering' people; and trying to write: With gratitude for the support of all the friends who never 'bottomed out' and with thanks to all who have contributed to this book, on behalf of the History Committee, I would like to dedicate this book to the future generations of Ziebach County that they may know something of the past. It has been written for them. Ann Fleming Project Director [photo] ACKNOWLDGEMENT John W. Whalen, as executive director of South Dakota Committee on the Humanities wishes to convey their appreciation to Ann Fleming for her work as program director of this book. The Dupree Community Club and the Ziebach County Historical Committee gratefully acknowledge the year of organization, research and supervision she provided. We are indebted to speakers Harold Shunk, Bob Lee, Don Laudenschlager and John Lane, the latter as special consultant also. Many thanks to the typists who worked gratuitously. We are thankful to sources such as the South Dakota Historical Society, the many interviews so freely given, the effort of so many in contributions of writing and pictures. The monetary contribution and encouragement of the South Dakota Committee on the Humanities was most helpful. Special credit needs to be given to local newspapers for the history which was gleaned from their pages. Thanks go to West River Progress, Dupree Leader, Ziebach County News, Redelm Record, Faith Independent and Faith Gazette. Cover design by Gerald J. Weis, Sr. PREFACE Organization began in the fall of 1979 when the Ziebach County Historical Committee chose to prepare for the publication of a history to honor the memory of those who were here earlier and contributed so much to Ziebach County and surrounding areas. It is also meant to convey to posterity a sense of beginnings and historical facts as true as can be constructed. A grant was obtained in June, 1980 from the South Dakota Committee on the Humanities, and with the Dupree Community Club as sponsor, there hasn't been a dull moment since! Writings and tapes submitted reached beyond expectations. Space does not allow printing without editing in every case, for this, there are regrets. You will find it interesting, imaginative, funny, sad and determined -- just as your relatives are! Historical Committee: Thelma Frame, Shirley Menzel, Virginia Woodward, Faye Longbrake, Jackie Birkeland, Rose Griffith, Ruth Edwards, Jessie Young. [photos of members of Historical Committee] REFERENCE BOOKS ATHEARN, ROBERT G. Forts of the Upper Missouri, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1967. BLASINGAME, IKE. Dakota Cowboy, University of Nebraska Press, 1958. Call of the Prairie, Dupree Golden Jubilee, 1960. Department of Historical Collections: South Dakota, Vol.'s I-XXXVII. DONNENWIRTH, RICHARD G. Westward Expansion of the Indians and Fur Trade into South Dakota, 1957, unpublished. DUCHENEAUX, FRANK. The Peace Treaty of Fort Laramie, April 29, 1869. A souvenir of the Cheyenne River Reservation Peace Treaty Centennial, Eagle Butte, August 31 and September 1, 1968. CRST 1968. DURATSCHEK, SR. MARY CLAUDIA, O.S.B. Crusading Along Sioux Trails, 1947. Faith Country - 1960 book. GASD, WAYNE. The Great Buffalo Hunt, University of Nebraska Press, 1959. GILBERT, LUKE. Brief History of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, Souvenir Program Commemorating 50th Anniversary of Cheyenne River Agency, 1891-1941; 1941. HALL, BERT L. Roundup Years, Old Muddy to Black Hills, Pierre, 1954. Isabel Territory - Verla Jewett 1961 book. JOHNSON, LEONA, Notes from the Service or Why Teachers Go Mad, 1946, unpublished scrapbook. LEBEAU, SANDRA KAY. A History of the Cheyenne River Bands of Lakota, 1786-1890. compiled for Dr. Cash. LEE, BOB AND DICK WILLIAMS. Last Grass Frontier, South Dakota Stock Grower Heritage, 1964, Black Hills Publishers, Inc., Sturgis. PAIGE, HARRY W. Songs of the Teton Sioux, Westernlore, 1970, L. A. ROBINSON, JAMES M. West from Fort Pierre, The Wild World of James (Scotty) Philip, Westernlore Press, L. A.: 1974. Saddle Strings. SNEVE, VIRGINIA DRIVING HAWK. That They May Have Life: The Episcopal Church in South Dakota, 1859-1976. Seabury Press, N.Y.: 1977. EHRENSPERGER, EDWARD C., editor History of the United Church of Christ in South Dakota 1869-1976. Pine Hill Press, Freeman, S.D. 1977. CREDITS/ BIBLIOGRAPHY SOUTH DAKOTA ORAL HISTORY PROJECT, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, S.D. 1971 interviews with: Raymond Brown Thunder, Guy Buffalo, Sarah Buffalo, Alex Chasing Hawk, Silas Condon, Charles Dog with Horns, Charles Inamongst, Lucy Swan, Ruth Thunder Hoop and Oscar White Weasel. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, (SDSHS), Museum, Pierre, S.D.: Photographs. Bureau of Indian Affairs; Cheyenne River Reservation, Realty Office, Eagle Butte, S.D. THE PRAIRIE SPEAKS I am a bountiful garden. My fertile soil, kissed by the sun and rain, grows a varied abundance of food. I am life giving and life sustaining. My native grasses and wild flowers feed all my creatures-- the rabbit, the grouse, the deer; great herds of cattle and sheep graze my hillsides; vast fields of wheat and barley ripple in the never-ending breeze. I yield wild fruits-- plums, chokecherry, grape and buffalo berry. I am mother to all life. In spring my verdant slopes delight the eye for as far as it can see. Summer brings maturing crops and colours ripening into the golden hues of autumn. The silent white of winter covers all, making beautiful even the man-made scars, and preparing the soil for another cycle of growth. I am peace, and plenty, and beauty. Overhead my ever-changing sky, with its varying shades of blue, and stormy shades of gray and black, my fleecy cloud shapes, my brilliantly hued sunrises and sunsets, their shades of red and orange and purple, shot with streaks of silver and gold charms the eye and soothes the senses. Even when the rains stay away, and dust and hoppers wrack their havoc, there is a stark lonely, beauty left. And there is always my sky! I can be deadly, too. Winter blizzards with their freezing cold, blinding snow, howling winds to trap the unwary, bringing death to all life. But, after the storm has passed I am tranquil, quiet, inviting children, young and old, to try my snowy slopes and frozen ponds. You may hate me--or love me But you will never forget me. Eva Henderson Miller A MORNING MEDITATION I walked along a prairie trail, In the coolness of the morn, And beauty was scattered thru-out the swale, The Bethlehem Star and the violet pale, Smiled back as I passed along; But one was crushed by a heavy tread Its sweetness and beauty forever fled. God had planted them all with a lavish hand And their roots were deep in the prairie sand, It would blossom again, with more beauty and grace Bringing a smile to a tired face. And I thot, "How like Life is this prairie land, Where roughness and beauty walk hand in hand, And hearts that are bruised by the careless tread Of an unkind word, better left unsaid, Came back the stronger, for pain and scar, With beauty reborn: -- "Like the Bethlehem Star." Annie M. Knipfer PRAIRIE BLOSSOMS On the South Dakota prairies No pale magnolia grows - But I have seen rare beauty, Where a hedge of wild plum blows. There is no sweeter fragrance, In the Garden of the Gods, Than that which greets the senses, Where the prairie wild rose nods. And ringing forth with gladness Its message of the spring, The dainty prairie bluebell Re-echoes, while I sing. A song of real thanksgiving To the Father up above For the beauty that surrounds me And reflects his boundless love. Annie M. Knipfer TO A MEADOWLARK OH! You heaven-sent little stranger, You brave, courageous thing To sit right there on my garden gate, And insist that it is spring, I'd never have known it really, For the winds that continue to blow Are raw and damp and chilly, But you say that it is so. God must have whispered the answer And told you to pass it along, This message of hope and courage In your gay melodious song. So I'll open wide my window The better to hear you sing And wish you joy as you fly away With your message of the spring. Annie M. Knipfer THE CHINOOK Over the wild, desolate prairies The snow lay white and cold. A blizzard struck just yesterday With fury that was bold. The storm had left ... so In the night ... cold and dark, That now upon the morning bright It left its awesome mark. At noon a soft and gentle breeze Blew quickly across the plain. It came from out the south and west And spread over the domain. The snow soon melted fast away And creeks with water rose. The chinook had come with friendly warmth And so the winter goes! Warren W. Robertson MY PRAIRIE These wide open spaces, wild and free The land I love for it's home to me. Springs green, velvet dress delights the eye Under the beautiful, boundless sky. The fleece-white clouds, the sunsets bright, Her thunder, lightning and stormy night! Each paints a picture beyond compare, And all is free for us to share. The deer, the hare, and all manner of beast Feeds on the plain of her fertile breast. Wild fruit, wild game on a vast grass sea, A land of infinite variety! This land can be harsh when blizzards rage; and drought and hoppers leave naught but sage. Still, money can't buy this land from me – 'Tis my home on the prairie, wild and free. Eva Henderson Miller Dupree, South Dakota THUNDER BUTTE In northern Ziebach County Stands Thunder Butte alone The monarch of surrounding hills ... With a diadem of stone! He stood there countless ages, While red men roamed the plains And Buffalo and antelope Grazed over vast domains. There still he stands undaunted, While seasons come and go, Unchanged alike by summer sun Or by the Winter snow. The Persepolis of Persia Stood not more dignified, Nor the Acropolis of Athens In its historic pride! Rule on, Majestic Mountain! May nothing ever mar Your innate rugged beauty, That may be seen afar. G. M. Drummond SOUTH DAKOTA Where the coyotes howl, And the wind blows free- South Dakota I long for thee. You're blessed with sunshine And glorified by fame- South Dakota, I love thy name. South Dakota I long for thee With all your grandeur, And prairies free. You're a land of health! You're a land of wealth! South Dakota for me. Where rattlesnakes rattle And prairie dogs be, South Dakota For you--for me. You've birds-- What beauteous song! South Dakota It's for you I long. Frances Bjorgum Copyrighted April 22, 1938 Chapter 1 BEFORE THE BEGINNING [photo caption -Rosebud Delegation (11-26); Standing Rock (2742): Sitting Bull (27), Thunder Hawk (30), Hairy Chin (35), High Bear (31), John Grass (39), Gaul (40), and Louis Primeau, Interpreter (41); Pine Ridge (43-58): American Horse (53); Cheyenne River, Crow Creek and Lower Brule (59-80): Spotted Elk (63), White Swan (65), Charger (66), Swift Bird (68), Narcisse Narcelle (70), Bull Head (79). (SDSHS)] THE FRENCH AND THE FUR TRADE by Ann Fleming The French association with the Chippewa caused the Sioux to be driven onto the Plains where they acquired guns and horses, and later came to be respected as the 'Warriors of the Plains'. Eventually these Frenchmen from Canada led the development of the fur-trade along the Missouri River that destroyed the fur-bearing animals of the region, brought tuberculosis, venereal disease, and smallpox (that decimated the Mandan and Arikara tribes), and served as a means for the Indian people to assimilate a second culture -- that of the European. Descendants of the French-Indians became leaders and spokesmen for the Sioux in their struggle to retain what was theirs. The names of these pioneers remain with residents of the Cheyenne River Reservation and of Ziebach County. Following is a review of the events that brought this about. In the late 1600's, French explorers came into the Plains region and claimed it for France. The La Verendrye brothers, in the 1740's, came through this area on their way to the hills or mountains in the West. As fur-traders, they were an example for others to follow. In 1760 France lost Canada to England in the French and Indian War. The Hudson Bay Company gained complete control over the Canadian fur-trade and many French fur-traders left Canada. St. Louis became the new headquarters for these fur-traders. By 1775 the Teton Sioux had acquired horses and crossed the Missouri River, and the French fur-companies were establishing trading posts in eastern South Dakota. Trade with the Sioux and Arikara grew, and posts moved up the Missouri River. By 1803 Registre Loisel (from Canada in 1793) had built a house and trading post 25 miles up the river from Big Bend. An early white man to traverse any part of this area was Jon Valle, whom Lewis & Clark met near the mouth of the Cheyenne River in 1804. Their Journal entry states: "He wintered last winter 300 leagues up the Chien River under the Black Mountains. He informed us that the river is very rapid and difficult even for perogues to assend and when rising, the swels is very high." Jon Valle was in the fur business. Manuel Lisa, for the Missouri Fur Company, and Pierre Dorion were important to the development of the fur-trade on the Missouri between 1805 and 1820. From 1807 until 1843 the Missouri River was the heart of the fur country. The Teton Sioux made up half of the Great Sioux Nation and controlled the area west of the Missouri. The other 6 Sioux tribes control led the eastern half of what would later be South Dakota. The Tetons lived on a great buffalo range and had access to much of the beaver trapping area. They controlled the fur-trade, acting as middlemen with traders and trappers. After 1820 most of the trapping was done by professional trappers rather than by Indians. Gradually the region lost nearly all of its fur-bearing animals and the Indians' long range food supply dwindled. Fort Tecumseh was built south of the later Fort Pierre in 1822 by the Des Lauriers for a fur-company. (Des Laurier's daughter, Julia, later married Yellow Hawk, a Sans Arc.) A replacement for Fort Tecumseh was built in 1832 and named Fort Pierre for Pierre Chouteau, Jr., who was then on board a steamer with George Catlin, passing by on his way up the Missouri. Chouteau's introduction of the use of steamboats on the Missouri led to a sudden over-supply of beaver pelts. Before steamboats, traders and trappers used keel boats to take their pelts to St. Louis and return with items for trade. Liquor was the most important article of trade, and a supply of it was necessary for a company to stay in business. Other trade items included cloth, trinkets, coffee, sugar, and metal items such as guns, knives, needles, and cooking pots. In 1832 an act was passed prohibiting the transport of liquor into Indian Territory. John Jacob Astor retired from the fur-trade business in 1834 after a trip to Europe. Europeans were beginning to wear top hats made of silk rather than of beaver. Astor sold his interests in the American Fur Company to the Chouteaus. By 1843 the fur trade took a downward swing. Later, buffalo hides replaced beaver as the article for trade. The market for buffalo robes peaked in the late 1820's. Although declining after that, trade continued until after the Civil War. In 1861, Fred Dupuis wintered at the trading post on Cherry Creek. M. C. Rousseau wrote a letter for Dupuis showing his concern with the decline of the buffalo in this area. Fred Dupuis had arrived at Fort Pierre by 1838, having come from Quebec by way of St. Louis. He was employed for a time by the American Fur Company which established many posts in this area. The companies built posts wherever the Indians wanted to have them. The posts were primarily winter posts and of short duration. There were posts at the mouth of the Cheyenne, at the mouth of Cherry Creek, and further up the river where Pedro was later located, near the forks of the Cheyenne. Basil Clement (pronounced 'Claymo', now Claymore) came from St. Louis and married a Lakota woman. He trapped in the Black Hills n 1848. In 1854-5 Claymore was in charge of a company post on the Moreau. The Moreau Post was probably up the Missouri from the mouth of the Moreau. Claymore also wintered at the Cherry Creek post with Frank La Fromboise. Parquet was in charge of a post at Thunder Butte. These posts were all owned by the American Fur Company. Many other Frenchmen came into this area during these years. Louie Benoist (pronounced 'Benway') came from Sorel, Canada, to Fort Pierre before 1850. Francois M. Benoist was another fur trader from St. Louis. Both of these men married Sioux women. Francois' son, William Benway, was a well-known interpreter for Cheyenne River Agency. Louis LaPlante was another early trader, coming from Quebec. He arrived in Fort Pierre in 1855 after going to sea as a sailor and later coming up the Mississippi River. Louis worked for the American Fur Company, trapped on his own, carried messages for the army, freighted, and ranched on the Cheyenne River. By the 1880's French-Indians had gained social status and influence. The California gold rush of the early 1840's and the Civil War both delayed white settlement in South Dakota. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 and the last herds of buffalo to be slaughtered brought white men into the West River area. Several fur posts or 'forts' were sold to the government for the army. The fur companies had built over 100 trading posts in Indian Territory. INDIAN HISTORY AND POLICIES parts from A HISTORY OF ZIEBACH CO., by Montel Creamer (updated) The first known Indians to inhabit the territory of which Ziebach County forms a part were the Arikara. The tribe engaged primarily in agriculture but roamed short distances in hunting buffalo and other game. In 1745 Chevalier Verendrye and his brother, Lewis Joseph, visited an Arikara camp on the Missouri River, near the present Fort Pierre. The Arikara, called Ree by the white man, were driven north by the Teton Sioux who occupied the entire area west of the Missouri River by 1775. The Teton are one of seven bands of the Sioux. The Sioux were pushed westward by Chippewa Indians armed with French guns and the Teton led their people westward from Minnesota across the prairie. In 1776 the Sioux Nation held all of South Dakota, more than half of Minnesota, a large portion of North Dakota, and a portion of Wisconsin and Iowa. The Teton band, from which the Indian people of Ziebach County are descended, roamed from the Platte River in Nebraska to the headwaters of the Missouri and westward to the Black Hills. Later, as the buffalo were slaughtered by white men, the Teton Sioux went west into Montana, following the remaining buffalo, their source of livelihood. The Teton were the largest and most powerful of all the Sioux bands and hold the distinction of being the last to make peace with the white man. Their name, Teton (Titowan), means "Prairie Dwellers." The Teton were divided into seven important bands: The Minniconjou, Sisapa, Oohenumpa, Itazipco, Sicangu (or Brule), Oglala, and Hunkpapa. The Teton Sioux residing in Ziebach County today belong primarily to the Minniconjou band (Plants by the Stream), and to the Sisapa (Blackfoot), Oohenumpa (Two Kettle), and Sans Arc (Without Bows) bands. The Teton and their Siouan dialect are called 'Lakota' . [photo – Beef issue on ration day, late 1880’2 (SDSHS)] Both France and Spain laid claim to the Mississippi River area. Spain owned and dominated most of the territory west of the Mississippi, in theory at least, until the purchase of Louisiana by President Jefferson in 1803. In 1800 Louisiana was secretly deeded to France, but the Spanish officials continued to function until the transfer of that territory to the United States in the spring of 1804. The area comprising Ziebach County was then put under the following territorial creations: District of Louisiana (1804), Louisiana Territory (1805), and Missouri Territory (1812). In 1821 eastern South Dakota was attached to the territory of Michigan. The area west of the Missouri River in South Dakota was unorganized Indian land over which the United States possessed only original jurisdiction. Later this area was a part of the Nebraska Territory (1851) and the Dakota Territory (1861) and was admitted to the Union as a part of South Dakota in 1889. The Indian and white contacts were rather infrequent prior to 1812, but after that year a definite relationship grew as the white man advanced into Indian country. The Indian wars of South Dakota, in which the Lakota played a leading part, date from the War of 1812. The Santee Sioux, Arikara, and Gros Ventre were for the most part under the influence of the British, while the Missouri Sioux had all of their trade relations with St. Louis and remained stalwartly on the side of the United States government. Manuel Lisa, a trader, kept the Missouri Sioux friendly during the war and took the leading men of the Sioux to St. Louis in 1815 to sign treaties of peace and friendship. Black Buffalo, a Minniconjou chief, was among those chiefs. Following the War of 1812, there was a period of about fifty years when the relations between the whites and the Lakota Indians were, on the whole, pleasant. During this period the fur trade developed. Most of the trade was conducted from the present location of Fort Pierre, which served as a central depot from which the "winterers" would go out to all the tribal camps over the state. The traders exchanged merchandise for fur, which was brought back to Fort Pierre in the spring and sent down the river to St. Louis. In 1851 the Sioux of the Dakotas traveled to Fort Laramie for treaty negotiations with the U. S. Government and several other prairie and mountain Indian tribes. They received money as payment for the buffalo, timber, and grass destroyed by passing immigrants. The Indian tribes promised to keep peace among themselves and with the whites. The government promised the annuity of $50,000 for fifty years (later changed to fifteen years by the Senate) in the form of useful articles, to be distributed yearly among 50,000 Indian people. Following Red Cloud's War along the Bozeman Trail, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 created the "Great Sioux Reservation". The entire portion of South Dakota west of the Missouri River was given to the Sioux for their absolute and undisturbed use and occupation. Before Red Cloud's War, the Indians had adopted several of the customs of the white man, but for the most part, they followed their traditional ways. The tribal government was by clan, with a 'chief', a council, and an Indian court. After 1868, modern Indian courts were established which modified the tribal government to some extent. This modern system was under the government-appointed agents' supervision. Under the provisions of the treaty of 1868, the Government had promised to build an agency for the Indian people along the Missouri River. In order to carry out this obligation, the Government, in 1870, built the Cheyenne River Agency on the west side of the Missouri at the mouth of the Cheyenne River and in 1871 built Fort Bennett, nearby. The Two Kettle, Minniconjou, Sans Are, and Blackfoot Sioux received their annuities here. In the early winter of 1875 and 1876 the Indian agents, because of the lack of rations at the agencies, gave the Indians permission to hunt buffalo in the unceded territory of Powder River. In December of 1875, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs sent instructions to recall all Indians to their reservations by January 31, 1876. These instructions did not reach the Cheyenne River Agency until December 20, and the runners who were sent to notify the Indian people did not return until February 11, 1876. On the first of February, 1876, the Secretary of War decided that the time given the Indians to return had expired and that it was now a problem for the War Department to handle. The Northern Cheyenne and Sioux met the U. S. Military in the Battle of the Rosebud and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Minniconjou Sioux who distinguished themselves in the battle against Custer included Hump, White Bull, and Iron Thunder. Following their victory over the 7th Cavalry, the Indians of the Great Sioux Reservation were treated as prisoners of war. Those that returned to the reservation had their horses and weapons taken from them. Fleeing from the army, many Sioux joined Sitting Bull and Hump in a flight to Canada. The Lakota who settled in present day Ziebach County returned from Canada several years after the Custer battle, being transported down the Missouri River in steamboats. In the fall of 1876 a commission escorted by military detachments visited the reservations and secured the signatures of a few of the head men. This Black Hills treaty of 1876 provided for a smaller reservation for the Teton Sioux. The Great Sioux Reservation lost land west of the one hundred and third meridian (including the Black Hills) and west of the forks of the Cheyenne River. This treaty allowed three wagon roads to be constructed through the reservation. With the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, whites had entered the area and towns were growing and needed supplies. The government, in consideration of these cessions, agreed to provide all of the necessary aid to assist the Indians in the task of becoming 'civilized', to furnish them with schools and with instructions in mechanical and agricultural arts, and to provide each Indian with subsistence until such time as the Indians were able to support themselves. In 1887 the Dawes Act further changed the Indian type of life by providing for the allotments of fixed areas of land to individual Indians and for the sale of the surplus land to the Government. The proceeds from the sale of this land were to constitute a tribal trust fund to be administered for the tribes' interests by the United States. The Government was to act as guardian for the Indians, who held their land in severalty; and the land was not to be sold or disposed of for twenty-five years. An Indian man with a wife was given 640 acres and his wife was allotted 320 acres. As children were born to the union each child was allotted 160 acres. In 1889, a bill was finally passed that met the requirements of both the Government and the Indians. It provided for the breaking up of the Sioux Reservation into small reservations and for the opening of the surplus land between the Cheyenne River and the White River to white settlement. The Cheyenne River Reservation was created under this Act of 1889, and its boundaries were defined: "Beginning at a point in the center of the main channel of the Missouri River ten miles north of the Moreau River, or Owl River, said point being the southeastern corner of the Standing Rock Reservation; thence down said center of the main channel of the Missouri River, including also entirely within said reservation all islands, if any, in said river, to a point opposite the mouth of the Cheyenne River; and up the same to its intersection with the one hundred and second meridian of longitude; thence north to the Moreau; thence due east to the place of beginning." The area of the reservation comprised 2,804,090 acres. The Cheyenne River Reservation is composed of the two (now organized) counties of Dewey and Ziebach. Armstrong County (unorganized) was incorporated into Dewey by the 1954 State Legislature. In 1891 the Cheyenne Agency was moved 55 miles up the Missouri River to a site on the west bank, opposite Forest City (now inundated), where it remained until 1959. In 1891 Fort Bennett was abandoned. In 1900 the Milwaukee Railroad obtained a six mile right-of-way across the northern part of the Cheyenne River Reservation and the southern part of Standing Rock Reservation, known as "the Strip". It was used by cattle companies to drive herds to the railhead at Evarts on the Missouri River. The greatest opposition to the opening of the reservation to white occupation was made by the ''squaw men'' or white men with Indian wives, who had settled on the reservation. One of these men, Douglas Carlin, son of an army officer, had over 10,000 head of cattle and was one of the wealthy men of the reservation. Cheyenne River Reservation was divided into eight large pastures and the Indian Bureau leased 1.5 million acres to a cattle syndicate in 1902. The Indian people retained the right to graze their animals on the range. The plan worked well until the Indian people, few of whom branded, began to lose their cattle. The practice of leasing to large companies continued until 1935. On May 29, 1908, an Act of Congress opened up the unallotted portion of the reservation for homesteading and hundreds of white settlers took up homesteads. Land was sold for from two to six dollars per acre. There was such a stampede that the Indian Bureau had to sell the land by lottery. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad bought a right-of-way across the reservation. A southern branch of the railroad extended from Trail City to Faith. Towns springing up along that route were Promise, LaPlant, Ridgeview, Mossman, Parade, Eagle Butte, Lantry, Dupree, Redelm, Arrowhead, and Faith. In 1924 Congress extended full citizenship to all Indian people. Two years later a man named Merriam did a study on reservation conditions. Published in 1928, it led to a full-scale Senate investigation which generated a reform movement. The drought and grasshoppers of the 1930's forced many Sioux to sell or lease their allotted lands in order to survive. Many whites sold out and left the area. Roosevelt's New Deal tried to answer the reform movement. John Collier became Commissioner of Indian Affairs and in 1934 the Wheeler-Howard Act was passed. This act attempted to further integrate and partially reverse the policy of the Dawes Act. This act prohibited future allotments, prohibited the sale of Indian land except to the tribe itself, and authorized annual appropriations for the purchase of land for landless Indians. Also known as the Indian Reorganization Act, it restored religious freedom and provided for Indian self-government by allowing tribal constitutions, elections of tribal officials and tribal regulation of tribal business. The Sioux Indians of the Cheyenne River Reservation accepted the Wheeler-Howard Act. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Council adopted by-laws in 1935 and divided the reservation into 13 political districts, with one councilman elected from each. During World War II many county residents left to join the service. Others left to work in defense plants. After the war some stayed in the cities, but many returned to their homes in Ziebach County. Public Law 776 passed in 1954 opening a new era on the Cheyenne River Reservation. The act made over ten million dollars available to the Tribe and its members. The money was for lands flooded by the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River, to relocate homes, and to make loans and grants to tribal members. Known as the Rehabilitation Program, it was administered until 1977 when final payments were made to members. In 1968 the Federal Government passed the Indian Civil Rights Act. It was followed in 1975 by the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, also known as Public Law 93-638. This law was designed to strengthen tribal governments and involve them in the administration of federal services. Lakota people are now working in more administrative jobs than ever before, running the affairs of the Tribe. Robert Chasing Hawk, from the Red Scaffold district, became in 1980 the first full-blooded Sioux to be elected as Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. [photo of Monument to Hugh Glass] THE HUGH GLASS STORY by Ruth Edwards Credit given to “Lord Grizzley” by F. Manfred Hugh Glass, though half dead, had more grit and guts than most ordinary men in the prime of their life. The agony he endured, the courage he displayed and the strange revenge he enjoyed is more than a story; it is an authentic legend of the early West. Glass was a strong, lean man and stood 6'2" tall, and was as strong as limbs from a young ash tree. He trimmed his thick, grey hair and beard with a knife. He wore clothing fashioned out of old buffalo bull neck hide. He carried his powder horn and bullet pouch slung over his left shoulder. In the pouch was flint and steel for fire making and a small whetstone. Around his waist hung a large butcher or skinning knife and a loaded horse pistol. He'd given the name of "Old Bullthrower" to his rifle. It was early in August, 1823, when General Ashley and Major Henry and his men were heading north along the Missouri River and west on the Grand River from Fort Kiowa, near what is now Chamberlain, South Dakota. They had crossed the White, Cheyenne, and Moreau Rivers near Thunder Butte. General Ashley ordered Hugh Glass to shave off his beard and upon refusal, Glass rode off in a huff to hunt and scout on his own, only to run into a mother bear and her cubs. She attacked him and they wrestled and fought. He was badly mauled and mutilated as they fought until he was finally able to stab her above the heart. She fell upon his bleeding, shattered body, dead, on his broken, shattered legs. Glass then lost consciousness but barely recalled hearing two shots and men's voices in the dark silence. [map showing sites of Hugh Glass’ Ordeals] General Ashley and his men came upon him about this time, shot the cubs and left men to care for him. They sewed up his wounds and Jim Bridger and John Fitzgerald were ordered to stay behind to dig a grave and bury him when he died. After spending five days with Glass and he had not yet died, they were afraid of being attacked by the Ree Indians. They left him and rode off to join their company, telling General Ashley that Hugh had died. It was sheer stubborn defiance that enabled Hugh Glass to regain consciousness. He struggled to the creek and soaked his body in the water. After fortifying himself with water and buffalo berries, he began to plan his revenge upon the men who had left him for dead. Examination of his body left him with the realization that he was badly cut up, had a broken leg, and was full of infection in his open wounds. He skinned the bear and used it's hide like a coat. It stuck to his open wounds. He soaked the bear skin loose from his back and made a splint for his leg which he then bound with wet rawhide. Between delirium and dreams, he fought buzzards, coyote, wolf and rattlesnakes away. He would kill the snakes and cut them into pieces for food. On more than one occasion he would soak his torn body in the stream to try to rid himself of the blood poisoning. Later he would fashion a sled for his broken leg and began to crawl. The fear of the Ree Indians would make him crawl at night and sleep by day, and he was greatly hindered by cactus, snakes, and the flies in his wounds. He was headed for Fort Kiowa. Glass started crawling at the south fork of the Grand River, almost due south, heading for the Moreau River and Thunder Butte. The dust by day, the cold at night, and the fear of an early blizzard also worried him. His food consisted mostly of berries, cactus, and wild roots. Close to Thunder Butte he fought off wolves and buzzards near the remains of a downed buffalo calf. Near Thunder Butte he came upon a tepee, two dogs and a dying elderly Indian woman left behind by her people. He helped her until she died and dug a grave with his hands to bury her. It was October by now, and because the cold air was such a threat, he began to crawl faster and more steadily toward Fox Ridge, then toward Rattlesnake Butte. When he reached the Cheyenne River near Cherry Creek, he made a crude boat and now traveled even faster. It was almost November when he went down the Cheyenne River and entered the Missouri River. It was then that he had a close call with a band of Sioux celebrating some victory, but the idea of finally getting revenge and thoughts of an Indian maiden at Fort Kiowa pushed him onward. He rushed past the mouth of the Okobojo, Chantie Creek and Medicine Butte, past the Bad, Antelope, Medicine and Cedar Creeks. Thoughts of the Indian girl, Bending Reed, whiskey and pancakes filled his head. When he reached Fort Kiowa, there were Sioux camped in front of the fort gates, making a trading visit. The guards let Hugh Glass into the Fort's compound and all were most surprised to see him. His long journey was almost over. Following a rest and recovery period, Glass was soon ready to go on yet another trip. He intended to finally catch up to Jim Bridger and John Fitzgerald. It was in Montana on the Yellowstone River that he found Bridger and after the two of them fought and had words, Glass mellowed and moved on in his search for John Fitzgerald. He found Fitzgerald at Fort Atkinson in Nebraska but again, he mellowed and forgave his fellow man. Hugh Glass was later scalped and killed by the Ree Indians near Fort Union in 1831. At the time, he was still pursuing his life's occupation of hunting. Surely the Hugh Glass Story is a true legend of the old West. SHETAK CAPTIVES In August of 1862, there was an uprising of Santee Sioux in Minnesota. Little Crow, a principal leader of the Minnesota Uprising escaped trial and fled west to the Missouri River with his captives: Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Duly, their own children, and three other children. They were known as the Shetak Captives. With the help of Charles Primeau, bourgeois at Fort Pierre, the Fool Soldiers led by Swift Bird and Martin Charger, were able to pay ransom for the captives. The Fool Soldiers took the captives from near present Mobridge toward Fort Pierre, crossing the river at Peoria Bottom. They were met by Primeau, Louis LaPlant and Fred Dupris. The released captives were given clothes at Primeau's and then rested for a day or two at the Dupris home. LaPlant and Dupris escorted the women and children toward Fort Randall. They were met en route by Major Pattee, on his way to 'rescue' the captives. THE SHETAK CAPTIVES: TWO FOOTNOTES The story of the Shetak Captives is part of two larger stories. The Santee Uprising of 1862 triggered a series of desperate, bloody battles for control of the Great Plains which continued into the late 1860's. The Shetak Captives themselves were among several hundred captives whose story was best told by Fanny Kelly in her book, published in 1871 under the title, My Captivity Among the Sioux Indians. Hers was the last of the captivity narratives, a body of frontier literature and history which has all but disappeared today. The role of the Fool Soldiers in rescuing captives of another race during a period of unparalleled bloodshed is likewise difficult for most modern readers to understand. The Fool Soldiers were an Akicita, a secret soldier/warrior society, whose members were honor-bound to observe such traditional Lakota proverbs as "only the brave and fearless can be just." It was not just to make war on women and children and the Fool Soldiers were not afraid to risk everything to secure their release. They were never rewarded for their transcendental bravery, but their memory is cherished by men of honor everywhere. The Akicitas won the respect of those who had to fight them and eventually they became the nucleus of the Army's Indian Scouts and the BIA's Indian Police. They continued to earn high praise in these new roles, and partially as a result, Indians were the only nonwhites who regularly served in military combat units on an equal footing with white soldiers from the Spanish American War through the first, grim months of the Korean War. It was during the Korean War that all American military formations were integrated by order of President Truman. RABBIT DANCE Long ago there was an encampment of Indians in a ravine along both sides of the river. A young girl went to visit her relatives who lived across the river. When she was returning to her home, she saw someone wearing a gray blanket with two feathers atop its head. He was dancing rabbit style and sang five songs. The girl was told to learn the five songs, but she was not to put words to these songs. So, the girl watched and listened, then returned home and taught her people how to dance and sing the rabbit dance. The songs are still remembered by many, but words have been set to the songs. [photo – Louise Crow Eagle Daugherty] INDIAN DRESS AND DANCE In later years, after the Indians became familiar with the use of flannel, conchos, and beads from the white man's world, these new items influenced the form of the Indian Traditional Dance. Mrs. Thunder Hoop explained this new influence as follows: The ladies were dressed in blue flannel with Iroquois shells decorating their dresses. They wore necklaces that nearly touched the ground. The necklaces were called hair bones which were hollow bones strung together down the front of the dress. They wore belts decorated with conchos. Their moccasins were beaded as was their leggings. Their faces were painted with light colored war paint, each design having a different meaning. A red streak down the face would mean that the maiden is to be honored at the dance and her parents will be giving away horses or other valuable possessions. The Cheyenne war paint is painted with red squares on the cheeks with a yellow background. Some of the ladies wore eagle plumes; these ladies were to be honored members of the dance. This form of dress was sacred to the Indians and only a select group could dress in this fashion. The belief was that lightning would strike those who did not live according to their form of dress. The men wore leggings that extended up the entire leg. The leggings were made from blue flannel and decorated with beads along the sides. They wore blankets of blue or red flannel beaded along the seams. These were folded over their shoulder revealing the beadwork. They also wore beaded moccasins and painted their faces. Those who were qualified such as those who were brave in battle or those who were generous could carry an eagle staff. The eagle staff is a long pole with eagle feathers tied in a row. The men wore eagle feathers on their heads. One feather tied on their head would mean that the warrior has killed an enemy. Two feathers on his head would mean that the warrior is skilled in taking the enemies' horses. Nobody else can wear these feathers unless they have accomplished these feats. Some of the men wore buckskin shirts with scalp locks tied along the upper sleeve and down the sides. Beaded strips of weasel hide were entwined with the scalp locks. The war bonnets were made of eagle feathers. The round war bonnets required the feathers from two eagles, as each eagle has twelve tail feathers; all of these are used. Another war bonnet has a tail that has a row of feathers on each side of the tail. This required the feathers from four eagles. The men that wear these war bonnets are leaders of their people. They are called chiefs. In the dance the men wearing the war bonnets dance slowly in a counter-clockwise movement. The remaining dancers move clockwise. They never dance in the same direction as their leaders. The war bonnet wearers dance in the outer circle and the other dancers dance inside of the circle. The ladies remain in one place throughout the dance. There are certain songs in which these leaders dance. These songs were sung by our ancestors not only to recall days gone by, but also to teach the younger people the truth about their past and the value of their traditions. The dance was a form of entertainment, but also it was an honoring ceremony, a form of mourning a death, and a form of joy following a successful hunt. INDIAN NAMES The name that was given a baby was not necessarily hereditary, or given at birth. The names that the Indians had were given to them because of some brave deed that a relative had performed. These are the deeds that a man could honor in giving names to his children: Steal a horse, Kill an enemy or count coup on a dead enemy -- they could count coup on a dead enemy four times. For example, Raymond Brown Thunder's grandfather earned his name through an incident with the Crow Indians. A Crow war party came to raid the Sioux encampment where Raymond's grandfather lived. In the ensuing battle his grandfather killed two Crow braves. For this act of bravery he was named Brown Thunder. The late Jennie White Weasel was given her name by her father. He had killed an enemy who was wearing a white weasel coat; therefore, he named his daughter White Weasel. One of Jennie White Weasel's daughters is named Scarlet Hand Woman and the other is named Recognize Her Horse. Try to imagine what act of bravery or what deed accompanied these names. In later years, with the coming of the white men, the names took a different form. In many instances the school that an Indian attended would give him a name. Solomon Yellow Hawk's oldest son attended the Santee Normal Training School. At the school they inquired what his name was. He replied that he had no name, except Yellow Hawk. The officials at the school decided that this name was too long. So they gave him the name, Alien West. Alien's Indian name was Bear Boy. An Indian student by the name of Rifle (translated) did not have an English name -- he was given the name of Frank Lillibridge. Another Frank Lillibridge was, at one time, Superintendent at the old Cheyenne River Agency. THE LAST BUFFALO HUNT In 1874, Congress passed a measure to halt the slaughter of buffalo by hide hunters, but President Grant let the bill die for want of his signature. Some adversaries to the bill had argued that the decimation of the buffalo was necessary for the 'civilization' of the Indians, and for ranching. Either in a freak migration or because of pressure from the hide hunters, a large herd of buffalo moved east into Dakota Territory in late summer of 1880. News that buffalo had returned to former grazing grounds spread to Indian camps and white hide hunters. Thomas L. Riggs, a missionary, accompanied a hunting party that left Cheyenne Agency in November of 1880. More than two thousand buffalo hides were taken into Cheyenne Agency that winter. Of 10,000 buffalo in 1882, less than 1,200 remained in 1883. In October of 1883, Sitting Bull and many of his braves rode from Standing Rock Reservation to where the buffalo grazed between the Moreau and Grand Rivers and slaughtered them all. By 1886, the wild buffalo had become extinct in this part of America. Indians could never again depend upon the buffalo for food, clothing or shelter and, the ranges had been cleared for cattle. [photo - Scotty Philip’s Buffalo Ranch (SDSHS)] The following is excerpted from "Buffalo Hunt" in Sunset To Sunset by Thomas L. Riggs: "In the early fall of 1880, I had seen a stray buffalo near the Cheyenne Agency and there were reports of others. In October the Indians began talking of a winter hunt and one day Clarence Ward (Roan or Gray-Haired Bear) came to me and told me of their plans, saying it would be a good chance for me to go along. His wife was the daughter of Fred Dupris. I took Sam as my riding or buffalo horse. Then I picked a pair of horses for my buckboard, one of which would do for a packhorse; got my "artillery", my clothes and bedding together with a sack of oats for the horses and crossed the river here at Oahe the day before Thanksgiving. I reached the Dupris' the second day. They had a large establishment, with several houses. I took as an extra a lever-action single shot .45 caliber Sharpes rifle and this, during the hunt, I loaned to Big Foot (Si tanka) for one of his men to use. Big Foot lived on the Upper Cheyenne near the present postoffice of Bridger. Later, during the Ghost Dance, he was one of Sitting Bull's sympathizers. When we started north from the Dupris', there were twenty-five or thirty of us. Most of them went with their travois of tent poles, but the Dupris boys took a wagon. We had snow almost every day, not much at a time, but enough to make us realize it was winter, and that real winter was on its way. We waited on the Moreau for a day or two while two young men were sent to let the Moreau people, who were to join us, know where we were. When we started westward, we followed the valley of the Moreau slowly, some days not making more than three or four miles. The snow was getting deeper and deeper all the time. Traveling in this slow way, we finally came in sight of Slim Buttes (Paha zibsi pila) which was our goal. When we were well in sight of these buttes, the old hunters began to plan on sending out scouts to find out where the buffalo were. There were a hundred and one in our party. About half of these were women. It was said we had three hundred horses and, I was told, five hundred dogs. One evening Roan Bear proposed that we go to the "soldier lodge" -- tiyotipi, or council tent, and learn what was to be done. There had been talk of sending men "to the hills," for we were now not far from where big game might be found. It was just before sunset that our "runners" came into view and the entire camp went wild. "We shall have plenty of meat by this time tomorrow" said Yellow Owl. Next morning we were out early fifty-six men of us. When we could see each other more clearly, I noticed the blackened faces of those who had been appointed "soldiers" for this run. We changed mounts, taking our running horses -- the pampered ones that had run loose all the way out and at every opportunity had been fed the strength-giving shavings of the inner bark and the twigs of young cottonwood trees. A few of these were experienced buffalo runners of known speed and staying power. My own (Sam) was an old hand and knew all that a horse could know about running buffalo, besides being very fast. Every man in camp knew him, for he was the horse that Can pta ye (Wood Pile) had on the Little Big Horn against Custer in '76. Some men rode bareback, but most of them rode a convenient, lightly stuffed running pad. I had added stirrups to the Indian- made pad I used. There had been excitement before, but now it was intense, affecting horses as well as men. To prevent losing one's horse, in case of a fall, each man had a small line, about twenty feet long, lightly tucked under his belt; one end of the line was fastened to the bridle bit and the other tied to the belt itself. The head of the valley brought us out on a bit of level country. We turned to the left, and hardly eighty rods away the already startled buffalo closed up and began to move, giving their stumpy twists of tails an upward flirt as they broke into a lumbering gallop. The run was well on and the leaders began to shoot. This first run of ours allowed but one lone buffalo to escape. We packed back to camp the meat from fifty carcasses. One of these was killed by Little Bear with his bow, in the way of his fathers. The arrow was driven entirely through the body. And so after each day's run we would make our way back to camp with an abundance. The fires crackled, the pots boiled and all were smiling and happy. After about half of the hunting trip had passed, I wrote home: "I have seven robes... ." Of deeper significance, my Dakota vocabulary was greatly enlarged. One young fellow, Clarence Ward, shot a buffalo and dropped it dead, as supposed. He jumped off his horse expecting to bleed the game but just as he was about to do this the buffalo rose up and Clarence fled. He jumped on his horse which began to pitch with him and it was not until the buffalo was almost horning into the pony's tail that the pony woke up and moved. As the pony was running straight away from the buffalo which was chasing him, the man turned and fired as best he could and the buffalo dropped dead. On the way home… we reached the Dupris ranch where a warm welcome awaited us. Fred Dupris, an old employee of the American Fur Company, and another Frenchman greeted me in true earlyday manner, with tears, laughter, curses and prayers curiously intermingled. Fred called to one of the boys, "Take Tom's hawse; put de hawse on de stable; put hay on de hawse; and Tom come in de house and put your feet on de stove!" From a straight meat diet, and nothing else, the change to real coffee with sugar, white bread and potatoes was greatly appreciated. All this is now of the past. The buffalo have departed. The wandering Indian of the plains has also gone." James M. Robinson wrote in West From Fort Pierre that, "After the 1875 annihilation of the great Republican River herd in west Kansas, the largest surviving herd was in the wild region west of the Missouri between the Cheyenne and Grand rivers." "The last of the great wild buffalo hunts were the Cheyenne-Grand River hunts of 1881, 1883 and 1885. These happened in what was then the Great Sioux Territory. When the slaughter of these final hunts had run its course, five exhausted buffalo calves had been saved by [Fred Dupris and his sons]. These orphans were turned loose on the Cheyenne River Reservation with the Dupris cattle. For fifty miles these buffalo roamed on the Dupris range. They thrived and multiplied. The original five head increased to 57 by 1901." [photo – Fred Dupris (SDSHS)] [photo – Cowboys roping a buffalo on the plains (SDSHS)] "Scotty (Philip) watched the tiny Dupris herd grow and bought it in 1901 from Dong Carlin. Doug was administrator of the Dupris estate." In 1901, 57 head of buffalo were driven 100 miles across country from the Cheyenne River to Scotty Philip's 'Buffalo Pasture', north of Fort Pierre. Many old timers had thought this feat impossible. It was unnatural for the buffalo to be moved and many renegades remained on their familiar range and caused 'problems' for the cattle outfits that began to arrive on the Cheyenne River Reservation the following year. In 1980, members of the National Buffalo Association voted to induct Fred Dupris as the first historic member of the Buffalo Hall of Fame, for his contribution to the comeback of the buffalo. Descendants of the Dupris herd were sold to Custer State Park to begin the herd there. Another episode was recounted in Sunset to Sunset by T. L. Riggs: "One night after dark, six of us were bringing an overloaded bunch of pack horses through the deep snow towards the temporary camp when an immense herd of buffalo came up from the southwest and diagonally crossed out front. Co kan tanka rode up to me and said, "I make a night run -- come!" I declined the honor and Co kan tanka disappeared, going right over towards the buffalo. I heard the report of his gun, then almost immediately another flash and report and a little later another. He finally had shot a buffalo and they went to help skin it and bring in the robe. When he caught up with us, he told us what had happened. The first shot was a miss and suddenly he found he was right in the midst of the buffalo. They were running on all sides of him, bumping against his legs, and in his excitement a shot went off in the air. This didn't steady his nerves any, with the result that he did exactly the same thing again! That exhausted all the shells there were in the magazine and realizing what a big fool he was to be so scared and nervous, he started more cooly to hunt in his belt for cartridges. He found he had only three left, and as his belt had slipped around, they were in the middle of his back, so he had to throw off his blanket to reach them! When he got out one cartridge, he very carefully pushed it into the chamber of his gun and although the buffalo were still bumping against him, he kept his wits about him and his eyes open and finally managed to work out of the running herd and get his buffalo. This man was one of those in the Custer fight. His "Agency name" was Lazy White Bull, but the proper translation of the name Ptesanhunka -- would be "White Buffalo Cow Leader". His nickname was Co kan tanka and he was usually addressed by that name. His real name was only for state occasions. He told me a great many things about the Custer fight. He was one of Sitting Bull's active lieutenants, but before the fight Sitting Bull ran away and Co kan tanka had to work under the counsel of others who were handling affairs." (An accurate translation of his nickname is very difficult...but suggests such a term as ... "Big Shot".) POLICE IN THE OLD DAYS by Blaine Clown, Sr. LAST BUFFALO HUNT At the time of the last buffalo hunt, they were camped up by Iron Lightning. There is a road there now that runs north and south. That was the trail they were on. It comes past Rattlesnake Butte, and the whole way up they couldn't find any game. The medicine man would pray and look for game but they didn't find any. Finally, when they camped by the Moreau River, they asked him to pray again and he said he would do it one last time. That would be the finaltime. So they made a sweat lodge there and he told them to get the finest sand. So they got really fine sand from the river there and they put it in the middle of the sweat lodge. The medicine man put it in a pile and then he leveled the top off so it was just flat. Then they closed the door and they sang. After they were done they opened the door. He told them to look at the sand and when they did, they saw tiny tracks as little as mouse tracks, but they were buffalo tracks and a whole herd had run across there. About four of them were picked to scout for the buffalo. One of them was my grandfather's dad. They found the buffalo up on the Grand River. They were not supposed to shoot any but they were hungry so they shot one and ate it. On the way back, those scouts hid the meat in different places, and marked the places. At that time, they had their own police and they were standing all along the way. They were so strict the people even had to ask to go to the bathroom. As they were moving up the trail, when they came to the marked places, they would ask to go to the bathroom. Then they would go over the hill, get the meat and put it under something in their wagon, and go back. They said that if they got caught their horses would be shot and their stuff would be taken. Everything. Another story was told to Blaine Clown, Sr. by his grandfather, Pete Talks: One woman's husband beat her. She went to the tipi where the police stayed and touched each one on the head and told them she needed help. So the leader picked some of them and they went and shot all her husband's horses and sliced his tipi and burned his stuff. Then the police went around and collected things that the couple needed to live, after the husband promised not to beat his wife again. GHOST DANCE A series of difficulties beset the Lakota people in the late 1880's. In 1888 Indian cattle suffered an outbreak of "blackleg". The following year, the Crook Commission kept many Indian families away from their meager crops, attending councils. 1890 brought a serious drought. Meanwhile, epidemics of grippe, measles and whooping cough spread through the reservations. The people had never been reimbursed for the ponies seized following the Battle of the Little Big Horn, nor had the educational facilities on the reservations been increased, as promised. Rations were also cut in 1890. In the fall of 1889, Kicking Bear of Cherry Creek and Short Bull from Rosebud travelled to the Walker River in Nevada to learn about the revelations of Wovoka, a Paiute. [photo – Kicking Bear, 1896, wearing beaded scalp shirt, now in the Smithsonian (SDSHS] [photo – Short Bull, Brule who visited Wovoka with Kicking Bear (SDSHS)] According to James Mooney in "The Ghost Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890 " FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY, 1896: Here he (Wovoka) saw God with all the people who had died long ago engaged in their old time sports and occupations, all happy and forever young. It was a pleasant land full of game. After showing him all, God told him he must go back and tell his people they must be good and love one another, have no quarreling, and live in peace with the whites; that they must work, and not lie or steal; that they must put away all the old practices that savored of war; that if they faithfully obeyed his instructions they would at last be reunited with their friends in this other world, where there would be no more death or sickness or old age. He was then given the dance which he was commanded to bring back to his people." After a visit on the Northern Arapaho's reservation in Wyoming, Kicking Bear returned in September to the camps of Hump and Big Foot on the Cheyenne River, to spread the Ghost Dance. From Songs of the Teton Sioux by Harry W. Paige, we learn that dancers were to "sing ghost songs and dance in a slow, shuffling drag step in a circle, men and women dancing together ceremonially for the first time. The dance was to be non-violent ... they were to dance until they fell into a trance or "died" and came back to life with stories of having seen their dead again." It is written that the original teachings of Wovoka were distorted by the Sioux with the addition of the Ghost Shirt, impenetrable to bullets, and the prophecy that white men would be destroyed by the coming of a new age. However, it is generally agreed by the descendants of those Sioux that the primary reason for their Ghost Dancing was to enter the trance that would enable them to visit their loved ones who had died and passed on to the other world. In October, Sitting Bull invited Kicking Bear to the Grand River to spread the Ghost Dance to his people. [photo – Big Foot, taken before 1877 (SDSHS)] Kicking Bear was escorted back to the Cheyenne River and on December 15th, while being arrested, Sitting Bull was killed. Many of his followers fled the next day to the Cheyenne River. Many were persuaded to surrender and join the camp at Cherry Creek but others continued up the Cheyenne to where Big Foot's band was camped near the forks of the river. On the night of December 23rd, this camp slipped away, moving toward Pine Ridge. Government officials were puzzled whether the influence of the Ghost Dance and the garbled philosophy, they and certain missionaries were afraid of its effect on the "peace policy". Troops were called in. The Seventh Cavalry was ordered to intercept and disarm the group under Big Foot, who was ill with pneumonia. They were all taken to Wounded Knee. During the disarming process a shot was fired and the Massacre was the unfortunate result. [photo – U. S. Troops march up the Cheyenne River in December of 1890 (SDSHS)] WOUNDED KNEE So much has been documented about the Battle of Wounded Knee and since it did not happen in Ziebach County, but affected so many people who lived here at that time, this story told by Alice War Bonnet Charging Cloud and related by William War Bonnet, her son, is included. The translator is Sidney Keith. "We started from Cherry Creek where it forks with the Cheyenne River. We were running the horses at a quick pace to try to catch the main band of our people under the leadership of Big Foot, traveling towards Red Cloud's camp at Pine Ridge some 100 miles distance. Following almost side by side path with the Cheyenne River, sometimes crossing on the snow-covered thick ice where it curved too much, we tracked their fresh trail. I was thirteen years old at that time (December 26, 1890) and riding horseback following my parent's wagon, with my two little brothers, the year old brother in my mother's arms and the six year old sitting alongside. By sunset we reached Big Foot's camp at a riverbend and branch creek. [photo – Big Foot’s Camp (SDSHS)] The following day, our village broke camp and headed south for Pine Ridge. After a good day's ride, we finally reached Bad River, where we set up our encampment for the night. Bright and early the following day, the caravan of 200 people in wagons or on horseback meandered along. By mid-day we rode past Porcupine Butte. Some miles past, as we were climbing a long slope and using a water runoff trough to help conceal our movement towards a high hill, the lead portion of the caravan stopped at the highest point. When we pulled up to the lead group, my mother called me over and she said, 'There are horseback soldiers camped nearby. Stay close to the wagon.' Mother came to tighten my saddle cinch up tight. 'We may have to make a run for our lives, to scatter,' she said. I noticed many tents and horses and many cavalrymen with guns were milling around down below. Four of our men got on their horses, one of them carrying a white flag tied to a long stick as a peace gesture, riding down towards the cavalrymen. All the soldiers lay down immediately and pointed their rifles at our men riding down. But our men kept going and stopped in the center where they had a big gun on wheels. Two of their soldiers got up and started talking to our men, while the rest of their foot soldiers rose to their feet and closed in. Suddenly two of our riders broke through the encircling foot soldiers, rode back at a gallop and said the soldiers wanted to talk to Big Foot who was lying sick in a wagon. Soon the soldiers brought a buggy, put Big Foot in it, and took him back to the confrontation. After some moments of talk, they told us we could camp on the west side, so everybody got busy pitching their tents and small tipis. All this time the foot soldiers were watching every move we made. A buggy came around the camp after everyone was settled and they were issuing coffee, sugar, bacon and hardtack. They said there would be no trouble. But by nightfall they had us surrounded and guarded us all night, like horses. Unknown to us in the darkness, they had moved in more soldiers and more big guns. Early next morning we broke camp, loading the wagons and hitching up the horses. I had my horse about ready when a crier came around the camp telling our men to go to the center for peace talks. So they walked over while the women and children finished packing the wagons. Everyone being jumpy, including myself, my eyes seemed to work as must the owl's at night. I noticed our men being surrounded with rifles pointing at them. On signal it seems, some of their cavalrymen galloped over to our wagons and started searching for guns, whatever they could find, awls, axes and knives, and practically tearing up the wagons. The weapons they found, they took to the center and dumped them on the ground. Not being satisfied with this, they inspected our men, feeling whatever garments and blankets they wore. With things strewn all over the ground, we started quickly to pick up, repacking our belongings back into the wagons. Then I got on my horse and waited. Suddenly cavalrymen on white horses appeared with their sabers glinting in the sun. In the north, cavalrymen on bay horses lined up, ready. Nearby several foot soldiers pulled up a big gun on a hill within sight and range of us. Almost all around us, except to the southeast and south where a creek snaked out of sight, the soldiers were peeking over the hill. A soldier on a bay horse from the bunch to the north rode down at a fast clip, reining in at the center. He looked in all directions and seemed excited about something. He turned his horse real fast, galloping to the north yelling something. And all the soldiers started firing, even the big guns boomed. My horse bolted, then started to rear up, so my mother told me to jump off and let him go. I let go of the reins as I jumped and he took off running towards the southeast through the tree line along the creek, the only opening the horse saw, and I saw too, for ourselves. Mother carrying one brother and I half dragging the older, fled toward the creek and jumped out of sight into a big washout. Soon Father (Ghost Horse) came crawling in, shot above the right knee. He had no gun, just his hands to defend us. He said, "I must move you all further away". Then he picked up the oldest boy and crawled away with him. But a while later he came back and said, "Hun he! They killed my son". And even then he still said he wanted us to move further down the creek, but my mother objected and she said, "We'll die here together, as a family". Mother told me to stand so I got up, but Father pulled me down again. Eventually, without any further words, we crawled to where some plum bushes were, where we hid again. Right away while all hugged the earth for dear life, Father scooted away again to help others, despite Mother's plea for him to stay with us there. Two people came crawling in: Phillip Black Moon and his mother. After that women and children also came to where we were hidden, the children whimpering. Groups came in at intervals. Four of the wounded died while we were lying there. A man by the name of Breast Plate came in and told us that my father was killed. Charge-In-Kill and Nistuste came in later but they left again to help others. Toward sundown more wounded people straggled in. As it got dark the shooting stopped all of a sudden and we heard wagons moving about or away, to the west and southwest. Those who could got up and walked or limped to the north, tiptoeing our way through creek beds and ravines. Occasionally we stumbled over dark objects which turned out to be dead animals or dead Lakotas. And we heard a child saying, "Mama, I want some water" some place in the dark, cold night. Many more wounded were crying for help. We walked north in the creek bed. It must have been Wounded Knee Creek where we separated into four even groups, each to take different routes, to better the chances for one or all groups to escape. By morning, our group reached a high hill. From there we could see a long way. We had traveled a northwesterly direction for the sunup showed the plains and level landscape to the east, the higher buttes and pine-covered hills to the west. The sky showed polka-dotted white puffs with blue background, changing patterns by the wind, strong enough to make eyes water. We had two boys stay up on the hill to watch for soldiers in all directions. "A rider is following our tracks!" the boys hollered down. And like cottontails we dove deeper under the brushes and trees. But it was a Lakota wearing a woman's scarf. It was Nistuste. After we shook hands with him we all cried. He told us that after the shooting he walked to Pine Ridge. He then walked back to Wounded Knee where he found this horse. He started tracking our several trails northward, hoping to meet up with somebody. He insisted that our group go with him back toward Pine Ridge. Before our group could decide which way to go, some more riders appeared and we took off for the creek to hide. They rode up yelling, "We are Lakotas, do not run!" All got up and shook hands with them, one woman and three men. We all cried again. They had some pemmican which they shared with us. We hadn't eaten anything since we had left Wounded Knee a day and a half earlier. One of the men said there were cattle foraging over the hill, that he was going after one. Two men went with him. When they had carried the already quartered beef in to us, one lady did the cooking from a pail and dishes she had gotten from a deserted log house not far from there. We really ate for once, thanks to the men and the nice woman. Nistuste and the three men rode back toward Wounded Knee. That left us with thirteen people, mostly women and children. I was with my brother and mother; a lady that always carried a little one on her back; a woman who had her braids cut off, she was slightly wounded; Alex High Hawk; Blue Hair; and five members of the Many Arrows family. Next morning we got ready to leave and found Dog Chasing had come in with two women sometime during the night. The men who rode out must have sent them in. With our number at sixteen, we left bright and early. I was again riding a horse with my little brother, and Mother, on foot, was leading the horse. Along the way I must have catnapped. When I became clear headed again, we were heading down a hill. At the bottom of the valley stood a log house with a wooden floor and fireplace which they fired up for us to warm up by, and rest. With some daylight left, we started off again. It started to cloud up. Some minutes later it turned into a blizzard. One of the men had steered us toward a cabin which he had spotted from a butte. This blessed haven we reached, so we stayed warm sitting out the storm. We had plenty of meat from that last butchering. Later in the night voices woke me up, loud high pitched voices, women arguing to scatter or to stay and the calmer voices of the men, sometimes whispering. I sat up. Then a new meaning came to my senses. I got scared for the first time. My heart was beating fast, my breathing becoming harder and shorter. Quickly moving and squirming closer to Mother's body was to me as natural as a cottontail rabbit's jumping from danger into its lair. But it turned out that the women may have heard something, then imagined their fears into loud noises. For some time, we just sat there staring at the darkness. During the night some riders went and later they came back and said in a low voice, "It is time to go". It was cloudy and still dark when we left. Sometimes snow would blow but we kept going down a deep draw, always keeping to the lowlands. Finally we stumbled onto a camp of Oglalas who ran away from Pine Ridge during the shooting. At the end of the camp we came to Short Bull's tent. All of the people came to welcome us in, and the rest of our group were all taken to different tents and fed well. We stayed at this camp three months and the sun kept coming out higher and higher. Soon the snow was melting and all knew it was spring. A rider on horseback came into camp one day and said there was going to be a treaty council at Pine Ridge. The next day we headed for Pine Ridge. The chiefs were walking in front, followed by young warriors on horseback. Over the hill we could see many tents and cavalry all over the place. Dust was flying. Horses were tied to hitching posts face to face. We made camp near the post. Canraraka and Iron Thunder came to the camp and said they came after all the Minneconjous who were wounded or deceased--that they belong to the Minneconjous band. In Pine Ridge my mother signed our names as survivors along with the rest of our people. They pitched three big tipis in the center where they told us to go. I remember there was Black Moon and his mother and brothers, Iron Horn and Wood Pile. There were many Minneconjous who showed up at the tipi, even some we thought had died. Ashe was a young girl then, she was there, too. I noticed other people were Blue Hair, Blue Arm, Axe, Brown Eagle and Canraraka. We left Pine Ridge for Minneconjou country at Cherry Creek. We were traveling in five wagons. One wagon was loaded with oats and hay, another one with rations. One wagon full of soldiers was leading us out of Pine Ridge. Despite all these nice things being done for us, I can't forget what happened at Wounded Knee. I cried many nights thinking about it many months afterwards.....they killed my brother and father. GREY WOLVES by Mrs. Ted Butler There were plenty of grey wolves in the first part of 1900 in eastern Meade and Ziebach counties. They denned in the Cheyenne River and Moreau River breaks and killed a lot of stock on Brushy, Red Scaffold and Flint Rock Creeks. Here is my experience with grey wolves. About one mile from home was a thicket of chokecherries. Early one morning, I saddled a little spotted saddle pony, who had a late spring colt that followed along. I found a shady spot rather low in the bend of the creek where I could sit on the creek bank and pick cherries. I had about finished picking, when the colt came running back to its mother, crowding in between me and the pony. I held tight to the bridle rein as the pony was getting nervous, and tried to calm her by petting her neck and talking to her. With a tight rein I managed to get my foot into the stirrup and in the saddle, and as I turned her around there stood one of the largest wolves I had ever seen, and nearly white. It was snarling and showing its large white teeth. It gave one howl and in the meantime I kept talking low to the pony and the colt that was hugging its mother's side. I managed to get on higher ground and there were seven more wolves with shaggy dark necks. I was not afraid and rode to the top of the knell. Just to the other side of me, there were five more of the species, which made thirteen grey wolves in one pack. It didn't take me long to reach home. That fall and winter these wolves killed many colts and cattle. They always killed the best, worked in pairs and would hamstring their victims, and eat only while the kill was fresh, leaving the remainder for the coyotes. Ernst Eidson and Ted Butler were the killers of the old white wolf. While riding on cattle one morning, they found the old fellow napping after filling up on a freshly killed heifer. He was so full, he couldn't run and perhaps his age had something to do with it. After firing a few bullets into him, he was dead. A few days later, John Reed jumped two more and gave them a ten mile race. It was good open country, the first waterhole they came to they jumped in. John did not have a gun to shoot them with, but he managed to keep them swimming until other riders got there with guns. This band seemed to be horse killers, doing a lot of hamstringing on big stock, mostly colts in the spring, but in the summer never touching the weak or poor ones. We had an old buckskin saddle horse, always fat, but lazy. Early one morning two wolves circled him and made a few leaps at him. When he did not run, the wolves walked away. In the Ziebach County News someone mentioned the black timber wolf that was killed. I remember seeing the pelt tied to the back of a saddle horse. It nearly reached the ground on both sides. As I recall, it was killed near Lemmon Butte, west of the J. A. ranch in the early part of 1900, by some of the H. O. boys. FENCING THE RESERVATION by Nettle Reed Butler in Faith Country Dad was still freighting to Smithville when the Cheyenne Reservation was leased to the cattlemen. The majority of them came from the south. There was lots of grass and water for pasturing, but it had to be fenced. My father took a contract to do the fencing, it was barb wire and ash posts. The posts could be cut any place. The line was straight north and south. All material such as grindstone (to sharpen axes and spades), wire and so forth were hauled by wagon from Pierre and Ft. Pierre. After crossing the Cheyenne River at Leslie, just on top of Cherry Creek Hill, we were overtaken by a band of Indians, painted faces, wearing feathers and riding bareback horses. Chief White Swan, the leader, and his band circled our outfit. The Chief, with broken words and sign language, motioned for Dad to get down from his wagon. Chief White Swan made Dad understand that the Indians wanted to know what he was doing on their land or where he was going. He made the leader understand that he was not going to harm their land. Dad moved to the west side of the reservation, went into camp and waited for the question to be settled. It was not long until he was given the word to go back to work. There was no further trouble. Chief White Swan, known as "Puts on His Shoes" said, "I have always been a friend of the white men. · During the Custer Battle I was a government messenger and scout." He was a Montana brave and in later years told many stories of his experiences during the war. After the fencing was finished Dad went back to Ft. Pierre and I went to the J. A. Ranch to stay with my sister Sarah, and husband Frank Bliss. THE UTE UPRISING IN SOUTH DAKOTA from a paper written by David Laudenschlager The White River band of the Utes made two noteworthy efforts to register their contempt for the reservation life and the reduction of their lands. The second major act of defiance attempted by the Utes was played out (1906-1908) in an exodus of a large number of Utes to South Dakota. The Utes moved in typical plains Indian fashion, by horse and travois. Their procession strung out for miles on the Wyoming plains. They were in no great hurry, making no more than 15-20 miles each day. Captains Johnson and Pacton, with two troops of Tenth Cavalry from Fort Robinson, caught up with the Utes on 22 October, finding them camped .... about forty miles north of Gillette, Wyoming. They held council with Chief Appah's band the next morning. They found him with about 300 followers, 150 of them men fully armed. The Utes stated they had harmed no one and it appeared the only law they had broken was killing game. The Utes were taken to a site on the U. S. Military reservation about two miles south of Fort Meade. In January of 1907, [a] promise made to the Utes, concerning airing their grievances in Washington, was kept. A delegation of Utes visited our Nation's capitol. Captain Carter P. Johnson accompanied the group, as he was liked by the Utes. President Roosevelt granted the Utes an audience. Roosevelt stressed the point that they would have to do something to support themselves, but he was willing to show consideration and kindness. This conference with the President ended on the note that the Utes could negotiate an agreement with the Cheyenne River Sioux for a place to live in South Dakota. The importance of this meeting, however, was not the permission to negotiate with the Sioux, but Roosevelt's position that the Utes were to work. Finally, in March 1907, Johnson negotiated an agreement that would allow the Utes to remain in South Dakota. The plan provided for the leasing of four townships of land [in northern Ziebach County] from the Cheyenne River Sioux. The Utes would pay the Sioux four and one-half cents an acre for the land annually. The land was to be leased for five years, beginning on 1 July 1907. The cost was to be deducted from the Ute's annual annuity funds. All parties consented to this arrangement, so by 11 June 1907, the last of the Utes were en route from Fort Meade to the Thunder Butte Country. The Utes were actually relocated at the juncture of the Moreau River and Thunder Butte Creek. The Utes were unhappy at Thunder Butte, almost from the time of their arrival. The reason being that (Colonel Thomas) Downs, the agent in charge (of Cheyenne River Agency), insisted on their compliance with the wishes of President Roosevelt to work and to have their children attend school. He informed the Utes from the beginning of their stay on the Cheyenne River Reservation, that these requirements were to be met. The Utes, on the other hand, remained adamant in their refusal to meet these requirements. Though they did permit some of their children to attend the Day School at Thunder Butte Station, they feared sending them to a boarding school because they felt they might die there. They said they had seen too many children die in boarding schools in Utah. [photo – Remains of Army dugouts near Thunder Butte] [photo – Ute graves near Thunder Butte] The Utes claimed they had been promised full rations for each day of the year, that they would not be required to work, and that the school and storehouse erected at Thunder Butte would be on the land they leased. Downs' position was that they were to receive rations equivalent to nine months of a year and would be required to work to pay for the additional three months rations. Also, that the buildings erected at Thunder Butte Station were to be on the Sioux land and used jointly by the two tribes. Downs' continued insistence on all three conditions brought on showdown. He met in early October with a representative Ute Council, headed by a chief called Yellowstone. The Yellowstone commission was informed that unless they chose to obey the rules set down, their rations would be cut. Agent Downs, after conferring with his superiors in Washington, ordered the daily rations be cut in half. The crisis had reached the point of no return. The Indians were angered to the extent that they threatened to fight if forced to obey. Downs returned to the Cheyenne River Agency and wrote the Commissioner of Indian Affairs requesting that the Utes be disarmed at once and returned to Utah, as he feared their disobedience would spread to the Sioux. He also ordered a detail of fifteen policemen sent to the agency to maintain order. On 21 October 1907, the situation became critical. Red Cap, one of the Ute Chiefs and two other Utes went to Baker's house and asked why the policemen were at the Station. Baker told them that the policemen had come to build a barn. Red Cap rejected Baker's answer and said that "they had come to take their children to school, but if there were as many police as Utes, they could not take their children to school." On this same day, a Sioux Indian by the name of Iron Lightning, came to the Thunder Butte Day School where his daughter attended and asked permission to take her to another Station. He indicated that there was going to be trouble. Iron Lightning later met a rancher on the way to Bear Creek Station and told him that the police at Thunder Butte were preparing to drive the Utes back to Utah. Other ranchers, grazing their herds along the Moreau, saw Sioux families leaving the area. The ranchers interpreted this to mean that the Sioux had no desire to take part in the Ute Uprising. Agent Downs returned to Thunder Butte Station on the afternoon of 21 October 1907. He was informed of the situation by (Walter) Baker, Boss Farmer, and Mr. (Sidney) Corbin of the Day School. Mr. Corbin told him that his wife had been warned by Iron Lightning that the Utes were about to destroy the government buildings at the Station and that all whites at Thunder Butte were in great danger. That afternoon, Downs met with the Utes again; but they refused again to obey the demands laid before them. Somehow, Downs averted violence and managed to slip away from the Station on the 23rd and telephone this message from White Horse Station on the morning of the 24th: "Send at once all the armed men that can be had at and near the agency, and also telegraph Fort Meade for three troops of cavalry.'' The clerk Rastall was able to enlist the support of about fifty men in Forest City, South Dakota. The group was halted about four miles east of Thunder Butte Station, by a messenger sent by Downs. Downs ordered the group to return to the agency, fearing their appearance might trigger violence. The entrance to the station was a bend of the Moreau River. It appears that the Utes had taken up positions in this area. Meanwhile, the Army had been reviewing the agent's request for assistance. Troops were now being dispatched to Thunder Butte from Fort Meade, Fort Des Moines, and Fort Robinson. (Captain) Johnson was rushed from Nebraska by rail to Gettysburg, South Dakota. He traveled from there by horse, arriving at Thunder Butte on the 29th (of October). Johnson found that the situation had quieted down. The volunteer force had been withdrawn and only nine agency police were on duty. He counciled with the Utes, who were delighted to see him, and found their grievances to be the reduction in rations and the threat of being separated from their children. They also said they would obey all regulations prescribed. Downs was infuriated by Johnson's reception, and he refused to consider the Ute's promise to comply with his orders. He indicated that some sort of punishment should be given the Utes, as he feared the precedence set would cause problems for him among the Sioux. Troops were now arriving on the scene and the force grew to a strength of near one thousand. An additional company of infantry was stationed at Gettysburg. The troops were prepared for war. Some of the units were furnished with machine guns. All indications were that the Army was prepared for a winter campaign. Captain Johnson continued to argue in support of the Utes, but his words fell on deaf ears. The Ute's lease was now considered terminated and their only recourse in light of the odds was to agree to the conditions set before them by Agent Downs. Red Cap, his family, and about one hundred of the Utes were transferred to the Rapid City area in late November, where the men worked under the supervision of Charles Dagenet. Some of the Ute children attended the boarding school in Rapid City. The remainder of the Indian encampment at Thunder Butte spent the winter on the banks of the Moreau. They were sadly in need of tents, clothing and stoves. The stoves finally arrived on 30 January 1908. The rest never came. During the winter of 1907- 1908, food supplies also were short at times. The Army stayed that winter at Thunder Butte, but in reduced numbers. They were quartered in about a dozen dugouts on the perimeter of the Ute encampment. In the spring, the humbled Utes requested that they be allowed to return to their Utah Valley Reservation. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs concurred and in late June 1908, Captain Johnson, the Ute's old friend, ten troopers of the 10th Cavalry, and the Utes began the 1,100 mile return to their reservation in Utah. Their departure from Fort Meade in late June 1908 brought an end to the so-called Ute Uprising. The Ute's confrontation with the Army was the last of its kind for the plains Indian. [photo – Utes, taken July 4, 1908 (SDSHS)] UTE INDIANS The following three passages are from the South Dakota Oral History Center in Vermillion's American Indian Research Project of 1971: by Oscar White Weasel My father was a policeman then and he went down there to Fort Meade. That's where they meet them and they bring them down here and they have them at Cherry Creek and they divided up the Indians. Families tried to feed them. We had one lady with us. No wagons or nothing like that. They were all horseback and there were two poles dragging with stuff on. The babies they all carried on the back. They have some kind of jar made out of woven straw and gum on that to seal them holes and carry it on their saddles for drinking water. Above Cherry Creek there used to be that Day School, Carson Day School. They have a Fourth of July (1908) and there was an infantry there to guard the Utes. And, of course, there was no dance since that Wounded Knee trouble and that Custer. No sun dance. Nobody could have an Indian dance. Anyway, they put up that flag pole and them Indians put up the flag and (this army officer) told them they could go ahead and dance. So they started dancing then and ever since. Nowadays there's a dance anytime. But there was a pretty tough going then. The Utes dance too. Singing, they don't use drums. by Moses Circle Bear The Utes worked on the railroad and quite a lot of them worked at Rapid City Indian School. They got their rations from the Indian School. They lived around Rapid City, up into a canyon what they call a lake. Those people camped there. They said they liked their trees in the Utah forest. by Ruth Yellow Hawk Thunder Hoop We lived across the creek there and some of the Utes used to come to visit and tell us they didn't have anything to eat. They wanted clothing and so we used to give them food and whatever we had, and goods to make their dresses. The soldiers kept them at Thunder Butte. Then the soldiers took them back and so we followed them and we butchered cattle for them to fix for themselves and they had plenty of meat at that time. (After the Utes left, the Sioux people moved back to their camp at Thunder Butte Station.) THE TRADING POST OF LeBEAU by Rose Griffith Credit given True West magazine In 1875 a French trapper by the name of Antoine LeBeau, established a trading post on the east bank of the Missouri River near the mouth of Swan Creek, some 70 miles north, or upstream from Pierre, in Dakota territory. The flat lands east of the river were rapidly settled by homesteaders, so the town of LeBeau grew up around the trading post from which it took its name. By the early 1880's the town had accumulated some 60 buildings and boasted a population of about 250. But it wasn't until about 1907 that the town of LeBeau really came into its own. Intent on getting the shipping of the West River cattle herds that were going to the eastern markets, the Chicago Milwaukee and St. Paul extended its railroad westward from Bowdle to about 10 miles below the mouth of the Grand River on the Missouri River. Here the little town of Evarts came into being. The railroad acquired a right-of-way for trailing the livestock to this shipping point. It was about 6 miles wide and about 87 miles long, straight west of Evarts on the west side of the river. Both sides of the right-of- way were fenced and stock dams were built about a days drive apart so the livestock would have feed and water on the drive. Pole corrals were built on the west side of the river with a lane to a pontoon bridge to get the cattle to the railroad. There were also dipping vats for treatment of the southern cattle brought in. This made cheaper freight rates and the cattle were in good shape for the market. [photo – Main Street, looking north, LeBeau, South Dakota] [photo – Remains of old cattle ferry at LeBeau (S. Dakota Stockgrowers Assoc.)] So the town of Evarts became a rip roaring cow town, but this was destined not to last as the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad decided to run its rails through Selby and Glenham on to the mouth of the Grand River to a new little town of Duroc, later to be named Grandby and now known as Mobridge. So Evarts was abandoned and most of its businesses moved to Duroc. Now the cattle from the Standing Rock Reservation were closer to a shipping point, so the stockmen of that area ceased to use "The Strip" as the stock trail was called. While the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul was pushing westward to the banks of the Missouri at Duroc the Milwaukee and St. Louis were building to the banks of the Missouri at the mouth of Swan Creek to take over the cattle hauling from Cheyenne River Reservation. So again the town of LeBeau boomed. The cattle shipped up from the south in the spring were ferried across to the reservation. In the fall the river usually was low enough so the cattle could swim across when they were ready for market. The great herds of Murdo McKenzie and Cap Mossman flowed in and out of LeBeau the year around. Some of the businesses that left Evarts for Duroc came back and settled in LeBeau. Phil DuFran with his saloon was one of them. Most of the town was set up to cater to the cowboy. So with the endless flow of cattle and the money the cowboys were willing to spend to get the gumbo dust out of their throats etc., LeBeau became a thriving cowtown with little worry about the future. The fall of 1909 alone saw over 150,000 head of cattle loaded out of LeBeau for shipment to eastern markets. Everyone had plenty of money and everyone was spending it. LeBeau was destined to go down in history as the greatest shipping point of all time, until fate changed it's destiny in the fall of 1909. Murdo McKenzie's son David "Dode" as his friends called him, was manager of the Matador herds on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. Lacking his father's reserve he was inclined to get as loud and impetuous, when loaded with barroom whisky, as most of the cowboys after the fall roundup and shipping. Bud Stephens who had formerly worked for the Matadors in Texas, was the bartender for Phil DuFran. He and Dode McKenzie had had some trouble before coming to South Dakota. When Dode and some of the Matador cowboys rode into town on the morning of December 11, 1909, they stopped at a saloon to get the dust out of their throats and celebrate a little. Dode began to get a little boisterous but wasn't looking for trouble. To spice the monotony of a dull Saturday morning some town punks told Bud Stephens he had better have his gun ready as Dode McKenzie was coming in to get him. So Bud had his gun in easy reach when Dode came in the door just before noon. Bud grabbed his gun without warning and shot Dode twice in the chest. Dode slowly turned around and staggered out the door, falling by the steps. Bud followed him out and shot him in the back two more times. Dode died in the dust just beyond the steps of DuFran's saloon. Bud was put in jail in the county seal at Selby and was tried for murder in March of 1910. Most of the citizens of LeBeau strongly felt Stephens should be convicted. Murdo McKenzie hired a lawyer he thought to be the best, to prosecute Stephens. Phil DuFran hired a 23 year old attorney named Pat Morrison, from Mobridge to defend Bud Stephens. Though LeBeau was located on the east side of the Missouri it was a cowtown but Selby was the center of a farming community. Pat Morrison was careful to select a jury composed of homesteaders who didn't like the cattlemen anyway. Bud pleaded self defense, he said that he was tipped off that Dode was out to get him and he had feared for his life when Dode came in the saloon wearing a gun (which was standard wearing apparel of that time among the cowboys). The jury of homesteaders acquitted the bartender. Bud Stephens spent no time in leaving the country and Pat Morrison became known as one of the best criminal lawyers in the state. For the acquittal of Bud Stephens the Matador outfit boycotted the town of LeBeau. The town not only suffered from the boycott but the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad lost a good share of revenue so they abandoned the idea of bridging the river and going on west. In mid summer of 1910 a raging fire burned over half of the buildings on main street. When they tried to put out the fire they found that the fire hoses were cut in little bits. It was rumored that the Matadors set the fires but if they did they left no evidence. It was also rumored that the influence of Murdo McKenzie had a lot to do with the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul bridging the Missouri River at Mobridge and pushing a line southwestward to Faith in the heart of the cattle range. Soon LeBeau was abandoned as a shipping point and the Milwaukee and St. Louis railroad tore up it's track. As the town died, movable structures were sold or torn down to make way for homesteads. Only the brick or stone structures remained to mark the spot. The jingle of spurs and gumbo dust was gone forever. The waters of the Oahe reservoir have covered the town site now. It will have to be the oldest of the old timers who will be able to point out, there under water is the burial place of old LeBeau. Many of our first homesteaders stopped at LeBeau over night before coming on to their homesteads in Ziebach county. Chapter 2 THE HOMESTEADERS HOMESTEAD ACT May 29, 1908, an Act of Congress opened up a large part of the Cheyenne River Reservation. The Act, known as the Homestead Act, gave white settlers the opportunity to take possession of land in the opened portion of the reservation. The railroads purchased right of ways through the central part of the reservation. With the cattle and grain industry, many towns sprang up along the shipping points. Two counties, Dewey and Ziebach, became organized within the Cheyenne River Reservation boundaries. [photo - Chicago Northwestern poster] HOMESTEADERS by Alex Chasing Hawk All of this county used to be reservation. After the Allotment, white people came and settled here. They took all the land along the highway. The farm women used to make good bread. Great big leaves. And with the homemade butter, you could make a meal on just bread and butter. [photo – John Hinckel on his homestead north of Dupree. He was an employee of the railroad.] [photo – Homesteaders near Dupree (1910)] [photo – Inside a homestead shack] Things used to taste better. Coffee beans used to be bought in big tin cans, about a foot in diameter and two feet high. The beans were green and they would brown them in the oven. Then in the mornings, they would grind the beans and make coffee. You could smell it in the next room, but nowadays, you can boil the coffee and you won't even smell it. It used to taste good. When Faith just started there were some guys that had a saloon and they had a butcher shop too. There was no refrigeration then, so they built a room in the back and put blocks of ice along the walls. Then they hung the halves of beef in there and there was just cold air. When you wanted to buy some, they would bring out a beef and lay it on a big table and cut off what you wanted. That meat really tasted good, not like meat you buy in supermarkets, today. The following is reprinted from a brochure used to entice homesteaders to come to Ziebach County. The Heart of the Famous Fox Ridge The Last Best Homestead Country Land of Fertile Prairies, Pure Water and Untold Opportunities Location The Fox Ridge Country is a tract of rich agricultural land about thirty miles wide by sixty miles long, lying between and parallel to the Moreau River and Cheyenne River. It embraces the southern part of Ziebach County and the southwestern part of Dewey County and most of the southern half of what was the Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Western South Dakota. History In 1868, what is now the western half of South Dakota was included in the territory set apart by the Government for the sole use of the Sioux Tribe of Indians and was called the Great Sioux Reservation. From time to time thereafter the Indians ceded to the Government for purposes of settlement the less desirable parts of the Reserve, retaining always those tracts most favored by Nature. At length the once vast domain was reduced to a comparatively small district lying north of the Cheyenne River and west of the Missouri River in Western South Dakota. This the Sioux Tribe designated as their last best choice -- and who should be better able to judge than they? They well knew it was the richest in game, wood, water and pasturage and the most productive for their gardens and fields. Here in the Fox Ridge Country it was that the last herd of wild buffalo roamed at large. With the passing of the buffalo came the Texas steer and for a generation the Ridge was a vast pasture controlled by the great cattle companies, who leased the land from the Indians. But the region of such fertility was not to remain under the control of a few millionaires. Instead it was destined to furnish homes for thousands of men of moderate means, who were to come in and establish prosperous farms and villages upon its broad and smiling prairies. In 1908 a bill was passed in Congress which provided for the opening of the larger part of the Reserve and on May 1, 1910, the same was thrown open to settlement by the Government and the era of the "homesteader" was at hand. The settlers poured in during the following summer, locating on their new farms. By the end of the summer a branch line of the C.M.&P.S. Ry. was completed, traversing the Ridge throughout its entire length, and thus furnishing convenient shipping facilities for the new citizens. By winter the need of a local government was felt and the State Legislature, then in session, created the present County of Ziebach. At the special election the following April, the rapidly growing town of Dupree was selected as the County Seat. Topography The surface of the country is generally rolling throughout, intersected here and there by well timbered creeks which drain north to the Moreau or south to the Cheyenne. Elm Creek flows to the east through the center of the county and joins Bear Creek about ten miles from its mouth; this creek being the chief tributary to the Moreau River. Soil and Water The rich quality of the soil is what has made the Fox Ridge famous. It consists mostly of a fertile loam, ranging from chocolate to black and is classed by the Government experts as the Morton Loam. To quote from the United States Government Soil Survey report: "These Morton Loams are among the most productive soils in western South Dakota, their ease of cultivation, retentiveness of moisture and generally undulating surface, makes them very desirable and they have been much sought after by homesteaders .... the soil is underlain by a yellowish or brownish silty clay loam subsoil....Oats, wheat, barley and flax ....Corn....and many kinds of vegetables .... are well adapted to these soils". . The raising of alfalfa has also proven to be very profitable in this locality and it is believed will become King of the Fox Ridge. The surface of the Fox Ridge Country is entirely free from areas of stone or sand. The abundance of soft, sweet well water which may be secured in all parts of the Ridge at a moderate depth is one of the many virtues of the country. Rainfall The following extract is taken from the United States Government Soil Survey Report and is the most accurate and dependable information that can be given on the subject: "Most of the precipitation occurs during the growing season. Using the average of the records at all stations, the total amount from October to March, inclusive, is 4.22 inches or 0.70 inches per month, while in the six months from April to September, it is 14.05 inches or 2.34 inches per month, more than three times as much. This distribution is very favorable to agriculture, as it comes during the season when most needed.'' Prior to the opening of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, the Government caused an appraisement to be made of all lands which would become subject to homestead entry. These lands were divided into three classes, land in the first class being appraised at $6.00 per acre, land in the second class being appraised at $4.50 per acre, and lands in the third class at $2.50 per acre. These are the prices which the settlers are required to pay for the land. The terms for the payment of this money are, however, made very easy for the homesteader -- one-fifth of the appraised value being paid at the time of filing, and when the entryman desires to make proof on the five year plan, he pays the balance due in five equal annual payments. He may, however, make proof at the end of fourteen months continual residence by paying the balance due on the land when he offers commutation proof. All citizens of the United States or persons who have declared their intentions of becoming such, who are over 21 years of age, and not the proprietor of more than 160 acres at the time of filing, are eligible to file on a homestead. Homesteads Since the opening of the Reservation there has been a continual influx of home- seekers. They have chosen the land close to the railroads and towns, but there still remains hundreds of quarters of good land, accessible to the markets, back a few miles from the towns, which are subject to homestead entry. There are also a few relinquishments to homesteads, to be had, close to town by paying a reasonable sum to the original entryman. Schools The settlers were no sooner well established in their new homes on the Ridge than those in each community set about the organization of schools so that their children might continue their studies without interruption, and now there are practically no pupils of school age located at an inconvenient distance from a country school. Churches Within a few weeks after the opening of the country, several Sunday Schools were organized and from time to time different localities have arranged for regular church services. There are at the present time several established churches and permanent buildings will be erected during the next few months by several of them. Dupree A large percent of those holding low numbers in the Government drawing for the reservation lands chose their claims on the Fox Ridge and near the Government townsite of Dupree. The business and professional men who expected to locate in the new country were quick to note this; in fact, many anticipated that it would be so, and before the first filing was made, several buildings had been erected. When the summer was half over, Dupree had become a very flourishing village. Before it was a year old, it was selected by the voters as the County Seat of Ziebach County and is now by far the largest and most promising town of the county and of the Fox Ridge, having a future before it as bright as that of any city in Western South Dakota. Opportunities From four to ten miles there still remains open to settlement about 300 quarter sections, any of which would make a fine farm for any one who desires to locate in this country; but, of course, these will be taken up by the homeseekers who arrive early. Outside of the ten mile zone, the area of open land is quite extensive and this is where most of the settlers will locate who come during the coming season, for there is to be found much of the best land that is still available, and ten to fifteen miles in this country of fine roads, is not an unhandy distance from market. Several country towns are also starting up, which will prove very convenient trading points and post offices for those who live more than eight miles from the railroad. Homestead lands are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. In two or three years perhaps all land of any value will be gone. If you desire to secure a good farm at a very small expense, you should at once take advantage of the opening which awaits you in the Fox Ridge Country. Be convinced that here is the opportunity which you have long been seeking -- obtain a comfortable home and acquire independence. Write for any further information you may desire, or better still, make a visit immediately to the Fox Ridge and see for yourself that the country is everything we claim. DUPREE COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION DUPREE, SOUTH DAKOTA A 1911 LETTER Taken from the Platte Tribune, written by G. H. Gregory of Dupree. Dear Friend George, Things have now quieted down for the winter, the rush of filing is about over and the settlers now on the ground begin to know who their neighbors are or are to be. The railroad reached our town three weeks ago, and a mixed train is running daily and carrying the mail with promise of better trains and more of them in a short time. Dupree is a rapidly growing little city of about fifty business places already located and several more coming in as soon as they can get here. The town is well supplied with professional men also, several doctors and lawyers having erected substantial office buildings along the main streets. Since the railroad came in there has been a great many visitors, such as land seekers, business men, commercial men, etc. and it seems to be universally agreed that it will be the best town on the reservation and have a population of 2,000 or more within the year. Visions of the county seat are already seen ahead as it is near the central location and no other town in the county at present. Dupree started at the very first and had a steady growth long before there was any surety that the road would come through this year, and after considering the character of a group of business men who would take so great a risk to back their faith, it will be seen that the future of the town is in safe hands. The two banks now have suprisingly large deposits; there is a wide-awake newspaper, several general merchandise, grocery, hardware and drug stocks, lumber yards, livery stables, feed stores, pool halls, a blacksmith shop, etc. The town is located on the south bank of Elm Creek, is well wooded and a very pretty water course, which, in ordinary years is a flowing stream the year around. Elm Creek rises to the west and flows in an easterly direction until it joins Bear Creek about 10 miles east of Dupree and the waters of the two streams then flow north to the Moreau River. East, 11 or 12 miles, is the townsite of Lantry, and 9 miles farther, the new town of Eagle Butte. Nine miles west is the Arrowhead townsite and just outside the reservation line, a distance of 22 miles west of Dupree is the flourishing town of Faith. Lying between the south breaks of the Moreau and those on the north side of the Cheyenne is the comparatively narrow strip of country known as the Fox Ridge which already is one of the most famous segments in the western half of the state; especially noted for its rich and promising soil. The "Ridge" has an average width of 15 to 18 miles, practically all fine farm land, and the five to ten miles of breaks on either side are the best pasture for range stock and also contain much timber as well as dead wood, which latter has already proved of great value to the settlers this season. Most of the surface of the Ridge is gently rolling, due to its being intersected by numerous small draws leading to the breaks and creeks. Few of the slopes are too deep to plow well, however, and there are no lake beds or rock in this vicinity. Along the creeks and their larger branches will generally be found a lot of gumbo and "hardpan" with plenty of sagebrush, but back on the prairie, on the ridges or divides, is found a very rich, deep, black loam, slightly sandy in places and now covered with a very heavy growth of grass. They are experienced farmers now living on the Ridge, from nearly all of our great agricultural states, and all agree that everything under the sun can be grown in its soil that the climate will allow. Further than this, the nature of the country is especially adapted to grain farming and stock raising and it is this that the country will undoubtedly make its greatest development. Last summer it was very dry here in common with many other regions of the country. The weather during the autumn and up to January last was simply fine and California has nothing in that line to offer which would tempt a settler in this country. We had a cold snap New Years Day, but although the thermometer "hit the toboggan" there has been no snow on the ground at this time. There is some Indian land along the Ridge but as very few of the owners reside thereon this land may be obtained at a nominal leasing fee, for grazing or farming. Nearly all of the townships on the prairies have 3 or 4 sections of school land which may be leased for hay or pasture. Most of the good farm land has now been taken up. A few good claims still remain open and some of those who have already filed are willing to relinquish for reasonable sums. Nearly every quarter has a claim "shack" erection thereon and the majority of them are inhabited at the present time although many of the "Honyockers", as the homesteaders are called, have gone back to the old home on a leave of absence for the winter. But they will be here full force in the early spring, fencing the claims, breaking out the prairie sod and with a favorable season, hope to gather a bountiful crop of corn, flax, "spuds", etc. In two or three years at the longest the appearance of the country will be entirely changed and another rich and populous section will have been added to our rapidly growing state. Yours very truly, G. H. Gregory Eb Jones and the Homesteader Eb Jones had settled on Little Bear Creek a few miles east of Dupree, long before this county (Ziebach) was opened for settlement. So when the homesteaders came, he, along with his brother-in-law, Jim Herald, and Lou Davidson engaged in the Locating Business ... helping settlers find the best possible land in the best possible location. Many of these settlers made the Eb Jones ranch their headquarters while they looked the country over. An old German and his boy were driving a team hitched to a wagon ... not many cars in those days : .. scarcely any, when they drove into a prairie dog town. One of these dogs suddenly popped out of his hole giving a squeaking bark near the horses. They quickly ran away and spilled the old man and the boy out of the wagon. As the old man got up he was brushing himself off, he angrily exclaimed. "I don't like this tam country. It's all alcohol, it won't raise anything but alpaca and you have to irritate it to make it grow!" After securing their team they journeyed on 'till they came to the Eb Jones ranch, where they asked to stay all night. Eb said they could stay. Then as they unhitched the team the old man asked, "Vill it be all right the horses loose to turn? Is dis place fenced?" Eb said "It's fenced. Turn them loose if you want to." The next morning the Dutchman and his son had a hard time locating their horses among the trees along the creek. At last they found them about four miles up the creek grazing along a fence running east and west. When they got back to Eb's house, they were still angry and the old man broke loose with explosive profanity and said to Eb: "You said dis place vas fenced already." Eb said: "It is fenced already. I told you, you could turn your horses loose. I didn't know they would go away as far as they could get." The old man ended the conversation by saying disgustedly: "A tam barnyard ten miles long! '' One time Eb had an argument with a neighbor about some unbranded calves which Eb had lost and he thought the neighbor had been in some way connected with their mysterious disappearance. After a rather heated argument Eb ended it saying, "You steal my calves and I'11 steal your horses!" Later when Eb ran in the first election (1911) for county commissioner of the third district of the county (Ziebach) he had for his opponent, Eldon Clark, an attorney from Chicago, whose homestead was about seven miles east of Eb's ranch. During the campaign, shortly before election day, it was circulated among the voters that Eb Jones was a horse thief. If Jones took any horses he probably did so in self-defense, to hold his own, preserve the status quo and stay in the ranching business. However that may be, the homesteaders, who were from the East, did not thoroughly understand the manners and customs of the "Old Timers"; did not want a reputed horse thief for their first county commissioner, and so elected Eldon Clark by a substantial majority. Besides being an attorney, Clark was also a Mason and had been a Sunday School teacher. COUNTY DREW HOMESTEADERS Many homesteaders and others came to the Ziebach County area by emigrant car following the completion of the railroad, which was the basis of community development. The shift was to farming. Most put up tents or found accommodations with new neighbors until they could erect a shack or sod shanty. Many of the early cowhands or ranch foremen became ranchers or farmers with the coming of the homesteaders in 1909 and succeeding years. Mrs. George Till, who came to a homestead near Dupree at the age of 10, in 1911, recalls living in a tent while the family built a sod house. "We all worked at it," she said, "cutting chunks of sod about 15x20 inches and five or six inches thick. We would lay each one on a board that size, carry and place them individually. Each row would go clear around the house but they were interlocking at the corners. The roof was of boards covered with sod and we whitewashed the inside walls. We lived in that sod house for the next twenty years. It was cool in summer and warm in winter." Mrs. Till also said that "when the cattlemen called us honyockers, it would burn Dad up." ''I remember we had a lot of sand and wind," she continued, "and once when it blew our tent down, soot from the fire where we were baking bread got all over the bread. We had to eat it, soot and all." Other homesteaders recalled that longhorns were still roaming the area, many from the Diamond A which was giving up most of its leases, but did not completely close its main operations in the southeastern part of the county until about 1960, when the holdings of Leon Williams were bequeathed to Dartmouth College. Williams had purchased the operation from Cap Mossman in about 1947. Limited numbers of cattle had been given to native residents of the reservation but they served more us food than to build up herds so in 1901 preparations were made to lease all of the reservation to large cattle outfits. The following year the county was divided into eight large pastures. Those in what is now Ziebach County were occupied by the "73" in the northern section, "Sword and Dagger'' in the southwest, L/Y in the south central and the "Mississippi" in the south and east. The pastures were divided by substantial barbed wire fences and each outfit maintained several camps and a number of men to look after the thousands of head of cattle. The 73 Ranch, once owned by Scotty Philip, who secured buffalo from the Dupris family to start his herd, was later sold to Millin and Strooby. The Sword and Dagger, run under the name of White River Cattle Company, was sold in 1907 to the Diamond A, which was managed by Capt. Burton C. Mossman, along with the Turkey Track, until Diamond A took over its leases in 1909. Over the next few years, Diamond A was reported to have run about 40,000 cattle in the area. The L/Y was succeeded by the HO, owned by Gene Holcomb of Rapid City, in the south central part of the county in about 1905 when his herds fared better than many others during a severe May storm. Ed Lemmon, who owned the L7 brand, also was among early ranchers running cattle in the western part of the county. Other early ranchers included Eb Jones; Lew Bentley, freighter on the Black Hills Trail out of Pierre who later located along the Moreau and at one time operated a Trading Post at Thunder Butte; the sons of Louis LaPlante, a trader and government scout who was once in partnership with Philip; and Joseph Langlois, a Frenchman who had been a scout for Custer in Kansas. Among the earliest white settlers in the northern part of the county was the L. D. Bentley family which moved to a location along the Moreau River in 1900, trailing a herd of cattle from Ft. Pierre. The family later operated a post office named Lewis before establishing a store at Thunder Butte and moving the post office there. By 1915, it had been determined that the 160 acre homestead was inadequate and the government was induced to apply provisions of an Enlarged Homestead Act of February 1908, making it possible to file on claims of 320 acres. Homesteaders continued to come into the area until after World War I. With the declining cattle industry, sheep ranching began to contribute to the economy. Among the largest early ranches were those of M. J. Smiley in the northwest part of the county and the Three Cornered Outfit in the south, with Jack Burke as manager. The county was credited with 98 farms in 1910 and in 1925 there were 723. Total valuation increased from $476,215 in 1911 to $6,041,188 in 1921. The number of farms or ranches with more than 1,000 acres decreased from 128 in 1920 to 89 in 1925. There have been swings both ways since but in recent years the trend is to larger operations. There is a balance between livestock operations, bettered by the large number of stock dams constructed under various federal programs since the mid-30's, and farming, with strip and contour cultivation, summer fallowing, and other conservation practices playing an important part. However, trends follow the markets whether they be of livestock or of wheat. THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IN A NEW COUNTRY The following story, written by Alfred Went of Bath, South Dakota appearing in the December 15, 1914 issue of The Dakota Farmer, describes an evening spent in the home of Kate Davis and her son, Mark - mother and brother of Mrs. Leah Delehan. This would be typical of the warm hospitality always accorded to guests in the Davis and Delehan homes. These folks were Ziebach County residents. It was a dull grey day in the West River country and Herbert Hobbe, a homesteader friend I had been visiting on the Moreau River, was taking me back to the railroad town of Faith. The trail was heavy with mud and 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon caught us at the Moreau post office. “I'II not try to make town tonight," Herb told me. "I don't know the trail any too well and hardly care to be caught out on it after dark, but by going south we'll strike the Sederstrom roadhouse. I know this trail pretty well. Besides the mail has gone down today and we can follow his buggy tracks in the mud." We started, but night came down faster and blacker than we expected. The clouds were hanging low and before long we lost sight of Fox Ridge, our only land mark. We kept close watch of the buggy track and it finally seemed to lead us to the right fork in the trail, and this led us onto the open prairie and left us stranded against a barbwire fence. Prospects were good for camping out all night. We drifted along the fence for perhaps a mile and struck a cross fence. I kicked the wire off several posts and held them down while Herb drove the team across. Within a few rods we made a joyful discovery -- a trail with a fresh buggy track. But our troubles were not yet over. The depressing gloom made everything uncertain and robbed us of all sense of direction. The miles dragged out and we seemed to be getting nowhere. Suddenly a deserted claim shanty thrust itself out of the darkness but Herb could not place it. But at last we caught the glimmer of a light across the hills. Better still, our trail led us directly to it and here we learned that the road house was only a few miles ahead on a trail we could easily follow. The clouds were lifting and the ghostly light of a rising moon was breaking through. The horses moved off more freely and we were soon at the roadhouse. "Let's go on to Ellis' -- I want to see him anyway," Herb said. A short distance beyond the roadhouse we saw another light. "Why, that's Davis," Herb exclaimed. "I supposed they had gone to the Delehan ranch. We'll go there. You'll like them. I am mighty glad we found them at home." So was I when we stretched our stiff legs by a cheerful fire, caught the odor of a good supper in the making and felt the hospitality of this home. Only a few minutes before I had heard the name of Mark Davis and his mother, Rate Davis for the first time - - now we were old friends. I have never entered a home where welcome was more sincere. Naturally I got into the kitchen and had a visit with Mrs. Davis while she was preparing our supper. The kitchen is a place for friendliness -- formality is left behind in the sitting room. I have since heard Mrs. Davis called "The Good Angel of Spring Creek", but I did not need to be told this after coming to know her in her home. Some years ago she came from Indiana to this new western land with her son, Mark, and daughter Leah. They came prepared to stay and make a home. The railroad was not yet in and they had to hire their goods moved from Mobridge. It was 125 miles overland. They were twelve days on the way with five big freighter wagons besides a light wagon of their own. Their claims were on a creek bottom slashed across the open uninhabited prairie and here they built their pioneer home. There was hardships, of course, but also happiness and interesting experiences and better health. Sorrow fell to their lot -- graves must be dug on the frontier as well as back east. But they were not discouraged in doing their share and more, I think -- toward helping build up the country. "It was a new life for me and in some respects a hard one," Mrs. Davis said, as we all gathered for a visit after supper. "But we had come prepared with supplies to last us a long time, so we had plenty to eat and wear, with something left over to help others with. There were those who needed help. It's just wicked the way many people were brought in here to take claims. A number of them did not have the slightest idea of what they were facing. It was nothing uncommon for them to be practically without money but happy in the idea that Uncle Sam had given them a piece of land they could sell for a big price as soon as they proved up. They saw some pretty pinching times. That was bad enough, but it made my heart ache to note the spiritual poverty no church in this neighborhood, no Sunday School and few of the restraints that every community should have. "When Christmastide was near, a homesickness came over me as I thought of the Christmas service in our beautiful church back home in Indianapolis. How I wished the people here might be given something of that church and that influence. I just could not let Christmas go by unheeded. I sent back to Indiana for holly and mistletoe, and pink and white carnations. They came by way of Lemmon, and had to be brought from there overland. As luck, or providence, would have it, they came through in perfect condition. Mark went twenty miles to the river and got two Christmas trees. We decorated our little home and made it as Christmasy as we could. We had Christmas dinner with flowers at each plate, and Indiana fruit from my cans down cellar, and roast chicken -- we couldn't get a turkey -- and candy that Mark made. He used to work in a candy house, and I think his candy is finer than you can buy. "Who did we have? Why, every girl I could find who was away from home -- and the boys, too. We got track of fifteen, and they all came. I told them that Santa Claus had a long way to travel in reaching here and his stock had perhaps run a little low but his spirit was the same. It was Christmas. The girls and boys stayed all day and into the night -- I wanted them to and they seemed to want to. What a happy Christmas it was for me. They needed Christmas -- and I had a chance to help them have it.'' The fire burned low. It was long past bedtime. We reluctantly said "good night". And in my dreams I first wandered lost through chilling darkness over a raw new country, and at last found my way to the warmth and light and comfort in the home of a brave pioneer woman whose hospitality is as of pure gold, whose life is a rich gift to the homesteaders of Spring Creek. CLOVERLEAF CORNERS BOOMS 1910 [photo – Church gathering at Cloverleaf, 1912] Cloverleaf District No. 8 claims 36 children of school age within a four mile radius and is planning a new school. Not far from this area is Fred Beguhl's claim. He has 120 acres broken, just think of it, 120 acres? This is planted to flax and corn, also a little wheat and speltz. Mr. and Mrs. Herman Reich with their two children, Edna and John, reside on a claim eight miles from Dupree. They have 35 acres planted to corn and flax. Herman Eulberg, 7 miles from the Cloverleaf, a bachelor, who does not like to be cooped up in small quarters. His cottage is 18 x 18 and 10 feet high. His quarter is fenced and he has a big sod barn. Some of Dupree's attractive young ladies will do well to keep their eyes on Herman. A. G. Davis has five children, two boys, Herbert and George, and three girls, Hazel, Hattie and Pervey, with him on his claim. He has nearly 80 acres broken and his quarter is fenced. Chapter 3 ZIEBACH COUNTY EVOLVES ORGANIZATION OF ZIEBACH COUNTY AND ITS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT by Montel Creamer from a 1936 manuscript The reservation was settled in 1910, and the next problem was to organize the county. Out of the three unorganized counties in this area, Schnasse, Armstrong, and Dewey, it was proposed that two counties be made -- one to include all land south of the Moreau River, thus forming Ziebach County and one to include all the area north of the Moreau River, thus forming what was to be Dewey County. Following a petition by Timber Lake boosters, Dewey County was organized as it was then bounded. What was left of Schnasse County was not large enough to comply with the law for creating a new county, so the petitioners asked that a part of Armstrong County be included in the plan for Ziebach County. This new area was to be bounded on the west by the one hundred second meridian, on the north by Corson County, on the east by Dewey and Armstrong Counties, and on the south by the Cheyenne River. This new county was to include some fifty five townships and about 1,964 square miles. This organization left a strip of land, about as wide as one tier of townships, between Dewey and Schnasse counties and from the forty-fifth parallel north to Corson County. This area was also included in the petition to the State Legislature asking for the creation of Ziebach County. The county commissioners held their first meeting to perfect the organization of Ziebach County in the law office of Walter E. Wolf. They adopted a motion to divide the county into three commissioners districts to be represented respectively by Warren H. Peck, Harvey M. Spellman, and Eldon W. Clark. Attorney L. W. Henderson, Doctor R. Heslop Payne, and the County Judge were appointed to the County Insanity Board. Doctor F. H. Creamer was appointed County Physician. The next step was to divide the county into three school districts to correspond to the commissioner districts. [map – County outline of South Dakota, taken from a 1909 atlas] At the meeting of the commissioners on May 23, 1911, Government Reserve Block Number 38 in Dupree was chosen as the location for the new county buildings. The original courthouse and jail buildings served Ziebach County until 1931, with the exception of a few years when part of the officials had offices in the Stewart Building. In 1931, the county built a new $55,000 building, measuring eighty-five by sixty feet. The building was three stories high and was built entirely of tile and reinforced concrete. Twenty-year bonds were issued for the amount of $55,000. The total cost of the building and equipment was approximately $65,000. On May 29, 1911, the county commissioners held a meeting which resulted in the division of Ziebach County into ten road districts. On September 5 of the same year, the first tax levies were made -- a two mill tax for county salaries, a five mill tax for bridges, and a twenty mill tax for school purposes. In addition to the assessed valuation of the county, 9,168 cattle belonging to the Diamond A Cattle Company were added to the assessor's book at a total valuation of $137,520. In August, 1912, a petition was presented to the county commissioners asking for the division of the county into two counties. This action resulted from the dissatisfaction concerning the location of the county seat. The commissioners turned the petition down, because it did not provide for a new name for the new county and because it included new and organized territory over which the board had no authority. H. E. Keller and Frank A. Haagen had built branch stores in Dupree early in 1910, but the majority of the people did not migrate there until late summer and early fall. Among the professional men who moved to Dupree from LeBeau were Doctor F. H. Creamer, Attorneys T. R. Nelson and L. W. Henderson, and H. R. Van Campen, a druggist. The railroad did not reach Dupree until December of 1910. The people were, therefore, at first obliged to freight their lumber from LeBeau, about eighty-five miles east, and later from Isabel, thirty-five miles to the north. The early "squatters" lived in tents and improvised shelters of every description. It was not until the winter and the spring of 1911 that enough lumber was available to carry out the building program of the new village. A petition was circulated in June, 1911, asking the county commissioners to grant papers of incorporation for Dupree. The census in 191i showed 181 residents, comprising 40 families and a total of 82 voters. The county commissioners called upon the people to vote on the proposition on July 18, 1911. This election resulted in favor of incorporation by a vote of 41 to 10, and the town was so incorporated on July 25, 1911, under the name of Dupree. In August, 1911, the town of Dupree was granted the privilege of using the county jail for the detention of persons committed by the municipal court. For fire protection, the Dupree Commercial Club organized a volunteer fire department with F. M. Bailey as the first fire chief and bought a building from Mr. Hellinger to house the fire fighting apparatus. Dupree was well supplied with professional and businessmen by 1910 and 1911. The town had five doctors, five attorneys, one dentist, two druggists, two banks, three hotels, seven lumber yards, four general stores, and a large number of restaurants, hardware stores, and other places of business. Redelm, the other organized town, never grew to any great size. It was located on a townsite belonging to the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad. This town twice contested the location of the county seat but was defeated both times. In addition to the two organized towns, there are several organized communities in the county. Glad Valley community had a general store, a post office, a church, and a school in 1936. Chase community had a post office, and Pleasant Valley community had a church and a school. There are also two historically important Indian substations, Cherry Creek and Thunder Butte, located in Ziebach County. Cherry Creek, in fact, is the oldest historical site in Ziebach County. Once settled and organized, Ziebach County began to take on the appearance of a thriving community, building up its lines of communication and developing its industries and natural resources. Frank M. Ziebach, for whom Ziebach County was named was born near Lewisburg, Pennsylvania in 1830. He was active in territorial and state affairs. He was a member of the territorial legislature and in 1886 was made receiver of the land office. He was widely known throughout the state as "Governor", the title having attached itself to him when he was a member of the territorial legislature and frequently presided over the session of the so- called Third House, which was in fact a caucus of territorial leaders. He passed away at the age of 99 years, on September 20, 1929. [photo – Frank M. Ziebach] ONCE A PAPER COUNTY, ZIEBACH IS REAL NOW by Lyn Gladstone A county that existed only on paper, a town that had to be moved out of sticky gumbo and had its name misspelled, and another town founded just because it was believed far enough away. All are found in the history of Ziebach County, named for Frank M. Ziebach who established the first newspaper in South Dakota at Yankton and later served in the territorial legislature and as commissioner of the U. S. Land Office. It was created by the Dakota Territorial legislature in 1877, consisting of what is now Pennington east of the Cheyenne River. However, it was never organized as such and existed only on paper until 1897 when Pennington was extended to its present boundaries. In 1875 what became the present Ziebach County (designated by the 1911 state legislature) was part of Cheyenne which extended north and south of the Cheyenne River. In 1883, it was included in Schnasse which extended to North Dakota, Pyatte to the south, Sterling and Rush (later Dewey). Part also was included in Armstrong in 1889. Drought and severe winters contributed to the decline of big cattle operations in the area, but the big impetus came from congressional action, May 29, 1908, and an August, 1909 Presidential proclamation opening unallotted lands to white settlement. This also resulted in "diminishment" of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation under homestead laws. Applications for homesteads were to be filed on or after October 4, 1909, but actual entry was not to occur until April 1, 1910. Homesteaders and squatters, who wanted to be on hand as new towns were formed, began moving into the area -- at first from LeBeau, a booming cattle town on the east bank of the Missouri in southwestern Walworth County; later from Evarts, farther north; then from near Mobridge when the railroad was extended to that point, and later from Isabel when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific completed a line to that terminus. As the railroads built up a southern branch from Trail City to Faith, other small towns sprung up. The first such, in what was to become Ziebach County, was Dupree. The route of the railroad had been surveyed and staked so the town began with a few tents and rough lumber camps in late 1909, two miles east of where it eventually was located. On the gumbo flats of the LaPlante ranch along a branch of Bear Creek, where Frank A. Haagen is credited with erecting the first building for a hardware store, H. E. Keller put up a shack for another store, and G. M. McGarraugh and Michael Dunn, the first bank. Unlike the misspelling of the name, Dupris -- accepted by the U. S. Post Office Department but never corrected -- the location of the town was changed. The railroad agreed that gumbo was too wet and sticky so the town was moved twice -- in June 1910 to a site just west of where the railroad announced the new site would be and again following the lot sale in late August in Aberdeen, to its present site, also south of Bear Creek. First mail into the community came from Cherry Creek, later from Thunder Butte when an Indian agency sub-station was established and still later from Isabel. J. D. Stewart became the first postmaster on August 16, 1910. In May of that year he had joined Pete Hoven in establishing the first newspaper, the Dupree Leader. The first school, with Alice Henderson as teacher, was started in 1911, along with a number of churches. As the railroad pushed westward, a construction crew camped near the head of Bear Creek thought it was far enough from Dupree to establish another town. In the fall of 1910 the camp was named Red Elm for the many trees along the creek. Lots were sold the next spring. The same thing happened at Arrowhead before the rail line pushed into Faith. By the time of an April 4, 1911 special election to name a temporary county seat, all of the railroad towns as well as Cherry Creek, Thunder Butte, Chase -- which was established about 12 miles south of Dupree -- and Red Scaffold were in the running. The election resulted in Dupree being named temporary county seat by a nearly unanimous vote. Of 352 total ballots cast, 247 were in the Dupree precinct, while the least, 27, were in Cherry Creek. It was ironic that in the next special election, July 18, on incorporation of the town, only 51 votes were cast, 41 "aye". Philip Schweick was given the contract for building county facilities and they were completed in July. Dupree was named the permanent county seat in the November 5, 1912 general election, winning over Redelm by a vote of 443-352. Ziebach County Officials Following is a list of the officials, office, party and date elected or appointed: Auditor: George E. Richardson, R 1911; Wilbur H. Scott, R 1914; F. W. Ortmayer, R 1916; Frank Fuller, R 1918; S. J. Jefferies, Jr., R 1920; Wilbur H. Scott appointed in 1921; John J. Pollard, D 1922; W. H. Scott, R 1932; W. J. Knipfer, R 1934; M. E. Reynolds, R 1938; Joe Daczewitz, D 1940; Lloyd Dunbar, D 1944; Viola Johnson, D 1948; Frederick Menzel, R 1950; Glynn Hurst, D 1954; Ralph Pesicka, R 1958; Maurice Lemke, D 1970; Lucille Fairbanks, R 1974 to present. Treasurer: Wilbur H. Scott, R 1911; Frank Fuller, R 1914; George Lebo, R 1916; G. E. Pladsen, R 1920; O. S. Nygaard, R 1924; W. H. Scott, R. 1928; William Spies, R 1934; Wiliam Searson, R 1936; Lloyd Dunbar, D 1940; Joe Daczewitz, D 1944; Russell C. Birkeland, R 1946; he resigned and Joe Daczewitz was appointed. He, too, resigned, and Arthur Jones, D was appointed in 1947; Lillian Birkeland, R 1952; Arthur Jones, D 1956; Glynn Hurst, D 1960; Lester Starr, R 1974, resigned and Glynn Hurst, D was appointed in 1976; Virginia Hertel, D 1978 to present time. Register of Deeds: William R. Van, R 1911; Harold Leake, D 1916; William R. Van, R 1918; J. J. Walters, R 1920; Gladys Hommedal, R 1924; Gertie Rinehart, D 1928; Alice Vance, R 1930; M. E. Reynolds, R 1934; Lorna Vance, D 1938; Laura Lafferty, R 1942; Harriet Walters, R 1946; Zetah Davis, D 1954; Esther Hemen, R 1958; Lila Lafferty, R 1978 to present. Clerk of Courts Walter Brittan 1911; R. S. Schmanski, R 1912; Hugh Walkup, R 1914; Edgar Olson, I 1922; Alice Vance, R 1934; Zelma Zimmerman, D 1940; Lucille Fairbanks, R 1972; Ann Coleman, D 1974. Sheriff: H. Hayes Milton, R 1911; Louis Speaker, D 1914; H. Hayes Milton, R 1918, E.L. Shaffer, I 1922; August Bakeberg, R 1924; James Howard, R 1928; Henry Burgee, D 1932; Henry Meier, R 1936; Walter Weaver, D 1940; Otis Shannon, R 1944; Henry Burgee, D 1946; John Biegler, R 1950; Paul Taylor, D 1954 to present time. States Attorney: Walter E. Woolf, 1911; Frank Gladstone, R 1912; L. W. Henderson, R 1916; Thomas R. Nelson, 1920; Frank Gladstone, I 1922; Walter Menzel, R 1924; Frank Gladstone, R 1928; Walter Menzel, R 1932; N. E. Wanous, D 1936; Bert McCoy, Jr., R 1940; N. E. Wanous, D 1944; Donald J. Coleman, D 1950; N. E. Wanous, D 1954; Donald J. Coleman, D 1956; Raymond H. Kintz, R 1968; Donald J. Coleman, D 1970 to present. County Commissioners: District 1: Warren Peck, 1911; Albert Hagan, R 1912; A. G. Davis, R 1916; J. M. Pidcock, 11922; F. E. Bierman, R 1934; William Birkenholtz, R 1938; Henry Nelson, D 1946; Elmer J. Brammer, R 1948; Fred Beer, R 1954; Maurice Hickenbotham, D 1970; Ronald Bierman, R 1973. District 2: Harvey Spilman, R 1911; Louis Bacher, 1913; Otto Minkner, D 1914; John Leber, I 1924; George Knipfer, R 1928; Oscar Lund, R 1932; Ben Henderson, D 1936; Carl Samuelson, D 1948; Bob Samuelson was appointed in 1960 to finish his fathers term; Eugene Steen, D 1960; Gene Rohrer, D 1971; Orville Graslie, R 1976. District 3: Eldon Clark, 1911; George Lebo, R 1912; J. B. Linstad, I 1922; Fred J. Hunter, R 1930; W. C. Miller, Sr., D 1934; Delbert Miller, D 1954; Wayne Holmes, R 1958; Joe Zorc, Jr., R 1966; Earl Bringman, D 1970; Clinton Farlee, D 1975. District 4: Weslie Walenta, 1920 and C. W. Young, 1922. District 5: E. J. Zugschwerdt, I 1920; John Barren, D 1926; and J. M. Bowling, 1930. Coroner: Frank Haagen, 1911; Charles A. Denman, R 1922; Matt Stephenson, R 1924; O. S. Geesey, R 1926; Andrew Lee, R 1928; Matt Stephenson, R 1930; Jacob Maca, D 1940; Jim Hersey, D 1945; Dr. Wendell White, 1950; Dr. Bernard Batt, 1950; Dr. Julius Ehik, 1952; Art Hurst, 1957; Bernard Hickenbotham, 1962; Ronald K. Stout, 1965; Harvey Herrman, 1977; Lloyd Edwards, 1980; Carroll Gerberding, 1981; and Mike Burgee, 1981. Assessor: John H. Lux, 1911; Edward Casebolt, D 1912; Charles Millins, 1914; Ralph Heberer, D 1916; F. W. Ortmayer, R 1920; H. J. Clifton, R. 1924; James D. Davis, R 1930; John M. Budahl, D 1932; Ed Ritter, R 1935; Arthur L. Johnson, R 1940; V. W. Jeffries, D 1944; O. J. Gage, R 1946; Charles Bennett, I 1948; Ralph Pesicka, R 1971; Jerry Marx, D 1974; Renee Herrman, D 1978; Delbert Miller, D1980. Highway Superintendent: Wyatt L. Sharp, 1911; W. T. Searson, 1920; Fred Campbell, 1923; V. F. Matter, 1926; Frank Davis, 1934 and George Till, 1937. This office was discontinued and in 1972 the commissioners hired Arnold Davis. The present highway superintendent is George Lafferty. The Extension Service was organized in 1925 with the following County Agents serving in this county: Charles Graves 1925 to 1928; B. J. Jack, 1928 to 1930; Floyd Collins, 1930 to 1932; Ralph Hanson, 1934 to 1936; Ivan Fluharty, 1936 to 1940; Conrad Simonson, 1940 to 1944; Donald Becker, 1950 to 1951; Joe Revere, Jr., 1953 to 1955; John Powell, 1956 to 1961; Donald Hostjbar, 1956 to 1961, Arnold Rieckman, 1961 to 1966; Walter Koers, 1967 to 1968; Neil Vollmer, 1968 to 1973; Ron Schrempp, 1974 to 1978; Carroll Gerberding, 1978 to 1981; Calvin Chapman, 1981. Home Agents: Maureen Patterson, 1951 to 1953; Wenonah Hutchens, 1956 to 1959; Ida Marie Norton, 1972 to 1979, Otha Joens, 1979 to 1980; Mollie Backlund, 1980 to present. Maurice Lemke served as an assistant agent during the summers of 1965, 1966 and 1967. EARLY VITAL STATISTICS RECORDS ZIEBACH COUNTY First Birth Recorded -- Robert Mathieson, reported by E. F. Chandler. Birth date: March 12, 1911, Eagle Butte. Parents: Robert B. Mathieson and Julia Narcell, Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Earliest Birth Date Recorded -- Savoy Dupree Louis LaPlante was born August 13, 1910 at Dupree. This record was filed August 20, 1912. Parents: Ovila LaPlante and Margaret Langlois Reported by F. H. Creamer. Possibly the First White Child Born in Dupree after the county was organized was Georgia-Belle Van Campen, born April 6, 1911. Parents: H. A. Van Campen and Lola Block. Reported by F. H. Creamer. First Deaths Recorded -- Infant Miross, May 17, 1911, premature birth. Lester Katt, Faith, Meade County, 9 years, June 27, 1911, Cholera Infantum. Zella Pidcock, Dupree, 8 years old, April 1, 1911, Nephritis. Lillian Belle Jennerson, Dupree, 20 years, August 9, 1911, Typhoid Fever. Mrs. Holly Henderson, Dupree, February 12, 1911. First Burial Recorded in Dupree Cemetery -- Orestes Ernst in 1913. Marriages -- First recorded was Benjamin Franklin Judy of Newell, Butte County, to Amelia May Pinnecker of Dupree, Ziebach County. Marriage performed by George D. Robinson, a Congregational Minister, on May 10, 1911. Third Marriage -- Enoch Schetnan of Dupree and Cora Margaret Reed of Dupree. Marriage performed by R. M. Kennedy, Justice of the Peace, on June 19, 1911. George Lebo was a witness for the Schetnans. First Divorce -- was granted on January 31, 1913 to Mable McCauley and Herbert Lee McCauley and to Oscar Nast and Alberta Nast in October, 1912. Severre Nordvold brought the first issued cattle to the Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Severre Nordvold, Mike Dunn and Gib McGarraugh started the first bank in Dupree, South Dakota. ARMSTRONG COUNTY Armstrong County, the smallest county of all of the 3070 counties in the nation, was for a time part of Ziebach County, and it deserves mention here since Nordvolds, Holloways, Pearmans and some of Armstrong County's other 52 inhabitants were associated in some ways with Ziebach. Armstrong was an unorganized county after Ziebach and Dewey counties were organized in 1911. There were 8 families consisting of 52 people in the entire county which covered 525 square miles. Most of the county's residents lived down along the sheltered bottoms of the Cheyenne and Missouri Rivers, which was a cattleman's dream since timber and grass were abundant. Armstrong County contained from 336,000 to 339,000 acres and of this number 224,000 acres were a part of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Most of the land was leased to big cattle companies such as the Diamond A and they had camps spread throughout the area. The Nordvolds had land allotments in both Armstrong and Ziebach Counties. They actually lived in Armstrong County. Syd branded SY on left rib cattle and left hip horses. Most of their visitors were cowboys who rode horseback through Syd's place on their way from one camp to another. They would pasture their horses and stay overnight. The only time Nordvolds visited with neighbors was when they went to town, since to get to a "neighbor's" a person had to drive many miles around by roadway to get anywhere. Horseback was the easiest mode of transportation for anyone living there. Living in Armstrong County posed problems for educating the children, and consequently the Nordvold children attended schools in many different places: Cheyenne Agency, Eagle Butte, rural schools in Ziebach County and Stanley County, to name some. Armstrong was attached to Stanley County for a time for administrative purposes with Fort Pierre as the county seat. In the early fifties, a newspaper article appeared which brought to light that some Armstrong County residents had "taxation without representation'' because they were permitted to vote only for state and national candidates, but not for Stanley County officials who directed their governmental affairs. Ethan Alexander's ranch home was designated as the polling place, but there were never enough voters present to assemble an election board! Ethan was the county assessor for many years. At the beginning of World War II, Armstrong County was used as a gunnery target range for the pilots of fighters and bombers from Rapid City Air Force Base to practice on. Large board markers were constructed to designate the boundaries and painted a bright orange. Whenever a corral rail needed replacing, the bright orange boards came in quite handy for quick repair, and as a person traveled through the surrounding area, they could spot orange boards on corrals and sheds at cattle camps and ranches. The U.S. Government finally sold what was left of the markers. Airplanes flew over frequently and for several years afterward, a person could pick up empty shell cases and clips while riding over the prairie. In 1952, Dewey County voters turned down the annexation of Armstrong County. As the Oahe Dam project was completed, which flooded all the good river bottom land and displaced Armstrong residents, it was thought that Armstrong County would become abandoned. Barren gumbo hill land which lay beyond the river bottoms was thought to be useless, and certainly it was an unappreciated relocation for cattlemen who received monetary appropriations for inundated land and a steel shed to replace the natural shelter the river bottoms provided. Finally, Dewey County did annex Armstrong and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Rehabilitation Program set up many cattle operators in this area. At the time of annexation, Armstrong County was divided into five large range units which were controlled by three cattle operators. The Tribal Rehabilitation Program put from 20 to 25 small Indian cattle operators in the area formerly grazed by thousands of head of cattle. Dams and roads were constructed where once nothing but cattle and horses flourished on the prairie. Today there are many homesites in what was Armstrong County. Chapter 4 A LOOK AT THE LAND GEOGRAPHY AND VEGETATION The political unit of Ziebach County was created by the State Legislature in 1911 and was organized out of the territory of Schnasse, Armstrong, and Sterling counties. Ziebach County falls entirely within the Great Plains area which is characterized by level or slightly rolling land. The eastward slope of the land has been roughened by erosion, and what buttes that are to be found have persisted because of a resisting capping rock. The two most important buttes in Ziebach County are Thunder Butte and Rattlesnake Butte. The drainage of the county is quite adequate. Very little water remains standing on the land. It is drained in the north by the Moreau or Owl River and in the south by the Cheyenne River. These two large water systems are joined by smaller tributaries, the most important of which are: Cherry, Bear, Irish, Flintrock, Pretty, Red Scaffold, Rattlesnake, Cottonwood, and Red Coat Creeks. The gradients of the stream are considerable -- the average being a fall of from eight to ten feet per mile. The run-off, therefore, is very rapid in contrast with the streams of the eastern part of the state and often causes great property damage, especially during spring floods. The direction of the longer axes of the wind excavated water holes is northwest and southeast, from which directions come the most frequent and the strongest winds. Artificial dams have been constructed in recent years to provide an adequate water supply for stockmen. Northwest winds are prevalent during the winter months and southeast winds during the warmer half of the year. Hot winds are common during the summer and often result in great damage to both crops and animals. The source of moisture for this region is the Gulf of Mexico. The moisture bearing winds are drawn to South Dakota by the low pressure which accompanies the passage of the cyclonic storms. Because these winds move in a spiral direction and the moisture is precipitated and re-evaporated several times before reaching this area, the amount of moisture is low. The average moisture for Ziebach County is under fourteen inches a year. The temperature range for this locality is about one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit annually, and a daily range of fifty degrees is not uncommon. Along most of the streams are found western cottonwoods and several kinds of willows. Dogwood, horsetail, various sedges, rushes, and other plants are found on the moist banks of the streams. There are to be found several varieties of grasses, including members of the Composite family, such as the golden aster, nigger head, and prairie sages; members of the Legume family, such as wild alfalfa, prairie clover, and buffalo bean; Monocotyledons, such as the wild onion and prairie lily; and types of the Ciocotyledon family. There are also several kinds of primroses, roses, and other related plants. Among the birds to be found are the desert horned lark, western vesper sparrow, Brewer blackbird, burrowing owl, and the prairie sharptailed grouse. The wild animals include deer, antelope, coyote, pocket gopher, jack rabbit, skunk, prairie dog, and certain mice and moles which are numerous and very destructive. Rattlesnakes of the type characteristic of the Great Plains region are numerous and very dangerous. Certain invertebrates, such as grasshoppers, locusts and various kinds of bugs cause hundreds of dollars worth of property damage yearly. The varieties of fish found are bullheads, catfish, carp, black bass, and buffalo fish. COAL MINING The mining interests of Ziebach County have, for the most part, been undeveloped; but large amounts of lignite coal lay exposed near Glad Valley and at other locations within the county. A survey made under the direction of the State Geologist indicated that Ziebach County lay well within the boundaries of the coal area found west of the Missouri River and north of the Cheyenne River. This region is approximately 163 miles from west to east and over 92 miles from north to south. Its total area is over 13,436 square miles, of which 7,630 square miles are underlain by coalbearing formations. The counties that are included in this area are Harding, Perkins, Dewey, Meade, and Ziebach. The Isabel Coal Company owned by the Pogany family, no longer exists, but was once vitally important to Ziebach County and surrounding area. Almost 50 years after their arrival in South Dakota five have established permanent homes here. Bill and Sybil Pogany still own their land in Ziebach County, the coal mines still furnish an unlimited supply of water; there is still coal to be mined; the future of energy holds the answer to our well being as a nation and coal will play an important part as a vital source of energy in the years ahead. The Unterseher ranch north of Thunder Butte Station had a coal mine for residents in that area, and Tidball (Rosander) mined in sec. 12, twp. 16. [photo – Stripping coal at Pogany mine near Isabel] OIL The geological formation of Ziebach County shows that oil may be present in the county. As early as 1913, oil seepage was noticed on some well water on the Puller farm near Isabel, and the claim was made that all the characteristics of an oil country were present. The prospect of oil, while by no means forgotten, did not attract special attention until 1921 when new interest was aroused. At that time, Olaf Helgerson, a geologist, while surveying a portion of Ziebach County, gave the opinion that oil lay under the Dakota sandstone and that it could be reached at a depth of between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. In March, 1921, an oil dome was discovered by the Western Realty and Developing Company at Cherry Creek, about two miles east of the county line. George O. King and V. D. Tidball leased a field northeast of Thunder Butte on Irish Creek. Some oil seepage was discovered in section eleven, township fifteen,, range eighteen on Thunder Butte Creek at Thunder Butte. By this time, the citizens of the county felt that Ziebach would someday be the center of an oil field. Interest has by no means entirely died down, even at the present time; but most people now feel that it will be the future generations who benefit from this natural resource. The Flintrock anticline, which is in the southwestern part of township fourteen, and the Redelm anticline in township thirteen, as well as the anticline structure on Knife Creek in township fourteen all show oil possibilities. William L. Russell, in his survey of this area under the auspices of the South Dakota Geological and Natural History Survey, thought that these faulted anticlines had a fair amount of closure and that other conditions for the accumulation of oil were present. The nearness of the anticlines to water and the railroad would also have been of considerable importance in developing this oil possibility. The geological survey conducted by Roy F. Wilson and Freeman Ward in townships fifteen and sixteen indicated oil possibilities and showed that the drilling depth was not excessive. The report concluded, however, that the South Dakota oil fields are entirely unproved and that deep underground conditions are extremely uncertain. Some oil drilling has been done, even as late as the mid-1970's. A well was started several years ago at Irish or Worthless Creek in northern Ziebach County and at Lemmon and other locations in western South Dakota, but all of them were abandoned before a true test could be made. Rumors were circulated at times that oil had actually been discovered but that the wells had been sealed by the oil companies until the older oil fields ceased to be productive. GAS Some natural gas has been discovered in Ziebach County and was used, in 1936, for illuminating purposes at both Cherry Creek and Red Scaffold. In 1936 Montel Creamer wrote: Aside from the coal, oil and gas fields located in Ziebach County, an interesting geological discovery was made when the bones. thought to be those of a mastodon, were unearthed on the Chase farm near Isabel. The mastodon bones were given to a representative of the Smithsonian Institute; and although this is the only discovery of its kind that has ever been made in the county, it may be that Ziebach County holds much of interest and importance in the field of geological history. DINOSAUR BONES FOUND IN ZIEBACH COUNTY translated by Elsie Schuelke (Taken from the Faith Independent, September 16, 1981) (Editor's note: Thanks to Elsie Schuelke for translating the German poster and article from the Siber-Siber Museum in Switzerland. Elsie spent many hours translating the lengthy article and we appreciated her cooperation. The poster was sent to Ruth Mason from the Switzerland museum where they have a dinosaur which was removed from the Mason ranch) Faith is a small town on the flat endless prairie in the northwestern corner of South Dakota. Since the beginning of the last century, the Mason family has lived there on a ranch. Today 82 year old Ruth Mason lives alone and is very efficient. She crawled as a child on the light brown breaks and banks of the Moreau River. Even then she found scraps of bones and other pieces of fossils. During her lifetime, Ruth Mason tried to interest different people in dinosaur bones that she found, but no one took her findings seriously. Then in the spring of 1979 a young man appeared who asked permission to look and possibly dig. In friendliness, the elderly lady asked the hobbyists into her home, and served them tea and cookies. The conversation naturally turned to dinosaur bones. The man's ears pricked up since before this time, he had already inquired about diggings in South Dakota, feeling that such bones, according to information and studies, should be found in South Dakota. The young people were hoping they could find such a whole dinosaur that they could dig and set up. They inspected the place and decided it should be a diggings. So they made a contract with Ruth Mason, the owner of the land, and permission was granted for ten years. [photo – Mr. Brooks and Ruth Mason before Dinosaur shipped to Switzerland] [photo – Dinosaur bone. Photo by John Hipps] [photo – Digging for bones on Moreau River. Photo by John Hipps] The Camp Life in 1979-80 - Nine men and one woman arrived for the first digging in the fall of 1979. Friends and relatives of Ruth Mason gathered to watch as after a week's digging, we uncovered and removed the first bones. We discovered there was much more involved than we had anticipated, and we wanted to make sure that our findings would be in good shape to put together, and enough bones so that our find would represent a dinosaur. That is we hoped to find the bones like head, ribs, leg bones and others fairly close together and not broken up. That meant much more careful and a longer time digging. Instead of three weeks as we planned for the digging, it would take another two or three weeks to complete. We discovered in the last days of digging, enough bones also of the first of the Triceratops, so we were able to show this in our 1980 display. We had 285 bones dug of the Anatosaur. During the time that we lived the tent life, we saw and learned wonderful things about this land. The most fantastic prairie land sunsets, and we were astonished when we saw the northern lights that lasted until daylight. We learned how hot the sun could get and also how the wind could blow so we were hardly able to dig because of the dust in our eyes. The rattlesnakes startled us with rattling and appearance, which came about quite often. Also, we saw in the heavens at times, the jets that fly over and that surprised us, too. It reminded us that we were in the 20th Century. In the fall of 1980, there were two more diggings. Our aim was to correlate the 1,500 bones we had found on our two months' work, with a working crew from five to eight people. We found more and more bones as we kept digging. Farther out from our original diggings, we found many smaller bones, belonging with the head crown. This was about 100 meters from our first digging, and also some ankle, rib and shoulder fragments. This made the original skeleton more complete. We also found fragments of turtles, crocodiles, a tooth from an Ankylosauris and a dozen of Gargosauris teeth. Underneath these teeth we also found quite a few other skeleton bones. The sacrum, a large impressive looking bone, was found in one of the broken off breaks of the Moreau River a few days before we had to abandon the diggings because of the cold winds coming around the breaks, which ended our second diggings. The Cause of Death -- results of our findings: One can guess and think that because these bones were so close together and also because they showed no deterioration from their transport, that these different species of dinosaurs died together through an unusual happening, which brought this herd together -- probably a tragic hurricane or typhoon or a sickness. A second happening brought these skeletons together with wood or trees so they were buried with morass and silt. This mass kill and death of the kinds and types of dinosaurs does not seem to be at the time of the Kreide-time. From strategic studies, we consider that the end of Kreide-time happened after a maximum thousands of years apart from this happening at the Moreau River site. The Anatosaurius were found in North America at the end of the Kreide-time. They belonged to a special group of dinosaurs. Because of their wide flat duck-billed mouth, they were also called Hadrosaurius. From the skeleton studies these are related to the Omithischer. The hind legs were large and strong, as was the tail, which was further strengthened with muscle build-up throughout. The tail also helped the movements in the water, as the feet and hand-like front paws helped when necessary to swim in water. The end bones of the feet and hands were like hoofs on a horse, so they could also crawl where they could not walk or swim. So they were able to move about on land or in water. After an analysis of the stomach of one of the saurier-mummies which was in very good condition, we learned that their one source of food was spruce trees or other needle type trees. We found spruce, etc. needles in this stomach. Their teeth were able to chew and masticate sequoia needles and branches, also other hard branched, or stemmed plants. We found in the mouth, the Anatosaurius had more teeth than any other animal had, in fact, one thousand teeth. These were in rows of three, both upper and lower jaws, with about 50 teeth tightly pressed against each other along the jaws. It showed that new teeth were almost ready to grow when the present set was gone, about or at least one or two underneath each tooth in the jaw at present. That was the reason they had such a great amount of teeth. Our mummified saurier is set up to look as he did naturally when he roamed this earth many years ago. Thelma Frame and Shirley Menzel called on Mrs. Ruth Mason one afternoon and she was happy to share her experiences with them. She told of the diggings being done on her land. The Moreau River bank and the breaks, where the digging was done, is just inside the Ziebach County line. Mrs. Mason's home is in Perkins County. The Black Hills Institute of Geological Research from Hill City, South Dakota were the ones who reconstructed the dinosaur and prepared it for shipping to Switzerland, where it is now in the Siber-Siber Museum. WILDLIFE Along with the picture of the coyotes, Art Bockman wrote "I thought there should be something about our (Irving and I) coyote hunting in your book. Most fun I ever had. We got 1,946 of them. Did the sheepman a lot of good. Some cattlemen didn't care, others downright forbid it. Too many forced landings to count. Had one tire shot off plus three propellers. Sonny Olson and Vic LaPlante were my main gunners." Bob Saul took the first pictures for post cards. Art grew up on a ranch northeast of Faith in Ziebach County. He presently lives in Lake Park, Iowa. He is still using the same airplane which he used to hunt coyotes in the late 1940's. [photo – Champion Coyote Hunters Bockman Brothers] [photo – Good deer hunting in Ziebach County] WILD LIFE OF ZIEBACH COUNTY The general trend of our wildlife in Ziebach County is of native game, with the exception of pheasant and partridge. Our deer population is of two varieties, Mule deer and Whitetail. The Mule deer was the first to repopulate the county. A very few of these animals were being seen in the early 1940's. By 1952 there were enough deer in Ziebach County to warrant a limited hunting season on bucks only. With the shifting of the two varieties of deer and the overlap of the deer range we had to have a season of any deer in 1954. The Whitetail deer were taking over the brushy draws and creek beds. The Mule deer were being forced into the rough country along the Cheyenne and Moreau Rivers. The Mule deer population on the prairies of our great state dates back as far as we have any records. The Mule deer was one of the strangest animals noted by Audubon and his companions on their memorable journey up the Missouri River in 1843. He says of his first sight of it, "On winding along the banks, bordering a long and wide prairie, intermingled with willow and other small brushwood, we suddenly came in sight of four Mule deer, which after standing a moment on the bank and looking at us, trotted leisurely away, without being much alarmed". A person has not really enjoyed the wonders of nature until they have seen and heard the Grouse and Prairie Chicken on their drumming grounds during the mating season. When the early settlers first came to Ziebach County the drumming grounds of these game birds covered many acres. On quiet clear mornings a person could hear the birds drumming for many miles. On these drumming grounds the grass would be completely worn off. We can't forget the smallest of our game animals. I'm sure that all of the old timers will agree that the Cottontail rabbit has been about the most sport of our small game. This little gamester has put many a platter of golden fried meat on the table. To a good many of the homesteaders this little animal was the difference between just having biscuits and gravy or having cottontail, biscuits and gravy for dinner. This little gamester is still with us, still as sporty as ever, and so far as meat is concerned, I can't see any difference between it now and what it was many years ago. They are just plain good eating. Our fur bearing animals of this county are much the same as they were when the farm boy used to run his traplines from his home to school. Often that was several miles. The skunk, jackrabbit, mink, coon, coyote, beaver, and weasel put many dimes in his jeans and a 22 rifle in his hand. Drought and hard times of the 30's were the cause of some of the best fishing in this area. Before that time the fishing was mostly for Catfish in the Cheyenne and Moreau Rivers, plus a few Bullhead in the favorite waterhole in the pasture. [photo – R. K. Stout and bass caught in his dam] [photo – Fishing – JoAnn, Clinton, and David Thomas] The WPA program in this area resulted in the building of some large dams in the county. The Department of Game, Fish and Parks then planted them with more desirable fish. The dams near Dupree were Bednar Dam just north of town and Miller's Dam south of town. Miller's Dam is still a good fishing dam. Bednar Dam started to go dry in 1954. By 1955 it was necessary to rescue as many fish as possible. All the Walleye Pike were put in Lantry Dam, the bass were used to plant in some large stock dams in the area. Perch and Crappies were planted in several kids' ponds throughout the state. Some of the other dams near Dupree are Lantry Dam which was built by the Milwaukee Railroad for engine water, Cowan Dam on Rock Cowan's land north of Lantry and Rattlesnake Dam which was built by the Indian Department. These dams have furnished the people of the Dupree area with many hours of pleasure while pursuing the sport of fishing. There are many other dams which have not been listed here, that have also been good for family fishing trips. Pheasants were planted in Ziebach County in either 1929 or 1930. Ten crates of pheasants were shipped to Dupree. August Bakeberg was in charge of distributing them around the county. Hank Burgee received two crates and planted them on the farm he had north of Dupree. There were two crates planted along Bear Creek west of Dupree and the balance of the birds were planted throughout the county. The pheasants had a hard struggle getting started, but favorable conditions in the late 1930's caused their population to boom. By the middle 1940's the birds were at their peak. The hard winters of 1948 to 1952 brought the population of pheasants to a very low level. At the present time there are very few pheasants left near Dupree. Very little is known of the Hungarian Partridge origin in Ziebach County, but these sporty little game birds cause the heart of a hunter to jump to his throat when a covey flushes under his feet. The Hun is considered one of the sportiest birds in the county. Landmarks CHERRY CREEK Cherry Creek rises in the eastern part of Butte County and flows a distance of 152 miles through Meade County to join the Cheyenne River at the community of Cherry Creek in Ziebach County. The name was given it by the Sioux Indians because of the large number of chokecherry trees that grow along its banks. The Sioux pounded and mixed the fruit of the trees with dried meat and tallow to make "wasna" -- one of their prized delicacies. In its upper courses it is know as Sulpher Creek. It is also known as Horse Creek or Dead Horse Creek. [map showing creeks in Ziebach Co.] FIRESTEEL CREEK Firesteel Creek, 31 miles in length, rises in the northern part of Ziebach County and flows north into Corson County to join the Grand River. It was so named because of the flint rock along the creek which was used to make fire by striking the rocks together. RED COAT CREEK Red Coat Creek (Dakota -- Oglesasa or Ogleluta) has two versions of how it got its name. The first is that an Indian by the name of Red Coat lived along the stream. The other version is that after the Battle of Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull's band fled to Canada where one of the girls of the tribe married a Northwest Mounted Policeman. The man returned with her to the United States and they camped along this creek. His red uniform gave the creek its name. TURTLE BUTTE Turtle Butte, in Ziebach County (Dakota Keyapaha) was named because of large number of turtles found imbedded in the hill. Turtle Butte Creek is a tributary to Cherry Creek just east of Red Scaffold in the western part of Ziebach County. It got its name from nearby Turtle Butte. [photo – Cedar Hill, north of Dupree, a hiding place for horses, east of the later Ed Dupris homestead] [photo – Eagle Rock landmark. About 8 ½ miles northeast of Dupree] ASH CREEK Ash Creek, stretching a distance of 20 miles, rises just east of Rattle Snake Butte and flows south to join Cherry Creek. It got its name from the large number of Ash trees that formerly grew along its course. Droughts of recent years have nearly diminished them. RED SCAFFOLD CREEK Red Scaffold Creek (Dakota-Cowahosha meaning burial above ground), rises almost on the west line of Ziebach County. One legend tells that an Indian corpse, wrapped in a red blanket, was found on a scaffold near the creek. The other legend tells two Indian girls killed each other fighting over a man and they were buried together on a red painted scaffold. RUDY CREEK Rudy Creek tributary to the Cheyenne River in the southern part of Ziebach County was named for a Frenchman who became wealthy through raising cattle and who lived at the mouth of this creek for many years. SAND CREEK Sand Creek rising on the eastern edge of Ziebach County flows a distance of 5 miles and empties into the Moreau River. It was given its name by Dr. Frank E. Creamer, because of the sandy character of its stream bed. SNAKE CREEK Snake Creek (Dakota -- Sentehgla -- meaning rattlesnake) was so named by the Indians because of the large number of rattlesnakes in the area. Rising in the western part of Ziebach County and flowing south to join Cherry Creek, it bears a name which is a translation of the Sioux name for the creek. It is known locally as Rattlesnake Creek. STINKING BEAR CREEK Stinking Bear Creek was named for the Sioux Indian man who lived at the mouth of the creek. This creek extends 20 miles and is a tributary of the Cheyenne River in the western part of Ziebach County. It is also known as Cottonwood Creek because of the cottonwood trees growing on this creek. [photo – Bessie’s Butte south of Redelm (fox on left) 1982] HUMP FLAT Hump Flat in Ziebach County and Hump Creek in Haakon County were named for Chief Hump who camped near the springs at the head of the creek. Hump, a Chief of the Minneconjous, was a leader of one of the Indian bands under Red Cloud's chieftainship. He fought Custer at the Little Big Horn and later that year voluntarily settled on Cherry Creek on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. He never accepted the white man's customs or Christianity. During the Ghost Dance Movement (Messiahor), Hump's band participated wholeheartedly and troops were sent to guard them. Fearing for his life and for his people, Hump led his band into the Badlands. He later surrendered peacefully and served as a scout for the U. S. Army and was instrumental in bringing about surrender of many of Sitting Bull's fugitives. CHEYENNE RIVER Cheyenne River (Dakota -- Wakpawaste) was named for the Cheyenne Indians who at one stage of their migration west made their home on the river's banks. The Dakota name for the river was "Wakpawaste", meaning Good River, because it was easily forded at any point along the stream. The Belle Fourche River known as the "Beautiful River" also "Wakpawaste" is the north fork of the Cheyenne River. MOREAU OR OWL RIVER The Moreau or Owl River was said to have received its name from a Sioux hunter. A Sioux warrior went alone to hunt; he came upon a river just before dark and decided to camp there for the night. As he was cooking his meal, the sound of an owl hooting came toward his camp. He recognized it as that which was not made by an owl and he became very cautious. He readied his weapon, hid away from his campfire and questioned what could be making the sound. It was a Crow Indian, an enemy of the Sioux. The Sioux stepped out from where he was hiding to encounter the Crow, and as the Crow was taken by surprise he dropped his weapon and began to talk with the Sioux. The Crow said, "You have surprised me, so in a gesture of defeat you take my clothing back to your people and I will go back to mine." From then on this river was known by the Sioux as Owl River. The Dakota name for this river is "Wakpahinhan''. It flows midway across Ziebach County, cutting it, winding its way almost due east, nearly east and west, flowing into the Missouri south of Mobridge about 15 or 20 miles. THUNDER BUTTE Thunder Butte (Wakanganhotan -- meaning place of holy thunder) is located in the north central part of Ziebach County. The Indians believe that during a storm the sound of thunder seems to come from the butte. The thunder was the Great Spirit's voice and was sometimes even heard on a clear day. When this happened the Indians knew an important event would occur. Some still profess to believe. Native American young men used to travel many, many miles to climb the butte for Spiritual Vision, (Wakan Tanka). [photo – Thunder Butte] RATTLESNAKE BUTTE Rattlesnake Butte (Dakota -- Paha Sintehgla) was so named by the Indians because of the many rattlesnakes on the butte. [photo – Rattlesnake Butte south of Redelm] [photo – Mud Butte south of Redelm] MUD BUTTE Mud Butte (Dakota -- Makotapa) meaning gumbo soil. The gumbo becomes extremely sticky when wet. Another version of how it got its name is that Mud Butte was named by surveyors in 1902. FOX RIDGE by Mable Ross Many years ago, before the Algonquin Indians were removed by the government from the eastern part of what is now Montana and placed in Oklahoma, the Indians from both East and West hunted on the ridge located between the Moreau (White Owl) and the Cheyenne (Prairie Dog) Rivers. There was a group or brotherhood, of young Algonquins, who called themselves, and were known as "The Foxes." These Indians came from Montana to dispute with the Sioux over the hunting grounds between the two rivers. This band, The Foxes, was entirely surrounded by the Sioux Tribe on this ridge and every Algonquin brave was killed. Ever after that the ridge was known in the Sioux language as "Fox Ridge''. The Sioux told the story to their children and the children told it to their children and so it became a tradition. The white men took the name from the Sioux and so the central part of Ziebach County is known as "Fox Ridge" even to this very day. BEAR CREEK Bear Creek, found in Ziebach County. reaches a distance of 40 miles. It was called "Mahotey or Mahtokte," meaning "bear was killed," and was named after a young warrior who killed a bear single-handed near the creek. It rises in the eastern part of the county and flows northeast into Dewey County to join the Moreau River. It bears a name of disputed origin: (1) It was named because an Indian was killed along the creek by a bear. (2) Named because numerous bears were along the creek in early times. The upper end of this creek is sometimes known as Little Bear Creek or Big Bear Creek. It is also called Red Elm Creek, which is a tributary to Bear Creek from the west in central Ziebach County. It appears on most maps as Red Elm Creek but is locally known as Bear Creek. MUZACAGA DRAW Muzacaga Draw (Dakota -- Mazakaga) was so named because of a blacksmith who lived in that area. Muzacaga Draw is on the Moreau River about 15 miles west and north of Dupree. (There was a family by the name of Blacksmith lived there by the river. When I was a child we lived due south of there about 5 miles. We used to go there fishing, swimming and picnicing. Their son was Tommy Blacksmith. -- Ruth Edwards) EAGLE CHASING BOTTOM Eagle Chasing Bottom is located in Ziebach County and was named for an Indian man, Joseph Eagle Chasing, who worked as a scout for the U. S. Army and who lived in this bottom after he settled on the reservation. [photo – The banks of the Moreau River in western Ziebach County near Dinosaur dig] Chapter 5 IMPROVEMENTS TRANSPORTATION AND UTILITIES COMMUNICATION The Rural Telephone System brought many changes in the life style of farmers and ranchers, but its orderly operation cannot compare to the wonder of the 2-way radio. In the mid 60's, the cost of CB (Citizen Band) radios came within everyone's reach and rural communities were quick to adopt them. They were, of course, practical. Whole communities were connected to each other as well as the outside world. If a ranch home was within 1/2 mile of the telephone line to Cherry Creek, they were permitted to tap into it. Two or three families qualified. They shared the line with the Cherry Creek, Bridger and Red Scaffold communities, so it was a game of chance to get a call through. These homes became clearing houses for messages to and from their neighbors with CB's, and with the outside world. Ranch women were no longer isolated. They could exchange recipes, report on the progress of their gardens and swap storm reports while a blizzard raged. Jan Wall visited with her parents in Blue Earth, Minnesota. They would telephone to Bud Herren's home and Violet would hold the phone to the CB speaker for Jan. The "skips" brought voices from faraway places, especially the deep south and California. It was entertaining to hear southern farmers discussing their cotton crops. California "skips" were usually much clearer and many illegal conversations with them were held. (FCC regulations prohibit this activity). Bud Herren heard the report of the shooting of President John F. Kennedy at Dallas via "skip" on his pickup CB radio. He turned to the AM radio for confirmation, which came a half-hour later. CB's are now useful tools to farmers and ranchers who have units in their pickups and tractors -- but the romance is gone. The county now has a modern efficient telephone system in operation. Gone are the party lines and variable service. The new equipment and buried cable provide dependable telephone service. The convenience of direct dialing is greatly appreciated. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe got a loan from REA to provide this service. One stipulation of REA lending is "area coverage". No matter how remote a ranch home may be, they are assured of telephone service. This is the only Indian tribe in the nation which owns and operates -their own telephone system. A few private lines have been built and paid for by the people who used them but are no longer in use. Most of Ziebach County is served by Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Telephone. The western portion is served by Golden West Telephone. Montel Creamer wrote this of communication in 1936: "Ways and means of communication in Ziebach County, such as good roads and telegraph lines, have until recently been very meager. As early as 1911, F. E. Sexton was granted a franchise in Ziebach County for the construction of a telephone line. Although some work was done on it, the line was never completed. Two government lines were constructed, one from Dupree to Cherry Creek and another to the Thunder Butte Indian substation. Some private lines were also built, but it was not until November, 1927, that a complete telephone system joined the county with the rest of the world. This system was built by the Northwestern Bell Telephone Company." THE CHEYENNE RIVER BRIDGE AND HIGHWAY 63 by Rose Griffith In the early fall of 1921 they started working on the Cheyenne River bridge south of Eagle Butte, on what is now Highway 63. The steel beams were shipped to Lantry by railroad, then were hauled by team and wagon about 25 miles south to the bridge site. They would go by my grandparent's place just about the time we children were on our way to school in the morning. We lived three miles south of Lantry. We would stop and watch them until they got out of sight. They had some teams of little donkeys, we thought they were so small to be pulling such heavy loads. They cut a deep trail down to the river as there were a lot of loads that went down. [photo – Getting the Cheyenne River bridge underway] [photo – Starting the Cheyenne River bridge in 1921] [photo – Three spans left of the old bridge as it was being dismantled, 1981] [photo – The new bridge across the Cheyenne River. Part of the old bridge showing] Roy Foltz was one of the contractors for the freight hauling and Frank McDaniel was construction foreman. They used his equipment. They hired a lot of local men as work was scarce. They worked all winter even though they had a lot of snow and it was very cold. Frank McDaniel said one weekend he and Roy Foltz wanted to go home. The snow was so deep and it was so cold they couldn't get anywhere with any outfits so they walked. They started in the morning and didn't get to Lantry until about 2 o'clock that night. It was about 25 miles. They finished the bridge in the summer of 1922. It was used all these years until this last fall when they finished the new one and disposed of the old one. They didn't start on Highway 63 until about 1924. My Uncle Bob Massee worked on the road and Aunt Margaret cooked for the crew, in the summer of 1925. I stayed with them for about a month and a half that summer to take care of their daughter, Ruby, who was about a year old, and help with housework. Sofus Brams was the contractor. He had quite a few horses the hired men drove. Bill Crowley was the foreman. As with the bridge work they hired a lot of local men. Those I remember were: James Gray, Delbert Longbrake, Lee Sever, and a couple of Ross boys from Red Elm. The one I remember most was Delbert Longbrake as he was so good to everyone. One morning I was setting the table for breakfast when he came in. He said "You're the only one working here that isn't on the payroll. We'll have to do something about that". So he cleaned up a Carnation milk can and cut a slot in the top of it and set it in the middle of the table. He told the men as they came in that they had to put some change in it every meal before they could start eating. They were all real good about it. When I went home I had about five dollars in cash. I really thought I'd struck gold. And of course, I thought Delbert was super. It helped Grandma buy me a new coat that winter. Delbert was real good at handling horses, too. He had so much patience with them. Ruby and I would sit on the porch in the morning and watch the men hitch their horses. Delbert drove the big blade which had to have about eight horses to pull it. He would hitch up the lead team and they would take off down the road while he hitched the rest. He never got excited, he would finish with the rest, then pick the lead team up on his way to where they were working on the road. It was a slow process putting in roads with horses in those days but I think they did get to the bridge that fall. The road is still the same as it was then only they straightened out a few of the curves across Dupree Creek and blacktopped it. ROADS Montel Creamer wrote "Prior to 1936, roads in Ziebach County were nothing more than trails. They served their purpose well enough; but with the coming of the automobile in increasing numbers, the settlement of the county by farmers, and the building of fences, it became necessary to build roads which follow the section lines. While many of the old trails are still in use, the new country roads have replaced them for the most part in Ziebach County. As early as 1912, an organization known as the South Dakota Northwestern Development League sponsored a road from Redfield to Belle Fourche by way of the Cheyenne Agency, Eagle Butte, Dupree, and Faith. This road was completed in due time. Ziebach County was by 1936, also connected by a good gravel road with Mobridge by way of Isabel, by a gravel road with Sturgis by way of Faith, and by a gravel road with Pierre." There are presently over 600 miles of established roads in Ziebach County, besides the many trails that are used by farmers and ranchers on their own property. Three major and one Indian Department highways make up about 150 miles of hard surfaced roads. U.S. 212 and State Highways 63 and 65 serve the County. The Tribal road starts at Cherry Creek, joining Highway 63 on the east about 25 miles south of Eagle Butte. There are about 175 miles of graveled, 100 miles of ungraveled and 75 miles of roads maintained by the Indian Department. [photo – Track-laying crew entering Dupree, December 16, 1910] [photo – Laying steel through Dupree, December 16, 1910] [photo – Olive Johnson, Ruby Lafferty, Mildred Johnson down by the train] [photo – First train into Dupree. End of the line. December 16, 1910] The railroad was not completed into Dupree until December 16, 1910 and that day saw the first train. The first train reached Eagle Butte on October 27 of that year. Up to that time all supplies were freighted overland by teams, from LeBeau, Isabel and Eagle Butte. The railroad proved to be a boon to the area as all supplies and mail usually arrived around the expected time. However, this wasn't always the case during winter, if there happened to be a snow storm. Many times crews of shovelers had to be sent out, when the snow plows couldn't make it through the drifts on the tracks. The depot also proved to be a good place to visit with the neighbors you rarely saw. [photo – 1911 – Waiting for the train to arrive in Dupree] [photo – First depot, Dupree, South Dakota] [photo – Milwaukee Railroad Depot at Dupree in 1910] [photo – Water Tower located by Lantry Dam. Where the train got its water to operate the engine. Taken down about 1954] [photo – Dupree Railroad Bridge] [photo - Milwaukee Train headed west from Dupree about 1970] The railroad presented the people a way to travel from Dupree to the neighboring communities for a day of shopping or visiting as the train had passenger cars as well as box cars and coal cars. Many ranchers used the railroad to ship their cattle to bigger markets in Sioux City and Chicago. In the fall it was a common sight to see grain cars lined up beside the elevators to take the grain to market. There was even a time when water was hauled into Dupree, via the railroad, for a short period. During World War II, when gas and tires were rationed, even salesmen traveled to the area by train. Following the war, more cars were being purchased by farmers, ranchers and townsfolk. Many country people also purchased trucks to do their own hauling. This, of course, had an impact on the use of the railroad. Declining business soon cut the number of runs to the West River area, and the passenger cars were eliminated. Finally railroad officials decided to eliminate services to this area altogether. In 1979, removal of ties and rails on the Mobridge to Faith run was started and all were removed by 1980. Memories are thoughts of the past, which includes the railroad. Isn't it sad to think many of our young people will never experience that coveted train ride, unless they leave home.? REA Many improvements to make life easier have come to Ziebach County in its seventy- two year history. The hard surface and gravel roads, rural telephone and rural water would hardly have been dreamed of by the early homesteaders. The greatest achievement of all, however, would surely be the coming of the R.E.A. A stable supply of electrical energy to every farm and ranch, no matter how remote, has added so much to the quality of life in the rural area. From the December 24, 1953, issue of the West River Progress comes this story: "The hum of the engines at the Dupree Light Plant are no longer heard as the plant was shut down for good last Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 o'clock. And with the shutting down of the light plant a new era starts for Dupree. It will also include a large territory from LaPlant to the east and the west line of Ziebach County. It will extend as far south as Cherry Creek. "Besides Dupree getting REA juice, men are now at work on the Cherry Creek line and as soon as that work is finished other lines will be worked on. As it is, only part of our farm and ranch population will have REA electric juice by Christmas. "The contractor and his crew finished their work at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon of last week so it is only the hook-up at each farm or ranch that remains to be done." The area north of the Moreau River had REA at least a year before the southern half of the county. There was an article in the West River Progress August 10, 1939, about the light plant at Dupree: "Mr. Hall, retiring manager, has been with the light plant almost since its inception when it consisted of a small unit of 3 farm engines but which at that time was hailed as sufficient power for years to come. Of course, too small and a 25 HP Diesel engine installed but that too was outgrown and in 1930, a 75 HP Fairbanks-Morse engine put in. But in order to be sure of constant power, another diesel engine of 50 HP was installed last year and AC motors were also installed, making the plant one of the best small town plants in the state. "The new manager Bob Peterson, is quite well known in Dupree as last year he supervised the construction of the new wire system and the change from DC to AC current." A much bigger diesel engine was installed at the light plant during the 1940's. Another item from the April 23, 1953 Progress has this item: "Recently the town of Dupree completed the sale of the electric system to the REA for $31,000.00. We hope the money will be used to black top main street some day and the sooner it is done the better the people of Dupree will like it. We have been wading in mud for a month or more this spring." This dream was not realized for almost a decade. The streets were blacktopped in the summer of 1961. TRI-COUNTY RURAL WATER SYSTEM After 15 years and twenty million dollars, the Tri-County Rural Water System was brought to Ziebach County in 1981. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter signed into law an interior appropriations bill containing funds for the Tri-County Pipeline to serve portions of Dewey, Ziebach and Meade Counties. Although funding for the project was not included in the President's budget, Representative James Abdnor, R-SD, was successful in persuading the House Appropriations Committee to insert it into the bill The final inspection on the pipeline and water treatment plant was held in August 1981, several months ahead of schedule. Eatherly Contractors had 50 to 60 men employed, many of them local, and they worked from 10 to 12 hours a day to complete the project as soon as possible. The pipeline, with water coming from the Oahe Reservoir (Missouri River), will provide a safe, adequate supply to the Cheyenne River Reservation and adjacent points. The pipeline, with main line branches, is nearly 1,000 miles long, with approximately 600 rural hookups, which includes rural homes and pasture hookups. Communities served by the pipeline include Dupree, Eagle Butte, Faith, Cherry Creek, Bridger, Red Scaffold, Iron Lightning, Thunder Butte, Bear Creek, Green Grass, Promise, White Horse, Blackfoot, La Plant, Lantry, Ridgeview, Parade and Swiftbird. The new water supply was turned on in Dupree in July 1981, replacing the hard, hot artesian water that had been the towns supply. However, during July, because of a few problems, the old well had to be put into use again for a few days and will be maintained for fire protection. Water storage tanks of various capacities and kinds were also erected throughout the area. An elevated tank of 250,000 gallon capacity was erected at Eagle Butte. Another which holds 100,000 gallons was constructed at Parade. Five underground storage reservoirs were also built. One is located seven miles south of Eagle Butte on Highway 63 South, one is ten miles north of Eagle Butte on Highway 63 North, one is eight miles north of Ridgeview on the White Horse Road, one is on the access road to Promise, and the fifth one is on the access road to Armstrong County. Five standpipes were also built -- one at Ridgeview and one west of Lantry. One is northwest of Dupree, six miles north on the Thunder Butte Road. One is eight miles south of Dupree on the Cherry Creek Road, and one is near Faith, three miles south of Highway 212. Four booster pumps are located along the pipeline, one seven miles west of Eagle Butte, one north of Dupree two miles, on Highway 65, one south of Dupree and one 2% miles west of Dupree. A $2.4 million water treatment plant, a separate project with different funding, will complement the water project. The large building which houses the treatment plant looms like a skyscraper in the middle of the prairie where little is to be seen but prairie grass and sunflowers. It is located near the intermediate pumping station, 13 miles south of Eagle Butte, which previously had pumped water from the existing pipeline to Eagle Butte from the Cheyenne arm of the Oahe Reservoir. The building is two stories above the ground with a full basement that houses the treatment tanks and other equipment. The reason for building the treatment plant is that during the months of May, June, July, and part of August, there is a high turbidity rate in the water because of run off into the Cheyenne River from other points. This makes the water appear milky and it does not meet the standards of the Environmental Protection Agency. The new treatment plant has very sophisticated equipment and will take care of the turbidity, and is designed to surpass any further water standards instituted by the Federal Government. Besides the treatment plant, an underground clear well storage tank with a 500,000 gallon capacity was constructed adjacent to the plant. The completion of the two projects signals a new era for rural users of not only an adequate supply of water, even in the driest years, but also a totally safe supply. 1920's story: During prohibition there was many a still. One large family had the large vat of grain being brewed and the message to the children was, "If you see any strangers coming, or have reason to be suspicious, throw a bucket of slop in the vat.'' Chapter 6 FARMING AND RANCHING RANCHING Stock raising is the leading industry in Ziebach County. The county is about 85% grassland and 15% farmland. Tribal or Indian land is non-taxable. There are over one million acres of grass land which are fairly evenly divided -- 560,270 non-taxable acres and 531,240 taxable acres. Prior to 1920, several large cattle outfits were in operation-- Grant Smith and his Circle Dot Company, Bernard Johnson, Anderson and Ellison and the Kellum Brothers. In 1920, because of a ruinous spring blizzard, over twenty percent of the range cattle were killed. Most of the large ranches were broken up as a result. In 1934, the drought forced the farmers to sell most of their cattle to the government. While an attempt was made to rebuild those herds once again, it was several years before the total reached that of 1920. In 1920, there were 28,474 cattle, 8,036 horses, 61,571 sheep and 1,819 swine in Ziebach County. In 1935, there were 12,663 cattle, 7,161 horses, 41,404 sheep and 1,115 swine remaining in the county. This marked decrease had a great effect upon the economic conditions, because the entire area depended to a great extent upon the revenue derived from livestock. In 1978, the last year when personal property was listed, there were 26,853 cattle, 8,318 sheep, 1,719 hogs and 621 horses. The assessed valuation was $4,418,285.00. These figures do not include Indian owned livestock since they were not assessed by the county. There has always been an aura of romance about life on the range. Billy Circle Eagle reflected on how things used to be: "Days of old all pass away. We use to see the buffalo in our range early days. Use to have beautiful time with longhorn wild steers and wild horses. Early days. We used to have beautiful music with old days. Gray wolf and coyote holler before day brakes and after sundown. Also all kinds of birds singing before sunup. That was real music to cowboys. Also mosquitoes singing right close in your ear that was just as good as your have a radio in your model T Ford. Another music on G and D just sun up roundup wagon coming down hill on old cow trail all kinds of dishes and dish pan top the mess box all them rattle. That was a good radio for cowboy cook. Horse wrangler driving round 200 head saddle horses behind the bed wagon have all kinds of the bell on the saddlehorses -- that was real music for cowboys. We use to have good old camping ground. Round up wagon jenley camp right longside good ole waterhole. We use to have a good bed ground for cattle in the night near the camp. We use to see good old cow trail through the bad land. We use to have nice old watering places for saddle horses and cattle. Mr. Honyockers -- When yo honyockers come in west river country plow up all the bed ground of the cattle. Also make sod house where we use to have old camping ground. Also fence up all watering places of old. Also make highway through the bad land. That makes old cowboy feeling blue and they thought get married and settle down but hard to fine woman.'' When Oscar White Weasel was interviewed in 1971 he told about putting up hay: "I remember my early days, some people cutting hay with a scythe. They don't cut very much, oh, must be about squares. People would set up the pole and kind of divide it up and rake, use a rake and then put up hay. There was no mowing machines then. And then mowing machines come up. They issue them some way for certain families and then towards the last they have to buy them. I had an uncle living there with a mowing machine and he was so particular about the new machine. They cut hay, it was pretty near every day they were going out and then when a thunder storm came up and it lightninged and it got killed, horses and all. And there was that mowing machine still there for a long time. It must be 1900 and some when it happened." (from the Oral History Center, Vermillion, S.D.) Montel Creamer tells about life on the ranches: "The life on the ranches prior to and for some years following the opening of the Cheyenne River Reservation in 1910 was very simple. To provide some recreation to take the place of organized amusements, it was found necessary to hold dances and other occasional gatherings. The ranch was usually large and quite a distance from the surrounding ranches. The buildings found on the ranches were generally built of logs, although some of the so-called "sod shacks" were also to be found. Mail was received from Cherry Creek or Thunder Butte Indian stations, and sometimes the people would not get their mail for three months or more. Clothing and food supplies were purchased at Fort Pierre or Sturgis and in sufficient quantity to last an entire winter. The cowboys and ranchers indulged freely in gambling and dancing. It was not uncommon for them to ride thirty-five miles to a dance, dance all night, and go home the following day. Sometimes these gatherings would last several days at a time. In such cases, they were the guests of the congenial rancher who was giving the dance. Gambling was very common, and large sums of money were lost or gained on the turn of a card. The winner usually treated the losers so that no one felt badly about his losses." Mable Ross had this to say about cowhands: "The early cowhands helped to make the history of the county in many ways. Their faithfulness to their employers and to the call of duty, regardless of the weather, in the extreme heat of summer and the varying cold of winter, toughened them to the life in the saddle. However, having to go in all kinds of weather, did not harden their hearts and many incidents are known of their giving assistance to a worn and weary traveler and to one in need. The early homesteaders learned from the cowboy the tricks of the range and his riding habits. The cowhand's bedroll and his string of horses were his fortune and many of the Old Timers relate with gusto "those were the days". Some of these early riders settled in Ziebach County and have been an asset to the county. Many drifted with the herd and their whereabouts are unknown. Many lie on the prairie, their graves unmarked, for arguments did arise and cowhands could be tough when the occasion arose for them to assert their rights." Cherry Creek, South Dakota -- the following story, "My Life as a Cowboy," was written by James Eagle Chasing, full-blooded Sioux Indian living on the Cheyenne River reservation at Cherry Creek. For 15 years Eagle Chasing was chief of the Indian Police at this sub-agency town. Although the story tells little of his life as a cowboy, it is written in a style characteristically his own. As correspondent of a weekly newspaper for several months recently, his items were the most widely read of any in the publication. "Cowboy's life is a very different life and is very different from being a city or farmer guys life. Which life is best if you had to choose? For my own opinion I'll choose the cowboy's life because I had a good deal of experience in cowboy' s life. "In my cowboy days I had to follow the instructions of their bylaws. They had to follow their boss's instructions in which advises there some good and bad orders. The good first I know. I had to be industrious and must be every ready to help anybody who is need of help. "A cowboy is noted to be a big hearted individual, invites his pals to eat and drink and he pays for all the eats and drinks and must not be frightened by anything, even by outlaws, or bad bronchoes. He must ride 'em and also must be an early riser and dependable. But he also has some bad ways. He breaks laws by drinking, fighting and stealing cattle as I said before. "A cowboy has a big hearts for anyone if you treat him right. He pulls cattles out of mudholes if he saw one mired, regardless of who the critter belong to. Some get right up on their hoofs and clean away and some just lay there and pass away to the happy range in the happy hunting ground. "It makes the cowboy feel bad to see one poor critter pass away like that. In the cowboys paper an article reads like this: At the end of the cowboys life and all the cowpunchers there will be a great big roundup and all cattle and horse that are lost or stolen will be brought back. And then there will be a great judgment at this time and the guilty ones will be found and will be branded with a pitchfork. " Eb Jones had a series of articles on "The Cowboy as he Was" in the Ziebach County News. This is a portion of his story. The cowpuncher would shy at the Sunday school as does a range horse from corn, and regarded these intruders with suspicion, not unmixed with active hostility. The homesteader would climb on his like one going up a ladder. His saddle, if he had one, was a joke, and he couldn't read a brand. He had a one-way pocket book and pinched his hard earned dimes. Any man who had been known to refuse a cowboy a meal or a night's lodging, or even worse, charge him for it, was regarded with scorn. A rider might stop at any camp certain of food and welcome even though no one was at home. The door was never locked, and a visitor would eat and stay as long as he liked. There was one way of getting on the black list, however, and that was by leaving a stack of dirty dishes. A cowboy drew fair wages, had no family to support, and thought very little of the morrow. Money, if he had it, was to spend. Besides buying candy by the pound and drinks for the crowd, he wore expensive hats and gloves, and would pay enough for a pair of boots to shoe a homesteader's family for a year. If he canted to gamble it was up to him, it was his money. The cowboy would ride thirty or forty miles to take a horse to a friend, or he would lend him half of the money that he had. He had seen the boss feed 75 or a 100 cattle belonging to a neighbor without pay until he would come for them, and he was rich so that must be alright. The cowman with thousands of dollars in the bank would give a common cowpuncher a book full of signed checks and start him out to buy cattle without fear of losing a dollar. He often threw dice for $50 a throw, and possibly had won or lost a brand of cattle in one poker game. With this example, it is not surprising that the cowboy was lavish with his money, nor is it strange that he held the stingy settler in contempt. If the range rider disliked the pioneer settlers, that dislike returned in full measure. The cowboy had no fear of the settler, except that he might push him out of his job. On the other hand, the settler both feared and disliked the cowboy. To him the cowboy was a wild reckless type, always hard, who feared neither God nor man.'' For many people in this area, ranching is still a satisfying way of life. Ranch homes are usually built on beautiful locations along creeks or protected areas. Rural electricity, water and telephones, gravel roads and 4-wheel drive pickups have made country living comfortable and convenient. The work, although still hard, is made easier by the use of efficient machinery. Calving or lambing, planting, harvesting and haying are seasonal jobs that require laboring long hours. The rest of the time they are busy, but can work at their own pace. And they wouldn't trade their life-style for a 9 to 5 job! Popular breeds of beef cattle raised in this county are Hereford, Angus, Charolais, Simmental and Limousin. Few herds of registered cattle are raised here. Cross-breeding seems to produce heavier calves that sell better. Most calves are sold in the fall. THE DIAMOND A CATTLE COMPANY The Diamond A Cattle Company was the largest cow outfit to operate during the open range days in South Dakota. It ran over all of Ziebach and part of Dewey Counties. Many young men of this area found employment with the Diamond A. The Diamond A outfit was established by Frank Bloom about 1870 in Colorado. Bloom was married to a Thatcher girl and a considerable amount of Thatcher money was invested in the Diamond A Cattle Company. They needed a strong and able manager for their holdings and Burton "Cap" Mossman was hired as general manager and remained as such until the company was sold in 1944. Many people thought that Cap Mossman owned the Diamond A because the stockyards at the headquarters ranch on Highway 212 was named Mossman, South Dakota. He did own the "24 Ranch" located northwest of Lantry, which he had purchased during his stay in South Dakota, and it was sold at the same time as the Diamond A holdings in 1944 to Mr. Leon Williams. Cal Smith Jr. now lives at this location. Mossman leased one million acres on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in 1902 for 4e an acre. The Matador Cattle Company, owned by Murdo McKenzie, leased the other half of the reservation the same time. McKenzie paid half the expenses of building a four-wire fence, running forty miles west of the Missouri River so the two leases were separated. Cap also built twenty-four miles of fences on the western line. The Missouri River was his eastern border and the Cheyenne River his southern. They needed no fencing. Most people remember Cap Mossman as being not especially friendly or close to people, but very fair and as one man said, "He was one tough son-of-a-gun!" [photo – Diamond A dipping vat] [photo – Diamond A cowboys gather for reunion in October, 1971, at Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Walt Fackelman, Shortlog Tibbs, John Holloway, Norval Cooper, Russell Keckler, Syd Nordvold, John Hagel, Paddy Hudson, Albert Lopez, Miles Hudson, John Tibbs, Kitch Lavender] On one occasion at Christmas time, he sent out an entire shipment of ropes with orders that the ropes be given out to ranchers and cattlemen for Christmas, with the idea that most everyone at some time or other had pulled Diamond A cattle out of trouble and maybe broken their rope doing it. Cattle were shipped by rail to Evarts near Mobridge and ferried, later pontooned, across the Missouri River to the reservation. The railroad was built in 1910 and at that time the stockyards and headquarters ranch was built near Ridgeview. Amadee Rousseau was Cap's first foreman. Jesse Knight replaced Rousseau and later Cal Smith was foreman. In 1911, Ernst "Boog" Eidson became foreman and remained with the company until 1914, when he moved south of Eagle Butte to run his own little bunch of stock on Rudy Creek. He later married and moved to a different location on Cherry Creek. In 1919, he again returned as foreman for the Diamond A and stayed until 1929. Then he left and went back to his ranch on Cherry Creek near Bridger, South Dakota. In 1918, Martin Gordon was foreman until he died of the flu. People who worked with him and knew him remember him as being a good, hardworking man. Hans Mortenson became foreman in the early 30's and remained as such until his death in March, 1940. Nels Babcock followed as foreman and stayed until June 1946. Williams then had these three men working at approximately the same time in different areas. A man named Parker took care of the business end while Emery Brown worked the cattle end, with the help of Ivan Fluharty of Dupree. Both Parker and Brown were brought to South Dakota by Williams and they worked here until 1950. Fluharty also worked until around 1950. Cap Mossman was married in 1905 to Grace Coburn. She and her younger sister joined Cap in South Dakota in 1906 for a time, but they established a home in Kansas City. A son Billy was born in the fall and in May, 1909, a daughter Mary was born. Grace died when Mary was only nine days old. Miss Ann Graham stayed with the family until Mary was fourteen years old. Cap built a home in Eagle Butte and their summers were spent together there. They later established a home in Roswell, New Mexico. He maintained a smaller house on main street where Bill Warnock conducted the business part of the Diamond A. The Diamond A had four major camps on the Cheyenne River (Circle P, the Rousseau Place, Brings the Arrow, the Dolphus Place and Rudy Creek, which was not right on the river). And three on the Missouri (The Diamond A Farm, Fairbanks and Willow Creek). Through the years many different cowboys and their families lived at these camps, cowboying, haying, checking fences, breaking horses, etc. This especially was true during the 30's when, with the exception of the railroad, the cattle outfits were the only ones with money enough to supply jobs. At its peak, the company probably employed fifty to seventy-five hands from spring through fall and during the winter about twenty hands were on the payroll. Many ranchers took ten head of horses to their home outfits to break for the Diamond A. To avoid tax payments on the horses, the Diamond A ran unbroke saddle horses under the Bar 10 brand which belonged to Mrs. Hans Mortenson. When they were broke, they were branded Diamond A. At the time of the sale to Williams, Mrs. Mortenson laid claim to all the horses with her brand on them. This was contested and brought to court at Timber Lake. The court's decision was that the horses had always been Diamond A property, and as such, would be turned over to Williams along with all the other Diamond A holdings he had purchased. Credit was also established at certain stores for Diamond A hands. From time to time, Cap Mossman sent college kids out to South Dakota to work for experience.-They were green and supplied "entertainment" for the cowboys, but some of these stayed on and learned the life of a cowboy. In later years many have written back wondering about the Diamond A. At their peak the Diamond A ran approximately 20,000 head of cattle in South Dakota, mostly cows and calves. Yearlings were shipped every spring to South Dakota ranges, mostly from New Mexico. Steers were shipped out to Montana for fattening at two years old, and heifers were wintered here on the lush river bottoms which provided excellent natural shelter. This plan of operation continued until about 1934 when they discontinued leasing the west end of the reservation, and they held the eastern part until 1940. During the Roosevelt administration, all drift fences were ordered removed from public lands and within a little more time the era of open grazing was at an end. [photo – Round up dinner, 1885 (SDSHS)] [photo – “Mississippi Outfit” near Cheyenne Crossing on Route 63 (SDSHS)] The roundup wagon ran sixty days in the spring and ninety days in the fall while they gathered, branded, dipped, sorted, and shipped. These wagons ran every year until 1948. In 1944 the Diamond A Cattle Company was sold to Leon Williams. He built a house a short distance southeast of Eagle Butte where he was in residence periodically but never for any great length of time. Nels Babcock was foreman when Williams took over the Diamond A. All Indian leases were dropped in 1952 and the Diamond A then ran on its own land and small individual leases. The Diamond A maintained the lease on the government land next to the river, some of which had been subleased to individual ranchers, until 1959, when the rivers came up due to the building of the Oahe Dam, and the land was covered with water. Len "Fat" Bringman became manager in 1950 and remained so until 1959 when the Diamond A was broken up and sold following the death of Williams in 1958. It has been said that keeping pace with this man was like trying to keep pace with a race horse doing a draft horse's work at top speed. There were approximately 8,000 head of cattle in South Dakota at this time. The entire Diamond A Cattle Company had been willed to the Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. They in turn, had it put up for sale and it was bought largely by the local people, (many different individuals), who lived in the same areas. The headquarters Williams had built was left to his manager, Bringman, who had been, and still is, residing in it, and the brand Diamond A was sold to W. A. Hickman, a ranch owner south of Eagle Butte. He still holds the brand at this time. [photo – Diamond A Cowboys – John Johnson, Powder Alexander, Tom Maupin, Pat Gray, Doug Baker, C. C. Stanley. Photo taken just north of the Diamond A dipping vat.] HISTORY OF THE DIAMOND A CATTLE COMPANY Credit given True West magazine The year of 1902 saw the last great open range roundup in South Dakota west of the Missouri River. Eighteen wagons, with up to 60 riders to a wagon, participated. There are very few 1902 cowboys left. The Department of the Interior began to permit leasing of grass lands on Indian Territory in Oklahoma in 1891, but insisted that the Messiah Craze, among the Sioux Tribes of the Dakotas made it inadvisable to permit grazing on any reservation land. At the turn of the century the reservation grass in the Dakotas was still closed to stockmen. In the summer of 1902, Ed Lemmon, of the Lake, Tomb and Lemmon Co., whose outfit branded with reversed L7, made a trip to Washington. There he was granted an interview with President Theodore Roosevelt. Ed had previously known the President as the owner and operator of the Maltese Cross and Elkhorn ranches near Medora, North Dakota in the 1880's. The President told the secretary of the Interior to grant a lease to the Lake, Tomb and Lemmon outfit. This left the gate open for other big cattle outfits to lease Indian land. Lake, Tomb and Lemmon built 270 miles of three wire fence to enclose and cross-fence their lease. [photo – Cap Burton Mossman] In 1904, Mr. James Coburn, General Manager of the Hansford Land and Cattle Company, a Scotch outfit that ran the famous Turkey Track brand hired Burton C. (Cap) Mossman of Texas ranger fame, as foreman. This outfit ran 10,000 head of cattle from below Lakewood, New Mexico on the Pecos, some 40 miles north into the John Chisum country. Mr. Coburn told Cap about a trip he had made as a guest of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad to the end of rail at Evarts on the east bank of the Missouri River in South Dakota, about 10 miles down from the mouth of the Grand River. The railroad, eager for cattle shipments, showed him the vast Cheyenne River Reservation on the west side of the river. He told Cap to go north and go over the lease as the Turkey Track Cattle Company was feeling the effects of the drought in the south. This would be a fattening place for the cattle. The bids would be opened up in Washington on May 1st. The only trouble was that it was far more land than the Turkey Track needed. Cap suggested they see Murdo McKenzie of the Matador outfit in Trinidad, Colorado. It was early in the spring when the two men met at Evarts. They crossed on the ferry and rode horseback straight west down the center of the million acres, which ran some 50 miles north and south and about 40 miles east and west with the Missouri River as its eastern border and the Cheyenne River as its southern border. McKenzie had a half breed as his guide and rode the north side, no doubt thinking it was closer to the shipping point. Cap Mossman had a Frenchman by the name of Rousseau as his guide. Rousseau explained to Cap that the Cheyenne River breaks provided shelter for the cattle in the winter months of snow and cold. When the two men got back at the agency headquarters it was decided that each would write on a piece of paper his choice. Cap shook his head and said he wished he had ridden over the northern part. That settled any doubts McKenzie had and he promptly wrote the two words, "Northern Half". Cap of course got the half he wanted. It totaled 488,000 acres. He bid 3 1/2 cents per acre. When the bids were accepted in Washington, they urged him to take out the lease in his own name, otherwise the papers would have to be sent to the Hansford Land and Cattle Company in Scotland and there might be a lot of difficulties. So Cap wired Mr. Coburn and was told to accept the lease in his name. Murdo McKenzie accepted his lease at the same price and he and Cap agreed to share the expense of putting in a four wire fence, 40 miles west from the Missouri, which would separate their leases. Cap would have to put 24 miles of fence at his own expense on his western side. He ordered eight carloads of tamarack posts and the necessary wire and staples and had them all shipped to Evarts. It was fall when he was ready for the first shipment of Turkey Track cattle. [photo – A copy of a check to Bert Libolt for putting up hay for the Diamond A] [photo – Albert Lopez hauling hay for the Diamond A Cattle Company in November, 1932] Other big outfits to follow with leases on Indian land were: A. J. Marriott, of the Hat; Gene Holcomb with his OHO brand; The White River Cattle Company with its Sword and Dagger brand; the "73" of the Minnesota and Dakota Cattle Company; and the Mississippi Cattle Company. Mixed blood Indian stockmen with sizable herds were the Claymores, Fred LaPlante, Narcisse Narcelle, Fred Dupris and Felix Benoist. In 1907, hard times were on again, so to keep from going under, Cap Mossman leased two more tracts of land and bought out the Turkey Track. Then they joined with Colonel Green, the Thatcher Brothers and Mr. Bloom to get enough cattle for the extra leases. They formed the first Diamond A Cattle Company. In the fall of 1908 they shipped out the first Diamond A cattle. In 1914 the western part of the Diamond A lease was taken from them by the government and opened up for homesteads. Then in 1918 World War I broke out. Also, the terrible flu epidemic. Cap's foreman died of the flu. The winter of 1919-20 proved the most devastating since the great dry-up of 1886-87. From then on cattle prices went down until the second World War. The Diamond A held on grimly until 1925 when they were almost squeezed to death. To escape a financial collapse, Mossman formed a new Diamond A Cattle Company, whereby he put his own ranch and 16,000 head of Turkey Track cattle and his 1,500 head of breeding cows in a general pool, also went the Bloom and Thatcher's five ranches and their thousands of cattle. Cap Mossman held a substantial share in this company and for 20 years he was general manager at a salary of $12,000 a year. In 1925 Cap married Ruth Shrader. Another 10 troublesome years went by, the great depression, droughts and price collapse. Then the new administrations, the Taylor Grazing Act, range laws became so strict it made it almost impossible to operate. In 1943, his son, Billy, was killed in an airplane in Europe. In 1944 the last of Diamond A holdings were sold to Mr. Leon Williams. [photo – Diamond A Cowboys, 1981: Frank Tibbs, Glenn Holloway, John Hagel, Russell Keckler, Nelson Babcock, and seated: Philip Hudson, Kirk Meyer, Miles Hudson, and Paul Reichert] WESTERN CATTLE COMPANY by Jackie Birkeland The M&M Ranch twenty miles southwest of Dupree was one of many ranches purchased by a group of ten or so men from Chicago with resources to invest in 1943 or '44. The company has always been referred to locally as "The Chicago Outfit". The M&M Ranch was started by Henry "Hank" Meier and Bert Marks, after Hank had served a term as sheriff of Ziebach County. Hank had previously ranched there for many years until economic conditions of the '30's put him in a bind along with everyone else. Meier's camp was on Ash Creek, the site of the Duke Brothers cattle operation in earlier years. The Duke house had been destroyed by fire and Marks built a two story house. Their range ran from near Chuck Bennett's on the east to Rattlesnake Creek on the west. The ranches purchased by Western Cattle Company retained their original title. They owned the M&M; the VE Ranch east of Eagle Butte; the Thunder Hawk Ranch near the North Dakota border; Brooks Ranch near Philip; the Hart Ranch, and Hermosa Ranch at Hermosa; Missouri Farm, an old Diamond A farm southeast of Eagle Butte; as well as others. A place on Bull Creek, tributary of the Cheyenne, where bulls were kept was named, appropriately, Bull Ranch. One can realize the size of the spread in that salt was delivered on a flat bed semi truck. Cake was brought in by rail and distributed. Oscar Markwed was general foreman, Billy McKillip was troubleshooter. Among the men serving as foremen at the M&M for the Western Cattle Company were: Russ Rausch, Bud Jeffries, Bill Price, Waterlund, Lowell Mraz, Jack Walker and Clarence Rush. There may have been others as many men worked for them. The cattle carried the brand quarter circle reversed JN connected. Their operation in Ziebach county was closed although others remain. SHEEP by Thelma Frame Allard, Barthold, Tidball, Smiley, McQuirk--these names meant "sheep" to residents of Ziebach County who lived here until the mid-thirties. The big cattle companies had little competition for this lush grassland before 1910, when sheepmen began to come into the area. Disagreements between the cattlemen and the sheepmen were inevitable. Cattlemen stood firm in the notion that sheep ruined the land and that a sheepherder was of a lower social order than a cowboy. Billy Circle Eagle remembered the conflict: "Early days first sheepmen coming from west country -- Cowboys fight against sheep all they can. Flying V men and HO men. The cowboys fight against sheep outfits early days but now all these gentlemen sheepmen, nowadays. [photo – Roy and Irene Viet’s first home was a sheepwagon] When Mr. Fred Allard first came to South Dakota he was working for the W.M. cattle outfit on Bad River. Mr. Allard made a long jump from there to the Montana line. He was working for the Hashknife outfit on Box Elder and then he came to Belle Fourche real estate man. He came to Red Scaffold with Mr. Ray Cox bringing a band of the sheep. He made himself at home around Indian country almost 26 years. He pass away 1942." Helen Lackey wrote about M. J. Smiley and Barthold: "Smiley, a New Yorker, had come west when a young man. He had an uncle near Rawlins, Wyoming, who set him up in business. It seemed that every venture he undertook turned to gold and it was not long before M. J. was rated as one of the most successful ranchers in the West River country. Many of the most prominent sheepmen of a later date could lay their success in business with their start through M. J. Smiley. Among the first to work for and take out leases from Smiley were the Tidballs (Jim, Denver, Vol and Watt), Clarence Smith, and others who came to the reservation in the Isabel vicinity and in northern Ziebach County in 1911. My father bought sheep in 1910. McQuee, Dunlap's, and Fred Barthold had sheep near Isabel from 1912 to 1915. Later Fred Barthold sold to Ed Lemmon. M. J. Smiley moved all of his sheep to the lower Cheyenne Reservation in the spring of 1917. At that time, the country above and below the Cheyenne River in southern Ziebach County was one of the greatest sheep ranges in America. Thousands of sheep in uniform bands grazed over these grassy hills and plains, and could be seen trailing to water each day at a certain hour to the muddy holes of Felix Creek and Bull Creek. M. J. Smiley, with 30,000 head of sheep, and the "Three Cornered Outfit", owned by Craid, Fuller and Burk, with 5,000 head were the two largest outfits. The coming of the sheepman seemed to make little difference to the settlers of that section. To the Indian people it meant more money, and as the cattle business was on the wane, it mattered little to the rancher. Both the Smiley and the Three Cornered Outfits had their headquarters on Felix Creek. Frank Lanouiette, better known as "Frenchie", who had come from the Sulphur area, was Smiley's foreman. About 7,500 head of sheep were leased out to individuals. In all, there were eleven wagons used with the Smiley outfit. Crews were hired to build dams, as usually the waterholes on Felix and Bull Creeks dried up during the summer. The Smiley crew put up shearing pens to accommodate the sheepmen of the area. Jack Burk, a Kansas lad, was manager of the Three Cornered Outfit when it was located on the reservation, having its headquarters at the Ed Owl King place on Felix Creek. In 1919 a deal was made where Jack Burk purchased the Ernst Eidson ranch on Cherry Creek, which was located about seven or eight miles above the Cherry Creek Station. This served as headquarters for the company until they closed out. One of the favorite sports, although a very necessary one, was hunting coyotes with hounds. Both Smiley and Burk crews kept a pack of hounds. One thinks of the life of the shepherd as dull and monotonous, but not down on the Cheyenne River strip. Besides keeping the old Cherry Creek Trail to Faith hot, there was much excitement down there. On the 4th of July 1918, a big celebration was held at Cherry Creek station. People came from all directions. In the afternoon, the sports took place on a big flat. The most exciting event was the riding of an outlaw Indian horse. After it had thrown all its riders, a purse was taken up for anyone who could ride the horse. Bill Lackey was the winner, although he came near losing his clothes. One event in the summer of 1918 was the big Red Cross Auction held in July at the Smiley shearing pens. This was sponsored by the Indian people. Ed Swan, educated at Carlyle, was the auctioneer. The proceeds from that sale amounted to a great deal. On October 12, 1919, a snowstorm began and by morning the entire range country was covered with a white blanket about four feet deep. No one had looked for winter to set in so early and many had not shipped their cattle and sheep. Those who waited were not able to trail their stock to the railroads, therefore had to hold their stuff over. The snow lay on the ground all winter. On the fifteenth of March rain began falling. By morning, a full fledged blizzard was raging the worst storm that had been witnessed in this section to the memory of all. The storm let up, only to be renewed on the 18th. After the storm had subsided, cattle and sheep by the hundreds were found dead in the draws and creek bottoms where the winds had driven them to shelter and their deaths. Dead sheep lay all over the prairie country between Cherry Creek and the Cheyenne. When the snows melted away, it kept a crew busy skinning the carcasses in order to salvage what little the pelts would bring. This was not all that befell the stockman. Market prices on livestock sank to a low level. Local and eastern banks tightened up on the money. The stock owners were unable to borrow enough money to carry them through, or set them up in business again. The big Smiley outfit was broke. M. J., as good a business man as he was, seemed to be unable to borrow money at the banks. For twenty days he traveled to different places trying to borrow enough to tide him over, before he was able to get a sufficient loan. His bands were now cut to a minimum. In the fall of 1920, he gave up his leases on the Cheyenne Reservation. The Three Cornered Outfit held on a little longer, but late in the fall of 1921, it closed out and left the reservation. [photo – Shearing sheep at Butler Ranch] In 1894, Ernest Barthold, in partnership with his sons, John and Fred, moved their headquarters to Thunder Butte Creek. By 1902 the EB outfit had nearly 1,500 head of cattle and 500 head of horses. The brothers eventually sold their livestock and went into the sheep business. Fred bought the Big Stone Ranch near Four Corners Bridge on the Cheyenne in 1918. He ran about 6,000 head of cattle and sheep on his reservation lease, taking over the Staple M lease when that company closed. In 1957 the Big Stone Ranch was sold to the Hanson brothers. As late as 1930, Barthold had several bands of sheep numbering from 1500 to 2000 each in southern Ziebach county. In the summer the sheep grazed on land leased mostly from the Indian Department. Most of the sheep were wintered on his ranch near Bridger on the Cheyenne River." Charles Samuelson was interviewed and this is how he remembered Allard and McQuirk, the other big sheep operators: "For several years, Fred Allard ran about 2,000 head of sheep west of Red Scaffold. Allard's winter quarters were near Felix Creek. The sheep ran the breaks toward Red Scaffold, following Samuelson's horses, which kicked up the snow. Coyotes were so bad that someone always had to stay with the sheep in those days. Allard summered with a sheep wagon on Pretty Creek, a mile east of highway 73, on Mrs. J. Samuelson's homestead. In those days, no one could afford to pay taxes on all of the land they needed, so they would run stock on the whole area around their lease or homestead. Neal Collins, of Faith, worked for Allard. In the 1940's, Allard died and a relative named Titus took over the place which was later bought by Charles Steen. McQuirk owned another sheep outfit, headquartered one mile southeast of Howes. He ran sheep northwest of the Samuelsons' in the summer and on Bull Creek, north of Bridger, in the winter. The sheep business declined before the Depression. Then, during World War II, everyone went into sheep. The industry was a gold mine. One could buy a sheep for one dollar. People made money on sheep, then went into the cattle business because cattle were less work, and cattle ranching was more glamorous. Extensive fencing began during World War II, when people began buying up land from the county, and that ended the days of the open range.'' The big sheep operators had camp tenders whose job it was to keep several sheep wagons supplied with wood and groceries, and to move the wagons to fresh range. Food was bought in case lots and distributed as needed. Neighborhood kids that happened to be near a sheep camp at mealtime relished the Van Camps pork and beans, crackers and cheese that were always on the menu. There were very few dams, and as water holes dried up in mid-summer, it wasn't easy to find a new location for camp. Finding enough wood was sometimes a problem, too, because wagons were placed on the open range far from creeks or draws where trees grow. Remind a sheepherder of the foul smelling, always warm, water they had in the heat of the summer and you'll probably learn his ideas of "the Good Old Days". His drinking water came from the same hole where the sheep watered. Winter camps were in sheltered places near a creek or draw. A typical summer day in the life of a sheepherder began at daybreak as the sheep left the bed grounds to graze. He'd crawl out of his sleeping bag, saddle his horse and go with the herd until they went to water, around 10 o'clock. Then he'd head for the wagon to fix breakfast. The wagon was usually placed near the watering hole so he could stay there and keep an eye on the sheep until late afternoon when they went out to forage again. As a rule the coyotes didn't bother the sheep during the day, so it was safe to leave them for a few hours. If he was lucky he might ride to a neighboring ranch just in time for dinner. When the sheep began to stir, around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, he'd head them away from the water hole toward fresh range. Herding sheep also meant keeping them off land belonging to the local ranchers. Sheep bedded down a different place every night, so before dark the herder would ride back after the bedroll he'd left. A bedroll, wrapped in canvas, for some reason stayed cool, even on the hottest day. He was wise to make a thorough inspection of it. Rattlesnakes rather liked slithering into this sanctuary. When it was too dark to see, the sheep settled down. The herder hobbled his horse, unrolled his bed, and called it a day. Still he was not permitted a deep undisturbed sleep because he had to be ever alert for coyotes. This is a true adventure of a man who was herding sheep north of Red Scaffold in the late twenties. He was aroused about two in the morning by the bleating of lambs and tinkling of sheep bells. That meant the coyotes had gotten into his sheep! He scrambled out of his bedroll, slipped on his shoes, and ran to chase away the predators. A thunderstorm, which had been building, was fast approaching. The band of sheep, already nervous from the coyotes, was spooked by the storm and headed off into the night. A good shepherd stays with his sheep, even if he is only wearing his shoes and undershorts. Lightning was striking all around and the thunder rumbled. Finally the cold rain came. Still the sheep moved on. Toward daylight the weary animals settled down. The cold, wet, semi-naked herder went back to hunt for his bedroll. When he finally located it--it was full of water. In his haste to protect the lambs, he'd neglected to pull the tarp over it! His wet clothes didn't seem too inviting either, so he walked about two miles to the sheep wagon. He put on some dry clothes, made some coffee, and greeted the rising sun. The sheepherder had two important helpers--his horse and his dog. A good dog that understood sheep and the commands of his master, was a necessity in caring for a big band of sheep. The dog wasn't part of "camp equipment". He belonged to the herder. Many homesteaders and small ranchers got their start in sheep with bum lambs, which were gathered from the big sheep operators. The four or five men lambing out a big band of sheep on the open range didn't have time or means to save baby lambs that were separated or not claimed by their mothers. Twins are common and it was better to allow the ewe to keep the strongest one. The sheepmen were glad to give the bums to anyone who would care for them. Local people had plenty of milk and were pleased to get them. The lambs quickly learned to drink from a bottle and nipple. The sheep industry has varied according to range conditions and market prices. Sheep can forage on marginal range so are better adapted than cattle to survive during dry years. The widespread use of synthetic fabrics for a few years depressed the wool market and sheep numbers dwindled. Wool is once again in vogue and lamb as meat is becoming more popular. So once again sheep are profitable and are found on many ranches. CBC HORSE OUTFIT The CBC Horse Outfit, owned by Chappelle Brothers, leased the Cheyenne River Reservation during the late 1920's. The DZ's (owned by Dye and Zimmerman) had closed out in the fall of 1927 and the CBC took over their lease and the remainder of their horses the following year. The CBC ran about 25,000 killer horses around Cherry Creek, Bridger, La Plant and Timber Lake, a distance of about 125 miles from one end to the other. [photo – CBC horses] They shipped to a packing house in Rockford, Illinois. The CBC was the last really big outfit in the area, closing out in the fall of 1935. Ben Horn, Raymond Jones, John Maupin, Tom Maupin, Ralph Hensley, Baptiste LeBeau, Raymond Johnson and Otis "Beany" Shannon were some of the CBC cowboys working this end of the lease. Ernst Eidson, living near Bridger, was foreman on the west end of the reservation. Lee Brown ran the east end at the Iron Wing Camp near La Plant. Some of the riders there were Alec Garreau, Bill Ewing, Tom Scroggins, Bill Sculley (wagon cook), Jim Holloway and Jay Burnett. Their work included riding, branding, castrating, riding bog, opening ice and the cowboys needed fast and long-winded horses to keep up their work. They spoke of castrating 2500 studs and trimming and halter breaking 100 big geldings for market. About July 1st they started branding colts. As Raymond Jones described: "We would handle them just about the same as you do cattle, only a lot faster and you needed a fast horse and a longwinded horse. The wagon boss would take about half of the. crew out on a big circle and drop a man off every mile or two, depending on the lay of the country. The rest of the men would circle the other direction and everybody would be in place about the same time, forming a circle roughly from eight to twelve miles and all start to drive towards the center. Those horses were wild and were scattered over the country in small bunches, from a few head up to fifteen or twenty. Each stud had his band of mares and colts. When you came up on a bunch of those horses they would run and every horse that saw them would start running. Soon the whole country for miles was covered with little bunches of horses running, some going one direction, some another, all trying to escape, and some always did get through the lines. That was some of the grandest sights I ever saw. Hundreds of horses scattered over the country as far as you could see and all running. Everyone had to ride hard to hold them together and when we would finally get them pushed into one big bunch, things really got wild. Each stud was trying to keep his band separate and the stud fights would start and they were really vicious. I have seen them get kicked in the head and knocked unconscious. We would usually have four or five hundred horses, up to a thousand, in a round-up. After they got settled down a little, two men would ride into the herd and cut out the mares with colts to be branded. One man did the roping. He would rope a colt around the neck and drag him to the branding fire. Two men on the ground would hold a big loop between them. The roper would drag the colt between them until his front feet got in the loop, then one of the men would tighten the loop and tip the colt over and the other man would grab his head. The men with the hot irons were right there and it was over within about one minute. When the herd was turned loose, most of them went back to that part of the range they were on before we disturbed them. They seemed to prefer a certain part of the country. The next day the wagon would move and we would work another section of the country." [photo – Branding colts at Tom Maupin’s, 1950. From left: Steve Arpan, Peggy Maupin, Joe Heitt, Tom Maupin, Albert Lopez on Smoky] FARMING Of the approximately 170,000 acres of farm land in the county in 1981, 13,000 were nontaxable Indian land and 157,000 were on the tax rolls. In 1910 statistics show that Ziebach County had only 98 farms, while in 1925 there were 723 listed. The remarkable change in the years 1920 to 1925 was that the large farms of over 1,000 acres decreased from 128 to 89. The valuation growth of Ziebach County went from $476,215.00 in 1911 to $6,041,188.00 in 1921, an increase of over 1300 percent. In 1935 the average size of a farm in Ziebach County was 1,767.6 acres. In 1981 the average size of a farm in the county is 3,085 acres. [photo – Heading grain on the Carl Anderson farm, 1939] [photo – Threshing with steam engine, Carl Anderson claim, 1909] The principal crops raised in Ziebach County are cereals, hay and forage crops, vegetables and fruits. The county is more fitted by nature for ranching than farming, but due to the introduction of dry farming methods, the farmers have developed the ability to raise fair to good crops on a small amount of moisture. Early homesteaders were successful and the newspaper states in 1912 that the grain and vegetables sent to the State Fair were above average; Wheat and small grain stood 36 inches high; alfalfa, which was of the first stand and grown on sod, averaged M inches high; corn on the stalk, over 8 feet tall, with a minimum of two large ears; onions averaged 21/2 inches in diameter; pumpkins, 24 inches in diameter; beets 12 inches in length and 6 inches in thickness; sunflowers with 12 foot stalks; and a large assortment of turnips, potatoes, carrots, wheat, oats, barley, rye and millet, all of large and good quality. Albion Eulberg wrote this account of harvesting: "My father, Herman Eulberg, A. G. Davis, Al Martin, and Fred Beguhl had the first threshing outfit in Ziebach County. The one cylinder engine was mounted on a four wheel wagon affair and was hauled from job to job by horses. The threshing machine was quite modern for then as it had a feeder on it but the straw was carried away from the machine by an apron and had to be stacked by hand. [photo – Carl Anderson enjoys hay stacking] [photo – Putting hay in the hay mow] [photo – Leonard Birkeland started farming in 1928] [photo – Leonard Birkeland, fifty four years later] The threshing run began one year in the forepart of August and ended the day before Christmas. The run was from the Moreau River on the north to the Cheyenne River on the south. Most of the homesteader's fields consisted of about ten acres and were oats, wheat or flax. The bushels of grain were estimated by wagon box measure. The owners of the rig took turns running it. After the first threshing rig sold out, a steam engine outfit came into being. It consisted of a 32 inch cylinder Case separator and I believe a forty-five horsepower engine. It was known as "the Big Ten" outfit as there were ten men who owned it. My first job on the threshing crew was that of a wagon tender. I began it around ten or eleven years old, simply because I was the only lad around of that age. The job was to move the grain around in the grain wagons so it wouldn't run over on the ground. One time, when we were threshing on the Hazel Davis claim, north of town, a spark from the steam engine ignited a load of wheat bundles some fifty or seventy yards from the engine. The bundle hauler got the team safely away from the wagon but was heard to say as he walked away toward town, "I think, I go back to Sacroment!" My ambition at that time was to get to be a "water monkey" -- the one who hauled the water to the steam engine. I guess I was born too late as that job became extinct before I got old enough. Several rigs came after that. Some I can remember were the McDaniel's, the Jake Dochnahl's, Art Beguhl, Birkenholtz, Radiche, and the Untersehers. Some of the tractors were a 30-60 Case gas engine, a HartParr, Allis Chalmer 20-35, a cross block 18-36 Case, a 15-30 I.H.C. and even the old Fordson. Jackie Birkeland made these observations about farming: "The day of the scythe and the pitchfork used in putting up hay are long since gone and with no regrets. Imagine walking all day behind a plow, one furrow at a time and pulled by four horses. Seed was broadcasted and harrowed to cover it. A two horse mower and a two horse rake later covered many an acre. There was the sulky riding plow pulled by five horses. Some of the early tractors were the Titan, Fordson, a Case that pulled a two bottom plow. There was the 1020 International, also a 1520 International. The binder had its day as did the corn binder, dumping off bundles that were made into shocks to be threshed or fed. A steam engine and threshing machine moved from place to place in the fall, threshing from stacks or bundle wagon. A header cut off grain heads, filled a wagon alongside, then stacks were made to await the thresher. Pitching headings must have been one of the hottest, most difficult of jobs. Crain hauling was by wagon load, then it was scooped by shovel into bins. The reaper cut grain, then pushed it off the platform in piles to be pitched on a wagon and stacked. Much more land could be broke--turned from sod into tilled acres--with tractors, plows, discs, which happened through the years. Farms continue to grow larger. Mold board plowing has given way to chisel plows which rip the ground. Tractors with horsepower of from 175 horsepower on up are used extensively. Common models are the John Deere, Case, Versatile and International. Many are four-wheel drive. A tool bar for weeding may be from sixteen feet to sixty feet wide. Erosion control is a grave consideration in Ziebach County. Methods used include strip farming, tree planting and stubble left standing. Anything that will prevent the wind sweeping a smooth field is desirable. At this time, no-tillage weed control is almost unknown to the area. One reason of resistance is that, due to scarce rainfall, opening the soil with tilling lets more moisture be absorbed. [photo – Carol, Thelma, Ethel and Calvin Anderson shocking oats bundles on the Carl Anderson farm, 1937] [photo – Gerald Frame shows how dirt was moved in the “Good Old Days”. The team and slip, owned by Cully Miller, was the Frame Construction float at the Jubilee Celebration in 1960. Dr. Creamer building in the background] REHABILITATION PROGRAM from: “History of Cheyenne River” by Noralf Nesset, Superintendent, Cheyenne Agency 1951-1959. The passage of Public Law 776, which was signed by the President on September 3, 1954, opened a new era on the Cheyenne River Reservation. As a result of this Act, $10,544,014 was made available to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and its individual members. Section II of the Act provides that "The United States agrees to pay, out of funds appropriated for construction of the Oahe project, as just compensation for all lands and improvements and interests therein (except the agency hospital) conveyed pursuant to Section I of the Act; and for the bed of the Missouri River so far as it is the eastern boundary of said Cheyenne River Reservation, the sum of $5,384,014; which sum shall be in final and complete settlement of all claims, rights, and demands of said Tribe or allottees or heirs thereof arising out of the construction of the Oahe project, and shall be deposited to the credit of said Tribe in the Treasury of the United States, to draw interest on the principal thereof at the rate of 4 per centum per annum until expended.'' Known as the Rehabilitation Program of the Cheyenne River Reservation, it is unique in that it is a radical departure from other programs having to do with Indian Affairs. This program is under the direct control and supervision of the Indians themselves and the Bureau of Indian Affairs acts in supplying technical assistance and advice as requested by the Tribe. The Rehabilitation Program covers six phases of operation, three on a loan basis and three in the form of grants: 1. Repayment cattle program (loan); 2. Farm program (loan); 3. Business enterprise (loan); 4. Student education (grant); 5. Adult education (grant); and 6. General assistance (grant). The general assistance program is directed mainly to improving housing conditions. During the first two years 58 new houses were constructed and many other homes were given major repair or were enlarged. The Rehabilitation Program is designed to be in operation for a period of twenty years. At the expiration of the program, it is provided that holdings will be converted to cash and a percapita distribution will be made to enrolled members of the Tribe. [The Rehabilitation Program ended in 1977]. Chapter 7 COMMUNITIES BRIDGER by Leroy Aasby Bridger is located in the southwest corner of Ziebach County. The present village was established in 1891 at the request of some of the Wounded Knee survivors. The village inherited the name Bridger from the nearest store/post office named for a homesteader, Carv Bridge. The store was located north of the Four-Corners Bridge on the west side of old Highway #73 (beside the brass plate survey marker). When the store and post office closed, the mail was sent to Howes. The history of the Lakota using the Bridger Area goes back into the late 1700's or early 1800's. Water was the major reason and early hunting parties found springs in the area. Water, fuel, the protection of the river valley, and game to hunt made this an ideal winter camping area. The area became more important with the coming of the White Man and his trading posts. The groups that preferred to keep away from the ways of the White Man found the Bridger Valley just to their liking. These people were conservative and preferred traditional ways. The Indian leader, Mahto, and his group are known to have used the area. The Buffalo family is, according to legend, related to the Mahto group. Prior to Wounded Knee, the Indian leader, Big Foot, and his followers lived along the Cheyenne River from Cherry Creek to near the forks of the river (later Pedro). His camp was scattered in small groups. After Sitting Bull's death, Big Foot led his band up the Cheyenne and then south to Wounded Knee. After Wounded Knee the survivors went west to the area north of the present Loneman School, to areas called "No Water", "Drywood" and up toward "Red Shirt Table". A few, including James High Hawk, returned to the Valley. Although the village was better-known as Bridger, the Lakota used the name TAKINI -- meaning "sole survivor". In about 1870 a great fire swept down on Bridger from the north. Most of the people fled across the river to the Big Spring and stayed at Bear Eagle's. Francis Jackson told of this incident and the next. In 1918 the flu hit the flat above Bridger to the East very hard. Many died despite Mrs. Jackson's nursing. Several other times a number of people died. From Mrs. Jackson's descriptions the cause was most likely TB. East of Bridger is Hump Flat, on which Hump once camped. Carl Jackson later lived on the flat, lending his name to Jackson Spring. On the east side of the flat, near Bull Creek, was St. Lee's Catholic Church, also known as the Church of the Blessed Sacrament. It was established by 1911 and later moved into Bridger and used as a parsonage. Only the cemetery remains to mark the location of St. Leo's. East of the church lived the Council Bears and the Red Bulls. [photo - Bridger School, May, 1935. Front row: Bernice Long, Ted Buffalo, Henry Red Horse, Jr., and Philip Crane. Second row: Vera Circle Bear, P. Holy, Dorothy Buffalo, Emerson Long and Mabel Holy. Back row: Leona Bear Eagle, C. Little Star, Emily eagle Bear, Leon Bingham, Martin Holy Bear, Clair Maynard, teacher; Luke Black Bull and Robert Blue Hair.] [photo – Bridger Congregational Church, 1915] [photo – Immaculate Heart of Mary (church)] Red Bull Crossing on the Cheyenne River, north of Milesville, was named for the nearby Red Bull residence. Saint Plus Catholic Church was moved south from the Cherry Creek to Bridger under the direction of Father Mattingly in the late 1930's and renamed the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Reverend Thomas L. Riggs sent an early Indian missionary, Solomon Yellow Hawk, to Bridger, South Dakota. Mr. Yellow Hawk taught the people to read and write in the Lakota. In 1915, the Congregational Church was constructed under the direction of Reverend Thomas L. Riggs. The road from 4-Corners bridge into Bridger was built in the late '30's with a team and fresno. Life remained quite difficult until about 1962 when the present Highway 73 and electricity came in. The Bridger School began as a Public School in 1922. Mr. James High Hawk is credited with getting the school started. The B.I.A. school, started in 1933, has offered the only full-time employment in Bridger. Major events and important people include: The 1927-28 flood when people had to use the church as a haven. The 1949 blizzard with the food drops by air. Reverend Guy Buffalo, who was for 33 years a Congregational Minister at Standing Rock, La Plant, Red Scaffold and Bridger. James High Hawk, Tribal Secretary, who assisted in writing the tribal constitution and by-laws. Virginia, his wife, who served as Bridger Day School cook, taught many to speak English. Mrs. Virginia High Hawk retired in 1971 at age 70. She received, during her stay as cook, a Sustained Superior Performance award. There is a grave of an Indian Scout on the hill west of the village. People who have taught at Bridger include: Clair Maynard, Mrs. Vera Smith, Miss Mildred Birkeland, Mr. Beebe, Mrs. Aurellia Dupris Reddest, Mr. Anthony Whirl Wind Horse, and Mr. Leroy Aasby from 1967-1980. CHERRY CREEK [photo – Cherry Creek, ca. 1880’s (SDSHS)] [photo – Hospital and Doctor’s home at Cherry Creek] [photo – Cherry Creek in 1963] [photo – Maj. W. S. Bentley, Little Shield, Lone Eagle, Iron Lightning, Fish Gut, Charging First and G. H. Haynes. Seated: Brown Thunder, Gen. C. H. Englesby, Gov. Vessey, Col. Alfred S. Frost, Yellow Owl and Giles Tapetola, interpreter. Seated on floor: Reared by Enemy, Puts on His Shoes, and White Bull. (SDSHS) Cherry Creek family names appear here. Their descendents are many] Many of the Minneconjou Sioux Indian people settled in the Cherry Creek area along the Cheyenne River. Cherry Creek, a government substation, is the oldest historical site in Ziebach County. There was supposedly a fur trading post located along Cherry Creek before 1743. Records show that the Verendrye Expedition came to Cherry Creek in 1743. The location is described as 35 miles northwest of Pierre, South Dakota at the mouth of Cherry Creek, north side of the Cheyenne River. Here they met some Indian people who said, "This is where we camp.'' Other records show that in 1846 Basil (Clement) Claymore, who was then 16 years old, had come up the Missouri River from St. Louis, Missouri, and had joined up with a man named Francis Parker. They visited Cherry Creek in August 1846; as they went into Cherry Creek they knew it was named Cherry Creek because there was an abundance of wild cherries, plums, gooseberries and currants. Mr. Claymore said the creek was so dried up with the heat that they had to dig holes in the sand to get water for themselves and their horses. In 1872, U. S. Agent Koues started an extensive building program of log houses in Cherry Creek; this was carried on by Agency carpenters and their aides into the late 1880's. An 1880 map shows Hump's camp at the mouth of Cherry Creek on the west side. Touch the Cloud also had a camp nearby. Following the Custer Battle in 1876 many of the Indian people moved up into Canada for a time. They were returned by steamboat to Fort Yates, North Dakota in 1881. After spending a brief time there, many of them moved south and settled at Cherry Creek. St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was established in Cherry Creek in 1882. The Cheyenne River Reservation boundaries were established in March 1889 and Hump's band opposed this. In 1889 a settlement named Cheyenne City or Leslie was established just south of the river across from Cherry Creek. Here there were two stores, a post office and a roadhouse; later a newspaper and a school. Most Cherry Creek residents went across the river to trade and some of the children attended school there at the Congregational Mission School established by William and Martha Griffiths. In 1892 there was a 69 member congregation led by Roan Bear (Clarence Ward) and a Congregational Church was established at Cherry Creek in 1890. Harvey Robinson built a trading post at Cherry Creek and sold it to Henry Angell who carried on a trading business there; he later sold this business to William Griffith who crossed over the river. Griffith later sold it. Since then there has continuously been a trading post or store and post office at Cherry Creek. In the 1890's a government substation was constructed at Cherry Creek. These installations were permanent homes for the "Boss Farmers" who supervised individual family gardens and monitored the cattlemen who leased tribal pastureland. A large commissary was built there where rations were issued. There was also a clinic for a doctor and nurse. In time there was a blacksmith shop, a school and even a dance hall. By 1891 Cherry Creek consisted of about 40 homes and the camp was still under the leadership of Hump. Very few homesteaders had started coming into the area yet and most of the surrounding area was leased by big cattle outfits. The Catholic Church was built in 1894. In 1896 a police headquarters was erected at Cherry Creek. A government telephone line was constructed about 1910 and natural gas was discovered in 1936. School attendance increased over the years and bigger and better facilities were added. As more people settled at Cherry Creek Station, housing became inadequate. Housing projects built additional homes and today there are many families living at Cherry Creek. Rural electricity came to this area in 1954 and a water storage system was added in about 1960. The water was really not very good but in 1981 the rural pipeline was erected and runs throughout the reservation providing the best soft water ever had. A semi-permanent highway and bridge across Cherry Creek was built in 1966 connecting the Bridger and Cherry Creek communities. A 17 mile hard- surface highway was built running east of Cherry Creek to Highway 63 in 1975. Gone now are the log houses, the kerosene lights, teams and wagons and all have been replaced with electric lights, automobiles, telephones and many electrically-heated homes. One does still find the ax and saw as many people like to cut their own firewood and use a wood stove. Many of the old family names of Cherry Creek are still surviving; to name some of them, Little Shield, Runsafter, Brown Thunder, Swan, Creek, Ward, Condon, Blue Arm, Straight Head, Eagle Chasing, One Skunk. There are many others and their stories and those of their descendants are scattered throughout this Ziebach County publication. [photo – Pete Longbrake with the cake served on his last day as clerk at Cherry Creek Post Office. Thelma Frame, postmaster at Dupree, was present to install Maynard Dupris as the clerk. HOW DUPREE GOT ITS NAME (Taken from West River Progress, June 2, 1938) by Eb Jones [photo – Main Street South, Dupree, South Dakota, 1952] [photo – Welcome to Dupree] Early in the year 1837 a young man of French-Indian descent left his Canadian home at Ontario, Canada and made the long trek down the Ohio River to St. Louis, and to the mouth of the Big Missouri River. He arrived just in time to see the incoming trappers and traders from the great Northwest country come in with their winter's accumulation of furs and hides. This youth was named Fred Dupree, Sr., spelled Dupris by Fred himself. Upon the return of the traders to the northland, young Dupris engaged himself with the American Fur Company for a term of five years, and with the return of the American Fur Company men, he joined them in their 2000 mile canoe trip. The American Fur Company, it must be remembered, was organized and owned by John Jacob Astor as early as 1808. Arriving at Sublette's Fort, then at the mouth of the Yellowstone River, he paddled up the mouth of the Big Horn, where he was stationed that winter, and began a long stretch of twenty years of hunting, trapping and later, scouting and fighting Indians for the government. He was among the very first of the whites to spend some time in the Black Hills country with a party of Cheyenne Indians on the Cheyenne River, not far from Hot Springs. At this time he had for partners Basil Claymore and Joe Larvie, both having come into South Dakota in the early 30's, and who likewise have a host of descendants in the state. Incidentally, Joe Larvie is the father-in-law of the late James Scotty Philip and also Mike Dunn, who was Dupree's first banker. About the year 1859, Dupris put in a winter about five miles up from the mouth of Cherry Creek, hunting and trapping. Later he lived for a time at the mouth of the Okoboji Creek on the east side of the Missouri River, not far from Ft. Sully. From here he moved to the mouth of Morphodite Creek on the Cheyenne River just below where the Carlin Bridge is located south of Eagle Butte. He was living there when I became his nearest neighbor and continued to until 1890, when he moved across to the north side of the river, just where Highway 63 comes down the hill to Cheyenne River bottoms and he died there in 1900. He was considered as being very wealthy at the time of his death, indeed the wealthiest man in the west river country. It is said that he left over one hundred thousand dollars in cash; more than 1500 head of cattle and more than 800 horses. It was Fred Dupris and the late Louis LaPlante who delivered the Shetak captives from Pt. Pierre to Ft. Randall in December, 1862. These two women and their five children had been taken prisoners by the Sioux during the New Ulm, Minnesota uprising that summer and were taken to the Missouri River at the mouth of Grand River, just across the river in the bottoms. Today this spot would be just below the Mobridge highway bridge. Friendly Indian youth had traded for them and had gotten as far as Ft. Pierre. Here Dupris and LaPlante took them to Ft. Randall, 200 miles down the river in the dead of winter, with several feet of snow on the ground, and it was bitter cold. Ft. Randall was located on the west side of the Missouri River and south of the present town of Lake Andes. Dupris had a large family -- ten children if I recall rightly. Mrs. Fisherman first lived for many years on Cottonwood Creek, where the Hensley and Starr ranch was later located. Pete lived at what was called the Circle P springs. He died in 1899. His wife was a Cadotte mix-blood from the Standing Rock Reservation. He lived about three miles above Pete and Xavier. Mrs. Ward, the wife of Clarence Ward, was well known at Dupree. Ed Dupree bought my father-in-law, Joseph Langlois, out on Bear Creek which joins the town of Dupree. The town should rather have been named after him. Ed lived there until he died. His wife was Mary Traversie, a daughter of Paul Traversie. I think she still lives on the Moreau River, not far from Dupree. Armenia became the wife of Tom Blue Eyes, who lived for many years at what was called "Blue Eyes Spring", close to where the Smith ranch is now. I think they are still living on the Grand River. Josephine married Joe Volin in 1896. I was at their wedding and sold them the ranch below Dupree. Later he sold it to Quill Ewing and it became known as the Ewing Ranch. Fred married a girl from the Yankton Agency and established himself at the mouth of Cottonwood Creek. His wife still lives at Cherry Creek and last but not least is Marcella, Mrs. D. F. Carlin. I wrote up their wedding, and in it, I found that the printer had made a few grave errors in regards to the number of kegs of whiskey the old man had there for the crowd. There was one keg (they said) but there were really two kegs. The truth is there were two kegs all right, but the Old Man put one down in his own cellar for the special use of his white friends who were invited to drink whenever they wished to, but I don't mean to say that they all got drunk, for they didn't. There wasn't a drunk man at that wedding -- red or white -- for that was one thing the old timers did not do when in company with Indians, so it cannot be said that the Carlins had a drunken wedding. Everyone, however, had a fine time and everyone still remembers having been there, which would not have been possible if they had gotten drunk and that's fifty-two years ago.! The Dupree Leader, July 28, 1910 had this item about the name of the town being corrected: ''At last, the United States Government has come to rescue the memory of Fred Dupree, Sr., one of the earliest white settlers in South Dakota, by declaring that the new town which was named in his honor, but sadly misspelled Dupris on the maps of the Milwaukee railroad, should be known as Dupree and the spelling be made to conform to the spelling of the old pioneer on the government maps and plots. The old settler was of French descent, and the railroad took the French spelling of the name, with the result that no one recognized it as the name of the old pioneer. The United States Land Office received an order from the Department of the Interior dated June 24, to the effect that the spelling of the townsite Dupris be hereafter changed to Dupree on all maps and plots. The change was brought about, so the letter states, by the action of Charles H. Burke, who took up the matter, wrote the department explaining the circumstances, and asking that the spelling be changed to accord with the original intention. So, from now on, the townsite will be known as Dupree to the United States. - - -Corson County Chief." [photo – The first blacksmith shop in Dupree was owned and operated by Jimmy Crorkin, located on the same lot where the Masonic Hall stands. Jimmy Crorkin came to Dupree with the Railroad construction crew] [photo – Dupree Depot] [photo – Looking north on Main Street, Dupree, So. Dak.] [photo – ‘First Restaurant in Dupree 1910 – Owned by Henry Lafferty] [photo – The first grocery store in Dupree 1910, owned by Hank Maupin. Left to right – Hank Maupin, Art Lafferty, ?, Bill Sculley, ?] Bert Smith related this interesting information: About the first of September, 1910, I left my home in Minnesota for the sole purpose of building a store for F. R. Barnes at Dupree, South Dakota, and after that work was finished, I helped with the Keller Store, the Melow Drug Store, and also a grocery store for Tolly Maupin. When I first arrived in Dupree, I could find no place to sleep. Hayes Milton had a livery stable and he allowed me to sleep in the barn, for it was midnight when I arrived there. Mr. McGarraugh was instrumental in obtaining a lineup on the work that was to be done in the town of Dupree. MEMORIES OF AN EARLY DUPREE by Maye Lafferty Ronshaugen My memories of an early Dupree include remembering the many really fine people who came to "homestead". They would arrive at the railroad station (Dupree had two trains a day in those times) with no one to meet them and nowhere to go until they could get transportation to "their land", which sometimes boasted only a sod hut and a hand- dug well. My parents befriended many of these people and made friends who remained so for a lifetime. They were really good and great people. My mother was an accomplished seamstress and often helped newcomers with her talents when the need arose. She had once supervised sewing classes at St. John's Episcopal School at Oahe. In Dupree's earlier days, her devotion to her church was often expressed by being able to offer her home for services (before St. Phillips had a church building), by baking bread for Communion Services, and by providing hospitality to the bishops when they visited their missionary outposts in this area. In the early 1920's, after my parents had built a new home, which at that time was one of the larger houses in Dupree, many well remembered teachers made their school-term homes with us. In regard to remembrances, I wonder how many readers of this history will recall the Flu Epidemic of 1917, or the first Armistice Day Celebration for World War I when we had a huge bonfire in a gravel pit near Cemetery Hill? Or when Dupree bought an airplane to be piloted by Sim Jeffries, Dupree's own World War I flying ace? My parents deprived me of my hour of glory when they refused an invitation for me to accompany Jim Shelton, long-time friend and the owner of the Dupree Hotel, on the first paid passenger ride local residents were to have. He had paid $100.00 for the privilege and he and the pilot had agreed that since I was a very small girl, I could have fitted nicely in the plane with them. I have had countless plane rides both at home and abroad since that time, but I still regret the missing of that opportunity. Another memory I find especially poignant is that of recalling the time when radios became available and how many of the townspeople pooled their resources to buy a large Atwater-Kent which was housed in the depot where we could all go for an evening, sit around a pot-bellied stove (in winter), and listen to a Hastings, Nebraska station whose reception was cleverly engineered by Frank Bednar, depot agent. Great was the joy! As one grows older, memories of family, places, and things once again become lovingly familiar. Ah, things historical! How they have enriched our lives and little did we know as they were being acted out how much they would eventually mean. "PICKERVILLE, 1910, OR GLAD VALLEY" by Leona Corwin (in 1960) Mr. and Mrs. William Picker and their son, Walter, accompanied by Mrs. Picker's mother, Mrs. Saam, and brother, William Saam, started from Stanley County, South Dakota in 1910 in a covered wagon to establish a new home in Ziebach county. On the way, a second son, Grant, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Picker. Upon arriving, they homesteaded two miles north of the present site of Glad Valley. They built a roadhouse - - a place for room and board -- and a livery stable. They named their little village Pickerville. Soon other buildings sprang up. Albert Solberg put up a store building, the first post office was established, and was kept in connection with the store, he being the first postmaster. Mr. Carl Rust was the first mail carrier from Isabel to Pickerville. He drove a team of white ponies. A recreation hall was built, where the social gatherings were held. The homesteaders played pool, held dances, etc. Dr. H. Matter surveyed the first mail route road. Otis Domina was the mail carrier for many years after the post office was moved to Glad Valley. In 1914, Mr. Solberg decided to move his store over on his own claim west of Glad Valley in the Butteview area and gave up the post office. Vic Matter was appointed by the Post Office Department as postmaster then, and a building was made ready on his homestead for the post office. Matter's had named their farm, "The Glad Valley Farm" when they moved to their homestead in 1910. Therefore they had the name changed from Pickerville Post Office to that of Glad Valley Post Office. The only salary paid in those days was the cancellation, which amounted to less than $10.00 per month. Dr. H. Matter acted as assistant postmaster until the department retired him at the age of 85 years. Mrs. Alvera Unterseher was then appointed postmistress and she moved the post office to its present site. In 1925, George Unterseher bought 40 acres from Vic Matter and he moved in some buildings and started the first Glad Valley Store. Their son, David, built the garage and house that now (1960) accommodates the post office. Mrs. Becker was the postmistress until ill health caused her to resign. She sold the property to Mr. and Mrs. Merle Matter. Merle has served as postmaster since 1952. The Glad Valley schoolhouse was started in the fall of 1911. Vic Matter, with the help of other neighbors, did the work. Following a hot, dry summer, there was a very cold winter. School did not open until after Christmas, but the term extended into July. John Vale donated the land where the schoolhouse stands, and he was hired as the first teacher at a salary of $25.00 per month. Later the structure was enlarged to include the building as it is now. Dr. H. Matter, formerly of Iowa, came to Dakota to retire as a physician and surgeon, but he soon learned his services were needed in the new country. He carried his own medicines with him. One wall in his home was built for his drug supplies. He seldom was paid anything for his calls or medicine, but he would go any time that a call came for him to go. During the winter of 1918, when the flu was taking its toll, Dr. Matter would ride his pony to make the calls on his patients, as far as the Twin Buttes country. He often scolded, when his patients would not obey his instructions. He never lost a patient. John Corwin and Pete Jensen drew filing numbers for homesteads in 1910. The wind blew away the first claim shack of John's and he built his second home at the foot of a hill. His family came in June 1911, whom he met at Isabel, and he was driving to his claim one mile west of Glad Valley, when the wagon tongue broke. He had to walk six miles to get help. The family huddled under the wagon out of the hot sun. After dark, he arrived back at the wagon and he had 14 miles yet to go. Mr. Corwin bought the first steam engine in that part of the country. He broke much land for his neighbors, for the breaking of land was considered as improvements. No crops in 1912 were raised. However, the old steam engine was used to haul neighbor's wagons like a train in the winter to provide lignite from Black Horse Creek. (Mrs. Merle Matter was Leona Corwin). GLAD VALLEY by Joanne Witte [photo – Glad Valley Store, Rex Witte, owner.] Rex and I purchased the store from Elfrink's in 1956. Since most of the customers were charge accounts, and since we had no money, we both worked at other jobs. I taught school in winter and Rex ran the store. In the summer Rex did odd jobs and I ran the store. Our jobs overlapped as when he nightlambed and I was still teaching. He would sleep until I had to leave for school and then catch a nap after I got home, before he left for the night. If we got too lonesome for each other, I would go with him on week-ends. We were gradually able to add two freezers and a large cooler, which were essential for milk and produce. Rex became postmaster after Merle Matter retired in October 1963. We have the post office where the cream station had been. We are closing out the store now after running it for 26 years, which is longer than any of our predecessors. Rex has also bought and skinned furs over the years and we work with bees. GLAD VALLEY FIRE DEPARTMENT by Joanne Witte The Glad Valley Fire Department was formed in 1953. It consisted of a tank on a platform at Glad Valley. Anyone in the community who spotted a fire drove their pickup to Glad Valley, loaded the tank and alerted anyone near for help. A used pickup was purchased in 1954 so the tank was then loaded and ready to go. In 1964 a new pickup was purchased and a tank and platform built on it by the Dreis Brothers. A pump was added. The Civil Defense was established about this time and a radio was placed at Glad Valley. This was truly an aid in getting more equipment to the fire or letting them know if the fire had been contained. When John Walls moved to Eagle Butte, the fire department bought their garage to house the fire equipment. A Civil Defense Dodge was added in 1970, a new truck in 1973, and an army truck tanker from Civil Defense in 1975. It was awkward and slow but a real asset at a large fire because of its water capacity. They also have a Civil Defense jeep. A new Chevrolet pickup was purchased in 1980. At that time the old Dodge was donated to Meadow. as they were just starting their fire department. The trucks and radio were great improvements. One drawback was that people began to assume that the fire truck would put out the fire and often didn't show up to assist. Like all mechanical things, they require humans to make them operate. The first fire chief was Merle Matter. Rex Witte became chief in 1957 and served until in the 70's. During that time, fires were fought from the Grand River to the Moreau and from Highway 73 to north of Isabel. Sometimes Rex was out all day and most of the night. Keith Dorsey, Barton Harris, Bob Dreis and Chuck Anderson have taken their turns at being fire chief. The Fire Department at this time consists of three pickups, a tanker and a jeep. The major fund raiser is an annual Fireman's Dance held in August. IRON LIGHTNING from "History of Iron Lightning School and Community" by Myron G. Armstrong, teacher; 1941: unpublished. By the year 1890, many people of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe had settled peacefully along the Cheyenne and Missouri Rivers. Some families, however, were anxious to find better grazing lands. There was also a desire to live farther away from close governmental supervision. Consequently, a few families hunted for a likely place to found a new home. Some of the men desired to choose for themselves the best lands in the upper Moreau River grazing area. This new home was located on the upper Moreau River, some one hundred miles from its mouth. In the locality, the water and grass were good, the wood plentiful, the wild game still roamed at will, and the population was sparse. No doubt, the fact that the white influence was not very effective in this particular part had something to do with the selection of new home sites. [photo – Iron Lightning Mothers Club, W. W. II: Marie Curley, Helen Marrowbone, Mary Talks, Dora Talks, Veronica, Mollie, and Delores Iron Lightning, Cordelia and Barbara Dupris, Dorothy Talks, Lilie Ruth Mandan and unidentified child] It is certain that some of the Sioux people had come into this area before 1890 and settled in a wide area extending from the upper Moreau to below the present site of the Thunder Butte Station. Here are the translated names of some of these early settlers: Paul Red Bird, Amos Clown, James Fights Thunder, John Lame Eagle, John Two Moon, Abraham White Horse, the Wet Skirt Family, and the Card Family -The Fool Dog, Curley, Mandan, Knife, Talks, and Little Hawk Families were the first to locate in this immediate locality, about 1890. The last of the early settlers came to this area shortly after 1906, when the first approved allotments were made. The Iron Lightning family, for whom the community was named, came at that time. Economic Conditions The people who first came to Iron Lightning had large herds of horses and a few cows. The Indian's wealth was determined by the number and quality of his horses. Many of these early horse herds were remnants of the fine Spanish breeds of the early Spanish explorers. The Federal Government introduced the Sioux people to beef, as a food, about 1880. At first, the Indian people did not like beef, nor milk, complaining of an odor which was repulsive to them. The cattle which the settlers brought along with them formed the nucleus for larger herds and added much to the economy of those early people. It is said that several of these settlers owned herds of horses and cows sufficiently large enough to permit the establishing of bank accounts. Education Some of the present 1941 residents attended school at Fort Bennett and later at the Cheyenne Agency. The first government Day School was established at Plum Creek, south of Cherry Creek in 1886. This and other schools were in the home territory of the founders of the Iron Lightning community. Iron Lightning's isolated location made education for the Iron Lightning people very difficult prior to 1920. In 1907, a Day School was established at the Thunder Butte Station on the Moreau River, twelve miles below Iron Lightning. Most of the founders' sons attended school in Pierre, Rapid City, or the Cheyenne Agency. As white settlers came into this community, the need for a public school arose. The Butler School, a public school, was built approximately two miles west of the present Iron Lightning school camp. This school accommodated many of the older children of this community prior to 1935. Others attended school at the Thunder Butte Station. This situation was not the most satisfactory, for attending school at the Thunder Butte Station meant moving from allotments during the school months to the Thunder Butte Station and education of the public schools was not tailored to fit the requirements of the Indian boys and girls. Many of the Indian families wanted a Day School established for their children. Mr. Grant Iron Lightning, Mr. Eugene Mandan, Mr. Charles Talks, Mr. Peter Curley, and others worked diligently to circulate a petition for a Day School here. The school building was a one-room frame structure, built in 1935 at the cost of $2,988, by means of a WPA grant. The teacher's cottage was completed by the government in 1939, at the cost of $8,000. It was built under PWA (Public Works Authority). (The teacherage was later moved to Bridger.) The name, "Iron Lightning", was selected for the new school because most of the families living there in 1936 were related to Chief Iron Lightning, Mr. Grant Iron Lightning's father. After the school was located and built, several families from the Thunder Butte Station, who had land allotted close by, moved to Iron Lightning. Among them were: William Red Bird, Spot Iron Bird, and David Marrowbone. In 1940-41, nineteen students were enrolled. The early teachers included T. P. Hickey, Miss Leona Johnson, and Myron G. Armstrong. The Moreau River Dam Project was to provide the irrigation of thousands of fertile acres along the Moreau. [photo – Mr. and Mrs. Grant Iron Lightning. Iron Lightning community was named for Grant’s father] Faith Independent, August 13, 1980 CHAUNCEY MANDAN WINS TROPHY. Chauncey Mandan, Faith area cowboy, won the trophy for the oldest roughrider at the Old Timer's Rodeo at the New Underwood Rodeo July 20th, 1980. Mandan has participated in rodeo for 35 years. He has entered saddle bronc and a few bareback events and also the wild horse race. Chauncey Mandan is 62 years old and plans to ride at the Old Timer's Rodeo at Deadwood, August 23 and 24. When asked if he had anything he'd like to say about himself, Chauncey said, "I hope that I die with my boots on!" Chauncey's father, Eugene Mandan, was one of the early settlers at Iron Lightning. Chauncey is a life resident of the community. [photo – Chauncey Mandan wins trophy. Photo by Linda Hipps] REDELM HOMESTEAD DAYS by Charles M. Fuller Frank C. and Lena Eben Fuller, with their three sons and two daughters arrived by passenger train and immigrant car at Isabel in August, 1910 en route to their homestead nine miles southwest of Dupree. Dad Fuller built a 14x28 car-roofed house on the claim, and in September, moved the family there. We were greeted by a rattlesnake coiled by the door. We were among the first three or four families south of the soon-to-be developed town of Redelm. When my father filed on his claim in May, 1910, a booklet from the land office described the variable climate and rainfall and advised the homesteaders that poor years would necessitate maintaining cash reserves and feed supplies from good years. A large topographical map of western South Dakota marked townships, sections and quarters and showed accurately all creeks and draws. The land, flat, rolling or rough was indicated as well as soil types, sand, loam or clay. The area was then part of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation and was under a grazing lease to cattle companies with several thousand head still roaming the pastures. They remained until the 1911 summer roundup. The reservation was fenced on the west at the Ziebach County line extending north across the Moreau River, then east to the Missouri River. The southern border was the Cheyenne River. A cross fence from east to west ran along the township line south of Dupree and Redelm. Bear Creek and Moreau River served as winter shelter for the north pasture, the Cheyenne River and Cherry Creek for the south pasture. We lived within this approximately thirty-five mile wide, seventy mile long pasture. There were no roads, schools or local fences. Wagon trails followed ridges and led to the government stations and schools. The land had been surveyed in 1909. The survey markers of the sections were about three inch square green ash stakes driven in at the section corners with numbers burned on all four sides. Dirt from four holes dug several inches was heaped around the stake. Marking the half-mile on the section line would be a stake with two holes dug near it. To find the center of the section, we measured a buggy wheel, tied a cloth to the rim and counted the revolutions from the half mile stake. Accurate boundaries were marked with stakes. We cut hay with a scythe in the lowlands for winter feed and made a dugout barn along the creek bank. Strips of sod plowed with a walking plow were laid against exterior walls of the house for insulation. The winter of 1910-11 was mild until a bad storm in March. We were forced to dig through the deep snow on top of the barn to a trap door used for feeding, where we found the horses steaming wet and near suffocation from lack of air. The following fall we built a barn on the ground level. Such was the introduction of the three Fuller boys, Charlie, Robert and Arthur, born in 1901, 1902 and 1903 to raw prairie, cactus, rattlesnakes, cowboys and Indians. 1911 was very dry until August when spring planted potatoes and corn came up and grew about six inches before freezing in September. Many homesteaders left the state for harvest work in order to live through the next winter. This was an honest and hardy group of people with dreams of a future, willing to endure hardship with no thought of help from anyone but neighbors. A contract in words was good for a lifetime. In the early days the town of Redelm had a promising future. At one time there was a county-wide election to decide whether Dupree or Redelm was to be the county seat. The town boasted a restaurant operated by Mrs. Reynolds and daughters Mable and Minnie. Her sons were Everett and Pete. Pete Sandoz ran a lumber yard, later Simeon Ross and son, Howard, also operated a lumber yard. L. O. Adams had a grocery store and the postoffice; Bert Smith ran a grocery store. After the Adams store burned, the postoffice was in the depot with Reidar Pederson as postmaster. There was a pool hall operated by Ole Sundsrud and the Ross boys until it burned. There also was a cream buying station. Floyd Campbell was depot agent for the Milwaukee Railroad. Anson Callen moved from his homestead in 1922 to Redelm and ran the elevator and was a barber. The Callen boys were Edgar, Arthur, Leonard, Joseph and Marian. There were several good homes in Redelm. There was no school the first year, a school district had not yet been formed. The parents pooled money and labor to build the Robertson School. Miss Madeline Wallen, who homesteaded with her parents and brother, Jack, taught for five weeks in April and May, 1911. She taught the following year also. Russel Walling was a student I recall among the original group, also Carrie and Mary Bridwell who bearded with a neighbor. Also Harriet and Lydia Lewis, daughters of the Herman Lewis' a mile south of the school. I will try to recall most of the homestead neighbors of the area. There was the Wilbur Vance family with sons Carl, Vernal, Lawrence and Cecil and daughters, Zetah, Florence and Dortha; the Alvin Schuchhardt's with Hilda, Lena, Lenora and Thelma, and sons Ervin and Otto; The Karl Hegre family with Severin, Oscar, Alfred, Chester and Ole and daughters Sophia and Ida. Also Andy Hegre. There was Mrs. Beda Sundsrud with Hilda, Johanna, Olga and Amanda and sons Ole and Penny. She married her brother- inlaw, George Sundsrud. There was Mr. and Mrs. Berndt Christianson and daughter, Marion; Mrs. Spillman and son Charles. The V. S. Wince family with sons Carl, Ross, Paul and Dwyce and daughters Frances and Vera. The Simeon Ross family with sons Howard, Edward, Lawrence, Wally and Lee and daughters Ella, Amy and Eileen. Oscar Hanson lived south of Redelm, also Lars Tysver and Fred Nelson. Then there was Roy Daugherty, John and Kate Leber, Ludwig Graslie, the Evans brothers, the Barney Lannen family and Mr. Lannen's father, Hjalmer Ringsby, J. Swanson, Dr. Huff and Pete Gammon, Fred and Lou Ritter families. North was Ed Armentrout and his mother, Wallings, Roy Fish, the Elmer Lovelady family, also Tom Lovelady and Ole Hoaas, Harry Powers, Ermine Powers and Jane Cape, the Earl Moore family and John Olson, Jim Hersey family and Cliftons, the Lars Peterson family, Orbecks and a Nelson family, the Day family with sons Floyd and Dewey and daughters Ethel, Lelia and Sylvia, Minkners, V. J. Smith and the Heckel family, Roy Scott, Warren and George Knipfer, Lee and Loretta Eaton, Chris and Rate Williams, the Hortons, Peter and Paul Knott and a sister. Sincere apologies to any homesteaders I may have missed. Frank Fuller spent many years as county auditor and treasurer and as deputy for the same offices in Ziebach County. Mother, the brothers and I did much of the farm work. Bert Smith came to Ziebach County as a carpenter. He tells some of his experiences at Redelm: "In the late fall, I built the first most modern home in the country for Oscar Hanson, who lived south of Redelm, and many homestead shacks for people as they moved in. In the early summer of 1911 the settlers wanted me to start a trading post, so I built a store. Maupin and I had a partnership at first, but as cards and a grocery business did not mix, we dissolved the partnership. Earl Vance was my next partner and we had a good business. He had a good business head and a personality that the people liked. Next the settlers wanted a post office and they got up a petition for me to be their first postmaster. I got my appointment under General Hitchcock, which I held until 1916. Howard and Ed Ross and myself had the first steam thresher in Ziebach County. We covered a lot of ground, from the edge of Dupree to fourteen miles east of Faith. [photo – Red Elm’s First Depot, 1910] HOW REDELM GOT ON THE MAP by L. O. Adams In the Faith Country Book In the fall of 1910, when the road graders for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway made camp 9 miles west of Dupree, they called the camp Red Elm, because there were all elm trees along the creek where they camped. In the spring of 1911, it was plotted for a townsite and at once it took the shape of a village, overnight. Jake Nelson started the first lumber yard. Pert Smith built the first general store. Later L. O. Adams built and started a general store. Frank Haagen from Dupree built and started a hardware store. A restaurant was started by Hoaras McMann. Everyone in business doing well and working overtime. The lumber yard was doing the best business, a team of horses and wagon was at a premium hauling lumber out for homesteaders building homestead shanties, and some built barns also. In the spring of 1911, Redelm got a post office. Pert Smith was the first postmaster. In 1912 Pert Smith's store and post office burned down and L. O. Adams took over the post office and held the office until 1927, when he sold out and went into ranching. 1911 was a busy year and the country was building up. Simeon Ross, who homesteaded one mile southeast of Redelm, owned and operated a big steam plow outfit and broke sod for the homesteaders. A. B. Nygaard, who homesteaded two miles west of Redelm, also operated a big steam plow. In 1913, N. O. Nielsen built and started a pool hall and lunch counter. James Thomas, a homesteader of northwest of Redelm, started a blacksmith shop. George King from Faith started Redelm's first newspaper, called the Redelm Record. Now Redelm was a thriving town with a depot and a large stockyard, and really looked like a town. But in a few years it met with disaster, the railroad weed burner went through and burned the depot. A strong wind was blowing from the southeast and fanned the blaze to the lumber yard close by, and also other buildings close by. [poem - Redelm – Red Elm Is it one word or two? Even the road signs Do not agree So we’ll leave it up to you.] [photo – Approaching Redelm from the west] [photo – Approaching Red Elm from the east] LATER REDELM RECORDS Contributed by Ed Ross, Lawrence Ross, Vera Wince Fuller, and Charles Fuller for the Faith Country Book [photo – Threshing time at Fred Nelson’s. F. Meyer, August Hanneman, Fred Nelson, Lloyd Teller, Graslie, Warren Knipfer, John Bieber, Lawrence Ross, South Redelm] [photo – Redelm, 1930] [photo – Smith & Vance Store in Red Elm, 1911] A land office built by Nels Nelson was later turned into Lars Tysver's cream station. E. L. Schetnan bought the Redelm Record and later moved it to Dupree, and changed the name to The West River Progress. Simeon Ross built a lumber yard in 1913, and sold it to Schroder Lumber Company who in turn sold it to the Anderson Lumber Company. After their fire of 1919 they rebuilt on main street. About 1932 or 1933 they discontinued and tore the building down. Part of the building was sold to Anson Callen for a home and moved to the northwest part of town. In about 1930 the L. O. Adams building, owned by Tom and Florence Griffin, burned. Warren J. Knipfer now took the post office in his store, located in the building which was Louis Robertson's pool hall originally. Later Warren Knipfer had his store moved down to the southwest corner of main street, on the Anderson Lumber Company site. Across main street was Dewey's Day Garage. Later Mr. and Mrs. Day went into the grocery and creamery business until about 1940, when they moved to Oregon. Pete Reynolds purchased the store at this time and ran it until 1953, when he sold out to Francis Stocklin. Other grocers through the early years were Rosenthahl, Clarence Johnson, John Sejnoha and H. V. Nielsen. Mrs. Flora Reynolds at one time ran a restaurant. Simeon Ross built an elevator in the southwest part of town which was torn down and sold in 1918, part of which was sold and put into a barn, and still stands on the L. W. Eaton farm. Bagley Elevator Company built an elevator across from the depot in 1918, which burned in 1922, and was rebuilt. Anson Callen managed this elevator and also had a barber shop in his elevator office. This elevator was dismantled in 1938 and part of the lumber was sold to Charles Fuller, and is now the barn of the Ralph Freeman ranch. The railroad had two section houses and an ice house west of the depot. Among the section foremen were F. Pitsor and Charley Batson. George Fuller worked on the section. Anderson Lumber Company had a company residence, occupied at various times by Art Farstad, "Pete", Albert Sandoz, and Keith Styles. Grant Iron Lightning built a nice home which was later sold to Charlie Bjork, which in turn was purchased by Darrel Griffith and is now his ranch house. The first Redelm School sat on the hill where the present school sets. Some of the early teachers were Edna Walker Drummond, Mable Reynolds Ross, Everett Reynolds, Earl Vance, Lucille Eddy, Grace Stevens, Leona Callen, Mrs. L. W. Eaton, Esther Anderson Orbeck, Betty Johnson Tibke, Lillian Birkeland, Homer Nordvold, Ruth Davis, Edith Jensen Dexheimer, Ruth Lovelady. The summer session in 1911 was taught by Madeline Wallen. Redelm also had a high school, with Miss Ann Holey teaching the term of 1922-23 with six pupils -- Vic Nielsen, Chester Hegre, Sylvia Day, Belva Skinner, Noble Harmon, and Esther Fuller. The next term was taught by Eva and Alice Payne. Another room had been added and the school house became the social center of the community. Music for dances was furnished by the Callen orchestra, and Orbeck Bros. (Adelstein and Eyold). Early clubs were The Thimble Bee, Women's Missionary Circle, Prairie Home Extension Club, Red Cross Unit during World War I, and the Good Will Club, organized in 1934. The Redelm Cemetery Association was incorporated October 17, 1919 with the following officers: President, H. V. Nielsen; Secretary, A. B. Sandoz; Treasurer, Jessie Smith; and Trustees, Ludwig Orbeck, Louis Rosenthal and L. M. Tsyver. A cemetery was staked out southwest of town. Near the location of the school was a Catholic Church which was later moved to Faith. Then a Lutheran Church was moved in, but was moved out in 1924. In 1923, Daniel Baker and family moved to Redelm from the Bixby country. Dan Baker ran a blacksmith shop on the hill for approximately twenty years. He also had a welldrilling outfit. Mr. and Mrs. Baker lived a long and useful life, Mrs. Baker living to her late '80's and "Daddy" Baker to the age of 96. In 1930 Severin Hegre and Al Tibke established a bulk oil station. Tibke purchased the Lumber Yard house and later moved it to Dupree. Some of the early depot agents were Waterman, Hanson, Floyd Campbell, George Dimick, Mrs. Metzel, Charles Donnenwirth, Jr., and Constance Kirby. Reidar Pedersen was custodian the last years of the depot. He also had the post office nearly fifteen years in the Depot, until the railroad sold it in 1957. [photo – The Fourth of July Picnic at Redelm was an annual event. Notice the politician who always showed up to give a speech] [photo – 1910 or 1911. V. J. Smith and Samuel Haller, south of Redelm] [photo – Ole Sundsrud and his tractor and Model T. South Redelm area] This anthem was sung during the heated contest over where the county seat would be located. BOOSTING FOR REDELM To Tune of "Marching Thru Georgia" Bring the Redelm booster boys, Who work with might and main. They will make a tussel, We are in the battle boys The county seat to gain, While we are marching to victory Chorus: Hurrah, Hurrah, we're sure to win the day, Hurrah, Hurrah, it's coming our way, So we'll shout the news from Eagle Butte to Faith, While we're boosting for Redelm. Courage boys the fight is on, The song is almost sung, The clouds they are now breaking; The victory almost won, We will show Dupree How the trick is done, While we are marching to victory. Chorus: We must work together boys, The county seat to gain, Dupree will give us scornful looks, But we are not to blame, For we are all for justice boys To all alike the same, So we are boosting for Redelm. Chorus: --Redelm Thimble Bee Society [photo – L. O. Adams store, 1911, Redelm] [photo – Gathering of young people, 1911 near Redelm ] [photo – Red Elm, 1911] RED SCAFFOLD The history of Red Scaffold begins with the people who settled along the upper Cherry Creek, after Hump's and Sitting Bull's bands returned from Canada in 1881, and again after the survivors of Big Foot's band returned from the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. Many of these people lived thirty miles from the sub-station at Cherry Creek, which was the central point for business. Trips to the station took three days at the least. Each family desiring to get rations was compelled to make the trip once a month. Narcisse Narcelle built his NSS headquarters a few miles west of present Red Scaffold. Many 'old-timers' rode for Narcelle. Ed Lyman and James Chasing Hawk chose allotments west of Narcelle. Other settlers along upper Cherry Creek were Eagle Staffs, Ed Red Bull, James Bear Stops, and George Little Crow. Phillip Black Moon and John Little Star lived on Cherry Creek, east of Narcelle's, in the 1940's. Billy Circle Eagle's allotment was north on Red Scaffold Creek, as were Drag Rope's, Curley's, and Lillibridge's. Hollow Horns and White Wolfs settled around the mouth of Red Scaffold Creek. The Did Not Go Home, Comes Out, Holy Bull, and Phillip Lone Eagle families lived east of present Red Scaffold. Charlie Knife, Charging Clouds and War Bonnets lived near present Frazier. Owl Kings, Brown Wolfs, Little Dogs, Dan Red Bull, Thunder Hoops, Widows, Shoots Offs, Longbrakes, Inamongsts, Knights, and Bridwells were among the families who lived on Ash Creek. Many of the old family names such as Brown Dog, Grouse Running, and First Eagle are no longer heard in Red Scaffold. By 1911 a Catholic church, St. Plus, had been built south of the Cherry Creek, near Paul Chasing Hawk's. St. Mark's was built by 1921, east of Red Scaffold. In 1938 it was moved into Red Scaffold and named Sacred Heart. Education of the children during the early 1900's required living near a Day School such as Carson, Turtle Creek, and later White Swan, or sending the children to boarding schools in Rapid City, Pierre or Cheyenne Agency. [photo – Burial Scaffold. (SDSHS)] [photo – Red Scaffold, 1940’s] [photo – poster for 1936 Celebration in Red Scaffold] [photo – Traditional burial scaffold (SDSHS)] [photo – Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Council, 1963. Front row: Isaac Useful Heart. Second row: Dennis Buffalo, Ray Clown, Pete Smith, Ernest Ducheneaux, Catherine LeCompte, Frank Ducheneaux, Tribal Chairman; Eunice Larrabee, Schuyler Phillips, Emmett Hollow Horn. Back row: Alex Chasing Hawk, Ben Hawk Eagle, Olney Runs After (hidden), Andy LeBeau, Leonard Claymore, Gib LeBeau, Kenneth West and Howard Dushane, Superintendent] In the 1930's, while John Collier was Commissioner of Indian Affairs, a change in philosophy at the Federal level brought the Wheeler-Howard or Indian Reorganization Act, Tribal government and BIA Day Schools which completely reversed the educational process. These schools were to become the center of community activities. Their purpose was to give training to the adults as well as to the children. [photo – Pow Wow at Red Scaffold] [photo – Pow Wow at Red Scaffold] [photo – 1956-1957 Cheyenne River Basketball Team. Seated: Fred Knife, Andy Candon, Eugene Red Bird, Melvin Bagnola and Bob Mandan. Standing: Burkie Ducheneaux, Carroll Swan, Darrell Hump, Ronald Clown, James Chasing Hawk, and Gus Kolb] This area organized as a district and took the name of Red Scaffold. A celebration in the summer of 1936 commemorated the event and a scaffold was built near the mouth of an original scaffold. Red Scaffold and Red Scaffold Creek get their name from a traditional burial scaffold. Some say that the original scaffold was painted red. Others say a red blanket was used on the scaffold to honor the dead person, possibly a brave leader or an oldest son. Charles Royer ran a store in Red Scaffold, near the present rodeo grounds, in the 1940's. In the early days, he had driven a stagecoach from Philip to the Cheyenne River, possibly to Pedro. Joshua Comes Out had a log building on a flat north of Cherry Creek. It was called Joshua Comes Out Hall and many dances were held there. HISTORY OF THUNDER BUTTE by Amos Clown (1862-1943) This story was told to the school children by Amos Clown in 1941. Mr. Clown was a member of the Bowless Band and told the story of the Bowless Band from the time of Custer's Battle until 1941. He told the story of Custer's Battle as he saw it from a distance. Being only thirteen years old at the time he didn't have to take an active part in it. A Winter Count was used to verify certain dates. Amos Clown held a prominent place among his people. In 1941 he was eighty years old, blind, and residing at the home of his daughter, Mrs. James Makes Trouble. "After the Custer Battle we left the scene and headed for the Black Hills. We camped here at the foot of the Hills. It wasn't long before General Miles came up with his soldiers and also the Crow Indians as an ally. We fought here for three days. Many were killed on each side. We moved away from there and the different bands began to move back to their reservations. Our Tiyospaye, led by Chief Spotted Eagle, wandered up to Canada. We stayed in Canada three years and in 1881 we came back to the Tongue River in Montana. There we met General Miles, who was stationed there with his regiment. General Miles issued us rations once a month. In the spring of 1881, he made us put in a garden, like the community gardens we have today. Our gardens were fine that summer, but before we could harvest our crop, General Miles received orders to take us down the Missouri River in steam boats to Fort Yates. The younger men drove our stock cross country. We camped here at Fort Yates for three weeks. Then orders came that we were to be transferred across the Missouri River to Fort Bennett. Here our guns and ammunitions were taken away and the officials gave us back two head of our horses for every head of a family. We were then counted and told that we now enrolled in the Cheyenne River Reservation. We were kept at Fort Bennett awhile and after we were tamed down a little, we wandered back to Bowless Bend. The Bowless Bend was straight south of the present site of Eagle Butte on the Cheyenne River. We lived here one year and the next summer Chief Spotted Eagle moved up to the mouth of Bear Creek. We didn't move up in a band, but came up in families of two's and three's until our band was scattered as far as White Horse Station. We were looking for a homesite to build our homes. In 1883 the government gave us land but the home sites we first picked were not legally ours, but we had an understanding with each other that that was to be our land. In the summer of 1883 Chief Spotted Eagle was sent to Washington, D.C. The next year in 1884 we received oxen, wagons and implements for farming. In 1884 Chief Spotted Eagle went back to Washington, D.C. and this time we were issued one cow for each person, two mares and five draft stallions. In 1889 General Crook came to this reservation to help divide the land. He also told us that the agency was to be built northeast of the present sight of Rapid City. In the 1889 treaty we were to have homes built out of the pines of the Black Hills. We were to receive a Sioux benefit payment as long as we lived. We were to receive rations and half of the gold mined from the Black Hills. He told us that in thirty years we would go back to the Black Hills and live. In 1891 we lived up the river from the mouth of Red Earth Creek near Green Grass. Sitting Bull was killed and his bands moved in with us. The people that came down from North Dakota were poorly dressed and half starved. These Bands became restless and started moving toward the Agency. We also went along and camped at Fort Bennett. Here we were guarded by soldiers as we were many in number. The official's didn't know what to do with these six or seven bands of Indians. They decided to keep these bands here and enroll them in the Cheyenne Agency. These groups of Indians were from the Standing Rock, Pine Ridge, Rosebud, and Santee Reservation. This is one of the reasons why we have land owned by different people from other reservations. Some of the Chiefs from these reservations came after their people. Those who wanted to go back with their Chiefs went back, others stayed. General Miles then told us to go back to our lands which we picked as homesites and plant a garden. We came back and went to work on our gardens. Some of the people had horses, some oxen, and other used spades. We had very good gardens that year. We then had a council of all the Cheyenne Sioux at the agency. We all agreed not to visit another reservation for five years. During this five year period we were not supposed to kill any of our cattle. We had plenty of horses and cattle on this reservation and the grass was knee high all over the prairie. We all had our figure brands and initials above. My brand was a C on the right thigh and III on the right shoulder. During the sixth year we could get passes to visit other reservations. It was during this time we came to Thunder Butte to pick out our permanent homes. We camped where Jim Iron Bird's home stands today. As we were living in Bands we picked out our land close together so we could visit each other every day. In 1902 Chief Straight Head moved up here and had a following of his own. These people belonged to the Roaming Bird and Plants by the Water Tiyospaye. Chief Moses Straight Head is considered to be the most outstanding Indian on this reservation in the last fifty years. In 1904 Chief Iron Lightning drifted into this district for the first time. He was a noted Chief who had three wives at one time, all living together. He located across the river from where Grant (his son) is located today. He is buried near his homestead. In 1905 the west end of the Cheyenne River Reservation was fenced. That spring in May we had a big snow storm in which many of our cattle and horses were lost. A hundred head of horses were found in fence corners frozen to death. Most of our horses had shed their winter coats and they started drifting with the wind. When they' couldn't go any further they piled up. In 1906 we received our rations every month, and when a child was born he was issued land. In 1907 the Utes were escorted here from their wanderings in Wyoming and Montana by the Cavalry from Fort Meade. The Utes and the Cavalry stayed here a year. In the fall of 1907 the entire Sixth Regiment of cavalry was sent out to stop a disturbance growing out of their refusal to place their children in school. The next year, in 1908, they were taken back to their home reservation at White Rocks, Utah." THUNDER BUTTE AS IT WAS IN 1941 Thunder Butte is located fifteen miles north of Dupree, South Dakota, on the Moreau River. The Station itself is nearly an island as the Moreau winds itself almost around the Station and leaves about a twenty-foot road, for us to get to and from the Station and school. In the summer when we have our rodeo and baseball games this is the ideal set up, as no one enters except through this one passage. The camp site is a mile away from the Station and school. The people live closely together. About two hundred feet is the farthest distance one would have to travel to reach a neighbor. In the summer, after school closes, about ten of these families move back to their own allotments. There are twenty-eight families here with a total of one hundred twenty-five people. The community is mostly full-blooded Cheyenne River Sioux, and like most communities it has its leaders: Moses Red Bird, Robert Straight Head, and Jim Clown. In 1907 the buildings that now stand were being constructed. The warehouse was built first, then the farmer's cottage. Then the schoolhouse and cottage. The materials used in the construction on these buildings were hauled overland from a station called Evarts, just below the present site of Mobridge. Some of the lumber used was cottonwood, gotten from the Cheyenne Agency. The agency had a sawmill there and most of the joists used in the construction of the teacher's cottage are cottonwood. The teachers at Thunder Butte were: Beginning in 1907: the Cawlins, Zackmans and Bungas (Chippewa). In 1916, the school was public and Mae Stewart taught. From 1917 to 1922 there was no school, perhaps because of the flu epidemic. Opening again in 1922 as a public school, teachers were Mrs. Paul Stafford and then Miss Lila Thompson. Returning to Indian School status in 1926, the teachers were the Porters, Neilanders, Mrs. Blessing, the Mile Blowers, George Fox, and the C. Mackeys through 1941 (Mr. Barber was the last Day School teacher, leaving in August, 1965. The school closed that fall and the children were bussed to Dupree.) Farm agents at Thunder Butte Station: Beginning in 1907: Healy, Baker, Eugene Rousseau, Meyers, Deli Meter, Forrest Stone, and John F. Carson (taught school at Cherry Creek in early days). In-the years 1918- 1919, there was no farmer. Between 1919 and 1941, agents were: L. R. Beckley, H. Wallace, S. Pugh, M. J. Pribble and C. A. Nelson. THUNDER BUTTE by Raymond Clown [photo – Henry Red Bear’s grandfather, One Bull – age 94] [photo – Maggie Elk Nation and Mary Bagola] [photo – Mr. and Mrs. Jobe High Elk] Beginning back in the 1890's the people started staking claims along the rivers and creeks, Owl Creek (Hin han wakpa) or Moreau River. They built their homes and lived there, raised stock, planted gardens, and received rations once a month. They have to go after their rations clear down to Old Cheyenne Agency, along Missouri River. Finally they start building Sub-stations about 1900. Thunder Butte Sub- station is one of them. More people moved west, over to the reservation line, so the government started to build a school at Thunder Butte Sub-station about 1904. In 1906-1908, the Ute Indians came from Utah and some lived along the Moreau River, Sophia Creek, Worthless Creek, Thunder Butte Creek and Beaver Trap Creek. The Army camped one mile west of Thunder Butte Sub-station. Lots of graves can still be seen on the knells, and holes dug by the Army for their tents can still be seen. In 1935 there was the Reorganization Act and they built more schools. So people who lived out on their land started moving into communities. Around 1935 they quit issuing rations. Everybody had to look for work and then in 1936, the drought started. No water, no hay. The government started relief projects: W.P.A., P.W.A., E.C.W. and C.C.C. camps to help the people earn a little to live on. Lots of Indian boys were in the service in World War I. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Council issued 30 heifers and 1 bull to each Indian serviceman, to help them make a living by raising livestock. After this, the government built dams on the Missouri River and flooded lots of Indian land. With money for that land, the Rehab Program was started, to help people raise cattle, farm, or open small businesses. So, once more, the people started to move back out to their places, those who qualified to participate in some program. All the programs ended in 1977 and now everybody is on some kind of working program, to make a living. In 1974 the Housing Authority built 15 houses in Thunder Butte Community. That left a ghost town west of the new housing area. In 1980 they built a water line to Thunder Butte. Thunder Butte Oyate (Community) The people that used to live along the banks of the Moreau River and Thunder Butte Creek are as follows, beginning from the reservation line 16 or 18 miles west of Thunder Butte Substation: A few miles east of the reservation line, at a big bend along the river bottom, lives Fred Allison and his wife. At the next place a few miles from it lives George Short Bull, married to Ka sla la. Charlie Knife lives above the mouth of Flint Rock Creek. Puts on the Shoes lives down along the Flint Rock Creek, southeast of Charlie Knife's place. No children. They adopted a daughter. Her name is Sophie Puts on the Shoe. [photo – Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Slides Off, parents of Owen Slides Off] [photo – Joseph and Emily Clown, parents of Elsie Slides Off] [photo – Moses and Anna Red Bird working in their garden near Thunder Butte Station] Sophie Knife, daughter of Charlie Knife, married Ed Black Bear, grandson of Chief Crazy Horse. No children out of this wedlock, but Sophia has a daughter still living on the bend. Northeast of Charlie Knife lives Peter Talks, married to Mary Traversie Dupris. [photo – Delegation to Washington, D. C.: Eastman, Daughter of Straight Head, Mr. Straight Head, Fish Gut, Charger, Mrs. Charger, Major Craig and Mrs. Fish Gut (SDSHS)] [photo – Episcopal Church, Thunder Butte] Next bend on east of Peter Talks' place lives Thomas Fox. Right across from Thomas Fox lives Charlie Roach. Right south of Charlie Roach up on hill lives Charlie Talks. Charlie married Dora Iron Lightning. East of Charlie Talks, down along the river, Thomas Swift Bear used to live there years ago. Whole family died. Book Talks, sister to Charlie and Peter Talks, married Paul Widow from Red Scaffold area. East of Swift Bear, across the river, live the Iron Lightnings. This man has had three wives. To the northeast of Iron Lightning's place lives Shell Necklace (Pan ke ska na pin), also on the north side of the River. But they moved across the river to the South bank of Moreau River. Just south of their place lives Paul Fool Dog (Sunka witko), a bachelor who later married Rate Drops Two. Old Fool Dog's place is now where Iron Lightning community is established. South of Fool Dog's up on hill, lives Peter Curley. But they didn't live there very long moved to north of St. Luke's Church, between Moreau River and Thunder Butte Creek. Northeast of old Fool Dog's place, across one bend, lives Two Moons. Across the River from Two Moons' lives Joseph Marrowbone (Ta cu pal. His wife is sister to Mrs. Two Moon and Mrs. Bear Thunder (Mrs. Ti go han ko ke pa). To the south of Marrowbones', across the river, lives Bear Thunder (Teyo ha koke jpa) and his wife, (Hin han lu ta win). Their son is Thomas Bear Thunder or Elk Eagle. East of Bear Thunders lives Long Mandans. Across the river from Mandans, St. Luke's Episcopal Church is located on 80.0 acres of land. [photo – Henry Andrew Red Bear, a great-grandson of Sitting Bull, has lived at Thunder Butte 56 years. His wife Louise, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Amos Clown, is a descendent of Chief Crazy Horse] [photo – Amy and Ed Clown] [photo – Moses Red Bird] Rev. John Promise used to live there. East of the church, across the river, old man John Black Smith (Maza ka ra) used to live. His son, Tommy Black Smith, also lives there. He later moved to Pine Ridge Reservation. [photo - Mr. and Mrs. Owen Slides Off, Jack and Julie] Across the river towards north lives Mr. and Mrs. Lame One. Across the river from them lives Thomas Eagle Chasing who married Lame One's daughter, Annie Lame One. One of their kids is still living. Mrs. Annie Eagle Chasing- Red Bird. Towards the northwest, across the river from Eagle Chasing, lives Luke Marrowbone up on the flat, north side of the river. East of Marrowbones, along the river, lives Blows On Himself (A e kpo ran) or Wasu (Hail). Across the river from that place Iron Birds (Sa ke) and Charlie Blue Horse live close together, as old man Iron Bird and Mrs. Blue Horse are sister and brother. Across the river toward south, on the south side of the river, lives Moses Straight Head. This man also married a lady from Cherry Creek. East of Straight Head on the same side of the river, Robert Straight Head used to live there, married to Susan Marrowbone. North of Robert Straight Head's place, same side of the river, (south side) lives Standing Straddle. North of Standing Straddle about 1/2 mile lives Bear Looks Running. He moved to Cherry Creek along Cheyenne River. East of Bear Looks Running, across the river: Frank Logg (Can ka pi) used to live there. He moved to Old Agency. East of Cedar Grove, across the river, lives Eugene Slides Off and his wife, Bessie. East of Slides Off lives Black Eagles Justin Black Eagle and his wife Louise. They have one child, Luke. He married Elizabeth Loves the War, of Standing Rock. They adopted a girl. Her name is Eldora. East of Black Eagles lives Thomas Brave Alone. The Butte Sub-station Campground on 40.0 acres. Schoolhouse and farmer's house, warehouse and police quarters. Now start at the mouth of Thunder Butte Creek, northwest of the campground. That's where the Utes and the U. S. Army had a winter camp in 1907-1908, on both sides of the river, east of Thunder Butte Creek. Countings used to live there, east of Thunder Butte Creek, just above the mouth of the creek. About 5 miles up the creek, Eugene Slides Off used to live over there. About a mile up the creek, people by the name of Fish used to live there. About three miles up the creek lives John White Hawk and his family. West of John White Hawk's lives Drops Two family. George Top of Lodge lives southwest, up on flat. His brother is David. They are all dead. About 10 miles west up the creek lived Charlie Roach before he moved to Moreau River. Come back down to the east branch of Thunder Butte Creek, called Beaver Trap Creek. Paul Red Bird and his family used to live over there before they moved to Moreau River, three miles east of Thunder Butte Substation. Frank Corn married Molly Red Bird; lived northwest of Paul Red Bird's place along the Beaver Trap Creek. The only one living now out of that family is Minnie Corn-Noisy Hawk. Back to Moreau River going east: East of Paul Red Bird's, north side of river, lives Henry Stricker who married Margaret Red Bird. East of Strickers, same side, lives Joe Clown and his family. Across from Joe Clown's place is the old place where Amos and Julia Clown make their home and raise their children. There is a cemetery about half a mile west of the place, where Julia and Amos Clown were buried. Pvt. Moses Clown's grave is there. East of Clown's about a mile across the bend of the river is Bentley's homestead. They lived there for quite a while and moved out. East of Bentley's, at the mouth of Worthless Creek or Irish Creek, was where the Utes used to camp, along the river and up the creek. East of the mouth of Worthless Creek, next bend, old man Takes the Blanket used to live there. All there is left is one log house, in the middle of the field. East of Takes the Blanket's, around the bend on the south side of river, lives Joseph Scar Legs and his family. His daughter is Mary Scar Legs Bagola. This is the last place that comes toward Thunder Sub-station to get their rations. All others from there east go to Eagle Butte or other places to get their rations. Chris and Kate Williams live south of what is now Iron Lightning. (Ta pe to la) Giles lives south of Thunder Butte Sub-station about seven miles, toward Dupree. Tony Ackers and his family used to live east of Thunder Butte Sublstation, on the south side of the river. There used to be a store at Thunder Butte Camp run by To win Abear. [map of Thunder Butte Oyate – showing the locations of the homesteads] THUNDER BUTTE CHRISTMAS by Edna Place Pesicka Mr. Earl Zachman, the teacher of the Government Day School, and his wife, who did the cooking for the noon meal, lived with their two young children in a five room cottage near the school. The schoolhouse consisted of a long cloak room, with the facilities for washing and brushing of teeth. Then the large schoolroom for the children and their teacher, and at the rear, was a large room used for dining and cooking purposes. As I was teaching in the Birkenholz home, I was invited to spend the Christmas vacation at the Zachman home three and a half miles away. The Indians, Catholics, Episcopalians and Congregationalists were preparing a Christmas entertainment and feast to be given on Christmas eve at the school. The Zachmans and their guests were asked to attend. Mr. Zachman had prepared colored sacks (made of mosquito bar netting) of candy and nuts with a gift for each of his pupils. Mrs. Zachman and I took his gifts over to the schoolhouse in the afternoon to place at the base of the big tree, and such a tree! It must have been the tallest one that could be found on the reservation. It was planted in a large tub, weighted and wedged with rocks and dirt. The top was bent over three or four feet. The tree, as far as ornaments were concerned, was bare, but with the many beaded gifts, such as hat bands, hair and headbands, gauntlets, necklaces, belts and moccasins, which hung from nearly every branch of the tree, made a beautiful sight. After depositing our gifts, we went to the kitchen and were invited to sit down at a long table, where a number of Indian men were sitting, drinking coffee and eating thick slices of bread with roast beef. These men had been riding all morning in the cold. The stove in the kitchen part of this room was the largest cookstove I have ever seen and was covered with large kettles of boiling meat, several enormous coffee pots and teakettles of boiling water. At the zinc covered work tables, older women were peeling potatoes and preparing other vegetables to be cooked. They invited us to step into the pantry and asked if we thought there would be enough pies. Shelves, about one foot apart ran along both sides of the pantry and each shelf was stacked with pies, one on top of the other, as high as the shelf room allowed, row on row, more than 300 pies. These were mostly two-crust pies, filled with dried fruit, peaches, apples, raisins and apricots. Also mince, squash and pumpkin. We left promising to return to their feast that evening. From the Zachman home, we could see a steady stream coming in wagons and on horseback, to the feast. The families having children in the school, lived or camped about a half mile west of the school, during the school year. While we were at dinner that evening, Mrs. Tony Acker came. She sat down and ate with us, then brought into the teacherage her contribution to be taken over to the school later. It consisted of 20 leaves of bread, her own baking, several large frosted cakes, a few pies, a big roast of beef and a three gallon stone jar of plum preserves. When we arrived at the schoolroom in the evening, all the seats and desks had been removed. The teacher's large desk, a chair or two, the heating stove and the tree, stood like sentinels in different parts of the room, which was packed with Indians sitting in groups, half circles or rows on the floor. The women, in spite of the heat from the large stove, were all wearing heavy bright colored plaid or striped shawls. Nearly all women, men and children had on beaded moccasins. Giles Tapitola bade us enter and had chairs brought from the other room for our party of twelve. He had the chairs placed where we could see all, but could understand nothing. After each speech or talk, given by both older and some younger Indian men, about Jesus and the Spirit of Christmas, Giles interpreted in substance the gist of each one. The school children recited and sang songs in our language. The white guests were then asked to talk, sing or recite. We all responded and the Birkenholz children sang several songs and recited the pieces they had learned and had given at our own program. Mr. Tapitola interpreted again for the benefit of the older Indians. By this time the children began to get restless and one chubby little fellow, Frank Giles Tapitola, sitting close to the tree, spied a crate with two roosters within it. No sound had been heard from then until young Frank began to pull feathers from their tails, which act produced a big squawk and brought much laughter from the spectators. Old Santa came in dressed in furs and feathers. He had on a cap similar to a dunce cap, very high and trimmed with bells. His face was painted in a merry fashion, not like a warrior on the warpath, but with friendly lines marked in yellows and reds. The children left their mothers and flocked to old Santa, shook hands with him and were given candy boxes, bags of nuts, apples and oranges. After the children had all been given their treats, the older ones went to the tree and received the same. The stores of Dupree had sent out several crates of oranges and boxes of apples, candy and nuts. As soon as the treats had been distributed, names were called to go to the first table, our names being called first. Mrs. Giles Tapitola and Mrs. Eugene Slides Off were two of the women who waited at the table. There were about 50 sitting at our table. On the table was bread, creamery butter, plum preserves, chokecherry and buffalo berry jelly, beans, mashed potatoes, roast beef, brown gravy, cakes, pie and coffee. Then there was a special treat. This consisted of meat, boiled and ground, and chokecherries with seeds pounded to small particles. This mixture was sweetened and rolled into balls, then set to dry for special treats. When each table had been emptied, it was reset and more names called. Everything was not eaten, but each squaw wore a tie around apron, which became the receptacle for a portion of each dish that was passed. Jams and jellies were put in pails or cans, or boxes brought for that purpose. The contents of the aprons were emptied into pails, clean flour sacks or baskets brought for that purpose. After returning to their places, when all had eaten, they began on the first list again, to come back to the table for more food. Our party did not go back to the dining room again, as it was getting late. We thanked our hosts for the lovely entertainment and the bounteous feast and left. Mrs. Acker came into the Zachman home after all was over, about 3 o'clock. She said every pie, cake, loaf of bread and morsel of food was gone. The gifts of poultry, blankets, shawls, moccasins, etc. were given in a very quiet manner by the donor to the recipient, while we, at the first table were eating. Mrs. Acker told us they would all meet somewhere on New Year's Eve to go through with it all again. GHOST TOWNS by Ruth Edwards There are at least five communities which are no longer on the map: Brayton -- a ghost town north of Iron Lightning Station and about 2 miles east of Perkins County line. In the early 1900's it was a post office for people in the northwest part of Ziebach County. Pleasant Valley -- in the late twenties, the people that lived south of Eagle Butte in the Rudy Creek vicinity, decided they needed a church so they got together and built one. They already had a school so they thought the place should be named. Father Golden and Mr. Hiedt named it Pleasant Valley. Later they added a store. Arrowhead - from Call of the Prairie, written by Oscar Lund. Arrowhead, which formerly was located between Redelm and Faith, is now a part of the memories of the homesteader. At one time there were several stores which did a thriving business. The Schroeder Lumber Company was in the community for five or six years. F. A. Haagen hauled lumber into the town, but after selling a couple of car loads, decided there was not enough business for two yards. George Hendricks owned a general store with the post office in a part of the store, with his sister, Minnie, in charge. Mrs. Fisher had a lunchroom across the tracks to the north. A livery barn was in evidence. A store owned by a man by the name of Cochran, sold groceries and dry goods. The depot had no agent but cream was shipped from this point, and the mail was handled there. Local ranchers put in a set of scales and chutes were built to accommodate loading and unloading of stock. A large schoolhouse was built to accommodate the patrons of Arrowhead. Sweet was the contractor and he hired local help to build the structure in 1912. This building was torn down a few years ago and was used to build the local locker plant in Dupree. Louis -- was a store and post office near Thunder Butte Station in the early 1900's, run by L. D. Bentley. They later established a store at Thunder Butte and the post office was moved there. Thunder Butte post office closed in 1910. CHASE COMMUNITY The following information was received from Neoma Johnson: Chase had its birth in 1911 during the heydays of homesteading in South Dakota. It was located one mile west and 11 1/2 miles south of Dupree -- just east of where the Cherry Creek road detours around the east branch of Ash Creek, known to the local citizens as the "bend in the road.'' Nothing remains today of the original townsite. The land is part of the Alfred Herren estate. At the time of its beginning, Chase consisted of the typical inland post office and store owned and operated by Albert F. Chase. The mail was delivered by stage from Dupree. By 1913, Mr. Chase decided to leave Ziebach County and the post office was moved across the section line to another claim holder, Mrs. Claus Swanson. Mrs. Swanson was postmistress for approximately two years. In about 1915 the post office was moved again, this time to the Pennington Ranch, now owned by Ron Fields. In 1920, Chase made its last move, this time to the N. D. Jennerson farm. Mr. Jennerson was postmaster from 1920 to 1936. One day in 1936 an inspector from the postal department called at Chase and after a look at the records informed Mr. Jennerson that Chase had lived its day. Chase was erased From the map. Shortly after this, Mr. and Mrs. Jennerson moved to California and both are now deceased. Their son, George, lives in Los Angeles. This farm is now owned by Harold Johnson. The building which housed the post office burned in 1972 along with the post office fixtures, so all that remains of Chase today is memories of the few who remember the trips to the Jennerson place to pick up the mail and "chat a bit" with Mrs. Jennerson. The Chase Star Route still remains and has been extended to the Cherry Creek Star Route. Some of the early mail carriers were Miss W. Picker, John Barren, and Jesse Miller. Hank Burgee served the Cherry Creek mail route for many years. The present carrier is Mrs. Arlene Martin. Jack Pollard of Oregon writes that when Mr. Chase moved to Dupree, his father bought the building and moved it to his homestead next north of the Chase place. The next summer, Jack was born in that post office. He states that "I was the last male delivered in the original Chase Post Office". Chapter 8 SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS (Lodges and Clubs) SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF ZIEBACH COUNTY Isolated as it was and is in some respects, Ziebach County definitely developed along social lines since its organization in 1911. Its inhabitants have shown a decided interest in the establishment of churches, schools, lodges, and organized amusements. FRATERNAL LODGES Ziebach County began to organize lodges in 1911 in an attempt to bring about a closer life within each community. The fraternal orders in the County were located in Dupree, the largest town in the County. The first two organizations in Ziebach County were the Maccabees, which was organized on June 14, 1911, and the Modern Woodmen of America, which was organized on January 25, 1912. Both of these organizations are now inactive. In June, 1912, Masonic Lodge No. 171 was organized. The lodge has had a continuous existence since that time and now has a membership of forty-two. The first meetings of this organization were held in the Berglin Hall, which served as the lodge rooms until 1928 when the lodge moved into a section of the American Legion Building. In the early 1950's the former Bixby Store was moved in to Dupree and still serves as the home for Masonic Lodge No. 171. The Masonic Lodge No. 171 has honored several of their members with 50-year pins and they are as follows: Watson Tidball, Frank Gladstone, Frank Davis, Art Farstad, Chris Williams, John Leake, and Leo Starr. In June, 1918, the auxiliary lodge to the Masonic Order, the Order of the Eastern Star, Liberty Chapter No. 132, was chartered and had a membership of sixty. The order used the rooms in the Berglin Hall until 1928 when they moved, along with the Masonic Lodge, into the American Legion building. Liberty Chapter No. 132 merged with the Eagle Butte chapter in 1969 currently boasts a membership of seventy-two. Edith Olson is a 50-year member. There are five twenty-five year members as well. ODD FELLOW LODGE Memento Lodge No. 231 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was organized in Dupree on Februrary 18, 1914. The charter members of the organization were: Levi C. Hurst, Hugh S. Walkup, Frank A. Haagen, James D. Stewart and Harve Hensley. Other members who joined the Dupree lodge during the first year were: O. A. Nyhus, Archie G. Hughes, A. W. Robertson, Thomas R. Nelson, George Kruckman, G. A. McGarraugh, Lloyd C. Strommer, Carl L. Strommer, Wilbur H. Scott and John R. Retz. At the time the lodge was organized in February there happened to be warm weather which melted the snow and put a large amount of water in all of the draws. Levi C. Hurst related that he had to ride a mule from his farm northeast of Dupree to get through some of the places. Another old time member was W. T. Searson, who started out to the meeting when the lodge received the charter, only to be forced to turn back because of high water. Mr. Searson was travelling on foot from his home five miles north of Dupree and could not cross some of the draws. Mr. Searson willed his house and lot in the town of Dupree to the lodge upon his death. The lodge disposed of the property by selling it. The first meetings of the lodge were held above the August Bakeberg pool hall. When the new courthouse was built in 1930, the lodge purchased the old courthouse building for $1200.00 and moved it to the present location and later remodeled it to fit the needs of the lodge. Arthur R. Hurst, a member of the Dupree lodge, became the youngest Grand Master to serve the state of South Dakota and served from June 1941 through June 1943. He was also the only Past-Grand Master to serve two years. This was caused when in the early days of World War II, travel restrictions were such that it was considered unwise to hold a Grand Lodge meeting. Mr. Hurst was a representative of the state of South Dakota at the Sovereign Grand Lodge meetings held in Chicago, Illinois in 1941; Indianapolis, Indiana in 1943 and Dallas, Texas in 1944. [photo – Rebekah Lodge and Odd Fellow Lodge picnic in early 1930’s at Orbeck’s. Back Row: 1. Art Hurst, 2. Frank Fuller, 3. William Jones, 4. Alvin Denton, 5. ?, 6. Lloyd Hurst, 7. ?, 8. ?, 9. Fred Nelson, 10. ?, 11. Levi Hurst, 12. George Gray, 13. Lon Merritt, 14. Chris Solum, 15. ?, 16. Otto Stensland, 17. Ben Kinney. Front Row: 1. Nels Olson, 2. Vernon Oliver, 3. Anson Callen, 4. John Bauer, 5. W. T. Searson, 6. Vernal Vance, 7. Roy Lawrence, 8. ?, 9. Raymond Nelson, 10. ?, 11. Verdo Rinehart, 12. Mose Denton, 13. Gif Lafferty, 14. Bill Stevens, 15. George Teegarden] [photo – Odd Fellow Lodge and Rebekah Ladge Picnic in early 1930’s at Orbeck’s. 1. Mrs. Searson, 2. ?, 3. Mrs. Callen, 4. Beulah Denton Vance, 5. Gertrude Stensland, 6. Mrs. Oliver, 7. Anna Denton, 8. Mrs. Ben Kinney, 9. Florence Vance Grage, 10. ?, 11. Bernice Denton, 12. ?, 13. Esther Fuller Wince, 14. Leona Callen, 15. Mrs. Fuller, 16. Della Fuller Hegre, 17. Mary Stephenson, 18. Neta Nelson, 19. Mrs. Anson Callen, 20. Ada Merritt, 21. Mrs. Orbeck, 22. Amida Lawrence, 23 Bessie Stevens, 24. Verna Brown] The present membership of the lodge is 23. The officers are as follows: Noble Grand Harry Stambach; Vice Grand -- LeRoy Wicks; Secretary -- Robert Ritter; Treasurer -- William Marple; Warden -- Kenny Hertel; Conductor -- Eugene Henderson; Chaplain Willis Thomas; Right Supporter to the Noble Grand -- A. F. Godschalk; Left Supporter to Noble Grand -- Pat Marple; Right Supporter to the Vice Grand -- Leonard Ritter; Left Supporter to the Vice Grand -- Clinton Farlee; Inside Guardian -- J. T. Stout; Outside Guardian -- Jim Frame. MEMENTO REBEKAH LODGE #159 OF DUPREE, SOUTH DAKOTA The lodge was instituted on January 25, 1915 with the original name of Memento Branch Rebekah Lodge No. 159. The charter members were: Frank Haagen, Grace Foreman, Charlotte Strommer, Andrew Strommer, and Flora Reynolds. The first officers of the institution were: Frank Haagen, Noble Grand; Mrs. James D. Stewart, Vice Grand; Grace Foreman, Secretary; Mrs. Frank Haagen, Treasurer; James D. Stewart, Charlotte Strommer and Gertrude Nelson, Trustees. We took the name of Memento Branch as we were an auxiliary of the Memento Odd Fellows Lodge. The first lodge meetings, including the institutional meeting, were held in the building owned by Archie Hughes. They continued to hold their meetings in this location until in 1924 when they began holding their meetings in the rooms over the Bakeberg Pool Hall, continuing their meetings in this location until the fall of 1931. Earlier in 1931, the Odd Fellow Lodge, with the help of the Rebekahs, purchased the old courthouse building, moved it onto lots on Main Street which they had purchased, and remodeled into a nice Lodge Hall. In 1938 they added a kitchen, 14 ft. across, onto the west side of the building. Early activities: The first Rebekah District Meeting was held in Mobridge in1928, in which Dupree Rebekahs took part. Their first delegate was Bessie Stevens. For years the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs of both Dupree and Faith held annual family picnics in the Orbeck park near Red Elm. Our ways of making money (and we needed lots of it in remodeling our hall, etc.) was by raffling quilts, putting on carnivals, barn dances out at the Christensen farm south of Dupree, putting on suppers, giving series of card parties, serving the Junior-Senior banquets, and holding food sales. In August 1931, the Rebekahs were put on the State Honor Roll. In June 1938, the Degree Team had the honor of being asked to put on the Degree work at the Rebekah Assembly Meeting held in Mitchell, and eighteen members attended the session that year. We have installed a water system in our kitchen, installed a rest room, carpeted our meeting room, lowered the ceiling and put in new ceiling tile and paneled the walls, making a much nicer looking lodge hall. The Odd Fellows did the work. Our next project is to panel our kitchen and put down a new linoleum in it so that it will be a nicer place in which to work. Our present membership is 43. The present officers of the lodge are: Amida Lawrence, Noble Grand; Shirley Menzel, Vice Grand; Janice Marple, Secretary; Lucille Fairbanks, Treasurer; Alice Shannon, Chaplain; Inga Birkeland, Warden; Nellie Ross, Conductor; Nola Seymour, Inside Guardian; Tina Farlee, Outside Guardian; Marian Stambach, Right Supporter to the Noble Grand; Myrtle Olson, Left Supporter to the Noble Grand; Irene Starr, Right Supporter to the Vice Grand; Lena Speker, Left Supporter to the Vice Grand. ROYAL NEIGHBORS OF AMERICA Royal Neighbors of America, Pleasant Camp 9911 of Dupree was organized September 17, 1925 largely through the efforts of Effie Leake and Mabel Clifton. The Charter was signed by Laurella Willardsen, District Deputy and Mina Wood as State Supervisor. Charter members were Elfina Birkeland, Mildred Birkeland, Louis Bogue, Ella Bogue, Nancy Brammer, Sylvia Broberg, Elsie Cassidy, Henry Clifton, Mabel Clifton, Beulah Denton, Ida DuSell, Margaret DuSell, Emma Garrett, Bernice Griffith, Tresa Hahn, Effie Hall, Edith Jamison, Effie Leake, George Leake, Cornelia Menzel, Margaret O'Donnell, Fern Olmstead, Elsie Orbeck, Ludwig Orbeck, Melvin Osler, Winnie Osler, Luella Quirk, Gertie Rinehart, Marion Shaffer, Ruth Solomonson, Gertrude Taylor, Lewis Taylor, Zella Taylor, Lorna Vance, Barbara Wuennecke and Jennie Wuennecke. The first officers of this Camp were: Oracle, Sylvia Broberg; Vice Oracle, Lorna Vance; Past Oracle, Effie Leake; Recorder, Mabel Clifton; Chancellor, Cornelia Menzel. Today we have a membership of 260 members living throughout the United States but keeping their membership in Camp 9911. When this Camp was organized the meetings were held in the Berglin Hall and later moved to the basement of the Legion Hall. In 1949 the Camp moved to the I.O.O.F. Hall where they met for several years. Meetings were held in the Masonic Hall for three or four years and now meet in the homes. We have donated to families in times of disaster, sickness, served lunch to relatives after funerals, donated to the Grandstand Building fund, speaker system at the school. In the early days card parties were held. Every fall we have a pot-luck turkey dinner and party where everyone has a good time. In order to make money for projects we sell various items. EDWIN HODGDON POST #124 AMERICAN LEGION In midsummer of 1919, many of the servicemen having returned to their homes in and near Dupree, Ziebach County, the matter of forming an American Legion Post in Dupree was talked over by a number of servicemen. Of the men who were outstanding in getting the Post started, the man that did the most pushing was August J. Bakeberg. Mr. Bakeberg was the first post commander and this was made possible through the efforts of Martin Broberg, Harley Frink, Douglas Brush, Roy Lawrence, Herman Hommedal, Severin Hegre, John Askin, Simeon Jeffries, Harley Hagen, Harold Leake, William Ogard, Gustave Yusko, Chris Williams, Ward Zimmerman, Lloyd Dunbar, John Francis, plus many others who assisted in organizing. Following a custom of naming Legion Posts in South Dakota, the name of the first serviceman from Ziebach County to give his life for his country was selected as the name of the Dupree Post. That man was Edwin Flavius Hodgdon. The number assigned by the State Department was 124. The full name being long, the Charter was issued on December 20, 1919, as Edwin Hodgdon Post #124, American Legion, Department of South Dakota. The following servicemen were charter members: William T. Crowley, Hugh I. Batterbery, Herbert P. Davis, Ralph C. Walling, Clyde M. Lafferty, Simeon J. Jeffries, Maurice W. Lange, August J. Bakeberg, William H. Cain, Roy A. Walling, Francis M. Thomas, Frank H. Creamer, Harley H. Frink, Thomas W. Sawyer, and Whitefield Denham. [photo – American Legion Hall, Dupree, S. D.] [photo – New Legion Building] Little is known of the life of Edwin Flavius Hodgdon for whom the post was named. He came to the county and was working for William Ewing, east of Dupree, in the fall of 1916 and registered with the Local Board in June 1917. In August 1917, he secured his release from the Local Board and enlisted in the Navy. He went from Dupree to San Francisco, California and enlisted as a fireman and was assigned to the transport service. His vessel was fired on and Hodgdon was killed and went down with his ship. At the time of his death he was in his 28th year. In the first World War, Ziebach County sent 197 men to the service. Twelve were killed or died of diseases. They were: Edwin Flavius Hodgdon, Charles Yousites, Oliver Leslie Roberts, Henry Lloyd Strommer, Karl Schumann, Edward F. Cors, George Diermier, Moses Clown, Jacob Christianson, George J. Pederson, Joseph Dupris, Carl Hageman. Roy Lawrence, Henry F. Burgee, and Milan Salisbury are among those honored as 50-year members. In the second World War, Ziebach County sent 302 men and four women to the service and eight men gave their lives. They were: William H. Birdhorse, Vaughan E. Hedges, Stanley Thomas, Milford Vrooman, James E. Falon, Jack Hunter, Ralph Olson, Herbert Heimer. In January of 1945, Legion Post #124 purchased a large plaque that was placed in the Ziebach County Courthouse. This plaque contains the names of Ziebach County servicemen and women that served in World War II. The Edwin Hodgdon Post #124 has received the annual Americanism citation many times throughout the years, citing them for worthwhile and outstanding service to their community. The Legion building was first planned in the fall of 1920, and work was actually begun in 1921. The building was forty feet wide by ninety feet long and sat on a full basement. The $12,000 building was completed and by 1936 was completely free from debt. The first floor included a dance floor, a stage, and a balcony. The basement had a large dining room, a fully equipped kitchen, a large club room, and a furnace room. This building served the community for all large gatherings. It was even used by the Dupree High School as a basketball court, and accommodated 500 people. It faithfully served area residents for over fifty years. In the spring of 1977, the Legion sold their building to Ralph Reede. Then in the spring of 1979 they purchased a building on north main street that had been built within the past year , and had been partly damaged by fire. They repaired the building and opened it for a Legion Club. The Legion and Auxiliary both hold their meetings in this new building and it is operated six nights a week as a Legion Club with managers Bob Menzel and Mike Burgee. Bingo is held there every Friday night by the Legion. The following is a list of World War I veterans who filed discharges at the Ziebach County Courthouse. * indicates died in service. Abraham, Adolph Amundson, Amend Amundson, Peder Anderson, Axel Askin, John Aydelotte, Robert Bakeberg, August Beguhl, Arthur Bennett, Walter Benoist, Albert Bengston, Philip Beyer, Paul Blevins, Roe Bloom, Frank Bockman, Edward Bockman, William Borelson, Sam Breezley, Fred Brendt, Edward Broberg, Erick Brush, Ellsworth Brush, Kenneth Burke, Thomas Budahl, John Burgee, Henry Burke, John Cahill, Roy Chasing Hawk, Allen Christianson, Jacob* Cleveland, Alfred Clown, Moses* Cornstalk, David Cors, Edward* Creamer, Frank Crowley, William Dahl, John Davis, Herbert Day, Floyd Delker, Jacob Diermier, George* Docekal, Raymond Dosch, Wendelin Dunbar, Lloyd Dupris, Joseph* DuSell, Earl Eaton, Levi Eberhard, Arthur Eberhard, Edgar Echelbarger, Lawrence Echelbarger, Leo Elshire, Orville Farstad, Arthur Fischer, Michael Fish, Albert Flick, Jurgen Francis, John Frink, Harley Fuller, Frank Gall, Gabriel Gammon, George Garr, Harvey Geesey, Lloyd Graslie, Martin Griepp, Rudolph Hageman, Carl* Hancock, Levi Hanneman, August Hass, Nicholas Hawk Eagle, Thomas Hegre, Severin Hensley, William Herren, Oscar High Elk, Joe Hoagland, Thomas Hodgdon, Edwin* (for whom the Dupree Legion post was named) Hoffman, Henry Hogan, Frederick Holmes, Calvin Hulth, James Jeffries, Simeon, Jr. Jennerson, George Jensen, Hans Johnson, Guy Kerkebak, Andrew Kimmel, Andrew Kimmel, Ralph Konkler, Walter Krikac, Thomas Lawrence, Roy Leake, Ernest Leake, Harold Leake, John Lovelady, Thomas Loza, John Matter, Merlin Mattkis, Frank McNeely, Ross Meier, Henry Mern, William Minnig, Orville Mitchell, Warren Murrell, George Neigel, Jack Nelson, Arthur Nelson, Henry Nelson, William Olson, Henry Orvedahl, Lloyd Parker, Elmer Pesicka, Fred Peters, Joseph Peters, Rudolph Peterson, Frank Peterson, Leland Pitsor, Harold Pop, Frank Raab, Ernest Raymond, Elliott Red Buffalo, John Red Horse, Charlie Roberts, Oliver* Robertson, Glenn Ronning, Sigrud Rose, Alfred Rosenstock, Frank Runs After, George Salisbury, Milan Sargent, George Sawyer, Thomas Schlax, Theodore Schmit, Alixus Schumann, Karl* Sever, Glen Sinkey, Leo Shockley, James Shoener, Dan Shoots Near, Jacob Shope, Edward Slow, Thomas Solbert, Oscar Stavick, James Strommer, Elmer Strommer, Henry* Sundsrud, Ole Thomas, Francis Thompson, Clinton Till, George Valle, Melvin Wagner, George Wall, Bertie Walling, Ralph Wangler, Ferdinand White Feather, James Whitman, Glen Wies, John Williams, Arthur Williams, William Yeshko, Guslov Yousites, Charles* Zimmerman, Ward [photo of plaque – Roll of boys who were in the service in World War II] RESIDENTS OF ZIEBACH COUNTY WHO SERVED IN THE ARMED FORCES This list was compiled from the list of discharges filed at the Court House and from the board on the first floor of the Court House. Some names were added because someone knew others had served in the Armed Forces. Abdalla, Jess Ackerman, Oscar Adams, Cecil Adams, Melville Albers, Cecil Albers, Orville Alden, Leonard Alderson, Glenn Alwin, Lambert Anderson, Arvil Anderson, Bonnie Anderson, Cal Ira Anderson, Clifford Anderson, Leo Anderson, Roy Anderson, Terry Annis, David Askin, John Bachman, Albert Bad Warrior, Dewey Bad Warrior, Gary Bakeberg, Alan Bakeberg, John Bakeberg, Thomas Baker, Reese Bagola, Chapman Bald Eagle, Enoch Bald Eagle, Wilbur Bear Stops, Peter Becker, Lyle Becker, Robert Beckman, Albert Bednar, Robert Beer, Adolph Beer, Freddie Bell, John Bell, Robert Bell, Theodore Bennett, Maclyn Benoist, Donovin Benoist, Narcisse Berndt, Edgar Berndt, Milton Bertsch, Calvin Beyer, Leon Bieber, Jack Bigler, Richard Bird Horse, William * Birkeland, Gary Birkeland, Russell C. Black Bear, Paul Black Bull, Arthur Black Bull, Luke Blue Arm, Arte * Blue Hair, Robert Bochman, Harold Bochman, Donald Boehrs, Clarence Boers, Louis Boldt, John Bowman, John Brammer, Gordon Brammer, Hillis Brammer, Hugh Brende, Bernard Bridwell, Arthur Bridwell, Frenchie (Francis) Bringman, Len Bringman, Melvin Briscoe, Jack Briscoe, Henry Brown, Frank Brown, Freddie Brown, James Brown, Leo Brown Dog, Eva Brown Wolf, Oliver Brown Wolf, Orin Brown Wolf, Rodney Budahl, Chester Buffalo, Dennis Buffalo, Theo Bull Bear, Raymond Burgee, Danny Burgee, Robert Burgee, Roland Burke, Ernest Burnett, Raymond Butler, Bryce Butler, James Callen, Edgar Callen, Joseph Callen, Leonard Callen, Marion Campbell, Clyde Capp, Donno Capp, Earl Capp, Harry Capp, William Carter, Edsel Carter, Wayland Charging Eagle, Steve Circle Eagle, Bevin Clown, Arnold Clown, Blaine Clown, Delmar Clown, Kenneth Clown, Raymond Clown, Richard D. Clown, Roland Clown, True Coats, Richard Coleman, Donald Coleman, Thomas Collins, Frank, Jr. Condon, Bud Condon, Cyrus Condon, Edward, Condon, George Condon, Reginald Condon, Silas Cook, Ames Cook, Dennis Cook, Milton, Cook, Wilson Cooper, Arthur Counting, Kenneth Cowan, Roscoe, Jr. Creamer, Frank Crom, Frank Crow, Patrick Crowley, Eugene Curley, Cecil Curley, Kenneth Curley, Lawrence Daczewitz, Francis Daczewitz, Joel Dahl, Arlin Dahl, Eugene Dahl, Roy Dahl, Selmer Day, Alien Day, Delbert Davis, Frederick DeJong, Gerrit DeJong, John* DeJong, Lue Delker, Verna Dempsey, Eugene Dempsey, Lee, Jr. Denton, James Denton, Robert DeWaard, Jake Diermier, James Diermier, Ralph Dillman, Mike Docekal, Ernest Dosch, Albinus Dosch, Carman Dosch, Courtney Dosch, Victor Dochnal, Joseph Douglas, Winston Drageset, Adolph Drageset, Jens Dries, John Dries, William Dupris, Aldred Dupris, Chauncey Dupris, Jerald Dupris, Percy Dupris, Maynard Dupris, Millard Ducheneaux, Burton Dunbar, Jeanne Dunbar, William Dwyer, Joseph Eagle Chasing, Narcisse Eagle Chasing, Pat Eagle Chasing, Roland Eagle Staff, Esau Eagle Staff, Sam Eberhard, Alien Eberhard, Wayne Eaton, Wesley Edwards, Gaylord Edwards, Leonard Edwards, Lloyd Edwards, Wayne Eddy, John Eliason, Harvey Eliason, Myron Elk Eagle, Ben Elk Nation, Levi Elk Thunder, John Ellwanger, Earl Ellsworth, Joyce Ernst, Donald* Ernst, Floyd Ernst, Herbert Ernst, Robert Eulberg, Albion Eulberg, James Eulberg, Rollin Fairbanks, Harry L. Fairbanks, Larry Falch, Dwayne Falon, James* Farlee, Clinton Farlee, Frederick* Ferguson, Jemyra Fields, Bernie Fish, Dick Fish, Frank Fish, Hank Fisherman, John Fischer, Wendelin Flaig, Harold Fletcher, Lloyd Flick, Arthur Fluharty, James Flying By, Moses Ford, James Frame, Gary Frame, Gerald, Frame, Jimmy Frame, Maurice Frame, Thomas Frame, Wallace Frankfurth, Barbara Frankfurth, Marvin Frankfurth, Theodore Frankfurth, Walter Frederickson, DeWayne Frederickson, Harvey Frederickson, Jack Frederickson, Pete Frederickson, Willis Freeman, Donald Freeman, Jack Freeman, Jeffrey French, Lucille Fuller, William Gage, George Gage, Leo Gage, Rex Ganje, Anton, Jr. Ganje, Anton Ganje, Ben Ganje, Clarence Ganje, Frank Ganje, Joseph Garfield, Dwight Garnett, Floyd Garter, Moses Garter, Samuel Gebhart, Arthur Gebhart, Carl Gebhart, Carol Gebhart, John Gebhart, Robert Gladstone, Clay Gladstone, Dale Gladstone, Frank (Spanish American) Gladstone, Kyle Gladstone, Lyn Gladstone, Scottie Gladstone, Wayne Gottschalk, Clarence Graslie, Louis Graslie, Orville Gray, Harvey Gray, James, Jr. Griffith, Thomas Grondahl, Clifford Grooms, Elmer Gross, Edwin Gross, Harold Gross, Herbert Hahne, Daryl Hahne, Larry Hahne, Leonard Hahne, Lyle Hahne, Randy Hale, Larry Hale, Owen Hale, Leon Hale, Michael Hale, Robert Halfred, Franklin Halfred, Terry Hancock, Ralph Harris, Clint Harris, Vern* Harrison, Cecil Hartinger, Bert Heckel, Edward Heckel, Leo Hegre, Daryl Hegre, Roger Heimer, Herbert* Heimer, Virgil Henderson, Harley Herren, Alfred Herrman, Dennis Hersey, Dick Hertel, Norman Herther, Herbert Higgins, Dean High Elk, Arthur High Elk, Floyd High Elk, Isaac High Elk, Percy High Elk, Theodore High Elk, Wesley Hedges, Dale Hedges, Donald Hedges, Earl Hedges, Vaughn* Hoff, LeRoy Holloway, Glen Hollow Horn, E. R. Holmes, Archie Holmes, Bernard Holty, Alfred Hommedal, Herman Hopkins, Keeler Hopkins, Kenneth Horn, Lawrence Horton, Marvin Horton, Rayford Hortenga, Onei Howard, Verne Huckins, Robert Hump, Darrel Hunt, Gene Hunter, Dick Hunter, Jack* Hunter, Shirley Hurst, Glynn Hurst, Raydon In Amongst, Marvin In The Woods, Byron In The Woods, Joseph Iron Bird, Harry Iron Hawk, Abraham Iron Hawk, Claude Iron Hawk, Haskell Iron Hawk, Levi Iron Hawk, Otto Iron Hawk, Wilson Iron Lightning, Grant James, Robert Jeffries, Calvin Jeffries, Harry Jeffries, Howard Jeffries, Robert Jeffries, Roy Jeffries, Vincent Jensen, Derl Jensen, Edwin Jensen, Rodger Jewett, Gwyn Jewett, Hal Jochim, Tony Johnson, Anthony Johnson, Dannis Johnson, Dean Johnson, Dennis Johnson, Elmer Johnson, Ernest Johnson, Harold Jones, Leland Jordahl, Norman Kapp, Arthur Keckler, Darrell Keckler, Fred Keckler, Ray Keckler, Ronald Keith, Sidney Keller, Anton Keller, Leo King, George Klien, William Knife, George Knife, Theodore Knight, Doug Knight, Earl Knight, Jess Knight, Monte Knodel, Darrel Knodel, Donald Knodel, Earl Knodel, Edward Knodel, Erving Knodel, Floyd Knodel, Herman Knodel, Norbert Knodel, Ray Knodel, Reuben Knodel, Walter Koch, Lloyd Kost, Anton Kraft, Bob Kraft, Roy Krause, Rodger Krikac, Doris Krikac, William LaClaire, Vincent Lafferty, George Lafferty, Jerald Lafferty, Robert Lannen, Anna Lannen, Francis Lannen, Hugh Lannen, Kenneth Lannen, Peter Lannen, Thomas Lannen, Wayne Lang, Floyd Lang, Wilford Leach, Robert LaPlante, Charles LaPlante, Leo LaPlante, Wilbur Larson, Lester Lawrence, Donald Lawrence, Ronald Leake, Clyde Lemke, John D. Ley, Lloyd Libolt, Jack Libolt, Willis Lightfield, Ernie Lightfield, Ernie, Jr. Lightfield, James Lightfield, John Lightfield, Vernon Lindskov, Philip Lindskov, Tom Linn, Floyd Linn, Raymond Little Crow, James Little Hawk, Whitley Little Wounded, Nathan Lodge Skin, Raymond * Long, Isaac Longbrake, Delbert Longbrake, Ronald Longbrake, William Lopez, Albert Lutz, Arnold Lutz, Billy Mackey, Clifford Madison, Marles Main, Earl Mandan, Bert Mandan, Cora Mandan, Edna Marple, Frank Marple, Patrick Marple, Ralph Marple, Robert Marple, William Marshall, Gilbert Martin, Harvey Martin, John Marx, James Marx, Jerry Mathieson, Francis Maupin, Donald* Maupin, John Maynard, James Maynard, Lawrence Maynard, Ralph Maynard, Richard* McCane, Genevieve McDaniel, Donald McDaniel, Gailen McDaniel, James McDaniel, Leo McDaniel, William McKillip, Daniel McLellan, Archie McLellan, Lyle McLellan, Owen McLellan, Paul McLellan, Walter Menzel, Fred Menzel, Lewis Menzel, Robert Miller, Delbert Miller, Donald Miller, Donald D. Miller, Wilbur Miller, William Mittleider, Michael Moerke, Ida Monnens, Edward Morris, Marvin Moxness, Thomas Mraz, Chester Mraz, Darrell Mraz, Edwin Mraz, Herman Mraz, Lowell Mraz, Paul Mraz, Paul, Jr. Mraz, Robert Nelson, C. M. Nelson, Ione Nelson, Niels Nesheim, David Nesheim, Donald New Black Bear, Cyril Newherter, Sanford Nordvold, Sydney Nygaard, Arnold Oakie, Joseph C. Oakie, Stewart Ohnemous, Robert O'Leary, Robert Oliver, Lindsay Oliver, Vernon Olmstead, Dacre Olmstead, Wesley Olsen, Einar Olsen, Norris Olsen, Ralph* Olson, Ole One Skunk, Sampson Ostby, Donald Osler, Clifford Oster, John Oster, Wayne Owl King, Hazel Owl King, Rodger Parker, Darrell Parker, Frank Parker, Gladys Pesicka, Alvin Pesicka, Lawrence Pesicka, Lee Pesicka, Philo Pesicka, Ralph Pesicka, Ralph, Jr. Pesicka, Richard Pesicka, Wayne Petersen, Elmer Petersen, Ernest Petersen, George Petersen, William Pew, Wayne Pfau, Edward, Jr. Pidcock, Archie Pitsor, Dick Pitsor, Ralph Pogany, Ernest Pogany, Zolton Pop, Edward Pop, John Pretty Weasel, Madrick Pritzkau, Carl Pritzkau, Henry Pugh, Norman Radke, Alien Red Bird, Abel Red Bird, Charles Red Bird, Douglas Red Bird, Marvin Red Bird, Maurice Red Bird, Paul Red Bull, Dan Red Bull, Edward Red Bull, Emanuel Red Bull, Gillean Red Bull, Melvin Red Bull, Samuel Reddin, William Red Horse, Leonard Red Legs, Gabriel Reede, Glenn Reede, Ralph Reich, Robert Reynolds, Dick Reynolds, Robert Richardson; Melvin Rickels, David* Rickels, James M. Riede, Robert Riede, William Ringsby, Victor Ritter, Leonard Ritter, Robert Roach, Orlando* Robb, Robert Robbs, Henry Robertson, Warren Rogers, Niel Rosander, Judge Rosenau, Herman Rose, Earl Rose, Robert Ross, Robert Ross, Raymond Ross, Ryan Runs After, Delmar Russell, Calvin Russell, Marvin Salisbury, Merrill Salisbury, William Samuelson, Carl* Schad, Charles Schad, Donald L. Schad, Floyd Schad, Lester Schad, Sylvester Schatz, Andrew Schmautz, Duane Schmidt, Maynard Schrempp, Arthur Schuchhardt, Alvin Schuchhardt, Doris Schuchhardt, Thomas Serr, Gus Sever, David Sever, John Sever, Kenneth Sever, Mile Seymour, Melvin Shaner, Joseph E. Shannon, Philip Shelton, Vernon Shoots Off, Emmett Shuck, Melvin Shunk, Harold Silk, Frank Silk, Herman Simon, Kenneth Slides Off, Melford Slides Off, Owen Smith, Harold Sowers, Richard Speker, Gary Speker, Milton Spurling, William Stadel, Herbert Stambach, Raymond Stapert, Dale Stapert, Lloyd Starr, Brock Starr, Francis (Lee) Steen, Albert, Jr. Steen, Charles Stensaas, Elmer Stevens, Russel Stradinger, Oscar Stradinger, Rudolph Straighthead, Darrel Straighthead, Rosalie Stromer, Buddy Swan, Caurmel Swan, Kermit Swan, Manuel Swimmer, Wayne Takes the Gun, Edward Talks, Lawrence Taylor, Paul Taylor, Tyrone Teller, Stanley Thomas, Arlo* Thomas, Clayton Thomas, Clinton Thomas, Dennis Thomas, Duane Thomas, Stanley* Thomas, Terry Tibke, James Tichi, John Till, Betty Till, Gerald Till, Joe Tracy, Thomas T. Traversie, Maynard Tupy, Stefan Two Crow, Cleveland Ulrich, Daniel Uses Many, James Uses The Knife, Etta Uses The Knife, Thomas Vance, Dale Vance, Dean Vance, Omar Vance, Wayne Vanderpol, Alfred Vanderpol, Lyle Vandervier, Corliss Vandervier, George VanSickle, George Veit, Harold, Jr. Volk, Martin Vrooman, Danny D. Vrooman, Earl Vrooman, Frank Vrooman, Gall Vrooman, Gordon Vrooman, Milford* Vrooman, Vernon Walenta, Robert Wall, Virgil Walters, Jack Ward, Mark Wartenweiler, Keith Warner, LeRoy Weaver, Lynn Weaver, Wayne White Weasel, Oscar Wenzel, Herbert Wenzel, Raymond West, Kenneth White Feather, Burley White Feather, Evan White Magpie, Elijah White Wolf, Moses Wicks, Leslie Wicks, Till Widdow, Edward Widow, Ervin Williams, Donald Williams, Maurice Williams, Ramon Wince, Gordon Wince, Sherman Wilson, Ronnie Witte, Charles Witte, Edward Witte, Frank Witte, Frederick C. Witte, Harold * I Witte, Rex A. Witte, Willard T. Wolff, Walter Woodcock, James Woodcock, Louis Woodward, Beverly Wuennecke, Fred A. Yellow Cloud, Melvin T. Yellow Elk, Carlos Young, Harold Young, Roger Young, Warren Zacher, Eugene Zacher, George Zacher, James Zacher, Leonard G. Zacher, Ludwig Zacher, Ronald Zahrowski, Frank Zahrowski, Leo Zephier, Nelson Zimmerman, James Zimmerman, Ted Zorc, William AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY The American Legion Auxiliary was organized April 23, 1921. Charter members were Mrs. August Bakeberg, Mrs. Hattie Brush, Mrs. Kenneth Brush, Mrs. Gladys Hommedal, Mrs. William Ogard, Mrs. Frank H. Creamer, Mrs. Sim Jeffries, Mrs. Effie Leake, Mrs. George Gammon (Marie), Mrs. Fred Frink, Mrs. Avie Lange and Mrs. Lillian Lafferty. The first officers of this organization were: President, Hattie Brush; Vice President, Josephine Bakeberg; Secretary, Gladys Hommedal; Treasurer, Katherine Creamer. The Executive Committee was Mrs. Sim Jeffries, Mrs. Kenneth Brush, Mrs. Effie Leake, and Mrs. Marie Gammon. The first meetings were held in the homes of the members. Early activities included: patriotic parties with the American Legion, minstrel shows and carnivals. During 4th of July celebrations they served dinners, operated lunch stands, working in various ways to make money to build a Community Hall. Their responsibility was to buy furnishings for the basement dining room and kitchen when completed. The first project they attempted was establishing a public rest room in rooms in the back part of the store building now operated as Dupree Jack & Jill. Later on, as the community building began to take shape, they established a public rest room in that building. [photo – The American Legion Auxiliary sponsored blood drive finds Ann Coleman a willing donor] [photo – Jody Wall reporting on her adventures as a Girl’s State delegate] Each year the organization has attempted to do something under "Community Service". For several years they planted trees and shrubbery in the Courthouse yard and around the front of their own building on main street. One year they purchased tulip bulbs, gave some of them to the various church groups and planted some of them in the Courthouse yard. One year they put up a public drinking fountain in front of the old Light and Power Plant, then operated by the Town of Dupree. Another year they bought two lawn vases and put them along each side of the walk leading to the front door of the courthouse. They also bought a picnic table and had several outdoor fireplaces erected in the public park. Another year they planted a Memorial Poppy Garden on the grounds around the Community Hall. They, at another time, bought and erected road signs reading "Protect Dupree Children" on the street leading into town. After working hard in various ways to make money, the American Legion sponsored the building project, the Community Hall, which was erected by piece-meal. The basement was first built with a rock wall, which stood until a few years ago when the wall was condemned, and had to be torn out and replaced with a new wall. After the basement was finished, they built a floor over that, built a platform on which the orchestra played for the dances they gave in this open-air-pavilion. They added on a porch without a roof, and this was where the Auxiliary prepared and served the shoe-box lunches to the dance crowds. Before time for the dance, the women of the Auxiliary would meet and pack the lunches in shoe boxes or what have you, and be ready to serve out on the porch in good weather and bad. Without a roof over them, sometimes it was bad. Later on, of course, the upper part of the building was built, and a roof built over the porch, the building finished inside, as the funds grew. Later they modernized the basement, putting in water and sewer. A community project which was dreamed of early in the life of the Auxiliary and each year $10.00 was put aside toward a town clock to be erected on the front of the bank building. Another of the early projects was furnishing a room at the hospital in Sanator. The Past President's Parley was organized in 1930 and is still active. The Auxiliary sponsored the celebration of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Sawyer, the 35th wedding anniversary of the Creamers, and the Auxiliary served at the Golden Wedding Anniversary of the Fred Frinks. Auxiliary members who have been honored as 50-year members are Amida Lawrence, Freda Salisbury and Hazel Davis. EXTENSION WORK IN ZIEBACH COUNTY Ziebach County was organized for extension work in the summer of 1925 and Charles L. Graves was hired as County Agent on December 1, 1925. This is a county-wide organization of farmers who elect their Board of Directors each year. This board chooses its own officers, employs a County Agent and adopts the program of extension work for the county. During the first years, the Department of Interior furnished one-third of the funds to maintain the County Agent so one-third of his time was devoted to Indian work. In 1925, the TB testing was started on the cattle of Ziebach County and has been continued through the years. Many 4-H Corn Clubs were started the first year and Hannah High Hawk was fourth place winner on her corn in the 4-H Club class at the Northern Corn Show in Mobridge and also won a free trip to the International Livestock Show in Chicago. Nola Brummet and Dwight Hitsman also won trips to the show in Chicago. In 1927, through the cooperation of the County Commissioners and the County Agent, a county seed loan of $20,000 was obtained. Also through the efforts of the County Agent, Amber Wheat was introduced into the county. [photo – Homemaker Plant A Tree Day, Dupree, SD 1981. Nola Seymour, Marie Edwards, Ruth Edwards, Belle Jensen, Shirley Menzel and grandson C. J., Amida Lawrence] Fred Rost, another 4-H member, received a trip to the Chicago Show by virtue of the corn exhibited at the Isabel Corn Show and his work as a 4-H'er. At the fifth annual Northern Crop Show at Mobridge, Ziebach County won second place with 6 counties competing. Frank Eichelman won sweepstakes of the show with a ten ear sample of Alta corn. An Indian Industrial Displays was held at Cherry Creek and Thunder Butte Stations this year. Fourteen different chapters of the Indian Crop Improvement Associations put up excellent displays. Also 30 Indian 4-H'ers were furnished with seed for one acre of corn and if they raised 20 bushels on this plot, they were rewarded with a sow pig. Seventeen were given out. Miss Connie Abelt was awarded the trip to the National 4-H Club Congress and Chicago Show but as she was underage, Miss Agnes Drageset was the winner. In 1928, Frank Eichelman displayed Alta Corn at the Mobridge Show and won grand sweepstakes over all varieties and also won 13th place at the Chicago Show. Charles L. Graves resigned on September 19 and C. J. Jack was appointed to fill his place. In 1929, a 4-H Crops Judging Team was developed among corn club members and at the State Fair, Vernon Oliver, a member of the team, placed second high individual in the state. Many new varieties of wheat, corn and alfalfa were tried this year but due to drought, no result could be obtained. The first Corn Show held in Ziebach County was held in Dupree in January 1929. One hundred and fifty-five entries were made and over 350 people took in the show. The annual Farm Picnic was held along the Moreau River north of Dupree. Over 1,000 people attended -- the largest crowd ever recorded. In 1930, thirteen farmers started shelterbelts around their farms and 25 growers of alfalfa had their fields inspected. Mr. Fred Hunter experimented with Spartan barley. Floyd Collins became County Agent on July 20, 1930. The County appropriation was refused for 1932, so in April 1932, the county was without a County Agent. Thirty-four Indian Farm Chapter members planted 2,659 pounds of alfalfa in the spring of 1932. Due to the shortage of rough feed for stock, the Dupree Commercial Club advanced special funds to a committee and 20 cars of hay were secured. The hay was sold to stockmen without any profit. The County Agent assisted in making out feed and seed loans this spring. In Ziebach County, $92,847.00 was loaned. Thirteen farm chapters with 114 Indian farmers as members were reorganized that spring. Gardens were the main projects that year. Relief aid was given to 377 families due to the efforts of the County Agent. The Dupree Commercial Club appointed a relief committee and $4,604.47 of groceries, fuel, clothing and feed was distributed; plus 3 cars of hay, 5 cars of wheat, and 1 car of flour. Mr. Floyd Collins was the Emergency Agricultural Assistant and the County Drought Relief Director from December 1, 1933 to July 15, 1934, and then Ralph E. Hansen took over. In 1935 the county extension organization in Ziebach County underwent a change. The County Commissioners -- Oscar Lund, F. E. Bierman, and W. C. Miller -- at their July meeting, appointed the Ziebach County Extension Board, a newly created board as a result of legislation passed during the last regular session. They were: W. G. Bockman, Amida Lawrence, F. E. Bierman, Bert Bailey and Lloyd Dunbar. In December 1934 the Ziebach County Drought Committee was organized. Hay was shipped in and seed ordered from other parts of the country. In 1935, Florence DeWaard and Anna DeWaard, demonstration team, and Jean Hunter, winner of the county style revue, won a trip to the State Fair. Jean Hunter took 10th place at the State Fair in the healthiest girl in the state contest. Home Demonstration clubs sponsored a quartette contest and the winning quartette, Ree Barren, Vernon Oliver, Stewart Canfield and Howard Canfield, participated in the State contest. Ivan V. Fluharty took over the job as County Agent on September 15, 1936. On September 6, 1937, an Agricultural exhibit was held in Dupree. One of the outstanding exhibits was that of Carl Anderson who exhibited 37 different articles raised on his farm. On July 8, 1937, stockmen of eastern Meade County, Dewey County, Armstrong County, and Ziebach County organized an Independent Livestock Growers Association with headquarters in Dupree. In 1938 Armstrong County was annexed to Ziebach County for the Farm Program, by the directors of this program. In 1938, the Home Demonstration Clubs reorganized and became a part of the state organization. Agricultural exhibits were again shown during the Labor Day celebration. A joint Achievement Day has been held with Home Demonstration clubs and 4-H clubs with the business men sponsoring same. In 1939 a picnic lunch at noon for 150 people was held. Ivan Fluharty was transferred June 1, 1940, and Conrad Simonson was appointed to his place. Because of local demand for pheasants in the county, 600 pheasants were planted in Ziebach County in March 1941, with the assistance of local ranchers and the County Agent. The program for making cotton mattresses in Ziebach County was started in December 1940. Eight mattress centers were organized in the county and the County Agent gave a demonstration on how to make same. One hundred and fifty families enrolled in the project and 225 mattresses and 138 comforters were made. The Ziebach County War Board was organized in 1942. Help was given farmers in learning to produce more on their land. Farm Transportation Committee was appointed. People were urged to grow gardens. Three hundred dollars was raised for the USO Fund by gathering scrap iron and auctioning off farm produce. The Ziebach County Crop Improvement Association was organized in March 1944, and it consisted of 16 members. The first officers were: William Marple, President: Floyd Parker, Vice-President; and Conrad Simonson, Secretary. In 1944, 15 4-H members and two leaders attended Camp Box Elder in the Black Hills. Mrs. Alvin Denton, Dupree, supervised the girls and Mr. Gregory Zacher, Eagle Butte, supervised the boys. No records were available from 1945 to 1950 until Donald E. Becker became assistant in Meade County and County Agent in Ziebach County in May, 1950. His office was in Faith, South Dakota and he immediately began revival of the Crop Improvement Association, 4-H clubs and other extension groups. The newly appointed extension board consisted of Albert Steen, Floyd Parker, Amida Lawrence, Elmer Brammer, and Selmer Anderson. The newly elected Crop Improvement Association officers were Fred Hunter, Charles Hersey, and John Francis. They had been inactive for about a five year period. They reorganized with 25 members. In 1951 Don Becker resigned as Ziebach County Agent and Joe Revere, Jr., took over the duties of said office on the 1st of July. Joe Revere continued as County Agent until August 1955, carrying out the extension program of education on subjects relating to agri-culture. In August, 1955, John E. Powell resigned from the Soil Conservation Service to become County Extension Agent of Ziebach County. He remained until 1961. County Agents that we have had in Ziebach County since then have been: Arnold Reickman from 1961 to 1966; Wally Koers from 1967 to 1968; Neil Vollmer from 1968 to 1973; Ron Schrempp from 1974 to 1978; Carroll Gerberding from 1978 to 1981 and the present County Agent is Calvin Chapman who came in 1981. Each County Agent has worked in the various programs of the County, some with more emphasis on special programs, but all have served the county well. Some of the Home Agents have been Maureen Patterson, 1951 to 1953; Wenonah Hutchens from 1956 to 1959; Ida Marie Norton from.1972 to 1979; Otha Joens, 1979 to 1980; and Mollie Backlund from 1980 to the present time. COOPERATIVE EXTENSION HOMEMAKERS CLUBS 1981-1982 ACTIVITIES In celebrating National Homemaker Week last May, a group got together and planted trees at the Dupree Manor. Posters were displayed around Dupree and articles appeared in the local newspaper to inform the public of the Homemakers activities. In the past year, two Ziebach County club members attended national trips. County Council President Amida Lawrence attended the NEHC Convention in Durham, New Hampshire. Hertha Schuchhardt traveled with the "Know America" tour group last May. Also June McLellan took part in the State Safety Project Leaders program in Pierre. In the area of health and safety, some of the clubs invited the local Cancer Society representative to club meetings to show films and lead discussions. One of the clubs has taken an active part in the Vial of Life program and were on hand at the Fall Northwest Extension Expo. A local banker was invited to club meetings to explain different types of health and life insurance policies. Last fall the Ziebach County Homemakers sponsored a very successful Quilt Fair. The program included a wide display of quilts from local quilters. The program also included a demonstration on setting a quilt up on a frame. The annual Christmas Fair welcomed in the holidays with special music by a local group. There was a wide variety of Christmas crafts on display. In keeping with the Extension Nutrition thrust of Food Our #1 Resource, the program concluded with a salad luncheon. Craft patterns and salad recipes were collected and printed in a holiday booklet. Despite this years unpredictable weather and postponements and rescheduling, most of the clubs have been able to take in this years programs in the areas of nutrition and clothing consumerism. 25 YEAR MEMBERS 1953 Cora Anderson Edna Anderson* Hazel Anderson* Amelia Beguhl* Nancy Brammer* Myrtle Brummet* Hazel Davis Edith Horton* Ruth Hunter* Lelia Knipfer Amida Lawrence Lilly Lightfield (no pin) Selma McLellan* Neta Nelson Elsie Orbeck* Maude Parker Susie Parker Frances Reich Nellie Ross Gertrude Searson* Katherine Serr* Mabel Stapert* Bessie Stevens* Myrtle Vrooman Clarice Wartenweiler* 1957 Marie Edwards Gertrude Maynard* 1959 Mattie Albers Jessie Smith Nola Seymour Freda Jones Laura Libolt Ruth Hersey Bertha Schmidt* Inez Eliason Minnie Pesicka Vera Fuller 1965 Valera Maynard* Edith Meland Belle Jenson Frances McGill Ruth Edwards 1970 Mrs. Don Schad 1971 Anna Knodel* 1974 Elsie Schulke Anna Krause Ethel Williams* 1975 Leora Burgee Shirley Menzel 1976 Joan Ross Myrtle Sever 1978 Mercedes Lemke June McLellan 1979 Lucille Fairbanks Berniece Zacher 1980 Shirley Anderson Evelyn Anderson 40 YEAR MEMBERS 1971 Marie Edwards Ruth Hersey Nancy Brammer* Susie Parker Edith Horton* Nellie Ross Amida Lawrence Edna Anderson* Myrtle Brummet* 1972 Ruth Edwards 1976 Inez Eliason 1980 Edith Meland 50 YEAR MEMBERS 1975 Susie Parker Myrtle Brummet* Edna Anderson* 1976 Amida Lawrence 1978 Nellie Ross Ruth Hersey 1979 Marie Edwards Cora Anderson Hazel Davis 1981 Ruth Edwards GRAND LADY 1957 Elsie Orbeck and Gertrude Maynard 1958 Nancy Brammer 1959 Ruth Hunter 1960 Bessie Stevens 1961 Hazel Anderson 1962 Minnie Pesicka 1963 Nellie Ross 1964 Amida Lawrence 1965 Selma McLellan 1966 Edith Horton 1967 Anna Knodel 1968 Ruth Hersey 1969 Marie Edwards 1970 Ruth Edwards 1971 Freda Jones 1972 Myrtle Brummet 1973 Susie Parker 1974 Edna Anderson 1975 Lillie Pesicka 1976 Nola Seymour 1977 Mercedes Lemke 1978 Betty Heckel 1979 Inez Eliason 1980 Lorraine Kintz 1981 Mildred Godschalk HISTORY OF CLOVER LEAF CLUB During the month of December in 1925 a number of the ladies in the Clover. Leaf Community with the assistance of two ladies from the Extension Office at Brookings, South Dakota, got together and organized a women's Extension Club, being organized in the Clover Leaf School House and as most of the ladies lived in that community it was called the "Clover Leaf Extension Club". Sixteen ladies signed up as members. They were: Mrs. William Aldridge, Mrs. Carl Anderson, Chairman; Mrs. Benhard Anderson, Nellie Brush, Mrs. C. N. Brummet, Martha Beguhl, Edith Beguhl, Elizabeth Brush, Hazel Davis, Mrs. Anna Denton, Mary Docekal, Mrs. O. W. Hurst, Vice Chairman; Mrs. Lena Lightfield, Mrs. Robert Massie, Mattie Ortmayer, Secretary; and Mrs. A. C. Martin. We followed the demonstrations planned and put out by the State College at Brookings. Twenty-five cent quarterly dues were paid at first, which was used to pay for material used in the demonstrations. In 1957, dues were forty cents a year. The raise was in the State and County dues to carry on the Extension Program. We met after dinner in the summer and all day in the winter. The men went along in the winter and enjoyed the pot luck dinner the ladies served and played cards after dinner, while the ladies had their meeting and demonstration. Years after that, we would quilt and tie comforters, for the hostess after the meeting. The club ladies would give a card party at one of their homes each month and entertain their families. The club would give one grand party once a year, entertaining the public. In 1957 we gave a birthday party each month for ones having a birthday during the month. At one time the club gave one act plays for the public. The club has given money to the different drives such as: Red Cross, Polio, Cancer, etc. Currently our club has fourteen members: Cora Anderson, Shirley Anderson, Evelyn Anderson, Hazel Davis, Mildred Godschalk, Agnes Norby, Wilma Jochim, Ruby Thomas, Linda Peterson, Nola Seymour, Edith Meland, Louise Stapert and Gall Stambach. Laura Libolt lives in Spearfish but still pays her dues and visits whenever she is back in Dupree. [photo – Myrtle Brummet, long time pioneer, Clover Leaf Club float, Pioneer Days – 1976] We are still active and busy helping with community affairs. The men no longer attend the winter meetings as they did years ago but the ladies continue to meet and have lunch after their meetings. One of our Charter members still attends club regularly and helps with all club projects. Her name is Hazel Davis. We have several 25-year members: Cora Anderson, Edna Anderson, Hazel Anderson, Hazel Davis, Myrtle Brummet, Amelia Beghul, Lil Lightfield, Frances Reich, and Mable Stapert all got their 25-year pins in 1953. In 1959 Nola Seymour and Laura Libolt received their pins. In 1965 Edith Meland received hers. In 1980 Shirley Anderson and Evelyn Anderson received theirs. We also have some 50-year members. Edna Anderson and Myrtle Brummet received their 50-year pins in 1975, and in 1979 Cora Anderson and Hazel Davis received theirs. We have also had several members honored as Grand Lady of Extension Clubs. Hazel Anderson received this honor in 1961, Myrtle Brummet in 1972, Edna Anderson in 1974, Nola Seymour in 1976, and Mildred Godschalk in 1981. MERIFU EXTENSION CLUB On May 26, 1926, Mrs. Graves met with the neighbors at the home of Bessie Stevens to help organize an extension club. After explaining club work to the group, the Merifu Club organized with the following as charter members: Nancy Brammer, Verna Brown, Mrs. George Curtis, Ida DuSelle, Amida Lawrence, Gertrude Searson, Katherine Serr, Bessie Stevens, Mrs. Lewis Taylor and Clarice Wartenweiler. The first Chairman was Bessie Stevens; Vice Chairman, Gertrude Searson; and Secretary-Treasurer, Amida Lawrence. The Merifu Club was the first extension club organized in Ziebach County and held their meetings in the homes of various members north of town, as all members lived in the country. A little later on, Nancy Brammer, Mrs. Curtis and Mrs. Taylor asked to leave the club as we had a large membership at this time. They, along with others, organized the Lone Tree Club. The members made dresses of sage green trimmed in rose pink bias tape to wear to club meetings. All clubs were asked to compose a song and Mrs. Gertrude Searson composed the following for our club: MERIFU CLUB SONG (Tune of "Maryland, My Maryland") O here's a jolly bunch for you A jolly bunch, a merry few, We cook and sew and try to do the things to make the world anew. Our men would grin if they but knew The stunts we pull, the things we do But we don't care a shoop, do you We Merifu, We Merifu. There's nothing like a friendship true To smooth the paths that come in view. Sometimes we're sad, sometimes we're glad Sometimes our hearts are in a stew But when we meet a face or two And see a smile a-shining through, We're glad we're such a lucky few We Merifu, We Merifu. Tho times are hard, and dollars few The taxes always gouging thru The payment on the cow is due And not a penny to renew Don't tell us we can't manage tho We know just where the gardens grow, We'll try again, and beat it too, We Merifu, We Merifu. This song was sung at the opening of our meetings. After the business meetings and demonstrations, a recreation committee had something ready for the remainder of the afternoon. During cold weather, all-day meetings were held and husbands were invited to dinner. In the month of November the husbands were invited to a card party held by the club. Oyster stew was served for refreshments. A Christmas party was held in December and families invited. There were treats for the children. The Merifu Club presented a play "The Blue Teapot'' and a minstrel show. These were given in the Legion Hall in Dupree. A quilt was made and raffled off and the club held card parties and served suppers to raise money. The club now has 10 members with one of the members being Amida Lawrence, one of the charter members. We still serve community club suppers as our main money making project. We meet on the third Tuesday of each month and hold our meetings in the members homes. We have our annual Christmas party and gift exchange, to which the families of the members are invited to attend. Amida Lawrence and Freda Jones have been honored by being selected as Grand Lady. Amida Lawrence is our only 50-year member, for which she has been honored at the State and National meetings. We have three 25-year members. They are: Shirley Menzel, Leora Burgee, Freda Jones. THE LONE TREE EXTENSION CLUB by Ruth and Marie Edwards In August 1929, Mrs. Elmer Brammer and Mrs. Lewis Taylor withdrew their membership from the Merifu Club whose membership was quite large and existed in a distant community. It was through the untiring efforts and leadership of Mrs. Brammer, who was chosen first club president, that the Lone Tree Club had its beginning. Mrs. Lewis Taylor hosted the first club meeting and became the first vice-president. Miss Grace Pidcock was first secretary-treasurer. The following people also were to become known as charter members: Mrs. Claude (Gertrude) Maynard, Mrs. Ralph (Myrtle) Carter (Cameron, Missouri), Mrs. Herman (Beulah) Smith, Mrs. William (Josephine) Thomas, Mrs. Sam (Jessie) Talbot, Mrs. Jim (Lulu) Pidcock, Mrs. Clark (Marie) Edwards (Dupree), and Grace Pidcock (Preston, Washington). The club derived its name from the country school in the area at that time. The requirement for formation of a new club at that time was that it must have ten members. This club grew during its first year with the entrance of Mrs. Daisy Packenbush, Mrs. Henry (Laura) Burgee, Mrs. Canode, Mrs. James Hersey, Mrs. Eulalah Carter Maynard, and Mrs. Luella Pidcock. Later on some members moved away but new members added were: Helen Brammer, Margaret Pesicka, Mrs. Ray Seymour, Mrs. Fred Maynard, Mrs. Barney Lannen, Mrs. Fred (Minnie) Pesicka, and Ruth Edwards. In the forties new names added to the roll were: Mrs. Ruth Hersey, Mrs. Kenneth Brammer, Mrs. Birkenholtz, Mrs. George Pesicka, Mrs. Lawrence Maynard, Mrs. Ambrose Heimer, Mrs. Lucille Fairbanks, Mrs. Ray Edwards and Mrs. Frank Mraz. Sheila Morris, Charleen Peterson, Lillie Pesicka, Frankie Reeves, Mildred Rickels, Grace Rickels, Alva Horton, and Elon Rickels joined the ranks in the fifties. Leona Warren, Ethel Lammers, Patty Bakeberg, Esther Hemen, Shirley Schmautz, Carmen Russell, Bonnie Peterson, Loretta Eaton, Helen Reickman, Rate Johnson, Mildred Miller, Sally Fairbanks, Lorraine Kintz, Helen Alien, Verla Harris, Eva Fields and Dorothy Johnke were added to the roll in the sixties. Fay Hersey and Georgia Burnett joined in the 1970's. Present members are Fay Hersey, Lorraine Kintz, Ruth Hersey, Ruth Edwards, Marie Edwards, Eva Fields, Lillie Pesicks, and Lucille Fairbanks. Membership dues have risen from the beginning 22 cents in 1929 and are presently $1.25. During the winter months the men were invited and potluck dinners were served. Many pleasant memories are still cherished. I recall one terrifically cold, bleak January day we met at our mother's (Mrs. Gertrude Maynard) home. The members all met at one place and journeyed by bobsled to this destination. As the neighbor driving the team stepped down to let the members out, one of his feet implanted itself in a bowl of salad, squashing it to the sides of the pan. Even though he had just come in from doing the chores, the remains of the salad still were enjoyed by all after the cold trek through the snow. Annual New Year's oyster stews and card parties were an early day trademark of the club. The Fourth of July was celebrated by families and friends of club members at some nice spot with shade trees, sometimes at one of the club members homes for picnics, followed by races for young and old. Prizes of candy were given to the children. Baseball games, tugs of war, etc. were favorites of oldsters. After the big events of the day we gathered at the school house or one of the homemakers homes and enjoyed dancing until wee hours of the morning. The music was from a phonograph or live with fiddles and chord organs. Card parties and pie socials came into being in the late forties, and boxes of books were received from the Pierre library during the winter months. Surprise parties such as the one for Mrs. Gertrude Maynard in the summer of 1960, on her 79th birthday, at the Elmer Brammer home were not uncommon. Wedding anniversaries during these later years were celebrated by members gathering and taking full charge of activities for the 50-Year-Anniversaries of the Brammers and the Edwards and the Charles Herseys in 1977. A "float building" project was introduced in 1960 with the club's entry taking first prize during Dupree Pioneer Days. Since that time to date, the club has entered a float every year and won first prize all but one. Early demonstrations included bread in foreign lands, dyeing materials such as flour and feed sacks for children's clothing, patterns for children's toys, dress making, homemade soaps and cosmetics and many nutrition and canning lessons. In more recent years demonstrations on family records, estate planning, arts, South Dakota history and many other topics have been presented to the club members. In earlier years booths were set up with displays. Later on, annual achievement day displays have been held where homemakers vie for ribbons and prizes on projects they have made during the year. [photo – County Chairman, Inga Birkeland (far right) presented 25 and 50 year membership pins to Shirley Menzel, left, Susie Parker, Myrtle Brummet and Edna Anderson. November 20, 1975] Charter members Myrtle Carter of Missouri and Grace Pidcock Preston of Washington correspond with club members. Only one Charter member name remains on the present roll. Marie Edwards resides in Dupree and attends the club meetings and is active in float making each year. THE LUCKY STAR CLUB History of Redelm, South Dakota by Eleanora Diermier The Lucky Star Home Extension Club of Redelm was organized in 1951 with six charter members: Mrs. Elise Orbeck, Mrs. Lelia Knipfer, Mrs. Nellie Ross, Mrs. Louise Reynolds, Mrs. Nita Nelson and Mrs. Vera Fuller. The club has striven each year to complete its projects and to participate in state, county and community affairs. The club sponsors the local 4-H club and stands ready to assist them. In 1957, Mrs. Elise Orbeck was chosen as Ziebach County's first Grand Lady at the annual Achievement Day in Dupree. Lucky Star members holding county offices during these years have been Mrs. Lawrence Ross, Mrs. Charles Fuller, and Mrs. Betty Miles. While serving as County Chairman, Mrs. Lawrence Ross attended the state meeting at Aberdeen in 1951. [photo – Lucky Star Extension Club of Redelm in May, 1948. Louise Reynolds, Lillie Graslie, Lelia Knipfer, Annie Knipfer, Neta Nelson, Bertha Lammers, Grace Heckel, Mrs. Heckel, Vera Fuller, Esther Wince] Mrs. Charles Fuller attended the state meetings as our County Delegate in 1956 and 1958 and the National Federation Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts in 1953 when she served as our national delegate. Mrs. Betty Miles, while serving as County Chairman, attended the State Federation meeting in Lemmon, S.D., then she went on to attend the national meeting in Oregon. In 1953, the Lucky Star Club had four members eligible to receive 25-year pins: Mrs. Elise Orbeck, Mrs. Lawrence Ross, Mrs. Nita Nelson, and Mrs. Lelia Knipfer. In 1963, Mrs. Vera Fuller was eligible for the 25-year pin. Today we have ten members. We have one 50-year member, Nellie Ross. We have two 25-year members, Joan Ross and Bette Heckel. The rest of the club members are: Eleanora Diermier, Janet Roher, Arlene Schauer, Kathy Schuchhardt, Donna Teller, Carole Wince, and Ruth McGinnis. [photo – Prairie-dale 4-H Club. Ruth Ross, Jean Tibke, Doris S., Eldora Lammers, Dorothy Eaton and Leader Nellie Ross] PRAIRIE PRIDE HISTORY by Susie M. Parker A group of women south and southwest of Eagle Butte, in Ziebach County, working for the Red Cross in 1917, was organized by Mrs. Frank Gladstone and Mrs. Brush from Dupree. Then it continued as a social club until home extension was available at Brookings under Susan Z. Wilder. Charter members were: Ruth Hunter (Mrs. Fred), Maude Parker (Mrs. Floyd), Eldora Lindley (Mrs. Harlin), Ruth Nelson (Mrs. Art), Bernetta Boone (Mrs. Frank), Edna Drummond (Mrs. Moody), Etta Vrooman (Mrs. Roy), MyrtIe Vrooman (Mrs. Charlie), Blanche Rosenstock (Mrs. Frank), Winnifred Rosenstock (Mrs. Fred), and Freddy Weeks (Mrs. Harry). Four charter members are still living: Maude Parker, Blanche Rosenstock, Ruth Nelson and Bernetta Boone. The club was named at Bernetta Boone's house, by everyone putting names in a shoe box, voted on, and the name Prairie Pride was selected. Dora Lindley was the first chairman and Maude Parker was the first secretary- treasurer. These early record books were lost. The first demonstrations given by Susan Wilder were on canning corn and making baking powder biscuits, in the spring of 1923. All demonstrations on homemaking arts were excellent. Early day transportation was different. Teams, wagons, sleds and later Model T Fords were used to get to the club meetings in the homes. Sometimes a community party and dances with the men participating were held in someone's house or barn. There were Christmas parties with men and children, card parties, games and picnics in the summer. Once, a 4th of July picnic was held at the Schlax Grove on Bear Creek. Once, a few families went with tents to the mouth of the Cheyenne River to fish. Didn't catch any fish, but bought some from Merle Badger and had a big fish fry. Nothing tasted better than those fresh fish! Danced by moonlight on the sand by phonograph records that night. Such memories. Dancing at country school houses in winter and sometimes in Louie Meier's haymow. Bill Rummans could call square dances as no one ever could. Eric Brueschke could play the mouth harp (bazooka), and Frank Zacher the accordion, and someone at the drums. Once we went to a haymow dance at the Alleman Ranch just south of the Cheyenne River bridge. Later Arleigh McLellan called the squares and Johnny Lemke on the drums. A good time was had by all. The neighborhood was a close knit one for the wonderful friendships. The regular club meetings were held on the third Thursday of the month, which is still the same over the years. The first question the men asked the women when they returned from club was, "What are the neighbors doing?" and "How many acres do they have in?" So we'd better have an answer for them. Myrtle Vrooman had the reputation of never missing a club meeting, even taking a two week old baby. Susie Cutter spent the summers with her sisters and went along to the club with them as a babysitter for all. All the little ones went to club as there were no older ones to care for them. Susie received the extension lessons and was treated like a member. Then, when she married in April, 1925, she became a member. Other members over the years were: Susie Parker (Mrs. Elmer) 1925, Selma McLellan (Mrs. Arleigh) 1926, Mae Anderson (Mrs. Dave) 1927, Della McDaniel (Mrs. Howard) 1926, Sylvia Shuck (Mrs. Fred) 1930. Jessie Smith (Mrs. Marion) 1930, Edith Horton (Mrs. Ray) 1934, Inez Eliason (Mrs. Gothard) 1936, Frances McGill (Mrs. Edmund) 1941). Belle Jensen (Mrs. Chris) 1941, Helen Schad (Mrs. Donald) 1944, Annie Meiers (Mrs. Louie) 1940's, Anna Knodel (Mrs. John) 1946, Bertha Schmidt (Mrs. Maynard) 1946. Bernice Zacher (Mrs. Gregory) 1942, rejoined in 1973, reporter, very good; Addie McDaniel (Mrs. Howard) 1940-44; Ola Durham (Mrs. Walter) 1930's-1940's; Mercedes Lemke (Mrs. John) 1942, rejoined in 1973; June McLellan (Mrs. Archie) 1947-1952, rejoined in 1973. Carol Thomas (Mrs. Willis) 1948-49, Myrtle Severs (Mrs. Lee) 1949, rejoined in the 1960's, Eleanor Eberhard (Mrs. Edgar) a short period, Mrs. Art Reeves, a short period, Mrs. Reuben Schmidt, a short period. Jessie Yusko (Mrs. John) 1962-71, Norma Hertel (Mrs. Lester) 1973-75, Irene McGill (Mrs. Lincoln) 1973, Helen Wishard (Mrs. Tom), Lillian Vrooman (Mrs. Gerald) 1973, Verna Schad (Mrs. Sidney), a short period. Susie Parker has served as District Vice-President. Inez Eliason and Belle Jensen have served as County Chairmen. June McLellan has been County Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer. Susie Parker and Bertha Schmidt attended the National meeting at Brookings in 1956. When the Prairie Pride Club was too large, with 23 members, to meet in the homes, a young club was organized. This Club was the "Young Homemakers". Prairie Pride is honored to have had six Grand Ladies: Ruth Hunter, Anna Knodel, Edith Horton, Selma McLellan, Susie Parker and Mercedes Lemke. Prairie Pride and the Clover Leaf Clubs were organized about the same time. TOP HAND 4-H CLUB by Charlie Longbrake In 1958-59 the Top Hand 4-H Club was organized as a Light Horse Project Club through the efforts of John E. Powell, Ziebach County Extension Agent. Margaret Powell and Evelyn Parker served as leaders. It had seven members the first year. The officers and members were Vernon Starr, president, Tom Coleman, secretary-treasurer, Alice Ochsner, reporter, Shirley Vandervier, Vicky Parker, Johnny Stout and Cherie Parker. The dues were 10 cents and members participated in the Light Horse project, livestock judging at Woodward's and Share the Fun. The first county 4-H rodeo was organized in 1958 by the Mud Butte Club and was held at Faith. This was successful so it was continued each year thereafter. John Powell served as coordinator for other county 4-H rodeos. His involvement in working with a 4-H rodeo program stems from a heritage and background in horses. A 4-H chorus was organized in 1968-69. Cherry pie baking contests and public speaking contests and Rural Life Sunday participation were highlights of the club. Top Hand Club adopted grandparents each year as part of their community work. When the Dupree Manor was built the club members did community work such as planting trees and buying chairs for the residents. An auto safety check was conducted by members. Livestock judging teams were successful throughout the 1960's and early 1970's. The senior livestock judging team won first place at the Black Hills Stock Show in 1969-70. [photo – John Powell, Ziebach County Extension Agent, 1955-1961, helped organize Top Hand 4-H Club which initiated 4-H rodeo at the county and later state level] Top Hand 4-H Club has an impressive record in horsemanship with several members qualifying for state judging teams and winning high individual honors. The organization has always had a float entered in the Pioneer Days Parade and often won first place. Members did a lot of work on the Dupree rodeo grounds helping to improve it over the years. [photo - Top Hand 4-H float, 1973. Cathy Birkeland, Clint and Doug Birkeland, Bud Longbrake and Dick Johnson] [photo – Top Hand 4-H Club singing Christmas carols at Minda Anderson’s home, 1973. Jeannie Allan, Mark Johnson, Bud Longbrake, Dick Johnson, Delbert Longbrake, Jake Longbrake, Dale Johnson, Cathy Birkeland, Clint Birkeland, Doug Johnson, Doug Birkeland, Charlie Longbrake. 4-H Club leader, Beverly Birkeland] In 1971 special recognition was given to Ida Marie Norton, home economist and Neil Vollmer, county agent, for the 4-H program in Ziebach County. This recognition was given to three counties in the state whose 4-H enrollment increased the highest percent during the year. Ziebach increased 30 percent which was second highest. In 1972 there seemed an apparent need for a state 4-H finals rodeo. Ziebach County received state recognition for the highest number of contestants at a county 4-H rodeo with 217 contestants. The first state rodeo was organized, through the efforts of John Powell, and approved as an athletic activity under the light horse project, its goal being to keep older 4-H boys and girls involved in 4-H for a longer period of time. Top Hand members seemed to excel at rodeo and it gains in popularity each year. They have had many state qualifiers including Renee Kost who was the second state 4- H queen. 4-H rodeo contestants have gone into amateur and professional rodeo after completing their 4-H years. John Powell retired from the South Dakota Extension Service in June 1980 and he and his wife Margaret presently reside on a ranch north of Rapid City. Margaret works with the Farmers Home Administration and John rodeos on weekends as a roper. The 1980 South Dakota 4-H Finals Rodeo was dedicated to John for his years of service and organization. The Top Hand 4-H Club is presently in its 23rd year of organization and has had outstanding members. They have had success in many areas such as public speaking, home economics, livestock judging, horsemanship and rodeo as well as community service. Through its members and leaders it has developed outstanding citizens who are in turn working with other youths to make Ziebach County a better place in which to grow up. The present membership is 20 and the leader is Mary Lou Griffith with Rita Birkeland as assistant leader. Officers are Darci Dahl, president; Monnie Birkeland, vice president; Kristi Graslie, secretary; and Neilie Tibbs, treasurer. Lisa and Lori Starr are Sunshine Workers. THE DUPREE COMMUNITY CLUB The Dupree Community Club was organized April 21, 1958 when the Dupree Businessmen's Association invited their wives to the meeting and decided to discontinue as a businessmen's club. The consensus was that a larger membership and better attendance could be attained by having a community club. It was the desire of those present that everyone in the community should work with unity and with a cooperative spirit for the good of all, and the achievement of worthwhile goals. The meetings are now held the second Monday of each month and are always preceded by a dinner prepared by the different service organizations in the area. Membership has grown from a handful of businessmen to over seventy civic-minded area residents. [photo – Colette Birkland, 1982 Snow Queen, the reigning “Miss Dupree”] [photo – The sack race is a popular feature of the street sports held at the Annual Pioneer Days Celebration] The original officers were: Roy Kraft, President, Ambrose Heimer, Vice-President; Mary Deis, Secretary; and Carol Thomas, Treasurer. Presently serving as officers are Vernon Starr, President; Leon Edlund, President-Elect; Raymond Kintz, Secretary; and Mary Gage, Treasurer. Because the Annual Pioneer Days Celebration is the chief means of raising money, much planning and many hours of volunteer labor is expended toward making each and every celebration better than the last. The Community Club has been most instrumental in acquiring land for the Pioneer Days Arena, in making improvements, and in the maintenance of the Arena Complex. It was in the late 60's to mid-70's that most of the construction was done at the Complex. The Dupree Community Club is well-known for its ability to erect an arena or grandstand just a mere ten days prior to a rodeo performance. However, it has not all been achieved through the efforts of the Community Club alone. Many organizations have helped along the way and the Ziebach County 4-H Leaders Association has been one of the Club's biggest boosters. In addition to sponsoring the Pioneer Days Celebration, the Club is responsible for the Christmas Street decorations and Annual Santa Claus Day, the Easter Egg Hunt, for staging of the most continuous presentations of a South Dakota Snow Queen Festival, the Citizen of the Year Award, and most recently, took on the sponsorship of a South Dakota High School Regional Rodeo. [photo – Dude Burgee’s “reward” for walking from Lantry to Dupree was to cut Neil Birkeland’s hair. Dude’s Walkathon added almost $500.00 to the Grandstand Fund in 1979] [photo – Shirley Menzel receiving her Citizen of the Year award from Maurice Lemke, Community Club president, December, 1981] [photo – Neoma Johnson, LeRoy Wicks, Inga Birkeland, Lawrence Woodward and Ruth Hersey, all from the winning country team at Community Club-sponsored Whist parties] Citizen of year namely: 1962 Leo Bakeberg, Sr. 1963 Keith Wartenweiler 1964 Gerald Lewis 1965 Lucile Silverman 1966 Mable Ross 1967 Joe Heimer 1968 Nellie Ross 1969 Maurice Hickenbotham 1970 Marvin Russell 1971 Lloyd Dunbar 1972 Milan Salisbury 1973 Bill Carmody 1974 Maurice Lemke 1975 Art Jones 1976 Lawrence E. Woodward 1977 Petty Carmody 1978 Lillie Pesicka 1979 Henry Burgee 1980 Ruth Edwards 1981 Shirley Menzel [photo – Dupree Rodeo Grounds] [photo – Belly dancers getting ready to perform at Community Club variety show] [photo – Each year at the December meeting of Community Club, the tradition of the “Rural School Christmas Program” is revived. “Pupils” are all adults willing to “act like kids”] [photo – Deanne Marple giving her report on her U. N. trip at Community Club] [photo – Jeri Lemke, Charles Hersey, Fred Menzel and Ruth Hersey at a Community Club sponsored Whist party] [photo – Marty and Justin Burgee with 9 grandparents. October, 1977. Seated: all great- grandparents, Henry Burgee, Laura Burgee, Nellie Ross, Berneita Miller, Bertha Bierman, and Justin. Standing: grandparents Roland Burgee, Leonora Burgee, Joan Ross (holding Marty) and Harold Ross] [photo – Ann Coleman and Jackie Birkeland dancing the Charleston at the Golden Jubilee, June, 1960] [photo – Santa Claus Day sponsored by Dupree Community Club] [photo – North against South tug-of-war at the annual Pioneer Days Celebration] [photo – The Legion and Auxiliary float, 1976 Pioneer Days. Parade flags were sewn by Auxiliary members] [photo – Bill Carmody helping with greased pig event at Pioneer Days street sports] Chapter 9 THE CHURCHES SAINT MARY'S by Joseph J. Ganje Saint Mary, Help of Christians, at Pleasant Valley, 1920-1943, stood two miles west and ten miles south of Eagle Butte. There was a public school, still standing in 1980, just across the road (Highway 63) from the church (Albee School). Isberg School was three miles south. There was a Ganje School, named for my uncle, Gabriel Ganje, three miles north of the church. I attended Hoxing School for eight years, which was three miles south and three miles west of the church. West of the Hoxing School there was the Ehli School, named for John Ehli (also known as Sinkey School). All my catechism was under Father Vogel, and during all the years since, I have never come upon another priest as kindly dedicated to his people and devoted to his duties as cheerfully as was he. I remember my father telling of how he and the other parishioners offered to buy Father Vogel an automobile. He declined the offer, saying they could donate the money to the church's needs if they wished. He always traveled via one horse and buggy, as I remember. [photo – Saint Mary’s] CATHOLIC MISSIONS AND CHURCHES by Faye Longbrake and Ann Fleming There are five Catholic Churches in use today in Ziebach County: Saint Joseph's at Cherry Creek, built in 1894; Saint Luke's in Thunder Butte, built in 1913; Sacred Heart in Dupree, 1913; Sacred Heart in Red Scaffold, built in 1938; and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Bridger, moved there in the late 1930's. Father DeSmet was the first missionary to visit Indians of the region. He visited the area periodically from 1839 until 1871. Bishop Marty was another early missionary. The "Black Robes", as they were known to the Indian people, brought the Catholic faith to the people and converted families for many years before parishes were finally established. In 1891, Father Bede Marty, a Benedictine missionary from Standing Rock Reservation, administered services at Cherry Creek. He came infrequently, due to distance, lack of roads and the method of travel. [photo – Reverend Ambrose Mattingley, O. S. B. (SDSHS)] In Crusading Along Sioux Trails, 1948, Sister Mary Claudia Duratschek told of Father Bede's work through an account of John Claymore: "It was in February, 1892, when Father Bede, Giles Tapetola, Maud and Emilie Traversie came to my father's place. They told us they wanted to go to Cherry Creek and then over to the Moreau River. They wanted me and my sisters, Louise and Margaret to go with them. We did. The next day we started out in two wagons. We stopped in Cherry Creek at Yellow Owl's. Father Bede preached, showed pictures and talked about them, also had Mass. Then we went over to the Cheyenne River to Straight Head's place. There Father Bede did the same. Then we went back to Yellow Owl's. Before we left, he had told us to come back. There Father did again what he had done before. Then we went up the creek to Narcisse's place. Father Bede did the same as at Yellow Owl's place. Then we went over to the Moreau River to Put On His Shoes' place. There Father Bede did the same as before. From there we went down the river and then Father Bede and Giles Tapetola went north to the Farm School and we went south -- home.'' 'Yellow Owl lived five miles up from the mouth of Cherry Creek; Straight Head lived a mile west of Cherry Creek, on the Cheyenne River; Narcisse's was two miles northwest of present Red Scaffold; and Put On His Shoes then lived two miles east of the reservation line on the Moreau River. 'The first Catholic church was constructed in Cherry Creek in 1894. Paul Bull Eagle and perhaps the daughters of Paul Yellow Shield, helped haul lumber from Pierre for the new church. Narcisse Narcelle had given them some beef as payment.' Father Finton Wiederkehr, O.S.B., had arrived at Cherry Creek Station in 1892 and within two years he built the church. So the first Catholic Church in Ziebach County is Saint Joseph's Church in Cherry Creek, built in 1894. A Catholic Congress was held there that year. By 1901, there were 500 Catholic Sioux on this reservation, and it was thought that a Catholic church should be built in each community. Father Finton left the reservation in May, suffering from typhoid fever. Father John Vogel, of Switzerland, came to the Cheyenne River Reservation that same year, traveling by team and buggy. He held religious services for the people of the reservation for 36 years. Traveling from Indian camp to Indian camp, Father Vogel found the Indian way of life comfortable as he slept under the stars. Father Vogel appointed John Did Not Go Home to teach religion in the day school and Henry Grouse Running as catechist, to lead prayers at Saint Mark's on upper Cherry Creek. About 1911, Father Vogel moved to Eagle Butte from Cheyenne Agency, having served ten churches and four missions from the Agency. In 1911, Father Henry Kipp took over the Timber Lake and later the Firesteel and Glad Valley churches. Sophia Herbert (a sister of Narcisse Narcelle) donated a log house at Thunder Butte in 1911 and Father Vogel appointed Sam Shot At as catechist at Saint Luke's. In 1913 a new church was built, north of the present iron bridge. It was moved west into Thunder Butte community in 1933. At the Sioux Congress in 1916, it was decided that the Sioux should support their own missions. The diocesan clergy had carried on the work begun by the Benedictines since 1898 on Cheyenne River Reservation. In 1919, Father Golden, who had built a church in Faith, was asked to take over work at Cheyenne Agency, LaPlant, Promise and White Horse. Father Daniel Kelley became pastor in Faith and Father Vogel went to care for the Cherry Creek district. Father Vogel became the first resident priest at Saint Joseph's and divided his time among the four camps: Saint Mark's/Saint Patrick's on lower Cherry Creek (across from Ted Knife's); Saint Pius on upper Cherry Creek (across from Paul Chasing Hawk's); and Saint Leo's/Blessed Sacrament on Bull Creek (east of Bridger and Hump Flat). Repairs were made and buildings moved all over the area at this time. By 1921, the church and rectory had been repaired at Cherry Creek and a new church had been built on upper Cherry Creek, probably Saint Mark's, east of Red Scaffold. [photo – Catholic Church at Cheyenne Agency (SDSHS)] [photo – St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Thunder Butte] Resident priests in the white parishes of Dupree, Eagle Butte and Faith also cared for the Indian people in their vicinities but as the white populations increased, services to the Indian people decreased. Father Golden, seeing this problem, was able in 1922 to secure the interest of the Sacred Heart Fathers of Sittard, Holland, in the Indian missions of Cheyenne River and Lower Brule Reservations. His plan would leave the churches in the white settlements to the secular diocesan clergy. The records at Cheyenne River Agency show that a patent in fee was granted to the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions on September 28, 1923, and signed by President Calvin Coolidge. By 1924, the diocese was ready to have the Missions transferred to the Society of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. Saint Joseph's Boarding School was opened in Chamberlain in 1927 by the Society, for students from the Cheyenne River and Lower Brule Reservations. Ridgeview had been considered as a site for the boarding school, but had no adequate water supply. After 36 years on this reservation, Father Vogel relinquished the Cherry Creek district to the Sacred Heart priests in 1937. Saint Mark's was renamed the Sacred Heart Church and moved into Red Scaffold in 1938, from near Jim Brown Dog's. Saint Mark's lean-to was torn down and the lumber used at Sacred Heart. At about that same time, Saint Plus was moved by two tractors from south of the Cherry Creek to Bridger. A basement was built and the church was remodeled under the supervision of Father Mattingley. It was named the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Some time before that, Saint Lee's was moved from Bull Creek into Bridger. It now sets near the Catholic cemetery. Resident pastors in Cherry Creek include Father Bernard Ziecke (1937-1942); Father Joseph Holmes (1937-1939); Father Francis Mattingley (1938 - 1 959); Father Patrick O'Neill (1959-1964); Father George Finger (1964-1974); and Father Francis Strafalace (1976-1978). In addition to Saint Joseph's in Cherry Creek, they have also served Sacred Heart at Red Scaffold and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Bridger. People of the Cherry Creek community have fond memories of Father Vogel, Father Mattingley and Father George since they lived among the people for such lengths of time. Father Mattingley (a schoolteacher, World War I veteran and priest) did much work with the young boys. Father George improved the living conditions of the people by helping them get water, sewer, street lights, new homes and a small industry. Stonecraft Industry was set up to provide an opportunity for self-sufficiency. A large frame church was moved from Ft. Pierre in 1966 to house Stonecraft Industry and to serve as a meeting hall, known as Little Flower Hall. Father George was an avid square dancer and caller and many evenings were spent at square dancing. He also set up a community operated theater. A new rodeo arena was built during this time and Father George contracted a carnival to come to Cherry Creek. Catholic Congress was again held at Saint Joseph's parish. Father George had a harrowing experience in November, 1966 when his car became stalled in a snowstorm while he was on his way home from Pierre. Luckily, he had called Cherry Creek to let someone know he was making the trip, he detoured onto a trail into Cherry Creek from the west. Snow packed under the hood and broke the fan belt. Father thought he could walk the distance but became lost. By some miracle he ended up back at his car after having walked for about 32 hours. He was finally rescued and recovered from severe frostbite after being hospitalized for over two months. Father Larry Rucker accepted the assignment as Pastor at Saint Joseph's in 1976 and his cousin, Brother Paul Rosonke accompanied him. The parish team was increased to three in August, 1979 when Brother James Newberry came to Cherry Creek. Now the three men share the ministry of the three parishes. Largely through the efforts of Brother Paul, the churches at Bridger and Red Scaffold have been undergoing repair and renovation. Little Flower Hall, in Cherry Creek, has recently given way to a new metal building to serve as a parish center. In 1975, the Catholic Diocese of Rapid City inaugurated a program for the training of Indian men to the role of permanent deacon. Among those in training is Harold Condon of Cherry Creek. (see DAKOTAH ASSOCIATION OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.) SACRED HEART CHURCH AT DUPREE Father John Vogel was the first missionary Catholic priest to come to Dupree. He organized the Catholic group here in 1910. He offered Mass for the people at the school building that sat at the present sight of the Congregational Church and at the hall which is now used as a theater. The name of our church was chosen by Father Vogel. The first church Trustees were A. A. Karley and Louis Speaker, and early parishioners included Herman Eulberg and Mrs. George Till. In 1913, our church was built in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Because of the lack of funds it was not finished inside for a long time and it had no basement and no bell tower. In July of 1914, Father J. H. Golden was appointed pastor of Faith with Dupree as its mission church. In September of 1918, Father Henry Hirsch was appointed pastor of Dupree and it became a parish of its own. In 1919, the church was damaged by a tornado which picked it up off the foundation and turned it in the opposite direction. The rectory was built in 1920. Among the pastors serving Dupree, after it became a parish in 1918 are: Father Henry Hirsch to 1920; Father Francis X. Parisian to 1922; Father D. J. Casey to 1924; Father A. T. O'Brien to 1928; Father Edgworth to 1930, who is buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Dupree; Father John Sullivan to 1935; Father W. B. Isherwood to 1945; Father Don Murray to 1948; Father Joseph Jene to 1966; Father Howard Melter to 1968, Father Joe Ford to 1973; Father Lawrence Rucker to 1977; Father Joe Poirier to 1980; and now Fathers Frank Clancy, Yvon Sheehy and Joe Ford. [photo – Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Dupree] DAKOTAH ASSOCIATION OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH At a meeting of the General Association of Congregational Churches in Santee, Nebraska in 1873, concern was shown for the Indian people as indicated in the following document of unknown origin: The General Association was favored by the presence of Dr. Alfred L. Riggs of the Sisseton mission. Thus early in its history did the association extend its fellowship to the Redman whom many feared and others despised, but whom these representatives of the churches regarded as brethren, as one of the resolutions passed at this meeting gives witness to: "Resolved: That we use every opportunity to promote fellowship between the Indian churches and our own in order to unite as closely as possible all Christian influence of the territory, and for the mutual benefit of their people and ours." Reverend Thomas L. Riggs began his mission work above Fort Pierre at Oahe, between 1872 and 1876. From there, Riggs led and directed mission work on the Grand River, Bad River, at Leslie, on the Little Moreau, Moreau and Cheyenne Rivers. [photo – First Congregational Church, in Cherry Creek, 1873] Native ministers and church workers were not college or seminary trained, but guided by such men as the Pond brothers, the Riggs brothers, and J. P. Williamson. T. L. Riggs worked regularly with lay ministers, going over the Scriptures to be used on forthcoming Sundays. Laymen also gave messages on their own. Stephen Yellow Hawk led the establishment of a church at Bad River, now Fort Pierre, in 1890. Clarence Ward (Roan Bear), another licensed minister, led to a sixty- nine member congregation established at Leslie on the Cheyenne River in 1892. In "Sunset to Sunset", Reverend T. L. Riggs has written of his work as a Congregational Missionary to the Great Sioux Reservation: It seemed little had been accomplished in the first five years of effort, but later we could see evidence that proved our work had not been in vain! For this and later growth, great credit is due my native helpers; a group of fine, earnest workers, numbering forty- nine in all; I learned more through them than they learned from me and certainly they were able to do work I never could have done ... many of them worked with me from eight to fifteen years. At the time the Inkpata church was dedicated in 1919, the Indian people were talking about flying machines and flying men. I said, "Yes, some day I'll come in one of those flying machines and we'll have services here". In 1928 I made good my promise. It was my first flight and an interesting experience for a man over eighty years old. We landed just to one side of the church building, as I had said I would do. On the day following the meeting, Guy Buffalo took me with his team over to upper Cherry Creek where I spent the night in the home of Half Red. The next day my host drove me down to the mission station on the Cheyenne at the mouth of Cherry Creek. Here in the home of the native missionary, David Hold, I spent Saturday night and the Sabbath. On Monday David took me across the Cheyenne to the old Plum Creek station, the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Griffiths, who for many years had charge of the Dakotah boys boarding school at that place. After dinner at the Griffiths', my son, grandson, and I drove down the Cheyenne on the south side to the Carlin bridge and then northward to Fox Ridge where we turned west to have a short but pleasant visit with Thomas Blue Eyes and his wife. Blue Eyes was still in the church work. After the passing of the early white leaders, it became the responsibility of the Mission schools, that they had established, to train church leaders. One school in the Grand River area, Oahe Mission School on the Missouri, and Santee Mission School in Nebraska provided a majority of the native leadership for over forty years. Clarence Ward, Solomon Yellow Hawk, Stephen Yellow Hawk, Tom Blue Eyes, Philip Frazier, Guy Buffalo, Moses Flying By, Jonah Little Wounded, Dennis Dog Eagle, and Douglas Widow have all done much work in this region to further the work of the Congregational Church. In 1963 the South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ was formed by the merger of four churches. Previously, the Indian churches had all belonged to the Dakotah Association. They were now divided geographically and made parts of various associations. This made the Indian churches minorities in their associations and frustrations grew. Eventually the Dakotah Association of Congregational Churches was reactivated. They became affiliated with the Council of American Indian Ministries (CAIM) which administers the business of UCC Indian churches across the country. Feeling no voice in the distribution of funds, many of the Dakotah churches have severed connection with CAIM and refused Funding from the UCC. The 1979 Year Book statistics of the South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ lists the following Congregational churches in Ziebach County and their founding dates: Cherry Creek, 1890; Kirley, Buffalo, 1904; Upper Cheyenne (Bridger), 1910; Dupree, 1911; Frazier Memorial, 1924; and Red Scaffold, 1941. Churches on the Lower Cheyenne, 1904; and at Thunder Butte, 1937, are inactive. The Inkpata Church was organized about 1915. The Bridger Congregational Church, also known as the Church of the Orphans, was built in 1914 and finished in 1915. Before that they had a church in the present YMCA log house in Bridger. The expenses of the new church were paid by donations. It was built under the direction of Thomas Riggs, with two white men hired to built it. The lumber was hauled by team and wagon from Faith and Philip. Reverend Guy Buffalo served as a Congregational minister in Bridger, as did Reverend Douglas Widow. Frazier Memorial Church was established in 1924. This Congregational church was named in honor of Reverend Philip Frazier after his young son drowned. Reverend Frazier was a Santee Sioux. His grandfather was among the 100 Santee sentenced in Mankato after the Sioux Uprising of 1862, but he was pardoned by President Lincoln and later became a minister. Philip Frazier attended Yankton, Dartmouth and Oberlin Colleges. In 1932 he was sent to the Cheyenne River Reservation where his father, Reverend Francis Frazier, had also supervised the Congregational Church work. The lumber for Frazier Church was brought from Thunder Butte in the late 1930's. It had been used in a slaughter-house at Thunder Butte station in the early 1900's. The building had also served as a house and a church, before it was torn down and moved south to the Cherry Creek, east of Red Scaffold. CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER by Ruth Thunder Hoop My father was a Congregational minister. Mr. Riggs appointed my father to go as a missionary among the Rosebud people in wagon and team. My father left all his livestock. I remember we went from Bad River across the great plains until we got to White River. There we camped at the bottom land by the river, because the ice was now breaking up, the water was high. My father said it was towards the last part of February, (1893). We had to stay there a long time until the ice was all gone. One day my father was felling down dry logs to make a raft. We were alone at the camp. Here came along some riders. White men with dogs. How I was scared. They came to our camp and asked mother something. She willingly gave them what we had: fried bread, jelly, bacon and coffee. They seemed glad to get it and ate heartily afterward. They offered to pay her and left some money on the dishes and left. When my father made the raft, he took the big tarp and tent to cover the whole raft when finished. He had some ropes to use some ways. It was ready now. There were some men across the river that came to his aid. I remember one man, Mr. Lot Frazier, who came in a row boat, after my father put all the belongings in the raft. He started out in it but it took him in a whirling water. He went in with the raft and almost drowned. The men folks were there and helped him out and saved him. That night he was not able to come back. We had to stay alone overnight. It was so lonesome. I kept crying but my mother was a courageous big-hearted mother. Morning came, now Father was at the other side of the bank with the men. Mr. Lot Frazier brought the row boat to haul us across. I was used to riding in a row boat across the Missouri, so I was glad to get to where my father was. We were taken to the house and there we had to stay, because Father got very sick. As soon as he felt better, we went on the journey to Black Pipe Creek, where he was a pastor. I was only 5 years 8 months when my father recovered. It was there that I learned to pray. At a Dakota service in 1922, commemorating Dr. Rigg's 50 years of work with Indians, Solomon Yellow Hawk said, "I have known the Sacred Herald (T. L. Riggs) since he first came to the Tetons. We were young men together.... since he came and brought the 'Good News' a great multitude have come into the light.... " [photo – Oahe Chapel Conference: Reverend T. L. Riggs and Native workers, Guy Buffalo, Reverend Amos One Road and Eli Jones (SDSHS)] [photo – Missionaries in camp, Thomas L. Riggs, center, and Wicutmani (Walking Hunter) by wagon(SDSHS)] [photo – Emma and Rev. Guy Buffalo with Reverend Daniel Counting, 1938] [photo – 1933 Mission Meeting: Reverend Philip Frazier, Reverend Guy Buffalo, and a Frazier, standing] MISSION SCHOOLS OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH by Ann Fleming The Congregational Church directed its efforts to the Indian missionary field years before the reservations were opened to white settlement. [photo – Brown’s Mission Station on Cheyenne River in the early 1880’s (SDSHS)] [photo – Madonna Abdalla and mother Lucy Swan] John P. Williamson, a Presbyterian, and his cousin, Stephen Return Riggs, a Congregationalist, were two of the foremost missionaries to the Sioux. They visited the Indian people near Cheyenne Agency in 1869. In their work with the Santee Sioux in Minnesota, they had developed a Dakotah alphabet and translated the Bible into the Sioux language. In 1870 President Grant gave the various churches the responsibilities of nominating agents and controlling the 'education' of the Indian children. Although the Episcopal church was offered the Cheyenne River Agency, the American Board of Foreign Missions (a Congregational and Presbyterian movement) played a large part in the instruction at Cheyenne River through the work of Reverend Thomas L. Riggs, son of Stephen R. Riggs. T. L. Riggs arrived at Fort Sully on the Missouri River in 1872. It was among the agricultural settlements of the Two Kettle Sioux across the river from Fort Sully that he began his ministry. He named the home station Oahe, a Lakota word meaning 'foundation' or 'beginning'. Schools were built at the home station on Peoria Bottom, at Hope station on Chantier Bottom, and the third among the Minneconjou camps on the Cheyenne River. In 1876 the original Hope Station building was moved up to the Cheyenne River, following the Indian people who had begun to move to that region. It was administered by Daniel Renville whose cousin, Isaac Renville, later moved to the abandoned James Brown Mission on the Cheyenne. When Hump and his band came to the Cheyenne River in 1882 and made camp for the winter, Riggs had a very large tent made to serve as a mission tent. Schools established by T. L. Riggs before 1885, as part of the Dakotah Mission under the American Board, included: No. 1 Day School on the Cheyenne River taught by Reverend Isaac Renville; No. 2 Day School on Plum Creek taught by Elizabeth Winyan; and Day School No. 4 at the Cherry Creek camps, taught by Clarence Ward (Mato Hin Hota). It was the custom of the government to select the brightest students and send them to Hampton Institute in Virginia or to Carlisle in Pennsylvania. Instruction was primarily in the Sioux language until 1886 when an order came from the Department of the Interior requiring the exclusive use of English in all schools on the reservation. The teachers, some of them ordained native pastors, carried on religious services as part of their school program. Progress continued until the Ghost Dance began in the fall of 1890, when work was suspended at six of the stations located in camps on the upper Cheyenne River. A LETTER FROM A FORMER CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER (Reverend H. J. Thornton, former minister of the Congregational Church gives the following in a letter reminiscing about the church and congregation in Dupree) It was on a day in September, 1915 that I first stepped off the train into your little city. I had never been that far west before, and had never lived in a community so small. Indeed at that time I had never walked through a town without paved streets. I was somewhat surprised at the board sidewalks but more surprised when I stepped off the one running south from the station to cross to the hotel. It had rained the day before and I sank ankle deep in the thick clinging clay. This was my first acquaintance with gumbo and I have never forgotten it. I stayed that night at the Shelton Hotel and the next day I set about looking for a place to stay, for I could not afford to stay at the hotel. I found a little two-roomed house southeast across the street from the church, which belonged to a bachelor, Fred Campbell (now the Dunbar residence). Because of the bachelor element, I did not find too tidy a place and spent my first day trying to clean up the place. The next day the ladies of the church took over and furnished the house in great style by providing bedding, rugs, tables, chairs, pictures, dishes, gasoline lamp, and curtains. I was comfortable, happy and very proud. I later came to know Mr. Campbell. He was a fine, rugged Scotchman, friendly and pleasant to talk to. He had a big heart, too, for he never charged any rent for that little house. While the ladies were doing their kindly work that day, I spent my time in the church, preparing my first sermon. The church was then a simple frame building. It had been painted green, as I remember, quite a long time before. The platform and pulpit were in the west end of the room. It was all very plain and modest but I was proud of it, as if it had been a cathedral. I had the joy of seeing the congregation grow steadily during the winter until the church was filled, especially on Sunday evenings. Some time during the winter we moved the platform and choir to the north side of the building. To accommodate the growing numbers, we put a long plank on two chairs along the south wall. One evening, during the sermon, that plank slipped off one of the end chairs and tumbled the people to the floor. It was all funny until we discovered that one lady, Mrs. Harry Mosher, wife of one of the hardware dealers, had her foot beneath the plank and suffered a painful injury. We had a very earnest amateur choir. We loved to sing old songs -- Let the Lower Lights Be Burning, I Need Thee Every Hour, Rescue the Perishing, and many others. I can still remember clearly some of the faithful ones who stood by me those days and who were seldom absent from services, and always helping when there was good work to be done. There were Jim and Ella Stewart. Jim was postmaster in those days. They had two young children, Nellie and Gladys. There were the Kellers, who kept a General Store and lived in a house several doors north of mine (Burgee property). Harry Keller was a kindly, genial man whose hearty laughter and friendly conversation would cheer the heaviest heart. I was invited to their house and ate many meals with the family. Vera, Ruby and Bud were the names of their children. Dr. and Mrs. Creamer were amongst my loyal supporters. The family was always represented at the Sunday services. Years later Montel came to the University of Iowa and was one of my students. Mrs. Frank Haagen was the clerk of the church. She also sang in the choir. Mr. Haagen was a hardware merchant in Dupree. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes Milton were sturdy and loyal members of our congregation. The Hayes operated the livery barn in those days. The G. M. McGarraugh's were good friends of our church. I remember one Saturday I was to go to Eagle Butte to exchange pulpits with my friend, Edwin Brown, who had come to Dupree a few days previously. But meantime, a very heavy snow had fallen and the temperature was much below zero. Good friends tried to dissuade me from going, for the trains were blocked by snowdrifts. But in my youthful folly I set out. I had one of Hayes Milton's horses. Every few miles I had to dismount and pull large ice balls out of the horse's nostrils. One time, while I was walking and leading him through the drifts to thaw out my numbed body, he fell clear away and disappeared into a deep drift, that I later discovered was a cut of the railroad through a deep bank. It took many hours to get to Eagle Butte, but the horse got me through. On Sunday afternoon, I used to ride horseback to Redelm to conduct services in the school house. The Gladstone family was among our friends, so were the Geeseys and Barnes, Nelsons, the Chases, the Nyhouses, the Walkups, and many others, including the school teachers. Helen Chase and Sim Jeffries were among the latter. I feel sure that I remember the Vance family, and a girl named Lorna, who may have married into the family. My friend, Edwin Brown, and I decided that we were needed in the service, and had been greatly disturbed by the war raging in Europe. We left the West River country and crossed into Canada, where we enlisted at Winnipeg. We were in France for three years in that convulsed tide of struggle. My buddy became ill with pneumonia, which caused his health to be come undermined. He died later while serving a church at Elk Point, South Dakota. Life has no dearer memories for me than that winter I spent as minister of your church in Dupree. The people were wonderful and we accomplished a lot together. [photo – Congregational Service Car bought by Rev. Gabriel E. Stayton] The Congregational Service Car pictured as it crossed the Missouri River by ferry was purchased by Rev. Gabriel E. Stayton with funds from an unnamed donor from New York state. Rev. Stayton was serving the Congregational Churches in Dupree, Lantry and Eagle Butte while living in the parsonage at Dupree. He had to walk the round trip every Sunday. He had written to a church publication from New York describing his pastorate and journeys. As a result, he received a blank, endorsed check from someone somewhere in New York, instructing him to purchase a Ford touring car with electric starter, stipulating that the words "Congregational Service Car" be printed on the door. According to his daughter Marie, (Mrs. Edgar) McDaniel, this was probably sometime in 1917 or 1918. As she recalls, she thought he held services in the theater in Dupree and that he was also instrumental in the building of the church which is still in use (with some addition and changes), and that he served as the first pastor in the church. The family included Rev. Stayton, his wife Lillie, a son John (who became a minister), and two daughters, Gertrude and Marie. UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST The First Congregational Church held services at the old townsite of Dupree, two miles northeast of the present town, in the summer of 1910. A missionary, Reverend Miller, came from Ft. Pierre, walking that distance. Articles of incorporation were drawn up in 1911, there were fourteen charter members. When the townsite was moved, first services were held in the Berglin Hall, the present theater. A church built in 1913 served until the present, necessarily larger, church was built in 1917. Patent papers had been drawn up on the new location and were recorded July 16, 1918. C. W. Vance was Registrar of Deeds. June 25, 1957, the four branches, Evangelical and Reformed, the Congregational and Christian Churches, joined together and formed the United Church of Christ. This has worked to great advantage for twenty-five years, and was celebrated May 1-2, 1982. The church has undergone renovation, once caused by a basement fire. The rostrum was moved from the west side to the east, an addition added on the west side with a new entrance, there is a kitchen and dining facilities. The old parsonage was replaced with a modular home in 1975. The full basement contains a bedroom, bathroom, study and large recreation and storage area. In 1963 the parishes of Isabel and Dupree yoked to share a minister. A combined parish board helped to carry out the unity. Service times were rotated every three months. Winter driving conditions on that road, and the fact that Eagle Butte was closer, were considerations when Dupree and Eagle Butte became yoked in their ministry in 1970. [photo – United Church of Christ, Dupree] [photo – Annual Harvest Festival draws old and young] [photo – Annual Harvest Festival. Brady Menzel rejoices in a pumpkin for a jack-o- lantern] Annual Harvest Festival sales in the fall made possible the burning of the mortgage on the parsonage in December 1978. The Reverend Richard Alien was ordained in Dupree on September 7, 1975, by the Oahe Association. Memorials given to the church add greatly to its usefulness and beauty. A dream of the future is to make the church more accessible to the infirm and wheel chairs. Church membership is one hundred thirty-one, with average attendance of eighty. Ministers through the years: George David Robinson, 1911-12; Henry Bissell, Jr., 1912-13; Charles B. Thomas, two months, 1913; George B. Robinson; W. A. Shaw, 1914; H. Thorton, 1915-16; Robert Hall, 1916-17; Reverend G. E. Stayton, 1917-18; Reverend T. L. Jones, 1920-22; Mrs. Alderson, one month, 1922; Reverend H. T. Owen, 1922-25; Reverend L. P. Wegenast; Reverend H. W. Cannon; Reverend H. T. Owen, 1929; Reverend E. W. Canfield, 1933; Leila Anderson (Acting), 1940; Jack Castikyan, 1941; Reverend Samuel Gushing, 1942-45; Reverend Clayton Behrens, 1945-47; Reverend Lyman Light, 1950-51; William Turner (layman); Reverend James Selsmer, 1953-57; Reverend James Parker, 1957-60; Lawrence Burger, 1960-62; Reverend Virgil Hicks, 1963-1970; Reverend W. Raymond Berry, 1970-73; Reverend Richard Allen 1973-74; Reverend Larry Smith, 1974-75; Reverend Richard Alien, 1975-80; Reverend Janice Ann Kimball, June, 1982. A HISTORY OF SAINT PHILIP' S EPISCOPAL CHURCH [photo – Episcopal Church at Dupree] To study the history of Saint Philip's Episcopal Church in Dupree is to become familiar with the history of the development of the State of South Dakota itself. Everything that affected the Church in Dupree is the result of larger forces that affected everyone in the whole area. Let us see how this has come about. As their old way of life was broken and destroyed, the Indian people needed something to replace the fragments of their culture. They found that the Christian Church and the many missionaries filled in the gaps. It was in 1849 that the U. S. Army lost control of the Indians to the Department of the Interior. Work began in the Dakota Territory when the Episcopal Church appointed Henry Whipple as Bishop of Minnesota. In May, 1873, the land now occupied by the town of Dupree was described as a "vast tract of wild country, inhabited by roaming tribes". The first efforts of the Episcopal Church were directed toward the conversion of the native inhabitants. This purely Indian phase of their work lasted for ten years, from 1873-1883. It was during that time that under President Grant's Peace Policy, Agents were assigned, and schools and churches were established. It is noted that the Cheyenne River Agency had "hostiles and friendlies" whereas down-river (Agencies) tribes were more civilized, and Reverend Henry Swift began holding services in the day schools and later in the boarding school at the Agency. In the period from 1883-1891, new towns began to grow up with white settlers and the Episcopal clergy commenced a new missionary effort that was for all men, not just for the Dakota Indian Tribes. Reverend William Hobart Hare of New Jersey was elected Bishop (from 1873-1909) of the newly created Niobrara Deanery and it was under his leadership and that of such outstanding missionaries as Archdeacon Edward Ashley, new town missions were added to the pioneer ones at the various Agencies. It is important to relate a few details about Archdeacon Edward Ashley at this time because he was such a driving force in the Episcopal Church among the Indian people and early settlers. He was the oldest white priest of the Episcopal Church, who began his work as a lay missionary amongst the Indians nearly a century ago. It is further noted that he was born in England on December 12, 1854. Through his acquaintance with the Bishop of Michigan, he accepted the invitation of Right Reverend William H. Hare of the Niobrara Missionary District to enter missionary work of the Episcopal Church in the Dakota Territory. He was to spend some time at Yankton, Fort Thompson and Sisseton, and as a result learned the Lakota language. Among the several Indian chapels in this area by that time were Saint Andrew's (Cherry Creek) and Saint Luke's (Iron Lightning), both of which were built in 1882. In 1889, as a result of the death of the missionary on the Cheyenne Reservation, Bishop Hare requested that Reverend Edward Ashley take charge of larger work and he was headquartered at Fort Bennett. The Episcopal Church was already well known to the Indians, but not to the new settlers of Dupree. Ashley, noting the fact that, indeed, there was a new settlement in Dupree, in 1910, made six visits to this town in that year. Other visits to Dupree in 1910, before there was any thought of a church building or a resident priest were by Walter J. Wicks, who made 3 visits, George W. Down, 6 visits, and by Edgar Siegfriedt, who called 3 times. But growth of the Episcopal Church was not limited to the Dupree area by any means. The Niobrara Deanery continued to grow and when Reverend Ashley was transferred from Sisseton to this area, he would be in charge of seven missions on the Cheyenne River Reservation. By the end of the 1880's, many Christian Indians would come to hold fast to Christianity while others became part of a Messianic movement -- which promised the return of the buffalo and the departure of the whites from the land. Bishop Hare would write: A delusion has taken possession of the minds of the wilder elements among the Indians. The leaders in the movement have invigorated old heathen ideas with snatches of Christian truth and have managed to excite an amount of enthusiasm which is amazing. They teach that the Son of God will presently appear as the avenger of the cause of the wild Indians ..... The Messianic Craze had its tragic consequences at Wounded Knee, and it was "virtually the final flicker of the ancient spirit of the Sioux.'' In considering the very small start and progress of Saint Philip's in the period from 1910-1920, we must not forget that the main efforts of Archdeacon Ashley, who labored tirelessly for over fifty years in this area, were to establish Episcopal beliefs among the Indian people. Despite this we find the records of those persons who were first Baptized as Episcopalians in Dupree to have been: Alpha McGarraugh, Lola Birtha VanCampen, John Gilbert, Anthony Ortmayer (who was later to became a priest in our church) and Gladys Denman. These Baptisms, conducted by Dr. Ashley, took place on October 9, 1912. It was in 1913 that Reverend Joseph Good Teacher, a Santee, came to assist Reverend Ashley and later, in 1922, Reverend Ashley was to become Archdeacon of the Niobrara Deanery. The first Confirmations took place a little later, on June 4, 1913, when Dr. Ashley presented Mr. and Mrs. Harry Mosher, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Carr, Mr. and Mrs. Alton VanCampen and Alpha McGarraugh to Bishop George Biller, Jr. From the Register of Services we learn that the first Service was held on March 30, 1919, when the Reverend Harvey Kerstetter celebrated Holy Communion. The first funerals were those of Mrs. Walling and Miss Kate Geddes. For several years after 1919, services were held in Dupree once a month by Dr. Ashley and others. Although there was no church building until 1925, the first mention of a Guild Hall was made on April 19, 1921, when Bishop Remington confirmed a large class. By 1923 the Confirmation class was so big that the use of the Legion Hall was required. In 1921-22, Delbert Clark, Frank Lambert and Samuel Sayre came over from Selby to conduct services in Dupree. On one occasion, in 1922, Mr. Sayre, a Lay Reader, complained that the church attendance was bad due to the ball team and its rooters being out of town. He also mentions that the mosquitoes were very bad that year. George Baldwin came to Dupree on September 1, 1922, as a Lay Reader, and was Ordained October 1, 1923. Under his leadership, 68 persons were Confirmed at Saint Philip's Church. Only the Roman Catholic Church in Timber Lake had more members at that time. The first resident priest, Dr. Baldwin, was forced to give outside lectures to support his adopted family. Times were still good in Dupree then, and he had no difficulty making a living prior to the economic collapse of 1929. The first Rectory was a tar paper shack, however, located just east of the J. Bigler home. The second Rectory was the N. Brummet home. Dr. Baldwin remained in Dupree until 1931. He had married Marie Graham, a teacher in the local high school. Reverend Joseph Good Teacher became the priest-in-charge when Archdeacon Ashley left in 1924. Following Good Teacher's death in 1925, Reverend R. P. Frazier took over the ministrations of the Church on the Cheyenne Agency. In 1920, the Ladies' Guild, which was organized on April 12, 1912, purchased a schoolhouse in the Arrowhead area and had it moved to Dupree to be used as a church. In 1925, the Reverend G. I. Baldwin, the first permanent priest, was able to dedicate a new church building. Excavation of the basement was commenced on August 3, 1924, and the Church was formally dedicated July 26, 1925. The building was constructed of cement stucco, was built in the Mission Style of southern California, and contained the only pipe organ in this section of the country. Saint Philip's Church was now the most outstanding architectural feature in Ziebach County. Dr. Ashley, a stately 71 years of age and in his 51st year of the Ministry, preached both the morning and afternoon sermons on Dedication Day. The old schoolhouse from Arrowhead then became the Rectory. The first Baptism in the new Church was that of Lewis John Menzel and Frederick Arthur Menzel, on August 30, 1925, although Robert Daniel Hays had been baptized there before the formal opening. After Dr. Baldwin left for Eau Claire, Wisconsin, a succession of priests came and went during the hard times of the 1930's. Included among these were: Standish McIntosh, Joseph DuBray, and Levi Rouillard. In 1934 John B. Clark came to stay until 1941. Father Clark was active in the Diocese of South Dakota for many more years. A steady exodus of people from Dupree (10% in the period from 1930-1940) due to drought conditions, did not help the growth of St. Philip's Church at that time, and continuing unfavorable economic conditions further prevented the Mission from becoming self-supporting. In the period from 1941 to the present, the following men have served at St. Philip's Church as resident priest: William Donelly; Stuart Frazier; Harold Jones (later elected as Suffragan Bishop of South Dakota); Raymond Taylor; Robert Lucent; Antoine Zephier; James D. Marrs; James W. Rice; Anthony G. Morris; Captain H. Harris, Church Army; Andrew Weston; Phillip Alien; Captain William Black Lance, Church Army; John Lurvey; Leslie Campbell; and Wilbur Bears Heart. The progression of Bishops to have served Saint Philip's have been: William H. Hare, Hugh Burleson, Blair Roberts, Conrad H. Gesner, Lyman Ogilvie, and Walter Jones. The most recent Baptism was that of Michael Brent Yardley in June, 1981; and the most recent Confirmations were those of Mary L. Hale, Keith Red Bird, Delphine Marrowbone, Leona Good Bear, Jewell Gunderson, and Jamie Gunderson. Saint Philip's has a unique position as headquarters for the Indian work in the western end of the Cheyenne River Mission. Though small in size and number, its contribution to the total picture of life in Ziebach County is large, since nearly half of the non-white population is Episcopalian. Since priests spend much of their time on the Reservation, the strength of the congregation has always come from the lay members of the Parish. Among the lay workers whose work we must never forget have been that of Mrs. Katherine Creamer, Superintendent of the Sunday School from 1925 to 1949, she is currently living in Miami, Florida; Miss Helen Voerge, religious educator affiliated with the United Thank Offering, and now living in Florida; and Reverend Skardon D'Aubert, Houston, Texas, who worked with the young members of Saint Philip's during his vacations here, he's now retired and living in Louisiana. In the mid-1960's the cement stucco building was completely razed by fire, destroying the organ, most of the interior furnishings and most of the building. It was replaced with a cement block building following a massive fund-raising effort on the part of the membership. The current officers of the church are Blaine Clown, Senior Warden; Roy Hale, Junior Warden; Priscilla Hale, Clerk; and Lillie Pesicka, Treasurer, and it is through the continuing work of the present officers and members of Saint Philip's that achievement of the original aims of Bishop William H. Hare and Archdeacon Edward Ashley will be carried out, in regard to the Episcopal duty in Ziebach County. Compiled by: Mrs. Ruth Hersey, Reverend Anthony Morris and Jeri Burgee Lemke. FIRST ENGLISH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH First English Evangelical Lutheran Church, a corporate body, and a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, was founded in 1914 by Pastor A. W. Blauert. At first services were held in a small wooden frame building. This was replaced in 1955 with a weigh-lite block structure which seats 100 persons. It has a full basement with Sunday School and kitchen facilities. The work on the building program was done for the most part by the members. In the years of existence First English Lutheran has been served by a succession of nineteen pastors with William Russow presently serving in that capacity. It is presently a part of a four-point parish including Faith, Isabel, and TimberLake besides Dupree. The pastor resides at Faith. It has a roll of 55 souls and 45 communicant members. Weekly worship is scheduled alternately on a monthly basis with the other three churches. Pastors who have served First English Lutheran are: A. W. Blauert, E. H. Neuman, H. Schaar, H. Sprengeler, E. W. Penk, Hugo Schnitker, A. G. Eberhart, E. Mehlberg, H. Russow, H. Bauer, A. Brueckner, W. Hein, J. Brandt, R. Wendland, H. Flegel, N. J. Engel, Thomas Schmidt, G. Richmond, and William Russow. [photo – First English Lutheran Church] CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS In 1965 Mormon missionaries appeared on the Cheyenne River Reservation and some of the people converted to the Mormon faith. A large chapel was built at Cherry Creek in 1966 on land donated by Mazie In The Woods. In 1979 another chapel was constructed in Dupree. Mormon couples are sometimes stationed at these places for their mission period which is time they spend doing volunteer work for their faith. Many young Mormon elders also are placed in the area. [photo – Church of Latter Day Saints] THE SIOUX INDIAN YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION On April 27, 1879 a small band of Indian young men met on the banks of the Sioux River near Flandreau in Dakota Territory for the purpose of promoting Christianity. They called themselves the Koska Okadakiciye (Young Men's Association). Some of their number had first encountered the work of the YMCA while in prison following defeat in Little Crow's War in the 1860's. They organized according to the "rules of Jesus" based upon the first chapter of the Gospel of John where they read that "one man who had the light went out and found his brother who was in darkness.'' They elected as their first chairman Thomas Wakeman, son of Chief Little Crow. The YMCA was the only white man's organization started among reservation Indians by Indians themselves and grew out of their own recognition of its necessity. Its faith and commitment soon spread to other reservations. The first YMCA on the Cheyenne River Reservation was founded at Virgin Creek (LaPlant) on November 16, 1884 when some YMCA leaders from Yankton Agency came to the area. By the mid-1890's there were YMCA's started at Cherry Creek and Buffalo Ranch. Yellow Thunder, Clarence Ward, Edward Dupree and Joseph Makes It Long were early leaders in the YMCAs in that area. Rev. Thomas Williamson (Presbyterian) and Rev. Stephen Riggs (Congregational) had been early missionaries to the Dakota people. They had helped to prepare the way for the spread of the YMCA. In 1935 the General Convention of Indian YMCAs organized for the first time apart from the annual Presbyterian and Congregational Mission Meeting, and began to work to include all denominations. [photo – Takini YMCA Hall, first school building in Bridger] [photo – YMCA Building in Dupree] By the early 1900's there was a YMCA at Takini (Bridger). Their stuccoed log YMCA hall was moved to Bridger in 1910 from south of the Cheyenne River where it had been built about 1890. It was used as church, first school in Bridger, and YMCA meeting hall. It is perhaps the oldest still standing and still used building in Ziebach County. By the 1920's there were YMCAs at Frazier (Red Scaffold) and at Thunder Butte. An emphasis on sports and recreation was begun when games were held during the annual conventions. Basketball, invented by the YMCA in 1890, was first introduced to the Indian YMCAs at a conference in 1896. In 1958 the officers of the General Convention requested staff and financial assistance from the National YMCA. A study team was sent to the reservations in the early 1960'9, and in 1965 Dave Lindstrom was hired as extension secretary to the Indian YMCAs. In 1970 Dwight Call was hired as staff director and Nathan Little Wounded as staff associate. Also in 1970 the General Convention voted to become family associations, operated by and serving the needs of men, women, boys and girls. A Summer Camp was begun in 1971 by the Sioux YMCAs, and named the Leslie Marrowbone Memorial YMCA Camp in 1975 for a young man who died in a tragic accident and who had been a junior counselor at the Camp for several years. Regular basketball and baseball leagues and tournaments were organized since 1971. Groups of YMCA volunteers had come to the reservations each year since 1965. In 1975 an annual youth exchange was initiated with the Yamanashi YMCA of Japan. The General Convention of Sioux Indian YMCAs was incorporated in 1972, and in 1977 -- 98 years after its founding -- became a member association of the National Council of YMCAs. Today there are seven YMCAs in Ziebach County: Cherry Creek, Takini (Bridger), Frazier (Red Scaffold), Red Scaffold, Dupree Lakota, Thunder Butte and Wakinyan Maza (Iron Lightning). EXPERIENCES OF AN ASSOCIATION SECRETARY by Arthur Tibbetts, Ta-Sun-Ke-Mani (Walking Horse), Traveling Secretary of the Indian Young Men's Christian Association Monday, the 9th day of January, 1899, I left Cannon Ball, North Dakota, at 4 o'clock by the stage coach, and started south. It was January 19 when I reached Remington Association at Green Grass at 7:30 o'clock. Here I found John Blue Cloud in waiting. I had made my plan to be at Leslie Association on Sunday. The distance between these two places is 55 miles. I started out in the early morning and reached my destination after sunset. The Association held its meeting, and they were waiting for me. I was so glad and thankful that I had another opportunity to "stand up for Jesus," though weary and tired. On Sunday they met with me in the church. On the evening just before the meeting was called I took a walk to the cemetery; there I found several signboards over the graves, with capital letters of Y.M.C.A. and names. There are eight of these in the cemetery. These were members of the Association. On Monday I drove on to Buffalo Ranch Association, which is about 15 miles east. I came to a country store to get a sack of oats for my team, also some canned goods for myself. I had known comparatively little of the Association here, and had long felt a desire to stay in order that I might better know those under my care. This Association has organized a band. We had a very good meeting. They did not meet to talk of their abuses, but of their privileges and how they could improve themselves in Christian life and services. I had planned to go to White Horse Camp; the distance is 60 miles. Before I went to bed I greased my buggy and had everything ready to start in the early morning.