Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1859-02-17
From the Minnssets Statesman
The Great Red Pipe.stons Quarry.

The Great Red Pipe-s,ons Quarry.
81 On the western slope Of the great Co.
' teau des Praries, and about one hundred
: and twenty-five miles west of St. Peter,
the traveller is struck by the singular ap.
: pearance of ragged ridge of palisades
, which extends for two miles in . N. N. W,
. and s. s. Z. direction.
, At distance it seems to be the ruins
Of some ancient city, decayed and messed
, over by time, yet retaining the solid fouu-
datlops of massive walls and heavy tow.
ers. When the rays of the western sun
strikes these rocks, sivering the gray and
Furnishing the crimson, the chromasic eff
feet is at once novel and beautiful. Ona
nearer approach, the quarry is found to
lie in an eifptical valley, about three miles
in length, with . maximum breadth Of
half mile. Beside the principal pali,sds
or ridge already alluded to, there are two
others, one above, the other below, in some
places disappearing beneath the soping
sward, and in others outcropping the
height Of ten or twelve feet. The mate
rial Of which these ridges are composed is
an indulAted, metamorphic sand stone or
quartz, varying in hue from brigh. scar.
let to dark purple, the upper surface be-
ing split and cleft into large and small
cubicle fragments, grey with moss. From
assure in the principal ridge flows .
stream which drains the whole valley or
basin AID is known as the Red Pipe
Stone river. A quarter of mile from ito
source, it pitches over the lower ridge
about eighteen feet, forming a beautiful
cascade.
The quarry itself is merely = trench,
| from four to six hundred feet ID length,
about ten fee, deep, and from five TO
twelve feet broad, which the Indians have
excsvated with infinite toll and labor.
Unprovided, ~ they are, with drills or
proper utensils for removing the qusrt.its
which owe, and underlie the pipe stone,
their progress has been slow, and it is not
improbable that they have worked this
qua Try for thousand years.
All the tribes of Dako,as. particularly
the SIssitons, ION whose land the quarry is
| situated the Sacs, Foxes and some others
were il the habit of making yearly visits
! to this place. Some of them say it was
originally opened by the Great Spirit:
others, that the bufaloes in their annual
immigration along the same trail, wore
away the super stratum and disclosed
some fragments of the pipe-stone. The
Dakotss all believe it TO be sacred ground,
and observe peculiar religious ceremonies
at their annual visits. They regard the
terrible storms Of thunder and lightning
which are prevalent upon the Coteau in
the summer season. as the terrestrial man.
ltestations Of the presence Of the Great
Spirit. The Indians prepare themselves
for visl! to the quarry by sort Of three
Gays publication all intercourse with
women is forbidden, aud after prayers and
sacrifices, one Of the number begins TO
dig. II be does not strike = stratum fit
tor pipes, he is regarded Us impure, and
another selects different place 70 COM
,nenee operations.
10 the spring Of the ye.r, the whole
bottom of the basin and conseq ueu.lv the
, quarry itself, is commonly under water.
On this account the quarrymen usually
pay their annual visits between the months
of July and October. There is o timber,
not even . single tree within twelve miles
OF the quarry. The description of the
red pipe-s.one itself, given by the celsbra.
ted geologiss and traveller, NicoIle,, is .p-
pended:
In the quarry which had opened.
the thickness OF the bed, is one foo, and
hail the upper portion o; which separates
IN thin slabs, may be described a. follows:
compact STRUCTURE slaty, receiving dull
polish having red streak; color blood
red, with dots Of = fainter shade of the
same color; fracture rough; sectile feel
somewhat greasy hardness not yielding
to the nail not scratched by seIa.ne, bu.
easily BY calcareous spar specific guam.
.iiy 29o. The acid. have no action upon
1t; before the blow pipe it is intu,ble per
sc, but wiki borax gives green glas.
According to Professor jackson. Of
Boston, WHO has sn.ly1ed it, and applied
20 j. the name Of ca,l!nlte, after Mr.. Cat.
iin, 1t is composed Q!
Water, 81
Silica, 49,
A