Yankton daily press and Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1875, 1875-08-31

TO us it was not monotonous. Yctwe
must confess that the ight Of good
frame house, rs we ascended little
rise Of ground, was not at all unwel-
come. 4tproved to be the residence
OF Daniel Sweet, a fronticrsman ofihe
finest stamp. His "claim'' is on sec.
ton IL, one mile south OF tie quarry.
Herewith his wife aud little boy lie
passed the winter, IL miles from the
nearest house. They are still the sole
residents Of Pipestone county, the
character of whose inhabitants we can
only speak in the highest terms. We
found this an excellent stopping place,
good fare and good beds, and Il GEM,
al, intelligent host. The amusing part
OF MIR. Sweets place is, that he has
laid 20 acres out as townsilc; has
,plowed around each block, partly
graded the streets, and commenced
setting out trees. This seems Il little
premature, but Mr. S. is fur seeing
and shrewd, and is on the inside track
in county and railroad matters. He
expects Unless than two years TO have
Pipestonc city made the county seat,
and the terminus for while of the
Minnesota Southern r. R. This road
is already surveyed to that point, but
ofthis we willspeak in another article.
The quarry is at the head waters of
Pipestone creek, and is scmi.circular
i'll shape for about mile. The sur
face Of the ledge and the prairie on
the cast and north are on a level, but
on the south and west the earth APP
pears to have been washed away,
leaving basin or valley about one
mile wide. The ledge on this side
falls Eperpendicularly for about 90 feet,
and over this at most seasons Of the
year is a>little cascade formed Of nu-
merous spripgs which come 10 ti1c
surface at this point and unite in
forming the Pipestone creek.
The upper ledge is similar TO the
rock found along the Sioux river, but
below, where the earth has been
washed away. a softer strata appears,
termed by MIR. Sweet pipes,one gran.
ite. This is easily quarried and
makes a neat, substantial wall. Still
lower down is found the layer Of pipe
stone, about IL inches in thickness
aud Of a rich red tint, notified with
white. This is SO soft that. it can
easily be cut out with an axe and
sawed into blocks TO suit the fancy.
The Indians have made use Of tins
material for ages in carving pipes and
fancy ornaments for sale among the
whites.
The government has reserved this
quarry for their exclusive us. and
benefit: A delegation from thc=dif=
ferent tribes makes an annual vista
ton to this point--numbcring last
year about 20 lodgcs-and secure a
few hundred pound Of pipcstonc TO
work up in1lhcir leisure moments.
There are several traditions con
nec,ed with this spot which make ii
sacred to the Indian, and every vcal
they hold a grand pow-wow and
dance in honor Of the place.
AS for the quality Of this pipestone,
its value is unquestioned. Under
skillful hands thousand different
uses might be made Of it, especially
for ornamcntation of houses. SO long
as it remains in the lndians' possession
however, its value is of little conse
quencc, either to themselves or TO tn.
world 1t seems to US that the march
Of civilization demands that this valu
4 able quarry-thc only one of the kin,
q in the world-should be taken out O
the hands of those supcrstitious
: worthless beings, and made of ser
vice.
OF the extent Of the pipeston
. strata, we cannot Judge, as no step
have ever been taken to detcrmin
that point. 1t is probable that it un
derlics the surface in inexhaustibl
quantities, and if it could be dcvc
oped would prove heavy source c
revenue to the country.
A movement will soon be made I
effect the REIMBURSEMENT Of the II
dians' titlc.to this land and place tn
property iu market, which we trus