Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1877-11-19

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and raking in ill-gotten gains, rests upon
his oars and 10 soothed into the quiet mood
of . shoplifter or . nose-hitter by the magic
ofthe element which the government: makes
ih chief source of revenue. All these vari.
GUS Glasses, and several others, commingle.
mix up, chew each others ears and have a
big time generally. l saw it all at Pierre
and it made me think that Pierre needs q
local civil government. Some steps should
be taken to set apart this portion of the res
ervation for townsite purposes and give its
denizens the benefit of law and order. There
is now absolutely no redress for depredations.
lite people are outlaws, according to the U.
s. statutes. Yet they are quiet and law
abiding, want to conduct their business in a
peaceable way and will ifthey have q chance
l am completely convinced that the %influen-
tial men of Yankton should help Pierre to
attain a position where it is assured of = fix
ed future and then give it the full benefit of
the laws of our territory. Its actual occu-
panta are an industrious class and are fully
entitled to all the::privileges of citizenship.
H START OVER LAND.
1 "rolled OUT CHATS what they all cali
i) from Pierre on the afternoon Of the 25th
Of October. Upon the invitation Of Al. +.
Wood, one of our leading Yankton citizens
l accepted one-halfof 4 spring seat upon his
wagon and when l wasn't walking l was fill
ling nv allotted place. Wood had four
wagons besides the one we occupied. They
we're loaded with the things Black Killers
are liable 10 want. and we're drawn by oxen.
Out upon the prairie these noble beasts Of
toll are designated as bulls, but as they are
bona fde oxen l shall waive the etiquette Of
the road and write them for what they are.
We had a pleasant for a condition where the
luxuries Of home do not abound. Some
times we slept under the snow and some.
times on top Of it, and l have not yet made
up my mind which I like the best. Blu,
anyway We had a variety in our sleeping
arrangements which lent a spice to our
nightly life. Then there were wolves which
howled about our couches and cayotes which
never failed to come in on the chorus.
Every day or two we would meet a mar
who had been
CHASED BY INDIANS,
and though We usually belle ved him to be
an unmitigated liar there was a sort Of a
lonesomeness prevailing when we laid down
under the stars, drew our blankets about lis
and vsinly tried to recall the prayers Of by
gone days. We didn't meet any Indians
ourselves, however, and Wood and myself
have beth concluded that it is better (for us)
that we didn't. The fact that there have
been none on the route since a year ago last
spring has Just occurred to me and l wish
now that 1 had thought of it before.
'Twould have been a solace on the lonely
journey.
THE ROAD.
The road followed by ~freighters and trav.
elers is nearly the same as the trail estab.
lished by the pioneers in this Black Hills
movement. 1t now shows the marks Of
thousands of wheels and is as we'll defined a
road as one encounters on the
streets of city. The
marks Of last springs struggle with gumbo
and mire are plainly visible, but now the
road is as hard and firm as the we'll trodden
paths of the east. Heavily laden wagons
move along as easily as the street car upon
its iron rail and the track seems to me much
the same, so compact has it become from
constant use.
WOOD AND WATER.
The first Landmark that any freighter is
certain of is Grindstone buttes. Before
reaching that point there are numerous half
dry creeks that have names, but they occur
so frequently and the geography of those
who travel this road is so much at fault
it is difficult to determine which is which.
All of them furnish water, ever at this dry
season of the year, and it is not necessary
to obtain an abundant supply for man and
beast. Wood is also found on all these
creeks, in limited quantities, but enough
exists to furnish fuel for travellers, From
Pierre to Grindstone buttes there is an
abundance of grass for stock and cattle can
keep fat without grain. This side of
Grindstone buttes the prairie has been par.
tally burned, but plenty of feed can be
found for cattle. The bunch, or buffalo
grass grows prolific in this region. 1t
is nutritious even with the snow over it.
and furnishes rich grazing.
PIEOs SPRINGS.
On the 3lst of October We camped at
Pinos springs. The ruins of a rancho, built
in the prosperous days of the Pierre stage
line, exist here. The timbers of the build.
ings are fast falling before the axe of the
traveller, who finds dry wood At this point a
convenience. The e morning, Novem-
Der LIST, brought our first snow storm-a
slight furry, but the clouds looked threaten.
ing and thoughts Of billiards troubled us