Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-06-05

kots which has made eastern Dakota the
garden spot of all the world. can see o.
. sweeping glance the wonderful improve
ment which four years have wrought
Hero In tho great Sioux reservation arc oV.
0OO, 900 acres Of land. two thirds Of which
will become susceptible Of q high condt-
ton of cultivation and the other third al
ready furnishes rich summer and winter
grazing ground. 1t is held by perhaps 49,
600 non productive Indians, who neither
occupy nor use one aero In 10000. This
region is capable Of sustaining at least .
quarter of . million of productive white
laborers In its fulles: agricultural and pas
toral development. 1t is no part of natural
or political economy to permit oil this re-
gion to 20 TO waste for the qualification OF
a sentiment. Neither Is It . part Of the d.
vine arrangement. As the natural sequence
Of events We shall, ere many years. witness
the surrender Of this region By It's present
occupants, then will come the rush Of set-
Element and tho wilderness will blossom
and bear fruits.
l have been somewhat lavish In my
praises of the portion of the territory of
Dakota just traversed by the steamer which
brought ne hither, and It may be 10 order
to qualify my statements with IN exception.
There is q strip Of country lying between
White river and the Big Cheyenne 70 Mis-.
souri, river frontage OF about $50 miles)
which 10 generally barren, though there are
occasional productive GASES In the black
and u%nproductive waste. These are the
bad lands" of the Missouri rivsr-the
"gumbo" tract, In the course Of centuries
its powerful soil may DO subdued BY arti.
fetal means and then 1t will become highly
productive. Mixed with the soil Of eastern
wheat lands, this bad land" earth would
prove . valuable ver.llizer. But in its
present location and in our day and
generation, this strip may be counted as
~valneless, and we leave It out.
NATURAL FEATURES.
From the Big Cheyenne river northward
we encountered Q region Of wonderful ma
tural attractiveness. With the exception o
an occasional spur Of high and ragged hill
on either side, the Missouri IL bounded By
low flat ranges, with long and easy slope
to the river bottoms. Backward from tn
river these plateaus extend to the horizon
presenting a gently undulating surface. ,h'
whole covered with . thick growth O
grass. This Is one portion Of the Si0u:
domain which l have put down as to-
good for Indian occupancy. 1t will maxi
valuable farms for industrious settlers a
soon as existing restrictions are remove'
from the portion lying south of the 46,
parallel and west of the ooh meridian
North of the 46th parallel there is now D
impeachment TO settlement and the rich r,
gion is being rapidly taken up.
THE sTEARMR DAkoTAH
remains here until Wednesday and the
with it your correspondent will move c
towards the mountains. Mrs. p. G. ShaI
non. Mrs. Preston Wolfe and Will Lowe
of Yankton left the boat here. Mrs. VOL
I is to make Bismarck her home, Mrs. Sha
non will visit with her q week or two al
Lower says he shall commence working b
, way homeward, via the N. P. r. r., to NC
r row. Miss Bessie Shannon and Miss Thu
sen got of the boat at Brule agency, wi
!, the intention of spending q couple of weel
with Mrs. Dou2herty.
l shall endeavor to do Bismarck 10 snot
er letter. B