Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-04-07
AN INTERESTING LETTER ON
DAKOTA.

trip to Dakota. the land or pre-
emptions, tree-claims and homesteads,
We started from Fort Dodge at 10 a.
NJ, and arrived at Mitchell at 5 o'clock
Tuesday morning. two hours late. and
slept in the sleeper until Z o'clock
when we went up town and had break
fast. Mitchell is a thriving town. Sit
uated on a very beautiful site. and,
should Judge, contains about two thou
sand inhabitants. 1t is estimated that
there are five hundred people per day
at Mlthell, and Thursday the estimate
was that six hundred people were fed
at the hotels. At II o'clock it looked
as though there was q fair or a 4th OF
July celebration, to look up the busi-
ness street and see the multitudes Of
people. We started west with two
passenger coaches, full to overlooking
with land seekers and actual settlers
and their families. We arrived at
White Lake, Sc miles west of Mitchell,
about 1 o'clock Tuesday. We met al
Robinson and his brother there. They
are the general merchandise business.
We knew them when they were boys
in Dubuque. The White Lake Times
is published here and owned by Fred
Pratt, from Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Next day we started for Chamber
lain by train and met several persons
on the train whom we knew from Du-
buque. Thos. Wilson, son of Judge
Wilson, and Lue futile were looking
up locations. We saw farmers sowing
grain and blowing east Of Kimball.
and it is beautiful land. Also saw a
stock ranch between White Lake and
Kimball with a stream Of water run
ming through the cattle corral; saw,
before we got to Chamberlain, the
prairie dog village and a half dozen
dogs at their mounds, ready to dart
down their holes; saw the alkali and
gumbo lands about the American
creek, which is the entrance to Cham
berlain, Chamberlain is a beautiful
town site. on a very line plateau on the
east bank of the Missouri river, with
towering bluffs on the other side OF
the river and small ones in the rea
It the G. NJ. & st. p. should extend
west it would go3 or 4 miles south to
cross the river, at the mouth Of the
White river. l am told that John
Lawler has a section of land scripted,
which means that the railroad owns
it. If this is true Chamberlain would
be only a whistling station and The
best town would he on the other side
of the river. The great hope of
Chamberlain has been the opening up
of the Indian reservation north and
east OF them, and a land Office would
give them a boom this year, but the
senate did not act on the house bill 81
they will have to wait some time vet
We met there John III. King, of TIL
Register, Hon. GoodykoontZ and JOIN
Stearns, and others we knew year!
ago. Also several Dubuquers. There
are two fine hotels and IL very larg'
grist mill under construction. We al
so saw a steamboat, steamed up ant
the smoke rolling out of her smoke
stack, but for what purpose we coul(
not tell as the river was frozen solid
We took the train back to Plankin
ton, the county seat Of Aurora county
and a very pleasant town, with goot
buildings and a good class of inhablt
ants. and everything looks prosperous
We met several friends there. I'll
Plankinton House is kept by MI
Granger. a brother of Judge Granger
Of the northeastern portion Of Iowa
and lie is doing we'll. Every II yo'
meet feels good and / tried severa
times to cross question them and loo,
on the dark side Of their situation
but they would not feel disheartene,
but felt very enthusiastic over the
future of Dakota. The next day W
took a livery team and went to Yves
sington Hills. which we could see q
miles away, and the distance is moth
ing in Dakota. az the roads are very
smooth and almost level, SO to speal
but they are not as there what the
call draws, that is. one swail Of nrairi
and then another, and so on, but a
are dry until we come to the Firesteel
which is a small stream. This WI
forded and sped on our way north
ward until we arrived at the foot .
washington Hills, and put up at
farm house and had a good appetit
for our dinner, We can assure 70
we had the Dakota appetite to eat.
Half a mile away are the renowne
Washington Springs, and we must sd
it is a beautiful resort, with ditferen
waters and splendid springs, equal t
any we ever tasted or saw. There w
saw the primitive log cabin with
hay roof, which was the abode of til
first settler Of the Washington spring.
Hhe gulch is lined with mixed timber
also stone and q stream of water flow
ing down to the cabin The most II
markable feature is a dam of petrlfie