Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-20
HAUNrs OF HIAwATHA.
LongfeIIow's Description of the Noun
tains OF the Prairie.

tains OF the Prairie.
The writer, with F. D. Underwood, So
perintendent of the Southern Minnesota
division of the Chicago, Milwaukee and st.
Paul Railway. says a Pikesuone, Mlnn.,
special to the Chicago Times, arrived by
special car at Pikestone. the great Won
der-land of legendary, and the most phe-
nOmenal for its many traditional features,
Notwithstanding the often-reeapltula-
ton Of its meritorious regions, and the
many pralseworthy historic writings that
heretofore have been given OF its locality
during the past two centuries by many
well-known authors.
There are few but what have read
Longfellow's "Hlawatha,' and many
have doubtless wondered what the writer
meant when he describes the "Great
Peace-Pipe Quarry and locates MS
scene on what he termed
On the mountains of the prairie.
To the not familiar person with this loca-
ton it would seem an error, but when we
take into consideration that this historical
spot is situated on the great dividing ridge
which separates the water which flows
into the Mississippi from that which flows
onward to the Missouri; that the situation
of this quarry is actually /, 200 feet above
the sea level, we must then cOncede that
absolutely correct in saying the "moun-
tains of the prairie"
On the mountains Of the Prairie,
on the great Red Pipestoue quarry,
Gitche Mantle, the mighty.
He the Master of life, descending,
On the red crags of the quarry
Stood erect. and called the nations.
Called the tribes Of men together.
From his footprints famed a river
Ieaping into the light OF morning,
Ger the precipice plunging downward.
Song Of HidloatAG.
The rise to this great elevation is so
gradual that one does not realize the alti-
tude until he stands upon the summit Of
what Catlin calls ''the nOblest mount Of
the kind in the world" There are le-
gends and traditions surrounding this To-
cation that trace back for many
centuries. Many hundreds Of years
ago all the Indian tribes of the
earth assembled in this valley Of the
PipestOne and engaged IN a deadly con-
1ict to ayenge the supposed wrongs Of
their respective tribes, the battle lasting
many days, the blood flowing over the
valley and giving its color to the rocks.
Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost
and all that survived this terrible massa-
ere were two leading chieftains of all the
Indian race.
They Drained each other with their
tomahawks, and the race would have
been extinct had not three Indian maid
ems hid beneath three huge rocks Of the
valley and lived to peTpetuate their race.
These three rocks lay separate and dis
tinct from any ledge, or cliff, and differ
in their composition from any other rock
or stone in the vicinity. The largest is
about fifteen feet high. These three
rocks are sacred to all tribes, and are
worshiped by many.
d. Ivan Downs goes on at great length
to describe the beautiful
wINNEwIssA FALLS,
which are situated directly in the most
picturesque location Of the PipestOne
quarries.
p, W. Morris, author Of the Calumet
of the Coteaus" and the "POetical Legends
Of the Border" gives a long description
of the PipestOne country.
This country was first discovered for
the whites by Gen. J. n. Nicollet during
his expedition in 1888. The inscription Of
his visit and discovery still remains well
preserved upon the face of a very hard
ledge lying diagOnally across from the
falls OF Winnewissa. 1t is evident that it
was from the records Of this expedition
that LOngfellOw gathered his data for his
poem.
The historic ages of this location with
the present generation are fast passing
into oblivion, and the PipestOne Of to-day,
while there are nearly all the inscriptions
and hieroglyphic markings sacred to the
Indian tribes Of all parts of the world yisi-
bic to the naked eye, is nevertheless assum-
ing all the appearances of being one of
the most thriving and prosperous sections
of the Northwest for farming, and many
kinds of mercantile industries are fast
taking the place Of where only half Gen.
fury ago the buffalo wallows, the Indian
teepee, and the antelope trails stood pre-
eminent, and master Of the entire situa-
fiOn