St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-09-10
PIPESTONE CITY
The Heart of a Rich Agricultu-
raj Region Of Southwest
ern Minnesota.
Its Native Attractions and It's Solid
Though Rapid Growth.
New Railroad Center--The Red Pipestone
Quarry--PipestOne Falls.
A Region of Romantic Tradition, Beau
tiful Scenery and Land for Homes.


and of its long lines of titled ancestry, of
its hereditary castles and estates, and of noble
deeds done by somebody else long since
dead and gone, we Americans can only boast
of what We have and are. We cannot point
to ruined castles centuries old or pirate of the
blue blood in our veins, ennobled by some
one who lived and earned undying fame for
Us generations ago, but We can point to those
matchless creations of Nature whose beauty,
God given, far exceeds that of ruined arch
or dilapidated wall and which fashioned and
formed ''when first the morning stars sang
together have stood in their wondrous
beauty and grandeur long ages before the
hands which builded the old worlds ruins
felt the first pulse Of life or whose minds had
yet conceived the fame and shape Of their
creations, now mouldering into decay.
Such was the train of thought into which I
fell as l sat in my seat with the train rolling
along towards my destination, and 1 thought
of the antiquity Of Nature as compared with
art, and reflected that when all traces of the
CGpsars had been obliterated by the crum-
bling dust of ages the people of that day may
stand beside Niagara, grand, majestic and
awe inspiring, fresh and new as to-day, or as
when lured by the mighty thunders Of its
voice, mans eye at first beheld it. But why
should a ride across the open prairie of
southwestern Minnesota, where there was
nothing especially grand or inspiring in Ma
ture, awaken such thoughts and feelings
within me! 1t was this. My destination
was Pipestone, and had resurrected copy
&C 1 1
"On the mountains Of the prairie
On the great Red Pipestone Quarry
And mingled with the interest created in the
beautiful merry so wondrously recited,
came fc.ang of interest in the races who
for so many generations had made this spot
one Of such historic or traditional fame
among them. l had read their legends and
knew that the place towards which my face
was set had for ages held a charm that, in
deed could ''soothe the savage breast" and
make friends and brothers of the bitterest,
deadiest foes.
l had boarded the Omaha train which
leaves st. Paul at a. m, and changing cars
at Heron Lake, l reached Pipestone at p.
IN. OF course the first thing was to take in
The natural scenery. l found the view
which met my gaze to be one of surprising
loyeliness. The Typography is that of high
plateau or table land, which is the termina-
ton of that range of hills which find their
origin in the Manitoba country, and times
attain a very considerable elevation, and
which are called the Dakota hills or Coteaux.
This is what gives rise to the seeming par
odox son the Mountains of the prairie.''
The clear rare atmosphere at the elevation
which this point attains, which is ], ZOO feet
above sea level, renders the view far reach
ing. Here is in fact the dividing line be-
tween the Rock, Sioux and Des Moines,
tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi.
Away toward the west, the long line of
emerald green, seen clear and distinct
against the horizon, marks the course of the
Big Sioux. twenty to thirty miles away,
which is skirted with timber. To the south
the head waters of the Rock are not far off,
while to the east lies the Des Moines. AS
my eye swept the horizon and 1 noted the
wonderful extent Of vision which was Afforded
me l felt the full force of the lines of the
poet who describes it.
THE PIPESToNE QUARRY.
Ofcourse the principal attraction here to
those who visit the place is the famous 'Red
Pipestone Quarry" and to this I first turned
my attention after having feasted my eyes
on 4 landscape more wide and far reaching
in its extent than any 1 had
ever seeu-this billowy extent of
undulatng prairie seeming to rise
and fall like the waves of some vast
ocean. The quarries are to the north of the
town, across the railway track of the South
ern Minnesota division of the Chicago, Mil
waukee u st. Paul, and about one-half mile
from the village. They are located in ra-
vine or swale, which runs in a northwesterly
and southeasterly direction parallel with the
great red syenite ledge, which rises thirty to
forty feet high, and about forty rods distant
from it. l fell into the common error of
thinking this ledge the great ppestone quar-
Y of which l had read, but was undeceived
When l found my knife would not make the
slightest mark upon the smooth and weather
polished surface. The zeal pipestone quar-
ries are marked by three gigantic granite
boulder5 called the Three Maidens," sup
posed to have been brought from the north
in the age of the geological great winter''
by ice. The vein Of pipestone is of a streaked
red and white hue and lies at a depth of ten
or twelve feet below the bottom of the ravine
or swale alluded to, and is from four to four
teen inches thick. \ layer of ouartzite or
granite overlaysi it, which has TO be first re-
moved before the ppestone can be reached. |
The quarry is located upon an Indian res
ervation one mile square preserved on ac- !
count of this quarry, and as to the extent |
of the quarry or whether it underlies the en-
tire region to the east or not has never been
determined, the dip being so great as to pre-
clude the idea of ascertaining. The quarry |
has always been held sacred by the Indians.
and whenever they make their annual excur-
sions to them and finish digging what they
desire they at once fill up the quarry with |
dirt and rubbish. a line of partially filed |
excavations some twenty rods long running
along the vein marks the spot where for
many years they have operated. Formerly
they used to come in vast numbers, but lat
terly only few resort here, and they more
for the sake of selling what they quarry to
the whites than for anything else.
As 1Ist remarked, the quarry has always
been considered sacred by the Indians, and
woe to the white man who dared to desecrate
it while yet the tribes were powerful enough
to resent intrusion. In time they may per-
haps be opened by the white men, but as the
stone is only valuable for purposes of orna-
ment it does not require a great amount to
supply the demand.
PIPEsTONE FALLS.
Leaving the quarries, which do not in
themselves present a very attractive appear |