Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-14
RICH GARDEN SPOTS
To be Opened to Settlement on the
Great Sioux Reservation.
AN EXPLORERS GRAPHIC STORY
Valleys of Grand Beauty and Surprising
Fertility Found There.
UNIQUE And WONDERFUL BAD LANDS

UNIQUE AND WONDERFUL BAD LANDS
The Ii, ,000, 900 acres of land soon to be
opened to settlement in western South Da-
kota are attracting great deal of attention
at the present time, and whatever can be
authoritatively stated in regard to their
adaptability to the purposes of homeseekers
cannot fail to be of interest. 1t is not prob
able that much of 'trush" will occur to this
new public domain until spring. even
though the President should issue his proc
lamation declaring the land open this winter.
The report has gone out through all the
world that this new domain is remarkably
fertile and capable of being made highly
| productive, for this reason it is anticipated
| that thousands of families will settle upon
it in the succeeding year; that cities will
grow up as if by magic; and that num-
| erous fortunes will be made. Indeed, many
reasonable people prophesy that at least
loo, 900 settlers will take up their permanent
abode there during the next summer. What,
then, is this reservation, that so much has
been written about it and that it is attract
ing such general attention? Why have SO
many seemingly authoritative reports gone
forth concerning its richness and value?
asks a correspondent of the st. Paul GLOBE.
| The portion of the reserve which the Indians
have ceded by recent treaty to the United
States Government embraces all the lands
between the White and Cheyenne rivers of
Western South Dakota, including the
counties of Sterling, Stanley. Pratt, Presho,
Lyman, Nowlin, jackson and Ziebach, and
all the lands embraced in the counties of
Scobey, Delano, Rhinehsrt, Choteau, Mar
tin and Wagner, north of the Cheyenne
river, or 16, 600 square miles.
RICH GRAZING REGIONS.
The portion of this immense area be-
tween the White and Cheyenne rivers is un-
doubtedly the most suitable for agricultural
purposes, and it is estimated that two-thirds
of that territory is good arabic land. For
the most part, it Is of that description known
as rolling prairie. It embraces the valleys
of the White, Cheyenne, Bad and Missouri
rivers beside many beautiful basins and
valleys of lesser size.
The White River Valley, in the southern
part of this section, is by far the most fertile
and attractive. The White river is q stream
of considerable size, which rises in South
western South Dakota and winds its sinuous
length about 240 miles in an easterly direc-
tion to empty into the Missouri. Nearly the
entire length its banks are fringed with
thick growth of cottonwood and box
elder trees, which will furnish lumber and
fuel for the settler. The valley will per-
haps average 20 miles in width. but in
some places is much narrower and in others
much wider. It resembles the famous Elk
horn Valley in Nebraska. In its wild state
it is a thing of beauty, with its expansive
area Of fertile plains; its tall grass waving
as far as the eve can see; It's groves, through
whose foliage the CLINT Of the stream is
shining; its distant hills, on whose slopes
and in whose canyons there appear clus-
ters of cedar trees. There, too, fat range
cattle browze upon the nutritious grasses,
even in winter, for there, as in the Black
Hills, these grasses cure upon the stem and
make the whole reserve one of the best graz
ing regions in the world.
SOME OF THE DRAWBACKS.
But, however beautiful or fertile a coun-
try may be there is always some drawback
which becomes apparent in short time. So
it Is with the White River Valley as with all
the reservation, in fact. There is abund-
ance of good water in places, but there are
many localities from which it is wholly
lacking. The streams are for the most part
affected by alkali, or by some foreign sub
stance which renders them almost useless
for domestic purposes. This is said to be
due to the fact that both oil and coal exist
in large quantities beneath the surface.
Whether that is true or not remains to be
developed, but one thing may be asserted as
fact, that there are everywhere indications
Of coal, and the groupings Of that mineral
are very extensive in the bluffs along the
valley.
Investigations show that the upper nor
tion of the White River Valley, and, in
deed, the entire western part Of the new do
main south of the Cheyenne river, are su-
perior to the eastern half. This is because
the soil of the western part is a sandy loan
which holds moisture, while the rich gumbo
soil OF the other portions is impervious to
that most necessary element. Throughout
the White River Valley, however, there are
certain to be many large and prosperous
communities established.
The Bad river, called by Indians the
Wakpa Shicka, takes its rise in the western
part of the reserve, and runs in an easterly
direction, midway between the Cheyenne
and White rivers, about 1S0 miles to the
Missouri. 1t is narrow stream and its val
ley is not more than eight or ten miles in
width at the greatest. The waters of this
stream are affected by alkali, and are not
suitable for consumption. The
BOTTOM LANDS ARE RICH
and capable of being made highly produc-
tive, like those of the White River Valley.
The vegetation is luxuriant, but the timber.
which makes the White River Valley most
desirable, is rather sparse. On both sides of
the valley the divides are high and broken.
There are many places where these divides
are singularly adapted to grazing, and it is
very probable that, for this reason, both the
large and small stock grower, will locate in
the Bad River Valley, and allow their cat
tie to roam over the divides, which will
probably remain open for some years to
come. The draws and gulches of these high
divides contain clusters of cedar trees, which
will be found very useful to the settler, and
they, with the drains and gulches, will fur
nish excellent protection to the herds which
will roam over the unoccupied lands in the
winter.
The Cheyenne Valley is a sort of land of !
wonder. 1t contains immense tracts of good |
agricultural land, of the description ofthose
Of the White River Valley. 1t also con-
tains many thousand acres, which, for many |
years, will be used exclusively for grazing. |
The Cheyenne is the largest of the streams |
which traverse the reservation. There are |
high bluffs and extensive plateaus along its |
whole course, and its bottom lands are a |
scene Of wild beauty and the seat of great |
fertility. The ragged bluffs are gumbo hills
and are very rich, but of so sticky charac-
ter as to be very hard to work. Its plateaux
are level and fertile and even now form the
ranges of great herds of cattle. On the
Black Hills side of the Cheyenne many
Drosuerous settlers have established fine