Montgomery County sentinel., 1890-03-21
Letter from the Far West.

M. Editor Thinking that some of your
readers might be interested in South Da.
kota, as number of Montgomery county
boys have settled in this new and growing
State, shall give short sketch of that sec.
ton which has been purchased from the
Sioux Indians by the Government and |
opened ior settlement under the home
stead law.
The first question asked by the settlers,
who are now flocking into Chamberlain,
the western terminus of the Chicago, Mil |
waukee and ST. Paul Railroad, is, "where is |
the site of the new town of Sherman" |
They are directed to point on the west |
bank Of the Missouri River, opposite the !
lower end of American Island This is
land contains several thousand acres. 1t
has been ceded to Chamberlain for park |
purposes, and small amount of money
properly expended there will afford place
for recreation equaled by few eastern cities.
In crossing this lovely timbered island every
one realizes the fact that this is a natural
attraction of which few western cities can
boast. On reaching the lower end the eye
meets landscape which any artist would
be proud to reproduce on canvas. Nature
occasionally delights in forming spot so far
surprising its envrons that it will appear
more beautiful by contrast. Such is the
proposed site of Sherman in a beautiful
bottom sloping gradually from the base OF
the bluffs to the rivers bank. At this point
the current of the Missouri loses none of
its world-amed rapidity, affording perfect
drainage, so there is absolutely no stagnant
water, consequently no disagreeable or un-
healthy exhalations, unless one gets too
near an Indian tipi. Then he encounters
what Coeridge says of Cologne:
81 counted two and seventy stenches,
xR,nll IaGn Cd Lit.
but an Indian house in its horrid foulness
would be iattered by such description.
The thought naturally arises has this grand
town site been created without being ade
quately provided with country that will
support city "a birds eye view" of the
country puts this fear quickly to rest.
1t is with the most unfeigned diffidence
that | approach the difficult, but delightful
task of describing this beautiful country.
For the reason that in describing any scene
in nature it is difficult in proportion to its
rarity, as we derive our conception of it by
comparing it to other works OF nature, and
as this country is totally unlike anything
have ever seen, it is impossible for me to
produce pen picture that can convey to
the mind OF the reader who has never seen
prairie country an accurate idea Of its
expanse and beauty. Along the Missouri
is II labyrinth of abrupt ridges, deep gorges
and lofty bluffs, exhibiting all the wildness
and beauty OF mountain scenery, without
the grandeur of the forest or the sublimity
ef the cataracts Back from the river is a
vast fertile prairie extending ior hundreds
of miles only broken by small creeks and
draws skirted with cotton wood. Here
and there are sheets of water simply called
"ponds," but clear and beautiful enough to
bear the more poetic name lake. Following
! fha fhar hon RI fr,r,
its first sparkling and irregular sources to
its mouth, a distance over two hundred
miles, is fertile timbered valley. Farther
west we see less OF man and more of nature
until at last we reach the picturesque seen
cry of the Black Hills, or the romantic wllds
of the Bad Lands
From this ali idea can be formed OF the
extent and value of this natural pasture
covered with a variety of nutritious grasses
some of which are so hardy and abundant
: as to last all the year, drying on the ground
before frost touches it it makes the best Of
hay. Owing to the light fall of snow cattle
run all winter without being fed or shell
tered. Thousands are branded aud turned
into the prairie TO find their food and shell
ter like the wild herds on the almost tropi-
cal plains of Mexico
II will be several years before this section
of the State becomes an agricultural coun-
try. The fertility of the soil cannot be ex
celled, but there is not sufficient moisture
to make farming profitable. In summer hot
winds, in which saamander would reVe
sweeps over the prairie, prestrating beast
and parching vegetation. If crop should
escape this the other elements appear in the
form of hailstorms and cyclones, leaving
desolation in their trail. Nsr is Dakota
free from the bugs and insects with which
| hn for hoe tn
torturer Of the spinal column and torment
or OF the small boys existence is found
here, still devouring potato vines, Paris
Green and London Purple.
This part of Dakota, with all its natural
advantages and disadvantages. from what |
can learn, differs very little from all this
section of country which has been settled
in the last twenty years. AS this country
is settled, the sod broken and groves plant
ed, there will be climatic change such as
has taken place in all prairie countries con.
sequent to settlement moisture will be at
tracted, and the force of the winds broken
making the soil productive and the climate
more agreeable. Irrigation will be begun
on plan similar to that now started in
eastern Dakota. the supply of water be-
ing furnished by artesian wells. In the
Black Hills there are inexhaustible Goa
nelds ana immense forests, which Will be O
great boon to this country as soon as com.
munication is established by rail.
Although it will be some time before ag-
riculture will pay, there are thousands Of
persons coming into the country who will
begin to turn the sod as soon as spring opens
The Southern tender-foot starting out tc
rough it with the COW punchers, bull. whack-
ers and mule. skinners who have been raised
| on the frontier will find life worth livino
through Spring and Fall, Dakota's two
greatest charms, but later when the mercury
drops thirty below zere, and the wind
sweeps over the prairie, resounding like a
great Kolian harp, to the tune Of which
the COW -puncher will sing "The Little Sod
Shanty on the Claim" with a heart as light
AS the proverbial feather as he does his
.. chores, while the tender-foot sits by the
stove, twists hay" and sings, "Carry me
Back to my Old Southern Home" without
anv variations. r. B p.
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