The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1891-10-23
THE BLACK HILLS EXHIBIT.
sioux City journal.

Sioux City Journal.
The rich resources of the Black
Hills are given adequate and artist
ic presentation at the Corn Palace.
In all of the great structure there
is not an exhibit of resources nor
a booth of beauty that attracts more
admiring visitors than the exhibit
from the Hills. 1t occupies all of the
first floor space in the east wing,
between the band platform and
the southeast corner stairway.
The position is conspicuous. An
opportunity was afforded by it for a
striking display. There is general
agreement that the opportunity has
been improved.
On entering the palace and look.
ing toward the front where CALI
ope is breathing the spirit of music
into the olive tinted McNicans, one
can hardly fail to see on the cor
ner stairway the words "Black
Hills" wrought out in great letters
of white corn on dark background.
! Going to the exhibit to which it
invites attention one finds variety
OF natural resources and wonders
that is nothing short of marvellous.
A mineral mountain is on the
outskirts of the exhibit.
On the summit is a fifty pound bar
of pig tin smelted at Hill City from
ore taken from the Harney Peak
tin mines.
Its position of prominence sug-
gested the thought that it was in
tended to do something toward
convincing all douhing Thomases
that such a thing is possible as
American tin. Col. w. ]. Thorn
by, of Hot Springs, S. D., who
showed the reporter this part of
the exhibit, vouchsafed the infor-
nation that within eight months
the tin mines of the Hills would be
fully supplying the American mar
ket. Besides the bar of smelted
tin there is in this heap of minerals
500 pounds of tin ore.
Then there are two tons of gold
ore from the famous Homestake
mine near Lead City. This is ad-
mitted to be the richest gold mine
in the world. 1t occupies about
twenty acres of land. With the
gold are great chunks of silver
from the Bald mountain silver dis
trict six miles from Deadwood.
There is also a large piece of silver
and lead weighing 900 pounds from
the Spokane mine in Custer coun-
ty. Close to it is chunk of nickel
ore from Everly & Scott's mine
near Rapid City and 200 pounds
of copper from mines in Custer
county.
In short, here are seen all Of the
money metals in use in this
country.
And this is not all. There are
chunks of lead, samples of fire clay
said to be the finest to be had any
where, building brick, semi-an-
thracite coal from Spearhsh, iron
ore, which yields so per cent. of
mineral, from Rapid City, lubri-
eating oil from Jenny's Stockade
on the west side of the Hills, and
a number of fine specimens of
gypsum.
iFlanking this mineral mount are
four small pyramids built of the
different kinds of stone that come
from the quarrics of Fred T.
Evans at Hot Springs.
One of the most interesting fea-
lures of the exhibit is collection
of the geological wonders Of the
Hills. 1t has been made by John
F. Sidey, of Hot Springs. He ac-
companied this part of the exhibit
to the palace and arranged it. 1t
is very effectively displayed in
show cases and on shelves. The
curiosities from the bad lands are
particularly striking. Among
them is the petrihcd head of a
rhinoceros plainly showing its
teeth and even the lobes of its
brain. Then there is the tooth of
a mammoth, 7 10y 575 inches in
size. The original horse, the ori-
don, is seen in retrospective fancy
as one looks upon some of the fos-
silizcd remains. And the plant
and marine life of prehistoric times
is suggested by beautiful clusters
of moss and reeds and oyster
shells.
Tie story of the caves is told by
goods, with sparkling crystalline
interiors, stalactites and stalag-
mites and crystalizations of quaint
box work shapes. And more
beautiful than all, by crystalized
cobweb. How delicate indeed the
touch of natures fingers, that tiny
threads, which sunbeam would
almost break, shonld be encased in
enduring crystals and preserved
during the ages!
The shining satin spar, or crys.
tallized gypsum, is profuse in the
exhibit. 1t is used in making
jewelry. There are also large
chunks of uncrystallized gypsum
in white and variegated colors. 1t