The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1895-02-02
PASTURES OF SOUTH DAKOTA
Beef Producing Capacity OF Plain Grass
without Desert. >

- u.s.
Chamberlain, $. d., Jan. 20. While
the natural resources of western South
Dakota are varied and numerous, in oil
probability the industry which has dur
ing the past fifteen years brought tho
greatest amount OF cash into that re-,
gion is the business OF growing i've,
stock. Tho richness of the native
grasses is but little understood by tho
people of the eastern states. 10 say
that u steer may. grow from calfhood.
until he is 4 years old, fat and ready
for market without receiving one
monthful of food except what he rustles
on the open range, through summer
and winter, sounds to tho average east
ern man like II fairy tale of the most
pronounced scrt. Western South Da-
kota sends nearly 100, 900 head of Just
such cattle to the markets of South
Omaha, Chicago. Sioux City and Kan
sas City every season. In the Black
Hills country alone there are ut least
40, 600 horses that live we'll the year
round and never see the color OF a grain.
of corn, n feed Of oats. and rarely
get sight of n forkful of hay. Their
sole means of s~us,cnancc is
the native grasses-and they live
well and stay fat. People who are
used to associating n range country
with long horned cattle with slim
neclks and thin tianl1s will open their
eyes with nstonishIncnt when they
witness for the first time the fruits ola
beef round up in the Black Hills coun-
try. Instead of rough, light, lnnlky
stock they will see large, smooth, sleek
md blocky steers, just as fine as Il
corn fed, carloads of which will be
found to average in weight from 1850
to 1850 pounds. Parties who make it
their business to watch The live stock
markets during the shipping season
will find that the grass grown steers of
South Dakota will sell right within a5
cents to IS cents per 100 pounds ofathe
fancy corn fed steers of the eastern
states that have been yarded and fed
$50 to &35 worth of corn per head to
put the flesh on them. The period of
long horn cattle on tho ranges of South
Dakota passed several years ago. A
long time ago the cattle raisers
in South Dakota saw tho ad-
vantnges of breeding the very
best stock for market. With
this end in view they purchased car
loads of shorthorn. galloway and here
ford bulls and placed them on their
ranges. With good care the grade Of
stock has been raised until u South
Dakota range steer is admired on all
markets of the country, Lying just
westof the Missouri river is the great
Sioux reservation, a large portion Of
which was, opened for settlement in
1890. This entire region is admirably
suited to the growing of live stock. and
while the cattle raisers predominnte,
there is quite u large representation
of horsemen aud flock masters.
This reservation country is well wat
cred, Bad river and the Cheyenne be-
ing the principal streams, each having
a large number of tributaries. 1t must
be understood that when speaking of
the range stock country the term APP
plies to That section west of the Mis-
souri, river with the exception of the
rougher portions of the Black Hills.
Land may be taken under the home
stead law in any portion of that region,
In the Chamberlain land district alone
there arc many millions of acres of land
open to settlement, while in the Rapid.
City district there are 1000, 900 ncres of
government land subject to entry by
homestendcrs.