New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-22
FAMOUS QUARRIES.
THOSE OF RED plpEsroNE SUNG OF IN HrA

THOSE OF RED PIPEsTONE SUNG OF IN HlA
wATHA.
Pipesone Muu) correspondence IN me Cn'c"5o
Chronicle.
Less than a mile from the busting little city
OF PipestOne Mimi. are three freaks OF Mature
that VIII we'll repay visit from the lovers VI
the curious and the beautiful Ihe HrSl 10 u
waterfall or cataract. which when the slredW
that feeds it IS swollen by the meItlhs SHOWS
and spring rains is miniature Niagara, anu III
pOnt Of beauty rivals many OF the famed water
falls of the East The second Is the famous heu
Pipcstone Quarry, the scene OF the opening oi
Longfellows beautiful poem Hawatma, ano
spoken OF in "HiaWatha" as the Three malueiS
that have stood for ages az landihark w
guide the Indians to the only spot In the known
world where the sacred pipestone could DE louhu
The waterfall quarry and Three MaldenS are
all located on the Indian Reservation. which IS
one mile square. adjoining the corporation ol
Pipestone on the north. The reservation Delonss
TO the Dakotas, what Is better known ny
It's French name as the Sioux Nation, put II u
claimed by the Yankton Sioux SeVeral years
since a determined effort was made by com
mittee of citizens Of Pipestone 10 purchase IT, ny
they did not want so large tract OF land SO
near this city lying idle. but the indians "ould
not part with II for love or money Ihe mex.
hest thing to do was to see II something could
not be done with it, even II 1t remained IN the
Indians possession. An application was maao
70 Congress- an appropriation or S1OVOO was Cd
tanned and a substantial school building was
built on one corner of the land The school mas
nroVpd successful that q second Dullulh6, Ino
size of the first is being built to accommodate
the ever-increasing number Of pupils.
The poem of "Hawatha" begins:
ON the mountains Of the prairie
On The great Red Pipestone quarries,
and any one unacquainted with the neghD0r-
hood would naturally suppose that IT was hiily,
to say the least. on the contrary the country
is quite level there not being even what IN
Eastern parlance would be called a small MIR
i'm the neghbOrhood The quarry lies in about
the centre Of the bed Of what is apparently
prehistoric lake. and when first discovered tho
stone cropped out Of the surface but the con-
tinual ouarrying for ages has extended the
quarry about sixty rods toward the south' anu
as the dip Of the vein Is toward the sOutn
n ia now necessary To remove from six to eght
feet Of shale and dirt before the pure stone ~
reached.
No one but the Indians are allowed To quarry
IT, and every summer they come in squads from
distant reservations to get supplies OF the stone
with which 10 make pipes. knicknacks ana or
naments that they carve out or IL, Dotn lot llelr
own use and for sale and trade to the Whlte
man They also frequently sell the stone In the
rough to the white men, who. with turning
lathe, can work it up much better than they
can 49,. ,.
The stone is known to the scientific world
"a catlinite being 80 called in honor OF Catlln.
the celebrated historian of the Indians, VINO was
the first white man to set eyes on the quarry
while gathering material for his History or tho
Indians OF the Northwest" in 1896