Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1901-11-08
CANTON 8

gn0y were IFlo0Oo 10 tQ0 whites, DuL
enemies to the Santees. Moving on to
Split Rock we found them doing fine
business in the way Of trapping furs In
the small streams of the country.
wherein beaver, otter, mink and musk.
rat abound in great numbers. There
is great ingenuity In the manner in
which the industrious beavers dam up
the streams and build their winter
homes. We found them at work on
nearly all the streams We crossed. fell.
and hauling trees, dragging brush roll
ing stones packing mud, cutting and
fitting chinks, and working as busily
and systematically as a party of lum.
bermen would do in building 3 mill
dam. There labor is performed in the
night and trees which are as thick as
mans body are gnswned down and cut
into pieces by these little animals, and
fall with q crash that can be heard for
q quarter Of mile. We found one
work of theirs where the water above
the dam was raised four feet higher
than below it, and the structure con.
tanned stones as large as q man could
lift. These stones are rolled along the
bottom and into the dam to hold it to
the bottom of the stream when high
water and ice run over it in the spring.
In the deep water above these dams the
beaver pass the winter. The Indian
catches the beaver by breaking hole
in the top of the dam and placing his
trap therein, whereupon the animal
hearing the unusual roar in the water
goes out always in the night to repair
the breach, but often finds himself in
the firm jaws Of steel trap. Their
tails are nearly as long as broad, and as
fat as q common spade and are used
by them with great ingenuity in brild-
ing and repairing their dams On the
night Of the 80th of October, one yoke
of our cattle estrayed or were driven
of by the Indians, and were not seen
afterwsrd. During The first week in
November we moved north into the
region of The Pipestone creek, and on
the second we completed our work by
running the second standard parallel.
and closing unto post on the Mime
sofa boundry, marked seventy.six miles
south of Big Stone lake. We had now
passed the Fort Ridgely and For,
Thompson wagon road. and were about
12O miles northeast Of Yankton, and
nearly 100 miles from the nearest habi-
tation of white men. The whole coun-
try had been recently burned over by
Indian fires, that had run down . great
distance from the north. Fresh buffalo
rails covered the praide in oil direct
ions, bearing to the southwest We
were in the midst Of, vast. black.
boundless waste, unrelieved by trees,
shrub or verdure, save an occasional
winding Of the Big Sioux river, which
coursed its lonely channel through the
burned desert. We were obliged to
feed our cattle on bread and hardtack,
and change teams each day. Some
days we were unable to reach camp at
night, and were obliged to lie down
upon the ground, cold, wet, hungry
and fatigued. In euch cases being un.
provided with . suficiencv Of clothing
to cover all. some were obliged to
stamp around and keep warm while
others slept. The last night on the
work my bed was in . ditch on the
prairie, between friends Meyer and
Foster. The night was boistefous, and
whenever we peeped out from under
our blankets, longing for the appear.
snce of day. the sky rebuked US with
it's frosty stars, drifting snow clouds
and wailing winds. It was dismal,
dreary nigh. for little party of eight
men. The next day we started home.
ward, passing within holy atmosphere
of the great red pipestone quarry.
This celebrated spot is situated in Min.
nesota, six miles east of the Dakota
line, and about 100 miles from Yank-
ton. 1t lies on little brook running
north and west, in the center of q great
rocky basin covered with few feet Of
earth, coated with grass. A cliff of
rocks some thirty feet high runs along
the east side of The creek. The quarry
itself consists of ditch in the level
plain, some six feet deep, eight feet
wide, and 150 yards long, dug into solid
pipestone, and bearing northeast and
southwest. From this ditch the In.
dams have from time immemorisl tax.
en- the soft red pipestone which is
easily worked into any figure soon after
taken from the earth, but becomes
hardened on exposure to the atmosphere.
Proceeding onward we encamped on
the open plain, with neither wood nor
water for man or beast. Again we
feed our cattle hardtack. Starting at
daylight, without breakfast, we reached
Sioux Falls toward evening in snow
storm, having travelled two days with
ont water and lived upon frozen bread