The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-05-20
SETTLERS POURING
INTO new COUNTRY
Lyman and Stanley countIe,
Fast Becoming Farming
Communities.
NEW RAILROADS PLANNED
Believed Northwestern and milwaukee,
Will Extend Their Lines to tho
West of tho Missouri
Soon.

Pierre. S, D.. May 17.-with n con
stant stream OF settlers pouring into
Lyman and Stanley counties and prom
fses OF railroad extensions. the country
West OF the big Muddy Is rapidly
being converted from a cattle country
to farming district. OF course the
stockmen have put up e strenuous fight
to keep the land for grazing places
only and have used every argument to
keep settlers from breaking ground, and
until recently have succeeded In check
Ing the sporadic invasions Of farmers
from the east. They claimed and with
Justice too that the land was At only
for gazing purposes and that attempts
at farming would result only in failure
of crops and then the soil once broken
was ruined for grazing, for the nutri-
tious buffalo grass upon which the
cattle thrive will not grow again after
the prairie has been once broken. How
ever conditions have changed. 1t has
been proved that crops can be raised
west of the river and the Irresistible
flood of settlers into the country has
forced the cattle men westward.
Today one can drive from Oacoma to
Presho along the stageroad and never
lose sight of a barbed wire fence: in
facr on both sides OF the road there
is an almost unbroken line of fence.
The green. gently undulating prairie Is
pocklnarked with claim shanties and
black acres of ploughed land. There is
hardly quarter not filed upon and
there are few sections on which some
breaking has not been done.
And still they come The ferries,
both at Pierre and Chamberlain are
crowded each trip with the great farm
wagons loaded With the household
goods of the homesteade-s.
The wagons bear the names of deal
fro, all IL,
braska and the goods of the home
steaders bear the names of dealers from
Nebraska and Iowa. The white, can
vassed top praire schooner is
frequently in evidence. AT Fort Pierre
each morning one may see an unbrol1en
string of wagons filing across the Bad
river bridge. 1t will not be long ere
well as the geographical center of the
state
That the Northwestern and possibly
the Milwaukee will build extensions
into the new country nearly every one
is confident. In fact the Northwestern
is at present making a survey between
Bonesteel and Pierre. The surveyors
were 'at work near Earring last week.
The road will probably run from Bone
steel across one corner of the Rosebud
reservation, crossing the White river
near Edna From the White river north
to the Medicine Creek valley, then west
through the valley, then north to
Pierre
Some of the homesteaders who have
not remained on their claims all of the
time have had trouble finding their
shanties, as the theft of unoccupied
claim shacks has not been uncommon.
one man who was recently indicted at
Chamberlain had stolen seven or eight
of them and was building for himself
from the stolen material a commodious'
residence. Sometimes the cowboys In
a spirit of mischief move a mans shack
to a distant location, thereby causing
the owner some grief. In one case they
had moved an apparently vacant shack
a long distance when the owner who
had been asleep within awoke and dis
covering how matters stood. or rather
moved, suddenly appeared before the
amazed cowboys and gave them to un-
derstand that he objected 10 being
moved. When he had cooled off some
what the boys apologized for having
disturbed him and confessed that like
the gang who had to square themselves
with the wife of the man they had Just
lynched by mistake. that the joke was
on them.
The buffalo herd at Fort Pierre has
proved a great attraction for the home
steaders who pass through there. Near
ly everyone who visits the place takes
the six mile drive to the ranch north
of the town to look upon the largest
herd Of American bison now in exist
ence. Another feature of interest at
Fort Pierre is the huge buffalo bull.
killed during the governors hunt last
winter and now on exhibition at the
Elk Horn. 1t is claimed that this is
the largest one ever killed. He stands
seven feet high at the shoulder and
weighed $500 pounds. These are
strange sights to the people from Iowa
and Nebraska. and Mr.. Kemp, the SOU
venir dealer at Pierre. does a rushing
business in photos of the herd