Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1904-10-15
Mitchell VS.. PIERRE.

The CHRONICLE is III receipt Of letter
from Col. George ia which he calls US
down on our Statement in recent
issue, that a rarchman bet the Colonel
he could go from Rapid City to Pierre in
less time than the Colonel could 60 from
Rapid City tn Chicago. The Colonel
says it il false and no such bet was offer.
ed hiRI or he would have taken it. We
hunsed up the source of our information
and find that the bet is still open if the
Col. wants to take it. The party says
he just as soon as not have wad of
Mitchell money to spend at Pierre next
winter while the legislature is in session
there. We are sorry we got things
wrong about the Colonel. To tell the
truth we like him. He is companion
able gentleman--and talkati.e. He
came to see us and told us more news
about Pierre than we have heard in the
whole fifteen years the capital has been
located there-how there wasn't a
hotel there fit TO use for sheep shed,
and whole lot Of other things that we
never heard of before. In the years
gone by we have read of the Inaugural
Balls held in the Locke hotel, and the
brilliance of the events and the elegant
and taste of the costumes worn at which
hundreds of guests were present, includ-
ing many of the prominent people Of
the state; but the naughty Pierre news
papers must have been working a con
tidence game on the unsofsticated, ac.
cording to the Colonels report Of condi
tions. 1t would seem that the Inaugur-
al balls must have been held on sand
bar of the Missouri River, and the
guests instead of being arrayed in con-
ventional ball room costume, were dog
skin coats, and bear skin caps and fur
mttens, and the Governor when he
went to Pierre to govern, took his teepee
with him and pitched it under cotton
wood tree on Bad River, and the legis.
lators when they went to Pierre to leg
islate, had to sleep under a sage brush
treelet, or crawl into badger hole, and
for food take handout from the Squaw
men or portion of dog soup from the
Indians. Really we did not know be
lore that it was so bad, and we feel that
we have been imposed upon that some
of our representatives never told us Of
these things before, and even the Nit
chell legislators never said a word about
this disreputable condition until just
now when they want the capital.
Strange that the truth (?) has been kept
from the people all these years. and
only just now comes to light through
men that 90 about over the country al
vocating Mitchell at so much per advoo
ate. Pierre is running for Office now, so
to speak, and while the city has hereto
fore borne a good reputation, just now
we are finding out what n measly, dis
reputable, insignificant, little, old prairie
dog town it is. Like many a man, that
for years had gone in and out before his
friends and neighbors, and had been,
among them, man of good repute'
when he comes TO ruu for office it is
sudden ly discovered that he is a scoun-
drel of deepest dye--that he whips his
wife, starves his children-that he
would even steal sheep. So it goes, but
will result benefcially (for Pierre) TO
have the Colonel go about letting the
people know how benighted they are in
matter of their state capital.