The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1906-06-29

state of South Dakota was explored
by Lewis and Clark; fifty-fve years
later the Indian title was extinguished
forever; two years before, on May 10,
1857, the first agricultural settlement
was made; in 1861, the year the war
broke out, it was made territory;
eleven years later it saw its first rail-
road; eighteen years after this Da-
kota was admitted as a state, and a
great influx of settlers followed be-
tween 1880 and 1888, and to-day, 1906,
witnesses a healthy, happy, prosper
Gus, growing state. divided from the
original into North and South Dakota.
At this time, however, l shall present
to you the beauty and prosperity of
that strong young child. South Da-
kota, of which our mother Union is
proud.
According to the census Of 1905
South Dakota has a population Of 1885,
1856, or about six to the square mile.
The population is for th9 greater part
native-born Americans, men and
women, who settled in the original
Dakota in the trying days of long ago,
when the Indians roved the plains,
the buffalo fattened off its healthy
grasses, and the Sioux made life I'M
bearable. In this generation you see
the children Of that generation, men
and women, boys and girls, hardy,
honest, upright and willing to work
for their homes. Such is the descend
ant Of the American pioneer.
Within the confines of the state of
miles Of territory embraced in what
is known as the Black Hills, the en-
tire state Is composed of farming and
grazing lands. These latter are di-
vided into three great territories-the
James river, the Sioux river and the
Missouri river DISTRICTS, all Of which
water fertile valleys-and with Its
long range of hills, rolling prairies
and abundant surface and artesian
wells, the land of South Dakota, being
of porous, clayey foundation. is al
ways moist, thereby making the land
valuable and giving to the state its
wonderful crops.
The Climate and Rainfall,
One Of the most essential things
necessary for healthy, profitable crops
is rain and an invigorating, healthy
climate. South Dakota possesses all
OF these requisites. East of the Mis-
souri, river there is an average rainfall
of twenty-one inches, and of this
amount about sixteen or seventeen
inches falls during the five growing
months Of the year. The summers
are warm, but not oppressive, and
though many have believed that the
winters OF South Dakota are severe
they are not even as cold as those OF
Illinois, as the records Of the weather
bureau show. The average tempera-
ture for 1905 was 42.3, and in winter
the live stock feeds upon the prairies
With good soil, proper temperature
and abundant water, there must neces-
sarily follow an abundance Of vegeta-
ton. The native grasses of South Da-
kota surpass those Of many states
There are somewhere around 1875 or 13C
varieties OF grass, which grow from
eight inches to eight feet in height
This furnishes abundant grazing for
cattle, and 1t was here on these prai-
ries that the buffalo fattened and en-
joyed his winter forage in the historic
days Of colonization. With practically
no corn or wheat, the cattle Of South
Dakota can fatten on these grasses
South Dakota does not claim to be
in the corn belt does not lay any claim
to being a great corn state, either, yet
glance at the reports of the United
States department of agriculture will
show that she ranks we'll up with the
best corn states in the country. and
that the quality and nutriment of this
corn are second to none. Last year
there were Sig 0,923 bushels of corn
harvested in South Dakota, this crop
being valued at s16.0O00OO This is an
enormous crop, and shows the richness
and fertility of the soil Of South Da-
kota, and the crop is increasing an
nually.
A Comparison of Crops.