The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1906-04-05

and yet to-day it's real resources, its
natural wonders, its wealth, agricul-
tural and mineral. are known to a
surprisingly small number Of persons.
In no section Of the country is more
progress being made than in South
Dakota, nor is there any other state in
the Union which is yearly adding as
much wealth to the nations store in
proportion to its population.
In the matter of size alone, South
Dakota is an empire. In area it stands
twelfth in the Union. All the New
England states with Delaware and
New Jersey thrown in might be COM
fortably set down within it's borders,
and there would still be a few thou
sand miles to spare. Great Britain,
France and Germany, with Portugal
thrown in for good measure, would not
quite fill it's confines. If it had the
same density of population as Massa-
chusetts it would contain $4,000, 900
people, instead of the 500, 900 that 1t
does.
The wealth of South Dakota does
not consist in its mines. although the
greatest gold mine in the world, the
Homestake, lies within its borders, but
in it's wheat and corn, its droves OF
cattle and hogs, and in it's dairy prod
ucts. With only a portion of its v"st
area under cultivation, the figures for
one years output of wealth were $685.
0OO, 900.
The Discovery Of Gold.
This is a pretty fair record for a
country that only a generation or so
ago was the stamping ground OF the
Indians, and into which the white man
ventured on peril Of his life. But these
white men when they did escape came
back to civilized life with glowing sto-
ries of the wonderful country that they
had seen, which whetted the desire of
the hardy and restless frontiersmen
to enter into it. Most Of these early
adventurers were trappers and fur
hunters, who ventured after the buffa-
10 and other smaller ~fur-bearing ami
mails which abounded along the small
streams which form the Cheyenne riv-
er.
Then came the announcement that
gold %abounded in the Black Hills,
which was definitely ascertained and
given to the world by Gen. Custer after
his exploring expedition in 1874. That
gold existed somewhere in the interior
had been known for many years preyi-
Gus from the tales OF rowing Indians
who came to the white settlements.
But the country was then in the pos
session of the powerful Sioux tribe,
with Sitting Bull at its head. and the
Black Hills, where this gold was to he
found. was guarded by them with sn-
perstitious reverence as the home of
the Great Spirit. Prospector after
]prospector aSsayed to reach this treas
ure house. but were r~elentlessly trailed
by the Indians and massacred.
At last the encounters between the
whites and the Indians became SO fire.
quent, in spite of all the efforts Of the
government to prevent encroachment
on the Indians land, that the govern
ment bought the redskins out for 81
500. 900 and threw the country open to
settlement. This vas in 1877. The
first rush to the new country was, of
course. that of the gold seekers, but
they were soon followed by the cattle
men and the farmer. who saw in the
boundless prairies and rich soil a sure
source of wealth.
Great Mineral District.
The gold mining district of the Black
Hills is the third greatest gold produc-
ing district on the continent, and has
been pronounced to be the richest 100
miles square on the face of the globe.
Between 1876 and 1905 the total pro-
duction Of gold in this district was
s14, OOO, 900, and still there is no cessa-
ton in the discovery Of new and legiti-
mate properties.
AS the result Of the mining industry
two of the most populous and prosper
GUS cities of the state have been built
in the Black Hills, Deadwood and
Lead, which are only four miles apart.
although the latter is $50 feet higher
than Deadwood.
At Lead, the chief attraction is the
great HomeStake mine. discovered in
1876. The history Of the Homestake is
one of the most spectacular chapters
in the history of gold mining. Capital
lied at $4,000, 600, the property has
paid a monthly dividend ever since DC
tober. 1873. making a total of over ST.
900. 900 in dividends to date. One hun
dred dollars invested when stock was
selling at 81 a share would be worth to
the investor to-day $4,000.
Real Wealth Is Agriculture.
But it is not its mineral wealth that
makes South Dakota a rich state-it is
it's fertile soil. There is no part OF the
state which will not richly repay the
labors Of the farmer. AS a cattle state
it has no superior, and this industry
brings in more money than any other.
The town of Belle Fourche. twenty
eight miles north of Deadwood, is M
of the most extensive cattle-shipping
points on the continent. The popula-
RAILWAYS FILE PLATS.