The Dickinson press., 1906-09-01
Trip In Bad Lands.

w. r. Holgate makes a report in the
Grand Forks Herald of his geological
survey work in the Bad Lands, extracts
of which are as follows:
Dickinson, where we outftted, is a
h~ustling town. We were surprised at
the number of windmills and 40 were
counted from n window. The tops of
the buttes around here, beside yielding
high-grade fire and excellent brick Claws,
contain layers of fine sandstone. That
from n butte is white and from another
white striped with a dull yellow. We
saw some very handsome foundations in
Dickinson built of this sandstone.
On arriving in Belfeld we rode up to a
barn surrounded by buggies and light
wagons and asked to have our horses put
up, but were told that it was the private
barn of the Belfeld Land Co. Bel6eld
is a new town. Everything was in a
hustle of preparation. People were liv-
ing in barns until houses could be built.
The Custer Trail ranch buildings seem
to have been built in the form of a plus
sign. In the center stands the principal
structure, a large two-story log house
with a wide porch on two sides. Fast
ened to the walls and hanging to the
porch OF the house are antiquated fire
arms, %antlers, skulls and all kinds of
curios common to the region. Inside
downstairs is the sitting room, dining
room and kitchen. In the living room is
a large library of about 600 volumes.
To the left of the main building are two
single-story frame structures used as
sleeping apartments for the guests. To
the right is a row of single-story houses.
On either side is the road to Medora. At
its far end, forcing it to turn to the left,
a banded yellow butte rises almost per-
pendicularly to a height of about go
feet. AS we stood looking, a cowboy
went galloping owe the top perilously
near the edge, we thought. Looking in
front OF us across the creek were the
eorrals and barns. Beyond stood Picket
Butte, on whose top Custer posted one
of his pickets. Back of the main build
ing were the quarters of the owner and
manager, Geo. T. Donaldson.
On the road to. Medora, DR.. Leonard
pointed out a burning coal mine. One
could smell the gas and see the heat
coming out of the cracks. The fire
roared like a railroad train. As the coal
burned out the earth caved and settled,
making great cracks in the ground.
During the winter, our ridge pole had
in some way been destroyed. We tried
to replace it at Medora but at FIRST were
unable to find one. Finally, Arnold
Ferris, IN old university student, offered
to loan us his, and when he brought it
out imagine our surprise to see on it,
"Theo. Roosevelt, care Joe Ferris, Me-
dora, N. Dak." After dinner Arnol Fer
ris guided us to the Foley ranch, where
we camped for the night. Scarcely had
we gotten unhitched before one of the
men anne down from the house bring
ing us a piece of ice and some vege-
tables and telling us to bring up a bucket
for some milk. Everything about the
ranch was neat and in good shape. They
have one of the finest corrals we have
seen, built out OF old bridge timbers.
The house is in the side of a hill and is
very comfortable. On the walls were
excellent pictures and on one side of the
a large case of books. Everything
about the rooms was as neat as in any
home l have been in, though it was the
bachelor quarters of the two Foley BOYS
who run the ranch. On the road to the
ranch we saw our first horned toad.
Sentinel Butte is said to rise 45o feet
above the station. 1t is considered the
highest point in North Dakota, though
careful measurements may reveal a rival.
Its top is fiat, being protected by a &C.
foot layer of sandstone. Above this is a
large deposit of residual ebert which
once formed a part of the layers of a
later formation that covered the present
top of the butte and of which we have a
slight remnant in a little conical hill that
rises about IS feet high. All the rest has
been carried away except the hard ebert.
This hill has been classed as early ter
tiary by some biologists. The butte re-
ceived its name from the fact that two
of Clusters sentinels met their death on
its summit. Their graves can be seen
today. On our road up we killed our
first rattlesnake. At the base of the
butte DR.. Leonard photographed an 49,
foot coal seam.
Between Sentinel Butte and Wibaux,
in the vicinity of Beach, is quite a pros
porous farming country. Just west of
the town we crossed the line into Mon.
tana.