Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1907-10-17

cred by Gov Crawford of South Da-
kota before the waterways conven-
ton, held at Memphis:
"a few years ago dealer in wool
living at Pierre, S. D., wished to ship
10000 pounds of wool from there to
New York city Upon inquiry he
learned that the freight rate was over
50 per 100 from Pierre to New York,
while from Sioux City, Iowa, about
low Pierre, the rate to New York was
80 cents per 100. Steamboat traffic
upon the river between Sioux City
and Pierre was very light and irregu-
lar-only one or two boats making
the trip in an entire season. This
wool dealer, however, rather than pay
the exorbitant railroad rate, succeed
ed in hiring boat to take his wool
from Pierre to Sioux City for 40 cents
per 100, including placing it on board
| cars for New York.
! BY this means he shipped it from
| Pierre to New York for $1.2O per 100
instead of So. The next year the rail
road company was forced by the
threat of river competition to reduce
it's rate from Pierre to New York at
$1.15 per 100, which has since been
the rate. This is an instance of how
a waterway capable of floating COM
MERGE may be constant check upon
a railway company, even though it
actually carry little or no traffic l
represent one of the new states
through which the upper Missouri
pours it's swift and muddy current on
the way to join the Mississippi. For
many years this great river interposed
a barrier to the railroads which en-
tered the state from the east side
and stopped building when they came
to its eastern bank. At Pierre, the
| capital, situated upon it's eastern bank
near the geographical center of the
state, and at Chamberlain, about nine
| ty miles below, the Chicago & North
| western and the Chicago, Milwaukee
d St Paul compares for twenty
years halted in the extension of their
| lines to the west. About one-half Of
the state lies on the west side of this
river and that portion was without
! railroad except in the extreme west
where two lines built north into the
Black Hills from Nebraska Withi,
that portion Of the state was a coun-
try embracing about 28,0uv square
miles used for Indian reservations and
grazing lands without a railroad.
The chief output from that great
section of the country-cattle, horses,
sheep and wool-was brought across
the river by ferry and shipped by rail
from Pierre to Chamberlain During
the past five years the conditions
there have undergone great change
| The lands have been surveyed, the In
| dian lands allotted, the balance taken
by homesteader, and the rich pasture
lands are being converted into farms.
Three lines of railroad have crossed
the river and extended to the western.
border of the state The distance
from Pierre to Rapid City, in the
Black Hills, by rail, has been reduced
from 1000 miles to 1853 miles.
River Transportation.
The prairies are filed with settlers.
towns have sprung up like magic; nat
ural gas has been discovered; com
mercial revolution has come and the
traffic in and out of the country has
enormously increased. With this new
order OF things upon us-our people
are awakened to the important part
the Missouri river may play in the
future Of our state.
In the old times before the railroad
came, the upper Missouri was the
route by which the Indian trader and
government soldier reached the far-off
Northwest. Steamboats, not only came
and went from st. Louis to Independ-
ence. but often passed on i .5Oo miles
to Fort Benton, Mont, carrying SOL
diers, military supplies, scouts, trap
pers and Indian missionaries; bring
Ing back furs from the Indian country
and gold from the placer mines.
Lewis and Clark, Manual Lisa.
Pierre Choteau, Jr.. George Catlin.
Col. Atkinson, Generals Harney. Sui
~, Crook, Custer and the city OF St
Louis are names forever linked with
the 2 history of that great upper coun-
itry-inseparably connected with the
old days of the plainsman the scout
the trapper and the BURIAL o-now gone
forever.
Upon the discovery Of gold in the
Black Hills in the 7Os, there was a
heavy river trado from Sioux City to
Fort Pierre, from which point passen-
! gers and freight were hauled overland
Ito Deadwood, 200 miles to the west
To-day, with three lines of railway
crossing this river and trayersing the
state from east to west on their way
TO the Pacific. and with the Northern
Pacific and Great Northern doing fla
same thing in North Dakota and Mon
tana, the upper Missouri carries no
/ commerce: Nevertheless, its sullen
! current flows on suggesting always 4
4 way OF escape when the railroad be-
comes too exacting, The states living
I'm the basin OF the upper Missouri
are are a part of that greater region "
/ ING between the Appalachian and
Rocky mountains known as the Mis-
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City councils NAV revoke saIca,