The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1908-09-11
VIEWING BLACK HILLS
FIGURING the Black Hills With the
South Dakota Press Asso-
BY H. l.. Bras.

By H. L.. Bras.
1t was our good fortune to accept
the invitation OF the South Dakota |
Press ASSOCIATION to accompany them
or their recent trip throug the
Black Hills country. Mo~twithstand-
ing the fact that the hotels in the
Hills are already taxed to their ut
most with summer tourists, we were
able to secure fairly good accommo-I
: datlons. AT every stopping point
throughout the Hills, reception COM
m1tteeS had been appointed so that
everything possible was planned for
the convenience of the editors.
Starting from Mitchell July 80, the
@. M. q st. p. railroad furnished a
special sleeping car for the
dation OF the press association. We
did not expect to have a view of the
Bad Lands on account of passing
through that locality in the night,
but fortunately the train was late SO
that just as day was breaking we en-
tered the Bad Lands and had an ex-
cellent view OF all that was to be
seen from the train.
10 one who is not skilled in geolo-
glcal formations, the origin OF this
freak OF nature is a mystery IL L
am not certain but what 1T is a mys-
terry to the ,%geologist. Either water
or wind, or both, has caused the land
TO appear In exceedingly grotesque
forms. The whole formation appears
to be barren OF vegetation and is
composed of neither sand nor clay,
but a peculiar chalk like earthly mat
ter.
AS we passed from the Bad Lands
toward the foot hills of the Black
. Hills, wesleyan to see claim shanties
In every direction and the little viii
lagos along the railroad were very
similar to the earliest settlements
this side of the river. What crops
we could see along the roau were ex-
cellent and showed thai sufficient
rain had fallen. although have I'M
derstood that it has not rained for
two or three weeks.
The rise is gradual from the river
Sto the Black Hills until one reaches
an altitude of about $500 feet. The
first water we was the
Cheyenne River where we could see
large fields of alfalfa and could begin
to see irrigation bitches, which are
quite necessary in that country.
We reached Rapid City at $3.50 "a.
NJ, on time, and was received with
wide open arms by an enthusiastic
reception committee and assigned to
the various hotels which had provid-
ed for our accommodation.
Rapid City lies at the foot of the
Black Hills and depends almost en-
country to eastward. They talk con-
siderably about the future of manu-
featuring and wholesale industries.
We saw many new buildings, resi-
dences and public blocks.
Although not on the program OF
entertainment, we were fortunate in
witnessing the departure of the Utah.
Indians for their long trip to Utah.
The Ute Indians are OF a much lower
] type than the Sioux Indians. They
are smaller in stature and while it
would appear that they took consid-
cradle pride in adjoining themselves
\ tainly have no conception whatever
Of cleanliness. The Indians filed
through town on horse back n in
wagons drawn by ponies. No two
families seemed to have the same
Y sort of conveyance. There We're
about 1900 Indians in the procession
and it too over three hours for them
to pass through the town. They were
being taken back by the regular sold
iers.
In the afternoon tne citizens enter
tanned the editors with a trip over
the town, taking i'll the state School
8 of Mines and other points of local in
s@ terest. In the evening. a reception
and dance was held at the Audito-
i rum.
Early in the morning of the oath
6 a special train was provided by the
We're taken over one of the most
s9picturesque routes in the United
States. A picnic had been planed for
4 sgour entertainment at Pactola up the
y canyon. In this Is miles, the rail
nAAEoad crosses Rapid River on an aver
of three times to the mile.
road, which is thirty-fve miles
$g@long, has already become noted for
1.-THE picturesque beauty of it's scenery
sf The road of a thousand curves"
The ride from Rapid City certainly
SSas a continual succession of scenic
sSsurprises and equal, in every re-
inspect, to the ride from Denver
s@sNto Idaho Springs through Clear
A8aCreek Canyon. A delightful picnic
was provided by the Rapid
sSKCity people in one of the most pic
&sturesque spots on the road, surround
Ned by cliffs, seemingly as high as
M5those in the Rocky Mountains,
aNSam1dst pine and birch trees and by
Sss%the side Of a mountain stream full
sNSof trout. Certainly one would be
livery hard to please who could not en-
@Ss JOY this days outing.
After supper two special cars were
provided, but attached to the regular
strain, for our trip to Hot Springs.
1--WE were met at Buffalo Gap by a
sMreception committed We reached
IDIOT Springs about 9 O'Clock p. m.
#MMand went into camp at the Evans
@ssHotel. This hotel is a mammoth
&s structure, thoroughly modern in its
Msgsequipment n sufficiently high
S%SSpriced to satisfy a star boarder at the
2Waldorf-Astoria.
A The ext day everybody took ad-
sMvantage of the fact that it was Sun
I&sday and put in the time viewing the