The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1908-02-22
Mr.. c0vINGT0N IN DAKOTA
hs Describes the country-Ssss Hard Of Buffalo
Attends g. A R Meeting. Etc.
Pierre, S. D., Feb. 1lth. 100

Pierre Is now the capital Of south Da.
kota and situated On the north banks of
the Wlld Missouri river very near the
center ot the State. The scenery il su.
peru. Some Of the Indians have the FOL.
lowing names; SPOTTED Rabbit. Swift
Bird, Straight Head. White Horse
horseiOOkiDg, Crow Bird Eagleieather.
Dearrib. Prairie Chicken, Hump, White
sWau, Crow-Nii Z. etc.
mad AL the glris here ride astride. sud
lots oi them are COW girl-, too. ! am
COW boys.
Oaly l inch Of snow fell here In Japu-
AIRY, IN February, and since last Sep
temUer les than an inch OF rain has fal-
.eu. Although the weather has been >
Driow zero here II l. not frlt as in Vir-
ginla, as II is 80 dry Thousands of
head II stock are lost On the deea
streams annually on account OF ice. The
water in streams is so much better than
the att,sian water, they seek IL aud will
go out on the Ice, great numbers of them.
untll they mud water aud then the ice Is
thin aud down they go aud caunot save
themselves on account Of the swift cur
rent.
just in sight Of this place is a herd OF
lS5 bun1lO. Their robes are sold at
fiOO each and meat at 81 per pound. Ii
Il ludeed interesting to see them. | had
understood they were about extinct. but
IL Is not Tact. | have also visited a
piece where many years ago they were
| urNen over a pncipice where all were
killed by the Jump or fall and then they
were sAiuned Tor their hides or robes.
Hay baled is never under shelter here
he it i 30 dry no risk is run Of it's spoil
lug rom one TO two hundred tons are
usually In rick.
Just take IA stroll on foot 2 miles north
oi this place and you will arrive at an
eieVution called Butte. From there Won
can see for about ~ miles in everv dire.
ton aud the scenery is beyond iiscrip-
uon. Never before have | ever seen any
90 magnificent The hills on each side
oi tue MISSOURI are generally gumbo, a
STICKY, unproductive soil, but when vou
get on tile toblvlanis the word rich does
not describe 1t. North and South Da-
kOtAs. Montara ami Wyoming compose
an erea II land which il at ST. Peters
burg, Russia, would cover a space of
country, not as fertile or "a good a eli
mate that now holds one hundred aud
nity millions OF people When the United
states gets as thickly settled as Europe
we WIN have over a billion OF people and
Ia a richer soil and In a fiuer climate.
visit the Methodist preacher and fam.
lily here every day. The name il Loveall
aud they are from West Virginia. liz Is
indeed "a pleasure to be with them. They
hau 4OO conversions in their meeting
last year and over 100 united with them
Nearly all denominations arc here that
are in fredericksburg.
just 20 years ago lawlessness OF all
sorts reigned here. Arkansas Bill lived
just acrOss the river in Fort Pierre aud
came over here about twice n week. con-
mittlng his theits and murders. he was
notified To keep away, but he took no
notlce OF It. That night he came over
and dozen bullets went through his
body. since then there has been no
leader and all is quiet. | have thought
OF my uEcle, Tom Garrison, so much since
I've been here. He Travelled ia the forties
over these plains from Kansas City (no
city then) TO Sante Fe in an OK wagon
and IL took him six months to make a
trip What thrilling stories he related
70 my mother In the fifties. in my presence,
oi his adventures Poor man. how he
struggled, as well as the rest OF my kin.
Tor means for their children. and how
they squandered it. How lonely am in
this Tar on land, just about 1000 miles
rom nay native home. Many, many
times wish had never been born, but
SOd put me here for some wise purpose
and | must fulfill my mission.
NOW Tor little amusement. In all my
travels In Dakota / have never met a
Confederate soldier. Somehow several
OF the Yenks found out was in Pierre.
and invited me TO attend the Woman's
Relief Corps OF the g. A. r. went. and
as soon as | entered the door, several
met me and gave me cordial welcome.
and before could get on my overcoat.
they called on me for an address. Nearly
everyone out here asks me II am
not preacher. | tell them yes, all of Us
are preachers. but they ask, are You an
ordained minister and have license TO
preach? tell them no, / never was In a
pulpit, never preached sermon In nv
liz; | wish was one.
begun my speech thus, and sang it:
"Jsff Davis rides white horse.
Old Lincoln rides a mule;
Jeff Davis is a gentleman,
Oid Lincoln is fool"
Well, could see frowns and could have
heard pin drop on the floor. 1t was
Lineoln's birthday, his 99 9th Anniversary.
but when told them of how Lincoln
was reverenced in the south now and
what great ov-tions Roosevelt received
there aud that voted for Mckinley and
hccoCfoits toot you never HeAr0 such
shouting and clapping OF hands. Only 20
old vets were present and the balance OF
100 were all females. and such a sump-
tuous repast was served-enough to feed
JUO. Well, alter supper we retired to the
court room and went through a civil
service examination. and IL was indeed
fnnny and interesting and then we had
! words such as church, court, chair. {"
&c, &c, to spell backwards, and You
have no idea how hard it is to do. Well
some old fank was called upon to make
a speech and he began by telling that but
Tor Ewes who was in the Garden OF
EdeD) independence and perseverance
this world would not have been as great
a. It is. lt was something new to me;
had never thought OF such. he then
branched out on politics and broke up
the meeting. Politics is not allo wed in the
G. A. r. camps.
Much love to all my friends.