The Mobridge news. [volume] (Mobridge, Walworth Co., S.D.) 190?-1917, 1910-08-05
AT PIERRE o
Doane Robinson Sends Breezy letter
From S-equestered Nook


am spending the week at Pierre
Lodge. in the Rapid canyon, and am
Impressed with the fact that when q
South Dakotan's information Is not
exact he generally makes a sufficient
allowance to owe all contingencies.
Every native of whom / have inquired
has told me Harvey peak is more than
5000 feet nigh, although the geologic
al survey long ago deterined 1t to be
7,216 and the fact has been widely
published. l have taken the opportun.
ity to make barometric measurements
OF a lot of elevations which enjoy
local celebrity for a~ltitudenous pro-
portions and find in almost every case
the true height to be exaggerated by
from 500 to 1900 feet. Tamaha, for
instance, is 1850, instead Of $500.
The big Belle Fourche irrigation
project is drawing to "a finish after
five years of active construction work,
in which the highest earth daW on
earth has been constructed and vast
concrete works erected. In the end a
hundred thousand acres Of good land
will be irrigated from it and a dense
population and intensive cultivation
will be the features Of the tract. There
are a half dozen other possible pro-
jects In the state which the govern
ment engineers have prospected, and
there is q total of perhaps half a
million acres susceptible OF irriga-
ton in the state. The Little Missouri,
the Grand, and Moreau, Rapid creek,
Castle creek and several other streams
debouching from the Black Hills each
afford water and physical opportunity
for projects varying in extent from
FIVE thousand to twenty thousand
acres.
The Hills have suffered more from
the June drouth than any region
have seen. The fertile mountain
parks that last year yielded the most
tremendous crops-twenty-hve-bushel
wheat-head high grasses and other
crops according are now parched and
dry, the meadows so bare of grass
that to use a familiar extravaganza OF
fifteen years ago, "a farmer has to
take along a bale of old hay to prime
his mower with before he can get a
sv ath started"
There are, however, but few of the
inhabitants of the region who depend
upon the soil for a livelihood; most
Of the mountaineers being engaged In
mining, wood cutting and like oscupa-
lions, and when crops fail all OF them
can resort to like occupations To
bridge over to a more prosperous agfi-
cultural year.
Rapid Creek has a hundred miles Of
4rout-bearing course and | take 1t has
something like a hundred fishermen
to the mile, consequently the fish lave
become exceedingly wise and the
tricks they resort to In the endeayol
to determine whether there is a hook
under every fly would make tales
worthy the most proficient naturf
fakir. Perhaps ii is enough tc say thai
they are ION to the ways OF men,"
In a recent letter w. e. Curtis in.
terestingly describes the German col
ony in South Russia. More than 1900
immigrants from this colony are citi-
gems of South Dakota, and they ere
most excellent citizens, too. TIE at
that they have preserved all of the
best characteristics and traditions OF
the Germans through more than
century of repatriation among
dominating people of entirely differ
ent characteristics Is the best testi-
mony to their strength of character
While they utterly refused to assimil-
ate with the Russians they speedily
adopt American methods and inter
marry with our people, and the sec.
ond generation are genuinely Ameri-
can, which proves that circumstance
alter cases. While in Russia they
hold themselves aloof from civil al
fairs, here they taken an active and
influential interest.
Rapid City has a new enterprise
this year in the shape of a sand-lime
brick plant which is making a mag
nihcent product. Chiefly the state has
hitherto been dependent upon import
ations of a fine building brick suit
able for facing good buildings, but
the new proposition bids fair to sup
ply the demand for this article.