Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1910-08-11
RUSTlCATING IN RAPID CANYON
DOANE ROBINSON TAKES
SOME ATTITUDES
HILLS COUNTRY VERY DRY
The Hills Country Suffered Greatly
From the June Drouth But
Its Depressing Effects
are Little Felt

l am spending the week at Pierre
Lodge, in the Rapid canyon, and am
impressed with the fact that when a
South Dakotan's information Is not
exact he generally makes a sufficient
allowance to cover all contingencies.
Every native of whom I have inquired
has told me Harvey peak is more than
5000 feet nigh, although the geologic
al survey long ago deterined it to be
1926 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 altitudenous pro-
portions and find in almost every case
the true height to be exaggerated by
from 500 to $500 feet. Tamaha for
instance, is 1850, instead of $500.
The big Belle Fourche irrigation
project is drawing to a finish ter
five years of active construction work,
"a which the highest earth dam on
earth has been constructed and vast
concrete works erected. In the end
hundred thousand acres of good land
will be irrigated from it and dense
population and intensive cultivation
will be the features of the tract There
are half dozen other possible pro-
jects in the state which the govern
ment engineers have prospected and
there is a 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-ive-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
swath started"
There are, however, but few of the
inhabitants of the region who depend
3as upon the soil for a LIVELIHOOD; most
, of the mountaineers being engaged In
mining, wood cutting and like occupa-
lions, and when crops fail all of them
can resort to like occupations to
bridge over to more prosperous agri-
cultural year.
Rapid Creek has a hundred miles Of
trout-bearing course and | take 1T has
something like hundred fishermen
to the mile, consequently the fish have
become exceedingly wise and the
-, RI int hn
to determine whether there is a hook
under every fly would make tales
worthy the most proficient nature
fakir Perhaps it is enough to say that
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 17,0OU
Immigrants from this colony are cit1-
zens of South Dakota, and they are
most excellent citizens. too The TACT
that they have preserved all of the
best characteristics and traditions of
the Germans through more than a
century of expatriation among a
dominating people Of entirely differ
ent characteristics is the best testl-
mony to their strength of chara ter
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 circum tances
alter cases. While in Russia they
hold themselves aloof from civil az
fairs, here they taken an active and
influential interest.
Rapid City has a new enterprise
this year in the shape of sand-lime
4 brick plant which is making mag
nifcent product Chiefly the state has
hitherto been dependent upon import
atoms 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.