Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1910-09-03
BEAUTIFUL BLACK HILLS.

To Dakota Farmer Il have wondered,
more than little, why someone didn't
write from around here and why we so
seldom see letters in your "Home" from
people up in the Black Hills. They can.
not be classed as farmers for no dou't t
they would have US believe their princi-
pal occupation was mining, but there are
a great many places in the Hills where
mining is not entirely profitable and
then the residents of the fertile valleys
are very glad to turn their attention to
gardening and thus producing some
thing from the soil. The valleys be-
tween the mountains are fertile almost
to fault, and each year abundantly en-
riched by nature are to South Dakota's
more arid land like an Eden. There,
rain is always abundant and there, it
seems, is nothing more to be desired.
1t truly makes beautiful and restful
scene to behold.
But in addition to now being reserve,
there is not sufficient room for any large
crops, and any young man with energy
and enthusiasm would not, deem, be
contented with the small amount of land
which he would see in cultivation there,
even though it does yield as is claimed,
"l6 to l" OF our prairie land.
But from the very fact that it is forest
reserve, all families living away from
the timber growing, planted only by
Gods hand, l should think the desire
would be very strong with each father to
visit the Hills with their families at
least once a year, preferably in the sum-
mer at some time when they could best
get away, and when the mountains were
| dressed in their most luxuriant verdure.
Would it not be worth travelling many
miles to sit down at last, in the shade Of
some stately pine with just breath of
cool air waving the green ferns at your
| feet as you drank as you chose from a
natural spring flowing from beneath the
rocks. And the children-well, they
never would forget it. Your sister in
heart-Mrs. q. H. CAvANAUGH, Custer
Co., S. Oak.
How glad we are to get the above letter
with its most commendable suggestions
Some years ago we called attention to
the unsurpassed beauties of the Black
Hills country, and urged teachers and
others, families, neighborhoods and
friends to club together and make up
camping parties at times when all hands
could best be spared, and spend few
weeks in a trip to the beautiful valleys,
rocks, pines and mountains of this pieco
of the Great Rocky range. Several par
ties of this kind did, several years ago,
leave Howard, Villas and several other
points in South Dakota for just such a
trip and all that we met latter taking"
were loud in their praise of the scenery
passed through and ofthe determination
to go again. Few know what trip TO
Mt. Hsrnsy and Sylvan Lake means,
say nothing ofthe great mines and Spear
fish canyon in the Northern Hills"-or
the world famed Wind Cave near beauti-
full Hot Springs farther south. A moon
light night on Sylvan Lake, or among
the great granite crags about it, will nev,
er be forgotten by any mortal being
Many cross the ocean to Europe and
spend many thousands of dollars to see
far poorer scenery than the truly wonder.
ful Black Hills cou ntry affords, and most
of US could drive our teams to it and all
through it, and take in the "Bad Lands
and other beautiful scenery on the way
In some way nearly all of us can plan tc
do this, and few if any Of us can afforc
not to.
AS Mrs. Cavanaugh suggests there il
room for many small landed homes il
that protected and beautiful Hill country
and all who go there should look tn,
country over carefully with this possible
end in view. We believe yet that som,
of the most beautiful homes in the ives
will yet be scattered among these hills
Many of them are there now.