Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1916-06-17
THE BIRTH OF A TOWN.

In the vault of the Register Of Deeds
are many curious and interesting rec
ords, if the inside history Of the things
there written in formal legal phrase
/ ology were known; and the successive
custodians of those records could, they
would, unfold some strange stories.
In that vault are two maps of the
| Town of Custer City, one of them show
| ing the town as it appeared to the orig
inal surveyor thereof, with four equal
and parallel sides. as any well regulated
square should be, the other, a later map
of the town showing the boundaries of
it, with each side parallel to nothing
else, and none of them straight or of
equal lengths, which is true represent
alton of the town as it is, and this is
the story of how the discrepancy came
| about
Once upon time, ere the town had
yet taken shape and form, a surveyor OF
biergarten name and proclivities was
| employed to make a survey Of the in-
fant town and mark its boundaries, set
ting up stakes and corners, and defining
| for all time its boundaries. Uncle Sam
| had given and granted to the trustee,
for the use and benefit of the citizens Of
| the town forever, one square mile of the
| United States of America and it only re-
NAMED for them to mark the boundaries
| of the land thus granted to them,
On a night in those times party OF
convivial souls, among whom was the
surveyor aforementioned, gathered
around a green covered table for social
game of cards and after several games
had been played and the losers had
made the customary and fitting acknowl-
edgement of their defeats, the surveyor
suddenly remembered that he had a
| date for that evening with Polars, more
| commonly known as the North STAR for
the purpose Of obtaining his true bear
| ings At that stage of the evening he
found that he could not read the figures
on his watch, so he held it out to his
next neighbor at the table aud asked
him, SHAY Judge, whatsch time Y'-be-
ing informed of the time as shown by
his chronometer, he said to the com
pany, "Wel boys, l got to make an OBJ
servashun, can't shtop no longer" and
wobOled forth into the starry night 70
take his observation which was TO estab
lsh true bearings for his survey.
Now the town as the surveyor saw il
in his minds eye, was as true square
as any geometrician ever drew with
square and compasses, and so he set II
down on the plat which he made; but
the town which he marked out with
stakes and mounds looked more like a
parallelogram on spree, and so 1t re-
mains to this day.
A poet has said, "The evil that men
do lives after them" and ever since that
day the unfortunate shape of the town
so conceived, has been source o
trouble at various times when questions
of boundaries of the Town and of the
School District based on them have come
up, and will probably so continue to the
end of time.
Custer is now reformed and dry, SC
that nothing of the kind here related
could possibly again occur, but what q
lesson is to be drawn from this incident.
Oh, my hredern and sisteren, when you
yet letters telling in allnring language
about the merits of the kind the Doctor
ordered, AT $500 for fonr full quarts -
burn them unread, lest yon he sednced
into sending for trial order. Think oi
the mental anguish OF our express agent
as he hands over the sealed package ol
wei goods, and remember this true story
of what indulgence in such liquors
occasioned for this fair town of Custer
City.