Evening star., 1927-06-02
BLACK HILLS HELD
VICTIMS OF NAME
Presidents Retreat Really
Mountains, Geographic
Society Claims.

The Black Hills OF South Dakota.
among which President Coolidge will
spend his vacation, are really mis-
named, it is pointed out in bulletin
from the National Geographic Society.
"With one peak rising 531 feet
higher than the highest point in the
Appalachians and several thousand
feet higher than the crests of the
Ozarks, and with numerous peaks
reaching attitudes in excess Of 5000
feet, the hills fully deserve to be
called mountains. says the bulletin.
This highland region is a sort of
island of mountains in the Great
Plains. and the natural attractiveness
of it's heavily wooded peaks and ridges
and it's we'll watered valleys is height
ened by the fact that it is adjacent to
one of the most desolate areas In
America-the Big Badlands of south
western South Dakota, where through
thousands of years rains have carved
the light clays and sands into f1uted
columns and cones. jagged buttresses
and a thousand other fantastic forms.
One of the two railways from the
East passes through the edge Of this
weird region about rs or 100 miles
before it reaches Rapid City. the east
ern rail center of the Black Hills.
which is to become the headquarters
for the presidential office force.
Not Part of Rockies.
"The Black Hills are not a part of
the Rockies, but they may be looked
upon as little brothers to these giant
mountains, showing the family char
acteristics on smaller scale. Both
probably were formed at about the
same time. When the great flow of
melted granite welled up from the
depths of the earth to raise the Rock
les 1t found a weak spot at the site
of the Black Hills and rose there, too,
poking the surface limestones and
other rocks up as a rising tent-pole
pushes up the canvas. The cooking
process which the surface rocks I'M
derwent at that time had much to
do with making the Black Hills one
OF the richest mineral regions in the
country. In the ages since these
mountains rose the softer stones have
been weathered away in many places,
exposing the hard granite, as at Har.
ney Peak. Around the base of this
peak stand great spires, remnants of
the softer rock, which constitute The
Needless one of the most striking bits
of scenery in the Black Hills.
The Black Hills played a peculiar
part in the frontier life of America
They were unsettled and unexploited
long after the emigrants had estab- |
lished themselves in California, Texas, |
Colorado. Utah and other territories |
farther West. This was because all |
of western South Dakota was reserved |
for the Sioux Indians. The wooded |
uplands of the Black Hills hod long
been a favorite hunting ground of the |
red men. In 1874 the Secretary of |
War sent an expedition to the region |
and its mineralogists discovered gold. |
When this became known prospectors |
stole in, in spite of the best efforts |
of the United States Army, and after |
a year or two Of unsuccessful efforts |
to eject them the Federal Govern |
ment found it necessary to purchase |
the hills from the Indians. They were |
thrown open by President Grant in |
1875, only 81 years ago. A turbulent |
frontier life developed in the mining
camps that sprang up, and Deadwood,
the leading one, became the inspira- |
tion for the American dime novel, |
which came into being about that |
time.
"All is changed now. Mining has |
been placed on a corporation and ma |
chine basis, and the once hectic min
ing camps have become quite little |
cities. The Homestake Mine, at Lead, |
is one of the largest mines in the |
world, and has taken out gold valued |
at more than 5000, ,000, 900.
"A large part of the Black Hills is |