Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 May 1883 — Ten Days in Dakota. [ARTICLE]

Ten Days in Dakota.

The purpose of this paper is to Cdhvey to the readers of the Republican, as nearly as I ean in a limited newspaper sketch What I saw and learned of the country visited on my late tour, but especially ot that portion of Dakota examined. I prefer to sketch my seeings and hearings leaving inferences and argument to my readers. ROUTE OF TRAVEL, Having secured tickets via the C. N. W. Ry., over all its lines in Central Southern Dakota, my route was via Madison and Elroy Wisconsin, crossing the Mississppi river and entering Minnesota at Winona, thence across the state In a West-North westerly direction via Rochester, Mankato, Sleepy-eye, and Tracy, 'entering Dakota at Elkton near the South-east corner ot Brookings county, thence N. westerly through Brookings, thence West through Kingsbury, Beadle, Hand and Hughes counties to the Missouri river at Pierre, passing through the towns of Brookings, Iroquois, Huron, Wessington, St. Lawrence, Blunt and numerous other stations of 200 to 500 inhabitants. Returning from Pierre by the same route to Huron; thence north on the Ordway branch, about a 100 miles, through Hitchcock (now Altoona) Redfield and Aberdeen to Columbia; thence returning to Redfield, take the “Watertown Branch?’’ via Watertown back to Tracy, on the main line in Minnesota, and thence by the route I went to Chicago. So ranch for an introductory out-lme and it will be profitable before pursuing this sketch further to trace out this ‘ route on your map and get the outline fairly in the mind’s eye. This done, we proceed on our trip. Leaving Chicago at 7:80 p. m. Wednesday April 25th, after 88} consecutive hours on the rail, Without change of cars, we arrived at Huron at 10 a. m. Friday, 27th. With no stop for breakfast, it hardly need be said that the tourist without a lunch basket, to which improvident class I belonged, felt a vacuum about the stomach that moved him to seek first something to eat. ' IM WISCONSIN AND MINNESOTA. The landscape scenery along the route is so varied as to be interesting throughout. In Wisconsin it is more rugged and there are more waste lands. These are principally, sand knobs, pine scrub oak and quakingasp hills, stony hights and battlement crowned peaks. But there are also many tracts of fine farming land and small rich valleys. One remarkable feature about these hills is the apparent difference in their geological formation. Here we pass a number that seem to be but great piles of drift sand, 300 to 600 feet high, with in a short distance we find another of seemingly a clay formation and others again almost a mountain of rock. Though 3 of the later class within a short distance the railroad is tunneled, the tunnels being respectively, (omitting fractions of 100 feet,) 1700, 1800 and 3800 feet. As a whole, the country we saw in Minnesota is far superior to what we saw in Wisconsin. About 15 or 20 miles from Winona we leave the Mississippi hills and then for hours and hours are whirled over a rich, gently undulating country covered with prosperous farms, in general appearance very much resembling Benton county, and the country along the Pan Handle railroad, in Newton and Jasper counties. This of course is but the briefest out-line* in generalization. I dare not undertake to note exceptions to the good nor go into particulars. But I must add that immediately along the line of this railroad scarcely any land susceptible of tillage remains uncultivated. With this brief glance at the country just named, I pass to the object of my trip and this sketch.

SOUTHERN CENTRAL DAKOTA. Brookings country which is reputed one of the very best counties of Dakota, may be compared with Benton Co. Indiana. It has very much the same typographical appearance and apparently very much the same character of black soil. But there are a larger per cent of waste lands. It was a great surprise to me to see the marshes in Brookirgs and Kingsbury. I had been told there were no marshes in Dakota but we find Bor 10 counties in part of the Eastern portion of the territory, traversed by the Big Sioux river, abounds in them; Kingsbury county, which joins Brookings on the west, is in this marshy region and has the larged; per cent of wet lands of any locality I visited. Generally speaking these marshes, considered singly, are not large and are easy of drainage. The most extensive one that came under my observation is “Lake Preston”, which is 1 fourth to 3 fourths of a mile in | width and about 13 miles long. It i somewhat resembles our Pinkamink I marsh, but lies between belts of high I rolling lands which rise from 4 to 10 ft. 1 above it, and gives its bed a well defined out line. As we approach Beadle county the marshes gradually disappear and we find many, 1 think I may say niott of the higher ridges covered with boulders from ti e size of cobble stones to our ordinary prairie boulders, though most of them will not exceed six inches in- diameter. . In many places these stone almost entirely cover the surface so that one might; by a little care, walk over acres in a place wiibout touching the sod. by stepping upon these stones. They are generally confined to the higher surface but, sometimes cover die lower elevations'and. extend into the depressions. They are said to be merely surface stones that do not extend below the sod. No opportunity was found to test the truth of this theory. If this proves to be trite, these stone IttndPi in future will probably be sought after. At present they are avoided and

many tracts remain unsettled on this account There is a general sameness in’the aspect along the railroad from the time we leave the mfcrshy district in Kingsbury Co., to a point west of Miller, which is the county seat of Hand county. Of course there is some variation both in topography and the character of the lands, bift I speak only of the general aspect At Wessington the Wessington biles are in plain sight and rise, we are told, to a height of 300 ft above the general level, sis the vicinity of these mils are located a number of. THB JaBPRE BESTOX AMD NEWTON COLONY. Comprising F. R. Donnelly," Dr. Trough, W. Corkins, John Me Murtry, the Misses Cotton, Hugh Murray and many others. It was my purpose to visit these old neighbors, but learning from my friend, W. B. Price, that most of them were 15 or 20 miles from the railroad, I felt compelled to forego this pleasure. FROM MILLER TO BLUNT. The description of the country may be generalized as more or less broken, more or less stony and more or less appearance of alkali. Blunt is located just East of where Medicine Creek enters the Missouri river \ hills, and for some miles east the surface is broken. The higher knolls are almost barren of any vegetable growth, while the hillsides near the base, the ravines and flats between support aa inferior growth of grass, upon which I was told stock does fairly well. Even the little flat and gently undulating lands along here, a gentleman of several years experience among the Ranchmen pioneers, said are “alkali lands” and non productive for agriculture. To avoid the high hills of the Missouri, the railroad near Blunt, curves from almost a due West to a Southerly course and then follows the Meanderings of Medicine creek valley, 14 miles to its intersection with the Missouri bottoms and thence up this along the foot of the hills 18 miles to Pierre. 32 miles by the circuitons route, but only 18 miles by air line, from Blunt. The conclusion of this article is omitted until next week. Editor Republican.