Through the
Black Hills
and
Bad Lands
of South Dakota
By
P. D. Peterson
J. Fred Olander Company
Pierre, S. D.
Copyright, 1929
P. D. Peterson
To my mother who has been an inspiration and a guide for me throughout
my early training, ever helping her family to see and acquire the
highest ideals possible; and to my wife who has assisted me in the
compilation and revision of this book, the following pages are
affectionately dedicated.
[Illustration: THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST
By Edwin H. Blashfield
This painting is in the Governor’s reception room in the S. D. Capitol
building at Pierre.]
FOREWORD
This book is not a history, although it contains some historical
accounts where such are necessary to bring out the importance of the
scenery described. It makes no attempt at being a technical guide of any
sort, although the treatment of various animals, trees, flowers, and
minerals is as near accurate as a tourist could hope to obtain.
The main purpose of this book is to give a chronological or itinerary
account of what may be seen in the Black Hills. It should acquaint the
tourist with the things of interest to see on his trip. It should save
him the chagrin of passing a point of interest without having known he
did so. It should, further, give him a souvenir of the scenes and
experiences of the trip. But one of the central purposes of this
treatise is to give the school children and the grown-ups of South
Dakota a picture of their own Black Hills and Bad Lands.
[Illustration: ]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I Introduction 9
II State Capitol 13
III The Badlands 21
IV Rapid City 35
V Cement Plant 40
VI Crystal Cave 43
VII Sturgis 48
VIII Belle Fourche 52
IX Spearfish 60
X Pine Crest Camp 69
XI Lead 71
XII Deadwood 83
XIII Pactola, Silver City, and Camp Wanzer 90
XIV Hill City and Keystone 93
XV Needles Road, Sylvan Lake Harney Peak and the Gorge 101
XVI Custer 125
XVII Hot Springs 145
Appendix Page
I Mountains 161
II Elevations 163
III Industries 165
IV Fishing 167
V Streams 169
VI Camps and Camping 171
VII New Developments 179
VIII Shorter Routes 183
[Illustration: Harney Peak above the clouds. This is the highest point
in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.
Photo by Beard]
CHAPTER I
Introduction
“The Wonderland of America” is not an overstatement of the scenic beauty
of the Black Hills of South Dakota. One cannot but marvel at the endless
new experiences that he has each day, whether it be on a three days’ or
a three weeks’ trip through the Black Hills. In the shorter trip he will
take in the more prominent points, scarcely departing from the main
arterial highways. On the longer tour he will drive a thousand to
fifteen hundred miles through deep canyons, up to the mines, and to many
other places which at first would seem almost impenetrable but which
upon inquiry will be found readily accessible. The more extensive trip
should be the one selected if at all possible, for it leaves an
impression on a person’s mind that cannot be erased by time or by any
amount of traveling in any part of the world.
[Illustration: Birdseye view of Sylvan Lake
Rise Photo]
The vast, impressive grandeur of the whole, gained by the views from
mountain tops, from the floors of canyons, and from various other
vantage points cannot help but leave with one a feeling of awe, a
feeling that the Creator of these great magnificent sturdy formations,
towering toward the sky, penetrating the very clouds and fringed and
capped by element defying monarchs of the evergreen family is a powerful
Being. They leave with a person a feeling of safety under the protecting
guidance of a Being powerful enough to create what lies before him.
All through the “Hills” this feeling of the marvelous greatness of the
structures, and the intricate workmanship found in them grows upon a
person, until when he speeds eastward (or westward) at the close of the
trip with an occasional backward look, he cannot help feeling that his
mind has been broadened and expanded proportionate to the impressiveness
of what he has seen.
No attempt will be made in this volume at a systematic cataloging of the
various things of interest to be seen. The account will be strictly
chronological, in order, just as it was experienced on a trip through
the “Hills.” Preceding the Black Hills accounts will come an account of
a tour through the Great Badlands of South Dakota. A trip to the “Hills”
is not complete without a visit to the Badlands, and the impressiveness
of the latter is scarcely less than that of its neighbor. It is well to
plan for this part of the trip before entering the “Hills.” Then, if it
rains the Badlands must be postponed until the close, for the roads are
somewhat bad when wet.
[Illustration: A peak in Cedar Pass
O’Neill Photo]
[Illustration: This Monument marks the center of the state of South
Dakota and the approximate center of North America. It stands along the
highway north of Pierre]
[Illustration: Rotunda, Capitol, Pierre]