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.

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.

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

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.

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.

CHAPTER II
State Capitol

No matter whether the entrance to South Dakota is made from the north, south, east, or west, all of the main roads are gravel surfaced. Many an Eastener will complain of the driving on these roads, but one may drive up to fifty or sixty miles per hour on them with comparative safety, with the average car. This is far beyond the legal limit of the state. Rain and other adverse weather conditions will not affect traveling. This holds true for most of the main highways in the “Hills.”

Over these gravelled highways, probably U. S. 14 or U. S. 16 we speed until we hit Pierre, the State capitol, located in the center of South Dakota. Here it might be well to stop for a few hours or overnight. The State welcomes everyone to a trip through the State Capitol. This trip is interesting and in many ways highly enlightening.

The Capitol, “up on the hill,” is probably the first building of Pierre to catch the eye when entering the city from any direction. Its great wings and massive dome cause it to stand out, and its height adds to its conspicuousness.

Capitol Avenue, coming from the east runs true with the world. It leads thus past the Governor’s residence to a beautiful arch bridge over the outlet from what is known as Capitol Lake.

On this placid lake, surrounded by splendid lawn, swans float gracefully and various other aquatic forms feed with varying degrees of industry.

From here Capitol Avenue turns in a north-westerly direction gradually ascending to the Capitol, two blocks distant. The Capitol lies parallel to the avenue, being on the north-east side, facing the south-west. It is surrounded with beautiful trees, flowers, and an exceptionally beautiful lawn.

After climbing the long flight of stone steps (the whole building is of white stone), we enter the rotunda of the Capitol. There we are greeted by a beautiful Carrara marble interior, set off by statues and pictures of those responsible for the early progress of South Dakota. From the exact center of the building we may look up into the gigantic dome fringed with remarkable paintings above exquisite balconies and alcoves.

To the left of the entrance we step into the main reception room of the Governor. There we see that famous oil painting “The Spirit of Progress,” by Blashfield, covering the entire north-west wall. Into the room, if our visit were in 1927 or 1928, would come Governor Bulow, who greeted President Coolidge to his summer white house. Governor Bulow never failed to extend a warm welcome to the visitors at the Capitol. His words delivered at a high school track meet in 1928 are typical of him. “We are all competitors in contest of life. Upon our sportsmanship, fairness, and hard training depends our position at the finish.”

From the Governor’s suite we go to the office of the Secretary of State, and thence through the offices of the Commissioner of Public Lands, and that of the State Treasurer.

In the other wing we see the rooms of the Supreme Court of South Dakota, the offices of the judges, and the great Supreme Court Law Library.

Now we descend the stairs to the lower floor. Here we find case after case lining the entire basement, filled with Indian costumes, stone instruments, arrow heads, war uniforms, and weapons of historical importance, stuffed birds of S. D., bones of animals, present and past, the first bag of sugar produced in South Dakota (encased in a silk bag) and various other curios. On the walls are large framed pictures of many of the early heroes and state officers of South Dakota.

On this floor are the offices of the state Railroad Commission, Attorney General, Public Examiner, Superintendent of Schools, Rural Credits Board, Library Commission, Historical Society, and State Sheriff. Under the steps is a lunch counter and confectionery stand, and in front of it an information desk. Last but not least, in the north-west end of the wing stands the gigantic moose.

On the second floor we find the rooms of the state Senate and House of Representatives, with adjoining lobbies and other rooms.

On the third floor are balconies to the legislative rooms, and various offices, including the automobile license department, the state banking department, state securities commission, and others.

From this floor a spiral stairway leads up, up, up, to the room above the inner dome. From the dome room one can see the mighty turbulent waters of the Missouri bubble and boil on their way. The great bridge is in full view, with the railway bridge beyond. The scenes from the “Capitol dome” are remarkable. A trip to Pierre would be incomplete without this part.

From the Capitol our trip takes us through the city of Pierre over the bridge to Fort Pierre where first evidences of white men in S. D. were found. A high flagpole now stands where the Verendrye Plate, planted in 1743, was found.

CHAPTER III
The Badlands

We cross the Missouri River on the morning of June 29th and speed along through comparatively new but highly productive agricultural land, through Hayes, Midland and Philip to Cottonwood. In Philip we find one of the most modern small cities of the state. It is worth stopping to see. When we arrive at Cottonwood, about three hours from Pierre, or a little less than one hundred ten miles, the weather seems favorable and the roads good so we turn south off U. S. highway 14. Only a few miles out of Cottonwood we look ahead and see the city-like elevations far in the distance. As we draw nearer this great wall of clay takes on a more artistic contour of multicolored towers, peaks, and walls, resembling ruins of ancient cities.

Countless theories and possibilities enter one’s mind to account for these magnificent walls, rising directly from a few feet to several hundred feet from level country. The level plains are grass covered, but the walls are practically bare. They are of almost pure sandy clay, with a little soft shale in a layer near the top. They average from a hundred to five hundred feet in height and are composed of several colors each, some containing yellow, pink, orange and blue, others having still different colors. For the most part the colors are plain or washed, but some are very pronounced.

Other sections of the Badlands are depressions from the grassy flats, with enormous areas seemingly fallen straight down two to twenty feet, with perpendicular sides. The beds of these great depressions are bare yellow or white clay.

Theories of the formation of these structures include “sea bottom,” “erosion,” “volcanic eruptions,” etc.

Seventeen miles from Cottonwood we drive through Cedar Pass into the Badlands. The road winds around and around, through depressions and through valleys between the great clay banks, ever leading upward. The grandeur of the enormous colored banks and walls would impress even the most barren minded person.

If one is coming over the C. B. H., (or A Y P.); (U. S. 16 to be specific), he must leave for S. D. No. 40 about fifteen miles west of Kadoka, and he will emerge at Cedar Pass the same as though he came from the north. The view is magnificent.

Finally the road gets narrow and precipitous. The passes become more crooked and the grades more steep. The road is bordered by profuse scrub cedar trees. There is a thrill in that drive! At first it looks dangerous, but the danger seems to minimize as we approach each more steep and more crooked and more narrow section. By taking it slowly the risk is small. (The road has since been improved.)

We descend the south slope of the ridge, past the new Cedar Pass Camp, and drive five miles or so over a good road into Interior. On the way, however, we stop and walk for some distance among the hills. We find the clay to be hard and firm, resembling baked mud in texture. Each rain washes a little of the clay down, causing a gradual erosion through the years. This process has gradually uncovered the remains of life of this country at the time of its formation. We find a petrified tooth of some great animal. The tooth is about four inches long and two wide. Some distance farther we run across a mammoth rock formation embedded in the clay. It resembles and may have been the remains of a turtle six or seven feet in diameter, with head and feet protruding out of the bank. From these same environs scientists have taken great petrified skeletons of ancient mastodons, reptiles, birds and beasts of all shapes and sizes. We can easily imagine how these beasts got bogged down in this once soft, spongy ex-sea-bottom, there to remain through these centuries.

We spend more time than we had planned examining the place, so we find ourselves in Interior for the night. We pitch camp, and during the night receive our first rain on the trip. Our sympathy for the poor little mouse who had appropriated a little of the tent roof for his nest is not very pronounced.

The next morning we rise early. We hike to “Big Foot,” a high clay ridge south of town, and climb it. It proves much higher and more difficult to climb than first appearances indicate. The climb is a thriller, especially as the clay is a bit slippery this morning.

We return for breakfast, stopping in a field on the way to examine a huge oil drilling rig which has been wrecked many years ago. It is made almost entirely of oak, some timbers being two feet square and very long. The main belt wheel is twelve feet in diameter, made also of wood. To us this is a sight.

The bacon and coffee are more than welcome when we return. After breakfast we strike camp and drive into town. There Palmer’s Curio shop attracts us for some time. We leave with several calcium silicate crystals and specimens of the world’s only sand crystals.

The most interesting person met on our trip is found in Interior. He is Mr. Henry Thompson, who runs a little souvenir stand called “The Wonderland.” He wears long, flowing white hair and a great flowing moustache of the same color. His acquaintance with the country dates back many a year.

No one going through Interior should miss him. He tells some very interesting tales of early days in the West. Recently a motion picture company used him in the role of the Patriarch Moses in the mountains. He gives us a rehearsal of the role he played and recounts the garb of animal skins he wore, and other interesting features of the adventure. We listen with open mouths, and find it difficult to tear ourselves away for the continuance of our journey.

Twenty-four miles west of Interior, after traveling through the scenic splendor of the Badlands we come upon a vast expanse of land covered with a crust of once molten rock about an inch thick, now all broken into fragments. The formation consists of two hardened layers of once molten rock, probably of calcium silicate composition, smooth on the outer edges and joined together by countless papilae, making the whole look like two layers joined by a porous center. There is no doubt in one’s mind, upon viewing it, that Satan must surely have had his headquarters here at some time or other.

We follow State Highway Number 40 through other Badland wonders five miles farther. The road is very good. At Scenic we visit the widely known Museum Filling Station. Here we see a beautiful and interesting collection of stones from the Black Hills. In fact the entire building is covered with rocks, fossils and other interesting things embedded in concrete. Prehistoric animal bones and Indian relics from the Badlands are within. The bones, the curious animals, the pictures, the petrified eggs, the skeletons, Indian relics and numerous other curios are remarkable.

They have attracted people from throughout the world, not for a hasty examination but for extensive study. This place is one of the important places to see in the Badlands. One cannot afford to miss it under any circumstances.

The vicinity of Scenic is known to scientists as the greatest fossil field in the United States. Scenic is also an Indian trading post.

South of Scenic are some of the most spectacular examples of erosion in the United States. Some of the names assigned to them are: “Castle of the Ancients,” “The Altar of the Gods,” “Castle Rock,” “Castle Turrets,” “The Sphinx Twins,” “The Silent Sentinel,” “Amphitheater of the Wilds” and “The Devil’s Golf Course.” These remarkable formations almost hold us in reverent awe, so stupendous are they in their unusualness and grandeur.

“Hell’s Ten Thousand Acres,” from Scenic south are equal in some ways to the Grand Canyon of Colorado in their ruggedness. “Hell’s Sunken Gardens,” south also, surpasses in beauty and magnitude anything of its kind in the world.

Wounded Knee Battlefield, the last stand of the Sioux, is also south of Scenic. Here hundreds of Indians, men, women and children, were massacred by the soldiers when they stubbornly resisted the coming of law and government to take from them their hunting grounds. These Indians were all buried in one long grave, marked now with a tall marble slab on which are chiseled the odd names of the Indian dead.

The management of the Museum Filling Station is very enthusiastic about the “Great Badlands.” They will furnish any additional information desired and will furnish guides at a reasonable cost to those who desire such in visiting the wonders to the south.

From Scenic, trail 40 leads on to Rapid City. Some of the finer views of the Badlands are found along this road.

On to Rapid City we drive, over an excellent dirt road. We stop on the Cheyenne River to eat our lunch. These little picnic grounds all help to make the trip a really enjoyable vacation. We must stop at the turn in the road for a drink of Nature’s purest nectar flowing through a huge fountain. This is just a few miles before we reach Rapid City.

From Scenic to Rapid City is about forty-five miles. After leaving Scenic the silhouetted black mountains, soon come into view. They are visible in their magnificent grandeur, fifty miles distant, growing more distinct as they are approached. Upon nearing them, if one is familiar with the various peaks, he can pick each out and call it by name.

We reach Rapid City in the eastern foothills, at four o’clock. The School of Mines museum at the entrance to the city, also nationally and internationally known, is our first point of interest in the “Hills.”

CHAPTER IV
Rapid City

The School of Mines Museum is not an enormous affair. It is contained in one large room belonging to the School of Mines.

The bones of prehistoric animals are probably the best known and most widely advertised part of the museum. This collection includes skulls, jaw bones, teeth, leg bones, and in fact whole skeletons of the prehistoric monsters. One cannot but wonder what life was like, and how these animals acted in the days when they lived. The size and contour of these skeletons are truly remarkable.

In cases throughout the room are displayed a vast variety of minerals, ores, types of rock formations, replicas of famous diamonds, and numerous other curios. On the south wall is an American flag, weighing 400 pounds, made of Black Hills minerals. On the east wall are two excellent relief maps of gigantic proportions, showing relative heights in the Black Hills. Guns and various other relics adorn the walls. No visitor to the “Hills” can afford to miss this part of the trip. It may take one half hour to a day, depending on one’s interest in the displays, but the time is excellently spent.

From the School we drive into Rapid City, and after a bit of shopping, on to the Municipal Tourist Camp. This camp is about four miles up Rapid Canyon west of the city.

By the time the tent is pitched and camp made a dinner does not meet an unwelcome reception. Why the camp stove should choose this time to balk is a still unanswered question. Somehow these appliances know when they can aggravate one the most.

Here in the Municipal Camp we receive a pleasant surprise. Instead of the expected camp grounds we find a beautiful spot for pitching our tent, “Old Swayback,” modern toilet facilities, a laundry with hot water, stores, and best of all an honest to goodness “swimmin hole” in Rapid Creek.

True to the spirit of the Black Hills, Rapid City Municipal Camp has its neat log cabin, with reading table, fireplace, electric lights, and other conveniences for its guests. Tourists are welcomed there at any and all times. These log cabins are a decided thrill to the traveler who is not familiar with them. Later in this account there will be a description of the typical log cabin.

The camp cots, in which we have so much confidence at first, have begun by this time to feel a bit hard, to seem a bit cold, and to afford a rather meager sort of rest. But here Yankee ingenuity might come into good play.

The desirability of light steel camp beds instead of the cots and the need of light mattresses becomes evident.

Sunday morning proves an excellent time to get acquainted with the habits of the Rapid Creek trout. Only three consent to being lured from their swim, however. The fishing is rather slow but nevertheless enjoyable. To a more experienced angler the luck is usually different.

From fishing we turn to swimming. This proves to be a more lively sport. The water is fine, just a least bit cool. The current is the feature of this plunge. One no sooner gets out into it than he feels himself being pulled very rapidly downstream. The sensation is not exactly reassuring. In fact it frightens one. But it takes only a few strokes to get out of the swift water into more placid pools. This learned, it becomes pleasant to defy the current. Another surprise awaits. When one attempts to swim back to the side from which he entered, the current carries him past the precipitous rocks before he can pull himself out. No amount of trying results otherwise. This is almost terrifying. Fortunately, at this point a man happens along who is familiar with the pool. He shows us where there is a small quiet spot where the swimmer can climb up on the rocks without danger of being carried downstream. Again a precarious situation develops into a pleasure.

We wish to attend church, but have no clothing along except our camping equipment. This convinces us that we should have brought along some more respectable clothing for it will not be amiss on several occasions during the trip.

After lunch we drive up Rapid Canyon to Lockhart Inn. We go up the mountainside to see the moss sculpturing by Mr. Lockhart called “A Miner’s Dream.” Then we start the ascent up the Canyon on foot. This is a climb that will pay one well. From Rapid Canyon we turn into Dark Canyon ascending by rock ledge paths and canyon floor through beautiful formations of nature’s handiwork. One cannot imagine the thrill, not only of the scenery but also the thrill of accomplishment, a hundred per cent pleasant that goes with this trip. Some of the sidelights of the trip are “Sitting Bull’s Kitchen,” “Victoria Falls,” (a beautiful waterfall), “Jungle of the Gods,” “Bridge of the Gods,” (a natural bridge formerly over the canyon but now fallen in), and “Bear Cave.” The picturesque grandeur of the panorama, the stupendous rocks, the great precipices, the straight tall trees, the swift, cold, clear streams and many other awe inspiring and pleasant experiences stamp themselves indelibly upon our minds. The experiences include climbing precipitous places, jumping and climbing over rocks, looking down over precipices hundreds of feet below, continually discovering something new to enjoy. The effect is invigorating, exhilarating, satisfying. The path is not dangerous at any place, though filled with thrills, especially on the paths built on ledges around the mountain. These are the rambles that mean most to vacationists, and unfortunately they are too often left out because of the time needed and the effort necessary to make them.

CHAPTER V
Cement Plant

Monday morning we strike camp at 9:00 a. m. We drive into Rapid City, get our snapshots of the Badlands which had been finished there, again shop a bit, and drive out to the cement plant.

First, however, a word about Rapid City. It is a thriving little city on the eastern entrance to the Hills. The streets have a modern air to them, with occasional reminders of the days of the “West.” During the tourist season the city fairly teems with life. Prices are reasonable and the people are courteous. The city resembles those farther east for the most part, not being without the familiar Woolworth and Penny stores. But the relics of cowboy days are still in evidence, and specimens of fish and game, alive or mounted, are shown with no little pride.

The high school, where President Coolidge had his summer Capitol in 1927, is a place worth stopping to see.

The State cement plant is run by the State of South Dakota. It employs about 150 people. The plant consists of the quarries, the sheds for raw rock, chutes, power house, crushers, the hydrating and baking plant, the furnaces, the drying tanks, the sacking department, and the offices. Each of the buildings is very large. The raw rock shed holds thousands of tons of rock. Each of the ten storage or drying tanks holds 15,000 barrels of cement. The plant can turn out twenty car loads a day, with eight hundred to a thousand sacks to each car.

The men work nine hours each day and sometimes ten. The plant closed five months the first year, three the second, and this last year it closed but one month. When we visit it, it has more orders than it can fill. The South Dakota cement is a superior quality and is much in demand.

To the person interested in machinery the huge turbines and generators are very interesting. These powerful affairs taking up but little room, generate enough electrical power to run the whole enormous plant.

In going through the plant one starts at the raw rock sheds. Here the loading devices carry the stone over a conveyor into the crushers. From there the material goes, by various processes to be soaked and made into mud, mixed, dried in blast tubes by very intense heat and flame, crushed again, run into drying tanks, and finally sacked and loaded into boxcars.

There are two men, known as sackers who, with the use of machinery, can fill 15,000 to 20,000 sacks a day. They receive the empty sacks, tied by wire at the top, and only open in one toe. This open toe is slipped over a nozzle through which the cement pours into the sack suspended upside down, resting on a small scale. When the proper weight of cement has entered, the scale lets the bag down upon a conveyor belt and at the same time shuts off the cement in the nozzle.

The flap inside the toe of the sack pulls across the hole closing the sack. Each man has four sacks filling at once, and he has just barely time to put on a sack and re-adjust his machinery before the next sack is ready. The conveyor belts carry the filled bags to a chute which deposits them in the box car, one on either side of the sacker. Each of the many machines throughout the plant is driven by a small but powerful electric motor.

The cement plant is not one of nature’s wonders, but one of the products of God’s masterpiece, man. It and other mechanical achievements are hardly less to be marvelled at than the natural wonders, themselves.

CHAPTER VI
Crystal Cave

From the cement plant we take U. S. Highway number 16 through Black Hawk and Piedmont to Crystal Cave. On this road we encounter the second notable man-made achievement. The car begins to register a few degrees of added heat in the cooling system. Before we reach the top of the great hill, (several miles long), we pass several cars which have not been as effectively cooled as our own. The grade has been gradual and even, clear from the bottom to the top of the mountain. The road winds around vale and crag, often having had to be cut through solid rock or cut into a niche on the steep side of the mountain. It is a feat of engineering skill capable of firing the imagination of anyone.

About sixteen miles out of Rapid City we come to the huge arrow and sign pointing to Crystal Cave. The distance it was to be from the main road is given us on the sign board; it seems twice as far. The road is no longer smooth and surfaced or the grades regular or straight. These “side” roads are fast being improved, and probably by another year this one will be fairly smooth, and wide enough for two cars to pass anywhere. We find it a bit rough, rutted, winding through dense vegetation, and narrow. However, in dry weather the driving there is safe, comparatively easy, and enjoyable. The scenery is quite picturesque. To those interested in birds, trees, and flowers this will be a splendid bit of road.

After some little time, a half hour or less, we arrive at the cave entrance.

The headquarters are located in a little log cabin with a wide veranda where one can see specimens from the cave and where souvenirs may be bought. The new cave entrance, pictured herewith is just above the cabin.

When a large enough party has gathered, a guide lights many gasoline lanterns and we are told to file into the cave entrance. As we do so the guide distributes the lights. After this he takes the lead.

We go into the cave in our regular clothing, without needing slickers or other special equipment. It might be said, however, khaki clothing and hobnailed boots are not so bad for a trip of this kind. The same holds for mountain climbing. High heels are decidedly a detriment to progress, and somewhat precarious as well, where the footing is moist or steep.

With our lanterns we file after the guide. He leads us down and forward into the bowels of the earth, stopping occasionally to explain the various formations which we are passing. His “line” is strongly based on fact, and if one has a good imagination he can enjoy the trip, being able to “see” the various animals, rooms, or formations which the guide points out.