History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 70

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146

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There was intense cold weather in January, 1899, over nearly all of the state. At Yankton for fifteen consecutive days the mercury did not get above zero; the coldest there was 25° below zero. At Pierre it reached 30° below zero; at Sioux Falls it sank to 40° below. The distinguishing features was that it re- mained below zero for so long a time. At Huron it was 30° below, and there occurred the coldest long stretch for seventeen years.

In the spring of 1899 the state suffered severe losses from numerous prairie fires ; the air was dry and the wind high. Governor Lee early in March vetoed the bill providing for a beet sugar bounty. At the same time there was passed a pure food bill aimed at all food adulterations. A tornado swept across a por- tion of the state south of Chamberlain this spring killing several persons and animals and destroying considerable property; its path was twenty rods wide and three miles long.

This year the agricultural college established an experiment station at High- more, starting out with ten acres. Dry climate grasses from Siberia and Mani- toba were tried at the start. Soon it had a full line of experiments in progress. In March the Legislature passed the Wilson bill which provided for the estab- lishment of a state board of agriculture to consist of the presidents of the several state industrial institutions and of three representative farmers to be appointed by the governor. Packard's bill seems to have been of a like character. There was appropriated $2,000 annually to be used in paying premiums when the usual receipts should be deficient. Thus the Legislature came gingerly forward on the last day in the afternoon to do what it should have done in 1891, but was pre- vented by cunning politicians and "booby" farmers. The Yankton City Council had refused to help the state fair unless the Legislature should make an appropri- ation. The above action of the Legislature induced Yankton to liquidate the old expense. The resulting state fair was one of the best thus far held. Governor Hoard of Wisconsin and other eminent agriculturalists were present. Prof. N. E. Hanson explained why fruit trees died during dry and very cold weather. The agricultural college made an excellent display at this fair. While the fair was in session the Farmers' Institute, the Stock Breeders' Association and other farm organizations held meetings at Yankton. This was the fifteenth annual state fair.

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In the early 'gos South Dakota suffered from great depression, but by 1898-99 a wonderful change had come over the state. Farmers were out of debt, were sending their children to city schools and were buying pianos and other luxuries. It was also true that when the territory began to grow rapidly soon after the Civil war the towns and villages outgrew the rural districts and suffered from the severe reaction for many years, mainly because the settlement of the state as a whole was much slower than had been expected. But by 1898-99 the recov- ery was complete and gratifying.

In January, 1900, a merchant of Aberdeen bought "a horseless carriage with which to visit his rural customers, gasoline being the motive power." This was one of the first automobiles in the state. It was purchased in Chicago, but the freight rates were so high that he had it driven through to Aberdeen.

At this time the state apiarists organized with nineteen members and with Thomas Chantry as president. The state was divided into districts and a vice president was appointed in each. Soon afterward many local societies were organized. Steps to secure a bee experiment station were taken. The farmers' institutes, horticultural societies, state fair board and the agricultural college were asked to aid the movement. At this time the Dakota Farmer, issued at Aberdeen by W. F. T. Bushnell, was beginning its twentieth year; it took up the cause of the apiarists with vigor and effect.

In 1899 the Belle Fourche Times claimed that 350,000 head of sheep were owned within a radius of 100 miles of that city and that the annual clip was 2,000,000 pounds. In 1898 Butte County shipped 2,091 cars of cattle to market at a cost of about $160 per car. The stock shipments at Pierre in 1898 were 14,000 head of cattle, 10,000 head of sheep and 150,000 pounds of wool. At the same time 10,000 head were shipped in for feeding purposes.

In May, 1899, H. G. Hamaker, forest supervisor, divided the Black Hills Reserve into twenty districts and appointed a ranger for each, as follows: August Peterson, Alexander Dunbar, F. D. Widney, J. F. Smith, William Mills, Charles Ennis, D. W. McFadden, C. H. Dodge, F. S. Towner, C. H. Kammon, J. A. Hackeman, L. R. Davis, M. M. Fuller, Frank Lytle, A. C. McCready, Arthur Lynn, L. T. Griggs, M. B. Oppenpaugh, T. C. Clark and Charles Pilcher. There were 219 applicants. Each ranger was paid $60 per month. The duty of the ranger was to see to the protection of timber against fire and depredations, and to see that no timber was cut and hauled off the reserve except in accordance with the department regulations. They were authorized to call upon the citizens for help if found necessary to fight fires, and to bring to justice those who did not comply with the regulations.

The Alderman fruit farm in Turner County contained about 7,000 trees in August, 1899. Nearly 10,000 bushels of apples were marketed in 1898. On the farm in 1899 were marketed 5,000 quarts of strawberries.

The Black Hills Sheep Growers' Association was organized at Rapid City in the early fall of 1899. Robert Boyd was chosen president; Ed Stenger, vice president ; W. M. Cox, secretary ; H. E. Swander, treasurer ; J. H. Chase, G. H. Saunders, Charles Morris, S. H. Raymond and Anthony Fuhrman, directors. About fifty thousand sheep out of a possible eighty-five thousand in the district were represented by the new association.

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At the anti-trust conference held at Chicago in February, 1900, Governor Lee was present and delivered a powerful address in favor of stringent measures to curb the trust evil. The pure butter bill in Congress was favored by resolu- tions adopted at more than a dozen meetings in this state; all denounced the selling of oleomargarine for butter. The articles of John Armstrong of DeSmet on various farming topics were published in nearly all the newspapers of the state and did a vast amount of good. In dairying he brought out particularly the importance of cleanliness. Artificial fertilizers were the talk of the farming com- munity this year. Their uses and abuses were fully shown by the agricultural college. In 1900 this state ranked third as a gold producer, third in wheat, first in flax, fifth in barley, rye and oats, eighth in wood, tenth in live stock, and stood high as a producer of dairy products. Its production of coal and fruit was not inconsiderable. The largest creamery in the state was at DeSmet. It was estab- lished in April, 1895, and the balance of that year paid out $8,811.96; 1896, $22,- 987.98; 1897, $23,709.54; 1898, $29,846.92 ; 1899, $35,624.18. By March, 1900, there were ten creameries in Kingsbury County.

In 1900 all the cities of the state had taken on great and important improve- ments within a few years. All had vastly advanced their municipal administra- tions, had paved their streets, erected public buildings, installed lighting plants and generally now reflected the immense improvement blossoming in the country. Sioux Falls was growing fast, so was Mitchell, Huron, Aberdeen, Watertown, Madison, Yankton, Brookings, Redfield and others. There was sharp rivalry between the leaders for commercial supremacy, for population, for public and private institutions and for the title of "Metropolis of South Dakota." In the Black Hills, Deadwood which had held supremacy for so long was losing ground, but more because of its own lack of good management than from any other cause. Lead was steadily and rapidly gaining the commercial supremacy of the Black Hills. Deadwood was rent with local jealousies; every man was for himself and "devil take the hindmost." The city had no commercial organization with which to "boost;" no chamber of commerce; no board of trade; no mining or cattle associations. In fact, not one of its industries was organized, and when a stranger appeared with money for investment he was soon driven away disgusted by the personal fights for supremacy. The city did not seem to have a general leader. J. K. P. Metler or Judge Kingsbury, had they been there, could have united the people, but now such conspicuous men were lacking from the ranks of the dozen who claimed leadership and looked upon themselves as the agents of God to lead the people out of Egyptian darkness. Owing to this demoralization the city was killed by its friends, or at least seriously wounded. It needed a new Government Building and new Federal offices which were at this time scattered over the city. Belle Fourche had almost monopolized the cattle and wool industries of North- west South Dakota and drew considerable sustenance from declining Deadwood. Senator Pettigrew succeeded in getting an appropriation for a Government Building at Deadwood through the Senate, but it was killed in the House. Sen- ator Moody was almost the only man in early times who could lead the Black Hills, and he had his deadly enemies. Sturgis, Hot Springs and Rapid City, as well as Lead, were gaining partly at the expense of Deadwood.

The Sheep and Wool Growers' Association met at Brookings in June, 1900, was was called to order in the chapel of the College by Prof. E. G. Spaulding.

INSPECTING A BRAND

"CUTTING OUT''

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Many important questions were discussed, including "Grub in the Head," "Feed- ing Lambs for Market," "What Should be Done when the Ewe Refuses to Recog- nize Her Lamb," "New Forage Plants from Siberia," "Feeding Value of Nevada Blue-grass," "Turkestan Alfalfa," "Siberian Millet," "The Salt Bush on Alkali Land." It was shown that the salt bush yielded 20 tons of green forage or 5 tons of dry forage per acre and that its feeding value was nearly equal to that of alfalfa. Dugal Campbell, president of the North Dakota Sheep Breeders' Asso- ciation, read a paper on "Sheep Ranges in the Dakotas."

The state fair this year was a great success. The many attractions drew large crowds. A feature were the horse races, coupling contests and parades of the fire companies. Other attractions were the war, scalp and other dances by a party of fifty Sioux from the Lower Brule Reservation. The display of creamery products was the best ever seen at a state fair in South Dakota. The DeSmet Creamery won first prize. Other features were the exhibit of Belgian hares, the trotting, pacing and running races, the poultry exhibit ; the exhibits of needlework, embroidery, etc .; harvest home festival, sham battle by soldiers, bicycle parades, baseball, pony races and the parades of the Shriners.

The tenth annual meeting of the State Dairymens' Association was held at DeSmet early in November, 1900. Among the subjects discussed were "Breeding of Dairy Cattle," "Care of Milk," "Forage Plants," and as side issues "Hog Breeding and Feeding," "Management of Pigs," "Hog Marketing," etc.

The eleventh annual meeting of the State Dairymens' and Buttermakers' Asso- ciation was held at DeSmet early in December, 1900, there being present a large delegation. There were shown twenty-six tubs of butter. DeSmet Creamery took first prize with a score of 9834, then came Irene with 981/2, Alexandria with 9814 and Hanson with 98. Only one tub scored below 90 and only four below 95. And all this was winter butter. It was recorded at this meeting that eleven years earlier a few dairymen had met in the same hall in DeSmet and organized the association, and that as late as 1895 the famous DeSmet Creamery had been established. In 1900 the latter received as high as 55,000 pounds of milk in one week and 1,500,000 pounds during the year. It was in a grade by itself and top prices were secured. Leland Griffin was their practical buttermaker-had won gold medals and was president of the association and vice president of the national association. Oliver Distad, also a gold medalist, was his assistant. Thus far the association held five gold medals for their products. At this meeting the fol- lowing among other subjects were considered: "Feeding Dairy Cows," "Old and New Methods of Education," by President Heston of the Agricultural College ; "Hogs as Followers of Cattle;" "Hog Pasture After Cows;" "Feeding Young Pigs with Skim Milk," "Dwarf Essex Rape for Hog Pasture." Doctor Haecker of the Minnesota Experiment Station addressed the meeting on the subject of "Feeding Dairy Cows." Among other things he said that as the cow of today was doing about three times as much as the Creator had intended, she must have a balanced ration and he showed on a blackboard how to compound several of such balanced rations. This meeting prepared a bill creating a dairy commis- sioner, to be presented to the Legislature. The new officers were Leland Griffin, president ; C. P. Sherwood, secretary.

The census of 1900 gave the state a population of 401,750 as against 328,808 in 1890, 98,268 in 1880 and 11,776 in 1870, the latter two being estimated from

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the returns for the whole territory. In 1890 there were 78 counties, and in 1901, 63. During the decade of the nineties the following counties decreased in popu- lation partly through changes in their boundaries: Armstrong, Aurora, Beadle, Brown, Brule, Custer, Fall River, Faulk, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, Jerauld, Pen- nington, Sanborn, Spink and Sully.

In 1901 it was shown in Congress that within two years the product of oleo- margarine had increased 50,000,000 pounds. The Grout bill then pending was aimed to relieve this unfair discrimination against the products of the dairies. At this time Secretary of the Treasury Gage declared that farmers were selling their milk and buying oleomargarine, which statement was shown to be a fact here and there through the country. The reason for this step was because milk and butter were high and oleomargarine low in price. Generally, the farmers of the state demanded that the Legislature should create the office of State Dairy Commissioner.

Many pests were troublesome this year. Russian thistle, cockle burs, tum- bling mustard, Canada thistle, etc., were annoying and expensive. The Hessian fly appeared in several counties, but did not become extended. Gray wolves on Bad River killed many cattle; this fact was a strong argument against the pur- posed repeal of the wolf bounty law in January, 1901. In July this year the Black Hills celebrated with much ceremony and splendor the twenty-fifth anni- versary of the settlement there-a wonderful change. A notable fact this year was the vast increase in the number of sheep in the state. The country around Pierre was one of the best regions in the state for live stock and annually thou- sands of head were shipped from the station there-cattle, sheep and horses.

Land in South Dakota began to boom about 1899-1900, when there was little more Government land to be had and the waves of settlement began to roll back from the Pacific shore or the Rocky Mountains. The cry that "Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm" died out. But there was an abundance of good land yet to be had in this state. The so-called arid land that had for so long a period been passed by, the swamp land, richer than any other, the alkali land that had excellent possibilities, the hill slopes that in Europe are so pro- ductive-all were ready for the man intelligent enough to avoid the few impedi- ments. Even the gumbo hills were expected to become the soil for necessary crops. All this tended to raise the price of all state land. And it went up by leaps and bounds. Farm lands worth two years before $30 per acre were now $40 and $45. A serious handicap was the soda and potash in the drinking water of many wells and springs. Soon along the Missouri and other rivers and streams channel water began to take the place of the other for drinking and irri- gating. Yankton admitted in 1901 that its only handicap was its inferior drink- ing water.

The Farmers' National Congress held at Sioux Falls in October, 1901, was large and important. George L. Flanders, of New York, was elected the new president. John Armstrong, of DeSmet, was chosen vice president for this state. At this time the latter was president of the State Board of Agriculture ; he owned the Spirit Lake Stock Farm and was still the contributor of many valuable articles on scientific ariculture to the various state newspapers. This congress passed resolutions favoring congressional appropriations for rivers and harbors ; calling the attention of Congress to the injuries inflicted on the public domain

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by ranchmen; favoring the construction of the Nicaragua Canal; denouncing anarchy; advocating the teaching of scientific agriculture in the public schools; urging a tax on oleomargarine; protecting food products by compelling manu- facturers to brand their goods; favoring reciprocity and free postal delivery and urging the destruction of the gypsy moth.

At the International Live Stock Show in Chicago, J. W. Reedy of Beres- ford, in 1901, won two second prizes: (1) a carload of fifteen grain-fed steers or heifers over two years and under three, and (2) a carload of steers and heifers one year old. It is not known that any other South Dakotan made exhibits at this show. This year there was a big falling off in cattle throughout the whole country. The number in this state was decreasing rapidly mainly because the ranges were being settled and fenced. Never was the state more prosperous than during this year. Several big crops in succession, better farming methods and good prices, placed the state in the lead as a producer in proportion to popu- lation. The leading products were: Wheat, $20,000,000; corn, $14,726,250; oats, $5,831,100; barley, $1,544,400; rye, $40,000; flax, $3,861,000; potatoes, $1,- 620,000 ; hay and fodder, $25,500,000; live stock, $25,500,000 ; dairy and cream- ery, $8,500,000 ; orchard and garden, $5,000,000; wool and hides, $2,500,000; minerals, $12,500,000.

The census of 1900 showed this nativity of the foreign population in the state : Norway, 19,788; Germany, 17,873; Russia, 12,365; Sweden, 8,647; Canadian English, 5,906; Canadian French, 1,138; Denmark, 5,038; England, 3.862 ; Ireland, 3,298; Bohemia, 2,320; Holland, 1,566; Finland, 1,175; Scotland, 1,153; Austria, 926; Switzerland, 585; Wales, 549; Poland, 472; Hungary, 421 ; Italy, 360; twenty-two other countries, 1,034.

When the Legislature of 1901 failed to make an appropriation for the Louisi- ana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, the people themselves began to make an effort to accomplish that result soon afterward. The Mining Men's Association of the Black Hills was one of the first to begin action. They asked for an extra session of the Legislature, if necessary, to raise the means and sent out a cir- cular over the state calling for assistance. The circular said the state should be represented at the fair, because it was a portion of the tract sold to the United States in 1803 under the name of Louisiana.

The corn palace at Mitchell was a success as it ever had been. So were the state, district and county fairs. There was a better, a more confident and satisfied air among the ruralists than ever before. They had money to spare, if not to burn. This year there was a general demand for a state oil inspector, as the oil of the Standard Oil Company was both poor and high priced.

The third annual convention of the State Bee Keepers' Association was held at Yankton in February, 1902, with Thomas Chantry, of Meckling, in the chair. Many important problems were discussed. An important question was how to care for the bees over winter and another was how to increase and improve their feeding grounds. About thirty delegates were in attendance.

, It was about this time that many towns and cities throughout the state took action to secure the donations of Andrew Carnegie for the construction of public libraries. Several cities organized and conducted strong and effective raids against gambling, drunkenness and other forms of vice. William Walpole was an authority on live stock at this date. It was at last admitted that "bonanza

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farming" had seen its best and nearly its last days in South Dakota. People had come to imagine that it was practically out of the question to irrigate farms on a large scale as was done in California. Yankton and Mitchell were two of the first cities to secure a Carnegie library-$10,000 each.

This was the year that the Department of Agriculture locked horns with the State Agricultural College and Experiment Station on the subject of macaroni or durum wheat. The former maintained that it was equal to any of the bread wheats, but this was disputed by the State College authorities who declared that it was the old goose wheat-was an old resident, not new; that there was little demand for it and that its claims to superiority were not yet supported by evidence. The Government further averred that it was certain to produce an abundant crop in dry weather-was in reality a drouth resistant. Time proved that the Gov- ernment experts were right; they had tested, grown and analyzed the wheat.

The citizens of South Dakota were land crazy in 1902; land had suddenly, almost in a day, gone up in price from 25 to 50 per cent and threatened to go higher at any moment. At once the authorities aimed to bring to the state 200,000 immigrants if this could be done. Never before except once had this craze become so prevalent throughout the state. People in the '8os lost their crops because rains were insufficient; land then was very low-$2 to $5 an acre. In the 'gos farmers began to irrigate and conserve their moisture and their crops were made both surer and larger. By 1901 the old drouth conditions and the hot winds were much modified in their devastating effects; crops were said to be as sure as in half of the other states. Accordingly land values bounded higher and higher. There was no great advance in land values until 1898 at which time raw land was valued at $6 per acre; then the values arose thus: 1898, $6; 1899, $8; 1900, $II; 1901, $15. Cultivated land increased at a similar rate. Good cultivated land worth $20 an acre in 1908 brought readily $45 in 1901-02. Pre- vious to 1898 a sale of 50,000 acres was large and unusual; then the sales became : 1898, 200,000 acres ; 1899, 500,000 acres ; 1900, I,000,000 acres ; 1901, 1,800,000 .. In the '8os, owing to the unattractive conditions, the state lost thousands of set- tlers ; there was a great exodus, due to some extent to misrepresentations of land and real estate agents and to the over-zealous "boosting" of immigration officials and companies. In 1901 no settlers left owing to trying or unsatisfactory con- ditions. Alladin's lamp had apparently been rubbed and had created the change almost in a night.

In the first five months of 1901 out of 131 creameries 57 paid $482,464 for about 53,234,000 gallons of milk. Only a few years before there was not a dairy nor a cheese press in the state. Let it be recorded as a fact of history that the increase in the products caused the prosperity upheaval and that this prosperity, by an easy and natural process, was extended to the towns and cities. Agricul- ture-all branches-did it, nothing else, except the minerals of the Black Hills and the native grasses of the ranges-buffalo, alkali, sand, blue joint and grama. In early times South Dakota was not a certain wheat state, although two-thirds of its 23.5 inches of rain came in June, July and August ; but by 1900 its crops were reasonably sure and its wheat production was ninth in the United States.

The Huron Driving Park Association conducted a meeting of fast stepping horses in 1902. Large prizes were paid and many visitors from other states were present as participants.

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The Black Hills claimed to be the richest tract of the same size on the face of mother earth. It had a splendid soil even on the hill and mountain terraces, owned immense forests of pine, spruce, oak, elder, cottonwood, elm, fir, birch, aspen and chokecherry; and possessed an inexhaustible supply of valuable min- erals and precious gems. It had hot springs and cold springs, warm climate and cold climate, valleys of rare and radiant loveliness and snowy peaks that wooed the fleeting and fickle clouds.

By 1901 a bulletin issued by Director Merriam of Washington, D. C., showed that the manufacturing industries of South Dakota had wonderfully increased within a comparatively short time. The total capital invested was stated to be $12,229,489, an increase in one decade of over 115 per cent. There was also an increase of over 228 per cent in the number of manufacturing establishments.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 70

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1146

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146