History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 68

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998

USA > South Dakota > History of South Dakota, Vol. I > Part 68

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in all the principal towns in the state and con- necting same with toll lines. During the winter of 1886-7 exchanges at Aberdeen and Columbia and a toll line connecting these points were built. The latter was extended to Groton and an ex- change was built at Watertown in the spring of 1887.

Speaking of this period, Mr. Zietlow says: "On account of the opposition and threatening attitude of the Bell people this company became discouraged and in the fall of 1887 practically disbanded. The Aberdeen and Watertown ex- changes and the toll line between Aberdeen, Co- lumbia and Groton were, however, maintained in spite of the opposition and are, I believe, the only ones in the United States which bear the distinc- tion of having been operated in opposition, during the period of patent litigation. It was very diffi- cult to maintain these exchanges from the fact that it was almost impossible to buy anything per- taining to telephones, and makeshifts had to be devised." A very important discovery was made by Mr. Zietlow in the spring of 1887. While extending the line from Bath to Groton, a switch was placed at Bath, and a man put in charge to operate same when signals were given from Gro- ton. This man, however, conceived the idea of connecting all three lines and in so doing acci- dentally connected an extension bell, which was wound to a resistance of about two hundred and fifty ohms, onto the short end of the line, and thus left all lines connected. When Mr. Zietlow discovered this he was very indignant. He

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hunted up the man and upbraided him for neg- lecting his duty, but the fellow calmly remarked, "I have got that matter fixed all right." In look- ing over the contraption, Mr. Zietlow discovered that the placing of the extension bell on the short end of the line had balanced the resistance of the three lines and upon studying the thing a little further, improved the same by increasing the re- sistance of the 'phone located at Columbia. The lines thus connected were operated successfully for several years. Mr. Zietlow did not deem this device of sufficient value to patent it, but later practically the same thing was discovered and patented. It is known as the "Carty bridging system" and is practically indispensable to long distance work. The fact that several novel fea- tures had been introduced into this system may have deterred the big companies from attacking it and thus enabled the movement to get a start. The business, however, was not profitable and in spite of the utmost efforts Mr. Zietlow found himself deeper and deeper in debt. Again speaking of this time, he says, "In the spring of 1896, being practically out of employment, with a $5,000 debt hanging over me, with only very limited resources, I undertook to build a line from Aberdeen to Redfield, with branches thereto. This was looked upon as an insane un- dertaking by many of the citizens and business men along the line." But, undismayed by pov- erty, lack of public confidence, as well as a general stagnation in all business affairs, this line was completed in July, 1896, and operated by him during that summer and fall and through the winter of 1896-7. The hardships encountered were terrific and there was often a great risk of life in the blizzards of that winter and in the high water that followed in the spring. Space will not permit describing the hardships endured, but on account of the railroads being blockaded and the telegraph lines being disabled, and this line having been kept in working condition, it proved itself very remunerative and Mr. Zietlow says that this line earned more money during that awful winter and spring than any other line he has ever built. Encouraged by this success, Mr. Zietlow built a line from Aberdeen to Ortonville,

with a branch to Sisseton, in 1897, and also ex- tended the Redfield lines to Huron and Doland. Speaking again of this time, Mr. Zietlow says, "I could not have successfully carried through this undertaking had it not been for the support I received from my family, all of whom prac- tically worked night and day to get the lines on a paying basis."

In the spring of 1898 W. G. Bickelhaupt came into the enterprise and the Western Dakota Telephone Company was organized. This com- pany has since been embraced in the Dakota Cen- tral Telephone Lines. They built the line from Aberdeen to Eureka, with branches to Leola and Bowdle. That year Mr. Zietlow, individually, built the lines from Doland to Watertown and from Elrod to Brighton. By this time the en- terprise had expanded to a point requiring a thorough reorganization and on August 27, 1898, the Dakota Central Telephone Lines were in- corporated to embrace the entire system and from the date of that organization the expansion has been marvelous and continues with a mo- mentum that makes it appear likely to take in the entire telephone system of the state and con- tiguous territory. The lines run north to Ft. Yates, Kulm, Oakes, Edgeley and Cogswell, North Dakota; east, to Wheaton, Ortonville, Hanley Falls and Canby, Minnesota; south, to Yankton and adjacent territory; and west to Pierre and all Missouri river points. This system now embraces three thousand miles of toll lines, with one thousand miles of copper lines strung in addition to the ordinary lines. It embraces sixty exchanges and its employees are counted by the hundreds, while its pay rolls are sub- stantial elements in the revenue of many sec- tions. A point to be emphasized is that the capital required has been' furnished by South Dakota men and the earnings are distributed in South Dakota. From the beginning, it has been Mr. Zietlow's policy to provide service in every section demanding it, regardless of present revenues. He extended the line into Huron at a time when the gross receipts of that office were but four dollars per month. He is, as far as pos- sible, pushing his lines into the rural districts

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for the accommodation of the farmers, although the accounts show that the rural business is, as yet, conducted without a profit. It has been his constant policy to avoid friction, both at home and abroad, and, while acting independently, he has always maintained pleasant relations with the Bell people, who have never, since the early days of the telephone war, attempted to enter his field, nor in anywise to interfere with his business, but, on the contrary, have always shown him all the courtesy that could be expected from an honor- able business competitor. That its founder

should have made a great success of the under- taking is naturally a source of satisfaction and pride to all of that large class of Dakotans who regard every South Dakota success as, in a way, of the character of a personal achievement, in which they are participants.

The Dakota Central Telephone Lines is one of the most thoroughly established independent telephone systems in the United States. It has established the cheapest rates of any institution of its kind doing a telephone business in the Northwest.

CHAPTER LXXXIII

BLACK HILLS FOREST RESERVE.

BY CAPT. SETH BULLOCK.

The Black Hills Forest Reserve was estab- lished on September 19, 1898, by President Wil- liam Mckinley, who on that date by proclama- tion withdrew from settlement practically all of the timbered area of the Black Hills of South Da- kota, including a small strip in Wyoming along the Dakota line, the amount of land set aside for this purpose being 1,211,680 acres, all of this large area being in the state of South Dakota excepting 48,640 acres in the Wyoming strip. The object of the forest reserve is for the pur- pose of preserving the living and growing timber, promoting the younger growth and the regula- tion of the water supply, as the dependence of the latter for a sure and sustained flow is wholly upon vegetation which prevents rapid run-off and is best attained by a dense and vigorous growth of timber. The permanent industries of the Black Hills are wholly dependent upon timber and water. Destroy one and these industries will disappear, while if both are destroyed the "richest one hundred miles square" will become a desert. The withdrawal of the lands embraced in the reserve from settlement does not, how- ever, prevent their use by residents in or adjoin- ing, nor does it in any way interfere with pros- pecting, locating or developing the mineral re- sources thereof, as witness the following extract from the act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 36), re- lating to the creation and administration of forest reserves : "Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the egress or ingress of actual settlers

residing within the boundaries of such reserva- tion, or from crossing the same to and from their property or homes; and such wagon roads and other improvements may be constructed theron as may be necessary to reach their homes and to utilize their property under such rules and regula- tions as may be prescribed by the secretary of the . interior. Nor shall anything herein prohibit any persons from entering upon such forest reser- vations for all proper and lawful purposes, including that of prospecting, locating and de- veloping the mineral resources therein: Pro- vided, that such persons comply with the rules and regulations covering such forest res- ervations."

The control and management of the reserve rests with the commissioner of the general land office, Washington, D. C., under the supervision of the secretary of the interior. The local man- agement consists of a forest supervisor, with headquarters in Deadwood, assisted by a corps of rangers, who are stationed on the reserve, to cach of which is assigned a certain area, known as a ranger district. The duties of these forest reserve officers are to carry out the rules and reg- ulations governing the reserves, patrol and pro- tect the forest from fire and depredations and the unlawful taking of timber ; they also act as game wardens and assist the state officers in protecting wild game upon the reserves. Timber, both liv- ing and dead, may be procured from the reserve in the following manner: The law prescribes

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that it may be had without charge by settlers, farmers, prospectors and others residing within or in the neighborhood of the forest reserve for individual use, but not for sale. It is refused to corporations, companies, sawmill parties and owners of large establishments who are expected to purchase and to non-residents of the state in which the reserve is located. Permits for an amount not exceeding twenty dollars in stumpage value may be granted by the forest supervisor. Permits for a larger amount, and within the stumpage value of one hundred dollars, are granted only by the secretary of the interior. The same person can apply but once in a year and the permit holds good for six months or less time in the discretion of the forest supervisor. Alî kinds of timber may be obtained, but gener- ally dry firewood, dry poles and logs; also, if really needed, green timber. Applications for the free use of timber must be made to the forest supervisor upon blanks furnished by the forest officers, the timber must be located by a forest officer and only the timber applied for can be cut, and it must be measured and marked by a forest officer. The applicant is required to pile the brush and other debris resulting from the cutting and removal of the timber. The pur- chase of timber, both green and dry, from the re- serve for use within the state (no timber cut on reserve lands being permitted to be shipped out of the state in which it is grown ) is made through the forest supervisor. The question to be de- cided by the supervisor before the sale of green timber is recommended is whether another growth of timher will replace the one removed or whether the land will become waste, and if the removal of the timber will in any way affect the water supply by removing the shade from the ground, by permitting the gullying of the hillsides, entailing the destruction of the seed- lings, or will in any way injure the source of the water supply. The number of small trees, their kind, their vigor, the seed-bearing capacity of those which will be left after cutting. the possi- ble destruction of the young growth by logging or fire : all these points must be fully considered. If it seems certain that the timber may be safely

cut, the best method of cutting must be decided, whether the trees below a certain diameter should be left to form the next crop. Whether a number of seed trees should be left, or what sys- tem will be surest to bring about satisfactory re- production. If the supervisor decides that the sale is advisable and the purchase of the timber asked for, he fixes the conditions under which it must be cut and the price. The applicant then signs a definite application which, with the forest offi- cers' map, forest description and recommenda- tion, is sent to the interior department in Wash- ington. If approved, the timber will be adver- tised in a local paper for six weeks and bids re- ceived by the secretary of the interior in Wash- ington for the timber, and the timber awarded to the highest bidder. The successful bidder is re- quired to deposit with the receiver of the land of- fice the value of the timber purchased, and pile the brush and debris resulting from his cutting away from living trees. The forest ranger then marks each tree to be cut and after it is cut he measures the lumber and cordwood contents and certifies the amounts to the forest supervisor twice each month until the cutting is completed. The ranger is also required by the forestry law to stamp the letters "U. S." on the end of each log cut.

The grazing of cattle and horses in limited numbers is permitted on the reserve, permits be- ing issued by the forest supervisor. The set- tlere upon the reserve are given the prior right to graze their stock. No charge is made for grazing privileges, but the owner of the stock is required to assist the forest officers in prevent- ing and extinguishing fires.

The business of the Black Hills Forest Re- serve exceeds that of all the other forest reserves, as the following statistical statement, taken from the report of the commissioner of the general land office for the fiscal year ending 1902, will show :

Total number of forest reserves 54

Total area of all forest reserves, acres. 60,175,165

Area Black Hills Forest Reserve, acres. 1,211.680

Grazing permits issued by the supervisor of

the Black Hills Forest Reserve 303

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Greatest number issued by supervisor of any other forest reserve 91

Publie timber sales, all forest reserves .. 77

Publie timber sales, Black Hills Forest Reserve 58

Amount received from sale of timber, all

reserves

$ 25,431.75

Amount received from sale of timber in the

Black Hills Forest Reserve. $ 20,269.55

Free use of timber permits issued, all re- serves. 1,322

Free use of timber permits issued, Black Hills Forest Reserve 705

The commissioner in his annual report says : "The revenue derived from timber sales in the Black Hills Forest Reserve has been double the expense connected with the work."

CHAPTER LXXXIV

GOLD MINING IN THE BLACK HILLS.

BY MAJOR A. J. SIMMONS.

Gold represents the most potent factor in the civilized world. The average man will forego greater hardship and take more chances in its ac- quisition than in all else combined. This is per- haps more fully exemplified in the discovery and settlement of the great gold camps of the western half of the continent; in the marvellous influence a reported discovery of gold exerts over the minds and actions of men and the eagerness with which they stampede to the scene. However re- mote and inaccessible, thousands rush to the spot, native tribes are overcome, crude government and law are established and civilization is planted in a wilderness, encouraged and supported as no other agency or power is capable of doing.

The yellow particles of gold panned by Mar- shall in the mill-race on Sutter's creek in Cali- fornia, in 1848, startled and electrified the civil- ized world-it was a history-making epoch. Adventurous spirits from the four quarters of the earth, the ubiquitous Yankee predominating, rushed to the scene. A vast region, peopled by uncivilized tribes, save a handful of white pio- neers, containing the undeveloped resources of a mighty empire (the great state of California), was conquered and speedily transformed to civil- ization and a state in the American Union !

And so the process has been many times re- peated during the latter half of the nineteenth century within the memory and lives of many living participants in the stirring events. The trail-blazing prospector in search of the precious metals penetrated the mountain fastnesses and

desert wastes of the great pathless wilderness stretching from the Rocky mountains to the Pa- cific ocean and from Alaska on the north to Ari- zona on the south. Under the irresistible spell of the discovery of gold, hosts of men and women followed the trail of the prospector and great prosperous mining camps sprang up throughout tlie region. Conditions were made possible for the development of other resources, and thus were laid the foundations for the admittance of half a dozen new states into the Union, besides three great mineral territories knocking at the door and whose ultimate destiny is the same. In- deed, the civilizing influences of the pioneer miner in the conquest of nature and hostile tribes, in preparing the way for prosperous communities and statehood, forms a brilliant chapter in the history of the times-nor will his mission be ful- filled so long as other mineral worlds remain to be conquered.

The Black Hills, occupying the southwestern corner of the territory of Dakota, remained in grand isolation, jealously guarded by the Sioux Indians, long after the conquest of the great western wilderness. No prospector of whom there is any authentic record had broken or sam- pled its auriferous rocks or panned its golden sands prior to the Custer expedition of 1874. At last, however, the magic words, "a golden land," rang out from its borders and the dense unbroken solitude of countless ages was rudely invaded by the gold seeker. The Black Hills had met its fate-lienceforth to be dedicated to the peaceful

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pursuit of the miner, civilization and commerce of the world.

The Black Hills at this time was part of the Sioux reservation, and the United States was bound by treaty to restrain its citizens from tres- passing upon the Indian lands. The government proposed entering into negotiations with the tribe. The Indians, however, seeing their ter- ritory invaded, without diplomatic delay, began to shoot and ambush the intruders. The Indians generally got the worst of these encounters and made no impression whatever in stemming the swelling tide of immigration to the new Eldo- rado. And likewise after some futile attempts in that direction by the government, in which the United States troops were brought into req- uisition, the military arm found it was up against a hard proposition-a stampede to a gold excite- ment which no human power could suppress- and the government concluded it would be wise economy to purchase the land at any price. A treaty with the Indians was finally consum- mated, whereby, for a satisfactory consideration, the Indians relinquished to the United States their rights to the Black Hills, and the United States mineral code took effect and became operative therein on the 28th day of February. 1877, which memorable occasion signalized the earliest date the locator could stake and acquire a valid mineral claim.

From the first the Black Hills was settled by a sterling class of men largely from the Missouri valley states, Montana, Colorado, Cali- fornia and the Pacific slope, together, as usual in such cases, with more than the ordinary per- centage of the lawless element and desperate characters. The western gold miners, an ag- gregation representing all industries, mechanical arts and the professions, a noted class of men, born of the exigencies of the frontier, inured to its vicissitudes and the excitement of new camps, well-known conservators of the peace and square dealing, were prominent on the scene. It is the habit of these men in emergencies, in the ab- sence of law, to adopt a code of rules and enforce the same in a summary manner.

Washing the gravel beds of the bars and

creek channels, or placer mining, was in suc- cessful operation in 1876. The gold fields were situated about midway between the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific railways, two hundred and fifty miles from the nearest settlement in any direction. Travelers to the mines, transport of supplies and stage coaches were subjected to attacks from marauding bands of Indians and the more sanguinary road agent.

Deadwood, a typical frontier mining camp, bristled with activity. It was the mining and commercial center of a strenuous mass of hu- manity suddenly thrown together under pe- culiar conditions and strange environments. Yet American spirit and energy prevailed over all obstacles and these early-time stalwarts planted the foundations strong and deep upon which grew in peace and prosperity a new-found golden empire.

True, the benign influence of the laws of the territory of Dakota were felt in the camp and the flag of the great republic spread its pro- tecting folds over the region. Nevertheless, in conformity with time-honored usage of the gov- ernment in dealing with the frontier, the enforce- ment of the laws, if enforced at all, was left almost wholly to the sturdy pioneers. However, the country passed rapidly through early chaotic conditions to well-organized, orderly and peace- ful communities. The Indians ceased hostilities ; the road agent was exterminated ; the desperadoes and lawless characters were forced to seek more congenial fields; and the United States census of 1880 showed the then three counties of the Black Hills to contain a resident population of 16,487, which, with development of its region, has steadily increased since that time.

About this time a critical and eventful period developed in the history of mining in the Black Hills. The rich placers were practically ex- hausted ; the stamp mills operating on the beds of conglomerate ore were gradually shutting down and going out of business; the great sili- ceous deposits, if discovered, were not yet avail- able to the miner owing to the refractory nature of the ore; and there was an exodus from the country ; many astute business men, bankers and

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miners foresaw, as they believed, the end and quietly retired from a worked-out ( ?) camp.

And yet the quartz veins or lodes, the original source of the gold, the depositories of nature's vast treasure vaults, remained unexplored, the bonanzas were still sleeping in the depths of the rocks. But exploitation was persistently con- tinued in the great fissure lodes with promis- ing results and at this early period their values were discerned by the farseeing miner, which foreshadowed the magnitude, permanency and profit of future mining in the district, at this day being abundantly realized-and the refluent tide again set towards the Hills.

The Black Hills is an isolated igneous up- lift from the great surrounding plains, covering an area of sixty-five by one hundred miles, with its longest diameter in a northwestern and southeastern direction. Its altitude ranges from two thousand five hundred feet above the sea level, in the foot hills, to seven thousand two hundred and fourteen feet, at Harney's Peak, the highest elevation. The western slope of the range extends over the boundary of the state of South Dakota into the state of Wyoming. It is essentially an igneous, volcanic intrusion, three hundred miles east of the great Rocky Mountain chain, forming a completely segregated minera! world, widely paraphrased as the "richest one hundred miles square on earth."

Gold, the chief commercial product, is found in a great variety of rocks covering a wide ex- panse of territory. All the varied rock forma- tions of the uplift may be said to he gold-bear- ing : gold is mined in slate, granite, eruptive rocks, sandstone, conglomerate, shale, quartzite, limestone, and in placer deposits.

The principal mining districts are covered by the counties of Lawrence, Pennington and Cus- ter, South Dakota, which extend across the mountain range from east to west to the bound- ary of Wyoming on the west.

Besides gold, a great variety of useful metals and minerals and many of the rarer elements are found in the Hills. The following metals and non-metallic minerals are exploited on a merchant- able basis: Silver, copper, lead, tin, iron, coal,

gypsum, mica, Fuller's earth, spodumene, litho- graph stone, marble, building stone, salt, fire clay, mineral oil, mineral paint, wolframite or tungstate of iron, graphite and lime.

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History of South Dakota, Vol. I, Part 68

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn Publication date: 1904 Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen Number of Pages: 998

Author: Robinson, Doane, 1856-1946. cn
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 998