Rise Studio NATURE A MASTER SCULPTOR South Dakota's "Bad Lands" were covered by a great sea in fairly recent geologic time. In the water, sediments of clay and soft rocks were laid down. When the land rose above the sea, rain and winds attacked the soft deposits, and through hundreds of thousands of years have carved them into terraces, spires, castles, and hundreds of other weird forms. Tree growth is absent from most of this region. Its bare, inhospitable appearance accentuates by contrast the charms of the forest-covered, well-watered Black Hills, which it adjoins (see, also, text, page 328). men to hold this desirable region before the advent of the whites. The first "written" history of the country is a pictorial chronicle of the Sioux on prepared skins. It records that the famous chief, Standing Bull, led a party of warriors to the hills about the time of the American Declaration of Independence, and took back to his Plains home a little pine tree, a type of tree never seen before by his immediate tribe. It is a matter of tradition that the Cheyennes fought stubbornly to retain their upland hunting grounds, but that the Sioux finally drove them out, the decisive battle being fought at Battle Mountain near the present town of Hot Springs. EARLY IMMIGRANTS ELUDE THE BORDER PATROLS It was while the Black Hills were under the control of the Sioux that the contacts of white men with the country became more numerous. These were fleeting at first. Fur-trading posts were established not far from the hills in the early nineteenth century, but only occasionally did any of the traders at these stations gain glimpses of the hill country. The United States Government forbade immigrants to go into either the Plains country or the hills so long as these territories were recognized as belonging to the Indians; but from time to time a few individuals and small parties eluded the border patrols and struck out for the fabled hills. Some actually reached the goal, it was found later, but only to pay for their daring with their lives. Probably the first whites to see the Black Hills were two Frenchmen, LouisJoseph Verendrye and his brother, Francis Verendrye, who wandered west with a party of Indians in 1743. They entered the hills and claimed them for the King of France. Lewis and Clark, in 1804, heard of the mountain country, but did not enter it; and it was also passed without exploration by a party of fur traders in 1811 and by Bonneville in 1831. Father De Smet, a missionary, was with the Indians in the Black Hills in 1848 and succeeding years. The era of military exploration of the hill country was opened by General W. S. Harney, for whom the highest of the region's peaks is named. He skirted the southern end of the highlands in 1855. The first real exploration, however, was carried out by officers of the U. S. Army in 1857 and 1859. After these expeditions rumors of the existence of gold in the Black Hills spread throughout the nation, and a horde of would-be prospectors insisted that they be permitted to seek their fortunes in the new El Dorado. In 1874 the Secretary of War sent an expedition to the region and its mineralogists discovered gold. When this became known, prospectors entered, in spite of the best efforts of the United States Army. After a year or two of unsuccessful attempts to eject these white interlopers, the Federal Government found it necessary to purchase the hills from the Indians. Altogether more than $40,000,000 has been spent by the Federal Government on behalf of the Sioux as a result of their relinquishment of the Black Hills. The national acquisition of this land was not easy. Not only were the Black Hills a favorite hunting ground, but cer tain areas were regarded as sacred ground by the Sioux. There were places reserved for the Great Spirit, where no Indian dared hunt. To them came the medicine men medicine men to practice rites which should avert national disaster. It was in these hills that Sitting Bull communed with the spirits before he incited the Sioux to resist Crook and Custer in the memorable campaign in which the latter officer lost his life. DEADWOOD'S MINING CAMP INSPIRED THE AMERICAN DIME NOVEL The region was thrown open by President Grant in 1876, just 51 years ago. A frontier life of the most turbulent sort developed in the mining camps that sprang up, and Deadwood, the leading camp, became the inspiration for the American "dime novel," which came into being about that time. All is changed now. Mining has been placed on a corporation and machine basis, and the once hectic mining camps have become quiet, prosperous little cities. The Homestake Mine at Lead is one of the largest in the world and has taken out gold valued at more than two hundred million dollars. Despite the industrialization of gold. mining, there still dwell in the heart of the National Geographic Society The brave acts thus recorded in feathers may have been those of the Crow himself or of his tribe, which occupies a reservation in Montana. Ermine pendants hang from the brim at each side of the face. His ceremonial tomahawk, with perforated blade and handle wrapped in otter skin, is of a type introduced into the Plains by the French. His little daughter prizes her costly dress adorned with milk teeth of the elk. UNIV TELLING THE STORY OF CUSTER'S LAST STAND When Yellow Hair, or Long Hair, as the Indians named Custer, rode to his disastrous encounter with the Sioux and their allies on the banks of the Little Horn, in June, 1876, several members of the friendly Crows served him as scouts (see, also, Color Plates XIV and XVI). Probably the best Indian beadwork to-day is produced by the Crows. Floral designs indicate missionary influence, for such patterns were never used by the early Indians. Beaded cushions are popular articles to-day. A Navaho rug and a cow skin, the latter a substitute for bison hide, flank the doorway. SHE SKEWERS THE TEPEE TOGETHER WITH WOODEN PINS Most of the Crows now live in small frame houses, but use an ordinary wall tent during summer visits to the mountains or at camps about fairs and race tracks. They pitch the tepee only on special occasions, usually during a fair or race meet of their own. The lambrequin lining the Crow tepee was formerly of decorated skin, but has given place to calico of modern design. From the top hang leggings, pouches, and an elk-tooth dress (see, also, Color Plate IX). The young man (center) holds an eagle-feather fan (see, also, Color Plates XII, XIV, and XV). ΧΙ |