Post by mdenney on Jan 21, 2007 21:51:20 GMT -5
Text of Ziebach Co., SD History (1982) - pages 1 - 20
This file is the text of the book, "South Dakota's Ziebach County,
History of the Prairie", published in 1982 by the Ziebach County
Historical Society, Dupree, SD
Permission to publish this book in electronic form was given by Jackie Birkeland,
member of the Historical Committee. This book is copyright, 1982 by the Ziebach
County Historical Society, Dupree, SD.
Scanning and OCR by Terri Tosh <chipnter@lnd.com>, final editing by Joy Fisher,
<sdgenweb@yahoo.com>.
South Dakota's Ziebach County, History of the Prairie
This book is an Epitaph to those who were beckoned to the call of this great prairie.
A DEDICATION
My interest in the history of Ziebach County was sparked by afternoons of visiting with
Mrs. Alice Shannon and with Mrs. Amy Clown. With their stories, these women brought
alive the first half of this century on the prairie. I disagreeociation with many of the
descendants of the Dupris family gave me a feeling of connection with the past and
Charles Steen's stories of Narcisse Narcelle intrigued me.
All of this led to my joining forces with the ladies of the Ziebach County History
Committee and ultimately to more than a year of our researching; visiting, interviewing,
and 'bothering' people; and trying to write:
With gratitude for the support of all the friends who never 'bottomed out' and with
thanks to all who have contributed to this book, on behalf of the History Committee, I
would like to dedicate this book to the future generations of Ziebach County that they
may know something of the past. It has been written for them.
Ann Fleming Project Director [photo]
ACKNOWLDGEMENT
John W. Whalen, as executive director of South Dakota Committee on the Humanities
wishes to convey their appreciation to Ann Fleming for her work as program director of
this book. The Dupree Community Club and the Ziebach County Historical Committee
gratefully acknowledge the year of organization, research and supervision she provided.
We are indebted to speakers Harold Shunk, Bob Lee, Don Laudenschlager and John
Lane, the latter as special consultant also. Many thanks to the typists who worked
gratuitously. We are thankful to sources such as the South Dakota Historical Society, the
many interviews so freely given, the effort of so many in contributions of writing and
pictures. The monetary contribution and encouragement of the South Dakota Committee
on the Humanities was most helpful. Special credit needs to be given to local
newspapers for the history which was gleaned from their pages. Thanks go to West
River Progress, Dupree Leader, Ziebach County News, Redelm Record, Faith
Independent and Faith Gazette.
Cover design by Gerald J. Weis, Sr.
PREFACE
Organization began in the fall of 1979 when the Ziebach County Historical Committee
chose to prepare for the publication of a history to honor the memory of those who were
here earlier and contributed so much to Ziebach County and surrounding areas. It is also
meant to convey to posterity a sense of beginnings and historical facts as true as can be
constructed.
A grant was obtained in June, 1980 from the South Dakota Committee on the
Humanities, and with the Dupree Community Club as sponsor, there hasn't been a dull
moment since! Writings and tapes submitted reached beyond expectations. Space does
not allow printing without editing in every case, for this, there are regrets. You will find it
interesting, imaginative, funny, sad and determined -- just as your relatives are!
Historical Committee: Thelma Frame, Shirley Menzel, Virginia Woodward, Faye
Longbrake, Jackie Birkeland, Rose Griffith, Ruth Edwards, Jessie Young.
[photos of members of Historical Committee]
REFERENCE BOOKS
ATHEARN, ROBERT G. Forts of the Upper Missouri, University of Nebraska Press,
Lincoln, 1967.
BLASINGAME, IKE. Dakota Cowboy, University of Nebraska Press, 1958.
Call of the Prairie, Dupree Golden Jubilee, 1960.
Department of Historical Collections: South Dakota, Vol.'s I-XXXVII.
DONNENWIRTH, RICHARD G. Westward Expansion of the Indians and Fur Trade into
South Dakota, 1957, unpublished.
DUCHENEAUX, FRANK. The Peace Treaty of Fort Laramie, April 29, 1869. A souvenir
of the Cheyenne River Reservation Peace Treaty Centennial, Eagle Butte, August 31
and September 1, 1968. CRST 1968.
DURATSCHEK, SR. MARY CLAUDIA, O.S.B. Crusading Along Sioux Trails, 1947.
Faith Country - 1960 book.
GASD, WAYNE. The Great Buffalo Hunt, University of Nebraska Press, 1959.
GILBERT, LUKE. Brief History of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, Souvenir
Program Commemorating 50th Anniversary of Cheyenne River Agency, 1891-1941;
1941.
HALL, BERT L. Roundup Years, Old Muddy to Black Hills, Pierre, 1954.
Isabel Territory - Verla Jewett 1961 book.
JOHNSON, LEONA, Notes from the Service or Why Teachers Go Mad, 1946,
unpublished scrapbook.
LEBEAU, SANDRA KAY. A History of the Cheyenne River Bands of Lakota, 1786-1890.
compiled for Dr. Cash.
LEE, BOB AND thingy WILLIAMS. Last Grass Frontier, South Dakota Stock Grower
Heritage, 1964, Black Hills Publishers, Inc., Sturgis. PAIGE, HARRY W. Songs of the
Teton Sioux, Westernlore, 1970, L. A.
ROBINSON, JAMES M. West from Fort Pierre, The Wild World of James (Scotty) Philip,
Westernlore Press, L. A.: 1974.
Saddle Strings.
SNEVE, VIRGINIA DRIVING HAWK. That They May Have Life: The Episcopal Church in
South Dakota, 1859-1976. Seabury Press, N.Y.: 1977.
EHRENSPERGER, EDWARD C., editor History of the United Church of Christ in South
Dakota 1869-1976. Pine Hill Press, Freeman, S.D. 1977.
CREDITS/ BIBLIOGRAPHY
SOUTH DAKOTA ORAL HISTORY PROJECT, University of South Dakota, Vermillion,
S.D. 1971 interviews with: Raymond Brown Thunder, Guy Buffalo, Sarah Buffalo, Alex
Chasing Hawk, Silas Condon, Charles Dog with Horns, Charles Inamongst, Lucy Swan,
Ruth Thunder Hoop and Oscar White Weasel.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, (SDSHS), Museum, Pierre, S.D.:
Photographs.
Bureau of Indian Affairs; Cheyenne River Reservation, Realty Office, Eagle Butte, S.D.
THE PRAIRIE SPEAKS
I am a bountiful garden.
My fertile soil,
kissed by the sun and rain,
grows a varied abundance of food.
I am life giving and life sustaining.
My native grasses and wild flowers
feed all my creatures--
the rabbit, the grouse, the deer;
great herds of cattle and sheep
graze my hillsides;
vast fields of wheat and barley
ripple in the never-ending breeze.
I yield wild fruits--
plums, chokecherry, grape and buffalo berry.
I am mother to all life.
In spring my verdant slopes
delight the eye for as far as it can see.
Summer brings maturing crops
and colours ripening
into the golden hues of autumn.
The silent white of winter
covers all, making beautiful
even the man-made scars, and
preparing the soil
for another cycle of growth.
I am peace, and plenty, and beauty.
Overhead my ever-changing sky,
with its varying shades of blue,
and stormy shades of gray and black,
my fleecy cloud shapes,
my brilliantly hued sunrises and sunsets,
their shades of red and orange and purple,
shot with streaks of silver and gold
charms the eye and soothes the senses.
Even when the rains stay away,
and dust and hoppers wrack their havoc,
there is a stark lonely, beauty left.
And there is always my sky!
I can be deadly, too.
Winter blizzards with their
freezing cold, blinding snow, howling winds
to trap the unwary,
bringing death to all life.
But, after the storm has passed
I am tranquil, quiet,
inviting children, young and old,
to try my snowy slopes
and frozen ponds.
You may hate me--or love me
But you will never forget me.
Eva Henderson Miller
A MORNING MEDITATION
I walked along a prairie trail,
In the coolness of the morn,
And beauty was scattered thru-out the swale,
The Bethlehem Star and the violet pale,
Smiled back as I passed along;
But one was crushed by a heavy tread
Its sweetness and beauty forever fled.
God had planted them all with a lavish hand
And their roots were deep in the prairie sand,
It would blossom again, with more beauty and grace
Bringing a smile to a tired face.
And I thot, "How like Life is this prairie land,
Where roughness and beauty walk hand in hand,
And hearts that are bruised by the careless tread
Of an unkind word, better left unsaid,
Came back the stronger, for pain and scar,
With beauty reborn: -- "Like the Bethlehem Star."
Annie M. Knipfer
PRAIRIE BLOSSOMS
On the South Dakota prairies
No pale magnolia grows -
But I have seen rare beauty,
Where a hedge of wild plum blows.
There is no sweeter fragrance,
In the Garden of the Gods,
Than that which greets the senses,
Where the prairie wild rose nods.
And ringing forth with gladness
Its message of the spring,
The dainty prairie bluebell
Re-echoes, while I sing.
A song of real thanksgiving
To the Father up above
For the beauty that surrounds me
And reflects his boundless love.
Annie M. Knipfer
TO A MEADOWLARK
OH! You heaven-sent little stranger,
You brave, courageous thing
To sit right there on my garden gate,
And insist that it is spring,
I'd never have known it really,
For the winds that continue to blow
Are raw and damp and chilly,
But you say that it is so.
God must have whispered the answer
And told you to pass it along,
This message of hope and courage
In your gay melodious song.
So I'll open wide my window
The better to hear you sing
And wish you joy as you fly away
With your message of the spring.
Annie M. Knipfer
THE CHINOOK
Over the wild, desolate prairies
The snow lay white and cold.
A blizzard struck just yesterday
With fury that was bold.
The storm had left ... so
In the night ... cold and dark,
That now upon the morning bright
It left its awesome mark.
At noon a soft and gentle breeze
Blew quickly across the plain.
It came from out the south and west
And spread over the domain.
The snow soon melted fast away
And creeks with water rose.
The chinook had come with friendly warmth
And so the winter goes!
Warren W. Robertson
MY PRAIRIE
These wide open spaces, wild and free
The land I love for it's home to me.
Springs green, velvet dress delights the eye
Under the beautiful, boundless sky.
The fleece-white clouds, the sunsets bright,
Her thunder, lightning and stormy night!
Each paints a picture beyond compare,
And all is free for us to share.
The deer, the hare, and all manner of beast
Feeds on the plain of her fertile breast.
Wild fruit, wild game on a vast grass sea,
A land of infinite variety!
This land can be harsh when blizzards rage;
and drought and hoppers leave naught but sage.
Still, money can't buy this land from me –
'Tis my home on the prairie, wild and free.
Eva Henderson Miller
Dupree, South Dakota
THUNDER BUTTE
In northern Ziebach County
Stands Thunder Butte alone
The monarch of surrounding hills ...
With a diadem of stone!
He stood there countless ages,
While red men roamed the plains
And Buffalo and antelope
Grazed over vast domains.
There still he stands undaunted,
While seasons come and go,
Unchanged alike by summer sun
Or by the Winter snow.
The Persepolis of Persia
Stood not more dignified,
Nor the Acropolis of Athens
In its historic pride!
Rule on, Majestic Mountain!
May nothing ever mar
Your innate rugged beauty,
That may be seen afar.
G. M. Drummond
SOUTH DAKOTA
Where the coyotes howl,
And the wind blows free-
South Dakota
I long for thee.
You're blessed with sunshine
And glorified by fame-
South Dakota, I love thy name.
This file is the text of the book, "South Dakota's Ziebach County,
History of the Prairie", published in 1982 by the Ziebach County
Historical Society, Dupree, SD
Permission to publish this book in electronic form was given by Jackie Birkeland,
member of the Historical Committee. This book is copyright, 1982 by the Ziebach
County Historical Society, Dupree, SD.
Scanning and OCR by Terri Tosh <chipnter@lnd.com>, final editing by Joy Fisher,
<sdgenweb@yahoo.com>.
South Dakota's Ziebach County, History of the Prairie
This book is an Epitaph to those who were beckoned to the call of this great prairie.
A DEDICATION
My interest in the history of Ziebach County was sparked by afternoons of visiting with
Mrs. Alice Shannon and with Mrs. Amy Clown. With their stories, these women brought
alive the first half of this century on the prairie. I disagreeociation with many of the
descendants of the Dupris family gave me a feeling of connection with the past and
Charles Steen's stories of Narcisse Narcelle intrigued me.
All of this led to my joining forces with the ladies of the Ziebach County History
Committee and ultimately to more than a year of our researching; visiting, interviewing,
and 'bothering' people; and trying to write:
With gratitude for the support of all the friends who never 'bottomed out' and with
thanks to all who have contributed to this book, on behalf of the History Committee, I
would like to dedicate this book to the future generations of Ziebach County that they
may know something of the past. It has been written for them.
Ann Fleming Project Director [photo]
ACKNOWLDGEMENT
John W. Whalen, as executive director of South Dakota Committee on the Humanities
wishes to convey their appreciation to Ann Fleming for her work as program director of
this book. The Dupree Community Club and the Ziebach County Historical Committee
gratefully acknowledge the year of organization, research and supervision she provided.
We are indebted to speakers Harold Shunk, Bob Lee, Don Laudenschlager and John
Lane, the latter as special consultant also. Many thanks to the typists who worked
gratuitously. We are thankful to sources such as the South Dakota Historical Society, the
many interviews so freely given, the effort of so many in contributions of writing and
pictures. The monetary contribution and encouragement of the South Dakota Committee
on the Humanities was most helpful. Special credit needs to be given to local
newspapers for the history which was gleaned from their pages. Thanks go to West
River Progress, Dupree Leader, Ziebach County News, Redelm Record, Faith
Independent and Faith Gazette.
Cover design by Gerald J. Weis, Sr.
PREFACE
Organization began in the fall of 1979 when the Ziebach County Historical Committee
chose to prepare for the publication of a history to honor the memory of those who were
here earlier and contributed so much to Ziebach County and surrounding areas. It is also
meant to convey to posterity a sense of beginnings and historical facts as true as can be
constructed.
A grant was obtained in June, 1980 from the South Dakota Committee on the
Humanities, and with the Dupree Community Club as sponsor, there hasn't been a dull
moment since! Writings and tapes submitted reached beyond expectations. Space does
not allow printing without editing in every case, for this, there are regrets. You will find it
interesting, imaginative, funny, sad and determined -- just as your relatives are!
Historical Committee: Thelma Frame, Shirley Menzel, Virginia Woodward, Faye
Longbrake, Jackie Birkeland, Rose Griffith, Ruth Edwards, Jessie Young.
[photos of members of Historical Committee]
REFERENCE BOOKS
ATHEARN, ROBERT G. Forts of the Upper Missouri, University of Nebraska Press,
Lincoln, 1967.
BLASINGAME, IKE. Dakota Cowboy, University of Nebraska Press, 1958.
Call of the Prairie, Dupree Golden Jubilee, 1960.
Department of Historical Collections: South Dakota, Vol.'s I-XXXVII.
DONNENWIRTH, RICHARD G. Westward Expansion of the Indians and Fur Trade into
South Dakota, 1957, unpublished.
DUCHENEAUX, FRANK. The Peace Treaty of Fort Laramie, April 29, 1869. A souvenir
of the Cheyenne River Reservation Peace Treaty Centennial, Eagle Butte, August 31
and September 1, 1968. CRST 1968.
DURATSCHEK, SR. MARY CLAUDIA, O.S.B. Crusading Along Sioux Trails, 1947.
Faith Country - 1960 book.
GASD, WAYNE. The Great Buffalo Hunt, University of Nebraska Press, 1959.
GILBERT, LUKE. Brief History of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, Souvenir
Program Commemorating 50th Anniversary of Cheyenne River Agency, 1891-1941;
1941.
HALL, BERT L. Roundup Years, Old Muddy to Black Hills, Pierre, 1954.
Isabel Territory - Verla Jewett 1961 book.
JOHNSON, LEONA, Notes from the Service or Why Teachers Go Mad, 1946,
unpublished scrapbook.
LEBEAU, SANDRA KAY. A History of the Cheyenne River Bands of Lakota, 1786-1890.
compiled for Dr. Cash.
LEE, BOB AND thingy WILLIAMS. Last Grass Frontier, South Dakota Stock Grower
Heritage, 1964, Black Hills Publishers, Inc., Sturgis. PAIGE, HARRY W. Songs of the
Teton Sioux, Westernlore, 1970, L. A.
ROBINSON, JAMES M. West from Fort Pierre, The Wild World of James (Scotty) Philip,
Westernlore Press, L. A.: 1974.
Saddle Strings.
SNEVE, VIRGINIA DRIVING HAWK. That They May Have Life: The Episcopal Church in
South Dakota, 1859-1976. Seabury Press, N.Y.: 1977.
EHRENSPERGER, EDWARD C., editor History of the United Church of Christ in South
Dakota 1869-1976. Pine Hill Press, Freeman, S.D. 1977.
CREDITS/ BIBLIOGRAPHY
SOUTH DAKOTA ORAL HISTORY PROJECT, University of South Dakota, Vermillion,
S.D. 1971 interviews with: Raymond Brown Thunder, Guy Buffalo, Sarah Buffalo, Alex
Chasing Hawk, Silas Condon, Charles Dog with Horns, Charles Inamongst, Lucy Swan,
Ruth Thunder Hoop and Oscar White Weasel.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, (SDSHS), Museum, Pierre, S.D.:
Photographs.
Bureau of Indian Affairs; Cheyenne River Reservation, Realty Office, Eagle Butte, S.D.
THE PRAIRIE SPEAKS
I am a bountiful garden.
My fertile soil,
kissed by the sun and rain,
grows a varied abundance of food.
I am life giving and life sustaining.
My native grasses and wild flowers
feed all my creatures--
the rabbit, the grouse, the deer;
great herds of cattle and sheep
graze my hillsides;
vast fields of wheat and barley
ripple in the never-ending breeze.
I yield wild fruits--
plums, chokecherry, grape and buffalo berry.
I am mother to all life.
In spring my verdant slopes
delight the eye for as far as it can see.
Summer brings maturing crops
and colours ripening
into the golden hues of autumn.
The silent white of winter
covers all, making beautiful
even the man-made scars, and
preparing the soil
for another cycle of growth.
I am peace, and plenty, and beauty.
Overhead my ever-changing sky,
with its varying shades of blue,
and stormy shades of gray and black,
my fleecy cloud shapes,
my brilliantly hued sunrises and sunsets,
their shades of red and orange and purple,
shot with streaks of silver and gold
charms the eye and soothes the senses.
Even when the rains stay away,
and dust and hoppers wrack their havoc,
there is a stark lonely, beauty left.
And there is always my sky!
I can be deadly, too.
Winter blizzards with their
freezing cold, blinding snow, howling winds
to trap the unwary,
bringing death to all life.
But, after the storm has passed
I am tranquil, quiet,
inviting children, young and old,
to try my snowy slopes
and frozen ponds.
You may hate me--or love me
But you will never forget me.
Eva Henderson Miller
A MORNING MEDITATION
I walked along a prairie trail,
In the coolness of the morn,
And beauty was scattered thru-out the swale,
The Bethlehem Star and the violet pale,
Smiled back as I passed along;
But one was crushed by a heavy tread
Its sweetness and beauty forever fled.
God had planted them all with a lavish hand
And their roots were deep in the prairie sand,
It would blossom again, with more beauty and grace
Bringing a smile to a tired face.
And I thot, "How like Life is this prairie land,
Where roughness and beauty walk hand in hand,
And hearts that are bruised by the careless tread
Of an unkind word, better left unsaid,
Came back the stronger, for pain and scar,
With beauty reborn: -- "Like the Bethlehem Star."
Annie M. Knipfer
PRAIRIE BLOSSOMS
On the South Dakota prairies
No pale magnolia grows -
But I have seen rare beauty,
Where a hedge of wild plum blows.
There is no sweeter fragrance,
In the Garden of the Gods,
Than that which greets the senses,
Where the prairie wild rose nods.
And ringing forth with gladness
Its message of the spring,
The dainty prairie bluebell
Re-echoes, while I sing.
A song of real thanksgiving
To the Father up above
For the beauty that surrounds me
And reflects his boundless love.
Annie M. Knipfer
TO A MEADOWLARK
OH! You heaven-sent little stranger,
You brave, courageous thing
To sit right there on my garden gate,
And insist that it is spring,
I'd never have known it really,
For the winds that continue to blow
Are raw and damp and chilly,
But you say that it is so.
God must have whispered the answer
And told you to pass it along,
This message of hope and courage
In your gay melodious song.
So I'll open wide my window
The better to hear you sing
And wish you joy as you fly away
With your message of the spring.
Annie M. Knipfer
THE CHINOOK
Over the wild, desolate prairies
The snow lay white and cold.
A blizzard struck just yesterday
With fury that was bold.
The storm had left ... so
In the night ... cold and dark,
That now upon the morning bright
It left its awesome mark.
At noon a soft and gentle breeze
Blew quickly across the plain.
It came from out the south and west
And spread over the domain.
The snow soon melted fast away
And creeks with water rose.
The chinook had come with friendly warmth
And so the winter goes!
Warren W. Robertson
MY PRAIRIE
These wide open spaces, wild and free
The land I love for it's home to me.
Springs green, velvet dress delights the eye
Under the beautiful, boundless sky.
The fleece-white clouds, the sunsets bright,
Her thunder, lightning and stormy night!
Each paints a picture beyond compare,
And all is free for us to share.
The deer, the hare, and all manner of beast
Feeds on the plain of her fertile breast.
Wild fruit, wild game on a vast grass sea,
A land of infinite variety!
This land can be harsh when blizzards rage;
and drought and hoppers leave naught but sage.
Still, money can't buy this land from me –
'Tis my home on the prairie, wild and free.
Eva Henderson Miller
Dupree, South Dakota
THUNDER BUTTE
In northern Ziebach County
Stands Thunder Butte alone
The monarch of surrounding hills ...
With a diadem of stone!
He stood there countless ages,
While red men roamed the plains
And Buffalo and antelope
Grazed over vast domains.
There still he stands undaunted,
While seasons come and go,
Unchanged alike by summer sun
Or by the Winter snow.
The Persepolis of Persia
Stood not more dignified,
Nor the Acropolis of Athens
In its historic pride!
Rule on, Majestic Mountain!
May nothing ever mar
Your innate rugged beauty,
That may be seen afar.
G. M. Drummond
SOUTH DAKOTA
Where the coyotes howl,
And the wind blows free-
South Dakota
I long for thee.
You're blessed with sunshine
And glorified by fame-
South Dakota, I love thy name.