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.