SOUTH DAKOTA 



5466 



SOUTH DAKOTA 



for the planting of forest trees. The national for- 

 ests of South Dakota, embrace 1,129,208 acres, 

 in the Black Hills region. 



Irrigation. The irrigated area is chiefly con- 

 fined to the Black Hills region, and the Belle 

 Fourche and Owl Creek supply the largest sys- 

 tems. Where irrigation is needed in the east- 

 ern section, water is furnished by the numer- ' 

 ous artesian wells, many of which have a flow 

 of from 2,000 to 4,350 gallons per minute. 



Mining. The Black Hills constitute one of 

 the most valuable gold districts in the United 

 States, and are said to contain the richest hun- 

 dred square miles in the world. Producing 

 about one-twelfth of the gold output of the 

 states, South Dakota is outranked only by Cali- 

 fornia, Colorado and Nevada. In 1915 the 

 state's gold product was valued at $7,400,000, 

 and practically all of it was produced by the 

 famous Homestake Mine at Lead City. Sil- 

 ver is another important product, and lead, 

 copper, tin, iron, mica, tungsten, graphite, gran- 

 ite, sandstone, limestone and other valuable 

 minerals are found in the Black Hills. An ex- 

 cellent paving and building stone, known as 

 red quartzite, or Sioux Falls jasper, is quarried 

 along the Big Sioux River. Chalkstone, used 



in the manufacture of cement, is found near 

 Yankton, and large quantities of brick and fire 

 clays are produced. 



Manufactures. Manufacturing is closely re- 

 lated to the agricultural pursuits; it is as yet 

 of small importance. The milling of the great 

 wheat crop is the chief industry. The produc- 

 tion of butter, cheese and condensed milk is 

 second in importance, followed by printing and 

 publishing and the manufacture of lumber and 

 timber products. South Dakota in 1910 ranked 

 forty-fourth among the states in the value of 

 manufactured products, but in 1915 there was 

 an increase of 35.7 per cent in the value. 



Transportation. All sections of South Da- 

 kota are penetrated by railroads, and short 

 branch lines and spurs are being extended into 

 newly-developed districts. In 1915 there were 

 4,240 miles of railroad in the state. The chief 

 roads are the Chicago, Milwaukee & Saint Paul ; 

 the Chicago & North Western; the Chicago, 

 Burlington & Quincy; the Great Northern, and 

 the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. In 1915 

 there were 56,354 miles of public road, only 290 

 miles of which were payed. With careful pi- 

 loting, the Missouri is navigable between Sioux 

 City, Iowa, and Fort Benton, Mont. 



Government and History 



Government. South Dakota is governed by 

 its original constitution, adopted in 1889. A 

 convention for the revision of the constitution 

 maybe called if approved by two-thirds of the 

 members of each house of the legislature and 

 a majority of the voters. Amendments must 

 be approved by a majority of the members of 

 each house and by the voters. All male citi- 

 zens over twenty-one years of age, or those who 

 intend to become citizens, and who have lived 

 in the United States one year, in the state six 

 months, in the county thirty days and in the 

 precinct ten days, are entitled to vote. The 

 proposition to adopt full woman suffrage was 

 defeated in 1914, and again in 1916. The right 

 to the initiative, applying to statutes, though 

 not to amendments, is in force. Not less than 

 five per cent of the electors may propose 

 measures which the legislature shall enact and 

 submit to a vote. There is a referendum law. 



The legislature consists of a senate and a 

 house of representatives, elected biennially. 

 The senate is composed of not less than twenty- 

 five nor more than forty-five members, and 

 the house of representatives of not less than 

 seventy-five nor more than 135 members. 



The executive officials are the governor, lieu- 

 tenant-governor, secretary of state, auditor, 

 treasurer, attorney-general, superintendent of 

 public instruction and commissioner of school 

 and public lands, all of whom are elected bien- 

 nially. The treasurer cannot be elected for 

 more than two successive terms. The gov- 

 ernor's power of veto does not extend to meas- 

 ures passed by popular vote. 



The judicial department consists of the su- 

 preme court, circuit and county courts, justices 

 of the peace and police magistrates. All judges 

 are elected by the people. 



In 1915 capital punishment was abolished, 

 and in 1916 a constitutional amendment pro- 

 hibiting the liquor traffic was approved by the 

 voters. 



History. The present state of South Dakota 

 was explored by Lewis and Clark in the North- 

 west Expedition in 1804-1806. The Yellow- 

 stone, the first steamboat on the Missouri, as- 

 cended the river to Fort Pierre in 1831, where, 

 during the next year, a trading post was estab- 

 lished by the American Fur Company. This 

 settlement was later sold to the government 

 and became an important military post of the 



