Ira and Hattie Tillotson had been married five years and were happy enough living in the midst of friends and relatives in the State of Iowa. The couple had two children — Claude and Grace.
Ira was as strong as an ox and Hattie was no weakling. Work was plentiful and needs were simple, but their hearts kept longing for the Northwest. Stories kept drifting back of the rich, free lands and the gold discoveries of the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory.
The Tillotson family decided to go west. On a not-to-be-forgotten day in April 1883, they packed their earthly possessions into two wagons and started on a great adventure.
They drove to Nevada, Iowa, and chartered an immigrant train car, in which the family had the privilege of riding in the same car with their goods and animals.
The horses – two fine teams and a saddle horse – were secured in one end of the immigrant car. The wagons were taken apart and placed to form a partial partition between the livestock and living quarters. Next came the household goods, and their makeshift living area.
After their travels, they found a plot of land on which to settle, south of Hot Springs, Dakota Territory, near Cascade Springs.
Staking A Claim
Ira and Hattie spent several hours looking over the homestead and decided on a spot on which to build the cabin. When their minds were made up, it was not long until sounds of the axe could be heard as Ira began cutting logs for the cabin.
These logs were pulled to the new home and carefully notched. Each log fitted snugly and the little cabin took shape as the spring days passed. The smell of fresh logs was wonderful. When it was ready for the roof, a big pine ridge pole was raised and a smaller one put on each side halfway to the eaves. Planks were added to form the roof structure.
A layer of shale was put over the planks and covered with sod, fitted carefully, grass side up. There was a glass window for each side and the door hung on leather hinges.
It was some time before a wooden floor was laid, but the gumbo floor packed almost like cement and soon wore smooth.
Ira constructed a roomy cellar on the east side that was entered from the living room.
Water Challenges
The Cheyenne River cut through the corner of the homestead. There was no water at the house and it was impossible to carry enough from a quarter of a mile away for a family’s use. Tillotsons had one barrel and were able to trade with a passing freighter for a second one.
Hauling water became a regular farm chore. When the Cheyenne River water was stirred up, they had to go to Cascade Creek, about a mile from the house. But the water tasted terrible, like a dose of salt, and it was so hard that even lye didn’t soften it completely.
Neighbors Herman Mahler and his wife planned and executed an irrigation system for the valley. Neighbors all pitched in to build a ditch by hand.
After patient toil, the waters of the Cascade Springs were carried to the various farms below. The neighbors all rejoiced to know they could plant orchards and alfalfa, and water them at will from the never-failing springs of Cascade.
Music Makes The Home
When they were settled and Hattie had time to get her breath, she began to miss music. She could not play a note, but before coming to the Black Hills she had lived among friends who were musical.
Hattie decided that home was not home without music. It was like missing the water when the well runs dry.
She had the idea to purchasing a pump organ. After looking around, she finally learned of a family who had recently come to the country and had brought an organ with them. They wanted to trade it for a cow.
Hattie saddled her horse, left the children with a kindly neighbor, and set out to see the instrument. It was in Buffalo Gap, twenty-five miles from home. After arrangements were made, Hattie returned home and soon after she had her organ in place.
She then wondered how she was going to learn how to play. There was not an organ player in the whole country-side. She settled on a correspondence course.
Hattie persisted and learned to play sufficiently to furnish music for the enjoyable evening 'sings' at home. Favorites were ""Listen to the Mockingbird," "Sweet Bye and Bye," and "Shall We Gather at the River."
Ira and Hattie had enough to do. They put up hay, gathered wild fruit to preserve in huge stone crocks, tilled the land, washed, dressed, and fed babies. Every day was full to overflowing.
Rock Collecting
Very early in Hattie’s experience in the Black Hills she began to notice the great variety of beautiful mineral specimens. In the move, Ira had brought along an old school book, a dog-eared geology, which proved invaluable to Hattie. She began collecting at every opportunity.
Hattie found an abundance of petrified wood in the hills back of their home. Moss agates were in the prairies. Cascade Creek consists of mineral waters and the little stream never freezes over, yielding delicate petrified moss.
In the Cheyenne River, she found fossils, agates, and petrified wood. The fossils were of special interest. They were usually in the form of large, waterworn rocks, which were found to contain petrified shells, chambered nautilus, and many other interesting finds.
Hattie began casting about for some practical use for her treasures. She realized she could not go on forever dragging in rocks and adding to her large collection.
An enterprising woman, she began writing to friends in the East and offered to send collections of minerals, all carefully labeled according to the old geology. Hattie received $5 for one hundred pounds of minerals—the purchaser paying the freight. She sold a large number of collections in this way.
Exploring Wind Cave
Two young men, Jesse and Tom Bingham, who were acquainted with the Tillotsons, were hunting one day when they came upon a hole in the ground out of which was blowing a strong wind.
Upon examination they found what seemed to be a cave leading off from a perpendicular opening.
When Jesse and Tom invited Hattie and Ira to join them in exploring the cave 25 miles away from their homestead, they readily accepted. With a party of twenty persons, and preparations for a camping trip, the group set off with beds, tents, and grub boxes stowed in the wagons.
The Bingham boys rode ahead to show the way. On arrival at the site, Jesse Bingham dismounted from his horse and stood near the opening of the cave. "Now, just watch it blow my hat away."
With that he tossed his beautiful, new sombrero squarely over the entrance. With a zip, the hat disappeared down the hole. The wind had changed, and although the owner spent the entire night and part of the next day exploring the cave, he did not find his hat.
After supper the men went into the cave. They used ropes for the first descent. Then an opening led off at one side for about eighty feet. This passage was low and the men had to move on hands and knees.
After the first eighty feet, the ceiling was higher. They went on and at every turn the light of the flickering torches revealed new wonders. They spent the night examining the marvels of the cave.
In the morning, it was decided that the men should now escort the ladies thru the cave. Hattie’s first visit to the famous Wind Cave was long before anyone had dreamed of the Wind Cave National Park. Countless thousands have gone into the cave since that day.
This exploration was no doubt a highlight in a life that involved a lot of work and Hattie was right there beside her husband doing her share of the toil.
Peggy Sanders can be reached at peggysanders.com
