Please call South Dakota Magazine at to place your order by phone or if you have any further questions. We apologize for the inconvenience. People who ventured into Dakota Territory during the s were either bravely adventurous or very desperate. The faint of heart did not leave family, friends and comforts of home for a dangerous and uncertain existence.
South Dakota remains the center of the American frontier, where remnants and reminders of territorial history still surround us. Furthermore, descendants of some of our most colorful characters still live here. Several years ago, South Dakota Magazine featured an article on outlaws.
We wrote about a man who had lured investors to the Hills by switching mineral samples. It's a good story, but one of our readers took offense. It turns out her ancestor was also a pillar of the Rapid City community. Other reminders of our outlaw past remain in every corner of the state. In Geddes the cabin of fur trader Cuthbert DuCharme sits in the city park. DuCharme, called "Old Papineau" because of a talent for making whiskey Papineau is French for pap water , or whiskey , lived along the banks of the Missouri River.
His roadhouse boomed when Fort Randall was established, and wild parties were held every night. On the other side of the state, a tree used to hang three accused horse thieves still stands on Skyline Drive in Rapid City. The tree died long ago, but the trunk is now embedded in concrete, a grey reminder of an era when hangings were punishment for a crime that might not merit a prison sentence today.
One of those killed that night was a teenager. His two traveling companions admitted their guilt, but declared to the very end that the boy was innocent. Some Rapid Citians felt there was a curse on their city because of the boy's hanging.
