Just as dusk was beginning to creep
down we came around one which might fairly have been called a
small mountain, and saw Rapid City spread out before us, the
largest town we had seen since leaving Yankton. We skirted around
it, and came to camp under another hill and near a big stone
quarry a half-mile west of town. There was a mill-race just below
us, and plenty of water. We fed the horses and had supper. There
was a road not much over a hundred yards in front of our camp,
along which, through the darkness, we could hear teams and wagons
passing.
"I wonder where it goes to?" said Ollie.
"I think it's the great Deadwood trail over which all the
supplies are drawn to the mines by mule or horse or ox teams,"
said Jack. "There's no railroad, you know, and everything has to
go by wagon--goods and supplies in, and a great deal of ore out.
Let's go over and see."
The moon was not yet risen and the sky was covered with
clouds, so it was extremely dark. We took along our lantern, but
it did not make much impression on the darkness.
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