Traveling across South Dakota could have been very different if the Chicago and North Western railroad’s grand plans had become reality. The little-known renaissance man who led a team of railroad surveyors across the state is the focus of a newly released book, “We Suffered Much.”
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'We Suffered Much': New book follows railroad surveyors' journey across South Dakota
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This image shows a series of ridges that Charles Wood Irish had identified that could bring railroad tracks from the divide between the Bad River to the south down to the Cheyenne River, just upriver from the Forks (where the Belle Fourche joins the Cheyenne). From there, the original plan was to follow the Belle Fourche valley up towards Sturgis and Deadwood (or, Sturgis then skirt the Hills to the north and on towards the gold fields of Montana and Idaho, with the idea of a spur to Deadwood), according to Cindy Wilson, author of "We Suffered Much."
"We Suffered Much", a nonfiction retelling of railroad surveyors in South Dakota, was released in March.
This image shows railroad tracks built 25 years after the survey expedition described in Cindy Wilson's new book, "We Suffered Much." Chicago and North Western railroad company followed Irish's survey as far as modern Philip. Then, instead of following Irish's route, the railroad instead skirted to the south, towards the Box Elder Creek valley, which as seen was much less challenging.
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