Right from Reeder on ND 22, a graveled road, to LOOKOUT POINT, 2 m., an elevation from which five towns, Reeder, Bucyrus, Gascoyne, Scranton, and Buffalo Springs, are visible.
WHETSTONE BUTTES (L), 9 m., a high range of hills visible for miles, are topped by a peculiar sandstone formation which is so hard that pieces from it were used by the Indians and early settlers for sharpening their tools and weapons.
GASCOYNE, 38 m. (2,759 alt., 97 pop.), is L. of the highway. Northwest of town is a railroad Reservoir (swimming and picnicking facilities).
SCRANTON, 43 m. (2,773 alt., 381 pop.), is a namesake of Scranton, Pa., because both are coal-mining towns. The first mine here opened in 1907, preceding the railroad which arrived late that year and providing the impetus for the town which grew up. The discovery of suitable clay resulted in the establishment of a brick plant, the product of which can be seen in many of the buildings in the town. On each side of the highway as it passes the Milwaukee R. R. station are two round markers picturing the head of a Texas longhorn steer and carrying the legend, "Comin' up the Texas Chisholm Trail." The markers indicate one of the trails by which cattle were brought to this part of the Great Plains. Although the Chisholm Trail is believed to have run no farther N. than Abilene, Kan., the name has often been loosely applied to other trails running N. of that city, unofficial extensions of the original route from the Panhandle region (see Tour 4).
BUFFALO SPRINGS, 48.5 m. (2,850 alt., 75 pop.), was known briefly as Ingomar, but in 1907 received its present name, suggested by the nearby springs which once served as a watering place for the bison that roamed the plains. East of town is a railroad Reservoir (swimming, fishing). A Collection (open; inquire directions at post office) of Indian artifacts, pioneer relics, petrified woods, and other curios, gathered by Ed Gorman, may be seen at his hardware store.
BOWMAN, 56.5 m. (see Tour 4), is the junction with US 85 (see Tour 4).
RHAME, 73 m. (3,184 alt., 356 pop.), named for M. D. Rhame, district engineer of the Milwaukee R. R. when it was established in 1907, has the highest elevation of any town in the State. It is in a high valley between two large, flat, scoria-capped buttes.
At 78 m. is the junction with an unimproved country dirt road.
Right on this road, across the railroad, to FORT DILTS STATE PARK (L), 2 m., marking the site where Capt. James L. Fisk's 80-wagon immigrant train, bound for the Montana gold fields, was corraled in defense formation for 14 days in September 1864. The expedition, accompanied by a cavalry detachment of 50 men, left Fort Rice in August, and encountered no trouble until September 1, when a wagon overturned in crossing a steep-sided creek. Fisk detailed another wagon and a detachment of eight cavalrymen to remain and right the overturned vehicle. As soon as the main party was out of sight over a hill, a band of Hunkpapa Sioux—part of the group met by Sully at the Killdeer Mountains (see Side Tour 8D) and in the Battle of the Badlands (see Tour 8)—who were at that time engaged in hunting buffalo, attacked the detachment, killing nine and mortally wounding three. The expedition heard the rifle shots and returned to aid their comrades, but were too late to do more than rout the Indians. Just as the natives were being driven off, Jefferson Dilts, a scout for the expedition, returned from reconnoitering in the Badlands, and rode directly into the fleeing band of Sioux and was killed.