This booklet is intended to present a detailed, accurate account of the area now included within Pipestone National Monument during the period since the first official, direct Federal contact with it.

The complexity of this century and a quarter of contact makes it necessary to limit the consideration that has been given to such important topics as the aboriginal occupation of the area, the geographic setting, and the sizable body of local folklore arising from the interaction of Indian legend and Victorian romanticism.

Robert A. Murray