This week in History’s Attic

The Buttes or what some call the “Pikes Peak of Gregory County.” It seems a odd feature popping up on the flat Prairie Landscape, but never the less there they are. Many homesteader stories talk about them as the first thing the land seekers did was scale them and have a look. And later they were used for all manner of things. I have seen advertisements of car companies using them as a way to test their cars and glowing accounts of their fully loaded car easily making it to the top (which is a scary thought in itself if that car stalled and started rolling back with a full load and weak brakes that cars in those days had).

That’s where the photo of the slide of life ties in. It was a dreary time on the Rosebud in the early 1900s not much to do for excitement and maybe a tad bit boring. And so when a enterprising individual decided it would be fun to drag a rope or cable to the top of the buttes and string it high enough that a few dare devils just had to try sliding down it. This was sure to draw a crowd just to see who would get hurt on this crazy contraption. Little is known what they used to slide down the line but most likely some sort of hanger was fashioned (if you look closely at the above photo you can see a few are coming down from the top).

Yes folks Gregory had a zip line! It was just a little excitement for the folks and a way to get away from that dang plow. And as you can see they dressed up in their finest. No tattered shorts for these folks. People can still make the climb to the top and hey its free today to go to the top and dream of your kinfolks looking out over the prairie to maybe see that special spot they could call home.

Author Richard Papousek, April 2024