|
 When
the first
Native Americans visited the location, they named it “Sica,”
(pronounced she-cha) meaning evil or bad. Numerous
Sioux
legends recall mysterious happenings here. The local Dakota
believed this to be the reason for the red-tinted water that gushed
out of the springs in Sica
Hollow. Actually, it was most likely the result of
minerals in the water, but still, the legend persists to this day. One can still walk the Trail of Spirits, where supernatural forces are
supposedly at work. When whites first stumbled upon Sica
Hollow and the hills surrounding it, many of the fears of the
supernatural were spread from the Dakota to the white settlers.
The first white man
to make his home near what would one day become Sica
Hollow State Park was named Robert Roi, in the 1840s. Finding the location to be ideal due to the abundant game, he soon
made his home in a deep ravine. The local
Indians thought Roi crazy for living in an area that they would
not dare set foot in, much less make their home.
A few years later, an expeditionary force
of U.S. government soldiers from Browns Valley set out to find Mr. Roi. With the intent of collecting strategic information on what was then
the frontier, it took them a number of days just to get down into the
wooded ravine were he lived. After they had visited with Roi, the
soldiers left, agreeing with the local natives that the man was
probably crazy to be living in such a place.
As the years passed,
more and more whites settled the area and the mythical stories about Sica
Hollow only grew. It was later believed that some sort
of beast or “Big Foot” type man inhabited the dense woods. This
fear came to a boiling point when several people disappeared at
Sica Hollow in the 1970s.
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Of the many people who
joined the hunting parties for the missing persons, several who
participated openly admitted that they were looking for some sort of
beast. Such an idea was supported by recent local sightings of
something apparently fitting that description.
Others thought there might be a bear loose in Sica
Hollow, but of beast, bear, or the missing persons, nothing was found.
Some parts of Sica
Hollow, nearby Long Hollow, and other area ravines contain a form of
quicksand due to the numerous springs. Additionally, there are vast
stretches of densely forested gullies and harbor ravines that drop several
hundred vertical feet. It is little wonder why mythical stories
persist to this day. Over the years, nobody would live in Sica Hollow,
which is one of the primary reasons that it is a national preserve and
state park today.
Rising from the plains,
these rugged, timber-covered hills and ravines were left after the last
glacier receded less than 20,000 years ago. The
Indians
called them “Paha Tanka” or “Great Hills.” Through the park runs a
National Recreation Trail called the Trail of Spirits. Along this
path, you'll see gurgling reddish bogs, the very same ones that the
Sioux once
thought were sprouting the blood and flesh of their ancestors. Swamp gas
and stumps glow in the dark, and small waterfalls are heard echoing as
trapped air escapes. It is easy to understand why these anomalies of
Mother Nature were held in awe by ancient
Indian
tribes and the subject of many legends.
For those that have been
brave enough to stay the night in the park, many have reported hearing
voices and chanting, the sounds of cries and war whoops, and even a few
reported sighting of ghostly
Indian
braves.
Sica
Hollow is as beautiful as it is spooky. The State Park is located 15
miles northwest of Sisseton,
South Dakota
,
just of SD Highway 10.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated May, 2008
~~~~~~~~~~
Readers' Updates:
I have additional comments of Sica from growing up
in the area. There is a big difference in the park when walking, depending
on the side of the stream you are on. There is also a big difference if
you are in the park during day or night. The drumming is true. I have
heard both one hit of a drum and drumming on several dates. Also, there
are animals all over but it is rare to see them. In the winter, I have
seen what could only be tracks of a cat but they were so large and wide
spread, one in front of the other, I know the cat had to be about 5 feet
long. I have also seen what looks like small camp fires that you can only
see at a distance and if you go looking for them you will never find them.
One thing you will never find is blood from an animal killing another
animal even in winter. Sometimes when you walk the trails you will find
that the trails are longer than they should be, meaning that the trail
repeated its self.
Not far from Sica Hollow, a few friends and I were
driving about 55-65mph on a gravel road and out of the woods came what
could only be described as a very large brown bear (the size of a mid
sized car.) It ran in the ditch next to my car, keeping up with the speed
of the vehicle for about a 1/4 mile, before running back into the woods as
we came to a deep stream/bridge. I have also seen and heard things that I
would never make known in an email or to some one that I don't know. There
are many "stories" that only locals know about Sica Hollow and its powers.
It is a very beautiful "park" and I have tented there a few times and
would do so again. -- Malachi, May, 2008
~~~~~~~~~~
Some good
friends of the family had their family farm right next to Sica
Hollow. One time when we were children...playing, we heard
drumming and ran to the house scared stiff! The adults told us we
were just hearing things, but we knew we HEARD drumming! I'll never
forget it! -- Gary J., April, 2005
~~~~~
My wife and I
just visited Sica
Hollow for the first time this weekend 10-09-05. It was very
pretty but a little spooky. The main thing that stuck out to us was the
total lack of living things that you would normally see in the woods or
fields. We saw no animals or birds on the hike in the hollow, and even
insects, which are thick everywhere in
South Dakota
,
were scarce. We saw some birds on the very edge of the Hollow, but even
they were strangely quiet. That is what strikes you the most there - it is
very quiet and still. You can hear the small brooks gurgling but that is
all. I can understand why the
Indians
thought this place to be evil or haunted! I don't know know if I could
camp there overnight or not - we will see next summer as we plan to
return. Sincerely, Doug DenBesten, October, 2005
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