Book excerpt: America’s 250th, South Dakota meadowlarks and the ‘great course of freedom’

By: Joseph Bottum

Outlets: South Dakota Searchlight

Published: April 21, 2026

Words: 463

Last Updated: 3 months, 1 week ago

The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from the new book “This Far Country: South Dakota Lines on the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,” by Joseph Bottum with illustrations by Jeanne Bowman. The book is published by the South Dakota Historical Society Press.

Springing like daybreak in fields by the river —

The Lac qui Parle River that begs from the dawn

Arrows …

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