, 1874-08-23
q. 4. CUSTER, Brvt. Maj aj.-Gen. U. S. A.
Commanding Expedition.
The Latest Accounts, nv Received
from Charles Ikcynold~, Confidential
Scout and Gscnrcr oi DlnPatcu e* from


iron, Charles Ikcynoi,t~, Confidential
Scout and Bearer OF D1npatcn c* from
Gen. Custer.
tron. thu sionr City T,ntes.
The great Northwestern mystery, which has
been the waking drea,n Of miners and adyentur-
els for the PAY; t*enty years is at last unveiled
Tue Black-uills country las been invaded .and
explored. tllster and his command have trav-
eled up their rugged ranges on the north,
climbed their highest peak, Eauntered on their
bunny southern slopes, and is now on lis return
to Fort Lincoln. At last we hare reliable infor-
nation from the hills, which shows reality e1-
ccedng the brightest pictures painted By orr
imagination.
Charles Reynolds, Clusters trusted scout, who
has inst returned from the expedition via Fort
Laramie and the Union Pacific Railroad. has
kindly furnished us the subjoiniug information
in tefere1Ape to the expedition and the results
Of its labors. Mr.. Reynolds il q young man Of
a very quiet, retlcent disposition, extremely
anxious to say nothing but the uaexaggerated
TRUTH and to tell nothing Of which be is not fully
acquainted. through personal experience, He
says that the expedition left Fort Abraham Lin
coin Oh the I'd Of July. From the fort to the
Little Missouri their general course WAS west
ward. They travelled to the hcadwaters OF
Grand River. sud thence up the Little
.iisso ouri for 10 mileh which point they
reached on the 18th Of July. Their course from
there lay across barren rolling prairie,
very scarce in vegetation and almost en-
tirelE destitute Of water, until they arrived
at the Belle Fourche. stream that runs near
the beadwaters OF the Little Powder River. The
Belle Fourche makes circuit around the north
cru base Of the Black Hills. TIE expedition
crcsAed this stream, and. travelling about Is
miles south, arrived at Red Water Creek, at the
western base Of the Black Hills. Tie country
here is broken aud barren, abounding in red
sandstone, gypsum, and limestone. Three
days up Red Water Creek, which affords pass
through the mountains, brought them to the
base Of luyan-kaka, the highest peak Of the
Black Hills.
Here The expedition camped and rested,
while Col. Ludlow, Chief Engineer; Alr. Woods,
his assistant; Profs. W1ucl.ell and Grinnell,
Gen. Custer, and other scientific men, assembled
the peak. The summit Of 1Dyau-kaka is
1000 feet above the level of the sea-: At
the sa1ne time the miners Messrs. Ross
and Mckay prospected around the base, without
discovering any precious metals. From this
mountain peak the expedition proceeded south
eastward across the hills. After three days,
travel the divide was reached, and the eyes of
the expedition, weary for weeks 1ooking upon
the barren plains anu rugged hills, now rested
upon paradise. The country. as fur as the eye
could reach. looked bright and green. Natural
parks. irregular in outline, bountiful|y supplied
ed by running brooks, wore spread iu every di-
1ection. These parks Of all sizes, from m
acre-,,atci to thousands Of acres. The parks
are divided from one another by narrow ridges
of rock, chiefly granite. which bear little or no
vegetation. Even in tho parks the land is gen
orally not level, bat of gently rolling prairie
but upon their highest ground the grass is sull
ciently high to produce good yield Of hay.
Mr.. Reynolds. who has lived in Colorado for
several years. says that the lands in the Black
Hills are. in point Of soil timber, and erass: su~
perlor to anything That he has ever seen in Colo
RADIO The trees, which are chiefly Norway pine,
are in some cases much ~ 80 inches in
diameter. and dcozrespondingly high. The streams
are pure aud clear, and abound in various Kind
Of tish. Numbers OF these we're caught, aud
some Of them measured 1s inches in length.
Tho pine timber ii by no means confined to the
park,- ''The1e il. said Mr. L., ''pine every
vbe1e,-on the hills aud in the valleys" Burr
oak abounds III the northern section Of the hills,
and birch trees are hero aud there to be Been,
though they are not abundant.
Game abonnds in many varieties and see1n-
ingly endless quant,ty, Black sud Write tailed
deer and ok Rzs to b. found everywhere, md