The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1875-04-09

gold Hoes not exist, but an many Of then
tho anali,y q slirpitdd to color, which /,
jas much 81 has yet been obiaihed neai
Harney'a Peak. The geological bped
mems brought back by the Custar ezpe
dition are not favorable indications Of
the existence Of gold in any great quan.
tity; still it may be there. But as the
treaty Of 1869, duly ratified, virtually
deeds this portion Of the Black Hills to
the Sioux Indians, there is no alternative
but to keep out trespassers.
But to go back to the Father Desmit's
information. There is not much doubt
Of the correctness Of this statement. that
lgold exists in large quantities in the
Black Hills, but much further west than
the Black Hills of the Cheyenne. I
have seen nuggets from Big Horn and
Tongue Rivers, and many specimens
from near Fort Stambaugh, in the Up
per Wind River county, where mining
has failed for want of water for alluvial
washing and from the hostilities of In
dians, and 1 have good reason to believe
in the fact that it is quite certain that
gold exists in the Owl Creek Mountains,
in the Lower Wind River, and in the
headwaters of Powder River and the
Rosebud, all these localities being, under
the general meaning, in the Black Hills,
and outside the Sherman, Augur and
Terry treaty Of 1869, exceptso far as the
privilege to hunt game. 1t has been
my intention to communicate much in
formation this coming season to the gov
ernment on the above described country,
and as the Indians have no absolute
right to the soil there may be but little
difficulty in extinguishing their hunting
privileges.
1 Ipropose, if you do not object, to open
up the Yellowstone river by sending
General Georgia.. Forsythe and Colonel
Grant of my staff up the Yellowstone to
the mouth of the Big Horn as soon as
the ice breaks, which will give thelowest
tide water, having already secured a
steamboat to make this exploration. If
General Forsythe is successful, [ will
send General Custar, with O command
from Fort Lincoln, across the mouth of
Powder river, thence up on the south
bank of the Yellowstone, crossing Pow
der river, Tongue river, Rosebud, and
on to the mouth of Big Horn. This
country is as yet entirelyunexplored and
the expedition may develope a very val
liable auriferous section, and make the
father Desmit story to some extent true.
But 1 am of the belief that the mountain
of mica has not changed to gold.
1 will also send an expedition down
Wind river, through Owl Creek Noun
tains, from Fort Stambaugh via Fort
Brown to the mouth of the Big Horn,
and will bring it back through the parks
about the headwaters of Powder river,
visited by Capt. Mills and his command
last summer. These parks are for beau
ty fully equal to those SO graphically de-
scribed by Gen. Custar as existing in
the Black Hills of Cheyenne. may al
so say from my own knowlsdge that the
valleys of the Big and Little Popoagie
Little Wind river, and the Main Wind
river can scarcely be excelled in beauty
and fertility, while the student of nature
will find there the most extraordinary
upheavals of the earth's crust probably
to be found on this continent. am of
opinion that this country is gold bearing
but of its abundance there can only be
conjecture at present.
l feel quite confident of our ability to
prevent the intended trespass on the
rights Of the Indians, and cavalry and in
fantry in the department of Dakota are
being moved at the present time to the
the most available points to carry out my
directions of Sept. 3D. of last year. We're
it not for the precautions on the part of
the Government there might be repeti-
ton of the California gold beach and
gold lake humbugs, with still greater
suffering, as many of the persons now
crazy to go to the Black Ellis, never
think Of how they are to exist after they
get there, or how they could return in
case of failure. If they will only wait
for further information from the govern
ment, which now seems desirous of ma
king concessions to meet these new in
terests, there viii be no one more willing
than myself to aid in ascertaining their
value.
So far as thetroops are concerned I viii
promise activity in the present emergen-
cy andaeonscientious performance of du-
ty. Should thepoints from which the mi
ners start be so remote as to make it i'm
possible for our scanty force to watch
them, we can occupy two or three gaps
in the Black Hills and effectually ex-
cIude trespassers.
Very Respectfully,
P. I'll. SHERIDAN,
Lieut. General Commanding.
~