The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1875-04-07

in"oIuuCh As u large portion of the
American people uru now Intrrrsi cat
IN n''ia ming correct aad rclIAhir in
formation about the Black Hills of
wyoming and Dakota, We deem il
prudent { u compile such facts in rcIa.
tiou tO them Hs are known tu be-
truthful and gathered from trust
w1rihy -nurce-.
ii BLACK HILLS
ue t,rIweru fhc i3yd and 18Th iegr, e.
Of latitude, Hna JHp ItE}rd aud Iu5th
PARALLELS q. longitude, ana uccup an
area Of about one hundred mics In
length, nartherly aud suuiherly, aud
about sixty miles in breadth. Their
form II eilipticHl, and according Ia
Lieut.. Warrrn'S report nf them, tine
major axis trends about ~, west of
north In" base OF these hits is
about 2jOO Ia 5000 feet above the sra
level, and the highest peaks do not
exceed 1000 feet. The eastern bound
airy line OF Wyoming. IUIth PARALLEL
OF longitude, uns about midway
through the hills. The whole range
or the hills lies in the forks of the
Big cheyenne River, which j. the
most Important stream in that re-
gion. The north fork is called Belle
Fourche, Is thirty yards wide, and
passes around the northern end OF
the range in a Semicirclp, receiving
the waters ron the greater part of
the hills, which flow into il from a
great number of small streams. 1t
takes lis rise FAR 10 the westward of
this range, npa to the sources of the
Little Powder River, in What is
known "a the "divide" bet ween the
waters of the Yellowstone and those
of the Missouri. The South Fork of
h Cheyenne River is about one
hundred feet wide, takes its rise in
h same "~divide," flows around the
southern base of the hills, and also
receives numerous tributaries which
nave their source in them. These
TWO streams unite about forty miles
east OF the Black Hills, forming the
Big Cheyenne sometimes spelled
Shyenne) River, which pours itself
into the Missouri some sixty miles
above Fort Pierre. From either
Fort Sully or Fort Pierre, in "A due
west direction to the Wyoming line.
which runs through the centre of the
hills nearly, is n distance of 22O
miles, on an air line. Formerly there
was a road from Fort Pierre to Fort
Laramie, over which military and
traders stores were freightpd. and
the distance fixed at three hundred
and twenty-five miles. The road
necessarily passed nVer the bad lands
considerable of the distance. Anv
route followed from the Upper Mis-
souri, will encounter them. In the
summer the heat is intense in the
country between the Upper Missouri
and the Black Hills, the grass is not
good for stock. and the water i,
strongly alkaline. For these facts
we are indebted To persons who have
frequently passed over the route dur
fng the past twenty-five years, to
officers of the army, and to the off
cfal reports of Lieut.. &. K. Warren
and Brevet Brig. Gen. w. F. Raw
nOlds, of the Typographical Engin-
GERS of the United States Army.
The former Of whom twice explored
the country in, 1866 and again In
1878, and the latter in IS59-6O.
FORESTS OF TIMBER.
The Black Hills take their name
from the dark green appearance that
the TeGI i6tCnt fl rests e Tine. that
cover their sides and tons, give tr
them. II think it safe To say" says
DIR. Hayden, in his geological report
Of their exploration in IS59-60, page
8, that at least one-third of this
area Estimated at 5000 square miles