The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1875-03-30


cover their sides and tops, give to
them. - think it safe To say" says
DIR. Hayden ia his geological report
ef their exploration in lSj9-GO, page
3, that at least OHe-third of this
area ESTIMATED at 600 square miles
by him, or about 2DUO -luugC mills
il covered with excellent pine timber,
or l,GSJ, $50 aCTe&. Now the next
qur-li,s, nrt-r-. how j. This IiUl-r To
toe u.,..a I"lEiIanIr" Al lets. fpur To
-iX Wr-ulh- ia the Year fut-' streams
Belle IuurcHp and SuIth Fork Di
~thryvuT"' uru quito high. The lng-
Cuu!d hv cut nUd transported L. the
sides OF iH"-c sir,Ttn!7 during the dry
season, and when the streams are
high, in the spring " lhC Nea'r, tHuy
Cuutd hc taken down into the Mr.
-Ouri River with a gOuI degree ~
safety aud Ease.
The Black IijiI>, which apPC1r in
the distance and derive their nam
from. their dark aud gloomy appear
anCC, contains IA iU"NuIu-tiIic guam
tity Of tho finest tim,rrr, mostly pine,
which will hpUbup-5 remain Euhis-
turbgd Ipr many year, to come
]tiCurrul Custer, who visited the
hills last summer, in his report also
hllssN7 EARN llElN vi AAf supply VI
timber, and says: he timber
found consisted Of mtny varieties
principally -uf piHe, oak and elm.
The pine iS Of Suitable dimensions
for N, ing worked into lumber, aud i
mc. With in abundance on every
hi}lsiic.''
Col. FOrSythc, Of Gen. Shcridnu's
staff, who accompanied the r%Pe Ii
ton, also rOrrDbuHItcs the statement
that great abundance OF timber
exist in the hills.
The fertility Of the soil in the
Back HIS vas noticed by LIcut.
Warren, in 1893. Speaking of the
valleys iu that region, he says in his
report Of that year " In these mCuu-
tain FORMATIONS which border the
great plains un the west are 10 be
found beautiful flowing streams, and
small rich valleys covered Uver with
hue grass for hay, and susceptible o.
cultivation by means Of irrigation.
Fine timber for flcl and lumber,
limestone, and good stone for build
Ing puSpu@es are here abundant.
Golf has been found in plnces in
valuable quantities, and, without
doubt, the more common and useful
minerals viii bv discovered when
moe minute examinations are
made"
In the same report. further on, he
| sUys: "HHu country furnishes the
means Of raising sufficient quantities
OF grain aud Vegetables fOf the use Of
the Inhabitants, and beautiful,
| healthy and desirable locations for
their homes. The remarkable free
| dom here lfrom sickness is one of
| the attractive features of the region,
and will, in this respect, go far to
rccOmprUse the settler from the
Mississippi valIey,fTr~ his loss in the
smaller amount of products that can
he taken from The soil. The great
WRut Of suitable building material,
which now 50 seriously retards the
growth of the west, will not be felt
here
He also says that these settlements
in the Black Hills country, cannot
be agricultural to the same extent rs
| those in the Mississippi valley, but
must depend greatly upon the rails
ing ut stock.
Gen. W. +. Raynolds, who made II
typographical survey Of this region
in l~1a- 40, says, in speaking of it in
his report, page :: "The whole re-
giOn Of tho Black Hills i uuQucS-
! linuahly destined, at DO distant date,
to afford homes for a thriving pUpu-
! IatiOn. The mountains Will furnish
a sufficient supply Of pine lumber for
ordinary uses, aud although timber
Is very scarce in the region as Il
whole lfrom Fort Pierre to the Pow
der River, yet the Black Hills will
naHy supply this great deficiency in
the districts Immediately a~djoinIug."
His route from the Missouri River
led him to the Forks of the Big
| Cheyenne, and then he skirted the
| northeast and north side of the hills.
He describes them In his journal as n
! succession Of mountain ranges with
! beautiful valleys between, the soil of
/ which j. rich and fertile, aud COW
cred with a heavy growth of grass.
Groves of ash, oak, elm and other
varieties Of timber are mentioned MS
. being met with, fringinG the clear,
7 beautiful streams Of water. putting
: down from the hills into the Belle
F'uurche. Between the forks of the
Cheyenne very decided evidences Of
the existence Of gold were found
page IA; but prospecting was dis
CuurngCd by him on account of dan
ger from the Indians, and for fear of
making the expedition a failure.
" Il was for these reasons that the
| search for gold was at all times dis
outraged" he says page II, yet
still it was often difficult to restrain
the disposition To prospect and
there were moments when i was
feared that some of The party would
defy all restraint"
These descriptions and discoveries
were made of the Black Hills SIN
teen and seventeen years ago by
reliable army officers, whose only
object was to make truthful reports
of the country, and were made under
many disadvantages. The number