The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-03-27
sHERIDAN's OPINION OF the
BLACK HILLS, y
How he Win Keep Cray
AZ 81 People Out. -
Ihe Iraditionary Noun
tain of Gold" =
IL In not Gold, but is Yellow Mica.
what the Great Missionary, Father Desmet.
thought fit.

estlng letter to Gen. Sherman concern;no
1ne Dlack Hills country, what has been
Ione' 'anu What the government proposes tc
40 10 the matter. 1t concerns anwho con.
template going to that region for gold 2
DESCRIPTION OF THE BLACK HILLS.
CmcAao. March 25
/ GENERAL;-In reply to your q-lestion,
What do You know of the Black Hills ?''
marks: y - -
My first knowledge of the Black Hills
was derived from interviews with the late
rather DeSmet, noted Catholic mission
ary' whom met many years ago on tho
Columbia river, 10 Oregon, from whom
heard the Indian romance of
THE MOUNTAIN OF GOLD
and his explanations of that extraordinary
and deluslve story to Indians, frontiersmen
and explorers, The Black Hills country is
much more extensive than that particular
locality brought into public notice by the
recent explorations of Gen. Custer, and gets
ITS name from the black shrubby character
OF the timber which grows on the sides and
tops OF the mountains and hills it com.
prises -
THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS BOUNDED
on the east by longitude lO2 >, on the
south by Sweet Water and Laramie rivers.
on the west by Big Horn and Wind rivers.
This is s'really. the country of the Black
Hills. but embraced in it are several local.
ties called BLACK Hiils.' for instance the
Black Hills of Laramie. the Black Hills of
Powder river, the Black Hills of Cheyenne
river, the latter being the locality in which
zen. Custer made his reconnaissance. last
summer and about which there is so much
speculation, at the present time, and with
In the bounds of which it is supposed, by
large number of people, is to be found
the Father DeSmet mountain of gold.
FATHER DEsMETs STORY,
was, that while living with the Sioux In
dlans he wac shown by them nuggets of
gold which they Informed him mad been
obtained at different points in the Black
Hills, supposed to be from the beds of
theG Big Horn, Rosebud and Powder
rivers, and from the branches of the
Tongue river. and on his representing
such yellow metal was of the greatest
value they told him they knew where there
was mountain of it, Subsequent invest
tlgation however, proved that the Indian
mountain of gold was nothing more than
the formation of yellow mica, such as may
be found in a number of places in the
above described country. l had scarcely
given the story thought, after this. until
about three years ago, when [ happened
to be in New York, and it was there
brought to my recollection by prominent
gentleman, who asked me where Father
DeSmet was to be found, and insisted that
some one should be sent at once to get
from him the secret of the gold mountain,
which would pay the national debt. &c.
Alter L had informed him it was
AN OLD EXPLODED STORY,
his ardor cooled, and the excitement about
the mountain Of gold again subsidized. 1t
happened, however, that the Black Hills
country was embraced in my military CON-
mand, and two years ago it became appar-
ent to me military post in the Black
Hills OF the Cheyennes would soon become
necess sary for the proper protection of the
settlements in Nebraska, from the raids of
the Sioux warriors. who always before they
commenced depredating on the frontier,
secured safe place for their families and
village in the locality mentioned. Believ,
ing Indians would never make war on our
settlements, so long as We could threaten
their families and villages in this remote
locality, Astounding in game, and all that
goes to make Indian life comfortable, and
with this purely military object 10 view,
the order was given for the Custer recon
noisance. The discovery of
PARTICLES OF GOLD
by an alluvial washing near Harneys Peak
on the eastern slope of the Black Hills of
the Cheyennes, followed and brought to
the surface Father DeSmet's story for the
third time
The Black Hills described by Gen. Gus
ter are situated between the north and
south falls Of that river, one of which is
known as the Belle Fourche, and the other
the South Fall. and although haye the
utmost confidence in the statement of
Gen. Custer, and Gen. Forsythe, of my
staff, that gold was found near Harney's
Peak, | may safely say there has not been
any fair test to determine its existence in
large quantities. There is not territory
in the west where gold does not exist.
Geological specimens brought back by the
Custer expedition are not favorable indi-
cations of the existence of gold 10 any
great quantity, still it may be there. But
as the treaty of 1869 duly ceded this por-
tion of the Black Hills to the Sioux In
dians there is no alternative but to
KEEP OUT TREsPAssERs.
But, to 60 back to Father DeSmet's in
formation, there is not much doubt of the
correctness OF his statement that gold ex
lists In large quantities in the Black Hills,
but much further west than the Black
Hills of the Cheyenne. | have seen mug
gets from Big Horn and Tongue rivers,
and many specimens from near Fort Stan
bury, where mining has failed from want
of water for alluvial washing and from the
hostility of the Indians. | have good rea-
son to believe, in fact it is quite certain,
that gold exists in Owl Greek Mountains.
in the Lower Wind river, and in the head
waters of Powder river and Rosebud
river. All these localities come under a
general meaning in
| THE BLACK HILLS TREATY OF 1869,
except so far as the privilege to hunt
game. 1t has been my intention to COM
munlcate much information concerning
this country 10 the summer, to the Gov
| ernment.
As the Indians have no absolute right
to the soil, there may he but little difficult
ty IN extluguishing their hunting privi-
leges. L propose, fyou do not object. tn
open up the Yellowstone river, by sending
General George A. Forsyth 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 the lowest
tide of water. Having already secured a
steamboat to make this exploration, il
General forsyth is successful,
WILL SEND GEN. CUSTER
! with a command from Fort Lincoln, across