The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1875-05-28
President Jefferson.
WHERE THEY ARE, AND HOW THEY REACH
THEM.

IfODaDly no topic III present claims
larger share Of interest in the public mind
than the newly discovered region, known in
general terms as the Black Hills. Yet prob
ably, too, not one in five hundred, if asked to
locate definitely by this much talked of re-
gion, could do so with any accuracy. We
propose, therefore, first to tell our readers
WHERE THE BLACK HILLS ARE.
They lie in Wyoming and Dakotah, be-
tween the 43d and 10Th degrees of latitude,
and occupy an area of about 100 miles in
length, Northerly and Southery, and about
sixty miles in breadth The base is about
$500 to 5000 feet above the sea level, and
the highest peaks do not exceed 1000 feet
The Eastern boundary line of Wyoming,
104th parallel of longitude, runs about mid
way through the hills The whole range of
hills lie in the forks Of the Zig Cheyenne
River, which is the most important stream
in that region, and which pours itself into
the Missouri, some 80 miles above Fort
Pierre.
HOW THE BLACK HILLS HAVE BEEN HITH-
EErO REACHED.
From either Fort Sully or Fort Pierre, in
Il due west direction to the Wyoming line,
which runs through the centre Of the hills
nearly, is 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 freighted, and the
distance fixed at 325 miles The road neces-
so il,- ,,n,.al ,,.,r tLo l,ol Iou,1 lo
| of the distance. Any route followed from
the Upper Missouri will encounter them In
the summer the heat is intense in the coun-
try between the Upper Missouri and the
Black Hills, the grass is not good for stock,
and the water is strong alkaline For these
facts, says the Cheyenne Lcadcr, we are in
debted to persons who have frequently pass
ed over tie route during the past twenty-five
years, to officers Of the army, and to the Off
cial reports of Lieutenant G. X. Warren and
Brevct Brigadicr General w. +. Reynolds,
Of the Typographical Engineers of the Unit
ed States Army, the former of whom twice
explored the country in 1906, and again in
1873, and the latter in lS59-G0.
vi NAli.il' IL l'!-tA' N Mills.
The RlacI, Hills take their name from the
dark green appearance that the magnificent
forests of pine, that cover their sides and top,
give to them. 81 think it safe to say, says
DR.. Hayden, in his geological report Of their
exploration in 1Sj9-G0, page 8, "that at least
one-third of this area, ESTIMATED at 5000
square miles by him. or about 1000 square
miles is covered with excellent pine timber,
or | ,2S0O 600 acres, Now, the next question
arises, how is this timber to be made ayaila-
BILE? At least four to six months in the year
these streams lBcllc Fourche and South Fork
of Cheyenne) are quite high. The logs could
be cut and transported to the sides of the
streams during the dry season, and when the
streams are high in the Spring of the year.
they could be taken down into the Missouri
River with Il good degree of safety and ease.
"The Black Hills, which appear in the
distance, and derive their name from their
dark and gloomy appearance, contain an in
cxhaustiblc quantity Of the finest timber,
mostly pine, which will doubtless remain un-
disturbed for many years to come"
FERTILITY CLIMATE AND MINERAL WEALTH.
The fertility of the soil in the Black Hills
was noticed by Lieutenant Warren, in 1858.
Speaking of the valleys in that region, he
says in his report of that year; "In these
mountain formations which border the great
plains of the West, are to be found bcauti-
full flowing streams and small, rich valleys
covered over with fine grass for hay, and
susceptible of cultivation by means Of irriga-
ton. Fine timber for fuel and lumber,
limestone and good stone for building pur-
poses are here abundant Gold has been
found in valuable quantities, and, without
doubt, the more common and useful miner
ais will be discovered when more minute ex,
aminatiOns are made"
In the same report, further on, he says
"The country furnishes the means of raising
sufficient quantities of grain and vegetable
for the use of the inhabitants, and beautiful
healthy, and desirable locations for thei
homes. The remarkable freedom from sick
ness is one of the attractive features Of the
region, and will, in this respect, go far t
recompcnse the settler from the Mississippi
valley for his loss in the smaller amount o
products that can be taken from the soil,
The great want of suitable building materi
al, which now so seriously retards the
growth of the West, will not be felt here"
HOW TO REACH THE BLACK HILLS
The route from Cheyenne Northward il
the safest, speediost, cheapest and best tC
reach the Black Hills, Cheyenne is at thu
junction of two competing railroads from tn,
East-the Union Pacidcand Kansas Pacific,
1t will be two days railroad travel to Chey
enne from Chicago or st, Louis,
From Cheyenne there are two routes to tn
Hills, The one by way of Fort Laramie
Raw Hide Buttes, Old Woman's Fork, ant
Beaver Creek, is one hundred and eighty-tw
miles. This route passes through settleC
country for hunded miles or So There i
now a stage line on it that carries the Unit