Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-04-05
THE BLACK HILLS.
Information Direct--The Stories About
: Gold in Large Gu antilles Not Reliable
1t Looks Like e. Great Humbug.
O.

Information Direct The Stories About
1t Looks Like {. Great Humbug. &
From the st. Paul Pioneer-Press.
Mr.. G. w. Robertson, of this city,
returned yesterday, by the Sioux City
road, from the Black Hills. The re-
port he gives of the Hills is not calcs-
lated to induce any one from this sec
ton Of the country to go out there.
The story told by him is in substance
that the country is full of trouble, dis
satisfaction, want, suffering, and in
some places some gold, but thus far not
much.
When Mr.. Robertson reached the
Hills in February last there were from
300 to 1000 people in the Hills, AID
all the time he was there others were
continually arriving, so that when he
left not less than 5000 were in the
Hills looking for sudden fortunes, but
not finding them. Others were still
coming in at the rate of from 800 to
500 per day. Notwithstanding the hard
ship of getting there, and the still great
er hardship after reaching the Hills,
people are focking in from all sections
of the country only to meet with disap-
pointment, and at last go away a good
deal worse off than they were when
they arrived there. On his way back
to Colorado, Mr.. Robertson and his
party met over 1000 people making
their way to the Hills, many of them
without blankets, or anything to eat,
and in no wise provided for such trip
into such country. Most of those in
the Hills are there to see others work
but net to work themselves. They hope
to obtain gold without much labor, and
rather than work for it they will resort
to all sorts of shifts to live by trickery
and fraud, if not by downright murder
and robbery. The gambler and the
sharper, the outlaw and tramp, the
broken-down lawyer and the political
hummer, all loaf around Custer and
Hill City, all hoping that something
will occur by which they can get some
thing for nothing. Of course, there
are many good men there, but the
great mass are as above stated, and
they are not likely to improve by re-
manning. Mr.. Robertson has no idea
what all these men who are focking to
the Hills are going to do for subsist-
ence. 1t is wild, uncultivated coun-
try, and if there is gold there in paying
quantities, which has not yet been
shown, the great majority of those
there are not in any condition to get 1t
out.
In regard to the qestion of whether
or not there is gold there, Mr.. Robert
son is of the opinion that the examina-
tons that have been made do not war
rant any one in saying there is gold
enough to pay for digging. He visited
nearly all the gulches, except in the
northern part of the Hills, and found
only two claims where they are working
to any purpose. These two had been
worked for some time, and the one
that yielded the best had not produced
an average of seventy-fve cents per
day for the working days. He does not
desire to have it understood that he in
tends to say there is not gold enough in
the hills to pay for working. He does
say, however, that the experience thus
far does not warrant the belief that it
can be found there in paying quanti-
ties. Some of the old California, Monta-
ma and Colorado miners think it possible
that gold may be found to considerable
extent, but most of those who have
tested the claims do not like the looks
No person can say with certainty, how
ever, that there are or are not rich dig
gings. Long experience and the ex-
penditure of large sums of money will
be required before this question is set
tied. One party from Colorado had
sunk fourteen holes. In the majority
of these bed rock was reached, and in
all cases little gold was obtained, but
not in paying quantities. This party in
two Or three cases was driven out by
water or large boulders. Bed rock in
Spring Creek varies In depth from ff-
teen to twenty-five feet. The Creek
falls about 20 feet to the mile. The
great number of springs render drain
ditching absolutely necessary, therefore
single claim must be rich to pay for
opening. The usual mode is to form
company of five or six claims of five
hundred feet each, and dig a ditch
through all. Quarts mining is unknown.
Mr.. Robertson met an old friend Of his
at the Hills who had good deal of ex-
perience In this mining business, who
told him there was not twenty men in
the Hills that are mining
enough gold to pay for what
they eat. From what he saw
Mr.. Robertson fully believes his friend
was right. No one from Colorado is
going to the Hills and many of the old
miners are returning home, or going
back to the Colorado or other mines.
It is claimed that the Powder river
range and the Big Horn region, north
uoct Of R1ack Hills ON tho limo of tho
Northern Pacific road, contain large
quantities of gold. This region, how
ever, is held by the Indians and there is
no possibility of getting to it. If the
Indians are driven out so that the
miners can get in and examine, no
doubt a good many people would go
from the Black Hills up there. An
other gentleman who had visited the
claims of Custer and Hill cities found
numerous claims opened to bed rock,