The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1876-03-17
THE BLACK HILLS.
Description Of the Route, Country, Towns
and Diggings by Salt Laker.
From the Salt Lake Herald

EfOm tne CalI Lake htTlu
Mr.. Fl. Wagner, the well-known restau-
rateur of this city, returned from his visit
to the Black Hills on Friday night and
made us a call yesterday, He gave the fol-
lowing items of interest, which we publish
for the benefit Of those looking that way
CUSTER AND HILL CITIES.
Mr.. W. and his party obtained their team
in Cheyenne and reached Custer city, by
the Old Woman's Fork route, in twelve
days. A shorter route has been discovered
from Running water. known as Pollo's cut
off, which saves thirty-five miles Of travel,
and now the trip can be made in eight or
nine days. The company arrived at Custer
city February IA. On that day an election
was held and now the metropolis is running
in full blast, with mayor, justices of the
peace, etc, like any other white town. The
city is laid out ou nice even bottom, with
streets 1870 feet wide, squares for court
house, school house, county jail and bsaEyiagg
ground reserved. The principle streets are
Custer and Cook. The lots range from
$3.50 to $500 each, size 50x150 feet. There
are about eighty lumber houses and over
700 log houses. Lumber sells at from $35
to 40 per NJ, but will be down to $25 in a
month. Carpenters are very scarce, and
can get 81 and SIS per day, with plenty of
work. Hill city, the next place of size and
Importance, is fifteen miles from Custer.
There are some stores and saloons in each
of these towns. Two saw mills are already
at the latter place and one at the former,
while another with planning mill was met
on the road, vending it's way thitherward.
Flour ranges at from $40 to $12 per 100 TBS.
Freight from Cheyenne is 4@5 cents per
pound.
The roads are good-good as buggy roads
grazing can nowhere be beaten, game is
abundant, and the water plenty and sweet,
arabic land is perfectly black. The country
is full Of timber as far as the eye can reach
and building logs can be obtained at fifteen
and twenty-five cents each.
| DIGGINGs.
The diggings are mostly placer and lie
along French creek and Spring creek. They
are mostly twenty to forty feet deep, and,
though good, require capital to work them.
Water rises very fast in them, and the only
way they can be now generally worked is
by drifting and having pumps put in. Mr..
Wagner says he saw them pay from to25
cents per pan. At Spring crek (Which is
six miles northeast from Hill city, he ex-
amined the Montana bar and went down
Mr.. Aliens tunnel some eighty feet. The
men there bring out the gravel and put it
in the sluice boxes, which when cleaned up
pays $10per man per day. The day before
his visit four men took out over $121 from
a clean up in one day. The ground is all
taken up in the near canons by prospectors !;
800 feet is the size of claim here, and each
claim must be represented at the recorders
Office every ten days, or it is jumpable. The
miners have passed a law to allow no Chi
namen to hold real estate or mining prop
erty.
| THE NEW COUNTRY.
On account of the difficulties at present
in the way of deep mining on the old stamp
ing ground several of the miners have gone
to the Deadwood, Whitewood, Sand and
Iron creeks, which are so to 85 miles from
Custer, and some have gone to the Big Horn
and Yellowstone, prospecting. The bed
rock in this new country is from three to
seven feet deep, and the miners have pay
dirt from the top-so apparently reliable
men brought word into the recorders Office.
The country is full of
QUARTZ.
One gold quartz ledge has been found
seven miles from Custer, and two more
between Custer and Hill cities, the crop
pings paying $37 to the ton. Prospecting
has hardly commenced yet, and it is expect
ed that this summer will prove it to be the
best paying country around for placer and
gold quartz mines.
POPULATION, ETC.
The population of Custer city was about
500 when Mr.. W. left. Capital and settlers
were focking in, they having met on the
road 21O teams and nearly 500 emigranus
from Cheyenne Seven families were at
Custer and several were met ON the road
Our informant came back to Cheyenne,
with mule team, in four and half days,
with Captain Dobson of Omaha, and calcu-
lates to return to the Hills in about ten
days, with his family. His intention is to
open hotel, go prospecting, mining, etc.
The country is very healthy, as Mr.. Wag-
ner is proof positive of, he being SO i'm
proved in his looks since few days ago
when he left here. They had no snow from
Cheyenne to the diggings, excepting a
light snow storm of one hour. The roads
were dusty, weather warm in the days with
! cold nights. Eating stations are scattered
at convenient distances along the road
J from Cheyenne to Fort Laramie.
FEVER PREVAILS.
: Several Salt Lakers were there and going.
) Cheyenne streets are black with migrators.
The talk on the trains from New York to
| Omaha is the wonderful Black Ellis. One
/, hundred and ten teams were expected in
Hill city by the Bismarck road, on Satur.
day last. Bismarck is 175 miles from Gus
ter. Families are going from Colorado
a and Nebraska Gold dust is worth $21 pei
ounce. Eleven Indians were seen 100 miles
j this side of the Black Hills. They wert
kindly and peaceably disposed. Mr.. Wag
9 ner's advice is to travel in companies
watch the stock at nightand he apprehend
y no danger.
T Marriage of a Grand Niece Of the Pope
Yesterday merning says the Ossergator