The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-05-19

Custer city-Hsr, Merchants and Baslnsss.
Several Errors in Regard to cusief1kS
corrected-The Mining Districts
Of Castle, French, Spring,
Battle and. Rapid u ~
Creeks. a.

lFrofa Our special CorTespond<nI.l n
CUSTER CITY, May IA.
To the Editor Cheyenne Leader:
At Deadwood, in the raiiroadstowns,
and all along the roads leading to the
Hills you hear but one report concern
ing Custer. "Custer City is dead az a
door nail" When coming into the
Hills I stopped at Custer only long
enough to eat an early breakfast, and 1
had thereforen 10 opportuhityto test the
truth of the report, but having now
been here several days, I am prepared
to pronounced untrue. nan inspection
Of the books of the five leading business
houses-Smith Bros, Harlow & Co.,
Lee. Turner j. Coz ID. HolsteinJ and
Morris Bros, said books showing cash
sales of from s75 to 225 per day, while
at least half a dozen other business
houses show up cash sales of from $50
to 1925 per day, indicates that Custer is
alive and that her merchants are pros
pering. The town is now supplying
the mining districts of Castle, French,
| Spring, Battle, Little and Big Rapid
creeks, and being f~avorably located,
will in all probability always be the sup
ply depot for the region named. In
addition to this the immense freight
traffic and emigrant travel over the
Cheyenne route passes through the
town, adding greatly to its revenue.
There is also a small amount of travel
through here over that biggest Of all
frauds the Sidney route-but the ma
jor portion of this goes over the new
road from Buffalo Gap along the east
ern foot hills leaving Custer far to the,
westward. Sidney has ''gone back on"
Custer, but Custer thriyes and prospers
in spite of Sidney.
French creek, which runs through
the town, now carries a fine volume of
water, and holders of claims thereon
are making extensive preparations for
active work should the water hold out.
Steam pumps are on the way, for use
on this creek, and it is believed that by
their aid a sufficient, supply of water
can be pumped from bedrock to carry
on considerable work in the s%luices, so
that a very good report may be expected
from French creek within the next
month or two. Should the miners who
have held faith in their French creek
claims and patiently waited so many
weary months for the "good time COM
ing" be now rewarded by a golden har-
vest, Custer will Gloom up" as the Sec
ond best, and mayhap the best town in
the Hills. God speed the day!
Fifteen miles from Custer, in a mag
niflcent little valley, Hill City, or Hill
20, is nestled. It has been entirely de-
serted, but is now slowly filling up with
families, and will soon attain consider
able prominence, owing to the resump-
ton of extensive mining enterprises
along Spring creek, upon which the
town is built. Not less than half a
dozen large companies, made up of men
of ample means, are now employing big
working forces in digging long drain
bitches and making most complete
preparations for going to bedrock
ON the undoubtedly rich channel of the
creek. Several of the bitches are al
ready completed, and but very few days
will elapse before the golden gravel
will yield up its treasures to the enter
prising and energetic men who have
persisted in developing these placers in
the face of most tremendous trials and
obstacles.
Just above Hill City, on Spring creek,
is the large ranch of ]. ]. Clark, who
located here in January, 1876. He has
completed a large two-story house, and
a very eommodious barn, fenced about
80 acres of land, and is now blowing
and planting. He proposes putting in
some eighty varieties Of seeds, COM
prising almost everything in the vege-
table and cereal line. He will plant 80
acres in all, and intends ascertaining
from actual observation and experience
just what can be grown in the rich
valleys of the Black Hills. Past ex-
perience goes to show that the rain
fall in the Hills is ample for all agri-
cultural purposes, but Clark does not
propose to fail in his experiment on
account of scarcity of water, and has
therefore arranged a complete system
of irrigating bitches, which he a use
if necessary. In looking over the
ground and conversing with Clark, I
found that his onions, peas, beets, tur-
nips, barley, rye and oats. are already
up and growing finely. He will have
II acres of onions, ! acre of peas, !
acre of barley, ! acre of rye and oats,
and $4,000 cabbages, which are now
ready for setting out. The fact that
the festive hoppergrass invaded the
Hills in large force last year, and the
probability that the jerky bird will
again move upon the land OF gold has
induced Mr.. Clark to prepare for q
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