Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1877-05-04

effect, will be dead weight on the
country and stumbling block in his
own way.
A look at the prospect III the Black
Hills and adjacent country will be,
however, more cheering. Its resources
ESQ far as the miner is sohcerncd)
may be summed up under three heads:
l. The gold placers. 3. The gold
quartz veins. 3. The silver quartz
veins.
THE GOLD PLAcERs.
i, Up to date about thirty gu,ohes-
counting tributaries-have been found
to be aurifcrous to An extent that will
pay fair wages, 81 to i6 per day In
spots these gulches have proved rich,
and-fortunes have already been taken.
out, bat This should not m:slsad anv
one who. goes to the country for busi-
ness. So far almost all the ground
opened has been found to be shallow
from two to fifteen feet decp-snd
it may be expected that the bars will
be rapidly exhausted. In many ways
the aurifetous gravel deposits Of the
Black Hills resemble those Of Montana,
iexcepting that as yet no ancient chan.
incls have been found, such as are now
being explored At Helena, Diamond
Fand Virginia City, though we have
little doubt that in time they will be.
Every inch Of ground, however, that
! Shorr any ;pdtnat;o,e oc ,.Ii,l -,
been staked off, and the new conner
must be prepared to 60 out and fnd
his own claim. Here the prospects
are Of the best. For hundreds OF
miles along the southern slops Of the
Upper Missouri Valley every lndica-
ition points to the existence OF numcr-
Gus paying bar aud gulch deposits.
! The gold field east and west for
distance OF 400 miles, and is y field
for the prospector and explorer that
will not be exhausted for years. The
/ work of opening it, on the other hand,
is fraught with danger, privation and
hardship; but we do not know that
there is any use in informing the
prosp.ctor OF this, for he knows It
better than any, one else, anl-sweuld
not hs deferred if the obstacles were
double what there are in number and
magnitude. Bu,this isthe work OF the
trained rEeheer, and "tender feet"
should not travel to the Hills 10 in
dulge in such q game without due
cons liberation OF what is to be 0ex-
! pected.
Toward the end Of last year attention
began to be drawn to the quartz
veins which are very numerous in the
Hills; and explorations upon nun.
Der OF them disclosed the fact that
many presented most favorable OPP
poftunities for systematic develop
ment. There is nothing peculiar in
the gold lodes OF this district.
| The metal is found, rs elsewhere, in
quartz, which must be crushed in
stampsto yield its gold. Most Of
the veins show no decomposition to
amount to anything at the surface,
aad in some tbat enemy of the miner
-iron pyriles-appcars at the grass
roots. There are already three quartz
mills i1-the Hills, we believe, or on
their way there, and a man with
means TO open mine will not find
himsclt al loss for work.
OTHER METALS.
IN the matter Of silver veins but lit :.
4 tie is known. Some exceedingly rich
galena, gray copper. and ruby silver
ore has come from the Hills in the
shape Of assay samples, aud also. some
specimens OF no value BIT there is
no doubt of the e1stence ofrich silver
veins, though the history Of ceery
mining district in the west shows
that this class Of deposits is almost
tho last an the list 10 be opened and
rendered payable, yet their time will
come, and when it does il will doubt
less be shown that the Back Hills pc.
scFses as rich veins OF this metal as any
tobc found anywhere.
! Oar readers must not allow them
selves TO think, from what we have
SAID, that the Journal is in any way ~
imica. TO this new Ell Dorado, or desir-
GUS OF sighting It's claims. On'the
contrary, believing aud knowing it to
/ possess high mineral resources, our de-
sire is to warn of all who go there
/ with no purpose but to chase their
luck, and who will ipjure the country
aud retard its development. After
twenty five years of experience in the
precious metal mining, the American
people ought to know enough about
the industry not to be led away BY
false hopes OF the gold hunters. There
is plenty Of room on thc Hills for men
of energy, determination and good
health, if they had enough means 10
overcome the Obstacles sure 10 be me-,
with at the outset; but there is no
pl-ce there fos poor men yet. 1t is
not psor'man's paradise in any sense
for its placer mines, according 20 the
ha< inf ,k,r.n a n