The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-02-21
tue TRUTN AsoUT me SIDNEY aouTr.
Facts for the Consideration of All Who
Are Going to the Black Hills.

Some of our eastern readers may per-
haps have heard something said about
a route to the Black Hills leading from
Sidney, Nebraska, and for their benefit
we will give a few facts about this
alleged route"
In the first place, Sidney is a very
small place, having less than 500 in
habitants, most of whom would not be
counted by a census taker, as they are
cattle-herders and government freight
ers, and not in Sidney much Of the
time. There are but three or four
small retail) business houses in the
place, and all the merchandise kept in
stock in the town could be easily loaded
upon one or two of the large freight
wagons which leave this city by the
score every day of the week for the
Black Hills, loaded with supplies for
the miners and fresh stocks for the
branch houses which have been estab-
lished sby some of our leading mer-
chants in the land Of gold.
The population of Sidney is composed
of the worst and most dangerous class Of
border outlaws, the close-shaved heads
of recently escaped convicts from peni-
tentiaries being a common sight in
the low dives which abound in that
place. 1t has come to pass that when
murderers, burglars, %garroters, counter
f~eiters, or very bad criminals of any
class are wanted by the authorities Of
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado,
Dakota, Wyoming or Nebraska, they
at once start for Sidney, and the vii
lains are invariably caught there. Pas
sengers who stop off the trains there
for even the briefest time, are sur
rounded by black-legs and 'cappers"
who endeavor by every means in their
power to lead the unsuspecting into
dens of infamy and then rob them Of
everything of value. The officers of
the county are in league with the viii
lains who run the town, the town has
no organized government, and there is
no redress for victims.
There are now nearly one hundred
cases of smallpox in Sidney, and there
being no town government to cake
precautions against the spread of the
loathsome disease, the place should be
Stunned by all.
Once out on the road, the intending
gold-hunter is forced to ride in old,
WORKOUT freight wagons, drawn by
wild and unmanageable mules; the
few me%al-stations supply mouldy hard
tack and musty bacon, stolen from the
Government freight wagons; the price
per meal" is 81 so, and at the Platte
river a rickety wooden bridge has been
built, for the privilege of crossing which
the ''stage" passengers pay S1per head,
while emigrants and freighters are
charged from five to ten dollars per
wagon.
From Sidney to the river the road is
self-made, but beyond the river there is
no road, only a mere trail over steep
and rocky bluffs, and leading right
through the Indian reservation, where
there is no safety whatever for parties
less than n hundred strong.
Neither wood nor water can be found
on this route-if we except small
patches of sagebrush and buffalo wal
lows wherein stagnant pools of green
and bitter alkali water have formed.
Murderers and horse-thieves, white and
red, are ever at hand, ready 10 pounce
upon unwary travellers. There are no
troops on the route, except a few com-
panies at the Red Cloud Indian Agency,
and they have their hands full in taking
care of the stores at that point, SO that
they pay no attention to the troubles of
travellers on the so-called Sidney route.
All these statements are facts and can
be easily proven.