The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1877-05-25
OUR BLACK HILLS LETTER.


DEADwooD, May 10, 1877.
To The Cheyenne Leader:
If any inquisitive inquirer bothers
you or your neighbors to know whether
Deadwood this vicinage) is in Wyo-
ming or Dakota, in advance of the Of
fetal determination Of this vexed ques-
ton, 1 remind you of the exquisite ap-
propriateness of the showman's answer:
"Vichever you please, my dears; you
pays your money and takes your
choice"
Who cares, anyhow?
This town is in travail to-day, and
there is no telling what it may bring
forth. A huge delegate convention is
now in session in one of the variety
halls, where females jerk beer and
idlers most do congregate. The vision
of a new territory and Offices to be
filled, wherein men can loll away a part
of their existence without toiling or
spinning, have taken possession of the
minds of a lot of fellows here, and each
is viciously jerking at the coat-tail of
the chap who happens to be one step in
advance of himself in probable favor or
public notoriety. Miserable beings!
Let them writhe and wriggle. Should
the project of a new territory succeed,
you can rest assured that Father Hayes
at Washington will either have friends
to reward or enemies to punish, whom
he will thrust into the offices for which
these fellows are struggling with the
pristine ~ferocity of hungry politicians.
No doubt the convention will come to
a head before the close of this epistle,
and if it does l shall chronicle the sum
of it's labors. 1t is made up of men
who have the nickel-plated knocker
''judge" prefixed to their surnames.
There are judges, or ''jedges' from
Troy, from False Bottom, from Spear
fish, from Crook City, from Bear Buttes,
from Custer, and from nearly every
where else, except from-the bench.
Many of them are no doubt fair judges
of fluids and solids, horse-flesh, cleo
tions and foot-races. But a story is
appropos:
Once at a time, away out west, on the
frontier, IN old settler had a ferry on a
stream and crossed travellers in a
ricketty skiff, which would safely carry
only one passenger at Il time with the
western Charon. The consequence was
that, at times, persons desiring to cross
would have to wait for hours before
their turns came. One day "a gentle
man from the metropolis of the east,
who had strayed tout into the wilder
ness" came to the ferry, desiring to
cross, and had to await his turn.
The grizzled ferryman, as he returned
on each trip, would sing out, as the
PROV of his boat reached the river
bank, addressing himself to the pas
senger entitled by priority to be ferried
across: "Jump in, Cap'n," or ':jump
in, Kurnel," or '.jump in, Gin'ral.''
The man from Gotham finally got in
in his turn and, having seated himself
III Nv VI tilC pottt, Stlu.
"You seem to have a number of dis
tinguished men out here, judging by
the titles you call them. Are they mill
tary men?"
"Not that 1 know off,
"Why do you call them captains,
colonies and generals"
"Jist for fun like. When we see a
fellow right pert out here. we call him
g%in'ral; if he is pootty sharp only, we
call him kurnel; if he is a no account
Urinary cuss, we call him cap'n."
Just then the boat nearing the oppo-
site shore, the stranger espied a seedy
looking individual on the bank, who
was humpbacked, bowlegged, long
haired, with a cadaverous appearance
and an ungainly gait, and said: "What
do you call that fellow?''
Him! We call him iedge! We
call them fellows jedges -
The weather hasn't let up yet, that is
the average kind at Deadwood.. 1t is
rain, rain, rain A CLEAN of sunshine
sends a thrill of joy to one, nearly if
not equal, to a rich find; and it is poor
consolation to be answered by the old
settlers that we need expect no change
in the weather, until towards the latter
part of summer, when the water will
grow scarcer.
Mining is carried on, however, with
the protection of rubber boots and rub
Der coats, and these articles are in good
demand. Large amounts of gold dust
are being taken out of Deadwood,
Black Tail, Gold Run. Whitewood, be-
low town, and Boulder.
Many of the bars and hill diggings
are being worked through shafts and
drifts proftably. These diggings will
last longer than the creek or gulch dig
gings. No mining of consequence has
been done on Whitewood-above town
owing to the depth of the bedrock