Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-03-29
The Black Hills.
HOW THE BOYS LIVE WHO ARE Dig
GING MONEY IN SITTING BULLS
RESERVE.

HOW THE BOYS LIVE WHO ARE DIG.
CLING MONEY IN SITTING BULLS
RESERVE.
Il. R. Johns, of Greeley, in letter
gives the following particulars about
his recent trip to the Black Hills coun.
try and experiences therein: We had
but three pleasant days from Greeley to
Custer City, and part Of the time il
seemed almost impossible to keep from
freezing. But the night we passed
Alkah Springs, nearly two hundred
miles from Cheyenne, was the toughest
weffound on the entire trip. 1t is a
bleak, desolate place on the open
prairie-no wood, no shelter, and the
hills all covered with snow. We camp.
ed here about 8 o'clock in the after.
noon, and an hour afterward cold
storm came up from the north, driving
the snow in every direction, sending il
in drifts in the corral we had formed
with our wagons until it was ten inches
deep on our beds. The next morning
the thermometer stood % degrees be.
low zero, and as the stage came along
the passengers were too glad to avail
themselves of the handful of fire we had
to keep from freezing. Nearly all of us
froze our fingers and ears, while Geo.
Barnes froze one of his feet quite badly
while in bed, but was not aware of it
until next morning. The next day the
storm continued until we reached Alum
Springs, when it cleared up, but was
awful cold, every breath freezing our
whiskers. The snow continued getting
deeper until we reached Custer-in
many places it drifted so badly that we
had to shovel our way through. At
Pleasant Valley, nine miles from Gus
ter, 1 had the misfortune to lose horse.
He go, loose in the night, pulled fifty.
pound sack Of -four out of the wagon,
and at O'Clock the next evening he
"passed in his checks" We reached
Custer on the 23d of January, in good
health and appetites that were ruinous
to hotel keeper. Here we left our
wagons and built us sleds out of pine,
loaded for other parties for Deadwood,
and stored our goods. We took $500
pounds to sled, at four cents per
pound, but would have done better had
we taken 500 instead of $500, for the
roads were horrible.
We were six days getting to Dead
wood, and our teams looked as though
they had been drawn through knot
hole. After discharging our freight
we drove up to the Buffalo Corral, kept
by two Greeleyites, John Harris and
William Lynn, who are in good spirits
and doing well. About a month ago
they bought the place they now occupy
for $500, and they were offered $4,000
for the place, in my presence, few
days ago. The next day was spent in
looking around. We went up Dead
wood Creek to Gayville, South Bend,
Central, Golden Gate and Gold Run,
finding the miners all busy in washing
out the dirt they had been drifting
through all winter, and meeting with
good results. Two miles of Deadwood
Creek is very rich, paying from $500 to
$1,000 a day to four men. The bal
ance Of the creek pays good wages, say
about twenty dollars a day to the man,
while Whitewood and Gold Run are
some better, but the Placer mines are
not the prominent mines of the country.
Some very rich lodges have lately been
discovered, two Of which sold, only last
week, one for 100000 and the other for
$50, 900 cash. Three months ago the
young men who sold these lodges were
not worth dollar in the world, while a
number ofsales Of less Importance have
also been made. The country is COM
pletely covered with quartz, the lodges
cropping out everywhere. Five lodges
are actually worked by mills now in
operation, and three mills more are on
the road up to be erected on Whitewood,
and large quantities of ore piled wait
ing for them. The Black Hills contain
a population of about 10000, while
5000 are concentrated at Deadwood,
and as you stand at the head of Main
street on Sunday and look down
through the principal street, you see a
perfect jam Of men on every side. Sun
day is the great day in the mines, and
merchants and business men look for
ward to this day as their harvest
Money is getting plenty, and but very
little cry ofhard times. yet there are a
great many idlers here-men that are
cursing the country and trying to gel
away, while others seem to be satisfied
and happy. My opinion is that the
Black Hills have not been overrated,
but offer better inducements to men O
energy and perseverance than any othel
country in the world, and now is the
time to strike them, for they are yet il
their infancy, but, in my judgment, will
convince the most credulous as to theI
richness the coming summer.
THE MAN WHO KNEw.-Once in 6
great while man can stand on a street
corner in Detroit and ask a question
which can't be answered, but such in
stances are very rare. Yesterday noon
when an old citizen made an inquiry o.
q crowd &C the post-office, it wasn't q
second before he was being answered
He started out with the remark that he
was nearly sixty years old, and ended
by asking:
"Can anybody tell me why we have
this warm spell called Indian Summer!''
eyes, SIR" was the prompt answer