Omaha daily bee., 1877-01-23
BLACK HILLS.
Custer City Excited Over An Or
ganized Attempt to lump
CLAIMS on Battle Creek.
The Present Owners Will
Resist All Attempts to
Eject Them.
1t Is Reported That There Are
About Five Hundred Teams Be-
"a tween Cheyenne and Custer.
Mining, Trade and Per-
sonal Notes.
Mining. Trade and Per-
sona1 Notes.
Correspondenee of The Bee.

SUFesponucUce V Inc Dee
Custer City, d. II, January O.
The town is very much excited over
an organized attempt made by
miners from the north to 'jumpo
some Of the best claims on Battle
Creek In the upper or Harvey Dis
trict. There is no doubt about the
fact that they are very rich claims,
and some of the owners will TN
doubleday fight before they will give
them up to the bumpers" There
is the greatest chance in the world
for cheating and rascality in a new
mining district if the recorder is dis
posed to DO it. A recorder can re.
cord claims to Smith, Jones or
Brown, or all three of them, and
then record a transfer eff the claims
to himself, by stating what the con-
sideratlon was and when he OBJ
tanned it. The old miners around
Deadwood r coming down
by scores, and the immigra-
ton from the south and east has IN.
creased greatly since the holidays.
We shall certainly have lively times
here during the next four months,
and blood is sure to be shed before
the conflicting parties can adjust
their differences.
Nearly five hundred teams are re-
ported between Custer and Chey-
enne, but this is, of course, an exag-
geration. A large number are also
reported on the sidney route, but
nothing definite with regard to their
numbers can be ascertained. A line
OF stages will be running from Gus.
ter to the new mines in a week
from the date of this letter, and
John ~Featherstun, division super
intendent of the G. & B. 81. stage
line, Informed me to-day that the
company would put on a line in
about two weeks from this time
One toll road is finished to Harney: |
another will be opened to Hayward
in less than a month. A heavy |
snow storm day before yesterday
covered the ground to a depth of
about five inches. 1t is ove a foot |
deep on Harney's Peak and Look
out mountain, and over two feet
deep on Crow Peak and Inyan
Kiara, and about the same at Dead
wood, so We shall have plenty of
water in the spring.
To-day L saw the most enormous
elk that it has ever been my lot to
witness. Frank Smeth, the hunter
that shot him, placed his feet on
one point of one antler and Just
touched the other with the top of
his hat as the royal animal lay on
his side on the ground. That
sounds large, 1 know, but any Of
S~chlining's men here will confirm
the statement.
Beef is very scarce in Custer at
present, and costs from l6c to zoe a
at retail. Pork, fresh, sells
at 20 cents, and elk and veni-
son at from twelve to fifteen. Flour
is very plenty, and 1 bought a lot OF
Colorado on the street yesterday at
seven dollars a hundred in Battle
Creek dust at twenty dollars an
Richard McCormick's train ar
from Sidney day before yes
with flour for John w.
All we'll, with stock in fair
Henry Homan has brought In
some specimens of gold quartz from
lead near Point of Rocks, which
he will take to Omaha to be as.
He starts tomorrow, but
expects to return in a few weeks to
open it up and work it. The quartz
looks very rich, and MI. Homan
feels confident that he has got a big
thing Oh his hands. The rock is
brown in color, considerably de.
and is full of tiny yellow
John Smiley was down from his
'anch near Mountain City last
week. They have been prospect
Dg up there and he says they have
got it in paying quantities. One of
he citizens here received a letter
rom Crawford last week. He was
hen In Connecticut connected with
iome kind of a theatrical troupe.
We have considerable trouble
bout our press dispatches here, the
wire being Frustrated about one.
bird Of the time between Cheyenne
md Custer. The mails are very
regular on both stage lines and we
ave had letters on the road sixteen
md twenty one days respectively
'etween Omaha and Custer and