Bismarck tri-weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.]) 1875-1881, 1877-07-23
a BLACK HILLsLETTER.

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The following is portion Of letter
written by Mr.. William II. Golfer, of St.
Paul, who has been in the Black Hills for
several months. The extracts published
below are very brief, yet they contain a
good deal Of information. The letter is
Hated Dcadwood, July 8th:
less than six thousand square miles, em-
that is grand and beautiful. For extent
fof territory the mineral deposit is one
[ofi the richest yet discovered. This is
rests upon the demonstra cations Of practi-
cal Development Two millioos of gold
have already been taken from the mines,
and the average production, constantly
increasing, has been half million =
month since the, inauguration Of the
present working season. The mines will
not reach the maximum Of productive.
ness in less than Eve years from this time.
Besides gold we have rich ,silves mines,
not yet developed to productiveness, cop
per, lead, coal and iron. - 81.
An aggregate Of at least five hundred
square miles of territory in and inmedi-
ately adjacent to the Black Hills, is sus-
ceptible of cultivation, embracing two
thousand farms Of a quarter section each.
This is rather an under than an over estl-
mate. With 3the same number to the
cultivated acre that make up the agri-
cultural population of the older states.
these hllable lands of the Black Hills
would sustain population OF 10000.
They do not include the grazing regions,
but are selected exclusively as hllable
tracts. Outside of them there are limit
able pastures of the finest quality in the
world.
Black Hills is heavily timbered. A lum-
ber trade could be developed here which
alone would justify the extension of a
railroad to this country. The pines are
of great size, and are, as rule, lofty and
ungnarled, Of excellent quality to be
converted into lumber. The settlers OF
central and eastern Nebraska and north
ern and western Dakota, will look hither
in the near future for their lumber sup
plies. In the course of time this will be an
important field for manufacturing enter
prises, having all kinds of mineral wealth,
sufficient water power, and being unex-
celled in natural advantages for wool
growing.
Of course at the present the great OBJ
iect of interest is the development of
the mineral deposits, and the success and
energy with which this has been engaged
in has no parallel in the mining history
of the country. Already the placer dig
gings assume second place of import
ance, and the quartz mines are universal
| w recognized as the source upon which
the permanent and substantial Ge7elop-
ment of the country is to come. lhis Is
easily seen from the fact that twelve
quartz mills are already in operation, and
ten more will be completed and at work
within the next thirty days. Of the
twelve now running, they have 1o5
stamps, which will average the reduction
of one and one-ha1f tons of ore to the
stamp every every twenty-four hours, Or
2,o tons per day, and 1890 tons per week.
| Of the profit in this quartz, while cam
not give you any reliable data from the
books of any of the mills, as the owners
manifest a discreet silence, but one tell
tale fact that is apparent to the outsider
discloses the result, and that is, that
every mill that has been running for two
or three months is charging its machine
cry duu 1dSAAAlACS3 aAA ~ 40 AAo1 fA~A -
any price. When we have thousand
stamps in crushing quartz, with capacl-
ty of 1900 tons every twenty-four hours,
you can comprehend that the yield of
bullion will be sufficient to attract and
keep here population large enough to
ssconstitute a State" As yet all the
work is of the most hasty and hurried
Echaracter.. In the development Of the
mines but little advancement, compare
lively speaking, has been made, the
ground simply scratched over, and prob
ably but few of the leads, as to what will
be, found and discovered. The machln
cry of the simplest and cheapest charac-
ter, and consequently, Of the ore that is
now being worked, less than one halt
lis, saved as to what will be when the
means and facilities are here to work
them fully and to completion. ,.5
The brief period in which these mills
have been put up, together with the saw
and other mills brought into the country
and constructed, has gathered together
a heterogeneous mass Of humanity never
before witnessed or known in the settle
ment of any part of the country, and
never likely to be again. The crowd has
simply been huge, overdowing and over
crowding each other on all sides. 1t has
been scene of confusion, excitement,
energy, haste, push, rush and noise, re-
minding one of some grand gala day,
when the entire neighborhood and the
::rest of mankind gathered to the shire
town of the county to celebrate some
national event. But it has been an or
derlv, decent and well-behaved crowd,
temperate and industrious, and with but,
comparatively speaking, little violent DIS
order or crime. w. II. COULTER.
|. was the work of the ladies, God
bless them, that put The Catholic school
enterprise fairly on its feet, and VIC
learn there is a increment or foot with