Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1877-12-26

Rockerville, six miles from here is building
up very fast. The cement in that portion
Of the Hills proves to be as rich as anything
yet found in any place. The belt of cement
is quite extensive, in fact it is one solid belt
from this place to Rockerville and Camp
Crook, skirting along and running under
the limestone range, but the great excite
ment now is, the gold and cinnabar leads in
Pennington county. This belt of cinnabar
and gold quartz seems to be confined between
the Spring creek and Rapid creek ranges,
is about two miles in width and three miles
in length. There has been stock company
formed of twenty members, Fred J. Cross
being one Of the head men. They have con-
solidated thirty-six claims of fifteen hun
dred feet each, and now have quite
force of men at work on the mines and
engaged in building cabins, and large
boarding house, also blacksmith shop and
tool house. Theyhave taken mill site with
plenty Of water and wood at hand, and stu
ated nearly in the centre of the district. 1
predict great stampede for that section Of
country very soon. The leads are all true
vertical veins and some of them are i'm
mense, beirg fifty feet in width. The rock is a
quartz formation and rel as blood and as
slippery as = we'll nearly as slippery as
quick silver. If it is only cinabar, it is
very rich. 1t was assayed in Denver, and
run forty per cent cinibar, and very rich in
gold. I have prospected some Of it for gold
and succeeded in getting colors nearly every
time. Our silver leads near Harnev's Peak
are still looking up although there has not
been very much work done on them for
some weeks, as every oae has been digging
for cement, thinking, and very correctly too,
that they could realize from that sooner than
from silver leads. The silver leads are very
rich, but very hard and expensive, to work;
not an inch of rock can be moved except
by blasting. Cross says that if all the solid
leads should be failure, he still has a for
tune in the Thompson and Buck Eye silver
leads.
Sheriff Ely is holding cement lead,
opened near Rockerville, for Judge Bennett
and L. w. Bell, of Vermillion, and says
that he is holding an extension on the Red
Cloud for Messrs. Bowen & Kingsbury. The
Red Cloud is located about three -fourths of
a mile from the town, and is being worked
night and day. The mill will make it, first
clean up from that ore. The next run will
be from the Crazy Horse owned by Fred ]
Cross.
The next run will be made from the
Ysnkton lodc, owned by Messrs Ely
Cross and Lavender. Parties are now here
examining the quartz, and intend to put up
a twesty stamp mill at once.
There is some excitemant about the late
election. The vote has not yet been can
vassed. 1t was found that there was only
one county commissioner and the county
clerk to count the vote, the other commits
sioners not being in the country, and the
probate judge never having qualified,
taken the oath Of Office, consequently the
vote has not been canvassed. The Custer
City precinct imported some thirty illegal
voters from Deadwood for the purpose of
getting the county seat as well as to elect
all the county officers. The county seat
vote was tie. Sheriff Ely was beaten by
six votes, and proposes to test the legality
Of the votes cast in the Custer City pre-.
cinct. F.J. Cross was beaten by six votes
and he does no! propose TO be beaten in
that way. The candidates on the Custer
ticket propose to have the probate Judge
swear them in on the 25th of this month
and take possession of their Offices on the
list Of January. Ely has place fixed for
them and proposes to run them in as fast as
they begin to exercise the functions of
county officers and be will surely do it, but
be expects some trouble. But enough for
this time. QUARTZ.