Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-05-16
1he Daily fress aud Datotaiaa
DkSOIL
Thursday Evening, May l6, 1873
MUTE RECORDS OF THE PAST.

Scraps from the U"svritt@n History OF
Dakota's Gold Mines.
Black Hills Telegraph Herald.
Every few months the miner or the ad
venturous prospector brings 10 light some
fresh evidences of early mining operations
in the Hills. These operations must have
been carried on BY quite number Of men,
but their names, and where they came from,
are matters of conjecture, and will probably
remain 80 until the end Of time.
Mining implements have been uncarthed,
buried many feet below the surface of some
of our mining claims. A chain was found
partially imbedded in large pine tree,
where it had probably hung for many years.
The old tunnels and shafts found last winter
of miners to this country. We have now
discovered still another link in this unwrit-
ten history. Last Friday there arrived in
Lead City two hunters, Frenchmen, by the
name of LeFevre, who will be rcmem.
bered by old residents of Battle Creek, as
being there the winter of rs. These men
have been hunting and trapping the past
winter IN the vicinity Of Bear Lodge noun
tains They report that one day last Janu
ary while tracking wounded deer, they
came across the skeletons Of two men. They
were found ON top of rather elevated
knoll, and rocks, earth, and pieces of trees
formed a sort Of rough breastwork, behind
which the remains were lying The skulls
of both men were in fair state of preser.
vation, and through the center of one Of the
skulls there was a large hole, evidently
made by bullet. The second skeleton lay
some ten feet distant, and the iron head Of
an arrow was firmly imbedded in the thigh
bone, the wooden part had evidently been
broken off, and only short stump remain
ed, which was wrapped with rawhide. The
wood Of the arrow was considerably warped,
and showed signs Of having been exposed
to the weather for many years.
They also found part Of an old iron camp
kettle, the broken stock of an old rife, made
Of fancy knottcd wood, such as the old Ken.
lucky rifles used to have The logs that
formed part of this breastwork were literal
ly filled with bullets, showing that the fight
for life must have been long and bitter. No
Clothing Of any kind could be found in the
vicinity, except the heel and counter Of an
old boot, the savages evidently stripped the
bodies entirely naked.
The hunters in their search for something
that would lead to the identity of these bod
les, tore down part of the breastwork, and
were rewarded by the discovery of what
was evidently the cover Of leather covered
memorandum book. The action of the
weather, and the decayed vegetation which
had sprung up and nearly hidden the breast
work from view, had the effect of nearly de-
stroying this evidence that the skeletons
were those of white men. There had evil
IDENTIFY been considerable writing on this
cover, but all that remained legible wa, the
figures "1-52," which was evidently 1852
The bones were very much scattered, as
though wild animals had eaten the bodies
after they were killed. The hunters collec-
ted what they could find, and buried them
under the shadow Of the breastwork they
had 80 gallantly defended. The inscription
on this book, and the inscription on the
walls Of the old tunnel discovered last win
ter, are the same. and this coincidence
would lead the writer to believe that they
belong to one and the same party.
All evidence so far discovered goes to
had many fights with the Indians, who at
that tine occupied this country. And it
may be possible that if these men belonged
to the party who run the old tunnel near
Rutabaga gulch. that the party escaped from
the tunnel and were fighting their way out
to Montana, or the old overland trail
through that country. One by one the mer-
ciless savages picked them of, until only
two remained, and these two, seeing escape
was impossible, selected the spot where the
hunters found their bones, and fought their
savage foes until by starvation, or the entire
consumption of their ammunition, they be-
came an easy prey for their unrelenting foes.
The theory that their surrender was caused
by their ammunition giving out, seems to be
confirmed by the finding Of the broken gun.
stock, which had probably been used as a
last weapon Of defense.
The early history of the Black Hills, the
names Of the hardy pioneers who first dis.
covered its hidden riches, or where these
men came from. will probably never be
known, but that they laid down their lives,
fighting as only pioneer can fight, thick.
ening evidence goes to prove.