Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1883-06-09

west Of the l02nd meridian, and all that
portion of Wyoming lying north Of the
43d parallel and east Of the l05th meri-
| dian, and embracing about 90, 800 square
miles, or Ia, 800 900 acres, Of (which about
one-fourth is agricultural, the other
three-fOurths being mineral and pastoral
lands. About 100000 acres, all of which
are in Dakota, have been taken under
the homestead, pre-emption and timber
| culture acts. The balance is now open
to settlement, with the exception of a
small portion lying east of the banks of
the Cheyenne river and the l03d meri-
dian. The farming lands Of The Hills
are as productive as can be found any
place in the world. Fifty bushels Of
wheat, 60 of barley, 40 Of oats, 400 of
potatoes and 600 of onions have been
raised per acre Of ground. All other
kinds of vegetables do equally as well
potatoes that will weigh two or three
pounds are common, and some have
been raised that vent as high as four
pounds. The soil is a rich vegetable
mold, strongly imprcgnated with gyp-
sum, Of which there is an inexhaustible
supply, and consequently the land need
never become impoverished.
The timber lands Of the Hills are eS-
timaled at 5000 square miles, the timber
il principally Norway pine, with some
spruce, cottonwood, willow, aspen, oak,
ash, elm, etc, along the margin Of the
streams which rise in the mountains
and flow on to the Cheyenne river on
| the north and south side.
No other country in North America
can offer equal inducements to the stock
! grower. The finest and most nutritious
grasses with plenty Of good water ana
shelter from the winter winds ami
| scarcely II snow, cattle keen fat on the
range the year round, never knowing
| what it is to be fed; the stock raiser can
have choice of five different railroads to
ship his stock, thereby getting the low
Csl ')pSSIDlC Idlto " hhhN w ilit
ket. Sheep do equally as well as cattle,
and horses do better.
Large herds ofbuffalo are now swarm
ing YER the ranges north and west of
Inc Mills, with many thousands Of cattle
mixed in with them. Two years ago,
The hardest winter ever known in the
west. the loss Of cattle was only about 4
per cent, while in the states and terri
tories south and west Of here the loss
MAS from 20 to - per cent. There are
1T the present time about 100000 head
of cattle on the range in this vicinity
and room for 100000 more without
oycrstocking the country.
Gold mining is carried on from Bear
gu!ch on thc north TO Custer City in the
southern part Of he Hills, a distance of
niuety mile. and from Rockford on the
west 70 Rockerril!e ON the east. In no
other country in the world are there SO
many and extensive mines Of gold as IN
HE Black Hills. From the northern TO
;hc southern and from the eastern to
the western extremely gold is found in
nearly every gnlch and on every Hill
within tlle mineral belt. In other min
ing countries il is only found over a
small area of country, covering hut a
few miles of territory at the most here
there are about leo square miles in
what is called the mineral, and gold is
found IN almost every square mile o! the
200. The lodeS vary in size from 10 to
1000 feet in width, and some a much
as 50 miles in length. The great MAORI
" Of the mines are low grade ore. but
| with he immense bodies of pay ore and
good management these mines have
been made TO pay better than any 9th
ers in the United States. Ore that will
60 60 per ton will pay to work, while
| that which goes from 81 to SO per ton
will pay largely. The ore which is
worked by the great Homestake mills
II Lead City, does not average s. per
ton, YET that company has paid tifty-one
successive monthly dividends, part OF
"a hich have been go. 900 per month and
The balance $4,000, besides having a
large surplus on hand after paying all
expenses. These mines are better
developed than any others in the Black
Hills, but equally as good and extensive
mines have been discovered
The quartz mills are the largest and
most complete in the world, nearly all
have from 40 to 100 stamps.
The silver mines Of the Hills are al
Of Il high grade. Those of Galena have
been worked continuously ever since
1876, and the ore shipped by wagon to
Sidney $50 miles, thence by rail to
Omaha, Nebraska, for treatment. Al
the carbonate camp, seven miles west
of Deadwood, rich carbonate mines have
been opened, the ore from which is now
being shipped TO Omaha and Denver.
Rich and extensive copper mines have
been discovered in several localities.
The mica mines of the Black Hills are
all in the vicinity of l~larney's peak and