Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1883-12-08

portion of Wyoming lying north of tn,
I'D parallel and east Of the l05th meri
dian, and embracing about 22, 800 square
miles, or l4,500,0GO acres. of which abou'
me -fourth is agricultural, the Other
thrce-fourths being mineral and pastora'
lands. About i00,Oun acres, all Of which
IRE in Dakota, have been taken unde.
the homestead, presumption and timbe,
culture acts. The balance is now open
10 settlement, with the exception of 4
small portion lying east of the banks oi
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 ol
wheat, 90 of barley, 10 of oats, 400 oil
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 went as high as foui
pounds. The soil is a rich vegetabl,
mold, strongly impregnated with Typ
sum, Of which there is an inexhaus,ibl,
supply, and consequently the land need
never become impoverished.
The timber lands OF the Hills are es.
;imated at 5000 square miles, the timber
is 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 Americ.
can offer equal Inducements TO the stock
grower. The finest and most nutritious
Ernsscs with plenty of good water ana
heller from the winter winds and
scarcely any snow, cattle keep tat on the
range the year round, never knowing
what Il is 10 be fed the stock raiser can
have rhoi"e of five different railroads to
Shii, his stock, thereby getting the low
est possible rates to take them to mar
kct. Silcep do equally as we'll rs cattle,
and horsrs do better.
Large herds ofhuHllo nr" now swarm
ing over HE ranges north and west Of
'he Hills, with many thousands Of cattle
miXed in with them. Two wears ago.
the hardest winter even known in the
a. tin ipN, ~ ,, l., ,,n.. ,,i, ,J,., .
ucr cent, While in the states and terri
;ories south and west Of here the loss
WAS from ~ 10 - per cent. There are
at Tie present time about 100000 head
Of cattle OH the ranges in this vicinity
ana room for 100000 more without
Overstocking the country.
cold mining is carried on from Fear
Mich on She north to Custer CitY in the
at;hcrn part Of he Hills, a distance OF
itc'y mi.e~. and from Rockford on the
Vet T. Rrricrvi!'c on the eat. In no
r,irr c~o,!Htry in the Toi!d are here so
mamy and extensive mincs OF goil as in
'he Dlach lIiila. From The northern 10
hc aoNihorn and from the eastern ia
;hc western extremely gold * found in
nearly every guich and on every hill
Withia l:iv miucrul belt. Ii other min
ing conn RES il i. only found over Il
small area OF country, covering bat Il
few mics of territory at the most here
there are about 200 square miles in
what is called the mineral. and gold j.
found IN almost every square mile OF the
] 200. The lodcs vary in size from 10 To
CUG feet in width, ard some as much
as 20 mics in length. The great MAORI
" of the mines are low grade ore. but
with the immense bodies of pay ore and
rood infringement these mines have
been made to pay better than any 9th
20 80 per ton viii pay TO work, While
shat which goes rom 81 TO so per toni
will pay largely. The ore which is
worked bv the great iiomcStake mills
1t Lead City. does not average s. per
ton. vet that company has paid tifty-one
successive monthly dividends, part of
"nirh have been S}0,oA0 per month and
lie balance $ie.n00. heeilcs having a
large surplus on hand after paving all
expenses. These mineS are better
developed than any others in the Black
Hills, but equally as good ard extensive
mines have been discovered
The quartz mills are the largest and
most complete in the world, nearly all
have from 40 to 10 stamps.
The silver mines Of the Hills are all
Of Il high grade. Those OF Galena have
been worked continuously ever since
1876, and TIE ore shipped by wagon to
Sidney go miles, thence by rail &c
Omaha, Nebraska, for treatment. Al
the carbonate camp, seven miles ives,
of DeadwoOd, rich carbonate mines have
been opened, the ore from which is now
being shipped 10 Omaha and Denver.
Rich and extensive copper mines have
been discovered in several localities.
The mica mines of the Black Hills ar.
all in the vicinity Of I~Iarney's peak an,
Custer City. They are easily worked, re
curing very little capital. All that il
necessary to work a mica mine and &c