Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1883-04-14

What is termed the Black Hills
try is all that part of Dakota lying south
of the 45th parallel ofnorth latitude and
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 22,50O square
miles, or l4,5O0,0OO acres, of (which about
one-fourth is agricultural, the other
three-fourths being mineral and pastoral
lands. About 400, 900 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, 10 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 went as high as four
pounds. The soil is a rich vegetable
mold, strongly im~pregnated with gyp-
of which there is an in~exhaustible
supply, and consequently the land need
never become impoverished.
The timber lands Of the Hills are es-
timated at 5000 square miles, the timber
ID 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 ard
scarcely any snow, cattle keep fat on the
range the ycar 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
est possible rates TO take them to mar
kst. Sheep do equally as well as cattle,
and horses d. better.
Large herds ofbuffalo are now swarm
ing over the ranges north and west Of
the Wills, with many thousands of cattle
mixed in with them. Two wears ago,
the hardest winter ever known i'll the
west, the loss of cattle was only about s
per cent, while in the states and terri
tories south and west of here The loss
was from 20 to - per cent. There are
M the present time about 100000 head
of cattle on the ranges in this vicinity
and for ,000,000 more without
ov~erstocking the counte*n
Gold mining is carried on from Bear
gulch ON The north to Custer City in the
southern part of the Hills, "A distance of
ninety miles, and from Rockford on the
west to Rockervilic on the east. In no
otilei country in the world arc there SO
manv and extensive mines of gold as in
the Black Hills. From the northern to
the southern and from the eastern to
the western extremely gold is found in
nearly every gulch and on every Hill
Within the mineral belt. In other min
ing countries it is only found over a
small area Of country, covering but 4
few miles of territory at the most here
there are about 200 square miles in
" hat is called the mineral, and gold is
found IN almost every square mile Of the
! 200. The lodcs vary i'm size from 10 to
] 600 feet in width, and some as much
rs 80 miles in length. The great MAORI
ty Of the mines are low grade ore. but
with the 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
90 81 per ton will pay TO work, while
that which goes from s. to SO per ton
will pay largely. The ore which j.
worked by the great Homcstake milk
at Lead City, does not average 81 per
ton, yet that company has paid fiCty.one
successive monthly dividends, part Of
which have been 10000 per month and
the balance $4,000, besides having a
large surplus on hand after paving al
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 al
have from 40 to 100 stamps.
The silver mines Of the Hills are al
Of a high grade. Those of Galena have
been worked continuously ever sine.
1876, and the ore shipped by wagon t.
Sidney $50 miles, thence by rail tt
Omaha, Nebraska, for treatment. Al
the carbonate camp, seven miles wes'
Of Dcadwood, rich carbonate mines have
been opened, the ore from which is now
being shipped to Omaha and Denver.
Rich and extensive copper mines hav.
been discovered in several localities.
The mica mines of the Black Hills ar,
oil in tho yi.ipity nf Harpav's panE az.