Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1883-10-06
THE LAC HILLS

What il termed the Black Hills coun-
Try is all that part of Dakota lying south
! Of the 45ih parallel Of north latitude and
west of the l02nd meridian, and all that
portion of Wyoming lying north Of the
I'D parallel and east Of the l05th meri-
dian, and embracing about 22,5O0 square
miles, or li,5O0,0 600 acres, (which about
~nne-fourth Is agricultural, the other
thr%ee-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 nos open
TO settlement. with the exception of a
small portion lying east Of the banks of
the Cheyenne river and the lO3d mcri-
dian. The farming lands Of the Hills
are ~ productive rs can be found any
place in the world. Fifty bushels Of
y heat, 80 of barley, 10 Of oats, 400 of
potatoes and 800 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
bounds are common, and on have
been raised that went as high as four
pounds. The sol is a rich vegetable
mold, strongly i~mpregnated 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-
timatcl 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 fow 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 and
shelter from the winter winds and
scarcely any snow, cattle keep fat on the
range the year round, never knowing
what II 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 10 take them 10 mar
ket. Sheep do equally as well AS cattle,
and horses do better.
Large herds OF bnffalo arr now swarm
ing over the ranges north and west of
the Hills, with many thousands Of cattle
mixed in with them. Two wears ago.
the hardest winter ever known in the
west, the loss Of cattle was only about 8
per cent, while in the States and terri
tories south and ives: Of here the loss
was from 90 To - e cent. There are
~ the present t!n,e about 800, 600 hea:
Of cattle on The rarges il this v~iriiiitv
and room ror eco 600 more wi,.,ou;
overs:ockiug tie country.
Gold mi ing Il carried on from Beer
yulril on the rorth to custer Git ia thc
80, !!lcrn p: ri of tie Hills, II distance Of
ninety mile, and froll Rockford on the
We~' I" 70 ker\i!le cn TIC east. In no
other country IN the word ale there 80
mary and xtea>!,e mines OF goli as in
he Black HIS. Irr!n the northern to
The sou horn and from he eastern 10
H., "">'"r. ,H'r,n,ty goa il found ]
ne, r!y every gN,rh and on every hill
"ithin the mineral belt. In other min
in. countries il is only found over :
u,al! area OF country, covering but a
.ew miles of territory at the most here
lherc are about loo square miles il
hat is called Tie mineral, and gold is
found III almost every square mile of The
J 200. The l"des vary in size from 10 10
! geo fest in width, and some as much
81 80 miles in length. The great MAORI
t. Of the mines are lnw grade ore. but
with the immense bodies of pay ore and
good management these mines have
been made Il pay better than any 9TH
crs i'm the United States. Ore that will
go - per ton will pay TO work, while
that which goes from s. to $40 per ton
will pay largely. The ore which is
worked by the great liOmestake mills
al Lead City, does not average s. per
ton, vet that company has paid fry-one
successive monthly dividends, part of
which have been $4,000 per month and
the balance 10000, besides having Il
large surplus on hand after paying all
expenses. These mines are better
developed than any others in the Black
Hills, bu; equally as good and extensive
mines have been discovered
The quartz mills are the largest and
most complete in the world, nearly all
Rave from 40 to 40 stamps.
The silver mines Of the Hills are all
Of a high grade. Those Of Galena have
been worked continuously eve since
1875, and tie ore shipped by wagon to
Sidney go miles, thence by rail to
Omaha, Nebraska, for treatment. At
the carbonate camp, sever miles west
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 have
been discovered in several localities.
The mica mines of the Black Hills are