Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1884-03-15
THE BLACK HILLS

What Is termed the Black Hills coun
try is all that part of Dakota lying south
of the 45th parallel Of north latitude anC
west of the l02nd meridian, and all thai
portion Of Wyoming lying north of the
i3d parallel and east Of the lO5th meri,
dian, and embracing about 22,5O0 square
miles, or l4,5O0,000 acres, (which about
one-fourth is agricultural, the other
three-fourths being mineral and pastoral
lands. About 4O0, OO1 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 he found any
place in the world. Fifty bushels of
wheat, TO 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 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-
timated 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
he north and south side.
No other country in North America
AN offer equal inducements to the stock
ROVER. The finest and most nutritious
grasses with plenty Of good water and
heller from the winter winds ard
scarcely any snow, cattle keep fat on the
range the year round, never knowing
what it is 10 be fed; the stock raiser can
nave choice Of five different railroads to
ship his stock, thereby getting the low
est possible rates 10 take them to mar
ket. Sheep DO equally rs well as cattle,
and horses do better.
Large herds ofbuHalo are now swarm
ing over the ranges north and west OF
the Hills, 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 s
per cent, while in the states and terri
tories south and west Of here the loss
was from 20 TO Is per cent. There are
at the present time about 100000 head
Of cattle on the ranges in this vicinity
and room for 100000 more without
o~verstocking the country.
Gold mining is carried on from Bear
,ulch on the north to Custer City iii the
Dutllern part Of the Hills, Il distance of
linctv miles. and from Rockford on the
west to Rotkervillc on tie cast. In no
,thcr country in the world are there 50
many and extensive mines OF gold rs in
he Black Hills. From the northern to
the southern and from the eastern TO
the western extremely gold IS found in
nearly every gulrh ami on every bill
%ithin the mineral belt. In other min
ing countries it is only found over a
rmall area of country, covering but a
few miles Of territory at The most here
there ere about l,2c0 square miles in
what is called the mineral, and gold is
found IN almost every square mile OF the
1850. The lodes varv in size from 10 to
1000 feet in width, and some as much
as so miles in length. Tie great MAORI
tv of the mines are low grade ore. but
with the immense bodies of pay ore and
hrood management these mines have
been made 10 pay better than any 9TH
ers in the United States. Ore that will
80 50 per ton will pay to work, while
that which goes from 81 to $40 per ton
will pay largely. The ore which is
worked by the great Homestake mills
at Lead City, does not average 81 per
ton, yet that company has paid t~ifty-orc
successive monthly dividends, part OF
which have been $4,000 per month and
the balance $4,000, besides having q
large surplus on hand after paying al
OK 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 10 100 stamps.
The silver mines Of the Hills are al
Of a 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 tc
Omaha, Nebraska, for treatment A,
the carbonate camp, seven miles ives
Of Deadwood, rich carbonate mines have
been opened, the ore from which is now
being shipped to Omaha and Denver.
kicn ami extensive copper mines have
been discovered in several localities.
The mica mines Of the Black Hills are