Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1884-03-15
West of Valentine.

Sioux City Journal: A reporter of
the Journal had the pleasure Of talk
with Col. Anderson, and engineer Of the
Sioux City and Pacific, who was out for
the past two seasons exploring the coun-
try west of Valentine for route for Il
railroad. In answer TO a question about
the route he said:
| "The route selected is on the north
side of the Niobrara river and little
south of the Dakota line until the
White river is struck. Then the line
follows up the White river. crosses over
a divide into the Niobrara valley, fol-
lows up that stream to its head, then
over another divide TO the North Platte,
and up that river to Fort Fetterman
That was as far as the survey went"
"Will the company build this season."
Nobody knows e.ceptiHg the officials,
and it is not certain that they have yet
| determined. You must not understand
that the line ] speak Of will be used
! when the company build west from
Valentine. 1t was the best route found
after looking over the country for two
seasons"
"What kind of a country is it?'
al. kinds. The first eighty miles
west OF Valentine is sand hills There
is some good land among the sand hills,
it is not all good 10y long ways. BE.
yond that the country is better 1t j.
rough in places, but there is consider
able good farming land. There is EN-
ough timber for the settlers in the
ravlnes and along the streams. The
timber in the hills is pine and cedar.
On the streams there is cottonwood, oak,
elm, ash and such like. 1t is not tim
bered country, but there is enough tim
ber for fuel and fencing for quite while.
The soil seems to produce well last sea-
son wherever it has been cultivated,
excepting on the sand ridges. The year
before there was no rain from July to
October, the grass dried up, and the
ground was so hard one could scarcely
drive stake in. The subsoil west Of
the sand hills is kind of sandy clay
| that sOaks up the water we'll and gives
out moisture we'll in dry time. II there
is rainfall enough l think it will be q
good country for general farming,
though it lays rather high for corn"
| "Any farms in that country now ?"
ut is a cattle country all the way from
Valentine to Fort Fetterman, distance
of about 800 milestone cattle ranch af-
ter another all the way. The only
firming is little garden or truck patch
at these ranches. The vegetables put
in last year grew we'll"
There is no settlement then except
ing these ranches?"
| 20, yes over 400 claims were taken
in the country west of Valentine last
fall. suppose that these settlers went
in on the lands expecting the railroad
to build"
"Any mineral?"
"Only coal. On Shawnee creek. a tri-
butarv of the North Platte, there are
extensive coal beds. They have not
been developed excepting in prospect
ing way. Some of the coal deposits crop
out of the bluff four feet thick, and a
very good quality of soft coal. num-
Der of claims have been taken, but some
coal claims could yet be got think, as l
noticed the maine Ok onc man posted on
several Of the location"
The reporter had curiosity to look
up the law governing these coal claims
He found that the government coal
lands act much resembles the pre- emp.
ton act, as to the method of filing, rights
of the first man making improvements
on the claim, proving up, etc, the essen.
tial difference being that the price OF
coal lands to claimants is $40 per acre
One man may take but one coal claim o
l60 acres.
The fight for Black freight resulted in