Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1886-03-06

ter's becoming an important mining
/ centre. Located in the heart OF the
the great tin belt where the
extent and grade of the ores have been
determined, and found to be equal, II
not superior to the ores of Cornwall
that have been successfully operated for
centuries. The focal point. around
which may be found on all sides vast
bodies of gold ores, which, when touch
ed by the magic wand of capital. and
opperated upon scale OF magnitude
and system Of management that has
made the Homestake famous as one Of
the greatest gold producing mines of the
age, will alone, in time. place Custer in
the front rank of American mining
centres. The inexhaustible beds Of
mica by which she is environed, which
is in itself sufficient, when fully devel-
oped and utilized, to warrant town Of
Importance, will in time materially add
to her commercial prestige. The NAM
moth stores Of copper that now sleep in
natures laboratories by reason OF being
vet remote from railroad facilities will,
in the brilliant future that so distinctly
outlines her perpective, become a
marked factor among the many adjuncts
to her final success. The presence Of
large bodies Of silver ore known to be
Of incalculable value, which, having
sh lred in the general apathy which
usually characterizes this mineral in
remote localities where its inaccessible
ty hides it from the eye Of capital, will
in due time contribute its full share
toward the establishment Of her final
supremacy. The illimitable beds Of
auriferous gravel that is found on
French creek and its tributaries, which
will Weld margin Of profit when the
price of labor has reached an eastern
basis, will give employment to hundreds
Of miners for many years.
Custer is an established point; the
county seat of Custer county, where has
been built, at an expense Of many
thousand dollars, the public buildings
required in the holding Of her courts,
and conducting her official business.
No rival town is found within twenty
miles TO compete with her for the vast
trade that Ia incident to the influx OF
people to this section, and the increased
activity in mining operations, and situ-
ated as she is in the centre OF the area
which contains all of the varied re-
sources above enumerated, all future
towns must be subordinate, and merely
tributary to her. Being favored by
location which is without peer in the
west. and which cannot fail to impress
the visitor, with a desire to locate.
Where waving trees on mountain
heights extend q welcome; where the
purity and excellence Of her health in
spring waters hold out lasting induce
ment to remain, and where the bracing
air itself gives ample promise OF ex-
tended tenure of life, who can for a
moment doubt the final achievement Of
Clusters greatness.
The Black Hills country Is yet in all
respects in its infancy, the era that
marks substantial permanence is not
yet reached. At this juncture not
single railroad has penetrated our
limits, and experience has fully demon
strated the fact that it is not the first
railroad that permanently establishes
great commercial centres, that it is not
until future routes have been determin-
ed, and railroad centres established that
permanent and important points may
he definitely determined. The advent
of the first railroad is hailed with un-
bounded delight by every town through
which it leads, and unwarranted hopes
Of metropolitan greatness freely in
dulged in, which are almost invariably
followed in the early future by premoni-
tons of rapid decline. Were we not
bourne out in the view we have taken
by an experience Of many years in the
western country, and carefully noted the
results of railroad influence in scores of
instances, we would not revel in the
degree of confidence by which we are
now inspired in the matter OF Clusters
coming importance. But viewing the
situation in the light OF past experience,
and taking into consideration the ad-
vantageous location, in connection with
the manifold mineral resources and
numerous local advantages that Custer
is known to possess, it is our fixed and
unwavering opinion, that when this
wonderful country reaches point in
her march Of civilization and progress,
that shall permanently settle the ques-
ton of the relative commercial i'm
po-tance of the many points within her
limits, that Custer City will have merg-
ed into great mining centre, with all
the elements that serve to make up the
matchless prestige Of the chief com.
rnercial city of the Black Hills.
The recent trial of Borland, Baird and
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