Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1888-12-15
b. Il M.

\. S Laird, of Kansas, who has con.
tract on the b. Il Nj. grade at the L o 1
ranch, 40 miles southwest of this place
near the mouth of Red Canyon, came in
Monday with an order from Fitzpatrick
Bros, to A. I. Van Deyort, of this city,
for grain and other supplies. He ob-
tanned the required supplies and left at
once for the locality named with view
To commencing operations Immediately.
A large force is reported at work near
the ) q q ranch, twenty miles north
west of the I o /, and ii is also reported
that thousand teams are daily expect
ed at the junction of the Lead City
branch of the main line to commence
grading toward Lead The air is heavy
with reports concerning actual and pros.
| pective operations Of the b. X NJ, many
| of which lack the seal of confirmation,
and can therefore be only quoted as
rumors The building of the Custer
branch is not assured, neither is it
known TO have been, even for the pres
ent, abandoned, and we await with no
| small degree of interest, future develop
| ments, upon which alone we NAV reason
ably expect to reach the intentions of
the company in this regard. 1t is now
conceded to be the intentions of the
company to reach the coal fields ut the
earliest practicable day, and it may be
accepted as a reasonable propositions
! that IN the meantime no attention will
be given to branch roads. Custer is
already receiving much benefit from the
building Of this road in the way Of sup
plies furnished, as scarcely a day passes
when one or more wagon loads of goods
does not leave here for the scene of
operations. 1t is the general belief that
the road will be completed to the coal
fields early next spring, when in all
probability, operations on the Custer
branch will be inaugurated.
CLIPPED FROM THE CLIPPER.
The Crawford (Neb) Clipper of the
9th inst. contains the following items.
under the significant caption Of "B. d
NJ. Boomlets :"
A large force of graders will be work
ing in Crawford within one week, or we
miss our guess.
From present indications Crawford
may be able to celebrate the advent of
the iron horse on the b. q NJ. some
time in June or July next.
Stoby's outfit Of about twenty-five
mule teams went through town Monday
to work on the B. & NJ. grade about
thirty miles north of Crawford.
Eight miles south Of town the railroad
contractors, Fitzpatrick Bros. < Collins,
have boarding shanty where they can
accommodate over three hundred men
a a time with meals And they dish
up a rattling good square meal, too.
Our grocers and clothing men are
doing a big business furnishing goods
for the contractors and men on the b. *
NJ, our carpenters are busy building
SililitlIS lpi tlltll ana
our blacksmiths are kept busy from
morning till night shoeing mules, re-
pairing wagons, etc, while everybody in
Crawford is more or less benefited,
either directly or indirectly, by having
an army of laborers in close proximity.
The largest tunnel between Crawford
and Alliance, on the line of the Burling
ton railroad is just seven and one-half
miles south of town, at Saw log canyon.
This tunnel will be thirteen hundred
feet long. Two and one-half miles this
side the big tunnel, and five miles from
Crawford, is another, five hundred feet
long. There are now at work upon
these two tunnels about twelve hundred
men, with all the camp equipage, tools
and grading paraphernalia for the
work
The Grand Island d Wyoming Cen
trail Railroad company, commonly
known as the Wyoming branch of the
b. & NJ, has filed a certificate of an in
crease Of capital stock from 100000 to
| SIS, 600, ,000.-Lincoln Journal
The graders of the Black Hills ex-
tension of the Burlington are at work
six HI les northwest of Hemingford.
The heaviest work during the winter
will be done in the Pine Ridge. A force
of welldrilers is scattered along the
line looking for water-Omaha Herald.
The graders on the Black Hills line Of
the B & NJ. have commenced work six
miles northwest of Hemingford The
heavy grading and tunneling in the
Pine Ridge, if we are correctly informed,
must be completed early in the spring,
which indicates that the comply intends
laying iron clear through to their coal
fields in the Hills as soon as possible
Contracts for the drilling Of wells at
different points alone the line between
Alliance and the river are being made
with our well-drllers, and work will
probably commence all along the line as
soon as a sufficient supply of water can
be eobtained.-IIemingford Guide.