Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1895-06-01
FIRST BLACK HILLS MINERS
evidences rhns the Firsf "hi'" "e"
Were Killed ny heds.

Yankton. $. d.. May 25.-bver since
he Black BILLS became setllsd Wy
vhites. evidences have been
,rom time 60 time showing neyoha
Iuubt hat white miners had penetraIe'i
hat country, whether or NOS tneS aF
,eturned. IL il quite p~rObaoie ina Iies
lever ala return. Major De WIZ no" q
esident of YanRtun. but VINO was onu
II the first indian agents on the uppsr
/ Missouri. a y that it IL pronapie Nn"l
,ne or more Of the many hunting ehile-
iitions that We're sent west IN the eis1g
los may have penetrated the Bllls cohn-
nv. but he was never able to learn tnal
.iuh was the case from the indians. ~
1870 4 French box IL years 90 age uai'iu
40 from ST. Louis tn old Fort fierfs
and secured employment WIN wv
american Fur company. rms D"E ""a
Louis Veto. who afterwards became
famous drought the northwest hs uis
,franuhman who never drank nuu"r
win the employees az the American "a
.omDauv Veto made annual hlnung ek-
leditions to THE Black Btils. on on" Ok
'nesa expeditions Veto waa accompanied
1nIv by Indians. IL WAS ~ the spffhs.
md A very severe tnunu storm ait'se
and frightened the Indians 50 mat uhes
deserted him with his stuck 90 LOiS' Va4r
ned AZ $1,000. The Indians never rH-
urned. and IA was three weeks hetOra
relief came from the tnr company T1e
Indians entertained a superstition u1al
the great spirit, IN a iit 20 anger, Wisttu
to driVe them out 81 the bllle Ntau
Afterwards entered the employ oi MttIur
De whit, and always asserted tna no
never heard Of ang wfntn ntli dlsSiiB
gold in the Hills, neither niid ne dNsr
leard 0f Indians digging for =. IN lboS
Father DeSmet came dONn tnt ffNefi
from the mouth Of the fellONatunv.
L.aving come there lrom a trip through
The Black Hills. anu gave IA as, ms 1piilr
Ion that gDTd existed there. aflu stated
that liza had seen humps If gold whicti
indians mad strung upon wire fnr BRACE
let's. Father sSIne reached tlle muutll
Df the yellowstone river at "A ufne w1el
A very severe dr0urn prevailed over tiie
and. anu being "A MAJ 1t God the null
tns began cihmurinE COR him 20 produce
ain. Very few ~ the Indians hnd muUli
faitii in mis- ability 10 get rain. even
hreplF1 prayer Father Dessinor, in re-
al3ng tlie incident 8hurtly after, admit
ed that he inst some dOuhts . the
)utcome himself, bur he assured them
hat me- w0uid beseech the IrpHt spirit
20 send llHNl Ftlu AlN NA4lffNNft us
Vnat he could Cor than. Ha made A
hurt prayer. after which he a0ugir the
saciusion u a neiEhbnrinE 9nlcitet.
where he Withdrew from the capacioas
pocket u his coal a barometer. which
ln always carried. amt then learned
hat rhe atmospheric conditions were
'avOrahie for rain IN a very short time.
Returning 20 the camp. Father DeSB1et
made a strong appeal % divine prDVt-
hence co our forth a c0picus rain. \
mort time later one % the heaviest rain
rr0rms the Indians had ever known De-
.arred. After that there was nothing
too good for him. In 1889 A party %
line Men left Fort Brtdger with the in
.eution II digging for gold In the Black
ILLS Indians attacked them and news
vas brought back that the men a all
)een killed This story was never VERT
ted. and IL il not improbable that these
we're the men who first invaded the
Hills. evidences OF whose presence have
leen found. This would acCoun for the
indians having gold nuggets ia their
possession. and would further substan-
tate the story engraved upon a fat
stone found near Spearrsh some years
ago. This tablet conveyed the intellk-
renee that Indians had attacked them.
secured their gold and killed all but one
a and would easily explain the mys-
cry surrounding the finding OF mining
implements far below Tie surface By
early prospectors-