Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1898-03-26
To the Unemployed.

L
when the placer miners are accustomed
to look after their dams and prepare
their sluice boxes for the seasons work
This reminds me that possibly may do
. little good by offering few sugges-
tions to certain class of our working
population who have been thrown out
of work by the closing down of the saw
mills in this locality. They are men
who are willing to labor, who have
wives and children to support, and who
realize the necessity of doing something
to earn living.
To all such l would say that all over
our county there are numerous streams
and gulches, and SO far as my expert
ence goes, each gulch has its gravel
bars, and all of them yield gold Some
of these gravel bars are low and wet,
and some are high and dry. / have
found that the high bars are the best,
not only for the reason that they are
the easiest worked, and may be opened
up and operated with very little ex-
pense, but because they are. as a rule,
the richest in the precious metal. 1t is
true that much of this ground has been
located, but this need not discourage
any one, for the owners in most cases
are for good portion Of the time en-
gagged in other pursuits, and those who
work their claims constantly through
the summer understand full well that
the grounds are sufficiently extensive ia
most cases to give employment to hun
dreds of men for many years without
exhausting the supply. These owners
should be, and | believe as a general
thing are, willing to lease for a small
royalty, say ~ per cent, a portion of
their placer ground to such parties as
may desire TO work the same for the
gold it may yield.
Again, there are thousands of acres Of
vacant placer ground in this county
ready for the prospector, and open to
location. Much of this ground is of
course away from the town and remote
from populated centers. Much OF it has
never been prospected, and there Is no
reason Why it should not be found equal
to the best that has been opened up.
Again, there are great many dry
gulches, small draws and low sags in the
Hills, which yield placer gold in paying
quantities. Many of the dry gulches
around Custer yielded, when they were
worked in the early days, as high as $40
and SIS day to the man, even when
they had to haul their pay dirt in wa.
gons half mile to the creek for sluicing
In those days there wore plenty of such
diggings around Custer, within radius
Of four miles in any direction, which
yielded good miners wages, and it took
years to work them out There is no
reason to believe that the ground around
Custer is any richer than in many other
places, but there is reason to believe
that more gold was found near here
than in places more remote from the
town, because there were more pros
pectors and consequently more work
done.
1t is my belief, that between saw
milling and placer mining in Custer
county, that the placer will pay the best,
even when pursued by men Of no ex-
pericnce in mining operations. Of
course, those who are familiar with the
avocation, will make less mistakes, and
reap a greater reward. 1t is so in every
business known to man. I believe
there is room in the placer ground of
Custer county alone for 5000 men for
the next five years. Of these some
would get rich, some remain poor, but
all would make good living
l do not know that these suggestions
from me or any advice which / might
give will receive attention from the class
Of men for whom it is intended, but
should l find that there is some interest
manifested in the matter, | shall be
willing to give spare hour in penning
a few hints which may be useful to them
in their new found occupation. In
closing, | will say now, (for fear / should
not get better chance) that the
first great care in mining is to protect
yourself from injury, and secure your
mine from caving. For what doth it
profit man to gil his pockets with gold
and lose his life.
c. w. ROBBINS.