Year: 1879

lFRoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRIBUvE.l


DEADWoOD, Dakota, Aug. S-All of the bullion
produced in the Black Hills is shipped to New-York
by the way of sidney and the Union Pacific Rail
road The charges for transporting it are 1l2 per
cent, or S15 for every $1,000 or this the stage
cOmpanyreceves per cent for carrying the gold
from here to Sidney and for insurng it, and the
railroad or express companies between Sidney and
New-lork are paid the remaining y of l per cent.
III the early days. the bullion gold dust sent
out III the regular passenger coaches nearly every
one carrying q small amount. In those times n
journey either into or out of the Black Hills was
likely to be anything but pleasant trip. The In
dlans enraged at the Invasion Of their reservation
often LAID in wait for the coaches and fired upon
themi and If they escaped the savages, road agents
were often hidden by the roadside at night to rob
the passengers or the treasure-box. For months
every man who rode in the Black Hills coaches car
RED his gun in his hand night and day. and hardly
dared TO take bis finger from the trigger for sin
gle moment


lhe attacks by the Indians upon the stage-coach-
es We're less frequent than might nave been ex-
pected The Government recognized this territory
as sacred. and the President by proclamation for
bade white people TO come here He even went fur
ther than that, and sent military expeditions into
the HIS TO remove by force the miners who had
settled along the gulches. The indians knew this,
and yet they saw the people hocking in here for
eighteen months before they had legal right to
come Stage and freight lines were established, and
towns were laId out. When it is remembered that
IN those days everyone who came here had to travel
for 200 miles across the Sioux reservation, and had
no right to look 10 the United States for protection
1t Is remarkable that the Indians did not fire upon
the coaches Oftener than they did, and that the
number of white people murdered was as small as it
was.


The Indians did raid several times through the
camps in the foothills driving in the pioneer farm
eTs. Occasionally a few were in the vicinity
OF Deadwood, but none ever came into the town.
Nevertheless, the people carried their arms with
them al Of tho time, never knowing when they
might be called upon to defend themselves from the
sayages. One day in 1876 young man was hunt
ing In the woods not more than mile or two from
DeadwOOd when he came upon q young Indian
buck in the bushes aud shot him. Returning to
town he collected party of Young men to go out
and get the sayages body. While they were search
ing the underbrush there was the flash and report
Of rifle, ana the leader who had shot the Indian
fell dead. Further investigation proved that the
Indian, mortaly wounded, with one arm broken,
had with great difficulty partially raised himself
rested his gun across portion of ms body avenged





murderer died at the same moment. The Indians
head, pony and rifle were brought to town as tro-
phes.


The Indians have disappeared forever from these
their ancient hunting grounds, and have left moth
ing to tell 20 the next generation Of their long pos
session of the country They never lived in the
Hills. The terrific thunder storms that frequently
Occnr here frightened them aud caused them TO be-
lieve that the Great Spirit never intended these
mountains to be the habtation of man. he COW
cred the hll-sides with trees order that the In
dian Who lived uDon the open prairie might obtain
to,ee pDiesj he filed Tho roUthlls Will deer AID
antelope shat the Indian might have rood in year,
when the buff 10 were scarce but tie II rs were to
be visited only IN times of necessity, and ever 'leu
with superstitious dread There were 40 long en-
campments in the Hills no permanent villages.


Road agents infested the route between the rail
road and the Black Hills long after the Indians dis
appeared and even now they sometimes stop
coach and take the watches and money of the pas
sengers. Travellers never make any resistance to
highwaymeu-it would be worse than useless. The
agents always attack passenger coaches IN the
night. Hiding by the roadside where high banks
conceal them, they spring out when the coach comes
along, and one levels his gun at the driver with an
order to dat while the Others thrust the muzzes of
their pieces into the windows and order the sleepy
passengers to hold up their hands and get out.
Each one IS then made to surrender his watch and
money, and sometimes the baggage is broken open
and searched. The road agents often joke with the
passengers. and seldom treat them with indignity,
They have been known to refuse to take the money
of a poor workngman having taken it, to re-
turn it when his necessities have been represented
TO them.


Almost every old traveller in the Hills has had


i. 81, =.
every coach that comes in or goes out carries some
passenger who has met them. Abouta year ago there
we're two gangs of robbers on the Cheyenne road
for several weeks. and nearly every outgoing coach
was stopped. Travellers expected to be halted, and
they were obliged to adopt the plan of carrying
very little money and no other valuables with
them A gentleman offered the robbers a cheap
silver watch one night, and they not only refused
TO take IT, but ridiculed the for carrying such
a timepiece On that occasion the agents got only
Sl4 from six passengers. and when the loader said
that It seemed to him ID strange that people
should be travelling about withs so little money, one
Of the passengers replied that nobody but a fool
would carry money with him, knowing that he
would be sure to lose 1t. They say that BEN
Holiday was in one of his own coaches IN Caifor-
MIA or Oregon once when 1t was stopped by road
AGENTS. lie was made to get out and hold up his
hands while one or the roooers stoo' III lohl OI MN
with gun loaded and cooked. Mr. Holiday SAID
that his nose tched and his arms ached so that he
could endure it no longer, and 50 he asked the fell
low who was guarding him for permission TO scratch
his nose The mau replied that he would save him
the trouble and began to rub the muzzle of his gun
across Mr. Holidays face. He said that he very
soon forgot both the fatigue and the irritation.


For a year or more no bullion has been sent to the
railroad n the regular passenger coaches, but spe-
cal treasure coach in charge Of guard of eight
messengers is dispatched twice month. This coach
has been especially fitted up for the purpose. The