Year: 1876

Discouraging Facts.


On Sunday afternoon, after two days
more of tho toughest riding ever ex-
perienced, our wearisome march was
ended at Deadwood City. The town
lies in tho bottom of long and deep
gulch, through which Deadwood anu
| Whitewood creeks wind their tortuous
way close beside each other. The name
of the region is derived from the vast
number of dead pine trees which line
the hillside i'll all directions, and lend a
gaunt and spectral appearance to the
landscape. The city itself lies through
O greater part of the gulch bottom, and
consists of double row of rough board
and log cabins lying on either side of
the single street.


The day Of our arrival being Sunday,
| the town was thronged with miners, who
had come in from their claims in the
vicinity to spend tithe of their vast
earnings of the week. Standing at the
head of the thoroughfare and looking
over the long stream of moving human
ity, estimated the number of persons
to be about 5000. Gambling saloons,
dance houses and barrooms were all in
full play, opening publicly from the
street. A little knot of people gathered
with uncovered heads in the middle of
the roadway, marked the progress of an
! afternoon prayer meeting-the full so
lemnity of worship, surrounded by the
reckless hilarity of a frontier mining
| camp. The contrast was sharp and
striking. A general view of the faces
which surrounded me as I passed up the
street was not conducive to favorable
preconception of the character of the
inhabitants. A rougher or more des-
perate looking crowd, generally speaking,
never saw. Horse thieves, gamblers,
nlurderers, surrounded me on every
side. New mining camps are the refuge
| for all outlaws from civilization


The first sign met which spoke un-
favorably of the condition of the town
was the cheapness of the wares exposed
for sale. The general price set upon
staple articles was but slightly in adj
vance of that demanded inCheyenne and
other railway points, while, if the tone
of the place was healthy, if there was an
active demand, as there would be if
money was plenty, prices would be
nearly doubled. A critical examination
of the condition of Deadwood affairs
fully justified my belief in the bad state
of things. found that perhaps fifty
claim owners were taking out large sums
of money, varying in amount from $50
to So, GOO daily. Five out of six of the
other miners were not making expenses,
and two or three thousand men who had
expended their whole capital in reach
ing the hills, in the fond belief that they
would find gold plenty there, are now
without employment, and without means
to live or to get out of the region.


The placer diggings of the Deadwood
region are all taken up. Quartz mining
is the only resource left, ard even thHt
cannot be made remunerative to the
poor man. Its development demands
capital with which to bring in machinery
and reduction works. At present there
are too many men IL the Black Hills for
the extent of the country's resources.
My advice to all is to keep away from
there Mt least until spring. The heavy
frosts and SHOWS will set in soon, prob
ably within four weeks, and after that
the mines will be closed until March OF
April.


/ don't wish to be understood to con-
denim the region entirely. It undoubt-
edly has resources, but they have been
vastly over estimated. With the intro
duction of a proper amount of capital,
and the election of cut-throats, gamblers
and thieves with which the region is in
tested, it may be made reasonably
prosperous country. But it can never
be one-half as great or as rich as the
published accounts thus far would lead
the general reader to believe.