Full Text of “The Black Hills Illustrated” – Part 1

	This file contains a full text transcription of pages 1-27 of “The Black 
	Hills Illustrated” edited and published under the Auspices of The Black 
	Hills Mining Men’s Association by George P. Baldwin.

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THE BLACK HILLS MINING MEN'S ASSOCIATION.
BY W. J. MCFARLAND. (Portrait below.)

Its Unique Organization, Its Objects and the Work Accomplished.

	Moved by the necessity of bringing more prominently to the attention of 
the outside world the mineral resources of the Black Hills, the many advantages 
offered for the profitable investment of capital to be had in this mining field 
and to enlist the assistance of moneyed men In the development of the country's 
hidden wealth, early in 1901 a number of mine owners and others interested in 
the advancement of the country assembled in Deadwood and discussed the 
situation. The result of this gathering was the organization of the Black Hills 
Mining Men's Association, September 3, 1901, with the following board of 
directors:

	John Blatchford, superintendent of the Golden Reward system of mines of 
Terry; Robert H. Driscoll of Lead, cashier of the First National Bank; William 
S. Elder, general manager of the Imperial Mining Company, Deadwood; Harris 
Franklin, president of the American National Bank and general manager of the 
Golden Reward Mining Company, Deadwood; Charles H. Fulton, professor of 
metallurgy and assaying at the State School of Mines, Rapid City; James D. 
Hardin, mine owner and general manager of the Branch Mint Mining Company, Two 
Bit; George M. Nix, general manager of the Oro Hondo Mining Company, Lead; J. E. 
Pilcher, mine owner, Custer City; S. W. Russell, general manager of the Clover 
Leaf Mining Company, Deadwood.

	Officers of the association were elected by the board of directors as 
follows: Harris Franklin, president; George M. Nix, first vice-president; S. W. 
Russell, second vice-president; J. E. Pilcher, third vice-president; W. S. 
Elder, secretary and treasurer.

	Immediately after its organization the first meeting of the association 
was held in Deadwood, and the organization started off with a membership of 
fifty, every Individual being a mine owner or interested in the development of 
mining property. Active work along the lines laid out for the association was 
begun, the first attempt to bring the Black Hills to the notice of the outside 
being the preparation of a mineral exhibit, to be shown at the Festival of 
Mountain and Plain, held in Denver in the fall of 1901. One of the best and most 
comprehensive exhibits of ores and minerals was gathered together by the efforts 
of the association and its agents, together with a large amount of literature 
descriptive of the Black Hills and its mineral resources. The exhibit attracted 
a great deal of attention from visitors to the Denver festival, while all of the 
literature prepared by the association was eagerly sought for. So much good did 
this first attempt of the association to advertise the Black Hills accomplish 
that the benefit of the work undertaken and accomplished by the organization was 
made apparent to every resident of the Hills, and at the following monthly 
meeting the attendance over the former meeting was increased two-fold, and the 
names of over one hundred additional members were placed upon the rolls. Since 
that date the association has grown in membership and importance, at the last 
meeting, in December, 1901, its membership having grown to 450, while the scope 
of its work and its importance as a factor in the development of the mining 
industry of the Black Hills has increased in proportion.

	The next work of importance was to secure the annual meeting of the 
American Mining Congress for the cities of Deadwood and Lead. To this end a 
delegation, composed of the most prominent business and mining men of the Black 
Hills was sent to the meeting of the congress being held in Butte, Mont, in 
1902. This committee was successful in its quest, and, despite the opposition of 
other aspiring cities, captured the prize. After securing the twin cities of 
Lead and Deadwood for the meeting place of the congress, the association took up 
the work of preparing for the entertainment of the delegates and other visitors 
to the congress. Deadwood and Lead each subscribed $1,000 for this purpose, 
while members of the association added to these moneys by volunteer 
subscriptions, which increased the fund for this purpose to over $15,000. In 
September, 1903, the congress convened in Deadwood, with representatives present 
from every mining state in the West and many from other commonwealths, bringing 
to the cities of Deadwood and Lead gentlemen of high reputation in the mining 
world and of scientific prominence. These gentlemen were given every opportunity 
to see for themselves, the workings of all the principal mines of the Hills 
having been thrown open for their inspection, so that when they left for their 
homes they carried with them a better idea of what there really is in the Black 
Hills than a year of reading could have afforded them. The results of the 
meeting of the congress in Lead and Deadwood had an almost immediate effect, as 
was evidenced by the increased demand for information concerning this field of 
mining operations, and in the number of mining men who, after the adjournment of 
the congress, came hither to investigate for themselves the conditions and 
opportunities here.

	Arrangements were also entered into for making a suitable exhibit of 
mineral and other resources at the coming great fair at St. Louis, and under the 
direction of the association this work is now going forward, and it promises to 
result in making such a display that anyone interested in mining can tell at a 
glance what is contained within the limits of the Black Hills. To make this work 
successful, the association, through its officers, interviewed every member of 
the state legislature, the state officials and governor, and secured an increase 
of many thousand dollars  over the appropriation originally made for an 
exhibition at the St. Louis fair, and in having passed a bill by the legislature 
providing that the appropriation so made should be so apportioned that the Black 
Hills should receive a large share of the money appropriated for a proper 
display of its minerals.

	The meetings of the association are held monthly, alternating between 
Deadwood and Lead, and at these meetings are present all of the prominent mining 
men of the Hills and many visitors from other states. One of the features of 
these meetings, aside from the discussion of mining affairs, is the reading of 
papers, scientific treatises being prepared by members of the association on 
different branches of mining and milling. Some of these papers have received the 
widest of circulation, for besides the 2,000 copies of each paper read which are 
printed for free distribution, they have, in many instances, been copied in 
different mining and scientific journals throughout the world. One paper, in 
particular, that read by C. W. Merrill of the Homestake Mining Company, on the 
methods of cyanidation employed by that corporation, aroused the greatest of 
interest, and several editions of the paper have been exhausted in an attempt to 
supply the demand for it, while it has been copied and commented upon by 
scientific journals in Germany, Australia, Mexico and other foreign countries.

	Some idea of the work which the association is accomplishing in the way of 
advertising the Black Hills may be had when it is stated that since its 
organization in 1901 it has expended in advertising alone $25,000, and at the 
present time is engaged in collecting data for a work descriptive of the 
country, which will cost many thousands more.

	Since its organization the association has been a clearing house of 
information for the Black Hills; it has succeeded in securing the investment of 
a large amount of capital in mining ground; the erection of numerous treatment 
plants; the development of much country which is to-day producing gold, and 
arousing an interest in the country among a class of people who would never have 
looked in this direction to secure investments had it not been for this labor on 
its part.

	One of the greatest benefits resultant from the organization of the 
association has been the protection which it has afforded the would-be investor. 
A record was kept by the former secretary, W. S. Elder, of all the mining 
operations in the various districts of the Hills, and of the character of the 
ores, the formations in which they occur and other particulars valuable to the 
mining man, all of which can be had from the present secretary upon application. 
Besides this, it has discouraged the perpetration of fraud and the foisting upon 
the investing public of worthless propositions, doing a work in this direction 
which has already accomplished much good, and which has benefited the Black 
Hills by giving the assurance that any proposition which receives the 
indorsement of the association is one worthy to be considered, and diminishing 
the opportunities of the unscrupulous to profit by dishonest transactions.

	Measured in dollars and cents alone, the benefit that the association has 
been to the mining interests of the Black Hills since its organization has been 
very great.  According to former Secretary Elder, since the association has been 
in existence, .it this lime a little over two years, through its influence there 
have been established in the Black Hills twenty-five new mining companies: these 
companies have purchased from the original owners 30,000 acres of mineral land, 
these purchases involving an expenditure of $5,000,000, or an average of about 
$150 an acre for the land transferred; to develop and patent this land at least 
$2,000,000 has been expended; eleven treatment plants, of an average cost of 
$100,000 apiece, have been built, making a grand total of money brought into the 
Hills and spent here through the judicious advertising of the country by the 
association of $8,000,000.  This is a record of which the association feels 
proud.

	Monthly meetings of the association always call out not only a large 
attendance of members, but also the presence of some distinguished visitor 
prominent in the mining and scientific world. The monthly meetings are looked 
forward to with the greatest of interest, for at them something new in the 
process of treating ores or in the conduct of mining enterprises is certain to 
be presented for the consideration and investigation of the members. The 
association is in a splendid condition financially, while its active membership 
is constantly growing. This membership is not confined to the Black Hills, but 
includes mining men of prominence in California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, 
Idaho, and the other western states, who apparently are as anxious to receive 
and review the papers read before the meetings as are those here at home. These 
papers have been carefully preserved by the association, and arrangements are 
now making to have them published in book form for distribution among the 
members and to any mining man who may care to ask for them, free of cost.

	At the regular monthly meeting of the association in October, 1903, the 
annual election of officers took place. The following board of directors was 
chosen, which in turn selected the officers for the ensuing year: J. W. Freeman, 
John A. Blatt, Burdett Moody, Lead; Otto P. Th. Grantz, George S. Jackson, 
Deadwood; John Blatchford, Terry; John Gray, Terraville; J. E. Pilcher, Custer 
City; Dr. R. L. Slagle, Rapid City. The following officers were chosen: Burdett 
Moody, Lead, president; John A. Blatt, first vice-president, Lead; Otto P. Th. 
Grantz, second vice-president and treasurer, Deadwood; J. E. Pilcher, third 
vice-president, Custer City; William Letson, secretary, Deadwood.

	The officers are all young men of proven ability, and under their 
direction it is safe to predict as brilliant a future for the organization as 
has been its past, and that the work of the association will not be allowed to 
flag, but that the usual monthly gatherings will tend more than ever to 
eliminate all sectional feeling, which, before the birth of the association, had 
been so marked between the different districts and towns. In fact, the work of 
the association in this direction alone is worth more than a money price, for 
the resentments of years have been buried, and the Black Hills peoples, so far 
as the interest of the common country is concerned, are a unit and working 
together harmoniously in the upbuilding of this magnificent empire.


SOCIETY OF THE BLACK HILLS PIONEERS.

	It seems proper that with this organization a few facts should be touched 
upon in connection with the early history of the Black Hills, for it was these 
men and their confreres to whom the history of the country of those days is 
mainly attributable. We are indebted to Mr. James Conzett for many of the facts 
touched upon, and as Mr. Conzett for four terms occupied the office of president 
of this society, his capabilities in this direction must be unquestioned.

	The Black Hills were not opened to settlement until February 28, 1877, and 
all who came in prior to that time were looked upon by the government as 
trespassers on the Indian reservation. In consequence, several parties were 
taken out of the Hills by the government troops and their outfits destroyed to 
prevent their returning to the Hills. This course was followed by the government 
because of the hostilities of the Indians and the numerous encounters between 
them and the whites and the consequent loss of many lives, but the Pioneers' 
Association counts its members entirely from those who came to the Black Hills 
prior to the first of January, 1877. Thus we can see that the class of men 
entering at that time took their lives in their hands and were the kind of men 
who, once settled in a country, would build it up, no matter what the odds 
against them. Some of these men were veterans of the civil war, like General 
Dawson, one of the organizers of the society, but most were young pioneers in 
search of adventure and gold placers.

	Some few people had settled at Spearfish during the summer of 1876; then 
there were some also at Bear gulch, some thirty miles northwest of Deadwood; and 
previous to this, Custer and Hill City were the first settlements of all and 
were the center of excitement until gold was discovered at Deadwood, when both 
were virtually depopulated in the mad rush to the placer fields. At this time 
Rapid City was also a small settlement. After the few parties had been taken 
out, the government recognized the fact that the rush was so heavy that it would 
be useless to try to remove the people. Therefore, it again started negotiations 
with the Indians for the cession of the reservation. These negotiations were 
consummated on February 28, 1877, and that spring a very great rush began, but 
the pioneers were the ones who had to cut out the hard work. Of course the great 
danger from Indians was at the outskirts of the Hills and in the small 
settlements where the whites could be overcome by large numbers; but the Indians 
were loath to attack the larger settlements in the interior of the Hills, not 
only on account of the number of whites, but to a great extent because of the 
ruggedness of the mountain ranges and the danger of retreat being cut off. 
Therefore, they confined themselves to lying in wait and picking off the small 
parties entering. In the smaller settlements, like, for instance, Galena, where 
Mr. Conzett built a log cabin in October, 1876, the people were obliged to 
organize for self-protection. Mr. Conzett's cabin was the fort. It was 
originally built with a dirt roof and floor erected the house himself. He cut 
down the trees, for the logs, and each day, when three friends of his were 
returning from work, they would help him transport the logs to their 
destination. No boards were to be purchased, but he obtained two from a placer 
sluice-box, and with these he constructed his door, with wooden hinges. Many of 
the pioneers lived in dugouts, and all of them did business for a long time in 
shacks and log cabins.

[Photo - FIRST HOME OF MAYOR SAMUEL MOLL OF GALENA.  MR. MOLL SITS ON THE HORSE, 
WHICH WAS VERY FOND OF TOBACCO.]


	At Lead City, which was quite a village on account of the placers and gold 
run, there was no trouble from Indians, as it was somewhat removed from the 
course of travel and protected by other settlements. After the ratification of 
the treaty with the Indians, Lawrence county was organized, and the governor of 
Dakota appointed the county officers. The county took its name from John 
Lawrence, who was appointed county treasurer. John Wolzmuth at Spearfish was 
among the three county commissioners at that time, and Captain Seth Bullock was 
the first sheriff of Lawrence county.

	The Pioneers' Association was organized January 8, 1889, and in January, 
1903, the total enrollment of members had reached 504; since that time some have 
died and some have left the country. The present membership is about 250. The 
first officers were: Thomas H. Russell, president; L. F. Whitbeck, secretary; 
John R. Brennan, treasurer, and General A. R. Z. Dawson, marshal. In rotation 
the various presidents of the society since that time have been as follows: 
Thomas H. Russell, one term; Captain Seth Bullock, two terms; General A. R. Z. 
Dawson, two terms; James W. Alien, two terms; John Gray, two terms; P. A. 
Gushurst, one term; George V. Ayres, one term; James Conzett, four terms.

	At the annual meeting of 1903, Mr. Conzett, in an address, spoke truly 
when he said that the pioneers from the earliest settlement of the Black Hills 
to date had been prominently identified with all interests inaugurated and 
carried to successful issue, and that all lines of industry in the Hills were 
well represented by those who came in before the legal settlement.

	The present board of directors is composed of H. J. Fuller, John Blatt, 
Paul Rewman, Al Burnham and A. C. Tippie. The president is J. W. McDonald; 
secretary, J. Deetken; treasurer, D. M. Gillette; marshal, F. X. Smith, and the 
standard-bearer, George H. Simmons. The latter office will probably remain 
permanently with Mr. Simmons during his lifetime, and the same may be said of 
the office of historian, which is occupied by George S. Hopkins, the first civil 
engineer of the Black Hills and the most incomparable story-teller.

	The vice-presidents are elected by counties and are as follows: For 
Lawrence county, James Halloran; for Meade county, John Scollard; for Pennington 
county, James Halley: for Custer county, H. A. Albion; for Fall River county, F. 
B. Smith; for Butte county, F. C. Thullen; for Cook county, James Ryan.


[Photo - WHERE JAMES CONZETT LIVED TWENTY-ONE YEARS AT GALENA. THIS LOG CABIN 
WAS USED IN EARLY DAYS AS A FORT.]


	Most of the pioneers, who started in their cabins and shacks, have now 
handsome residences and are among the most prominent business men of the various 
communities. In the mining industry should be mentioned among the pioneers such 
men as John Gray, an ex-president of the society; Harris Franklin, a prominent 
financier, and Kirk G. Phillips, ex-state treasurer. In varied enterprises 
should be mentioned George V. Ayres, a large hardware merchant and ex-president 
of the society; Paul Rewman, of the electric light plant at Deadwood; P. A. 
Gushurst, capitalist and merchant of Lead, ex-president of the Pioneers' 
Association and present president of the Lead Commercial Club; Frank Abt, ex-
mayor of Lead; Julius Deetkin, a merchant of Deadwood, who has always been 
strongly identified with the association and is its present secretary, and 
Captain Seth Bullock, ex-president of the Pioneers' Association and in charge of 
the forestry reserves of the Black Hills. The mechanical industries are well 
represented among the Pioneers by such men as James Lawlor, Albert Burnham and 
James Carver. Were we to enumerate the long list of members of the association 
and the varied paths they have hewn in the commercial, industrial, financial and 
mining enterprises of the Black Hills, a long task would be before us, but 
suffice to say that the record of its individual members in the upbuilding of 
the Black Hills will ever be a monument of pride to the children and 
grandchildren of the members of the Society of Black Hills Pioneers.



EN PASSANT.

A Brief Review of the Black Hills, Their People, Towns, Conditions and 
Industries.

BY GEO. P. BALDWIN. (Portrait below.)

	I went, saw and was conquered. Yes, they are an empire in themselves. 
Probably one out of twenty educated men of the United States could 
geographically bound the Black Hills, but I am ashamed to say that before my 
advent in the Hills I had been to California over a hundred times, and it was 
not until three years ago that my curiosity was awakened regarding this section. 
A friend of mine, an old newspaper confrere, had suffered severely from 
rheumatism and had been cured. I asked him where, and he laughed as he replied, 
"In the Black Hills." I was thunderstruck, and it was then he told me about the 
healing waters and fine hotel accommodations and scenic wonders of Hot Springs 
at the foot of the Black Hills. He spoke of the energy of the late Fred T. 
Evans, who had done so much to build up that place. And then he told of the 
immense mining communities building up throughout the Hills and said he had gone 
to Lead, three miles distant from Deadwood, to see an old friend, T. J. Grier, 
who ran the biggest gold mine on earth. He had reference to the Homestake Mining 
Company.

	I was not convinced except in aftertalks with him and with others, and 
then decided at the first feasible opportunity to make the trip.

	My first point was Hot Springs, where I found that Mr. Evans had passed 
away, but his son-in-law, Mr. Harry D. dark, furnished me with much valuable 
information, and I started northward to Deadwood, stopping at Rapid City, 
Piedmont, Sturgis and Whitewood on the way. These latter towns are situated in 
tlie foothills east of the Hills proper, and from Whitewood one ascends to an 
altitude of 4,700 feet in entering Deadwood.

	I had been sorry to leave Hot Springs, it was so charming with its balmy, 
dry air, its almost perpetual sunshine and its magnificent baths. I could see 
before me the vista of a western gulch mining town, with its filth and 
degradation an eyesore at every turn. The thought of a protracted stay in such a 
place was revolting.

	As we ascended the valley on the handsomely equipped train my attention 
was diverted by the marks of activity on every hand. Cyanide mills, reduction 
plants and smelters, and finally the city of Deadwood came into view with its 
fine business blocks and its surrounding hillsides of beautiful residences. We 
stopped at the station and in two minutes I was at the hotel and was literally 
astounded. Here was a caravansary, the Franklin House, in its construction and 
service equal to any hotel between Kansas City and 'Frisco. Shortly afterward I 
passed down the street to a saddlery store, where I presented my credentials to 
Mr. Edward McDonald, the mayor of Deadwood (surnamed "Mac the Saddler"), who 
placed himself at my disposal for the rest of the day, took me to the Deadwood 
Business Club and introduced me to some of the finest men it has ever been my 
pleasure to meet.

	I cannot pass Mayor McDonald without a brief mention of this gentleman, 
whose, open heart is only paralleled by his distinguished courtesy and great 
abilities. He is a Chesterfield in manners and so excellent a speaker that he 
always reminds me of S. A. Wheelwright and John Grant, who were, in their day, 
shining lights as mayors of Tacoma, Wash., and Victoria, B. C., respectively.

	Mayor McDonald was born in New York, and lived there for many years before 
coming West. He came to the Hills in 1879, established business at three cities 
besides Deadwood, and immediately identified himself with the upbuilding of 
Deadwood. He was several times elected chief of the fire department, and later 
on was twice elected president of the Black Hills Firemen's Association. In 1887 
he was elected an alderman of the Second ward, and in 1890 was made sheriff of 
Lawrence county.


[Photo - LOG CABIN IN SPRUCE GULCH.-Photo by C. B. Clark, Jr.]


	One would suppose this to have been a pretty trying office to fill, but 
Mayor McDonald assured me that at no time during his two years' tenancy did he 
have to resort to the use of firearms. I have since been told that at that time, 
while conducting an insane patient on a train to the asylum, the patient leaped 
from the train while it was running at the rate of 40 miles per hour, and the 
then sheriff, McDonald, followed him while the train was at full speed and 
brought him back, neither one being hurt. Mr. McDonald has been for ten years a 
member of the state Democratic central committee, and in April, 1902, was 
elected mayor of Deadwood. His administration was so popular that he was re-
elected last spring without an opposing candidate, although the town is 
undoubtedly distinctly Republican.

	Some idea of the falsity of my previous impressions of Deadwood can be 
gathered from Mr. McDonald's reply to one of my questions, in which he said : 
"There is only one policeman on duty in Deadwood at any one time, and he has 
very little to do."


[Photo - THE REAL DEADWOOD STAGE COACH ON ITS DAILY RUN TO SPEARFISH. HARVEY 
FELLOWS, THE DRIVER, HAS MADE THE ROUND TRIP DAILY FOR TWENTY-ONE YEARS.]


	A thorough description or this and all the other larger cities of the 
Hills will be found in these pages, and it is my idea merely to give a general 
idea of the conditions encountered by a new arrival.

	Lead City, three miles distant from Deadwood, and some 600 feet higher, is 
the home of the Homestake mine, and is reached by the Northwestern railway over 
its scenic route or by trolley over the Burlington. The city is somewhat larger 
than Deadwood, and is next in point of size to Sioux Falls, the largest city in 
the state. It is dependent at present almost entirely upon mining, and is 
undoubtedly the handsomest, best ordered and best built mining town in the 
world. The reasons for this will be apparent from a later description in these 
pages. The same splendid courtesy I found here also at the hands of Mayor Irwin 
and other prominent men of Lead. My trips to Mystic, Rochford, Keystone, Hill 
City and Custer, all in the heart of the Hills, and reached by the Burlington 
road, were at a later date, as were also the trips made to Spearfish and Belle 
Fourche in the northernmost part of the Hills, and reached by the Burlington and 
Northwestern railways, respectively.

	The Black Hills occupy a territory running about 100 miles from north to 
south, on the western border of South Dakota, and extending over into the state 
of Wyoming.  They will probably average from east to west about 50 to 60 miles, 
thus including about 5,000 to 6,000 square miles of territory, although often 
advertised as 100 miles square.

	The altitude of these mountains and of the principal cities can be gleaned 
from the following table:

	Hot Springs                 3,400
	Battle Mountain             5,000
	Johnson Hill                4,230
	Cascade                     3,406
	Sylvan Lake                 6,500
	Harney Peak                 8,200
	Terry Peak                  7,363
	Custer Peak                 7,000
	Dodge's Peak                7,500
	Crook's Tower               7,363
	Crow Peak                   6,000
	Inyan Kara                  6,600
	Devil's Tower               5,260
	Terry                       5,700
	Whitewood                   3,400
	Bear Butte                  4,603
	Deadwood                    4,630
	White Rocks, Deadwood       5,400
	Lead City                   5,300
	Custer City                 5,500
	Keystone                    4,222
	Hill City                   5,080
	Rapid City                  3,200
	Sturgis and Fort Meade      3,400
	Spearfish                   3,500
	Buffalo Gap                 3,275
	Chadron                     3,382
	Belle Fourche               3,400

	As will be seen, the highest peak is 8,200 feet above the level of the 
sea, while Custer City, at 5,500 feet, is about 200 feet lower than Denver. The 
Black Hills derive their name from the people crossing the plains to the south 
half a century ago on the way to Salt Lake. The heavy growth of pitch pine 
covering the mountains with its dark foliage gave the impression befitting the 
name, but I think it was a pity, as light attracts and darkness repels, in our 
thoughts regarding location; there's a whole lot in a name.

	The same may be said of Deadwood. What a fearful name to give a town! What 
a motive to thoughts of wildness! Undoubtedly Buffalo Bill was impelled to use 
this name (from its very conception of lawlessness) on the stage coach which is 
dragged out twice a day in his shows to be shot at by the Indians. The real 
Deadwood stage-coach is one that travels daily to Spearfish over a beautiful 
mountainous drive of 16 miles, with gala parties of ladies and gentlemen perched 
all over it.


[Photo - A PARK SCENE ON ROAD TO THE COLD SPRINGS RANCH.]


CLIMATE AND SCENERY.

	There are many people who cannot bear a high altitude. No altitude of the 
Black Hills is great enough to affect these people, and yet, from one end of the 
Hills to the other, the atmosphere is as dry as that of Colorado. In the 
northern Hills, around Deadwood and Lead, and as far south as Rochford, there is 
a considerable precipitation, especially in the winter time, when the snow 
permits of the finest sleighing to be had in America. But the snow does not 
accumulate to any great extent, because of the dry atmosphere, which quickly 
dispels it. In the southern Hills the precipitation grows less and less, until 
finally, at Hot Springs, it is not over 17 inches per annum. The heat of summer, 
during the days, is not felt because of the dry atmosphere, and blankets are 
slept under every night. In the winter time the northern Hills are somewhat 
colder than at Hot Springs, but it is not a disagreeable cold, and the 
atmosphere is always bracing, even during the most severe snowstorms.

	South Dakota is usually regarded by the easterner as having a very 
rigorous climate, but such is not the case in the Black Hills, which have 
climatic conditions of their own, recommending them winter and summer to the man 
or woman without health; and the lack of wind is another distinct feature 
constituting a health resort of the entire Hills.


[Photo - THRESHING OATS AT REMINGTON RANCH, A PARK THREE MILES EAST OF HILL 
CITY.]


	Regarding scenery, the varying conditions are so manifold as to be almost 
impossible of enumeration. In constant drives throughout the Hills, I was 
impressed with the statement of a writer once visiting them, in which he 
distinguished between the towering peaks and sheer declivities of Colorado and 
the more gentle declines of the Black Hills, through which one can drive ad 
libitum, by saying that  "in the Black Hills one feels in touch with every hill 
and mountain, and that he can reach out and grasp it."

	In the many drives since made all over the Hills this impression has come 
to me time and time again. The illustrations of this book will tell better than 

the pen the class of scenery that greets the eye on every hand. One of my most 
beautiful drives was one made a few days after my advent, at the invitation of 
George S. Jackson, a prominent miner of Deadwood. We made a 34-mile drive 
southwest from Deadwood to the Wyoming border, almost all the time along the 
banks of dashing trout streams and under the eaves of glorious pine-clad 
mountains, relieved in their somberness by the light foliage of the maple and 
the quaking asp. I never saw a more prolific or beautiful ranch than the Cold 
Springs ranch of 300 acres of valley meadow at an altitude of 6,000 feet and 
protected by the mountains on both sides. Here are found about 100 head of 
Hereford cattle and some splendid Percheron horses. The oats raised in this 
valley, as in the other valleys, or parks, of the Black Hills, seem to be 
individual to this country, for nowhere can be found oats of such weight.

                  FARMING INDUSTRIES.

	These parks of the Black Hills are not extensive, but produce a great 
amount of cereals in comparison with their acreage. They are used mainly for 
cultivation of the most hardy cereals, vegetables, and for pasturage; and almost 
every one of these ranches has a goodly bunch of cattle. In fact, most of the 
ranchers in these parts have been very successful and built good homes, some of 
them equal to the outlying residences of our large cities. As will be seen in 
our pages, the great amount of farming of the Black Hills is at the north and 
south and on the eastern foothills.


[Photo - CATTLE ROUND-UP.]


CATTLE.

	The cattle industry of the Hills, through Belle Fourche. Whitewood, Rapid 
City and Hot Springs, runs to enormous figures, as high as 100,000 cattle having 
been shipped in one year from Belle Fourche.

	The sheep industry is also very large and is becoming greater. Belle 
Fourche draws from four big counties to the north, it being the terminus of the 
Northwestern railway and the most practical place for that reason, from which to 
ship from these four counties.

LUMBER.

	The timber industries of the Hills are large, but of late have been 
somewhat curtailed by the forestry laws. Sawmills are on every hand, however, 
cutting railroad ties, timbers for the mines and mercantile lumber for building. 
Pitch pine of the Black Hills takes a very fine polish, superior to the spruce, 
cedar or fir of the Cascade Mountains. But a great deal of Pacific Coast lumber, 
as also eastern lumber, is imported, as the demand is always greater than the 
supply. Although the log cabins of the past have been eliminated pretty 
thoroughly from the towns, they are in evidence throughout the Hills, many of 
them having been erected in 1876, and are still in a splendid state of 
preservation. Many are built to-day, on an improved scale, and form as 
picturesque and comfortable a home as one could well imagine.


[Photo - F. E. BENNETT'S SAW MILL AT BEULAH.


FISHING AND HUNTING.

	Trout streams abound in the Black Hills. The government takes means to 
protect them and is adding yearly to the trout from the fish hatcheries at 
Spearfish. Camping outfits are the regular thing in the Hills for summer 
outings, and much sport is guarantied to the angler; the foliage and wild 
flowers at this time are gorgeous, the wild roses being a very distinct feature; 
the campers have also the finest wild strawberries and raspberries to be found 
anywhere on earth.

	With the advent of the fall shooting season, every lover of the sport goes 
out for his deer, and few are disappointed, as the government has so well 
protected the deer that they are on the increase at the present time.

	The mountain lion is to be seen at times, and the bobcat (an animal 
somewhat larger than the Rocky Mountain wildcat, and with tassels on his ears 
like the lynx) is found in some districts in great numbers. The coyote, gray 
wolf, cottontail and jack rabbit hold their own pretty well with the hunter, but 
are mainly on the edge of the Hills. Wild waterfowl are plentiful and the grouse 
and pheasant dot the Hills in great numbers. Altogether, the Black Hills furnish 
rare sport for a good shot.


[Photo - TROUT FISHING IN SAND CREEK.]


[Photo - A WEEK'S SHOOT IN THE BLACK HILLS, LIMESTONE SECTION.-By courtesy of P. 
Sweeney.]


EARLY DAYS.

	Mining is the industry that brought the first rush to the Hills and is the 
principal factor in the increase of population and wealth to-day.

	The first rush was for placer gold, and many lives were spent by the 
bullet of the Indians in the first rush to Custer and Hill City, and later to 
Deadwood. This was in 1875 and 1876-just think of it-less than thirty years ago. 
These men had no right in the Hills (which belonged to the Indians), and they 
knew it; they knew the risk they took and the probable hardships ahead of them; 
but an Eldorado of gold was there, and they never faltered. Mr. P. A. Gushurst, 
now a wealthy merchant of Lead and an ex-president of the Black Hills Pioneers' 
Association, gave me an interesting account of the average experience of those 
days.

	In the spring of 1876 Mr. Gushurst, in company with William Connors, left 
Omaha for the Black Hills. At Cheyenne they met Judge Dudley of Omaha and 
journeyed with him to Fort Laramie. On the way they found at Chugwater a man who 
had been shot by Indians and afterward used as a target for arrows, some 
eighteen of which were found in his body. Messrs. Gushurst and Connors waited a 
week at Fort Laramie before entering the Hills, and Judge Dudley, who erected 
the first sawmill at Deadwood and who had his machinery with him, went on ahead 
by bull train. After leaving Fort Laramie, Messrs. Gushurst and Connors pushed 
on (with the train) to the Cheyenne river, crossing where Edgemont is now 
located. There they camped for a night, using for a pillow a soft mound of 
earth. Awakening in the morning from a sound sleep, they found a headboard at 
one end of the mound staring them in the face, stating that ----- had been 
killed by Indians and had been buried on such a date; this date was one week 
previous, and they had been sleeping with a grave mound as a head rest. This 
man, who had been killed, had been buried by Judge Dudley's bull outfit, which 
had preceded them. Before entering Bear Butte, near Deadwood, they overtook the 
bull train and Mr. Gushurst and Judge Dudley came into Deadwood on foot the next 
day. Judge Dudley immediately erected his saw-mill on the present location of 
the Northwestern freight depot.

	It was on June I, 1876, that Mr. Gushurst entered Deadwood. He was then 
twenty-two years old. Besides his partner, William Connors, he became associated 
with another partner, and, while Mr. Gushurst remained in Deadwood, the other 
two went prospecting. They had brought with them to Deadwood about $600 worth of 
supplies, and Mr. Gushurst found so many parties returning who had supplies also 
which they wished to sell, that he bought up small lots of goods and opened up 
business in a tent on Main street opposite the site of the present grocery of 
Jacob Goldberg. In the same month he bought the lot, at present occupied by Mr. 
Goldberg, for seventy-five dollars and a Winchester rifle, and one Sunday 
afternoon made an arrangement to put up a building, which he called the Big Horn 
Store, and lease the same to an Omaha firm for seventy-five dollars per month. 
He immediately went to Judge Dudley, who was already running the sawmill, 
engaged his lumber, started work Monday morning, and on Thursday afternoon the 
stock of the firm was moved in and business started. Subsequently Mr. Gushurst 
sold the building and lot for $2,000. On August 10th he moved to Lead and 
brought in (to Lead) the second stock of goods that ever entered the town site. 
Mr. And Mrs. Gushurst were the first couple married in Lead City.

	The party in which Mr. Gushurst and his partner came to the Hills was the 
second large outfit that entered the Hills, the bull train preceding them being 
the first; there were about eighty men in his party. So many smaller parties had 
been massacred by the Indians that they were held at Fort Laramie until a 
sufficient number had come together to make it a possible proposition for them 
to enter with any degree of safety. Even with this large party, it was necessary 
to observe the greatest precautions. During the day scouts rode ahead, heavily 
armed and carrying field glasses, there being no day when the Indians were not 
seen. On one occasion the Indians attempted to stampede their horses, but were 
unsuccessful. At night the wagons were drawn up in circles, the horses tethered 
between them, and inside of the circle the center was utilized for sleeping 
purposes. From the outer wagons, in four different directions, men paced off 100 
feet, and at the end of each hundred feet a rifle pit was dug. At dark a man 
entered each of the four rifle pits and there remained on guard duty until 
midnight, at which time the four guards were relieved by four others, who 
remained until after the break of day. The time of greatest danger was usually 
at daybreak. William Selbie, a prominent financier of Deadwood, related to me 
the fearful tribulations of the Northwestern Stage and Transportation Company, 
for which he had charge of the business in the Hills until 1886, after which he 
became cashier of the Merchants' National Bank and later president and cashier 
of the American National Bank, subsequently starting the Whitewood Banking 
Company, which will be found in the description of Whitewood.


[Photo - BULL TRAIN, IN EARLY DAYS, FROM PIERRE TO DEADWOOD.]


	The Northwestern Stage and Transportation Company first ran a line from 
the Northern Pacific railway to the Hills; it was then the short line; but as 
soon as the Northwestern railway built into Pierre, S. D., the transportation 
company moved down there and formed a through line from Pierre to the Hills. The 
company first began doing business in April, 1877, and was running from Pierre 
in 1880. The freight was handled in heavy wagons, trailing along in bunches of 
three with ten or twelve yoke of cattle on each team; these were called "bull 
outfits."  Fast freight was handled with mules in much the same way, but in 
larger outfits. Practically all the passenger and express business to and from 
the Hills was done by this company, which also handled the gold dust and bullion 
and most of the freight. They brought into the Hills the locomotives for the 
Homestake and the heavy machinery for the Old Abe hoist. The gumbo mud was so 
deep at times as to make the roads almost impassable; it had to be chopped from 
the wheels; the cost of fodder was a fearful item, and in the first years they 
were continually harassed by the Indians, and later by road agents. All sorts of 
ruses had to be resorted to for the safe transportation of the bullion and dust 
and matters were so bad at one time that the company compelled passengers at 
either end to exchange their money for drafts, payable at the other end of the 
line, before taking the trip. Armed outriders preceded and followed the stages, 
and, though there were many holdups, the company used such precautions that the 
bullion and gold dust were taken through without loss.

	Of course, the advent of the railways into the Hills overcame these 
troubles and also the necessity of the existence of the stagecoaches and bull 
teams, but while they existed they were kept at all times in lively suspense.


[Photo - F. E. BENNETT'S LOGGING OUTFIT AT BEULAH.]


MINES AND MINING.

	Large fortunes were taken out of the placer claims all over the Hills, but 
finally these dwindled and the miners began to cast about for the fissure veins. 
They found them in profusion and in high-grade ore near the surface. What would 
now be regarded as mercantile ore was cast aside because there were no 
facilities to handle it economically. The high-grade ore was shipped to Omaha 
and Denver and practically no idea can be given as to what the yearly returns 
were in those years; this was mainly the quartzite ore in flat formation; in 
some cases it was soon exhausted, although many are the examples where it has 
been worked for years and will be worked for many years to come. The Buxton mine 
at Terry for ten years paid dividends of 10 per cent per month and often threw 
in an extra dividend for good measure. Last year this mine was sold to Lundborg, 
Dorr & Wilson, who are treating by modern processes what was then thrown away 
because it would not pay to ship to Omaha for smelting.


[Photo - THE "NEW FIND"-WORKING A PROSPECT.]


[Photo - COMPLETE MILLING AND EXPERIMENTAL PLANT AT MYSTIC,  ERECTED BY F. H. 
LONG.]


	Then there were pockets found of immensely rich ore; an example of this 
was the discovery by Otto P. Th. Grantz on the grounds of the Hidden Fortune. 
Here was a man born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany (then a duchy of Denmark), 
who came to America in 1855, engaged for some years in farming in Illinois and 
in politics with Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, John A. Logan and George 
B. McClellan, and finally got the gold fever, and in 1862 struck out farther 
West. From this time until 1876 he followed placer and hydraulic mining at Grand 
Round Valley, Ore.; then at Auburn; then Mormon Basin, Boise Basin, Deadwood 
Basin (Idaho), and finally back to Boise Basin, which is in Idaho. At last, with 
the first rush to the Black Hills, Mr. Grantz came through to Deadwood and took 
up Placer No. 20, and remained in placer work until 1881, and then he got into 
quartz mining. A flood depleted his little fortune and he went into dairying, 
but still kept up his assessment work. In 1886 he located the Hidden Fortune, 
and for years put in a little time each day, to and from his regular work, on 
this mine (then a prospect), until 1899, and in August of that year his day 
came; with a few blows of the pick in the mountain side a fortune stood 
revealed; single pieces of ore assaying from $1,000 to $68,000 to the ton. Was 
he flurried? Not he; it was what he had expected. Down he went to Deadwood and 
back he came with gunny sacks, flour sacks, meal sacks, all sorts of sacks; 
these he filled, cleaned out the pocket of richer ore, carted it to the 
railroad-zoo tons, 8 carloads-went with it to Denver, and returned with sixty 
thousand dollars in his jeans. And then he went on accumulating wealth, until 
now he is president of three large mining companies and interested in many 
others, and has been able to do much good with his money in the upbuilding of 
Deadwood.

ON A MANUFACTURING BASIS.

	At last, when the high-grade ore began to dwindle and the immense vertical 
veins of $3, $4 and $5 ore began to be uncovered, all sorts of mills were 
erected for treatment, many without the least idea of the possible result. Some 
were successes in a way and held a paying percentage of the ore, but many of 
them were failures; on free-milling ores the exposed particles could be held by 
amalgamation, but it was found by assaying that there was a whole lot that was 
not saved, and millions of dollars were running down the creeks. Chlorination 
was resorted to, but did not seem to hit the Black Hills refractory ores. 
Concentrates were collected and in values of ten to one sent to the newly 
erected smelters at Deadwood and Rapid City.

	Altogether, it reminds one of the story of the Idaho refractories ; a 
method had to be found for the Black Hills ores, as formerly in the Coeur 
d'Alenes, and it was found at last-in cyanidation.

THE PROBLEM SOLVED.

	Cyanidation has at last solved the problem-or at least the principal one, 
though there are many more to solve on various classes of ore.

	The first cyanide mill was Cyanide No. 1 of the Homestake, and this was in 
1901. Please ponder upon this date-only three years ago-and see what has been 
done since that time; mills going up on every hand, throughout the mineral belts 
of Lawrence, Pennington and Custer counties; prospects being developed into 
paying mines everywhere.

	And what are these institutions? Simply nothing but manufacturing 
industries, calling for large capital, good manufacturers, competent financiers 
and common-sense economics; practically nothing more. And the only difference 
between this and other manufacturing is that you can't overstock the market, 
don't have to curtail production in dull times, and have always a fixed price 
for your goods and sell them to a pretty good institution-Uncle Sam.

	And can these big low-grade vertical bodies be exhausted? Well, God only 
knows. There was a time when it was thought that a mile downward would be the 
limit; but if you had a whiff of the good fresh air supplied on the thousand-
foot levels of the Homestake, you'd believe improved methods could send the 
miners clear to China with perfect comfort.

	And ore abounds everywhere, from miles above Deadwood and Lead to miles 
below Custer; hardly a hill that doesn't assay values. And it looks as if the 
time would come when, with the constant improvement of methods, any ore running 
$1.50 or more per ton would be made to pay.

	Colonel Clark of Keystone told me he couldn't understand why diamond 
drills were not in universal use all over the Hills, dissecting them from end to 
end, at a cost of $1 per foot. This thought had come to me; but I've since found 
that many are being used; but then, the core of a diamond drill is not quite the 
same as a shaft or tunnel, and most men that own a prospect are sure they have a 
mine and will go their last dollar on their faith. I've 
[Photo - READY TO DESCEND-AT THE CLOVER LEAF.]

seen, in a general way, most of the mining camps of the United States, and it is 
generally the low-grade mines that have made the fortunes. It would surprise you 
were I to enumerate, say, one hundred conservative bankers and merchants of the 
United States who have made the principal part of their fortunes in mines; 
they'll never tell about it. Now, if you talk bonanza high-grade ore to these 
men, you might as well talk to a sphinx; but the moment you talk "low-grade ore, 
and lots of it," their ears move around in your direction. Why is this? Well, 
it's because they've "been there" on the $10,000 per ton proposition before they 
began to bank profits on the $5 ores; they know the latter are reasonably safe 
if good ordinary common sense is used in buying first and manufacturing 
afterward; and you'd be surprised to know how few failures these men make.

	For myself, I've never seen mines that attracted me as do those of the 
Black Hills, of Lawrence, Pennington and Custer counties, and while a man might 
make a mistake now and then, he's not going to make many, as long as he is 
possessed of fair business acumen.

	There are many others, besides gold mines, that are going to give out 
fortunes; copper, tin, iron, silver and a dozen other metals will make 
themselves felt in the Black Hills; and if you've ever heard about the Harney 
Peak tin fiasco, don't let it worry you; even the Bank of England would find it 
difficult to support as many rich men's sons as they tried to take care of, and 
you'd hardly blame a poor prospector for digging a 10-foot hole, borrowing a 
little tin ore in the night and selling the hole the next day to an enthusiastic 
tin mine promoter for ten or twenty thousand dollars. But this doesn't mean that 
all the Harney Peak property was of that kind; they have a multitude of good 
claims, and when the common-sense receiver (Mr. Le Doux of New York) can get the 
English and American stockholders to reconcile their differences and "saw wood" 
there will be a different tale to tell. Already the Tinton Company is shipping 
tin ore to Liverpool at a profit, and the dawn of day for the tin industry of 
the Black Hills is at hand.

AT ST. LOUIS.

	Mr. S. W. Russell, South Dakota commissioner to the World's Fair at St. 
Louis and a prominent business and mining man of the Hills, hit upon an 
excellent idea in connection with the educational, agricultural, game and 
mineral exhibit of the Black Hills. He has erected a five-stamp mill, with 
regulation 1,000-pound stamps, Homestake mortar, silver amalgamating tables for 
treating free gold, a complete cyanide plant for treating salicious ores, and 
concentration tables.

	Ores for treatment are supplied by the various Black Hills mines, and at 
least five to ten tons will be treated daily. The mill has a gallery, with 
commodious accommodations for visitors, who will see more to interest them in an 
hour than in a day spent on the "Pike."

	And if you afterward contemplate a visit to the Black Hills don't be 
afraid that you are going to the antipodes. You'll find as good schools, 
churches, society and well educated and well dressed men and women as in any 
city of the East; and you'll find a hospitality such as you never experienced in 
your life, whether you come from Boston or San Francisco.


[Photo - JAMES STEPHENS' TYPICAL BLACK HILLS MILK RANCH.]


RAILWAYS TO THE HILLS.

	Of routes there are two. The Northwestern first touches at Buffalo Gap, 
has a branch from there to Hot Springs, while the through train skirts the east 
side of the Hills and enters at Whitewood, ten miles from Deadwood. The 
Burlington railway first taps the Hills at Edgemont; from there runs a branch 
line to Hot Springs, and proceeds from Edgemont through the heart of the Hills 
to Deadwood, its first important stop being Custer.


[Photo  - INDIAN SCHOOL AT RAPID CITY.]


BUSINESS CHANCES.

	Perhaps for one very important reason, viz., that the Black Hills have 
never had an unnatural and general business boom where values climbed clear out 
of sight and fell back with a crash-this section holds excellent openings for 
good business men. From their inaccessibility until the last few years and also 
from the fact that even to-day they are not known as are many sections of the 
country, the Hills have had to play their own game, and they've done it without 
much help. A man who can pay one per cent a month for money, and prosper, must 
make good profits; for this rate would be prohibitive in most communities; but 
although Hills prices are not seemingly high for general goods there is a "live 
and let live" policy on every side which allows merchants to accumulate rapidly. 
To give some idea of what a man can do even with small capital I recall a chat 
with C. M. Wilcox, a druggist of Deadwood. Some years ago he bought out another 
druggist whose stock was so antiquated that Mr. Wilcox's capital was absolutely 
absorbed in the loss on these goods; thus he may be said to have started with 
less than nothing. But he was progressive, added various lines of unique and 
fancy goods to his drug stock, and now has a handsome business, besides having 
accumulated considerable money and property. This would not have been 
impossible, but it would have been improbable, in an eastern city. It is such 
examples as these that have always given me the best indication of business 
chances, and I have seen duplications, all over the Hills, of practically the 
same experiences and results.

FINANCIAL.

	A few patent facts on finances are generally more interesting, to the 
average man, than an array of figures. Mr. R. H. Driscoll, cashier of the First 
National Bank of Lead, introduced me to a very interesting statement as follows: 
"In April, 1903, the state of South Dakota issued about $225,000 in what are 
called state revenue warrants, and the Black Hills banks secured the same in the 
face of competitive bids. Again in 1904 a further issue of $200,000 was made, 
and the Black Hills banks again obtained them.

	"The local demand for loans in the Hills is not sufficient for the 
investment of the funds and surplus of the various banks, and purchases are made 
in the East, against competition, of high-grade loans and. commercial paper and 
loans are made on cattle in various sections."

	Mr. H. E. Perkins, cashier of the Meade County Bank, at Sturgis, compiled 
last winter a statement showing the deposits November 17, 1903, of 23 banks of 
the six counties of the Black Hills; the total was $4,809,911.70, an average of 
$128 per capita of Black Hills population, or 2% times greater than the average 
deposits per capita of the entire United States.

	He also makes these statements, in which I believe him to be correct: 
"South Dakota has produced, for six successive years, more new wealth per capita 
than any other state. It has more banks per capita than any other state, and 
Massachusetts is the only state that outranks it in point of literacy."

CONCLUSION.

	Treatment of the specific subjects here touched upon seemed to me at the 
outset of more capable fulfillment by the best specialists and writers of the 
Hills than at my hands.

	I searched for the best, found them and secured their hearty cooperation. 
My judgment was good, and you will see it in these pages, for no other book on 
any section of America has ever been so conservatively written or so carefully 
compiled, and none has ever been treated by such an able corps of writers.

	In every way I have had the hearty cooperation of every decent man of the 
Black Hills, and there are more of them to the square mile than any place, East, 
West, North or South, that I ever saw.

	Therefore I present, with infinite pride and confidence, to the world at 
large the first exhaustive work ever published on the Black Hills of to-day.

	NOTE:-In the pages following there will be found slight discrepancies in 
figures of altitude, gold production, etc., etc.  We have purposely refrained 
from correcting them, as these variations digress so little from each other as 
to establish general facts more conclusively than would absolute similarity of 
details.