Acquisition of the Black Hills This file was extracted from "The Province and the States", edited by Weston Arthur Goodspeed, LL. B., Editor-in-Chief, Vol. VI (1904), pages 271-280. This file may be freely copied for private, non-profit purposes. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's authors. This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/sd/sdfiles.htm CHAPTER III Acquisition of the Black Hills SOON after the discovery of gold in Wyoming and Montana, the belief became prevalent that gold in paying quantities could he found in the Black Hills. Lieutenant Warren, of the United States topographical engineers, made a report of his visit to the Hills in 1857, in which he said: "The Black Hills are composed of the same formations of stratified rocks as are found in the gold bearing gulches of the Wind river and Big Horn mountains where gold has been found in paying quantities." This belief was further strengthened by the widespread circulation of stories, mythical or otherwise, of immense finds of the precious metals there by the Indians. One of these stories went back as far as 1811, when the natives would come to a trading post of the American Fur Company, located at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Big Cheyenne river, about twenty-five miles from the Hills, bearing fine nuggets of gold, which they would exchange for sugar, coffee, gaudy trinkets and fire water. These Indians always claimed that they found the gold somewhere in the Black Hills country, but neither threats nor bribes could induce them to betray the exact locality. An old French voyageur, who had been an employe of the American Fur Company during this period, when on his death bed, in the winter of 1855, called a friend to his bedside, presented several fine specimens of gold as an evidence of the truthfulness of his story, and started to tell where the mines were to be found. But, as frequently happens in fiction, his death occurred before the narrative was finished. Father DeSmet, a Catholic missionary among the. Indians of the Upper Missouri as early as 1840, used to tell of the rich deposits of gold in the Black Hills. It has been asserted that the venerable priest knew the precise locality, but would not make it known, lest by betraying the confidence reposed in him he might lose his influence over the tribes that had entrusted him with the secret. His interest. in the spiritual welfare of the Indians was greater than his desire for wealth, and for this reason he never broke faith with them. However this may be Father DeSmet is known to have said in 1870, a little while before his death, that, "In the Black Hills of Dakota, beyond the ken of the white man, and where his feet have never trod, there is gold enough with which to pay off the debt of the nation, and for that matter, the entire debt of the civilized world, and yet these deposits would scarcely have been drawn upon." None who knew Father DeSmet, or who was acquainted with the character of his work, would doubt for a moment his sincerity. In 1862 two Indians brought about twenty thousand dollars' worth of gold to Fort Laramie, and sold it to Mr. Bullock, the post trader. A little later another Indian came to Fort Laramie with a peck of gold dirt, so rich that it excited general curiosity. Several wanted to buy it, and began bidding against each other for it, when the Indian became confused. Then, when they importuned him to tell where he had obtained it, the Indian became frightened, threw the sack of dirt into the Platte, and fled for his life. To all such stories as these was added the subtle influence of an indefinable mystery that hung over the Hills. The Sioux name "Pah-sap-pa," which has been translated into English as the Black Hills, had much the same significance to the Indians as the words "black art" had to the unlettered mind of the middle ages. Partially surrounded by the Bad Lands - the awe inspiring Mauvais Terres - the Black Hills were looked upon as "Medicine country," inhabited by supernaturals, who would resent any familiarity with their chosen abode. When, in 1857, Lieutenant Warren started to enter the Hills, he was warned back by the priests, who told him it was sacred ground. A few of the more daring among the Indians would cut lodge poles from the foot hills, but few could be found who were brave enough to venture into the interior of this spirit-infested region. All these conditions fired that heterogeneous compound of humanity that makes up the world of gold hunters, with a desire to prospect in the Black Hills. To the hope of finding gold was added the love of adventure, and in 1870 a company was organized at Bozeman, Mon., to explore the Hills. The company was called "The Big Horn Mountain and Black Hills Mining Association," and was officered as follows: Judge W. T. Kuykendall, president; J. S. Farrar, executive officer; C. R. McClelland, secretary; Col. T. R. Murrin, commander of battery; Dr. J. S. Claridge, surgeon. T. D. Munn, C. R. MeClelland, J. J. Holbrook and C. D. Currin were designated press correspondents. In the spring of 1874 this association sent an expedition of 150 well armed and well mounted men, accompanied by Colonel Murnn's battery, which consisted of one small cannon, to the eastern slope of the Big Horn mountains, with instructions to reach the Black Hills if possible. This expedition made the attempt to prospect for diggings in the Hills; but, after daily battles with the Sioux for several days, they were forced to retreat. The same year the government sent an expedition to the Black Hills under the command of Gen. George A. Custer. According to R. B. Cowan, acting secretary of the interior, it was sent out "merely as a military reconnoissance of the country for the purpose of ascertaining the best location if in future it should become necess,sary to establish there a mflitary post." Nevertheless a number of scientists, practical miners, etc., accompanied the expedition, and the result of their investigations was included in General Custer's report upon his return. Custer organized his forces, consisting of ten companies of cavalry, two companies of infantry, and sixty Indian scouts, at Fort A. Lincoln, where he went into camp on the 19th of June. On July 2, he left Fort Lincoln, and returned August 30. His general course lay in a southwesterly direction, until he reached Prospect valley. From this point he went up the Little Missouri some distance, and then turned south until he came to Belle Fourche, which he reached July 18, having marched 300 miles in sixteen days. Crossing Belle Fourche near the mouth of the Redwater, he proceeded up the latter stream as far as Inyan Kara, and from there in a southeasterly direction to the heart of the Black Hills. Then following along the valleys from one to another, he reached the beautiful park region, which up to this time had been a veritable terra incognita. On his return he went almost due north to Slave Butte, crossed his former trail in Prospect valley and turned eastward to the Heart river. Following along the north bank of this stream he reached Fort Lincoln August 30, as already stated. No hostile Indians were encountered, but the expedition caused great excitement among the various Sioux tribes and among the gold hunters. In his report to the adjutant general, for the department of Dakota, General Custer gave a flattering account of the country, particularly regarding its possibilities for agricultural pursuits. That part of his report, bearing on the question of gold mining said: "The miners report that they found gold among the roots of the grass, and from that point to the lowest point reached, gold was found in paying quantities. It has not required an expert to find gold in the Black Hills, as men without former experiences in mining have discovered it at an expense of but little time or labor." The report also stated that the scientists with the expedition were satisfied that lead and silver could be found in paying quantities. One can imagine the excitement that followed the publication of this report. Although old miners had never given much credence to the stories told of the fabulous wealth in the Hills, they hailed with delight the expedition of General Custer, as a sure means of creating public sentiment in favor of opening up the country to settlement, which would in time force the government to act. They understood that the occupation of the Black Hills meant that the whole country west of them across the Powder river and Big Horn mountains must soon follow. General Custer, in his report, referred to the Indian attitude as a "dog in the manger policy." They made no effort to develop the resources of the Hills themselves, and they were opposed to their development by the whites. The Black Hills were convenient to the Indians, their possession enabling them to carry on an illicit traffic in arms and ammunition with certain unscrupulous white men. As the route between the country of the hostile tribes on the Powder and Yellowstone rivers, and the large agencies of the peaceable tribes on the Missouri, lay along the base of the Hills, this traffic was made easy. For the purpose of breaking up this trade, General Custer recommended that the Black Hills either be opened to settlement, or be occupied as a military reservation. As soon as the tenor of this report became generally known, companies were formed in various parts of the Northwest to go to the Black Hills, Sioux City and Yankton acting among the first. A general stampede to the new mines was only prevented by this order of General Sheridan, under date of September 3. "To Brig. Gen. Alfred H. Terry, St. Paul, Minn. "Sir: Should the companies now organizing at Sioux City and Yankton trespass on the Sioux Indian reservation, you are hereby directed to use the force at your command to burn the wagon trains, destroy the outfits and arrest the leaders, confining them at the nearest military post in the Indian country. Should they succeed in reaching the interior, you are directed to send such force of cavalry in pursuit as will accomplish the purposes above named. Should Congress open up the country to settlement by extinguishing the treaty rights of the Indians, the undersigned will give cordial support to the settlement of the Black Hills. A duplicate of these instructions has been sent to General Ord, commanding the Department of the Platte. P. H. SHERIDAN, Lieut. General." Notwithstanding this order a party of adventurers, consisting of twenty-eight men and one woman, Mrs. A. D. Tallent, and her ten year old son, left Sioux City October 6, for the Black Hills. They were equipped with six wagons, carrying a stock of provisions for the winter and tools for mining and building cabins. By pursuing a somewhat devious route, they managed to avoid the military posts. They first went up the south bank of the Niobrara for about ninety miles, when they crossed over, and, striking a northwest course, came to the headwaters of the Keya Paha. Here they turned north, and, after crossing White river, again changed their course to northwest till they came to Bad river. Following up this stream to its source, they turned west till they came to the Big Cheyenne at the mouth of Elk creek. From this point they gained access to the Hills by keeping along the divide between Elk and Bear creeks. About the middle of December they reached Custer Park, where the first gold had been washed out by Ross and McKay the mining experts with the Custer expedition. Here they went into winter quarters. They built a stockade eighty feet square, inside of which were four log cabins. January was almost gone before everything was complete, and the work of prospecting for gold was postponed till spring. A town which they named Stonewall was laid off, and all the preliminary steps to form a permanent settlement were taken. Two of the party, Ephraim Witcher and John Gordon, returned to Yankton for reinforcements and supplies, arriving there about the last of February, 1875. They showed specimens of gold and gave such glowing accounts of the country, that they had no trouble in arousing an interest in their enterprise. But before the time came for them to return, Captain Mix was ordered into the Hills, with a company of cavalry, to "remove any parties of miners found there." The party from Sioux City had not been the only ones to find their way into the Black Hills. While the military, in accordance with General Sheridan's order, had been stationed at all accessible points leading to the Hills, several such parties had managed to run the blockade, and were only waiting for settled weather to begin active operations. All these were ferreted out by Captain Mix and conducted out of the reservation. But it often happened that, while one party was being driven out in one direction, another would enter from some other point of the compass. If the trespassers were turned over to the civil authorities, which was frequently the case, they were generally released, because the civil powers, as a rule, favored the acquisition of the Black Hills. In April those at Stonewall began the work of prospecting. They had not proceeded far, when they were discovered and brought out by the military. Enough had been done, however, to prove conclusively that gold could be found in the Black Hills. Prior to their departure, they placed everything at their stockade in as good shape as possible, elected a president and board of trustees, changed the name of the place to Custer City, and announced their intention to return as soon as possible. The next day, after these preparations were completed, they marched out, as Judge Kuykendall, one of their number, said, "to gratify treacherous Indians and a corrupt Indian ring." Matters were aggravated by this policy on the part of the government. Those who had been expelled were interviewed, and their statements were published in nearly every newspaper in the West. Posing as martyrs they awakened sympathy, and a general interest in the Black Hills question resulted. The number of "boomers" increased, and as they became numerically stronger a disposition was manifested on their part to resist both Indians and the military. When matters reached this crisis, President Grant caused secret inquiries to be made among the Indians to ascertain the sentiment touching the relinquishment of that portion of their reservation. In January, 1875, Red Cloud and Spotted Tail visited Washington by invitation of the government, to enter into negotiations for the sale of the Black Hills. In June, 1875, the president appointed a commission to hold councils with the Teton tribes, and if possible work up a sentiment among them that would lead them to enter into a treaty. On the 17th of September this commission met delegations from the Northern Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Yanktons and Yanktonais, on the plain north of Crow Butte, eight miles east of the Red Cloud agency on White river. Four meetings were held, but they were barren of results. Chiefs Red Dog, Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, Crow Feather and several Bears and Wolves, indulged in a great display of oratory, in which they professed an undying friendship for the white man, but informed the representatives of the Great Father that only that part of the Black Hills containing gold would be sold. The fertile valleys and forests about the foot hills must forever remain the inheritance of the red man. Nor were they very modest in their demands. Extracts from some of the speeches made by the chiefs will perhaps best illustrate the Indian notion of the value of the Black Hills. Little Wolf, in his address, said: "If the Great Father gets this rich country from us, we want something to pay us for it. There is gold and silver and a great many kinds of minerals in that country. The Great Father gets that for the whites. They will live on it and become rich. We want him to make us rich too." Crow Feather, not content with fixing a price upon the land as it was at that time, said: "I hope the Great Father will look and see how many millions of dollars have been stolen out of the Black Hills, and, when he finds out, I want the Great Father to pay us that." At the last meeting of this council, which occurred September 20, the older chiefs expressed themselves as being in favor of selling the gold bearing portion of the Black Hills, if the government would pay them seventy million dollars and give their tribes support for seven generations. The younger chiefs absolutely declined to sell at any price. Under these conditions, there was nothing left but to adjourn the council. The commission failed because it lacked authority to comply with the Indian idea of value. A scientific exploring party was sent out by the government in 1875, under the direction of Prof. Walter P. Jenney. This expedition, which left Fort Laramie May 25 with an escort of soldiers, reached the south base of the Black Hills in due time and went into camp on Beaver creek. For five months the work of exploring and prospecting went on, the party returning to Fort Laramie late in October. A few hardy and adventurous miners were already at work in the Black Hills, but, during the late fall and winter of 1875-76, hundreds flocked to the new El Dorado, lured thither by the promising tone of Professor Jenney's report. A few extracts from this report may not be out of place in this connection, only that part relating to the mineral resources of the Black Hills being presented: "The Harney's Peak gold field is almost wholly in Dakota, and extends about fifty miles north and south, with an average breadth of nearly twenty miles; covering an area of nearly eight hundred square miles. The valuable gold deposits, however, are found in the streams which drain that area, the gold being derived from the disintegration of the quartz ledges, which are very numerous in the rocks of that region. . . . The most extensive and valuable beds of auriferous gravel discovered during the past season were in the valleys of Spring and Rapid Creeks, and their tributaries, where, in almost every case, the gravel bars are advantageously situated for working, and where many natural circumstances contribute materially to the profitable extracting of the gold they contain. . . While as yet there have been discovered in the Black Hills no deposits of gravel sufficiently rich in gold to be profitably worked in the primitive manner with pan or rocker, yet there are many bars in the Harney's Peak field, especially upon Spring creek, the forks of Castle and Rapid creeks, and the valleys of other of those mountain streams, which, when skillfully worked by gangs of miners with sluices, will yield a good return for the labor employed and the capital invested. . . . Timber of suitable size and quality for the construction of flumes and sluices is abundant; the water supply is, in most localities, ample, and the fall of the streams sufficiently great to enable the water to be readily carried above the level of even the more elevated deposits of gravel." What wonder that the optimistic character of Professor Jenney's report, as shown by these few extracts, should attract the attention of the gold seeker? But hundreds did not wait for the publication of this report. The Jenney party had scarcely left the hills until a constant stream of miners began pouring in. Among the first places where gold was discovered was Bear Gulch. Here Frank Oliver found several nuggets, the largest of which weighed twenty-seven pennyweights and was worth thirty dollars. News of such finds as this spread rapidly, and could be better understood by many than the scientific phraseology of Professor Jenney's official information. As the general public came to learn of the probable existence of rich deposits of mineral wealth in the Black Hills, the government was driven to accept one of the horns of the dilemma. Either a military force sufficient to protect the reservation must be sent to the Black Hills, or the Indian must be bought off. The government yielded to the inevitable and bought off the Indian. In 1876 another commission was appointed to make an effort to secure the Black Hills by treaty. That commission was made up of men who understand Indian ways. At the head of it was Newton Edmunds, ex-governor of Dakota, and associated with him were Bishop Whipple, Colonel Manypenny, Doctor Boules, Doctor Daniel, Judge Gaylord and Colonel Boone, a grandson of Daniel Boone. They started in at Fort Robinson, Neb., in August. For a time no progress was made. Many of the Indians had taken a part in the Custer Massacre in June, and consequently were in no frame of mind to talk of a treaty. The final council was arranged to meet about the middle of September. At this council all the Sioux tribes, the Northern Cheyennes and the Arapahoes were represented. But all were more or less morose and intractable. For ten days they sat like graven images, listening to the logic and blandishments of the members of the commission, without a gesture of dissent or a grunt of approval. Head and heart alike were appealed to in vain. Then it was decided to try an appeal to the stomach. By a majority of one the commission voted to stop the supply of rations until the Indians were willing to express themselves. When Judge Gaylord notified them of the decision of the commission, the Indians got very much excited, and fears were entertained as to the consequences of such a policy. But the commission stood firm, and the next day, had the satisfaction of learning that the Indians were willing to parley. The surrender had come so quickly that the commission was not prepared for it. It was now their turn to delay matters. The council was postponed until the next day, and the members of the commission sat up all night to get the treaty ready for the signatures of the chiefs. By this treaty, which was consummated September 26, 1876, the Indians ceded to the United States all that part of the reservation set apart for them by article two of the treaty of April 29, 1868. This cession includes all that part of Dakota lying between the one hundred third meridian, and the Wyoming and Montana line, south of the forty-sixth parallel. Also all that part of the reservation lying east of the one hundred third meridian and between the two forks of the Big Chevenne river. For the relinquishment of all rights to this tract, the, government agreed to furnish the Indians with supplies until they might become able to support themselves, and in a vague and general way to "provide necessary aid to assist said Indians in the work of civilization." No mention of the seventy million dollars of the year before was made, - no allusion to support for seven generations. The treaty was ratified by congress, February 29, 1877. Now the Caucasian had a right to explore, prospect and develop to his heart's content. The Hills were opened to settlement, but after the first impetuous rush, the people settled down to business. Signs of civilization appeared on every hand. The mountain sheep trail broadened into the highway, and the whistle of the locomotive instead of the howl of the coyote or the warwhoop of the savage soon came to be heard. Towns sprang up as if by magic. Within eighteen months from the time the Hills were opened to settlement, Deadwood, Gayville, Central City and Lead City had a combined population of nearly eight thousand, while Lancaster Pennington and Galena City added about three thousand more. Professor Jenney's suggestions had been utilized, and his predictions had been fully verified. In the spring of 1878 forty stamp mills, equipped with about six hundred stamps, were in operation. In addition to gold and silver, - copper, iron, lead, nickel, tin, graphite, mica, antiomny and manganese have been found in paying quantities. Some of the tin ore of the Black Hills has yielded a net product of seventy-five per cent, while the highest yield of the famous Cornish mines of Wales is only seventy-two per cent. According to reports of R. J. Miniter, United States assayer and state mine inspector, the value of the gold output alone, from 1876 to 1900 was, in round numbers, one hundred ten million dollars. Fifty miles from Deadwood are soft coal deposits, from which comes all the coal used for fuel and steam purposes in the mining districts, and, for that matter, throughout all the south west part of South Dakota.