The two men finally decided to go hungry rather than work so hard for so little. Within a week they found a job at another claim paying $4.00 and $5.00 each per day, plus one fourth of the production, which they hoped would net them an additional $8.00. Bryan wrote in his diary "we are living high now Tea with Sugar in Slap Jacks and sirup Expect to have Beef soon," which indicated they had been on a pretty skimpy diet up until that time. He and his new partner eventually leased a claim of their own, cleaning up a few hundred dollars above the cost of living, and on 4^th of August they both left for home, taking the money back east.

Two things must be pointed out at this time about that sum of money…

First of all, the country was still recovering from the depression that had started in 1873, even one hundred dollars could have "saved the farm" if they were able to make it back alive… And secondly, the cost of living in Deadwood had gone up quite a bit as soon as large amounts of gold appeared. These two were luckier than most people, coming or going at that time.

McClintock did better than that, as he was an experienced miner, and already "hardened" better for the kind of life most were faced with here in the gulch. This report was quoted from his book, "Pioneer Days."

John got a job on claim number 17 and 18 below discovery. The owners wanted to "get down to bedrock" and figure out the value of their claim… he took the contract in return for any gold recovered from the venture. They decided to sink a 20 by 20 shaft, which required many logs to support the sides. He cut the logs to crib up the shaft, slid them down the gulch, and commenced digging.

Eight feet down he struck an unexpected layer of black sand and gold dust, which yielded $60. At twelve feet he encountered so much water that he had to reduce the shaft to 10 by 20 in order to keep it pumped out. Reaching bedrock some time later, he panned out another $60. His intentions were to widen the bottom part of this shaft to the full 20 by 20, in hopes the other part to be richer in payout. The owners were anxious to begin their own operation and offered him $200 to abandon the rest of the project. He was happy to take the money and run! He had cut about one hundred logs and hauled them to the valley, dug out some 270 tons of wet gravel, and run most of it through a sluice. The whole job was done by hand, in cold, wet weather at times. The water came from melting snow and was not much above freezing, even into mid summer. Most of the work was done under "arduous and dangerous conditions," and netted him about $320.

Claim owners faired much better, but there were only a few of them that really "hit the bonanza." One would be the Wheeler Brothers, who paid $1,000 for claim number 2 below discovery. (Now known as Second Discovery, at the edge of Central City). It paid out many times more than "claim number 2 ABOVE discovery" for example... They employed between 16 and 30 men in two shifts during the four months of their operation and never took out less than $600 during any day that summer.

They extracted about $140,000 before the end of the summer, then sold the claim for $3,000… The new owners took out more than that the first day of operation, as they happened to hit a good streak of "paydirt" right away. In modern times this would be a great deal of money… Let us say, about one hundred years later, when the price of gold was $800 an ounce, that four month summer would have netted the two brothers about 5 and one half million dollars. And that did not count the gold stolen by the workers, especially during the night, which was estimated at another million dollars worth of nuggets in today’s money.

The number of people running around the Black Hills looking for gold in ’76 and ’77 varied tremendously, depending on who you want to believe. One book says over 120 thousand, "almost the entire floating population of the west." And it was stated most of them, at one time or another, went through Deadwood. The most conservative estimate said that Deadwood had only about 3,000 in 1876, and 5,000 in the late spring of 1877, after the Indians had been forced to give up the Black Hills. This was referring to the immediate vicinity of Deadwood City though, and did not count at least twelve other "towns" now included in Deadwood City limits such as Elizabethtown, Chinatown, Cleveland, Ingleside, or for that matter, anything on the other side of the creek to the east.

Others reported over twenty thousand were in the area during the summer, and "very few" stayed for the winter.

Maybe the people with the high-count numbers are like the ones who estimate how many come to the Sturgis Bike Rally these days? They count everyone, every time they go by! The "over 100 thousand" estimate must have counted everyone in the middle of America, including the missing.

There is no way of knowing this figure for sure; genealogy on the Internet is helping to determine how many people were missing after the end of the Civil War. This is a very high number and many of that count did not stay around for the end! They were reported by many Indians as "peaceful loners," not looking for trouble. Very few were considered cowards, they just did not want to fight anymore! After the war ended, all who did not return were considered dead. Many were now in the west under nicknames only, this is the reason so many people only had their first name in that nickname… Mysterious Jimmy, Nutshell Bill, Persimmons Bill, Pecos Bill, Buffalo Bill! In fact I stopped counting at over 500 "Bills" alone, and many of them did not even have Bill in their name… If you need advise hunting for a lost relative from this time period, click here.

This could also explain why so many were not counted in various censes taken, they did not want to give their name or be found out. Some came to the Black Hills for gold, or tried to, and either did not do well, or did not make it back alive. Some wanted the count to be high, so the people here did not appear to be so much in the wrong, trespassing was still considered a serious crime... Many wanted the count very low, to encourage others to come and take part helping to "build up" the hills into a thriving area.

One can only rely on what was said by the people who had nothing to gain from a high or a low number. I choose to believe the Indians, and they said the number in the hills by mid summer of 1876 was almost 50,000… More than they could ever expect to fight, if it was an even battle and all had the same guns and ammunition.

It was reported in Deadwood at one time during the summer that there was a "permanent" local population of about five thousand… There was also another five thousand coming in, and almost that many leaving each week as well. During the times of big celebrations, everyone planning to leave town, put it off until afterwards, causing the local population to double during the celebration! My question is where did they find the room to put that many horses? Most people had one, and without it you were a dead man, smart people were very careful about where they "boarded" their most prized possession. You did not just tie them to a tree or something! Maybe they walked to town and left someone at camp, it is not mentioned anywhere I have searched.

During the second gold rush of Deadwood, when legal gambling was started, we had the same kind of numbers, and the same problem parking cars. We solved it by charging 300% more to park, adding 400% more cops, and giving them all a ticket book. Fines for being in the wrong place went up to $25 and $100 as well. 11 new tow trucks from this area, normally paid for by the Sturgis Rally people, were paid off in record time. Booting car tires became a fun pastime and a full time business for many. It was a shameful time for Deadwood, and it is an interesting story in itself. In fact, I had to write an entire web site about it, if you want to come to Deadwood, you should read it first by clicking here!

(It is a real black eye for us; Deadwood is now famous for all the wrong reasons).

The largest gold rush in America, known as the ‘49er in California, covered more area and lasted longer. Although maybe a few can name the mill where it started, nobody can remember the name of any towns around that area. Very few old west characters were even mentioned to have been there. Even someone like Madam Moustache, who became one of the most famous "girls" in San Francisco, at the tender age of 19… Most books that mention her, only talk of her time in Deadwood.

No famous history books had reprints in the high numbers like Deadwood did…

Type the word Deadwood into your favorite search engine and you will get a listing of the first 20… of 79,100 pages on it. A few are about dead wood, and how to stack it, but most pertain to this town.

Now type in Chicago… nowhere near that many, and half are about the band, not the city!

It is the power of the press that causes the interest, and the stories made up in the dime novels. And it is not over, not by a long shot. This writing, when completed, will be the longest and most complete history about this town on the Internet. But it will not be in the future; it will not even be close to the best article someday. And I only hope those who write better ones will link back to this one when they write their pages! Every writer has a different style, and some will like one better than another. We all deserve the right to read every one of them, and pick out our own "best parts."

Back to the gold rush days… 

The overdone reporting started after the Custer Expedition in 1874... They had their own photographer along and you can find many pictures of the trip.

Quotes like "gold found in the grass roots" (meaning you did not have to uncover tons of overburden to reach bedrock, where most gold is normally found), were very enticing! This also meant inexperienced people had a chance to get their share. The description of rock formations and strange metals never before seen also caused great interest. (The major eruptions that made the Black Hills formed over 300 million years ago, almost all other volcanic eruptions and mountain formations on earth are less than 100 million years old, they are indeed much different). There were also those old "folklore" stories of unbelievable riches just lying on the surface, ready to be gathered up. The quartz mountain stories, with visible veins of gold, this made many a miner dig deep for a "grubstake" to the promise land.

Many "gold producing" areas of the earth start with a rush for the surface gold found mostly in the streams. They end with the underground search for the "Mother lode" which is normally several hundred to several thousand feet below the surface, and somewhere upstream! The Black Hills is different here as well, the mother lode, (or the highest concentration of gold), is actually about 1/4 of a mile to the north of the open cut in Lead... and about 1/2 mile straight up in the air! There were later eruptions that changed things a great deal, but if you research the 22 largest nuggets found so far you can see where an ancient river must have originally run to the northwest from this area, ending about halfway to Spearfish. 

This was also not the first time gold in the Black Hills was recorded, mapped, and documented. In the first half of the 1800’s alone it had been mentioned in letters or properly placed on maps by at least five separate explorers.

Although it was in a remote area surrounded by Indians, and so small compared to other mountain regions, this 50 by 100 mile "outcropping" was deemed insignificant. Most "creditable" reports did not speak of large nuggets, only small quantities of fine dust found mostly in streams of the southern and central regions of the hill. And they were called just that… hills, not mountains, (the highest peaks at only 7,000 feet). Little did they know the hills were so old that over 5,000 feet had eroded off the top it by this time.

What actually caused the gold rush was the "Panic of 1873," and the poor state of the economy in most cities the following years, also the grasshopper plague in the "middle west."

Many pioneer books, stories, and letters written at this time discuss the arguments between family members about going to this new location in such a remote area. A number of them are from people already located in Oregon, California, and places in the southwest. Some were not going there to do prospecting either; they were storekeepers, blacksmiths and the like… Even a few of the "girls" who followed these camps wrote a final letter back home declaring "I’m off to the new frontier," and were never heard from again.

Not many came in 1874, according to the Indians. A few started out from various locations after stories surfaced of the "military invasion" by those friendly to tribes reporting it in the late summer. Some had early reports by dispatch sent from Custer during the expedition. Other rumors were started by the railroad towns hoping to gain from the "rush," a few even by the river towns at the edge of the new frontier. Some reports were exaggerated by the newspapers to sell more copies and some people were just plain "con-artist" looking for a fast buck. Many booklets with crude maps and poor directions were circulated before and after the year 1874.

The most successful early arrivals were from other mountain ranges close to the Black Hills. Some were even escorted in to lay claim for their friends, as the entire hills region had been promised to the Indians in the treaty of 1868. My sources tell me all throughout the summer of 1875 most gold seekers coming from the south and east were killed on their way in, by various hunting parties, until they left for winter camp. Much celebrating was reported at a number of winter camps about the gain in horses and goods from these "dirty/unkept/ill-prepared" white men. In the end it was decided by the majority of the elders that there was very little honor in these killings and any future raiding would be well hidden, they did not want to bring too much attention to anyone by the military, whom they feared. Some Indians hated the whites more than others, depending on what they had done to them. Much arguing went on during this period, but one thing is for certain, many of the guns collected at this time were later used at the battle of the Little Big Horn.

I have no estimate of how many tried to come into the hills in 1874 or '75; it depends on whom you hear the raiding stories from. Some brag it up and tell the story of this raid or that one a bit different, causing many of them to be counted more than once. Others played it down, being ashamed of what they did. The original duties of a hunting party was to get game, but so many animals had been slaughtered by this time it was easier to hunt white people! They moved very slowly, were easy to follow, and were not very good shots when they were frightened. As some would say, it was a very good summer for hunting! Much had been gathered; the move to winter camp included a great deal of "extra baggage."

Official records only name around two hundred people killed by Indians in the areas surrounding the hills between the years of 1870 and 1875, I have documented many more than that in the three summer months of 1874 alone… The following year was worse yet.

The Military was well aware of the problem and did their best to turn away everyone they caught coming into the area until the late fall. Many slipped by them after that, the Gordon party was the most documented group. They did not arrive at their destination until December of 1874, and were escorted back out in April by the Second Cavalry from Fort Laramie. The more aggressive Indians were already back on the "hunt" and tell me they were lucky to have lived, the only reason they did was their military escort. They even followed the trail back to the stockade and took everything left behind.

There was some mention concerning groups of whites going into the Deadwood area at this time but it was a hard trail and the Indians did not expect many of them to survive the winter. The "fools" were trapped anyway; they could easily be killed on their way out!

The summer months of 1875 were the best ever recorded by raiding parties of many villages! The trails from the "dreaded railroad" drop-off points of Sidney and Cheyenne were the best hunting, followed by trails coming in from the Missouri river area. Some were also coming down from the end of the railroad in Bismarck. The "easiest" raids were on pioneers from the farm belt, traveling in small groups, often appearing lost, according to the way the raiding parties described them!

The farm and financial depression of 1873 was still going on. For four years now the grasshoppers had swept over what was then called the Middle West. The damage they did was so severe that bills were introduced in Congress for the relief of settlers who had been forced to abandon their claims on public land in five states, as well as what was then called Dakota Territory. By 1875 many farmers in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Minnesota, as well as the east half of both north and south "Dakota" had raise three crops for the grasshoppers according to the Harper’s Weekly. Many of them decided mining wasn’t near as risky as farming. Some of them had the whole family with them too, and very few made it to the hills.

A large number of pioneers simply disappeared that summer, the guns and horses were adding up. So many people were later reported, after the gathering of winter camps, that the wisest chiefs such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse called a "great council." All were to gather at the Powder River country in the summer of 1876; many of the friendly whites from the Montana region were invited, (to figure out a plan for protecting the sacred Paha Sapa)!

Even some of the "hated" Crow Indians, who had many spies working for the military, were involved in this plan. The scouts for Custer were aware something was up, and they knew they were on the wrong side!

Everybody knows what happened with him… I have the other side of the story if you are interested... click here..

Something never recorded before was also happening in the northern hills area during this time period. It will cause some people trouble but I feel it is important enough that it should be mentioned at least!

Back in the deadwood gulch area, claim jumping was the game.

I don’t want to get into this business of who really had the first claim too deeply, but I will say what is recorded in history is not even close. None of the three parties were first to "lay claim" at either end. It does not even really matter, because the original owners of the "richest mile" on earth did not claim it for themselves; they claimed it for their friends, the Indians… And they did not have any children that we know of, so there is no "claim of fame" for their history to be proud of. They did claim it properly, built a cabin/dugout, blazed a few trees, piled the rocks… All the things you were taught to do, so that "all who come after" would know. And the others found the signs I am sure, and maybe that is why they knew to dig there. After all, there was nobody around to watch them destroy the evidence once they knew the diggin’s were valuable.

Claim jumping, and all killings over gold, (for that matter, almost all killings), were caused by something called "gold fever." Until you have experienced it yourself you will not understand what it does to a person. It is the worse thing I have ever witnessed. Link to gold fever information.

Both before and after the Ezra Kind disaster, and a few others, the trail going out Maitland Road was well traveled. A wise Indian once explained it to me this way… All so-called frontier trails across mountain ranges were not founded by the Mountain Men they were named after. Those men were only following the trails made by the Indians… And the Indians did not "blaze" a new trail either, they were just following the animals!

That trail was known by many, and it split right where the "Second Discovery" sign is now. The Indians knew the trail well, they even had a remark about the end of this trail... "the gold was to the left, the game was to the right."

Another way into Deadwood was right up Whitewood Creek, and it is still more rugged than the other one ever was to this day. I have walked it many times, but have never tried to take a horse through it, although it would be possible. Even stupid people found this way in, as you could find small amounts of gold all the way into Deadwood. Every prospector knew about that creek! The problem was in the "payout per pan," it was not that great in most areas easy to dig. And it is understandable why nobody attempted to go through the "gulch" which contained the richest deposit of gold, (laying on the surface), of anyplace on earth... It was impassable by horse, and it looked like a dead end when viewed from the bottom end.

Most people were looking for the "Mother Lode" type areas at first, and many missed it by only a few hundred yards, continuing on with their quest. Those who had claimed the "richest" area had gone away instead of remaining there to protect their claim. As they say; "possession is nine-tenths of the law," it is the ones who stayed and improved on the land who deserve what they got.

Well, that sounded good anyway, but that is not what really happened in most cases! It was not even "survival of the fittest" or another better-known phrase like "the strong will survive." Not in Deadwood anyway, more had to do with getting there at the right time, being lucky enough to get the good claims, and not getting swindled out of them once you did. Being wicked and evil helped a great deal, having experience in gold digging made a lot of difference too. Staying sober and having trustworthy partners counted the most, drinking all alone after a good strike was the biggest mistake people made.

The first real problems started in March and April of 1876 when too many people showed up. A good example was reported of a group heading north in early March. It stated there were 978 people, including 27 females. They went right on through Custer, finding "a ruff crowd" there, and headed for the rich strike in the Deadwood area. Only the "girls" had any chance of making money right away, and some of them had not come here to do that. I have found no written evidence of any of that kind of thing happening, (by anyone in Deadwood), until almost June of that year, although I know it happened. (There was talk from Mountain Men at two spring rendezvous camps about a few "pretty" girls… and a number of "pretty ugly" girls in that area when they left)… It was also mentioned that "all gold was got," and a warning to stay way! Several seasoned men leading many groups were very concerned about all the Indian signs. Many men who were not afraid of anything… were afraid!

It is also not mentioned where all the people went after finding every bit of land was claimed around the Deadwood area, although it was later recorded that many went toward the Negro Hill area to the west, or down the Boulder Canyon area to the east.

Deadwood grew fast after spring thaw, and many found jobs working on permanent buildings or improving the roads. Even Preacher Smith was reported to have been working in "construction" on his off days. Most of those buildings did not last very long, unless they were higher on the hillside, as the entire area was "worked" all the way to bedrock regardless of what stood there.

There were very few ethnic groups mentioned other than the "Jewish" community and a few Irish… Later on the Chinese. Only two black women were mentioned as early settlers, although it was not uncommon for black people to be called white in those days. In fact all people of all colors other than red were referred to as white, meaning only that they were considered "civilized" people, and not "savages."

A bit of dark history is written about one angry group of those from the losing side of the civil war running all "freed slaves" off to the other side of a mountain where they happened to later make a pretty good strike. I do not know if that is what was called Negro Hill or not, the true stories concerning that history do not match!

I do know there were many black mountain men/pioneers/cowboys all over the Midwest and southwest both before and after the civil war that were never mentioned in history. Mainly because they stayed to themselves… and were never heard from again. Very few had family back east or any reason to surface.

It is strange that only the names of the richer appear in most records of early Deadwood too. It was as if the little guy did not matter, although they were the ones who actually did most of the real work. Greed caused some of that, so did the other 6 "deadly sins." Gold fever was the real cause, it affected everyone, and there was just too much of it!

I was once told you are not considered "local" in this town unless you have someone in the cemetery with an arrow stuck in them. Others say nobody counts after the railroad got here. Some say the only pioneers were the ones here before the fire in ’79, and then you only counted if you stayed for the rebuild!

There is much mention of those names, and many arguments about the research done about them.

When the second rush happened, and many were arguing for their share of this "gambling dollar" claiming their family went "way back" and they wanted what their family was entitled to from "their" town, I only chuckled! I kept remembering something a mafia guy from Vegas once told me. He said he had done his history too, and the people here would be upset at what he figured out... He explained it this way:

The Black Hills Gold Rush was the last big one, of the main three in the states, (Georgia, California, and the southwest). Only the greediest, most wicked men "on the face of the earth" came here from the others, and won out… The only women around at the time were "you know whats"… You are now dealing with the descendants of that combination. He warned me not to try to compete with people such as this. He said all of his years of training from "bad" people had not prepared him enough for this, and he was leaving before something really bad happened.

Now I must explain, he had been burned by what he thought were "newbies" in the gambling business. Little did he know, gambling had never really stopped here, it just went behind protected doors. Many in Deadwood were already "people of the night" at that time; he got out-smarted and was bitter because of it.

But it did get me to thinking, and researching… More on that here.

I want to remind you something at this time… I am not being paid to tell you this story; I have no book for sale, nothing to gain. My life here may end because of it, but I don’t even care about that! It is more important to finally get the truth out to the people who want to know.

Read the details about that at another link.

Deadwood is becoming a wicked place to live, no doubt, but I have lived in many other states, and four other countries... And there is no place like the Black Hills for "good living," most of the people here are honest and straightforward. It is where I chose to bring up my children, and I will remain, mostly just to see what happens next!

Some say it was no different in the early days of this area. A number of "cut-throat" wicked people followed the gold, there were also many tenderfoot types to take advantage of!

 The local newspaper started in June of ’76, one of the first articles was about these type of people. (Not the wicked ones, the newspaper wanted to stay in business)… They spoke of the Tenderfoot, and about some of the misery he suffered here, ending it by saying; "We have some little pity and feeling for this class of men, but they are not made of the right stuff to make conquering armies or successful pioneers in a new land. They go on briefly to describe another kind of "howler" that they claim do far less harm than the first to this area. Although they describe them by saying "all who are acquainted find them to be bitterly unreliable and a curse to any country… These are the men who as the Irishman says, left their country for their country’s good."

After studying more about this editor, (and what he wrote for all to read), I found he normally "went with the majority," and remained in business longer... Although the paper was taken over after a few issues, very few were truly represented after that!

It was good that we had a newspaper though, many things were printed up and mailed out to the world. In fact, after two fires and three major floods, one of which took almost the entire town, those records were about all that remained.

The first paper was only one page, front and back. Half of page one is filled with reprints of articles from other newspapers about this paper coming to the Deadwood area. The ‘Black Hills Pioneer’ was printed by W A Laughlin and A W Merrick. It declares they are living in tents and printing under a canvas outside! It was dated Thursday June 8^th 1876.

They were seasoned newspapermen and knew what the people wanted to read. Much was also said about the Indians in the first page, most of it scary. One report was about a wagon with a family gathered up after a massacre… Children with brains dashed in, men with their "parts" cut off, even worse things done to the women. Then they jump to reports coming in from Cheyenne, Yankton, and Sioux City about the towns being choked full of gold seekers, heading this way!

Page 2 starts out ranking deadwood gulch with Frazer and Feather River, two other good gold producing areas in the past, also compares to Alder Gulch of Montana. It is obvious they are talking to people who have "been around" for a while in the gold business. Other statements like 1,500 to 2,000 per day now, without explanation! One mine is mentioned, the Altha, located 3 miles southwest of Deadwood City. Saying 3,000 pounds of ore was already shipped back east.

Describing Deadwood they state; Very lively, buildings going up rapidly, have a boarding house, two store "Goods," a lumber yard, and two houses "as businesses." (Most are frame buildings of better class)… They said carpenters and lumber dealers were the most important businesses in town at this time.

The new toll road "over the hill above Central City"… (Speaking of the Maitland Road), cost $2,000 and Morbis, Kline & Co. had built a road from Central City to Deadwood.

The only death reported was Charley Sasse, only son of Charles, age 3…

12 business ads were located in the paper, but there was a list of 35 places of business now paying only $18 exchange rate for gold. (This included all the towns in the area).

Before long more buildings were up, then the digging came to them. People just placed supports under them and kept on digging. The town was described as a bunch of lemon boxes on broomsticks!

The following weekly paper was 9 days later, states there was too much rain to get the printing done, headlines were as followed:

New ads published in this paper included one for fresh beef from the Montana herd Co. and one for shipping from the Denver & KP Railways. Also the Miner Restaurant, Pioneer Drug Store, another Lawyer, and three more bars!

It was stated that a bridge was started Monday to South Deadwood… "Three weeks ago it was all forest there, in a month it will house over 1,000 people."

(They really meant east instead of south, directions in Deadwood are easily confused)… Deadwood Main Street runs almost straight north and south, north going downhill, south going up… This can confuse people normally able to keep their bearings, at that time it was always up north, down south, out west, and back east! This was written a few days before the longest day of the year, but even then you did not see the sunrise or sunset, you did not see it until the middle of the day in some areas.

Another interesting article was about the mail… It says "The mail for the Black Hills is brought to the Red Cloud Agency by the Government. Then by earliest Ox train, arriving in Custer at 25 cents per letter. All that is not called for at Custer is forwarded to Deadwood at 50 cents." Which would be over 10 dollars in today’s money... that you paid at this end to get a letter.

The first woman is mentioned in this paper as well… It seems the doctor had someone already in his care when two more arrived. It states "Miss Katie Arnold gave up her cabin to young Merritt and Charles Stroup who were both shot." Says she is nursing both with care and tenderness.

Miss Elizabeth Card, (age 16) already had a town named after her, Elizabethtown was at the lower end of Deadwood, about where the rodeo grounds are now. They may not have mentioned her for a good "reason," although I doubt this very much. She was once labeled the first girl in the area about April of 1876… Actually I think they meant the first good girl!

One report of a robbery is documented… Says "On the 12^th 500 in dust and 200 in valuables was taken from a tent. The robber was caught and confessed." A short time was allowed for him to leave the area.

The writer did speak briefly of the construction going on in the area by reporting "100 buildings built and contracted in one week… Mann & Co. gambling house is 20x60, has a ceiling, bar, and four chandeliers." It also speaks of one called Progressive Hall.

There were not really 100 buildings done in one week, only contracted! One of the two mentioned was the place Wild Bill was shot at though, and Carl Mann still owned the bar where it happened 45 days later.

All throughout that summer many of the buildings were taken back down or moved as digging went on. A few remained on tall support poles at the lower end, they were the ones at least part of the way up the hillside. The most reliable report of things as they stood in September counted almost two hundred frame buildings, dozens of log cabins, and innumerable tents. Among them it was reported 76 were saloons. Many people without permanent housing left the area before the winter snows trapped them.

The spring of 1877 was to be the biggest boom in this area, as the Indians had by this time been "sort of" forced to sign away their title to the Black Hills after the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The entire area was now opened up by the government for settlement.

The following paper was again on a Saturday, and remained a weekly paper after that time with more pages each issue.

June 24^th 1876…

Nobody here knew that Custer and his men were about to die! Several interesting articles appeared in this paper about the Indians… One was a reprint from the Philadelphia Press about a famous guide and scout named George Anderson. He had arrived with Indians for the Centennial celebration on the 4^th of July. It went on to say over 300 "Aborigines" representing fifty-three tribes would be putting on demonstrations to include "weaving blankets, dressing buffalo skins, the manufacture of pottery, and the making of moccasins, baskets, ornaments, etc."

Another article with the headline "They are in Sioux Reservation Wrongfully, but will be Protected." It is a reprint from Washington dated May 26^th concerning a telegram sent by General Sherman to General Sheridan: I have just been to the President with Gov. Thayer. After reading the papers and some discussion, the President said the people who had gone to the Black Hills of Dakota, inside of the Sioux reservation, or who may hereafter go there, are there wrongfully, and they should be notified of the fact, but the government is engaged in certain measures, that will probably result in opening up the country to occupation and settlement. Meanwhile, the Indians should not be allowed to scalp and kill anybody, and you are authorized to afford protection to all persons who are coming away or who are conveying food and stores to those "alwready" there.

It has been said from a number of sources that Custer was sent to the frontier to do just what he did. Some of those saying it were past friends of his during the Civil War. The sacrifice of General Custer and some of the 7^th Cavalry was a small price paid, to have a reason for all out war on the Sioux Nation.

Other interesting articles in this paper are as follows:

The distinguiched statesman and warrior, the Hon. Red Cloud is about to make his exit to the happy hunting grounds… (He did not actually die until many years later)!

A sad report was printed about an innocent man being hung by vigilantes after he was found with a horse thief. It appears the thief came upon this man named Calahan while he was hauling buffalo bones close to his dugout, he gave the man shelter. While there, it appears the "drunken" vigilantes came upon them and arrested both. "Took him with the guilty man and hung him then there." The Rev. Mr. Calahan states George had received a moral and religious education, he feels sure that his boy was murdered!

The second mention of a single woman printed in this paper is a reprint from the Nevada Silver Star: 

A woman of the strong-minded sort arrived here yesterday on the Idaho stage. She took a position in the passenger depot, protected on one side by a revolver and the other side by a flat-iron. Thus defended, awaited the arrival of the train. When the locomotive bell announced the arrival of the cars, she took her revolver in one hand, walked to the ticket office, purchased her pasteboard. And then, taking her flat-iron, boarded the train the moment it came to a stop. She was evidently determined to protect herself, and seemed disappointed that nobody attempted to molest her.

You must remember, single women or women traveling alone were not well thought of by men of this time period. The independent woman was a rare thing anywhere west of the Mississippi. Although some were noted at times, most of them were made fun of, and many did not go it alone for very long.

In the gold rush times some women went with their husbands and a few women were kind of "kept" more like slaves, as we would call them now. These women were often shared with the other men in camp. To prevent the same temptation many wives of pioneers became "partners" of the husband once they reached the frontier and the secret remained their own.

Whatever the case, very few put down anything in writing about this kind of thing if it was discovered. It is hard to find first person accounts of such things, only stories told after leaving an area for good. And some of that was just story telling… The only time I documented it was when the same story was told at two different rendezvous locations about the same happening.

Indian wives of early fur traders were an exception to the rule, although the woman was considered more like property and many leaders/chiefs/wise men/great warriors had several wives. The white man was very proud of his wife and often traded all the furs for nice things for his woman.

During the gold rush of the Black Hills all newspapers and most letters back home seldom mentioned anything of women in camp, it was not considered proper regardless of the circumstances.

One photographer, in search of something "out of the norm" did take a picture of one woman dressed in man’s clothes as she "blazed the frontier" in the Deadwood area.

There are several times in the early history of the west where women pretended to be men out of necessity, enabling them to get along in these rugged times. Some of them were later described as "a man born in a woman’s body," others did it for another reason and were able to play the roll because they were so homely they passed for men. Several had been cut up or beaten by angry men in the past and decided it was a man’s world, why not join it. They were always discovered after they died. One was a soldier at Fort Meade.

A few were never found out, some were discovered in fights or while bathing. Calamity Jane was discovered this way while on a military expedition to the Black Hills in 1875. Only the distance back to civilization stopped them from returning her.

A few letters talking about this were sent by the "girls" of the gold rush to friends in the trade back in California or other places. This is not the place to discuss such delicate matters, you must go to the link on the girls.

Back to the news of 24 June 1876…

An interesting article entitled "THE DEADWOOD COUNTRY"

That article was reprinted in many papers back in the "States," and soon afterwards caused quite a rush, especially after the land was declared safe!

Another article was reprinted from a paper back east about the return of a man named L. J. Keeney, proof in hand, $440 in gold dust, mostly from the Deadwood area. He also had a scrap of "bead" work, which he picked up on the spot where a gentleman and two ladies were massacred. He was not planning on returning to the area, stating lawlessness and riotous conduct prevails, to a frightful extent… Also: "Much trouble from Indians and white men disguised as Indians."

And this report was coming from a truly "hardened" man himself, one who had swindled a number of miners still remaining in Deadwood at this time.

I also found several more articles picking on women in this issue, it was obvious the men printing them were doing their best to entertain the majority of the men in the camp, those who could not afford the company of a woman, and were comforted by the articles instead…

One must put this in perspective, considering the circumstances at the time. Many longed for the companionship of a woman, but reading things like this made them less likely to "pine," and gave all of them another thought. Mostly that harder work and more money would solve the problem, whether it was taken to town, or all the way back to civilization!

One other thing was often entertaining at that time, picking on the Irish, as well as the Black people.

Almost one entire page of the paper, not counting the ads, concerned the misfortune of a black man who had not been able to control his drinking. It was written by a very descriptive soul, part of a party in the middle of the Black Hills. He spoke of the wonderful country they were enjoying, as well as this loner who came upon their camp. He wrote that the man had left Custer two days before and was still a little drunk… It was "headlined" as the first hanging in the Hills! They heard this man tell of his drinking problem and spoke of not knowing what for sure he had done after that, but finally he was now heading back to the "States." They gave him some mail and bid him farewell.

Not far down the trail they came across a group of vigilantes who had the man tied up. He was ashamed of what they said he had done, knew he was done too, so he gave them back the mail, some pictures, and a letter to someone saying his goodbyes. It seems he had stolen a horse and shot at a man while doing it, the trial and hanging did not take long. They rolled him up in his saddle-blanket and entered him in the blood red soil of Red Canon, with a pine board at his head inscribed:

RICHARD BURNETT,

Of Strubenville, Ohio

Died February 28, 1876

Not only do the Black people hold the record for the first woman in the hills, they have the first legal hanging, (or maybe I should say "for getting drunk while trying to figure out a way back to the States and getting hung for it" to be more accurate)!

One of my relatives was among the first to die here too. Only nobody knows why he died, and not for sure when either, or where! His name, (while living in the Deadwood area), was William W Sullivan… (Although during this time his first name had been changed to William, or Bill, a common thing to do in those days). He was known by his friends as "Billy Boy," and to his enemies as just another damned Irishman. He was hardly a boy by this time in his life, he had even been to the tail end of the gold rush in California for almost ten years before coming to the hills.

I think something bad happened to him in May of 1876, but it could have been earlier, and I know it happened close to Deadwood. If anyone knows what happened to the last letter from home, (the one he never picked up in town), during June of that year, I would like to know... In fact, some members of my family would pay a great deal of money for that letter!

More on ganging up against the ethnic groups… "No Irish need apply".

Not long after this the newspaper appears to be more "controlled" and many things did not get reported correctly after that time. I plan to continue researching from other channels, and report the interesting things from the paper as well... This is going to take a great deal of time and I am hoping for someone to help me with this research. Stop back for updated links to HISTORY, PAGE 2...

This story will continue for many months to come, as more information is verified. Other links will appear as well. The "Dark side of Deadwood" will also appear later. Stay tuned… and go to the other pages for all links important to this town.

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