AUG 14: Black Hills Gold News Spreads

At a time when news crossed the nation slowly, when compared to current times, newspapers across the United States begin to trumpet discovery of gold in the Black Hills by Lt. Col. George Custer and miners attached to the 7th Cavalry.

A single story filed on Aug. 9 by a New York Tribune correspondent traveling with Custer’s Black Hills Expedition was picked up by papers across the nation in short order.

For example:

Chicago Daily Tribune, Aug. 10: “CUSTER’S EXPEDITION. Gold Discovered in Abundance Among the Black Hills. A Glowing Description of the Country Traversed… 8-1/2 miles S.E. of Harney’s Peak, D.T… Indications of gold were discovered about a week ago, and within two days its presence in sufficient quantities abundantly to repay working has been established beyond a doubt.”

The South Bend (IN) Tribune, Aug. 10: “Latest from Gen. Custer’s Black Hills Expedition. Gold Discovered in Abundance Among the Black Hills… So far, we have obtained surface gold alone. Our miners hope yet to find a good quartz lead. The expiration of the Sioux treaty will open to settlement a beautiful and highly-productive area of country, hitherto entirely unknown.”

The Kenosha Telegraph (Kenosha, Wisc.), Aug. 13: “CUSTER’S EXPEDITION… How large an area the gold section covers cannot be determined without further exploration, but the geological characteristics of the county (sic), the researches of our prospectors, and all the indications point to valuable fields.”