“There’s gold in them thar hills…”

General Custer led an expedition of the 7th U.S. Cavalry into the Black Hills in 1874. They spent almost two months traveling to, exploring, and traveling back home from the Black Hills (July 2, 1874 - August 30, 1874). From the point of view of the U.S. government the expedition was a resounding success. It almost certainly was a factor in what happened to Custer and the 7th Cavalry two years later on the Little Bighorn river in Montana.

Many of the troopers looked at the 1874 Black Hills Expedition as a type of vacation. It was a break from the rather mundane life of a trooper at a post on the Great Plains. Once they arrived in the Hills there was plenty of game, wild berries, and cold mountain stream water. Custer brought the 7th Cavalry band along on the trip and they serenaded the troops from the hilltops in the evening. There was even a baseball game held near their Permanent Camp just outside the present-day town of Custer, South Dakota.

The official mission was to locate an appropriate location for a fort. The Fort Laramie Treaty gave the Army that right. But another reason for the trip, unofficially, was to determine if the rumors of gold were true. Two experienced miners, Horatio Ross and William McKay, accompanied Custer. In addition to the miners, several others also attached themselves and came along for the fun - newspaper reporters, engineers, scientists, and luckily for present-day researchers, a photographer, William H. Illingworth.

Illingworth’s photo of the 7th Cavalry winding its way through the Black Hills.

Horatio Ross made the initial discovery of gold along French Creek. Scout Charley Reynolds carried the news of the gold discovery to Fort Laramie. From there the news was sent via telegraph to General Terry in St. Paul. Custer’s report stated:

“… gold has been found at several places, and it is the belief of those who are giving their attention to this subject that it will be found in paying quantities. I have on my table forty or fifty small particles of pure gold…most of it obtained today from one panful of earth.” *** Newspapers around the country picked up the story and the race was on. The Army tried to downplay the gold discovery and keep miners out of the Black Hills but you can’t unring a bell. There indeed was “gold in them thar Hills.” The Homestake Gold Mine near Lead, South Dakota, was the largest and deepest in North America, until its closing in 2002. The Homestake produced more than 40 million troy ounces of gold during its lifetime of operation. Click here or on the Bismarck Tribune image below to read the announcement of the gold discovery in the Black Hills as it appeared on August 12, 1874.

To learn more about Custer’s 1874 Black Hills Expedition, I would highly recommend the following books: Exploring With Custer: The 1874 Black Hills Expedition Crossing the Plains with Custer ***Custer’s official dispatch; August 2, 1874