A treaty in 1868, The Fort Laramie Treaty, made the Black Hills a part of the Sioux Reservation. It was believed that the Dakota Territory required a fort, and the Black Hills was to be the location. Army brass and government officials planned for an expedition to reconnoiter the area.
In 1874, George Armstrong Custer led his Black Hills expedition with nearly 1000 civilians and soldiers, many wagons and mules, along with 700 horses and a large herd of cattle, into the hills from Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory.
First account of gold related to George Custer's exploits-
On July 30, 1874, a miner who was part of the expedition, Horatio Ross, panned in French Creek. He washed some pay dirt and found several specks (micros) of gold. While he did this, Custer Climbed Harney Peak. While gone, the officers drank champaign after an enlisted game of baseball. Harney Peak, now called Black Elk Peak, is 7244 feet high and is accessible by several trails.
A second account of gold -
Many know the narrative of George Armstrong Custer, the American general who was entirely crushed by the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians at the Skirmish of Little Bighorn. However, not many know the account of the fortune that might be recovered close where Custer established his point of no return.
The whys and wherefores are somewhat indistinct, yet as Custer was destroying himself and his men, Captain Award Bog was cruising up the Bighorn Stream with provisions and fortifications. Among these things was supposedly about $375,000 worth of gold bars. At the point when he found out about Custer's loss, Bog evidently chose to hide his gold on the bank of the waterway; if not, he could never have had the option to assume the additional load of injured fighters.
The fortune actually has not been found up to present day.
For more information about the expedition, see Custer's Gold - True West Magazine
For more biographical information on George Armstrong Custer, see George Armstrong Custer - Wikipedia
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