TRAVEL FEATURE - USA MICHELLE LAMPHERE
GUN FIGHTS & BLACK HILLS
The Black Hills of western South Dakota rise like an island from a vast ocean of grassland in the central plains of the United States . Ponderosa pines and blue spruce cover the rocky slopes , making the hills appear dark from a distance . The Lakota Sioux called them Paha Sapa , or Black Hills , and pioneers adopted the name .
Settlers crossed the prairies of the Dakota Territory in droves as men hurried to claim their 160-acre parcels of free land granted by the Homestead Act of 1862 . The 4500 square miles ( almost 12,000 square kilometres ) of the Black Hills had been designated as Indian Territory by the Laramie Treaty and were therefore off limits to outsiders , even for hunting and prospecting . But as more and more settlers came to the area , temptation must have overtaken some who began to explore the area illegally . Rumors emerged that gold might be found in the forbidden land .
As of 1874 , western expansion had progressed to the point that people began taking up residence on the eastern slopes of the Black Hills . Concerns about potential conflict between native tribes and settlers grew , and eventually the government ordered General George Armstrong Custer and 1000 men of the 7th Cavalry to reconnoiter the area . Even though the land belonged to the Sioux Nation , they were assigned a mission to scout a possible fort location and to investigate the possibility of mining for gold . Several prospectors were part of the expedition team , including Horatio N . Ross .
Upon arriving in the southern Black Hills on July 21 , 1874 , soldiers set up camp along the banks of French Creek . And within days , Ross discovered gold near presentday Custer , South Dakota . What had once been just rumors of gold
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