spirits everywhere revived. Thousands of despondent men resolved at once to recover their fortunes in southern Dakota. The action of the military in preventing the entry of the miners into the Black Hills cooled the ardor of many of them, but that very obstacle made the people believe that the army was guarding a vast storehouse of wealth, and that fortunes were awaiting them. Some, hardy enough to pass the barrier, sent out reports of rich finds, and this increased the determination of very many to get into the Hills.
To the people of southern Dakota, after the long years of dreary struggle through Indian troubles, grasshoppers, and bad crops, the Black Hills gold excitement seemed a godsend. The settlements along the Missouri were thronged with determined strangers waiting for an opportunity to slip into the Hills. Transportation companies were organized, roadmakers were sent out, and all was activity and excitement. Almost daily some miner would creep back from the Hills with exaggerated stories of the wealth of the diggings. Every one was sure that the treaty for the opening of the Black Hills would be made at once, when there would be wealth for everybody.
The route to the Hills, in which the Dakota people were interested, was advertised everywhere as the Yankton route. It was by railroad to Yankton, thence by steamboat to Fort Pierre, where stages were taken for the remaining one hundred and seventy-five miles into the diggings. The advantages and pleasures of this route were represented most extravagantly in the advertisements.
