The Black Hills were one of the last unmapped, unexplored corners of America when the Custer Expedition arrived in 1874. Men of that expedition "discovered" gold on French Creek. But had gold really been discovered long before 1874? That's one of history's unanswered questions.

    The most dramatic evidence of early mining is the Thoen Stone. This rock was found by Spearfish stonemason Louis Thoen in 1887. On it is scratched this sad message:

    "Came to these hills in 1833 seven of us DeLacompt, Ezra Kind, G.W. Wood, T. Brown, R. Kent, Wm.King, Indian Crow. All died but me Ezra Kind. Killed by Ind. beyond the high hill, got our gold in 1834. Got all gold we could carry, our ponys all got by Indians. I have lost my gun and nothing to eat and Indians hunting me."

    When Kind wrote this message and concealed it he was hiding on Lookout Mountain, and the "high hill" seems to refer to Crow Peak. Lookout Mountain is immediately north of the Interstate at Spearfish. Crow Peak is the dominant summit just west of town.

    Not everyone believes the Thoen Stone is authentic. But there's other evidence of early mining, such as the 1927 letter to the editor from Dr. V. McGillycuddy. This letter, published in the Rapid City Journal, states that McGillycuddy was attached to a military exploration unit in 1875. "We found a very old, abandoned cave near what would later be Rapid City," wrote McGillycuddy. In that cave were found "...a rusted frying pan, and old shovel with the handle decayed, and rusted frame of a pair of spectacles." These items appeared to easily predate Custer's visit. McGillycuddy also found a decayed and moss-covered log cabin on a peak near Sundance. A similar cabin was found on Elk Creek, but with a pine tree growing through the roof!

    Probably the first white men to see the Hills were the French explorers, Francois and Joesph Verendrye. Their sketchy journal seems to indicate they entered the Northern Hills on New Year's Day, 1743. The Verendyres may have done a little gold prospecting, but their real search was for the mythical Northwest Passage.

10/01/03