1874 A Geologic Map of the Black Hills...
A Geologic Map of the Black Hills by Professor N.H. Winchell To accompany the Report of Capt. William Ludlow U.S. Engineers
By: N.H. Winchell & William Ludlow
Date: 1874 (published) Washington D.C.
Dimensions: 25 x 17.5 inches (63.5 x 44.5 cm)
A wildly important geologic survey map of the Black Hills drawn from the extensive surveying by William Ludlow during the 1874 expedition led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer into the Sioux Territory.
The map is color coded by rock type and layers of strata with topographic detail and the delineation of majors rivers and the many tributaries that feed into them. Geographic landmarks such as "Deer's Ears," "Custer's Peak," Elk Buttes," "Bear Butte," and "Inyan Kara," are noted throughout the map along with commentary by Ludlow on the nature of the land. Such notations include "Heavily Timbered," "Fine soil and grass," and "High hills heavily wooded, water & grass abundant," to name a few. Ludlow's track is also delineated throughout the map.
Relevant History of the Region
According to the 1868 Treaty of Ft. Laramie between United States and the Oglala, Miniconjou, and Brulé bands of Lakota Sioux, Yanktonai Dakota and Arapaho Nation, the United States would abandon forts along the Bozeman Trail, which ran right through the Black Hills. Unfortunately for the Native American of the region, the Black Hills was rumored for decades to be rich in gold deposits. One of the primary missions of the expedition that procured this map was to make a more accurate determination on the possibility of gold in the Black Hills.
Eventually, gold was found as thus spawned a new chapter in centuries old conflict between White Settlers and Native Americans, known as the Great Sioux War, which raged during the years 1876-77. As gold miners and military regiments began pouring into the Black Hills, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse led the Lakota people in defending their ancestral lands through a series of well known battles that included the Battle of Powder River, Rosebud, Little Bighorn (where General Custer was killed in action), Slim Buttes, and Wolf Mountain. Eventually, Sitting Bull fled with a large band of followers across the Canadian border and Crazy Horse surrendered at Camp Robinson, officially ending the bloody two year war.
Condition: This map is in excellent condition, backed with linen exhibiting bright and bold color on clean paper with full margins on all sides.
Inventory #11854
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