Excerpt from The Black Hills, or the Last Hunting Ground of the Dakotahs: A Complete History of the Black Hills of Dakota, From Their First Invasion in 1874 to the Present Time, Comprising a Comprehensive Account of How They Lost Them, of Numerous Adventures of the Early Settlers, Their Heroic Struggles for Supremacy Belief in these bits of proverbial wisdom, and the hope that the mellowing influence of nearly a quarter of a century may have likewise invested the unwritten chapters of Black Hills pioneer history with added interest, together with the helpful encouragement of many friends throughout the hllls, first induced the author to undertake the task result ing in the production of this little work. It seemed proper, too, that the part enacted by those who stood in the front ranks, in the thick of the fray, in the sanguinary battle for the settlement of the Black Hills, should be placed upon record before they shuflled off the mortal coil, or, ere passing years should leave but a shadowy memory of their courage and brave endurance, and future generations be thus compelled to accept the story of their struggles and heroism as a vague and unsatisfactory tradition. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.