@shinobinoz Said 
Well it was Roman Catholic missionary Father De Smet that told others of the Lakota having gold. But beyond that- you still cannot separate european/american mindset from religion. It provides all of the excuses & cover for what transpired.
Unbelievable. In the early 1860's De Smet told a dinner party (who were discussing the prospect of gold in the west) that he had come across gold in his travels but despite all efforts to persuade him to reveal the location of his discovery he refused to do so saying "he did not wish his children (the Indians) to be disturbed". Multiple sources all confirm that De Smet never told anyone where he had found gold.
Let us look though at the background to the 'discovery' of gold in the Black Hills. Soon after the discovery of gold in Wyoming and Montana, the belief became prevalent that gold in paying quantities could he found in the Black Hills. Lieutenant Warren, of the United States topographical engineers, made a report of his visit to the Hills in 1857, in which he said: "The Black Hills are composed of the same formations of stratified rocks as are found in the gold bearing gulches of the Wind river and Big Horn mountains where gold has been found in paying quantities."
This belief was further strengthened by the widespread circulation of stories, mythical or otherwise, of immense finds of the precious metals there by the native peoples. One of these stories went back as far as 1811, when the natives would come to a trading post of the American Fur Company, located at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Big Cheyenne river, about twenty-five miles from the Hills, bearing fine nuggets of gold, which they would exchange for sugar, coffee, gaudy trinkets and alcohol. These Indians always claimed that
they found the gold somewhere in the Black Hills country, but neither threats nor bribes could induce them to betray the exact locality. In 1862 two natives brought about twenty thousand dollars' worth of gold to Fort Laramie, and sold it to Mr. Bullock, the post trader.
in 1857, Lieutenant Warren started to enter the Hills, even though he had been told by priests to keep clear of the area as it was sacred ground (how does this fit in with your narrative?). He went anyway.
in 1870 a company was organized at Bozeman to explore the Hills. The company was called "The Big Horn Mountain and Black Hills Mining Association". In the spring of 1874 this association sent an expedition of 150 well armed and well mounted men, accompanied by Colonel Murnn's battery, which consisted of one small cannon, to the eastern slope of the Big Horn mountains, with instructions to reach the Black Hills if
possible.
The same year the government sent an expedition to the Black Hills under the command of Gen. George A. Custer. According to R. B. Cowan, acting secretary of the interior, it was sent out "merely as a military reconnaissance of the country for the purpose of ascertaining the best location if in future it should become necessary to establish there a military post." Nevertheless a number of scientists, practical miners, etc., accompanied the expedition, and the result of their investigations was included in General Custer's report upon his return.
In his report to the adjutant general, for the department of Dakota, General Custer gave a flattering account of the country, particularly regarding its possibilities for agricultural pursuits. That part of his report, bearing on the question of gold mining said: "The miners report that they found gold among the roots of the grass, and from that point to the lowest point reached, gold was found in paying quantities. It has not required an expert to find gold in the Black Hills, as men without former experiences in mining have discovered it at an expense of but little time or labour." The report also stated that the
scientists with the expedition were satisfied that lead and silver could be found in paying quantities.
Custer's report of gold in the Black Hills was widely publicised and came during a time of significant economic hardship for the US as they were caught up in the great panic of 1873. An official government report of gold therefore provoked great excitement. Although old miners had never given much credence to the stories told of the fabulous wealth in the Hills, they hailed with delight the expedition of General
Custer, as a sure means of creating public sentiment in favour of opening up the country to settlement, which would in time force the government to act. They understood that the occupation of the Black Hills meant that the whole country west of them across the Powder river and Big Horn mountains must soon follow. General Custer, in his report, referred to the attitude of the native peoples as a "dog in the manger policy." He stated that they made no effort to develop the resources of the Hills themselves, and they were opposed to their development by the whites. General Custer recommended that the Black Hills either be opened to settlement, or be occupied as a military reservation.
As soon as the tenor of this report became generally known, companies were formed in various parts of the Northwest to go to the Black Hills with Sioux City and Yankton acting among the first.
In 1872, prior to the Custer expedition, territorial officials were already considering harvesting the rich timber resources of the Black Hills, to be floated down the Cheyenne River to the Missouri, where new plains settlements needed lumber.
And so here we have it. You try and blame religion for the gold rush in the Black Hills and the subsequent decision by the US government to break the 1868 Treaty of Laramie by referencing a missionary who never actually told anyone where gold was to be found. You blame religion even though it was official US government expeditions that sparked the gold rush. Expeditions that included scientists and miners. That alone should give you a hint as to what the driving forces were and they sure as hell werent religious. But why let facts get in the way.
Jan 08, 2017 @ 04:54:47
