The Deadwood Trail

They had beaten the harsh odds of the frontier. But for the two powerful ranchers, the most formidable trail lay ahead. There had never been a trail drive like this before... The only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million maverick longhorns and the brains, brawn, and boldness to drive them to market along treacherous trails. Now, Ralph Compton brings this violent and magnificent time to life in an extraordinary series based on the history-blazing trail drives. For veteran ranchers Nelson Story of Montana, and Benton McCaleb of Wyoming, it was an opportunity a man didn't pass up. In gold camps of the Black Hills, miners were hungry for beef, at boomtown prices. But within the two outfits were Indians, gunmen, Texans, lovesick cowboys, and high-spirited women. Worse, the drive would pass through Crow and Sioux territory, when Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn was just hours away. The drives were tangled by violent grudges, stampeding herds, and dangerous deception. The two brawling outfits had one thing in common: a deadly surprise awaiting them at the end of the trail...

1876 was a momentous year during the Black Hills Gold Rush. The author's research on the famous Cheyenne-Black Hills Stage and Express Route, led her to numerous maps and descriptions about the trail, with dashes and dots, and a few geographical features. To better understand these stage stations and her ancestor's role as shotgun messengers, the author began to document what can still be seen today. Using the locations in this book, you can see where many of the stations used to be situated, including old horse corrals, telegraph wire roads, relics of possible stations, and numerous trail ruts made by heavy freight across the prairie. Campbell relates, "While it's been difficult to know exactly where the wheels on the famous coach rolled all of the time, it is possible to see many aspects of the Deadwood Stage route using satellite imagery based on early maps. All the credit goes to those dedicated individuals who preserved the trail years ago before there were computers. Thankfully, we no longer need to use a surveyor's measuring wheel and give dimensions in chains to study the old trail."

This guide covers the full 114 miles of the George S. Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and those 8 towns through which the trail runs. It provides handy maps, photographs and complete descriptions of distinctive features along the way. It includes supply suggestions and necissities for walkers or bikers. It includes contact information for services and lodging suggestions. Trail history is personalized by area authors, as well as a trail hiker wrote a full chapter about his hike thru at ag 70. Whether you're hiking, biking, x-country sking , snowmobiling, horseback riding, or car touring along the trail, this guide is the perfect resource for every traveler. It includes train, trail, and mining history, as well as flora, fauna, and geology information for the area to make your trip along the Mickelson Trail fun, interesting and educational.