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Exploring With Custer: The 1874 Black Hills Expedition

Name: Exploring With Custer: The 1874 Black Hills Expedition
Author: Ernest Grafe
ISBN: 9780971805316

by Ernest Grafe, Paul Horsted

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Overview

Two years before the Little Bighorn, Lt. Col. George Custer entered the mysterious Black Hills of Dakota Territory at the head of a massive exploring party. It would prove to be one of the most eventful and best-documented expeditions of the Old West, an adventure of discovery that readers can now experience for themselves. Owned by the Lakota Sioux, the Black Hills were the last unknown place to the white population of America. Gold discoveries during the reconnaissance brought a flood of illegal prospectors, which was a major cause of the hostilities unleashed against Custer and his men on the Greasy Grass. The explorers of 1874 told their own story in journals, reports and newspaper dispatches, while William H. Illingworth brought back the first photographs taken in the Black Hills. Every available resource has been brought together to make the journey come alive for the reader. Visitors to the Hills can add to their experience by using the included trail guide to find many of the photo sites or see the very places described in the book.

Synopsis

"Exploring with Custer" is divided into two parts. The first half is a chronicle of events along the trail, using excerpts from first-person accounts to take readers through each day the Expedition spent in the Black Hills. There are also maps that show exactly where the trail was, including camps, photo sites and points of interest. Detailed directions (with optional GPS readings) are also offered for those who want to follow Custer's path in person. The second half of the book reproduces Illingworth's photographs with startling clarity, pairing them with modern photographs taken at the same sites. A legend beneath each photo refers to its location on a map.