The olden Days of Deadwood, Dakote Territory
History has been passed from one generation to another by word of mouth by people called “Story Tellers” Keep in mind that I am only keeping up the tradition and making it a little more interesting. Back in the days that Gold was discovered in the Back Hills and those Years of Wild Bill Hickock, when Deadwood was a wide open town and almost every one was an outlaw or a thief of one sort or another. The town Marshall had his jail full most of the time. They enlarged it so many time over those years, but they couldn’t keep up with the overflow. The territorial Judge was seated in Yankton, SD and he only traveled the territorial circuit three or four times a year depending on his case load.
Deadwood had a real problem and they had to find a way to keep law and order and contain the masses of criminals. One solution was to build large and high platforms (towers) at each entrance to the town and on the hill sides around the town, to confine the out laws and use the whole town as a confinement area. Law enforcement officers were stationed on the towers at strategic points. This caused many problems for the town citizens and was this that caused most of the problems with the Indians.
They were unable to sneak into town and steal whisky and raiding the whisky wagons coming into Deadwood was almost a death sentence. These deliveries were few and far between. The guards were being killed and disappearing at such a fast rate. The town leaders had to find another way to solve their problem.
After giving it a lot of thought, they decided to march a number of prisoners up the hill to a place called White Rocks. It was a white rock cliff, eighty to a hundred feet high with a steep hill with rocks and trees covering the hill side. At the bottom was a creek that run all year long and was used generally as sewer system for the town of Deadwood. The prisoners, some times as many as seventy five at a time, were marched to top of the cliff and forced to jump off. If they survived the fall and all the trees and rocks from rolling down the hill side, They were set free. It is said that about half of the prisoners survived the fall but were so crippled up they were no longer a threat to the community. Those that did not survive the fall were buried in a special section on boot hill and the cost of a trial was eliminated. And with new method,the territorial judge only had to make a couple of trips around the circuit each year.
New and modern Jails have been build over the years and they no longer use white rocks cliff. But be warned, If you go to Deadwood and miss-behave, Old John Law has eyes everywhere and he will be watching you !
Author & Story teller: Ben R. B. , March 10th. 1972.
Deadwood had a real problem and they had to find a way to keep law and order and contain the masses of criminals. One solution was to build large and high platforms (towers) at each entrance to the town and on the hill sides around the town, to confine the out laws and use the whole town as a confinement area. Law enforcement officers were stationed on the towers at strategic points. This caused many problems for the town citizens and was this that caused most of the problems with the Indians.
They were unable to sneak into town and steal whisky and raiding the whisky wagons coming into Deadwood was almost a death sentence. These deliveries were few and far between. The guards were being killed and disappearing at such a fast rate. The town leaders had to find another way to solve their problem.
After giving it a lot of thought, they decided to march a number of prisoners up the hill to a place called White Rocks. It was a white rock cliff, eighty to a hundred feet high with a steep hill with rocks and trees covering the hill side. At the bottom was a creek that run all year long and was used generally as sewer system for the town of Deadwood. The prisoners, some times as many as seventy five at a time, were marched to top of the cliff and forced to jump off. If they survived the fall and all the trees and rocks from rolling down the hill side, They were set free. It is said that about half of the prisoners survived the fall but were so crippled up they were no longer a threat to the community. Those that did not survive the fall were buried in a special section on boot hill and the cost of a trial was eliminated. And with new method,the territorial judge only had to make a couple of trips around the circuit each year.
New and modern Jails have been build over the years and they no longer use white rocks cliff. But be warned, If you go to Deadwood and miss-behave, Old John Law has eyes everywhere and he will be watching you !
Author & Story teller: Ben R. B. , March 10th. 1972.
1 comment:
Cool! You are a true storyteller. Don't stop even if you are distressed that people don't comment. Your stories can be searched and found by your grandchildren and great grandchildren when they are seeking a connection to you in the months and years to come.
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