GEORGE A. CUSTER. Letter from the Secretary of War, Transmitting . . . a Report of the Expedition to the Black Hills. 9 pages. 8vo, stitched; lightly toned, minimal wear. 43rd Congress, 2nd Session, Senate Ex. Doc. 32. - Washington, 26 February 1875

Custer's official August 1874 dispatches from his Black Hills expedition. Here Custer writes: "Gold has been found at several places . . . I have upon my table forty or fifty small particles of pure gold . . . most of it obtained to-day from one panful of earth." His second report elaborates: "It has not required an expert to find gold in the Black Hills, as men without former experience in mining have discovered it at an expense of but little time or labor." This news unsurprisingly launched a gold rush, and the resulting tensions with the Sioux led to Custer's death at Little Bighorn less than two years later.