- Wagnus massacre
The Wagnus Massacre was an incident that occurred on the Deadwood - Bismarck Trail on
July 17 ,1877 , a trail used for migration,freight , and later as a farm to market road. The of the Wagnus family, consisting of two brothers, accompanied by one of their wives, as they were leaving theBlack Hills and attempting to catch up with the main portion of awagon train traveling north towards Bismarck. They were found the next day by theBismarck Stagecoach two miles north ofBear Butte , a sacredPlains Indian site located inSouth Dakota . The two men were found shot and scalped while the woman was shot, scalped, and horribly mutilated, with an Ox-Goad ran through her body. Local Black Hills authorities placed the blame on Indian tribes as other attacks had been fought off in the area that day. It is unknown whether Bear Butte was used as a lookout prior to the attack.References
*Holst, Vernon S. "A Study of the 1876 Bismarck to Deadwood Trail," Butte County (S. Dak) Historical Society, 1983.
*"The Black Hills Daily Times," July 18, 1877.
* [http://www.deadwoodmagazine.com/archivedsite/Archives/Metz.htm Metz massacre] , Deadwood Magazine Online
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