It is July 9, 1876.

Army Captain Thomas Tolman is writing to his brother from Fort Sully, in the Dakota Territory.

George Armstrong Custer and his company have been dead for two weeks.

Two years earlier, Custer had led an expedition of a thousand cavalry soldiers, Indian scouts, journalists and gold miners to the Dakota’s Black Hills, in violation of a treaty with the Sioux, to investigate reports of gold deposits there.

Tom’s letter tells a tale of dashed hopes.

The government’s treaty violation to enable white men to search for instant wealth had brought riches to just a few.

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