Pike's Peak, the Black Hills of South Dakota and Montana all witnessed influxes of Whites after 1859. They were all intent on acquiring a particular commodity in these areas. Which commodity?

White Americans had settled both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts, but the Great Plains in between had been hardly incorporated into the USA. Native Americans (Red Indians) occupied them, and the potential for conflict loomed seriously, as White Americans were more and more tempted to encroach on Indian lands.