Annals of Wyoming

Mnals of Wyoming

Vol. 16

January, 1944

No.l

A HISTORICAL MAGAZINE

FORT BRIDGER, UTAH TERRITORY, 1858
Reproduced in reduced size from July 10, 1858, issue of Frank Leslie's Illustrated News-
paper. The line at the bottom reads "Fort Bridger, Utah Territory. — From a
Sketch Made Expressly for 'Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper.' "
Below this appeared the line "Fort Bridger, Utah Territory —
From Our Own Correspondent," who the author
believes was undoubtedly Capt. Gove.

Published Bi-Annually

by

THE WYOMING HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Atwals of Wyoming

Vol. 16 January, 1944 No. 1

Contents

INDIAN DISTURBANCES IN "JACKSON HOLE" COUNTRY,

WYOMING, 1895 5

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 34

The Utah Expedition, 1857-58 . 35

By Dominie A. Brosnan

Territorial Papers of Wyoming in the National Archives 45

By W. Tmrentine Jackson

WYOMING SCRAPBOOK 56

Vanished Frontiers 57

By C. P. Arnold

George Mitchell, an Interview at the H R Ranch, Uva 62

By Virginia Cole Trenholm

Bill Nye 's Experience 65

By Bill Nye

WYOMING STREAM NAMES (CoiUt) 71

By Dee Linford

EXCERPTS FROM "REMINISCENCES OF FRONTIER DAYS".... 75"
By M. Wilson Rankin

ILLUSTRATIONS

FORT BRIDGER, 1858, UTAH TERRITORY Front Cover

MUSEUM 4

FORT BRIDGER, COBBLE STONE AND MORTAR WALL. 1858 34

ENVELOPE, SHOWING A FORT BRIDGER 1858 CANCELLA-
TION MARK 36

GROUP OF WYOMING PIONEERS 56

MR. AND MRS. GEORGE MITCHELL, PIONEERS OF UVA.

WYOMING 63

Printed by

THE WXOJtING LABOR .JOURNAL

Cheyenne, Wyoming

The State Historical Board, the State Historical Advisory Board
and the State Historical Department assume no responsibility for any
statement of fact or opinion expressed by contributors to the
ANNALS OF WYOMING.

The Wyoming State Historical Department invites the presentation
of museum items, letters, diaries, family histories and manuscripts of
Wyoming citizens. It welcomes the writings and observations of those
familiar with important and significant events in the State 's history.

In all ways the Department strives to present to the people of
Wyoming and the Nation a true picture of the State. The historical
magazine, ANNALS OF WYOMING, is one medium through which the
Department seeks to gain this objective. All communications concerning
the ANNALS should be addressed to Mary A. McGrath, Wyoming His-
torical Department, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

This magazine is sent free of charge to all State Historical Board
members, the State Historical Advisory Board, Wyoming County Libraries
and Wyoming newspapers.

It is published in January and July, subscription price $1.50 per year.

Copyright, 1944; by the Wyoming Historical Department.

STATE HISTORICAL BOARD

Lester C Hunt, President - Governor

Mart T. Christensen Secretary of State

Wm. ' < Scotty ' ' Jack State Auditor

Earl Wright State Treasurer

Esther L. Anderson Superintendent of Public Instruction

Mary A. McGrath, Secy. State Librarian and Historian Ex-Offieio

STATE HISTORICAL ADVISORY BOARD

Mrs. Mary Jester Allen, Cody

Frank Barrett, Lusk

George Bible, Rawlins

Mrs. T. K. Bishop, Basin

C. Watt Brandon, Kemmerer

J. Elmer Brock, Kaycee

Struthers Burt, Moran

Mrs. Elsa Spear Bvron, Sheridan

Mrs. G. C. Call, Afton

Oliver J. Colyer, Torrington

William C. Deming, Cheyenne

E. A. Gaensslen, Green River

Hans Gautschi, Lusk

Burt Griggs, Buffalo

Jack Havnes, Yellowstone Park

D. B. Hilton, Sundance

Mrs. Joseph H. Jacobucci, Green, River
P. W. Jenkins, Big Piney
W. C. Lawrence, Moran

E. A. Logan, Cheyenne '
Howard B. Lott, Buffalo
Mrs. Eliza Lythgoe, Cowley
A. J. Mokler, Casper

Mrs. Elmer K. Nelson, Laramie

Charles Oviatt, Sheridan

Mrs. Minnie Reitz, Wheatland

Mrs. Effie Shaw, Cody

John Charles Thompson, Cheyenne

Bussell Thorp, Cheyenne

STAFF PERSONNEL

of

THE WYOMING HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

and

STATE MUSEUM

Mary A. McGrath, Editor . State Librarian and Historian Ex-Officio
Marie H. Erwin, Co-Editor Assistant Historian

WYOMING STATE MUSEUM

Housed in the new Supreme Court and Library Building
in Cheyenne, with vault space and fireproof protection, the
Museum provides for the preservation and display of the
prized possessions of Wyoming pioneers.

Perpetuate your family name by placing your historical
collections and relics in your State Museum, where they may
be permanently preserved and enjoyed by the thousands of
visitors.

Everything that is presented to the Museum is numbered,
labeled, recorded and card indexed, thus insuring permanent
identification.

Jndian Disturbances
Jn "flackson Mole" Country, Wyoming, 1895

The following taken from the 1895 report of D. M. Browning,
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, discredits alarming reports that Indians
were guilty of depredations against the whites in Jackson JLoie mid
Marysvale, western Wyoming.

Since my last annual report relative to complaints by
whites in regard to Indians off their reservations hunting and
"wantonly killing" game, serious trouble has occurred between
the Bannock Indians and the whites in what is known as the
''Jacksons Hole" country. Wyoming. A full report of
entire affair was made to the Department August 17, 1895, the
substance of which is as follows, some of it being quoted
from my report of last year:

For more than a year past complaints have been made
to this office that Indians of the Shoshone Reservation, Wyo.,
were wantonly slaughtering elk and deer that had been driven
down from the Rocky Mountains by the deep snows and severe
weather. The agent of the Shoshone Agency was at once in-
structed to report the facts to this office, and to take such
action as would entirely stop any wanton killing of game by
those Indians in the future. He replied that, to his knowledge,
no elk or deer had been aimlessly slaughtered by the Indians
belonging to that agency, but that it was reported that roving
parties of other Indians had killed game outside of the reser-
vation ; also that the Indians reported that white men were
continually going on hunting expeditions through the country
adjacent to their reservation, and killing game merely for the
pleasure of hunting. Reports from other Indian agents in
that country sustained this charge, the whites claiming they
had as good right as the Indians to kill game; and the State
officers, in some instances, stating that they did not feel justi-
fied in prosecuting white men for violating State game laws.
while the Indians were allowed to hunt.

Subsequently more complaints were received from Idaho.
Wyoming, and Montana that parties of Indians were continu-
ally leaving their reservations with passes from their agents
to make social and friendlv visits to other reservations: that

fTL S. Cong. Doc. 54th Cong., 1st Sess., H. E, Doc. 5. pp 60-80, Serial 3382.

6 ANNALS OF WYOMING

en route they slaughtered game in large quantities merely for
the sake of killing and, for the hides, particularly in the country
adjacent to the Yellowstone National Park and the Shoshone
Reservation, Wyo., and that if such depredations were al-
lowed to continue it would probably result in a serious conflict
between the white settlers and the Indians.

In view of the above complaints, the office, on May 22,
1894, addressed a letter to the Indian agents in Idaho, Montana,
Wyoming, Utah, and the Dakotas, instructing them to call
together in council the Indians of their respective agencies
and again put before them the instructions contained in office
circular of November 1, 1889, and to notify them that the
restrictions as to hunting contained in that circular must be
strictly complied with; also that should they obtain passes
ostensibly for making friendly visits to other reservations and
then engage in hunting while en route, their passes would be
recalled by this office and they would not be allowed to leave
their reservation again.

The circular referred to reads as folloAvs:

THE UNITED STATES INDIAN AGENTS:

"Frequent complaints have been made to this Department
that Indians are in the habit of leaving their reservations
for the purpose of hunting ; that they slaughter game in large
quantities in violation of the laws of the State or Territory in
which they reside, and that in many instances large numbers
of wild animals are killed simply for their hides.

"In some cases Indians, by treaty stipulations, have the
guaranteed right to hunt, upon specified conditions outside
their existing reservations. The Secretary of the Interior has
decided that the privilege of hunting under such treaty pro-
visions is the right to merely kill such game as may be neces-
sary to supply the needs of the Indians, and that the slaughter
of wild animals in vast numbers for the hides only and the
abandonment of the carcasses without attempting to make use
of them, is as much a violation of the treaty as an absolute
prohibition on the part of the United States against the exercise
of such privilege Avould be. This fact should be impressed upon
the minds of the Indians who have such treaty rights, and
they will be given to understand that the wanton destruction
of game will not be permitted. And those not having the
reserved treaty privileges of hunting outside of their existing
reservation should be warned against leaving their reservation
for hunting, as they are liable to arrest and prosecution for
violation of the laws of the State or Territory in which offenses
may be committed.

INDIAN DISTURBANCES 7

"In view of the settlement of the country and the conse-
quent disappearance of the game, the time has long since gone
by when the Indians can live by the chase. They should aban-
don their idle and nomadic ways and endeavor to cultivate
habits of industry, and adopt civilized pursuits to secure the
means for self-support."

All the agents addressed reported that they had complied
with office instructions, and had taken extra precautions to
prevent the Indians under their charge from wantonly killing
game or leaving their reservations for such a purpose.

Captain Ray, U. S. A., acting agent to the Shoshone
Agency, in his report of May 29, 1894, relative to the above
instructions, stated as follows :

"I find that article 4 of the treaty with the Eastern Band
of the Shoshone Indians, made July 3, 1868, gives the Indians
the right to hunt on all the unoccupied lands of the United
States, and they have certainly availed themselves of the
privilege, but not a single case of wanton destruction of wild
animals has ever come to my knowledge, nor will I ever permit
such practice.

"In connection with this matter I wish to call attention to
the fact that the present ration for Indians on this reservation
(one-half pound of flour and three-fourths pound beef, net1)
is not sufficient to ward off the pangs of hunger, and they must
supplement this allowance in some way or suffer. In absence
of paid employment, which will enable them to purchase food,
they will resort to desperate methods before they will go hun-
gry. Unless they receive sufficient food on the reservation,
no power can prevent them from killing game or cattle."

Complaints, however, continued to be made by the gov-
ernor of Wyoming, the prosecuting attorney of Fremont Coun-
ty, and many others from the region south of the Yellowstone
National Park. These complaints were referred to the re-
spective Indian agents for their information and with instruc-
tions to be especially careful to prevent any wanton destruc-
tion of game by Indians in their charge. From some of their
reports it is clear that the Indians had not been justly com-
plained of, and that in many instances the charges against
them were either altogether false or grossly exaggerated,
sometimes willfully so. For instance. Captain Ray, U. S. A.,
the then acting Indian agent of the Shoshone Agency, re-
ported that hordes of white hunters infested the country (Yel-
lowstone Park region) entirely unmolested.

A full report as to these complaints was made in letter of
November 8, 1894, of which the concluding paragraphs were
as follows :

"It is my intention to write again to the agents of the
Fort Hall (Idaho) and Wind River (Wyoming) agencies, di-

8 ANNALS OF WYOMING

recting them to be watchful to the end that their Indians give
no cause for complaint in this matter; but I think it would be
well if some attention were paid to the foreign and native
tourists and others, who go into that country to hunt without
let or hindrance.

"It is a well-known and admitted fact that the extermina-
tion of the buffalo and other large game in the West was the
work of the whites, principally, and not the Indians, and
even now the well-supplied curio shops and taxidermists obtain
their supply of heads, antlers, horns, etc., entirely from the
former, or very nearly so, at least."

No further complaints were received until in the latter
part of June last, when Governor W. A. Richards, of Wyoming,
addressed a letter to the Department stating that he was in-
formed that Indians were then hunting and killing large game
in the northern part of Uinta County and the western part of
Fremont County, Wyo. ; that most of these Indians were from
Idaho, some, however, being from the Shoshone Reservation,
Wyo. He inclosed a copy of the State of Wyoming Fish and
Game Laws, 1895, and requested that action be taken which
would restrict Indians from leaving their respective reserva-
tions for the purpose of hunting in Wyoming.

July 17, 1895, Governor W. A. Richards telegraphed the
Department as follows :

"Have just received the following telegram, dated Marys-
vale, Wyo., July 15, via Market Lake, Idaho, July 16 :

"Nine Indians arrested, one killed, others escaped. Many
Indians reported here; threaten lives and property. Settlers
are moving families away. Want protection immediately.
Action on your part is absolutely necessary.

"Frank H. Rhodes,

"Justice of the Peace.
"Wm. Manning, Constable.
(And three others.)

"I have received other advices by mail representing situ-
ation as serious. The Indians are Bannocks from Fort Hall,
Idaho. Arrested for the illegal and wanton killing of game.
My letter to you dated June 17 relates to the matter. Can you
take immediate action for the. protection of our settlers?" .

This office, on July 17, 1895, therefore telegraphed Teter,
Indian agent at Fort Hall, Idaho, as follows:

"Governor Richards, of Wyoming, telegraphs this date
that nine Bannock Indians belonging to Fort Hall Agency
were arrested and one killed on or about 15th instant, at
Marysvale, Uinta County, Wyo., for wantonly killing game ;
that many other Indians are there threatening lives and prop-
erty, and settlers are moving families away. Proceed at once

INDIAN DISTUEBANCES 9

to scene of trouble and do all in your power to prevent further
disturbance and to return absent Indians to reservation. If
troops are needed to protect settlers or prevent open conflict,
advise immediately. If you have any information now tele-
graph same to me before starting."

The same date the following telegram was sent to the
acting Indian agent, Shoshone Agency :

"Serious trouble reported in neighborhood of Marysvale,
Uinta County, Wyo. Nine Bannock Indians from Fort Hall
Agency arrested and one killed for violation of game laws.
Settlers said to be fleeing for their lives. If any of your
Indians are absent in that region have them returned to reser-
vation at once. Have ordered Fort Hall agent to scene of
trouble. Cooperate with him to fullest extent of your ability
in every possible way.

The agent of Fort Hall Agency replied by telegraph the
next day as follows :

"Will state on 13th instant, upon receipt information In-
dians were killing game unlawfully in Wyoming, I sent the
entire police force to Wyoming to bring back Indians belonging
to this reservation. Captain Indian police sent back policeman,
who arrived this day, stating that one Indian killed by settlers.
Other sources, several Indians killed. I leave for scene of
trouble at once."

The same day the Shoshone agent also telegraphed :

"Police sent days ago to bring absent Indians back to
reservation. (Inly one Indian reported absent now. Reports
indicate that none of my Indians were concerned in Marysvale
trouble. Will act for Fort Hall agent Avhenever possible."'

Then followed the sensational and alarming newspaper
reports of an Indian outbreak in the Jackson Hole country ;
the Bannocks on the warpath ; the killing of many settlers by
the savages ; homes burned to the ground ; whites fleeing for
their lives; and the appeal to the Government that United
States troops be hurried to the seat of war to stop the fiendish
work of devastation and murder of whites by the redskins.

July 23 the Fort Hall agent telegraphed this office as
follows :

"Have investigated trouble between Indians and settlers
in Wyoming, and will advise troops be sent there immediately
to protect law-abiding settlers; lawless element among settlers
being determined to come into conflict with Indians. Settlers
have killed from four to seven Indians, which has incensed
Indians, who have gathered to number of 200 to 300 near Fall
River in Uinta County and refuse to return to reservation. 1
find Bannock Indians have killed game unlawfully according
to laws of Wyoming, though not unlawfully according to treaty
of Bannock Indians with United States, usurping prerogative

10 ANNALS OF WYOMING

of settlers in that respect, which caused the trouble, and noth-
ing but intervention of soldiers will settle difficulty and save
lives of innocent persons and prevent destruction of property."

This office replied as follows :

"Send word to absent Indians as coining direct from me
that I want them to return peaceably to their reservation be-
fore the soldiers arrive. Say that I send this message to them
as their friend and urge prompt compliance, knowing it is
for their best interest and welfare. ' '

Agent Teter carried oat the above instructions, and July
28 telegraphed the following :

"On 27th instant I met Sheriff Hawley near Rexburg, re-
turning from Jacksons Hole, where he had been sent to ascer-
tain if settlers have been killed by Indians. Hawley states
settlers have not been molested by Indians. Indians are sup-
posed to be in camp 40 miles from settlements in practically
impregnable position."

The Secretary of War on July 24, 1895, upon Department
request for military aid, ordered Brigadier-General Coppinger,
commanding Department of the Platte, to proceed at once to
the scene of disturbance in Wyoming and to order such move-
ment of troops as might be necessary to prevent a conflict be-
tween the Indians and settlers and to remove the Indians to
their proper reservations.

Governor Richards, on July 31, telegraphed the following :

"Reliable information that 200 Indians supposed to be
Utes were seen yesterday near South Pass, Fremont County;
also 47 Siour on Bad Water Creek, same county ; all were
mounted, armed, and without women or children. The people
of Fremont County are under arms and wire me for assistance.
Can not these and all other Indians in Wyoming be recalled
to their reservations'?"

This office at once telegraphed the agents of Pine Ridge
(S. Dak.), Shoshone (Wyoming), Lemhi (Idaho), and Uintah
and Ouray (Utah) agencies to have absent Indians returned
to their respective reservations. The Shoshone and Uintah and
Ouray agents replied that none of their Indians were absent,
and that no trouble was feared.

August 2, 1895, Agent Teter reported by telegram as
follows :

"I have returned from Jacksons Hole. Everything quiet
there. I will recommend that you request the Department of
Justice to investigate killing of peaceable Indians by lawless
settlers in Uinta County, Wyo., with a view to the prosecution
of the guilty parties."

On the following day he further telegraphed :

"All Indians absent from reservation have returned. Had
big council. Requested me to telegraph you their hearts felt

INDIAN DISTURBANCES 11

good. Had not harmed a white man, and would start haying,
leaving their grievances to the justice of the white mail."

To the latter message this office replied August 7 as follows :

' ' Your telegram August 3 received. Exceedingly grati-
fying to me and to all friends of the Indians everywhere that
they have returned peaceably to their reservation and gone
to work, having committed no acts of violence against the
persons or property of the whites, which will certainty be to
their lasting credit. Tell them so, and that office will do all
in its power to have faithful investigation of the killing of the
Indians and to see that justice is done. Am looking for full
report from you giving details of the whole affair."

I now quote in full the official reports that have reached
this office giving details of the trouble, as follows :

Report, dated July 20, 1895, from Capt. R. II. Wilson.
U. S. A., acting Indian agent, Shoshone Agency, "Wyo. :

"In regard to the recent disturbances near Marysvale,
Wyo., resulting from Indians killing game out of season, I have
the honor to report that the Indian police sent to that point
to bring back absentees have returned without having been
able to effect anything of importance. They report that two
of my Indians have been found guilty of the offense in ques-
tion, fined $75 each and costs, and in default of payment of
their fines have been taken to Evanston to serve out sentences,
of what duration I am not informed.

"Their horses and equipments were seized to satisfy costs.
No other Indians are now absent from this reservation with-
out authority, and I do not anticipate any further trouble in
this respect. The scene of the disturbance is so remote and
inaccessible that it is difficult to obtain reliable reports in
regard to it, but I am inclined to believe that the whole matter
has been greatly exaggerated. I have been trying to instruct
my Indians in the provisions of the game laws, of which they
have been entirely ignorant, They have hitherto considered
that the provisions of their treaty give them the right to hunt
on unoccupied lands whenever they please. I shall, however,
in future try to make them comply with the law in regard to
killing game in Wyoming, without regard to their treaty, as I
consider that this course will be less likely to cause a recur-
rence of similar trouble."

Report, dated July 20. 1895, addressed to Adjutant-General.
U. S. A., from Capt. J. T. Van Orsdale. V. 8. A., late acting-
Indian agent, Fort Hall Agency, Idaho :

"1 have the honor to make the following report bearing
upon the account (newspaper) of the arrest and killing of
Indians in Jacksons Hole country, Wyoming, by citizens of
said State :

12 ANNALS OF WYOMING

''In the treaty made with the Bannocks and Shoshones
at Fort Bridger in 1867 or 1868 they were granted the
privilege of hunting on any unoccupied public land. Being
short-rationed and far from self-supporting according to the
white man's methods, they simply follow their custom and
hunt for the purpose of obtaining sustenance. It would seem
that the killing of Indians under the circumstances is nothing
more or less than murder. They are not citizens of the State,
and are entitled to the protection of the General Government
so far as the rights and privileges granted by treaty are con-
cerned.

"While acting agent at Fort Hall Agency, Idaho, I had
occasion to look into this matter, and while trying to prevent
hunting by Indians during the season unauthorized by State
law I took the opportunity to let those making complaints
know that the Indians were within treaty rights, and I believe
the fact is well known and understood. Further, I believe
there is no 'wanton' slaughter of game by these Indians, while
it is a notorious fact that hundreds of animals are killed by
white men for nothing more than heads and horns. There
are men in that country who make it a business to pilot hunt-
ing parties from the East and the Old Country which not
only slaughter elk but capture and ship them out of the country.
The killing of game by Indians interferes with their business.
Another fact about the Jacksons Hole Basin, it is inaccessible
in winter on account of deep snow on the mountains, and game
can only be got at by outsiders during the summer or early
autumn. If it be the desire of the Government to restrain
the Indians and cause them to conform to state laws, steps
looking to the change or modification of treaty would seem
to be in order. Indians can hardly be expected to submit
more quietly to the killing of their people while engaged in
the occupation which they think they have a right to follow
than white men, and a failure by the Government to take
proper action is liable to result in serious loss of life and
property.

"Having obtained knowledge of affairs in the manner
indicated I believe it a duty to make this report."

(First indorsement.)

OFFICE OF THE POST COMMANDER,
Fort Logan, Colo., July 23, 1895.
Respectfully forwarded.

I have known the Shoshone Indians since 1873, when I was
at their agency, and had twenty-five of them for scouts on a
trip I made from Camp Brown through the Yellowstone Park.

INDIAN DISTURBANCES 13

I heartily concur in what Captain Van Orsdale has written.
They are among the best of all Indians I have known.

HENRY E. NOYES,

Lieutenant-Colonel Second Cavalry, Commanding Post.

(Second indorsement.)

Headquarters Department of the Colorado,

Denver, Colo., July 25, 1895.
Respectfully forwarded to the Adjutant-General of the
Army.

The writer has had exceptional opportunity to familiarize
himself with the Bannock and Shoshone Indians.

From my knowledge of these Indians in 1872, and again
in 1879, I feel an interest in this matter, and hope that Captain
Van Orsdale 's recommendations and views may he favorably
considered.

FRANK WHEATON,
Brigadier-General, Commanding.

Report, dated July 24, 1895, from Thomas B. Teter, United
States Indian agent of Fort Hall Agency, Idaho :

"I have the honor to inform you that upon receipt of tele-
graphic instructions of the 17th instant I immediately pro-
ceeded to Marysvale, Uinta County, Wyo., and report as
follows upon the condition of affairs I found existing between
settlers and Indians from this and other reservations hunting
in that vicinity :

''I ascertained the number of Indians in the vicinity of
Marysvale to be from 200 to 300, about 50 of whom were Ban-
nock Indians from this reservation, all encamped in Hobacks
Canyon, or near Fall River, at a distance of 35 miles south-
east from Marysvale, in the Jackson Hole country.

"The Indians have for many years gone to the Jackson
Hole country in search of big game, and it is only since the
business of guiding tourists in search of big game has become
so remunerative that objection has been made to their hunting
in Wyoming.

"The treaty of the Bannock and Shoshone Indians with
the United States gives said Indians the right to hunt on the
unoccupied lands of the United States so long as game may
be found thereon and so long as peace subsists among the
whites and Indians on the borders of the hunting districts,
and the simple Indian mind can not grasp the idea that the
State of Wyoming can prevent the fulfillment by the United
States of the treaty with them.

"I ascertained that settlers last year stated that if Indians
returned for big game this season they would organize and

14 ANNALS OF WYOMING

wipe them out, the settlers looking upon big game as their
exclusive property and considering every elk killed by an
Indian a source of so much revenue lost to them. From re-
liable informants I have no hesitation in stating that for every
elk killed unlawfully by Indians two are killed unlawfully
by settlers (in this connection I will state I was fed upon
fresh-killed elk meat during my entire stay in the Jackson
Hole country), and were these Indians citizens and voters in
Wyoming enjoying similar privileges to settlers, their killing
game unlawfully would never be questioned.

"There are a few good citizens ranching in the Jackson
Hole country, the majority of the citizens being men 'who
have left their country for their country's good,' the Jackson
Hole country being recognized in this country as the place
of refuge for outlaws of every description from Wyoming,
Idaho, and adjacent States.

"The Indians killed by these settlers were practically
massacred. The Indians, to the number of 16, having been
arrested and disarmed, were taken before a justice of the
peace, naturally in sympathy with settlers, and fined $75 each.
The Indians being unable to pay the fine were herded like
sheep and treated in a manner calculated to arouse their re-
sentment, and which would not be tolerated by white men
similarly situated. One batch, disarmed, were being driven
by a body of armed settlers, and in passing over a trail where
the Indians had been accustomed to ride in freedom, made a
break for liberty, whereupon the guards opened fire at once
and killed from four to seven Indians, going on the principle
'a dead Indian is a good Indian.'

' ' The men who committed this crime should be prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the law and receive the severest penalty
the law can give, not only as an example to other lawless set-
tlers, but as a preventive of future disturbances between set-
tlers and Indians, for if justice is not done the Indians in this
case the Indians will seek revenge and a continuous border
warfare will be the result.

"A certain element among settlers in Jackson Hole coun-
try seems determined to drive the Indians from that section at
whatever cost, not recognizing any law themselves but that
which serves their interests; and when I left Marysvale 75 of
these men had organized, not for protection, but to attack the
Indians. I warned them to desist, and requested all good
citizens to use their influence to prevent this attack, stating
I would advise the Department immediately of the true situ-
ation.

"I, upon reaching telegraphic communication, advised you
to send troops to scene of trouble at once, considering if law-

INDIAN DISTURBANCES 15

less settlers carried out their intention of attacking Indians
innocent persons would suffer — Indians as well as whites —
and much property be destroyed ; considering also that the
ill feeling existing between settlers and Indians could not be
allayed without the presence of troops.

''I consider the Jackson Hole affair a preconcerted scheme,
on the part of a certain element among the settlers, to adopt
measures to induce the Department to prevent Indians from
revisiting Jackson Hole country ; settlers having informed me,
while I was in Marysvale, that Indians visiting Jackson Hole
country kept out hunting parties of tourists, which resulted
in a loss to them of many dollars ; a settler stating to me he
had made $800 last season guiding hunting parties, and that
the continual hunting by Indians in Jackson Hole country
would ruin his occupation."

Report, dated August 7, 1895, from Agent Teter :

''I have the honor to respectfully submit the Indian
version of the killing of Indians by settlers in Uinta County,
Wyo., on or about the 15th ultimo, and other matter in con-
nection with the affair.

"A hunting party of nine Indians, with their families and
camp equipage, encamped on the banks of a stream in Uinta
County, Wyo., were surrounded by an armed body of settlers,
numbering twenty-seven, who demanded of the Indians their
arms. The Indians, upon surrendering their arms, were sepa-
rated into two parties ; the males, under a guard, were placed
in the advance, while their families, pack animals, etc., also
guarded, were placed in the rear about 50 yards.

"The Indians, roughly treated, were driven throughout
the day they knew not where, and as evening closed in the
party approached a dense Avood, upon which the leader of the
settlers spoke to his men, and they examined their arms,
loading all empty chambers. The Indian women and children,
observing this action, commenced wailing, thinking the Indian
men were to be killed, which idea prevailed among the Indian
men, who passed the word one to another to run when the
woods were reached.

"Upon reaching the woods the Indians, concluding their
last hour had come, made a break for liberty; whereupon the
settlers without warning opened fire, the Indians seeing two
of their number drop from their horses. During the melee the
Indian women and children scattered in every direction, aban-
doning their pack animals.

"The following morning the Indians, having gathered
together, found they were minus two men and two papooses,
and revisiting the scene of the shooting, could not find their
people or their belongings, upon which they returned to the

16 ANNALS OF WYOMING

reservation, very fortunately meeting with other Indians who
provided them with food.

"One of the two men supposed to have been killed was
recently discovered by scouts. He had been shot through the
body from the back, the ball lodging in his left forearm, and
he had crawled to a point several miles distant from the place
of the shooting, subsisting for seventeen days upon the food
which he had in his wallet at the time he was shot.

"The body of the dead Indian was discovered in the
woods near the place of the shooting, and, upon my recent visit
to Jacksons Hole, Indian scouts were sent to bury the body.
The Indians state of the man killed, an old man, that his
horse's bridle was seized by a settler whilst another settler
shot him down.

' ' Of the two papooses lost one was found alive and taken
to Fort Washakie by some Mormons; the other papoose, being
only six months old, has undoubtedly perished.

"A man named Smith reports having killed two Indians
in Jacksons Hole. The truth of this report I was not able to
ascertain, the settlers evincing an intensely bitter feeling to-
ward me, threats of hanging me, etc., being made, and refusing
to give me the desired information.

"General Coppinger stated he would thoroughly investi-
gate the Smith affair before he left Jacksons Hole, for me.

"I have the names of the 27 settlers who were engaged
in the killing of the 15th instant, and I will respectfully
recommend that this affair be investigated by the Department
of Justice with a view to the prosecution of the guilty parties.

"I have recently given much thought tending to a per-
manent solution of this vexed Indian question, and can reach
no definite conclusion which would not require Congressional
action.

"The governor of Wyoming assuring settlers that they
would be backed by him in their efforts to drive the Indians
out and in keeping the Indians out of Wyoming, in my opinion,
renders some decisive action imperatively necessary before
the troops leave Jacksons Hole. The Indians, considering their
treaty rights give to them the privilege of hunting in certain
sections of Wyoming, will go hunting after harvest with or
without my consent."

No report has yet been received from the authorities of
the State of Wyoming as to this matter, but for the purposes
of history I deem it proper to quote at length an article in
New York Evening Post of August 2, which purports to give
a true account of the killing, as follows:

"It turns out as we had anticipated. At all events a war
correspondent of the World, who has penetrated to the seat of

INDIAN DISTUKBANCES 17

hostilities, so reports. He has interviewed a number of people
at Jacksons Hole, including the man who did the shooting
or ordered it to be done. From these sources of information
it is learned that on the 7th of June a report came in that
certain Bannocks were shooting elk in violation of the game
laws of Wyoming. A warrant was issued for their arrest and
placed in the hands of Constable William Manning, who se-
lected twelve deputies and started out to find the trespassers.
They found one Indian, named George, with several green
hides in his possession. He was brought in, put on trial, con-
victed, and fined $15. The fine was paid, and the hides were
confiscated.

"On the 24th of June news came of further hunting by
Indians. Another expedition was fitted out for their arrest,
but they were found to be in such large numbers that it was
deemed imprudent to attempt to bring them in. The constable
and his men, however, moved freely among them and ordered
them to desist, but according to the report which they brought
back the trespassers were saucy and said they would hunt
as much as they pleased.

"Another attempt to arrest them was made on the 10th of
July, when Manning started out with twenty-five deputies.
They surprised an Indian camp at Fall River basin and ar-
rested the male members, ten in number. All the parties, con-
stables and Indians, and also the squaws, were mounted. The
Indians were disarmed and placed in such a way that each one
was preceded and followed by an armed white man, while
armed white men rode alongside at certain intervals. Manning
says that he had reason to think that the prisoners would try
to escape, and that he gave orders if they did so to shoot their
horses. Being asked if he gave orders to shoot the horses but
not the Indians, he said 'No; I said nothing about the Indians
themselves ; I simply said to shoot the horses first. The men
understood that they had a right to shoot the Indians if there
was no other means of preventing an escape.' Then the follow-
ing colloquy took place, which puts the matter in a perfectly
clear light:

"Do I understand that these Indians were arrested, charged
with an offense the maximum penalty for which is a fine of
$10 and three months' imprisonment; that the men had not
been tried, and that you consider that, in the event of their
attempting to escape from your custody, vou had the right
to kill them?

"I would consider that my right, particularly with Indians,
they being savages and likely to do harm themselves and to
resist with arms. I believe I would have the right, considering
this, to order the men to shoot them.

18 ANNALS OF WYOMING

"But I understand you to say you had satisfied yourself
that they had no arms upon them?

"That is correct as near as we could determine as to their
having arms.

"The sequel is already known. An attempt was made to
escape. The Indians were shot, some killed, some wounded,
but no horse was hurt; that would have been a wanton waste
of property.

"This is the white man's side of the case. The Indians
have not been heard yet, except that one of them who was
wounded tried to conceal the fact lest he should be put to
death also. If the facts are correctly reported this was a case
of massacre with premeditation. We trust that all .the means
at the disposal of the Indian Rights Association as well as the
means at the disposal of the Government will be employed to
bring the assassins to justice. As to the 'Bannock War,' there
is no such thing. The Bannocks are only a handful, and they
have lived at peace with the whites for seventeen years. The
survivors of them are only anxious to save their own lives,
and well they may be, considering how the white man's law is
executed in Wyoming."

From unofficial sources it is known that the Indians re-
turned to their reservation before the United States troops
reached the "scene of devastation."

As the truth became known, there came a rapid change of
public sentiment in favor of the Indians, who were found to be
the wronged parties, and against the lawless whites who had
done all the killing that occurred at Jacksons Hole. Instead
of the Bannocks declaring war, massacring whites, burning
homes, with settlers fleeing for their lives, etc., they have, in
the opinion of this office, been made the victims of a planned
Indian outbreak by the lawless whites infesting the Jacksons
Hole country with the idea of causing their extermination or
their removal from that neighborhood. The Bannocks while
peaceably hunting in that country were arrested by whites,
who disarmed them and killed or shot several while they were
trying to escape. Much to the credit of the incensed Indians,
they returned peaceably to their reservation without retaliat-
ing in any manner upon the whites. Not a white person was
harmed, nor did they indulge in any act of violence toward
the settlers.

The newspapers throughout the country and many promi-
nent and philanthropic persons have denounced this killing
of Indians by the whites in Jacksons Hole as" an outrage and
murder which should not be allowed to go unpunished, and
they have urged that a searching official investigation be made
by the government of this entire affair, to the end that the
guilty whites may be brought to justice.

INDIAN DISTUEBANCES 19

The Bannocks themselves have repeatedly been promised
that their wrongs should be thoroughly investigated and justice
done them by the Government, and doubtless these assurances
have had much to do in keeping them quiet thus far. There
are, however, some of them that are eager for revenge upon
the whites for the killing of their people, as is shown by the
following telegram of August 14 from Agent Teter :

"Certain Indians state they will go to Jacksons Hole for
purpose of hunting as soon as haying season is over, claiming
they will starve during the coming winter if they do not kill
game at this season for winter subsistence, and that they have
a right to hunt in Jacksons Hole. In my opinion it is abso-
lutely necessary to keep the Indians on the reservation even
if they are justified in going to Jacksons Hole, as they seem
determined to have revenge upon settlers. Will go prepared
for that purpose, and are discussing plans to that end.

"The best solution of this affair I can present is to enter
into the contract for the big ditch on the reservation as soon
as possible, which will give the Indians employment and an
opportunity to earn money with which to provide for them-
selves through the winter. The Indians must be given employ-
ment or increased rations, as they cannot subsist without food
obtained from hunting until water is put on the reservation,
when they will be practically self-supporting.

"Will request you to wire me what I can state to the
Indians relative to increased rations or employment should
they remain on the reservation. ->

In reply this office telegraphed the agent, August 16, the
following :

"Tell the Indians I do not want them to go off the reser-
vation hunting this summer or fall, but want them to remain
at home and continue their work, and if they will do this, I
will increase their rations when needed and called for by you
to keep them through the winter.

"I also want to have work on Idaho Canal begun before
long so that Indians can get employment and be paid for it.
The friends of the Indians all over the country are watching
the conduct of the Indians with deep interest and are anxious
that they comply with my wishes and plans, knowing that I
will do what is best for them. If they break away from me
and do not permit me to manage for them, they will lose their
friends and the mistake will be disastrous to them."

In reply to the above telegram the agent reported. Au-
gust 20, as follows :

"In reply to your telegram of the 16th instant relative to
increasing the Indians' rations and giving them employment,
I have the honor to respectfully recommend that the Indians

20 ANNALS OF WYOMING

of this agency be given increased rations at once and employ-
ment as soon as possible.

"The Indians at present receive the following rations
weekly: 2,880 pounds of flour; 4,800 pounds beef, gross, or
2,300 pounds beef, net; 150 pounds sugar; 75 pounds coffee.

"According to the census taken for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1895, the Indians on this reservation number 1,440,
and I will respectfully recommend the above table of rations
be increased as follows, on the basis of weekly issues: 5,040
pounds flour, or 3% pounds per individual; 14,400 pounds
beef, gross, or about 5 pounds net, per individual ; 480 pounds
sugar, or one-third pound per individual; 240 pounds coffee,
or one-sixth pound per individual.

"Should the recommended increase in rations meet with
your approval, I will respectfully request you to telegraph me
authority to issue same."

This office, in reply to the agent's request, sent him the
following telegram, August 31 :

"Issue rations as requested in your letter of 20th. Report
how long increase is to continue, how long present supply will
last at increased rate. Estimate for what additional supply
will be needed."

The agent, as requested, made the desired estimate for the
additional supply of rations on September 3, and was advised
by this office September 12, 1895, as follows :

"You are advised that the superintendent of the New
York Indian warehouse has this day been directed to order,
under existing contracts, the following articles (called for in
your estimate of 3rd instant), and to ship them to your agency
(for issue to Indians during current fiscal year) at the earliest
practical date, viz: 13,000 pounds sugar; 6,500 pounds coffee;
540 pounds baking powder, in one-quarter pound tins.

"The Honorable Secretary of the Interior has also been
requested to authorize you to publish an advertisement invit-
ing proposals for furnishing and delivering the gross beef
and flour called for in said estimate, and when said authority
shall have been granted you, you will be duly notified.

"The gross beef and flour contracts will be increased 25
per cent, as requested, and you will be informed when con-
tractors are notified."

The authority above referred to was granted in Depart-
ment letter of September 14, and the agent duly notified of
the same September 17.

To briefly summarize the facts in the case so far as is
shown by the official reports that have reached this office :
The Bannock and Shoshone Indians have been in the habit
for many years past of going to the Jackson Hole country to
hunt game for subsistence. They have been guaranteed by

INDIAN DISTURBANCES 21

treaty with the United States the right to hunt upon the
unoccupied lands of the United States so long as game may
be found thereon and so long as peace subsists among the
whites and Indians on the borders of the hunting districts.
The settlers of the country bordering this game region have
looked upon the said hunting grounds as their own exclusive
property, and for the past two years have been steadily com-
plaining through official and unofficial sources to this office
to the end that the Indians might be kept out. The Indians,
through their respective agents, have been repeatedly warned
against the wanton killing of game. Further, the settlers
have claimed that the Indians hunted and killed game in
violation of the game laws of the State of Wyoming ; and it
would appear that they had at last organized a scheme to
drive the Indians from these hunting grounds regardless of
consequences.

The first serious affair occurred on or about July 15, 1895,
when a hunting party of nine Bannocks with their families, en-
camped on the banks of a stream in Uinta County, "Wyo., were
surrounded by an armed body of settlers, numbering twenty-
seven, who disarmed all of the Indians and "drove" them
all day in single file closely guarded. In the evening the
Indians, who had been roughly treated during the day, became
frightened, and supposing they were all to be shot, made a
dash for their liberty. The settlers without any warning fired
upon them, killing one outright and badly wounding another.
Two papooses were lost, one of which was afterwards found
alive, the other no doubt having perished, or been killed.

The Shoshone and Bannock Indians have the right under
their treaty1 of July 3, 1868 (15 Stats., 673), to hunt on unoc-
cupied lands of the United States, the fourth article of which
treaty provides as follows :

"The Indians herein named agree, when the agency house
and other buildings shall be constructed on their reservations

1. The language used in treaties with the Indians should never be
construed to their prejudice. * * * How the Avords of the treaty were
understood by these unlettered people rather than their critical meaning
should form the rule of construction. (Worcester v. Georgia, 6 Peters,
515.)

A treaty is the supreme law of the land, binding upon the courts
as much as an act of Congress. (United States v. Peggv, 5 U. S., 103;
Strother v. Lucas, 12 Peters, 410.)

In this respect a treaty with an Indian tribe, or with two or more
Indian tribes, stands with treaties with foreign countries. A treaty with
an Indian tribe is the supreme law of the land. Courts can not annul its
effect or operation. (Fellows v. Blacksmith, 19 How., 366.)

Every treaty made by the authority of the United States is superior
to the constitution and laws of any individual State. If a law of a
State is contrary to a treaty it is void. (Ware v. Hylton, 3 Dall., 199;
Hauenstein v. Lynham. 100* U. S., 483.)

22 ANNALS OF WYOMING

named, they will make said reservations their permanent home
and they will make no permanent settlement elsewhere; but
they shall have the right to hunt on the unoccupied lands of
the United States so long as game may be found thereon and
so long as peace subsists among the whites and Indians on
the borders of the hunting districts."

The Shoshone and Bannock Indians knew nothing about
what is known now in the game laws of the various States as
a "closed season," during which hunting is prohibited by law.
Their treaty must be construed therefore as to mean that these
Indians should have the right to hunt on unoccupied lands of the
United States where game may be found and at any and all
times of the year. The laws of the State of Wyoming which
prohibit hunting within the State for certain kinds of game
during certain months must be construed in the light of the
treaty granting rights to these Indians to hunt on the unoc-
cupied lands within the State, so far as they apply to the
Shoshone and Bannock Indians. It is not competent for the
State to pass any law which would modify, limit, or in any
way abridge the right of the Indians to hunt as guaranteed
by the treaty. The fact, as shown in the official correspondence
above quoted, that the Bannock Indians, against whom com-
plaint was made and against whom the people of Jacksons Hole
country have been so theatening in their demonstrations, were
encamped 35 or 40 miles from any settlement in a wild and
almost impenetrable country would indicate that this section
of the country was unoccupied lands of the United States, and
that the Indians therefore had a perfect right, and violated
no law, in being there to hunt game for subsistence.

It is shown by the official reports from Agent Teter and
army officers that the Bannock Indians were not engaged in a
wanton killing of game, but that they were in that section of
country for the purpose of hunting for subsistence and to pre-
pare against the approaching winter. This they had a perfect
right to do, and the action of the authorities of Wyoming in
arresting some of them under provisions of the laws of that
State and imposing fines under said laws was unlawful, as
was held by the Supreme Court in Hauenstein v. Lynham :
"If the law of a State is contrary to a treaty it is void."
Therefore for the purpose to which the laws of Wyoming were
applied by the authorities of that State, viz, to prohibit the
Bannock Indians from hunting on unoccupied lands of the
United States therein and to punish them therefor, the game
laws of the State of Wyoming are absolutely null and void,
and the authorities of the State took this action on their own
responsibility and were trespassers on the rights of the Indians
to that extent. (See Poindexter v. Greenhow, Virginia coupon
cases, 114 U. S., 270.) The fines imposed upon them.

INDIAN DISTURBANCES 23

the confiscation of their property, and the imprisonment of
some are all illegal, for which the United States would seem
to be responsible to the Indians under article 1 of the said
treaty of 1868, which provides, among other things, as follows :

If bad among the whites, or any other people subject to
the authority of the United States, shall commit any wrong
upon the person or property of the Indians, the United States
will, upon proof made to the agent and forwarded to the Com-
missioner of Indian Affairs at Washington City, proceed at
once to cause the offenders to be arrested and punished ac-
cording to the laws of the United States, and also reimburse the
injured person for the loss sustained.

If, as seems to me to be the case under the decisions of
the Supreme Court, the laws of the State of Wyoming under
which these arrests were made, and fines, confiscations, and
imprisonments imposed, are void for the purpose, the acts of
the authorities of Wyoming in this regard are to lie construed
in the same light as if they had been the acts of persons not
holding any official relation to the government of the State, and
as wrongs committed upon the person and property of the
Indians by the people subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States, and therefore this Government might be held responsi-
ble under the treaty.

It appears from reports that the Indians not only suffered
arrests, fines, loss of their property, and imprisonment, but
that, at least, one of them lost his life at the hands of these
white people, alleged officers of the State of Wyoming ; another
was wounded and one child was lost, probably perished in the
forests. The killing of this Indian can not be held to be any-
thing less than murder, for it appears from the most reliable
accounts received in this office that the so-called deputy sheriffs
had, in anticipation of an attempt to escape, agreed between
them to shoot their prisoners, although they had been arrested
and charged with simply a misdemeanor punishable by a small
fine under the laws of the State. The Indians say that when
they made their break for liberty they were led to believe by
the action of their captors that they were preparing to kill
them, and it seems from the newspaper clipping above quoted
from the New York Evening Post, that the apprehensions of
the Indians were not without some ground, for the officer in
charge of the deputies stated that he considered that he had
a right to kill an Indian who had been arrested for an offense
the maximum penalty for which is a fine of $10 and three
months' imprisonment if such Indian attempted to escape,
even though he had not been tried.

Recommendation was made in my report of August IT.
1895, that the entire matter be referred to the Department of
Justice with the request that a thorough and exhaustive in-

24 ANNALS OF WYOMING

vesigation be made into the affair with the view to taking-
such action as might be deemed expedient and lawful for the
punishment of the parties guilty of wronging the Indians.

The case was submitted to the Attorney-General of the
United States, who stated, August 23 last, that he had tele-
graphed the United States attorney for Wyoming, directing
him to apply for writs of habeas corpus in case any Indians
were confined at Evanston by the State authorities ; and that he
was not aware of any law under which the Department of
Justice could assist in obtaining redress for the Indians who
had paid their fines, "or in punishing, civilly or criminally,
the persons who have done them injury, even the murderers."

August 30, 1895, the Acting Attorney-General stated that
he was informed by the United States attorney for the district
of "Wyoming August 23, 1895, that he had been unable to learn
that any Indians were then under confinement for alleged
violation of Wyoming game laws, and that the Bannock In-
dians who had been imprisoned had been allowed to escape
by the authorities at Marysvale. In regard to a report con-
cerning the outrages on the Indians made to him by one of
the Government employees in Wyoming, whom he regarded as
capable, observant, and trustworthy, the district attorney said :

"From the statements made by him, and from other sources
of information, I have no doubt whatever that the killing of the
Indian Ta ne ga on, on or about the 13th of July, was an atroci-
ous, outrageous, and cold-blooded murder, and that it was a
murder perpetrated on the part of the constable, Manning,
and his deputies in pursuance of a scheme and conspiracy on
their part to prevent the Indians from exercising a right and
privilege which is, in my opinion, very clearly guaranteed to
them by the treaty before mentioned. ' '

The Acting Attorney-General, in closing, said : • ' There is,
however, unfortunately no statute of the United States under
which this Department can afford any assistance." He in-
closed a copy of the report in the case forwarded by the United
States district attorney, which reads as follows :

"A careful investigation of the whole affair will, I am
certain, result in showing the correctness of the following
statements, which are made after personally interviewing a
number of the leading participants in the trouble, both among
the Indians and the Jacksons Hole settlers, and by noting the
exact condition of affairs in the region relative to the habits
of the Indians, the settlers, etc.

"First. I desire to state that the reports made by settlers
charging the Indians with wholesale slaughter of game for
wantonness or for the purpose of securing the hides of the
animals killed have been very much exaggerated. During my
stay in Jacksons Hole I visited many portions of the district

INDIAN DISTURBANCES 25

and saw no evidence of such slaughter. Lieutenants Gardner,
Parker, and Jackson, of the Ninth United States Cavalry, who
conducted scouting parties of troops through all portions of
Jacksons Hole, also found this to be the case. No carcasses or
remains of elk were found in quantities to justify such charges.
On August 12, I visited a camp of Bannock Indians who had
been on a hunting trip in Jacksons Hole until ordered by the
troops to return to their reservation. I found the Indian women
of the party preparing the meat of seven or eight elk for winter
use, drying and ' jerking ' it. Every particle of flesh had been
taken from the bones, even the tough portions of the neck be-
ing preserved. The sinews and entrails were saved, the former
for making threads for making gloves and clothing, and the
latter for casings. The hides were being prepared for tanning ;
the brains had been eaten ; some of the bones had been broken
and the marrow taken out and others were being kept to make
whip handles and pack-saddle crosstrees. In fact every part
of the animal was being utilized either for future food supply
or possible source of profit.

"Second. In connection with the troubles between the
Indians and the whites, I spent some time inquiring into the
causes for the unconcealed hostility of the Jacksons Hole
people against the Indians, I found little or no complaint among
the settlers of offensive manners on the part of the Indians.
Except in rare instances they have kept away from the houses
of the settlers and have not been in the habit of begging. In
no instance has there ever been a well-authenticated case where
a settler has been molested by an Indian.

"About twenty-five of the Jacksons Hole settlers are pro-
fessional guides for tourists and hunting parties visiting the
region from other States and from abroad. The business is
very profitable, guides sometimes making sufficient money in
the short hunting season to keep them through the remainder
of the year. These guides, while most of them have small
ranches, make stock raising, or the cultivation of their places,
a secondary consideration, and make the business of guiding
tourists, or 'dudes' as they are called in the region, their prin-
cipal occupation. The killing of game by the Indians and by
the increasing number of 'dude' hunters threatens to so deplete
the region of big game, deer, elk. moose, etc., as to jeopardize
the occupation of the guides.

"It was decided at the close of last season to keep the
Indians out of the region this year, and the events of this sum-
mer are the results of carefully prepared plans. Mr. Petti-
grew, United States commissioner at Marysvale. said: 'At our
last election the question of keeping out the Indians was the
most important one we had to deal with, and the township
officers elected, constable and justice of the peace, were selected

26 ANNALS OF WYOMING

because we knew they would take decided steps to help us
keep the Indians out.' Constable Manning said: 'We knew
very well when we started in on this thing that we would bring
matters to a head. We knew someone was going to be killed,
perhaps some on both sides, and we decided the sooner it was
done the better, so that we could get the matter before the
courts. '

"Third. If a full investigation of the Jacksons Hole affair
should be had the fact will be established that when Constable
Manning and his posse of 26 settlers arrested a party of In-
dians on July 13 and started with them for Marysvale, he and
his men did all they could to tempt the Indians to try to escape
in order that there might be a basis of justification for killing
some of them. On July 4 a party of eight Bannocks was ar-
rested on Rock Creek near the head of Green River and taken
to Marysvale, where six of the party were fined $75 each and
costs, the total amount of fine and costs being about $1,400.
This the Indians were unable to pay, and they were placed
under guard to await instructions as to their disposal. The
county authorities from whom the information was asked
failed to reply to the inquiries of the Jacksons Hole officers,
who at once relaxed guard duty over the Indians who escaped
from custody.

"The next arrest of Indians was made July 13. Constable
Manning and 26 deputies surrounded a camp of 10 bucks and
13 squaws at night, and early in the morning with guns leveled
at the Indians made the arrest, the Indians offering no resis-
tance. The arrest was made on Fall River, 55 miles from
Marysvale. The warrant was for Bannock and Shoshone In-
dians, the names and number of the Indians to be arrested not
being stated. After the arrest was made, the arms, meat and
other articles in the possession of the Indians were taken from
them. Constable Manning also took their passes, ration checks,
etc. These papers gave the names and residence of most of the
Indians. From an interview with Nemits, an Indian boy, who
was one of the party of Indians arrested and shot, and from in-
terviews with several of Mr. Manning's posse, I learned that
the constable and his men told the Indians some of them would
be hung and some would be sent to jail and that this was be-
lieved by the Indians. The constable also said in the hearing of
the Indians, some of whom understood English, that if the
Indians attempted to escape the men should shoot their horses.

"If the truth of the matter can be reached it will be found
that the captors did not care particular^ about getting their
prisoners safely to Marysvale, where the same formality of
fining them and then having to let them escape would result,
as in the previous case, but on the contrary tempted the Indians
to try to escape, first, by making them believe if they tried to

INDIAX DISTURBANCES 27

escape their horses only, and not they, would be shot. The
Indians are in many respects like children, and are very
credulous. They believed the threats of being sent to jail
and of being hung were true, and they saw no trick in Man-
ning's instructions, given in their hearing, to shoot their
horses if they tried to get away.

"In an interview with Constable Manning he was asked
why he did not tie the Indians on their horses and thus effec-
tively prevent their escape. He said in reply : ' The trail was
a dangerous one and if a horse fell the Indian tied on might
get hurt and I would have been censured.' Asked why it was
necessary to kill the escaping prisoners when he knew their
names and addresses and could have subsequently obtained his
prisoners by going to the Fort Hall Agency for them, he said :
'The agent would probably refuse to give up the Indians if
any demand were made for them.'

"From Mr. Manning I learned that none of the horses of
the escaping party of Indians were shot, notwithstanding his
order, but that at least six' Indians were hit by bullets. Of
these, Timeha, an old man, was killed ; Nemits, a boy of about
20, was wounded so that he could not escape, and the others
got away. Constable Manning said to me: 'The old Indian
was killed about 200 yards from the trail. He was shot in the
back and bled to death. He would have been acquitted had
he come in and stood his trial, for he was an old man, almost
blind, and his gun was not fit to kill anything.'

"When the body of this old, sick, blind man was found
after lying unburied in the woods for about twenty days it Avas
found he had been shot four times in the back. The boy.
Nemits, who was wounded, was shot through the body and
arm. He was left on the ground where the shooting occurred,
and remained there, living on some dried meat for ten days.
He crawled for three nights to reach a ranch of a man friendly
to Indians, and was seventeen days without medical attendance.

"The whole affair was, 1 believe, a premeditated and pre-
arranged plan to kill some Indians and thus stir up sufficient
trouble to subsequently get United States troops into the region
and ultimately have the Indians shut out from Jacksons Hole.
The plan was successfully carried out and the desired results
obtained. It would, however, be but an act of simple justice
to bring the men who murdered the Indian, Timega, to trial.
I would state, however, in this connection that there are no
Officials in Jacksons Hole — county. State, or national — who
would hold any of Manning's posse for trial. Either the anti-
Indian proclivities of these officials or the fear of opposing the
dominating sentiment of the community on this question
would lead them to discharge all of these men should they be
brought before them for a hearing."

28 ANNALS OF WYOMING

August 19, 1895, Agent Teter telegraphed this office as
follows :

"Bannock Indians are very sullen and very much dissatis-
fied. Have recently had several brawls with whites, and if
another Indian is killed an outbreak is liable to occur ; and I
will advise as a precautionary measure that soldiers be sta-
tioned on reservation until Indians quiet down. Signal fires
have been burning on the highest points of the reservation for
several nights.

"Your telegram promising Indians increased rations and
employment did not placate them. They still demand privi-
lege of hunting."

The War Department was thereupon advised of this in-
formation, which was transmitted to Brigadier-General Cop-
pinger, who stationed a small military force on the reservation,
to remain until the Indians become quieted down.

On August 26, 1895, the agent telegraphed:

"Consider it necessary for purpose of allaying discontent
among Indians to send party of Indians into Jacksons Hole to
obtain their property held by settlers, and will request author-
ity to have an employee accompany them. Answer."

This was also submitted to the War Department for an
opinion as to the advisability of allowing these Indians to go
to the scene of the late troubles for the purposes indicated.
The Secretary of War, September 7, 1895, stated that the mat-
ter had been referred to Brig. Gen. J. J. Coppinger, command-
ing Department of the Platte, who reported as follows :

"These Bannocks have an undoubted right to seek their
property illegally held by white men in Jacksons Hole. If
the Bannocks go there without proper guard they run the risk
of being again shot at, or again arrested under cover of war-
rant, by the rustlers. The commanding officer of the troops
now at Fort Hall Agency can furnish the necessary men for
guard or escort. If these Bannocks go to Jacksons Hole they
should be placed in charge of a discreet and experienced em-
ployee of the Indian Bureau ; one accustomed to deal with
both Indians and rustlers; this in order to guard against
further bloodshed and consequent complications."

The Secretary of War concurred in the views expressed
by Brigadier General Coppinger, and this office therefore in-
structed Agent Teter, on September 11, 1895, that a party of
not to exceed eight Bannocks might be permitted to make the
proposed trip to recover their property taken by whites, pro-
vided they were accompanied by himself or a trusted and
competent agency employee, and by a proper escort of soldiers.
Recommendation was therefore made that the War Department
be requested to issue such orders as might be necessary for
the required escort of United States troops.

INDIAN DISTUEBANCES 29

In view of the provisions contained in Article I of the
treaty of the United States with these Indians, this office, Au-
gust 27, 1895, addressed the following letter to their agent :

Article 1 of the treaty with the Eastern Band of Shoshones
and the Bannock tribe of Indians, concluded July 3, 1868 (15
Stats., 673), provides as follows:

* * * "If had men among the whites, or among other
people subject to the authority of the United States, shall
commit any wrong upon the person or property of the Indians,
the United States will, upon proof made to the agent and
forwarded to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Wash-
ington City, proceed at once to cause the offender to be ar-
rested and punished according to the laws of the United
States, and also reimburse the injured person for the loss
sustained.'' * * *

I desire you to obtain, at the earliest practicable date,
such proof as you may be able to procure of the wrongs com-
mitted upon the persons and property of the Bannock Indians
in the Jacksons Hole country, and forward the same to this
office. Affidavits of the Indians against whom the offenses
were committed and of eyewitnesses or persons knowing to
the facts, will answer the purpose.

The agent replied September 3, 1895, transmitting two
affidavits from certain of the Indians, which read as follows:

COUNTY OF BINGHAM, State of Idaho, ss:

Personally before me appeared Eavenel Macbeth, who,
being duly sworn, deposeth and says that he is employed as
chief clerk at Fort Hall Agency, Idaho, and while on duty
in that capacity he accompanied U. S. Indian Agent Thomas
B. Teter to Marysvale (Jacksons Hole), Uintah County, Wyo-
ming, to assist in conducting an investigation relative to the
killing of certain Bannock Indians by citizens of the State of
Wyoming ; that in an official conversation with one Frank H.
Rhoads, justice of the peace, he (Rhoads) said to me that before
issuing warrants for the arrest of the Bannock Indians who
were hunting in Wyoming, he (Rhoads) wrote to Governor
Richards, of Wyoming, requesting instructions and asking if
he (Rhoads) could depend upon him (Governor Richards') to
protect him (Rhoads) in the event of trouble with the United
States authorities over the arrest of said Bannock Indians:
and that said Governor Richards wrote him (Rhoads), " direct-
ing him to enforce the laws of Wyoming, to put the Indians
out of Jackson's Hole, and to keep them out at all costs, to
depend upon him for protection, and that he (Governor Rich-
ards) would see him through,*' whereupon he (Rhoads) acted.
Further deponent saith not.

RAVENEL MACBETH.

30 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 3rd day of Sep-
tember, 1895.

P. H. RAY,
Captain, Eighth Infantry, Summary Court Officer.
Witness :

DAN'L T. WELLS,

Captain, Eighth Infantry.
CAMP UNITED STATES TROOPS,
Fort Hall Agency, Idaho.

COUNTY OF BINGHAM, State of Idaho, ss:

Personally appeared before me Ben Senowin, a Bannock
Indian, who, being duly sworn, deposeth and says: That he is
the head of a clan, and that on or about July 15, 1895, while
hunting on unoccupied Government lands east of Jacksons
Hole, in the county of Uinta, State of Wyoming, under a pass
from the U. S. Indian agent at Fort Hall Agency, and provi-
sions of article 4 of the treaty with the Shoshones (Eastern
band) and Bannock Indians, dated July 3, 1868, and ratified
February 16, 1869, in company with Nemuts, Wa ha she go,
Ya pa ojo, Poo dat, Pah gob zite, Mah mout, Se we a gat,
Boo wah go, thirteen women and five children, all Bannock
Indians, were, while in camp, feloniously assaulted and by force
of arms attacked by a party of twenty-seven white men, and
having been made under threat of death to give up all of their
arms, consisting of seven rifles and ammunition, were marched
thirty miles, more or less, in the direction of the white settle-
ment ; that during the afternoon of the aforesaid date, while
passing through a belt of timber, the deponent saw several
of the white men placing cartridges in their rifles and believ-
ing his own life and the lives of the members of his party to
be in danger, called upon his people to run and escape, where-
upon the white men, without just cause or provocation, com-
menced to fire with rifles loaded with ball cartridges upon
him, the deponent, and his people ; that he, the deponent, saw
one Indian named Se we a gat fall dead, killed by said fire,
and one Nemuts wounded, and that one infant was lost while
they were escaping and has not since been found ; and deponent
further saith himself and his party were by force of arms of
said party of white men and by threats of instant death feloni-
ously deprived and robbed of the following articles of per-
sonal property, to wit : Seven rifles, twenty saddles, twenty
blankets, one horse, nine packs of meat, and nine tepees, more
or less ; and deponent further saith that neither he or any of
his people were told why or by what authority they were as-
saulted ; that he is not aware that either he or any of his party
had committed any offense against the laws of any State or
the United States; or that he or any of his party ever at-

INDIAN DISTURBANCES 31

tempted or offered any violence, or had made any threats
against the life or property of any white man ; that the white
man never gave him or his party any hearing, or asked him or
his party any questions through an interpreter or otherwise;
that neither he or any of his party were ever called upon to
answer or plead in any court of justice or make answer to
anv charge whatsoever.

BEX (his x mark) SENOWIN.
Witness :

RAVENEL MACBETH.

Sworn and subscribed to before me this 1st day of Sep-
tember, 1895.

P. H. RAY,
Captain, Eighth Infantry, Summary Court Officer.
CAMP UNITED STATES TROOPS,
Fort Hall Agency, Idaho.

I certify on honor that the following names were given
me by Frank H. Rhoads, J. P., as the names of the men who
committed the assault put forth in the foregoing affidavit :
J. G. Fisk, Ham Wort, Steve Adams, Joe Calhoun, William
Crawford, Ed. Crawford, Martin Nelson, Joe Enfinger, W.
Hunger, Ed. Hunter, Frank Woods, Frank Peterson, Jack
Shive, George Madison, Andrew Madison, M. V. Giltner,
Charles Estes, James Estes, Tom Estes, George Wilson, John
Wilson, Erv Wilson, Victor Gustavse, Steve Leek, William
Bellvne and John Cherrey, and William Manning.

Thos. B. Teter, U. S. Indian Agent.

COUNTY OF BINGHAM, State of Idaho, ss:

Personally appeared before me Nemuts, Boo wah go,
Ya pa ojo, Mah mout, Wa ha she go, Poo dat, and Pah goh zite,
Bannock Indians, who being duly sworn, deposeth and say that
they have heard the interpreter read to them the foregoing
affidavit of Ben Senowin ; that they were present and know
of their own knowledge the statement set forth is true to the
best of their knowledge and belief.

NEMUTS (his x mark).

BOO WAH GO (his x mark).

YAPA OJO (his x mark).

MAH MOUT (his x mark).

WA HA SHE GO (his x mark).

POO DAT (his x mark).

PAH GOH ZITE (his x mark).
Witnesses :

RAVENEL MACBETH.
TOMMY COSGROVE.

32 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Sworn and subscribed to before me this 1st day of Sep-
tember, 1895.

P. H. RAY,
Captain, Eighth Infantry, Summary Court Officer.
CAMP UNITED STATES TROOPS,

Fort Hall Agency, Idaho.
Witness :

DAN'L T. WELLS,

Captain, Eighth Infantry.

Report was thereupon made to the Department Septem-
ber 11, 1895, inclosing a copy of the above affidavits.

As shown by Article I, heretofore quoted, of the treaty
of these Indians with the United States, concluded July 3,
1868 (15 Stats., 673), this Government is bound, under the said
treaty provisions, to cause the offenders' arrest and punish-
ment according to the laws of the L^nited States, and also to
reimburse the injured persons for loss sustained. The proof
necessary, as stipulated in the said Article I, is now before the
Department, and, in the opinion of this office, no means should
be left untried and no efforts be spared by the Department
to the end that the treaty provisions with these Indians may
be faithfully carried out and good faith kept with them on the
part of the Government.

In view of the above, and of the fact that these Indians
are still sullen and very much dissatisfied with the action
already had in the case, and urge that the guilty whites be
punished, it was submitted in my said report of September
11. 1895, whether or not something could be done by the De-
partment of Justice toward punishing the offenders.

In the Report of the Board of Indian Commissioner, AVash-
ington, D. C, January 1896, we find the following:

Jacksons Hole*

The details of the troubles at Jacksons Hole, Wyoming,
are so fully set forth in the reports of the Commissioner and
Secretary and in the public press that we need not dwell
upon them at length. It is now well understood that the alarm-
ing reports spread abroad of threatened massacres by the
Bannock Indians were false ; that no white persons were in-
jured or in danger, and that the only victims of the disturbance
were Indians, one of whom was cruelly murdered in cold blood,
and, as the district attorney affirms, ' ' in pursuance of a scheme
and conspiracy to prevent the Indians from exercising a right
and privilege which is very clearly guaranteed to them by
treaty." This right to hunt has been sustained by the United

*Ibid., p. 991.

INDIAN DISTURBANCES 33

States district court, which, in a test case, decided and "held
the laws of Wyoming- invalid against the Indians' treaty."
It is also gratifying' to know that the Department of Justice
has taken under consideration the question of prosecuting the
whites who committed the outrages upon the Indians, and has
instructed the United States attorney to indict the parties
and prosecute the case with vigor. We are sure that all upright
citizens agree with us in commending the earnest and vigorous
efforts of the Interior Department to vindicate the rights of
the Indians and to justly punish the perpetrators of the outrage.

THE VIRGINIAN

It was about 1889, that Owen Wister arrived at Medicine
Bow station by the Union Pacific R. R. from New York. Over
the late-mentioned round up territory he gathered inspiration
for the writing of his popular novel, "The Virginian. " His
pen drifted north as he wrote. He reached trails' end with
imaginary herds of cattle, gathered from the wilds, for ship-
ment to Chicago markets by way of the Northern Pacific-
Railroad from Montana.

The principal characters of his drama, The Virginian, Judge
Henry, The Schoolmarm, Cipico and Trampas, were not known
in the Medicine Bow area at that time, as The Rider recalls.
A few years later a hotel was built at Medicine Bow and named
The Virginian, in remembrance of the author.

M. Wilson Rankin.

Documents and Cetters

V,'-.. . .i' .■,.:••■> • , ,,'<.":-:'■ .

TNI UTAH IXfifllTIBN

WOBWJO!* CAWPA1GN

1 w- -■■■ { ,*. k-*+-

•••

Frifi its CamiHenersieiit to tfe Ttmnt Tim,

« \ mw%>mn$, s? tut r*h.wtk».'

?**

r; •:<*'-*

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 35

THE UTAH EXPEDITION, 1857-1858
By Dominic A. Brosnan*

The caption at the head of this article is the title of Vol-
ume 12, New Hampshire Historical Society Collections, edited
by Otis G. Hammond, published at Concord, N. H., 1928.

Today when the public is urged to contribute books of real
value to men in the armed services — outside of the Bible and
books that inculcate man's duty to God, his neighbors, and
himself — I know of none of such outstanding merit and attrac-
tion likely to prove of interest and be of educational value to
our youth in uniform as this. The book contains the letters
of Capt. Jesse Augustus Gove, 10th Infantry, U. S. A., of Con-
cord, N. H., to Mrs. Gove, and special correspondence of the
New York Herald. The book is in two parts, the Gove letters —
202 pages; and the New York Herald correspondence, biograph-
ical references, and index — 240 pages.

I am the fortunate — I may say proud — possessor of the
majority of the envelopes that carried the Gove letters, written
between June 22, 1857 and August 5, 1858. The original letters
consist of 700 pages. The envelopes are franked with 3e 1851
and 1857 stamps. Many of the cancellations are of unusual
interest to philatelists. The outstanding one is a straight
lined cancellation; FORT BRIDGER, U. T., March 1. 1858,
illustrated below.

*Dominie Aloysius Brosnan was born in London, England, of Irish
parentage in 1868.

Attended Saint Charles College and Saint Joseph 's College in London,
until 14 years of age, when his father, having financial reverses could
no longer continue his schooling.

He began stamp collecting at the early age of ten, when in 1S7S,
with the help of two American boys, schoolmates, he developed a keen
interest in stamp collecting. At the age of IS years, he had become ac-
quainted with many great English collectors, notably T. K. Tapling,
member of Parliament, whose great collection was donated to the
"British Museum in London.

He visited the capitals and large cities of continental Europe be-
tween 1890 and 1900 where he saw all the important stamp collections
and collectors. In 1900 gave up stamp collecting.

Came to the United States in 1904 at the invitation of a western
financier to enter the banking business, but ill health detained him in
the east.

Between 19141918, was engaged in expedition machinery production
for export to the allies in Europe.

In 1919 again took up stamp collecting, establishing a business in
Boston. An accident compelled him to retire in 1931.

He is a Roman Catholic. Married Emma M. Lauson, R. X.. in 1920,
who was a native of Canada.

36

ANNALS OF WYOMING

This cancellation ties a pair of 3c 1851 to the cover. The
cancellation is also struck diagonally on the left of the enve-
lope. I found the covers in the collection of the late Major
Lynde Sullivan, of Durham, N. H., which I purchased in Sep-
tember 1924. The envelopes were addressed to Mrs. J. A.
Gove, or Mrs. Capt. J. A. Gove.

In trying to arrange the envelopes chronologically I was
beset with difficulties. The writer seemed to be an ubiquitous
person who was able to mail his letters at various points hun-

One of the envelopes from the Gove letters from the collection of the

author. This one bears the straight line Fort Bridger, U. T.

cancellation, dated March 1, 1858.

m

dreds of miles apart at or about the same time. I wrote in
September 1924 to Major Lynde Sullivan, asking if he could
help me in the matter by giving me some information as to
the letters that had been in the envelopes. This he was re-
luctant to do. However, I soon located the letters in the
archives of the New Hampshire Historical Society. On Octo-
ber 7, 1924, I received the following letter from Otis G. Ham-
mond, Director of the Society.

"Dear Sir:

We have a large number of letters and papers of Capt. Jesse A.
Gove, II. S. A., and shall be glad to have you examine them at any time.
We have also a photograph of him,

(Signed) Otis G. Hammond."

DOCUMENTS AND LETTEES 37

The above letter was in answer to my letter inquiring as
to Gove letters. .

I made a trip to Concord, and spent two glorious days
reading Capt. Gove's letters to his wife, making notes, etc. I
found that the covers from Major Sullivan's collection were
practically a complete set covering the letters to Mrs. Captain
Gove during the Mormon Campaign, with the exception of
letters from Camp Floyd, Utah, July and August, 1858, prior
to Capt.. Gove's return home on leave of absence. The latter
Mrs. Hammond's daughter, Priscilla, kindly let me have later
to complete my set. All are postmarked Salt Lake City, Utah.

The last letter from Camp Floyd, August 5, 1858, before
Capt. Gove's departure from home, was contained in a 6e
green stamped envelope, 1857, cancelled Aug. 7, '58, the only
cover in the series bearing other than 3c stamps. The letter the
envelope contained is typical of Capt. Gove's literary style:

' < Camp Floyd, II. T.,
August 5, 1858.

"Dear Maria:

What do you think I have been doing today — well I have been an-
noyed and disturbed by having a clearing out of my tents. It is a
disagreeable duty but those things must be done; but it is useless to
try to keep things in order and repair, but those who enjoy must suffer —
so when a man gets a leave of absence to start for the States in two
days, he ought to suffer — Dunovant sits here scolding me that I don't
tell you directly that we both have got the documents in our pockets;
and in other words we have got a leave of ABSENCE — Now don't ery,
says Dunovant; so say I — but if there is any virtue in mules and horses
we shall be on the borders of civilization by the first October next.

Write me at Fort Leavenworth in care of Col. Bich, P. M. Dunovant
says that I shall see Charlie by the 20th September, but I don 't believe
that. We have both of us been to N. Y., Washington, and had several
frolics — all in imagination. Col. Alexander, Capt. Gardner, Tidball (sick)
Maynadier — Dunovant — Grover & Gove from the 10th — all are coming in.

We shall travel about 35 or 40 miles per day. Excellent outfit —
only four in the fort team — Capts. Marcy & Grover, Dunovant & myself —
Don't be too sanguine — I have two horses, ambulance and 6 mule team
to each officer — Carroll is temporarily transferred to D Company which
goes to Bridger & Murry to mine — In haste —

Jesse. (Capt. Gove).

I am a regular mountaineer on riding, and the twelve hundred miles
must be done up quickly — I have lived on a horse the last year."

Mr. Hammond was kind and cooperative, and called my
attention to the biography of Capt. Gove, History of Norwich
University 1819-1911, pages 449-151. He undertook to furnish
me with typewritten copies of the letters, and photostats of
any pages I desired. Possibly my interest was a factor in the
eventual publication of "The Utah Expedition" in 1928. giving
the Gove letters.

In the ensuing two years I did considerable research work,
aided by my friend Dan, who is in the War Department in

38 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Washington. I exhibited the covers with some historical data
at the International Philatelic Exhibition in New York in 1926,
Exhibit 273, pages 182-183 in the Exhibition catalog. It was
ignored by the judges, and received but scant attention from
the visitors to the Exhibition. Paraphrasing Kipling,

"Oh, the years we waste and the money we spend,
And the work of our head and hand
Belongs to the public, who do not know why,
Seeing at last that they can never know why,
And never can understand."

The exhibit was again shown in 1930 at the Boston Exhibi-
tion. I still have it intact.

Regarding the book referred to in the commencement of
this article, "The Utah Expedition," I note that it does not
appear to be copyrighted. It is probably a scarce book. Mr.
Hammond presented me with a copy when it was published in
1928. I had to pay $8.00 for a second copy. It does not have
a preface nor the biography of Capt. Gove, which if included
would be a tremendous help, enabling readers to form a true
estimate of a forgotten hero. The inclusion of Capt. Gove's
military record, which I have, would also help. If the book
were reprinted with these additions and sold at a popular
price, I feel sure it would receive wide acclaim, and that many
who have sons or relatives in military service would be only
too glad to present a copy to camp libraries, as well as to their
relatives in service. . . .

I would appreciate if any readers of STAMPS who know
of a 3c stamp 1857 envelope with a straight lined cancellation
Camp Scott

at Bridgers Fort U. T. 1858
would communicate with me. My address is East Natick, Mass.

FORT BRIDGER, UTAH TERRITORY*

I notice in a number of Harper's Weekly which has reached
the camp, some cuts purporting to be representations of this
position, which are so grossly incorrect that it has induced
me to subscribe to your paper that I might discharge a duty I
owe to the army and the public, by sending you some drawings
that will represent the fort as it is, and not as it is supposed
to be. And here I must allude to the miserable caricature of
Gen. Johnston which was published in the same paper, and
which does so little justice to our noble commander that the
perpetrator should be sued for damages and fined for pictorial
libel! A person familiar with the brave general's features

*Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, July 10, 1858, No. 136 —
Vol. VI.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 39

might perhaps trace a resemblance, but it can be called a portrait
only by extraordinary stretch of exaggeration.

Fort Bridger is represented as it was in the winter, when
two companies were camped here, viz., Company B, Fifth Regi-
ment, Captain Robinson ; and Company S, Tenth Regiment,
Captain Gove ; with two brass field-pieces under command of
Lieutenant Howard, Fourth Artillery ; the whole force under
command of Captain Robinson.

The lodge and wagons on the left are those of Russell and
Waddell, and near them are three tents occupied by S. H.
Montgomery, M. S, N. Next are three rows of tents belonging
to the two companies of infantry ; behind them are tents used
by the commissary of the post, two canvas houses for camp
women, and an old common tent on the right. All the wood
used for fuel has been hauled by hand to the hollow square,
around which the fort is built. The area is of some ninety feet
front, with a wall of cobblestones eighteen feet high and a
corral about the same size, in the near corner of which is the
Fifth Infantry's sutler establishment. This was erected during
the winter by A. P. George, and afforded a comfortable retreat
in the long winter evenings for the few officers of the post.

The two bastions on the angles were thrown up during the
winter by Lieutenant Webb, of the Fifth, and Lieutenant Ken-
sel, Fourth Artillery.

You will notice that I have not represented officers in full-
dress and men in heavy marching order ; for however pictur-
esque the appearance may be, it is not in accordance with fact.
Blanket wrappers were used all through the winter by the
entire force. Comfort was far more studied than good looks.

HISTORY OF NORWICH UNIVERSITY

1819-1911

pp. 449, 450, 451

Col. Jesse Augustus Gove, B. L.

Jesse A. Gove was born in Weare, N. H., Dec. 5, 182-i, and
was killed in battle June 27, 1862. In his youth he showed
great ardor for warlike pursuits and was accordingly sent to
the University in 1845. In March, 1847, he was appointed
second lieutenant in the 9th United States regulars. Col. T. B.
Ransom's regiment; was promoted first lieutenant Dec, 1847.
and served in the Mexican war. At the close of the war he
resumed his studies and graduated B. L. in 1849.

In 1851 he was admitted to the bar. From 1850 to 1855 he
was Deputy Secretary of State. In 1858 he was made Captain
of Company I, 10th United States Infantry, and was ordered to
Minnesota Territory and was stationed at Forts Snelling and
Ripley, where he did active service against the Sioux Indians.

40 ANNALS OF WYOMING

In 1857 he was ordered to Utah Territory soon after the
"Mountain Meadow Massacre" and served there under Gen.
Albert Sidney Johnston until the Civil War, when he was se-
lected by the government to take command of the 22d Massa-
chusetts Volunteers. He took command of the regiment at
Yorktown, and the 22d Massachusetts scaled the ramparts in
advance of all, Colonel Gove being the first Union man on the
fortification after the war opened. On June 27, 1862, at the
battle of Gaines' Mills, the 22d Massachusetts, under his com-
mand, occupied the center of the battle line and a great portion
of the time was in the hottest of the fight and among the last
to leave the field. Here, as he was rallying the regiment, he was
shot through the heart by a minnie ball, a noble end to a noble
life.

On the retreat that followed, Sergeant Marshall Pike passed
the body and recognized it, but was unable to remove it, and
the remains were never removed.

"He sleeps where he fell 'mid the battle's roar,

With his comrades true and brave;
And his noble form Ave shall see no more,

It rests in a hero's grave;
When the rebel foe in his might came forth

With all his power and pride,
And our gallant men from the rugged North

Like the Patriots fought and died. ' '

Hon. Henry Wilson says :

"I am anxious that Colonel Gove's name shall be placed among the
noble sons of our country in the Annals of time. If I had eared less
for the men over whom I placed him I should months ago have seen
to it that he was made a brigadier general. ' '

Brig.-General Philip St. George Cook, U. S. A., writes :

' ' I can say with truth rarely have I met so zealous, energetic and
accomplished an officer. He was the soul of honor, generosity, and hos-
pitality. I was with the Colonel in his last battle. He fell at the head
of his regiment: certainly a 'glorious death'."

Headquarters of the Armv,
New York, June 29, 1857.
Sir:

The letter which I addressed to you in the name of the general-in-
chief, on the 28th ultimo, his circular to the chiefs of staff departments
same date; his general order No. 8, current series, and another now in
press, have indicated your assignment to the command of an expedition
to Utah Territory, and the preparatory measures to be taken.

The general-in-chief desires me to add in his name the following
instructions, prepared in concert with the War Department, and sanc-
tioned by its authority, whenever required.

The community and, in part, the civil government of Utah Territory
are in a state of substantial rebellion against the laws to be designated,
and to be charged with the establishment and maintenance of law and

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 41

order. Your able and energetic aid, with that of the troops to be placed
under your command, is relied upon to insure the success of his mission.

So well is the nature of this service appreciated, and so deeply are
the honor and the interest of the United States involved in its success,
that I am authorized to say that the government will hesitate at no
expense requisite to complete the efficiency of your little army. The
employment of spies, guides, interpreters or laborers may be made to
any extent you may think desirable.

The' general-in-chief desires to express his best wishes, official and
personal, for your complete success and added reputation.

I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

'GEORGE W. LAY,
Lieutenant Colonel Aid-de-Camp.
Brevet Brigadier General W. S. Harney,
Commanding Officer,
Fort Leavenworth, K. T.

EXPEDITION AGAINST MORMONS DESCRIBED*

Letters of Capt. Gove of Historical Value

Rare Cancellations, Postmarks, on Envelopes of Collection

Valuable historical sidelights on a little-known episode in
American history have come to light this week as the result of
research conducted by Dominic A. Brosnan, collector and
stamp dealer, 62 Pemberton sq. in connecton with an exhibit at
the International Philatelic Exhibition in New York this week.

Mr. Brosnan acquired, recently, 50 letters written by
Jesse A. Gove of New Hampshire, an officer in the Regular
Army before the Civil War. Most of them were sent to his
wife, who lived in Concord, N. H., while her husband was on
duty in the West. To a collector like Mr. Brosnan, the letters
are valuable because of the stamps and cancellations on their
envelopes. Some, bearing manuscript cancellation and post-
marks from forts, are believed to be very rare.

This collection shows cancellations from a Postoffice at
Fort Bridger in February and March, 1858, whereas United
States postal records show no office there before August, 1858.
Neither do War Department archives show an Army Postoffice
there during the time when Capt. Gove was writing, but the
officials do not deny that their records are very possibly in-
complete. Tn that case these cancelled envelopes present a
more authentic historical record than the Government records.
So rare are they, in fact, that no other philatelist to whom Mr.
Brosnan has written claims any acquaintance of them.

Copies of Letters in Exhibit

hi addition to this interest, however, the letters have a
real historical significance. The originals are now in the
archives of the Concord, N. H. Historical Society, more than
700 pages of manuscript. By Mr. Brosnan 's efforts they have

'From the Boston Globe, October 18. 1926.

42 ANNALS OF WYOMING

been copied into typewritten form and will constitute part
of the exhibit. Mr. Brosnan is very grateful for assistance re-
ceived in this work to Otis G. Hammond, director of the Con-
cord Historical Society, and to his daughter, Miss Priscilla
Hammond, who gave four envelopes from her own collection
to complete this series.

The letters cover the period from June 22, 1857, to Aug. 5,
1858, and deal with the almost-forgotten expedition sent against
the Mormons of Utah by President Buchanan.

Gove, at this time, was captain of I company, 10th United
States Infantry. He was already, although still young, a
veteran of the Mexican War and had spent some time at border
posts iii the West.

The expedition against Salt Lake City was the outgrowth
of the defiance of the Government by Brigham Young, prophet
of the Mormon "Saints." Orders to the commander of the
invading army, issued from headquarters at New York, stated
the object of the campaign thus:

"The community and, in part, the civil government of
Utah Territory are in a state of substantial rebellion against
the laws and authority of the United States. A new civil
Governor is about to be designated, and to be charged with
the maintenance of law and order. Your able and energetic-
aid, with that of the troops to be placed under your command,
is relied upon to insure the success of his mission. ' '

INTERNATIONAL PHILATELIC EXHIBITION

New York, October 16th to 23d, 1926

Fort Bridger and the Army of Utah, 1857-8

"The Army of Utah passed the winter, 1857-8, amid pri-
vations no less severe than those endured at Yalley Forge
eighty-one years before.'' — Bancroft.

The envelopes in this exhibit contained letters of Colonel
Jesse Augustus Gove, U. S. A., B. L. — the author of Utah arti-
cles signed "Argus" in the New York Herald of 1858 — during
his services as Captain with the Army of Utah, dating from
the muster of the army at Fort Leavenworth, Mo., July, 1857,
and embracing the period of its services on its march — 1050
miles — to Fort Bridger, U. T., its sojourn at the Fort and Camp
Scott nearby, during the winter, 1857-8, its march to Salt Lake
City, U. T., and its arrival at Camp Floyd, U. T., June and
July, 1858.

This exhibit is intended to illustrate the educational value
of the branch of Philately which deals with the study of
stamps and their cancellations from the Historical standpoint.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 43

The envelopes cancelled Saint Louis, Mo., February 20th,
1858, and marked Army of Utah, and Fort Bridger, March 1st,
1858, furnished the necessary clue for the research work,
which established the Historical importance of the envelopes,
forwarded as they were during one of the most stirring epochs
in the history of Utah. The original letters, comprising 700
pages, are in the Archives of the Historical Society, Concord,
N. H. Typewritten copies — 220 pages — together with some His-
torical data form part of this exhibit not displayed. The study
of the envelopes in conjunction with the letters is necessary in
order to appreciate their Historic importance and Philatelic
interest.

PHOTOSTAT FROM A RARE PAMPHLET IN THE
CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY, WASHINGTON, D. C.

The Mormons here passed the several commands in small
parties, claiming to be returning from California, but at Green
River they threw off all disguise, and sought not to cloak their
intentions, where they burned three of our provision and bag-
gage trains. And I must in justice here remark, that but
for the want of energy, and decision, on the part of those
officers in command at this time, this calamity may have been
obviated. Our loss on this occasion was considerable and was
felt severely throughout the division ; depriving us as it did
of all our salt, a great portion of our meat, bread, tools, axes,
and other implements necessary for such an expedition ; and
they pursued our march with a degree of tact and perseverance
that to us seemed a little astonishing — stealing our animals or
anything else they could lay hands on, until that efficient and
talented officer, Col. Johnson arrived with his dragoons, when
they dispersed at once, leaving some little of their plunder
behind them.

We were in this part of the expedition probably nonplussed
more than any where else during the campaign as we had no
horses to oppose against their ponies prior to the arrival of
Col. Jobnson, but finding eventually, they were overpowered
they proceeded at once to Fort Bridger, where they set fire to
the buildings contained within the Fort and entirely consumed
them ; and as though they could carry their demoniacal fury
no further, they proceeded to fire the grass for miles along
our route, but in this they had very little success. On our
arrival we encamped about a mile from Fort Bridger. where
there was abundance of wood and grass.

Fort Bridger is rather a small fortification, having been
originally intended for the protection of the traders frequent-
ing the plains, but nevertheless it has very substantial walls

44 ANNALS OF WYOMING

and answers the purpose of an inland military post well enough.
The walls are built of small cobble stone, well laid up with
lime and mortar, about eighteen feet high, and about one hun-
dred feet square ; inside is a fine place for military and com-
missary stores, and in which all such are kept. A fortification
was constructed on the east and west corners.

POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT

FIRST ASSISTANT POSTMASTER GENERAL

WASHINGTON

October 23, 1924.
Mr. D. A. Brosnan,
East Natick, Massachusetts.
My dear Sir:

In reply to your letter of the 15th instant you are informed that the
post office at Fort Bridger, Utah, was established on August 6, 1858.
I am unable to state whether it was customary for Army posts to
postmark letters if there was no post office at the point but as you
state that an envelope in your possession bears the postmark of Fort
Bridger, Utah, March 1, 1858, it would appear that this action was taken
as there was no post of ice at Fort Bridger on that date.

The stamped envelope which you transmitted is returned.
Sincerely yours,

/s/ Chas. F. Trotter,
Acting First Assistant Postmaster General.

"OLD TOWN" GREEN RIVER

"A short distance from the station to the southward is
the site of the old deserted city of Green River, near the old
emigrant crossing. The city was laid out in July 1868 and in
September contained 2,000 inhabitants and many substantial
wood and adobe buildings and presented a permanent appear-
ance. At that time it was thought by the citizens that the
railroad company would erect their division buildings near the
town and that it would become an important station. But
the railroad company opposed the town company, bridged the
river, and as the road stretched away to the westward, the
town declined as rapidly as it arose, the people moving on to
Brj^an, where the railroad company built their city."

DOCUMENTS. AND LETTERS 45

TERRITORIAL PAPERS OF WYOMING IN THE
NATIONAL ARCHIVES

By W. Turrentine Jackson*

The government of the Territory of Wyoming, like that
of all the territories of the United States, was supervised by
the federal government. Between 1868 and 1890 the more
important officials of Wyoming were appointed by the Presi-
dent of the United States and each appointee, whether terri-
torial governor, secretary, or judge, was charged with the
responsibility of reporting periodically on territorial affairs.
Copies of these reports, together with the official and unofficial
correspondence of the territorial officers, were preserved by
the executive departments in Washington, D. C. These official
records of the federal relations of the Territory of Wyoming
are now deposited in The National Archives. Many letters
from private citizens of Wyoming either complaining or re-
joicing about the effects of a decision in Washington or in
Cheyenne have also been retained. The government of the
United States has thus preserved a tremendous volume of his-
torical source material dealing with Wyoming.

Several of the executive departments were concerned
witli territorial affairs during this period. The War Depart-
ment was responsible for organizing the defense against the
Indian tribes and the construction of military posts. The Post
Office attempted to speed mail deliveries by improving post
roads. The territorial courts and their officers received au-
thority from the Department of Justice. Although the archives
of these departments are rich in source materials, the manu-
scripts of greatest historical value, including the bulk of the
reports and correspondence of territorial officials, are secured
in the State or Interior Department Archives.

Until 1873, the responsibility for the political administra-
tion of the territories was vested in the Department of
State. Each of the territorial secretaries was required by law
to send copies of the executive proceedings of the territories
to the State Department biannually. These officials always
corresponded with the Secretary of State relative to the more
important territorial affairs and occasionally forwarded a
complete copy of the proceedings of a territorial legislature.
Van Tyne and Leland in their Guide to the Archives of the
Govei'nment of the United State* in Washington recognized the

*For Mr. Jackson's autobiography see Annals of Wyoming, Vol. 15.
No. 2, p. 143.

46 ANNALS OF WYOMING

importance of these State Department records and wrote of them
as being "of considerable value," and as furnishing "docu-
ments not to be found in the archives of the states that were
formerly territories.''1 In 1911, David W. Parker published a
Calendar of Papers in Washington Archives Relating to the
Territories of the United States to 1873. 2 The territorial records
in the State Department Archives were included among the
documents which he listed, and provided the largest single source
of manuscripts described.3 The Wyoming materials in the
State Department are extremely limited, however, for the ter-
ritory had been in existence only four years when the re-
sponsibility for territorial affairs was transferred from the
Department of State to the Department of the Interior.

From 1873 until 1890, the Interior Department was^su-
pervising political affairs in Wyoming, and the official re-
ports, executive proceedings, and correspondence of this period
have been preserved with as great care as the records of an
earlier date. Although Van Tyne and Leland considered
these manuscripts to be of "comparatively small value,"4 the
writer has examined the territorial papers in the Department
of the Interior Archives and has found them to contain in-
formation which should be of utility to the historian of the
American West. These records will be of assistance in ex-
panding and explaining the information in the annual reports
of the territorial governors which the Secretary of the Interior
printed in his own annual report. A summary of the organiza-
tion and content of the Wyoming records, moreover, will reveal
the general nature of the territorial records secured in the
National Archives and perhaps assist Wyoming historians with
specific research problems. New sources of information may
be revealed.

1. Van Tyne, Claude Halstead and Waldo Gifford Leland, Guide to
the Archives of the Government of the United States in Washington
(Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1907), 35.

2. Carnegie Institution, 1911.

3. The more valuable documents listed by Parker, along with other
source materials in Washington, D. C, are now being edited by Clarence
Edwin Carter, outstanding authority on the territories of the United
States. Doctor Carter is editing the documents of each territory accord-
ing to the date of its admission into the Union. One or more volumes of
these territorial papers on each of the territories will be published by
the Department of State. At the present time, (1943) ten volumes deal-
ing with six territories have been published. Carter has told the writer
that the records of the territories of the Northwest, with the exception
of Oregon Territory, will not be prepared for publication for several
years. It is doubtful that the records published by the State Depart-
ment will extend bevond 1873.

4. 202.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 47

In State Department Archives

Organization and Content of the Wyoming Territorial Papers, 1868-1873.

The so-called "territorial papers" of Wyoming which
include the incoming correspondence to the State Department
from 1868 to 1873, have been arranged chronologically, flat-
tened, and bound into a single volume. This volume contains
only a small percentage of the Wyoming materials in the
State Archives. The outgoing letters from the department to
Wyoming officials are found in the Domestic Letter Books;
letters recommending or condemning various candidates for ter-
ritorial positions are in the Appointment Papers. The Domestic
Letter Books are a chronological series and each volume contains
an index. The Appointment Papers are filed under the names
of individual applicants.

Administration of J. A. Campbell, 1869-1875.

The correspondence of the first years of the Campbell ad-
ministration deals chiefly with the disorganized state of the
territory, the assembling of the first legislature, and the mes-
sages of the governor.5 Letters in the Appointment Papers
written by outstanding generals as W. T. Sherman and Phil
Sheridan indicate that Campbell "s appointment came as a reward
for his services in the Union Army. Details of Republican Party
conflicts in these beginning years, as well as the controversy
between Governor Campbell and H. Glafcke, Territorial Secre-
tary and editor of the Cheyenne Daily Leader, are recorded in
the unofficial letters. Glafcke was removed in 1873 by Presi-
dent Grant on the grounds that the secretary had supported
Horace Greeley and the Liberals in the election of 1872. John
B. Brown of Indiana was appointed Glafcke 's successor.

In Interior Department Archives

Organization and Content of the Wyoming Territorial Papers, 1873-1890.

Iii the Department of the Interior Archives the records corre-
lative to the bound volumes of territorial papers in State Archives
are referred to as the Executive Proceedinys of the Territories.
The incoming correspondence of the Patents and Miscellaneous
Division, which had jurisdiction over the territories, was ar-
ranged by subject until 1881, and after that date was arranged
chronologically. Papers dealing with the various territories
have been culled fromthese two series of incoming letters ami
a separate collection established for each of the territories in
existence after 1873. The bulk of these collections are the

5. David W. Parker has listed and described these manuscripts in his
Calender of Papers in Washington Archives Relating to the Territories of
the United States to 1873.

48 ANNALS OF WYOMING

biennial reports submitted by each of the territorial secretaries
on the executive proceedings within their territory. All cor-
respondence to the Department, reports, proclamations and
messages of the territorial officials have also been included.
The materials assembled on Wyoming are more extensive than
those on any other territory.6

The tremendous collection of Appointment Papers in the
Interior Archives is given a chronological division: the first
sector is from 1849-1878; the second from 1878-1885. Succes-
sive divisions are made at the beginning of each presidential
administration. Manuscripts in each of these chronological
sectors are segregated according to the position applied for,
such as territorial governor or secretary. The Appointment
Papers relating to a territorial office of any given period are
finally classified by individual territories. This classification
of manuscripts makes it possible for the researcher to study
the records referring to the appointment and reappointment
of a single territorial official as well as to study all the cor-
respondence pertaining to unsuccessful candidates for any spe-
cific territorial office or in any particular period.

The Charges File is a very valuable collection of source ma-
terials in the Appointment Division of the Interior Archives. Up
until 1885 charges against officials were scattered among the
Appointment Papers, but after that date they are a separate
series, filed in blocks like the Appointment Papers, and broken
down by Presidential Administration. These papers are ex-
ceptionally useful in explaining the political intrigues of the
Wyoming Territory during the administrations of Governors
George W. Baxter, F. E. Warren, and Thomas Moonlight.

Although the official letters of the Department of the Inte-
rior addressed to territorial officials do not provide a large
amount of factual information on conditions within the terri-
tories, an occasional letter will reveal an important adminis-
trative decision affecting political and economic affairs in a
particular territory. Letter books containing the answers to
correspondence received by the Appointments Division are
known as the Special Letters. The outgoing correspondence of
the Patents and Miscellaneous Division is found in the Miscel-
laneous Letters. The volumes of these letters have been arranged
chronologically, and an index listing both subject matter and
names of addresses has been prepared to accompany each volume.

6. The records for the Utah, New Mexico, and Dakota territories
are also voluminous.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 49

Administration of John M. Thayer, 1875-1878.

The records of this administration are scant. None of the
official letters or proclamations of Governor Thayer are to be
found in the Executive Proceedings of the Wyoming Territory in
the Interior Archives. Apparently the Secretary of the Interior
did not require Thayer, or the territorial secretary, George W.
French, 1875-1879, to transmit these records to Washington.
John W. Iloyt, who succeeded Thayer, mentioned in his first bi-
annual report that the official correspondence which he was for-
warding was limited because his predecessor had not been called
upon to report and that he himself had not understood the im-
portance of providing the Interior Department with copies of
his letters. A few letters written by Governor Thayer relative to
routine matters are filed in the Appointment Papers of the Wyo-
ming Governors. French,7 the secretary, had the misfortune of
becoming involved in a personal quarrel with other federal of-
ficials in the territory and the secretarial appointment papers
of the period are to a large extent devoted to this controversy.8

Administration of John W. Hoyt, 1878-1882.

The extant correspondence of Governor Hoyt9 reveals the
wide scope of his interests and activities. Among other things.
Hoyt recognized the importance of Yellowstone National Park
to the Wyoming Territory and for several years sought army
support for the construction of a wagon road which would
improve travel from the Wyoming settlements to the park.
Detailed letters on this subject were addressed to the Park
Superintendent, to members of Congress, and to army officers
in charge of the western military districts. Letters to Sidney
Dillon, President of the Union Pacific, evidence the governor's
recognition of the value of the railroad to the development of
Wyoming. One of these letters, eighteen pages long, sum-
marizes the general economic situation in the territory during
1880. Other letters of historical interest were written by Hoyt
on the subjects of the Indian depredations in northern Wyo-

French was from the State of M;

^wiufi ui it 1 1 1 1 o h Il& iiit ut uuia ui iiit ,iiitiii «i i tr a, v .1 1 ui i»it.

9. Hoyt was a college professor who had been interested in agri-
cultural education in the State of Wisconsin. He was Secretary of the
Wisconsin State Agricultural Society; founder of the Wisconsin Academy
of Science, Arts, and Letters; and responsible for the reorganization of
the University of Wisconsin to include courses in agriculture. He was a
vigorous opponent of slavery and had worked for the Republican Party
during its formative decade of the ISoO's. After his term as Governor
of Wyoming, Hoyt was recalled to the territory to become first President
of the University of Wyoming. See Joseph Schafer, A History of Agricul-
ture in Wisconsin. (Madison, 1922).

50 ANNALS OF WYOMING

ming in 1878, the organization and maintenance of the territorial
militia, the improvement of the mail service, the publication
of P. V. Hayden's reports on the United States Geological
Survey of Wyoming, and the organization of various Wyoming
counties.10 The governor was personally interested in estab-
lishing a society for "historical research, scientific investiga-
tion, and the advancement of industry in Wyoming. ' ' He wrote
dozens of letters to citizens throughout the territory asking for
suggestions relative to the creation of the society and to the
possibility of calling a meeting for interested parties.

The Appointment Papers of this period are devoted to the
political controversy between Governor Hoyt and A. Worth
Spates, secretary from 1879-1880. ll Spates was succeeded by
E. S. N. Morgan12 and during Morgan's two terms as secretary,
1880-1888, the executive proceedings forwarded to Washington
were more detailed and, as a result, have greater historical
value.13 The Appointment Papers of the Wyoming Governors
reveal that Hoyt was not reappointed in 1882 because he was
accused of being "half-breed1" supporter of Horace Greeley
and Carl Schurz. Some Wyoming Republicans claimed he had
provoked quarrels, divided the party, and permitted M. E.
Post, a Democrat, to be elected to Congress. They requested
the appointment of a "stalwart" — a strong party man. Hoyt
was later recalled to Wyoming to serve as first president of
the University.

Administration of William Hale, 1882-1885.

Although the records of the Hale administration are ex-
tensive as those of the Hoyt period, they deal chiefly with the
routine procedures of the governor's office. Hale was likewise
interested in Yellowstone Park, and through his efforts speci-

10. Johnson County and Crook County.

11. Spates had resided in Baltimore/ Maryland. He got into dif-
ficulty because of his personal habits and through the North Park Min-
ing Company in Colorado, a mining scheme which Governor Hoyt and
other federal officials did not consider a legitimate business adventure.
A bitter personal fight resulted. The Appointment Paper files on Spates
are more voluminous than those of any other Wyoming Secretary. Spates
made a desperate effort to be retained. Charges and counter-charges
were filed, supported by affidavits, and Spates prepared over twenty
statements which he forwarded to Washington summarizing his
activities. When Spates realized that he had lost the fight, he wrote
President R. B. Hayes that he understood that either he or Governor
Hoyt must be removed, asked that he be sustained, but, if not, that
his resignation be accepted. Hayes refused to accept the resignation
and insisted that he be suspended from office.

12. Morgan was from Pennsylvania.

13. Morgan served as secretary during the administrations of
Hoyt, Baxter, Warren, and Moonlight. On several occasions between
administrations or in the absence of the chief executive he served as
Acting Governor of Wyoming Territory.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 51

mens of the physical phenomena of the Yellowstone were
exhibited at the New Orleans Exposition. He vigorously op-
posed a Congressional bill which provided for the extension of
the boundaries of the Montana Territory to include Yellow-
stone Park. As a humanitarian, the governor was interested in
the care of criminals and the insane, and his correspondence
shows that the case of each individual was a matter of his
personal concern. Hale's official correspondence with the Eighth
Legislative Assembly of Wyoming, with P. H. Sheridan rela-
tive to Indian cattle raids in the Powder River region, and
with the Postmaster General concerning mail routes from
Laramie to points in Colorado will provide historians with
valuable source materials on those subjects.

The Appointment Papers disclose that Hale was an Iowa
politician who had rendered valuable assistance to the Re-
publican Party in that state. Being enthusiastically endorsed
by a Senator and the Governor of Iowa, he was the "stalwart"
chosen to succeed Governor Hoyt. The administration was no-
torious for the harmony which existed among the federal of-
ficials in the territory.

First Administration of Francis E. Warren, 1885-1886.

The executive proceedings of the Warren administration
that have been retained in the National Archives are of greater
historical value than those of any other Wyoming governor.
According to his own reports, Warren preserved and forwarded
to the Interior Department a copy of every official letter written
during his administration. He used a separate letter book for
each six months' period. Toward the end of his first administra-
tion the governor began having his correspondence typed, and
after that date carbon copies were forwarded to Washington.
Among the more noteworthy records are the letters of Gover-
nor Warren pertaining to the cattle business in the territory
and to the enforcement of quarantine regulations in 1885-86.
He corresponded with Union Pacific Railway officials who
complained at the restrictions on the railroad, with state gov-
ernors who protested the prohibition of cattle shipments from
their states, and with individual shippers concerning the in-
spection of their cattle.14 Warren's first administration was
marred by the clash between the miners and Chinese laborers
at Rock Springs. The so-called "Rock Springs Massacres"
attracted national attention, and, upon request, the governor
forwarded a special report of the affair to the Secretary of the

14. These source materials are being; edited by the writer and will
be published in a later issue of the Annals of Wyoming.

52 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Interior which was printed in the secretary's report of 1885. 15
Several interesting letters which were omitted in the official
report may be read in the Warren letter books. The governor
was a champion of woman suffrage in Wyoming and his an-
swers to inquiries relative to the success of the experiment
reveal the extent to which Wyoming was pioneering in this
political field.16 Warren's complete correspondence with the
Wyoming legislature during February, 1886, is available.
Several letters giving detailed descriptions of the city of
Cheyenne in 1885 and papers concerning the beginning of the
University of Wyoming in Laramie will be of great interest to
the Wyoming historian. The business ability of Francis War-
ren is disclosed by the content of many of his letters such as
his correspondence with President Benjamin Harrison on the
indebtedness of various Wyoming counties and the refinancing
which would be necessary before statehood could be obtained,
by letters to individuals referring to Wyoming land which
was available for ranches, and to the success of the cattle
business in the territory. Through a study of these source
materials, one may obtain an insight into the personality of
Warren and into the general development of Wyoming during
1885-86.

The Appointment Papers of the Wyoming Governors ex-
plain the change of administrations. Governor Hale had died
in January of 1885 and Francis Warren was appointed gover-
nor by Chester A. Arthur at the close of his administration
after Cleveland's election to the Presidency. Immediately
upon the inauguration of Cleveland, the friends of Warren
attempted to prove that he was a non-partisan. Joseph M.
Carey and Morton E. Post, political and business colleagues
of Warren who had Congressional influence, worked cease-
lessly for his retention, but Cleveland preferred to appoint a
Democrat. George W. Baxter of Tennessee was appointed to
the governorship in 1886.

Administration of George W. Baxter, 1886.

In the records of the Appointment Papers and Charges Files
of the Wyoming Governors are to be found the historical facts of
the brief political career of George Baxter, who served as
Wyoming Governor for the month of November, 1886. The
Democrats of Wyoming, who had long awaited the election of
a Democratic president and the appointment of a Democratic

15. "Special Eeport of the Governor of Wyoming to the Secretary
of the Interior Concerning Chinese Labor Troubles, 1885," Report of .the
Secretary of the Interior, II (Washington, 3 885), 1223-1234.

16. W. Turrentine Jackson, "Governor Francis E. Warren, A
Champion of Woman Suffrage, Letters in The National Archives,"
Annals of Wyoming, XV (April, 1943), 143-149.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTEES 53

governor, were divided into two groups, one supporting Mor-
ton E. Post for the governorship, the other George W. Baxter.
As soon as Baxter was appointed he was accused by his ene-
mies of illegally fencing government land. Before he could
prepare an adequate defense, a clique of the Republican Party,
personal and business friends of Post, joined the Post faction
of the Democratic Party and secured the removal of Baxter.
The upshot of the political controversy was the appointment
of a Democrat from outside the territory to the governorship
and the loss of "home rule" in Wyoming.17 In several long
letters Baxter has written his autobiography including his
career before he arrived in Wyoming, his political aspirations,
and his defense against the accusations of his political enemies.
The extensive correspondence and newspaper clippings in the
Appointment Papers and Charges File on Francis Warren and
Morto:i E. Post present the viewpoints of those opposed to
Baxter.

Administration of Thomas Moonlight, 1885-1889.

The official correspondence of Governor Moonlight in the
Executive Proceedings of Wyoming is voluminous. A large per-
centage of his letters are devoted to a discussion of economic
conditions in Wyoming. The governor was convinced that the
economic progress of the territory necessitated the breaking
up of large ranches, less emphasis on cattle ranching, and the
encouragement of mining and agricultural ventures. He wrote
dozens of letters in an attempt to encourage the immigration of
farmers to Wyoming. The University of Wyoming was opened
during his administration, and the Moonlight records prove that
the governor was opinionated concerning the financial ad-
ministration of the institution and over the selection of the
trustees, president, and faculty. Inquiries relative to the effec-
tiveness of the cattle quarantine continued to be received by
the chief executive, and Moonlight wrote detailed explana-
tions to each correspondent. Many of his unofficial letters dealt
with politics, an absorbing interest of the governor. The crea-
tion of new Wyoming counties, the appointment of territorial
officials, the election of Congressional representatives, and the
activities of party conventions were political affairs which he
discussed at length in his official reports to Washington. Moon-

17. The writer has prepared a paper, "The Governorship of Wyo-
ming, 1885-1889, A Study in Territorial Polities," which will soon be
published.

54 ANNALS OF WYOMING

light, as a non-resident of the territory,18 had never been popu-
lar with the majority of Wyoming people, and his attention to
partisan polities antagonized the Republicans of the territory.
A publicity campaign was organized by that party through
the Territorial and County Republican Committees for the
purpose of discrediting the Moonlight administration and sup-
porting the reinstatement of Francis E. Warren. Hundreds of
letters, petitions, and speeches, along with newspaper clippings
from every paper in the territory* were forwarded to the De-
partment of the Interior and to the White House.]9 The War-
ren boom had gained such momentum that his appointment was
inevitable when Harrison, a Republican, was returned to the
White House.

Second Administration of Francis E. Warren, 1889.

The second Warren administration existed during the clos-
ing months of the territorial period and the archival materials
emphasize the approaching statehood for Wyoming. A manu-
script copy of Warren's inaugural address of April 9, 1889,
preserved in the Interior Archives, deals for the most part
with the political and economic adjustments necessary before
statehood could be attained. For the use of the Wyoming
historian, a complete file of letters and telegrams has been re-
tained pertaining to the proclamation calling the state consti-
tutional convention, the convention's activities, the actions of
Congress on the state constitution, and the final proclamation of
statehood. Although the Executive Proceedings emphasize the
the subject of statehood, the governor's official correspondence
reveals a continuation of his interest in the suffrage question,
the university, the cattle and sheep business, and the utiliza-
tion of the territory's natural resources such as the improve-
ment of Wyoming lands through irrigation projects.

The Appointment Papers for 1889 tell of the role of the
Republican Party in securing the appointment of Warren as
governor and John W. Meldrum of Laramie as territorial secre-
tary prior to the achievement of statehood, and of the success
of the party in the first state election.

18. Moonlight was a citizen of Kansas and had the support of the
ex-Confederates in that state. Samuel D. Shannon, a South Caroliniau
who had been recommended by Governor Fitzhugh Lee and Senator
Wade Hampton of South Carolina, served as territorial secretary for
this four year term.

19. These records are available in the Appointment Division of
the Interior Department Archives.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 55

The Penitentiary Papers, 1870-1890.

In the Executive Proceedings of each of the territories,
the records dealing with the construction of public buildings,
such as the territorial capital or penitentiary, have been segre-
gated and bound together as a separate collection. The
Penitentiary Papers of the Wyoming Territory are in two sec-
tions. The first collection of manuscripts, dated from 1870-
1878, relate to the Congressional appropriation for the con-
struction of the penitentiary, its location by the territorial
legislature, the selection of a superintendent of con-
struction, the preparation of building specifications, the receipt
of bids, the awarding of contracts, and the monthly reports of
the superintendent on the progress of construction. Prepara-
tions were made for the enlargement and remodelling of the
Wyoming penitentiary between 1886 and 1889 and the second
series of manuscripts deals with the necessity for improvements,
the granting of contracts, the progress reports on construction,
and the final report of the committee appointed to inspect and
accept the building for the federal government. No less than
a hundred detailed reports, diagrams, specifications, and let-
ters have been retained in this collection.

Wyoming Scrap book

PIONEERS— OH— PIONEERS '

SURVIVERS OF BLIZZARDS AND BUILDERS OF CAMP-FIRES.

Reading from left to right: Patrick Burns, came to Wyoming in 1868,
an employee of the IT. P. Railroad; James O'Brien, born at Fort Fetter-
man, his father being a member of the garrison; Malcomb Campbell, came
to Fort Laramie in 1867; C. P. Arnold, president, of the Pioneer Associa-
tion, in 1869 came to Laramie with his father, Rev. F. L. Arnold; John R.
Smith, dean of pioneers spent first winter in Bates Hole, Wyoming, in
1866; Bert Wagner, came to Laramie in 1869 with his father Henry Wag-
ner; James Abney, an arrival in 1867, came with his father on the first
construction to Cheyenne.

WYOMING SCEAPBOOK 57

THE VANISHED FRONTIER*

"The vanished frontier was a sparsely settled
region of the earth's surface where the men
were men and the women were glad of it."

Did you ever stop to think of artistocracies — so many
and so varied? There is the aristocracy of birth, to escape
from which our republic was founded. There is the aristocracy
of wealth, the ascendency of which has always marked the
decline and fall of nations. There is the aristocracy of office.
with its transient lure. There is the military aristocracy,
whose blind adherents have scattered war and wreck along
the paths of men. And then there is that other artistocracy
— the aristocracy of the pioneer — which we salute today. Look
at his environment.

In 1869, when a boy barely nine years old, I exercised that
dominion which characterizes the rule of childhood in an
American home and induced my reluctant parents to migrate
to the then Territory of Wyoming, bidding fond farewell to a
prairie state, where the culture of Iowa, flanked by pungent
rag weed, rose above the bottomless mud of the Mississippi
valley to spread her earliest bloom. The first transcontinental
railroad had just decorated the frontier with ribbons of steel
when my father, a Presbyteran preacher, took advantage of the
elevated platform of a mountain plateau to point out for men
the path to Heaven. Nowhere in the wide world was there such
desperate need for a servant of the Most High, although it
must be said that nothing could be done to save the souls of
the officials who manipulated the Union Pacific railroad.

I wish I could draw the picture of life on that frontier —
a paradise for a boy ! No artist with words or pigments can
ever get it all in — the construction trains, coming and going,
loaded with plows, scrapers, ties, railroad iron and railroad
crews — the ox teams, long-horned, wending their way into the
sunset — the emigrant's wagon, with its white dome and rattling
tone — the Concord stage coach, emerging from one billow of
dust to change horses and disappear in another — the shacks
with false fronts — the tents of nomads — and that motley crowd
of adventurers blown hither by all the winds of earth.

Statute law, including game laws, hadn't been invented.
It was before the days of rapid-fire shotguns and automatic
rifles. Antelope, so many that they were countless, grazed
over the Laramie Plains. More than one variety of deer came
down into the foot hills when winter snow drove them from
the heights. Bands of elk pastured in many a mountain

fFrom a Pamphlet, "The Vanished Frontier," by C. P. Arnold.

58 ANNALS OF WYOMING

park, with a sentinel on guard to give, when clanger came,
the whistle signal for them to disappear in the tall timber,
laying antlers back on untamed shoulders as they ran. Covies
of grouse and sage chickens blended the color of plumage with
the tints of bush, rock and tree. The wildcat and the mountain
lion had no need to travel far for food, and the cinnamon bear
contested with his big brother, the grizzly of the Sierras, and
his still bigger brother, the brown Alaska bear of the Aleutian
Archipelago, for the proud title of being the most dangerous
antagonist of man.

Life, back there, was an Odyssey, with an Anglo Saxon
background. Things moved. Hard upon the heels of the
moccasined trapper with his pack, came the homesteader with
his ax, and hard upon the heels of the homesteader with his ax
came the school-teacher with his spelling book. The log school-
house rose on the frontier — primeval logs, cut, hewed, and laid
by lonesome pioneers. It stood on Front street, which ended,
both ways, just where the unfenced illimitable began. The
day of vocational training had not dawned upon a startled
world. Elective courses as yet had not been catapulted down
the slopes of education. We were taught the three R's, "read-
ing, 'riting, 'rithmetic. " There were no architectural gym-
nasiums. Boys practiced athletics in street fights "just around
the corner." Indoor swimming pools with tiled floors and
furnace-heated water had never been heard of. We learned to
swim at the river's bend in the big pool, floored with white
sand and fed by a mountain stream, where the only towels we
used, shivering on the bank, were furnished by the west wind.

That school was the "common school" of primitive Amer-
ica— the best institution of learning ever put on the boards —
and twice a week on the side, the Baptist preacher inoculated
my savage soul with the love of Latin.

We learned how to spell, those of us who ever could
learn, standing up in a row with the best speller at the
head, and my fixed position was third from the top. There
were just three of us in the class. A girl stood at the head.
Her name was May, and she was well named. Hers were the
eyes of springtime. May, like every good speller, was con-
scious of her inherent superiority and looked down with well-
bred condescension on the little boy who stood at the foot of
the row. And yet hers was "the pride that goeth before de-
struction and the haughty spirit that precedes a fall. ' ' The
time came when I stood at the head of the class. It was the
sweetest triumph in my life.

The schoolteacher, spelling book in hand, gave out the
word "Frontier."

"F-R-O-T-E-I-R," said May.

"Wrong," said the teacher. "Next."

WYOMING SCEAPBOOK 59

The next boy was William Crout, a big, red-headed boy,
who lived out on Sand Creek. He knew all about horses and
was practiced in the pioneer art of throwing a lariat to catch
the wildest bronco that ever loved the freedom of the plains.
Bracing himself for the effort William coiled his mental rope,
carefully estimated the distance between himself and the
word, and threw the circling noose.

"F-R-O-N-T-E-E-R," said WiUiam.

"Wrong again," howled the teacher. ''Next."

At last the moment had come, the supreme opportunity
that comes in silence and never comes but once. That silence
was appalling. You could have heard a pin drop. Everybody
looked at me. Summoning every resource to my aid I gazed
around the schoolroom for help and to gain time asked the
teacher to pronounce that word again. He did so, looking at
the book to be sure he could spell it right himself. Suddenly
my wandering eyes were glued to the big door of the old-
fashioned wood stove which stood in the middle of the room. It
was a box-shaped stove, manufactured in St. Louis for the
western trade, to take in a stick about three feet long, and
there, on the stove door, in cast-iron letters four inches long,
I saw the word "Frontier." It was the name of the stove.

"F-R-O-N-T-I-E-R" I shouted at the top of my voice,
and marched to the head of the class.

Into this colorful, alluring, vacant land, rimmed by self-
reliance, came the pioneer. Without knowing it, he was an
actor in a play — the oldest ever staged — the drama of migra-
tion. The curtain rose on difficulty and adventure. Loneliness
tented on the plain. Hunger lay entrenched in many a moun-
tain pass. Death lurked in many a forest ambuscade. There
he played his part, trying to get somewhere no one else had
ever been before, and do something no one else before had
ever done — the last survivor of "The American Idea."

The first settlers in Wyoming, unlike those of sister states,
did not move in social, political or religious groups. They
were individualists, the product of an environment never to
return. They stood out from the common herd. The pioneer
had personality. His mentality was a complex not to be
defined. Back of him lay the past haunted with tradition.
Before him stretched an untrodden way wrapped in the
glamour of romance. His soul was a battleground where two
shapes — old homesickness and new home-building — struggled
for supremacy, until he built with his own hands a home
of his own.

Long ago as the West counts time, at the call of a great
political party, then and now in the minority, Horace G. Alger
of Sheridan, who was a candidate for Governor and I a candi-
date for Congress, were summoned to carry the standard of

60 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Jeffersonian democracy over the plains and mountains of
Wyoming in a futile attempt to rescue civilization. It was
before the days of the automobile — thank God — and the "hello
girl" still slept in a lap of a time to come. We invaded the
wilderness with a team of half-broken broncos hitched, when
things went well, to a rattling buckboard, and camped one
night at a blacksmith shop just above the Cottonwood grove
where the sparkling La Prelle tumbles into the North Platte.
In the early morning, when the dew was still on the grass,
an emigrant showed up with two empty halters. He was look-
ing for his team, which had made a get-away during the night.
He spoke in the soft accents of the southland, and as nearly
as I can reproduce it, this is what he said :

"BACK TRACKS"

Say. have you seen two hosses. Mister, a-gohr on the lope,

That are branded on the shoulder Circle U?
The gray mare's bruk her 'obbles, and the bay 'er picket rope,
An' las' night they tuk back tracks fer 01' Missou.
Lit out fer 01 ' Missou :
We're a-foot, I'm tellin* you.
In the moonlight pale they hit the trail,
And left, fer 01' Missou.

We're a'goin' across the mountains to a place in Idaho,

Whur my wife's sister's 'usband's got a staht.
An' Ave 're camped down in the bottom, not so very far below,
The greasewood flat that bruk our hosses' haht.
S' back t' 01' Missou,
The farm team fairly flew —
They couldn't stair Wyomin' san',
Raised back in 01' Missou.

The peaks a-head kept foolin' us, and as far as we could see,

Each day they backed up farther in the blue.
Can you wonder thet them hosses got locoed with the thought,
That our traipsin' hed no hoss sense end in view?
Fer back in 01' Missou,
Worn road and by-path new,
Led soon or late to farmyard gate.

When day, and toil wuz thru.

WYOMING SCEAPBOOK 61

As I left the camp at sun-up on this mornin's round-up job,
Muh woman's eyes wuz brimmed with homesick dew,
And she said with just a quaver that was half-way to a sob,
"Them hosses lied more sense than we-uns knew."
For the 'ome in 01' Missou,
Tugged at her heart-strings, too,
And mother cried, while the bacon fried,
For the home in 01' Missou.

That's the home-sick side. But what modern psychologist
has ever adequately appraised the satisfaction of the creative
instinct when the first settler took out his first ditch to irri-
gate his frontier homestead. To awaken the abundant fertility
of a thirsty soil and scatter the bounty of a mountain stream
over gentle slopes is to paint a landscape with a higher artistic
and economic value than ever any old master has ever put
on canvas. This is what we are trying to say:

IRRIGATIN'

Dad, he likes to cogitate,

Reuben loves to play
With a pack of greasy cards,

When he's feelin' gay.
Sis adores to tango whirl,

Where the fiddles play,
But I prefer t' irrigate,

A-making of the hay.

Dutch just talks about the war,

As any neutral may ;
Windy Jim is great on sport —

That's a cowboy's way.
Aunt Lucile is daft on dress —

Uncle 's got to pay ;
But my main holt's t' irrigate,

A-making of the hay.

I know folks who live in books,

Or what the papers say;
'N' dubs who dote on politics —

Meet 'em any day.
Then thur's some who practice art,

A-trying to portray ;
But shucks! I like t' irrigate,

A-making of the hay.

62 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Just above the ditch's line,

Fields are dry and gray.
Where I take the water out,

Blooms are bright and gay.
Gladsome sheen has meadow green —

Green, because I stay,
Here — on muh job — 'n' irrigate —

A-making of the hay.

The best description of the frontier ever given is this —
"The west is a sparsely settled region of the earth's surface,
where the men are men and the women are glad of it."

Is that west "wild and wooly?" Freedom's feet are in
those wilds and of such wool her flags are made.

C. P. ARNOLD
President of the Wyoming Pioneer Association, (1929)

GEORGE MITCHELL
AN INTERVIEW AT THE HR RANCH, UVA

By Virginia Cole Trenholm*

When I received a recent invitation to spend the week-
end at the George Mitchell ranch, I accepted eagerly, because
I had hoped that sometime I might have the privilege of
spending an evening at this ranch home, and listen to Mr.
Mitchell's delightful stories. I had wondered why an adequate
biography had never been written of this interesting pioneer.
I found that Mr. Mitchell is very reticent when being ques-
tioned about himself and does not care for interviews.

The "untamed West" has left little imprint on the man-
ners of this pioneer, Charles A. Guernsey well said of him in
his book "Wyoming Cowboy Days". He is Scotch from the
"rind to the core."

George Mitchell, of Uva, Wyoming, was born in Aberdeen-
shire, Scotland, April 28, 1859, of Scotch parents, George and
Barbara (Shives) Mitchell, also natives of Aberdeenshire.

George Mitchell grew to manhood and received his edu-
cation in his native town ; at the age of twenty he left Scotland,

*Mrs. Virginia Trenholm was born in Missouri; attended the schools
and the University of Missouri from where she received her degree in
Journalism. Was publicity director and instructor in English and Jour-
nalism at Stephens College for two years. Free-lancing during this pe-
riod, she contributed to metropolitan newspapers and feature magazines.

Came to Wyoming in 1931. Married Eobert S. Trenholm, a native
of Platte County, Wyoming. The Trenholm family reside on a ranch
near Glendo, Wyoming.

Mr. and Mrs. George Mitchell, Pioneers of Uva, Wyoming

64 ANNALS OF WYOMING

came to America, settling at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for about
two years, when in 1881 he moved to Wyoming ; in 1882 he or-
ganized a joint stock company, known as the Milwaukee and
Wyoming Investment Company. He becanie% stockholder and
manager of the Company. He bought the Heck Reel ranch on
the North Laramie, west of Uva, where he engaged in the cattle
industry on an extensive scale. In 1889 he resigned as manager
of the HR ranch, moved to Casper, bought an interest in a lum-
ber company, having yards in Casper, Douglas and Dusk. He
erected the first building in Casper, occupying it both as an
office and as a residence. He was instrumental in helping to
raise funds to build the first church in Casper.

In 1886 was elected as member of the House, to the Terri-
torial Degislative Assembly.

In 1890 was elected first mayor of Casper, also appointed
one of the Commissioners to organize Natrona County. In
1892 he disposed of his lumber business and returned to
Scotland, being called by the death of his father; he remained
in his native land for about two years, during which time he
was united in marriage to Miss Jeannie Moir, native of Aber-
deenshire, on April 30, 1894. Mr. Mitchell returned to AVyo-
ming, accompanied by his wife, in 1894. Upon his return he
purchased the entire capital stock of the cattle company he
had organized in 1882, and to this day has been a successful
cattle man.

The Mitchells, members of the Presbyterian Church, were
charitable, public spirited pioneers. Mr. Mitchell is affiliated
with the Masonic fraternity, being a thirty-second degree
Mason, and a member of the Commandery of Knights Templar,
No. 1 and of the Consistory, No. 1 of Cheyenne. Was elected
to the House of the State Legislature 1935.

He was president of the Stock Growers Bank of Wheat-
land for a number of years ; was trustee of the Wyoming Stock
Growers Association from 1908 to 1924, served as vice presi-
dent of the Association in 1924, and treasurer from 1925 to
1931.

To this union was born four children, Mrs. Ruth Fancher,
Uva ; Jeannie Wilson, Casper ; George Robert Mitchell, Uva ;
Margaret Wilson, Glendo.

The Mitchell familv was saddened bv the sudden death
of Mrs. Mitchell April 25, 1942.

WYOMING SCRAPBOOK 85

BILL NYE'S EXPERIENCE

By Bill Nye*

TELLS WHAT HE KNOWS ABOUT WOMAN SUFFRAGE

Wyoming enjoyed the distinction of having Edgar Wilson
Nye (Bill Nye) among its honored citizens from 1876 to 1883.
While editor of the Laramie Boomerang he achieved world-wide
reputation as the most popular humorist of the day. He was
particularly happy in depicting scenes of Western life, and the
following sketch is no doubt largely based upon his actual
experience :

A well-known editor in South Dakota writes: "We shall
have to vote on the question of female suffrage here next fall.
Will you kindly publish the results of your own experience
during your eight years' residence in Wyoming, and also tell
us what you know of the Legislature which framed the bill for
that Territory? By doing this you will greatly oblige a num-
ber of us who have no knowledge of the practical working of
the law.

Female suffrage, 1 may safely and seriously assert, ac-
cording to the best judgment of the majority in Wyoming Ter-
ritory, is an unqualified success. An effort to abolish it would
be at once hooted clown. Its principal opposition comes from
those who do not know anything about it. I do not hesitate
to say that Wyoming is justly proud because she has thus
early recognized woman and given her a chance to be heard.
While she does not seek to hold office there or act as a juror,
she votes quietly, intelligently and pretty independently. More-
over, she does not recognize the machine at all, never goes to
caucusses much; votes for the men who are satisfactory, re-
gardless of the ticket, and thus scares the daylights out of
rings and machines.

*Bill' Nye was born in Sheiiey, Maine, August 25, 1850. His
family moved west and settled in St. Croix County, Wisconsin when
he was about two years old. He remained in Wisconsin until
his twenty-sixth year; during this time he established a district
school where he secured a considerable part of his education;
studied law at an academy and a military school in River Falls;
came to Wyoming settling- in Laramie in 187(5; here he became identified
with the Sentinel, and later became editor and manager of the Boomerang,
which paper he named after his mule.

He wrote several books, plays and contributed to many newspapers
and magazines.

He married Clara Frances Smith on March 7. 1877. Their first
children were born at Laramie.

Poor health necessitated his leaving Wyoming in 1883.

He passed away at Buck Shoals, North Carolina, February "2*2, 1890.

66 ANNALS OF WYOMING

In saying this, I am not in any way compromising this
paper. I am simply giving my own experience of eight years,
during which time I have lived peaceably in the house with a
fellow-citizen who did not, always vote my way. We did not
agree on religious matters, either, I being, perhaps more strict
than my wife in such matters.

So much for the general impressions I still have of the
practical workings of the law in a new Territory, when elec-
tion day would shame the polls of any cultivated city of the
effete East, where the day wore a Sabbath serenity. No rum
was sold, women rode to the polls in carriages furnished by
the two parties, and every man was straining himself to be a
gentleman because there were votes at stake. A Wyoming
election, as I recall it, was a standing rebuke to every Eastern
election I ever saw.

The correspondent asks, however, for some desultory re-
marks on the passage of the bill and other attendant circum-
stances, and I gladly reproduce some of the speeches made in
favor of the measure in order to show the originality and
independence of thought, characteristic of the early Legislature.

A member whom I will call Mr. Bigsby, partly because I
need a name for him and partly because that was not his name,
was elected by the railroad men of the southern part of the
Territory, and was a railroad man himself. He said in the
course of his remarks: "Gentlemen, this is a pretty important
move. It's a kind of wild train on a single track, and we've
got to keep our eye peeled or we'll get into the ditch. It's
a neAv conductor making his first run. He don't know the
stations yet, and he feels just as if there were a spotter in
every coach besides. Female suffrage changes the manage-
ment of the whole line, and may put the entire outfit in the
hands of a receiver in two years. We can't tell when Wyoming
Territory may be side-tracked with a lot of female conductors
and superintendents and a posse of giddy girls at the brakes.

I tell you we want to consider this pretty thorough. Of
course, we members get our time check at the close of the
term, and we don't care much, but if the young Territory gets
into a hot box, or civilization has to wait a few years because
we get a flat wheel, and thus block the track, or if by our
foolishness we telescope some other Territory, folks will point
us out and say, 'there's where the difficulty is.' We sent a
choice aggregation of railroad men and miners and cattle men
down there to Cheyenne, thinking we had a carload of states-
men for to work up this thing, and Ave are without airy law
or airy gospel that we can lay our jaw to in the whole domain.
However, Mr. Speaker, I claim that I've got my orders and I
shall pull out in favor of the move. If you boys will couple
onto our train, I am moderatelv certain that Ave v\rill make no

WYOMING SCEAPBOOK 67

mistake. I regard it as a promotion when I go from the
cattle train of male ward polities to take charge of a train with
a parlor car and ladies belonging to the manifest." (Applause.)

The next speech was made by unusual Barnes, owner of
the Bar G Brand horse ranch and the crop mottle and key Q
monkey wrench brand cattle on the Upper Chugwater. He said:
"Mr. Chairman, or Speaker, or whatever you call yourself, I
can cut out a steer or put my red-hot monogram on a maverick
in the darkest night that ever blew, but I'm poorly put up to
paralyze the eager throng with matchless eloquence. I tell
you, talk is inexpensive, anyhow. It is rum and hired help
that costs money. I agree with the chair that we want to be
familiar with the range before we stampede and go wild like
a lot of Texas cattle just off the trail, traveling 100 miles a day
and filling their pelts with pizen weed and other peculiar
vegetables. We want, to consider what we're about and act
with some judgment. When we turn this maverick over to
the Governor to be branded, we want to know that we are cor-
ralling the right animal. You can't lariat a broncho mule with
a morning glory vine. Most always, and after we've run this
bill into the chute and twisted its tail a few times, we might
want to pay two or three good men to help us let loose it.
However, I shall vote for it as it is, and take the chances.
Passing a bill is like buying a brand of cattle on the range,
anyhow. You may tally away ahead, and you may get ever-
lastingly left with a little withered bunch of Texas frames
that there ain't no more hopes of fattening than there would
be of putting flesh on a railroad bridge/'

The Legislature now took a recess, and after a little <|iiiet
talk at Colonel Luke Murrin's place, reassembled to listen to a
brief speech by Buck Bramel, a prospector, who discovered the
Pauper's Dream gold mine. Buck said: "Mr. Cheersman. I don't
know what kind of a fist the women will make of politics, hut
I'm prepared to invest with surface indications. The law may
develop a true fissure vein of prosperity and progress, or a
heartbreaking slide of the mountain. We cannot tell till we go
down on it. All we can do is to prospect around and drift and
develop and comply with the United States laws in such cases
made and provided. Then two years more will show whether
we've got 'mineral in place' or not. If it works, all right, the
next shift that comes to the Legislature can drift and stope and
stump and timber the blamed measure so as to make a good
investment of it for future history. We don't expect to de-
clare a dividend the first year. It'll take time to show what
there is in it. My opinion is that women can give this territory
a boom that will make her the bonanza of all creation.

"We've got mighty pretty blossom rock already in the in-
telligence and brains of our women ; let us he the means of her

68 ANNALS OF "WYOMING

advancement and thus shame the old and mossy civilization of
other lands. Thus in time we may be able to send missionaries
to New England. I cannot think of anything more enjoyable
than that would be. I was in California years ago, up in the
hills, looking for a place, and I ran into a camp in a gulch
there, where the soft foot-fall of women had never mashed
the violet or squoze the fragrance from the wild columbine.
At first the boys thought it was real nice. Everything was so
quiet and life was like a dream. Men wore their whiskers
flowing, with burdock burs in them. They got clown at the
heel. They got so depraved that they neglected their manicure
sets for days at a time and killed each other thoughtlessly at
times. They also wore their clothes a long time without shame.
They also bet their dust foolishly, and the rum pathologist of
the Little Nasal Dye Works got the wages of the whole crew.
Bye and bye Yankee school inarms and their brothers came up
here, and everything was lovely; the boys braced up and had
some style about 'em. It was a big stroke of good luck to the
camp.

"I believe that the mother of a statesman is better cal-
culated to vote than a man that can't read or write. I may
be a little peculiar, but I think that when a woman has marched
a band of hostile boys all the way up to manhood and give 'em
a good start and made good citizens out of 'em, with this
wicked world to buck agin all the time, she can vote all day,
so far as I'm concerned, in preference to the man who don't
know whether Michigan is in Missouri or St. Louis. I am in
favor of making the location and going ahead with our assess-
ment work, and I'll bet my pile that there hain't been a meas-
ure passed by our august body this winter that will show
more mineral on the dump in five years than this one. ' '

The closing speech was made by Elias Kilgore, a retired
stage driver. He also favored the bill, and spoke as follows:

"Mr. Speaker — The bill that's before us, it strikes me, is
where the road forks. One is the old guv-ment road that has
been the style for a good while, and the other is the cut-off.
It 's a new road, but with a little work on it, I reckon it 's going
to be the best road. You men that opposes the bill has got
ezzication — some of you — some of you ain't. You that has got
it got it at your mother's knee. Second, the more Godlike we
get, gentlemen, the more rights we will give women. The closter
you get to the cannibals the more apt a woman is to do chores
and get choked for her opinions. I don't say that a woman has
got to vote because she has the right, no more than our local
vigilance committee has got to hang the member from Sweet-
water county because it has a right to, but it is a good, whole-
some brake on society in case you bust a holcl-back or tear off a
harness strap when you are on a steep grade. The member from

WYOMING SCRAPBOOK 69

Sweetwater county says we ort to restrick the vote privilege
instead of enlarging it. He goes on to say that too many folks
is already 'ntitled to vote. That may be. Too many maudlin
drunkards that thinks with a fung-us growth and reasons with
a little fatty degeneration which they calls brains till they
runs against an autopsy, too many folks with no voting quali-
fication but talk and trowsiz, is allowed to vote, not only at the
polls, but to even represent a big and beautiful county like
Sweetwater in the Legislature.

"So we are to restrick the vote, I admit, in that direction
and enlarge it in the direction of decency and sense. Mr.
Speaker, men is too much stuck on themselves. Becuz they
was made first, they seem to be checked up too high. The fact
is that God made the muskeeter and the bedbug before he
made man. He also made the mud-turtle, the jackass and the
babboon. When he had all the experience he wanted in creat-
ing, he made man. Then he made woman. He done a good
job. She suits me. She fooled herself once, but why was it?
It was Monday. She had a picked-up dinner. Adam wanted
something to finish off with. Eve suggested a cottage pudding.
'Oh, blow your cottage pudding, ' says Ad. 'How would you
like a little currant jell?' says she. 'No current jell, if you will
excuse me,' says Ad. 'Well, say a sauceful of "tipsy parson,"
with a little coffee and a Rhode Island pudding'?' 'Don't talk
to me about Rhode Island gravies," says Ad. 'You make me
tired. Wash day here is worse than the fodder we had at the
Gem City house on our wedding tower. I haven't had a thing
to eat yet that was fit to feed to a shingle mill. Give me a fillet
of elephant's veal. Kill that little fat elephant that eats the
blackberries nights. Fix up a little Roman salad, ' he says,
'and put a quart of Royal Berton sec on ice for me. I will then
take a little plum duff and one of those apples that the Lord
told us not to pick. Do that for next wash-day, Evie,' says Ad,
'and draw on me."

"These was Adam's words as regular as if he had been
reported, I reckon, and that's how sin come into the world.
That's why man earns his bread by the sweat of his brow, and
the tooth of the serpent bruises the woman's heel. Eve rustled
around the ranch to get a little fresh fruit for Ad., and lo !
the Deluge and the Crucifixtion and the Revelation and the
Rebellion has growed out of it.

"Proud man, with nothing but an appetite and sidewhis-
kers, lays out to own the earth because Eve overdrawed her
account in order to please him. And now, because man claims
he was created first and did not sin to amount to anything, he
thinks that he has got the brains of the civilized world and
practically owns the town.

70 ANNALS OF WYOMING

"I talk with prejudice, Mr. Speaker, because I have no
wife. I don't expect to have any. I have had one. She is in
heaven now. She belonged there before I married her, but for
some reason that I can't find out she was throwed in my way
for a few years, and that recollection puts a lump in my throat
yet as I stand here. I imposed on her because she had been
taught to obey her husband, no matter how much of a dam
phool he might be. That was Laura's idea of Christianity.
She is dead now. I drive stage and think. God help the feller
that has to think when he 's got nothing to think of but an angel
in the sky that he ain't got no claim on.

"I've been held up four times, and I drove right along
past the road agents. Drove rather slow, hoping that they'd
shoot, but they seemed kind of rattled, and so waited for the
next stage.

"It's funny to me that woman who suffers most in order
that man may come into the world, the one, Mr. Speaker, that
is first to find and last to forsake him, first to hush the cry of a
baby Savior in a Jim Crow livery stable in Bethlehem, and last
to leave the cross, first at the sepulchre and last to doubt the
Lord, should be interested with the souls and bodies of gen-
erations and yet not know enough to vote." (Applause.)

I give the above simply to show the style of rhetoric in
those days.

Wyoming Stream flames

By Dee Linford

CONCLUDED

NOTE — Below is presented the last of the articles whose purpose
was to examine the historical significance of names applied to principal
Wyoming streams, at present and in the past.

The term Popo Agie (pronounced popo-zsha) undoubtedly
was originated by the Crow Indians who once lived along the
important Wind River tributary which bears the name. There
is disagreement, however, as to the words' meaning. Washing-
ton Irving translated them as "Head Water" or "Head River,"
and most later writers — including Philip Ashton Rollins — ac-
cept this interpretation. But an authoritative dissenting opinion
is found in Coues (1898), in a quoted letter from Dr. Washing-
ton Matthews, late eminent Indian anthropologist and linguist.
and author of the now rare Hidatsa Dictionary.

"Popo-agie is a Crow name," Dr. Matthews wrote. "As you
know, Crow and Hidatsa (Sioux) are closely allied tongues;
and as you know also, the sounds of 'o' and 'u' are easily
interchanged in any language, English included. Now look at
my Hidatsa Dictionary for the words 'pupu' and 'azi' (ahzhee),
and put them together; then look for the word 'head' and see
if you can make 'Head River' out of this name. Pupa is. I
believe, the common reed, Phragrnites communis."1

Coues, on this authority, prefers the translation "Reed
River" to Irving 's "Head River." Still another interpreta-
tion of "popo" or "pupu" is listed by Clough as "bundles
of rye grass, such as Indians used to shed rain from the wooden
wickiup." This is not "reed" or "river reed," but the two
types of plants could easily have been linked in the Indian
mind.

The Wyoming Guide Book traces the names Bull Lake
and Bull Lake Creek, both tributary to Wind River, to a
Shoshone legend of a white buffalo bull which was chased into
the lake by hunters who coveted his white robe. The bull
drowned, and in winter the ice covering the water was said
to rise and drop with a moaning, grumbling sound — which
sound the Indians interpreted as the white bull 's spirit roaring
in anger. Because of this belief, they are said to have called
the water both Bull Lake and "Lake That Roars."

At least two conflicting opinions account for the naming
of Badwater Creek, one of the last affluents acquired by the
Wind River before entering the can von where it becomes the

72 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Big Horn. One says the quality of its water inspired the
stream's name, another relates that Indians bestowed the ap-
pellation after floodwaters from a cloudburst had swept away
an encampment near its mouth.

Kirby Creek, according to the Hilliard S. Ridgely papers
(Thompson), derived its name from J. R. Kirby, first settler
to locate on its banks, in 1880. The names Xowater and
Nowood are descriptive. The term Tensleep, applied to a
major fork of the Nowood, commemorates an Indian custom
of reckoning time and distance in ' ' sleeps. ' ' A favored camp-
site along the stream's banks was said to have been "ten sleeps' '
travel from Port Laramie in one direction and a point in
Yellowstone Park in the other.

The Greybull River was named, according to the "Wyo-
ming Guide, for Indian Pictographs on a cliff overhanging the
water which depicted a great buffalo bull with an arrow
through its body. A second legend says the name was inspired
by an old grey buffalo bull which ranged the river's banks.
The former version appears to be the more probable. At any
rate, the name is very old; Irving more than a hundred years
ago listed the stream as "Bull River." Meeteetse Creek,
tributary to the Greybull, has an Indian name translated both
as "far away" and "near by" (Clough).

Shell Creek's name, to quote from Clough, is "by some
attributed to a cowboy, Dick Shell, who picked the town site ;
but the presence of a Shell River on Irving 's 1837 map, as
well as of a Sheik Creek on Colton's map of 1869, and on maps
of the 70 's (where a Shell River farther south is also found
once or twice), would seem to cast doubt on the legend of a
cowboy, or give credence to the suggestion that the name came
from shells along the stream."

White Creek, a branch of the Shell, was named for a
Charley Smith, trapper, who was murdered on its banks in
1880 (Ridgely papers).

The Shoshone River, last tributary of note acquired by
the Big Horn River in Wyoming, was known prior to 1901
as the Stinking Water. The name is shown on Clark's map
of the Northwest, of 1814, and was apparently bestowed by
John Colter who discovered the river in 1807. A Wyoming
Legislature arbitrarily declared its name to be "Shoshone
River" in 1901, at the behest of finical citizens who de-
sired a more euphonious and less descriptive title for their
river. The term "Shoshone," applied to the river from the
Indian nation most commonly associated with Wyoming, is
said to mean "abundance of grass" and "grass lodge people"
(Clough).

Carter Creek was said by Ridgely to have been called for
Charlie Carter, early Big Horn Basin settler, who founded the

WYOMING STREAM NAMES 73

famous Bug Ranch in 1880 on the creek which now hears
his name.

Sunlight Creek, tributary to Clark's Fork, is said ((Tough)
to have been named by prospectors who, lost in a fog, sud-
denly looked down into the creek's basin, and found it flooded
with sunshine.

The Tongue and Powder Rivers — last two important trib-
utaries received by the Yellowstone River from Wyoming —
both find headwaters on the east slope of the Big Horn Moun-
tains. Both titles date back to Lewis and Clark, and both
undoubtedly are translations of Indian names, applied before
the coming of the whites.

Clark's journal recording his journey down the Yellow-
stone in 1806 tells of camping on a stream ''called by the
Indians 'Lazeka, or Tongue River.' " On Lewis' map of the
Northwest, the form of the Indian term is rendered "la-ze-ka."
The explorers make no attempt to account for the unusual
appellation. There is a legend which says the stream was so
styled for a tongue-shaped mountain near its head, but verifi-
cation of this appears to lie lacking.

Record of the naming of Powder River is even less satis-
factory. "The water is very muddy," the Lewis and Clark
Journal reports, "and like its banks is of a dark brown color.
Its current throws out great quantities of red stones; which
circumstance, with the appearance of the distant hills, induced
Captain Clark to call it the Redstone, which he afterwards
found to be the meaning of its Indian name, "Wahasah' ".

Clark did not list the name "Powder River," even as an
alternative title. But Lewis, who did not visit the stream,
identifies it on his map as the "War-rak-sash or Powder R."
Clark's "Wahasah" and Lewis' "War-rak-sash" undoubtedly
are variations of the same Indian term, and Clark elsewhere
varied his spelling even closer to. Lewis', with " War-har-sop,"
still insisting on the translation "Redstone." But in 1811.
only five years after Clark had discovered the stream. Wilson
Price Hunt referred to it as "Powder River." without quali-
fication or explanation — indicating that the latter name was
well established at that time, three years before Clark's map
was published.

Thus, the significance of the term "Powder River." which
has come to be somehow symbolic of the whole romantic notion
of the West, is not known. Some suggest it may have been
named, like the Cache de la Poudre of Colorado, from some
early trapper's cache of gunpowder. But Clark's statement
that the Indian name "Redstone" was inspired by the stream's
flow, and Lewis' translation of the same Indian term to mean
"Powder," promote belief that the appellation Powder River

74 ANNALS OF WYOMING

was applied out of regard for the river's sandy banks and
sand-laden waters.

The Powder, reputed by legend to be a mile wide and an
inch deep, and to run uphill, arises in Natrona County and
acquires numerous tributaries from three other counties before
crossing the State-line, to join the Yellowstone in Montana.
Names of many of these forks are as arresting as that of the
parent stream, and their origins are likewise as obscure.

Crazy Woman Creek, according to an item appearing in
the Wyoming Leader of July 26, 1877, was the "haunt of a
crazy old squaw . . . On moonlight nights the old squaw was
often seen seated in her light canoe, shooting its rapids, jump-
ing its numerous falls, and thus leaping from village to vil-
lage like a very spirit. The Great Spirit had laid his hand
upon her ; hence she was not molested by any of the tribe, and
her comings were looked upon as good medicine, and were
often followed by the successful chase, or a victorious battle
with their (the Sioux's) old-time enemies, the Crows, whose
home was in the adjacent (Big Horn) mountains."

This legend of the demented squaw makes its first appear-
ance in the report (Coutant) of Captain H. E. Palmer of the
Seventh Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, who accompanied General
P. E. Connor on the bloody "Powder River Expedition" from
Fort Laramie in 1865 ; it has been repeated, with variations,
in many later works. There is, however, another version of
the meaning of this name. Coues (1898) lists the word witkowin
as the Indian equivalent of prostitute, and gives its literal
translation as "fool woman." Prom this, some sources take
the view that the stream was known to Indians as "Prostitute
Creek," and that whites in adopting the name lost its true
significance — as often was the case in such adaptations.

The presence of a second Crazy Woman Creek in Wyo-
ming (tributary to the Cheyenne River) implies that the term
may originally have had some such general significance to
the Indian mind, and did not arise from a specific incident,
such as that reported by the legend of the demented squaw.

Teapot Creek and Castle Creek take their names from
suggestive rock formations along their courses : Teapot Dome,
which achieved national notoriety in the oil scandals of the
1920 's, takes its name from the creek. The terms Clear, Salt,
Alkali, Dry, Bitter, Red, etc., as applied to Powder River tribu-
taries, are descriptive. Spotted Horse, Wildhorse, Rawhide.
Wildcat, date back to early times, and — like most salty western
place names — they seem to have no definite beginning.

Ke minis cences of frontier J) ays

By M. Wilson Rankin

The following are excerpts from M. Wilson Eankin's book, "Kenii-
niscences of Frontier Days ' ' which was produced from his diary written
for private use only. Because of many requests for copies of the diary,
a limited number of these books were printed.

RAWLINS, WYOMING
A Distributing and Supply Point

When construction of the Union Pacific Railroad was com-
pleted through Wyoming in 1868, Rawlins was located at
Rawlins Springs, named in honor of John A. Rawlings who
was in command of a military expedition of exploration that
camped at the springs for some time in 1857. From 1868 sup-
plies were shipped to Rawlins annually by the government
for delivery to the White River Ute Indian Agency, Shoshone,
and Arapahoe Agency, and the military post of Fort Washakie.
All of these except the White River Agency were located in
the Popo-agie and Wind River Valley 150 miles northwest of
Rawlins. Mail was delivered to these agencies by horseback;
semimonthly in winter and weekly in summer.

A description of the route from Rawlins to the White
River Agency is included as a background to assist in the
description of later activities along the route. (Thirty miles
south of Rawlins the road crossed Muddy Creek , and the
Denver, Salt Lake and Overland stage road, and frequently
referred to as the Bitter Creek route, j

I By 1862, mining had come into prominence in Colorado.
Denver was growing; Indians had become more troublesome
to stage and immigrant travel on the North Platte route. The
stage line and practically all traffic between Missouri River
points. Salt Lake and northwest territory, was shifted to the
I iitter Creek route. )

Fort Morgan was established on the line at the crossing
of the South Platte River and the junction of the Denver
branch. Fort Halleck was also established on the line at the
foot of Elk Mountain on the same date. The stage line was
operated by Ben Holladay. '

At Muddy Creek crossing was Sulphur Springs Stage
Station, with a history of Indian depredations such as attacks
on stage coaches traveling on the route within its radius. On
the hillside a few hundred yards from the station were eight
markers representing fatalities. From information passed along.

76 ANNALS OF WYOMING

five persons were killed by Indians, one was killed during a
drunken carousel, and two immigrants died from natural
causes.

The following information was obtained from Herman
Haas who was a long-time resident of Cheyenne. He had been
a private soldier at Fort Laramie in 1862, and one of an escort
of soldiers when stage coaches and other stage equipment was
being transferred from the North Platte route for service on
the Bitter Creek route by way of Independence Rock, Devils
Gap on the Sweetwater River, and through a gap in the Ferris
Mountains. At this point the escort found two soldiers who
had dropped out of an escort of soldiers who had preceded
them on a similar mission. They were lying beside the road-
side in a stupor from liquor. The officer in charge poured out
their supply of liquors from bottles, got them on their horses.
and started them on the way to overtake their troop. From
this occurance, the pass received the name of Whiskey Gap.

Five miles farther south the escort found another soldier
of the same party as the other two. He had fallen by the
wayside at a spring branch. At his awakening from a stupor,
with a befuddled brain, he was bewildered and lost, not know-
ing in which direction to go to find his comrades. He was
directed on his way by the officer in charge. From this inci-
dent/ the spring branch was given the name of Lost Soldier.

(The Holladay stage line was abandoned shortly after the
completion of building of the Union Pacific Railroad which
paralleled the stage route. Immigrant travel- continued, but
gradually dwindled to a mere dribble by 1885. )

Sixteen miles south of Sulphur Springs, the agency road
crossed the old Cherokee trail. From history we learn the
Cherokee Indians disposed of their lands in southern Georgia
in 1853, and with horse and ox teams, herds of cattle and
other belongings trekked their way across plains and moun-
tains without road or trail to guide them on their way to
California in search of gold and a country where they could
make homes for their people. The trail at this point, and for
many miles, is plainly visible and can be traced in many places
across southern "Wyoming at the present time, although it is
three-quarters of a century since it was traveled.

Judging from their zigzag trail which passed through
rough mountain country, the Cherokees were poor guides.
Their trail at several points within Wyoming being six to ten
miles south of the more feasible and later-established Denver
and Salt Lake Route. They possibly selected the mountainous
route with a view to prospecting for gold where conditions
seemed favorable.

REMINISCENCES OF FKONTIER DAYS 77

Continuing south fifteen miles. Muddy Creek forms a
junction with Little Snake River. The latter stream derived
its name from the Snake Indians (one of the Shoshone tribes).
who, because of a tribal custom, were noted for their weird
snake dance, and who inhabited this valley until driven out
by Arapahoe and Ute Indians.

Besides the Arapahoe and Ute Indians claiming the
Snake River country for their hunting ground, the Sioux and
other Indian tribes drifted, at times, to these parts for a hunt.
/Two miles south of the above mentioned junction the road
crossed the Colorado-Wyoming line and followed the course of
Four Mile Creek to the divide, thence along the course of
Fortification Creek to the mouth of Little Bear Creek where
the road bore to the east across the mesa to Bear River at the
junction of Elkhead Creek. From Bear River Crossing the
route was in a southwesterly direction over ^a high divide to
Williams Fork (a tributary of Bear River), ) thence crossing
near the head of Deer and Morapos Creek to Stinking Gulch,
so named because of sloughs where black mulch with bad-smell-
ing odors arose. At this point the road was joined by a trail
from Bear River Road Crossing. It was a short-cut on the
route by way of lower Morapos Creek, and was known as the
Morapos trail. It was first traveled by Indians, and later all
horseback travel, including the U. S. mail, went over this trail.
Many years later the "lies Oil Dome" was discovered in the
Stinking Gulch district.

The agency road continued over a low divide and along
the north side of Milk creek to where the Creek turned north
through a canyon in the Danforth Hills. This string of hills
was named after Ute Indian Agent H. E. Danforth who had be-
come lost during a snow storm, spending one night out while
on a hunt for deer. From Milk Creek Crossing, the route fol-
lowed Beaver Creek, which is a narrow ravine. At Milk Creek
Crossing a short-cut trail led straight ahead over hills, joining
the road on Beaver Creek, thence over a low divide following
the downward course of Coal Creek. This creek took the name
after a coal vein had been opened to supply fuel for the first
White River Agency, which was six miles east of the mouth of
Coal Creek and situated near the foot of the mountains at the
east end of White River Valley, where the history-making
trail ended 165 miles from Rawlins.

During the life of the White River Ute Indian Agency, a
number of men had been assigned to the position of agent, bin
owning to the roving and unruly disposition shown by the Vies
and isolated location of the agency, each became dissatisfied
or was removed for cause, leaving the job after a short Term
of years. Names of these agents were A. J. Beck, Charles X.

ANNALS OF WYOMING

Adams, J. S. Littlefield and H. E. Danforth, who was succeeded
by Nathan Cook Meeker. >

The names of some of the first to carry the mail by
horseback from Rawlins to the White River Agency were
Jerry Huff, Charlie Lowry, Joe Rankin and Joe Collom.

DISCOVERY OF GOLD AND FIRST
MINING AT HAHN'S PEAK

Gold was discovered by Joseph Hahn and Captain George
R. Way, who bad come from Illinois in 1860. They spent
part of that season prospecting on the eastern slope. Leaving
Empire with pack burros late in the season to prospect on the
western slope, they arrived at the peak late in the fall, where
they found gold in gulches at the foot of the peak. Heavy
snows came before -much prospecting could be done. They had
but a small supply of provisions, so they returned to Empire
and to the states for the winter, expecting to return to the peak
in the spring. During the winter, they entered into an agree-
ment with William Doyle, a friend and neighbor, to join them
and renew the search for gold.

In 1861 the civil war began. Way and Doyle enlisted and
served three years in the army. After their discharge from
the army, Hahn and Way renewed their former agreement
with Doyle to return to the peak and begin mining on their
discovery. Late in the summer of 1864 they again outfitted
at Empire for their journey to the peak. They arrived again
too late to prospect or to build a cabin and prepare for winter.
Having but a small supply of provisions for three men. Cap-
tain Way returned to Empire with the burros, expecting to
return with supplies.

Deep snows came and he could not return. The snowfall
was heavy about the peak. Deer and elk that were in the
vicinity when they first came and of which they expected to
get the greater part of their food supply for the winter, had
drifted to the lower altitude during the first snows.

Early in March, after much privation (their provisions
being exhausted and starvation threatening them), Hahn and
Doyle started to Empire on foot over crusted snow which
broke through part of the time. They got as far as the head
of Muddy Creek, a few miles below Rabbit Ear peak, when
Hahn became exhausted and sick. Lying down in the snow, he
could go no farther. Doyle stayed with him for some time,
but Hahn became worse. Doyle, in fear of losing his own life
by further delay, left Hahn to die and made his way toward

REMINISCENCES OF FRONTIER DAYS 79

Empire, stopping at Gus Header's trapping camp in upper
Middle Park. He stumbled in, completely exhausted from cold
and hunger.

After a rest and recovery of strength, he made his way
to Empire. At the break of spring, Doyle and Way returned
to look after Halm's remains. They never returned to the
peak. Later, when mining began at the peak, it was named
Halm's Peak, and the gulch in which gold was first discovered
was named Way's Gulch.

FIRST MINING AT HAHN'S PEAK

as told by-
Bill Slater and Bibleback Brown

The first mining done at Halm's Peak was in 1869 by Wil-
liam (Bill) Slater and partner, known to pioneers of Snake
River by no other name than Bibleback Brown. Slater had
lived in Denver. He joined the third Colorado Cavalry in
1863. He was with Colonel John M. Chivington in the battle
of Sand Creek against a band of 300 southern Cheyenne In-
dians, forty miles north of Fort Lyon, in November, 1861.
During the thick of the fight. Slater followed one of the tribe
a considerable distance along a deep wash-away from the
battle-ground before getting a chance to kill. When return-
ing by the same route, he found a small Indian boy who had
wondered away from the camp during the fight. He took the
boy on his horse, thinking to save the youngster's life. Before
he got to where the slaughter was going on, he thought of the
instructions given by the stern commander Chivington, that
"nits become lice" — that young and old must be exterminated.
He left the boy alive by a cotton wood tree, never knowing
what became of him afterwards.

In 1868 Slater was employed on construction work of the
Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming. During the winter months
he was employed at U, P. construction at Rawlins. Brown at
that time was camping twelve miles north of Rawlins in the
brakes of a spring branch which later was named Brown's
Canyon (by the citizenry). He had been furnishing game meat
for the Union Pacific Railroad construction crews. He had
been trapping in the Snake River and Halm's Peak country
two years before, where he found mining tools and other
indications of prospecting that had been done by Halm and
Way.

Slater was about 40 years of age ; Brown five years older.
(According to frontier custom, when meeting in a saloon they

80 ANNALS OF WYOMING

became pals by joining socially with many drinks). When
tuned to the point, Brown confided his secret of gold discovery
to Slater. '.In the spring of 1869, they joined in outfitting with
saddle and^ackhorses, provisions and necessary prospecting
equipment, and went to work on the prospect. The greater
part of the season was spent prospecting. They found gold in
other places about the peak. They collected some gold by
panning. They built a cabin and made preparations for min-
ing the next season. When deep snow came, they moved to
Snake River Valley, and built a cabin near the mouth of Savery
Creek. Brown went to Rawlins for winter provisions and his
traps, which. he had left at Rawlins. They did some trapping
that winter./

In the spring of 1870 they returned to their claims and
began mining by sluicing over riffles and flume of crude con-
struction. They were joined later in the season by Dave Miller
and George Howe, who wandered in while on a prospecting
trip from east of the range. They located claims on Poverty
Hill, a short distance from Way's Gulch. The only other
changes in the monotony of their isolated job was when they
were visited by bands of Ute Indians while on their customary
ramblings when hunting each season. In their clean-up of the
season, Slater and Brown had enough of the yellow metal to
pay them well for their season's labor. Miller and Howe
joine'd them in going to the valley for winter quarters.

(^During the mining season of 1871 the four miners were
joined in search for gold by I. C. Miller and W. R. Cogswell.
They had come from Rawlins. They also located claims on
Poverty Hill. At the close of the mining season, Miller and
Cogswell returned to Rawlins for the winter while the other
four went to their winter cabins in the valley, and Brown
went to Rawlins for winter provisions. While at Rawlins.
Brown met Noah Reader who was camped at Rawlins Springs.
He was on his way west from Missouri with his family of
wife and three sons, George, William and Albert. They were
traveling by ox team and covered wagon with a small herd
of cattle. During their conversation Reader told Brown he
was looking for a country in which to make a home for him-
self and family. Brown told him that Snake River Valley was
a good place to winter his stock, and if he wished to go, that
he himself was going out next day and would be glad to show
him the way. Reader's stock being footsore and tired, he
decided to go with Brown. He located by a wall^rock ledge
near where Brown and Slater spent their winters, J

Reader set about at once to erect a cabin of Cottonwood
logs for a home. Brown and Slater assisted him to build. The
Reader family were permanent settlers and the first to build

REMINISCENCES OF FRONTIER DAYS 81

a home in Snake River Valley. Slater later homesteaded on
a creek south of Snake River, which was given the name of
Slater Creek. Brown was the scout and first to travel the
short-cut route from Snake River by way of Five Buttes and
Pine Grove, to Rawlins. A steep hill on the route between
Snake River and Five Buttes was named Brown's Hill.

In 1872, Will G. Reader (second son of Noah Reader) was
employed at mining at Halm's Peak by Brown and Slater.
After a busy season of panning and sluicing, the seven miners
felt well paid for their labor. Other prospectors joined in the
hunt for gold about the peak during the season.

Brown and Slater were good pals ; honest whole-souled,
and fond of drink from the cup that cheers. The little brown
jug of tonic was often included in their stock when purchas-
ing provisions for their camp. The gold pan served the pros-
pector to mix his bread: as wash pan, and many other camp
conveniences.

ACCESSIONS

to the

WYOMING HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

August 2, 1943 to December 31, 1943

Miscellaneous Gifts

Woman 's Relief Corps, J. F. Reynolds No. 9 donor, through Mrs. Eliza-
beth S. Graeber, and Mrs. Elizabeth Braunschweig, of an American
Flag, and W.R.C. No. 9, badge attached.

Braunschweig, Mrs. Elizabeth, Cheyenne, Wyoming, donor of two framed
photographs; one of Thomas Castle and John C. Argesheimer, and
one of Arthur Mahar and Thomas Castle. Large knife brought from
the Philippines after World War I by a Mr. Poster and presented
to Thomas Castle.

Gould, Charles A., 1228 16th Street, Washington, D. C, donor of eight
snapshots of old buildings at Port MeKinney.

Beach, Major Alfred H., donor of seventeen long photographs of World
War I scenes; five photographs, military groups, World War I; 60
picture post cards mostly French scenes; eight pamphlets, thirteen
articles, typewritten and longhand; ten old State newspapers; sixty-
four newspaper clippings of people and places in Wyoming.

Gereke, A. J., of Cheyenne, Wyoming, donor of seven cuts, one of the
Central School, one of Theodore Roosevelt, the signatures of Frank
Emerson, James B. True, Samuel Corson, A. W. French, Mrs. V. S.
Glafeke Flower Shop sign; two imprints of these seven cuts; photo-
graph of Hugh L. Patton, U. S. Marshal; photograph of the dog
''Tony" used by Mr. Ripley in his newspaper article ''Believe it
or not"; letter by Mr. Gereke to Mr. Ripley and a postcard from
Mr. Ripley; two 1910 baseball posters; one poster advertising an
aviation meeting 1911.

Davis, Mrs. James, Laramie, Wyoming, donor of one group picture of
Patrick Burns, James O'Brien, Malcolm Campbell, C. P. Arnold, John
R. Smith, Bert Wagner, James Abney; a sea horse; The Vanished
Frontier, pamphlet; Court House scene at Laramie 1886; two photo-
graphs of Dale Creek Bridge; two photographs of a wreck on the
Union Pacific Railroad.

Brosnan, Dominic A., East Natick, Massachusetts, donor of a print of
Fort Bridger 1858; poem, "Man to Brother Man" by Mr. Brosnan.

Books — Purchased

Johnson, Allen — The Historian and Historical Evidence, New York, Scrib-
ners, C 1926. $1.80.

Emmons, Delia Gould — Sacajawea of the Shoshones, Portland, Oregon, Bins-
ford & Mort, C 1943. $1.80.

Annals of Wyoming

Pol. 16

July, 1944

No. 2

Or,. '
7'<e

A HISTORICAL MAGAZINE

BILL BARLOW'S BUDGET OFFICE, 1886, DOUGLAS, WYOMING

En front of the Office are Frank Barrow, Mrs. Merris C. Barrow, M. C. Barrow, Sam
ilaymaker, and one of Mr. and Mrs. Barrow's daughters. The sign on the second building
s, "Henry Rokahr, Harnesses, Boots, Shoes and Farm Implements." The Law Office is,
is near as we can ascertain, the law office of Alex Buttler, a lawyer in old Douglas.
(For history of paper see Page 166.)

Published Bi-Annually

by

THE WYOMING HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT
Cheyenne, Wyoming

Annals of Wyoming

Vol. 16 July, 1944 No. 2

Contents

THE MEEKER MASSACRE, from Reminiscences of Frontier Days... 87
By M. Wilson Rankin

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS - 147

Wyoming Cattle Quarantine, 1885 147

By W. Turrentine Jackson

WYOMING SCRAPBOOK 162

Company ''H'' of the Girl Militia, Statehood Celebration 162

Rawlins Cycling Clubs of the Gay Nineties, 1892 and 1897 264

Bill Barlow's Budget Office 1886 166

By D. C. Cook

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS in Annals of Wyoming Vol. 3 to Vol. 16.... 168

ACCESSIONS 174

INDEX TO VOL. 16 175

ILLUSTRATIONS

BUDGET OFFICE 1S86, DOUGLAS, WYOMING Front Cover

THOMAS STURGIS 146

COMPANY "H" GIRL MILITIA 16.1

RAWLINS CYCLING CLUB,, 1892 164

RAWLINS CYCLING CLUB, 1897 165

Printed by
THE WYOMING LABOR JOURNAL

Cheyenne, Wyoming

The State historical Board, the State Historical Advisory Board
and the State Historical Department assume no responsibility for any
statement of fact or opinion expressed by contributors to the
ANNALS OF WYOMING.

The Wyoming State Historical Department invites the presentation
of museum items, letters, diaries, family histories and manuscripts of
Wyoming citizens. It welcomes the writings and observations of those
familiar with important and significant events in the State 's history.

In all ways the Department strives to present to the people of
Wyoming and the Nation a true picture of the State. The historical
magazine, ANNALS OF WYOMING, is one medium through which the
Department seeks to gain this objective. All communications concerning
the ANNALS should be addressed to Mary A. McGrath, Wyoming His-
torical Department, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

This magazine is sent free of charge to all State Historical Board
members, the State Historical Advisory Board, Wyoming County Libraries
and Wyoming newspapers.

It is published in January and July, subscription price $1.50 per year.

Copyright, 1944; by the Wyoming Historical Department.

STATE HISTORICAL BOARD

Lester C. Hunt, President Governor

Mart T. Christensen Secretary of State

Wm. ' ' Seotty ' ' Jack State Auditor

Earl Wright State Treasurer

Esther L. Anderson Superintendent of Public Instruction

Mary A. McGrath, Secv State Librarian and Historian Ex-Officio

STATE HISTORICAL ADVISORY BOARD

Mrs. Mary Jester Allen, Cody

Frank Barrett, Lusk

George Bible, Rawlins

Mrs. T. K. Bishop, Basin

C. Watt Brandon, Kemmerer

J. Elmer Brock, Kaycee

Struthers Burt, Moran

Mrs. Elsa Spear Byron, Sheridan

Mrs. G. C. Call, Afton

Oliver J. Colyer, Torrington

William C. Deming, Cheyenne

E. A. Gaensslen, Green River

Hans Gautsehi, Lusk

Burt Griggs, Buffalo

Jack Havnes, Yellowstone Park

D. B. Hilton, Sundance

Mrs. Joseph H. Jacobucei, Green River
P. W. Jenkins, Big Piney
W. C. Lawrence, Moran

E. A. Logan, Cheyenne
Howard B. Lott, Buffalo
Mrs. Eliza Lythgoe, Cowley
A. J. Mokler, Casper

Mrs. Elmer K. Xelso;], Laramie

Charles Oviatt, Sheridan

Mrs. Minnie Reitz, Wheatland

Mrs. Effie Shaw, Cody

John Charles Thompson, Cheyenne

Russell Thorp, Cheyenne

STAFF PERSONNEL

of

THE WYOMING HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

and

STATE MUSEUM

Mary A. McGrath, Editor . State Librarian and Historian Ex-Officio
Marie H. Erwin, Co-Editor Assistant Historian

WYOMING STATE MUSEUM

Housed in the new Supreme Court and Library Building
in Cheyenne, with vault space and fireproof protection, the
Museum provides for the preservation and display of the
prized possessions of Wyoming pioneers.

Perpetuate your family name by placing your historical
collections and relics in your State Museum, where they may
he permanently preserved and enjoyed by the thousands of
visitors.

Everything that is presented to the Museum is numbered,
labeled, recorded and card indexed, thus insuring permanent
identification.

Zke Meeker Massacre

FROM

REMINISCENCES OF FRONTIER DAYS

By M. Wilson Rankin*

The Secretary of the Interior, after receiving the resig-
nation of H. E. Danforth, to take effect July 1, 1878, when
casting around about to find a man for the job, learned of
Meeker and of his success in establishing the Union Colony;
his interest in Indian affairs, and his ideals for civilization
and education of the Indians. He was appointed agent. He
was a dreamer of higher ideals. He visioned the Indians could
be civilized and become self-supporting by teaching them
how to farm.

Nathan Cook Meeker was sixty-four years old. He had
been one of the editorial staff of the New York Tribune for
several years. With advice and financial assistance from
Horace Greeley, he organized the Union Colony, which was
incorporated in the name of Greeley.

He moved with his family to Colorado in 1870. He estab-
lished and was editor of the Greeley Tribune.

Meeker arrived at the White River Agency from Greeley
in the latter part of June, 1878, to take the job of agent. He
traveled by rail to Rawlins, and south to the agency by
buckboard mail stage.

Meeker Decided to Move the Agency

The Agency was situated near the mountains where the
snowfall was heavy. Meeker inspected the lands adjacent to
the agency, as to whether suitable for agriculture. A few tons
of wild hay had been cut each season for winter nse, but no
farming had been done.

He looked over the entire White River Valley within the
reservation. He selected the Powell Bottom, twelve miles down
the river from the old agency, as the most suitable place for
the agency to farm. He made his decision known to Chief Doug-
las, who, with his several sub-chiefs, held council and made
strong protest, declaring that the Powell Bottom furnished
the best winter grazing for their ponies, and if the agency was

*Mr. Eawlins designated himself as ''The Rider" all through his
writings.

88 ANNALS OF WYOMING

moved there, the grass would all be used in the summer, and
they would not adhere to the idea. Regardless of the chief's
objections, Meeker went ahead with his plan. He started
employees at moving the buildings which were composed of
rough cottonwood and pine logs.

Powell Bottom derived its name from Major J. W. Powell,
who, with a party of scientists, camped on the bottom for
several months during 1869. They were engaged in exploring
the rims of the Colorado, Green, and Bear River canyons and
other sections for minerals. Since it was a government expe-
dition, they were permitted to camp within the reservation
lands.

Activities at the White River Agency in 1878
Confirmed by Joe Collom

A New Mail Contract Was Let

Meeker applied to the postoffice department for an in-
crease in mail service to the Agency, and the weekly mail be-
tween Dixon and the Agency was increased to semi-weeklv,
July 1st, 1878.

Meeker's Family Moved to the Agency

When Joe Collom arrived at the Agency with the last mail
of the Collom-Dutch Bill weekly mail contract between Dixon
and the Agency, he was open for a new job. He was intro-
duced and recommended to Mr. Meeker as a reliable man, by
Mrs. H. E. Danforth, postmistress at the Agency, and wife of
the retiring agent.

He was employed by Meeker. His first job was to drive
an Agency mule team with camp equipment to Rawlins and
bring back Mrs. Teresa Meeker, aged sixty-seven, and daughter
Josephine, aged twenty, and Windfield Fullerton, a young man
of Greeley, who was a visitor.

The second night from Rawlins on their way to the Agency,
they camped at Cold Springs near Fortification Rocks, the
noted rattlesnake den. They found a number of rattlers coiled
under sage brush near the spring. They all joined in exter-
minating all that could be found near camp. Although not
having the protection of a tent, they were not molested during
the night.

They arrived at Powell Bottom the following day, and
joined Mr. Meeker in camp where the buildings of the old
Agency were being erected for the new Agency.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 89

Ute Customs

It was a custom of the roving Ute bands (Colorow, "Wash-
ington, Sowawic, Cup-Ears, Jack and others), while hunting
each season in the Bear and Elk Rivers, North and Middle
Park country, to join in camping in Upper Middle Park,
where they engaged in sports such as horse-racing and foot-
racing among themselves. At times they were joined in
their sports by the whites.

From this camp, leading chiefs with small parties would
visit at mining towns and at Denver, to view the sights, tramp
the streets, and sit on the curb for a few days.

If they had a grievance at the Agency, they would seek a
conference with the Big Chief (governor), relating their trou-
bles and asking his aid in securing relief for them through
the Washington government.

Tabashie Killed

In August, 1878, the several Ute bands had congregated
in camp on Frazer Creek below the Cousin's ranch, and near
the Junction ranch which received the name because of being
located at the junction of the Empire and Blackhawk roads.
The ranch was owned by Wm. Hamil of Georgetown. John
Turner was in charge.

Chief Washington and Piah, with a band, had been on a
roving and foraging trip on the South Platte and plains east
of Denver, where they harrassed settlers, shot and wounded
one, McLane.

They had returned to Frazer Creek, locating their tepees
on the Junction ranch meadow. Turner was mowing hay.
He was angered by their trespassing, and ordered them to
move. He was greeted by a tirade of abuse in the Ute tongue.
Advancing in a threatening manner, a band of eight Utes, led
by a young buck named Tabashie Nee-Tab-cht, (grandson of
old Chief Yarmony) and known to the whites by the name of
Sugarlip, literally cut the harness from the team with their
hunting knives. The Utes, being armed. Turner was powerless
to make resistance.

With a view to complying by law for protection of his
property. Turner sent a courier post-haste to notify Sheriff
Mark Bessy, at Sulphur Springs, who organized a posse of
eight special deputies to accompany him. The names of some
of these were Frank Anderson, George Clark, Frank Byers.
John Turner, Charley Rover, and Frank McQuery.

When the posse arrived at the Junction ranch and Ute
camp, the Utes were horse-racing a quarter of a mile away.
They had left their rifles in their tepees. The posse seized
the rifles and held them under guard at the Junction ranch.

90 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Since the race-track was out of view of the camp, the bucks
were notified by one of their tribe. A band of bucks appeared
at the Junction ranch and demanded the rifles, which were
refused them by the sheriff. Sugarlip, who was leader in the
harness cutting, made a break to seize the rifles. He was shot
dead by Frank Anderson. With the leader dead, Sheriff Bessy
decided it was not good policy to make arrests at that time.
After the sheriff had talked with some of the older chiefs,
the affair quieted down and the rifles were returned.

Junction ranch is now the townsite of Tabernash, from
the above mentioned incident. It was given the name by
E. A. Meredith, chief engineer of the Moffat Railroad when
it was built in 1902.

The Utes Kill Old Man Elliot

The same band of Utes, when on their way to the Agency,
killed old man Elliot, living on the Blue River. They held a
grievance against Elliot, from the year before when he re-
fused them food. Some settlers thought the murder was to
avenge the killing of Tabashie. Elliot was killed while chop-
ping wood by the side of his cabin. When the news reached
Sulphur Springs, Sheriff Bessy, with a posse, went to the
Blue River in search of the murderers, but failed to find them.
They had fled toward the Agency. A few days later Sheriff
Bessy, with three special deputies, went to the White River
Agency to arrest the guilty Utes. Agent Meeker was not at
headquarters when they arrived. He was at work a few miles
out on the reservation. The sheriff made it known to Mrs.
Meeker that he wished to see Mr. Meeker on important busi-
ness. Pah-viets, a trusty Indian, was sent to call Meeker.
When he arrived the sheriff told him his mission and asked
his assistance in finding the criminals. Meeker called Chief
Douglas, and they conferred with him in the matter. Douglas
said that no Utes could be arrested on the reservation by
civil authorities. Nothing was done at that time to avenge
the murder of Elliot.

Pah-viets and Jane

In September, 1878, work was progressing at the Agency.
Living quarters had been completed. The agent and family
had moved in. Pah-viets and his squaw, Jane, were helpful
with the work. Jane, when a small girl of six years, was
adopted by Judge Carter, post-trader at Fort Bridger, from
the Uintah tribe. The Carter family bestowed on her the
name Jane. While living with the Carter family, Jane learned
to talk and understand English and to do house-work. When

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 91

at a marriageable age, Pah-viets of the White River tribe won
her for his squaw. Jane acted as interpreter and reporter for
the Utes at the White River Agency.

Meeker, in order to encourage the Indians in gardening
and raising vegetables for their own use, had his men prepare
the ground and help Jane plaid vegetable seeds. She took
care of the plants by the advice of the agent and raised a
fair crop.

Roving Bands Return to the Agency

In September, 1878, roving bands were drifting to the
Agency and setting up their tepees in the form of a village
near the new Agency, and near the river bank. Chief Johnson
had spent the greater part of the summer at the Agency, he
being chief medicine man, with some influence in the tribe.
He was about fifty-five years old, of stocky build, with slovenly
and greasy make-up. He had two wives. The older one was
named Susan, and she was a sister of Chief Ouray. The
younger squaw was named Cooz.

Meeker made known to the chiefs his plans for farming
and requested the assistance of all Utes with the work. The
chiefs did not take kindly to his advice and discouraged it with
others of the tribe. Meeker, in order to demonstrate his good
intentions for their welfare, had a house built for Johnson, near
the Agency. He told others of the tribe that they could all
be living in a house like Johnson's if they would assist with
the work and learn to farm. (To live in a house was no induce-
ment for an Indian to work").

John Collom, a brother of Joe Collom, was employed by
Meeker at the Agency. Being a young man of twenty years, he
was apt in learning the Ute tongue. Besides general agency
work, he acted as interpreter between Agent Meeker and
the Utes.

Josephine, Meeker's daughter, had won the good graces
of the Indian children and was teaching them in school and
Sunday school as well.

Meeker Contracts Building of Ditch
In September, 1878, Ed. E. Clark, civil engineer of Gree-
ley, was employed by Meeker to survey a ditch from White
River to furnish water for irrigation of Powell Bottom lands.
About the same time. Meeker contracted with Bill Lisco of
Bear River to build the ditch early in the spring of 1870.

Clark, while employed at the Agency during tbe survey,
spent evenings in the Indian camp. He sang songs and per-
formed antics which pleased the Indians, and was much in
demand for his entertainment.

92 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Ukatats Killed by Jenkins

Jenkin's squaw had been sick for some time. Ukatats
had administered to her needs as medicine man. The squaw
died. Jenkins placed the cause of her death on Ukatats. Joe
Collom was at work a short distance from their tepees. He
heard a shot. Looking up, he saw Jenkins mount his pony
at a fast pace, and head down the river. Chief Douglas sent
Pah-viets and two other trusty Utes to follow and bring Jen-
kins back. The chiefs of the tribe held council to affix a
penalty on Jenkins for the killing of Ukatats. The verdict of
the council was that Jenkins should kill ten of his ponies at
the grave of Ukatats, thus squaring accounts.

The Agency Cattle

There were about five hundred government cattle on the
White River reservation from which the beef supply for the
agency, including the Indians, was drawn. They ranged prin-
cipally on Strawberry and Piceance Creeks. The range brand
was I D, indicating Interior Department. The tribe privately
owned about four hundred and fifty small horses, and one
small band of Mexican sheep.

Several of the sub-chiefs were much interested in horse-
racing, and had added several speedy ponies to their racing
string by trading six, eight or ten of their common stock to the
whites for one of speed, when the opportunity presented itself.

The contract for the delivery of supplies to the White River
Agency in 1878 was not fulfilled. The contractor, located in
Laramie, failed to meet his obligations. Only a small part
of the supplies were delivered by local freighters from Rawlins
before the roads became blocked with snow, thus causing much
dissatisfaction among the Indians.

October 25th, new settlers bad located in the Bear River
Valley during 1878. Hulett Brothers (Charley and Dyer) and
Hugh Torrence, moved their herd of cattle from the Huerfano.
They were branded H L, and their headquarters was located
four miles below the agency road crossing.

George lies made homestead location near his brother Tom.

Jerry Huff, after several years trapping and carrying mail,
was raising horses on Elkhead Creek. The dirt floor of his
cabin, like many of the pioneer cabin floors, was covered with
dry elk, deer and antelope hides, used as rugs.

During the general election in Routt County in Novem-
ber, 1878, a ballot was taken in contest between Hay den and
Hahn's Peak in which each aspired for the prize, Halm's Peak
being the winner. The Peak, being snow-bound for the winter,
the county records were moved from Hayden to the Peak in
May, 1879, by John Reynolds and Jimmy Dunn.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 93

July 1st, 1879, George Gordon, freighter of Rawlins, was
awarded the government contract to deliver Indian supplies
for 1879, to the White River Agency. The freight was due to
arrive at Rawlins on or before September 1st.

It was on July 1st, 1879, that a weekly mail route was es-
tablished between Sulphur Springs and Steamboat Springs,
and connected with the Rawlins and White River line at Peck's
store on Bear River, where a postoffice was established named
Windsor. Burgess and Lee, of Sulphur Springs, had the
contract.

Ellis Clark, at the age of 17, carried mail on this route.
He later became a prominent stockman of Routte County.

There were no settlers north of the White River reserva-
tion line in 1879 closer than Snake River, which was 75 miles,
except the Morgan Brothers and Joe Collom. The few settlers
on Bear River were from forty to sixty miles east of the res-
ervation line.

Agency Supplies

Ed. W. Bennett, of Rawlins, had the government contract
for delivering annual supplies for the Indians at White River
Agency, from 1872 to 1877. Bennett moved the freight with a
string of bull teams. In 1872, Bennett, when delivering freight
at the Agency, in checking out his load, was short two cases
of Gail Borden Eagle Brand condensed milk, a special order
for Agent Littlefield. The milk had been lost from his freight
wagons while on the move. A band of White River Utes.
returning to the Agency from a hunting trip, found the milk,
which they immediately consumed near a then un-named creek.
From this incident, the creek was named Milk Creek. Bennett,
with Prank Ernest, was engaged in operating a ferry at the
immigrant road crossing of the North Platte River, six miles
below Saratoga Springs, during the late 70s and 80s.

In 1878, W. H. Peck and family from Denver, established
a store on Bear River for trading with the Indians, one mile
below the crossing of the agency road.

Peck, on Bear River, enlarged his stock of trading sup-
plies, including rifles. It was said that he accommodated his
customers, including the Ute Indians, when requested, with a
bottle of "fire-water." It was a fact that no trading sTmv
stock was complete without a supply of liquor to help bring
trade.

94 ANNALS OF WYOMING

A New Mail Contract Was Let

On July 1, 1878, a new mail contract was awarded E. E.
Bennett, on the route between Rawlins, Dixon, Halm's Peak
and the White River Agency, under postal regulations known
as the Star Route Mail Service.

Trading stores along the White River route competing for
business, Perkins, in order to fill up his large, new store
building, put in a large supply of general merchandise, which
included late model Winchester rifles.

Activity and Much Grievance

At the agency, April, 1879, Bill Lisco, with a crew of men,
was at work moving dirt on the Powell Bottom ditch survey.
Eugene Taylor left the Agency for a job with Charley Per-
kins. Joe Collom and brother John had left the Agency job
to live on their homesteads on Collom Creek.

Agent Meeker employed an entire crew of farmers, young
men from Greeley, to help at the Agency. Their names were :
W. H. Post, bookkeeper ; Ed. L. Mansfield, Frank Dresser, Harry
Dresser, Fred Shepherd, George Eaton, Arthur Thompson, E.
W. Eskridge ; E. Jasper Price, as blacksmith and handy man,
and his wife Flora ; Ellen Price, to assist Mrs. Meeker with
the housework, and Price's two children Mae, of two years,
and John, less than one year.

The party came from Greeley by railroad, and by Agency
wagon conveyance from Rawlins to the Agency. The men
were employed in the regular routine of ranch work, such as
farming, ditch work, building fence, Agency out-buildings,
and riding to care for the Agency cattle.

June, 1879, the Indians, seeing their pasture lands being
plowed and fenced, were aggravated to the point of near hos-
tility. The chiefs held councils ; they protested to Meeker and
told him where he should not plow and fence. One tract of
land in particular, which was very desirable for farming, on
which the Utes had a corral and race-track, should positively
not be plowed or fenced.

Chief Douglas, Pah-viets and Jane, who formerly were
agreeable and helpful about the Agency, joined the sub-chiefs
in protesting to Meeker against farming, saying, "Utes no
like work. Ponies get cut on wire. No grass," and many
other complaints. Ute children, whom Josephine had taught in
school and others whom Mrs. Meeker had treated when they
were sick and at times given meals and sweets, all had been
taught to disrespect Josephine and Mrs. Meeker by spitting
at them, making ugly faces and doing mean things.

On one occasion, when a plowman had turned a few fur-
rows on the tract of land in which the race-track and corral

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 95

were situated, a ball from a Ute rifle whizzed close by the
plowman's head. No more plowing was done. The shot was
intended by the Utes as a warning to intimidate the employees
and the agent, so no more plowing would be done on that
particular tract of land.

In June, 1879, the sub-chiefs each with his band of fol-
lowers, were leaving the reservation in separate bands for Elk
River, Egeria, North and Middle Park, on their customary
rambles of hunting and camping. Chief Douglas, with his horde
of older bucks, squaws and children, went north to his favorite
hunting grounds on Muddy and Savery Creeks in Wyoming.

Johnson remained at the Agency to protest Meeker's farm
policy, and to see that no plowing was done on the race-track
lands.

Meeker, in fear for the safety of himself, his family and
employees, wrote Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz, for
soldiers for their protection.

Settlers of Bear River and Middle Park Become Alarmed

About July 18, 1879, the Utes, agitated and resenting their
grievances at the Agency, were committing depredations. They
burned hay belonging to S. D. N. Bennett on Elk River. They
burned Tyler's corral in Egeria Park, and camped on settlers'
meadows in the Blue River and Middle Park country.

Because of the marauding disposition shown by the In-
dians, the settlers became alarmed, and thought they were in
danger of losing their lives. Complaints were made by a
number of settlers ; a protest was formulated and forwarded
to Washington, setting forth a serious situation. An officer
was sent out to investigate. The result was that General Pope,
commanding the army in the Department of Missouri, with
headquarters at Port Leavenworth, was notified. He instructed
General McKenzie, in command of Fort Garland, to dispatch
troops for the protection of settlers.

Captain Clarence Dodge (Company C, 9th Cavalry), Lieu-
tenant Hughes, White and a troop of forty-four negro cavalry
with four supply wagons, left Fort Garland for Middle Park,
arriving at Sulphur Springs, August 14, 1879. They made
camp twelve miles below Sulphur Springs at Long Riffles on
the Grand River, one hundred and fifty miles from the White
River Agency. Captain Dodge's assignment was to protect
settlers and keep in touch with developments at the Agency.
should his services be required there.

96 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Ute Sub-Chiefs Seek a Conference With the Governor

About August 28, 1879, Colorow, Jack, Piah, Sowawic and
other less influential Indians of the Ute tribe, composed a party
from their camps where they had congregated in upper Middle
Park, visited Denver to seek a conference with the governor
and put before him their grievance at the White River Agency,
asking his assistance in getting a new agent. The conference
was of short duration. Nothing was accomplished, and no
satisfaction given the Utes.

Ute Jack had a sly way of getting information. If he
saw two or more whites in conversation on the street or other
convenient place, he would stick around, pretending not to
be interested. If he were spoken to, he would shake his head
and grunt, pretending to "no savvy."

Utes Burning Grass and Timber

When the Ute delegation returned to camp in Middle
Park from Denver with no encouragement from the governor
about getting a new agent, they started for the agency, giving
vent to their feelings by setting fire to the grass and timber
in the Blue River, Egeria Park and Elk River country, where
a large acreage of timber was burned, and hay belonging to
Sam Reid. The most damage was done in the timber near
the head of White River. This was directly on the route to
the agency. They knew the presence of the Negro soldiers in
Middle Park, and named them "Buffalo Soldiers." They ar-
rived at the agency several weeks earlier then was their
custom. Their annuity supplies were not due for distribu-
tion until October 15th.

Chief Douglas' band had not yet arrived at the agency.
They had slaughtered and tanned "heap buckskin " at their
camp on the head of the Muddy Creek in Wyoming.

The Rider, in his daily pursuit as cowboy, had talked with
Douglas at his camp, and frequently met small bands when
riding the cattle range. When meeting, the Ute wrord "How"
was passed; "Where come, where go?" If the white man was
a stranger to them, they were persistent in finding out where
he was from, and what his business was.

Jack, Colorow and Piah met the Douglas party at Snake
River when Douglas was moving toward the Agency. After
Jack and Colorow had counciled with Douglas, "some trading"
was done with buckskin, for rifles and ammunition, by Jack
and Douslas at the Perkins store.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 97

Trouble Brewing

Trouble had been brewing at the agency more or less all
summer. Johnson had frequent clashes with the agent, and at
other times, Jane spoke her mind to Meeker. During one of
these rows, Johnson administered a severe beating to Meeker.
By this time, Meeker had come to realize his danger, and
again wrote government authorities for his need of soldiers
for protection. His communications of this nature were passed
to Governor Pitkin, who, by wiring the contents to Washing-
ton, and through his influence, prompt action was expected.

About September 15th, 1879, roving bands, after return-
ing to the agency, were making life miserable for the agent,
opposing him on every turn. Meeker attempted to send out
a courier to meet Captain Dodge and his Negro soldiers, to have
them come to the agency. He was prevented from doing so
by the Utes. He attempted to take his family out by wagon,
but was prevented in this move.

Jack asked Meeker when the soldiers were coming.
Meeker replied that he did not know, but said if they did
come, they would do no harm.

The Utes were active, going to the different stores to
trade for rifles and ammunition. At the same time, they were
adding to their grievances by tuning up with liquor. Per-
kins had more than the usual Ute trade for the season. Peek
traded his last rifle to the Utes. Peck realized from the Ute
attitude that trouble was near, and witli his family moved to
Rawlins. Perkins' branch stores had a fair share of the Ute
trade. Trading for rifles was limited. The roving bands had
but a small amount of buckskin or cash to make large pur-
chases, and the stores would not accept ponies in trade.

Uncompahgre renegade Indians had been incited to join
the White River Utes in war should the soldiers come to
White River.

There were nine rough-neck Utes, from the Uintah res-
ervation. They had come to visit and horse-race with the
White River Utes. Their stay was longer than expected. It
was making inroads on the chief's food supply. Jack asked Mr.
Post, who was in charge of annuity supplies, to issue the Uintah
Utes provisions. Post replied that he could not issue supplies
to other than the White River Indians, and to them only on
regular dates of issue. From this answer. Jack and other
chiefs became enraged, which added to their already fancied
grievances. It later became known that Jack was holding the
UinUh Utes until the soldiers came.

98 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Captain Dodge 's First Move

Captain Dodge, camped at Long Riffles, received his mail
at Sulphur Springs, advising him of a serious situation at the
White River Agency. Dodge engaged Sandy Mellen, the cow-
boy mail carrier of Middle Park, to bring his mail to him a
few days later, and left with his troop of Negro cavalry to
go near the agency where he could learn the situation there.

He traveled over the Gore Range and through Egeria
Park. He camped one night at Steamboat Springs. (John
Crawford, at that time a small boy, and now clerk of Routt
County, recalls the colored troops and the sound of the bugle
call). They arrived at the Bear River crossing of the agency
road at noon the next day after leaving Steamboat Springs.

Ed. Collom, the mail carrier, was on the way from Dixon
to the agency. Dodge waited at Windsor for the carrier's
return from the agency, and learned from him that, although
there had been trouble, all seemed peaceful during his night's
stay. Then Dodge returned to Middle Park, where he ex-
pected teams with supplies from Fort Garland.

Horse-Racing at the Agency

September 24, Frank Byers of Sulphur Springs, accom-
panied by Charles Rover, had gone to the White River Agency
to horse-race with the Indians. During their three days racing,
Byers and Royer won ten ponies and a number of beaver hides.
Byers rode and won a race for Chief Cup-Ears, riding against
Chief Sowawic's pony. Byers realized from complaints he
heard and from the attitude of the Utes, that they were much
opposed to Agent Meeker. Byers, in a conversation with
Meeker, stated what he had heard. Meeker replied that the
Indians always had more or less complaints and grievances.

Tom and Billy Morgan came over the Danforth hills from
their ranch the same day that Byers and Royer left the agency,
September 27th, to see the new agency, and to horse-race with
the Utes. Meeker chastised them for coming there to race
with the Indians.

Josephine, with Ute children, sat on the corral fence
watching the races. Since there was much agitation and dis-
satisfaction among the Indians, the Morgan boys did not stay
long. They returned to their home.

An official of the postoffice department arrived at the
agency the same day the Morgans left, going by horseback from
Perkins'. He was challenged by the Utes on the road near
Milk Creek. He was thoroughly questioned as to his busi-
ness. When the Utes learned he was from Washington, he
was allowed to proceed. After a one-night stay he returned
to Rawlins and Denver.

THE MEEKER MASSACEE 99

THE WAY IT TURNED OUT

Thornburg With Troops to Protect Employees at the Agency

September 19th, 1879, Major Thomas T. Thornburg, com-
manding the military post of Fort Steele, fifteen miles east of
Rawlins, was notified by General Crook, commanding the
U. S. Army in the Department of the Platte, to proceed to
White River Agency with a detachment of troops for protection
of employees at the agency.

Thornburg was on a fishing trip at Battle Lake when the
message arrived. A courier was sent to notify him of the
message. The fort had a small garrison of soldiers ; one com-
pany of cavalry and two of infantry.

Thornburg left Port Steele September 22nd, with Com-
pany P of the 3rd Cavalry with Captain Joseph Lawson in
command ; and Company I of the 4th Infantry, with Lieutenant
Price in charge — Thornburg's own, as he was an infantryman
and not a cavalryman.

He was accompanied by Lieutenant C. A. Cherry, in-
fantryman of the officer's staff, a volunteer. Thornburg, ex-
pecting to be in the field for an indefinite time, took a supply
train of twenty-eight wagons and one ambulance.

J. W. Hugus, post-trader at Fort Steele, sent John ('.
Davis and F. E. Blake, employees, with a wagon load of goods
for a "suttler store" along with the expedition.

At Rawlins, Thornburg was joined by Companies F, and
D, 5th Cavalry, sent from Fort D. A. Russell, with Captain
Scott Payne in command of Company F and Lieutenant J. V.
S. Paddock in command of Company D. Neither of the Thorn-
burg units were full companies, each troop having from forty
to forty-five men. Troop D had only twenty-seven men.

The U. S. Army at that time was equipped with Spring-
field rifles, which replaced the needle-gun rifle used by the
army prior to 1877.

Neither Thornburg nor any of his men were familiar with
the road to the agency. Joe Rankin, stableman of Rawlins, who
formerly carried mail to the agency by horse-back, was em-
ployed by Thornburg as scout.

September 24th, 1879, Thornburg left Rawlins, traveling
leisurely. On the way south, Rankin advised him of Charley
Lowry (living on Snake River) as being a man who was
friendly with the White River Utes. When the expedition
arrived at Snake River, Lowry was employed. Dressed in
buckskin, he traveled with the command as far as the mouth
of Little Bear Creek, where Thornburg sent him ahead to the
agency (September 28thN) to learn conditions there, and the

100 ANNALS OF WYOMING

sentiment of the Indians, with instructions to return and report
to him next day on the road.

Thornburg left Company I, 4th Infantry at the mouth of
Little Bear Creek, as a reserve and guard for supplies. At Bear
River Crossing, the expedition was met by Colorow, Jack, Piah,
Johnson and four others of the tribe. They appeared friendly
and wanted to talk. Jack, as spokesman, readily recognized
Thornburg as the big chief, and said, "Where you go?" Thorn-
burg replied they were going to White River. Jack asked,
"What you do there?" To this question Thornburg replied,
"Just to see the country." When Jack was asked where he
was going, he replied, "Utes hunt deer." The band rode away
in the hills.

This call was for the purpose of sizing up the strength of
Thornburg 's army.

When the troops reached William's Fork, where they
camped for the night, the same eight Indians appeared. The
evening meal was being served, and the Utes were invited to
eat. After cleaning up all prepared food in sight, Jack ap-
proached Thornburg and said, "Utes no want soldiers go to
White River. ' ' He made a proposition that Thornburg take
five of his men as an escort, and he, Jack, would take five Utes,
and together they would go to the agency and talk with the
agent. Thornburg discussed the matter with his officers. Scout
Rankin, who was strong in opposition to Jack's request, said
the Utes might be laying a trap for them.

The same evening, Black Wilson was going from his store
on Spring Gulch, six miles to Thornburg 's camp on William's
Fork, expecting to sell him some hay for his stock. When
two miles from his place, he was met by five Utes, and told to
go back home. "Utes fight soldiers; no wanna kill oo."

The Utes Were Active

On September 28th, the Utes were busily engaged in se-
curing ammunition. They deliberately took possession of what
ammunition was at the Peck store, which consisted of one case
of cartridges.

The Utes told Eugene Taylor to move out from Milk
Creek with his store, as there was going to be trouble when
the soldiers came.

On September 27th, a party of Utes demanded of Black
Wilson all rifles and ammunition he had in stock at the Per-
kins' store on Spring Gulch — without remuneration. Wilson
and Mike Sweet talked them out of their demand. After the
Utes left, Wilson talked the matter over with Joe Collom, as
to what was best to do with the rifles and ammunition so
that the Utes would not get them. They decided to bury the

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 101

stock where there was loose dirt from an excavation of a cellar,
and a brush heap was placed over the cache.

Jack headed a band of reckless Utes that came on Sep-
tember 28th with the intention of taking rifles and ammuni-
tion by force, Jack demanded the stock. Wilson replied that he
had sent the stock to Perkins' store on Snake River. Jack
looked around for wagon tracks which he did not find ; then
said to Wilson, "Heap d — d lie," but decided to give up the
hunt. After the Utes had gone some time, all the trading store
stock was loaded on Joe Collom's wagon and taken to Perkins'
store at Snake River daring the night.

On September 28th, the mail carrier, on the way from
Perkins' to the agency, was stopped a few miles north of Bear
River by a small band of Utes and told to go back; that no
more mail should go to the agency.

On September 28th, the Utes made temporary base on the
mountain one and one-half miles south from Milk Creek
Canyon, where supplies and pony reserves were held. There
were Ute scouts on the high peaks between Milk Creek and
Bear River, with field glasses, to watch the movements of the
soldiers and others on the road and on Morapos trail. Keep-
ing out of view themselves, Lowry, being a particular friend,
was allowed to go to the agency unmolested. By his buckskin
suit and his horse, they could recognize him at a considerable
distance.

Main Ute Camp Moved

At the agency, September 28th, the squaws and children
were moved with their tepees from their camp at the agency
to the head of the east branch of Pice-ance Creek, twelve miles
south of the agency, where they made cam]), which was known
as "Squaw Camp." Four tepees were left standing at the
agency where ninety-four had been. One of these was Doug-
las' tepee.

At dusk, September 28th, Meeker succeeded in starting
out Ed. Mansfield, an employee, to find Captain Dodge and
his soldiers to have them come to the agency. Watching his
chance while the Utes were guarding the road toward Milk
Creek, Mansfield slipped away in the opposite direction, going
west and then by way of Strawberry trail and Coyote basin.

Lowry at Agency

Lowry arrived at the agency a short time after Mansfield
left. Peace had prevailed during the day. although he found
Agent Meeker in a nervous state, suffering from the effects of
a beating administered by Johnson.

Later in the evening, a band of eight Utes came to the
agency from Milk Creek. They reported to a small number

102 ANNALS OF WYOMING

of Utes at the agency, the approach of the soldiers. After
holding council, they all joined in a wild demonstration of
war whoops," fierce yells and danced around Meeker's quarters.
Meeker attempted to quiet them, but was jeered at by the
Utes. Finally, Lowry intervened, and succeeded in quieting
them after a half hour.

The Utes were astir in the early morning. Lowry was
ready to return to meet Thornburg. E. W. Eskridge, agency
employee, was to accompany Lowry. They were detained a
short time while council was held by the Utes as to whether
they would let Eskridge go. He was allowed to go with an
escort of Utes. When one mile from the agency the Utes
turned him back, while Lowry was allowed to continue on to
meet Thornburg. Eskridge had gone but a short distance
toward the agency when he was killed, and left nude in the
road near the agency coal mine.

Government Supplies Were Nearing the Agency

George Gordon, freight contractor, in order to move the
greater part of the annual supplies for the agency at the first
trip, engaged private teams to assist in moving the freight,
and were nearing the agency the evening of the 28th.

Carl Goldstein, known at Rawlins and to settlers along
the route, as the "Jew freighter," and his teamster Julius
Moore, made camp by the road along Coal Creek five miles
from White River. John Gordon, in charge of ox teams,
camped near the road crossing of Milk Creek. George Gordon,
in charge of horse and mule teams, camped on Stinking Gulch
near the Milk Creek divide. Al. McCarger and son made camp
at the road crossing of Deer Creek three miles west of Wil-
liam's Fork.

The Trap Was Set

Thornburg 's troops left William's Fork for the agency
on the morning of September 29th. All freighters were alarmed
at the actions of the Indians the day before, and were waiting
in camp until the soldiers came, so they might have the assur-
ance of moving to the agency in safety. As the troops were
nearing the crossing of Milk Creek, they met Charley Loaviw.
He reported to Thornburg the situation at the agency.

After crossing Milk Creek where the trail left the road,
Rankin led the troops by way of the short-cut trail. There
were two low ridges in the rough country between the trail
and Beaver ravine road with a scattering growth of cedar,
sarvisberry bush and aspens. Rankin and Frank Secrist, a
private soldier, were one and a half miles from the crossing,
and a quarter-mile in the lead of Thornburg, who was riding

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 103

along' with Captain Lawson at the head of Troop E ; and Cap-
tain Payne, leading' Troop F in the rear. Lieutenant Paddock,
with Troop D was escort for the wagon train, which was two
miles back on the road.

When nearing the head of sarvisberry draw, which the
trail followed, Rankin and Secrist saw abont twenty-five
mounted Indians leave other Indians on the second ridge which
bordered on the Beaver ravine one thousand yards on the
right, and make a dash as though to head them off on the
trail a short distance ahead. They turned back and met the
command.

Rankin said, "Boys, we are going to have a fight right
here.

A halt was called, and a short conference took place. (It
was a standing order of the war department to officers who
were called to quash riots, Indians or other outbreaks, not to
fire a shot unless attacked by the enemy). Thornburg himself,
was without firearms of any kind and was attempting to go to
the agency peaceably, if possible.

Rankin said to Thornburg, "Fire on the redskins. It is
our only show, as the trail and road ahead for several miles
leads through thickets, and in places scattered growths of
sarvis bush and aspens along the narrow Beaver and Coal
Creek draw.

To this request, Thornburg replied, "My God! I dare not.
Joe. My orders are positive."

Lieutenant Cherry's Peace Move

Tt was about ten-thirty a. m. when Thornburg ordered
Lieutenant Cherry with ten men of Captain Lawson 's troop to
go within hailing distance of the Indians as a peace measure.
and if possible to learn their strength back of the ridge. Cap-
tain Lawson was ordered, with the rest of his men, to follow
six hundred yards in the rear of the first ridge and await
developments.

As Cherry approached within hailing distance, he waved
his cap over his head, indicating friendliness. The Indians
moved back and greeted him with a volley of shots over the
brow of the ridge. The Utes, at a much higher elevation,
overshot. No one was injured. Cherry moved back. Lawson.
taking in the situation, advanced, inching up his men who
were with Cherry and followed up the attack, gaining the
ridge five hundred yards to the right and overlooking the
Beaver ravine. A large number of Indians were waiting back
of the rocks and thickets back of the ridge. They had expected
the soldiers to travel by the road ami had selected an ideal
spot for an ambush to anihilate the troops, and were surprised

104 ANNALS OF WYOMING

when they discovered the soldiers on the trail. Lawson's men
advanced along the ridge on foot, driving the Indians under
cover of bush and rocks, and holding the ridge.

In the meantime, Thornburg sent Scout Rankin back to
have the wagons stop and corral. Thornburg had also ordered
Captain Payne with his troop to advance along the trail. At
1000 yards, they were fired upon by Utes in ambush from bush
and rock. They dismounted and left their horses back where
protected. They exchanged shots for twenty minutes. Private
Michael Fireton was killed and Private Oscar Cass was slightly
wounded.

Payne and men withdrew, leading their horses until they
met Thornburg. Lawson, who had been holding the ridge for
some time, fighting Indian style, with their horses held back in
protected places, withdrew to where they met Thornburg and
Payne, and where new orders were given by Thornburg.

Lawson was ordered to gradually withdraw. Being short
of ammunition, he sent John Donovan, one of his men, to the
wagons for ammunition. About twenty Indians were seen
dismounted, sitting on a ridge, one thousand yards to the south.
They had not been taking part in the fight. They were merely
waiting for an opportunity of 'vantage. Thornburg ordered
Payne, with his men, to approach them to learn their attitude,
and if not challenged to fight, to fall back and assist Lawson
to withdraw toward Milk Creek. When Payne advanced
within rifle range, the Indians mounted their ponies and fled
under cover of the ridge, and began shooting. Payne, no doubt
fearing a repetition of his previous attack, and being in view
of the wagon train which was being corraled three-quarters
of a mile distant, and where a fierce attack was being launched
by the Utes, he rushed to join the fight there.

Rankin met the wagon train a distance of eight hundred
yards from the crossing on the north side of Milk Creek. He
assisted wagonmaster McKinstrey in parking the wagons in a
three-quarter circle, with the tongues on the inside, and with
the open space bordering on the banks of Milk Creek, at an
elevation of twelve feet above the creek bed.

Thornburg Killed

Thornburg, who was waiting at the end of the ridge, ob-
serving Payne's movements, started for the wagons, riding
fast. Shots from the same band of Indians that fired on
Payne's men, apparently wounded Thornburg and his horse,
which slackened speed. The Indians, seeing he had no fire-
arms, swooped down from the hill and surrounded him. Pri-
vate Tom Nolan, one of Lawson ^s men, who was holding horses
while the troops were fighting, at a considerable distance, saw

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 105

the Indians drag Thornburg from his horse and beat him. His
horse was fatally wounded and died a few hours after. It
was about one thousand yards from the wagons. (Apparently,
it had been Thornburg 's idea to, withdraw all his men to the
wagons, where he could attempt a treaty, or make a strong
fight. This opinion was expressed later by Dillon, of Com-
pany E). John Donovan, on his way from the wagons with
ammunition for Lawson, saw Thornburg, dead.

In the meantime, shooting from the Indians under fire of
Lawson 's men had slowed down, except for the occasional shot
which no doubt was intended to keep him interested at that
point, while the main force had slipped away through thickets
to attack at other points. Lawson, when told by Donovan of
Thornburg 's death, and Payne's flight to the wagons, speeded
up his withdrawal.

Fight at the Wagons

While the wagons were being corraled, a large number of
Indians gathered and were shooting from points where protec-
tion was available, a large number firing over the brow of a
knoll on the north side of the creek and road, five hundred
yards distant and at an elevation of 125 feet. Others were
shooting from behind the creek bank, the soldiers directing
their shots at the point designated by the smoke.

Lieutenant Paddock, with his twenty-seven men wagon es-
cort, attempted to charge the Indians on the hill. The hill, being
very steep, he was driven back. One horse was killed and two
horses and himself slightly wounded. Indians that disappeared
in the thickets at Lawson 's attack, and left him in doubt, had
fled down the deep beaver ravine and joined in the fight at
the wagons. Then a continuous volley of shots poured in.
Mules were being unhitched; some were tied to the wagons;
others, with harness on, and horses with saddles on, broke
loose from the wagons when wounded. Some of them drank
at the creek and others milled around from excitement or
from pain.

While arranging the wagon corral, Wagonmaster MeKin-
strey was killed, and Captain Payne's force rushed in, under a
strong barrage. Two of his men were wounded and one horse
killed near the entrance to the corral. All was in a turmoil
within the enclosure.

During Lawson 's withdrawal, all horses were led. while
moving from the rough country near Beaver Creek, and small
bands of Indians were attempting to cut him off from the
wagons. At the end of the ridge near Milk Creek, one of his
men. Sergeant James Montgomery, was severely wounded.

106 ANNALS OF WYOMING

With assistance, he was mounted on his horse and brought
to the wagons.

Lawson reached Milk Creek, where some protection was
afforded by cottonwoods and the creek bank. Indians were
shooting from the bluffs and gulleys on the north side of the
creek. Lawson and his men were held back for a short time at
the bend of the creek, because of heavy shooting at the wagons.
They routed the Indians from beneath the benches along the
creek, and made their way inside the enclosure, after almost
two hours of continuous fighting. Payne learned from Dono-
van of Thornburg's death, Donovan being the only man up
to that time who saw him dead.

Donovan was later awarded a medal by the war depart-
ment for bravery for carrying ammunition to Lawson under
fire.

John Gordon and his three men, "Bull whacker Jack,"
Hamilton and Hornbeck, camped near the crossing of Milk
Creek. Realizing their danger, they left their freight wagons for
protection with the soldiers.

Captain Payne in Command

The next officer in rank to take command was Captain
Payne. The most effective shooting was done from beneath
the bench along the creek. Because of heavy firing, the men
were unable to get tools from the wagons to dig trenches.
The greater number of men huddled beneath the wagons while
others dropped behind dead horses and mules, which in some
instances had fallen on top of others. With dead and wounded
men, it presented a horrible sight. Sergeant John Dolan, of
Payne's troop, was killed while ordering his men from beneath
the wagons to assist in getting rolls of bedding and sacks of
corn from the wagons to build protection. When the men
were slow to respond, Dolan said, "If you don't get out and
help, I will kill you myself. ' '

About 3 p. m., the Indians, in order to rout the soldiers
from their position, set fire to the grass and growth of short
sagebrush three hundred yards below on the bench, which
burned and spread toward the wagons and to the northeast,
fanned by a light wind. The men fought the fire with blouses,
burlap sacks, and with their scabbard knives dug and spread
dirt on the flames. A wagon sheet caught fire. Private James
Hickman, on the outside of the corrals, while under fire of
the Indians, pulled off the sheet, which prevented destruction
of the wagons. For this act he was later awarded a medal by
th war department, for bravery. While putting out the fire,
Captain Payne was slightly wounded, and Private Evershell

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 107

was twice wounded. A third shot pierced his clothing under
the arm pit.

The same fire burned over the entire east end of Danforth
Hills, an area of twenty square miles. During the excitement
caused by the fire, the Utes kept up a fierce bombardment.
Scout Charley Lowry was fatally wounded. When assistance
was offered him, he said, "Never mind me; I am done for."

At dusk, a band of eight or ten mounted Indians dashed
from behind the ambush ridge on the north. They stampeded
and gathered about thirty head of horses and mules on the
creek bottom, running them toward White River, the soldiers
shooting at them at long range with apparently no effect.
Continuous shooting was kept up by the Utes until after dark,
when heavy shooting ceased. Signal lights were seen on the
surrounding mountain sides. Groans from the wounded indi-
cated they were suffering severely.

Surgeon R. M. Grimes, who was slightly wounded, gave
some assistance to the other wounded. Liquor was obtained from
the suttler stock, which helped to stimulate and relieve their
suffering.

The soldiers got picks and shovels from the wagons and
were hustling to make trenches and remove dead horses and
mules. Dead men were wrapped in canvas or blankets and
covered with the dirt from the trenches. Trenches of eight or
ten feet in length, four feet deep and four to five feet wide,
were made around the circle near the wagons. Three large
trenches were made in the center for the wounded.

Captain Payne, in consultation with Captain Lawson.
asked Lawson to take command. Since Lawson thought Payne 's
wound of little concern, he refused. Payne then remarked he
would move camp toward Rawlins. "How will you do that
with our horses and mules killed?" asked Lawson. %,I will stay
right here with my wounded men," said Lawson.

The Couriers Ride fcr Relief

A short council was held between the officers. Scout Ran-
kin, and John Gordon, about ten-thirty p. m. Rankin mounted
on a cavalry horse (his own horse was killed during the first
siege at the wagons), and with John Gordon and a private
soldier from Company D, they slipped from the enclosure and
made their way through the Indian guard line. When they
came near where George Gordon was camped, they saw the
wagons with agency supplies, largely machinery (a binder
and thresher), had been fired and were still burning. John
Gordon and the soldier stopped to investigate and found Gor-
don's brother George and two teamsters lying dead about the
wreck.

108 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Rankin did not stop. From this point he went by way of
the Morapos trail, riding as fast as possible for safety over the
rough trail in the night. He reached the Hulett and Torrence
cattle camp on Bear River in the early morning, where he
procured a fresh mount by going out on the range for a mile
or more and driving the ranch saddle-horse band to the corral.
Crossing Bear River at this point, he went by way of Fortifica-
tion Creek, reaching the road near the Thornburg reserve
camp, where he advised Lieutenant Price of the disaster.

He arrived at Frank Harrah's ranch at the Bagg's Cross-
ing of Snake River. While eating a lunch, the saddle-horse
band was driven to the corral from the pasture. Harrah fur-
nished him with a horse of staying qualities named Joe Busch
(one used in the Rider's string while in Harrah's employ).

The courier arrived in Rawlins at two a. m., October first.
The distance is approximately one hundred and fifty miles.
The time, including stops, was twenty-seven and one-half hours.

News of the disaster was immediately wired General
George Crook at Fort Omaha. Army officials at Washington
were also notified. Crook instructed General Wesley Merritt,
in command of Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming, to go to the relief
of Thornburg 's men.

The Settlers Given Warning

John Gordon and the soldier, after investigating the wreck
at George Gordon's camp, went by way of the road. At Deer
Creek, they routed McCarger and son from bed. They had two
horses on stake, and six others of their teams hobbled on the
range. Each McCarger mounted a bareback horse. They looked
for the hobbled horses a short time but did not find them.

All four men rode to Tom lies' ranch on Bear River, at
daybreak. Soon after their arrival, the soldier's horse fell
dead from exhaustion. McCarger borrowed the soldier's sad-
dle. He and his son continued to Snake River, while Gordon
and the soldier stopped at lies'.

Mansfield, the courier sent out from the agency by Meeker
to bring Captain Dodge and his colored soldiers to the agency,
lost his way during the night ride (being a gardener and not
a rider). He arrived at lies' ranch late the evening of the 29th.
He related a description of Meeker's troubles with the Utes
up to the time he left the agency.

Sam Reid, living on Elk River, learning of the Indian
trouble, came to lies' place the evening of the 29th to learn if
the settlers were in danger. Upon learning from Gordon of the
Thornburg fight, Sam gave the alarm to settlers along Bear
River as far as Hayden ; then went on to Elk River to protect
his family.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 109

Jimmy Dunn volunteered to carry the news to Crawford,
at Steamboat Springs. Dunn was also instructed to notify
Captain Dodge. Dunn, on his way to Steamboat, met Ed.
Clark on horseback (surveyor from Greeley). He had stopped
at Crawford's for the night. He was on his way to the agency
to do more surveying for Meeker.

Since Clark had not seen or heard of the Negro troops on
the way, Dunn decided the troops were coming by way of
Twenty-Mile Park, as they were expected any hour on their
way to the agency. Clark agreed with Dunn to meet Dodge
on the Twenty-Mile Park Road. Being much alarmed be-
cause of the Indian scare, Clark failed to venture far from
the Hayden settlement. Going a short distance on the Twenty-
Mile road, he wrote a note and left it tied, dangling from a
tall sage brush which leaned over the side of the road. Clark
continued to lies' place, where he met Mansfield and settlers
gathered there.

Four families, settlers of the Hayden Valley, went to
Steamboat, where they fortified themselves at Crawford's
ranch.

George Fuhr, of Slater Basin, was at Frank Harrah's
ranch when Rankin, the courier was on the way to Rawlins.
He gave the alarm to the settlers in the Snake River Valley.
(A Paul Revere, as it were). The horse he rode collapsed from
the strenuous ordeal. Six families moved up the Muddy Creek
fifteen miles, where they made camp. Others went to Rawlins.
Others, not much alarmed, held the fort at Perkin's store.

At the Corral and Trenches, September 30th

Men had worked steadily during the night completing
trenches for protection, with only an occasional shot from
the Utes on guard on the ridge. When the soldiers started fire
to make coffee, there was a volley of shots, and the fire was
put out.

Gordon's freight wagons with agency supplies, one thou-
sand yards distant, were burned during the night.

Captain Dodge's Movements Partly Governed by Letter Mail
On September 26th, Captain Dodge, on his way from Wind-
sor postoffice to Middle Park, as previously mentioned, met
Sanely Mellen at Hayden, bringing his mail as pre-arranged.
Sandy returned with Dodge's troop by way of Twenty-Mile
Park. On their way through Egeria Park, they met Zene B.
Maudlin, Adrian R. Marshall and family, and Fred Hodges,
moving in to settle on Bear River.

Dodge moved to the east side of the Gore range where
he met teams with supplies, sent to him from Fort Garland.

110 ANNALS OF WYOMING

The supply train consisted of three, six-mule teams in charge
of Henry Meder. They had come by way of Poncha Pass and
Fairplay. (Henry Meder is now living on his ranch near
Fort Garland).

Making camp, Dodge sent Sandy Mellen to Sulphur
Springs for his mail. Near Dodge's camp, James P. Maxwell,
of Boulder, Colorado, civil engineer, had S. E. Bivens and other
surveyors in the field, sub-dividing unsurveyed lands in Grand
County. His two sons, Clinton and Mark, were assisting in
the survey.

When Sandy Mellen returned with the mail, which indi-
cated their services were needed at the agency, Dodge again
started for the agency, on September 29th, by way of Twenty-
Mile Park.

When nearing Hay den, October 1st, Sandy Mellen, riding
with Dodge in advance of the troop, discovered a slip of paper
tied to a sage brush at the side of the road. It was addressed
to Captain Dodge, and read, "Thornburg killed. His men in
peril; rush to their assistance."

The troop moved with speed to Tom lies' place at the
crossing of Bear River, where a short stop was made for lunch.

Dodge knew from John Gordon's condition that he had
got liquor at Peck's store which was one mile down and across
the river. He sent Sandy Mellen and three Negro soldiers to
destroy any liquor that might be there.

Leaving his seven wagons for the teamsters to move to
Thornburg 's reserve camp on Fortification Creek, Dodge took
one pack mule. The troop was joined by Gordon. They left
by way of Morapos trail late in the evening.

They arrived to within five hundred yards of the trenches
a short time before daybreak, October 2nd, where a halt was
made. Sandy Mellen and Gordon advanced, with shouts from
Gordon, whose voice was recognized. There were loud shouts
of rejoicing from the men in the trenches. They climbed out
of the pits and greeted Dodge and his Negro soldiers with a
glad hand. They were especially glad to learn that the cour-
iers had got out safely and that more relief troops would soon
reach them. Dodge's horses were tied within the enclosure.
Stillness had prevailed during the night. Most of the Indians
had gone to their emergency camp one mile south, for rest,
food and change of mounts. Dodge and his troop had slipped
into the trenches at a time least expected by the Utes, as they
were not seen by the Ute scouts with field glasses, as they
were coming on the river route the day before.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 111

Captain Dodge Proposes an Attack

Shouts of the men had aroused the Indians. They were
soon in position on the ridge and creek hank. At daylight, a
rain of shots began. Dodge proposed to charge the Indians
on the ridge, but was persuaded that it would merely terminate
in the loss of more men, for the steep hill was all to the ad-
vantage of the Indians, and the men were fairly well pro-
tected in the trenches.

Dodge, by this time, realized he was in a trap with Thorn-
burg's men. From the open space in the enclosure, it was
about ninety feet to water in the creek. Horses and mules
that were severely wounded within the enclosure were shot
to end their sufferings. Each night dead horses and mules were
dragged to and dumped over the creek bank. Some horses,
when shot by the Indians, but not fatally, would lunge back,
break their tie ropes and stagger about the trenches. One
horse, when lunging back, broke his tie rope and fell into the
trench with wounded men. Quick action by men in close-by
trenches soon dragged him out with ropes, without serious
injury to the wounded.

During the night, men ventured outside the enclosure to
gather sagebrush to make fire in the trenches to make coffee.

The first night after Dodge arrived, more shooting was
done than on any other one night. It was thought this out-
burst of shooting was done to kill horses, and to intimidate the
newcomers so that no attempt to escape the trap or to build
protection would be made. The same night, when Private Eizer
went to the creek for water, he was shot in the side of the face.

Ute Jeers
There were several Indians who could talk understand-
able English. Some of these were Piah, Cojo, Henry dim (an
interpreter). Jack, Charlie (an Uncompahgre Ute), and John-
son. At times during the day, it was sport for the Indians to
jeer the soldiers. Jeers from the ridge, because of great dis-
tance, were not always clearly understood. Others from the
creek bank at closer range called, "Come out, you sons of
b — s and fight like men." Others yelled. "Utes kill o^^v 'orse
and mool, and kill oo." One Ute beneath the creek bank,
togged in a red shirt, was thought to have done most of the
sharp-shooting, killing the largest number of horses ami mules.
Although "Red Shirt" was seen at times at close range by a
few, his name was not known by the soldiers. It was then-
first time in the Ute country. After relief came, two hundred
45-70 shells were found where "Red Shirt" had done most o\'
his shooting. Later, it was learned. Chief Johnson was given
credit for most of the horse and mule killing with his Sharps

112 ANNALS OP WYOMING

rifle. When a hat was raised on a stick above the trenches, it
became a target and was riddled by volleys of shot.

Negro Soldiers Intruding

Captain Dodge, a short time after his arrival, feeling his
Negro soldiers might be intruding on the white soldiers in
the already crowded trenches, during a lull in Ute shooting,
started some of his men to digging trenches for themselves, in
daylight, within the enclosure. They had just started to dig,
when a rain of shots hit the ground and wagons about them.
Dropping their tools, a soldier of Troop E, 3rd Cavalry, de-
scribing their movements, said, "They made ten feet every
jump and leaped head first into the trenches like frogs."
Looking on the humorous side, amusing incidents occur even
in battle. A private soldier of Troop D, described a burly
Negro soldier climbing from a trench during a lull in the
shooting, with rifle in hand, and saying in bravado style,
"Show me a Ute." Since there was none in sight, of course,
he sat down on a wagon-tongue.- About the same instant, a
ball hit the corner of the wagon bed, one foot from his head.
He jumped into the trench and "mum" was the word, while
others about him who saw the incident had a laugh.

The Indians were seldom seen within rifle range since they
did their shooting from protected points at all times. The
soldiers learned to know when the Indians were coming in the
morning by crows and magpies that came at first break of day
to feast on dead horses and mules. When the crows and mag-
pies began to caw and fly away about sunrise, the Utes were
getting into position for shooting.

By noon of the second day after Dodge arrived, but seven of
his cavalry horses remained alive. One hundred and forty-eight
horses and mules, within and near the trenches, were killed.
Five horses and two mules, within the corral, missed the rain
of Ute lead. Several head of Gordon's oxen were slaughtered
by the Utes for food at their emergency camp one mile and
one-half south of the battlegrounds.

The men in the trenches knew nothing of what was going
on at the agency, twenty-five miles away. The Utes were in
communication with their separate camps at all times. Runners
were moving back and forth between Milk Creek, the agency,
and the squaw camp. Douglas, "Big Chief," and too old to
take part in the strenuous ordeal of the fight at Milk Creek,
with a few other of the older Indians, were on guard at the
agency.

McCarger's two freight wagons, abandoned on Deer Creek
the first night of the fight, were ransacked, presumably the
next day. Flour, soap, sugar; and there were several cases of

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 113

small hatchets supposed to have been ordered by Meeker as a
play tool for Ute children — all were scattered around. An at-
tempt was made to fire the wagons and contents. There being
but little inflammable material, the damage was not great.

A PRE-MEDITATED TRAGEDY

The Massacre at the Agency

Description of the scene of slaughter at the agency in de-
tail will depend on the story told by Mrs. Price and Josephine
to General Adams and reporter, at the time of their rescue ;
and the personal conversations of The Rider with Mrs. Price,
several months later.

On the morning of September 30th, the second day of the
Milk Creek fight, fifteen or more Indians left the Milk Creek
area for the agency, taking with them the government horses
and mules they had captured the evening before. On their
way down Coal Creek where Carl Goldstein and teamster Julius
Moore were in camp at their freight wagons, they killed the
two men. Moore was later found lying nude in the road.
Goldstein was thirty feet from the wagons, where he had fallen
in the sagebrush. The Indians robbed the wagons of blankets
and such articles as they could pack with them, and set fire to
other supplies, such as flour, salt pork, etc. Tliey drove Gold-
stein's teams along with the government loot.

"The band arrived at the Douglas' camp a short time be-
fore the noon hour," said Mrs. Price. The herd of stolen
horses was not brought into view of the agency employees,
who were working on new buildings and at other odd jobs
nearby. No suspicion of immediate treachery was anticipated
by the employees, who had not yet learned of the fight with
the soldiers nor heard from the two courier employees, Mans-
field and Eskridge, who had been sent out from the agency.

While the agency help were partaking of their noon meal.
Chief Douglas came to the door of the dining room and talked
with the women and men. Mrs. Meeker, with her customary
hospitality, invited him to eat, since Douglas, Johnson, Jane,
and many others of the tribe had many meals at the agency
table. While sitting at the table, Douglas talked and joked
with the men and seemed in an unusually jovial mood. After
his meal, he went outside, looked around the buildings; then
went to his tepee, three hundred yards away, near the river.
The men were again at work on and about the buildings, and
the women were washing dishes in the kitchen. A few minutes
later shooting began.

114 ANNALS OF WYOMING

The Utes had planned their attack after Douglas reached
the tepees. They had stolen the employees' rifles from the
bunkhouse during the forenoon, when the men were busily en-
gaged on the opposite side of the buildings. The shooting came
furiously from about twenty Indians. Mrs. Price looked out-
side and said, "My God, the Indians are killing everybody.
"What shall we do?"

About that time Frank Dresser staggered in at the kitchen
door, wounded in the side of the head. Josephine handed Frank
Mr. Price 's rifle, which was in the kitchen. He shot and killed
Johnson's brother, Ita. Mr. Post, the bookkeeper, ran out
fifty yards from the office building where he was shot down.
Meeker was shot down at his living quarters, but was found
fifty yards from there near the store building. A trail of blood
indicated he had been dragged with a heavy rope which was
left tied around his neck. An iron tent stake was driven
through his mouth and neck ..into the ground. Meeker and
Post were stripped of clothing. The other men lay about the
building where they had been working.

In the meantime, the women and two children and Frank
Dresser ran from the kitchen to the milk house thirty yards
north. The' Indians, who were busily engaged in looting the
living quarters and setting fire to buildings, saw the women
run to the milk house. Though not intending to murder them,
and knowing Frank Dresser had a rifle, they got wood from
a pile nearby and set fire to the side of the milk house. It was
composed of large cottonwood logs chinked and 'dobed, and
was slow to burn. The Indians then turned their attention to
the storeroom, a large, one-room log building fifty yards south
of the living quarters. At the same time they kept an eye on
the progress of the fire at the milk house. They carried blan-
kets and other loot from the storeroom to their tepees, where
others were engaged in packing the loot on government mules
and Ute ponies.

When the fire at the milk house was making headway, and
smoke coming in ; and while the Indians were busily engaged
in carrying out supplies, the women and Dresser decided it
was their opportunity to escape to the tall sagebrush, a short
distance from the milk house and north of the irrigating ditch.
Before reaching the brush, the Indians pied them. Dropping
their loot, they ran with their rifles, shooting close about the
women and children and calling, "Heap good squaw. Utes no
kill good squaw." They were shooting to kill Frank Dresser
as he disappeared in the tall sagebrush with Price's rifle. The
shots fired about the women were intended by the Utes
to intimidate, so they would submit to their demands. The

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 115

women, when being jostled back through the irrigating ditch,
got very wet.

At least two of the Utes taking part in this act were Per-
snne and Cojo, young renegades (both Uncampahgre Utes).
Persune was dressed in a U. S. officer's uniform, cap and all,
which was later identified as Thornburg's outfit. The women
were taken to where the loot was being packed on mules and
ponies.

By this time it was sundown. It had been a warm day and
the women and children were thinly dressed. The nights were
cool, so Mrs. Meeker insisted to Douglas that they nrust have
more clothing. She was allowed to go back to the smouldering
buildings where she found some of their clothing which had
not yet burned, and got coats and wraps for the women and
children. In the meantime, there was a quarrel between Doug-
las and Persune, as to which should take charge of Josephine.
They, with others, had been drinking. Persune had taken
charge of Josephine and assisted her to mount his pony which
was prepared with a saddle, but Douglas insisted she should
be his "squaw." With an outburst of the Ute tongue, they
came near to blows.

Night Ride to the Squaw Camp

Mrs. Meeker, at the age of sixty-eight, was not a strong
woman, and the night ride to the squaw camp taxed her en-
durance to the limit. She was taken in charge by Douglas and
mounted on a pony, with blankets for a saddle. "When too
weak to ride alone, she was tied on with a rope, and at times
rode behind Douglas. Mrs. Price was taken in charge by Cojo,
and mounted on a pony with blankets for a saddle, with her
baby boy in her arms. Josephine was the only one furnished
with a saddle. It was a government saddle, taken from the
horse that Thornburg rode. Mrs. Price's three-year-old girl
rode behind Josephine, tied on with a blanket.

With their caravan of pack ponies and government pack
mules, they crossed White River to the south, going by the
rough mountain trail to the squaw camp.

During the night ride, the Utes were hilarious, ami drink-
ing from bottles of liquor. One greasy and uncouth-looking
Indian rode alongside Josephine and said, "Good squaw. You
my squaw."

From the loot, the captives were furnished with sufficient
blankets for bedding. Some of the squaws assisted them to be
comfortable. Susan wept, and felt sorry for them. The next
day Jane and Douglas' squaw, "Quana." went back to the
agency garden to get vegetables.

116 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Ouray Learns of the Fight

Johnson's squaw, Susan, who was a sister of Ouray and
who had been opposed to the Utes fighting the soldiers, quietly
sent a Ute boy from the squaw camp, the next day after the
fight began, to notify Ouray that the White River Utes were
fighting the soldiers. Ouray was on a hunt in the mountains
when the message arrived and was not expected home for sev-
eral days. Chipeta, like Ouray, ever mindful of her loyalty
to the government and of keeping peace within the Ute tribe,
mounted her pony and rode to the mountains, where she found
and informed Ouray of the situation at White River.

Ouray, angered by the hostility of the White River tribe,
which he had at all times hoped to prevent, at once returned
to Los Pinos, and arranged, October 3rd, with the agent, Major
W. M. Stanley, to send an* employee, Joe Brady, with a note
from Chief Ouray to Douglas and other hostile chiefs of the
White River tribe, to stop fighting.

As an escort for Brady, Ouray selected his most trusted
sub-chief, Sapavanero, who was a brother of Chipeta, and
who, like Ouray and others of the older southern Utes, could
talk and understand both English and Mexican languages.
Shaveno, Aguila, and two other trusted Indians of the Uncom-
pahgre reservation, were in the party.

The distance from Los Pinos to Milk Creek by the Ute
trail was approximately one hundred and forty-five miles.

First Report of the Massacre at the Agency

October 2nd, two men by the names of Bill Meadows and
J. A. Warefield, prospectors with wagon and saddle horse,
who had been prospecting for some time in the Blue Mountain
country during the season, were on their way back to Clear
Creek County, prospecting at times on the way. They crossed
the divide from Bear River by way of Coyote Basin and Straw-
berry Trail to White River, not knowing they were within the
limits of the White River reservation. They had not heard of
the Indian trouble. (They were merely passing through an
unfamiliar country).

About three o'clock p. m. when within half a mile of the
agency, they saw smoke arising from the smouldering build-
ings. They stopped the wagon, while Meadows, with saddle
horse, went to investigate. He saw the dead men lying about
the ruins. Realizing it was the White River Agency, he made
haste to the wagon to inform his partner of the horrible sight.

They turned on the back trail to Bear River, where they
made camp late in the night. Knowing of the settlement on
Snake River, Meadows, the next day, reported at the Bagg's
ranch what he had seen. The news was not carried further, as

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 117

Rankin, the courier, had gone to Rawlins three days before with
the report of the Thornburg disaster, and troops were ex-
pected any hour on their way to the relief of the entrenched
men, and would look after conditions at the agency.

Range Cattle Moved In

October 3rd, 1879, George Hangs and Denny Gaff, who had
driven a herd of cattle from the Arkansas valley to the Bear
River country, one week before, made their camp at a spring in
Big Gulch, which later was known as Brazzle Spring. Leaving
a young man. Freeman Ray, in charge of the camp. Hangs and
Gaff went to the lower country to look for winter range for
their stock.

When they returned late in the evening, they found Ray
in the wagon. He had been shot in the side of the face. A
horse which was on stake near camp, had become excited. Fear-
ing he might break away, Ray went to quiet him, and was shot,
supposedly by a renegade Ute in ambush back of a ridge. Ten
head of their work and saddle stock on the range, near camp,
were stolen. Ray, suffering severely from his wounds, was
taken to Tom lies' cabin on Bear River. He was treated by
Surgeon Kimmel of Merritt's command, when they were on
their way to relieve Thornburg 's men.

RELIEF FORCES

General Merritt received his orders at eight o'clock on the
morning of October 1st. The message Avas wired to Cheyenne
and rushed by courier to Merritt at Fort D. A. Russell, two
miles distant. Merritt at once summoned his orderly to sound
the assembly bugle call. When all officers and privates gath-
ered at his quarters, he informed them of the Thornburg dis-
aster, and gave orders to make ready to move as soon as
possible.

Horses and mules and the larger part of their field equip-
ment Avere at Camp Carlin, one mile away. (Camp Carlin was
established in 1867, as a temporary military post for tin1 pro-
tection of the Union Pacific Railroad construction while Fort
D. A. Russell was being built. It was later used as a supply
base for military posts. The site is now in the resident dis-
trict of Cheyenne).

Merritt's forces were shipped to Rawlins in two special
trains. The Union Pacific officials and trainmen cooperated
in every way to speed the troops on their mission. Tom
Moore, chief packer, was in charge of loading. The first
train left Cheyenne at two p. m. The second train followed

118 ANNALS OF WYOMING

three hours later. The specials were given the right of way
on the main line with double header and pusher over the
Sherman hill. To keep the stock in condition for the strenuous
ordeal, a stop was made at Laramie for food and water. The
trains arrived at Rawlins in the early morning of October 2nd.

All troops were active in preparation for the long march.
Merritt 's command was made up of Companies I, A, B and M,
of the 5th Cavalry. Each company composed a troop of about
forty-five men. The names of his staff officers were Captain
J. A. Auger, Troop A ; Captain Kellogg, Troop I ; Captain
Montgomery, Troop B; Captain Babcock, Troop M ; First Lieu-
tenant William B. Weir, an ordnance officer in charge of giov-
ernment rifle repair works at Camp Carlin, a volunteer ; Gap-
tain Hall, an ordnance 'officer.

Paul Humme, rifle tester at .the repair works (a volunteer),
was appointed chief scout by Merritt, and Colonel Compton (a
volunteer), and Surgeon A. J. Kimmell, made up the official
staff.

The equipment for the march was composed of fifty pack
mules, each with a light pack of provisions to allow speedy
movement, and in charge of Tom Moore. While packing the
mules at Rawlins, Moore was approached by a young lad of
nineteen, with a six-shooter hanging from his belt. He had
smuggled in on the same train with the soldiers from Laramie
during the night. He asked to be taken along with the expedi-
tion. Moore scrutinized him carefully and decided he might be
useful in assisting the cooks and packers. He was furnished a
mule to ride and allowed to go along with the expedition.

Each cavalryman was equipped with a blanket, cavalry
rifle, and small knapsack containing hardtack (similar in size
and appearance to the commercial dog biscuit), and a canteen
of water or coffee, slung to their saddle and back.

While the men were preparing for the march, General Mer-
ritt was in conference with Joe Rankin, to learn the particulars
of the situation at Milk Creek. Rankin advised Merritt to
employ Jim Baker, and with Colonel Compton, he left Rawlins
one hour in advance of Merritt, to engage Baker, who lived
twelve miles up Snake River from the road crossing, to go as
scout for the expedition.

Rankin accompanied the expedition from Baggs Crossing
to the trenches ; then returned to Rawlins to take care of his
stable business. He was later appointed U. S. Marshal of Wyo-
ming, by President Harrison.

Merritt was joined at Rawlins by John C. Dyer, who was
sent from Denver by Colorado state officials as reporter for
the New York World and the Chicago Tribune.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 119

Merritt's forces, with pack train, left Rawlins at ten-thirty
a. m., October 2nd. A train of fifteen wagons with supplies
followed several hours later with John McAndrews as wagon-
master.

Dyer, the reporter, was mounted on a spirited horse en-
gaged from Rankin's livery stable. On the way, his mount
forged ahead of the cavalrymen. He was called to hold up,
more than once, by the officer in command during the trip.

At Bagg's crossing, Merritt was joined by Jim Baker, who
was dressed in buckskin, with his Sharp's rifle slung to the
pommel of his saddle. He was riding "Brownie." Tom Duffy,
a cowboy volunteer, also joined the troops. Fleeing settlers
who camped on the Muddy Creek at the first alarm, moved to
their homes feeling safe as Merritt's troops went south.

When Merritt arrived at the Thornburg reserve camp on
Fortification Creek, Lieutenant Price with Troop I, of the 4th
Infantry, and Captain Dodge's mule teams with supply wagons,
were taken along. At Bear River, Merritt's command was
joined by Bill Lisco and a small party from the lies' ranch.
Arriving at William's Fork the evening of October 4th, they
made camp until two a. m., when they moved to the trenches.

A]i advance guard of eight men, with Chris Madsen in
charge, was one-half mile in the lead. When they came near
the trenches, a bugle call was given. It was received with
shouts of joy from the men in the trenches, and the cry, "Old
Wesley is here." It was five o'clock a. m., about one hour
before daylight on the morning of October 5th, when General
Merritt came up with the command. They advanced to the
trenches. There had been no shooting by the Indians during
the night. The men in the trenches were expecting Merritt
for relief, Fort Russell being the nearest military post where a
strong garrison of cavalrymen was available.

Although it was dark, men from the trenches rushed to
meet their rescuers with a hearty greeting. No time was lost.
A short consultation between General Merritt and officers.
Payne, Dodge and Lawson took place. Preparations for action
were quickly made. Surgeon Kimmel was engaged in treating
the wounded. Lieutenant Price, Sandy Mellen and a small
party were sent to bring in Thornburg 's body. He had been
scalped and left entirely nude.

Merritt Arranges His Men for Battle
At daybreak, Merritt was shown the stronghold of the
Indian ambush. He at once arranged his men for a charge in
case of an attack. One troop of the nth Cavalry was ordered
to the south side of Milk Creek to scout cautiously the foot-
hills on the southwest. A large troop, composed of the 4th

120 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Infantry and of the relieved, entrenched men, was ordered to
advance along the ridge that had been held by the Utes as a
stronghold, and along the bluffs on the north side of Milk
Creek. Merritt held the main body of his men in reserve a
short distance from the trenches.

It was clear daylight when Indians were seen to concen-
trate in a body by small bands on the bench where the fight
started. Utes were coming from different directions. Merritt
waited and watched their movements. The infantry on the
north side fired several shots from the bluffs at a small band
which was moving toward the group. The Utes retaliated with
a few shots. This shooting was done at long range and neither
party was in real danger. Apparently, the main body of the
Utes' fighting force was gathered for council. Their number
was estimated to be from one hundred seventy-five to two
hundred Indians.

After waiting a few minutes, a lone rider was seen to
leave the group and move toward Merritt 's men, on the gallop.
As the rider came closer, he was seen to carry a small white
flag. Approaching Merritt, he told his mission and passed
him a note. A stranger to all — he was Joe Brady, from Los
Pinos Agency. The note was from Ouray to the leading chiefs
telling them to stop fighting the soldiers. Brady had arrived
at the hostile camp late the evening before. The chiefs had
seized the opportunity to have Brady present their note to
Merritt ; to show their good intentions to quit the fight, and
also to advise Merritt they wanted a new agent, and wishing
to live in peace on their reservation. Merritt advised Brady
to go back to Los Pinos ; that he, Merritt, would look after
the Indians.

When Brady returned to the group of Indians from which
he had emerged, with no encouragement for them as a result
of the conference with Merritt, other than the delivery of
Ouray's note, the Indians, accompanied by Brady, left the
Milk Creek country for the squaw camp.

Merritt Orders the Trench Camp Moved

Because of the Indians quitting the fight and the stench
about the trenches being unbearable, Merritt ordered, the camp
with the wounded men moved up Milk Creek, one mile to the
east, where there was grass for the stock. Details of troops
scouted the surrounding hills during the day.

From this camp, Captain Auger, with an escort of his cav-
alrymen and a detail of workers, was ordered to bury the dead.
A list of wounded had been taken by Officers Payne and Law-
son. The names of those killed were as follows: Major Thomas
T. Thornburg, 4th Infantry ; Michael Fireton, Company F, 5th

THE MEEKEK MASSACRE 121

cavalry ; John Burns, Company F, 5th Cavalry ; Sergeant John
Uolan, Company F, 5th Cavalry ; Amos D. Miller, Company F.
5th Cavalry ; Samuel McKee, Company F, 5th Cavalry ; Charles
Wright, Company D, 5th Cavalry ; Dominic Caff, Company E,
5th Cavalry ; Teamster Thomas McGuire ; Wm. McKinstrey,
wagonmaster ; Scout Charles Grafton Lowry. Of these, all
were buried near the trenches except Major Thornburg.

Scout Lowry, who was fatally wounded at the time of the
fire, was thought to have been dead when trenches were being
dug in haste during the night. He was covered with a part of
a tent canvas and dirt from a trench. After five and one-half
days, the bodies were being removed for burial, and he was
found to be alive. With assistance, he sat up, although not
being able to speak. He sipped some coffee when a cup was
held for him. Surgeon Kimmel was called, and while he was
probing for the ball, Lowry passed away.

A small party of infantry, with M. W. Dillon in charge.
and Chris Madsen in charge of a troop of 5th Cavalry as an
escort, was sent to bury George Gordon and his two teamsters.
J. H. Brigham and son, at the ruins of their freight camp on
Stinking Gulch.

The number of wounded men, in all, was thirty-eight. The
larger number of these were slightly wounded. Some of those
most painfully, but not seriously wounded, were : Sergeant
James Montgomery, Troop E, 3rd Cavalry, wounded in the
ankle ; Private John Mahoney, Troop E, 3rd Cavalry, Avounded
in the thigh ; Private F. Simmons, Troop F, 5th Cavalry,
wounded in the arm ; John C. Davis, in charge of suttler sup-
plies for J. W. Hugus, wounded in the heel ; Private J. H. Nich-
olas, Troop D, 5th Cavalry, wounded in the side ; and Captain
Payne, a skin abrasion over the abdomen.

Rescued Men on the Way to Fort Steele

Wagons and other preparations for moving were made
ready, and on the morning of October 7th the wounded and all
entrenched men, with Captain Dodge in charge, were on their
way to Fort Steele. Thornburg 's body, after being treated
by Surgeon Kimmel, was sewed in canvas. From Rawlins it
was shipped east for burial. All settlers who volunteered their
services with Merritt returned home from this camp. Merritt
rested his stock for two days and awaited arrival of his sup-
ply train.

122 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Official Expressions Regarding Ute Precaution

During their restful hours in camp, Jim Baker, General
Merritt and some of his official staff expressed their opinions as
to why the Utes had quit the fight. The first and most logical
one was that the Ute scouts (with field glasses), had seen Mer-
ritt's troops on the road the evening before, and had decided
to keep out of their way. The next opinion was that Ouray's
note held some weight. The third opinion expressed was that
the Utes were short of ammunition.

Merritt 's Record March

General Merritt 's time from Rawlins to the trenches, in-
cluding stops to feed, two-hour stop at Thornburg's reserve
camp, and eight hours at William's Fork, was sixty-six and
one-half hours, breaking all records filed by the war depart-
ment for distance and time in a forced march of cavalry troops.

Colorado and Wyoming legislatures passed resolutions of
thanks, complimenting Merritt and his men for their prompt
relief of the entrenched men.

Merritt 's Forces Moved to White River

On October 8th, Merritt moved his forces to White River.
On their way down Coal Creek Canyon, a teamster from Fort
Union named Brown, one of Dodge's men, when passing the
old agency coal mine, discovered the body of a man in the
mouth of the mine. A halt and investigation was made. From
the note found in his pocket, he was identified as Frank Dresser,
who had escaped wounded, during the slaughter at the agencj7.
It was later determined he had walked and ran the fifteen
miles during the night and had lost a great quantity of blood,
and become exhausted. His coat was folded and placed under
his head for a pillow. Price's rifle, which he had when last
seen at the agency, was not found. It was presumed to have
been taken by the Utes when on the way to the squaw camp.

A few miles farther down Coal Creek, Merritt 's men
passed the dead bodies of Carl Goldstein and Julius Moore,
and the ruins of their freight wagons. One mile farther on,
the troops met Joe Morgan. Joe, after hearing of the Thorn-
burg disaster while at his home on Snake River, started with
his brother, Dave, to go to Morgan Canyon, where three
younger brothers were living. He found them gathering their
horse band to move them north of Snake River, as their horse
range had been burned over by the fire started at the trenches.
Since Joe had been quite friendly with the White River Utes,
he had no fear of them. He, being curious to know, had gone
to the agency to see for himself the conditions there, and was
returning by way of Coal and Milk Creeks.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 123

Merritt, not knowing Morgan, and believing he might be
a renegade spying for the Indians, ordered him disarmed and
held under arrest. At White River, Merritt made camp one
mile below the month of Coal Creek and within four miles of
the agency. When Jim Baker, who was on scont duty during
the march, came to camp, he identified Morgan as his near
neighbor on Snake River, and Morgan was released.

Merritt spent three days at this camp. A supply of I. D.
Beef was gathered in from the range. A party was sent to
bury Dresser, Goldstein, and Moore. Lieutenant Weir, with an
escort, was in charge of a detail of soldiers to bury the men
at the agency, including Eskridge, who was killed and left
nude in the road.

Scouting parties were sent out each day, mainly on the
White and Grand River divide, to watch the movements of
skulking Indians, who, with field glasses, were spying on sol-
diers, and to view a route over the divide to the south on
which to move their wagon stock and pack train, as there was
no wagon road leading south from White River.

Additional Troops Had Been Ordered

Following the ordering of General Merritt to the relief of
the Thornburg men, additional troops were ordered by Gen-
eral Crook, as a precautionary measure, to be in readiness at
Rawlins should their services be needed.

Of these there were two troops of infantry from Fort
Snelling, Minnesota, in command of Colonel Gilbert, and one
troop of infantry from Fort Douglas, Utah. On their arrival,
they made camp at Rawlings Springs, awaiting further orders
to move south. Two troops of cavalry were ordered from Fort
McPherson. The order was countermanded before the troops
reached Rawlins.

One troop of the 3rd Cavalry left Fort Laramie in com-
mand of Major Henry, traveling overland. At the same time.
First Lieutenant C. A. H. MeCauley was sent from Fort Omaha
to Rawlins to take charge of transportation in forwarding sup-
plies to Merritt 's headquarters, and also to establish a courier
line to convey war department messages between Rawlins and
General Merritt.

Joe Brady arrived at Los Pinos Agency by way of the Ute
squaw camp, where he learned of the killing at the agency, and
saw the captive women and children. Chief Douglas told Brady
that if the white men came to him who were friends of the Utes,
they would surrender the women and children to them un-
harmed. This message was wired October 8th. from Los Pinos
to Denver and Washington. Car] Schurz, Secretary of the
Interior, communicated by wire with Charles X. Adams, special

124 ANNALS OF WYOMING

agent of the postoffice department, located in Denver. Adams
previously served as agent at White River and at Los Pinos.
Schurz, knowing of his faithful and efficient service to the gov-
ernment and of his experience in dealing with the Ute Indians,
appointed him to look after special work, with instructions to
proceed at once to plan the rescue of the captive women and
children.

Squaw Camp Moved to Grand River

On the same day Brady left the squaw camp, the camp
was moved ; the first day to Parachute Creek, and the next day
to Grand River, near the mouth of Roan Creek.

Courier Line Established

The Rider arrived in Rawlins one day in advance of Lieu-
tenant McCauley, after the close of the cowboy job with Frank
Harrah — and with two cowboys who arrived in Rawlins from
a job on the trail with cattle herds driven from Oregon to
Wyoming (owned by George Lang and Matthew Ryan of Fort
Leavenworth), and with Hy Armstrong of Rawlins, the four
cowboys were employed by McCauley as couriers, each assigned
to a station on the line.

A carload of cavalry horses was shipped from Camp Carlin
to Rawlins, from which the couriers selected their mounts. Be-
sides heing branded U. S. on the left shoulder they were
branded I. C. under the overhanging mane (which indicated
"inspected and condemned.")

Lang and Ryan drove eight herds, 16,000 stock cattle, from
the Owyhee, John Day and Malheur Rivers, Oregon, in 1879.
They were classed, sold and distributed in small herds to ranch
settlers in the Laramie and Cheyenne districts who were en-
gaging in the cattle business.

About the same time, General Adams received instructions
to proceed with the rescue of the captive women. General
Merritt was wired a message from the war department. On
the morning of October 9th, three couriers left Rawlins for the
south, each leading their extra mount. Armstrong was as-
signed the Rawlins to Sulphur Springs ride. With an occa-
sional change of mounts, the three arrived the same evening at
Perkins' quarters on Snake River, the station to which Billy
Thomas was assigned.

Jack Davis had just arrived from the trenches. The main
body of men from the trenches had gone by way of Baggs Cross-
ing. Davis was moving about with the aid of crutches, nursing
his wounded heel. Davis ordered a new stock of suttler's sup-
plies at Perkins' store to be sent to Merritt 's headquarters. He
later was manager for J. W. Hugus & Co. chain stores.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 125

On the arrival at Tom lies' cabin on Bear River (bachelors
hall), arrangements were made for the third courier station
to which Alex. Hasson was assigned. Norris Brock, a neigh-
bor homesteader, had congregated with others at the lies
ranch during the Ute scare. He was impressed as a cook.
During conversations at this station it was noted that Jerry
Huff, Bill Lisco and lies had joined Merritt's troops, going as
far as the trenches. Clark, the surveyor, and Mansfield, the
agency employee, left lies' for Greeley. The Rider, continuing
with the Merritt message at two o'clock a. m. by way of Mora-
pos Trail, saw, when passing the scene of slaughter, at the
trenches, that bears, coyotes and magpies were having the
feast of their lives on dead horses and mules.

At the crossing of Milk Creek, Sergeant Thomas, of Com-
pany E, 3rd Cavalry, a survivor of the trenches, was met. He
had gone with Merritt's forces from Milk Creek to White
River, for the purpose of carrying out to Rawlins, Merritt's
message reporting conditions found at the agency and to be
wired to Washington. He was leading an extra horse, which
appeared to be a good one. The courier's mount, being of
condemned stock, was weary, and he requested an exchange
for the fresh mount. This was agreeable with Thomas, who
remarked that the horse's name was "Humdinger." He also
stated that Merritt's command was starting to move south
from White River when he left.

After a few strenuous jaunts over the courier route, it was
evident that "Humdinger" made good for that which the
slang term applies — "the best." From Merritt's abandoned
camp on White River, the trail was followed, and the expedi-
tion overtaken at the head of Flag Creek. The caravan had
stopped. Passing by the long line of wagons and pack mules,
soldiers in the lead were found working like beaver, clearing a
road through the quakenasp, through which to move their
supply train. General Merritt Avas at the head directing road
work. An advance guard of two cavalry troops was doing
scout duty on the divide, one-half mile in the lead.

After reading the message, Merritt was grieved, showing
great disappointment because of being halted in his effort to
engage the Indians in battle. His first remark was, "Oh, hell:
here 1 am, tied hand and foot." The message read: "Stop fur-
ther efforts to engage the Indians: an effort to rescue the cap-
tives is being made from the south. Camp in the vicinity of
the agency until further developments." Road work was
stopped. A short time was taken for lunch, which consisted
of coffee, hardtack, and a liberal "help-yourself " to I. D.
beef, roasted on a stick held over eampfire coals. The Rider
joined in the feed. The army returned to White River the

126 ANNALS OF WYOMING

same afternoon, making camp on the same grounds they had
left in the morning, and awaited developments. Merritt's men
showed as much disappointment as Merritt himself.

Chris Madsen, of the 5th Cavalry (one of Merritt's men
who was an eye witness to the struggle between Buffalo Bill
and Chief Yellow Hand, and years later U. S. Marshal of Okla-
homa), in a conversation with the Rider, remarked that if
Merritt and his men had known the contents of the message
before it was delivered, they would have paid to have the
courier hog-tied or killed before the delivery of the message
could have been made. Chris Madsen, at present time, is living
at his home in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

The Rider Views the Ruins of the Agency

Accompanied by Lieutenant William B. Weir, the ruins
of the recently built agency were viewed. Weir, who was in
charge of a detail of soldiers that buried the unfortunate men
four days before, described the scene. Of the nine men whose
names have already been mentioned herein, and whose bodies
were laid to rest beneath a grove of Cottonwood trees between
the river and the agency, Mansfield was the only male employee
who escaped with his life. All buildings were burned except a
wagon shed and the large store building which had been fired.
It had recently been built of green, hewed cottonwood logs
which did not burn. Three tons of flour that was stored therein
had been dumped on the floor and the sacks taken by the In-
dians. The flour was burned to a crisp over the top. The
agency flag pole, from which the stars and stripes floated,
representing a government institution, was not molested. Sol-
diers, freighters and agencv emplovees, in all, 27 men, were
killed.

Through the courtesy of General Merritt, a special tent
was provided alongside his official tent, with bedding for the
accommodation of the reporter, Scout Jim Baker and couriers,
who were assigned to "mess" with Captain Kellogg 's troop.
The "mess" was composed of choice viands and other delica-
cies, from salt pork, hardtack, snitts (dried apples) and coffee.
The regular morning mess was sowbelly, chopped fine, fried in
the dutch oven, then crumpled hardtack and water was added,
and the whole allowed to simmer a few minutes. It was named
s-of-a-h by the soldiers. Some of the burned agency flour was
used by the soldier cooks, but after a consultation was held by
General Merritt, and Surgeon Kimmel, (whose decision was
that the flour might contain poison) its use was forbidden.

The wagonload of suttler store supplies from Perkins'
store arrived at Merritt's camp with Al. Durham as teamster,
and Wilber Hugus in charge of supplies.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 127

The young man, Bill Marston, picked up at Rawlins by
Tom Moore, was having the time of his life. He had taken on
the appearance of a full-fledged frontiersman. Seeking further
adventure, he begged to be allowed to join cavalry troops de-
tailed for scout duty. Moore nicknamed him "Colorow Bill."

Major Henry Arrives

Major Henry, with one troop of 3rd Cavalry, arrived at
Merritt 's camp, making the trip overland from Fort Laramie.
He made camp for one night at Mountain Meadows. Joe Col-
lom, (who was living in the vicinity of the Meadows and who,
during the hay season, had put "in stack" one hundred tons
of native hay which he later sold to Kirk Calvert and Bill
Aylesworth) was on the hunt for one of his oxen, strayed from
his camp. He happened to stop at Evan's camp.

Major Henry, not knowing him, suspected he was spying
for the Indians. He said to his sergeant, "Hold this man un-
der guard." After a considerable length of time and much
explanation, Joe convinced Evans he was a settler living one
mile away in the canyon. Joe was released. He became a
prominent stockman of that section, and was the original lo-
cater and owner of the Mount Streeter Coal Mine.

Major Henry's troop was mounted on a "gray horse" cav-
alry, forty-seven, all dapple grays. To horse lovers, they were
a beautiful lot.

THE RESCUE

General Adams to the Rescue of the Captive Woman
and Children

General Adams arrived at Los Pinos October 18th. He was
accompanied by Count Von Doenhoff, a special reporter. Adams
was soon in conference with Chief Ouray. Assisted by Agent
Stanley, they at once made preparations for the ninety-mile
trip. A wagon with provisions and camp equipment, and a
light wagon were taken along so that the women and children
could ride with more comfort than to travel by horseback. For
an assistant, Adams engaged his old-time friend ami frontiers-
man, Captain W. M. (Tine, who was keeping a small trading
store on the Cimarron Creek fifteen miles away, ami near the
east line of the Uneompahgre reservation. He knew the Indians
well. George P. Sherman, bookkeeper at the agency, volunteered
to go. Ouray selected his sub-chiefs Sapavanero, Shavano and
eight other trusted Indians of the Uneompahgre reservation.

The route traveled was by way of the old Mormon road
to a point on the Gunnison River. The party was unable to
proceed farther with their wagons. Sapavanero sent two of his

128 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Indians ahead to the hostile camp on Grand River to notify the
chiefs of the coming of the party, and their mission.

In the meantime, Colorow, Jack, Johnson, Piah, and Per-
sune had moved their tepees and the captive women and chil-
dren sixteen miles south of Grand River, on the mesa of
Plateau Creek — after the Ute scouts had seen Merritt's forces
moving south from White River. Adams and escort were trav-
eling by horseback some distance in the rear. Douglas, at the
Grand River camp, sent Henry Jim, Lavero, and Co jo to meet
the Adams party, and to tell them where to find the hostile
chief's camp, which they reached the same day, October 19th.

The hostile chiefs had been notified of the party 's approach
and had closed up the tepees occupied by the women and they,
themselves, kept under cover. With the help of the good scout,
Sapavanero, who took the lead with Captain Cline and Adams,
they looked into each tepee. They found Mrs. Meeker in John-
son's tepee, but she had previously been kept in Douglas'
tepee. Mrs. Price and her baby boy were found in Johnson's
tepee, but she had previously been kept in Jack's tepee, most
of the time. Josephine and Mae Price, the three-year-old girl,
were found in Persune's tepee, where they had been held dur-
ing the twenty-three days. They had all been kept in widely-
separated tepees.

When the women had been located, they were very much
elated, saying, "We are glad you have come for us," General
Adams and Sapavanero found and consulted with Jack, Colo-
row, Johnson, and Persune, who were not inclined to give up
the women. Piah was scouting on the divide. Chief Douglas,
when informed of the presence of the Adams party, left for
the warring chief's camp, arriving late in the evening.

A stormy council was held, which lasted the greater part
of the night. Because of Merritt's attempt to move south
from White River, the chiefs had become alarmed, and moved
south as far as they dared go. Ouray had previously forbid-
den the White River Utes to hunt or camp on the Uncompah-
gre reservation. Adams, Sapavanero and Shavano took part
in the council. Several hours' conference followed, the chiefs
at times making hostile threats, and Sapavanero using harsh
words and threats in a persuasive argument for the release of
the captives. Johnson's squaw, Susan, who had been taking
part in the "pow-wow, " became enraged. She burst out with
a strong plea, demanding that the women be set free, as it was
Ouray's orders that they must be released. After this de-
mand, the chiefs gradually began to weaken. Chief Douglas
made a proposition to Adams, that if he would go to White
River and stop the soldiers from coming farther south, they
would give up the women. As Adams had no authority to in-

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 129

terfere with Merritt's plans, he at first declined the proposi-
tion, but later decided it would be a quicker and easier way
out, to have the women released. He accepted Douglas' terms.
The women were told of their release, and to make ready for
the journey to Los Pinos. With Captain Cline, in charge of
the party, George Sherman and eight of Sapavanero's Indians,
they started in the early morning by horseback to the wagons
on the Gunnison River.

General Adams Accompanied by the Reporter, Doenhoff
Douglas, Sapavanero, and Shavano went to the main camp
on Grand River in the early morning to have a short rest and
feed. It was October 20th when Adams, with Chiefs Sowawic,
Savinah, Pah-viets, Worzets, Charlie, and eight other of the
White River Indians, selected by Douglas for the escort, went
to Merritt's camp on White River to advise him of Chief Doug-
las' message. Adams had remembered Sowawic from the time
he was agent at White River, and felt safe with him in charge
of the escort. They went by way of the Roan and Yellow
Creek trail.

At Merritt's Camp, October 20th

A detail scout troop, composed of Captain Hall, Chief
Scout Paul Humme, Lieutenant Weir, Jim Baker, Colorow
Bill, and eight private soldiers, was scouting near the divide
and in the brakes of Pice-ance and Yellow Creeks. Scout
Humme and Lieutenant Weir had left the main party, follow-
ing and killing a deer several hundred yards away, back of
the ridge. Weir was killed near the deer carcass. Humme
was killed three hundred yards away in the aspens. On hear-
ing the shots, Hall and his men appeared on the ridge over-
looking the scene. Humme 's mount was severely wounded.
Weir's mount was recovered, uninjured.

Jim Baker and Colorow Bill, who were traveling sepa-
rately from the party on a ridge six hundred yards to the
south, fired several shots at three Utes they had seen making
their get-a-way over a ridge to the south. The incident oc-
curred about 3 p. m. The party was late getting to Merritt's
headquarters to report the calamity.

Jim Baker reported to General Merritt that Colorow Bill
killed the Indian who shot Lieutenant Weir. This report could
not be confirmed, as the party left the scene without investi-
gating among the aspens, for fear of being ambushed by
the Utes.

Three troops of cavalry left Merritt's camp the same
evening to recover the bodies. When ten miles down the
river, on the Yellow Creek Trail, at dusk, they suddenly came

130 ANNALS OF WYOMING

in view of what they thought to be a band of hostile Indians
coming on the trail. The soldiers halted and prepared for an
attack. The supposed hostile Indians seemed to be alarmed
and were seen to scatter. Presently two of the party ad-
vanced showing a white flag. They were General Adams and
Sowawic. The Ute escort had stopped and was greatly ex-
cited, some of them fleeing under cover of a nearby ridge,
until Adams and Sowawic, with difficulty, persuaded them
there was no danger.

The cavalry troops recovered the body of Lieutenant
Weir after dark, but did not find Scout Humme's body until
a cavalry troop returned the next day.

When the Adams party arrived at Merritt's camp, Adams
and the reporter were received at Merritt's headquarters.
Merritt would not allow the Ute escort in Camp. They were
given provisions, and made camp for the night among the cot-
tonwoods nearby. From Adams and the reporter, Merritt and
his men, including The Courier, had first direct information
from the hostile Ute camp. Jim Baker talked with Chief
Sowawic, leader of the escort, getting some information in
regard to their movements and camp.

A Second Party to the Rescue of the Women and Children

When the women were yet in the Grand River camp, Jo-
sephine wrote a note and sent it by a grandson of the old war-
rior chief, "Black Hawk." This grandson was one of the
Uintah Utes who were leaving the hostile camp for their home
reservation. The note was addressed to Agent E. B. Crichlow
at White Rocks Agency, requesting his assistance in the re-
lease of the captive women. The Indians also told the agent
that Chief Douglas had said that if white men came who were
friends of the Utes, the Utes would give up the women, but
would murder them rather than release them to the soldiers.

Two young men employees of the agency, named P. S.
(Pete) Dillman, and Clint McLane, volunteered to go with
Black Hawk's grandson and five other Uintah Utes as an
escort. They went to the hostile camp on Grand River, after
a two-days' delay in getting a sufficient number of horses for
the occasion. When they arrived at the Grand River camp,
they learned that General Adams had been there, and had sent
the women and children to Los Pinos, and that Adams had
gone to Merritt's camp on White River.

When Adams returned to Grand River from Merritt's
camp, he met Dillman and McLane. At first sight, he mistook
them to be renegate whites assisting the Indians. They con-
vinced him who they were by a note carried from Agent

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 131

Crichlow. Adams said, "You're lacky if you get out of here
alive."

After Adams left the camp for Los Pinos, Douglas in-
sisted on Dillman and McLane going to Merritt's camp to tell
him, "Utes heap sorry," and ask Merritt to help them get a
new agent, as they wanted to go back to their reservation.

When Dillman and McLane appeared at Merritt's camp,
with an escort of Indians, Merritt (showing the same disregard
for the welfare as the Adams escort), would not allow the
Indians in camp for fear of cooties. The men reported their
mission, which like Adams' mission, had no significance other
than to satisfy Douglas. Merritt could promise them nothing.

In the meantime, Captain Cline of the rescue party, and
the captive women and children, arrived at the Los Pinos
Agency. They were affectionately received by Ralph Meeker,
son of Agent and Mrs. Meeker, Major Pollock, and Agent
Stanley. The women Avere taken to the home of Chief Ouray
where they remained for two days. Ouray treated them with
great kindness. Chipeta wept, and was much grieved for them.
They were given all the comforts of a well-furnished ranch
home. Ralph Meeker had been in school in the East when he
heard of the White River Agency disaster. He joined Major
Pollock, who was sent out from Washington as special in-
vestigator of the White River Indian trouble.

From Ouray's, the women were accompanied by Ralph
Meeker. They went by mail stage to Alamosa, where they
rested two days with friends. They then went by train to
Denver, where they stopped with friends, and where they were
interviewed and questioned by reporters. From there, they
went to their home in Greeley, where they were received witli
great joy by their friends.

Josephine was given a position in Washington as secretary
for Senator Teller, and at the request of Secretary Schurz, she
gave lectures in Washington and other eastern cities of her
knowledge of the Ute Indians. She died early in life because
of pulmonary affliction.

Women Describe Treatment Received While in Captivity

Mrs. Meeker, describing treatment she received while in
custody of the Indians, said Douglas was drinking. He treated
her badly, taunting and threatening her with violence, and
pointing a rifle at her. At one time, he stood over her with
drawn butcher knife, when she was so weak and exhausted
from long rides on the bare back of a pony. She said that Doug-
las' squaw treated her mean, tormenting her and at times not
letting her have food for thirty-six hours. She admitted being
repeatedly harrassed by their indecent proposals, but escaped

132 ANNALS OF WYOMING

assault. Mrs. Meeker and Josephine were each allowed a life
pension from the government by Congress. She lived to a
ripe old age, at her home in Greeley.

Mrs. Price, with her baby boy in her arms, rode behind
Cojo part of the time, and behind Johnson the rest of the time,
when moving camp. In camp, she was compelled to divide
her time between Jack and Johnson's tepees, and to cook for
them and others of the tribe. She suffered all the indignities
against which womanhood revolts. Rifles were pointed at her ;
at times with threats to shoot. She gave credit to her children
for not having been treated with more brutality. The children
romped and played with the Indian children. In a way their
antics amused the older Indians. One Indian wanted to trade
her three ponies for her boy, and when she refused, they tried
to steal the boy from her.

Persune had shown much courtesy and kind treatment
toward Josephine, although he had a squaw of his own. He
was in possession of stolen government blankets. He gave
certain squaws each a present of a blanket. The captive women
were given blankets from which they made dresses for them-
selves and children.

The women had not learned from the Indians coming from
Milk Creek, about the fight with the soldiers, except they
learned the soldiers were in holes in the ground. The women
had nothing but praise for the good squaw, Susan.

After the squaw camp had been moved to Grand River,
the young bucks who had taken part in the Milk Creek fight
celebrated their victory with a war dance. Dressed in paint,
feathers and other war regalia, they danced around a large
sagebrush fire they had made for the purpose, filling the air
with fierce yells and war whoops, and went through imitations
of killing soldiers.

Political Propaganda

Sensational rumors were afloat about Denver, which spread
to other parts, including Washington, of Ute Indian depreda-
tions ; that the Southern Utes had made hostile demonstra-
tions ; that the entire Ute tribes were preparing for war ; that
three hundred Arapahoe Indians were on their way to join
Jack, and the White River Utes in their fight with the soldiers ;
and that many Indians and 250 horses and mules had been
killed in the Milk Creek fight.

These rumors were carried to the extent that the Colorado
State Militia was ordered to the northern border of the South-
ern Ute reservation. Requests were made to the war depart-
ment for additional troops for protection in case of emergency.
General McKenzie, from Fort Garland, with three troops of

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 133

the 4th Cavalry, was on guard at Lake City, a newly-estab-
lished mining camp. Other troops were stationed at Animas
City, with a strong reserve at Port Garland.

Chief Douglas, after learning that Chief Ouray had been
appraised of their fight, sent a message to Ouray, stating that
the fight his tribe was having with the soldiers was a fight of
their own, and requested that there be no interference by other
tribes. So far as was known, no Southern Utes participated
in the Milk Creek fight.

Ouray, when questioned by government officials as to the
peaceful attitude of the Ute Indians, replied that the Uncom-
pahgre Utes were satisfied and peaceful, although minor depre-
dations had been committed on the Southern Ute reservation
by a small band of renegades led by Sapavanero, Osapaw, Red
Jacket, and a few followers, against the miners and settlers
of the San Juan basin area, during the season. But at that
time all was peaceful, and that the White River tribe was dis-
satisfied with their agent — but a general hostile outbreak was
not expected.

Washington News

In spite of persistent efforts of Colorado Representatives
Belford, Akins, and Teller, for three years, the bill for removal
of the Ute Indians from Colorado had not received recognition
from eastern congressmen, since the majority of them were in
sympathy with the Indians. Governor Pitkin personally made
a plea before Congress for passage of the bill.

November, 1879. The Government's Peace Policy
The captive women being restored to their homes, the
government undertook to bring the chiefs responsible for the
massacre to justice, through a peace policy, rather than attempt
to arrest them by military authority. Carl Sehurz, Secretary
of the Interior, appointed a commission composed of General
Edward Hatch, who was in command of the U. S. army in
New Mexico, General Adams, and Chief Ouray, to investigate
the recent trouble at White River.

It was surmised by Secretary Sehurz that, through the in-
fluence of Ouray, the guilty Indians could be persuaded to
come in where they could be opiestioned by the commission,
and the crime placed upon those responsible for the murders.
Ouray sent messengers to the hostile camp, ordering the
leading chiefs to come to Los Pinos Agency. After several
days' delay, Johnson, Douglas, Washington, Piah and four
less important Utes came in, and were examined. All appeared
in a sullen mood. Douglas seldom answered questions, ami

134 ANNALS OF WYOMING

when he did, spoke in an angry tone. All positively denied
knowing anything of the killings.

The meeting was held in an abandoned log store building,
which at that time was being used as a stable.

Billy Burns, "white," an employee of the Southern Ute
Agency, served as interpreter of Ute, Mexican, and English.
The hostile chiefs were armed, and at one time the commission
seemed to be in danger of their lives because of the hostile dis-
position shown. The meeting continued two days. The com-
mission decided that no conclusion could be reached as a result
of the examination.

Ouray suggested that the chiefs go to Washington and
treat with the Secretary of the Interior. This seemed to be
satisfactory to the hostile chiefs, and early in December, a
party composed of Ouray, Chief Douglas, Johnson, Sowawic,
Piah, the commission, and a small military escort, went to
Washington. After several days of examination and parleying,
the Utes denying all questions implicating them in the mas-
sacre, Secretary Schurz decided nothing could be accomplished
without all of the hostile chiefs. The delegation was ordered
to return to Los Pinos.

Washington Conference

On January 20th, 1880, a second attempt was made by the
Secretary of the Interior, Carl Schurz, through the commission,
to bring the guilty Indians to justice. Chief Ouray went per-
sonally to the camp of the White River Utes on Grand River
to persuade all of the hostile chiefs to come to Los Pinos,
where the delegation would be taken to Washington for a
conference with the secretary. The chiefs were sullen and
caused several weeks' delay before Ouray finally succeeded in
gathering them in.

General Hatch arranged with Buckskin Charlie, Ignacio's
leading, influential sub-chief of the Southern Utes, for him to
bring in the leaders of the Uncompahgre renegades, who had
taken part in the Milk Creek fight. General Hatch and Adams
went to stop with Captain Cline on the Cimarron, while Ouray
was gathering in the hostile Indians. Many messages passed
between Adams, Hatch, and Secretary Schurz, who had about
lost all faith in getting the guilty chiefs to come in.

Adams and Hatch complained to Secretary Schurz that
Agent Stanley was interfering with their plans to gather in the
guilty Indians. Schurz wired Stanley to attend to his own
business and to assist, rather than interfere with the work.

As a consolation for the hostile Utes, supplies were furn-
ished them from Los Pinos, February 15th, 1880.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 135

Douglas, Jack, Johnson, Sowawic and Piah came in from
the hostile camp. Colorow, the old Spalpeen, and a leader in
making' trouble, would not submit to an examination. Buck-
skin Charlie succeeded in bringing in Gueno, Waro, and Billy,
of the Uncompahgre renegades who took part in the massacre.
Persime, the dominant character who took charge of Thorn-
burg's outfit, Josephine and the stolen blankets, could not be
found. Neither could Co jo be located.

The commission, which included Ouray, with seven of the
principals who were leaders in the hostilities, started for Wash-
ington February 28th, 1880.

Douglas was in the same sullen mood as before. The dele-
gation went by way of Fort Leavenworth, where Douglas was
placed in the federal prison until the case was decided, and
the excitement of the White River tragedy had quieted down.

During the investigation, all the Indians were sullen, ex-
cept Ouray. When questioned, they shook their heads and pre-
tended they knew nothing about the matter. Jack, when ques-
tioned by Secretary Schurz as to whether or not he was im-
plicated in the Thornburg fight, pretended he did not know
what Schurz was talking about. When questioned in Spanish,
he made no reply. After more questioning, he replied in plain
English, saying that he had had nothing to do with it. The
investigation continued three weeks. The government insisted
on two points: The relinquishment of the leaders responsible
for the murders, and removal of the Indians from Colorado.

Ute Jack, when questioned by General Adams why the Utes
murdered the men at the agency, replied that they were killed
because twenty Utes had been killed during the Milk Creek
fight. This reply was given little credit, and was in keeping
with many other answers made by the Utes during the investi-
gation and which were known to be false.

The Utes, being very sullen, several days were spent par-
leying. Even Ouray was loathe, at first, to sign an agreement
calling for their removal and exchange of reservation lands.
Ouray was accompanied by Chipeta on this trip. She received
many presents from Secretary Schurz and other admirers
while in Washington.

Press news from Washington, March 6th, 1880 stated:
"The Ute Indians sign bill today ceiling their lands to the
government. "

The investigation was a farce so far as bringing the guilty
Indians to justice was concerned.

A few years later. General Adams' death was caused by a
gas explosion in the Gomery Hotel. Denver.

136 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Chief Douglas Attempts Escape from Prison

Chief Douglas, a short time after he was confined in the
federal prison at Fort Leavenworth, made an attempt to escape,
when a prison guard took him out on a second floor porch of
the prison quarters for an airing. The guard returned to the
building to answer a call. Douglas, seizing the opportunity,
climbed over the rail, slid down a post and disappeared. When
the guard returned and found Douglas gone, he notified two
mounted guards who took up the trail, and overtook Douglas
a few blocks away.

THE MILITARY SITUATION, COMMENTS,
TRANSPORTATION AND EPISODES

Military Operations at a Standstill

December 5th, with the Indian situation in the hands of
the interior department, military operations were at a stand-
still, awaiting developments. Communication between General
Merritt and army headquarters had slowed down. The Rider
was making occasional trips with messages. On one of these
trips he stopped at the trenches to count the dead horses and
mules.

About the only relief from the monotony at the camp were
stories told by Jim Baker of his experiences about Bridger's
Fort and among the different tribes of Indians while loafing
at the suttler tent ; pitching of horse shoes by the soldiers and
the braying of pack mules for the bell mare. (A brief explana-
tion). Since all government wagon and pack transportation
moved by mule power, the white "bell" mare was a necessity
with expeditions on the frontier. The peculiarities of the mule
you perhaps know (especially the kick). Mules readily be-
come attached to a white mare, along with the tinkling of
the bell, which prevented straying when not hitched, grazing
or moving on the trail ; the actions being similar to a hen with
a brood of young chicks.

General Merritt was relieved of his command on White
River about December 5th, to resume his duties as commander
of Fort D. A. Russell.

Merritt was accompanied on the way by John Dyer, a re-
porter, who was returning to his home in Denver, there being
no news of interest to report. (Dyer later operated a saloon
in Rawlins for many years).

Merritt 's troops were left in charge of his official staff,
and the camp was thereafter known as the White River Mili-
tary Camp. Major Henry, in command of Company H, 3rd

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 137

(the gray horse) Cavalry, was ordered to Fort Laramie, his
home post.

Major Evans was sent out from Fort Omaha as commander
of Fort Fred Steele to fill the vacancy caused by the deatli
of Major Thornburg.

Infantry reserve troops, camped at Rawlings Springs,
were ordered to their home posts.

The Transportation Problem

In the meantime, Lieutenant McCauley was solving the
transportation problem. Tent stations were established at
suitable points on the route, for the convenience and comfort
of teamsters, packers and stock. One of these stations was
Baggs' Crossing of Snake River. It was used as a transfer
station, with Captain Gillis in charge.

From Baggs' Crossing, the old road by way of Fortification
and Milk Creek was abandoned on account of deep snow. A
route with less snow must be found. Lieutenant McCauley
employed the old time mountainer, Bibleback Brown, to pilot
him over a new route by way of Timberlake Springs and Jack
Rabbit Springs to the junction of the draw with Big Gulch,
where a station was established. At the same time, Tom Emer-
son was building a house in the Jack Rabbit draw and was
making preparations to operate a saloon and road ranch. The
route continued by way of Spring Gulch and Nine Mile divide
to White River. A station was established at Spring Gulch
with C. H. Hauser of 5th Cavalry in charge.

December 20th, deep snow and severe cold made scouting
on the divide unnecessary. Some riding was done by cavalry-
men looking after I. D. cattle, from which source the beef
supply for the camp was obtained.

Indians from the hostile camp stole fifty head of I. D.
cattle from the White River range, moving them over the
divide to Grand River ; thus assuring them of their winter meat
supply. Deep snow prevented them from drifting back.

The camp was made as comfortable as possible with avail-
able material at hand. There was no hay on White River.
Snow was from twelve to twenty-four inches deep. The two
hundred and fifty horses and mules had to be provided for.
Twenty-five per cent of the less serviceable stock was sent
to Fort Steele for the winter. Pack mules and wagon stock
were in service, moving supplies. Cavalry horses at the camp
were fed ground corn from a mill, operated by hand. Twice
daily. Cottonwood trees were cut down. The bark and
branches were given the stock for browsing during the night.
All horses not in service were taken out under herd, each day.
to forage on the hillsides.

138 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Father Meeker was an economist of the old school, with no
former experiences in dealing with Indians, and no doubt was
too deeply interested in his plan to civilize and educate the
Indians to become self-supporting, to realize the danger of
their treachery. His threat to call the soldiers was his doom.

General Merritt and General Crook were men of cool
judgment, with strong convictions, and were brave soldiers,
with many years of experience in dealing with hostile Indians.

Thornburg had the reputation of being a brave soldier. He
was a crack pistol shot, the equal of Buffalo Bill in breaking
glass balls and hitting pieces of coin and other small objects
when tossed into the air. Although men in the trenches were
subjected to extreme danger and suffering, the facts did leak
out, and resentment was shown when it became known that
disobedience to Thornburg 's orders left him exposed to the
onslaught of the hostile Indians.

Captain Lawson, having served with General Crook dur-
ing the Apache war in Arizona in 1873 and 74, was lieutenant
of Company E, 3rd Cavalry during Crook's campaign against
the Sioux Indians in 1875 and 76. He was first officer in rank
next to Captain Payne, eligible to take command. He was
sixty years of age at that time.

Foreign Born

It may be of interest to note that fifty per cent of the
men of Company E, 3rd Cavalry, were foreign-born Irishmen.
The other fifty per cent were largely American, with a sprink-
ling of foreign-born Germans and Swedes, and under command
of Captain Lawson, whom they respected, they made good
soldiers. A number of them were honorably discharged from
the army while garrisoned at Fort Steele, and became promi-
nent citizens of Wyoming, engaging in stock ranching and
other pursuits.

Charley Williams, Company E blacksmith, rounded out
fifty years at the blacksmith trade in Rock Springs, Wyoming,
after his discharge from military service at Fort Steele in 1881.

The many foreign-born soldiers in the U. S. army at that
time may be accounted for as follows : At the close of the
civil war the U. S. army was at a low ebb, because of a shortage
of native American men as recruits. A large army was needed
to cope with the Indian situation in the west. Treaties were
to be made with the various Indian tribes, and negotiations
completed to locate them on reservations. Military posts were
to be established for the protecion of railroad building, miners,
and settlers. European men for enlistment, and laborers for
railroad work, of which the Irish predominated, were solicited
by the government.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 139

Courier Facts
Scout Joe Rankin, John Gordon, and McRea, a soldier of
Company U, 5th Cavalry, were the only men to leave the
trenches during the six-day siege. (The foregoing note is
intended to correct false statements that have been made and
many times published by the press of Colorado, since 1879,
stating that others had made strenuous rides from the trenches
to Fort Steele for relief. The truth of the statement made in
the beginning of this paragraph may be verified by a number
of men who were soldiers in the trenches, and by pioneer set-
tlers within the area who knew the facts. Other articles have
been published stating that Rankin ran the entire distance
from the trenches to Fort Steele on foot. Dreams of personal
fame by way of idle talk).

Courier Line Abandoned

The Cowboy courier line was abandoned by order of Lieu-
tenant McCauley, January 8th, 1880. The Rider, accompanied
by Jim Baker (who was also discharged from his scout job),
left Merritt's camp by way of the new route for Rawlins.

Cavalrymen carried the few messages and mail between
Merritt's camp and Baggs', where they connected with the
Rawlins mail line.

W. H. Peck, Indian trader at Bear River, was hauled be-
fore the governor and federal officers in Denver in an investi-
gation in regard to his sale of rifles and liquor to the Indians.
He escaped prosecution, however.

Troop I, 4th Infantry, from Merritt's force, was assigned
to guard duty at the Baggs ranch.

W. Gr. Reader furnished range beef for the Baggs camp.
Hay was scarce on Snake River. Captain Gillis, with difficulty,
secured a few half-ton loads at $40 per load.

Romance

No story is complete without its hero, heroine, or romance.
In this case, it's romance.

After Merritt's forces had passed Snake River on their
way south to relieve the entrenched men, Al. McCarger (fami-
liarly known as Old Mack), left his home and followed in
their wake, feeling safe from hostile Indians, to look for his
teams, stolen from his freight camp on Deer Creek. While
Mack was gone. Bill Humphrey, driver of the backboard car-
rying mail to Rawlins, in a love arrangement with Margaret
McCarger (Mack's youngest daughter), persuaded her to go
with him to Rawlins and get married.

The story was afterwards told by Captain Gillis, when
introducing McCarger to his acquaintances at the transfer sta-

140 ANNALS OF WYOMING

tion, where Mack was delivering freight. He would say, ' ' This
is Mr. McCarger. While he was hunting for his stolen horses,
the mail carrier stole his daughter."

On January 1, 1880, the newlyweds took charge of the
road ranch at Sulphur Springs, relieving the Dave Lambert
family. Carrie McCarger assisted her sister with the work.

Government Supply Transportation Inadequate

January 10th, 1880, the winter was exceptionally severe
with snow and cold. The government was short of mules to
move supplies to White River. Fifty large, sleek, fat mules,
with close-sheared manes and tails, were bought at the sales
stables in St. Louis, and shipped direct from comfortable
stables to Rawlins for service in moving supplies to Merritt's
headquarters.

Because of the change from the lower altitude to the
higher, and severe cold in the open, the majority of them were
stricken with colds and pneumonia. While moving freight,
one or more mules of the team might become affected and die
on the road, or while tied to the wagon during the night camp,
others, developing pneumonia, chilled and froze to death.

About twenty-five per cent of them were saved by moving
them to the government stables at Fort Steele, where they
were under the care of the post veterinarian. Private teams
were engaged for moving supplies, and by shoveling through
many snowdrifts, got as far as Baggs' Crossing, government
camp, with their freight. There it was transferred to pack
mules to be moved to Merritt's camp. The "Aparajo" (a
leather, pocket apparatus hung to the pack saddle), was used
in all government pack transportation.

Horses Stolen

The Ute Indians scare was yet in the air when eighty-five
head of George Baggs' range horses were stolen from his cor-
ral, where they were being held during the night to prevent
theft, as suspicious characters had been seen in the neighbor-
hood. Two months later, sixty-eight head were recovered from
the open range in the Green River country, ninety-five miles
distant. No arrests were made as the thieves could not be
found.

Rawlins Was a Hot Town

Rawlins, with a population of about 800, largely railroad
employees, had six saloons. The town was filled to overflowing
with the class of men who drift to excitements of this nature;
government mule skinners, soldiers, bull-whackers, gamblers of
the better class down to the tinhorn type. Gambling and
drunken^brawls were a regular nightly occurrence.

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 141

Lavin Brothers' saloon, on the south side, was the most
notorious dive in town. For seven successive mornings there
was a dead man, (but not for breakfast.) Frank Kanuth and
two teamsters were murdered by knife or pistol during drunken
brawls in the Lavin saloon. One man was killed in the less
notorious saloon of John Foote ; one a suicide in a redlight
dive. A teamster died of pneumonia after drinking during a
carousal, when he spread his shakedown in the stall of an old
stable. There were others who passed out with their boots on
in a similar manner in the Lavin saloon.

A government mule-skinner named Clark, crazed by des-
perate liquor, held men in suspense in the business section of
town in daylight, taking shots with a Winchester rifle at one
and all who appeared on the street within his range. Finally,
the sheriff dispatched the desperate lunatic with a rifle.

Pat 0 'Grady, section boss at Filmore, twenty-two miles
west, came to Rawlins (as Avas his custom after receiving his
monthly pay check from the Union Pacific pay-car), to lay in
another month's supply of provisions for his family and sec-
tion crew of five. While making the rounds for purchases, he
had served his thirst with "Rawlin's Best" at the different
saloons, and was toting a gallon jug of the beverage, for home
emergency, and had about exhausted his pay-check roll. Call-
ing at Perry Smith's meat market, where he had previously
ordered a quarter of beef, he remarked, "Perry, I can't pay
you-all for that beef until next pay-day." "Well, Pat," said
Perry, "how much can you pay down." "D — d little, if any,"
said Pat. Perry, being one of the liberal sort, could not deny
Pat, who was a regular customer. When a small payment was
made, Pat left with his monthly meat supply.

Distinguished Visitors

No less a personality than "Calamity Jane." with a some-
what less notorious companion, ''Cotton Tail," a "dizzy
blonde," from Cheyenne, Sidney and the Black Hills area,
made Rawlins a few days' business call during the height of
the Ute excitement. "Little Van," with one eye directed at
the ceiling, the other at the floor, presided at the bar of the
Foote saloon; beloved by all, for he was just one of the boys.

Paul Fuhr, with his family, moved from his ranch to Raw-
lins during the Indian scare. In order to recover losses in cattle
caused by the hard winter, he took up his former occupation
of dealing cards from the silver box.

Joe B. Adams was Union Pacific agent at Rawlins. R. W.
Baxter, who, at the age of fifteen, learned to manipulate
the telegraph keys at the Rawlins Office while employed as
messenger boy, was day-train dispatcher, and Henry E. Flavin

142 ANNALS OF WYOMING

was night dispatcher. They took care of messages and gov-
ernment freight shipments during the Ute trouble. Baxter
was later superintendent of the St. Louis & Southwestern R. R.

As there was no bank in Rawlins, arrangements were made
for having government vouchers and Union Pacific pay checks
cashed at the Jim France store.

Jim Baker secured cash for his government voucher and
spent several days in Rawlins (it being his custom when- in
town for ranch supplies). The livery stable office and saloons
provided the only public loafing places in town. As a surprise
for Jim, he met his old-time friend of trapping days, Jack
Sheard, who had come to Rawlins from Laramie to look for a
job moving freight. With an occasional drink while compar-
ing notes, they recalled former experiences about Fort Lara-
mie and Bridger's Fort. Each had a hearty laugh, and many
a trickle of tobacco juice spread over Jim's chin as their tales
were greatly enjoyed by all congregated to hear them. Jim
was not a blower or a chronic boozer, but would take a drink
with the boys any old time, and it was possible for Jim to
become "three sheets (or more) to the wind" occasionally,
when going the rounds with a jolly bunch having a night out.

General Crook Directs Transportation

January, 1880, General Crook came to Fort Steele and
Rawlins from Omaha, and personally assisted in directing
transportation. A route with less snow was sought between
Rawlins and Sulphur Springs.

Second Lieutenant W. D. Beach, a tenderfoot recruit from
West Point Military School, was put in charge of a wagon
and camp equipment drawn by six white mules accompanied
by an escort of soldiers with Bill Hawley, Hat Creek cattleman,
as pilot. He was sent from Fort Steele, to select a route by
way of Bridger Pass. The mercury was forty below at the
time. (Lieutenant Beach, now a retired Brigadier General,
lives at San Diego).

Sandy Mellen, who accompanied Captain Dodge to the
trenches, was stable-boy, taking care of stock at Fort Steele
during the winter. He later engaged in stock ranching on
Buffalo Creek in North Park, the creek taking the name because
of wild buffalo ranging there. Later, he, in conversation with
The Rider, when addressed as Mr. Mellen, remarked, "Just
call me Sandv. "

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 143

Conductor E. S. Peck Frozen to Death

On January 8th, 1880, freight conductor Peck of the
Rawlins-Green River division of the U. P. Railroad, and his
hrakeman brother Will, and Tom Branson, vacationed from
their regular run to hunt antelope.

Going' by train to Creston station, thirty miles west of
Rawlins, they -hunted for two miles south of the U. P. tracks.
The conductor became separated from the brakemen. A severe
snow blizzard came along, which made hunting antelope impos-
sible. The two brakemen found their way to Creston station.

The blizzard continued until late next day. Fourteen inches
of snow, piled high in drifts, had fallen. As the conductor had
not returned, the brakemen reported him lost. A dozen horse-
men from Rawlins hunted the country over for two days, but
failed to find him. The Union Pacific officials offered a reward
for the finding of Peck's body. Mike Sweet and The Rider,
who had just arrived from the courier line, undertook the job.
The Union Pacific Company furnished a box car for transporta-
tion of saddle horses and camp equipment and delivered the
party to Creston station.

The second day, January 16, the body was found within
five hundred yards of the U. P. tracks, two miles east of the
station. Peck had attempted to start a fire in a clump of
sagebrush by lighting a match to fire a letter taken from his
pocket, but failed. His rifle was near the body. His face had
been eaten and disfigured by coyotes. "Rawlins Best." of
which he had a small supply left in a bottle, failed to overcome
the icy attack of Boreas.

Merritt's forces, after spending the seven winter months
at the White River camp, were relieved in April, 1880, by other
cavalry troops.

In April, 1880, the government, through a program of con-
struction, built bridges over Snake and Bear River crossings.
Contracts were let to a number of freighters. Building ma-
terial and supplies were on the way to White River, where a
temporary military post was established, and designated White
River Camp.

A telegraph line was built from Rawlins to the new post.

End of Ute Jack
April, 1880, Jack returned from Washington in the same
frame of mind that had prevailed with the Utes while at Wash-
ington, caused by fear of punishment and loss of their cherished
home reservation. He went north, with three others of the
tribe, to the Shoshone-Arapahoe reservation on Wind River.
Wyoming.

144 ANNALS OF WYOMING

It "was said by some (but not confirmed) that he had in-
tended to persuade the Arapahoe Indians to join in war on the
whites. The story of the killing was told by John Burns, of
Lander, Wyoming-, who was an employe at the agency and an
eye witness to the affair.

Colonel Smith, in command of Fort Washakie, which
adjoined the reservation, learned of Jack's presence. With
Jack's record of hostilities fresh in mind, he decided Jack
was there to make trouble. He wired to Washington about the
situation, and received instructions to arrest Jack. Sergeant
Brady, with a detachment of soldiers of the 7th Cavalry, was
ordered to make the arrest.

The soldiers met Jack, with rifle in hand, near his tepee.
When surrender of his rifle was demanded, Jack shot and
killed Sergeant Brady; then immediately dodged into his
tepee while others of his tribe ran to Arapahoe tepees. The
soldiers withdrew to a safe distance from rifle shot. Colonel
Smith ordered a mountain howitzer (a small cannon) from the
fort, which was trained on, and riddled, the tepee, thus ending
the career of Jack.

Since that time, numerous articles have been published in
the press of Colorado lauding Ute Jack as captain ; a compli-
ment he had not known during his life. (It is just too bad for
Jack that he had been dead too long to appreciate the honor).

The Ute Indian, "Hanna," captured when a small boy by
a band of Arapahoe Indians when engaged in war with Utes
over disputed hunting grounds in the Snake River country,
in 1865, died at the Shoshone-Arapahoe Agency April, 1932.
He had been ever loyal to the Arapahoe tribe. During his
entire time with the Arapahoes, he never visited the Utes.

The Thornburg Monument

A monument to the memory of Thornburg and his men
who lost their lives in the Milk Creek fight was erected October
20th, 1881, by order of the war department. A block of Indiana,
gray colite granite, weighing nine tons, was carved in Chicago
with a list of the names of the killed and wounded. It was
shipped to Rawlins in two sections, and freighted to Milk
Creek by Sam Fairfield, with bull teams.

The monument stands one-half mile from the road and its
view is obstructed by Cottonwood trees. (This note is written
as a plea, hoping that it may awaken public interest among
the citizens of Colorado, that they petition proper authorities
of the government to provide means whereby a public road
may be opened by way of the pioneer and natural route on the
north side of Milk Creek, placing the monument on the map,
and in view of travelers who pass that way).

THE MEEKER MASSACRE 145

During- the summer of 1880, Agent Meeker's remains were
removed from their resting place at the site of the hurned
agency, and interred at Lin Grove Cemetery at Greeley.

A marker to the memory of the Dresser brothers, Frank
and Harry, was placd in Lin Grove Cemetery, but their remains
were not removed from White River.

The remains of Lieutenant Weir and Paul Humme, scout,
were removed to the government burial grounds at Fort Lara-
mie, for interment.

ORNITHOLOGY OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS 1857

In those early days when expeditions for discoveries in
sciences were sent out by the Smithsonian Institution, it was
necessary as well as customary that they travel under the
protection of the Military.

In the Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution for the year of 1858 we find :

Wagon road construction through tlie South Pass, under Wm. If.
Magraw. — This expedition was fitted out in the spring of 1857, with Dr.
.1. G. Coorjer as surgeon, and Mr. C. Drexler as hospital steward and taxi-
dermist. Dr. Cooper returned to Washington before the beginning of the
year, bringing large collections with him. Mr. Drexler continued with Mr.
Magraw 's party, and wintered on Wind River. In March he crossed to
Camp Scott, near Eert Bridger, where, remaining until June, he made a
very extensive collection of birds, illustrating very fully the ornithology
of the Rocky Mountain region, and throwing much light on the geographical
distribution of the species. His success in this was mainly due to the \ pro-
tection and aid afforded by General A. E. Johnston, in command of the
forces, by whose direction every facility was afforded him.

CORRECTION

The factual account of George Mitchell which appeared in the last
issue of the Annals of Wyoming was prepared by the editors from an inter-
view, by Virginia Cole Trenholm, and supplemented by material from a
previously published biography. The interview, containing Mr. Mitchell 's
reminiscences, was not published because of lack of space.

Ijjj

THOMAS STURGIS

Secretary, Wyoming Stock Growers Association

1876-1887

"Documents and Cetters

WYOMING CATTLE QUARANTINE, 1885

By W. Turrentine Jackson*

The cattle industry of the Great Plains reached its most
successful stage of development during the 1880 's, and the
rancher of the Cattle Kingdom, proud of this achievement, zeal-
ously protected the interests of the industry and carefully guard-
ed his own stock. Among his greatest anxieties was the fear
that contagious disease might spread among the herds of cattle
on the range. Since the beginning of the "long drive" of Texas
cattle to the northern plains in the 1860 's, the stockman had
known that cattle from the southern section of that state border-
ing the Gulf of Mexico were likely to be infected with a disease
commonly known as "Texas fever" but also spoken of as
"splenic" or "Spanish fever."

The cause and exact nature of Texas fever were unknown
and this tended to increase the fear of the disease. As long as
the Texas cattle remained in the Gulf area, the fever did not
appear among them ; but when they were driven into Kansas
and Nebraska, the cattle of the northern plains became infected
as a result of walking over or feeding upon the trails along
which the Texas cattle had passed. Although the Texas cattle
apparently were immune to the deadly effects of this disease
which they were communicating, they were most likely to spread
the disease within two or three months after leaving their native
range.1 Thus herds which were driven slowly were not as apt
to transmit the disease as those pushed rapidly through northern
Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas into the northern plains; and
experience soon proved that the most probable period for the
disease to be spread Avas during the months of June, July.
August, and September.2 As a result of this knowledge, the

*For Mr. Jackson's Autobiography see Annals of Wyoming, Vol. 1-'.
No. 2, p. 143.

1. The fever was transmitted by ticks which the southern eattle car-
ried on their bodies to the northern range. Ticks, often left on the grass
or in the brush along the trail, were picked up by the northern eattle. How-
ever, in 1885, cattlemen did not know the manner in which their stock
became diseased.

2. Joseph Nimmo, "The Range and Ranch Cattle Business in the
United States,'' Report of the Internal Commerce of the United States,
1885 (Washington, 1885), 118-120, An excellent explanation of Texas
fever is fcund in these ] ages.

148 ANNALS OF WYOMING

earliest laws to protect the cattle of the northern plains pro-
hibited the introduction of Texas cattle during these months or
provided a period of quarantine for those which did arrive dur-
ing the summer and fall.

Kansas was the first state to pass a law restricting the move-
ment of Texas cattle. During the summer months, herds were
barred from entering the eastern counties of the state where
they would contact the local stock. As Kansas farmers moved
westward, the area where the Texas cattle might be driven was
reduced and quarantine regulations established for the period
from June to November. Drivers of the herds had to follow
the trails farther and farther to the west.3 The northern drive
was seriously checked by the Kansas quarantine regulations of
1884 and 1885, for in the latter year the state was placed under
quarantine from March to December. As cattle could not be
driven northward during the three winter months, the practical
result was that all Texas cattle had to be retained in quarantine
for a specified period before being permitted to cross Kansas.4

Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, and Dakota passed similar
laws regulating the northern migration of Texas cattle between
1875 and 1880, but Wyoming and Montana took no action. The
Wyoming Stock Growers' Association reported that "Texas
cattle brought from the southern part of Texas are dangerous
to our cattle for about sixty days from the time they leave their
native ranges and that the same cattle can be brought among
our stock after sixty days have elapsed with entire safety. ' '5
Joseph Carey, at one time Wyoming's delegate to Congress and
president of the Stock Growers' Association, felt that it was
"perfectly safe to admit to our ranges Texas cattle which are
driven on the trail. By the time they reach Wyoming and Ne-
braska, when moved in that way, they appear to lose entirely
their liability to impart the so-called Texas fever."6

The quarantine laws of Kansas, Missouri, and Colorado
made it possible for those states to regulate the commerce in
cattle between themselves and Texas. This control over inter-
state commerce was not permissible under the federal constitu-
tion and the constitutionality of the Missouri statute was soon
challenged in a case before the Supreme Court. The court
decided that a general restriction against all Texas cattle was

3. Ernest Staples Osgood, The Bay of the Cattleman (Minneapolis,
1929), 162-163.

4. Edward Everett Dale, The Range Cattle Industry (Norman, 1930),
70, 106.

5. Quoted by Nimmo, op. cit., 120. It was believed that infected Texas
cattle could transmit the fever for only a short period after they left the
native range. After two months, the possibility of infection was very
slight.

6. Ibid.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 149

illegal, but that a state, after an expert inspection of the cattle,
might place quarantine restrictions on those suspected of dis-
ease. This right was based upon the police power of the state
to protect the general welfare of its citizens. The outcome of
this judicial decision of 1877 was the establishment of veterinary
services in the states and territories of the Cattle Kingdom, and
Wyoming was among those appointing a veterinarian empowered
to inspect the cattle arriving on the territorial range.7

As early as 1881, a fear of Texas fever had been expressed
by the Wyoming cattlemen in the meetings of the Stock Grow-
ers' Association.8 The following year the territorial legislature
responding to the requests of the association, passed a law em-
powering the governor to appoint a territorial veterinarian who
would be recommended to him by the executive committee of
the Stock Growers' Association. The veterinarian was charged
with the responsibility of notifying the governor of any disease
among the cattle of the territory, and the governor, in turn,
was required to issue a proclamation forbidding the transfer
of any animal from the locality in which the disease was prev-
alent. The governor was to prohibit the importation of cattle
from other states or territories where disease existed. Dis-
eased areas were to be announced by official proclamation. After
the governor's proclamation was issued, any individual or cor-
poration that should receive or attempt to transport cattle from
infected areas was subject to a fine from one to ten thousand
dollars for each offense and also liable for all damages which
resulted to other Wyoming stockgrowers.9 In pursuance of
this law, the governor appointed James D. Hopkins as terri-
torial veterinarian.10 At the annual meeting of the Stock Grow-
ers' Association for that year, Thomas Sturgis, the secretary
and an outstanding cattleman in the territory, proposed that
the association appoint committees to go to Nebraska, Colorado,
and Iowa, during the next session of the legislatures of those
states to secure the passage of laws providing for quarantine
inspections similar to the Wyoming statute of 1882. ll

7. Osgood, op. tit,, 163-164.

8. Louis Pelzer, The Cattlemen's Frontier (Glendale, 1936). 103.

9. ''An Act to Suppress and Prevent Dissemination of Contagious
ami Infectious Diseases Among Domestic Animals," Chapter 41, Laws •'
W nomine/, 1882.

10. "Report of Thomas Sturgis, secretary of the Wyoming Stock
Growers' Association,"' By-Laws mid Reports of tin Wyoming Stock
Growers' Assoeiation, April 4, 1882, 17.

11. Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Wyoming Stoi-k Growers'
Association, April 3, 1SS2. Russell Thorp, Secretary-Chief Inspector of the
Wyoming Stock Growers' Association, has generously provided the author
with copies of the minutes of the association relative to the participation
of the Wyoming cattlemen in the movement for national quarantine regu-
lation and in the organization of the National Live Stock Association.

150 ANNALS OF WYOMING

During 1883, an epidemic of pleuropneumonia broke out
among the cattle of several states east of the Mississippi. This
contagious lung disease had been introduced into the United
States from Europe and had existed to a limited extent in the
states along the eastern seaboard prior to 1880. Late in 1883
the contagion was carried to Ohio, and from there cattle in
Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky became infected.12 Like all
stock owners in the United States, the Wyoming cattlemen were
alarmed.

Although the secretary reported that no cattle disease ex-
isted in the territory during 1883, 13 the Wyoming cattlemen who
assembled for the annual meeting of the association were appre-
hensive over the failure of states where contagious disease ex-
isted to control the movement of infected stock. Convinced
that federal legislation was necessary, the association adopted
a resolution to appoint "a committee of five to unite with stock
associations and state agricultural societies of the different states,
in calling a congress of stock growers to meet in Chicago, Illi-
nois, in the month of September, 1883, for the consideration of,
and securing of, such national legislation as will prevent the
spread and stamp out contagious pleuro-pneumonia from the
states now infected."14 The association sent its committee to
Washington, D. C, and outlined to the Commissioner of Agri-
culture, George B. Loring, the importance and necessity for
national control and requested that he attend the Chicago con-
vention. Twelve delegates were sent to the national meeting
by the Wyoming Association, and they constituted two-thirds
of the representatives from the High Plains. At Chicago, the
cattlemen adopted resolutions recognizing the presence of
pleuro-pneumonia east of the Mississippi River and that the
disease could not be extirpated without the cooperation of the
federal government. When a committee was chosen to prepare
a bill and urge its passage by Congress, Sturgis, who had been
chosen secretary by the convention, and Carey, Wvoming's
Congressional delegate, were chosen to represent the Wyoming*
stockgrowers on this body.15 The upshot of the activities of

12. Special Report on Diseases of Cattle (Washington, 1942), 326.
This report by the Bureau of Animal Industry, Derartment of Agriculture,
states that the disease has been eradicated from the United States. Many
sources of information on Texas fever and pleuro-pneumonia are ava^ln>1e
such as Special Report on Contagious Diseases of Domesticated Animals
(Washington, 1881), 196-282, 291-298; "Report of the Chief rf the Bur?au
of Animal Industry," Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, 1885
(Washington, 1885), 431-568.

13. Pelzer, op. >cit., 104.

14. Minutes of the Tenth Annual Meeting, Wyoming Stock Growers'
Association, April 2-3, 1883.

15. "Report of Thomas Sturgis, secretary of the Wyoming Stock
Growers ' Association, ' ' Eleventh Annual Meeting, April 7-9, 1884.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 151

the committee was the passage of a law creating the Bureau
of Animal Industry in the Department of Agriculture. One
of the functions of this bureau was to make rules and regu-
lations to suppress infection from disease and to cooperate
financially with any state or territory attempting to eliminate
communicable diseases in its stock. The Wyoming Stock
Growers' Association was forced to exert its tremendous eco-
nomic power to assure the passage of this measure in Con-
gress.16 Before adjourning, the Chicago convention of 1883
passed a resolution authorizing the call of another meeting in
Chicago during November, 1884, to establish a permanent cat-
tleman's organization to be called the National Cattle Growers'
Association.17

In addition to the anxiety over pleuro-pneumonia, Texas
fever was becoming a much greater threat due to the shipments
of Texas cattle by rail as far as Ogallala, Nebraska. Hopkins
explained to the Stock Growers' Association that the three or
four months which Texas cattle spent on the "long drive"
lessened the possibility of Wyoming cattle becoming infected
and that the elimination of this time factor by rapid rail trans-
portation would produce a real menace.18 Sturgis, in his an-
nual secretary's report to the association for 1884, called at-
tention to the fact that a considerable part of the one hundred
thousand head of Texas cattle contracted for by the Wyoming
and Nebraska cattlemen would be shipped by rail, and insisted
that some adequate quarantine regulations be enacted to pro-
tect the northern cattle industry.19 The events of the summer
proved that his alarm was certainly justified. The first ship-
ment of Texas cattle by rail arrived at Ogallala in May and
within a few weeks splenic fever appeared among the Nebraska
cattle which grazed near the unloading point. Trails leading
north and northwest of Ogallala became infected and large
numbers of cattle died of disease. Herds of five thousand head
or more trailed into Wyoming losing from thirty to fifty head
daily. Cattle being imported from the eastern states and cattle
being shipped from Wyoming to the Chicago market became
contaminated as they crossed the trail of the Texas cattle.
The executive committee of the association sent the territorial
veterinarian to ascertain the cause of the death of the cattle.

16. Osgood has explained the work of this first national convention
of stockmen, 169-173.

17. "Report of Thomas Sturgis, secretary of the Wyoming Stock
Growers' Association," Eleventh Annual Meeting, April 7-9, 1S84.

IS. Nimmo, "Opinion of Dr. James V. (D.) Hopkins, territorial vet-
erinarian of Wyoming, in regard to the relative liability to disease result-
ing from the movement of cattle from Texas by rail and by trail," lor. cit.,
232.

19. Osgood, op. cit., 164.

152 ANNALS OF WYOMING

and he reported that evidence everywhere showed unquestion-
ably that it was splenic or Texas fever.20 Convinced that more
stringent measures had to be adopted, the executive committee
of the Wyoming Stock Growers' Association prepared a revi-
sion of the Quarantine Law of 1882 which required that all
cattle shipments into Wyoming must be accompanied with a
certificate recording the residence of the cattle for ninety days
previous to shipment and stating that no other cattle had been
added to the herd within that time limit. A veterinarian's
certificate testifying to the health of the cattle was of no value.
If residence in a non-infected area could not be proven, the
territorial veterinarian was required to place the shipment in
quarantine until he was certain that the cattle were not dis-
eased.

In April, 1885, Hopkins, the veterinarian, notified Francis
E. Warren, Wyoming governor, that contagious pleuro-pneu-
monia and Texas fever had again appeared among the cattle
of several states and territories to the east and south of Wyo-
ming.21 To avoid the disastrous developments of 1884, Warren
issued a proclamation on April 4, 1885, prohibiting the impor-
tation of cattle into Wyoming from certain counties in Con-
necticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware,
Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, and the District
of Columbia. Furthermore, Texas cattle could not be admitted
until after the first of November if they had been brought any
part of the way from Texas by rail. All cattle east of the
Missouri River were to enter the territory only by railroad, be
unloaded in the cattle yards at Cheyenne, and there be in-
spected by the territorial veterinarian. According to Warren's
proclamation, unless the veterinarian was convinced by the
owners that the shipment had not originated in a restricted
area or come in contact with any cattle from one of these
sections, the entire shipment was to be placed in quarantine
for ninety days.22

Cattle being shipped to the Wyoming range or in transit
through the territory averaged over 50,000 head annually and
the responsibility for inspection placed a tremendous burden
upon the veterinarian and his assistants. During April, the
owners of four herds of cattle shipped from Illinois were unable
to present satisfactory proof that they had not been exposed

20. Nimmo, ' ' Extract from the Annual Report of the Executive Com-
mittee and Secretary of the Wyoming Stock Growers ' Association for the
Year 1885," loc. cit., 233-234.

21. James D. Hopkins, Report of the Territorial Veterinarian in the
' ' Annual Report of the Governor of Wyoming, ' ' Report of the Secretary
of the Interior, 1885 (Washington, 1885), II, 1209-1210.

22. The original proclamation of Francis Warren is in the Interior
Department Records, The National Archives.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 153

to disease and their stock was detained. Two of these herds,
which numbered twenty and thirty-two head, were being
shipped into Wyoming- ; one was destined for Utah Territory ;
the fourth for Idaho Territory.

As soon as the news of the action in Wyoming reached
the surrounding states and territories, there was an uproar of
criticism from the railroad, interested shippers, and speculators
in cattle. The executive committee of the Stock Growers'
Association resolved that the territorial quarantine regulations
must be rigidly enforced to safeguard the welfare of the cat-
tlemen of Wyoming. Fortunately for the interests of the
stockmen, the territorial governor, Francis Warren, was a
member of the executive committee of the association and an
owner of large ranching interests. Complete cooperation ex-
isted between the governor and the stockgrowers, and through
Sturgis, secretary of the association, Warren officially trans-
mitted all matters relative to the enforcement of the quaran-
tine law to the executive committee for action. Governor War-
ren was so active in enforcing the cattle quarantine that a large
percentage of his official correspondence is devoted to the
subject.23

The week following the issuance of his first proclamation,
the governor was called from the territory for twenty days,
and E. S. N. Morgan, territorial secretary, became acting gov-
ernor. The first correspondence protesting the quarantine
reached the executive offices on April 22, 1885, and Morgan, in
accordance with his instructions, forwarded all letters to Stur-
gis or to Hopkins, the veterinarian. The executive committee
of the association learned that the state of Missouri was not
quarantining counties where pleuro-pneumonia had broken out
or restricting the movement of cattle within that state in any
manner, and, as a result, Morgan issued a proclamation on
May 2, 1885, stating that all cattle from Missouri or which had
passed through that state would be quarantined upon reaching
Cheyenne.24 One herd of eighty-nine bulls shipped from Mis-
souri was detained the day the proclamation was issued. To-
ward the end of the month, a shipment of two hundred eleven
head of Missouri cattle destined for Dakota was likewise re-
tained in Cheyenne.

The governor returned to Wyoming the last week in May.
and immediately turned his attention to urgent requests from
Union Pacific officials that cattle shipments on the railroad

23. This Warren correspondence is available in the Executive Pro-
ceedings of Wyoming, Department of the Interior Records, The National
Archives. All Warren letters used in this article are in manuscript form
in this collection.

24. Original proclamation of Morgan is in the Interior Department
Records, The National Archives.

154 ANNALS OF WYOMING

not be delayed. He wired the Salt Lake supervisor, ' ' No cattle
blocade here. . . . Expect to throw no obstacles in the way of
shipments over the Union Pacific if shippers comply with
Quarantine Proclamation. . . . Am anxious to start those now
detained and will do so soon as satisfied of safety."25 To
Thomas L. Kimball, general traffic manager of the Union Pa-
cific in Omaha who had protested the quarantine of cattle being
shipped into Idaho, the governor wired, "You have been mis-
informed entirely. More than nine-tenths of the cattle shipped
have passed through without quarantine. Everything stopped
for inspection at Cheyenne. Desire in no way to divert busi-
ness from Union Pacific. Am of the opinion the law will fully
protect you for delayed shipments."26
Warren later wrote Kimball in part

I am aware that vigorous protests will be made by
those who submit to quarantine regulations and perhaps
the fewer detained the more violent will be these com-
plaints, and I regret exceedingly that we must intercept a
single hoof of cattle in transit, but it does seem as if we
had better suffer some inconvenience and loss now than be
subject to contageous [sic.] diseases and ruinous losses
later on. ... To insure safety of our herds shall be the only
motive.

The Executive in issuing quarantine proclamations
does so in abayance [sic.] to law, with no intention to make
law and I wish to assure you that this office will not un-
willingly allow unnecessary loss to accrue to the Union Pa-
cific Railway or to shippers of cattle. [Relative to] legal
points, you are perhaps better informed than I can possibly
be as you doubtless have all the laws before you and have
in addition many precedents likewise established by Rail-
road expressions which are inaccessible to me ... I as-
sure you every effort of this Territory through this office
shall be to protect your corporation.

In conclusion, I beg to thank you in behalf of the cattle
owners as well as on the part of the Territory for your ex-
pressed wish to aid in the protection of the western cattle
ranges.27

Vigorous protests continued to be received from Salt Lake,
and Warren finally wrote the railroad executives in disgust
There is no occasion for complaint on the part of the
people west of us ... To say that Wyoming is "blocading"
the shipment of cattle to favor and profit some few indi-

25. Warren to C. F. Annett, May 23, 1885, Telegram.

26. Warren to Kimball, May 23, 1885. Telegram.

27. Warren to Kimball, May 26, 1885.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 155

victuals is a charge too absurd and petty to deserve a mo-
ment's notice. The Government and the people of Wyo-
ming have no necessity to resort to such means, but will
protect their interests in Livestock matters as well as in all
others ; regardless of unfavorable comment by those from
outside who will not inform themselves of either our actions
or our motives ... if the safety of herds seem to demand
the detention of some one or more suspicions shipments,
we will be compelled to put them in quarantine however
much we may deprecate the necessity.28

The railroad men within Wyoming were much more in
sympathy with the quarantine regulations than the officials in
Salt Lake and Omaha. The Wyoming legislature of 1885 had ad-
journed without making an appropriation for the construction
of yards wherein the diseased cattle could be quarantined, so
the divisional superintendent of the Union Pacific authorized
the temporary use of the railroad's stockyards in Cheyenne
for this purpose. Both the governor and the veterinarian re-
alized that these yards were unsuitable because all shippers
had to unload their stock where they might be exposed to
pleuro-pneumonia or Texas fever by the herds in quarantine.-9
The veterinarian soon appealed to the executive committee of
the association to provide adequate quarantine yards for the
territory, and an appropriation was immediately granted. Lo-
cated near the railroad a mile east of Cheyenne, the new yards
included twenty-nine acres enclosed by a barbed wire fence.
Nine corrals in which 3,000 cattle could be quartered were
supplied with water from Cheyenne, and several sheds were
constructed for shelter to the north.30 The Union Pacific Rail-
road bore the expense of building a switch from the main line
leading to the new quarantine yards, and local railroad men co-
operated with the veterinarian in disinfecting the Cheyenne
railroad stockyards and the cars in which diseased cattle had
been transported.31 The new yard was completed the first week
in June, 1885.

Governor Warren, concerned over the welfare of shippers,
personally corresponded with some of the men whose cattle
had been detained in Cheyenne. C. Jackson of Mountain Home,32

28. Warren to Aimett, June -4, 1SS5.

29. Warren to Kimball, May 23, 1885; Warren to James D. Hopkins.
June 4, 1885. The diseased herds were separated from those undergoing
inspection only by a board fence.

30. Pelzer, op. tit., 104-105.

31. Hopkins, Eeport of the Territorial Veterinarian in the "Annual
Report of the Governor of Wyoming, 1885," toe. cit. (Washington, 1885),
II, 1209-1210.

32. Mountain Home is located in Alturas Count v.

156 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Idaho Territory, had protested the retention of his shipment
of twenty-one head in April and his complaints to Union Pacific
Officials in Salt Lake had instigated much of their criticism
of the restrictions. Jackson wrote directly to Governor War-
ren in June asking the immediate release of his cattle. The
letter was referred to the territorial veterinarian who notified
the governor that the Jackson shipment could not be released
"with safety to the territory" until June 21, sixty days after
their first confinement. The governor wrote a lengthy explana-
tion to Jackson.33 Another shipment confined in April had be-
longed to John B. Hunter of Illinois. Hunter arrived in Chey-
enne the first of June, 1.885, with a letter of introduction from
R. J. Oglesby, Governor of Illinois, requesting that his cattle
be liberated even if special consideration was necessary. War-
ren wrote the Illinois governor

Hunter has been in consultation with me regarding
his stock, and I believe he is fully convinced that I am do-
ing all that is possible, under the law, for the Executive to
do. Our territorial law leaves the Governor of Wyoming
no discretion whatever as to individual lots of cattle.

Under our laws the Governor must issue his proclama-
tion scheduling and quarantining all localities where dis-
ease is reported to exist, and also all near localities where
the cattle may have been exposed. . . . The Governor hav-
ing issued his proclamation, cannot, under our law, make
exception in certain cases, and can only revoke his proc-
lamation, and in that event to revoke would not liberate
those already in quarantine.34

Cattlemen in several states from which shipments were
curtailed by the all-inclusive language of Warren's proclama-
tion of April 4, 1885, protested to their governors, and several
of these executives endeavored to prove that pleuro-pneumonia
did not exist in their states. Henry B. Harrison, Governor of
Connecticut, wrote Warren in May submitting statements from
the Connecticut Commission on Diseases of Domestic Animals
denying the presence of disease in Connecticut. Warren for-
warded the communication to Sturgis with a note, "What are
your views in relation to withdrawing the quarantine regard-
ing Connecticut?"35 With the approval of the Stock Growers'
Association, Governor Warren issued a proclamation on June
4, 1885, revoking that part of his proclamation of April 4 which

33. Warren to Jackson, June 5, 1885.

34. Warren to Oglesby, June 6, 1885.

35. Warren to Sturgis, June 3, 1885.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTEKS 157

applied to the state of Connecticut and notified Governor Har-
rison to that effect.36

When Illinois' governor R. J. Oglesby wrote a letter of
introduction to Warren for John B. Hunter, Illinois shipper
whose cattle had been quarantined in Cheyenne, he stated
that there was no pleuro-pneumonia in the Illinois county from
which the cattle were shipped. The Wyoming governor sub-
mitted this statement to Sturgis with a request for informa-
tion.37 In replying to Oglesby, after conferring with Sturgis,
Warren wrote

I note with much satisfaction your statement: 'There
is no pleuro-pneumonia in Sangammon County nor is there
at the present time,' but I do not understand this to mean
that there has been none ; for, if the latter, Sangammon
County has certainly been 'sinned against' and misrepre-
sented. The 1884 report of the Bureau of Animal Industry
names that county as being infected, and various other
sources give that information.38

Warren asked Oglesby to communicate with him when fur-
ther information was available, and in October the Illinois
governor sent to Cheyenne a Report of the Board of Livestock
Commissioners for the State of Illinois wherein detailed data
on cattle disease within Illinois were presented. Warren wrote
Oglesby, "I have submitted the report to the Executive Com-
mittee of the Stock Growers' Association for their consideration
and advice. As nearly one-third of all taxable property in
Wyoming consists of cattle, I desire to confer fully with the
direct representatives of that industry."39 After receiving
the report of the committee. Governor Warren issued a procla-
mation on October 20, 1885, relieving the state of Illinois, with
the exception of DuPage County, from quarantine regulations.
All shipments of cattle from that state, however, were to con-
tinue to be inspected in Cheyenne according to the rules ami
regulations established for all stock shipped from east of the
Missouri River.40

The Veterinarian of the state of Missouri wrote Warren
in June requesting detailed information concerning the effect
of the Wyoming quarantine law on stock shipments from Mis-
souri. Warren forwarded all of his proclamations to the vet-

36. Warren to Harrison, June •">, 1885. The original proclamation of'
June 4, 1885, is in The Interior Department Records, The National
Archives.

37. Warren to Sturgis, June '■'<, 1885.

38. Warren to Oglesby. Jnne (3, 1885.

39. Warren to Oglesby, October lib 1885.

40. The original proclamation is in the Department of the Interior
Records, The National Archives.

158 ANNALS OF WYOMING

erinarian with the statement that they contained "all the

information necessary." He wrote further

All cattle from Missouri are subject to quarantine;
this for the reason that according to the best opinions
obtainable, your state has been affected with Pleuro-Pneu-
monia, in certain sections ; and the authorities of the state
seem to have failed to prevent the free traffic, transporta-
tion and movement of cattle, throughout the infected as
well as the unaffected regions.

"1 have endeavored in my official capacity," continued the
governor, "as well as an owner of livestock in a private capac-
ity to keep well informed of the methods of our quarantine
regulations and practices here; and the best evidences that
the duties of the officials have been conscientiously and hon-
estly performed is that those whose ;cattle have been, or are
now in quarantine, have no serious charges to prefer."41 The
following month two herds of Missouri cattle being shipped to
the Wyoming range were confined in the quarantine stock-
yards by the territorial veterinarian. Strobridge and Andrews,
Wyoming cattlemen whose shipment of thirty bulls had been
detained, protested immediately and requested Missouri's gov-
ernor, John S. Marmaduke, to intercede in their behalf. Mar-
maduke wired Warren asking for the liberation of the cattle
and the revocation of the prohibitions against Missouri cattle.
The executive board of the Stock Growers' Association, meet-
ing at Warren's call, denied the Missouri governor's requests.42
As a means of explanation, Warren wrote Marmaduke :

Our laws regarding this [quarantine] were enacted in
obedience to universal desire and demand on the part of
our people, for the reason that the largest and most im-
portant industry is that of cattle raising, and from the
nature of our open ranges and our mode of handling cattle,
the danger and exposure is very great. It is next to im-
possible to restrict the movements of cattle within our
borders [and] in adjacent states and territories, where cat-
tle movements are equally free. Should contagious Pleuro-
pneumonia break out within our borders it would surely
cripple us most severely if it did not bankrupt the Terri-
tory. The causes that led to quarantine against Missouri
cattle were the reports from various sources : official re-
ports from the Department [of Agriculture] at Washing-
ton ; reports from cattle associations ; and from various
veterinary inspectors to the effect that disease existed in
that state.43

41. Warren to P. Paguin, June 30, 1885.

42. Warren to Marmaduke, July 21 and 24, 1885.

43. Warren to Marmaduke, July 23, 1885.

DOCUMENTS AND LETTERS 159

After enumerating further specific sources of information rel-
ative to the spread of cattle diseases in Missouri and explaining
the nature of pleuropneumonia and the failure of Missouri
officials to adequately safeguard against it, Wyoming's gov-
ernor explained to Marmaduke the importance of the Missouri-
Wyoming cattle commerce.

I assure you in my opinion [wrote Warren] it is not
the state of Missouri which suffers, as it is the Territory of
Wyoming, from this stoppage of the shipment of cattle
from Missouri to Wyoming. Our stockmen here, have
since 1881, made heavy purchases of Missouri cattle, ex-
pending for them more than a million dollars, and we still
want Missouri cattle, and there is still an opening for a
very large trade in that direction, whenever we may feel
assured that we may take no chances from trading with
the stockmen of Missouri. Should the disease become fully
extinct there, and should you be able to issue your proc-
lamation declaring the state to be entirely free, and fur-
ther that it has been free for a sufficient time to assure its
non-appearance, then this Territory would be guaranteed
against disease . . . and there would again be a renewal of
trade advantageous to both this territory and the state of
Missouri.44

In closing his lengthy communication to the Missouri governor,
Warren expressed a personal concern over the termination of
the commerce in stock between Missouri and Wyoming by
remarking

1 beg to assure you in perfect candor that I will co-
operate with you to remove all barriers at the earliest mo-
ment I can feel safe in so doing, and can satisfy the stock-
men of our Territory that they will no longer be taking
serious risks. ... As we have an active and powerful asso-
ciation to assist in protecting the cattle interests, I am in
constant communication with their executive committee,
and feel in duty bound to assist them in all reasonabh
efforts to protect these great interests. 1 trust that Mis-
souri will adopt such rules, and enact such laws as are
necessary to protect herself and us in our future cattle
commerce.45

Immediately upon the receipt of this letter. Governor Mar-
maduke sent Colonel Robert McCulloch to Cheyenne to present
the interests of the Missouri cattlemen before the executive
committee of the Wyoming Stock Growers' Association. Mc-

44. ma.

45. Ibid.

160 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Culloch's mission was apparently successful, for on August 1,
1885 Warren issued a proclamation revoking previous restric-
tions against Missouri cattle and permitting all but six Mis-
souri counties to ship cattle into Wyoming. In forwarding
copies of this proclamation to Governor Marmaduke, he ex-
pressed the desire to remove soon all restrictions against these
remaining six counties.46 Not until the next season, however,
could the Missouri governor certify that pleuro-pneumonia did
not exist within the state.47 Warren immediately removed the
last restriction on the cattle commerce between Wyoming and
Missouri by proclamation.48

During the summer of 1885 while the territorial veter-
inarian and his associates worked long hours at the stockyards
inspecting cattle, the governor was answering dozens of in-
quiries which came to his office from interested shippers rela-
tive to the possibility of their consignment of cattle immedi-
ately passing the inspection. The greatest number of letters
came from Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois.49 On occa-
sions, the patience of the governor was strained to the break-
ing point. One Iowa cattleman inquired if all Jersey cattle
were to be quarantined, and Warren wrote back emphatically,
and perhaps impatiently, "I don't understand that all Jersey
cattle are quarantined, but rather all cattle coming from New
Jersey.50 Warren received bitter protests from cattlemen west
of Wyoming. General J. S. Brisbin, Vice-President of the
National Cattle and Horse Association, wrote from Boise City,
Idaho, suggesting that there existed no basis for the alarm
about the spread of disease in Wyoming and stated that the
Wyoming stockgrowers were "more scared than hurt." He
complained that it was very difficult for cattlemen who be-
lieved their stock to be healthy to accept their detention for
inspection and that the method of inspection in Cheyenne
worked a great hardship upon some individual shippers. In
answering the general, Governor Warren recognized these
criticisms as valid, but very tactfully explained the necessity
for stringent measures and his unwillingness to deviate from
them in any case.51 The correspondence and reports of War-
ren reveal the significant contribution which he made in en-

46. Warren to Marmaduke, August 7, 1885.

47. Warren to Marmaduke, July 27, 1886.

48. S. B. Tuttle to Marmaduke, July 28, 1886. Tuttle was Warren's
private secretary.

49. For example, letters from E. A. Poney, St. Louis, Missouri, June
6, 1885; Levi F. McConnor, Wilber, Kansas, June 11, 1885; George S. El-
wood, Greenleaf, Kansas, June 19, 1885; J. N. Smith, Fairfield, Iowa, June
18, 1885; Howard Jones, Fort Dodge, Iowa, June 23, 1885; and W. W.
Bryan, Abingdon, Illinois, June 18, 1885.

50. Warren to Gideon Blackstone, Red Oak, Iowa, May 23, 1885.

51. Warren to Brisbin, June 30, 1885.

WYOMING SCRAPBOOK 161

forcing- the Wyoming quarantine regulations. During his first
term he gradually had become the spokesman, rather than the
representative, of the executive committee of the Wyoming
Stock Growers' Association which was meeting every week
during the shipping season of 1885 to consider the welfare
of the cattle interests of the territory.

During 1885, 52,791 head of cattle were brought into Wyo-
ming Territory from seventeen states and Canada. Of these.
9,964 head were imported from Texas and 15,170 from the
nearby New Mexico and Indian Territories. None of these
southern shipments were detained. Only eight herds, totaling
485 head from Illinois and Missouri, were quarantined during
the entire season. The inspection of stock from the region
east of the Missouri had been so thorough, nevertheless, that
the veterinarian could report to the governor the non-existence
of contagious disease among the cattle of Wyoming during
1885.52

Not only had the stock of the Wyoming range been pro-
tected from disease, but the inspection of shipments did not
seriously disrupt or diminish the cattle commerce. Governor
Warren reported that during the season of 1886 more than
50,000 head of cattle had arrived in the territory, and Hopkins,
the veterinarian, wrote

The interruption to trade Avas therefore trifling, and
the inconvenience to individuals far slighter than could
have been anticipated, considering the volume of business
transacted. The inconvenience and expense, such as it
was, fell chiefly upon the residents of the Territory who
were bringing valuable stock from the states east of the
Missouri, and was felt by them generally to be a small
burden for the immunity from danger thus secured.53

Thomas Moonlight, who succeeded Warren as Governor
of Wyoming, recognized the work of the stockgrowers in his
report of 1887. "There is no State or Territory where animals
are more healthy than in Wyoming," lie stated, "and there is
no State or Territory where more care is taken to prevent the
introduction of contagious or infectious diseases among the
domestic animals. ' '54

52. Hopkins, Report of the Territorial Veterinarian in the •'Animal
Report of the Governor of Wyoming, 1885," loc. tit., 1210-1212.

-53. Warren, "Report of the Governor of Wyoming," "Report of the
Secretary of the Interior (Washington, 1886), II. 1019-1020.

54. Moonlight, "Report of the Governor of Wyoming," Report of Hie
Secretary of the Interior (Washington, 1887), I. 1061.

Wyoming Scrap book

COMPANY "H" OF THE GIRL MILITIA OF WYOMING

STATE GUARD, WHO TOOK PART IN THE

STATEHOOD CELEBRATION JULY 23, 1890

Company "H" of the Girl Militia was actually mustered
into the United States Army for the Wyoming Statehood cele-
bration ; they were disbanded after the celebration was over.
They were drilled for two months, their drill masters being
Lieutenants Walker and Ruhlen of Fort Russell. (Fort Francis
E. Warren).

The second company of Girl Guards, Company "H" were
the Guard of Honor to the Statehood car, a magnificent float
carrying young girls dressed in red, white and blue representing
the States in the Union, (except Wyoming and Idaho).

The members of Company "H" had an entertainment and
dance to raise funds for their uniforms which were of black
broadcloth with facing of gold cord draped in front. The cap
was the regulation fatigue cap ; they wore white gloves.

It was during this festival, Company "H" was mustered
into the United States Army. Company "H" was under the
command of Captain Argesheimer.

As far as can be ascertained, the only living members of
Company "H" are Mrs. Osgood Johnson (Minnie Gape, No. 3) ;
Miss Jennie Tupper (No. 5) ; Mrs. Walter Yeager (Mabel Tup-
per, No. 7) ; Mrs. Bertha Boomer (Bertha Wedemeyer, No. 9) ;
Mrs. Leo L. Leffler (May Oakley, No. 14) ; Mrs. James Sweeney
(Maude Post, No. 16) ; Mrs. Tom O'Neil (Mattie Thompson, No.
10) ; Mrs. Adah Boice (Adah Haygood, No.- 17).

Miss Dora Adair and Miss Frankie Moore, members of
Company "H" are not in the photograph.

WYOMING SCEAPBOOK

W,

164

ANNALS OF WYOMING

RAWLINS' CYCLING CLUBS OF THE GAY NINETIES

In the horse and buggy clays, it was the fashion to organize
cycling clubs, and Rawlins was not to be outdone.

In February, 1892, the Rawlins gentry organized "The
Rawlins' Cycling Club of 1892." The members of the club are
included in the photograph below:

Prom left to right: Bottom row: Chas. Batsford, Jas. A. Eendle, Thos.
Rendle, Ernest L. Brown and Benjamin Knox.
Second row: E. E. Fordan, C. P. Hill, Ernest Sundin, A. McMicken
and Chas. E. Brown.

Back row: H. B. Fetz, Thos. G. Maghee, Jr., W. E. Heckenlively,
H. S. Brodt and Jas. M. Eumsey.

Mr. E. A. Durant of the Rawlins National Bank who has
resided in Rawlins for the past 60 years, knew all the above
men and has identified each member. They have all passed on.

WYOMING SCRAPBOOK

165

Another Cycling Club was organized in 1897, the members
from left to right in the photograph below, are: E. Durant, W. S.
Anderson, H. Larsen, W. A. Heath, Richard Dailey, Ole Larsen,
Frank E. Froling, Tom Ready and Snider. Two of these mem-
bers, F. E. Froling and Bing Price (who is not in group above)
are still with us and living; in Rawlins.

•BEER ftAbJu-J

The Rawlins' Cycling Club of 1897

J 66 ANNALS OF WYOMING

BILL BARLOW'S BUDGET OFFICE, 1886,
DOUGLAS, WYOMING

By D. C. Cook

The Douglas Budget, one of the oldest weekly newspapers
in the State, was established as "Bill Barlow's Budget" at
Fort Fetterman, eight miles northwest of the present site of
Douglas, Wyoming, in June 1886, by Merris C. and Minnie F.
Barrow, who came to Douglas from Laramie City where Mr.
Barrow had served for a number of years on the Boomerang.

With the advent of the railroad coming into this part of
the country, the Barrows moved from Fort Fetterman to the
old temporary town of Douglas on Antelope Creek, on the north
edge of present Douglas. It was only a few months, appar-
ently, that these buildings (see cover of this issue) were moved
a half mile or so to the present and permanent site of Douglas,
as lots were being sold by the railroad company in August, 1886.
It is reasonably certain that The Budget has been in its present
location since the latter part of 1886.

Mr. Barrow wrote under the pen name of "Bill Barlow."
The Barrows published the paper until Mr. Barrow's death in
1910. Mrs. Barrow continued to hold controlling interest until
January, 1914, but took no active part in the publishing of the
paper, but leased the shop to others. Mrs. Minnie F. Barrow
is still living making her home in Thermopolis, where she moved
some twenty years ago.

During this period the flag-staff bore the following : Clyde
L. Clark, editor and publisher in 1911 ; L. Merton Prill, editor
and publisher, 1912 to March, 1913 ; from 1913 to January, 1911,
Wm. F. Phlaeging was "Manager" for parties unknown; in
January, 1914, the paper was purchased -by A. A. Clough, Bar-
row's former shop foreman, and M. R. Collins.

The Budget was begun as a republican paper and remained
such until 1914. Under the management of A. A. Clough and
M. Pi. Collins it became a democratic paper. It has continued
as such, and is still democratic under the present management.

In December 1914, the Budget was aa'ain sold to Thomas
F. Doyle, of Omaha, who edited and published the paper until
February 1938, when he passed away. Mr. Doyle changed the
name from "Bill Barlow's Budget" to "The Douglas Budget"
upon acquiring possession.

Three months later, Mrs. Doyle sold the Budget to D. C.
Cook and George R. Curry, present publishers.

s\

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 167

"THE BUDGET"*

A Glance of the Office Wherein Is Printed
Fetterman's Pioneer Paper

That The Budget has implicit confidence and an abiding
faith in the future of Fetterman and Central Wyoming, is fully
evidenced by the character of the establishment wherein the paper
is printed. Every piece of machinery and material — every type,
lead and rule — is direct from the well-known Chicago foundry
of Marder & Luse, and never knew the stain of printer's ink
until now. The paper is printed on a cylinder press of a ca-
pacity of 1000 an hour, and that the newspaper department is
complete and first-class is evidenced by the bright, clean and
typographically perfect pages which confront the reader. A
fine job press, of an improved pattern — used yesterday for the
first time — together with a select assortment of job type em-
bracing all the latest faces and styles in plain and ornamental
job letters, enables us to turn out on short notice everything in
the line of commercial work, executed in a manner sure to please.

Thus it will be seen that The Budget is no foreign scheme,
nor is it a catch-penny institution representing ninety-nine per
cent of wind and gall and one of office material ; but that it is
a bonafide business venture calculated to become a prominent
factor in building up, developing, and advancing the interests
of Fetterman, the Platte vallev and central Wyoming.

*(From the first issue of Bill Barlow's Budget, June 9,
1886, printed at Fetterman, Wyoming.)

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE ANNALS OF WYOMING

VOLUMES 1 TO 16

Vol. No. P.

Elk Mountain in Carbon County 3 1 83

In the Valley of the Green River 3 2 117

Lincoln Highway just west of summit of Sherman

Hill looking west 3 3 157

Highest point on Lincoln Highway looking east— 3 3 157

J. D. Woodruff's cabin 187i. First Dwelling House

in the Big Horn Basin 3 4 195

The Advent of the Rotary Snow Plow— 1890 3 4 196

View of Clear Creek Valley, Copp's Ranch 4 1 236

Rocks on Tongue River, near Custer Battlefield

Highway 4 1 236

Pen sketch by A. G. Clayton, Forest Ranger 4 2 277

Brooks Lake Country 4 2 291

Wind River Mountain Range 4 2 294

James M. Sherrod 4 3 324

America's First Woman Governor at Oldest Ranger

Station in U. S. Wapiti, on Oldest National For-
est, Shoshone 4 4 373

Holy City in Shoshone National Forest, Park County.... 4 4 377

Seth E. Ward 5 1 4

Fort Halleck, Wyoming 5 2 45

Old Guard House and Commission, Ft. Bridger, 1857 5 2 55

Ella Holden, Judge Holden and Minnie Holden 5 2>&3 44

Note: There are no illustrations in Wyoming Historical Bulletins, Vols.

1-2, preceding the Annals of Wyoming which began with Vol. 3.
Mrs. Roney Pomeroy and great-great grandchild,

Frances Marguerite Tomlinson 5 2&3 64

Mt. Owen and the Grand Teton 5 2&3 78

Fort Halleck, Wyoming 5 2&3 90

Deadman's Bar. View looking toward Teton Range 5 4 138

Sketch of Portion of Jackson Hole 5 4 145

Col. H. C. Ericsson and William Crawford at

Deadman's Bar 5 4 148

Separation Lake, Seminoe Mtn 's., and Dry Lake. 6 1&2 169

Old Powder House at Fort Steele, Carbon Co., Wyo 6 1&2 203

Scenes taken at Dedication of New Grand Teton

National Park, Wyoming 6 3 248

The Grand Teton 6 3 250

Wm. Gilman, Dr. F. M. Fryxell and Ranger Phil Smith.. 6 3 253

Ranger Smith, taking his turn at packing the tablet 6 3 254

Gilman and Smith preparing to fix tablet on the

Grand Teton 6 3 256

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

169

Vol.

Unveiling the Tablet by Dr. Fryxell and Ranger Smith.. 6
Tablet Commemorating First Ascent of the Grand

Teton, Aug. 11, 1898 6

Map of Converse County 6

Deer Creek Station during the 60 's 7

Sketch of County Divisions 7

Horseshoe Station, 1865 7

Fort Phil Kearney in 1867 7

LaBonte Stage Station, 1863 7

Bill Hooker and Malcolm Campbell 7

Sketch map of Bill Hooker's and other rancher's

locations 7

Frank Emerson, Governor of Wyoming, 1927-1931 7

Hot Water Falls 8

Chief Washakie 8

Sharp Nose, Chief of the Arapahoes 8

F. G. Burnett 8

The Region where Bonneville Trapped, 1832-1835 8

Fort Laramie in 1889 9

Pen Sketch by Olive Wills..... 9

Sketch "All about Wyoming artists" 9

John W. Deane, 1882 9

Senator John B. Kendrick 9

Dedication tablet to John B. Kendrick 9

John Colter's map in Clarks map 1814 10

Colter's map 10

Map of the Yellowstone River 10

Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard 10

Chief Yellow Calf 11

Supreme Court and Library Building 11

Judge W. A. Carter 11

Map, Route of Judge W. A. Carter 11

Home of Judge W. A. Carter, 187<> 11

Artist's impression of Fort Bridger, 1873 11

Jesse W. Crosby 11

Last Black Hills Coach leaving Cheyenne, Feb. 1887... .11
Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage and Station, Silver Cliff.

Wyoming, 1876 1 1

Territorial Governors, 1869-1890 11

Map, Texas 1845 11

Five County Map of Wyoming, 1869 11

The Historical Landmark Commissioners and

Governor Nels H. Smith 11

No.

P.

3

260

3

261

4

301

1

328

1

336

2

368

9

388

3

409

3

412

3

415

4

448

1

489

1

518

o

52 s

3

56*

3

609

]

i.J*

2

i;vs

2

689

3

728

4

16

4

17

3

100

3

102

3

L04

4

14S

1

3

F

rent

O

C

over

9

i 3

9

74

o

112

F

runt

3

C

>ver

3

144

3

.l.iii

F

rout

4

C

over

4

236

4

2S2

4

2**

30£

170

ANNALS OF WYOMING

Vol. No.

Winter at Wyoming's State Capitol, 1940 ..12

Seal of Wyoming Golden Anniversary, 1890-1940. 12

Laying the Corner Stone of the New Capitol at

Cheyenne - 12

The Proposed New Capitol at Cheyenne 12

First State Governors, 1890-1899 12

Esther Hobart Morris 12

Woman Suffrage in Wyoming Territory, Scene at the

Polls in Cheyenne 12

Freight Oxen at Eest, Buffalo, Wyoming 12

State Governors, 1899-1915 12

Massacre of Chinese at Rock Springs, 1885.. 12

First Frontier Committee — 1897 .12

Constitutional Convention Delegates, Albany Co 12

Constitutional Convention Delegates, Laramie, Fremont

and Johnson Counties 12

Constitutional Convention Delegates, Laramie Co 12

Miss Louise S. Smith, 1889 ....12

State Governors, 1915-1924 12

Map, Upper Clark 's Fork of the Yellowstone River 12

Old Dead Indian Hill Road to Sunlight Valley and

Upper Clark's Fork 12

The Courageous Pioneers 12

Governor Nels H. Smith 12

The Unique Texas Trail Monument 12

State Governors, 1925-1939 12

Delegates to Constitutional Convention of 1889,

Carbon and Converse Counties 12

Delegates to Constitutional Convention of 1889,

Converse, Crook, Sheridan and Sweetwater

Counties -12

Delegates to Constitutional Convention of 1889,

Sweetwater and Uinta Counties 12

Therese A. Parkinson Jenkins 12

Mary G. Bellamy 12

Dedication of Idaho-Wyoming Monument, 1940 12

John W. Meldrum, and his residence at Mammoth

Hot Springs 13

John W. Meldrum 13

Morris Ranch along Sage Creek, 1900 13

P.

Front
Cover
Front
Cover

10

20

32

Front

Cover

120

154

Front

Cover

168

174
180
189
212
220

223
Front
Cover
250
252
265

274

4

281

4

295

4

317

4

335

Front

1

Cover

1

4

1

50

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 171

Vol. No. P.

Sharp's Ten-Horse Plow Team in action 13 1 52

Edwin J. Smalley 13 1 58

Bedlam, Quarters of the Single Officers and Social Front

Center of Fort Laramie 1880 13 2 Cover

Two Views of "Old Bedlam" 13 2 86

Two Views of Fort Laramie, 1862 and 1876 13 2 90

Nannie Clay Steele, 1876 13 2 92

John W. Meldrum and T. Paul Wilcox 13 2 104

Rev. John Roberts at the Grave of Sacajawea and Front

her Sons, Baptiste and Bazil 13 3 Cover

Monuments of Sacajawea 13 3 162

Dr. Hebard and Susan Perry 13 3 167

Pandora Pogue 13 3 176

Quintan Quay 13 3 176

Record of the Indians at the Shoshone Agency, 1877 13 3 1S2

Dr. Charles A. Eastman 13 3 186

William G. (Billy) Johnson 13 3 202

Irene Large and Gloria Isis, granddaughter of Front

Sacajawea, unveiling marker at Fort Washakie 13 4 Cover

William G. Bullock .y 13 4 236

Sutler's Store at Fort Laramie, 1937 13 4 246

Fort Fred Steele, 1878 13 4 344

Musical Program Printed at Fort Bridger, 1874 13 4 348-49-50

Wyoming's First Museum, 1867 13 4 365

Wyoming's State Museum, 1941 13 4 366

Front

Colonel William Frederick Cody 14 1 Cover

Wyoming State Museum, 1942 14 1 4

Presidential Party, 1883, in Yellowstone Park 14 1 32

Route of Presidential Expedition, 1883 14 1 35

Camp Bishop, Wind River, Packtrain trip of

President Arthur, 1883 14 1 36

The Tepee Rings 14 1 52

The Medicine Wheel 14 1 57

Front

Norris Hotel, Yellowstone Park 14 2 Cover

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone 14 2 88

Party at Obsidian Cliff 14 2 90

Upper Geyser Basin from Castle Geyser 14 2 92

Canyon Hotel, 1887, Yellowstone Park 14 2 94

Party at Yancy Cabin, Pleasant Valley, Yellowstone

Park, 1887 14 2 97

Mr. and Mrs. Willis M. Spear 14 2 99

Wyoming Museum, 1942 14 2 162

172

ANNALS OF WYOMING

Vol.

Sioux Indian Children 14

Wyoming State Museum, 1942 14

Mr. and Mrs. William Scanlon 14

Tombstones of Toussaint Charboneau and his wife,

Marie L. Laviolette ....14

Mr. and Mrs. Allen Williams 14

Members of United States Geological Survey, 1872 14

Sidford Hamp, 1872 14

Meeting of the U. S. Geological Survey of the

Territories in Fire-Hole Basin, 1872 14

Bear River City, Wyoming, 1868 14

Wyoming State Museum, 1942 14

Swan, Wyoming, 1892 15

William Franklin Swan 15

L7 Ranch Buildings 15

Sketch, Snake River Ranch 15

Roundup on the North Platte in the Eighties 15

Wyoming State Museum, 1943. 15

Thomas Moran 15

Beaver Dick (Bichard Leigh) and His Family 15

Teton Mountains, Wyoming 15

Court House, 1868, Cheyenne 15

Wyoming State Museum, 1943 15

Buildings in Cheyenne, 1867 15

The Opera House, 1882, Cheyenne 15

Program, Opening Night of Opera House, 1882 15

The Sweetwater Stage Company Advertisement .....15

Sherman Station, Union Pacific Railroad 15

Wyoming State Museum 15

Cheyenne Indian Chief, Ne-hee-o-ee-woo-tis,

(Wolf on the Hill) 15

Cheyenne Indian Woman, Lis-see-woo-na-tis,

(she who bathes her knees) 15

An Incident on the Plains, 1870 15

Town of Lander, Fremont County, 1885 15

Map, Military Forts and Camps, Wyoming, 1849-1858.... 15

Wyoming Pioneers, Jim Abney and F. G. Burnett 15

Rawlins First School Building, 1888 15

STo.

P.

Front

3

Cover

3

168

3

181

3

190

3

194

Front

4

Cover

4

252

4

286

4

312

4

327

Front

1

Cover

1

4

1

10

1

16

1

28

1

70

1

76

1

78

1

80

Front

2

Cover

2

100

2

153

2

156

2

157

2

180

Front

3

Cover

3

190

239

3

240

3

249

Front

4

Cover

4

375

4

376

4

390

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 173

Vol. No. P.

Front

Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, 1858 16 1 Cover

Wyoming State Museum 16 1 4

Fort Bridger, Cobble Stone and Mortar Wall, 1858 16 1 34

Envelope Showing a Fort Bridger 1858 Cancellation

mark 16 1 36

Group of Wyoming Pioneers at the Wyoming

State Fair, 1929 16 1 56

Mr. and Mrs. George Mitchell, Pioneers of

Uva, Wyoming 16 1 63

Front

Budget Office, 1886, Douglas, Wyoming 16 2 Cover

Thomas Sturgis, 1876-1887 16 2 146

Company "H" of the Girl Militia of Wyoming

State Guard, 1890 16 2 163

Rawlins' Cycling Club, 1892 16 2 164

Rawlins' Cycling Club, 1897 16 2 165

ACCESSIONS

to the

WYOMING HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

January 1, 1944 to May 15, 1944

Miscellaneous Gifts

Eoddis, Mrs. Charles, 1725 Central Ave., Cheyenne, Wyoming — donor four
letters of World War I.

Schaedel, Mrs. John, 609 East 27th St., Cheyenne, Wyoming — donor of
old clock (Seth Thomas).

Forde, Thomas, 3806 Reed Ave., Cheyenne, Wyoming — donor of ten
World War II emblems from the Italian and Sicilian fronts.

Schmehl, Walter T., 400 S. 13th St., Laramie, Wyoming — donor of three
copies of Indian Paint Brush, a Shoshone Indian Magazine ; one copy of
the Wyoming State Journal, July 4, 1938; one large 1857 souvenir
medal given to an Indian Chief on visit to Washington, D. C; one
Camp Brown post traders 25c coin; one 1899 souvenir medal for
international peace; one 1904 Frontier Days badge; one 1898 Omaha
Exposition medal; one victory liberty loan coin made from a German
cannon.

Barry, J. Neilson, Portland, Oregon — donor of four maps and manu-
scripts depicting John Colter 's travels in Yellowstone Park.

Stock Growers ' Association, Cheyenne, Wyoming — An agreement be-
tween Union Pacific R. R. and the Cheyenne and Northern Railway
Company; ten newspaper clippings giving Territorial election returns
(no dates).

Cook, D. C, Douglas, Wyoming — donor of a photograph of "Budget
Office, 1886."

La Fontaine, Mrs. Robert, 2720 Capitol Ave., Cheyenne, Wyo. — donor of
cap and coat of the Wyoming National Guard of the Spanish Amer-
ican War period.

Allen, George W., 2505 Central Ave., Cheyenne, Wyo. — donor of three
gold specimens from the Crescent Mine, Cripple Creek, Colorado.

La Fontaine, Mrs. R. N., 2720 Capitol Ave., Cheyenne, Wyo. — donor of
a cap and coat of the Wyoming National Guard of Spanish Amer-
ican war period; 25 personal cards of members of Battery "A";
photograph of Alger Light Artillery; two issues of ''The Wave"
magazine, June 25, July 28, 1898.

Books — Purchased
Baber, D. F. The Longest Rope, Caldwell, Idaho. Caxtcn, 1940. $1.33.

Gifts

Morris, Robert C. Collections of Wyoming Historical Society, 1897, gift of
Governor Lester C. Hunt.

The World's Columbia Exposition, 1893, gift of Mrs. Chas. Roddis.

Burtscher, William J. Man Afoot, Los Angeles, California, Wetzel Pub-
lishing Co., c 1941.

GENERAL INDEX
Volume 16.

A
Accessions, 16:1:82; 16:2:174.

Arnold, C. P.. The Vanished Frontier, 16:1: 57-62.

Bill Barlow's Budget Office, 1S86, by D. 0. Cook, 16:2:166-167; Alex
Butler, lawyer, 166; Henry Rokahr, merchant, 166; Douglas Budget
Office, front cover; established at Fort Fetterman, 166; Merris C.
Barrow, 166; Minnie F. Barrow, 166; Douglas on Antelope Creek,
166; ''Bill Barlow'' pen name, 166; names of different editors and
publishers, 166; politics of paper, 166; D. C. Cook and George R.
Curry, present publishers, 166; "The Budget'' article from the
first issue, 167; Bill Nye's Experiences by Bill Nye, 16:1:65-70; Bill
Nye 's biography, 65 ; Woman Suffrage, 65-70.

Brosnan. Dominic A., The Utah Expedition, 1857-1858, 16:1:35-44.

Cattle Quarantine, 1885, Wyoming, by Turrentine Jackson-see: Wyoming
Cattle Quarantine, 1885, 16:2:147-161.

Company "H" of the Girl Militia of Wyoming State Guard, 16:2:162-163,
names of members of Company ' ' H ' ', 162-163; took part in statehood
celebration, 162; mustered into U. S. Army, 162.

Douglas Budget, "Bill Barlow's Budget, 1886" by D. C. Cook, 16:2:166-
167.

G

Green River, "Old Town," 16:1:44; Green River deserted city, 44; Bryan,
44.

I

Indian Disturbances in JacJoson Hole Country. From Report of Commis-
sioner of Indian Affairs, 1895, 16:1:5-33; Bannock Indians falsely
accused of wanton slaughtering elk and deer, 5, 6, 7. 8. 9. 22. 24;
food ration for Indians, 7, 19-20; Captain Ray, U. S. A.. 7: Indian
right to hunt by treaty provisions, 6, 7, 11. 12. 13. 16. (f.n) 21. 22.
29; W. A. Richards, Governor of Wyoming, 7. 8. 9. 10. 16. 29; Marys-
vale, Uinta Co., Wyoming, 8, 9, 11, 24, 25, 26; Frank H. Rhoads. S.

176 ANNALS OF WYOMING

29; Wm. Manning, 8, 17, 24, 26, 27; Fort Hall, Idaho, 8, 9, 27, 28
29; Indians killed, fined and arrested by whites, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16

21, 24, 26, 27; Thomas B. Teter, Indian Agent, Fort Hall, Idaho
8, 10, 13; report July 24, '95, 13-15; same Aug. 7, '95, 15-16; 19

22, 28, 29; settlers not molested by Indians, 10; Sheriff Hawley, 10
Secretary of War requests military aid, 10; Brigadier-General Cop
pinger, Dept. of the Platte, 10, 16, 28; Pine Bidge, S. Dak., 10
quiet in Jackson Hole, 10; Dept. of Justice to investigate killing
of Indians, 10; report of C'apt. B. H. Wilson, TJ. S A., 11; Capt
J. L. Van Orsdale, U. S. A., 11, 13; no wanton slaughter by Indians
12; hunting parties from east and Old Country, 12; indorsements
12, 13; Henry E. Noyes, Lieutenant Colonel, 13; Frank Wheaton
Brigadier-General, 13; newsjiaper accounts, 11, 16-18, 23; Camp
Brown, 12; whites threaten to organize against Indians, 13, 14
U. S. troops, 18, 25, 27, 28; Indian employment on Idaho Canal, 19
Case referred to Dept. of Justice, 23-24, 33; Lieutenants Gardner,
Parker, and Jackson, 25; Wm. Pettigrew, 25; hunting season profit-
able to whites, 25; election of township officers, 25-26; Attorney-
General reviews the case, 24-27; Bavenel Macbeth, 29; Indian affi-
davits and eye witnesses, 29, 30, 31, 32; Beport of Board of Indian
Commissioners, 1896, 32.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Indian Disturbances, from Indian Commissioners
Beport, 1895, 16:1:5-33.

Jackson, W. T'urrentine, Territorial Papers in the National J rehires,
16:1:45-55. Wyoming Cattle Quarantine, 1885, 16:2:147-161.

Linford, Dee, Wyoming Stream Names, (con't. from vol. 15.) 16:1:71-74.

List of illustrations in the Annals of Wyoming: Vols. 1 to 16, inc., vol.
16:2:168-173.

Meeker Massacre, The, by M. Wilson Bankin, 16:2:87-145; H. E. Dan-
forth, 87; Nathan Cook Meeker, 87, 88, 90, 91, 94, 95, 97, 101, 138,
145; Union Colony, 87; Powell Bottom, 88; Powell Bottom named
after Major J. W. Powell, 88; Agency moved, 87, 88; activities at
White Biver Agency, 88; mail service between Dixon and Agency,
88; Joe Collom, 88, 91, 92, 93, 94, 100, 101, 127; Mrs. Meeker and
family moved to Agency, 88, 94, 115, 128, 131, 132, 133; Mrs. E. H.
Danforth, Postmistress at Agency, 88; Utes, 88, 89, 90, 95, 96, 97,
98, 100, 101, 102, 103, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 120, 122, 128, 130,
131, 132, 133, 134, 140; Tahashie (Sugarlip) killed, 89; Wm. Hamil's
Banch, 89; Chief Washington and Piah harrass settlers, 89; John
Turner, 89; Mark Bessy, Sheriff, 89, 90; posse of eight special depu-

GENERAL INDEX 177

ties, names given, 89; Tabernash-townsite, 90; E. A. Meredith, 90;
Utes kill old man Elliot, 90; Chief Douglas, 87, 88, 90, 91, 94, 95,

96, 101, 112, 113, 114, 115, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136;
Pah-viets and Jane, 90, 91, 94, 113; Judge Carter, 90; roving bands
return to Agency, 91; Chief Johnson, 91, 97, 100, 111, 113, 128, 132,
133, 134, 135; Susan, 91; Chief Ouray, 91, 116, 120, 127, 131, 132,
133, 134, 135; Cooz, 91; John Collom, 91; Josephine Meeker, 88,
91, 94, 113, 114, 115, 128, 130, 131, 132; Meeker contracts building
of ditch, 91; Ed. E. Clark, civil engineer, 91; Bill Liseo, 91, 94,

118, 125; Ukatats killed by Jenkins, 92; Agency cattle, 92; range
brand ID (Interior Dept.), 92; Hulett Brothers (Charley and Dyer),
92; lies Brothers, (George and Tom), 92, 108, 110, 117, 125; Jerry
Huff, mail carrier and trapper, 92; John Reynolds, 92; Jimmy Dunn,
92; George Gordon, freighter, 93, 102, 107, 108, 109, 121; mail
route — Sulphur Springs and Steamboat Springs, 93 ; Windsor, Post
Office, 93; Burgess & Lee, mail contract, 93; Ellis Clark, mail car-
rier, 93; Morgan Brothers, ranchers, 93; Agency supplies, 93; Ed.
W. Bemett, 93; naming of Milk Creek, 93; Frank Ernest, 93;
Ferry at immigrant road, crossing the North Platte in the late '70s
and early '80s, 93; W. H. Peck, establishes a store on Bear River
"Fire-Water," 92, 93, 97, 110, 139, 143; new mail contract let,
94; Star Route mail service, 94; Perkins trading store, 94, 97;
activity and much grievance, 94; Eugene Taylor, 94; farmers from
Greeley at White River Agency homes, 94; Ellen Price, 113, 114.
115, 128, 132, 133;- Indians aggravated, their lands plowed, 94;
Utes warn the plowmen, 94, 95; Ute depredations. 94, 95; Fort
Garland, IT. S. troops, 95; settlers of Bear River and Middle Park
become alarmed, 95; General Pope, U. S. A., 95; General McKenzie
at Fort Garland, 95; Captain Clarence Dodge, U. S. Troops, 9r>,

97, 98, 101, 109, 110, 111, 112, 118, 119, 121, 142; Ute sub-chiefs
seek conference with Colorado Governor, 96; no satisfaction given
Utes, 96; Utes burn grass and timber, 96; trouble brewing. 97;
Governor Pitkin (Colorado), 97; horse-racing at the Agency. 97,
98; the way it turned out, 99; Major Thomas L. Thornburg, 99.
100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 108, 110, 111, 115, 119. 135, 138, 144:
Fort Steele, 99; General Crook, U. S. A., Commander of the Dept.
of the Platte, 99, 108, 123, 138, 142; Captain Joseph Lawson. in
command of cavalry, 99, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107. 119. 138; Lieut.
Price in charge of infantry. 99; Lieut. C. A. Cherry, 99; .1 . W.
Hugus— post trader, Ft. Steele, 99; F E. Blake, volunteer. 99;
J. C. Davis, volunteer, 99; Fort D. A. Russell (now Fort Francis E.
Warren), 99; Capt. Scott Payne, 99, 103. 107. 138; J. V. S. Paddock,
99; Joe Rankin, 99, 100. 102. 103, 104. 107. 108, 109, 117. US.

119, 139; Charley Dowry, 99, 101, 102. 107. 121; Ute Jack and 7
other Utes meet, 143, 144; Black Wilson. 100; the Utes were active.
100; Mike Sweet, 100; Utes stop mail to White River Agency, 101;
Main Ute Camp moved, 101; "Squaw Camp." 101; Ed. Mansfield,

178 ANNALS OF WYOMING

101; E. W. Eskridge — killed, 102; government supplies nearing the
Agency, 102; Carl Goldstein, "Jew Freighter," 102; Julius Moore,
teamster, 102; John Gordon, freighter, 102, 106, 107, 108, 110, 112,
139; Al. McOarger, teamster, 102; the trap was set, 103; Lowry
reports conditions at Agency to Thornburg, 102; Lieut. Paddock,
103; Frank Secrist, private soldier, 103; troops encounter Utes,
103; Lieut. Cherry's peace move, 103-104; Utes attack, 103-104;
Private Michael Fireton killed and Oscar Cass wounded, 104;
John Donovan, 104; McKinstrey, wagonmaster, 104; Private Tom
Nolan, 104; fight at the wagons, 104, 105; "Bullwhacker Jack"
Hamilton and Hornbeck, 105; Utes set fire to grass and brush,
106; James Hickman, private, awarded medal by War Dept., 105;
Private Evershell, 106; fire twenty square miles, 107; Surgeon
R. W. Grimes, aids wounded, 107; couriers ride for relief, 107;
Hulett & Laurence Cattle Camp, 108; Frank Harrah's Ranch, 108;
General Wesley Merritt, Ft. D. A. Russell, 108, 117, 118, 119,
120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 136, 138, 139,
140, 143; Sam Reid warns the settlers, 108; Jimmy Dunn, warns
settlers, 109; George Fuhr, warns Snake River settlers, 109; at
the corral and trenches Sept. 30, 109; Zene B. Maudlin, Ardrian
R. Marshall and family and Fred Hodges move to settle on Bear
Creek, 109; Henry Meder, 110; James P. Maxwell, 110; S. E. Bineus,
110; Sandy Mellen, 110; Private Eizer, 110; "Red Shirt," 111;
Massacre at the Agency, 113; Frank Dresser — at Agency, 114; Ita,
Ute Indian, 114; Mr. Post, agency bookkeeper, 113; night ride
to "Squaw Camp," 115; Susan, sister of Ouray, 118; Major W. M.
Stanley, 116; Joe Brady — takes note from Ouray to Douglas, 116;
first report of the massacre at White River Agency, 116; Bill
Meadows and J. A. Warefield, prospectors, first to find the evi-
dence of the massacre, 116; range cattle moved in, 117; George
Hangs and Denny Gaff, cattlemen, 117; Freeman Ray, herder, 117;
Surgeon Kimmel of Merritt 's command, 117; Captain J. A. Auger,
118, 120; Captain Kellog, 118; Captain Montgomery, 118; Captain
Babcock, 118; First Lieut. William B. Weir, 118, 123, 126, 129,
130, 145; Staff Officers, Captain Hall, Ordnance Officer, 118; Paul
Hume, rifle tester, 118; Colonel Compton, 118; Jim Baker, scout
and guide to General Merritt, 118, 119, 122, 123, 126, 129, 130,
136, 139, 142; John C. Dyer, reporter, 118, 119; John McAndrews,
wagonmaster, 119; Tom Duffy, cowboy volunteer, 119; Chris Mad-
sen, in charge of advance guard, 119; arrange for battle, 119, 120;
names of those killed, 120-121; wounded men, 121; rescued men
on way to Fort Steele, 121 ; official expressions regarding Ute pre-
cautions, 122; record march, 122; forces move to White River,
122; Brown, teamster for Capt. Dodge, 122; additional troops or-
dered, 123; Colonel Gilbert, 123; Fort Snelling, Minnesota, 123;
Fort Douglas, Utah, 123; Fort McPherson, 123; Fort Laramie, 123;
Major Henry, 123, 127, 136; First Lieut. C. A. H. McCauley, 123,

GENERAL INDEX 179

137, 139; Carl Schurz. Secretary of the Interior, 123; Charles N.
Adams, of the Denver Post Office, 123-124; Squaw ('amp moved to
Grand River, 124; courier line established, 124; George Lang and
Mathew Ryan, cattle herders, 124; Hy Armstrong, 124; Oregon cattle
sold in small herds to Wyoming ranchers, 124; Billy Thomas, a
courier, 124; Jack Davis, 124; Norris Brock, homesteader, 125;
Alex Hasson, a courier, 125; Jerry Huff, and lies brothers join
Merritt's troop, 125; Sergeant Thomas, 125; Chris Madsen, 125;
ruins of the Agency, 12(3; 27 men killed, soldiers, freighters and
agency employes, 126; Al Durham, teamster, 126; Kirk Calvert
and Bill Aylesworth, ranchers, 127; the rescue of captive women
and children, 127; Count Von Doenhoff, reporter, 127; Agent Stan-
ley, 127; Captain W. M. Cline, ran a small trading store, 127;
George P. Sherman, bookkeeper at reservation, 127; a second party
to the rescue of women and children, 127-128, 130 ; "Black Hawk,"
130; E. B. C'richlow at White Rock Agency, 130; Pete Dillman and
Clint McLane, 130; Ralph Meeker, a son of agent and Mrs. Meeker.
131, 132, 133; Major Pollock, 131; Chipeta, 131; women describe
treatment while captives, 131-132; Government's peace policy, 133;
investigation as to who were responsible for the murders, 133-134;
General Hatch, 133; Buckskin Charlie— sub-chief, 134; Utes cede
their lands to the government, 135; military situation, comments,
transportation and episodes, 136; ''White bell" mare, 136; Gray
Horse Cavalry, 137; White River Camp, 136; transportation prob-
lem, 137; Tom Emerson — saloon keeper, 137; C. H. Hauser — station
agent, 137; foreign born composed different companies, 138; prom-
inent citizens of Wyo., 138; Charley Williams, blacksmith at Rock
Springs, 138; romance — Bill Humphrey, mail carrier, marries Mar-
garet MeCarger, 139-140; Carrie McCarger, 140; Dave Lambert.
140; Courier facts, 139; courier line abandoned, 139; mules dies
of pneumonia, 140; "Aparajo," 140; horses stolen, 140; Rawlins
a. "Hot Town," 140-141; distinguished visitors, ''Calamity Jaiv,"
141; "Cotton Tail," 141 ; John Foote Saloon. 141; Perry Smit.i's
meat market, 140; Joe B. Adams— XL P. R. R. Agent. 141; R. W.
Baxter and Henry E. Flavin, telegraph dispatchers, 141, 142; Jim
France store, 142; Jack Sheard — freighter, 142; General Crook
directs transportation, 142; W. D. Beach — a West Pointer, 142;
a telegraph line built from Rawlins to new post. White River Camp,
143; end of Ute Jack, 143-144; John Burns— Lander. 144; Sergeant
Brady killed by Ute Jack, 144; Colonel Smith, 144; .1. W. Crawford,
editor of Saratoga Sun, 144.

Mitchell, George, An Interview at tin HE "Ranch, Uva by Virginia Cole
Trenholm, 16:1:62-64; 16:2:145, Biography of V. C. Treiiholm, 62.

O

Ornitliolopv of the Rocky Mountains 1857, 16:2:145.

180 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Pioneers of Wyoming : Patrick Burns, James O 'Brien, Malcolm Campbell,
C. P. Arnold, John E. Smith, Bert Wagner and James Abney, 16:1:56.

Bankin, M. Wilson, The Virginian, 16:1:33; Excerpts from Reminiscences
of Frontier Days, 16:1:75-81; The Meeker Massacre, 16:2:87-145.

' ' Rawlins Cycling Clubs of the Gay Nineties. ' ' Names of members of the
first Cycling Club, 1892, of the second club, 1897, 16:2:164-165.

Reminiscences of Frontier Days, by M. Wilson Bankin, 16:1:75-81; Raw-
lins, Wyoming, a distributing and supply point, 1868, 75-78; route
between Rawlins & White River Agency, 75-77; naming of Rawlins,
75; Bitter Creek Route, 75, 76; Fort Morgan, 75; Fort Halleck, 75;
Ben Holladay, 75, 76; Sulphur Springs Stage Station, 75; Herman
Hass, 76; Naming of Whiskey Gap, 76; naming of Lost Soldier
Creek, 76; Cherokee Indians & trail, 76-77; Arapahoe, Ute & Sioux
hunting grounds, 77; Maropas Trail, 74; Danforth Hills, 77; H. E.
Danforth, Ute Indian Agent, 77; agents to White River Agency, 77-
78; mail carriers between Rawlins and White River agency, 78; dis-
covery of gold and first mining at Halm's Peak, 78-79; Joseph Halm,
78-79; Capt. George R, Way, 78-79; William Doyle, 78-79; Naming
of Halm's Peak & Way's Gulch, 79; Gus Reader, 79; first mining at
Hahn's Peak, 79-81; William Slater, 79, 80, 81; Biblebaek Brown, 79,
80, 81; Fort Lyon, 79; naming of Brown's Canyon, 79; Dave Miller,
80; George Howe, 80; I. C. Miller, 80; W. R. Cogswell, 80; Noah
Reader and Sons, George, William and Albert, 80; naming of Brown's
Hill, 81; Will G. Reader, 81.

Territorial Papers of Wyoming in the National Archives, by W. Turrentine
Jackson, 16:1:45-55; letters of Wyoming citizens, 45; administration
of territories rested in the Dept. of State, later in Dept. of Interior,
45, 46, 47, 48; calendars of papers in Washington Archives relating
to the Territories of the U. S. to 1873, by David W. Parker, 46, 47;
Territorial Papers by Dr. Clarence E. Carter (f.n.) 46, Wyoming
material in State Dept. limited, 46, 47; administration of J. A. Camp-
bell, 47; in Interior Department Archives, 47-48; administration of
John M. Thayer, 49; of John W. Hoyt, 49-50; of William Hale, 50-
51; first administration of Francis E. Warren, 51-52; administration
of George W. Baxter, 52-53; of Thomas Moonlight, 53-54; second ad-
ministration of Francis E. Warren, 54; The Penitentiary Papers, 55.

GENEEAL INDEX 181

Thornburg, Major Thomas L., The Meeker Massacre, 16:2:87-145.

Trenholm, Virginia C, George Mitchell, An Interview at the HE Ranch, Uva,
16:1:62-64.

U

Utah Expedition, The, 1857-1858, by Dominic A. Brosnan, 16:1:35-44; D.
A. Brosnan 's biography, 35; Captain Jesse Augustus Gove, 10th In-
fantry, U. S. A., 35, 38, 39; biography of, 39, 40, 41, 42; Gove let-
ters, 35, 36, 37, 41, 42; Fort Bridger, U. T. 35, 36, 38, 39, 42, 43;
stamps and cancellations, 35, 36, 37, 41, 43; Major Lynde Sullivan,
36, 37; Otis G. Hammond, 36-42; New Hampshire Historical Society,
36; Camp Floyd, Utah, 37, 42; International Philatelic Exhibitions,
38, 42; Camp Scott, Utah Territory, 38; General Johnston, 38, 43;
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 38; Russell and Waddell, 39;
History of Norwich University, 39; Hon. Henry Wilson, 40; Philip
St. George Cook, Brigadier-General, U. S. A., 40-41; Expeditions
against Mormons, 41; Army of Utah, 42; "Argus'', in New York
Herald, 42; photostat from a rare pamphlet, 43; Charles F. Trotter,
acting first asst., Postmaster General, 44.

Vanished Frontier, The, by C. P. Arnold, 16:1:57-62; Arnold family migrate
to Wyo., 57 ; first settlers of Wyoming, 59 ; Back Tracks, poem, 60-61 ;
Irrigating poem, 61-62.

Virginian, The, M. Wilson Rankin, 16:1:33; Medicine Bow Hotel named,
33 ; Owen Wister, 33 ; principal characters of ' ' The Virginian ' ', 33.

W

Woman Suffrage, Bill Nye, 16:1:65-70.

Wyoming Stream Names by Dee Linford, (con't from vol. 15.) 16:1:71-
74; Popo Agie, 71; Hidatsa Dictionary by Washington Matthews. 71:
Bull Lake & Bull Lake Creek, 71; Badwater Creek. 71-72: Kirbv
Creek, 72; No Water, No Wood, Tensleep. Greybull, Meeteetse, Shell.
White Creeks, 72; Shoshone River (Stinking Water) 72; Carter
Creek, 72-73; Sunlight Creek, 73; Tongue River, 73; Powder River.
73-74; Crazy Woman, Teapot, Castle, Clear, Salt, Alkali, Dry. Bitter.
Red, Spotted Horse, Wildhorse, Rawhide and Wildcat Creeks, 74.

Wyoming Cattle Quarantine, 1885, by W. Turrentine Jackson. 16:2:
147-161; Texas fever, 147, (f.n. 46), 152; Splenic or Spanish Fever.
147; causes of Texas fever. 147 (f.n.): Texas cattle, 148; period of
disease, 148; quarantine laws, 148; Kansas first state to restrict
diseased cattle, 148; other states pass quarantine laws. 148; Wyo-
ming Stock Growers Association. 148. 149, 151. 153. 156. 157. 158. 170;
Supreme Court decision on quarantine restrictions. 1 S7 7. 148-149;

182 ANNALS OF WYOMING

veterinarian service in states, 149; Territorial Veterinarian, 149;
severe fine for offense against quarantine laws, 149; Thomas Sturgis,
149, 150, 151, 153, 156; association seeks legislative cooperation with
other states, 149, 150; Reports and Minutes of Wyoming Stock
Growers Association, 149, (f .n.) ; Congressional legislation for quar-
antine of pleuro-pneumonia, 150; Bureau of Animal Industry, 151
pleuropneumonia, 150, (f.n.) 12, 150, 151, 152, 153, 157, 158, 160
James D. Hopkins, 150, 151, 152, 161; cattle shipments by rail, 151
cattle losses, 151; revision of Quarantine Laws, 1882, 152; first national
convention of stockmen, 151 (f.n. 16); Francis E. Warren, 152, 153,
154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161; Warren's 1885 proclamation,
152; correspondence 153, (f.n. 23); 50,000 head annually, 152, 161;
E. S. N. Morgan, 153; Union Pacific R. R., 153-154, 155, 156; ex-
cerpts from Gov. Warren's letters, 154; stockyards, 155; diseased
herds, 155, (f.n. 29); C. Jackson, 155, 156; John B. Hunter, 156-157;
R. J. Oglesby, 156, 157; Henry B. Harrison, 156; Strobridge, 158;
Andrews, 158; John S. Marmaduke, 158, 159, 160; Missouri officials,
158, 159; Colonel Robert McCulloch, 159, 160; letters from shippers
to Gov. Warren, 160, (f.n. 49); J. S. Brisbin, 160; cattle shipped
into Wyoming from seventeen states, 161; Thomas Moonlight, 161.