Annals of Wyoming

Annals of Wyoming

Volume 24

January 1952

Number 1

HISTORICAL MAGAZINE

Published Biannually
by

THE WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL, DEPARTMENT

Cheyenne, Wyoming

WYOMING STATE LIBRARY AND HISTORICAL BOARD

Fred W. Marble, Chairman Cheyenne

Elwood Anderson Gillette

Mrs. Geraldine Z. Brimmer « Rawlins

Thomas O. Cowgill Cody

Mrs. Esther Mockler Dubois

Mrs. Leora Peters Wheatland

Mrs. Bertha Taylor Mountain View

Earl E. Wakeman Newcastle

Attorney-General Harry S. Harnsberger, Ex-officio

STAFF PERSONNEL

of

THE WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

Lola M. Homsher, Editor State Archivist

Ex-officio State Historian

ASSISTANTS

Henryetta Berry Mrs. Winifred S. Kienzle

Mary Elizabeth Cody Kenneth Baggs

The ANNALS OF WYOMING is published semi-annually, in
January and July, by the Wyoming State Historical Department,
Cheyenne, Wyoming. Subscription price, $2.00 a year; single num-
bers, $1.00. Communications should be addressed to the Editor. The
Editors do not assume responsibility for statements of fact or of
opinion made by contributors.

Copyright, 1952, by the Wyoming State Historical Department

tAtimls of Wyoming

Volume 24 January 1952 Number 1

Zable of Contents

WYOMING'S CIVILIAN DEFENSE IN WORLD WAR II 2

T. A. Larson

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY OF A SHEEP DRIVE, EVANSTON,

WYOMING, TO KEARNEY, NEBRASKA, 1882 24

George Squires Harrington, Editor

THE DAYS OF THE OPEN RANGE (Poem) 23

Richard Brackenbury

MERRIS C. BARROW, SAGEBRUSH PHILOSOPHER

AND JOURNALIST, PART I 53

Margaret Prine

BOOK REVIEWS

Malone, Wyomingana: Two Bibliographies, 89

Ruth Hudson

Hunter, Steamboats on The Western Rivers, 91

Alton Oviatt

Roe, The North American Buffalo, 93

Reed W. Fautin

Hamilton, My Sixty Years on the Plains, 96

Frances Seely Webb

Sweetman, Back Trailing on Open Range, 98

A. S. Gillespie

ACCESSIONS 101

ILLUSTRATIONS

M. C. Barrow 52

Bill Barlow's Budget Office 72

THE LUSK HERALD--LUSK, WYO.

Wyoming Civilian Defense
in World War J J

By
T. A. LARSON*

Introduction

On October 26, 1951, every county in Wyoming was rep-
resented at a meeting in Casper at which, according to the
United Press, "More than 55 leaders in civil defense . . . put
the finishing touches to a concrete, integrated defense plan
for the state."

Was history repeating itself? There had been a civilian
defense organization in World War II. Men who were in
key positions during World War II were present at Casper
in 1951 to instill the confidence that comes from experienced
leadership. Governor Frank A. Barrett, who was in Con-
gress during World War II, was present in Casper as key-
note speaker. Brig. Gen. R. L. Esmay, who had been exec-
utive vice chairman of the State Defense Council in World
War II, was also present at the Casper meeting as state
civil defense director.

The story of Wyoming's World War II experience in civil
defense is here set down for the record and for the light it
may cast on present-day problems. The material is drawn
from a chapter from Dr. Larson's forthcoming book on
The History of Wyoming in World War II.

Civilian defense in 1952 is strictly concerned with pro-
tective services — at least so far. This was not the case ten
years ago. In World War II the national Civilian Defense
organization, which was set up by an executive order on
May 20, 1941, spread its wings over a numerous brood of
activities by virtue of the broad instructions it received
from President Roosevelt. The Office of Civilian Defense
was to provide for federal-state-local cooperation in civilian
protection and also to facilitate the participation of all
persons in war programs. Rather than set up a new
agency for each new war program, the federal government
turned it over to the OCD. Mr. Average Citizen, if he took
"civilian defense" literally, was confused by the catch-all
tendencies of the OCD. In time the division of Civilian
Defense activities into "protective services" on the one

*Dr. Larson is Professor and Head of the Department of History
at the University of Wyoming. He served in the U.S.N.R., 1943-1946.

WYOMING CIVILIAN DEFENSE 3

hand, and "war services" or "home and health services" on
the other, brought some semblance of order to the chaos.

This article is concerned with the protective services,
leaving the numerous war services, or home and health
services, for treatment elsewhere.

The first civilian defense activity in Wyoming resulting
from concern over the gathering war clouds was the estab-
lishment of a State Guard in 1941. The mobilization of
Wyoming's National Guard in September 1940 and Febru-
ary 1941 made it desirable to organize another unit to take
over civil protection functions. Under authority of Congress
the Wyoming Legislature in February 1941 provided for a
State Defense Council, which was to set up a State Guard
under the command of Col. R. L. Esmay, Adjutant General.
The legislature voted $200,000 for defense purposes, but
Governor Nels H. Smith cut the appropriation to $75,000,
of which $25,000 was to go for the State Guard and $50,000
for emergency use.

Governor Smith named the first three members of the
State Defense Council on March 26, 1941. From time to
time he added other members. The council had its first
meeting in Cheyenne April 29-30, 1941, with eleven mem-
bers present: Dr. John D. Clark of Cheyenne, Harvey Cot-
trell of Kemmerer, James Davis of Rock Springs, Col. R. L.
Esmay, State Adjutant General, Col. Goelet Gallatin of Big
Horn, Dr. C. W. Jeffrey of Rawlins, H. Glen Kinsley of
Sheridan, Leroy Laird of Worland, R. E. MacLeod of Tor-
rington, Warren Richardson of Cheyenne and Edwin J.
Zoble of Casper. Col. Gallatin, a reserve officer in the field
artillery, was elected chairman and Col. Esmay, secretary.
Almost immediately Col. Esmay assumed the responsibil-
ities of executive vice chairman.

The State Defense Council grew until it had 18 members
in September 1942. Two of the members named above,
John D. Clark and Harvey Cottrell, had dropped out, but
nine others had been added: Charles J. Hughes, Cheyenne;
Dr. M. C. Keith, State Board of Health, Cheyenne; George
O. Houser, Department of Commerce and Industry, Chey-
enne; Harry Keller, A. F. of L., Cheyenne; Malcolm Condie,
C.I.O., Rock Springs; Sam Hoover, State Board of Welfare,
Cheyenne; Miss Esther L. Anderson, State Superintendent
of Public Instruction, Cheyenne ; and Ernest F. Shaw, exec-
utive secretary of the Council, Cheyenne.

In July 1943 Edwin J. Zoble became chairman, replacing
Col. Gallatin who had resigned because of illness. Mr.
Zoble was assisted by Col. Esmay, executive vice chairman,
and George O. Houser, executive secretary. Three other

4 ANNALS OF WYOMING

members — Charles J. Hughes, Warren Richardson and R.
E. MacLeod — rounded out a six-man executive committee.

The Council's Biennial Report for 1943-44 listed the fol-
lowing 18 members: Ed Zoble, chairman, Col. R. L. Esmay,
executive vice chairman, George Houser, executive secre-
tary, E. E. Davis, Dr. C. W. Jeffrey, H. Glen Kinsley, Leroy
Laird, R. E. MacLeod, Warren Richardson, Charles J.
Hughes, Harry Keller, Malcolm Condie, Sam Hoover, Miss
Esther L. Anderson, C. C. Averill of Laramie, W. F. Wil-
kerson of Casper, E. T. Storey of Cheyenne, and G. M.
Anderson of Cheyenne.

The first task of the State Defense Council was to lay
plans in June 1941 for a State Guard of 488 enlisted men
and 52 officers, to be divided into a headquarters troop in
Cheyenne and four cavalry squadrons (two troops in each)
with headquarters in Sheridan, Casper, Rock Springs and
Torrington.

Twelve communities were to contribute to the nine
troops. Volunteers between the ages of 16 and 60 were to
be enrolled. In July 1941 a State Guard budget of $49,500
for two 3'ears was approved, which meant that the emer-
gency fund in the original appropriation would have to be
tapped.

In the meantime the State Defense Council had proceeded
with the nomination of members for county defense councils
to work in collaboration with the State Council. In June
1941 Governor Smith announced the appointment of about
200 members to the county councils. Men who served as
county chairmen at one time or another thereafter includ-
ed: Albany county, J. H. "Bud" Coulthard, Laramie; Big
Horn county, A. Verne Patterson of Greybull and Dr. M. B.
Walker of Basin; Campbell county, Dr. Ed. S. Werntz of
Gillette; Carbon county, H. A. McKay, Rawlins; Converse
county, R. S. Anthony and T. Lee Reno, Douglas; Crook
county, Lee A. McWethy and C. D. Roberts, Sundance ; Fre-
mont county, E. E. Davis, Riverton, and Arthur L. Bettis,
Lander (Fremont county had two "county" councils) ;
Goshen county, E. B. Cope, Torrington ; Hot Springs county,
M. Glen Maret, Thermopolis; Johnson county, Geo. A. Heil-
man, Buffalo; Laramie county, Rudolph Hofmann, Chey-
enne; Lincoln county, Tom Hall, Frontier, and George
Johnson, Kemmerer; Natrona county, Judge Bryant S.
Cromer, Casper; Niobrara county, E. Floyd Deuel and Dr.
Walter E. Reckling, both of Lusk; Park county, Monte
Jones and Milward Simpson, Cody; Platte county, W. B.
Penman and Arther Rugg, Wheatland; Sheridan county,
Louis J. O'Marr and William H. Harrison, both of Sheridan ;
Sublette county, Harry Klein and G. W. Wise, both of Pine-

WYOMING CIVILIAN DEFENSE 5

dale; Sweetwater county, Claude Elias of Rock Springs;
Teton county, Dudley Hayden and Homer Richards, both
of Jackson; Uinta county, Wilber J. Watts, Evanston;
Washakie county, J. D. Algier, Worland; Weston county,
Ralph dinger and E. E. Wakeman, both of Newcastle;
Yellowstone Park, Edmund B. Rogers, Yellowstone Park.
Counting the two councils for Fremont county and the
one for Yellowstone Park, there were 25 "county" councils
in the state.

The first duty of the county councils was to consider vol-
unteers for the State Guard. Gradually the troops were
built up, until at the outbreak of war Lieut. Col. Gerald Boy-
er, general executive officer, was able to report that the
Guard organization was complete with 411 enlisted men and
52 officers. The training of seven troops had progressed to
the point where rifles, ammunition and supplementary
equipment had been issued. As it had been planned, there
were nine troops distributed in 12 communities: Cheyenne,
Worland, Lovell, Sheridan, Casper, Riverton, Lusk, Tor-
rington, Laramie, Rock Springs, Kemmerer and Evanston.

The State Guard, equipped with special uniforms, drilled
once a week without pay. On December 1, 1941, when
alerted by Col. Esmay, who took seriously the warnings
from Washington, the Guard began drilling twice a week.
After our declaration of war, drill was stepped up to three
times a week. "That may shatter some bridge games —
but it will protect our bridges," said the Sheridan Press.
At the end of December 1941 the Guard was back on a
one-drill-a-week basis.

Right after Pearl Harbor Governor Smith urged the re-
cruitment of a second state guard, but this was not done.
Instead, after the temporary excitement of December 1941,
the number of enlisted Guardsmen declined. In February
1942 there were 390 enlisted men and 51 officers. At the
end of the war there were 271 enlisted men and 70 officers.1
More than 200 of the men who left the Guard did so to enter
the armed forces of the United States.

Except for some forest fighting duty, the Wyoming State
Guardsmen were never called out for any emergency, but
they drilled throughout the war with remarkable diligence.
Adjutant General R. L. Esmay reported to Governor Lester
C. Hunt in December 1945 that the Guard's four-year drill
attendance average was 79.11%. Considering that they
received no pay, the Adjutant General wrote to the Gov-
ernor: "I think this is almost an unbelievable record of
patriotic loyalty."2 He explained that National Guardsmen

1. Governor Hunt's files: State Guard.

2. Ibid.

6 ANNALS OF WYOMING

before the war received one day's pay for an hour and a
half of drill, and were considered Satisfactory if they
achieved 60^ drill attendance. Subsequently, after the
State Guard was deactivated, Governor Hunt wrote to all
of the State Guard officers October 28, 1946, expressing
appreciation for their patriotic services:

*** Adequate recognition cannot be given your service only
because your duties were best performed by being ready for
service and not through the necessities of active mobilization.

Working against a great many handicaps you established a
high degree of proficiency, loyalty, and dependability. This
accomplishment in itself gave our State a sense of preparedness
to meet any emergency, which no doubt exercised a very im-
portant influence in maintaining our internal security and tran-
quillity through the war years.

We are grateful for having among our citizens men willing to
sacrifice so much in the public service. ***3

The State Guard was an important cog in Wyoming's
civilian defense machine in World War II, but by itself it
would have been quite inadequate in a serious emergency
such as the bombing of Cheyenne or Casper. British ex-
perience before Pearl Harbor indicated that there was in
wartime an important place for numerous civilian auxiliar-
ies for the normal protective forces. The yeoman service
of British civilians in fighting fires, saving lives and reduc-
ing suffering during the 1940-41 blitzes had been well pub-
licized, and was known to most Americans. It was realized
that modern total war might well bring to a community far
behind the lines such disaster that professional firemen,
policemen, doctors, nurses and Red Cross workers would
need the cooperation of numerous volunteers. To make
these volunteers effective required organization and train-
ing.

The national OCD had been in existence since May 1941,
but it was only a planning and coordinating body without
any local authority. It could only suggest action, and
month after month passed without much action in many
states, including Wyoming. There had been thinking and
talking about organizing civilian defense workers, other
than those in the State Guard, but December 7, 1941, "the
day that will live in infamy," found Wyoming with only the
skeleton force represented by the State Defense Council and
the county councils. Pearl Harbor brought feverish ac-
tivity.

The State Defense Council in pre-war days had drawn
up a list of vital facilities — railroads, refineries, oil fields,
dams, gas companies, airports, key highway bridges, and

3. Ibid.

WYOMING CIVILIAN DEFENSE 7

others — and, in cooperation with the FBI, the highway
patrol, county sheriffs, local police and company officials,
plans had been made for guarding these facilities against
sabotage. These plans were put into effect immediately.
Local defense councils were ready to cooperate in this but
did not have the primary responsibility.

The State Defense Council met in emergency session in
Cheyenne December 12-13, 1941. The Council seriously
considered, but decided against, starting a campaign to
raise a civilian defense fund through voluntary subscrip-
tions. Before the emergency meeting broke up, the Council
had embarked upon a ten-point program:4

1. Registration of civilians willing to volunteer for civilian de-
fense work .... Each county defense council will make plans
for conducting the registration.

2. Registration soon of all private pilots and private airplanes
in Wyoming to form a civilian air patrol.

3. Complete housing inventory to determine what facilities will
be available in case widespread coastal evacuations are ordered.

4. Formation of air raid warning system, including distribution
to all citizens of information on what to do during a raid.

5. Organization of emergency, and formation of a comprehen-
sive, health and nutritional program.

6. Organization of a medical service for the state guard.

7. Training and organization of amateur radio operators to
work with the state guard and with civilian defense units.

8. Formation of fire districts to protect forests and ranges from
fires.

9. Establishment of training classes in blacksmithing and farm
machinery repair work. . . .

10. Active participation by local defense councils in war work
. . . aiding drives. . . .

In this program appears the twofold nature of civilian
defense activity: the "protective services" and the "war
services" or "home and health services." The protective
services received major attention at the beginning of the
war.

The first item in the State Defense Council's ten-point
program was the registration of volunteer defense workers.
This began in Wheatland December 27, and in some other
communities in January and February, but in some com-
munities it took many months to get started. Even so, the
State Council announced in April 1942 that 25,000 volun-
teers had been enrolled, including 4,547 in Cheyenne, 3,019
in Sheridan and 2,739 in Rock Springs. The 25,000 figure
for April 1942 appears to have been an estimate, for later
reports showed only 17,456 volunteers registered in October
1942 and 19,352 in February 1943. At any rate, thousands
of men and women flocked to the registration stations and
enrolled for the openings offered. With some exceptions,

4. Wyoming Eagle, 16 December 1941.

8 ANNALS OF WYOMING

the men generally were assigned to the protective services
and the women to the home and health services.

Lingle reported registrants of ages ranging from 16 to
82. Sheridan reported the registration of Jacob Markert,
73, a veteran who had served with the First Cavalry against
the Sioux in 1890. William S. Oliver, 75, was the first
volunteer in Washakie county. Officials of Ranchester
(population 189) boasted that their community was the
first incorporated town in the United States to sign up 100
per cent for civilian defense. Many communities at some
distance from county councils formed their own organiza-
tions until there were 75 councils in the state.

Defense corps assignments in the first year included:
332 staff, 2,914 air raid wardens, 610 auxiliary firemen,
640 auxiliary police, 586 decontamination, 187 demolition
and clearance, 342 drivers, 475 emergency food and hous-
ing, 782 emergency medical, 808 fire watchers, 559 messen-
gers, 197 nurses aides, 292 rescue squads, 195 road repair,
and 285 utility repair.

Financing county and community council activity was a
local problem. Eventually the proceeds from sale of do-
nated scrap and waste paper gave some councils more
money than they could spend, but at the outset money was
scarce. The B. and P. W. paid for printing the Casper
registration forms. Ernest F. Shaw, state executive sec-
retary, attributed the early success of Sweetwater county's
civil defense organization to the fact that Rock Springs
and Sweetwater county provided funds to pay for an office
director.

While forms were being printed and the registration of
volunteers was getting under way, some persons became im-
patient. Everyone in authority, from the President on
down, was advising "Keep Calm," but some people could not
help being disturbed by the full-page spreads in all the
newspapers telling what to do in an air raid: "Keep Cool,
Stay Home, Put Out Lights, Lie Down, Stay Away From
Windows." And John Lear's syndicated column in the
Sheridan Press December 19, 1941, advised people to decide
which was the strongest room in the house, prepare it as
a refuge, put a table in it, put a spare mattress under the
table, equip the room with magazines and cards, and be
ready to crawl under the table when the sirens sounded.
Small wonder that some persons began looking around for
more substantial shelter than the average small home could
afford. A letter to the editor of the Casper Tribune-Herald
proposed that instead of thinking about parking meters the
city should install an air raid shelter in the center of town.
Persons in several communities investigated caves and mine

WYOMING CIVILIAN DEFENSE 9

shafts. Dr. Reckling, CD director at Lusk, announced that
an abandoned mine was to be prepared as a bomb shelter.
Big Horn county officials and business men from Greybull,
Basin and Lovell explored two natural caves north of Grey-
bull. Postal employees in Sheridan received local defense
council approval for detailed plans they had drawn up for
evacuating the city in case of need.

With everyone being urged to register as air raid war-
dens, and so on, skeptics restrained their comments. The
Wyoming Eagle stated editorially January 9, 1942: "There
are a few who scoff at the suggestion of such dangers, but
their number is growing fewer as the days go by."

Most of the people were not sufficiently excited to begin
looking for air raid shelters, nor even to prepare a room as
suggested. After all, it would be just about as easy and
safe to take refuge out on the prairie. Editor Linford of
the Laramie Republican-Boomerang January 27, 1942,
warned against the danger of carrying the defense program
"beyond the realm of credulity." He advocated vigilance
but thought that action on bomb shelters could well be
postponed.

Although the great majority stopped short of looking
for bomb shelters, there were those who deplored the delay.
Witness Anne Casper, who complained in her Casper Trib-
une-Herald column February 4, 1942:

No civilian air raid drills. No blackout practice. No organ-
ized emergency measures have been rehearsed. No nothing,
in fact, unless you count gathering paper and hoarding sugar.
. . . we still haven't got the idea. This is war. Must we also be
massacred before we begin to have a little organized training?
Have we got to wait till lives are needlessly sacrificed before we
at least begin to plan air raid shelters ?

Despite a few pleas of this type, most people were not in
a hurry, although when given a chance they registered for
defense work. The Wyoming Eagle in April 1942 noted
editorially that "Few people seem to sense the danger that
hangs over every head." Publisher Tracy S. McCraken of
the Cheyenne newspapers returned in June 1942 from a
visit to the West Coast and reported that in Seattle he had
seen balloon barrages surrounding shipyards and airplane
factories, sandboxes on almost every street corner for ex-
tinguishing fire bombs, well marked air raid shelters and
interceptor planes on the alert at every flying field. He
observed that in Cheyenne "rightly or wrongly, our people
have made but scantiest preparations against possible en-
emy air visitors."

A report of the State Council August 31, 1942, included
unfavorable comments for some counties:5

5. Governor Hunt's files: State Defense Council.

10 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Big Horn — Much to be desired in this county ....

Carbon — Well behind most counties considering its size and im-
portant location along the Union Pacific.

Converse — Very little organization work here to date ....

Fremont — One of the unusual dull spots for home defense in the
state.

Hot Springs — An active council but slow to get started.

Natrona — This is another county where it has been hard to get
going, but where things are now happening.

Washakie — Much to be desired in Washakie county.

On the other hand, the report said that Sheridan county
had "A very fine council," and spoke of Sweetwater county
as "The most completely organized ... in the State."

Ernest F. Shaw, executive secretary of the State Defense
Council, advised members of the Council September 8, 1942,
that Regional Headquarters had placed Wyoming first in
home defense work among the nine states of the Seventh
region, but, added the executive secretary, "we are only
getting well started .... The fact that we stand at the top
among nine states can not be so much a compliment to Wyo-
ming, as an indictment of the other eight states."

While it is true that Wyoming preparations were far
short of those along the East and West Coasts, a consider-
able number of the state's citizens did follow through with
training courses as soon as they were set up. First aid
courses were basic in most defense training, and they were
started all over the state in December 1941 and January
1942. By 1944 some 9,117 Wyoming persons had received
certificates. Policemen and firemen of Wyoming's principal
cities were training volunteers to be their emergency auxil-
iaries. Rescue squads were learning first aid, fire fighting
and defense against gas.

The national OCD entrusted the training of air raid war-
dens to the American Legion. George Storey, Legion de-
partment adjutant, after receiving training in a civilian
protection school at Stanford University, directed a four-
day school in Casper July 15-18, 1942, attended by 125 per-
sons representing every county in the state. There were
lectures on protection against gases, the use and care of
gas masks, types and composition of incendiaries, and a
lecture entitled "Air Raid Warden." Army officers, doc-
tors, university professors, police and firemen shared in the
training of county representatives who then returned to
their communities to instruct the local wardens.

Up to this time the air raid wardens had not done very
much. Cheyenne had 450 district, block and assistant block
wardens who had received their preliminary instructions
April 24. It was reported May 10 that fewer than one-third

WYOMING CIVILIAN DEFENSE 11

of them had surveyed their blocks and turned in reports.
On July 10 Cheyenne's organization reached the point of
explaining new air raid alarm signals. On August 4 Chief
Air Raid Warden Byron Hirst told the Cheyenne Central
Labor Union that he "deplored the lack of interest shown
by many men and women here — those who believe that an
enemy raid will never reach Cheyenne." On August 8 the
condition of Cheyenne's defense may be judged by a news
story in the Eagle: "Of approximately 6,000 Cheyenneites
who have received training or are now enrolled for training
in the OCD's Red Cross first aid and other classes, a scant
150 have seen fit to place their names and other data on
record for call by the local office in case of emergency."
They had been urged, pleaded with and begged, it was re-
ported, but they had not registered in the civilian defense
office.

The Casper school for instructors of air raid wardens pro-
vided the spark needed for the rejuvenation of the defense
program. The four-day school in July led to the institution
of five-week courses (10 lessons) in many communities.
Wheatland's course was started as soon as the instructors
returned from Casper. The editor of the Wheatland Times
observed: "While we do not anticipate an air raid in Wheat-
land, we have been reminded of our proximity to Chey-
enne, Casper and the Sunrise mines, making it possible that
our town might at least be used as a landmark, and we
are to be prepared for anything." In Cheyenne nearly 800
persons completed the air raid defense course and received
certificates September 17. It was claimed that Cheyenne
was ahead of all other cities in the Rocky Mountain region.
Some 600 Casper citizens received their certificates and arm
bands October 27. Smaller groups received certifiicates in
other communities.

Wyoming's air raid wardens had just completed their
five-week course when they learned that professional odds-
makers in the insurance business were not much afraid
of air raids. Insurance agents in Sheridan in November
began promoting war damage insurance offered through
private insurance companies by the federal War Damage
Corporation. The rate for dwellings was only 10c per $100
of insurance. In August the Casper school board had con-
sidered a proposal of the Casper underwriters association
for the writing of bomb insurance for the school buildings,
but decided to seek more information before making any
decision. The school board members evidently did not
think the matter very urgent.

Without any publicity Governor Smith set up an air raid
warning communication system in July 1942. This was

12 ANNALS OF WYOMING

done "at the practical demand of the Federal Government."6
The air raid defense plan was outlined in General Orders
No. 3, Headquarters, Central Defense Command, dated
June 23, 1942, and forwarded to Governor Smith July 1,
1942, by the Commanding Officer of the Army Service
Forces, Seventh Service Command, Omaha. A sub-area
warning center was established and manned 24 hours a day
in the Capitol Building. George O. Houser became sub-area
controller. Calls were taken from the Area Warning Center
in Omaha, to be relayed as desired to districts and sub-
districts within the state. Many Wyoming cities and towns
established control centers with elaborate panel boards.
Casper and Rock Springs were praised in the State Defense
Council's Biennial Report 1943-44 for being "among the
outstanding control centers in the nation." Although the
system was established primarily for air raid warning pur-
poses, the Biennial Report stated that "its services were
extended to include any emergency calling for fast and
accurate communication to all parts of the State." This
would indicate that the State Government found the system
convenient, despite the absence of air raids.

On November 1, 1943, the operation period of the Seventh
Area Warning Center, and its various subsidiaries, was re-
duced from full time to only four hours a week — 1 p.m. to
5 p.m. Central War Time each Wednesday. The Command-
ing Officer of the Seventh Service Command, Omaha, wrote
to Governor Smith that under present conditions it was
"possible to assume a certain amount of calculated risk,"
but this "should be accomplished with the minimum of pub-
licity."7 Thus after the maintenance of the communication
system on a round-the-clock basis for 16 months it was
placed on an "alert status" and operated only four hours a
week.

In the meantime Wyoming had had two statewide black-
out tests to see how well air raid wardens in particular, and
the people in general, would respond. The first test, which
took place December 14, 1942, was well advertised for a
month ahead of time. Only railroads and other vital war
industries were exempt. Otherwise everyone should extin-
guish all lights at 9 p.m. on signal and maintain the blackout
for 20 minutes, when the all-clear signal would be given.
The test was to apply to rural as well as urban areas, and
was to extend over all nine states of the Seventh Service

6. Governor Hunt's files: State Defense Council, Biennial Report
1943-44.

7. Ibid.

WYOMING CIVILIAN DEFENSE 13

Command. It was the largest area in the country to be
blacked out at one time, 712,000 square miles.

In preparation for the blackout the Laramie city council
passed an ordinance designating the Albany county defense
council as the city's official supervising agency for civilian
defense. The ordinance provided for a fine not exceeding
$100 or imprisonment in the city or county jail not exceed-
ing three months to violators. The editor of the Laramie
Republican-Boomerang warned: "Even though you don't
hear the whistles, remember it's lights out from 9 to 9:20
tonight; no telephone calls, no jaunts out on to the street
to see how the blackout is coming."

To dramatize the blackout, the Wyoming State Tribune
printed its December 14 front page with white letters on a
black background. The only lights to be permitted in Chey-
enne were those in the United Air Lines maintenance shops,
the modification center and the Union Pacific shops.

When all reports were in on this well publicized blackout
of December 14, 1942, Col. Esmay, executive vice chairman
of the State Defense Council, stated that he was much
gratified with the response. To be sure, he did not expect
perfection. In Cheyenne the doors of two establishments
had to be broken into to turn out lights — in accordance with
city ordinance. In Laramie four blackout violators were
given suspended $10 fines by Judge Coolican in police court.
The Judge recognized that the violations were not inten-
tional, and preferred not to assess the maximum penalty —
$100 fine or three months in jail. Absentmindedly some of
the guilty individuals had left night lights burning in their
stores, and were not on hand to turn them off when the
warning sounded. Apprehended also was a minister who
had failed to extinguish a small light which burned con-
stantly to illuminate a stained glass window in his Church.

In Lingle the wardens quickly found and reminded all
who had failed to respond to the signal. Then after the
"all clear" the Lingle firemen served a lunch at the fire hall,
followed by dancing with music by the high school orches-
tra. It was Monday night, an unusual night for a dance,
but the "all clear" after the state's first blackout called for
some kind of celebration. Lander, too, celebrated the "all
clear" — with coffee and doughnuts.

The second statewide blackout was a "semi-surprise"
test on May 4, 1943. It was well advertised that the test
would occur the first week in May. The exact time was not
announced in advance, but many civilian defense officials
were forewarned. George O. Houser, secretary of the State
Defense Council, reported two days later that the test was
"generally successful." The evidence indicates that this

14 ANNALS OF WYOMING

second blackout was not as successful as the first one. In
Laramie seven persons were hailed into police court for
neglecting to turn off their lights.

Somehow the word did not get to Newcastle. On the
night of the blackout its chief air raid warden, M. L. Hays,
impatiently called the Wyoming Eagle in Cheyenne to report
that although he understood that a blackout had been
scheduled, no warning signal had been received, and all
lights continued to burn. The next day the disgruntled
warden declared "the city of Newcastle could have been
bombed to hell last night."

Cheyenne had enough confusion without any calls from
Newcastle. Fort Warren began its test at 9:10, twenty
minutes ahead of Cheyenne. Cheyenne's siren at 9:30
failed to achieve a complete blackout. The Eagle reported :
"The lights of approximately a dozen business houses glared
during the first half of the 20-minute test. Others, includ-
ing the high school, either were tardy or failed to extinguish
their lights." City air raid warden Byron Hirst explained
later that lights were permitted to burn rather than damage
property, but there would be no hesitation in case of an
actual raid. Since two doors had been forced in the earlier
raid, it appears that a more lenient attitude prevailed in
the second test.

In Casper the second test was far from satisfactory. At
a meeting of the defense corps at the control headquarters
a week after the test it was brought out that many persons
had failed to heed the warning. In extenuation it was ex-
plained that many violations were due to a confusion of
signals and to the fact that the signals were not heard in
all parts of town. Despite these legitimate excuses there
was a feeling that many citizens had taken the matter much
too lightly. The Casper Tribune-Herald reported that at
the post mortem meeting "It was emphasized that the local
Defense corps does not have these tests for the fun of it,"
and "The possibility that all willful and malicious violators
of the city's blackout ordinance will be cited to appear in
court after future blackout tests was indicated."

Wheatland also had trouble in this second statewide
blackout. The Wheatland Times said: "A blackout held
Tuesday evening was not successful because citizens con-
fused the second signal with the all-clear and turned on
their lights."

Besides observing, after a fashion, the two statewide
blackouts, various communities had their own tests. The
first recorded was at Fort Mackenzie December 19, 1941.
The Sheridan Press explained that it was "to accustom the
500 patients to the procedure." Sam Tate earned the dis-

WYOMING CIVILIAN DEFENSE 15

tinction of being the state's first home-front casualty when
he ran into a wall in the V. A. office and injured his nose.

Cheyenne had a surprise test July 8, 1943. The city had
done fairly well in December 1942 with the aid of much
publicity extending over a whole month, and specifying
the exact time when the warning would come. The city
had done considerably worse in its second test, the "semi-
surprise" one in May 1943. The third test, which was sup-
posed to be a real surprise, "left civilian defense officials
far from satisfied," according to the Wyoming State Trib-
une. Reva Hurwitz elaborated on the shortcomings in the
Eagle:

Consider yourself bombed to death last night!

Cheyenne's first surprise blackout under the newly adopted
air raid signals proved unsuccessful, marked by confusion and
discrepancies.

Despite wide-spread publicity by newspapers and instructions
by some air raid wardens a great part of the general public
seemed ignorant or misinformed about the signals. And in
some instances wardens themselves seemed confused and unable
to cope with their duties.

The caution period, marked by the first signal, was almost
generally mistaken for the blackout, and traffic was stopped,
lights turned off, and many pedestrians found shelter. Most
violations in the downtown district during this period were
caused when storeowners on their way to turn off lights were
erroneously stopped by wardens.

The next signal, notice of the actual "air raid" caused a blaze
of lights — taken for the all-clear.

The evidence indicates that in the first month after Pearl
Harbor many Wyoming people were afraid of air raids,
but that after that, fear diminished rapidly. Nothing short
of a few bombs could have revived the early alarm. Had
bombs fallen anywhere on U. S. soil in 1942, protective
measures would have received much more serious consid-
eration. Most people conformed in a spirit of good fellow-
ship when blackouts were announced, but there was enough
skepticism expressed and enough downright delinquency
to give ulcers to conscientious air raid wardens.

The Civilian Defense protective measures which have
been considered so far were on the ground. Wyoming also
had a form of air defense in the Civil Air Patrol. The CAP
was organized nationally under LaGuardia's OCD on De-
cember 1, 1941. The plan was to set up an auxiliary force
whose personnel would be drawn from private plane owners
who were not eligible for service in the armed forces. They
would furnish their own uniforms, pay their own personal
expenses, and put their planes to use in various types of
patrols.

Point two of the ten-point program announced by Wyo-
ming's State Defense Council was "Registration soon of all

16 ANNALS OF WYOMING

private pilots and private airplanes in Wyoming to form a
civilian air patrol." Governor Nels H. Smith named W. I).
Walker of Cheyenne wing commander of the state's Civil
Air Patrol, which was classed as a forest and highway pa-
trol unit. It was announced on February 26, 1942, that
there were two squadrons in Cheyenne under Plains Air-
ways flight instructors, and that there would be a squadron
at Laramie with a flight group under it at Rock Springs, and
another squadron at Sheridan with flight groups under it
at Cody and Newcastle.

The Seventh Corps Area Commander of the CAP stated
at the outset that the relatively few pilots and planes avail-
able in Wyoming and the tremendous territory to be cov-
ered would limit the activity considerably.8 Wyoming's
civilian pilots had no chance to participate in the im -ortant
antisubmarine patrol work which was performed by CAP
pilots along the Coasts. Nor did Wyoming CAP pilots tow
sleeve targets for gunnery practice as some civilian pilots
did in other parts of the country. Wyoming's civilian pilots
did, however, participate in an Airplane Crash Service.
This was something new that was started outside the offi-
cial CAP organization by some of Wyoming's local defense
councils,9 but it was encouraged and supplemented by the
state CAP organization, and spread to other states.

Nationally the CAP was taken from the OCD and placed
under the War Department on April 29, 1943. Meanwhile,
with little work to do, interest had flagged in Wyoming.
The state was the only one in the Union without a wing of
the CAP in July 1944, although there was a squadron at
Cheyenne. In order to further the cadet recruitment pro-
gram, reorganization work commenced in 1944, and squad-
rons were formed in Casper in July and in Rock Springs
in November. There were two groups in each squadron,
a senior group of men and women with basic aviation edu-
cation, and the cadets of ages 15-18 who received basic
ground training. Thus assistance in an educational pro-
gram sponsored by the U. S. Army Air Corps became the
principal work of the reorganized CAP.

Another phase of the volunteer protective services was
that of the Forest Fire Fighters, many of whom received
specialized training. J. S. Veeder of the Forest Service, who
was stationed at Laramie, recruited 7,000 persons from
every county, and when Veeder was transfer] 3d to Texas,
C. C. Averill took charge of the program. The State De-

8. Wyoming State Tribune, 26 February 1942.

9. Governor Hunt's files: State Defense Council Biennial Report
1943-44.

WYOMING CIVILIAN DEFENSE 17

partment of Education assisted by providing instructors to
help train men.

The various training programs for the OCD protective
services included men, women and children. Grade school
and high school students were taught air raid protection,
and high school boys were given forest fighter training in
some communities. The main feature of a Boy Scout court
of honor in Casper in March 1942 was a blackout first aid
demonstration by some of the Scouts.

The block leader plan was widely used for organizing
protective activities. Milward Simpson who became head
of the Park county defense council in November 1942 was
proud of the cooperation he got from his zone and block
leaders. He wrote November 30, 1943: "I have seen my
zone and block leaders in Powell, Meeteetse and Cody work
long and faithfully and enthusiastically without complaint,
to put Park county over the top in every enterprise referred
to OCD."10 And again in July 1944 he wrote: "I have had
the finest zone and block leader set-ups that I ever saw."

Wyoming's thousands of air raid wardens had little cause
for worry in the summer of 1943. A potential threat from
the Aleutians had been eliminated when U. S. troops cleaned
the Japs out of Attu Island in May. The Allies were bomb-
ing Cerman cities heavily and attacking various targets in
the Far East, while enemy operations over the United King-
dom were diminishing. Wyoming's State Defense Council
met in Casper in the middle of July 1943, with nearly every
county council represented. Governor Hunt addressed the
group and warned that "at best we are in for a long war."
Public interest in civil defense, he said, is geared to day by
day news. When the news -is good interest wanes. "Our
present concern is that in many places we are in the latter
state of mind."

The Regional Director of OCD in Omaha wrote to Gover-
nor Hunt August 20, 1943, and directed attention to the
effective work done by Civilian Defense personnel in Ne-
braska on the occasion of an ammunition fire, and again
when six practice bombs were dropped accidentally on the
little town of Tarnov, Nebraska. "Your State May Be
Next!" warned the Director. As it turned out, Wyoming
never had an opportunity to apply protective measures,
except for putting out a few forest fires that were not War-
caused. Interest in protective measures declined despite
an occasional warning such as was sounded at a Natrona
county protective staff meeting December 8, 1943, when a

10. Governor Hunt's files: copy of letter to H. M. Rollins in OPA
file.

18 ANNALS OF WYOMING

speaker declared that "As long as we are at war no one can
positively say that nothing will happen here." The Wyo-
ming Eagle a week later commented that the work of air
raid wardens "is done." "It is hardly possible that the war
could take such an unfavorable turn that more blackouts in
the Rocky Mountain area would be in order." The Eagle
reflected Wyoming public opinion in this matter very accu-
rately. Much of the state's civilian defense interest had
shifted from the protective services to the home and health
services. The 1943-44 Biennial Report of the State Defense
Council stated that "With the OCD program set up on an
over-all nationwide basis there were many occasions when
the State office was called upon to function in a negative
manner, preventing introduction into the State of programs
and activities valueless in this area because of our geo-
graphic location."

After Canada dropped part of her civilian defense pro-
gram early in 1944 a powerful movement developed to cut
the U. S. civilian defense program. There was a reduction
in personnel in both national and regional offices, but Gov.
Hunt and others in Wyoming and elsewhere thought that
still further cuts were in order.

To most people, including some who served on defense
councils, the boundaries of the OCD authority were never
clear. The national and regional offices were supposed to
have purely advisory functions, but their advice carried
great weight at the beginning of the war. Before long
their influence diminished perceptibly. Conceivably the
OCD could have been tremendously powerful if some of its
planners had had their way. They would have had all pro-
grams from the federal government channeled through the
state executives and defense council to the local community.
Governors and state defense councils were not always eager
to undertake the coordination of the many and changing
federal programs, and various federal agencies preferred to
handle their own programs directly. A statement in Gov-
ernor Hunt's files written by a Salt Lake City OCD official
in December 1943 declared: "I believe that it must be
brought strongly to the attention of the heads of the var-
ious war agencies in Washington that it is not only a mat-
ter of appropriate policy to instruct regional and state
chiefs to work with and through state defense councils but
also in their own interest to do so. Then the State (which
is the Defense Council) must establish a proper working
relationship with the agencies."11 Some governors would
not equate the Defense Council with the State. Governor

11. Governor Hunt's files: State Defense Council.

WYOMING CIVILIAN DEFENSE 19

Hunt did not care to insist that the State Defense Council
be made the reservoir or tunneling agency through which
should pass all the diverse programs of the WPB (Salvage
and Conservation programs), Treasury Department (War
Savings), OP A (Price Control and Rationing), War Man-
power Commission and U. S. Employment Service (Man-
power Recruitment), WFA and USDA (Food Production
and Conservation and Nutrition), FSA, Office of Commun-
ity War Services (Child Care, Recreation, Social Protec-
tion), FHA, War Housing Center (Housing), ODT (Trans-
portation), Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard (Re-
cruiting), Federal Rehabilitation Agency (Re-employment
and rehabilitation of servicemen), Office of War Informa-
tion (Security of Military Information), and so on.

Some such tunneling through the State Defense Council
saved time and money, as was the case with the early ra-
tioning program when something had to be done in a hurry,
but it seems likely that the State Defense Council would
have been inundated if all of the expanded national war
programs had descended upon it. Many reams of paper
piled up on county council desks, the way it was.

In reply to an inquiry from an Illinois Congressman,
Governor Hunt wrote March 6, 1944: "I am of the opinion
that the Office of Civilian Defense served its purpose very
admirably but that the need for the set-up no longer exists."
A month later the Governor, in reply to a query, told the
Acting Regional Director of the OCD that while the Wyo-
ming State Council had been very effective and efficient,
other departments especially set up were "sufficient to
handle the respective drives and war effort activities."

Some salaried OCD officials outside of Wyoming insisted
on the importance of retaining the organization. The na-
tional director in January 1944 informed Governor Hunt
that in some states the Governors had asked Defense Coun-
cils to undertake the responsibility for planning and coor-
dinating programs of services to veterans. He recommend-
ed the appointment of a Defense Council committee on
such services. A West Coast OCD official sent Governor
Hunt a copy of a speech which included the statement
"Permit me to suggest nine reasons why you would do well
to safeguard and preserve the remarkably efficient Civilian
Defense organization which you have created." Governor
Hunt was not impressed. When a county chairman re-
signed in July 1944, the Governor chose not to appoint a
successor.

On October 24, 1944, when the Wyoming State Council
sent letters to all county councils asking for their frank
opinion on what should be done with OCD in the state,

20 ANNALS OF WYOMING

only one chairman went so far as to say that it should be
discontinued. All others thought that a skeleton organiza-
tion should be retained at the state level. Most of the
councils felt that if the occasion arose they could start
functioning on a moment's notice in a very efficient
manner.12

The Wyoming State Journal (Lander) December 7, 1944,
suggested editorially that "The Job Is Done — Let's Dis-
band." The Journal felt that there would be a saving in
manpower and expense if the OCD were disbanded, and
suggested that the head of the "now almost defunct Civil-
ian Defense board in Lander" call a meeting to survey the
need and consider the desirability of dissolving.

The State Council met in December 1944 and decided to
continue the CD programs after VE day until the defeat of
Japan, subject to orders from higher authority. On May 2,
1945, President Truman abolished the OCD and provided
that its liquidation should be completed by June 30. Thus
the great Civilian Defense organization, which by February
1943 had enrolled 19,352 of Wyoming's citizens and had
touched the lives of everyone, soon came to be regarded as
definitely superfluous by many, but it lingered on until 1945.

One reason why the OCD organization lingered as long
as it did may have been the Japanese paper balloon scare.
Late in the war quite a number of paper balloons bearing
Japanese markings and equipped with small bombs came to
earth at widely scattered points in the United States and
Canada. They caused a few small fires, and a few persons
who tampered with unexploded bombs were killed. The
first public notice taken of these balloons in Wyoming was
on December 19, 1944, when the Laramie Republican-
Boomerang and the Wyoming State Tribune, and perhaps
other papers, carried an Associated Press story filed at
Kalispell, Montana, reporting that "A huge paper balloon,
bearing Japanese ideographs and armed with an incendiary
bomb . . . has been found 17 miles southwest of Kalispell,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation said last night." The
news, although known to everyone in Kalispell, had been
withheld since the discovery on December 12. The A. P.
story described the balloon as 33% feet in diameter, and
armed with a six-inch bomb. A 70-foot fuse had sputtered
out without causing any damage.

After this story was released, the censorship curtain was
lowered. On May 14, 1945, the Commanding Officer of
the Seventh Service Command, Omaha, wrote to Governor
Hunt that the War Department had directed that a word-

12. Governor Hunt's files: State Defense Council.

WYOMING CIVILIAN DEFENSE 21

of-mouth campaign be initiated to acquaint the public with
the danger from unexploded bombs brought to the U. S.
by Japanese balloons.13 "As you know," wrote the General,
"I the bombs] have been arriving in this country for some
time. A complete press and radio blackout concerning this
matter is now in effect to keep Japs from securing any
information . . . ." The General sent Lieut. Col. Jesse E.
Marshall to discuss the matter with the Governor. Mar-
shall was charged with the Army responsibility for the
word-of-mouth campaign in Wyoming. Luncheon clubs,
veterans organizations, state officials, school assemblies,
Boy Scouts and other groups were to be told about the
danger from the balloons.

Editor Linford of the Laramie Republican-Boomerang
thought that this was all pretty silly, and refused to abide
by the censorship. On May 23, 1945, he published an ed-
itorial :

A word-of-mouth campaign is under way throughout this part
of the country, warning residents against tampering with Jap-
anese bomb balloons or fragments thereof which may fall in the
area. Information is being told verbally which censorship for-
bids the newspapers to publish.

Presumably the censorship theory is that the Jap spies can
read but can't hear.

A week later in an Associated Press article from Washing-
ton, D. C., the Chief of the U. S. Forest Service gave details
about the balloons. The article related that the Army and
Navy had announced that some of the balloons had landed
in the western part of the country but had caused no prop-
erty damage.

After the Japanese surrender much information that had
been covered up during the war was revealed. The Cody
Enterprise on August 22, 1945, released an "unofficial"
account of bomb incidents in Wyoming. There had been no
reports of damage to property or injury to persons in Wyo-
ming. The first incident had been near Thermopolis on the
night of December 6, 1944. Persons near a coal mine 15
miles west of Thermopolis reported seeing what they took
to be flares and a parachutist, and heard an explosion. In
nearby Owl Creek valley a resident heard explosions and
saw a fire on a mountain. On December 15, 1944, Sheriff
Kem Moyer of Thermopolis reported that the explosion of
a strange type of bomb had been verified. One of the
balloons was sighted January 15, 1945, floating near the
Cody refinery, but a three-hour search by Sheriff Frank
Blackburn failed to locate any trace of it. Kenneth Adkins
sighted a balloon about 25 miles southwest of Newcastle on

13. Governor Hunt's files: Seventh Service Command.

22 ANNALS OF WYOMING

February 8. Adkins followed the balloon in a pickup truck,
captured it, and brought it to Newcastle, where it was
placed under guard in the state armory. Henry Barrows
and several others sighted a balloon near Ralston on Feb-
ruary 22. When the balloon burst, a bomb described as
three to four inches in diameter and 16 to 18 inches long
fell to the ground and backfired without breaking its steel
case. Most of the balloon reports in Wyoming were from
the northern third of the State, although two were reported
found near Cheyenne early in the summer.

Japanese staff officers interviewed after the war told
their side of the story. The use of the bomb-laden paper
balloons was tried in retaliation for the Doolittle raid on
Tokyo April 18, 1942. After more than two years of exper-
imentation some 9,000 balloons were launched from three
sites near Tokyo at a cost of more than $2,000,000.14 The
project was abandoned as a failure on April 20, 1945, be-
cause there was no evidence of success. Japanese officers
said that they had heard of only one landing in America.
They had heard of the discovery of an unexploded bomb in
Wyoming. They had monitored the Chungking radio, hop-
ing for further reports, but had heard nothing. The Jap-
anese officers explained that the project had been designed
to "create confusion" by starting forest fires and frighten-
ing civilians. They said that the bombs weighed 30 pounds
or less, and were set to explode 40 to 50 hours after launch-
ing. It was calculated that the prevailing westerly winds
would deliver the balloons and bombs to America in that
time. Presumably many of the bombs descended in the
Pacific, but at least one traveled as far east as Maryland.

If the project had been tried in the early fall instead of
the months of November-April, there might have been
greater damage to forests, and civilian defense volunteers
might have had their hands full trying to hold down the
damage. The technical failures and delivery at the wrong
season saved the Wyoming civilian defense force, and sim-
ilar forces in other states, from what might have been a
real baptism of fire. If all-out war should come again with
a Pacific power, Wyoming may be visited again by paper
balloons, but this time they might deliver potent atomic,
biological and chemical weapons in comparison with which
the Japanese bombs of 1945 were harmless toys. For this
and other reasons the skepticism and carnival spirit asso-
ciated with Wyoming's Civilian Defense in World War II
may have to be discarded.

14. Casper Tribune-Herald, A. P. article, Oct. 2, 1945.

Zhe T)ays of the Open Range

By
RICHARD BRACKENBURY*

Where are the lads who rode with me
When like the wind, the range was free,
With no barbed wire, not a strand
From Canada's line to the Rio Grande?

We swept the hills and the western plain,
As storm clouds sweep the land with rain.
Our number great beyond belief,
We branded calves, and gathered beef.

We rode in early dawn of light

And held the cattle through the night

In every weather weeks around

Our beds . . . unrolled . . . lay on the ground.

Age brings with fleeting years a change
And we who rode the open range,
Young, light-hearted, brave and gay,
Must like the bison pass away.

*Richard Brackenbury arrived in the United States from England
in 1880 at the age of sixteen. He came to act as an interpreter for
an Italian Colony which was abandoned while in the planning stage.

After spending three years in Kansas he and a school friend in
1884 assembled a covered wagon, a pair of mares, a bird dog, a gun,
bedding and pots and pans and drove to Wyoming. He first worked
at supplying hay to stage stations north of Fort Fetterman. That
winter while hunting and trapping he came to the banks of the
Medicine Bow River where he homesteaded land, eventually acquiring
over four miles of the river valley where he raised cattle, sheep and
brood mares.

In 1893 he married an English girl. In 1897 he moved with his
family to Denver where he originated a sheep market by starting
a sheep commission business. He also developed a ranch on the
Mesa Mayo range in southern Colorado, which became the largest
sheep ranch in the state. Here he ran two to three thousand cattle
as well. In 1930 he and his wife retired to La Jolla, California, where
he is often called the Philosopher Poet.

In the July 1951 issue of The Colorado Magazine appeared an
article "Katherine Brackenbury's Letters to Her Mother" as compiled
by Richard Brackenbury. The letters are of special interest to Wyo-
ming since they deal with the ranching days on the Medicine Bow
in 1893-95.

Cevaneia Kent's T)iary of a Sheep

T>rive, Svanston, Wyoming, to

Kearney, Nebraska, 1882

Edited by
GEORGE SQUIRES HERRINGTON *

EDITOR'S PREFACE

The settlement of the great expanse extending across the
western portion of the Great Plains area to the Pacific
Coast is largely a story of the trapper, soldier, miner, cow-
boy, and sheep herder.

After the Civil War and particularly after the completion
of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Point,
Utah, in 1869, sheep men played an important role in help-
ing to establish an economic foundation for the settlement
of this vast region. During three decades, ending with the
closing of the sheep trails about 1900, the trailing of sheep,
especially from the West and South, changed the center of
surplus wool production from the eastern farm belt to the
Great Plains and mountain region.

The population of this area with sheep was primarily
the work of individuals rather than that of organized inter-
ests.1 One of those individuals was George Jackson
Squires.2 He trailed 4,000 sheep from Wyoming to Ne-
braska in 1881. The following year he trailed 8,000 head
from Evanston, Wyoming, to Grand Island, Nebraska. At
this time, in contrast to an earlier period, Wyoming was
attracting flocks to its ranges as well as still providing a
highway for sheep travel.

*George Squires Herrington, Associate Professor of the Social
Sciences at Sacramento State College, Sacramento, California, was
born May 11, 1909, at Aurora, Illinois. He has received degrees from
Northern Illinois State Teachers College, Teachers College of Colum-
bia University and Stanford University where he obtained his Ed. D.
From 1947 to 1950 he was a member of the faculty of the Univer-
sity of Denver.

1. The editor has been aided in placing this diary of a sheep drive
in its historical setting by reference to Edward N. Wentworth, Amer-
ica's Sheep Trails. Ames: The Iowa State College Press, 1948.

2. The editor's paternal great grandfather.

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 25

The excerpts from the diary kept by Miss Levancia Bent,
George Squires' sister-in-law, concerns the experiences re-
lating to this drive in 1882. Not many diaries of sheep
trailing appear extant in the literature; this one may be
unique in that it was written by a woman. The original
manuscript describes a railroad trip by the party from
Aurora, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah, beginning on June
20, 1882, a visit in Salt Lake City from June 24 to July 6,
a journey by the party in Brigham Young's family carriage
to Evanston, Wyoming, from July 6 to July 11, an encamp-
ment on Bear River near Evanston from July 11 to July 20,
and the sheep drive from Evanston to Kearney, Nebraska,
from July 20 to October 26, including a short excursion by
some of the party to Denver, Colorado, from September 12
to September 16. Although the portion of the diary relat-
ing to the sheep drive ends at Kearney, Nebraska, where
the women board a train for home, the sheep were driven
on to Grand Island, Nebraska, and wintered there.

The excerpts from the diary included here begin with
the encampment on Bear River on July 11, 1882, during
which time preparations which had been underway were
still being made to trail the sheep to Grand Island. The
editor has deleted some portions of the diary relating to the
sheep drive that are largely personal in nature. An at-
tempt has been made to identify individuals, places and
events through the use of footnote citations and explana-
tions.3

George Jackson Squires, the son of Asher Squires and
Polly Priest, was born in Watertown, Jefferson County,
New York, on December 5, 1828. He acquired his early edu-
cation in the district schools of Watertown. When 18 years
of age, he spent one winter in Michigan visiting his Grand-
father Priest. While there he assisted in cutting the timber
from the present site of the city of Lansing. In the spring
of 1849 he made arrangements to go to California by way
of the "Horn," but after proceeding a short distance dis-
covered that his money had been stolen. The following
spring he took the overland route, going by team and pass-
ing through Oswego, Illinois, within a few miles of which
he was later to settle. He engaged in mining in California
for over a year, returning to the east by way of the isthmus.
He purchased a farm in the neighborhood in which he was
reared with the money he made from his mining ventures.
He sold out and started for Illinois in 1853, taking with him

3. The original manuscript in the form of a notebook is now in the
possession of the editor's sister, Mrs. Philip (Levancia Herrington)
Buchheit of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

26 ANNALS OF WYOMING

his wife Emeline A. Bent whom he had married on January
22, 1852. In 1854 George J. Squires accompanied by his
wife and her father and brother went to Austin, Texas, to
look for cattle. They spent several months driving 500
head to Illinois. This drive has been referred to as the first
cattle drive from Texas to Illinois.4

Miss Levancia Bent who kept the diary passed her forty-
ninth birthday on the trail. She made her home with Eme-
line, her sister, as long as she lived, passing away at the
Squires' homestead near Oswego, Illinois, in May following
the death of George J. Squires in January, 1900. Levancia
Bent's father, Silas Proctor Bent, was born in Mt. Holly,
Vermont, in 1794 and died in De Kalb, Illinois, in 1874.
Levancia (originally spelled Levantea) was the fourth of
six children born to Silas Bent's second wife, Orythea
(Shaw) Bent, the oldest being Emeline.5

THE DIARY

Tuesday, July 11th [1882]

We were troubled with moschotoes [sic J last night, but
I was more troubled about some drunken men that were
shooting around after dark, and calling to us to tell them
where they were . . . had lost their way. [We] stopped at
Evanston6 for Ora7 and the mail. . . . Evanston is quite a
town, but lacks shade and a place to hide old empty cans
and bottles. [We] pitched our tent two miles this side on
Bear River. Our boy guide8 has seen us safe through Utah
and has gone home. John9 has joined us, and now our fam-

4. See George Squires Herrington, "An Early Cattle Drive from
Texas to Illinois," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. LV,
No. 2, October, 1951, pp. 267-269.

5. The biographical data en this and preceding pages was taken
from the Genealogical and Biographical Record of Kendall and Will
Counties, Illinois. Chicago: Biographical Publishing Company, 1901,
pp. 253-255; and from Allen H. Bent, The Bent Family in America.
Boston: D. Clapp & Son, 1900. The latter publication is a genealogi-
cal account of the Bent family in America beginning at Sudbury,
Massachusetts, in 1638 with the arrival from England of John and
Martha Bent and their five children. The migration of the Bent
family as revealed in this account may be regarded as a microcosm
of the Westward Movement in American history.

6. Wyoming.

7. Ora Ellsworth and his sister Sadie were probably friends of the
familv. They accompanied the group on the train trip to Salt Lake
City.

8. Son of the owner of the livery stable in Salt Lake City.

9. John Squires, son of George J. Squires, had left the party in
Salt Lake City on July 6th, and had gone to Idaho to look after a
Mr. Smith's flock of sheep.

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 27

ily are all together. [We J have settled down to house
keeping for a week, taken off and dusted our second best
raiment, and put on calico and sunbonnets. [I] painted a
few flowers this afternoon and explored the banks of the
river . . .

Wednesday, July 12th

Mary10 and Willie11 are doing the washing in the old prim-
itive way; camp fire on the banks of the river; plenty of
water, and bushes to burn and dry clothes on. Grace12 sent
for some yeast cakes, and tried to make some home made
bread, but it didn't rise. We bake good [sic] in the oil stove
oven or bake kettle. Em13 has a good time wandering
around, and I am searching for a best view for a picture.

Thursday, July 13th

It is quite a climb up to my studio on the rocks ... I can't
help but anticipate the pangs of dissapointment Lsic] and
defeat in store for me when I call my picture finished and
compare the copy with the original, but I must try it if it
does make me miserable ... [I] feel as though I had taken
my allowance of punishment today in a blistered face. My
hands are like toads' backs; [I] have always wished to look
plump and fat, but find on looking in the glass that plump-
ness to be becoming should be more equally and judiciously
distributed. I made a good target for the sun way up in
my lofty perch on the rocks. I am usually quite oblivious
to discomfort when doing congenial work, but work this
afternoon wasn't so absorbing but that I had a vague sense
of being parboiled.

Friday, July 14th

This morning Willie constructed a shelter for me from a
piece of the old fly cloth, fastened to some sticks wigwam
fashion. [I] use his music rack for an easal [sic] and camp
stool to sit on. [I] thought my arrangements very perfect
under the circumstances until the sun made it necessary to
change my position. The rock floor wouldn't accommodate
itself to easal and stool, so I discarded both, and hang on
to my canvas with one hand and paint with the other. [In
the] middle of the afternoon [I] was obliged to pick up my
work and get down from my perch or have everything car-
ried off for me by the wind that commenced blowing about

10. Mary (Bent) Earle, sister of Levancia Bent and Emeline
(Bent) Squires and widow of Dr. J. B. Earle of DeKalb, Illinois.

11. Willie Earle, son of Mrs. Dana Earle (Martha Bent) of Lake
City, Iowa.

12. Grace Squires, daughter of George and Emeline Squires.

13. Emeline (Bent) Squires, wife of George J. Squires.

28 ANNALS OF WYOMING

noon every day. My canopy danced about on the rocks,
keeping me in an expectant state of disaster to my picture;
until finally, it collapsed and left me to the mercy of the
cheerful sunshine again. All those little annoyances with a
liberal sprinkling of sand on my wet sky almost persuade
me that I am working under difficulties. We have very
cold night and have to heat stones for our feet . . . [We]
have slept warmer since George14 exchanged our cots for
wool sacks filled with hay; keep one to lie on under the
trees.

Sunday, July 16th

. . . After dinner we all took a ride out to Almy, a sub-
urban town of Evanston, a coal mine town. The inhabi-
tants are Chinamen and their antagonists, the Irish. [On]
the first street are a higher grade of Chinese. Their houses
are ornamented with patches of bright colors covered with
their hieroglyphics. [On] the next two long streets were
plain rough buildings, all alike. It is [a] hot day and their
doors were open so that we could get a glympse [sic] now
and then as we rode past of their housekeeping. The dirty
floors, rough benches for chairs, boxes, and rubbish filling
their rooms is [sic] so unlike anything we see among our
own people that we felt as though we were in a foreign land
. . . [We] felt as though we were at home again when we
got into Ireland with their white curtains and plants in the
windows. On the way home [we] came through a deserted
Indian camp. If we had arrived a few days sooner, [we]
should probably have had them for near neighbors.

Thursday, July 20th

... I have had a touch of mountain fever ; two nights and
a day seemed like a long troubled dream, neither asleep or
awake, sort of stupor. Em gave me rhubarb and podo-
phylyn. [ I] drank freely of sage brush tea which is said
to be a cure for mountain fever. I feel much better today
but weak. The ride has done me good. We are on the
road again, our first day of sheep driving . . . Our night
camp is near a stream of ice water from the mountain . . .
Friday, July 21st

All can walk this morning but myself; am too weak . . .
[We] met a train of emigrants bound for Washington Ter-
ritory. . . . John Turpin from Salt Lake, one of our shep-
herds, gave an exhibition of his horsemanship. It was real-
ly wonderful how he could stick on to such a tearing, pitch-
ing animal that none of the other men could ride. The boys
were so enthusiastic over his valor that we were afraid the

14. George J. Squires.

LEVANCIA BENTS DIARY 29

young man would break his neck for their amusement. We
crossed an old California trail, and camp on a pebbly
stream. [We] would be in sight of Hilliard but for the high
mountain shutting us in. We are on a branch of Bear River
so its [sic] called Bear Town. [It's] a natural place for
bears, but they don't show themselves; neither does the
town. A more suitable appellation would be city of the
dead . . .
Saturday, July 22nd

It is bright and clear this morning. We shall stay here
awhile for the sheep to be dipped.15 It was curious to see
them pour over the rocks down the side of the mountain like
a cascade. Ora looked a mere speck above them. . . .
Sunday, July 23rd

A government train thundered by close to our tent this
morning before we were out of bed. Em and I feel very
agueish and miserable; we are in search of health.
Tuesday, July 25th

I was sick all Sunday night. Yesterday Em gave me a
sweat and medicine. . . . We have moved a mile and a half
nearer Hilliard. Am feeling better. When I get used to
eating outdoors and can relish my meals as the men do, I
shall be all right. I never enjoyed sharing my food with
bugs and flys [sic] as people at picnics appear to. I am
living on cove oysters at present.
Wednesday, July 26th

Great rejoycing [sic] in camp. George received a tele-
gram from Ben with the glad tidings of a new born son.16
We could scarcely keep from crying from excitement; shall
be anxious to get a letter with particulars. It is so hard
that we should be so far awav at such a time.
Thursday, July 27th

We have lost our Turpin. He shouldered his blanket and
set out for Salt Lake. He will never find a more apprecia-
tive audience for his rare stories. . . .
Friday, July 28th

Grace has two objects of affection, a horned toad and a
poor little motherless lamb that would have to starve if left
to the tender mercies of the men. Any extra humanity be-

15. The sheep were immersed in a solution in order to restrict
spread of disease. In 1882 Wyoming authorized a territorial veter-
inarian and the following year Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho passed
laws to prevent the spread of scab and other contagious diseases in
sheep. Wentworth, op. eit., pp. 454-55.

16. The telegram sent by Benjamin F. Herrington of Yorkville.
Illinois, announced the birth of the editor's father, George Squires
Herrington, Sr., on July 25, 1882, to Mrs. B. F. Herrington (Georgi-
anna Squires, daughter of George and Emeline Squires).

30 ANNALS OF WYOMING

stowed upon animals in a trip like this would be rather un-
profitable in a money sense. Milk has to be brought from
Hilliard on horseback to feed it. . . .
Saturday, July 29th

Ora, Mary, and Grace rode over to the Indian camp this
morning on horseback. Ora offered to buy a deer skin that
an old squaw was tanning, as an excuse for their curiosity,
but she didn't seem inclined to have any deal with the pale
faces. We saw some wonderful riding done by a party of
young Indians about a half mile from here. I never saw
anything to compare with it; appeared as though they were
being blown about by the wind. It seemed cruel on such a
hot day. One poor pony dropped dead. I wondered if
Willie wasn't afraid of them. They raced so near where he
was herding. George has returned from Evanston where
he and John went to meet the other flock of sheep and buy
provisions. He brought ripe currants and other luxuries
including an old batchelor [sic] that he once met down in
Texas.
Sunday, July 30th

Our company staid [sic] all night. He is fairly intelli-
gent, a great talker. He knows all about this country; has
wandered over the Rockies for the last 30 years. He bought
the pitching horse; didn't object to him on account of his
little tricks. The horse seems to have found his master.
He walked off as docile as a cat; picked up his feet rather
dainty at first, but when his master made a few sarcastic
remarks, expressing a desire to know if he didn't feel real
well, and if this world wasn't large enough for him, he con-
cluded that any effort to get up a sensation would be time
wasted. . . . Mr. Poage, Crawford, and Albee have arrived
with the other flock; have had a hard time.17 There has
been so little feed that the sheep and lambs have died off
terribly . . . Mr. Poage had a severe time with Crawford,
who drinks. He wants George to ship him. . . .
Monday, July 31st

The men are busy dipping and sorting sheep, and we are
getting things into shape for a start tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 1st

. . . We stopped at Hilliard for supplys [sic]. Grace gave
her lamb to the Postmistress' little girl. . . . The town is very
new and unattractive. A couple of dirty savages prom-
enaded the main street clothed in thick blankets and long
black hair. The train came in with a platform loaded with

17. The editor has been unable to identify Poage, Crawford, and
Albee. There is some evidence to indicate that Albee was a friend
of the Squires.

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 31

them. They get free rides. The conductor recognized some
of our party. We passed Aspen, another small town. . . .
Wednesday, August 2nd

I drove the carriage this morning. . . . We had dinner the
other side of Piedmont; tasted the best of any meal on the
road, potatoes, cucumbers, onions, and mutton. I wonder
the Indians didn't scare my appetite away; I don't think
I am quite through trembling yet. Two bands met at a
respectful distance from our camp, and took a good long
look at us. We returned the compliment. I was afraid
they would take offense at George's leveling his field glass
at them. Two of the young men more brave or more cur-
ious than the rest came flying down on their ponies to get
a better look at us, and stationed themselves just behind
the carriage where I sat reading, and there sat as immov-
able as statues, peering out through their long black hair
dragged over their faces in a most uncomfortable looking
manner. It seemed an age before their curiosity was suf-
ficiently gratified to take their departure. . . . We camped
not far this side of Piedmont as the boys took the wrong
road through a canon towards Fort Bridger. It was after
dark before George got them back. They camp on the
other side of the railroad track. It is lonesome to be sep-
arated in so wild looking a place.
Thursday, August 3rd

George was off after the horses before we were awake;
found them beyond the noon camp. They must have
worked hard to get there, fettered as they were. I saw a
badger this morning; the ground is perforated with their
homes, but its [sic] seldom one is seen. ... A little farther
on we came upon quite a colony of Washington Territory
emigrants. . . . Three of the men came out to visit
George. . . .
Friday, August 4th

We walked a couple of miles in the bed of a dry river.
Old Major followed along to protect us. Poor old Maj. was
fired at twice yesterday from a passing train. We made
purchases of dry goods and groceries at Carter, a town of a
little more importance than the two preceeding [sic] ones.
. . . We camp to-night on a plateau above Carter.
Saturday, August 5th

Wolves serenaded us, or rather the sheep, last night. . . .
We had our first rain since leaving Beartown. The fly
stretching from the top of the carriage to the wagon is
made of thick cloth; water runs off as from a roof. We
caught it in pans for dish washing. . . . We passed Church
Buttes this afternoon. They are the most wonderful for-
mations of rock and sand. They represent my ideal of old

32 ANNALS OF WYOMING

country architecture; churches and castles with dormor
[sic] and bay windows, French roofs, projecting cornices,
and deep entrances. The Saints when passing through here
on their way to the promised land found the designs for
their tabernacle, I feel sure; for it is a perfect copy of one
of these architectural mountains. . . . We had baking powder
pancakes for supper, not a success, digestible as leather.
Sunday, August 6th

It hasn't seemed at all like the sabbath. We camped on
Ham's Fork tonight. We had a good deal of excitement
and hard work for the men. About forty sheep rushed into
the river to drink, and couldn't pull themselves out of the
mud. John and Willie had to wade in up to their waists, tie
a rope around the necks of the sheep, and George and Ora
pull them up the bank. It was very dark, the wind blow-
ing terribly. One of us held the lantern, while the others
kept the sheep back from rushing in after their brethren.
It was dreadful at first to hear their cries for help, but when
we found that they didn't drown easily, we could look on
with a great deal of interest and some amusement . . .
Monday, August 7th

. . . Such a storm of wind and rain came on soon after
starting that we were obliged to stop for shelter behind the
butte; heaviest thunder we have heard since we left home,
but it was soon over. Riding in the rain and standing in my
thin slippers on the cold ground last night has given me an
old fashioned bones-ache. Em dont [sic] feel well either.
We camp on Blacks Fork. These Forks are so attractive
that I look for an Indian camp. They always find the
pleasant places ; have an instinct for the beautiful in nature.
Tuesday, August 8th

A coyote killed a lamb last night. They are such sneaks.
I felt some better this morning, not as well at noon, but
better again tonight. Em is feeling very miserable to-night.
We met a wagon train of men going to work on the Oregon
short line, grading near Granger, a thriving western town
of a saloon, depot, and a dwelling house or two. George
was here last year at the birth and christening of the new
town. It was baptized in beer. A barrel of beer or whiskey
is the cornerstone of these far western towns. . . .
Wednesday, August 9th

. . . George concluded as he would have to go a day or
two in advance to make preparations for ferrying across
Green River, it would be well to take the sick along and find
something we could eat. Ora took cold at Hams Fork and
has been running down ever since until he is added to the
sick list. We rode 24 miles, and camp on an island back of
the town. Ora dined at a restaurant; we other invalids

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 33

took ours a la picnic. George brought us all the delicacies
of the season, strawberry pie, peaches, plums, white grapes,
tomatoes, lemons, hot tea, roast beef hot, bologna, and the
best bread we have tasted since we left Illinois. . . . We have
neighbors at the other end of the island, a family going to
Washington Territory. They know how to keep nous? on
the road. They wash, bake, and brew; really make emp-
tings and bake bread. We borrowed a kettle and some flour
to make porridge for Em to-night, as we left all our camp
equipage behind. . . . We have crossed over to the mainland.
Em thought at first that she hadn't courage to ride through
the river; would walk over the railroad bridge. I told her
I had more nerve for the ford than the bridge. The car-
riage is high and heavy which makes it safer, but it swayed
about some going through the deepest places. . . . We can
consider ourselves in the suburbs of Green River City. ... I
haven't learned the population yet. It couldn't be a very
large town shut in as it is between the river and the loveliest
range of Buttes since Church Buttes but entirely different,
soft colors. It is a narrow valley with car shops, court-
house, and a few stores. . . .
Saturday, August 12th

Mr. Smith appeared unexpectedly before breakfast. We
didn't know that he was anywhere near us. He surprised
us the same way at Evanston. He stayed to help get the
sheep across, but they didn't succeed after shouting and
jumping all day. George hired a boy to tie his pet lamb on
the opposite shore as a decoy. The lad is .quite sharp at a
bargain. He demanded a $1.25 for his -services, when of
course he would rather pay something than not to see the
show.
Sunday, August 13th

. . . They are trying the sheep again if it is the sabbath.
It is a case of necessity. The poor things will starve on
that side of the river among the rocks. George ferried last
year, but the ferryman is absent; dont [sic] feel that he is
needed now that the river is low enough to be forded. The
idea of a city without a bridge over its river! I suppose
it wouldn't be used enough to pay as there is no one living
west of here, east either for that matter. It is a city with
no suburbs and no surrounding farming country. We have
one flock of 4,000 on the island; will be guarded there to-
night.
Monday, August 14th

. . . There was great rejoycing [sic] when the last sheep
landed on this side ; only lost six. They sailed over as quiet
as lambs when they made up their minds to come. The
boys started with them this afternoon. We had a good deal

34 ANNALS OF WYOMING

of anxiety about Willie to-night. About noon he went in
search of the horses that had strayed off over the moun-
tains. At dark we thought it was time he was home if he
wasn't lost. He had no overcoat, and the nights are like
late fall, but about nine o'clock we heard a voice call from
over the river that sounded familiar. George went with the
lantern and piloted him and all the horses over. Now we
can go to bed and sleep in peace. I think of poor Martha
when danger threatens Willie.
Tuesday, August 15th

We rode to the city to buy eatables for a long campaign.
Chinamen were delivering green corn, squashes, and other
vegetables from house to house; probably from Nebraska.
They carried their vegetables in long square pails suspended
from each end of a long pole, and their peculiar teter Lsic]
give the pails a motion that makes them easier carried. . . .
We broke up housekeeping and were on the road again by
noon. We shall be out of sight of the railroad until we
reach Laramie, 280 miles. A bird rode on the lines quite a
distance, good omen. We passed the shepherds and their
flocks; traveled 20 miles and put up at Brown's ranch. We
get good pastures. ... A ranchman drove into the yard as
we did; had been to Green River City for the necessaries,
whiskey included. He treated George and sent a glass of
the beverage to the ladies. He must have wondered where
we learned our manners to refuse so kind an offer.
Wednesday, August 16th

. . . The sheep have been without water for two days;
they made a raid on the pasture spring for which George
had to pay 10 dollars and $2.50 for horse feed, rather ex-
pensive camping place. The young man carried out his
father's orders not to let any droves to the spring in his
absence with great thoroughness, the right age to feel the
importance of his responsibility. . . .
Thursday, August 17th

We took dinner not far from a large cattle ranch. There
were two houses within sight of each other, rare sight. We
saw large flocks of sage hens. Ora met his Green River
landlord out hunting. A young man called to inquire if we
had seen his hunting companions. He got lost and was
alone all night. We sent him in the direction of a wagon
load of sportsmen that we met hunting deer. This after-
noon I had a chat with a barefooted German lady walking
with her two grandchildren. She asked a great many ques-
tions about the road back to Green River. She said they
should have to stop there, "to earn money to buy grub."
They must have courage or want of prudence to start out
so destitute. They had two teams ; one horse had given out,

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 35

and one of the men was taking his place. We camp on the
pretty water to-night that the old lady seemed so delighted
to tell me about ; have our soap stones as we do in the win-
ter at home. . . .
Friday, August 18th

. . . We bought a quarter of venison at a ranch. They
have more than they can dispose of here. In winter deer
come in herds and look down upon them from the mountain
just back and above their shanty, so the proprietor told
Mary and I [sic J. . . . He says that they can't help making
money raising stock, for it costs nothing to raise it; but
once in 10 years have had a bad winter that kills it all off.
He looks like an honest man, but has two Villianous [sic]
looking partners; and as one of the horses slipped out of
sight and all the searching didn't find it perhaps they found
it. They were willing to give George an old broken down
hog-backed horse on the chance of finding it. George
thought it the best thing he could do, for he was told that it
wasn't safe to follow lost horses very far into the moun-
tains. Men who follow that business are necessarily des-
perate characters, for they know that lynch is the law for
horse stealing in this unprotected country . . .
Saturday, August 19th

We met a long line of emigration. . . .
Sunday, August 20th

. . . Grace celebrated her 21st birthday riding in the rain ;
steadiest drizzle we have had on the trip. . . . We camp to-
night in the shadow of another of nature's wonders, more
architecture. There are huge piles of slaty rocks of every
color from black to white with openings here and there for
wild animals to burrow. Deer make their homes here ; sup-
pose that is why it is called Antelope Springs. Two or three
men have started a ranch here and have a boarder, a geol-
ogist, collecting specimens for Yale College. There is a
good field of labor here. I wish he could examine our speci-
mens and see if they are of any value. Two young men
driving sheep came to inquire about the roads to Cheyenne.
They have 3,500 in their flock; lost 2,000 last winter in
California.
Monday, August 21st

The boys took the wrong road and while waiting for
George to find them, Em and I had a good time searching
the sand hills. There is where we find the best agates. I
found some of the best specimens yet, they all say, but may
not be as valuable as some of the rougher ones. One piece
looks like Cornelian, others like grained wood. . . . We
crossed Bitter Creek and pitched our tent opposite the

36 ANNALS OF WYOMING

ruins of an old stage stand tavern on the California trail.
John is having his time feeling sick.
Tuesday, August 22nd

I made a pencil sketch of the stage stand, and rode over
on Billy to get a better view of it. There are two ; one for
men the other for horses. There is an old dry well nearby.
The patent medicine spirit has reached this far off land.
St. Jacob's Oil decorates the walls of the old ruin. Water
in this creek makes strong suds. They take the horses back
two miles; dare not give them so much alkali to drink . . .
We met emigrants who told us we should have to drive 15
miles to find water. We took all the horses that could be
spared and tried to drive through before bed time, but had
to stop 5 miles short. . . .
Wednesday, August 23rd

. . . The boys had a great time getting the sheep through
ravines and grease wood. . . . We had another scare about
Willie. He and Ora went to take the horses out for feed,
and he didn't come back. They went to the Poage camp;
he hadn't been there. Then the fear was that he had fallen
into a gully and had been killed. George and John started
out in different directions; fired their revolvers, but he
didn't hear any of the tumult. In due time he walked into
camp as unconscious of all the excitement he had created
as could be . . .
Thursday, August 24th

. . . We overtook a Mr. Taylor,18 a sheep man, with 3,800
California sheep. George wants some of them bad [sic].
He tried his reasoning and persuading powers on him, but
to no effect, as he is a Scotchman and knows what he wants
to do. . . . Cove oysters for supper.
Friday, August 25th

Boys came in about nine with the sheep. Mr. Taylor
camped near; could hear him shoot wolves in the night. He
came and visited George while he ate breakfast. We weren't
up yet. . . . Mary and Willie killed a snake, the first they had
seen. Pepper soup for supper. Beautiful moonlight night.
Saturday, August 26th

It is clear and cool as usual. We mended our straw beds
. . . Mr. Poage stopped and had a chat with George about
Oswego. Folks must seem somewhat different to George
from last year's trip with no one to speak to that he had

18. In a letter to the editor Edward N. Wentworth suggests that
it is highly probable that this Mr. Taylor was the Robert Taylor who
". . . strove more than any other single man, by personal precept and
practice, to increase the numbers and quality of Wyoming sheep."
Edward N. Wentworth, op. cit., pp. 327 ff. and 619-20.

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 37

ever known before. We camped near Liscoe's ranch, 25
miles from Rawlins, which town is on the railroad. He
keeps a variety store; most important commodities, whis-
key and cigars. . . . Mr. Taylor told Em today that she
could have found fossils at Barrel and Antelope Springs.
He found some and also made the acquaintance of Mr.
Smith, the geologist. We are full of regret that we didn't
know more while there. Mr. Liscoe dropped in while we were
at supper in the tent. He seems to admire our domestic
arrangements. We bought some nice venison of him, also
milk for our mush, and a plenty of other eatables to refill
our empty store room. . . .
Sunday, August 27th

Sent mail to Rawlins. This is a four corners. There is a
great deal of travel through here by government trains
going west to the fort. George sold hog-back to Mr. Liscoe
for 22 Y> dollars, a lamb for half box cigars. . . . Our drive
or rather walk, for Mary and I walked nearly all the way
that afternoon, lay between two high mountains . . . We
called on the Poage family; met with a friendly reception.
We were seated in the dining room on a couple of spare
pails. Mr. Poage was making preparations to do the family
washing, regardless of the day. Evidently he believes that
cleanliness is next to Godliness, only reversed. . . .
Monday, August 28th

We have had the most dissagreeable Lsic] rainy night we
have had yet. I mention all of the storms because they are
the exception. I have undergone a great deal of suffering
of body and mind to-day. Mary was taken with pain in
her bowels last night. I thought perhaps she had taken
cold getting wet and it would wear off after riding and
warming up in the middle of the day, but she gradually
grew worse. When we stopped at noon, I got out the med-
icines, charcoal, slippery elm, and brandy. By that time we
had made up our minds that she had been poisoned by
drinking too freely of the copperas sulphur water. Em and
I drank it, but only as a medicine. She took it for thirst
and drank all she wanted. It was like cholera. I held her
hands or tried to during her paroxysms of pain, but every-
thing turned so dark, was almost paralized [sic]. Grace
had to hold me and John tend Mary. She grew worse so
fast that I was scared out of fainting. John, Willie, Grace,
and I worked for dear life, for a dear life, and saved it, by
Divine permission. Believers in especial providences would
say that it was in answer to the prayers in our hearts, but
I can't think that the result would have been the same if we
had sat down and trusted entirely to the prayers. It is
faith and works, my creed. ... A large company of emi-

38 ANNALS OF WYOMING

grants camped near. They were the best equipped for
travelling of any that we have seen yet ; had rocking chairs,
and a woman was kneading bread on a real moulding board.
The men were starting out with their guns.
Tuesday, August 29th

Mary is nearly as well as ever again. Her cup of cold
poison was a powerful medicine. We all examined a beaver
dam, and took away relics in the shape of sticks sawed by
their teeth. Before noon George pointed out Elk Mountain.
We should have taken it for thunderheads. As we jour-
neyed on, it gradually assumed the appearance of a moun-
tain, and by night was an unmistakable mountain, reflecting
all the beautiful colors of the clouds at sunset . . .
Wednesday, August 30th

We reached the Platte before noon, and such a lovely
picture lay before us as we rode down the long hill, we
thought of the parks in Chicago with the addition of a va-
riety of grand rocks. We ford two channels to get to the
mainland. We liked the island best, but it was reserved for
the last band of sheep as Mr. Taylor calls a flock. . . . They
could only get one flock over. The boys are in high spirits
after standing in cold water three or four hours. It would
take something worse than water to dampen such an excess
of spirits as they are blessed with most of the time. They
are the three best natured boys in the world. This whole-
some air gives them unbounded appetites, and I am not
far behind, for I think I never relished a dinner better in my
life. ... I can imagine Indians skulking around the project-
ing rocks, and peering down from above, since Em and
Willie think they have found one of their battlefields. They
have found bullets, arrowheads, fragments of clothing,
little shoes, and bones . . .
Thursday, August 31st

I opened my eyes this morning with a thankful heart that
we are mercifully preserved through the silent watches of
the night. The morning hymn that Ma19 taught us when
children seems appropriate, "Lord I thank Thee that the
night in peace hath passed away, and I can see by thy fair
light, my Father's smile that makes it day." It would
hardly seem appropriate to one unfamiliar with the sounds
that assailed my waking ears. The gentle shepherds were
persuading the last flock across the river. It seemed to
require all the eloquence of a war dance. John and Mr.
Poage seemed in danger of dislocating their limbs with their
gymnastics. The sheep would start in all right; get about
so far when all at once the leader would make up his mind

19. Orythea (Shaw) Bent, wife of Silas Proctor Bent.

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 39

that he didn't believe in coercion, make a sudden and unex-
pected turn and rush back up the bank again with all his
followers at his heels, sheep fashion. 32,000 little hoofs
scampering over the rocky river bottom with an accompani-
ment of frantic yells from men and dogs would be rather
startling to unaccustomed ears, but to mine was sweet
music, the soothing assurance that a thoroughly live spirit
still inhabited the body. I suppose I am unnecessarily
fidgety and fanciful, but I can't help thinking of the nu-
merous masacres Lsic] scattered over this land, and not so
long ago either, and that we are a small and helpless band.
Of course the government is supposed to protect with its
forts the people passing through, but at the same time al-
lows a liberal supply of whiskey and firearms. A civilized
drunkard is bad enough, but the noble red man is said to be
a demon under the influence of liquor. . . .

Friday, September 1st

My birthday, a 49'er on the old California Trail. George
lacked a year of being a California 49'er. I can scarcely
realize my abundant years in this rejuvenating atmosphere
without the aid of a glass. It's a comfort to have a season
of rest from, "seeing ourselves as others see us." George
has had a long ride after the horses; they were off in
search of water. . . . We saw a herd of elk in the distance.
Took dinner near Pass Creek. . . . Last night Elk Mountain
was east of us, and to-night, west of us. We camp near
Goat Mountain; not as grand but more interesting than
neighbor Elk. . . . We were told by a man near here that
there is a lake at the summit where goats and mountain
sheep come to swim. ... A man told George that he had a
young cow killed last night by a panther or mountain lyon
[sic] they call them. . . . My mind runs on rattlesnakes as
we camp on a creek by that name; crossed it four tim?s
to-day.

Saturday, September 2nd

We replenished our stock of provisions at Fort Halleck.
We had canned green corn for dinner, as good as fresh.
Grace had quite a visit with the ladies . . . They told Grace
about the bloody lake tragedy, a peaceful looking body of
water glistening in the sunlight only a little way from here.
Four men were killed by Indians; two escaped by hiding
behind the rocks. I should think there had been a battle
here by the size of the burying ground almost opposite
their house. I counted 50 graves with no town for a hun-
dred miles I suppose. There is only one house in sight;
neighbors are about 30 miles apart . . .

40 ANNALS OF WYOMING

v Sunday, September 3rd

Passed the night at Medicine Bow. Willie played his
violin. It echoed through the grove nearby delightfully.
Wish we could persuade him to play oftener. We were a
cozy family around the big camp fire made of logs. It is a
rare thing to find timber to camp near. Mary and I gath-
ered black currants to mix with our service berries, as
Liscoe calls them; makes the best sauce, one so sweet and
the other so sour. . . . Took our weekly bath. The carriage
makes a good bath room. We can put the curtains down
tight. . . . The boys use the covered wagon for their dressing
, room. We met more emigrants. A .
| Monday, September 4th

... A long train of travellers for Washington Territory
halted near our camp, and two loquacious members of the
party made themselves very obnoxious to George by per-
sisting in their endeavors to have a good visit while we were
eating dinner, but the boys enjoyed it. One of them was the
experienced traveller. . . .

Tuesday, September 5th

We saw an antelope and a band of 20,000 sheep. Crossed
Cooper Creek. We are on Laramie Plains; can see smoke
from the city 30 miles away. . . . We haven't seen sage brush
for two days; have to gather anything we can find for fuel
as we drive along. Dined near where they are getting out
railroad ties brought from the pine woods on the mountains.
There is quite a settlement. George went over and bought
some apples. To-night we camp near an emigrant commun-
ity; children up on the highest hills, singing, happy as larks.
There is a sheep corral close by. . A
Wednesday, September 6th

We had our nooning20 on the Little Laramie. It is a
pleasant valley, and there is quite a little town scattered
along the river. There is a better class of houses than we
[have] seen for weeks. Some are framed and painted
homes. It seems to be a valuable grass region. Reapers
are going in every direction. Illinoisans wouldn't waste
time cutting it, but it is worth cutting here at 40 dollars a
ton. A man at Fort Halleck sold 12,000 dollars worth this
year. . . . We had great difficulty getting sheep through wire
fenced lanes. We are beginning to meet the obstructions of
civilization. Little Larimie [sic] is 20 miles from Laramie
City. )

20. In the parlance of sheep trailing, the day stop was known as
"nooning" and the night stop as "bedding down." Wentworth, op. cit.,
p. 272.

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 41

Thursday, September 7th

We have accomplished our 280 miles from Green River
in one month. Larimie [sic] is much more of a city than
G.R., but not as interesting in regard to scenery because
more familiar and common. . . . We drove through the city
just before dusk, stopping at grocery's [sic] to replenish.
We camp halfway between the city and Fort Sanders. Oys-
ters for supper. )

Friday, September 8th

. . We shall be off the line of the R.R. again; shall take
a cross cut to Cheyenne instead of going around by Sher-
man. We have been discussing the question when and
where to take the cars for Denver. George had decided it
should be here, but has learned that we can get excursion
tickets at Cheyenne. We are all very glad for we shall have
a longer ride through the mountains. ... A wolf took a nice
lamb in broad day light; must be very hungry to be so
old. . .).

Monday, September 11th

Were up and stirring this morning for our 20 mile ride.
Mary made a ginger cake last night for our lunch. The men
will have to do their own house-keeping for a while. John
is our escort. . . . Reached Cheyenne a little after noon.
Ride seemed short, perfect roads. Passed through Fort
D. H. Russel [sic] ; stopped to see them drill. We are at
the Interocean, good accommodations. ... It is a little over
two months since we have slept under a roof; seems close
and warm.

Tuesday, September 12th

. . . We left Cheyenne between one and two ; cars crowded.
. . . Denver strikes me as a bustling old city; doesn't seem
a bit new. We stop at the Hotel Brunswick; dollar a day
for room; meals on the European plan. . . .

Wednesday, September 13th

Spent to-day at the mineral exposition, exhibition not
confined to minerals. . . .

Friday, September 15th

Well we have seen the great mining city and realized all
our expectations of a good time . . . We stop at the Dyer
house to-night; reached C. [Cheyenne] about noon. All
but John were in favor of moving on after dinner. He says
there is nothing but section houses ; no place to put up for
the night, so we decide to start early in the morning. I have
one of my old ague headaches for the first time this sum-
mer; don't know how I'll ever be able to live in doors
again. . . .

42 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Saturday, September 16th

... 50 miles of travel to-day. Didn't find our folks until
after dark ; am glad to find them all alive after what I read
in a paper I picked up in the cars coming up from Denver,
that Indians were making a raid up through western Ne-
braska, and troops had been sent for. Pine Bluffs is the
last town in Wyoming, and we are 6 miles this side in the
states. . . . We are coming into the rattlesnake and prairie
dog region ; shall miss our pleasant mountain walks with no
fear of snakes before us. . . .
Sunday, September 17th

It is not so unpleasant to get back to camp life again if
all the dish cloths and kettles are black with the smoke of
pitch pine that they have been burning in our absence. We
can scrub it off. . . . Lovely hazy atmosphere this morning;
can think of nothing but cornfields, ripe pumpkins, and or-
chards; but its [sic] only a fancy, for we are 250 miles from
such luxuries. Saw more of agriculture between Cheyenne
and Denver than anywhere this side of eastern Neb. We
passed Marshall. It will be depot and section house alter-
nately until we take the cars at G. I. [ Grand Island, Ne-
braska].
Tuesday, September 19th

, . . We are near Potter, 437 miles from Omaha. . . .
Wednesday, September 20th

... A woman at a section house brought out some pota-
toes to show us what could be raised on their ranch. They
were very large. The farm must be somewhere on a stream.
They irrigate of course. There is nothing growing near the
house. They have a large flock of chickens. It was quite
delightful to sit in the carriage and look into their open
door and see them set their table for supper with a cloth
and white dishes. We commenced our housekeeping with
table cloths and napkins at Evanston, but soon learned that
the less washing we had to do in alkali water the better.
Thursday, September 21st

We added to our stock of provisions at Sydney, quite an
important town, saloons and billiard halls by the dozen.
There is a road leading to Black Hills from here. . . . Ora
has made a change in his wardrobe. We saw evidence of it
as we rode past a clothing store; recognized familiar gar-
ments on the walk back of the store. It is a tidy way of
disposing of cast off clothing; very off-hand and western.
We passed through Camp Clark.
Friday, September 22nd

We left a poor sheep dying from the bite of a rattlesnake.
F. Albee gave Mary a rattle he took from one yesterday.
. . We bought a gallon of milk of a thrifty Irish woman at

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 43

a section house. She only charged 80 cts. George gave her
a few pounds of tallow, and she threw off 10 cts on the
milk. . . .
Saturday, September 23rd

Wolves almost came into camp last night. Men and dogs
gave chase. George fired at them twice, but they kept up
their music all night, bursting out unexpectedly here and
there. This forenoon we stopped the carriage three times
for George to whip the life out of two rattlers and one blue
racer. The boys killed 7. We stopped at Chappel depot.
A woman gave us a gallon of milk. People are not all alike
in this country any more than in other places. We had ham
and eggs and musk and watermelon for dinner. Passed
Lodge Pole Station. . . .
Sunday, September 24th

Mary and I took our morning walk with much care and
trepidation over the burnt grass as the safest place to walk.
We passed over another Indian battlefield, Julesburg. It
looks as tho it had had its death blow. George says Denver
Junction a little farther on killed it. We didn't see a live
being but an old hen. She told us that the town wasn't
quite deserted. This has been the warmest day of the sea-
son. Mary and I were in Boston a year ago now, which was
their hottest weather.
Monday, September 25th

We took our dinner a mile this side of Denver Junction.
Lee and Bluet [Blewett]21 were shipping sheep near the
depot. . . . We are in Colorado again for a few hours. We
have left Lodge Pole for good, and shall follow the Platte
all the way to Grand Island, over 200 miles. We stopped at
a horse ranch for water. We knew that a woman lived
there; it was so cozy. There were lots of chickens, house
plants, curtains and vines at the windows; but when we
found that the housekeeper was a young man, pride in our
sagacity took a drop. Wind blows a gale to-night, but
warm.

Tuesday, September 26th

The wind blew all day yesterday and all night and so hard
today that it is like a desert sandstorm on the dry bed of
the Platte. The river is very broad and shallow here and
dry in places. We had the greatest difficulty getting and

21. "Lee and Blewett were originally railroad contractors, but
became the largest early firm to operate from the east in California,
Oregon, and Washington. Their eastern headquarters were in Fre-
mont, Nebraska, where they both fed and traded in trail sheep. They
are estimated to have handled over a half million sheep between 1871
and 1887." Quotation from Wentworth, op. cit., p. 277.

44 ANNALS OF WYOMING

eating our dinner; extracted a good deal of fun out of our
difficulty. A man hurried down from the railroad to warn
us about fire. George told him he should be likely to be
careful as he had 8,000 head of sheep to risk. He went
away satisfied. We stopped at a ranch for water, thres
houses and no family, all men. We camp behind a snow
fence for shelter. There is a special train on the track with
men to make the fences secure for the winter. I wouldn't
believe they could be such a protection against the wind.
Wednesday, September 27th

. . . We are all agitating the question whether to go or
not to go to Grand Island with George. John wants us to
go; is afraid of the responsibility of caring for us through
a hard storm, if we have any. "His sister, his mother, and
his aunts" vote against it. I guess it is carried, for we don't
hear any more about it . . .
Thursday, September 28th

It is cool and bright. We stopped for eatables and horse
shoeing at Ogallala. . . . We overtook the first emigrants
that we have seen going our way. . . .
Friday, September 29th

The boys drove the sheep across the Platte for water;
nearly foundered them on the burnt stubble. Indians set
fires and tore up the track along here when they passed
through. They say it is their country. George left for
Grand Island to-night to see what prospect there is for
wintering his sheep there.
Saturday, September 30th

. . . We realize that we are in a land of dew and dampness ;
miss our good dry morning walks, but we walk never-the-
less and keep a sharp lookout for rattlesnakes. The eye
that was devoted to mountains in Utah and Wyoming is
needed for snakes in Neb. . . . We passed Alkali and camped
near a cattle ranch ; pretty place with two houses, occupied
by rough, swearing men.
Sunday, October 1st

. . . We are past O'Fallons, 154 miles from Grand Island.
The sheep are getting very lame ; many of them are on their
knees most of the time. Ora says its [sic] because it is
Sunday.
Monday, October 2nd

. . . We have come to our first country schoolhouse with
the exception of the one in Hoytsville since we left home.
It was so natural to see the children rush towards the
schoolhouse when the bell rang. Close by is a farmhouse
where we bought butter and milk. We can say farm now
instead of ranch for they have a cornfield and trees growing
around the house. . . .

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 45

Tuesday, October 3rd

We drove into North Platte City and had our dinner on
the common, just this side of the home of Buffalo Bill. . . .
This is the best looking town this side of Cheyenne. . . . We
had to wait 5 or 6 hours for the sheep to be driven over and
through the Platte. The railroad bridge is half a mile long
and is used for carriages as well as cars, an arrangement
I never heard of before. A train had to wait for our sheep.
This is the junction of the North and South Platte, and is
quite picturesque with islands and bluffs. George came
from Grand Island this morning ; has arranged to dip sheep
at Kearney. . . . Em bought a cake to give John a little fes-
tival on the eve of his departure for California. He is going
for more sheep ; will bring them by rail. . . .
Wednesday, October 4th

. . . We picked up a tired lamb that had dropped out of
the flock; gave it a ride and saved it from the wolves. . . .
Thursday, October 5th

. . . We passed through Maxwell ; not much farming yet,
but a great deal of hay put up. There were two steam hay
presses in sight should think Neb. could supply the world
with hay. . . . We left our lamb with a York State man from
Cayugua [sic] Co. ... He wants to sell his ranch, for he
can't get his boys interested in sheep farming, all of which
he told us with the easy familiarity of an old neighbor. We
had no doubt about his being Yankee from his lively desire
to ask questions and be generally communicative. He didn't
seem at all startled at our attractive appearance. He must
have taken Mary and I for twins, with the same lop over
the left eye in our respective sunbonnets. It is very con-
venient in a trip of this kind to be independent of much
dress, but it isn't always so easy to be indifferent when gen-
tlemen walk or ride up to the carriage to have a little talk
with George, and who are probably more familiar with good
manners and fine dress than we are, and have come west
to make their fortunes because it can be done so much
quicker and easier than in the older states. We sometimes
fancy like the ostrich that we are escaping notice by keep-
ing our heads back out of sight, but the instinctive polite-
ness of the gentlemen won't excuse them from a few words
of salutation to the ladies. "Well ladies, how do you enjoy
travelling so far from civilization." It is quite a wonder
why they associate us with civilized life; perhaps it is the
carriage. If we were only as respectable as the emigrant
ladies with their best hats, all flowers and ribbons, tidy
dresses, and light colored aprons. We thought it would be a
fine opportunity to wear out our old clothes. We bought
some cotton dusters to cover the shabbiness, but they soon

46 ANNALS OF WYOMING

looked worse than the dresses. Our way of washing doesn't
take out grease spots. We have some of a better quality
under the carriage seat with our hats, where we keep our
second best to slip on when we come to towns. Our finery
for state occasions is packed away in a large trunk in Mr.
Poage's wagon. Grace looks well in her riding habit on
horseback, and attracts a good deal of attention from pas-
sengers going through on the U.P. They seem to wonder
where she dropped from. . . .
Friday, October 6th

. . . Our neighbor came this morning and took 70 lame
sheep ; paid from 1 to 1 \\ dollars each. It seems a pity to
give them away when a few days rest would make them all
right again. . . . We passed through Bradys Island; met
two emigrant wagons; wonder where they can be going so
late in the season. . . . Apple dumplings for dinner.
Saturday, October 7th

George sold 300 more sheep. Had ham and eggs, turnips,
potatoes, and minute pudding with cherries for dinner. I
give our bill of fare when other items of interest fail. . . .
Sunday, October 8th

We had our first frost last night since we lsft the moun-
tains. . . . The air is filled with sand hill cranes and wild
geese ; have come to prairie chickens. We saw a blue racer
and a monster dead snake. We had dinner near Willow
Island depot. Three sheep men dined with us, and three
others stood around and looked wishful. One of them was
so partial to stew that I was afraid he would injure him-
self. ...
Monday, October 9th

George bought provisions at a station called Gould,
named for the Rail Road King. It is a pity he couldn't in-
fuse some of his life and enterprise into his namesake. It is
the deadest kind of a town. We saw a house propped up to
keep it from falling. The sand foundation was being car-
ried off by the wind. Evidently the owner hasn't read his
bible with care. . . .
Tuesday, October 10th

It rained all night. We didn't get started until near noon.
We camp to-night a little east of Plum Creek, the last town
I hope made famous by an Indian massacre. The little town
looks very innocent and peaceful planted out on the prairie
with not a tree for shelter. . . .
Thursday, October 12th

We had dinner near Overton, a town of no particular
interest. There are farmhouses of sod; some of them look
quite like houses with painted doors, curtains at the win-
dows, house plants, and occasionally a flower garden. One

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 47

of the settlers, formerly from Bloomington, Illinois visiting
us this evening, told of two young men that were burned to
death in a prairie fire across the Platte opposite here. We
have noticed nearly all the way that the ground looks black
and burned over there. This side is more liable to fires I
should think from sparks from the engines and emigrant
camp fires. George is very careful to burn a place for the
campfire. We can see fires in every direction, nights.
Friday, October 13th

... It grows more difficult every day now driving sheep
through. . . . The new unfenced farms are on the increase.
. . . We were somewhat fearful that we might have to par-
ticipate in a little unpleasantness to-night when we saw a
man ride down from a farmhouse in great haste while we
were making preparations for the night camp, but didn't
realize our anticipations. Whether it was the mollifying
effect of so much beauty of dress and person among the
ladies, or the "soft word that turneth away wrath" with the
boys, but more likely he had no intention of being dissagre?-
able [sic] if the boys complied with his request that the
sheep be taken about a quarter of a mile back off his range,
as he keeps sheep and has just dipped them and didn't like
to run any risk of disease from contagion. The boys
showed such a readiness to respect, his rights that I think
he was just a little suspicious that they would do as they
like about it when he was out of sight. In the evening he
came down with another man, perhaps to enforce his re-
quest if necessary, but finding it all satisfactory staid [sic]
awhile for a visit with George. I can hear them holding
sweet converse while I am trying to scribble in my diary
by the light of the lantern hanging from the ridge pole of
the tent. . . .
Saturday, October 14th

. . . We pitched our tent this noon near a section house on
the banks of a creek. Em, Mary, and Willie did the wash-
ing. It is as warm as summer. There is a strong wind
to-night; prairie fires in all directions. George went to
Kearney to make arrangements for dipping. He brought
a postal from John dated Monday, San Francisco. . . .
Sunday, October 15th

. . . We spread our tent to-day for the last time ; shall be
settled here for a few days, and then take the train at
Kearney for home. We must make the most of the short
time, and give a pleasant finish to our 4 months holiday.
This is one of the most pleasant and sightly locations we
have found in Nebraska, and doesn't seem a bit snaky as it
did when we camped yesterday. We are among farms with
their new made groves. We passed through a grove of good

4S ANNALS OF WYOMING

sized trees. We are on quite an elevation; look down upon
Kearney two miles east. It makes a pretty picture with its
church spires gilded by the setting sun. and the old Platte
about the same distance to the south looks grand by moon-
light, a line of silver stretching for miles and miles across
the country east and west as far as the eye can reach. . . .
The boys felt so settled and at home here in the tent to-
night that they thought they would have a game of euchre,
but the cards dropped out of sight very sudden [sic] when
they were reminded of the day of the week. Its [sic] no
wonder they should occasionally forget as there is the same
routine for each day. and every day is more or less a day of
rest. We get our three meals, wash dishes, and a long spell
of rest for men and beast in the middle of the day. Then
we take our rides or walks the same as at home on the
sabbath. The sheep have the same privilege of eating and
walking but combine the two. ... It was quite a study to
arrange for meals when we first set out. We commenced
with five meals a day, breakfast middle of the forenoon,
then dinner at noon, and a meal or two after that. The
boys did not object to such a state of things, as they are
always willing to adapt themselves to circumstances when
it takes the shape of extra meals, but we cooks and house-
keepers took a different view of it, and finally it was settled
that George was to arise with the lark or a little before and
start the sheep for their days travel while it was cool. That
would give Ora and John time for another nap and break-
fast which they prepared for themselves, consisting mostly
of crackers and coffee. The rest of the family breakfast
on the European plan, when and how we like. Then our
house and all housekeeping utensils are packed away in
Willie's covered wagon, and we are on the move again. We
overtake and pass the boys early enough to get settled and
dinner ready for the time they have driven their allotted
number of miles which is from 4 to 6. We are a united
family for the noonday meal, and which is the time for rest
and recreation and more or less sleep, and for Grace to
revel in her scrubbing and scouring. The tin plates get an
extra polish, the cupboard washed and regulated, and all
dish and wiping cloths thoroughly washed and dried. Our
supper and last meal for the day is usually taken in the tent
by lantern light unless it is pleasanter outside. We come to
a halt before dark, but it takes time and considerable dis-
cussion to decide on a location. George decides in favor of
good feed for horses and sheep, and we for our own com-
fort; but the animals generally carry the day, for we
couldn't see them deprived of their greatest enjoyment, eat-
ing. The tent has to be put up, and water brought if near a

LEVAXCIA BENT'S DIARY 49

stream. If not, cur supply comes from the barrel that
must be kept filled from the streams we pass, which are not
numerous and are alkali mostly. We haven*t had much
trouble about fuel. There is plenty of sage brush which is
the best fuel in the mountains with a sprinkling of cedar
and pine. We have been able to find and buy old railroad
ties through Neb. : for a day or two we were reduced to
buffalo chips.
Monday, October 16th

It is beautiful autumn weather. George and Willie were
in town all day; brought home some of the largest apples
and a sack of tomatoes. We had a boiled dinner.
Tuesday, October 17th

. . . There is a good deal of excitement in Kearney over the
murder of three officers by horse thieves whom they were
trving to arrest.22
Thursday, October 19th

Mary and I had the pleasure of Mr. Crawford's company
to dinner, and I had the pleasure of covering with ashes a
pool of tobacco juice left as testimonv of his enjovment. . . .
Friday, October 20th

4 months ago to-day that we left Aurora; expected to be
home again by this time. . . .
Saturday, October 21st

. . . Mr. Poage has broke [sic] up camp, and will stay
with us over Sunday. F. Albee had gone to Grand Island
which means happiness and Lillie. The first breath of Ne-
braska air wafted sweet peace to his yearning breast, and
has been borne on the wings of delightful anticipation ever
since.
Sunday, October 22nd

. . . We cooked our goose and had an old fashioned Sunday
dinner. Nebraska vegetables are excellent, especially pota-
toes and winter squash. Our ten quart pan full of squash
for dinner speaks for itself. Grace made her baking powder
bread into biscuits which with sauce answers for desert
[sic]. She makes it in the bake kettle in one large loaf
when she bakes it over the campfire. It makes a good toast
for breakfast, something we never tried at home. We all
prefer it to baker's bread now. George bought a large sack
of baker's bread in Salt Lake which lasted through Utah.
Then he elected himself bread maker with Grace's assis-
tance as no woman made nicer bread than he did some 30
years ago on the way through to California, but he has lost

22. Horse thieves killed Sheriff Woods. R. R. Kelly and Charles
Collins at Minden, Nebraska. Cheyenne Daily Leader, October IS.
1882. 2:3.

50 ANNALS OF WYOMING

his knack, or more likely, it was the keen appetite of youth
that sweetened the bread of those days. He was very will-
ing to promote Grace from assistant to principal and so
were the rest of us. . . .

Monday, October 23rd

John took us by surprise this morning although we were
looking for him any time now. He enjoyed his trip very
much. He says the scenery that we have enjoyed so much
is tame compared with that that he has passed through,
more especially in Nevada. . . . He was glad to get another
look at the old camping places as he went through. He was
told at Beartown that the graves that we were so curious
to know more about were graves of men killed by Indians.
He saw one of the scalpless survivors. John says that the
mountains are covered with snow, a fall of 12 inches be-
tween Granger and Green River. . . .

Tuesday, October 24th

I had an ague headache all night. Riding in the hot sun
by the river yesterday I suppose caused it. I believe any
low sluggish stream will breed ague. I am taking the por-
trait of the carriage for my plate. While I was at work
two gentlemen came to look at it, and I retired into the
tent. George has just come from town; says they have
bought it to take back to Denver. Mary and I noticed some
men examining it pretty thoroughly last night while we
were promenading the streets waiting for Grace and her
mother, but thought nothing of it as people have shown
an interest in it all the way through, especially after learn-
ing its history. George ought to take it home as a curiosity
. . . [Brigham Young's] family carriage which could seat
from 6 to 8 of his wives comfortably, will be an object of
interest to everyone. It is like parting with a friend, for it
has been so good a home for us all summer. Our dear little
Mormon ladies23 we shall have to leave behind. Billy24
will be sent home in the spring if he isn't stolen. He came
very near it the other night or early morning. Thieves had
cut his rope, but he made some fuss which awoke Mr.
Poage. He shouted which awoke the sleepers generally.
Em answered half asleep, thinking it was John returned;
but it had the effect to scare away the thief. . . .

23. The two white carriage horses bought in Salt Lake City by
George J. Squires when he purchased Brigham Young's carriage.

24. The horse Grace rode on the trip. He was bought at the
tithing office in Salt Lake City with the brand Z. C. (Zion's Cooper-
ative) on his shoulder.

LEVANCIA BENT'S DIARY 51

Wednesday, October 25th

The cold wind from the snow covered mountains has just
reached here. We have been packing all day; shall take the
train in the morning for home, and stop in Iowa to visit
Martha.25 Have finished camp life for this year and per-
haps forever. Didn't suppose we should leave it with so
much regret. . . . Ora will soon be going home. John and
his father will be in town most of the time and full of bus-
iness. They won't think much about it. They have been
used to such trips ever since John was a little boy, but they
never had it quite so comfortable before. We are staying
at the hotel with them tonight to be ready for an early
start. ... A man stopping here has just been giving us the
particulars of the murder of the three sheriffs. He was
with them when they were shot. The wife of one of them, a
Mrs. Woods from Lincoln, was here boarding when it hap-
pened. It is dreadful when we read such things in the
papers, but more dreadful to have all the details from an
eye witness. . . .
Friday, October 27th

We are at Martha's to-night; left Kearney on the 6
o'clock train yesterday. We stopped at Grand Island for
breakfast and Fremont for dinner. . . .

25. Willie's mother, one of the Bent sisters.

Photo by Gibson, Sykes & Fowler, Chicago

MEKRIS CLARK BARROW

("Bill Barlow — The Sagebrush Philosopher")

Merris C. ftarrowt Sagebrush
Philosopher and pur nails t

By
MARGARET PRINE*

PART I

INTRODUCTION

"There is a certain briskness — yea, peculiar busyness, as
it were, about journalism in Wyoming," wrote Merris C.
Barrow in 1887. 1 Newspapers then, as now, were powerful
in the establishment and development of any community.
Often the growth of frontier towns was dependent on the
direction in which the town citizens were led by their news-
paper, which was usually edited by an intelligent and pro-
gressive individual. The journalist of pioneer days in Wyo-
ming was often an energetic, forceful man whose influence
grew as his local news sheet reached out to the wider area
of his territory or state. Wyoming was fortunate in that
this strong force was controlled in early days by men who

* Margaret L. Prine, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. H. A. Bolle, was
born in Chicago, Illinois, and came to Cheyenne with her parents in
1934. Mrs. Prine graduated from the Cheyenne High School in 1940.
From the University of Wyoming she received her B. A. degree in
1943 and her M. A. in 1948. While a student at the University she
was active in numerous campus activities and was a member of
Kappa Kappa Gamma social sorority.

In 1944 she was married to Elmo L. Prine in Pasadena, California.
They are the parents of two sons, and they reside in Laramie, Wyo-
ming, where Mr. Prine is an instructor in the Laramie High School.

While working on her master's degree, Mrs. Prine acted as a
graduate assistant in the English Department, where she has since
taught as a temporary instructor. Her work on M. C. Barrow was
written as her thesis on her M. A. degree.

1. Merris C. Barrow, Bill Barlow's Budget, Vol. II, No. 13, August
13, 1887. The files of the Budget from 1886 to 1905 in bound form
are in the office of the Douglas Budget. These bound volumes have
recently been given to the University of Wyoming and in time will be
housed in its Archives. The bound volumes from 1905 through 1910,
when Barrow died, are available in the Wyoming State Historical
Department at Cheyenne as well as in Douglas. Since all copies are
available in bound form, hereafter in this study quotations from the
Budget will be documented in the text by a roman numeral for the
volume, an arabic numeral for the number of the issue, and the year
when the date is not given in the text.

54 ANNALS OF WYOMING

fought for more than their own glory. It is hard to find
among the early newsmen one who limited his efforts
solely to his own advancement. These "small town pur-
veyors of news" realized that by building up their indi-
vidual communities and by joining with other communities
to try to build a better state their own positions as men of
power and importance would be enhanced. Working for a
larger, greater goal, they were also working, then, for
themselves.

It is not meant to convey the suggestion that prominent
Wyoming newsmen of the late nineteenth century were men
who amassed fortunes. "Those who attained the greatest
fame died without leaving wealth made from their business
to dependents."2 According to one account of early jour-
nalists of the state, not a single newspaper man reached the
$100,000 mark, although a number prospered and some
accumulated a small amount of money.3 One man is said
to have been in debt when he left the state, another died
penniless, still another left his dependents a small compe-
tence made from other sources, and M. C. Barrow, who
"probably made more ready cash out of his newspaper work
than the others, was a spendthrift and left only a small sum
to his heirs."4 The fortune which these men collected, then,
was the fortune of being part of a growing and prosperous
state which they had helped to build.

With the exception of numerous treatments of Bill Nye,
very little has been written about pioneer journalism and
journalists in Wyoming. W. E. Chaplin, an early newsman
himself who worked from the back room to the editor and
owner's desk up front, did some research on early Wyoming
newspapers in 1918. These findings he compiled and pub-
lished in serial form in the Laramie Boomerang. Velma
Linford in her book Wyoming Frontier State, devoted a
chapter to pioneer Wyoming newspapers. Douglas C. Mc-
Murtrie published an article in 1937, entitled "Pioneer
Printing in Wyoming."5

From time to time brief mention has been made in articles
and in books of these men of the press, individually or as a
group, but there are many stories yet to be told. Chaplin
in his series described pioneers of the Wyoming press as
"men of strong character who dignified their profession."6

2. W. E. Chaplin, "Early Wyoming Newspapers," Laramie Repub-
lican, Daily Edition, April 11, 1918, University of Wyoming Archives.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Annals of Wyoming, IX, No. 3, Jan., 1937.

6. "Early Wyoming Newspapers," Laramie Republican, Daily
Edition, April 11, 1918.

MERRIS C. EARROW 55

In another article of this series, Chaplin wrote, "Among
those who ranked high in western journalism and who have
passed on may be mentioned without controversy E. A.
Slack, J. H. Hayford, Bill (Edgar Wilson) Nye, and Merris
C. Barrow."7

M. C. Barrow, who is said to have given "national pol-
itics a vigorous airing in Wyoming's 'refreshing, sage-
scented breezes'," is especially interesting.8 To tell his
story, and hence to show the briskness as well as the power
of early Wyoming journalism, is the purpose of this biog-
raphy.

Merris Barrow, newspaper and magazine editor, was also
a leader in his own community and state and left in his
columns a history of the country in which he had faith —
the sagebrush country of Wyoming. The Sagebrush Phil-
osopher, as he came to be known to people in and out of
Wyoming, was a "fluent writer on many subjects"9 and had
a large and colorful vocabulary. Although sometimes his
attacks were bitter and his demands strong, there was
always a vein of humor for the discerning reader to enjoy.
In Barrow's story can be found an illustration of the role
of the journalist and the influence of the small-town news-
paper in frontier Wyoming.

THE JOURNALIST'S HERITAGE

A considerable portion of the material that can be col-
lected today on Merris Barrow is difficult to authenticate.
Very few of Barrow's own letters and personal papers were
preserved, and his newspaper contemporaries as well as
most of his friends outside the ranks of the press have died.
Available personal recollections, both favorable and unfa-
vorable, have mellowed and ripened perhaps with the years,
making their validity questionable. Part of Barrow's story,
however, can be taken from existing records of organiza-
tions and projects in which he participated and from the
columns of his newspaper contemporaries; furthermore, a
good many biographical facts and much of his personality
can be gleaned from the columns of his own paper.

It is regrettable that some one closer to Barrow and his
time did not collect the journalist's personal papers and
write a memoir of his activities. Such an account is often

7. Ibid.

8. Velma Linford, Wyoming Frontier State (Denver, Colorado:
The Old West Publishing- Co., 1948), p. 291.

9. Chaplin, "Early Wyoming- Newspapers," Laramie Republican,
Daily Edition, April 16, 1918.

56 ANNALS OF WYOMING

prepared by some one in the family ; and, though colored by
commemorative reverence, it is valuable to later genera-
tions because of the contemporary and more intimate nar-
rative of personal experiences and the accurate dates which
it usually includes.

Such a story exists of Robert Clark Barrow, pioneer mis-
sionary and father of Merris Barrow. It was recorded by
another son, Frank, in a biography which may have been
written at the request of the Campbellite church, in which
the father served.1 This book, written shortly after the
older Barrow's death, represents the highly eulogistic type
of biography, but it does include many valuable facts con-
cerning the man that only a member of the family or a very
close associate could know. Since many facts are missing
in the early part of Merris Barrow's story, the biography
of his father offers numerous suggestions concerning the
journalist's home life, early experiences, and possible paren-
tal influence which might have shaped his life. For this
reason, it seems pertinent to include here some details about
the family background and the environment and circum-
stances which surounded Merris Barrow's childhood and
youth.

Robert Clark Barrow was born in Andes, Delaware coun-
ty, New York, on August 18, 1832, when the American
political scene was undergoing a change under the leader-
ship of Andrew Jackson. It was in the "tumultuous thir-
ties" that the New England Renaissance brought fresh con-
fidence in the individual and stirred many men to think of
new adventures for body and mind. R. C. Barrow began
his life when men of the eastern United States were dwell-
ing on "romantic speculation with its humanitarian em-
phasis on the potential excellence of man and the equality
of human rights."2 Born in the East, Robert Barrow was
to move west in thought and action as did many others of
his time ; and moving west, where men were trying to adapt
themselves to the hardships of pioneer life, he with his son,
who ventured even farther, was a part of the movement
which vastly extended American horizons.

Robert Barrow was the third son in a family of five boys
and five girls. His mother had been born in Scotland under
the surname Maxwell, and his father, William Barrow, had

1. Frank Barrow, R. C. Barrow (Lincoln, Nebraska: State Journal
Company Printers, 1892). Facts about R. C. Barrow included in this
discussion have been summarized, unless otherwise noted, from this
book.

2. Vernon Louis Parrington, The Mind of New England, Book
Three, Main Currents in American Thought, II (New York: Harcourt,
Brace and Company, 1930), p. 271.

MERRIS C. BARROW 57

been a native of England. Six years after the birth of
Robert, the Barrow family moved west to Union, Tioga
county, Pennsylvania, where as Robert grew up he assisted
his father in the carpenter trade. Because of this, he, like
many other children of that day, was denied the privilege
of a common school education until he was well into his
teens. From an early age, however, he looked forward to
the time when circumstances would permit him to go to
school. Meanwhile he learned many things at home from
his parents. They probably devoted as much time as they
could spare to teaching him, and some incentive was of-
fered, no doubt, by the few books that were usually found
in the modest homes of that day. This taste of knowledge
made young Robert even more eager to go to school; but
until he was sixteen, he continued to assist his father.

Robert's chance to attend school came in 1848 when his
grandmother wrote from Delaware, New York, that she
would like to have him come and live with her. She prom-
ised to let him stay in her home if he would do the little
amount of work which needed to be done around the house.
Of course, he immediately determined to go, recognizing
this as probably his only chance for any formal schooling.
After a family consultation it was decided that he should
go in the fall. When he left for school in the autumn of
1848, he took with him all his worldly possessions tied in a
handkerchief which had been fastened to the end of a stout
walking stick. With this over his shoulder, his mother's
kiss, and his father's "God-speed," he left his home in
Union, Pennsylvania, for what seemed to him a new and
exciting adventure in Delaware, New York.

Robert Barrow began his studies immediately after his
arrival in Delaware. He paid well for the privilege of three
years of schooling, working during vacations to earn
enough money for his books and clothes and working all
year around for his board and room. These three years in
the home of his grandmother were his only ones spent under
an instructor ; but during the remainder of his life, he con-
tinued to study hard. His eagerness and persistence were
rewarded, for R. C. Barrow came to be known in later years
as a man of great knowledge, even being recognized, accord-
ing to his son Frank, as a fair scholar of Greek and Latin.

After this short period of formal education, he entered
the teaching profession as did many other young men of
that day, unprepared but interested and eager. In Wil-
liamsport, Pennsylvania, where he taught his first classes,
he met Cynthia Harding. They fell in love and later became
engaged, but she became ill and died before they could be
married. "To forget his grief, he [Robert Barrow] wan-

58 ANNALS OF WYOMING

dered about with no particular object in view but to keep
from thinking."3 His wanderings eventually brought him
to Minnesota as a part of an exploring party. Even this
exciting adventure did not hold his interest very long, for
while in that state he left his fellow explorers to return to
teaching school and for several years was the only white
man among the Indians of that area. His son Frank wrote
that during this time Robert Barrow learned the language
of his Indian associates and could converse quite easily with
them in their own tongue when he left.

Eventually he tired of life in Minnesota or gave up trying
to find peace in a nomadic existence, for he returned to his
old home in Union, Pennsylvania. Back with family and
friends, he taught school again and evidently overcame his
grief and began to think once more of marriage. In the
latter part of 1855 in Canton, Pennsylvania, R. C. Barrov/
was married to Helen Harding, a sister of Cynthia who had
died a few years before.

After his marriage he gave up school teaching for what
was, no doubt, a more lucrative position on the Erie rail-
road. With this company in Buffalo, New York, he acted as
baggageman until his health failed him and he was com-
pelled to return to Union.

Probably deciding that outdoor life might help him to
regain his health, he purchased a piece of land and began
farming and clearing timber. He and his wife were very
poor and, like many backwoods farmers of the late fifties,
they lived through entire winters "on nothing more than
corn bread and squash." The Barrows could not even af-
ford to own their own team but had to use one belonging
to a more prosperous neighbor. Barrow worked two days
for the neighbor for the privilege of using the neighbor's
team for just one day. This was a common practice among
frontier farmers who had begun with little capital and
almost no equipment. Even with equipment, farming was
hard in the locality which Barrow had chosen for his home.
The area was heavily wooded; and most land, like that
which he had purchased, was new ground which had not
been farmed before. He had to cut the trees on his land,
haul the logs, and pull out the stumps. The enormity of his
undertaking can be imagined when it is realized that when
Barrow began as a farmer, he cleared a twenty-acre field.

The one diversion in most of the frontier farm commun-
ities was the church. The farmer, his wife, and children
worked hard all week and for the most part rested and en-

3. F. Barrow, R. C. Barrow, p. 3.

MERRIS C. BARROW 59

joyed the activity of their community church on Sundays.
The Barrows attended a little chapel in Union. R. C. Bar-
row's wife, Helen, was a constant attendant ; and he, having
no particular views on religion, accompanied her to the
services out of respect. His wife's "earnest, devoted Chris-
tian life, coupled with what he heard at the little chapel
soon set him to thinking," said his son in Barrow's biog-
raphy. Foremost in his thinking was the desire to know
whether what the preacher said was so or not. To find
out, he would spend hours in reading the Bible after coming
home from services. Even with hard work pressing him,
he still had the desire of his youth to satisfy, if possible,
his thirst for knowledge.

Robert Barrow's eager and open-minded study of the
Bible at this time exemplified his approach to learning
throughout his life. He did not accept a religious belief,
for example, because some one told him of it, but because
he had worked the belief out in his own mind. He was
natively curious intellectually and had the personal disci-
pline and initiative to make home training profitable.

The Christian gospel unfettered by creeds or human
opinions, which he found through Bible study, appealed to
him and caused a change to come over his life. According
to his son Frank, Barrow came forward at the close of a
meeting in the little chapel at Union and made the "good
confession."

His careful study of the Bible had prepared him for
preaching, a field where there was at the time a great
opportunity for service. Joining the ranks of the preacher-
farmer group of his day, he preached his first sermon in
the little school house "where he had first learned to know,
love, and obey the Master." On subsequent Sundays, he
preached in the different school houses nearby and later
gave himself to full-time ministerial service.

Robert and Helen Barrow's first child was born at Can-
ton, Pennsylvania, on October 4, 1857. The baby, a boy,
was named Merris C. In 1857 Robert Barrow was still a
man of only twenty-five, who was probably looking into the
future and making plans for himself and his family. He
may already have been looking to the West, as were many
other Americans, to less thickly populated areas. Further-
more, political and economic conditions were disturbingly
threatening. In 1857 Taney handed down from the Su-
preme Court the famous Dred Scott decision. The slavery
question was agitating Kansas and other territories. The
success of railroads and manufacturers in the early fifties
had led to over-expansion. Then the panic of 1857 hit, leav-
ing the country in a state of economic depression.

60 ANNALS OF WYOMING

During Merris Barrow's early years, the tension between
North and South grew more critical and reached the break-
ing point. In the role of leader of this divided nation was
Lincoln, a self-educated man, who came from poor and
humble parentage, a man whose background was similar
to that of Robert Barrow. Lincoln's rise to the presidency
seemed the ultimate emergence of the common individual;
certainly it gave impetus to the optimistic westward move-
ment of which Merris Barrow and his father were a part.

It is not known whether events arising from the Civil
War or merely personal considerations prompted the Bar-
rows to move westward. Sometime in the early sixties they
moved from Pennsylvania to Oregon, Holt county, in north-
western Missouri. It is likely that the change of home was
made because R. C. Barrow believed Missouri offered oppor-
tunity for him as a preacher and a good future for his
family.

The experiences of R. C. Barrow from this time forth
were related in many of his letters and were preserved in
the story written by his son. They show in part the type
of life which Merris had as a boy. Robert Barrow had no
special church, although he started many in Nebraska
across the border from his Missouri home. In December
of 1864, for example, it is known that he made a short trip
to Nebraska where he preached for three evenings at
Omaha and one at Plattsmouth. On these first trips he
may have been looking for a suitable place for his family to
settle, though too busy with his work to move them. If the
Barrows were typical of most missionary families of that
day, the activities of the home centered around the father's
excursions, with family affairs dependent upon his depar-
tures and returns.

It appears that sometime late in 1865, he took his family
with him. They may have followed him to the many towns
in which he held meetings, or they may have settled in
some centrally located town. At any rate, Merris Barrow's
early childhood must have been rather upset, and the chanc-
es are that he did not have much opportunity to know inti-
mately his father, who was away a great deal or busy evan-
gelizing at home. It seems that the family lived at Brown-
ville for a time and perhaps at London, Nebraska. On the
last Sunday night of February, 1866, the Reverend R. C.
Barrow began a meeting in the Methodist church at London.
He had preached at Brownville in the morning because the
Methodists of London had wanted to use their own church.
"Upon my return at night," said Robert Barrow in one of

MERRIS C. BARROW 61

his letters, "I found many more people assembled than
could conveniently gain admittance to the house."4

A committeeman from the Methodist church met him at
the door and politely told him that he would no longer be
permitted to preach in the Methodist church or even in the
town of London. "It must be proved first that you are not
a 'runaway rebel from Missouri'," he said.5

This was a common occurrence in those days following
the war between the states. Probably it was known gen-
erally that the Barrows had spent part of the war years in
Missouri, and the suggestion that he had made speeches
favoring secession may have been credited by an excited
crowd. At any rate the wildest excitement prevailed, ac-
cording to Robert Barrow's own account, even though some
understood the situation.6 An ex-soldier and friend of Bar-
row from Nemaha City came to the minister's aid, declar-
ing that he was armed and would protect his misrepresented
friend with his own life. Barrow was advised to go to the
pulpit and demand a hearing. This he did and gave to the
Methodist committeeman letters of commendation from
every church in which he had held meetings.

This proof was not even enough to satisfy the man who
said, "I do not question your standing in the Christian
church; but I have been informed that you made speeches
in Missouri in the interest of secession; and until these re-
ports are disproved, the meeting will not be allowed to
proceed."7

Robert Barrow, nevertheless, determined to hold his
audience and continued the meeting. At this point many
who did not understand the situation before realized that
this was just a plot by a few hostile Methodists to close
the meeting. In his letter recounting this experience Bar-
row maintained, "There was no foundation for the report,
except the admitted fact that I lived in Missouri a portion
of the time during the war . . . and I requested the com-
mitteeman to write to the church and county officers of
Missouri for information in regard to my political ante-
cedents."8 This the Methodist evidently promised to do
and the meeting was continued.

Frontier churches in the 1860's were as a rule intensely
active, each trying to become stronger than its neighbor.

4. ibid., p. 25.

5. History of Nebraska, J. Sterling Morton and Albert Watkins,
editors (Lincoln, Nebraska: Western Publishing and Engraving Com-
pany, 1918), p. 731.

6. F. Barrow, R. C. Barrow, p. 25.

7. Ibid., p. 25.

8. Ibid., p. 25.

62 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Young Merris probably heard much effective name-calling
during his early years of church attendance. As a journal-
ist, at any rate, he employed the same tactics in denouncing
his contemporaries and rivals.

Much of Robert Barrow's work in Nebraska was done
without any regular salary. The Board of the Disciples
of Christ Church did employ him in 1866, but even then he
and his family struggled in poverty because frequently the
Board was unable to pay him. In fact, at one time he for-
gave the Board a debt of $1,600, a pretty large sum to a
man in his position in a frontier state. This poverty in his
youth probably contributed to Merris Barrow's determina-
tion in later life to succeed financially. It may also have
contributed to his trait of free spending. Having been de-
prived of much in his youth, it would have been natural for
him to indulge in extravagance when he had money to do so.

From the Barrow home in Nemaha City in June, 1866,
when Merris was just nine years of age, the Reverend R. C.
Barrow made his first trip to what was described in his
biography as "whiskey- trodden Tecumseh." At the time
Tecumseh was a hamlet of only a few houses, and there
was no public building in the place. Barrow's first meeting
was held in a long shed which was serving as a kitchen.
"The first two evenings the kitchen was crowded with
curiosity seekers," said Robert Barrow to one of his cor-
respondents.9 On the third evening a show at a citizen's
home offered competition, and Robert Barrow was left
without an audience.

The prestige as well as the following of the Reverend R.
C. Barrow grew, however. In 1867 the family moved to
Tecumseh to make their home. Church services were con-
ducted in the school until 1869, in the court house until
1870, and in a church built by the members by the fall of
1871.10

Thus it was as a minister's son in Tecumseh that many of
Merris Barrow's habits and attitudes were formed. He,
no doubt, had most of his formal schooling in this little
Nebraska town. He may have received more education
at home under the direction of his school-teaching father,
who, in all likelihood, saw that his son was given a thorough
background in theology in addition to some familiarity with
literature.

Like his father, Merris seems to have been intellectually
curious and may have turned from his father's religious
teaching because he, as his father had done, wanted to rea-

9. Ibid., p. 29.

10. Ibid., p. 31.

MERRIS C. BARROW 63

son things out for himself. Too much religious fervor at
home may have turned him to the more worldly element of
Tecumseh. The religious background is evident in his
writing, but he seemed always to be making light of any
seriousness which it might involve. Thinking for himself,
he set out on a different path from that followed by his
father.

THE YOUNG JOURNALIST

In the little Nebraska town of Tecumseh Merris Barrow
began his connection with the journalistic world. As a
youth of only nineteen he undertook the job of editing the
Tecumseh Chieftain. Young Barrow leased this small town
paper in 1876 and published it until 1878. Since the early
issues of the Chieftain are not available, the only known
extant file dating from 1880, it is impossible to know wheth-
er his flair for personal journalism appeared in this early
period. He must have done fairly well financially, how-
ever, for he evidently felt able to support a wife in 1877.
On March 17 of that year, Barrow was married to Minnie
Florence Combs, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Elsworth Bond
Combs. It is probable, too, that Elizabeth, Merris Barrow's
oldest child, was born during the last year of his connection
with the Tecumseh paper. Although he considered himself
financially able to marry on the income offered by a small
town news sheet, the arrival of a child might have caused
the Barrows to have some money worries. It is possible
that the increased family responsibilities brought about
M. C. Barrow's desertion of the newspaper business two
years after he entered it.

Sometime in 1878 when Merris Barrow was only twenty-
one years of age, he received an appointment as United
States postal clerk. His first runs were from Omaha, but
during that same year, he was transferred to Wyoming.1
Although his run there was from Sidney, Nebraska, to
Laramie, Wyoming, he and his family made Laramie their
home.2 Merris Barrow continued in the postoffice service
until the spring of 1879, when he had an unfortunate ex-
perience which terminated this connection.3

He was arrested in January, 1879, on a charge of robbing
the United States mail. The court records of the charges
against Barrow and of the trial have been lost, and Laramie

1. Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming (Chicago, 111.; A. W.
Bo wen and Company, 1903), p. 499.

2. W. E. Chaplin, letter to author, Jan. 1, 1947.

3. Ibid.

64 ANNALS OF WYOMING

papers of that time are no longer available. Barrow's per-
sonal account, however, was later given in one of his edi-
torials in the Budget (I, 19, 1886), and W. E. Chaplin, who
was working on the Laramie Daily Times in 1879, gave an
account of the affair in a letter about Barrow's life written
in 1947.4

According to Barrow's own report of the incident, he
gave bail promptly, three leading citizens of Laramie being
his bondsmen (I, 19, 1886) : W. H. Holliday, furniture and
lumber dealer; J. H. Finfrock, physician, surgeon and first
president of the University of Wyoming's Board of Trus-
tees; and James Vine, sheep raiser. For the trial, which
was in a Federal Court under Judge Jacob B. Blair, a jury
was chosen of leading business and professional men.5 Only
vague and possibly unreliable references to the trial are
available today, but it is presumed to have been a fair one
and resulted in Barrow's acquittal.

Though Barrow was legally acquitted of guilt, the inci-
dent caused him lifelong embarrassment. It continued all
through his life to furnish fodder for virulent attacks upon
him by rival "newspaporial" contemporaries with whom he
was perpetually at war. In 1886 after an especially vicious
, attack by one of his rivals, Barrow felt it necessary to offer
a complete explanation of the affair in the editorial columns
of his paper. He asserted that a fellow clerk by the name
of Kenniston had framed him in order to cover up irregular-
ities for which Kenniston was responsible (I, 19, 1886).
Barrow also maintained that the jury was out less than
four minutes and that it had to take only one ballot to de-
clare his innocence of the charge.

The positions which Barrow held immediately after his
arrest, during his trial, and after his acquittal certainly
suggest that he was regarded with respect by his fellow
citizens. Pending the trial after his arrest, the young clerk
was hired as a compositor and reporter on the Laramie
Daily Times.6 Evidently Barrow's work before his trial
showed that he had possibilities as a newsgetter ; for imme-
diately after his acquittal, he was given a position as city
editor of the Times under L. D. Pease, its managing editor,
an advancement worthy of note for a relatively new man in
the journalistic world.

In 1886 Barrow wrote as if there were nothing about the
affair which he wished to conceal or nothing of which he
was ashamed. For the majority of people Barrow's expla-

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

MERRIS C. BARROW 65

two and a half columns" by professional rivals jealous of
the Budget, which Barrow called "the oldest, the largest,
and the best," or by other individuals jealous of his political
connections.

Perhaps only the urgency of unemployment brought
Barrow back into the newspaper field. On the other hand,
he might have been awaiting an opportunity to re-enter
journalism. Whatever impelled him, his second venture
into newspaper work resulted in a lifelong connection with
it.

When Barrow became an employee of the Times, he, of
course, became acquainted with William E. Chaplin, then a
compositor on that paper.7 Here were two of Wyoming's
early journalistic "greats" rubbing elbows in the back room
of a Laramie daily. Soon these two were to join with
another Wyoming "great," Bill Nye. From the Boomerang,
which was shortly to be founded with Barrow, Chaplin,
and Nye as members of the staff, these men would branch
out and would contribute much to Wyoming's journalism
and government while making their state known over the
nation.

During the period that Barrow was with the Times, it was
a Democratic paper. "The election of 1880 was not at all
satisfactory to local Republicans and they decided to estab-
lish a paper for the benefit of the party and to give an outlet
to the humorous writings of Bill Nye."8 A meeting was
called at the courthouse in Laramie and a temporary organ-
ization was perfected. "Judge Jacob B. Blair was one of
the chief spokesmen for the new company, but it embraced
many of the prominent Republicans of Albany County."9
One of Laramie's leading grocers, A. S. Peabody, was made
president, and Edgar Wilson Nye, who wrote under the
name of Bill Nye, was made managing editor. The first
issue of the Laramie Boomerang came off the press on
March 11, 1881, and among those assisting at its "accouche-
ment" was Merris C. Barrow, who in the Budget for March
23, 1887, gave a clever and interesting description of the
day:

A small room above a boot store, a Washington handpress.
on which have just been placed the forms of what constitutes
the first number of the Laramie Daily Boomerang. Bill Nye —

7. Ibid.

8. W. E. Chaplin, Wyoming Historical Society Miscellanies, 1919,
p. 13.

9. Chaplin, "Early Wyoming Newspapers," Laramie Republican,
Daily Edition, April 24, 1918.

66 ANNALS OF WYOMING

then, a comparatively unknown man outside of Laramie — stands
near, a smile of eager anticipation on his genial phiz and his
'high forehead' shining like a mirror. Beside him Bob Head, the
city editor. More Kingsford, Billy Kemmis and myself — 'Slug
2,' 'slug 3' and 'slug 4' — bring up the rear, interested but not
excited. Will Chaplin, the foreman with his hand on the tym-
pan awaits the inking of the forms which is being done by Jim-
mie Mulhern, the devil, under the immediate supervision of
George Garrett, the job printer. The tympan falls with a bang,
the bed slides beneath the platen, the devil's-tail plays with a
double knock against the press-post, the bed returns to the end
of the track, the tympan is raised, and Chaplin, with a smile,
hands Nye the first paper. (1,42)

All this took place in the second story of the Kidd building,
a rickety frame structure on Laramie's Second Street.

Two months after the initial issue of the Laramie Boom-
erang, Bob Head went on a prolonged spree and was dis-
charged for drunkenness. Later he had to "jump the town
to escape prosecution on the charge of attempting to murder
his wife." (I, 42, 1887). In the Wyoming Historical Soci-
ety Miscellanies Chaplin described Head as a "newspaper
man of rare ability," but he explained further that "John
Barleycorn was just too much for him."10

After the removal of Head as city editor, M. C. Barrow
was promoted from the composing room. "Barrow was
talented beyond Head in imagery and was a more fluent
writer."11 When the Laramie Boomerang was just a year
old, the paper plant was found to be inadequate and was
moved to the second story of the Haines livery stable, which
was at the southwest corner of Third and Garfield streets.
Here the staff had plenty of space, but the odor was a bit
oppressive. According to legend, it was here that the grey
mule operated the elevator.12 In ascending to this office,
Bill Nye was supposed to have given the advice to "twist
the gray mule's tail and take the elevator."13

In the winter of 1882-83, when Nye became ill and did not
return to his duties with the paper, Barrow took on the ad-
ditional responsibility of editorial writer. He continued in
this capacity until 1884 when, for some reason which can-
not today be determined, the management became dissatis-
fied with Barrow's work and dispensed with his services.14

10. Chaplin, Wyoming Miscellanies, 1919, p. 13.

11. Chaplin, "Early Wyoming Newspapers," Laramie Republican,
Daily Edition, April 24, 1918.

12. Ibid.

13. Chaplin, Wyoming Miscellanies, 1919, p. 13.

14. Chaplin, letter to author, January 1, 1947.

MERRIS C. BARROW 67

The last issue of the Boomerang under his editorship, which
appeared on March 19, 1884, included an editorial comment
which might explain his dismissal:

With this issue the writer retires from the position of chief
mutilator of truth on this great moral ancl religious journal.
Though not as old in the harness as some of our newspaper
brethren, we have experience enough to warrant our remarking
right here, that it is a thankless job — that of editing a paper.
It is a "demnition grind," which wears out body and soul. We
drop the faber mentally resolving rather than resume it again,
to wield a long-handled pitchfork as shorthand writer in some
second-class livery stable, or monkey with brake wheels at $65
per month . . .

To our enemies — for we have enemies — we say "see you
later."i5

A man who could advance so rapidly in the newspaper world
was doubtless very individualistic in addition to being tal-
ented, and probably Barrow was being entirely truthful
when he referred to enemies. Perhaps he found it hard to
fall into line with the ideas which his superiors expected
him to express, or he may have trampled on the toes of
some important people by making comments about them
in his paper. One might even hazard a guess that Barrow
was too big for his job, or at least that he thought himself
to be and said too much.

Rawlins, Wyoming, a little over one hundred miles west
of Laramie, conveniently offered opportunity for a news-
paper man in September of 1884, and Barrow went there to
take the editorial and business management of the Wyo-
ming Tribune, a Republican paper. He was the paper's
first editor, and in this capacity, according to one of his
successors, "whooped her up plenty, and made the Wyo-
ming Tribime a treasure and necessity in scores of homes
in and out of old Carbon county." (Wyoming Tribune ex-
change, Bill Barlow's Budget I, 13, 1886) . Although Bar-
row remained with this paper for only eighteen months,
he is said to have reached 600 readers, whom he described
as "good-natured and patient." (I, 13, 1886).

Few examples of Barrow's writing on the Rawlins paper
are now extant, but those that survive reveal the personal
journalism for which Barrow later became widely known.
Instead of heading his items of the Territory in a formal
manner, he used the more clever headings, "Items of Inter-
est to Wyomingites in Particular and Everyone in General,"
"Cattle Chat," "Short Bits," etc. In his use of these ex-
pressions, Barrow was following the journalistic trend of
nation was probably sufficient justification, but the incident
was still material for long slanderous editorials, "puffs of

15. Laramie Boomerang, III, 300, March 19, 1884.

6S ANNALS OF WYOMING

his day, but his paper also contained writing flavored with
something new.

Some of his expressions were crude and awkward, but
they are interesting today as revelations of his experi-
mental attempts at writing in the manner he eventually
perfected. In the columns of the Wyoming Tribune for
September 25, 1884, the only issue of this Rawlins paper
available, frequently can be found such expressions as
"Not bad, eh?"16 In speaking of the promising future of
Rawlins, Barrow said, "Stick a pin dar!" instead of saying
the more conventional "Mark this on the map."17 A ref-
erence to one of his later articles in the Rawlins paper was
made in the Democratic Leader, a Cheyenne paper, of May
31, 1885. His colorful description of a frontier character
of fiction, "Howling Coyote from Poison Creek alias Bob
Brown the Inebriated Cowboy," was retold in Barrow's
own words. In this account appeared such typical Barrow
expressions as "spanked the bosom of his pants," "knocked
into a cocked hat," etc.

Of course, since the Wyoming Tribune was Republican
and the state of Wyoming was predominantly Republican,
it might be expected that Barrow's editorials would show
indications of Republican sentiment. The material of the
following quotation is irrelevant, but the style is revealing
in view of the fact that it was an early and crude sample
of a manner which later came to be the trademark of Bar-
row's writing, a highly personalized and vivid style:

The promised shell that was to be thrown into the Republican
camp in the form of what was termed the 'mulligan letters,'
turned out to be a small tissue paper torpedo that would not
explode. 18

In the columns of the Wyoming Tribune for September
25, 1884, can be found numerous other examples of his
ability as a free-writing and clever journalist and as a
newsgetter. Barrow's paper contained exchanges from
other Wyoming papers and notices which championed Raw-
lins as well as the Territory of Wyoming. He had the fol-
lowing to say of Yellowstone :

There have been 1,725 visitors to our little park — the Yellow-
stone— the past season. Wyoming is a modest, retiring maiden,
but her charms are so many and varied that the boys all run
after her.19

Barrow was always ready to add to any news item praise
for his adopted state. He was quick to notice any new op-

16. Wyoming Tribune, September 25, 1884.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.
J P. Ibid.

MERRIS C. BARROW 69

portunity offered by the state and was just as quick to
record and sometimes to commend in his news sheet any
new development.

In this same paper there appeared in "Short Bits" an
article on a new Wyoming settlement which is interesting
because of what it might have meant to Barrow.

The Fort Fetterman military reservation lately opened for
settlers is rapidly being taken up by homesteaders. 20

Probably all of the papers of the state carried similar no-
tices, and some of them went into greater detail in com-
menting upon the growing population of the state.

As early as December 17, 1872, the Secretary of War
had reported to the United States Senate that the "whole
of the Fetterman military reservation was no longer needed
for military purposes" and could be reduced.21 The opening
of this new land would naturally bring settlers to the coun-
try. By 1882 notices were appearing in the Cheyenne Daily
Leader and in other papers of the Territory declaring that
the government would soon give up the post proper.22 On
June 20, 1883, the following notice of the early settlement
in the abandoned military post appeared in the Leader:

. . . citizens disturbed lately by an order issued by the war
department which directs them to quit the reservation. [The
citizens were protesting because the buildings had been sold the
fall before to their present owners.] These people expected to
live in them so long as the reservation was not used by the
Government. The people of the neighborhood are also discuss-
ing the plan of taking up a town site on the public lands . . .23

It is likely that Barrow, who read state papers for his
exchange column, saw the article, and he might have be-
gun then to think of Fetterman's possibilities. He kept
in touch with what other newspapers of the state printed,
and probably read many times of the movement to the
Fetterman country. Possibly even as early as 1882, he
saw this newly opened land in the light of the opportunity
it might offer to him.

Barrow, the newsgetter, was also a "go-getter" in close
contact with all the activities of his Territory. He was no
doubt following interestedly the movement of a railroad
which was coming west, headed for central Wyoming. As
early as January 20, 1869, the Fremont, Elkhorn and Mis-
souri Valley Railroad Company was organized under the
laws of the state of Nebraska to build a road from Fremont
to the western border of the state.24 Then in December of

20. Ibid.

21. Senate Document, No. 14, 3rd Sess., 42nd Cong., 1872-73.

22. Cheyenne Daily Leader, May 12, 1882.

23. Cheyenne Daily Leader, June 20, 1883.

24. I. S. Bartlett, History of Wyoming (Chicago: S. J. Clarke
Publishing Co., 1918), I, p. 347.

70 ANNALS OF WYOMING

1869, articles of incorporation for the Wyoming Central
Railroad Company were approved in the neighboring terri-
tory of Wyoming. Included in these was a declaration
that a line would run to or near Fort Fetterman. The
articles were filed on May 12, 1875, but nothing actually
was done at that time toward constructing the road.

Work on the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Rail-
road had gone slowly, and it was not until January 20, 1885,
that Congress granted the company the right to run
through Fort Robinson, a military reservation in north-
western Nebraska.25 The fact that the proposed railroad
to the state line of Nebraska was, then, becoming almost
a reality revived enthusiasm and hopes for the Wyoming
Central Railroad, and in October, 1885, another association
was formed.26

The association which was formed in 1885 had been ap-
proved during March of 1884 by an act of the Legislative
Assembly of the Territory of Wyoming, but the members of
the association did not bind themselves together legally
until October nineteenth of the following year.27 At this
time the company was formed to survey, locate, build, con-
struct, and operate a railroad from the eastern boundary of
the Territory near the valley of the Running Water River
westward along the valley of the North Platte River for one
hundred and twenty-five miles. The capital stock of the
company was listed as $2,000,000, and the company planned
for their corporation to last fifty years from October 25,
1885.

By March 16, 1886, the trustees of the company resolved
to extend the railroad westerly along the valley of the
North Platte and Sweetwater Rivers through the counties
of Albany, Carbon, Sweetwater, Uintah and on to the
eastern boundary of the Utah Territory.28 During this
year, however, both the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri
Valley Railroad and the Wyoming Central Railroad passed
into the hands of the Chicago and Northwestern Company.29

Such big railroad talk along with the reports of the rapid
settlement of the Fort Fetterman military reservation,
which had just recently been opened for homesteaders,
probably excited Barrow's interest. Sometime in the spring

25. Ibid., I, p. 347.

26. Incorporations, Territory of Wyoming, II, October 19, 1885,
pp. 460-62.

27. Ibid.

28. Incorporations, Territory of Wyoming, III, March 16, 1886,
p. 94.

29. Bartlett, I, p. 347.

MERRIS C. BARROW 71

of 1886, he made his decision to move to the Fetterman
region and throw in his lot with developments there. He
had probably been awaiting an opportunity to get into
business for himself anyway, as were many other settlers
on the frontier. Besides, Barrow had taken by this time,
according to the Cheyenne Democratic Leader of May,
1885, the pen name of Bill Barlow and had made progress
in the development of his own style of writing.30

He was beginning to make himself known. In July, 1885,
for example, the Democratic Leader considered his passing
through Cheyenne of enough importance to allow several
lines of copy to be devoted to him. The item read :

M. C. Barrow, editor of the Wyoming Tribune, published at
Rawlins, returned from Denver yesterday and an effort was
made to induce him to remain over last night, but he said that
as there is to be a circus in Rawlins today, it would be love's
labor lost to attempt to hold him back with anything less than
two circuses here and a bonus. He went on, carrying with him
a joyous heart and a large invoice of sympathy. 31

About this time also Mrs. Barrow conveniently received
an inheritance of sufficient size to help appreciably in pur-
chasing a small newspaper plant. Barrow's first self-owned
newspaper, Bill Barlow's Budget, was well on the way to
being born. By June of 1886, it was making its cry heard
and beginning to flourish in the new home which the Bar-
rows had established in the Fort Fetterman settlement.

THE NEW HOME: BIRTH OF THE "BUDGET"

Barrow may have gone to look over his anticipated home
in the Fetterman country; but if he did not, he had enough
of the pioneer spirit to take a chance on the possibilities
it might offer. In his "Chit Chat" column for May 7, 1902,
Barrow said that the "newspaporial caravan pulled out of
Rawlins early in '86" and headed for the Fetterman country
(XVI, 47). This may have been a reference to a direct trip
to Fetterman or to a trip via Chicago, where the machinery
for the plant was purchased, and Chadron, the point to
which it was shipped. At any rate, it is presumed that the
Barrows left Rawlins early in the year of 1886 and arrived
in the Fetterman country in May of that same year. In
Chicago their equipment was purchased from the well-
known foundry of Mardeer and Luse (I, 1, 1886) and was
shipped by rail to Chadron, which was as far as shipping
on the railroad could go. The Barrows picked up or joined

30. Democratic Leader, May 31, 1885.

31. Democratic Leader, July 14, 1885.

72

ANNALS OF WYOMING

their equipment at Chadron, if they were not traveling with
it, and set out for the Fetterman country, their land of
opportunity.

With their equipment the Barrows made up a small
caravan which, heading west from Chadron, Nebraska,
followed a "trail blazed here and there with grader's camps"
of the Elkhorn Railroad (XIV, 52, 1900). "The first of
three vehicles comprising this caravan carried a printer, his
wife and a tow-headed kid and a driver, the others the type
and machinery of a nine hundred-dollar newspaper com-
plete in every detail even unto a chattel mortgage repre-
senting full two-thirds of the entire layout." (XIV, 52,
1900). Elsewhere Barrow wrote, "Along in the shank of
May, the year of our Lord 1886, a somewhat abbreviated
newspaper 'plant,' wrapped in a rough-on-rate chattel mort-
gage blanket, was unloaded from a lightning express mule
train at Fetterman, and on June ninth, following, Bill Bar-
low's Budget was born." (V, 52, 1891)

Upon their arrival, the Barrows set up their case racks
and presses in a little shack which was later used as a
chicken coop. The quarters were inadequate, the atmos-
phere probably unpleasant and a little discouraging, but
the first issue was a success, and the outlook seemed hope-
ful for Bill Barlow's Budget and its owners.

The issue of this paper which was distributed to the
people of the Fetterman country on June 9, 1886, was what
it was because of teamwork. Barrow probably did all of
the writing, but Mrs. Barrow, or "Mrs. Bill" as she came
to be known to the readers of the Budget, was a thoroughly
practical newspaper worker. She was a good type-setter
and probably did much of the back-room work from the

BILL BARLOW'S BUDGET OFFICE, 1886, DOUGLAS, WYOMING
Frank Barrow, Mrs. Merris C. Barrow, M. C. Barrow, Sam Slaymaker,
and one of Mr. and Mrs. Barrow's daughters are standing in front of
the Budget office.

MERRIS C. BARROW 73

beginning. For that first issue she may have set all or a
good bit of the type and may even have helped turn the
cylinder press.

Barrow, otherwise "Bill Barlow" or "Editor Bill," and
his "better half," another of the titles given Mrs. Barrow
by her husband, did have up-to-date, new, and workable
equipment. It was only natural that they should have been
proud of it and have praised its worth to their future cus-
tomers. They realized from the first that it was the job-
printing which would add to their income that extra amount
that would make even small luxuries possible. They had to
sell themselves and their equipment from the start. That
first issue contained descriptions that made the contents of
their wretched shack or office gleam like jewels in a junk
heap. Besides the equipment already mentioned, they
boasted a fine job press "of an improved pattern" and
a "select assortment of job type embracing all the latest
faces and styles in plain and ornamental job letters."
(I, 1, 1886). "Editor Bill" went to great ends to show that
the paper was not a "Catch-penny institution representing
ninety percent gall and one of office material" (I, 1, 1886).
and he did not spare space in describing it.

By the third week of publication, subscriptions were pour-
ing in. The editor even said that the subscription book was
being enlarged — said it in a breezy fashion that was to be-
come typical of the Budget. "We have already added a
dining room and a summer kitchen to the main structure,"
he wrote in the third number of his paper, "and the archi-
tects are now drawing the plans for an 'L' to be built on
the east front embracing a bay window and a big piazza."
(I, 3, 1886). He continued, "We can't promise everybody
a front room, but we propose to accommodate all comers
in some shape at $3.00 a year, invariably in advance."
(I, 3, 1886). This weekly paper also included in its price
list an offer of three months for $1.00, six months for $1.50
and three hundred years for $300.00. The latter, typical
of Barrow's tone of exaggeration, may have been his bet
that this enterprise would succeed.

The Fetterman country, which Barrow had chosen for
his new home, had already figured prominently for two
or more decades in territorial history. A military post was
established in the region on July 19, 1867. 1 According to
a report submitted to the United States government in
1874, the fort was located on a plateau or high bluff on the
south bank of the North Platte River at the mouth of the

1. I. S. Bartlett, History of Wyoming, I, p. 515.

74 ANNALS OF WYOMING

La Prele Creek about six hundred feet from and one hun-
dred thirty feet above the stream.2 This report described
the location of the fort thus: "The Plateau rises from the
river bottom by steep, almost precipitous bluffs, and then,
rising gradually merges into the Black Hills, fourteen miles
distant."3 On this bluff overlooking the river, the army laid
out a well-built, commodious and convenient military post.
Accessible to the fort were a limestone bed on the road to
Fort Laramie, a bed of soft, jet black coal near the
fort, and a bed of sandstone of a gray color used ex-
tensively for building the quarters of the military post.4
Although high winds were prevalent in the country, with
much snow in the winter and frequent hail storms, there
was an abundance of game, and in the fertile soil could be
grown early vegetables such as peas, onions, radishes, and
lettuce.5 The early fort had sixteen buildings made of
adobe, log and plank, some of these being really blocks of
buildings. At this time there were also stables inside the
high plank fence surrounding the buildings and a hospital,
storehouse, and other buildings outside.

Barrow included in the columns of the Budget many
colorful descriptions of the Fetterman to which he came
in 1886 after it had been abandoned by military authorities.
But with his special imaginative ability he could also picture
Fetterman as it appeared during its military days and as it
might appear in the future as a great city, the focal point
and crossroads of eastern Wyoming. Such a description
appeared in the very first issue of the Budget :

Fort Fetterman assumed definite shape as a military reser-
vation in 1867, and for years past the phrase "Fetterman coun-
try" has been a synonym for all that section lying within a
hundred miles of this point, in either direction. The town is
situated on a high bluff overlooking the Platte river, on a mesa
extending back a mile or more — a lovely spot, embracing all
the qualifications necessary to the natural location of a great
city.

. . . The topography of the country, together with the fact
that \a fine bridge spans the Platte at this point, makes Fort
Fetterman the natural gateway between the extreme southern
and northern sections of Wyoming. (I, 1, 1886)

In 1889 a more vivid description of the fort proper ap-
peared in the columns of the Budget:

From the first temporary buildings of logs and "doby" it
grew into a large post comprising some half-hundred substan-

2. "Report of Asst. Surgeons C. Macklin and F. LeBaron, U.S.
Army, Fort Fetterman, Wyoming," General Surgeon's Report on
Army Posts, Circular No. 4, 1874. Fort Fetterman File, Hebard
Collection, University of Wyoming Archives.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

MERRIS C. BARROW 75

tial buildings surrounding a parade ground in the center of
which stood a fountain. Situated on a high plateau overlooking
the Platte, with its system of waterworks, well-kept streets and
walks and grassy lawns and parade, it was a beautiful spot,
like unto an oasis in the desert, almost. (Ill, 42, 1889)

A small garrison had been kept at Fort Fetterman until
1878 when the fort was abandoned by order of the Secre-
tary of War since no necessity for a military post in the
locality existed.6 Most of the fort buildings remained when
the Barrows arrived in 1886, but by that time they belonged
to private individuals. Barrow related in his columns that
the buildings were sold in 1882 to civilians and that Fetter-
man continued to be quite a lively little town. This was
especially true in the summer when it became headquarters
for cowpunchers after the round-ups.

As soon as the government placed protective forces in
the central part of eastern Wyoming, the pioneer began to
appear. Most of them, would-be ranchers, homesteaded,
but many bought land and built in the Platte valley. Some
homesteaders registered only for the usual 160 acres;
others got more than one claim by filing a timber, stone, and
desert claim besides the regular one. Some of these lands
were declared honestly, but many stone claims were filed,
for example, when the land was really good.

Many little ranchers nocked to the area hoping to prosper
and later to set up substantial homes for their families, but
there were big outfits too. Among these were the Searight
Brothers, who drove in 14,000 head of cattle from Texas
to Casper Creek in 1877. They comprised the group that
built the famous old stone ranch house near the Platte
River which is remembered as the Goose Egg Ranch.7
Another big outfit was established by Joseph M. Carey and
his brother Davis, who bought a tract of land and started
the "CY" ranch which was to become famous for its size.8

Barrow explained in his paper, however, that "Wyo-
ming's choicest land" was not open for settlement since the
reservation embracing sixty square miles had not been re-
leased (I, 1, 1886). This land was not made available until
the 52nd Congress met in 1891-92. The Committee on
Public Lands submitted at the first session of this Congress
a bill proposing to throw open to settlement under the

6. Bartlett, History of Wyoming, I, p. 321.

7. The Goose Egg Ranch was the setting for one of Owen Wister's
practical joke stories appearing in The Virginian. It was here that
the two cowboys were said to have changed the clothes of two babies
while their parents danced, the prank not being discovered until the
parents reached home some distance away.

8. R. B. David, Malcolm Campbell, Sheriff (Casper, Wyoming:
Wyomingana, Inc., 1932), p. 70.

76 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Homestead Law the Fort Fetterman hay reservation con-
sisting of 2,620 acres of land.9

Since this land had not been released in 1886, the town
of Fetterman was subject to removal and "total oblitera-
tion at the will of Uncle Sam." (I, 1, 1886). Quite natur-
ally settlers wanted clear titles to the land on which they
planned to build "the future metropolis of Wyoming."
(I, 1, 1886). Thus it became necessary for the townsite
company to look elsewhere for a location.

It was the railroad which brought people to east central
Wyoming in considerable numbers, and it was the railroad
that kept them from making a permanent settlement at
first. Without a safe, sure, speedy and cheap means of
communication and transportation to the world outside, the
rich and varied resources offered by the Fetterman country
would never have been developed. It took the prospect of a
railroad to make humanity in numbers recognize the possi-
bilities of the area. It was natural for the early arrivals to
head for the place where there already was a community.
Fetterman would, therefore, have been the town about
which life and activity developed had the railroad not been
compelled because of the military reservation to locate the
town in another place.

It was customary for a railroad to have a townsite com-
pany, which it backed and controlled, to act in selling land
for future towns and cities along its line. Such companies
may have kept private land-scalping down, but they did not
keep the price of property down. The Pioneer Townsite
Company was organized in this instance by the Wyoming
Central Railroad to handle the selling of land for the new
town in the Fetterman country. The actual townsite in east
central Wyoming, as in most cases, was kept a secret; but
people soon began to settle in the valley along the probable
line of the railroad and in the vicinity of Fort Fetterman.

When there was nothing but "rabbits and rattlesnakes"
on the present site of Douglas, early comers were opening
their businesses in tents at the mouth of Antelope Creek,
north of the Douglas of today. C. H. King was the first to
pitch his tent there and offer the merchandise of a general
store to the people of the surrounding country. It required
faith in the future for an individual to set up in the sage-
brush country a tent, in which could be bought articles of
necessity and convenience that might be found in a real
city store. King was not alone for long. Beside his tent
was erected another owned by a surveyor named Wattles,

9. Senate Reports (II, No. 439), 1st Session, 52nd Congress,
1S91-92.

MERRIS C. BARROW 77

and soon a saloon was opened by two enterprising cow-
punchers named Blaisdell and Mosley. This settlement,
termed the temporary town, was soon a thriving com-
munity.

The initial issues of Bill Barlow's. Budget give to the
present-day reader a graphic picture of the development
and expansion of this town. According to the second issue
the temporary town had only two streets, King and Adams,
and about 300 people (I, 2, 1886). In the next issue Editor
Barrow declared that a new house was being built every
twenty minutes. New arrivals were pouring in every day,
and tents and frame buildings were "springing up as if by
magic." (I, 3, 1886). Five weeks later, a visitor from
Laramie wrote back to Douglas a letter which the Budget
published. He said that the town had doubled its popula-
tion in the fifteen days between two of his visits, being
1,000 at the time of his last one. Of this growth he said,
"The population is peculiarly western and full of life, energy
and grit. What is lacking will be made up by push and
vigor." (I, 7, 1886) . It is also interesting to note what this
visitor had to say of Barrow. "He [Barrow] and his paper
take immensely, and he like death 'is no respector of per-
sons' and will make himself beloved, feared, and felt."
(I. 7, 1886).

Meanwhile, most of the arrivals traveled on to Fetterman.
As the center of this ranch area and anticipated railroad
community, Fetterman during the spring and early summer
of 1886 was truly a boom town. At that time this thriving
community had three general stores, two hotels, three at-
torneys, a meat market, a gentleman's furnishing store, a
barber shop, a drug and jewelry store, a bank, a restaurant,
and several saloons.10 Although Barrow called his paper
the oldest one published in Converse county, a point sub-
stantiated by the Democratic Leader of Cheyenne since it
declared the Budget the first paper actually published
there,11 another paper had been distributed in Fetterman
at an earlier date. On May 26, 1886, Colonel E. H. Kimball
had started a newspaper called the Rowdy West.12

The town of Fetterman also boasted a doctor, Dr. Amos
W. Barber. He was a graduate of the University of Penn-
sylvania and had been recommended by the Professor of
Operative Surgery of that University.13 He came to be

10. Coutant Notes, Fort Fetterman File, Hebard Collection, Uni-
versity of Wyoming Archives.

11. Democratic Leader, June 16, 1886.

12. Coutant Notes, Fort Fetterman File.

13. David, Malcolm Campbell, p. 81.

78 ANNALS OF WYOMING

head of the Fetterman Hospital Association, a cooperative
subscription enterprise organized by cowboys on April 25,
1885. 14 He also developed an extensive and strenuous prac-
tice in the region around Fetterman, made many friends,
and in later years became governor of the state of
Wyoming.

Late in June of 1886 the converted army post had close
to one thousand inhabitants. During this month, however,
according to an account in the Budget, the future Douglas
was surveyed and given a name. From this time the num-
ber of people to arrive in Fetterman began to fall off, and
the number of settlers in the temporary town on Antelope
Creek began to increase.

It was in the month of June, 1886, that the magnates of
the railroad gave the new Fetterman the name of Douglas.
It seems that the settlers themselves wanted the new town,
"the future great," called Fetterman, but the United States
Post Office Department would not permit the use of that
name because the post office of Fort Fetterman was still
in existence, and two offices with such similar names would
cause confusion (I, 2, 1886). According to the Democratic
Leader, June 16, 1886, the Northwestern managers in Chi-
cago honored the greatest man their city ever produced,
Stephen A. Douglas, by naming the new town Douglas. The
Leader's article explained that surveyors were laying out
twenty-four blocks at that time, but that their work had to
be sent to Chicago where the streets would be named and
then to Laramie City to be recorded. The Cheyenne news-
paper explained further that two or three weeks would still
elapse before actual builders could get lots at fixed prices.15

During June not only was the town named and its blocks
surveyed, but the engineer located the depot in the center
of the company's tract. A large area between the depot and
the river was reserved for shops, switches and stockyards,
and the land between the depot and hills was set apart for
the business and residential parts of the town (I, 3, 1886).
Lots were sold in July to prospective Douglas residents;
however, the railroad would still not permit even a tent
stake to be stuck in the land. Since such action was to be
prohibited until the actual arrival of the railroad, Douglas
grew as a temporary town.

As many as one hundred people arrived in the temporary
tent village during the course of one day (I, 4, 1886) . Hous-
ing and food must have been scarce, making prices exorbi-

14. "Circular, Fetterman Hospital Association, April 16, 1886,"
Coutant Notes, Fort Fetterman File.

15. Democratic Leader, June 16, 1886.

MERRIS C. BARROW 79

tantly high. The rapidity of the town's growth is recorded
in an account of the observance of Douglas's first fourth of
July in Bill Barlow's Budget, July 7, 1886. Here, according
to the Budget story, "in a spacious booth of pine boughs,
appropriately draped with the stars and stripes, assembled
several hundred ladies and gentlemen to listen to appro-
priate songs and speeches and to assist in a proper obser-
vance of that day so dear to the American heart."
(I, 5, 1886). Where only a few months before the prairie
dog and rabbit "had ruled the roost" and where five weeks
before only one house and two tents had stood, was on
July 4th a town of no less than six hundred people who rep-
resented almost every kind of business (I, 5, 1886).

Within another week the population had increased at
least another hundred. By this time there were three hard-
ware stores, three lumber yards, two livery barns, three
markets, three general merchandise dealers, three grocery
stores, two barber shops, three bakeries, four hotels, eight
restaurants, two banks, three drug stores, three land of-
fices, two jewelry stores, three newsstands, three feed
stores, two gentlemen's furnishing goods houses, two steam
laundries, six lawyers, three doctors, two brick yards, six
contractors and builders, three surveyors, one furniture
store, one tin shop, two blacksmith shops, one wagon shop,
twenty-three saloons, two dance halls and one church
(I, 6, 1886) — all in a temporary tent town.

When the graders arrived, practically everyone living on
King Street had to move so that the big fill could be made
(I, 6, 1886). Part of these people located on Poverty Flat
and the rest went to a place called Nicholsville on Piety
Hill (I, 6, 1886). Nicholsville was being built on land be-
longing to F. S. Lusk, whose generosity some of the set-
tlers questioned. They were permitted by him to rent lots
there, but these lots rented at the high rate of ten dollars
a month (I, 6, 1886). This part of the temporary town
which was located on Piety Hill is often referred to as
North Douglas, and it seems that most of the new arrivals
located there.

In July when so many people were settling in the tem-
porary town, the Barrows continued to maintain their news-
paper plant at Fetterman. Barrow, the good newsgetter,
had reporters cover areas of the boom country to which he
was not able to go. In the temporary towns comprising
Douglas he had W. C. Cannon, a newsdealer, to represent
him (I, 6, 1886). This man took over many of the respon-
sibilities which would have been hard for the Barrows to
handle from their location several miles away. He received
and transmitted news and business locals, standing adver-

80 ANNALS OF WYOMING

tisements, and job work. Barrow emphasized in his Budget
that all work left with Mr. Cannon would receive prompt
attention (I, 6, 1886).

At first Bill Barlow's. Budget was an eight-page paper,
but Barrow was making plans for its enlargement as early
as July of its first year. In number eight of volume one, he
apologized for the paper's not being the ten pages he had
promised his readers in the issue of the previous week (I, 8,
1886). A large order of new type and material that should
have reached him failed to arrive. Barrow declared that
neither he nor the Most High could say when the needed
equipment would reach its destination (I, 8, 1886). Living
two days journey from a railroad, an editor at the mercy of
transportation companies could of course say nothing more
definite, but it was said in Barrow's individual style. These
early plans of the editor of the Budget are significant, how-
ever, for they reveal his optimism about the future of his
paper and of the embryonic town.

On August 4, 1886, when the Budget was just in its third
month, the newspaper plant was moved to Douglas (I, 9).
Since this move took place before the arrival of the railroad,
this second home of Bill Barlow's Budget was in the tem-
porary town of North Douglas. Here, the Barrows chose
to remain until after the most of the cattle shipments were
over or until a substantial building could be erected on the
permanent site (I, 10, 1886). On August 8, 1900, Barrow
recorded his recollections of this building in North Douglas
and included a picture of the building itself.

Reminiscing, Barrow wrote:

Elsewhere in this issue appears a half-tone of the home of the
Budget in August, 1886. Old-timers will remember the native
lumber 'shack' which stood on the hill over beyant the tempor-
ary town, for which we paid $35 a month rent and through
which the sand sifted and the rain played h— avoc with type,
machinery and job stock. The building is not reproduced here
as a hunch to ambitious architects. I merely ran across an old
photograph the other day, and fearing that it might be either
destroyed or lost, had it immortalized in metal, with this result.
A hundred years from now, when Douglas shall have become
a rival of Chicago and Mrs. Bill and I are getting out a thirty-
two page daily with Sunday trimmin's from a 'steen-story
brown stone block, it will serve to illustrate from what small
acorns big trees sometimes grow. (XV, 10)

It was a considerable job to move a newspaper plant in
those days, and Barrow was rightly proud of the fact
that the equipment had been moved without delaying the
paper's publication date. Proof of his pride can be found
in the first issue after the move when Barrow indulged in
a soulful chuckle of self-gratification because the paper
came out on time (I, 10, 1886).

MERRIS C. BARROW 81

The flood of new arrivals in the Fetterman-Douglas area
continued unchecked till winter set in. Each day many
wagons and stages came to Douglas on the Rock River trail
from the town of Rock River 150 miles to the south on the
line of the Union Pacific Railroad.

People in those days lived from hand to mouth, but there
was a happy-go-lucky atmosphere over the whole popula-
tion in and around Douglas. The railroad would arrive
soon and everyone would move to Douglas proper. City
life would begin and prosperity would reign. Bankers,
stable managers, grocers, barbers, druggists, lawyers, and
saloon keepers, not to mention newsmen, were among those
who waited with great anticipation the actual settling of
the town.

COMMUNITY AND NEWSPAPER GET UNDERWAY

By September 15, 1886, the Budget recorded that the
temporary town had been abandoned and that only two or
three buildings were left. An unbroken surface of sage-
brush just a little over a week before, Douglas proper had
become a thriving town. In September the Budget also
moved to its new base in Douglas proper. The quarters
which the Barrows completed for occupancy were on Third
Street. They felt great satisfaction in having enough space
in which to work and to know that they would no longer
have to don rubber overcoats whenever it should rain
(I, 17, 1886).

Barrow was able to portray vividly in his weekly news
sheet the building confusion, the bustle, stir, and activity
on every side. Homes and business houses, good, sub-
stantial frame buildings with ornamental fronts, were in all
stages of construction. Most of the fifty-eight buildings
taking shape during that first week in September were
business houses, and still there were many business men
who had not begun to build (I, 14, 1886). A few remained
in the temporary town on the Antelope at first, but within
a few days most of the stragglers had followed the others
to Douglas, and only a very few tents and houses remained
in the bottom or on the hill. Most of the people who had
owned these temporary structures located them again in
Douglas on the rear end of their lots. From these tempor-
ary quarters, many merchants carried on operations until
their permanent buildings could be constructed. Some
people moved into their new places of business before they
were completed. The Maverick Bank was one of the first
permanent buildings to be erected, but it was not finished
until early in December. Other less elaborate buildings

82 ANNALS OF WYOMING

sprang up rapidly. Everyone was hurrying to finish his
building, settle down, and make good in a prosperous boom
town.

Actually, if the busy new settlers had time to take stock
of their new location, they must have found satisfaction in
the beauty of the setting. Located on a wide river bottom
which included over five thousand acres of land, the town
of Douglas really had a magnificent site. There was just
enough sand and gravel in the soil to make it pack, and
pavements and sidewalks were at first unnecessary (I, 11,
1886). From Douglas Laramie Peak could be seen to the
south at a distance of about thirty miles, a peak whose
summit seemed to pierce the clouds (I, 11, 1886). North
and south of Douglas flowed the Platte, which assured an
abundance of water for all purposes. To the west, the
Laramie Range stretched into the distance as far as the
eye could reach. Barrow described the view west from
Douglas as resembling "the ruins of some ancient city."
(I, 11, 1886). Here on the summit of a low range of hills,
he observed, were massive ledges of white rocks that the
hands of time had converted into miniature domes, walls
and battlements. In reality these were only the foothills of
the rugged mountain range beyond, but in those days when
everything about the "future great" was glowing and beau-
tiful, a description such as the one above was not unusual.

Some years later, Barrow recorded a few of the other
glories of the country. He had many reasons for liking
this western region, especially Douglas; and these reasons
were probably shared by all his Douglas associates. On
January 30, 1901, he wrote :

That the breezy uplands and the cool mountain valleys of Wyo-
ming afford an ideal summer resort has been an established
fact ever since Tige-With-a-Knot-in-His-Tail and his lovely
spouse Hole-in-Her-Sock-Sue first drifted in from Nebraska and
set up housekeeping in a buffalo-hide tepee, on the banks of the
classic Stinking Water. Three hundred and sixty days of God's
sunshine; a temperature alike pleasant and healthful and devoid
of extremes; balmy breezes laden with the scent of the pines
and the life-giving ozone of the sage-brush and the prairie;
perfect days and more perfect nights if that were possible, when
the stars are as opals in a setting of turquoise and Pale Luna
gilds and brings to your feet the mountain peak thirty miles
away and you slumber and snore under two comforts and a
quilt — what more could fault-finding humanity need or desire?
No hot, sweltering, tissue-dissolving and profanity-perspiring
days and nights; no cyclone cellars; no weeping skies, no mos-
quitoes ! And our winters have never been as severe as those of
the down-east variety, except that an occasional blizzard would
sweep down from the north and just simply cork everything and
everybody up for a day or a week. This drawback, thanks to
the weather clerk up above, has at last been removed. There
were but three days during the winter of 1889-90 when the

MERRIS C. BARROW 83

mercury dropped below zero, and very little snow fell during
the entire season, and three days of zero weather is the sum of
frigidity for the present winter thus far. Doors are open, and
the shirt sleeve goeth about the streets as in July. At this
writing I am offering a bounty of one dollar for the scalp and
left hind paw of a house-fly which persists in sipping the nectar
from my ruby lips and property owners generally are getting
their lawn mowers sharpened preparatory* to harvesting the
blue grass which is springing up on even,* hand. Who knows
but what someday we will wear in truth the some-what misfit
title to which we of the Platte vallev have long laid claim — the
banana belt. (XV, 33. 1901 1

Not only was the town growing during the fall of 1886
and the spring of 1887, but Bill Barlow's Budget was also
improving its plant. Late in the spring, the Barrows re-
ceived about one thousand pounds of new type and machin-
ery. Included in the machinery was a new paper cutter,
which came directly from the manufacturers, and. accord-
ing to the editor, was "two sizes larger than anything in its
line in Central Wyoming." (I, 46. 1887). The paper itself
was even expanding, for the forty-sixth number of Volume
I comprised twelve pages. Barrow reported that this made
it "just twice as large as any paper ever printed in Douglas
by either of his contemporaries." He wrote picturesquely
of the paper's growth in the final issue of Volume I in
June of 1887 :

Birthdays, the world over, are occasions of joyousness. In
the young it is a mile-stone along the upward and advancing
grade, each of which passed brings youth nearer to the land
where the ambitious problems are to be solved in exciting,
healthful and inspiring contests, with the laurel awaiting the
victor. In the aged it is one more mark drawing them nearer
to the great goal of life. and. if the young growing up about
them are fulfilling the hopes of the parent it is a day filled
with serene satisfaction that gives lustre and brightness to
thoughts of approaching decay. In a newspaper laboring faith-
fully for the people a birthday, closing a volume, is always a
source of gratification. Its files, a record of the year, are care-
fully stowed away, and the new copy is placed upon the hook
with a feeling of cheerfulness. A new volume is to be opened,
a new history to be written. Xew history, we say. but how like
its predecessors — the cradle of yesterday is the tomb of today.
The bride of the last volume is the dejected, heartbroken out
cast of the coming one. The hot. stifling, bickering warfare of
the days past will be repeated: men will rise head and shoulders
above their fellows, dazzle the world with their genius and
power, and will sink in disgrace and darkness, to be supplanted
by others. Yet the close of a volume marks strength and prog-
ress, and we herald the new volume with delight. Today marks
a period of the Budget's life: with this issue closes its first
year. Hence this smile, and these lines. (I, 52)

During 1887 and 1888 the Budget continued to grow. In
September. 1887, an enlargement of the building was taking
place. "The carpenters have undisputed possession of these
premises just now," said Barrow, "and the mechanical

84 ANNALS OF WYOMING

force have taken a rear pew and sing low." (II, 14, 1887).
Later he commented as follows on the building project:

The sound of the hammer and trowel is that sort of music to
which distance lends enchantment, but which loses its charms
when brought within ten or fifteen inches of the ear. Mr. and
Mrs. Bill are fixing up for winter — are doubling their office
room, and building a residence. When the improvements now
in progress are completed, the Budget will brace up and wear
tailor-made togs — and lots of 'em — once more. (II, 16, 1887)

During the first two years, Bill Barlow's Budget also grew
in quality of content. It was always printed on full-size
news sheet, although many early papers like the Rowdy
West1 were only half that size, the sheets being folded in
quarto fashion. Barrow headed his paper with Bill Bar-
low's Budget in bold type script, and at first the sub-heading
only included the volume and number. By the end of the
first year, however, he began to use a little more ingenuity
and included some catchy remarks about the paper in the
heading. At the left of a March, 1887, issue, he printed,
"The Pioneer Newspaper of the Fetterman Country." In
the center of the page Barrow declared that the Budget
was "Independent in All Things." His comment at the
right of the sheet gave a sort of complimentary slap on the
back, "Largest Circulation in Douglas and Central Wyo-
ming." By July of the second year, Barrow became even
more firm in the policies which he chose for his paper. He
changed the center caption to read: "Fair, Faithful, and
Fearless." From the first issue the columns had clever
leads and were just as cleverly written. Pages 2, 4, 5, and
7 contained "patent innards," as Barrow called syndicated
material (II, 35, 1888), but the columns of the other four
pages were filled with news about Douglas and its activities.

All was not sunshine and prosperity during that first year
in Douglas, however, for disease and weather in many cases
clouded the optimism and comfort of its people. As early
as the summer of 1886 and on into the fall a disease known
among the settlers as mountain fever was proving fatal
in both Antelope and Douglas.2 Although Dr. Barber and
others were kept busy day and night, not many knew the
proper treatment. The editor of the Budget was not ex-
empt from disease, for he wrestled for several weeks with
what may have been mountain fever, although he was prob-
ably right in calling it typhoid. New settlements were

1. Two issues of the Rowdy West [Douglas, Wyoming], those for
June 23, 1886, and for August 8, 1886, are located in the Wyoming
State Historical Department, Cheyenne. The issues for October 24,
1886, and July 24, 1887, are located in the Archives Department at
the University of Wyoming in the A. R. Kimball Collection.

2. David, Malcolm Campbell, p. 122.

MERRIS C. BARROW 85

almost always crowded and unsanitary, with the occupants
giving little thought to health protective measures, and
cases of typhoid fever doubtless occurred frequently.

Although with "Mrs. Bill" assisting, the Budget appeared
as usual, Daniel Prescott who helped with the editorial work
said that the paper didn't run so well with the editor-in-
chief in bed (I, 23, 1886). After being down for four weeks
Barrow could still give a humorous account of his encounter
with the "stranger," the term which he gave to the dread
disease. The issue for November 24 contained the follow-
ing record of his illness:

Bill Barlow greets the readers of the Budget again, after a
month's wrestle with typhoid fever. Ever experience it?
Awful! Takes you by the collar and fires you into a furnace;
the fever gets higher and higher until you long for a swim in a
lake of ice cream and pray for a bath in a blithesome blizzard;
finally you lose consciousness altogether and when you awake
a day or two later you learn that the fever has 'broke.' Weak —
oh so weak! Thin as a Missouri razorback and too tired to
turn over in bed. Then they 'diet' you — gruel, beef tea and
such like, finally leading up to what other people eat. Two
weeks spent in your room acquiring strength, and you venture
out with a cane and an overcoat. To Mr. Daniel Prescott, who
has filled the editorial chair the past three weeks, I return
special thanks; to Dr. Wilson who 'broke' the fever, to Brother
Crow, who assisted in various ways, and to the many friends
whose acts of kindness aided the well and encouraged the sick,
I feel grateful. Bill Barlow never forgets a friend — that's his
religion. (I, 25, 1886)

The widespread prevalence of disease, whether mountain
fever or typhoid, was only the beginning of trouble. The
winter of 1886-87 has become famous in western history
because its severity brought ruin to the cattle industry and
the open range. Barrow's paper furnishes an intimate,
firsthand account of what this destructive period meant to
one locality. Winter came early in the month of September,
and by the end of November there was a genuine blizzard.
"The wind blew a gale, and the air was so filled with flying
snow as to at times conceal from view buildings on the
opposite side of the street." (I, 24, 1886) . Even that early
in the season the Wyoming Central railroad was blockaded
with snow, and no mail came or was sent out for over a
week. One morning the railroad made an attempt to send
a train eastward preceded by a snowplow, but the snowplow
jumped the track near Shawnee siding, and the train had
to return to Douglas (I, 24, 1886). The snow blockade even
affected the town's first Thanksgiving celebration. There
was not a turkey, chicken, fresh oyster, or bunch of celery
in the city. "Twas a queer Thanksgiving dinner," wrote
the Budget's editor.

86 ANNALS OF WYOMING

The poor cattle had pretty short rations, too, and by
November were in a pitiable condition; for not only was
the grass covered, but the streams were so full of snow
that they really were of no value to the stock. With the
December blizzards, many of the weak cattle froze, even
those that had found sheltered places in which to huddle
together.3 Finally in January there was a thaw which
lasted for only a few days and rendered the whole range
slippery and treacherous. This was followed by another
severe cold spell.4 Everything froze again, and grass was
put completely out of the cattle's diet. The cattle cut their
feet on the ice, and dead steers were piled in every gully. It
is said that cattle and even the usually wild antelope roamed
the streets of Douglas seeking shelter and so weak that, if
they were pushed a little, they fell over from exhaustion
and starvation.5

In the spring Douglas was again cut off from the outside
world. One morning the citizens awakened to find four
inches of snow; and with the two inches that had come a
few days before and a high wind, the railroad cuts were
filled, and again no trains could run (I, 5, 1887) . The people
of Douglas, many living in tents and very temporary build-
ings, must really have suffered. The only brick buildings
in town were the Maverick Bank and King's Golden Rule
Store, while dotted all over the town were poorly built
shacks with earthen floors. The severity of the cold can
be imagined from Harry Pollard's story of Mrs. Olivereau,
the wife of the owner of the La Fayette Restaurant. While
standing at the kitchen stove one day preparing a meal,
she froze her feet. It is not pleasant to speculate upon
how cold it must have been a short distance away from that
stove! a,j?

The activities of Douglas during that first winter were,
of course, conditioned by the weather, but some semblance
of normality was maintained. The school board, of which
Barrow was a member, had managed to start school in
September in the Tabernacle on Third Street, financed by
contributions from those of all religions (I, 17, 1886).
Though the Tabernacle was merely a tent, it had wooden
floors and wooden sides which extended up a little way.6 The
teacher was Cora Rice, contractor Rice's twenty-year old
daughter. The school, though poor, was over-crowded, for
the Olivereau's daughters, who came in October, were not

3. David, Malcolm Campbell, p. 122.

4. Ibid., p. 122.

5. Harry Pollard, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

6. A. Rice, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

MERRIS C. BARROW 87

admitted.7 After a few months the deplorable condition
existing in a tent building was too much for the young
teacher, and she became ill and died. Msanwhile announce-
ment had been made of a new school which was to be
erected on Capitol Hill, but it was not ready for occupancy
until December (I, 18, 1886).

Through all the distressing cold weather, social life con-
tinued to cheer the citizens of the town. One of these
affairs was a rare treat for the pleasure-loving people of
Douglas. This was a ball at the Valley House on Christmas
Eve. Barrow reported that one hundred and fifty or more
ladies and gentlemen attended the fine supper and dance
(I, 28, 30, 1886). The evening festivities began and ended
with dancing, but a sumptuous supper was held during the
course of the evening, and gayety evidently reigned un-
bounded.

Here mention should be made of the dances which were
held in Douglas from the beginning. To these everybody
came from town and the surrounding country. The banker
danced with the hired girl, and everyone had a good time,
although sometimes the evening's affair might cost an
individual up to ten or fifteen dollars, depending on how
much he ate and how generous he was toward others. These
dances began at seven in the evening and lasted until seven
the next day. Usually everyone had a midnight snack, and
breakfast was served in the morning. Much the same type
of dance was held in the homes of ranchers all over the
Fetterman country. People would drive their wagons for
a whole day to attend a dance, "kick their heels" until
dawn, and then make the day's journey home again. At
country dances, each family usually brought food instead
of contributing money for refreshments. Sometimes, how-
ever, the hostess would bake as many as two dozen cakes
and pies for her guests. There was always plenty of food,
music and fun at these gatherings. Undoubtedly some of
this wide-spread hospitality was lost as the town grew
because, as might be expected, cliques began to appear;
and people became clannish. It is recalled, however, by
many who knew Barrow that the editor of the Budget
always had a greeting for everyone, and continued to find
and print what he thought was new and significant.

"The extension of the railroad to the westward in 1887
robbed Douglas of her prestige as central Wyoming's fron-
tier outpost, of much of her western and northern trade
and of many of her population."8 However, those who re-

7. Mrs. Harry Pollard, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

8. Bill Barlow's Budget, Anniversary Edition, 1907, p. 6.

88 ANNALS OF WYOMING

mained, according to Barrow, "had courage and energy
and a firm faith in the future."9 It was this "bunch of
boosters" who incorporated the town, put in a water sys-
tem, planted lawns and trees, built attractive homes, and
publicized Douglas as "the best town in the World." Bill
Barlow's Budget, whether located in Fetterman or in Doug-
las, was a vital factor in the growth of the community it
served, and under its able editor, Merris Barrow, contrib-
uted much to local and state affairs and finally won a
nation-wide audience.

(To be continued)

9. Ibid., p. 6.

ftook Keviews

Wyomingana: Two Bibliographies. By Rose Mary Malone.
(University of Denver Press, 1950. vii + 66 pp. $2.00.)

This monograph ably fulfills its declared intention of pro-
viding teachers, librarians, and the general public with a
useful finding list of books about Wyoming and the western
scene.

The first bibliography contains one hundred and eleven
selected references published before 1939, identified by the
compiler as "better-known or more standard works about
the state and its explorers or leaders," and listed with brief
bibliographical details and without content annotations.
The implied purpose of the first list is to suggest a basic
reference shelf of Wyomingana. Such a list is useful chiefly
to non-specialists, or rather to those with little information
about the usual bibliographical resources. It seems regret-
table, therefore, that content annotations have not been
included for the titles in this bibliography. Besides sup-
plying helpful guidance where it might be most useful, such
annotations would permit the compiler to justify inclusion
of some of the titles selected. For example, mention of spe-
cific passages or chapters in Roughing It which have to do
with the Wyoming scene and reference to the turbulent
frontier spirit of the whole book would minimize the start-
ling effect of labeling such a well-known "classic" as a book
about Wyoming. Some explanation or analysis of the na-
ture of Thwaites' thirty-two volumes, Early Western
Travels, would be highly useful in identifying, for those un-
familiar with the varied source materials of this important
publication, the journals and diaries having some direct
bearing on Wyoming.

The first bibliography represents the compiler's own
judgment as to the relative importance of the books listed
therein, and there is little fault to be found with her choice.
But it is difficult to understand the omission of Mercer's
Banditti of the Plains, which is certainly one of the sig-
nificant documents of Wyoming history. M. W. Rankin's
Reminiscences of Frontier Days seems to deserve a place
because it supplies unique source material on the settlement
of the Snake River valley in the seventies and eighties —
a less glamorous, but no less vital era in Wyoming history,
than the fur-trading, Indian-fighting days. And to inject
a purely personal opinion from the reviewer, a half dozen

90 ANNALS OF WYOMING

poems in T. H. Ferril's Westering — "Fort Laramie" and
"Something Starting Over" as examples — have more Wyo-
ming flavor than all of Neihardt's "Songs." The whole
volume is so well known and widely loved that it has per-
haps earned a right to be listed as a basic item of Wyoming-
ana.

The second bibliography is described in the preface as
"the more important" of the two and as "a comprehensive
annotated bibliography of recent books about Wyoming,
that is, books published in the decade 1939-1949." It lists
two hundred and forty-four items, with exact titles, full
bibliographical details, and content annotations. The com-
piler twice describes it as a list of "books about Wyoming"
and states her chief criterion in selecting the books thus:
"they had to deal with Wyoming, chiefly or entirely." Sub-
sequent remarks in the preface amend the terms of her
selection by noting that books dealing with Lewis and
Clark, ranch life, cowboys, sheep-raising, Indians of the
region, and the like, have been included in some instances
because they explain Wyoming history and Wyoming folk-
ways. It is unfortunate that such emphasis has been put
upon the conditions, "books about Wyoming" and books
that "deal with Wyoming, chiefly or entirely." Fewer than
half the books in the second bibliography can be forced
into such a classification. All of the titles can be justified,
however, on the basis of the implied qualification.

Since the second bibliography is purportedly comprehen-
sive, this label invites the suggestion of additions. Some
good books on the building and builders of railroads have
been omitted. Two recent novels, C. B. Davis' Temper the
Wind and Jack Schaefer's Shane, Olga Arnold's I'll Meet
You in the Lobby, and Wilson Clough's new volume of
poems, We Borne Along, are 1949 items which may have
appeared after the bibliography took final form. If so,
they deserve listing in the first supplement. Wayne Gard's
Frontier Justice has good chapters on cattle and sheep wars
in Wyoming. Neihardt's Cycle of the West, including a
helpful preface and all five "Songs," provides a useful sub-
stitute for the five separate volumes. It might also be
suggested that Frank Waters' The Colorado is in many
respects a far more revealing and sensitively written inter-
pretation of the geographical and cultural environment of
the region than Thane's High Border Country or Vestal's
The Missouri.

It is easy for a reviewer to quibble over misleading prefa-
tory intentions and to point out inevitable omissions in a
bibliography. It is more difficult, and of course more im-
portant, to evaluate its merits. Miss Malone has done a

BOOK REVIEWS 91

solid piece of scholarship and made a valuable contribution
in compiling her Wyomingana. Her search has been pa-
tient, painstaking, and fruitful; her comments on content
and style exhibit accuracy and discrimination. The prom-
ised supplementary lists will be anticipated and encouraged
by all who share her interest in western materials and ad-
mire her competency in bibliographical research.

Professor of English
University of Wyoming

RUTH HUDSON

Steamboats on the Western Rivers. By Louis C. Hunter.
(Harvard University Press, 1949. 684 pp. $10.00.)

In the pre-railroad era, the steamboat was the principal
technological agent in the transformation of the greater
part of the vast Mississippi basin from a sparsely settled,
rude frontier society to a populous region on the threshold
of economic and social maturity. Throughout the second
quarter of the nineteenth century the wheels of commerce
in this immense region were almost literally paddle wheels.
"Without the steamboat the advance of the frontier, the
rise of cities, the growth of manufacturing, and the eman-
cipation of an agricultural people from the drab confines
of a frontier economy would all have taken place, but they
would have been slowed to the tempo of keelboat, flatboat,
and canal barge and to the tedious advance of stagecoach
and wagon train. The growth of the West and the rise
of steamboat transportation were inseparable; they Were
geared together and each was dependent upon the other,
p. 32"

In depicting this phase of the development of the West
the author has placed chief emphasis on the economic,
social and technological conditions which created the need
for, and under which the steamboat was introducsd and
operated rather than following the usual custom of relating
its history primarily in terms of the activities and achieve-
ments of the individual inventors associated with its devel-
opment. In so doing, Mr. Hunter has written a thorough
and scholarly account of the history of the steamboat on
the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Unfortunately for resi-
dents of the Trans-Mississippi West, steamboat navigation
of the Columbia, Willamette and Sacramento rivers is not
mentioned. Except for scattered references to the upper-
Missouri river traffic, little attention is devoted to the role

92 ANNALS OF WYOMING

the steamboat played in the economic development of this
part of the West.

He traces the introduction, construction and operation,
structural evolution and mechanical development of the
vessel itself. Considerable attention is devoted to the hull,
engines, shafts, boilers, valves, steam pressure gauges and
other highly essential factors in effective operation which
have been largely overlooked in the traditional accounts
of steamboating on western rivers. He describes the tech-
niques of operation and the organization and conduct of
steamboat transportation which, during its heyday, was
preeminently the field of small-scale individual enterprises.
The typical entrepreneur was a small operator; the typical
business involved the operation of a single steamboat. The
trend toward monopoly so striking in other lines of business
activity during the third quarter of the nineteenth century
was scarcely perceptible here.

Mr. Hunter pictures the conditions of life, labor and
society on the steamboat, describes the growth of compe-
tition among the steamboat operators, and between the
steamboat interests and the railroads, and discusses the
rise, peak and decline of river traffic. He concludes the
volume with the triumph of the railroads, the end of the
traditional mode of steamboat transportation and the rise
of the tow-boat and barge industry.

The extension of railroad lines into the areas formerly
monopolized by the river craft spelled the end of the steam-
boat industry. Older river men were practically unanimous
in the conviction that unfair railroad practices, rather than
fair and open competition, were to blame for the collapse of
river steamboat traffic after the 1850's. The railroads, ac-
cording to this view, under-cut and eventually eliminated the
old-time steamboat interests not only by discrimination,
rate-cutting, monopolizing of waterfronts and obstructing
river traffic by their bridges, but also by unethical use by
rail interests of their greatly superior resources, their in-
fluence with political parties and domination of courts and
state legislatures.

The author, quite correctly, draws the conclusion that an
objective appraisal of all factors involved in the passing
of the steamboat must reject this thesis, while in no way
implying that the railroads can be exonerated from the
foregoing charges. Where railroads supplied frequent,
fast, regularly scheduled and reliable service, steamboat op-
erations were slow, uncertain and unreliable. Limited by
nature to a short operating season, beset by a variety of
natural hindrances and hazards, steamboats were unable to
keep pace in the post-Civil War period. Moreover, "steam-

BOOK REVIEWS 93

boats were able to play a vital role in the economic life of
the West only so long as population, industry, and trade
were concentrated along the trunk lines of the river system.
The maximum territorial extent of their service was
reached for all practical purposes by mid-century. Through
their ability to run virtually anywhere and at all seasons
railroads freed the West from the narrow geographic
bounds within which the agencies of river transportation
operated, providing independent access to all parts of the
great Mississippi Valley p. 605" — thus terminating the
steamboat era on western rivers.

The work is characterized by a high level of scholarship
and general excellence. With the exception of the navi-
gable rivers of the Trans-Mississippi West, the author has
covered the phases of the subject as carefully and compre-
hensively as the availability of source material permits and
has illustrated the material with numerous drawings, pic-
tures, charts and tables. Although it is primarily a schol-
ar's volume, chapters 5-11 should provide interesting and
informative reading for the general public. Societies, asso-
ciations and students of history interested in the fresh
water aspect of western transportation will find it in-
valuable.

ALTON B. OVIATT

Assistant Professor of History
Montana State College, Bozeman

The North American Buffalo. By Franklin Gilbert Roe.
(University of Toronto Press, 1951. viii + 957 pp.
$12.00.)

The complete title of this book, "The North American
Buffalo. A Critical Study of the Species in the Wild State,"
is a very appropriate one because the publication is a very
critical treatise of what has been previously written about
the North American buffalo. The author presents a vast
amount of historical evidence concerning the buffalo from
many diverse sources. Since the evidence is so diverse and
often times contradictory, Mr. Roe has attempted to ap-
praise the witnesses of the historical evidence which is
presented as well as to critically appraise their testimonies
and opinions.

The actual historical period of the North American buf-
falo in its wild state, as far as white man is concerned, is

94 ANNALS OF WYOMING

relatively short in spite of the great numbers which at one
time were present on the North American continent. The
extirpation of the buffalo from most parts of its pristine
range was so rapid that little reliable scientific information
was obtained during the time of its greatest abundance.
Mr. Roe calls attention to the fact that "The scientific in-
quirer, instead of being the first in the field, was among the
last." Although there was a large number of people who
became intimately acquainted with the buffalo as a result
of the westward spread of the North American white pop-
ulation and the utilization of the buffalo for sustenance and
commercial gain, yet these people were not interested in
making and recording accurate observations. Many of
these early settlers were practically illiterate and by the
time their observations had been passed on by word of
mouth to individuals who were interested in the historical
aspects of the buffalo they had become distorted, exagger-
ated, and much of it generally unreliable. Thus it has be-
come necessary to painstakingly search out all available
information and to carefully evaluate it in the light of the
information which is available. It is my opinion that Mr.
Roe has done a most comprehensive job in sorting the
wheat from the chaff.

It is pointed out by Roe that there have been "three
serious historical generalizers on buffalo." The first of
these is Professor Joel A. Allen whose publication entitled
"The American Bison, Living and Extinct" was published
in 1876. This is among the best of our historical writings
concerning the buffalo but it does not include any account
of the final slaughter of the buffalo in northern United
States and Canada which occurred during the period of
1877 to 1883. Dr. W. T. Hornaday is the next important
writer in chronological order whose publication entitled
"The Extermination of the American Bison, with a Sketch
of its Discovery and Life History" was published in 1877.
Hornaday is referred to by Roe as " — a zoologist of the
first order, but a very inferior historian." Earnest Thomp-
son Seton is the third of this group of writers and although
he had much wider opportunities to benefit from highly
important publications which were produced from the time
of Hornaday 's (1887) until 1910 when he published his
"Life-Histories of Northern Animals" he evidently failed
to take advantage of them and is referred to by Roe as
" — the most deficient of all."

The writings of these three men (Allen, Hornaday and
Seton) are very frequently referred to by Roe throughout

BOOK REVIEWS 95

this publication in regard to various historical aspects of
the buffalo. Those aspects which are contradictory, ques-
tionable or not adequately supported by reliable historical
evidence by these earlier writers are critically surveyed by
Roe who has made a fruitful attempt to, as nearly as pos-
sible, straighten out many of these controversial issues.
This has involved, wherever possible, the insertion of the
observer's testimony in his own words; the reference to as
many contributions as possible on questionable issues; and
the precise documentation of all statements which Roe
makes. Such documentation and the citing of the numerous
references by Roe in an attempt to substantiate his own
thinking in the matter is commendable but it doesn't make
for enjoyable reading. Most every page is subtended by
footnotes which would perhaps become wearisome to the
average reader. To the historian and to the biologist, how-
ever, such documentation offers a wealth of valuable in-
formation and sources from which additional details may
be obtained.

This publication should be of considerable interest and
value to the biologist since most of it deals with the prob-
able origin and distribution of the buffalo in North Amer-
ica; its general life history and characteristics; agencies
which were destructive to the buffalo, other than man;
populations which were attained in various parts of the
United States and Canada; the controversial matters con-
cerning the migratory behavior of the buffalo ; the destruc-
tion of the "Southern" and "Northern" herds in the United
States and the final elimination of the buffalo in western
Canada ; and the influence of the buffalo on the Indian.

It should also be of value to the historian since the story
of the buffalo also embraces the chronology and historical
background of the whiteman as he pushed westward from
the Atlantic seaboard across the Great Plains region to
the Rocky Mountains of the United States and Canada. A
great deal of Indian history within the area of the buffalo
range is also incorporated.

The body of this publication embraces 680 pages. This
is supplemented by 34 appendices which total 216 pages.
The bibliography contains over 400 references and is fol-
lowed by- an excellent index.

REED W. FAUTIN

Associate Professor of Zoology
University of Wyoming

96 ANNALS OF WYOMING

My Sixty Years on the Plains. By W. T. Hamilton. (Orig-
inally published in 1905, now reprinted 1951 by Long's
College Book Co., Columbus, Ohio, vi + 244 pp. $6.00.)

The fascinating tale of a native of Scotland, born on the
River Till in the Cheviot Hills, who became one of the
fabulous company of "Mountain Men" of the western plains,
is told by W. T. Hamilton. The story, in the first person,
covers the years from 1840 to 1900, and he was 82 years of
age when he wrote of his sixty years on the plains.

The family finally settled in St. Louis after traveling over
much of the eastern part of the country. Because the
young son of the family, William, had developed ill health,
his father arranged for him to become a member of a band
of hunters and trappers who were to trap in fur country
to the west for a year. The party consisted of eight men,
with Bill Williams and Perkins as leaders, both famous
mountain men. The young man's father paid a third of the
cost of outfitting the band, which gave his son a correspond-
ing interest.

From the time he started with this band of fearless ad-
venturers and seasoned frontiersmen, his life became one
episode after another of sheer adventure. Told in his dry
style, recounting the bare facts with little embellishment,
the stark reality of the tales he recounts impresses the
reader more than any story done in a lavish fashion with
undue stress on the deeds of himself and his companions.

Under the leadership of Williams and Perkins, both out-
standing mountain men, he learned fast, and became adept
in the ways of the wilds. To a mountain man, it meant his
life to become careless, and Hamilton practiced endlessly
with his arms, and in woodcraft, to become self sufficient,
and able to pull his weight in the company of mountain men.

That the "Mountain Men" were a breed apart is well
understood by all who have learned anything at all about
them, and Hamilton brings out in his book just how re-
markable they really were. His tales of their prowess show
their indomitable courage and resourcefulness. He never
ceases to give praise to his friends among the mountain
men, whom he admired whole-heartedly.

As the party traveled through the trackless wilderness
of the western country, searching out the streams where
the beaver could be trapped, they naturally came in contact
with Indian tribes along the way, and in a very short time
young Hamilton learned the sign talk used universally by
Indian tribes. He became very proficient, and was known
as the most expert sign talker of any white man, and he

BOOK REVIEWS 97

was better than many Indians. He said that this came to
him with no effort, and was as much a surprise to him as it
was to others. Indians often questioned him about his
ability, thinking that he must have been reared by Indians
or that maybe he was a half-breed. Throughout his career
this ability was of great value to him in his many dealings
with Indians.

Among the most interesting and valuable parts of Ham-
ilton's book are his detailed descriptions of important activ-
ities of the "Mountain Men." He told of their methods of
fighting Indians, and claimed that 50 well armed mountain
men could hold off any number of Indians, and made the
statement, "I know this to be so."

He gave the method for making the pemmican, the dried
meat which was life-giving food on the plains for Indian
and hunter alike. He explained many of the customs of
the Indian tribes he knew, and gave some wise advice, such
as "never let an Indian escape who has once attacked you."
Also, he stated that Indians were good losers in games or
races. He said that well trained horses, and ability to
shoot straight paid off. Also, he claimed that the white
hunters were better at dressing skins than the Indians, and
that they were better at hand to hand combat, and in fact
in any battle. "To kill the chief of an Indian band is to
win the battle"; also he made the statement that the In-
dians could not stand the white man's charge, and he de-
scribed the methods used by the mountain men.

His tales of the rendezvous of the trappers and mountain
men were of interest, because that is one thing everyone
has heard about this group of frontiersmen. Also, he gave
some interesting information on trading companies oper-
ating in the west, and his dealings with them.

Hamilton, early in his career with the western men, de-
cided to cast his lot with them, and wrote to his father to
say he would not be home.

He lived the adventurous life of a mountain man, until
he retired to open a trading post. He served as an army
scout, and became a sheriff and later a deputy U. S. Marshal
and came to the aid of U. S. forces when the Sioux went
on the Warpath. He returned finally to settle in the valley
of the Yellowstone, and made his home in Columbus, Mon-
tana. He died in Billings at the age of 86 years, in 1908.
His story is well worth while, and it is good reading; it is a
picture of a section of our history which is like no other
history anywhere in the world.

98 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Eight fine illustrations by Charles M. Russell are included
in the book.

MRS. FRANCES SEELY WEBB

Woman's Editor
Casper Tribune Herald

Back Trailing on Open Range. By Luke D. Sweetman.
(Caxton, 1951. 247 pp. $3.50.)

Luke D. Sweetman, veteran stockman, arrived in Mon-
tana in 1885 at the age of eighteen after helping to trail
3000 cattle from Kansas. The LU herd was taken to the
range on Little Dry, sixty-five miles north of Miles City,
where the northern and southern herds of the outfit were
thrown together on the open range. Here the country was
covered with nutritious grass and fresh water streams, and
after the passing of the buffalo it became a cattle haven.

Prior to 1882 there were few cattle north of the Yellow-
stone River, but by the end of 1885 the range was well
stocked — over stocked some cowmen claimed and "black-
balled" new outfits coming in. By 1883 the buffalo were
almost gone, to the author's disappointment, although he
later fulfilled his wish to take part in a buffalo chase. He
mentions the expedition of Dr. Hornaday of the Smith-
sonian Institute in which buffalo were killed for scientific
purposes.

On the open range roundups were held from early spring
until late fall. The author took part in these events and
gives the reader a good picture of the work and the play
of the cowboy. In winter line camps were maintained and
the line riders scouted for unbranded calves to brand and
kept the cattle thrown back on the winter range. At such
times the author indulged in amusements such as making
chokecherry jam, shooting antelope, roping a wild cow to
get fresh milk, and an occasional card game.

The question "Why do cowboys carry guns?" is answered
by Mr. Sweetman, showing that they carried weapons not
to shoot up the town, but for such practical purposes as
killing a wounded or injured animal, and protecting them-
selves from wild beasts.

The winter of 1886-87 was a severe one when the killing
wind drove everything before it and high snows left the
river bottoms literally covered with dead cattle, a loss to
cattlemen in many instances of from sixty to ninety percent.

BOOK REVIEWS 99

The chinook wind which thaws the snow failed to material-
ize, and many stockmen were ruined. While the roundup
of 1886 was a huge and spectacular affair, after that date
they were never elaborate.

The author was clever and knew how to perform the
skillful ways of roping and handling broncs. He became a
horse dealer after the winter of 1886 and purchased a
small bunch of broken horses. With these he struck north
to the line of the proposed railroad, later the Great North-
ern, where he disposed of his stock. He gives a humorous
account of how mosquitoes attacked both horses and men
when camped on the Little Missouri River.

With his first venture a success he continued in the horse
business. His sales took him eastward to Dakota Territory
and Minnesota where he sold horses to the new settlers
who were breaking up the virgin prairie. He also 'took
some dirt contracts and freighted grain. For a while he
was in partnership with Loring B. Rea until the latter's
death.

Mr. Sweetman describes a number of outlaw horses he
rode and his method of holding a horse down after the
horse was "front-footed." In such a maneuver the horse
was roped and choked down. Then "if one of the boys
was quick enough he could fall on his head, shove a
knee against his neck, grab his nose with both hands, turn
it upward and hold it there ..." The reviewer has found
that a more efficient and a safer way to hold a horse down
is to pull the tail through between the horse's hind legs and
out along his side, stand with one knee on the horse's thigh,
the other about the end of the short ribs and pull back on
the tail with all one's strength. Some horses can kick a
person off their heads.

Mr. Sweetman has given many interesting sidelights on
Montana's history and has listed names of persons and
outfits once prominent in that state. He has here, in spite
of the hardships, the outlaw horses and the long-billed mos-
quitoes, depicted a life that will appeal to most of his read-
ers and especially to those who have ridden the trails and
enjoyed similar experiences, as has the reviewer.

A. S. GILLESPIE

Laramie, Wyoming

Back Trailing is a factual story by one who was thor-
oughly familiar with the range days in Montana. It is well

100 ANNALS OF WYOMING

written and easy reading — the story of a lifetime from
cowpuncher to ranch owner.

RUSSELL THORP

Field Representative, American Livestock Ass'n
Cheyenne, Wyoming

Accessions

to the
WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

June 1, 1951 to December 31, 1951

Miscellaneous Gifts

Buhler, Ernest, Lancaster, Wisconsin — Four pieces of French money.

Casselman, C. V., Cheyenne, Wyoming — Moro shield; "house wife"
kit, laniard rope used to fire cannon and time fuse used to ex-
plode mortar shells, all used during Civil War; New Testament
removed from dead Southern soldier January 15, 1865.

Coe, W. R., New York, N. Y. — 22 colored prints of early Indian chiefs
and early western frontiersmen; autographed portrait of W. R.
Coe.

Converse, Mrs. N. Jesse, Estate, Laramie, Wyoming — 16 museum
items including parasols, fans, inkwells, combs, rocking chair
100 years old.

Dobbins, Gertrude Wyoming, Estate, Los Angeles, California — Nu-
merous articles of clothing, silver spoons, pictures, manuscript
materials, scrapbooks, clippings and pamphlets.

Doty, D. D., Freeport, Louisiana — U. S. one cent piece, 1779.

Fox, W., Lagrange, Wyoming — 2 manuscripts dealing with the his-
tory of Lagrange.

Hale, Dorothy, Cheyenne, Wyoming — Sofa cushion with pictures of
ships that made a world cruise.

Hunton, Mrs. E. Deane, Laramie, Wyoming — 8 photographs including
pictures of Mesdames Warren, Ross, Kendrick, Dawes, Coolidge,
Robertson and Eggleston.

Kenworthy, Bob, Cheyenne, Wyoming — Swedish pipe, 10 rare sea
shells, 1 Portuguese and 3 Japanese coins.

McCreery, Mrs. Alice Richards, Los Angeles, California — W. A.
Richards card case; 13 buttons (2 Frontier Days, 1895, 1898,
8 souvenir, 3 Army insignia ) ; back issues of Annals of Wyoming
and 5th and 6th reports of the Wyoming State Historical Society.

Peyton, Mrs. Pauline E., Douglas, Wyoming — Minutes of Philhar-
monic Society of Douglas; membership list of Douglas Music
Club, 1922; 2 letters of E. B. Shaffner.

Roseboom, Jesse, Portland, Oregon — 7 pictures of Indian pictographs
in Owl Creek Canyon, Wyoming.

Shingle, Dr. J. D., Cheyenne, Wyoming — Coin silver watch made in
1851; opera coat made from Paisley shawls; hand woven cover
made in 1840; shawl made about 1836; program, Wyoming's
Welcome to Gen. John J. Pershing, 1920; Wyoming State Trib-
une, Feb. 19, 1931.

Strong, Mrs. Madge E., Torrington, Wyoming — Check of John Lon-
don, post trader at Ft. Laramie, dated Nov. 8, 1883, on M. E.
Post & Co.

Stimpson, J. E., Cheyenne, Wyoming — 899 items, chiefly pictures of
early Wyoming scenes and people; early programs.

102 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Thorp, Russell, Cheyenne, Wyoming — J. B. Okie branding iron; hand
wrought andirons from late W. A. Richards home on Nowood
Creek; flat iron brought to Wyoming by Cicero Avant in 1880's;
old time butter bowl presented to Wyoming Stock Growers
Ass'n by Mrs. R. E. Holland of Ten Sleep.

Wadsworth, Mrs. Frank, Lonetree, Wyoming — History and programs
of the Wyoming Cowbelles for 1950.

Books and Pamphlets. — Gifts

Author — Western Sketches and War Poems by Richard Brackenbury.

1945.
Author — Jackson Hole, How to Discover and Enjoy It by Josephine

C. Fabian. 1951.
Author — Cheyenne Looking North by E. O. Fuller. 1951 (Reprinted

from ANNALS OF WYOMING.
Author — Chipeta by Perry W. Jenkins. 1950.

Author — This is the Sun Dance by Marie Montabe and Lynn St. Clair.
Author — Mother is a Grand Old Name! An American Family Grows

Up by Alice Downey Nelson. 1950.
Author — Westport, Gateway to the Early West by Louis O. Honig.

1950.
Morgan, Nicholas G — Heart Throbs of the West, Vol. 12, by Kate

B. Carter. 1951.
Richardson, Warren — Westward America by Howard R. Driggs. 1942.
Bretney, H. Clay — War of the Rebellion, Reports and Correspon-
dence, Volumes 13, 22, 34, 41. 1893.

Books — Purchased

Brayer, H. O.— Stock Raising in the Northwest 1884. 1951.

Coleman, Laurence Vail — Museum Buildings. 1950.

Dahlquist, Laura — Meet Jim Bridger. 1948.

Dunham, Harold H., Editor — 1950 Westerners Brand Book, Denver
Posse. 1951.

Fischer, Hail — Author Headings for the Official Publications of the
State of Wyoming. 1951.

Grant, Bruce — The Cowboy Encyclopedia. 1951.

Hamilton, Charles — Cry of the Thunderbird. 1950.

Honig, Louis O. — James Bridger, Pathfinder of the West. 1951.

McPherren, Ida — Imprints on Pioneer Trails. 1950.

Mumey, Nolie— Calamity Jane, 1852-1903. 1950.

Mumey, Nolie— 1859 Pikes Peak Guide Books (Reprints) : S. R. Olm-
stead; John W. Oliver; Parsons. 1950 and 1951.

Mumey, Nolie — The Black Ram of Dinwoody Creek. 1951.

Nelson, Dick J. — Only a Cow Country. 1951.

Parker, Arthur C. — A Manual for History Museums. 1935.

Wood, Dean Earl — The Old Santa Fe Trail from the Missouri River.
1951.

State Historical Society of Colorado — Index to the Colorado Maga-
zine, Volumes I to XXV. 1950.

Calamity Jane (By Herself). A facsimile.

MmIs of Wyoming

July 1952

Number 2

HISTORICAL MAGAZINE

Published Biannually

by

THE WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

Cheyenne, Wyoming^

WYOMING STATE LIBRARY AND HISTORICAL BOARD

Fred W. Marble, Chairman Cheyenne

Elwood Anderson Gillette

Mrs. Geraldine Z. Brimmer Rawlins

Thomas O. Cowgill Cody

Mrs. Esther Mockler Dubois

Mrs. Leora Peters Wheatland

Mrs. Bertha Taylor Mountain View

Earl E. Wakeman Newcastle

Attorney-General Harry S. Harnsberger, Ex-officio

STAFF PERSONNEL

of

THE WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

Lola M. Homsher, Editor State Archivist

Ex-officio State Historian

ASSISTANTS

Henryetta Berry Mrs. Winifred S. Kienzle

Mary Elizabeth Cody

The ANNALS OF WYOMING is published semi-annually, in
January and July, by the Wyoming State Historical Department,
Cheyenne, Wyoming. Subscription price, $2.00 a year; single num-
bers, $1.00. Communications should be addressed to the Editor. The
Editors do not assume responsibility for statements of fact or of
opinion made by contributors.

Copyright, 1952, by the Wyoming State Historical Department

Mnals of Wyoming

Volume 24 July 1952 Number 2

Zable of Contents

MERRIS C. BARROW, SAGEBRUSH PHILOSOPHER

AND JOURNALIST, PART II 3

Margaret Prine

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 73

M. B. Rhodes

»

WYOMING ZEPHYRS 113

by the Editor

BOOK REVIEWS

Graham, The Story of the Little Big Horn

Kuhlman, Legend into History 120

A. M. Pence

Brown and Schmitt, Trail Driving Days 122

Agnes Wright Spring

Monaghan, The Great Rascal 124

Rose Mary Malone

Vestal, Joe Meek, the Merry Mountain Man 126

Burton Harris

ILLUSTRATIONS

Douglas in 1900 2

Merris C. Barrow 3

Lawns and Trees in Douglas 32

M. C. Barrow Home 56

Methodist Church in Basin, Dedicated July 15, 1906 73

INDEX TO VOLUME 24 129

THE LUSK HERALD--LUSK, WYO.

', ':

two

m

Morris C. ftarwwz Sagebrush
Philosopher and journalist

PART II

FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND SOCIAL LIFE

The Barrows were apparently a gifted couple. Both were
sociable, personable in appearance, and industrious. They
were different, however, in temperament, thus complement-
ing each other.

Merris C. Barrow was a large, good-looking man,1 and
scholarly in appearance.2 He was sbr3wd and intelligent,
and impressed people as possessing both native wit and
education.3 One of his most striking physical character-
istics was his profusion of hair, which he wore a little
longer than did the average man of his time and which,
as it turned grey, added to his distinguished appearance.4

He is remembered as a happy-go-lucky person who liked
to mix with people.5 It is said that he never passed ac-
quaintances or strangers without speaking, a fact which
might explain why he was so popular.6 In any group Bar-
row was a good talker, but one never knew what he was
going to say.7 He could always tell a good story,8 whether
truthful or fictitious, and, he made a perfect companion.9
Not only was he able to adapt himself to any crowd or

1. Mrs. Harvey Allan, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, Oct., 1946.

2. Eli Peterson, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

3. W. K. Wiker, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

4. Ben Steffen, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

5. Charles W. Horr, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

6. Peterson, Interview, March, 1948.

7. Steffen, Interview, March, 1948.

8. T. S. Cook, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

9. Peterson, Interview, March, 1948.

4 ANNALS OF WYOMING

surroundings,10 but he was a man of wide and varied in-
terests.

He loved horses and had a very good driving team.11
He must have been a picturesque figure driving his chestnut
browns down the street in 1898. He was also fond of dogs.
Since he was a hunting enthusiast, he was especially fond
of his water spaniel, which was a good hunting dog. The
attachment he felt for his pet is reflected in the following
passage :

He died the other day, after a residence of more than twelve
years among us. He was honest; steadfast and true in his
friendships, and his devotion to duty as he saw it. He had many
friends whom he never failed to greet during the years he trod
our streets, and who will miss him. He has had troubles — who
has not? — but they, as he, are of the past. His body wasted
away; his eyes grew dim and his step uncertain; he died. A
lowly mound neath a willow tree in my garden marks the spot
where kind hands laid him away. His name was Dennis. He
was a good dog. (XVII, 9, 1902.)*

Barrow is remembered as a lover of music, especially of
the more popular variety. He played the mouth organ,
guitar, and banjo himself and liked to join in group sing-
ing.12 It is also said that visiting actors and musicians
were often guests in the Barrow home.13

Merris Barrow wrote with a flourish, both literally and
journalistically, supporting the things in which he believed
and opposing strenuously the things he could not accept.
Of himself and his own writing he said, "Reasonably truth-
ful, not too lazy, not so homely as might be and never so
well pleased with himself as when some democratic imitator
of the sometime since deceased Ananias is punching holes
in his hide." (XII, January 5, 1898).

He created about himself a sort of legend of mystery,
according to some contemporaries, which might have
stemmed from some of the peculiarities in which he in-
dulged. For example, anyone sliding into the editor's big
chair would have been confronted with the stare of a human
skull, occupying a conspicuous place on his desk (III, 15,
1888). On the other side one saw a clock with the hands
off, "stopped ninety years ago," with the words, "Time
was made for slaves," emblazoned upon the dial (Guest
Editor, III, 15, 1888). In the center lay a book which in-

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid.

13. A. J. Mokler, Interview, Casper, Wyoming, October, 1946.
^Quotations from the Budget are documented in the text by a

roman numeral for the volume, an arabic numeral for the number
of the issue, and the year when the date is not given in the text. — Ed.

MERRIS C. BARROW 5

eluded the names of subscribers. Opposite this and to the
right was a "Scalp Book," beneath which dangled at one
time the following cards, "The Douglas Advertiser," the
"Rowdy West," etc. (Guest Editor, III, 15, 1888) .

From this "sanctum sanctorum" (III, 15, 1888) he went
home to a wife who had a great deal more patience than her
editor husband. She was short, somewhat stout, jolly, full
of fun, and prompt, a person with whom one could always
have a good time.14 She was, according to Barrow's own
report, a very important part of his life. When a writer
of the Sheridan Post guessed that Barrow was not a bach-
elor because he knew too much about women's "make-up"
and not a married man or his mind would not run so much
in that direction, Barrow answered as follows:

There is a Mrs. Bill. She owns one-half of these premises, real
and personal. She is foreman of the Budget job rooms; is one
of the best newspaper compositors in the territory; is the
Budget's head book-keeper and cashier, and is a model wife and
mother. Even the lazy lunatic who wabbles at the other end of
this pencil at this moment is forced to admit that the term
"better half" isn't strong enough to describe her many virtues.
(II, 12, 1887).

Like her husband she was a hard worker. She helped
with the paper, managed a stationery store, and conducted
a greenhouse. Yet she also found time to develop her per-
sonal interests, for she was a good shot and was known as
a chicken fancier.15 With all this she still managed her
home with only a minimum of help.

At first the Barrows lived in the back of the Budget of-
fice in two or three rooms, but in October, 1890, they let
the contract for a $1,500 residence to be erected at the
corner of Center and Fifth Streets (V, 19, 1890). The
large greenhouse built by Mrs. Barrow adjoined this resi-
dence. Here she offered roses in bloom on April 1, 1891,
as well as cabbage and tomato plants (V, April 1, 1891).

In spite of the demands of their social and business life,
the Barrows still found time for travel, sometimes together
and sometimes separately. The members of the press were
usually given passes in those days on all the railroads,16
and this, of course, made more extensive travel possible
for those who were just comfortably situated financially.
When the Barrows traveled they always stopped at the
best hotels of their day, the Brown Palace in Denver and
the Palmer House in Chicago.17 Here they mingled with

14. Rice, Interview, March, 1948.

15. Peterson, Interview, March, 1948.

16. Roy Combs, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

17. Mrs. Tom Bulline, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

6 ANNALS OF WYOMING

the wealthy and prominent people of the country. When
their paper was but three years old, they were absent
several weeks during which time they "did" Chicago and
Milwaukee, "the national brewery," enjoyed a run on the
lakes as far north as Buffalo, visited relatives in Nebraska,
and returned home by way of Denver dead broke according
to an account in the Budget (III, 13, 1888).

One time Mrs. Bill went to a convention without her
editor husband. He announced her planned departure in
his characteristic way in the Budget:

Mrs. Bill has served notice on me that during the next three
weeks I must darn — or otherwise as the case may be — my own
socks, sew on such suspentier-sustainers as may happen to let
go and do the thousand-and-one other things which fall to the
lot of a good wife in "looking after" a careless, rather absent
minded and certainly cantankerous old cuss like you and I. She
has "rolled her blankets" and goes to Hot Springs, Arkansas,
as a delegate to the National Editorial Association which con-
venes in that city April 18. (XVI, 44, 1902).

Editor Bill did go to meet her, however, and his notice of
this trip in the Budget contained typical Bill Barlow phil-
osophy :

Mrs. Bill has returned from Hot Springs, Arkansas, where
she went to attend the National Editorial Convention, and I
have returned from St. Louis where I went to intercept, corral,
halter-break and bring home Mrs. Bill ... I am from that terri-
tory lying west of the Father of Waters and immejetly adjacent
to the south line of Iowa, over beyant bleeding Kansas, insofar
as financial or material benefits to be derived from shopses-
sions of this sort; but from a social standpoint they are hot
stuff, and should be indulged in by the fraternity as often as
opportunity offers and one's wallet will warrant. We are all
too prone to hold our individual nose on the grindstone of close
application to duty. Life is all we get out of life, anyway — and
as Demosthenes casually remarked to his typewriter as he
kissed her once more for luck and then quaffed the hemlock
highball — we will probably be a long time dead. (XVI, 47, 1902).

There were also many short trips to Denver and Cheyenne,
sometimes for business reasons but usually for pleasure.
As Barrow said, he felt that he would "probably be a long
time dead."

In the Barrow family there were three children. The
eldest was a girl named Elizabeth, the next a daughter
named Helen May, and the youngest a son, Merris C, Jr.
The boy died while the Barrows lived in Rawlins, on Novem-
ber 10, 1884. As might be expected his death as a result of
pneumonia was a severe blow to Barrow, who had no doubt
made many plans for his son. After the death of his son,
Barrow is said to have spent many days just walking by
himself in the desolate country surrounding the town of
Rawlins.

When the Barrows came to Douglas, the eldest daughter

MERRIS C. BARROW 7

was left at her Grandfather Barrow's probably to attend
school, and never seemed afterward to fit into the house-
hold of her parents. In the religious home of her grand-
parents, she apparently developed attitudes and ideals that
did not coincide with the home life of her parents. She
did live with them, however, during part of those early days
in Douglas and shared in home responsibilities. While she
was still very young, she met and married a man by the
name of Bert Fay, who taught school after their marriage.18
Apparently she saw little of her parents afterwards.

Little is known of Lizzie, as Mrs. Fay was called, and
references to her in the Budget are rare. She returned to
Douglas at least once after her marriage, for in the paper
of April 30, 1902, Mrs. H. B. Fay of C. P. Diaz, Old Mexico,
is mentioned as being a Douglas visitor. It is also known
that she spent some time with her Grandmother Barrow
at an uncle's home outside of Douglas.

The younger Barrow daughter was, on the other hand,
close to her parents and upon her they bestowed great af-
fection and attention. The Budget revealed much of Helen
May, from a childhood birthday party through college and
marriage. Helen was the recipient of many generosities
from her parents.

Some of the atmosphere of the Barrow household can be
seen in a record of Helen's seventh birthday party in the
Budget, under date of December 19, 1888. Nineteen little
girls assembled at the Barrow home to participate in the
"ceremonies," and from the report, the little ladies took
possession of the house (III, 29, 1888). No doubt, there
were many more such childhood parties, followed by mixed
parties when Helen began to take an interest in boys. After
high school, there was college for her at the University of
Wyoming. The Budget recorded many vacation visits dur-
ing her years at the state university at Laramie; and at the
time of her graduation in 1901, Editor Bill devoted a part
of his "Chit-Chat" column to a discussion of the accomplish-
ment (XV, 50, 1901). In 1902, Helen married Fred Brees
of Laramie, a college classmate (XVI, January 8, 1902).
Her marriage did not seem to diminish the warm parental
interest in her, for many subsequent references were made
in the Budget both to her and to her husband.

As editor of Bill Barlow's Budget, Merris Barrow seemed
to be a figure remote from the minister's family of which
he had been a part, although many of the attitudes ex-

18. W. K. Wiker and Mrs. Maude Hutchison, Interviews, Douglas,
Wyoming, March, 1948.

8 ANNALS OF WYOMING

pressed in his paper probably stemmed from his early ex-
perience in a rigidly religious home. Perhaps the son did
not respond to his father's religious teachings as much as
the elder Barrow would have liked; nevertheless, the Rev-
erend R. C. Barrow always manifested interest in his eldest
son. Barrow's father and mother came to Douglas for a
visit in August, 1889 (IV, 8, 1889). They arrived on a
Thursday; the elder Barrow was guest speaker at the Con-
gregational church on the following Sunday evening (IV, 8,
1889) ; and they left for home on the next Saturday (IV, 9,
1889). No other records exist of this visit, but it is said
that the townspeople were charmed and impressed with the
Nebraska minister and his wife.

The following June, Merris Barrow left Douglas suddenly
in response to a telegram announcing the dangerous illness
of his father (V, 1, 1890). Suffering intense pain from
dropsy, R. C. Barrow had gone to the mineral springs at
Burlington Junction, Missouri. Here he had given up all
hope of ever being well.19 He was considerably cheered by
the visit of his son from Douglas, and from the time of
Merris' visit he began to improve. Merris had a way of
talking, his brother Frank wrote, that would encourage and
raise the hopes of any sick person.20

When the elder Barrow returned home, however, he
exerted himself too much and had a relapse. Thinking a
change of air would do him good, he and his wife made a
second visit to Wyoming.21 He seemed to receive much
benefit from this trip, but again he refused to take life
easy upon his return home, and on December 10, 1890, he
died (V, 27, 1890).

Barrow's mother spent much of her time in and around
Douglas after her husband's death and visited there during
the entire summer of 1899. No doubt she stayed with her
son in Douglas some of the time, but some acquaintances
believed that she was not too happy there, since she was
used to a more religious and much less active life.22 Prob-
ably most of her visits were with her daughter on a ranch
near Douglas. This daughter had married E. B. Combs, a
brother of Mrs. Merris Barrow. They had come from Ne-
braska in April, 1896, with a carload of live stock, farm
tools, etc., and had located on a ranch on Fetterman Flat
(X, April 29, 1896).

19. F. Earrow, R. C. Barrow, p. 74.

20. Ibid., p. 74.

21. Ibid., p. 75.

22. Roy Combs, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

MERRIS C. BARROW 9

Clot Barrow, the younger brother of the Budget's editor,
was reputedly intelligent and gifted as a writer, although
he could never settle down.23 He evidently lacked that
quality of determination which Merris had acquired from
their father. Merris' other brother, Frank, was also for a
time a newspaper man. He helped Merris and Minnie Bar-
row as a printer during their first year in Douglas (I, 40,
1887). Some years later he edited the Natrona Tribune
in Casper (X, August 4, 1895), and later the Meeteetse
News (XIX, 52, 1905), then the Sheridan Post.24 However,
his writing does not seem to have had the vitality found in
his oldest brother's work.25

Some of the Barrows' relaxation was found in trips away
from civilization. Both were good marksmen and loved to
shoot, but Mrs. Barrow did not take out much time for
shooting or hunting during the first eight years of their
life in Douglas. From the beginning of the Budget, how-
ever, there were many references to hunting trips made
by Barrow himself. One account of August 17, 1887, tells
of a party of Douglasites, "Bold, Bad Hunters," who spent
four days in the Laramie Mountains, "trying to exterminate
the wild game abounding in that area." (II, 11). Judge
Sam Slaymaker acted as their official guide and, according
to Barrow, was on speaking terms with every canyon, peak
and precipice in the entire range. "The party slaughtered
young sage chickens and grouse by the thousands; found
fresh bear tracks, sighted both elk and antelope, bagged
two deer, and had a right royal time throughout." (II, 11).
This was only one of many such trips on which tries for
big game seem always to have come second to bird hunting.

One account of a duck hunt in Cody, Nebraska, told in
third person by the Budget's editor, is especially good :

Dr. Jesurun and Bill Barlow went down to Cody, Nebraska,
after ducks last Thursday. They took with them some 1,800
rounds of ammunition exclusive of Pringle's Re-Imported Duck
Embalming Fluid, and no less than three Saratogas and a half-
dozen gunny sacks, in which to ship birds back to Douglas.
Every man, woman and child in the town was promised duck
soup on their return, and it is even asserted that Joe Hazen and
Druggist Steffen each contracted for 150 pounds of feathers,
prior to the departure of the mighty hunters.

The boys returned Monday. They brought back the trunks,
the ammunition, and the gunny sacks. We might mention, inci-
dentally, that they brought with them a goose, four teal about
the size of black birds, and three sure-enough ducks. It is even
hinted that these birds were bought of a small boy near Cody

23. Ibid.

24. Laramie Republican, XVII, 28, March 7, 1907.

25. Combs, Interview, October, 1946.

10 ANNALS OF WYOMING

who had killed 'em with a club; but affidavits have been filed
with the city clerk to the contrary . . . Messrs. Jesurun and
Barrow will go down again next fall. (VIII, April 11, 1894).

This report suggested that, since he could speak so lightly
of an unsuccessful hunting trip, he loved hunting for more
than the glory of a "big shoot." It indicates certainly that
he could make a good story out of a relatively uninteresting
experience.

Mrs. Barrow's name is listed in the Budget as being one
of a grouse-hunting party that went out in the fall of 1893
(VIII, 17). She was a hunting companion of her husband's
on many subsequent trips. No doubt, it was their love of
hunting which made them active members in the Douglas
Gun Club,26 and it is interesting to know that Mrs. Barrow
usually rated relatively high in the meets held by this
group (IX, 2, 1894), one of the most active of early Douglas
clubs.

From the first the Barrows were prominent in the social
life of Douglas, which equaled in variety and activity that
of any other frontier community. Early in the town's sec-
ond year, the Douglas Club was organized, a group com-
prising many of the business and professional men of the
town (II, 16, 1887). This club secured and equipped a suite
of rooms in the First National Bank Block and provided
for a comfortable reading and card room. Barrow, the
civic-minded editor, took a leading part in this, too, and was
a member of the club's first Executive Committee with Carl
Garver, its president, and R. W. Voxburgh (II, 16, 1887).

Together the Barrows always did their part to make any
social function of the town a success. They entered whole-
heartedly into masque balls, sometime winning awards
for their costumes. One report pictures Mrs. Barrow at the
leap year "Bal Masque" dressed as a quaint little school
girl accompanied by her husband robed as a priest (III, 3,
1888). This dance, along with many other social affairs,
was held in the opera house and was sponsored by the
Douglas Social Club, a woman's organization. Mrs. Barrow
was for a time president of this group (XVI, March 19,
1902).

The Barrows were also active members in the Douglas
Whist Club, which several times organized a series of eve-
ning contests. At one time Barrow was president of the
club (VI, November 25, 1891) and his wife was often listed
in the Budget as a winner. They played for different
prizes ; a $16 banquet lamp was given to Mrs. Barrow at the

26. Rice, Interview, March, 1948.

MERRIS C. BARROW 11

end of one series (XII, February 2, 1898), and the Rices
as winners received silver spoons during another series.27
These spoons were engraved with the initials D. W. C.
meaning Douglas Whist Club, but jokingly referred to by
the club's members as "Don't Work the Cards."28

Barrow was apparently a consistent initiator and organ-
izer of all new clubs. The Douglas Wheel Club, for example,
was organized in July, 1899, with M. C. Barrow as president
(XIV, 10, 1899). According to the Budget, committees
were named at this first meeting and $30 was subscribed
by the members for a track to be constructed inside the
county block at the head of Center Street. The ever-
willing editor was on the track committee.

Barrow was also an active Mason, a Knight Templar, and
a noble of the Mystic Shrine, and served as Master of the
local Masonic lodge in 1899, 1900, and 1901.29 Then there is
correspondence in his copy book for 1906 regarding the
charter for an Eastern Star chapter in Douglas, correspon-
dence showing Barrow's good sense in what was probably a
touchy situation. In a letter of March 29, 1906, he wrote:

I am not sure that so large a list will be entirely agreeable to
the original petitioners; but it seems the only way to avoid ill-
feeling so widespread that it promised to affect the proposed
chapter but seemed certain to stir up strife in our lodge as well
— something to avoid, if possible. 30

The picture one gets from the files of the Budget and,
in the main, from interviews with people who knew the Bar-
rows, portrays them as a busy, social-minded couple, par-
ticipating widely in organized activities and in many forms
of private entertainments, and Merris Barrow as a genial,
popular, gregarious figure. But there are people in Douglas
today who do not wish to express their opinions of Barrow.
This circumstance may mean no more than that most people
are reluctant to go on record as speaking disparagingly of
a "departed" acquaintance. There are plenty of indica-
tions, of course, in the Budget that Barrow had enemies
as well as friends; indeed, there must have been many
people who disliked him violently because of his assumption
of authority and his acid pen. It is said that he was regard-
ed by some as a person who "lorded it over his fellowmen."31
One gets an impression in Douglas, not explicitly stated by
anyone there, however, that Barrow had a reputation for

27. Rice, Interview, March, 1948.

28. Ibid.

29. Progressive Men of Wyoming, p. 500.

30. Letter to Townsend, March 29, 1906, Copy Book of M. C. Bar-
row Correspondence, p. 111.

31. Harvey Allan, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, Oct., 1946.

12 ANNALS OF WYOMING

worldliness and even "wickedness," which shocked some of
his more upright neighbors, and that this reputation took
shape largely in his later years. It is possible that his
arrogance grew with success and that most of the unpleas-
ant personal traits and habits remembered about him de-
veloped in the decade before his death.

For example, his reputation as a drinker probably pro-
voked criticism. It is remembered that he liked his whisky
and "lickered up" now and then.32 It is said extenuatingly
that he was under considerable strain before his death and
began drinking more heavily. This may have been what
he himself meant when he told an acquaintance that he was
burning the candle at both ends.33 Most reports indicate
that he was only a moderate drinker or at least one who
could drink without being visibly affected by it. W. E.
Chaplin commented as follows in 1907 in the columns of
the Laramie Republican, which he edited:

The "Sagebrush Philosopher" was given a royal welcome by
the Denver Press club the other day and was admonished not to
come to Denver again without giving the boys at least two days'
previous notice. It is their desire to do a good many things to
"Bill," but they must have a care or they will be in the same
position that the Chicago fellows got into when they entertained
the man from Douglas — all under the table while he whistled
merrily homeward. 34

In 1947 when Mr. Chaplin, then an octogenarian, was asked
to record his memories of Barrow for inclusion in this
biography, he wrote a letter in which he apparently tried
to judge Barrow fairly both as a journalist and as a man.35
Though his judgment of Barrow's morals was harsh, he
recalled that he had never heard of Barrow's getting drunk.
Perhaps the best proof that Barrow was not an habitually
excessive drinker lies in the fact that he worked energeti-
cally and effectively and produced remarkable results. Of
his drinking Barrow himself gave the following humorous
account :

The only time your Pastor to the Push was ever laid out cold
in his life was in a "dry" town down in Nebraska where you
couldn't buy, beg or steal a drop of the vile stuff — and yet Mrs.
Bill tells me with tears in her eyes to this day how it took four
men and a half-caste coon to bring me home. The fellow with
a thirst and the sign right will find it — fell with law and li-
cense. (XX, 10, 1904)

W. E. Chaplin's attitude toward Barrow perhaps reflects
as fair an estimate as one can get of the man. Chaplin

32. Peterson, Interview, March, 1948.

33. Rice, Interview, March, 1948.

34. Laramie Republican, XVII, 27, Feb., 1907.

35. Letter to author, Jan. 1, 1947.

MERRIS C. BARROW 13

knew Barrow for as long a period as did any person in
Wyoming outside Barrow's immediate family. He worked
with Barrow intimately in a newspaper office and was his
associate for many years in state affairs of various kinds.
In accounts published in the Republican Chaplin consistent-
ly spoke highly of Barrow and defended him against charg-
es of dishonesty.36 In 1918 when Chaplin wrote a series of
articles on pioneer Wyoming journalists for the Republican,
he praised Barrow's skill and influence as a journalist.37
In 1947 when Chaplin composed what he perhaps regarded
as his final estimate of Merris Barrow, he labored no doubt
to be fair to Barrow and at the same time to his own
standards of personal morality. He credited Barrow with
high abilities as a journalist, but he expressed disapproval
of him as a man. It is impossible to tell of course whether
Chaplin was at last revealing his lifelong distaste for one
facet of Barrow's character or whether he was expressing
a judgment that had taken shape with age and a develop-
ment of different attitudes on his own part. At any rate
he made the following strong comment:

Socially Earrow did not stand high. He was quite generally
known as a philanderer. He embraced vice in nearly all its
hideous forms. Alexander Pope gave vice three degrees, endure,
pity and embrace. Barrow cut out the first two. At Douglas
he belonged to a small coterie that played poker at each other's
homes. He enjoyed going over to Deadwood, where vice was
considered a virtue and gambling and prostitution were leading
industries. 38

Whatever Barrow's personal morals may have been, he
was a man of many friends, an influential editor, and a
tireless worker for local and state enterprises in which he
believed. These aspects of his life, which can be verified
and described in some detail, are after all those which give
his story significance.

36. Chaplin exonerated Barrow from guilt on the old mail fraud
charge in Laramie in 1879 (Letter to Author, Jan. 1, 1947); asserted
his competence and honesty at the time when Barrow was dismissed
from the Land Office (Republican, XXII, 25, Feb. 7, 1907); and wrote
the eulogistic obituary signed "A Friend" and published in the
Budget in 1910. Mr. Chaplin identified himself as the author of the
obituary in his letter of Jan. 1, 1947.

37. Republican, Daily Edition, "Early Wyoming Newspapers,"
Laramie, April 24, 1918.

38. Letter to author, Jan. 1, 1947. This interpretation of Chaplin's
attitude has been suggested by Dr. Ruth Hudson, who knew Mr.
Chaplin and at one time discussed Barrow with him.

14 ANNALS OF WYOMING

LOCAL LEADER AND OFFICE HOLDER

Each little frontier community had certain essential
figures among its citizenry: the contractor to construct the
town in a fitting fashion, the operator of the general store
to make available for the town's citizens all kinds of impor-
tant necessities, the blacksmith to keep the horses shod and
the wagons in repair, the grocer to ship in necessary food,
the banker to handle the money, the saloon keeper to keep
it in circulation, and the preacher to supply the necessary
spiritual spark. Certainly one of the important figures in
the little communities just getting under way all along the
frontier was the man of ideas in whose dreams cities were
often built and under whose guidance they often systemat-
ically materialized. In Douglas a good deal of the enthus-
iasm and optimism necessary for initiating and pushing the
town's development was supplied by Editor Barrow.

One of the most valuable men in any local scene is the
one willing to spend time in promoting the little projects
which help his community and bring little or no direct
honor to him. From the numerous references to such proj-
ects in the Budget, it seems evident that in this capacity
the Budget's editor did his share.

Through his newspaper Barrow constantly called to the
attention of Douglas citizens the possibility of initiating
new and better things. From these records can be gathered
a history of the town and its development under the in-
fluence of local leaders, among whom Merris C. Barrow
must unquestionably be listed as a key figure.

From his early days in Douglas until his death, Barrow
supported worthwhile activities in the town which he helped
to build. Always he recognized and proclaimed the com-
munity's possibilities. Near the end of his second year as
editor of the Budget, on March 21, 1888, he recorded a
militant defense of his town and his paper:

Envy, jealousy and anger may prompt the assertion that
Douglas is a dead town: but the Budget itself — every issue of it
— proves conclusively to the contrary. No "dead town" could
support a newspaper as the Budget is supported; no "dead
town" could long maintain such an establishment. In fact the
history of the Budget, dating from the hour of its birth, fur-
nishes ample evidence that the town of Douglas is alive, wide-
awake, growing and prosperous. The paper has made money
from the day of its inception. While two would-be rivals
winked out through sheer starvation, the Budget prospered
. . . Hence I maintain that the Budget is a monument erected
by the people of Douglas and central Wyoming which stands
today as undisputable evidence of their own prosperity. (II, 42)

Here Barrow credited Douglas with the building of the
Budget. Whether the paper made the town what it was

MERRIS C. BARROW 15

or whether the town made the paper, Merris Barrow was
right in the middle of the development.

Hardly an issue passed without a plea for some commun-
ity improvement. Probably the first project which Barrow
brought before his readers was the town's need for mail
service and a post office. A demand for this service ap-
peared in the first issue of the Budget followed by an urgent
request that everybody sign the petition being circulated
(I, 1, 1886). This item appeared before the town of Doug-
las had even been located, while people were still flocking
to Fetterman.

In the second issue of the Budget, Barrow made a call for
merchants that the town lacked. "The 'new town' has no
blacksmith shop, no bank, no shoe shop, no dry goods nor
clothing store, no barber nor harness shop." (I, 2). His
advertising of this opportunity may have brought results,
for a record of the town's merchants at a slightly later date
included the business men of this list.

The first fire which occurred in Douglas during June,
1887, suggested to Barrow another project (II, 4). The
fire started at 3 a.m. one June morning and completely
destroyed in a half hour a small frame structure on north
Second Street occupied by a couple of prostitutes. Barrow's
immediate call for a fire protection meeting resulted in the
appointment of a committee on plans and estimates as to
the probable cost of some kind of protection for the new
town against fire (II, 8, 1887). By July 27 over $600 had
been subscribed and plans were underway for purchasing
fire-fighting equipment (II, 8, 1887).

"Douglas needs a system of water works," cried Barrow
in the Budget of June 13, 1888 (III, 2) . He maintained that
the people realized this fact and would carry out the wishes
of the city fathers if they would only go ahead and build
the system. Barrow must still have had fire protection
on his mind, for he applauded the idea of a water system
by saying that the necessary extra tax would be saved by
the reduction in fire insurance rates given to a town with
running water. He spoke of many other things that the
water system would bring, mentioning especially trees and
lawns which would be made possible (III, 2).

The project for a water system was tabled because of lack
of funds and some time elapsed before it was actually
undertaken. In the meantime, Barrow's interest in pro-
curing a water system for Douglas had made his aware-
ness of fire hazards more urgent. When the water system
failed to materialize, probably it occurred to his practical
mind that the next best thing to preventing a fire was insur-

16 ANNALS OF WYOMING

ing against loss in case of fire. So he became an insurance
salesman along with his other activities. In November,
1895, the Budget was carrying an advertisement for fire
insurance. Policies on both ranch and city property would
be written by the agent, M. C. Barrow.

Barrow suggested not only the planting of trees and
lawns to make his city beautiful but through his columns
urged the public to "Clean up!" (Ill, 3, 1888). He empha-
sized the importance of keeping the streets and alleys clean
by telling his readers that the danger from decaying vege-
tation and kitchen refuse rotting in the sun could not be
estimated. "There is more danger at this time of year
than any other," said Barrow in June of 1888 (III, 3). A
continuation of his clean-up program was his ardent advo-
cacy in 1901 and 1902 of a sewer system.

Barrow was certainly in close touch with all kinds of
progress in his growing community. The Budget recorded
the closing of the Maverick Bank in January, 1888, and the
vindication of its president, the establishment of the town's
first ball club the following summer, the organization of a
cornet band, the opening of a new saloon, the arrival of a
new minister, the planning for the state fair, the opening
of a land office, the organization of the town's orchestra,
etc.

The editorial concerning the town's orchestra, which
appeared in the Budget of June 27, 1900, is especially clever
and for this reason is included in part for the reader to
enjoy:

Douglas has passed another milestone in her onward march
toward metropolitan honors; has taken another reef in her
back hair, and cultivates a new strut. We have an orchestra.
Originally the musical programme attending social functions in
these parts comprised the nasal whine of a circle of half-dressed
and less-washed Sioux squaws about a primitive tom-tom, to the
rythmic thump of which Jimmie Fewclothes and Knock-Kneed
Buffalo did the couche-couche preparatory to hashing the lungs
and liver of some luckless captive. True, the air was jerky, the
the harmony far fetched and the time most any old measure;
but it suited Poor Lo . . . A one-eyed fiddler astride a wagon
tongue come upon the scene later, and brawny freighters tread-
ed mazes of a "stag" quadrille or did a jog by the light of a
smouldering campfire, and liked it. After him the country fid-
dler— the self-taught maestro, who didn't know a musical scale
from a section of picket fence and who usually rested the bell
of his instrument on his knees — but could play "The Irish Wash-
erwoman," "Devil's Dream," etc. . . . But times have changed —
likewise the people. A few of the head push have been east, and
returned with the two-step and other modern skates, and our
children come home from school to spend their vacation and
kick because Bill Stubbs plays too fast and by ear and the same
old tunes he always did play. Those of us, too, who have dodged
the fortieth mile-post and who still hanker after terpsichorean

MERRIS C. BARROW 17

joys find the time just a shade too lively for starched collars
and soft corns — so we've risen to the dignity of an orchestra
which plays all the latest music in perfect time, and by note, and
well. We'll dispense with the caller next, I presume — that
uncrowned king of the oldtime shindig whose "Rope you Heifers
and all Chaw Hay," rings in my ears 'till yet — and otherwise
conform to social usuages of the copper-cent east. Make way
there for the spike-tail coat'. Who knows? (XV, 4, 1900)

The columns of Barrow^s paper reveal that he watched
with enthusiastic interest and lively comments the progress
of telephone expansion in his region. These news items
are worthy of mention because of what they reveal about
Barrow and about the importance of communication in
those days when transportation was still very slow. Ac-
cording to an article in the Budget of July 31, 1902, the
contract was let in Cheyenne for the distribution of 5,000
poles required for the new telephone line from Cheyenne to
Douglas (XVI, 8). In this same issue Barrow quoted the
company as saying that the line would be completed as far
as Douglas that year. By this time the poles had arrived
and had been sent to various points along the railroad from
which the distribution would occur. The wire had not ar-
rived yet but was expected within a day or two, and then
active construction would begin. The company, according
to the Budget's account, planned to start a large force of
men working on the line northward out of Cheyenne and
would put on another force at Douglas to work south if
the work did not progress rapidly.

By December 4, 1901, the telephone must have arrived.
The paper of that date contained a jubilant article concern-
ing this new luxury :

To sit in your office and talk with a friend who is seven hun-
dred and fifty miles away; to recognize his voice and almost
smell the aroma of that last clove which his tongue tells you he
must have had — it was this experience which served to bring
to my notice, the other day, the fact that the Rocky Mountain
Bell Telephone people had completed their Douglas-Cheyenne
extension, and that through the medium of this wonderful
twentieth century achievement I was enabled to swap electrified
hot air with an acquaintance at Salt Lake. And being assured
that I could play the game without limit and free of tolls, I
went the rounds and figuratively touched flesh with the boys
at Rawlins, Saratoga, Laramie, Denver, Cheyenne and other
points where either pencil-pushers or barkeepers have the honor
of my acquaintance. It was a pleasant trip. (XVI, 26)

Among the copies of Barrow's letters found in a bat-
tered old copy book was discovered an especially revealing
one — revealing in the sense that it tells better than any
person could the kind of influence wielded by the Budget's
editor in his community. This letter, written to W. F. Mc-
Farland, Esq., Superintendent of the Telegraph Office in

18 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Omaha, Nebraska, concerned the delayed installation of a
promised telephone at the depot in Douglas.

Friend McFarland: Why is it that the Northwestern (tele-
graph department) office cat persists in devouring every appeal
sent in from this man's town relative to the urgent necessity
for a telephone at the depot. As near as I can get at it, nine
thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine letters have been writ-
ten by gentlemen comprising Superintendent Vance of the Bell
company, local agents and on down the scale to poor me — all of
which asserted that a phone at the depot would not only be a
great convenience to the public generally but to the railroad
company as well — the telephone people meanwhile asserting
their willingness to install an instrument as desired and without
expense to the railroad for all time — and yet for a year and a
half these letters have gone in, only to be swallowed up in the
unfathomable whencene3s of an unknown what.

Our local te^phone exchange has now nearly 100 phones, and
the best service obtainable; it is quite a walk down to the depot
and in winter a nuisance as well. You were kind enough to say
in reply to my last query that somebody or other 'had the mat-
ter under advisement.' Did he die? If so, has his successor
been named as yet? What t'elle zemazzer, anyway? Trulyi

This chatty bit of correspondence apparently brought
prompt results. On March 30, 1904, in the "Telephone
Talk" column of the Budget reference was made to the
installation of a telephone in the depot (XIX, 42). "All
red tape difficulties have finally been overcome," (XIX, 42)
said Barrow, not revealing his own part in the operation.

Then in February, 1906, Barrow wrote to the superinten-
dent in Wyoming for the Bell Telephone Company, announc-
ing the anticipated addition of a second story to the Barrow
block on Third Street over the post office, part of the same
unit which housed the Budget.2 He offered the company
a floor space of 23 X 28 feet, "exclusive of stairway but in-
cluding partitions." He explained that this space would be
divided into four rooms "with windows, doors, and parti-
tions as desired" by the telephone company. His prospectus
even included reference to a "water closet and lavatory;
hot water heat day and night, wiring for electric lights
. . . rental of thirty dollars per month on a five year lease"
with everything to be ready in five weeks. The Bell Tele-
phone Company accepted the offer.

Many activities of early Douglas in which Barrow par-
ticipated in turn brought recognition to him as a person and
involved him actively as a public leader and benefactor.
Early in the town's life he was elected to the first school
board, on which he served as clerk for two years (I, 15,

1. Letter to W. F. McFarland, Jan. 25, 1904, Copy Book of M.
Barrow Correspondence, p. 32.

2. Letter to A. J. Vance, Feb. 6, 1906, Copy Book, p. 109.

MERRIS C. BARROW 19

1886). With the other two men on the board he chose the
teachers and worked for the erection of a $3,000 brick
school building (II, 13, 1886). Late in the summer of 1887
he referred in the Budget to this school house, mentioning
that it might be erected early in October, although school
would begin September 20 in the old Rowdy West building
(II, 13).

Barrow also engaged actively in the city government of
Douglas, working first of all for its establishment, then as
one of its officials. In 1887 Douglas was a part of Albany
County, of which Laramie was the county seat. It was in
Laramie that the resolution to incorporate Douglas was
filed on June 8, 1887, although the corporate seal was not
adopted until October 22. 3 The first city council, with Carl
Garver, the banker, as mayor and M. C. Barrow as clerk,
met for the first time on October 19, 1887, and meetings
were set for the first Monday of each month with special
meetings to be announced twelve hours before they were
to be held.4

The Budget, announcing the first city council, carried an
item which suggested that Barrow was proud of his place
in the new government of Douglas.

It has got out, somehow, that I have recently risen to the
dignity of a public official, and the press gang is spreading the
glad tidings with a breezy freedom which has a tendency to
swell my head. (II, 20, 1887)

In 1888 a new mayor was elected, but Barrow continued
as town clerk. He remained as town clerk after the election
of May 16, 1889, although still another mayor was elected.
During this last year as clerk, he was also busy as city
assessor. On April 17, 1889, he said, "If there is anything
wrong with this issue of the Budget please charge it to the
fact that the editor has been so busily engaged as city as-
sessor the past few days that the paper has been allowed to
run itself." (111,46).

On May 13, 1890, when the fourth city election was held,
M. C. Barrow was elected mayor with 125 votes. The first
council meeting of his term of office was held on the evening
of June 2, 1890. At this time the council set a dog tax of
twenty-five cents, and made plans to work for sidewalks
on each side of the street from Fourth to Oak, the council
deciding that the owners were to lay the walks themselves.

Again foremost among the things discussed during this
year was the water works project. Finally the bill regard-

3. Record Book, City Hall, Douglas, Wyoming.

4. "Rules and Regulations of Town Council," Minutes of CouncU
Meetings, City Clerk's office, Douglas, Wyoming.

20 ANNALS OF WYOMING

ing it, which was to have been brought up at the next elec-
tion, was laid on the table because of lack of funds; how-
ever, Barrow and one other member voted to keep the water
question on the next election ballot. The tabling of this
bill was no doubt a disappointment to Barrow, because he
had worked hard to extend the water works and during the
year had published many articles on the subject in the
columns of the Budget.

On May 16, 1891, at a regular council meeting, George
Bolln became the new mayor according to the minutes of
the council now on file at the Douglas Court House.5 It has
been stated that Barrow was mayor for two successive
terms,6 but the actual city records report otherwise. He
was nominated for mayor, however, in 1898 by a caucus
which met at the city hall (XII, May 4, 1898) . Since he was
at the time acting as receiver of the United States Land
Office, Barrow could not accept this nomination. He ex-
plained his reasons for declining it in the next week's issue
of the Budget for May 11, 1898 :

On advice of Attorney General Van Orsdel and Judge Lacey,
of Cheyenne, M. C. Barrow was compelled to decline the office
of mayor, to which he was nominated by a mass meeting of our
citizens one day last week. They held that under our consti-
tution a United States official could not legally hold any office
within the gift of the state, and that his election to one would
necessarily vacate the other. A petition was circulated on
Saturday nominating J. J. Steffen. (XII, May 11, 1898)

Distances between the scattered populated areas in Wyo-
ming Territory were great in the late 1800's. During his
second year as editor of Bill Barlow's Budget, however,
Barrow began to think of the time when Douglas and the
country surrounding it would have a large enough popula-
tion to warrant the forming of a new county separate from
Albany. On the editorial page of the Budget of February
18, 1888, appeared the following short but meaningful no-
tice: "County-seat — then water works!" (II, 35).

In Bartlett's History of Wyoming, Converse7 is listed as
one of the three counties created by the legislature of 1888
in the passage of an act entitled, "An act making divers
appropriations and for other purposes."8 This act was
vetoed by Governor Moonlight but was passed and signed
by John A. Riner, President of the Council, and L. D. Pease,

5. Ibid.

6. Progressive Men of Wyoming, p. 500.

7. The county was named for A. R. Converse, a pioneering and
influential cattleman of the Chugwater and Lance Creek regions.
See Eartlett, History of Wvoming, p. 515.

8. Ibid.

MERRIS C. BARROW 21

Speaker of the House, on March 9, 1888, over the Gover-
nor's objections.9 The original county of Converse included
not only the county that now bears the name but the
present county of Niobrara.10

The alert editor of the Budget "jumped the gun" a little
in announcing this bit of news; for although the act was
not passed over the Governor's veto until March 9, the
paper published the following item on March 7, 1888:

The Budget on behalf of the new county of Converse — which,
good sirs and gentlemen, is a bright healthy infant and as lusty
a youngster as ever sprang from the loins of any legislative
power, and who promises great things for the future — bows its
acknowledgements, and acknowledges its indebtedness to you
for favors rendered. (II, 40)

May 15, 1888, was set as the day for the organization of
Converse County (II, 47), when county seat and county
officials were to be selected. In his book, Malcolm Camp-
bell, Sheriff, Robert David stated that of the 2,172 votes
cast Douglas received more than Lusk, the other contestant
for the county seat.11 He did suggest, however, that "sev-
eral peculiar things happened in the balloting." It is pos-
sible that irregularities in voting did occur, since strong
measures were often taken in early day elections involving
such rabid rivals as Lusk and Douglas.

Although prior to June, 1889, Barrow had not committed
himself or his paper as being either Democratic or Repub-
lican, from that time forward he labeled the Budget as a
Republican paper in which policies of the Republican party
would be stressed. Because Barrcw was receiver of the
United States Land Office, he was not free to run for any
county office; but he was very active in the Republican
party in his county and was often chosen to represent it at
the Republican state convention (XVII, July 9, 1902). The
Republican was the dominant party in Douglas, as well as
in the state, in Barrow's day ; and he was justified in saying
in 1902 that the "Republicans carried Converse County as
usual in the election." (XVII, November 5, 1902).

Although from time to time in local elections, Barrow
recommended certain Democrats for office in the non-par-
tisan elections of the town, he was predominantly a Repub-
lican and a very strong and powerful one. It is likely that
he wielded considerable influence in Republican circles of
the state.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. David, Malcolm Campbell, Sheriff, p. 130.

22 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Barrow's association with the Republican party may have
kept the Budget on its feet during lean years when other
new sheets were "blinking out." The party was in power
in the county almost continuously, and when it selected
someone to do county printing, Barrow was invariably
chosen. Later because of his connections with the Land
Office, Barrow was also able to throw more printing to the
Budget, and this business brought financial help of con-
siderable importance.

Before the establishment of the United States Land Of-
fice in 1890, Douglas had a local land office. An item in the
"Personal Intelligence" column of the Budget for October
8, 1889, conveyed the impression that Barrow had been
receiver of this office for some time and announced his
appointment as special disbursing agent for the land de-
partment of the district (V, 18, 1889). A few weeks later
the Douglas land office was again mentioned in the Budget
when it moved to new and more commodious quarters in
the two Third Street rooms of the First National Bank
Building (V, 22, 1890). This Douglas land office was the
forerunner of the United States Land Office which was es-
tablished in 1890. 12 Barrow was appointed the first re-
ceiver of the United States Land Office by President Har-
rison, and in this capacity he had responsibility for the
public lands and the money received from them until 1894.
When Democratic President Cleveland took office, Barrow,
a Republican, naturally was removed.13 When the Repub-
licans returned to power under President McKinley, Barrow
was again appointed receiver in June, 1897 (XII, 2). "As
receiver his duties were light, giving ample time for his
editorial work."14 Yet they brought him influence and
prestige as well as financial assistance.

The editor of the Budget always stood out against land
fraud in the columns of his paper and showed his disap-
proval of large tracts being given to one man. Of course
it is sometimes hard to tell whether a newsman is attacking
an individual for a specific but hidden motive of some kind
or because he sincerely sees something of which he does
not approve. It appears, however, that Barrow was con-
sistently sincere in his championship of the little man in
his fight against what appeared to be arbitrary assumption
of power on the part of those with influence and wealth.
For example, though Barrow had supported Joseph M.

12. Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming, p. 500.

13. Ibid., p. 500.

14. W. E. Chaplin, Letter to author, Jan. 1, 1947.

MERRIS C. BARROW 23

Carey's candidacy for Congressional Delegate from Wyo-
ming Territory previous to statehood in 1890, he attacked
the Carey holdings for applying for too much land in
August, 1897 (XII, 11). His articles concerning Carey's
land claims appeared in the August 11, 1897, issue of the
Budget as follows:

Attention is called to Bill Barlow's comments on the proposed
Carey selection, appearing on the first and fourth pages of this
issue. The Budget has never for a moment entertained the idea
that Mr. Carey's scheme for gobbling up a goodly portion of the
Platte valley would receive the approval of the state board.
Under all the circumstances it is a most absurd proposition — a
manifest injustice to this section of the state and the people
who live in it, and could only hope to succeed through the rank-
est sort of favoritism shown a rich man with a "pull" as against
those who are not so fortunate. We had taken it for granted
that the proposition would simply die a natural death, through
the intelligence and honesty of the state board — and we still be-
lieve that it will. The artful attempt of Mr. Carey's newspaper,
however, to belittle the Casper meeting by calling those who
made formal protest "fools;" its labored effort to gloss over the
fact that fully one hundred ranchmen went to Casper on that
day for that purpose although only a few of them mustered up
courage enough to face the inquiry; its whoop-ia style of com-
ment in discussing the question from its own standpoint, and
its too-evident desire that the claims of what it is pleased to
term the rabble must not be considered until after Mr. Carey
has been satisfied — all this has led the editor hereof to rise in his
pew and^ay just a word or two in behalf of the people who are
not rich,^vho have no "pull," and are without daily newspapers
through which to bulldose and mislead the state board. (XII,
11, 1897)

In the next issue Barrow again dealt with the Carey land
selection question. Here he employed one of his favorite
journalistic tricks by referring first to the friendship be-
tween himself and Carey and then denouncing Carey's quest
for land. It became habitual with him to preface a deroga-
tory statement about an individual with a declaration of
friendship and a reference to his past pleasant relations or
friendly feeling for the individual.

The Budget has no quarrel with Judge Carey — his newspaper
to the contrary notwithstanding. Our relations have always
been friendly. This fact, however, has no bearing upon the ques-
tion as to whether or no he should be given control of over
22,000 acres of state lands, while others equally deserving must
go without. The whole proposition resolves itself into a ques-
tion of equity and the greatest good to the greatest number, to
be considered in its broadest meaning and finally determined by
a considerable amount of horse sense. Pending that decision
by the state board, we would suggest that all those who desire
to select and lease state land — whether a part of the Carey
tract or elsewhere — make out their applications and send them
to Professor Mead, president of the board of control. (XII, 12,
1897)

24 ANNALS OF WYOMING

It is impossible, of course, to estimate the extent of Bar-
row's influence in persuading his readers to agree with his
ideas of what was right and wrong in the public affairs of
his day. His success in initiating local enterprises would
suggest, however, that his political opinions carried weight
with his readers. It is clear that Barrow was a man with
such energy, had a faculty for getting both in and out of
trouble, and seemingly enjoyed greatly triumphing over his
enemies.

Barrow's verbal tussle with Carey over land was prob-
ably not the only controversy he had as receiver of the
United States Land Office. Many fraudulent dealings grew
out of public land transactions all over the West in those
days, with the office and the individual land owners vying
for the place of dishonor. Some of these affairs became
public, charges were made, and definite decisions, whether
right or wrong, were handed down as to the guilty party.
Many land affairs, however, were kept quiet or never
reached the stage of outright charges.

In 1905 it was probably some enemy whom Barrow had
incurred as receiver who wrote to the General Land Office
in Washington questioning Barrow's qualifications for the
office of receiver. In Barrow's answer to the Land Commis-
sioner's communication on the subject he said, #

If further evidence be required by the President, the Honor-
able Secretary of the Interior or yourself touching any feature
of this malicious and unwarranted attack I will gladly furnish
it, for I have reached that age where I want this whole matter
defnitely determined and passed upon now for all time. 15

With this answer Barrow sent many references from
friends who wished to vouch for his honesty. In referring
to the material he said, "It seems somewhat bulky, and yet
in the preparation I refused hundreds of offers from
friends who had knowledge of its purpose and wanted to
add their mite."16 To former Governor W. A. Richards,
who was then Land Commissioner in Washington, Barrow
wrote in 1907:

Everybody on whom our friend Hitchcock gets his eagle eye
has troubles of their own, as appears, and I hate to inflict mine
on you — although it is good to know that insofar as the Wyo-
ming bunch is concerned he doesn't seem to have gotten away
with anything up to the hour of going to press. But — he is the
boy we are afraid of, hence this letter and documents herewith
— calculated, I presume, to make the old cuss smack his lips

15. Letter to Commissioner, General Land Office, Washington,
D. C, March 15, 1905, Copy Book, p. 99.

16. Ibid.

MERRIS C. BARROW 25

in ghoulish glee as having found so illustrious an imitator in
our former clerk Robert F. Potter Jr., who has gotten us into
trouble. 17

In an open letter to his readers some time later, Barrow
explained that R. F. Potter Jr. had been a clerk in the land
office for five years, during which time $230.00 had been
received in fees which never appeared on the records. Most
of the items were small and should have been accounted
for in a record kept by Potter (XXII, 35, 1907). One
failure to record a payment of $197.30 from George Smith
was discovered by Barrow and A. D. Chamberlin, register
in the Land Office in Douglas, ten months after it was paid.
They dismissed Potter and paid the shortage (XXII, 35,
1907). According to the Laramie Republican of February
7, 1907, in a reprint item from the Casper Tribune, Potter
preferred charges against Barrow after his dismissal. As
soon as Barrow heard of the charges, however, he sent for
an inspector.18 Barrow referred to this inspector in his
letter to Commissioner Richards and indicated that he
expected an unfavorable report in spite of his innocence
of any mishandling of funds. He wrote :

Since Inspector Wadsworth came here under your instructions
and at our request he has received Potter's formal charges direct
from Hitchcock, and I presume will report direct to him instead
of to you. In view of this I am sending you herewith copies of
Chamberlin's statement and mine, which we ask you to read
and retain. These were accompanied by fourteen affidavits as
delivered to the Inspector and two of these corroborated — cover-
ing many material facts and ALL declaring — from that of Gov-
ernor Brooks down — that they would not believe Potter under
oath. . . . The last page of my sworn statement summarizes the
whole matter and shows that outside the moneys in dispute
between Potter and the office — which I understand we must
now make good but which we insist we did not receive other
than to turn it over to him — there is really nothing left on which
to base any charge other than implicit confidence in a clerk who
took advantage of the confidence to get us into trouble. This,
followed by a year and a half in which I am sure there isn't an
error — since we have no longer depended upon Potter and have
been doing our own work — ought to count for something.

We believe the inspector's report will be against us. He has
spent most of his time with Potter, in Potter's office and with
Potter's friends . . . We even get, in a round about way from the
"Utes" as Ed Wells calls them — although he is still at work on
his report — that he will recommend that Al and I both be fired.
In view of this possibility I am sending you this stuff, and am
duplicating all of it to Wells also with request that he gets the
the senators together and read it to them — including Frank of
course — so they will be posted in case the ball does open.

As a matter of fact Chamberlin did expect to resign in a
couple of months anyway; but neither of us want to be fired —

17. Letter to W. A. Richards, Jan. 18, 1907, Copy Book, p. 119.

18. Laramie Republican, XXII, 25, Feb. 7, 1907.

26 ANNALS OF WYOMING

although well aware that Mr. Hitchcock — in default of the scalp
of Mr. Warren or yourself, will likely be very glad to get that of
any of their friends. 19

In another letter written the same day, Barrow went over
the case with a friend named Ed, presumably the Ed Wells
of the previously quoted letter.

. . . We are depending, however, upon the fact that a "fire"
can only come from the president, and only after notice to
the senators. We understand, fully, that Hitchcock would
like the scalp of anyone known to be their friends — but find
comfort in the fact that he doesn't seem to have won many
bluffs in that game as yet. Eoth Al and I realize that "You
all" are busy; but I am sending you this whole matter so
that you will have everything bearing on it from our standpoint,
with requests that you present it to both Mr. Clark and Mr.
Warren — surely they can find a couple of hours for us in which
to "post up" on the points so that if called upon to discuss it
with the president they can do it with a full knowledge of the
facts. As you will see, the whole thing hinges on the person-
ality and character of Potter — whether or no God ever so far
forgot his obligations to humanity to make such a man. His
admissions to the Inspector are enough to damn him — only that
after the first day or two the Inspector seems to have thrown
in with him . . .

There has been gross carelessness — cured, however, I believe
. . . Then there is the political end of it — the whole thing ribbed
up by Johnny Williams and Billy Irvine.

I need not tell you that everybody in town damns Potter —
really he hasn't a friend left outside of these two men. Even my
political enemies say it an outrage, and for the life of me, I don't
see how Potter is to get his flour from this on.

Study this stuff, arrange the affidavits, and then ask the
senators and Mondell to give you a couple of hours and lay the
case before them so they will be "loaded" when it comes up . . .
Al as you know intends to resign in a month or so, and Wheeler
will succeed him. I want to serve out my term, and then any-
one can have the place. To get fired would not only humiliate
me, but it would strengthen the hands of the Utes in many ways
as you understand, and neither of us want that. 20

Though often bitterly attacked and sometimes charged
with dishonesty, Barrow usually was able to clear himself
of such charges, either because of his real innocence or
because of luck or skill in argument. In this case he did
not win, however. Barrow announced to his readers on
February 6, 1907, "The President, one day last week, ac-
cepted the resignation of A. D. Chamberlin as register of
the Douglas land office, tendered through Senator Warren

19. Letter to Richards, Jan. 18, 1907, Copy Book, p. 119. The
"Hitchcock" referred to was Secretary of Interior. "Frank" was
Congressman Frank Mondell.

20. Letter to Ed, Jan. 18, 1907, Copy Book, p. 120. "Ed" was
probably Edmund J. Wells, former Douglas citizen, serving as pri-
vate secretary to Senator C. D. Clark.

MERRIS C. BARROW 27

last October, and summarily dismissed me as receiver."
(XXII, 35).

If a notice in the Laramie Republican of February 7,
1907, can be regarded as typical of public sentiment, evi-
dently Barrow was not judged too critically by the people
of the state:

Both Mr. Barrow and Mr. Chamberlin have been obliging,
competent and honorable officers and the shortage was merely
a matter of carelessness.2i

Barrow lost the receivership, but his prestige and influence
continued to increase steadily.

BARROW, A STATE FIGURE

Merris C. Barrow first emerged as a state figure because
of his interest in political activities and the forcefulness
of his comments on political leaders and policies. The
process of Barrow's transition from a middle-of-the-road
position politically to an influential place in the Republican
party can be found in the columns of the Budget. Before
declaring himself as a Republican, Barrow was almost
equally frank in his criticisms of certain leaders in both
parties. Some of his early political comments contrast
strangely with his staunch Republican sympathies of a
later period.

In an editorial concerning the selection by the President
of the United States of the Governor of the Territory of
Wyoming in 1886, Barrow wrote that the people "would
shed few tears over the removal of Francis E. Warren."
(I, 6). Nor did he support another of the popular candi-
dates, G. T. Beck, for this office (I, 6) .

The "Political Talk" on the editorial page of a later issue
in the same year contained a catchy but unfavorably crit-
ical comment about another Republican:

What sort of a man is this Vawsborg, anyhow? Prior to the
incorporation meeting he was not in favor of the measure. At
the Republican rally Monday night he made a somewhat lengthy
harangue in favor of the measure — and of himself. And this
man who seems to change his opinions oftener than he does his
tie — wants to represent Albany county in the Tenth Legislative
assembly! Thanks, no! (I, 20, 1886)

Barrow did not long continue his ill feeling toward War-
ren. By 1889, however, he had openly declared his paper
Republican. Perhaps it was this affiliation that warmed his
heart toward Warren and led him to laud President Har-
rison for naming Warren Governor of Wyoming. He said,

21. Laramie Republican, XXII, 25, Feb. 7, 1907.

28 ANNALS OF WYOMING

"The voice of the people has been heard and their hopes
have been granted. All hail to Governor Warren ! — Ta-ta to
Tommy the Tramp!" (Ill, 43, 1889). Again in 1896, Bar-
row defended Warren warmly against attacks made by
another Douglas paper, which Barrow called the No News,
and the Cheyenne Tribune (X, February 26, 1896). Per-
haps Barrow's increasing opportunities for acquaintance
with Republican leaders or his better understanding of
Republican policies influenced him to cast his lot with that
party. He could have simply decided, of course, that it
was good business to throw in his lot with the party con-
sistently in power.

As he came to subscribe more completely to the tenets
of the Republican party, he spoke out more violently against
the leaders of the Democratic party. Journalistic "mud-
slinging" against the candidates of an opposing party was
freely used as a political weapon in Barrow's day. From
the following article which appeared in the Budget's "Chit
Chat" column in 1900, it is easy to believe that Barrow
thoroughly enjoyed indulging in this form of political
warfare :

"Will John Chawles Thompson accept the nomination for
Congress tendered him, by the democracy of Wyoming?"
anxiously inquires one demo-pop contemporary. Will a duck
swim ? It is true that the valiant colonel is sorter dallying with
the sweet morsel, and thus far has said to every newspaper man
who would stand still long enough that he had not yet decided
whether he would accept the "honor," or not. But its all a
bluff — another instance of the girl, who while vowing she'd
ne'er consent, consented. She intended to surrender all the
while — and so does John Chawles. Probably began on his letter
of acceptance as soon as he sold those mines, for he's smart
enough to know that the words "bar'l" and "unanimous nomi-
nation" are, in the eyes of a democratic convention, spelled with
the same letters and in the same way and mean the same
thing. (XV, 3, 1900)

Sometime later when J. C. Thompson, a Cheyenne attor-
ney, was scheduled to appear in Douglas, the following
item appeared in the Budget:

John Chawles Thompson — he of Kentucky — who thinks he is
running for Congress, will hold forth at the opera house Friday
evening and tell the people of Douglas why six cent wool is
better than fourteen cent wool, and incidentally explain the
beauties of free soup houses. A dance will follow the speech
making. (XV, 14, 1900)

As Wyoming Territory grew financially and economically,
the population increased rapidly. With this development,
Wyoming leaders began to think of statehood. By July,
1889, the members of the Constitutional Convention had
been selected. Among those chosen were numerous men
of the press. Barrow of the Budget was one of these; his

MERRIS C. BARROW 29

friend Will Chaplin from the Laramie Boomerang was an-
other; and a newspaper rival, J. K. Calkins of the Lusk
Herald, was also chosen (IV, 6, 1889).

Six weeks later near the end of August, Barrow anr
nounced in the Budget his departure for Cheyenne to spend
three weeks attending Wyoming's Constitutional Conven-
tion (IV, 12, 1889). Other delegates who accompanied him
from Converse County were W. C. Irvine, a man of many
activities in state politics whose interest lay with the
cattlemen, DeForest Richards, later governor of Wyoming,
and Calkins of Lusk. Barrow and Richards were listed
as Republicans, while Calkins and Irvine were classed as
Democrats.

The minutes and proceedings of the Constitutional Con-
vention do not show that Barrow took a very active part
in the debates. The roll calls of each session record that
Barrow was not even a consistent attendant; however, he
was a member of several committees. He represented Con-
verse County on the Rules Committee, was named to Com-
mittee 14 on Railroads and Telegraphs, and served with
Chaplin on Committee 17, Printing Publications, Accounts
and Expenses. His two-day absences on three different
occasions may have been because of trips to Douglas to
assist in getting out the Budget. An article in the Budget
for September 25, 1889, indicated that he did not think
too highly of what he called the "Jack-in-the-box" atmos-
phere of the convention.

The constitutional convention may conclude its labors along
in the shank of the current year — and it may not. As a matter
of fact the work should have been concluded a week or ten days
ago; and it would have been, were it not for the fact that there
are a half-dozen or more talented gentlemen in the body of each
of whom seems to be a sort of a Jack-in-the-box. Every once
in a while — oftener in fact — the catch which holds these gentle-
men down slips off, and they bob up and shake their gory locks
at the convention. The gentlemen from Gander Creek moves
to amend by inserting the word "tweedle dee" after the seventh
word in line four of section 1-p. Then the gentleman from
Jawbony moves to admend the amendment by substituting the
word "tweedle dam" in lieu thereof. Then the catches slip off
all over the house and a "general discussion" follows. An hour
is spent, and finally both amendments are withdrawn. The
convention draws a sigh of relief; but another spring gets in its
work, and a motion from the gentlemen from Skeyenne to
"strike out" goes on the record. This affords an excuse for
another display of "oratory," and the gentlemen from Gremont,
and Weetswater and from Yohnson fix their glittering eye in
turn upon the pretty stenographer who is compelled to perpetu-
ate on paper their parapetetic peeps, and argy, an' argy,
an' argy.

Finally after chewing on the file for a half-day, it is referred
back to the committee, and comes up again later for "further

30 ANNALS OF WYOMING

consideration." It does seem, indeed, as though some of these
gentlemen would do well to buy one of Edison's latest phono-
graphs. This, is run by an electric motor or a ten-horse power
engine, would afford relief. They could sit at their ease, and
"hear themselves talk" twenty-four hours in a day. Arguments a
ha If -hour in length and less than a half -inch in width and thick-
ness, upon my honor, have been made in favor of matters which
would have passed unanimously without a word having been
said. Hours and days have been wasted in motions and amend-
ments of the "tweedle-dum" order, and some members have
piled "oration" upon "oration" to that extend that it is darkly
hinted that the stenographer's typewritten report, when com-
pleted, will comprise 'steen million pages. And the mill is still
grinding! (IV, 16, 1889.)

The delegates evidently pulled themselves together,
reached some agreement, and finished the Constitution
late in September. The Cheyenne Daily Leader of October
1, 1889, asserted that the session ended in a pleasant ex-
pression of friendship.1 The Leader reported that "there
was scarcely any ceremony about the final work of the
body, but there was still something impressive about the
way a hush fell over the throng as the members one by one
affixed their signatures to the document,"2 Barrow signing
last.

By the following June, statehood was almost assured the
Territory of Wyoming, and every one, including the
Budget's owners, was prepared for the celebration. On
June 25, 1890, Barrow said, "The Budget has attached a
steam whistle to its engine and proposes to blow the lungs
out of it when the statehood bill passes." (V, 3). "State-
hood and a land office the same week! Douglas is getting
there," cried Barrow on July 2, 1890 (V, 4). In the
Budget of this date Barrow told of the way statehood was
celebrated in Douglas:

At 4:30 Friday afternoon, the Budget received a telegram
from Honorable W. C. Irvine, at Cheyenne, announcing the birth
of the new state. At 4:31 the Budget's steam whistle was
exercising its lungs to the best advantage and the Budget's flag
was flying from the mast surmounting the office building.

Everybody tumbled!

The good news spread rapidly!

Within a few minutes the hoarse roar of the waterworks
whistle swelled the song of greeting to the new state; the fire
alarm bell rang, etc.

The two hundred ribbon badges printed by the Budget
and distributed in Douglas on that eventful day indicated
Barrow's excitement over statehood. A great deal of the
credit for Wyoming's being admitted as the forty-fourth

1. Cheyenne Daily Leader, XXIII, Oct. 1, 1889.

2. Ibid. The original document is on display in the State
Museum in Cheyenne.

MERRIS C. BARROW 31

state was due to the work of Joseph M. Carey, Wyoming
Territory's only delegate to Congress. The badges which
Barrow prepared carried a tribute to Carey.

One of the most exciting events in Wyoming history re-
ported by Barrow was the famous Johnson County War of
1892. It could not have been easy for Barrow to tell the
story with some degree of impartiality. On one side were
the settlers with small holdings, with whom he sincerely
sympathized. On the other were the big cattlemen, mostly
prominent Republicans and men whom Barrow knew per-
sonally. His reports of the controversy and its results
ran through the Budget for almost a year, and his com-
ments reflected interestingly his divided state of mind.

On April 13, 1892, the Budget had on page five the head-
line, "War." Under this heading Barrow told of a large,
well-equipped, armed party, including a surgeon, two news-
paper reporters, and a telegraph operator, which had gone
into Johnson County to rid the country of rustlers. Barrow
related the story of how two small ranchers had been killed
and commented on the serious implications of the expedi-
tion and its intentions thus:

The statements of the captured teamsters is to the effect that
they were hired last Tuesday night at Cheyenne, to go imme-
diately to the Bald Mountain country, on a surveying expedition
and pleasure trip . . . The captured men claim that they knew
absolutely nothing as to the real intentions of the party until
after leaving Casper, when they were informed that the object
of the expedition was to run out cattle thieves, and that their
pay was to be five dollars a day . . .

Public sentiment, which was at first against the rustlers, has
rapidly changed in favor of the financially weaker faction as the
true condition of affairs became known. No doubt many of the
invading party firmly believe they are justified in their attempt
to take the law into their own hands, for the sensational and
exaggerated newspaper stories have magnified the strength of
the rustlers in this county a thousandfold . . .

. . . No community of law-abiding American citizens will
permit an armed force of any kind, organized for any purpose,
to come into their midst and kill at their option men who have
never been found guilty of crime by due process of law. (VI,
54, 1892)

The next issue contained pleas for "strict and impartial
enforcement of the law," and for a swift punishment of
those found guilty (VI, 46, 1892). Barrow maintained
that "the theft of a steer couldn't in any way justify the
taking of a human life," and the importation of a band of
armed men into the state for any purpose was prohibited
by the Constitution of Wyoming (VI, 46, 1892). Here he
also told of the surrender without bloodshed of the forty-
five invaders and said :

MERRIS C. BARROW 33

At this writing the situation is critical. On the ground that the
prisoners would surely be lynched if surrendered to Sheriff
Angus, Governor Barber is arranging to have them brought
here under military escort, and probably on to Fort Russell. On
the other hand Angus demands that they be placed in his hands,
while small stockmen from all over the state are flocking into
that section to enforce the demand, and it is reliably reported
that today there are from five to six hundred men armed to the
teeth waiting to avenge the killing of Champion and Rav.
(VI, 46, 1892)

Barrow's own attitude toward the removal of the prisoners
appeared in the same issue:

We believe, however, that it will be a mistake to remove the
prisoners from Johnson County unless they are first given a
preliminary hearing and are granted a change of venue . . . but
there should be no favoritism shown because they happen to be
rich and prominent men. The strict letter of the law should be
followed in this matter, and no requirement be modified in their
behalf other than that accorded every man charged with crime,
be he rich or poor. (VI, 46, 1892)

By May 25, 1892, the editor of the Budget had begun to
soften somewhat his demand for strict justice for the
invaders. Here he spoke of the only outcome which he
could see to the trouble in Johnson County — the prevalence
of honesty. Barrow wrote, "The settlers will win, and the
thieves will have to leave the country." (VI, 51, 1892).

In June Barrow spoke for the honest man, big or little,
and declared that the Budget was for law and order (VI, 52,
1892). In this same paper, however, Barrow published a
letter from a Johnson County small ranchman which por-
trayed the big rancher as benevolent, neighborly, and hon-
est, and gave examples of rustlers posing as small ranchers
and antagonizing their fellow ranchers against the big
outfits (VI, 52, 1892). In a later issue Barrow practically
made fun of the people of Johnson County for continuing
to hold the invaders as prisoners and not paying for their
keep (VII, 20, 1892). By February 22, 1893, Barrow was
really placing the blame for the whole affair not on the
invading big cattlemen, but on the juries chosen to try cat-
tle thieves (VII, Feb. 22, 1893).

Meanwhile, according to the October 22, 1892, issue of
the Budget the war had taken on political significance. A
man by the name of Robert Dunning, who was supposedly
a member of the invading party, made a confession tending
to show that influential Republican leaders, Warren, Barber,
and Blake, had known about the invasion, no Democrat be-
ing mentioned. Barrow evidently felt, and suggested this
idea in the Budget, that the Democrats were taking ad-
vantage of this bit of unreliable news to cast disparaging
remarks upon the Republican leadership in the state. Bar-

34 ANNALS OF WYOMING

row left it to his readers to choose between the word of a
"self-confessed murderer," Dunning, and "that of men . . .
whose word heretofore had been as good as their bond."
(VII, 20, 1892).

Barrow evidently tried to live up to his paper's motto,
"Fair, Faithful, and Fearless," in his interpretation of state
events and his reflection of state personalities. But preju-
dices and political expediency, as with practical men of
affairs everywhere, sometimes blinded him, no doubt, in
his judgments of men and issues. On the whole, he tried,
it would seem, to be loyal to his principles as well as to his
party and his friends.

With statehood, Barrow's participation in the Republican
party became even greater. In the elections of 1892, how-
ever, the Republican party was defeated throughout the
country and Cleveland became President of the United
States the following March. Barrow, no doubt, realized
that the election returns would mean a change of personnel
in the Land Office when he said, "The Budget regrets that
the later returns do not materially change the reports of a
sweeping democratic victory on the national ticket . . .
Cleveland is elected by a large majority." (VII, 24, 1892).
The Republicans lost the state elections also, and the fusion
candidate of the Democrats and Populists, John E. Osborne,
was elected governor. Since the political situation was con-
fused by echoes from the Johnson County War and the
refusal or failure of some counties to report election re-
turns, Osborne had himself sworn into office in December.3
Twelve years later when Osborne was again seeking office,
Barrow brought up with telling effect the story of Osborne's
unconventional assumption of the governorship in 1892.
He headed a page in large type, "Osborne's Record as Gov-
ernor." The rest of the sheet was left blank. On another
page of the same paper Barrow inserted the following
sentence :

December 3, 1892, Osborne crawled through the capitol win-
clow into the governor's office. (XX, 21, 1904)

Evidently the results of elections in 1894 were again
disappointing to Barrow. Nevertheless, he made the fol-
lowing statement on November 7, 1894, indicating that he
would drop his disappointment and look to the future:

The election is over. Let the result be what it may, we must
abide by the result. We are all citizens of a common country,
and we can't afford to keep up or countenance the strife of the

3. Bartlett, History of Wyoming, I, 216-217.

MERRIS C. BARROW 35

past few weeks. Accept the result, drop politics, and let's all
unite to do what we can toward the development and prosperity
of the county, town, and state in which we live. (IX, 24, 1894)

Having been released from the Land Office during Cleve-
land's administration, Barrow could accept positions in the
state government. He was chief clerk of the House in the
sessions of the State Legislature of 1894 and 1896. 4 Chap-
lin recalled that Barrow made an excellent clerk, having a
good voice and being a good reader.5 No matter what he
may or may not have contributed to the State Legislature,
he brought to the people of Douglas during these years
many first-hand accounts of developments in the govern-
ment of the state, coloring all of them with his own person-
ality. The paper of January 30, 1895, contained a vivid
description of a reception for Senators Warren and Clark:

Mrs. Bill and I attended the reception given at Turner Hall
last week, in honor of our two new senators. It was an event.
"Dr." Barber and "Dick" Repath were in charge of the decora-
t'ons, and Turner Hall never will wear such fine clothes again.
Flags, bunting, banners and electric lights galore served to
transform the spacious edifice into a veritable fairy-land, filled
to overflowing with fair women and brave men. Two thousand
ladies and gentlemen attended, in response to a general invita-
tion extended through the medium of the public press — and they
were ladies and gentlemen, in all that the term implies. Sena-
tors Warren and Clark, with their charming wives, received
this mighty host and gracefully acknowledged the hearty and
sincere congratulations showered upon them by friends and ad-
mirers until near 10 o'clock, when dancing began. Refreshments
were served until midnight, and it was 3 a.m. before the pro-
gramme was concluded. The entire affair was a credit to the
enterprise of the Cheyennese, and a deserved tribute to the
gentlemen in whose honor it was given. (IX, 36, 1895)

Two weeks later on February 13, Barrow wrote to the
Budget of the anticipated close of the session as follows :

The last week of the session begins tomorrow, and it promises
to be a busy one for members and employes. Night sessions will
be the rule, and it is quite probable that when decent people are
holding down a pew in church next Sunday morning, our legis-
lators— with the hands of the clock pointing to 11:30 p.m. of
Saturday — will be grinding out laws at a lively rate. "After
the ball is over" I shall try, as best I can, to give some inside
history relating to divers and sundry matters connected with
the session — matters which I have been compelled to put aside
in order to properly discharge my duties as clerk of that august
body, the house. With five assistants, I find my time fully
occupied, just now. (IX, 38, 1895)

This item was followed by one on February 20, 1895, an-
nouncing the closing of the session. Here Barrow also

4. Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming, p. 500.

5. Letter to author, Jan. 1, 1947.

36 ANNALS OF WYOMING

mentions his own reward as chief clerk, a gold pen. (IX,
39, 1895)

On February 24, 1897, at the next session in which Bar-
row participated, the Legislature, according to Barrow's
report, passed seventy-nine laws which he believed were
just and wise measures, although he predicted that every
one in the lot would no doubt be condemned "by one or
more blooming idiots scattered throughout the state."
(XI, 39, 1897). The Budget, which appeared the next week
on March 3, 1897, contained an entertaining summary of
the session, revealing both its serious moments and the
antics of its fun-packed hours of relaxation, praising its
accomplishments, but also recording hostile criticisms:

About the closing hours of the legislative session, there was a
heap of fun, and some fire. The usual "horse-play" was in-
dulged in, by both house and senate. A sure enough third house
was organized in that wing of the capital about midnight, and
Attorney Burke installed as speaker, with Colonel Slack of the
Sun-Leader as sergeant-at-arms. About a hundred men were
run in from the lobby, who swarmed over the floor and — for a
half hour — represented the thirty-eight representatives who for
forty days had answered to roll-call. All sorts of queer resolu-
tions were introduced and motions made, all of which were
handled by the "squatter" speaker in a manner truly refresh-
ing, and with a dispatch which startled the sure-enough mem-
bers. Late comers — among them Sheriff Patton, Pat Sullivan,
and several other Natrona county boys who drifted in on the
midnight train — were seized by the legislative magistrate,
hustled before the bar, and compelled to make a speech. Sulli-
van didn't do a thing to 'em but break the dread news, as gently
as possible, that some day the capital would be moved to central
Wyoming — and the speaker had the requisite nerve to put the
proposition in the form of a motion, and declared it carried.
The introduction of a "bill" in the form of a quart bottle filled
with genuine Scotch whiskey finally dissolved the somewhat
obstreperous assemblage. . . .

After having spent forty days within the "inner circle" of
the Fourth legislature; after having read every bill introduced,
and having signed every measure which finally became a law;
after having had opportunity to compare the appropriations
made with those of previous legislatures, and being fully cogni-
zant of the work and results of the entire session, I had made
up my mind that the record was a good one, and one of which
every man connected therewith might well be proud. . . . As I
have said, I had decided that the Fourth State Legislature was
destined to pass into history as one of the wisest and best legis-
lative bodies ever convened within our borders; but it seems
that in some way I have been most woefully misinformed and
misled. The Glenrock correspondent of the Casper Derrick has
been sizing up the work of the session, as well as I, and he has
likewise decided upon a verdict. He boldly declares that it was
"the rottenest and most damnable combination of social out-
casts and political pirates in the history of the state." Well,
maybe so. (XI, 40, 1897)

MERRIS C. BARROW 37

Meanwhile Barrow had begun to make a place for him-
self at Republican state conventions, having been elected
secretary of the one at Sheridan in 1896 and having been
chosen as an alternate to the national convention at St.
Louis (X, May 20, 1896). In 1898 Barrow worked with
DeForest Richards to bring the Republican state convention
to Douglas and was successful (XX, 22, 1905).

In addition to his political activities in the state, the
editor of Bill Barlow's Budget assisted in organizing the
Wyoming Press Association in 1891. It began with en-
thusiastic plans to include newspaper men from all over the
state, but the obstacles in the way of successful meetings
in a state where distances were so great prevented it from
functioning actively. Several references to the Wyoming
Press Association appeared in the columns of the Budget.
On October 18, 1893, Barrow informed the new "pencil-
pushers" of the state who were clamoring for an Associa-
tion that such an organization existed, although meetings
had not been held regularly because of the size of the
territory :

For the information of these gentlemen the Budget will state
that in the fall of 1881, at Laramie, Wyoming, the Wyoming
Press Association was organized, with a membership of twelve
editors present. Bill Nye was chosen president. Since that
time, Dr. Hayford, of the Laramie Sentinel, and E. A. Slack, of
the Cheyenne Sun, have also held that office for one or more
years. The last meeting of the association was held at Cheyenne
in September, 1889, when M. C. Barrow of the Budget was
chosen president; W. E. Chaplin of the Laramie Republican,
vice-president; John C. Friend, secretary; C. E. Blydenburgh,
treasurer; and E. A. Slack, J. F. Ludin, John F. Carrol, J. H.
Hayford and M. C. Barrow, executive committee. It was de-
cided to hold the next meeting the following year at Douglas in
case the Cheyenne and Northern was completed in time, but the
executive committee decided to omit the annual gathering be-
cause of the failure of the road to reach this city in time. No
meeting has been held since. We might add that there is some-
thing over $50 in the association treasury, which would buy the
cigars for the gang should they decide to meet again. Exper-
ience has proven that Wyoming cannot yet successfully carry
on the work which necessarily belongs to an association of this
character. The territory is too large .... (VIII, 22, 1893)

The Association met again in Laramie in 1896 (XI, 3, 1896),
but its activity apparently lapsed once more. In 1901
Barrow announced that a fresh attempt was being made to
revive the Association at a meeting in Cheyenne. He was
clearly skeptical of the success of the attempt. "I fear
me much that history will repeat itself — but an' it don't
rain, I'll be there." (XVI, 5, 1901) .

38 ANNALS OF WYOMING

BARROW DIPS HIS PEN IN ACID

"Barrow's personal journalism was at times rather bitter
and was calculated to get him into trouble," wrote W. E.
Chaplin in 1947. x A present-day reader of the Budget's
columns would be inclined to say that Mr. Chaplin was
guilty of understatement. Sometimes comments appearing
in the Budget produced results which Barrow did not ex-
pect. "On one occasion a citizen of Douglas met him on a
street and gave him a rather sound beating. Barrow ap-
pealed to the Masonic lodge for aid in the punishment of
his assailant, but got no consideration."2 At another time
Barrow said too much in the Budget about adjutant-general
Frank A. Stitzer, an appointee of acting-governor Fenimore
Chatterton, whom he described as wearing "celluloid cuffs
that rattled when he walked."3 A short time after this
statement was published, while Barrow was attending the
Wyoming Industrial Convention at Casper as the guest of
A. J. Mokler, members of the state militia appeared at the
Mokler home and demanded that Barrow be turned over
to them. Their intention was to throw him in a blanket and
toss him in the Platte River, but Mokler prevented the
ducking.4 He maintained that a man's house was his
castle and, taking a rifle from his gun cabinet, "announced
in a firm voice that he would shoot the first person who
cared to enter his gate."5

Barrow's fiercest editorial battles were against other
newspapers and their editors, and these seldom brought
threats of violence. When he was assured that his assail-
ant's rebuttal would be made verbally, Barrow could feel
reasonably certain of success from the beginning. In the
columns of his paper Barrow attacked indiscriminately, at
one time or another, most of the newsmen of the state;6
however, he saved his most acrimonious outbursts for rivals
in his own locality. He and rival editors haggled over pos-
sible improvements for the town, politics, and the contents
of their papers. Often they just found fault with each
other in an effort at self-preservation.

1. Letter to author, Jan. 1, 1947.

2. Ibid.

3. Agnes Spring, William Chaplin Deming (Glendale, California:
The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1944), p. 170.

4. A. J. Mokler, Interview, Casper, Wyoming, Oct., 1946.

5. Spring, W. C. Deming, p. 171.

6. Two newspaper men of the state whom Barrow apparently
regarded so highly that he did not subject them to his usual bitter
attacks were A. J. Mokler of Casper and W. E. Chaplin of Laramie.

MERRIS C. BARROW 39

When one considers the six papers that passed out of
existence in Douglas while Barrow kept doing business,
one can understand that the Budget probably survived only
by battling for supremacy. After boom days when the
population of Douglas leveled off, the town could scarcely
support two papers adequately. A slight quarrel originat-
ing as a contest for leadership between two news sheets
very often became a fight for existence. The editor of the
Budget was always ready to accept the challenge of a com-
petitor, and with his talent for devastating name-calling,
he found ways to ridicule the rival paper and to smear its
editor's reputation to his own satisfaction.

Under Barrow's leadership the Budget was instrumental
in putting numerous newspaper contemporaries out of cir-
culation. The Rowdy West, edited and published by E. H.
Kimball, an early arrival in the Fetterman country, lived
only a year. The Douglas Advertiser, which was edited by
I. R. Crow, an old friend of Barrow, had an even shorter life
span. The Douglas Republican, that claimed to have
"skinned" the Budget, went out of business in July, 1889,
after a short life of thirteen months. Another Kimball-
edited paper, the Graphic, appeared next, met the Budget's
antagonism, and passed out of existence in 1891. The
Converse County News, supposed mouthpiece of DeForest
Richards, whom Barrow had angered, held its own for only
eight months. Then the Central Wyoming News., stronger
than the others, kept circulating a weekly news sheet from
October, 1894 to May, 1898.

Although Barrow always posed as having been attacked
or misused and protested his reluctance to become em-
broiled in a verbal fight, he enjoyed composing the caustic
editorials against these men and their respective papers.
The following is a typical Barrow approach to a bitter
battle :

I do. wish my local contemporaries would let me alone. First
the Wooly man jumped me, and I let him hammer away unno-
ticed for a couple of months, hoping he'd get tired; but he
wouldn't let up, so I had to let him down. Now the Leet-Crow
combination is snarling and barking at my heels and I am again
compelled to take up the cudgel of self-defence. I know it is
wrong to quarrel and fight — have not forgotten that the good
book tells us to turn the other cheek when some rooster biffs
you on the jaw — but I am tired. I have practiced patience and
forbearance until either has ceased to be a virtue, and both must
take a back seat until I have taught my envious and jealous
rivals to let me alone. Print your little papers, boys; but don't
persist in sneering at, lying about and slurring the Budget.
(I, 37, 1886)

The Rowdy West, printed in Iowa for distribution in the
Fetterman region, was the Budget's first newspaper rival.

40 ANNALS OF WYOMING

This competitor provided the people of Douglas with an
eight-page paper, which was, however, only half as large
as the Budget in size. Like Bill Barlow's Budget, its title
spread across the top of the first sheet in large script type
each word being sloped upward; but, unlike the Budget,
this title was placed on a background of etched figures
engaged in various activities.

E. H. Kimball, the editor and publisher of this news
sheet, offered it to the public for $2.00 a year in advance,
one dollar cheaper than the Budget. An examination of
early issues led to the conclusion that it was worth even
less as a newspaper.7 The "Wild and Wooly West," the
name given Kimball's paper by the Budget's editor, also
had "patent innards," and the remaining news space was
only half that of the Budget. These columns were then
loaded with much news from exchanges and contained very
few personal items about the people of the frontier town
and their activities. This dearth of Douglas news was prob-
ably unavoidable, since the sheet was at first printed in
Iowa. The August 8, 1886, issue announced the arrival
in Douglas of the printing plant and later issues may have
shown an improvement in local news. This issue also an-
nounced the changing of publication date from Wednesday
to Sunday. Kimball evidently had begun to feel the effects
of the Budget's existence and the competition which its
circulation on Wednesday offered.

At first Barrow tried, or pretended to try, to be friendly.
He welcomed the arrival of Kimball's plant by saying, "the
more the merrier." (I, 8, 1886). Hostilities apparently
were beginning by the end of August, however, when Bar-
row commented on the three-column paragraph which Kim-
ball had included in his last paper, devoted to some person,
probably Barrow, who had been talking about him. Here
the Budget's editor assured Kimball that time would make
amends. He went on to say that the Rowdy West was a
fair paper in all but the color and the name, although it
had a little too much dime-novel slang occasionally. By
December a good deal of warmth had evidently been pro-
duced, for Barrow had begun a verbal warfare with Kimball
that was to continue for years. Barrow first gave space
in his paper to the derogatory statements about the Rowdy
West made by other Wyoming editors, and then attacked
both the paper and its editor viciously.

7. Two copies of the Rowdy West, those for June 23 and Aug. 8,
1886, are preserved by the Wyoming- State Historical Department
and have been examined.

MERRIS C. BARROW 41

Yet, as one reflects upon it, anger dies away1. . . And more
pitiable still, it does not realize its position any more clearly
than its editor who, steeped in l:'quor, goes to sleep in the gutter
occasionally if not more frequently, unconscious of the spectacle
which he makes of himself and of the shame and scorn which
he awakens. (I, 29, 1886)

By December Barrow had also affixed to Kimball's name
the title "Castor Oil," a term which he used to designate
his rival for years (I, 30, 1886). He called the Wooly man
a liar although not an artistic one, classed his paper as a
"Mud Bath" and "journalistic hybred," a "disgrace to
Douglas" (I, 31, 1887). Barrow even accused the Rowdy
West of using more vulgar and obscene language than that
used by professed sporting papers (I, 32, 1887). A month
later on January 25, 1887, Barrow warmed up to the quarrel
by saying that although Kimball's paper did not contain as
much filth as formerly, the editor was still a contemptible
pup, who did not pay his bills and could not be trusted to
handle the financial affairs of others.

Since only one side of this quarrel in print was available
for study, it is impossible to estimate the validity of Bar-
row's accusations that the Rowdy's editor kept up the fight
which he climaxed in a five-column spread against Barrow
in one issue of the Wild, Weird, Wooly Winsome yet
Winked-out Wowdy. It is known, however, that Barrow
held up his side of the battle and finally published the
following malicious notice in the Budget when the Rowdy
West announced a move to Glenrock:

As a community we weep! A deep and crushing sorrow, has
come upon us! None of your soft corn or jumping toothache
sorrows, but a great grief which runs the pulse-beat up to 102
in the shade and makes heart-strings twang with an exceeding
great twing! Death has again entered our journalistic circle,
and laid its palsying hand upon another member thereof!

The Rowdy West is dead!

In September of Barrow's first year in the Fetterman
country I. R. Crow, an old friend and "boyhood pard"
who had been printing the Argus at Buffalo Gap, gave
Barrow notice that he had been "froze out" there and that
he intended to move to Douglas. Barrow warned Crow in
his "Chit Chat" column that two papers were enough for
the "boomer," but expressed hope that Crow would do
well, and said, "If it comes to a question of freeze-out be-
tween him and my pink-eyed neighbor [Kimball], I'll empire
[sic] the game impartially." (I, 15, 1886). The Advertiser
"winked out" even before the Rowdy West on April 16,
1887 (II, 5, 1887).

The next rival, the Douglas Republican, appeared first on
June 20, 1888, and by October Barrow had begun to quarrel

42 ANNALS OF WYOMING

in -his "Chit Chat" column with its editor, Dilworth. On
December 26, 1888, a typical Barrow barrage appeared in
the columns of the Budget:

The Republican claims to have "skinned" the Budget, and to
have tanned the said skin "to the queen's taste," but people who
will take the trouble to compare that sheet with this — with its
ten pages teeming with news and bearing every evidence of
prosperity and permanency — will wonder whether or no the
Republican hasn't put the shoe on the wrong foot. If this
means to be skinned, blessed if it isn't a much more pleasant
torture than I had supposed, and I only hope my esteemed con-
temporary will continue in the good work. It's heaps of fun —
and it pays — to be skun in this way. (Ill, 30, 1888)

In two more months Barrow was poking fun at his rival
in earnest by comparing him to the preacher who turned
his nail keg of sermons over when he had exhausted his
supply.

Dilworth was accused of using stereotype plates which
Barrow did not actually condemn but which according to
the Budget's editor should not be repeated regardless of
their humorous content as was "Bob Burdette's Humor"
published first on January 12th and again on February
23rd. "... The same," said Barrow, "is true of an article
bearing the ghastly title of 'Beheading a Corpse'," which
is found in these same two issues. (Ill, 39, 1889). Accord-
ing to the Budget, times were getting bad for the Repub-
lican in April (III, 45, 1889), and on July 27, 1889, this
paper also ceased circulation.

In 1891 the Glenrock Graphic was purchased, probably
being backed by prominent Democrats of the county, and
moved to Douglas, where Colonel E. H. Kimball, who under-
took the editorial and business management of it, could
again exchange words with his editorial rival, M. C. Barrow.
As usual Barrow wished him well at first (V, 48, 1891) ; six
weeks later he again extended a hearty welcome to the
newcomer, Douglas's fifth paper, when he said that he "in
no wise feared honest and honorable competition." (VI, 2,
1891). The competition lasted only a year, for on June 22,
1892, Barrow reported that the Douglas Graphic had sus-
pended publication indefinitely.

In 1893 DeForest Richards and Dr. Wilson, who had had
their "toes pinched" by the Budget according to Barrow,
decided that BUI Barlow's Budget and its editor must be
starved out. With this end in view they made plans to
establish a Republican paper. They brought a man by the
name of Campbell to Douglas to canvass the town per-
sonally. They assured him that the Budget had only a few

MERRIS C. BARROW 43

friends (VIII, 27, 1893). In the November 22, 1893, issue
of the Budget, Barrow greeted his new competitor, the
Converse County Press, with the usual fraternal greetings
and promise of courtesy, but gave a warning note of future
tangles in his reference to the two gentlemen who posed
as its godfathers (III, 27, 1893). More disparaging re-
marks about the new Republican paper appeared in subse-
quent issues. Finally on December 13, 1893, Barrow an-
nounced that since Colonel Richards was sending out sample
copies of his new paper, the Budget would do the same in
order that those who were not on the Budget's subscription
list might compare the two publications. The Converse
County Press sold for less than the Budget, but Barrow
wrote, "Western people always buy the best, and are not
to be caught by Cheap John goods because they are cheap."
(VIII, 30, 1893).

Bitter words were being exchanged between Barrow and
the editors of the "handpress" by the end of May, 1894.
The Budget's competitors printing "a half -column" howl
about being slandered gave Editor Bill a chance to strike
again.

No amount of newspaper bluff can deceive the business men
of Douglas as to the circulation of the Press. They see its
little package of ready-prints — about the size of a roll of wall
paper — carried up from the depot each week, and no amount of
newspaper "guff" or abuse of the Budget, such as our esteemed
contemporary indulged in last week can convince them that its
entire weekly circulation exceeds 100 copies. (VIII, 52, 1894)

By fall, Barrow had succeeded in putting another Douglas
newspaper aspirant out of business.

The Budget, this week placed another newspaper heading
within the crepe-enshrouded frame which hangs above the office
desk — that of the late lamented Converse County Press. Five
cold clammy corpses have been interred to date — since the birth
of the Budget — in the Douglas newspaporial cemetery — the
Rowdy West, the Douglas Advertiser, the Douglas Republican,
the Douglas Graphic and now the Press. Peace to their ashes.
(IX, 19, 1894)

When the Converse County Press was out of the way,
the editor of the Budget could devote more time to exter-
minating another Douglas news sheet which had begun
publication in the same year as the Press. Almost as he
wrote the death notice about the Press, he began his cam-
paign against the Central Wyoming News by saying:

I suppose the Central Wyoming News — name bigger 'n the
paper itself — will soon begin to brag about the rapid increase

44 ANNALS OF WYOMING

of its subscription list, and pat itself on the back in other
ways, just like its predecessor. If it does, look out for another
funeral, for it's a sure sign. (IX, 21, 1894)

The News was run by a little Englishman, Arthur Phil-
lips, who reportedly was afraid of Barrow;8 however, the
editor of the Budget said that Colonel Phillips had called
Barrow a "bloated numskull" a "Chump," and lots of other
pst names. Barrow on the other hand, spoke of Phillips
as a "gifted writer," a "brilliant journalist," etc. In 1897,
however, Barrow began a more vigorous assault than he
had previously made upon the News:

Evidently His Nobbs, Kunnel Authaw, of the Central Wyo-
ming Hangman's Noose, knows as little about legislative pro-
cedure as he does about matters newspaporial. I notice that in
the last issue of his little leaflet he gives Senator Cross a dose
of his celebrated "love and lather" specific, and adds that "The
people of Douglas have reason to thank him for his strong
opposition to House Bill No. 32, which contemplates the confis-
cation of city licenses." The fact is that House Bill No. 32
never reached the senate, but received its indefinite postpone-
ment quietus in the house, consequently, Senator Cross had
absolutely nothing to do with its defeat. Possibly His 'Iness,
the Kunnel, has an idea that Mr. Cross sorter presides over
both bodies of the legislative layout, and can vote in either
branch, as the notion strikes him. Either this, or he thinks his
readers are all blooming idiots. (XI, 37, 1897)

Finally Phillips sued M. C. and Minnie F. Barrow for libel,
asking $10,000 damages. In April, 1898, to the chagrin of
the News, the court ruled that the article on which the suit
was brought and which had appeared in the Budget of June
5, 1895, was insufficient cause for action (XII, April 20,
1898). A little over a year later the Budget contained a
notice of death for the Central Wyoming News (XII, May
25, 1898).

Thus the Budget warred against and defeated six local
newspaper contemporaries. Another rival, the Lusk Her-
ald, though not of Douglas, was too close to be ignored.
Jimmy Mayes, who had been a printer on the Budget in
1888, had by the turn of the century become editor of the
Lusk Herald. In this capacity he became a competitor of
Barrow's for county printing and thus brought himself
and his paper within range of the Budget's caustic editorial-
izing. Barrow did not succeed in eliminating the Herald
as a rival, but he delivered painful thrusts in bitter passages
like the following:

8. Henry Reese, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, October, 1946.

MERRIS C. BARROW 45

Among the journalistic freaks of this corner of the vineyard,
none can hold a candle to the little Lusk Herald. As a rule
Wyoming's demo-pop papers are poor, weak sisters who don't
even pretend to either virtue or good looks. They are a skinny,
pimply-faced, ringboned and spavined outfit; they know it, and
everybody else knows it, and they don't care a cuss. But its
different with the Herald. True, its local page, like those of its
sisters in crime, is made up of rotten English and badly tainted
French mixed with Bowery slang — exemplifying as it does the
lamentable ignorance and gross instincts of the writer thereof.
On the other hand — no; same hand but other page — we find
grandiloquent ideas, well-rounded sentences and an elegance of
expression which is not met with else where in the press of the
state. It's simply beautiful, at times, and I've often wondered
who wrote it. Mayes, of course, grinds out the local stuff —
no question about that, for one can see his phiz between every
line. But no man but a lunatic — and he an incurable — would
venture to assert that the same man wrote both pages. One
is written by a third-rate printer who dreams that he is an
"editor," the other by a gentleman and a scholar and I presume,
a good judge of whisky, for much of it has the southern twang
of eloquence as well as polish. Who ever he is he either has the
patience of Job or else never sees a copy of the Herald, for
Mayes has stolen his stuff right along and reproduced it as
"original" for over ten years now, without a kick. But if he
should die, what would become of the Herald's editorial" page?
Horrible thought! (XV, 1, 1900)

In 1898 Emerson H. Kimball, who was later a resident
of Casper for many years, was evidently stirring up trouble
again and evoked this acrimonious response from the edi-
tor of the Budget:

Everybody knows I'm a man of peace, possessing a temper
like Wyoming oil for evenness and absence of friction and a
nature which just naturally cottons to chicken pie and feather
beds. I hate a row. It's wearing on the patience and the mind
— likewise the proboscis at times — and makes a man lose sight
of the old-time proverb which directs him to love his neighbor as
his — not his neighbor's wife. "But there comes a time some
day," even in the affairs of pencil pushers, when suthin' has
to be did; when some d— d fool who imagines he is a torpedo
destroyer or a Dewey II, gets to prancing around on the tail
of your robe, swipes you a few swats on the smeller and asks
you how you like it — and you simply can't do anything else but
get next to him or run. A fellow known as "Old Castor Oil" —
who prints a paper at Casper called the Derrick and who, just
now, is posing as the mouthpiece of and wet nurse for Congress-
man John E. Osborne, has seen fit to climb onto my collar and
insists on a ride — and he's going to get it. (XIII, 3, 1898)

After making reference to his guinea-hen laugh, loud-
mouthed pretensions to honesty and decency, double-deal-
ing, rascality, insufferable egotism and unlimited egotism
and unlimited gall, Barrow wrote that "Old Castor Oil"
had realized twelve years ago that if he expected to stay in
Douglas long he had to run the Budget out (XIII, 3, 1898).

46 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Barrow also recalled that Kimball accused him of dodging
vigilance committees and being a consort of prostitutes and
thieves and charged him with going to church drunk and
to bed in the alley to get sober. Barrow went on to say
that after Kimball's accusations during those early days
in Douglas, he had begun to wonder "why the cussed offi-
cers of the law were so lax in their duties" as to permit him
to run at large and why "Mrs. Bill," whom he had always
considered an exemplary woman, persisted in trying to
longer live with him. (XIII, 3, 1898). Because of this
early controversy, asserted Barrow, the euphonious prefix
of "Castor Oil" was so firmly fixed to Kimball's name that
he came to be known by it throughout the state. Barrow
also maintained that "it's a bunch of Philippine islands
to a hand of Weyler's hair that even St. Peter will use it in
directing the old cuss to take elevator 23456, on its next
down trip." (XIII, 3, 1898). In the characteristic violent
journalism of the day, Barrow in more acrimonious pas-
sages called Kimball a shyster, a sneak, a fawning hypo-
crite, a blow-hard, and a political prostitute whose stiletto
could be bought by anyone for a dollar and declared that
"careful housewives were unable longer to even use it
This paper] on pantry shelves for fear it would make the
butter taste." (XIII, 4, 1898). The attack continued in
the issues of the next three weeks until Barrow, expressing
regret for time and space wasted on so trivial a rival, ended
his series on Kimball in the Budget of July 13, 1898:

. . . The fellow has ability in a way; but with the instincts of a
brute, the education of a bunco-steerer, the habits of a Hotten-
tot, the treachery of a Spaniard and the political training of a
prostitute and demagogue, the inner consciousness of the man
is soon revealed to even the most casual observer . . . However,
I'm sorry now that I devoted so much time and ammunition to
him, and if I inadvertently get a projectile into his case-
hardened anatomy anywhere which hurts this feelins', I'm
equally repentant. I sincerely hope we'll be able to jog along
in the newspaper harness together without further trouble.
(XIII, 7, 1898)

The continuous publication of the Budget during the
years when six local competitors passed out of existence
and editorial wars raged with other newspapers was a
commentary on the quality of both the paper and the man.
Barrow used every means in his war for survival. By mod-
ern standards his personal attacks would be considered
foul rather than fair. But in a period when such tactics
were commonplace, perhaps he had a right to be proud of
his boxed reminder on the editorial page that while other
Douglas papers died, the Budget lived on.

MERRIS C. BARROW

47

GONE OVER THE RANGE

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF

OUR 'STEEMED CONTEMPORARIES

THEY WERE, BUT ARE NOT.

Brought here 'with intent to "run out"
The Budget — but we buried the bunch.

THE ROWDY WEST
Born ug. 4, 1886; Died July 24, 1887

DOUGLAS ADVERTISER
Born Nov. 9, 1886; Died April 16, 1887

DOUGLAS REPUBLICAN
Born June 30, 1888; Died July 27, 1889

THE GRAPH C
Born Nov. 27, 1890; Died ep. 27, 1891

CONVERSE COUNTY PRESS
Born Feb. 9, 1894; Died Sep. 24, 1894

CENTRAL WYOMING NEWS
Born Oct. 2, 1894; Died May 18, 1898

Record of Defeated Local
Newspaper Rivals

THE BUDGET COMES OF AGE

No startling change was made in the physical make-up
of Bill Barlow's Budget from the day of its inception until
Barrow's death. The title which was scrawled across the
top of the page was the same in 1910 as it was in 1886.
While column headings and advertising remained similar,
the style of the articles grew into something crudely artistic
and to many readers appealing.

The headings for special columns, although not always
exactly the same, varied only slightly. Almost each issue
issue contained a "Chit Chat" column in which some news
was reported, but usually it was reserved for editorial
comment. During the early years of the Budget, this col-
umn was generally placed on the first page of the paper.
Page four, with the owners and staff listed in the upper
left-hand corner, was customarily devoted to editorials
and exchanges, but comments on local news were often
scattered over the page. Barrow evidently realized that an
item about the boy next door or the girl down the street
was more interesting to the average reader than news of

48 ANNALS OF WYOMING

the conditions of the world in the state or national capital.
The volume of local news which appeared in his "Short
Stops" column on page five indicated that he knew some-
thing about practically everything in and around Douglas.
He realized that legs were as good as brains in reporting1
and did not sit around the Budget office waiting for news
to come to him. Barrow probably enjoyed his excursions
among fellow citizens to get the personals, local announce-
ments, and notices similar to present-day want ads which
he printed on page five.

The paper continued through the years of Barrow's edi-
torship to have "patent print" because he thought it of
"untold value to the country press." (II, 35, 1888). He
believed his "patent innards" to be "worthy of all praise"
since they were typographically and editorially perfect and
contained in his opinion the "gist" of the best literature of
the day:

It enables the Budget, for instance, to lay before its readers
each week just twenty columns more of bright and interesting
reading matter than would be possible were the paper printed
all at home. To print such a paper as we now issue all at home
would increase our payroll at least $300 a month, or $3,600 a
year — men everywhere were slow to endorse the so-called "pat-
ent print," but its value is becoming recognized more and more,
and its sphere of usefulness largely increased as Father Time's
hour-glass changes ends. Even the daily press now uses
"plates" — including every daily paper published in Wyoming —
and there is really no difference between a "stereotype plate
print" and a "patent print." . . . All would use it [patent print]
did there not exist some good reason preventing its use. (II,
35, 1888)

The Budget is proud of its patent. When Douglas rises to the
dignity of a Daily Budget, the Weekly Budget will be printed
all at home and not before. (II, 35, 1888)

Bill Barlow's Budget, like other papers of its day and
locality, carried many advertisements. The locally printed
pages were sometimes nearly half full of notices from local
or regional merchants and producers, and the "patent
prints" carried advertising by national companies. Al-
though the Budget ran fewer advertisements than some
early news sheets, it must have averaged fair profit from
such sources. At times, especially when Barrow put out a
twelve-page paper, there would be at least one page filled
completely with advertising.

Like their contemporaries in the newspaper field, the
Barrows advertised their own enterprises extensively.
They included notices about the stationery store, announce-
ments about the plants and flowers available at the green-

1. Chaplin, letter to author, Jan. 1, 1947.

MERRIS C. BARROW 49

house, suggestions concerning suitable insurance policies,
and of course continuous reminders of their job-printing
service.

Barrow evidently recognized that the issues of the
Budget afforded a valuable record of a town and its people
— a record not duplicated elsewhere. Even though the
issues of the Budget had not been consistently bound during
the first fourteen years, each issue of a year was consistent-
ly identifiied as a part of a single volume. By April, 1900,
almost enough issues had been published to fill fourteen
volumes.

Barrow reported in his "Chit Chat" column April 25,
1900, that the job department had for the past week been
"engaged in arranging, compiling, and binding in book form
the files of the Budget for the past ten years." (XIV, 47,
1900). It is interesting that Barrow himself saw the sig-
nificance of his paper as a record of local history and com-
mented as follows:

What a record of city, county and state — a truthful and com-
plete history wherein everything is set down, from the birth of
triplets to the estimable wife of Mr. John Smith to the failure
of the A. L. New legislature to elect a senator because of a
shortage of cocktails and coin. Incidentally the prosperity and
progress of state and nation is recorded, likewise. Ten years
is but a notch in the stick of time and comparatively nothing in
the immensity of eternity; and yet in the growth and develop-
ment of any community it comprises much of interest, and
furnishes a vast amount of that stuff which newspapers term
news. (XIV, 47, 1900)

In going through these volumes one notices some changes
and improvements from one year to another. Barrow put
into use each year new ideas and methods and thus gave
his readers a better and more interesting coverage of what
was going on around them. An examination of the files
reveals as the first noticeable new development the appear-
ance of extra issues — only a few at first but more frequent
with the years of publication. Barrow was endeavoring to
give to his readers the important news that he felt should
not be held a week. This development first occurred at
election time. In 1888, for example, Barrow wrote the fol-
lowing on his editorial page:

From this date until the day of election, the Budget will issue
two papers a week Wednesdays and Saturdays — and a copy of
each number will be sent to every tax-payer in the county, as
shown by the tax list free of charge. Keep your eye on us!
(Ill, 20, 1888)

Earlier in 1888 the owners of the Budget had been making
plans for the establishment of a branch paper at some point
in the oil country west of Douglas (II, 39, 1888) . Although
this project did not materialize, it was one of the things

50 ANNALS OF WYOMING

the Barrows considered in making plans for their Budget
to come of age.

On May 28, 1891, in the last issue of Volume V, the
Budget announced a reduction of rates. "From this date,"
said the owners, "the Budget will be mailed to any address
for $2.00 per year." They explained further:

For four years past the price has been $3.00 per year, and
although most of the weekly papers throughout the territory
were held at $1.00 less, the Budget's circulation has equalled, if
not exceeded, any of them. We have oocic'ed, however, that the
rate is too high; that while it was in accordance with the local
and sectional scale of prices existing in all branches of busi-
ness at the time the paper started, it is nevertheless too high
now . . .

We are still offering the San Francisco Call and Philadelphia
Press as premiums — The Budget and either of them $2.50 per
year, or all three for $3.00. (IV, 52, 1890)

Probably the greatest change for the Budget that took
place through the years was improvement in its equipment
and surroundings. Even before Barrow's publications were
being scattered to the far points of the country, the build-
ing had undergone renovations and many new pieces of
equipment had been added to the shop. As has already
been noted in earlier chapters, additions and improvements
were made as rapidly as space and funds permitted. In
February, 1889, Barrow announced plans for still more
equipment, a new job press, "much larger and better even
than the one now in use — and a large assortment of new
type and other aids to job-printing." (Ill, 38). In 1895
the Budget told of the placing of the steam engine on a
stone base or pier, an arrangement which remains in place
today with certain changes in the equipment itself. Still
more machinery was added to the back room in 1899. On
November 29 of that year, Barrow proudly wrote of the
$1,000 recently invested for the improvement of the Budget
plant as follows:

The Budget, the past few weeks, has added to its plant, in
the way of new presses, new type, and new machinery. The
latest thing is a water motor, which takes the place of the
small steam engine which has furnished our power for several
years, and while the engine did its work well we take off our
hat to the new arrival. It is always ready, runs like a sewing
machine, and does all that is claimed for it and more. No more
annoying delays in waiting for steam, or water in the boiler —
simply turn a valve and everything is in motion. . . .

We can handle an edition of 10,000 and supply the state with
stationery now, if necessary. (XIV, 26, 1899)

The Budget was becoming a well-established institution
in the community it served and needed to give itself plenty
of elbow room. As early as 1901 the building was being
enlarged. "Must keep up with the procession you know,"

MERRIS C. BARROW 51

said Barrow on September 11, 1901 (XVI, 14). Then in
1903 talk began about the "Budget Block." Barrow himself
told of these plans on August 5, 1903 :

A contract was signed . . . last week for the immediate erec-
tion of the Budget block, on Third street ... A portion of the
present office building will be utilized, to which will be added
an iron structure 28 x 45, with plate glass front, to occupy the
vacant lot between the present building and Temple block. This
will be divided into two rooms, one to be occupied as a business
office for the Budget and the other rented as a storeroom. The
front of the old and new building will be made uniform and of
pleasing design and both will be covered with iron . . . The
building, heating and plumbing contracts complete call for an
expenditure of something over $3,000. (XVII, 9)

After completion of these additions a portion of the
building was rented for use as the Douglas post office. In

1906 the second story of the building was completed and
rented to the Bell Telephone Company. Thus the owners
of the Budget had not only improved facilities for the paper,
but had provided additional sources of income for their
business enterprise.

The picture of the "Budget Block" which appeared in

1907 in the Twenty-first Anniversary Edition of Bill Bar-
low's Budget revealed that the Budget's home had improved
remarkably over its original "tar-paper-roof emporium."
In 1907 Barrow felt justified in describing the block com-
prising 4,235 square feet of floor space as handsome, adding
that the Budget had "one of the most complete plants in
the state from the standpoint of machinery and material"
to which more was constantly being added (Bill Barlow's
Budget — Anniversary Edition, 1907). But before the
Budget could really come of age in 1907, certain advances
had to be made in quality of content as well as in quantity
and quality of plant equipment.

It was not surprising that Barrow, whom no one ever
charged with underrating his abilities, frequently devoted
much of the Budget's space to eulogistic comments about
his paper. In 1900, however, he confessed that he had been
made to question whether the Budget really deserved to be
praised. Appreciating a good joke on himself almost as
well as a good joke on another, he related his experience
in the "Chit Chat" column of the Budget:

About four months ago Jim Powell, of the LaPrele, blew
into my den, and said he guessed he'd settle up and quit. We
settled. Jim is an old-timer — a progressive up-to-date Republi-
can ranchman, and a reader — and as I handed him a $4.00 quit-
claim deed to my interest in his broad acres and fat cattle I
expressed regret that his name would no longer appear on our
subscription list. To erase a $2.00 name is like removing a
pebble from a Platte river sand-bar; but I have always felt
that the old-timers — who braved the dangers and privations

52 ANNALS OF WYOMING

incident to early days and who laid the foundation on which
the country of today is built — were my special clients, and to
lose one of them hurts. So I asked Jim, straight-out, why he
stopped the Budget. "Do you want me to tell you the truth?"
said he. I did and said so. His reply was like him — "Because
there isn't a d-d thing in it any more!" And after I had caught
my second wind and mentally scanned the pages of the paper
as issued during the past few months, I agreed with him. Since
then, there must have been a change, for we have actually added
over 200 new names to our subscription list, and we want to
make it 400 before the year closes. To this end we propose to
send out sample copies to non-subscribers during the next few
weeks, for which no charge is made. (XIV, 14, 1900)

It is likely that for a time Barrow was preoccupied with
his varied activities outside of the Budget office and let
the paper run itself. Probably he really needed a reminder
that he should be more concerned about whether the
Budget was readable or not. It is interesting, at any rate,
to observe that a definite improvement in the content of the
paper took place after 1900. The editor apparently began
to devote special effort to his "Chit Chat" column and to
his editorials.

. On April 17, 1901, for example, Barrow gave part of his
editorial column to a "Chit Chat" paragraph on paint.
Whether it was written to get results in Douglas or only
to amuse himself and his readers, it was certainly a step
in the direction of the style which he later exploited thor-
oughly. A part of the passage read:

Blessed, thrice blessed, is paint! From wiping the wrinkles
from the downy cheek of a blushing maiden of forty summers
and several winters to adorning the home of potentate and
peasant, it is a renovator and beautifier. You can always feel
the pulse of a community through the medium of paint. A
recent trip along the Elkhorn served as an object lesson. Chad-
ron is picking up — and painting. Whitney is as black and wea-
therbeaten as of yore . . . New lumber and plenty of paint tells
the story. Lusk's color card proves that the town is all right,
and believes, and uses paint. Douglas — well, Douglas always
did paint and always will. (XV, 44, 1901)

The "Chit Chat" column of the next issue carried a little
essay on the average man. Here, Barrow described cleverly
the average man that the world could not get along without :
Do you know the average man ? You see him alluded to in
the papers and by public speakers frequently, but have you ever
tried to locate him ? He differs vastly from the extraordinary
individual and the common plug — in being gifted with qualities
possessed by neither. They develop only in the average man,
and form his distinguished characteristics. For instance, the
average man is one who carries a torch in the political parade
and never complains when burning oil from the lamp meanders
down his neck. It is a duty he owes the country. Twice or
maybe three times a year the average citizen gets real drunk,
and invariably lands in jail, with his coat ripped up the back.
He is also the astute individual who warily watches the little

MERRIS C. BARROW 53

pea as it flits from shell to shell until he has the game down
fine — then bets his money and loses. The average man goes
out for a walk with his wife and pushes the baby carriage.
Cheerfully and without ostentation he steps forward and helps
hold the hot-air-balloon for the parachute jumper while the big
bag is being inflated in the public square. And when the as-
cension is about to begin you find him in a position of trust and
responsibility at the end of a guy rope. The average man at-
tends the funeral of everybody he ever knew, and wears his
glad rags on Sunday, but he is never seen on the platform with
the prominent citizens at a public demonstration. Taken as a
whole, the average man is a tort of chi rap, anyway you fix
it — but the world could not get along without him. (XV, 45,
1901)

Barrow contributed writing in this amiable, ramblingly
philosophical tone to the Budget during the next few years.
Such passages became longer and more frequent as he
developed his style and assurance in the experiment he was
trying. In December, 1902, just before he began in earnest
to present his writings as philosophy, Barrow told a very
interesting story about his first experience at a football
game. The following amusing sketch appeared in the De-
cember 3, 1902, edition of the Budget:

Well, I have seen a football game — my first — and still live,
although I lost my voice somewhere in the shuffle, and my back
teeth are loose from too much "Give 'em the ax, the ax, the ax,
where? Right in the neck, the neck, the neck, there" with
rising inflexion and double extra emphasis on the "where" and
"there." I never dreamed that a little thing like that would
work me up so. Mrs. Bill asserts that for an hour and thirty-
three minutes I was stark, staring mad, and they tell me that
the police patrol actually legged me off the field a dozen times
during the progress of the game. It was a warm one. Eleven
strapping big fellows in brown, and eleven comparatively little
fellows in white — God how they did fight! There were times
when they looked like a box of dessicated sardines dumped onto
a bread-board, and again they scattered and milled and tumbled
and tossed until you couldn't see them for dust. There was a
whole lot of good plays made on both sides — so they said. You
can search me! I only saw our boys — little fellows from an
avoirdupois standpoint and therefore presumed to be the under
dog — but brave, manly lads all, striving to maintain the pres-
tige of their town — taking punishment as though they liked it,
and eventually bearing our blue-and-white penant to victory.
Both sides concede that it was a clean game, devoid of slugging
and like dirty work. The black eyes, skinned faces, bruised
legs and broken slats which our boys brought back with them
are — so they explain — mere incidents which properly appertain
to this sort of sport. Evidently I wasn't born to be a gridiron
Gladiator. (XVIII, 26, 1902)

Four weeks later in the issue of December 31, Barrow
moved his "Chit Chat" column to a less pretentious place
in the center pages of the paper and gave most of the first
page to what he called, "Some Cerebral Percolations which

54 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Might Help a Little." (XVII, 30). Thre? weeks later he
commented about the change in the following way:

Probably you've noticed that the Budget, of late, has been
undergoing a transfiguration in both face and form — likewise
growing some in stature. This issue marks a decided change
in this regard — and the next will show a greater still. Mean-
while, Mrs. Bill sits smiling at the cashier's counter; and will
enroll your name among the elect who feel that they ought to
help a little, if you have the price — being two plunks per. And
now is the accepted time — although tomorrow will do. (XVII,
33, 1903)

With Volume XVII, No. 37, appearing on February 18,
1903, Barrow inserted under the title on page one a phrase
for which he was to become famous, "Sagebrush Philosophy
Done Into Some Scintillating Solecisms." The columns un-
der this heading were filled with the kind of material which
in time came to characterize "Bill Barlow." Sometimes
there was a story, often a moral teaching, usually a joke,
occasionally a bit of current news, told, however, with a
new vividness. Always there was a bit of philosophy to
give what Barrow termed "social, mental, and spiritual
freedom, plus — ."2 Meanwhile, the more commonplace
and localizing captions which had appeared beneath the
title of the Budget, such as "Only Newspaper in the Fetter-
man Country," "Independent in All Things," and "Largest
Circulation in Central Wyoming," were changed to "Per-
iodically Printed on Handmade Prickly-pear Papyrus,"
"Fair, Faithful, and Fearless," and "Sold to the Push at
Five the Chunk or Two Plunks Per." "Bill Barlow" was
changing the appearance and tone of the Budget to har-
monize with the new role he was preparing to assume as
"Sagebrush Philosopher."

THE SAGEBRUSH PHILOSOPHER

Among the Douglasites of the early 1900's, there were
probably those who passed quickly by the "Sagebrush Phil-
osophy" of the Budget's first page and read the personal
notices of the "Short Stops" column on page five just as
many today by-pass the editorials and syndicated columnist
to read the funnies or local society section. Some people
did read Barrow's "Scintillating Solecisms," however, were
impressed, and passed on to the Budget's editor their appre-
ciation of the light-hearted happiness reflected in Bill
Barlow's philosophy.

2. From "Bill He Believes," Inside of front cover of Sagebrush
Philosophy, XIII, No. 4 (April, 1910).

MERRIS C. BARROW 55

Probably upon the suggestion of friends, Barrow began
to recognize that the optimism, wit, and philosophy of the
articles would take in other parts of the country. Admiring
readers may even have shown him the possibilities of a
monthly magazine compiled from the columns of the Budg-
et. No doubt, it took little encouragement to start Barrow
on his way toward the creation of such a periodical.

On December 9, 1903, he revealed his plan to his readers
as follows:

To those among my congregation who find spiritual solace
and intellectual nutriment in the pure stuph which appears on
this page from week to week I wish to whisper the word that I
am about to launch a monthly magazine — the which will face
the footlights early next month. It will be a pocket publication,
handsomely printed on prickly pear papyrus, with a two-color
cover on which will be emblazoned the title of "Sagebrush Phil-
osophy." It will comprise stuff written only to be read — a
careful selection from these weekly presents, and other things
as happen to percolate through the mental vertebra of the
Person who vibrates at the other end of this pencil. Though
really worth very much more, Sagebrush Philosophy will be sold
at ten cents the copy to casual readers and $1 to those who
want it for a year and move right in. I would like very much
to have a good audience present when this temple is completed
and would suggest that while you are in the notion you might
send in your name, right now, with credentials sufficient to
enroll you as of the elect. And if there be others whom you
believe would be benefited thereby, their names and addresses
will be thankfully received — to whom a sample copy shall be
sent. Now don't delay. (XVIII, 27, 1903)

The first issue of Sagebrush Philosophy was dated Jan-
uary, 1904, but it had been put in the mails in December.
It measured four and three-fourths inches by six and one-
fourth inches and had thirty-two pages. Since today only
bound copies of that first issue are available, the appearance
of the cover cannot be described accurately; however, the
announcement of it in the Budget reported that, like later
editions, it was of a rough-textured, colored paper, the
color varying from one edition to another. The same words
greeted the reader at the top of the first page of the text
as greeted the readers of subsequent issues, "Just let this
thought sorter sink into your soul: The mummy aint had
no fun for moren five thousand years."1 On the cover was
probably inscribed the proverb, "Live, Laugh and Love —
There'll Come a Time When You Can't," which appeared
on later issues. The pages were unnumbered, were printed
in quarto fashion, and may have been distributed undipped
at first. There were titles given to the various articles, but
a short line was drawn between them at the middle of the

1. Bill Barlow, Sagebrush Philosophy, I, 1 (Jan., 1904), p. 1.

MERRIS C. BARROW 37

page to suggest a division. The first letter of each long
article was boxed in a four-line space; the jokes and max-
ims, which were Bill Barlow's proverbs, sometimes had only
the first word in capitals and at other times appeared with
the whole passage in darker type to show that a new
thought was beginning. Among the articles listed in the
Topical Index of that first issue were discussions of the
following :

Time flies — twas New years only yesterday.

Heres a health to the god Dionysus.

Weuns sure dont like Injuns, out this way.

Bear fables — including how Windy Smith found four.

The "scintillating" content of this first issue evidently
was what many readers over the country were seeking, for
Barrow wrote in the January 13, 1904, issue of the Budget
that Sagebrush Philosophy seemed to have caught on and
added :

I had no serious intention of trying to blanket the continent
with my first number; but printed what promised to be more
than a plenty — and yet within ten days after the little mag had
hit the mails the first edition was entirely exhausted and a sec-
ond printed — to the great joy of both Mrs. Bill and Bert the
Benign, who likes nothing better than to feed a voracious two-
revoluter ream after ream of popular pulp done into a prickly
pear papyrus. A great many good people have moved right in
for a year, and newsdealers everywhere assure me that Pure
Stuph is a swift seller — likewise a sure satisfyer [sic.].

To the newspaper push I tip my tile — albeit a Chicago press
clipping bureau doing business on a short-order rate schedule
has already boosted my somewhat attenuated bank balance over
into the red. From a full half-page bouquet headed "Introduc-
ing Bill Barlow, the Elbert Hubbard of Wyoming," appearing in
the Chicago Inter Ocean of January 3rd down to the modest
four-line wood violet — each pregnant with the aroma of kindly
welcome — all are noted and appreciated, and here acknowledged
— until opportunity serves if ever, to repay. (XIX, 31, 1904)
By March, however, Barrow was beginning to receive
unfavorable criticisms of his new style from those whom
he called "well-meaning" friends. In his own defense he
gave a long, rambling discussion of the "mag's" content and
manner. He described the style in which his "Pure Stuph"
had been written as "plain tales . . . plainly told." He ex-
plained, moreover, that "in the house of letters are many
mansions, the which are constantly undergoing alteration
and repair." (XIX, 39, 1904). He had substituted, he
wrote, for his attempts as literary and polished passages
what he called a "Saturated Solution of Scintillating Sole-
cisms." With the development of the idea of a "Sagebrush
Philosopher" Barrow had begun to experiment with devices
to point up the folksy, colloquial quality of the "wisdom"
he was offering his readers. He deliberately misspelled,
ran words together, attempted to represent an uneducated

58 ANNALS OF WYOMING

pronunciation, as in "suthin," "moren," "handlin," omitted
apostrophes in contractions, and filled his sketches with
slang and colloquialisms. These peculiarities no doubt dis-
pleased many readers and probably provoked criticism, but
Barrow defended his material and method vigorously. "It
is my purpose to be truthful, to portray life as you and I
both see it, despite the hysterical mustnt-touch screams of
thin skins." He pointed out that "slang, bretheren, is at
times the vehicle through which the good work can be ac-
complished— the nude in Literature" and that "Language
either spoken or printed must be thought itself without
domino or other damphool disguise."

Barrow had a good deal to learn about how to make the
Sagebrush Philosophy a financial success. He first obtained
the names of news-stand operators all over the country,
picked a few news agencies in the more thickly populated
areas, and sent them sample copies of the initial Sagebrush
Philosophy. In some cases he sent as many as fifty copies
of the new publication, and, according to one of Barrow's
letters written on July 22, 1904, one-half of these were re-
leased as samples for free distribution. Here, he added that
the "entire lot might be so considered if necessary — it being
our desire to introduce the publication and induce you to
handle it for us in the future."2

Barrow sent glowingly phrased letters of announcement
along with the first packets of his magazine which were dis-
tributed. The replies, which he soon began to receive, made
him realize, no doubt, that the distribution of a periodical
was not as easy as he had thought. The head office of the
American News Company in New York must have written
back to Barrow, for example, explaining in a courteous
manner how news agencies functioned; for an answer to
them is found in Barrow's Copy Book under date of January
8, 1904. Among other things Barrow included the following
in this letter:

I . . . assure you that your suggestion as to the disposal of
copies sent you as samples has our full approval, I have today
written your branch house at Denver enclosing your letter, and
trust that within a few days we will reach a satisfactory ar-
rangement under which we may be able to send you the maga-
zine hereafter.

Sagebrush Philosophy is a winner. Chicago, Omaha, New
York, and Washington papers have paid it some very handsome
compliments, as well as every prominent paper published in the
Rocky Mountain region. 3

2. "Letter to Brentano," Chicago, Illinois, Jan. 22, 1904, Copy
Book, p. 29.

3. "Letter to American News Company," New York, N. Y., Jan.
8, 1904, Copy Book, p. 2.

MERRIS C. BARROW 59

A similar letter was sent to the Washington News Com-
pany, which apparently had also written that Barrow con-
tact the News Company branch in Colorado. Barrow imme-
diately wrote to the Colorado News Company, hoping to
work out as soon as possible some way of putting his new
contribution before the reading public. He reported the
extent of his sales to date and told them that there were
more orders for the January number than could be filled,
although 1,500 more copies were being printed to fill orders
received.4

After writing to this company and asking that an ar-
rangement be settled upon, it was necessary for Barrow
to write to the other news agencies that he had approached
with his letter accompanying sample copies. He explained
that he had contacted a branch of the American News Com-
pany to distribute his magazine but assured the other news
companies that he was still in the market.5 As Barrow
received more correspondence from the various news agen-
cies, he learned that as in any other business the middle
man wanted his cut. In his case, he felt that the amount
requested by the agencies was too great and would not
leave a large enough margin of profit for the individual
news-stand operators.

The review of the magazine in the Chicago Inter-Ocean
had been at the first the best instrument of Barrow's sales
talk ; however, he later capitalized on his direct contact with
the dealers. He always let the dealers know that he was
really doing them a favor by sending his little "bibliomag"
directly to them.

Although we have about twenty type-written pages from the
American and other news companies now on file in our office,
in which they ask the exclusive sale of the mag. with a 2c
rakeoff which the retailer must pay, we have decided to pass
them up for the present and deal direct with the retailer only. 6

Meanwhile the editor of the Budget was not being alto-
gether frank with the Colorado News Company. While
continuing to contact prospective customers directly about
ordering the magazine, he wrote the following contradictory
statement to the Colorado Branch of the American News
Company :

. . . We have not yet decided about the agency business. The
fact is that the Mag. has had such phenomenal — or unexpected,
we might say — sales that we cannot broaden our field until we

4. "Letter to Colorado News Company," Denver, Colorado, Jan. 8,
1904, Copy Book, p. 4.

5. Ibid., Jan. 11, 1904, Copy Book, p. 10.

6. "Letter to Brentano," Chicago, Illinois, Jan. 22, 1904, Copy
Book, p. 28.

60 ANNALS OF WYOMING

install a new book press and other machinery necessary to
handle it, hence we are in the unique position of being compelled
to close our doors, almost, to other than old customers. When
we get ready to spread out — as we will as soon as possible —
we will write you.v

Barrow wrote more and more letters asking over and
over, "Can you handle any Februarys, and how many of
March shall we send you when out? Please examine the
publication and let us hear from you." and "We are print-
ing something as handsome as type and ink can make;
distinctly western and unique in both makeup and meat."8
Always he declared that the first edition was exhausted
within a fortnight, and that a second had been printed.
In some cases he even maintained that the second was also
gone. At one time he said that the first edition had num-
bered 5,000.9 Six months later he wrote that the initial
edition had numbered 2,000. 10 Since many of these first
issues were used as free samples, Barrow was of course not
being accurate or even honest when he used the number
printed as a measure of the magazine's popularity. He
probably felt, however, that some exaggeration was neces-
sary for good salesmanship.

Later in 1904, the tone of Barrow's publicity letters was
distinctly changed. This was possibly an attempt to arouse
or interest those dealers who had not replied to Barrow's
first letters. To the Railroad News Company of Boston,
Barrow wrote:

We . . . have had no word from you as to how sales are going.
We have secured quite a number of subscribers in Boston, how-
ever, and they write us that when wanting extra copies of sev-
eral issue they have been unable to get them at any of your
news stands.

SAGEBRUSH PHILOSOPHY is gaining circulation by leaps
and bounds — every dealer who handles it, almost, having doub-
led and trebled his order with each issue. Many have jumped
from 10 to 100 and others have even exceeded this increase.
Why have we not heard from you along this line ?

A Boston friend writes us that you have many news stands,
and in his opinion ought to easily sell 500 copies a month —
possibly more. At his solicitation we are writing you — also
sending you this mail 50 copies of the May issue. 11

7. "Letter to Colorado News Company," Denver, Colorado, Jan. 29,
1904, Copy Book, p. 34.

8. "Letter to Wakoff Brothers," Park Row Bldg., N. Y. City, Feb.
19, 1904, Copy Book, p. 46.

9. "Letter to Colorado News Company," Denver, Colorado, Jan. 8,
1904, Copy Book, p. 4.

10. "Letter to Allrupp & Chappell," Little Rock, Arkansas, June
18, 1904, Copy Book, p. 53.

11. "Letter to Railroad News Company," Boston, Mass. May 7,
1904, Copy Book, p. 51.

MERRIS C. BARROW 61

Still another approach to salesmanship was employed
in June, 1904, when in an answer to a news-stand proprietor
in Little Rock, Arkansas, Barrow expressed pleasure in be-
ing able to get back numbers which his correspondent had
evidently been unable to sell.12 Barrow explained that there
were constant applications for issues out of print and that
he and his staff had just been unable to supply the many
requests.

Even more unusual correspondence followed. A letter,
dated July 23, 1904, included an example of Barrow's next
experiment as publicity man for his magazine. Here he
wrote to an unsuccessful distributor that he and "Mrs. Bill"
would be saved from suicide if the old issues could be
bundled up and "fired in," and as a rousing finale added:
Don't forget the Junes. Aprils are worth $1.00 each, but of

course you haven't got any. We didn't know what we were up

against at first and didn't print enough — but are catching on.13

By May 31, 1905, Barrow was informing readers of his
Budget that he had reached a circulation for June of 12,000
copies and that orders already showed an icrease for July
to at least 15,000. A few months earlier on March 15,
1905, he had written to the Colorado News Company asking
that a contract be prepared and sent to him. He evidently
had decided that one man could not handle so many phases
of a periodical's publication and asked the company to
send him, in addition to the contract, such suggestions as
their experience dictated for gaining circulation.14

As the subscription list grew and as Barrow publicized
its growth, advertisers, no doubt, began to investigate the
magazine's possibilities as an advertising medium. W. H.
Greenfield of Philadelphia in 1904, according to existing
records, was the first to approach Barrow on this matter.
The Sagebrush Philosopher informed him that no effort
was being made to get advertising and that he did not
desire any until the magazine's circulation had grown from
7,000 to 10,000. But Barrow added that by the end of the
year this mark should be reached, at which time a rate card
asking for advertising business would be sent out. He also
quoted to Greenfield the price of $10.00 a page, assuring
him, however, that the price was just a "mouth to mouth"
agreement and likely to be increased at any time.15

12. "Letter to Allrupp and Chappell," Little Rock, Arkansas,
June 18, 1904, Copy Book, p. 53.

13. "Letter to Dailey," July 23, 1904, Copy Book, p. 60.

14. "Letter to Colorado News Company," Denver, Colorado, March
31, 1905, Copy Book, p. 102.

15. "Letter to W. H. Greenfield, Esq.," Philadelphia, Penn., Sept.
3, 1904, Copy Book, p. 73.

62 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Then in 1907, Barrow asked the Oliver Typewriter Com-
pany for a new machine in exchange for a three-month full
page advertisement. It is not known whether he was able
to make his bargain with this proposal, but, his "sales talk"
was convincing:

SAGEBRUSH PHILOSOPHY is "The olive of Lucullan lit-
erature"— pungent, but always palatable. It is the essence of
current comment, plainly expressed and handsomely printed —
deals with life as you see it and humanity as you know it — never
a knocker — always an optimist. It is written to read, and we
believe has a greater circulation based on actual copies printed
than any other publication — is invariably passed about the home
or office, and then carried in the pocket until handed to a friend
and by him or her to others — because always of interest.

We have refused all advertising until we had gained a circu-
lation; but now feel that we have reached that point where we
are justified in urging our claims to a limit of thirty pages
based on rate card herewith. And, as I have said, we want
another Oliver, and to that end make you the special offer of a
full page for three months in exchange for one of your ma-
chines.16

Barrow's untiring efforts toward wide publicity seemed
to bring results, but there must also have been something
appealing in the philosophy itself. Although certain por-
tions of Bill Barlow's philosophy may have seemed coarse
to some, the magazine was read from its comments on
news, to its critical discussions, philosophical ramblings,
and presentations of helpful maxims and proverbs.17

Since Barrow began his philosophizing by commenting
on news of interest in a clever and unusual way, it might
be well to consider this phase of his magazine material
first. The news between the covers of Sagebrush Philoso-
phy, like the critical discussions, proverbs, jokes, etc.,
appearing in Bill Barlow's monthly magazine, was also in-
cluded in the "Scintillating Solecisms" published weekly
on the first page of the Budget.

In September, 1906, Barrow reported in his magazine
that the members of the First Methodist Church of Grove-
port, Ohio, had suffered a shock the other day from which
they would not soon recover. He wrote that their original
church had been built back in 1859 when a corner-stone
containing a Bible and compilation of local church history
was laid with a great deal of ceremony. They had planned
to deposit these relics in the corner-stone of a new church
under construction, but:

16. "Letter to Oliver Typewriter Co.," Chicago, Illinois, March 5,
1907, Copy Book, p. 129.

17. Rice, Interview, Douglas, Wyoming, March, 1948.

MERRIS C. BARROW 63

Imagine the horror of pastor and brethren who had assembled
to recover the precious relics to discover, when the old stone
gave up its contents, that it had held all these years — instead
of holy and local writ — a greasy pack of cards, a battered
tobacco box, a faded photograph of an altogether fairy and an
empty booze bottle. It was evident that at some stage of the
original corner stone deal, some sinner in jocular mood had
switched decks. 18

From this introduction Barrow went into a lengthy disser-
tation on superstition as a competing factor in everyday
life, using as example the superstition of the surprised and
stricken people in Groveport.

In another news item Barrow spoke of John D. Rocke-
feller's announcement that he would give money toward a
home and school for chorus girls. Using this item as a
kind of text, the Sagebrush Philosopher went into a long
and certainly not dull discussion of the chorus girl.19 Billy
Sunday, well-known evangelist of Barrow's day, was the
subject of another of Barrow's comments on current news.
In June, 1910, the Sagebrush Philosopher reported that
Sunday was scheduled to make over the town of Everett,
Washington. This bit of news, although not especially a
scoop, became interesting and readable when told by
Barrow :

Sunday is understudied by a high-salaried apostle named Gill
who in strict accord with Barnumesque ethics is already on
the ground joyously prophecying the reclamation of full 3,000
souls as result of his principal's labor of love and lucre. Everett
may need a housecleaning all right; but after Sunday has pock-
eted his fee and made his getaway, the local clergy and congre-
gations, including a well laundried proletariat, will have gotten
onto some new wrinkles anent reform. 20

Barrow's criticism of contemporary writers had much the
same tone as his editorials on local newspapers. His com-
ments on one of the victims in this category, William Allen
White, are of interest. In 1905 Barrow wrote the following
of White:

That dread disease known to the profesh as literary polish
has swept the poor cuss into the maelstrom of common-place
space writers, whose work is really no better nor worse than
the best, and absolutely devoid of that individuality which was
once a gleaming lighthouse in a fatuous fog. (XX, Feb. 8,
1905)

The Sagebrush Philosopher consistently threw laurels, how-
ever, to writers past and present who were "fair, faithful,
and fearless."

18. Bill Barlow, Sagebrush Philosophy, VI, No. 3 (Sept., 1906).

19. Sagebrush Philosophy, VI, No. 3 (Sept., 1906).

20. Sagebrush Philosophy, XIII, No. 61 (June, 1910).

64 ANNALS OF WYOMING

In formulating a reply to the adverse comments on the
language of his "mag," Barrow used his knowledge of the
great writers of the past :

What a world of hypocrites we are anyway, in this matter of
literature. Nobody ever heard an oration on the subject with-
out some reference in it to "the immortal Bard of Avon," and
yet few people can honestly read and enjoy him. Milton is
deified as one of the world's greatest poets, and yet it is true
that a large proportion of the educated men and women of today
take his "Paradise Lost" on trust, and have not read it. John
Bunyan belongs to the same class — how many of you have
waded through "Pilgrims Progress?" We praise because tra-
dition tells us we must, just as we recognize many other super-
stitions which have come to us through the centuries. And
yet while we profess an admiration verging on veneration for
a score or more of old-time authors whose work hangs high in
the temple of fame, how carefully we have revamped and sand-
papered some of their productions in order to bring them with-
in the limits of present-day literary censorship. (XIX, 51,
1904)

He grieved over the "latent laxity of mind" which led
some of his readers to "carnal rather than moral conclu-
sions," and took advantage of an opportunity to review the
unsavory qualities of the immortals of literature in hopes
that it would make people understand better that any
"word bears different definitions and interpretations."

Shakespeare was a libertine, Coleridge a dope-dipper, Poe a
booze-fighter for fair, Burns a profligate and pothouse bum,
Byron had as many mistresses as he could manage . . . yet these
trifling idiosyncracies of their day did not prevent the per-
petuation of their genius on the pages of history. It is admit-
ted that each was a great teacher along certain lines, and that
the world is wiser and better because they once lived, and yet
were they on earth today they would be classed as degenerates
and much of their best work denounced and damned. (XIX,
51, 1904)

In 1906 Barrow wrote that Smollett and Fielding and
Boccaccio practiced what they preached, that the family
matters of Shakespeare were "deucedly irregular," and
that the life of Swift would have been refused by even
the "high-class, low-priced magazine." He added that
George Eliot was a "shameless hussy according to smug
measurement" and mentioned Villon as a "rascally chest
and pothouse brawler."21

Barrow's criticisms of what the drama of his day did to
literature are very readable. He wrote how he had once
loved Ben Hur, had taken it off the shelf with reverence,
and had spent hours "in the tent of Sheik, or in the deserted
arena of the circus of Antioch where the proud Roman was
humbled by the powers of the Jew." (XIX, 49, 1906). He

21. Sagebrush Philosophy, VI, No. 2 (Aug. 1906).

MERRIS C. BARROW 65

added, however, that he had seen the play and could never

again pick up the book without hearing:

the rumble and roar of that devilish mechanical race-track on
which Messala and Ben-Hur did their stunt; the skeleton of
the story as paraded on the stage glaring at me from between
every line — all the beauty and pathos of the tale lost in whit-
tling it down to a peg to fit a hole. (XIX, 49, 1904)

Barrow made the comment on Ben Hur by way of preface
to a remark or two concerning Owen Wister's Wyoming
story, The Virginian, which he had recently seen produced
on a Chicago stage. He described in picturesque detail the
Virginian as he had known him — of his consumption of
whiskey straight, his grammar which was "most in gen'l
salted with enough biblical Tabasco to give it both pith
and point," and his fondness for the four-card-flush. Of
the Virginian on the Chicago stage, however, Barrow
wrote :

The cuss I met in Chicago who pretended to be our old paid
was a low-down, cotton-chewin, Montgomery & Ward repre-
sentative and thats the answer! Though evidently suffering
from a thirst born of the night before he never took a drink
during the progress of the play which appeared to lap over a
good many months. Think of a cowboy on a water way, men
and women of Wyoming, and weep! And his grammar! I have
heard Chicago as she is spoke, have interpreted Hoboken, slow-
ly sifted St. Louis through my cerebellum, digested the Frisco
dialect and bearded the bean-eater in his very lair; but all
these are as primal understudies beside the land-laundried
lingo which this rooster lifted over the footlights. It was Ladies
Home Journal delicatessen, with an oratorical orchid chucked
in here, and a long-stemmed orthographical Beaut at $12 the
doz. pinned on there — and never a rib-roastin persuader appear-
in in the entire processioji.

Some years later he defended James Henry Stark for
"Doing things to the hiatus of some American heroes in his
book," The Loyalists of Massachusetts, and the Other Side
of the American Revolution, and maintained that Stark was
"neither subsidized muckraker nor yellow sensationalist."22

Barrow's philosophical comments on everything and any-
thing in general may have made by far the most interesting
reading for the people of his day. These portions of Sage-
brush Philosophy and the "Scintillating Solecisms" of the
Budget included rambling sketches and comments about
Christmas, friendship, wickedness and religious intolerance,
the naivete of youth, the cowboy's appreciation of Shake-
speare, the love of the world for a sinner, human sentiment,
praise of western women, etc. Most of these articles were
six to eight pages long but made interesting reading in
spite of their loose connections and irrelevancies.

22. Sagebrush Philosophy, XIII, No. 4 (April, 1910).

66 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Barrow's article on Christmas in 1904 was especially re-
vealing because of his background. He wrote that of all
the events of earth "since historians first began to trim the
lamps of imperishable records," the Nazarene's "life and
death whether viewed as mortal, or myth, fable or fact,
must be accepted as the most momentous to society."

In an age of strife He came preaching peace, in an age of
violence and brutal oppression He taught charity and forgive-
ness; in an age of beastial licentiousness He declared that man
must live rightly if he would be happy — who, unlettered and
ignorant of laws, drafted a moral code from which neither seer
or sage can erase word or line without marring its perfect
beauty; who while living a persecuted life wreathed the world
in smiles and preached only good-will to men. . . . Hence the
anniversary of His birth — whether admitted or denied — may
well be observed as opportunity for the expression of that kindly
feeling which is more and more manifest in humanity as the
years pass. (XX, 26, 1904)

If Barrow's "Sagebrush Philosophizing" can be accepted
as personal, his comments on wickedness may explain the
basis of his standard of morality and in turn explain why
others often looked at him askance. He expressed his be-
lief that wickedness was more "a matter of opportunity and
environment than of moral pervert." (XX, 3, 1904). He
maintained that deliberate wrong-doing was rare and that
"sin was usually the child of weak self-indulgence, thought-
less omission and commission, or light-headed folly — and
not infrequently the accidental consequence of a over-
enthusiastic attempt to do good." (XX, 3, 1904).

In August, 1906, Barrow wrote "Somehow, the world
loves a sinner — particularly if his transgressions lie along
certain lines — and why?"23 He explained this by saying
that there was the "instinct of the brute to seize his prey"
in every human heart. He even suggested that in every
one there was an inborn racial tendency to transgress and
that this might be why humanity loved the sinner and made
light of his offenses. To put across his point, the Sagebrush
Philosopher wrote of the loveable and prominent people of
history and literature, who lacked virtue in one way or
another: Columbus, Washington, Oliver Cromwell, and
others, and ended his article by showing how all the world
loved the sinners in literature and even admired the unsa-
vory qualities of their creators.

In 1910 Barrow praised the western woman and attempt-
ed to dissolve the myth built around her by the "rape-ridden
imagination of the novelist and play writer."24 He wrote:

23. Sagebrush Philosophy, VI, No. 2 (Aug., 1906).

24. Sagebrush Philosophy, XIV, No. 2 (Aug., 1910),

MERRIS C. BARROW 67

. . . There have been heroines in the west, as everywhere —
willing to sacrifice life itself if need be in the defense of honor,
. . . The west, too, has its society of cities and towns and locali-
ties, regardless if need be that the nearest ranch is twenty
miles away . . . Our afternoon teas are confessedly lacking in
empty gabble and eye glasses — there is a dearth of vulgar small
talk and ornate display — and yet these are women who know
their world, who read the newspapers and best magazines, who
can discuss plays and operas theyve never seen but know much
about nevertheless, who vote intelligently and I believe far more
conscientiously than their liege lords, and yet in thought and
sentiment and hopes and aspirations are the same wives and
mothers who from the beginning have rocked the cradles of the
world . . . behold the western woman. 25

Scattered in between the longer passages of philosophiz-
ing were jokes and proverbs meant both to amuse and
teach. They dealt with love, wickedness, dishonesty, and
other human attributes. Some of these bordered on obscen-
ity, and others could have been accepted by the most pious
people of Barrow's day. Here as in all phases of the maga-
zine, Barrow gave "Some Pure Stuph Including Some Long
Shots at Sin the Which Was Written to Read," the notice
of which appeared on the first page of every issue. From
the many proverbs and witticisms of Bill Barlow, the Sage-
brush Philosopher, the following have been taken at ran-
dom as examples:

Happiness is a divine Heritage and no less a duty — learn a
lesson from the mummy who hasnt had any fun for moren
5,000 years.

Neat fitting shoes and black hose will catch more flirtatious
flies than a ton of paint and powder.

I want no other tribute in life nor epitaph after — I am willing
to be both judged and remembered — by the enemies I have
made.

Ambition is still climbing that mountain — but in the modern
version it is only the foolish braggart who flourishes a flag.

As man thinketh in his heart so is he as concerns his age —
as woman looketh in the face, she am.

To fret is to fear — and real trouble waits around the corner
always for the coward and cur.

Give freely to your friends of such virtues as you possess —
not forgetting, likewise and always, to profit by the ill will of
enemies who, as is barely possible, do sometimes tell the truth.

Genius is not a pot of gold buried neath a friendly rainbow
and possessed whether or no by whoever stumbles onto the
treasure. Tis painstaking observation and understanding, clev-
erly elaborated in the woof of hard work.

Better to make yourself beloved than feared.

The morning cocktail is the banana peel on which so many
slip when setting out on the path of reformation.

Announcement is made through a fashion-plate publication
that long, loose cloaks will be the style this winter. More
trouble for the stork. How will he know where he is expected?

25. Ibid.

68 ANNALS OF WYOMING

First, always, is the wish to be happy — after, maybe, the
folly of becoming wise.

These various presentations of philosophy and humor
combined to make up the little "mag" which Bill Barlow
sent to the public each month. Barrow had an ingratiating
way of telling a story. He added a touch of suggestion of
scandal to many stories and made others seen unusual even
though the incident may have been very ordinary or the
joke one in current circulation. It might be said that he
approached some of his articles in reverse; often he began
by writing about nothing in particular and suddenly applied
his philosophizing to some definite incident or idea. He
played with words and made new combinations to express
his ideas more adequately. Of his curious spelling he
wrote :

Anent the threatened spelling reform — if you find any symp-
toms of it in the Philos., it is because the proof-reader ought
to be fired. 26

Barrow took the fancies and prejudices of an ordinary
human being and made of them reading material for both
optimist and pessimist. Although Sagebrush Philosophy
contained ideas with practical applications for everyday
people, the way the ideas were expressed sometimes left the
reader wondering whether he should be shocked or amused.

Possibly Barrow picked up some of his stylistic tricks
from Bill Nye, but he could hardly be said to have been
influenced chiefly by Nye. Chaplin wrote that Barrow sub-
scribed for the Iconoclast of Brann and the Philistine of
Elbert Hubbard.27 Barrow took suggestions, in all likeli-
hood, from these publications, but he had ability and indi-
viduality in his own right.

In the 1890's William Cowper Brann, journalist and lec-
turer, published the Iconoclast at Waco, Texas. In this
periodical he gave "violent and often unconventional treat-
ment to the moral and social problems of his day."28 He
became notorious in his time because of this, but his scope
was much narrower than Barrow's; and in his attempt to
cure the world of what ailed it, he tried to make every man
think as he thought.

There is considerable resemblance between Elbert Hub-
bard and Barrow as men and as writers and philosophers.29

26. Sagebrush Philosophy, VI, No. 4 (Oct., 1906).

27. Letter to author, Jan. 1, 1947.

28. J. D. Hart, The Oxford Companion to American Literature

(London, N. Y., Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1941), p. 90.

29. The impressions given here of Elbert Hubbard were gained
through study of the following book: Felix Shay, Elbert Hubbard
of East Aurora (New York: William H. Wise & Co., 1926).

MERRIS C. BARROW 69

They had similar attitudes on many things, shared certain
hobbies, and loved telling stories at their own expense. As
writers they were both influenced by the Bible and used
many expressions from it in their writing. Both wrote
one-man magazines filled with smart sayings and common-
place philosophy; both claimed to be writing for those who
could discern their irony and enjoy it.

Of the many laudatory letters received by Bill Barlow,
some included remarks which compared the Sagebrush
Philosopher with Elbert Hubbard. Portions of these let-
ters from appreciative readers were published from time to
time in the Budget under one of the following headings:
"Breezy Bouquets in Big Bunches," or "Some Posies Hand-
ed the Mag." They came from Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa,
California, Texas, Illinois, Nebraska, Georgia, Colorado,
New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Winnipeg Manitoba,
Nassau, and the Bahamas. A reader from Omaha wrote,
"It is just the thing — excelling the Philistine, Iconoclast,
and all others along that line." (XX, 17, 1904). From
Augusta Georgia, came the prediction that "Sagebrush
Philosophy will run the Philistine out of business down this
way." (XX, 17, 1904). A newspaper in Elmira, New York,
the Telegram, wrote:

Bill Barlow has won a front place in journalism in this country
and his fame is not confined to the east nor the west. He has
secured it because he knows when, where, and how to write his
"hot stuph." ... In style and makeup Sagebrush Philosophy is
an attractive little magazine and . . . withal possessed of a
breeziness that is pleasing and captivating. It is of about the
size of Elbert Hubbard's Philistine and in a short time is cer-
tain to be famous and as much sought for. (XX, April 26, 1905)

In early issues of Sagebrush Philosophy Barrow himself
had a statement to make about what he was attempting.
He wrote:

That your Pastor makes no pretentions to literary style, polish
or ability; has no hunch he will live in book-lore legend, nor
does he hope to write anything that has not been evolved from
the mind of man again and again since Adam first made his
mark. But this maglet is Bill's — to fill its pages his joy and
his privilege — and so long as health and pencil last every line
of Refined Rot therein appearing will be his. It will lack, of
course, the finish and lustre — the hyphenated heaviness which
attaches to six sawbucks the column and no cutback — but it
will be Pure Stuph, written to read — designed to amuse and
entertain — with the wide world and its ways for a text and
"Live, laugh, and love" as the theme — the which is offered at
ten cents the chunk or One William to those who want it for a
year and move right in. 30

30. This appeared on back of title page of issues through 1906.

70 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Although he told his readers that to fill the pages of his
magazine was "his joy and pleasure," his associates main-
tain that "To write this magazine once a month was quite a
task." Barrow told Chaplin, for example, "that it was his
custom to take a bottle of whiskey and a pot of black cof-
fee and write the magazine at a single sitting."31 This
might indicate that he found philosophizing to order some-
thing of a chore ; certainly to turn out an issue at one sitting
required a brain which "moved with great rapidity under
pressure."32

In his later years Barrow did most of his writing at a
large ranch home built west of the Platte River, not far
from Douglas. "He had a fine team of horses . . . and
enjoyed going to his office and back to this good home."33

At this home on October 9, 1910, the Sagebrush Philoso-
pher died at the age of fifty-three. His death was caused
directly by heart failure, but his strenuous life and concen-
trated work were contributing factors. His funeral was
the biggest in Douglas history, and flowers, telegrams, and
letters, as well as admirers themselves, came to Douglas
from all areas into which Bill Barlow had spread his phil-
osophy. Some Douglas residents remember that all school
children were dismissed for the funeral. Each one was
given a carnation, then was lifted up to see the deceased,
and allowed to place his flower on the casket. The children
marched as a part of the funeral procession from the Unity
Temple to the cemetery, and one of them remembers today
how the event impressed her — awe mixed with a bit of
humor — a procession so solemn and yet ridiculous to a
child whose most vivid recollection of it is an image of a
corpulent Mason with a wooden Bible rack over his shoulder
and a big stomach in front.34

Readers all over the country responded in different ways
to news of Barrow's death. Some sent letters of condo-
lence; others wrote verses, sincere in sentiment though
pretty poor as poetry, like the following by H. R. Drum-
mond:

Bill Barlow's gone. His work, unfinished, stands to mark the
place

Where he laid down his tools to meet his Master face to face.

Gauge, gavel, plum, square level, trowel, all tools are cast aside

Clad in white gloves and apron Bill has crossed the Great
Divide.

31. Chaplin, letter to author, Jan. 1, 1947.

32. "Obituary" Bill Barlow's Budget, Oct. 12, 1910.

33. Chaplin, letter to author, Jan. 1, 1947.

34. Related to the author, March, 1948, by a Douglas woman who
prefers to remain unidentified.

MERRIS C. BARROW 71

His comrades mourn, their prayers ascend to that Great

Architect.
To grant them strength and cunning so that their hands may

erect
A tablet to his memory — one that this message sends
To all the world — Bill Barlow's here,

God bless him. "He had friends. "35

All who had read and appreciated Bill Barlow's Sage-
brush Philosophy knew that it had been a "creature purely
of his brain and could not survive."36 The magazine was
discontinued after the publication of two issues after his
death; the last was a memorial edition.

In 1903 Barrow had described the Wyoming newspaper-
man in his "Sagebrush Philosophy" column:

The Wyoming newspaper man is an optimist, if there ever
was one. Even in his sober moments — and he has 'em — he see
things. Given a country store or two at an isolated cross-roads
and he builds a city; ... a forty-dollar addition to your modest
shack makes it a mansion, and his town is the only town, and
the best ever. He is always willing to fudge a little in handling
cold facts, and as prophet he simply skunks Elijah and all his
ilk. ... Of necessity he is sometimes a liar; but to sorter toy
with the truth in prophetic spirit for the good of the country
or community in which he lives is with him a labor of love, and
by reason of a special dispensation granted him direct from
Deity, these trifling idiosincracies [sic] which we of the profesh
term "essential errors" are not charged up against him in the
Big Book. In many cases he is snubbed and sinned against —
by the man who has mental mumps, the mossback and the miser
— of whom we do have* a few rare specimens . . .
. . . He's not a whiner — he must set the pace if you please, and
he most in gen'l does.

The Wyoming newspapermen, Barrow also wrote, are
those :

who print a book each year wherein is written a history of their
locality; who don't print all the news, thank God, but with wise
discretion make a record of births, deaths and marriages, social
events and business and industrial enterprises, wherein naught
is set down in malice and much is given the benefit of the doubt.
And when in the course of human events it becomes necessary
to remove the professional pale — the Wyoming newspaper man
does the job decently, and without undue shedding of blood.
And when he sets out to paint the rose for you, his pencil can
cough up colors theyve never yet been able to find in the
kaleidoscope. (XIX, 19, 1903)

In his description of Wyoming newspapermen Barrow
told his own story well. His is only one story among many
that could be told. The frontier newspapermen who suc-

35. Copied from papers which had belonged to Mrs. M. C. Barrow,
now in the possession of Roy Combs, Douglas, Wyoming.

36. Chaplin, Laramie Republican, Daily Edition, April 24, 1918.

72 ANNALS OF WYOMING

ceeded were of necessity "men of strong character," as
Chaplin put it,37 but there were only a few like Barrow who
with genius and a touch of audacity reached out of the
West and commanded the attention and admiration of the
reading public in other parts of the world.

37. "Early Wyoming Newspapers," Laramie Republican, Daily
Edition, April 11, 1918.

Zhe Uoad of yesteryear

Lights and Shadows in the Life of the Methodist
Church in Basin.

By M. B. RHODES*

METHODIST CHURCH

BASIN,

TO THE MEMORY of Reverend Lewis C. Thompson,
pioneer preacher in the Big Horn Basin, organizer and
builder of churches, known and respected far and wide for
his commendable attributes as minister and man, this work
is dedicated in recognition and appreciation.

*Marvin B. Rhodes was born on January 8, 1874, at Palmyra,
Missouri. He obtained his education in the public school and Ingle-
side College, Palmyra, and West Plains Academy, Missouri. In 1897
he was married to Mazie Darr at Edgemont, South Dakota. A son,
Paul, died in infancy; a daughter, Ruth, now Mrs. W. F. Petrausch,
resides in Thermopolis.

Mr. Rhodes came to Wyoming in the winter of 1900. Between
the years 1892-1922 he was connected with five different banks,
in Missouri, Wyoming, and California, one of which was the Big
Horn County Bank at Basin, 1900-1910. From 1910-1914 he was the
receiver of the U. S. Land Office at Lander, and during 1923-1931
he was cashier of the Pacific Department of the Hartford Fire In-
surance Company at San Francisco. During World War II he was
for three years a mechanic in one of the Kaiser shipyards at St.
John's, Oregon. Mr. Rhodes is living in Basin at the present time.

74 ANNALS OF WYOMING

THE STREET CALLED ALDEKSGATE

The lights were dim and the way was long,

But with manly purpose, high and strong,

He, his feet urged on by fate,

His whole mind centered on sober thought

Of his efforts that had come to naught,

Reached a house where Godly things were taught,

In the street called Aldersgate.

And a man read there from Luther's book,
Of peace that comes when to Christ we look,
Our lives to ameliorate;
Not dreaming, as he diffused the light,
That its radiance would glow more bright;
That history would be made that night
In the street called Aldersgate.

The stranger listened, as was his part,
Felt a surge of warmth swell in his heart,
Felt it with joy palpitate.
And he cast aside his weight of care,
For he trusted Christ to save him there
In the house built on that thoroughfare;
In the street called Aldersgate.

Now, two-hundred years and more have gone,
But the soul crusade still marches on
With a zeal naught can abate.
Though millions honor that convert's name
Whose work for God brought undying fame,
Not many know that the blessing came
In the street called Aldersgate.

Nor does history tell us, today,
Who read from the book that showed the way;
Heaven will that one compensate.
Still today, "perfect love casts out fear";
God, give us the will to make it clear,
Like the one whose words caught Wesley's ear
In the street called Aldersgate.

FOREWORD

This writer offers no brief for churches; they need none.
Ever since the historic landing on a rock-bound coast Chris-
tianity has been basic in our American way of life.

This is the story of a church, a small-town western
church and the road over which it has come during its

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 75

almost half-century of existence, its beginning, struggles
and vicissitudes, its errors, failures and achievements, the
material prosperity which has come to it and its place in
the life of the community.

The story follows somewhat the pattern of the official
church history, completed two years ago by the same
author, although there are differences. The official history,
having been intended primarily for the local Methodist
congregations, present and future, much of it, because it
would be of interest to them only, has been omitted from
this one, thus materially shortening it. The remainder has
been more or less diluted in its essence in order to adapt
it to general reading.

A feature of both this and the official history is the inclu-
sion of much contemporary early local history, in as much
as the church and the community have virtually grown up
together ; a mere recital of events unaccompanied by a back-
ground or delineation of the conditions under which they
occurred or the causes leading to them is dull.

The writer, named for a great bishop of the Methodist
Church and nurtured in that church in more ways than one,
found no Methodist organization when he came to Basin
many years ago. Before long he united with another de-
nomination and his interest in Methodist affairs promptly
ceased; yet, the community having been small, it was inev-
itable that many things would come under his observation.

Three years ago, his wife being in feeble health, and the
Methodist Church being directly across the street, they
returned to the faith of their youth. Two days later the
pastor, Rev. T. Stacy Riddick, requested him to write the
history of the church.

If nothing more than membership rolls, treasurers' re-
ports and minutes of board meetings were required, almost
anyone could write church history; but the fact cannot be
escaped that the real annals must come from the memory
or memories of some person or persons. In the present in-
stance this writer was the only living person who remem-
bered all or most of it; and thus he consented, realizing
that otherwise a complete and comprehensive history would
never be written.

He has borne in mind that he set himself to the task of
writing annals, not romance or fiction, and thus he has
written frankly, though in some instances with restraint.

76 ANNALS OF WYOMING

THE OLD ORDER

A story went around several years ago about a pious old
lady who came west to visit one of her married children.
The day she arrived, or perhaps it was the next day, she
said to a little grandson "Go bring me the dear old Book."
The boy, anxious to please grandma, hurried away, and
returning presently, handed her a Sears-Roebuck catalog.

The story may be pure fiction. But if it is true, this
writer does not know where or when the incident occurred.
Alas, it could have happened recently in our own commun-
ity; but the story more nearly reflects the spiritual state
of the majority of the people in the Big Horn Basin fifty-
five to sixty years ago.

They (speaking of the majority) were not outlaws; they
did not come a few jumps ahead of a sheriff; they had their
own reasons for coming, "even as you and I," and their
coming needs no defense. But, (still referring to the ma-
jority) most of them in their former homes had not been
strangers to Christian influence, yet while there had from
choice been indifferent to it; and because only a spiritual
rebirth could have changed them, it was but natural that
upon coming to a region peopled mostly by their own kind,
removed from religious influence, the newcomers, instead
of breasting the current, drifted with it.

The minority, which was a small one, embraced the two
extremes; some of them were almost saintly, while the
others should have had their backs broken.

But, with the exception of the last-mentioned class, the
people were good citizens, neighborly, generous to a fault
and quick to act, even riding miles in any kind of weather
over poor roads and rough trails to assist others in times of
sickness and misfortune.

Most of them had been in the basin a long time, the influx
of new people being but a thin trickle ; modes of transporta-
tion being such as they were, the great tide of westward
migration, deflected and divided by the Big Horn Mountains,
went around them and continued onward. Christians espe-
cially did that, for churches and good schools usually loom
large in their perspective.

There had been a time when the entire area of the basin
had been given over to grazing; Henry C. Lovell ran 50,000
cattle in the central part, Otto Franc, for whom the town
of Otto was named, ran 20,000 in the upper Greybull Valley,
and there were a number of other large outfits. In 18831

1. B. F. Wickwire in letter to A. W. Coons, Oet. 9. 1941.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 77

there were 150,000 cattle in the basin. At a roundup that
spring on No Water Creek, in the southeastern part of the
basin, there were wagons from Platte River, Sweetwater
River, Powder River, Tongue River, Wind River and Lan-
der; also, that spring, there were other roundups in the
basin. Besides, there were several sheepmen with large
holdings, including C. H. (Dad) Worland. But the memor-
able hard winter of 1886-87 had cleaned out most of the
large cattlemen and sheepmen. Also, people had come in
and settled along the creeks and the Greybull River, with
a very few along the Big Horn River. They had built up
small herds, and this had given rise to the bloody war of
1892, between the cattlemen and the homesteaders, which
was fought in Johnson County but had repercussions in the
basin.

To some of the people the county seat meant Lander, to
others it meant Buffalo, to still others, Sheridan ; it depend-
ed on where they resided in the basin.

Roads were few and poor; there were no bridges on the
principal streams, but several ferries, which were operated
during periods of high water, but at other times the streams
were forded. The people transported themselves in wagons,
buggies and buckboards and horseback. Billings and Red
Lodge were railroad and supply points, although the cattle-
men in the eastern part of the basin trailed their cattle out
over the mountains in the fall to Parkman for shipment.
There were no telephones; mail service was infrequent and
irregular, one or more weeks sometimes elapsing between
deliveries. There was no church, minister or doctor; J. L.
(Uncle Joe) Denney, Basin's first town marshal, often told
of taking his wife in a buckboard from Shell Creek to
Rawlins when she had an ulcerated tooth ; it was extracted
by Dr. John E. Osborne, who afterward became Governor.
In an area equal to that of Connecticut and New Jersey
combined there was but one newspaper, The Big Horn
County Rustler, owned by Governor William A. Richards
and associates and printed by Thomas F. Daggett, formerly
Assistant City Editor of the New York Sun; it was pub-
lished at Bonanza. There were two other villages, Hyatt-
ville and Otto, although there were a number of country
postoffices and several country stores.

The chief diversions of the men were poker, seven-up and
other card games, also pitching horseshoes and broncho
busting. Drinking was common and gambling was ram-
pant. Sabbath breaking and profanity were common to
both sexes. When someone gave a dance, word somehow
got around beforehand quickly, although when someone

78 ANNALS OF WYOMING

brought home a jug of whiskey from Billings word got
around quicker. People thought nothing of going fifty
miles to attend a dance, and dances sometimes lasted two
or three days. They were held in private homes, there
being no other place to hold them. Usually perfect decorum
prevailed; nothing else was tolerated. All met on a com-
mon footing; there were no class distinctions.

Such, then, was their mode of life, and few found fault
with it. But all unbeknown to them the basin had a date
with destiny; and fate, standing at the loom, plying the
shuttle, was weaving for them another and better pattern.

THE ADVANCE GUARD

It is not here fatuously claimed that the advent of Chris-
tian ministers in the Big Horn Basin was responsible for
the remarkable transformation that came to it. Neverthe-
less, until the ministers came, development, progress and
enlightenment were there conspicuous by reason of their
absence. If that fact and the numerous parallel examples
all over the land represent nothing more than the working
of coincidence, there is much coincidence to account for.

The Methodist field in Wyoming was at first under the
jurisdiction of the Colorado Conference, and was known as
The Wyoming Mission. It was separated from the confer-
ence in 1888, and in 1914 The Wyoming State Conference
was organized.

In 1893 Dr. N. A. Chamberlain, Presiding Elder, (whose
official designation would now be District Superinten-
dent) appointed Rev. Lewis C. Thompson to open a virgin
field, the Big Horn Basin. It seems quite probable that Dr.
Chamberlain first sought Divine guidance. In any event
he could not have chosen a better man for the work.

On Dec. 15 that year Rev. Thompson hitched a team to a
buckboard in Alliance, Nebraska, and set out via the Platte
Valley for Otto, Wyoming. He arrived in the basin on New
Years Day, 1894.

He soon organized a church with 21 members, most of
whom resided at great distances from Otto. He and others
hauled dimension lumber from a saw mill on upper Paint
Rock, and the finish lumber and the hardware from Billings,
and practically with his own hands he erected a frame
church building in Otto, valued at $1200.00.

Dr. Chamberlain, in his annual report to the Conference,
stated that Rev. Thompson had traveled 4,000 miles with
his buckboard in the snow and the wind, and besides main-
taining three preaching schedules forty-five miles apart

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 79

had opened two more ; he had received less than twenty-five
dollars from the people of the basin, nevertheless was
anxious to continue there; he got his wish.

Rev. Thompson was a capable minister; he was not the
flashy type, but he would have been a credit to any pulpit,
city or country. He was a large man physically, and pos-
sessed the strength needed to perform the labors and the
stamina both physical and moral needed to endure the
hardships of a pioneer minister's life. He was resourceful,
had great breadth of mind, was tactful without compro-
mising principles and was always unruffled. Because of his
great faith he was always optimistic and pleasant.

Besides the church at Otto, Rev. Thompson organized
several others and erected buildings, including the one at
Thermopolis. He would have organized a church at Basin
City quite early, but his hands were full at the time, and
another denomination saw the opportunity and grasped it.
Some years later he was pastor at Casper. In 1908 he was
appointed Superintendent of the Big Horn Basin District
and at the same time pastor at Worland. He lived in a
tent there the first three months and later built a parson-
age. Nearly all the early day ministers in the basin came
and went. Rev. Thompson came to remain, and did so until
his death, more than thirty years afterward.

The life of an early minister in the basin, while it was
not without its rich compensations, was a hard one. There
is a story about a pig, perhaps a Communist pig, that
preached to the other animals on the farm that all animals
are equal, and so stirred up a revolt and the animals took
charge of the farm, with the pig as manager. Later, when
they found that he was getting most of the food, they com-
plained and reminded him that all animals are equal. He
replied "Yes, but some are equaller than others." The life
of the average minister anywhere was hard, but that of
the early minister in the basin was harder.

The home of such a minister was where he laid his head
or where he hung his hat. He did not have all the comforts
of home or the privacy needed for study and preparation
of discourses. Sometimes he would travel all day without
meeting anyone, not always knowing, if it was his first trip
that way, where he would put up for the night, but confident
that somewhere he would be taken in and made welcome.
He might have to sleep on the floor or in the barn, or with
the children, which latter sometimes had its disadvantages.
Most of the houses, being small, were crowded without him ;
all but a few were built of logs, and topped by dirt roofs
from which tin flues projected. The ceilings and interior

80 ANNALS OF WYOMING

walls of the dwellings were lined with cloth. When the
cloth was kalsomined or painted, which was usually the
case, it became an excellent sound amplifier when the kero-
sene lights below were extinguished at night and the mice
and pack rats ventured out to play or fight fierce battles
punctuated by their squeals and the thumping of their heads
against wood. Also at that time, from out the innumerable
cracks in the logs behind the cloth lining, there issued a
ravenous horde of repulsive creatures advancing stealthily
and swiftly upon their sleeping victims, to make their
dreams troubled and their sleep unrefreshing. They or
their progenitors came down from the mountains hidden
in logs. They were as difficult to eradicate as wild morning
glory in a field or garden, hence this is not meant as a re-
flection on pioneer housewives; well, not many. People
who a few years later built good homes dared not relax their
vigilance, as there were always people in the community
who were suspected of being "common carriers." More
than once after some house was destroyed by fire, Josh Ellis
was heard to remark "There must have been many lives
lost." Thanks to the advance of science, and evolution
in local building construction, this writer has not heard
those pests mentioned for many years.

Sometimes from choice the minister at night would
spread his bed outdoors on the ground, even in winter if
there was little or no snow. In summer that was not always
pleasant, because of mosquitoes.

By act of the Wyoming Legislature early in 1890, Big
Horn County was created out of those portions of Sheridan,
Johnson and Fremont counties lying within the Big Horn
Basin, except a small area south of Owl Creek and west of
the Big Horn River; thus, when the town of Thermopolis
was moved to its present site in 1896, it was in Fremont
County, while the hot springs, bath houses and some of the
hotels were in Big Horn County.

The now vanished town of Bonanza, in the lower No
Wood Valley, was at that time the center of oil prospecting
activity in the basin if not in the state; drilling had been
done there years before the discovery of the Salt Creek
Field, near Casper. Bonanza had a general store, hotel,
drug store, saloon, harness shop, newspaper and a lawyer.
The creation of Big Horn County was the beginning of the
end for Bonanza.

Winfield S. Collins, a lawyer and civil engineer, was then
residing at Bonanza. Years before he and his wife had
come from Ohio and settled at Fort Fetterman ; later he had
helped found the town of Douglas. Still later, he had been

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR SI

informed that near Bonanza was a place where crude oil
seeped out of the ground and that settlers in the vicinity
used it to lubricate their wagons and buggies and to some
extent for medicinal purposes. He moved to Bonanza,
where he practiced law, surveyed canals and ditches and
promoted oil exploration and drilling.

When the new county was formed Mr. Collins planned to
locate in the county seat, which he presumed would be Otto,
on account of its central location. Most of the lots in Otto
townsite were unsold, and Mr. Collins drove there hoping
to buy them from the owner, Frank S. Wood. The two
men dickered and haggled all day but could reach no agree-
ment; at one time only ten dollars stood between them and
a deal; finally Mr. Collins drove away, declaring he would
found a town on the bank of the Big Horn River.

He soon platted a townsite, which, as he said, straddled
the big gulch ; the name he chose was Basin City. He made
application under government townsite laws then applicable,
sent the papers and the fee to the land office at Buffalo,
well knowing they would be forwarded to Washington and a
long wait was ahead.

That spring John M. Tillard, a Civil War veteran, moved
with his family in a covered wagon from Keith County,
Nebraska, and he having used his homestead right, one of
his daughters, Daisy, filed on land bordering on the river,
opposite the proposed townsite. Mr. Tillard built a log
house. He also built a ferry and began operating it. (Later
on he with John Larson, Charley Anderson, William Lewis
and others down the river, constructed the Tillard Canal,
on the east side of the river. )

William F. Johnson, a blacksmith, came then with his
wife, daughter and three boys from Holt County, Nebraska,
and located in the lower Stinking Water (now Shoshone)
Valley near the present site of Lovell.

Also, Lewis A. Barrett, his wife and five children and
William Mardis, came from Thomas County, Kansas, and
settled in the Gould district in the lower Greybull Valley.

C. W. Mason, his wife, son and daughter were then resid-
ing a few miles up the river. The daughter, Nina, was
afterward a school teacher and married Barnett G. Rogers.

Basin Methodists have good reason to remember the
names Johnson, Barrett and Mason.

Tall, dark young Dr. R. W. Hale, the Big Horn Basin's
first physician, located that summer at Otto.

The Johnson family came the following spring (1896)
from the Stinking Water Valley and located on land border-

82 ANNALS OF WYOMING

ing on the river and adjoining the proposed townsite on the
north; they lived at first in a tent.

Mr. Collins then received notice that his townsite appli-
cation had been approved. He at once rounded up a crew
and surveyed and staked out lots ; Mrs. Johnson cooked for
the party. Mr. Collins announced that a picnic would be
held on the townsite July Fourth.

Picnics were none too common ; people came from far and
near. A number bought lots ; the price was ten dollars for
a thirty-foot lot and twenty dollars for a sixty-foot lot.

The town of Cody was founded that year, also the town
of Thermopolis was moved.

All the early business buildings and dwellings in Basin
City were constructed of logs, and there were a few dug-
outs. The first building was occupied by The Basin City
Herald,* published by Joseph A. Magill and O. T. (Tom)
Gebhart. Zane and Richardson, then running a store on
upper Shell Creek, opened a store in Basin City; they sold
the Shell store to C. F. Mackenzie, who died in Greybull
about a year ago. Josiah Cook moved his store from the
lower Stinking Water Valley, James I. Patten moved his
drug store from Bonanza and Otto Maier came from Bonan-
za with his harness shop. Mr. Collins came and opened a
law office. The town soon had three saloons, one of them
opened by Al Pease. During the late 1880's and early
1890's Bald Mountain City, on Bald Mountain, was a flour-
ishing gold mining camp with a population this writer has
never heard estimated at less than 5,000. Al Pease ran a
saloon there. In his saloon in Basin he had one of the finest
collections of elk, deer, antelope and mountain sheep heads
in the west.

C. Dana Carter, who had then graduated from a medical
school in St. Louis at the age of 21, came with his bride and
located in the new town. He made quick decisions, did not
spare the scalpel, and his fame spread. He kept a corral
full of fast broncs, none of which when hitched to a buggy
needed to be told to pick them up and put them down. He
thought nothing of driving fifty or one-hundred miles, day
or night, in any kind of weather, sometimes going as far as
Lost Cabin. He performed many emergency operations on
dining room or kitchen tables. His son, Lester W. Carter,
is a prominent hotel man in Billings.

George N. Mecklem and Abraham L. Snyder filed on
homesteads adjoining the townsite on the south.

*A copy of Vol. 1, No. 1, Aug. 26, 1896, is located in the Walter
Curtis Collection, University of Wyo. Archives Department. — Ed.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR S3

Travel between Basin City and Billings was by way of
Ribbon Canyon, so named because it was narrow and very
winding, with many quick turns, although the floor was
hard and smooth and mostly level. It is between Basin
and Lovell, although not on Highway No. 20. The larger
freight outfits drove four or six horses, pulling two wagons.
They uncoupled at the canyon and took one wagon through,
then went back for the other.

It is surprising how many luxuries, conveniences and re-
finements one can dispense with and be none the worse for
it. There were neither trees nor grass in the town; nor
walks. It stood on a wind-swept flat, the only vegetation
being sagebrush, salt sage and cactus, the landscape dotted
with innumerable ant hills and the habitations of prairie
dogs. Heavy dust storms were frequent, and the dust
sifted under doors, through keyholes and around windows,
also through cracks between the logs where the plastering
had fallen off.

Water was carried from the river in pails or hauled in
barrels; just as every Basin home now has its garbage or
fire barrel, each then had its water barrel; Josh Ellis for
some time was water boy. Sometimes in winter when one
went to the river for water he took an axe to cut a hole
through the ice. During high water, in the spring and
summer months, the water resembled in appearance noth-
ing more than thick, red soup, and when brought from the
river was not used until it had stood awhile and the sedi-
ment had settled. Ranchers brought fresh meat to town
during cold weather; at other times it was not to be had.

In 1912, this writer, making a trip from Lander to Powell,
arrived by stage in Thermopolis late in the afternoon and
was obliged to wait until noon the next day for the north-
bound train. On the street he met Dr. Carter, who had
moved there two years before. Fortune was smiling on
both. They went inside and during the conversation which
followed the doctor said earnestly, "Could we but bave
known it, the years we spent in those log houses in that
town down the river were the happiest of all." The re-
sponse to his remark was "Doc, I think you said some-
thing."

In the fall of 1896 Basin City, Otto and Cody were candi-
dates for county seat honors. Tom Daggett moved The
Big Horn County Rustler from Bonanza to Otto, where Lou
Blakesley was already publishing The Otto Courier, and the
ensuing war between the Otto papers and the Basin City
paper was, to say the least, acrimonious. Some of Basin
City's supporters went to Cody and convinced the people

81 ANNALS OF WYOMING

there that Cody stood no chance and asked them to support
Basin City, promising that in the event the people in the
west half should later wish to divide the county they would
meet no opposition from Basin City. As a result Cody's
supporters threw their weight to Basin City and that town
won. Otto's adherents then instituted a contest. Tom
Daggett at that time moved The Rustler to Basin City.

William L. Smith, of upper Shell Creek, erected a two-
story log building in Basin City, the first floor to be occupied
by the county officers, the upper floor to be used for holding
court, dances, religious and political meetings and other
public gatherings.

There were two livery stables; one, the Riverside Barn,
situated by the river, owned by Dan H. Rinehart, and the
Jo John Barn, owned by John A. Anderson. (His nickname
was Jo John, with the accent on the Jo.) Mrs. Gertrude
Hunter (afterwards Pennell and still later Quiner) opened
a small hotel; Mrs. Sallie Gebhart soon opened another.

Basin City was then receiving and forwarding its mail
through the Otto postoffice, via Meeteetse, Cody and Red
Lodge, usually twice a week, depending on the condition of
some of the creeks.

Miss Emma Tillard, daughter of the ferryman, opened a
subscription school. (She afterwards married Walter B.
Curtis.) When a school district came into being, a low-
walled, dirt-roofed, one-room log schoolhouse was erected
in the northwest part of town.

When a local postoffice was finally established, the Post-
office Department gave it the name of Basin; now the
former name lives only in the memory of the few remaining
old timers. Charles F. Judkins, a son of a rancher on the
lower Greybull, was the first Basin postmaster. He was
single, and being a cripple, always walked with the aid of a
cane. He was an atheist, also a hard drinker. He did not
long remain postmaster. About forty years ago he moved
to California. A few months ago, in reply to a question
by this writer, Oscar Robertson, of Basin, said that Charley
Judkins was still living, also that he was quite religious
and somewhat noisy about it.

Otto lost its contest. Justice Willis M. Vandevanter ruled
that Basin had won fairly and squarely, and he predicted
a bright future for it. He little dreamed of the bright fu-
ture that was to be his; he was afterwards an able and
revered Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

On December 18, 1897, Rev. John L. Limes, who had
been the first pastor of the Baptist Church in Sheridan but
had later become a rancher on the lower Greybull, organ-

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 85

ized the First Baptist Church of Basin. Several of the
members resided on the Greybull between Basin and Otto;
one was on upper Shell Creek; one was at Hyattville, two
on the North Fork of the Stinking Water, above Cody; the
sons and daughters of the Tillard family, across the river,
were nearest. The meetings were held in the Smith
building.

In the spring of 1898 Frank T. Brigham left Edgemont,
South Dakota, and not long afterwards came by way of
Hyattville into Basin, on a bicycle. He was a building con-
tractor, but as no building was then in prospect he opened
Basin's first restaurant.

During the summer the Northern Pacific Railroad began
grading roadbed for extension of its Rock Creek Branch,
the extension to run from Silesia to a terminus to be known
as Bridger, thus bringing the railroad within 105 miles of
Basin.

In August David L. Darr, of McCook, Nebraska, came
by train to Sheridan, and from there he drove over the
mountains to Basin. In a few days he organized the
Big Horn County Bank, the first in the county; then he
returned home to pack up. He and his wife shipped their
household goods and a saddle horse in a chartered freight
car to Sheridan. Being unable there to make satisfactory
arrangement for having the stuff brought over the moun-
tains, Mr. Darr procured a wagon and another horse, loaded
a cook stove, bedding, dishes and clothing into the wagon,
and after rebilling the car to Billings, he and his wife start-
ed on the drive to Basin. In Buffalo they met a boy, Josh
Ellis, who said that he, his older brother and their parents
were on their way from Des Moines, Iowa, to Basin.

On arriving in Basin Mr. Darr dispatched a freighter to
Billings for his goods, and Mrs. Darr began counting the
days. Thanksgiving came, then December, with the bank
opening for business, then Christmas and New Year, with
no news of the freighter.

The winter was mild until noon of January 24; then a
raging blizzard roared in from the northwest, bringing
snow, which, with subsequent ones was three feet on a level.
Bitter cold came, and it persisted, the thermometer at one
time indicating fifty-two degrees below. How much colder
it may have been no one knew, as that was as far as the
thermometer would register. Freighters could not come
in or go out. Supplies in the stores dwindled; coal and
kerosene became scarce. When spring came one of the
stores had no food on hand except some dry beans. Then

86 ANNALS OF WYOMING

the stockmen took inventory and many of them discovered
that they had been put out of business.

Life in the village during the winter had not been with-
out its incidents. The Smith building was destroyed by fire,
as was the White Elephant, a dance pavilion on the public
square. Tom Cannon, a saloon man, sat in a game one
night and lost his saloon, his bicycle, his watch and his
gun ; but he boasted that they hadn't taken away his woman
friend. George H. McCray, a rancher on the No Wood,
while intoxicated one night, became abusive in Al Pease's
saloon and Pease struck him with a chair, inflicting injuries
from which he later died.

In the spring Mr. Darr's freighter came in with his wag-
ons. He had loaded up at Billings, but when he had arrived
at Pryor Gap on the way back, graders on the railroad ex-
tension had many horses at work and the horses were eat-
ing much hay; the freighter was offered a job baling hay
on a nearby ranch and went to work, after first dumping
Mr. Darr's stuff by the roadside. When the blizzard came
the freighter couldn't continue working, but neither could
he get to Basin or anywhere else. The goods by the road-
side were buried in the snow until spring, then he brought
them all in except a barrel of silverware which was never
found. Josh Ellis has stated that very little of his family's
goods ever reached Basin.

The Big Horn County Bank once ordered one thousand
silver dollars from Omaha, and Henry (Dad) Payne, the
leading freighter, was told to get them out of the express
office and bring them to Basin. On the way back, when he
got to Pryor Gap he had a breakdown. He put the silver
in a keg and marked the keg "Horse shoes"; then he went
horseback for repairs. When he returned to the wagons
the silver was there.

The County Commissioners hastily erected a small one-
room board building and the county officers moved in.

The Baptist people that spring began erecting a small
frame church building which is still standing and is the
only building they have ever owned, although they now
meet in a basement which has recently been constructed
under the building. Frank Brigham was the contractor on
the church building and received fifty dollars for his work,
although he donated part of it. Those people through the
years have consistently stayed out of debt; and this writer
makes no mistake about it, they have prospered spiritually.

The next year, 1900, the B. & M. Rail Road, as it was
known locally, (Burlington and Missouri River Rail Road in

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 87

Nebraska) began work on a branch line from Toluca to
Cody. Toluca was on the main line, east of Billings.

Also that year the Basin Brick Company was formed and
work was begun, the object being to supply brick for a new
county building. The Commissioners let a contract for the
building and work was begun in the summer. Also that
year the Basin Water Company was formed, mains were
dug and work of laying pipe was begun.

During most of that year many long caravans of covered
wagons passed through Basin, going north. In the wagons
or with them were people on whose faces faith, courage and
determination were written large. It was an epic migration.
The people came from Idaho and Utah. The writer has
acquired a great respect for them, for there is about them
much that others would do well to emulate. Many of them
found work on the new railroad extension, living meanwhile
in tents.

Josiah Cook was running a stage and mail route between
Bridger and Basin ; stages went three times a week.

Court was held in the Baptist Church ; the Modern Wood-
man also held lodge meetings there; as for dancing, Basin-
ites were out of luck.

In the spring of 1901 the new county building was com-
pleted; there were three offices and the jail, all under one
roof.

Water was turned into the mains that spring. A small
stone building by the river housed a small gasoline engine
which pumped water to a tiny red wooden tank on the
nearest hill west of town. Frank Brigham rode down twice
a day on his bicycle and did the pumping.

That spring the Wyoming Legislature changed the name
of the Stinking Water River to Shoshone. Also, Congress
donated to the town of Basin all unsold lots in the townsite ;
it meant that Basin must in time incorporate.

The railroad was completed into Cody that summer, also
the town of Garland sprang into existence with what ap-
peared to be bright prospects; it became Basin's shipping
point. Josiah Cook discontinued his stage and mail route
to Bridger, and O. C. Morgan carried mail and passengers
between Basin and Garland; stages came and went three
times a week, usually.

Early in September Mrs. Agnes L. Hoover, postmistress
at Otto, came into the bank in Basin and drew out some
money and then went on to Thermopolis. Her husband,
John W. Hoover, had died late in December. He had been
postmaster, owned a general store in Otto and a ranch on
Shell Creek. Mrs. Hoover stated that she was going to

88 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Thermopolis for the baths, and no doubt that was true, but
it seems as likely that she was trying to avoid a troublesome
suitor, Joseph P. Walters. He was an elderly man who was
traveling over the basin taking orders for men's made-to-
measure clothing. At one time he had been a county attor-
ney in Nebraska. He followed her to Thermopolis, met her
in the State Park, on the east side of the river, and when
she refused to marry him he shot her dead. The crime was
committed in Big Horn County.

Rev. Ernest T. Everett, the Methodist minister then sta-
tioned in Otto, had come to Basin occasionally and preached.
He was the rough and ready type and could easily adapt
himself to any kind of circumstances ; he was well educated,
and very bright. He was an able minister, also sang and
played the organ well. Rev. E. P. Hughes at this time
succeeded him in Otto, and Rev. Everett, who was an old
newspaperman, came to Basin and helped on The Big Horn
County Rustler.

Two years before, Rev. August C. Wunderlich, of Hem-
ingford, Nebraska, brought a large colony of Lutherans
from that state and they settled on land under the Wiley
Ditch, promoted by Solon L. Wiley, of Omaha. The land
is on what was then known as the Germania Bench, but
now the Emblem Bench. Rev. Wunderlich organized a
church and was its first pastor.

Also about two years before, L. L. Moffett, of Red Lodge,
built a telephone line from Red Lodge to Basin, via Cody
and Meeteetse. There was no exchange in Basin; the only
phone was for long distance calling and was in the Z. & R.
Store.

In the fall of 1901, W. S. Collins rounded up a crew of
volunteers and they went up the river and began prelim-
inary surveys for the Big Horn Canal. They were gone
several weeks.

Came then 1902. On the cold cheerless morning of Feb-
ruary 7, a young tenderfoot lawyer ambled into the county
building and proudly informed County Clerk Willis J. Booth
and Deputies Frank I. Rue and Leslie Davidson that he was
having a birth anniversary. Something in the eyes of the
three officials suggested to the young man that he had
talked out of turn, and he moved toward an exit, but found
it guarded. One of the men went out and brought in a bar-
rel and laid the young man over it; Willis Booth produced
a pair of cowboy's chaps, and he was well skilled in the use
of them on such occasions.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 89

Rev. E. P. Hughes, of Otto, had gone to Cody in January
and organized a church and the people were now preparing
to erect a building.

W. S. Collins was then in the east, interesting capital in
construction of the Big Horn Canal. In March a stranger
came into the bank in Basin and handed this writer a card
bearing the name of C. F. Robertson. The stranger said
he was going up the river to look around. He did that, and
was so impressed that he promoted the Hanover Canal, up
the river, on the east side.

Early that spring people on Broken Back Creek in the
Ten Sleep country sent word that Tom Gorman, a young
rancher, his wife, Maggie, their infant daughter and Tom's
brother, Jim, had disappeared under suspicious circum-
stances. Sheriff D. N. Hale, Coroner C. Dana Carter and
Acting County Attorney C. A. Zaring went up and found
the partly burned body of Tom Gorman in a shallow grave.
The sheriff and his deputies got on the trail. One of them,
Tobias J. Borner, a nephew of Calamity Jane, overtook
Jim and Maggie Gorman and the child near Red Lodge,
brought them to Basin and Jim Gorman was jailed.

Late in the spring Josiah Cook completed a two-story
stone store building; the upper floor was used for dances
and public gatherings, including court. J. P. Walters, who
had killed Agnes L. Hoover, was found guilty of murder
in the first degree and sentenced to hang. His counsel
appealed.

Early in July the new Methodist Church building in Cody
was dedicated free of debt ; it was the Cody way.

Late that month the people of Basin voted to incorporate
the town; a month later, W. S. Collins very appropriately
became the town's first Mayor. C. Dana Carter, M. B.
Rhodes, Frank I. Rue and William Staley were elected
Councilmen.

For several years all efforts to build a public hall had
failed. Such a move required the united efforts of all the
people, and meetings had been held, but each one had ended
in a squabble. In August, 1902, this writer evolved a plan,
the success of which required secrecy at first. In a few
hours the project gained such headway that no one wanted
to stay out of it. Work began at once on two lots on Fourth
Street donated by Willis J. Booth, and that street was then
destined to become the principal business street of the town.

At the October term of court Jim Gorman was convicted
of manslaughter and sentenced to two years in the peni-
tentiary. The next morning while Lawyer C. A. Zaring was
at breakfast, Judge J. L. Stotts came in and said "Enterline

90 ANNALS OF WYOMING

(Gorman's lawyer) is going to ask for a retrial. I will grant
it, and the next time we will ..."

Fraternity Hall was completed early in November. Bat-
tery "B," Wyoming National Guard, was mustered in then
with C. C. Blake, Captain, Ira L. Van Camp, First Lieuten-
ant, and George W. Black, Second Lieutenant. The first
floor of Fraternity Hall was used as an armory, for holding
court, dances, funerals and other public gatherings, includ-
ing political meetings. Freemasons in Basin and surround-
ing territory had met informally in the Baptist Church in
the spring and taken steps toward forming a lodge. In
December they met for the first time as a lodge, in Frater-
nity Hall, and were at once swamped with work of con-
ferring degrees; the following November the lodge was
instituted under a charter.

When 1903 came, Basin had about 120 inhabitants, one
church, four saloons, three general stores, two drug stores,
one bank, one newspaper, one doctor and four lawyers.
There were a few walks and crossings, all wooden. Four of
the dwellings were of frame and one was of stone.

In January a lodge of I.O.O.F. was instituted.

Mr. Collins was again in the east, and this writer was
Acting Mayor.

At a meeting of the Town Council early that year, Rev.
E. P. Hughes, of Otto, appeared and informed the Council
that if the town would donate two lots he would buy two
and build a Methodist church and parsonage. This was
pleasing news. But when the writer asked Rev. Hughes
which lots he wanted, he specified the lots on which the
parsonage is now situated. The writer said, "Oh no! Not
if I can help it!"

The writer, then living in a log house by the river, was
preparing to build a dwelling across the street from those
lots. When a boy he had lived across the street from a
Methodist Church, and he wanted no more of that. When-
ever anyone got sick or fainted or was stung by a yellow
jacket, that person was brought across the street and one
or more of the writer's family had to leave services and go
along. The church often lacked a table cloth, water pitcher
or glass. Always, after Sunday School some of the children
were sure to want a drink, which they usually needed as
much as a dog needs two tails ; but when one of them want-
ed a drink, he or she wanted a drink, especially if it would
involve the novelty of getting it away from home; they
seldom came singly, which meant that someone across the
street would be late for church. Often when the bell rang,
some dogs in the neighborhood howled mournfully.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 91

The writer offered Rev. Hughes other lots and he accept-
ed them. Sanford S. Halstead then owned two lots in the
block which had been Rev. Hughes' preference. Rev.
Hughes exchanged lots with him; then L. A. Barrett came
in from the Greybull and bought two adjoining lots and
presented them to Rev. Hughes, who thus got what he had
been wanting.

Rev. Hughes at once hauled poles from the mountains,
also procured some rough boards and built a shelter for
his team on the back part of the lots. Next he constructed
a dugout on the back part of the lots and moved his family
from Otto, although he continued as pastor there. He and
his wife had a small daughter; a married daughter lived
at Otto.

Rev. Hughes was tall and rugged, and he could "take it."
He sang well and had a powerful voice.

He began getting material on the ground for a parsonage,
which, together with the church, would cost, on an estimate,
$2,700.00 to $3,000.00; building was much less expensive
then than now. He got the dimension stuff and sheathing
from sawmills in the mountains ; the finish stuff was hauled
in from the railroad. He did most of the hauling. It was
fifty miles to Garland and almost as far to the sawmills.
He did most of the work on the building.

Hilliard S. Ridgely located in Cody that spring. He was a
young lawyer from Col. W. F. Cody's old home town, North
Platte, Nebraska, where he had been County Attorney of
Lincoln County. At the spring term of court, Ridgely and
C. A. Zaring assisted County Attorney John P. Arnott in
prosecuting Jim Gorman for the murder of his brother.
Gorman was convicted of murder in the first degree and
sentenced to hang.

Early that year the Bell system acquired the Moffett
line and began building extensions in the basin. J. B. King
was at first in charge, later succeeded by J. E. Frisby. A
small exchange was installed in Basin.

One evening in June Jim Gorman was permitted exercise
outside the jail and he escaped ; two days later he asked for
breakfast at the home of C. C. Smith on upper Shell Creek ;
Smith had been on the jury which had convicted him; he
returned him to the jail. People in the east part of the
county began chafing at the law's delay.

Jim McCloud, a bad man known as "Driftwood Jim," had
stolen a horse on the upper Greybull ; he was also suspected
of having robbed the postoffice at Buffalo. In the middle
of July he was caught by Edmo LeClaire, of the Lander
country, who took him to Thermopolis and Sheriff J. J.

92 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Fenton and Fred Garland went up to get him. Then at
night, Fenton and the prisoner started on foot for the
bridge where Garland was to meet them with the wagon;
but Fenton and the prisoner found the bridge bristling with
guns and lost no time in returning to town.

For two weeks this writer had gone each evening to the
county building and helped Assessor C. B. Kershner. C.
Earl Price, a model young man, widely known and popular,
was Deputy County Clerk. He slept at night in the Clerk's
office on a cot which he rolled under the counter during the
day. He came in early each evening and sat in the dark
with his head on his desk. His fiancee, Maude Hoover, had
died a month before.

On the night of July 18, 1903, Chief Justice C. N. Potter,
of the Wyoming Supreme Court, who was then Grand
Master of Wyoming Masons, paid a visit to the local lodge.
This writer did not go to the county building that evening;
he went to lodge, and at midnight to bed.

Shortly afterward a party of armed men from Shell
Creek, Paint Rock and the No Wood, ferried themselves
across the river quietly, and with military precision formed
ranks and marched to the county building. They beat
upon the east door; Jailer George S. Mead fired through
the door, over their heads, and a hail of shots came quickly
from the other side; Earl Price, in the act of getting off
his cot, fell dead.

The mob broke down the door and entered the jail. They
failed to open the cell door, and J. P. Walters, holding up a
lighted candle, told them to shoot him, which they did, after
first shooting Jim Gorman.

As the mob prepared to leave, their captain's voice be-
trayed him when he gave commands. Impulsive young
Dr. C. L. Gillam wanted to open fire on them with a rifle
but was dissuaded by cooler heads. As the mob almost
reached the river again, Town Marshal G. E. (Bert) Brig-
ham emptied a .32 cal. revolver at them from behind a pile
of baled hay, without inflicting any damage.

Jim Gorman did not die instantly but was taken to Dr.
Carter's office; when asked if he had any statement to
make, he replied "I never peached on anyone in my life
and I'll not do it now." Maggie Gorman was then working
in the hotel in what there then was of Worland, on the west
side of the river. When told Jim had been killed she asked
"Did he tell anything?"

Two years before, A. G. Rupp had come from Illinois and
opened a store up the river at a postoffice which he named
Welling. The telephone line north from Thermopolis had

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 93

reached Welling, and former Sheriff D. N. Hale rode up
there to phone Earl Price's people on Owl Creek. When
he had done so the operator at Thermopolis put Sheriff
Fenton on the line. After conversing with him Mr. Hale
returned to Basin, and Captain Blake, after making phone
calls to Cheyenne, ordered out Battery "B" and they began
rounding up horses to go as cavalry. They left at 4:00
p.m. in one of the worst dust storms ever seen in this region
and escorted the sheriff's party to Basin without incident.

The grand jury indicted a number of mob suspects and
one of them was put on trial, but as the witnesses were
affllicted with very poor memories, all the cases were dis-
missed.

That summer many Basin people saw a moving picture
for the first time. It was the Great Northern Train Rob-
bery, here one night only.

After living in the dugout eight months Rev. Hughes
moved into the parsonage although only the lower floor had
been plastered. He had entertained the District Superin-
tendent and others in the dugout, besides keeping his reg-
ular appointments at Otto.

Very few members of the Baptist Church lived in or near
Basin. A number of new people had elsewhere been church
members; also there were some who had backslidden, and
some who had never been Christians. Rev. John M. Jones,
Mission Superintendent, planned to hold a revival, then
reorganize the church.

Mention of backsliders recalls an incident in Lander forty
years ago. Preparation was being made for holding meet-
ings in the armory, in which there were no seats. The man-
ager of a lumber yard told a young employee to load some
plank onto a wagon and deliver them at the armory. When
he went out a few minutes later he found that the young
man had chosen planks that were knotty, resinous and full
of splinters and he explained that they would discourage
backsliding.

Rev. James B. McKeehan, a college president from Ken-
tucky, came and preached for three weeks, with power and
unction. In the language of Mark Twain when he wrote
about St. Patrick and the snakes, "He exalted his staff
and let them have it." An atmosphere of seriousness set-
tled down over the meetings; quite a number found God
for salvation, some backsliders were reclaimed and the
glory of the Lord was there.

One night during the meetings a young man convert gave
clear, ringing testimony. The following night he was there,
but sat with his girl friend in the farthest row back, and

94 ANNALS OF WYOMING

remained silent while testimony was being given. Rev.
McKeehan called to him and asked "How do you feel to-
night?" The young man stretched his arms and legs,
yawned and replied "Oh, I feel fair to middling." Rev.
McKeehan then asked "Do you feel as good as you did last
night?" The reply was "Well, I don't feel any worse."

In those days ministers who transferred to Wyoming,
with its poor pay, hard work and deprivations, usually did
so for one of two reasons : either they were earnestly striv-
ing to do the will of God, or they had become too well known
elsewhere and for them it was any old port in a storm. At
the close of the last century Dr. E. E. Tarbill,2 Presiding
Elder, complained bitterly of some "misfits" who had been
well recommended and foisted onto weak Wyoming church-
es. This writer had a vivid recollection of a case a few
years later in which good Dr. Tarbill was shamefully im-
posed upon. The writer's experience with ministers dates
from the time he was able to walk and he can usually size
one up quickly and "get his number." He had close ac-
quaintance with Revs. Limes, Jones, Thompson, Everett,
and Hughes, all of whom came before 1904, and knows they
were all able men, well grounded in Christian doctrine and
deeply consecrated. And many who have since come have
been like them.

During the revival in the Baptist Church Rev. Hughes
gave wholehearted assistance ; he and his wife were present
every night, singing, praying and counseling seekers and
others ; for after all, Christ knows no denominations. After
the meeting closed, as some of the converts were of Meth-
odist families, he decided, as he told this writer, to "strike
while the iron was hot."

REV. E. P. HUGHES

On Sunday forenoon, November 1, 1903, Rev. E. P.
Hughes held services in Fraternity Hall, and at that time
organized the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Basin,
with ten members, namely, William F. and Lucilla Johnson,
Lewis A. and Hannah L. Barrett, C. W. Mason and his
wife and their daughter, Mrs. Nina Rogers; also Mrs.
Nora Linnabary, Mrs. Susie Black and Mrs. Virginia Mc-
Mahan. Mrs. Linnabary and Mrs. Black were wives of
Basin merchants; Mrs. McMahan was a new arrival from
Atwood, Kansas. All but the last three were transferred
from the Methodist Church at Otto.

2. Wyoming Conference Journal, 1950.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 95

On November 8 four boys and two girls were received
on probation.

Mrs. McMahan was Superintendent of the Sunday School.
Al Pease and his wife lived in an annex to his saloon, and
according to reports, the Ladies' Aid Society was organized
there.

Work on the church building was begun in the spring,
with Rev. Hughes doing most of the hauling and carpenter
work; it was a frame structure. A two-room stone school-
house was built one block east and two blocks south of the
church. The log schoolhouse was left standing, which was
fortunate as it was needed the next year. A local corpora-
tion erected a two-story frame building in the west part of
town to house Big Horn College, with the Baptist pastor,
Rev. E. W. Mecum, at "the head. The project revealed a
combination of noble impulse and poor judgment and was
foredoomed to failure.

The town that year voted bonds and took over the water-
works.

The following advertisement appeared weekly in the
Basin paper: "If drinking interferes with your business,
quit your business, but drink Puritan Rye." At the same
time the following appeared weekly in The Meeteetse News :
"What must I do to be saved? Drink Puritan Rye."

That year, on Copper Mountain, south of Thermopolis,
a mining boom started which was to last several years.

That year a tall, raw-boned man, red-faced and rough-
featured, with sandy hair, drifted into town. He was
roughly garbed, quiet mannered and liked his tobacco. He
lived in a tent across the river, and soon drilled with a
spring pole and got gas enough to cook his meals. He was
Philip Minor, discoverer of the Torchlight Field, so named
by him; later he got a big gasser at Greybull. During the
years he remained, and when he left, he was as poor in
purse as when he came.

Big Horn County Bank that fall contracted for a lot of
cord wood, stacked north of town ; in the winter they burnt
a kiln of brick with which to erect a new building.

Other fields needing an organizer and builder such as
Rev. Hughes were calling him and early in 1905 he resigned
his charge and moved. The church then had twelve mem-
bers. This writer has no further information concerning
Rev. Hughes, but he is sure that wherever he went he gave
to the cause the best that he had ; it was not in him to do
otherwise.

96 ANNALS OF WYOMING

REV. CHARLES E. FENTON

More new people came to Basin in 1905 and 1906 than
during any other two-year period in its history; they were
two great years for the town and should have been good
for its two little weak churches.

Fit ministers were not always available in the middle of
a Conference year. Rev. J. D. Cain, at Hyattville, a good
man, was assigned this charge, but instead of coming he
moved away. On February 12 the above-named individual
arrived with his family in Garland, flat broke, and phoned
into Basin, saying "Here I am; if you want me, come get
me." A few months before, the other church had a like
experience. Both church treasuries were bare but some of
the brethren paid for hauling them in. It didn't turn out
well in either case, though the other church got a man of
good morals.

The new Methodist pastor was 37 years old, with a fair
education. Much frontier preaching had given him confi-
dence in the pulpit; he lacked none when away from it; he
was exuberant and garrulous, the "life of the party" sort,
and in time it was found that his ways were devious and
had long been. There were four bright children. Amanda,
the mother, was a devout woman and loyal to her husband.
She was definitely faded, but she had reason to be after
having borne children and nursed and cared for them and
the husband on a minister's poor pay with the hardships
endured for years in the Nebraska sandhills.

Work was progressing on the two big canals, news of the
Copper Mountain excitement and Philip Minor's oil explora-
tion had leaked out. The ceded portion of the Shoshone
and Arapahoe Indian Reservation in the Lander country
was due to be opened the next year. The Northwestern
Railroad wanted to enter the basin via Wind River Canyon
and the Burlington wanted to extend and go out through
it. The Interstate Commerce Commission decided in favor
of the Burlington. The result of all this was that the eyes
of many restless people, yearning for greener pastures,
turned toward the basin and its capital. Bricklayers, stone
masons, carpenters, lathers, plasterers, painters and un-
skilled laborers began coming. Basin got another doctor,
six more lawyers, another saloon, a wholesale liquor house,
two houses of ill fame and gamblers galore. New dwellings
sprang up all over town and a number of business buildings
were erected. Basin had come alive and was going to town.

The Basin Republican was founded that year by Phillips
and Son.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 97

The pastor was intermittently ill during the last half of
1905; members of the church, neighbors and others were
sympathetic and kind and were unremitting at his bedside
and in ministering to him and his helpless family. Water
was piped to the parsonage by subscription. Money was
donated in another subscription. A woman skimped and
denied herself and bought winter underwear for the entire
family. Such acts of kindness usually bring out the best of
a man's nature, but apparently not always.

Late that year a bridge across the Big Horn was built
south of Basin.

The Big Horn Railroad, a subsidiary of the Burlington,
then building south of Frannie, had reached Lovell, but
no decision had been reached as to whether to go across
country via Otto to Thermopolis or go up the Big Horn
River. Later their representatives met with the Basin
town fathers, who granted them a right of way through
the town, with other concessions. Seven log houses were
moved to another part of town at the town's expense. Then
the representative of the road's land department wanted
the two homesteads adjoining the town on the south, but
they had been sold to Sheridan parties who intended mak-
ing whatever profit was to be made. Fred N. Pearson,
spokesman for the road's land department, then declared
that they would build a town at the mouth of the Greybull
and make Basin a whistling post.

Early the next year the pastor was in good health, though
he faked an illness downtown one night.

On March 26 an ice gorge in the Big Horn River carried
the new bridge away.

The pastor by that time was better understood and lay-
men of the church and other citizens convinced him that
he should move; but it was again in the middle of the Con-
ference year and he had no place to go; besides he had not
the wherewith.

Late in the afternoon of June 21 a construction train
came into Basin, its crew laying rails ahead, and it went on
to the new town of Worland; that place was the terminus
for two years; then for two years it was at Kirby, after-
wards for two years at Thermopolis. Greybull and Zada
were founded in the fall of 1906; the name of the latter
town is now Manderson.

Our church was dedicated July 15, 1906.

The Conference, at Wheatland, in August, moved the
pastor to a small coal camp across the mountains, then
the following year to Ranchester, a nearby village, but he
soon resigned, explaining that he was going to Kansas to

98 ANNALS OF WYOMING

farm for an uncle. Many years later he was pastor at
Bridger, Montana, where he remarried, his faithful wife
having gone to her reward. He did not visit Basin; five
or six years ago he went the way of all flesh.

REV. JOHN H. GILLESPIE

Mission Superintendent Rev. J. C. Bickell having been
made aware of* the needs of the church and the wishes of the
people of the community, Rev. Gillespie was assigned to
this charge. It was an admirable choice. He had been
in Wyoming so long that his fitness for the ministry was
well known; his ability and zeal and his ripe age (63), and
his proven probity begat confidence and were assurance
that while holding up a lamp for others he would himself
walk in the light. He had served at Thermopolis in
1903-4-5 r-the latter year he had organized a church in
Worland and planned a building. The little flock in Basin
took fresh courage, and quickly realizing that Rev. Gillespie
was the answer to their prayer, they backed him to a man
and to a woman.

In the fall he held evangelistic meetings in the church;
he was assisted by Rev. H. A. Toland, Methodist pastor at
Hyattville. The result was an increase in church member-
ship, seventy-five per cent.

After the Conference the following year Rev. Gillespie
became agent for Nebraska State Hospital and continued
thus for many years. He died in 1927, at the age of eighty-
three.

REV. HENRY D. GOUGH

This sketch is short and sad.

Rev. Gough came from Worland in the fall of 1907 with
his wife, Letitia, a small red-haired woman, and their small
red-haired son, Richard.

Some years before, Rev. Gough had been connected with
the Salvation Army. He was zealous and sincere, and his
preaching impressive.

Late the following January the first birth occurred in the
parsonage, that of a girl. Complications set in and brought
about the death of the mother. Sheriff B. F. Wickwire and
wife, a childless couple, adopted the baby and Rev. Gough
and Richard left town.

There have been other births in the parsonage, but no
other deaths.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 09

Sewers were installed in 1907 in Basin, the town having
voted bonds. The year before a private corporation (local)
had built a light and power plant.

REV. HOMER E. SHEPHERD

Rev. Shepherd took up the work here April 1, 1908, hav-
ing but recently been pastor of Grace M. E. Church in
St. Joseph, Missouri. He began preaching in that state in
1893 and had filled some important charges. He was a
widower, tall and bald. He was able and energetic, em-
ployed no flourishes and results soon became apparent.

Farmers along the line of the Big Horn Canal were sup-
plied with water that spring for the first time. A year later
Basinites began using water from the canal. Only those
who were here in the early days can realize the transforma-
tion that took place. The town voted bonds and acquired
the local light and power plant in the fall of 1909. Also
that fall a group of men whose leaders came from Sisters-
ville, West Virginia, turned natural gas into mains in Basin,
which was the first city or town in the northwest to enjoy
that convenience. The group later incorporated as the
Wyoming Gas Company. That year, due to the untiring
efforts of Raymond B. West, a young lawyer, work was
begun on the local Carnegie Library. In the spring of 1910
the town fathers caused trees to be planted on all Basin
streets, and Basinites in a few years found themselves
living in the midst of a forest.

Rev. Shepherd was assigned to the Worland charge in
the summer of 1911. On November 30 his successor in
Basin, Rev. S. W. Albone, united him in marriage with Miss
Mattie Radcliffe, of Basin. Rev. Shepherd served six
churches after leaving Basin, besides being Secretary of
the Endowment Fund and Conference Statistician. He
retired in 1938 after forty-three years in the ministry and
until two years ago resided in Cheyenne. His wife died at
that time and he went to California; he is 85 years old, if
still living.

REV. S. W. ALBONE

In September, 1911, Rev. Albone and his wife, Adelaide,
an elderly couple, came to Basin from the Colorado Confer-
ence. He had been in the ministry since 1889 and had filled
charges in California and Nevada.

The following summer Mrs. Albone's brother came from
England to visit them and was surprised to find tomatoes
ripening out of doors, something they don't do in England.

100 ANNALS OF WYOMING

The first night, when he retired he put his shoes outside
the door of his room ; he had another surprise next morning
when he found the shoes hadn't been shined.

That year a house diagonally across the street and a few
doors down, caught fire, and when the fire company arrived
a nine year old son of the family stood at the gate with an
accordion in his hands, playing "Home, Sweet Home." The
same boy had a pet magpie ; one day a carpenter was roof-
ing a building in the north part of town and thought some-
one has spoken to him; he turned and a bird sitting on the
roof said "Hello!"; he got down and went home, concluding
he had taken one too many.

At the Conference in Newcastle that fall Rev. Albone
reported church membership at 69 and Sunday School
enrollment at 150; he was then assigned to Upton. The
few remaining old timers in Basin remember the Albones
as very fine people.

REV. W. E. CALDWELL

Among a collection of old phonograph records in this
writer's home is one the title of which is "He Walked Right
in and Turned Around and Walked Right Out Again."

When the writer stopped in Basin in July, 1914, on the
way to Oregon, Rev. Albone was still here; when he re-
turned the following March, Rev. Morton Creath was pas-
tor. Two years ago the writer while looking through an
old Conference journal found mention of Rev. W. E. Cald-
well's ministry in Basin in 1914 and began making inquiry;
no one knew anything about Rev. Caldwell except one good
sister who said she remembered the name. Inquiry through
correspondence revealed that Rev. Caldwell came to Wyo-
ming in 1907 from the Northwest Kansas Conference, and
served at Dietz, Upton and Newcastle before coming to
Basin in 1914, and that he then went to the Northwest
Nebraska Conference. The membership roll reveals that
he came in September and left late in October. The cause
of his leaving is as much a mystery to us as two questions
that have intrigued people the past eighty years, namely,
"What became of Charlie Ross?" and "Who struck Billy
Patterson?"

REV. ULYSSES M. CREATH

Rev. Morton Creath, as he was known, came to Basin
with his wife, Lula May, in December, 1914. They were
middle-aged and childless, and very sociable people. Rev.
Creath planted a garden the following spring. He also

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 101

began raising chickens, but his ardor was chilled one night
when coyotes broke in and killed half of them.

At Conference, in Laramie, in August, Rev. Creath re-
ported the church membership at 74 and Sunday School
enrollment at 100. He also reported that the Ladies' Aid
Society had raised $569.00 for church purposes and that
a new sidewalk costing $118.00 had been built and paid for.
He declared the church would soon be free from debt. That
happy condition soon existed, but not for long, as we shall
presently see.

Rev. Creath was good natured and obliging. Once when
this writer was absent his wife wanted a cat killed and
wished the job on to Rev. Creath, who cheerfully performed
it. He was moved to Pine Bluffs in 1916; afterwards he
filled charges in Illinois and Indiana. His wife was a beau-
tiful brunette, tall and slender, very nervous and seemingly
delicate, but she has outlived Rev. Creath many years.
Now, as Mrs. Robert A. Matlock, she lives in Jeffersonville,
Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky.
She has written and published two books, one of them a
novel of over 500 pages.

REV. RALPH M. JONES

Rev. Jones, his wife, Frances, and her adopted sister,
Ruth Kiger, came to Basin in September, 1916. Rev. Jones
was an energetic, tireless worker, naturally and by reason
of experience a leader, possessing a magnetic personality,
a man with great persuasive power. Doubtless he would
have gone far and reaped great emoluments if he had ever
chosen to be a life insurance salesman. He set about build-
ing up the church membership. Whether or not he at that
time made a mental appraisal of the resources and poten-
tialities of the church and community is not now known.
Whether or not he subsequently did that, we know, and we
know whether or not his judgment was accurate.

At the conference in Buffalo in 1917 he reported a mem-
bership of 107 and Sunday School enrollment of 171; at
Torrington the next year he reported 131 members and
Sunday School enrollment of 200.

Basin, which today is not a large town, was smaller then,
but so much bustle and activity were in evidence that it
was deceiving. The post-war boom had not spent itself,
there was no unemployment, and people everywhere viewed
the prospect through rose colored glasses. The church
building had become inadequate or was about to become so.

102 ANNALS OF WYOMING

This writer has in his custody a small book containing
the minutes of what are sometimes styled the Executive
Committee, sometimes the Building Committee and at other
times the Advisory Committee.

The only business transacted at a meeting on June 23,
1919, was that of voting $400.00 to Rev. Jones "to pay for
the expenses of his trip to Mayo Bros."; also $200.00 "for
his added and successful labor on building project."

At that time no contract had been let or bids called for,
and no plans or specifications had been adopted. The writer
has been informed that the labor performed by Rev. Jones
was that of soliciting subscriptions to the building fund, but
that no further commissions were paid him, to his great
disappointment and grief.

Rev. Jones' report to Conference that year in Sheridan
gave membership at 148 and Sunday School enrollment as
242.

At a meeting in October it was voted to notify subscribers
to the building fund that their first payments were then
due. The book records minutes of a meeting on November
2, "held after church on Sunday evening."

Rev. Jones conferred often with the heads of the three
local banks, who insisted that the program should not in-
volve an outlay in excess of $30,000.00. That amount
wouldn't go far now, but even if it would, it would be quite
an undertaking, and our membership is now crowding the
400 mark. Most of the pledges were secured from people
Outside the church.

After rejecting the first bids, scaling down the plans and
opening new bids on April 1, 1920, the contract was let to
a local firm, whose figure was $29,990.00. The little book
records minutes of a meeting on April 22 at which bids for
plumbing were considered. No further minutes appear in
the book. Excavation for the basement was soon under
way on two corner lots adjoining the church.

The Conference that year moved Rev. Jones to Lander.
Several years later he and his wife moved to California;
he died many years ago.

REV. EDWARD BOWLING

Rev. Bowling began preaching in the Southern Illinois
Conference in 1906. From 1908 to 1913 he filled charges
in Colorado, including two in Denver. He was then trans-
ferred to Pine Bluffs in the Wyoming Conference. In 1918,
1919 and 1920 he was Treasurer of the Conference.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 103

In September, 1920 he and his wife, Carrie, and their
two children came to Basin, where he faced a difficult and
trying situation, one calling for the exercise of most of the
Christian virtues; fortunately he was not lacking in those
qualities.

Subscriptions to the building fund were payable in in-
stalments if the donors desired, and most of them so wished.
Payments had been coming in fairly well, work on the
building was progressing, and an elaborate ceremony of
laying the corner stone was planned. On October 12 the
corner stone was laid by Temple Lodge No. 20, A. F. &
A. M., of Basin, acting for and on behalf of the Wyoming
Grand Lodge. The dedicatory address was made by Rev.
L. C. Thompson, the Big Horn Basin's first minister, who
was present with his Masonic brethren, and it must have
been highly gratifying to that good man to realize how
his labors in the Master's vineyard were bearing fruit.

Early the following year the church was in serious finan-
cial difficulties and work on the new building had halted.
Many subscribers to the building fund had not paid their
instalments, and the contractor could not take care of his
payroll or bills for material.

Many of the delinquents excused themselves on the
ground that Rev. Jones had represented to them that they
were to help build a community church and they had in
time discovered that it was not to be one. It was a con-
venient excuse, but it seems likely that the real reason was
that they had been overpersuaded and Rev. Jones was no
longer here. Both he and they should have known better.
Just what they expected to find in a community church
that they could not have received in any other church is a
question. A few people still contend that if Rev. Jones had
not been moved he could have collected all subscriptions or
most of them. That is doubtful, as the country was then
gripped by a financial stringency. Be that as it may, many
of the subscribers claimed that they had been "gypped."

A separate arrangement for finishing the basement was
made with the contractor, and on Easter Sunday, 1922,
the first services were held there.

In May one of the local banks closed its doors, owing to
heavy withdrawals and inability to realize on its assets.

The old church building was sold and moved away; the
church bell was loaned to the Worland fire department.
The contractor has told that a local lawyer who was prom-
inent in the local lodge of a secret order, proposed that
the contractor assign to the lodge his claim against the
church; he would thus receive his pay; the lodge would

104 ANNALS OF WYOMING

complete the building for its own use. The contractor con-
sulted his wife; she, being a very devout woman, though a
member of another denomination, begged him to not let
the church down. And about that time, the contractor
tells, "a nice old gentleman" who was a church dignitary
of some sort, came to town and he assured the contractor
he would be paid. Work was then resumed on the building.

Later in the year work was again halted. A meeting of
the church officers, committees, members and other inter-
ested persons was held in the church basement the evening
of December 15. An atmosphere of gloom pervaded. It
was the general opinion of those present that for the church
to have begun building at the time it did was a mistake
amounting almost to a crime.3 However, it was agreed
that the only thing to be done was to finish the building,
though by what means was not clear.

The Church Extension Board of the General Conference
made another advance of $10,000, and work was resumed.

The beautiful leaded glass windows in our church were
a gift of Mrs. Ann E. Allen as a memorial to her deceased
husband, James D. Allen. The Allen family had come from
northern Colorado in 1887 and located on Paint Rock Creek.
Mr. Allen, a Civil War veteran, was an influential and public
spirited citizen. He and his wife in time moved to Basin.

On February 5, 1923, the church was dedicated by Bishop
Charles L. Mead.

The church then owed the Church Extension Board of
the General Conference $20,000.00. (Some persons place
the figure slightly higher.) It also owed the contractor
$5300.00, a subcontractor $600.00 and a painter $56.00;
what if anything was done about those debts this story will
later reveal.

At the Conference in Laramie that year Rev. Bowling
reported a membership of 177 and Sunday School enroll-
ment of 215.

On March 13, 1924, Harvey J. Spencer, a young man who
was President of the Epworth League and faithful in his
duty to the church, was called home. The beautiful com-
munion table in the church was a gift from the Epworth
League as a memorial to him.

That year Basin had its third bank failure, the second
having occurred the year before.

In the fall Rev. Bowling became District Superintendent
and moved to Cheyenne. He now resides in California.

3. Big Horn County Rustler.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 105

REV. ALVIN R. DICKSON

Rev. Dickson and his wife, Grace, came to Basin in
September, 1924; he was deeply devoted to the cause and
impressed all with his sincerity. During his first year here
the church received many new members, but many inactive
ones were dropped, leaving the total about as it was. Con-
ference in 1925 returned him to Basin, and he was also
elected conference statistician; but in December he trans-
ferred to a charge in Salt Lake City, Utah.

William F. Johnson, head of the first Christian family
in Basin and one of the organizers of the church, went to
his reward.

REV. WILLIAM T. METHVIN

Rev. Methvin and his wife were not yet in middle age.
Both were of pleasing personality and he was a tireless
worker for the cause.

Our church and the town were greatly honored in June,
1926, when they entertained the Wyoming State Confer-
ence. The honor and privilege has come to us but once.
Statistics at that time showed the church membership as
201 and Sunday School enrollment 224.

There were quite a number of Presbyterians in Basin.
They had some years before bought lots and were looking
forward to building. Their women's society was large and
very active. But by 1927 they had abandoned their project
and all or most of them united with the Methodist Church.

At the Conference in the fall, Rev. Methvin was trans-
ferred. He had done good work while here.

REV. JAMES L. WILLIAMS

Rev. Williams, an Englishman by birth, came in Sep-
tember, 1928, with his wife, Amanda, and their two chil-
dren. The daughter then was about nine. If what neigh-
bors told was true she must have been a human fly; they
declare that she climbed almost to the top of the church, on
the outside.

In June, 1930, Rev. Williams promised to perform a wed-
ding ceremony in the writer's family, but forgot and while
the crowd waited he was sternly reminded by the bride-
groom.

During the three years he was here the additions to the
church little more than offset the losses ; the figure reported
to the Conference in 1931 was 203. Rev. Williams was then
moved to Wheatland.

106 ANNALS OF WYOMING

REV. NELSON A. WURGLER

Rev. Wurgler, his wife, Florence, their small daughter,
Jean, and infant daughter, Joan, came in August, 1931.
Rev. Wurgler and wife were about thirty years of age.
They made a good impression, which turned out to be last-
ing. The work went on smoothly.

The pastor's wife was a talented musician, and most of
the time while here gave piano lessons which doubtless was
a welcome addition to the family income.

A son, James, was born in the parsonage in 1933.

The report to the Conference that year showed a mem-
bership of 283, a gain of 80 in two years.

Although the church building had been occupied ten years
since completion, little or nothing had been done about its
debt, but the Extension Board wasn't letting it forget; as
for the contractor, although he was a poor man, he had no
illusions about collecting his pay. There were few if any
wealthy people in the church; it was during depression
times and the New Deal. Some of the people said "The
church is here; they'll not take it away."

The report to Conference in 1937 showed 202 members
and Sunday School enrollment of 157; evidently many had
been dropped from the rolls. Rev. Wurgler had served
six years in Basin. He was transferred to Colorado Springs,
Colorado, later to a charge in New Mexico and at last ac-
counts was in Marfa, Texas.

REV. DAVID A. GREGG

Rev. Gregg, when he came with his wife, was 64 years
of age. A native of Texas, he had been a newspaper man
before entering the ministry in the M. E. Church, South.
Before coming to Basin he had filled charges in Colorado,
Utah and elsewhere.

The report to Conference in 1938 showed church mem-
bership as 226, a gain of 24, and Sunday School enrollment
as 132, a loss of 25.

Rev. Gregg was quiet and studious by nature, though not
reserved. He was a gardening enthusiast with a knack of
making things grow ; during 1938 and the two years follow-
ing he made the church property a beauty spot. It was
during 1938 that iron railings were placed on both sides
of the church steps, thanks to Mrs. Mary Avery, who was
always thoughtful of others.

The debt of the church was still a plague to all concerned.
Just before Rev. Gregg went to the General Conference,
Mrs. Mary Avery, solicitous as usual for the welfare of her

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 107

church, approached him quietly to offer $5,000.00 provided
the Church Extension Board would accept the amount in
cancellation of the debt. Rev. Gregg followed her instruc-
tions and made the offer, which was declined.

The report to the Annual Conference in 1940 showed a
church membership of 187 and Sunday School enrollment of
157. Rev. Gregg was assigned to the charge at Pine
Bluffs, where as usual he set about beautifying the church
grounds and making things grow. In February, 1942, he
rested from his labors and was buried at Pine Bluffs. His
widow has since been teaching in Oklahoma and Texas.

REV. SAMUEL A. C. GROVE

Rev. Grove came in July, 1940, with his wife, Marjorie,
and their two children. He had pastored Trinity Church,
in St. Louis, in 1933 and 1934, then had joined the Wyoming
Conference and filled charges at Sundance and Pine Bluffs.
He and his wife were well liked in Basin and he was re-
garded as a very able minister. He obtained leave of ab-
sence from the Conference, resigned his charge and left
with his family on June 22, 1941. He has ever since been
a chaplain in the United States Army, filling that position
with great credit and has been in many parts of the world.

REV. C. BENNETT WARE

Rev. Ware and his wife, Inez, a couple in late middle age,
came alone; he had transferred from the South Georgia
Conference. He had preached twenty-eight years, includ-
ing seven years in Indiana. He was an able and conscien-
tious minister. He served here two years. At the Confer-
ence in 1943 he reported membership at 198 and Sunday
School enrollment 94. He was moved to Rock Springs, two
years later to Buffalo; after three years there he trans-
ferred to the Memphis Conference and was assigned to the
work in Germantown, Tennessee.

REV. RUFUS D. WEBSTER

Rev. Webster and his wife, Martha, were an elderly
couple and came alone. He began preaching in the South-
west Kansas Conference in 1911 and filled many charges in
that state and Colorado, including Denver. In 1942 he had
transferred to the Wyoming Conference and served at
Kemmerer before coming to Basin.

The greater part of 1944 he was employed in a local
lumber yard.

108 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Until that year there had been no garage on the church
lots, and if pastors could not rent garage space or if it was
not donated them their cars remained out in the weather
the year round. In 1944 P. P. Anderson agreed to donate
an unused hen house provided the church would move it
away; this was done and the building became a garage.

The indebtedness to the Church Extension Board at that
time was, in round numbers, $16,000.00 ; the board proposed
to cancel it for $4,000.00, and an effort to raise the money
was begun.

Late in 1944 Rev. Webster resigned his charge and moved
to Fort Collins, Colorado, later serving on the Carpenter
Circuit in Wyoming, and at Pavillion. He was placed on the
retired list at his request in 1949.

REV. FRED W. MARTIN

In February, 1945, Rev. Martin came with his wife, Mary,
their son Mearl and daughter Marilyn, both high school
students. Rev. Martin, an energetic and sincere worker,
began preaching in 1928 and had filled charges in Iowa,
Wyoming and Kansas.

By strenuous and persistent work the amount needed to
satisfy the requirement of the Church Extension Board
was raised, and early that year the mortgage was burned
by the late T. P. Bollman during appropriate services
celebrating the event. Letters from a number of former
pastors were read. It was truly a time of great rejoicing.

People had given until it hurt and could do nothing about
the debts due the contractor and the two other men and
they were forgotten in the upsurge of life and growth of
the church later on, and the church has made other com-
mitments that have taxed the ability of the members to
the utmost.

The old church bell was returned from Worland that
year and after lying on the ground some time was finally
put in place.

The report to Conference showed membership at 194;
Sunday School enrollment had dropped to 65.

Early in 1946 Rev. Rose and wife, evangelists, held a
series of meetings in the church, without result.

During the winter which followed the pastor's wife was
employed picking beans in a local elevator. Rev. Martin re-
signed and left with his family in February, 1947. He
first was at Carson, Iowa, later with the Sheldahl-Slater
charge. Because of one thing this writer will remember
Rev. Martin after he has forgotten some of the others.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 109

Whenever he called at the writer's home he never left
without first saying "Shall we have a word of prayer?"
That is also a habit of Rev. Floyd Ellison, Baptist minister,
of Basin. "Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them."

REV. T. STACY RIDDICK

Rev. Riddick, with his wife, Margaret, arrived in time
to conduct services on Easter Sunday, 1947. He began
preaching in the Memphis Conference of the great M. E.
Church, South, in 1930, filling charges in Memphis, Bolivar
and Greenfield. During those pastorates he studied at
Lambuth College where he received the degree of Bachelor
of Arts; at Emory Union School of Theology where he
received the degree of Bachelor of Divinity ; also at Garrett
(Evanston, 111.).

In Basin it soon became apparent that Rev. Riddick was
a man with a message, and the church began to feel new
life. In the fall a new pulpit, choir screen and chancel
rail were placed in the church, the accoustics were im-
proved, the interior refinished and redecorated and the
exterior woodwork given two coats of white paint, the
parsonage redecorated and new furniture installed. Later
that fall the church was the first in the state to reach its
quota for a retired ministers' pension fund. In fact it was
oversubscribed $77.00 making a total of $927.00. At the
Conference in June the membership reported was 260
with Sunday School enrollment 246, a gain of 37 per cent
for one and 139 per cent for the other. Later a Hammond
electric organ and choir robes were bought with a fund
raised by subscription; C. C. Peters topped the list with
$500.00. The following May a handsome and substantial
bulletin board was placed at the street intersection.

The report to Conference in June (1949) showed a mem-
bership of 340, a year's gain of almost thirty-one per cent.
Rev. Riddick was granted five months leave of absence in
order to study at the University of Edinburgh. Rev. Ed-
ward White was designated supply pastor and came with
his wife, Delia, on June 9; they were an elderly couple.
He had then completed four years in the Lovell-Deaver
charge and previously had pastored in Colorado and Utah.
District Superintendent J. Clyde Keegan described him as
"a hard-driving brother in more ways than one; he gets
things done."

Rev. Riddick and wife returned from Europe in Novem-
ber and Rev. White took over the work at Hyattville and
Ten Sleep.

110 ANNALS OF WYOMING

During December a beautiful pulpit lamp, the gift of Mrs.
Cornelia Metz, was placed in the church. In January the
Womans Society of Christian Service at a cost of $1,000.00
carpeted the center aisle of the church, the space in the
rear, also behind and in front of the chancel rail. In the
spring concrete steps into the basement from the outside
were built, the money being raised by subscriptions. The
work was supervised and most of it done by Hubert C.
Avery who as a member of the Property Committee has
been efficient and unsparing in his attention to the building.

As the time for Conference neared Rev. Riddick was of-
fered his choice of several large charges, but he preferred
to be closer to the center of the nation, and in June the
Conference at his request transferred him to the St. Louis
Conference. He was stationed by that Conference at Cabool
at a salary of $2400.00; in Basin he would have received
$3600.00. Last October he was moved to DeSoto, Missouri,
to be pastor of the Fourth Street Methodist Church.4

REV. EDWIN F. ESHELMAN

Rev. Eshelman came from the Northeast Ohio Confer-
ence ; his last charge there had been at Madison and he had
afterwards studied at the University of Edinburgh. He is
a graduate of Muskingum College, also of Boston University
School of Theology and has filled pastorates in Cambridge,
Ohio, and Clinton, Massachusetts. He and his wife, Sara,
and two small boys arrived in Basin July 1, 1950. He is a
tireless worker and popular with the younger element; the
church continues growing.

On October 1, John T. Bishop on behalf of the Bishop
family presented the church with a massive brass table
set consisting of two collection plates and two candlesticks,
in memory of his father, the late Thomas K. Bishop. On
November 22 Robert L. Henderson, Jr., on behalf of the
Henderson family, presented the church with a beautiful
baptismal font in memory of his mother, the late Mrs.
Flossie Henderson. On November 26 a beautiful illuminat-
ed cross which was hung a few days before in the church
porch was presented the church by Mrs. Percy W. Metz
and her sister, Mrs. C. F. Nicklos, in memory of their late
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Reiser. These good ladies,
serving on the Flower Committee, have been faithful and

4. Rev. and Mrs. Riddick were killed in a collision on a California
highway while returning from the General Conference in San Fran-
cisco in May, 1952.

THE ROAD OF YESTERYEAR 111

have never failed us. On February 4, 1951, a beautiful
brass cross which now hangs back of the pulpit, was pre-
sented the church by Mr. and Mrs. Hubert C. Avery in
memory of the former's mother, the late Mrs. Mary Avery.

IN CONCLUSION

Perhaps there are still living some persons who as adults
left the Big Horn Basin fifty or more years ago and have
not since been back. If so and were they to return, it would
amaze them to drive in the daytime over smooth, paved
highways, through rich farming areas dotted with oil rigs,
and to drive at night through large towns blazing with neon
signs and through a countryside with R. E. A. lighting.

It would have amazed them had they been in the new
high school gymnasium in Basin the evening of January 19,
when bands and choruses from eighteen Big Horn Basin
towns were present. Had they been here in March they
v/ould have been amazed at the revival meetings held in
every town of any size in the basin. One of them began at
Greybull March 1 and moved to Basin March 19. At the
time this is written the results in Basin were 51 conversions,
41 backsliders reclaimed and 37 renewals of faith; it is
expected that complete reports will bring the total to 140.
On the night of March 29 the Wigwam Theater was packed.
There were present Basin, Greybull and Thermopolis Bap-
tists, Basin and Greybull Nazarenes, Greybull Presbyter-
ians, Worland Lutherans, all with their pastors, and a few
Basin Methodists, also a monster crowd of Worland Meth-
odists with their pastor; he made a fervent opening prayer
and all ministers worked afterwards in the inquiry room.
About thirty young men and young women dedicated their
lives to service as missionaries, nurses and teachers, and
four young men pledged to become ministers. It was a
scene that will linger in memory. Truly, we have come a
long way in the basin.

Our church, also, has come a long way. Some of the
going has seemed rough, but there will be more hurdles,
and of a different nature, with the real test yet to come,
one that people of a church sometimes face without being
aware of it; and thus the future of the church will be
exactly what its people make for it or permit to be made for
it. In a world of change and confusion our people travel
the road of today as it stretches ahead to the far horizon.
What awaits them no one can foretell. Gloomy days may
come, but faith speaks of clearing skies on the morrow, and
they go on, hopeful and unafraid.

112 ANNALS OF WYOMING

GETTIN' MY SOUL INTO SHAPE

(By the author of the history)

I've had no such thrill since the day I was born

As will come when I'm wakened by Gabriel's horn,

Wherever I sleep on that radiant morn,

Under cactus, or where willows drape.

With the multitude then very soon I shall wait;

When my number is drawn I'll check in through the

gate;
And the way I've lived here will determine my fate,
So I'm gettin' my soul into shape.

To learn how to be saved, in the Book we must
search ;
If we think our lodge tells us we're left in the lurch,
And it takes more than mere membership in a church,
Outward form of religion to ape.
God wants no one up there who's a stranger to him ;
If but slightly acquainted one's chances are slim,
And it won't be real pleasant caught out on a limb.
Well, I'm gettin' my soul into shape.

Some, who have never got close to God on their knees
Feel so sure of his mercy they do as they please;
And they say that they'll clear Judgment hurdles with

ease,
That they'll get around any red tape;
That their parents and neighbors were good folks, the

dears ;
And got by ; they live like them, why have any fears ?
Well, it's too soon to know who got by, it appears.
Me, I'm gettin' my soul into shape.

We all make good resolves, but sin nature is strong.
Once I tried all alone to dodge error and wrong,
And I've oft wished old Samson would happen along
To hold them so I might escape.
But One stronger than Samson has come to my aid
By my trustin' in Him when my prayers have been

made.
Glory be to His name! Now I'm makin' the grade,
And I'm gettin' my soul into shape.

Wyoming Zephyrs

By

THE EDITOR

The Wyoming State Historical Department has moved
into new quarters in the recently completed State Office
Building in Cheyenne. The museum, which occupies the
south wing of the building, was opened to the public on
April 28. The more spacious quarters have enabled the
staff to arrange the displays in a very attractive manner.

The museum is divided into several areas to enable vis-
itors to better enjoy the exhibits. Main areas are the
Indian, pioneer, wild life, geology, stock growers and forts
and trails sections.

The historical records, gathered over the years from
pioneers in the state, the nearly 4,400 volumes of state
newspapers, the pictures, maps, books, pamphlets, and the
archival records of state offices and former state officials
which have been placed in the department were all moved
into the new quarters and are now being made available
for the use of researchers.

The State Historical Department recently had the oppor-
tunity to acquire the negative collection of the late Joseph
E. Stimson, pioneer photographer of Cheyenne. The pic-
tures in this collection cover every corner of the state and
date from 1900-1950. Numbering between six and seven
thousand glass plate negatives, it is one of the most valu-
able and significant collections of the West today.

Wyoming has lost too many significant collections
through apathy and disinterest. In order to save this
collection for Wyoming it was necessary to act quickly,
for organizations outside of Wyoming were more than in-
terested in acquiring it. Consequently, while $1,300 in state
funds were obtained toward the purchase of the negatives,
it was necessary to obtain a loan of $700 to complete the
transaction, and the loan must now be repaid.

A number of interested persons have already contributed
to the fund to repay the $700. Contributors to date are:
George E. Brimmer, Cheyenne; J. Elmer Brock, Kaycee;
Fred Marble, Cheyenne; Judge and Mrs. P. W. Metz, Basin;

114 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Nicklos, Basin; Mr. and Mrs. A. M.
Pence, Laramie; George B. Pryde, Rock Springs; H. N.
Roach, Laramie; E. Keith Thomson, Cheyenne; Henryetta
Berry, Lola M. Homsher and Mrs. Winifred S. Kienzle of
Cheyenne.

Contributions to this fund should be marked "Stimson
Fund" and mailed to this department.

The Wyoming State Historical Department in cooperation
with the Community Club of Ft. Laramie sponsored services
at the grave site of Mary E. Homsley in observance of the
centennial date of her death on the Oregon Trail June 10,
1852. Services were held on Sunday, June 8 at 2:30 p.m.

Reverend George Woodard of Ft. Laramie, who gave the
invocation at the first services held at this grave site in
1926, gave the invocation. Mr. Clarke P. Rice of Torring-
ton told of his finding the gravestone and grave site in
1925. Mr. W. W. Morrison of Cheyenne, historian of the
old Oregon Trail who has become acquainted with de-
scendents of Mary Homsley and has learned her story from
them, talked on "Mary E. Homsley — Her Family". Mr.
David L. Hieb, Superintendent of the Ft. Laramie National
Monument, reviewed the history of the Oregon Trail and
stressed that the services honoring Mary E. Homsley hon-
ored all pioneers who braved the frontier and fell along the
way.

Mr. Tom Mort of Lingle led the group in singing, after
which Mr. R. J. Rymill of Ft. Laramie introduced some of
the members of the audience, including Mr. and Mrs. A. M.
Pence, L. C. Bishop, Joe Weppner, Mrs. L. G. Flannery, Tom
Green, Charles Frederick, Mead Sandercock, Mangus Lar-
sen, Jim Fleanor, and Ike and Dick Darnells.

On January 7, 1952, Miss Mildred Mcintosh passed away
in Cheyenne. Miss Mcintosh, daughter of Robert and Mary
Ellen Mcintosh who founded a ranch on the Snake River in
the 1880's, was a resident of Slater, Colorado, for thirty
years. At that place she was the postmistress, the owner
of a picturesque old-fashioned general store and a promi-
nent rancher. A graduate of both the University of Wyo-
ming and Wellsley College, Miss Mcintosh was an authority
on Wyoming history and did considerable writing on that
subject.

WYOMING ZEPHYRS 115

On February 8, 1952, John Charles Thompson, editor
emeritus of the Wyoming State Tribune, died in Cheyenne
at the age of 72. A Wyoming newspaperman since 1897,
with all of his experience at Cheyenne, he was a member
of a prominent pioneer family of that city. His extensive
work on statewide news beats, his editorials and his col-
umns "Cheyenne, Wyoming" and "In Old Wyoming" estab-
lished him as one of the state's best known and most prom-
inent men.

On February 8, 1952, Joseph Stimson, former Cheyenne
artist and photographer, succumbed to a heart attack at
Hartford, Connecticut, at the age of 81. Mr. Stimson was
at one time photographer for the Union Pacific Railroad.
His collection of negatives covers a period of more than 50
years and is one of the most valuable collections of Wyo-
ming pictures in existence.

D. C. Wilhelm of Gillette passed away in Sheridan on
December 31, 1951, after an extensive illness. Mr. Wilhelm
came to Gillette in 1916 and in the early 1920's began col-
lecting early day historical data on Campbell County, pub-
lishing the items in a clever advertising sheet, the
"Flatyre". He also became a zealous collector of Indian
artifacts and local early day relics of the area and at one
time had a private museum which he opened to the public.

On March 31, 1952, Dr. Aven Nelson, the first faculty
member hired by the first Board of Trustees of the Uni-
versity of Wyoming, President Emeritus of the University,
and world famous botanist, passed away in Colorado
Springs at the age of 93. Dr. Nelson was a civic leader,
teacher, researcher and writer. Over the years he did
much for the state of Wyoming and brought many honors
to Wyoming as a result of his work in his special field of
botany.

Wilson S. Kimball, 85, pioneer businessman and former
mayor of Casper and long-time member of the Wyoming
Stock Growers Association, died April 4, 1952, after an
illness of several months. He was a resident of Casper for
62 years where he served nine terms as mayor. Upon his
retirement from the drug business in 1947 he engaged in
ranching east of Casper.

On March 3, 1952, Mrs. Catherina Facinelli of Rock
Springs passed away at the age of 85. Born in Austria,
Mrs. Facinelli came to the United States in 1886 and to
Wyoming in 1887. She and her family have been promi-
nent in local and state affairs for many years. She is sur-
vived by two sons, Victor J. and Thomas P. of Rock Springs,
and Mrs. C. E. Bon of Cheyenne.

116 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Mrs. John Whitaker passed away at the age of 82 on
June 8, 1952, in Cheyenne. She was a member of a long-
time prominent Wyoming family and had resided in the
state since territorial days.

Mrs. Isabella Kinnear, daughter of Jim Baker, the famous
pioneer Indian scout and later a rancher of the Baggs area,
passed away on June 10, 1952, at the Wind River Indian
Hospital, Ft. Washakie, at the age of 89.

William Jonss, 80, Fremont County pioneer, passed away
June 9, 1952, at Lander. He was born at South Pass City
in 1871 where his father ran a meat market in that old gold
mining camp. A life-time friend of the Indians, Mr. Jones
spoke both the Arapahoe and Shoshone tongues fluently.
He was at one time mayor of Lander.

The following tribute was written by Mrs. Agnes Wright
Spring, historian and member of a pioneer Wyoming fam-
ily, and at present the Executive Assistant to the President
of the Colorado State Historical Society:

From all corners of the state of Wyoming and from Mon-
tana and other parts of the West, cattle kings, cowboys,
ranch cooks, sheepmen and herders, state and county offi-
cials, and friends of high and low station gathered at Buf-
falo, Wyoming, on January 25, 1952, to pay their last trib-
ute to Mrs. Martin A. Tisdale, a former State Librarian of
Wyoming. Mrs. Tisdale died on January 22 as the result
of an automobile accident, which occurred on a branch road
from Kaycee as the Tisdales were returning from a trip to
Denver's Stock Show.

Daughter of one of Wyoming's pioneer ranchmen and a
relative of the late Governor Joseph M. Carey, Mrs. Tisdale
was born Frances Angelina Davis on December 8, 1887, at
Milford, Delaware. Her parents were Annie Paynter Mar-
shall Davis and Henry Winter ("Hard Winter") Davis.
Her father came to Wyoming in 1878 and in November,
1881, established the Spectacle Ranch on Powder River.
He was a member of the first state legislature of Wyoming
in 1890.

Frances Davis received her schooling at her father's
ranch, also in schools at Buffalo and at Miss Roney's School
at Bala, Pennsylvania. She served as State Librarian under
Governor Joseph M. Carey and Acting-Governor Frank L.
Houx from 1913 to 1917. On December 13, 1917, she was
married to Martin Allison Tisdale of Johnson County at
the Trinity Cathedral in Omaha. Their romance was sim-
ilar to that of a story book, as the families of each had been
identified with opposite sides of the famous so-called "John-
son County Cattlemen's War."

WYOMING ZEPHYRS 117

The Tisdales established their first home on a ranch at
Mayoworth. Later they moved to Buffalo where Mr. Tis-
dale served as sheriff of Johnson County for sixteen years.
Since 1943 he has been manager of the Three T ranch near
Kaycee.

At the time of her death Mrs. lisdale was President of
St. Luke's Auxiliary in Buffalo. She is survived by her
husband; a daughter, Mary Bradford Hinckley; two sons,
Thomas Martin Tisdale and Robins Davis Tisdale ; by three
brothers, Henry Winter Davis of Ft. Washakie, Mark Jay
Davis of Casper, and Francis Robins Davis of Tensleep;
and two sisters, Dorothy Bell Gibbs of Recluse, Wyoming,
and Madelene Marshall Murphy of Kingsbury, California.

Two loans to the State Museum are now on display. An
elk skin painted by Charles Washakie, fourth son of the
famous old Shoshone, Chief Washakie, has been loaned by
Mrs. Mable Cheney Moudy of Laramie. The picture on the
skin represents the Buffalo Hunt with dancers dancing the
Buffalo Dance in thanks for successful hunting. The skin
was tanned by Ellen Hereford Washakie and the elk was
killed by Mrs. Moudy's father, Ervin F. Cheney, pioneer
of the Lander area.

The buckskin suit and headdress of Chief High Eagle,
Sioux Indian who took part with the Indians in the Custer
Battle of 1876, was presented to the Cheyenne Frontier
Days Committee following the death of the Chief in an
automobile accident the past winter. Chief High Eagle had
for many years been a member of the Indian group which
attended the Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration each year,
and his last request was that his costume which he had
worn at Frontier Days be given to the Cheyenne Frontier
Days Committee. The Committee has given it to the State
Museum on a loan basis for display.

Recent Acquisitions

Mr. W. R. Coe of New York City has given to the State
Historical Department a valuable gift of more than two
hundred historical books and an equal number of historical
periodicals. The books, ranging in date from 1833 to the
present, cover a wide variety of subjects, all on the western
theme. This addition to the small but fine library in the
department is a very important one. In addition Mr. Coe

118 ANNALS OF WYOMING

has had sent to the department from time to time recent
publications just off the press.

The Coe Collection of Western Americana has been on
special display in one of the cases in the museum, and vis-
itors have found it of special interest. The books are at
present being cataloged and will be available to researchers
and students working in the library of the department.

From the dismantled home of the late Governor Joseph
M. Carey the members of his family have given to the State
Museum a mantel piece from the front hallway and the nine
and one-half foot door with full length mirror that hung
between Governor Carey's study and sitting room. These
have been placed in the museum so that they form a setting
in the pioneer area.

Mr. Don Stanfield of the Wyoming Typewriter and Equip-
ment Company, Cheyenne, has added ten early typewriters
to a similar collection now on display in the museum. Mr.
George S. Clason of Napa, California, presented a collection
of arrowheads collected by his brother Horace from near
Cheyenne in the early days. Heston D. Adams of Golden,
Colorado, gave a statement of Neustadter Bros, to the Mee-
teetse Clothing Co. and a check of the Shoshone Mountain
Mining Co. Mrs. G. I. Baldwin of Mineola, Long Island,
New York, presented the book Recollections of a Busy Life
by Horace Greeley. Mrs. Charles W. Clark of Cheyenne has
given a four piece commode set of semi-porcelain Dresden.

A case built especially to display the Richardson family
collection has been presented to the department by Warren
Richardson of Cheyenne, Clarence B. Richardson of Casper,
and Laura V. and Mary Valeria Richardson of Cheyenne.
It has been placed in the museum, and on display in it are
a number of pioneer items from the Richardson home in
Cheyenne.

A manuscript "The Overland Trail Through Wyoming"
has been received from Willard Fox of LaGrange, and a
manuscript "Reminiscences of Norris Griggs" by Mrs.
Helen Sargent of Big Piney has been given by the author.
Mr. W. W. Morrison of Cheyenne presented a copy of his
article on "Pattison Lake", a historical sketch on Oregon
history. Mrs. J. William Richardson of Cheyenne presented
five ledgers from the cattle company of Andrew Gilchrist,
early cattleman of Wyoming, and his sword. Mr. Charles
Humphrey of Laramie gave the department a map of Lara-
mie, Wyoming, dated 1884. Harry Carnine of Laramie pre-
sented an 1873 Winchester rifle, without the stock, found
on the Laramie Plains. Miss Alby E. Roys of St. Peters-
burg, Florida, has given a copy of the newspaper Palladium

WYOMING ZEPHYRS 119

of Liberty, February 25, 1813, Morris-Town, N. J. Mike
Sorg of Cheyenne presented two books: Herringshaw's
American Statesman, 1906, and House Miscellaneous Docu-
ment, 1888-89, vol. 2.

Dr. Franklin D. Yoder of Cheyenne presented the letter
from Governor Joseph M. Carey to his father, B. F. Yoder,
appointing him a Commissioner to organize the County of
Goshen in 1911. Mrs. J. M. Harrington of Basin presented
three albums of negatives, numbering approximately 200,
of scenes in the Big Horn Basin about 1910. Dr. Paul W.
Emerson of Cheyenne presented a constable badge worn by
William Pleasant Snowden, first white settler in Omaha,
Nebraska, 1854; spectacles and case used by Rachel Snow-
den, first white woman to settle in Omaha, Nebraska, a
meal ticket from the Moore Hotel issued to Elam S. Emer-
son, U.P.R.R. engineer in Cheyenne 1880-85, his complete
uniform worn in World War I, his footlocker, and a number
of other items for the pioneer section of the museum.

Mr. M. B. Rhodes of Basin presented a picture of Tom
Daggett (1899), editor of the Big Horn County Rustler,
and Mrs. Rhodes gave two souvenir copper cups from the
Black Hills of South Dakota showing early scenes of that
area. Mrs. Mark A. Chapman presented a historical col-
lection gathered by her husband, the late Mark A. Chapman.
Included in this are pictures of Camp Carlin, Cheyenne, and
early Wyoming scenes ; early United States currency includ-
ing Continental, Confederate and State issues; badges;
seals; correspondence and business records. Mrs. Mart
Christensen presented a wool challis shawl brought from
Ireland about 1825 by her grandmother. W. W. Morrison
of Cheyenne and William Rodenbush of Ft. Laramie pre-
sented pictures taken of the services at the grave of Mary
E. Homsley June 8, 1952.

Mr. L. C. Bishop of Cheyenne presented to the depart-
ment a 12 gauge Ithaca shotgun, London twist barrel,
hammer gun, 1892, which was originally purchased by his
father, S. A. Bishop. Since then L. C. Bishop, his five bro-
thers and his two sons have used the gun for a period of
sixty years.

ftook Keviews

The Story of the Little Big Horn. By Col. W. A. Graham.
(The Military Service Publishing Co., 1952, 222 pp.
$5.00)

Legend into History. By Charles Kuhlman. (The Stack-
pole Company, 1951, 245 pp. $5.00) (Both books of-
fered in combination at $9.00)

The Story of the Little Big Horn by Col. W. A. Graham
is a 4th printing, initially printed in 1926. Little new has
been added to the work, nothing apparent has been deleted.
In the Appendix is a copy, from the Journal of The Military
Service Institution, of the article by Col. Robert P. Hughes,
Inspector General, printed in 1896.

Legend into History by Charles Kuhlman is a new publi-
cation, and is supplemented in Appendix II with a copy of
the findings of the Court of Inquiry which was convened in
1879 at the request of Major Reno.

Both books cover the same scope of the battle of the
Little Big Horn in 1876, which occurred in Southern Mon-
tana between the Seventh Cavalry commanded by Lt. Col.
G. A. Custer and the plains Indians, led primarily by Chiefs
Gall and Crazy Horse. Both books are heavily footnoted
in Appendices, that of Col. Graham being more one of quo-
tations of authority type, while that of Dr. Kuhlman being
largely supporting argument of the author. Each book
is accompanied by a contour map of the battlefield, U. S.
Geological Survey, showing the different conceptions of
the route followed by Custer's command in arriving at the
battlefield, which are helpful to the reader, if he is skilled
in map reading, in understanding the terrain in the critical
area, and following the author's version.

The Story of the Little Big Horn is a factual account of
the Campaign taken from sworn testimony, concrete evi-
dence and known facts, with little effort to inject opinion,
conjecture or hearsay to fill the gaps in the Custer disaster.
It is a very well arranged and illustrated narrative, easy to
read and informative to the casual reader as well as the
self-styled Custer expert. It is beyond question one of the
best works on this highly controverted historical incident
and should be on the shelf of every western and military
book fan.

BOOK REVIEWS 121

Legend into History is an attempt, as the title implies,
to convert the legend of the Custer fight to historical stand-
ing. To accomplish this very difficult task, the author has
combined known facts, battlefield evidence and testimony
with a detailed terrain study and supplemented these with
Indian tales told by both combatants and non-combatants,
principally of the Cheyenne tribe, and endeavored to fit
all of this into his own appreciation of battle operations
and tactics. The entire work is impregnated with incon-
sistencies and illusions. The author does not profess to be
a professional soldier ; admits that for the most part Indian
narratives are totally unreliable; and concedes that seven-
ty-five years of erosion have had a profound effect upon
terrain features. The reader will be impressed, however,
that he places rather great weight upon battlefield indica-
tions in spite of the fact that the ground was pounded,
mauled and ravaged by thousands of Indians (men, women
and children) for hours after hostilities had ceased, leaving
one in serious doubt as to the value of such indications, or
how you could visualize order arising out of such chaos.
There is even an effort to reproduce troop positions and
sectors, strong points, fire sectors, retrograde movements
and other tactical dispositions and maneuvers, all based
upon the assumption that the position was organized for
defense when there is most weighty and convincing evi-
dence that the engagement was initially offensive in nature,
hastily planned and lacking in coordination and so fluid by
consequence as to be devoid of all these orderly considera-
tions. He also delves into logistics, entirely irreconcilable,
and devoid of professional appreciation of this military
specialty.

The entire treatment is a bold, but to say the least, spec-
ulative, endeavor which the average reader will find neither
interesting nor informative.

The Story of the Little Big Horn is set down in chrono-
logical order, simply stated and developed without confu-
sion of detail or contradiction. Even to the reader who has
only story interest in this fascinating historical incident
there will be no difficulty in understanding and following
the action and its dire consequences, and he will emerge
with a rather clear picture of the known action.

On the other hand, Legend into History is exceedingly
difficult to read. There is a mass of meaningless detail
to the average reader which will almost foreclose his fol-
lowing the action or appreciating the author's philosophy
of the where, when, and how of the engagement. A great
many battle veterans and those of military trained minds

122 ANNALS OF WYOMING

will be in complete disagreement with this lay solution of
the author (if they are able to appreciate his solution at
all). The Custer students, irrespective of their pro or con
Custer sentiments, will not be pleased, but will, nevertheless,
find themselves fascinated and intrigued with this new
approach to the mystery of this highly controverted and
disastrous battle. To say the least, Dr. Kulhman has
heaped a lot more fuel on a fire which will ever burn among
those who love this unsolvable tragedy, but in spite of his
efforts what happened there on the Little Big Horn on
June 25, 1876, remains as much a legend as it was before
his book was written.

ALFRED M. PENCE

Attorney at Law, Lt. Col. of Infantry World War II,
Graduate of the Infantry School and of the Command
and General Staff School

Trail Driving Days. Text by Dee Brown; Picture Re-
search by Martin F. Schmitt. (New York, Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1952. 264 pp., 220 photographs and
sketches. $7.50.)

Dee Brown of the University of Illinois Library staff,
and Martin F. Schmitt, Curator of Special Collections at
the University of Oregon, here present a spectacular, pic-
torial chronology of the great Western range cattle days.
We heartily agree with their preliminary statement that
"no single volume yet has told or probably ever can tell the
whole dramatic story of the American cattle trade — "

But Trail Driving Days portrays through word and pic-
ture the general background, the habits, the dress, the daily
life and the amusements and tragedies of the men who
pointed longhorn herds up from Texas to the northern rail
markets or to the northwestern grazing grounds.

Vigorous writing in this work becomes intensely vivid
through the carefully selected and in many instances, rare
photographs. This book will delight anyone interested in
Western Americana and many who are not.

Texas cattlemen and cowboys necessarily receive a pre-
ponderance of attention in the book since much of the
cattle history of the West stemmed from that vast area.

Although the author of the text, logically developed first
one phase and then another of the trail driving business,
there is throughout a leaning toward the sensational. This

BOOK REVIEWS 123

is especially true in the portrayal of the Rip-roaring Trail
Towns with their dramatic characters such as Wild Bill
Hickok, "Bear River" Tom, Billy the Kid, Rowdy Joe Lowe,
"Doc" Holliday, and various ladies who followed the red
lights along the frontier. But after all, the era of trail
driving was a rugged one and the cowboy didn't herd long-
horns in a bed of roses.

From the standpoint of those primarily interested in
Wyoming's cattle history, it is disappointing not to find the
name and photograph of at least one or two of the follow-
ing: Thomas Sturgis, Alexander Swan, Joseph M. Carey,
Francis E. Warren and John B. Kendrick. All of these
pioneers began their livestock business with Texas trail
herds. And each was a "giant" in his day.

Wyoming, however, does receive considerable attention
in Trail Driving Days through text and pictures relating
to places and persons connected with the Johnson County
War. Mr. Brown's account follows closely the well-known
versions as told by Asa Mercer and Bill Walker. There
still are many unpublished facts which may some day be
told.

The book particularly features the work of three pioneer
range photographers : L. A. Huffman of Montana, Erwin E.
Smith of Texas, and William H. Jackson of Denver. That
no more than two photographs by C. D. Kirkland are used
is no doubt due to the fact that they were unavailable.
Kirkland's early cattle range photographs, however, are
among the best ever made in the Wyoming country. The
collection of photographs pertaining to Wyoming which Mr.
Schmitt assembled are worth the price of the book alone
to the person interested in history.

Readers of the Wyoming Annals may be interested in
knowing that the cut of Longhorns on page 11 in Trail
Driving Days is a photograph by Stimson of Old Mexico
steers owned in 1888 by J. W. Hammond of Cheyenne. The
buckskin steer in the center of the group was called Gero-
nimo. According to Mr. Hammond, Geronimo could, with
ease, jump out of the highest pole corrals.

Because photography was only in the daguerreotype
stage when cowmen were pointing the early herds north
from Texas, some of the illustrations for this book neces-
sarily are reproduced drawings made by artists for Frank
Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and Joseph G. McCov's
Historical Sketches of the Cattle Trade (1874).

Primarily a picture book, Trail Driving Days provides
much pleasure and entertainment to readers, as well as
facts. Those wishing to use it as an authority on Wyo-

124 ANNALS OF WYOMING

ming's cattle industry should check details against source
materials, as the following instances, for example, will
illustrate: on page 242, it is inferred that the cattlemen
employed detectives following the Great Blizzard (1886-87).
Ben Morrison, whose photograph is used above the legend,
was employed by the Wyoming Stock Growers Association
as an inspector or range detective as early as 1879 ; on page
234, Tom Horn is said to have been "captured by a blue-
coated policeman." Actually he was captured and held by
a merry-go-round operator named Eldrich until the police-
man arrived.

Such trivialities, however, should not detract from the
fine performance done by these two sincere, industrious,
and talented collaborators who so successfully published
Fighting Indians of The West, another so-called "picture
book."

A glimpse through the carefully selected Bibliography
makes this reviewer wish for more time to read and more
money to buy volumes such as these about the cattle, horses
and men, and the rip-roaring trail towns in the old one-time,
free grass country.

AGNES WRIGHT SPRING

Executive Assistant to the President
State Historical Society of Colorado

The Great Rascal: the life and adventures of Ned Buntline.
By Jay Monaghan; with illustrations. (Boston: Little,
Brown and Company, 1952. 353 pp. illus. bibliog.
index. $4.50.)

Of particular interest to people of this section because
of the emphasis on "discovery" and promotion of Buffalo
Bill is a new biography of Ned Buntline written by James
Monaghan, State Historian of Illinois.

The words "amazing" and "rascal" are well chosen for
Ned Buntline. The ordinary law-abiding, conventional
reader will gasp over the experiences of this lively little
swashbuckler. It seems incredible that anyone could have
such energy, such resourcefulness, such brashness as he
displayed.

Edward Zane Carroll Judson, later to make famous the
pseudonym Ned Buntline, was born to a native American
family in New York state, probably in 1823. The influence
of his mother seems slight; at least Mr. Monaghan says

BOOK REVIEWS 125

little about her contributions to her boy. But his father's
characteristics were prominent in the son. To quote,
"Ned's father, Levi Carroll Judson, was a writer, an orator
. . . , and a man who never made little plans." So it was
with the son. Also marked in Ned was his lifetime love for
nature and his skill as a fisherman and hunter, developed
in his boyhood on a New England farm. Presently friction
between father and son drove Ned into running away to
join the merchant marine. Later he joined the navy and
took part in the Seminole War. The first of his many mar-
riages belonged to that period of his life. So also did his
entrance into the field of fiction, with the publication as a
pamphlet of an autobiographical short story using for the
first time his best-known pseudonym. (He used a dozen
others at various times.) He may have followed his navy
career by spending some months as a fur trader on the
Yellowstone; more likely he invented his sojourn there and
borrowed his experiences from real fur trappers. At any
rate at the age of twenty Ned had started publishing a
monthly literary magazine, one of many periodicals and
newspapers he established in various places but failed to
make live beyond a few issues. For years he struggled
to break into the respectable literary world. That was not
to be his claim to fame. But he recognized the hunger of
the poor for romance and adventure, and fed them a stream
of articles, essays, and stories. However fabulous his life
he would not be worthy so detailed a biography were it
not for his influence on American literature and his popular-
ization of the West. At a period when the dime novel
soared in circulation he contributed hundreds of adventure
stories, forerunners of the westerns and comics of more
recent times.

At his worst Ned Buntline was a bigamist, a blackmailer,
a rioter, a bail jumper, a stimulator of race and religious
hatreds in politics, an inveterate liar. Yet Mr. Monaghan
manages to make Ned Buntline a far from repellant figure.
Perhaps one is fascinated by Ned's activity and industry.
Certainly he must have had charm, for he never lacked
followers. In his later years he set up and developed an
estate near Stamford, New York, a more or less faithful
family man, taking a prominent part in community life,
even being a member of the school board, writing diligently
the while.

As for Mr. Monaghan's manner of presenting the biog-
raphy— It shows the study of an historian. Bit by bit Mr.
Monaghan documents the information he offers, much of
it from contemporary newspapers. The narrative is not

126 ANNALS OF WYOMING

easy to follow; even though the footnotes have been rele-
gated to the end of the biography, the location numbers
interfere with smooth reading. Ned Buntline skipped
around over the country so frequently and became involved
in so many unscrupulous dealings that one is confused.
The biographer follows his adventures chronologically ex-
cept for the first two chapters, which relate the Buffalo
Bill incidents. Because a great deal of background is given,
literary and political, this biography might almost be called
a social study. In fact one sees Ned Buntline as a social
manifestation rather than as a man. Other members of
Ned's family are hazy; one would wish to know more about
Ned's mother and sister and wives, and their influence
on him.

The most amusing parts of the biography — and it is an
entertaining one — are the long quotations from Ned's
books. They are almost as astonishing as the man himself.
The book jacket provides an apt description of the biog-
raphy: "The Great Rascal, the exploits of the amazing Ned
Buntline, king of the dime novelists, Buffalo Bill's promoter,
soldier, sportsman, western trader, roue, political manipu-
lator, adventurer extraordinary." One might repeat that
word "extraordinary."

ROSE MARY MALONE

Natrona County High School Library

Joe Meek, The Merry Mountain Man; A Biography. By

Stanley Vestal. (Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Print-
ers, 1952. xi + 336 pp. $5.00.)

Joe Meek would have been a conspicuous personality in
any environment, but as a trapper in the Rockies he was
in his natural element. He had physical courage in such
abundance that he went out of his way to fight grizzlies
and he may have done the same with the Blackfeet. Meek
had the stamina to travel for days with little or no food
and the dislike of prosaic toil that allowed him to sit
around for weeks doing nothing more than eating and
swapping yarns — an activity in which he had few peers.

After Joe Meek had settled in Oregon his aversion to
hard work attained such proportions that he would do
almost anything to get out of plowing a field. Fortunately,
Virginia, his Nez Perce wife, did not mind farm work, there-
by leaving Joe free to roam around the countryside, visit-

BOOK REVIEWS 127

ing with everyone, in his various capacities of tax collector,
bill collector, census taker, and marshal. The last office
came about as a result of Meek's epic journey overland in
the winter of 1847-48 to St. Louis, and then to Washington,
with the urgent petition to congress, and his account of the
tragedy at Wailatpui. Helen Mar, Meek's daughter, was
one of the victims in the Whitman Massacre, thus it is not
surprising that every time Joe told strangers of the event
he made a profound impression.

Stanley Vestal has touched only lightly on the main fea-
tures of the journey to, and the activities in Washington
of the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
from the Republic of Oregon to the court of the United
States, as Meek described himself with his usual modesty.
This was by far Meek's outstanding accomplishment and
it required the exercise of all his peculiar talents, not to
mention the use of far more good judgment than he has
generally been credited with possessing. This episode, par-
ticularly Meek's activities in Washington, deserves more
thorough research.

Since there were more Indian battles, and the mountains
were never more crowded with picturesque fur traders, than
during Meek's eleven years in the Rockies, it is not sur-
prising that Vestal concentrated on those exciting years.
However, Meek's part in the Provisional and Territorial
governments of Oregon was of such prominence that those
activities seem to warrant more than seven of the book's
thirty-five chapters. While this may seem a defect to those
concerned with the broad panorama of western history,
it increases the appeal of the book to those desirous solely
of attaining an understanding of Wyoming fur trapping
history in the 1830's. In fact, this is an excellent volume
to start such a study, as in picturesque language, it lays
out the major developments during those years.

Joe Meek spent a great deal of time in what is now the
state of Wyoming and in the process trapped beaver on
almost every important stream. It is difficult today to
comprehend that despite the ease with which one travels
by car, there are not too many residents of the state who
have seen as much of Wyoming streams as Meek and his
trapper friends had by 1840, when the price of beaver fell
so low as to make trapping unprofitable on the grand scale
it had been conducted during the previous fifteen years.

Walter Campbell, Professor of Journalism at the Univer-
sity of Oklahoma, writes under the pen name of Stanley
Vestal. He has long been interested in the Mountain Men

128 ANNALS OF WYOMING

and has written several volumes on them including books
on Kit Carson and Jim Bridger, contemporaries of Joe Meek.
This is one of Vestal's best books, as Meek's flamboyant
career and "hell for leather" philosophy of life are admira-
bly suited to the author's style of writing that rarely slows
down to a gallop.

BURTON HARRIS

Hackensack, New Jersey
Author: John Colter (1952)

general Judex

Volume 24

Adams, Heston D., gift of, 24:2:118.

Adkins, Kenneth, 24:1:21.

Air raids, apathy over, 24:1:11, 15, 17-18; insurance against, 11.

Air raid defense plan, 24:1:12.

Air raid wardens, 24:1:9, 17; training of, 10, 11; duties, 10-11.

Air raid warning communications system, 24:1:11-12.

Airplane Crash Service, 24:1:16.

Albee, Mr. F., 24:1:30, 49.

Albone, Rev. S. W., 24:2:99-100.

Algier, J. D., 24:1:5.

Allan, Harvey, 24:2:11.

Allan, Mrs. Harvey, 24:2:3.

Allen, Mrs. Ann E., 24:2:104.

Almy, Wyoming, 24:1:28.

American Legion, 24:1:10.

Anderson, Charley, 24:2:81.

Anderson, Esther L., 24:1:3, 4.

Anderson, G. M., 24:1:4.

Anderson, John A., 24:2:84.

Anderson, P. P., 24:2:108.

Angus, Sheriff, 24:2:33.

Antelope, Wyoming, 24:1:76, 84.

Antelope Springs, Wyoming, 24:1:35.

Anthony, R. S., 24:1:4.

Arnott, John P., 24:2:91.

Aspen, Wyoming, 24:1:31.

Averill, C. C, 24:1:4, 16.

Avery, Hubert C, 24:2:110.

Avery, Mrs. Mary, 24:2:106.

Back Trailing on Open Range by Luke D. Sweetman, reviewed by A.
S. Gillespie and Russell Thorp, 24:1:98-100.

Bald Mountain City, 24:2:82.

Baldwin, Mrs. G. I., gift of, 24:2:118.

Baptist Church, Basin, 24:2:86.

Barber, Dr. Amos W., 24:1:77-78, 84; 24:2:33, 35.

Barlow, Bill. See Merris C. Barrow; Sagebrush Philosopher and
Journalist.

Barrett, Gov. Frank A., 24:1:2.

Barrett, Hannah L., 24:2:94.

Barrett, Lewis A., 24:2:81, 91, 94.

Barrow, Clot, 24:2:9.

Barrow, Elizabeth, 24:1:63.

Barrow, Frank, 24:1:56, 59; 24:2:9.

Barrow, Helen Harding, 24:1:58, 59.

Barrow, Helen May, 24:2:6-7.

Barrow, Merris C, a photo, 24:1:52; 24:2:3; home of, a photo, 56.

Barrow, Merris C, 24:1:53-88; the journalist's heritage, 55-63; the
young journalist, 63-71; the new home: birth of the Budget, 71-
81; community and newspaper get under way, 81-88; 24:2:3-72;
family, friends and social life, 3-13; local leader and office holder,
14-27; a state figure, 27-37; dips his pen in acid, 38-47; Budget
comes of age, 47-54; the Sagebrush Philosopher, 54-72.

130 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Barrow, Merris C, Jr., 24:2:6.

Barrow, Minnie Combs (Mrs. M. C.) 24:1:63; 24:2:5.

Barrow, Robert Clark, 24:1:56-63; 24:2:7-8.

Barrow, Mrs. Robert Clark, 24:2:8.

Barrows, Henry, 24:1:22.

Basin Brick Co., 24:2:87.

Basin City Herald, 24:2:82.

Basin Light & Power Co., 24:2:99.

Basin Republican, 24:2:96.

Basin Water Co., 24:2:87.

Basin, Wyoming: established, 24:2:81; townsite approved, 82; water

supply, 83, 87; mail service, 84; events in 1898, 85; in 1899, 85-86;

in 1900, 86-87; in 1901, 87-88; incorporated, 89; in 1902, 88-90; in

1903, 90-94; first motion picture, 93; school house, 95; natural

gas, 99; sewers, 99.
Bear River, Wyoming, 24:1:25, 26.
Beck, G. T., gubernatorial candidate, 24:2:27.
Bell Telephone Co., in Douglas, 24:2:51; in Big Horn Basin, 91.
Bent, Levancia, 24:1:24-51.
Bent, Orythea Shaw, 24:1:38.
Bent, Silas Proctor, 24:1:26, 38.
Berry, Henryetta, gift of, 24:2:114.
Bettis, Arthur L., 24:1:4.
Bickell, Rev. J. C. 24:2:98.

Big Horn Basin history. See The Road of Yesteryear.
Big Horn Basin, early days: county seats, 24:2:77; transportation

facilities, 77, 87.
Big Horn County, creation of, 24:2:80; locating county seat, 81, 82,

83-84; first court house, 87.
Big Horn Canal, 24:2:88, 99.
Big Horn College, 24:2:95.
Big Horn County Bank, 24:2:85, 86, 95.
Big Horn County Rustler, 24:2:77, 83.
Big Horn Railroad, 24:2:97.
Big Horn River bridge at Basin, 24:2:97.
Bill Barlow's Budget, 24:1:71-88; photo of office building, 1886, 72;

2:24:14; make-up of, 47-49; rates, 50; equipment, 50-51. See

Merris C. Barrow: Sagebrush Philosopher and Journalist.
Bishop, John T., 24:2:110.
Bishop, L. C, 24:2:114; gift of, 119.
Bishop, Thomas K., 24:2:110.
Bitter Creek stage station, 24:1:36.
Black, George W., 24:2:89.
Black, Mrs. Susie, 24:2:94.
Blackburn, Frank, 24:1:21.
Blackout tests, 24:1:12-15, 17.
Blair, Judge Jacob B., 24:1:64, 65.

Blake , 24:2:33.

Blake, C. C, 24:2:90, 93.

Blaisdell and Mosley Saloon, 24:1:77.

Blakesley, Lou, 24:2:83.

Blewett, Mr , 24:1:43.

Blydenburgh, C. E., 24:2:37.
Bolln, George, 24:2:20.
Bollman, T. P., 24:2:108.
Bonanza, Wyoming, 24:2:80.
Booth, Willis J., 24:2:88.
Borner, Tobias J., 24:2:89.
Bowling, Rev. Edward, 24:2:102-104.

INDEX 131

Boyer, Lt. Col. Gerald, 24:1:5.

Brackenbury, Katherine, 24:1:23.

Brackenbury, Richard, The Days of the Open Range, a poem, 24:1:23;

biography, 23; gift of, 102.
Brann, William Cowper, 24:2:68.
Brees, Fred, 24:2:7.
Bretney, H. Clay, gift of, 24:1:102.
Brigham, Frank T., 24:2:85, 86.
Brigham, G. E. (Bert), 24:2:92.
Brimmer, George E., gift of, 24:2:113.
British civil defense, 24:1:6.
Brock, J. Elmer, gift of, 24:2:113.
Brooks, Gov. B. B., 24:2:25.
Brown, Dee, Trail Driving Days, reviewed by Agnes Wright Spring,

24:2:122-124.
Brown's Ranch, 24:1:34.
Brownville, Nebraska, 24:1:60.
Buchheit, Mrs. Philip, 24:1:25.
Budget Block, 24:2:51.
Buhler, Ernest, gift of, 24:1:101.
Bulline, Mrs. Tom, 24:2:17.
Burlington and Missouri Railroad, 24:2:86-87, 96.

Cain, Rev. J. D., 24:2:96.
Calamity Jane, 24:2:89.
Caldwell, Rev. W. E., 24:2:100.
Calkins, J. K., 24:2:29.

Campbell, , editor, 24:2:42.

Cambellite Church, 24:1:56.

Cannon, Tom, 24:2:86.

Cannon, W. C, 24:1:79-80.

Carey, Joseph M., 24:1:75; 24:2:23, 31, 116; gift of family of, 118.

Carnegie Library, Basin, 24:2:99.

Carnine, Harry, gift of, 24:2:118.

Carrol, John F., 24:2:37.

Carter, C. Dana, 24:2:82, 89.

Carter, Lester W., 24:2:82.

Carter, Wyoming, 24:1:31.

Casper, Anne, column in Tribune Herald, 24:1:9.

Casselman, C. V., gift of, 24:1:101.

Cattle drive, 1854, 24:1:26.

Cattle industry, Big Horn Basin, 24:2:76-77.

Central Wyoming News, 24:2:39, 43-44, 47.

Chamberlain, Dr. N. A., 24:2:78.

Chamberlin, A. D., 24:2:25, 26, 27.

Champion, (Nate), 24:2:33.

Chaplin, W. E., 24:1:54, 64, 65, 66; 24:2:13, 22, 29, 37, 38, 68, 70.

Chapman, Mrs. Mark A., gift of, 24:2:119.

Chatterton, Fenimore, 24:2:38.

Cheney, Ervin F., 24:2:117.

Cheyenne Daily Leader, 24:1:69.

Cheyenne Frontier Days Committee, loan to museum, 24:2:117.

Cheyenne, Wyoming, 24:1:41.

Chief High Eagle, 24:2:117.

Chinese in Wyoming, 24:1:28, 34.

Cholera, 24:1:37.

Christ Church, 24:1:62.

Christensen, Mrs. Mart, gift of, 24:2:119.

Church Buttes, 24:1:31-32.

132 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Churches, frontier, 24:1:61-62. See also The Road of Yesteryear.

Civil Air Patrol, 24:1:15-16.

Civilian Defense, 24:1:2-22; air raid shelters, 8-9; apathy, 9, 11;
Cheyenne, 11; evacuation plans, Sheridan, 9; first aid, 10; home
and health services, 3, 7, 18; impatience over, 8; in Nebraska, 17;
negative program, 18; protective services, 2, 3, 7, 17, 18; Wyo-
ming's rank in preparedness, 10; reduction of program, 18; war
services, 3, 7; West Coast preparations, 9.

Clark, Senator C. D., 24:2:26, 35.

Clark, Mrs. Charles W., 24:2:118.

Clark, John D., 24:1:3.

Clason, George S., gift of, 24:2:118.

Cody, Wyoming, 24:2:82.

Coe, gift of, 24:1:101; 24:2:117-118.

Collins, Winfield S., 24:2:80, 81, 82, 89; locating the Big Horn County
seat, 81.

Combs, E. B., 24:2:8.

Combs, Roy, 24:2:5, 8, 9.

Condie, Malcolm, 24:1:3, 4.

Constitutional Convention, 24:2:28-30.

Converse, A. R., 24:2:20.

Converse County, creation of, 24:2:21.

Converse County News, 24:2:39.

Converse County Press, 24:2:43, 47.

Converse, Mrs. N. Jesse, gift of estate, 24:1:101.

Cook, Josiah, 24:2:82, 87, 89.

Cook, T. S., 24:2:3.

Cope, E. B., 24:1:4.

Copper Mountain, 24:2:96.

Cottrell, Harvey, 24:1:3.

Coulthard, J. H. "Bud", 24:1:4.

County Defense Councils, 24:1:4, 5; financing of, 8.

Crawford, Mr , 24:1:30, 49.

Creath, Rev. Ulysses, 24:2:100-101.

Cromer, Judge Bryant S., 24:1:4.

Crow, I. R., 24:2:39, 41.

Curtis, Walter B., 24:2:84.

Daggett, Thomas F., 24:2:77, 83, 84.

Dances, early in Douglas, 24:1:87.

Darnells, Dick, 24:2:114.

Darnells, Ike, 24:2:114.

Darr, David L., 24:2:85, 86.

Davidson, Leslie, 24:2:88.

Davis, Annie Paynter Marshall, 24:2:116.

Davis, E. E., 24:1:4.

Davis, Frances A. (Mrs. Martin A. Tisdale), 24:2:116.

Davis, Francis Robins, 24:2:117.

Davis, Henry Winter (Hard Winter), 24:2:116.

Davis, Henry Winter. 24:2:117.

Davis, James, 24:1:3.

Davis, Mark Jay, 24:2:117.

Days of the Open Range, The, (poem), by Richard Brackenbury, 24:1:

23.
Defense appropriation, 24:1:3, 4.
Defense corps assignments, 24:1:8.
Democratic Leader, 24:1:68.
Denney, J. L., 24:2:77.
Denver, Colorado, 24:1:25, 41.

INDEX 133

Derrick, 24:2:45.
Deuel, E. Floyd, 24:1:4.
Dickson, Rev. Alvin R., 24:2:105.

Dilworth, , editor, 24:2:39.

Dobbins, Gertrude Wyoming, gift of, 24:1:101.

Doty, D. D., gift of, 24:1:101.

Douglas Advertiser, 24:2:39, 41, 43, 47.

Douglas Graphic, 24:2:39, 42, 43, 47.

Douglas in 1900, a photo, 24:2:2; lawns and trees in Douglas, a photo,

32.
Douglas Republican, 24:2:39, 41-42, 43, 47.
Douglas Wheel Club, 24:2:11.
Douglas Whist Club, 24:2:10-11.

Douglas, Wyoming, early history, 24:1:76-88; 24:2:14-27.
"Driftwood Jim" McCloud, 24:2:91.
Drummond, H. R., 24:2:70.
Dunning, Robert, 24:2:33-34.
Dyer House, 24:1:4.

Earle, Mary Bent, 24:1:27, 30, 36, 37, 40, 41, 45.
Earle, Willie, 24:1:27, 30, 32, 34, 36, 40, 45.
Education, early in Douglas, 24:1:87.
Elias, Claude, 24:1:5.
Elk Mountain, 24:1:38, 39.
Ellis, Josh, 24:2:83, 85.

Ellsworth, Ora, 24:1:26, 29, 30, 32, 34, 36, 42.
Emblem Bench, 24:2:88.
Emerson, Dr. Paul W., gift of, 24:2:119.

Emigrants on Overland Trail, 1882, 24:1:28, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 40,
44.

Enterline, , 24:2:89-90.

Eshelman, Rev. Edwin F., 24:2:110-111.
Esmay, Gen. R. L., 24:1:2, 3, 4, 13.
Evanston, Wyoming, 24:1:25, 26.
Everett, Rev. Ernest T., 24:2:88.

Fabian, Josephine C, gift of, 24:1:102.

Facinelli, Mrs. Catherina, 24:2:115.

Farming in Nebraska, 24:1:42, 43, 44, 45.

Fautin, Reed, review of The North American Buffalo by Franklin

Gilbert Roe, 24:1:93-95.
Fay, Bert, 24:2:7.
Fay, Elizabeth Barrow, 24:2:6-7.
Fenton, Rev. Charles E., 24:2:96.
Fenton, J. J., 24:2:92, 93.
Ferry on Big Horn River, 24:2:81.
Fetterman, Wyoming, 24:1:77, 78.
Fetterman Hospital Association, 24:1:78.
Finfrock, J. H., 24:1:64.
Flannery, Mrs. L. G., 24:2:114.
Fleanor, Jim, 24:2:114.
Forest fire fighters, 24:1:16.
Fort Fetterman, 24:1:23, 69, 70, 73-76.
Fort Halleck, 24:1:39, 40.
Fort D. A. Russell, 24:1:41.
Fort Sanders, 24:1:41.
Fox, Willard, gift of, 24:1:101, 24:2:118.
Franc, Otto, ranch of, 24:2:76.

134 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Frederick, Charles, 24:2:114.

Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad, 24:1:69, 70.

Friend, John C, 24:2:37.

Frisby, J. E., 24:2:91.

Fuller, E. O., gift of, 24:1:102.

Gallatin, Col. Goelet, 24:1:3.

Garland, Fred, 24:2:92.

Garland, Wyoming, established, 24:2:87.

Garrett, George, 24:1:66.

Garver, Carl, 24:2:19.

Gebhart, O. T. (Tom), 24:2:82.

Gebhart, Mrs. Sallie, 24:2:84.

Germania Bench, 24:2:88.

GettiiT My Soul Into Shape, poem, by M. B. Rhodes, 24:2:112.

Gibbs, Dorothy Bell, 24:2:117.

Gillam, Dr. C. L., 24:2:92.

Gillespie, A. S., review of Back Trailing on Open Range by Luke D.

Sweetman, 24:1:98-100.
Gillespie, Rev. John H., 24:2:98.
Glenrock Graphic, 24:2:42.
Goat Mountain, 24:1:39.
Goose Egg Ranch, 24:1:75.
Gough, Rev. Henry D., 24:2:98.
Gould, Nebraska, 24:1:46.
Gorman, Jim, 24:2:89, 91, 92.
Gorman, Maggie, 24:2:89, 92.
Gorman, Tom, murder of, 24:2:89.
Graham, Col. W. A., The Story of the Little Big Horn, reviewed by A.

M. Pence, 24:2:120-122.
Grand Island, Nebraska, 24:1:25.
Granger, Wyoming, 24:1:32.
Great Rascal, The, by Jay Monaghan, reviewed by Rose Mary Malone,

24:2:124-126.
Green River, Wyoming, 24:1:32, 33.
Green, Tom, 24:2:114.
Gregg, Rev. David A., 24:2:106-107.
Greybull, Wyoming, founded, 24:2:97.
Grove, Rev. Samuel A. C, 24:2:107.

Hale, Dorothy, gift of, 24:1:101.

Hale, Sheriff D. N., 24:2:89, 93.

Hale, Dr. R. W., 24:2:81.

Hall, Tom, 24:1:4.

Halstead, Sanford S., 24:2:91.

Hamilton, W. T., My Sixty Years on the Plains, reviewed by Frances
Seely Webb, 24:1:96-98.

Ham's Fork, 24:1:32.

Hanover Canal, 24:2:89.

Harding, Cynthia, 24:1:57.

Harrington, Mrs. J. M., gift of, 24:2:119.

Harris, Burton, review of Joe Meek, the Merry Mountain Man; a Bi-
ography by Stanley Vestal, 24:2:126-128.

Harrison, President, 24:2:27.

Harrison, William H., 24:1:4.

Hay, native, 24:1:40.

Hayden, Dudley, 24:1:5.

Hayford, Dr. J. H., 24:2:37.

INDEX 135

Hays, M. L., 24:1:14.

Head, Bob, 24:1:66.

Heilman, George A., 24:1:4.

Henderson, Robert L., Jr., 24:2:110.

Herrington, Benjamin F., 24: 1: 29.

Herrington, George Squires, Ed., Levancia Bent's Diary of a Sheep
Drive, Evanston, Wyoming, to Kearney, Nebraska, 1882, 24:1:24-
51; biography, 24.

Herrington, George Squires, Sr., 24:1:29.

Hieb, David L., 24:2:114.

Hilliard, Wyoming, 24:1:29, 30.

Hinckley, Mary Bradford, 24:2:117.

Hirst, Byron, 24:1:11, 14.

Historical Department, move to new quarters, 24:2:113.

Hitchcock, , Secretary of Interior, 24:2:24, 26.

Hofmann, Rudolph, 24:1:4.

Holliday, W. A., 24:1:64.

Homesteaders, 24:1:75.

Homsher, Lola M., gift of, 24:2:114.

Homsley, Mary E., memorial services for, 24:2:114.

Honig, Louis O., gift of, 24:1:102.

Hoover, Mrs. Agnes L., murder of, 24:2:87-88, 89.

Hoover, Maude, 24:2:92.

Hoover, Sam, 24:1:3, 4.

Horr, Charles W., 24:2:3.

Horse thieves, 24:1:49.

Houser, George O., 24:1:3, 4, 12, 13.

Hubbard, Elbert, 24:2:68-69.

Hudson, Ruth, review of Wyomingana: Two Bibliographies by Rose
Mary Malone, 24:1:89-91; 24:2:13.

Hughes, Charles J., 24:1:3, 4.

Hughes, Rev. E. P., 24:2:88, 89, 90, 91, 93, 94-95.

Humphrey, Charles, gift of, 24:2:118.

Hunt, Gov. L. C, 24:1:5, 6, 9, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.

Hunter, Mrs. Gertrude (Pennell, Quiner), 24:2:84.

Hunter, Louis C, Steamboats on the Western Rivers, reviewed by Al-
ton B. Oviatt, 24:1:91-93.

Hunton, Mrs. E. Deane, gift of, 24:1:101.

Hurwitz, Reva, 24:1:15.

Hutchison, Mrs. Maude, 24:2:7.

Iconoclast, 24:2:68-69.

I.O.O.F., Basin, 24:2:90.

Indians Battlefields, 24:1:38, 39, 43; free train passes, 30-31; outbreak

in Nebraska, 42, 44; in southeastern Wyoming, 1882, 30, 31.
Interocean Hotel, 24:1:41.
Irish in Wyoming, 24:1:28.
Irvine, W. C, 24:2:26, 29, 30.

Japanese paper balloons, 24:1:20-22.

Jeffrey, Dr. C. W., 24:1:3, 4.

Jenkins, Perry, gift of, 24:1:102.

Jesurun, Dr., 24:2:9-10.

Joe Meek, The Merry Mountain Man, a Bioarraphy, by Stanley Vestal,

reviewed by Burton Harris, 24:2:126-128.
Johnson County War, 24:2:31, 33-34, 77, 116.
Johnson, George, 24:1:4.
Johnson, Lucilla, 24:2:94.

136 AXXALS OF WYOMING

Johnson. William F.. 24:2:81-82. 94. 105.
Jones. Rev. John ML, 24:2:93.
Jones. Monte. 24:1:4.
Jones. Rev. Ralph M., 24:2:101-102.
Jones. William. 24:2:116.

Judkins. Charles F.. first Basin postmaster. 24:2:84.
Julesburg, Colorado. 24:1:43.

Journalism, early in Wyoming. See Merris C. Barrow. Sagebrush
Philosopher and Journalist.

Kearnev. Nebraska. 24:1:25.

Keegan. J. Clvde. 24:2:109.

Keller. Harrv. 24:1:3, 4.

Keith. Dr. M. C. 24:1:3.

Keiser. Mr. and Mrs. Henry W., 24:2:110.

Kemmis. Billy. 24:1:66.

Kenniston postal clerk, 24:1:64.

Kemvorthv. Bob. gift of. 24:1:101.
Kershner. C. B.. 24:2:92.

Kienzle. Mrs. Winifred S.. gift of. 24:2:114.
Kimball. E. H.. 24:1:77: 24:2:39. 40. 41. 42. 45-46.
Kimball. W. S.. 24:2:115.
King, C. H.. 24:1:76. 86.
King, J. B.. 24:2:91.
Kingsford. More, 24:1:66.
Kinnear. Mrs. Isabella. 24:2:116.
Kinsley. H. Glen. 24:1:3. 4.
Kirbv. Wvoming, 24:2:97.
Klein. Harry. 24:1:4.

Kuhlman. Charles, Legend into Historv, reviewed bv A. M. Pence.
24:2:120-122.

Lacev. Judge, 24:2:20.

Laird. Leroy. 24:1:3, 4.

Land problems. 24:2:23.

Laramie Boomerang, 24:1:65-67.

Laramie Daily Times, 24:1:64. 65.

Laramie Plains, 24:1:40.

Laramie. Wyoming. 24:1:34. 40. 41.

Larsen. Mangus, 24:2:114.

Larson. John. 24:2:81.

Larson. T. A.. Wyoming's Civilian Defense in World War II, 24:1:2-

22: biography. 2.
LeClaire. Edmo. 24:2:91.

Lee. Mr 24:1:43.

Legend Into Historv bv Charles Kuhlman, reviewed bv A. M. Pence.

24:2:120-122.
Legislature of 1895. 24:2:35: of 1897. 36.
Lewis. William. 24:2:81.
Levancia Bent's Diary of a Sheep Drive, Evanston, Wyoming, to

Kearnev, Nebraska, 1882, edited bv George Squires Herrington,

24:1:24-51.
Limes, Rev. John L., 24:2:84-85.
Linford, Ernest, 24:1-21.
Linford, Velma, 24:1:54.
Linnabary, Mrs. Nora, 24:2:94.
Liscoe's ranch, 24:1:37.
Little Laramie community, 24:1:40.

INDEX 137

London, Nebraska, 24:1:60.
Lovell, Henry C, ranch of, 24:2:76.
Ludin, J. F., 24:2:37.
Lusk, F. S., 24:1:79.
Lusk Herald, 24:2:44-45.

Mackenzie, C. F., 24:2:82.

MacLeod, R. E., 24:1:3, 4.

Magill, Joseph A., 24:2:82.

Maier, Otto, 24:2:82.

Malone, Rose Mary, Wyomingana: Two Bibliographies reviewed bv

Ruth Hudson, 24:1:89-91; review of The Great Rascal by Jav

Monaghan, 24:2:124-126.
Manderson, Wyoming, 24:2:97.
Marble, Fred, gift of, 24:2:113.
Maret, M. Glen, 24:1:4.
Marshall, Lt. Col. Jesse E., 24:1:21.
Martin, Rev. Fred W., 24:2:108-109.
Mason, C. W., 24:2:81, 94.

Masonic Lodge of Basin, 24:2:89, 103; of Douglas, 11.
Maverick Bank of Douglas, 24:1:81.
Maxwell, Nebraska, 24:1:45.

Mayes, , editor, 24:2:45.

McCloud, Jim, 24:2:91.

McCraken, Tracy S., 24:1:9.

McCray, George H., 24:2:86.

McCreery, Mrs. Alice Richards, gift of, 24:1:101.

McFarland, W. F., 24:2:18.

Mcintosh, Mildred, 24:2:114.

McKay, H. A., 24:1:4.

McKeehan, Rev. James B., 24:2:93-94.

McMahan, Mrs. Virginia, 24:2:94, 95.

McWethy, Lee A., 24:1:4.

Mead, Bishop Charles L., 24:2:104.

Mead, George S., 24:2:92.

Mecklem, George N., 24:2:82.

Mecum, Rev. E. W., 24:2:95.

Medicine Bow River, 24:1:23.

Medicine Bow, Wyoming, 24:1:40.

Meeteetse News, 24:2:9, 95.

Merris C. Barrow: Sagebrush Philosopher and Journalist bv Margaret

L. Prine, 24:1:53-88; 24:2:3-72.
Mesa Mayo Range, Colorado, 24:1:23.
Methodist Church history. See The Road of Yesteryear.
Methodist Church, Basin, Dedicated July 15, 1906, a photo, 24:2:73.
Methodist Church of Basin, location, 24:2:90; erection of first, 91.

95; parsonage, 91; sold, 103; subscriptions for new church, 102.

103; dedication of, 97, 104; debt, 104, 106-107, 108; gifts to, 109-

111; remodeling of, 110; Presbyterians unite with, 105.
Methodist Church of Cody, 24:2:89; of Otto, 78-79; of Worland, 98.
Methodist field in Wyoming, jurisdiction of Colorado Conference,

24:2:78; Wyoming State Conference, 78.
Methvin, Rev. William T., 24:2:105.
Metz, Cornelia (Mrs. Percy W.), 24:2:110, 113.
Minor, Philip, 24:2:95.
Moffett, L. L., 24:2:88.
Mokler, A. J., 24:2, 3, 38.
Monaghan, Jay, The Great Rascal, reviewed by Rose Mary Malone.

24:2:124-126.

138 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Mondell, Frank, 24:2:26.
Montabe, Marie, gift of, 24:1:102.
Moonlight, Governor, 24:2:20.
Morgan, Nicholas G., gift of, 24:1:102.
Morgan, O. C., 24:2:87.

Mormon migration into Big Horn Basin, 24:2:87.
Morrison, W. W., 24:2:114; gift of, 118, 119.
Mort, Tom, 24:2:114.
Mosley and Blaisdell Saloon, 24:1:77.
Moudy, Mrs. Mable, 24:2:117.
Mountain fever, 24:1:28, 84.
Moyer, Kem, 24:1:21.
Mulhern, Jimmie, 24:1:66.
Murphy, Madelene Marshall, 24:2:117.

My Sixty Years on the Plains by W. T. Hamilton, reviewed by Frances
Seely Webb, 24:1:96-98.

National Guard, 24:1:3; in Basin, 24:2:90.

Natrona Tribune, 24:2:9.

Nelson, Alice Downey, gift of, 24:1:102.

Nelson, Dr. Aven, 24:2:115.

Newspapers. See Merris C. Barrow; Sagebrush Philosopher and

Journalist.
Nicholsville, Wyoming, 24:1:79.
Nicklos, C. F., gift of, 24:2:114.
Nicklos, Mrs. C. F., 24:2:110.
North American Buffalo, The, by Franklin Gilbert Roe, reviewed by

Reed W. Fautin, 24:1:93-95.
North Platte City, Nebraska, 24:1:45.

Northern Pacific Railroad, Rock Creek Branch, 24:2:85.
Northwestern Railroad, 24:2:96.
Nye, Bill (Edgar Wilson), 24:1:65, 66; 24:2:37.

Office of Civilian Defense, 24:1:2, 6, 10, 17, 18, 20.
Olinger, Ralph, 24:1:5.
Olivereau family, 24:1:86.

Oil discovery at Bonanza, 24:2:80; near Basin, 95, 96.
O'Marr, Louis J., 24:1:4.
Osborne, Gov. John E., 24:2:34, 77.
Otto Courier, 24:2:83.
Overton, Nebraska, 24:1:46.

Oviatt, Alton B., review of Steamboats on the Western Rivers by
Louis C. Hunter, 24:1:91-93.

Patten, James I., 24:2:82.

Patterson, A. Verne, 24:1:4.

Payne, Henry (Dad), 24:2:86.

Peabody, A. S., 24:1:65.

Pearl Harbor, 24:1:5, 6, 15.

Pearson, Fred N., 24:2:97.

Pease, Al, 24:2:82, 86, 95.

Pease, L. D., 24:1:64; 24:2:20.

Pence, A. M., review of The Story of the Little Big Horn by Col. W.

A. Graham and Legend Into Historv by Charles Kuhlman, 24:2:

120-122.
Pence, Mr. and Mrs. A. M., 24:2:114; gift of, 114.
Penman, W. B., 24:1:4.

INDEX 139

Peters, C. C, 24:2:109.

Peterson, Eli, 24:2:3, 12.

Peyton, Mrs. Pauline, gift of, 24:1:101.

Philistine, 24:2:68-69.

Phillips, Arthur, 24:2:44.

Phillips and Son, 24:2:96.

Piedmont, Wyoming, 24:1:31.

Piety Hill, 24:1:79.

Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, 24:1:42.

Pioneer Townsite Co., 24:1:76.

Platte River, 24:1:43.

Plum Creek, Nebraska, 24:1:46.

Poage, Mr , 24:1:30, 36, 37, 38, 49.

Pollard, Harry, 24:1:86.

Pollard, Mrs. Harry, 24:1:87.

Potter, Justice C. N., 24:2:92.

Potter, R. F. Jr., land office clerk, 24:2:25-26.

Poverty Flat, 24:1:79.

Powell, Jim, 24:2:51-52.

Prescott, Daniel, 24:1:85.

Price, C. Earl, 24:2:92.

Priest, Polly, 24:1:25.

Prine, Margaret L., Merris C. Barrow: Sagebrush Philosopher and

Journalist, 24:1:53-88, 24:2:3-72; biography, 24:1:53.
Pryde, George B., gift of, 24:2:114.

Radcliffe, Mattie, 24:2:99.

Railroads: excursion tickets, Cheyenne to Denver, 24:1:41.

Rattlesnakes, 24:1:42, 43.

Rawlins, Wyoming, 24:1:37.

Ray, (Nick), 24:2:33.

Reckling, Dr. Walter E., 24:1:4, 9.

Reese, Henry, 24:2:44.

Reno, T. Lee, 24:1:4.

Repath, "Dick", 24:2:35.

Rhodes, M. B., The Road of Yesteryear, 24:2:73-112; The Street

Called Aldersgate, a poem, 73; Gettin' My Soul Into Shape, a

poem, 112; biography, 73; 89; gift of, 119.
Rhodes, Mrs. M. B., gift of, 24:2:119.
Ribbon Canyon, 24:2:83.
Rice, A., 24:1:86; 24:2:5, 10, 11, 12, 62.
Rice, Clarke P., 24:2:114.
Rice, Cora, 24:1:86.

Richards, DeForest, 24:2:29, 39, 42, 43.
Richards, Homer, 24:1:5.
Richards, W. A., U.S. Land Commissioner, 24:2:24-25, 26.

Richardson, , 24:2:82.

Richardson, Mrs. J. William, gift of, 24:2:118.

Richardson, Warren, 24:1:3, 4; gift of, 102.

Richardson, Warren family, gift of, 24:2:118.

Riddick, Rev. T. Stacy, 24:2:75, 109-110.

Ridgely, Hilliard S., 24:2:91.

Rinehart, Dan H., 24:2:84.

Riner, John A., 24:2:20.

Roach, H. N., gift of, 24:2:114.

Road of Yesteryear, The, by M. B. Rhodes, 24:2:73-112.

Roberts, C. D., 24:1:4.

Robertson, C. F., 24:2:89.

140 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Robertson, Oscar, 24:2:83.

Rock River trail, 24:1:81.

Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Co., 24:2:17.

Rodenbush, William, gift of, 24:2:119.

Rogers, Barnett G., 24:2:81.

Rogers, Edmund B., 24:1:5.

Rogers, Mrs. Nina, 24:2:94.

Roe, Franklin Gilbert, The North American Buffalo reviewed by Reed

Fautin, 24:1:93-95.
Rollins, H. M.. 24:1:17.
Rose, Rev., 24:2:108.
Roseboom, Jesse, gift of, 24:1:101.
Roundup in Big Horn Basin, 1883; 24:2:77.
Rowdy West, 24:1:77, 84; 24:2:39-41, 43, 47.
'Roys, Miss Alby E., gift of, 24:2:118.
Rue, Frank I., 24:2:88, 89.
Rugg, Arthur, 24:1:4.
Rupp, A. G., 24:2:92.

Sabotage, defense against, 24:1:7.

Sagebrush Philosophy, 24:2:54-71; first issue, 55; contents, 57-58,

62-71; promotion of, 58-62; compared to Iconoclast and Philistine,

68-69; discontinued, 71.
Salt Lake City, Utah, 24:1:25.

Sandercock, , 24:2:114.

Sargent, Mrs. Helen, gift of, 24:2:118.

Schmitt, Martin, Trail Driving Days, reviewed by Agnes Wright

Spring, 24:2:122-124.
Searight Bros., ranch, 24:1:75.
Seventh Air Warning Center, 24:1:12.
Shaw, Ernest F., 24:1:3, 8, 10.
Shawnee siding, 24:1:85.
Shepherd, Rev. Homer E., 24:2:99.
Sheep, dipping of, 24:1:29, 30; trailing in 1882, 24-51; fording river,

33, 38.
Sheridan Post, 24:2:9.
Shingle, Dr. J. D., gift of, 24:1:101.
Shoshone Buffalo Dance painting, 24:2:117.
Sidney, Nebraska, 24:1:42.
Simpson, Milward, 24:1:4, 17.
Slack, E. A., 24:2:37.
Smith, Mr., geologist, 24:1:33.
Smith, C. C, 24:2:91.
Smith, George, 24:2:25.

Smith, Gov. Nels H., 24:1:3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 16.
Smith, William L., 24:2:84.
Snyder, Abraham L., 24:2:82.
Sorg, Mike, gift of, 24:2:119.
Spectacle Ranch, 24:2:116.
Spencer, Harvey J., 24:2:104.
Spring, Agnes Wright, 24:2:116, review of Trail Driving Days by Dee

Brown and Martin Schmitt, 122-124.
Squires, Asher, 24:1:25.

Squires, Emeline Bent, 24:1:26, 27, 28. 32, 33, 35, 37, 45, 47.
Squires, George Jackson, 24:1:24-51.
Squires, Grace, 24:1:27, 29, 30, 35, 39, 45, 49-50.
Squires, John, 24:1:26, 30, 32, 36, 38, 41, 44, 45, 50, 51.
Staley, William, 24:2:89.
Stanfield, Don, gift of, 24:2:118.

INDEX 141

State Defense Council, 24:1:3, 4, 6, 7, 17, 18-19, 20; report of 1942,
9-10; report of 1943, 12; report of 1944, 16, 18; ten point pro-
gram, 7.

State Department of Education, 24:1:17.

State Guard, 24:1:3, 4, 5, 6.

Statehood celebration in Douglas, 24:2:30-31.

Steffen, Ben, 24:2:3.

Steffen, J. J., 24:2:20.

St. Clair, Lynn, gift of, 24:1:102.

Steamboats on the Western Rivers by Louis C. Hunter, reviewed
by Alton B. Oviatt, 24:1:91-93.

Stimson, Joseph E., gift of, 24:1:101; biography of, 24:2:115; col-
lection of negatives, 113-114.

Stinking Water River, 24:2:81; changed to Shoshone, 87.

Stitzer, Frank A., 24:2:38.

Stock raising, costs of, 1882, 24:1:25.

Storey, E. T., 24:1:4.

Storey, George, 24:1:10.

Story of the Little Big Horn, The, by Col. W. A. Graham, reviewed
by A. M. Pence, 24:2:120-122.

Stotts, Judge, J. L., 24:2:89-90.

Street Called Aldersgate, poem, by M. B. Rhodes, 24:2:73.

Strong, Mrs. Madge E., gift of, 24:1:101.

Sweetman, Luke D., Baek Trailing on Open Range, reviewed by A. S.
Gillespie and Russell Thorp, 24:1:98-100.

Tarbill, Dr. E. E., 24:2:94.

Tate, Sam, 24:1:14.

Taylor, Robert, 24:1:36, 37, 38.

Tecumseh, Nebraska, 24:1:62.

Tecumseh Chieftain, 24:1:63.

Telephone line in Big Horn Basin, 24:2:88, 91.

Thermopolis, Wyoming, 24:2:82.

Thompson, J. C, Cheyenne attorney, 24:2:28.

Thompson, John Charles, 24:2:115.

Thompson, Rev. Lewis C, 24:2:73, 78-79, 103.

Thomson, E. Keith, gift of, 24:2:114.

Thorp, Russell, review of Back Trailing on Open Range by Luke D.

Sweetman, 24:1:98-100; gift of, 102.
Tillard Canal, 24:2:81.
Tillard, Emma (Curtis), 24:2:84.
Tillard, John M., 24:2:81, 85.
Tisdale, Martin Allison, 24:2:116.
Tisdale, Mrs. Martin A., 24:2:116-117.
Tisdale, Robins Davis, 24:2:117.
Tisdale, Thomas Martin, 24:2:117.
Toland, Rev. H. A., 24:2:98.
Torchlight Field, 24:2:95.
Trail Driving Days by Dee Brown and Martin Schmitt, reviewed by

Agnes Wright Spring, 24:2:122-124.
Turpin, John, 24:1:28, 29.
Typhoid fever, 24:1:84-85.

Van Camp, Ira L., 24:2:89.

Vance, A. J., 24:2:18.

Vandevanter, Justice Willis M., 24:2:84.

Van Orsdel, Attorney-General, 24:2:20.

Veeder, J. S., 24:1:16.

142 ANNALS OF WYOMING

Vestal, Stanley, Joe Meek, The Merry Mountain Man; a Biography,

reviewed by Burton Harris, 24:2:126-128.
Vine, James, 24:1:64.
Volunteer defense workers, registration of, 24:1:7-8.

Wadsworth, Inspector, 24:2:25.

Wadsworth, Mrs. Frank, gift of, 24:1:102.

Wakeman, E. E., 24:1:5.

Walker, Dr. M. B., 24:1:4.

Walker, W. D., 24:1:16.

Walters, Joseph P., murder by, 24:2:88, 89, 92.

Ware, Rev. C. Bennett, 24:2:107.

Warren, Francis E., 24:2:26, 27-28, 33, 35.

Washakie, Charles, 24:2:117.

Washakie, Ellen Hereford, 24:2:117.

Wattles, , 24:1:76.

Watts, Wilber J., 24:1:5.

Webb, Frances Seely, review of My Sixty Years on the Plains by W.

T. Hamilton, 24:1:96-98.
Webster, Rev. Rufus D., 24:2:107-108.
Wells, Ed., 24:2:25, 26.
Wentworth, Edward N., 24:1:24, 36.
Weppner, Joe, 24:2:114.
Werntz, Dr. Ed S., 24:1:4.
West, Raymond B., 24:2:99.
Whitaker, Mrs. John, 24:2:116.
White, Rev. Edward, 24:2:109.
Wickwire, B. F., 24:2:98.
Wiker, W. K., 24:2:3, 7.
Wiley Ditch, 24:2:88.
Wiley, Solon L., 24:2:88.
Wilhelm, D. C, 24:2:115.
Wilkerson, W. F., 24:1:4.
Williams, Rev. James L., 24:2:105.
Williams, Johnny, 24:2:26.

Wilson, Dr , 24:1:85; 24:2:42.

Winter of 1886-1887, 24:1:85-87; 24:2:77.

Wise, G. W., 24:1:4.

Women's Society of Christian Service, 24:2:110.

Wood, Frank S., 24:2:81.

Woodard, Rev. George, 24:2:114.

Wool production center, 24:1:24.

Worland, C. H. (Dad), 24:2:77.

Worland, Wyoming, 24:2:97.

World War II, 24:1:2.

Wunderlich, Rev. August C, 24:2:88.

Wurgler, Rev. Nelson A., 24:2:106.

Wyoming Central Railroad Co., 24:1:70, 78, 85, 87.

Wyoming Civilian Defense in World War II by T. A. Larson, 24:1:2-22.

Wyoming Gas Co., 24:2:99.

Wyoming Press Association, 24:2:37.

Wyoming Tribune, 24:1:67-68

Wyoming: Two Bibliographies by Rose Mary Malone, reviewed by

Ruth Hudson, 24:1:89-91.
Wyoming Zephyrs by the Editor, 24:2:113-119.

Yellowstone National Park, 24:1:68.
Yoder, Dr. Franklin, gift of, 24:2:119.

INDEX 143

Young, Brigham, family carriage, 24:1:25, 40, 50.

Zada, Wyoming, 24:2:97.

Zane, , 24:2:82.

Zaring, C. A., 24:2:89, 91.
Zoble, Edwin J., 24:1:3, 4.

WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

The Wyoming State Historical Department has as its function the
collection and preservation of the record of the people of Wyoming.
It maintains a historical library, a museum and the state archives.

The aid of the citizens of Wyoming is solicited in the carrying out
of its function. The Department is anxious to secure and preserve
records and materials now in private hands where they cannot be
long preserved. Such records and materials include:

Biographical materials of pioneers: diaries, letters, account books,
autobiographical accounts.

Business records of industries of the State: livestock, mining,
agriculture, railroads, manufacturers, merchants, small business
establishments, and of professional men as bankers, lawyers, phy-
sicians, dentists, ministers, and educators.

Private records of individual citizens, such as correspondence,
manuscript materials and scrapbooks.

Records of organizations active in the religious, educational, social,
economic and political life of the State, including their publications
such as yearbooks and reports.

Manuscript and printed articles on towns, counties, and any sig-
nificant topic dealing with the history of the State.

Early newspapers, maps, pictures, pamphlets, and books on west-
ern subjects.

Current publications by individuals or organizations throughout
the State.

Museum materials with historical significance: early equipment,
Indian artifacts, relics dealing with the activities of persons in Wyo-
ming and with special events in the State's history.

v$

Date Due

APR

1984

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