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Spring 1974
WYOMING STATE LIBRARY, ARCHIVES AND
HISTORICAL BOARD
Judicial
District
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Member at Large
Ex-Officio
Donald N. Sherard
Wheatland
Mrs. William Swanson
Rawlins
Mrs. Frank Emerson
Evanston
Mrs. George W. Knepper
Buffalo
Richard I. Frost, Chairman
Cody
Willis Hughes
Moorcroft
William T. Nightingale
Lander
Kenneth E. Dowlin
Casper
Attorney General C. A. (Bud) Brimmer
Cheyenne
WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL
DEPARTMENT
STAFF
William H. Williams Director
Robert L. Strickland Director, State Museums
Mrs. Katherine Halverson Chief, Historical Research
and Publications Division
Mrs. Julia Yelvington..... Chief, Archives and Records Division
ANNALS OF WYOMING
The Annals of Wyoming is published biannually in the spring and fall
and is received by all members of the Wyoming State Historical Society.
Copies of previous and current issues also are available for sale to the public
and a price list may be obtained by writing to the Editor.
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tributors.
Annals of Wyoming articles are abstracted in
Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life
Copyright 1974, by the Wyoming State Archives and
Historical Department
A^mls of Wyoming
Volume 46
Spring, 1974
Number 1
Katherine Halverson
Editor
John W. Cornelison
Associate Editor
Published bianniially by the
WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL
DEPARTMENT
Official Publication of the Wyoming State Historical Society
WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OFFICERS 1973-1974
President, Richard S. Dumbrill Newcastle
First Vice President, Henry Jensen Lysite
Second Vice President. Jay Brazelton Jackson
Secretm-y-Treasiirer, Miss Jane Houston Cheyenne
Executive Secretary, William H. Williams Cheyenne
Past Presidents
Frank L. Bowron, Casper 1953-1955
William L. Marion, Lander 1955-1956
Dr. DeWitt Dominick, Cody 1956-1957
Dr. T. a. Larson, Laramie 1957-1958
A. H. MacDougall, Rawlins 1958-1959
Mrs. Thelma G. Condit, Buffalo 1959-1960
E. A. Littleton, Gillette 1960-1961
Edness Kimball Wilkins, Casper 1961-1962
Charles Ritter, Cheyenne 1962-1963
Neal E. Miller, Rawlins 1963-1965
Mrs. Charles Hord, Casper 1965-1966
Glenn Sweem, Sheridan 1966-1967
Adrian Reynolds, Green River 1967-1968
Curtiss Root. Torrington 1968-1969
Mrs. Hattie Burnstad, Worland 1969-1970
J. Reuel Armstrong, Rawlins 1970-1971
William R. Dubois, Cheyenne 1971-1972
Henry F. Chadey, Rock Springs 1972-1973
The Wyoming State Historical Society was organized in October, 1953.
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Zable of Contents
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS
By Virginia Cole Trenholm 5
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN TO CALIFORNIA
FROM MISSOURI IN 1850
Edited by Homer Franklin, Sr. and Homer Franklin, Jr 47
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING
By Richard F. Fleck and Robert A. Campbell 75
LIFE IN NATRONA COUNTY, 1899-1900. RECOLLECTIONS
OF MYRTLE CHALFANT GREGG
Compiled and Edited by Jean Lassila 113
THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE
BLACKFEET INDIANS AND THE MEN OF THE FUR TRADE
By Peter W. Dunwiddie 123
WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Minutes of the Twentieth Annual Meeting 135
BOOK REVIEWS
Spence and Jackson, The Expeditions of John Charles Fremont.
Volume II. The Bear Flag Revolt and the Coiirt-Martial 147
Hafen, The Joyous Journey of LeRoy R. and Ann W . Hafen.
An Autobiography 148
Wasden, From Beaver to Oil 150
Moore, Bent's Old Fort. An Archeological Study 151
Lanham, The Bone Hunters 152
Steffen, United States Military Saddles, 1812-1943 154
Reid, Letters of Long Ago 155
Tanner, A Mormon Mother. An Autobiography 155
Smith, Horace Tabor: His Life and the Legend 157
YerveW, Silver San Juan. The Rio Grande Southern 158
CONTRIBUTORS 160
INDEX 162
ILLUSTRATIONS
Letter to Amanda Mary Fletcher from General Custer Cover
"The Oaks" 8
Amanda Mary Cook Shortly After Her Marriage 26
Amanda Mary Cook in Later Years 27
John and Lizzie Broken Horn 42
John and Myrtle Gregg's Wedding Picture 116
Reproduced on the cover are portions of the first and third pages
of the letter written to Amanda Mary Fletcher by General George
A. Custer, referred to on page 19. The original letter is part of the
private collection of G. M. Brady, Memphis, Tennessee, and is
used here with his permission. The full text of the letter is:
"Fort Riley, Kansas
Jan. 27th, 1867
"Miss Amanda Fletcher
"Yours of the 4th inst. came duly to hand. Your sister of whom
you make inquiries, is not at this Post nor has she been here.
There are two persons here however who saw her within the past
two months in the hands of the Cheyenne Indians. The Indian
who claims her is a chief called Cutnose. One of the persons who
saw her is Lieut Hale of the 7th U. S. Cavalry the other is a guide
and rancheman named Comstock who lives near Camp Collins on
the Utah road. At the time your sister was seen the party of
Indians having her in charge were about two hundred and fifty
miles west of this point on the Smoky Hill route to Denver City,
near Big Creek a short distance this side of Fort Wallace. This
party of Indians has moved northward since, but I suppose could
still be found if desirable. The guide Comstock to whom I refer
was in the fight in which your sister was taken prisoner near Fort
Halleck. He saw your father after the fight was over and states
that your father was slightly wounded in one of his arms. He has
had a great deal of experience with Indians and is of the opinion
that the only and surest way to obtain the release of your sister is to
ransom her which would be probably by giving for her one or two
horses. I would be glad to assist you in any way in my power.
"Please communicate with me. Your sister was in good health
and was kindly cared for by the Indians being considered a great
favorite by them.
"Very truly yours
G. A. Custer
Bt. Major General USA
Comdg at Fort Riley"
Amanda Mary
and the T)og Soldiers
By
Virginia Cole Trenholm
The documents and historical papers which Mrs. Trenholm used in writ-
ing this story were acquired in November, 1973, by the Historical Research
and Publications Division of the Wyoming State Archives and Historical
Department, from Mrs. Farr. The material is now among the historical
collections of the Division. Editor.
It was August 5, 1972 — 107 years and 5 days after the Dog
Soldiers attacked the Fletcher family at the Rock Creek Crossing
of the old Overland Stage Route, now known as Arlington, Wyo-
ming.^ Mary Elizabeth Farr and her husband, Judge Merrill R.
Farr, had come from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to piece together the
fragments of the story her grandmother, Amanda Mary Fletcher
Cook, had told her. They also hoped to find out what became of
her great aunt, Lizzie Fletcher, who is known in the history of the
West as "the white Indian Girl."
Mrs. Farr had been unaware that a picture was extant of Lizzie
until she discovered it recently in a book on the Arapaho Indians. -
She began writing to the author, who invited her to Wyoming to
visit the area where the attack took place and the Wind River
Indian Reservation where she could meet some of the Arapaho
elders who knew her great-aunt and her Indian husband, John
Brokenhom.
1. The location of the Overland Trail (Overland Stage Route) Crossing
is 300 feet west of the southwest corner of the northeast quarter of Section
30 Township 19 North Range 78 West of the 6th Prime Meridian, according
to information supplied by Peter Goodall, County Surveyor, Carbon Coun-
ty, Rawlins, Wyoming, July 27, 1972. A marker is located in front of the
old Arlington summer resort, now called "Wildwood Resort." The site is
where General John Charles Fremont conducted his survey in 1843 and
where the Overland Trail and the Cherokee Trail crossed Rock Creek. The
Overland Trail originally followed the Oregon Trail, but it was abandoned
in 1862, though the telegraph line was built only the year before. It then
followed the Cherokee Trail, so called because a band of Cherokee Indians
went this route to California during the gold rush. The second Overland
Trail, which avoided the Sioux along the North Platte, was also known as
the Overland Stage Route.
2. Virginia Cole Trenholm, The Arapahoes. Our People. (Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1970), following p. 206.
6 ANNALS OF WYOMING
She brought with her a "treasure chest," a metal box containing
a legacy of letters and valuable historical documents. These,
covering a period of more than 60 years, reveal the life story of
Amanda Mary — or Amanda as she was sometimes called — and the
events following the tragedy that beset her and her family that
ill-fated day in 1865. Her collection forms the basis for this story.
One question uppermost in Mary Farr's mind that day in August
was: Why did Jasper Fletcher, her great-grandfather, pull away
from the protection afforded by the 75 wagons in his train to risk
his life and the lives of his family? She dismissed as romantic
nonsense the statement of Sarah Larimer, a Sioux captive, to the
effect that Fletcher had a beautiful daughter who fell in love with
a young physician with the train.-^
According to Mrs. Larimer, "they walked, rode and sang to-
gether, after the manner of young people. This," she maintained,
"did not coincide with Mr. Fletcher's views of propriety, and he
detached his teams from the large train, thus traveling by them-
selves." There is no record to substantiate this bit of gossip, which
seems unlikely since the Fletcher girls were then two and 1 3 years
of age, rather young for a love affair. In her reminiscences,
Amanda, the older, considered herself a child at the time of the
attack.
Could Jasper Fletcher have been unaware that he was entering
dangerous country? This also seems unlikely because recent
events were without question discussed among the emigrants up
and down the trail. Besides coming in contact with them, he had
been among those — perhaps half of the train leaving Omaha — who
digressed from the trail for a side trip to Denver, where the family
remained "camped on a creek" two weeks.
He went there, it is true, because he was a mining engineer, and
the place intrigued him. He had been part owner of extensive
mining interests in England before coming to America. In spite
of his preoccupation, he must have been aware of what had
happened. It is hard to believe that the people of Denver were not
still discussing the Sand Creek Massacre, which had taken place
only eight months before. Since the massacre had an indirect
bearing on the Fletcher story, it should be reviewed briefly.^
3. Sarah L. Larimer, My Captivity and Escape, or Life Among the Sioux,
(Philadelphia: Claxton, Remson, and Haffelfinger, 1870), pp. 149-150.
4. For a most readable account of the incident see Stan Hoig, The Sand
Creek Massacre, (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1961). Details
and testimonies may be found in "Massacre of Cheyenne Indians," Report
of Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Senate Report No. 142,
38 Cong., 2 sess., 1865; "The Sand Creek Massacre," Sen. Exec. Doc.
No. 26, 39 Cong., 2 sess., 1867; Annual Report of Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, 1864, pp. 136-167, 216-257; The Rocky Mountain News, April 27,
August 24, September 24, and December 17, 1864; June 2 and 24, August
6 and 19, 1865.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 7
The Cheyennes and Arapahoes of the Upper Arkansas — that is,
the Southern bands of the two tribes — who preferred to remain at
peace were ordered, in the summer of 1864, to report to Agent
Samuel G. Colley at Fort Lyon (Colorado-''). There they were to
be safely provided for until the hostile members of the tribes could
be subdued. Black Kettle, chief of the Cheyennes, and a few
Arapahoes under Left Hand, in compliance with this order, settled
down unarmed and subsisting on prisoner rations, in the place
specified.
Major E. W. Wynkoop, then officer in command of the First
Colorado Cavalry, was stationed at Fort Lyon. When he heard
Governor John Evans, of Colorado, state that the Third Regiment
of Colorado Troops had been raised "in response to his represen-
tation to kill Indians, and Indians they must kill," he ordered the
friendlies to bring their women and children nearer Fort Lyon for
protection.^ Because of his sympathetic attitude toward the
Indians, Wynkoop was transferred elsewhere early in November,
and Major Scott J. Anthony, who had charge of the First Colorado
Cavalry, was placed in command.
Here, under the promise of protection, the Indians were at-
tacked, November 29, by Colonel John M. Chivington, command-
ing the Third Regiment and the First Colorado Cavalry. He sur-
rounded the camp and slaughtered indiscriminately. According to
a government document, the incident "scarcely had its parrallel in
the records of Indian barbarity. Fleeing women, holding up their
hands and praying for mercy, were brutally shot down, infants
were killed and scalped in derision, and men were tortured and
mutilated."
It is stated that this unprecedented attack cost the government
$30 million and "carried conflagration and death to the border
settlements. . . . The result of the year's campaign satisfied all
sensible men that war with Indians was both useless and ex-
pensive."
Much of the bloodshed and suffering might have been prevented
had a peaceful solution been reached to the problems preceding the
Sand Creek Massacre. The Fletcher family was destined to be
among those who were to pay dearly for the debacle, where the
Indian casualties amounted to around 150, with perhaps two-thirds
of these women and children. Black Kettle, his wife. Left Hand,
5. John Evans, "Proclamation to the FriendHes," June 27, 1864. may be
found in The War of the Rebellion, Series One, (Washington: Government
Printing Office, 1880), Vol. XLI. Pt. 1, p. 964: "The Sand Creek Massacre."
op. cit.. p. 55; and Annual Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 1864.
p. 218.
6. "Indian Depredations," in Court of Claims, Nos. 2170. 2172. 2947.
pp. 21-23.
iff^
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 9
George Bent and Sand Hill, who was to figure prominently in the
Fletcher story, were among those who escaped.
When the survivors reached an encampment of their people on
the Colorado-Kansas line, about ten miles south of the Nebraska
border, they discovered that Spotted Tail's Brules and Pawnee
Killer's Oglalas were with their people. According to Lieutenant
Colonel W. O. Collins, in a report written May 12, 1865, the
Brules had about 175 of their total of 350 lodges, in the same
location with 150 of a total of 500 lodges of the Oglalas.' These
apparently were the Sioux under Spotted Tail and Pawnee Killer,
for he later places them with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes in the
Powder River Country. Besides the 325 lodges of Sioux, there
was an unnamed Northern Arapaho chief with 80 lodges. He had
been on his way to visit his Southern kinsmen.^ Learning that
Chief Little Raven had gone with most of the Southern Arapahoes
below the Arkansas, he ruled against proceeding farther and de-
cided to spend the winter with his allies. Together, the lodges
numbered more than 400. With 20 people and three warriors,
the number estimated to a lodge, there must have been more than
8000 Indians, with 1200 warriors already assembled.
These Indians were so incensed by the accounts brought to them
that they did not wait for favorable weather to launch their cam-
paign. They began by passing the war pipe to the Sioux, then to
the Arapahoes. Both tribes accepted, and in their large intertribal
council they laid their plans.
According to Indian protocol, the Sioux, who smoked first, were
entitled to take the lead and have most of the say in what should
be done. They decided that the settlement at Julesburg, Colorado,
should be their first objective.^ Then, like angry hornets, they
swarmed toward the trail along the South Platte. Women went
with the warriors to bring back the expected plunder on extra
ponies.
Before they reached the Platte Road, Black Kettle, chief of the
Southern Cheyennes, pulled away with 80 lodges of the less hostile
7. Colonel W. O. Collins (report), May 12, 1865. Indian Office Rec-
ords. National Archives.
8. George E. Hyde (ed.), Life of George Bent, written from his letters
and re-edited by Savoie Lottinville, (Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press, 1968), pp. 165-168.
9. Eugene R. Ware gives an account of the Julesburg attacks from the
standpoint of the military in The Indian War of 1864, (New York: St.
Martin's Press, 1960), p. 540.
(See photo opposite page)
Mary Farr Collection
"THE OAKS"
Amanda Mary Fletcher Cook, seated in the rocking chair, with her cousin,
Grace Puree, and her sons. Charles is sitting on the grass, and standing is
Frederick Sutton Fletcher Cook, father of Mary Elizabeth Farr.
10 ANNALS OF WYOMING
members of his tribe. He then went south to join Little Raven's
Arapahoes and their Kiowa and Comanche friends.
The Indians launched the War of 1865 — the so-called "bloody
year on the Plains" — with destructive raids along the trail and two
major attacks at Julesburg. In the first, on January 7, 15 soldiers
were killed and so much plunder was taken that it required three
days to carry it away. In their savage thrust northward, the Sioux
worked to the east, the Arapahoes the west, and the Cheyennes in
between. Briefly, they were masters of the Overland Trail which
they paralyzed. They were so numerous that the few available
soldiers in the vicinity were powerless to quell them. In one day
alone they attacked six stations and ranches, while they prepared
for a second major onslaught on Julesburg.
On February 2, about 1500 braves converged on the settlement
in their second attack. They took everything they wanted, then set
fire to the hay stacks and the buildings at will. But before their
mission was completed, they disappeared up Lodge Pole Creek.
Their mysterious disappearance was attributed to the knowledge
that a detachment of troops was approaching.
As the Indians swept northward, they killed, burned, and looted
all along the way. There was no obstacle in their path until they
reached Mud Springs Station, halfway between Lodge Pole Creek
and the North Platte. The telegraph operator called for help be-
fore the hostiles could cut the wires.
After a forced all-night march, troops from Camp Mitchell,
between Fort Laramie and Mud Springs, arrived in time to blunt
the first real attack. After Colonel Collins arrived on the scene
with 25 cavalrymen, the Indians found the risk was too great, so
they called off their raid, broke camp, and crossed the North Platte.
Colonel Collins, with additional reenforcements, again engaged
them in the vicinity of the mouth of Rush Creek, along the North
Platte. Here a howitzer, dispatched from Fort Laramie, proved
too much for the hostiles, who continued northward to their respec-
tive camps in the Powder River country. There they waited for
the grass to green.
When their horses were in good condition in the spring, the
Arapahoes began preparing to return to their favorite camping
grounds in the Medicine Bow area. Fearing repercussions from
their past deeds, the hostile Arapahoes left their women and chil-
dren in Black Bear's secluded, well-guarded camp on Tongue
River, in northern Wyoming. Then, with their allies, they pro-
ceeded toward Fort Halleck.^" It was an ideal place to prey on the
emigrants on the Overland Stage Route.
Colonel Collins observed in his report previously mentioned
10. Fort Halleck (1862-66) was built at the foot of Elk Mountain, in the
Medicine Bow Range of Wyoming, to protect travelers on the Overland
Stage Route.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 11
that the Medicine Bow area was "thick" with Indians, with more
coming. The first to arrive in the Arapaho haunt were friendly,
but Collins feared that the hostile Cheyennes and Arapahoes from
the south might inflame their northern kinsmen with accounts of
their wrongs, "imaginary or otherwise," or force them into open
warfare. He admitted that the Indians had reason for being dis-
gruntled because of the rush of emigrants through their lands and
the destruction of their game. Their patience, he conceded, had
been worn thin.
In the same month Collins made the above observation, an
attack on Deer Creek Station by about 200 Indians was repulsed,
but not before one soldeir and one Indian had been killed. The
hostiles managed to drive away 26 head of horses. St. Mary's
Station on the Sweetwater was attacked and burned May 27, by
about 150 Indians, but the garrison managed to escape to South
Pass. The hostiles destroyed 400 yards of telegraph wire and set
fire to the posts.
About the same time, a contingent of seemingly friendly Sioux,
who had turned themselves in at Fort Laramie so that they would
not be considered hostile, staged an uprising as they were being
transferred to Fort Kearny, Nebraska. They refused to go to the
land of their Pawnee enemies. Before the affray was over, they
had killed the captain in charge and four soldiers. Of the 18
Indians slain, four were their own chiefs whom they killed because
they were not sympathetic with their plan. They then fled west-
ward to join the Arapahoes.
Colonel Thomas Moonlight of Fort Laramie went in hot pursuit,
but the Indians out-maneuvered him. Before making their get-
away, they robbed him of his horses, and the colonel and his men
had to return on foot.
By the middle of July, General Connor concluded that most of
the depredations along the mail routes had been committed by the
Arapahoes and a number of Sioux the government was feeding at
Camp Collins, Colorado, and at Fort Halleck. He believed that
all of those congregated at the two places were on the warpath
except Friday's peaceful band. He wired General Grenville M.
Dodge, July 13, for permission to launch his long anticipated
offensive. Though he made no reference to the Dog Soldiers, they
were now in the Northern Arapaho country, and they may have
been largely, if not altogether, responsible for the attacks on the
stations and the depredations along the trail.
Generaf George A. Custer admired the Dog Soldiers, "the tur-
bulent and uncontrollable spirits of all of the tribes," as he called
them.^^ They were considered Cheyennes, and they were prin-
11. George A. Custer, Mv Life on the Plains. (St. Louis: Royal Publish-
ing Co., 1891), p. 125.
12 ANNALS OF WYOMING
cipally of that tribe though they also included the most daring of
the Arapaho and Sioux. Custer described them as "fine looking
braves of magnificent physique, in appearance and demeanor more
nearly conforming to the ideal warrior than those of any other
tribe."
That other Arapahoes besides Friday and Little Raven were not
in accord with the dissidents is apparent from the fact that Med-
icine Man, head chief of the northern bands, was elsewhere in
July. With 1 20 lodges, he was camping on "Little Chug" — that is,
on North Chugwater Creek in southeastern Wyoming. This was
his choice of a site for a reservation, and Agent Simeon Whitely
of the Upper Arkansas Superintendency had been asked by Gov-
ernor Evans to investigate its possibility. Vital Jarrot, newly
appointed agent on the Platte, pointed out its limitations and
advised against it.^^
Judge and Mrs. Farr and their party surveyed the landscape
while their station wagon, simulating the speed of the covered
wagons of her great-grandparents, crept along Highway 1-80, the
approximate course of the Overland Stage Route between Laramie
and Arlington, Wyoming.^" They discussed the various aspects of
the Indian War of 1865. They talked about the depredations, the
repeated attacks on the stations, and finally the dramatic Battle of
Platte Bridge which took place July 25, 1865, near present Cas-
per. ^^ Surely the telegraph lines along the trail must have buzzed
with the details of this major conflict of the year. There had been
time for news to flash along the line because some of the Indians
taking part at Platte Bridge were unquestionably in the war party
at Rock Creek.
Mary Farr spoke of her great-grandfather, a determined man
who had sold his property and forsaken his native England in 1861
to bring his family to "the land of promise." After learning of the
discovery of gold in Cahfornia, he had become a man possessed of
a single purpose, to seek his fortune in the new country. He must
have been frustrated by being delayed in Iowa, where Lizzie was
born and his wife became a semi-invalid, following a prolonged
illness. But he did not give up his dream.
12. Vital Jarrot to General Patrick E. Connor, July 15, 1865; Connor to
General Grenvilie M. Dodge, June 15 and 25 and July 13, 1865. War
Department Records. National Archives.
13. Besides the Farrs, the party included the author and Mr. and Mrs.
W. W. Morrison, of Cheyenne. Morrison is an authority on the graves
along the trail. West of Laramie, the stage route lay somewhat to the south
of 1-80.
14. George Bent, who took part, gives a firsthand account of the battle,
Hyde, op. cit., pp. 214-222. A detailed account may be found in J. W.
Vaughn, The Battle of Platte Bridge, (Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press, 1963). See also Agnes Wright Spring, Caspar Collins, (New York:
Columbia University Press, 1937), pp. 214-222.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 13
When Lizzie was almost two years old and his wife had regained
her health sufficiently to travel, the family set out on their long
anticipated Western adventure. Besides their five children — in-
cluding three boys, William, Jasper, and Oscar, who were younger
than Amanda Mary — they brought possessions that indicated that
they were people of more than average means. Their most im-
portant property was a green metal box, about 12x18x8 inches in
size, to which Amanda referred as "the family treasury." It was
later to complicate her effort to seek restitution for loss at the
hands of the Indians.
Besides being determined, Jasper Fletcher was an impatient
man. Whatever he had heard about the hostiles swarming through
the country was secondary to the accompUshment of his purpose.
He had two horse-drawn wagons, and he chafed under the realiza-
tion that ox teams in the train were delaying him. Amanda spoke
of him as a man full of self-will, determination, and grit.
It was, in all probability, a hot day, with the sun glaring down
upon him from overhead, just as it was doing that day in 1972.
There was an hypnotic serenity about the countryside, which was
rocky and barren except for the cottonwoods and willows bordering
the stream. And there was not an Indian in sight!
Jasper was anxious to reach a shady spot where he and his
family could pause long enough to enjoy their noonday meal. So
casting all caution aside, he urged his horses forward and pulled
away from the slow-moving train. The explanation was as simple
as that. Reliving his experience, Mary Farr, for the first time,
understood the reason for her great-grandfather's reckless action,
and she sympathized with him. She, too, was anxious to reach the
pleasant shade so that she could help spread out a picnic lunch and
have a drink of ice water from a thermos jug — not creek water
which was all the emigrants had. It was noon, just as it had
been 107 years before, when the Fletchers made their irrevocable
mistake.
In her writings years later, Amanda mentions three men who
camped near their wagon train, July 30, the night before reaching
Rock Creek. They claimed that they were on their way from Salt
Lake to Denver.
When the wagon master, "an old and experienced scout," re-
monstrated with them for traveling in such a small party in hostile
Indian country, they laughed at him and said there was nothing to
fear, that all of the Indians were on reservations. That in itself
should have made him apprehensive. If he had been as exper-
ienced as it was claimed, he should have known the country better,
and he should have been aware that the Indians were not on
reservations, that the entire train was in danger.
During the year 1865, 75 emigrants were killed in various at-
tacks between the Big Laramie River and Bridger's Pass, the route
they were traveling. That some of the attacks occurred before
14 ANNALS OF WYOMING
the last of July is apparent. The wagon boss may have been com-
placent because it was doubtful that Indians would attack a 75-
wagon train. Unless they were actively engaged in battle, they did
not as a rule risk their lives needlessly. The fact that they did
show their animosity later in a token attack on the large train is
proof that they were on the warpath.
Amanda commented, "Little did the honest travelers think they
had been deceived by their apparently open-hearted guests of the
night before."
At 10 o'clock the following morning, three "frontiersmen" came
galloping toward them. They, too, said that they were from Salt
Lake, and they inquired about the men who had camped with the
emigrants the night before. They claimed they had been traveling
together and that they had become separated. When asked about
the Indians, the new arrivals said they had not seen a lodge or a
moccasin track. Before leaving, they tried to buy a well-bred
mare, tied to an end gate. It belonged to Amanda, and no amount
of money could induce her father to sell. The men left in a surly
mood.
When Fletcher expressed his fears to the wagon boss, the latter
admitted that the men were not above suspicion. He thought that
they were probably highwaymen, but he in no way linked them
with Indians. Amanda states, quite logically, that had the Fletch-
ers known that the renegades were attached to a band of "prowling
hostiles," they would not have pulled away from the wagon train.
She was also convinced that they, the two mysterious trios, were
in some way connected with the agent and his Indian wife at Rock
Creek Station. The fact that it was spared, but the Little Laramie
Station was burned in the same foray, would indicate that she
might have been right.
The Rock Creek station was on the opposite side of the stream,
which was spanned by a wooden bridge. But the family did not
have a chance to cross before the hostiles sprang their surprise
attack. Amanda later testified that after the attack was over the
Indians crossed the bridge, and her captor paid some of the money
taken from the Fletcher wagon to the station keeper.
In a speech before the National Explorers' Club in Long Beach
(1924), she told how the attack seemed to her. She stated, "There
was a wild whoop. From every rock and brush, it seemed, sprang
an Indian in full war regalia. I had never seen an Indian before,
and I stared in amazement at their war paint and feathers. Fright-
ened, I seized Mother by the hand, at the same time snatching up
my baby sister. The Indian ponies circled and wheeled, their
riders hurling spears and wielding axes [tomahawks] as they rode
their horses over us."
At the sight of the Indians the wagon master gave orders for the
train, now at the top of the slope approximately a mile away, to
corral in preparation for an attack. The Fletchers had reached the
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 15
creek, and they had staked their horses out to graze. They were
at the mercy of the hostiles.
Jasper sent the boys scurrying into the brush, meanwhile cover-
ing their retreat as best he could, and he called to his wife and
daughters to find protection among the willows, but before they
had time to do so, the Indians were upon them. Obviously, Mrs.
Fletcher, a semi-invalid, was too frail to be of use, so a warrior
killed her with his spear. As she sank to the ground, she implored,
"Take care of Lizzie."
When Amanda knelt at her mother's side, a warrior galloped by
and snatched the child from her arms. Except for a brief glimpse
of her about 10 o'clock that night, when she was crying alternately
for her mother and for her sister, Amanda did not see her again
during her captivity. A half blood told her that she cried so much
the Indians had to kill her. This she was forced to believe as she
found no further trace of her.
In her autobiography written in pencil on now-yellowed scratch-
paper, Amanda says, "In the presence of my dead mother's
body ... I saw my captor receive into his hands from another
Indian in our wagon, our family treasure box. . . . They broke it
open, they burned some of the papers. I think this box [con-
tained] about twenty thousand sterling, in gold and bills."
The hostiles worked fast because of the fortified circle at the
top of the slope. Then they made a brief impetuous attack upon
the wagon train, as we have mentioned. After that they withdrew
as they seemed aware there was a government freight train farther
up the road. When the warriors had crossed the stream, they went
up a mountainside where they joined their families. From the
higher elevation, Amanda could look down on the flaming wagons.
A white boy who had been captured in New Mexico told her as
they watched, "That is the way we treat them all." He seemed to
be able to identify with the Indians, whose life was more appeal-
ing to a boy than to a girl.
After draining dry a cask of brandy the Dog Soldiers had
found in one of the wagons, they became wildly drunk. Chief
Nei-mir-vier (elsewhere spelled Neei-Mai-Rear, also Minimick,
better known to the white man as Sand Hill) and his wife saved
Amanda's life by pushing her into the middle of a tipi they had
provided. Even so, the Indian women, enraged by the presence of
the white girl, slashed at her through the sides of the lodge skin
and caused scars on her back she would carry the rest of her life.
Mary Farr recalls tracing these with an inquisitive finger while
she listened in wonderment to the tales her grandmother recounted.
At the time she had no idea of the meaning of Dog Soldiers, nor
could she appreciate all that Amanda told, but she realized that
she had suffered through a harrowing experience that had left bitter
lines in her face and a scar on her memory. She would never
forgive the Dog Soldiers for the cruel treatment she received!
16 ANNALS OF WYOMING
The next day after the attack at Rock Creek, the warriors tied
Amanda on a saddle and proceeded eastward for three days before
making camp. Along the way, they plundered a wagon, shot a
man and his children and abducted his wife. She whispered to
Amanda one night that the Indians were going to kill her, and she
slipped a "housewife," to her and asked her to give it to her hus-
band if he survived. A wedding ring and a baby's gold ring were
in the flannel-covered sewing case. Amanda carried it until the
Indians found that she had it and took it away from her.
Then, according to her records, the hostiles had a brush with
soldiers from Fort Laramie. During this encounter, a warrior
stood over her, ready to kill her if her presence became known.
During the night, the Indians stole away, and the troops did not
follow. As there is no mention of this other than Amanda's, the
commanding officer may have considered it just one of the fre-
quent encounters with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians, which
may not have amounted to an incident worthy of note. The sol-
diers had no way of knowing about the captive.
It must have been about this time that she was told to write a
public notice to the effect that the Indians were fighting because
of the Sand Creek Massacre. This, she said, was fastened on
a tree.
The girl was disguised as an Indian to further avoid detection.
Each morning her face was painted and her hair blackened with
grease and soot water. By holding her head to the ground, the
women would burn her eyelashes and eyebrows with hot ashes.
Though she was young for such responsibility,, she had the full
care of 14 ponies, apparently the property of Sand Hill, though
she does not say. And yet she could not ride. Horses were
for the warriors. In their constant wanderings, she had no idea
where they were because she could not identify the streams they
crossed. While she walked with the women she was constantly
subjected to their taunts and abuse.
Finally they reached the main camp of the tribe which she
believed was in northeastern Colorado. No doubt Spotted Tail's
Brules, Pawnee Killer's Oglalas, and the unnamed chief's Northern
Arapahoes had all come together for another grand encampment.
One day while there Amanda saw a child dressed in Lizzie's
clothing, and she thought it was her sister. When she mistakenly
recognized her, one of the chiefs ordered the woman and the child
to leave the tipi. It could have been at this encampment that the
girls became the property of two different tribes. The boy, too,
may have fallen into the hands of the Northern Arapahoes.
Following the council, the Dog Soldiers, with whom Amanda
traveled, proceeded southeastward into Kansas. Besides having to
contend with the abuse of the women, she also had to endure
exposure in all kinds of weather. She was fortunate in being able
to swim, but she lacked dry clothing, and the Indians were not
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 17
generous with blankets. According to her reminiscences, her most
terrifying experience occurred when they were crossing a stream
during a thaw. The ice broke loose, and it looked as if she might
be swirled to her destruction on a floating cake. When she jumped
into the icy water and swam to shore, the braves cheered her. This
gave the women further cause for resentment.
The Dog Soldiers were camping on the Arkansas River in the
spring of 1866 when Charles Hanger, of West Liberty, Ohio, came
to trade. He had been associated with the Arapahoes under Little
Raven all winter, but he had been induced to go to the Dog Soldier
camp because they had told him they had plenty of money. Rela-
tive to their windfall, Amanda later stated that they did not know
denominational values. They considered all bills of like nature.
"I tried to tell them different," she recalled later, "but they could
not understand me. The first time I had to count this money for
my captors was soon after I was captured. . . . Neei-Mia-Reah,
my captor, had at one time 1700 bills in one lot, another family of
the same tribe had what I knew to have been $12,000. I saw it."
Although Amanda realized that she might be killed for exposing
her identity, she felt that she preferred death to the way she was
forced to live. Bravely she stepped into the tipi where the barter-
ing was in process and asked the trader for a cake of soap. One of
the braves knocked her down because she had been ordered not to
speak a word of English.
The trader was baffled, since she had the appearance of an
Indian. Once again she went into the tipi while he was there, this
time at the insistence of the women who wanted to get rid of her.
Hanger, by then convinced that she was white, talked to her fur-
ther, and he promised that he would ransom her if it took every-
thing he owned. The Indians, inveterate traders, reahzed that
they were in a good bargaining position, so they let them talk.
The white man began at once making plans for her release.
He had arrived at an opportune time as negotiations were
underway through which she would be traded to the Kiowas and
taken south of the Arkansas, where she might never have been
heard of again. Hanger finally agreed to pay $1665 for her in
trade goods. This figure is his. Amanda for the most part stuck
to the $1600 round figure, but in one published interview the sum
became $2200, which was either an error in reporting, or a result
of faulty memory. She was 72 years old at the time, and as she
grew older she seemed to magnify the details of her case.
Sand Hill forced the trader to give him his fine horse and a gun
before he would let her go. Thus she was freed from the Dog
Soldiers. Her records are vague regarding her transfer to Little
Raven's camp. Hanger says he sent her with Poisal, probably the
son of John Poisal and wife. Snake Woman, an Arapaho. If so,
he may have been in the Dog Soldier camp as an interpreter as well
as a trader. John Poisal's daughter, Margaret, later served as
18 ANNALS OF WYOMING
interpreter for Little Raven at the Medicine Lodge Treaty in
Kansas. She had been the wife of Thomas Fitzpatrick, first agent
for the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, who had died while representing
them in Washington. In Oklahoma the name Poisal became
Pizzel.
Little Raven had been at Sand Creek until shortly before the
unjustifiable attack, but he had moved to his camp on Smoky Hill.
Left Hand was supposed to have followed but he was prevented
because of illness. Although he was reported to have been killed,
evidence points conclusively to the fact that he was one and the
same Left Hand who was Little Raven's successor as chief of the
Southern Arapahoes in early reservation days. Left Hand had
vowed that he would never fight the white man, no matter what
happened, and to our knowledge he kept his word. He dropped
from sight for a time following Sand Creek, but was later found
to be in Kansas. Indications are that he might have been with
Little Raven south of the Arkansas while his brother, Neva, No-ta-
nee, and other members of his band were with the hostiles north
of the Platte.
Hanger completed his trade with the Dog Soldiers and followed
Amanda to Little Raven's camp. Then he turned her over to
Major E. W. Wynkoop, special agent at Fort Larned, Kansas.
Wynkoop placed her in the care of Mrs. Hiram Dryer, wife of
Major Dryer, commandant on the post, and she and the other
women in residence made clothing for her as she was destitute.
He tried without delay to locate the surviving members of her
family by sending notices to newspapers in Denver and Salt Lake
City.
Wynkoop, accompanied by Mrs. Reuben Howard, wife of the
sutler at Fort Zarah, Kansas, took Amanda to Atchison, where she
was turned over to Thomas Murphy, superintendent of Indian
affairs. While there, she received two letters of great importance
to her, one from Thomas Harford, of Pueblo, Colorado, in answer
to the item in the Rocky Mountain News, and the other from
Major Wynkoop, regarding Jasper Fletcher.
The letter from Harford was undated, but it assured her that her
father had survived the attack at Rock Creek. He stated that he
had been with the freighters who rescued Fletcher after his own
train had gone its way in the belief that he "and his entire family"
had been killed.
The freighting outfit Harford was with was also attacked at
Rock Creek, and three men were killed and buried there. The
freighters piled rocks over the graves, which evidently included one
for Mary Ann Fletcher. No mention is made of her, but it is only
reasonable to believe that Jasper would see to it that his wife was
buried before he would leave the scene of his personal tragedy.
Since Harford did not mention the boys, they must have been
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 19
discovered by another train and taken to Salt Lake, where they
were reunited with their father.
Fletcher, who was wounded by arrows, had hidden in a ditch
until the arrival of the freighters, whom he accompanied to Fort
Douglas, Utah. All desire to go to California was erased from his
mind. He had responsibility enough raising three sons.
Wynkoop did not enclose Jasper Fletcher's letter, but he said
that he had written to him in response to the item he saw in the
Salt Lake City paper. He further stated in his letter from Fort
Zarah, April 30, that Fletcher had inquired about Amanda Mary
and the "child Elizabeth." Wynkoop, who had answered the letter
and had sent her address to him, closed by sending his best wishes
for her "future happiness and prosperity."
June 7, 1866, Charles Hanger wrote his first of many letters to
Amanda — words of cheer, encouragement, and lasting affection.
He was at his home in Ohio, but he stated that he planned to start
back the next day to trade with the Indians. He was fascinated
with the West and money meant little to him. After acknowledg-
ing a letter in which she must have asked if he had been remuner-
ated for his loss, he replied, "I have not but that will make no
difference if I never receive it. I feel 1 am well repaid by restoring
you to your friends."
In a letter dated November 24, 1867, he refers to money as if
Amanda might again have inquired. "I have enough money," he
told her, "so there is no uneasiness on that score, but I have a
natural roving disposition, cannot be satisfied no place." After
discussing his stock business and his recent illness, he implored,
"My dear Mary, if there is anything I can do for you that money
is required make your wants known freely, for you know Mary the
interest I have taken in you and it is the best act of my life. 1
remember it with pleasure and I know 1 shall never forget or for-
sake you and I feel that you will not forget me." In closing, he
asked her to write to him as freely as though she were writing to a
father or a brother.
Amanda remained several months at Fort Leavenworth. When
Murphy asked her where she wanted to go, she indicated that she
would like to return to some British friends of her family in
Illinois, where she arrived in December, 1866.
General George Custer, then commander at Fort Riley, Kansas,
wrote Amanda a cordial letter, dated January 27, 1867, in answer
to a query regarding any knowledge he might have of the where-
abouts of Lizzie. He gave her the first word of encouragement she
had received, for he was convinced that the girl was alive. She was
not at the fort at the time, but there were two men. Lieutenant
Joseph Hale, of the 7th U. S. Cavalry, and Bill Comstock, a ranch-
man on the "Utah Road" who had seen her within the last two
months in the hands of the Cheyenne Indians. They told him that
she was claimed by Chief Cut Nose and that the two were last seen
20 ANNALS OF WYOMING
on the Smoky Hill Route in Kansas but that they had "probably
gone north."
Since Custer had not actually seen the chief and the captive,
a possibility of his error in thinking of Cut Nose as a Cheyenne is
understandable. At this time he had had very little experience
with the Northern Cheyennes and Arapahoes. He could have
assumed Cut Nose was a Cheyenne as he was with the Dog Sol-
diers, and they were identified with that tribe. How and when the
girl fell into the hands of the Northern Arapahoes, we are unable
to establish; but there is little evidence, other than that given by
Custer, to indicate that she was among the Cheyennes for any
length of time.
The custom of meeting after a conflict and dividing the spoils,
with the chief and medicine man being given first choice, was a
common practice. Since the attack took place in northern Arapaho
country, it could be that Lizzie was awarded to Cut Nose by the
Dog Soldiers in accordance with this custom, and for the additional
reason they might have wanted to separate the two girls. There is
a further possibility that she might have been traded to the
Arapahoes.
Cut Nose, the Northern Arapaho chief, first came into notice
with Medicine Man, the head chief, in 1842, when Thomas Fitz-
patrick visited a large encampment north of the Platte. Theodore
Talbot, chronicler for his party, was present when a keg of whisky
was brought into camp.^'' During the orgy that followed, one of
the braves, in high spirits, picked up Talbot and carried him some
distance before setting him down.
Talbot observed: "Most of the Indians are particularly fond of
liquor and when it is growing scarce you will frequently see a man
take a 'sup" of liquor, hold it in his mouth a few minutes, then
empty it into the mouth of his neighbor. When all is gone, they
will even breathe on the less fortunate so that they can share the
delightful fragrance."
Cut Nose, who delivered an outstanding oration at the 1851
Horse Creek Council in Nebraska, had a fondness for the white
man's liquor, which may have prevented him from becoming one
of the leading chiefs. Three years after the Great Treaty Council
at Horse Creek, Agent J. W. Whitfield, who succeeded Fitzpatrick,
mentioned that there was dissension between the Arapaho bands.
It was so bitter, in fact, he doubted that they would again unite.
The hostility was brought about indirectly by the white man's
liquor.
Cut Nose, who had become offensive, aroused the ire of one of
the band leaders. In the free-for-all that resulted, an Arapaho was
15. Theodore Talbot, The Journals of Theodore Talbot, ed. by Charles
Carey, (Portland: Metropolitan Press, 1931), pp. 24-27.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 21
killed and the Nam-e-sum (Cut Nose) band fled northward while
the rest proceeded south as planned. He was with Medicine Man,
Black Bear, Little Owl, and Friday at the unofficial Dear Creek
Council, September 1859, but this time it was Medicine Man who
spoke. In 1862, when Governor Evans sent a detachment down
the South Platte to disperse the Indians "and stop all outrages"
they came upon Cut Nose and his band of 70 lodges of seemingly
docile Arapahoes.
Although the name of the chief of the band of Northern Arap-
ahoes who smoked the pipe and came north with the hostiles is not
recorded, in all probabihty it was Cut Nose. If so, this would
explain the connection between the Northern Arapaho chief and
the Dog Soldiers. His sympathy may have been with their cause
longer than we know, and Lizzie could have been his reward.
Colonel W. O. Collins did not mention him when he listed the
principal Northern Arapaho chiefs as Medicine Man, Black Bear,
White Bull, and Little Shield. This either meant that he did not
consider him of any great importance or he may have included him
when he mentioned that the remainder, not under the chiefs above,
were in small bands on the South Platte and the Arkansas.^''" If
Cut Nose had gone north at the time of Custer's writing, we have
even more reason for identifying him as the Northern Arapaho
chief by that name.
That the sympathies of the chief were with the Dog Soldiers is
further indicated by his presence on the Smoky Hill Road when
they were trying to prevent the railroad from being constructed
through their hunting grounds. His picture was drawn by Theo-
dore Davis for Harper's Magazine (April 28, 1867) while he was
attending a council together with Little Raven, Yellow Bear, and
Beardy.^"
The confusion in the identity of Cut Nose must have been on
Custer's part rather than Comstock's since the latter was with the
hostiles when the girl was taken captive near Fort Halleck. Know-
ing Indians as he did, Comstock told Custer that he believed the
best way to obtain Lizzie's release would be to ransom her. This
he thought could be accomplished with one or two horses.^'*
Comstock described Lizzie Fletcher as strikingly beautiful — her
complexion fair, her eyes blue, and her hair a bright golden hue.
Because of the delicate color of her hair, the chief gave her an
Indian name meaning "Little Silver Hair." According to the
informant, "the chief treated her with great affection and always
kept her clothed in the handsomest Indian garments."
George Bent, who may have taken part in the attack at Rock
16. Collins Report, op. cit.
17. Harper's Weekly, June 29. 1867.
18. Custer, op. cit.. pp. 618-619.
22 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Creek Crossing, though he makes no specific reference to his doing
so, says that there were 100 warriors at the scene. Amanda was
so terrified that she thought the number was three times that. In
a previous attack on the Overland Stage Route, roving hostiles had
encountered a company of soldiers commanded by Lieutenant
Colonel Preston B. Plumb, who believed there were 200 in the
party and that they were led by a white man, presumed to be Bill
Comstock. To this George Bent rephed, "I suppose that I was
the man he meant, but I was dressed and painted just like a
warrior."^^ Charles Bent, George's brother, had become so hostile
by this time that he threatened to kill his father as well as his
brother. He, too, may have been at Rock Creek. In one of his
letters to Amanda, William Cody (Buffalo Bill) stated that both
brothers must have been there.
In his reminiscences and letters, George Bent acknowledges that
Mary — that is, Amanda Mary — was captured by Sand Hill's band
of Cheyennes near Fort Halleck. Judging by the relentless way
she pursued her goal of restitution for her loss, his next statement
does not reflect the general tone of her feelings. He claims that
he had received a letter from her some years before, and she had
said that despite rumors, she was well treated by her captors. He
maintains that Sand Hill's wife, a Sioux, was "very kind" to her
while she was with the band. Amanda makes no reference to
kindness of any sort, except for the time her life was saved by her
captor and his wife. She does not indicate that it was done as an
act of kindness.
In her original manuscript, entitled "Captured by Indians," she
states: "As for telling my experience with the Indians, I cannot
command the language that would convey the remotest idea to one
not experiencing it, of the freezing cold, sleet and rain, and the
torture I would receive from these Indians, or I ought to say,
fiends. Yes, they were worse than any name I could give them.
If I could have my way about it there would not be one left alive.
"I have almost starved days at a time, without one morsel to eat.
Oh how I prayed for death to come to my relief. I have begged
them time and time again to kill me. I have often thought, since
my rescue that it was my anxiety for them to kiU me [that] caused
them not to do so. Certainly with me their tenderest mercies
would have been instant death.
"They did not, for the first few months, permit me to have a
knife in my hand or anything with which I could take my own
life. . . . After a time I began to have some hope that in some way
or other I would be rescued. I cannot tell why I felt that way nor
could I imagine how it could be done.
19. Hyde, op. cit., pp. 204-205.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 23
"Winter was coming on and it was noticed by the Indians that I
was more reconciled than I had been, and I was trusted with a
hatchet, and when the snow was on the ground. . . I had to cHmb
the trees and cut hmbs that the ponies could get the bark to eat.
"That continued all winter. Snow, rain or sleet, I had to go and
do that work from early morning till late in the evening with
scarcely any clothes to protect my body from the bitter colds and
storms. . . . One unacquainted with the Indians would very natural-
ly think that if I was out attending a herd of ponies I would escape,
but the people who know and are familiar with the ways of the
Indians will know that there were always squaws to accompany me
to do the same work for their herds, and also to guard me. There
was no possible chance of escape. The foregoing is a short state-
ment of how I lived and suffered while in captivity."
The only kindly remark Amanda made about the Indians occurs
in this same manuscript, though in this instance she refers to the
Southern Cheyennes and Arapahoes who were not affiliated with
the Dog Soldiers or in sympathy with them when they were on the
warpath north of the Platte. She says, "The Arapahoes [those in
Little Raven's band] had been at peace with the whites for a long
time and were friendly. I wish to state in this connection that the
main tribe or band of Cheyennes was also peaceable. It was only
a small band of Cheyennes, comparatively speaking, that was com-
mitting these depredations and to distinguish them from the peace-
able Cheyennes, they were known at that time as the Cheyenne
Dog Soldiers."
Amanda was more liberal than Custer, who annihilated a camp
of the same Indians she is talking about at the Battle of the Washita
in Kansas, November 27, 1868.-" Here Black Kettle and his wife,
who had miraculously escaped from Sand Creek, were among those
slain. If the War of 1865 resulted from Sand Creek, we have
every reason to believe that the Battle of the Little Big Horn
(1876), in which Custer and his entire command were slain, was
indirectly caused by Washita.-^ The Cheyennes say that they
knocked out the ashes of their pipes on Custer's heels — that is, they
stalked him until the time of his death. Though the Custer Mas-
sacre is attributed to the Sioux, they had able assistance from the
Cheyennes.
20. The official report on the Battle of the Washita, on the Washita
River in Kansas, is given by Custer in the Sheridan Papers, Library of
Congress. See also Custer, op. cit.. pp. 226-298.
21. The Battle of the Little Big Horn (Montana), 1876. is not related to
the Fletcher story, though it proves a point often made by the Indians.
That is. a battle is a "massacre" if it is perpetrated by Indians ("the Custer
Massacre," for example) but a battle if by the whites. To the Indians, the
Battle of the Washita was not a battle but a massacre. Sand Creek is an
exception, as there was no question about its being a massacre.
24 ANNALS OF WYOMING
In his autobiography, Bent states that Amanda was ransomed by
Sand Hill to John Smith, who was trading for Morris & Hanger and
that it was Smith who turned her over to Wynkoop.^^ John Smith
may have been there as he served both the Cheyennes and Arap-
ahoes as interpreter, though he was not held in high esteem by the
latter. Amanda mentions the "half-breed" (Poisal) as the inter-
preter, and well he might have been for the Arapahoes; she does
not speak of Smith. In one of her accounts she discusses the
"traders" as if there might have been others present besides Hang-
er, but she gives exclusive credit to him for effecting her release.
Not only did he pay the ransom, but also he became her benefactor
for the rest of his life.
Bent further states that Amanda was married and the mother of
six children, an excessive number. When she was widowed, she
mentioned having one daughter and three sons. According to
Bent, she said that she had put in a claim against the Cheyennes,
but, as she had already been well paid years before, the Indian
Department dismissed her claim, which is far from accurate.
Actually she pursued her course relentlessly, in spite of many
discouragements. She insisted at various times that she did not
need the money — that is, the amount of her claim — but she was
determined to have it because she thought it was due her.
Though Amanda must have been a prolific writer, she kept few
longhand copies of what she had written. On the personal side,
we know that she became the wife of William E. Cook of Daven-
port, Iowa, December, 1867. Her father had begged her to come
to Salt Lake to see him but she was terrified by the thought of
again crossing the Plains. Soon after her marriage, her husband
accompanied her to Salt Lake, and she stayed with her father until
his death, October 15, 1875.
Amanda's case was complicated in the first place by the fact that
Jasper Fletcher (45 years of age, January 2, 1866) had filed a
claim on that date against the government.-^ In it he sketched his
side of the story. He began with the statement that he was a
citizen of the United States, although he had only filed his state-
ment of intent. From this it would seem that he considered himself
naturalized.
He stated that he was in company with about 200 emigrants and
was attacked by a band of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. They
killed his wife, Mary Ann Limb Fletcher; captured his two daugh-
ters, "Mary and Elizabeth;" and shot him through the wrist. They
robbed him of all of his property and left him destitute, with three
little boys to support. He prayed the Honorable Commissioner of
22. Hyde, op. cit., p. 251.
23. "Evidence of Claimants," Indian Depredations, No. 5072, Court of
Claims, pp. 1-4, 10-11.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 25
Indian Affairs to allow his claim as "just and equitable." William
P. Kimball, who must have been with the wagon train, and William
Henry Fletcher, Jasper's son, verified his affidavit as they were
present at the time of the robbery.
Fletcher listed the following as property taken from him b\ the
Indians :
2 Chicago wagons, worth $500.00
2 American horses, one branded Q on left shoulder and
the other branded W on left shoulder, worth 600.00
1 set harness for said horses 75.00
4 mules, worth $250 each 1000.00
2 sets harness, worth 150.00
1 fine black mare, white face, branded W on each shoulder 400.00
400 lbs. green tea, worth $3.50 per lb 1400.00
200 lbs. tobacco, at $2.00 per lb 400.00
400 lbs. bacon, hams, at 50 cents per lb 200.00
300 lbs. sugar, at 60 cents per lb 180.00
I feather bed 50.00
1 dozen Mackinaw blankets 150.00
8 vests at $10 each 80.00
7 lbs. powder, at $2.00 per lb 14.00
6 boxes of waterproof caps, at 50 cents each 3.00
15 lbs. lead, at 40 cents 6.00
1 black cloth overcoat 50.00
Gold coin 250.00
150 lbs. coffee, at 75 cents 112.50
1 black silk dress, six or eight other fine dresses, besides
all the female wearing apparel, value 250.00
3 pairs cloth pants, at $10.00 each 30.00
With all the other articles of men's wearing apparel 100.00
1 cook stove 75.00
1 Colts revolver 30.00
200 lbs. flour, $20.00; 100 lbs. crackers, $20.00; cooking
utensils, $50.00 90.00
1 set joiner's tools 100.00
$6295.50
In a second sworn statement, before Chief Justice John Titus
March 9, 1867, he indicates that he had corresponded with Aman-
da, then living with the Cook family, whose son she married in
December.-^ He speaks of the Custer letter and makes reference
to Comstock's suggestion that Lizzie might be ransomed for one or
two horses. He affirms that in his "present destitute and compara-
tively friendless condition," he was not able "to contribute anything
to regain his child from the Indians or to enable the other one to
join him."
His second claim further compUcated matters, for there were
obvious discrepancies, which Amanda later tried to explain by say-
ing that he did not want to be an imposition on the government.
24. Ibid., pp. 11-13.
26
ANNALS OF WYOMING
Mary Farr Collection
AMANDA MARY FLETCHER COOK SHORTLY AFTER HER
MARRIAGE
If he had put in all that the claim should have amounted to, he felt
it would "seem inconsistent with his position in life, that of a
working man." His second list follows:
3 young horses (good) wagon, and harness $1000.00
112 lbs. Hyson tea, at $3.00 per lb 336.00
80 lbs. tobacco, at $2.00 160.00
6 prs. pants, at $11 66.00
3 good coats (1 overcoat) 65.00
3 new vests, at $5.00 15.00
Bags of clothing 30.00
Ladies" clothing, some new 200.00
9 prs. double blankets (long) 160.00
2 valuable quilts, at $15.00 30.00
1 set carpenters' tools , 60.00
1 Colts revolver 15.00
300 lbs. flour, at $10.00 30.00
Lot coffee and sugar 9.00
60 lbs. ham 30.00
Gold coin 150.00
$2,356.00
In the "Brief and Argument of Counsel for Claimants," Aman-
da's attorney, W. W. Martin, states that at the time the second list
was made Jasper Fletcher was "broken down mentally and phys-
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 27
ically, with the loss of his property, murder of his wife, and capture
of his two children. [He was] unable to render an accurate state-
ment of the goods lost, or their value."-"'
Acting on this premise, Amanda and her brother Jasper, follow-
ing the death of their father, filed identical lists of property stolen.-*'
Her statements were sworn to January 24, 1876 in Scott County,
Iowa, his February 1, 1876 in Salt Lake County, Utah. Both lists,
though joint identical, appear with their sworn statements in the
government documents. The list is as follows:
1 Span American horses $750.00
1 Blooded mare - 500.00
1 New wagon with bows and cover 200.00
2 Sets of carpenters' tools, new 200.00
1 Tent. new.... 25.00
2 Sets harness, new 100.00
Lot of provisions 500.00
9 Suits men's clothing, at $50.00 450.00
15 Suits men's underwear at $6.00 90.00
4 Silk dresses, at $75.00 300.00
Mary Farr Collection
AMANDA MARY FLETCHER COOK IN LATER YEARS
25. "Claimants' Request for Finding of Facts," Indian Depredations, No.
380, Court No. 5072, Court of Claims, p. 4.
26. "Evidence of Claimants," op. cit.. pp. 14-20.
28 ANNALS OF WYOMING
1 Velvet dress 100.00
12 suits ladies' linen underwear, at $20 240.00
10 Suits ladies' cotton underwear, at $10.00 100.00
1 India shawl 500.00
2 Woolen shawls, at $25 50.00
1 Set furs - 75.00
10 Pairs men's boots, at $10 100.00
6 Pairs ladies' shoes, at $5.00 30.00
Lot of sheets, pillor-casings, and towels 100.00
2 Sets heavy gold jewelry, at $50 100.00
2 Feather beds, at $50 100.00
4 Feather pillows, at $5.00...... 20.00
10 Bed quilts, at $10 100.00
3 Pairs heavy woolen blankets, at $15 45.00
Gold coin to amount of 2000.00
Notes of the Bank of England, value 1000.00
1 Keg of brandy, iO gals., at $5.00 50.00
1 Set silver teaspoons.... 15.00
1 Set silver tablespoons 25.00
1 Set china dishes 50.00
$7915.00
J. Q. Smith, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, wrote at length on
February 11, 1876, to the Secretary of the Interior, reviewing the
case and rendering his opinion.-' He pointed out the discrepancies
in the three lists submitted. One was the the loss of four mules, in
Fletcher's first list, amounting to $1000. Even he did not men-
tion mules in his second list. Amanda in later testimony insisted
that there were no mules.
In the following paragraph, the commissioner gives his judgment
in the matter: "The fact of the depredation is well established, and
the killing of claimant's wife and the capture of two of his children
is well known to this office. Without doubt, it may be said that he
suffered, in addition to these wrongs and hardships referred to, the
loss of some property; but what property was actually lost is not
satisfactorily shown. The testimony being very meager, and the
statements made by the parties directly interested so discrepant and
unreliable, I must report against the claim, and therefore recom-
mend its disallowance."
Previous to this, John D. Miles, Indian agent at the Cheyenne
and Arapaho Agency, Darlington, Oklahoma, informed Enoch
Hoag. superintendent of Indian affairs, Lawrence, Kansas, on
December 10, 1875, that he had submitted Jasper Fletcher's claim
for alleged depredations by the Cheyennes to the chiefs and head
men in the tribe in council, November 29, 1875.-^ When the facts
were carefully interpreted to them, as set forth in the claim, they
admitted having "committed the outrage." Satisfaction was de-
manded.
27. Ibid., pp. 8-9.
28. Ibid., p. 4.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 29
It is doubtful that Amanda knew of either of the above docu-
ments, Smith to the Secretary of the Interior or Miles to Hoag,
when she wrote to Commissioner Smith on May 17 regarding her
claim. His reply, June 1, was one of regret that the evidence sub-
mitted was "so conflicting and unsatisfactory as to render it impos-
sible to form a correct decision as to the amount and character of
the losses referred to." Besides sending her a copy of his office
report of February 11 — that is, his letter to the Secretary of the
Interior, mentioned above, — he told her that he had no power to
grant such "relief" as she asked, that it could be obtained only by a
special Act of Congress. And so it was that Amanda was paid
$2000, amount due her, per Act of Congress, for her relief, ap-
proved June 16, 1880.-'^ This amount was withheld from the
annuities paid the Cheyennes, because of having taken her captive.
In her effort to further her case she made an unfortunate state-
ment in her letter of June 5, 1876 to Commissioner Smith, a copy
of which she kept. When she begged him to reconsider the matter,
she said, "If I had any money I would pay you for your trouble,
and if it would not be against the laws of that office, I would ask
if [of?] you to pay the money to me and I would see that you were
well paid out of it. ... I have no powerful friends to lay the charge
before Congress, and I ask you, Mr. Smith, if you won't be a friend
to an orphan, and as you are so well acquainted with the ways of
doing such things, won't you take the matter in hand, and I will
give you one-half of the money if Congress see fit to give me relief
on the grounds of my having being [sic] taken and held in captivity
by the Cheyenne Indians." She was helping the lawyer for the
defense build up his case against her, for he could now claim that
besides "enflating" the facts, she had attempted "bribery." [In:
Court of Claims; Indian Depredations, No. 5072, "Evidence for
Claimants," pp. 9-10. ed.]
November 12, 1885, A. B. Upshaw, acting commissioner, care-
fully reviewed the case.^*^ Then he stated that he was "fully im-
pressed from the facts . . . that some remuneration is due the
claimant's heirs for losses sustained in the said depredation." But
that "this office" felt that the "best and safest basis" for estimating
damages, would be to take the figures presented by Jasper Fletcher
in his second statement. He, therefore, recommended that this
claim be allowed and that the heirs be paid $2356.
Charles Hanger on June 21, 1887, explained why there had been
so long a delay. Writing to Oscar D. Fletcher from Davenport,
29. The amount due Amanda M. Fletcher Cook, for her "rehef," was
approved June 16, 1880. Formal acknowledgement was made by the de-
partment, September 24, and a draft was drawn, October 8, four months
after the sum was approved.
30. "Evidence of Claimants," op. cit., pp. 10-13.
30 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Iowa, where he was visiting Amanda, he said the sum recom-
mended by Upshaw had not been paid because there was further
investigation in process to determine if it would not be nearer "just
and right" to allow the claim of $6295. He referred to his recent
meeting with L. H. Poole, special Indian agent, in Cheyenne.
Hanger made his affidavit before Poole, who wrote to Amanda on
October 7 that he was recommending that "the amounts and values
as set forth in claimant's amended schedule be accepted. "'^^
Ten days later, Amanda received a brief notice from Upshaw
stating that he wished to inform her that the claimant was not at
the date of the depredation a citizen of the United States, and
therefore under the act of March 3, 1885, (23rd Stat., p. 376)
"not provided for."
Undaunted, Amanda sent her father's naturalization declaration
to Upshaw, who replied on November 21 that he had received and
filed said declaration, and that it showed conclusively that Fletcher
was not a citizen of the United States on the date of the depreda-
tion, and therefore not provided for by the terms of the act of
March 3, 1885, as indicated in his previous letter.
On October 5, 1880, an account had appeared in the Daily
Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, which had caused widespread comment.
Mrs. Cook seems not to have kept the story in its original form as
it appeared, but from a follow up account, it is apparent that she
attempted to link the name of Miss Lizzie Fletcher, of Buffalo Bill's
Wild West Show, with that of her long-lost sister. Was there a
possibility that Onita, in the skit, "The Prairie Wolf," answering
to the name of Lizzie Fletcher, was the captive? Fortunately the
newspaper, now fragile with age, reprinted Buffalo Bill's response
in its entirety because only the first page is among her collection.
The letter was addressed to B. F. Tellinghast, editor, who passed
the original on to her.
Cody regretted to say that the Miss Fletcher who played the lead
in John A. Stevens' play was not Mrs. Cook's sister, but the inci-
dents involving the Fletcher girls were so well known they might
have suggested the name to Stevens. Cody speaks of Comstock,
whom he knew well, and he says that he was killed, in July, 1868,
by the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers while scouting in Western Kansas.
It was his belief that the white men whom Mrs. Cook had men-
tioned in her letter to him were Charles and George Bent. In his
concluding paragraph, he says, "I haven't a doubt in the world that
she [the real Lizzie Fletcher] still lives," and he promised to try
in any way he could to locate her. Nothing seems to have resulted.
Three days after the article appeared, Amanda was paid the
$2000 due her for her "relief." She refers to this money as "a
present for captivity award." It did not modify her attitude toward
31. Ibid., pp. 23-25.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 31
the Cheyennes, who had admitted their guilt and had paid her.
She now felt it all the more necessary that she complete her father's
naturalization papers, so that she would not be deprived of her
rights under the law by not being a naturalized citizen of the United
States. While she was working out a solution to this problem, she
continued her search to find Lizzie; she wrote letters and her
memoirs; and she even started a book, but after a few flowery
pages she gave up.
Fletcher, in his original claim, had asked for a reasonable sum.
When he was not granted that, he must have reduced his claim on
the theory that it would be better to receive a small amount than
nothing. Again he failed. The appraisal sworn to by Amanda
and her brother, though it did not agree with eithsr of Fletcher's
claims, was not exorbitant, except in minor detail.
In 1889, there was an amazing development in the case when
Amanda's claim was upped $100,000. The reason is obscure.
If all of her own letters had been kept, the matter might have been
clarified.
Amanda had been unable to receive even the amount of Fletch-
er's second claim because he had not been naturalized. Because
of his lack of final papers, she still was not a naturalized citizen
when Senator W. B. Allison proposed a bill to be entered in the
Senate of the Fifty-first Congress in her behalf. It called for the
payment to Amanda M. Fletcher-Cook, for herself and brothers,
the sum of $108,000, with interest from August 1, 1865.
Fearing that the bill might die in committee, Amanda wrote a
spirited letter to Senator Allison dated February 20, 1 890, a copy
of which she kept. In it she showed her resentment over not hav-
ing been paid the amount she felt was due her. She asked, "How
often has Mr. and Mrs. Justice died in committee rooms of the
U. S. Senate?. . . Now at the proper time. ... I want you to stand
by that bill. . . . That committee ought to soon present the bill you
have or had as it was attached to my affidavit, which makes me not
you responsible for my claim presentment. I want our dues with-
out further delays by Uncle Samuel or his officers entrusted to
paying his debts and obligations. ... If the committee of the
Senate wishes to cut off a slice from Justice, let him cut out
the interest but not one cent of the principle in the sum about
$106,000."
Three days later, Amanda received a most informative letter, the
first ten pages of which are found in her collection. Though the
signature is missing, it was written from Las Animas and was
dated, February 26, 1890. Since the unknown writer refers to his
brother, Thomas O. Boggs, he would have been in a position to
know the oldtimers about whom he wrote. Relative to Kit Carson,
about whom Amanda must have inquired, he stated that he lived
for a time with Thomas Boggs. His wife died at Boggsville, Colo-
rado, the home of Boggs and Carson, the same year (1867) he
32 ANNALS OF WYOMING
died at Fort Lyon. Besides leaving his private papers to Boggs,
Carson also left his children for him to raise and educate.
But of more interest than this to Amanda, the writer promised to
find out if there was such a chief as Cut Nose among the Chey-
ennes. He said he would have his wife ask Mrs. John W. Prowers,
the daughter of One Eye, who was killed at Sand Creek. The page
with this information is missing. The writer supplied the address
of Ed Gary and George Bent, as Fort Sill, Indian Territory. If
Amanda wrote to the former, she had no reply, nor did she have
direct word from Bent. Her letter to him, with certain qualifica-
tions, has been mentioned previously.
In her efforts to find Lizzie, Amanda wrote to everyone she
thought could supply her with a scrap of information. After find-
ing out from the War Department that General P. E. Connor did
not file a report, which might have mentioned the attack at Rock
Creek, she wrote to Colonel Nelson A. Cole, who, in 1865, led a
contingent of the ill-fated Powder River Expedition. While Connor
was establishing the camp named in his honor. Cole and his men
almost perished, more from the weather than because of any
Indian action.
The only decisive battle Connor could claim during the War of
1865 was at Tongue River where he destroyed Black Bear's camp.
Colonel Cole briefly outhned the campaign and concluded by say-
ing, "Your experience was certainly a sad one, and you have my
heartfelt sympathy and regret that I cannot be of service to you."
In 1890, she appealed to the War Department again, this time
so see if she could find any record of the burial of her mother and
others at Rock Creek. There was no record. In 1972, Mary Farr
paused at the scene of a number of unmarked graves on the slope
above Rock Creek Crossing. At this late date it is impossible to
determine how many — and she speculated as to which held the
remains of her great-grandmother, Mary Limb Fletcher. She will
never know.
In her desperation, Amanda wrote to General John B. Sanborn,
who was then practicing law in St. Paul. Her request for informa-
tion was followed by two long letters in which he tried to place the
incident she recounted. His problem was that, to his knowledge,
there were two Rock Creeks, one in Wyoming and the other in
Kansas, just below the Nebraska line.
In his first letter, March 18, 1890, he said that he camped at
Rock Creek (here he obviously meant Wyoming) in the spring of
1886, and his companion, the veteran trader, George P. Beauvais,
"now dead," related an incident in which one or more women were
captured by Indians, and he pointed out the direction in which the
Indians moved and the hills where they camped the first night.
The incident sounded as if it related to the Fletchers, but he was
unable to recall the details Beauvais had given him. He was left
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 33
under the impression that the women who were captured were later
surrendered by the Indians.
Sanborn said that he did not know or hear of any English gold
sovereign pieces or English currency being passed by the Indians
or whites on the Plains when he was in command. He suggested
that she write to Seth W. Ward, Westport, Missouri; Colonel
Nelson Cole, St. Louis, Missouri; and Colonel Thomas Moonlight,
who was in charge at Fort Laramie in 1865, though he was under
the impression that Moonlight had died. He believed that Mr.
Ward could tell her the "state of everything if he is not made infirm
with age." It should be noted that Moonlight, who served as
Governor at Wyoming Territory ( 1 887-89 ) did not die until 1 899.
In Sanborn's second letter, dated March 25, he said that the
Bent brothers, whom she must have mentioned, were "notoriously
hostile and ugly at the Treaty of 1865, when all of the chiefs prom-
ised to give up any captives in their possession as soon as they
could be brought into the posts occupied by the troops." This
council concerned the Southern bands of Cheyennes and Arapa-
hoes, those under Black Kettle and Little Raven. These two chiefs
tried to arrange peace while their warriors fought in the north.
Meanwhile, the northern bands of the tribes against whom the
government was then at war, continued to roam at will. Sanborn
makes no mention of the Dog Soldiers.
The Davenport Democrat of April 18, 1890, carried a story
under the heading, "A Peculiar Case." It said that Mrs. M. A. F.
Cook had come to the county clerk's office with the incomplete
naturalization papers of her father, Jasper Fletcher. He took out
his first papers in Cambridge, lUinois, in 1861, but he left for
California before taking out the final ones. After reviewing the
Fletcher story, the article stated that the papers had been com-
pleted, thus making Mrs. Cook a naturalized citizen, through her
father, then deceased. The papers were 30 years too late to help
Jasper Fletcher or his heirs.
About two weeks prior to this date, T. J. Morgan, commissioner
of Indian affairs, after receiving Amanda's inquiry regarding the
burial of her mother, called Colonel Samuel F. Tappan into his
office for an interview. Tappan, who was at Fort Lyon at the time
of the Sand Creek Massacre, was grounded because of an injured
foot. A foe of Colonel Chivington's, he later became chairman of
the military commission investigating the Sand Creek Massacre. ^'-
32. There was a military as well as a Congressional Commission inves-
tigating Sand Creek, with Senator Ben Wade chairman of the latter. The
hundreds of pages of testimony resulted in the resignation of Governor
Evans. Though Chivington was held primarily to blame, he was not court-
martialed as it was time for his retirement. He subsequently resigned.
34 ANNALS OF WYOMING
He referred Amanda to General Connor, who was then (1890)
stationed at Salt Lake City, Utah, and to Colonel Thomas Moon-
light, who was, on March 20, 1890, residing in Leavenworth,
Kansas. Amanda undoubtedly wrote to both, but no replies are
found.
In all legal matters, Charles Hanger, or "Uncle Charlie," as
Amanda called him, stood by her loyally. Besides making a trip to
Cheyenne to consult Special Indian Agent Poole and give his depo-
sition in his presence, he made a trip to Washington, D. C. in be-
half of her case.
In his first deposition, October 31, 1891, he stated that the
Cheyennes with whom he traded did not give him a single robe,
but paid him in money — Bank of England notes and coins. •^•* The
Indians, he testified, told him that the money was taken from the
Fletcher wagons. According to his statement, he was paid about
$14,000 in English money, but he paid the ransom in goods, which
meant more to the Indians. He affirmed that Colonel Bent (Wil-
liam, father of Charles and George) showed him the EngHsh money
he had. He had forgotten how much he said it amounted to, but
he believed it to be at least twice the amount in his possession.
Hanger claimed that he offered $200 for Mrs. Fletcher's wedding
ring, which was being worn by one of the Indians, but he was
unable to buy it.
One paragraph in Hanger's letter of October 20, 1891, indicated
that he might have been giving money as well as encouragement to
his protege. He states, "I am glad you extended partial invitation
to visit my Davenport house — and I will avail myself of the priv-
ilege as soon as my Dear Mother is at rest — and as far as footing
the bills that is one reason I will want to come — to make you com-
fortable for the winter." In the postscript, he added, "Do you
know, Mary, I am just worn out with watching and the care of
Poor Mother — but it will soon be over and I will have done my
duty — nothing more, however — and I am glad I have kept up as
well as I have."
In his November 4 letter. Hanger reviewed certain details in his
deposition, a copy of which he sent her. He commented, "Did you
ever stop to think that I did not get one robe from the Indians that
you were with — it was all money!" He had made it clear that his
partner, Morris, was dead. There was not a living person who
could cdntradict his statements.
He suggested that she make arrangements with Jasper and Os-
car. William having died previously, to pay them a certain sum
when she got the money. At the same time, she should remind
33. "Evidence of Claimants," op. cit., Hanger's first deposition, pp.
22-24.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 35
them of how she had been fighting all of these years and the hun-
dreds of dollars she had spent. He made no mention of his own
expense.
Jasper Fletcher's sons showed little interest in Indian Depreda-
tion 380, Court No. 5072, which first stated: "Mrs. A. M. F.
Cook, Jasper Fletcher and Oscar D. F. Fletcher, Heirs of Jasper
Fletcher, Deceased, vs. The United States and Cheyenne and
Apache Indians." Court Number 5072 was reworded to read:
"Amanda M. Fletcher Cook et al., heirs of Jasper Fletcher, de-
ceased, v^. The United States and the Cheyenne and Arapahoe
tribes of Indians." There seems little reason for the inclusion of
the Apaches. Apparently the mistake was noted and the word
Arapahoes was inserted, though the Arapahoes seem to have been
incidental to Amanda's way of thinking. She had no reason to
question the belief that Lizzie was still among the Cheyenne In-
dians. The only gesture her brothers seem to have made to help
her in her continuous battle was in the nature of a deposition given
by Jasper February 1, 1876, when he was 17 years old.''^ With it
was filed his inventory of loss, identical to Amanda's. Other than
this, Jasper showed a lack of interest. An envelope, containing a
number of documents, as well as a form that was never filled out,
appears to be just as his sister received it.
The many letters Mrs. Cook kept from lawyers, politicians,
military personnel, and others interested in her case reflect the
anxious moments she must have spent writing for information —
anything she could obtain to further her cause. Just as her father
had shown his marked determination, she, too, seemed to have a
single purpose, and she considered it "just and true." There is no
extraneous matter in her collection.
In the fourth letter in a series from the Attorney General's
office, it is obvious that the patience of the Justice Department was
wearing thin. In this letter, dated December 30, 1892, the Attor-
ney General stated sharply, "There are nearly nine thousand cases
pending in the Court of Claims for Indian Depredations, and it is
impossible to keep up a personal correspondence with each of the
claimants. You have an attorney of record who is supposed to
attend to the claimants' interests and do what is best for them in
the case."
In Mrs. Cook's collection, there is the copy of an agreement with
B. W. Perkins, dated April 4, 1891, to take charge of her claim.
Amanda must have been discouraged by all that had happened.
She had been defeated in various battles but she had not conceded
defeat in her war. She still had the backing of Charles Hanger.
A second deposition was given by him on behalf of the claimant
34. Ibid., Jasper Fletcher Jr.'s deposition, pp. 6-8.
36 ANNALS OF WYOMING
at Clinton, Illinois, October 31, 1891.-^'' It was repetitious for the
most part. Then it was stipulated that he should go to Washing-
ton, D. C, by Perkins, attorney for claimants, and L. W. Colby,
assistant attorney general. Colby conducted the cross examination
there, December 15, 1891, and he questioned him at length. Again
Hanger added little that had not already been said.
Perkins, after being appointed U. S. senator, turned over all of
his law business to attorneys Martin & Cushman. W. W. Martin,
of that firm, informed Amanda on March 19, 1892, that the
prosecution of depredations claims was at a standstill in the Court
of Claims because the attorney general raised the question of the
necessity of "service on the Indian charged with committing depre-
dations." Until that question was determined by the Court, there
would be no further action as far as trying cases was concerned.
He concluded by saying that Amanda would be notified in time to
be prepared, as soon as arrangements could be made with the
attorney general to take her deposition.
In her letter to Colby, April 23, 1892, she said that she wished
to have her deposition taken. She "couldn't stand the strain much
longer." But she had to wait until December 1 before it was done.
It amounted to 12 printed pages of prepared questions that were
put to her.'"' She merely amplified for the most part what she had
previously said. In her testimony she tells of watching the Indians
take clothing, bedding, beds, provisions, and "money in particular"
from the wagons. She makes reference to the "family treasury"
a number of times.
When asked if she ever saw the Indians make use of the money,
she referred to Sand Hill. "He went there [to Colonel Bent's, then
in the Sand Hills], and he disposed of the money there in swapping
for different things, sugar, flour, coffee, and blankets, and any-
thing, of course, that he could get. ... It [the money] passed
through his hands to mine to be sure it was correct, and I paid it
to Colonel Bent."
She stated: "They wanted me to count them [the bills]. I
would count the number. There was one that had 1 700 bills. One
Indian in particular had 2400 pounds in Enghsh money. Just
when I saw this money I could not tell you. It was while I was a
captive, I am positive. There was one that had 700 bills. I knew
this money. It was a different kind from the American. I knew
it was the same. The gold was divided among them. The squaws
had the coins, after making holes in them, strung in their ears.
Something grand and something that was very nice in their idea."
This is significant, for a lawyer with mathematical insight later
pointed to the fact that she saw more money than she had originally
35. Ibid., Hanger's second deposition and cross-examination, pp. 24-29.
36. Ibid., Amanda Fletcher Cook's deposition, pp. 29-46.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 37
specified her father had. This led to the conclusion that the
money — perhaps a major part of it — may have come from another
source.
Letters continued to arrive from attorneys: Perkins and Chan-
dler, Washington, D. C; Martin and Cushman, Washington, D. C;
and Davis and Lane, Davenport, Iowa, regarding the case. Finally
on December 11, 1894, one came from Needham and Cotton,
Washington, D. C, saying the defendant had filed a plea alleging
fraud. This was unquestionably a blow to Amanda. Across the
end of the envelope she wrote "important." The attorney signified
that the defendant had no further testimony and was ready to
dispose of the case as soon as it could be briefed. If Amanda had
no additional information relative to the case, the lawyer saw no
reason why it could not be briefed and submitted.
In Amanda's collection there are three government documents
pertaining to Case No. 5072. One contains 46 pages of evidence
to be submitted to the Court of Claims. It is yellowed with age
and worn thin from handling. Its binding is gone and the pages
are held together with a thread. The other two are "Claimants'
Request for Finding of Facts," and "Defendants' Request for
Finding of Facts." Since the facts have already been covered, we
will mention only the highlights given in the preface in the two
pamphlets just mentioned.
Martin, attorney for the claimants, stressed the following
points:**"
1. Though Jasper Fletcher, then deceased, was not a naturalized
citizen, he had declared his intent and was therefore entitled to
protection.
2. That the Cheyenne Indians who committed the alleged depre-
dations, July 31, 1865, were "at the time in treaty relations, and in
amity with the United States and chargeable with the Claimant's
loss."
3. That the depredation was committed on the trail (near Rock
Creek Station), not on a reservation and that the value of the
prop)erty destroyed amounted to $106,295.50.
4. That Amanda, Jasper, and Oscar D. F. were "the only surviving
heirs" of Jasper Fletcher, deceased.
5. Said Claimants were entitled to recover, "under the law and the
evidence," of the United States and Cheyenne Indians, the sum of
$106,295.50.
Colby, Assistant Attorney-General, prefaced his argument by
mentioning :'^^
37. "Claimants' Request for Finding of Facts," op. cit., pp. 1-2.
38. "Defendant's Request for Finding of Fact," Indian Depredations.
Court No. 5072, Court of Claims, pp. 1-2.
38 ANNALS OF WYOMING
1 . Jasper Fletcher was not at the date of the depredation a citizen
of the United States.
2. The value of the claimant's property stolen or destroyed did not
exceed $2356.
3. There was no proof that the claimants were the only living heirs
of Jasper Fletcher.
4. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians had already paid Amanda
M. Fletcher Cook the sum of $2000 on account of the same attack
upon which the claim was based.
5. The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes were not in amity with the
United States at the time.
6. The claimants had attempted in the "proof, statement, and es-
tablishment of their claim to practice fraud against the United
States and their claim should be forfeited to the Government.'"
Since money seems to have been the main contention, Colby's
summary is significant. He states: "It is not pretended and it is
not possible that Amanda M. Fletcher Cook has any knowledge of
this loss now that she did not have in 1875, the father having died
before the date of the affidavit in which she places the loss of coin
and bank notes at $3000. It is incredible that the father should
have made two claims, one for $250 and the other for $150, in
gold coin, if the actual amount lost was from 400 to 700 times
greater; but it is inconceivable that the daughter and the son should
increase this claim to $2000 and make an additional claim for
$1000 in bank notes, with the full knowledge that the real amount
lost was $15,000 in gold and $85,000 in bank notes.''^^
We can be sure that Charles Hanger suffered through the long,
drawn out case with Amanda. He, too, must have been tired
of it all. A letter from Needham & Cotton, January 17, 1896,
brought further disappointment, to both Hanger and to Amanda,
to whom it was addressed. The letter began by stating that as
promised the attorneys would keep her informed. "We have now
to announce to you the fact that the Supreme Court has decided
in respect to the Indian depredation statute that the claimant must
be a citizen at the date of the depredation and that he had filed his
intentions to become one does not bring him within the scope
of the jurisdiction. This affirms the opinion of the Court of
Claims. . . . The decision would seem to be fatal to your case as
you were long ago advised and the only thing which can now
amend it is the legislation proposed. "^*^' He could not say what the
chances were for that, but the lawyers would keep in touch with
39. Ibid., pp. 7-8.
40. "Adjudication and Payment of all Claims Arising from Indian
Depredations," Calendar No. 1281, Senate Report No. 1300, 56 Cong.,
1st Sess.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 39
"the western Senators who have the matter at heart," and they
would let her know as soon as possible.
This was probably the end of the matter as far as Hanger was
concerned. His last letter, dated August 19, 1897, was written
from Clinton, Ilhnois. It made no reference to the case, which by
now was dead. Instead, on a lighter note, he wished her a happy
birthday by referring to an important event which happened in Old
England 46 years before. With his usual good humor, he said he
was "creditably informed that she was there." He devoted his life
to caring for an ailing mother and considerable time and substance
in helping his devoted friend, Amanda. His death must have
occurred not long afterwards.
With Case No. 5072 settled, Amanda had yet another major
problem to face: What became of Lizzie? Both Custer and Buf-
falo Bill were convinced that she was alive. Unknown to her,
stories were beginning to circulate regarding a white woman who
came to Casper, Wyoming, with the Indians who drove freight
caravans between the Wind River Reservation and that point, a
distance of about 125 miles. The story of the mysterious white
woman came to the notice of the publisher of The Natrona County
Tribune, A. J. Mokler, who carried a story in his paper. Is was
republished in a number of newspapers, and finally came to the
attention of Amanda, who wrote a letter of inquiry to Mokler and
sent him a copy of The Gazette, telling of the attack at Rock Creek
and the capture of the child, who had never been found.
C. G. Coutant, early-day historian, of Cheyenne, wrote to
Amanda, August 31, 1900. He asked for detailed information on
her "adventures" which he planned to put in a chapter on "Captive
Women and Children," in his proposed Volume II of History
of Wyoming.^^
Coutant's letter was followed on September 7 by one from A. J.
Mokler. After acknowledging receipt of The Gazette, he stated
that he would publish it in the paper the 13th, which he did. He
mentioned Captain Hermon G. Nickerson, of Fort Washakie, who
he thought might have told her that the white woman was with the
band of Indians in Casper some years before. Nickerson was not
the first to discover that there might possibly be a white woman
living with the Indians. The scout Frank Grouard, in March.
1878, had seen the Arapahoes being moved to the Wind River
Reservation, and he had observed that they had a white boy and
girl with them.
41. Volume II of Coutant's history was never published. His unfinished
notes are in the files of the Wyoming State Archives and Historical Depart-
ment. The account furnished him by Amanda appeared in the Second
Biennial Report of the State Historian, September 30, 1922, under the head-
ing. "Captured by Indians," pp. 101-106.
40 ANNALS OF WYOMING
The Arapahoes who refused to hve among the Sioux or to go to
Indian Territory to merge with the Southern bands, were placed on
the Shoshone reservation on a temporary basis in 1878. It was not
until after a prolonged court case, ending in 1938, that the Sho-
shones were paid for one-half of the reservation, that portion
occupied by the Arapahoes. Since then the reservation has been
jointly owned by the two tribes.
In August, 1901, another newspaper man, C. S. Thompson,
became actively interested in "the white Indian girl." Writing on
Inter Ocean Hotel stationery, Cheyenne, he said that he had
learned in a recent conversation with Captain Nickerson, agent at
the Shoshone Reservation, that a white woman was living as a
member of the Arapaho tribe.
Meanwhile, Amanda had a most welcome letter from Senator
Francis E. Warren, of the Committee on Claims, regarding the
"Adjudication and Payment of All Claims Arising from Indian
Depredations (No. 1281)," which might indirectly have helped her
recover the loss for which she fought so hard. Warren said,
"Friends of the measure are making some changes in it, which it is
thought will make its passage easier of accomplishment than if
presented in the same form as last session." He hoped for favor-
able results.^-
It is difficult to determine whether or not Nickerson knew that
John Brokenhorn's wife was white when he gave her the name
Sarah, about the turn of the century. It took him two years to
Anghcize all of the Indian names at Wind River. When he com-
pleted his task, Cornelius Vanderbilt, WilUam Shakespeare, Wash-
ington, Garfield, Lincoln, and Grant were among the names of
dignitaries found on the tribal rolls. All were meaningless to the
Indians at the time.
Prior to Nickerson's time, there had been no family names
among the two tribes. Each had his own, given to him at birth or
earned by him later in life. This matter of family names was con-
trary to the Indian pattern; especially was this true among the
Shoshones, who would not repeat the name of the dead.
The Arapahoes, on the other hand, believed that an infant's
42. An undated and unidentified clipping in Amanda's collection is titled,
"Paying for Poor Lo's Work," and it indicates that the bill was passed in
both the House and the Senate, but that a conference "had been ordered and
some agreement would undoubtedly be reached." The lack of further infor-
mation indicates that Mrs. Cook was again disappointed. Obviously, she
did not consider her claim settled, for on February 8, 1928, she legally
assigned to her son, F. S. Cook, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, all her "right,
title and interest in the cause of action against the United States, now pend-
ing in the Court of Claims at Washington, D. C. entitled: Amanda M.
Fletcher Cook vs. The United States of America, thereby giving him full
power to collect all the profits that might be obtained from said action.
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 41
longevity might be assured by giving him the name of a very old
person. The "re-used names" had nothing to do with blood lines.
The Arapahoes also had an interesting custom of name exchange.
If one member of the tribe preferred some other name to his own,
he might approach the one bearing it and offer a price — in the
early days a horse was his usual offer. The one approached could
not, under the circumstances, refuse. Dispossessed this way, he
might have to wait for a meeting of his age society before having
another name, which was then ceremonially conferred. Nickerson
contributed toward the disruption of the cultural plan. In the case
of John Brokenhorn and others whose names were acceptable, he
merely added a given name and the one by which they were known
became the surname, used by the various members of that par-
ticular family.
Thompson, who was previously mentioned, was told by Nick-
son that Mrs. Cook planned to come West that year (1901 ) to
identify her sister. As a newspaper man, "doing work occasionally
for the New York Sun,'" he hoped "to get to the bottom of this
white woman case." He requested all information she might be
disposed to give and promised his help in solving the riddle.
Not since Custer's information concerning Little Silver Hair had
Amanda been given such definite reason to believe that her sister
was alive. During her tedious and often frustrating efforts to gain
a settlement in the Court of Claims, she had lost hope of ever
seeing her again.
She was heartened by a letter from Nickerson, Shoshone Agen-
cy, Wyoming, September 16, 1901. He said that the smallpox
epidemic and the Indian uprising she had mentioned were a fake.
He wrote, "Should you come to the agency to see the alleged white
woman, let me know when you will leave Casper for the Arapaho
sub-agency, 25 miles from Fort Washakie." From this we are not
sure whether or not he was aware that Brokenhorn's wife was a
white woman — and he certainly had no way of knowing her real
name — when he called her Sarah Brokenhorn. He promised to
meet Amanda and arrange for an interview, to which he felt there
would be no objection.
According to an undated, unidentified clipping — a reprint ot
Mokler's article — Mrs. Cook and her sister were united after a
separation of 37 years. Although we are not sure of the exact
date, it was sometime in the spring of 1902. Lizzie, according to
Amanda, looked just like her mother, Mary Limb Fletcher, still
with evidence of a fair complexion though she had been constantK
exposed to the sun and the winds. Indian paint could not cover up
the fact that she had blue eyes and freckles, which seemed to run
in the Fletcher family. Through an interpreter Amanda tried
vainly to persuade her to return to Davenport with her. But
Lizzie, who had her share of her father's determination, flatly
42
ANNALS OF WYOMING
refused. She denied the obvious truth that she was white. No
amount of pleading could sway her.
The picture of John and Lizzie Brokenhom is significant. It
indicates that Little Silver Hair, "the white Indian girl," still liked
fancy Indian attire. Her porcupine quill embroidered cape, her
beads, and her bracelets show her to be dressed in the prescribed
Indian fashion. The only item of her attire that shows any lack
of conformity is the warbonnet, the emblem of the Plains warrior.
Women as a rule did not wear one.
Mary Farr, recognizing the strong resemblance, says, "If you
would put a warbonnet on Grandma [Amanda], you would swear
that it was Aunt Lizzie." Who, might we ask, would have had any
more right to wear the emblem of a warrior than Jasper Fletcher's
two spunky daughters?
It might be fitting to try to analyze Lizzie's point of view since
she had no way of expressing it herself and Amanda could not
Mary Farr Collection
JOHN AND LIZZIE BROKEN HORN
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 43
understand because of her own bitter experience. In the first
place, as a little girl Lizzie had been affectionately cared for by the
Arapahoes, who love children. Sometimes it is difficult to deter-
mine whose children are whose, because those of friends and rela-
tives are cared for with the same devotion as their own. Second,
she had been able to adjust to the Indian way of life better than
the usual captive because she had no remembrance of having lived
among the whites. The Indian "road," as they call their way of
life, was the only one she knew. Third, she had a husband who
may not have provided her with certain "necessities" a white
woman might demand, but over the years had stood by her, and
she by him. They had shared joys and sorrows, for they had lost
their only child when he was only 12 years of age. Fourth, she
was surprised, though not overjoyed, to learn her identity from a
woman whom she did not even know, a stranger who claimed to be
her sister. Had she been younger, she might have reacted differ-
ently, but she had lived too long with a man who opposed the white
man and all that he stood for, though he proudly wore a medal
showing he had served as a scout for General George Crook.
The tragedy of the encounter is that the sisters could not speak
the same language, and they had no basis for understanding. When
Lizzie denied her, Amanda faced another great sorrow in her life.
Mokler quotes her as saying that she had had many bitter exper-
iences, but when Lizzie "refused to give up her wild life and live
like a woman civilized, it was the hardest blow she had endured
since she saw her mother killed by being thrust through the body
with a spear."^^ To Lizzie, who did not realize the full significance
of the interview, the incident had little meaning.
The Arapahoes must have felt a degree of satisfaction in know-
ing that Ha(h)-nabe-no-ha (Kills-in-Time) had spurned the offer to
return to her people and had preferred to remain with them. One
statement regarding her that appeared in the press is difficult to
accept — that is, that her discovery lent dignity and that she felt
more important and considered herself of superior birth.
It should be pointed out that the Arapahoes from time imme-
morial have considered themselves "the chosen people," having
been created first, according to their Origin Myth. When it was
asserted that Brokenhorn felt superior because his wife was a white
woman, so superior that he refused his natural allotment, it is hard
to believe. He was known for his animosity to the government.
His stubornness in refusing the allotment obviously stemmed from
the fact that he felt the land was not the white man's to allot.
The Brokenhorns spent their last years in their little cabin about
43. A. J. Mokler, "A White Indian Woman." in History of Natrona
County, 1888-1922, (Chicago: R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 1923), pp.
417-421.
44 ANNALS OF WYOMING
a half mile from St. Stephens Indian Mission, near Riverton, Wyo-
ming, where he supported himself and his wife by peddling curios,
trading horses, and practicing as a medicine man. This was sup-
plemented by a pension of $50 a month he received for having
served General Crook and by what wages Sarah could earn doing
laundry and housework for some of the white families in Riverton.
She also served as midwife.
The early settlers in the area remember her quite clearly. One
former resident states that she used to wash for her mother, and
when she would roll up her sleeves to keep them out of the water,
her arms were white.
Another pioneer in Riverton states that she recalls one winter —
she believes it was in 1909 — when the weather was unusually cold.
The Indian women would come to the back door of the restaurant
to ask for food. Mrs. Brokenhorn, more thin-skinned than the
rest, seemed actually to be suffering one bitter cold day. The
owner invited her in and seated her in front of the range. When
she opened the oven door, Sarah warmed her moccasined feet
inside. She appeared grateful, but she could not speak a word of
English. The daughter-in-law of the proprietor has not forgotten
that she looked different from the other Indian women — her braids
were not of the same texture and her eyes were lighter in color.
What interested her most was that there was a white streak around
her wrist, between her cuffs and the place where the dye on her
hands left off.
One of the elderly Arapaho women recalls that she was white
when she stripped down to bathe with the Indian women in a
secluded spot on Wind River. This same elder steadfastly main-
tains that she came to the Arapahoes through the Crow Indians.
Several others who could be induced to talk about her stuck to the
Crow story, sometimes embellishing it. Just when the version got
started we cannot discover. It may have been circulated by the
Indians to discourage further visits from a white woman claiming
to be a sister.
One version, more complete than the rest, is given by Agnes
Bell (Mrs. Isaac) at Arapahoe, Wyoming. She states: "Some
Arapaho men went to a small town to buy food. There they met
this woman, 'Lizzie Sarah's' mother. She asked them to take her
away because she was pregnant and wanted a home and father for
her child. A childless man took this woman to his home. Lizzie
Sarah was born and raised in that Indian home. When older she
married John Brokenhorn." Mrs. Bell insists she was not a
captive.
Mike Brown (Lone Bear), one of the leading elders, also living
at Arapahoe, who knew the Brokenhorns better than any one else,
states that there are two stories concerning Lizzie. One is that
she was captured by the Crows and later came, or was traded to
his people; the other is that she was captured along the trail by the
AMANDA MARY AND THE DOG SOLDIERS 45
Arapahoes, with whom she lived until the time of her death. He
would not say which was the true account. When he was given a
brief resume of the Rock Creek incident, he commented, "Well,
that sounds pretty much like it."
He said that Walker, the only child, was Walks Ahead, sug-
gesting that he might have walked ahead of the rest when camp
was being moved. Nickerson named him Columbus, a name by
which Brown remembers him when they attended school. In the
heirship files at the agency at Fort Washakie, he is mentioned as
Walker Horn. Following his untimely death he was buried at the
Black Coal Cemetery. Brown was unable to explain the origin
of Lizzie's name, Kills-in-Time, which may relate to the Rock
Creek incident, and the killing of her mother.
It was late in the afternoon when Judge and Mrs. Farr and the
author reached the cemetery at St. Stephens, where John Broken-
horn and his wife are buried. The simple cemetery, with its mod-
est markings and artificial flowers, is not laid out in family plots.
It looks as if the graves might have been filled in the order deaths
occurred. Mary Farr had no difficulty finding the grave she
sought — that of her great aunt. There it was, right in front of her.
The small wooden cross marking it read, "Sarah Broken Horn."
In the files at the agency, there are two letters pertinent to the
Brokenhorns. One, dated March 13, 1930, is from R. P. Haas,
superintendent, to the commissioner of pensions, Washington,
D. C. The purpose was to notify him that John Brokenhorn,
Pensioner No. 11826, Indian scout, died February 22, 1930. Haas
returned the March check.
The other letter is from Arthur N. Arnston, acting superintend-
ent, to the Secretary of the Interior (through the commissioner of
Indian affairs). It requests instruction on the disposition of the
estate of Brokenhorn, unallotted Arapaho Indian. It amounted to
$25.49, including the sum derived from a wagon and harness in
1927 and the interest that had accrued since then.
One paragraph is of special interest. It states :
"This Indian [John Brokenhorn] was born in 1850 and died
February 22, 1930. An examination of old census records reveals
that he had one child. Walker Horn, who died in 1909 at the age
of 12. His wife. Kills in Time Horn, Unallotted, died May 31,
1928. No record can be found of any living heirs."
It is strange that the two captives, one who knew a life of
affluence, and the other that of a drudge, should both die in the
same month, in the same year — Amanda on May 9 and her sister
on May 31. Amanda's death occurred almost exactly 63 years
after the Fletcher family set out from Rock Island, Illinois, on their
tragic adventure.
Lizzie, or Sarah, lies buried among the people with whom she
spent all but two years of her life. She was fortunate in being
taken into a tribe of Indians that is well known for its fondness for
46 ANNALS OF WYOMING
children. As she grew up, there was no question about her being
accepted. She was already one of them.
Amanda, who waged a losing legal battle over the years, lived
in a beautiful old stone house, known in its declining years as the
oldest house in Davenport. In 1967 it was listed as vacant; in
1968 it became the location of a McDonald's drive-in restaurant.
Mary Ehzabeth Farr, who perpetuates the name Mary (Amanda
Mary) of her grandmother and Elizabeth (Lizzie) of her great-
aunt, says, in speaking of the past, "It makes me weep bitter tears."
For whom? Are they for Lizzie, who lived a life without com-
plaint, away from the complexities of the white society? Or are
they for Amanda Mary, who magnified her wrongs over the years
and was never quite able to recognize her own good fortune?
journal of William Klley JmnkllH
to California fwm Missouri
in 1850
Edited By
Homer Franklin, Sr., and Homer Franklin, Jr.
Introduction by
John W. Cornelison
Associate Editor, Annals of Wyoming
This journal came to the attention of the Annals of Wyoming
staff in 1971. It is of particular interest since the route followed
by the party, composed only of men, was the Sublette Cutoff.
Portions of the journal have been published in a limited edition
book entitled The William Franklin Line and Related Families
1785-1972 with Reminiscences by Homer Franklin, Sr., 1904-.
However, subsequent restoration work on the original manuscript
enabled the Franklins to recover a number of additional entries.
According to Homer Franklin, Sr., the portion of the journal cov-
ering the trip to California was contained on about 55 pages and
the entire journal, including supplementary material, contains 97
pages.
In the past, the journal was used as a scrapbook and various
items were pasted over the manuscript entries. The editors said
that the journal had come apart and pages were not in logical
sequence. Mr. Franklin said that even after two restoration efforts,
there still were missing pages, entries that could not be read, and
pages that apparently were out of sequence. The staff of Annals
of Wyoming was given permission by the editors to attempt to put
the materials in order. In so doing, we have tried to note those
places within the narrative where there seems to be some question.
Some notes also were made by the Franklins who edited the journal
and made the typescript copy of the original. Notes inserted by the
Franklins are designated, ed.
William Riley Franklin was born in Franklin County, Kentucky,
in 1825, married Josephine Pryor in Missouri in 1848. and died in
Kaufman County, Texas, in 1891. He was the grandfather of
Homer Franklin, Sr., and the great-grandfather of Homer Frank-
lin, Jr. According to the editors, William Riley Franklin may have
48 ANNALS OF WYOMING
been a preacher or a philosopher at the time he made the trip
to Cahfornia. There also is an indication in the journal that he
may have been a tutor.
The journal is based on the typescript copies provided by the
Franklins. Spelling and punctuation have been essentially left as
they appear in the typescript.
Thursday evening about 3:00 o'clock, April 4th A.D. 1850, we
made our departure from Clinton County, Mo. for upper Cali-
fornia to try our luck in the "Gold diggins". And I assure you,
gentle reader, if you are on the eve of departure, you can appre-
ciate our feelings, especially if you are about to leave a family
behind to encounter the storms of adversity and poverty. We had
a very rough introduction from the aforesaid county to Fort Kear-
ney [old Fort Kearny, or Nebraska City.] The first evening was
very gloomy to a seeker of the "Root of all evil". It rained on us
incessantly and until dark put a stop to our march. We put up in
a house for the night. From this on to Fort Kearney, bad weather
followed us closely, as if to discourage us and send us back home,
yet notwithstanding all this rain, mud and cold, we rushed forward
with high spirits and a bold front (in anticipation of future pros-
perity and pleasant days) and made the trip this far in 10 days.
But I acknowledge, kind reader, that during this period our
minds often wondered back to scenes of other and former days and
I might say more comfortable days in which we could shelter from
the driving rain and peltering storms. However, we could descry
through all this gloom, better days, as appearing in the distance,
yet afar off. Probably it will be necessary in the near future
perusal of this journal to inform you of the number of our com-
pany, officers etc. this I will do after we organize. One thing sure
I will mention, that we traveled through the counties of Buchanan,
Andrew, Holt, & Atchison, getting to the aforesaid Fort. For the
benefit of those who may hereafter wish to travel the same route
to California, I will inform you that you can obtain any quantity of
feed for your animals at reasonable prices, probably cheaper than
any other route
Nothing to excite curiosity transpired among us during this
period. As far as the country through which we passed, we saw
nothing very romantic and picturesque, for the romancer or ob-
server of natural scenery: yet to the eye of the husbandman, we
saw a great deal to admire, for without hesitation I pronounce the
Platte purchase, the best part of Missouri, and will ere long be the
paradise of upper Missouri. This is now the 1 8th of April and we
are waiting for the River to fall so that we can cross and make one
final start for the land of Gold, for the much sought (and never
found) haven of Eternal Peace and quietude.
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 49
Now courteous, kind and gentle reader, let your fortune be what
it may, old or young, male or female, I ask you if gold, silver or
wealth of any kind will give you solid comfort and make you happy
in this life? Will it make your bed softer in a dying hour? Will it
give a guilty conscious on a dying bed? Will it transport your
immortal soul to eternal glory beyond this fleeting dying world?
where your happy spirit basks in the sunshine of Eternal and ever-
lasting bhss at the right hand of our and your God. You are all
compelled to answer. Then, if this be the state of the case, why
seek it in preference to everything else, because the mind is des-
perately mammon and he had rather serve mammon than to serve
his creator - may redeeming pardon this digressing by the way, as
you know it is necessary to digress from the beaten track to smell
the sweet flowers of the forest that may chance to grow and wild
sage or gather the roses of Sharron to break from the dull and
monotony of the traveller.
Agreeable to God's will here we will realize we will be among
holy angels, and the unfading beauties of the New Jerusalem where
will be Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Mediator, and God the
judge of all. O! man, consider for what purpose thou wast made.
Commune with thyself to know thy destiny for thou are fearfully
and wonderfully made. How beautifully art thou adapted to the
circumstances that surround thee; and how complete thy organ-
ization. If one of thy members are destroyed, what a derangement
for the whole system. Further, what a beautiful connection be-
tween thy intellectual and physical powers, hence where the phys-
ical is weak, so also is the intellectual, few exceptions. Therefore,
we should all strive to preserve health and keep our physical man
strong. This can be done only by proper exercise, daily labor etc.
(Read Fowler upon this).
Today man's hopes beat high for the future — tomorrow they are
cast down. Today he soars, as it were, on eagles wings. To some
rich and prosperous and realm, and tomorrow he retraces his
eering steps. Today his fancy depicts the beauties of earth, to-
morrow he exclaims with frustration, "it is all vanity and vexation
of spirit". Today his imagination takes a retrospective view of
man and beholds them all comfortably situated and happy. To-
morrow his spirits are dejected and he views them in another light.
Today his imagination transports him beyond this fleeting dying
world to that pleasant clime, where sickness, sorrow and death
never come. Tomorrow he finds himself still in "these low-
grounds" where friend after friend forsake him. Today he reads
his title clear to mansions in the skies. Tomorrow, tomorrow,
there is a shade over his eyes which prevents his reading so clearly.
Today he feels that he is a shield of grace; tomorrow he feels
temptations. Today he holds sweet communion with his God -
tomorrow satan leads him aside. Today he enters the house of
God with other Christians and almost sees his God. Tomorrow he
50 ANNALS OF WYOMING
enters the abode of Beelzebub and hears the clanking of his chains.
O! Lord, if this be the true state of man, give him grace to conquer,
give him grace to triumph over the works of satan and boldly and
triumphantly march to Canaan's happy land. The different states
of a man's mind causes all these vicissitudes and meanderings. The
circumstances that surround him moulds his feelings. Today if a
man is in high spirits, everything around him appears lovely, if
dejected vice versa. If we go to the house of mourning, everything
is melancholy, if to the house of feasting, all is jazz, all is mirth,
thus it is with that creature called "man". The footsteps of
Jehovah are in the mighty waters, his path is in the pathless ocean.
Suffice us to say, revealed things belong to man, unrevealed things
to God. Man knows enough of his destiny and enough of his
errands here on earth, if he will but perform what he knows to be
his duty, he will reap everlasting rewards beyond the grave. Not-
withstanding the proper study of mankind is man. "Man, know
thyself was spoken by the ancient philosopher and if we do this
we can completely master our sinful passions and desires.
Camp [10?]. We camped here three days upon the river bank
waiting to cross. At length we got safely across on the 21 day of
April, 1850.
Camp 1 1 Sunday the 21st (as before stated). We crossed the
Missouri River and set forward ever westward for the "Gold Dig-
gins" in high spirits for prospects for the future. We travelled 18
miles through the open prairie and scarcely any timber to be seen,
none suitable for camping, except where we camped, one mile and
a half south of the road we found a very good camping place with
first rate water and wood plenty to cook with.
"Reflections"
This day brought us memories of the joys of the past, spent
around our firesides at home, by the cold disagreeable wind and
dust that blew in our eyes during our march. Such weather as this
brings many a curious sensation over the journiers from home and
his native land. Although he is far, far, from home and is still
journeying on, his mind often wanders back to the "Old Farm
Home". Hopes (as bright as the aims of this mission seems) when
he kisses the dewdrops from the grass, buoys him up and speaks
of better days. Yes, "Thanks to our CREATOR" for his passion
for the human species, if it was not for this, this life would indeed
be miserable. That would be our case from the cradle to the grave
and we would undoubtly pass into a premature grave.
We moved slowly and siliently from our native shores, as in deep
reflection, in unpreceived force, in eternal solitude, and in man's
highest depths though we speak not a word. This state of mind
soon wore off and all was quiet.
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 51
Camp 12. [22?] Monday. We moved forward about 1 1 miles,
detoured to the right about a mile and camped. The water was
very good to drink and there was tolerable plenty of wood.
We were a company of 42 men from Clay and Clinton Counties.
JAMES R. COFFMAN, was unanimously chosen by this body of
men as Capt. and Sergeant of the Guard, to be our main officer. "^
He will enforce our COVENTANTS and by-laws as they may be
of advantage to this company of persons.
Camp 12. {?] . After a long and tiresome march, through deep
sand, wind and dust we camped about 1000 yds from the River.
There we found grass scarce and almost no wood. In the fore part
of the night we heard braying of wild jackass that lasted until after
midnight. When it finally stopped we took advantage of the lull
and went into slumberland.
Camp 13. Today again we saw a herd of buffalo grazing on the
plains. While thus engaged 4 of us rode out a half mile and dis-
mounted and crept up close and shot two fine fellows. We re-
turned to camp as much meat as we wanted and left the remainder
of the carcasses for the wild cats and other carniverous animals to
eat at their leisure. Consequently we fared sumptiously for a
while. After word got out jokes began to pass around about our
marksmanship, they returned in the best possible manner and all
in good humor. It is this kind of fun on such expeditions that
makes for good spirits.
Camp 14. Sunday [May ?] 5th. Today we progressed 20
miles and camped near the River. Here we found grass very
scarce, wood plenty. In traveling up this River you have a beau-
tiful view. Either way, to the left the sandhills, to the front a
beautiful stream, also in the rear and to the right the River winding
its way serpentinely among innumeral islands decked with clump
[Note: The entries, camp numbers and dates for Camps, 12, 13, 14 and
15 are confusing in several respects, perhaps due to the fragmentary condi-
tion of the journal prior to its restoration or misinterpretation of entries
because of the nearly illegible condition of some of the original entries. The
date for Camp 12 probably was Monday, April 22, 1850. One part of the
entry for Camp 12 states that the site had good water and grass. A para-
graph appended to the entry for Camp 12 apparently refers to another camp
that was made "after a long and tiresome march" at a site where the party
found "grass scarce and almost no wood." The entry designated Camp 13
is not dated. The entry for Camp 14 is dated, Sunday 5th, probably May 5.
1850. At this point, 12 days have elapsed between the entry for Camp 12.
April 22 and Camp 14, May 5 but the camp numbers are in sequence.
Camp 15 is dated Monday 8th. It appears that the date or the camp num-
ber is erroneous. There is no Camp 16 entry. Entries for Camps 12, 13.
14 and 15 are presented here in order following the entries for Camps 10
and 11 but the reader should be aware of the foregoing discrepancies.]
*iNote: According to the editors, James R. Coffman was William Riley
Franklin's uncle.]
52 ANNALS OF WYOMING
of trees. Ever now and then you see the antelopes bounding with
almost lighting speed, to his native sandhills, where he soon finds a
sure retreat from his pursurers.
Camp 15 Monday 8th. After a march of 15 miles near ths
sandhills, we encamped 1000 yds. from the River again. Here we
found a first rate camping place, with a few exceptions. (viz. We
had no grass and no wood save "Prairie Fuel").
Camp 17, Tues. 7th. Our caravan progressed 28 miles up
South Platte and encamped near its margin. Here we found green
wood, plenty, but we chose prairie fuel in preference. As we were
encamped in a small grove of a thousand acres of it and skirted on
either side by it; and front and rear blockaded to almost impassible.
However, we set forward with not much less energy of resolution
probably than Bonaparte when he exclaimed "is the route practi-
cable over the Alps with an army of 2000 men?"
To our left today and yesterday as far as the eye could see were
buffalo ordure, resembling an old pasture that had been turned out
where had been kept innumerable thousands of cattle for years.
The grass and herbage of every kind is leveled with the ground.
Scarcely a shelter for a mountain rabbit, and from the carcasses
and bones that are bleached and are bleaching, one would suppose
that it had been inhabited by buffalo ever since God spoke the
world into existence. And I have no doubt but those plains are as
beautiful for pasturage as were Father Jacob's, the old Patriarch of
Israel, save the different colored rods and watering troughs. South
Platte is near half as wide as N. Platte, though not half so many
islands, but a beautiful stream, winding its way gently through the
beautiful undulating sand hills or bluffs, and ever now and then
you will see it skirted on either side by some cottonwood or willow,
giving it, upon the whole, a beautiful appearance.
Camp 18 Wednesday 8th: We, this day after a march of 20
miles, encamped on the margin of the aforesaid river. Here we
again found extensive forests of "praire fuel" and tolerable good
grazing, consequently we fared well and rested finely tonight
Camp 19 Thursday 9th: This day a march of 10 miles brought
us to the upper crossing of south Platte. We found no difficulty in
fording it as the bottom is a bed of sand and the river shallow, no
where up to the axle tree. Here the river is about half mile wide.
After advancing 10 miles farther over gently rolling prairie, we
encamped on the prairie without wood or water, some grass. We
hauled water with us from the river, knowing that there was no
water between the north and south forks.
Camp 20 Friday 10th: By the time the sun was an hour high,
our caravan was moving ahead over the rolling prairie, an 8 miles
march brought us to a creek, a stream near 200 yards wide, but
very shallow and is generally dry as the bed is deep sand. We
advanced 7 miles farther and encamped near the north fork of
Platte. Here we found first rate grazing. Today, myself and
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 53
another man set forward a foot to take a May morning's ramble
among the beautifully undulating sand hills, and like Obadiah, we
were led astray by the many objects that tacitly invited us, thinking
to admire their beauty or repose under their shadows. Step by
step, we advanced from this object to that until the first we knew
we were some 8 or 10 miles from our wagons. Now like the
Prodigal Son, we had to turn and retrace our steps over hill and
dale, mound and mountain, until we overtook our train, perfectly
tired and fatigued. We enjoyed the ramble finely until we found
that we were going wrong, and then like every honest man should
do, we hastily righted ourselves. We this day enjoyed a delightful
view. We ascended a sand hill near 200 feet and took a view of
the surrounding hills and beautiful landscapes, and such a sight to
those who admire the works of nature is lovely indeed. Picturesque
and romantic! Some splendid writer has well observed "an
astronomer is mad". Yes, a pretended deist in view of such a sight
is bound to acknowledge that sensations very queer steal over him,
he is bound to stand in awe of that dread name — that God who
spoke the world into existence, that God who set bounds to the
great deep and who calms the stormy waves and who fills immen-
sity of space and who is omnipresence and omniscient.
Camp 21, Saturday 11th: Our caravan progressed 18 miles up
the river and encamped. Here we found very fine grazing etc.
Today we received two more wagons into our train, increasing our
caravan to 13 wagons and company to 50 men.
We have passed by some 8 or 10 graves already, whose deaths
were caused by cholera and diarrhea, that great scourge of the
human race. Poor men, who thus die afar! from home; no com-
mon assiduities of friendship, no well known voice of a fond
mother or father or loving wife to soothe him in the last extremities
of life, when his pulse begins to beat faint and feeble and earth and
all her beauties (to him vanities) are fast fading before his view.
What can be the thoughts of such an individual at such a moment
as this? If he is a Christian, he calmly and gently falls asleep in
the arms of a blessed Savior, and if he has a wife and children in
this unfriendly world, he invokes God's blessings upon them. He
prays that God will be father to the fatherless and a husband to the
widow and protect them from the ills and evils of this life, and
finally in the morning of the resurrection crown them in heaven at
his right hand, where sickness, death and separation never take
place. If the afore mentioned individual be a sinner, what can be
his apprehensions at such a crisis? His friends are far away, he
never expects to see them, and God he can never see in peace if not
pardoned and redeemed with the blood of the Lamb. This he can
hardly expect. Consequently, he sinks into a strange grave, in a
strange land, and probably among strangers. And what is worse
than all, his immortal spirit will soon wing its way into a strange
region. O! Lord I pray thee! have mercy upon such. Remember
54 ANNALS OF WYOMING
them as thou dids't the dying thief upon the cross. How vain this
world then appears, how vain its amusements and allurements.
Yes, they would give the world (if in possession of it) for one
smile of an approving God.
Camp 22, Sunday 12th. After a march of 25 miles over a deep
sandy road, we camped in sight of "Council Rock" near the river.
Here we found very good gramma grass, is said to be very strong
and nourishing, and is equal to Timothy hay. There is one thing
certain, that if the grass here did not possess more strength and
nutrition than our common prairie grass, it would not be possible
for our animals to cross the plains, starting as soon as we did.
There is here also a kind of grama called Buffalo grass that is
excellent flavor and good pasturage. This day we passed 3 graves
side by side, who died last summer of cholera. When we see where
the dead have been deposited and reflect upon their uncertain
doom hereafter, sensations very melancholy steal over our mortal
bodies. Yes, when we reflect upon their having died and being
deposited afar from home and friends in a dreary, wild desolate
solitude, where the wolf and other carniverous animals prowl about
at night around their graves to scratch up and devour their putrify-
ing flesh, and howl their regime, our bosom heaves with pity for
weeping humanity.
A march over the great plains attended with a recurrence of very
near the same scenes from day to day. The same boundless green,
the emerald prairies, seems to spread out before you, the same
bright heavens are above, the same solid earth of uniform surface
beneath, or if the monotony be at all broken, it is by the gradual
change of the broad prairie into a succession of gently rolling hills,
as when the unruffled ocean is heaved into waves of the storm.
Occasionally the dull scene is relieved by the appearance of a mill
or brook, winding among the undulation of the prairie, skirted by
clumps and groves of trees or by the wild sunflower, pink or rose,
which seem to blossom only to cheer with multiflorous odors, the
waste around them.
We, this evening, were encamped in 8 miles of what is called
"Court House'This, no doubt, took its name from its resembling a
courthouse, or probably from some romancer, supposing that the
different tribes of Indians met here to smoke the Calumet pipe of
peace.
Camp 2 3, Monday 13th. After a march of 10 successive hours
completing 25 miles partly over a gently rolling road, here we
found very good grazing ;hence our animals fared very well tonight.
This encampment was in sight of Chimney Rock. This rock is
about 200 feet high and can be seen at a distance of 20 miles and
when seen from this distance it resembles some tall monument,
erected on some well contested battle field in memory of the brave
dead who sleep beneath its towering summit. The high bluffs
worked into curious shapes by the wind and rain, present many
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 55
views of picturesque beauty and fancied resemblances of towers,
monuments, castles and cities will be formed in the imagination of
the traveler. Today we passed by another grave When we see a
stranger's grave, feelings of sad insecurity come over us and remind
us that death is certain but life uncertain. And seeing so many
strewn along the road side who started out in high spirits of future
posperity, reminds us of the language of our Savior "Seek the
Kingdom of Heaven first, and all these things shall be added,"
i.e. raiment and food. Most every day's march presents the same
striking lesson to our view, some wanderer's grave with rude grave-
stones or slabs, telling when he came here, how old he was & who
he is, but his future state is left in impenetrable gloom, eternal
mystery to the surviving sons of fallen nature. Notwithstanding,
we know his immortal spirit is basking in the paradise of God with
the Holy Angels, or in eternal misery with the infernal fiends of
hell.
From Courthouse to Chimney Rock is about 15 miles; from
Chimney Rock, Scott's Bluff is 20 miles, thence to Excellent
Springs 10 miles. The road leaves the river 5 miles this side of
Scott's Bluff, strikes at it again in 25 miles.
Camp 24, Tuesday 14th. This day's march brought us to the
aforesaid spring, a distance of 30 miles from Camp 23. Here we
found sufficient quanity of water for all purposes, gushing out of
the deep ravine 200 feet below the surrounding bluffs. Here is a
trading house, also a blacksmith shop to accommodate the emi-
grants and Indians. This encampment is indeed beautifully pic-
turesque and romatic. The bluffs on either side skirted with cedar
and pine peering from 50 to 200 feet high above the green valley.
Between some of those bluffs look like the earth had broken loose
and left them standing solitarily and alone. There are several
trading houses near these bluffs. This day we passed two graves.
Reflections upon man, almighty and eternal Father, thy ways
and designs are past finding out; whence thy beginning is altogether
incomprehensible to finite minds, cannot comprehend infinitude
and thy designs are clothed in eternal night, thus it ought to be
thou art all-wise. But what is man that thou art mindful of him?
We would have been as ignorant of his origin, as thine, if thou had
not revealed it to us. Thy holy word informs us that man was
created for wise and holy purposes; that he is a probationer here
below, a pilgrim through this unfriendly and sinful world; that he is
placed upon the earth to prepare for heaven and immortal glory
beyond the skies, where all of his hopes, all of his expectations, and
anticipations of future glory will be brought to a realization.
Wednesday 15th. We elected to lay by to rest our animals, have
some of our wagons repaired, wash and etc. Today we again
discovered a herd of 1 3 buffalo feeding among the sand hills, near
a mile off. As soon as this was made known in camp, most all of
the boys (as eager as young hounds for the chase at the blowing of
56 ANNALS OF WYOMING
the horn) shouldered their rifles and set forth to encounter the
huge and unweildy animals, each eager to make a buffalo his prey,
thus account himself gallantly over his companions. So thus
equipped and prepared, the buffalo soon hove into sight, and as
might be expected (without a commander), they made a fruitless
charge, fired several guns, to no effect. The buffalo soon scam-
pered off, at a proper and practicable distance for their comfort
and safety from the young and enthusiastic hunters. To those
young gents, ever afterward, acknowledged the universal adage
"that experience keeps a dear school and folks will learn in no
other," and that "experience is the best of knowledge", and "a wise
man will hear counsel", though he may think that it comes from
his inferior, were every man equally self-important, those men
cannot get along in peace and harmony together. No, where all
the stone of a house lean apart, this house cannot stand long if the
storms of adversity blow against it. Thus, our Savior admonishes
us. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Man was created
a dependent and helpless creature, a worshipper not to be wor-
shipped. Consequently, the heathen bow down to sticks and stones
as their superior. The christian worship their God and none other.
Though we are all born with certain inalienable rights and among
these are life, liberty etc., yet we must all have a leader or com-
mander when we wish to accomplish any end conjointly and to-
gether, for as the "Father of his Country" said in his farewell
address to his countrymen United we stand, divided we fall".
Union is strength, division is weakness". Thus, you may discover
that it is highly necessary to have very strict discipline in compact
organized bodies of men, where there is any danger or much to
accomplish.
Camp 25, Thursday 16th. After a march of 20 miles over a
sandy, broken country we encamped for the night on the north
fork of Platte again and here we found very good grazing for our
mules; consequently, we passed the night very pleasantly — not
upon downy beds, but sand very near as this sleep "without rock-
ing", let their beds be cast upon whatever chances to come in the
way. They often make the prickly pear their companion during
the night; and I assure you that it is not a very agreeable one,
especially if you chance to crowd him during your slumber.
Camp 26, Friday 17th. After a march of 22 miles over deep,
sandy road part of the way, we encamped near the river in about
3 miles of Fort Laramie. This is a first rate camping place as there
is plenty of wood and very good grass. What most strikes the eye
of the traveler along here and elsewhere is this boundless, dreary
solitude, the natural scenery, picturesque and beautiful valleys,
wild and romantic bluffs, sand hills, mountains and various other
natural curiosities. But what strikes the eye and mind of the
sensitive and philanthropic traveler is the poor Indian, scattered
here and there, to and fro over the plains and in the lofty moun-
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 57
tains, whose history and origin are impenetrable obscurity. Yet,
we know that they all decended from the same common parent and
preserved by the same God, that we are. Hence, we look upon
their benighted condition, it makes us yearn over them with pity.
Yes, when we see, especially their little boys and girls playing upon
the boundless greens, playfully and cheerfully, I remember what
our Savior has said "suffer little children to come unto me, for of
such is the Kingdom of Heaven, and further if properly educated
and christianized would in all probability make men whose names
would be inscribed on fames eternal register and who would be an
ornament to Christianity and the age in which they lived. We
acknowledge that sensations of pity and regret hover over us.
"What"? we ask can be done to reclaim them from their savage
lives, manners, customs, superstition etc. Why not let Christians
unite and send instructors and missionaries among every tribe
under the sun, educate them and teach them the way of life and
salvation, put their tiring feet in the path, which leads from earth
to Heaven, from this cline where the wicked cease from troubling
and where is Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and God the
judge of all.
Camp 27, Saturday 18th. This day we traveled 18 miles over a
very deep, sandy road, through and over the black hills. This
encampment was 1 5 miles from Fort Laramie in a beautiful valley,
surrounded by mountains and cragged bluffs and rocky precipices,
and here we found splendid grass and an excellent spring and wood
plenty, cedar and pine. Fort Laramie is situated on the Laramie
River about one mile from the junction of the two rivers, Laramie
and North Platte. This is a beautiful situation for a garrison and
has some very good buildings. This looks like novelty to see the
stars and stripes and serpent eagle, proudly waving among the wild
mountain breezes, 7 or 800 miles from the land whose representa-
tive it is, and among so many 1000 wild indians. We this day saw
where had been lain the body of some poor emigrant, his body had
been scratched up by the wolves.
Camp 28, Sunday 19th. This day's march brought us to Horse
Shoe Creek, a beautiful little stream of fine water and well tim-
bered, 10 miles from camp 27. Consequently, here is a very good
camping place. After advancing 15 miles farther, we encamped
near the aforesaid Horse Shoe Creek. Today we passed a Mrs.
Moss' grave, who had started with her husband to California.
Notwithstanding her desiring to accompany her husband on the
expedition and be with him in sickness and health and the different
vicissitudes of life, her mortal body now sleeps in eternal silence in
a strange and foreign land, by the root of a rocky mound. A rude
slab marks her resting place. The world here faded to her view
the last sight of her friends. Here afar from home and her native
land and all for what? let me ask - why for unfading love, a wom-
an's love, as lasting as time, life itself and durable as eternity.
58 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Where did you ever see a woman if needed for love, but what will
follow the object of her love to the ends of the earth. Yes, she
will leave father and mother, sister and brother, kindred and
friends and all the endearments to follow him she has placed her
affection upon. And still men will mistreat their affectionate and
loving wives, for slight and transient causes, and some even without
cause. O! monster of cruelty, what a pity that thou shouldst be
permitted to disgrace the human species. For a man who will
mistreat his wife, has some of the common ties of nature. "Ven-
geance is mine saith the Lord, and I will repay". It has been
earmarked by ancient and modern writers that woman possesses
more fortitude than man that she can bear more difficulties, more
misfortune, more trials and stand firmer under them than man.
This can be very easily illustrated by considering her sphere of
action, her daily tails and the rearing of her offspring rightly.
This Sabbath day, though far from any place of worship, sur-
rounded by hills on every side, reminds me of the gospels' gentle
sound that so sweetly flowed to my ears in the Land of My
Fathers'. Notwithstanding, we are far from any place of worship,
many intervening hills and dales, mountains and valleys. We can
never forget the love of Jesus, who shed his blood for all those who
will come unto him. Ye sons of the desert, hear his voice today -
"come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will
give you rest". Ye worn traveler, hear the voice of the Son of
God, today Jesus stands with outstretched arms to receive you and
welcome you to the fold of his father. His dying groans on Mt.
Calvary speaks volumes upon the subject. Then if Jesus loved us
thus, should we not love him, should we not worship our Father in
Heaven for his name's sake, as well in a dreary, boundless solitude,
as in a splendid cathedral. Consequently, we held tent worship
every evening. If we deserve the blessings of God, we must ask
for them in faith, nothing doubting, and God will bless us, both
spiritually and temporally. If the Christian prays for what God
has told him, in faith, God will grant it. This is my faith in prayer,
and promises of God for he can not lie.
Camp 29, Monday 20th. After a very tiresome (zigzag) march,
sometimes toward one of the cardinal points and sometimes
another, sometimes ascending and sometimes descending craged
bluffs 50 feet high and twice striking Platte, we made our encamp-
ment upon the highland near a clear, small stream of water, very
well timbered with cottonwood, willow etc. Here we found a very
fine camping place, as the grass was very good, though short.
From this encampment we could see Clad Peak [?] south west-
ward, towering to the height of 1000 feet above the neighboring
hills. This peak can be seen at a great distance, distinctly and is
covered with snow.
In traveling up Platte River, the emigrants are astonished at the
mornings, evenings and nights being so cold. This can be very
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 59
easily accounted for. It is caused by the elevation and snow-clad
mountains all around. I have been informed by the mountaineers
that you can have ice water all the route, very near, by hanging
out tin buckets with water in them during the night. Who can
comprehend the wisdom of God. How wisely has he made pro-
visions for those who by circumstances or by his infinite wisdom
been scattered over the earth's wide domain by forming those
eternal snow-clad mountains which is an everlasting haven to their
enemies and a sure refuge from their perservers. The provisions
nature has also filled those same mountains with game of all kinds
and varieties for their sustenance. Notwithstanding all this, there
is something in the poor Indians fate that awakens the sympathy of
every philanthropic nation and individual, especially the christian.
There is something about their origin, manners and etc., that never
will be fairly understood. Yes, the searching eye of the historian
will become weary in endeavoring to find out their descent and
lineage. Their history seems to be a sealed book which none of the
sons of men can open. They are not permitted to read therein and
none but that eye that never sleeps can reveal the secret.
Camp 30, Tuesday 21st. After a tiresome and tedious march of
30 miles over mound and mountain, winding our way to the north-
ward, then again to the southward, presently making a circuitous
wind of 2 or 3 miles, all to avoid the bluffs and cragged, rocky
peaks and yawning precipices that presented themselves in bold
array, before us, we at length encamped in a beautiful valley on a
small bold running mountain stream, fed by springs, gushing out of
the perpetual hills. Today's travel brought us across several
beautiful streams whose waters leap and dash along as if sporting
in the mountain breezes, yet steadily persue their course among the
hills to Platte; Thence, to the Missouri River, thence to the Gulf of
Mexico where it spreads out into the great deep, where sport the
great whale, other various and curious fishes such as the sword and
thrasher.
Camp 31, Wednesday 22nd. Our caravan progressed 25 miles
crossed two small streams of beautiful water, passed the lower ferry
and encamped again upon or near the margin of Platte. This
encampment presents an imposing sight. To the curious, the
gradually ascending mountains to the south and the Platte leaping,
flirting and dashing headlong to the bosom of the ocean, beautifully
skirted with poplar and willow just putting forth their leaves, to
the north - such an encampment as this relieves the weary mind
of the near worn traveler and reminds him of the beautiful valleys
afar off in his own country, and the association of ideas brings to
his memory scenes of the days of yore, with all her unfading
beauties, with all the endearments and blessed objects of home.
Observes Capt. Gotten, "The whale is the master fish of the
sea, and there is but two that can whip him, the sword fish and
thrasher".
60 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Camp 32, Thursday 23rd. After a march of 18 miles we arrived
at the upper ferry where we encamped for the night. Here we
found the grass very scarce. Today we traveled over the most
dreary desolate sandy and parched country that we have yet seen
Scarcely any growth but the wild sage which usurps the place of
the grass, and was subsequently our chief reliance for fuel. Here
at the ferry the river is about, or will average, 150 yards wide and
is a bold running stream. Today we passed 2 graves.
Camp 33, Friday 24th. We ferried the river and advanced 4
miles and encamped upon its northern margin. Here the country
assumes an appearance more sandy, rocky and broken or moun-
tainous.
Camp 34, Saturday 25th. We progressed 25 miles over a deep
sandy, heavy road and encamped at the noble, bold and running
willow springs. Here we found grass very scarce, sage plenty.
During this day's march we passed several springs, strong impreg-
nated with alkali. This water is said will kill your animals if they
drink it. Consequently, emigrants cannot be too careful in passing
these places.
Camp 35, Sunday 26th. A march of 25 miles brought us to the
noted "Rock Independence" on the Sweet Water river. After
advancing 3 miles up this stream and crossing it, we encamped
upon its southern margin for the night. This aforesaid rock is well
worth the attention of the traveler who may go thither. It is about
one mile and a half around this rock, covering an area of 80 acres
and rearing its bold summit to the height of 100 feet, gradually
rounding off each way. Upon it is cut in uncouth, but legible
characters, thousands, yes, I may say, tens of thousands of Oregon
and California emigrants' names, dates, etc.. Other amateur trav-
elers who have chanced to pass this way. Sweetwater is a tributary
of Platte and a beautiful and wonderful meandering mountain
stream about 100 yards wide. It may be truly said that this is a
mountain stream, because it winds its way along the foot of very
rocky mountains and sometimes running through abrupt, rocky
precipices 200 feet high. This day we passed several lakes of
saleratus and the ground for miles is white with it.
Camp 36, Monday 27th. Our caravan progressed 20 miles and
encamped near Sweetwater. Here we found grass sufficient for
our stock, artimesia (sage) covering perhaps thousands of acres,
plenty for cooking purposes. The scenery of today's march was
truly grand and magnificent to the curious and observing traveler.
Mountains on either hand, to the left snowy peaks, to the right
solid rock (granite) towering from 3 to 500 feet with scattering
cedars and pine upon their sides and summits, growing in the
crevices of the rock. In 5 miles of Independence Rock, we pass
the "Devil's Gate". Here the river makes its way through a solid
ridge of granite, the rock towering on either side 200 feet high
above this, about 10 miles, is another gap through which the river
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 61
winds its way, called the "Devil's Ladder". Those two last men-
tioned places have been generally considered not very desirable as
the aforesaid individual is the great adversary of mans, but the
places are truly grand and stupendous. Today we passed another
lonely grave, silent and solitary abode, near the foot of a mountain,
a truly beautiful and apparently sacred place.
Camp 37 , Tuesday 28th. After a march of 20 miles over a deep
sandy road, we encamped in Sweet water valley. En'oyed the
night very well and next morning went on our way rejoicing, for the
many blessings that surrounded us at this time. The historian or
amature writer traveling along here has many things to admire and
record, worthy the perusal of his readers. A lofty ridge of granite
mountains to his right near whose base the sweet water winds its
meandering way, making many curious and short turns in view.
So many that you can see the same water course, running both
ways at the same sight, as far as we traced it — 106 miles, we
never saw the current straight, 100 yards yet a more beautiful
stream my eyes have never seen.
Camp 38, Wednesday 29th. Our caravan was rolling ahead ere
the rays of the King of day had illuminated those western wilds.
Completing a distance of 22 miles over an unusual, heavy road of
deep sand, and twice crossing the river, many and various are the
objects of curiosity and magnificence that daily present themselves
to the eye of the traveler and historian in traversing those solitary
wilds.
Camp 39, Thursday 30th. We traveled 23 miles over a very
broken and rocky road and encamped on a tributary of sweet
water. Here the grass was first rate, consequently our mules fared
well this night. Today we traveled over snow 3 feet deep, con-
jealed so hard that our wagon tires would scarcely cut through
the top crust. Off the road in several places it was from 6 to 8
feet deep, this though is no comparison to what we subsequently
saw. Today we saw what might be properly called an oasis, skirt-
ed with beautiful young poplar. Besides this there are several
groves on either side of the road. The beautiful groves remind the
way-worn traveler of the beautiful forest (afar off) in his own
country. Today we saw where had been buried a child, some rude,
round stones mark the little wanderer's resting place.
Camp 40, Friday 31. This day a march brought us to the
famous south pass of the Rocky Mountains, thence 7 miles farther
on the waters of Pacific Spring (a woman's and man's)* we
encamped this night, completing a march of 20 miles. This pass
of which you have doubtless often heard, is no more than an
*[Note: The phrase, ". . . (a woman's and a man's) . . ." may be out of
place, ed.l
62 ANNALS OF WYOMING
inclined plain, or dividing ridge between the waters of the Pacific
and Gulf of Mexico, and here all emigrants to Oregon and Cali-
fornia pass into the Rocky Mountains. The waters of said springs
run into Green River, thence, Sacramento [?], thence the Pacific,
hence its name. This pass or dividing ridge was to us what the
Rubicon was to Caesar and his army.
Camp 41, Saturday, June 1st. We marched 23 miles over a
very good road and encamped in about a mile of Big Sandy, where
we found first rate grass for this country
Camp 42, Sunday the 2nd. We rested and grazed our mules
until 2 o'clock, then watered them, filled our kegs with water and
started into a desert of 40 miles. We progressed about 10 miles
and halted and let our mules graze about 2 hours, then set forward
and traveled until 2 o'clock in the night, making 15 miles. Here
we encamped for the remainder of the night. This night our cara-
van took another general stampede doing no injury at all.
Camp 43, Monday 3rd. We moved on slowly 15 miles making
the eastern margin of the much dreaded and dangerous Green river
about 12 o'clock am. To our surprise, we found that there was no
ferry here. It was a dangerous crossing as the river runs very
rapidly and being very deep fording. Consequently, we delayed
crossing this evening.
Camp 44, Tuesday, June 4th. We raised our wagon beds so as
to prevent wetting our provisions, clothing etc. We forded said
river, advanced 10 miles and encamped on a beautiful, clear run-
ning stream of fine water, grass first rate. Therefore, tonight we
rested quietly and easily. Today we as usual passed several graves,
woman's and man's. The lady died July 14, 1847.* I acknowledge,
kind reader, that this stirs my inmost soul and awakens the sympa-
thies of my heart, makes many and curious reflection flit across
my mind when I view so many graves and especially the grave of
the gentle female so far off in the mountains and lonely and solitary
wilds. And what, let me ask, must be the feelings of that husband
who sees his bosom companion breathe her dust, afar from home
and relations. This I leave with those who have experienced it,
and ask the blessings of God upon such for Christ sake.
Camp 45, Wednesday 5th. After a march of 20 miles over
several stupendous mountains, we encamped on a beautiful moun-
tain rivulet, where we found first rate grass, water etc.
Camp 46. Thursday [6th]. We progressed about 10 miles.
This brought us to Thomas Fork, which was considerably in our
way as it was past fording. Therefore, resorted to this alternative,
raised our wagon beds, carried ropes across to the opposite side
and fastened them to our wagons and pulled them across, swam
'[Note: This probably was the grave of Nancy Hill.]
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 63
our mules, hitched up and advanced 8 miles farther and encamped
where we found good water, wood and grass. Consequently, this
night easily glided away.
Camp 47, Friday 7th. We marched about 25 miles, crossing
Bear River 4 times during our march. Here we found as good
wild grass as grows in the world, consequently our mules lost no
time, but ate greedily until they filled themselves. During this
day's march, we encountered two serious steep rocky and stu-
pendous mountains to decend. In descending the last one we had
to let our wagons down gradually with ropes. This, though is no
difficulty and annoyance to what we met with from mosquitoes and
their allies, when, where and how they chase on every side in small
parties of 1000 in a squad, from their rear flank and front guard.
Sometimes their whole army would sally forth from among some
small sage path of 100 acres or out of some deep ravine or valley
and annoy us, no little without receiving any material help. This,
however, might be expected as we're traveling through Mosquito
Nation. Two graves today.
Camp 48, Saturday 8th. Our march advanced us 20 miles fur-
ther upon our journey. Today we had to encounter another small
stream of water, past fording. Consequently, we ferried our goods
and chatties across in wagon beds, lariated our wagons and swam
them across and also our mules and horses. This, the boys con-
sidered the "Elephant's track", where he had been browsing. This
encampment was on a small mountain rivulet running into Bear
River. This aforesaid river is lore of towering and stupendous
mountains with their snow caps, towering high in their eternal
world. Indeed, the historian has something here worthy of record-
ing. Instead of describing mole hills, giving descriptions of hard
and harassing march across some desert or commenting on the
nature of the man etc. Here he sees the handiwork of God and
stands in reverential awe while he beholds all. The inspired writer
can exclaim "in wisdom thou hast made them all". Oh what a
grand sight for the painter and poet — while the artist draws their
representation, the poet struck with their beauty and magnificence,
can sing their eternal lays with harps of gold. To either hand runs
a chain of towering mountains and beyond these the snow clad
mountains, to the height of 1500 feet, above the level of the sea.
Between these runs the noble Bear River.
Camp 49, Sunday 9th. We progressed over a very good road,
yet making many zig zags, to avoid mountains that are impene-
trable with wagons. Again we encamped near Bear River. Where
as usual we found first rate grass. The scenery of today and
yesterday's march is beautiful, magnificent and grand. It presents
a beautiful aspect to the love of towering and stupendous moun-
tains, with their eternal snow caps towering high in the Etheral
World. Indeed the historian has something here worth recording.
Camp 50, Monday 10th. Today we marched 25 miles over a
64 ANNALS OF WYOMING
very good road. Nothing of interest transpired. Today, as usual,
the scenery was grand and magnificent.
Camp 51 , Tuesday 11th. We progressed 20 miles and encamped
where we found first rate water and grass. This day we traveled
over rocks that had evidently been thrown up by volcanic action.
Camp 52, Wednesday 12tk. Our caravan progressed about 25
miles, through, above, between and below the mountains to avoid
their abrupt declivities and rocky steep summits. Today we passed
Myres Grand Canyon, a mountain pass of 3 miles. This encamp-
ment was without water for our mules.
Camp 53, Thursday 13th. We traveled 22 miles and encamped
near a pretty spring of clear running water, grass very fine. We
did very well here this night. This encampment might properly be
termed "The Mountain Encampment" as it was in the midst of
towering mountains on every side as far as we could stretch our
sight. Those tall mountains remind me of Satan taking the Savior
of the world up into an exceeding high mountain showing him the
glory of the world and offering him such inducements to fall down
and worship him, when at the same time the old puppy did not own
one foot of land. Oh, what a striking picture of satanic subtelty
and influence.
Camp 54, Friday 14th. We progressed 25 miles on a descend-
ing road along a narrow defile between the mountains and en-
camped near a mountain rivulet. Good water and grass. Today
we crossed what the boys called "Elephant's Fork" as his sign was
discernable here, in fording or lariating our wagons across said
stream.
[Note: There are no entries for Camps 55, 56, 57 or 58].
Camp 59, Wednesday 19th. These aforesaid hot springs are
about 2 miles from the foot of the mountains in a level plain, 1 2 or
15 in number, forming a considerable stream of water. It runs 4
or 5 hundred yards and forms a junction with another stream of
cold water, about the same size. The water is so hot that it will
cook meat in five minutes perfectly done.
[Material for Camps 60, 61 and 62 is illegible].
Camp 63, Sunday 23rd. We progressed 25 miles and encamped
in a canyon 3 miles from the river, whence we carried water for
cooking purposes etc. Here the grass was good and wood plenty.
Camp 64, Tuesday 25th. We marched 25 miles over a broken
road, and very dirty. The heat was oppressive and the dust almost
intolerable. We made this encampment on a tributary of Mary's
River [Humbolt River]. Here we found best quality of grass -
no wood.
Camp 66, Wednesday 26th. [This camp number may have
been an error. It appears that it should have been Camp 65, not
66.] After an oppressive march of 30 miles through excessive
heat and dust we rested for this night on Mary's River. Grass
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 65
tolerable, no wood. The country along here resembles a smoulder-
ing heap of embers. In places as soft as an ash bank itself. There
is no scarcity of pure saleratus here, perfect lakes of it as white as
snow. The mountains through here present many evident signs of
volcanic action of having been burned and thrown up and out of
the mountains by eruptions.
Camp 67, Thursday 27. We rolled ahead 23 miles and en-
camped on Mary's River. Grass very bad, artemisia plenty. Here
a great many sloughs spread out from the river. By wading these
and cutting grass with our butcher knives, we obtained grass suf-
ficiently for our animals. Here also the mountains form a basin,
i.e., apparently hems the river in all sides; in fact, the water does
spread out here and makes a considerable lake. As we could not
see where the river ran out, a great many of the emigrants mistook
this for the "sink of charg's River".* This, however, proved to be
a mistake, as we soon again overtook the river in her rapid descent.
Today and yesterday's march traversed hot sandy plains, destitute
of any vegetation at all, only artemisia and shrubs. The sun shone
here with double strength compared to our former heat and almost
parched us, and the dust, no end to its annoyance. Me thinks the
intellect of the naturalist, philanthropist and philosopher would
here wander and reel to and fro on their balance as a drunken man.
in relation to the benefit and purposes of these regions, for every-
thing is literally parched with the rays of an almost vertical sun.
The water poisonous to man or beast. I can assure you there is
nothing pertaining to this country that is desirable, neither in the
animal or vegetable kingdom. Here you can see any number of
nauseating reptiles and insects, such as the horned frog (the toad
with a tail and horns) chamelon, alacran, scorpion etc., In fact.
most every species of animal that you can see he has either a long
tail or bill. The man who undertakes to make reflections upon
these sterile and miserable regions on the road will often "flock the
game" in either despair as he gains no comfort from the effort.
Camp 68, Friday 28th. We marched 25 miles near the river and
encamped on its nauseating waters. Here we waded the sloughs
and cut grass for our animals which they devoured very greedily
and rapidly.
Camp 69, Saturday 29th. We performed a march of 20 miles
over a deep, heavy sandy road across the sand hills, every now and
then skirting the rivers right margin. The heat today was exces-
sively hot. This encampment was again upon said Mary's River.
This river I think has entirely a wrong name. Instead of Mary, it
should be called "The Demon's Alkali", for in reality the water is
so strongly impregnated with this that it will eat up leather, directly.
*[No/e: Probably, "Sink of Mary's River," or Humbolt Sink].
66 ANNALS OF WYOMING
In places you can obtain the pure lye, sufficiently strong to make
soap.
Camp 70, Sunday 30th. We progressed 20 miles over a deep
sandy road and over a succession of gently rolling hills, encamped
on Mary's River. Here we again necessitated to wade into the
sloughs and cut grass for our mules. No wood here except the
miserable native thorn shrubry.
Camp 71, Monday, July 1st. We advanced 10 miles (passed
Humbolt's Lake) struck the river and lay by until evening, swam
the river and cut grass for our stock and lariated it across, hence
today our mules did very well. At 3:00 o'clock p.m. we again set
forward upon a barren plain of 20 miles extent, (no sage in this
plain at all) making the "sink" or lake or Mary's River. Here we
encamped for the night, cut grass sufficiently to last our mules
across the desert of 40 miles. We progressed into it about 10
miles, deflected to the left one mile from the road, struck through
the river and watered our mules, filled our kegs for cooking pur-
poses and drove out from the river about 2 miles and encamped,
prepared and ate our supper and retired to rest until 2 o'clock p.m.
We set forward again to make the sink or verge of the desert and
prepared to go through as speedily and easily as possible both man
and animal. The country through here is nothing more than a
dreary waste, literally parched by the rays of the sun, consequently
vegetation is a rare curiosity, a perfect stranger to these regions.
The surface of the earth is covered with saleratus, hence the alkali
nature of the water of Mary's River etc. By digging wells 4 or 5
feet deep you can obtain water of salt nature. Hence, the great
Salt Lakes originated.
Camp 72, Tuesday 2nd. We progressed 15 miles over an undu-
lating road, struck said river again and rested until 3:00 O'clock.
Again we set forward upon our march We waded into the slough
again and cut sufficient quantity of grass to feed our mules and
enough to last them through the desert. We cooked sufficient
quantity of provisions for ourselves. This we did for fear we could
procure no more grass this side of the desert. This afternoon we
made 15 miles further upon another desert plain. We encamped
for the night in this solitary, solitude and dreary waste. Today we
bid a final adieu to the nauseating Mary River. Never again do I
desire to see its poisoning waters, miserable sloughs, parched val-
leys and bare painful looking mountains. Wednesday the 3rd at
2:00 o'clock we set forward, came to a small running stream in 5
miles. We rested until about 12 o'clock, thence traveled until 1 :00
o'clock a.m., marching 20 miles and encamped. We rested, fed
our animals at the sulphur springs and set forward upon the desert.
Thursday, 4th of July at 3:00 o'clock made 15 miles. The exces-
sive heat compelled us to remain upon said desert until 4 o'clock
p.m. Then we commenced our march and continued until 1
o'clock next morning before we got across said desert. There we
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 67
celebrated the glorious fourth of July. This desert starts at the
sulphur springs, thence continues 40 miles when we struck Carson
River. Here we enjoyed a respite of one day.
Camp 73, Friday 5th. The most enchanting spots ever depicted
by the pen of the eastern romancer possesses no more charm for
the wagon-worn travelers, and confers more comfort than do the
Cottonwood groves, the fine running waters of said river for the
thirsty, worn, fatigued and exhausted traveler across the desert.
This desert is a desolate solitude, dreary, painful and hot plain,
entirely destitute of vegetation save now and then a patch of
shrubbery. In fact, it had been the bed of a lake and may with
propriety be termed the American Sahara or American waste.
The mountains on either hand present anything but a lovely sight.
Their sable garments speak of desolation around, between, among,
up and down and through this sterile region. I stood about midday
in this desert land and like Saul of Tarsus, I was almost stricken
blind to the earth. The rays of the sun pitched upon me with
turbulence, the earth bare as far as I could see; and of a loam
character, resembling an ash bed — no water to quench thirst save
the terrible sulphur water of these regions. I confess there was an
aching, void, uncharming aspect. Those waste grounds of God's
earth are in the opinion of erring man of little purpose to man or
beast.
However, this be as it may it is self evident that those were made
in abounded wisdom. They are of a nature calculated to teach
man gratitude to his creator that his lot is not cast in such a land
but in a land of beauteous clime and filled with plenty of the com-
forts and blessings of life.
The 4th of July, Independence day, seemed not to be forgotten,
but inspired, new life and cheerfulness. Although upon the de-
serted desert of the west, we could not forget to commemorate the
annual return of the hallowed day that gave birth to our National
Liberty. Though on the march and in the midst of desolation, with
nothing for the eye to rest upon save the burning heaven above or
the parched earth beneath and none of the lovely objects of home
around us, none of the festivities spread before us which usually
greeted us on the anniversary of our liberty. Yet our bosoms
swelled with the same noble impulses and the same quenchless love
of freedom which animated the breast of our ancestors of "76" and
caught inspiration from the memory of their achievements. As we
think, this day cannot be kept too sacred or celebrated (if rightly")
too often by our posterity. We present the following, written by
the undersigned, at a former period, while we engaged in tutoring
the young mind:*
*iNote: At this point, the editors inserted a note which said. "Also see
poem . . . The Old Thirteen.'" The poem is placed at the end of the journal
and its place in the original journal is uncertain.]
68 ANNALS OF WYOMING
"July 4th, A.D. 1 849 - We hail with enthusiasm the anniversary
of American Independence which is now 73 years since the dawn
of that blessed day, blessed because it brought blessed consequenc-
es to the then oppressed subjects of the British King."
O! how happily changed is our condition today from yesterday.
We were in the midst of a burning sandy waste and the sun shone
distressingly hot upon us, almost to evaporation. The flying dust
almost choked us. No water to quench our thirst and our animals
were almost exhausted. Miserable men were we in this trying
crisis. We would have hailed a stream of water as did the Israel-
ites when Moses smote the rock. Today we are regaling ourselves
in the beautiful shades of Carson River, splashing and dashing,
lounging and plunging, sporting and bathing amid the sporting
ripling waves of said river all but to repletion.
O! what a change is sometimes effected in man's history in one
day, intellectual or physical. In attempting to cross said desert
many a noble and valuable animal (the horses, mules, ox etc) hath
fallen by the wayside.
Camp 74. 6th of July. We traveled about 20 miles, 8 of which
the road runs near the river, the remaining 12 leaves the river and
is very sandy. This encampment was on said river. The course of
Carson River may be traced by the Cottonwood groves that skirt
its banks.
Camp 75, Sunday 7th July. We progressed 10 miles into dry
stretch and encamped where we found good grass.
Camp 76, Monday 8th. We advanced the other 10 miles, struck
the river and grazed our animals until 3 o'clock. We again set
forward, advanced 5 miles and encamped in the lovely valley of
Carson River where we found grass of a nutritious quality, very
strengthening and nourishing.
Camp 77, 9th. We advanced 15 miles over an elevated country,
sand, rock and bluffs, thence came to the river. We rested and
grazed our animals about 2 hours and progressed 10 miles farther
and encamped near the river again. We passed the night in sound
and profound sleep. We arose next morning greatly refreshed and
vigorously set forward upon our journey.
Many a wagon ceased its running, many a pair of horses refused
to travel - from the head of Mary's River to California, most all of
the emigrants became packers and from here the horses and mules
started failing. Especially the horses are strewn all along the road
and give the air a disagreeable stench. The men appear at this
time to be in fine spirits, notwithstanding there is a great deal of
suffering upon the route for want of food. A great many of the
emigrants were compelled (to prevent starving) to kill their horses
and mules and subsist upon their flesh. This is a call upon the
living at a dying rate. Eating the flesh of mules and horses that
were so poor they could scarcely stand or walk without staggering
or reeling
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 69
Camp 78, 10th. ..(Wednesday). We advanced 10 miles and
rested, thence 10 miles farther brought us to our encampment on a
beautiful mountain rivulet of clear transparent running water.
Here we found excellent grass, hence our mules set this night apart
for eating, while they enjoyed the unenviable privilege. This day's
march traversed the western extremity of a beautiful and delightful
valley. Near the foot or eastern side of a chain of mountains,
towering high in the heavens, covered with pine timber.
The Mormons are establishing themselves in this valley and
creating a fort. This valley will no doubt produce fine corn,
wheat etc., by irrigation, which can be done very easily. I and
another gentleman took a hunting excursion in the pine forest near
the foot of the mountains and enjoyed the scenery finely. During
this ramble we saw some sublime and lovely sights. O! with what
greediness and insatiable thirst for such scenery. I looked upon
this forest, roaring rivulets and towering mountains until my eyes
were wearied from continually gazing at the objects before us.
Many and many an hour have I gazed (unconscious of all around
me) upon the beautiful and rugged face of nature clothed in living
verderers. If I had one of those lovely mountains, pine forest, and
beautiful valleys and ever-roaring mountain springs situated in the
United States where I desire, all the wealth of earth could not
purchase it. No money would be but a tinkling symbol, unmean-
ing sounds to my ears.
Camp 79, Thursday 11th. We rested until 4 o'clock then moved
our encampment 5 miles to the mouth of the canyon that leads to
the north of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Here we found the
finest kind of red and white clover for our animals. During this
day myself and two other companions shouldered our rifles and set
forward to ascend the highest peak on the eastern slope of the
mountains. After an hour and a half's walking, we stood at the
foot of the steep cliff that we desired climbing and without further
hesitation we commenced ascending, slowly winding our way to
avoid steepness and projecting precipices that bid defiance to the
efforts of man. Six successive hours, ascending and descending
and reascending brought us to the highest summit, save one. This
was 500 feet above us. [Note: Too many words left out of this
sentence to get the thought, ed.\ We were very well satisfied,
for during our climb we crawled over several places that the slip
of a foot or hand would have been instant death. Yes. we would
have fallen probably 1000 feet. To a person that has never
ascended a mountain, the sight will repay him for his arduous
undertaking.
Camp 80, Friday 12th. We progressed 13 miles over a rocky
road.
Camp 81, Saturday 13th. The following day we encountered
the old Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.Where we went, we trav-
eled through rock and over her strong summit. Thus, united we
70 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Stand, but divided we would have fallen. This day we only made
10 miles.
Camp 82, Sunday 14th. We crossed the Mountain ridge of the
Sierra Nevada. We crossed snow 50 feet deep in our ascent.
Brave men of other times have gallantly taken the wagons over
these mountains. I can assure you that it requires a man with a
steel heart, a nerve that never trembles a heart that never fails, and
an arm that never falters. This day's march brought us to be
nearer the "diggins".
I now sit down at an interval of days to describe the Sierra
Nevada Mountains of those that we crossed and like an impartial
historian that essays to describe some political contest, after the
heat of party spirit has died away and all prejudices and precon-
ceptions forgotten. Like some well contested battlefield described
by an actor in the dire scenes. When the war drum has ceased to
beat and the echo of the roaring canon no longer heard in his
peaceful dominion, like some novelist describing a beautiful city
situated on a water course afar off in the distance. But not Uke
one of those same romancers, I will not clothe mine in fiction,
deceive the curious and novel reader. Therefore, you need not
expect this the most beautiful place on earth's wide domain. The
Sierra Nevada mountains are 2,000 feet and higher than the rocky
mountains and capped annually with fresh snow. All over them
is a pine forest almost impenetrable, from 5 to 10 feet through,
from 150 to 200 feet high, very rocky. Over these mountains is
not less rugged than that over the Alps {Note: words here left
out - not legible, ed.'l . On either hand you could see dead horses
and mules that had attempted to ascend said mountains and had
lost their strength or otherwise made a wrong step and been
preciptated among the projecting and craggy precipices.
Camp 83, Monday 15th. We progressed 10 miles down the
descent of the mountains over a very rough, rocky road and
through an almost impenetrable forest of gigantic pine and fir.
This encampment was under beautiful lovely towering pine and fir.
To the north and all around us appeared in view the eternal snow
clad Oregon Mountains in a distance of [?] miles. They are
indescribable. However, we will pass them by.
Camp 84, Tuesday 16th. We marched 15 miles through thick
pine, fir and cedar.
Camp 85, Wednesday 17th. We traveled 18 miles over very
rough road. No grass at this encampment.
Thursday the 1 8th has brought us to the "Land of the diggings".
From the summit of the Sierra Nevada to said town is mostly a
beautiful country.
On the morning of the 19th of July, 1850 we awoke to hear the
crowing of the cock and the baying of the watch dog, reminding us
of civilization, afar off in the green valleys of our own pleasant
country.
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN 71
This day we made a tour southwest about 16 miles through a
portion of the mining country to Weaver Creek. We left our wag-
ons and stock out to some ranchman's to feed at $4 per month.
We deposited our goods and chattel with a friend until we needed
them. We then commenced our first operations in the El Dorado
Gold mines.
Thus, we have completed our long harassing journey without the
loss of a man and but 3 animals, and I have completed my diary by
giving the travels of said company to said date.
However, there is one thing yet neglected that I never expected
to record in this little book. It is the most melancholy event yet
for me to record. It is the death of John Brockman of Clay
County, Missouri, who was shot dead by Joseph Meredz, compan-
ion, countryman and neighbor in an affray occasioned by intoxi-
cation. Ah! weeping humanity how much have you not suffered
on account of this infernal poison to the bone of society — ruin of
nations. Ah brandy! brandy! detriment of life, spring of tumult,
source of strife. Ah! could I but half the curses tell, the wise
would wish thee safe in hell.
Brockman left a young widow. Heaven bless her in her widow-
hood. God be a husband to the widow and a father to the father-
less. Oh, may he guide her feet in the path that leads to happiness
and protect her from the ills and evils of this life and finally
through the love of our Redeemer and Savior may she be in heaven
at his right hand where sorrow and death never come.
Monday 2nd December 1850. We left the mines for Sacra-
mento City which we made Wednesday 4th. Left here the 5th for
San Francisco, arrived there on the same night. Here we stayed
aboard the sail ship Carolina until near Friday morning 13th.
We set sail for Panama direct which trip we made in 51 days.
(Saturday 1st February 1851 ). Detained here a half day. Hence,
we set forward Sunday afternoon afoot, our baggage carried by the
natives to cross the Isthmus. This we completed Monday evening
in one day and a half. Left Gorgona (a native town) Tuesday
morning in a row boat, manned by 3 oarsmen and one captain or
steersman, all of which were Negroes, natives said to be good
navigators of the Chagnes River. Our vessel put into port at
Chagnes upon Wednesday morning before the dawn of day. Here
we stayed until Saturday morning the 8th when we made our
departure for New Orleans in the afternoon of the same day,
aboard the Brig Nancy Hogan, a sail vessel. We made the voyage
to New Orleans in 12Vi days, hence we arrived there on the 20th
of said month, February 20, 1851.
72 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Addenda
Whereas, David S. Helmer of Nodaway County, in the State of
Missouri, hath this day given information upon oath to W. R.
Franklin, a Justice of the Peace, within and for the County of
Nodaway, that on the 22nd day of February 1859, that one John
Kimbal of the County and State aforesaid, made an attempt to
abuse the said Helmer, Towit, said Kimbal called said Helmer off
of the road, pretending business to him and a controversy arose
between said parties, said Kimbal then and there laid violent hands
upon said Helmer with intent to injure him in said fray, and that
he also made violent threats against said Helmer. Therefore, said
Helmer further says that he is in danger of losing his life by said
Kimbal.
Subscribed and sworn to before me as a Justice of the Peace and
for said county, this the 23rd day of February 1859.
Given under my hand this the 23 day of February, 1859.
W. R. Franklin, J. P.
John Helmer, Plaintiff )
)
John Kimbal, Defendant )
Plaintiff filed February 23, A.D. 1859 for suit, complaint for
abusive treatment and violent threats made up and against his son
(who has here filed his affidavid upon oath) David S. Helmer,
whereupon I issued a warrant to apprehend said Kimbal and deliv-
ered it to H. C. Hall, Deputy Constable, the date above written.
Made returnable February 23, 1859.
W. R. Franklin, J.P.
February 23, 1859
The warrant issued in this cause is returned, executed, as the law
directs; and the cause coming on to be heard, and the defendant
being duly called, appeared and was ready to make defense. John
Helmer, the plaintiff, made overtures for peace, without further
prosecution of the suit, the defendant agreeing to the terms, the
suit was mismissed by said John Helmer, becoming responsible for
the cost of the suit. Execution issued March 1, 1859 on the above
suit returnable in 60 days & delivered to Benjamin Slaughter,
Constable. W. R. Franklin, J. P.
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM RILEY FRANKLIN
73
WORK SHEETS:
I arrived home August 29, 1865 from Council Grove. Septem-
ber 11th I commenced work for Joel Albright at $1.00 per day.
I worked 30 days as follows: Work continued: Haynesville, Nov.
7, 1865. I commenced work for Thomas J. Hubbard:
Haynesville, August 29, 1865. Money on hand
Aug. 29, 1865
December 1 1th, sold one fat calf
December 1 1 , sold one calf
Expenses - 1866
March
1
17
12 lbs beef at 70
per lb.
.85
17
2V^ lbs sugar
.50
17
1 bottle oil
.15
19
2 lbs rice 150 per lb
.30
19
2 lbs sugar 200 per lb
.40
19
1V4 lbs coffee
.45
19
2 lbs soda crackers
.40
19
V4 lb tea
.60
19
3 candles
.20
19
1 load wood
.75
19
Vi pt. whiskey
.40
29
Vi pt. whiskey
.40
29
1 lb soda
.25
29
Vi days washing
.50
April
2
10 lbs beef
.75
2
3 lbs sugar
.60
5
6 lbs salt
.25
5
Wi bu. meal
.90
15
15 lbs bacon 15»/2 0
per lb
2.50
May
9
2 bu meal
'"l.20
19
5 gal molasses
3.25
19
1 plow file
1.00
19
1 box matches
.10
19
Mending stove boiler
.25
19
Felloe wagon wheel
5.00
19
1 churn
1.50
29
9 yds. checks
33-1/30
3.00
June
25
3 IVi lbs soap
3.00
20
Yds calico .200
4.00
1
fine comb
.15
70
lbs bacon
11.90
John H. Jones for work
30.00
Joint stove pipe
.60
3
tin cups
.25
25
1 Pair shoes
2.60
2 Collars
1.00
2 Pr. stockings
1.50
$30.00
25.00
5.00
6
2 Books
.35
1 Pocket book
1.00
1 Days washing
1.00
1 Set knives & forks
2.75
1 Set cups & saucers
1.25
1 Set glass tumblers
1.00
1 Breast pin
.25
Horseshoing
2.65
Night's lodging
1.00
Night's lodging
1.00
1 Pr. check lines
2.00
Halter rope
.15
2 Yds calico &
trimmings
3.00
2 yds fuller cloth
2.80
1 lb yarn
1.00
1 Box bleaching
.10
1 Bridle
1.80
1 Toothbrush
.15
1 Pr. shoes
2.50
1 Copy book
.2S
1 Paper needles
'10
1 Set knitting needles
.05
1 Box pills
2S
1/2 lb coffee
.'50
1 St. Louis Republican
.10
V2 lb pepper
.2S
50 lbs flour
2.50
6 Candles
.30
3 Yds flannel
.95
3 Yds shirting
.80
1 Cedar pencil
.10
3 lbs coffee
1. 00
2 yds buff gingham
.80
10 Gal molasses
7.50
1 Box blacking
.10
Work on wagon
.50
2V2, bu. corn
.75
1 bu potatoes
.50
3 bu turnips
1.20
6 yds domestic & thread
1.75
53 lbs soap at 50
2.65
1 pr shoes
2.75
V2 yd tweed
.75
74
ANNALS OF WYOMING
June
1 bucket wagon grease .35
1 wool hat
2.00
Crossing Missouri River .25
Traveling expenses
.50
1 pr. shoes
2.80
1 silver watch
28.00
1 pr. boots
3.00
Tarven bill - lodging
.50
1 pipe and tobacco
.50
1 tooth brush
.25
1 vial cologne
1.00
1 pr pants
8.00
1 vest
4.00
8 yds calico
1.00
2 pr yarn hose
.80
Tavern bill
3.75
Ride on cars
2.50
One trip from Indepen-
dence to Kansas City
10.00
4 mo. board at Mr.
John P. Shepherd
70.00
1 linen kerchief
.75
1 arithmetic
.75
1 Barlow knife
.25
5 lbs tallow
.50
1 Ball candle wick
.20
Whiskey in grocery
.50
2 Boxes essence
.25
1 load wood
1.50
51 lbs flour
3.60
1 coffee mill
1.25
Nov. 7, 1865 I commenced work for
Jefferson Hubbard.
I left Haynesville May 9th, 1866
and moved into Solomon Fry's
house for the purpose of breaking
prairie for said Fry.
Said Fry agreed to give two dollars
per acre, furnish the team and plow
in running order. We commenced
breaking May 21, 1866.
I broke 84Vi acres prairie for
Solomon Fry in the year 1866 at $2
per acre.
We moved on John Berry's place in Missouri River bottom on Friday the
12th day of Sept. 1866.
"The Old Thirteen"
God bless the good old thirteen
states:
God bless the young ones too
Who cares for musty birthday dates?
God bless them, old and new.
The old ones first our freedom
gained.
In bloody fights of yore,
The young ones have their rights
maintained,
As the old ones did before
Or south, or North, or East or West,
Twin sisters, all they be.
One mother nurtured them at her
breast
And that was Liberty.
And may the wretch whose hand
shall strive
To cut their vital thread,
Be scorned while in this world alive,
And scorned when he is dead.
Now fill the bowl with nature's
wine.
Let's drink "God save the King".
The only King by right divine, the
Soverign people - ring - for they're
The only King I own
All others I despise.
The king that towers above the
throne
The king that never dies.
William R. Franklin.
A Selective Citerary Bibliography
of Wyoming
Richard F. Fleck
Robert A. Campbell
Preface
The leaves of the low-bush blue huckleberry at Spruce Lake and at
Chain Lakes were blood-red. A dwarf birch was even redder. Dwarf
willow was yellow and red. The lichens on the granite rocks were
richly radiant with yellows, grays, and blacks. Bright Scotch bluebells
were reflected in the sapphire water.
— Justice William O. Douglas
"Wind River Mountains,"
My Wilderness: East to Katcihdin.
For centuries Wyoming mountains, prairies, lakes and skies have
inspired Indian legends and myths, and for over 100 years the
same rugged terrain has inspired the minds of the newer travelers
and inhabitants having a European lineage. Whether as travelers
en route to California, or as settlers from the East, writers from
the 1850s to the 1970s have recorded their variegated impressions
of Wyoming in poems, plays, essays, stories, novels or travel
narratives.
Fortunately many of the ancient legends of the Arapahoe,
Cheyenne and Shoshone tribes have been recorded for posterity by
Indian as well as white authors. Numerous contemporary Indian
writers such as Tom Shakespeare and N. Scott Momaday have
utilized ancient tribal mythology in the creation of rich literary
works of their own such as The Sky People and The Way to Rainy
Mountain. Many non-Indian writers have incorporated Indian
lore in their creative writing such as Mari Sandoz' Cheyenne
Autumn.
Literally hundreds of travel narratives from Francis Parkman's
The Oregon Trail to Robert Louis Stevenson's From Scotland to
Silverado and John Steinbeck's Travels With Charlie contain mem-
orable descriptive pasages relating to Wyoming. Early settlers'
accounts of experiences "on the range" include Irish Member of
Parliament Horace Plunkett's unpublished diaries (at The Plunkett
Foundation in Oxford, England) which concern his several years
ranching in Wyoming in the 1880s before his return to Dublin.
Neal Roach's unpublished account of his stay in Laramie City
during the 1860s and 1870s gives a valuable acount of life as it was
in a wild, small frontier town.
76 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Poetic impressions of Wyoming include Walt Whitman's "Pas-
sage to India," Lawrence Ferlinghetti's Starting From San Fran-
cisco and native Wyomingite Ted Olson's Hawk's Way. Fiction
having a Wyoming setting goes back to Owen Wister's The Vir-
ginian and forward to Ernest Hemingway's "Wine of Wyoming"
and A. B. Guthrie's The Big Sky not to mention little-known
Marnix Gijsen's De Vleespotten van Egypte (The Fleshpots of
Egypte — a Dutch novel set in Laramie). Many local writers have
helped create a Wyoming literary genre — the outdoor pageant
drama — involving history and legend such as Mabelle DeKay's
"Vedauwoo" or Marie Montabe Horton's "Gift of the Waters."
As for humorous prose, Bill Nye's Baled Hay: A Drier Book
than Whitman's Leaves of Grass must head the list. Wyoming has
inspired numerous natural history essays — a genre of writing in
itself — including John Muir's Our National Parks and Murie's
Wapiti Wilderness. Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks
alone would require a vast bibliography.
In short, Wyoming, as wild and scarcely populated as it is, has
inspired a large quantity of varied writing by Wyoming, American,
British and European authors. The purpose of this selective bib-
liography is to inform readers of significant writing relating to
Wyoming and its peoples by the above four categories of authors.
Because this bibliography does not include juvenile or children's
literature, such well known writers as Doris Shannon Garst or
Margaret Hill are not listed. This bibliography is literary and not
historical, and many good books relating to local and regional
history are not included. Nor is it technical or scientific, and
therefore many books and articles on biology, geology, gardening,
mountaineering and the like are not listed. And finally since this
bibliography is limited to literature explicitly involving Wyoming,
many local authors who have written exclusively about places other
than Wyoming are not among those listed in these pages. A bib-
liography of bibliographies relating to Wyoming in general has
been placed at the end for the reader's convenience.
Acknowledgement
We wish to acknowledge a Wyoming State Historical Society
grant made available to us which aided us in our research. We
appreciate the friendly cooperation of the State Library at Chey-
enne, The University of Wyoming Library in Laramie and the
valuable information given to us by many local and county librar-
ians throughout Wyoming. In addition we wish to express our
thanks to Glenna Manig and to James Dow of Iowa State Univer-
sity for their help during the formative stages of the project and
Kris Riske for her fine job of typing.
R.F.F.
R.A.C.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 77
Bibliographic Key
Wl - W344 Wyoming Authors on Wyoming
Al - A129 American Authors on Wyoming
CEl - CE24 Continental European Authors on Wyoming
Bl - B56 British Authors on Wyoming
N.F. — non-fiction
F. — fiction
C.G. — combination genre
P. — poetry
D. — drama
BIOG. — biography
BIB . — bibliography
H. — humor
B.3 Bird, Isabella Lucy. A Lady's Life in the Rocky Moun-
tains. London: J.Murray, [1880]. N.F.
Wyoming Authors on Wyoming
W.l Adair, Emma C, correlator. Pioneer People of Douglas
and Converse County, Wyoming 1886. (Douglas, WY.:
Douglas Diamond Jubilee Days Commission, 1962).
C.G. (Contains several poems about the area.)
W.2 Adams, Andy. The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of
The Old Trail Days. Illustrated by E. Boyd Smith. (Bos-
ton, MA.: Houghton, Mifflin Company, 1931). N.F.
(Part takes place in the Yellowstone area.)
W.3 Albany County, Wyoming. Public Library. A Selective
List of Books on Wyoming and The West in the Alba?iy
County Public Library. (Laramie, WY.: Albany County
Public Library, 1965). BIB.
W.4 Alderson, Nannie Tiffany and Helena Huntington Smith.
A Bride Goes West. (Lincoln, NB.: University of Ne-
braska Press, 1969). BIOG.
W.5 Allee, George Franklin. Till The Day Dawn. (Grand
Rapids, ML: Zondervan Publishing House, 1944). F.
(Part of this story takes place in Cheyenne.)
W.6 Allyn, Mary Julia (Moore). Twentieth Century Pio-
neering: Our Frontier Days Experiences at Riverton,
Wyoming, (n.p., 1956). N.F.
W.7 Anderson, Abraham Archibald. E.xperiences and Im-
pressions: The Autobiography of. . . . (New York, NY.:
TheMacmillanCo., 1933). BIOG.
W.8 Arnold, Constantine Peter. Crannies and Horizons: .4
Memorial Edition of the Poems of. . . . Selected by Thur-
man Arnold. Edited with foreword by Philo Calhoun; a
biographical note by Frances Lougan Arnold. (Portland.
ME., 1962). P.
78 ANNALS OF WYOMING
W.9 Artist, Ruth Hesse and Leora Peters. The Devil's Pitch-
fork. (Philadelphia, PA.: Dorrance, 1951). F.
W.IO Artist, Ruth Hesse. Salt Pork. (Aurora, MO.: Burney
Bros. Publishing Co., c. 1938). F.
W.ll Back, Joe. Mooching, Moose and Mumbling Men.
(Boulder, CO.: Johnson Publishing Co., c. 1963). F.
W.12 Back, Joe. The Sucker's Teeth. (Denver, CO.: Sage
Books, 1965). F.
W.13 Bard, Floyd C. Dude Wrangler, Hunter, Line Rider As
Told To Agnes Wright Spring. (Denver, CO.: Sage
Books, 1964). BIOG.
W.14 Bard, Floyd C. Horse Wrangler: Sixty Years in the
Saddle in Wyoming and Montana by Floyd C. Bard As
Told to Agnes Wright Spring. (Norman, OK.: Univer-
sity of Oklahoma Press, 1960). BIOG.
W.15 Barrow, Merris Clark. Sagebrush Philosophy by "Bill
Barlow". (Douglas, WY.: The Budget Printshop, 1905-
1909). N.F.
W.16 Beard, John W. Saddles East: Horseback Over The Old
Oregon Trail. (Portland, OR.: Binfords & Mort, 1949).
N.F.
W.17 Bentley, James S. Chinook. (Lingle, WY.: The Au-
thor, 1962). P.
W.18 Bishop, L. C. La Bonte, Hunter, Free Trapper, Trail
Blazer and Mountain Man of the Old West, 1825-1848.
(n.p.. The Author, 1950). BIOG.
W.19 Bonney, Orrin H. Battle Drums and Geysers: The Life
and Journals of Lt. Gustavus Cheyney Doane, Soldier and
Explorer of the Yellowstone and Snake River Regions.
(Chicago, IL.: Sage Books, 1970). BIOG.
W.20 Bronson, Edgar Beecher. Reminiscences Of A Ranch-
man. (Chicago, IL.: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1908).
BIOG.
W.21 Brooks, Bryant Butler. Memoirs of Bryant B. Brooks. . . .
(Glendale, CA. : printed in a limited edition by The
Arthur H. Clark Co., 1939). BIOG.
W.22 Brown, Mabel E. and Elizabeth J. Thorpe. Jubilee Mem-
ories. (Newcastle, WY.: Newcastle News Letter Jour-
nal, 1965). N.F.
W.23 Brown, Ruth Southworth. Walk On The Sky. (Chey-
enne, WY.: Pioneer Printing Co., 1973). F. (A novel
set in Wheatland area).
W.24 Burke, Trude. The Wild Stranger. (New York, NY.:
Holt, 1953). F. (A novel set in Cody. )
W.25 Burns, Robert Homer. Wyoming's Pioneer Ranches, by
Three Native Sons of the Laramie Plains: Robert Homer
Burns, Andrew Springs Gillespie and Willing G. Richard-
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 79
son. (Laramie, WY.: Top-of-the-World Press, 1955).
N.F.
W.26 Burroughs, John Rolfe. Guardian of the Grasslands:
The First Hundred Years of the Wyoming Stock Growers
Association. (Cheyenne, WY.: Pioneer Printing & Sta-
tionery Co., 1971). M.F.
W.27 Burt, Mrs. Katharine (Newlin). The Branding Iron.
(Boston, MA.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1919). F. (This
novel has a general Wyoming setting. )
W.28 Burt, Katharine (Newlin). Men of Moon Mountain.
(Philadelphia, PA.: Maccrae-Smith Co., 1938). F.
W.29 Burt, Maxwell Struthers. Chance Encounters. (New
York, NY.: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1921). F. (Takes
place in Star Valley, Wyoming. )
W.30 Burt, Maxwell Struthers. The Delectable Mountains.
(New York, NY.: Grosset & Dunlap, 1927). F. (Part
of this novel takes place in Wyoming. )
W.31 Burt, Maxwell Struthers. The Diary of a Dude Wrangler.
( New York, NY. : Scribner's, 1925). N.F.
W.32 Burt, Maxwell Struthers. John O'May and Other Stories.
(New York, NY.: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1918). F.
(Contains Western stories including "Wings of the Morn-
ing" set in Wyoming. )
W.33 Burt, Maxwell Struthers. Powder River Let 'er Buck.
Illustrated by Ross Santee. (New York, NY.: Farrar &
Rinehart, 1938). F. ( Set in the Big Horn Basin. )
W.34 Butler, Helen. A Stone Upon His Shoulder, a Novel.
(Philadelphia, PA.: Westminster Press, 1953). F. (Set
in Wyoming Territory. )
W.35 Calkins, Frank J. Jackson Hole. (New York, NY.:
Alfred Knopf, 1973). N.F.
W.36 Calkins, Frank. Rocky Mountain Warden. (New York,
NY.: Knopf, 1971). N.F.
W.37 Canton, Frank M. Frontier Trails: The Autobiography
Of. ... ed. Edward Everett Dale. (Boston, MA.:
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1930). BIOG.
W.38 Carley, Maurine and Virginia Cole Trenholm. Wxoming
Pageant. (Casper, WY.: Prairie Pub. Co., 1946). N.F.
W.39 Carlisle, Bill. Lone Bandit: An Autobiography. Illus-
trated by Charles M. Russell and Introduction by J. R.
Williams. (Pasadena, CA.: Trails End Publishing Co.,
Inc., 1946). BIOG.
W.40 Carlson, Vada F. The Desert Speaks. (Riverton, WY.:
Ranger Publishing Co., 1956).
W.41 Carney, Otis. New Lease On Life: The Story of a City
Family Who Quit The Rat Race and Moved To A Ranch
in Wyoming. (New York, NY.: Random House, 1971).
N.F.
80 ANNALS OF WYOMING
W.42 Carrington, Mrs. Frances (Courtney). My Army Life
and The Fort Phil Kearney Massacre, with an Account of
the Celebration of "Wyoming Opened". (Philadelphia,
PA.: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1910). BIOG.
W.43 Carroll, R. E. "Bob". The Common Little Things.
(Sheridan, WY.: Mills Co., n.d.).
W.44 Chaffin, Mrs. Lorah B. Sons of the West; A Biograph-
ical Account of Early-day Wyoming. (Caldwell, ID.:
The Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1941). BIOG.
W.45 Chapman, Arthur. Out Where the West Begins and
Other Western Verses. (Boston, MA.: Houghton, Mif-
flin Co., 1917). P. (Many of the poems seem to have
a general Wyoming setting. )
W.46 Chatterton, Fenimore C. Yesterday's Wyoming; The
Intimate Memoirs of Fenimore Chatterton. . . . (Denver,
CO.: Powder River Publishers & Booksellers, 1957).
BIOG.
W.47 Chisholm, James. South Pass, 1868, James Chisholm's
Journal of the Wyoming Gold Rush. Introd. and ed. by
Lola M. Homsher. (Lincoln, NB.: University of Ne-
braska Press, 1960). BIOG.
W.48 Chittenden, Hiram Martin. The Yellowstone National
Park: Historical and Descriptive, (n.p., 1915). N.F.
W.49 Clay, John. My Life on the Range. (Chicago, IL.i
Privately printed, 1924). BIOG.
W.50 Clayton, Alfred G. "The Chimes of Lost Valley," Amer-
ican Forests, (January, 1935), pp. 23-25, 48. F.
W.51 Clough, Wilson O. Brief Oasis {TpoQms). (Denver, CO.:
Alan Swallow, 1954). P.
W.52 Clough, Wilson O. Foreword To Wyoming (poems).
(Laramie, WY.: Privately printed, 1944). P.
W.53 Clough, Wilson O. "Mini-Aku, Daughter of Spotted
Tail," Annals of Wyoming, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 187-216.
N.F.
W.54 Clough, Wilson O. The Necessary Earth: Nature and
Solitude in American Literature. (Austin, TX.: Univer-
sity of Texas Press, 1964). N.F. (Contains a literary
discussion of the impact of West on the creative imag-
ination. )
W.55 Clough, Wilson O. "Note on Dialect in the Uinta Moun-
tains of Wyoming," American Speech, XI (1936), pp.
190-192. N.F.
W.56 Clough, Wilson O. Past's Persisting: Collected Poems.
(Laramie, WY.: Privately printed, 1972). P.
W.57 Clough, Wilson O. "Some Wyoming Speech Patterns,"
American Speech, XXIX (1954), pp. 28-35. N.F.
W.58 Clough, Wilson O. We, Borne Along {po&vas,). (Prairie
City, IL.: Decker Press, 1949). P.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 81
W.59 Cody, Mrs. Louisa (Frederici). Memories of Buffalo
Bill, by His Wife, in Collaboration with Courtney Rvlev
Cooper. (New York, NY.: D. Appleton & Co.,' 1919)'.
BIOG.
W.60 Cody, William Frederick. The Life of Hon. William F.
Cody Known As Buffalo Bill The Famous Hunter, Scout
and Guide: ..An Autobiography. (Hartford, CT.: Frank
E. Bliss, 1879). BIOG.
W.61 Cook, James Henry. Fifty Years on the Old Frontier as
Cowboy, Hunter, Guide, Scout and Ranchman. With a
foreword by J. Frank Dobie. (Norman, OK.: Univer-
sity of Oklahoma Press, 1 9 3 7 ) . BIOG.
W.62 Cook, James Henry. Longhorn Cowboy, ed. Howard R.
Driggs with drawings by Hubert Stoops. (New York,
NY.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1942). N.F. (Passing ref-
erences to Wyoming ) .
W.63 Coolidge, Porter B. Songs From The Last West. (Bos-
ton, MA.: The Christopher Publishing House, c. 1928).
P. (Some of the poems have a Wyoming setting. )
W.64 Coolidge, Porter B. Songs of The Red Man. (Lander,
WY.: Coolidge Publishing Co., n.d. ). P. (Contains
some poems relating to Washakie. )
W.65 Coombs, Elizabeth L. Wyoming Territory: Tales of the
Renegades of the Trail to Montana. (Bloomfield, NJ.:
1967). F.
W.66 Corthell, Mrs. N. E. and Hill, Mrs. John A. A Family
Trek to The Yellowstone and Twentv-four Years After.
(Laramie, WY.: Laramie Printing Co., 1928). N.F.
W.67 Craig, Newton N. Thrills, 1861 to 1887. (Oakland,
CA.: N. N. Craig, 1931). N.F.
W.68 Crow, Wendell H. The Pilgrim Stranger and Other
Verses. (Thermopolis, WY. : Independent Record Press.
1949). P. (A few of the poems seem to have a general
Wyoming setting. )
W.69 Curry, Peggy (Simson). The Oil Patch. (New York,
NY.: McGraw Hill, 1959). F.
W.70 Curry, Peggy (Simson). Red Wing of Wyoming. (Den-
ver, CO.: Sage Books, 1955). P.
W^71 Curry, Peggy (Simson). A Shield of Clover. (New York,
NY.: McKay, 1970). F.
W.72 Curry, Peggy (Simson). So Far From Spring. (New
York, NY.: Viking, 1956). F.
W.73 Dahlquist, Laura. Meet Jim Bridger, A Brief History of
Bridger and His Trading House on Black's Fork. (Kern-
merer, WY.: Gazette Press, 1958). BIOG.
W.74 Dale, Edward Everett. Cow Country. . . . (Norman.
OK.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1942). N.F.
82 ANNALS OF WYOMING
W.75 David, Robert B. Malcolm Campbell, Sheriff. The Rem-
iniscences of the Greatest Frontier Sheriff in the History
of the Platte Valley. . . . (Casper, WY.: Wyomingana,
Inc., 1932). BIOG.
W.76 DeBarthe, Joe. The Life and Adventures of Frank
Grouard. (Norman, OK.: University of Oklahoma Press,
1958). BIOG.
W.77 DeKay, Mabelle. Vedauwoo (Earthborn): A Pageant-
Drama, n.d. Unpublished manuscript in collection of
Albany County Pubhc Library. D.
W.78 Deming, William Chapin. Roosevelt In The Bunk House,
and Other Sketches; Visits of the Great Rough Rider to
Wyoming in 1900, 1903 and 1910. (Laramie, WY.:
The Laramie Printing Co., c. 1927). N.F.
W.79 Dickson, Albert Jerome. Covered Wagon Days; A Jour-
ney Across the Plains in the Sixties and Pioneer Days in
the Northwest. ... ed. Arthur Jerome Dickson. (Cleve-
land, OH.: The Arthur H. Clark Co., 1929). N.F.
W.80 Downey, June Etta. Alma Mater; The University of
Wyoming College Song. (Laramie, WY.: University of
Wyoming, c. 1949). P.
W.81 Downey, June Etta. The Heavenly Dykes (poems).
(Boston, MA.: R. G. Badger, 1904). P. ("A Prairie
Trail" seems to be about the Laramie Plains, pp. 60-61.)
W.82 Downey, June Etta. A Wyoming Episode: Dance and
Pantomime. (Laramie, WY.: 1923). D.
W.83 Emmons, Delia Gould. Sacajawea Of The Shoshones.
(Portland, OR.: Binfords & Mort, Publishers, 1943). F.
(Part of this novel takes place in N. Wyoming.)
W.84 English, Mary Katharine (Jackson). Prairie Sketches or
Fugitive Recollections of an Army Girl of 1899. (n.p.,
1899?). BIOG.
W.85 Evans, Grover C. Collected Poems of Grover C. Evans.
(New York, NY.: The Exposition Press, c. 1941). P.
(Contains some poems on Wyoming.)
W.86 Evarts, Hal George. Fur Brigade, A Story of The Trap-
pers of The Early West. (Boston, MA.: Little, Brown,
and Co., 1928). F.
W.87 Evarts, Hal George. The Passing of The Old West with
Illustrations by Charles Livingston Bull. (Boston, MA.:
Little, Brown, and Co., 1921 ). N.F.
W.88 Fenwick, Robert W. "My Heart's in Wyoming," Empire
Magazine, The Denver Post, (Jan. 2, 1955), pp. 12-14.
N.F.
W.89 Ferguson, Robert Andrew. Poems of Bob Ferguson,
collected by his widow, Hazelle Ferguson. (Lusk, WY.:
Lusk Herald, 1961). P.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 83
W.90 Fish, Rachel Ann. The Running Iron. (New York,
NY.: Coward-McCann, 1957, 1956). F. (The novel
contains passing references to Wyoming. )
W.91 Fleck, Richard F. "Coach of the Wyoming Mountains,'
New Voices Magazine, I (Summer, 1966), pp. 9-12,
18-20. F. (This is a short story about a Negro football
player and Russin's Lincoln Monument. )
W.92 Fleck, Richard F. Palms, Peaks and Prairies. ( Frances-
town, NH.: The Golden Quill Press, 1967). P. (Con-
tains several poems about Wyoming. )
W.93 Flook, William E. Ne-Mo-Wy. (New York, NY.: Van-
tage Press, c. 1958). C.G. (Tales, poems and sketches
from Nebraska, Montana and Wyoming (Ne-Mo-Wy).
W.94 Forster, Richard. Musings of A Sheepherder. (Casper,
WY.: Commercial Printing Co., 1923).
W.95 Freel, Anna G. and Margaret B. McLaughlin. Memoirs
of A Pioneer Woman Mary A. Luche. (Cheyenne, WY.:
The Authors, 1967). BIOG.
W.96 Frison, Paul. The Apache Slave; "Life of Charles Wells".
( Worland, WY. : Worland Press, 1 969 ) . BIOG.
W.97 Frison, Paul. First White Woman in the Big Horn Basin:
A Documented Story of a Pioneer Woman that Portrays
Life in the Big Horn Basin. . . . (Worland, WY.: Wor-
land Press, c. 1969). BIOG.
W.98 Frison, Paul. Under The Ten Sleep Rim: An Autobiog-
raphy. (Worland, WY.: Worland Press, 1972). BIOG.
W.99 Fuller, Robert P., ed. Wonderful Wyoming, The Unde-
veloped Empire. (Cheyenne, WY.: State Board of Im-
migration, 1941). N.F.
W.IOO Gage, Jack R. Wyoming Afoot and Horseback: Or His-
tory Mostly Ain't True. Illustrated by John Coulter.
(Cheyenne, WY.: Flintlock Publishing Co., 1966).
BIOG.
W.lOl Gardner, Beatrice Tolman. A Second Chance. (Phila-
delphia, PA.: Dorrance, 1971). F. (A novel set in
Wyoming's Star Valley).
W.102 Gilfry, Genevieve Christensen. The Big Storm: A Fac-
tual Story of Wyoming's "Operation Snowbound". (New-
York, NY.: Pageant Press, 1952). N.F. (The story is
mostly set in Laramie area.)
W.103 Gillette, Bertha Chambers. Homesteading With The Elk:
A Story of Frontier Life in Jackson Hole. Wyoming.
(Idaho Falls, ID.: Mer-Jons Publishing Company, 1967).
BIOG.
W.104 Gillette, Edward. The First Trip Through Big Horn
Canon. (Sheridan, WY.: n.p., 1891?). N.F.
W.105 Goodnough, Myfanny Thomas. Moods and Melodies.
(n.p.: 1929). P. (Some poems are about Wyoming.)
84 ANNALS OF WYOMING
W.106 Hall, Florence E. Banners Unfurled. Illustrated by
Judith Van Amringe. (Vineyard Haven, MA.: Seven
Seas Press, 1965). P.
W. 1 07 Harris, Burton. John Colter, His Years in The Rockies.
(New York, NY.: Scribner, 1952). BIOG.
W.108 Harris, Margaret (Plumlee) and John Harris. Arrow
in the Moon. (New York, NY.: William Morrow,
1954). F.
W.109 Hart, Sheila and Vada F. Carlson. We Saw The Sun
Dance: A Story of the A ncient Religious Ceremonial Rite
of the Shoshone and Arapahoe Indians of Wyoming.
(Concord, CA.: Concord Graphic Arts, 1948). N.F.
W.llO Hartley, Alda P. High Country. Illustrated by Helen
C. Pownall. (Cheyenne, WY.: Pioneer Printing Co.,
195-). P.
W. 1 1 1 Hebard, Grace Raymond and Marie Montabe. The Birth
of Wyoming Day, When Women's Suffrage Came To
Wyoming, December 10, 1869. A one-act play. Mim-
eographed, 1935 in collection of University of Wyoming
Library. D.
W.112 Hebard, Grace Raymond. "James Bridger," The Fron-
tier, IX (January, 1929). BIOG.
W.113 Hebard, Grace Raymond. The Pathbreakers From River
To Ocean. (Chicago, IL.: Lakeside Press, 1913). N.F.
W. 1 1 4 Hebard, Grace Raymond. Sacajawea, A Guide and In-
terpreter of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, With an
Account of the Travels of Toussaint Charbonneau, and of
Jean Baptiste, The Expedition Papoose. (Glendale, CA.:
Arthur H. Clark, 1933). BIOG.
W.115 Hebard, Grace Raymond. Washakie; An Account of
Indian Resistance of the Covered Wagon and Union Pa-
cific Railroad Invasions of Their Territory. (Cleveland,
OH.: The Arthur H. Clark Co., 1930). N.F.
W.116 Henderson, Laurene E. Lure of the Cedars. (New
York, NY.: Vantage Press, 1954). F.
W. 117 Hill, Burton S. Bozeman and the Bozeman Trail. (Buf-
falo, WY.: 1964). N.F.
W.118 Holmberg, Addie E. "Independence Rock" (poem) in
Independence Rock: The Great Record of the Desert by
Robert Spurrier Ellison. (Casper, WY.: Natrona County
Historical Society, 1930). C.G.
W.119 Holmberg, Mrs. Addie Elvira (Harris). Poems. Type-
written and mimeographed prefaced by three pages of
stories of pioneer life. (1936?). In collection of the
University of Wyoming Library. P.
W.120 Homsher, Lola M. Wyoming: A Students' Guide To
Localized History. (New York, NY.: Columbia Univer-
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 85
sity Teachers College Press, 1966). (This is valuable for
its bibhography. ) BIB.
W.121 Hooker, William Francis. The Prairie Schooner. Chi-
cago, IL.: Saul Brothers, 1918). F. (This novel is set
in Wyoming. )
W. 1 22 Horn, Maurice Erny, Jr. Poems from Jackson Hole and
Others, (n.p.: 1962). P.
W.123 Horn, Tom. Life of Tom Horn, Government Scout and
Interpreter. . . (Denver, CO.: Loutham Book Co.,
1904). BIOG.
W.124 Horton, Marie Montabe. Gift of the Waters. (Author,
n.d.). D.
W.125 Horton, Marie Montabe. Guns Yield To Gowns: Playlet
in One Act Three Scenes. (Cheyenne, WY.: State De-
partment of Education, n.d.). D.
W.126 Horton, Mrs. Marie (Montabe). Without Wings. (San
Francisco, C A.: Artcraft Publications, 1941). P. (Some
of the poems seem to have a general Wyoming setting. )
W.127 Horton, Marie Montabe and Agnes K. Snow. The Wyo-
ming Tea Party: Historical Playlet in One Act. (Chey-
enne, WY.: StateBoardof Education, 1936). D.
W.128 Hough, Donald. The Cocktail Hour in Jackson Hole.
(New York, NY. : W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1951). F.
W.129 Hough, Donald. Snow Above Town. (New York, NY.:
W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1943). F. (This novel is set
in the Tetons.)
W.130 Hough, Emerson. The Broken Gate; A Novel. Illus-
trated by M. Leone Bracker. (New York, NY.: D.
Appleton & Co., 1917). F. (The novel is set in Jackson
County.)
W.131 Hough, Emerson. The Covered Wagon. (New York,
NY.: D. Appleton & Co., 1922). F. (The novel con-
cerns Jim Bridger with a chapter on Fort Laramie.)
W.132 Hough, Emerson. 54-40 Or Fight. Illustrated by Arthur
I. Keller. (New York, NY.: Burt, 1909). F. (The
novel has references to South Pass and Fort Laramie.)
W.133 Hough, Emerson. Maw's Vacation; The Yellowstone
Story. (St. Paul, MN.: Haynes Picture Shops, 1929). F.
W.134 Hough, Emerson. The Passittg of the Frontier; A Chron-
icle of the Old West. (New Haven, CT.: Yale University
Press, 1918). F. (Passing references to Wyoming.)
W.135 Hough, Emerson. The Story of the Cowbox. Illustrated
by William L. Wells and Charles M. Russell. (New York.
NY.: D. Appleton and Co., 1908). F. (Passing refer-
ences to Wyoming. )
W.136 Hough, Emerson. The Story of the Outlaw; A Study of
the Western Desperado, with Historical Narratives of
Famous Outlaws; The Stories of Noted Border Wars;
86 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Vigilante Movements and Armed Conflicts on the Fron-
tier. (New York, NY.: Burt, 1907). F. (Passing
references to Wyoming.)
W.137 Hough, Emerson. The Way to the West, and the Lives of
Three Early Americans, Boone-Crockett-Carson. Illus-
trated by Frederic Remington. (Indianapolis, IN.: The
Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1903). N.F. (Contains references
to Oregon Trail and Union Pacific Railroad.)
W.138 Houghton, Merritt D. Views of Southern Wyoming.
(Grand Encampment, WY.: Herald Publishing Company,
1904).
W.139 Huettl, Irene Arndt. Esther Morris of Old South Pass.
Francestown, N.H.: The Golden Quill Press, 1965). P.
(Contains in addition to Morris poem, many poems about
Wyoming wild places. )
W.140 Hunter, Bonnie. These Americans in Moccasins. (New
York, NY.: Vantage Press, c. 1959).
W.141 Hunter, Rodello. Wyoming Wife. (New York, NY.:
Alfred Knopf, 1969). F.
W.142 Hunton, John. John H union's Diary, I SI 3 -I ^89. Ed-
ited by L. G. (Pat) Flannery. Vols. 1-5 (Lingle, WY.:
Guide-Review, 1956-1964). Vol. 6 (Glendale, CA.: The
Arthur H. Clark Co., 1970).
W.143 Iserman, Roy W. The Tree of Solace. (New York,
NY.: Vantage Press, 1951). F.
W.144 Jackson, Clarence S. Picture Maker of the Old West:
William Henry Jackson. (New York, NY.: C. Scribner's
Sons, 1947). BIOG.
W.145 Jackson, William Henry. The Pioneer Photographer,
Rocky Mountain Adventures With A Camera. In collab-
oration with Howard R. Driggs. (New York, NY.:
World Book Co., 1929). BIOG.
W.146 Jackson, William Henry. Time Exposure; The Autobiog-
raphy of William Henry Jackson. (New York, NY.: G.
P. Putnam's Sons, 1940). BIOG.
W.147 Jameson, Laurance Lincoln. Cow Country Ballads, by
"Tick". (Casper, WY.: Prairie Publishing Co., 1941). P.
W.148 Johnson, S. Stuart. This Is Cow Country. Prologue by
Lee L. Seccrest. (Sheridan, WY.: c. 1964). N.F.
W.149 Keith, Marshall Clark. The Story of Chief Washakie:
The Upright Aborigine, An Indian Odyssey. (Caldwell,
ID.: The Caxton Printers, 1935). P.
W.150 King, Charles. Campaigning With Crook. Introduction
by Don Russell. (Norman, OK.: University of Okla-
homa Press, 1964). N.F.
W.151 King, Charles. A Daughter of the Sioux: A Tale of the
Indian Frontier. Illustrated by Frederic Remington and
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 87
Edwin Willard Deraing. (New York, NY.: The Hobart
Co., 1903). F.
W.152 King, Charles. The Deserter, and From The Ranks: Two
Novels. (Philadelphia, PA.: J. B. Lippincott, 1888). F.
W.153 King, Charles. Dunraven Ranch. (Philadelphia, PA.:
J. B. Lippincott, c. 1888). F. (This book comprises the
first and chief section of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine,
December 1888, all of which is here bound together with
a biography of Captain Charles King. )
W.154 King, Charles. Fort Frayne. (New York, NY.: The
Hobart Co., c. 1901). F.
W.155 King, Charles. A Garrison Tangle. (New York, NY.:
Hobart, 1901). F.
W.156 King, Charles. Lanier of the Cavalry; or, A Week's
Arrest. Illustrated by Frank McKeman. (Philadelphia,
PA.: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1909). F.
W.157 King, Charles. "Laramie"; or, The Queen of Bedlam:
A Story of the Sioux War of 1876. (Philadelphia, PA.:
J. P. Lippincott, 1892). F.
W.158 King, Charles. Marion's Faith. Illustrated by A. F.
Harmer. (Philadelphia, PA.: J. B. Lippincott, c. 1914).
F. (This is a sequel to The Colonel's Daughter.) F.
W.159 King, Charles. A Soldier's Secret: A Story of the Sioux
War of 1890, and an Army Portia: Two Novels. (Phila-
delphia, PA.: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1904). (Contains
passing references to Wyoming. ) F.
W.160 King, Charles. Starlight Ranch, and Other Stories of
Army Life on the Frontier. (Philadelphia, PA.: J. B.
Lippincott Co., 1890). F. (The story "From the Plains
to "The Point' " deals with Wyoming. )
W.161 King, Charles. Trooper Ross and Signal Butte. Illus-
trated by Charles H. Stephens. (Philadelphia, PA.: J. B.
Lippincott Co., 1896). F.
W.162 King, Charles. Two Soldiers, and Dunraven Ranch:
Two Novels. (Philadelphia, PA.: J. B. Lippincott, 1909).
F. (Contains passing references to Wyoming.)
W.163 King, Charles. Warrior Gap: A Story of the Sioux Out-
break of '68. (Chicago, IL.: Thompson and Thomas, c.
1901). F. (Takes place in Central and N.W. Wyoming.)
W.164 Kleiber, Hans. Songs of Wyoming. (Sheridan, WY.:
Mills Co., 1963). P.
W.165 Krakel, Dean. The Saga of Tom Horn. (Laramie, WY.:
Laramie Printing Co., 1954).
W.166 Kuykendall, William L. Frontier Days: A True Narra-
tive of Striking Events on the Western Frontier, (n.p.:
Author, 1917). F.
W.167 Langland, Joseph. The Green Town: Poems in Poets
of Today. (New York, NY.: Scribner, 1934). P.
88 ANNALS OF WYOMING
W.168 Langland, Joseph. Poems to Friends at Christmas Time.
(n.p., n.d.). P. In Hebard Room Collection of Univer-
sity of Wyoming. (Contains the poem "Wyoming".)
W.169 Langland, Joseph. The Wheel of Summer. (New York,
NY.: Dial Press, 1963). P.
W.170 Larom, Henry V. Mountain Pony, A Story of the Wyo-
ming Rockies. Illustrated by Ross Santee. (New York,
NY.: McGraw-HillBookCo., Inc., 1946). F.
W.171 Larson, Taft Alfred. Basic Wyoming History Books.
(Cheyenne, WY.: Wyoming State Library, 1971). BIB.
W.172 Larson, Taft Alfred. History of Wyoming. Line draw-
ings by Jack Brodie. (Lincoln, NB.: University of Ne-
braska Press, 1965). N.F. (Contains references to Wyo-
ming authors. )
W.173 Lathrop, George. Memoirs of a Pioneer, Indian Fighter,
Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage Driver. . . . (Lusk, WY.:
Lusk Herald, n.d. ) . BIOG.
W.174 Lester, Josephine Lily. Footprints in the Snow. (River-
ton, WY. : Riverton Ranger, c. 1 963 ) . P.
W.175 Linford, Dee. Man Without a Star. (New York, NY.:
Morrow, 1932). F.
W.176 Linford, Velma. Wyoming Frontier State. (Denver,
CO.: The Old West Publishing Co., 1947). N.F. (Val-
uable for its bibUography. )
W.lll Lockhart, Caroline. The Lady Doc. (Philadelphia, PA.:
J. B. Lippincott Co., 1912). F.
W.178 Lockhart, Caroline. Me-Smith. (Philadelphia, PA.: J.
B. Lippincott, 1913). F.
W.179 McCracken, Harold. Roughnecks and Gentlemen. (Gar-
den City, NY. : Doubleday, 1968).
W.180 McMurtrie, Douglas Crawford. Pioneer Printing in Wyo-
ming. (Cheyenne, WY.: Privately printed, 1933). N.F.
W.181 McPherren, Mrs. Ida Geneva (Miller). Danger Within.
(Sheridan: WY.: 1942). F. (Fiction set in Wyoming.)
W.182 McPherren, Mrs. Ida Geneva (Miller). Trail's End.
(Casper, WY.: Prairie PubUshing Co., 1938). N.F.
W.183 Mahoney, Timothy J. The Big Three. (Boston, MA.:
Christopher Publishing House, 1952). F.
W.184 Majors, Alexander. Seventy Years on the Frontier. . . .
Preface by "Buffalo Bill". (Denver, CO.: The Western
Miner and Financier Publishers, 1893). BIOG.
W.185 Malone, Rose Mary. Wyomingana: Two Bibliographies.
(Denver, CO.: University of Denver Press, 1950). BIB.
W.186 Manley, Woods (Hocker). The Doctor's Wyoming Chil-
dren: A Family Memoir. (New York, NY.: Exposition
Press, 1953). BIOG.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 89
W.187 Martin, Mildred Albert. The Martins of Gunbarrel.
Pen-and-ink drawings by Paul Reeve Martin. (Caldwell,
ID: Caxton Printers, 1959).
W.189 McPherren, I. G. The Banditti of the Plains, or the
Cattleman's Invasion of Wyoming in 1892. (Sheridan,
WY.: n.p., 1930). N.F. [This is one of the Ida G.
McPherren editions of Asa Shinn Mercer's book. The
Banditti of the Plains, or the Cattleman's Invasion of
Wyoming in 1892: the Crowning Infamy of the Ages.
1894. ed.^
W.190 Miller, Mrs. Neva (Nelson) Ford. Mountain Men on a
Spring Vacation. (Laramie, WY.: 1948). N.F.
W.191 Montabe, Marie. Da-goo-win-net; Mystical Sundance of
the Shoshones. Illustrated by John Coulter, (n.p., c.
1962). N.F.
W.192 Moore, Frank Lincoln. Soids and Saddlebags: The Di-
aries and Correspondence of ... . Edited by Austin L.
Moore. (Denver, CO.: Big Mountain Press, 1962). N.F.
W.193 Moore, Olga. Til Meet You in the Lobby. (Philadel-
phia, PA.: Lippincott, 1950). F.
W.194 Moore, Olga. The Lost Cabin, (n.p., 1916). F.
W.195 Moore, Olga. "A Pair on a Plow," Country Gentleman,
(February, 1941), pp. 12-13, 54-57. F. (A short story.)
W.196 Moore, Olga. Wind-swept. (Philadelphia, PA.: J. B.
Lippincott Co., c. 1937). F.
W.197 Morrow, Joseph W. "Journey to Wyoming, Life in
Southern Wyoming and Trip to Big Horn Country 1888-
1901." A manuscript in possession of Mrs. Lena Turner,
Basin, Wyoming. N.F.
W.198 Murphy, Clare. Shadows of the Buttes. (New York,
NY.: Vantage Press, c. 1967). P.
W.199 Murray, Robert. A Basic Reading List on the Cattle
Industry. (Sheridan, WY.: Trail End Historic Center,
1973). BIB.
W.200 Nelson, Alice Downey, compiler. Biographical Sketches
of Stephen Wheeler Downey and Eva V. Downey. (Lar-
amie, WY.: Privately Printed, 1938). BIOG. (Con-
tains some family composed poems about Wyoming. )
W.201 Nelson, Alice Downey. Downey s from Ireland: An His-
torical Chronicle of One American Family. (Washington.
DC: Privately printed, 1963). BIOG.' (Section deal-
ing with the writings of June Etta Downey of particular
interest. )
W.202 Nelson, Dick J. Only a Cow Country, At One Time:
Wyoming Counties of Crook, Weston, and Campbell,
1875-1951. (San Diego, CA.: 1951). N.F.
W.203 Nelson, Dick J. A Wyoming Homestead Tragedy. (San
Diego, CA.: n.p., 1960).
90 ANNALS OF WYOMING
W.204 Niobrara County, Wyoming Fair Board. Legend of the
Rawhide Buttes: Pageant Spectacle. (Lusk, WY.: n.p.,
1946). D.
W.205 Nye, Edgar Wilson. Baled Hay: A Drier Book Than
Walt Whitman's "Leaves o' Grass". Illustrated by F.
Opper. (Chicago, IL.: W. B. Conkey Co., c. 1893). H.
W.206 Nye, Edgar Wilson. The Best of Bill Nye's Humor.
Edited by Louis Hasley. (New Haven, CT.: College &
University Press, 1973). H.
W.207 Nye, Edgar Wilson. Bill Nye and Boomerang; or, The
Tale of a Meek-eyed Mule, and Some Other Literary
Gems. (Chicago, IL.: Homewood, c. 1893). H.
W.208 Nye, Edgar Wilson. Bill Nye: His Own Life Story.
(New York, NY.; The Century Co., c. 1926). BIOG.
W.209 Nye, Edgar Wilson. Bill Nye's Remarks. Illustrated by
J. H. Smith. (New York, NY.: F. T. Neely, 1896). H.
W.210 Nye, Edgar Wilson. Bill Nye's Western Humor, selected
with an introduction by T. A. Larson. Illustrated by F.
Opper, J. H. Smith and E. Zimmerman. (Lincoln, NB.:
University of Nebraska Press, 1968). H.
W.21 1 Nye, Edgar Wilson. Forty Liars and Other Lies. Illus-
trated by Hopkins. (Chicago, IL.: W. B. Conkey Co.,
c. 1893). H.
W.21 2 Nye, Edgar Wilson. A Guest at the Ludlow, and Other
Stories. Illustrated by Louis Braunhold. (Indianapolis,
IN.: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., c. 1896). H. (Passing
references to Wyoming.)
W.21 3 Nye, Edgar Wilson and Riley, James Whitcomb. Nye
and Riley's Railway Guide. Illustrated by Baron de
Grimm, E. Zimmerman, Walt McDougall, et al. (Chi-
cago, IL.: The Dearborn Pub. Co., 1888). H.
W.21 4 Nye, Edgar Wilson. Nye and Riley's Wit and Humor;
Amusing Prose Sketches and Quaint Dialect Poems.
(Chicago, IL.: W. B. Conkey, c. 1902). H.
W.21 5 Olson, Theodore B. Hawk's Way. (New York, NY.:
League to Support Poetry, 1941). P. (These poems
have a suggestion of Wyoming. )
W.21 6 Olson, Theodore B. Ranch on the Laramie. (Boston,
MA.: Little, Brown and Co., Inc., 1973). N.F.
W.21 7 Olson, Theodore B. A Stranger and Afraid. (New Ha-
ven, CT.: Yale University Press, 1928). P. (These
poems have a suggestion of Wyoming. )
W.21 8 Olson, Theodore B. "Spring on the Big Laramie,"
Empire Magazine, The Denver Post, (April 1, 1973), pp.
20, 22, 24-25. N.F.
D.219 Olson, Theodore B. "Steamboat" (poem) in Robert H.
Bums' Steamboat — Symbol of Wyoming Spirit. (Lara-
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 91
mie, WY.: The University of Wyoming, 1952). P. (The
poem is on the inside back cover. )
W.220 Page, EHzabeth. Wild Horses and Gold: From Wyoniitii^
• 'f-. to the Yukon. (New York, NY.: Farrar & Rinehart,
Inc., 1932). N.F.
W.221 Page, Ehzabeth. Wagons West; A Story of the Oregon
Trail. (New York, NY.: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1930).
W.222 Palmer, Ralph W. Tumbleweeds. (New York, NY.:
Pageant Press, 1953). F.
W.223 Pearson, Mrs. Lorene. The Harvest Waits. (Indian-
apolis, IN.: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., c. 1941). F.
W.224 Pence, Mary Lou; Lola M. Homsher. The Ghost Towns
of Wyoming. (New York, NY.: Hastings House, 1956).
N.F.
W.225 Pence, Mary Lou. The Laramie Story, (n.p.: Privately
printed, 1968). N.F.
W.226 Petzoldt, Patricia. On Top of the World; My Adventures
with My Mountain-Climbing Husband. (New York, NY.:
Crowell, 1953). N.F.
,W.227 Phelps, Helen Riley and Vergil V. Phelps. Whitlier?
Rainbows, Sunsets, On! (New York, NY.: Carlton Press,
c. 1968).
W.228 Rehwinkel, Bessie Lee (Efner). Dr. Bessie; The Life
Story and Romance of a Pioneer Lady Doctor. . . . (St.
Louis, MO.: Concordia Pub. House, c. 1963). BIOG.
W.229 Ricketts, William Pendleton. 50 Years in the Saddle.
(Sheridan, WY.: Star Publishing Co., 1942). BIOG.
W.230 Roach, Neal. Untitled type-script, 225 pages, on his Ufe
in Wyoming during 1860s to 1880s. Approx. date of
composition the late 1880s. In collection of Laramie
Plains Museum, Laramie, Wyo. N.F. (Of particular
interest are his descriptions of "wild" Laramie of 1860s. )
W.231 Rogers, W. P. Oldtimer of the Jackson Hole Country:
A Story of Mountain Men for Men Only. (Jackson, WY.:
1964). N.F.
W.232 Rolhnson, John K. Hoofprints of a Cowboy and U.S.
Ranger: Pony Trails in Wyoming. Edited by E. A. Brin-
instool. (Caldwell, ID.: The Caxton Printers, Ltd.,
1941). N.F.
W.233 Roripaugh, Robert A. "The Day of the Eagle," Writing
at Wyoming, (Spring, 1953), pp. 3-8.
W.234 Roripaugh, Robert A. "For an Indian Bronc Rider
Killed in a Highway Crash Near Ethete, Wyoming," West
. Coast Poetry Review, I (Spring, 1972), pp. 30-31.
(Poem.) P.
W.235 Roripaugh, Robert A. "Homing" (poem). The South
Dakota Review, IX (Spring, 1971 ), pp. 7 1-72. P.
92 ANNALS OF WYOMING
W.236 Roripaugh, Robert A. Honor Thy Father. (New York,
NY.: William Morrow Co., 1963). F. (A novel with
a Wyoming setting. )
W.237 Roripaugh, Robert A. "Hunting Deer" (poem). West
Coast Poetry Review, I (Spring, 1972), p. 29. P.
W.238 Roripaugh, Robert A. "The Last Longhorn," Sage, XI
(Spring, 1966), pp. 49-58. F.
W.239 Roripaugh, Robert A. "Learn to Love the Haze,"
(poem), Voices International, VII (Spring, 1972),
p. 29. P.
W.240 Roripaugh, Robert A. "The Legend of Billy Jenks," The
South Dakota Review, IX (Winter, 1971-72), pp. 40-
68. F.
W.241 Roripaugh, Robert A. "The Peach Boy," The Atlantic
Monthly, CCII (September, 1958), pp. 59-66. F.
W.242 Roripaugh, Robert A. "Ride a Red Horse," Writing at
Wyoming (Spring, 1953), pp. 9-22. F.
W.243 Roripaugh, Robert A. "Wolves," and "Skull," (poems),
Descant, XVI (Spring, 1972), pp. 26-27. P.
W.244 Roripaugh, Robert A. "Wyoming Hay Fields" (poem).
The Sweater Review, II ( 1 973 ), p. 1 8. P.
W.245 Rotter, Mrs. Etta. Come Out T Wyomin' . (Cody,
WY.: c. 1948).
W.246 Rush, N. Orwin. Frederic Remington and Owen Wister,
The Story of a Friendship, 1893-1909. (Tallahassee,
FL.: 1961). BIOG.
W.247 Russell, Jim. Bob Fudge, Texas Trail Driver, Montana-
Wyoming Cowboy, 1862-1933. (Denver, CO.: Big
Mountain Press, 1962). BIOG.
W.248 Schaefer, Jack Warner. Shane. Illustrated by John Mc-
Cormack. (Boston, MA.: Houghton Mifflin, 1954). F.
W.249 Scott, James William. Pioneers of the Big Horn: True
Stories of the Yellowtail Country. (Denver, CO.: Big
Mountain Press, 1966). N.F.
W.250 Scott, Quintin S. Dennis Comes Home. (New York,
NY.: Harbinger House, c. 1941). F.
W.251 Shakespeare, Tom. The Sky People. (New York, NY.:
Vantage Press, 1971 ).
W.252 Shaw, James Clay. North from Texas: Incidents in the
Early Life of a Range Cowman in Texas, Dakota and
Wyoming, 1852-1883. Edited by Herbert O. Brayer.
Illustrated by David T. Vernon. (Evanston, IL.: Brand-
ing Iron Press, 1952). N.F.
W.253 Sheppard, Leslie Chauncey. Of Such is the Kingdom.
(New York, NY.: Greenwick Book Pub., 1964). F.
W.254 Sheridan County Public Library. Fort Philip Kearny,
1866-1868. . . A list of materials on this subject avail-
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 93
able at the Sheridan County Public Library. (Sheridan,
WY.: Sheridan County Public Library, 1970). BIB.
W.255 Shipp, Eli Richard. Intermountain Folk: Songs of Their
Days and Ways. (Casper, WY.: Casper Stationery Co.,
1922). P.
W.256 Shipp, EH Richard. Pioneer Blood. (Casper, WY.: Oil
City Printers, 1926). P.
W.257 Shipp, Eli Richard. Rangeland Melodies. (Casper,
WY. : Casper Stationery Co., c. 1923 ) . P.
W.258 Slack, Bradley. Wyoming Roundup. Illustrated by Mary
Littell Slack. (Cheyenne, WY.: Pioneer Printing Co.,
c. 1953).
W.259 Smith, Florence Blake. Cow Chips 'n' Cactus; The
Homestead in Wyoming. (New York, NY.: Pageant
Press, c. 1962).
W.260 Smith, Helena Huntington. "How to Live 70 Miles from
Town," Saturday Evening Post, (September 23, 1944),
pp. 26-27, 37, 72, 82, 84. N.F.
W.261 Snow, Julian. More Truth Than Poetry. (Cheyenne,
WY.: Pioneer Printing Co., 1931). P. (Contains the
poem "While Watching A Geyser".)
W.262 Spear, Elsa, ed. Bozeman Trail Scrapbook. (Sheridan,
WY.: MillsCo., c. 1967). N.F.
W.263 Spearman, Frank Hamilton. The Mountain Divide.
(New York, NY.: C. Scribner's Sons, 1912). F.
W.264 Spearman, Frank Hamilton. Nan of Music Mountain.
Illustrated by N. C. Wyeth. (New York, NY.: C. Scrib-
ner's Sons, 1916). F.
W.265 Spearman, Frank Hamilton. Whispering Smith. Illus-
trated by N. C. Wyeth. (New York, NY.: Grosset &
Dunlap, 1906). F.
W.266 Spring, Agnes (Wright). A Place in Wyoming Worthy
of a Monument: South Pass. Nine typewritten pages
(Hebard Room of the University of Wyoming Library).
N.F. (Contains some poems on South Pass.)
W.267 Spring, Agnes (Wright). Buffalo Bill and His Horses.
(Fort Collins, CO.: B & M Print Co., c. 1953). N.F.
W.268 Spring, Agnes Wright. Caspar Collins: The Life and
Exploits of an Indian Fighter of the Si.xties, With a Fore-
word by Major General Hugh L. Scott. (New York, NY.:
Columbia University Press, 1927). BIOG.
W.269 Spring, Agnes (Wright). The Cheyenne and Black Hills
Stage and Express Routes. (Glendale, CA.: The Arthur
H. Clark Co., 1949, c. 1948). N.F.
W.270 Spring, Agnes (Wright). Colorado Charley. Wild Bill's
Pard. (Boulder, CO.: Pruett Press, 1968). BIOG.
94 ANNALS OF WYOMING
W.271 Spring, Agnes (Wright). William Chapin Deming of
Wyoming: Pioneer Publisher, and State and Federal Offi-
cial, a Biography. (Glendale, CA.: limited edition by
The Arthur H. Clark Co., 1944). BIOG.
D.272 Steedman, Charles John. Bucking the Sagebrush; or, The
Oregon Trail in the Seventies. Illustrated by Charles M,
Russell. (New York, NY.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1904).
N.F.
W.273 Stevenson, Gil. Ah, But in Casper. (Philadelphia, PA.:
Dorrance, 1972). N.F.
W.274 Stevenson, Gil. For You, With Love. (Philadelphia,
PA:. Dorrance, 1971). P.
W.275 Stewart, Mrs. EUnore (Pruitt). Letters on an Elk Hunt.
(Boston, MA.: Houghton Mifflin, 1 9 1 5 ) . N.F.
W.276 Stewart, Mrs. Elinore (Pruitt). Letters of a Woman
Homesteader. Illustrated by N. C. Wyeth. (Boston,
MA.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1914). N.F.
W-lll Strahorn, Mrs. Carrie Adell. Fifteen Thousand Miles by
Stage; A Woman's Unique Experience During Thirty
Years of Path Finding and Pioneering from the Missouri
to the Pacific and from Alaska to Mexico. Illustrated by
Charles Russell. (New York, NY. : G. P. Putnam's Sons,
1911). N.F.
W.278 Sture-Vasa, Mary (Alsop). Pseudonym, Mary O'Hara.
Green Grass of Wyoming. (Philadelphia, PA.: J. B.
Lippincott, 1946). F.
W.279 Sture-Vasa, Mary (Alsop). Pseudonym, Mary O'Hara.
My Friend Flicka. (Philadelphia, PA.: J. B. Lippincott
Co., c. 1941). F.
W.280 Sture-Vasa, Mary (Alsop). Pseudonym, Mary O'Hara.
Thunderhead. (Philadelphia, PA.: J. B. Lippincott Co.,
1943). F.
W.281 Sture-Vasa, Mary (Alsop). Wyoming Summer. (Gar-
den City, NY.: Doubleday, 1963). F.
W.282 Sublette County Artists' Guild. Carvings on the Aspens;
A Collection of Prose and Poetry by. . . . Illustrated by
Betty Blake. (Denver, CO.: Big Mountain Press, c.
1956). C.G.
W.283 Sublette County Artists' Guild. A Pouch of Possibles.
(Cheyenne, WY. : Flintlock Publishing Co., 1969). C.G.
(Contains many poems and stories about Wyoming.)
W.284 Sublette County Artists' Guild. Tale of the Seeds-Ke-
Dee. (Denver, CO.: Big Mountain Press, c. 1963).
W.285 Swallow, Alan. XI Poems. (Muscatine, lA.: The Prai-
rie Press, 1943). P.
W.286 Swallow, Alan. The Nameless Sight: Poems 1937-56.
(Iowa City, lA.: Prairie Press, 1956). P.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 95
W.287 Swallow, Alan. The Remembered Land (poems). (Prai-
rie City, IL.: Press of J. A. Decker, 1946). P.
W.288 Swallow, Alan. Two Stories. The Swallow Pamphlets
No. 9. (n.p.: Alan Swallow, Publisher, c. 1953 ). F.
W.289 Talbot, Ethelbert. My People of the Plains. (New York,
NY.: Harper & Bros., 1906). N.F.
W.290 Teichert, Minerva Kohlhepp. A Romance of Old Fort
Hall. (Portland, OR.: Metropolitan Press, 1932). F.
W.291 Thomas, David Griffiths. Overland and Underground;
Poems of the West and its Mines. (Rock Springs, WY.:
Privately printed, 1912). P.
W.292 Thompson, Martha. A Country Doctor. (Carpenter,
WY.: Martha Thompson, c. 1971). N.F.
W.293 Thompson, Martha, ed. Pioneer Parade: A Collection
of Newspaper and Magazine Stories of Eastern Laramie
County Pioneers. (Cheyenne, WY.: Logan Printing Co.,
1967). N.F. C.G.
W.294 Todd, Fred J. Recollections of a Piney Creek Rancher.
(Sheridan, WY.: Quick Printing Co., 1962). BIOG.
W.295 Trenholm, Virginia Cole. The Arapahoes, Our People.
(Norman, OK.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970).
N.F.
W.296 Trenholm, Virginia Cole. Footprints on the Frontier:
Saga of the La Ramie Region of Wyoming. (Douglas,
WY.: Douglas Enterprise Co., 1945). N.F.
W.297 Trenholm, Virginia Cole and Maurine Carley. The Sho-
shonis, Sentinels of the Rockies. (Norman, OK.: Uni-
versity of Oklahoma Press, 1964). N.F.
W.298 Trenholm, Virginia Cole and Maurine Carley. Wyoming
Pageant. (Casper, WY.: Prairie Pub. Co., 1946).
W.299 Urbanek, Mae (Bobb). Almost Up Devil's Tower: A
Tourist's Novel. (Boulder, CO.: Johnson Publishing Co.,
c. 1968). F.
W.300 Urbanek, Mae (Bobb). Chief Washakie of the Sho-
shones. (Boulder, CO.: Johnson Publishing Co., c.
1971). N.F.
W.301 Urbanek, Mae (Bobb). High Lights of the Hills. Illus-
trated by Elsie Christian. (Lusk, WY.: The Lusk Herald,
Printers, 1954). P.
W.302 Urbanek, Mae (Bobb) and Jerry. Know Wyoming: A
Guide to Its Literature. (Boulder, CO.: Johnson Pub-
lishing Co., 1969). BIB. (A valuable guide to Wyo-
ming authors' writings updating the Wheeler bibliog-
raphy. )
W.303 Urbanek, Mae (Bobb). Niobrara Breezes: A Collection
of Poems. Illustrated by Elsie Christian. (Lusk, WY.:
The Lusk Herald, c. 1946) . P.
96 ANNALS OF WYOMING
W.304 Urbanek, Mae (Bobb). The Second Man. (Denver,
CO.: Sage Books, 1962). F. (A novel of prehistoric
times set in the Laramie Peak area. )
W.305 Urbanek, Mae (Bobb). Songs of the Sage. Illustrated
by Berniece Bird. (Denver, CO.: Big Mountain Press,
1962). P. (This is a collection of Wyoming poems.)
W.306 Urbanek, Jerry. The Uncovered Wagon by Mae Urbanek
as told by Jerry Urbanek. Illustrated by Elsie Christian.
(Denver, CO.: Sage Books, 1958). N.F.
W.307 Urbanek, Mae (Bobb). Wyoming Place Names. (Boul-
der, CO.: Johnson Publishing Co., c. 1967). BIB.
W.308 Urbanek, Mae (Bobb). Wyoming Winds. Illustrated by
Norman Evans. (Lusk, WY.: The Lusk Herald, c.
1930). P. (Another collection of Wyoming poems.)
W.309 Urbanek, Mae (Bobb). Wyoming Wonderland. (Denver,
CO.: Sage Books, 1964).
W.310 Vail, Nellie (Cook). My Best to You: A Collection oj
Poems. (Byron, WY.: c. 1961). P.
W.311 Van Burgh, Mrs. Lillian L. McBride. Behind The Smiles.
(Casper, WY.: Prairie Publishing Co., 1933). C.G.
W.312 Van Burgh, LiUian L. McBride. The Bozeman Trail:
A Poem, (n.p.: c. 1927). P. (5 p. at Wyoming State
Library.)
W.313 Van Burgh, Lillian L. McBride. Drifting Leaves. (Au-
thor, c. 1923). P.
W.314 Walker, Tacetta B. Stories of Early Days in Wyoming,
Big Horn Basin. (Casper, WY.: Prairie Publishing Co.,
1936). N.F.
W.315 Wall, Art N. Peace River Red, A Novel. (New York,
NY.: Exposition Press, 1961). F.
W.316 Wallis, Jessa Eula. Wyoming Breezes. (New York,
NY.: Henry Harrison, c. 1940). P.
W.317 Watts, George C. The Long Trail. (Oakdale, CA.:
1949).
W.318 Weaver, Paul. Chief of the Ravens (poQm) . Illustrated
by Alice Miller. (Frannie, WY.: 1966). P.
W.319 Welch, Charles A. History of the Big Horn Basin: With
Stories of Early Days, Sketches of Pioneers and Writings
of the Author. (Salt Lake City, UT.: Deseret News
Press, 1940). N.F.
W.320 Westbrook, Melva Cummins. Mom and Me. (Worland,
WY.: Worland Press, 1971). BIOG.
W.321 Wheeler, Eva Floy. Wyoming Writers. (Douglas, WY.:
The Douglas Enterprise Co., 1940). BIB. (A valuable
bibliography of Wyoming authors up to 1940.)
W.322 Wheeler, Homer Webster. The Frontier Trail; or from
Cowboy to Colonel. . . . (Los Angeles, CA.: Times-
Mirror Press, 1923). BIOG.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 97
W.323 Whittenburg, Clarice T. Wyoming: Prelude to State-
hood. Illustrated by Bob and Mary Harrower and collec-
tion of Rendezvous Paintings by Carl Roters. (Cheyenne,
WY.: Travel Commission and Wyoming Department of
Education, 1966). N.F.
W.324 Wilcock, Glen E. The Big Horn Country in Poetry.
(Cowley, WY.: c. 1968). P.
W.325 Willford, Maude Wenonah. Over the Hills and Prairies
of Wyoming: Stories and Poems of the West by a Pioneer.
(Denver, CO.: Big Mountain Press, 1963). C.G.
W.326 Willson, Mrs. E. B. Cabin Days in Wyoming: A Histor-
ical Romance of the Running Water Range. (Lusk, WY.:
c. 1939). F.
W.327 Winter, Charles Edwin. Gold of Freedom. (San An-
tonio, TX.: The Naylor Co., 1944). F.
W.328 Winter, Charles Edwin. Wyoming March Song, Wyo-
ming State Song. Music by George E. Knapp. (Casper,
WY. : The Richter Music Co., 1925). P.
W.329- Wister, Owen. Wister Collection at the University of
W.339 Wyoming Library includes the following handwritten and
typescript copies of diaries and journals relating to Wyo-
ming:
W.329 "July-August, 1885" (Wister's First Trip to Wyomimj).
N.F.
W.330 "British Columbia-Washington, Oregon-California-Wyo-
ming. July-September, 1887." N.F.
W.331 "Wyoming, July, August, September, 1888." N.F.
W.332 "Wyoming, October-November, 1889." N.F.
W.333 "Wyoming and Yellowstone Park, June -September,
1891." N.F.
W.334 "Journal of Journies, June 14th-December 31st, 1893,
World's Fair, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Arizona, San Fran-
cisco, Portland." N.F.
W.335 "Frontier Notes, October, November, December, 1893."
N.F.
W.336 "Frontier Notes, May- 1894,-August." N.F.
W.337 "Journal, Bowis, Bayard, Grant, Bisbie, Tombstone,
Tucson, San Francisco, Cheyenne, May-1894-August."
W.338 "Journal and Notes, 1895, May-August. New Mexico,
Arizona, California, Colorado, Cheyenne, Fort Meade,
Vol I."
W.339 "A Few Notes 1 896, Wyoming."
W.340 Wister, Owen. The Virginian; A Horseman of The
Plains. Illustrated by Charles M. Russell and Frederic
Remington. (New York, NY.: Macmillan, c. 1929).
F. [The Virginian was first published in 1902. ed.]
98 ANNALS OF WYOMING
W.341 Wister, Owen. Original Manuscript of The Virginian in
The Wister Collection at the University of Wyoming
Library.
W.342 Wright, Edgar H. The Representative Old Cowboy. Il-
lustrated by Don Whiston. (The author, c. 1954).
W.343 A Wyoming-Idaho Sampler. Illustrated by Lawrence
Hall. (New York, NY.: Harbinger House, c. 1940). F.
W.344 Wyoming Pioneer Association. The Vanished Frontier.
No place or date by the Wyoming Pioneer Assoc. C.G.
(Contains some poems by Ted Olson.)
American Authors On Wyoming
A.l Abbey, James. California, a Trip Across the Plains in the
Spring of 1850. . . . (New Albany, IN.: Kent & Norman,
and J. R. Nunemacher, 1850). N.F.
A.2 Allen, Miss A. J. Ten Years in Oregon. Travels and
Adventures of Doctor E. White and Lady, West of the
Rocky Mountains. . . . (Ithaca, NY.: Mack, Andrus, &
Co., printers, 1848). N.F.
A.3 AUison, Sam. Wyoming War. (Trouble on Crazyman).
(New York, NY.: Lion Books, 1957). F.
A.4 Alter, J. Cecil. Through the Heart of the Scenic West.
(Salt Lake City, UT.: Shepard Book Co., 1927). N.F.
A. 5 Ahsheler, Joseph Alexander. The Scouts of the Valley;
A Stoiy of Wyoming and the Chemung. (New York,
NY.: Appleton-Century Co., 1941). F.
A.6 Bishop, Curtis Kent. By Way of Wyoming. (New York,
NY.: TheMacmillanCo., 1946). C.G.
A.7 Boyne, Eduma Baffum. The Long Way to Yellowstone
Park in 1885. (Loveland, CO.: 1970). N.F.
A.8 Branch, Douglas. The Cowboy and His Interpreters.
(New York, NY.: D. Appleton Co., 1926). N.F.
A.9 Bryant, Edwin. What 1 Saw in California: Being the
Journal of a Tour, by the Emigrant Route and South Pass
of the Rocky Mountains. . . . (New York, NY.: D. Ap-
pleton &Co., 1848). N.F.
A. 10 Carpenter, Frank D. Adventures in Geyserland. (Cald-
well, ID.: Caxton Printers, 1935). N.F.
A. 11 Carrighar, Sally. One Day at Teton Marsh. (New York,
NY.: Alfred Knopf, Inc., 1947).
A. 12 Carter, Marion Hamilton. Souls Resurgent. (New York,
NY.: C. Scribner's Sons, 1916). F.
A. 13 Chase, Mary Ellen. The Girl from Big Horn Country.
Illustrated by R. Farrington Elwell. (Boston, MA. : The
Page Co., 1916). F.
A. 14 Chase, Mary Ellen. Virginia of Elk Creek. Illustrated
by R. Farrington Elwell. (Boston, MA.: The Page Co.,
1917). F.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 99
A. 15 Child, Andrew. Overland Route to California. . . . (Mil-
waukee, WI.: Daily Sentinel Steam Power Press, 1852).
N.F.
A. 16 Chisholm, James. South Pass, 1868. James Chisholm's
Journal of the Wyoming Gold Rush. Edited by Lola M.
Homsher. (Lincoln, NB.: University of Nebraska Press,
1960). N.F.
A. 17 Chittenden, Hiram Martin. The Yellowstone National
Park. (Cincinnati, OH.: The Robert Clarke Co., 1899).
N.F.
A. 18 Christopherson, Edmund. Behold the Grand Tetons:
The Exciting Story of the Jackson Hole Country. (Mis-
soula, MT.: Earthquake Press, 1961 ). N.F. (Basically
description and travel.)
A. 19 Clark, Ella E. Indian Legends from the Northern
Rockies. (Norman, OK.: University of Oklahoma Press,
1966). N.F.
A. 20 Clay, John. The Tragedy of Squaw Mountain. (Chicago,
IL.: Traders Printing Co., 191?). F.
A. 21 Clemens, Samuel Langhorne. Roughing It. (New York,
NY.: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1913). F. 2 Vols.
A.22 Coffin, Addison. Life and Travels of. . . . (Cleveland,
OH.: W.G.Hubbard, 1897). BIOG.
A. 23 Cooper, James Fenimore. The Prairie. (New York, NY.:
W. A. Townsend and Co., 1859). F. (Frequent refer-
ences are made to the headwaters of the Platte and to
Wyoming Indian tribes. )
A. 24 Crane, Stephen. The Complete Short Stories and Sketches
of Stephen Crane. Edited by Thomas A. Gullason. (New
York, NY.: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1963). F. (Pass-
ing references are made to Wyoming in "A Man and
Some Others" and "The Blue Hotel" ) .
A. 25 Day, Grove A., ed. The Sky Clears: Poetry of the Amer-
ican Indians. (Lincoln, NB.: University of Nebraska
Press, 1951). P.
A.26 Delano, Alonzo. Across the Plains and Among the Dig-
gings: A Reprint of the Original Edition with Reproduc-
tions of Numerous Photographs Taken by Louis Palenske
with a Foreword and Epilogue bv Rufus Rockwell Wilson.
(New York, NY.: Wilson-Erickson, Inc., 1936). N.F.
A. 27 De Voto, Bernard. Across the Wide Missouri. (Boston,
MA.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1947). N.F.
A.28 Douglas, William O. My Wilderness: East to Katahdin.
Illustrated by Francis Lee Jaques. (New York, NY.:
Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1961). N.F.
A.29 Dunbar, Seymour. A History of Travel in America.
(New York, NY.: Tudor Publishing Co., 1937). N.F.
100 ANNALS OF WYOMING
(The Wyoming reader will be particularly interested in
Chapters 51 and 52.)
A. 30 Elston, Allan Vaughan. Saddle Up for Sunlight. (Phila-
delphia, PA.: Lippincott, 1952). F.
A. 31 Elston, Allan Vaughan. The Wyoming Bubble. (Phila-
delphia, PA.: Lippincott, 1955). F.
A. 3 2 Emerson, Ralph Waldo. See Thayer, James Bradley for
an account of a western journey. N.F.
A. 33 Ewers, John C. Adventures of Zenas Leonard, Fur
Trader. (Lincoln, NB.: University of Nebraska Press,
1959). N.F.
A. 34 Fabian, Josephine C. The Jackson's Hole Story: An
Historical Novel Set in the Grand Teton Mountains of
Wyoming. (Salt Lake City, UT.: Deseret Book Co.,
1963). F.
A. 35 Farnsworth, Frances Joyce. Winged Moccasins; The
Story of Sacajawea. Illustrated by Lorence F. Bjorklund.
(New York, NY.: J. Messner, 1954).
A. 36 Federal Writers Project of the WPA. Wyoming: A Guide
to Its History, Highways and People. Compiled by work-
ers of the writers program of the WPA in the State of
Wyoming. (New York, NY.: Oxford University Press,
1941). N.F.
A. 37 Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. Starting from San Francisco.
(New York, NY.: New Directions, 1967). P.
A. 3 8 Franklin, William Suddards. A Tramp Trip in the Rock-
ies of Colorado and Wyoming, by S. (Lancaster, PA.:
The New Era Printing Co., 1903). N.F.
A. 39 Fremont, Capt. J. C. Report of the Exploring Expedition
to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842, and to Oregon
and North California in the Years 1843-44. Washington,
DC: Blair and Rives, printers, 1845). N.F.
A. 40 Gilpin, William. The Central Gold Region. The Grain,
Pastoral, and Gold Regions of North America. (Phila-
delphia, PA.: Sower, Barnes & Co., 1860). N.F.
A. 41 Ginsberg, Allen. "Opium Peddling," The Branding Iron,
(April 23, 1971), p. 6, col. 2. P. (The poem describes
the Wyoming prairies. ) P.
A. 42 Glazier, Willard. Ocean to Ocean on Horseback; Being
the Story of a Tour in the Saddle from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. . . . (Philadelphia, PA.: Hubbard Pub. Co.,
1896). N.F.
A. 43 Greeley, Horace. An Overland Journey, from New York
to San Francisco, in the Summer of 1859. (New York,
NY.: C. M. Saxton, Barker & Co., 1860). N.F.
A. 44 Grey, Zane. The Rainbow Trail. (New York, NY.:
Harper & Brothers, 1913). F.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 101
Grey, Zane. The U.P. Trail. (New York, NY.: Harper
& Brothers, 1918).
Grey, Zane. The Vanishing American. (New York,
NY.: Harper & Brothers, 1925). N.F. (Deals with
Indian tribes of Rocky Mountain West. )
Grey, Zane. Wyoming. (New York, NY.: Harper, c.
1932).
Grinnell, George. The Fighting Cheyennes. (Norman,
OK.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1956). N.F.
Guthrie, Alfred Bertram. The Big Sky. Foreword by
Wallace Stegner. (Boston, MA.: Houghton Mifflin Co.,
1947). F. (Part of this novel takes place in the Tetons.)
Guthrie, Alfred Bertram. The Way West. (Boston, MA.:
Houghton Mifflin Co., c. 1 949 ) . F.
Hale, John. California as It Is; Being a Description of a
Tour by the Overland Route and South Pass of the Rocky
Mountains. . . . (Rochester, NY.: W. Heughes, 1851).
N.F.
Hankins, R. M. The Man from Wyoming. (New York,
NY.: Bantam Books, 1949). F.
Harkness, David James. Literary Trails of the Western
States. (Knoxville, TN.: University of Tennessee Press,
1953). N.F.
Harris, Burton. John Colter, His Years in the Rockies.
(New York, NY.: Scribner, 1952). N.F.
Harris, Margaret (Plumlee) and John Harris. The Med-
icine Whip. (New York, NY.: Morrow, 1953). F.
Hellman, Florence S. Wyoming: A Bibliographical List.
(Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Division of Bib-
liography, 1936). BIB.
Hemingway, Ernest. "Wine of Wyoming," in The Short
Stories of Ernest Hemingway, (New York, NY.: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1938). F.
Hoebel, E. Adamson. The Cheyennes: Indians of the
Great Plains. (New York, NY.: Holt, Rinehart and Win-
ston, c. 1960). N.F.
Hulbert, Archer Butler. Forty-niners; The Chronicle of
the California Trail, (n. p. ,1931). F.
Hyde, George. Indians of the High Plains. (Norman,
OK.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1959). N.F.
Illinois Historical Records Survey. A Check List of
Wyoming Imprints. (Chicago, IL.: The Illinois Histor-
ical Records Survey, 1941 ). BIB.
A. 62 Ingalls, Eleazar Stillman. Journal of a Trip to California
by the Overland Route Across the Plains in 1850-5 L
Waukegan, IL.: Tobey & Co., printers, 1852). N.F.
A.45
A.46
A.47
A.48
A.49
A.50
A.51
A.52
A.53
A.54
A.55
A.56
A.57
A.58
A.59
A.60
A.61
102 ANNALS OF WYOMING
A. 63 Irving, Washington. Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enter-
prise Beyond the Rocky Mountains. 2 vols. (Philadel-
phia, PA.: Carey, Lea &Blanchard, 1836).
A. 64 Johnson, Overton and William H. Winter. Route Across
the Rocky Mountains. . . . (Lafayette, IN.: John B.
Semans, printer, 1846). N.F.
A. 65 Keller, George. A Trip Across the Plains, and Life in
California. . . . (Massillon, OH.: White's Press, 1851).
N.F.
A. 66 Lander, Frederick West. Report of the Reconnaissance
of a Railroad Route from Puget Sound via the South Pass
to the Mississippi River. (Washington, DC: A.O.P.
Nicholson, printer, 1856). N.F.
A.67 Langworthy, Franklin. Scenery of the Plains, Mountains
and Mines. . . . (Ogdensburg, NY.: J. C. Sprague,
1855). N.F.
A. 68 Lewis, Meriwether. History of the Expedition Under the
Command of Lewis and Clark. . . Edited by Elliott
Coues. 4 vols. (New York, NY.: Francis P. Harper,
1893). N.F.
A. 69 McAleenan, Joseph. Through Yellowstone Park and Elk
Hunting in Wyoming. (New York, NY.: G. P. Putnam's
Sons, 1914). N.F.
A.70 M'Duffie, John. The Oregon Crisis. . . . (Salem, OH.:
Aaron Hinchman, 1848). N.F. (Contains description
of the South Pass. )
A. 71 McElrath, Frances. The Rustler: A Tale of Love and
War in Wyoming. (New York, NY.: Funk & Wagnalls
Co., 1902). F.
A.72 MacFarlan, Allan A., ed. American Indian Legends.
Illustrated by Everett Gee Jackson. New York, NY.:
The Heritage Press, c. 1 968 ) . N.F.
A.73 Maclnnes, Helen. Rest and Be Thankful. (Boston, MA.:
Little, Brown, 1949). F.
A.74 Mills, Enos A. The Rocky Mountain Wonderland. (Bos-
ton, MA.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1915). N.F. (Pass-
ing references to Yellowstone. )
A. 7 5 Mills, Enos A. Waiting in the Wilderness. (New York,
NY.: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1927). N.F. (Chapter
VI, "Camping on the Plains," is about Wyoming.)
A.76 Mills, Enos A. Your National Parks. Including detailed
information for tourists by Laurence F. Schmeckebier.
(Boston, MA.: Houghton Miff Un Co., 1917). N.F.
A. 77 Momaday, N. Scott. The Way to Rainy Mountain. (New
York, NY.: Ballantine Books, 1970). F. (Contains
legend of Devil's Tower. )
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 103
A. 78 Monaghan, Frank. French Travellers in the United States
1765-1932: A Bibliography. (New York, NY.: The
New York Public Library, 1933). BIB.
A. 79 Morgan, Jacque Lloyd. The Invaders: A Story of the
"Hole-in-the-Wall" Country by John Lloyd (pseudonym).
(New York, NY.: R. F. Fenno & Co., c. 1910). F.
A. 80 Muench, Joyce and Joseph Muench. Along Yellowstone
and Grand Teton Trails. (New York, NY.: Hastings
House, 1949). N.F.
A. 81 Muir, John. Our National Parks. (From the writings of
John Muir, 10 vols.) VI, (Boston, MA.: Houghton
Mifflin Co., 1916).
A. 82 Murie, Margaret E. and Olaus. Wapiti Wilderness. (New
York, NY.: Alfred Knopf, Inc., 1966). N.F.
A. 8 3 Murphy, Thomas D. Three Wonderlands of the Amer-
ican West. (Boston, MA.: L. C. Page, 1912). N.F.
(One of the wonderlands is Yellowstone.)
A. 84 Neihardt, John G. A Cycle of the West. (New York,
NY.: TheMacmillanCo., 1949). P.
A. 8 5 Ostrander, Alson Bowles. After 60 Years, a Sequel to a
Story of the Plains. (Seattle, WA.: Gateway Printing
Co., c. 1925). F.
A. 86 Parkman, Francis, Jr. The California and Oregon Trail-
Being Sketches of Prairie and Rocky Mountain Life.
(New York, NY.: Geo. P. Putnam, 1849). N.F.
A. 87 Peeples, Samuel Anthony. Trouble at Tall Pine by Brad
Ward (psued.). (New York, NY.: Dutton, 1954)'. F.
A.88 Phillips, Walter Shelley. The Old-Timer's Tale, by El
Comancho. (Chicago, IL. : The Canterbury Press,
1929). F.
A.89 Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Journal of Julius Rodman. Be-
ing an account of the first passage across the Rocky
Mountains of North America ever achieved by civilized
man." Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, January to June,
1840 in 6 parts.
A. 90 Powell, J. W. The Exploration of the Colorado River and
Its Canyons. (New York, NY.: Dover Publications,
Inc., 1961). N.F. (First published in 1895 under the
title Canyons of the Colorado.)
A. 91 Raine, William MacLeod. Wyoming: A Story of the
Outdoor West. Illustrated by Clarence H. Rowe. (New
York, NY.: G. W. Dillingham Co., 1908). F.
A. 92 Reinhardt, Richard. Out West on the Overland Train.
(Secaurus,NJ.: Castle Books, 1967). N.F. (Of partic-
ular interest "Cheyenne" and "The Laramie Plains").
A. 93 Rinehart, Mary Roberts. The Breaking Point. (New
York, NY.: George H. Doran Co., 1922). F.
104 ANNALS OF WYOMING
A.94 Rinehart, Mary Roberts. Lost Ecstasy. (New York,
NY.: George H. Doran Co., 1927). F.
A. 95 Rinehart, Mary Roberts. The Out Trail. (New York,
NY.: GeorgeH. Doran Co., c. 1923). N.F.
A. 96 Rollins, Phillip Ashton. The Cowboy. (New York,
NY.: Scribner's Sons, 1922). N.F.
A. 97 Sandoz, Mari. The Beaver Men: Spearheads of Empire.
(New York, NY.: Hastings House, 1964). N.F.
A. 98 Sandoz, Mari. Cheyenne Autumn. (New York, NY.:
Hastings House, 1953). F.
A.99 Savage, Les. The Phantom Stallion. Illustrated by Ger-
ald McCann. (New York, NY.: Dodd, Mead, 1955). F.
A. 100 Schultz, James Willard. The Bird Woman: Story oj
Sacajawea, Indian. (Boston, MA.: Houghton Mifflin
Co., 1918). BIOG.
A. 101 Sell, Henry and Victor Weybright. Buffalo Bill and the
Wild West. (New York, NY.: Oxford University Press,
1955). N.F.
A. 102 Seton, Ernest Thompson. Biography of a Grizzly. (New
York, NY.: Century Co., 1900). N.F.
A. 103 Seton -Thompson, Grace Gallatin. A Woman Tender-
foot. (New York, NY.: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1900).
N.F.
A. 104 Smith, Henry Nash. Virgin Land: The American West
as Symbol and Myth. (New York, NY. : Vintage Books,
1957). N.F.
A. 105 Stegner, Wallace. Beyond the Hundredth Meridian.
(Boston, MA.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1934). N.F.
A. 106 Steinbeck, John. America and Americans. (New York,
NY.: The Viking Press, c. 1966). N.F. (Passing ref-
erences to Wyoming. )
A.107 Steinbeck, John. Travels with Charley in Search of
America. (New York, NY.: The Viking Press, c. 1962).
N.F. (A chapter on a visit to Yellowstone. )
A. 108 Stokes, Frances K. W. My Father Owen Wister. (Lara-
mie, WY.: University of Wyoming Library Associates,
1952). BIOG.
A. 109 Stuart, Robert. On the Oregon Trail: Robert Stuart's
Journey of Discovery, ed. Kenneth A. Spaulding. (Nor-
man, OK.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1953). N.F.
A. 110 Tarbell, Dr. J. The Emigrant's Guide to California; Giv-
ing a Description of the Overland Route. . . . (Keokuk,
lA.: WhigBookand Job Office, 1853). N.F.
A.lll Thayer, James Bradley. A Western Journey with Mr.
Emerson. (Boston, MA.: Little, Brown & Co., 1884).
N.F.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 105
A.112 Thwaites, Rueben Gold, ed. Early Western Travels
1748-1846. (Cleveland, OH.: A. H. Clark Co., 1904-
07). N.F.
A. 11 3 Tilden, Freeman. The National Parks: What They Mean
to You and Me. With preface by Conrad L. Wirth and
introduction by Newton B. Drury. (New York, NY.:
AlfredA. Knopf, 1959). N.F.
A. 114 Turrill, Gardner Stilson. A Tale of the Yellowstone
or in a Wagon Through Western Wyoming and Won-
derland. . . . (Jefferson, lA.: The G. S. Turrill Pub.
Co., 1901). N.F.
A. 115 Twain, Mark. See Clemens, Samuel Langhorne. F.
A. 116 Udall, Stewart L. The Quiet Crisis. ..With introduction
by John F. Kennedy. (New York, NY.: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, 1963). N.F.
A. 117 Wagner, Henry Raup. The Plains and the Rockies: A
Bibliography of Original Narratives of Travel and Adven-
tures 1800-1865. Revised by Charles L. Camp. (Colum-
bus, OH.: Long's College Book Co., 1953). BIB.
A.118 Waldon, Sidney Dunn. When a Dude Goes to Jack-
son. . . . (Detroit, ML: the author, 1911). N.F.
A. 119 Wason, Robert Alexander. Friar Tuck: Being the
Chronicles of The Reverend John Carmichael of Wyo-
ming, U.S.A. . . . Illustrated by Stanley L. Wood. (Bos-
ton, MA.: Small, Maynard & Co., 1912). F.
A. 120 Watson, William J. Journal of an Overland Trip to
Oregon. . . . (Jacksonville, FL.: T. R. Roe Book and
Job Printer, 1851). N.F.
A.121 Webb, Walter Prescott. The Great Plains. (New York,
NY. : Grosset & Dunlap, 1931). N.F.
A.122 West, Ray B., ed. Rocky Mountain Reader. (New York.
NY.: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1946). C.G. (Contains writ-
ings of Alan Swallow and Ted Olson. )
A. 123 White, John Gr is wold. A Souvenir of Wyoming (in
1924). Being a Diary of a Fishing Trip in Jackson Hole
and Yellowstone Park. . . . (Cleveland, OH.: privatelv
printed, 1926). N.F.
A. 124 Whitman, Walt. "Passage to India" in Leaves of Grass
and Selected Prose, ed. John Kouwenhoven. (New York,
NY.: The Modern Library, 1950). (This poem contains
descriptive verse on the Laramie plains.)
A.125 Whitman, Walt. Specimen Days. (Philadelphia, PA.:
Rees Welch Co., 1882). N.F. (References are made to
Cheyenne and prairie country in general. )
A. 126 Wilson, Elijah Nicholas. Among the Shoshones. (Salt
Lake City, UT.: Skelton Publishing Co., c. 1910). N.F.
106 ANNALS OF WYOMING
A. 127 Wister, Fanny Kemble, ed. Owen Wister Out West.
(Chicago, IL.: University of Chicago Press, 1958).
BIOG.
A. 128 Withington, Mary C, compiler. A Catalogue of Manu-
scripts in the Collection of Western Americana founded
by William Robertson Coe. (New Haven, CT.: Yale
University Press, 1952). BIB .
A. 129 Yard, Robert Sterling. The Book of the National Parks.
(New York, NY.: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926). N.F.
Continental European Authors on Wyoming
CE. 1 Aimard, Gustave. The Trail Hunter: A Tale of the Far
West. (London: Ward & Lock, 1863). F.
CE.2 Baillie-Grohman, William Adolph. [Baille-Grohman was
a German who eventually settled in England. Author's
note. ] Camps in the Rockies. Being a Narrative of Life
on the Frontier, and Sport in the Rocky Mountains. . . .
(New York, NY.: C. Scribner's Sons, 1882). N.F.
CE.3 Baudot, Victor. Au Pays des Peaux-Rouges. Six ans
aux Montagnes Rocheuses. (Lille: Societe Saint- Augus-
tin, Desclee, De Brouwer et Cie, 1912). N.F.
CE.4 Claretie, Leo Eugene Hector. Feuilles de Route aux
Etats-Unis. (Paris: E. Dentu, 1895). N.F. (Descrip-
tion of Yellowstone country.)
CE.5 Etienne, Jules Marie Alphonse. C hoses d'Amerique.
(Chalons-sur-Marne: C. O'Toole, 1904). N.F. (Men-
tions Yellowstone. )
CE.6 Gijsen, Marnix. De Vleespotten van Egypte. (In Dutch
meaning "The Fleshpots of Egypt") (Gravenhage, Neth-
erlands: Nijgh & Van Ditmar, n.d.). F. (This novel's
chapters 9 and 10 are set in Laramie.)
CE.7 Holinski, Alexandre. La Californie et les Routes Inter-
oceaniques. (Bruxelles: 1853). N.F.
CE.8 Joly, Charles. Note sur le Pare National Yellowstone
aux Etats-Uis. (Paris: Rougier et Cie., 1884). N.F.
CE.9 Leclercq, Jules Joseph. Le lac Yellowstone. (Bruxelles:
1886). N.F.
CE.IO Le Hardy, Paul. "La Terre des Merveilles. Souvenirs
d'un Exploration au Basin de Yellowstone." La Revue
de Belgique, XVII (1875), pp. 78-95. N.F.
CE. 11 Le Roux, Robert Charles Henri. Le Wyoming; au Pied
des Montagnes Rocheuses. . . . (Paris: Felix Juven,
1904). N.F.
CE. 1 2 Mandat-Grancey, Edmond, baron de. Dans les Mon-
tagnes Rocheuses. (Paris: E. Plon, Nourrit et Cie,
1884). N.F.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 107
CE.13 Mollhausen, Heinrich Baldwin. Tagebuch einer Reise
vom Mississippi Nach den Kusten der Sudsee. (Leipzig:
Hermann Mendelssohn, 1858). N.F.
CE.14 Nicaise, Auguste. Une Annee au Desert. ..Scenes et
Recits du Far-West Americain. (Chalons: Imp. de T.
Martin, 1864). N.F. Contains description of the Fort
Laramie area. )
CE.15 Remy, Jules. Voyage au pays des Mormons. .. . (Paris:
Dentu, 1860). 2 vols. N.F.
CE.16 Sayous, Andre E. Un Etat de l' Quest Americain: Le
Wyoming et Considerations Generates sur le Far-West.
(Paris: Larose, 1904). N.F.
CE.17 Scharmann, Hermann B. "Landreise nach Californien,"
New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung, XVIII (April, May, 1852).
N.F.
CE.18 Simonin, Louis L. The Rocky Mountain West 1867.
Translated by Wilson O. Clough. (Lincoln, NB.: Uni-
versity of Nebraska Press, 1966). N.F.
CE.19 Smet, Pierre Jean de. Cinquante Nouvelles Lettres de
R. P. De Smet. . . . (Paris: Tournai H. Casterman,
editeur, 1858). N.F. (De Smet was Wyoming's first
missionary. )
CE.20 Smet, Pierre Jean de. Missions de I'Oregon et Voyages
dan les Montagnes-Rocheuses en 1845 et 1846. . . .
(Paris: Poussielgue-Rusand, 1848). N.F.
CE.21 Wislizenus, Frederick Adolphus. Ein Ausflug nach den
Felsen-Gebirgen im Jahre 1939. (St. Louis, MO.: Wilh.
Weber, 1840). N.F. (Covers The Oregon Road from
Ft. Laramie to Horse Creek. )
SE.22 Woelmont, Arnold, baron de. Ma Vie nomade aux mon-
tagnes Rocheuses. (Paris: Firmin-Didot et Cie, 1878).
N.F.
CS.23 Wurttemberg, Frederick Paul Wilhelm. An Account of
Adventures in the Great American Desert by His Royal
Highness . . . Trans, and Introd. by Louis C. Butscher.
(Albuquerque, NM.: Historical Society of New Mexico
and University of New Mexico, 1942). N.F.
CE.24 Xantus, Janos. Xantus Janos levelei Ejezakamerikabol.
Tizenket eredeti rajz utan Keszult Koes egynehany famei-
szettel. ..Kozli Prepost Istven. (Pesten: Lauffer es stolp,
pub., 1858). N.F. (Hungarian letters from Fort Lara-
mie and West. )
British Authors on Wyoming
B.l Altsheler, Joseph A. The Scouts of the Valley: A Story of
Wyoming and the Chemung. (New York, NY.: D. Apple-
ton-Century Co., 1940). F.
108 ANNALS OF WYOMING
B.2 Bell, William Abraham. New Tracks in North America.
(London: Chapman and Hall, 1870). N.F.
B.3 Bird, Isabella Lucy. A Lady's Life in the Rocky Moun-
tains. (London: J. Murray, 1880). N.F.
B.4 Chandless, William. A Visit to Salt Lake; Being a Journey
Across the Plains and a Residence in the Mormon Settle-
ments of Utah. (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1857).
B.5 Clay, John, Jr. My Life on the Range. (Chicago, IL.:
privately printed, 1924). BIOG.
B.6 Coke, Henry John. A Ride Over the Rocky Mountains to
Oregon and California .... (London: Richard Bentley,
1852). N.F.
B.7 Dilke, Sir Charles Wentworth. Greater Britain: A Record
of Travel in English-Speaking Countries During 1866 and
1867. (New York, NY.: Harper & Brothers, 1869). N.F.
B.8 Dixon, William Hepworth. New America. (Philadelphia,
PA.: J. B. Lippincott&Co., 1869). N.F.
B.9 Dodge, Richard Irving. The Black Hills, A Minute De-
scription of the Routes, Scenery, Soil, Climate, Gold,
etc. . . . (New York, NY.: James Miller, 1876). N.F.
B.IO Dunraven, Windham Thomas, Earl of. Hunting in the
Yellowstone. Edited by Horace Kephart. (New York,
NY. : The Macmillan Company, 1925). N.F.
B.l 1 Fox, John J. "The Far West in the '80's," ed. T. A. Lar-
son, Annals of Wyoming, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 3-38. N.F.
B.l 2 Francis, Francis Jr. Saddle and Mocassin. (London:
Chapman & Hall, 1887). N.F.
B.l 3 Frewen, Moreton. Melton MoYjbray and Other Memories.
(London: Herbert Jenkins, Ltd., 1924). BIOG.
B.l 4 Hamer, P. W. From Ocean to Ocean, Being a Diary of a
Three Months Expedition. . . . (London: n.p., 1871).
BIOG.
B.l 5 Hardy, Iza Duffus. Between Two Oceans: or. Sketches of
American Travel. (London: Hurst & Blackett, 1884).
N.F.
B.l 6 Hardy, Mary Anne McDowell. Through Cities and Prairie
Lands: Sketches of an American Tour. (New York, NY.:
R. Worthington, 1881). N.F.
B.l 7 Henty, George Alfred. In the Heart of The Rockies. (New
York, NY.: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1894). F. (This
novel contains passing references to the Wind Rivers and
Green River, Wyoming. )
B.l 8 Hulbert, Archer Butler. Forty-niners: The Chronicle of
The California Trail. (Boston, MA.: Little, Brown, and
Company, 1931). N.F.
B.l 9 James, Edwin. An Account of an Expedition from Pitts-
burgh to The Rocky Mountains. (London: Longman,
Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1823). 3 vols.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 109
B.20 Kelly, William. An Excursion to California over Prairie,
Rocky Mountains and The Great Sierra Nevada. . . . (Lon-
don: Chapman and Hall, 1851 ). 2 vols. N.F.
B.21 Kingsley, Rose Georgiana. South by West or Winter in the
Rocky Mountains and Spring in Mexico. (London: W.
Isbister&Co., 1874). N.F.
B.22 Kipling, Rudyard. From Sea to Sea: Letters of Travel.
(New York, NY.: Doubleday & McClure Company, 1899).
2 vols. N.F.
B.23 Lawrence, George Alfred. Silverland. (London: Chap-
man and Hall, 1873). N.F.
B.24 Lester, John Erastus. The Atlantic to The Pacific: What
to See and How to See It. (London: Longmans, Green,
and Co., 1873). N.F.
B.25 Marryat, Frederick. Narrative of the Travels and Adven-
tures of Monsieur Violet. . . . (London: Longman, Brown,
Green & Longmans, 1843). N.F.
B.26 Marshall, Walter Gore. Through America; or, Nine
Months in The United States. (London: Simpson Low,
Marston, Searle, and Rivington, 1882). N.F.
B.27 Marston, Edward. Frank's Ranch or My Holiday in The
Rockies. (London: Simpson Low, Marston, Searle, and
Rivington, 1886). BIOG.
B.28 Messiter, Charles Alston. Sport and Adventures Among
The North- American Indians. Illustrated by Charles
Whymper. (London: R. H. Porter, 1890). N.F.
B.29 Murphy, John Mortimer. Rambles in North-Western
America from the Pacific Ocean to The Rockv Mountains.
(London: Chapman & Hall, 1879). N.F.
B.30 Murphy, John Mortimer. Sporting Adventures in the Far
West. (New York, NY.: Harper & Brothers, 1880). N.F.
B.31 Newby, William T. An Account and History of the Oregon
Territory. . . . (London: Wilham Lott, 1846). N.F.
B.32 Ogden, Peter Skene. Traits of American Indian Life and
Character by a Fur Trader. (London: Smith, Elder & Co.,
1853). N.F.
B.33 Palliser, Capt. John. Exploration: British North America
Between Red River and The Rockv Mountains. (London:
George Edward Eyre, 1859). N.F.
B.34 Palliser, Capt. John. Solitary Rambles and Adventures of
a Hunter in the Prairies. (London: John Murrav, 1853).
N.F.
B.35 Pender, Rose. A Lady's Experience in the Wild West in
1883. (London: n.p., 1888). BIOG.
B.36 Plunkett, Horace. Unpublished diary relating to six years
residence in Wyoming during the ISSOs. In .Archives of
the Plunkett Foundation, Oxford, England. BIOG.
no ANNALS OF WYOMING
B.37 Pocock, Roger S. Following The Frontier. (New York,
NY.: McClure, Phillips & Co., 1903). N.F.
B.38 Price, Morgan Philips. America After Sixty Years: The
Travel Diaries of Two Generations of Englishmen. (Lon-
don : George Allen & Unwin Ltd. , 1 9 3 6 ) . BIOG .
B.39 Price, Sir Rose Lambert. A Summer on The Rockies.
(London: Simpson Low, Marston & Co., 1898). N.F.
B.40 Rae, William Fraser. Westward by Rail: The New Route
to the East. (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1870).
N.F.
B.41 Royce, Sarah B. A Frontier Lady: Recollections of the
Gold Rush and Early California. Edited by R. H. Gabriel.
(New Haven, CT.: 1932). N.F.
B.42 Rivington, Alexander. Reminiscences of America in 1869.
(London: W. J. Rivington and W. A. Harris, 1870).
B.43 Ruxton, George Frederick Augustus. In the Old West.
Edited by Horace Kephart. (New York, NY.: Macmillan
Co., 1922). N.F.
B.44 Ruxton, George Frederick Augustus. Life in the Far West.
(Edinburgh: Wm. Blackwood & Sons, 1850). N.F.
B.45 St. John, Percy Bolingbroke. The Trapper's Bride: A Tale
of the Rocky Mountains. (London: John Mortimer,
1845). F.
B.46 Sala, George Augustus. America Revisited from the Bay
of New York to the Gulf of Mexico, and from Lake Mich-
igan to the Pacific. (London: Vizetelly & Co., 1886).
N.F.
B.47 Smiles, Samuel, Jr. Round the World, Including a Resi-
dence in Victoria, and a Journey by Rail Across North
America. (New York, NY.: Harper & Brothers, publish-
ers, 1872). BIOG.
B.48 Stanley, Sir Henry Morton. My Early Travels and Adven-
tures in America and Asia. (London: Sampson Low,
Marston & Co., 1895). 2 vols. (Passing references to
Wyoming are in Vol. 1 . ) BIOG.
B.49 Stevenson, Robert Louis. Across the Plains, with Other
Memories and Essays. (New York, NY.: Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, 1923). N.F. (See the section entitled "The
Desert of Wyoming.")
B.50 Stevenson, Robert Louis. From Scotland to Silverado:
The Amateur Emigrant. Edited by James D. Hart. (Cam-
bridge, MA.: Harvard University Press, 1966). N.F.
B.51 Tallack, William. "The California Overland Express; the
Longest Stage Ride in the World," The Leisure Hour.
(London: 1865). N.F.
B.52 Townshend, Frederick Trench. Ten Thousand Miles of
Travel, Sport, and Adventure. (London: n.p., 1869).
N.F.
A SELECTIVE LITERARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WYOMING 1 1 1
B.53 Vivian, Arthur Pendarves. Wanderings in the Western
Land. (London: n.p., 1880). N.F.
B.54 Whymper, Frederick. From Ocean to Ocean — The Pacific
Railroad. Edited by Henry W. Bates. (London: n.p.,
1869). N.F.
B.55 Wise, Major. "Diary of Major Wise, An Englishman,
Recites Details of a Hunting Trip to Powder River Country
in 1880," ed. Howard B. Lott, Annals of Wyoming, Vol.
12, No. 2 pp. 85-118. BIOG.
B.56 Zincke, Foster Barham. Last Winter in the United States.
(London: John Murray, 1868). BIOG.
Addendum of Americans on Wyoming
Berger, Max. The British Traveler in America 1836-1860.
(New York, NY.: Columbia University Press, 1943).
BIB.
Bishop, Curtis Kent. By Way of Wyoming. (New York,
NY.: MacmillanCo., 1946). F.
Catlin, George. Letters of George Catlin and Family: A
Chronicle of the American West. (Berkeley, CA.: Uni-
versity of California Press, 1 966 ) . BIOG.
Catlin, George. North American Indians. (Edinburgh:
John Grant, 1926). 2 vols. N.F.
Franklin, William Suddards. A Tramp Trip in The Rockies
of Colorado and Wyoming. (Lancaster, PA.: New Era
Printing Co., 1903). N.F.
Glazier, Willard. Ocean to Ocean on Horseback. (Phila-
delphia, PA.: Edgewood Publishing Co., 1899). N.F.
Sabin, Joseph. A Dictionary of Books Relating to America,
from Its Discovery to the Present Time. (New York, NY.:
Joseph Sabin, 1868). 20 vols. BIB.
Sage, Rufus B. Rocky Mountain Life; or. Startling Scenes
and Perilous Adventures in the Far West. (Boston. MA.:
Estes and Lauriat, 1880). N.F.
Waldon, Sidney Dunn. When a Dude Goes into Jackson's
Hole: A Diary. (Detroit, MI.: Privately printed. 1911).
BIOG.
A Bibliography of Bibliographies
Albany County, Wyoming. Public Library. A Selective List of
Books on Wyoming and the West in the Albany County
Public Library. (Laramie, WY.: Albany County Public Li-
brary, 1965).'
Athearn, Robert G. Westward the Briton. (Lincoln. NB.: Uni-
versity of Nebraska Press, c. 1953).
112 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Hellman, Florence S. Wyoming: A Bibliographical List. (Wash-
ington, DC: Library of Congress, Division of Bibliography,
1936).
Hillier, Richard L. Bibliography of Wilson O. Clough. (Laramie,
WY. : The Graduate School, University of Wyoming, 1961).
Homsher, Lola M. Wyoming: A Students' Guide to Localized
History. (New York, NY.: Columbia University Teachers
College Press, 1966).
Hudson, Ruth. Literature of the West. (Laramie, WY.: mimeo-
graphed by author, 1950). (This was done as research for
the University of Wyoming. )
Illinois Historical Records Survey. A Check List of Wyoming
Imprints. (Chicago, IL.: The Illinois Historical Records
Survey, 1941).
Larson, Taft Alfred. Basic Wyoming History Books. (Cheyenne,
WY. : Wyoming State Library, 1971).
Malone, Rose Mary. Wyomingana: Two Bibliographies. (Den-
ver, CO.: University of Denver Press, 1950).
Monaghan, Frank. French Travellers in the United States 1765-
1932: A Bibliography. (New York, NY.: The New York
Public Library, 1933).
Murray, Robert. A Basic Reading List on the Cattle Industry.
(Sheridan, WY.: Trail End Historic Center, 1973).
Sheridan County Public Library. Fort Philip Kearny, 1866-
1868. ... A list of materials on this subject available at the
Sheridan County Public Library. (Sheridan, WY.: Sheridan
County Public Library, 1970).
Urbanek, Mae (Bobb) and Jerry Urbanek. Know Wyoming: A
Guide to Its Literature. (Boulder, CO.: Johnson PubUshing
Co., 1969).
Wagner, Henry Raup. The Plains and the Rockies: A Bibliog-
raphy of Original Narratives of Travel and Adventure 1800-
1865. Revised by Charles L. Camp. (Columbus, OH.:
Long's College Book Co., 1953).
Wheeler, Eva Floy. Wyoming Writers. (Douglas, WY.: The
Douglas Enterprise Company, 1940).
Withington, Mary C. A Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Collec-
tion of Western Americana founded by William Robertson
Coe. (New Haven, CT.: Yale University Press, 1952).
Cifc in J^atroHU County,
J $99 to 1900 - Kecolkctions
of My t tic C half ant Qregg
Compiled and Edited by Jean Lassila
In and Around Casper
The first time I saw Casper, Wyoming, was a beautiful day early
in June, 1899. My parents had decided to visit their sons, Milo
and Nimrod E., who had gone west five years before, and to take
along my younger sisters, Margaret and Josephine, my younger
brothers, Scott and Robert, and me. My father had rented his
farms in Howard County, Nebraska, and outfitted a big lumber
wagon with overjets and built-in bed and covered it all with canvas,
held in place by wooden bows. It was called a prairie schooner,
though I never knew where the name originated. He bought a
tent for us youngsters to sleep in and lost no time teaching us how
to pitch it ourselves. We had a summer supply of staple groceries
in our wagon as well as luggage for my parents and five children,
teenage to three years. It was quite a load, but with our big draft
team there was no problem.
We also had a matched driving team of sorrels and a "surrey
with the fringe on top," which we girls could drive. There was
plenty of room as it had two seats. We found we could wrap the
lines around the dashboard and step out or in without stopping
since our team quietly followed the wagon ahead. In May we
started from central Nebraska, which was lovely with newly plant-
ed fields and grassy pastures. We soon arrived at Broken Bow.
Merna and Thedford are two other towns I remember along the
way. Throughout western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming we
saw many nice ranches and very friendly folk, although most who
visited our camp at evening thought we must have lost our senses
"to go so far just to visit." Probably we started tourism in i}xai
part of the country!
At Crawford, Nebraska, we turned west, following the Chicago
and Northwestern Railroad to Casper. One evening we made
camp about five miles west of Lusk. We had bought some needed
groceries at Lusk, a very small town at that time — about 200
people. There were two or three stores on the main street, a
church, a bank, a schoolhouse and probably a saloon. That eve-
ning a man drove up in a buckboard, and after much conversation
114 ANNALS OF WYOMING
he talked my father into selUng him the surrey! He was the
banker in Lusk and was bound to have that carriage, probably the
only one in the town. Oh my, we girls felt very bad to see it go,
as we had to ride in the wagon or walk the rest of the way to
Casper.
It had taken us about three weeks to make the 600-mile trip,
maybe more, because 30 miles a day is about as much as a team
will walk day after day. The population of Casper was said to be
1500 at that time, although it seemed to us that was too high an
estimate. On our arrival we stopped at a hitchrack by a long, low
grocery store, Mr. Bristol's. Soon my brother and his wife rode
into town horseback, and we all went to the home of Charles
Ricker and his family, who were good friends of my brother and
his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Milo L. Chalfant.
We camped nearby on a vacant lot and had supper with our new
friends. The next day we drove to Iron Creek about 25 miles,
plus, west — most miles in Wyoming were plus — where Milo had a
homestead and a small house. There were only two beds, so we
had to pitch our tent again, much to my disgust, as I was tired of
that job! I never could get out of it since I was the oldest girl and
could handle the tent. I couldn't hit a peg twice in a row; however,
the little boys, six and eight years old, were masters of the art.
When the fourth of July arrived, we were invited to Mr. and
Mrs. Levin Ward's home on the North Platte river, some five miles
above Bessemer Bend. Neighbors who came were the Joe Clark-
sons, the Gregg young folks, and the Owen Royce and Ed Royce
families. With nine of the Chalfants and six of their own family,
this made quite a crowd. Everyone brought lots of food; the
men put up a swing in the huge cottonwood trees; children played
all afternoon; the men pitched horseshoes. When evening came,
they moved the furniture out of the big front room and Ed Royce
played the violin, someone else the guitar, and we danced until
almost morning. After breakfast we all left for our homes thinking
we had had the best celebration ever.
Soon after this my brother planned a camping trip to the Ferris
Mountains. To me, this was like "carrying coals to Newcastle,"
but after learning Jim Gregg and his sisters Mattie and Gertrude
were going too, I decided that it would be fun. My sister-in-law
and mother had made us girls big baggy bloomers to ride in.
Many people laughed at us. Somewhere they had rustled up
horses and saddles for all who wished to ride. Of course, we
young folks rode horseback all the way. Mother and Daddy drove
the wagon and did most of the cooking with the help of my brother,
his wife, and Mike Ryan.
We investigated "Berthaton," a deserted soda works with a few
houses. It had once been a small town. We were told that the
company hired a watchman for years and the barrels of soda were
LIFE IN NATRONA COUNTY, 1899-1900 115
Still there unmolested, although no windows were left in the build-
ing. This was owned by a New York Company, I believe, but with
soda so cheap they could not afford to freight it to the railroad.
We nooned at Independence Rock. Later we went up a little creek
not far east of Joe Sharp's ranch on the way to the Ferris Moun-
tains. In fact there were several creeks along the mountains where
my mother caught small trout each day. She loved to fish but
would not allow us children to go along because we made too much
noise.
Evenings we sang about the campfire and told stories and it
was a grand time.
One day Jim Gregg rode out on the flats and shot an antelope
so we had fresh meat for supper. There were no game laws then,
but no rancher abused his right to hunt game, and none was ever
wasted. We were gone about a week.
Although we had also planned to visit my brother Nimrod, who
lived in Bozeman, Montana, we did not, as he had not received
my mother's letter in time. He had gone with a shipload of horses
for the U. S. government, taking them to the Philippine Islands.
He died there June 13, 1900, of smaU pox. About three years
after the Spanish American War his body was returned to the
United States and is interred in the military cemetery at the
Presidio, San Francisco.
My family returned to Nebraska, but I stayed in Wyoming that
winter teaching a school for the Levin Ward children, who were
six, eight, ten and 15 years of age. They were very kind to me,
but I was really glad when spring came and I could take the train
home and go to school myself.
I returned to Casper in January, 1901, the bride of James Gregg.
We found two men staying with his brother Will at the ranch.
They said they were "riding the grub line" until work opened.
However, they helped with chores, feeding cattle and cutting fence
posts from Bessemer Mountain. Early in April if the weather was
good. Will took the freight team out — 16 horses and two wagons
hauling groceries and supplies to Lander and Fort Washakie and
loading back with wool to C. H. King's warehouses by the railroad.
There was no railroad to all that vast country until 1910. Sheridan
had a railroad, but the Greggs and many other men with long
teams "freighted" for years.
Jim and I ran the ranch until haying time when Will would come
home to help. Our closest neighbors, the Clarksons, were four
miles away. Mr. Clarkson kept the post office by that name a few
years; a stage ran from Casper to Alcova, then a small town, and
for some years on to Johnston post office at Independence Rock.
The post office was discontinued in 1901. Neighboring ranchers
and families who lived west of us often stopped for lunch or for the
night as they traveled to and from Casper. There were the John
Olmsteads, Lynn Roberts and his wife. Jack and Alma Grieve and
116
ANNALS OF WYOMING
Jean Lassila
JOHN AND MYRTLE GREGG'S WEDDING PICTURE
their little ones. How I loved those women — I always was so glad
to see them.
The residents of Bessemer Bend were the George Johnsons, Dan
Speas, the Dan Smiths, the Henry Trollopes and the Alex Mills
and Kearns families. Later the Abe Greenwoods, Frank and Julia
Smith and Mr. Josendahl lived there also.
The Countrymans from up Sweetwater River came each Jan-
uary, driving four horses on a Thorobrace stage coach. Miss Ethel
said she often wondered why she filed on her desert claim in
January when summertime would have been a more pleasant time
for reporting her assessment work in Casper. We also knew the
Bert Cheneys and the Dan and Rollo Clark families and the Jack
Crouse family in Bates Hole. My sister, Margaret Chalfant, taught
there in 1906 or 1907. My brother Scott got a job with Standard
Oil Company in 1917 and stayed in Casper and Greybull for 40
years.
LIFE IN NATRONA COUNTY, 1899-1900 117
I loved the ranch hfe, with lots of horseback riding on the
endless range. Besides visiting other ranches, we went to Casper
every two months or so for supplies and to visit my in-laws, the
John Heagneys and Marshal Buxtons. Martin A. Gothberg was
a rancher south of the river, the North Platte. Also on the way
were the Rice, Price and Starks families, then the CY ranch, the
Pat Sullivan home and we were in town. We always rested one day
before starting back and quite often two days.
Names of many Casper residents soon became familiar, such as
Denecke and Wright, bankers and ranchers; Charles Webel, a
merchant; Townsends, also merchants; Postmaster Hughes and his
wife; Wilson Kimball, the druggist. I also remember the Nicolay-
sen Lumber yard; Miss Edith Evans, a teacher; Woods furniture;
Reverend Craig of the Episcopal church and county superintendent
of schools; Doctors Leeper, Dean and Rohrbaugh; Hugh Patton
and Black Jack McGrath, who operated the Grand Central Hotel;
Mr. Smith, of the Natrona Hotel, and his family. I recall Marshal
Buxton and Red Jack McGrath, blacksmiths and cabinet workers,
who built the first sheepwagon in Casper; and Mr. Cantlin, the
mayor of Casper, who had also lived on Sand Creek. Students in
the new high school were taught by Professor Matheny from Ohio,
who, with his wife and several teachers from the east, stayed
several years. Mr. Hemmingway, an attorney, came about that
time. Mr. and Mrs. Harold Banner and their family came in the
early 1900s. They were partners of the Gregg brothers in the
sheep business from about 1906 until 1913 or 1914. I have
recently seen the name Demorest in news from Casper. They were
early residents of Casper, as were Johnsons, Jamisons, Mr. and
Mrs. Trevette, the Evans family and the McDonald family.
Fun on the Ranch
The Gregg family were born Quakers, so would not do any work
in the fields on Sunday. But they would often run in a bunch of
young broncos and break them to a hackamore, or bridle. When
they got one ready to ride, I got in a safe place, usually on top of
the flat-roofed blacksmith shop, to watch the show.
Jim always rode them first, with his brother Will hazing on a
good swift mount to keep the excited horse away from fences, and
how those broncos would buck. No one pulled the riders off in
eight seconds as they do at the rodeos nowdays — instead they rode
and rode until the horse gave it up and would trot back to the
corral. Many of them were broken in one day, but some never
gave up, waiting to catch the rider off guard and trying to dump
him, especially if it was a cold day.
Then one Easter Sunday both men had gone riding toward the
Badlands for cattle, and I thought Td get a nice dinner since there
was no chance of attending a church service. I remember that 1
had a cake baked and other things started when Jim came back
118 ANNALS OF WYOMING
alone saying they had found a wolf's den with cubs in it. The
mother was watching from a bluff just out of rifle range, and Will
had stayed by the den to keep her from moving the cubs.
I tied the cake in a tea towel so I could carry it on my arm and
Jim found some fresh meat, bread, canned tomatoes, a frying pan
and coffee pot and coffee and cream. In no time we had a feast
at the den. These were the wolves that had almost put out out of
the cattle business. We couldn't poison them since they ate only
fresh meat that they killed themselves.
The men dug all afternoon and pulled out ten pups. They were
so young they would come up to us just like kittens, but they were
disposed of quickly.
Reading magazines, books — anything that, we could get hold
of — was one of our diversions, especially during the winter. When
Owen Wister's book. The Virginian, was published, it went the
rounds in Natrona County. My friends passed their book around
until it was worn out and we bought another copy. Mother Stroud,
who lived east of Casper, told us that her child was one of the
babies Wister described that were mixed up at the dance by two
cowboys who exchanged their blankets as they slept. We could
not figure out who the "Judge" was. Many thought the descrip-
tion suited Judge J. M. Carey, then governor of Wyoming. Other
chapters contained stories that many people said had happened in
Wyoming.
Rounding Up the Wild Bunch
Ginger was a beautiful horse that Jim had broken to ride, but
one day he got out of the pasture and took to the Badlands where
he gathered up about 20 head of mares in his harem. Many times
the owners tried to get their mares back, but by the time they got
them on good terrain their saddle horses would be winded and the
wild bunch would take back to the Badlands or Hell's Half Acre.
Mr. Ricker had a pair of mares in the bunch that he had worked
on his dray in town, so he hired Harry Ward to try to get them.
This was their strategy: Harry Ward was to drive them out of the
Badlands and up on the Rattle Snake Plains. Jim and Will were
to stay well hidden and when they heard the horses on top, come
out behind them, running them hard for five miles to a spring but
not letting them stop, then another three miles down to the ranch
corral.
When he caught sight of that hated corral. Ginger threw up his
head and tail and outran everything, heading straight to the Bad-
lands. Since they didn't want him anyway, they let him go but
brought the 20 mares on the run into the big pole corral. There
one could walk up to, and halter, almost any of them. Harry got
his two mares and led them to Casper the next day, very proud,
for many men had tried and failed to get their own mares.
Ginger soon had a large cavvy of mares again and ran in the
LIFE IN NATRONA COUNTY, 1899-1900 119
Badlands for several years. One day Jim saw our beautiful stallion
standing in the sun — a gold statue. But Ginger was a menace to
our neighbors, and with one rifle shot Jim put him out of the way.
He said he had never hated to do anything as badly in his life.
Sheriff Webb's Visit
One evening the sheriff, driving a two-seated spring wagon and
accompanied by a deputy on horseback and some prisoners,
stopped and asked to spend the night. They were on the way to
the penitentiary at Rawlins. I had never seen men in shackles
before and it was a shock. My husband helped me cook a big
supper and he waited on table.
One of the prisoners was a 17-year-old boy who had worked all
summer for some rancher who wouldn't pay him his wages so the
boy had taken a horse and saddle and ridden to the nearest rail-
road. There he had sold the saddle and bought a ticket to Mis-
souri, which was home. Poor homesick boy — I couldn't help but
feel sorry for him.
One man, about 35 or 40 years old, had stolen someone's fur
coat and they found him walking down the road wearing it. He
looked very thin, almost ill. I knew all this because they kept
teasing each other at the table, laughing, I thought, "to keep from
crying."
We gave them a large front room with a stove, one bed and
plenty of bedding to make shakedowns on the floor. I suppose
Mr. Webb or the deputy kept guard, although the prisoners were
handcuffed after eating and probably also shackled again. I was
glad to see them leave after breakfast.
We often had men from Washington stop as the government was
then planning the Pathfinder Dam.
Tragedies on the Ranch
One dark night in the summer of 1902, about 11:30, someone
drove into the yard and helloed. It proved to be the John Olm-
stead family from Horse Creek, about 15 miles west, and another
man driving the second spring wagon. They were on their way
to Casper with the body of their nine-year-old son Eugene! He
had tried to take his father's six-shooter from the high peg where
it was kept, and in some way it was discharged, killing the child
instantly.
They wanted to wait until the moon rose because it was so dark
they could scarcely see the road. They asked Jim to ride on to
Casper to make arrangements for the funeral that next afternoon,
which he did, of course. I made coffee and served some food. 1
suppose. Finally they asked me to go with them, and 1 was glad
to do so as I surely didn't want to spend the rest of that night alone.
120 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Another night, probably in 1904, almost the same thing oc-
curred. Arthur Childers, a neighbor about ten miles west, came
running his horse and asked Jim to ride to the nearest phone, at the
Goose Egg Ranch, 15 miles away, and call the doctor because his
wife was very ill. Jim did, but it was too bad that we were so long
getting cars and telephones. The next day we buried a sweet baby
girl not far from their home.
Another heartbreaking tragedy occurred when Charles Woodard
broke jail — and later shot Sheriff Charles Ricker, our good friend.
Since this is recorded history of Natrona County, I will not say
more, except that for weeks I was afraid to open the door fearing
I'd be looking down a gun barrel.
The Industrial Convention
When a State Industrial Convention was plaimed in 1903, every-
one was delighted with the idea. The weekly paper gave it much
pubHcity and it was a huge success, lasting almost all week.
Exhibits were shown in a wool warehouse, cleaned and
scrubbed. Dr. Salathe had a wonderful exhibit of all kinds of oil
that he had refined in the small Standard Oil Refinery that he
operated at that time. Many ranchers had grain and fruit exhibits,
and the ladies had a nice display of jellies, jam and baked goods.
My neighbor, Mrs. Schrader, made some beautiful white starch
for cloth, from potatoes, the first I had ever seen except in a
package.
A carnival company came to town with a merry-go-round and
the usual attractions and we saw the first motion picture any of us
had seen, "The Great Train Robbery." It ran only a short time
but we could come back — which we did. We thought it was
wonderful.
Convention speakers were Governor Carey, and others from
Cheyenne. I even remember the governor's address, which was
on agriculture. It was very good, but I thought not too practical
at that time in our arid part of the state. Another speaker was an
aged man who had been a Pony Express rider at the age of 16 or
1 7 and his speech about his experiences was also very good.
Later on a State Fair was organized and has been held each year
at Douglas, I believe.
Jane's Story
Although I promised Jane I'd never tell this, it has been so long
ago, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if she were living.
Jane and her husband had lived in Wyoming only a short time so
everything was exciting, especially a band of 50 or 60 Indians
passing slowly by one day with women and children along. They
must have been going to visit some other reservation. She had
LIFE IN NATRONA COUNTY, 1899-1900 121
watched them as long as they were in sight, then gone back to
cleaning her high cupboards in the kitchen.
She didn't hear a sound until a half hour later when the screen
door opened. She quickly looked around and there stood two
painted men — faces half white, half red. Startled, she told them
to go to the barn where the men were. They just stood and
stared at her. Then she told them to get a drink of water if
that was what they wanted. She was getting quite angry — and
awfully scared since there was no one else on the ranch that she
knew of. One looked in the water pail and it was empty, so she
told him to go on out to the spring for water. He took the dipper
and stepped out in the yard and stood there. The other one
crossed his arms and stood tall and defiant; he could see she was
afraid.
She had never handled a gun but remembered seeing one just
inside the storeroom near her. She stepped back, keeping her
eyes on the Indians, grabbed the gun and stepped into the kitchen
again. The Indian shot out of the door, jumping entirely over the
step to the ground, and they both left — their fun over!
Since no one had seen a painted Indian for years, she was sure
people would think she had just made it all up. Her husband told
he she had done the right thing, and he taught her how to shoot a
small pistol.
Why We Left Wyoming
Early in January, 1909, our three-year-old son, Floyd, who
often went with his father to the barns to help(?) him do the
chores, decided he would follow his dad's tracks to the sheep camp,
ten miles away.
I had bathed my tiny daughter and was rocking her to sleep. I
told Floyd to run the little pigs out of the yard and shut the gate.
He did this, then stayed outdoors to play. Although he was wear-
ing overshoes, sweater, coat, cap and mittens, it was a bright, cold
day with about three inches of fresh snow on the ground. When I
missed him, I ran to the barn, saw his tracks, and his father's made
the evening before. Then I saw that my saddle mare had been
turned out to pasture that morning.
It was a terrible, all gone feeling — miles from human help and
afoot. I ran back to the house, turned my baby on her side, shut
the draft on the heating stove, put on a sweater and scarf, and
started to track Floyd, which was easy to do when I got away from
the yard gate.
Over the third hill, and about a mile and a half from home. I
saw him and our old dog. They were circling about, but generally
following his daddy's wagon tracks. I had been praying, and I
thanked God as I cut across country to my child. When 1 reached
122 ANNALS OF WYOMING
him, he said "Don't cry, Mama. I won't run away no more.'' He
was a cold and tired Httle boy.
Near dark my husband was coming home and saw Floyd's
tracks. Alarmed, he left his team standing, although they were not
really gentle, and followed Floyd's tracks until he saw my tracks
where I had taken him home. We were both so upset by this that
we decided to give up the ranch. We left everything in the care of
Jim's brother and moved to Colorado to farm.
Jim visited Casper the next fall but it was five years before I
returned to Wyoming. I admit I had gotten lonesome for the
sagebrush and enjoyed seeing it again.
Zkc J^ature of the Kdationskip
between the Black feet Indians
and the M^^ oftke 7ur Zrade
By
Peter W. Dunwiddie
The men who opened the American West have long been con-
sidered some of the more glamorous, rugged, and adventuresome
men of their time. This image of the courageous, Indian-fighting
mountain man was a favorite of many books on the early West.
And despite the romantic light history sometimes lends, it cannot
be denied that the Ufe of these men, and particularly those involved
in the fur trade, was not an easy one. In addition to all of the
hazards facing a person fending for himself in a vast, unmapped
wilderness, these early traders and trappers had another danger
confronting them — the Indian.
It would be grossly unjust to label all Indians of the American
West a danger, since most of them were quite friendly to the whites
venturing into their lands. However, as the fur trade developed,
two tribes in particular gained a notorious reputation for violence
to the whites — the Arikaras and the Blackfeet. They were soon
viewed with distrust, hate, and fear, and were avoided if at all
possible. This raises the question of why these tribes, and not
others? Were they warlike to other tribes as well, and would this
explain their hatred toward whites too?
This paper will deal with the second of the two tribes — the
Blackfeet — and try to explain the background that led to their
animosity towards the white fur traders.
There are three acknowledged tribes of the Blackfeet Indians —
the Piegan, Blood, and Siksika (Blackfoot). Although they were
independent politically, they shared a common language, customs,
fought the same enemies, and intermarried.^ A fourth tribe, the
Gros Ventres, was for many years closely allied with the Blackfeet,
and this contributed to the confusion of the early white men. who
frequently mistook one for another. Thus they were all loosely
1. John C. Ewers, The Blackfeet: Raiders on the Northwestern Plains
(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1958), p. 5.
124 ANNALS OF WYOMING
grouped under the name "Blackfeet," and contemporary sources
often fail to distinguish among them.*
The tribes were located along the eastern edge of the Rocky
Mountains, ranging north into Canada and south into Wyoming.
One writer located the Piegans in the Missouri River valley where
the Marias River empties into it, and the Judith River Basin as the
land of the Gros Ventres.- However these are mere approxima-
tions, since they were all nomadic tribes. Using the buffalo as
their primary means of subsistence, they traveled widely following
the herds.
The enemies of the Blackfeet included, at one time or another,
almost every tribe surrounding them. The Shoshonis, Kutenais,
Flatheads, Nez Perces, Crows, Assiniboins, Crees, and Pend
d'Oreilles all felt the wrath of Blackfoot war parties.'^ But rather
than fighting large battles involving many men, Blackfoot parties
were usually small, loosely organized groups which quickly dis-
solved. The primary purpose was raiding for booty, not extermi-
nating members of other tribes.^
It might be expected that a people as widely feared among other
Indians as the Blackfeet would readily turn their attacks on the first
whites in the area as well. However, history seems to indicate that
such was not the case. In 1754, Anthony Hendry, a Hudson's Bay
Company man, received a friendly welcome from the "Archithinue
Natives," the Cree name for the Blackfeet and their neighbors.^
The evidence indicates that these Indians (with whom Hendry
unsuccessfully tried to establish a fur trade) may have been Gros
Ventres." In 1772, another Hudson's Bay Company man set out
again to establish trade with the Indians, and met up with the Gros
Ventres. Of them he stated that they are "far superior to any
tribes that visit our Forts: they have dealings with no Europeans,
but live in a state of nature . . ."' These friendly Indians again
declined to return to the Company forts, claiming that they were
* Except when describing one of the tribes in particular, I will use the
term "Blackfeet" to refer to all the tribes together, or when it is impossible
to determine which of the tribes is intended. - P.W.D.
2. John E. Sunder, The Fur Trade on the Upper Missouri: 1840-1865
(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1965), p. 4.
3. Ewers, p. 125 f.
4. Ibid., p. 126.
5. Anthony Hendry, York Factoiy to the Blackfeet Country; The Jour-
nal of Anthony Hendry, 1754-55, ed. by Lawrence J. Burpee (1907), quoted
by Ewers, p. 24.
6. Ewers, p. 26.
7. Matthew Cocking, The Journal of Matthew Cocking, 1772-73, ed. by
Lawrence J. Burpee (1905), p. 110, quoted by E. Palmer Patterson II,
The Canadian Indian: A History Since 1500 (Collier-Macmillan Canada.,
Ltd.. 1972), p. 98.
BLACKFEET INDIANS AND MEN OF THE FUR TRADE 125
too far, and that they were satisfied where they were. But by the
1780s, trade in the Blackfoot country had been established by both
the Hudson's Bay Company and its rival, the North West Com-
pany. Whether the Indians actually did much trapping, though, is
doubtful, judging from journals of the Company forts." Appar-
ently the Blackfeet were just as happy hunting buffalo and only
occasionally trading furs with the Company to obtain guns or
tobacco.
David Thompson, another Hudson's Bay man, told of further
friendliness demonstrated by the Blackfeet. "A few miles beyond
the Box River about a dozen Peeagans met us . . . They gave us
a hearty welcome, told us to camp where they met us, and could
soon bring us good cow meat, and next morning show us to the
camp."^ Thompson proceeded to spend that winter ( 1787-1788)
with this friendly tribe.
When this generosity shown to Thompson is compared with
Peter Skene Ogden's statement in the 1830s that the Blackfeet
were "the persecuters of the Indian trader,"^" it can be seen that
important events must have occurred in the meantime to change
the attitudes of both parties. There were many incidents and
occurrences that led up to this change, and one took place with the
first American party in Blackfoot country.
The party of Lewis and Clark, which began its exploration of
the Missouri River basin in 1804, was worried about confronta-
tions with unfriendly Indians, and so exercised great care in dealing
with them when Lewis encountered some in July of 1806. Al-
though he claimed these were Gros Ventres, subsequent reports
established that they were, in fact, Piegans.^^ On the 26th of July,
Lewis encamped with a small band of them, and was awakened
the next morning by cries resulting from the Indians attempting to
steal some of their guns. One Piegan was stabbed and killed, and
the rest tried to drive off the party's horses. In the process, an-
other Indian was shot.^- It is important to note in this incident
that the Piegans were not trying to kill Lewis' party, but merely
capture some of their very valuable equipment — guns and horses.
This is in keeping with their practice of raiding enemy tribes for
8. Alice M. Johnson, ed., Soskatche^-a7i Journals and Correspondence:
Edmonton House 1795-1800; Chesterfield House 1800-1802 (London: Hud-
son's Bay Record Society, 1967), pp. 86, 295, 301.
9. David Thompson, David Thompson's Narrative. 1784-1812 (Toronto:
The Champlain Society, 1962), p. 48.
10. Peter Skene Ogden, Traits of American Indian Life and Character.
1830-1840. By a Fur Trader (San Francisco: The Grabhorn Press. 1933).
introduction.
11. Thompson, p. 273.
12. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, The Original Journals of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition. 1804-1806. ed. bv Reuben Gold Thwaites
(New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company. 1904-1905). V, pp. 223.
126 ANNALS OF WYOMING
goods, and does not represent any particular maliciousness toward
the whites.
Many people have overrated the significance of this incident in
explaining the animosity of the Blackfeet toward the whites. That
the blame for subsequent hostilities should rest on Lewis' encoun-
ter is unjust because Manuel Lisa's men, who traded in the area
just two years later, were treated civilly by the Blackfeet. ^-^
But then in 1808, Manuel Lisa (a St. Louis fur merchant) sent
John Colter out from his newly built fort in Crow country, possibly
to try and induce the Blackfeet to come to the fort and trade.
While Colter was in company with some Crow and Flathead
Indians, the party was attacked by their traditional enemies, the
Blackfeet. In the ensuing battle, Colter distinguished himself, a
fact which the Blackfeet understandably interpreted as the whites
intentionally aiding their enemies. ^^'^^ This incident alone may
have severely hurt Blackfoot relations with the traders and helped
to bring about subsequent hostilities. But other factors contrib-
uted heavily toward this as well.
The prime objective of the fur trade was beaver. While other
hides, notably fox, wolf, and buffalo, were also traded for, the big
profits were in beaver, and for these the greatest effort was made.
More trappers, traders, forts, and equipment poured into the
beaver-rich areas than anywhere else. The big obstacle to these
men was the fact that these areas lay largely in Blackfoot country.
John C. Luttig, who traveled in this region in 1812-1813, wrote
in his journal that "the Blackfeet Indians were of great importance
to the fur trade because their country was the richest beaver district
of the west."^*^ In 1824, Thomas Hart Benton in the Senate asked
a United States Indian Agent:
Ques: Where is the richest fur region beyond the Mississippi?
Ans: I have always understood the northern branches of the Mis-
souri, above the junction of the Yellow Stone, contained more beaver
than any known country.^"
Such statements painted the true picture: the fur trade was driving
right into the heart of Blackfoot land.
13. Letter from Major Thomas Biddle, October 29, 1819, from Camp
Missouri, to Colonel Henry Atkinson, American State Papers, Class II,
Indian Affairs, 11(1815-1827) p. 201.
14. Ibid., p. 201.
15. Stallo Vinton, John Colter — Discoverer of Yellowstone Park (New
York: Edward Eberstadt, 1926), p. 78 f.
16. John C. Luttig, Journal of a Fur Trading Expedition on the Upper
Missouri, 1812-1813, ed. by Stella M. Drumm (St. Louis: Missouri Histor-
ical Society, 1920), p. 102.
17. Thomas Hart Benton, questions put to R. Graham, February 10,
1824, American State Papers, Class II, Indian Affairs, 11(1815-1827) pp.
452-453.
BLACKFEET INDIANS AND MEN OF THE FUR TRADE 127
The rapidly increasing numbers of whites arriving each year
with the trade were significant. Hundreds of them moved into
areas formerly occupied only by Blackfeet, hunting and trapping
game as they went. The Blackfoot tribes must have regarded this
obvious encroachment on their hunting grounds with anger. This
idea was summed up most succinctly by the United States Indian
Agent, R. Graham.
I am decidedly of the opinion that the hunting and trapping on Indian
lands by American citizens produces the most unhappy effects upon
the mind of the Indians. They look upon their game as we do upon
our domestic animals, and hold them in the same estimation. It is
their means of support; they have nothing else to depend upon for
subsistence. It is not, therefore, unreasonable to suppose that they
will not only steal from, but murder those who are depriving them of
their only means of subsistence. ^^
It is unfortunate that Graham's suggestion that no white trappers
be allowed on Indian lands, that traders be allowed only at certain
locations, and that any white man found on the land would be
regarded as a trespasser was never implemented.
As early as 1754, Anthony Hendry noted that the Blackfeet
took a dim view of other Indians trapping on their land.^'* These
other tribes, traditional enemies of the Blackfeet, were viewed as
thieves, robbing them of their furs. But the profits were swimming
in the streams, and for many Indians, the risk of Blackfoot retalia-
tion was one worth taking. The Blackfoot hatred of white trap-
pers was equally intense for the same reason, as well as the fact
that they often brought with them the demoralizing "whiskey
trade."
Had the whites merely entered the Blackfoot lands as traders,
and left the trapping up to the local Indians, the story might have
been different. But there were three basic reasons why they did
not. First, enterprising men discovered that they could turn a big
profit by trapping furs themselves, and trading them to others to
send back to St. Louis. These were the so-called 'Tree Trappers."
Secondly, fur companies were insured of a greater and more con-
stant supply of quality furs by employing their own men, who
could be more directly controlled, than by paying Indians who
spent much of their time hunting buffalo and raiding other tribes.
And thirdly, the Blackfeet, as mentioned earlier, simply did not
particularly like to trap, and nearly all enterprises depending pri-
marily on Blackfeet to provide furs were unsuccessful.
Thus early white expeditions in the area "went prepared to
exploit the resources of the country by means of their own trappers
18. Ibid., p. 453.
19. Hendry, quoted by Patterson in The Canadian Indian, p. 338.
128 ANNALS OF WYOMING
in case they did not succeed in opening trade with the Indians."-"
The Blackfoot attitude is expressed in this statement made by
several of their chiefs to a sub-Indian agent. "If you will send
Traders into our Country we will protect them & treat them well;
but for Trappers — Never. "-^ But demand for beaver was high,
and the whites and other Indians willing to bring them in were
more than eager to ignore the wishes of the Blackfeet in order to
profit off their land.
Another reason for the hard feelings on the part of the Blackfeet
may have been the result of another misunderstanding. Because
of the fact that the Blackfoot lands were far up the Missouri River,
early expeditions found it difficult to penetrate so deep into the fur
country. Thus they were often satisfied to establish forts down-
river from the Blackfeet as long as there were furs there to be
had.-- Manuel Lisa's early fort, located in Crow territory, ob-
viously favored the Crow nation in regards to trade since they did
not have far to travel to reach it. This inadvertent slight on the
part of the white traders may have further angered the Blackfeet.-^
In 1833, Charles Larpenteur, a fur trader on the upper Missouri
River, wrote that in regards to Indian attack, "there was not the
least danger for any white man except the Free Trappers."-^ This
statement is rather surprising, especially when one considers the
precautions fur companies took to avoid losses of men and equip-
ment, and the number of men that were killed in spite of these
precautions. But even if it is an inaccurate claim, it does raise an
interesting question. Why would Larpenteur believe the Free
Trappers were singled out for attack? The answer to this may lie
in the manner in which the trappers went about obtaining furs.
In the wilds of the fur district, trappers frequently traveled in
groups, for companionship and more importantly, for protection
from Indan attack. While men of one company would travel
together while they trapped, the Free Trappers were much more
independent, and preferred to remain apart from direct company
supervision. Thus they often joined up with friendly Indians also
engaged in trapping. As it turned out, these often were friendly
Nez Perce or Flathead Indians who were also enemies of the
Blackfeet. In the interests of protection, therefore, these trappers
became aligned with the Blackfoot foes, and thereby set themselves
20. Hiram Martin Chittenden, The American Fur Trade of the Far West
(New York: Francis P. Harper, 1902), I, pp. 141-142.
21. Francis A. Chardon, Chardon's Journal of Fort Clark, 1834-39, ed.
by Annie H. Abel (Pierre, South Dakota: 1932), p. 253.
22. Richard Oglesby, Manuel Lisa and the Opening of the Missouri Fur
Trade (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963), p. 133.
23. Chittenden, II, pp. 850-854.
24. Charles Larpenteur, Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Mis-
souri, 1833-72 (Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1933), p. 50.
BLACKFEET INDIANS AND MEN OF THE FUR TRADE 129
Up as a special target. The Blackfeet knew that such an associa-
tion certainly benefited the other tribes, and so their attacks
seemed particularly justified.
This practice of the Free Trappers probably helped to aggravate
the whole Blackfoot-white situation, and the Blackfeet may have
had the common human reaction of over-generalizing and thus
looked on all whites as "friends of their enemies".
Whether the Blackfeet actually were over-generahzing in their
accusations of the whites is clearly worthy of consideration. For
several decades the Blackfeet had succeeded in dominating neigh-
boring tribes. One reason for this was that the Blackfeet had
managed to get guns earlier and in greater numbers than many of
their enemies. Thus they were able to substantially reduce the
numbers of some of their foes, the Flatheads and Snakes in par-
ticular,--"* and achieve control over a very large area. But when, as
in the summer of 1810, a party of Flatheads with guns defeated
some Piegan warriors, the tide began to turn, and the Blackfeet
were feeling threatened.-"
Their attention turned naturally toward those who appeared to
be arming their enemies, and these were, of course, the white fur
traders. The forts, such as Lisa's, did trade guns and ammunition
in addition to other goods, and located where they were in the
midst of enemy territory, the Blackfoot jealousy is understandable.
Incidents involving white trappers associated with their enemies,
such as Colter's, only added fuel to the fire. That the Blackfeet
actually were angered by this is shown by the fact that the Pie-
gans had warned the whites who had armed the Flatheads and
Kutenais.-^ The hate that such actions on the part of whites
generated among the Blackfeet must have been considerable.
It is probable, therefore, that Blackfoot attacks on white traders,
trappers, and forts were not only retaliatory in nature, but designed
to try to obstruct the trade itself. If they could capture the arms
themselves, or discourage the whites from even venturing into the
region, the Blackfeet hoped to prevent further inroads into their
own powerful position.
Along with the forts, another aspect of the fur trade benefited
Blackfoot enemies. In 1825, the idea of the rendezvous, where
trappers and traders would gather once a year to exchange goods
and stories, was put into practice at the mouth of Henry's Fork on
the Green River, and later held in Cache Valley. This was in
Shoshoni country, and in addition to robbing the Blackfeet of more
25. Ogden, p. 12.
26. Ewers, p. 52.
27. George Catlin, Illustrations of the Manners. Customs, and Condi-
tions of the North American Indians (London: Henry G. Bohn. 1866).
p. 52.
130 ANNALS OF WYOMING
furs, such gatherings further strengthened the position of neighbor-
ing tribes.
Such policies might also help to explain the friendliness of the
enemies of the Blackfeet. Traditionally downtrodden and defeat-
ed, these tribes had much to gain by being friendly with the strang-
ers coming in, who were so willing to trade guns for furs.
At the time, some people believed that competition among the
traders pitted one tribe against another in an effort to gain an
advantage.-'* Presumably this rivalry involved the Blackfeet as
well. However, little of this probably occurred, at least until the
1820s. The reason for this is the fact that the Missouri Fur Com-
pany was the only American company operating in the area until
the 1 820s. By that time the Blackfeet had already become notor-
ious in their treatment of white men. Thus between American
companies, at least, competition could not explain this hostility.
It is interesting to note, however, that in 1810 Pierre Menard,
a fur man on the Missouri, toyed with the idea of inducing the
Snakes and Flatheads to wage a war on the Blackfeet with the
intent of capturing a prisoner. The prisoner would be used to
negotiate a peace between the whites and the Blackfeet, and hope-
fully a fur trade could be estabUshed as a result.-'' Such an idea,
while never carried out, reflects the means which traders would
consider to gain greater profits in the fur trade.
An idea that became widespread among Americans in the early
1800s was that the British traders in the West were inciting the
Blackfeet to attack American parties. Men on all levels of com-
merce and politics entertained this suspicion. Reuben Lewis,
connected with the Missouri Fur Company, wrote in 1810, "I am
confident that the Blackfeet are urged on by the British traders in
there [sic] Country . . ."•^" Surgeon John Gale, on an expedition
on the Missouri in 1818, wrote, "In the Spring of 1818, it became
apparent to the American government that the hostilities mani-
fested by the Indian tribes against our defenceless frontiers had
been excited by British emisaries."^^ Thomas Hart Benton
pursued the same idea in Congress in 1824 with Indian Agent
Graham:
Ques. 20: What is the temper of the tribes which have an intercourse
with the British traders towards the citizens of the United States?
28. Biddle, p. 201.
29. Letter from Pierre Menard to Pierre Chouteau, April 21, 1810,
quoted by Chittenden, American Fur Trade, 1, p. 142 f.
30. Letter from Reuben Lewis to Meriwether Lewis, April 21, 1810,
quoted by Oglesby, p. 95.
31. John Gale, The Missouri Expedition, 1818-1820; The Journal of
Surgeon John Gale. ed. by Roger L. Nichols (Norman: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1969), p. 3.
BLACKFEET INDIANS AND MEN OF THE FUR TRADE 131
Ans: Generally unfriendly. I have always found those Indians within
our territories who visit British posts more unfriendly to us, and more
difficult to control.
Ques. 21: What is the temper of the tribes which have no intercourse
with the British traders towards the citizens of the United States?
Ans: With those tribes within my own knowledge, very friendly; and
generally so, so far as I have understood of others.
Ques. 22: How near do the British trading establishments approach
the territories of the United States?
Ans: Some border immediately on it, some of them are within it.
Ques. 23: Is it to the benefit, or injury, of the fur traders, to have
hostilities with the Indians?
Ans: By no means to the benefit, but to the great injury of the trad-
ers. The very existence of the trade depends upon peace with the
different Indians, both within the white people and among them-
selves.^^2
Even Andrew Jackson revealed in a letter his feelings about the
matter, and how it should be dealt with.
The British Traders will no doubt excite the Indians to hostility. They
ought in my opinion to be hung, where ever they are found among the
Indian Tribes within our Territory ... A few examples would be
sufficient and the Commanding Officer of the Troops is the proper
authority to judge of their Guilt and Order there [sic] execution.'-''
Whether this attitude was largely a result of widespread anti-
British feeling at the time, to what extent the British tried to incite
the Blackfeet against the Americans, or if the British even attempt-
ed to do this at all is difficult to determine. This author could find
no mention of such an effort on the part of the British in any
Hudson's Bay Company journals. Yet this in no way indicates
that such was not the case, for it is hardly the sort of thing one
puts down in company records. More intensive scrutiny of per-
sonal journals of British trappers might provide evidence to con-
firm or deny such a claim.
Two important facts, though, suggest that the British at least did
nothing to discourage such hostile actions on the part of the
Blackfeet. First, the British had a fairly amicable relationship
with the Blackfeet. This ability to deal with them was demon-
strated to the Americans when McKenzie and Berger, two Cana-
dians who had formerly worked for the British and had joined up
with the American Fur Company, succeeded in establishing friend-
ly dealings with the Blackfeet in 1830.-^^ Their system of allowing
the Indians themselves to do the trapping was the Canadian sys-
32. Benton, pp. 452-453.
33. Andrew Jackson, "Letter to Henry Atkinson from Andrew Jackson,"
Andrew Jackson Papers. 1st Series. Volume L-0. Microfilm reel 63. May
15, 1819.
34. Larpenteur, pp. 93-97.
132 ANNALS OF WYOMING
tern, and apparently much more satisfactory to the Indians. Thus
the modest trade that the British did have with the Blackfeet would
have been reduced by a successful competing American trade.
This alone might not have been sufficient evidence for the allega-
tion that the British incited the Indians, but another point rein-
forced it.
The British distinctly profited from the Blackfoot attacks on
American parties. American furs and equipment were frequently
turning up at British forts, arriving in the hands of Blackfoot
raiding parties.
In 1808, John Colter and another trapper by the name of Potts
were attacked by Blackfeet. Although Colter escaped, Potts was
killed, and their valuable beaver skins were captured, arriving later
at a British post.'^''
In 1810, Alexander Henry, working for the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, purchased beaver skins from a party of Blackfeet who
acknowledged having robbed them from a party of Americans.
Some of the skins were marked "Valley and Jnumell".'^" The latter
may have been the same man who was killed along with six others
when his party was attacked by the Blackfeet in 1823. On this
attack, $15,000 worth of horses, beaver, and traps were lost.-"
Another party of Blood Indians arrived at Henry's post after
having viciously murdered a party of Americans, bringing with
them "fine cotton shirts, beaver traps, hats, knives, dirks, handker-
chiefs, Russia sheeting tents, and a number of banknotes, some
signed by the New Jersey and Trenton Banking Company."^''
That the British benefited from these attacks cannot be denied.
But it should not be overlooked that the Blackfeet as well had a
profit to be gained from plundering American parties. To collect
$15,000 worth of equipment on one raid is certainly substantial,
and Henry's list of stolen booty further testifies to the profitability
of such raids.
Thus to speculate on the part the British may have played in
inciting the Blackfeet to attack is merely that — speculation. The
important fact remains that both British and Blackfeet stood to
gain considerable profit through the raids.
One final reason American fur traders suffered at the hands of
the Blackfeet was the lack of any clear-cut American policy in
35. Chittenden. II, pp. 718-721.
36. Alexander Henry and David Thompson, New Light on the Early
History of the Greater Northwest, the Manuscript Journals of Alexander
Henry. Fur Trader of the Northwest Company, and of David Thompson,
Official Geographer and Explorer of the Same Company, 1799-1814, ed. by
Elliott Coues (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1897), II, pp. 735.
37. Mr. Joshua Pilcher's answers to questions put to him by the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs. American State Journals, II, p. 451 f.
38. Henry and Thompson, II, p. 736.
BLACKFEET INDIANS AND MEN OF THE FUR TRADE 133
dealing with the Indians. UnUke Canada, where well-regulated
company policies treated the Indians in a reasonably uniform man-
ner, American trade generally reflected the whims and idiosyn-
crasies of the trader. Thus McKenzie's Fort Piegan was success-
fully run for several years, but then in 1 844, after Francis Chardon
took over, a whole party of friendly Piegans was massacred for
almost no reason at the fort."*^ Such inconsistencies only served to
confuse, antagonize, aUenate, and anger the Blackfeet.
The consequences of the Blackfoot hostility toward the Amer-
ican fur traders were evident. Losses among the trappers due to
Indian attacks were numerous. In 1837, Alfred Jacob Miller
reported that 40 to 50 beaver trappers were lost per season. ^'^
Such losses of life were compounded by the immense cost of lost
skins, traps, horses, and other equipment, as well as the strain
placed on all the fur men by having to be constantly alert for
possible attack. It was a great price to pay, but the fashions in the
east created a market, and there were always men ready for the
adventure and possibihty of profit that the fur trade offered.
For the Blackfeet, the raids at best only served to slow the
inevitable onslaught of westward expansion. Their defense of
their land was at the same time admirable and tragic, for they
were, in the end, hopelessly ill-equipped and outnumbered to with-
stand the pressure of white civilization. It was a gallant effort on
their part to attempt to preserve their culture and civilization, and
resist the crush of another.
The Blackfoot Nation had a reputation among neighboring
tribes for being a warhke people. But the first whites arriving on
their lands in the latter part of the 18th century — Hudson's Bay
Company men in Canada — were received in a largely peaceful
manner. It was only when the fur trade began to grow into a
formidable force that the Blackfeet began to show their discontent
on the newcomers — mostly Americans. As unregulated as the
trade often was, inevitable conflicts, slights, misunderstandings,
and competition resulted, and the Blackfeet became increasingly
hostile. This hostility soon erupted in raids, plunderings, and
killings of trapping parties. The fur trade eventually died out with
the over-trapping of beaver and the change in fashions in the east.
but the damage to relations between the whites and Blackfeet. to
the men involved, and to the Blackfeet as a people, had already
been done.
39. Sunder, p. 60 f.
40. Alfred Jacob Miller, The West of Alfred Jacob Miller, ed. by Marvin
C. Ross (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. 1951). p. 148.
134 ANNALS OF WYOMING
PENMANSHIP
NATURE'S RULES
There are a few general principles in Nature that are apphcable
to penmanship. These principles are eternal, and will never
change.
CURVED LINES
The first is that of curved lines. Those objects in Nature that
we most admire possess a grace and fullness of curve which elicit
our admiration. The edge of the flower curves. The trunk of the
tree, the leaf, the bud, the dewdrop, the rainbow, — all that is
beautiful in Nature, in fact, is made up of curved lines. The
human countenance, rounded and flushed with the rosy hue of
health, is beautiful. Wasted by disease and full of angles, it is less
attractive. The winding pathway in the park, the graceful bending
of the willow, the rounded form of every object that we admire,
are among the many illustrations of this principle.
PROPORTION
Another important principle is that of proportion. Any object,
to present a pleasing appearance to the eye, should have a base,
of sufficient size and breadth, to support the same. Nature is full
of examples. The mountain is broadest at the base; and the trunk
of every tree and shrub that grows upon its sides, is largest near
the earth, the roots spreading broader than the branches.
The good mechanic builds accordingly. The monument is
broadest at the base. The house has a foundation large enough
for its support, and the smallest article of household use of orna-
ment, constructed to stand upright, is made with reference to this
principle of proportion, with base broader than the top. . . . Letters
should be constructed, self supporting in appearance, with a foun-
dation sufficiently broad to support that which is above. . . .
CONTRAST
A very important principle, also, is that of contrast. Nature is
again the teacher, and affords an endless variety of lessons. Scen-
ery is beautiful that is most greatly diversified by contrast. That is
more beautiful which is broken by mountain, hill valley, stream
and woodland, than the level prairie, where nothing meets the eye
but brown grass. The bouquet of flowers is beautiful in proportion
to the many colors that adorn it, and the strong contrast of those
colors. Oratory is pleasing when accompanied by changes in the
tone of voice.
Hill's Manual of Social and Business Forms:
A Guide to Correct Writing, by Thos. E. Hill
(Chicago: Moses Warren & Co., 1874).
Wyoming State Mistorical Society
TWENTIETH ANNUAL MEETING
Jackson, Wyoming September 7-9, 1973
Registration for the twentieth Annual Meeting of the Wyoming
State Historical Society began at 7:00 p.m., Friday, September 7,
1973, in the Wort Hotel in Jackson. Hospitality bags were given
to all who registered and a pleasant evening was enjoyed by all.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by President
Henry Chadey, in the Lounge of the Wort Hotel. Mr. Dave
Wasden said a few words in memory of members who passed away
during the past year and asked for a minute of silent prayer.
Jane Houston moved that the reading of the minutes of the 1972
Annual Meeting and the April Executive Committee minutes be
dispensed with. Motion was seconded and carried.
The Treasurer read the following report which was placed on
file for audit:
TREASURER'S REPORT
September 9, 1972 - September 8, 1973
Cash and Investments on
hand September 9, 1972
$22,580.53
Receipts
Dues
$
5,662.00
Pinettes
Interest (Savings)
1,298.65
Life Member
100.00
Gift - Humanities, for
the Trek
300.00
7,360.65
Disbursements
Annals of Wyoming
$
3.343.00
Annual Meeting
192.34
Awards
Scholarships
$300.00
Grant-in-Aid
100.00
400.00
Officers' Expenses
President
195.00
Secretary
120.00
Others
105.00
420.00
Committee Expense
15.00
Printing
Trek 1972
300.00
1973
85.91
385.91
136
ANNALS OF WYOMING
Postage
Office
455.81
Secretary
41.32
497.13
23.00
Phone - Secretary
Miscellaneous
Bond
5.00
Secretary
Loss on $10,000 Certificate
1.00
180.00
186.74
10,000.00
Houghton-Colter Store - South Pass
$15,463.32
$14,477.86
ASSETS
Savings
Certificate (Federal Bldg. & Loan)
Certificate (Capitol Bldg. & Loan)
Federal Building & Loan
Federal B&L (Memorial Fund)
Cheyenne Federal Bldg. & Loan
o.
$ 2,099.35
8,014.38
1,464.92
608.80
1,201.16
13,388.61
Cash in First National Bank & Trust C
1,089.25
Cash and Investment on hand September 8, 1973
$14,477.86
MEMBERSHIP
Annual Members
Life Members
1969
1,278
54
1970
1,396
53
1971
1,284
85
1972
1,138
86
1973
1,330
87
The President asked the following members to serve on com-
mittees for the day: Audit, Sam Leckie, Alice Cranor, Kathleen
Hemry; Resolutions, Hattie Burnstad, Margaret Leckie; Parlia-
mentarian, Dick Dumbrili. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Antilla and Mr.
and Mrs. Oscar Payne were appointed to count ballots.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Scholarship Dr. T. A. Larson explained the Grant-in-Aid and
Scholarship programs. He announced that Ray Pendergraft had
completed his history of Washakie County. The following are still
working on their projects: Dorothy Milek, Hot Springs County
History; Gordon Chappell, "Alliance of the U.S. Army and the
UPRR in Southern Wyoming"; Michael Lewellyn, "John B. Ken-
drick, 1910-1917"; Robert Murray, History of Johnson County;
R. F. Fleck and Robert Campbell, "Literary Bibliography of
Wyoming."
Projects Richard Dumbrili said he had tried to get the county
chapters to initiate projects of their own thereby obtaining some
financial aid from the State Society. He reported that the Hot
Springs County Chapter had suggested bicycle trails in historic
WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 137
areas. Under new business, he will submit an amendment to the
By-Laws for the betterment of the Projects Committee.
Trek Miss Houston reported that 120 people enjoyed the 1973
Trek which started in Rock Springs and ended at the western
border of Wyoming. The weather was beautiful and the scenery
spectacular. On one descent the back of the car was higher than
the front.
OFFICERS' REPORTS
President Henry Chadey: The office of President of the Wyo-
ming State Historical Society has afforded me a significant oppor-
tunity for meeting people in Wyoming. I should like to thank all
those who extended so many courtesies to me and this is especially
true for the members of the Teton County Chapter.
Although my schedule and time did not permit me to visit as
many county chapters as I would have liked, those I was fortunate
enough to visit were very hospitable. I was at the Uinta County
Chapter reorganization meeting early in the year and these people
have been developing an interesting program. I traveled to Tor-
rington, Cheyenne and Casper where I spoke to the members. 1
was asked to prepare a paper for the Wyoming Geological Society
for their September meeting.
As President, I was appointed by Governor Hathaway to the
Consulting Committee for Nominations to the National Register
and later during the year I was appointed to serve a three-year term
on the Wyoming Council for the Humanities. The meetings of
these groups were informative and contributed greatly to my per-
sonal understanding.
Numerous times during the year I was called upon to study and
make recommendations regarding Wyoming history and the pres-
ervation of historical sites.
As State Society President, I asked the Union Pacific Railroad
to arrange a meeting with the Wyoming Recreation Commission
to help plan the use of the land at Fort Steele State Park. This
meeting was held in Cheyenne with four representatives of the
Union Pacific Railroad. The plans call for the development of a
state park around the remains of Fort Steele and the establishment
of a railroad museum.
It was my privilege to be with Maurine Carley and Bill Dubois
when a check for $10,000 was presented to the Wyoming Recrea-
tion Commission to help the Houghton-Colter Store at South Pass.
This was a project started by Past President Dubois and completed
during this year. This money will be matched by federal funds.
I helped Miss Carley and Henry Jensen in planning the Oregon
Trail Trek in July and prepared one of the papers given on the
Trek. I don't know if there is any significance but my paper was
the only one presented in the rain. It was a most successful Trek.
138 ANNALS OF WYOMING
As I close my term of office, certain thoughts and aspirations
come to mind.
There are many people interested in the history of our state and
the intermountain west. Not all these people are members of the
Historical Society. The Society should always be in the lead in
recording and preserving our historical heritage.
It is my contention that Wyoming is still a small state and we
may be parochial in our views. Too often ideas that have been
promulgated in populous regions are applied to Wyoming. It is
not that we should not consider other ideas but I believe Wyoming
is unique and we should work out our own problems to meet our
needs. The Society must work more harmoniously with other
people and agencies of the state. We must demand more leader-
ship from our state agencies.
The Society should use every means available to promote the
recording of local history as well as our regional and national
history. It is my belief that we should hold fast to our objectives
and if these are not being upheld the Society should take appro-
priate action.
We must never underestimate the power of the young people.
Se\'eral proposals will be made to implement work with young
people at this meeting. I have found that there are many junior
and senior high schools that don't receive the Annals of Wyoming.
We have worked with several educational groups in promoting the
study of Wyoming history and more must be done in this area. To
me. it is inconceivable that teachers in our schools can teach
W)oming history and not even know the Annals are published.
With the growing interest in historical site preservation and
museum development in the state, the regulations on county chap-
ters by the Wyoming State Historical Society have been questioned.
Our present constitution indicates that only one chapter is per-
missible in each county. Here is an area that should be reviewed.
Perhaps the proliferation of historical societies or chapters is not
what we want.
It was an educational experience being State President. Thank
you.
First Vice President Richard Dumbrill: The duties of the First
Vice President have been mainly involved with the Projects Com-
mittee. The Projects Committee considered the following projects:
1. .An attempt to get county chapters to seek county chapter proj-
ect awards; 2. Return of Spanish Diggings artifacts to Wyoming;
3. Approval of $10,000 Houghton-Colter store restoration; 4. As-
sistance to Bicentennial talks by Dr. WiUiam Steckel; 5. We stood
ready to assist with the Lander Stage Station project. Also, we
have been asked to consider two proposals which we will pass on
to the new Projects Committee: (a) A proposal for bike and
hiking trails throughout the state to historical sites and a request
for assistance in funding from Campbell County, and (b) finally.
WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1?9
we sponsored an amendment to the By-Laws to make the Projects
Committee a continuing committee. This should provide tor more
continuity and more accomphshments.
Second Vice President Henry Jensen : In addition to the recom-
mendations from Betty Hayden, the Awards Committee suggests
the following changes :
In regard to Junior Historian awards, the idea of competition to
be eliminated, and there be four $10 awards.
Only one award be given in all other categories of adult awards,
and two more categories be added: 1. For all history recorded by
means of tape or direct interview, and 2. For work in the field of
master and doctoral dissertations. I will not discuss these in detail
at this time but they will be considered by the Executive Com-
mittee.
Executive Secretary William H. Williams: Legislation allowing
local chapters of the Historical Society to contract the sales desks
at the state museums was not being introduced into the last legis-
lature due to illness of the sponsor.
The mailing labels for Annals of Wyoming and "Wyoming His-
tory News" are now computerized.
The Society should be pleased to note that membership has been
growing at a satisfactory rate.
Secretary Maurine Carley: After being known as the most
miserly person in Wyoming, I had the honor of presenting the
$10,000 check from the Wyoming State Historical Society to
Marvin Harshman, president of the Recreation Commission, for
restoration of the Houghton-Colter Store in South Pass Cit) —
since I had assiduously helped save the money for the last 20 years.
I was the guest of the Wyoming Recreation Commission on the trip
to Lander and South Pass and at the dinner in Atlantic City, where
the presentation was made.
I have enjoyed my years as Secretary-Treasurer and especially
appreciate the good friends I have made over the state. It has
been a pleasure to work with you.
FOUNDATION FUND
Mr. Jensen moved that the meeting of the Wyoming State His-
torical Society be recessed and re-convened as the Wyoming Foun-
dation Fund, Incorporated.
Ed Bille, Foundation Fund Chairman, reported a balance of
$7856.82. He stated that contributions to the Fund can be ob-
tained if the Society sets up a good working committee. He said
that the Society should step forward as an educational historical
organization. A 30-minute film was shown on the history of
Colorado as an example of what can be done. Five thousand
dollars from the Tonkin Fund has already been set aside for a film
on the history of Wyoming. The content of the film would be
approved by the Society. A discussion followed on listing of
140 ANNALS OF WYOMING
donors on the film. A motion was made by Dr. Larson that a
listing of recognized donors be confined to donations of $250
upwards. Motion seconded and carried.
At 10:30 a.m., a brief break for coffee and rolls was enjoyed
by all.
Curtiss Root moved that Dr. Larson and Edness Kimball Wil-
kins be reelected as Foundation Fund board members for another
three-year term (1973-1976). Motion seconded and carried.
Mr. Dubois moved that the Society give the Foundation Fund
board authority to proceed with the film and select a person to
direct the project. Motion seconded and carried.
Jack Mueller moved that the meeting adjourn and re-convene
as the Wyoming State Historical Society. Motion seconded and
carried.
Sam Leckie reported for the Auditing Committee that the books
were correct and in order.
Mr. Dubois thanked Ned Frost for the help of the Recreation
Commission in connection with the restoration of the Houghton-
Colter Store in South Pass City. '
Mr. Williams commented in regard to the Lander Stage Station
that he had not been able to visit the area yet and it has not been
determined which building is to be restored. Mr. Jensen volun-
teered to locate the site.
Hattie Burnstad moved that the Society give permission to Ray
Pendergraft to publish his history of Washakie County as he
desires.
Mary Capps called attention to the fact that the State Museum
has a fine collection of books which help with small museum
organization.
Mr. Williams presented the following amendments to the Con-
stitution of the State Society and moved their adoption:
Article IV, Section 1 to be changed to read: The elected officers
of the Society shall consist of the following (a) a President, (b) a
First Vice President/President Elect, (c) a Second Vice President,
and (d) a Secretary-Treasurer. These officers shall hold office for
one year or until their successors are installed.
Article IV, Section 2 be changed to read: (a) The nominating
committee appointed by the President of the Society shall draw up
a slate of nominees for First Vice President/President Elect, Sec-
ond Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer, listing not less than
two names for each office, (b) The list of nominees will be
announced to all members in July preceding the Annual Meeting,
(c) Ballots will be sent to all members in good standing at least
one month prior to the Annual Meeting and will be counted at the
Annual Meeting.
Article IV, Section 3 to read: The First Vice President shall be
the President Elect and shall assume the duties of President upon
the release from office of the President.
WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 141
Article IV, Section 4 to read: Upon the death or resignation of
the President, the First Vice President/President Elect shall serve
out the unexpired term of the President and shall continue in office
for his own full one year term.
The present Article IV, Section 3 and Section 4 be renumbered
to Article IV, Section 5 and Section 6 respectively.
After discussion, the motion was defeated.
Mabel Brown of Newcastle stated she will be happy to publish
two historical stories written by junior members of the Historical
Society in each issue of Bits and Pieces.
Mr. Dumbrill presented the following amendment to the By-
Laws and moved that Article V be amended by adding Section 3,
as follows:
(a) The Executive Committee is hereby directed to create a
permanent Projects Committee which shall be composed of four
persons and the President of the Society, who shall be an ex-officio
member. The four persons shall consist of the duly elected or
appointed First Vice President of the Society each year. The First
Vice President shall be Chairman of the Committee. The other
three members shall be members at large and shall be members of
the Society. The three members at large shall be appointed by the
First Vice President with the approval of the Executive Committee.
The three members at large shall serve three year terms excpt that
when the Committee is first appointed, the members shall draw lots
for a one, a two, and a three-year initial term so that thereafter the
terms will be staggered. First Vice President may appoint such
advisors to the Committee as he shall feel are necessary to the
consideration and completion of any particular project.
(b) The Executive Committee may hereafter by Resolution
create such committees as it deems necessary and proper and it
may provide for their makeup and define their duties and obli-
gations.
It was moved, seconded and carried to amend the By-Laws as
proposed. Mr. Jensen said he would like to see the same pro-
cedures adopted for the Awards Committee. Dr. Larson sug-
gested this be taken up at the Executive Committee meeting.
The President directed Mr. Dumbrill to see if a marker can be
placed which would direct interested people to Nancy Hill's grave.
Ned Frost announced that Tom Muths, Jackson architect, has
completed the drawings for the Houghton-Colter store.
CHAPTER REPORTS
Weston County (read by Mary Capps). This active chapter is
now honoring a senior citizen each month. \\\ senior citizens
were honored at a carry-in dinner. The dedication of the Green
Mountain School took the form of a country school picnic with
fried chicken, homemade ice cream, and lively games.
Washakie County (Ray Pendergraft ) . This chapter holds four
142 ANNALS OF WYOMING
meetings a year. One meeting was highlighted by a talk by Lloyd
Dewey, a grandson of the Arapahoe Chief, Sharp Nose, who par-
ticipated in the Bates Battle in Washakie County. Plans are made
to visit the Bates Battle site. Historical exhibits have been placed
in the local bank windows.
Uinta County (Russ Varineau). This Chapter has been recently
reorganized with plans made for several activities. It is hoped that
the Evanston project to reopen the Uinta County Museum will
soon be successful.
Teton County (Jay Brazelton). Nine beautiful and valuable
paintings and two fine photographs were given to the Chapter. The
paintings are hanging in the Jackson State Bank until a permanent
place is found. The Chapter has worked hard on the plans for a
Visitor Center and the Miller project at the Elk Refuge. In
November a Thanksgiving-Christmas party with turkey and gifts
was enjoyed by all, as was the Boardwalk Cookout in May.
Sweetwater County (Mrs. Sam Leckie). The Chapter is proud
that their own Henry Chadey is the State President. It is a custom
to present a book to the Green River Library in memory of a
deceased member. This year six books were presented. A trek
to Brown's Park with the Utah Historical Society was a summer
activity. In July, the Chapter was the host for the trekkers who
met in Rock Springs.
Sheridan County (Elsa Spear Byron). As usual the Sheridan
Chapter has been very busy at Trail End Historic Center which has
been a meeting place for many local groups and class reunions.
Three hundred dollars was raised by selling chances on a quilt
which had been donated. In May, the Society enjoyed a trek to
Fort Bettens.
Platte County (Patricia Erickson). The annual trek was held
under the leadership of Margaret Wilson of Glendo. After visiting
various ranches on Horseshoe Creek, the group stopped at Mrs.
Wilson's private museum, a railroad car. Again, the Chapter spon-
sored an antique show at the Platte County Library and continued
taping interviews of pioneer residents.
Park County (Dave Wasden). At last the monument to pioneer
stage drivers of Wyoming is ready. The plaque has arrived and
the contract has been let to place the monument in front of the
Stock Center with hghts and a sidewalk to the base of the
monument. A scenic trek was made from Red Lodge, Montana,
to Chance, Montana.
Natrona County (Kathleen Hemry). The Chapter is very inter-
ested in the success of the Foundation Fund so keep adding to it.
Clara Jensen, a history teacher of long experience, showed her
extensive collection which she used in teaching Wyoming history.
Lincoln County (Alice Cranor). The Chapter alternates their
meetings between LaBarge and Kemmerer. An interesting trek to
view the desert monuments was made in May. Pictographs were
WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 143
viewed in three locations on another trip. In Kemmerer, Mr. Love
showed slides of the 10,000-year-old sand dune trap recently exca-
vated north of Casper.
Laramie County (Ellen Mueller). The monthly meetings are
usually held in Cheyenne and occasionally in Burns or Pine Bluffs.
The Hills family and the Union Pacific railroad placed a monument
in honor of Lathrop Hills. The dedication was held September 5
to honor the Union Pacific surveyor who was killed by Indians in
1867 while the railroad was being built.
Hot Springs (Etta Payne). The Awards Committee voted to
match money for awards given to the Chapter. The junior group
has been quite active this year. A no-host dinner and a Christmas
party were part of the year's program.
Goshen County (James Petty). The Chapter has a paid mem-
bership of 70 with an average attendance of 50 at monthly meet-
ings. Torrington is presently trying to lease the Union Pacific
depot for a museum. An award was presented to the outstanding
history student at Eastern Wyoming College. Although a con-
certed effort was made to save the Rawhide Buttes Stage Station,
the new owner destroyed the building late this summer.
Carbon County (Mrs. Walter Lambertsen). After many years
of effort, Fort Fred Steele has been designated as a State Park
and money has been appropriated for the project. Mr. Herman
Werner, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Leo Sheep Company
have given land for the park.
Big Horn County (Wilma Johnson). The Chapter is still com-
piling history of its pioneers. Some of the members have visited
historic spots in nearby counties. Mrs. Lyles is writing a book on
the history of the county.
Albany County (T. A. Larson). William Peterson, a teacher at
University High School, gave a film and tape presentation showing
the changes in Laramie buildings through the years. The Chapter
greatly misses their president, Dr. R. H. Burns, who was killed in
an auto accident in June.
For the Awards Committee, Henry Jensen announced that re-
visions to the Awards Booklet were being considered, with changes
in categories and additions of new categories for youths.
Miss Sella Ribeiro, Executive Secretary for the Wyoming Bicen-
tennial Commission, announced that the Commission hopes that
the county chapters will form committees for celebration of the
U. S. Bicentennial in 1976. Independence Rock Park is the
paramount project for the state at this time.
Mr. Dumbrill moved that the following amendment to the By-
Laws be passed: Article IV, Section 2. The Annals of Wyomini:.
the historical publication issued by the State Archives and His-
torical Department, is declared to be the official publication of the
Society. The President shall be fully advised by the Executive
Secretary of the Society of all contractual negotiations relative to
144 ANNALS OF WYOMING
the publication of the Annals as those negotiations proceed. Upon
completion of the negotiations the President shall, if he is satisfied
that the negotiations have been conducted in a satisfactory manner,
authorize the Treasurer to pay into the Department that portion of
the dues of each member or joint members, not to exceed the sum
of $1.25 per issue, required for the purchase of the periodical.
One copy of each issue is to be received by each member of the
Society, except that joint membership shall be entitled to only one
copy. This amendment shall take effect beginning July 1, 1975.
After considerable discussion, Dr. Larson moved that the mo-
tion be tabled for future consideration until the annual meeting in
1974. Seconded and carried. Mr. Williams suggested that a
committee for the Society meet with Katherine Halverson and get
more information about the publishing of the Annals before the
next annual meeting.
Mrs. Halverson announced that a report on the progress of the
Oregon Trail book being published through the Society's Publica-
tion Fund would be in the next "Wyoming History News."
Invitations for the 1974 Annual Meeting were extended by the
Natrona County Chapter and by the Lincoln County Chapter,
The Executive Committee will determine where the meeting will
be held.
SATURDAY LUNCHEON
During the luncheon hour, entertainment was provided by the
young members of the Teton County Chapter. Miss Holly Brown
gave a talk about an old cemetery on a quiet hill in the shadow of
the Tetons. An original song, written and sung by Keri and
Tracey Lamb, told the story of Jenny Lake, and was beautifully
done.
Saturday afternoon a visit to the Robert Miller cabin in the
National Elk Refuge was made after completion of the business
meeting. The cabin is historically important because of the role
it played in early conservation movements to save the great Jack-
son Hole Elk Herd. Early settlers were aware of the thousands of
elk that perished in the winter months and tried to provide for the
herds. S. N. Leek, after becoming a member of the Wyoming
legislature, brought the plight of the elk to national attention.
Through these efforts, the National Elk Refuge was established.
Other members visited the local museums, art galleries and the
library. Punch and homemade cookies were enjoyed at the library.
SATURDAY BANQUET
A no-host hospitality hour sponsored by the Jackson Hole bank
was held from six to seven o'clock at the Wort Hotel Lounge.
Dinner was served in the dining room, where tables were attractive
with garden flowers. For the invocation, Eva Poljanec, accom-
WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 145
panied by guitarist Thelma Hufsmith, sang The Lord's Prayer.
Lester May, mayor of Jackson, welcomed the gathering and dig-
nitaries at the head table were introduced by Jay Brazelton, presi-
dent of the Teton County Chapter.
Dr. Larry Gould, explorer and lecturer, was the speaker of the
evening. His talk was informative, up to the minute, humorous
and witty and was warmly received by the audience.
Historical awards were presented by Henry Jensen, chairman of
the Awards Committee:
Elizabeth Brownell, Annabelle Hoblit and the Niobrara
County Chapter for Museum Activities.
Bill Dickerson and John Clymer, in the category of Fine
Arts — Painting.
Pat Van Offeren, Honorable Mention, for her painting "Inyan
Kara Mountain."
Helen A. Knipp for poems published the News Letter
Journal, Newcastle.
Bob Sweeney for his column "Early Days in Wyoming" in the
Snake River Press.
Valorie Shuck for her article "Whoop-up Hieroglyphics" in
Bits and Pieces, under- 18-years-of-age category.
James Fletcher for his article "The CB&Q Railroad" in Bits
and Pieces, under- 18-years-of-age category.
Ted Olson for his book Ranch on The Laramie.
David J. Wasden for his book From Beaver to Oil.
Ruth Beebe for her book Reminiscing Along the Sweetwater.
Paul Frison for his book Under the Tensleep.
Peg Layton Leonard for Wyoming-LaBonte Country 1820-
1972.
Dr. Donald G. MacLeod for Cumulative Contributions.
Mabel E. Brown for Cumulative Contributions.
Irene Brown, Special Fields Award, for Oral History, tapes
and direct interview.
Kathleen Ann Young, Junior Historian Award for the biog-
raphy, "Ora Ellsworth Snyder."
Robert PeduUa, Junior Historian Award for "Pioneers of
Wyoming."
Martha Dingman for her book on Wyoming History, Pearl
Marsh - Worland Pioneer.
Uinta County Chapter for guided tours in period costume at
Fort Bridger Museum.
Hattie Burnstad, Curtiss Root, Bill Dubois and Dr. T. A.
Larson, past presidents of the Society, were introduced.
Mr. Dubois announced the new officers for 1973-1974: Richard
Dumbrill, President; Henry Jensen, First Vice President; Jay Bra-
zelton, Second Vice President; Jane Houston, Secretary-Treasurer.
146 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Maurine Carley, Secretary-Treasurer for 20 years, was present-
ed with a beautiful oil painting symbolic of her interest in Indians
and teaching. It was painted by her friend, Gordon Wilson. A
lovely little painting by Sandy Yamashiro and two paintings do-
nated by the Teton Book Store were awarded as door prizes.
Mr. Chadey presented the gavel to Mr. Dumbrill who expressed
the thanks of all members of the Society to Mr. Brazelton and the
Teton County Chapter for a fine meeting. Mrs. Burnstad read the
following resolution:
Although the rain did fall on the Twentieth Convention of
the Wyoming State Historical Society it certainly did not
dampen the hospitality of the Teton Chapter. As we come
to the close of this delightful occasion, we wish to thank Jany
and Roberta Brazelton for their fine job with the able assist-
ance of Harry and Irene Brown, Ruth Spicer, Sandy Yama-
hiro and the entire Teton Chapter. Let us pay tribute to the
unusually significant contribution of youth of the community
to our program; to our President for expediting the business
in such a fine manner and to the Wort Hotel for our physical
well being. Be it resolved we declare this convention a huge
success.
Mr. Dumbrill then gave the President's Certificate of Apprecia-
tion to Mr. Chadey. The evening closed with group singing.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
A complimentary breakfast of pancakes, eggs, ham, coffee and
hot chocolate was served at the Warm Springs Ranch five miles
north of Jackson at 8:00 a.m. by the host chapter.
At 9:00 a.m. three tours left the ranch. 1. A two-hour tour to
Teton Village and the aerial tram ride to the top of Rendezvous
Peak. 2. A tour to Gros Ventre SUde. 3. A tour to Colter Bay
via Moran and returning via Jenny Lake and Teton Village for a
ride on the aerial tram.
It was a very pleasant and worthwhile weekend.
Maurine Carley
Secretary-Treasurer
1^00 k Keviews
The Expeditions of John Charles Fremont Volume II: The Bear
Flag Revolt and the Court-Martial. Edited by Mary Lee
Spence and Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois
Press, 1973). Index. Illus. 519 pp. $17.50.
This volume is the second in a series of three and tells the story
of the somewhat mysterious Fremont Expedition of 1 845 to Cali-
fornia and the explorer's participation in the Bear Flag Revolt.
Fremont's later court-martial on a charge of mutiny and his subse-
quent resignation from the army were the result of this so-called
"Conquest of California."
When Fremont set off on his 1845 expedition, there was no
mention whatsoever of extending the trip to California. At least,
not in his written orders. The chief of the Bureau of Topograph-
ical Engineers directed him to "strike the Arkansas — survey the
Red River within our boundary line" and to pay particular atten-
tion to "the geography of localities within a reasonable distance of
Bent's Fort."
It should have been passing strange, then, for the Bureau of
Topographical Engineers to discover their top explorer had ex-
tended the limits of his trip to include California and Oregon.
Those territories bordering the Pacific Ocean were surely not
"within a reasonable distance of Bent's Fork" which lay in what is
now Colorado.
Though Fremont was headstrong, even he was not sufficient!)
independent to have done what he did without unwritten, oral
orders from someone. That someone was probably either Pres-
ident James Polk or Secretary of State Buchanan. Polk and some
of his cabinet members were obsessed with the idea that Great
Britain had designs upon unoccupied areas of the western part of
this continent. Fremont's oral orders evidently sent him to Cali-
fornia to ascertain just how serious those designs really were.
And while in California, Fremont's peculiar personality led him
into conflict with General Stephen Watts Kearny, disobedience of
Kearny's direct orders, and eventual trial on charges of mutiny.
A thorough reading of the documents in this book leads one to
the inescapable conclusion that Fremont was operating under oral
orders which were very flexible. The events in California had to
be handled "on the spot" and decisions made without waiting four
to six months for instructions from Washington.
Fremont, Robert F. Stockton, and Kearny came into serious
confrontation over the administration of civil government in Cal-
ifornia. The editors point out that documentation proves "Fre-
mont was as often right as wrong" in the episode. If so, he was
148 ANNALS OF WYOMING
"right" only in retrospect. He was definitely wrong at the time
when he disobeyed direct orders of his military superior, Kearny.
For that disobedience Fremont was court-martialed, but conviction
on the charges and remission of the sentence lead one to believe
that the federal government decided Fremont had gotten the short
end of the stick.
Fremont's career often suffered because of his own precipitous
actions, and because of his constant reliance upon the influence of
his father-in-law, powerful Senator Thomas Hart Benton.
Perhaps John Charles Fremont truly was "the West's greatest
adventurer", as historian Allan Nevins dubbed him. Perhaps his
part in the conquest of California was ordered by the administra-
tion verbally and it was only his bad luck to be caught in a con-
frontation between Stockton and Kearny. One thing is certain,
however, and that is the fact that Fremont has been unjustly
criticized — or made the subject of odious comparison to Kearny —
in the California Mutiny dispute.
Kearny, and his hot-headed subordinate Colonel Richard B.
Mason, were just as precipitous, just as often wrong, as Fremont.
It is quite apparent that some historians, such as Bernard DeVoto,
have not read the full documentation of the mutiny charge and
subsequent court-martial proceedings.
Fremont, for all his faults, deserves a better shake from history.
Editors Mary Lee Spence and Donald Jackson have done just that.
They don't apologize for Fremont's personality quirks or his other
failings. Their excellent editing and annotation put the California
incident into true perspective.
Cheyenne Pat Hall
The Joyous Journey of LeRoy R. and Ann W. Hafen: An Auto-
biography. (Glendale, Calif., and Denver, Colo: The Arthur
H. Clark Company and Fred A. Rosenstock: The Old West
Publishing Company, 1973). Illus. 335 pp. $11.50.
"Two are better than one . . . for if either fall the one will lift
up the other." This passage from Ecclesiastes on the title page of
Joyous Journey must have been selected with the same care which
one has come to expect of the Hafens, for it is particularly appro-
priate. No husband-and-wife writing team ever complemented one
another any more effectively than LeRoy R. and Ann W. Hafen.
Their ten-year collaboration on the 15-volume The Far West and
Rockies Historical Series and their joint authorship of Colorado:
A Story of the State and its People are two examples of the couple's
remarkable cooperative effort. But their autobiography also re-
veals a rapport between two human beings rarely achieved. As
LeRoy Hafen expressed it: "Ann and I held almost identical views
BOOK REVIEWS 149
on most things — on what was good poetry or prose writing, on
poHtical and social problems, on religious and philosophical ques-
tions, on what was important in life and conduct." Thus, the
Hafens' autobiography is more than simply a story of two creative
people devoted to recovering Western history and lore; it is a love
story with tenderness and depth.
Despite the common interests of the Hafens, each was a distinc-
tive creator in his own right. Ann was a poet, storyteller, and
dramatist; many of her poems are incorporated in the book. Sev-
enteen months before her passing she was made Poet Laureate at
the First World Poetry Congress at Manila in the Phillipines in
1969. LeRoy Hafen, former state historian for Colorado and
history professor at Brigham Young University, is a prolific his-
torical writer who is still active, notwithstanding his many years of
productive scholarship — "the rocking chair has no appeal as yet."
His list of publications, thus far, includes over 40 books which he
has authored, co-authored, or edited.
The Hafens' autobiography should reveal, especially to budding
historians, the dynamics of successful scholarly production. Their
drive and self discipline are apparent in the narrative of this auto-
biography as well as in their accumulation of notable books and
periodical articles. Both kept careful records of their life and all
that they observed. Ann religiously kept a diary for over 30 years.
LeRoy learned to keep his records on 4-by-6 inch cards while
studying at Berkeley as part of the famous "Bolton School." Their
learning and growing was not confined to the library or study,
however; every major or side trip included visits to historical
shrines or locations. Survivors of America's pioneering past were
interviewed whenever and wherever possible. As history was their
passion and travel was essential, because they insisted on com-
pletely immersing themselves in the subject, theirs was a full and
active life.
The reader of this book will learn much about Western history.
LeRoy Hafen's description of his Mormon boyhood in Bunkerville,
Nevada, is in itself a discerning study of pioneer life. Also, when
the Hafens visited Western landmarks and sites, many of them
unmarked, they recorded their experiences. Many of these are
included in the book with appropriate historical background.
Although the transitions from one subject to another are some-
times abrupt, the skillful writing throughout the book makes for
enjoyable reading.
University of Northern Colorado Robert W. Larson
150 ANNALS OF WYOMING
From Beaver to Oil. A Century in the Development of Wyoming's
Big Horn Basin. By David J. Wasden. (Cheyenne: Pioneer
Printing & Stationery Co., 1973). Index. Bib. Illus. 350
pp. $9.95.
Wyoming's Big Horn Basin has long been considered a distinct
geographic area, but few scholars have attempted to write a com-
prehensive history of the Basin. To date, the best study has been
Charles Lindsay's The Big Horn Basin, published in 1932, and
now relatively scarce. Recognizing this dearth of pubUshed mater-
ial, David J. Wasden began a project in the late 1960s to "make
available the recounting of past happenings in the Basin to more
people." Mr. Wasden's lengthy research resulted in From Beaver
to Oil. As a long-time resident of the Basin, this reviewer was
especially pleased to see the publication of this work.
This study concentrated on the period between 1807 and 1910,
although this rule has not been strictly followed. Wasden reaches
back to the latter part of the 1 8th century to discuss the possibility
that the French Verendrye brothers reached the Big Horn Basin in
their explorations, and he goes beyond 1910 to discuss oil and
reclamation developments.
The topical, almost anecdotal style in the latter part of From
Beaver to Oil detracts somewhat from the narrative flow of the
work, but much useful information about selected topics is pre-
sented in this format. The letters of Victor Arland, for instance,
offer invaluable information about economic conditions early in
the Basin's history. Railroads, schools, mail service, churches and
newspapers are just some of the topics discussed.
Mr. Wasden's intentions should be applauded by scholars and
casual readers alike, for he has focused attention on a long-
neglected area of Wyoming. Unfortunately, a serious problem
within the book's structure needs to be pointed out. In his "Intro-
duction" Mr. Wasden comments that Charles Lindsay's 1932
publication was the "inspiration" for beginning his project, and in
the "References" section, he explains that much of his work is
based on Lindsay's book. But Mr. Wasden's failure to footnote
his sources prevents the reader from being able to tell what parts
were written by Lindsay, and what parts by Wasden. A com-
parison of the two books shows that most of Lindsay's The Big
Horn Basin is copied verbatim in From Beaver to Oil, without ben-
efit of quotation marks. In fact, the first half of Mr. Wasden's
book is basically a reproduction of the Lindsay book, with some
modifications. What Mr. Wasden has produced is two books
under one title — a slightly edited version of The Big Horn Basin
and 17 chapters of new material. The contribution of From Bea-
ver to Oil could have been greater had Mr. Wasden utilized less of
the Lindsay work, or had he presented the book as a new edition of
The Big Horn Basin, with additions by David J. Wasden. In the
BOOK REVIEWS 151
present version, Mr. Wasden's own valuable research is subor-
dinated by its appearance as addenda to the Lindsay material.
Mr. Wasden's desire to make Charles Lindsay's book available to
more people is commendable, but he might have taken more care
in differentiating between his own work and that of Mr. Lindsay.
Wyoming State Archives Bart R. Voigt
Historical Department
Bent's Old Fort. An Archeological Study. By Jackson W. Moore,
Jr. Historical Introduction by Dwight E. Stinson, Jr. (Boul-
der: Pruett Publishing Company and State Historical Society
of Colorado). Index. Bib. lUus. 144 pp. $14.95.
Jackson W. Moore is an archeologist with the National Park
Service. Besides his work at Bent's Fort, he has undertaken
archeological projects in several different National Park Service
areas including Fort Laramie National Historic Site. He presently
is with the National Park Service Division of Archeology and His-
toric Preservation in Washington, D. C.
As the author acknowledges, the manuscript of this book, in a
slightly different form, was submitted as a thesis in partial fulfill-
ment of the requirements for an M.A. degree in anthropology at
the University of Oklahoma.
In the historical introduction we learn that Bent's Fort was con-
structed of adobe in 1833 along the Mountain Branch of the Santa
Fe Trail near the present-day town of La Junta, Colorado. It was
built by the brothers Charles and William Bent and their partner
Ceran St. Vrain for the purpose of trading with Indians and inde-
pendent mountain men in that part of the country. It also engaged
in business in the two-way traffic of trade groups between Missouri
and the Mexican territory around Santa Fe.
The fort served as a supply depot during the Mexican War in
1846 and 1847. However, the great tide of immigrants after the
discovery of gold in California brought about incidents with the
Indians. As a result of this trouble, business declined and in the
summer of 1849, William Bent abandoned the fort. The structure
deteriorated until 1861 when it was occupied by the Barlow San-
derson Overland Mail and Express Company and used until 1881.
The fort continued to deteriorate even though the local chapter
of the Daughters of the American Revolution became interested in
perpetuating the memory of the historic site. The title to the
property was transferred to the state of Colorado in 1954. An act
of Congress established Bent's Fort National Historic Site; the
National Park Service took over the administration of the site on
March 15, 1963.
152 ANNALS OF WYOMING
The book includes a study of the architecture and a room-by-
room archeological investigation of the fort site. The study is
illustrated by several drawings and photographs. Many significant
architectural details such as wells, stairways, basements and fire-
places were located during the project.
Numerous artifacts were uncovered during this study. Besides
an informative text, the author includes several illustrations of
artifacts such as old bottles, various types of ceramics, including
clay smoking pipes, firearms, cartridges, gunflints, glass trade
beads, household articles and buttons found at the site.
This archeological study was undertaken by the National Park
Service from 1963 to 1966. The author tells us that "the main
purpose of this project was to provide the necessary data for the
reconstruction of the site to its condition at a salient point in
history." Although the reconstruction of the fort may not be
attempted in the near future, the archeological information will be
available.
The entire book is a scholarly contribution to western frontier
history. Students and researchers especially interested in the
history of the Santa Fe Trail, the Rocky Mountain fur trade, the
Mexican War and the early history of the state of Colorado should
find this publication a useful and important reference.
Fort Laramie National Historic Site W. J. Petty
The Bone Hunters. By Url Lanham. (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1973.) Index. Illus. 285 pp. $10.
Lanham has written a lively account of paleontological science
as it was practiced and as it developed during the 1800s, especially
in the western United States. He gives us a view of the activities
and character of several men active in paleontology at this time
including Hayden, Powell, King, Sternberg, Hatcher, WilHston,
Leidy, Osborn, Reed, Grinnell, Marsh and Cope. When he gives
the reader a view of their tremendous contributions to their field of
study, he also exposes the warts of these competing personalities.
Here we see science in the raw with many of the elements of a good
soap opera present: greed, cheating, lying, stealing and character
assassination. He humanizes rather than deifies these men, thus
giving a realistic view of 19 th century science and scientists who
were, after all, merely human. All of these men in their own way
helped in the exploration and subsequent promotion of the west as
an immense and potentially productive region.
The major early paleontological explorations in the West were
most numerous in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Montana, Nebraska,
South Dakota, New Mexico and Kansas during the 1850-1900
period, with the greatest activity in the 1870s. During this decade
BOOK REVIEWS 153
field work was conducted at a fantastic rate despite incredibly
limited financial resources. Work was primarily fueled by intense
interest, curiosity and competition.
In The Bone Hunters we see a west that has been rarely por-
trayed and one never seen in the popular media. Here there were
no cowboys, outlaws or the ubiquitous cows, and Indians were
seen but not heard. The Indian was visible but in a way different
from the usual image. Here in the world of the fossil hunter the
Indian was holder of lands in which there was a rare commodity —
fossils which were as eagerly sought as gold. Permission was some-
times obtained to travel and collect on Indian lands, if not, a
military escort was often necessary. Even in the difficult times
of the Indian Wars the pioneer paleontologist traveled widely in
search of his fossils.
Although Lanham writes the history of the efforts of pioneer
vertebrate paleontologists working in the West, his story revolves
primarily around the careers of two of the most dynamic, Othneil
Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope. These two men were
neither creators of their field of research nor did they have the
final word, but they made hundreds of significant contributions to
paleontology and geology, many of which are still important today.
Marsh began his career in the early 1860s. He received his
education at Yale and in Germany and upon returning from Ger-
many took an unpaid professorship at Yale, all supported by his
rich uncle, George Peabody. His field work in the West began in
1868 in the badlands of South Dakota and continued into the
1870s with army support. In subsequent years he worked in the
Fort Bridger and Como Bluff areas of Wyoming. Even though
he retired from field work after 1874 he maintained crews in the
field for many years afterwards. During the 1880s Marsh climbed
into progressively more powerful positions. In 1882 he became
the vertebrate paleontologist for the United States Geological Sur-
vey, a position he held until 1892. The vast collections of speci-
mens accumulated during his professional lifetime were given to
Yale University before his death in 1899.
Cope, who began his career in 1859, conducted his first field
work in the West in 1871 at the Smoky Hill beds in Kansas. By
1875 he had reported on 84 species, nearly all of which were new.
He became a member of the Geological Survey staff in 1871 and
went to the Bridger Basin for field work, which was considered by
Marsh to be trespassing on his own private domain. This dispute
over the collecting area created an animosity that, although it was
low key, continued for nearly 20 years. Cope's career, although it
paralleled that of Marsh in time, was characterized by considerably
more time in the field and by a variety of teaching and other jobs.
While the 1880s were good years for Marsh they were difficult
ones for Cope. In 1884 he gave up collecting but continued to
publish frequently as he had earlier. In 1895, because of a need
154 ANNALS OF WYOMING
for money, he sold his huge collection to the American Museum of
Natural History in New York. He died in 1896.
In the early stages of their careers Marsh and Cope were friends
but they gradually became bitter and somewhat irrational enemies.
After 1890, what had previously been a submerged animosity be-
came an open feud with each bent upon the destruction of the
other's scientific and moral reputation. Accusations of stealing
data, spying, lying and misrepresentation and incorrect identifica-
tion of data were hurled back and forth. At one point one of them
even went so far as to have unwanted fossil remains smashed so
as to prevent the other from acquiring them.
The Bone Hunters should prove to be exceptionally interesting
reading for anyone with an interest in western history, geology or
paleontology. Many of us who think of the west in terms of
covered wagons, forts and Indian attacks will have revealed an
aspect of the west that is ordered around other than survival prob-
lems. Indeed, we will get little of the frontier "feeling" from this
book and that is what makes it so interesting.
Arizona State Museum James E. Ayres
Vnited States Military Saddles, 1812-1943, By Randy Steffen.
(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1973). Index.
lUus. 158 pp. $7.95.
This volume is a long awaited work by the well-known artist,
illustrator and author, Randy Steffen. Steffen has combined his
many talents to produce a type of work not often published by a
university press. United States Military Saddles is a highly spe-
cialized study, but it should be of interest to museologists, collec-
tors of military equipment and students of western and military
history.
According to Steffen, three items were essential for cavalry
operations — a horse, weapons and a saddle. He provides a tightly
woven narrative describing military saddles with brief references
to the types of weapons used. Fortunately, horse equipments in-
cluding bridles, saddle bags and other accessories are also touched
upon. Unfortunately these passages are all too brief, yet one must
remember that the book does focus its attention on saddles. At
best it can be lamented that it was thought necessary to so narrowly
confine the volume's scope.
Beginning with various Dragoon saddles from 1812 through the
1 840s and continuing with descriptions of different contract sad-
dles before and after the Civil War, the author proceeds with a
detailed study of the well known McClellan saddles. Thereafter
he discusses experimental saddles and officers' riding equipment
used from 1912 to the abandonment of U. S. military horse troops
BOOK REVIEWS 155
in 1943. The final chapter of the book covers miscellaneous
freighting, artillery, packer and driver saddles.
Using such adjectives as glorious, colorful and exciting, the
author describes the role of horse-mounted troops in American
history. Thus intertwined with the story of military saddles, this
is quite helpful. Yet, being so enamored with his subject, the
author tends to give the cavalry too much glamour, glitter and
glory. The book does not have a bibliography but some sources
are listed within the text. The quality of the text and the number
of sources Hsted suggest that the book is not as detailed or
thorough as some collectors would like. As it is, the volume has
popular appeal and will serve as a general reference.
Gracing most pages of this book are skillful line drawings
accurately showing the numerous types of saddles. Many illustra-
tions show fully packed rigs and soldiers wearing appropriate
uniforms and carrying the correct arms and accouterments. The
number and quality of illustrations is more than adequate and these
drawings serve to distinguish the volume from other antiquarian
works which often lack acceptable detailed pictures.
This book has been in the works for some time. Steffen has
succeeded rather well in overcoming the handicap of having his
notes burned. The Company of Military Historians has endorsed
the book "as an accurate and useful reference work in American
military history." Anyone buying United States Military Saddles
will have invested well.
Wyoming State Archives and James H. Nottage
Historical Department
Letters of Long Ago. By Agnes Just Reid. Introduction by Brig-
ham D. Madsen. (Sak Lake City: Tanner Trust Fund.
University of Utah Library, 1973). Index. Illus. 93 pp.
$9.50.
A Mormon Mother, An Autobiography. By Annie Clark Tanner.
(Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1973). Index.
lUus. 346 pp. $10.
Both of these books deal with the lives of women whose hard-
ships, frustrations and persevering spirits helped to color the tapes-
try of the West — Idaho and Utah — in the late 1 800s.
Letters of Long Ago is actually a collection of recorded incidents
in the life of a young woman, Emma Just, as related to her daugh-
ter, Agnes Just Reid. Written in letter form, the vook contains
possible letters that Emma Just had written to her father in En-
gland, Mrs. Reid wrote the incidents her mother had told her
156 ANNALS OF WYOMING
through the years and after she had written them she checked them
with her mother for authenticity.
The book deals with struggles on the frontier to establish a home
and raise a family in the most trying of times, as experienced by a
sensitive and determined young woman. Emma married George
Bennett at the age of 1 5, was separated from her parents who were
headed back to England, and shortly thereafter was abandoned by
Bennett, four months before their first child was born.
Two years later she married Nels Just and her life of tragedies
and joys continued; the birth of five sons and five daughters. Only
one of the daughters survived, Agnes Just Reid, author of the
book.
Annie Clark Tanner's autobiography, A Mormon Mother, is an
objective, fascinating account of a woman who entered a Mormon
polygamous marriage.
Her account of her courtship with Joseph Marion Tanner is of
particular interest to those who have sparse knowledge of the
details of polygamy.
In introducing her future husband in the book, Mrs. Tanner
wrote as follows: ". . . my impression guided me most favorably
toward Mr. Tanner. As a teacher he seemed perfect. There
seemed to be no limit to his knowledge. He gave lectures on
various subjects all winter. He took me or asked me to come and
see his first wife. We had our secret meetings and I felt favored
above all the other girls in the school. Often I heard them express
admiration for Mr. Tanner, but I said nothing. It was enough to
know that he admired me."
Mr. Tanner began a correspondence with the writer after she
had returned home from school. He asked that her correspon-
dence to him go through his first wife. Soon Mr. and Mrs. Tanner
visited Annie Clark, and Mr. Tanner proposed that he take Annie
for a walk.
'i replied," she said, 'No, not for the world would I make Mrs.
Tanner feel badly. This is her outing and she is my guest.' "
"The next morning she and I went for a buggy ride which was
the customary way to entertain friends in the country. Mrs. Tan-
ner, having observed that I had been comparatively indifferent to
her husband, brought up the subject of polygamy. I told her that
without her approval, our affair was at an end.
■' 'Why?' she answered, 'don't you love him?' "
" 'Independent of that,' I replied, 'without your approval, our
interest in each other will go no farther.' "
Annie Clark eventually married Joseph Tanner, on December
27, 1883, in Salt Lake City with the first Mrs. Tanner (Aunt
Jennie) at the ceremony.
Following the ceremony all three, Mr. Tanner and the two Mrs.
Tanners, took the northbound train. The bride got off at Farm-
ington and the other two went on to Ogden.
BOOK REVIEWS 157
Because of the political climate against polygamy Annie Clark
Tanner became a member of "the underground," moving from one
location to the other through arrangements made by friends or one
of the church authorities.
Prosecution under the Edmund's anti-polygamy law meant se-
vere penalties and such cases were being vigorously carried on by
federal authorities in Utah and Idaho courts. Religious men felt
it their duty, if they were to be promoted by the church, or to enjoy
the Celestial Kingdom of Heaven, to enter into polygamy.
Readers of these books will find them interesting. However,
20th century women will writhe in indignation at the subservient
manner in which women were regarded in that era.
While reading these two books, one has the inclination to say,
"Good heavens, can't someone help these women?"
University of Wyoming Pat Queal
Horace Tabor: His Life and the Legend. By Duane E. Smith.
(Boulder, Colorado: Colorado Associated University Press,
1973) Index. Illus. 395 pp. $12.50.
Duane A. Smith's Horace Tabor is the biography of a colorful
and remarkable figure in Western history whose life spanned the
years of 1830 to 1899. The subject, of course, has all the in-
gredients of high tragedy and of melodrama: soaring ambition,
reckless speculation, lust, opulence, victory, extravagance, and
ruin, all displayed against the background of late 19th century
Denver.
Tabor was born in Holland, Vermont, where his early years
were spent on the farm and at the village school. He was a stone-
cutter for eight years. In 1855 he joined a company of Free-Soil
emigrants to Kansas and in 1856 and 1857 was a member of the
Topeka legislature, returning to Vermont to marry on January 31,
1857, Augusta Pierce daughter of his former employer, after the
legislature was dispersed by order of President Pierce. He next
moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1859 and in the following \ear to
California Gulch (later Leadville) where he engaged in mining and
mercantile pursuits, quickly amassing a small fortune. In 1878-
1879 he was Leadville's first mayor, and he became the first lieu-
tenant governor of Colorado, in 1879, holding this office until
1883, when he was elected senator, to fill the unexpired term of
Henry M. Teller, who had been appointed secretary of the interior.
He served from February 1 to March 3. At this time his fortune
was estimated at $9,000,000. He erected a fine opera house at
Leadville and built the Tabor block and the Tabor Opera House in
Denver, the latter costing nearly $ 1 ,000,000.
158 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Now at the height of his success, Tabor at age 52 fell in love
with a 28-year-old divorcee nicknamed "Baby Doe." His wife
was quickly divorced and he married Elizabeth Doe secretly on
September 30, 1882, and he re-married her publicly on March 1,
1883, with President Chester Arthur as a guest of honor. Smith
marks the start of his fall with the statement: "In the 1880's
Tabor's money flitted hither and yon in search of still greater
financial bonanzas, like a flood spreading thinly over the landscape
and then slowly receding." His gambles multiplied and his specu-
lations became wholly indiscriminate. Promoters sold him worth-
less mines in Mexico and South America, timber lands in Central
America, and railroads built on paper. Then the production of his
mines decreased and the price of silver declined; to bolster weak
holdings he mortgaged sound ones; and the crash of 1893 and the
repeal of the Sherman Act left him bankrupt. Heroically but
vainly he tried to recoup his losses. He was old and broken in
1898 when friends secured him appointment as postmaster of
Denver, and the following year he died on April 10, survived
by his wife and two sons. Baby Doe lived until 1935, when
she was found frozen to death in a shack beside the Matchless
Mine. Smith concludes that one facet that stands out throughout
Tabor's life was "his restless pursuit of instant wealth." Psycho-
logically his character was marked by inner conflict which mani-
fested itself by periods of boldness and resolution, followed by
indecision and uneasiness.
This biography is of importance as it succeeds well in presenting
Tabor in all his complexity, and gives new insights into early
Western mining business activities. Smith's research is careful,
his style pleasant and the book is embellished by a number of
striking photographs of Tabor and his family.
University of Southern Mississippi Philip A. Kalisch
Silver San Juan. The Rio Grande Southern. By Mallory Hope
Ferrell. (Boulder: Pruett Publishing Co., 1973). Index.
Illus. 643 pp. $19.95.
This is a sad book in several respects — not in the author's style
or intent — but because the Rio Grande Southern was built as a
mining railroad only to have much of the mining on its route de-
cline soon after it was completed. Tragically, it was abandoned
just before it might have become a prime tourist attraction. It
ended its days by carrying mostly sheep and cattle, somewhat more
prosaic than gold and silver ore. Such was the history of the Rio
Grande Southern, born in 1891, died in 1951. It ran from
Durango to Mancos, Dolores, Rico, Telluride, and Ridgway, Colo-
rado, connecting with the Denver and Rio Grande at each end and
BOOK REVIEWS 159
winding through some strikingly beautiful parts of the San Juan
mountains. This latter attribute never endeared it to the construc-
tion workers or to those whose job it was to keep the tracks open
through the annual winter snowslides.
Those few brief words could delimit its history but would not
tell the story of the engines, the cars, and the men who kept this
railroad running for six decades. The author, a railroad historian
with previous books to his credit, correctly focuses on these aspects
in a book probably two-thirds of which is photographs. One might
even surmise that Ferrell fell in love with Engine Number 20, it
appears so often in picture and prose.
Silver San Juan is a photographic joy to behold, enhanced by
paintings by Howard Fogg, well-known railroad artist, among oth-
ers. It is easy to catch Terrell's enthusiasm and his love for this
railroad and the country it ran through. Railroad buffs and Colo-
rado San Juan enthusiasts won't quibble over the price.
One might have wished for a slightly more careful historical
framework and overall research; for example, the photographic
caption on page 133 leads the reader to assume that Bryan was in
Telluride in 1896, which he was not. Also, a little more on
Telluride and Rico mining problems and production would have
helped explain the railroad's early 20th century history. This is
nit-picking and is not meant to detract from what Ferrell and
Pruett Publishing Co. have done; it is a fine work. They have
collaborated to produce a book that should stand for many years
as a tribute to a railroad and its era.
Fort Lewis College Duane A. Smith
This Was Cattle Ranching. Yesterday and Today. By Virginia
Paul. (Seattle: Superior Publishing Company, 1973). Index.
Illus. 192 pp. $13.95.
Wilderness and the American Mind. By Roderick Nash. (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1973). Rev. ed. Index.
300 pp. Cloth, $10; paper, $2.95.
Two Great Scouts and Their Pawnee Battalion. The Experiences
of Frank J. North and Luther H. North. By George Bird
Grinnell. Foreword by James T. King. (Lincoln: Univer-
sity of Nebraska Press, 1973). Bison Book. Index. Map.
299 pp. $3.45.
Contributors
Virginia Cole Trenholm holds two degrees from the Univer-
sity of Missouri and she has served on the faculties of Stephens
College and of Park College. She is the author of Footprints on
the Frontier and The Arapahoes, Our People, and co-author, with
Maurine Carley, of The Shoshonis, Sentinels of the Rockies and
Wyoming Pageant. The ethno-histories of the two Indian tribes,
published by the University of Oklahoma Press, are in their highly
acclaimed Civilization of the American Indian Series. Mrs. Tren-
holm is presently editing, revising and updating the Wyoming
Historical Blue Book. Her home is in Cheyenne.
Homer Franklin, Sr., co-editor of the Wilham Riley Franklin
journal, is a retired educator Uving in Lubbock, Texas. His son.
Homer Franklin, Jr., who worked with him in preparing the
journal for pubhcation, is a graduate of Texas Technological Col-
lege in Lubbock. A chemical engineer, he works for a consulting
firm in Houston.
Richard F. Fleck and Robert A. Campbell, co-authors of
"A Selective Literary Bibliography of Wyoming," are both assis-
tant professors of English at the University of Wyoming. Pro-
fessor Fleck has edited selections of Henry David Thoreau's pre-
viously unpubhshed Indian notebooks, which will be published in
book form later this year by Hummingbird Press, Albuquerque.
Professor Campbell is currently editing three unpublished letters of
Robert Louis Stevenson, and is also compiling a biography of
Charles Kingsley.
Myrtle Chalfant Gregg, who now lives in Farmington, New
Mexico, still actively follows her hobby interests in Hereford cattle
and flower gardening.
Jean Lassila, her great-niece, is a descendant of Wyoming pio-
neers. Her paternal grandfather was John Shepherd Day who
came to Wyoming in 1885 and later owned a ranch in Fremont
County. Her maternal great-grandfather was Peter Heagney, who
moved to Wyoming in 1867 and helped build Fort Caspar. She
was graduated from the University of Wyoming, and received a
Ph. D. in organic chemistry from Yale University. She is a former
special lecturer at Case Institute of Technology and a former
research associate at Iowa State University. She has pubUshed
CONTRIBUTORS 161
articles in chemical research journals and is a co-author of three
chemistry textbooks. She presently lives in Ames, Iowa, with her
husband, Kenneth Lassila, and their two children.
Peter W. Dunwiddie, at present affiliated with the Institute for
Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, com-
pleted his undergraduate work at that University this year. He is a
Wisconsin native, but has visited Wyoming frequently in recent
years. He writes that "My great love has been the Wind River
Mountain Range, from which I gained my first real appreciation
of the mountain men. . . . My fascination with the history, the
country and the people of Wyoming grows with each visit, one of
which I hope to make permanent."
Judex:
Albright, Joel, 73
Allison, Sen. W. B., 31
"Amanda Mary and the Dog Sol-
diers," by Virginia Cole Tren-
holm, 5-46
American Fur Company, 131
Anthony, Maj. Scott J., 7
Arlington. 5, 12
Arnston, Arthur N., 45
Ayres. James E., review of The
Bone Hunters, 152-154
B
Banner, Mr. and Mrs. Harold, 117
Bear River, 63
Beauvais, George P., 32
Bell. Agnes (Mrs. Isaac), 44
Bent, Charles, 22, 30
Bent, George, 9, 21, 22, 30, 32
Bent. Col. William, 34. 36
Benton. Thomas Hart, 126, 130
Bent's Old Fort. An Archeological
Study. By Jackson W. Moore, Jr.,
review, 151-152
Berthaton. 114
Bessemer Bend, 114, 116
Bessemer Mountain, 115
Big Sandy, 62
Boggs. Thomas O., 31
The Bone Hunters. By Url Lanham,
review, 152-154
Bristol, Mr., 114
Broken Bow, Nebr., 113
Brockman. John, 71
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, 30
Buxton, Marshal, 117
Chalfant, Josephine, 113
Chalfant, Margaret, 113, 116
Chalfant, Milo, 113-114
Chalfant, Nimrod E., 113
Chalfant, Robert, 113
Chalfant, Scott, 113, 116
Cheney, Bert, 116
Cheyenne, 30, 34
Chicago and Northwestern Rail-
road, 113
Childers, Arthur, 120
Chimney Rock, 54
Chivington, Col. John M., 7, 33
Clark, Dan, 116
Clark, Rollo, 116
Clarkson, Joe, 114, 115
Cody, William (Buffalo Bill), 22,
30, 39
Coffman, James R., 51
Colby, L. W., 36, 38
Cole, Col. Nelson A., 32, 33
Collins, Col. W. O., 9, 10, 11, 21
Colter, John, 32, 126
Comstock, Bill, 19, 21, 22
Connor, Gen. (P.E.), 11, 32, 34
Cook, Amanda Mary Fletcher, 5-46;
photos, 26, 27
Cook, William E., 24
Council Grove, 73
Countryman, Ethel, 116
Coutant, C. G., 39
Craig, Rev., 1 17
Crawford, Nebr., 113
Crook, Gen. George, 43, 44
Crouse, Jack, 116
Custer, Gen. George A., 11-12, 19,
20, 21, 23, 39, 41; letter to
Amanda Fletcher, photo, cover;
text, 4
Cache Valley, 129
Campbell, Robert A., and Richard
F. Fleck, "A Selective Literary
Bibliography of Wyoming," 75-
112: biog., 160
Cantlin, Major, 1 17
Carey, Judge (Gov.) J. M., 118
Carson, Kit, 31
Casper, 12, 39, 113-122
D
Davis, Theodore, 21
Dean, Dr., 117
Denecke, — , 117
Dodge, Gen. Grenville M., 11
Douglas, Justice William O., 75
Dryer, Maj. Hiram, 18; Mrs., 18
Dunwiddie, Peter W., "The Nature
of the Relationship between the
Blackfeet Indians and the Men of
the Fur Trade," 123-133; biog.,
161
INDEX
163
Evans, Gov. John E., 7, 12, 21
Evans, Edith, 117
The Expeditions of John Charles
Fremont. Vol. II: The Bear
Flag Revolt and Court-Martial,
ed., Mary Lee Spence and Don-
ald Jackson, review, 147-148
Parr, Mary Elizabeth, 5, 6, 12, 13,
15, 32, 42, 45
Farr, Judge Merrill R., 5, 12, 45
Ferrell, Mallory Hope, Silver San
Juan. The Rio Grande Southern,
review, 158-159
Ferris Mountains, 114, 115
Fitzpatrick, Thomas, 20
Fleck, Richard F., and Robert A.
Campbell, "A Selective Literary
Bibliography of Wyoming," 75-
112; biog., 160
Fletcher, Jasper, 38
Fletcher, Jasper, Jr., 13, 27
Fletcher, Lizzie, 5, 12, 16, 19, 20,
21, 31, 32, 39, 43
Fletcher, Miss Lizzie (Buffalo Bill's
Wild West Show), 30
Fletcher, Mary Ann Limb, 18, 24,
32, 41
Fletcher, Oscar, 13, 29, 34
Fletcher, William, 13, 25, 34
Forts and Camps
ColHns, 11
Douglas, 19
Halleck, 10, 11, 21, 22
Kearny, 11, 48
Laramie, 10, 11, 16, 57
Earned, 18
Leavenworth, 19
Lyon, 7, '32, 33
Mitchell, 10
Piegan, 133
Riley, 19
Washakie, 39, 115
Zarah, 18, 19
Franklin, Homer, Sr., ed., "Journal
of William Riley Franklin to Cal-
ifornia from Missouri in 1850,"
47-74; biog., 160
Franklin, Homer, Jr., ed., "Journal
of WiUiam Riley Franklin to Cal-
ifornia from Missouri in 1850,"
47-74; biog., 160
From Beaver to Oil. A Century in
the Development of Wyumins^'s
Big Morn Basin, by David J. Was-
den, review, 150-151
Gale, Surgeon John, 130
Gary, Ed, 32
Gothberg, Martin A., 117
Graham, R., 127, 130-131
Grand Central Hotel, 117
Green River, 129
Greenwood, Abe, 116
Gregg, Will, 115
Gregg, Floyd, 121
Gregg, Gertrude, 114
Gregg, James, 114-122
Gregg, James and Myrtle, photo,
116
Gregg, Mattie, 1 14
Gregg, Myrtle Chalfant, 113; photo,
116; biog., 160
Greybull, 116
Grieve, Jack and Alma, 115
Grouard, Frank, 39
H
Haas, R. P., 45
Hale, Lt. Joseph, 19
Hall, Pat, review of The Expedi-
tions of John Charles Fretnont.
Vol. II, The Bear Flag Revolt and
the Court-Martial, 147-148
Hanger, Charles, 17, 18, 19, 29. 34,
35, 38, 39
Harford, Thomas, 18
Heagney, John, 1 17
Hell's Half Acre, 118
Helmer, David S., 72
Helmer, John, 72
Hemmingway, Mr., 117
Hendry, Anthony, 124, 127
Henry, Alexander, 132
Henry's Fork. 129
Hoag, — , 29
Horace Tabor: His Life and the
Legend, by Diiane A. Smith, re-
view, 157-158
Howard County, Nebr., 113
Howard, Mrs. Reuben, 18
Hubbard, Thomas J., 73
Hudson's Bay Company. 124-125
Hughes, Postmaster. 117
Humbolt River. 64-65
Humbolt Sink, 65-66
164
ANNALS OF WYOMING
I
Independence Rock, 60, 115
Indians
Agents and Agencies
Upper Arkansas Superinten-
dency, 12
Wind River Indian Reservation,
5. 39
Colley, Samuel G., 7
Fitzpatrick, Thomas, 18
Jarrot, Vital, 12
jMiles, John D.. 28, 29
Poole, L. H., 30
Whitely. Simeon, 12
Whitfield. J. W., 20
Chiefs and Individuals
Beardy, 21
Black Bear, 10, 21, 32
Black Kettle, 7, 9, 23, 33
Brokenhorn, John, 5, 40-46;
photo, 42
Brokenhorn, Lizzie (Sarah), 40-
46; photo, 42
Brown, Mike, 44
Cut Nose, 4, 19, 20, 21, 32
Friday, 11, 12, 21
Ha (h)-nabe-no-ha. See Broken-
horn, Lizzie
Kills in Time, See Brokenhorn,
Lizzie
Left Hand. 7, 18
Little Owl, 21
Little Raven, 9. 10, 12, 17, 18,
21, 23, 33
Little Shield, 21
Lone Bear, See Brown, Mike
Medicine Man, 12, 20, 21
Minimick, See Sand Hill
Nam-e-sum, See Cut Nose
Nee-mai-Rear, (Neei-mia-Reah.)
See Sand Hill
Nei-mir-vier. See Sand Hill
Neva, 18
No-ta-nee, 18
One Eye, 32
Pawnee Killer, 9, 16
Sand Hill, 9, 15, 16, 22, 24
Snake Woman, 17
Spotted Tail, 9, 16
Walker. See Walks Ahead
Walker Horn. See Walks Ahead
Walks Ahead, 45
Yellow Bear, 21
White Bull. 21
Tribes
Arapaho, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17,
18, 20, 24, 28, 33, 37, 38, 39,
40, 41, 43, 45, 46
Arapaho, Northern, 9, 11, 16,
20, 21
Arapaho, Southern, 7, 9, 23
Blackfeet, 123-133
Blood, 123
Gros Ventres, 133
Piegan, 133
Siksika, 123-133
Brule Sioux, 9, 16
Cheyenne, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18,20,
23, 24, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33,
34, 37, 38
Cheyenne, Northern, 20
Cheyenne, Southern, 7, 23
Comanche, 10
Crow, 44, 126
Flathead, 126
Kiowa, 10, 17
Oglala Sioux, 9, 16
Pawnee, 1 1
Shoshone, 40
Sioux. 6. 10, 11, 12, 23, 40
Soldier Societies
Dog Soldiers, 11, 15, 16, 17,
18, 20, 21, 22, 30, 33
Treaties
Horse Creek Council, 20
Medicine Lodge Treaty, 18
Treaty of 1865, 33
Warfare
Deer Creek Station, 1 1
Fletcher wagon train, 13-15
Julesburg, Colo., 9, 10
Little Big Horn, Battle of, 23
Little Laramie Station, 14
Mud Springs Station, 10
Platte Bridge. Battle of, 12
Rock Creek, 12, 16, 18
Rock Creek Crossing, 21
St. Mary's Station, 11
Washita, Battle of the, 23
Iron Creek, 114
Jackson, Andrew, 131
Jackson, Donald, ed.. The Expedi-
tions of John Charles Fremont.
Volume II. The Bear Flag Re-
volt and the Court-Martial, re-
view, 147-148
Johnson, George, 116
INDEX
165
Johnston, 115
Josendahl, Mr., 116
"Journal of William Riley Franklin
to California from Missouri in
1850," ed. by Homer Franklin,
Sr. and Homer Franklin Jr., 47-74
The Joyous Journey of LeRoy R.
and Ann W. Hafen: An Auto-
biography, review, 148-149
Judith River Basin, 124
K
Kalisch, Philip A., review of Horace
Tabor: His Life and the Legend,
157-158
Kimbal, John, 72
Kimball, William P., 25
Kimball, Wilson, 117
King, C. H., 115
Lander, 115
Lanham, Url, The Bone Hunters,
review, 152-154
Laramie, 12
Larimer, Sarah, 6
Larpenteur, Charles, 128
Larson, Robert W., review of The
Joyous Journey of LeRoy R. and
Ann W. Hafen: An Autobiography,
148-149
Lassila, Jean, comp., ed., "Life in
Natrona County, 1899 to 1900 -
Recollections of Myrtle Chalfant
Gregg," 113-122; biog., 160
Leeper, Dr., 117
Letters of Long Ago, by Agnes Just
Reid, review, 155-157
Lewis, Reuben, 130
"Life in Natrona County 1899 to
1900 - Recollections of Myrtle
Chalfant Gregg," compiled and
edited by Jean Lassila, 113-122
Lisa, Manuel, 126, 128
Lodge Pole Creek, 10
Lusk, 113-114
Luttig, John C, 126
M
McGrath, Black Jack, 117
McGrath, Red Jack, 117
Martin & Cushman, 36, 37
Martin, W. W., 26, 36
Mary's River (Humbolt River), 64
Matheny, Prof., 1 17
Medicine Bow (area), 10-11
Menard, Pierre, 130
Military
First Colorado Cavalry, 7
7th U. S. Cavalry, 19
Third Regiment of Colorado
Troops, 7
Miller, Alfred Jacob, 133
Mills, Alex, 116
Missouri Fur Company, 130
Missouri River, 124
Missouri river, crossing, 50
Mokler, A. J., 39, 41, 43
Momaday, N. Scott, 75
Moonlight, Col. Thomas, 11, 33
Moore, Jackson W., Jr., Bent's Old
Fort. An Archeological Study,
review, 151-152
Morgan, T. J., 33
A Mormon Mother. An Autobiog-
raphy, by Annie Clark Tanner,
review, 155-157
Morris & Hanger, 24
Muir, John, 76
Murphy, Thomas, 18, 19
Myres Grand Canyon, 64
N
Tlie Natrona County Tribune. 39
Natrona Hotel, 117
"The Nature of the Relationship be-
tween the Blackfeet Indians and
the Men of the Fur Trade," by
Peter W. Dunwiddie, 123-133
Needham and Cotton. 37, 38
New Jersey and Trenton Banking
Company, 132
Nicolaysen Lumber Yard. 117
Nickerson, Capt. Hermon G., 39.
40, 41
North Chugwater Creek, 12
North Platte River, 114
Nottage, Jim, review of United
States Military Saddles. 1812-
1943, 154-155
O
"The Oaks," photo. 8
Olmstead. Eugene, 119
Olmstead. John. 115, 119
Ogden, Peter Skene, 125
Overland Stage Route, 5. 10. 12. 22
Overland Trail. 10
166
ANNALS OF WYOMING
Pacific Spring, 61
Pathfinder Dam, 119
Patton, Hugh, 117
Perkins, B. W., 35
Perkins and Chandler, 37
Petty, W. J., review of Bent's Old
Fort. An Archeological Study,
151-152
Plumb, Lt. Col. Preston B., 22
Poisal, John, 17
Poisal, Margaret, 17
Poisal, (Pizzel), 18
Poisal, — , 17, 24
Powder River Expedition, 32
Prowers, Mrs. John W., 32
Pryor, Josephine, 47
Queal, Pat, review of Letters of
Long Ago, and A Mormon Moth-
er, An Autobiography, 155-157
R
Ranches
CY, 117
Goose Egg, 120
Rattle Snake Plains, 118
Rawlins, 119
Reid, Agnes Just, Letters of Long
Ago, review, 155-156
Ricker, Charles, 114, 120
Ricker, Mr., 118
Riverton, 44
Roberts, Lynn, 115
Rock Creek Crossing, 5, 32
Rock Creek Station, 14
Rohrbaugh, Dr., 117
Royce, Ed, 114
Royce, Owen, 114
Rush Creek, 10
Ryan, Mike, 114
St. Stephens Indian Mission, 44, 45
Salathe, Dr., 120
Sanborn, Gen. John B., 32, 33
Sand Creek, 117
Sand Creek Massacre, 6, 7, 16, 33
Sand Creek, Colo., 18
"A Selective Literary Bibliography
of Wyoming," by Richard F.
Fleck, and Robert A. Campbell,
75-112
Shakespeare, Tom, 75
Sharp, Joe, 115
Sheridan, 115
Silver San Juan. The Rio Grande
Southern, by Mallory Hope Fer-
rell, review, 158-159
Smith, Dan, 116
Smith, Duane A., Horace Tabor:
His Life and The Legend, review,
157-158; review of Silver San
Juan. The Rio Grande Southern,
158-159
Smith, Frank and JuHa, 116
Smith, J. Q., Commissioner of In-
dian Affairs, 28, 29
Smith, John, 24
Smoky Hill Road, (Route), 20, 21
South Pass, 11
Speas, Dan, 116
Spence, Mary Lee, ed.. The Expedi-
tions of John Charles Fremont.
Volume H: The Bear Flag Revolt
and the Court -Martial, review,
147-148
Standard Oil Refinery, 120
State Industrial Convention, 120
Steffen, Randy, United States Mili-
tary Saddles, 1812-1943, review,
154-155
Stevens, John A., 30
Stinson, Dwight E., Jr., intro. to
Bent's Old Fort. An Archeolog-
ical Study, review, 151-152
Stroud, Mother, 118
Sullivan, Pat, 117
Sweet Water river, 60, 116
Talbot, Theodore, 20
Tappan, Col. Samuel F., 33
Tellinghast, B. F., 30
Thomas Fork, 62
Thompson, C. S., 40, 41
Thompson, David, 125
Titus, Chief Justice John, 25
Tongue River, 10, 32
Trenholm, Virginia Cole, "Amanda
Mary and the Dog Soldiers,"
5-46; biog., 160
Trevette, Mr. and Mrs., 117
Trollope, Henry, 116
INDEX
167
U
United States Military Saddles, 1812-
1943, by Randy Steffen, review,
154-155
Upshaw, A. B., 29, 30
"Utah Road," 19
Voigt, Bart R., review of From
Beaver to Oil, A Century in the
Development of Wyoming's Big
Horn Basin, 150-151
W
Ward, Harry, 118
Ward, Levin, family, 114, 115
Ward, Seth W., 33
Warren, Sen. Francis E., 40
Wasden, David J., From Beaver to
Oil. A Century in the Develop-
ment of Wyoming' s Big Horn
Basin, review, 150-151
Weaver Creek, 71
Webb, Sheriff, 119
Webel, Charles, 117
Woodard, Charles, 120
Wright, 117
Wynkoop, Maj. E. W., 7, 18, 19. 24
"Wyoming State Historical Society.
Twentieth Annual Meeting," 135-
146
WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL
DEPARTMENT
The Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department has as its func-
tion the collection and preservation of the record of the people of Wyoming.
It maintains the state's historical library and research center, the Wyoming
State Museum and branch museums, the Wyoming State Art Gallery 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, auto-
biographical accounts.
Business records of industries of the state: livestock, mining, agriculture,
railroads, manufacturers, merchants, small business establishments and of
professional men such as bankers, lawyers, physicians, 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, eco-
nomic and pohtical life of the state, including their publications such as
yearbooks and reports.
Manuscript and printed articles on towns, counties and any significant
topic dealing with the history of the state.
Early newspapers, maps, pictures, pamphlets and books on western
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 Wyoming and with
special events in the state's history.
Original art works of a western flavor including, but not limited to,
etchings, paintings in all media, sculpture and other art forms.
^mals of Wyoming
Jail 1974
WYOMING STATE LIBRARY, ARCHIVES AND
HISTORICAL BOARD
Judicial
District
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Donald N. Sherard
Mrs. William Swanson
Mrs. Frank Emerson
Mrs. George W. Knepper
Richard I. Frost, Chairman
Willis Hughes
William T. Nightingale
Member at Large Kenneth E. Dowlin
Wheatland
Rawlins
Evanston
Buffalo
Cody
Moorcroft
Lander
Casper
Ex-Officio
Attorney General David B. Kennedy Cheyenne
WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL
DEPARTMENT
STAFF
William H. Williams Director
Robert L. Strickland Director, State Museums
Mrs. Katherine Halverson Chief, Historical Research
and Publications Division
Mrs. Julia Yelvington Chief, Archives and Records Division
ANNALS OF WYOMING
The Annals of Wyoming is published biannually in the spring and fall
and is received by all members of the Wyoming State Historical Society.
Copies of previous and current issues also are available for sale to the public
and a price list may be obtained by writing to the Editor.
Communications should be addressed to the Editor. The Editor does not
assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by the con-
tributors.
Annals of Wyoming articles are abstracted in
Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life
Copyright 1974, by the Wyoming State Archives and
Historical Department
A^^als of Wyoming
Volume 46 Fall, 1974 Number 2
Katherine Halverson
Editor
John W. Cornelison
Associate Editor
Published bianmially by the
WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL
DEPARTMENT
Official Publication of the Wyoming State Historical Society
WYOMING STATE LIBRARY, ARCHIVES AND
HISTORICAL BOARD
Judicial
District
1
Donald N. Sherard
Wheatland
2
Mrs. William Swanson
Rawlins
3
Mrs. Frank Emerson
Evanston
4
5
6
7
Mrs. George W. Knepper
Richard L Frost, Chairman
Willis Hughes
William T. Nightingale
Buffalo
Cody
Moorcroft
Lander
Member at Large
Ex-Officio
Kenneth E. Dowlin
Attorney General David B. Kennedy
Casper
Cheyenne
WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL
DEPARTMENT
STAFF
William H. Williams Director
Robert L. Strickland Director, State Museums
Mrs. Katherine Halverson Chief, Historical Research
and Publications Division
Mrs. Julia Yelvington Chief, Archives and Records Division
ANNALS OF WYOMING
The Annals of Wyoming is published biannually in the spring and fall
and is received by all members of the Wyoming State Historical Society.
Copies of previous and current issues also are available for sale to the public
and a price list may be obtained by writing to the Editor.
Communications should be addressed to the Editor. The Editor does not
assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by the con-
tributors.
Annals of Wyoming articles are abstracted in
Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life
Copyright 1974, by the Wyoming State Archives and
Historical Department
Mmls of Wyoming
Volume 46
Fall, 1974
Number 2
Katherine Halverson
Editor
John W. Cornelison
Associate Editor
Published biannually by the
WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL
DEPARTMENT
Official Publication of the Wyoming State Historical Society
WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OFFICERS 1974-1975
President, Henry Jensen Lysite
First Vice President, Jay Brazelton Jackson
Second Vice President, Russ Varineau Fort Bridger
Secretary-Treasurer, Miss Jane Houston Cheyenne
Executive Secretary, William H. Williams Cheyenne
Past Presidents
Frank L. Bowron, Casper 1953-1955
William L. Marion, Lander 1955-1956
Dr. DeWitt Dominick, Cody 1956-1957
Dr. T. a. Larson, Laramie 1957-1958
A. H. MacDougall, Rawlins 1958-1959
Mrs. Thelma G. Condit, Buffalo .1959-1960
E. A. Littleton, Gillette 1960-1961
Edness Kimball Wilkins, Casper 1961-1962
Charles Ritter, Cheyenne 1962-1963
Neal E. Miller, Rawlins .1963-1965
Mrs. Charles Hord, Casper 1965-1966
Glenn Sweem, Sheridan 1966-1967
Adrian Reynolds, Green River 1967-1968
Curtiss Root, Torrington 1968-1969
Mrs. Hattie Burnstad, Worland 1969-1970
J. Reuel Armstrong, Rawlins 1970-1971
William R. Dubois, Cheyenne 1971-1972
Henry F. Chadey, Rock Springs 1972-1973
Richard S. Dumbrill, Newcastle 1973-1974
The Wyoming State Historical Society was organized in October, 1953.
Membership is open to anyone interested in history. County Historical
Society Chapters have been organized in Albany, Big Horn, Campbell,
Carbon, Crook, Fremont, Goshen, Hot Springs, Johnson, Laramie, Lincoln,
Natrona, Niobrara, Park, Platte, Sheridan, Sweetwater, Teton, Uinta,
Washakie and Weston Counties.
State Dues
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Zable of Contents
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER
By Karen L. Love 173
THE 1850 OVERLAND DIARY OF DR. WARREN HOUGH 207
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS
By Fred R. Gowans
The Fort on Willow Creek 217
Fort Bridger Claims and Counter Claims 237
BILL NYE IN THE SOUTH
By Doris Lanier 253
THE WYOMING PORTION OF THE CUSTER EXPEDITION
OF 1874 TO EXPLORE THE BLACK HILLS
Trek No. 25 of the Historical Trail Treks 263
Compiled by Mabel Brown
BOOK REVIEWS
Wilhelm, Travels in North America, 1822-1824 281
Bloom, The American Territorial System 283
Eaton, The Overland Trail. To California in 1852 284
Savage, The Cherokee Strip Live Stock Association: Federal
Regulation and the Cattleman's Last Frontier 286
McKee, The Last West. A History of the Great Plains of North
America 287
Marquis, Cheyenne and Sioux. The Reminiscences of Four
Indians and a White Soldier 289
Ellsworth, Dear Ellen. Two Mormon Women and Their Letters .... 290
Metz, Pat Garrett. The Saga of a Western Lawman 291
CONTRIBUTORS 293
INDEX 294
ILLUSTRATIONS
J. B. Okie Cover
J. B. Okie Mansion at Lost Cabin 184
Fort Supply 220
Present Site of Fort Supply 235
Fort Bridger 240
Lewis Robison 244
The cover photo of J. B. Okie is used through the
courtesy of Karen L. Love.
Filler material in this issue of Annals of Wyoming
is excerpts from Records of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, Selected Documents Concerning the Admin-
istration of Indian Affair at the Upper Platte Agency.
Record Group 7.
/. ^. Okie
Cost Cabin Pioneer
PART I
By
Karen L. Love
This study of J. B. Okie was researched and compiled as a master's
thesis submitted to the Division of American Studies, University of
Wyoming, in May, 1972. The study was financed in part through a
Grant-in-Aid awarded to Mrs. Love in 1971 by the Wyoming State
Historical Society.
INTRODUCTION
The Badwater country is treeless and dry. Its emptiness can
make the most independent spirit feel lonely. Its unpredictable
weather can ruin the most ambitious and hard-working rancher.
The dusty, rolling hills that stretch for miles seem indistinguishable
to an eye accustomed to pines, oaks, or mountains to break the
monotony. The land around Badwater Creek will probably always
be isolated because to most people it is extremely inhospitable
country. The few who choose to live there are grateful for its
emptiness because it protects their land and keeps it much as it
has always been.
Very few people who travel Highway 20 between Casper and
Shoshoni ever turn north at Moneta to explore the long, deserted
road leading toward the Owl Creek Mountains. The few who do
are probably some of the 50 people who live at Lysite or some of
the 25 people who live at Lost Cabin. They, along with several
scattered individuals in the Casper and Riverton areas, already
know the name J. B. Okie, and as it is spoken today, it brings
back a flood of recollections about the early days on Badwater
Creek. Those people would be amazed if they knew that the name
is barely mentioned in the more recent books on Wyoming history.
To them J. B. Okie was such an important character in the history
of central Wyoming that forgetting him would be like forgetting
exactly who it was that discovered America.
To the student of Wyoming history in the 1970s, J. B. Okie
might be a man of little interest and less importance. The name
receives scant mention in the widely acclaimed History of Wyo-
ming by T. A. Larson or in Lewis Gould's Wyoming: A Political
History 1868-1896. Wyoming, American Guide Series, never
174 ANNALS OF WYOMING
mentions Okie's name or the town of Lost Cabin, yet it relates
many of the fascinating tales of the state's by-ways. The one book
that pays much attention to him is Alfred J. Mokler's History of
Natrona County 1888-1922. Mokler, Okie's good friend, wrote
his book seven years before Okie's death; he included only uncon-
troversial material dealing more with the town of Lost Cabin than
with J. B. Okie. Mokler wrote too early to tell Okie's whole story
objectively. Almost 50 years later, however, it still waits to be
recorded. The few fragile people left who actually knew the man
will take the story with them and that could be the end of it. But
in light of the great respect still held for Okie 42 years after his
death and the intriguing tales still passed around about the man,
as well as the community's continuing curiosity to learn the truth,
the effort to preserve this small part of Wyoming's past is justified.
The deserted road leading north from Moneta gives access to
the primary clue that a fascinating story is being forgotten. The
road passes over dry hills and colorful badlands that are part of
the geological Wind River formation. The land is almost barren
of vegetation, because the formation lacks the chemicals needed
for their growth. Pronghorn antelope herds browse for what little
vegetation there is between the alkali flats that form in the low
areas. Before coming to Lysite, the road goes over a low pass with
red and white badlands formations on both sides. Here 55 million
years ago eohippus, the three-toed horse, roamed, grazed, and
died, leaving his fossils on this hilltop for his neighbors in time to
find. In the spring the Wind River formation shows its worst side
when it characteristically fails to drain off the spring rains and
becomes thick with mud. Before the road was maintained by the
county, spring travel was an unpleasant experience.^
Passing through Lysite, now just a store, a school, and several
houses, a dirt road continues three miles up Badwater Creek. Lost
Cabin appears at first as only a grove of huge old cottonwood
trees in the distance. The town is now comprised of seven houses,
several large deserted buildings, and an enormous stone mansion.
Here J. B. Okie homesteaded, built an empire, made his million,
and lived with an elegance seldom seen in the early West. Here,
too, he died. Lost Cabin today gives only a few clues to its former
prosperity. A warehouse-size structure with large plate glass win-
dows is now deserted and the glass so dusty it shuts out the sun-
light. This was the administration building for the Bighorn Sheep
Company, owned and operated by J. B. Okie. The bunkhouse
across the road still looks somewhat like an old railroad station
despite the remodeling being done to convert it into a house.
Down toward the creek the collapsing ruin of the old general store
1. J. David Love, U. S. Geological Survey, personal interviews in Lara-
mie, Wyoming, 1971 and 1972.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 175
waits for a strong wind to finish the job started by years of neglect.
By climbing over fallen boards and piles of debris, the curious can
still get inside to see the long staircase leading up to the balcony
where ranchers' wives could try on fashions from as far away as
Paris and London. Beside the store stands the old warehouse,
and beyond it on the edge of the hill is the power plant that pro-
vided carbide lighting and, later, electricity for the town. Down
over the hill and across the creek is the old stable where the Okies
once kept remount stallions and prize Belgian horses.
By far the most conspicuous building left standing is the man-
sion. The Thomas Spratts live there now and maintain the house
in excellent condition. But the elaborate concrete fence that once
surrounded an immaculately groomed lawn now surrounds only
waist-high grass and shaggy shrubs. The grass hides four small
tombstones, marking the graves of J. B. Okie, two of his sons,
and his brother Howard. The mansion itself is a more appropriate
gravestone for Okie, however, because he was never bound by Lost
Cabin. Old-timers remember him as the man up in the tower of
the mansion, looking out, with an eye for opportunity, over the
expanse of his empire.
J. B. Okie's vigor did not result from a western upbringing. An
absolute eastern "greenhorn," he claimed 400 years of British
aristocracy in his family background.- The Okie family had dis-
tinguished itself in the east since 1660 when the first paternal
ancestor landed in America. This was John Okey who, as a
colonel of dragoons under Oliver Cromwell, had decided to emi-
grate after the accession of Charles II. Abram Okie, J. B. Okie's
great-grandfather, enlisted as a volunteer in the Grenadier Corps
of the Duke de Lauzun and also served in America in the Revo-
lutionary War. He married Abigail Carone, of French descent,
and later became president of the Western Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia and one of the founders of the Girard Trust Com-
pany.'^ J. B. Okie's father was a prominent physician who counted
Abraham Lincoln among his patients.^ He married Susan J.
2. Mrs. A. D. Macfarlane, personal interview in Casper, Wyoming, June,
1971.
3. "John Brognard Okie," National Cyclopaedia of American Biography,
1927, XVII, p. 325. Okie's nephew, Frederick WiUiam Okie, appears in
Volume K, p. 170 of this same series, but he lists his paternal ancestors a
little differently than J. B. Okie did. According to Fred Okie, the first
ancestor to come to America was Janse Van Nuys Auke who came from the
Netherlands in 1651 and settled in New Amsterdam (New York). The
spelling of the family named changed through five generations from Auke
to Ouke, and finally to Okie under J. B. Okie's grandfather.
4. Love interview; "Empire for Sale," Time, XXXXV, (June 11. 1945),
19: Kathryn Hammons, "J. B. Okie; Pioneer Sheepman" (unpublished
manuscript).
176 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Pitcher, a descendent of the famous Molly Pitcher, and from this
marriage came John Brognard Okie.^
A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
William Thompson Okie and Susan Pitcher Okie were living in
Madison, Indiana, when their first son, John, was born December
10, 1864. Four other children followed shortly thereafter: How-
ard, Frederick, St. Claire, and Grace. The family moved to New
Jersey and finally to Washington, D. C. where the children were
educated. At the age of 16, John was appointed a cadet at the
school of the United States Revenue Marine. With this group,
according to one source, he was taken on a surveying field trip in
the West. As the boys were working in the field, one of their
instructors offered a casual opinion that was to set the direction of
J. B. Okie's life. "A man could get rich out here," was the off-
handed comment.® But by this slender, blue-eyed boy^ the remark
was not taken casually. He was bright, inquisitive, opportunistic,
and his imagination had been aroused. The subsequent return to
the military school must have seemed unbearably dull and restric-
tive. The freedom and opportunity of the West never let Okie's
imagination rest until the next year 1882, when he resigned as a
cadet.^
Setting off alone for Wyoming on the Union Pacific, Okie must
have caused considerable anxiety for his parents. Their first-born
was rejecting their hopes of an education for him and running off
to follow some wild dream about getting rich in the West. He was
only 17 years old. But J. B. Okie boarded that train, nonetheless,
and who knows but that his parents were a little envious. Okie's
father, who had been a respected physician all his life, could not
have been unaware of the excitement of such a wild adventure.
Okie's mother, too, must have viewed the adventure a little wist-
fully because several people recall that she was the source of the
vigorous, opportunistic spirit her son had inherited.^ Who knows
what schemes developed in the boy's mind as he watched the Great
Plains rush by his window. No one who ever knew Okie would
doubt that even at 17 he knew exactly what he would do. He was
never known to hesitate when advising people in later Hfe even on
the most complex problem. His mind was quick, unusually ac-
curate, and he had great faith in his own ability. When this
5. Valentino Baima, personal interview in Nevada City, Calif., August,
1971.
6. An anonymous interview, June, 1971.
7. Hugh S. Day, personal interview in Riverton, February, 1972.
8. Hammons, "Pioneer Sheepman," p. 2.
9. Baima interview, August, 1971.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 177
slightly-built boy got off the train at Rawlins, those who saw him
may have wondered about his future, but J. B. Okie undoubtedly
knew he could "get rich out here."
When Okie arrived in Rawlins in May, he had only what little
money was left from the $150 his mother had given him to come
west. The train ticket had used up a large portion of it, so the boy
needed a job immediately. Captain R. A. Torrey, deciding to take
a chance on the boy, hired him as a cowboy for $25 a month.'"
Being a Wyoming cowboy in 1882 took more than imagination, as
this five-foot, nine-inch greenhorn soon discovered. He must have
taken a lot of "ribbing" from the other cowhands because he
always admitted in later years that he had been a "damn poor
cowboy. "'' The experience, however, was invaluable.
In late August he headed east again with hopes of borrowing
some capital to give him a start in the sheep business. By October
he was back in Wyoming, again working as a cowboy with nothing
to show for his trip but promises. His luck changed by November
when his mother sent him $4500 on the condition that the sheep
purchased would be entirely hers but they would divide the profits
equally. Okie immediately bought 1000 ewes, 16 bucks, two
teams of horses and a wagon. He was on his own at last. For the
first few months he herded his thin, scabby sheep along the Sweet-
water River south of Lander and from there moved them over to
Beaver Creek. '^ The other herders in the area nicknamed him
"the cadet" because he still wore his old Revenue Marine uniform.
A gulch near Lander where he ranged his sheep is still known as
Cadet Draw.'-^
Okie saw the Badwater country for the first time in the summer
of 1883. He had put his sheep in with A. D. Bright's band and
hired on with him as a herder, hoping that his sheep would im-
prove with better care. With another of Bright's herders, Okie
drove the entire band from Beaver Creek across 55 miles of un-
settled country to Badwater Creek at the foot of the Owl Creek
Mountains. The trip took the two men over rolling, treeless
country, spotted with occasional water holes and the sun-bleached
remains of thousands of buffalo. When they finally reached the
shade of the cottonwood trees along Badwater after their long,
dusty ride, the area must have seemed like an oasis. The one long
trip probably made Badwater seem especially beautiful and may
have influenced Okie's decision to settle there permanently. Okie's
10. Susan P. Okie v. John B. Okie, United States District Court case 884,
testimony of J. B. Okie, 1902, Federal Records Center, Denver, Colorado.
11. Day interview.
12. S. P. Okie V. J. B. Okie, testimony of J. B. Okie.
13. Mary Helen Hendry, "The Big Tepee," Casper Star-Tribune, March,
1967.
178 ANNALS OF WYOMING
son, Van, in later years described his father's first impression of
the Badwater Country:
With plenty of water, trees, level arable land, and the Big Horn
Mountains not far away, forming a semi-circle on the north, this spot
would be protected from winter's polar blasts and free of the winds
which tear across the open plains. Here was the place to settle and
build a castle among the hills; here a man might erect an empire of
his own and be his own master. No white man had settled here
before him. No human habitation was closer than the few cabins at
Thermopolis, sixty-five miles to the west, in the Big Horn Basin.
This was a country of great silence, broken only by the occasional
ripple of the stream, the rustling of the leaves of the cottonwoods
and willows disturbed by the breeze. ^^
The banks of the Badwater had long been a favorite camping
place for the Shoshone Indians. They had always camped in the
shady stream bottoms close to the water and fallen wood. Years
before Okie's arrival, a flash flood had roared down the valley,
torn through the tepees of the Indians camped there, and drowned
a great many people before they could escape to higher ground.
Subsequently, their name for this clear, fresh, mountain stream was
Badwater. ^^'
The Shoshones were not the only men to precede Okie to the
Lost Cabin area. About 20 years prior to his coming, an incident
occurred that was the basis for a legend about the region which
still exists 100 years later. Seven Swedes had accidently made a
fabulous gold strike in 1864 somewhere near the headwater of
Badwater Creek. Before they could reach a settlement to tell of
their find, Indians killed five of them, and one was driven insane
by the fatigue and exposure of the return trip. One man was left
to tell of their strike and deposit the $7000 worth of gold dust
in the safe at Fort Laramie. Several times men organized expedi-
tions to search for the lost mine and the cabin the seven men had
built near it, but always they ended in failure or death. The last
sane prospector was killed in one of these expeditions, leaving the
insane man jabbering meaningless jargon about the Lost Cabin
Mine. As time passed, many people began to regard the story as a
fabrication of distraught minds; but always the buckskin bag of
gold bore silent witness to the truth of the story. i*'
Whether J. B. Okie ever had dreams of finding the Lost Cabin
Mine or whether he ever made an effort to search for it is uncer-
14. Van Guelder Okie, an unfinished story of J. B. Okie's life in Lost
Cabin, pp. 1-2, J. B. Okie biographical file. Western History Research Cen-
ter, University of Wyoming.
15. Ibid., p. 2.
16. Rex Lewis, "The Myth of the Old Lost Cabin Mine," (unpublished
paper, W.P.A. file, Wyoming State Archives, Cheyenne, Wyoming, April 24,
1936), produced in full in the appendix of this work.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 179
tain. But in 1883 as a young man of 19 in lonesome country, he
had to be less concerned with gold and more concerned with
keeping his flocks alive during the winter. His vagabond brother,
Howard, came out during 1883 and 1884 to help herd sheep. ^'
That first winter the two lived in an eight-by-ten tent and survived
on bacon, potatoes, and water.^^ In the fall of 1884 they began
work on the first cabin. They built it without nails, chinked the
cracks with mud from the creek banks, and covered the roof with
sod. The windows and doors were merely openings covered with
parts of packing cases or stray pieces of canvas, while the only heat
was the camp stove. ^'* Crude as it was, that dugout cabin, built on
the bank of the creek, served as the only shelter for three winters.
Howard had left to continue his life of adventure elsewhere in
1885. Okie, meanwhile, had separated his sheep from Bright's
band and had begun an independent operation with headquarters
in the little dugout by the creek. On his twenty-first birthday, his
mother gave him half interest in the sheep he had been herding for
four years.-"
In the spring of 1887 Okie was ready to expand his operations
further. He wanted to clear some land of sagebrush, dig irrigation
ditches, and begin some farming. To implement this plan, he
needed tools and more men. Rawlins was the closest supply
center, so Okie hitched up his team and started the 20-day round
trip. On this trip he would meet his future wife, Jeannette
Anderson.
The Andersons were Swedish homesteaders who lived some
distance from Rawlins. Their daughter, Jeannette, had to live in
town with another family to attend school. She Uved with Pro-
fessor C. L. Wells, principal of the grammar school, and a widower
who needed help caring for his young daughter.-^ Okie first saw
Jeannette at the little frame hotel that faced the single dusty street
in town. After a long winter in a ten-by-twelve dugout cabin, to
Okie this blonde, buxom, Scandinavian girl of 20 must have
seemed like a dream. Finally, in the general store he found a
chance to talk to her and learned that she sang in the choir at
church services. The next Sunday Okie, feeling especially reli-
gious, was seated in the one-room schoolhouse where services were
held, saying his prayers with the others and waiting for the choir
to sing. At a community dance a few days later, he joined the
usual long stag line and managed to get a few dances with Jean-
17. S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, testimony of J. B. Okie.
18. Percy Shallenberger, "In Memory of John B. Okie," oration given
at Okie's funeral, November 10, 1930, p. 3, J. B. Okie biographical file,
Western Research Center, University of Wyoming.
19. V. G. Okie, story of J. B. Okie, p. 2.
20. S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, testimony of J. B. Okie.
21. Baima interview.
180 ANNALS OF WYOMING
nette. She must have been somewhat impressed with the hand-
some, dignified young man who represented eastern culture, be-
cause she promised to see him again in the fall.--
Okie headed back to Badwater with six hired men, extra teams
and tools. That summer, work commenced with a new vigor.
Eighty acres of land were cleared of sagebrush for the planting of
alfalfa and grain. The men dug ditches for irrigation water and
built a dam to hold the spring run-off. They also constructed a
log stable and corrals for the sheep and horses. Finally, as if he
had special plans, Okie built a new and larger cabin up on the hill
away from the danger of floods. ^^
In the middle of October the young man set out again for
Rawlins with high hopes. He had corresponded with Jeannette as
much as possible and had also written to his mother in Washington,
D. C, telling her all about this new girl.-^ Jeannette must have
felt the same, because she accepted his proposal. They were
quietly married in the home of Professor Wells;-"' afterwards they
started on their honeymoon trip to Lost Cabin in a supply wagon
loaded with the winter's stores.-*^ Finally the wife of a cultured
eastern gentleman, Jeannette found herself spending her wedding
night shrouded in a tarp under the supply wagon as a blizzard
howled around them.-^
The first ten years of this marriage may well have been the
happiest in either of their lives. They were working together and
working hard to build the Okie empire at Lost Cabin. The beau-
tiful Swedish girl was not idle while her husband provided her a
living. For years before Lost Cabin had its first doctor, Jeannette
filled the role for the community, using her handy book on homeo-
pathic medicine.-^ When Okie brought to Lost Cabin the first
steam shearer in the United States, Jeannette demonstrated the
method before a large group of shearers, sheep owners, wool
buyers, and Casper citizens. She sheared her sheep in less than
five minutes, astounding the onlookers.-^
Her quick thinking and strong stomach once helped her save the
life of a ranch hand. The man had for some reason entered the
elk pasture where Okie was trying to domesticate several bull elk.
One of the elk attacked the man and began goring him with its
huge antlers. Jeannette, who had seen from the house what was
happening, rushed out with a gun and pelted the animal with
22. V. G. Okie, story of J. B. Okie, p. 4.
23. Ibid.
24. Baima interview.
25. Fremont Clipper (Lander), October 22, 1887.
26. V. G. Okie, story of J. B. Okie, p. 4.
27. Baima interview.
28. Ibid.
29. Annals of Wyoming, January, 1949, p. 100.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 181
buckshot.-^" She then pulled the man from the pasture and took
him to the house where she cleaned the gaping wound in his
stomach. Taking needle and thread, she sewed up the wound
while the man lay fully conscious on the kitchen table watching
her. He totally recovered.-^^ In Jeannette, Okie had found a good
pioneer wife, a hard worker, a sturdy and competent woman.
The Okie family began to grow almost immediately. John, Jr.,
was born in 1888 followed by Howard in 1890 and St. Claire in
1892. Van and Jeannette came along in 1893 and 1896, respec-
tively.-^- Paul was born in 1898 but lived to be only four before
he contracted diptheria during the 1902 epidemic in Lost Cabin.-^'^
James joined the family in 1901 but was to enjoy only fifteen years
of a normal life-^^ before becoming totally paralyzed by encepha-
litis.^^ The youngest child, Mary, was born in 1903.^^
His eight children were no financial hardship to J. B. Okie be-
cause his business operations continued to provide a good living.
In 1891 when he was only 27, people already referred to him as
"the sheep king."^' By 1893 he found it to his financial advantage
to form the Bighorn Sheep Company, issuing his mother 50 per-
cent of the stock for her half ownership of his sheep.-^'' Okie also
bought out the Smith Mercantile Company in Casper that year and
set up his youngest brother, Fred, as manager. •^•' Fred, having
recently graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio, had followed his
two older brothers to Wyoming. ^'^ With his genial personality and
business ability, Fred seemed like the person to make Okie's first
mercantile store a success. He became a well-known and well-
liked Casper citizen who was looked to for advice on financial and
investment matters by men twice his age.*^
By 1895 J. B. Okie was ready to expand again. He had lumber
hauled by freight wagon the 85 miles from Casper and built the
first of many Bighorn Sheep Company mercantile stores. In fol-
lowing years he built similar stores in Arminto, Lysite, Kaycee,
30. V. G. Okie, story of J. B. Okie, p. 5.
31. Baima interview.
32. Petition for Probate of Will, filed December 11, 1930, Clerk of
Courts, Fremont County, Wyoming.
33. Van Guelder Okie, unfinished autobiography, p. 20, J. B. Okie
biographical file. Western History Research Center, University of Wyoming.
34. Day interview.
35. Letter from Kathryn Hammons, March 1, 1972, quoting St. Claire
Okie Hayden.
36. Petition for Probate of Will.
37. Wyoming Derrick (Casper), January 1, 1891.
38. S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, testimony of J. B. Okie.
39. Natrona Tribune (Casper), July 20, 18^3.
40. Ibid., August 1, 1895.
41. Ibid., July 11, 1895.
182 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Moneta, and Shoshoni."*- As his wealth expanded through both
the sheep business and the mercantile business, Okie gained the
respect of the people of Fremont County. They elected him
to the state legislature once, and several times as a delegate to state
and national political conventions. In Casper, meanwhile, Fred
was making a success of the Casper Mercantile, had been elected
city clerk, and had bought a fine new house, a handsome stallion,
and a "nobby" new buckboard for his talented and well-educated
new wife.^"^ The offspring of Susan and William Okie seemed
happily on their way to financial success.
In August of 1895, WilUam Okie died in Washington, D. C.
Although he had not supported his family for almost 20 years and
had never been close to his sons, the death of William Okie seemed
to foreshadow bad luck for both Fred and J. B.^^
In December, 1897, Fred made the mistake of letting himself be
overcome by the Casper Mountain gold fever. Perhaps he was
tired of working for his brother who was becoming rich the slow
but steady way. Whatever his motives, they were strong enough to
allow him to ignore the lessons of experience. Nine years before,
the visions of quick millions had first encircled Casper Mountain
in a golden mist. Rumors spread, excitement soared, and mining
plans blossomed. The sounds of pick and drill were brief, how-
ever, and by late 1892 the miners realized that no one was going to
become a miUionaire mining Casper Mountain. Dreams of quick
wealth, always slow to die, created a second surge of interest
around 1895. The Casper Mountain Copper Mining Company
sold $10,000 worth of stock in a town that had three years before
been totally discouraged. Promises of 20 carloads of ore a day
came to nothing. Finally a third surge of interest began in Octo-
ber, 1897. The newspapers reported the strike as "one of the
greatest discoveries of gold-bearing rock yet discovered in Central
Wyoming or perhaps in the state." Wild dreams took shape in the
Klondike and the Tillie Miller claims. Stories of rich assay spread
with as much excitement and enthusiasm as they had in 1888 and
1895.«
Fred Okie caught the gold fever in December, 1897, claiming a
strike adjoining the Klondyke claim. The Natrona Tribune re-
ported that Okie "expects to find 'millions in it' before the spring
time comes. "^^^ By April the assay results showed that Okie's Hat
Six claim would give at the most $4.40 a ton at 100 feet below the
42. Natrona County Tribune (Casper), April 24, 1902.
43. Natrona Tribune, July 23, 1896; May 7, 1896; May 14, 1896.
44. S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, exhibit letter from S. P. Okie to J. B. Okie,
April 30, 1898.
45. Alfred James Mokler, History of Natrona County, Wyoming 1888-
1922 (Chicago: R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 1923), p. lOOff.
46. Natrona Tribune, December 2, 1897.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 183
surface. The last mention of Fred Okie's million-dollar claim was
that the mill would be put up as soon as possible and development
begun. ^^ Three months later, after several other problems had
compounded his despair, Fred Okie and his wife packed up and
left for New York. The paper merely reported, "He will engage
in business of some kind; but at present he is not sure what he
will do."*«
Besides Fred Okie's embarrassment in the mining business, three
other difficulties probably contributed to his decision to leave
Casper. For some yet undiscovered reason, perhaps because of
Fred's departure, the Casper Mercantile closed in July, 1898, the
month Fred left, and J. B. Okie had all the merchandise removed
to his store in Lost Cabin. ^" Secondly, in the month that Fred was
reading his assay reports, his little daughter caught a severe cold
that almost caused her death. '''" Then late in May of 1898 an
epidemic of spinal meningitis struck Casper. A dozen children
were infected in one day. Mothers and children evacuated the
town immediately until hardly a child was left on the streets.
Every family watched fearfully for the appearance of the dreaded
fever and purple spots. Once a child was stricken, there was no
hope. His muscles would become rigid, his head would draw
back, and the poor child would scream in pain. Finally the little
patient would become stupid and deaf, and death would come
within 48 hours. Mrs. Fred Okie was understandably among
those who fled east on the train with their children. The two
doctors in Casper in 1898 knew little about the disease, so the
only hope came from a group of citizens who claimed the disease
was caused by the unsanitary conditions in Casper. The residents
began a campaign to clear the streets of garbage and to dismantle
the cow corrals and hog pens in the middle of town. In a month
all signs of spinal meningitis had disappeared, and the mothers and
children began to return. •'^^ But the frightening experience must
have been too much for the young eastern woman because Helena
Okie did not bring her child back to Casper. Instead Fred Okie
closed the Casper Mercantile and went east.
J. B. Okie and Jeannette remained behind with their growing
family and their steadily growing empire. J. B.'s dreams were
more practical that his brother's, and his wife was a sturdy western
ranch girl who was accustomed to the unpredictable life in the new-
state of Wyoming. Life, however, was not necessarily any smooth-
er for the J. B. Okies; Jeannette contracted a serious case of
47. Ibid., April 28, 1898.
48. Ibid., July 14, 1898.
49. Ibid.
50. Ibid., April 7, 1898.
51. Mokler, Natrona County, pp. 183-4.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 185
pleurisy that turned into pneumonia, forcing her to spend the
winters in Washington with Okie's mother.-''- In 1902, four-year-
old Paul Okie and a neighbor, Marty Willoughby, came down with
diptheria. By the time a doctor could be summoned from Ther-
mopohs, both boys were dead."'-^ To add to the difficulties, Okie's
mother brought suit against him for $50,000 as a result of business
problems. "^^ Once his reputation as a rich man became established,
Okie was sued quite often.
Nevertheless, life at Lost Cabin was not always filled with dis-
appointment and tragedy. The Okies were by this time most
assuredly rich. Their log cabin, which had grown in the 1890s
like a chambered nautilus adding compartments, was finally re-
placed with an elaborate stone mansion in 1901. The family could
afford world travels that few in the area could ever hope for.
They filled their mansion with exotic furnishings and trappings
imported from all over the world. The children were sent to the
finest schools. In March, 1906, J. B. Okie further indulged his
taste for luxury and brought the first automobile to central Wyo-
ming.^^ All in all, in the first decade of the new century, the
Okies were doing very well. The Bighorn Sheep Company was
prospering, the chain of mercantile stores had a virtual monopoly
on business in the area, and Okie owned enough land and water
rights to assure his future success.
But once again personal problems began to disrupt their life.
Storm clouds arose as early as 1902, although yet impossible to
recognize. The Natrona County Tribune gave brief mention in
September of that year to the event that began the trouble. 'The
telephone hne was completed to Lander on Tuesday of this week
and to Lost Cabin on Saturday. The people along the line find it
a great convenience and a great saving of time and money to
transact their business by telephone."''** Within a year Herbert G.
Lovett of Los Angeles, arrived in Casper to take over the manage-
ment of the telephone exchange. ^^ With him came his wife of one
year, Clarice. The Lovetts were not just another young couple
moving into Casper; Clarice was said to be the most beautiful
woman in Wyoming.^*^ She was also vivacious, well-educated, and
52. V. G. Okie, story of J. B. Okie, p. 8.
53. V. G. Okie, autobiography, p. 20.
54. Natrona County Tribune, October 24, 1901.
55. Ibid., March 22, 1906.
56. Ibid., September 4, 1902.
57. Ibid., November 19, 1903.
58. Windriver Mountaineer (Lander), June 26, 1908.
(See photo opposite page)
Wyoming Recreation Commission Photo
J. B. OKIE MANSION AT LOST CABIN
186 ANNALS OF WYOMING
talented.''-' She joined the Casper Dramatics Club and charmed
the community with her portrayals.**" Because of her fluency in
Spanish, the county asked her to interpret in court for accused
Spanish-speaking prisoners. Some people believe that after meet-
ing J. B. Okie and realizing his wealth, she made an effort to
attract him. One of her friends in Casper remembers her saying,
"If I knew J. B. Okie as well as you, I'd make something of it."''^
She was also supposed to have made a determined effort to learn
French just to impress him.^- Whatever the case may have been
Okie did not seem to need much convincing.*^^ Jeannette had been
an ideal pioneering wife for the early days in Lost Cabin; but
throughout Okie's days of empire-building, he had become a so-
phisticated, well-educated world traveler. Jeannette, who had lost
her girlish beauty and grown heavy after bearing children, did not
share his intellectual curiosity or love of books. "^ The situation
was undoubtedly tense from those days when Okie first heard the
appealing voice of a new telephone operator until 1907 when his
divorce from Jeannette was granted.*''^
Some people who knew Okie believe that his usual clever
manipulation of life was especially apparent in the divorce pro-
ceedings. With his wealth, he was able to make a straight cash
settlement with Jeannette for $50,000."^' Many believe he accom-
plished this by hiring Dr. H. O. Cox of Lost Cabin to lure his wife
away, after which Okie was able to file a counter divorce suit and
thereby arrange the settlement. *^^ On June 26, 1908, Clarice
finally secured a divorce from Lovett on the grounds of desertion,
and the same night she married her millionaire. The papers
noted casually that Okie's love for Mrs. Lovett had been known
for sometime.*"'^
J. B. Okie, with Clarice, began more than ever to enjoy his
wealth. Exactly five months after their marriage they left for a
59. Mrs. Alta Barnes, personal interview in Casper, Wyoming, June,
1971.
60. Natrona County Tribune, January 25, 1906.
61. Anonymous interview.
62. Baima interview.
63. Mrs. Don Robson, personal interview in Lysite, Wyoming, July,
1971.
64. Baima interview, Robson interview; S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, exhibit
124, letter from S. P. Okie to J. B. Okie, undated.
65. Barnes interview.
66. Bighorn Sheep Company minutes book, October 5, 1908, J. B. Okie
Collection, Western History Research Center, University of Wyoming.
67. Mary Helen Hendry, personal interview in Laramie, Wyoming, May,
1971; Henry Jensen, personal interview in Lysite, Wyoming, July, 1971;
Macfarlane interview; anonymous interview; Robson interview.
68. "Divorced and Remarried on the Same Day," Windriver Moun-
taineer, June 26, 1908.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 187
six-month around-the-world tour, during which they visited Ara-
bia, India, Japan, and Hawaii. On this tour they also spent several
months in the interior of China away from the usual tourist
haunts.^'-* After their return, they were no longer content to
remain in Lost Cabin all year. They bought a house in Denver
and one in Pasadena. Having added an elegant aviary to the
house in Lost Cabin, they bought a large collection of exotic birds
and housed them in the beautiful, domed chambers of the aviary.
They also built several little California-style bungalows in Lost
Cabin to accommodate their guests. On winter evenings Clarice
and J. B. would sit by the fire in their library, reading French
novels aloud.'"
Despite several periods of bad luck, Okie's sheep and mercantile
businesses continued to thrive in the second decade of the century.
His son, Howard, took over the management of the stores, after
finishing school at Culver Military Academy. When a serious
drought hit central Wyoming in 1919, Okie decided to ship his
bands of sheep to Mexico for better grazing. Still a man of oppor-
tunity, while down there he bought the Piggly Wiggly Store fran-
chise for Mexico and opened six stores. Business was going well.
While he was away, a flu epidemic hit Wyoming, and among the
many who died that winter was his son, Howard. ^^ That was not
the last of his personal misfortunes. On October 21, 1921, he
divorced Clarice.'- The split, probably a result of Okie's intense
pride and Clarice's beauty, came about after one of their many
parties in Lost Cabin. Clarice had given her attentions to a
younger man,^'^ and that ended the marriage. The divorce came
as a shock to the community because every one believed that the
two were very much in love.'^ Sometime afterwards, Okie re-
ceived a letter from Clarice in which she said they had both been
foolish and should try to start again. Okie's pride would not
let him.^^
Alone, Okie began the last decade of his life. Much of his time
he spent traveling between Mexico, Lost Cabin, and his other
homes. Okie, however, was not one to remain alone. On one of
his many trips to Mexico City, he met and later married the
daughter of a former president of Mexico. They had two children.
69. The Windriver Mountaineer. November 26, 1908.
70. Baima interview.
71. Jensen interview.
72. J. B. Okie v. Clarice V. Okie, Civil case number 3009, September 8,
1921, Clerk of Courts, Fremont County, Wyoming.
73. Macfarlane interview; Baima interview; Robson interview; Day in-
terview.
74. Hammons, "Pioneer Sheepman," p. 11.
75. Robson interview.
188 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Juan, born in 1924, and Maria, born in 1926.''*' This caused a
conflict with the children of his first marriage at the time of his
death because of the inheritance. There was some question as to
whether he had ever really married the Mexican woman. Okie
once told a friend that they had gone through the church ceremony
but not the civil ceremony; Mexico required both.^^ Okie had
provided for the two children, however, by legally adopting them."^
He never completely deserted Lost Cabin despite his other
elegant residences near more exciting urban centers. Because his
roots were there at the foot of the Owl Creek Mountains, he pre-
ferred to spend the major part of the year there with his old
friends.''* No one who knew him would admit that Okie was
depressed in his last years. Even though he had taken to drinking
more, he had no serious financial worries, and he still seemed to
enjoy life in Lost Cabin. He was able to survive the immediate
results of the stock market crash better than most.^**
In November of 1930, Okie was at Lost Cabin taking care of
business and enjoying the fall duck hunting season. On Wednes-
day afternoon, November sixth, he and his general manager, R. P.
Pruitt decided to go out to the reservoir to shoot some ducks.
Pruitt agreed to go around to the opposite side of the reservoir and
drive the ducks across to where Okie would be lying in wait. After
completing the beating of the ducks and hearing no gunshots from
across the water, Pruitt became puzzled. He retraced his steps to
where he had left his companion, but Okie was nowhere around.
Becoming alarmed, Pruitt scanned the surface of the water and
discovered Okie's pith helmet floating some distance from shore.
Immediately he headed back to Lost Cabin where a search party
was organized, and Deputy Sheriff Jim Thompson of Shoshoni was
called in. The group worked for two days dragging and finally
draining the reservoir, until on November 8, they found his body.
76. Petition for Probate of Will.
77. Robson interview.
78. Last Will and Testament of J. B. Okie, Clerk of Courts, Fremont
County, Wyoming.
79. "J. B. Okie Drowns in Reservoir at Ranch," Casper Daily Tribune,
November 7, 1930.
80. Day interview. The only proof that Okie had financial difficulties
in 1930 is a petition filed during the ten-year court battle over the will.
The petition filed November 4, 1939, states, "That John Brognard Okie at
the time of his death held the controlling interest in said Bighorn Sheep
Company. That at said time the affairs of the said company were in very
bad condition, that it had only a few sheep, the equipment was run-down
and out of repair. That the company also had large and pressing debts."
Three months later Okie's children decided to drop the whole case and come
to a friendly agreement. This single statement about his financial affairs at
the time of his death was, therefore, never proved. It cannot be accepted
unquestionably as fact because the petitioners stood to gain much if such a
statement were proved true.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 189
Okie, who was unable to swim, had probably slipped down the
steep, muddy bank and been pulled under by his heavy, water-
soaked clothing. The reservoir at that spot was 30 or 40 feet deep
and the bank about ten feet high. He would have had no chance
to save himself.^^
Many people still believe that J. B. Okie committed suicide.
Those who knew him, however, are sure it was an accidental
death. '^^ Some of his friends knew that he kept a tiny glass vial
of poison with him at all times, to use if he ever reached the point
where he could no longer care for himself. The untouched vial
was on his body when he was brought from the reservoir. An
inquest was held and the investigating officer reported:
I have made as complete an investigation of Okie's circumstances
and recent activities as possible at this time, and can say definitely
that any question of suicide may be eliminated. All of his business
was in the best of order, all details of his everyday life were in the
best of order, and in view of all circumstances it seems clearly a case
of accidental drowning. I have learned he was unable to swim. At
the place where he was last seen the bank breaks right off and is
sheer to the water. It would have been quite easy for him to have
accidentally fallen from this bank and then to have been unable to
save himself in the water. ^3
J. B. Okie was buried in the yard of his mansion beside his sons,
Paul and Howard, and the grave was marked by a small stone slab
with the simple inscription, "J. B. Okie 1864-1930."
SHEEPMAN
J. B. Okie died a rich man. His initial success had been in the
sheep business, even though his fortune was amassed from several
sources. A man with such initiative would probably have been
successful in any business, but J. B. Okie had luck on his side, too,
when he chose to become a sheepman. His timing was perfect.
Many men made quick fortunes in the sheep business between
1880 and 1920, but the big fortunes were made by those who
started between 1880 and 1895.''^ J. B. Okie was among them.
William Tweed, an Englishman in search of gold, brought the
first sheep to central Wyoming in 1870. Tweed made a little
different discovery than he had expected, but it was every bit as
lucrative. He found that sheep did well in the area and required
little care except for disease control and protection from predators.
81. Casper Daily Tribune, November 7, 1930.
82. Day interview, Macfarlane interview; Jensen interview; anonymous
interview.
83. Casper Daily Tribune, November 7, 1930.
84. George W. Ogden, "Bringing in the Fleece," Everybody's Magazine,
September, 1910, pp. 345-356.
190 ANNALS OF WYOMING
In his winter camp on Red Canyon Creek, a tributary of the Little
Popo Agie River, Tweed also found that sheep wintered well in
this part of Wyoming.'^''
The first large operator in the area was W. P. Noble who had
9000 sheep near the Shoshoni Indian Agency in 1882.**^ That
same year 17-year-old J. B. Okie was working on the range for
Capt. R. A. Torrey at $25 a month. That fall he, too, got started
in the sheep business. With the $4500 his mother had loaned him,
he bought 1000 ewes from a man named Havens on the Sweet-
water River and 16 thoroughbred bucks from W. D. Currier at
Lookout, Wyoming.*^ Okie's start that year made him one of the
very early sheepmen in central Wyoming. He had a long way to
go, however, to prove he was one of the successful ones.
Profits in sheep ranching were good, and by 1884 the tax rolls
listed 23 sheepmen in Fremont County. ^^ During the range indus-
try boom period from 1877 to 1887, the sheep proved to be more
profitable than cattle, as investments began to double and quad-
ruple. James S. Brisbin wrote in 1880 that an investment of
$5000 in sheep raising could be made to pay 35 percent the first
year, 47 percent the second year, and 60 percent the third year.'*^
Even with the various depressions that occurred during Okie's
years as a sheep rancher, the sheep business continued to be a
good investment. Debts were easily paid off by wise managers.^"
In fact, as Edward Norris Wentworth analyzed the situation,
"There seemed to be only four basic causes of loss in the industry:
1. natural causes — storms, drouths, disease, and predators; 2. lack
of knowledge of practical sheep management; 3. speculation; and
4. dishonesty."*'^
By 1889 the number of sheepmen on the Fremont County tax
rolls had risen to 30 from the 1888 figure of 23. The number of
sheep, however, had doubled.'^- Meanwhile, the cattlemen of
central Wyoming were not doing as well. They had suffered
tremendous losses in the winter of 1886-1887 and had never quite
recovered. The cattlemen watched their prices plummet^^ and the
85. Edward Norris Wentworth, America's Sheep Trails (Ames, Iowa:
Iowa State College Press, 1948), p. 319.
86. Ibid., p. 621.
87. S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, testimony of J. B. Okie.
88. Wentworth, Sheep Trails, p. 320.
89. James S. Brisbin, The Beef Bonanza (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott
and Company, 1881), pp. 35-70 & 93-139, quoted in Wentworth, Sheep
Trails, p. 445.
90. Wentworth, Sheep Trails, p. 446.
91. Ibid., p. 447.
92. Ibid., p. 320.
93. Larson, History of Wyoming, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press, 1965), p. 192.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 191
price per head of sheep rise steadily.'-'^ They also watched the
lands they had once controlled exclusively become overrun by
sheep. When the railroad finally came to Casper in 1888, sheep
ranching spread even faster because of easier transportation of
wool.-'-'' The result was a bitter conflict over grazing rights on the
public domain.
The cattle-sheep wars which grew out of the conflict were
basically a confrontation of theory and custom. Theoretically the
range was open to everyone, but by custom, stockmen respected
the prior right of established operations. '^^ When sheepmen ar-
rived, it worked to their advantage to support the public domain
theory. The cattlemen responded with violence. Bands of
masked men would raid sheep camps at night, burning the wagons,
killing thousands of sheep and often the sheep herder, too. The
cattlemen set up "deadlines" on the range and forbade any sheep
to cross over them to graze. Any herder who accidentally or
purposefully crossed a deadline was in danger of losing his sheep
and his life. As the sheep increased and demand for grazing lands
increased, the conflict became even more violent. The situation
became doubly complicated when many cattlemen, realizing the
profits in sheep, began to graze both."^ The cattle-sheep wars
continued for years with the destruction of thousands of sheep,
quite a number of murders, and very few court convictions. The
last sheep camp raid in Wyoming occurred in 1912 near Dubois.
The men were positively identified and brought to trial but found
not guilty. **■"
Okie was running sheep throughout the early sheep boom and
the cattle-sheep wars. His first band of 1016 sheep, purchased in
December, 1882, wintered on Beaver Creek. Okie, knowing very
little about herding sheep, kept them too long in each camp and
herded them along the creek when they should have been out on
the hills. Thin, scabby, and affected by the cold, the sheep proved
hard to herd. Finally in February, 1883, a terrible snow storm hit
and sent temperatures down to a record 57 degrees below zero for
three days. Okie came out of it with 556 sheep remaining. All his
bucks were dead and the ewes in such bad condition that many of
them did not come in heat the following fall. Okie's ignorance of
proper lambing techniques caused him to lose many of his spring
lambs.»9
94. Henry G. Trautwein III, "History of the Wyoming Wool Growers
Association 1905-1915," (unpublished M.A. thesis. University of Wyoming,
1964), p. 97.
95. Wentworth, Sheep Trails, p. 522.
96. Ibid.
97. Larson, History of Wyoming, p. 369.
98. Wentworth, Sheep Trails, p. 543.
99. S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, testimony of J. B. Okie.
192 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Because his sheep were in such poor condition in 1883, Okie
decided to put them in with A. D. Bright's bands and go to work
for Bright as a herder at $40 a month. The $40 did not even
cover the expenses, however, so Okie came out of the deal six
months later with no money but with more sheep sense. Before
he left Bright, he managed to scrape together $300 to buy 150 ewe
lambs. The money came from the sale of a little Negro shanty he
had owned in an alley in Washington, D. C. Having saved his
money as a boy, he had built this shanty with it and charged a
family $5 a month rent. Its sale meant he could increase his band
of sheep from 718 to 868. if'"
That winter of 1883-1884, when his brother, Howard, was with
him, marked the beginning of a period of expansion for Okie. His
added experience enabled him to care for his sheep better and
realize better profits. After four years of fighting to keep his
flocks ahve and healthy, Okie must have been more rudely awak-
ened than pleased when he received the contract on his twenty-first
birthday from his mother, giving him half interest in the sheep.
The contract stipulated that when Susan Okie died, J. B. Okie was
to keep her half in trust for his brothers, Fred and Howard. Most
importantly, however, the contract cancelled his debt of $4500 but
required that he pay her in cash half of each year's wool money.
He was to receive no salary for his work until 1888; after that he
would be paid $75 a month. ^^^^
With his future thus laid out, Okie began the second phase of his
sheep ranching career. By 1886 his sheep numbered $2200. i"-
Then the winter of 1886-1887 struck central Wyoming with its re-
peated blizzards, heavy snowfalls, and blood-chilling rains. ^"^^ In
that one winter Okie lost three-fourths of his sheep, having only
500 head when spring finally arrived. ^^^^ He had fewer sheep than
v/hen he had first started in 1882.
Okie's quick recovery from this loss proved the rapid success
possible in the sheep business in the 1880s. His timing was, then,
definitely a part of his good fortune. Starting out again in 1887
with 500 head, he was able to increase his band to 5000 by the
spring of 1889.1"''' The Wyoming Derrick began to refer to him as
"the sheep king,"i"^ and reported that he had sheared 12,000
sheep in the spring of 1891.i"^ During this period and up to 1893,
Susan Okie loaned her son money whenever he needed it for the
100. Ibid.
101. Ibid.
102. V. G. Okie, story of J. B. Okie, p. 1.
103. Larson, History of Wyoming, p. 191.
104. V. G. Okie, story of J. B. Okie, p. 3.
105. Casper Weekly Mail, April 5, 1889.
106. Wyoming Derrick, January 1, 1891.
107. Ibid., May 7, 1891.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 193
business, the total amount eventually reaching $23,355. Okie
paid it all back to her, however, besides continuing to send her
cash dividends from the wool sales every year.^"^
As a sign of his success and respect in the community, J. B. Okie
was elected the first president of the Bighorn Mountain Woolgrow-
ers Association in 1891.^"" At the second annual meeting in 1892,
the members again offered him the office of president, but he
declined. J. D. Woodruff was chosen to replace him.^^"
Okis, his brother Fred, and John S. Day organized the Bighorn
Sheep Company on October 1, 1893. The company issued half of
its stock to Susan Okie and the other half to J. B. Okie, except for
the single shares issued to other members of the company.^ ^^ Okie
had great plans for his company when he started it. That year a
large number of inexperienced men were going into the sheep
business. Okie foresaw that many of them would fail, thereby
flooding the market with sheep. He wanted to be in a position to
buy when these failures depressed the price of sheep. ^^-
Although the Bighorn Sheep Company did well in the next few
years after 1893, one weighty responsibility kept it from doing
extremely well — Susan Okie wanted her yearly cash dividends.
Her own real estate business in Washington took a downward turn
which put pressure on her for mortgage payments. She in turn
pressured her son constantly for her money. She forbade him to
make any improvements on the ranch at Lost Cabin for fear they
would endanger her dividend payments. She had even badgered
him into paying her the $4500 debt she had supposedly cancelled
in 1885. To keep up her dividend payments each year, Okie was
forced to sell more sheep than he could really afford to sell. When
Fred wanted to go into the sheep business, Susan Okie promised to
give him a band of sheep to start out with. But then she tried to
force J. B. to give Fred half of those promised sheep out of his own
portion. Okie explained to her that he had a wife and small chil-
dren to support and that she could give Fred her own sheep if she
wanted. The last straw for Okie was when his mother refused to
let him buy land to gain badly-needed water rights. ^''^
Up to 1898 Okie had made several attempts to buy his mother's
shares in the Bighorn Sheep Company. Finally in June, 1898, she
reluctantly agreed to sell her half interest in the company for
$30,000. Okie immediately was free to enlarge the business, buy
his water holes, improve the ranch, and generally put the Bighorn
108. S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, testimony of J. B. Okie.
109. "Woolgrowers Organize," Wvomimi Derrick, April 9, 1891.
110. Natrona Tribune, April 18, 1892. ^
111. S. P. Okie V. J. B. Okie, testimony of J. B. Okie.
112. S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, exhibit letter from J. B. Okie to S. P. Okie,
February 21, 1893.
113. Ibid., testimony of J. B. Okie.
194 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Sheep Company back into shape. In the next few years the
company made more money than ever before. Okie's new stable
alone sometimes brought in $1000 a month. Troubles, however,
were not yet over.^^^ Susan Okie realized that the stock she had
sold for $30,000 was now worth $250,000. She desided to sue
her son for the return of her interest in the company on the grounds
that he had taken advantage of her ignorance of the sheep business,
and forced her to sell just before the period of greatest prosperity.
She filed suit in United States District Court in October, 1901. i^''
When Okie received word of the suit, he made a hurried trip
east to Washington, perhaps in an attempt to settle the problem
out of court. ^^'' The confrontation between mother and son, both
financial opportunists, must have been stormy. Susan Okie was
long remembered for her impatience, stubbornness, and love of
controversy. She would never admit defeat. ^^' Her stubbornness
and J. B. Okie's self-confidence and pride could only result in a
stalemate. When Okie returned to Lost Cabin a week later, noth-
ing had been settled. He immediately consulted a Cheyenne attor-
ney and braced himself for a family battle set to begin in January,
1902.
The trial must have been bitter. Personal letters from years
before were read aloud in court and often revealed more than just
sheep business. Testimony was long and emotional. Okie's
brothers and sisters were brought in to testify against him, but
all to no avail. At the end of the hearings, the judge ruled that
J. B. Okie had not pressured Susan Okie into selling against her
will, that she was far from being ignorant of business matters, and
that Okie had paid her a fair price for her shares. ^^^ Twenty years
after accepting his mother's loan for $4500, Okie was finally free
of obligation to her and could honestly say he had repaid her in
full.
That year, 1902, the Bighorn Sheep Company continued to do
well. Okie sold $27,000 worth of wool clippings in July and in
September was ready to ship a whole trainload of sheep to eastern
markets.^ ^" In this period of prosperity, Okie faced another law
suit, this time for $100,000. The suit was the result of an out-
break of violence among Okie's herders in which a man was shot
to death and another badly wounded.
The incident began when Van Ferris and Fritz Kasshan had a
disagreement over wages with E. S. Murphy. Murphy was herding
114. Ibid.
115. "Suit for $50,000," Natrona County Tribune, October 24, 1901.
116. Ibid., November 7, 1901.
117. V. G. Okie, story of J. B. Okie, pp. 8-9.
118. S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, Judge's Memorandum.
119. Natrona County Tribune, July 10, 1902, and September 9, 1902.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 195
sheep for Okie on shares at the time. Okie testified at the trial
that on the morning of June 14, 1902, Ferris and Kasshan had
threatened to kill Murphy and burn his property. Okie had tried
to make some wage settlement with them and keep them from
going to Murphy's camp. Unable to hold the two men back, he
sent a warning to Murphy of their threats.^-" To prevent the
destruction of Murphy's property, Okie organized a posse of eight
men with himself as foreman. ^-^ In the posse were Murphy and
a man named Colonel Barrie, a South African with a reputation
for eccentricity.^-- The posse rode toward Murphy's camp on the
head of Badwater in hopes of stopping Ferris and Kasshan from
burning the camp down. After dismounting, the men started
toward the sheep wagon when suddenly a shot was fired at them
from the wagon. In immediate response the five men fired into
the wagon all at once, killing Kasshan and shooting off Ferris'
arm. 123
Murphy was accused of the murder and brought to trial in
Casper. Barrie's presence in the posse and his bad reputation
made the whole affair look worse than it otherwise might have.^-^
The case came to court three times in the next two years. Twice
the result was a hung jury.i-"' The third time Ferris and Kasshan's
brother sued Okie for $100,000 damages. Since Okie was the
only member of the posse with any property or money, the two
filed their complaints against him.^-" The judge dismissed the
case, however, in October, 1903, for lack of county funds, lack of
any more eligible jurors, and because it had already been tried
twice in Natrona County. ^-'^ Rumors circulated that the prosecut-
ing attorney shortly afterwards had a new band of sheep, but if
Okie may have been responsible for that, no one would have
blamed him.^-"
The Kasshan murder appears to have been one of the few
incidents of violence in Okie's sheep ranching career. He was able
to avoid the violent confrontations of the cattle-sheep wars. Per-
haps because Okie had come to central Wyoming so early, cattle-
men recognized his prior rights to grazing lands. Perhaps, too.
they respected and feared his wealth and influence. Thirdly, Okie
120. Ibid., December 11. 1902.
121. V. G. Okie, autobiography, p. 19: Natrona Coitntx Tribune. Jiilv
30, 1903.
122. V. G. Okie, autobiography, p. 19.
123. "Will Ask $100,000 Damages," Natrona County Tribune. August 6.
1903.
124. V. G. Okie, autobiography, p. 19.
125. Mokler, Natrona County, p. 292.
126. Natrona County Tribune. August 6, 1903.
127. Ibid., October 8, 1903.
128. Anonymous interview.
196 ANNALS OF WYOMING
held water rights on a tremendous amount of grazing land which
would automatically discourage intruders. Perhaps more than
anything, Okie's realistic attitude and ability to avoid emotionalism
helped him stay out of trouble. He once advised a friend never to
let his personal opinions interfere with his business. ^-'^ Following
his own advice, Okie was smart enough to observe the "deadlines"
and was respected enough by others to be left alone.
Okie had his share of problems in the sheep business, but he
made more than his share of innovations. He began operating the
first steam sheep-shearing plant in the United States in 1894.
Casper had three large sheep shearing plants each employing about
40 men,^"'" one of which was probably Okie's steam shearing plant.
Machine shearing, however, never became widespread in Wyoming
or Montana. A. A. Evans, president of the Sheep Shearer's Union
of North America, estimated in 1939 that 90 percent of Wyoming's
sheep were still hand-sheared while 90 percent of sheep elsewhere
were machine-sheared. ^'^^ Obviously, Okie's modern techniques
did not find an eager following in Wyoming.
That same year, 1894, Okie tried another innovation that his
fellow sheep ranchers showed no enthusiasm for. On March 15
he wrote to the Natrona Tribune from Washington, D. C, telling
of a syndicate that wished to build a $10,000 wool-scouring plant
in Casper. He added that he had the authority to sign for the
syndicate and make any minor changes the town wanted. The
Casper people had to decide within five days whether they wanted
the plant. ^•^- Nothing more was ever mentioned about the scouring
plant, which seemed to indicate that is was never built. The plant
would have saved the Wyoming sheepmen money by scouring their
wool locally before shipping it east. As it was, they were paying
to ship the extra weight of dirty fleeces. ^^^ But again Wyoming
wool growers were not yet interested in the advances being made
in other areas of the counrty. Thirteen years later at the Wyoming
Wool Growers' third annual convention, Okie's old pleas were
justified. In an attempt to help their members learn better ways of
preparing their fleece for market, the wool growers arranged for
Professor George E. Martin to speak on the problems and benefits
of wool scouring.^-^^
Okie continued his attempts to control more of the operational
steps between range and factory. Besides setting up his own
machine shearing plant and trying to set up a local scouring plant,
129. Jensen interview.
130. Wentworth, Sheep Trails, p. 424.
131. Ibid.
Xlil. Natrona Tribune, March 15, 1894.
133. Wentworth, S/jeep Trails, p. 435.
134. Trautwein, "Wyoming Wool Growers," p. 78.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 197
he purchased his own feeding pens in Nebraska. ^•^"' Sheep feeding
companies operated in many areas of Nebraska for the convenience
of western wool growers. Rather than grow fattening feeds for
their sheep, most sheepmen unloaded their stock on the great
plains to graze before being shipped to market. ^■^'^ Okie, however,
preferred to own and operate his own feeding pens, probably
located in Pilger, Nebraska. ^-^^ He also fed his sheep as far east as
Rochelle, Illinois, to assure high prices in Chicago. ^■^'^ As an
additional price boost, Okie built large wool warehouses in Lost
Cabin and Lysite so that after shearing in the spring, he could store
the wool for advantageous shipping at the best market time.^^^
Okie hired Basque sheep breeders to run his flocks, which was
wise management because they were known to be the most success-
ful herders."*^ Basques were in great demand but almost impos-
sible to find because they preferred to work for flockmasters of
their own nationality. ^^^ But J. B. Okie traveled, and could bring
his Basques directly from northern Spain. He also spoke several
languages, being, therefore, about the only person with whom his
herders could converse. After a year of wages, Okie would give
his herders an interest in the flocks they followed. Under this
system of incentive, they proved to be industrious, temperate, and
faithful.1^2
Okie became interested in the Australian method of shearing,
sorting, and preparing wool for market. This method inspired
widespread interest among wool growers for several years and for
good reason. In 1913 the tariff on foreign wool having again been
revoked, ^^^ western sheepmen were in competition with the effi-
cient Australian ranchers who had to comply with rigid regulation
for wool preparation, set up by their country. They had to care-
fully skirt, sort, and grade all wool before it could be sent abroad.
The American sheepman was immediately at a loss. He could
either accept lower prices for his inferior wool or try to set up a
system to produce wool of equal quality. ^^^ Okie chose to build
Australian shearing sheds and attempted to compete. ^^^
Wyoming was the first state to build the Australian shearing
135. Natrona Tribune, January 20, 1898.
136. Wentworth, Sheep Trails, p. 346.
137. Natrona Tribune, April 29, 1897, and December 31, 1896.
138. Ibid., December 8, 1898.
139. Hendry, "Big Tepee."
140. Wentworth, Sheep Trails, p. 404.
141. Ibid., p. 270.
142. William E. Curtis, "Chicago Man Guides Huge Power Project,
August 6, 1909, unidentified newspaper article, Fremont County file F-88
Western History Research Center, University of Wyoming.
143. Larson, History of Wyoming, p. 372.
144. Wentworth, Sheep Trails, p. 575.
145. Jensen interview.
198 ANNALS OF WYOMING
sheds. Sheepman James Cosgriff brought an Australian wool
expert, W. F. Rich, over to the United States to lecture on the
Australian method. Wyoming ranchers accepted his suggestions
enthusiastically.^^'^ The first sheds were built on the Six-Mile
Ranch south of Bitter Creek Station near Moneta.^^' The tech-
nique was shortUved, however, because the wool buyers would
neither recognize nor reward individual efforts to improve the
quality of American wool.^^'^ Prices for the finely prepared wool
were about the same as those paid for wool prepared in the old
haphazard fashion. By 1916 use of the Australian method began
to decline rapidly because sheepmen could not afford to put the
extra time and money into preparation of the wool, when the price
they received was the same as before. ^^" How long Okie persisted
in using the technique is uncertain. But one of his Australian
shearing sheds still stands at Moneta as a reminder of the many
innovations Okie tried to improve his wool-growing techniques.
Despite his usually successful management and his efforts to
modernize his sheep business, J. B. Okie did make some serious
mistakes. The most serious one practically wiped out his sheep
business. In 1919, topping off a decade of blizzards and tariff
problems, a severe drought hit Wyoming. Rather than watch his
sheep die on the range with the others, Okie decided to ship 30,000
head across the Rio Grande River to graze in Mexico.^'*'* In
theory the plan appeared sound; but in practice it created only
problems. The expenses of shipping were bad enough, but mis-
fortune did not stop there. The forage in Mexico was not as good
as expected which caused the loss of many sheep. ^-'^ The Mexican
sheepherders could not match their Basque counterparts in the
United States; thefts were common. Okie later told a friend that
he had been forced to hire men just to watch the thieving sheep-
herders, and then hire men to watch the men watching the sheep-
herders.^''- He finally sold his remaining flocks and more than
likely at a loss because of the Mexican market. The combination
of shipping costs, poor grazing, thieving sheepherders, and a forced
sale practically broke Okie.
Although despondent about losing his sheep, Okie's enterprising
146. State Board of Sheep Commissioners, "Sixteenth Annual Report of
the Board of Sheep Commissioners of the State of Wyoming" (Cheyenne:
S. A. Bristol Co., November 30, 1914), p. 21.
147. 147. Gerald Melvin Burke, "Some Economic Aspects of Wool
Marketing in Carbon, Natrona and Sweetwater Counties, Wyoming" (un-
published Masters thesis, University of Wyoming, 1958), p. 10.
148. Wentworth, Sheep Trails, p. 575.
149. Burke, "Economic Aspects," p. 10.
150. Van Guelder Okie, rough outline for his unfinished autobiography,
p. 15; in the possession of this author.
151. Jensen interview.
152. Day interview.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 199
Spirit remained intact. He utilized his mercantile talents south of
the border, eventually turning his Mexican fiasco into a profitable
venture through his Piggly Wiggly Stores.
MERCHANT
Okie made a large part of his fortune in the mercantile business.
Here again his success was influenced by his timing. He estab-
lished stores where people needed them and there were none. His
real success, however, came from his management insight.
J. B. Okie first entered the mercantile business in 1893 with his
brother Fred and his ranch foreman, John S. Day, when he bought
out the Smith Mercantile Company in Casper. ^"'•^ If this first
attempt had been interpreted as an omen, the outlook for the
future would have been bad. As it was, Okie's purchase of the
Casper Mercantile was merely a rough start. In July, 1893, the
Natrona Tribune noted the purchase. Immediately Okie became
involved in an 1 8-month-long legal suit questioning his right to buy
the company and accusing him of fraud in the purchase. ^''^
Before the sale took place, Okie owned 33 shares of stock in the
Smith Mercantile Company. He appears to have paid $6800 to
the company as purchase price for the store. The problem arose
when the creditors against the company discovered the company
was insolvent at the time of the sale. They immediately sued Okie
for payment. The court, deciding in Okie's favor, concluded that
the transaction was not a transfer in trust or creditors, but a
bona fide sale. The question of fraud had arisen because there was
a slight difference between the value of the property sold and the
price paid . On this matter, the court decided that unsettled con-
ditions between Okie and Smith Mercantile made the difference
understandable. If any fraud was perpetrated, and the court
agreed that there appeared to be one, it was in the misrepresenta-
tions of the concern's assets by the president of the company.
Okie emerged blameless. ^^^
The court would have been very interested in a letter that Okie
wrote to his mother five months before he supposedly bought the
Smith Mercantile Company. He wrote that he expected to be in
possession of $80,000 in 12 percent notes and $50,000 cash by
September 1, 1893. "I will also have my ranch and the controlling
interest in the Smith Mercantile Company," he continued. The
notes, he expected to transfer to Smith's, where all the debtors had
to buy their supplies. The debtors would be compelled to borrow
from the bank of L. Smith and Company to cover expenses, but
153. Natrona Tribune, July 20, 1893.
154. Ibid., November 8, 1894.
155. Ibid.
200 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Okie admitted that he secretly owned controlling interest there,
too. He wrote that no one, not even his brother Fred, knew of his
connection with the store or the bank and therefore any of their
acts would not lessen his popularity. He said that he planned to
wait until a panic or some other cause depressed the price of sheep,
and then he planned to instruct Smith's to stop loaning money and
to foreclose all mortgages. "If these plans succeed," he wrote, "I
will make $500,000 in the next three years." He instructed his
mother to tell no one of the letter and especially to keep secret his
ownership of the store. He had cleverly arranged the bylaws of
the company so that he had absolute control and could discharge
every officer of the company in ten days.^-''^ Two weeks before he
announced publicly that he was "buying" Smith Mercantile, Okie
wrote to his mother that gazing upon a bankrupt world has taken
away any sensitiveness he might have had in the past.^"*' He was
then 28 years old.
When the Smith Mercantile case was finally dismissed, Okie
proceeded to make the newly organized Casper Mercantile Com-
pany into what was reported to be one of the most successful stores
in central Wyoming. ^^^ Fred Okie, who was employed as secre-
tary and manager of the company, did much to bring the store into
prominence. He began by running full-page ads in the Natrona
Tribune and inventing contests to promote his goods. For ex-
ample, in April, 1896, he devised a double contest to promote
Snow White flour. Two prizes were to be awarded, one to the
person who baked the best yeast bread with Snow White flour,
and one to the school child who sold the most Snow White flour.^-^^
Fred Okie also pushed his products by taking them on the road
himself. He traveled the Union Pacific line across southern Wyo-
ming distributing Black Leaf sheep dip in each of the important
towns.^*^*^ Fred's own character worked also to make the store a
success. The newspaper referred to him as genial, efficient, enter-
prising, progressive, and a true gentlemen. ^^^
The success of the Casper Mercantile must have inspired J. B.
Okie to broader visions. As the number of settlers around Lost
Cabin increased and the 85-mile trip to Casper for supplies became
more tiresome, Okie saw the opportunity to help the community
and increase his fortune. Around 1895 he built in Lost Cabin the
156. S. P. Okie v. J. B. Okie, exhibit letter from J. B. Okie to S. P. Okie,
February 21, 1893.
157. Ibid., exhibit letter from J. B. Okie to S. P. Okie, July 9, 1893.
158. Natrona Tribune, July 7, 1895.
159. Ibid., April 16, 1896.
160. Ibid., March 5, 1896.
161. Ibid., January 28, 1897; February 13, 1896; January 3, 1895; July
11, 1895; February 1, 1894.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 201
first of his Bigliorn Sheep Company Stores. i**- It became the com-
mercial center for miles around. Okie must have commented at
some time that his income from these stores was as good as finding
the Lost Cabin gold mine, because a story grew up that he had
named the town in this way. One day someone supposedly asked
him what he was going to call his town. For a moment Okie
watched the men streaming in and out of the saloon across the
street; then he was supposed to have said, "Well, boys, she's a gold
mine. We'll just call her Lost Cabin. "^^'-^ The story's accuracy
may be questioned but its implications were true. Okie's business
did boom in Lost Cabin. The Natrona Tribune reported that the
business done by J. B. Okie's store would have been a credit to
any of Casper's business houses. ^^"^
Meanwhile, Fred Okie in Casper had become enthralled with
visions of real gold mines and subsequently the Casper Mercantile
had closed. Okie transferred the inventory to his store at Lost
Cabin. There he could be sure of selling it, either to white settlers
or to the numerous Indians who came through Lost Cabin. ^""' All
the merchandise had to be brought to Lost Cabin by freight team,
and for this job, he hired Frank Webb's freight teams from Casper.
They could haul as much as 75,000 pounds of supplies using four
freight teams of 16 to 18 horses each.^"*' By 1909 the newspapers
reported that Okie was doing a business of $175,000 or $200,000
a year just at the Lost Cabin Store. ^*^'^ Following the enormous
success of the first Bighorn Sheep Company Store, Okie opened
five others in the area. He eventually owned stores in Moneta,
Arminto, Lysite, Shoshoni, and even as far north as Kaycee.^"^
More than just good timing contributed to Okie's success as a
merchant. Although he built stores when and where they were
really needed, his management techniques also added to his good
fortune. He knew how to please people.
The men who worked for Okie found him to be an understand-
ing employer. One of his employees recalled that Okie never
became exasperated or perplexed, excited or impatient, and he
always looked after the needs of his employees. He built modern
apartments and houses for them. His mansion was always open to
162. Van Guelder Okie, a rough outline of his unfinished autobiography,
p. 3.
163. R. Lewis, "Lost Cabin Mine," p. 6; Hugh Day tells a slight variation
of the same story. Lost Cabin had its name long before Okie's businesses
were established, however, because the Fremont Clipper mentions the name
as early as September 17, 1887, eight years before the store was built.
164. Natrona Tribune, February 2, 1901.
165. Ibid., April 11, 1901.
166. Natrona County Tribune, August 22, 1901.
167. Curtis, "Power Project." The figures quoted by Curtis seem highly
questionable but cannot be verified one way or the other.
168. Natrona County Tribune, April 24, 1902.
202 ANNALS OF WYOMING
everyone, and employees were welcomed to parties there as they
would have been to a community hall.^''" He brought in all kinds
of amusements for them: free moving pictures, a roller skating
rink, two dance pavilions, and a golf course. At least twice he
paid all the expenses of sending an employee to the Mayo Clinic
for treatment of medical problems. Often Okie's patience was
tried by blundering greenhorns, but he proved himself a man of
self control. Once while he was in Europe, two new employees
decided to stock up on shoes. Being fresh from New York and
not realizing the needs of a small community like Lost Cabin, they
ordered $4000 worth of ladies' dress shoes. When Okie returned
and found hundreds and hundreds of ladies' shoes, his only com-
ment to the men was, "Do you think we have enough shoes
now?"i'"
Okie knew how to please his customers as well as his employees.
He stocked a supply of goods that must have amazed the isolated
ranchers of central Wyoming. The balcony of the store was
reserved for ladies' ready-to-wear. Here, ranch wives who might
not have seen another woman for six months, could come together
to dream over the ultimate in feminine fashion, ready-made dresses
from Kansas City. Sometimes Okie, being the world traveler he
was, would even order finery from Paris to delight the women of
Lost Cabin. At his store they could buy curling irons, pompadour
combs, ruffle crimpers, silver-backed looking glasses, whalebone
corsets, fancy bloomers, satin slippers, organdy, and laces. While
women preened before the long mirrors in the balcony, the men
could marvel at the wondrous claims made by the many different
medicines Okie stocked. There were cures for "ailments of the
liver, the spleen, kidneys, the chest, lumbago, and disorders of the
privates." The most popular were The Great Doctor Kilmer's
Swamp Root Elixer, Mexican Mustang linament, Searles Remedy,
and Lydia Pinkham products with their everlasting benefits. Be-
sides these marvels, Okie's store had everything for the farmer,
cattlemen and sheepman.^ ^^
Okie served his customers with more than just merchandise. He
gave them credit when they could get it nowhere else and loaned
them money when no one else was willing. In the West after the
financial crisis of 1 887, interest rates, already high, rose still high-
er, but at the same time the flow of eastern capital to the West
virtually ceased. Ranchers just could not get loans. If they were
fortunate enough to get one, they could expect to pay 7 or 8 per-
cent interest rates on real estate; and on chattels, 10 to 12 percent
169. Day interview; Shallenberger, "In Memory," p. 6.
170. Day interview.
171. Mary Helen Hendry, "A Thorough Man and Shrewd One," Casper-
Star Tribune, March, 1968, p. 37.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 203
was considered very liberal, from 1 8 to 24 percent was not uncom-
mon, and 40 percent or above was not unknown. ^^- Okie loaned
them money at 12 percent on their sheep, then a very unstable
commodity. He was taking a big chance himself, but he saved
many ranchers by making loans to them when they could not bor-
row anywhere else. Anyone who thought he was being cheated
needed only take that same unstable collateral somewhere else and
try to borrow. They would soon realize that Okie was being
generous in allowing them 12 percent.
Hugh Day of Riverton, remembers from personal experience
how J. B. Okie treated his customers. Day was starting out in the
sheep business, and like all the other ranchers in the Lost Cabin
area, he bought on credit at the Bighorn Sheep Company Store.
Twice a year he would pay his bill when he sold his stock. One
morning he rode in to Lysite to get supplies at Okie's store there
to feed his shearing crew but was shocked to have the clerk tell
him his credit was no good anymore. Frank Harper, the general
manager, had sent word that Day had charged too much, and his
credit was to be cut off until he paid. The young sheepman left
the store confused and worried that this stroke of bad luck might
cause him to lose everything he had built up so far. Just then two
men pulled up in a car. J. B. Okie stepped out and called a
greeting to Day. Immediately sensing trouble, Okie questioned the
young rancher and learned the cause of his worry. J. B. Okie was
never known to ponder over a problem nor did he do so then. He
immediately went to Harper's office. There, in front of Day and
anyone else who wished to hear, Okie informed Harper that he was
to sell Hugh Day anything he asked for, and he was to continue to
sell to Day until the shelves were empty; then he was to sell the
shelves. Okie then made Harper call the clerk immediately and
repeat his exact words. When Day returned to the store to re-
order his supplies, the clerk's first comment was, "Do you want the
shelving, Hugh?"^''^ Okie was clearly the kind of businessman
who knew how to get a small town to support him.
Because he was trying to manage the store in an isolated area.
Okie had the added problem of outlaws. Many infamous char-
acters rode through Lost Cabin and staked themselves in Okie's
store. Anyone who knew him remembered that J. B. Okie never
let anyone take advantage of him even though he was only 5 feet
9 inches tall, slender, and prematurely bald. Some of the early
townspeople still remember how he handled one tough fellow who
tried to get away without paying his bill. The man, a rough look-
ing stranger, came in one afternoon, picked out the supplies he
172. John D. Hicks, The Populist Revolt (Lincoln. Nebraska: Univer-
sity of Nebraska Press, 1961), p. 82.
173. Day interview.
204 ANNALS OF WYOMING
wanted, and loaded them on his horse. He was going to ride off
without even making a pretense of paying. He looked like such a
mean character that no one in the store dared question him. Okie
had been watching, however, and confronted the man in front of
the store, demanding payment. The fellow just glared at Okie and
roared out in disgust, "Don't you know who I am? I'm the bad
man from Stinking Water!""^ Okie calmly pulled a gun on him
and retorted, "Well, I'm the stinkin' man from Badwater." The
fellow paid his bill.^^^
Most often Okie preferred to use clever manipulation rather
than threat of violence to protect his business interests. Once just
before he set out for Casper with the receipts from the Lost Cabin
store and the other businesses in town, Okie was warned of a
possible robbery attempt. On the desolate 85 mile ride to Casper,
Okie was overtaken by a rough character called "Wild Bill." Okie
greeted him with native friendliness and unconcern which made
Bill hesitate. The two rode along together for some time while
Okie chatted pleasantly. They were still together when night came,
so they decided to camp. Okie unloaded his pack saddle, and to
Bill's surprise, brought the money out into clear view. Then Okie
handed it to Bill, asking if he would mind guarding it for the night.
Such trust must have been Bill's undoing because when the sun
rose the next morning, the would-be-robber was still guarding the
money. He handed it over to Okie and the two rode on into
Casper together. ^'^*'
Despite his ability and foresight in the mercantile business, Okie
must have viewed some of his earlier decisions with a little chagrin.
In May of 1897, a sheepherder named Barney Bansman reported a
wonderful discovery to the newspapers. He explained that he had
been cutting down brush on his Bridger Creek ranch when he
found a small oil spring of peculiar taste and color. The Natrona
Tribune described the incident:
Having accidently touched the top of his head with some of the oil,
he found when combing the remnants of hair on his head, that a
brand new growth of hair had started on the bald spots which the oil
touched. He went almost crazy with delight at his discovery and an-
nointing his bald head, in a few days he had a new growth all over
the open and bare place and now is a completely changed man, and
as he intends to get married in a short time, you can imagine his joy.
He confidentially informed us that a stock company has been formed
to exploit his wonderful discovery and among the names of the prin-
1 74. The Stinking Water is the former name of the Shoshone River.
175. Jensen interview; V. G. Okie, autobiography, p. 13; Hendry, "Thor-
ough Man."
176. R. Lewis, "Lost Cabin Mine," p. 7; V. G. Okie, autobiography,
p. 13.
J. B. OKIE, LOST CABIN PIONEER 205
cipal officers we see those of J. B. Okie, J. W. Moore, C. H. King, Ed
Adams, and the Hon. Frank Warner will also come in.i^"
Bansman's business was doomed, however, when a practical joker
named Lem Harold from Muskrat Creek secretly emptied half the
contents from several bottles and refilled them with urine. When
those bottles sold just as well and reportedly produced the same
amazing results, Harold couldn't keep the secret. He boasted to
his friends that he was a walking gold mine, and Bansman's sales
suddenly fell off.^^^ This single article in the newspaper appears
to be the first and last reference to the amazing oil discovery.
Okie, at least, must have been grateful for that.
When the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad by-passed
Lost Cabin in 1914 in favor of Lysite, Okie's Lost Cabin store
began to lose business. It finally closed around 1917.^'" Okie's
only other attempt at merchandising was in the 1920s when he
opened six Piggly Wiggly stores in Mexico. ^^° He saw that a
fortune could be made in the general store business during this era.
But he had enough insight to recognize, as well, that the ranchers
and sheepmen of this new state had to be dealt with uniquely.
Because he understood the situation, he not only made a fortune,
but he earned friendship and great respect from his community.
(To be concluded)
177. Natrona Tribune, May 6, 1897.
178. Love interview.
179. Jensen interview.
180. Casper Daily Tribune, November 7, 1930.
206 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Thomas Fitzpatrick Ind Agt Upper Platte & Arkansas to A Cum-
mings Esqr Sup Ind Affairs St Louis. Dated Saint Louis, Mis-
souri Nov. 19th 1853.
Our relations with the wild tribes of the Prairies & Mountains
resolve themselves into a simple alternative. The policy must be
either an army or an annuity. Either an inducement must be
offered to them greater than the gains of plunder, or a force must
be at hand able to restrain and check their depredations. Any
compromise between the two systems will be only productive of
mischief, and liable to all the miseries of failure. It will beget
confidence without providing safety. It will neither create fear
or satisfy avarice, and adding nothing to the protection of trade
and emigration will add everything to the responsibilities of the
Government.
Ibid.
Leaving the Arkansas at the mouth of the "Fontaine qui boilles"
and tracing along the base of the Mountains — passing under Pikes
peak and winding around the ranges that shut in the South
Forke — crossing the "great divide" that extends even to the
Missouri — the descent trailled down one of the many small
streams that unite and form the South Platte. The topography
of this region presents many interesting features. Sheltered val-
lies, — a mild temperature, large growths of timber and immense
water power may be numbered amongst its advantages. These
together with an abundance of small game render it the favorite
resort of the Indians during the winter months and enables them
to subsist their animals even in the severest seasons. Indications
of mineral wealth likewise abound in the sands of the water cours-
es, and the gorges and canions from which they issue, and should
public attention ever be strongly directed to this section of our
territory, and free access be obtained the inducement which it
holds out, will soon people it with thousands of citizens and cause
it to rise up speedily into a flourishing Mountain State.
Thomas Fitzpatrick Indian Agent Upper Platte & Arkansas to
Thomas H. Harvey esqr Supert Indian affairs Saint Louis, Mo.
Dated Bents Fort Arkansas River Oct 19th 1847
Nothing in my opinion has been more prejudicial to the welfare
and improvement of the Indians within the territory of the United
States, than the great forbearance, and constant humouring of all
their whims together with the erroneous opinion existing that
nothing but the introduction of Christianity was wanting to make
them happy and prosperous.
Zhe 1850 Omland 'Diary of
X)l Warren Hough
The original diary of Dr. Warren Hough, who traveled overland by
wagon from Deer Grove, Cook County, Illinois, to Salmon Falls, California,
is in the possession of his granddaughter, Mrs. Walter Tate (Warrena)
White, of Abbeville, Louisiana. It is published in Annals of Wyoming
with her permission.
The original journal, written in pencil, was a "pocket book," bound in
leather, with a tab, or "tongue," which slipped into a slot, a type of diary
commonly used in the mid-1800s. The first entry was on March 8, 1850,
and the last was on July 12, 1850.
A few pages of the original diary have been deleted. They include
weather tables for the first part of March, 1850, and the entries through
March 21, which are illegible in many places. The original spelling and
punctuation have been retained, except for a few marks of punctuation
inserted for ease in reading.
Dr. Hough was a physician, and practiced in several Illinois counties.
He was probably living either in Chicago or Deer Grove when he left for
California. According to Mrs. White, her grandfather did not remain in
California. She quoted a family story recounting that he "sailed around
the Horn" to return home. His ship took on a cargo of bananas, which
was all the crew and passengers had to eat when they ran out of food before
the voyage was over. Dr. Hough reportedly never ate another banana the
rest of his life.
Dr. Hough practiced medicine until past his eighty-eighth birthday. After
1900 he made his home with a daughter, Mrs. White's mother, in Arkansas,
and died there in 1901.
March 21 S to Ira Wells from pleasance valley To Rock Island
ferried the Mississippie to Davenport, Iowa
22 S in Rockingham
23 S in Muscatine. Mr. Forbugger
24 Went to Cedar River and ferried the river to Sandy
hook then went to Iowa Citty
25 Sun. went to Church and took tea with Mr. and Mrs.
Kidder
26 Stopped in Iowa City til 28 went 22 miles stopt
campt out
29 went to Maringo stopt at Honey Creek
30 crost 3 bad creeks, camp at Bear Creek in sight of
sawmill
3 1 Sunday went and heard a California preacher he
preached from Prov. 8.4
April 1 Mon. went across a prairie 18 m. saw a number of
Elk horns went 2 m and campt by a creek by the
name of Baren
2 crossed North Skunk verry bad road Rainey To
Newton Jasper Co. stopt at Mr. Benits &
208 ANNALS OF WYOMING
3 he was gone to Calif.
4 stopt at Benette
5 ferried the North Skunk went 3 m and stopt at
Panthers Grove
6 next house, Mithel Grove bad road to Fort Des
Moines and campt in sight of the town, the road for
the last 5 miles verry bad our horses down a number
of times
7 9 of us ferried the Desmoines and went to Church,
sermon Joshua 13.8 went again in the evening got
there before time. 6 out of 8 of us read a chapter
apiece in the pulpit
8 Ferried the Desmoines and Racoon River & went
over 1 7 or 1 8 m prairie & campd by the North River
9 went 1 m, & crossed the North R. & unloaded our
waggons & crossd Madison Co. Iowa on a foot bridge
went to Happy Grove & a verry Plasant pace Drove
and campd off the road 1/2 m.all Prairie Saw many
Elk Horns saw many T. Buzards
10 went to Wahta-Wah or Middle River Wheeling Ford
met a Horse this morning & 10 of us tried to ketch
him but could not.in about 4 mi we met a man after
him he went 20 m back and caught him. saw many
Elk horns saw the Calif, preacher he pasd us at noon
at Middle R. here was 2 or 3 men with a Tent and a
Barrel of Whiskey and a little pan of corn, no Hay
for 2 days, campt at Wheelings Ford this we had to
Brush & put in dirt. I heard Wolves in the night
11 went 12 m. came to Campbells Grove here we took
dinner & the Preacher came up. this as good a
camping place as I have seen fine cool weather.
Roads fine all day on the Prairie saw a fine grove at
the right hand came to the Nishnabotany or Indian
Town this river we Forded, ferry below here is 4 or
5 houses got all the hay they had. $20 Ton 1 d. per
bale, campd
1 2 Rained in the night & Blew verry hard snowed and
froze in the morning but the sun came out clear came
over the Prairie 15 m. to Highland Grove then to
West Nisnabotony. Toll Bridge 2/per M and Horse
but we Forded it a few Rods Below the Bridge &
Mills camp Then to Silver Creek. Here is a new
settlement Wheat looks green & the best of any we
have seen. Saw the largest Elk Horns
13 Traders Point
1 4 went to church
15 I saw an old Indian chief washcousin.gave him 2/
THE 1850 OVERLAND DIARY OF DR. WARREN HOUGH 209
22 Went after corn pd for dinner Traveled 40 miles
South & Lodged at Mr. Richards Esq. Bill 4/
23 Ferried the Nishnabotony Diner & Hors Feed Ferried
back the Nishnabotony Staid at Mr. Richards Beg'd
& Hot 18 B. Corn at 1.25 pr. Bushel
24 At Francisville 9 bushels corn Dinner, Pd for wagon
Exeltree, pd 2 boys for hauling us out of a hole, pd
for Ferridge, pd Hired Waggon
26 left Francisville and ferried went down
29 to Pope and cross Indian Creek & campd
30 Went to the Elk Horn & ferried pd 10/
May 1 went to the Piatt, good roads and good camping
2 Saw Indians, good Road. 2 bad Runs to Cross
3 Went to Loop Fork
4 Ferried & campd. 10 men volunteered to go back
and look for 4 Horses that got away the 2nd at night,
a company came up with a girl that lost her father at
Nishnabotony.her Uncle with her
Sunday 5 a part of our company gon a mile & 1/2 to see 6
Indians Bodies Killed by the Sioux 104 miles from
C.B.
6 Monday went about 24 & campt by the Loop about
one mile from the road.
7 went about 18 saw some antelopes. Saw 7 good
waggon wheels in deep hole in the Loop Fork.
8 went over Sand bluffs without water 1 2 or 15 miles &
campt by Prairie Creek
9 went to Wood Creek. Buffalo Chips for fuel. Saw
many bones by the way & 2 graves close side by side
one I. Kellog. at Wood Creek found a fresh grave
old cloth & a good Harness, one of our company
broke his waggon made a cart of it
10 found Good Grass 11/2 miles south of the Ford at
Wood Creek & went this day to the Platte, passed 2
graves of Californians that died with cholera last
June. I. Hale from Beetown, Wisconsin his wife and
2 children was with him saw Deer & Antelope, saw
an Animal that would weigh 50 or more dead but
what it was I could not name it. campd by the side
of Timber, this morning a man of our company was
under the influence of Laudinum & had like to have
died but we brought him out
1 1 Drove with water but once «& no feed. Saw much
game Antelopes Deer & Buffalo, a number of dead
Buffalo by the side of the way campd at long Island,
one company have been here 2 weeks & have killed
13 Buff, here we came in sight of the Platte & saw
many Trains on the other side, on each side of the
210 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Road we saw Hundreds of Prairie Dogs & verry
amusing to see the little fellows peep their heads out
of their holes & bark at us. we passed a long
12 Sunday at Long Island.freezing nights & very warm
days, good level Roads, this day we drove 10 miles
on account of Grass & then found very poor & campd
by the side of a bad sluggish stream, a clear swift
running stream, 1/2 miles South. Saw 12 dead
Buffalo in the 10 miles & some of our men says that
over the Bluff about 2 miles that 160 they can count
that was burnt by the fire being set about 1 0 days ago
by one Clark of little foot
1 3 Piatt River, drove by the side of the River, saw a
Wolf and many Buffalo burnt & campd by the River,
poor wood & River water, found some Grass about
2 miles from the R
14 Drove by the R. Saw many Trains on the other side,
campd by a little Dirty Run no wood Buffalo chips
for fuel
1 5 Started at 7 o'clock as usual saw many dead Buffalo
& one alive on the bluffs about 2 miles off & 4 or 5 of
our men started for him & one on horseback & when
they came up to him there was a large herd & they
fired at an old Bull & then I. Porter went & shot him
in the head & the B. came at him & got him down &
he fired a pistol ball into him & the other men came
up & drove him off. they succeeded in Killing him
packed a horse with some of the meat, camped at
Skunk Creek
16 had a division in the company, the two Lothrops
made a disturbance in the train & in private
companies & they & part of the train went on & we
stopt & 4 of us went out a hunting & we saw 20 old
B. & 5 calves. I shot one down & one cut his throat
and then it got up and came at us and we gave him
another shot & packed in its hams. at 3 o'clock started
on went 8 miles & campd
1 7 went good R this after noon the bluffs has been lined
with Buffalo description will fail to tell the amount,
saw the grave of George Washington Jordan who
died May 1 st with the congestion on the brain aged
27 Residence Dubuque Co. Iowa. W. Johnson killed
a B. passed our dissenters 2 miles & campt by
1 8 The Piatt in the flatt was covered with Buff & a
number across the River to us & 2 the boys chasd and
shot at but not hit. 4 or miles we crossed Bluff
Creek quick sand but good ford, left the R. & went
over Sandy Bluffs a few m & came onto the R flatts
THE 1850 OVERLAND DIARY OF DR. WARREN HOUGH 211
& then over the Bluffs 2 1/4 mi & on to good camping
ground.on the Road for some miles here is good
Brooks & good camping drove 29
19 Sunday lay over.Ferguson's Company passed & Vinal
Andrews in it. one ox company passed & a Horse
Company, the Dissenters camp in the rear of us but
in sight & the Lothrops came up to get his
acquaintance not to write back their conduct
20 went 34 miles & came by the side of the Piatt, passed
by a company saw 2 good waggons & a horse by the
side of the road a dying, came in sight of Vinal's
Company & 2 waggons & a sick man they thought he
would Die before M but he was better, it was
inflamation in the bowels
21 passed the Lone Tree, passed 2 Graves a Mr. Keley
& one Margaret Hawk aged 47 both died 1849. Mr.
K. Died with the cholera, one Horse D. of our
company and one left, saw 2 or 3 good waggons left
on the road & campd in sight of Chimney Rock. here
is a kind of rock that makes a noise like a child a
crying, some large snakes such as the adder Rattle &
Bull snakes, saw many of the Sioux Indians on both
sides of the River. Ears burnt so that they are sore.
Face & hands chapt & cracked open Eyes & lips sore.
22 all cross as fury, saw a number of Indians ford the
River
23 Good roads passing Chimney Rock. the Rock is a
great curiosity
24 come in sight of Black Mountain
25 Traveled over heavy Sandy Roads to Ft. Laramy.
here is a Government Ferry they Ferry for 8/1.00 a
waggon, so many in before us. we could not ferry
this day. saw an Indian child wrapped in some skins
& lashed up in the forks of a large dry willow, the
United States major said we could Ferry over by 10
o'clock at night, all the waggons but one was
Ferried that was before us. they was taking over 4
horses the Boat sunk & one young man by the name
of Thaddius Morrel from Kane Country Sugar Grove,
111. was Drowned, here is a garden & onions & other
vegetables growing nicely & in sight on the mountains
there is ice & snow
26 Sunday, many looked for the drowned man but to
no purpose
27 Ferried the Piatt at Laramy Ft. & the next company
sunk the boat & 2 came near being drowned, one
went ashore holding the horses mane, went 15 &
camped by a good Spring
212 ANNALS OF WYOMING
28 a few rods after we started we saw the grave of Mrs.
Mildred Moss died 1849 from Galena age 47. At
noon Laramy Peak is to our left & looks as if it was
not more than 6 or 8 miles but it must be 20 or 25.
we can see the snow plain & clouds pass below the
top of mo
29 Traveled some miles North West. in all saw
sheep's Horns Twice as Big as Tame s. Prickley pears
thick as thistles at the east, we heard that the man
with the Barrel of whiskey at Middle River was shot
on a stolen Horse, we heard he had stolen some
cattle the night or 2 before we was there & he was
caught with an emigrant's horse & would not give
him up & the emig. shot him & took his horse
30 overtook a Boy of 19 with tris. provisions on his back
that was Hard Bread & sugar & carried a can of
water, he started from Ohio had out traveled all the
Teams but ours, heard of a man ahead with a
wheelbarrow he stopt at Ft. Laramy & got a supply &
enquired if there was not some Packers ahead for he
had out traveled all the teams & he wanted to over
take them so as to have company, a few days after
some Packers came along & enquired for the man &
barrow & said they had rode a number of Days to
overtake him. Drove about, here's some of the
most rocky mountains I ever saw & Bluffs as red at
sundown as Blood can be
3 1 Traveled in sight of mountains all Day with snow
on them, passed 3 or 4 large Trains & one had a
woman aboard, came to the last ferry on the Platte
June 1 Ferried the Platte pd four dollars & fifty cents for one
waggon & 2 horses, went four miles & campd over
2 Sunday part of our company went on for feed & the
Porters & 2 or 3 others stopd over Sunday, the
mountains covered with large Pines although they
look small & large snow Drifts on the mountains,
many handsome flowers & pretty smelling shrubs &
large snakes & other insects
3 Traveled some sandy & crooked road, carried our
water for horses & ourselves for 24 miles, passed a
small alkaline pond & a few miles further a small
stream of Alkali, some of our horses drank & it
physicked them immediately, very soon after
passing these ponds we saw many cattle bones which
was killed by drinking the water, passed Willow
Springs and Prospect Hill, camped on a pretty little
stream on the left of the road.
4 We drove 1 5 miles & came to Independence Rock
THE 1850 OVERLAND DIARY OF DR. WARREN HOUGH 213
where every body's name is on. we drove round the
rock & turned out our horses on poor feed, drove
this day 23 & camped 1/2 mile beyond the Devil's
Gate one of the greatest Natural Curiosities I ever
saw & here was the rest of the peoples names that was
not written at the Council Rock, a grove was by the
side of the road in the Gate. Campd 1/2 mile
beyond the Gate off the road by the River
5 Cross many bad streams. 10 or 1 1 miles from the
Gate is another similar pass & another grave on the
Right side of the road & on the Tomb was Nancy
Carole Smith Born May 1824. Buffalo chips is a
total failur for fuel but Sage Roots is a good
substitute, for a number of days we haven't been
out of sight of snow
6 in sight of the Rocky Mountains although we have
been in sight of rocky mountains for 2 weeks they
have not appearance of R. M. there is a number of
what is called Rocky some is towering above another
as white as snow can make them, they are over 50
miles off an occasionally they look precisely like the
White Clouds. Drove 28 forded the Sweet Water &
campt in the forks, no grass for the horses the last
night nor this night
7 passed over many hills and sloughs & stony roads,
stopt at noon by a grave the inscription was F.
Merion Young Died August 30, 1849 age 2 years 8
month & 23 days. Wm has got the tooth ache &
cross as fury, passed over three miles of the
roughest road & stony that I ever saw. we are hardly
opposite the Rocky M. but such a scene no Tongue
cannot describe white as the snow can make them
(the Rocky mts.)
8 forded a bad Creek & on the West side was the Grave
of Sally Willcox 5 years old. forded a number of
bad creeks some 3 feet deep. passing the Rocky
Mountains passed the grave of . Good
roads little feed. Traveled over much sand passed
Pacific Spring about 1 2 miles & camped but a
very past the R. M. good water sandy
road
9 Sunday, went 6 miles to the cutoff & went 6 miles to
Little Sandy & found the rest of the company had
gone by Salt Lake & we drove back 6 miles & went
the S. L. R. to the Big Sandy & Forded, good Ford
& found our company making in all A. B. Andrews
Parker & Kent dividing & separating-went about 8
miles & crossed Big Sandy this day & campt 1/2 mile
214 ANNALS OF WYOMING
from Big Sandy, we are leaving the Rocky
Mountains
10 behind us but plains in sight & far as they eye can
see the mountains is covered with snow & ice
1 1 Ferried the Green River, drove 6 miles & campd &
6 before we came to a ferry, last Friday we drove
over snow from 3 to 4 feet deep after we Ferried
Green River & 130 or more Horses turned out to
graze. the Indians fastened wigwam poles on back of
a horse & lashed a young Indian in a Buffalo robe
concealed & ran among the horses. I happened to be
by & caught our Horses before they took fright & the
rest of our company that was Ferried & saved them
but about 100 ran off among the bluffs & else where
& was not found, when we left I gave a rifle that cost
me 1 1 dollars for ferrying one wagon & 2 horses
which was Five Dollars
12 drove in all sandy & uneven road, about 12 o'clock
heavy hail storm came to Hams Fork & could not
ford it & took one of our waggon boxes & put it into
a Tent & fastened the Tent around it and ferried all
of our stuff over then our wagons pulled over with
ropes & swam our horses, passed a grave who died
last August
1 3 came 1 0 miles without water & about 5 more came to
Black Fork bad driving in & water came into our
boxes, drove past Ft. Bridger & campd in the Cedar
Mountains covered with snow on both sides of us
14 had the most hills we have had on our whole route &
the most stones. drove to Bear River, dangerous
River to ford, a number of men got thrown from
their horses in fording, here is a Tribe of Snake
Indians & they was the most cheerful & lively Indians
I ever saw
15 we forded all safe & drove over a hill & then down a
valley & crossed many bad holes
16 Sunday, laid by
17 rained and snowed. The hills covered with snow &
all our company went on but one wagon & ours,
found last that one William Scott from the Oswayo
was with us & was the nearest neighbor to Uncle
Elisha Mix in Sharon, Pa. came to Weeber River &
followed it down to the ferry & found the rest of our
company, drove 20 miles
18 Ferried & pd $3.00.44 miles to the great Valley.
Traveled over Seram M. Traveled up the canyon.
Broke the reach & lost our Bacon Beans ropes Bridles
THE 1850 OVERLAND DIARY OF DR. WARREN HOUGH 215
curry comb & all my clothes but what I had on but
found a part. most all our medicines
19 Traveled up the canyon & crossing it in all 19 times,
went up a hill 3 miles & saw the great valley, went
down another small stream & campd
20 drove through the great Mormon City & crossed near
the hot spring saw a man that was in company with 2
of the Jordans
21 drove to Willow Creek
22 drove to the Weber
23 & encamped over Sunday I was sick with the
mountain fever
24 I was better. Ferried the Weber. 3 dollars, went
to Box Elder Creek & encamped
25 went to Bear River & ferried. the ferriage was 4
dollars & one for a bridge 2 miles further on Mud
Creek
26 Drove
27 Crossed the Casus Creek & campd by the side of the
creek
28 Came in sight of Steeple Rocks
29 drove over bad hills had to let our waggons down
with ropes, encamped on Goose Creek Saturday
30 Sunday rested
July 1 we travel up the Creek 1 8 miles & good road traveled
2 went over the Hills To Thousand Spring Valley saw
the grave of David K. Boner Drowned July 1, 1850
from I think from Dubuque Co. Iowa aged 19 years
& one m & how a man could drown either 20 or even
40 miles from here is a mystery unless he fell in one
of those wells. Johnson said every thing that he could
to provoke me & we divided & left the wagon &
Harness, traveled saw many dead Horses & one
mule, saw an advertisement that the Indians had
shot a man & they did not expect he would live &
shot 4 horses, encamped on the head of St. Mary's
River
4 I saw this morning one of the company that the
Indian shot. 2 men were on watch & at Daylight one
of the men went to the camp about 1/2 mile. 4 of
the Horses strayed a Httle from the rest & the man
Wm. Samuel Oliver started to go round them when
he saw 3 or 4 Indians & in a minute one rose up from
behind a sage brush & shot him with an arrow in the
Breast, he ran round the Horses & started them to
the camp & pulled the arrow out & left the flint in.
doctor said it touched his heart went 35
5 saw some Indians, crossed St. Mary's River had to
216 ANNALS OF WYOMING
back everything across the River & haul the waggons,
came to the grave of W. Henderson who Died this
morning & there was an advertisement on the tomb to
caution all emigrants to keep a strong guard for the
Indians had stolen 1 1 horses from their company &
shot one mule & stripped one man of all his clothes &
left him naked.
6 came up to the company that the man died out of &
lost the horses. Mr. Henderson died with a Relax or
Diarrhea. Samuel Oliver that was shot by the Indian
Died last night, a little before we camped we saw 20
or 30 Indians & the Capt. of the Train that lost the 1 1
horses with some of his men & revolvers went in
pursuit of them.they said they would kill every Indian
they could, went 35.1 have went on foot this 4 days,
we have not been out of sight of snow a day since we
came in sight of Ft. Laramy
7 went down the St. Mary's over hills and rough r.
8 went down the R
9 went a verry crooked road over a point of stony road
10 went over a number of miles of Desert some 12 or 14
& then 2 or 3 off the road & cut hay on the opposite
side & ferried it in a Box
11 this morning heard we were within 12 m. of the sink
of St. Marys River & some say it is 80 or 1 10 & after
arriving at about 14 miles we found many at the
River & some said it was the end & 1 8 or 20 miles
further the Desert & we must go 1 0 miles out of our
way for Hay to go across the Desert. I saw a man
with the ox team that had been to Oregon &
California & he said to me he was lost coming the
new route & the River so altered he and 2 others that
had been through was not satisfied but on the whole
concluded it was the sink, we hear of another man
being shot & one drowned at the sink & many Horses
stolen & I don't know how many we passed dead &
dying many enquiring for provisions, all lay over
F 1/2 a day
12 one came to us this morning & said they had eaten all
they had for supper & nothing for breakfast, had
money enough but nothing to eat
Some J^ew J^otes oh
Zwo Old Jorts
By
Fred R. Gowans
While doing research for a doctoral dissertation entitled, "A History of
Fort Bridger, 1842-1857," the author accumulated a sizable amount of
material concerning two areas of Wyoming history on which very little has
been written. With the thought that the material would be of interest and
importance to the student of western history additional research was com-
pleted so that the data could be published.
The following articles, "The Fort on Willow Creek" and "Fort Bridger:
Claims and Counter Claims," deal with the history of Fort Supply and Fort
Bridger in regard to the financial claims of Lewis Robison against the
Trustee and Trust of the Mormon Church and James Bridger's claims
against the United States government.
THE FORT ON WILLOW CREEK
With the creation of the territory of Utah on September 9, 1850,
Fort Bridger became located in the political boundaries of the
territory under the governorship of Brigham Young. This action
started a series of events which culminated in the founding and
construction of Fort Supply.
Since the erection of Fort Bridger in 1843, its owners, James
Bridger and Louis Vasquez, had been free from any type of
governmental control from Mexico and the United States. Now
with the formation of Utah Territory, the owners felt the contain-
ment of civilization and the weight of laws passed by the political
machinery of the territory.
In the winter of 1852-1853, the Utah Territorial Legislature
granted a charter to Daniel H. Wells of Salt Lake City to operate
the emigrant ferries on Green River. Naturally the mountain men,
including Jim Bridger, resented the act of certain Utah groups
acquiring the lucrative business which they had controlled. They
had no intentions of turning their business over to the Mormons,
so they enforced what they thought were their rights, controlling
every ferry but one and reaping approximately $30,000 in tolls
during that summer.^
1. Milton R. Hunter, Brigham Yoiiii^ the Colonizer (Salt Lake City:
The Deseret News Press, 1940), p. 281.
^^fe^^
218 ANNALS OF WYOMING
When the Mormon traders returned to Salt Lake City that fall,
they reported that Bridger was selling powder and lead to the
Indians and inciting them to kill the Mormons. Bridger was
accused of selling weapons to the Indians, which was violating
Governor Young's revocation of all licenses to trade with the
Indians. -
Governor Young's reasons for desiring to own Fort Bridger are
apparent. Thousands of Mormon emigrants were traveling to
Salt Lake City each year, and an outpost in which they could rest
and replenish their supplies just before traveling the last 100 miles
through the mountains would be of untold benefit.-^
The sheriff, James Ferguson, was ordered to confiscate Bridger's
dangerous goods and deliver Bridger to Salt Lake City as a
prisoner.^ When the posse of 150 men arrived at Fort Bridger,
several days were spent in searching, but Bridger was not to be
found. Conviction of guilt or fear of the Mormons apparently
induced him to flee into hiding in anticipation of apprehension
and arrest.''
After carrying out the orders regarding the Fort Bridger prop-
erty, some of the posse continued on to the Green River, where
they engaged in a battle with the mountain men at the ferries.
Two or three of the latter were killed and much of their property,
which included whisky and several hundred head of livestock, was
taken by the posse. When the sheriff and his assistants returned
to Salt Lake City with the livestock, the word was given out by
church leaders that the Mormons were in Green River Valley to
stay.*^
Bridger seemed not to be entirely of the opinion that he was
out of Green River Valley. Hardly had the posse, which contin-
ued on at the Fort until October 17, 1853, left the Green River
Valley, before Bridger and John M. Hockaday, a government sur-
veyor, began a land survey of the land claimed by Bridger. The
survey was completed on November 6, 1853. On March 16,
1854, a copy of the survey was filed with Thomas Bullock, Great
2. Andrew L. Neff, History of Utah, 1847-1869 (Salt Lake City: The
Deseret News Press, 1940), p. 91. Because of the Walker War, which was
affecting most of the Mormon settlements in the Great Basin, Governor
Young had officially rescinded the granting and use of licenses to trade with
the Indians. Hunter, op. cit., p. 281.
3. Frederick Ross Gowans, "A History of Fort Bridger, 1841-1858,"
unpublished doctoral dissertation, Brigham Young University, 1972, p. 97.
4. Ihid., pp. 96-97.
5. William A. Hickman, Brigham Young's Destroying Angel (New York:
George A. Crofutt, 1872), pp. 91-92.
6. Gowans, op. cit., pp. 101-102.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 219
Salt Lake County recorder. A copy was also filed with the Gen-
eral Land Office in Washington, D. C, on March 9, 1854.'
Apparently the Mormon leaders thought that the summer's work
of eradicating the valley of its undesirable elements had been well
done, and that they should follow at once with a permanent colony
to be established at or near the site of Fort Bridger.*^ This was
implemented at the General October Conference of the Mormon
Church in 1853, when Orson Hyde was appointed to make a
permanent settlement in the Green River Valley at Fort Bridger.
On the last day of the conference, October 7, 1853, Hyde read the
names of 39 persons selected to accompany him on that mission,
and those called to the so-called Green River Mission were sus-
tained by the vote of the saints assembled.'* The instructions given
those men at that time clarified the meaning and purpose of the
mission.
Elder Orson Hyde was chosen to lead the company to somewhere in
the region of the Green River, select a place, and there build an out-
post from which to operate as peacemakers among the Indians, to
preach civihzation to them, and try to teach them to cultivate the
soil, to instruct them in the arts and sciences if possible, and by that
means prevent trouble for our frontier settlements and immigrant
companies. We were to identify our interests with theirs, even to
marrying among them, if we would be permitted to take the young
women of the chief and leading men, and have them dressed like
civilized people, and educated. It was thought that by forming that
kind of alliance, we would have more power to do them good, and
keep peace among adjacent tribes and also with our own people . . .
Our missionary call was to take our lives in our hands, as true
patriots, and head off, and operate as far as possible against the
wicked plots of the white men who were trying to carry their plans
to success through the Indians, and possibly set the savages on the
warpath, that the government might send troops, and thus make a
better market for the schemer's herds of cattle and horses.^"
October 18, 1853, was designated as the departure date; how-
ever, the majority of the men were unable to make that date, and
it was November 1, 1853, before the party was formed.
Because of the danger associated with the mission from Indians
and mountain men, the leadership of the mission was given two
titles — a military and an ecclesiastical designation.^^ This com-
pany of 39 men organized at the state house in Salt Lake City,
under the direction of Captain John Nebeker, started their march
7. Cecil J. Alter, James Bridger (Salt Lake City: Shepard Book Co.,
1925), p. 249.
8. Ibid., p. 250.
9. Andrew Jenson. "History of Fort Bridger and Fort Supply." Urnh
Genealogical and Historical Magazine, IV (1913), p. 32.
10. James S. Brown, Life of A Pioneer (Salt Lake Citv: George Q.
Cannon & Son Co., 1900), p. 304.
11. Ibid., p. 305.
p-
D
H
O
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 221
to the contemplated settlement and arrived at Fort Bridger eleven
days later. ^-
As soon as the first company was on its way toward the settle-
ment, Orson Hyde busied himself in raising another company to
follow the first. In less than two weeks, a group consisting of 53
men, primarily volunteers, had been raised and fitted with supplies
and necessary tools and implements. With Isaac Bullock as cap-
tain and accompanied by Orson Hyde, this group left Salt Lake
City three days after the first company had arrived at Fort
Bridger. ^-^
When the first company of Mormon colonists arrived at Fort
Bridger, they found about a dozen mountain men, who were angry
at having two or three of their numbers killed at Green River Ferry
by the Mormon posse only a few weeks previously. They had no
intentions of turning the fort over to the Mormon colonists. Ac-
cording to James Brown, they were "considerably cowed" by
"twelve or fifteen rough mountain men" who seemed to be "very
surly and suspicious;" the "spirit of murder and death appeared
to be lurking in their minds." Consequently this group of Saints,
being unprepared for such a reception, soon lost interest in occupy-
ing the post. Wandering southward, they learned that about 20
additional mountain men, together with a group of Ute Indians,
had settled for the winter on Henry's Fork.
Green River Valley looked to these colonists "as if it were held
in the fists of a well organized band of from seventy-five to a
hundred desperadoes." But the fearful Saints went southwest
through snow along Smith's Fork, being finally forced to halt by
bad traveling conditions at Willow Creek, a tributary of Smith's
Fork, about two miles above the confluence of the two streams and
at a point about 12 miles southwest of Fort Bridger. Here they
chose to settle.^* They were joined on Willow Creek by the second
group sent out from Salt Lake City and together they established
a settlement known as Fort Supply. In speaking of the arrival of
the second group, one of the original members, James S. Brown,
remarked that "on November 26th, 1853, Captain Isaac Bullock
came in with fifty-three men and twenty-five wagons. When they
joined us our company was ninety-two strong, all well armed and
when our block house was completed we felt safer than ever . . ."^•''
On the eighth of December, Orson Hyde made a visit to the Fort,
James Brown recorded in his diary:
He (Hyde) preached to us that evening, and gave many words of
encouragement. On the ninth, he examined our work and defenses.
12. Jenson, op. cit., p. 33.
13. Ibid., pp. 33-34.
14. Brown, op. cit., p. 306.
15. Ibid., pp. 307-308.
222 ANNALS OF WYOMING
He was highly pleased with the country, and applauded our choice of
location; in fact, seemed generally pleased with what we had done.^^
The plans for the blockhouse were made by James S. Brown,
and within two weeks, the project was completed. This block-
house had four wings or rooms of equal size united at the corners,
thus forming a center room. This room was built two stories high,
the lower one being used for storage and the upper for a guard
house from which position the surrounding country could be
surveyed. All of the rooms in the blockhouse were provided with
portholes.^'
By 1856, the structure of Fort Supply had changed from a
blockhouse to a picket-walled fort enclosing ten acres with several
private and commercial buildings. George A. Smith, writing to
the Deseret News on April 28, 1856, referred to Fort Supply as
being :
. . . made by setting six feet in the ground a double row of pickets
eighteen feet long about one foot through and pointed at the top, thus
enclosing about ten acres. The workmanship of this stockade, with its
bastions, indicates creditable skill and union on the part of its pro-
jectors and occupants. A two story house, used for a court house and
other public purposes, twenty-five neatly constructed dwellings, and
substantially made corrals and stockyards evidence the energy and
taste of the people . . . An adjoining field of 200 acres is enclosed
with a fence worthy of being patterned after by any settlement that I
have visited in the Territory; it is built of substantial poles laid up in
Virginia fence style with stakes and riders. This enclosure has a great
variety of soil and large additional field will be made this spring.!'^
Elsiha B. Ward, an old mountain man, and his Indian wife
joined the company during the winter months. In addition to
Ward's wife, six other Indians who wandered into the camp made
possible the study of the Shoshone language and customs.^-' By
spring, the first attempts of missionary work were begun. A
special group of missionaries was chosen to leave the Fort in April
and carry the gospel message to the Indian tribes scattered about.
During the winter, only six of the missionaries had made progress
in the Shoshone tongue. Of these, four were chosen by Orson
Hyde to make the initial contact with the Indians.^'^ E. B. Ward,
Isaac Bullock, James S. Brown, and James Davis were chosen and
set apart for this special mission. Around the middle of April,
these men set out to visit the Indian Camps. -^
16. Ibid., pp. 308.
17. Ibid., p. 307.
18. Jenson, op. cit., pp. 37-38.
19. L. G. Coates, "A History of Indian Education by the Mormons,"
unpublished doctoral dissertation. Ball State University, 1969, pp. 123-125.
20. Ibid., p. 125.
21. Brown, op. cit., p. 312.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 223
Initial contact was made with Chief Washakie's camp. The
chief cordially accepted the elders, and during a council meeting
with the tribal leaders gathered, he listened intently to the message
of the Mormons. The chief made no rebuttal to the message
presented except in references to the desire of some of the mis-
sionaries in marrying Indian women.
No, for we have not got daughters enough for our own men; and we
cannot afford to give our daughters to the white men, but we are
willing to give him an Indian girl for a white girl. I cannot see why a
white man wants an Indian girl. They are dirty, ugly, stubborn, and
cross, and it is a strange idea for white men to want such wives. The
white men may look around though and if any of you could find a
girl that would go with him, it would be alright, but the Indian must
have the same privileges among the white man. With this the council
ended.22
The missionaries continued their journey to the surrounding
camps, including the Green River area. This proselyting contin-
ued sometime into the summer until the entire mission was
abandoned sometime in July.--^ No baptisms were performed
during their mission nor was any great progress made in spreading
the Mormon doctrines.
The true state of the mission during this first year has been
somewhat unclear. Reports given by members of the mission were
generally favorable, and the Deseret News reported that all was
well in the mission.-^ Authors of other historical works published,
mentioning Fort Supply, include the report of harmony and suc-
cess felt by the first missionaries and church leaders. They also
record the continuous occupancy of the Fort by Mormon mission-
aries from 1853 to 1857. However, after the examination of
documents and journals of men who lived the first winter in the
fort, visitors, and others concerned with the mission, another story
unfolded.-"' James S. Brown reported contention among members
qf the mission, and that President Nebeker, C. Merkley, and a few
others were leaving on May 1 for their homes.-'" By spring of
1854, Orson Hyde also had second thoughts about the mission.
Hosea Stout recorded Hyde's opinion of the Fort in his diary.
It is the most forbidding and God forsaked place I have ever seen for
an attempt to be made for a settlement and judging from the altitude,
I have no hesitancy in predicting that it will yet prove a total failure.
22. Ibid., p. 318.
23. Journal of John Pulsipher, MS in Brigham Young University Special
Collections, October 18, 1853.
24. Jenson, op. cit., p. 38.
25. Evan Mecham, 'The History of the Fort Supply Indian Mission,"
unpublished researched paper, Brigham Young University, April 1973,
p. 15.
26. Brown, op. cit., p. 314.
224 ANNALS OF WYOMING
but the brothers here have done a great deal of labor . . . Elder
Hyde seems to have an invincible repugnance to Fort Supply.-"
Because of the problems of contention surrounding the mission,
the organization collapsed, and by July, the men were all released
save a few who stayed to save the crops. John Pulsipher, in his
journal reported:
A strong company of missionaries under Orson Hyde this fall went
out 125 miles in Indian country and located at Fort Supply and com-
menced learning the Shoshoni language. Built log houses and Fort
and wintered, and in the spring fenced a big field and put in crops but
it was a high cold frosty country. Many of the men were discouraged
and dissatisfied, Elder Hyde was not with them and they thot it a
hard lonesome place, so the next July they were all released to go
home unless some wished to stay and save the crops.^*^
Eight months after the founding of Fort Supply and the mission,
it was dissolved. Discontentment and hard environment had taken
its toll.
The success of the mission is questionable and yet it was not a
total failure. The Indians had been contacted and fortification
had been built in the disputed Green River Valley providing a
place of location for future settlers.
General Conference of the Mormon Church was held April 6,
1855, in Salt Lake City and with it came the reorganization of the
Fort Supply Indian Mission. Twenty elders were called to serve
as missionaries at that time, and James S. Brown was called to be
the Mission president. He had been the second counselor during
the 1853-1854 mission and had a great deal of knowledge con-
cerning the Shoshone tongue as well as the area around Fort
Supply.-'^ Isaac Bullock was called to be captain in charge of the
re-opening of the Fort and its farms. ■^^'
The mission was well organized and the men that were to be
called had been instructed during the winter concerning their re-
quired labors in the mission and in the Shoshone language.
At April conference of 1855, I was called with many others to take a
mission to Israel, the Lamanites in the Mountains. This was new
business to me but I was willing to try and I thought by the help of
the Lord perhaps I could do some good. I had attended meetings and
tried to learn my duty, and if I was ignorant it was not my fault.
The past winter I attended an Indian School taught by Brother Charles
to learn the Shoshone language. He got some knowledge of the
language last year, and we learned many words from him.
The mission seems to have been formed in a more organized manner
27. Diary of Hosea Stout, MS in Brigham Young University Special
Collection, May 7 and 11, 1854.
28. "Journal of John Pulsipher," October 18, 1853, Utah Humanities
Review Quarterly, Vol. 2, October 1948, No. 4, pp. 351-380.
29. Brown, op. cit., p. 350.
30. Gowans, op. cit., pp. 107-127.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 225
than before. The admonitions to the Elders by the Church Leaders,
also includes more context directed at conversion of the Indians to
Mormonism and spreading the gospel to the remnants of Israel. -'^
The missionaries left May 17 for Fort Supply.
We went as directed 125 miles and located our head quarters at Fort
Supply the old stamping grounds of Elmer Hyde's mission that was
out here last year, where we found several log houses and a wooden
Fort built & a farm of more than a hundred acres fenced. ■'-
The mission was divided into two groups. There were seven
men in the company who were fluent in the Shoshone language.
These men, led by President Brown, were sent out to proselyte the
Indian camps in the surrounding area. The other group was to
stay at the Fort and carry on agrarian interests and teach the
Indians who might visit the Fort.-^-^
President Brown's group met with Washakie early in the sum-
mer of 1855. During the Council meeting, including the head
men and the sub-chiefs, the elders explained their mission. They
presented Washakie and the Indian leaders a letter from Brigham
Young offering friendship, trade and teachers to teach farming
methods to the Indians as a sign of friendship. A Book of
Mormon was also presented to the Indians with a declaration
concerning the contents and the Mormon belief that it is a record
concerning the Indians' forefathers.
The Book of Mormon was then handed to the sub-chiefs. Many
of these Indians at this time declared the book, "No good to the
Indians," and displayed dissatisfaction at the message of the elders.
Washakie then picked up the book and began his oration.
You are all fools; you are blind, you cannot see; you have no ears,
for you do not hear; you are fools for you do not understand. These
men are our friends. The great Mormon captain (Brigham Young)
has talked with our father above the clouds, and he told the Mormon
captain to send these good men to us.-^-^
Washakie continued speaking of the need for the Indian to
change and adapt to more stable existence. Washakie expressed
his desire to learn of the ways of farming and continue trade with
the Mormons. •^■"' This response was manifested many times during
the next few years of the mission.
At Fort Supply, the Indians were instructed as they came to visit
31. "A Short Sketch of the History of John Pulsipher." Brigham Young
University, reprinted 1972, p. 45.
32. Pulsipher, op. cit., pp. 351-380.
33. Charles E. Dibble, "The Mormon Mission to the Shoshone Indians,"
Utah Humanities Revie)\\ University of Utah: Salt Lake City. Utah. 1947,
p. 172.
34. Brown, op. cit., p. 356.
35. Ibid.
226 ANNALS OF WYOMING
the post and trade with the Mormons. An example of this method
is found in John Pulsipher's Journal.
On the 9th of August 30 Indians visited for a week, they danced and
feasted. August 12, Sunday about 40 Indians attended church and
were taught all the missionaries thought they could remember.36
During the last part of the summer, August 3 or 4, 1855, the
first fruits of the proselyting mission were produced. Three bap-
tisms were performed: Mary Corger, an Indian boy named Cor-
setry, and Sally Ward — all Shoshone Indians. These were the first
people of that tribe to enter the Mormon faith.^^
There are numerous accounts to be found in letters and diaries
pertaining to the missionary work among the Indians at and around
Fort Supply. Isaac Bullock wrote:
We introduced the Book of Mormon and while at endeavoring to
give them an insight into it they call on us for a piece of paper and
pencil which I furnish him and the Chief took it saying I will write
and see if you can understand my writing. He then made the enclosed
characters and representation and presented it to me saying can you
read this I answered no, his reply was neither can we read or under-
stand yours. I then said if you will explain to me your writing as I
have explained mine to you I will then understand it.^s
The language barrier was one of the major problems to the
missionaries. Yet Bullock stated:
The brethren here feel very anxious to learn the language of the
natives so they can preach to them. Four men are calculating to
start in a few days to Washakee's camp and winter with him.39
The missionaries were not content to preach just to the Indians
who came to the fort, but continually paid visits to the Indian
camps. Isaac Bullock wrote:
I visited Washakee and his band about 2 weeks ago. He manifested
a good spirit. The most friendly I ever found him in possession of.
The prospects here are as bright as they ever have been and the
brethren feel desirous to carry out their missions according to the
spirit of the same.*^"
The leading brethren and most of the missionaries realized that
the greatest missionary tool would be converted baptized Indians
who could preach to their own people and have more influence
with them. The renowned Friday, the Arapaho who paid a visit
36. Pulsipher, op. cit., p. 362.
37. Dibble, op. cit., p. 175.
38. Isaac Bullock to George A. Smith, Oct. 5, 1855, quoted in Manu-
script Collection of Isaac Bullock, MS in Church Historian's Office, here-
after cited as MCIB.
39. Isaac Bullock to George A. Smith, October 20, 1855, MCIB.
40. Isaac Bullock to Brigham Young, June 29, 1857, MCIB.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 227
to Fort Supply, was singled out as a good prospect to help the
cause of Mormonism among the Indians for two reasons : first, he
seemed sincerely interested in the Mormon doctrine preached to
him by some of the missionaries; and second, he had an excellent
understanding and ability to speak English. Isaac Bullock wrote:
Yesterday we received a visit from Mento Supa or Black Bear in
company with Friday and some 40 other braves of the Arapaho tribe.
They are on their return from a fruitless chase after the Euwinta
Tribe. They said they were two days without food. We fed them
bountifully after which we preached to them in English as Friday
understood the English language well, he interpreted to them. We in-
structed them concerning the Book of Mormon, the nature of our
mission, etc. etc. We told them about the good feelings, we enter-
tained for all the Red Men, counciling them to be at peace with all
tribes, etc. etc. They manifested a good friendly feeling towards us
and we believe their visit will be productive of good .... We believe
Friday would make a good missionary as he was 7 years in S. Louis.-* i
In August, 1857, because of warfare with the surrounding tribes,
the Shoshone Nation had been driven together for better protec-
tion. On August 18, 50 to 60 of them came to Fort Supply.
According to Bullock, "they were very friendly we made them a
dinner and while it was being prepared I preached to them the
Book of Mormon writings of their Fathers."^- Bullock and the
other missionaries at Fort Supply did not waste the opportunity to
tell the Indians that the approaching federal army was coming to
punish the Mormons because of the Book of Mormon and the
Church's doctrine of polygamy. According to Bullock, this excited
the Indians, "for said they we have more than one wife. If they
are mad at you and are going to fight you because you have many
wives what will we do?"^-^
The question of agricultural success was one of the major con-
cerns for the original settlers at Fort Supply. If Fort Supply was
to furnish food supplies to the emigrants, it was necessary that
farming be successful. Brother Robbins, one of the first settlers,
wrote from Fort Supply on March 5, 1854, to Orson Hyde:
We are enjoying first rate health and have ever since you left. The
spirit of the Lord has been with us, and we have enjoyed ourselves
much. We have had pretty cold weather most of the winter though
not as much snow as was anticipated; the most on the ground at one
time has probably not exceeded one foot on the level; but in conse-
quence of the west winds our animals have had a good chance to get
at the grass. The severe weather set in about the first of January and
the thermometer stood on the 6th, 17 below zero at sunrise; on the
20, 25 below, at sunrise on the 21st, 30 below. A few cattle died,
and some who went out to see to the stock got their feet slightly
41. Ibid.
42. Isaac Bullock to Brigham Young, October 18, 1857, MCIB.
43. Ibid.
228 ANNALS OF WYOMING
frozen. At this date the thermometer ranges from 8 to 12 above
zero with frequent snow squalls. ^^
Similarly, the Deseret News of June 22, 1854, contained the
following:
By our latest advices from Green River Ferries, and Fort Supply,
dated the 17th and 20th inst., we learn that matters are moving on
quite harmoniously; but the question whether farming can be carried
on there to advantage is still undetermined.^-''
A small crop was raised in 1854, but in the fall of that year, it
was still a question whether or not farming could be made success-
ful.^^' George Boyd, who arrived in Salt Lake City from Fort
Supply July 2, 1855, reported that the settlers there had "seventy
acres of wheat looking fine, and that there were no grasshoppers."
His opinion was supported by James Robison, who left Fort
Supply July 18, 1855, for Salt Lake City, and reported the crops
at the fort were "looking fine and the brethren were all well and in
good spirits. The grasshoppers had so far done no damage to the
fields."^'
Though the preceding reports during the summer of 1855 would
indicate that the crops at Fort Supply would be good, Isaac Bullock
gave a very unfavorable report concerning the crops under the
date of October 5, 1855. He wrote:
Agreeable to your request I now snatch a few moments to fulfill
my promise. I arrived safely at Fort Supply, September 25th after
being absent a month and five days. I found the brethren generally
enjoying good health and spirits. The wheat had suffered very much
from a severe frost on the 17th of September, which killed nearly
every thing that had not fully matured, cut down the potatoe tops
and gave the trees and shrubery a chill that turned the leaves down
in humble submission, as preface to what was coming. On the night
of my arrival, ice froze one fourth of an inch thick on the north side
of my room. The wheat, which was in the milk, or dough, is mostly
spoiled, being frozen stiff, and one half of our wheat crop is cut off.
three acres of wheat were ripe and harvested before the frost.^^
A good account of what had been accomplished at Fort Supply
in 1855 and the agricultural possibilities at that high altitude was
plainly stated by George A. Smith. He recorded the following:
Elders Ezra T. Benson, Erastus Snow and myself accepted an invi-
tation from Judge Bullock to visit his residence at Fort Supply. We
went up the Black's Fork Road, through a very fine and rich bottom,
capable of producing the choicest grain, vegetables and fruit, and
were surprised to find that Fort Supply was seven thousand two hun-
44. Jenson, op. cit., pp. 34-35.
45. Deseret News, June 22, 1854, p. 6.
46. Jenson, op. cit., p. 35.
47. Ibid.
48. Isaac Bullock to George A. Smith, October 5, 1855, MCIB.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 229
dred feet above the level of the sea, according to the best estimate
that we could make of its relative position to Bridger. The settlers
have saved everything that would feed stock, even to the wheat head-
ing and chaff. The success of this settlement, at so great an altitude,
shows conclusively what may be done with some of our mountain
valleys, those which have been considered a couple of thousand feet
above the level of cultivation. 4'*
Even though George A. Smith was well pleased with the success
that the Fort Supply settlement had seen in agriculture, it is easy to
see that he realized the elevation was too high to accomplish much
in regard to agriculture. Fort Supply, however, was an excellent
example of devotion and industry for Smith to use as an inspiration
to other settlers at a lower elevation who might complain.
In writing to George A. Smith on October 20, 1855, Isaac
Bullock stated: "We have gathered everything which we raised
into our Fort and feel that we can protect ourselves this winter
by the grace of our God."^"*" The settlers survived the winter but
this was only accomplished by budgeting the food and supplies.
One year later Bullock wrote to the Deseret News :
We have just got through with our wheat harvest, and are now
harvesting our oats, potatoes, beets, etc. Notwithstanding the frost of
Sept. 7th we will have half a crop of wheat, and our potatoes are
turning out as well as could be expected .... The brethren are all
alive, preparing for winter, and Fort Supply is becoming more desir-
able than it was.-"'^
On June 29, 1857, Isaac Bullock wrote Brigham Young the
following concerning the difficulty with their crops:
I feel to give you a brief report of the affairs of this mission. I
arrived here on the 2nd of May and found a good spirit of reforma-
tion and industry among the brethren. The weather continued cold
and stormy till the 20th of May, freezing almost every night. The
crops were very backward, as the wheat sown in March and April was
repeatedly cut down with, the frost, since then the weather has been
warm and pleasant and the crops have grown rapidly. Our potatoes
looked well until the night of the 26th of June being the first frost
that injured vegetation since May 20th when the sun was 3 hours in
the morning. I measured the ice — 3/4 of an inch. — our potatoes
were cut down.'"'-
Time and time again Bullock was forced to write the Church
leaders in Salt Lake and ask for supplies to be sent because the
crops at the fort were not sufficient to feed those at Fort Supply
let alone the emigrants who passed by enroute to the Valley. Even
though the settlers at the Fort could not produce enough food to
49. Deseret News, April 28, 1856, p. 2.
50. Isaac Bullock to George A. Smith, October 20. 1855. MCIB.
51. Deseret News, October 1, 1856, p. 4.
52. Isaac Bullock to Brigham Young. June 29. 1857, MCIB.
230 ANNALS OF WYOMING
sustain themselves, Fort Supply was still very much needed as a
resting place for the oncoming emigrants and the settlement was
viewed by the church leaders as being permanent.
Fort Supply was not without trouble with the Indians. Isaac
Bullock, writing George A. Smith, stated, "It is a busy time here
now and the Indians are coming all around us. We have our grain
to harvest, potatoes to dig and crops to secure and with all our
care and diligence the natives are bound to have a share. "''•^
Referring to Brigham Young, Tababooindowetsy, a Shoshone
chief, was quoted as saying:
They had much to complain of Brigham. Said they, says the
Buffalo, Elk Deer, Antelope, and little prairie dogs, all of the Sho-
shonee meat was going to decrease and they must go to farming.
And the Mormons were poor and coveted their victials meaning flour
and meat .... Brigham had given them nothing. 5*
Continuing, Bullock stated that:
They camped 12 miles from our Fort, and ordered us to bring a
wagon load of potatoes and also one of flour, as if they were lords
and were to be obeyed. They demanded a beef, some flour and other
articles of George W. Boyd, who is in care of Fort Bridger and he
. had to forth over, after which they are not satisfied but went to Jack
Robinson's a mountaineer, and shot one of his best work oxen.55
In a letter written to George A. Smith from Fort Supply, on
October 20, 1855, Isaac Bullock . itemized the problem that con-
tinually arose between the Indians and settlers. The problem of
one person promising something to the Indians, of which others
did not have knowledge, continually plagued the settlement. This
was usually done to get rid of the Indians who often became quite
a nuisance. Bullock wrote:
There had been some trouble here with the Indians. One of the
Chiefs by the name of Tababooindowesyam band came to our Fort
Oct. 1. They demanded a present of potatoes and wheat from Bro.
Brown teUing him that he had promised it to them. He told them
he had made no such promise. They told him that he lied and were
very bold and impatient. There had been a promise made to them by
Bro. Pulsipher before they went into the valley that when the leaves
fell the potatoes and wheat were ripe if they should come we would
give them some wheat and potatoes that grew on their land. This
promise was made in Bro. Brown's absence and he knew nothing of it.
Bro. Pulsipher having the charge of affairs made this promise to get
rid of them until the crops were mature for they were grabling the
potatoes before they were as big as hazel nuts ...
This lack of communication on the part of the settlers usually
53. Isaac Bullock to George A. Smith, October 5, 1855, MCIB.
54. Ibid.
55. Ibid.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 231
brought about the attitude of steahng or destroying the crops at the
fort. He continued.
Just about this time three, two young bucks and one httle chief
come to where Pres. Brown was standing at the bars and wanted to go
through he said they might if they would keep the path and not run
over the grain. They pushed through and went galloping over the
wheat saying it was good to run over Mormon's grain.
It was very common for the settlers to grant to the Indians food
from the fields. Yet when the settlers went to the fields to pick the
crops, the Indians would take advantage of the situation by ravag-
ing the fields and became angry if asked to stop. Bullock wrote:
I went to dig some potatoes for the Chief as I had promised him
some he went along with me nearly his whole band followed and
commenced grabling all round me. I spoke to the Chief to see what
his people were doing he very carefully replied that he had no eyes
and could not see them.
Usually on such occasions, the settlers ended up taking pre-
cautions against attack from the Indians which was threatened on
many occasions.
A strong guard was placed around the fort and kept up all
night .... Our horses were sent out next morning with a guard to
place where if any enemy was to come they could see the enemy
before it would get to them and if they saw any dust or appearance
of Indians that the guard should run the horses into the corral in the
fort. About one or two o'clock a large dust rose in the distance
pretty soon here comes the guard full charge with the horses the cry
was the Indians are coming. Orders to arms . . . Every man was to
his post expecting every moment to hear the war hoop cry from the
guard house, which all most stopped our hearts from beating.
It often turned out being a false alarm or the Indians had second
thoughts of attacking the fort. On several occasions, the cry of
Indians was found out to be the Indian agent in company with
the Indians enroute to the fort to settle the differences between
the settlers and the Indians.
As they neared to our Fort it was authentically declared that it was
the Indians Agent for here he was in person followed by the Indians
who were stopped at the gate by Pres. Brown request. The agent had
their arms taken from them before he would let them come into the
fort .... He then held a council with them. The thing was all talked
over and they the Indians argued to throw away all of their mad
feelings. 56
In summing up the relationship between the Indians and Mor-
mons at Fort Supply, Bullock stated: "At times they manifest the
most friendly feelings imaginable and at other times they are
56. Isaac Bullock to George A. Smith, October 20, 1855, MCIB.
232 ANNALS OF WYOMING
hostile. As you can see that we have to exercise the greatest
patience imaginable to get along with them.""'^
For many months the leaders at Fort Supply had been asking
permission to survey a site for a new location for the fort. On
May 27, 1856, Brigham Young gave approval for the new location
of Fort Supply.'''^ Isaac Bullock, writing to Brigham Young on
October 18, 1856, stated:
I wish much you would say whether a city would be better at Fort
Supply or a fort? Also give us your suggestions as to the proper size.
Most of the brethren seem to prefer a city, but to your council I am
sure they will yield a willing obedience. •'>•*
The statement of Isaac Bullock would indicate that very little, if
anything, had been done in regards to the surveying of the new
site or the planning of any specifics since the approval of Brigham
Young in the spring. On May 30, 1857, Lewis Robison, writing
to Daniel H. Wells, stated that "Brother Bullock has been here
today and he feels very anxious for Brother T. D. Brown to come
out and lay out the city as soon as practical so that the people can
build before winter."*"' T. D. Brown did arrive that spring and
surveyed a new city plot between Fort Supply and Fort Bridger.
Bullock, writing to Brigham Young on June 29, 1857, stated
"Bro. T. D. Brown arrived here on Sat. June 20th and commenced
surveying the city plot of the 22nd, it is located about 3 miles
north of this fort on the bench between Black's and Smith's Fork
some 7 miles from Bridger."''^ This plan was followed, according
to Bullock, who claimed there were 15 or 16 houses built by late
summer of 1857.^-
The Mormons at Fort Supply were still eager to fulfill their
mission of preaching to the Indians and to maintain a settlement
where the passing emigrants might rest and be supplied with the
necessary food to reach the valley. Isaac Bullock, writing to
Brigham Young, August 18, 1857, stated:
The brethren here feel to be on hand to carry out the counsel what
ever it may be and are generally united should you have word of
counsel here. We shall be glad to receive it and will keep you
advised as much as possible.'^-^
57. Ibid.
58. Brigham Young to Isaac Bullock, May 27, 1856, quoted in Brigham
Young's Letter Book, No. 2, MS in Church Historian's office.
59. Isaac Bullock to Brigham Young, October 18, 1856, quoted in
Manuscript Collection of Lewis Robison, MS in Church Historian's office,
hereafter cited as MCLR.
60. Lewis Robison to Daniel H. Wells, May 30, 1857, MCLR.
61. Isaac Bullock to Brigham Young, June 29, 1857, MCIB.
62. Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
July 16, 1857, p. 2. (Located in Church Historian's office).
63. Isaac Bullock to Brigham Young, August 18, 1857, MCIB.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 233
So many complaints of misunderstanding, suspicion, and malice
in the Utah Territory had filtered into Washington that President
Buchanan, in 1857, pointed out to the Congress that the suprem-
acy of the United States must be restored and maintained. He,
therefore, appointed Alfred Cummings to replace Brigham Young
as governor and ordered him and other federal officers to Utah
under military escort/'^
By the middle of September, the feeling of safety for the Fort
Bridger and Fort Supply settlers was in question. On September
15, a proclamation was sent to the army at Hams Fork — only 35
miles from Fort Bridger. Orders were now being given to the
people at the forts that they must hold back the army and not
permit any to pass. Tight security was being placed on all
individuals seeking entrance into the valley.
John Pulsipher described the effect of the army's approach on
Fort Supply:
September 20, 1857. Today we received the Proclamation of the
Governor of Utah, Brigham Young: dated 15 September 1857, for-
bidding all armed forces coming into the territory under any pretences
whatever. Calls on all militia to be in readiness at a moment's warn-
ing. Good ... we received it with joy.*^''
The proclamation and martial law made legal the actions of
resistance offered the federal troops by the Mormons. Instructions
concerning the duties of the missionaries were dispensed by Brig-
ham Young.
September 20, 1857. President Bullock received a letter from Brother
Brigham of the 16th giving us further instructions in regard to carry-
ing into effect the fore going Proclamation. Although the invading
army is approaching . . . this martial law must be carried out. Be
careful of the lives of people. See that there are no more killed than
is absolutely necessary to carry out these orders. Mentions in this
that it would be well to move the families to Fort Supply as that is a
hard place to live.*''"'
The exact date is not known when the removal of settlers began
at Fort Bridger and Fort Supply by order of Brigham Young, but
by September 29, the majority of the families were bound for Salt
Lake City. George A. Smith, on his way east with a miUtary
expedition, reported that "on the 29th of September, I met some
fifty families fleeing from Fort Supply and Fort Bridger, with ox
and horse teams, and their herds of cattle bound for Great Salt
Lake City."
64. See LeRoy R. Hafens The Utah Expedition. 1857-1858 (Glendale:
The Arthur H. Clark Co., 1958) for complete history.
65. Pulsipher reprint, op. cit.
66. Ibid.
234 ANNALS OF WYOMING
As the army came closer, Brigham Young ordered the mission-
aries to leave their homes and the mission and return to the valley.
Sunday, September 27. Bro. Bullock went to Fort Bridger to learn
how things are going on the road. We supposed it would be best to
move soon as we did not get all our crops secured. Bro. Edison
Whipple and myself went with the stock here today to be sure that
they were safe. When we came in at night with the herd, Bro.
Bullock had returned, and said it was time to go. So we fixed and
loaded wagons in the night for a start in the morning.''"
Brother John Pulsipher concluded with his feelings and those of
others who labored in the Green River country.
Our company was now only about 30 families . . . and as some had
gone to the Valley before ... we traveled night and day so that we
might not fall into the hands of enemies 'til we heard they had made a
halt on Ham's Fork. Then we went more leisurely with our slow
teams and old wagons and within 7 days were safe in the Valley
among friends. Then we separated and went to the different wards
and settlements where our former homes had been. Lord bless that
noble band of brethern and sisters that have labored so nobly to build
the kingdom by making peace with the natives and farm a settlement,
in that cold dreary place in Green River County. We worked hard
and by the Lord's blessing our work was quite Comfortably situated
to live.*''^
Upon deserting their property in Green River County, those
remaining were ordered to burn all buildings and fields. This they
considered necessary as a partial safeguard against the oncoming
federal troops so that they should not be aiding the Army, which
to them was a threat "of a armed mob."*"'"^
During the evening of October 3,^*^ Fort Bridger was set on fire
by Lewis Robison, and the torch was set to Fort Supply around
midnight of the same day. Jesse W. Crosby, one of the Mormons
who participated in the campaign against Johnston's army, re-
ported:
The company to which I belonged left Salt Lake City September
25, 1857. We took out our wagons, horses, etc., and at twelve o'clock
set fire to the building (Fort Supply) at once, consisting of one hun-
dred or more good hewed log houses, one sawmill, one gristmill and
one thrashing machine, and after going out of the fort we set fire to
the stockade work, straw and grain stacks, etc. After looking a few
minutes at the bonfire we had made, thence on by the light thereof.
I will mention that owners of property in several places begged the
privilege of setting fire to their own, which they freely did, thus de-
stroying at once what they had labored for years to build and that
without a word.
67. Ibid.
68. Ibid.
69. Hunter, op. cit., p. 288.
70. Ibid. Hunter states that it was six o'clock on the evening of October
1857, that Fort Bridger was burned. He gives no reference.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS
235
■"^s*^,.
'Z:^^^^-~^j^^,r^
Courtesy Dr. Fred R. Gowans
PRESENT SITE OF FORT SUPPLY
We then went our way a few miles and stopped to set fire to the
City Supply, a new place just commenced; there were ten or fifteen
buildings perhaps, and warmed ourselves by the flames. Thus was
laid waste in a few hours all the labor of a settlement for three or
four years, with some five or six hundred acres of land fenced and
improved.
Our work of destruction was now finished and we moved silently
onward and reached Bridger a little after daylight and found it in
ashes, it having been fired the night before. 'i'l
Additional details were reported:
My grandfather's journal states that he was stationed in Echo
Canyon, and that during the closing days of September, the exact date
not being given, he was detained to go to Fort Supply with a number
of militia men and help the settlers there to put up their crops. He
says that they got there and worked early and late for three days.
And just at night they finished getting the last of the grain in the
stack and got something to eat and all went to sleep thoroughly tired,
that about midnight an express came from Col. Robert T. Burton
ordering him to burn Fort Supply. He says that there were one
hundred hued log houses, a saw mill, a grist mill, and a thrashing
machine in the fort, and that it had palisades around the outside of
the fort. And that there were between five and six hundred acres of
grain in the stack, and a lot of meadow hay, that many of the owners
of the property asked the privilege of burning their property, and that
he granted it; that he took everything that was moveable except the
thrashing machine, and set the fort and buildings, and grain and hay
on fire, and went down to Supply City, a new place with fifteen or
7L History and Journal of Jesse W. Crosby. 1820-1869, MS in Brigham
Young University's Special Collection, pp. 91-92.
236 ANNALS OF WYOMING
sixteen houses in it, and set that town on fire; and that he and the
people with him stopped to warm themselves by the burning houses;
and then went on to Fort Bridger, which had already been burned,
and after warming themselves by the embers there they went on
toward Salt Lake City.
By carefully reading the journal over it can be definitely ascertained
that this happened the night of the 3rd and 4th of October, 1857 . . J-
Thus the labors of the last four years in the Green River Valley
were left in ashes, bringing to a close the era of Fort Supply. On
arrival of the army at Fort Bridger in November, 1857, Colonel
Johnston took possession of the fort in the name of the United
States, and declared it to be a military reservation. The reserva-
tion was also extended over the settlement and farming lands of
Fort Supply. '^'^
There are varying estimates to the amount of money lost by
the Mormons due to the fire and the takeover by the federal
army. Milton R. Hunter states: "The total loss and damage
sustained by these Mormon Pioneers in this case were about
$300,000.00."'^ There is little doubt that Hunter took his figure
from Andrew Jenson, although he does not footnote his quote.
Another Mormon source states, "The estimated amount of the
property thus destroyed at Fort Bridger was $2,000, at Fort
Supply, $50,000.00.""' The author of Utah — A Centennial His-
tory also quotes the losses to be $300,000. Most likely these
figures also came from Jenson's work.^^
How accurate the estimate of $300,000 is is a question that
will be impossible to answer; but in light of the figures given in
Crosby's account of the number of homes, buildings, and acreage
destroyed at Fort Supply, plus the homes and acreage of Supply
City and Fort Bridger, the estimate of $300,000 is certainly accept-
able, if not a bit conservative.
However, the figure of $2,000 for the loss of Fort Bridger and
$50,000 for Fort Supply are certainly in error. The appraised
value of Fort Bridger before the construction of the wall was
$11,800."
The name. Supply, was prophetic in a sense, indicating the aims
of the settlement, which were to supply the oncoming emigrants
with such home-grown foodstuffs and supplies as the country could
72. Jesse W. Crosby to Mr. W. Hewton, November 18, 1930, quoted in
Manuscript Collection of Fort Bridger, MS in Church Historian's office.
73. Jenson, op. cit., p. 39.
74. Hunter, op. cit., p. 289.
75. History of Brigham Young, p. 717, MS in Church Historian's office.
76. Wain Sutton (ed.) Utah — A Centennial History. II (New York:
Lewis Historical PubHshing Co., 1949), p. 596.
77. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Trustee-in-Trust Depart-
ment, Financial Report, April 1, 1855 through March 31, 1857, MS in Utah
State Historical Society.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 237
afford. But it proved in some way to be, instead, a "Fort Disap-
pointment," as the location was not suitable for general agriculture
pursuits because of high altitude and cold summers. ^^ However,
the good that was derived from this settlement of being a resting
place for the emigrating Saints, a place to replenish their food
supplies, an Indian Mission, and a defense against the mountain
men's activities among the Indians, was worthy in the eyes of the
Church leaders since the plans called for making Fort Supply a
permanent settlement. If it had been permitted to continue. Fort
Supply would very probably be a community in Uinta County,
Wyoming, today; whereas, at the present time, there is nothing
left of Fort Supply except stumps in the ground of remnants of
what the Mormon settlers built there from 1853 to 1857.
FORT BRIDGER: CLAIMS AND COUNTER CLAIMS
During the years of 1853-1855, the Mormons had been success-
ful in gaining control of the Green River ferries along the Oregon
Trail from the mountain men who, for several years, had operated
the ferries gaining thousands of dollars during the emigrant season.
With the purchase of Fort Bridger from James Bridger and Louis
Vasquez on August 3, 1855, the Mormons finalized their control
of Green River County. However, with the coming of the "Utah
Expedition" in 1857, which had been ordered to Utah Territory by
President Buchanan to investigate rumors and ensure the gover-
nor's seat for Alfred Cumming, the Mormons withdrew their
operations from the Green River ferries and left Fort Bridger and
Fort Supply in ashes. The winter of 1857-1858 was spent by the
army at their newly constructed Fort Scott located only a few miles
from the remains of Fort Bridger. The army took possession of
Fort Bridger using its stone walls as a fortification for stock and
supplies against possible enemy attack. James Bridger was also
spending the winter at Fort Scott with the troops, acting in the
capacity of "head guide" for the military. These events of this
fall and winter set into motion a series of events which would see
claims brought against the Mormon Church and the U. S. Govern-
ment by Lewis Robison and James Bridger respectively.^
78. Alter, op. cit., p. 25 L
L Frederick Ross Gowans, "A History of Fort Bridger, 1841-1858'
unpublished doctoral dissertation, Brigham Young University, 1972.
238 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Even though the army had taken over the fort, and as of June,
1 858, Fort Bridger had become a federal army post by order of the
government, church leaders had not given up hopes that their
claims of ownership would be recognized by the government.
Lewis Robison, who had been Brigham Young's agent in the pur-
chase of the fort and operated Fort Bridger for the church during
the years 1855-1857, was granted ownership of the fort and its
lands by the Church leaders to see what he could do in getting the
fort back through private ownership, or to receive some kind of
compensation for its loss.-
In October, 1858, Lewis Robison reported:
. . . that he had been to see Gen'l Johnson in regard to the Bridger
property. Gen'l Johnson said they were surveying a military reserve
at and around Bridger, 25 miles square and taking in all the land that
could be settled; but if the Government acknowledged his (Robison)
claim there, he would give him $600.00 a year for the use of it; but he
thought it would take a higher authority than there was in this Terri-
tory to establish his claim. He said he thought $600.00 a great deal
of rent for the ranch. '^
The amount of $600 a year for ten years was the sum promised
by the government agents to Jim Bridger for the leasing of the fort
if he could prove ownership, and Robison was given the same
proposition.
It is interesting to note that even though Bridger had sold Fort
Bridger to the Mormons in August of 1855, he accused the
Mormons of driving him out of his fort with threats upon his life
and claimed he suffered complete loss of his fort and its mer-
chandise. While wintering at Fort Scott, Bridger signed an agree-
ment with the military for lease or purchase of his fort.^
Robison's claims were never honored by the government, prob-
ably because the government did not honor Bridger's claims.
Bridger was never able to show a deed of ownership nor was he
able to acquire one. Bridger could not produce the deed at the
time of sale to the Mormons in 1855, but said he would turn it
over to them if a deed were secured; of course, this was impossible
because he had never been given one from the Mexican govern-
ment. Since the United States did not honor his claims of owner-
ship, they could not honor the Robison claims since Bridger did
not have a legal right to sell the property.
In 1861, with the coming of the Civil War, the military troops
at the fort were withdrawn and the fort was closed down except
for a few remaining volunteers. In July of that year, a public sale
2. Ibid.
3. History of Brigham Young, MS in Church Historian's office, October,
1858, p. 260. Also Journal History, October 29, 1858, p. 8.
4. Gowans, op. cit.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 239
at the fort prompted Lewis Robison to write this letter to Daniel
H. Wells:
Green River Terr.
July 17, 1861
D. H. Wells Esq
Dear Brother
I have just received notice of the sale of Public Property at Fort
Bridger which is to commence on the 26th of July. I expect to attend
the sale. I have not learned whether they intend to sell the improve-
ments or not, if so I suppose it would be well to enter a protest
against such sale.
Should their be anything sold that you may want for yourself or
the public, I wish you to inform me as soon as possible, or any sug-
gestions about the Bridger ranch of the property that may be left by
the Army. I suppose of course it will be well for me to take posses-
sion if possible. I should of written to you long before, but I have
had no time to attend . . .
Your Brother
Lewis Robison^'
Upon Robison's arrival at Fort Bridger, he posted the following
notice indicating that he intended to take possession of the fort if
he could do so legally :
5. Lewis Robison to Daniel H. Wells, July 17, 1861, quoted in Manu-
script Collection of Lewis Robison (MS in Church Historian's Office),
hereafter cited as MCLR. The Church sent H. B. Clawson to attend the
sale at Fort Bridger. The following is the expense account turned in by
Clawson and a list of the items purchased:
H. B. Clawson Expense a/c going to Fort Bridger
July 24 To attend Government Sale
To passage by mail 25.00
To Dinner at Hanks .75
To Supper Mouth Echo .75
To Breakfast at Muddy .75
To Wine at W. A. Carters 2.00
July 30
To Dinner at Muddy on Return
To Supper at Bear River .75
To Breakfast at Mouth of echo .75
To Supper and Breakfast East Weber L50
To Meat at Eph Hanks .75
Bill of Goods bought at Fort Bridger July 29, 1861
To Glue posts 5.00
To 1 Lot of Hair for Horse Collars 5.00
To 1 Lot Blankets 13.00
To 1 Tea Pot 2.50
To 2 pt. canalle sticks (10.00) 1 Caster (10.00) 20.00
To 1 Lot Marbles 1.00
To 2 cork screws 2.00
To 1 Clock 2.00
To 100 ft rope 12.50
To Brushes and can for marking 1.50
To Candles and Soap 5.00
(MCLR, July 24, 29, 30, 1861.)
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 241
NOTICE
To all whom it may concern. Whereas the premises icnown as Fort
Bridger situated in Green River County in Utah Territory, which have
been and are now occupied by the United States Army. So by lawful
purchase, occupation and improvements made thereon, belong to the
undersigned and whereas the said premises have been taken and un-
lawfully withheld from me, and whereas I have been utterly reprised
any compensation for the use thereof, or for damages done thereto in
cutting and destroying lumber or otherwise — and whereas I under-
stand that it is the intention of officers now in charge directing and
commanding at Fort Bridger to sell and transfer the same with the
improvements made thereon. Now therefore I Lewis Robison the
lawful and rightful owner of said premises and I hereby claim as my
legal right the peaceful possession of the same together with all the
buildings, corrals, yard fields or improvements thereon or appurte-
nances thereunto belonging or in anywise appertaining. And I do
hereby forbid the sale of said premise or any portion thereof to any
person or persons whatever and I also warn all or any persons against
purchasing, taking or retaining the possession of the same.
Given under my hand and seal
this 22nd day of July A.D. 1861
Lewis Robison*'
However, Robison's claims to ownership were not acceptable
to the military at the fort and the sale went ahead as scheduled."
This was the setting that brought about the claims of Lewis
Robison against the Mormon church and James Bridger against
the United States government.
For the next 16 years (1861-1877), Fort Bridger was a dead
issue with Robison. He still had in his possession the deed to the
fort given to him by Brigham Young in 1858. The deed was
worthless in regards to money value, but it still represented owner-
ship as far as he was concerned. During those 16 years. Fort
Bridger had become a very active military post on the American
frontier and the Robison claims were apparently forgotten by the
government officials. But in July, 1877, Robison, then living in
Pleasant Grove, Utah Terriotry, was asked to return the deed to
the fort to Brigham Young. Young had been ill for many months
and his death was imminent. In preparing for the settlement of
6. Manuscript Collection of Fort Bridger, (MS in Church Historian's
office, July 22, 1861, hereafter cited as MCFB.
7. The claims of Lewis Robison of owning the fort were not accepted by
Colonel Cooke in August, 1861. A large number of Mormons came to the
sale from Salt Lake City, among whom was Robison armed with printed
posters, warning the officers in charge and all persons not to purchase any-
thing of a real character connected with the post as all belonged to him.
However, after talking with Captain Gove, commander of the post. Robison
was content with making the statement that Captain Gove was a gentleman
but that the damned United States Government had robbed him of his prop-
erty and he intended having it. Robert S. Ellison. Fort Bridger, Wyoming
(Casper, Wyoming: The Historical Landmark Commission of Wyoming.
1931), p. 37.
242 ANNALS OF WYOMING
his own estate and closing any unfinished business in regard to the
church, it was felt that the deed to the Fort Bridger ranch should
be obtained from Robison and held by the church. Not that the
church expected to make money from new claims against the
government, but simply to tie up any loose ends of Brigham
Young's administration. An indenture was drawn up on July 18,
1877, in which it stated that Brigham Young paid Lewis Robison
$8000 in gold coin for Fort Bridger. The church's position was
that there was no actual money transaction needed in the turning
of the deed over to Brigham Young. The $8000 in gold coin has
reference to the amount of money given to Lewis Robison by
Brigham Young in 1855 and 1858 to pay Bridger and Vasquez
for the fort. Robison was only returning a deed which was not
actually his since the money for the purchase of the fort had not
come from Robison's pocket but that of the Mormon church. But,
with the return of the deed, Robison was relinquishing the last
evidence of his claim to Fort Bridger. This led him to seek
recompense from the Church which he felt was justified because
of the partnership that had been entered into by himself and
Brigham Young in 1855 when he had been sent to Fort Bridger
as the agent of Brigham Young to buy the fort from Bridger and
Vasquez.
The following is a portion of that indenture drawn up between
Robison and Young:
This indenture made the eighteenth day of July in the year of our
Lord One Thousand eight hundred and seventy seven between Lewis
Robison of Pleasant Grove, in the County of Utah, and Territory of
Utah party of the first part, and Brigham Young, Sen. of Salt Lake
City, in the County of Salt Lake and Territory aforesaid, party of the
second part. Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and
in consideration of the sum of Eight Thousand Dollars, gold coin of
the United States of America, to him in hand paid by the said party
of the second part, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, has
granted, bargained, sold, aliened, remised, reliased, conveyed and con-
firmed, and by these presents does grant, bargain, sell, alien, remise,
release, convey and confirm unto the said property of the second part
and to his heirs and assigns forever, all that certain piece or parcel of
land known and described as follows to wit: . . .8
Some time prior to January 6, 1878, Lewis Robison wrote
President John Taylor stating that he felt that the church owed him
$5000 for his service at Fort Bridger during the years of 1855-
1857 and that he had a partnership with Brigham Young which
entitled him to one-half of the profits at the fort based upon
service. It is not known if this claim caught President Taylor by
surprise or if he had some knowledge of the Fort Bridger matters.
8. Indenture, July 18, 1877, MCLR.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 243
Needless to say, an auditing committee consisting of Wilford
Woodruff, Erastus Snow and Joseph F. Smith was asked to check
into the matter to see if Robison's claims were justified. On
January 16, 1878, the following report was given to President
Taylor from this committee:
President John Taylor Salt Lake City, Jan 16, 1878
Dear Brother
Your committee on auditation respectfully reports that we have
examined the matters pertaining to the Bridger Ranch on the Trustee
in Trust Ledgers, and find as follows, viz:
Bridger Ranch a/c
By amounts credited on Trustee in
Trust ledgers 12,137.14
Amount charged Lewis Robison in his
a/c, supplies drawn from the ranch as
per his report. Led F fol 504 1,592.65
13,739.79
Contra
To amount debited on T in T ledgers 7,504.21
6,225.58
We also find on the Indian Department
Ledgers Amounts furnished Indian Department
as per Voucher No 1 (Chargeable to B. Young
as Supt of Indian Affairs) 1,368.44
Also on Y. X. Company ledgers amounts
furnished the Y. X. Company as per B.
Young's Orders (Y. X. Led fol 132) 1,233.84
8,827.860
The committee's report indicates that $16,332.07 had been
entered on the ledgers as profit during the time that Robison had
worked at the fort. They also indicated that $7504.21 represented
the amount that Robison had indebted on the Trustee in Trust
ledgers leaving a balance of profit of $8827.86.
The committee also presented the following report:
Lewis Robison Personal a/c
Dr to balance of account as per
Petit Ledger 2,111.47
Cr by amount ferrying Y. X. Company
horses and etc across Green River. Cre-
dited and Trustee in Trust on Y. X. account
books and due L. Robison personally 160.00
1.951.47i«
9. Auditing Committee, January 16, 1878, MCFB.
10. Ibid.
244
ANNALS OF WYOMING
Courtesy LDS Archives
LEWIS ROBISON
This last report indicated that Robison also owed the Church
$1951.47. This amount subtracted from the $8827.86 would leave
a total of $6876.39 representing the profit taken in at Fort Bridger
minus Robison's indebtedness while he was in service there.
At a meeting held the next day, January 17, 1878, the following
was decided upon by President Taylor and the auditing committee
in reference to Robison's claim:
Pres. Taylor with Elders L. Snow and J. F. Smith of the auditing
committee considered the claim of bro Lewis Robison against the
Trustee in Trust for relief in the matter of the Fort Bridger property.
It was decided that bro Robison receive immediate relief to the
amount of $1,250.00 cash and that the deed of the Fort Bridger prop-
erty be returned to him to do as he pleased with regard to pressing
his claim upon the Government for the title to the property; if he do
so without assistance from the Church and obtains anything, then it
is to be wholly his; but if he ask and receive any Church aid, then the
Church is to have an equal share with Bro. Robison in whatever is
obtained from the Government. This is to be in full settlement of all
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 245
claims of bro. Robison against the Church in the matter of the Fort
Bridger property and the Y. X. Express Co.i^
How the church leaders came up with $1250 from the figures
presented by the auditing committee is not known. However, this
was the amount offered to Lewis Robison for his half of the profits
at Fort Bridger. He also was to be given the deed to Fort Bridger
and all debts on the records in his name were considered paid
in full.
Robison was not happy with the offer given for settlement by the
Church leaders. On January 22, he wrote President John Taylor
and the auditing committee as follows:
President John Taylor Salt Lake City, U.T.
Trustee in Trust
and
Wilford Woodruff
Erastus Snow Auditing Committee
Joseph F. Smith
Dear Brethren:
After acknowledging the receipt of your decision in the Bridger
Ranch case with myself dated Presidents Office January 19, 1878.
I proceed to reply by saying in the first place that I do most certaiinly
consider that you have not fully comprehended the nature of the case
under consideration. In order therefore to bring it more directly to
your notice I hope that you will pardon me for presenting the follow-
ing account.
BRIDGER RANCH
By Amounts credited on Trustee in Trust
Ledgers 12,137.14
Amount drawn by Lewis Robison, as
per his own report and charged to his
private acc't on T in T Led of 504 1,592.65
" Am't paid on Pres Young's orders to the
Y. X. company 1,233.86
" Am't paid on Pres Young's orders to Indian
Department 1,368.44
Making a total of $16,332.07
of this amount one half (1/2) beside one half of the ranch with the
improvements belongs to me, to wit $8,166.03 1/2 which after de-
ducting my private account charged on T in T books, viz: $2,111.47
less $160.00 credited to the Trustee in Trust on the Y. X. company
books making the balance of my private account $1,951.47 which
after deducting from the $8,166.03 1/2 leaves a balance due to me
of — $6,214.56 to say nothing of interest being charged for 20 years.
Brethren, these figures are drawn from your own books and as you
will perceive they show paid back to the President the sum of $661.82
over and above every cent advanced by him on account of the ranch
which amount was $7,504.21 besides my share of the proceeds which
was always paid over to him or to his order, in addition to which
I would be entitled to a credit of $3,500.00 being my share of im-
11. Auditing Committee Final Statement, January 17, 1878. MCFB.
246 ANNALS OF WYOMING
provements made on the premises by his order amounting in all to
$5,000.00
It can be seen that my claim could easily be run to near if not
quite Ten Thousand dollars without charging any interest, and that
my claim of $5,000.00 first presented for services was to say the least
of it very moderate indeed, considering that the President ruled for
services instead of a half interest in the premises and he requiring
me to make a deed for the entire ranch with the improvements, he
having also received all the proceeds accruing therefrom. Neverthe-
less I have been, and still wish to be moderate in this settlement, and
would like above all consideration to meet with the same feeling from
my brethren. Now I understand that you are willing to award me
$1,250.00 and a full relinquishment of all claims and advances made
on account of the Ranch and to cancel my private account. In your
proposition no mention is made of the Indian claim against the Estate.
I suppose that this is not included, and that my share of that claim
will be settled by the Executors of the Estate of the late President
Young, with this understanding, and that the need be returned to me
as I understand it has not yet been recorded nor inventoried so as to
appear any where of record, I will now compromise by your paying
me $2,500.00 instead of the $1,250.00 offered as above, or if you
shall choose to pay me the $5,000.00 services as I at first proposed,
you can still keep the Ranch and all the improvements and claims
against the government for rent, damages and etc.
I will close by simply saying that if I should make up my account
from my books instead of those in the office, it would amount to a
much larger sum as I find many things omitted, hoping that the fore-
going propositions, one or the other, may be not only acceptable and
satisfactory but be considered reasonable and generous, as I do
earnestly desire to appear to you.
I remain, very truly.
Your Brother in the Gospel of
peace
Lewis Robisoni2
It is easily noted that the figures used by Robison and those used
by the auditing committee were exactly alike. Robison either had
access to the same records or had copies of them. He agreed that
the profit made at Fort Bridger was $16,332.07 of which he felt
he was entitled to half, due to the partnership entered into with
Brigham Young in 1855.
During all the negotiations the Church never once changed their
offer of $1250 and the return of the deed to the ranch to Robison.
Why Robison settled for this amount is a question that cannot be
answered, at least not at this time. There is no question that
Robison was a faithful Mormon and wanted, as he stated in his
letter, that the transaction "be not only acceptable and satisfactory
but be considered reasonable and generous." It is equally certain
that Robison had a partnership with Brigham Young. Young had
12. Lewis Robison to John Taylor and Auditing Committee, January 22,
1878, MCLR.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 247
purchased the fort for $8000 and Robison, through his services at
the fort, would have been entitled to half of the profits. It
appears, therefore, that Robison was justified in his claims that the
Church owed him some kind of settlement, although the exact
amount is in question since there was some doubt concerning the
amount Robison owed to the Church. Needless to say, the Church
officials also felt that Robison had claims against the Church that
were valid since they made a settlement of $1250 and returned the
deed to the ranch as indicated in the following document signed on
February 15, 1878:
$1,250.00 Salt Lake City U.T.
February 15th, 1878
Received from John Taylor Trustee in Trust for the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the sum of Twelve Hundred and
Fifty ($1,250.00) dollars, this sum being in full payment of all ac-
counts claims and demands that I have against the said Trustee in
Trust or any agent connected with said Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints up to this date. And I do hereby certify that the
settlement made with me at this date by the said Trustee in Trust is
satisfactory to me, and is in full payment and settlement of all claims
and demands to date.
Statement of papers received by me at the date of the foregoing
settlement, said papers being handed to me by President John Taylor,
Trustee in Trust as aforesaid.
Deed from me to Brigham Young for Bridger Ranch, with all the
papers mentioned is said deed attached, the following being a copy.
This indenture made the eighteenth day of July.i-^
It is interesting to note that John Taylor returned to Lewis
Robison the indenture Robison had signed and had given to
Brigham Young in 1877. This deed was only recognized by the
Church and had no legality in the courts or on the records of the
Territory. This is why Robison stated in his letter of January 22,
1878, concerning the deed, "with this understanding, and that the
deed be returned to me as I understand it has not yet been re-
corded nor inventoried so as to appear anywhere of record."
Also on the same date, February 15, 1878, President John
Taylor signed the following settlement:
Salt Lake City U.T.
Feby 15th 1878
This is to certify that in a settlement made with Lewis Robison at
this date, I hereby relinquish any right title or interest I may have as
Trustee in Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints;
to the land and premises known as Fort Bridger, situated in Uintah
County in the Territory of Wyoming, and said to contain Four hun-
dred square miles of ground more or less, also hereby relinquishing,
claims in law or equity, against said Bridger Ranch property by rea-
13. Statement of Receipt, February 15. 1878, MCLR.
248 ANNALS OF WYOMING
sons of advances made or otherwise, including rents, issues, or profits,
accumulated up to or from the date hereof.
As witness my hand and seal the day and year first above written.
Attess John Taylor
Geo. Reynolds Trustee in Trust for the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter day
Saintsi4
It appears that Robison was willing to accept the terms of the
settlement after his own terms were turned down simply because
it was against his character to question the church leaders a second
time. As to the settlement of money owed Robison for his service
at Fort Bridger the only thing that can be said for certain is that
the books were closed as far as the church was concerned, only
Lewis Robison and Brigham Young, now dead for several months,
knew if it was "acceptable and satisfactory." It does appear,
however, that Lewis Robison was not treated generously by the
Church.
With the deed for the fort once again in his possession, Robison
accompanied his attorney, Mr. Wood, to Fort Bridger and made a
formal demand of Judge Carter, an agent of the United States, for
possession of Fort Bridger. Lewis Robison asked Carter to for-
ward his demands to the proper officer of the United States gov-
ernment, but Carter did not comply with Robison's request.^"* The
records and documents that are available at this time indicate that
this was the last time that Robison made demands of the federal
government in connection with Fort Bridger. Just prior to the
time of his death, Robison still had in his possession the deed to
Fort Bridger. With his passing, both he and the deed were only
memories of a past era.
It was not until 1869, 12 years after Bridger had leased Fort
Bridger to the United States, that he began inquiring of the War
Department as to whether the government intended to pay him
$6000, the sum of the ten annual rental payments, which he
claimed was due him under the terms of the lease. ^^ Receiving
no reply, he wrote again on January 6, 1870, to remind the
secretary of war that the lease of 1857 also gave the United States
government the option of purchasing Fort Bridger for $10,000,
and to say that if the government did not wish to take advantage
of this option, he would like to be restored to peaceful possession
of the fort.^" On April 25 of the same year, the War Department
14. Statement of John Taylor, February 15, 1878, MCRB. All President
Taylor was doing was signing a quit claim deed to Lewis Robison since
President Taylor had no legal deed to the ranch in his possession.
15. Ellison, op. cit., p. 31.
16. U. S. Congress. Senate. Senate Report, No. 86, 52nd Cong., 1st
Sess., 1892, Exhibit 4A, p. 7.
17. Ibid., Exhibit 4B, p. 7.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 249
replied that as soon as Bridger produced evidence of his title to the
fort the government would put into effect the agreement made
with him in 1857.^'* Apparently Bridger made no effort to estab-
Hsh title, but the War Department made inquiries of the General
Land Office and in 1872 Willis Drummond, commissioner of that
office, declared that no private survey or claim such as Bridger's
was recognized in the vicinity of Fort Bridger.^'*
In 1873, Bridger was urged by friends and family to solicit the
aid of General B. F. Butler, a senator from Massachusetts. Fail-
ing to get any satisfaction from the War Department, Bridger wrote
a letter to the senator hoping that he would use his political influ-
ence with the War Department or introduce a private bill in Con-
gress for Bridger's relief.-*^ There is no evidence that Butler acted
upon Bridger's plea or even repUed to his letter.
Bridger's family decided to take the situation in hand and on
January 12, 1878, they made a formal inquiry of the secretary of
war in regard to the status of Bridger's claims and also asked to be
paid the accumulated rent owed to them.-^ On February 21,
1878, the secretary of war informed Bridger's family that his fail-
ure to estabhsh title to the property in question, previous to its
being embraced in a military reservation, excluded the secretary of
war from recognizing his claim to ownership or rent.--
Receiving no satisfaction from the War Department, Bridger's
family hired one Charles M. Carter, attorney, to pursue their
claims directly in Congress. By bringing pressure upon that
body, Bridger's family and their attorney finally obtained a hearing
on May 17, 1880, at which time the House Committee on Claims
in cooperation with the corresponding Senate Committee asked
the War Department to investigate and report upon Bridger's
claims.-^
Bridger died on July 17, 1881, but his family, with the aid of
Carter, continued pursuing the case which was slowly investigated
by Congress from 1880 until January 25, 1889, at which time a
complete report of the investigation was presented by Quarter-
master General S. B. Holabird.-^
Knowing that the War Department did not recognize Bridger's
claim to the title of the fort by a grant from the Governor of Upper
California, Carter decided that it was hopeless to press that claim,
and decided to base the source of title to the fort on an alleged
grant from the Governor of Chihuhua whose records probably
18.
Ibid.,
, Exhibit 4F,
PP
. 9-10.
19.
Ibid.
, Exhibit 4G,
p.
10.
20.
Ibid.,
, Exhibit 5. pp.
13-14.
21.
Ibid.
, Exhibit 4N,
• P-
10.
22.
Ibid.
. p. 12.
23.
Ibid.
, Exhibit 4K, _
P-
11.
24.
The
complete report
was published in
Senate Document 86.
250 ANNALS OF WYOMING
would be difficult to obtain. He stated before the Senate Com-
mittee on Claims that:
Under the auspices of the governor of Chihuhua, in 1843 before
the Mexican War, Capt. James Bridger was induced under a promise
by the Government of a large grant of land to establish a colony in
Green River county, Utah, then Mexican territory, which he did at
great expense .... Under the Spanish rule he was to plant said col-
ony and retain possession of the country for a term of years before
he was to receive the title of that grant.^-'j
Carter further alleged that after the Mexican War Bridger's
possession became a part of the United States territory, and that
Bridger, as a former citizen-*^ of Mexico, was entitled to have his
rights respected as provided for by the treaty of peace and the rules
of international law which state that conquering nations cannot
dispose of the private rights of conquered subjects. Since Carter
could not produce evidence of title from the Mexican government,
the committee on claims felt justified in not applying the rule of
international law.
Carter also argued that the establishment of a military reserva-
tion at the fort by the United States government in 1859 defeated
Bridger's efforts to complete his title.-' However, his argument
did not convince the Congressional Committee on Claims because
they had proof from Bridger that he made no efforts. He said that
it was "owing to the fact that I (Bridger) was all my life out in the
mountains, and consequently ignorant what steps were required to
be taken to perfect my title to the premises."-*
After hearing all the testimony on the question of ownership of
Fort Bridger, the Congressional committee on claims in 1892
accepted Quartermaster General Holabird's investigations and rec-
ommendations that the condition of the contract had not been
fulfilled, thus precluding the claimant from recovery.-^
After denying Bridger's claims to ownership of Fort Bridger,
Congress considered the question of payment for improvements
which were said to be erected by the claimant. The improvements
were said to consist of 13 log houses, which were so located as to
form a hollow square in the center of an area of about 4000
square feet, all of which were surrounded by a stone way laid in
cement about 1 8 feet high and five feet thick, with bastions at each
25. Senate Executive Document 86, op. cit., Exhibit 18, p. 21. Mexico
became independent of Spain in 1820 but doubtless there was no change in
the Spanish rules for claiming titles to land.
26. The question as to whether Bridger was a citizen of Mexico has
never been settled.
27. Senate Executive Document, op. cit., Exhibit 18, p. 21.
28. Ibid.
29. U. S. Congress. Senate. Senate Report, No. 625, 52nd Cong., 1st
Sess., 1892.
SOME NEW NOTES ON TWO OLD FORTS 251
corner. Outside this wall were a corral for stock, which was
enclosed by a stone wall laid in cement, and six other outhouses.-'"
The question now arose as to whether Bridger built the improve-
ments and if they were still in existence at the time of the occupa-
tion of the fort by the United States army in 1857.
From the foregoing material in this study, it is clear that the
improvements listed above were built by either the Mormons or
the military and that some of the items listed in the improvements
had never existed. The only thing standing when the army arrived
was the cement wall. Carter presented the affidavits that he had
gathered in 1880 of several men who testified on Bridger's behalf,
many years after they had been at Fort Bridger. These men either
lied or were very confused about what was standing at Fort Bridger
when the army arrived. All of the witnesses who arrived with the
army after the Mormons had burned it to the ground, testified of
seeing the fort standing with improvements ranging from $20,000
to $30,000.31
The value placed on the improvements certainly is not in har-
mony with Bridger's selling price, for he asked only $10,000 for
the sale of the fort to the military. Carter's whole approach to
prove Bridger's claims in reference to improvements was full of
loopholes. The Congressional Committee did not accept Carter's
arguments and awarded only $6000 representing the only improve-
ment which was standing at the time of the arrival of the army,
that being the cement wall. But this decision was erroneous on
the part of the committee since the Mormons had built this im-
provement.
One aspect of this case which was never considered, or at least
was not mentioned in the Congressional investigations of Bridger's
suit, was the claim of the Mormons to have purchased the fort
from Bridger in 1855, before the arrival of the federal troops and
the signing of the contract between Bridger and the government.
Of course, with this study showing that the Mormons did buy the
fort from Bridger and Vasquez in 1855 and that Bridger's contract
with the government was nothing but a fraudulent action on his
part, the indication is that if this knowledge had been available to
the Congressional committees, Bridger's claims would have been
worthless.
Thus in 1892 Bridger's family was awarded $6000, the value
placed on the cement wall built by the Mormons but accredited to
Bridger. Congressional action was deferred, however, until 1899
at which time Congress awarded the heirs of Jim Bridger the
money.-^-
30. Senate Executive Document 86, op. cit.. Exhibit 17, p. 20.
31. Ibid., Exhibits 7, 8, 9, pp. 14-15.
32. The Statutes at Large of the United States, 55th Cong.. XXX. 1206.
252 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Thomas S. Twiss, Indian Agent, Upper Platte to the Honorable,
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Dated Camp of the Indian
Agency, Raw Hide Creek, 25 miles north of Fort Laramie,
Novr 7th 1856.
The office of Indian Agent is no sinecure, if the incumbent dis-
charges his duty with faithfulness towards the Tribes committed to
his care. He must not expect, nor calculate upon, a carpeted
Drawing Room & his office for the transaction of public business,
nor servants to wait upon him, & run at every call. These things, &
almost every thing else to be met with in civilized life are unknown
in the Indian Country. He must not, if he is resolved to discharge
a tithe of his duties, dwell in any fixed abode. The Tribes, in their
usual hunting grounds, may be one or two hundred miles distant
from a permanently established Agency, & it would be an act of
cruelty to call the Chiefs & principal men to a council, thus leaving
their families unprovided with subsistence, during the time of a
long journey going to & returning from the Indian Agency. The
clear & obvious duty of the Indian Agent is to establish the Indian
Agency in a travelling ambulance, & to move it from Band to
Band, & from tribe to tribe, as circumstances & the exigencies of
the moment demand. It is much easier for him to do this than it
is for a large party of Indians.
Besides, he learns, what it is his duty to know, the habits &
customs, disposition & feelings of the whole Tribe, & not of a few
individuals only. He acquires also a personal, an abiding influence
for good over all, which can be secured by no other method.
He must inure himself to living in camp, & become accustomed
to bivouac by the camp fires, at all seasons of the year. Such
should be the mode of life, & such should be, or ought to be the
character, adapted to this rough hfe, of the Indian Agents to the
Wild Tribes, one whose consitition must be made of iron.
I will neither admit nor deny that all of the Indian Agents are
of the right sort of material. It is neither my province nor dispo-
sition to find fault with any one & certainly not, with my colleagues
whom I respect & honor for the great good they have done, for
the Tribes, while they have remained in the Indian Country.
MlJ^ye m tke South
By
Doris Lanier
Edgar Wilson "Bill" Nye was born in Shirley, Maine, in 1850,
grew up in Wisconsin,^ and moved to Laramie, Wyoming in 1876,
where he acquired a degree of fame as editor of the Laramie
Boomerang and was syndicated in many newspaper throughout the
country.^ In 1885 he became successful on the lecture stand as a
humorist and joined forces with James Whitcomb Riley in 1886,
a partnership that continued until 1890/^ In 1888-1889, under
the auspices of the Redpath Lyceum Bureau, managed at that time
by J. B. Pond, Nye and Riley made an extended tour of the
southern and eastern states, on which they made about 100
appearances.^ Part of the tour carried the two through Virginia,
South Carolina, and Georgia, and in South Carolina and Georgia
they were joined by Harry Stillwell Edwards, a short story writer
from Macon, Georgia.'' The news coverage of the appearances
of these humorists in the deep south reveals, among other things,
that Bill Nye was well known in the south in the 1880s and,
though most northern lecturers generally received a cool welcome
in the South after the Civil War,*^ Nye and Riley were enthusias-
tically accepted. Furthermore, it appears that one of the major
goals of the lecturers was directed toward the task of unifying the
country. Reflecting the humorist and local color movements of
the time in their use of dialect and realistic portrayal of character,
1. For further information on Nye's early years see Edgar W. Nye, "The
Autobiography of a Justice of the Peace," Century Magazine, XLIII (No-
vember, 1891), pp. 60-67.
2. Edgar W. Nye, "The Autobiography of an Editor," Century Magazine,
XLV (November, 1892), pp. 156-159. For further reading see Frank
Sumner Burrage, "Bill Nye," Annals of Wyoming, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 42-49.
3. Dictionary of American Biography, ed. Allen Johnson and Dumas
Malone, 20 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928-1936), XII,
pp. 598-600.
4. Edmund H. Eitel, "Letters of Riley and Bill Nye," Harper's Magazine,
CXXVIII (March, 1919), p. 481.
5. Edwards was an upcoming young writer of local color short stories.
He published more than thirty short stories in Century Magazine between
1886 and 1913. He also published in Harper's, Scribner's, The Atlantic
Monthly, and other periodicals of lesser note. He is probably best known
for his short story "Eneas Africanus."
6. Carl Bode, The American Lyceum (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1956), p. 248.
254 ANNALS OF WYOMING
these lecturers helped to dispel the fear and mistrust between
people of different geographical locations by showing the kinship
that exists between all people: the laughter, tears, eccentricities of
character, and personal foibles. The following is an account of
some of the appearances of the humorists in Virginia, South Caro-
lina, and Georgia as reported in the local newspapers :
Lynchburg, Virginia
November 22, 1888 — The amusement lovers of the city who
were not at the Opera House last night missed the richest
treat of the season, which was most heartily enjoyed by those
who attended the entertainment. Bill Nye, the bald-headed
humorist, and Mr. Riley, the Hoosier poet, were both at their
best, and their best is inimitable. Almost any single one
of the former's side-splitting productions, or of the latter's
original character sketches, is worth the price of admission
[which was 250, 50??, and 750 according to location].^ Nye's
story of his dog "Entymologist" would literally "make a dog
laugh," and Riley's impersonation of the irrepressible seven-
year old brother entertaining his sister's beau, for truth to
nature and exquisite conception of "boy" character, manners,
and ideas is a perfect gem. The "combination" of these two
rare "literary fellers" is a grand success.^
Richmond, Virginia
November 21, 1888 — Tomorrow night the king of humorists.
Bill Nye, and the prince of poets and comedians, James Whit-
comb Riley, will appear in a unique and original entertain-
ment. These noted platform speakers and character delin-
eators need no further notice as they are known all over the
land.9
November 22, 1888 — Major J. B. Pond, the well-known dra-
matic and lyceum agent, who brings Bill Nye and James Whit-
comb Riley to Richmond, has been here frequently before.
He came twice with Beecher, and on the last occasion intro-
duced that distinguished divine. A few years ago when
Charlie Siegel was negotiating for Talmadge, Pond's letter
head read as follows: "J. B. Pond, Sales Agent for Henry
Ward Beecher, T. Dewitt Talmadge, Clara Louise Kellogg,
Levy, the Cornetist, and Gilmore's Band." In personal ap-
7. This information, was in an ad in this issue of The Daily Virginian.
8. "Nye and Riley," The Daily Virginian (Lynchburg, Virginia), Novem-
ber 22, 1888, p. 1.
9. "Amusements: Mozart Theatre," The State (Richmond, Virginia),
November 21, 1888, p. 4.
BILL NYE IN THE SOUTH 255
pearance Major Pond is not unlike Mr. D. S. Gates, secretary
of the Democratic City Central Committee.^"
November 23, 1888 — Messrs. Nye and Riley might justly
have been proud last night of the audience that greeted them
when they made their first bow to a Richmond public. Not
only was the audience large in number, but in addition to the
regular theatre goers there were many who are rarely drawn
out to places of amusement. The State, knowing the charac-
ter of Nye and Riley as two men whose talents mark a very
distinct advance in American literature, did not err in so
warmly commending them to the Richmond public, and,
therefore, finds no little pleasure in chronicling their great
success last night. Virginia was politically termed several
years ago the "gate to the solid South," and that arrant
humbug and political shyster, Mahone, advertised himself
extensively as the "entering wedge that was to split the solid
South." The results of his efforts is the justification of the
introduction of his name to our amusement column. This
explanation is also due Messrs. Nye and Riley since it is
necessary to chronicle the fact that they have done what the
entire National Republican administration — using the above
mentioned person as the "entering wedge" — failed to do:
that is, split open the gate and sundered the solid South. The
two, therefore, cannot be said to have lived in vain. It was
a delightful entertainment. Mr. Beagle, the Academy man-
ager, calls it a "big show," and the appellation is not bad. It
was not only fun, but that best of fun, the life of which is
variety. It was fun with a great deal of body to it. We have
seen crowds laugh at buffoonery and enjoy it, but when real
humor and character delineation (which, after all, are but
transcripts of human nature saliently epitomised) are pushed
forth by a subtle ability which is only born in men and cannot
be acquired, the pleasure derived from such is not only
equally as immediate as the risibilities are when touched by a
buffoon situation, but it lives in the memory and by some
saturating power stays with us long after mere amusement has
been forgotten. It, in fact, imparts a serener quality to our
make up. The roars of laughter last night gave Nye and
Riley the comedian's reward when he makes a hit with a new
force. But the other and stronger reward may be shadowed
forth in the statement that everyone who heard them last
night would go to a repetition of precisely the same entertain-
ment just, for instance, as a reader takes up his Thackeray
10. "Reportorial Paragraphs," The State (Richmond, Virginia), Novem-
ber 22, 1888, p. 2.
256 ANNALS OF WYOMING
and Dickens and is recipient of the mingled array of pathos
and humor. Such is the genius of Nye's humor and Riley's
humor and pathos — and happily the pathos comes in glimps-
ing dashes and the humor abides longest. It is elusive to the
man who attempts to make an analysis of it since he will not
only lose himself but lose his reader. We do not make the
attempt.
Last night will be pleasantly remembered. Messrs. Nye
and Riley will be warmly welcomed when they come here
again — and they must.^^
November 24, 1888 — Bill Nye and James Whitcomb Riley
arrived in Richmond Thursday at noon and left Friday morn-
ing at 8 o'clock, but notwithstanding their limited time they
did a good deal of sightseeing. Before an audience they are
irresistible, and in their every-day life they are as good as "the
show." Nye is always humorous and solemn, and Riley is
singularly bright and versatile. In their peculiar way they are
both genial. Tourist-like, they were particularly desirious of
seeing Old Stone House, Libby Prison and Saint John's
Church. The Old House was the first place visited. The
juvenile keeper opened the door and Nye and Riley walked
in. "This house, gentlemen, is known as General Washing-
ton's headquarters," began the boy, "but first step up to the
desk and register." With this invitation Nye wrote his name
and that of his partner in a large round hand, and asked for a
room with two beds and bath attached. He then solemnly
drew his card from his pocket and handing it to the boy said,
"Take this up to General Washington." The little fellow
looked a trifle confused but Nye never changed his expres-
sion. These gentlemen revelled in the dust of Libby Prison,
and in Saint John's churchyard they were much interested in
the quaint epitaphs on the old slabs. Riley and Nye agreed
that Richmond was a most picturesque city and a much larger
one than they expected to find. Mark Twain is an especial
friend of these humorists, and, when I remarked that Twain
had made quite a fortune out of his fun, Riley replied: "It is
true, no doubt, for only a week ago he offered to go a man's
security for a dollar and eighty cents." I asked Nye what he
considered his most painful experience. "Painful experience?
Well, I think it was when Riley and I were refused admittance
to our own show. It was in a western town. We had been
billed for two weeks. It was very cold when we arrived in
the town late in the afternoon. We kept our room at the
11. "Academy of Music: Bill Nye and Whitcomb Riley," The State
(Richmond, Virginia), November 23, 1888, p. 4.
BILL NYE IN THE SOUTH 257
hotel until nearly 8 o'clock — the time to start to the hall. We
were gratified to see from the paper that there had been a
good sale of seats. The hall was nearly a mile from the hotel,
and it was fifteen minutes after the advertised hour when we
reached the place. There was no stage or rear entrance, so
we had to go in by the front door with the rest of the people.
The manager had left town before our arrival to look after an
opera house which he leased and managed in a distant city,
and our entertainment was in charge of the doorkeeper, who
seemed to be cashier and chief usher as well. We were about
to pass in when this acting manager said: "No free list here!"
"Yes, but I am Nye — Bill Nye — and this is Mr. Riley." "No
you are not," he said. "You can't come that here." "But we
are." Again the man said, "You are not. We have the pic-
tures of Nye and Riley here and you do not fill the bill," and
by the eternals he had the Two Johns, broad and fat. They
had been passed off in town for Riley and myself and no
amount of protestation could convince the ignoramus. We
had on our dress suits and hadn't a nickel between us. It
was too late to return to the hotel to be identified or to get
money to buy tickets; for we had lost much time. The man
at the door said he did not allow any swell-head, eye-glass
ducks to fake him. Then we turned sorrowfully away and
took the night train for Denver. I never knew what became
of the audience; I suppose they got their money back. And
whether some practical joker in the person of a bill-poster had
palmed off the pictures of the Two Johns for the true stuff or
the mails got mixed accidentally, I never knew, but we take
no chances now. We carry in our dress coats photographs
endorsed as genuine by all leading detectives in the country,
and sworn to before a dozen notaries-public. No sir! we
never intend to be kept out of our own show again. That
experience was enough for a lifetime.^-
Savannah, Georgia
November 29, 1888 — Bill Nye, James Whitcomb Riley, and
Harry Stillwell Edwards will spend Thanksgiving in Savan-
nah. They will be at Masonic Hall tonight. It is not often
that Savannahians have an opportunity to be entertained by a
triumvirate like Nye, Riley, and Edwards. "Bill" Nye has
become a prominent figure in the literature of this country.
He is a remarkable man.
One of the chief features of Bill Nye's character is his un-
pretentiousness. If he is vain at all, it is over his homespun
12. "Reportorial Paragraphs: Facts and Suggestions From Various
Sources," The State (Richmond, Virginia), November 24, 1888, p. 4.
258 ANNALS OF WYOMING
appearance. When a lady remarked at a dinner party, "I do
not admire handsome men," the grateful air with which he ex-
tended her his hand for a shake was appetizing. He is not
spoiled a bit by popularity. Then his heart is as big as his
bump of ludicrousness. His personal qualities will charm
equally age and fancy. The entertainment is given under the
auspices of the Young Men's Christian Association. The
sale of tickets is large and the humorists will undoubtedly be
greeted by a large audience. Reserve seats will be on sale
today at the association rooms. ^^
November 30, 1888 — The Nye-Riley-Edwards combination
gives an entertainment that is well worth $1.00. It is doubt-
ful if more pleasure can be obtained for $1.00 than this com-
bination affords. Nye and Whitcomb Riley are artists in their
way. They are never tiresome. They aim to please and they
hit the mark. Those who hear them read for the first time
are surprised as well as amused, and are afraid the entertain-
ment will end too soon. They read the best of their own
productions and, as presented by them, their productions
appear to have additional merit. They don't seem to be
pleased with their own humor, but others are. Mr. Edwards'
selections are excellent, and he reads them well, but he is an
amateur compared with Mr. Nye and Mr. Whitcomb Riley.
Masonic Hall, in which they read last night, was comfortably
filled, and there has not been a more satisfied audience in this
city for a long time.^^
Macon, Georgia
November 28, 1888 — Friday night is the time appointed for
one of the most enjoyable entertainments Macon will know
this season — an entertainment with a special attraction for
our people because of the connection with it of one of
Macon's most popular young men. The stories which have
given Mr. Edwards a national reputation cannot fail of added
charm when he interprets their humor and pathos. Of the
distinguished men who will share with him the labors and
honors of the evening the Washington Post says :
Rarely has the public the opportunity of enjoying such a combi-
nation of humor and pathos as is presented when Bill Nye, the
humorist, and James Whitcomb Riley, the poet, appear together
on the same stage. It was no wonder, therefore, that Masonic
Hall was crowded from stage to entrance last night by an audi-
13. "Funny Bill Nye: To Be At Masonic Hall Tonight," Savannah
Morning News, November 29, 1888, p. 8.
14. "Humor and Pathos," Savannah Morning News, November 30, 1888,
p. 8.
BILL NYE IN THE SOUTH 259
ence which laughed and applauded continuously and sometimes
mingled its laughter with tears. Mr. Nye is witty, with a keen
sense of the ludicrous and an aptitude for fitly describing a situa-
tion. His clean-shaven face is never broken by a smile and the
apparent seriousness with which he relates a droll story adds to
the charm of its telling. Mr. Riley has already been repeatedly
commended in the Post. His power of mimicry, the flexibility of
his voice, the simplicity, pathos, and directness of his poems — all
these characteristics delight and entertain. His pathos, as in
"Jim, Take Care o' Yourself," is heart-touching while he can run
the whole gamut from tears to side-splitting mirth with wonder-
ful effect.15
November 28, 1888 — The Academy of Music will be crowd-
ed on Friday night. Messrs. Bill Nye, James Whitcomb Riley
and Harry Stillwell Edwards will appear in a programme of
readings and will delight all who attend. Mr. Edwards joined
the party at Charleston. To give an idea of the readings, the
following is taken from the Lynchburg Virginian: [See Nov.
22, 1888, p. 1, Daily Virginian.]^*'
November 30, 1888 — Mr. Edwards made his first appearance
with Nye and Riley at Columbia, South Carolina, and ac-
quitted himself well. The audience was enthusiastic, and
the entertainment is described by the correspondent of the
Charleston News and Courier as "delightful in every respect."
Macon people will have tonight an opportunity to laugh such
as they rarely enjoy.^^
November 30, 1888 — The prospect of a delightfully amusing
entertainment by the famous humorists and comedians, Nye
and Riley, together with local pride in giving Harry Edwards
a complimentary benefit on his first appearance on the stage,
will draw a large audience of Macon's best people to the
Academy tonight.
Here is what a friend says:
The audience which will greet Nye, Riley, and Edwards tonight
at the Academy of Music will doubtless amount to an ovation.
Mr. Edwards is deservedly popular in Macon, and his many
friends will be glad of an opportunity, not only to enjoy the
combination of wit and pathos, but to show their appreciation of
him. The pendulum will vibrate 'twixt a smile and a tear,' as
these three men — all of unique genius — play at will upon those
15. "Nye, Riley, and Edwards," Macon Telegraph, November 28, 1888,
p. 4.
16. "The Three Geniuses," Macon Telegraph, November 28, 1888. p. 6.
17. "Editorial," Macon Telegraph, November 30, 1888, p. 4. The
Charleston News and Courier was not readily available for study. However,
this short article indicates that the three were well received in South
Carolina.
260 ANNALS OF WYOMING
emotions that turn the corners of the mouth now up, now down.
For the sources of laughter lie hard by the fountain of tears. i^
December 1, 1888 — Macon people had their first glimpse of
Bill Nye and the Poet Riley last night. The other member of
the trio has been seen often, but never to better advantage or
with more pride than on last night, it being his first appear-
ance on the stage.
Bill Nye's appearance suggests, if he will pardon such a
suggestion, a big, peeled onion dressed in broadcloth. His
head is bare, with, to use his own expression, a lambrequin of
hair on the suburbs, and his clothing fits him with a slickness
that gives him an unctious air. He comes upon the stage in a
way that reminds you of a big overgrown junior at a college
commencement and falls, more than walks, into his stage
attitude. Then he stands as if he was anxious to return for
some comfortable chair behind the scenes and wait for his
next turn. He speaks slowly and deliberately, as if he wanted
to carefully weigh and inspect every morsel before letting the
audience have it. His face is as bare of smiles as his head is
bare of hair, but he atones for all this area of baldness by
playfully biting his upper lip and puckering his mouth after
the fashion of a man who has just gotten up from a good
dinner and enjoyed it. He tells his stories as they are written.
The humor is apparent in every sentence, no matter how
slowly he brings it out. He does not seem conscious of the
fact that he is telling a story for the fun there is in it, but more
to get it off his mind. His dog story last night was told in
this way and therein was the charm.
In the remarks which followed the introductory by Mr.
Edwards, Bill said he had enjoyed a razor-backed hog, and
considered it in its youth a very fine bird. When coming in
on the train, he saw a flock of them at some station below
here. His friend, Mr. Riley, alluded to them as a school of
goldfish. He thought from what he had seen of the razor-
backs in this pine region that they were built more for speed
than anything else, and had suggested to the editor of the
Telegraph that there should be a new brand of swine — more
given to corpulency. The editor replied that in this country
it would not pay to raise any sort that could not out-run a
nigger.
The large audience enjoyed Mr. Nye's off-hand manner,
and he left them his ardent admirers. Mr. James Whitcomb
Riley was more of a stranger than Mr. Nye. True his poetry
18. "Nye, Riley, and Edwards," Macon Telegraph, November 30, 1888,
p. 5.
BILL NYE IN THE SOUTH 261
was known and enjoyed, but the author was lost in it some
way. He has the appearance of George Wilson, the minstrel,
with a voice similar, especially in the recitations, to that of our
own Capt. John Giles. The first impression was unfavorable,
but this impression melted like snow in the sun. Before he
had reached the half of his first recitation the audience as a
whole were his fast friends. His style is entirely different
from that of Mr. Nye. Mr. Nye is cold, emotionless; Mr.
Riley is full of life and feeling. And, yet, both amuse. Mr.
Nye turns the corners of the mouth upward only; Mr. Riley
turns the corners up and down as he chooses. He is both
poet and actor.
Mr. Edwards adds no little to the programme. He fills a
place that hitherto has been wanting. He tells the stories of
the South in a truthful way. Messrs. Riley and Nye know no
more of the Southern darky than they do of the razor-backed
hog that tickled them so on their trip South. Mr. Edwards
was reared with the old-time plantation negroes and their
dialect lingers in his memory.
Last night he read his "Two Runaways" and "The Valley
and the Shadder" and received unbounded applause. Macon
felt proud of him. His introductory, giving a brief sketch of
the home-life of his two colleagues, was a gem in its way,
being tender and beautiful and so unlike what one would
expect from the "introductory" of a programme.
In compliment to Messrs. Nye and Riley, Mr. Edwards
gave a dinner at his elegant Tattnall Square home at 4:30 in
the afternoon. The dinner was a most charming affair and
had been prepared by Mrs. Edwards. Those present were
Messrs. Nye and Riley, Col. Tom Hardeman, Col. A. R.
Lamar, Major W. H. Ross, Mr. F. H. Richardson, Mrs. R. H.
Plant, Mr. E. A. Wilson, Mr. J. C. Bannon, and Mr. N. R.
Winship. With such humorous and witty souls as Riley,
Nye, and Edwards, and such genial companions as those
named above, and a dinner prepared by the fair hands of Mrs.
Edwards, one can imagine what a feast that dinner was.
The total receipts of the entertainment last night were
$350.50, of which the library received $135.00.i^
December 2, 1888 — Mr. Edgar Wilson Nye and Mr. James
Whitcomb Riley spent yesterday in Macon. They intended to
continue on their pilgrimage yesterday morning, but some
how or other after they arose and looked about them they
resolved that Macon was about the best place they could find,
and so they lingered.
19. "Three Funny Men," Macon Telegraph. December 1, 1888. p. 2.
262 ANNALS OF WYOMING
The pleasant impression which they had made on the com-
munity by their entertainment of the previous evening was
deepened by the better social acquaintance for which their
delay gave opportunity to a number of our citizens. If
Messrs. Nye, Riley, and Edwards will at any time repeat their
triple act in Macon, they will be received by an audience twice
as large as that which greeted them last Friday evening — and
it was the largest and best audience ever seen in the city on
an occasion of this kind.-''
20. "Editorial," Macon Telegraph, December 2, 1888, p. 4.
Zhe Wyoming VortioH of the
Custer SzpeditioH of 1874
to S)cplore the ^laek Mills
Trek No. 25 of the Historical Trail Treks
Compiled by Mabel Brown
This Trek, dedicated to Miss Maurine Carley, who for the past
24 years has served as director of the historical trail treks, took
place almost exactly 100 years after the original Black Hills
Expedition. Hosts were the Weston and Crook County Chapters
of the Wyoming State Historical Society, the Wyoming Recreation
Commission and the Wyoming State Historical Society. Richard
Dumbrill was chairman of the Trek committee. Approximately
140 people participated.
OFFICERS
Captain : Wyoming Highway Patrolman Guy Tolman
Wagon Bosses: Don Jording, Kenneth Sackett, Bill Townsend
Speakers: Richard Dumbrill, Mabel Brown, Betty Thorpe,
Lucille Dumbrill, Mary Capps, James Fletcher
Guides: Tom Shaffer, Mabel Brown, Betty Thorpe, Lucille
Dumbrill, Mary Capps, James Fletcher
Photographer: George Butler
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1974
Following registration, about 100 people gathered in the Junior
High School auditorium for a program presented by Cameron
Ferwada, environmental education forester of the Black Hills
National Forest. He showed slides from the original lUingworth
1874 photographs and recent pictures taken from the same loca-
tions and compared the forest environment of then and now.
Refreshments were served and a short "get acquainted" period
was enjoyed.
SUNDAY, JULY 14, 1974
The trekkers gathered at the High School Sunday morning where
they boarded school busses. There was a guide and narrator on
each bus.
264 ANNALS OF WYOMING
The caravan left Newcastle at 7:30 and traveled directly to
Sundance. Time passed quickly as guides pointed out spots of
interest and related the history of each. The highway from
Newcastle to Four Comers and beyond is almost parallel to the
old Black Hills Stage Trail.
At Sundance the group stopped briefly to pick up a few passen-
gers and about 9:30 arrived at a point 12 miles northeast of
Aladdin overlooking the Belle Fourche River. Richard S. Dum-
brill read a paper reviewing the Custer Expedition.
SKETCH OF THE BLACK HILLS EXPEDITION OF 1874
by
Richard Dumbrill
On June 8, 1874, Brigadier General Alfred H. Terry issued
orders to Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer to command an
expedition to explore the Black Hills, which had long been a
sanctuary for Indians. It was felt that there could be no real
security for the army or the settlers in this area unless more was
known about the area.
General Custer's orders were to take a sufficient force of men to
assure the safety of travel and to penetrate the unknown and
uncharted territory. He was authorized to be gone from Fort
Abraham Lincoln, near Bismarck, North Dakota, for 60 days.
The impressive force assembled by General Custer consisted of
approximately 1000 men, most of whom traveled on horseback or
in 110 wagons, each pulled by six mules. The force drove around
300 cattle along with them for meat. Besides the arms that the
men carried, they were protected by three Gatling guns and a
three-inch rifle. The Expedition was said to be large in order to
deter trouble, and this theory was apparently successful since no
Indian trouble was encountered.
The Expedition was well equipped for the gathering of infor-
mation about the area to be traversed. Indeed, this was the only
legitimate purpose the Expedition could have had since by treaty
this area was to be preserved for the use of the Indians. Several
different professional men had responsibility for gathering the
vital information.
William Ludlow, Captain of Engineers, U. S. Army, was to map
the area traveled. N. H. Winchell, state geologist for Minnesota,
was Expedition geologist and his notes and journal are replete with
detailed descriptions of the geology encountered each day. Wil-
Uam H. Illingworth, a skilled pioneer photographer, accompanied
the Expedition with his heavy and cumbersome photographic
equipment. The Expedition boasted several practical miners or
prospectors to explore for gold. The success of their efforts,
probably more than any other factor, led to "gold fever" and the
CUSTER EXPEDITION OF 1874— TREK NO. 25 265
Opening of the Black Hills. The Expedition also had a band, the
first to accompany a major western expedition and it apparently
was fully enjoyed by the men on the trip.
The scouts who guided the Expedition repeatedly warned Gen-
eral Custer that the Black Hills could not be penetrated by the
wagons. Custer ignored their advice and pushed into the heart of
the Black Hills, eventually penetrating them with the whole of
his force.
The Expedition left Fort Abraham Lincoln July 2, 1874, and
returned as ordered about 60 days later on August 31, having
traveled approximately 883 miles. Side trips on horseback cov-
ered another 400 miles. The trip had a profound impact on the
West and led directly to the settlement of the Black Hills.
By July 17, 1874, Custer and his men had traveled west and
south from Fort Abraham Lincoln to the southeast corner of what
is now Montana. The Wyoming portion of the Expedition began
on July 17 or July 18. The location of the camp on the night of
July 17-18, as located by the longitude and latitude in Captain
Ludlow's notes, was very near the Wyoming border — just inside
the South Dakota line, and a few miles south of the Montana line.
On the morning of the 1 8th they traveled in a southwesterly direc-
tion to a camp on the Belle Fourche River. On the night of July
18-19 they camped on the north bank of the Belle Fourche. Both
Captain Ludlow's account and Winchell's report mention that the
route of Captain W. F. Raynolds, followed 1 5 years earlier, passed
along the crest of the hills in the rear of the camp. On the 19th
they remained in camp on the Belle Fourche. Winchell reports
that it rained all that day. Toward evening on the 19th it was
feared that the rain might cause the Belle Fourche River to rise and
the wagons were moved across the river.
From this first stop on the Ryan Ranch we can see into the
northeast corner of Wyoming. The Belle Fourche River lies four
or five miles to the northeast in the valley that you can see. I have
been unable to tell if the trail came up this ridge or one further to
the north but in any event you can see how similar all the ridges
are. On the morning of July 20, 1874, they passed up one of these
ridges and that evening camped about three or four miles west of
Aladdin.
On July 21 the Expedition skirted the Bear Lodge mountains
and that night camped on the banks of a branch of the Red Water.
This camp was on the Orville D. "Pete" Harper Ranch.
After a 22-mile march on the 22nd the group made camp on
Inyan Kara Creek about four miles east of Inyan Kara Mountain.
They stayed in this camp two days and while there climbed the
mountain.
Heading almost due east on the morning of July 24 the Expedi-
tion moved through several valleys and reached Cold Creek where
they camped that night. Custer called this valley Floral Valley
266 ANNALS OF WYOMING
and was very impressed by its beauty. The next day they moved
on up the valley, camping that night just across the South Dakota
line.
On July 26 the Expedition crossed over the divide into the
Castle Creek drainage and continued into the Black Hills of South
Dakota.
After leaving Wyoming their route then took them deeper into
the Black Hills to what they called their main camp near present-
day Custer. From here they explored the southern hills for several
days, going as far south as the Cheyenne River. From their main
camp they retraced their route for several miles and then struck
out to the north and east. With some difficulty they emerged onto
the eastern flank of the Black Hills. Their route then led them by
Bear Butte near Sturgis, and farther north across the Belle Fourche
and into Montana — crossing their old trail at Prospect Valley.
They then traveled along the easterly side of the Little Missouri
River.
This was the most difficult part of their entire journey. The
prairie had been burned, and the feed was short. Water was
scarce and the men and animals were very tired. On August 20,
they found water and grass on the Little Missouri and rested one
day. From that point back to Fort Abraham Lincoln they were
near water and had grass for the stock.
The night of August 29 found them a long day's journey from
Fort Abraham Lincoln. They broke camp early the next morning
and were traveling by 3:00 a.m. At noon they took a long lunch
break, giving the men and animals a rest, and then started the last
half-day ride into the Fort.
The men put up a good front as they neared the Fort. The
scouts led the way. Custer rode at the center of the line of
mounted officers following the scouts. They were followed by the
band and the cavalry companies in columns of four. The wagon
train followed the cavalry and finally the two companies of infantry
brought up the rear. The Expedition of 1874 to explore the Black
Hills had completed the task it had undertaken, and Custer was
proud of the accomplishments.
Custer's wife Elizabeth describes their entry into camp in the
following manner in Boots and Saddles:
When we could take time to look everyone over, they were all
amusing. Some wives did not know their husbands, and looked indig-
nant enough when caught in an embrace by an apparent stranger.
Many, like the general, had grown heavy beards. All were sunburned,
their hair faded, and their clothes so patched that the original blue of
the uniform was scarcely visible. Of course, there had been nothing
on the expedition save pieces of white canvas with which to reinforce
the riding breeches, put new elbows on sleeves, and replace the worn
knees.
The boots were out at the toes, and the clothing of some was so
beyond repair that the officers wanted to escape observation by slip-
ping, with their tattered rags, into the kitchen door. The instruments
CUSTER EXPEDITION OF 1874— TREK NO. 25 267
of the band were jammed and tarnished, but they still produced
enough music for us to recognize the old tune of "Garryowen," to
which the regiment always returned.
By-and-by the long wagon train appeared. Many of the covers had
elk horns strapped to them, until they looked like strange bristling
animals as they drew near. Some of the antlers were brought to us
as presents. Besides them we had skins, specimens of gold and mica,
and petrified shells of iridescent colors, snake rattles, pressed flowers,
and petrified wood. My husband brought me a keg of the most de-
licious water from a mountain stream. It was almost my only look
at clear water for years, as most of the streams west of the Missouri
are muddy.
One can speculate whether the hope of scientific discoveries
really prompted the Expedition, but the scientific results certainly
would have warranted the effort. Regardless of motives, the prac-
tical results of the Expedition and reports of gold brought pros-
pectors and settlers into the Black Hills the next spring and soon
they were a part of the settling frontier.
From the overlook on the Ryan ranch the group traveled to the
Aladdin Campsite.
ALADDIN CAMPSITE
by
Jerry lekel
In Cameron Ferwada's slide program and presentation yesterday
evening he included a picture of the sign and inscription marking
this campsite. Allow me to read to you the inscription on this
marker which is located just down the road and visible to us
from here.
On July 20, 1874 Gen. George A. Custer leading the first official
government exploring expedition in the Black Hills camped at this
point en route to the Black Hills to investigate rumors of gold in
paying quantities. The trail in the foreground was left by his party
which consisted of 110 wagons, 2000 animals and 1100 men, including
engineers, scouts, geologists and practical miners. This expedition
was in violaiton of the Treaty of 1868 which guaranteed the region
to the Indians. In 1875 after Government negotiations with the In-
dians to purchase the Black Hills broke down, miners and others
poured into this area.
On the morning of July 20th, the Expedition considered this
their first day in the Hills.
July weather had been hot and dry, and water had been scarce.
Several days previous to this, and farther north — on July 1 7th —
Ludlow in his account had commented on the paucity of grass,
the "cactus and prickly pear prevailing," and their making camp
that evening with a view of the Black Hills to the south. He even
mentions that "toward morning, a severe windstorm routed us
from sleep and covered us with sand."
On this first day in the Black Hills the Expedition traveled 18
268 ANNALS OF WYOMING
winding miles. Ludlow's account briefly describes this day's
journey :
The first day's journey was made into the hills. The morning opened
threateningly, but subsequently cleared. Crossing the river and bend-
ing to the westward, a winding and easy ascent was made of the
opposite hills. Reaching the summit the course was southerly, over a
high, gently-rolling prairie, heavily grassed, with clumps of oak and
pine beautifully interspersed.
A ravine cut into the shingle by a small stream was passed. From
the sides of the cut exuded some salt of sulphur, and the water was
strongly impregnated with alum, and possessed a decidedly inky
flavor and astringency. Pursuing the southerly course the high table
narrowed to a ridge and suddenly turned to the left; the trail descend-
ed into a valley thickly wooded with oak and pine.
Captain Ludlow then proceeded to describe with obvious enthu-
siasm the difference between this country on July 20, and where
they had been just earlier:
The change from the hot, dry, burned-up landscape north of the Belle
Fourche was wonderful. The temperature was delightful; the air
laden with sweet wild odors; the grass knee-deep and exceedingly
luxuriant and fresh; while wild cherries, blueberries, and gooseberries
abounded, as well as many varieties of flowers. All these advantages,
combined with that of an abundance of pure cold water, were ours,
with rare exceptions, until the final departure from the hills.
Over a narrow ridge into a small grassy park, thence into another
and another, the trail led to camp facing a lofty sandstone range of
hills through which a narrow pass had admitted us, and at the foot of
which a small stream of pure water flowed eastward.
They camped some three or four miles west of Aladdin on Hay
Creek. Professor A. B. Donaldson, the Expedition's assistant
geologist, described this evening at the Aladdin campsite. He
writes as though overcome with it all. One historian notes that
"Professor Donaldson was a geologist, but one would not suspect
it from his record of that night." Let us conclude this Aladdin
campsite visit with Professor Donaldson's account of a nightly
extravaganza on this spot 100 years ago.
The sunset was of unusual splendor. The lines of stratus and each
fleecy rack in the west, were tinged with orange, red and golden hues;
while in the east, the purple twilight bow extended its broad arch of
beauty, modest in its fainter glory. Towards the south, dark moun-
tains of cumulus were edged with brightest silver, a gorgeous pathway
fit for steps of deity. But these short-lived splendors fade away.
"And comes still evening on till twilight gray,
Hath in her sober livery all things clad."
The stars come out, one by one, and troop by troop, till all the con-
stellations burn, the "music of the spheres" begins and "all the hosts
of heaven rejoice." The band plays, and thus with mingled earthly
and heavenly music, terrestrial beauty and celestial glory, the first day
ends and the first night is ushered in to the strangers among the Black
Hills.
CUSTER EXPEDITION OF 1874— TREK NO. 25 269
At approximately 11:10 the group reached the Red Water
Camp and heard another paper.
GOVERNMENT VALLEY, JULY 21, 1874
by
Lucille Dumbrill
Two years ago, very near this place and about this time in the
summer, Dick and I were reading journals written by Captain
William Ludlow and Professor N. H. Winchell as they accompa-
nied the Custer Expedition into the Black Hills in 1 874. By using
the amazingly accurate location recorded by Ludlow, and a recent
Forest Service map with longitude and latitude marked, we found
ourselves very near this spot, the Red Water Camp of July 21,
1874.
Ludlow's account locates the camp on a small branch of the
Red Water 44° 30' 18" latitude and 104° 15' 52" longitude, 14.3
miles from the previous (Aladdin) camp and 324.6 miles from
Fort Abraham Lincoln. We are now standing in what was then
referred to as "Government Valley."
Upon further study of the journals, more evidence confirmed
our belief that we were near the camp area. Ludlow referred to
the terrain and water supply for the camp as follows: ". . . . the
valley was found difficult to travel and recourse was had to a
narrow ridge of hills on the right finally descending from which we
camped in the Valley on a small creek issuing from a spring of 45°
temperature, and flowing a stream a foot wide and several inches
deep. This water, delightful from its clearness and coldness,
proved to have been impregnated by the gypsum veins and to be
endowed with highly medicinal properties."
Winchell described the same spring: "A beautiful spring of
hard water, with a temperature of 45° Fahrenheit, is situated
within the camp. It is so copious that it furnishes water for nearly
one thousand men, with their horses, and 650 mules. The water,
however, has a cathartic effect on those who drink freely. It rises
from below a layer of white gypsum about a foot in thickness."
Orville (Pete) Harper, on whose ranch the spring is located,
took us to the exact spot and showed us the spring described by
Ludlow and Winchell. It is very near where we are standing and
still has the properties described in the journals.
Other quotations from the journals made it evident that our
location was the true one. They described geological formations
which can be identified exactly by observation from here. Pro-
fessor Winchell was extremely interested in this location, and
described it in detail. On the morning of July 21, as the Expedi-
tion was leaving the Aladdin Camp, he noted, "Immediately on
leaving camp. . . I discovered a deeper red color in broken spots
270 ANNALS OF WYOMING
in the sandstone. . .A little farther on I see exposures of marl and
sandstone. . ., the whole dipping east. . .not more than 8° or 10°,
yet the height of the little mounds which here take the place of the
flat-topped sandstone bluffs, shows that the formation must be
considerably thicker. . ." Exploring out from the camp, he wrote,
"At a nice little creek about ten miles from camp, flowing easterly,
red sections are exposed both in the creek banks and in the hills
to the West, the dip being west. ..." He wrote, "We are in a
valley made by the excavation of the soft Jurassic beds with a
range of bare red bluffs toward the North — indeed in nearly all
directions around us."
Observation of the surrounding countryside confirms the belief
that we are now standing in that valley.
Winchell goes on to describe the valley in more detail and refers
to large quartzite boulders which you probably observed as you
drove into the campsite. "On the surface of the valley in which
we are camped, sometime half a mile from the range of sandstone
bluffs formed by the Lower Cretaceous are seen very large quartz-
ite boulders. These can be referred without much hesitation to
the sandstone of that range. . . ." He goes into a very detailed
description of the boulders and their geology which makes these
boulders identifiable as the boulders of the journal.
The night of July 21 Private John Cunningham died of dysen-
tery. The next morning, on July 22, Private George Turner was
shot in the abdomen and loaded into the ambulance wagon for the
trip to the Inyan Kara Camp.
As the Expedition left camp on the morning of July 22, Winchell
added to the detailed description and the area and again described
formations visible to us from here and from the road. "On leaving
camp, toward the south, we enter a vast gypsiferous region. I had
noticed a whiteness of the surface and a white rock capping the
buttes and hills in the direction we were to travel before setting out
from camp and even yesterday before camping, and had presup-
posed a change in the formation. . . .Here are a number of beds,
the thickest of which forms a capping to a range of buttes and
bluffs running east and west, and can be seen two or three miles.
This lies below the gypsum beds I have already mentioned, but
forms the floor of the flat on which we camped yesterday and
hardens the water of the spring at that place."
Finally, his description of a specific butte, easy to identify, helps
to determine not only the campsite, but the probable route the
party took as it moved out toward the Inyan Kara camp of July 22.
"A butte which lies just south of our last camp about a mile
distant affords the first good opportunity to take a section of these
gypsiferous beds. This is but one of a number that lie on either
hand. It rises boldly and pyramidally above the flat on which it
stands, and, with its white cap and its narrower white belts, consti-
tutes at once a remarkable illustration of the effect of atmospheric
CUSTER EXPEDITION OF 1874— TREK NO. 25 271
agents in demolishing these Red-Beds and exposing the contained
mineral to the cupidity of man, and of the impunity with which
nature displays her treasures when none but the shiftless Indian
beholds them."
After identifying the formation and landmarks described in the
journals, and verifying the exact existence and location of the
spring, we knew we had found the location of the Expedition's
camp of July 21.
I hope the reading of excerpts from the journals and identifying
the landmarks described in them has conveyed to you some of the
thrill and excitement we experienced as we located these places.
At 11:40 we again boarded the busses and travel toward Sun-
dance was resumed. At the Aladdin Store another passenger
joined us. Rich Anderson, a young man from Illinois, had read
about the Trek in the Rapid City Daily Journal and joined the
caravan here. He was walking from Illinois to the west coast and
after traveling with the Wyoming historians returned to Aladdin
and resumed his personal trek.
At Sundance there was time to visit the Crook County Museum
after a lunch break hosted by the Crook County Chapter of the
Society. Refreshed and again ready for travel, the group left
Sundance for the Inyan Kara campsite at approximately 2 o'clock.
All along the way, from shortly before reaching Four Corners,
a distinctive mountain could be seen in the blue distance. From
afar it resembled a sleeping bear. It was this mountain that the
busses now approached.
The vehicles turned off the road near a historical marker and
arrived at a small area fenced with white pickets. Inside were the
headstones of two of the soldiers of the Expedition.
ASCENT OF INYAN KARA MOUNTAIN— JULY 23, 1874
by
Mary Capps
On the morning of July 22 the Custer Expedition left the camp
on the Red Water and moved southward up the Red Water Valley
with Inyan Kara Mountain in sight all day. That evening they
camped about four and one-half miles east of the mountain. The
camp was located west and perhaps a little south of the soldiers'
graves. Certainly the highway cuts through some part of the
camp, and the historical marker is within the camp area.
Custer hoped an ascent of the mountain would provide infor-
mation concerning the easiest passage into the high inner regions
of the Black Hills. The command was to remain at the Inyan
Kara camp for two days.
On the morning of July 23 General Custer with his staff, the
scientific corps, and one reporter, escorted by two companies of
272 ANNALS OF WYOMING
cavalry, visited the mountain. The cavalry was left behind at the
base of the mountain and the climbing party began the ascent.
Reaching the crest of the steep outer rim from the east side, the
climbers divided into two exploring parties. One group, led by
Custer, followed along the ridge curving toward the south and
climbed the boulder-covered south slope to the top. The other
group, including geologist N. H. Winchell, proceeded west, down
the inner slope of the ridge. Crossing the small, deep canyon
which encircles the inner peak they found a stream of cold, clear
water.
Professor Donaldson's detailed description of the climb and of
the mountain could hardly be improved:
At an early hour in the morning, General Custer and his staff, the
scientific corps, and one reporter, escorted by two companies of
cavalry, left the upper camp on the Red Water to visit Inyan Kara,
in Wyoming, latitude of 44 degrees 13 minutes, and distant from our
line of march about five miles. ... It covers about twelve square
miles. Its shape is that of a horseshoe, the shoe is a sharp backed
ridge, several miles in length and very steep on both sides. In the
centre of the shoe is the mountain peak, rising several hundred feet
higher than any part of the ridge, and separated from it by a horse-
shoe shaped, rocky canon, 500 to 700 feet deep.
. . . The strata are very much broken and are inclined at almost every
angle. On the west side of the mountain and about 300 feet down its
rugged side, is a perpendicular, columnar wall, 250 feet high and a
half a mile long. Except in its composition it resembles the Palisades
of the Hudson. At its foot is a talus of immense masses. . . . The
view of the mountain from the side of the canon opposite the wall can
hardly be surpassed.
The wall which Professor Donaldson described is a formation
similar to that of Devils Tower, and is composed of a similar
porphyry material. Inyan Kara Mountain and Devils Tower are
examples of a series of igneous intrusions along the northern Black
Hills. These intrusions were masses of hot, plastic material pushed
up by mountain-building forces into the outer layers of the earth's
crust. Subsequent erosion has carried away the softer sedimentary
rocks, leaving the hardened magma. The outer rim is sandstone
and limestone — the Pahasapa or Madison limestone, which is the
source of domestic water for Newcastle and other Wyoming com-
munities.
The Missouri Buttes near Devils Tower, the Black Buttes just
north of our present location and Bear Butte near Sturgis, S. D.,
are other examples of these igneous intrusions — monuments to
nature's mountain building binge at the time the Black Hills and
Rocky Mountains were formed.
Colonel Ludlow, the topographical engineer, measured the
height of the mountain above its base and found it to be 11 00 feet.
Lieutenant G. K. Warren, who visited Inyan Kara in 1857, fixed
its height at 6600 feet above sea level. Modem maps show the
elevation of Inyan Kara Mountain to be 6368 feet above sea level.
CUSTER EXPEDITION OF 1874— TREK NO. 25 273
Warren commanded the first official expedition into the Black
Hills accompanied by geologist F. V. Hayden and his assistants,
along with an escort of 30 men. Warren proceeded north from
Fort Laramie and skirted the western edge of the Black Hills as
far north as Inyan Kara, giving the white man his first real knowl-
edge about the Black Hills.
Earlier visitors to Kara Mountain were Sir George Gore, on a
hunting expedition in 1854, Father DeSmet in the 1840s and fur
trappers and miners whose names will never be known.
The mountain was of special significance to the plains Indian
tribes who inhabited the area before the white man came. Accord-
ing to one Sioux legend the Black Hills were the dwelling place of
the Great Spirit, who had set aside the area as a temporary resting
place for the spirits of the departed braves so that they would not
become blinded by the splendors of the final happy hunting ground
upon arriving there. Inyan Kara was a sacred place, often visited
by the Sioux and other tribes. Reports have it that they would
hang offerings on rocks and trees near the mountain to appease
the thunder gods who were responsible for the mysterious rum-
blings heard during the calmest days and nights. The first white
men to visit Inyan Kara also mentioned the sounds, but after 1833
there is no further mention of the rumbling.
The name Inyan Kara has been understood locally to mean
"mountain inside a mountain," an accurate description of the
mountain's physical appearance. According to the Indian guide
Cold Hand, who was with the climbing party, the correct name was
"He-eng Ya Ka ga." Geologist Winchell, who queried Cold Hand
about the name, assumed that the spelling "Inyan" was a corrup-
tion of the term "He eng Ya." According to a dictionary of the
Teton Sioux "Inyan" means stone; "Kara," or correctly, "Kaga,"
means to make or form — stone-formed. Dr. V. T. McGillicuddy,
for years an Indian agent at Pine Ridge, claimed the term should
have been "Inyan Kaga Paha" stone-made peak.
Professor Donaldson's report contains the only mention of the
names carved on the summit of Inyan Kara. Again quoting from
his report :
As difficult and even dangerous as the ascent. General Forsythe led
his horse to the very top, and brought him down again in safety. In
the hard, flinty album of the summit, engraven with cold chisel and
hammer, in large and distinct characters, Arabic and Roman, is a
date and an autograph, thus,
74
G Custer
If the archaeologist is puzzled over this inscription, let him consult
the commandant of this expedition.
Donaldson's words were prophetic. The archaeologist and quite
a few others are puzzled by the fact that the name of G. Custer
appears in two places at the summit, along with the date "74 and
274 ANNALS OF WYOMING
the remnants of other names, now barely discernible. The letters
" L U D" (perhaps Ludlow) appear below one of the Custer
names. One of the inscriptions "74 G Custer" is chiseled much
deeper into the rock and appears to be more recent than the others.
Perhaps someone interested in preserving the names has reworked
the original inscription. In a few more years the elements and the
little lichens growing on the rock will erase all trace of the names,
with the exception of the one that has been deeply engraved in
the rock.
Professor Donaldson obviously enjoyed the chmb and the op-
portunity to observe the great unexplored country stretching out in
all directions. In this respect he was to be disappointed however:
The temperature of the summit is sensible lower than that in the plain
below, and we found it pleasant to sit on the leeward side of the crest
and in the sunshine. Of the extensive and magnificent views from the
summit, we can only say nothing; for unfortunately on the day of our
visit the air was so hazy that nothing could be seen beyond ten miles.
A hazy air is unusual in this country. On account of obscurity of the
air. . . Mr. Illingworth took but one view and that from a distance of
about two miles.
The obscurity of air mentioned by Donaldson was probably
caused by smoke from fires set by Indians south and west of Kara
Mountain. The party waited two hours for the smoke and haze
to clear, but finding it had grown more dense they returned to
camp.
In 1973 Inyan Kara Mountain was put on the National Register
of Historic Places. Mark Junge, a historian for the Wyoming
Recreation Commission, says about Inyan Kara:
The place of Inyan Kara in the rich history of the Black Hills is a
prominent one. . . It served as a landmark for early travelers and
explorers and on several occasions served as host to dramatic
events. . .
In June, 1972, members and friends of the Weston County
Chapter climbed to the summit of Inyan Kara. They photo-
graphed the mountain, the surrounding country, the carvings, 22
varieties of flowers and four varieties of mushrooms and each
other. Four bighorn sheep were observed near the summit, but
they ran away before they could be photographed. Inyan Kara
casts a spell on all who visit. Almost before you return to camp
you will find yourself planning the next chmb. Come climb with
us next time. You will henceforth be known as a "He-eng Ya
Ka-Ga Climber," and we'll give you a certificate to prove it!
CUSTER EXPEDITION OF 1874— TREK NO. 25 275
THE GRAVES OF CUNNINGHAM AND TURNER
by
Elizabeth J. Thorpe
Almost a hundred years have passed since Professor Donaldson
reported that the placid moon and twinkling stars looked down on
the new-filled graves of Private John Cunningham and Private
George Turner. Wind, rain and snow have carved the land.
Summer's sun has brought forth countless blossoms to flourish
and seed. Still, time, nature and man have dealt gently with this
place. If Custer's cavalcade could pass this way today they would,
perhaps, find that these headstones mark a familiar site — the
graves of two of the four soldiers who lost their lives during the
Black Hills Expedition of 1 874.
The graves were marked in the 1960s through the efforts of
Devils Tower VFW Post No. 4311 and Historian Bob Lee of
Sturgis. After compiling information about the soldiers from the
National Archives, Lee submitted it to Representative William
Harrison's office and the VFW Post was able to obtain the marble
headstones.
Though the life of a soldier is always precarious, the 1874
Expedition proved less risky for the men than Custer's other
campaigns. While the men doubtless suffered hardships that the
officers did not, their general health was reported good. Only
four of the many hundreds of infantry and cavalry died — none by
enemy fire. The illness which caused the death of three of the
soldiers was chronic diarrhea, supposedly caused from eating the
hot, fresh game killed along the way. Modern concepts would
contradict this. The ailment could have resulted from diseases
such as typhoid, enteritis or tuberculosis, but the deaths of all three
most likely resulted from an electrolyte imbalance caused by severe
loss of fluids and the continued journey under a merciless summer
sun — a diagnosis impossible at that time.
Records show that John Cunningham, of H Company, 7th
Cavalry, had enlisted for five years on March 9, 1871, at Boston.
Born in Bridgewater, John was 22 at time of enlistment and had
previously worked as a teamster. He was a rather slight young
man, five feet, eight and one-fourth inches tall, with fair hair,
grey eyes and light complexion. Some time after the command left
Fort Lincoln on July 2, John began feeling poorly, but, as the
medical officer believed chronic diarrhea to be neither serious nor
unique in the command, he was ordered back to duty. He stayed
in the saddle during the march of July 17 but grew weaker and
found it harder to mount after rest periods. According to one
report, John fell from his horse on July 20 and died near midnight
in the camp on Beaver Creek, Montana Territory. His body was
wrapped in canvas and laid in the ambulance. According to
276 ANNALS OF WYOMING
journals quoted in Custer's Gold, after John collasped the medical
officer, now convinced he was not fit for duty, had him placed in
an ambulance where he rode until the night of the 21st to the Red
Water Valley camp and there died. Professor Donaldson, in his
report to the St. Paul press, added that the boy's illness was com-
bined with acute pleurisy. Donald Jackson, author of Custer's
Gold, thought the lad's death was a "result of the neglect of the
men claiming to be doctors." Moreover, any medical treatment
may have been of the homeopathic variety which expounded that
"like cures like."
But, whether John died at Beaver Creek Camp or at Red Water
Valley, whether from disease or neglect, his death surely saddened
his comrades of the expedition.
The shooting of Private George Turner of Company M the next
morning was the culmination of a long feud. George, called
"Joseph" in Donaldson's report, was born at Springfield, Ohio, in
1847. He enlisted at age 22 on November 24, 1869, at St. Louis,
Missouri. As he listed his occupation as soldier, this was probably
his second enlistment. George had blue eyes, brown hair, a fair
complexion and was five feet, eight and one-half inches tall. He
and William Roller had soldiered together for four years and nine
months and had quarreled and fought much of the time. On the
morning of July 22 William's temper flared over one of George's
pranks. George had cross-hobbled Roller's horse so it couldn't
walk without faUing. Though the deserved confrontation had been
brewing for years, George was unprepared when the furious Roller
drew on him. He fumbled for his pistol which was not in its usual
position and was shot at close range. Seriously wounded, he was
placed in an ambulance for the 23-mile ride to the evening camp
about four and a half miles due east of Inyan Kara Mountain. In
spite of his wounds he got little sympathy for he had few friends.
As the train reached camp, Turner died. A post-mortem exam-
ination made by Dr. Williams showed that the wound must have
resulted in death regardless of treatment. Wilham Roller was
placed under arrest to be turned over to the civil authorities for
trial when the Expedition returned to headquarters.
Professor Donaldson's description of the burial is here quoted
in full:
Upon a knoll, within the limits of the camp, a broad grave was dug.
In the evening at a quarter to nine o'clock the whole regiment, by
companies, was called into line to attend the burial of both soldiers.
First in the procession was the band; second, an ambulance bearing
the dead; third, the companies of which the deceased were members;
fourth, other companies; fifth, regimental staff officers and civilians.
As the solemn cortege marched across the campus the band played
a mournful dirge. A hollow square was formed about the grave.
Side by side the two bodies were lowered into the vault. By the light
of a lantern the funeral service was read. A platoon of soldiers then
stepped to the edge of the grave and fired three successive volleys.
CUSTER EXPEDITION OF 1874— TREK NO. 25 277
The dead heeded not. A trumpeter then came up and blew loud and
long. No response came! He then blew the call, 'Day is closed, light
put out.' The grave was then filled. As the placid moon and twin-
kling stars looked down upon the solemn scene, slowly and sadly we
left the dead alone, 'to sleep the sleep that knows no waking.'
To hide the grave from the desecrating savages who would soon
come prowling around, its surface was leveled off and a fire was kept
burning upon it all the next day. A thousand thoughts 'come crowd-
ing up for utterance,' but we forbear and leave the reader to moralize
upon this painful drama of real life.
Dick and Lucille Dumbrill's son, Doug, had sounded retreat and
assembly to get passengers back into the busses at the various
stops and now as Mrs. Thorpe concluded her story of the burial
of the two ill-fated privates, from high above on a distant hillside,
the sound of "Taps" drifted softly over a hushed band of listeners.
Clouds had been gathering ever since the members of the Trek
left Sundance, and by 3 o'clock, when the party pulled out from
the Inyan Kara stop, the skies were becoming ever darker. At
about 3:30 when they arrived at Floral Valley the rain had become
a reality. The busses waited along the highway until the rain
eased, then pulled into the valley.
FLORAL VALLEY
by
Mabel Brown
The Custer Expedition of 1874, about which we have been
hearing today, camped at this site 100 years ago on July 24
and 25.
It is unfortunate that this year is one of the driest in the history
of the area. Because of this you will not see the valley in the
beauty which inspired Brevet Major General George Armstrong
Custer to send out a telegram of more than 1 200 words describing
the glories of nature which he observed.
May I quote from an account of the expedition in the Black Hills
Engineer oil>iovemheT, 1929?
"This valley supplied with fine spring water contained the great-
est profusion of wild flowers in almost incredible numbers and
varieties. General Custer, because of this called it 'Floral Valley.'
"The party found here an old and deeply cut lodge trail running
up the valley and, halting the command, the valleys leading out of
Floral Valley were explored. The trail was said to be an old
Voyageur Pack Trail and was one of the regular routes between the
hostile camp on the Tongue River and the Agencies. Near the
high point many old camps and abandoned lodge poles were
found."
Ludlow says, "The flowers here were if anything, more abun-
278 ANNALS OF WYOMING
dant that when they entered the valley and wooded and open
country seemed about equally distributed.
"All the vegetation was luxuriant and fresh and we had no doubt
that a portion at least of the park country we were in search of had
been reached," he said. He continued to describe the beauty
saying that a more beautiful wild country could not be imagined.
Signs of bear and deer abounded and the woods frequently re-
sounded with the clamorous cry of the crane.
The entire regiment reveled for a time in the delights of the
place, the soldiers festooning their hats and the bridles of their
horses with flowers while the band which accompanied the Expe-
dition, seated on an elevated rock ledge, played "Garry Owen,"
"The Mocking Bird," "II Trovatore," "Artists Life," "The Girl I
Left Behind Me" and other tunes.
In his report Professor Donaldson said, "In this valley every
sound is echoed from the timbered borders and the mountain sides.
The report of a rifle seems as loud as that of artillery on the plains.
The music of the band was wierd and fascinating, it seemed to
come from the caves of concealed genii and the fancy suggested
the haunts of the muses. No wonder the Indians have strange
superstitions in regard to such fairy dells and think them the homes
of departed spirits."
Of this valley, Custer himself said, "This valley presented the
most wonderful as well as beautiful aspect. Its equal, I have never
seen; such too was the testimony of all who beheld it. In no
private park, have I ever seen such a profusion of flowers. Every
step of our march that day was amid flowers of exquisite color and
perfume. So luxurious were they that the men picked them
without dismounting from their saddles. Some belonged to strange
and unclassified species. It was strange to look back and see the
advancing columns of cavalry and behold the men with beautiful
bouquets of flowers in their hands while the headgear of their
horses was decorated with wreaths fit to crown the Queen of the
May. Deeming it a most fitting appelation, I named it Floral
Valley.
"General Forsythe at one of our halting places plucked 17
beautiful flowers of different species within a space of 20 feet. . .
At the mess table, one of the officers suggested that it be deter-
mined how many different flowers could be plucked without leav-
ing our seats at the dinner table. Seven different varieties were
thus gathered!
"Professor Donaldson estimated the number of flowers in bloom
at 50 while an equal number of varieties had already bloomed or
were yet to bloom." The number of grasses, trees and shrubs was
estimated at 25, making the total flora of the valley 125 species.
"Through this valley," Custer continued, "wanders a stream so
cold as to render ice undesirable even at noonday."
CUSTER EXPEDITION OF 1874— TREK NO. 25 279
All of the reports of the Expedition were filled with the beauty
of the valley.
The reports of Donaldson, Custer and the others were not
exaggerations. I, myself, have 450 slides of wild flowers, counting
flowering shrubs, all of which were taken in this very area. There
are more than 2000 flowering plants in Wyoming and most of
them can be found in or near this valley.
From Floral Valley the Expedition traveled toward the Cold
Springs Creek camp, pausing for refreshments at the Buckhorn
store.
The rain had come down quite hard and the turn-off to the Cold
Springs campsite was boggy. The first bus slipped into an espe-
cially muddy spot and for a time it looked as if that place might
become a 1974 campsite. The next bus, however, pulled the first
one out, and the trek was continued to Cold Springs.
In this lovely valley, an extension of Floral Valley, the travelers
stopped to enjoy the scenery and to hear a paper.
COLD SPRINGS CAMP
by
James Fletcher
In addition to the purely military reasons for undertaking the
1874 Black Hills Expedition, extensive plans were made to make
scientific notations. These were to be primarily records of min-
eralization, drainage and topography, geology, water sources, veg-
etation and other resources. The scientific branch of the Expedi-
tion, therefore, was equipped with odometers, transits, sextants, a
barometer, thermometers and chronometers.
In addition, the unit had doctors, veterinarians, a geologist, a
paleontologist, a botonist and a photographer. The photographer
made over 800 pictures, but only a few were turned over to the
army for their records. The balance were printed for commercial
use and most have since been lost.
Each day the unit engineers took compass readings along the
route and transit readings to develop a system of bearings. Two
odometers attached to wheels of separate vehicles indicated the
mileage.
At each campsite the sextant and chronometers were used to
determine latitude and longitude. These readings together with
the compass-transit courses were used to develop a map of the
area. The altimeter provided elevation readings wherever desired
and added to the map information. The map made from these
procedures was not intended to be very accurate but it gave a good
general picture. At least one elevation was considerably in error —
that of Harney Peak. But such an error could be expected when
280 ANNALS OF WYOMING
an altimeter is subject to atmospheric "highs" and "lows" and to
pressure changes caused by wind.
In addition to engineering data a large amount of geological and
topographic information was recorded. The Expedition was well
organized and provided a wealth of information about the Black
Hills. Men of the unit were proud of their achievement.
May I ask how many people in the assembly here have ever
driven horses or mules pulling a heavy, steel-wheeled wagon? Do
you remember the hard work, dirt, sweat, and long hours involved
in traveling any distance in summertime heat? Only such personal
experience can give one insight into the ordeal of Custer's Ex-
pedition.
As is apparent in the various reports, the Custer Expedition was
accompanied by a band which not only played marching music but
entertained the men with tunes of the day. The Expedition of
1974 was also treated to the old musical favorites. A group of
Newcastle High School students under the direction of Tim
Thompson played "Garry Owen," the favorite of the Seventh
Cavalry, "The Blue Danube," "Listen to The Mocking Bird," "The
Girl I Left Behind Me" and other selections popular in 1874.
Players were Jeannie and Patty Plana, JeriCay Boulden, Rene
Lane, Deedee CaiUier, Cindy Koski, Brad Hokanson, Doug and
Clarke Dumbrill, Brant Williams, Paul Bower and band director
Thompson.
The air was fresh and cool after the summer rain and it was with
some reluctance that the Cold Springs Camp was left behind.
Following the Castle Creek drainage area mentioned by Custer
Expedition reports, the road again followed the Cheyenne-Dead-
wood Trail until the highway at Four Corners came into view.
A dinner at the Flying V Cambria Inn concluded the day's
activities. Maurine Carley had been introduced and honored at
the noon stop at Sundance. At the evening meal at the "V" she
was presented with a five-gaUon cream can by Mary Capps of the
Anna Miller Museum in Weston County.
Already the question is "Where will we go next year?" Wher-
ever it is, it will be exciting. Following these trails is one of the
most "fun" activities of the historical society.
Uook Keviews
Travels in North America, 1822-1824. By Paul Wilhelm, Duke of
Wurttemberg. Trans, by W. Robert Nitske. Ed. by Savoie
Lottinville. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1973)
Index, Illus. 456 pp. $20.00.
In 1822 Paul Wilhelm, Duke of Wurttemberg was 25 years old,
with a sound training in natural science, and an urge to travel,
observe and collect biological specimens. His first trip to the
Western Hemisphere took place between October of 1822 and
February of 1824. However, the report of his trip, Erste Reise
nach dem nordlichen Amerika in den Jahren 1822 bis 1824, was
not published until 1835 after his second trip, to which he makes
occasional reference in this work. An earlier translation, without
historic or scientific annotation, appeared in South Dakota Histor-
ical Collections, XIX (1938).
Sailing from Hamburg on October 17 the duke reached New
Orleans on December 21, 1822. Two weeks later he left for a
short visit to Cuba and returned to New Orleans on March 4. He
then took a steamer to Bayou Sara, upriver from Baton Rouge.
Here he visited several plantations ranging from elegant to quite
poverty stricken and collected zoological and botanical specimens.
As he could not obtain passage on a steamer for St. Louis, the duke
sailed on April 10 for Shippingport at the Falls of the Ohio and
paid a short visit to Louisville. On April 24 passage for St. Louis
was finally obtained.
With a number of letters of introduction the Duke had a pleasant
stay in St. Louis and was given passage on a keel boat of the
Missouri Fur Company bound for the company's factory near
Council Bluffs with supplies — largely gun powder. He arrived late
July and a few days later Duke Paul visited Fort Atkinson some
two miles distant. From Council Bluffs he traveled on, by land, to
Fort Recovery, the trading post of Joshua Pilcher near the mouth
of the White River in present-day South Dakota, and to Fort
Kiowa held by the French Missouri Company. Blocked from
continuing upriver by the fighting, some two weeks previous, be-
tween Colonel Henry Leavenworth's punitive expedition and two
Arikara villages, the duke returned by water to Council Bluffs.
Here Colonel Leavenworth provided a military escort for a side
trip to villages of Otos and Sioux in the Platte River valley. On
October 2, 1823 Paul Wilhelm started his homeward trip. He
traveled by keel-boat to St. Louis, then by river steamer to New
Orleans, and by brig from New Orleans on December 24, landing
in Hamburg almost five months from the time he left Fort
Atkinson.
As a natural scientist the duke reported on the animal and plant
282 ANNALS OF WYOMING
Specimens he noted and compared the climatic conditions to which
he was exposed to those of Europe. His interests were not limited
to scientific matters but ranged far and wide, encompassing nearly
everything he saw or heard. He commented that Negro slavery
should be abolished, but gradually so as not to disrupt the economy
and society. He foretold the development of the upper Mississippi
basin as "the theater of the New World." He was quite compli-
mentary in his comments on the United States Army and of the
national government's attitudes and endeavors toward the Indians.
At one point the narrative digresses into a five-page discussion of
the religious sects in the country. Early in the trip his comments
on frontier society are about what one would expect from a youth-
ful European aristocrat but as time went on he came to ignore,
or accept, the crudities of the frontier people and their living
conditions.
The journey from Hamburg to Cuba and back to New Orleans
takes 84 pages of the text. From New Orleans to St. Louis via
Shippingport covers 98 pages. From St. Louis to Ft. Kiowa and
return home occupies 231 pages. Considering the usual difficulty
of translating German into easy-reading English, Nitske had done
a fine job. Annotations by Lottinville cover both scientific and
historic matters. Twenty-four illustrations are provided; eleven
are by Charles Bird King, Carl Bodmer and George Catlin. One
signature of eight watercolors was done by Rosshirt from descrip-
tions by the duke.
The book is handsomely printed and bound but has one serious
weakness. Being a narrative of travel the maps provided are com-
pletely inadequate. A one-page map covers the area from New
Orleans to Shippingport and Fort Kiowa and can give only the
roughest outline of the duke's travels. The reproduction of Paul
Wilhelm's map of Louisiana, inserted for historiographic reasons,
is so detailed as to be nearly useless. It is a mystery why the
detailed map of the area of Kaskaska, Illinois, and Ste. Genevieve,
Missori, is on page 364 when mention of the area, in the text, is on
page 175. There should be some half dozen maps which would
allow the reader to follow the wanderings in detail.
Because of lack of scientific annotation in the earlier translation
this work has been practically unknown to biologists of various
disciplines who are interested in the historic distribution of plant
and animal life. With this new edition it should be a useful ref-
erence. To the historian, here are observations by a well educated
foreigner of conditions in the very early Trans-Mississippi West.
This is a valuable book.
Assistant Editor Henry P. Walker
A rizona and the West
BOOK REVIEWS 283
The American Territorial System. Edited by John Porter Bloom.
(Athens: Ohio University Press, 1973) 248 pp. $10.00.
How did America's territorial government develop? Were terri-
torial governments consistent with Democratic and Republican
principles? What of the quality of political leaders in the terri-
tories? How does our present administration of territories differ
from 19th century administration? These are some of the ques-
tions dealt with in The American Territorial System, a collection
of papers edited by John Porter Bloom, specialist in Western his-
tory at the National Archives and Records Service.
Mr. Bloom, who has to his credit the editorship of The Territor-
ial Papers of the United States, has made use of a series of papers
delivered by scholars attending a 1969 National Archives confer-
ence devoted almost exclusively to the political developments of
territorial history from the Confederation period to the 1960s.
While the reader will not find any raw sagas of life on the frontier,
he will be introduced to the views of recognized scholars seeking
to unravel the political evolution of our nation's territorial gov-
ernment.
The reader first becomes aware of Jefferson's contributions to
the early formation of territorial government, and the constitu-
tional principles underlying the Ordinance of 1785 and the historic
Northwest Ordinance. Changes in the political administration of
the territories have been traced to the Civil War, followed by a
review of territorial officials, land survey policies, and politics
during the last quarter of the 19th century. The reading concludes
with a summary of the changes in territorial administration during
the 20th century, and the parting comment: "Where do we go
from here?"
A definite high point in the reading comes with the assessment
of Senator Stephen Douglas' role as chairman of the Senate's
Committee on Territories. One scholar portrays Douglas, commit-
tee chairman from 1847 to 1857, as an innovator in territorial
government who attempted to extend greater independence to the
territories as demonstrated in his doctrine of popular sovereignty.
If such a view casts Douglas as a friend of westerners, a less
charitable interpretation is presented of the Illinois senator by
another scholar who flatly asserts that "none of Douglas' innova-
tions altered the system."
The archivist-historian will welcome the periodic inclusion with-
in the reading of sources that have been used and misused by
historians to unlock territorial history. Even the physical dimen-
sions of history have been presented as we find that one set of
papers comprises 1 146 volumes and occupies 325 linear feet in the
Archives, while another set of records promises only three inches
of history, etc.
Perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of Bloom's editorial
284 ANNALS OF WYOMING
work has been the attention given to current historical interpreta-
tion. While one scholar contends that territorial officials were
generally sincere and effective administrators, another scholar re-
futes such thinking in a case study of Utah territorial courts,
stating, "The men appointed to the supreme court in Utah were
political hacks who had worn out their welcome at home and were
appointed out West to get rid of them . . . ." Carpetbag govern-
ment no less!
One historian eruditely claims that settlement was held up in the
western territories by land survey policies that retarded develop-
ment, and that eastern and midwestern attitudes can be blamed
for these policies. Another writer in the series of readings points
out that a one-party or no-party system was most characteristic of
territorial politics after the Civil War. Relying on a study of New
Mexico's territorial governor George Curry who was appointed to
that position in 1907, one historian examines the expanding power
of the territorial governor at the beginning of the twentieth century.
In consequence, one realizes that territorial government was more
than simply a prelude to statehood; and that change, even though
spontaneous rather than systematic, marked the evolution of terri-
torial government.
Slightly disappointing has been the sparseness of editorial com-
mentary by Bloom. More complete introductions to the readings
would have strengthened the book and added to the reader's
knowledge of the continuity of territorial history.
While some readers may be annoyed by the book's attention to
the proceedings and discussions of that 1969 conference, the
scholarly and well-documented quality of Bloom's book will appeal
to all who are seriously interested in discovering the political foun-
dations of territorial expansion.
Eastern Wyoming College Don Hodgson
The Overland Trail. To California in 1852. By Herbert Eaton.
(New York: Capricorn Books. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1974.)
Illus. 330 pp. $8.95.
Epic journeys hold a special place in the history and literature
of civilized mankind. The Greek origins of western civilization
focus on the struggles portrayed in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.
Determination and struggle occupy a dominant position in the
settlement, growth, and maturation of this nation. Until industrial-
ization became so much a part of America's life-style, the move-
ment west molded the American character.
By using the pioneers' words, Herbert Eaton presents a light yet
meaningful account of the tragedy and hardships endured by emi-
grants destined for the gold fields in California and Zion in Salt
BOOK REVIEWS 285
Lake City. The expert interweaving of several diary accounts
results in a flowing episode of advance along the Overland Trail
in 1852. Many thousands sacrificed family bonds, personal safety,
and security in an ordered society to reach for the economic and
spiritual opportunities available in the Far West.
Stark reality, not romance, fills the pages of emigrant diaries.
Lured by the call of Brigham Young, thousands of "Saints" found
the Great Plains treacherous and even harmful to spiritual purity.
Instead of faithfully observing Sundays as restful, religious days,
the emigrants often had to place religious worship second to mile-
age. Traveling companions frustrated by swollen streams, a lack
of wood, and prairie heat fell to feuding over whether resting on
the Lord's Day was necessary or a sinful waste of time. Addison
Crane complained of "The most horrid profanity and degrading
vulgarity of obscenity of language" as being "nearly universal."
The long, arduous days of slow movement in a hostile environment
heightened tensions and undermined the most civilized traits. Out
of necessity fastidious women grew accustomed to loading them-
selves down with the fuel of the plains — buffalo chips.
Practicality meant survival to the thousands moving west along
the Overland Trail in 1852. Civilized virtues succumbed grudg-
ingly for as one correspondent bluntly put it: "To enjoy such a
trip (to California) along with such a crowd of emigration, a man
must be able to endure heat like a salamander, mud and water like
a muskrat, dust like a toad, and labor like a Jackass." As in most
other situations money provided the key and not Christian charity;
without money the emigrant could not obtain supphes, fix a broken
wagon, or be floated across dozens of rushing rivers. At every
step of the way con artists or "scalpers" preyed upon the weary
emigrant. Considerable fortunes must have been made by toll
collectors and ferry operators when they demanded, in some cases,
a fee of five dollars per wagon and fifty cents per person and
animal to provide transportation across the raging river. Except
for sickness, which usually was diagnosed as cholera, the greatest
danger encountered crossing the Great Plains was drowning, so
emigrants wisely paid inflated prices to ferry operators.
California-bound pioneers quickly realized that after crossing
the Great Plains they had encountered only the first of many great
obstacles. Fortunate Mormons who terminated their westward
advance at Salt Lake City escaped the drudgery and misery of the
Great Basin desert and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Eaton's The Overland Trail tells of human struggle and hope as
does John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The times and cir-
cumstances differ but whether the emigrants be destitute "Okie"
sharecroppers of the 1930s or Illinois farmers of the 1850s, Cali-
fornia seemed the land of glistening opportunity. But the road to
opportunity was littered with broken friendships, graves and mis-
ery. Despite the apparent hopelessness of the situation the human
286 ANNALS OF WYOMING
spirit remained firm. Those pessimistic about the survival of the
human race in the midst of nuclear threats, food shortages and
pollution would do themselves considerable justice to read The
Overland Trail and The Grapes of Wrath. As long as the will
to survive and endure remains, we need not fear passing into
obscurity.
The strengths of this book by far outweigh a few minor incon-
veniences the reader has to bear. I was anxious to pinpoint the
location of the emigrants but was unable to do so since the only
map available was very general. More specific maps would add
considerably, especially for those who live in the vicinity of The
Overland Trail and desire to more exactly relate landmarks with
travel accounts. I could only guess at the location of often-
mentioned places as Kanesville, Mormon Ferry, and City of the
Rocks. However, Eaton has performed an excellent job of letting
the emigrants tell their own stories. Only rarely does the author
interject clarifying or transitional statements. Thus The Overland
Trail succeeds in telling how the movement west actually took
place, and avoids telling it how popular writers think it should have
happened.
An inexpensive paperback edition of this book is something I
eagerly await. High school and college history teachers will find
this book an invaluable aid since more students today want to
know the realities of the past.
Laramie County Community College James R. Johns
The Cherokee Strip Live Stock Association: Federal Regulation
and the Cattleman's Last Frontier. By William W. Savage,
Jr. (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1973). Maps.
Bib. Index. 150 pp. $8.50.
In concise, direct language focusing on the operation of the
Cherokee Strip Live Stock Association, William Savage examines
the interrelationships of cattlemen, homesteaders, Indians, and the
federal government from 1883 to 1893. The interaction of this
quartet of disparate elements permits Savage to offer insights into
the post-Civil War Indian and land policies of the federal govern-
ment. In the process. Savage examines the role of the federal
bureaucracy as it relates to ranchers and Indians as businessmen.
Some incidental observations are also made about the stereotyped
violent encounters between cattlemen and homesteaders.
From the beginning the Association was an anomaly — an organ-
ization coming into existence in response to bureaucratic encroach-
ments by the federal government in an era when government
regulations were uncommon. This organization's efforts to secure
and retain leases to land in the Cherokee Outlet provided the
BOOK REVIEWS 287
catalyst for the interaction of the Cherokee Nation, the federal
government, and land hungry homesteaders. Finally with the sale
of the Cherokee Outlet, the Cherokee Strip Live Stock Association
lost its reason for existence. Cattlemen, while continuing their
ranching activities, turned to other business pursuits or expanded
those in which they were already involved.
Yet it was not the cattlemen who lost in this ten-year cycle of
moves and countermoves. The sale of the Cherokee Outlet by the
federal government marked the end of Cherokee sovereignty. For
the Cherokee Nation the maintenence of this revenue-producing
land and the ability to manipulate the cattlemen with the federal
government looking on was a manifestation of independence at a
time when the loss of sovereignty by other Indians was already
established fact.
This book is admirably brief and direct. It is also an important
book since the study of the Cherokee Live Stock Association
permits scrutiny of the end of an era — the close of the rancher's
dominance of the West, the demise of Cherokee national sover-
eignty, and the role of the federal bureaucracy in the development
of the West. Savage successfully challenges the Turnerian image
of the "cattlemen-as-individualists" since ranchers in this instance
relied strongly on the due process of law in preference to direct,
personal (and possibly violent) action in potentially explosive
situations. By extension Savage also challenges Edward Everett
Dale's interpretation of the role of the Association. Here, too.
Savage is convincing.
One other aspect which contributes to the success of this book
is its design. Savage's publisher deserves commendation for de-
viating from the usual practice of placing footnotes at the bottom
of the page. In this instance, no doubt prompted by the compact-
ness of the text, footnotes are placed to the side of the text. While
facilitating uninterrupted reading, this practice is aesthetically
pleasing.
This book is highly recommended to professional historians and
laymen who should find it stimulating and informative reading.
University of Kansas Louis George Griffin III
The Last West. A History of the Great Plains of North America.
By Russell McKee. (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Com-
pany, 1974). Index. Bib. Illus. 312 pp. $8.95.
The title proclaims this volume to be a history of the Great
Plains; however, it is not a scholarly, carefully documented, or
balanced treatment and does not utilize new materials which add
to the historical record of the region. Russell McKee states that
288 ANNALS OF WYOMING
his "original idea was to write a descriptive book for those who
would rather read about the region than have to travel through it."
But, "as the project progressed, it changed . . . and far from re-
maining a descriptive text, it comes out as it should: a book of
stories about people and their response to an unusual landscape."
With an eye toward the potential tourist, McKee has written a
journalistic narrative comprised of historical fragments he found of
interest.
McKee attacks the definition of the Great Plains advocated by
Walter Prescott Webb as too simple and inclusive and that by
Nevin M. Fenneman as too detailed. Unfortunately, McKee's
definition might be characterized as too nebulous, being that "living
assemblage of constantly changing natural units — landforms, plant
types, and human and animal habitats — all lying on a strip of
ground 400 to 600 miles wide and 2000 miles long just east of the
Rocky Mountains." This area distinguished by "variety, move-
ment, and surprising differences" is so vaguely defined that it truly
is an "uneasy totality."
Serious students of the region's history will be disappointed by
the numerous errors. Regional readers will be surprised to learn
that Cabeza de Vaca lived the end of his life in royal favor and
that Lewis and Clark, because of Sacajawea's nationality, hired
Charbonneau as a cook. The inaccurate assertion that along the
Oregon Trail "the large number of travelers clearly lowered the
frequency of Indian clashes" is typical and forces careful consider-
ation of other generalizations. A ready tendency to exaggerate is
illustrated by the author's title for his chapter on the Louisiana
Purchase, "The World's Biggest Real Estate Swindle." Careless
mistakes mar the book. While the appendix lists the Badlands
National Monument as a major attraction, it does not appear on
the map of "Major Geographical Features of the Great Plains
Region;" the text states that "as late as 1735, there were no horses
north and east of the Missouri River," but on the map indicating
the "Northward Diffusion of Horses into the Great Plains" the
Northern Cheyenne are located in Minnesota and the Sioux in
eastern South Dakota with horses as early as 1700.
The book lacks balance. The bulk of the volume is devoted to
early exploration and recent history is so briefly treated that the
Custer battle occurs only 40 pages from the end of the text. This
imbalance produces an inadequate history of the Great Plains after
the early nineteenth century. Treatment of the cattle industry is
sketchy and events such as the Johnson County War are not men-
tioned. Territorial politics are so neglected that studies such as
those by Howard Lamar and Lewis Gould are not included in the
bibliography. Although the Indian wars receive some treatment,
there is no mention of the Red Cloud War and the story of
Wounded Knee is told without mention of the Ghost Dance. Con-
sideration of the twentieth century is limited to a somewhat pessi-
BOOK REVIEWS 289
mistic essay on problems such as erosion, water shortages, strip
mining and their future implications.
To find merits in a book which lacks careful definition of its
topic, contains errors and exaggerations, lacks balance and has
major omissions is a difficult task. It appears that the author and
publisher could have provided a more accurate and balanced
survey of the history of the Great Plains and maintained a popular
style with appeal to the general public and potential tourist.
Dakota Wesleyan University James D. McLaird
Cheyenne and Sioux. The Reminiscences of Four Indians and a
White Soldier. Compiled by Thomas B. Marquis. Edited by
Ronald H. Limbaugh. (Stockton, Calif.: Pacific Center for
Western Historical Studies, Monograph Number Three,
1973). Index. Illus. 79 pp.
This is a precious little book. Well, it is not really a book — it is
the transcription of four short interviews with individual Cheyenne
and Sioux and one reminiscence of a white cook for Indian scouts.
The entire text is 72 pages, and both its brevity and its content are
a welcome addition to our library of source materials on the plains
Indian and the corrosive contact of white man's civilization with
them.
All of the interviews were with Dr. Marquis in the 1920s, and
two of them are essentially reprints of articles he first published in
Century Magazine. Mr. Ronald Limbaugh, who edited this mono-
graph, is a perceptive, analytical historian in his own right, and in
this instance he has chosen not to force these individual stories into
a narrative but to let them speak with their own plain eloquence.
The most impressive story in this collection is "Iron Teeth, a
Cheyenne Woman." Born in 1834, "in the moon when the berries
are ripe," she gives us the wrenching, first-hand account of the
1877 displacement and forced march of the Northern Cheyenne
from Dakota to a reservation in Oklahoma and their return flight
for which Mari Sandoz gives an admirable fictionalized account in
Cheyenne Autumn. Iron Teeth's portrayal of the fear, starvation
and freezing death is made all the more poignant by her quiet
narration.
We read short, even cryptic, but still startling eye-witness ac-
counts, previously unpublished, of such important events as the
Sand Creek Massacre, Wounded Knee and the death of Sitting
Bull. For instance, the personal narrative "A Cheyenne Old Man"
briefly recounts the Battle of Little Big Horn and Fetterman's
Massacre and characterizes both troops as actually having killed
themselves in those battles when they perceived their desperate
290 ANNALS OF WYOMING
situation. This reinforces a claim which Marquis made in Wooden
Leg, a Warrior Who Fought Custer.
In all these related experiences we feel a personal absorption
with the Indian-White cultural clash of the 19th century and the
same kind of individualized empathy which we experienced in
Black Elk Speaks, Wooden Leg or Bury My Heart at Wounded
Knee.
Northwest Community College Roy Jordan
Dear Ellen. Two Mormon Women and Their Letters. By S.
George Ellsworth. (Salt Lake City: Tanner Trust Fund,
University of Utah Library, 1974). Index. 92 pp. $12.
There is something universal in the lives of the two Mormon
women, both named Ellen, who exchanged letters in the 1850s.
There is romance in their talk of "bygone days," of love and of
marriage, children, and friends. These personal letters reveal the
sharp realities of birth, death, hardship and disappointments that
come to all of us.
There is also something unique in this slim volume, especially to
the non-Mormon. Several letters contain passages that are con-
fessional in nature. They disclose a wife's reaction to her husband
bringing home an additional wife, the fear aroused over the possi-
bility of the State of Deseret going to war against the United States,
and a family's solidarity when the father goes to prison in defense
of his beliefs and life style.
S. George Ellsworth, a professor of history at Utah State Uni-
versity, has bound the letters together with great skill. The Mor-
mon zeal for genealogy and reverence for the past are the founda-
tion for the story. The author has selected poems written by the
Ellens, used passages from diaries of their contemporaries, and
interwoven a narrative to place the seven letters in historical per-
spective. All is in its proper place, soHd and well documented.
The fabric reminds me of a colorful and carefully stitched patch-
work quilt.
Ellen Spencer Clawson and Ellen Pratt McGary were typical
Mormon women. They had been childhood friends in Nauvoo,
Illinois; they spent the winter of 1844-1845 in Winter Quarters;
and had crossed the plains to Salt Lake City in the same caravan.
Then their lives separated.
Ellen Pratt accompanied her father and mother on a Mormon
mission to the Society Islands where she learned the language and
became a favorite of the Polynesians. After returning to the United
States, she married and settled in a rural community in southern
Utah. Many thought she married beneath her station.
Ellen Spencer married Hiram B. Clawson, who became Brigham
BOOK REVIEWS 291
Young's personal business manager, a leading merchant, bishop,
and diplomatic missionary for the Mormon church. He was an
amateur actor and played a dynamic role in the founding of the
business and cultural community in Salt Lake City.
The book clearly delineates two patterns of Mormon family life.
The Hiram Clawson family of Salt Lake City, with four wives and
42 children, was at the hub of history. Ellen Clawson was the first
wife; she enjoyed social position and creature comforts available
in the capital of Mormonism but shared her husband's love with
three other wives. Ellen Pratt McGary's life in the outposts was in
sharp contrast. Although she had "love in a cottage" with one
husband, her life was harsh and her circumstances pinched and
plain.
In spite of the differences in life style, the two Ellens were bound
together by past remembrances, the personal interconnections of
their sect, and their shared religious convictions. Many references
are made to parties centered around the church community. Both
partook of all life had to offer, wherever they were.
I recommend this book to all interested in the details of family
living on the frontier. It is informative, thought provoking, and
above all, warm, human, and delightful.
Cheyenne Shirley E. Flynn
Pat Garrett. The Saga of a Western Lawman. By Leon C. Metz.
(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1974). Index.
Bib. lUus. 328 pp. $8.95.
The frontier manhunter, the man who pursues and kills or cap-
tures a resourceful badman, has captivated the minds of Americans
for decades. Leon C. Metz presents a biography of the most noted
of the western lawmen, Patrick Floyd Garrett, the killer of Billy
the Kid. Metz, who is archivist of the University of Texas Library
at El Paso, is well known for biographies of other gunmen of the
Southwest, John Selman: Texas Gunfighter (1966), and Dallas
Stoudenmire: El Paso Marshal (1969).
Patrick Floyd Garrett sprang into prominence in New Mexico
Territory in 1880 when, as sheriff and deputy United States mar-
shal of Lincoln County, he broke up a notorious band of thieves
and killed its leader, Billy the Kid. Garrett, who desired a reputa-
tion as an "hombre to be reckoned with," became, in the words of
the author, the "best-known and the most feared and hated south-
westerner of his time." Aside from a stint as a ranger (1884-
1885) for a cattleman's association in Texas and an inglorious
tenure as sheriff (1896-1900) of Dona Ana County, New Mexico,
Garrett devoted most his time to unsuccessful business ventures.
He fell deeply into debt, drank heavily, and pursued a loose social
292 ANNALS OF WYOMING
life. On February 29, 1908, a young goat rancher, with whom
Garrett had quarreled, shot and killed the old lawman.
The author displays a considerable amount of research and pre-
sents his facts in a lively and often entertaining style, although the
book falls short of expectations in some areas. The writer de-
scribes United States Marshal John E. Sherman, Jr., Garrett's
superior in the pursuit of Billy the Kid, as an incompetent alco-
hoHc. A closer examination of the nature of Sherman's office
would reveal that the marshal was merely a court officer. The
Department of Justice, the agency in charge of the marshals, was
not adequately equipped to conduct the pursuit of bandits. The
author singles out Secret Serviceman Azariah Wild as the most
energetic federal officer to pursue Billy the Kid. Yet, a White
Oaks journalist thought differently when he observed that Wild
had obhgingly "told everyone of his [secret] business" in Lincoln
County and was, in addition, "a rank coward." (see Santa Fe
Daily New Mexican, January 9, 1881) The writer argues con-
vincingly that Wayne Brazel, the murderer of Pat Garrett, was not
a part of a conspiracy, but that Brazel killed him out of "hate and
fear." However, it would be helpful to explore an obscure incident
which involved Garrett and one Will Brazel in 1897, when Garrett
was sheriff of Dona Ana County. The Las Cruces Rio Grande
Republican of June 11,1 897, reported that Garrett and a deputy
had recently arrested Brazel and others for the murder of a sheep-
herder near Three Rivers. The relationship of Will Brazel to
Wayne, if any, is not known. In spite of these observations, this
biography will remain for some time the standard treatment of the
life of Pat Garrett. It renders useless the popular work of Richard
O'Connor, Pat Garrett: A Biography of the Famous Marshal and
the Killer of Billy the Kid (1960), although Metz fails to list this
book in his bibliography. Many obscure photographs accentuate
the value of Leon Metz's work.
Arkansas State University Larry D. Ball
CoHtrWutors
Karen L. (Mrs. Charles M.) Love received her M.A. in
American Studies from the University of Wyoming in 1972. Her
undergraduate work was at Wittenberg University, Springfield,
Ohio, where she earned her B. A. in 1967. Academic awards
received by Mrs. Love include a Coe Fellowship, University of
Wyoming, 1970-1972. The study of J. B. Okie was her master's
thesis for which she received assistance through a grant-in-aid from
the Wyoming State Historical Society. She is presently a Learning
Lab instructor at Western Wyoming Community College, and has
previously taught high school English in Montana, Nevada and
California.
Fred R. Gowans, assistant professor of Indian Studies at Brig-
ham Young University has previously had articles in western
history published in Utah State Historical Quarterly and is awaiting
publication of a book on the history of Fort Bridger. He received
the Ph.D. in Western history at BYU in 1972. Dr. Gowans is a
member of numerous professional organizations including Phi
Alpha Theta, Western History Association and several western
state historical societies including the Wyoming State Historical
Society.
Doris Lanier, a native of Georgia, received both her B.A. and
M.A. degrees from Georgia Southern College. She has published
in Intellect as well as Georgia Historical Quarterly and Tennessee
Historical Quarterly. She is an English instructor at Georgia
Southern College, Statesboro.
hdex
"Aladdin Campsite," by Jerry lekel,
267-269
The American Territorial System,
ed. by John Porter Bloom, review,
283-284
Anderson, Jeannette, 179-181. See
Okie, Jeanette
"Ascent of Inyan Kara Mountain,
July 23, 1874," by Mary Capps,
271-275
B
Badwater Creek, 173, 174, 177, 178,
195
Ball, Larry D., review of Pat Gar-
rett. The Saga of a Western Law-
man, 291-292
Beaver Creek, 177, 191
Beaver Creek, Mont., 275
Beaver Creek Camp, Mont., 276
Belle Fourche River, 265
Benson, Ezra T., 228
Big Horn Sheep Company, 174, 181,
185, 193-194, 201, 203
"Bill Nye in the South," by Doris
Lanier, 253-262
Bloom, John Porter, ed.. The Amer-
ican Territorial System, review,
283-284
Black Hills, 263-280
Black Hills Expedition, 1874, 263-
280. See Custer Expedition
Bridger, James, 217, 218, 237, 238,
241, 242, 248, 249, 250, 251
Bridger Ranch, 243, 245, 246, 247
Bright, A. D., 177, 179, 192
Brown, James S., 221, 223, 224, 225,
231
Brown, Mabel, "The Wyoming Por-
tion of the Custer Expedition of
1874 to Explore the Black Hills,"
Trek No. 25 of the Historical
Trail Treks, 263-280; "Floral Val-
ley," 277-280
Brown, T. D., 232
Bullock, Capt. Isaac, 221, 224, 226,
227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 234
Bullock, Thomas, 218
Boyd, George, 228
Burton, Col. Robert T., 235
Butler, Gen. B. F., 249
Cadet Draw, 177
Capps, Mary, 280; "Ascent of Inyan
Kara Mountain, July 23, 1874,"
271-275
Carley, Maurine, 263, 280
Carter, Charles M., 249, 250, 251
Carter, Judge, 248
Casper Mercantile Company, 199-
201
Casper Mountain, 182
The Cherokee Strip Live Stock As-
sociation: Federal Regulation and
the Cattleman's Last Frontier,
by William W. Savage, Jr., re-
view, 286-287
Cheyenne and Sioux. The Reminis-
cences of Four Indians and a
White Soldier, comp. by Thomas
B. Marquis, ed. by Ronald H.
Limbaugh, review, 289-290
Cheyenne River, 266
City Supply, 235
Cold Creek, 265
"Cold Springs Camp," by James
Fletcher, 279-280
Crosby, Jesse W., 234
Cummings, Alfred, 233, 237
Cunningham, Pvt. John, 270, 275,
276
Custer, Mrs. Elizabeth, 266
Custer, Lt. Col. George A., 263-280
D
Dear Ellen. Two Mormon Women
and Their Letters, by S. George
Ellsworth, review, 290-291
DeSmet, Father, 273
Devils Tower, 272
Donaldson, Prof. A. B., 268, 272,
273, 274, 275, 276, 278, 279
Drummond, Willis, 249
Dumbrill, Lucille, "Government Val-
ley, July 21, 1874," 269-271
Dumbrill, Richard, "Sketch of the
Black Hills Expedition of 1874,"
264-267
INDEX
295
Eaton, Herbert, The Overland Trail.
To California in 1852, review,
284-286
Edwards, Harry Stillwell, 253-262
"The 1850 Overland Diary of Dr.
Warren Hough," 207-216
Ellsworth, S. George, Dear Ellen.
Two Mormon Women and Their
Letters, review, 290-291
H
Harney Peak, 279-280
Harrison, U.S. Rep. William, 275
Hayden, F. V., 273
Hockaday, John M., 218
Hodgson, Don, review of The Amer-
ican Territorial System, 283-284
Holabird, Gen. S. B., 249, 250
Hough, Dr. Warren, 207-216
Hunter, Milton R., 236
Hyde, Orson, 219, 221, 223, 224
Ferguson, James, 218
Ferris, Van, 194-195
Ferwada, Cameron, 263, 267
Fletcher, James, "Cold Springs
Camp," 279-280
Floral Valley, 265, 266; "Floral Val-
ley," by Mabel Brown, 277-280
Flynn, Shirley E., review of Dear
Ellen. Two Mormon Women and
Their Letters, 290-291
Forsythe, Gen., 273
FORTS AND CAMPS
Abraham Lincoln, N.D., 264, 265,
266, 269
Bridger. 217-251; photo, 240
Laramie, 273
Scott, 237, 238
Supply, 217-237; photo, 220; pho-
to, present site, 235
"Fort Bridger: Claims and Counter
Claims," by Fred R. Gowans, 237-
251
Fort Supply Indian Mission, 224
"The Fort on Willow Creek," by
Fred R. Gowans, 217-237
I
lekel, Jerry, "Aladdin Campsite,"
267-269
Illingworth, William H., 264, 274
INDIANS
Agents and Agencies
McGillicuddy, 273
Pine Ridge, 273
Chiefs and Individuals
Black Bear (Mento Supa). 227
Cold Hand, 273
Corger, Mary, 226
Corsetry, 226
Friday, Chief, 226, 227
Tababooindowetsy, (Tababooin-
dowesyam). Chief, 230
Ward, Sally, 226
Washakie, Chief, 223, 225, 226
Myths and Legends
Sioux, 273
Tribes
Shoshone, 222
Inyan Kara Camp, 270
Inyan Kara Creek, 265
Inyan Kara Mt., 265, 271, 276
Gatling guns, 264
Gore, Sir George, 273
"Government Valley, July 21, 1874,"
by Lucille Dumbrill, 269-271
Gowans, Fred R., "Some New Notes
on Two Old Forts," 217-251;
biog., 293
"The Graves of Cunningham and
Turner," by Elizabeth J. Thorpe,
275-277
Green River Ferries, 218, 221, 237
Green River Mission, 219
Griffin, Lewis George III, review of
The Cherokee Strip Live Stock-
Association: Federal Regulation
and the Cattleman's Last Frontier.
286-287
"J. B. Okie, Lost Cabin Pioneer," by
Karen L. Love. 173-205
J. B. Okie mansion, photo, 184
Jenson, Andrew, 236
Johns, James, review of The Over-
land Trail. To California in 1852.
284-286
Johnston. Col. (A. S.), 236. 238
Jordan, Roy, review of Cheyenne
and Sioux. The Reminiscences of
Four Indians and a White Soldier,
289-290
Junge, Mark, 274
296
ANNALS OF WYOMING
K
Kasshan, Fritz, 194-195
Lanier, Doris, "Bill Nye in the
South," 253-262; biog., 293
The Last West. A History of the
Great Plains of North America,
by Russell McKee, review, 288-
289
Limbaugh, Ronald H., ed., Cheyenne
and Sioux. The Reminiscences of
Four Indians and a White Soldier,
review, 289-290
Lost Cabin, 173-205
Lost Cabin Mine, 178, 201
Lovett, Clarice, 185-186; See Okie,
Clarice
Lovett, Herbert G., 185
Love, Karen L., '"J. B. Okie, Lost
Cabin Pioneer," 173-205; biog.,
293
Ludlow, Capt. William, 264, 265,
267, 268, 269, 277
Lysite, 173, 174, 181, 197, 201, 205
M
Marquis, Thomas B., comp., Chey-
enne and Sioux. The Reminis-
cences of Four Indians and A
White Soldier, review, 289-290
McKee, Russell, The Last West: A
History of the Great Plains of
North America, review, 288-289
McLaird, James D., review of The
Last West. A History of the
Great Plains of North America,
288-289
Metz, Leon C, Pat Garrett. The
Saga of a Western Lawman, re-
view, 291-292
Merkley, C, 223
Mokler, Alfred J., 174
Murphy, E. S., 194-195
O
Okey, John, 175
Okie, Abram, 175; Clarice, 187;
Frederick, 176, 181, 182, 183, 192,
193, 194, 200, 201; Grace, 176;
Helena, 183; Howard (son of
J. B.), 181, 187, 189; Howard
(brother of J. B.), 175, 176, 179,
192; J. B., 173-205; photo, cover;
James, 181; Jeanette (wife of J.
B.), 183-185, 186; Jeannette
(daughter of J. B.), 181; John,
Jr., 175, 181; Juan, 188; Maria,
188; Mary, 181; Paul, 181, 185,
189; St. Claire, 176, 181; Susan,
182, 192, 193, 194; Van, 178, 181;
William T., 176, 182
The Overland Trail. To California
in 1852, by Herbert Eaton, re-
view,, 284-286
Pat Garrett. The Saga of a Western
Lawman, by Leon C. Metz, re-
view, 291-292
Paul Wilhelm, Duke of Wurttem-
berg. Travels in North America,
1822-1824, review, 281-282
Pitcher, Susan J., 175-176; See
Susan Okie
Pulsipher, John, 224, 226, 230, 233,
234
R
Raynolds, Capt. W. F., 265
Red Water Camp, 269
Riley, James Whitcomb, 253-262
Robbins, Brother, 227
Robison, James, 228
Robison, Lewis, 232, 234, 237, 238,
239, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246,
247; photo, 244
Roller, William, 276
N
Nebeker, John, 219- 223
Noble, W. P., 190
Nye, Edgar Wilson "Bill," 253-262
Savage, William W., Jr., The Chero-
kee Strip Live Stock Association:
Federal Regulation and the Cat-
tleman's Last Frontier, review,
286-287
INDEX
297
"Sketch of the Black Hills Expedi-
tion of 1874," by Richard Dum-
brill, 264-267
Smith, George A., 222, 228, 229,
230, 233
Smith,' Joseph F., 243, 244, 245
Smith Mercantile Company, 181,
199, 200; See Casper Mercantile
Company
Snow, Erastus, 228, 243, 244, 245
"Some New Notes on Two Old
Forts." "The Fort on Willow
Creek." "Fort Bridger Claims
and Counter Claims," by Fred R.
Gowans, 217-251
Spratt, Thomas, 175
Stout, Hosea, 223
Supply City, 235
Taylor, John, 242, 243, 244, 245,
247, 248
Terry, Brig. Gen. Alfred H., 264
Thorpe, Elizabeth J., "The Graves
of Cunningham and Turner," 275-
277
Torrey, Capt. R. A., 177, 190
Travels in North America, 1822-
1824, by Paul Wilhelm, Duke of
Wurttemberg, review, 281-282
Trek No. 25 of the Historical Trail
Treks, "The Wyoming Portion of
the Custer Expedition of 1874 to
Explore the Black Hills," comp.
by Mabel Brown, 263-280
Turner, Pvt. George, 270, 275
Tweed, William, 189-190
U
Utah Expedition, 237
V
Vasquez, Louis, 217, 237
W
Walker, Henry P., review of Travels
in North America, 1822-1824,
281-282
Ward, Elisha B., 222
Wells, C. L., 179-180
Wells, Daniel H., 217, 232, 239
White, Mrs. Walter Tate (Warrena),
207
Winchell, N. H., 264, 265, 269, 270,
272, 273
Wood, Mr., 248
Woodruff, J. D., 193
Woodruff, Wilford, 243, 245
"The Wyoming Portion of the Cus-
ter Expedition of 1874 to Explore
the Black Hills," Trek No. 25 of
the Historical Trail Treks, comp.
by Mabel Brown, 263-280
Wyoming State Historical Society,
Trek No. 25 of the Historical
Trail Trek, 263-280
Y.X. Express Co., 244, 245
Young, Brigham. 217, 218, 225,
232, 233, 234, 237, 241, 242, 243,
246, 247. 248