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!ii||e'54, Number 1
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THE WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES, MUSEUMS AND HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

The function of the Wyoming State Archives, Museums and Historical Department
is to collect and preserve materials which tell the story of Wyoming. It maintains the state's
historical library and research center, the Wyoming State Museum and branch museums,
the State Art Gallery and the State Archives. The Department solicits original records such
as diaries, letters, books, early newspapers, maps, photographs and art and records of early
businesses and organizations as well as artifacts for museum display. The Department asks
for the assistance of all Wyoming citizens to secure these documents and artifacts. Depart-
ment facilites are designed to preserve these materials from loss and deterioration.

WYOMING STATE LIBRARY, ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL BOARD
Mrs. Suzanne Knepper, Buffalo, Chairman

Dave Paulley, Cheyenne

Mrs. Wilmot C. McFadden, Rock Springs

Eugene Martin, Evanston

Jerry Rillahan, Worland

Mrs. Mae Urbanek, Lusk

Ken Richardson, Lander

Frank Bowron, Casper

Attorney General Steven H. Freudenthal (e.x-officio)

ABOUT THE COVER — The hand-colored steel engraving of "Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River, "
was done by Thomas Moran. Born in England in 1837, Moran was a member of the Hayden Survey
to the Yellowstone region in 1871. His sketches were important in influencing Congress to designate Yellowstone
the first national park in the world in 1872. This steel engraving appeared in the book, Picturesque
America, published in 1874 and edited by William Cullen Bryant. The engraving was loaned for the
cover by the owner, Phil Roberts, Cheyenne historian, attorney and Annals co-editor.

NNALS of WYOMING

Volume 54, No. 1
Spring, 1982

GOVERNOR OF WYOMING

Ed Herschler

ACTING DIRECTOR

Julia Yelvington

CO-EDITORS

William H. Barton
Philip J. Roberts

ASSISTANT EDITORS

James R. Laird
Timothy Cochrane
Jean Brainerd

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

Klaudia Stoner
Kathy Martinez

PHOTOGRAPHIC

ASSISTANTS
Paula West
Carroll Jones

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FROM OLD ENGLAND TO OLD FAITHFUL:

A VICTORIAN ENGLISHMAN'S VIEW OF THE WEST 2

By Brian P. Birch

THE FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT

IN WYOMING, 1890-1982 10

By Rebecca W. Thomson

NOTES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY

OF WYOMING LIBRARIES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS 26

By Emmett D. Chisum

PRELUDE TO THE BLACK HILLS GOLD RUSH OF 1876 36

By Scott Tubbs

JOHN B. KENDRICK, COWPOKE

TO SENATOR, 1879-1917 51

By Eugene T. Carroll

THE DEMPSEY-HOCKADAY TRAIL— AN EXPERIENCE

IN HISTORY 58

By Robert G. Rosenberg

BOOK REVIEWS 67

INDEX 81

CONTRIBUTORS 84

Annals of Wyoming is published blannually in the Spring and Fall. It
is received by all members of the Wyoming State Historical Society as the
official publication of that organization. Copies of previous and current issues
may be purchased from the Co-Editors. Correspondence should be address-
ed to the Co-Editors. Published articles represent the views of the author
and are not necessarily those of the Wyoming State Archives, Museums and
Historical Department or the Wyoming State Historical Society. ANNALS
OF WYOMING articles are abstracted in Historical Abstracts. America: History
and Life.

Department.

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ifrom

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^tt lirtan f . Igtrclj

PHOTO COURTESY
OF THE AUTHOR

Charles M. Buckle, inveterate traveler and
journal keeper, in a portrait made in Italy
two years before his Yellowstone trip.

In the final decades of the last century, the American
West featured strongly in the itineraries of many foreign
travelers and the impressions of their travels were as
diverse as the places that attracted them. The great variety
of this travel literature ranged from books based on a few
months' stay on some western frontier to privately-
circulated journals which recorded railroad excursions to
the Pacific Coast. British visitors to the West were espe-
cially prolific in producing these accounts. The reasons
for this influx of British tourists seeing the West are
manifold. There were plenty of British people in the late
Victorian era with the time, money and with a level of
education, which encouraged them to seek out the less
frequented spots and to record their impressions of them.
Many were experienced tourists by the time they chose
to visit the West. The development of faster trans- Atlantic
steamships and the spread of the rail network across the
West made touring vast areas of remaining wilderness
relatively easy.

British visitors possessed varied motives for making
the trip west, which account for the diverse travel
itineraries they chose and the different impressions they
gained. There were young men from wealthy families,
and newly out of public school or university. They finished
their education with a spell of hunting in the West,
sometimes seeing if some district offered opportunity to
settle as farmers.' British businessmen, sometimes com-
bined a vacation with a visit to relatives, but with one eye
on investment opportunities in the West's railroads, ran-
ches or real estate. British families, returning from ser-
vice in India or some other part of the Empire, sometimes
took the west-to-east route across America as part of a
round-the-world tour.^ Journalists and professional
writers, seeing a ready audience at home for entertain-
ing and novel reports on this last frontier region, often
made the trek.^ Many retired professional men believed
that the novelty of the West, or the pitfalls awaiting British
settlers there, warranted placing their opinions about it
on record.

A composite view of the West during the last three
decades of the century, was compiled nearly 30 years ago
by R. G. Athearn, who gathered his information from
over 120 published accounts by British travelers.* Fur-
ther unpublished evidence in letters and travel journals
is now coming to light, and there is probably justifica-
tion for further examination of this topic' Such study may
well reveal that British images of the West depended upon
the tourists' backgrounds, the purpose of their trips, the
routes they chose and, if they published their observations.

nm^ ^bfe oi il\t

the readership for whom they wrote. It is abundantly clear,
for example, that when British travelers started their tours
from the East Coast, some were especially struck by the
less-settled aspects of the landscapes further west, at the
same time noting the speed with which the wilderness was
being subdued.* Others who chose the Pacific Coast or
the Far West as their destination seemed less impressed
by intervening regions, like the Great Plains or prairies,
than other travelers who made a tour in a specific part
of the West.' Furthermore, accounts of Western tours,
not intended for publication, often presented a different
view of the West and its life, simply because these writers
were free of the inhibitions of writing for an audience.
This reading public often expected its authors to voice opi-
nions of which they approved and to pass over other sub-
jects as unworthy of attention.

An unpublished travel journal^ which has recently
become available, relates an English gentleman's round
trip to Yellowstone Park in 1885. It provides an interesting
illustration not only of one tourist's view of the West, but
reveals how the chosen itinerary of the tour helped to con-
dition the impressions the traveler gained. The fact that
the traveler, Charles Matthew Buckle, kept a full record
of his tour as it progressed, yet with no intention of
publishing his journal, also lends authenticity to an
account. He was clearly noting down solely for his own
satisfaction his immediate and unalloyed impressions of
the places he came across.

Buckle had retired from the Royal Navy with the rank
of rear admiral two years before he undertook his three-
month trip to the American West in 1885. He was 57 years
old and an inveterate traveler. Before his American tour
he had already compiled several journals recording his
overseas travels during 30 years with the navy. By the
time of his trip west he was well-practiced in writing tour
journals.^

Buckle journeyed west entirely by train from New
York via Niagara, Chicago and St. Paul as far as
Yellowstone where, after a tour of the Park, he retraced
his route eastward. His comments on the ruraJ landscapes,
on Yellowstone Park, on the developing cities and railroad
systems usefully reflect a combination of his own and the
commoiJy-held views the British traveler had of the West.

Like many other British tourists to the West at this
time. Buckle found rather little to say about the relative-
ly featureless rural landscapes through which his route
took him. In what comment he did make on the rural
areas, however, he distinguished between the relative
unattractiveness of the areas of little improved wooded

Buckle's route to Yellowstone and return, 1885

landscapes to the east and the inherent beauty of the more
open prairie landscapes further west.'°

In Buckle's mind the attraction of a rural landscape
was clearly related not only to its visual quality, but by
evidence of its potential to support further improvements.
Hence on traveling westward across the prairies of North
Dakota, Buckle was attracted by the rolling openness of
the natural landscape, by signs of its fertility and especially
by the potential it seemed to offer for future settlement.
To him, this was more attractive country than many of
the already-settled areas to the east.

The northern part of the Territory of Dacota [sic]
through which the hne of railroad runs presents an almost
continuous rolling, undulating prairie almost entirely devoid
of trees, except in the neighbourhood of streams where a
stunted growth may be found. The soil appears to be chiefly
of a light sandy description and is covered with a grass which,
however, does not grow to any great height. For the most
part this land is said to be very good for growing wheat and
oats and barley, and supports cattle well, the grasses being
of a succulent and fattening description. . . .

There is said to be room for ten millions of souls on
these virgin lands whereon the foot of white man never trod
until the railroad was made . . . The object of the govern-
ment is to get settlers on the land, as smallholders, and the
railroad company has the same object in view. . . . All along
the line of the Northern Pacific Railroad small towns and
clusters of habitations have sprung into existence. In some
cases the names given are those of the first settlers on the
spot, as Steele, Dickinson, Richardton. Bismarck had
originally another name but was renamed with a view of
catching German settlers, so it is said. . . .

In one brief comment on the passing of the Plains
Indians and the buffalo he simply notes:

So lately as seven years ago all the lands west of the

Missouri were inhabited by Red Indians and were the home

of vast herds of buffalo. Now the Indians have been moved

into reservations and have had their guns taken from them.

The buffalo have been nearly all killed off by hunters. English

hunters have done their share . . .

It is clear that many British travelers in the late 19th
century visited the American West because they were as
curious about the ways in which it was being subdued as
about the varied character of the wilderness itself.
Accounts in books and newspapers of the tide of frontier
movement across the West, of pioneering, of city develop-
ment and railroad expansion, were often more meaningful
to a British population which had recently experienced
similar changes to its environment, than mere descrip-
tions of natural scenery, however magnificent.

This feeling about the West motivated Buckle, and
is clearly demonstrated in his record of the few days he
spent in Yellowstone Park. Many of his comments on the
slow and rough travel facilities around the Park, on the
poor accommodations and food, and on feeling unwell
from the sulfur-impregnated water, demonstrate how his
view of "Wonderland," as it was called, was colored by
the inconveniences he experienced." He freely admitted
that he was relieved when this part of his tour was over
and he could get back to the comfort of the Northern
Pacific Railroad car. Regarding the details of the natural
splendors of Yellowstone, the geysers, the forests and

wildlife, and the course of the Yellowstone River, it is
interesting to note his supplementary comments on the
problems of preserving those features in the face of the
increasing number of visitors to the Park. The manage-
ment of the wilderness as much as the natural scenery itself
interested him, just as the subjugation of the prairie and
forest had influenced his impressions of those areas.

Leaving the branch line of the Northern Pacific
Railroad at Cinnabar at the start of his tour of the Park
he recorded that,

Stages are in readiness to the Mammoth Hot Springs
Hotel, a distance of six miles up a very steep, dusty and bad
road. Nearly two hours are required for this journey with
six horses, the greater part of the journey being done at a
walk. At seven in the evening of the second day after leav-
ing St. Paul, the journey ends to the no little relief of the
victims who have undertaken to visit "Wonderland".

The hotel called The National is large and roomy but
uncomfortable and indifferendy conducted. It is in an unfur-
nished state. The bedrooms are fairly good but attendance
bad and the cuisine execrable. Hot sulphur baths may be
had and are a luxury to the weary and dirty traveller.

The so called Mammoth Hot Springs are one of nature's
wonderful works. They lie at the head of the valley ... in
a series of terraces apparently in great measure formed by
the action of the hot sulphur water depositing masses of silica,
lime etc. . . . Great care is being taken of the region to pre-
vent damage by visitors, but more stringent rules are
required to control footwear over the older formations. . . .
The superintendent of the Park informed me these springs
are constantly changing. . . . With a little care the hot water
may be conducted over older formations and the beautiful
deposits reformed. This process is going on and the results

in many places are highly satisfactory. The waste water from
the springs runs down the valley and is utilised for baths etc.
Drinking water must be found elsewhere, but all the water
is more or less impregnated with sulphur. . . . To strangers
it produces a dryness in the mouth which it is difficult to
get over at first, and whilst travelling the dusty tracks, called
roads, this becomes intensified.

The regular stage for the tour of the Park leaves the Hot
Springs Hotel at 7 am. The machine carries five persons
besides the driver and requires four horses to draw it. It is
suspended on leather springs and is specially constructed for
the bad roads through a new country. On this occasion there
were only three passengers and a distance of 55 miles has
to be covered in twelve hours. The first stage is to Norris
Geyser Basin, 27 miles, where the horses are changed, and
where there is a "camp" erected to enable passengers to par-
take of a very indifferent meal. . . . The road in some parts
is most execrable and the jolting such as to make it impossi-
ble to keep one's seat without holding on . . . such a journey
is more than enough for pleasure.

Leaving the Hot Springs Valley and skirting their bases
a steep ascent brings the vehicle to the Golden Gate. . . .
a gorge carrying a stream with a fall. . . . The Golden Gate
leads into a broad open plain covered with a luxuriant grovrth
of grass emd having a bright, clear stream running through
it. This plain is bounded on all sides by high mountains
covered with forests of pine. The remarkable feature of these
forests is the extraordinary number smd extent of fallen trees.
Generally the fall appears to be due to fire. The trees being
killed by fire, the levelling seems to be due to wind. The trees
nearly all fall in the same direction. These fires have been
very destructive, vast tracts of forest having suffered under
their effects. . . . The feature is very extensive as to destroy
in great measure the natural beauty of the district. It is said
that the fires are due to the carelessness of hunters after large

'Uncomfortable and indifferently conducted" is how Buckle described the hotel at Mamnwth Hot Springs in 1885.

game in the Park. . . . Elk, all kinds of deer and winged
game are strictly preserved within the Park. Only bears and
mountain lions may be killed. . . .

South of Norris Camp is situated the first regular geyser
basin met with. Here are a great number of springs large
and small. . . . They lie in two large groups called the Upper
and Lower Basins which are about eight miles apart. . . .
All the most powerful geysers in the region are situated in
the Upper Basin . . . Old Faithful goes off regularly once
every hour. It is one of the finest but some others ascend
to a higher altitude. . . .At all the geyser basins the smell
of the geyser water is powerful of sulphur. They all discharge
immense volumes of steam. . . .

At the upper and lower geyser basins wooden hotels
have recently been erected but they are still in a very unfin-
ished state. Owing to the distance from the base and the
badness of the roads materials are long in reaching their
destination. The innkeepers are civU and anxious to make
their guests as comfortable as circumstances will permit, but
the food supplied is very indifferent. In order to see the
geysers at the Upper Basin one ought to stop over one day
at least. Not being very well, however, and fmding bad effects
from drinking water strongly impregnated with sulphur and
other minerzil matter, I was indisposed to remain longer in
the district than was absolutely necessary and accordingly
I took the stage at 7 am to the Lower Basin along with two
other tourists, . . . leaving the stage at the Lower Basin a
pair-horse wagon took us on. This is a drive of 30 miles to
the Falls of the Yellowstone River involving a mountain pass
9000 feet above sea level and a very rough road. The journey
is done in 6J4 hours. At the Falls a camp is pitched con-
sisting of a number of tents for sleeping and feeding in. Plenty
of blankets are supplied. The temperature in the tents in the
morning was 42 °F. Outside water froze. . . . The
Yellowstone River is tributary to the Missouri River and is
the most remarkable river on the American continent. It rises
south-east of the Yellowstone Lake, 7888 feet above sea [and]
enclosed by mountains 3000 feet higher. . . .About 15 miles
below the Lake the Upper Falls make a descent of 162 feet
and half a mile lower are the splendid Lower Falls. . . . The

Falls of the Yellowstone, with the canyon through which the

river flows, is one of the grandest pieces of mountain scenery

to be found on earth! . . .

Again, Buckle was mainly impressed by landscapes
that offered potential for human use, whether for farm-
ing as on the prairies or for tourism as in the mountains.
He also displays an interest in how that development was
progressing. Buckle was observing the West in a way
similar to that of other British visitors who found its wide
open spaces more understandable in terms of man's
increasing impact on them.

Another set of comments in his travel journal, on the
cities he passed through and the railroad facilities which
made his rapid tour possible, provide a final parallel with
the observations of other British tourists, several of whom
often noted the speed of city expansion in the American
West and the variable quality of the service provided by
the spreading railroad network.'^ Buckle devotes much
attention to both of these topics where, unlike his obser-
vations on the western landscapes, he could make more
direct comparisons with cities and rail services he had
experienced in Britain and elsewhere.

Of the large midwestern cities he visited. Buckle
seemed more impressed with the more recendy-developing
centers like Chicago, St. Paul and Minneapolis than those
which had been longer-established, notably St. Louis and
Cincinnati. In all cases, he was struck by the spjeed of their

"The so-called Mammoth Hot Springs are one of
nature's wonderful works . . . ." This early postcard
view included an insert depiction of the Mammoth Hot
Springs Hotel.

-;w — -^^

The Yellowstone River "is the
most remarkable river on the
American continent, " Buckle
wrote. But he was most impress-
ed by landscapes that offered poten-
tial for human use. Note the billow
of steam in the top view
background that could have been
meant to illustrate the frequent
forest fires. "Vast tracts afforest
having suffered under their ef-
fects, " Buckle noted in his jour-
nal. Both views are from postcards
Buckle inserted into his journal.

growth which caused considerable disturbance to the exist-
ing city structure. Basic facihties, such as street paving
and Ughting were often inadequate. In St. Paul, for
example, he observed that "so much building is going
on that the streets are much disturbed." In Chicago he
noted of some street paving that "wood has been used
in many parts, trees cut up into lengths of about a foot
and placed close together, the intervals filled up. This does
not appear to have answered well [so that] granite is being
laid down." Some streets in St. Louis were well paved
but others were "much neglected ... a mass a soft slush
in rains." While he found the streets of Chicago were
generally well lighted he noted in St. Louis illumination
was "very indifferent . . . electric light is extensively exhib-
ited in front of the hotels and restaurants but advantage
seems to be taken of the fact to abstain from lighting the
street gas lamps." The streets in Cincinnati he observed
were "badly paved and worse lighted." In summary, he
was most impressed with the scale and rapidity of the
growth of Chicago, where "the population is said to be
upwards of 700,000 [yet] half a century ago it was
prairie." He was equally impressed with St. Paul,

although it should be noted that in each case he saw the
city in its best light since he was shown round by leading
citizens who also took him to see their business
establishments . ' ^

In contrast he reserved his greatest criticisms for Cin-
cinnati, possibly because of the strongly alien German
influence he found there and perhaps because it was the
last midwestern city he visited toward the end of his tour.
He did, however, compliment the city's fine site:
...surrounded by hills . . . forming a magnificent am-
phitheatre from any of whose heights a grand panorama of
the city below is seen with the Ohio winding between. . .
. there is a general aspect of rowdiness about the city and
the streets are dirty . . . [At] the Grand Hotel I had to pay
five dollars a day for worse rooms than I have had in other
hotels for three and a half or four dollars. . . .
Not only was the Ohio River badly polluted to a "pea-
soup" condition but he noted that "there are some large
business blocks but they do not come near to what I have
seen elsewhere." He admitted that "the city is well laid
out and the streets fairly wide . . . tramways traverse the
streets in all directions" yet noted he felt a stranger in
so German a city.

Germans are very numerous, one portion of the city
is almost entirely inhabited by them where their trades and
emblems are all exhibited in the German language. . . .
strangers visiting it once and staying two days as I did will
not care to repeat the visit. . . .

As a tourist by railroad, transferring from line to line
in the principal cities, it is not suprising that Buckle
reserved several of his more acute observations for the big-
city hotels in which he was a guest. Here again he was
impressed by the provision generally made for the traveler
in a region of the country only recently made accessible
whereas he was far more critical of facilities available in
the longer-settled east. Apart from noting the particular
features of the principal hotels he visited, like the Palmer
House in Chicago which he described as "a huge cara-
vanserai . . . everything that can possibly be wanted is
to be found within the walls of this hotel," it was the cen-
tral role which hotels played in the development of the
midwestem towns and cities and the business functions
they drew to them which intrigued him.

The first thing considered when a settlement is fixed
is the setting up of a hotel. As a rule American hotels are
well managed and well organized. The general system
observed is the same throughout the country. On the ground
floor is the grand hall ... in this hall will be foimd invariably
a book and a newspaper stall; a cigar and tobacco stall; a
railway ticket office; a telegraph department; a carriage hiring
office; a barber's shop; a boot shining department. ... In
addition in the large cities where the hotels are on a large

SPECIAL EXCURSIONS

YeIsIaOWSTONE JMaTIONAL pARK

Will lea.e St Paul and Minneapolis on the tollo*ing dates

Lea.e St Paul and M.nneapoli, Jul, 5th, Retu.nnj A..,„ j„|j , ,_

•■ ""'■ ■ - «"8"st 5,'.

■ August .511. .. ^^.^

" y" Septemb,,,,.

RATE FOR THE EXCURSION, «12O.00,

Intl

-el, no

D-n.nj Ca.,

lent Co.

lone,. tk,„ I

Rail Transportation, Double Be.lh .0 Pullman Slec
Stage T.anspo.tation (o. a complete tou. o( the Pa.l a
Di,s at the Hotels and Camps ol the Yellowstone Pa.l.

Parties jo.n.ng an, o( IheM o.cu.slons, and desinnj
days in the Pa.li. will have the opportunity to do so.

The (ollowing are the principal points of interest in the Pa.L, all of which w,ll
be visited du.ing the f..e days' loo., v.z Mammoth Hot Sp.mgs Hotel. Ga'dne. Can
on. Obsidian Mountain, Lale of the Woods, N0..1S Geyse. Bas.o, dbbon Pa.nl P„|,,
Gibbon Ri.e., Falls and Canon. Lower Geyser ( Fi.e Hole) Basin, Uppe. Geyie.
Bas.n, G.eat Palls and Grand Canon of the Yellowstone

A s.de l/.p to the Yellowstone Lalre may be made at an additional expense of
$10 00, not including expense at the Hotel Camp.

Each excursion will be personally conducted by Mr J H Rogers, J. , a gentle
man of large eiperience in such matters, and eicuriitnisis may feel assured m ad.ance
that nothing will be left undone likely to contribute to then comfort or pleasure

Pe.sons desiring to secure berths in Pullman sleepers fo. the outward Alaska tnp.
or for any of the special Park eicu.sions, should apply at an early day to

E R WAOSWORTH. General Agent. 53 Clark Street, Chicago.

C B KINNAN. General Agent Passenger Department, 3.9 Broadway. New York C.ly

J L. HARRIS, General New England Agent, 306 Wa.hington Street, Boston. 0.

scale it has become the fashion to set aside a room where
speculative business can be transacted by local brokers. Being
in telegraph communication with New York and Chicago,
the varying prices of stocks, shares and produce are in these
rooms recorded from hour to hour on a blackboard. In this
way the large hotels in first class cities . . . become each of
them business centres and consequently draw more custom
within their walls. . . . The ground floor is generally . . .an
enormous hall which in aU large cities becomes public pro-
perty. Loungers from the street are continually passing in
and out . . . They smoke, spit and chew. They use the
washing places and WCs without having any status in the
hotel whatever. . . .

Most of his comments on the newly-developed western
railroads were also favorable in terms of the quality and
range of services the trains offered on the long hauls. He
further commended their speed and punctuality, although
he experienced more delays and slower than average
speeds farther west. He was, however, particularly
impressed by the Northern Pacific line on which he had
purchased a round-trip ticket from St. Paul to
Yellowstone.'* On this part of his tour he noted,

. . . attendance is good. Trains . . . lack not of
employees, the conductor, the brakeman, the Pullman Car
conductor, the car servant . . . Then there is generally a ven-
dor of literature and a fruit seller. The dining car ... is very
wefl arranged and there are lots of black waiters, a steward
and two or three cooks ... a great convenience and the
viands served are a vast improvement on the [railside]
refreshment rooms . . . The smaU towns on route do not
as yet afford more than rough accommodation. . . . Food
in railroad refreshment rooms is invariably bad and generally
execrable. Milk, bread and eggs can, however, always be
had.

WhUe Buckle appreciated the comfort and security

the long-distance train offered through the western

wilderness, he formed a less complimentary view of the

railroads he used in the more settled east in spite of the

faster times and sometimes greater comfort they offered. '*

Railways in all the settled states of the Union appear

multiplied to a degree that seems unnecessary. In many cases

[raU] roads have been made, not as would appear so much

as in the interest of the public as of the parties who have

promoted them. There is something decidedly rotten in the

system. The directors of a line are "all powerfiil" and can,

and do, act as they please. . . . The system of sale of railroad

passenger tickets is remarkable from an English point of view.

The long journey tickets are scarcely ever sold at the railroad

stations. Ticket offices are located in nearly all large hotels

and the various offices in the city. ... A large business is

done in the purchase and sale of return tickets . . . This

business is carried on by companies who employ a number

of people to work it . . . "Scalpers" buy up return tickets

from people who do not intend to return within the limit

of the ticket and are therefore willing to sell at a loss . . .

I bought one of these tickets for 14 dollars; the proper price

being 18 dollars for the journey by which transaction I was

supposed to have saved 4 doUars; but at the last coUection

the conductor declined to accept the coupon . . . and I had

to pay the fare for the last section again.

Part of Buckle's personal antagonism to the railroad

companies in the east may well have resulted from his suf-

fering the loss of a few dollars at the hands of a ticket
"scalper." His more favorable impression of western
railroads was in part conditioned by over 2400 miles on
an inexpensive and comfortable excursion on the Northern
Pacific line. But such relatively minor factors helped shape
the impressions of the West that many travelers recorded
in their journaJs.

1. A noted British travel writer who turned his attention to the
scenery and wildhfe of the American West with visits there after

1878 was W. A. Baillie Grohman. His best known book was Camps
in the Rockies, (London, 1882). One of several British speculators
in western lands who established a farm settlement scheme for
the more wealthy young Englishmen was W. B. Close. He
publicized his scheme in northwest Iowa in The Times as well as
with a guidebook. See J. Van der Zee, The British in Iowa, (Iowa
City, 1922).

2. One of the best known English women travelers across western
America at this time was Lady Isabella Bird who crossed the con-
tinent from west to east on her way back to England from the
Sandwich Islands. See I. L. Bird, A Lady 's Life in the Rocky Moun-
tains, (London, 1879).

3. Several British writers and journalists visited the West in the late
19th century notably Robert Louis Stevenson who recorded his

1879 transcontinental rail journey in The Amateur Emigrant, (Edin-
burgh, 1895). Newspaper and magazine correspondents who
reported on the West for British readers included Joseph Hutton
of the London Standard and S. Nugent Townsend of the The Field.

4. R. G. Athearn, Westward the Briton, (New York, 1953).

5. As an example of more recent work on the British view of the
West see John F. Davis "Constructing the British view of the
Great Plains" in B. W. Blouet and M. P. Lawson, Images of the
Plains, (Lincoln, 1975), pp. 181-5.

6. One British writer as early as the 1860s noted that in traveling
west he seemed to pass through the successive strata of the immi-
gration era as the frontier was approached. See Eklward Dicey,
Six Months in the Federal States, (London, 1863), p. 51.

7. In The Old World and the New, (London, 1884), W. Ballantine
largely ignored the middle west on his way to Salt Lake City while

Lady Guest did the same on her journey to the Pacific Coast in
her book A Round Trip to North America, (London, 1895).

8. C. M. Buckle, yoarna/ of Three Months' Travel in the United States
of America, (Unpublished, 1885), 215 pp.

9. Charles Matthew Buckle (1828-1914) wrote several unpublished
journals based on his naval travels between 1851 and 1883. These,
the American journal and other famUy papers were deposited in
the West Sussex Records Office, Chichester, England in 1976.
Details of the collection can be found in A. E. Readman (editor),
The Buckle Papers, (Chichester: West Sussex County Council,
1978).

10. Letters sent home by English settlers in the midwest often sug-
gested that by the late century they appreciated the visual and
other qualities of the western prairies over the more forested inter-
ior lands. See B. P. Birch, "British Evaluations of the Forest
Openings and Prairie Edges of the North-Central States,
1800-1850" in W. W. Savage and S. I. Thompson, The Frontier:
Comparative Studies, Volume 2, (Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press, 1979), pp. 167-192. A divergent view of the Dakota prairies
can be found in F. J. Rowbotham, A Trip to Prairie Land Being
a Glance at the Shady Site of Emigration, (London, 1885).
Buckle's journal makes it clear he took with him to Yellowstone
Park an article from a Scottish newspaper which said visitors "will
frankly confess that they are glad when . . . they have escaped
from Wonderland." Several books on the West by British writers
included sections on Yellowstone which was a popular tourist
destination. These included Earl of Dunraven, The Great Divide,
(London, 1876), which quoted the geologist Hayden as did
Buckle, and F. Francis, Saddle and Moccasin, (London, 1887).
Often published accounts of travels to the Park at about the same
period include W. E. Strong, A Trip to the Yellowstone National Park
(1875), and H. Kirk, "Sixty Days to and in Yellowstone Park"
Annals of Wyoming (1972), pp. 5-23.

Some other British tourists were critical of American railroads
such as Lady Rose Pender, A Lady's Experience in the Wild West
in 1883, (London, 1888).

The main Chicago businessman Buckle met and saw round his
premises was P. D. Armour whom he recorded as the "King of
the pork trade."

14. This excursion ticket gave Buckle a nine-day tour nearly 2,400
miles from St. Paul to Yellowstone and back, including a tour
of the Park and accommodation for $120.

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The United States District Court for the District of Wyo-
ming was established July 10, 1890, when Wyoming became
a state. The District of Wyoming is unique in the federal judicial
system in that it is the only district which extends across state
lines. The jurisdiction includes not only all of the state of
Wyoming but also portions of Yellowstone National Park which
are in Montana and Idaho.

At the time the federal court in Wyoming was established
there were two federal courts: a circuit court with general
jurisdiction over civil cases and a district court with jurisdic-
tion over criminal cases.

President Benjamin Harrison appointed John A. Riner the
first United States District Judge for the District of Wyoming.
With him began a Wyoming district court tradition of longevity
in service. From 1890 through 1975 only three men served as
judges for the Federal District Court of Wyoming. Judge Riner
served for 31 years; Judge T. Blake Kennedy, for 34 years;
and, as of this date, Judge Ewing T. Kerr has served for 25
years. Judge Clarence Brimmer, the fourth federal judge in
Wyoming, was appointed in 1975.

All four of Wyoming's judges were active in Republican
politics and each at some time, served as Republican Party
chairman for Wyoming. Three of the four judges served as
United States Attorneys, and one served as a referee in
bankruptcy before becoming a federal judge. Three of the four
chose to come to Wyoming to take advantage of the frontier
life it offered. The most recent judge is a fourth generation
Wyoming native.

Despite their similar backgrounds each man has had an
individual impact on the legal history of the state. The per-
sonality of each man was his own and the challenges he faced
on the bench were those of his generation.

John A. Riner

John A. Riner was born in Preble, Ohio, in 1850. His
father, a millwright, moved his famUy to Iowa in 1868. John
worked with his father in his shop whUe attending public
schools. He attended the University of Michigan where he
graduated in 1879 with an LL.B.'

The year he graduated from college, Riner moved west
to Wyoming to accept a position as counsel for the Union Pacific
Railroad. For seven years he represented that company in
association with the firm of Lacey and Corlett. These contacts
introduced him to the rich and powerful men of Wyoming. In
addition to the railroad, the firm represented many of the large
cattlemen of the state. His opinions in later years generally
reflected a favorable view of the interests of operators of large
ranches.

His name appears as the attorney of record on many ter-
ritorial court files and he was the reporter of the second volume
of the Territorial Wyoming Supreme Court decisions. His long-
time friend, client, and political associate, F. E. Warren,
recalled how Riner had furnished his law office with a $5 pur-
chase of a kitchen table and two wooden chairs. He frequently

traveled the territory by stagecoach and buggy to practice his
profession.

His friendship with Warren brought Riner into a position
of importance in Republican party politics. In 1881 he was
elected Cheyenne's city attorney and in 1884 Riner was
appointed United States Attorney for the Territory of Wyo-
ming. In 1886 he was elected a member of the upper house
(Council) of the Territorial Legislature Assembly and served
as President of the Council in 1888.

Riner was elected as a Republican delegate to the Con-
stitutional Convention. He chaired the committee that wrote
the Wyoming Constitution. Credit is given to Riner for "sav-
ing" the Wyoming Supreme Court. Statehood was a costly
proposition and several delegates were in favor of economiz-
ing by eliminating the Supreme Court as a separate entity. Pro-
ponents of this measure, including Potter, soon to become
Justice Potter, wanted to continue with the territorial type of
Supreme Court composed of district judges.

Riner presented a forceful argument for a separate and
independent Supreme Court for Wyoming. He told the Con-
stitutional Convention:

I have sat here for two or three days and listened with con-
siderable interest to the discussion had for the last two days
in regard to this supreme court. ... I find that the univer-
sal sentiment is very largely in favor of a supreme court, and
an independent supreme court, where a man knows when
he takes his case into court, he can go there and get full and
impartial justice. Now I say that all the argument and the
only argument that can be brought against this proposition
is the one of expense. Here we prophesy that we are to be
a great state, Mr. President, and yet the argument used here
that because a supreme court is going to cost us $6,000 a
year, we should give it up. We expect to be a great state,
let us then here frame a constitution which will put into
operation full and complete machinery for a proper state
government, and I believe the people will ratify it and gladly
ratify it. If we are not far enough advanced to do that, let
us remain in our territorial condition until we are. If by
statehood we are not to better our condition, let us remain
as we are, and let the United States pay for our judges.'
Riner's view carried the convention. For his service on the Con-
stitutional Committee, he was given a gold and ivory gavel.
Riner was elected to the State Senate in September, 1890,
but turned down the position and accepted the appointment
as Wyoming's first federal district court judge. Warren helped
accelerate Riner's appointment to assure a Republican judge
rather than risk an appointment by Cleveland, the Democrat.
Judge Riner began his 31-year tenure on September 22, 1890.
He was 40. The oath was administered by Wyoming Chief
Justice Willis Van Devanter and the Bible used in that
ceremony has continued to be used by every judge who has
served on the federal district court bench in Wyoming.

Riner had built a successful practice. A. C. Campbell
remarked, "In becoming a judge, the public was benefitted.
From a material standpoint, his family was not."

The salary for a federal district judge remained at the "ter-
ritorial rate" of $3,500. The Wyoming statehood biU provided

for its quarterly payment. Riner received no salary for the first
three months of his term. In one of his first letters written as
a judge, Riner unsuccessfully attempted to get his salary paid
monthly.^

From all accounts he was a stern and dignified judge.* He
demanded exacting management of the court. Charles
Ohnhaus, clerk for both Judge Riner and Judge Kennedy,
described Judge Riner as "a man of the very highest character.
. . . Judge Riner was a strict master concerning the dignity,
conduct and ethics of the court, and his severity in that regard
was at times criticized. However, ~he carried the respect of
lawyers and layman alike. "^

In his memoirs Judge Kennedy decribed Judge Riner's
conduct in court. The witness stand was at the corner of the
jury box farthest from the bench. A counsel stand was placed
at the other end of the jury box, near the bench and examina-
tion of witnesses was conducted in front of the jury. "At one
point in the proceedings [opposing counsel] presumed to
approach me in front of the jury to caution me on certain ques-
tions to be asked, upon which occasion he was 'bawled out'
by the judge in a very abrupt and stern manner."^

Judge Riner's opinion of the dignity of the position of
federal judge resulted in a withdrawal from society. A. C.
Campbell described the change:

Before becoming a judge he took an active interest in
politics. . . . He was then a 'mixer' and his friends csJled
him 'John' — conclusive evidence of persona] popularity.
When he went upon the bench he ceased political activity.
. . he made the mistake common to most of the federal judges
of the last generation, particularly his mentor and model,
Judge Hallet, in that he ceased to mingle freely with the
members of the bar and did"not continue that social inter-
course with the community which he had previously
observed.'
The effect of this decision on his personal life is described by
Judge Kennedy in his memoirs:

During his incumbency as judge he had . . . conceived
the thought that on account of his dignified position he was
more or less circumscribed in maintaining his friendships
with the citizens of the town and state so that in reality he
had lost contact with a good many of his friends and had
become a very lonely man.

In spite of his withdrawal from politics, he maintained an
interest in national, state and local affairs. Many have com-
mented on his patriotism and Campbell said, "His patriotism
was always virile and during the World War became a pas-
sion." Judge Riner once wrote, concerning a juror who could
not qualify because he lacked citizenship: "Suggest to him,
however, as coming from me that I think he ought to be
naturalized at the earliest possible moment as a man can never
fuUy realize what life is until he has been an American citizen. ' ''
Judge Riner once said that he understood the disappoint-
ment of the lawyer who lost in a case. He related that he had
been a lawyer and could "feel" for that lawyer who had worked
so hard and believed in his theory only to lose in court. He
concluded that he carried no "chip on his shoulder for an ill-
considered remark" by such counsel at the close of trial.

His handling of an "unlawful enclosure of public lands"
case is an example of his views. Addison A. Spaugh was ch2irged
and found guUty by a jury in November, 1901, of illegally
enclosing 225,000 acres of public land. Judge Riner delayed

sentencing until January 2, 1902, implying leniency cotild be
expected if the fences were removed. Spaugh took advantage
of this and removed the fences. Judge Riner gave him a token
sentence of one day in jail and a $50 fine.

He was generally considered a fair and equitable judge.
After his death, the Denver Post commented that Judge Riner
was noted for "the horse sense he frequently displayed in
rendering judgement. "

Judge Riner's tenure as a federal judge retained aspects
of territorial days. He held court in rented or donated quarters
until he acquired some office space in the Commercial Block
on 16th Street in Cheyenne. In 1905 the first federal courthouse
in Cheyenne was built and court was held there until the
mid-1960s when the present structure was completed.

Early in his tenure he traveled the state to select appropriate
places to hold court outside of Cheyenne. He stopped overnight
in Lusk where he had to sleep in a tent. It was Saturday, the
cowboy's night to "cut loose" and get "liquored up." Cowboys
zinged bullets through his tent all night. He rode the circuit
thoughout Wyoming. He traveled by buggy, making many
arduous trips to Rock Springs and Rawlins. His "hardship
duty" did not pass unnoticed. A whistle-stop located between
Wamsutter and Rawlins is named in his honor.'

Frontier life is also evident in the subjects of the early
lawsuits tried before Judge Riner. The first case on the docket
is a type that appeared frequendy throughout the first 20 years
of Riner's tenure — selling liquor to Indians, a Federal felony
untU 1954. Counterfeiting, forgery and robbing the U.S. mails
made frequent appearances in the docket. The remaining cases
were an odd mixture which included unlawful cohabitation,
fermenting malt liquor without a license, stealing horses from

Judge John A. Riner

an Indian reservation, aiding soldiers to desert, trespassing on
government timberland and even mailing obscene letters.

In 1894 Judge Riner heard a national workers movement
case. Populist Jacob S. Coxey started a movement in favor of
a public works program, calling on workers to march to
Washington in the spring of 1894. Coxeyites commandeered
trains in the West and came through Wyoming. U.S. Mar-
shal Rankin, accompanied by a group of deputies, recaptured
the train in Green River and arrested 15 leaders of the group.
Troops from Fort D. A. RusseU took charge of the Coxeyites
and transported them to Idaho. Judge Riner heard the case
and sentenced the leaders to four-to-five month jaU terms in
Cheyenne.

One of the most interesting cases of Judge Riner' s judicial
career was the case. In Re Race HoTseJ° On October 3, 1895,
Sheriff Ward of Uinta County arrested a Bannock Indian
named Race Horse on a warrant charging him with "the
unlawful and wanton killing of seven elk." The Indians of the
Jackson Hole area refused to obey the state game laws. They
claimed the Treaty of Fort Bridger gave them the right to hunt
in the area, citing Article IV of the Treaty of July 3, 1868, which
stated in part: "... [b]ut they shall have the right to hunt on
the unoccupied lands of the U.S. so long as game may be found
thereon, and so long as peace subsists among the Whites and
Indians on the borders of the hunting districts."

Judge Riner, sitting as Circuit Judge, held in favor of Race
Horse on the question. In considering the evidence he noted
that the elk were killed on unoccupied land, 60 miles from any
ranch on lands used by the Bannock Indians as hunting grounds
for a "great many years." Peace had subsisted between the
Whites and Indians for many years.

Judge Riner described his position as:

... [a] delicate one, and only to be entered upon with
reluctance and hesitation. It must be evident to anyone that
the power to declare either a treaty made by the general
government or a legislative enactment void is one which the
court will shrink from exercising in any case where it can,
with due regard to duty and official oath, decline the respon-
sibility, but the duty to do this in a proper case the courts
cannot decline. They have no discretion in selecting the sub-
jects to be brought before them, and the duty, however
unpleasant, cannot be avoided. . . .

Judge RLner cited authorities and concluded that the "pro-
visions of the state statute were inconsistent with the treaty,
and as the latter, under the Constitution of the United States,
was paramount, the statute could not be enforced against the
Indians." Former Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Van
Devanter presented the state's appeal to the United States
Supreme Court which reversed the decision of the circuit court
under the "equal footing" doctrine.

From the turn of the century and through the 1920s, the
oil industry in Wyoming provided litigation for the federal
court. The famous Salt Creek field north of Casper was opened
and intense activity under the mineral location laws followed.
Claim staking and claim jumping occurred daily and created
profitable employment for lawyers hired to sort out vague and
overlapping claims. Mineral activity caused concern in the
conservation-oriented Taft administration. In 1909 by executive
order. President Taft withdrew three million acres of land in
Wyoming (including Salt Creek) and California from entry
under the mineral laws. His withdrawals caused a controversy

that resulted in the passage of the General Withdrawal Act of
1910 (Pickett Act). The act gave the President a limited right
to make withdrawals.

The question of the President's inherent or implied
withdrawal power was also before Judge Riner. In a short deci-
sion rendered June 17, 1913, Judge Riner ruled that, at the
time of the action in 1909, the President was without power
to make such withdrawals. He began by pinpointing the issue:
. . . [t]he question is narrowed to this: Did the Secretary
of the Interior of the President, under the expressed or
implied powers conferred upon them to administer the land
laws . . . have the power to make the withdrawal order of
September 27, 1909?

WhUe the question resolves itself to a narrow one, it
opened a broad field for discussion and was ably argued by
counsel on both sides. ... It is quite sufficient for the court
here to say that it has devoted itself to a carefiil and painstak-
ing examination of every authority called to its attention by
counsel, both at the oral argument and in the briefs, and
that such examination and consideration has led to the con-
clusion that the power did not exist, in the absence of con-
gressional legislation authorizing it."
The case was appealed to the Supreme Court which avoided
ruling directly on the President's inherent or implied right to
make withdrawals. The Court stated, "[t]he long-continued
practice, the acquiescence of Congress, as well as the decisions
of the Court, all show that the President had the power to make
the order." This decision provided* the foundation for the
government to retain and lease oil lands which eventually led
to the Teapot Dome scandal and lawsuit in Wyoming during
Judge Kennedy's tenure.

In 1916 the famous Clarence Darrow from Chicago came
to Wyoming to try a murder case before Judge Riner. During
the latter part of Judge Riner' s term he handled the Union
Pacific Railroad receivership. A massive undertaking, it was
of tremendous importance to the state. The U. P. railroad was
still, at that time, considered the backbone of Wyoming's
economy.

With prohibition came much more litigation before the
Wyoming federal district court. A story about Judge Riner
grows out of prohibition in the West. Like his successors. Judge
Riner often sat in Denver. Colorado "went dry" before her
neighbor to the north, and Wyoming became the main sup-
plier of liquor to Colorado. In an attempt to control this illicit
trade in "hooch," Colorado placed guards at the border. Judge
Riner was on his way to Denver in his new Cadillac when the
state g^ard ordered him to stop. Either Riner was relying on
"judicial immunity" or didn't hear the command because he
kept going. The guards opened fire, puncturing his new car
in several places. Judge Riner was very angry in spite of the
trooper's apology and upon arriving in Denver he went to the
state capitol and brought his complaint directly to the gover-
nor, a former judge and friend of Riner. He demanded that
the state mcike complete repairs and a full apology. The State
of Colorado complied with Judge Riner' s demands and his
Cadillac was restored to its former condition.'^

Toward the end of his years on the bench personal tragedies
weighed on the judge's mind and spirit. His wife of many years
died and soon thereafter his son-in-law pleaded guilty in Judge
Riner' s court to a charge of bank embezzlement. These per-
sonal problems, added to his self-imposed loneliness and fail-

ing health, precipitated his decision to retire after 31 years on
the bench.

The judge took a personal interest in his successor, encour-
aging T. Blake Kennedy, his referee in bankruptcy, to seek
the position as federal district court judge for Wyoming. Judge
Riner, accompanied by T. Blake Kennedy and Senator War-
ren, personally tendered his resignation to President Harding
in Washington. Judge Riner had hoped to continue doing extra
duty and had installed himself in Van Devanter's Cheyenne
chambers for this purpose. Judge Kennedy wrote that, he tried
to do his part by appointing Judge Riner to try several cases,
but Judge Riner's health continued to fail and two years after
retiring. Judge Riner died. At his death on March 4, 1923,
he was the oldest federal judge in terms of service in the United
States.

The respect he had been held in during his life was evi-
dent throughout his funeral services. Judge Riner was the most
prominent and highest Mason in Wyoming and his funeral was
held at the Masonic Temple in Cheyenne. Lawyers, judges and
prominent people from all over the Rocky Mountain area paid
their respects. Judge Kennedy presided over a memorial ser-
vice held in the U.S. District Court."

T. Blake Kennedy

Judge Riner was succeeded by T. Blake Kennedy who
served for 34 years as the sole federal judge in Wyoming.

Thomas Blake Kennedy was born in 1874 in Commerce,
Michigan.'* His father's famUy had come to America from
Ireland in 1793. His mother, who was bom in England, moved
to America with her family as a baby. Kennedy came from a
family of eight children including three sets of twins. His father
was an abolitionist who owned a farm and operated a general
store in Commerce, Michigan. He was appointed U.S. Post-
master by President Grant, a position he held for 18 years until
Cleveland's election. He then served as justice of the peace in
Commerce for many years.

Kennedy attended public schools in Michigan and, at age
17, enrolled at Franklin College (now Muskingum College) in
New Athens, Ohio, where he received an A. B. in 1895. He
was popular in college, an excellent student, and his class
valedictorian. At this early age he had already begun to do those
things he enjoyed throughout his life, public speaking and sing-
ing. Judge Kennedy's scrapbooks are filled with programs
where he was either "orating" or singing.'^

Judge Kennedy wrote in his memoirs that upon his gradua-
tion from college his father wanted him to enter the ministry.
By that time, Kennedy had decided he wanted to pursue a
career in law. When Kennedy informed his father, he was told
that he would have to finance his legal education on his own.
Undeterred, Kennedy read law in a law office and enrolled in
Syracuse University Law School. While in school he financed
his education with various part-time jobs such as clerking in
a law office, ushering at an opera house, and stoking furnaces.
On one occasion he worked as a census enumerator. Kennedy
graduated with honors from law school in 1897 and received
an A. M. in 1898 from Syracuse.

While in law school, he met Roderick Matson and they
formed a long-lasting partnership. They pooled all that they
earned and shared all of their expenses evenly. W. E. Chaplin,

a friend of both men and editor of the Laramie Republican,
commented:

This partnership was peculiar in its nature in that the
firm made no division of its income. All the expenses of the
individual members were paid out of the same pocketbook.
If one smoked a cigar, the o'Ser helped pay for it and even
in the matter of Mr. Kennedy's courting, the "Republican"
understands that Mr. Matson helped to pay for the candy
although he was not permitted to share in the kisses.""
In 1899, after practicing together for a short time, Mat-
son and Kennedy considered moving West. Kennedy later
remarked on this decision, "A desire to get into the rather free
atmosphere of the great West which I had admired and the feel-
ing that the West might offer better advantages brought me
to Cheyenne."" Kennedy and Matson decided in a systematic
fashion where to move. They chose 250 cities in eight western
states and wrote to the mayors asking for information on the
opportunities in each city. Of the 75 replies they received, the
one from Cheyenne was particularly encouraging. Kennedy
went to Cheyenne to check out the possibilities. He met with
Mayor Schnitger, mounted a "wheel" bicycle, and toured the
town. Kennedy was introduced to the governor and entertained
at the Cheyenne Club. With that favorable impression, Ken-
nedy and Matson moved to Cheyenne in 1906. There was no
available office space so while they waited Kennedy and Mat-
son read aloud the Wyoming Revised Statutes of 1899.

One of Kennedy's first cases in Wyoming required him
to defend a man who shot a "colored woman at a house of ill
fame." His client was found guilty but the newspaper com-
mented favorably: "Mr. Kennedy, who is a young man and
a new beginner in practice, made his maiden speech and it is
conceded by all who heard him that he made a very fine effort
and handled the subject in a way worthy of a veteran practi-
tioner." A week later the newspaper wrote that Kennedy, "a
new beginner at the bar but almost at a single step he has come
to the front in our district court and has taken his place in the
front rank of the profession. ... It may be predicted that Mr.
Kennedy has a promising future before him."'°

He was active in the community and helped to form several
fraternal organizations that still thrive in Cheyenne. Kennedy
was generous with his time and volunteered for many
charitable, civic, and church-related causes. He also sang in
a popular quartet for 25 years. He wrote in his memoirs, "I
really got more out of my indulgence in this pastime than in
any other." It was singing that brought him together with his
future wife, Anna Lyons, who possessed a soprano voice. He
also had a well-developed sense of humor that stayed with him
throughout his life.

The financial rewards of private practice developed slowly.
Judge Kennedy told his successor, Judge Ewing T. Kerr, that
the case that enabled him to stay in Cheyenne was that of the
infamous Tom Horn. Kennedy referred to it as "one of the
most interesting and important cases in my entire experi-
ence.""

Tom Horn came to Wyoming as a stock detective for the
Wyoming Stock Growers Association with a reputation that
preceded him. He was a professional killer who had worked
throughout the West in various capacities, once as a Pinker-
ton detective doing livestock "protection" work. He described
his vocation in the following terms, "Killing men is my spe-

cialty, I look at it as a business proposition, and I think I have
a corner on the market."^"

When Horn came to Wyoming he was hired by John Coble
and other stockmen to protect their interests. The 1895 murders
of two Wyoming cattlemen were attributed to Horn and he was
a suspect in the murders of two suspected rustlers in 1900. In
July, 1901, Willie Nickell, a 14-year-old, was found shot to
death. His father Kels P. Nickell had introduced sheep into
the Iron Mountain cattle country, the location of Coble's ranch.
Six months after the Nickell shooting Horn boasted to the
U.S. Marshal Joe LeFors that he had killed Nickell. Unknown
to Horn, there were two witnesses to this "confession" in the
next room, an assistant U.S. marshal and Charles Ohnhaus,
court stenographer. Ohnhaus was taking down Horn's state-
ments in shorthand. Based on this evidence, Horn was arrested
for the murder of Willie Nickell and held in the Laramie County
jail.

Harry P. Hynds, blacksmith, gambler, boxer and owner
of the Plains Hotel, who became one of Kennedy's closest
friends, recommended that Coble hire Kennedy to help defend
Horn. As a result he became the first attorney to interview Horn
after his arrest. Kennedy described his role in the defense of
Horn:

I had the unique distinction or notoriety of being the
first retained counsel for the notorious Tom. Being the
youngest of a brace of counsel, it became my duty to per-
form the greater portion of the 'messenger service' duty in
formulating the defense plans and this involved carrying on
a large amount of contact work with the client.^'
The other attorneys hired for Horn included the most pro-
minent Cheyenne lawyers: J. W. Lacey, Timothy F. Burke,
Edward Clark, M. A. Kline, Clyde M. Watts and Kennedy's
partner, R. N. Matson.

Judge T. Blake Kennedy

Kennedy was given his first large retainer, $1,000, from
Coble. Kennedy and Matson used the money to pay off the
last of their school debts. Kennedy described Horn as:
[T]all, a trifle round shouldered ... he had a black,
beady eye which was intensely piercing. He had a marked
degree of humor. . . . He was an expert both with a rifle
and a pistol. . . . He was keen although not formally
educated. I think Horn was a very bright feflow — very apt.
His egotism was a fraUty and led him to be a bragging man.''
While conducting the background research on the case,
Kennedy was directed to inspect the territory where the murder
had taken place and to interview any witnesses. Kennedy
related in his memoirs:

The next morning we prepared to set out on horseback

across the mountain range through the Sybille Country to

interview witnesses. Coble . . . brought in a pair of chaps

for me to put on. I was not familiar with cowboy regalia and

started to put them on with the "open space" in the front

at which Coble summoned the cowboys, while I was in the

act, and said, "Look at the tenderfoot."'^

The tenderfoot problems were not over for Kennedy for he still

had to complete the long ride in a Wyoming winter. Kennedy

became so cold and stiff that when he dismounted he fell to

the ground. He walked the horse a long distance to keep from

becoming equally chilled a second time. The result of the ride

was an affidavit from a cowboy. Otto Plaga, stating that he

saw Horn on the day of the killing at a spot so distant from

Nickell's place that it could be shown that Horn could not have

done the job. Kennedy remembered his chagrin when Horn

testified under cross-examination that he thought "a good man

on a good horse" might have been able to travel the distance.

The trial took place October 10-24, 1902. Horn was found

guilty and hanged on November 20, 1903. Kennedy was the

only lawyer Horn invited to his hanging, an honor Kennedy

declined.^* Kennedy later remarked that although he hated to

lose the case he felt the world was probably "better off" without

a man who took killing men to be his specialty.

In 1903 Kennedy was appointed referee in bankruptcy by
Judge Riner. He held the position for 10 years until 1913 when
Judge Riner felt it might be proper to appoint another lawyer
to the position. By 1919 Riner asked Kennedy to return as
referee, but Kennedy's practice had grown and he declined.
When Judge Riner assured Kennedy it would be for "only a
few years," Kennedy agreed to return. He held the position
until he was appointed judge.

Soon after Kennedy had moved to Cheyenne, he held
many community positions — Secretary of the Elks, Secretary
of a Chamber of Commerce group, President of the Young
Men's Literary Club, an active Mason, a member of a popular
singing quartet, and various jobs in local Republican politics.
In 1906 Kennedy married Anna Lyons of Cheyenne, one of
his most frequent singing partners.

The same year his partnership with Matson ended when
Matson was appointed district court judge. Kennedy became
more active in the Republican party. He was named Laramie
County chairman in 1910 and was a delegate to the Republican
state convention. Nationally, the Republican party had a split
and the progressives formed their own party. In Wyoming the
second Carey-Warren feud was in full swing, mirroring the
national split. Judge Carey wanted the Republican nomina-

tion for governor and threatened to run independently if he
didn't get it.

In some counties where Carey had support, two delega-
tions were selected — a group of mainstream Republicans and
a Carey's group — both went to the state convention. Kennedy
was chairman of the credentials committee when the fight for
delegate seating took place. Kennedy recounts in his memoirs
that his committee asked for Kennedy's views. Kennedy told
the group "that it was very offensive to me that Judge Carey
should presume to declare himself superior to the party itself
by stating in advance his intention to run independently if not
nominated by the party . . . such insubordination within party
lines should not be tolerated." The Warren delegates were in
the majority and were seated. Carey fulfilled his "threat," and
ran as a Democrat. Carey won the election receiving almost
60 percent of the votes. As a result, Kennedy acquired a power-
ful friend, Warren, and an equally powerful enemy, Carey,
who refused to speak to him untU late in the 1918 gubernatorial
campaign. ^^

In 1912 Kennedy was elected treasurer of the Wyoming
Republican Party. In 1918 he became chairman of the
Republican State Committee, a position he held until 1921.
Kennedy was a delegate to the Republican National Conven-
tion in 1920.

By 1918 the party leadership thought it was time to mend
the Carey-Warren split. They developed a plan of nominating
Warren for senator and Robert Carey, son of Joseph Carey,
for governor. The senior Carey eventually worked actively with
Kennedy for the election which resulted in a Republican
victory.

On October 25, 1921, President Harding appointed T.
Blake Kennedy to succeed Judge Riner. Kennedy was 47 years
old. The Cheyenne paper wrote of his appointment:

Mr. Kennedy should be a very "human" judge. He
is known and loved by a large number of friends throughout
the state as a "regular fellow" - one with a knowledge and
tolerance of human frailty which well may stand him in good
stead during his service on the bench. His knowledge of the
law and his ability as an advocate have been established for
years and to assume the bench he abandons one of the most
lucrative practices in Wyoming.^*

Like his predecessor, Kennedy took a pay cut when he
accepted the judicial position. In the ten months immediately
prior to his appointment, he had earned over $12,500; his start-
ing judicial salary was $7,500 per year. Judge Kennedy wrote
that one of the reasons he decided to become a judge was the
thought of demonstrating to his father, long since dead, that
he had made no mistake in overruling his father's desire that
he become a minister by going into law.

The swearing-in ceremony forjudge Kennedy took place
in the courtroom before a crowd of Kennedy's friends. The
same Bible Riner had used was given to Kennedy. Judge Riner
suggested that he and Kennedy should wear judicial robes for
the occasion and produced one for Kennedy by borrowing a
Masonic costume.^'

Judge Kennedy went to work at once:

A short time before I quEilified by taking the oath of
office, Judge Riner informed me that he had set down for
final hearing before me a case which had been pending in
the court for some time and which he concluded would give
me a "fine start" in my new position as judge. If the

humorous side of the judge had been more developed than

it actually was I would have considered that he was pulling

off a good joke on his successor for as it developed this was

one of the most complicated and difficult cases that had ever

appeared on the docket of the court. ^'

The case was Sussex Land and Livestock Company v. Midwest
Refining Company,''^ a suit to recover damages in excess of
$125,000 upon a claim that the defendant had permitted oil
to overflow on valuable grazing and breeding areas. The trial
lasted four weeks. Seventy-six witnesses testified, and at the
conclusion, Judge Kennedy formulated a unique method of
determining damages, a varied rental value for the land in the
past and the future.

In contrast to his predecessor. Judge Kennedy maintained
his friendships, his activity in fraternal and civic organizations
and his sense of humor. His secretary, Katherine Flick,
described Judge Kennedy as, "Wonderful. Many of the attor-
neys were scared of him. They thought he was awfully cross.
But he really wasn't. . . . He did look stern and could be stern,
but he had a terrific sense of humor. ' ' In the same article his
secretary noted that he was "one of the most beautifully
groomed men I have ever known." He favored spats, had a
wide selection of hats and always carried his gold-headed cane.

Judge Kennedy enjoyed trying civil cases more than
criminal cases, but for the first part of his tenure on the bench,
the most frequent case before him was the violation of the
Volstead (Prohibition) Act.'" It is evident from Kennedy's
memoirs that he did not think too much of the "noble experi-
ment." He disliked the way these cases clogged up his court
docket and, as a moderate drinker, he believed prohibition was
a poor way to eliminate the abuse of alcohol. Finally, in Judge
Kennedy's opinion, cases brought under the act more often
than not involved serious violations of constitutional provisions
against improper search and seizure.

Kennedy developed his own method to expedite prohibi-
tion cases in his court. When dealing with petty offenders he
would fine them $200 if they pled guUty. If they went to trial
and lost they ended up with a prison term. For "big-time"
offenders the procedure was usually the same but a larger fine
might be levied.

In 1921 federal officers announced that in Sweetwater
County they had completed the biggest raid of its kind west
of the Mississippi River. They arrested 62 persons in the Rock
Springs and Green River area. The "Feds" confiscated 1,400
boxes of raisins, 3,000 gallons of "dago red" wine and 1,000
gcJlons of other intoxicants.^' The offenders pled guilty and
were fined $200.

By 1930 the government's prohibition campaign was in
full operation. Judge Kennedy heard two important cases that
year. In the first case, city officials in Thermopolis, Wyoming,
were indicted on a conspiracy charge of violating the Volstead
Act. Some of the officials pled guilty. They explained all that
they had done was to collect the legal license fees from the clubs
when they had knowledge that liquor was probably being sold.
They had received no money personally as the fees were put
into the city coffers in the normal way. They were fined $250
by Judge Kennedy. Later Judge Kennedy assisted the city offi-
cials in regaining their citizenship rights.'^

The second case was identical but it involved the city offi-
cials and bootleggers of Rock Springs, in all some 60 defen-

The Laramie law office of S. W.

Downey was typical of those occupied

by the more successful attorneys at the

turn of the century.

dants. All the defendants put their cases before a jury and were
acquitted. ^^

These results and Judge Kennedy's method of handling
prohibition violations led to an antipathy between the Prohibi-
tion Agency and Judge Kennedy. In February 1931 , the Denver
News reported: "Failure of the U.S. Judge to impose 'adequate
penalties' was held to be one of the greatest obstacles to the
Wickersham Commission by . . . prohibition bureau attorney."

On the civil side of the docket, cases arose out of the
businesses that dominated Wyoming's economy — ranching,
energy and the railroad. These included the usual run of con-
tract and personal injury suits. ^* During World War II and
the Korean War, Judge Kennedy had many conscientious
objection cases. Mormons in Wyoming provided several
"polygamy cases" for the judge to try.

During his time on the bench he had several unusual cases
to hear. One was a criminal case, U.S v. Patten, which con-
cerned a female defendant accused of violating the National
Motor Vehicle Theft Act. The defendant had been living in
Alabama when she answered the ad of a Wyoming rancher who
was looking for a wife. He wrote and told her he was well-off
and his ranch had all the "conveniences." She came to Wyo-
ming to marry the rancher. When she arrived at the ranch she
found it to be rundown and without any "conveniences." The
rancher put her to work immediately and told her he had no
intention of marrying her. One day she became desperate, took
the family car and drove to Colorado. The rancher reported
the theft and she was captured. Judge Kennedy placed her on
probation and sent her home to Alabama with the admonition
to be more careful about conducting love engagements through
the press. In the newspapers she was styled "the love captive. "^^

In another case. Judge Kennedy substituted for Judge
Johnson in Salt Lake City. While Judge Johnson was holding
court, a woman came in with a gun and took several "potshots"
as the judge attempted to duck behind the bench and escape
to his chambers. The woman's last shot "winged" him in his
hip, breaking it. One of the cases Kennedy heard was the
criminal case against Judge Johnson's assailant. It was the
judge's opinion that she was "slightly crazy," but when he sug-
gested a sanity hearing, her attorney informed the court that
she was insane at the time of the shooting but she was sane
now. A jury convicted her but recommended leniency.

Judge Kennedy recorded the thoughts he had during
sentencing: "While I sat there looking at two big ragged bullet
holes on the bench in front of me and three in the blackboard
above my head, I decided there was going to be no open season
on federal judges if I could help it." He respected the jury's
suggestion and gave her seven years. '^

The most famous case during Judge Kennedy's time on
the bench was the "Teapot Dome."^' This case came before
him early in his tenure and had a lasting effect on his judicial
career.

Teapot Dome, an oil bearing geologic formation in Wyo-
ming, symbolizes the corruption of the Harding administra-
tion in the 1920s. In 1915 President Taft used the withdrawal
power, approved by the Supreme Court in the Midwest case,
to establish a Navy petroleum reserve in the Teapot Dome area.
Conservationist philosophy was strong in the government and
parts of the public. The administration was concerned about
an adequate supply of oil for the U.S. Navy. Conservation of

oil below the ground was seen as the best method of insuring
a supply of oil in case of a national emergency.

When Harding became President, he selected former New
Mexico Sen. Albert Fall as his Secretary of the Interior. Fall
was a longtime resident of the West and had at one time been
a New Mexico territorial judge. One of his first acts as
Secretary — with the help of Edwin Denby, Secretary of the
Navy — was to persuade Harding to transfer, by executive
order, control of the Naval oil reserves from the Navy to the
Interior. This was accomplished in 1921 . At the same time Fall
attempted to get the National Forests transferred from the
Agricultural Department to the Department of the Interior and
to gain control over the forest resources of Alaska. Protests from
conservationists and the Agriculture Department prevented Fall
from achieving these last two objectives.

In 1922 it was discovered that Fall, without consulting the
Department of Justice or notifying the public, entered into a
lease with Harry Sinclair's Mammoth Oil Company, by which
Naval Reserve No. 3 (Teapot Dome) would be opened for oil
production. ^^

By 1924 the Senate had spent over $32,000 in the investiga-
tion. At that point. President Coolidge appointed two special
prosecutors, Owen Roberts, later Justice of the Supreme Court,
and Atlee Pomerene, later U.S. Senator. On March 11, 1924,
the special prosecutors filed an application in federal court in
Cheyenne for an injunction restraining Mammoth Oil from
operating Teapot Dome. By that time, the field was in pro-
duction and the pipeline was under construction. An injunc-
tion was issued and on March 13, a bill in equity was filed.

The government sought to cancel the lease, saying the
authorization to make the lease was doubtful and that it was
a result of fraud and coOusion between Fall and Sinclair. Several
continuances were granted to allow the government to amass
its evidence, so the case did not come to trial until March 9,
1925. Prominent counsel appeared for both sides. One of the
defendant's attorneys was the old territorial judge, John W.
Lacey.

Judge Kennedy remarked in his memoirs that when
"called for trial, the case proceeded along regular lines . . .
very smoothly." Both sets of counsel were some of the best that
had appeared before him. Only two controversies arose dur-
ing trial. Both had to do with evidence that would show the
connection between Sinclair and Fall in the matter of a bribe. ^^

The trial lasted three weeks and briefs were filed. Two
months later Judge Kennedy read his decision from the bench
to a courtroom packed with newspeople. On June 19, 1925,
Judge Kennedy upheld the authority of Harding, by the Act
of June 4, 1920, to transfer the Naval Reserves to Interior by
his executive order of 1921, and of Fall's authority to make
the lease with the oil companies. Judge Kennedy dismissed as
unproved the charge of collusion between Sinclair and Fall. He
found that fraud had not been established by the standard the
law requires, clear and convincing evidence, in that there was
a missing link in the evidence which failed to connect Sinclair
with the Liberty Bonds that came into the son-in-law's
possession.

Kennedy's decision read in part:

As repeatedly stated by the courts, fraud cannot be

presumed, but must be proved, and in the manner which

was heretofore announced throughout our entire history of

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American jurisprudence. It may be admitted the transac-
tion arouses suspicion, but further than this the court does
not feel justified in going toward a finding in favor of plain-
tiff, in view of the principles of law announced. This court
feels it must be left to some higher court to find from the
evidence what seems to be fatal missing links, or to extend
the principles of law, so as to cover a situation as it here
apparently exists.*"
Judge Kennedy also noted that public sentiment could not be
a factor in the court's decision.

In reaching a conclusion in this case, we fully realize
the degree of unpopularity with which it wUl be received.
This is true in the nature of things, because the great general
public is reached only with the sensational features surround-
ing the transactions involved, and being largely in the dark
as to all the other multitude of circumstances with which the
case is surrounded, and knowing perhaps less of the great
legal principles, which, the experience of the ages has taught
mankind, must control in dealing with the rights of persons
and property.*'

The case was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Eighth Circuit. The opinion in the case affirmed Kennedy
in part but reversed his finding that no fraud had been shown.
An appeal was taken from this decision to the Supreme Court
which overruled all of Judge Kennedy's decision. The Supreme
Court ruled that the Act of June 4, 1920, did not authorize
the Naval reserves to be leased, so the leases were void irrespec-
tive of fraud. Justice Butler, on the decision, also wrote that
Sinclair's failure to offer himself as a witness required that the
facts be construed against him.

Judge Kennedy wrote in his memoirs:

I have no feeling of resentment or desire to quarrel with
the Supreme Court in its conclusion. Perhaps in the light
of subsequent events they were justified in reaching the con-
clusion which they did whether on the basis of pure legal
principles or in the public interest where it is sometimes
known that well-defined legal principles are stretched to meet
a desired conclusion.

The Teapot Dome decision had a tremendous effect on
Judge Kennedy's judicial career. Kennedy was immediately
subjected to intense personal criticism by the press and by indi-
viduals. The judge received letters, postcards, and telegrams
containing vicious remarks. During this time, Judge Kennedy's
sense of humor stood him in good stead. Although the letters
bothered him and at times preyed on his mind, he never seemed
to take these missives too seriously. He kept them filed in what
he labeled his "nut file."*^

The press was not much more restrained than the public.
Newspapers all over the country denounced him. "The culpable
conduct of Judge Kennedy is what creates distrust of some of
the judiciary. It is fortunate that there are so few jurists that
fall in his class. "*^ A paper in Missouri speculated that Judge
Kennedy had been bought. Another paper brought out his early
relationship with Judge Lacey and charged favoritism.**

One effect of Teapot Dome was that it kept Judge Ken-
nedy on the District bench of Wyoming. There was great
resentment against Judge Kennedy in the Senate. Senator
Walsh who had the power in the subcommittee on the judiciary
wrote to Warren stating that "as long as I have the power, T.

Blake Kennedy will never be elevated to the Court of Appeals."
He never was allowed to advance to the Court of Appeals when
vacancies appeared or when the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
was formed, jobs which would have otherwise gone to a judge
with the background and experience of T. Blake Kennedy. In
1931 Kennedy was prominently mentioned as a possible can-
didate to fill Warren's place as one of Wyoming's senators.
From Judge Kennedy's memoirs, the impression is gained
that, although he enjoyed his work as the sole federal judge
for Wyoming, there remained some regret and self-criticism
that he had never risen to the appellate bench.

As he reached his 80th birthday in 1953 he wrote:

Often there has occurred to me in my train of thought
the query, "Have I missed the boat?" Throughout it runs
the theory that I have not made as much out of my life as
possible. . . . Would it have been possible to achieve a posi-
tion ... as judge akin to the esteemed Walter L. Sanborn
or Charles Evans Hughes? ... I seem to find a sort of answer
to these queries in the rather satisfying thought that perhaps
I reached a station as high as my inherent limitation would
permit me to go.'^

Earlier in 1931 he analyzed his position in a letter he wrote
to Judge Lacey:

As to the opportunity for my advancement in the way
of elevation to the Court of Appeals, it would not be too con-
servative to say that my chances are not good. . . . We
sometimes become the unwitting victim of circumstances,
and in my case having been unfortunate enough in refusing
to shirk responsibility, to be called to sit in cases where public
opinion became intense and where litigation became a
political football, the recollections of which stUl live, make
it impossible to expect that a judge would, under the cir-
cumstances, be given credit for sincere motive and honest
judgment.*^

So, Judge Kennedy continued in Wyoming and like all
Wyoming judges he traveled extensively to hold court in other
districts. He sat on the Eighth Circuit (later the Tenth Cir-
cuit) on 14 occasions and 83 times on assignment to other
district courts. Many of these trips combined two of the judge's
passions — travel and baseball.

Judge Kennedy was called a "walking baseball encyclo-
pedia" and was once mentioned as a successor to Commissioner
of Baseball, Kenesaw Landis. One year he was honored by the
New York Yankees and spent a game in the dugout with Babe
Ruth. He actively promoted baseball in Cheyenne from the
day he arrived in 1901 and the Cheyenne radio men who
"rebroadcast" games called the judge their behind-the-scenes
"color" man. Practically every year during the time the World
Series was played. Judge Kennedy was in New York City
holding court. In 1947, he wrote in his memoirs, he saw 21
games in 2 1 days by going to night games and double and triple-
headers on weekends.

In 1951, in appreciation of the judge's 30 years of service
on the bench, the Wyoming State Bar presented a large oil por-
trait of Judge Kennedy to be hung in the Federal Courthouse
in Cheyenne.

In 1955 he retired after having helped to select his own
replacement. His last case before retirement was a complex oil
industry trademark dispute. Judge Kennedy was 81 years old
when he stepped down. "I was born in 1874, the same year
as former President Herbert Hoover and Prime Minister
Winston Churchill. I'm a few months older than both and I

see they're both retired, so I should, too. I'm going to get out
before these young lawyers start saying, 'the old man isn't as
sharp as he used to be.'

When Judge Kennedy retired, he was the senior acting
judge in the federal courts, as his predecessor, Judge Riner,
had been. Judge Kennedy continued to serve as long as his
health was good. After a prolonged illness, he died in a
Cheyenne hospital in May, 1957, at the age of 83.*'

Ewing T. Kerr

On November 7, 1955, Ewing T. Kerr, appointed by
President Eisenhower, was sworn in as Wyoming's third federal
judge since statehood.

Ewing T. Kerr was born in Bowie, Texas, in 1900, the
youngest of four children. His parents had come to Texas as
children, his father's family from Pennsylvania, and his
mother's family from Tennessee. Kerr's father was a rancher
and in the cattle-raising business with his brother. When Kerr
was a year old, his father moved the family and the ranch
business across the river to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
Kerr's father was appointed local postmaster for the duration
of President Theodore Roosevelt's term. Kerr remarked, "It
was said that the reason he got the job was that he was the on-
ly Republican in the county.*^

Kerr's childhood was a rural one. He admits to indulging
in the time honored Southern tradition of watermelon snitching
in his youth. He was fond of animals and brought home many
stray dogs and cats and, on one occasion, a possum. Kerr
attended public schools in Loco, Oklahoma, and graduated
from Loco High as vsdedictorian in 1918.

In 1920 Kerr's father was appointed Superintendent of the
Piatt National Park in Sulphur, Oklahoma, by the Secretary
of the Interior. The park is the site of hot sulphur springs which
were often used for their curative effects on the body. Kerr's
father held the position as superintendent until his death.

Kerr decided on teaching as a career with a college pro-
fessorship as his ultimate goal. He attended Central State Col-
lege in Oklahoma for three years and then transferred to the
University of Oklahoma where he received an A. B. in 1923.
That same year he returned to Central State College and com-
pleted the work required to be awarded a B. S. degree. While
in college he was a member of the debating team and lettered
in baseball and wrestling.

After graduation Kerr was employed as principal of the
junior high school at Hominy, Oklahoma, from 1923 to 1925.
It was during that time that he changed directions and began
the study of law. He boarded at the home of Kenneth Lott who
had come to Oklahoma only a few years after graduating in
law from the University of Kansas, where he had been a part-
time instructor. Lott had retained the legal textbooks which
he had used. Kerr became interested in reading the books and
Lott told him he showed a particular aptitude for legal studies.
Lott began to tutor Kerr and over the next two years Kerr read
all of Lott's textbooks and pursued a course of study Lott set
out. Lott administered legal exams and also had Kerr assist
him in his law office work writing briefs and preparing
pleadings. Kerr said he read every text from contracts to torts.

Kerr's sister who was teaching school in Cheyenne, Wyo-
ming, suggested he join her there. He moved to Cheyenne in
1925, one year after the streets of the frontier town were paved.
Kerr was employed as principal of Corlett Grade School, named

Judge Ewing T. Kerr

in honor of W. W. Corlett, pre-territorial lawyer. During this
time he pursued a masters degree in poHtical science and history
at the University of Colorado whUe continuing his legal studies.
At the time, one could qualify to take the bar exam after two
years of supervised study and one year of unsupervised study.
Kerr was admitted to practice law in Wyoming on January 25,
1927.

From the time he arrived in Cheyenne he took part in com-
munity affairs. He was active in the Chamber of Commerce,
Red Cross, Salvation Army, fraternal groups, his church, and
Republican politics. He helped finance and construct the first
concrete tennis court in Cheyenne, a sport he particularly liked.

Kerr particularly enjoyed politics. He became active in the
Republican party almost as soon as he arrived in Wyoming.
He enjoyed campaigning, writing and giving speeches on behalf
of various candidates. The first campaign he took part in was
in 1926 and throughout the following years he traveled
throughout the state on behalf of the Republican party.

Judge Kerr points to one of his early speaking engagements
as the beginning that led him to the federal bench. In 1928,
Kerr was asked to introduce several county and state candidates
in Pine Bluffs, a small ranching community east of Cheyenne.
Sen. F. E. Warren was in attendance and was to be introduced
to the crowd by a "big shot" politician who failed to appear.
The sponsors asked Kerr to take over the introduction of War-
ren. Warren was by this time a legend in Wyoming and Kerr
was nervous at the unexpected honor of introducing the senator.

Shortly after this incident, a vacancy came up in the U.S.
Attorney's office for an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Warren called
A. D. Walton, the U.S. Attorney, to discuss the appointment
and suggested that he consider that "young fellow who intro-
duced me out in Pine Bluffs." Walton wasn't sure who had

introduced the senator and checked with Kerr to see if he had
been the one. Upon confirming that fact, Kerr was asked to
become the Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Kerr held the position untO 1933 when the Democrats came
into office. During the latter part of his time as Assistant U.S.
Attorney, he handled the infamous "Casper conspiracy" case.
This was another in the series of city- wide violations of the pro-
hibition act in the state. The mayor, chief of police, sheriff,
and 34 other Casper citizens were indicted and tried on con-
spiracy charges. The officials were charged with conspiring to
give a monopoly to two large illegal distilleries, for which they
were paid over $360,000. The officials had even gone to the
extent of setting up a bootleggers' warning system. They equip-
ped the courthouse roof with two lights: a red light was used
when the "feds" were in Casper and a green light was flashed
when deliveries could be made.

A case of this nature had its unsavory moments. One of
the government's witnesses was released from jail at four a.m.
in an effort to keep him from testifying. Several hours later he
was found dead with his liver lying beside his body. The govern-
ment's star witness, the bookkeeper, was also slated for execu-
tion. An "underworld character from Chicago" was sent to
Cheyenne to accomplish the job. He was discovered and left
town without completing his contract.

In his remarks to the jury, Kerr asserted, "that something
more than the prohibition law is involved. The issue of men
in public office who betrayed every trust the citizens of Casper
imposed in them is involved in this case." The jury was seques-
tered for a week, the first ballot was 11-1 for conviction but
by the end of the week the jury had reversed itself and acquit-
ted the accused. The officials were nevertheless disgraced and
never again held public office in Wyoming.

In 1933, Kerr was married to Irene Peterson, a licensed
pharmacist who had owned and operated a drugstore in
Glendo. For the next five years, Kerr engaged in the private
practice of law as a sole practitioner. He had a general prac-
tice and handled a variety of cases. Kerr also kept up his
Republican activities during the "long, lean years of the
1930s."

In 1938 the Republican Party returned to power in Wyo-
ming. Nels H. Smith was elected governor and he appointed
Kerr his attorney general. At that time, Kerr was the youngest
man ever appointed to that office. Kerr wrote most of Smith's
speeches and it was widely reported that the governor didn't
make a move without consulting his attorney general. A Wyo-
ming newspaper reported, "Kerr is recognized as an able
lawyer and a keen student of the law. His work 'behind the
scenes' for the administration has been outstanding . . . and
he admittedly is the 'key man' of the new regime."

Upon accepting the appointment as attorney general, Kerr
was immediately thrown into one of the most complex cases
handled by that office, the North Platte River suit. The case
involved a dispute over water rights between the states of Col-
orado, Wyoming and Nebraska. Eventually, the Federal
Government asserted its own claim. The case had begun in
1935 and, by the time Kerr became involved in 1938, only
Nebraska had presented its evidence.

Kerr reduced Wyoming's special counsel from two to one
and appointed W. J. Wehrli, a prominent Casper lawyer, as
special counsel. Kerr gave what time he could afford to this

litigation, but delegated most of the responsibility to Wehrli.
A final decision was rendered by the Supreme Court of the
United States in 1944, changing the ownership of one small
ditch in Wyoming. In Kerr's words, the decision had very lit-
tle effect. "We were right back where we started from."

In August, 1939, Attorney General Kerr fulfilled Gover-
nor Smith's pledge by declaring that a gasoline trust existed
in the state. He sent a telegram to Roosevelt's "trustbuster,"
Thurman W. Arnold, asking his help in breaking the trust.
Kerr noted that gas stations in every town in Wyoming charged
exactly the same price. Gas refined in Wyoming was selling
for a higher price in the state than in the neighboring states.
Kerr said, "Gasoline companies have been guilty of unfair
discrimination in prices charged the motoring public" and "the
major oil companies have not only set the price but have con-
tacted independent dealers with a view to getting them to raise
their prices on all occasions when the major companies advance
their retail prices." Arnold sent the FBI to investigate these
charges and Kerr summoned representatives of four major oil
companies to appear and answer accusations of price fixing and
violation of Wyoming's unfair competition laws. The company
representatives denied these charges and warned Kerr that
enforcement of these acts would force "the companies to the
wall." In the end, gasoline prices were reduced an average of
three cents a gallon between 1939-1941. With the arrival of
World War II, the argument over the price of gas became moot
when rationing went into effect.*'

As early as 1940 and 1942 there was talk of a Kerr can-
didacy for the United State Senate. His work as attorney
general had brought approval from even a Democratic paper
whose editor wrote: "In the Smith administration, (Kerr) is
the only one who seems disposed to get out and get things done.
. . . Kerr is one of the hardest working Attorney Generals (sic)
Wyoming has ever had." Judge Kerr said that although he
thoroughly enjoyed his political work, he never had a desire
to serve as an elected leader.

Kerr continued to serve as Wyoming's Attorney General
until 1943 when he entered the United States Army. He was
assigned to a position in the Allied military government and
arrived in North Africa some three months later. He established
and supervised the civilian courts for southern Italy and ser-
ved as President of the Allied General Court. In addition, he
was the reviewing officer of superior court cases tried in
liberated Italy. In 1945 he was promoted to the rank of major
and assigned to Austria to re-establish the courts in Innsbruck,
Salzburg, and Linz. Kerr has remarked that the judicial systems
in both Italy and Austria excelled the American system, in that
they "expedite justice and yet reach just conclusions."

Kerr returned to Wyoming in 1946 and to the private prac-
tice of law. The same year he was selected to serve as the Chair-
man of the Republican State Committee, a position he held
until 1954, which is still the record length of service for that
position. He continued running campaigns, making speeches,
and bringing national figures to Wyoming, including Sen.
Robert Taft, Sen. Everett Dirksen, Admiral Byrd, Governor
and later Chief Justice Warren, Admiral Nimitz and Presiden-
tial candidates Dewey and Eisenhower.

In 1954 the party urged Kerr to run for the Senate. Kerr
did not really want elective office and felt that U.S. Rep.
William Henry Harrison would be the better vote-getter in a

race against the incumbent Democrat. Rep. Harrison assured
Kerr on several occasions that he would not run for the Senate.
Kerr was convinced that it was the desire of the Republican
party that he should announce his candidacy for the Senate seat,
which he did. Rep. Harrison later changed his mind, entered
the race and defeated Kerr in the primary only to be defeated
in the general election by Sen. Joseph C. O'Mahoney.

In 1955 Judge T. Blake Kennedy said he wanted to retire.
With the encouragement of Judge Kennedy and the sponsor-
ship of Sen. Frank A. Barrett, Ewing T. Kerr became Wyo-
ming's third federal judge.

The Wyoming Supreme Court, composed of William A.
Riner (nephew of the first federal judge in Wyoming, Judge
J. A. Riner), Fred Blume and Harry Harnsburger signed a
letter to Sen. Barrett commending Kerr as a "good and
qualified lawyer, with unquestioned integrity. . . . His appoint-
ment to this important position would be very gratifying to each
of us." Many other letters were sent to Sen. Barrett mention-
ing Kerr's experience and the self-sacrifice he had displayed
in his many years of service to the Republican party. One writer
noted that he had "carried the torch of Republicanism through
the years when such action, if not subversive, was a rank heresy
in the opinion of so many."^° A

Kerr was sworn in as the third Federal District Judge for ^
the District of Wyoming on November 7, 1955, before an
audience of 500 lawyers, state and federal officials, family and
friends. Judge Kennedy presided over the ceremonies with the
assistance of United States Circuit Judge John C. Pickett. Once
again J. A. Riner's Bible was used in the administration of the g
oath of office. J

Judge Kerr's first official act was to announce that Judge
Kennedy would continue to serve the federal judiciary, which
he did for two years. Judge Kerr was the beneficiary of Judge
Kennedy's experienced advice. One piece of advice the senior
judge gave him was to remain active in community affairs as
it would make him a better judge. Judge Kerr followed Judge
Kennedy's advice rather than modeling himself on the conduct
of Wyoming's first federal judge. He said he has never regret-
ted that decision.

Having sat on the bench for 25 years. Judge Kerr has tried
a variety of cases. The number and types of cases have changed
with the climate of the country and Wyoming in particular.
When Judge Kerr began his tenure as a federal district judge,
Wyoming was in an economic depression and the country had
yet to experience the explosion of litigation that began in the
late 1960s. Presently, Wyoming is riding an economic boom
as a result of the energy crisis and the state's vast reserves of
coal and other minerals. Wyoming shares in the increased
amount of litigation found in the nation as a whole, as well
as litigation directly attributable to the energy growth in the
state. The cases handled by the court in the 1950s were tradi-
tional legal disputes that had been handled by courts in the past.
In the 1960s was the advent of civil rights cases and increased
review of administrative agencies. Civil rights cases, admin-
istrative law questions, mineral and environmental cases, com-
prise the bulk of the cases for the 1970s and the beginning of
the 1980s.

One case handled by Judge Kerr in the 1950s concerned
a trial of a swindler, Silas M. Newton, who claimed to have
invented a "doodlebug" that could find oil. The gadget turned

out to be a $2 war surplus electronic device. Mr. Newton had
once lectured a University of Denver class on his "discovery"
of a wrecked space ship complete with the bodies of "little old
men," and had tried to pass off a piece of an aluminium pot
as part of the spaceship.

The Cold War made appearance in Judge Kerr's court
when the judge administered the oath of citizenship to a Polish
Air Force pilot who had flown his plane to safety in the mid-50s.
The judge also heard many eminent domain cases in the early
1960s as the government acquired land around Cheyenne,
Wyoming, for installation of part of the nation's Minuteman
missile system.

After the Chessman decision on the rights of prisoners, a
surge of cases began in the 1960s. Also in the 1960s, Wyoming
courts experienced a 60 percent increase in civil case filings. The
Baker v. Can decision of 1962 requirements and the dictates of
the Wyoming Constitution required reapportionment every ten
years and in 1963 Judge Kerr sat on the three-judge court which
drew up the plan for Wyoming.^'

Like his predecessors, Judge Kerr has continued the
Wyoming practice of assisting other districts in handling their
case loads. In 1962 the judge heard the securities violation case
in Denver of the fallen financial wizard Allen Lefferdink. Dur-
ing the lengthy trial, Judge Kerr, as was his practice, ordered
the court to put in an extra half-hour each day in an effort to
move the case along. Throughout his years on the bench he
has continued to travel, holding court in all the states of the
Tenth Circuit and in places as distant as Louisiana, Califor-
nia, New York and Puerto Rico. In 1961 he addressed the
Federal Judge Seminar held for the benefit of newly appointed
federal judges, giving a series of talks on typical situations the
new judges would face.

In 1967 Judge Kerr handled one of the longest and more
complicated cases of his tenure. The lawsuit involved a cor-
porate merger of Utah Construction and Mining Corporation
and Lucky Mc Uranium. The controversy centered around the
world's largest open pit uranium mine complex and a stock
transaction of over $14 million.

Aspects of Wyoming's frontier past persist. The federal
court continues to have jurisdiction over the Indians in the
Wind River Reservation in Wyoming and Yellowstone
National Park. In 1968 Judge Kerr awarded a woman $35,000
for the death of her husband in Yellowstone National Park.
The man was killed when a 300-year-old tree fell on him as
he was setting up his tent in the park. Another suit in the 1970s
concerned a young boy who had fallen into an area of thermal
activity in the Park when he strayed from the walkway. Indian
law cases have remained basically the same since statehood.
They frequently involve assaults resulting from drinking or
unlawful businesses or transactions by outsiders on the reser-
vation. Land disputes between Indians and their White
neighbors have also provided litigation over the years.

Probably the most widely publicized case of his tenure was
the "Black Fourteen" case in 1970. Fourteen black football
players on the University of Wyoming team sought to protest
the Mormon Church's policy of denying the priesthood to
blacks. When they followed the practice of black players on
other teams by announcing that they would wear black arm-
bands in the game against Brigham Young University, they
were dismissed from the team. The university administration

and trustees sustained the coach's action.

The players filed suit seeking $1.1 million in damages.
Judge Kerr dismissed the suit and the Tenth Circuit affirmed
his ruling. ^^

In general, the 1970s and the present decade are char-
acterized by the increased amount of environmental litigation
that comes before the federal court. Wyoming is a largely
untouched area of wide open space, much of it owned by the
federal government as national parks, recreation areas, national
forests, wilderness areas, animal refuge areas and Bureau of
Land Management land. The state also sustains significant
agricultural and stock raising enterprises. Inevitably, conflicts
between the federal government, environmental groups, ranch-
ers and energy companies have arisen and ended up in the
federal court.

In 1971 Judge Kerr heard the famous eagle slaying case.
Prosecution witnesses related that helicopter pilots would take
"sportsmen" up to shoot at eagles in flight above the range.
Over 700 eagles were killed as a result of this activity. Eight
hunters and one pilot were assessed fines by the courts.

The passage of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) resulted in suits over the necessity of filing environmen-
tal impact statements. The use of predator and weed control
chemicals also brought litigation to the Wyoming federal court.
Government changes in the status of federal land and the use
of the power of eminent domain to acquire more government
land remain a continuing source of conflict in Wyoming.

Questions over the interpretation of mineral contracts and
deeds appear with frequency in the Wyoming federal court.
In two recent decisions Judge Kerr has ruled on questions of
mineral law. Both cases necessitated a look at early Wyoming
history and consideration of what qualifies as a mineral under
certain federal acts. One of the cases involved the question of
whether a pre-statehood mineral reservation of "all coal and
other minerals" included oU and gas. Interestingly, the mineral
reservation was connected with the Union Pacific Railroad land
grants and the subsequent land sales by the railroad that began
the state of Wyoming. Early newspapers and scientific jour-
nsils were cited for the proposition that even in the 1800s, oil
and gas were considered minerals. The second decision ruled
on whether gravel was considered a mineral under the Taylor
Grazing Act, another act that was crucial to the development
of the state.

The growth of prisoner rights cases continued in the 1970s.
In 1977 Judge Kerr was called upon to rule on the right of
prisoners to practice satanism. The prisoners had been denied
certain articles including a baphomet, bells, candles, pointing
sticks, incense and black robes. After the judge dismissed the
case as frivolous, the Tenth Circuit remanded it to the district
court to determine whether satanism was a religion protected
under the First Amendment. In the meantime, the prisoner
converted to Christianity.

The inflation and growth of government in the 1970s and
1980s have brought a new litigant before the federal courts —
the tax protesters. For the most part these are citizens who have
been convinced by one of several groups or by reading on the
subject that they should not have to pay federal income tax.
Usually they appear without counsel and offer emotional and
imaginative arguments based on the Declaration of Independ-
ence and the Constitution. In 1975 while Judge Kerr was hear-

ing the case of one man, he and the jury were warned that,
"you had better beHeve that God is sitting in judgment on every
person in this courtroom and his judgment can be swift." The
man had filed a complaint alleging $550 million in damages
and had named the President of the United States, the United
States Supreme Court, the Wyoming Supreme Court, all
federal judges, the Governor of Wyoming, the American Bar
Association and the Wyoming State Bar as defendants. He
charged that the defendants had conspired to enact the income
tax laws and that the bar associations were "altruistic societies,
socialists, collectivists and communists." The suit was dismissed
as harassment by Judge Kerr.

In January, 1975, Judge Kerr took senior status in an effort
to get a second federal judge for Wyoming and to be relieved
of certain of the administrative duties federal judges must han-
dle. At that time, Wyoming was the only federal judicial district
with only one judge.

In taking senior status. Judge Kerr has not retired. He con-
tinues to put in a full day, handling approximately 50 percent
of all cases on the Wyoming federal docket, and maintaining
a current docket. He also continues his work in other districts.

The judge maintains his many outside interests, including
participation in several community and fraternal groups where,
upon occasion, he delivers speeches. Other interests include
reading history, keeping abreast of current affairs, college foot-
ball (especially Oklahoma and the University of Wyoming),
professional baseball (in particular the Chicago Cubs), walk-
ing and gardening. Judge Kerr's continued good health and
active mind can in part be attributed to the fact that he and
his wife have for the last ten years been responsible for rearing
their two young granddaughters. A visit to the Kerr household
necessitates watching out for assorted bikes, skateboards, roller-
skates, tennis racquets, and other youthful equipment.

Judge Kerr enjoys continued mental and physical health
and has no immediate plans for full retirement. His enjoyment
of hard work and his love of the law indicate that he may yet
reach the length of service put in by his two predecessors.

Clarence A. Brimmer, Jr.

On September 26, 1975, eight months after Judge Kerr
took senior status, Clarence A. Brimmer, Jr., was sworn in,
using John Riner's Bible, as Wyoming's fourth federal judge. ^^

His father, C. A. Brimmer, was born in Pittsfield,
Massachusetts, on January 15, 1890. The family had lived in
Massachusetts and upper New York state since the 17th cen-
tury. C. A. Brimmer was a direct descendant of the first presi-
dent of Harvard College. Upon graduation from the Univer-
sity of Michigan in 1913, he joined his brother, George E.
Brimmer, in the practice of law in Rawlins where they formed
the law firm of Brimmer and Brimmer. He married Geraldine
E. Zingsheim in 1920. Her grandmother and grandfather had
come to Rawlins from the town of Graack in the Moselle River
Valley of Germany in 1872, four years after the Union Pacific
Railroad had established Rawlins as one of its division points.
Her grandfather died of tick fever shortly after arrival and her
grandmother eventually remarried and lived on a small pioneer
homestead several miles south of Rawlins. Geraldine's father
was employed by the Union Pacific Railroad in its freight office.
A local history buff, he was acquainted with Butch Cassidy,
who is said to have loafed on the freight platform in the early
days.

C. A. Brimmer practiced law in Rawlins in partnership
with his son, C. A. Brimmer, Jr., until his death in 1963.
Geraldine Brimmer died in 1955. C. A. Brimmer, Jr., was the
oldest of the three children. Dorothy Brimmer Swanson, his
sister, still lives in the family home in Rawlins. William George
Brimmer, his brother, is on the faculty of Casper College in
Casper, Wyoming.

Brimmer was born in Rawlins in 1922 and educated in
the Rawlins public schools. He graduated from Rawlins high
school in 1940 after having been a member of the high school
debate team that won the Wyoming State Debate Tournament
for three consecutive years. During his college years at the
University of Michigan, he was a night editor, city editor, and
editorial director of the Michigan Daily. Brimmer was also a
member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon and Phi Delta Phi frater-
nities. He received his B. A. in 1944 and J. D. in 1947, both
from the University of Michigan.

Brimmer was a member of the United States Army Air
Corps during 1945 and 1946. He was trained as a cryptographer
but spent the majority of his time as a sergeant-major at the
headquarters unit of the Army Corps at Fort Totten, New
York. Upon discharge from the Air Force, Brimmer returned
to Michigan Law School.

After graduation Brimmer returned to Rawlins to prac-
tice in his father's law firm. He was admitted to the Wyoming
State Bar in 1948. From 1948 to 1954 he served as municipal
judge of Rawlins and from 1963 to 1971 he was a United States
Magistrate. Brimmer became Attorney General of the State
of Wyoming in 1971 and he continued in that position until
1974 when he was appointed United States Attorney. He held
the position of United States Attorney until his appointment
to the federal bench.

The law practice in Rawlins consisted mainly of ranch and
water law, insurance defense trial work, mineral resource law
and probate work. During his years in private practice. Brim-
mer developed a special interest in mineral law. He served as
a member of the National Advisory Board, Bureau of Land
Management, from 1969 to 1971 and as a trustee of the Rocky
Mountain Mineral Law Foundation for several years. On the
state and local level. Brimmer served on the Governor's Com-
mission on Wyoming Water from 1963 to 1965 and was
secretary of the Rawlins Board of Public Utilities from 1954
to 1966. He has also authored several articles on mineral law.

In addition to his law practice. Brimmer was active in com-
munity affairs serving as President of the Lions Club, Exalted
Ruler of Elks, Master of the Rawlins Lodge No. 5, A. F. &
A. M., and Potentate of the Korein Temple.

As a federal judge Brimmer has served as president of the
District Judges Association for the Tenth Circuit and is pre-
sently on the executive committee of the National Conference
of Federal Trial Judges.

Like all his predecessors. Judge Brimmer is an active
Republican. After serving as Republican Party County Chair-
man, State Committeeman, and delegate to the Republican
National Convention, he served as State Party Chairman from
1967 to 1971. In 1971 Brimmer succeeded James E. Barrett,
presently a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Tenth Circuit, as Attorney General. He served in this posi-
tion until 1974 when he was a Republican candidate for Gover-
nor of Wyoming. After his defeat in the gubernatorial race,
he was appointed United States Attorney for Wyoming by

President Ford in January, 1975. He served only a few months
before being appointed to the federal bench.

Judge Brimmer is married to the former Emily O. Docken.
They have four children, Geraldine Ann, Philip Andrew,
Andrew Howard and Elizabeth Ann.

It is too soon to offer any historical assessment of Judge
Brimmer's imprint on the federal bench of Wyoming. It can
be fairly stated, however, that he sits on the bench during the
most crucial period for Wyoming since statehood. The rapid
population growth and the economic impact of the state's
exploding energy development offer more than enough
challenge to a federal judge.

1 . Biographical information on Riner is from the John A. Riner file,
Wyoming State Archives, Museums and Historical Department
collections and from a similar file in the American Heritage Center
collections. University of Wyoming.

2. Louise S. Smith, Official Report of the Proceedings and Debate
of the First Constitutional Convention of the State of Wyoming,
(Cheyenne: privately printed, 1889).

3. Riner letterbook, American Heritage Center collections. Univer-
sity of Wyoming. By 1908 Riner's yeariy salary had increased
to $6,000, paid monthly.

4. Harriet Knight Orr, "Pioneer Culture: When Wyoming Was
Young," Annals of Wyoming, January, 1954, p. 36.

5. Wyoming State Tribune, January 27, 1952.

6. T. Blake Kennedy, unpublished memoirs, American Heritage
Center collections. University of Wyoming.

7. "Memorial Address," Newspaper Clippings File, University of
Wyoming Library. Riner was married and the father of four
children.

8. Riner letterbook, American Heritage Center, University of
Wyoming.

9. Interview with J. A. Riner, September, 1980.

10. 70 F. 598 (1895).

11. Midwest Oil Co. v. U.S., 206 F. 141, 143 (1913).

12. Kennedy memoirs.

13. "Memorial Service," Wyoming Consistory No. 1, Masonic
Order, April 13, 1923. Wyoming State Archives, Museums and
Historical Department collections.

14. Biographical information on Kennedy is from the Kennedy file,
Wyoming State Archives, Museums and Historical Department
collections and from a similar file in the American Heritage Center
collections. University of Wyoming.

15. Kennedy scrapbooks, Wyoming State Archives, Museums and
Historical Department collections.

16. Kennedy memoirs.

17. Ibid.

18. Kennedy scrapbooks.

19. Ibid

20. "Trial Transcripts — State v. Tom Horn," Wyoming State
Archives, Museums and Historical Department collections.

21. Kennedy memoirs.

22. Denver Post, January 9, 1955.

23. Kennedy memoirs.

24. One of the best eyewitness accounts of the hanging is by John

Charles Thompson, Wyoming State Tribune, July 22-25, 1958, p.
4D.

25. T. A. Larson, History of Wyoming. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press, 1965), pp. 320-321.

26. Wyoming State Tribune and State Leader, October 26, 1921.

27. Kennedy memoirs.

28. Ibid

29. The decision in the case was unreported.

30. Examples include cases like: U.S. v. Blich, 45 F. 2d 627 (1931);
U.S. V. 76 Five-Gallon Kegs, 43 F.2d 207 (1930).

31. The decision in the case was unreported in the law reporters.

32. Thermopolis Independent-Record, May 30, 1930, p. 1.

33. Green River Star, May 23, 1930, p. 1; July 4, 1930, p. 1. See also
Mercante v. U.S., 49 F.2d 156 (1931).

34. In re Salem Co-Operative Window Glass Co., 40 F.2d 298 (1930); and
Teeters v. Henton, 43 F.2d 175 (1930), are typical of the types of
cases he heard. The latter involved an Indian lands question, stUl
common on Wyoming district court dockets.

35. Kennedy memoirs.

36. Ibid

37. Numerous articles give in-depth examination to the legal ques-
tions in the Teapot Dome case. A recent article is: Paul H. Gid-
dens, "The Naval Oil Reserve, Teapot Dome and the Continental
Truding Company," Annals of Wyoming, Spring, 1981, pp. 14-27.

38. Buri Noggle, Teapot Dome: Oil and Politics in the 79.205. (Baton
Rouge: Lousiana State University Press, 1926), p. 36.

39. Giddens, p. 24.

40. U.S. V. Mammoth Oil Co., 5 F.2d 330, 350 (1925).

41. Ibid

42. Kennedy collection, American Heritage Center, University of
Wyoming.

43. Kennedy scrapbooks.

44. Denver Post, September 29, 1926.

45. Kennedy memoirs.

46. Kennedy letters, American Heritage Center, University of
Wyoming.

47. Obituary, Wyoming State Tribune, May 21, 1957, p. 1.

48. Much of the information in this section comes from a series of
interviews and discussions with Judge Kerr from August, 1978
to March, 1980.

49. Larson, p. 436.

50. Barrett Papers, American Heritage Center, University of
Wyoming.

51. At this writing the 1980 reapportionment was under challenge
by the League of Women Voters as to representation for Niobrara
County. Judge Kerr is one of the three federal judges assigned
to hear the case.

52. Among the numerous newspaper accounts of the incident and
lawsuit are: "Coach Eaton Fires 14 From Grid Team, " Wyo-
ming State Tribune, Oct. 18, 1969, p. 1; "Court of Appeals to Hear
Case," Wyoming Eagle, Dec. 2, 1970, p. 4; "Three-Judge Panel
Weighs Appeal, " Wyoming State Tribune, Jan. 4, 1971, p. 1. A
recent retrospective on the case is: "A Decade Ago: Dissension,
Drama and Decision in Wyoming," by Steve Luhm, Laramie
Boomerang, Oct. 20, 1979.

53 . The information in this section is from various printed biographies
of Judge Brimmer as well as from personal interview.

University of Wyoming Library, a room in Old Main, circa 1915.

^ib/ta/iLGs and Special Co^^ectiong

^y Smmett '^. Cteum

The University of Wyoming was founded in 1886 by
a bUl passed by the Ninth Legislative Assembly of the Ter-
ritory of Wyoming on June 9, 1886.

The bill authorized the construction of a university
building "to be erected near the city of Laramie at a cost
not exceeding the sum of $50,000."'

The bill further provided for the appointment of a
board of trustees and prescribed their duties. Included was
a provision providing for equal education for both men
and women.

According to the Laramie Boomerang, on September 1 ,
1889, Inaugural Day was conducted for the university.
The assembly room of the new building was crowded for
the occasion. Dr. J. H. Finfrock, President of the Univer-
sity Board of Trustees, presided over the gathering.
Among the distinguished guests were the presidents of Col-
orado State University and the University of Colorado
and the chancellor of the University of Denver. President
Hale of the University of Colorado proudly noted that
his son Fred A. Hale of Denver was the architect of the
university on the Laramie Plains.

Finfrock turned the management of the university
over to its future head, President J. W. Hoyt, who
delivered the inaugural address.^

On September 6, 1887, the university was opened to
enroll students. There were two main departments,
preparatory and collegiate. In addition to these main divi-
sions, instruction was offered in the following special
schools: Normal School, School of Mines, School of Com-
merce, and School of Agriculture. The first faculty con-
sisted of seven members.^

The first library of the university consisted of books
given by Charles Clay, a resident of Laramie. The Clay
Library had some 300 books. The list included dic-
tionaries, encyclopedias, and a set of Universal Histories
dated 1775 and said to be owned by Henry Clay and loan-
ed by him to President Jefferson. The university made
few acquisitions the first year as there was only $25 in
the library fund.*

Dr. Aven Nelson was appointed the first librarian in
1887 and he served untU 1889 when Justus F. Soule, pro-
fessor of Latin, became librarian. The Dewey Decimal
System came into use and most purchases were in the
sciences, as the university administration wanted to be
regarded as the "Leader In Science For the Western
States."^

By 1897 some 5,318 bound volumes had been added
to the library and the board of trustees of the university
in June of that year made an appropriation of $1,400 for
reference books for the library. After being catalogued,
they were placed by subject areas in the laboratories and
classrooms of the university. The books for general use
were shelved in the library.^

Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard, pioneer Wyoming
historian, became librarian in 1894. In the same year,
a number of government documents had been added to
the collection.'

By 1904, the university library had been moved to
the main floor of the building. By this time the book col-
lection had increased to 17,000 books. The rooms were
quite crowded in spite of the method of expanding depart-
mental libraries.

The following account gives some idea of the atmos-
phere of the library in 1904:

The Dewey Decimal System is used for the card
catalogue. In addition to this, an author's catalogue has just
been completed and a subject catalogue commenced. Each
book, and each shelf, is open to the students. Since the inau-
guration of the open shelf system, by which the student may
personally select books, a more extended use of the books
has been noticed. If a student has only a few moments to
'browse' in the Library, he is much more inclined to go to
the shelves and take a volume and enjoy himself than if he
were obliged to have others wait upon him. Books will,
however, mysteriously disappear and they as mysteriously
return. One book, 'How to Get Strong,' was gone three
years, when it suddenly appeared, no one knows when or
how, but the presumption is that it accomplished its pur-
pose without assistance.

One shelf in the Library is labelled, 'Books We Ought
to Read,' and each month a new set of books is selected and
placed there for ready and easy reference. The selection is
usually made in reference to topics of the day and subjects
of general immediate interest. At present Russia, Japan and
Korea are in evidence, while books on Colombia, the
Panama Canal and Foreign Affairs have been shelved.^
In 1911, the university board of trustees, due to a need
for more buildings, proposed the sale of bonds in order
to raise $300,000 for the construction of new buildings.
Included on the list of projected buildings was a combina-
tion administration building, library and auditorium. This
proposal for construction was turned down by the state
government.'

Even with the failure to obtain a new library in 1911,
Hebard, the librarian, was still planning on the submis-

sion of a new proposal to the board of trustees, as indicated
by the following letter to William Dubois, Cheyenne
architect:

Dr. Dunniway has advised me that next December at
least tentative plans will be presented to the board of trustees
relative to the proposed library which we have been promised
four years from now. He has advised me he would be glad
if I would assist in the plans and specifications stating to you
what I felt would be some of the salient points in the erec-
tion of the University library. Of course you understand that
a University library would be constructed on somewhat dif-
ferent plans than those of a state or county library. I would
be very glad to advise with you, and may we not confer before
you have gone as far as to work that you and the board have
a different set idea that would be hard to change, and yet
not meet the local conditions here at the University.

I believe that the first and foremost provision should
be for a large vault in the basement at least in which could
be stored many books, manuscripts and rare monographs,
which are always impossible. We also need a large basement
space in which we can put innumerable stacks for govern-
ment publications.

I do not enter into this with any sort of dictation, I am
sure that you will understand, but my 25 years of experience
with material which the University has and expects to have,
in some slight degree qualified me for the necessities in a
new library, although I am woefully ignorant as to how these
may be possibly brought about.
Respectfully,
Grace Raymond Hebard
Librarian'"
In 1917, the year of U. S. entry into World War I,
the library collections consisted of over 39,000 volumes.
The agriculture library, housed in Agricultural Hall, was
separate from the regular library. The library subscribed
to 200 scientific and general periodicals at this time."
Following World War I, there was an apparent need
for a library building on the campus. The enrollment of
the university had increased and the library was limited
in seating space for students. President Aven Nelson in
1921 made a special request for an appropriation for
$200,000 to be used in the construction of a library
building. The members of the legislature were reluctant
to grant funds for the construction of a building "just for
storing books." The bill became buried in a committee
and Nelson decided to enlist the aid of the students to lobby
for the bill in Cheyenne.'^

The legislative session of 1921 was marked by the
attempts of the Senate to limit the appropriations of the
state to the university. Representative Richard C. May,
Republican of Big Horn County, was chairman of the
House committee that visited the campus in January,
1921. Representative May reported to the House that
"deplorable conditions exist at the university." He said
that in the library where students study, they were forced
to stand up while studying and hold their hats and coats
in their hands.''

On February 1 1 , Nelson booked a special train to take
the student body to Cheyenne. The student body arrived
in Cheyenne about 10:30 a.m., disembarked and formed

a procession on Capitol Avenue with the university band
leading the group. Behind the band were the vocational
training students and all wounded veterans of the war.
The cadets were first in the line of march followed by the
student body.

Down Capitol Avenue the students marched until they
reached the Capitol Building. They entered the House
Chambers where the Senate and House had gathered. The
students then staged such a demonstration as had never
before been seen in Cheyenne.

The students gave out several college yells and the
famous "Ride em' Cowboys" echoed through the halls
of the assembly. The legislators managed to get in the spirit
of the occasion by constant applause, with brief pauses
to allow the students to speak.

Gov. Robert D. Carey gave a brief address in which
he expressed his desire to see the university prosper. Sen.
Stephen H. Sibley, Republican of Laramie County, and
Representative May both spoke in favor of the univer-
sity securing ample funds for buildings.

Milward Simpson, a student from Cody, expressed
his thanks to the legislature for providing a means for exist-
ence. He later became Governor of Wyoming and a U.S.
Senator. Miss Corrine Moiling of Pinedale provided the
humorous note of the day with the statement that
"women's dormitories were so crowded that often times
we powder someone else's nose instead of our own."'*

Mrs. Olga Moore, widow of the late C. F. Arnold,
a Dean of the Law School at the university, in her book,
I'll Meet You In The Lobby, gave quite a different version
of the affair than the Laramie Boomerang rendered. Accor-
ding to her version, the event was "an expression of
women power in Wyoming." The coeds marched down
the muddy streets of Capitol Avenue, and when they
arrived at the Capitol Building, Gov. Carey advised them
that he and all of the members of the legislature were
"unmarried." The coeds talked to the members of the
legislature and expressed the need for a library. Later they
were invited to the Plains Hotel for dinner with the
members of the legislature." The lawmakers approved
the appropriation for a new library.

In 1922, Nelson retired from the presidency of the
University of Wyoming and in his final report said he was
pleased with the construction of the new library which
would now give security to the collection of books, and
would cdso serve to provide some classroom facilities to
serve a student body of 600 students.'^

In 1923, the new library was opened with a book col-
lection of 50,000 volumes and with over 400 periodicals
being received. The new library also contained the Col-
lege of Law and the Law Library on the third floor. In
addition to the College of Law, the library provided
quarters for the Departments of History, English, Latin
and Greek."

The new library was dedicated the following year,
March 14, 1924, with Judge V.J. Tidball of Laramie giv-

Qinii/e/isity S2ib/ta/iy-1923 to 1958

The library reading room (top) in the "new" university library was outgrown by the 1930s. The building (below) is
now occupied by offices and the Botany Department. It is named for first librarian and former university president Dr.
Aven Nelson.

WYOMING UNI. TO BE
MOVED TO CHEYENNE

ENTIRE STUDENT BODY TO

THANK LEGISLATORS IN

PERSON AT CHEYENNE

FciIIowjik; out Uie wishes of some
of the nieinhpis of tlie sixleeiiili legis-
lature, llie Univeisity will be moved
to Cheyeime: bodily and collectively
— Init only for a day. Because after
nexl Fi-iday, Wyoinlilg University will
still l)e in Laramie, perched on the
top of the world, truly an institution
of higher learning. But on Friday,
the eleventh, the University goes to
Cheyenne lo cnteilain the legislature.

The trip Is the outgrowth of a nuni-
her of things, when tlie University
appropriations were first being dis-
cuR.sed, the pi-oposal Wfis made that
the eutiie Student Body go to Chey-
enne to lay before the Legislature the
needs of the institution and solicit
aid. However, it was felt by many
that this scheme was both imprac-
ticable and little came of it, except
that the special train reriuested was

anted. So th(

after

trip to

rheyenne lestod. Everybody laid low
and waited and finally the present
scheme brrike with amazing sudden-

LEGISLATURE "RAZZES"
UNIVERSITY TOWN

EVILS OF LARAMIE HEATEDLY

DISCUSSED IN LEGISLATIVE

RAG-CHEWING

Lej^ialaluiCK iue noted for tliuir hot
(Iphates nnd iU'Kinnents. and the one
now in session is ably following es-
ta 1)1 is lied precedents in this regard.
The time is flying by rapidly, scores
of bills arc up for consideration, and
tlip debating .progresses Tiercely and

■ilhoni inter
In the

sion.
idst of all thi:

of load appropriations, the making of
new counties, legislation in regard to
prohibition and in regard to boxing
laws, etc., all of which interests us
indirccily, the University come? in

for

stderatii

is ill

this 1

art

of t

le legis

lation that

our c

hiet ir

ter

est 1

es.

fact.

the

versify

has been

the .

ubject

■ no

little

heated a'-

guiue

nlatio

I a

1(1 e

xciienie

nt. It be

ranie

norto

iou

s in

legibla

ive cli-cles

when

■Re pie

sen

tativ

> M. C.

Itoberts of

Uploi

de.sc

rihc

d tl

c "wre

tched con-

ditioi

s" in

Lar

imie

and called it "one

of th

a wors

t t(

WllS

in the

Slate" and

an u

ifil pi

ice

foi

the

University.

Larai

lie's c

ans

c w:

« Chan

pioned by

Uepic

scutnl

Told of

this city.

who

lotly

nfi

idi'd

Laiam

e nnil an-

ing the principal address. Nelson, Hebard and Mrs.
Katherine Morton, State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, also spoke.

Dr. Arthur Crane, the new president of the univer-
sity, remarked in his speech that Hebard was one of the
foremost supporters of the university. It was "therefore
fitting that Dr. Hebard should speak on this occasion
because she was twice librarian of the school and was in
charge of the collection of books belonging to the univer-
sity for the time from 1891 to the present."

Hebard, in her address, announced that she had now
finished 33 years and two weeks of service to the univer-
sity. She related how the university library had grown from
a few stacks of government books in 1891 to the collec-
tion of 55,000 volumes. She told how the new library,
hoped for as early as 1900, was always put off in favor
of some other building, year after year, until the last year
of the presidency of Nelson, when the "gorgeous dream"
finally came to fulfillment.

Morton, in her speech, pointed out that of all the
things that a university should have is a fine library
because "the library is the source of knowledge which the
university seeks to impart." To Morton the library was
an altar " to good fellowship and a temple of wisdom."

After the formal speeches. Crane asked a number of
prominent people in the audience to stand, and among
these were the library staff and Wilbur Hitchcock, archi-
tect of the library, Sen. A. D. Kelley, a member of the
territorial legislature which passed the bill authorizing the
university as well as a member of the state legislature

authorizing the appropriation for the construction of the
library.

Crane told Gov. William R. Ross that he would not
have to speak at the occasion, but at the urging of the
crowd, he rose and expressed the opinion that the reading
room was "the most beautiful public room " in the state
of Wyoming.'^

The first library handbook was published in April,
1924. It gives the arrangement of the building. The main
floor of the library was divided into a Bibliography Room,
a Reading Room, and Periodical Room, with the remain-
der of the library section being used for stacks, Debate
Room, Hebard Room (used for Wyoming history), Bind-
ing Room and classrooms.'^

In an article in the Library Journal, Miss Reba Davis,
librarian, gave a description of the new library: "The
building of classical renaissance architecture is three stories
in height thus providing for the front of the large reading
room, two stories high which links the two end pavillions,
and for a six-tier stack section in the rear. The building
covers an area about 80 by 140 feet." She noted that the
reading room with its plastered walls, pleasing color
scheme, ornamental details and harmonious furnishings,
"offered inspiration" for work. 2°

There was interest by Crane to acquire materials on
Wyoming and the development of the West. The follow-
ing letter was written by Davis to Crane in regard to the
collection of Western Americana:
March 30, 1929
President Crane
Campus
My Dear President Crane:

I am pleased to offer you this report on our collection
of Western Americana.

Following the sale for $1 1 ,559.00 of the Bishop Thomas
Library by the Anderson Galleries in New York, I obtained
a copy of the sale catalog, and have it carefully checked with
our collection. The sale catalog contains items of various
kinds which I have thrown into the classifications which I
am noting below, with notes comparing the collection with
that of the University of Wyoming collection.
No. 1. - Books and pamphlets on Mormonism

Our library has few of these titles, but it is a very large
field except for material pertaining to the Mormon emigra-
tion. On that particular phase, I believe that our collection
equals the Thomas Collection.

No. 2. - Books and pamphlets on Western Indian Tribes and
language

We have comparatively few of these items.
No. 3 - Manuscripts relative to Wyoming or Western history
This consists of not more than twenty pieces of which
we have a duplicate of only one.
No. 4 - Western fiction

We have relatively few. Some of these items are inter-
esting because of backgrounds, but are not of value for
historical research.

No. 5 - Collections of pamphlets and books relative to Wyo-
ming or Western history

It is difficult to determine the value or the content of
these as they were listed and sold by lots of ten to a hun-
dred. My impression is that these lots did not contain items

of great value, else they would have been separately listed
and annotated as were most of the items.
No. 6 - Federal and Wyoming documents

We have almost all of these items and a great many
more. We have recendy completed the collecting, binding
and cataloging of the reports of the Wyoming territorial and
state officials, and our collection of that material, of which
we have almost a complete file, constitutes one of the most
valuable items in our library, in my estimation.
No. 7 - Books on Wyoming and Western history, listed by
authors and titles

The most valuable part of the Thomas collection fadls
in this classification and we have about two-thirds of the items
listed. Many of our books which duplicate those in the
Thomas collection have not the market value which his had,
because of the fact that he had many first editions, auto-
graphed copies, association copies, and beautiful bindings
which we have not, but for working copies, our copies serve
the purpose quite as well.
No. 8 - Miscellaneous

In this classification is much valuable and desirable
material, but it does not fall in the field of Wyoming history.
It concerns California, Oregon and Washington.

On the whole, I am very well satisfied with what our
checking reveals. I shall ascertain if possible to whom were
sold some of the most essential of the items which are lack-
ing in our collection and the price obtained with a view to
purchasing them if they are available and within our reach.
Yours respectfully,
Reba Davis, Librarian^'
At her death in 1936, Hebard willed her most
treasured souvenirs and other articles of her collection to
the university. On the third floor of the west wing of the
library there were two rooms — one room contained non-
documentary possessions. A plaque was placed on the door
of this room in recognition of her work in compiling and
preserving the history of Wyoming. A grand piano stood
in the center of this room — supposedly the first piano ever
brought into the state of Wyoming. It first belonged to
Judge William A. Carter of Fort Bridger and was given
by his relatives to Hebard. Near the piano was an old buf-
falo skull and scratched on its surface was the cryptic
message "Advise camping far from the trees on the river."
In the other room was the Hebard collection of materials
on Wyoming and the West.^^

The collection provided a small museum for students,
faculty and other visitors to the university. Probably this
was the beginning of placing collections in rooms and giv-
ing each room a donor name.

The problems of the university libraries during many
years of trying to serve the university community were best
pointed out by a report made to the University Board of
Trustees and Faculty by Miss Mary Marks, the librarian
in December, 1939. In her report she pointed out that
the library book budget had varied in the past years from
$11,000 to a low of $7,000. "The past several years the
book appropriations have been $8,000 plus $1,500 which
was a special appropriation for the law library. From the
general library, $500 were removed from this budget and
given to the law school to bring their special appropria-

tion of $1 ,500 up to the $2,000 required by the law school
for accreditation." Marks was also faced with periodical
subscriptions which came to $2,500. There was also a
binding fee of at least $2,000, so there was little money
left for book purchases to divide among 29 departments
of the university. ^^

Marks also complained of a lack of space in the library.
In 1941, enrollment had increased. The library was
crowded and understaffed with only six librarians and one
stenographer. Nine student workers averaged about 3 V2
hours a day on duty. More room was needed also for the
faculty and working space for the librarians. A new library
was needed, and there was discussion among trustees,
faculty and students about the need for a new building.

The coming of World War II put an end to the con-
struction of a new library building. The university com-
mitted its resources to the goal of winning the war.

With the conclusion of World War II and during the
administration of President George Duke Humphrey,
attention was once again focused on the planning for a
new library building. Dr. Richard Hillier of the English
Department was appointed chairman of the committee
that worked on plans for a new building for some two years
and finished with a plan in 1950.^*

Hillier and his committee produced a publication with
plans for the new building. The building outlined in the
report would cost some $1,432,000, be able to seat some
900 students and provide ample room for the growing col-
lections. The new building would have space for some
450,000 books in the various subject divisions of the
library. The board of trustees approved the plans for the
new building. ^^

In the legislative session of 1951, the university
requested $2,267,425.99 for capital outlays with
$1,400,000 for a new library buUding. But Governor
Frank Barrett, in his budget message to the legislature,
recommended only $201,435 for university building pur-
poses and no funds for a new library building. ^^

William Robertson Coe of New York gave the Univer-
sity of Wyoming library some 700 items which consisted
of both books and pamphlets. With this gift to the library,
Coe became the first member of the newly formed Wyo-
ming Library Associates, a group of citizens in the various
towns of Wyoming who were working to make the library
one of the outstanding research centers in the country. ^^

The Coe Collection of Western Americana was started
when Coe purchased a Wyoming ranch from Col. William
H. Cody (Buffalo Bill) in 1919 near Cody, Wyoming. Coe
had been given an honorary degree from the university
in 1948 in absentia. The idea of a western collection came
from the Right Reverend Nathaniel S. Thomas, Bishop
of Wyoming, who was an early collector of rare books. ^*

With the death of Coe on March 14, 1956, funds were
provided by his estate for the construction of an American
Studies Building which was to be incorporated into a

Qlniiie/isitij S£ib/ia/iij — i958 to p/tesent

iiiiiiii"

*i^Jk lillMIIII
l|i!l,!!l|<lllliini

The Hebard Room (lop) is part of the American Heritage Center which occupies the top floors of Coe Library (beloit)

general library building. Coe had given some $1 ,800,000
for the construction of a library with the state of Wyo-
ming agreeing to provide $750,000 to pay for equipment
and furnishings.^^

According to Charles H. Bauman, acquisitions
librarian, and one of the planners along with Jim Ranz,
library director, many of the structural and mechanical
features were inspired by the library buildings at
Washington State College and the State University of
Iowa. After the plans for the library had been formulated.
Dr. Ralph Ellsworth was called in as a consultant. Con-
struction started a short time later, in May, 1956, and
it was completed in slightly over two years. The firm of
Eliot Hitchcock and Clinton Hitchcock were architects on
the building. Their father, Wilbur Hitchcock, had
designed the first library building of the university.^"

The Wniiam Robertson Coe Library was constructed
on a divisional plan with the collection books grouped into
four main divisions — the humanities, social sciences and
education, science and technology and U.S. Government
documents. The Western History and Archives Division
was located on the south section of the third floor. There
were a great number of individual study tables arranged
on the four floors of the building. The book collection with
the opening of the library consisted of some 275,000
volumes with an annual addition of 15,000 volumes. The
library at this time was receiving some 1,500 periodicals.
The new building contained equipment for the use of
photographic materials such as microfilm. Several listening
rooms were provided for the use of phonograph records
in the library collections.^' The books from the old library
were moved by truck during the summer of 1958 and the
building was opened for use that fall.

The dedication ceremonies were set for October 9,
1958.^^ The former library was remodeled and office and
classroom space was made available primarily for the
Botany Department and the building was named for Aven
Nelson. Among the individuals taking part in the dedica-
tion ceremonies were President George Duke Humphrey,
Dr. Richard Hillier, Chairman of the Library Planning
Committee, Clifford P. Hansen, President of the Board
of Trustees, Arad Riggs, representing the Coe Founda-
tion, and Dr. Robert Walker, Acting Director of the
School of American Studies.

Hansen, later governor and U. S. Senator, said in
his speech that "Coe gave the library to Wyoming and
established a School of American Studies here so that
young people might attain greater knowledge and become
better citizens." He expressed his hope that their enthus-
iasm and zeal for our divinely inspired way of life might
help them guide America in leading the world in paths
of accomplishment and peace.

Humphrey remarked that the new building marked
a plateau in the university's history and indicated that the
university had reached maturity as an educational,
research, and service institution. The new building also

relieved the crowded condition which the library had had
for many years.

Riggs noted that Coe revised his will to give
$1,800,000 to the university for a library and American
Studies Building. At the time, Coe was "concerned about
the failure of the nation's schools in teaching the American
way of life."

Library director Jim Ranz said in his address that
"during the past 20 years the academic book resources
of the state of Wyoming had increased 150 percent whereas
the national average was only 100 percent." He added
that "the introduction of new photographic techniques
and processes by which parts of books may be easily and
quickly reproduced, as well as cooperative ventures among
libraries, have placed an increasing importance upon the
physical library building."^'

The new library won great acceptance from both fac-
ulty and students, with its spacious places for both study
and research. A browsing room with a book collection pro-
vided by funds from John Bugas of the Ford Motor Com-
pany produced favorable reactions among the students.
Citizens came from all parts of the state to tour the new
facility, especially during the first two years of operation.

By 1966, the William Robertson Coe Library con-
tained some 390,000 volumes, including 4,000 micro-
reproductions. Annual additions at this time were 2,200
volumes. Through its membership in the Rocky Moun-
tain Bibliographical Center, the library was able to offer
excellent inter-library loan service to both students and
faculty.^*

With the completion of the George Duke Humphrey
Science Center in 1970, the science and technology col-
lections of the Coe Library were removed to the Science
Library, which allowed more space for the general library.
By 1972, the library collection consisted of over 446,000
volumes, including 77,000 micro-reproductions. Annual
additions to the library averaged 25,000 volumes. ''

From 1973, there was a concerted effort on the part
of the board of trustees, the president and faculty to secure
an annex to the William Robertson Coe Library. It was
not until 1976 that the Wyoming State Legislature passed
a bill authorizing the construction of the annex. The
appropriations for the construction and furnishing of this
building came to some $5,200,000. The building was com-
pleted during the years 1977-78 and opened during the
academic year of 1978. It more than doubled the space.
The combined university libraries which formerly could
accommodate only 500 readers, could now accommodate
over 1,500 readers. The library's catalog collection totaled
600,000 volumes, 135,000 microfilms. Annual additions
to the library had reached 30,000 volumes.^*

The university libraries, in addition to the WiUiam
Robertson Coe Library, include the Science and
Technology Library; the Geology Library, located in the
S. H. Knight Geology Building; and the Film Library,
located with the Audio Visual Service in Knight Hall. The

United States Department of Energy - Laramie Energy
Teciinology is a branch of the University Libraries.^'

In the years 1976 to 1981 , the university libraries had
their greatest growth in their history. Planning commit-
tees were organized that established certain priorities in
various phases of library service. Funds were provided
for an expanded collection budget, the employment of
more professional librarians and the coordination of library
services under a departmental director.

In the spring of 1945, the board of trustees of the
university of Wyoming created a new department of
archives within the library of the university. This admin-
istrative move had been made because of the gift of several
important papers which could not be available to students
and scholars until the new department was developed.

Types of materials desired in the formative days of
the division were correspondence, both business and
social, financial records, pamphlets, newspapers, scrap-
books, picture maps — in fact any document relating to
Wyoming history. It was the opinion that such records
would be useful in tracing the political, social and
economic history of Wyoming.

The Hebard files contain correspondence, pamphlets,
original documents, clippings, newspapers, a library of
Western Americana, and manuscripts relative to
Wyoming.

Another large collection available was the Francis E.
Warren papers. This collection deals with politics, ran-
ching, and miscellaneous business interests with which he
was connected. Items included in this collection are scrap-
books, correspondence, ledgers dealing with his ranching
and business interests.

The Wyoming Stock Growers Collection records con-
tain a valuable collection of papers covering the range
industry from 1873-1923 with a few materials of a later
date. 38

These were the large collections in the beginning years
of the archives division. Miss Lola M. Homsher was the
first archivist of the university library. By 1951 , the univer-
sity archives had a title change: it became the Western
History and University Archives Department. The col-
lection had grown to a considerable extent since 1945.
There were approximately 30 large collections in the
archives and 110 small collections. In the three rooms
allocated on the third floor of the library, the lack of space
was beginning to be a problem. '^

Dean F. Krakel became director of the division in
1952 when Homsher became the first director of the
Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department.
Under the Krakel administration, the papers of Sen. John
B. Kendrick, Sen. Lester Hunt, Sen. Joseph O'Mahoney
and some 90 other collections were acquired. During this
time the photographs collection was organized and a large
manuscript collection served both faculty and students.

With the moving of the Archives and Western History
to the Coe Library, new quarters were provided for the

division in the south section of the new library.

Krakel resigned in 1956 to accept a position as archiv-
ist with the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He
later was named to head the Cowboy Hall of Fame in
Oklahoma. Dr. Gene M. Gressley became Director of the
Archives and Western History Division in 1956.

In 1958 with somewhat larger quarters in the Coe
Library, Gressley organized the collections around cer-
tain specific areas such as aviation, business history,
transportation history, conservation, contemporary
history. Western writers, mining, Wyoming political
history, economic geology and reclamation and the divi-
sion was renamed the American Heritage Center.

During the 25 years that Gressley has served as direc-
tor the collection has grown from a few hundred items
to archival materials that exceed several thousand. In addi-
tion to the archives collection there is also a manuscript
collection with several thousand items and a collection of
some 45,000 photographs organized by biographic and
subject entries.

Space has been provided for researchers in the Luman
Room which also contains the Alfred Jacob Miller paint-
ings. This collection was obtained through the efforts of
Robert C. Warner, professor in the Journalism
Department.

Two rare book rooms are open for public use — the
Fitzhugh Room and Toppan Room. The Fitzhugh Room
contains the first collection of rare books in the American
Heritage Division. The Toppan Room located in the new
annex contains the latest collection of rare books.

In addition to the Alfred Jacob Miller art in the
Luman Room, the Rentschler Room contains a collec-
tion of the art of Henry Farney.

The American Heritage Center, like the Wyoming
State Archives, Museums and Historical Department,
serves as a major research institution in the state.

From a collection of 300 books in 1889, the Univer-
sity of Wyoming libraries contain three-quarters of a
million volumes. The recently announced goal is to have
a million-volume collection in the next few years. In order
for the university to continue its service to Wyoming, its
heart — the library — must be strong. Its national stature,
too, depends on the adequacy of its library collections.
There is no question that the people of the state of Wyo-
ming will again meet this challenge in coming years.

1 . Chapter 37, Session Laws of Wyoming Territory, 9th Legislative
Assembly. Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1886.

2. Laramie Boomerang, September 1, 1886.

3. "Circular of General Information, "University of Wyoming,
(Laramie, Wyoming: Boomerang Publishing Company,
1887-88).

4. Catalog of the Books Presented to the Library by Charles Clay,
1887-1890, compiled by Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard.

5. Catalog, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1896-97.

6. Seventh Annual Report of the President of the Board of Trustees of the
University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1898.

7. Catalog, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1894-95.

8. "The University Melange," University of Wyoming, April, 1904.

9. Supplementary Report of the Board of Trustees, University of Wyom-
ing, Laramie, 1911.

Letter to William Dubois, Architect, Cheyenne Manuscript Col-
lection, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Bulletin, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1917.
Ibid., 1921.

Laramie Boomerang, January 22, 1921.
Ibid., February 11, 1921.

Olga Moore, I'll Meet You In The Lobby, (New York: Lippincott,
1950).

Report of the President to the Board of Trustees, University of Wyom-
ing, Laramie, 1922.

University of Wyoming Catalog, Laramie, 1923.
Laramie Boomerang, March 15, 1924.
University of Wyoming Library Handbook, Laramie, 1924.
Reba Davis, "The University of Wyoming Library," The Library
Journal, May 1, 1924, pp. 423-442.

Letter to Crane from Reba Davis, American Heritage Center,
University of Wyoming.
Laramie Daily Boomerang, June 20, 1940.

23 . Librarian 's Report on the University of Wyoming Library, made to the
University Board of Trustees and the Faculty of the University
of Wyoming, Laramie, December, 1939.

24. Branding Iron, March 6, 1951.

25. "A Modem Library for a Modem Campus," Pamphlet, Univer-
sity of Wyoming, 1950.

26. Laramie Boomerang, January 11, 1951.

27. Rawlins Daily Times, January 23, 1952.

28. Casper Star Tribune, January 25, 1952.

29. "William Robertson Coe," Biography File, American Heritage
Center, University of Wyoming, Laramie.

30. Charles H. Bauman, "The Library Goes Modular," The Library
Journal, December, 1959.

31. Bulletin, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1959.

32. Laramie Boomerang, August 24, 1958.

33. /W., October 10, 1959.

34. Bulletin, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1966-67.

35. Bulletin, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1972-73.

36. Bulletin, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1979-80.

37. Bulletin, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1980-81.

38. "Archives," University of Wyoming Libreiry pamphlet, Laramie,
1945.

39. /*!(/., 1950.

Custer's "permanent camp" on French Creek in the Black Hills

Prelude to the

Black Hills Gold Rush

of 107G

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

By Scott Tubbs

In the decade following the Civil War, the Black Hills
of Dakota Territory, centrally located in the Northern
Plains, gained the attention of the entire country with news
that gold had been discovered there. The Fort Laramie
Treaty of 1868 had set aside the Paha Sapa as part of the
Sioux Indian Reservation. But the Black Hills, virtually
barren of whites through 1870, were to become, in less
than half a decade, overwhelmed with gold-seekers.

The Black Hills were probably first visited by whites
as early as 1742 when, on April 29, Francois andjoseph
de la Verendrye left Fort de la Reine, south of Lake
Manitoba, in search of a route to the Pacific Ocean. On
August 11, they came upon a "Mountain of the Horse
Indians," which quite possibly may have been Bear Butte,
on the northeastern edge of the Black HUls. On November
9, they headed southwestward, apparently through the
Hills.' Subsequent journeys through or at least very near
the Black Hills were made by Jonathan Carver around
1767^; in 1803 by Jean Valle, a French trader, who met
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark near the mouth of
the Cheyenne River a year later^;by another French trap-
per, Baptiste La Page, who was hired by Lewis and Clark
in 1804 after spending the winter in the Hills*; by Wilson
Price Hunt and the Overland Astorians, of the American
Fur Company, inl81 P; by Jedediah Smith, who was half-
scalped by a grizzly bear just before entering the Hills
in 1823''; by Thomas L. Sarpy, killed when his trading
post exploded because he was selling gunpowder by
candlelight, in 1832'; in 1833 by Ezra Kind and his six
companion miners, whose gold findings were later traded
to the Hudson's Bay Company for $18,000 worth of 'Tire
water, beads, and other glittering gewgaws so dear to the
hearts of savages" by the Indians who had attacked and
killed the party^; and in the later 1830s and 1840s by a
host of others, including Father Pierre Jean DeSmet, a
Jesuit missionary to the Indians, who visited the Hills in
1848.9

The 'Tirst white woman to enter the Black Hills" is
claimed by Annie Tallent, who accompanied the Gordon
Expediton of 1874.'° Although her statement is perhaps
true, she is not the only woman to lay claim to such an
honor. Sarah Campbell, a cook and "excited prospector"
for John Smith of the Custer Expedition of 1874, called
herself "the only white woman that ever saw the Black
Hills."" It is true that "Aunt Sally," as the men called
her, saw the Hills a few months before Tallent, but what
makes her "white woman" claim curious and without
doubt inaccurate is the fact that she was black! '^ Perhaps
what Campbell intended to say was "non-Indian."

THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY OF 1868

' 'From this day forward all war

between the parties to this
agreement shall forever cease. "

FROM ARTICLE I OF FORT LARAMIE TREATY OF APRIL 29, 1868.

In a policy of benevolence, for whatever reasons, the
United States government negotiated a treaty with the
Plains tribes in 1868. Treating with the Sioux, Cheyenne,
and Arapaho, the U.S. agreed to close the Bozeman TraU
to the Montana gold fields and to evacuate Forts Phil
Kearney, C. F. Smith, and Reno. The Sioux were given
a reservation consisting of that part of Dakota Territory
lying west of the Missouri River (z.^., north of the Nebraska
line to the 46th parallel of latitude and west of the Missouri
River to the 104th meridian of longitude). In addition,
generous annuities were provided for a few years, and
education for Indian children and agricultural instruction
for the men was promised. In return, the Indians pro-
mised not to molest the builders of the Union Pacific
Railroad. They also agreed not to bother the wagon trains,
and not to scalp white men or capture their women and
children.'^

Significantly, the government agreed, "that no per-
sons except those herein designated and authorized so to
do, and except such officers, agents, and employees of
the government as may be authorized to enter upon Indian
reservations in discharge of duties enjoined by law, shall
ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in
the territory described in this article."'*

Unfortunately, but perhaps predictably, this treaty's
creation of the Great Sioux Reservation did little more
than postpone the inevitable occupation of the Black Hills
by gold-seeking whites. The insistent and increasing agita-
tion for the exploration of the Hills finally prompted a
warning from military and civil authorities, fearful of a
general Indian war caused by illegal settlers.'^ On March
30, 1872, Secretary of the Interior Columbus Delano
informed Governor John A. Burbank of the Dakota Ter-
ritory that all expeditions must be stopped. Thus, Edwin
Stanton McCook, Secretary of Dakota Territory and
acting governor, issued a proclamation on April 6 warn-
ing that any violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty stipula-
tions was illegal, would disturb the Indians, and would
threaten the peace. '^ Further, Major General Winfield
Scott Hancock, Commander of the Department of
Dakota, with headquarters at Fort Snelling, Minnesota,
announced "that any expedition organized for the pur-
pose of penetrating the Black Hills, be immediately
dispersed, the leaders arrested and placed in the nearest
military prison.""

The 1868 treaty did not stop Charles Collins, the
eccentric, Indian-hating editor of the Sioux City Weekly
Times, from initiating colonization movements to the Black
Hills. He was instrumental in organizing the Black Hills
Mining and Exploring Company at Sioux City on
February 27, 1872. Publishing highly colored, sensational
stories about the prospects for gold, he openly recruited
individuals for the express purpose of entering the HUls.'^
He was joined by frontiersman Thomas H. Russell and
eminent Sioux City businessmen, including Charles S.

Soule of the Northwest Transportation Company, Dan
Scott, editor of the Sioux City Journal, and General A. C.
Dawes, passenger agent for the Kansas City and St. Joe
Railway."

Collins estimated that it would cost $604.60 to outfit
a party of five for four months with a 2,000 pound capacity
wagon, a span of horses, a tent, flour, bacon, coffee, tea,
yeast, salt, beans, soup, matches, cooking utensils,
kerosene, lamps, lanterns, blankets, ammunition, lariat
ropes, four gold pans, three picks, two shovels, carpenter's
tools, nails, and incidentals.^" General Hancock's order
and Acting Governor McCook' s proclamation spoiled
Collins' plan.^' Collins and Russell moved to Chicago,
where they set up an office and continued to campaign
for takers in a future Black Hills Expedition.
THE CUSTER EXPEDITION

' 'My husband brought me a keg of the most delicious

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. ' '

FROM ELIZABETH B CUSTER'S ACCOUNT OF THE ARRFVAL OF HER HUSBAND'S EX-
PEDITION IN FORT LINCOLN AFTER SPENDING THE SUMMER IN THE BLACK HILLS-

The increase of illegal gold-seeking traffic into the
Black Hills violated not only the Fort Laramie Treaty of
1868 but also a Sioux inter-tribal pact. The Sioux Nation,
in an 1857 meeting at Lake Traverse, agreed that any
white man mining gold in the Black Hills should be put
to death, along with any Indian who might have directed
the prospector to the lode.^^ Consequently, raids and
massacres, especially by the Teton Sioux, who were slip-
ping down into the Department of the Platte in Nebraska
Territory, were increasing. ^^

As a result of these increased hostilities. General Philip
H. Sheridan, commanding the Military Division of the
Missouri, in 1874 suggested to the War Department his
solution to the Indian problem: "In order to better con-
trol the Indians making these raids, for two or three years
it was recommended to establish a large military post in
the country known as the Black Hills, so that by holding
an interior point in the heart of Indian country the troops
could threaten the villages and stock of the Indians if the
latter raided the settlements."^* Upon approval, he
ordered General Alfred H . Terry of the Dakota Military
District to organize an expedition for reconnaissance of
the Hills region. Assigned by Terry to command the expe-
dition was Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
The military orders issued to Custer were explicit — the
expedition was to make a general reconnaissance to locate
military wagon routes and possible sites for a fort, as the
following excerpt from the report of Captain William
Ludlow, chief of engineers. Department of Dakota,
indicates:

In case, at any future time, complications with the
Sioux, or the advancing needs of bordering civilization should
make it necessary to establish military posts upon this Indian
reservation, indications all pointed to the Black Hills as the

sporting an astonishing variety of headgear, Custer's officers and the
suitable point, both on account of their geographical posi-
tion and of the abundance of wood, water, and grass to be
found there. To explain the value of its position, it should
be stated that the trails from the camp of the hostile Sioux
on the Yellowstone, to the agencies near the Missouri, where
live the reservation Indians and whereon the issues of annu-
ities are made, lead by a southeasterly course through the
hills, the abundance of game and ample security of which,
make them a ready refuge in time of war, and a noble
hunting-ground in time of peace.

It was therefore considered desirable to gain positive
information regarding them, and to connect them as well
by reconnaissance with the posts of Lincoln and Laramie.
To accomplish these results was the object of the expedition. ^^
Throughout the expedition the Army stood firm on
two points: the chief purpose of the expedition was to con-
duct a much needed reconnaissance, not to prospect for
gold; and two, it was not a violation of the Treaty of 1868.
Surely, white setdement in the area would violate the trea-
ty, but a simple, peaceful reconnaissance expedition pass-
ing through the region was another matter. General Terry,
in a letter to General Sheridan, remarked:

I am unable to see that any just offense is given to the
Indians by the expedition to the Black Hills. . . . From the
earliest times the government has exercised the right of sen-
ding exploring parties of a military character into unceded
territory, and this expedition is nothing more.'^

General William T. Sherman, the commanding General

of the Army, took the same stand:

I also was one of the commissioners to the Treaty of
1868, and agree with General Terry, that it was not inten-
ded to exclude the United States from exploring the Reser-
vation for Roads, or for any other national purpose. ''
Custer, as well, insisted upon the legitimacy and
peacefulness of the mission. The St. Paul Pioneer quoted
Custer:

The purposes of the expedition are not military or
aggressive. They are peaceable and exclusively in the interest
of science. . . . Of the peaceable intentions of the govern-
ment all the tribes have been notified, and they have been
assured that they will not be molested or disturbed in the
least degree, provided they do not commence hostilities.-'
Custer's sincerity seems to be validated by remarks made
after completion of the expediton. He was asked by a
Bismarck Tribune reporter if he was disappointed at "not

expedition 's scientific corps pose during the summer, 1874 expedition
having a brush with the Sioux." To this, Custer nobly
replied that he was "disappointed, but heartily glad of
it. ... I congratulate myself and the country on the return
of the expedition without bloodshed. "^^

On July 2, 1874, Custer's Seventh Cavalry left Fort
Abraham Lincoln, opposite Bismarck on the Missouri
River. It was one of the largest, most complete, and best-
equipped peacetime expeditions ever assembled. The over
1,000 men included scientific personnel, newspaper cor-
respondents, miners, and a photographer along with 10
companies of cavalry, two companies of infantry,
numerous Indian scouts, interpreters, and a 16-piece
mounted band playing "The Girl I Left Behind Me" as
the expedition departed Fort Lincoln. There were 100
wagons, each drawn by six mules, ambulances, three Gad-
ing machine guns, and a three-inch Parrott rifle. In add-
ition, a herd of 300 beef cattle was taken along for fresh
meat.^"

After leaving Fort Lincoln, Custer proceeded
southwesterly toward the Hills, passing between Bear
Butte on the Belle Fourche River and the Bear Lodge
Mountains, where the trail made by the Raynolds Expe-
dition in 1859 was still plainly discernable. The party
passed the Inyan Kara Mountain on July 23, which Custer
and his staff climbed. The trip across the plains was
uneventful and the party entered the Hills along Castle
Creek, in the vicinity of Harney Peak. Main camp was
set up on French creek about seven miles due south of
Harney Peak.^' Custer and his staff climbed Harney Peak,
ascending nearly to the top, and left there a copper car-
tridge shell with their names enclosed on a slip of paper. ^^
While at the top, they sighted two other prominent peaks,
which Captain Ludlow named for General Terry and
General Custer.^'

Meanwhile, some of the troops organized a baseball
game, the first such game ever played in the Black Hills.
One team, the Actives of Fort Lincoln, was picked from
members of the band and the right wing; the other team,
the Athletes of Fort Rice, included men from Companies
C, H, and K. The umpire was John Tempany, the
"Vetinary Surgeon." According to the diary of Private
Theodore Ewert (Company H), it was evident to all spec-

tators that the umpire favored the Fort Lincoln team, but
apparently the teams were able to refrain from engaging
in any "rhubarbs, "as Ewert's diary gives no record of
such. The final score was Actives 11, Athletes 6.^*

After exploring to the south fork of the Cheyenne
River, the expedition began its return trip to Fort Lin-
coln on August 6, traveling northward along the Box Elder
up the center of the Hills past Bear Butte. The expedi-
tion, its journey lasting 60 days, never spent more than
one day in any one spot, with the one exception being
the five days spent at Harney Peak, according to Tallent.^^
Calhoun's diary does not agree. He notes at least four
two-day camps; those of July 18 and 19 near the present-
day city of Belle Fourche, July 22 and 23, near the Inyan
Kara Mountain, July 26 and 27 in Castle Valley, and
August 14 and 15 near Bear Butte. ^^

The official expedition reports incorporate notes of
several scientists who accompanied the expedition as well
as the observations of Custer. They seem to be pre-
occupied with geological matters and comments on the
natural beauty of the region and its great potentialities
in terms of timber, mineral wealth, and farming. Such
is the case with zoologist George Bird Grinnell, as he wrote
of a valley:

. . . filled with the greatest profusion of wild flowers,
in almost incredible numbers and variety. . . . An old and
deeply cut lodge-trail ran up the valley, and, halting the com-
mand, the valleys leading out of Floral Valley were explored.
The trail is said by one of the guides to be the old voyageur
pack-trail, and is one of the regular routes between the hostile
camp on Tongue River and the agencies. Near the highest
point many old camps and abandoned lodge-poles were seen.
Pursuing the lodge-trail a spring was reached, the waters of
which flowed north and east. The fog, which had been sweep-
ing up from the eastward, became very dense. The flowers
were if anything more abundant than in the morning, the
hills but 30 or 40 feet in height, covered with pine and aspen,
tamarack and spruce. The wood and open seemed to share
the country about equally. All 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. The
valleys radiated in all directions, connecting with each other,
and a more beautiful wild country could not be imagined.
Signs of bear and deer were abundant and the woods fre-
quendy resounded with the clangorous cry of the crane. ^'
Professor A. B. Donaldson, a botanist, was taken by "the
gaudy sunflower and the delicate harebell, the fair lily and
the bright blue daisy, the coarse elecampane and the
modest violet, the gay lark-spur and the fragrant pepper-
mint, roses and pinks, asters and phlox, bell-flower and
caropsis, geraniums, golden rod, purple cone-flower."'*
Custer himself exclaimed.

In no private or public park had I ever seen such a pro-
fuse display of flowers. ... So luxuriant in growth were they
that men plucked them without dismounting from the sad-
dle. ... It was a strange sight to glance back at the advanc-
ing columns of Cavalry and behold the men with beautiful
boquets [sic] in their hands while the head gear of their horses
were decorated with wreaths of flowers fit to crown a Queen
of May. Deeming it a most fitting appellation I named this
Floral Valley. 3'
40

Custer the hunter, poses with a grizzly bear he killed on the 1874
expedition. In the background, supply wagons and tents fill a lush
Black Hills meadow.

The origincd purpose of the expedition seems to be
forgotten — comments about strategic lines of communica-
tions between Fort Lincoln and Fort Laramie and likely
sights for military posts are hard to find.*"

Traces of gold were found by the expedition, although
there seems to be some controversy as to who was x\\e first
to find it. Schell states that Horatio N. Ross and WiUis
W. T. McKay found the first trace of gold on July 30
in the sands of French Creek.*' Two more finds were
made — on August 2, by Ross and McKay, and on August
5, by Ross, McKay, Mike Smith and others.*^

On August 3, shortly after midnight, Custer sent his
chief scout, Charles A. "Lonesome Charley" Reynolds,
to Fort Laramie with reports of the expedition. Reynold's
canvas dispatch bag was labeled by the expedition adju-
tant, First Lieutenant James Calhoun:
Black Hills Express
Charley Reynolds, Manager
connecting with
AH Points East, West, North, South
Cheap Rates; Quick Transit; Safe Passage
We are protected by the
Seventh Cavalry!*'
Reynolds covered the dangerous 90 miles by traveling
mostly at night. The one day that he was forced to travel
during daylight because of lack of water, he used some
special leather sandals, cinched with drawstrings over his
horse's ironshod hooves, so that tracks left would look like
those of a shoeless Indian pony; and he removed his hat,
so that from afar Indians might not detect him as a white
man from the telltale sign.

The enormous size of the Custer Expedition is indicated in this photo of the camp at Hiddenwood Creek

On the morning of August 8 he rode into Fort
Laramie and turned Custer's dispatches over to an Army
telegraph operator.** The information was more than
modestly relayed to the nation. During his return trip to
Fort Lincoln, Reynolds was interviewed by the Sioux City
Journal on August 13, but he gave only mild reports of
gold. Nevertheless, the Bismarck Tribune reported that "rich
gold and silver mines" had been discovered in "Custer's
Valley" which would soon become the "El Dorado of
America." The Yankton Daily Press and Dakotaian ran this
headline:

STRUCK IT AT LAST!

'' Rich Mines of Gold and Silver

Reported Found by Custer

PREPARE FOR LIVELY TIMES!

Gold Expected to Fall 10 per Cent.—

Spades and Picks Rising. — The

National Debt to be Paid

When Custer Returns."

Additional accounts in the New York Daily Tribune, the

Chicago Daily Tribune and Inter-Ocean, and Harper's Weekly

greatly exaggerated the modest reports of Custer himself,

as well as later reports of Ludlow and the stubborn

geologist Newton Horace Winchell, who steadfastly held

that he had seen no gold! To this Custer addressed himself:

I regret that Prof. N. H. Winchell, who accompanied

the expedition as geologist, and who labored industriously

and, I believe, efficiently, to discharge his duties regarding

other points, should have permitted what I cannot but believe

was a bit of professional pique to stand between him and

the determination of a very important fact, viz., the existence
of gold in the Black Hills. Prof. Winchell, as geologist of the
expedition, no doubt felt that all questions pertaining to
mineral discoveries should be referred to him for final
decision — and all questionable points relating to geology were
so referred. But when gold was discovered, as it surely was
at various points, it was in such form and quantity as to be
readily recognized as gold without referring the matter for
decision to an expert. The specimens I saw, and which scores
of officers and other persons of intelligence saw, and which
were taken from the earth from time to time, near our camps,
consisted of small particles of pure gold,

EASILY RECOGNIZABLE AS SUCH
by any person who had ever seen gold before. Had Prof.
Winchell not been influenced by the feeling I have attributed
to him; had he not waited for some person to bring specimens
of the gold to his tent and formally request his professional
opinion upon it; but had he instead, gone — as he might often
have done by a walk of a few hundred yards, or at the most
of a few miles — and examined the places from which the gold
had been taken, watched the miners and others while pros-
pecting— as I and others did — he would have been qualified
by an experience added to a scientific knowledge, for which
I have the highest respect, to have given an opinion on the
matter which would have been entitled to great weight. As
it is, he simply says what he might have said without accom-
panying the expedition, and what every one who did not
accompany the expedition can say, viz.: that "He saw none
of the gold." That he did not see it was wholly due to his
inaction in the matter, as persons with whom he was brought
in contact every day had specimens of the gold in their
possession — a fact of which I hardly believe he was ignorant.
I regard the discoveries made as

EXCEEDINGLY PROMISING."

While Ludlow urged that the best use of the area
would be as an Indian reservation, noting that the real
value of the Hills country was not mineral, but agricul-
tural,'*' Custer's cautious statements recommended "a
more thorough examination of the country" to ascertain
information concerning gold "in view of the widespread
attention already directed to the Black Hills by prospec-
tive mining companies."*'

Interestingly, Reverend Samuel D. Hinman, whose
expedition closely followed Custer's, reported the Hills
as bleak, forbidding, sterile, useless for agriculture, and
swept by fearful winter and summer storms — totally
useless to the white man.*^

Three scientific expeditions had preceded Custer's.^"
The first extended government-sponsored expedition was
the Warren Expedition which left Sioux City for Fort
Laramie in July of 1857.^' The party reached Fort
Laramie and divided. At Inyan Kara Mountain, a
peaceful but stern encounter with Indians forced Lieu-
tenant Gouverneur Kemble Warren to avoid entering the
heart of the Black Hills, instead passing around the
southern end of the Hills, up the eastern side to Bear Butte,
and then southward again. Although not penetrating
deeply into the Black Hills, Warren went far enough to
find gold. His opinion, however, placed primary impor-
tance on his expedition from a military standpoint, and
hence, he made no big issue of his discovery of gold.^^
His exhaustive reports, together with the accompanying
maps, supplied the first reasonable accurate information
about the Black Hills and the surrounding country. ^^

The explorations of the Warren Expedition were con-
tinued by Captain William Franklin Raynolds in
1859-1860. He set out from Fort Pierre on June 28, 1859,
reaching Bear Butte on July 1 1 .^* Several members of the
party, including scout Jim Bridger and topographer
Lieutenant J. Hudson Snowden, "found gold in modest
quantities" as the expedition followed the Belle Fourche.
Apparently, Bridger found "small yellow pebbles of
various sizes" as he and his mule stopped to drink.
Geologist Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden, who had accom-
panied the Warren Expedition, and Captain Raynolds "at
once pronounced it pure gold." Although "very much
excited," Raynolds "insisted that Mr. Bridger should cast
it away, and not tell any of the party of the matter under
any circumstances, fearing that a knowledge of gold in
such abundance and of such easy access would certainly
break up his whole expedition, since every man would
desert the party to hunt for gold." Bridger "very reluc-
tantly complied" with Raynolds' request. ^^ McLaird and
Turchen state that there is no reliable evidence to sup-
port Parker's claim that the mountaineer Bridger and
topographer Snowden discovered gold. The reliability of
the Cheyenne Daily Leader article must be measured against
the fact that it is based upon an interview with Bridger
after the Custer Expedition's report of gold received
national publicity. ^^ Raynolds noted in his report that

"very decided evidences of gold were discovered both in
the valley of the Madison and in the Big Horn mountains,
and . . . some indications of its presence was also in the
Black Hills, between the forks of the Shayenne [izc]."^'
The party left the Hills on July 14, 1859.

A third military expedition was the Powder River
Campaign of 1865. Its three-pronged party fell under the
commands of Colonels James A. Sawyers, Samuel
Walker, and Nelson Cole. Sawyers passed south of the
Hills, first sighting them on July 13, 1865. His explora-
tion was limited to scouting parties, which were to guard
the expedition from unexpected Indian attack. Walker left
Fort Laramie on August 5, 1865, heading northwest
toward the Hills, where a rendezvous with Cole was
planned. He reached the South Fork of the Cheyenne on
August 11. Passing between the Bear Lodge Mountains
and the Black Hills, Walker met Cole on the Belle Four-
che, about 40 miles north. '^ Cole's party was the largest
of the three, containing about 1 ,400 men. It reached Bear
Butte on August 14 from the east, and then followed
Raynolds' old trail west along the Belle Fourche to the
rendezvous with Walker. One of Cole's guides thought
he found silver-bearing ore. Parker says that "the net
result of all three expeditions was to endow two or three
thousand men with knowledge of both gold in the Hills
and of the several routes by which it might be reached. "^^

THE GORDON EXPEDITION

"Forced marches had been ordered that our

imperiled little party might be reached

before being massacred by the incensed

savages. "

THE SITUATION OF THE GORDON PARTY AT THE TIME OF ITS DISCOVERY BY THE
U S ARMY (TALLENT. P 94)

Charles Collins' and Thomas Russell's Chicago office,
on Clark Street, was financed by Sioux City capital.
Encouraged by Custer's 1874 expedition, they again activ-
ely campaigned for a Black Hills expedition, but this time
were halted by General Sheridan from his Chicago head-
quarters. Collins and Russell, after moving back to Sioux
City, were able to continue their expedition organization.
By September 3, 1874, one hundred frontiersmen were
awaiting departure from Sioux City to the Black Hills.

Sheridan took action. On September 3, he issued
orders to General Terry at St. Paul and to General E.
O. C. Ord, commanding the Department of the Platte,
that "should companies now organizing at Sioux City and
Yankton trespass on the Sioux Indian Reservation," forces
should be used to "burn the wagon trains, destroy the
outfit and arrest the leaders, confining them to the nearest
military post in the Indian country."^" Detachments from
Lower Brule Agency and Fort Randall were sent out
immediately to patrol the routes leading to the Hills.

When the expedition finally departed on October 6,
1874, it consisted of only 26 men, one woman — Mrs.
Anne Donna Tallent — and her nine-year-old son.^' It
included "Six canvas-covered wagons, each drawn by two

pairs of fat, sleek, and a few of them somewhat frisky cat-
tle," five saddle horses, a burro, and two beautiful
greyhounds. ^^ Collins remained behind to publish his
Weekly Times and report news of the expedition's progress.
The expedition was sponsored by Collins and accom-
panied by his partner Russell, but it became known as
the Gordon Expedition, after John Gordon, its guide and
captain, although it was apparent that his "knowledge
of the geography of the country was, to say the least,
somewhat vague and uncertain. "^^ Tallent prophesied that
since Collins and Russell, "by virtue of their mutual
efforts," were the actual sponsors of the party, the expe-
dition, "by that token . . . will be recorded on the pages
of history as the Collins-Russell Expedition."**

Tallent says that the expedition was "splendidly
equipped with munitions for its defense — each man hav-
ing provided himself with the most approved Winchester
rifle, besides small arms, and sufficient ammunition to
last by economy for a period of eight months." She
continues:

Fidelity to history compels me to record, however, that
at divers [sic] times, some of our men indulged in the careless
pastime of firing their precious cartridges at targets, on which
occasions I had grave misgivings as to whether there would
be any left to kill Indians with in case it became necessary.
At times I was strongly tempted to expostulate with them
on their thoughtless waste of ammunition, but I quickly con-
trolled that inclination, concluding that, perhaps, they knew
their own business — at least they might think they did and
take occasion to remind me of that fact. I did, however, ven-
ture to approach them timidly one day when I thought them
uncommonly reckless, and say solemnly: "Boys, don't you
think you will need all this ammunition that you are virtually
throwing away when we get out among the Indians?" "Oh,
shoot the Indians," answered one of the boys, irreverently.
Now, deeming this a potent and convincing argument against
the position I had assumed, and plainly significant, I meekly
yielded the point and referred no more to the subject.'^
Once out of Sioux City, the expedition was sure to
attract attention from military patrols. As a "misleading
device," "O'Neill's Colony" was painted in large, red
letters on the canvas covers of the wagons, in order to
make onlookers believe that the expedition was headed
for O'Neill's Colony in Nebraska Territory, thereby
lessening military suspicion. It proved, however, to be
a "transparent" diversion.** After a small bout with sick-
ness in camp, a nasty disagreement that almost resulted
in the death of Gordon, a death due to sickness, a missed
opportunity to eat fox meat for supper, and slight encoun-
ter with the Indians, the expedition got its first glimpse
of the Black Hills "about ten o'clock a.m., December
31st. "*' Apparently, the correct date should be December
1 , not December 31 , since by mid-December the expedi-
tion had passed through the Hills.

The expedition entered the Hills near present-day
Sturgis on December 9, proceeded to French Creek,
following Custer's road of the previous summer, and were
there rewarded by the presence of gold. Here they con-

structed a stockade some 80 feet square, made of 13 foot
logs set three feet in the ground. Inside the fortress were
six cabins, a shallow well, and a huge supply of firewood.
The army captain that later removed the party stated that
the stockade, with its protruding bastions at each corner
to permit flanking fire along the walls, was an impregnable
defense to anything but artillery.*^ Life in the camp was
for the most part uneventful. Once a tent burned to the
ground, and another time the donkey ate half a side of
bacon — both times under the charge of Tallent!*^ The
miners estimated that as much as $10 a day could be made
by prospecting, but the frozen ground and cold weather
made the practice very difficult.'"

The Army was not unaware that the Gordon Expedi-
tion had entered the HUls. After several detachments failed
to bring the party back. Captain John Mix led Company
M of the Second Cavalry out of Fort Laramie on March
12, 1875 to the Gordon Stockade, directed by prospec-
tors J. J. Williams and Red Dan McDonald, former
members of the Gordon Expedition detained by the Army.
On April 6, in the midst of a blinding snowstorm, the
Gordon Stockade was contacted from Mix's "Camp Suc-
cess," about 12 miles south of the stockade, and given
two days to round up the stock and pack the equipment.
Mining tools and heavy equipment were cached in the
stockade, only to be discovered later on by Indians or other
prospectors. Ten head of stray oxen were abandoned. The
18 remaining occupants of the stockade left on April 10
and headed for Red Cloud Agency, Nebraska Territory."
The party arrived at Fort Laramie on April 18. The
miners were released after two days and transported to
Cheyenne. The Tallent family remained in Cheyenne,
but all others returned to Sioux City by rail, "rescued"
by Collins."

The Tallent family returned to the Hills in 1876,
where Mrs. Tallent taught school and prepared a history
of the area and her adventures in it.''^ Russell became
disillusioned with Collins and later formed his own party
in Pennsylvania.'* Collins had organized the Black Hills
Mining Company of Springfield, Dakota Territory, in
December of 1874, but it was largely unsuccessful.'^ Gor-
don was arrested leading a second expedition into the area
in May of 1875, and was seen in Deadwood some years
later, broke and in debt.'*

THE NEWTON-JENNEY EXPEDITION

"Tkar's plenty of gold here, " but its
mixed up with a hell of a sight o' dirt. "

REMARKS OF OALrFORNIA JOE. A GUIDE FOR THE NEWTON-JENNEY EXPEDITION

In 1875, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, acting under
the authority of the Secretary of War, authorized an
expedition to the Black Hills to be led by geologists Walter
P. Jenney and Henry Newton "for the purpose of ascer-
taining the extent and value of the gold deposits discovered
there.""

Despite differing estimates from the Custer Expedi-

tion of the value and extent of Black Hills gold deposits,
a gold rush ensued. Bismarck, Sioux City, Yankton, and
Cheyenne competed as departure points for miners ille-
gally entering Indian territory. Newspaper propaganda
abounded: The Yankton Daily Press and Dakotaian: "The
Golden Hills, More News from the Geological Party. .
. . Dakota's Mines to Eclipse the World" and "The
Eldorado! . . . The Cautious Jenney Gives His Testimony
in the Affirmative. And Now, Mr. Indian, Take a Back
Seat." The Bismarck Tribune: "Gold by the Hat Full!" and
"Reports Gold Enough to Pay the National Debt" and
"Wealth for an Empire in the Black Hills. "^^

The Treaty of 1868 had not yet been altered to admit
white settlers or miners into the Black Hills, still part of
the Sioux Reservation. The intruding gold miners,
although violating this agreement, at the same time
facilitated the final alteration of government policy to meet
the demand of the frontier newspapers to "open" the
Black Hills.

A commission under Sen. W. B. Allison met with
the Sioux near Red Cloud Agency on September 20-29,
1875 to negotiate the purchase of the gold region. It failed
for the following reasons:

1 . That no agreement can be successfully concluded in the
Indian country by means of a grand council of chiefs in
the presence of the great body of the Indians.

2. No agreement can be made unless accompanied with
presents, as presents have invariably been distributed
heretofore at the signing of treaties or agreements.

3. The Indians place upon the Hills a value far beyond any
sum that could possibly be considered by the
Government.

4. The Indians are hostile to the presence of whites on the
reservation, and they believe that the opening of the hills
to the whites would result in the opening of the whole
reservation and their final expulsion, which belief induces
a strong minority at least to oppose any cession.

5. The determination of the part of persons not Indians but
having great influence over them, that no negotiation
shall be successful that does not involve a large sum annu-
ally for many years, and in case of present failure another
commission would be sent, which would deal liberally
with them. ..."

Hence the commission concluded:

7. Provide for payment to the Indians of a sum which Con-
gress shall fix as a fair equivalent for the Hills taking into
account all the circumstances surrounding them, and the
value of the Hills to the United States. . . .
The plan here suggested, or some other to be adopted
by Congress, should be presented to the Indians as a fin-
ality, and with it they should be told that its rejection will
have the effect to arrest all appropriations for their subsistence
in the future, and all supplies not absolutely required by the
treaty of 1868.

The commission makes these suggestions with hesitation,
the more so because it will require patience and time to make
the experiment a success, if it becomes so. The commission
has felt it to be its duty to state the facts as they appear, and
has ventured to suggest remedies, imperfect though they may
prove to be, in order that these more familiar with the whole
subject may combat them, and suggest others more effica-

cious, if these should not stand the test of intelligent and
impartial criticism. It is no easy task to satisfactorily solve
the problems forced upon the Government by the location,
necessities, and condition of these Sioux tribes; but they have
claims upon us that cannot be overlooked. They have been
pushed back from the east by the advancing tide of civiliza-
tion until it meets them again from the west. Their reserva-
tion, extending over an area as large as New England, is,
for the most part unsuited to agriculture. The steady extinc-
tion of game is cutting them off from the only means of sub-
sistence of which they have any knowledge. They are now
practically helpless without the fostering care of the Govern-
ment. New and prosperous States have been added to the
nation from the territory which was once their homes, and
but for our people the region thus taken — no matter how —
would still afford them subsistence, precarious and uncer-
tain it may be, but suited to their wants and habits. This
sacrifice has brought to them destitution and beggary; to our
nation wealth and power, and with these an obligation to
make good to them, in some way, the loss by which we have
so largely gained. We have faith that this obligation will be
fairly met and conscientiously discharged by Congress, and
we believe that it should be submitted to that body for
immediate consideration and action. "'
Negotiations to purchase the Black Hills and popular
demand for access to the region made it difficult for the
army to prevent violation of the Treaty of 1868. General
Sheridan reported that the military in the Department of
Dakota "had the double duty of protecting the settlements
from the raids of hostile Indians, and the Black Hills coun-
try from miners attracted there by real or imaginary
mineral wealth in the soil." He recommended "some
action which will setde this Black Hill question, and relieve
us from an exceedingly disagreeable and embarrassing
duty."^' Lieutenant Colonel Richard Irving Dodge
remarked:

The military have orders to arrest and send out under
guard every man found in the HUls. However distasteful such
an order may be, it is obeyed, of course. But the military
have no power of detention longer than the arrival of the
prisoner at the nearest military post, from whence it is
required that he be turned over to the civil authorities.

Curiously enough, that respect and obedience to law
and orders, which is so marked a feature of our military
establishment, seems totally wanting in the "Civil
Authorities." The prisoners, violators of the law, turned over
to them, are immediately released, without even bail for
future good behavior.

An interloping miner is captured by the troops, sent a
prisoner to the nearest military post, and from thence tur-
ned over to the civil authorities. Although more than a hun-
dred men have thus been captured and sent out, no one has
in any way been punished or even detained by the civil
authority. They are at once set at liberty, and immediately
start again for the Hills.

One man stated, "I have been captured and sent out
from the Hills four times, besides coming out voluntarily
under [General George] Crook's proclamation. I give the
troops more trouble in catching me each time, and I guess
I can stand it as long as they can."'^
The Newton-Jenney Expedition was escorted by 400
men and 75 wagons. It left Cheyenne on May 17, 1875,
after a short delay because the necessary orders from the

NEWTON-JENNEY
EXPEDITION

A - Expedition leaves Cheyenne on May
17, 1875, reaches Fort Laramie on
May 20, and crosses Platte on May
24.

B - Reaches Black Hills by east fork of
Beaver on June 3, establishing camp
at French Creek on June 14.

C - Finds small party of miners in old
Gordon Stockade.

D - Explores Spring and" Castle Creeks

E - Members of the command climb
Harney Peak.

F - Party leaves French Creek on June
25 and heads north to Spring and
Rapid Creeks.

G - Jenney goes north from Rapid Creek
to explore region drained by Box
Elder and Elk Creeks.

H - Explores extreme northern Hills
drained by Spearfish and Bear Butte
Creeks.

I - Party explores Bear Lodge country.

J - Party reconvenes at Rapid Creek and
Cheyenne River on September 22,
preparatory to march to Fort
Laramie via White River and agen-
cies of Spotted Tad and Red Cloud.
Reaches Fort Laramie on October
22.

|«»;«M

HaDS develooed from Parker and Froiland

BLACK HILLS, Paha Sapa, 1875

1 Bear Lodge Mts. (Devil's Tower), Mato Tipi, elev. 5117 ft.

2 Bear Butte, Mato Paha, 4422. 5 Crook's Tower, 7140

3 Inyan Kara Ml. , 6374. 6 Custer's Peak, 6804.

4 Terry's Peak, 7076. 7 Harney's Peak, 7242.

War Department had not been issued. It arrived at Fort
Laramie on May 20 and crossed the Platte River on the
afternoon of May 24 meeting a military escort commanded
by Colonel Dodge. The large escort was necessary because
"the attitude of the Indians on the penetration of this,
the most cherished spot of their reservation, could not be
foretold, and it was known that they had been not a little
agitated by the incursion of General Custer in the previous
year and by the subsequent visits and operations of the
miners. "^^

Newton's concise description of the march to the Black
Hills contrasts with flamboyant accounts by other par-

ticipants of mishaps and incidents. Dr. V. T. McGilly-
cuddy, a topographer, recalled that Colonel Dodge's
cocksure guide, Jose Merrivale, at one time promised "a
nize [sic] easy slope to the foothills. " Instead the command
came across "a precipice rising about five hundred feet.
A worried look crossed Jose's face but remained only a
moment as he exclaimed: 'Jese [sic] Christ, how this damn
country he change since I was here last!' " Dodge then
came to rely upon another, California Joe, for guidance.^*
California Joe's record of scouting was not spotless either,
however. In the fall of 1868, he had served as Custer's
chief scout. It was a short-lived term, however, as Califor-

niajoe, on the night of his appointment, filled his can-
teen with rotgut whiskey and led a column of soldiers out
to look for Indians. In a mood of celebration, he drank
steadily until his unreined mule carried him rapidly away
from his column. Suddenly, the troops heard bloodcurd-
ling screams from a short distance. In their preparation
to fight the attacking Indians, the soldiers discovered that
the noise had come from California Joe, who was dead
drunk and in such a frenzy to fight Indians that he had
to be bound hand and foot and tied to his mule to get
him back to camp. The incident ended California Joe's
reign as chief scout, but he did remain as a regular scout
and apparently was one of Custer's favorite companions.

Calamity Jane apparently was present on the expedi-
tion, disguised as a soldier. The Yankton Daily Press and
Dakotaian of July 6, 1875 wrote about her in an article
headlined "A Strange Creature. "^^

Jenney's expedition had established camp at four spots
in the Hills. The first, on June 14, was at French Creek,
while the entire area of the Black Hills between the forks
of the Cheyenne had been explored. This area included
Spring and Castle Creeks. Moving northward, a second
camp was established on Rapid Creek below the forks.
This included Box Elder Creek and Elk Creek. A third
camp was made on Bear Butte Creek near Terry Peak.
This included Spearfish Creek. The fourth stop was Inyan
Kara Creek in the Bear Lodge country. ^^

Jenney found a small party of about 14 miners near
the old Gordon Stockade on June 16 while at French
Creek. The next day, he sent a dispatch to Fort Laramie
stating that he had "discovered gold in small quantities
on the north bend of Castle Creek." He further states
that although the region has not been fully explored,
. . the yield of gold thus far has been quite small and the
reports from the richness of the gravel bars are greatly
exaggerated. The prospect at present is not such as to war-
rant extended operations in mining.^'

While exploring the French Creek District, members
of the command made the first ascent to the summit of
Harney Peak. Jenney's account of this climb to the top
of "a prominent peak that promises most to be Harney,"
is certainly worth reading. His dramatic account of the
"painful and exhausting, ascension of the rugged moun-
tain peak" is humorously "crowned with disappointment
with the sight of Harney still in the far distance."*^ On
the climb evidence of Custer's party of 1874 was found.
A mercurial barometer observed on the top of the peak
gave its altitude 7,403 feet. According to McGillycuddy,
Jenney was the first white man to stand on top of the
mountain, 7,500 feet high. He had to shinny up a tree
felled into a creviced rock which formed a 10-foot perpen-
dicular wall.^^ From a mountain near Harney Peak, Col-
onel Dodge recalled five lightning storms occurring
simultaneously in different areas. He noted injuries to two
soldiers and a boy who "took refuge under a tall pine."
The lightning flash, striking each in the cheek bone and

Moses E. Milner, "California Joe" at leisure. Two years after
the Custer Expedition, Milner was assassinated at Camp Robin-
son, Nebraska

passing through their bodies, left "a hole in the shoe-sole
as clean and round as if made by a bullet."^"

Jenney left the valley of French Creek on June 25 and
proceeded north to the valley of Spring and Rapid Creeks,
returning on July 8 to French Creek. He found that new
discoveries had been made. In Jenney's absence, in one
day, miners had obtained nearly $27 (27 penny-weights
of gold). But a rush to the new discoveries at Spring and
Castle Creeks left the French Creek area untested for
thoroughness and richness, consistency and regularity. ''
The expedition then moved northward from Harney
Peak to explore the Spring Creek district. Jenney sent a
dispatch on July 17, 1875, to Fort Laramie stating that
he had "discovered gold in paying quantities in gravel
bars on both Spring and Rapid Creeks, from twenty to
thirty miles northeast of Harney Peak. The deposits are
the richest yet in the Hills. "^^

Gold was first discovered by miners on Castle Creek
by the expedition on June 12. By middle to late July, Jen-
ney "found nearly 150 miners camped along the valley
prospecting Castle Creek." Jenney noted that "the Rapid
Creek district, including Castle Creek, is destined to be
one of the most productive in the Black HiUs."^^

According to Dodge, "By the 20th of July the Hills
were swarming with people. At least six hundred men,
evading the guards set around, had already gained access
to the Hills, and were engaged in prospecting and min-
ing. . . . "'* General George Crook issued a proclama-
tion requiring the miners to leave, voluntarily requested,
by August 10. A miner's meeting was held on August 10,
prior to their departure, in Custer City. Jenney was pre-
sent. At the meeting, miners were showing off evidence
of mining success. Part of Jenney's account:

Far outnumbering the scanty force of troops, completely
armed, inured to all the hardships and dangers of the fron-
tier, they would have been no despicable enemy to encounter
even in pitched fight, on open ground; while, dispersed in
the almost inaccessible fastnesses of the mountains, they
might successfully have defied or evaded all the troops which
might have been sent against them; yet here they were,
assembled in obedience to a proclamation, quiet and orderly,
and going out without trouble or expense; not that they

wished to or were obliged to, but simply because they had
been kindly notified that their presence in the Hills was viola-
tion of the law.

Never have I seen a body of men which gave me a
grander idea of the inherent value and true worth of
American men, and American institutions.

On the evening of August 10th, the beautiful valley of
French Creek, near Custer City, was picturesque with
miner's camps. At sunrise on the morning of the 11th, not
a man or animal was to be seen.'^

While Crook was finishing his task, Professor Jenney
journeyed north from Rapid Creek to explore the region
drained by Box Elder and Elk Creeks, as well as Spear-
fish and Bear Butte Creeks, which drain the extreme
northern section of the main range of the Black Hills as
they empty into the Redwater and Belle Fourche. The
Box Elder did not yield gold in worthwhile quantities; nor
did Elk Creek.96

Jenney did not explore, except for map-making
topographers, the triangle formed by the Whitewood and
Deadwood Creeks. He just missed the richest square mile
of gold bearing rock and gravel yet known in America,
although he did discover gold in the creeks themselves. ^^
The party next explored the Bear Lodge country, appar-
ently finding only a small trace of gold. ^^ Jenney included
in his report a legend of an early discovery of gold in the
Black Hills. According to the story, Toussaint Kensler,
a half-breed Indian and convicted murderer, first
discovered gold in the Black Hills in either Amphibious
Creek or French Creek, probably the former, while a
fugitive. A map drawn by Kensler compared favorably
to that of Dr. McGillycuddy, expedition topographer.''
The quartz samples submitted to Mr. D. De P.
Rickettes during the expedition for assay contained only
small amounts of gold. Rickettes' report:

SCHOOL OF MINES, COLUMBIA COLLEGE

New York, January 24, 1876.

Certification of assay.

Sir: The samples of ores from the Black Hills, marked

as below, submitted to me for examination, contain no silver,

but gold as follows:

Gold

No. 1. Jasper, from Jasper Hill, Box Elder None

No. 2. Porphyry ledge, Warren Peaks Trace

No. 3. Empress lode. Box Elder Heavy trace

No. 4. Great Quartz ledge. Box Elder None

No. 5. Lee Anna Lode, Spring Creek Trace

No. 6. Sullivan's lode, Castle Creek Heavy Trace

No. 7. Lode on Rapid Creek Trace

No. 8. Iron pyrites from Spring Creek Trace

No. 9. Lode on Rapid Creek — quartz Heavy Trace

No. 10. Lode on Rapid Creek — quartz Heavy Trace

No. 11. Empress lode, Box Elder — quartz None

No. 12. Lode on Rapid Creek Trace

The amount of gold found in each case was too small
to weigh, although the charges of ore were large.

Very respectfully,

P. DEP. RICKETTES, E.M.
Walter P. Jenney, E. M.
Geologist Black Hills Expedition."""

Walter Jenney

Deadwood, South Dakota, the rollicking boom tvnn that oaid

Professor Jenney did not speak highly of the Black
Hills as a source of gold. Colonel Dodge was equally
pessimistic."" California Joe remarked: "Well, you see,
thar's plenty of gold here, — lots of it — but the trouble is,
it's mixed up with such A HELL OF A SIGHT
O'DIRT."'"^ Jenney's exploration actually should have
affected the present government policy very little, but it
instead provided an additional rationale for invalidating
the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.'°'

President Grant began to feel the tenseness of the
situation:

The discovery of gold in the Black Hills, a portion of
the Sioux reservation, has had the effect to induce a large
emigration to that point. Thus far the effort to preserve the
treaty rights of the Indians of that section has been successful,
but the next year will witness a large increase of such emigra-
tion. The negotiations for the relinquishment of the gold
lands having failed, it will be necessary for Congress to adopt
some measure to relieve the embarrassment growing out of
the causes named.

The Secretary of the Interior suggests that the supplies
now appropriated for that people, being no longer obligatory
under the treaty of 1868, but simply a gratuity, may be issued
or withheld at his discretion.""
Hence, the following treaty was successfully negotiated
in September, 1876, at Red Cloud Agency:

1st. The Indians to relinquish all right and claim to any
country outside the boundaries of the permanent reserva-
tion, as established by the treaty of 1868.

2d. To relinquish all right and claim to so much of that
said reservation as lies west of the 103d meridian of longitude.

its ixiittna to the ixploratory expeditions oj the mid-1870s

3d. To grant right of way over the permanent reserva-
tion to that point thereof which lies west of the 103d meri-
dian of longitude, for wagon and other roads, from conve-
nient and accessible points on the Missouri river, not exceed-
ing three in number.

4th. To receive all such supplies as are provided for by
said act and said treaty of 1868, at such points and places
9n their said reservation and in the vicinity of the Missouri
river, as the President may designate.

5th. To enter into such agreement or arrangement with

the President of the United States as shall be calculated and

designed to enable said Indians to become self-supporting.'"^

In effect, it gave miners clear title to the land and made

the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotaian headline, "Mr.

Indian, Take a Back Seat," prophetic.

The ensuing Black Hills gold rush brought a life into
the region that was perhaps more puzzling to the white
man than the thunderstorms around Harney Peak were
to the Sioux. People like James Butler "Wild Bill"
Hickok, "Calamity Jane", Martha Cannary, "Poker
Alice" Tubbs, and Reverend Henry Westen "Preacher"
Smith made the area into a legend. '°^ The flood of gold-
seekers also goaded the Sioux Indians into war. Led by
Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, and joined by the
Cheyenne, the Sioux crushed the white soldiers at Little
Big Horn in June of 1876. Ironically, the commander of
the soldiers was Colonel Custer. The victory did the
Indians little good, however, as General Terry later
enveloped the Indians in the Tongue River Valley and
forced surrender in October, 1876.

1. Watson Parker, Gold in the Black Hills. (Norman: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1966), pp. 6-7. Jesse Brown and A. M.
Willard, The Black Hills Trails. (New York: Arno Press, 1975),
originally published by the Rapid City Journal Company in
1924, put the Verendrye brothers in the Black Hills on January
1, 1743.

2. Ibid., pp. 7-8.

3. Ibid., p. 8.

4. Ibid.

5. Ray Allen Billington, Westward Expansion. (New York: Mac-
millan Publishing Co., 1974), pp. 380-81; Parker, pp. 8-9;
Brown and Willard, p. 27.

6. Billington, pp. 380, 384; Parker, pp. 9-10. Sven G. Froiland,
Natural History of the Black Hills, {hake Mills, Iowa: Graphic
Publishing Co., 1978), pp. 47-48, notes that Smith's party of
12 included Black Harris and Bill Sublette.

7. Parker, p. 10.

8. Annie D. Tallent, The Black Hills. (St. Louis: Nixon-Jones Prin-
ting Co., 1899), pp. 9-11; Parker, pp. 10-11; Brown and
Willard, p. 29.

9. Parker, pp. 10-12; Tallent, p. 11; Brown and Willard, p. 27.

10. Tallent, p. 87.

11. Chicago Inter-Ocean, August 27, 1874. (Cited from Donald
Jackson, Custer's Gold. New Haven: Yale University Press,
1966), p. 85.

12. Jackson, p. 85.

13. Herbert S. Schell, History of South Dakota. (Lincoln: University
of Nebraska Press, 1975), pp. 88-89; Jackson, p. 7.

14. Portion of Article H, Treaty of April 29, 1868, cited from
Jackson, p. 128.

1 5 . Ironically, although the Black HiUs were part of the land reserved
for the Indians by the 1868 treaty, the Indians seldom journeyed
into the Hills proper due to superstitions centered around
Harney Peak and the common thunderstorms. Parker, p. 6;
Henry Newton and Walter P. Jenney, Report on the Geology and
Resources of the Black Hills of Dakota with Atlas. (Washington, D.
C: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1881), p. 311.

16. Sioux City Journal, March 31 and April 9, 1872, cited in Jane
Conard, "Charles Collins: The Sioux City Promotion of the
Black Hills," South Dakota History, Spring, 1972, pp. 131-170.

17. Sioux City Weekly Times, March 30, 1872, cited in Conard, p.
140; Tallent, p. 8.

18. Schell, pp. 125-126.

19. Parker, pp. 22-23; Tallent, p. 8, mentions "Harnett and
Howard."

20. Sioux City Weekly Times, March 30, 1872.

21. Schell, p. 126.

22. George W. Kingsbury, History of Dakota Territory, cited in Parker,
p. 13.

23. Jackson, p. 14.

24. Philip H. Sheridan, Record of Engagements with Hostile Indians within
the Military Division of the Missouri, from 1868 to 1882, cited in
James D. McLaird and Lesta V. Turchen, "Colonel William
Ludlow and the Custer Expedition, 1874," South Dakota History,
Summer, 1974, pp. 283-284; Jackson, p. 14.

25. William Ludlow, Report of a Reconnaissance of the Black Hills of
Dakota, made in the Summer of 1874, cited in McLaird and Tur-
chen, p. 285; Tallent, pp. 13-14.

26. Chicago Inter-Ocean, July 27, 1874, cited in Jackson, pp. 23-24.

27. Sherman's endorsement on a copy of Terry's letter, June 9,
1874, Adjutant General's Office, Letters Received, 2275, National Ar-
chives, cited in Jackson, p. 24.

28. St. Paul Pioneer, June 26, 1874; letter to actor Lawrence Bar-
rett, May 1, 1874, Library of Congress, cited in Lawrence A.
Frost, With Custer in '7^. (Provo: Brigham Young University
Press, 1979), p. 131.

29. Bismarck Tribune, September 1, 1874, cited in Frost, p. 130.

30. Schell, p. 128; Parker, p. 24; Tallent, p. 13. Calhoun mentions
three "Gatling guns" and one "Rodman rifle gun."

31. Schell, p. 128; Parker, p. 24.

32. Parker, p. 24. The cartridge was later found by Troy L. Parker
of Hill City, South Dakota, in the 1930s. The message had
vanished, however.

33. Ludlow, pp. 12-14; Jackson, pp. 83-84.

34. Journal of Private Theodore Ewert, July 2 to August 30, 1874, pp.
37-8 (cited from Jackson, p. 84). Ewert records "Tempany"
as "Tenpenny." Parker tells us that at least one more enlisted
man's journal has survived. It is that of Private William Zahn
of Company G. Zahn's diary is more of a "perfunctory record"
of the expedition than is Ewert's. Ewert's diary is privately
owned by Melma Huckeby Ewert of Jacksonville, Illinois.
Zahn's diary is held by the North Dakota Historical Society.
The official daily log of the expedition was recorded by First
Lieutenant James Calhoun. This journal is today bound as With
Custer in '74, edited by Lawrence A. Frost. Although Calhoun
was Custer's expedition adjutant in charge of all official cor-
respondence and the daily log, Calhoun found it appropriate
to add observations and comments of his own. Calhoun later
married Custer's sister Margaret. His journal was originally
preserved by Mrs. Custer. It is presently owned by Colonel
George Armstrong Custer III (U.S. Army, retired).

35. Tallent, p. 15.

36. Journal of First Lieutenant James Calhoun.

37. George Bird Grinnell, "Zoological Report," cited in Ludlow,
p. 100; McLaird and Turchen, p. 297.

38. A. B. Donaldson, "The Black Hills Expedition," South Dakota
Historical Collections, Vol. 7, p. 564.

39. Custer's Order and Dispatch Book, August 2, 1974, p. 34 (cited from
McLaird and Turchen, "Custer," pp. 296-97). It also appears
in "Opening the Black Hills, Custer's Report, "^ouM Dakota
Historical Collections, Vol. 7, pp. 583-91.

40. Schell, p. 128.

41 . Ibid. Parker, p. 25, implies that Ross alone made this find, and
that McKay first accompanied him on August 2. He also men-
tions the claim of an Indian scout. Red Angry Bear, to be the
first member of the expedition to discover gold. According to
Brown and Willard, pp. 38-39, Ross is given the honor of the
discovery apparently because he oudived his companion McKay,
and therefore was the last to claim the honor! Also, Ross himself
fixes July 27 as the date of discovery, although this is evidently
in error if gold was discovered on French Creek. If, however,
gold was discovered on a tributary of Castle Creek, Gold Run
Creek, as McKay asserted, then the correct date would be July
27. The failure of the expedition reports to note this place and
date may be due to the disposition of Professor N. H. Winchell.

42. Parker, p. 26.

43. Curiously, Calhoun's journal does not mention the advertise-
ment. Reynolds' Diary is held by the Minnesota Historical
Society.

44. Reynolds arrived back at Fort Lincoln on August 16. Eleven
days later, Custer returned from the Black Hills. Only then did
Custer know that his courier had survived the ride to Fort
Laramie. Reynolds was later killed with Major Marcus Reno's
forces at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Mrs. Custer, pp.
240-41, also provides an account of Reynolds' flight. Jackson,
p. 88, seems to think that perhaps she has aided in creating the
almost legendary account of the event. Other key sources for
Reynolds are John S. Gray, "News from Paradise: Charley
Reynolds Rides from the Black Hills to Fort Laramie," Journal
of American Military History, Vol. 3, No. 3, 1978, and "Last Rites
for Lonesome Charley Reynolds," Montana, the Magazine of
Western History, Summer, 1963; John E. and George J.
Remsburg, Charley Reynolds (H. M. Sender, 1931).

45. Bismarck Tribune, August 12, 1874; Yankton Daily Press and

Dakotaian, August 13, 1874, cited in Jackson, p. 89. The Sioux
City interview was reported by the Bismarck Tribune, August 19,
1874.

46. Custer, "Preliminary Report," September 8, 1874, cited in
McLaird and Turchen, pp. 315-316.

47. Parker, p. 26.

48. Custer, "Preliminary Report," cited in McLaird and Turchen,
p. 318.

49. Parker, p. 27. Parker notes that Hinman explored the drier,
southern Hills, rather than the more fertile northern and cen-
tral sections that Custer explored. Further, Hinman set out to
find them undesirable whereas Custer hoped to find them
pleasant.

50. Tallent, p. 4, talks of "several expeditions sent to this Western
country for the purpose of exploration of subduing the hostilities
of the Indian," such as the 1855 expedition of General William
S. Harney, prior to the Western Expedition, "the first military
and scientific expedition sent out for the purpose of exploration."

51. Brown and Willard, p. 28. Tallent, p. 4, has Warren exploring
the Hills a year earlier (1856) than does Brown and Willard.

52. Parker, pp. 15-16.

53. Schell, pp. 68-69.

54. Parker, pp. 16-17. "Raynolds" is "Reynolds" in Tallent, p. 5.

55. "The Black Hills Eldorado," Cheyenne Daily Leader, January 12,
1875.

56. McLaird and Turchen, "The Explorations of Captain William
Franklin Raynolds, 1859-1860," South Dakota History, Winter
1974, pp. 19-62.

57. Report of Brevet Brigadier General W. F. Raynolds on the Ex-
ploration of the Yellowstone and the Country Drained by that
River, cited in McLaird and Turchen, "Raynolds," p. 60.

58. Parker's rendezvous spot, "on the Belle Fourche, about 40 miles
north of Devil's Tower," is an impossibility. The Belle Four-
che extends only about 32 miles north of the Bear Lodge Moun-
tains. Perhaps it is better said that the rendezvous was 40 miles
from Devil's Tower on the Belle Fourche. Too, perhaps the Belle
Fourche has changed its course in the past century.

59. Parker, pp. 17-18.

60. Parker, p. 29; Conard, p. 145. Sheridan further stated that if
Congress acted to open the Black Hills by extinguishing the
treaty rights of the Indian, the army would then give "cordial
support to the settlement of the Black Hills." Senate Exec. Doc.
No. 2 contains much of the army correspondence relative to
removing miners from the Hills.

61. Conard, p. 149.

62. Parker, p. 30; Tallent, p. 22. Tallent mentions later that the
cattle "were neither fat nor sleek, and not in the least bit frisky
at the end of the journey."

63. Tallent, pp. 22-23.

64. Ibid., p. 19.

65. Ibid., p. 23-24.

66. Ibid., p. 25.

67. Ibid., pp. 40-55.

68. Watson Parker, "The Report of Captain John Mix of a Scout
to the Black Hills, March- April, 1875," South Dakota History,
Fall, 1977, pp. 385-401,394.

69. Tallent, pp. 72-74.

70. Parker, "Gold," p. 33.

71. "Report of Captain John Mix to the Post-Adjustant, Fort
Laramie, Wyoming Territory, April 19, 1875," cited in Parker,
"Gold," pp. 35-36. Parker notes that the date of Mix's discovery
of the Gordon Stockade is recorded by Tallent as well as by Aken
in Pioneers of the Black Hills as the fourth, and by Mix as the sixth.
Similarly, Tallent and Aken recorded the departure date as the
seventh, while Mix records it as the tenth. It is difficult to believe
that Mix would make a mistake on such a matter of importance
to his superiors.

ilL

72. Sioux City Weekly Times, May 1, 1875, cited in Conard, p. 149;
Tallent, pp. 86-95.

73. Parker, "Gold," p. 37. According to Parker, p. 23, much of
Mrs. Tallent's book is taken from Rosen's Pa-Ha-Sa-Pah and
A. T. Andreas's Andreas's Historical Atlas oj Dakota.

74. Ibid.

75. Conard, p. 149.

76. Parker, "Gold," p. 37.

77. Newton and Jenney, p. xi; Parker, "Gold," p. 63.

78. Yankton Daily Press and Dakotaian, June 23 and July 2, 1875;
Bismarck Tribune, June 30, July 7, and July 21, 1875.

79. Report of the Commission Appointed to Treat with the Sioux
Indians for the Relinquishment of the Black Hills, p. 18, cited
in McLaird and Turchen, "The Scientists' Search for Gold,"
South Dakota History, Fall, 1974, pp. 404-438, 406.

80. Ibid, pp. 18-19,

81 . Record of Engagements with Hostile Indians within the Military Divi-
sion of the Missouri, from 1868 to 1882, p. 54, cited in McLaird
and Turchen, "Scientists," p. 407.

82. Richard Irving Dodge, The Black Hills . (Minneapolis; Ross and
Haines, Inc., 1965), p. 111.

83. Ibid, p. 113.

84. Julia B. McGillycuddy, McGillycuddy , Agent, cited in McLaird
and Turchen, "Scientists," p. 412. Jose Merrivale was also
known as Joe Merivale, Yankton Daily Press and Dakotaian, July
16, 1875. Other accounts of the incident refer to the guide
California Joe (Moses Milner), a special guide with the engineer-
ing department hired by Professor Jenney, but it was Merrivale
that made the blunder.

85. McLaird and Turchen, "Scientists," p. 414, note that Harry
Young in Hard Knocks: A Life Story of the Vanishing West, and
McGillycuddy are major sources of Calamity Jane's experiences
with the expedition. Roberta Beed Sollid doubts that Calamity
Jane made the trip. Calamity Jane: A Study in Historical Criticism.
J. Leonard Jennewein believed it a fact that Calamity Jane was
present. Calamity Jane of the Westen Trails. Sollid, p. 8, suggests
that the newspaper article proves that a "Calamity Jane"
accompanied the expedition, but the possibility remains that she
was not the Calamity Jane.

86. Newton and Jenney, pp. 20-35.

87. McLaird and Turchen, "Scientists," pp. 416-417.

88. Newton and Jenney, pp. 67-68.

89. McGillicuddy, p. 39, cited in McLaird and Turchen, "Scien-
tists," p. 421.

90. Dodge, pp. 60-61.

91. Newton and Jenney, pp. 229-238.

92. McLaird and Turchen, "Scientists," p. 424.

93. Newton and Jenney, pp. 264-272.

94. Dodge, p. 112.

95. Ibid, p. 113.

96. Newton and Jenney, pp. 272-282.

97. McLaird and Turchen, "Scientists," p. 430.

98. Newton and Jenney, pp. 283-289.

99. Ibid, pp. 292-293.

100. Ibid, p. 294.

101. Parker, "Gold," p. 65.

102. Bismarck Tribune, June 21, 1875.

103. McLaird and Turchen, "Scientists," p. 436.

104. Tallent, p. 132.

105. Ibid., pp. 132-133.

106. Ray Allen Billington, Westward Expansion. (New York; Mac-
millan Publishing Co., 1974), p. 545, prefers to call these indi-
viduals "human scum" and "psychopathic extroverts." Perhaps
it is true that they were liars, brawlers, and beer guzzlers, but
as a spirit of the times they nevertheless represent legends
perhaps no more extreme that the legends more recent times
will someday reveal.

Governor Kendnck's uiaugural, State Capitol steps, January 4, 1915.

John B* Kendrick,

Cowpoke to Senator

18794917

By Eugene T. Carroll

(John B. Kendrick was governor of Wyoming from 1915 to
1917 when he resigned as a result of his election to the U. S. Senate.
He represented Wyoming in the Senate until his death on November
3, 1933. This article by Eugene T. Carroll follows Kendrick's
life from his birth in Texas to his Senate election.)

John Benjamin Kendrick's ethnic heritage was either
Welsh or English, and the name, with innumerable spell-
ings through the centuries, meant "rich in heritage." The
Kendrick family in England and America was known for
its great moral and physical leadership and bold adven-
turous spirit. One of the eighteenth century Kendricks,
who also shared the name of Benjamin, was an explorer
given credit for naming both the Columbia River and the
shores of what is now the state of Washington. Another
Kendrick, William, married Sarah Jones, first cousin of
Martha Washington.'

The Kendrick families settled extensively on the
eastern coast from Massachusetts to Virginia and Georgia.
The Georgian Kendricks, John Benjamin's immediate
ancestors, were evidently prosperous pre-Civil War plan-
tation owners. Issac, John's grandfather, however,
migrated from Georgia in 1842 to Texas and settled just
beyond the Sabine River. John Harvey, the father of the
future Wyoming rancher and politician, also moved in

1847 to Cherokee County about 50 miles northwest of the
Sabine. His second wife, Anna Maye, was an Irish
Catholic who had been in this country just about a year.
She gave birth to two children, John Benjamin, born on
September 6, 1857, and Rosa Maye in 1859; the children's
father died in 1860, the mother in 1863.

The children, now orphans, lived briefly with one of
their uncles and his wife until his step-sister, Mary Jane,
and her husband, Tom Reavis, adopted them into their
own family. Reavis, a Confederate veteran, moved his
family to a new home in Williamson County, about sixty
miles north of Austin. Kendrick lived with the Reavis
family for about eleven years. ^

The Reavis family was the only family group that John
Benjamin ever knew. When Tom Reavis was close to
death in 1915, Kendrick, then governor, visited his Texas
relatives in April of that year. In a June letter, he described
his trip and his relationship to Tom, "I shall always be
glad I made the trip... perhaps the last opportunity to visit
with one of the best men I ever knew." He could never
underestimate the influence that Tom had had on his life.^

In 1879 Kendrick took a job as a trail herder for cat-
tle heading for the grasslands of Wyoming. Texas cat-
tlemen, unable to move their cattle directly to midwestern
markets, drove them northward through Wyoming and
Montana where there was sufficient grassland and rail con-
nections to eastern markets. Kendrick joined the cattle
drive of Charles Wulfgen and Dudley and John Snyder.
Wulfgen and his half-brothers headquartered in Cheyenne
and became known as the largest importers of Texas cat-
tle into the Wyoming territory.*

The drive took five months to trail the 1,500 miles
and young Kendrick suffered physically from the toil of
working continuously with the large herd. When he did
recuperate, Wulfgen appointed him "pilot "for the cook
wagon where he not only led the wagon, but shot game,
gathered firewood and generally helped the cook.^

In June of 1882, Kendrick, who was 25 and con-
sidered honest by stockmen and cowboys alike, was offered
a full time job by the Wyoming Stock Grower's Associa-
tion as a stock inspector at Deadwood. The job paid a
handsome $150 a month and demanded responsibility
from the person who assumed it. Kendrick initially
accepted the job but then declined, for he had other ideas
for his own advancement.^

During the early years of the 1880s, the catde industry
expanded heavOy from eastern and foreign investors. Dur-
ing the first winter of that decade, Amasa R. Converse,
president of the First National Bank of Cheyenne, along
with H. S. Manville and Joseph Peck organized the Con-
verse Cattle Company. William C. Irvine of Nebraska,
who was later to become one of Kendrick 's closest friends,
provided a good portion of the firm's cattle. Wulfgen and
Kendrick, the latter with his own small herd of cattle now,
sold their herds to Converse and returned to Texas. Mrs.
Wulfgen, who was not well, visited with doctors in Austin,

while her husband planned to buy another herd to trafl
northward again in the spring of 1884. Kendrick's where-
abouts are not known in these years, although he did visit
his family in Texas and worked again for Wulfgen in
Wyoming in 1885.'

Kendrick, sometime in 1885, took active charge of
the "77 cattle group," organized by the Hord brothers
and Thomas B. Adams. These men, later incorporated
as the Lance Creek Company, left the active management
to Kendrick while they scoured the eastern banking centers
for badly needed investor's help. Kendrick sold the com-
pany some of his catde, and received, in return, 100 shares
of common stock. Now as part owner of the company,
he assumed more and more of the managerial responsi-
bility. •*

The winter of 1886-1887 has been termed one of the
worst disasters in late ninteenth century Western America.
In Wyoming alone, at least 15 percent of the cattle died,
and with the loss of weight from lack of forage, the cattle
lost at least 30 percent of their value. Furthermore, cat-
tlemen suffered from a declining market. Since Kendrick
was so much aware of range conditions, he urged his part-
ners to gain legal title to their grazing land. He was given
the job of selecting land and filing claims which he seemed
to do more than adequately despite the fact that he had
no legal background.^ In late fall of 1887 Kendrick left
the Lance Creek Company to rejoin the Converse Com-
pany as their general superintendent. Again he was given
wide managerial duties; selecting crews, keeping books
and moving the cattle to new ranges in southern Mon-
tana and north-central Wyoming.

Sheridan, the largest city in this region, became tem-
porary headquarters for Kendrick and his crews. Ken-
drick soon recognized Sheridan as a potential investment
opportunity. He and a business friend, A. S. Burrows,
formed a second bank in the city in 1890. Kendrick con-
tributed the capital he had managed to save or borrow,
while his friend supplied the managerial "know-how. "'°

By 1902 Kendrick had been married about ten years.
Eula Wulfgen, the daughter of Charles Wulfgen, Ken-
drick's first boss, was only 18 years old when she mar-
ried, while her husband was 15 years her senior. The Ken-
dricks lived on the OW Ranch in south-central Montana
for 17 years until their two children, Manville and Rosa-
Maye were old enough to start school in Sheridan."

By 1910 Kendrick had become one of the most pros-
perous men in Sheridan County. He had invested wisely
in ranching and business lands, and at 53 years of age,
could turn easily from ranching and cattle to county
politics. A life-long Democrat, Kendrick first became
interested in politics from local participation in the activ-
ities of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. The
county Democratic committee, knowing of this interest,
persuaded him to run for state senator from Sheridan
County. The Democrats in state convention nominated
former Republican Senator Joseph M. Carey as their can-

AMH DEPARTMENT PHOTOGRAPHS

Kendnck named his Sheridan mansion "Trail
End. " The interior featured dark mahogany wood-
work shipped from Grand Rapids, Michigan, in
36 railroad cars. The tile and marble was made
to order in Omaha, Nebraska, and the ceilings
and walls not covered by panelling were covered
with canvas and handpainted by a New York ar-
tist. Eula Kendnck (left), the daughter of one-
time Kendrick employer Charles Wulfgen, was
18 when she married the future Wyoming gover-
nor and senator. She is pictured in the Wyoming
governor 's mansion at the time she was the state 's
'first lady. " Both Trail End and the Historic
Governor's Mansion are now state historic sites.

didate for governor. Carey ran on a Progressive-
Democratic ticket as a reform candidate who may have
wanted to destroy the Repubhcan Party. '^ Kendrick and
Carey both won their offices although the Republicans
were able to reorganize the state House and Senate and
re-elect Clarence Clark to the Senate.

During the 1911 legislature very few bills were passed.
But Kendrick as a neophyte legislator profited from his
inherited ability to compromise, his promises of financial
help, and his ever- widening circle of friends. Two influ-
ential friends were J. Ross Carpenter of Cheyenne and
Leslie A. Miller of Laramie. Carpenter, the owner of a
real estate company, was the philosophic mentor for the
state's Democrats, and because he considered politics as
a crusade, he attracted many from the progressive wing
of the party.

In an era when the average voter was so dependent
on the newspaper for information. Carpenter persuaded
Kendrick to invest $5,700 in the Cheyenne State Leader, a
paper that was going to be sold to the highest bidder
regardless of party. However, Carpenter, who also
invested $5,700 in the paper, was not as candid about the
financial condition of the paper with Kendrick as he should
have been. Kendrick lost between $7,000 and $10,000 in
helping Carpenter keep the paper afloat."

Carpenter envisioned the Leader as a Democratic voice
aimed at stockmen and ranchers who were generally
Republican in their philosophies and votes. In his cor-
respondence with Kendrick in the summer of 1911,
Carpenter implied that the Sheridan Democrat should
seriously consider running against Senator Warren in
1912. Kendrick responded positively, and by October of
that year, had purchased the controlling voice in another
newspaper, the Sheridan Enterprise. He and Carpenter met
secretly to plan a Senate campaign. Carpenter enthusi-
astically endorsed the Kendrick move and more than likely
the financial aid to the party coffers. Carpenter wrote,
"We realize that your wealth wUl be of immense aid... yet
I would personally be as zealous in my support were your
means only limited."'^

Leslie A. Miller, later governor of Wyoming, who
served in the House in 1911, was on the staff of the Laramie
Boomerang. Kendrick hired Miller to investigate the War-
ren Livestock Company as well as alleged reports on
abuses on the senator's sheep ranches. Miller was so bit-
ter and totally partisan in his anti-Warren editorials that
Kendrick, while condoning the attacks, urged Miller to
be more charitable.'^

The Wyoming Stock Growers Association played a
definitive part in Kendrick's political and social life. The
Association was also a political instrument in the senatorial
career of Warren. WQliam C. Irvine, who considered both
Warren and Kendrick personal friends, tried to persuade
the latter from seeking Warren's seat in 1912. Irvine was
the long-time president of the W.S.G.A., and in order
to prevent the expected Kendrick entry, he offered the

Sheridan Democrat the presidency at the next state con-
vention. Kendrick was pleased with the offer but remained
non-committal.'^ Kendrick was elected vice-president at
the state convention in the spring of 191 1 . His invitation
to hold the next meeting in Sheridan was accepted, and
there, he was elected president while Irvine was named
executive secretary. Kendrick, remembering the impact
of the Carey name on Wyoming voters, then selected
Robert D. Carey as his vice-president.

In May of 1912 the Democrats met to choose can-
didates for state offices. Kendrick remained in the wings.
The platform endorsed regulation of corporations and a
federal income tax, but oddly enough, did not mention
the popular election of United States senators. The Wyo-
ming delegation to the national convention in Baltimore
in July endorsed Congressman Champ Clark of Missouri
for the presidential nomination. Kendrick was an unof-
ficial observer at the national convention, and after the
convention nominated Woodrow Wilson, Kendrick
returned to Wyoming and announced his own candi-
dacy."

In the August 20 primary, Kendrick found himself
unopposed; Thomas P. Fahey of Cheyenne, a labor jour-
nal editor, won the nomination for Congress. Kendrick
had hoped that an insurgent Republican would run with
him in order to present a balanced slate of candidates.
Roy Montgomery, a Gillette hotel proprietor, a stockman
and a close friend of Kendrick's, handled the campaign
in northeastern Wyoming. Montgomery persuaded Ken-
drick to contribute $1,000 to set up a newspaper in Sun-
dance. While the financial arrangement remained secret,
Kendrick feared exposure from Republicans would
publicize him as "an owner of a long string of Democratic
papers."'*

The general campaign of 1912 was issue-oriented.
Kendrick attacked the Taft administration for its irriga-
tion policies and the withdrawal of federal oil lands in
Wyoming. He agreed with the basic principles of the wise
use of resources but thought that these natural resources
should be administered for the people of his time. He and
Senator Warren were not far apart on the issues of
reclamation and disposition of public lands. Kendrick,
though, did not discuss issues that were a part of the na-
tional scene. '^

The press of both parties kept the campaign hot and
partisan. The Cheyenne Tribune, for instance, claimed that
Kendrick had illegally fenced almost 70,000 acres of
federal land, and in securing titles to personal land, had
used "dummy" entrymen. The Democratic press charged
Warren with illegal fencing, misuse of the franking
privilege, and the promotion of his son-in-law, John J.
Pershing, from captain to brigadier-general.^"

As a campaigner, Kendrick enjoyed informal gather-
ings. In almost all his speeches, he would refer to his
inexperience and his non-partisan attitude, a technique
that would win future elections if not this one. He seemed

Construction of Trail End was started in 1908
and not completed until the summer of 1913. The
next year Kendrick was elected governor. When
he went to the U.S. Senate, Trail End became
his summer home. Currently, the maruion is a state
historic site jointly operated by the Wyoming State
Archives, Museums and Historical Department
and the Wyoming Recreation Commission.

to find a common bond with his audiences and their pro-
blems. "My life-long experience as a pioneer, my life on
the range has been close to the real things in life."^'

The November elections saw the election of Woodrow
Wilson and the re-election of Congressman Mondell and
Senator Warren. The Republicans won both houses of
the legislature although their control of the House of
Representatives was shaky for a time.^^

When the legislature met in January of 1913, War-
ren was confirmed after days of partisan wrangling. In
contrast to the 1911-1912 legislative sessions. Governor
Carey and the Republican majority carried their bitter
partisanship through most of the session. However, some
constructive measures passed. Two federal constitutional
amendments were ratified: direct election of United States
senators and the personal income tax.

By 1914 Kendrick was prepared to run again, this time
for governor. His friend, S. G. Hopkins, carefully planned
the campaign. In late April, Hopkins wrote to Kendrick:
"Our party affairs have reached a very critical stage . . .
which will require the greatest tact and diplomacy."
Hopkins confided to Kendrick that the Carey forces need-
ed a Progressive to run with Kendrick. Douglas A. Preston
was the Democratic candidate and Fred Blume of Sheridan
would be the choice for the Progressive nomination for
Congress. Even though Kendrick at times seemed will-
ing, he vacillated to the point of frustration with leaders
of the party. Despite the fact that he had just occupied
his new Sheridan home (Trail End) and had been back
in the cattle business only briefly, he finally consented to
run. To a close friend, though, he confided that he hoped
the campaign would not keep him away from home for
more than 45 days.^^

Kendrick formally began his campaign on September
20. Again, he appealed to the rural voter. He advocated
funding for more experimental farms to educate those in
agriculture on how to profit by newer methods of irriga-
tion. One of his major topics raised before all voter
audiences was on the need for irrigation projects.^*

In spite of these issues, his campaign emphasized his
personality instead of issues, as he did in 1912. His oppo-
nent was Hilliard S. Ridgely, a man whose only public
office had been a short tenure with the United States
Department of Justice. The campaign was almost a bland
affair. Kendrick led the ticket and was only the second
Democrat to be elected governor since 1890, defeating
Ridgely by 3,200 votes. Preston and Blume were defeated
by Congressman Mondell, and the Republicans kept their
majorities in the state legislature. Kendrick's good friend,
William C. Irvine, wrote that the governor-elect could
credit his win more to his personality than to any issue.
Kendrick appealed to all segments of the voting public
because he de-emphasized his party affiliation and talked
to his audiences not as a candidate but as an ordinary
human being. ^'

As governor he remained in constant touch with the

people. One of his first recommendations to the legislature
was the establishment of a Public Utilities Commission.
The legislature responded with the Public Utilities Com-
mission Act of March 4, 1915. The most important sec-
tion of the Act was the setting up of a board which had
the power to set rates for transportation companies,
telephone, electric light power, gas, water and pipeline
companies.

In a Joint Memorial to Congress in the same year,
the legislature, with Kendrick's approval, protested Presi-
dent Wilson's withdrawal of public lands containing
mineral rights and the withdrawal of power sites to con-
trol water resources. In the Appropriation Act of 1915,
Kendrick called for and received $10,000 to make state
surveys on possible irrigation and reclamation sites. ^''

As 1916 approached, the Democrats began to look for
a candidate to oppose Senator Clarence D. Clark. When
the rumors began to surface that the governor was the
only Democrat to beat Clark, Kendrick released a press
statement: "I was elected governor for four years, and
I think that those who elected me expect me to serve out
my term as governor."^'

When the May, 1916, convention of the party met,
no candidate was nominated. However, Democrats began
a campaign to write in Kendrick's name in the August
primary. S. G. Hopkins, now party chairman and State
Commissioner of Lands, had written to E. S. Drury that
he would not be a candidate, but of Kendrick, he wrote,
"We must draft him to make the race." He contended
that President Wilson needed strong, dynamic men at this
time.

Another friend, Robert Rose, wrote to Kendrick:
"... there is no one else who can enter the coming cam-
paign as a candidate." Kendrick replied that he could not
see himself holding one office and campaigning for
another. He was sure that there were other potenticil can-
didates who could do the job.

Despite his reluctance to openly seek the nomination,
Kendrick's name was written in during the August pri-
mary. The governor campaigned for the office as vigor-
ously as did Senator Clark, but it was not as vindictive
a campaign as might have been expected. Democratic
papers accused Clark of not introducing significant legisla-
tion, or of voting against Wyoming's interests. The
Republican press predictably attacked Kendrick for keep-
ing one office while campaigning for another.^'

The one major campaign issue centered on the gover-
nor's position as president of the State Land Board. On
November 17, 1915, Kendrick had bought about 10,000
acres of land at a public auction for $10 an acre. The
Republicans criticized him for purchasing land while he
was president of the Land Board. But in general, the land
transaction issue did not seem great enough to prevent
a Kendrick victory on election day. The governor won,
not only because the election was the first by popular vote,
but because Senator Clark had been in the Senate for

almost 22 years. Wyoming voters hoped Kendrick would
bring a new voice and new energy to Washington. ^^

1 . John Benjamin Kendrick Collection, Box 122, American Heritage
Center, University of Wyoming. Hereafter cited as the "JBK"
Coll. This paragraph is based on information in the "Kendrick
Genealogy Notebook," a scrapbook of unnumbered pages and
some loose undated material; Ray Allen Billington, Western Ex-
pansion: A History of the American Frontier (New York: MacMillan
Publishing Co., 1974), p. 432.

2. Reavis genealogy in the "Kendrick Genealogical Notebook."

3. JBK to Mrs. Mary B. Mays, June 12,1915, Box 10, JBK Coll.

4. Maurice Frink, W. Turrentine Jackson and Agnes Wright Spring,
When Grass Was King (Boulder: University of Colorado Press,
1956).

5. Wulfgen Genealogical Notebook, Box 122, JBK Coll.

6. Secretary to the Wyoming Stock Growers Association to JBK,
June 20, 1882, Vol.2, outgoing correspondence; p. 620. JBK to
Colen Hunter, July 1, 1882, incoming correspondence, Wyoming
Stock Growers Association Collection, American Heritage
Center, University of Wyoming.

7. "Wulfgen Genealogical Notebook," Box 122, JBK Coll., Univer-
sity of Wyoming; Michael Lewellyn, "John Kendrick and the
Revival of the Democratic Party in Wyoming, 1910-1914,"
(Unpublished Master's thesis. University of Wyoming, 1975),
p. 12.

8. Lewellyn, p. 13.

9. T. A. Larson, "The Winter of 1886-1887 in Wyoming," Annals
of Wyoming, XIV (January, 1942), pp. 13-14, 15. Thomas B.
Adams to JBK, August 10,1887; T. B. Hord Coll., American
Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, Vol. 1, p. 55.

10. The Sheridan Post, October 16, 1890.

U. "Wulfgen Genealogical Notebook," Box 122, JBK Coll.

12. The Sheridan Post, October 20, 23, 1910.

13. J. R. CarpentertoJBK, July 8, 15, 17 and September 2, 1911,
Box 2, JBK Coll.

14. J. Ross Carpenter to JBK, October 31, 191 1 , Box 2, JBK Coll.

15. JBK to Leslie A. Miller, February 16, 1912, Box 3, JBK Coll.

16. JBK to William C. Irvine, February 7, 1912, Box 3, JBK Coll.

17. Sheridan Daily Enterprise, July 5, 1912.

18. JBK to Roy Montgomery, July 13, 1912, Box 3, JBK Coll.

19. This paragraph is condensed from Kendrick's speech notes, T.
Blake Kennedy Papers, Box 202, JBK Coll.

20. Cheyenne Tribune, Septembers, November 1, 2, 1912; Sheridan
Enterprise, August 9, September 9, October 2, 1912.

21 . Kendrick speech notes, T. Blake Kennedy Papers, Box 202, JBK
Coll.

22. Larson, History of Wyoming, p. 328.

23. S. G. Hopkins to JBK, April 24, 1914; JBK to M. B. McKillip,
June 16, 1914; JBK to A. S. Burrows, August 6, 1914, Box 5,
JBK Coll.

24. Cheyenne State Leader, September 20, 1914. (See the author's arti-
cle on Kendrick's efforts to secure water legislation in Congress
in the 1920s and the early 1930s in the Fall, 1978 issue of the
Annals of Wyoming, entided "John B. Kendrick's Fight for Western
Water Legislation, 1917-1933," pp. 319-333.)

25. W. C. Irvine to JBK, November 28, 1914, Box 6, JBK Coll.

26. Larson, pp. 369, 394.

27. Wyoming Tribune, March 27, 1916.

28. S. G. Hopkins to E. S. Drury, March 4, 1916; Robert Rose to
JBK, March 18, 1916; JBK to Rose, March 23, 1916. Box 14,
JBK Coll.; Larson, History of Wyoming, p. 391.

29. Larson, pp. 392-393.

The Dempsey-Hockaday Trail —

An Experience in History

By Robert G.
Rosenberg

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To go or not to go; is even now the question in the minds
of thousands of our countrymen, residents of the Atlantic
States. And it can be answered most emphatically and
truthfully, yes! or no! depending entirely upon circum-
stances.

But to the strong young man, possessing the determina-
tion to do, or die, willing to meet and brave disappointment
should it come upon him, and can reach here with one hun-
dred or even fifty dollars in pocket, COME TO CALI-
FORNIA.

It is a land full of glorious promise, a land where the
utmost diversity of pursuits is presented to the enterprising,
of every capacity, from the man of wealth, to the day-laborer,
whose only capital is his hands. A land above all others,
where industry and prudence make poor men rich ..."
Thus the young, the old, the near destitute and the
rich adventurer were lured by often erroneous and always
tempting ads to join the groups moving westward on an
arduous journey.

Mr. John Hockaday, an experienced mountaineer,
discovered in 1854 a cut-off route across the Bear River
mountains, over which he attempted to turn the emigration,
and he erected a bridge for the purpose of aiding the adop-
tion of the line.

For light trains this route is decidedly preferable to the
old traveled road, and may be so improved as to serve the
important purpose of dividing the travel and preventing the
present great loss of stock for want of grass. ^
So F. W. Lander described the Dempsey- Hockaday
trail in his Preliminary Report to the Secretary of the Inte-
rior in 1857, a report concerning Pacific wagon roads to
be built or improved by the Federal Government. The
Dempsey-Hockaday Trail was a variation of the Oregon
Trail of the great 19th century westward migration. It
was a "short cut" on the Sublette Cut-off, which was the
original Oregon Trail across what is now western
Wyoming.

The Dempsey-Hockaday Trail is located in Lincoln
County in extreme western Wyoming, approximately 18
miles northwest of Kemmerer and about 16 miles east-

southeast of Cokeville. The trail is approximately 16.7
miles long,^ crosses the north-south running Commissary
Ridge, the Ham's Fork Plateau, and Dempsey Ridge
(from east to west), with the Ham's Fork of the Green
River intervening. Commissary Ridge, formerly known
as Absaroka Ridge, represents the southern continuation
of the Wyoming Range. This range and the Salt River
Range (paralleling it to the west) were collectively known
as the Bear Mountains or Bear River Mountains by early
emigrants.

At its highest points the westward trail reaches an
elevation of 8,671 feet near the crest of Commissary Ridge
and of 8, 160 feet atop Dempsey Ridge on the Ham's Fork
Plateau where it rejoins the Sublette Road.* The trail dips
to a low point of 7,240 feet where it crosses the Ham's
Fork at the present-day Viva Naughton Reservoir.^

Throughout the 1870s the Hayden Survey was active
in this area studying geology and geography. Many of
the significant landforms were named by its members.

At this point on the Dempsey-Hockaday Trail (op-
posite page), the emigrant has made the arduous
descent of Commissary Ridge (in background) and
is approaching the Ham 's Fork near present-day
Wyoming Route 233. Wagon wheels cut a deep
gully into river gravel where the Dempsey-
Hockaday Trail ascends the west bank of the
Ham 's Fork (left). Having completed the ascent,
the traveler was in the vicinity of one of the two
possible locations of the "lost" trading post. One
of several historic markers (above) placed along
the route by the Wyoming State Historical Socie-
ty displays the generally recognized dates for the
Oregon Trail. These brass medallions are sought
by souvenir hunters, resulting in vandalism to most
of the markers.

\[.L PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR

Henry Gannett mapped the major drainages of the region
and described Ham's Fork:

This stream which in high water is scarcely fordable, in the
fall of the year dwindles to an insignificant creek. In its
drainage area and length, however, it exceeds any of the other
western branches of the Green ... It heads in and west of
the meridional [sic] ridges, its main stream reaching behind
and as far north as the sources of the Fontenelle. After flow-
ing southward through a broad basin in the hills for many
miles, it turns eastward; cuts its way out into the Green River
Basin; then it flows nearly southeast, and finally, after a
course of nearly 40 miles in the basin, it unites with Black's
Fork, at Granger, a station on the Union Pacific Railroad. ''
Beginning at the eastern junction with the Sublette
Road or Cut-off, the Dempsey-Hockaday Trail crosses
the southern end of Oyster Ridge and proceeds westward
across the Pomeroy Basin. Basil Longsworth, an emigrant
crossing in 1853, described Oyster Ridge and a late night
encounter with an Indian on Crow Creek (Willow Creek)
in Pomeroy Basin:

We made 18 miles passing over two high ranges of moun-
tains; at noon we ate dinner at Pine Grove with snowdrifts
near us. We then passed up a rough hill two or three miles
long when we found ourselves on the top, when I thought
I was sufficiently elevated to see my native home if my vision
had been strong enough. The prospect from here was truly
extensive. The top of this mountain was perfectly sharp, there
was a ridge of thin stones set on their edges and a foot high
and the ground fell right off on each side of this backbone;
the descent from here was long and steep, perhaps a thou-
sand feet in perpendicular height. We camped on Crow
Creek [Willow Creek], a pretty stream. This night about 1
o'clock an Indian attempted to steal Mr. Connor's mare.
He threw the lariat over her head and then looked at her
feet to see if she were hobbled, when Mr. Conyer (the guide)
hailed him; he sprang upon her back. By this time Conyer
was within five yards of him, cocked his gun and aimed at
his breast with a deadly rifle; he pulled the lock but the gun
did not go off as he had neglected to set the trigger, which
accident saved his [the Indian's] life. The Indian then dis-
mounted in haste; the guard then fired at him at a distance
but without effect.'

The trail then climbs the east side of Commissary
Ridge. On the crest the Dempsey-Hockaday Trail meets
a modern improved access road to the Getty 15-3 Willow
Creek Well. A portion of the old trail has been graded.
What are probably the original trail ruts can be seen
paralleling the new road to the west.

The emigrant trail soon is visible on the west side of
the access road, and a number of alternate descent routes
into the Ham's Fork Valley are still evident. It is possi-
ble that all the trail variations descending this hill are
original and represent "short-cuts" or better routes for
individual westward-bound travelers of the time. All the
various descent trails merge on the east side of the Ham's
Fork at the bottom of the ridge.

The trail can be seen in sagebrush just east of Wyo-
ming Route 233 and across the highway from a cluster
of ranch buildings. From the cluster of buildings the trail
runs west across Ham's Fork paralleling a modern two-

track to the north and climbs the west bank of the drainage
area where it cut a deep trench in gravelly soil. Local tradi-
tion claims that a trading post was once located in this
area.^

The dominant topographical feature on the west side
of Ham's Fork is called the Ham's Fork Plateau and
includes the Dempsey Ridge. The Dempsey-Hockaday
Trail crosses the low rolling ridge system which includes
Pink Hill and descends the west slope of the ridge into
the Dempsey Creek drainage. Several two-track roads con-
verge in this area so that the original crossing no longer
is evident; a number of trail variations probably existed
here, their individual usage governed by weather, road
conditions, and season of the year.

The Dempsey-Hockaday Trail followed the South
Fork of Dempsey Creek in order to reach Dempsey Ridge.
Today, field examination of the trail indicates that the
preferred route was an unimproved two-track on the crest
of an east-west running low ridge on the north side. The
Wyoming State Historical Society has placed historic trail
markers along the way. The route continues northwest
and passes a log homestead and outbuildings beside a
spring. As the trail begins the steep ascent of Dempsey
Ridge, there are what appear to be two traces a few hun-
dred feet apart which have been badly eroded so that indi-
vidual ruts are no longer discernible. The trail continues
its ascent to the crest of Dempsey Ridge, where it rejoins
the Sublette Road which descends the west wide of Demp-
sey Ridge to the Rock Creek drainage.

The vegetation varies greatly as the Dempsey-Hock-
aday Trail trends westward over high ridges and deep
drainages. The ridgetops and upper slopes are forested
with aspen, lodgepole pine, limber pine, subalpine fir, and
Englemann spruce. The lower slopes and drainage area
are sage-covered with lesser quantities of rabbitbrush,
Indian ricegrass, wheatgrass, bunch grasses, prickly pear
cactus and saltbush. The larger drainages are lined with
dense willow growth.

Extensive logging took place on the slopes above the
upper Ham's Fork Basin prior to the 20th century. Red
fir and lodgepole pine logs were cut and floated down
Ham's Fork to be used for railroad ties. As late as 1914,
logs were being cut in the same area and floated down-
stream to Frontier, Diamondville, and Oakley for use in
the mines. ^

Large stands of timber were destroyed in forest fires
during the second half of the 19th century, especially in
the vicinity of Lake Alice (formerly Fish Lake). These
areas were choked with fallen timbers, but in the early
part of the 20th century the burns were being slowly
replaced by lodgepole pine.'" Today the Bridger-Teton
National Forest occupies the region due north of the
Dempsey-Hockaday Trail in the upper Ham's Fork Basin.

The background of the Oregon Trail, including the
Dempsey-Hockaday cut-off, begins with the opening of

A reminder of a lonely and difficult homestead
life stands beside a spring on the north side of
the trail near the east base of Dempsey Ridgt
(in background).

The emigrant faced one of his toughest
challenges on the east side of the ridge. Today,
J a badly eroded trough cut through an aspen grove
begins the steep ascent (above). The trail re-
joins the Sublette Road on the crest of Demp-
sey Ridge at 8,160 feet (left). The emigrant
would then descend the west side of the ridge
to Rock Creek.

PHOTOS COLRTESV OF THE ALTHOR

the western fur trade in the early 19th century. Ranging
over mountain passes and down streams in search of
beaver, the mountain men pioneered the basic routes that
would be used by emigrants bound for Oregon, Califor-
nia, and Deseret (Utah). The basic Oregon Trail was well-
known to the fur trapper and trader long before the first
emigrant wagon ever left the "States."

It should be noted that these routes had already been
established by Indian groups indigenous to these regions
centuries before the coming of Anglo-American civiliza-
tion. Since the Indians left no written record, they have
received scant recognition for the routes that are now our
modern highway and rail systems and which enabled a
westward migration.

The Dempsey-Hockaday Trail passes through the
former hunting grounds of the Absaroka or Crow Indians.
(Original local place names such as Absaroka Ridge and
Crow Creek attest to their influence). Early emigrant jour-
nals frequently mention contact with the Snake or
Shoshoni Indians as well. The "Old Indian Trail" is
known by local residents today as following Fontenelle
Creek upstream from the Green River to Commissary
Ridge, where it crossed to the west side and descended
to Ham's Fork by means of Beaver Creek. A large
seasonal camp is said to have been located at the junc-
tion of these two streams (about four miles north of the
Dempsey-Hockaday crossing of the Ham's Fork). It is
probable that this trail continued south and utilized the
Dempsey-Hockaday Cut-off to cross over to the Bear
River country."

Numerous prehistoric archeological sites have been
found and recorded on Commissary Ridge near the
Dempsey-Hockaday Road, indicating the presence of
hunting-gathering groups at a much earlier date than the
contact period.'^

Lander's Cut-off (to be mentioned in greater detail
below) followed portions of an Indian trail over Thomp-
son's Pass about 9-10 miles north-northeast of the
Dempsey-Hockaday Road to cross the Wyoming Range
into the Star Valley. What is described as the "Star Valley
trail, at one time the important trail of the Shoshoni and
Bannock Indians, "'' crosses the Wyoming and Salt
Ranges via Marsh Creek, McDougal's Gap (six miles
north of Thompson's Pass), the John Gray's River (Greys
River), Sickle Creek, and McDougal's Pass to the Salt
River and Star Valley.

In 1810, John Jacob Astor dispatched two expeditions
bound for the mouth of the Columbia River to establish
the headquarters for an envisioned chain of trading posts
stretching from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean. The
first expedition traveled by sea and founded the head-
quarters settlement of Astoria in April, 1811. The second
party was led overland by Wilson Price Hunt, who was
attempting to find a more direct route than that traversed
by Lewis and Clark. The Hunt party crossed portions of
present-day Wyoming, passed through the Big Horn

Mountains and turned south to the Wind River. In the
vicinity of Dubois, they followed a well-worn Indian trail
into the Wind River Mountains and crossed over the range
at what later became known as Union Pass. The party
then turned south in search of game, eventually reaching
Beaver Meadows about 10 miles north of Daniel, Wyo-
ming.'*

The Hunt expedition traveled northwest (along the
general route of today's Highway 187-89) to the Snake
River. Attempts to navigate the Snake River Canyon were
unsuccessful, and they left Wyoming via Teton Pass,
crossing into present-day Idaho. Their subsequent route
west of Henry's Fork of the Snake River became part of
the western portion of the Oregon Trail. Hunt's group
was the first to record their trip through Wyoming. '^

An east-bound party returning from Astoria in 1812
under the leadership of Robert Stuart is credited with
discovering the great South Pass of the westward migra-
tion. An Indian scout had told the party of a crossing at
the southern tip of the Wind River Mountains. Seeing
signs of a large party of Crow Indians in the area, Stuart
turned south and camped a short distance northeast of
Pacific Springs, later to become a welcome watering spot
used during the westward migration. Phillip Ashton
Rollins, who edited Stuart's original journal wrote:
Stuart, now well within the constricting western entrance
to South Pass, was squarely on the main route of the subse-
quent Oregon Trail and but a scant two miles southwest-
erly from the spot which, when later covered by that trail,
was called by its emigrant users the Summit of South Pass.'^
Stuart continued eastward, following the general route
of the Oregon Trail along the North Platte and Platte
Rivers. Fur trappers soon adopted this route as a more
direct means of reaching prime beaver country in what
is now western Wyoming and eastern Idaho.

A passage from the Overland Journal of Vincent Geiger
and Wakeman Bryarly describes a South Pass crossing in
1849:

Persons generally have a very erroneous idea of this South
Pass. It is generally supposed from its being called (a) Pass,
to be a narrow pass, a place with high steep ragged, rug-
ged, ugly, black, sharp, and threatening rocks on each side
and above, with the steepest hills to ascend and the most
dangerous to man or beast. You never formed an idea so
far from the truth. The Pass is 19 miles wide and through
a little valley. The ascent is so gradual that it is scarcely
perceptible. We commenced ascending from our very start
from the States, and we are now 9,000 feet above the level
of the sea and coming to this point more than 1,000 miles
would divide into a very imperceptible grade. The truth is,
if you were not told, you would not know you were either
in the Rocky Mountains or in the South Pass."
Elizabeth Goltra crossed South Pass in 1853 and aptly
described that gateway to the far west:

Thursday July 7th: How beautiful the sunrises and peeps
over the hills to guide and cheer the weary traveler, 10 miles
from camp and over a good road we glide almost impercep-
tibly through the South Pass (of the Rocky Mountains) hardly
knew when we were through it was scarcely any ascent or
descent."

By the mid- 1820s, portions of the future emigrant traU
had been estabhshed, and the Rocky Mountain west was
well known to a handful of bold trappers, traders and
explorers. Popular interest had been aroused in the vast
empire that lay west of the Mississippi by the tales of
returning Astorians, explorers and mountain men.

As early as 1820, the possibilities of creating set-
tlements on the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean
had been raised by a Congressional committee headed by
Dr. John Floyd, which bore little result.^" Oregon was
unimaginably remote and represented more of a dream
than a viable alternative for those discontented with their
lot far to the east. Transporting family and belongings
across a rugged, hostile and uncivilized continent seemed
impossible. It remained for the mountain men to blaze
a wagon trail across this wilderness, unwittingly hasten-
ing their own demise from the center stage of history.
In 1830, Jedediah S. Smith, David E. Jackson and
William L. Sublette took a caravan of wagons loaded with
trade goods along the eastern portion of the future Oregon
Trail as far as South Pass to the trappers' rendezvous.
This group did not cross the pass but proved that the route
was feasible for wagon migration to that point. The party
felt that "... the wagons could easily have crossed the
Rocky Mountains, it being what is called the Southern
Pass, had it been desirable for them to do so . . ."^'

In 1832, Capt. Benjamin L. E. Bonneville led the first
wagons across South Pass and beyond into the Green
River Basin. Bonneville constructed a short-lived fort on
the banks of the Green River a short distance west of the
present-day town of Daniel. ^^

The route to the Oregon country west of South Pass
still utilized Teton Pass to reach the Snake River. "From
the mouth of Henry's Fork, the Snake River was the
natural, easy 'highway' to the Pacific Northwest. "^^ This
route involved a substantial detour north. According to
historian Mary Hurlburt Scott, in 1832 William Sublette
pioneered a direct route across the desert of the Big Sandy
from South Pass, across the Green River Basin and
through the Bear River Mountains to the Snake River
country. The northern route never had been more than
a foot or horseback trail and was unsuitable for wagons.
Sublette's Road, therefore, became the first wagon-
traveled Oregon Trail. It is on this portion of the route
that the Dempsey-Hockaday Cut-off was formalized in
1854. What has come to be commonly accepted as the
traditional Oregon Trail was south of the Sublette Road
and passed by Fort Bridger. However, this post was not
built until 1842-43,^* and represented a substantial detour
to the south. According to Mary Hurlburt Scott:
In summary: America, 1842, was on the threshold of a
tremendous upheaval. The Pacific was known and the
Oregon Trail up the Platte River and along the Sweetwater
through South Pass, over Sublette's Road South (Sublette
Cut-off), to the Snake and onto the Great Northwest was
recognized by all. Oregon had a small population dating from
1811. Growth through 1832 was sporadic; it had been given

impetus in the 1830s. This was in the era prior to the found-
ing of Bridger and the coming of the Mormons, and the eager
gold seekers . . . The trader, trapper and Indian had to adjust
to the coming of men in vast numbers. The great rendez-
vous and the fur companies had had their day . . . Oregon
beckoned in 1842, one tide had receded — now the flood of
emigration was to come.'*

This "flood of emigration" demanded alternate routes
that could provide plentiful water and grass. One of the
men credited with the blazing of the Dempsey-Hockaday
Trail was John Hockaday. An experienced mountaineer
and government surveyor, Hockaday had conducted a
survey for Jim Bridger concerning land claims against
Gov. Brigham Young and the Mormons who had taken
over Bridger's fort on Black's Fork. The survey was com-
pleted November 6, 1853, and on March 16, 1854, a copy
of the survey was filed with Thomas Bullock, Great Salt
Lake County recorder. ^^

In the spring of 1858, Hockaday and Liggett received
the overland mail contract from Independence, Missouri,
to Salt Lake City." Allan's Guide Book (1859) states that
Hockaday utilized Bridger's fort in reaching Salt Lake
City.^* The Dempsey-Hockaday trail would have been
impractical for a Salt Lake City delivery.

Robert D. Dempsey received scant consideration in
F. W. Lander's report to the government except in a com-
pilation of estimated improvement costs :^^

Whole cost of work to turn off Hockaday's Cut-off

and old road, twenty-five thousand dollars $25,000

Purchase and repairs of the Hockaday and Dempsey
bridge; with sum for rendering free the bridges at

Smith's and Thomas' Forks $ 6,000

In addition. Lander depicted the trail on his preliminary
map of the Central Division (1857-58) and called it the
"Dempsey and Hockaday's Road."

Dempsey was of Irish descent and born in 1832. He
married an Indian woman, had five daughters and was
living in Green River County, Utah Territory (near Fort
Bridger), according to the 1860 census. Dempsey made
his living as a trapper and fur trader, as well as trading
with the military and the emigrants. Local tradition claims
that he once resided on the east side of Commissary
Ridge. ^° Modern maps show his name on Dempsey Creek
and Dempsey Ridge in the immediate area. In addition,
the Dempsey-Hockaday Road was called "The Demp-
sey Trail" on GLO township survey maps of the area.
Frederick West Lander's role stems from his appoint-
ment as chief engineer of the Fort Kearney, South Pass
and Honey Lake Wagon Road in 1857. This project
resulted from the continued efforts of California interests
and western expansionists for the construction of an
emigrant road to the West Coast through the interven-
ing western territories. The Donner Party tragedy in the
Sierra Nevadas in 1846 had emphasized that the existing
Oregon-California Trail and its numerous variations
represented a hazardous and exhausting trek fraught with
severe hardships and often death."

John C. Fremont introduced a bill in Congress in 1850
asicing for "... the commencement of opening a com-
mon traveling road between the present Western settle-
ments of the United States and the State of California. "^^
In 1856, California Senator Wilkins introduced a peti-
tion asi<ing for a wagon road for emigrants that would
also be used to aid in speedy mail delivery. Finally, on
February 17 and March 3, 1857, Congress approved the
construction of a number of wagon roads across the ter-
ritories. Albert H. Campbell was appointed General
Superintendent of the Pacific Wagon Roads. ^^

The route was divided into three divisions. The first
section from Fort Kearney to Independence Rock utilized
the already established Oregon Trail and involved limited
improvements. The central division crossed South Pass,
the Green River Basin, and the Bear River Mountains
to City Rocks. The third division extended west to Honey
Lake Valley on the eastern boundary of California.'*

From South Pass, the emigrant could proceed south-
west at "the parting of the ways" to Fort Bridger and
then turn north and northwest to reach Soda Springs,
Idaho, or he could proceed due west via Sublette's Road,
or Cut-off. This route was much shorter but contained
a waterless stretch in the Big Sandy Desert. Ultimately
both routes arrived at Soda Springs. Lander's task was
to find the most "practicable" route for a wagon road
in this region. In Lander's mind, the term "practicable"
was ambiguous and did not differentiate between the
shortest and the best route for ox team migration. ^^ As
a result. Lander sent several survey parties into the region
west of South Pass in the summer of 1857. B. F. Ficklin
proceeded in advance to conduct a reconnaissance of the
desert between the Big Sandy and Green River. J. F.
Mullowny was dispatched to examine the shortest exist-
ing routes. These were the Sublette Cut-off and the recent-
ly discovered Dempsey-Hockaday Road.'®

Lander ultimately settled on a route that would skirt
to the north of the dry country. It crossed the Green River
far enough upstream that a ferry would be unnecessary
for emigrant crossings. Thus, the Lander Cut-off was
born.

During the winter (1857-58), Lander was made
superintendent of all three divisions of the wagon road.
The following summer he was back in the field building
his new road and boasting that "... over 62,000 cubic
yards of earth and rock had been removed, 11 miles of
willow, and 23 miles of heavy pine timber cleared from
the roadway." He wrote an emigrant's guide over the
winter and posted a man at South Pass to divert the
emigrant flow to his road during the 1859 season."'

Lander's original intention was to divide the migra-
tion by improving various routes so that grass and water
on any one trail would be conserved. There is no evidence,
however, that the Dempsey-Hockaday Trail was ever
improved. J. F. Mullowny's report to Lander on the
reconnaissance of the shortest existing routes suggests why

the Sublette Road and the Dempsey-Hockaday Cut-off
were neglected. Mullowny states:

From the forks [the parting of the ways] toward Crow creek,
(a small stream so called at the base of the Bear mountains,)
it is mainly an elevated table land, a smooth surface of alluvial
deposits, mixed with fine sand and gravel, of arid and sterile
appearance, and yielding nothing but stunted sage. In cross-
ing this desert, both man and beast suffer from the long,
tedious marches, without water or grass. The wheels of the
wagons sink deep into the dusty soil, and the hauling is slow
and hard. The strong winds which prevail here during the
summer months sweep the level plains, whirling the loose
deposits into dark clouds, obscuring the sight, and filling both
eyes and nostrils with dust. The hot, dry air parches the lips
and throat, and even makes respiration difficult.

This waste, therefore, has long been known as one of
the most dreaded parts of the road travelled in crossing the
Rocky mountains. Of the several routes across it I consider
none worthy of improvement . . .'"
A more negative analysis could hardly be imagined.
Mullowny felt that the only way to divide the emigra-
tion and utilize the existing routes across the Big Sandy
Desert would be to sink wells across its expanses. Other-
wise he felt that Lander's new northern route was far

superior.

It was found that Lander's Cut-off also had serious
drawbacks involving its river crossings. Funds were sought
to construct bridges over the New Fork and Green Rivers,
but the impending Civil War diverted Federal attention
from this project.*"

Emigrant journals and guidebooks described the
obstacles encountered by wagon trains in the vicinity of
the Sublette Road and the Dempsey-Hockaday Trail.
Numerous emigrant guides became available as the migra-
tion progressed, but Joseph E. Ware's guide (1849) was
the first attempt to consolidate information about the trail
in journals, newspapers and military accounts. In fact,
Ware relied heavily on John C. Fremont's Report (1845).
Ware himself had never traveled the route.*'

Ware recommended the Sublette Road over the Fort
Bridger route. Although the trail description is brief, his
advice concerning the desert crossing, considered the
route's greatest drawback, is informative:

The road to the right is an old trail [referring to the parting
of the ways]. The present road is carried some 70 miles out
of direct course, by passing Fort Bridger. When you cross
the Dry or Little Sandy, instead of turning to the left and
following the river, strike out across to the Big Sandy, 12
miles. If you get to the river along through the day, camp
till near night. From the Big Sandy to Green River, a
distance of 35 miles, there is not a drop of water. By start-
ing from the Sandy at the cool of day, you can get across
easily by morning. Cattle can travel as far again by night
as they can during the day, from that the air is cool, and
consequently they do not need water. Recollect, do not
attempt to cross during the day.*^

W. Wadsworth gives a more detailed description in
his National Wagon Road Guide (1858) of the western por-
tion of the Sublette Road, giving names and distances
between drainages. He also mentioned the elusive trading

post in the vicinity of Ham's Fork for which present-day
local historians are still searching:

A few miles before reaching this point [Ham's Fork], a road
branches to the left by which you can reach the beautiful
meadows and this river sooner than by the main road, and
where there is an Indian trading post. By this route the
distance is increased about one mile, and you avoid one bad
hill."

The reference to an "Indian Trading Post" is inter-
esting, as local tradition claims that a trading post was
located on the Dempsey-Hockaday Road just after cross-
ing Ham's Fork heading west. Wadsworth's description
appears to indicate it was located near the Sublette Road.
In addition, Mrs. Bynan J. Pengra mentioned a trading
post on Ham's Fork in her journal of 1853:

. . . Our roads have been very hilly, and we had had a great
many deep gutters to cross which are very trying to wag-
gons [sic] and teams. One of our old oxen is very lame.
Bynan has been to a traders post a little distance from where
we are camped which is near the Second Branch of Green
River, [Ham's Fork] to see if he could make a trade, has
found one that he thinks of takeing [sic].'*
Geiger and Bryarly talk of encountering numerous
hills and valleys as they approached Ham's Fork (they
were crossing the lower Wyoming Range). Their steepest
ascents and descents here would have involved Meridian
Ridge and Oyster Ridge. Crossing on July 6th, they state:
Every ravine is still filled with snow, which accounts for the
unusual supply of water, and convinces one also of the terri-
ble winter that has just past. This is now in July when
everything is burnt up at home, while here we can indulge
in the innocent amusement of snow-balling . . .'^
Describing Ham's Fork:

Owing to the very affectionate endearings, whisperings and
communings of the mosquitoes, we were easily aroused this
morning and made a start by daybreak. We descended a very
steep hUl immediately, at the bottom of which we found con-
siderable of a creek. This is called Ham's Fork. It empties
into Bear [Green] River, and from this is called one of the
feeders of the Colorado.

The road after crossing turns to the left and runs down
the valley 1 Vi miles and then turns again to the right up the
steepest hill we have yet ascended.*'

Historian Mary Hurlburt Scott, concerning the later
years of the Oregon Trail, maintains that it is a popular
misconception that the trail was no longer used after the
coming of the transcontinental railroad and commercial
stage routes. There were periods of peak migration such
as the initial California gold rush and the Mormon migra-
tion to Deseret, but it is unreasonable to assume that
migration on the trail and its cut-offs suddenly dried up.*^
Scott sets a date of 1912 as the last sighting of covered
wagons making the trek to Oregon (seen on the Lander
Cut-off). Scott cites numerous examples of late emigra-
tion from journals and letters in the post- 1880 era. Set-
tlers in the Ham's Fork area as well as sheepherders
noticed considerable wagon migration over the Sublette
Road and the Dempsey-Hockaday Cut-off in the 1890s
and early 1900s. According to Scott:

John Beachler, Sr., Kemmerer, Wyoming, writes that in
July, 1897, his family traveled the Oregon Trail from
Pendleton, Oregon, to Cokeville, Wyoming, and Rock Creek
or Nugget, where they took the Dempsey Detour of the
Sublette Road past the Emigrant Springs and the rockworn
road about 25 miles east of Kemmerer, forded the Green
River at the mouth of Slate Creek, and followed the east side
of the river to Green River City. They met at least 200
covered wagons traveling west, and a few others traveling
east like themselves. *°
In addition, Louis Jones of Kemmerer, Wyoming, who
herded sheep on the Ham's Fork Plateau, stated: "In 1901
and 1902 I saw covered wagon trains which took all day
to pass. This occurred many days all summer long."*'
The environs of the Dempsey-Hockaday Trail today
are essentially the same as that seen and experienced by
19th century emigrants crossing in covered wagons. Very
few structures exist along the route except for a log
homestead near a spring at the eastern foot of Dempsey
Ridge. The trail is represented by an unimproved two-
track through sparsely populated ranching country where
emigrants in slow-moving wagon trains have been
replaced by light, four-wheel drive vehicles and local ran-
chers whose grandfathers may have traveled the historic
Dempsey-Hockaday Trail.

1 . W, Wadsworth, The National Wagon Road Guide from St. Joseph and
etc., 1858, (Woodbridge, Conn.: Research Publications, Inc.,
Western Americana, Reel 585, No. 6033), pp. 138-140.

2. U.S., Congress, Senate, Report Upon the Pacific Wagon Roads, S.
Exec. Doc. 36, 35th Cong., 2nd sess., 1858-59, p. 31.

3. Peter M. Laudeman, "Historical TraUs Management Plan, Rock
Springs District, Rock Springs, Wyoming," (unpublished report
for the Bureau of Land Management, 1979), p. 28.

4. In the fall of 1980, I visited the area and traced most of the
Dempsey-Hockaday Trail with the help of Government Land Of-
fice township survey maps (1902-1908) and a geologic map
prepared by Alfred R. Shultz in 1906 for a U.S. Geological Survey
report published in 1914. The latter map was quite detailed and
showed contour lines that correspond with modern USGS maps.
See Alfred R. Shultz, Geology and Geography of a Portion of
Lincoln County, Wyoming, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin No.
543, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1914).

5. Don Grey conducted a study in 1976 for the Utah Power and
Light Company in which he mapped portions of the trail and its
variations, utilizing the input of local informants. See Don Grey,
"Branches of the Oregon Trail in the Upper Hams Fork Area,"
(unpublished report for Utah Power and Light Co., 1976).

6. Wenrf Garmen, Report of Henry Gannett, ME., Topography, Eleventh
Annual Report, U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the
Territories Embracing Idaho and Wyoming, F. V. Hayden, 1877,
(Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1879), p. 692.

7. Basil N. Longsworth, Memorandum of Thoughts, Reflections and Tran-
sactions, Etc., (Fairfield, Washington: Ye Galleon Press, 1972),
pp. 21-22.

8. Jacob W. and Alice Antilla, History of the Upper Hamsfork Valley,
(Sak Lake City: Smith Printing, 1975), p 95.

9. Schultz, Geology, p. 27.

10. Ibid., p. 26.

11. Antilla, p. 129.

12. Thomas R. Baker and James Climo, "An Intensive Cultural

Resource Survey of the Getty 15-3 Willow Creek Well Pad and
Access, Lincoln County, Wyoming," (unpublished report for the
Getty Oil Company, July 1980, on file with the BLM Rock
Springs District Office).
Schultz, p. 15.

Mary Hurlburt Scott, The Oregon Trail Through Wyoming, (Aurora,
Colorado: Powder River Publishers, 1958), p. 9.
Ibid., pp. 9-10.

Phillip Ashton Rollins, ed. The Discovery of the Oregon Trail: Robert
Stuart's Narratives, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1935),
p. 181.

Scott, pp. 11-12.

David Morris Potter, ed.. Trail To California: The Overland Jour-
nal of Vincent Geiger and Wakeman Bryarly, (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1945) p. 128.

Elizabeth J. Goltra, Her Travels Across the Plains in 1853, (Eugene,
Oregon: Lane County Historical Society, 1970), p. 13.
Scott, p. 20.

Archer Butler Hurlburt, "1830-1930, the Oregon Trail Centen-
nial: The Documentary Background of the Days of the First
Wagon Train on the Road to Oregon, ' ' Montana Historical Reprints,
Sources of Northwest History,No. 9 (1930), pp. 20-21.
Scott, p. 26.
Ibid., pp. 27-28.

Charles G. Coutant, The History of Wyoming, Vol. I, (Laramie,
Wyoming: Chaplin, Spafford and Mathison, Printers, 1899), p.
350.

Scott, pp. 50-51.

Fred R. Gowans, "Some New Notes on Two Old Forts," An-
nals of Wyoming, Fall, 1974, pp. 218-219.

Richard E. Fike and John W. Headley, The Pony Express Stations
of Utah in Historical Perspective, Cultural Resources Series,
Monograph 2, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1979), p. 1.

28. O. Allen, Allen's Guide Book and Map to the Gold Fields of Kansas
and Nebraska and Great Salt Lake City, (Washington, D.C.: R. A.
Water, 1859), p. 58.

29. U.S. Congress, Pacific Wagon Roads, p. 53.

30. Antilla, pp. 95-96.

31. E. Douglas Branch, "Frederick West Lander, Road-Builder,"
Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Sept. 1929, pp. 175-177.

32. Ibid, p. 175.

33. Ibid, p. 176.

34. W. Turrentine Jackson, Wagon Roads West: A Study of Federal Road
Surveys and Construction in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1846-1869,
(Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1952),
pp. 175-176.

35. Ibid., p. 195.

36. Branch, pp. 179-180.

37. Ibid, pp. 181-183.

38. U.S. Congress, Pacific Wagon Roads, p. 55.

39. Ibid

40. Branch, pp. 186-187.

41. Joseph C. Ware, The Emigrant's Guide to California, (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1932; reprinted from 1849 edition),
p. xiii.

42. Ibid, p. 25.

43. Wadsworth, p. 99.

44. Charlotte Pengra, Diary of Mrs. BynanJ. Pengra, 1853, (Eugene,
Oregon: Lane County Pioneer-Historical Society, Inc., 1970),
p. 38.

45. Potter, p. 137.

46. Ibid

47. Scott, p. 87.

48. Mary Hurlburt Scott, "Wyoming's Oregon Trail West of South
Pass," Annals of Wyoming, July 1950, p. 57.

49. Ibid

BOOK REVIEWS

The Oklahoma Petroleum Industry. By Kenny A.
Franks. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,
1980). Index, Illus. 284 pp. $17.50.

Franks' history covers a wide variety of oil activities
ranging from early explorations in the Indian Territory
of Oklahoma, through the Twenties and the World War
II years. It includes comments on oil-connected govern-
ment regulations, technology, and the services of many
outstanding Oklahoma oil men.

Although deposits of petroleum were known to exist
in Oklahoma for many years, their development in the
early part of the 20th century touched off a great mineral
rush to the state and area. It was at this time that the de-
mand for petroleum products increased and the problem
of transporting crude oil to refineries and potential markets
was overcome.

Franks points out that the maturing of the state's
petroleum industry marked a significant transformation
of that area's economy. Before such fabulously rich finds
as Red Fork and Glenn Pool, Oklahoma's economic base
rested on agriculture — farming and ranching were
dominant.

The great influx of wealth brought about by the ex-
ploitation of the huge deposits of crude laid the founda-
tions for many financial and industrial institutions that
were to become vitally important to the state's future.
From this time onward, Oklahoma was never the same.
Oil had an impact on practically every aspect of the state's
culture and economy.

As transportation improved and more markets open-
ed up, Oklahoma grew to be one of the nation's great
petroleum producers. The twenties and thirties, a tur-
bulent era in America's history, saw more and more enter-
prising young men join the oil rush.

Such men as Frank Phillips, J. Paul Getty, William
G. Skelly, H. H. Camplin, Erie P. Halliburton and E.
W. Marland launched Oklahoma oil operations that even-

tually circled the globe. Technological innovations
generated by these men, revolutionized petroleum pro-
duction on a worldwide basis and greatly expanded the
industry.

Franks has provided the reader a personal dimen-
sion on these outstanding individuals by pointing out their
philanthropies. The Oklahoma Petroleum Council's
Outstanding Oil Men have indeed benefitted the state by
their contribution to cultural, academic, and technological
causes.

Many Wyoming residents will find this book of
special interest. One point stressed in the book and wor-
thy of note to readers in the Equality State touches on
petroleum related industries. It reads:

Although the production, processing, and marketing phases
of the Oklahoma petroleum industry have poured hundreds
of millions of dollars into the state's economy and provided
tens of thousands of jobs for its citizens, even more money
and opportunities for employment have been provided by
companies allied with the oil industry. Perhaps one of the
best examples of this economic coalition is the Halliburton
Services, an oil field service firm with headquarters in Dun-
can, Oklahoma. When they founded the business during the
oil boom in the early twentieth century, Erie P. Hallibur-
ton and his wife, Vita, started with the help of a single
employee, hired on a daily basis. Ultimately, the firm was
so successful that in 1977, it employed more than 13,000 peo-
ple and 'led the world as an oil field services organization.'
Actually, a complete history of the oil industry in
Oklahoma would require several volumes. This is but a
single volume and as a result, many incidents and in-
dividuals have not been included. It is an attempt,
however, to capture a part of Oklahoma's oil legacy and
those individuals who made it possible.

The author has drawn on previous histories and relied
extensively on oral history interviews with pioneers.
Franks is the director of education in the Oklahoma
Heritage Association and an editor of the Oklahoma
Horizon series. He knows whereof he speaks. He has
authored several books and many articles on Oklahoma.

His most recent work on the petroleum industry is indeed
a fine work, done with attention and perhaps, a Httle af-
fection for an important facet in his state's history.

Ed Bille

The reviewer was Wyoming News Director for 39 years with the Pacific Power
and Light Company. He is the author of Early Days at Salt Creek and
Teapot Dome, recently reprinted.

The Horse of the Americas . New edition, revised and
enlarged by Robert M. Denhardt. (Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1975). 343 pp.
Illus., paper, $8.95.

The title of this book is misleading. A more accurate
title could read The Spanish Horse of the Americas. The author
tells an interesting story of the development of an excellent
light horse in Spain during the 700-year domination of
that country by the Moors. He then proceeds to paint a
verbal picture of the transport of these horses to the
Americas in small Spanish galleons in the late 1400s and
early 1500s, of the breeding of these horses in the West
Indies, and of the dominant role played by them in the
conquest of Mexico and Peru, and in the ill-fated expedi-
tion of DeSoto into what is now the southern part of the
United States.

The story of the Spanish horse in North America con-
tinues to unfold with the settlement of New Mexico, Texas
and California. From these settlements the Spanish horse
was acquired by and dispersed throughout the North
American west by various Indian tribes. These same set-
tlements, according to Denhardt, provided the English
colonies with prime horse flesh via institutionalized horse
stealing routes.

Denhardt next describes the dispersion of the Spanish
horse throughout South America, and he ends his book
with a discussion of the various breeds today in North and
South America that in some way developed out of the
Spanish horse. Thus, his discussion of North American
breeds focuses on the Quarter horse, the Mustang, and
various color breeds such as the Palomino and the
Appaloosa.

The book completely ignores the draft horse breeds
and draft-grade horses that supplied the power in the 19th
century to mechanize the farming sector of the North
American economy, that moved much of the heavy freight
between urban markets during the period 1750-1850, and
that moved all the heavy freight within cities and towns
in the 19th century. The ubiquitous carriage, or buggy,
horse of the 19th century is not mentioned. The popular
light horse breeds of today — Arabian, Morgan, Tennessee
Walker and Saddlebred — are barely mentioned. The Sad-
dlebred and Tennessee Walker, for example, are not even
listed in the index, and the Thoroughbred horse and the

racing industry of the 20th century are relegated to a line
or two. In short, the non-cowboy horse does not exist for
Mr. Denhardt.

The reader interested in the development of the
modern 'western' breeds of horses will, however, find this
book easy to read, informative and filled with fascinating
historical tid-bits. And the reader will probably be sur-
prised to learn of the unique role played by the Spanish
horse in the development of the 'western' breeds of North
America.

WiLLARD W. Cochrane

The reviewer is the owner and manager of a fine Morgan horse ranch in northern
California. He is a retired professor of Agricultural Economics.

Old Navajo Rugs: Their Development from 1900 to
1940. By Marion E. Rodee. (Albuquerque:
University of New Mexico Press, 1981). Illus.,
Notes. Bib. Index. 113 pp. $25.

The beauty and intricate designs of Navajo blankets
and rugs have long been admired in America. In Old Nava-
jo Rugs, Marion E. Rodee offers interesting reading to
public and private collectors of Navajo weaving. Sixteen
excellent color plates and over 70 additional photographs
enhance this concise guide to the dating and identifica-
tion of Navajo rugs. Primarily, this book focuses on the
innovations in patterns, styles, and weaving materials
which were brought to the Navajo by a number of in-
dividual trading post operators in the Southwest during the
first half of the 20th century. Included here are examina-
tions of the influence of C. N. Cotton, J. B. Moore,
George Bloomfield, Lorenzo Hubbell, Mary Cabot
Wheelwright and the changes they fostered in the weav-
ing techniques of the Navajo people of different regions.

Rodee comes well qualified to her task. She is cur-
rently Curator of Collections at the Maxwell Museum of
Anthropology at the University of New Mexico where she
also teaches. Moreover, she has clearly done a fine job
of research in museum collections scattered throughout
the country and particularly in the Southwest.

Rodee's expertise in her field is evident as she cites
several important points of which potential buyers should
be aware before purchasing Navajo rugs. In particular,
she repeatedly emphasizes the close attention that must
be paid to fabric. She points out quite correctly that design
and color, alone, are not adequate criteria for dating.
Styles that were woven in the mid- 19th century are still
used occasionally today. In Chapter Three, Rodee ex-
plores the different breeds of sheep and varying types of
wool which were used during successive periods of Navajo
weaving. Close attention to fibers, she argues, is crucial
to the accurate determination of a rug's origin. This sort
of detailed information is the chief asset of Rodee's book

and will, no doubt, be of special use to private collectors
who are increasingly turning to 20th century samples of
Navajo weaving as 19th century pieces become more rare
and expensive.

There are a few problems within this book, however,
which should be mentioned. First, there exists an incredi-
ble amount of detailed information contained in far too
few pages. The casual reader who has little background
knowledge of this subject will probably be put off by the
machine gun dispersal of facts. As Rodee gets caught up
in her subject which she knows so well, her pages begin
to read more and more like a technical journal. Second,
while this book provides much information about Nava-
jo rugs, what about the Navajo weavers? The people who
worked for months to produce the complicated designs
so prized by Anglo buyers are only shadowy figures in
this study. Though Rodee does make a few general
references to some periods in Navajo history such as the
forced confinement by the U.S. Army at Bosque Redon-
do in 1864, by and large the reader is left to wonder about
these individuals and their society.

Despite these reservations. Old Navajo Rugs must be
welcomed as a valuable contribution to the growing
number of books and articles on Navajo weaving. Though
she cites few sources in her text, the author provides a
useful, but by no means complete, bibliography at the end
of her study for interested readers who wish to obtain fur-
ther information. While perhaps too narrowly focused to
be of interest to the general reading public, Rodee 's book
is a beautifully illustrated source of detailed and concise
information for collectors of Navajo rugs woven in the
first half of this century.

Deborah Welch

The reviewer is a graduate student in history at the University oj Wyoming.

The Mormon People, Their Character and Traditions.
Thomas G. Alexander, editor. (Provo: Brigham
Young University Press, 1980). Charles Redd
Monographs in Western History No. 10, 127 pp.,
paper $6.95

The Mormon People, Their Character and Traditions does
not claim to be definitive. Rather it consists of a series
of lectures presented through the Charles Redd Center
at Brigham Young University. Dr. Alexander's editorial
comments give readers good direction about what the lec-
tures are and their relevance to each other and the larger
picture of late 19th century Mormonism. Readers are cau-
tioned that the data are not complete.

However, this is a useful and interesting book for
students of Mormon history. Dr. Bennion's analyses of
the census data of 1850, and 1880 particularly, reveal a

great deal about who, meaning Mormons, church leaders.
Gentiles, and Indians, were living where and what both
their geographical and numerical distributions were.

Most challenging is Thayne's look at Mormonism
as the setting for the serious artist, particularly the poet
and writer. She provides superior insight into the strug-
gling believer's ventures into individual comprehension,
so essential to poetry of worth, but often perceived as so
risky to both the writer's and her readers' faith. Thayne
herself feels there need be no ultimate disharmony. WhUe
she leads us toward the mountain's top, where our view
of our home is breathtaking, we never really get to look
beyond the valley (faith) in which we live. She does not
help us see over the mountain with its other vistas.

Professor Kunz does an excellent job of sorting out
the misconceptions about polygamous marriages in Utah.
His statistical analyses give us one of the more accurate
pictures of who was involved, where they came from, how
many were polygamous, and where they fit in the social
and economic structure of late 19th century Mormondom.
Readers are told that the primary reason behind the prac-
tice (by about nine percent) of these Mormons was
religious conviction. It was church leaders mainly who
responded to the call.

Derr's history of the Primary fills a gap in Mormon
institutional history. She notes the important roles of Eliza
R. Snow, Louie F. Felt, and May Anderson, especially
in the launching and development of primary programs.
The influence of the kindergarten movement and graded
public education is shown also. Derr notes that the domi-
nion of women's leadership wanes as the modern era ap-
proaches, where the "priesthood" leaders assert more
direct guidance for its programs.

Finally, Mark Hamilton provides an unusually in-
sightful delineation of symbolism and iconography on the
Salt Lake Temple. The details of sunstones, moonstones,
Saturn stones, star stones, remind readers again of how
all-inclusive the hand of God or ways of God were perceiv-
ed to pervade everyday life of 19th century Mormons.
Many readers will walk again around Temple Square to
see if all that iconography is really there.

This is a useful book, that does what the editor hopes,
to add to our understanding of late 19th century
Mormonism.

Melvin T. Smith

The reviewer is director of the Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City.

Let My People Know: American Indian Journalism,
1828-1 978. By James E. Murphy and Sharon M.
Murphy. Foreword by Jeannette Henry. (Nor-

man: University of Oklahoma Press, 1981). Ap-
pendices. Bib. Index. 230 pp., $14.95.

This volume represents a rather useful introduction
to the history of American Indian journalism. The
authors' primary interest is in the 1960s and 1970s. More
than half of the book is devoted to this era and it is this
portion of Let My People Know that probably will be the
most valuable to its readers.

James Murphy and Sharon Murphy, professors of
journalism at Southern Illinois University, have taken on
a challenging assignment. It cannot be doubted that they
have done their homework in a conscientious manner. As
Jeannette Henry notes in her lengthy foreword, they have
tried to write a book long overdue in its publication and
they have sifted through a great many publications of past
and present in order to provide us with this survey. Let
My People Know has its shortcomings, but we cannot fault
its authors for lack of effort.

The Murphys make an honest attempt to give a com-
prehensive overview of contemporary Indian journalism.
In separate chapters they catalogue what they term agency
publications, national publications, tribal and intertribal
publications, regional papers, magazines and specializ-
ed publications, broadcasting in Indian country, and the
movement toward media associations. When combined
with an appendix containing a directory of American In-
dian print and broadcast media, the descriptions will ac-
quaint the reader new to the field with the names and
general characteristics of various Indian journalistic enter-
prises. Western librarians, people involved in Native
American studies programs, journalism students, and
others will find such listings a real service.

For the more general reader, Let My People Know
speaks to the enduring nature of Indian life. The very ex-
istence of such an array of publications underlines not only
the need for Native American perspectives in print, but
as well the continuing, indeed growing Indian presence
in this country. Although this book sometimes emphasizes
Native American problems at the expense of Indian
achievements, it demonstrates that far from vanishing into
the mainstream, many Indians are maintaining modern,
adaptive identities.

The variety of Indian identities in fact leads to a cen-
tral dilemma which the authors have only partially resolv-
ed. Just as authors of Native American histories confront
the multiplicity of tribal, regional and national ex-
periences, so, too, the Murphys have had to contend with
a staggering number of cases in point. In their valiant
endeavor to be comprehensive, they have not been able
in 160 pages of text to be detailed in their analysis. Ex-
cept for a few major examples, it seems as though no
sooner than one publication is cited, it is tim^ to move
on to another newspaper. Some of the difficulty lies in
the difference between journalism and history. The
authors are not historians, as their choppy style and their

continual use of the passive voice make clear. In any event,
the evolution of various publications, let alone an estima-
tion of their strengths and weaknesses, generally is
neglected. The Navajo Times, for example, merits a whole
page (a lion's share of attention in this book), but we learn
litde of its internal dynamics, the role of White and Navajo
editors at different points in time, and so forth.

In addition, the historical portion of the book is too
limited. Oklahoma Indian publications gain most of the
attention. Pan-Indian and individual efforts such as the
journal of the Society of American Indians and Carlos
Montezuma's Wassaja are mentioned only in passing and
such Indian school papers as the one published at Car-
lisle are not discussed at all.

For the contemporary period, the influence of Jean-
nette Henry is very much preserit. The book's tide is deriv-
ed from the subtitle of Henry's and Rupert Costo's
Wassaja. The Indian Historian Press gains more complete
and more favorable scrutiny than any other venture. WhUe
Henry and Costo have been important figures in Indian
journalism, they and their publications deserve as critical
an examination as any others. Unfortunately, they do not
receive it.

Peter Iverson

Dr, Iverson, a specialist in American Indian history, holds the Ph.D. degree
from the University of Wisconsin. He is an associate professor of history at the
University of Wyoming.

The Compassionate Samaritan: The Life of Lyndon B.
Johnson. By Philip Reed Rulon. (Chicago: Nelson-
Hall, 1981). 300 pp. Cloth, $21.95. Paper,
$10.95.

So much has been written about President Lyndon
Baines Johnson that you may wonder what more can be
said so soon. Professor Philip Reed Rulon adds a much-
needed dimension to the fund of public knowledge of our
36th President.

Three men were inspirations to Lyndon Johnson: his
father, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Sam
Rayburn. Much of what this book is all about flows from
the years and events, the philosophy and the inspiration,
of FDR in the formative, political age of the young Lyn-
don Johnson. Coincidentally, this review is being writ-
ten at the moment of the 100th anniversary of the birth
of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

What is especially refreshing in Professor Rulon 's
volume is its strong focus on the spirit of compassion, the
deep commitment to public education, and the convic-
tion that "the little people" deserve the best that educa-
tion can provide and the new opportunities that "the right
to be educated" can offer.

With all the prose of the many writers who have
detailed the legislative shills, the endless political battles
so effectively waged, and the disillusionments and frustra-
tions of the Vietnam era, it is timely to rebalance all with
a sense of perspective in the life of a great American whose
own public career focused particularly and tirelessly on
the educational opportunities of his fellow man.

As Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson literally
engineered breakthroughs in enriching and broadening
the public educational opportunities for the young. To
be sure, to get it started he launched it through a "Defense
Education Act," and he culminated his efforts while Presi-
dent with the passage of sixty, separate education bills
covering the entire horizon of educational opportunity.

I do not wish to suggest in this short review that the
author was blind to the darker years, particularly in the
latter 1960s, of LBJ's public service, but only to suggest
that this biography is well-rounded and refocuses on the
substantive contributions of the tall Texan in a way that
achieves a better sense of balance in evaluating the man's
impact on his country.

The reader will be rewarded by the interesting foot-
notes and new anecdotes flowing from the hyperactive life
and drive of Lyndon Johnson, accompanied as they are
by the constant presence, efforts, and counsel of Lady
Bird. Together they gave new meaning to the White
House — a flavor of gentle humanity rarely matched. The
President said it best in his own way;

"We seek for all our people expanding opportunity ... a
Nation where no one is forgotten, where the young have faith
and the aged have hope, and the least stand equal to the
greatest."

As a Wyoming footnote. Professor Philip Rulon's
biography of Lyndon Johnson will remind many Wyo-
mingites of the close working relationship of their own
Senators in Washington with the 36th President of the
United States.

When the young United States Senator from Texas
received his first important chairmanship at the begin-
ning of the Korean War in 1950, he was assigned the task
of overseeing the funding of the war crisis developments.
One of his key members on that committee was the new
Senator from Wyoming, Lester C. Hunt, who had step-
ped from the governorship to his Washington post. His
service on the Johnson group was one to which LBJ often
referred.

By the mid-1950s Lyndon Johnson's strongest efforts
focused on new educational opportunities and, in par-
ticular, his crusade for civil rights. The watershed legisla-
tion was the Civil Rights Act of 1957 which was made
possible, in the words of LBJ, by the parliamentary skill
of one Senator, Joseph C. O'Mahoney of Wyoming.

And because of the then-Majority Leader Lyndon
Johnson's debt to Senator Joe, he visited Wyoming for
his first time to promise the people that if they would send
to Washington that "young, history professor, Dr. Gale

McGee," he would place him immediately on the all-
powerful Appropriations Committee, an unprecedented
act in behalf of an uninitiated freshman Senator. Wyo-
ming did, and he did.

The coincidence of these events led to a deep and
abiding friendship between this writer and the President
spanning nearly two decades.

Finally, Governor Joe Hickey of Wyoming was a key
floor leader at the 1960 Democratic National Convention
for the LBJ presidential drive. Even though John Ken-
nedy won. Vice President Johnson never forgot his debt
to Wyoming's then-junior Senator, Joe Hickey. It was
not long after that President Johnson saw to it that
Governor-Senator Hickey received the coveted appoint-
ment to the Federal judgeship of the Tenth Circuit Court.

Tliese events involving Wyoming's Senatorial delega-
tion for nearly twenty years re-emphasize not only his
dedication to accomplishing deeds for his fellow man and
"the little people," but also focus on his undying loyalty
to those who helped him along the way. And it was on
more than one occasion that Lyndon Johnson visited the
Equality State and remarked upon the hospitality of his
fellow Westerners in Wyoming.

Gale W. McGee

The reviewer is ajormer U.S. Senator, Ambassador to the O.A.S., and pro-
fessor of history at the University of Wyoming. He is presently a consultant liv-
ing in Washington, D. C.

Custer and the Little Big Horn: A Psychobiographical
Inquiry. By Charles K. Hofling. (Detroit: Wayne
State University Press, 1981). Index. Bib. Notes.
Illus. Maps. 118 pp. $15.95.

For over a century the name and exploits of George
Armstrong Custer have remained before the public. In
this study a new tool — psychobiography — is employed to
help gain further understanding of his disaster on the Litde
Big Horn. The author is a trained pyschiatrist who chaired
the American Historical Association Task Force on
Psychohistory a few years ago. As such he is well qualified
to write this book.

He traces the controversies surrounding the Little Big
Horn defeat briefly, and then turns his attention to shift-
ing the layers of conflicting statements about the battle.
After devoting three chapters to a factual narrative of what
happened he raises a series of 20 questions about Custer's
odd behavior and military blunders. According to Hof-
ling, Custer was too good an officer to have made so many
mistakes unless serious problems clouded his judgment.
He then says that the Little Big Horn defeat is
understandable only when one answers the questions:
"What was interfering with Custer's personal effec-
tiveness? That is, what was preventing him from func-

tioning smoothly, from making better decisions, from ex-
ercising his full capacities? What was leading him to move
headlong into a doomed situation?"

To answer this he examines Custer's personal life,
focusing on his childhood, Civil War experiences, post
war years on the Plains, and his marriage and family life.
According to Hofling, Custer suffered from a narcissistic
personality disorder of medium intensity. In addition,
however, the author points out a series of rash and self-
destructive actions which spanned Custer's career. The
pattern of these actions is so clear that from it Hofling
infers a strong unconscious sense of guilt which caused
Custer to spoil his successes repeatedly with rash actions
shortly afterwards. These acts were part of a broader series
of drastic ups and downs in the general's career, that were
unusual only in their severity. He suffered through a cyclic
pattern of shame-avoiding, glory-seeking actions, and then
his unrecognized guilt feelings led to another self-
destructive episode.

The final thesis in the study is that Custer had dif-
ficulty dealing with older men. Thus, General Terry's
kindness toward him upset his usual responses, stimulating
Custer's self-defeating, guUt phase and confusing his think-
ing and decision-making abilities. This is discussed more
clearly in the book than here, and offers a convincing look
at Custer's planning and actions on the campaign trail.

Much has been written about George Custer and the
Little Big Horn campaign. This excellent study gives a
framework into which the reader may place much of what
is known about that series of events. The book neither
praises nor damns Custer. Rather it looks at why he did
the things which have seemed so unexplainable to so many
for so long. This is psychobiography at its best. The pat-
terns emerge early, affect the subject's life, and may be
used to help understand what are otherwise strange and
contradictory actions. Although brief, this book should
become a major part of recent Custer literature. In the
best of all possible worlds it might even discourage most
future authors from continuing the chiefly pointless
debates about this unfortunate man.

Roger L. Nichols

Dr. Nichols is a professor of history at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

The Battle for Butte, Mining and Politics on the Nor-
thern Frontier, 1864-1906. By Michael P. Malone.
(Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1981).
Notes. Illus. Bib. Index. 217 pp. $17.95.

The mining frontier in the trans-Mississippi West has
attracted the interest of numerous historians, photo-
graphers and writers of fiction. Unfortunately their at-
tention was riveted to the colorful search for gold and silver

and tended to ignore or slight the less romantic but equally
important development of a base metals mining industry.
Recently a number of scholars have attempted to fill the
historical void. Richard Lingenfelter, James Fell, Mark
Wyman, Ronald Brown and Joseph King studied the
economic, business, labor and political aspects of the cop-
per and lead frontiers of the mountainous West. When
added to other works on Lake Superior iron ore and
western coal we are at last getting a balanced understand-
ing of the integral role mining played in the American
frontier experience.

Michael Malone, historian and administrator at
Montana State University, adds a significant volume to
western economic literature. He has not written a history
of the copper mining community of Butte, Montana, but
a detailed account of the economic and political struggle
to control a major mining district. This is not a roman-
ticized, moralistic account of good and bad copper kings,
instead it is a story of strong personalities and the institu-
tions and forces that affected them. Copper mining re-
quired huge outlays of capital for concentrators, smelters
and refineries. This, in turn, created great rivalries that
quickly spilled over into the political arena and local courts.

Miners were initially attracted to western Montana
in the early 1860s by readily accessible gold deposits. The
rush lasted no more than a decade and by 1870 had col-
lapsed. Butte resembled hundreds of dilapidated mining
towns whose resources had quickly played out and whose
population had moved on to the newest diggings. When,
several decades later, active mining returned to Butte it
followed a pattern familiar to metal mining regions from
northeastern Minnesota to Utah and Arizona. Control
of the major ore bearing properties was transferred from
local pioneers to shrewd merchant-financiers who moved
in during difficult times, and with capital and ad-
ministrative ability, developed the principal deposits.

Anaconda, astutely managed by Marcus Daly,
towered over other Butte companies. It was a huge, ver-
tically integrated firm that also owned hotels, farmland,
rail lines and commercial property. "The Anaconda
loomed over Butte, and over Montana itself, like a
monstrous leviathan whose every twist and lurch became
a life and death concern." Throughout the 1890s the firm
survived shifting financial control that briefly included the
European banking Rothschilds before returning to Boston
and New York speculators and withstood the impact of
the panic of 1893 and four subsequent years of depres-
sion (a period of falling copper prices and 20,000
unemployed Montana residents, mostly miners). The
eastern financiers inevitably consolidated their Montana
holdings and created Amalgamated Copper, with Anacon-
da the core ingredient.

In 1901 the anti-consolidated forces, led at first by
William A. Clark and then by F. Augustus Heinze (the
latter described as a workingman's man who spent con-
siderable time underground with his miners) launched a

legal campaign that involved a bewildering number of
properties and issues. When the courts ruled in Heinze's
favor, Amalgamated retaliated with a complete shutdown
of its Butte operations, putting tremendous pressure on
miners and state officials. Their tactic worked and Heinze
eventually sold out to the Consolidated. The agreement
involved dismissal of 110 law suits, eliminated Heinze as
a major force in Montana mining or politics and ended
the struggle between independents and the copper trust.
It also demonstrated "the extent to which this remote,
thinly populated, much-abused mountain commonwealth
had become a pawn in the world of capitalistic intrigue
and manipulation." The author believes this ugly image
of corporate domination is the most burdensome legacy
of the battle for Butte.

This is a complicated tale of entreprenurial rivalry,
legal entanglements and strong individuals. Malone
threaded his way through the maze of events in superb
fashion. This is a story that will attract the interest of
residents who still live with the aftermath of the events
and economic and business historians who will appreciate
the effort put forth by the author. General readers will
thoroughly enjoy the all too brief description of Butte's
colorful society. It was a community that struck visitors
with its desolation, ugliness and pollution. Yet Butte en-
joyed a richly cosmopolitan population dominated by the
visible contrast between Irish and Cornish families. The
former were Catholic Democrats whose lives revolved
around the parish church and school, whOe the latter were
more often conservative. Republican and Methodist. The
awesome strength of labor unions also played a signifi-
cant role in the life of Butte's residents. I wish the author
could have expanded this delightful section, perhaps
catching the flavor of Watson Parker's recent study of
Deadwood, South Dakota. This brief quibble aside,
Malone has made a significant contribution to western
mining history.

David A. Walker

David A. Walker, visiting professor of history at the University of Wyoming,
is a regular instructor at the University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls). He
authored Iron Frontier, The Development and Early Years of Min-
nesota's Three Ranges, a study of the beginning of the iron mining industry
and a story similar to entreprenurial rivalry and legal entanglements of Butte.

Mormonism and the American Experience. By Klaus
J. Hansen. (Chicago and London: University of
Chicago Press, 1981). 257 pp. $15.

Mormonism and The American Experience is too ambitious
a book for such a small volume. Still Klaus Hansen gives
us a remarkable look at Mormon history in the context
of the larger American scene. His book presents a series

of careful syntheses of already complex syntheses of both
Mormon and American social and religious thought. The
author may have presumed a sophistication in his readers
that few will have. Nevertheless, serious Mormon history
students will be amply rewarded by the author's erudite
treatment of several seminal issues.

Hansen believes Mormonism resulted from the coin-
cidence in America of a religious people who needed a
spokesman and the appearance of Joseph Smith. To ex-
plain the prophet, Hansen ranges widely, offering options
that include Smith's religious genius, bicamerality, and
other psycho-history insights. The author's purpose is not
to determine whether "Mormonism" is true or false, but
rather to discover what it is and how it fits in American
history.

"Mormonism and American Culture" reviews col-
onial society and the Age of Jackson, with a focus on the
religious perceptions of the times. As the new American
character was evolving, Hansen shows how Mormonism
became a specific plan that offered the ultimate hope for
"dislocated" people. They could become gods in eternity
as well as rulers in America's democracy.

"The Mormons Rationalization of Death" is one of
the book's best chapters. Mormonism reduced the fear
of death, by placing mankind in eternity as both pre-
existent and post mortal beings. People could love open-
ly without fear that death was a final separation. An im-
portant secondary impact was the turning of the hearts
of "fathers" to the children who were no longer "little
strangers" whom parents feared to love too much because
the pain of death would be too great to bear.

The chapter on "The Kingdom of God" indicates
the impact of millenarianism on Mormon thought and
behavior. Mormons moved from hoped-for homogenei-
ty in Joseph Smith's day to pluralism and statehood by
the 20th century, where their distinctiveness was sacrificed
on the alter of acceptability. Twentieth-century Mor-
monism became 100% Americanism or more.

"Changing Perspectives on Sexuality and Marriage"
reviews Mormonism's ties with earlier Puritanism. Sex
was an acceptable element in God's kingdom. Polygamy
symbolized the Mormon's hope of a new heaven and a
new earth. For Protestants it meant priesthood oppres-
sion and sin. Eventually Mormons would similarly see
sex as sin.

His sixth chapter, "The Transformation of Racial
Thought and Practice," traces Mormon attitudes through
acceptance, discrimination and acceptance of Blacks.
Those forces playing on these changes included prophetic
declamation, scriptures, and scholarship, with the "revela-
tion" in 1978 providing that all worthy males could hold
the priesthood.

No brief review can capture the significance of this
kind of book. It requires careful, thoughtful scrutiny to
comprehend the complex of meanings in Hansen's weav-
ing of ideas, concepts and movements of American and

Mormon history that helped make both of them what they
are today. His bibUographic essay and careful footnoting
complement this excellent work. Still this reviewer can-
not overlook one error of fact on page 194, since his own
grandfather, a son of Samuel H. Smith, also came west
in 1848, and produced a sizable progeny.

Though Hansen's is not an easy history to read or
to accept wholly, it is a superior work which deserves
serious scrutiny by serious students of Mormon and
American religious histories.

Melvin T. Smith

The reviewer is director of the Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City.

The West and Reconstruction. By Eugene H. Ber-
wanger. (Urbana; University of Illinois Press,
1981). Appendix. Bib. Index. 255 pp. $19.50.

When students of history view the Reconstruction
era, those years following the Civil War that saw political,
social and economic upheaval, they normally consider the
southern states and their readjustment to secession and
military defeat. Little emphasis has been placed on states
west of the Mississippi River not directly affected by the
war or its aftermath. Even western historians who brief-
ly discuss the military action disregard Reconstruction.
Eugene Berwanger, professor of history at Colorado State
University, has ignored that trend and presented a detailed
examination of the years 1865-1868 in the trans-
Mississippi West.

Berwanger believes that restoration of the former
Confederate states and the extension of legal equality to
Blacks were major political concerns to western residents.
Between 1865-1868 the region, including states and
organized territories from Minnesota to California, over-
whelmingly supported the Republican Party and congres-
sional leadership. Reconstruction dominated newspaper
editorials, political speeches and private correspondence,
sources thoroughly examined by the author. National
government policies did play a stronger role in areas that
were more populous, politically mature and in telegraphic
communication with the East. The birthplace and
background of residents provided some locally varied opi-
nions and profoundly influenced individual reaction to
social and political issues. After 1868 westerners began
to resent lawmakers' attention focused on the South to
the detriment of their own regional problems. They show-
ed little interest in economic issues that seemed to have
no impact on their lives: inflation, recession and green-
back monetary policy. In California, Oregon and
Washington, for example, land reform and Chinese immi-
gration took precedence.

President Andrew Johnson attracted some support
in the West when he astutely appointed many local
residents to territorial government positions. Western
Democrats openly supported the President hoping to be
rewarded with patronage, but most officials were veterans.
Unionists and moderate Republicans. Johnson's stature
began to diminish, however, when he vetoed the
Freedmen's Bureau bill, an action seen as capitulation
to southern aristocracy. Westerners feared that former
slaves, inexperienced in the political arena, would be
abused by scheming whites. Regional political observers
also disapproved of the President's failure to handle na-
tional problems harmoniously, his paranoid style of leader-
ship, his inability to build support at the grass roots level
and his inflexible decisions.

Western reform spirit was not widespread. The
political parties differed in their approach to voting rights.
Democrats said that suffrage would lead to undesired social
equality and that their opponents wanted to eliminate all
racial distinctions. Republicans, on the other hand, believ-
ed that suffrage in the states and territories was a local
matter and should not be imposed by outside authority.
The ensuing struggle produced varying results. Minnesota
Republicans openly advocated voting rights for all men.
The only successful campaign by Blacks for equal suffrage
occurred in Colorado Territory. The victory was short-
lived, however, when Johnson vetoed a statehood bill in
1866 and left the area with white voting. Wyoming was
the only place that never legally restricted participation
in the legislature; Blacks voted from the territory's crea-
tion in 1868, as did womep^, William Jefferson Hardin
was the first black legislator, serving from 1879-1882.

Berwanger devotes an entire chapter to western
involvement in and reaction to Johnson's impeachment.
Central focus is placed on Kansas Senator Edmund Ross,
the only western resident among seven Republicans who
voted to acquit the President.

Once again party affiliation produced varying opin-
ions. Democrats took a strong stand against impeachment
but carefully avoided defendingjohnson, whom most con-
sidered a political liability. Initially Republicans urged
moderation but the more inflexible Johnson became the
more they supported impeachment. Berwanger believes
this change also reflects a growing distaste for the whole
Reconstruction process. Historians also reflect a diverse
opinion. UntU the late 1950s many portrayed Senator Ross
as fearless and highly principled, a "profile in courage."
Recently some scholars believe he sold his vote for
patronage. Berwanger takes a stand between these ex-
tremes. The reasons for the Senator's vote were complex,
but part of the decision was a concern for his own political
future. Ross clearly gloried in his prominent position.

This is an excellent contribution that broadens our
understanding of the complex postbellum years. It is
something of a companion piece to the author's earlier
work, The Frontier Against Slavery (1967). The scholarship

is solid, the writing lucid. Berwanger tapped a prodigious
variety of sources from throughout the West, including
personal papers, government records and documents and
over 160 newspapers. An appendix shows western Con-
gressman's votes on 17 key Reconstruction issues during
the 38th, 39th and 40th Congresses. The book should at-
tract those interested in western, Reconstruction and
political history. All who read it will benefit from the new
dimension on a turbulent and controversial period in
American history.

David A. Walker

The reviewer, visiting professor of history at the University of Wyoming, is a
professor at the University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls). He is completing
a co-authored book for Meckler Press entitled A Biographical Directory of
American Territorial Governors.

The Remembered Earth, An Anthology of Contemporary
Native American Literature. Edited by Geary Hob-
son. (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico
Press, 1981). Brief biographical sketches of con-
tributors. 417 pp. Cloth, $14.95. Paper, $9.95.

Geary Hobson, a versatile Cherokee-Chickasaw on
the faculty of the University of Arkansas, Little Rock,
states his premise in the introduction to his anthology:
"Heritage is people; people are the earth; earth is heritage.
By remembering these relationships — to the people, the
land, the past — we renew in strength our continuance as
a people. " The 73 contributors whose work he has chosen
are scattered through the United States, Mexico, Canada,
Hawaii and Alaska; and they represent various tribes with
different cultural backgrounds. Even so, they have the
same concerns and reverence for the land.

In "Remembering the Earth," Hobson begins with
a brief account of N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa), Vine
Deloria, Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux), Dee Brown and others
who created a "literary flurry" (1968-1970) which in the
last ten years has become a renaissance. The "fad" for
Native American literature did not "just happen," he ex-
plains, but it evolved over countless generations by means
of oral tradition.

"In remembering," Hobson states, "there is strength
and continuance and renewal throughout the genera-
tions." He feels that the amazing thing is not how many
tribes and members of tribes were eradicated by Euro-
pean expansion on this continent but how many remain
and how much they have retained of their traditional
beliefs and values.

Their recorded literature began in the early 1 9th cen-
tury with Christian converts. The first novel written by
a Native American in her own language was published
in the 1830s. During the early reservation period. Native
American literature was chiefly in the form of biographies

and autobiographies. In the 20th century we find D'Ar-
cy McNickle (Salish-Kootenai), novelist; Will Rogers
(Cherokee), newspaper columnist; and Lynn Riggs
(Cherokee), playwright. The young writers of today are
beginning to receive recognition for their prose and poetry.
In his essay, "The Rise of the White Shaman as a
New Version of Cultural Imperialism," Hobson writes
at length about the neo-romantics who "play Indian" and
the self-styled "shaman" or shamans. He calls them a
counterpart of "the Indian crafts exploiters, the imperious
anthropologists and the buffalo hunters." Adrian C. Lewis
(Paiute) begins his poem, "The Psuedo Shaman's
Cliche," with:

"I sit in lotus position
on a throne of dandelions
in the early spring park."
In conclusion, he makes a point.
"A man should build pyramids
and not talk to flowers."

The years have done little to mellow the prevailing
attitude of the American Indian. Ingrained bitterness,
even hatred, is shown in "Homage to Andrew Jackson,"
by Norman H. Russell (Cherokee):
"May you, after 140
years, still fry
in your own
coonskin hell, ..."

Wendy Rose (Hopi-Chowchilla Miwok) reacts
justifiably to a museum invoice which reads: "19
American Indian skeletons valued at $3,000." She says:
"It's invoiced now:
how our bones are valued.
Our bones that stretch out pointing
to sunrise or are flexed into one last
foetal bend; our bones — removed
piece by piece and knocked about, catalogued,
numbered with black ink on
their newly white foreheads. . . .
From this distant point
we watch our bones auctioned
with our careful beadwork, our
quilled medicine bundles, even the bridles
of our shot-down horses."

Not all of the selections are as profound. Some con-
cern animals, birds and insects; others love, family,
ancestors, the aged, prayer, drinking, dancing and — AIM.
The displaced tribes consigned to Indian Territory
formed a warm affection for Oklahoma, translated as
"Red Land" or "Red People," which to Hobson's way
of thinking are synonymous. Other settings for the prose
and poetry in his volume include: Tucson, Oraibi, Albu-
querque, Gallup, San Diego, as well as the potato fields
of Idaho. In "Dragon Mountain," a selection of special
interest, Robert L. Perea (Oglala Sioux) takes the reader
to the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Historical events, such as "the falling of the stars"
(1833), Sand Creek and Wounded Knee are discussed.
The mythical character Ko-sahn, who came to Moma-

day (in "The Man Made of Words") from the written
page, indicates that "there is no distinction between in-
dividual and racial experience, even as there is none bet-
ween the mythical and the historical." This is far from
the non-Indian point-of-view.

Hobson's belief that the white man can no more
understand the nature of the Native American than the
Indian can the white would seem to exclude much of his
reading public. On the contrary, it should challenge
readers to discover what the modern Indian is thinking
and to try, at least, to understand.

In an "Old Prophecy," Robert L. Conley
(Cherokee) epitomizes Indian-white relations.

"It came in various forms

from the Creek

& the Navajo

but the message is alviiays clear

white men will come

(they did)

they will take the land

(they did)

they will nearly destroy the People

(they tried)

they will waste the land

(they have)

then they will go away

(we wait)

Virginia Cole Trenholm

Mrs. Trenholm is a well-known author and authority on the American Indian.
She wrote The Arapahoes and co-authored The Shoshonis.

Old Bill Williams, Mountain Man. By Alpheus H.
Favour. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,
1981). Index. Bib. Illus. Maps. 234 pp. $11.95.

William Sherley "Old Bill" Williams, mountain man
and part of the legend of the American West, was born
January 3, 1787, in Rutherford County, North Carolina.
His father, Joseph Williams, after service in the Revolu-
tionary War, moved his family west of the Mississippi
River to the Spanish-controlled area near St. Louis.

As young Williams grew up, his attention was
naturally drawn to St. Louis, then the center of the fur
trade and the distributing point for trading and trapping
west of the Mississippi. He early abandoned his first calling
as an itinerant preacher and self-appointed missionary to
the nearby Osage, married into the tribe, and largely
adopted its customs. By 1817 he was serving as interpreter
at the Fort Osage trading post, trapping, and trading with
the Osage and later the Kickapoo. In 1825 Williams signed
on with Major George C. Sibley's party as interpreter and
guide to survey a trade route to Santa Fe and stayed with
the expedition until he reached Taos.

Williams' life from his arrival in the Spanish set-
tlements in 1825 for the next 15 years is shadowy. He

roamed the mountains and plains of the West, hunting,
trapping, trading and living with various Indian tribes,
principally with the Ute, into which tribe he was adopted.
We catch glimpses of him — "odd fragments of descrip-
tions," as the author says — from such men as English ar-
my officer George Frederick Ruxton; Colonel Frank
Triplett, who recorded some of the mountain man's ex-
ploits; and Albert Pike, who hunted with Williams about
the headwaters of the Red River in Texas in 1832. He
became known as "Old Bill," even when a relatively
young man, and frequently preferred to live and travel
by himself. A master trapper and hunter. Old Bill
Williams grew to epitomize the American mountain man,
a group the author believes played an instrumental role
in hastening American westward expansion.

Williams at various times in his career was associated
with many well-known Western figures, inludingjohn C.
Fremont. He served as guide and interpreter for the ill-
fated fourth Fremont expedition, during which Fremont
allegedly disregarded the advice of Williams and other
seasoned mountain men on the route the party should
follow over the Rockies on its way to California. A number
of the expedition died of cold and starvation; survivors
cached their belongings and finally arrived at Taos in
January of 1849. Old Bill and a companion were killed
in March of that year by a band of southern Ute while
trying to retrieve the party's baggage and equipment.

Alpheus H. Favour's biography of Bill Williams, first
published in 1936, has lost none of its stature and appeal.
It is well researched and documented, with attached
bibliography; the footnotes, particularly those on other
mountain men of the period, are of special interest. The
historical background for Williams' life will help the
general reader to better understand the importance, not
only of Old Bill, but of all mountain men, to the develop-
ment of the American West.

Pat Gaster

The reviewer is editorial assistant, Nebraska History, the official publication
of the Nebraska Slate Historical Society, Lincoln.

Knights of the Broadax: The Story of the Wyoming Tie
Hack. By Joan Trego Pinkerton. (Caldwell, Idaho:
Caxton Printers, 1981). Illus. 198 pp. $6.95.

Knights of the Broadax describes a neglected aspect of
Wyoming history, the timber industry. It is an ethno-
graphy of a type of lumber industry, the making of railroad
ties, that was particularly suited to Wyoming. Wyoming
did not have the dense and accessible forests of large boled
trees to support a full blown construction lumber industry.
Knights of the Broadax chronicles one example of tie industry

that took place throughout the forests and rivers of Wyo-
ming since the coming of the Union Pacific Railroad.
For example, other tie operations took place near Afton,
Buffalo, Saratoga and had river runs down the Green,
North Platte, Snake and Big Horn Rivers and their
tributaries. However widespread of an industry
throughout Wyoming, it never became an important
economic mainstay for the state.

Knights of the Broadax takes a personal view of timber
camp life. It introduces the reader to tie hacks, the lumber-
jacks that made railroad ties, who came to Wyoming from
Scandinavia and from other timber operations in the
midwest. Knights of the Broadax documents the social aspects
of the tie hacks, or their forms of recreation, diet, customs
and behavior. The author, Joan Trego Pinkerton, grew
up at the Wyoming Tie and Timber Company's head-
quarters near DuNoir, Wyoming. Her book is a child's
eye view of the timber operation augmented by later
research. She befriended many of the tie hacks and
remembers them in vivid, anecdotal detail.

A unique facet of Knights of the Broadax is its wealth
of documentary photographs. One half of the book is
photographs of varying quality. In one sense Knights of
the Broadax is a photographic essay, the text and
photographs are so well integrated. The photographs add
much to the book, they are well captioned and help keep
the text on an objective bent. The understandable tenden-
cy of Pinkerton is to be nostalgic about the Wyoming Tie
and Timber Company's operations. The photographs help
her to resist this romanticizing tendency. Instead, what
is related is a personal and yet highly objective view of
a tie camp that operated for almost four decades. Nor does
Pinkerton shy away from describing the unsavory aspects
of a tie hack's life.

Knights of the Broadax describes a particular timber in-
dustry adapted to Wyoming conditions, but which also
falls in the mainstream of lumber camp tradition.
Customs, stories, and technology documented in this book
occurred throughout the lumber producing states at this
time. For example, the housing situation and silence that
reigned in the camp cookhouses were the same in Wyom-
ing as they were in the lake states or in the Pacific Coast
lumber camps.

Knights of the Broadax chronicles a time of change for
timber technology and "timber beasts." The period of
labor intensive operations were giving way to mechaniza-
tion and specialization. The hand hewn ties were later
sawed by portable saw mills. The advent and widespread
use of the chain saw would come on the heels of the Wyo-
ming Tie and Timber Company's operations near DuNoir
in the 1940s. Other forms of mechanization such as haul-
ing logs by truck would replace the water power of rivers
and elaborately constructed flumes.

An interesting asset oi Knights of the Broadax are the
local character acecdotes Pinkerton relates about the tie
hacks. The tie hacks were colorful individuals. The

numerous anecdotes depict the tie hacks as being stoic,
full of chicanery, gullible, stubborn, rustic, having off-
beat talents, and periodic binge drinkers. Like any local
character anecdote, exaggeration is a common
characteristic in these stories.

Because of heavy winter snows the group of tie hacks
and few family members at the Wyoming Tie and Timber
Company's operation became a de facto community.
Knights of the Broadax is a local history of a snow bound
community and an ethnography of a Wyoming occupa-
tional culture. Besides all this, it's highly enjoyable and
quick reading.

Timothy Cochrane

The reviewer is oral historian in the Historical Research and Publications Divi-
sion. A graduate of the University of Montana, he holds the M.A. degree in
folk studies from Western Kentucky University.

The Chronicle of a Willson Family. By Patricia Anne
Willson Whitehead. Volume I. (Denver: Privately
Printed, 1981). 310 pp. Available from the author.

As any genealogist who has researched any length
of time can tell you, colonial family histories are not hard
to find on a library shelf. Family histories dealing with
mid- 1800s and western families are indeed rare! Being
oriented to both family history and the West, I doubly
enjoyed my book review assignment.

The author has used her imagination in the unique
design of her book. This is not a skeleton of family names
and dates; rather a gentle guide through the lives, loves,
and dreams of the Willsons of Como, 111., Davenport,
Iowa, and Niobrara County, Wyo.

This family was most fortunate to have the "saving"
type progenitor. Letters spanning 1839-1890 are enclos-
ed within a designed page with special type; a feature that
makes the reader immediately aware of their individuality.
Patricia then expands and explains parts of the letters,
and often the results of the correspondence.

The letters written during the Civil War brought the
reader's thoughts into sharp focus with the times and trials
of brothers and sons. Letters of sympathy over the death
of William told of the longing to be near, and left no doubt
of the spirit of togetherness within the family. Throughout,
the reader is struck by the knowledge that the family
always helped and were concerned for the well-being of
the others. Some were destined to live far apart, but they
always kept the thread of communication intact.

A letter from a son. Gene, to inform all of his inten-
tion to "leave for California (or some where else)" is the
important first step west for the family. Gene did not make
it to California. There was something about Wyoming
that held him here.

From early 1870s until the Willson Ranch was
established, the Willson brothers, George, Gene and Ed
interwove themselves into many facets of our Wyoming
history. Early descriptions of events and places in Wyo-
ming, particularly, Cheyenne, tickled the reviewer. One
of Gene's first employers was with the Heck Reel Ranch.
(Reel was the mayor of Cheyenne, a legislator and a
notable figure in our early history.) All three brothers came
to regard the Valley Ranch owned by Henry G. Hay and
John Thomas as a second home. Like many of our early
pioneers, the WiUsons were a versatile group. They earned
money for cowboying, freighting, logging, and whatever
means were necessary to earn a dollar and survive in this
raw country.

In the late spring of 1880, Eugene filed a squatter
claim "where the springs form the headwaters of the
Niobrara (or Running Water) River, which later in its
course becomes the White River." Hard work followed.
On November 1, 1880, he landed the "first band of sheep
to graze in what is now Niobrara County." The family
stayed in the sheep business until 1916 when open range
was curtailed. The flock was sold for $12.50 per head and
the Willsons went into the cattle business.

The homestead cabin was built on an established In-
dian trail. Letters home tell of the periodic visits from the
red man. Many early Wyoming pioneers are mentioned
in letters to family "back east."

Chapter 27, "Running Water Romance" was a
delight. How special these pages will be for future
generations — a lively account of "Grandma and Grand-
pa's Courtship!" Gene Willson and Isabel Mack were
married at Chadron, Nebraska, July 23, 1890 — almost
on the day Wyoming became a State! This chapter ends
Volume I.

Patricia has taken the time to write footnotes on each
chapter, a bibliography, and most important, an index.
These are so valuable to the serious genealogist and will
make the book more appealing to family members.

It would, however, improve the book to include
printed pictures of the Willsons and their homes; a real
treat to see the image of those who "wrote about" or were
"written of" with such affection. Also inclusion of these
generations Family Group Sheets would make quick, han-
dy references for the researcher who needed a name, date,
or relationship. This would save the time of going through
the narration.

The last line of this volume states, "More of this
Willson story is to come, — it is already in the making."

I'm glad! And, I look forward to reading what
Patricia has put together to bring the Willson Family to
present day.

Sharon Lass Field

The reviewer is director and compiler of the Wyoming State Historical Society
Cemetery and Grave Inventory Project,

The Stage. Drawings by Joseph Deaderick, edited
by Victor Flach. (Laramie: University of Wyom-
ing, 1977). Illus. List of plates. 128 pp. $12.95.

The Stage, a volume of drawings in a limited hard-
cover edition of 100 and 500 soft bound copies by Joseph
Deaderick, Professor in the Art Department at the Univer-
sity of Wyoming.

The book, produced by the University of Wyoming's
Office of Research, includes 96 black on white pen and
ink drawings, edited and a prologue by Victor Flach, also
of the U. W. Art Department and an epilogue by Joy
Deaderick, a dancer and the artist's wife. Printed by the
Modern Printing Company, Laramie, Wyoming, with
grant funds from the University of Wyoming, the book
is in nine-by-twelve-inch format and consists of 128 pages.

The drawings are indicative of Deaderick 's interest
and activity as a set and lighting designer for dance,
theatre and opera productions. They also reflect his per-
sonal philosophy that it is the nature of characters on life's
stage to mask their true selves from each other, protect-
ing by not revealing their inner thoughts and feelings that
are constantly changing in relation to the roles they find
themselves playing in life's drama. The drawings were
apparently Deaderick's visual translations/interpretations
of theatre experiences as they relate to the greater ex-
perience of life. The drawings appear to be cold,
calculated, intellectualized references, devoid of warmth
and sympathy for the human condition.

John Buhler

The reviewer is a former director of the Wyoming Council on the Arts.

The Coloradans. By Robert G. Athearn. (Albuquer-
que: University of New Mexico Press, 1976). In-
dex. Illus. Maps. 430 pp. $15.

Six years ago, the American Bicentennial ushered
in a joyous nation-wide, year-long celebration. This ex-
traordinary event either inspired or provided the impetus
for the commissioning of symphonies, books and artworks.
However, in these few brief years since that event, some
of those works have faded into well deserved obscurity
while others hold the promise of becoming and enduring
legacy. Robert Athearn 's book aspires to the latter
category.

The author was inspired by the American Bicenten-
nial to write this selective social history of Colorado.
Athearn chooses to begin his tome not with the millen-
niums of Indian dominance nor with the period of Spanish
exploration. Instead he opens the work with the Colorado
gold rush of 1859. He then gives the reader a panorama

of time, events and people ending with the beginning of
the current Colorado energy rush in 1976. In these in-
tervening pages, ethnic groups, women, charlatans and
ordinary people are depicted as they played a role in the
formation of the tapestry called Colorado. This is ac-
complished through a galloping narrative sprinkled with
vignettes of the mineral, agricultural and tourist industries.
The rapidly moving narrative discusses religion, politics,
economics and morals in a light and entertaining manner.

Despite the breadth of scope, the book is not design-
ed as a definitive history of Colorado. Rather it blends
ephemera and substance together in portraying Colorado's
cultural history. In this regard, significant historical events
are occasionally dismissed with a fleeting reference while
trivial occurrences are dwelt on. This does not tarnish the
richness of Colorado history, but crowds the book's pages
with great amounts of material. Thus, many a provocative
topic is treated only superficially.

This crowded narrative ends in 1976 where the
author recapitulates his main points and prognosticates
on the future of his state. This makes the book slightly
dated as events have now overtaken the narrative. The
many facets of the energy boom, the emergence of
ethnocentrism, and the first faltering steps toward a
regional theatre are all developments since the bicenten-
nial year. Still the work provides a sound foundation on
which others can build.

John C. Paige

Paige is research historian with the National Park Service in Colorado.

Great Surveys of the American West. By Richard A.
Bartlett. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,
1962). Index. Illus. Bib. 410 pp. 3rd Printing,
1980. S9.95.

Originally published in 1962 and now in its third
printing, this fascinating book chronicles the adventures
and contributions of a remarkable group of men who, un-
fortunately, are relatively unknown. While most school
children, especially those in Wyoming, would quickly
recognize the names and exploits of James Bridger and
other mountain men, how many adults, let alone school
children, would be able to identify the likes of Ferdinand
V. Hayden, Clarence King, John Wesley Powell or
George M. Wheeler? Yet these men made major contribu-
tions to the knowledge of the American West. Professor
Bartlett, now Professor of History at Florida State Univer-
sity, became interested in these surveys as a child prowl-
ing the foothills of the Rockies northwest of Boulder,
Colorado.

The Great Surveys described by Bartlett occurred in
the 1870s almost simultaneously. At times they duplicated
one another's efforts and that led to their replacement at
the end of the decade by the United States Geological
Survey. Though each of the surveys had its own agenda
to accomplish, together the surveys provided useful
topographical, geological, and biological information that
serves as a basis for much of what we know about the West
today. Each survey was led by a man with unique train-
ing and personality. Hayden was a medical doctor whose
party's work contributed to the creation of Yellowstone
National Park; Clarence King, aristocrat and friend of
Henry Adams, launched the exploration of the fortieth
parallel; John Wesley Powell was a self-taught geologist
known for his exploration of the Colorado River system
and proposals for rationally settling the arid West; and
finally, George M. Wheeler, a West Point graduate whose
survey of the land west of the one hundredth meridian
was oriented toward practical use by the military, but a
thrifty Congress, seeking to create the U.S.G.S. and
eliminate duplication of effort, killed this survey in
progress.

In covering each of those four disparate surveys,
Bartlett excels in providing a sense of the danger and of
the dullness that was part of each expedition. The reader
is with Clarence King while Apaches stake him and a com-
rade on the sand to be burned by the sun; but, just as
in a "B" movie, a cavalry unit comes to the rescue in
the nick of time. The reader also accompanies King and
his entourage as they trudge across the desolate wastes
of the Humboldt Sinks with only momentary distractions
provided by an occasional Indian.

Each of the book's four parts concentrates on one
of the Great Surveys and each begins with a brief
biographical sketch of the survey leader. These sketches
allow the reader to know how each of these surveyors came
to lead an expedition. Hayden, for example, earned a doc-
torate in medicine but studied paleontology and geology
informally. When he finished his formal medical studies
in 1853, the opportunity came to go west and assist his
paleontologist mentor collect samples, and Hayden forever
abandoned the practice of medicine for geology. From that
point on he prepared for the day he would lead his own
survey. The opportunity came in 1867.

Bartlett also provides glimpses of others on these ex-
peditions who were to make names for themselves.
William Henry Jackson was, of course, Dr. Hayden's
photographer and much of his best work was done while
accompanying Hayden. Robert Ridgway, as a sixteen-
year-old youth, accompanied King's survey and ultimately
became curator of birds at the United States National
Museum.

Unlike the mountain men whose discoveries were
passed on by word of mouth, the surveyors were scien-
tists committed to systematic exploration and to the record-
ing and publication of their findings. The latter made

their work more valuable than that of the mountain men.
Even though they were not always right, as Professor
Bartlett carefully points out, they did lay the basis for an
understanding of the American West's natural history.

As is apparent, this reviewer enjoyed the book;
however, a potential reader should be aware that there
are some deficiencies. Bartlett, for example, does not ex-
amine in depth some of the political chicanery involved
in the funding of the various surveys. Nor does the book
attempt to place the surveys into historical and intellec-
tural context as does William Goetzmann' s Exploration and
Empire published nearly a decade later. Finally, the
reproduction of the photographs is only mediocre.

Twenty years ago Professor Bartlett led the way in
examining the Great Surveys. The book remains a
fascinating, valuable study.

David Kathka

Dr Kathka is Dean of Academic Affairs, Western Wyoming Community Col-
lege, Rock Springs.

Cowboy Culture: A Saga of Five Centuries. By David
Dary. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981).
Photographs. Notes. Bib. Index. 384 pp. $17.95.

In 1494 the Spaniards introduced stallions, mares,
and cattle to the Western Hemisphere. Cowboy Culture
chronicles the rise and decline of the cowboy from those
antecedents in New Spain to celluloid imagery of today.
Surveying several centuries, David Dary depicts the
cowboy of the American West as the product of a long
evolutionary process. Cowboy Culture views the vaquero
of New Spain, equipped with horse, saddle, lariat, ban-
danna, knee breeches, spurs, and a specialized vocabulary,
as the progenitor of future laborers in the cattle industry.
From New Spain, writes Dary, the cowboy gradually
moved northward to Mexico, California, Texas, and,
ultimately, the northern plains. In the generation follow-
ing the Civil War, reports Dary, the cowboy reached his
apex as railroad construction opened new markets for cat-
tle. By 1900 settlers brought an end to the open ranges,
and the cowboy declined in importance. Although this
volume ignores working cowboys in the 20th century, a
brief epilogue explores contemporary mythology surroun-
ding the cowboy.

Cowboy Culture is essentially a narrative. Dary pro-
vides considerable information about the livestock,
clothing, tools, tasks, physical environment, qualifications,

and recreation associated with the cowboy. Detailed com-
mentary, for example, appears of stratagems for cutting
earmarks on cattle. In general, however, Dary eschews
consideration of issues that fuel historiographic debate.
Even culture, the perspective Dary employs to examine
the cowboy, receives no precise definition. Dary defends
his imprecision by observing that "how the term (culture)
is defined usually depends upon those who are asked to
define it" (p. xi). Moreover, Cowboy Culture frequently
substitutes analogy for analysis: "... the horse acted
as a tonic for Indians. It widened their horizons, much
as a teenager's first automobile widens his." When in-
terpretation does intrude upon description, it sometimes
provokes rather than persuades. Dary, for instance, con-
tends the "cowman . . . was isolated from what then pass-
ed for civilization. Perhaps that is why nearly all catdemen
in Texas were honest."

Dary's treatment of the cowboy fails to fuUy establish
the latter within a macrocosmic context. The Mesta Code
of New Spain, Mexican independence. Manifest Destiny,
the Civil War, emigration, and improved transportation
receive some attention, but shadows obscure other ger-
mane phenomena. Discussion of wealthy cattlemen dur-
ing the late 19th century, for example, fails to probe for
values shared with other Gilded Age entrepreneurs. The
relationship between Social Darwinism and labor prac-
tices in the cattle industry remain uninvestigated. Quan-
tification apparently contributes little to Dary's often im-
pressionistic generalizations about social and economic
mobility in the West. Muted attention to race and ethnicity
leads to neglect of the Black cowboy. And a brief discus-
sion of the image of the frontier in the American mind
omits the ideas of Frederick Jackson Turner.

Despite caveats sufficient to discourage specialists,
the general reader will enjoy Cowboy Culture. David Dary,
a teacher and practitioner of journalism, writes well. His
notes suggest familiarity with a plethora of journal articles,
monographs, autobiographies, diaries, newspapers, and
physical artifacts. Possessor of a lucid prose style, Dary
elicits admiration for his ability to select pithy quotations
and telling anecdotes. Profusely illustrated with ap-
propriate photographs, drawings, and maps. Cowboy
Culture will impart to the general reader much empirical
data about cowboy lifestyles. Perhaps no other volume
dealing with the same subject matter exceeds the scope
of Cowboy Culture. Knowing little about the Spanish and
Mexican origins of the cowboy, the lay public will acquire
a broader perspective from Dary. Although Cowboy Culture
lacks the nuance and analytical rigor valued by profes-
sional historians, the general reader will find it interesting
and informative.

William Simons

Dr. Simons is an assistant professor of history at State University of New York,
Oneonta.

INDEX

Alexander, Thomas G., The Mormon People, Their Character and

Traditions, review, 69
Allison, Senator W. B., 44
American Heritage Center, 34; photo, 32
Arnold, Thurman, 22
Athearn, R. G., 2
Athearn, Robert G., The Coloradans, review, 78-79

Barrett, Frank A., 22, 31

Barrett, Judge James E., 24

Bartlett, Richard A., Great Surveys of the American West, review, 79-80

The Battle for Butte, Mining and Politics on the Northern Frontier, 1864-1906,

by Michael P. Malone, review, 72-73
Bauman, Charles H., 33

Berwanger, Eugene H., The West and Reconstruction, review, 74-75
Bille, Ed, review of The Oklahoma Petroleum Industry, 67-68
Birch, Brian P., "A Victorian Englishman's View of the West," 2-9;

biog., 84
"Black Fourteen," 23
Black Hills [Paha Sapa], 37-48; map, 45
Black Hills Treaty of 1876, 48
Bonneville, Benjamin L. E., 63
Brimmer, Clarence A., 11, 24-25
Brimmer, George E., 24
Brimmer, William G., 24
Blume, Fred, 22, 56
Buckle, Charles M., 2-9; photo, 2
Bugas, John, 33

Buhler, John, review of The Stage, 78
Burke, Timothy F., 15
Burrows, A. S., 52

Commercial Block, Cheyenne, 12

The Compassionate Samaritan: The Life of Lyndon B. Johnson, by Philip

Reed Rulon, review, 70-71
Converse, Amasa R., 52
Converse Cattle Co., 52
Corlett Grade School, 20

Cowboy Culture: A Saga of Five Centuries, by David Dary, review, 80
Coxey, Jacob S., 13
Crane, Dr. Arthur G., 30
Custer, George A., 38-42; photo, 40
Custer and the Little Big Horn: A Psychobiographtcal Inquiry, by Charles

K. Hofling, review, 71-72
Custer's Black Hills Expedition of 1876, 37-42; photo, camp on French

Creek, 36-37; photo, camp on Hiddenwood Creek, 41; photo,

officers and scientific corps of Custer's Black Hills expedition, 39

Darrow, Clarence, 13

Dary, David, Cowboy Culture: A Saga of Five Centuries, review, 80

Davis, Reba, 30, 31

Deaderick, Joseph, The Stage, review, 78

de la Verendrye, Francois and Joseph, 37

"The Dempsey-Hockaday Trail — An Experience in History," Robert

G. Rosenberg, 58-66
Dempsey-Hockaday Trail, map, 58; photos, 58, 59, 61
Dempsey, Robert D., 63

Denhardt, Robert M., The Horse of the Americas, review, 68
"Development of the University of Wyoming Libraries and Special

Collections," by Emmett D. Chisum, 26-35
Docken, Emily D., 25
Dodge, Lt. Col. Richard Irving, 44-48
Downey, S. W., photo, 17
Dubois, William, 28

California Joe (Moses E. Milner), 45-46; photo, 46

Campbell, A. C, 11, 12

Carey, Joseph M., 16, 52

Carey, Gov. Robert D., 28

Carpenter, J. Ross, 54

Carroll, Eugene T., "John B. Kendrick, Cowpoke to Senator

1879-1917," 51-57; biog., 84
Chaplin, W. E., 14
Cheyenne State Leader, 54
Chisum, Emmett D., "Development of the University of Wyoming

Libraries and Special Collections," 26-35; biog., 84
The Chronicle of a Willson Family, by Patricia Anne Willson Whitehead,

review, 77-78
Cinnabar, Mont., 5
Clark, Edward, 15
Clay, Charles, 27
Coble, John, 15
Coe, William Robertson, 31-33
Cochrane, Timothy, review oi Knights of the Broadax: The Story of the

Wyoming Tie Hack, 76-77
Cochrane, Willard W., review of The Horse of the Americas, 68
Collins, Charles, 38, 42-43
The Coloradans, by Robert G. Athearn, review, 78-79

Ellsworth, Dr. Ralph, 33

Fahey, Thomas P., 54

Favour, Alpheus H., Old Bill Williams, Mountain Man, review, 76

"Federal District Court in Wyoming, 1890-1982," by Rebecca W.

Thomson, 10-25
Field, Sharon Lass, review of The Chronicle of a Willson Family, 77-78
Finfrock, Dr. J. H., 27
Flach, Victor, The Stage, review, 78
Flick, Katherine, 16
Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868, 13
Fort Laramie, 40, 42-43, 46-48
Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, 37-39, 44
Fort Lincoln, 39-41
Franks, Kenny A., The Oklahoma Petroleum Industry, review, 67-68

Gaster, Pat, review of Old Bill Williams, Mountain Man, 76

Geysers, 6

Gordon Expedition to the Black Hills, 42-43

Great Surveys of the American West, by Richard A. Bartlett, review, 79-i

Gressley, Dr. Gene M., 34
Grinnell, George Bird, 40

Hale. Fred A., 27

Ham's Fork, 59-60, 63-65

Hansen, Clifford P., 33

Hansen, KlausJ., Mormonism and the American Experience, review, 73-74

Harnsburger, Harry, 22

Harrison, William Henry, 22

Harvey, John, 51

Hayden Survey, 59-60

Hebard, Dr. Grace R., 27-28, 30

Hillier, Dr. Richard, 31, 33

Hitchcock, Clinton, 33

Hitchcock, Eliot, 33

Hitchcock, Wilbur, 30, 33

Hobson, Geary, The Remembered Earth, An Anthology of Contemporary

Native American Literature, review, 75-76
Hockaday, John, 59, 63
Hofling, Charles K., Custer and the Little Big Horn: A Psychobwgraphical

Inquiry, review, 71-72
Homsher, Lola M, 34
Hopkins, S. G., 56
Hord Bros., 52
Horn, Tom, 14; photo, 17
Hoyt, J. W., 27

The Horse of the Americas, by Robert M. Denhardt, review, 68
Humphrey, George D., 31, 33
Hunt, Wilson Price, 62
Hynds, Harry P., 15

INDIAN TRIBES

Bannocks, 13
In re Race Horse, 13
Irvine, William C, 52, 56
Iverson, Peter, review o{ Let My People Know: American Indian Journalism,

1828-1978, 69-70

Lacey, J. W., 15, 18-19

Lance Creek Co., 52

Lander Cut-off, 62, 64-65

Lefferdink, Allen, 23

Lefors, Joe, 15

Let My People Know: American Indian Journalism, 1828-1978, by James

E. Murphy and Sharon M. Murphy, review, 69-70
Libraries, university, 26-35; photos, 26, 29, 32
Longsworth, Basil, 60
Lott, Kenneth, 20
Lucky Mc Uranium, 23
Ludlow, William, 38-39

McGee, Gale W., review of The Compassionate Samaritan: The Life of
Lyndon B. Johnson, 70-71

Malone, Michael P., The Battle for Butte, Mining and Politics on the Nor-
thern Frontier, 1864-1906, review, 72-73

Mammoth Hot Springs, 5-6; photo, 6

Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, 5-6; photo, 5

Manville, H. S., 52

Marks, Mary, 31

Matson, Roderick, 14, 15

May, Richard C., 28

Miller, Leslie A., 54

Moiling, Corrine, 28

Montgomery, Roy, 54

Moore, Olga, 28

Mormonism and the American Experience, by KlausJ. Hansen, review,
73-74

The Mormon People, Their Character and Traditions, by Thomas G. Alex-
ander, review, 69

Mullowny, J. F., 64

Murphy, James E., Let My People Know: American Indian Journalism,
1828-1978, review, 69-70

Murphy, Sharon M. , Let My People Know: American Indian Journalism,
1828-1978, review, 69-70

Jackson, David E., 63

Jenney, Walter, 43-48; photo, 47

"John B. Kendrick, Cowpoke to Senator 1879-1917,'

Johnson, Judge , 18

Judges, 10-25

Nelson, Dr. Aven, 27, 28

Newton, Henry, 43-48; photo, 47

Newton-Jenney Expedition to the Black Hills, 43-48

Newton, Silas M., 22

Nichols, Roger L., review of Custer and the Little Big Horn: A

Psychobiographical Inquiry, 71-72 ■

Nickell, Willie, 15.
Northern Pacific Railroad, 4

Rathka, David, review of Great Surveys of the American West, 79-80

Kelley, A. D., 30

Kendrick, Anna Maye, 52

Kendrick, Eula Wulfgen, 52

Kendrick, Isaac, 51

Kendrick, John B., 51-57; photos, 53, 55

Kennedy, T. Blake, 11, 12, 14-20; photo, 15

Kerr, Ewing T., 11, 20-24; photo, 21

Kerr, Irene Peterson, 21

Kline, M. A., 15

Knights of the Broadax: The Story of the Wyoming Tie Hack, by Joan Trego

Pinkerton, review, 76-77
Krakel, Dean F., 34

Ohnhaus, Charles, 12, 15

The Oklahoma Petroleum Industry, by Kenny A. Franks, review, 67-68
Old Bill Williams, Mountain Man, by Alpheus H. Favour, review, 76
Old Navajo Rugs: Their Development from 1900 to 1940, by Marion E.

Rodee, review, 68-69
O'Mahoney, Sen. Joseph C, 22
Oregon Trail, 59-66
OW Ranch, 52

Paige, John C, review of The Coloradans, 78-79

Peck, Joseph, 52

Pickett, John C, 22

Pinkerton, Joan Trego, Knights of the Broadax: The Story of the Wyoming

Tie Hack, review, 16-11
Plaga, Otto, 15
Plains Hotel, 15, 28
Powder River Campaign of 1865, 42
"Prelude to the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, " by Scott Tubbs,

36-50
Preston, Douglas A., 56
Prohibition, 13, 16, 18, 21

Ranz, Dr. James, 33

Raynolds Expedition of 1859-1860, 42

Red Cloud Agency, 43-44, 48

The Remembered Earth, An Antholog)/ of Contemporary Native American
Literature, edited by Geary Hobson, review, 75-76

Riggs, Arad, 33

Riner, John A., 11-15; photo, 12

Riner, William A., 22

Riner, Wyoming, 12

Rodee, Marion E., Old Navajo Rugs: Their Development from 1900 to 1940,
review, 68-69

Rosenberg, Robert G., "The Dempsey-Hockaday Trail — An Ex-
perience in History," 58-66; biog., 84

Ross, William R., 31

Rulon, Philip Reed, The Compassionate Samaritan: The Life of Lyndon
B. Johnson, review, 70-71

Russell, Thomas, 38, 42-43

Salt Creek, 13

Scott, Mary Hurlburt, 63, 65

Sheridan, Philip H., 38,42

Sherman, William T., 39

Sibley, Stephen H., 28

Simons, William, review of Cowboy Culture: A Saga of Five Centuries, 80

Simpson, Milward, 28

Smith, MelvinT., review of Mormonism and the American Experience, 73-74

Smith, Melvin T., review of The Mormon People, Their Character and

Traditions, 69
Smith, Nels H., 21-22
Smith, Jedediah S., 63
Snyder, Dudley, 52
Snyder, John, 52
Soule, Justus F., 27
South Pass, 62-64
Spaugh, Addison A., 12
The Stage, drawings by Joseph Deaderick, edited by Victor Flach,

review, 78
Stuart, Robert, 62
Sublette Cut-off, 59-60, 63
Sublette, William L., 63
Swanson, Dorothy B., 24

Teapot Dome, 18, 19

Terry, General Alfred, 39

Thomas, Rev. Nathaniel S., 31 •

Thomson, Rebecca W., "Federal District Court in Wyoming,

1890-1982," 10-25; biog., 84
Tidball, Judge V. J., 28
Tourists, 2-9
Trail End (Sheridan), 56
Trenholm, Virginia Cole, review of The Remembered Earth, An Anthology

of Contemporary Native American Literature, 75-76
Tubbs, Scott, "Prelude to the Black HUls Gold Rush of 1876," 36-50;

biog., 84

U.S. V. Patten, 18

University of Wyoming, 26-35

Van Devanter, Willis, 11, 13, 14

"A Victorian Englishman's View of the West," by Brian P. Birch, 2-9

Violations of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, 38-48

Walker, David A., review of The Battle for Butte, Mining and Politics

on the Northern Frontier, 1864-1906, 72-73
Walker, David A., review of The West and Reconstruction, li-15
Walker, Dr. Robert, 33
Walton, A. D., 21
Warren Expedition of 1857, 42
Warren, Francis E., 11, 16, 21, 54, 56
Water law, 21
Watts, Clyde M., 15
Wehrli, W. J., 21
Welch, Deborah, review of Old Navajo Rugs: Their Development from 1900

to 1940, 68-69
The West and Reconstruction, by Eugene H. Berwanger, review, 74-75
Whitehead, Patricia Anne Willson, The Chronicle of a Willson Family,

review, ll-19i
Wulfgen, Charles, 52
Wyoming State Bar, 20; photo, 19
Wyoming Stock Growers Association, 14, 34
Wyoming Supreme Court, 11

Yellowstone National Park, 2-9; map, 4
Yellowstone River, 5-7; photo, 7

Zingsheim, Geraldine E., 24

CONTRIBUTORS

BRIAN P. BIRCH is a Senior Lecturer in
Geography at Southampton University in England and
has taught at that university since 1962. A native of Kent,
England, he did graduate work in geography at Indiana
University. The early settlement of the midwestern and
western parts of America is his particular interest.

EMMETT D. CHISUM has been research historian
at the American Heritage Center, University of Wyo-
ming, since 1978. For many years he was social sciences
librarian at the University, and was known to students
and alumni as "Mr. Librarian." He has had other ar-
ticles published in several professional journals, including
the Annals of Wyoming.

REBECCA W. THOMSON practices law with the
firm of Burgess and Davis in Sheridan. A 1978 graduate
of the University of Denver College of Law, Thomson
also holds a M.A. in Law Librarianship from the Univer-
sity of Denver. She was law clerk to Judge Ewing T. Kerr,
U.S. District Judge, in 1979-1980. This article is the se-
cond part of a study, the first part of which appeared in
the Fall, 1981 issue o{ Annals of Wyoming.

SCOTT S. TUBBS is an assistant baseball coach at
Oregon State University. A native of South Dakota, he
obtained his B.S. in Religious Studies at Oregon State
University. An amateur carpenter, Tubbs is a member
of the South Dakota Historical Society and enjoys
researching Western history.

EUGENE T. CARROLL is a veteran educator who
obtained his master's degree in history at the University
of Wyoming in 1978. Recently, he received an M.A. in
guidance and counseling at Eastern Montana College. He
presently has a private practice in child counseling in Bill-
ings, Montana.

His interests center on Western political figures of
the early 20th century. A previous article authored by Car-
roll was published in the Fall, 1978, issue of Annals of
Wyoming.

ROBERT G. ROSENBERG, experienced in
prehistoric and historic archaeology, received his
bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University and
a master's degree in history from the University of Nor-
thern Colorado. He spent three years in Colorado con-
ducting historical inventories, with emphasis on mining
history and technology.

Rosenberg authored a number of publications in-
cluding a History of Southcentral Colorado. Presendy employed
as an historical archaeologist with High Plains Con-
sultants, Laramie, he has researched and inspected many
of the historic trails in Wyoming. He and his wife cur-
rently reside in the mountains near Laramie.

WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Wyoming State Historical Society was organized in October, 1953.
Membership is open to anyone interested in history. County chapters of the society
have been chartered in most of the twenty-three counties of Wyoming. Past
presidents of the society include: Frank Bowron, Casper, 1953-55; William L.
Marion, Lander, 1955-56; Dr. DeWitt Dominick, Cody, 1956-57; Dr. T. A. Lar-
son, Laramie, 1957-58; A. H. MacDougall, Rawlins, 1958-59; Mrs. Thelma G.
Condit, Buffalo, 1959-60; E. A. Littleton, Gillet-e, 1960-61; Edness Kimball
Wilkins, Casper, 1961-62; Charles Ritter, Cheyenne, 1962-63; Neal E. Miller,
Rawlins, 1963-65; Mrs. Charles Hord, Casper, 1965-66; Glenn Sweem, Sheridan,
1966-67; Adrian Reynolds, Green River, 1967-68; Curtiss Root, Torringtpn,
1968-69; Mrs. Hattie Burnstad, Worland, 1969-70; J. Reuel Armstrong, Rawlins,
1970-71; William R. Dubois, Cheyenne, 1971-72; Henry P. Chadey, Rock Springs,
1972-73; Richard S. Dumbrill, Newcastle, 1973-74; Henry Jensen, Casper, 1974-75;
Jay Brazelton, Jackson, 1975-76; Ray Pendergraft, Worland, 1976-77; David J.
Wasden, Cody, 1977-78; Mabel Brown, Newcastle, 1978-79; James June, Green
River, 1979-80; William F. Bragg, Jr., Casper, 1980-81.

Membership information may be obtained from the Executive Headquarters,
Wyoming State Historical Society, Barrett Building, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002.
Dues in the state society are:

Life Membership $100

Joint Life Membership (husband and wife) $150

Annual Membership $5

Joint Annual Membership (tv.'o persons of same family

at same address) $7

Institutional Membership $10

President, Don Hodgson, Torrington
First Vice President, Clara Jensen, Casper
' Second Vice President, Fern Gaensslen, Green River

Secretary-Treasurer, Ellen Mueller, Cheyenne

^:^!^f0^^wh

f- f 's;

'^^' V'

J/ ^'

Volume 54, Number 2
■^ Fall, 1982

G'i^b-^f'^'-^s.oi^

THE WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES, MUSEUMS AND HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT

WYOMING STATE LIBRARY, ARCHIVES AND HISTORICAL BOARD

Ken Richardson, Lander, Chairman

Mrs. Suzanne Knepper, Buffalo

Dave Paulley, Cheyenne

Mrs. Wilmot C. McFadden, Rock Springs

Eugene Martin, Evanston

Jerry Rillahan, Worland

Mrs. Mae Urbanek, Lusk

Frank Bowron, Casper

Attorney General Steven H. Freudenthal (e.x-officio)

ABOUT THE COVER — Glen Hopkinson painted the untitled work featured oh the cover of this issue.
A Wyoming native , Hopkinson first became interested in painting when he was a child. His father, Harold,
is also a noted Western artist and Glen learned art techniques from him. In 1971 Glen was awarded the
Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Brigham Young University. He studied with Don Putnam in California
and the late Bob Meyers in Cody. The 35-year-old artist has exhibited his work in art shows throughout
the West. His one-man show was on display for nearly two months at the Wyoming State Art Gallery
in 1975. He now lives and works in Cody. The painting is in the permanent collection of the AMH
Department 's State Gallery.

oA.

NNALS of WYOMING

Volume 54, No. 2
Fall, 1982

GOVERNOR OF WYOMING

Ed Herschler

DIRECTOR

Dr. Robert D. Bush

CO-EDITORS

William H. Barton
Philip J. Roberts

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Jean Brainerd

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Kathy Martinez

PHOTOGRAPHIC

ASSISTANTS
Paula West
Carroll Jones

TABLE OF CONTENTS

"THE THRILLIN'EST FIGHT EVER!"

SHERIDAN RE-ENACTS CUSTER'S LAST STAND 2

By Brian W. Dippie

COUNTRY SCHOOL LEGACY IN WYOMING 10

By Andrew Gulliford

MEXICAN WORKERS IN WYOMING DURING WORLD WAR IL

NECESSITY, DISCRIMINATION AND PROTEST 20

By William L. Hewitt

THE NATIONAL BANK FAILURES IN WYOMING, 1924 34

By Peter W. Huntoon

A YOUNG MAN COMES OF AGE:

THE LETTERS OF CHARLES RAPP 45

By Keith Beyer

THE STORY OF ERNEST AND LIZZIE LOGAN—

A FRONTIER COURTSHIP 48

By Grace Logan Schaedel

A TAFT REPUBLICAN:

SEN. FRANCIS E. WARREN AND NATIONAL POLITICS 62

By Leonard Schlup

BAY STATE MARKED AN ERA 67

By Vera Saban and Earl L. Hanway

BOOK REVIEWS 72

INDEX 81

CONTRIBUTORS 84

Annals of Wyoming is published biannually in the Spring and Fall.
It is received by all members of the Wyoming State Historical Society as the
official publication of that organization. Copies of previous and current issues
may be purchased from the Co-Editors. Correspondence should be address-
ed to the Co-Editors. Published articles represent the views of the author
and are not necessarily those of the Wyoming State Archives, Museums and
Historical Department or the Wyoming State Historical Society. ANNALS
OF WYOMING articles are abstracted in Historical Abstracts. America: History
and Life.

"The Thrillin'est

Fight Ever!"

'^: dULY 3.4.5

Y=~s^*'SHiRIDAN "WYOMING
^Q_/ND/ANS. COWBOYS. HOT T/ ME

. . . EVERYBODY COME . .

The Great Gala Day of the Northwest

In The Land of Sun^^hine and Promise

Iowa's Best Band

St- Xavier Mission Band

Rough Riders
Races Polo

War Dances Etc.

1000 Indians in Native Costumes in Daily Parade

<ir«(id kcproducUon of jfu' cl Sll R H\l It t \\ itli « msif niiu nt aiiil
Statt: I riM;t»ii and the S-onts and \S ar CliiifN uh,, s\iiv- near [|k Svcru

Sheridan Post. June 19. 1902. J

Sheridan Rc'cnacts Custer's Last Stand

Custer's Last Stand — the battle of the Little Bighorn
— meant many things to the northern plains region in
1876. Most obviously, it offered a sobering check on the
expansionist ambitions of white catdemen and others mov-
ing onto Indian lands in the northeastern Wyoming-
southeastern Montana area. It sent a thrill of horror run-
ning through the regional press, summed up in the Bis-
marck, D. T., Tribune's fretting headlines of July 6: "What
Will Congress Do About It? Shall This Be the Beginning
of the End?"

The answer to the second question, the next few
months confirmed, was a resounding yes: it was the begin-
ning of the end of Indian resistance on the northern plains.
Before the year was out, on December 1, 1876, the offi-
cer in charge of construction of the Tongue River Can-
tonment recorded in his diary, "Truly the Yellowstone
Valley is open to civilization."' His judgment, optimistic
at the time, proved completely accurate.

But even in 1876, Custer's Last Stand was something
more than an isolated Western event. It was, quite sim-
ply, a sensation, and occurring as it did at mid-point in
the nation's Centennial Year (news of the disaster reached
the East just two days after the Centennial Fourth), it
generated a storm of political and military controversy
and gave birth to an American myth. Custer's Last Stand
became an "epic of defeat," a mythic embodiment of the
clash, as contemporaries put it, between savagery and
civilization that had been part of America's story since
white men discovered the New World and that, by 1876,
with the United States an independent nation for 100
years, was winding down into a pathetic mopping up
operation devoid of either drama or glory. Suddenly,
defeat had restored the drama, and the totality of defeat
the glory. Custer's Last Stand became a tale of superb
heroism in the face of overwhelming odds. It became a
magic moment of reaffirmation of those Anglo-Saxon vir-
tues that had tamed a continent and made America great.
It was larger than its particulars, larger than the controver-
sies that surrounded its participants, larger than its times.
Poets, painters, novelists and dramatists have always been
responsive to its appeal, and in turning to it for inspira-
tion for over a century now have firmly entrenched
Custer's Last Stand in the national mythology.^

Hard on the heels of those who found inspiration in
defeat were, predictably, others who recognized that the
legend defeat engendered a chance to make money. In
turn, they propagated the myth they were exploiting.
Among these enterprising souls, promoters of tourism to

the northern plains stand out. They have always been
aware of Custer's Last Stand's wild and woolly allure.
By the 1890s, railroad lines with access to the battlefield
area were actively promoting it as an essential stop on any
Western tour. It was "worthy a pilgrimage from a
distance," according to the Northern Pacific,^ while the
Burlington distributed a little pamphlet reprinting a New
York reporter's reaction to a battlefield visit:

. . my eyes rested on the little white marble sentinels which
marked the steady, compact advance, and on every hero's
cenotaph I seemed to see carved the word, "Duty."

The lesson is there for all who may read — a lesson which
will be ever remembered by the brave men of our regular
army. . . . The requiem of the winds over the graves there
can never be sadder than on that golden evening when I
turned my back upon this battlefield, at once the most
pathetic and most mysterious of all that our sun shines on . '

For those who could resist their patriotic duty to ride the
railroads west to Montana or Wyoming, local promoters
were prepared to offer a further inducement: a show, a
gala extravaganza, a full-scale re-enactment of the battle
featuring real live Indians.

Montana, of course, held claim to Custer's Last Stand
by virtue of geography. The battle was fought there, and
in situ commemorations had to recognize that fact. Annual
anniversary observations and commemorative activities,
which reached a peak with a massive turnout estimated
at between 40-50,000 people for the semi-centennial exer-
cises in 1926, took place on the battlefield proper. But
the nearest towns, Crow Agency and Hardin, could not
handle large crowds of visitors; the only centers in the area
with adequate facilities were Billings and Sheridan. Bill-
ings had the advantage of being in Montana, but Sheridan
was just as close to the battle site. Thus when local pro-
moters chose to augment the formal commemorative acti-
vities by staging sham battles of their own, both towns
laid claim to the principal attraction of what was becom-
ing known in tourist literature as "Custer Country."

As early as 1891 Crow Indians put on a Custer's Last
Stand re-enactment of sorts within a mile of the battlefield,
but the first recorded full-scale re-enactment on Montana
soil pitting whites and Indians took place in 1909 when
a company of the Montana National Guard from Billings
re-fought the Last Stand against a party of Crows right
on the battlefield. Since then, re-enactments have been
an accepted feature of Montana tourism, and there were
times during Montana's territorial centennial, in 1964,
when the battle was being re-created simultaneously at
two different locations in the state. Strangely, that same

By Brian W. Dippie

"Croivdi on the hill Hatching the spot " Commented the Sher-
idan Post/or July 10, 1902: "The immense mass of humanity
arrayed along the hill side north of the battle-ground yesterday, was

year visitors to the Dakotas could have seen re-enactments
both in Mandan, North Dakota, and Hot Springs, South
Dakota — a reminder that South Dakota, too, had laid
claim to a slice of the Custer pie back in 1909 when the
battle was reproduced daily from October 4-9 as part of
Pierre's Third Gas Belt Exposition. And this claim had
been reconfirmed in 1927 when a re-enactment of the
Custer Batde entertained President Calvin Coolidge at
the Deadwood Days of '76 celebration.^

How about Wyoming? The boosters of the Sheridan
area were as busy stirring up interest in Custer's Last
Stand as any of their counterparts elsewhere during the
first three decades of this century. Herbert Coffeen's lit-
tle magazine Teepee Book, published in Sheridan from Jan-
uary, 1915 through 1916, was particularly active in pub-
licizing the 40th anniversary observance in 1916; and the
Teepee Book's special Custer Battle number, commemor-
ating the occasion, was expanded and reprinted to become
a popular memento of the semi-centennial observance ten
years later. Indeed, Sheridan was one of the official semi-
centennial "headquarters," and the Sheridan Post that June
boasted that Sheridan's own Orpheum Theater had been
given the privilege of premiering at popular prices a major
film about the battle. The Flaming Frontier, starring Hoot
Gibson and a cast of thousands.^

More than once, it should be added, stories appear-
ing in the Sheridan papers left the distinct impression that
Sheridan was not only within convenient distance of the
Custer Battlefield, but that the battlefield was actually

the most picturesque sight imaginable. It furnished food for the
innumerable camera fiends.

located in northern Wyoming! In vying for the tourist
dollar, all's fair after all. But Sheridan's boosters suc-
cessfully pulled off a feat several years earlier — in 1900,
to be precise- — that entitles Sheridan to claim the honor
of being the first town in the West to stage a re-enactment
of Custer's Last Stand. The idea of reproducing the Last
Stand was old hat even in 1900: a "sensation play"
exploiting the battle was running in New York City by
mid-August, 1876 — and Buffalo Bill's Wild West had been
staging its own version of "The Battle of the Little Big Horn,
Showing with Historical Accuracy the scene of
CUSTER'S LAST CHARGE!" more or less regularly
since 1887. But there is no record of any Western town
sponsoring a re-enactment of the battle before the enter-
prising promoters of Sheridan's first Mid-summer Car-
nival in July, 1900.

The Sheridan Post for June 21, 1900, devoted half of
its front page to an advertisement for the carnival to be
held July 3, 4 and 5. Featured attractions were to be a
daily balloon ascension by Professor L. N. O'Dell and
a grand fireworks display each evening. Horse and bi-
cycle races, polo matches, baseball games and shooting
exhibitions were on the schedule; Western fare included
roping and tying exhibitions, a street parade, an old set-
tlers reunion, an Indian encampment, and war dances.
But the real treat was set for the afternoon of July 4th,
"the Repetition of the Custer Batde between State Troops
and Indians ... on the ridge east of the city." No con-
temporary accounts of this sham battle have been located.

but the Post did record the arrival on July 1 of 400-600
Crow Indians who, under their chief Medicine Crow, were
to "play a prominent part" in the re-enactment.' How
popular it proved is uncertain. A Cheyenne paper reported
that Sheridan's citizens "spared no expense to make the
eagle scream" on the Fourth, but made no mention of
the Custer Battle re-enactment, noting only the balloon
ascension and firewords display.^ One thing is certain:
the notion of staging a re-creation of Custer's Last Stand
was popular enough to surface again just two years later.

As Dr. Will Frackelton, Sheridan's pioneer
"Sagebrush Dentist," remembered it, when a commit-
tee met in 1902 "to solve the annual problem of the big
spectacle for the Sheridan County Fair, it was [O. P.]
Hanna who leaned back in his seat, spat deftly at the
nearest cuspidor and asked: 'Well, boys, if yore plumb
out of ideas, why don't you put on the Custer mas-
sacre?' " Hanna and the other committee members
agreed to line up the soldiers; Frackelton, the fair's
manager, was assigned the task of obtaining Crow coop-
eration, and on June 1 he set out north for the Crow reser-
vation armed with the promise of free beef as a bribe for
participation. To his surprise, the Crows not only knew
all about the fair but had already decided to take part.'
They arrived in early July in a contingent estimated at
1,000-2,000 strong, once again under Medicine Crow,
and set up their camp across Little Goose Creek, a few
blocks east of Sheridan's main street. Excitement was in
the air. "The people are waking up to the importance
of the three days' carnival" — again scheduled for July
3-5 — the Post had reported earlier in predicting "a hot
time at Sheridan." The hotels would be unable to han-
dle the overflow crowds expected; private homes would
have to offer accommodation as well.'° The Burlington
Route was cooperating with special excursion trains from
points east and west. Advertisements, signed by
Frackelton, also touted "The Great Gala Day of the
Northwest.""

The boosterism paid off. More than half a century
later Mrs. Jennie Parker remembered the carnival. She
rode the train from Ranchester to Sheridan while her hus-
band came by horse and buggy so they would "have a
conveyance of some kind to get them around the town
during the three-day celebration." The few hotels
available in Sheridan were "literally bursting at the
seams. "'^ All the events brought out the spectators —
baseball and polo, foot races and horse races, bands and
parades. But the carnival's highlight was to be the Custer
Battle re-enactment, "a very elaborate affair," the pro-
moters promised, that "will take place in a realistic
way."'^ Both sides in the fray were featured attractions.
The Crows in their "most picturesque and hideous
costumes" wowed the Eastern visitors each day with a
so-called Hideous Parade: "They march north on the
business street and back, halting every block to give a war
dance."'* Meanwhile, the encampment of three com-

panies of the Wyoming National Guard under command
of Major C. Z. Zander was a sight to "cause any loyal
citizen to feel proud." The 150 men had brought their
own uniforms, weapons and blank ammunition — no small
consideration for a fair committee working on a tight
budget — and all were "anxious to go into the Custer
batde."

"This part of the program will be the most exciting,
and should not be missed by any one who wants to see
a live picture of Custer's last battle," the Post insisted,
concluding the report with a bit of frontier humor: "The
men are wondering how Major Zander will be able to
shake long yellow curls (like Custer's), as there is a scar-
city of that material at the major's command."'^

About 4:30 p.m. on July 4 the long-awaited sham bat-
tle took place. Mrs. Parker recalled the scene as the spec-
tators gathered and "the hills were lined with wagons,
buggies and the more fancy vehicles common in that
day."'^ Crowd estimates ran as high as 10,000 people.
Dr. Frackelton, who had played such a key role in plan-
ning the re-enactment, devoted two chapters to it in his
autobiography published almost 40 years later. Frackelton
was one of the few white men to ride with the Indians.
Smeared with red paint and decked out in war bonnet,
breech cloth and moccasins, he was all ready for the big
fight when a hitch developed. Major Zander, dressed as
General Custer in a buckskin suit, white hat and blond
wig, called him aside and informed him that the troopers
would not allow the Indians to capture their flag at bat-
tle's end. "It's against all military rules," Zander
explained. The Indians were equally adamant: the flag
was to be their legitimate trophy. Caught in the middle,
Frackelton devised a strategy. "Tell Medicine Crow the
original Custer would have acted just this way," he quietly
advised one of the Crows. "Tell him I'll get that flag dur-
ing the last charge, and that I may need some support
whUe I'm doing it." Both sides satisfied, the re-enactment
proceeded without further complication:

. . . the bucks went calmly about killing off Custer's cavalry
according to the pre-arranged program. One by one, the
militia dropped, feigning death.

The Indians rode in circles around the dead or dying
men, giving their war cries, then leaned down and brought
their hands high in the air, holding a trophy in imitation
of a scalp or piece of clothing. Occasionally a leader would
touch a wounded soldier with a coup stick, pretending that
he'd got that one and that it was a coup. . . .

The time came for the final charge. I pounded in on
my barebacked horse, rode through the little group of sur-
vivors gathered around the golden-wigged Major, grabbed
the flag and was off After me came the triumphant Indians.
The massacre at this stage was supposed to be complete,
but the Major refused to be a corpse.

"You lied to me, Frackelton, you lied to me!"
"Well," I said, "we'll give you back the flag. That's
more than Custer got."

This evoked more profanity. Beside himself with rage,
the Major jerked off his blond wig and hurled it at me.
"You go plumb to hell," he shouted.

I caught the curls as they sailed through the air.
"Another scalp — another coup — another feather. Go
lay down. You're supposed to be dead."
The antics momentarily took a serious turn when a Crow
went down, stung, it was revealed, but not seriously hurt
by a shotgun wad "fired at too close a range in the rear
of his person." The Indians, insisting the wound was
intentional, were outraged, but Frackelton mollified the
Crow, Blue Bead, with the promise of $10 and a quarter
of beef in compensation. "Suddenly grins replaced the
frowns and the interpreter gave the message that ended
my worries: 'Blue Bead, he say you can shoot him same
place on other side for $10 more and more beef!' ""

Such stories tend to grow with the retelling, and this
one was no exception. During a trip east — probably in
1941 while he was promoting his book — Frackelton related
another version to a Cleveland reporter. During a dress
rehearsal, he now said. Blue Bead had demanded that he
be allowed to carry off the soldiers' colors, but the men
playing the Seventh Cavalry had refused. Frackelton then
told the Indians to await the proper moment:

The big day arrived. Folks drove in from all over Johnson
County and even down from Montana to see the doings.
Must have been nigh a thousand out there by Prairie Dog
creek when we staged the sham battle . . .

Man, that was the thrillin'est fight ever! First Custer
and his men made camp, then Indian scouts peek over the
top of the hill to spot 'em and ride away. Then the big rush
of the Crows, mostly on horseback. We had those spectators
standing on the seats of their buckboards, with their eyes
hanging out. One by one the guardsmen dropped dead.
There was a final rush for the big white man with the yellow
curls who was Custer. I . . . went in with the Indians, Blue
Bead right at my elbow. I sat down on the color sergeant's
head while Blue Bead started ofT with the colors — the sergeant
was cursing me something awful — a dead private rose up
and shot point blank at the Crow chief. The slug from his
blank cartridge burned Blue Bead — proper. There's where
the spectators got their money's worth. Every guardsman
came to life and slugged the nearest Crow. It was a knock-
down and drag-out all over these hills.
Mister Man, Custer was avenged!

Once again Blue Bead's wound was salved with beef and
$10. '8

Granting Frackelton the permissible storyteller's
allowance for exaggeration, his anecdotes about the
dispute over the flag's capture and the wound to Blue Bead
have the ring of truth. The re-enactment was being staged
only 26 years after the real thing, and relations between
Indian and white could still be testy. Crow veterans of
the 1876 campaign on hand for the sham battle included
Custer's scouts White-Man-Runs-Him, Hairy Moccasin
and Curley, popularly considered "the only survivor of
Custer's command."'^ V/hile they fought on the white
man's side in 1876, the Crows seemed to enjoy playing
their old Sioux and Cheyenne enemies. Some prominent
individuals were even assigned specific roles — Wolf- That-
Lies-Down, for example, portrayed Chief Gall. ^° Despite
the historical irony implicit in all this, the Sheridan Post

contended that the Crows, having seen service in the Sioux
campaign, were "better enabled than anyone else to take
part in the presentation of the play. "2' Sioux and
Cheyenne veterans of the Custer Battle might well beg
to differ, but there was no denying that the Crows put
on a spirited performance.

A contemporary account, less colorful than Frackel-
ton's but probably more reliable, described "The Sham
Battle" as follows:

A reproduction of the historical . . . [Custer massacre] was
given on the hill southeast of the city Friday afternoon, and
was viewed by at least 8,000 people, h was one of the most
realistic sham battles ever given, and was carried out accord-
ing to the conditions and circumstances under which the
famous Custer fought.

The soldiers representing General Custer's command
were stationed on the south slope of the hill and under com-
mand of C. Z. Zander, Major First Battalion Wyoming
National Guards. The companies which took part in the bat-
tle were Co. "D" of Sheridan, Co. "A" of Newcastle and
Co. "G" of Buffalo, comprising a force of 96 men.

The Indians were under command of Medicine Crow
and Bear Claw, and their command numbered 200 men.

About 4:30 p.m. the troops came over the hill and
marched down into the death valley. Guided by Hanna's
generalship the charging and yelling Crow Indians sur-
rounded the troops with a perfect wall of flame and lead.
From all sides came the fiery and deadly ball and the soldiers
fought gallantly, and grimly to the last. They fell singly and
in groups until the entire field was dotted with the dead and
dying blue-coats. The final Crow triumph was proclaimed
in a long and loud yell which, rising high above the con-
stant crackle of the guns, announced the fall of the dreaded
"Yellow Hair" himself.

It was one of the most interesting scenes ever witness-
ed, and thousands of eager spectators from an adjoining hill
kept up the applause long after the last of the troopers had
succumbed. . . .--

The Sheridan Enterprise's description of the mock bat-
tle was more graphic. But even though it mentioned the
soldiers' flag, it did not directly corroborate Frackelton's
story either:

The location of the battle grounds and its surrounding lines
were typical of the famous scene and no part was omitted
to paint the massacre as it took place in reality with no sur-
vivors left on the part of U.S. troops to tell the tale.

The charge by the troops, the attack by the howling mob
of painted fiends from every glen and canyon, the Redskin
in white with hell written in his every act of vengeance, the
rapid firing of volley after volley like continuous thunder,
the slow but forced reluctant retreat of the soldiers and the
rapid thinning of the lines by the circling, howling hordes
of feathered savages, the retreat of the colors to the brow
of the hill and the determined stand taken by the brave boys
until all were dead and the standard fell to the dust; and then
not content with their work of carnage, the Indians, led by
the incarnate fiend in white, still continued to send the leaden
bullets into the dead and dying mass of fallen humanity and
to cap their fiendish work, took the scalps of their dead foes
and dangled them at their belts; all was presented so true
to life that the illusion was not dispelled until the bugle notes
revived the inanimate forms that covered the sloping hill.
It was a great scene and one never to be forgotten."

fi^^r-

.■*fita*«^. ;

^^'^l

HH \EV COLLECTION. AMERICAN' HERITAGE CENTER. UW

^ Top — "The crowd viewing the
Battle. ' ' Most of the soldiers seem
to have ' 'bit the dust ' ' at this stage
oj things.

Middle — "Just before the flag
fell. " The men rally around the
flag for the Last Stand.

Left — "The Last Stand. 'Rain
in the Face, ' cutting out Tom
Custer's heart. " The flag is
down. Could the stooping Indian
he " the incarnate fiend in white"
whose dastardly deeds were reported
and deplored by the Sheridan
Enterprise?

HELVEY COLLECTION. AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER. UW

'After the Battle. " Need more be said? The Indians won — again.

Even in 1902 there were shutterbugs on hand to record
the action. Indeed, two moving pictures were made at the
carnival by Chicago concerns, one by Louis R. Bostwick,
the other by Thomas Nash representing the Selig Poly-
scope company which was preparing an advertising film
for the Burlington Route for release on the Orpheum cir-
cuit in America and Europe. (Seven years later, William
Selig's studio would produce the first moving picture
drama based on the battle, Custer's Last Stand, incor-
porating footage shot earlier that year at either the Bill-
ings or Pierre re-enactments.) Movies aside, Bostwick also
obtained 75 large plates of frontier scenes at the fair to
illustrate articles in the papers he represented — Chicago
Tribune, New York World, Omaha Bee — while L. B. Glaf-
cke, formerly part-owner of a Sheridan drugstore, pur-
sued his new vocation as partner in a photography firm
by taking photographs "of the daily events enacted dur-
ing the carnival." However, the Post commented, F. J.
Angier of the tie-plant was said to have procured "the
only good picture of the Custer battle."

Besides the photographers, a distinguished painter,
Charles Schreyvogel from Hoboken, New Jersey, was on
hand filling the office of the old-time combat artist by
sketching the re-enactment and gathering firsthand
impressions for future oils of Indian-cavalry skirmishes
of the sort that by 1902 had established his critical and
popular fame. Despite all this activity — and the Post

observed many amateur camera buffs in the crowd mak-
ing their own pictorial records of the day's happenings —
none of the views of the sham Custer Battle has been iden-
tified and reproduced in modern times. ^'*

However, several photographs repose in the Robert
E. Helvey Collection in the American Heritage Center
at the University of Wyoming that, unidentified save in
the most general way, almost certainly are of one of the
Sheridan Last Stands. While it is likely that they were
taken in 1902, it is noteworthy that cameras were also
busily clicking two years earlier during the first Mid-
summer Carnival, and it is possible that these pictures
were taken then.^' Thus the portfolio accompanying this
essay cannot be positively identified but can be enjoyed
on its own terms as a memento of early Sheridan and
northern Wyoming boosterism at a time when the tourist
dollar was becoming an increasingly important factor in
the local economy, and the long-range prospect of attract-
ing outside development was a dream whose day seemed
to have dawned with the crowds that fiocked to the hills
east of town to witness a commemoration of the region's
past and a demonstration of that energetic, progressive
.leadership that, Sheridan's boosters hoped, would usher
in an even more prosperous future.^*'

I would like to acknowledge the kind assistance of the following
in the preparation of this paper: Ms. Helen Graham, Margaret S.
Fulmer Memorial Public Library, Sheridan County, Sheridan; and

Mr. Tim Cochrane, Research and Oral Historian, Wyoming State
Archives, Museums and Historical Department, Cheyenne. Professor
Gene M. Gressley, Director, and Mr. Charles G. Roundy, then
Research Historian, Western History Research Center, University
of Wyoming, Laramie, extended themselves back in 1972 to provide
me with copies of the photographs of the Custer Battle re-enactment
reproduced here.

1. Major Alfred L. Hough, in Robert G. Athearn, ed., "A Winter
Campaign Against the Sioux," Mississippi Valley Historical Review,
XXXV (September, 1948), p. 282; and see Brian W. Dippie,
" 'What Will Congress Do About It?': The Congressional Reac-
tion to the Little Big Horn Disaster," North Dakota History,
XXXVII (Summer, 1970), pp. 160-89.

2. This subject is now receiving considerable serious attention. See,
for example, Robert M. Utley, Custer and the Great Controversy: The
Origin and Development of a Legend (Los Angeles, 1962); Bruce A.
Rosenberg, Custer and the Epic of Defeat (University Park, Pa.,
1974); Paul A. Hutton, "From Little Bighorn to Little Big Man:
The Changing Image of a Western Hero in Popular Culture,"
Western Historical Quarterly, VII (January, 1976), pp. 19-45; and
Brian W. Dippie, Custer's Last Stand: The Anatomy of an American
Myth (Missoula, 1976).

3. Olin D. Wheeler, "The Custer Battlefield," in Wonderland: 1901
(St. Paul, 1901), p. 40.

4. John A. Cockerill, in the New York Herald, reprinted in Custer Bat-
tlefield on the Burlington Route (N.p., n.d. [ca. 1900|).

5. Dippie, Custer's Last Stand, pp. 91-9.

6. "Forty Chieftains and Scores of Tribes Reported Mobilized at
'Little Big Horn,' " Sheridan Post, June 23, 1926.

7. "Arrival of the Indians," Sheridan Post, July 5, 1900.

8. "The Eagle Screamed," Cheyenne Leader, July 9, 1900.

9. Will Frackelton, as told to Herman Gastrell Seely, Sagebrush Dentist
(Chicago, 1941), pp. 196-8.

10. "Indians and Cow Boys," Sheridan Post, June 12, 1902.

11. Sheridan Post, June 19, 1902, June 26, 1902.

12. "Wyoming Rough and Ready When Pioneer Came Via
Emigrant Train," Sheridan Press, May 22, 1957.

13. Sheridan Post, June 12, 1902.

14. "Carnival Closes," Cheyenne Daily Leader, July 8, 1902.

24.

25.

"National Guard in Camp," Sheridan Post, July 3, 1902.
Sheridan Press, May 22, 1957.
Frackelton, Sagebrush Dentist, pp. 215-8.

Robert Welles Ritchie, "Action Stuff," Cleveland Plain Dealer,
reprinted as "Resurrection Spoils Drama," unidentified clipping
from a Sheridan paper in the Custer's Battle — Memorials folder,
C96 — m, American Heritage Center, Laramie. The clipping pro-
bably dates from 1941 when Frackelton traveled east to promote
Sagebrush Dentist and appeared on the New York City radio pro-
gram "We the People." He briefly described his experiences in
a letter to Emma Pearl (Scoble), September 23, 1941, in my
possession.

"Custer's Last Battle," Sheridan Post, July 10, 1902; and "Resur-
rection Spoils Drama."

"A Carnival Souvenir," Sheridan Post, July 3, 1902.
"The Crow Indians," Sheridan Post, July 10, 1902.
"The Sham Batde," Sheridan Post, July 10, 1902.
Sheridan Enterprise, July 5, 1902, reprinted in "Realism of Custer
Battle Re-enactment Stirred Sheridan Throng 26 Years Later,"
Sheridan Press, May 20, 1957.

"Additional Local," and unheaded local notes, Sheridan Post, July
10, 1902.

The Sheridan Post issued a souvenir booklet to mark the 1902
celebration that contained photographs of the Crow Indian camp
taken during the 1900 Mid-summer Carnival. See "A Carnival
Souvenir." One photograph in the AMH Department's Double-
day Collection is of an unidentified Custer reenactment. (Photo
#246)

The Sheridan Post for July 10, 1902, carried the following editorial
comment: "Much to the credit of the managers of the carnival
and their friends our city got lots of free advertising before the
carnival, and will get more of it in the metropolitan dailies and
magazines after the show. It always pays to be wide-awake.
Sheridan is fast forging to the front, and should be kept moving.
There are several manufacturing industries which could be
secured for this place if the proper effort were put forth. The car-
nival advertising will bring our city prominently before the
capitalists. Now let the home people give encouragement to
anyone who may come here to establish an industry."

Countxu <^cnooL ^sgcicy

,ng

ijihjhf*'' ._ae?*&*»«*»**v

—Is-xt and fikotoi. by czff na.X£.uj ^uLLLfoia.

... a countxu ±ah.ooL meant looti. and
a i£/2i£ of communitLj , ana ns-ixj ofifiox-
tunitiai. fox ins cniLazsn of zancnsxi a±
ujaLL a± no)m±i£.aaEZ±.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The article "Country School Legacy in Wyo-
ming" is an edited version of reports compiled for the Country School
Legacy project by Milton Riske, Robert Barthell, and Ruby Preuit.
Their research topics included: Country Schools as Community
Centers; Country Schools as Historic Sites; Country Schools and the
Americanization of Ethnic Groups; Teachers: Their Roles, Rules, and
Restrictions; Country Schools Today; and Reading, Writing,
'Rithmetic, and Recitation.

All original research material is at the Wyoming State Archives,
Museums and Historical Department. Through ERIC/CRESS at New
Mexico State University, copies of the reports are available on
microfiche and in softbound. The Wyoming State Archives, Museums,
and Historical Department and the Wyoming Council on the
Humanities have a portable display and film on the Country School
Legac\' which arc available for check out.

A longer version of this paper was presented at the Second An-
nual Wvoming History Day and meeting of the WyomingOral History
and Folklore Association at Western Wyoming College, May, 1981 .

Enough has already been written about a West that
existed more in fiction than in fact and whose early
chroniclers, the dime novelists, readily saw an eager
reading market among millions of Easterners. The true
Cowboy West was a compilation of saddle sores, bacon
and biscuits, and days on end without clean clothes or
many companions. Contrary to popular myth, cowboys
rarely rode into town to get drunk at the bar. When given
the opportunity they rode to a general store and splurged
on stewed tomatoes!

The West of a thousand novels and countless
Hollywood films never really existed. The Frontier offi-
cially ended in 1890 and the long cattle drives gave way
to barbed wire and windmills. The cowboys became
homesteaders, and the Indians also tried to take up the
plow.

The 1890 Wyoming school census, age five to twenty
years inclusive, lists: 7,518 native males, 6,488 white

■<Exterior of the Slater School, Slater, Wyoming. In use from
1918-1944, it was renovated by the Slater Women's Club.

Interior, Slater School.

females, 1,142 foreign males, 935 white foreign females,
116 colored males and 92 colored females.' The open
range had gone the way of the buffalo. The time was ripe
for rural schools.

The role of women in the West has never been clearly
understood just as the settlement and development pro-
cess has been ignored in favor of such local legends as
Butch Cassidy and Tom Horn. It is time now to leave
the myth behind and to look at the West and Wyoming
as the great land it is and to give credence to the Country
School Legacy because no other institution more suc-
cessfully bridges the gap between the Indian pony and
the black Model-T.

Part of the romance of the West had to do with a
cowboy's mobility. Just as the boomtown syndrome has
always typified parts of Wyoming, so single males could
move on whenever the bunkhouse got too crowded. But
a country school meant roots and a sense of community,
and new opportunities for the children of ranchers as well
as homesteaders.

The first school in Rock Springs was held in a private
house with Mrs. Holliday as teacher. The blackboards
were sheets of brown wrapping paper tacked to the walls.

■^

^•^4

bairvnii School, Platte County It is now in use as a church
and Sunday School

and textbooks were scarce. As described in the Wyoming
State Department of Public Instruction Release Number
21, 1940:

In 1874 District 4 was organized and a school house was built
which served as a public gathering place for voting, danc-
ing, lectures, etc. The first teacher in this building was a
man, about whom very little is known except that his tenure
was brief. A story is told to the effect that he liked his morn-
ing toddy strong — and oftentimes imbibed too freely of it.
It was upon one of these occasions, when he appeared thus
at school, that the older boys could not resist the temptation
to toss him outside through an open window where he was
leaning attempting to retrieve a lost pencil from the ground
below. This incident no doubt ended his short career at Rock
Springs. ■-'

If teachers and drinking did not mix in Rock Springs,
in many rural schools there were no windows to be thrown
out of. Cora Beach in Women of Wyoming describes a school
in Big Horn County:

Later the first school in the vicinity was held in the original

cabin. The window had been taken out for the new house

so they had a gunny sack over the opening in mild weather

and a deer skin when it was very cold. There was one long

bench upon which they sat in front of the fireplace. '

F. O. Ruch, teacher at Ruch-Town school eight miles

north of Hillsdale in Laramie County, said this when

preparing his school for the session: "When school began

October 20, the fence surrounding the yard was practically

Hand pump in front of the Fairview School, Platte County.

all down and had only half enough posts and wire. The
flag pole, ajointed one, was in four pieces. The coal house
door was off the hinges ..."''

Rosella Carson, superintendent of Laramie County
rural schools, took a male teacher to his first teaching job
and found the school building so dilapidated that when
he surveyed the situation at the out-of-the-way ranch, the
teacher sighed, "I've lived on jackrabbit and beans for
16 years, I guess I can do it again. "^ The superintendent
and the teacher cleaned up and plastered the walls so
school could commence. The district bought the material
and the teachers, patrons, and pupils did the work.

The teacher could have been worse off. When Han-
na Johnson arrived from Nebraska to teach in Daniel,
Wyoming, she found her school had four walls but no roof.
It was spring and the ranchers were taking their cattle to
the summer range. They stopped their work to board the
roof, however, the mail order roofing paper did not ar-
rive before a heavy rain fell. The rain splashed down bet-
ween the boards as the teacher taught from under her um-
brella while the children continued their work sitting under
their desks. ^

In Wyoming, more often than not, the school was a
log building with walls covered with muslin or burlap that
moved frequently when the mice came inside to explore
the interior. In 1915, Wyoming had 63 brick or stone
schools, 141 log or sod schools, 331 frame schools and 22
teachers who didn't answer the question on the form!'

Schools were frequently moved to accommodate shifts
in population. In Carbon County, the Bunker Hill School
was moved so many times that the logs were numbered
from one to ten so that they could be easily put back
together. The school was moved in 1934 to Sage Creek
above the Irene Ranch; in 1941 to Matson's Ranch; and
finally to the Coudin Ranch where it now stands on a
knoll. Parents and school board members all worked to
help move the school.^

As for teaching contracts, in pre-World War I days,
the contract lasted as long as the school district had money.
Once the money ran out, after three or four months, school
would close and the teacher would be sent home until the
district raised enough money to start over again. Janitor
work was carried out by the teacher, and sometimes she
was paid for it, or she could pay a student to help her.
The stove had to be tended and the fire started before the
children arrived at the school.

Gertrude Boberg Anderson recalls the numbing cold
of the school on Elk Mountain in Carbon County despite
a hot stove in the middle of the room. The sandwiches
in dinner buckets were often frozen hard as rocks.'

Teachers also helped with the housework and cook-
ing in times of need. There are stories, too, of teachers
helping with rounding up stray cattle, putting out prairie
fires, and assisting with haying. An experienced seamstress
teacher was put to work sewing underclothing for the ran-
cher's daughters.

Lucille Preston was part of a haying crew for a
Laramie County rancher during World War II when help
was scarce. Grace McMillan helped the rancher's wife
round up cattle to save them from a prairie fire.'"

Some teachers sewed their own curtains from whatever
materials they could find. Floors were swept with a sweep-
ing compound, and the oil and sawdust mixture was an
olfactory remembrance which many teachers carried with
them long after their rural teaching career had ended.

If no spring or pump was nearby, the teacher and
students carried ajar of water to school each day. It was
used principally for drinking, but in some instances a dirty
pair of hands was washed, too. Teachers recall hoarding
water with which to wash chalkboards. If a spring was
close, water could be collected in a barrel and dipped out
into a bucket kept in the school building. But this could
also present a problem as illustrated when a teacher in
Albany County found this note when she went to get the
school supply of water: "Do not use. A rabbit fell in last
night."

With or without teaching experience, often the ran-
cher's wife became the teacher. Her teaching duties were
carried out along with the housework. One woman recalls
putting her small child to sleep in the woodbox while she
taught school.

When her husband was out carrying the mail, Dor-
othy Hecox described her daily routine like this: "On mail
days we would have school for two hours in the morn-
ing, then the children and I would bundle up, go out and
feed the chickens, feed and water the work horses, clean
the barns, and then we would run over to the sheep and
throw off some hay for them. Now we were ready to return
to the house for lunch and another two hours for
homework.""

From the earliest days country schools functioned as
community centers, and were the source of leisure acti-
vities for almost all rural Wyoming residents. Because the
rural school was often the first public building in the area,
it was a natural setting for community meetings. In the
same vein, as the teacher was one of the earliest and
sometimes the only paid employee with public funds, she
became the unofficial director of a number of district af-
fairs and the building became the center of those activities.

School buildings preceded churches in many com-
munities, and were used for non-denominational prayer
meetings and church services. Some of the services were
conducted by itinerant preachers who were latter-day cir-
cuit riders. Ingleside school in the Iron Mountain area
of Laramie County, boasted of a marriage ceremony when
Gunmar Andersen, a hotel commissary clerk, married Lil
the cook. A Baptist minister came from Cheyenne to per-
form the ceremony.'^

Harmony Church in Albany County held many of
their church affairs in the Harmony school because the
church was difficult to heat.

In Boulder, Wyoming, while no funeral was held, the

school was used in which to perform autopsies. When a
town citizen, Ben Walker, was murdered by Jack Walters,
the body was laid out on the floor and a decision made
on the cause of death. Students remembered that the floor
had blood stains and set several desks over that part of
the floor. The body was later exhumed for later study,
and the school used again."

Meetings held in the schools were for the cattlemen's
association, union, grange, Home Demonstration, Red
Cross, women's clubs, and water board. To this day,
many farm-oriented clubs call themselves by the name
of the one-room school in which they first met. Early
telephone and ditch companies also followed school district
boundaries and took their names from the school.

With the advent of the homesteaders, population
increased, and there were more children to attend school.
Communication and transportation improved, school
buildings were constructed by plan and with tax monies.
They became the center for community activities to the
extent and in the manner desired by the individual com-
munity. Some gathered at the school only for the
Christmas program put on by the school and the "end-
of-school picnic" in the spring. Others used the
schoolhouse for box-socials, pie-socials, school board
meets, meetings about water, telephones and roads,
literary societies, dances, card playing, and Sunday school
and church. Some communities felt the school building
was for school and should be used for nothing else. Some
felt it belonged to the community and should be used for
everything. Between the two extremes fell most usage of
the country schools.'*

The central location of the school within the district,
necessary to keep travel distance equal for students, tended
to make the school a logical site as a voting center, town
hall, church and social center. A cursory glance at the Park
County school records for several schools indicates that
the constant shifting of school district boundaries was an
attempt to keep up with shifting centers of population.'*
Most schools were also built so students would not have
to walk over four miles to attend.

The shifting population often resulted from the sim-
ple introduction of a new crop such as sugar beets that
required Russian and German immigrants for labor: a
population that would be reflected in the community
dances held at the schools where the dances would include
waltzes, two steps, schottishes, polkas, and square
dancing.

The schools were also the center of card parties which
were a pleasurable means of getting people together. Often
the proceeds from entertainment would be used to buy
new texts and equipment for the school; a method of school
financing that seemed preferable to the raising of taxes
which would stay on the books forever.

The hard daily work of farming and ranching also
made people more conscious of the need for some form
of relaxation. The children themselves enjoyed school for

that reason, and the adults, especially after a long and
hard winter, felt the need to meet neighbors and friends.
It was the parents who supported the school as a com-
munity center and participated in the preparations for
meals and in making interior arrangements for things like
Christmas programs and graduations.

Socials were held in the school house - the box lunch
socials, cake walks, raffles, and popularity contests. Many
times these affairs were instigated by the teacher to raise
funds for extra books, playground equipment, a
phonograph or even a piano. Jelm school in Albany
County had a pie social to purchase a full-sized wall map."'
Box suppers were probably the most popular money
raising affairs in the country schools. The girl who packed
the lunch usually put in enough food for four and
decorated the box with tissue paper and ribbon. It was
against the rules for the girl to tip off the boy which box
was hers, but sometimes she gave a hint to a boy she lik-
ed by saying, "I only had yellow ribbon." One teacher
recalls the box she prepared for the social was held up-
side down by the auctioneer!"

Margaret Hoglund Coe wrote about her experiences
at the Upper Sage Creek School:

Sometimes in reminiscing, the ones that are still around think
of the church services held in the old school house; the school
programs; the spelldowns with Lower Sage Creek School and
Mountain View School; and the picnics, where almost all
came back smelling of wild onions and garlic, and a few bun-
ches of wild flowers, a mouse or two to drop in someone's
pocket, a smile and a feeling of happiness at being alive on
such a beautiful day.'*

Christmas programs were always the highlight of the
year in rural schools. These were much appreciated by
the patrons and the mistakes provided chuckles for weeks.
It was a break from the monotonous routine of school,
and teachers and students alike recall beginning practice
soon after Thanksgiving for the recitations, songs and
short skits. An example of how important the program
was is shown by this incident. Nina Keslar Finley, suf-
fering from whooping cough and not able to attend the
Christmas program, was bundled up in cloaks and
blankets and taken by buggy to the window of the school
where Santa Claus plucked a doll from the tree and
presented it to her more than 50 years ago."

When a school had too few pupils, several schools in
the district would combine to put on a program at a cen-
tral location. The Palmer Canyon Dance Hall, a log
building in Albany County, was used. Mrs. Boberg
Anderson remembered a place, the Garden Spot Pavilion,
a dance hall used for Christmas programs in Carbon
County. As a student she could not understand why a man
sat and stared at the candle-lit tree. Later she discovered
he was the fire watch! Before electricity, trees were
decorated with candles. Buckets of water were set close
by to squelch the flame should the tree catch on fire.^°
In another instance, it was not fire but firewater prob-
lems at a Christmas program. One cowboy had agreed

Interior of the Ctntral School, a log
building circa 1900 that is now
located at the Stage Coach Museum
in husk.

Interior, Central School, Niobrara
County.

to play Santa Claus, but had stopped along the way at
a ranch or saloon for some Christmas cheer. His antics
at the program were the topic of conversation for weeks. ^'

Other types of programs were also presented. Spell-
ing bees, arithmetic contests and debates were held in the
schools. A debate in a rural school in Uinta County
discussed the topic: "Is a load of seed potatoes or a load
of women most needed in the community? "^^

Although Christmas programs were the most popular,
the end of the year school day was one that everyone in
the community participated in whether they had children
or not. Parents who had traveled long distances felt the
entire day should be given over to pleasure, and a picnic
usually capped off the graduation ceremony. This was also
a time to reward scholarship and attendance and the
county superintendents tried to make the ceremonies as
impressive as possible.

Award certificates were signed by the superintendents
and presented by them. It was expected that the teacher
would organize the graduation ceremony and picnic.
Many teachers dug into their own pocketbook to come
up with mementos of the occasion. These were usually

little books or pamphlets that were adorned with stand-
ardized engravings of patriotic or religious themes and
poetry that emphasized good citizenship and a love of
education. These small tokens of appreciation are the most
prized possessions of many former country school students.
Other holidays were handled in the same manner. An-
na Schlick Ballard remembered:

My third year of teaching was at the Owen school 50 miles
north of Douglas. Rosalie Brewen had a lively school six miles
away. Wc had several joint projects. One delightful ex-
perience was our Easter egg hunt. Rosalie and I bought many
chocolate chickens and rabbits so each child would be able
to find at least one chocolate candy. The mothers dyed eggs.
Rosalie and I were overwhelmed with the milk pails full of
colored eggs. We hid them around the school house and let
the little ones hunt on one side, the older children on the
other. Wyoming sagebrush has never yielded such trea-
sures!-'

Easter egg hunts may have provided leisure activities
for the school children, but the adults loved to dance! Vera
Saban states:

I remember attending dances at the Lower Beaver Creek
schoolhouse, riding with an escort down the creek several
miles. Once we even rode 12 miles to Shell Town to a

Shawnee School, Shawnee, Wyoming, has been in continuous use since Oct. 18, 1919. Fifteen students were enrolled there m 1980.
16

Axjord School, Platte County was

1919 The school has been razed since this photograph uas taken in 1981

dance — I believe it was an election dance in 1926. During
my second term at Beaver Creek the people of the community
with a yen for some entertainment, had a series of 'surprise
parties' — unexpectedly converging on some ranch home.
Furniture was pushed aside, somebody played a fiddle or
an organ, or even just a harmonica, and all danced, chiefly
square dances, until nearly morning. Of course, getting to
these parties was by means of horses on a wagon or a sleigh,
or horseback since the roads were not passable for cars.
Children were loaded into the conveyance and taken along,
and put to sleep when they tired at the dance. -^
The dances were the main attractions through the
year, and the teacher often hired the fiddler and planned
the refreshments. These were truly community affairs even
though some families frowned on dancing.

Wanna Clay Olson tells of coming to Wyoming in
1919 from Missouri to teach in a log school. A dance was
given in her honor at the "nearby ranch" about 10 miles
away. She described the welcome at the dance: "As my
party of friends arrived, all the cowboys greeted us with
shooting their six-guns into the air just for my welcome.
Scared and excited would hardly describe my feelings.
Two brothers furnished the music, each taking his turn
playing the accordian. Just before daylight, we went
home."^^

That the community gatherings were well attended
speak to their value in an isolated community. The enthu-
siasm which people entered into the program was evi-
denced often by the damage done to the building or other
signs of audience approval. At the old Evergreen school
in Hot Springs County, Pete King remembers the gasoline
lanterns going out during a dance because the dust raised
by the enthusiastic dancers clogged the air vents in the
lanterns. The dancers were forced to take a rest.^^

If country schools were the source of leisure activities,
the rural school "marms" themselves were equally coveted
in a lonesome land where cowboys grew tired of having
only cows for companions.

Teachers followed the railroad, the rancher, and the
homesteaders to the wide open spaces of Wyoming. They
came for a variety of reasons. Their searches were for land,
for romance, for adventure or for better paying jobs.

Teaching was, as some expressed, the one respectable
job for a woman; being able to live on a ranch was an
incentive for a girl to come to Wyoming. A male-
dominated area was also an attraction for a single female
teacher. In the late 1890s the male-female ratio in Wyo-
ming had to be at least 12 to one. Unmarried ranchers

became school board members just so they could help
screen prospective teachers.

How many teachers were influenced by Owen
Wister's novel, The Virginian, cannot be determined. Some
claimed to have read the novel; some said it had affected
their move to Wyoming. Wister's image of the cowboy
as a knight of the range instead of a hired man on
horseback was somewhat unrealistic. But the portrayal of
Molly Wood as a school teacher from the East dropped
into a vast, unknown West was reliable. There are those
who believe that the model for Wister's heroine was Mary
A. Wright who arrived from the East in 1885, although
there were several other teachers in the area of Medicine
Bow when Wister was researching the story. ^'

The tales of bashful, tongue-tied cowboys checking
out the new school marm are innumerable. A much
recounted anecdote is the one of the cowboy who wanted
to meet the comely new teacher. With reins in hand he
rapped on the door of the teacherage inquiring the direc-
tion to a certain ranch by the name of the brand. The
teacher read the brand on the horse, and hinted that the
horse might know the way. Cowboys would knock on the
door for a variety of reasons, but what they were really
seeking was a glimpse of the school marm.

May McAlister had answered an advertisement for
a teaching job near Kemmerer. She had read about the
cowboys, but had met none until being entertained at a
school board meeting. A group of big-hatted, suntanned
men skidded their horses to a stop before the picnic tables.
She recalled they needed but one invitation to stop and
eat. ^8

When Alvina Gluessig came from Wisconsin to teach
at a ranch school in Wyoming, a Texas cowboy, George
Lucy, swept the schoolhouse floors on weekends and
started the fire in the pot-bellied stove each frosty morn-
ing. Eventually they married and took up homesteading.
The first summer they lived outdoors and covered their
four poster bed with a canvas canopy. They ate their food
off a barn door set on logs. To make ends meet they trap-
ped coyotes for bounty.

On another occasion, a teacher and her cowboy were
unable to get to the county seat at Cheyenne to get a mar-
riage license. They enlisted the service of a railroad con-
ductor who made the run from the small community to
town where he purchased the license and brought it back
on the next train.

A teacher who had come to Iron Mountain, Wyo-
ming, to meet a cowboy possibly received more than she
bargained for. Tom Horn was a cowboy who made the
ranch dances to "check out" the school marms. He was
remembered by teachers as an excellent horseman, first-
rate cowboy and gentleman. Glendoline Kimmel, a new
teacher from Missouri, became infatuated with Horn, who
was also a hired gun. When he was brought to trial for
murder. Miss Kimmel became a star witness. In an
attempt to save Tom Horn, she accused the son of the

rancher with whom she was boarding of the murder. She
was to be tried for perjury, but left Wyoming for Missouri.
After Horn was found guilty and hanged, the charges
against her were dropped.^'

Not every teacher was interested in marrying a
cowboy or even meeting one, but there were enough mat-
ches made that school boards instituted clauses in con-
tracts which prohibited teachers from marrying during
the school year. A few documents prohibited marrying
for three years. In an attempt to keep the teacher from
sowing the seeds of matrimony, a clause was inserted in
some of the contracts forbidding the teacher to take
'pleasure trips' out of the district.'"

Truly the Country School Legacy in Wyoming is rich
in history, folklore, and tradition. Teachers married and
raised community standards, and parents and community
members worked hard to build and equip pioneer schools.
It was those schools that helped 'civUize' the vast stretches
of Wyoming mountains and plains.

1. 1890 Wyoming School Census Records from Terrence D.
Fromong, "The Development of Public Elementary and Secon-
dary Education in Wyoming 1869-1917," thesis completed
August, 1962. This is the standard reference for the history of
Wyoming's early schools. Also see "The Development of Public
Elementary and Secondary Education in Wyoming 1917-1945,"
by John A. Barthlow. Thesis completed June, 1969. Refer to
pages 41, 42, 54 and 55.

2. Wyoming State Department of Public Instruction, Release
.Number 21 , 1940; at the University of Wyoming, Archive of Con-
temporary History, Laramie. Early schools are also mentioned
in "A History of the Development of Territorial Public Educa-
tion in the State of Wyoming 1869-1890," by George Justin Bale,
Wyoming Annals, 1939-1940.

3. Cora M. Beach, Ed., Women of Wyoming, (Casper: S. E. Boyer
and Company, 1927), p. 260.

4. Milton Riske, "Teachers; Their Roles, Rules, and Restrictions,"
unpublished manuscript from "Country School Legacy:
Humanities on the Frontier" sponsored by the Mountain Plains
Library Association and the National Endowment for the
Humanities," p. 12, citing from Hillsdale Heritage-

5. Rosella Carson, former Laramie County Schools Superintendent,
interviewed by Milton Riske, 1981.

6. Milton Riske, "Teachers: Their Roles, Rules and Restrictions,"
p. 8, citing from Let Your Light Shine.

7. Fromong, p. 313, Table L.

8. Donna J. Connor, county superintendent, History of the Schooh
of Carbon County, 1876-1888-1889-1959, History of Schools in
District No. 2 — Kortes, Wyoming, page 1, 1964. Spiral bound
booklet at the Wyoming State Archives, Museums and Historical
Department. For additional information on log schools see "The
Twin Buttes School" by E. K. Rubottom in The Buffalo Bulletin.
section 7A, August 16, 1979.

9. Frances Elizabeth Strayer Hanson, A History of the Elk Mountain
Sehool, Elk Mountain, Carbon County, Wyoming 1880-1962. (Waseca.
Minn.: Walter's Publishing Company, June, 1979), p. 33.

10. ,Milton Riske, "Teachers: Their Roles, Rules, and Restrictions,"
p 1 1 citing from Hillsdale Heritage. Note that teachers not only
lulpid with farm chores but were expected to act as impromptu

babysitters when the parents went to town and did not want to
take along their children who were too young for school.
Ibid., p. 5, citing from Sublette School Days. If in the early days
rancher's wives became teachers, by the 1920s schools flourished.
Niobrara County for the academic year 1923-1924 had 58 one-
room schools in session.

Milton Riske, "Country Schools as Community Centers,"
unpublished report for the Mountain Plains Library Associa-
tion/National Endowment for the Humanities, page 1, citing From
These Roots.

Ibid., p. 1, citing from They Made Wyoming Their Own.
Ruby Preuit, Country School Legacy Final Report, p. 1,
February, 1981. As an example of country schools gi\ing their
names to other associations, the Keas School community in the
Wheatland area also became the Keas Lateral Ditch and the Keas
Farm Bureau.

Sites for country schools easily shifted with changes in popula-
tion. Because the schools had no plumbing, heating, or electric-
ity they were easy to move. Once the school was moved its name
was often changed which further complicates positive identifica-
tion of country schools as historic sites. See Albany County Cow-
Belles, Cow-Belles Ring School Bells, (Cheyenne: Pioneer Printing
Co., 1976), p. 290. For Park County records contact: Park Coun-
ty Chapter of the Wyoming State Historical Society, c/o F. T.
Hayden, Bo.x 787, Cody, WY 82414.

Cow-Belles Ring School Bells, p. 78. Parents and school board
members by far preferred raising funds with box socials. If they
increased local taxes, such an increase would remain on the books!

17. In isolated farm and ranch settlements, the community value of
getting together over a pie social can not be overestimated.
Cowboys saved money for weeks in order to buy the box belong-
ing to the girl of their choice. Naturally, competing bids kept the
auctions quite lively.

18. Margaret Hoglund Coe, "Upper Sage Creek School," unpub-
lished history, undated.

19. Milton Riske, "Country Schools as Community Centers," p.
.'5, citing from Calico Hill. Throughout the West the country school
Christmas program traditionally was the biggest event of the year.
Escryone attended. Pupils often began memorizing their parts
for the Christmas play soon after Thanksgiving.

20. Frances Hanson, A History of the Elk Mountain School, p. 35.
2! . Milton Riske, "Country Schools as Community Centers," p. 4.

22. Ibid., p. 4, citing They Made Wyoming.

23. Anna Schlick Ballard, unpublished history of normal training pro-
gram at Douglas High School, undated.

24. Vera Saban, "Wyoming Rural Schools in the 20s and 30s,"
unpublished history, undated.

25. Cow-Belles Ring School Bells, "My First Year of Teaching in Wyo-
ming," Wanna Clay Olson, p. 132.

26. Peter King, taped interview by Robert Barthell, Thermopolis,
Wyoming, January 31, 1981.

27. Milton Riske, "Teachers: Their Roles, Rules, and Restrictions,"
p. 1 1 . Milton Riske has published on Owen Wister and the per-
sonalities and settings he may have used in writing The Virginian.
Also see Cow-Belles Ring School Bells, p. 145.

28. Ibid., p. 11, citing from They Made Wyoming Their Own.

29. Ibid , p. 4. An additional reference is Ruth Southworth Brown,
Walk on the Sky, (Cheyenne: Pioneer Printing Co., 1973). Seethe
chapter on the Muleshoe School.

30. Teachers frequently married in the middle of their terms and often
left the school board in the lurch to find a suitable replacement.
On the other hand, unmarried ranchers coveted positions on the
school board so they could evaluate and help select teachers for
their district. Naturally the girls they chose were invariably
unmarried. The Edgington School in Albany County even earned
the nickname "Mating Ground" because of the couples that met
there. Cow-Belles Ring School Bells, p. 172.

Children of Mexican sugar beet factory workers, Torrington, date unknown.

Mexican Workers in Wyoming
During World War II:

Necessity, Discrimination and Protest

By William L. Hewitt

World War II opened an era of increasing hope and
frustration for Mexicans in Wyoming.' After a decade of
depression, the war and the government's need for man-
power led Mexicans to expect a better share of the
American dream. The sense of contribution to the war
effort in military and civilian capacities intensified the
indignation of Mexicans when they heard stories of race
riots in California involving Mexicans and experienced
discrimination in their own lives. In the so-called "zoot-
suit" riots in Los Angeles a mob of over 1,000 whites,
mainly soldiers and sailors, roamed the city attacking zoot-
suit clad Mexicans. The city and military police looked
the other way and often aided and abetted the rioters. The
Los Angeles City Council ordered the arrest for
"vagrancy" of those who had been beaten.^

Mexicans settled in Wyoming and experienced more
subtle forms of discrimination beginning many years prior

to World War II. The sugar beet industry drew many
Mexicans to Wyoming in the early 1900s. Mexican
Nationals and Mexican-Americans provided a ready sup-
ply of labor for the sugar companies. A contemporary
historian of seasonal farm labor, Harry Schwartz, also
noted migration of Mexican workers within Wyoming,
as well as a subtle bias of his own. He observed that many
Mexican workers in the state migrated from rural beet
fields only as far as Cheyenne, combining "living on a
combination of casual unskilled labor and charity while
they hibernated between beet seasons."^ More numerous,
though, were Mexican enclaves in established agricultural
towns.

Mexican communities within Wyoming grew in areas
where their labor displaced that of other groups. In Lovell,
Wyoming, for example, an acute labor shortage induced
local farmers to seek Mexican laborers beginning in 1918.
Recruiters for the sugar companies loaded special trains
with Mexicans in El Paso, Texas, for transport to Denver,
then to Wyoming and Montana. After they arrived, they
found poor housing, low wages and prejudice. Discrimina-
tion in bars, pool halls, churches and restaurants was
ignored by Great Western Sugar and persisted until after
World War II.*

Mexicans in the Powell area endured discrimination
similar to that of Mexicans in Lovell. The Rodriquez fam-
ily migrated between the beet fields of Powell and New
Mexico where they spent winters. In the 1930s they settled
permanently in the O'Donnell community on the Powell
flats. Paul Rodriquez, Jr. , recalled much prejudice against
Mexicans in Powell. He could not swim in the local pool
and there were signs in many cafes, bars, and barber shops
prohibiting Mexicans. Ill-will was so strong that some of
the Rodriquez family moved to California.

This migration of beet workers from New Mexico to
Wyoming, accelerated during the war. Sociologist Charles
P. Loomis completed a study for the Social Science
Research Council in December, 1942, charting the migra-
tion of New Mexicans from Taos and San Miguel Coun-
ties to various communities in Wyoming. The larger
proportion of the migrants in the Loomis study went into
defense work, but it can be assumed that those who went
to Wyoming probably engaged in agricultural work.^

By the 1940s two stereotypes of Mexicans had become
widespread in the West. Since most Mexican immigrants
came from rural backgrounds, North Americans assumed
they were well suited for agricultural work. Related to this
idea was the usefulness of Mexicans in unskilled industrial
employment. The second stereotype ascribed docility to
Mexican workers, who worked hard for long hours at low
wages, with few if any complaints.® In the 1940s these
beliefs had become widespread and engrained in the
public's mind. These stereotypes influenced the treatment
"the government's need for manpower led Mexicans

of all Mexican workers during the war years. '

War-time labor shortages in Wyoming affected ran-
ches, the Casper Air Base, coal mines, dairies and the tie
and timber industry. The war siphoned off 22 to 39 per-
cent of agricultural workers throughout the state. The
government's first attempt to alleviate the labor shortage
on farms involved assigning Works Progress Administra-
tion (WPA) workers to agricultural work. John E. Gross,
regional representative of the United States Employment
Service, acknowledged that women and children would
have to be used to harvest sugar beets or the crop would
rot in the fields due to the shortage of farm workers.
Various sources of domestic and foreign labor provided
the necessary workers to harvest Wyoming crops. Seasonal
workers who migrated from other states and braceros, or
Mexican Nationals contracted under the terms of a bina-
tional agreement, joined Mexicans living in the state per-
manently, such as those at Lovell and Powell.' Still the
number of workers did not meet the war-time need.

In March, 1942, for example, to meet this acute labor
shortage school students in the Rock Springs area
registered for emergency farm-ranch work. Manager D.
N. Macdonald of the Rock Springs Employment Service
provided registration forms to the area high schools and
estimated he had received 986 returns. Miss Esther Ander-
son, state superintendent of public instruction, approved
the plan. The harvesting effort was dubbed "Food for Vic-
tory" by the government. The novelty of females work-
ing in the beet fields was revealed in the Northern Wyo-
ming Daily News (Worland) headline, "Fair Coeds Arise
At 4 A.M. And Thin Sugar Beets With The Best Of
Them." The students, joined by area businessmen, saved
1 ,000 acres of sugar beets in the Sheridan area. Worland
businessmen "temporarily crippled and unable to stand
erect" were offered free chiropractic adjustments by Dr.
F. W. LeBaron.8

Although the use of school children, women, and
businessmen proved successful for bringing in the 1942
harvest, it was only to be an emergency measure. Local
authorities sought more satisfactory and permanent solu-
tions for the labor shortage. A field representative for the
Holly Sugar Company near Riverton, Dick Pickett,
sought unemployed workers from Oklahoma and Mex-
icans from the Pueblo, Colorado, area to hoe beets. In
desperation, J. Irl Pritchard, manager of the United States
Employment Service at Sheridan, wrote to relocation
authorities at Cody requesting Japanese evacuees from
the West Coast. Government regulations for their
transport impeded their utilization by Wyoming growers
at this time.'

Washington responded to the crisis by raising the
minimum wage for beet labor. Secretary of Agriculture
Claude R. Wickard announced on March 19, 1942, wage
to expect a better share of the American dream ..."

-Jl

■

^^^

•

~~~^

^"^^ .

Gov. Lester C. Hunt

hikes in District 3 comprising Nebraska, Colorado, Kan-
sas, and southern Wyoming: blocking and thinning, $9.50
per acre or 45 cents an hour; first hoeing, $3 an acre or
40 cents an hour; each subsequent hoeing or weeding $2
an acre or 40 cents an hour. In District 5 comprising
southern and eastern Montana, northern Wyoming and
western North Dakota, the rate was set at $11 an acre
for blocking and thinning; $3 an acre for first hoeing, and
$2 for each subsequent hoeing or weeding.'"

Despite wage increases, enthusiasm for beet work
quickly declined during the 1942 harvest. By October 1,
only 28 workers showed up for work at Sheridan. Seventy-
five excuse cards submitted by high school students largely
eliminated this source of labor. Growers frantically sent
25 telegrams to Paul V. McNutt, War Manpower Board
Director, and to Secretary of Agriculture Wickard. At Buf-
falo, the superintendent closed the school to aid with the
harvest. Gov. Lester C. Hunt gave 20 boys from the Wyo-
ming Industrial Institute permission to work in the beet
fields. By November, Buffalo officials resorted to the
expedient adopted elsewhere by closing every shop, office,
hotel and cafe to allow workers to harvest beets."

At the beginning of 1943 it was estimated that approx-
imately 25,000 workers, of whom 17,000 were agricultural
workers, had left the state for the armed forces or war
industries. Gov. Hunt acknowledged that sugar beets were
the state's most profitable crop and employed the most
agricultural laborers. Nevertheless, due to the difficulty
in getting laborers, acreage had been cut by 50 percent
in early 1943.'^ The cut-back in sugar beets and subse-
quent closing of three sugar beet factories prompted Hunt

to write to Secretary of Agriculture Wickard, "These fac-
tories have been operating, I believe, since 1916 and have
never had any labor trouble or serious disagreement with
the farmers at any time and the industry has become more
or less the stabilizer of the Big Horn Basin and Northern
Wyoming."" Hunt would later feel impelled to maintain
good labor relations with Mexico to insure the supply of
agricultural labor.

But recruitment of Mexicans for beet labor fell far
short of the need. J. S. Veeder, Chairman of the Wage
Labor Board, announced a total of only 300 Mexican
Nationals had been recruited and brought to Wyoming
by May, 1943. The small number of Mexicans recruited
required other measures to meet the labor shortage. To
entice workers to remain in sugar beets or to enter
agricultural work, Paul O. Hines, inspector in charge of
the Casper office of the Wage-Hour and Public Contracts
Divisions of the United States Department of Labor,
raised wages to 40 cents an hour in sugar beet factories
under the Fair Labor Standards Act of June 21 . The old
minimum had been 30 cents. Hines estimated that approx-
imately 12,000 of the 60,000 workers, in sugar beet fac-
tories and related production areas, would be affected.
In addition, the Wyoming Selective Service, in January
1943, agreed with the Wyoming office of the War Man-
power Commission that agricultural workers could not
be referred by the United States employment offices to
other types of employment, except under special condi-
tions. Referrals could only be made if it was shown that
other employment would be to the definite advantage of
the war program.'''

The 1943 effort to secure agricultural laborers was bet-
ter organized because of the efforts of John H. McElroy,
State Supervisor of Emergency Farm Labor. McElroy had
been Carbon County Agricultural Extension Agent for
nine years prior to his appointment as agronomist at the
University of Wyoming from 1936 through 1938. He was
the extension service secretary of the Agricultural Adjust-
ment Administration from 1938 to 1942 and Executive
Secretary of the National Beet Growers Association for
a short time in 1942. When McElroy reported to Hunt
on August 10, 1943, he said that German and Italian
prisoners of war, Japanese evacuees and Mexicans com-
prised the labor pool for the coming harvest. Mexican
Nationals were being imported by train from Mexico City
to Basin. Sugar beet company contracts regulated their
employment which was to begin September 25. Local
farmers subcontracted with the beet companies to supply
individual needs for labor in the Basin area.'^ McElroy
certified a need for 500 more Mexican Nationals for the
sugar beet harvest in Goshen, Washakie, Sheridan and
Platte Counties. Fifty had already been sent to Platte
county and 95 to Goshen. Only 100 more Mexicans
received permission to work in the state. McElroy blamed
recruitment problems in Mexico for the lack of needed
laborers.'^

The Mexican Nationals imported to work at Basin
did so under the provisions of the bracero program, an
Executive Agreement of August 4, 1942, which provided
for the first legal importation of Mexican labor during the
war. Mexicans contracted to work temporarily in the
United States would not be subject to military service,
would not be discriminated against and would enjoy
guaranteed transportation, living expenses and the prevail-
ing wage in the areas where they worked. The Mexican
government managed the recruitment phase of the
program.'^

After selection, the braceros were shipped north to
work in camps in areas with severe shortages of
agricultural workers. An administrator for the War Food
Administration, Robert C.Jones, acknowledged that liv-
ing conditions in bracero camps usually represented sub-
standard housing conditions. He commented that,
"Although the camps offer the barest minimum of sanitary
living facilities they represent a considerable improvement
in shelter and sanitary arrangements over what most of
the migrants had before . . . ."'^

As the 1943 season drew to a close, Wyoming farmers
anticipated using Mexican Nationals and war prisoners
more extensively in the coming year. At an October 7,
1943, meeting of the Wyoming State U.S.D.A. War
Board in Cheyenne, McElroy declared that the increased
goal for the production of sugar beets had to be anticipated
and planned for. Meanwhile, the Mexican Nationals in
the Basin area finished harvesting and dispersed in
November, 1943. Of these, 128 returned to Mexico and
135 were transported to California."

Wyoming sugar beet communities anticipated increas-
ed coordination of efforts to secure labor for the coming
year. A labor conference at Basin presided over by R.
E. Varner, newly appointed emergency farm labor super-
visor for the Agricultural Extension Service, addressed
labor needs for the area. County Agent K. D. Van
Wagner, manager of the Lovell sugar factory and field
man for the sugar company, Varner's assistant Wess
Newton, and Paul Murphy, labor assistant for Big Horn
County also attended. They aimed for planning and coor-
dination to meet a projected need for 150 Mexican
Nationals. Similar coordination efforts were made at
Powell. Varner concluded after these local meetings that
4,000 agricultural workers would be needed statewide for
the coming harvest of 1944. Varner envisioned the use
of Mexican Nationals, Jamaicans, Bahamians, German
and Italian prisoners of war and Japanese internees from
Heart Mountain, in addition to local labor. 2°

To help meet the state's labor shortage, the War Food
Administration received $30,000,000 from the federal
government to recruit and train farm labor in 1944. The
year began with state supervisor Varner's announcement
that approximately 100 Mexicans were scheduled to arrive
in Wyoming about April 10. Wyoming residents enthus-
iastically received news from Marvin Jones, Director of

the War Food Administration in Washington, that 20,000
Mexican Nationals were to labor in America's beet fields
in 15 states. This figure augmented the 40,000 Mexican
Nationals already working in the United States.^'

Labor figures for 1944 showed a marked increase in
the use of out-of-state labor sources. The Wyoming
Employment Service imported 45 Navajo Indians from
Holbrook, Arizona, and 155 Mexicans from Arizona and
New Mexico to work in the state early in 1944. In June,
A. E. Bowman, Director of Extension, communicated to
Wyoming's junior senator, Edward V. Robertson that 990
Mexican Nationals had arrived: 75 to Powell, 187 to
Basin, 155 to Worland, 65 to Riverton, 80 to Sheridan,
20 to Buffalo, 75 to Wheatland, 313 to Torrington, and
20 to Newcastle. Twenty had to be repatriated for various
reasons and 55 more were expected momentarily. To pro-
tect the braceros, the War Manpower Commission issued
an 11-page booklet on June 23, 1944, specifying the
requirements of employers within the state repeating the
employment practices proscribed by the bracero
agreement. ^^

In an effort to evaluate and devise policies to meet
Wyoming's labor needs. Hunt and Bowman decided to
form a State Advisory Committee. The board was made
up of cattlemen, sheepmen and farmers. Two women
served. One was Mrs. D. B. Robertson of Lovell, Presi-
dent of Associated Women of Wyoming Farm Bureau
Federation who Bowman noted was a capable organizer
and a "Farm woman who actually assists with farm
work." The other was Mrs. Curtis Eveling of Torrington

A. E. Bowman headed the University Extension Servic
during World War II.

: I (Left) Great Western Sugar

Factory, Lovell, Oct., 1916.

(Below) Torrington beet fac-

i-^ ji- tory, April, 1931. The map

I ■ shows the primary sugar beet

^SM\mi j 1 producing acreages in 1939. It

- U^^'evs i I i^ from the "Wyoming Agri-

^: ^■'■^*- culture Bulletin, #3," 1943.

who was vice president of the Wyoming Home Demon-
stration Council representing 6,000 women enrolled in
Extension Service Clubs and who Bowman characterized
as a "Small town garden type farmer rather than farm
woman. "^-^ No Mexicans served on the committee. And
yet. Hunt and McElroy realized Wyoming's treatment
of Mexicans placed the state in a difficult position.

Events out of state probably weighed heavily in Hunt's
and McElroy's attempts to smooth relations with represen-
tatives of the Mexican government. Wyoming desperately
needed Mexican laborers, but events in Texas did not
bode well for Wyoming. Braceros were not permitted to
go to Texas after 1943 when Roberto Medellin of the Mex-
ican Ministry of Labor refused to release them due to the
"number of causes of extreme, intolerable racial
discrimination."^** Clearly, Wyoming might also be put
off limits to braceros if officials did nothing to improve
working and living conditions.

A number of developments contributed to growing
Mexican uneasiness with the bracero program. Richard
B. Craig in his study of braceros gives three reasons why
the program was nationalistically humiliating for Mex-
icans. First, Mexicans in America were submitted to racial
and religious discrimination. The Mexican press voiced
considerable criticism of the discrimination experienced
by Mexican Nationals in the United States. Their evalua-
tion of the entire program was frequently unfavorable.
Second, braceros performed the most menial agricultural
tasks under salary and working conditions that only the
most desperate domestics would accept. Third, Mexicans
swarmed to the recruiting centers in Mexico in order to
emigrate to the United States, a development of great
embarrassment to the Mexican government. ^^

Events in Wyoming in no way allayed the concern
of Mexican officials. A persistent pattern of discrimina-
tion within the state came to the attention of the Mex-
ican government. The difficulty Wyoming officials had
in getting Mexican Nationals was related, in large part,
to the protests made by braceros concerning their treat-
ment and the attitudes of the state's citizens.

Sentiment in the state against Mexican Nationals and
other "foreigners" ran high in late 1944 as more of them
came to the state to work. Bessie Homer, a Big Piney resi-
dent, wrote to Sen. Joseph O'Mahoney a one sentence
request on the back of a postcard: "Please use your influ-
ence to stop immigration to the United States."^*
O'Mahoney responded by describing two bills pending
Congress dealing with immigration. Senate Bill 240
authored by Arthur Thomas Stewart, a Senator from Ten-
nessee, would have excluded all foreign nationals from
this country so long as there were a minimum of one
million unemployed. Senate Bill 1907 sponsored by Sen.
John William Elmer Thomas from Oklahoma, stipulated
that no foreign nationals would be admitted for five
years. ^^

The disdain of a large portion of the American public

for foreign workers, especially Mexicans, found a sym-
pathetic outlet in Wyoming's press. Under a headline
reading "Unemployment Has Become Problem Despite
Talk of 'Labor Shortage' ", a radio broadcast by Albert
N. Dennis began by asserting that the number of
unemployed in the country was between 1 .5 and 2 million
and increasing. His weekly show "Labor News Review"
broadcast over WTOP of the Columbia Broadcasting
System leveled a sarcastic backhand at efforts to recruit
labor: "So the WFA (War Food Administration), to spend
their millions, is bringing in 52,000 Mexican peon laborers
and others from elsewhere, even in the face of growing
unemployment in this country. That may be cited as
perhaps too typical of the present official approach to the
employment situation. "^^

Despite criticism, Wyoming growers sought the
importation of more Mexicans under the terms of the
bracero agreement. Farmers in Wyoming, as well as
farmers in other western states, readily acknowledged their
preference for Mexican workers over school children,
businessmen and other inexperienced workers. Mexicans
were experienced, more efficient and much harder
workers. Nevertheless, the attitude of the Wyoming Stock
Growers Association revealed another aspect in regard to
Mexican workers. Despite stock growers concern for the
shortage of labor in hay harvesting, they did not desire
Mexican workers because they believed Mexicans were
better suited to "stoop labor. "^' Wyoming needed Mex-
ican laborers but only in a particular job category, that
of beet laborer.

Wyoming agriculturalists considered braceros suitable
only for "stoop labor" from the start, although other uses
were possible. Sheep ranchers rejected the use of Mex-
icans as herders, preferring to seek importation of Bas-
que herders from Spain. A. A. Simpson of Buffalo, Wyo-
ming, applied for the immigration of 30 Basques in
September, 1943. He wrote to Earl G. Harrison, Com-
missioner of Immigration and Naturalization in the
Department of Justice who forwarded Simpson's request
to the War Manpower Commission for consideration.

Simpson had discussed the use of Mexicans with four
prominent Johnson County sheep ranchers: Bernard Mar-
ton, Simon Harriet, Gaston Irigaray and John Camino.
They regretfully concluded that from one-half to two-thirds
of their sheep would have to be marketed due to lack of
help. Simpson said he had suggested that they get Mex-
ican sheepherders, but that the ranchers had tried Mex-
icans and found them to be unsatisfactory. The consen-
sus was that $20,000 to $25,000 worth of sheep and ewes
could not be turned over, "to a man in whom they have
no particular confidence and who belongs to a class of
men, who, past experience has shown, are unreliable."^"
Another objection to the use of Mexicans was that Nav-
ajo Indians already herded sheep in Wyoming as emer-
gency laborers, and Mexicans and Navajos could not work
side by side, according to the sheepmen."

Wyoming beet growers desperately needed Mexican
Nationals to work in the beet fields, yet at the same time
relegated them to inferior status. Discrimination against
Mexicans was ignored by the sugar beet companies and
growers as it had been in Lovell and Powell two decades
earlier. The parochial and nativistic attitudes, long pre-
sent under the surface in American society, emerged when
Mexicans entered the community. In most communities,
residents side with their own against outsiders'^ and Wyo-
ming communities were no exception. They persistently
discriminated against Mexicans during the war.

Community-wide discrimination against braceros first
developed in Worland. County Agent C. A. Johnson and
Leroy E. Laird, manager of the Holly Sugar plant in
Worland, divulged to a meeting of the Washakie county
farm bureau that an investigation was under way of con-
ditions in the community by Salvador Lopez Lira,
representative of the Mexican government. Lopez Lira
reported finding that some Worland businesses refused
to extend service to Mexican Nationals. He recommended
to the Mexican government that if the condition was not
rectified immediately, the 88 Mexican Nationals work-
ing there would be removed and that an order for 75 others
to arrive on September 29 would be cancelled. Laird
declared that without the 163 Mexican Nationals, the
Worland area would not have enough labor for the beet
harvest. The farm bureau then requested the businesses
in question to welcome the Mexican workers."

In the wake of growing concern that Mexican
Nationals' labor would be lost, John J. McElroy wrote
to Hunt on September 20, that the problem of racial
discrimination in the Big Horn Basin and Wheatland was
"beginning to straighten itself out." He reported, "Mr.
(Lopez) Lira of the Department of Labor in the Mexican
Government, who visited those areas and made the com-
plaints, has informed the Denver Office of the War Food
Administration that he is well satisfied with the conditions
at Basin; better satisfied with the conditions at Lovell and
Cowley; but still questioning Worland and Wheatland."'*

Intervention of Wyoming officials influenced Lira's
changed assessment. Governor Hunt and McElroy had
implemented a scheme to alleviate growing tension
between whites and Mexicans. They had promoted Mex-
ican Independence Day celebrations at Basin and
Sheridan. McElroy observed that the celebrations,
"should go a long way in convincing Mexico of our
friendliness and tolerance."'^ The Basin Rotary Club
sponsored the celebration providing a free dinner and a
band concert by the Basin-Greybull Band. Bernard J.
Valdez, labor representative for the Basin area, gave an
address to the gathering. R. E. Varner, assistant to
County Agent K. D. Van Wagner, provided helpful
expertise in dealing with the Mexican Nationals because
he had spent 13 years working in Uruguay prior to work-
ing in Wyoming. County Agent Van Wagner capped
the Basin effort at smoothing relations with the Mexicans

by giving a farewell testimonial to them on November 1 1
and thanking them for services rendered in the agricultural
crisis."'

At Sheridan the Holly Sugar Company took the ini-
tiative in pacifying the Mexicans. The Sheridan Flour-
ing Mills, Beet Growers Association and local Chamber
of Commerce provided a luncheon, a Spanish language
movie entitled "Los Muertos Hablan," ("The Dead Ones
Speak") and a dance at the Knights of Pythias Hall.
McElroy judged both Independence Day celebrations "a
great success."''

McElroy's efforts in other localities succeeded as well.
The Washakie County Farm Bureau at Worland, an
organization with a membership of over 200 ranchers and
farmers, set up a committee to work with the townspeople,
ranchers, farmers and sugar companies in working out
this problem.'" At Wheatland, County Agent Neff Tip-
pets and W. D. Nicholson, manager of the Great Western
Sugar Company, managed the situation without the
apparent glowing success achieved at Basin and Sher-
idan." However, Hunt's and McElroy's success was
short-lived.

Discrimination against Mexican Nationals occurred
again in July, 1944. The Mexican Consul at Denver,
Frederico Gutierrez Pastor, wrote to Gov. Hunt on July
13 regarding discrimination in Torrington. Pastor sent
carbon copies to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs at Mex-
ico City, the Mexican Embassy at Washington, D.C., and
the Consulate General of Mexico at El Paso, Texas.
Laborers complained that they were forbidden entrance
to a beer hall operating next door to the police depart-
ment. They also protested against segregated seating
arrangements in the Wyoming Theatre. Pastor regretted
that the efforts of the Mexican government to assist the
Allied war effort by providing workers was not better
appreciated by the residents of Torrington. He implored
Hunt to "excert (sic) all your influence and goodwill to
eliminate situations like the one mentioned above . . . ."*"
Hunt wasted no time in responding. On July 14 he
wrote to Torrington Mayor Floyd M. Roush, Secretary
of Foreign Affairs at Mexico City, the Mexican Embassy
at Washinton, D.C., the Consulate General of Mexico
at El Paso, Texas, and A. E. Bowman. Hunt first acknow-
ledged what was at stake. Wyoming had been appropri-
ated $75,000 to recruit and import Mexican Nationals.
He added, "It has taken a very considerable amount of
recruiting, organization, and work to get these workers
into the State, and it would be quite detrimental to the
Wyoming producer should anything cause their with-
drawal from any area." Hunt disclaimed any wish to
regulate local practices. However, he added, "If, through
your good offices and a visit with those business houses
who discriminate, this situation could be corrected for the
duration, it would be, I am sure, mutually helpful in every
way and to all parties."'" Hunt hoped he could answer
Pastor with the news that the difficulty had been resolved.

Other charges of discrimination lodged by Mexicans
against Basin firms received a rebuttal from Bill Scott,
President of the Farm Labor Agency and Big Horn
County Assessor. The charge in question alleged that
Martin's Cafe forced Mexican Nationals to eat in a "small
and dirty side room," rather than the larger and cleaner
service room which accommodated the general public. In
defense, Scott explained that the side room was a semi-
private dining room adjoining the larger dining room and
that it was used by the management to accommodate extra
customers. He said that this side room was cleaned and
redecorated in just the same manner as the other part of
the building. During the summer the room was used by
a banker in Basin for an anniversary party, and was also
used by the local Rebekah Lodge for their banquet,
according to Scott. He concluded, "We believe that this
charge is poorly founded and perhaps was a misunder-
standing from the beginning."''^

In any case, Mexicans were making their complaints
known. Because of these charges of discrimination, George
Hill, of the Washington office of the War Food Adminis-
tration, met with representatives of the beet growers and
the Seventh Service Command of the Army in Omaha,
Nebraska, on September 29, 1944, to discuss the use of
Mexicans. In addition to the Mexicans already in Wyo-
ming, 200 received permission to be transported to the
state, along with 1,607 prisoners of war. ''^

While Wyoming farmers sought more Mexican
laborers, and enjoyed the highest prices ever paid for beets,
they also attempted to keep workers' wages low. Growers
proposed a method already recognized as serving that pur-
pose by California growers. In the California fruit indus-
try, growers shifted braceros to hourly rates when pick-
ing was thick, and back to piece rates when it was thin.
Brigadier General Phillip G. Burton, Director of Labor
with the War Food Administration, received a wire from
president C. C. Gay of the Washakie Beet Growers Assoc-
iation on January 10, 1945, arguing that Mexican
Nationals should earn more than the prevailing wage of
50 cents per hour. Burton wired the Holly Sugar Cor-
poration in Sidney, Montana, that the Mexicans deter-
mined not to send beet workers north in 1945. They were
"considerably disturbed" over payroll difficulties, mis-
understandings as to earnings when doing piece work,
and the delay in computation and final settlement. The
complaints to the consul at Denver, concerning payment
of wages later in the year, were so numerous that on June
30, 1945, the Mexican Ministry of Labor requested that
workers be moved from Colorado to California.'*'*

Work assignments and wages paid to workers other
than Mexican Nationals in Wyoming revealed
agriculturalists' discriminatory attitudes. Caucasian
workers imported from Oklahoma and Arkansas were
deemed unacceptable for work in the sugar beet fields.
McElroy noted, "Our Oklahomans were particularly suc-
cessful in the hay fields but I cannot visualize them in the

sugar beet fields."'*^ The 366 Oklahomans already work-
ing in the state received higher wages that the Mexican
Nationals working in sugar beets. The farmers paid
Oklahomans $5 per day instead of the prevailing wage
of $4, and $6.50 for stacking hay instead of $5. Several
of the ranchers took these men on fishing and sightseeing
trips to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.'"'

Wage discrimination complicated Burton's efforts to
secure more Mexican workers for Wyoming. He
represented Wyoming's labor needs to the Mexican
government and had to assuage Mexican fears when he
tried to secure more braceros. Burton traveled to Mex-
ico City in January, 1945, to negotiate with Padillo Nar-
vo. Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Labor. The
Mexican government took a hard line in negotiations for
workers. To clarify wage misunderstandings, H. W.
Vallee, Chief Agriculturalist of the Holly Sugar Corpora-
tion, submitted a report of earnings by Mexican Nationals
in the state of Wyoming during the 1944 season. The chart
showed that 1,440 men worked for average earnings of
$3,016.16. W. J. Gorst, President of the National Beet
Grower's Association in Worland, wired Burton that
"ambitious workers" could earn even more under the
piece work system than on a straight hourly setup.'*'

Burton had communicated to R. E. Varner on
September 19, 1944, that an expected 350 Mexican
Nationals promised from Chicago were not forthcoming.
The wage dispute and the Torrington incident probably
contributed to Burton's difficulty. Lovell Mayor Frank
H. Brown confirmed that the Mexicans were not coming
and that a severe labor shortage was imminent. The ensu-
ing need for labor severely hurt the state's farmers. John
K. Phifer, President of the Platte County Labor Associa-
tion, reported to O'Mahoney that the 1,066 acres of beets
ready to be harvested could not be due to the lack of labor.
W.J. Gorst in Worland expressed concern over the inad-
equate labor supply as well.'*^

The labor situation was severe. In desperation. Hunt
unsuccessfully tried to secure 200 soldiers from Fort War-
ren to help harvest the beet crop. Goshen County farmers
reported that 30 percent of the potato crop would be
unharvested if laborers were not found. AU the while, the
Federal government continued to call for increased
acreages in sugar beets. Sen. O'Mahoney protested in
December, 1944, in the wake of the recent labor short-
age, that farmers needed more assurance that labor would
be available during the 1945 harvest.*'

Despite Wyoming's problems in securing enough
labor in 1945, discrimination in Torrington continued.
Consul Frederico Gutierrez Pastor wrote Hunt on April
23 citing incidences of discrimination against Mexicans in
Torrington. Hunt admitted to Pastor that discrimination
in Torrington business houses jeopardized the importa-
tion of Mexican Nationals for farm labor, but that he could
offer little direct action. Hunt wrote to the mayor of Tor-
rington, D. M. Kellamer, that there was no formal action

he could take, adding, "I think I can say to you, however,
that the possibiHty of securing Mexican Nationals to work
in the sugar beet fields this coming cropping season is
jeopardized to some extent by this situation."^" Hunt
realized that only with the approval of the Consul, based
on the assurance that Mexican Nationals would not be
discriminated against, would the Mexican government
allow braceros to go to Wyoming.

The state's labor shortage in agriculture at the end
of the war was what it had been at the beginning. Wyo-
ming citizens' attitudes toward Mexicans exacerbated the
shortage and caused braceros to seek relief. However,
Mexican Nationals could not sustain their efforts to bet-
ter working and living conditions for three reasons. First,
they had to lodge their complaints to American govern-
ment officials through their agent in the Mexican Con-
sul. Second, Mexican officials labored under an avalanche
of complaints to investigate and rectify problems with a
small, underpaid staff. And third, braceros, in contrast
to long time Mexican residents, had no permanent stake
in the state's communities because they were moved to
other states or were repatriated, at the termination of a
six-month contract.

Complaints of discrimination did, nevertheless, reach
Washington officials during the war and some gave their
support to equality. On September 1, 1944, a press release
entitled "Labor Must Show The Way" by Secretary of
the Interior Harold L. Ickes appeared in the Wyoming Labor
Journal. Ickes had been president of the Chicago
N.A.A.C.P. prior to his post in the administration, and
he had shown concern for the position of Blacks in soci-

ety especially. He offered a proscription for American
labor saying, "Neither racial or religious intolerance can
be supported by labor if the working man's future,
regardless of his race or creed or color, is to be safeguarded
and kept on that high plane which we in America have
so long striven to achieve."^' The protests of agricultural
and non-agricultural workers kept national, state and local
officials apprised of worker's discontent.

Looking at non-agricultural Mexican workers reveals
an even more vigorous effort to combat patterns of
discrimination by Mexicans of established residence in
Wyoming. In the state's railroad industry, Mexicans con-
fronted the power of organized labor. It should be noted,
though, that Mexican workers on the railroads did receive
better wages than their counterparts in agriculture.
Agricultural wages lagged behind those of organized labor.
While beet workers earned $19.20 for a 48 hour week,
organized labor engaged in a publicity campaign to justify
wages of $50.00 per week.^-

Nevertheless, working conditions on the railroads
caused Mexicans to seek immediate relief directly from
their agent. Workers for the Union Pacific Railroad in
Wyoming took their complaints to the Fair Employment
Practices hearings in Washington, D.C. The Commit-
tee was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt with
Executive Order 8802 on June 25, 1941, and was charged
with encouraging full participation in defense industries
of all citizens, regardless of race, color, creed or national
origin. This committee investigated all cases of alleged
discrimination in agencies of the Government, industries
holding government contracts, industries essential to the

Railroad workers in Cheyenne, circa 1946.

war effort and unions of employees in essential industries,
whether or not they held government contracts. ^^

The hearings held in September, 1943, concerned
discrimination charges against 23 railroads and 14 labor
unions. The chief complaint coming under scrutiny by
the committee was the practice of the railroads and unions
that considered Black and Mexican workers "non-
promotables." This allegedly was done by negotiated
agreements between unions and the railroads. The Union
Pacific Railroad Company and its Cheyenne shops were
included in the charges being leveled by disgruntled
employees. Testimony conducted on September 15, 16
and 17, 1943, in Washington, D.C., comprised more than
1,000 pages of typewritten manuscript, but, the pro-
ceedings of the FEPC were not published. Malcolm Ross
chaired the committee and Personnel Assistant F. E.
Baukhages represented the Union Pacific Railroad. The
International Association of Machinists and the Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders and
Helpers of America declined to be represented at the
hearings. ^"^

Workers charged the unions with discrimination in
prohibiting the promotion of shop employees at the train
yards in Cheyenne. Three specific charges concerned the
treatment of Mexicans. First, the Union Pacific Railroad
refused to hire or to promote Mexicans and Blacks because
of race or national origin. These workers desired admis-
sion to positions as machinists or machinist's helpers, sheet
metal workers or their helpers, boilermakers, car men,
blacksmiths or electricians. They could not gain access
to those better paying positions. Second, the U.P. and
the unions conspired to deny employment of Mexicans
to unskilled labor positions. Third, written agreements
with the International Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers
had been violated by the refusal to promote Mexicans.

Testimony by Jesse J. Gonzales, an employee at the
Cheyenne railroad yard, substantiated the charges. Gon-
zales had been employed by the Union Pacific intermit-
tently since 1918 and continually since 1929, and was the
local chairman of the International Brotherhood of
Firemen and Oilers. He testified as to the efforts of Mex-
icans to secure promotions. Beginning with a 1922 strike
of the shops crafts the company freely hired Mexicans and
other ethnic and racial groups permitting them to fill any
position for which they were qualified.*'

However, when the American Federation of Labor
organized shops of the U.P. on November 1, 1934, the
agreement entered into by the Firemen and Oiler's Union
and the company did not contain a provision for the pro-
motion of laborers. Subsequent agreements included one
in 1937 between the Company and System Federation No.
105, including Firemen and Oilers, which protected their
seniority as laborers for 60 days. Another agreement of
May 8, 1942, involving the Railway Department of the
American Federation of Labor, or the craft unions, pro-
vided for the promotion of apprentices, apprentice helpers

Railroad ivorken Alaivin Martinez and Dtlfino Cruz. Cheyenne,
1947.

and mechanic's helpers to positions as mechanics in the
weeks of labor shortages. But, only "Anglo-American"
laborers received promotions. According to Gonzales,
Mexicans or persons of Mexican descent were obliged to
remain within the ranks of the lowest level laborers.*^

Gonzales assumed the chairmanship of the Firemen
and Oilers in 1942 and immediately agitated for promo-
tion of Mexicans. He approached John Caserman,
General Chairman of the Firemen and Oiler's Union, who
in turn contacted System Federation No. 105 and the
Railway Department of the American Federation of
Labor. It was to no avail. So, Gonzales took his complaints
directly to the U.P.'s Charles Pickert, Shop Superinten-
dent; a Mr. Lake, District Foreman; and the General
Superintendent of the line, and received "excuses to the
effect that such employees are incompetent, cannot speak
English or do not have sufficient education." District
Foreman Lake disclosed to Gonzales that "the unions
opposed favorable action and , ... he had certain orders
from 'higher-ups.' "*■' As a consequence, the company
hired 579 new and inexperienced workers, 60 of whom
were teenage boys, in the year prior to the hearings. These
employees received helper's jobs in preference to exper-
ienced Mexicans.*^

Another Mexican employee, Phillip Mercado, testified
as to his inability to get a helper's job. Mercado was

employed by the U.P. as an engine cleaner with senior-
ity from May 8, 1939. In March, 1941, he applied for
a helper's job and was directed by the Chief Clerk of the
Shop Superintendent to take his request to the commit-
tees of the different crafts. Late in the same month he con-
ferred with a Mr. Ricardo, committeeman of the Boiler-
makers Union, about a promotion and was told he would
be "kept in mind." In the beginning of April, Mercado
approached a Mr. Cox, committeeman of the machinist's
union, who at first promised Mercado he would be con-
sidered as a machinist's helper. Mercado apparently
pressured Cox who then bluntly refused him because he
was of Mexican descent. ^^

To verify the testimony of Mexican employees of the
U.P., the FEPC examined seniority rosters furnished by
the company and found that they "do not indicate those
who are Mexicans, persons of Mexican descent or
Negroes. "''° Very few Spanish surnames showed up on
the rosters of the crafts or helpers. However, examina-
tion of the laborer's roster revealed a great majority of
Spanish surnames.

The company's position was represented by its Per-
sonnel Assistant, F. E. Baukhages. He asserted that,
"While the summary of the complaints received by the
President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice . . .
is vague as to time, we are, nevertheless confident that
your examination into such complaints will develop to
your satisfaction that the charges summarized are not
justified."'''

As for the employment rosters, Baukhages asserted
that they revealed the inclusion of Spanish-surnamed
employees in many types of positions. But he added,
"Since . . . the hearings have developed specific instances
of alleged discrimination . . . we will fully investigate with
a view towards the speedy correction of any situation
inconsistent with the Company's policy." Apparently, the
company privately acknowledged that their position was
shaky and concluded that discrimination existed because
"Two days after the above statement the Committee was
informed that the Company had hired or upgraded four
men (presumably Mexicans or persons of Mexican des-
cent), one as a boilermaker and three as helpers. "^^

The defensive reaction of the company revealed what
the committee findings confirmed. The Union Pacific
Railroad Company had discriminated against Mexicans
in its Cheyenne shops and yard. It refused to hire them
for, or upgrade them to, helpers, machinists, boilermakers,
metal workers, sheet metal workers, carmen, blacksmiths
and electricians. The committee included a quotation by
the company which indicated the company's willingness
to investigate discriminatory practices. The company
would qualify its investigation, "with a view towards the
speedy correction of any situation inconsistent with the
Company's policy. "^^

Thus, the company would correct only what did not
conform to its own policy decisions. In addition to the

Union Pacific, both unions, the International Association
of Machinists and the International Brotherhood of Boiler-
makers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, had
discriminated against Mexicans by opposing or refusing
to permit their upgrading and promotion.''"'

The committee, with no means to enforce compliance,
issued ten directives telling the U.P. and the unions to
stop their discriminatory practices affecting employment
and upgrading of Mexicans. The new policies of the com-
pany were to be disseminated to the unions, the Railroad
Retirement Board through which it recruited workers, and
the FEPC. The committee gave the U.P. and the unions
30 days to report back to the committee their steps taken
in compliance with the directives.''^ The railroads only
needed to report to the committee what it wanted to hear
in order to defuse minority discontent.

The FEPC has been described by Harvard Sitkoff in
his article entitled "Racial Militancy and Interracial
Violence in the Second World War," as "The Wailing
Wall for minorities, virtually powerless to act but handy
as a safety valve. "^'' The railroads' and unions' unwill-
ingnesss to comply with the FEPC's directives supports
Sitkoff's sardonic appraisal. The committee, as a result
of the September hearings, ordered 22 major railroads and
seven railroad labor unions to end discrimination within
30 days. Sixteen of the carriers sent a joint letter to the
FEPC outlining reasons for their inability or refusal to
do so. In their letter, "They stated that employment rela-
tions on the railroads were governed by collective bargain-
ing contracts, and the carriers were without power to make
one-sided changes; . . . that they were willing to confer
with the Unions and see if a satisfactory solution to the

JOBS FOR ALL'

/^g^CEMEN AND
WAR WORKrwS ALIKE!

racial problem could be worked out . . . ."''■' Given their
contempt for the FEPC, compliance would have been
negligible, at best.

War-time propaganda emphasized the need for
cooperation. The public, according to a cartoon in the
Wyoming Labor Journal, desired tranquility from labor, not
labor strikes or indications that labor conditions interfered
with the war effort. This may explain the government's
decision not to publish the FEPC findings. This feeling
became more pronounced as the war progressed.

Six American labor leaders touring French battlefields
after D-Day in the summer of 1944 voiced concern over
"quarrels at home" which interrupted productivity. The
War Department sent this message to William Green,
president of the American Federation of Labor, and Phillip
Murray, head of the Congress of Industrial Organizations
for dissemination to local labor leaders.

The employment of returning servicemen concerned
organized labor leaders in mid- 1944. Labor propaganda
began to call for the cooperation of industry to supply jobs
for servicemen and war workers.''' (For example, see car-
toon. War Labor Journal, September 8, 1944.) Mexican
veterans, as well as all others, would expect to be offered
their fair share of the available jobs. The pressure for fair
employment exerted by Mexicans and others during the
FEPC hearings, gave notice to employers that more assert-
ive attitudes by employees for their rights was develop-
ing momentum.

Wyoming was swept along in the current of discrim-
ination against Mexicans. By seeing Mexicans as "stoop
laborers" and the lowest level of industrial worker, Wyo-
ming residents put Mexicans at a disadvantage in seek-
ing higher levels of employment. Reinforcing the relega-
tion of Mexicans to low levels in employment was the
establishment of discriminatory practices.

Still, war-time manpower requirements in Wyoming
forced agriculture and industry to consider new roles for
Mexicans. Anglo-Americans on the farm and in industry
worked more closely, and sometimes alongside Mexicans
more than ever before. The mutual objective of security
and survival necessitated greater cooperation.

Discrimination against Mexicans persisted during
World War 11,^' but greater steps had to be taken to arrest
it, due to the need for Mexican laborers, their increased
assertion of their rights, and their contribution in the
workplace. Protests by Mexicans forced communities and
employers to be aware of social practices which Mexicans
questioned and attempted to change. Mexican perfor-
mance on the job opened doors of opportunity for others
who followed.'" Motivation for higher economic and social
levels combined with the protests of braceros and other
Mexican workers in Wyoming, offered a model for Mex-
ican assertiveness in the future, and, in fact, was the
heritage for Mexicans out of their World War II
experiences.

* I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Lawrence Cardoso
lor the idea lor this manuscript and for suggestions after reading it.

1 . For the purpose of this study the term Mexican will be used when
referring to Spanish-language agricultural and industrial workers
regardless of whether they were native to the United States or
Mexico. The term bracero will refer exclusively to Mexican
Nationals working in the United States.

2. For the military experiences of the Mexican-American military
and the resulting rise in levels of expectations see: Raul Morin,
Among the Valiant (Los Angeles: Borden Publishing Co., 1963),
passim. Mexican expectations coincided with those of Black
soldiers: Their hope of improved status was legitimized by the
American creed which emphasized achievement as the basic norm
for rewards. Strouffer, Samuel A., et. al, The American Soldier:
Adjusting During Army Life. Vol. L (Princeton: Princeton Univer-
sity Press, 1949), p. 599. "Zoot-Suit War," Time ^\ (June 21,
1943): pp. 18-19; Carey McWilliams, "The Zoot-Suit Riots,"
New Republic 108 (June 21, 1943): pp. 818-820; Carey
McWilliams, North From Mexico: The Spanish Speaking People of the
United States (The Peoples of America Series, edited by Louis
Adamic), (New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1949), pp.
228-265; Soloman James Jones, "The Government Riots of Los
Angeles, June, 1943," Thesis, (Los Angeles: University of
California, 1969), passim.

3. Harry Schwartz, Seasonal Farm Labor in the United States with Special
Reference to Hired Workers in Fruit and Vegetable and Sugar-Beet Pro-
duction (New York: Columbia University Press, 1945), p. 114.

4. Augustine Redwine, "Lovell's Mexican Colony," /4nna/i o/JVj'o-
ming Vol. 51 (Fall, 1979): pp. 27-35 passim.

5. The Cody Enterprise, November 8, 1978. For a general discussion
of life in the United States for the Mexican family at this time,
see Robert C. Jones, "Ethnic Family Patterns: The Mexican
Family in the United States," The American Journal of Sociology 53
(May, 1948): pp. 450-452. Charles P. Loomis, "Wartime Migra-
tion From the Rural Spanish Speaking Villages of New Mexico,"
Rural Sociology 1 (December, 1942): p. 390.

6. Abraham Hoffman, Unwanted Mexican Americans in the Great Depres-
sion: Repatriation Pressures 1929-1939 (Tucson, Arizona: The
University of Arizona Press, 1974), pp. 16-17. A perfect exam-
ple of these attitudes as shown by Coloradoans is in: Harry
Schwartz, Seasonal Farm Labor, pp. 115-117; Lawrence A. Car-
doso, Mexican Immigration To The United States, 1897-1931 : Socio-
Economic Patterns (Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona
Press, 1980). See Chapter 7: "American Policy and Attitudes,
1918 to 1930," especially pp. 124-126.

7. Laramie Republican Boomerang, July 24, 1942; Star Valley Indepen-
dent, September 3, 1942; Wyoming State Journal, September 17,
1942; Thermopolis Independent Record, October 15, 1942; Sheridan
Press. October 20, 1942; Minutes, United States Department of
Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Laramie, Wyo-
ming, June 24, 1942, F. P. Lane Chairman of the State
Agricultural Extension Service, p. 3; Billings Gazette, March 27,
1942; Wyoming Eagle, April 1, 1942; Casper Tribune Herald, May
21, 1942; Edward L. Schapsmeier and Frederich H. Schapsmeier,
Encyclopedia of American Agricultural History (Westport, Connecticut:
Greenwood Press, 1975) p. 44.

8. Rock Springs Miner, April 12, 1942; Riverton Review, April 9,1942;
Saratoga Sun, May 14, 1942; Northern Wyoming Daily News, June
11, 1942; Wyoming Eagle, June 20, 1942; Rock Springs Daily Rocket,
March 13, June 23, 1942; Casper Tribune Herald, April 18, 1942;
The Douglas Budget, April 4, 1942; The Lusk Free Lance, April 29,
1942. The turning out of an entire rural community to bring in
a harvest, during a war-time labor shortage, was a widespread
practice. Harry Schwartz, Seasonal Farm Labor, p. 24. Sheridan Press,
October 7, 1942; Northern Wyoming Daily News, June 9, 1942.

Supt'iintcndent C. D. Carter of the National Defense Training
School and National Youth Administration closed school to allow
the students to work. Tom Bracken, agricultural agent of the Holly
Sugar Company in Goshen County considered the use of Indians
from Pine Ridge but noted that they did not stay. Goshen County
News. June 11, 1942.
9. Riverlon Review, June 25, 1942; Sheridan Press. June 9, September
9, 1942.

10. Riierlon Review. March 19, 1942. For a detailed discussion of
agricultural wages during the war see Samuel Liss, "Farm Wage
Boards Under the Cooperative E.xtension Service During World
War II," Agricultural History 27 (July, 1953); pp. 103-108, and
"F'arrn Wage Boards Under the Wage Stabilization Program Dur-
mg World War U." Agricultural History 30 (July, 1956); pp.
128-137. For the first year under the bracero program see Otey
\I. Scruggs, "The Bracero Program Under the Farm Security
Administration, 1942-1943, " Labor History 3 (Spnnir. 1962); pp.
149-168.

11. Sheridan Press. 1, October 6; November 29. 1942. Holly Sugar
gave out 200 movie tickets as a reward to high school boys who
helped with the harvest to see Mickey Rooney in "A Yank at
Eton," on December 30 and 31. Northern Wyoming Daily News,
October 20, 1942.

12. Wyoming Stock Growers Association, "Wyoming's Ranch Labor
Emergencv," July 22, 1942, Fred E. Warren, Chairman of the
Executive Committee to Lester C. Hunt, p. 2, Hunt MSS,
Western History Research Center, University of Wyoming,
Laramie, Wvoming. The Wyoming Stock Growers Association
estimated labor needed at this time was 16,824, p. 3, Hunt scrap-
book #3, Hunt MSS; Worland News. July 22, 1942; Laramie
Bulletin, July 22, 1943.

13. Sheridan Press. July 23, 1943; Creybull Standard. July 22. 1943.

14. Wyoming Labor Journal, January 8; May 28; June 25, 1943. Col-
orado officials estimated that the transportation cost to get one
Mexican National from Mexico City to Palisade, Colorado, was
approximately $100. John R. McCuster, Regional Director of
the W,u Manpower Commission, to Hunt, September 29. 1943,
Hum .\ISS. The figure was in an attached memorandum from
McCusker to Lawrence A. Appley, Executive Director, War
Manpower Commission, regarding the Colorado Peach Hai-\est,
p. 3, Hunt MSS. The United States Senate moved to provide
agricultural labor as well. The 78th Congress passed H. J. Res.
96 which became Public Law 45 on April 29, 1943. It appropriated
$26,000,000 to the Administrator of Food Production and
Distribution to cover the costs of a program of recruiting, train-
ing, and placing former workers (including workers imported from
North, South, and Central America and adjacent islands). Not
less than $9,000,000 nor more than $13,050,000 was to be appor-
tioned to States for expenditure by the agricultural extension ser-
vices of the land-grant colleges in carrying out the program. Not
more than $13,050,00 was to be available to the Administrator
for direct expenditures in facilitating the program.

15. Northern Wyoming Daily News, September 1, 1943; Laramie Daily
Bulletin, June 30, \9i3: Saratoga Sun, May 28, 1936; Wyoming State
Tribune,]u\y 1, 1942. McElroy to Hunt, August 10, 1943. Hunt
MSS.

16. McElrpy to Hunt, September 20, 1943, Hunt MSS.

17. Nelson Gage Copp, "Wetbacks and Braceros: Mexican Migrant
Laborers and American Immigration Policy, 1930-1960," Ph.D.
Dissertation (Massachusetts; Boston University Graduate School,
1963), p. 54. The agreement was amended on April 29, 1943,
pro\iding greater protection for Mexican Nationals. For a detailed
discussion see pp. 57-60; Wayne D. Rasmussen, A History of the
Emergency Farm Labor Supply Program, 1943-47 (Agriculture
Monograph No. 13) (Washington, D.C.; U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, September,

26.

1951), pp. 202-205, 213-217, 224-225. Dorothy M. Tcrcers,
"Workers from Mexico," Bulletin oj the Pan American Union 78
(September, 1944): pp. 500-506. Proof of farm labor experience
was shown by the prospective bracero showing the callouses on
his hands. See picture, p. 501.

Robert C. Jones, Mexican War Workers in the United States/ The
Mexico- United States Manpower Recruiting Program and Its Operation
(Washington, DC; Pan American Union, Division of Labor and
Social Information, 1945), p. 15.

Minutes of Special Meeting of the Wyoming Stale U.S. DA. War
Board. Thursday, October 7, 1943, O'Mahoney MSS, Western
History Research Center, University of Wyoming, Laramie,
Wyoming, pp. 6-7; Wyoming Labor Journal, November 26, 1943.
Northern Wyoming Daily News, August 28, 1943; February 11, 1944;
Lovell Chronicle. February 17, 1944; Laramie Daily Boomerang,
September 29, 1943; Laramie Republican, March 17, 1944. A. A.
Simpson received permission to import Basques, under certain
conditions, on March 18, 1944. O'Mahoney to Simpson, March
18, 1944, O'Mahoney MSS. O'Mahoney received notification
from Commissioner Harrison, March 17, 1944, to import 30 Bas-
ques. An interesting development in April, 1944, occurred when
German prisoners of war had the temerity to strike against work-
ing conditions which were probably better than many Mexicans
had. The Germans complained of leaky barracks and lack of ben-
ches to sit on in transportation trucks. Military authorities placed
them on bread and water rations and the strike quickly ended.
Lowell .A. Bangerter, "German Prisoners of War in Wyoming,'
Journal of German-American Studies 14 (June, 1979); p. 90.
Wyoming Labor Journal, April 7; July 8, 1944.
The yearly figures for Wyoming's importation of braceros are;
August 28, 1943 - 339; August 1, 1944 - 1,026; August 3, 1945
- 405; July 28, 1946 - 328; Rasmussen, Emergency Farm Labor,
p. 226. Wheatland Times, May 18, 1944. A. E. Bowman to E. V.
Robertson, June 9, 1944, O'Mahoney MSS. James W. Morgan,
"Amended Employment Stabilization Program for the State ol
Wyoming." Mimeographed. (Casper, Wyoming; War Man-
power Commission, 1944).

.\. E. Bowman to Hunt, July 5, 1944, Hunt MSS.
Copp, "Wetbacks and Braceros," p. 21.

Robert C. Jones, Mexican War Workers, p. 44; Rasmussen. .4
History of the Emergency Farm Labor, p. 228. When officials quer-
ried braceros in Spanish, a much greater number of unanswered
problems became known. Richard B. Craig, The Bracero Program:
Interest Groups and Foreign Policy (Austin; University of Texas Press,
1971). pp. 22-23.

Bessie Homer to O'Mahoney, September 4, 1944, O'Mahoney
MSS.

Biographical Directory oJ the American Congress 1774-1971 (United
States; Government Printing Office, 1971), pp. 1754-1755;
1806-1807. Joseph O'Mahoney to Bessie Homer, September 25,
1944, O'Mahoney MSS.

Wyoming Labor Journal, April 7, 1944. Organized labor was
generally always hostile to braceros because they were considered
a threat to domestic labor. StaJJ Report of the Select Commission on
Immigration and Refugee Policy, April 30, 1981, "U.S. Immigialion
Policv and the National Interest." (Washington, D.C.; n.p.,
1981). p. 672.

Wvoming Stock Growers Association, "Wyoming's Ranch Labor
Emergency," July 22, 1943. Fred E. Warren, Chairman of the
Executive Committee to Lester C. Hunt, p. 3, Hunt MSS. Dean
L. Williams, "Some Political and Economic Aspects of Mexican
Immigration in the United States Since 1941; With Particular
Reference to this Immigration into the State of California," Ph.D
Dis.sertation (Los Angeles; Univeisity of California, 1950), p. 23.
A. .A. Simpson to Chief, Department of Immigration and
Naturalization, Department ofjustice, September 22, 1943, Hunt

MSS. Numerous requests were sent to other officials requesting
the use of Basques to alleviate the labor shortage in the sheep
industr)'. Buffalo residents encouraged their immigration and Sen.
Joseph C. O'Mahoney and Hunt attempted to expedite the pro-
cess. Hunt to William C. Holland, Buffalo, July 26, 1943; Hunt
to Department of Immigration and Naturalization, Department
of Justice, July 26, 1943; A. A. Simpson to Hunt, April 14, 1944,
Hunt MSS.

31. J. B. Wilson to O'Mahoney, February 22, 1945, O'Mahoney
MSS.

32. Juan Ramon Garcia, Operation Wetback: The Mass Deportation of
Mexican Undocumented Workers in 1954, (Westport, Connecticut:
Greenwood Press, 1980), p. 34.

33. For a short biographical sketch of Laird see The Northern Wyo-
ming Daily News, August 24, 1950. Lopez Lira received no
allowance for travel or other expenses. Robert C. Jones, Mexican
War Workers, p. 13. Wyoming State Tribune, September 19, 1943.

34. McElroy to Hunt, September 20, 1943, Hunt MSS. Quoted and
briefly described in T. A. Larson, Wyoming's War Years J 941 -1945,
(Laramie, Wyoming: The University of Wyoming, 1954), p. 62.

35. McElroy to Hunt, September 20, 1943, Hunt MSS.

36. Basin Republican Rustler, September 23, 1943; November 11, 1943.

37. Sheridan Press, September 16, 1946. McElroy to Hunt, September
20, 1943, Hunt MSS.

38. McElroy to Hunt, September 20, 1943, Hunt MSS.

39. Ibid.

40. Pastor to Hunt, July 13, 1944, Hunt MSS. T. A. Larson, Wyo-
ming's War Years, p. 162.

41. Hunt to Roush, July 14, 1944, Hunt MSS.

42. Scott to Hunt, September 13, 1944, Hunt MSS.

43. O'Mahoney to Hunt, September 29, 1944, O'Mahoney MSS.

44. Ernesto Galarza, Merchants of Labor: The Mexican Bracero Story: An
Account of the Managed Migration of Mexican Farm Workers in Califor-
nia: 1942-1960 (Santa Barbara, California: McNally & Loftin,
Publishers, 1964), p. 153. Guy to Burton, January 10, 1945,
O'Mahoney MSS. Burton to Holly Sugar Corporation (Copy),
January 10, 1945. O'Mahoney MSS. Rasmussen, A History of
the Emergency Farm Labor, p. 232.

45. McElroy to Hunt, September 20, 1943, Hunt MSS. A. E.
Bowman, Director of the Extension Service, provided a tabula-
tion of men from the eastern counties of Oklahoma for use in
the hay fields of southwestern Wyoming dated September 21,
1943.

46. A. E. Bowman report to the Members of the State Emergency
Farm Labor Committee. McElroy to Hunt, September 20, 1943,
Hunt MSS.

47. Joseph O'Mahoney to J. Bryan Wilson, January 22, 1945;
O'Mahoney to H. W. Vallee, January 16, 1945, O'Mahoney
MSS. Vallee to Joseph O'Mahoney; E. V. Robertson to Con-
gressman Frank A. Barrett, January 11, 1945, O'Mahoney MSS.
Composite of earnings for 1,440 Mexican Nationals employed
in the state of Wyoming for the 1 944 season . By Sponsoring Com-
mittees, Compiled by the War Food Administration, Office of
Labor, Basin, Wyoming, Paul Gallegos, Area Representative.
Gorst to Brigadier General Philip G. Burton, Office of Labor War
Food Administration, Washington, D.C., January 10, 1945,
O'Mahoney MSS.

48. Burton to Bowman; T. L. Bonnen to O'Mahoney, September
20, 1944, O'Mahoney MSS; Telegram, Brown to O'Mahoney,
September 26, 1944, O'Mahoney MSS; Phifer to O'Mahoney,
September 22, 1944, O'Mahoney MSS; Joseph O'Mahoney to
Gorst, September 23, 1944, O'Mahoney MSS.

49. Hunt to O'Mahoney, October 17, 1944, O'Mahoney MSS;
William M. Lynn to O'Mahoney, October 14, 1944, O'Mahoney

MSS. O'Mahoney to Harold D. Smith, Director, Bureau of the
Budget, December 5, 1944, O'Mahoney MSS.

50. Hunt to Kellam, May 9, 1945, Hunt MSS. Hunt to Pastor, May
9, 1945, Hunt MSS.

51. Wyoming Labor Journal, September 1, 1944, p. 12.

52. For a discussion of the disparity in wages see Wyoming Crop
Reporting Service, Wyoming Agriculture Bulletin No. 75 (Wyoming:
Compiled jointly by Wyoming and United States Departments
of Agriculture, Division of Agricultural Statistics, December,
1943), p. 55. Wyoming Labor Journal, July 2, 1943, p. 3. Braceros
working for railroads earned 57 cents an hour. Robert C. Jones,
Mexican War Workers, p. 31.

53. On July 30, 1942, the Fair Employment Practices Commission
was transferred to the War Manpower Commission and was
subsequently abolished by Executive Order 9346 of May 27, 1943.
The FEPC was recreated as an independent agency within the
Office for Emergency Management on the same day. Civilian Agen-
cies: Federal Records of World War U. (Washington, D.C. : The Na-
tional Archives, National Archives and Records Service, 1947),
p. 527. A copy of the order is in Yearbook of American Labor, Vol
\: War Labor Policies (New York: Philosophical Library, [1945]),
pp. 393, 627.

54. Yearbook of American Labor, p. 399. General findings and direc-
tives of this investigation can be found on p. 400. O'Mahoney
to Mr. Mack Hernandez, March 22, 1944. The "Findings and
Directives" of the hearings were forwarded to O'Mahoney by
George M.Johnson, Deputy Chairman of the President's Com-
mittee on Fair Employment Practices on March 21 , 1944, George
M.Johnson to O'Mahoney, March 21, 1944, O'Mahoney MSS.

55. Malcolm Ross, Summary, Findings and Directives in Re Union Pacific
Railroad Company International Association of Machinists and Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders and Helpers of
America (Washington, D.C: Public Hearings Held Before the
President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice, September
15-18, 1943), p. 1. (Unpublished typescript), O'Mahoney MSS.

Ibid. .

Ibid. ,

Ibid.

Ibid. ,

Ibid.

Ibid. ,

Harvard Sitkoff, "Racial Militancy and Interracial Violence in

the Second World V^ ar ," Journal of American History 58 (December,

1971): 661-681.

Yearbook of American Labor, p. 400. For the impact of the hearings

upon Roosevelt administration officials see John Morton Blum,

V Was For Victory: Politics and American Culture During World War

II. (New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1976), pp. 198-99.

Wyoming Labor Journal, January 8, 1943, p. 1; The New York 'Times,

August 26, 1944.

For a general description of Mexicans vis-a-vis other nationalities

in Wyoming see Gordon O. Hendrickson, "Immigration and

Assimilation in Wyoming," Peopling The High Plains, Wyoming's

European Heritage (Edited by Gordon Olaf Hendrickson),

(Cheyenne: Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department,

1977), p. 184.

Matt S. Meier and Feliciono Rivera, The Chicanes: A History of

Mexican Americans, (New York: Hill and Wang, 1972). See Chapter

11: "Heros, Second Class" and Chapter 12: "Braceros."

THE

NATIONAL BANK
FAILURES

WYOMING,

1924

By Peter W. Huntoon

National banks in Wyoming, 1871-1935.

GRAPHS COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR

The Great Depression for the typical Wyomingite
began in the early 1920s — not with the later collapse which
precipitated the bank holiday in 1933. In fact, people who
lived through the depression years, repeatedly say they
felt the most suffering in the twenties. The thirties just
seemed like more of the same. This situation prevailed
in just about every area of the country dominated by an
agricultural economy.

Every crisis, especially one involving money, has seers
who purport to know why "disaster is upon us," and of
course why "the other guys are to blame." With years
hindsight improves and real truths tend to emerge from
the ashes. Quite often, such as in this case, the fault falls
rather uniformly over the whole crowd.

The collapse of the 1920s, which is the focus of this
article, resulted to a large extent from the very founda-
tion of American success and greatness — unbounded
optimism. The more cynical will claim that the root of
the problem was greed — but what is the difference when
it comes to matters of money?

Much of the blame for the economic failures of the
1920s rests squarely on the institution of banking. What
happened to the Wyoming national banks was repeated
many times over in the state banking system. In fact, the
mess with the national banks is too narrow a perspective
to understand this period. Statistics of the competing state
banks must be used to round out this story.

The economics of the early 1920s were shrouded in
a blanket of smoke coming from Washington and myths
spread by influential financial circles. The "bottom line"
from these sources was that a little recession was good for
the soul. There was complete indifference to the citizens
comprising the bottom of the pyramid. The farmers and
laborers of that era were treated with what appears to be
callous disregard as the rich scrambled for more. Certainly
financial safeguards have been built into the system —
Federal Deposit Insurance, better securities laws, etc. —
but those innocents who walked into all those early banks
and blithely placed their savings on the counter had the
same major human flaw — unbinded optimism. "Things
can only get better — it can't happen to me!"

Figure 1 shows a record of the number of Wyoming
national banks in operation for each year during the
National Bank Note issuing period. As 1921 came to a
close, there were 47 operating national banks in Wyoming.
During the next eight years, one new bank would open
(First National Bank of Parco) and one bank would totally
reorganize under a new charter (First National Bank of
Thermopolis). In contrast, 23 banks would go out of
business, 10 as failures. All the failures were compressed
into the years 1923-1924. Many of the other 13 banks were
so weakened during this period that they had to seek exits

through the merger or liquidation route before the end
of 1929. (See Tables.)

Nothing dominates Figure 1 more than the precipitous
drop in 1924. In that year national bank casualties
included nine receiverships and four liquidations or con-
solidations. Thirteen banks in all, or 30 percent of the

1923 total, were gone in just 11 months. One of the
receiverships, the Powell National Bank, was restored to
solvency but remained sufficiently crippled that its presi-
dent, J. E. Dowling, resumed business only to wind up
its affairs in order to honorably liquidate in 1929.

Figure 2, which shows the total resources of the
national banks, illustrates that the 1924 dip was severe,
down $15.7 million or 25 percent from year end 1923
figures. The reality that resources were down 25 percent
as compared to a 30 percent decline in the number of
banks illustrates that losses were disproportionately borne
by the over-extended smaller banks. This was, in fact,
the case.

The remarkable fact for Wyoming was that the
national bank shakeout during the 1920s was so complete,
there were no failures or liquidations in the depression
years of the thirties. This record was attained even though
the dip in resources in the early 1930s recorded on Figure
2 was percentagewise somewhat greater than that of the

1924 period. By the 1930s Wyoming's national banks were
financially postured and sufficiently case hardened to
weather the storm. Clearly by the end of 1936, national
bank resources had bounded back to pre-bank holiday con-
ditions, indicating an intrinsic strength in the surviving
banks as well as gains in economic recovery, or at least
a new stability in the adjusted Wyoming economy.

If things looked bleak on the national bank front in
Wyoming during the early 1920s, they were nothing short
of horrendous for the state and private banks (Figures 3
and 4). The purge involving the state supervised banks
began in 1920 and lasted well into the 1930 depression
years with but a slight lull in 1928 and 1929.

On February 28, 1920, the Wyoming State Examiner
reported a record 110 state and private banks.' This
number continued to grow with the chartering of five more
banks before May 4, 1920. However, during that short
period two banks went out of business through liquida-
tions or mergers. The number of active state and private
banks therefore stood at 113, a record figure that would
hold only through the first week of September.

During June, 1920, a harbinger of events to come
descended when the Bank of Arvada failed. This marked
Wyoming's first bank failure since December, 1903.^
Between February 20, 1920, and December 31, 1927, a

"Forty-seven of the 76 closings were outright failures, not counting three banks
which failed but later reopened."

total of 133 state and private banks engaged in business
in Wyoming.' But the grim reaper had already arrived
with a voracious appetite in 1920 and would begin drop-
ping his checkered flag over no less than 76 (57 percent)
of these institutions within the next seven years (see table,
pages 42-43). Forty-seven of the 76 closings were outright
failures, not counting three banks which failed but later
reopened. The remaining 29 banks disappeared through
mergers or liquidations.

Failures in the state banking system continued to
wreak havoc through the mid- 1930s. Thousands of depos-
itors found their funds tied up in receiverships that paid
dividends slowly and which returned only fractions of the
original deposits. By the end of 1927, the 1920 total of
1 13 state and private banks was decimated to 57; by the
end of 1936 the total was down to 32.*

The major impact of World War I on the frontier state
of Wyoming was an unprecedented boom in agriculture.
The number of cattle almost doubled between 1914 and
1918 and prices went through the roof.* By 1920, steers
were selling for $150 per head. Another factor contributing
to the boom was Wyoming was still open to homesteading.
In fact, incentives to homestead nonirrigable lands were
increased by an act dated February 19, 1909, which
doubled the free land available under the original 1862
Homestead Act to 320 acres. ^ As prices for grains began
their spiraling climb in response to the war effort, dryland

homesteaders found it profitable to plant crops such as
wheat.

The boom was fueled by feverish speculation in bank-
ing and real estate. The inflation in agricultural com-
modities coupled with euphoria that prosperity was here
to stay created a climate where banks loaned readily to
dryland homesteaders on the promise of continued pro-
duction, and to stockmen on vastly inflated range herds
now heavily populating the state. Dozens of new banks
were organized on shoestrings in order to capitalize these
ventures. Inflation multiplied the values of the land, stock
and grain resources which could be credited on the positive
side of bank ledgers as collateral against loans.

The overheated economy had sufficient momentum
that it careened unabated for a year after the armistice
on November 11, 1918. However, after the war several
factors converged. Among them were hoards of returned
soldiers thrust into an economy totally unprepared for
them. No massive federal programs awaited them to insure
their orderly assimilation into their homeland economy.
Unemployment became a major concern. A major shock
was the shattered European economy. Left to its own
devices, the recovery of the devastated European economy
floundered. Without even a hint of prosperity in Europe,
that major agricultural market dried up overnight.

By the end of 1920, the peak of prosperity had passed
and American agriculture in general, and western agri-

Figure 2

Total resources of national banks operating in Wyoming, 1871-1935.

Wyoming National Banks which failed or liquidated during the ten years 1921 to 1930. (Data from Comptroller of the Currency, various dates.)

Bank

Reason for Failure

FAILED:

Rock River

Manville

Lusk

Lingle

Torrington

Powell

Newcastle

Basin

Cheyenne

Torrington

LIQUIDATED:

Newcastle

Douglas

Casper

Rawlins

Shoshoni

Worland

Thermopolis

Casper

Hanna

Rock Springs

Parco

Casper

Sheridan

Powell

First National Bank
First National Bank
First National Bank
First National Bank
Torrington National Bank
Powell National Bank
First National Bank
First National Bank
First National Bank
Citizens National Bank
First National Bank

Newcastle National Bank
First National Bank
National Bank of Commerce
Stockgrowers National Bank
First National Bank
First National Bank
First National Bank of
Citizens National Bank
First National Bank
First National Bank
First National Bank
Stockmen's National Bank
Sheridan National Bank
Powell National Bank

Large losses, defalcation of officers

Heavy withdrawals

Depleted reserve

Unable to realize on assets

Heavy withdrawals

Large losses, withdrawals, and insufficient credit

Depreciation of securities

Injudicious Banking

Unable to realize on assets

Local financial conditions

June 14, 1923
Dec. 11, 1923
Feb. 7, 1924
Mar. 19, 1924
Mar. 19, 1924
Mar. 27, 1924
June 12, 1924
June 14, 1924
July 9, 1924
July 21, 1924
Dec. 16, 1924

Dec. 1, 1922
Dec. 15, 1923
July 18, 1924
Oct. 28, 1924
Nov. 29, 1924
Dec. 29, 1924
Feb. 21, 1925
April 19, 1927
May 2, 1927
Nov. 7, 1927
Dec. 31, 1927
Feb. 11, 1928
Mar. 10, 1928
Feb. 2, 1929

Figure 3

State, private and savings banks, and trust companies operating in Wyoming, 1911-1936.

culture in particular, began reeling from the severe
contraction as overproduced agricultural commodities
competed for a seemingly bottomless floor.

John T. McDonald, eastern Wyoming banker,
lamented in his 1924 address as president of the Wyo-
ming Bankers Association, that in Wyoming $150 steers
fell to $60, cows went from $75 to $25, choice farmland
from $250 to $75 an acre, and Torrington potatoes were
a glut at 40 cents per 100 pounds.' In retrospect,
McDonald's anxiety was particularly poignant. Every one
of the banks in which he held a major interest was gone
by the end of the year, including the flagship of the chain,
the First National Bank of Torrington.

During this period, bankers left records that bring
sympathy to their plight.^ But what of the farmers who
plowed the eastern Wyoming prairie in response to
patriotic urgings and profit incentives during the war
years? Many, faced with bank loans based on boom land
and commodity prices, and sales of crops at below cost,
quietly walked away from their farms. It was a precursor
of the great midwestern migration that would occur in
the next decade. Wyoming bankers were left holding the
bag and they searched frantically for scapegoats.

On the front page of the Wednesday, July 9, 1924,
Wyoming State Leader of Cheyenne, is a second level
headline announcing "Two National Banks Closed in
Cheyenne." The casualties were the First National Bank
of Cheyenne, which was the first national bank chartered
in Wyoming, and Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne.
George Abbott, president of the First National, stated in
an interview that there were three reasons for his failure:
depreciation in cattle, agricultural commodities and land;
excessive taxation; and the policy of his bank of going to
the aid of other faltering banks in the region. Faltering
they were — the next day the Leader reported the closing
of four more Wyoming state banks and one in a nearby
town in Colorado.'

Others offered reasons for the economic blight. R. W.
Collins in addressing the Wyoming Bankers Association,
saw roots of the problem in the dry summer of 1919 and
severe winter that followed (see Figure 5). He concluded
that this stunned the agricultural sector, a reverse that
was compounded with the "bad luck" of falling prices.
In his address he also complained of the inadequacy of
bank examinations, both state and national, which could
have aided the banker. "They were not qualified to give
us the words of caution that most of us needed at the
time."'" The words of caution that Collins, the exper-
ienced Wyoming banker, wanted from the examiners were
in his words: "Had our loans of 1919 and 1920 been based
on livestock values covering a period of years, had the
loans been made only to men who understood the business
and who were equipped to properly take care of their stock,
had we always kept in mind normal values in place of the
inflated values of the period, we would have escaped the
headaches that came to us.""

The perspective of State Bank Examiner Newlin was
one of foresight in 1918.'^ He recommended legislation
forcing directors of state banks to own at least five per-
cent of the capital stock of their banks rather than the cur-
rent one percent, thus encouraging them to look after their
investments more seriously. He also favored a law pro-
hibiting officers and directors from borrowing amounts
in excess of 10 percent of the capital and surplus of their
banks.

The word "surplus" was missing from the
vocabularies of many state bankers. It was common prac-
tice for state banks to declare dividends to shareholders
which wiped out all accumulated surpluses. Newlin wanted
to see a provision whereby banks would over a period of
time be forced to accumulate surpluses amounting to at
least 50 percent of the capital, protecting depositors from
the full risks of bad debts. '^

In 1920 State Examiner R. J. Hoffman reiterated
these legislative pleas, further requesting that the banks
pay a fee for examinations, thus facilitating the duties of
his department in supervising the banks.'* By the time
of Hoffman's report, the dry summer of 1919 and bad
winter of 1920 were history, and he reported: "The banks
throughout the state have been placed under a severe strain
in order to meet the credit demands of their customers.
They were obliged to finance them in shipping stock into
other svates where feed was available and in buying feed
at high prices for stock held in the state. As a consequence,
the banks were obliged to strain their credit to the limit
and borrowed large amounts through rediscounts and bills
payable. About half the state banks have been running
on low reserves during the present year."

By the time Hoffman filed his 1922 biennial report
in October, he had seen 11 state bank failures, only one
from his preceding biennium. He could only report: "This
period has undoubtedly been one of the hardest through
which the banks of this state have ever gone .... The
experiences of this department for the last two years have
brought out many weaknesses of our present banking laws
. . . ."'^ He recommended increasing the capital required
to organize a state bank from $10,000 to $25,000, plac-
ing a limit on the amount of business that could be con-
ducted by banks based on capital invested, fixing limits
on the rediscounting of assets and practice of endorsing
paper "without recourse," requiring that officers and
employees furnish security bonds, and making it impossi-
ble for a stockholder to sell his stock in a failing bank in
an effort to escape liability."^ The previous calls for legisla-
tion to create surplus accounts and restricting loans to offi-
cers and directors were again reiterated.

Banking in Wyoming, both state and national, suf-
fered enormous damage. The crunch focused on banks
heavily extended to the eastern dryland farmers and banks
throughout the state which carried stockgrowers involved
in both cattle and sheep. The burden fell dominantly on
undercapitalized rural banks, and heavily on banks formed

?i8»tiomalt«iHPeiM-5r Ji?'i;?

IJHITEDSmESDFAHERlM*^;

'V681726D

g wai^^e^m 9289

Prior to 1936, national banks had the privilege of issuing currency bearing the bank title and signatures of two bank officers. This
currency, printed in Washington, DC, was secured by bonds deposited by the banks with the U.S. Treasurer. The "circulation"
of a bank was the total dollar value of its outstanding notes at any given time.

(BONDS COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR)

during the rising curve of the World War I years.
National banks as well as state banks in similar cir-
cumstances suffered equally.

Wyoming Bankers Association President McDonald,
on the eve of his own tragic bank failures, was driven to
new insights. He observed: "The past three annual
meetings of this Association have been filled with the
lugubrious moans of the deflated, those in course of defla-
tion, and those about to be deflated, plus the loud
assurances of wise men out of the East that deflation is
good for the soul, and that a little hair of the dog that
bit it will cure the pain . . .""

McDonald went on with wry cynicism:

It has been said that a period of depression is nothing more

than a state of mind. This saying is supported by biblical

authority: 'As a man thinketh, so is he.' According to this

reasoning, all that we of the Northwest have to do to bring

about an unprecedented era of prosperity is vote Republican,

wear a silly smile and chant sweetly with Coue: 'Every day

in every way, we are getting better and better.'

As McDonald spoke on September 5, 1924, the system

upon which he had optimistically built his own house of

cards was pulling the rug from under him.

Because banking is a human endeavor, it is never suf-
ficient to develop a simple list of the banks involved in
a period such as described here. The true fascination
comes in discovering who was involved, how they
operated, and with whom they associated. The existing
record is skeletal at best. Missing are minutes of board
meetings which would provide clues into interpersonal
interactions and motives. Vague hints — often incomplete
— which drop a few names here and there to titillate the
curiosity are all that can be found.

Of the 76 banks which failed, consolidated or liquid-
ated during the 1920 to 1926 period, a hst of 1920-1921
presidents and cashiers for all but one bank from state
examiner reports was compiled.'* In two boxes of mixed
records in the State Examiner's office were incorporation
papers for 36 of the 76 deceased 1920-1926 banks span-
ning the years 1894 to 1922. '^ Although these records
involved only about half of the banks of interest, the ini-
tial lists of incorporators and shareholders were reveal-
ing. In the same boxes were charters for 31 of the 76 banks,
some for banks other than those represented in the articles
of incorporation. Names and dates gleaned from these
various sources could be compared to national bank data
to help flesh out the total state bank scene. ^^

In the majority of cases, the state and national banks
were separate entities, each with independent officers and
shareholders. However, in a number of cases were similar
lists of shareholders, interlocking officers, and surprising
alliances between members of distinctly different groups
of bankers joining in new ventures. The terse summaries
that follow are based on the incomplete data developed
from these sources.

On October 6, 1908, Henry S. Clarke, Jr., John T.
McDonald, and E. P. Perry organized the First National

Bank of Torrington.^' It appears that this was the first
bank that they became involved with in Wyoming, so the
bank would serve as the flagship for their future chain.
Torrington is located along the North Platte River just
west of the Nebraska state line and is the center of a large
farming region comprised of both dryland and irrigated
crop land. This district was one of the most seriously
impacted of the boom-bust agricultural areas.

Clarke, apparently always in the company of
McDonald, and usually with Perry, founded or gained
a controlling interest in five state banks: Torrington State
Bank, Lingle State Bank, Fort Laramie State Bank, Com-
mercial State Bank of Guernsey, and the Cheyenne State
Bank. With the exception of the Cheyenne State Bank,
each of these enterprises was situated in a town along U.S.
Highway 26 where it parallels the North Platte River just
west of Torrington.

The Torrington State Bank, their selfmade competitor
to the First National, did not fail, but rather it went out
of business in the winter of 1 9 1 8- 1 9 1 9 . Apparently it finally
merged with the First National Bank. All the banks in
the chain were modest in terms of total resources for their
settings, including the First National Bank of Torrington.
Each was feeding off the speculative boom in agriculture
taking place in the Platte Valley. The move to acquire
control over the Cheyenne State Bank can be seen as a
sign of growing confidence as these men rode to the crest
of the boom.

t40

Total resources of state, private and savings banks, and trust
companies operating in Wyoming, 1911-1936.

The post- 1920 deflation in agriculture seriously
depleted reserves, and suddenly in 1924, Wyoming was
overtaken by one of its worst drought years on record (see
Figure 5). Depositors began to panic as they realized the
banks containing their funds could not collect on delin-
quent loans.

The Fort Laramie State Bank disappeared early in
1924. The Lingle State and Cheyenne State banks went
into receiverships on December 10, 1924. The First
National Bank of Torrington failed and was placed in
receivership on December 16. The Commercial State
Bank of Guernsey also was gone by the end of December
but how and why remains a mystery. It probably failed
along with the others in mid-December. J. T. McDonald,
president of the Wyoming Bankers Association, was no
longer in banking. Another area banker was in similar
trouble.

Benjamin Franklin Yoder joined the eastern Wyoming
banking fraternity in a big way between 1917 and 1919.^^
This was the height of the boom and a period during which
people had convinced themselves that prosperity was here
to stay. Like the Clarke group, Yoder focused his atten-
tion on the agricultural belt surrounding the North Platte
Valley, but his influence spread to towns more distant
from the river.

Yoder's style was highly visible. He usually installed
himself as president of the banks which he controlled. In
1922 his chain included the Glendo State Bank and Bank

Figure 5

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■10

Annual precipitation at three agricultural centers in Wyoming,
1918-1940. Note the sharp decline in 1919-1920 and 1924
which intensified instabilities in banks in those regions. (Wyoming
Water Resources Research Institute data).

of Glenrock, both founded in 1917; the Torrington
National Bank and First National Bank of Manville, both
organized in 1919; and the Citizens National Bank of
Cheyenne which he took over in 1918. He also was a prin-
cipal in the Platte County State Bank of Wheadand, but
apparently was not its president. Yoder appears to have
severed his relationship with the Citizens National Bank
of Cheyenne in 1924.

The Platte County State Bank, capitalized at $20,000,
was the first to fail. It closed on February 17, 1923. But
the First National Bank of Manville, capitalized at only
$25,000, was the first of Yoder's national banks to run
into trouble. The bank sustained a run and was forced
into receivership on December 11, 1923. It holds the
distinction of being the first of Wyoming's national banks
to succumb to the post-war depression, although plenty
of state banks had already gone under by that time.^^

Next to fail, on March 19, 1924, was the Torrington
National Bank, also closed by a run. This closing was
followed on July 9, by Yoder's former holding, the
Citizens National Bank which closed along with the First
National Bank of Cheyenne. The Citizens National Bank
was in the hands of a receiver on July 21, 1924. The Bank
of Glenrock disappeared early in 1924, fate unknown, and
the Glendo State Bank was placed in a receivership at the
same time. However, the Glendo State Bank was restored
to solvency and lasted until 1926 when it expired of
unknown causes. It is possible that Yoder was able to
"unload" it along the way.

These sad events left B. F. Yoder a disspirited man
with his hands full of litigation. Gladys Jones of Cheyenne
remembers that summer day when both the First National
Bank and Yoder's former Citizens National Bank closed.
Her father returned home early from his job and advised
his daughter and the rest of the family to stay away from
the business district that afternoon. The crowds gather-
ing downtown around the two closed banks looked "rowdy
and potentially volatile."^* Meanwhile, all was not well
two counties north, either.

The picturesque town of Newcastle is south of the
Black Hills a few miles inside Wyoming's eastern border.
U.S. Highway 16 west to Devils Tower passes through
scenic rolling country and through the small towns of
Osage, Upton and Moorcroft. These towns were the
domain of John L. Baird, a banker who was instrumen-
tal in founding the First National Bank of Newcastle on
March 23, 1904. The dominant figure in the early history
of the bank was Thomas A. Cosgriff, an entrepreneur who
established or owned stock in a host of state and national
banks in the region. Baird served as cashier of the bank
in 1904 and 1905, then apparently bought out Cosgriff
to become president in 1911, a post he held until the bank
failed in 1924."

Baird, following the example of Cosgriff, invested in
other banks. He became president of the First National
Bank of Worland in 1912 and served in that capacity until

67 Wyoming Towns Lost Banks in the Period . . .

Wyoming State Banks which went out of business during the eight
years 1920 to 1927. F - failure; C - consolidated with another bank;
L - liquidated. Sources of data include Cheyenne Leader (1924b), Hoff-
man (1922), Wyoming State E.xaminer (periodic, various dates-a).

Reason

and Date

Town

Bank

(if known)

1920

Arvada

Bank of Arvada

Casper

Citizens State Bank

C or L

Hanna

Carbon State Bank

C or L

Lusk

Bank of Lusk

Meeteetse

State Bank of Meeteetse

F-Dec. 22

Otto

Otto State Bank

C or L

Ross

LeRoy Moore, Banker

C or L

1921

Dayton

The Dayton Bank

C or L

Garland

Garland State Bank

Gillette

Citizen's State Bank

J. L. Band — hii northeaitern Wyoming banking empire
^ collapsed in 1924.

FRANNIEO COWLEY

" OKANE DAY
g°GARLAND
POWELL

OTTO "GHE^BUU
° 0 BASIN

OHANDEI|«
OMEETEETSE

WORLAND

BTHERMOPOl
o DUBOIS

aSHOSHON

oFREEDOM

ORIVERTON
oHUDSON

oBIG PINEY

RAW

DROCK SPRINGS

WYOMING

BAGGSo '

Towns in Wyoming which lost state banks (
banks (squares) between 1920 and 1930 t!i

{W.W COURTKS'l' OF THE AUTHOR)

Guernsey

Guernsey State Bank

Kaycee

Powder River State Bank

F-Oct. 20

Moorcroft

Moorcroft Bank

F-Aug. 5

Moorcroft

People's Bank

F-Oct. 29

Powell

Farmer's State Bank

C or L

Rock River

Rock River State Bank

C or L

Slater

Farmers' State Bank

C or L

Sundance

Citizens' Bank

C or L

Upton

Citizens State Bank

F-Oct. 27

1922

Basin

Big Horn County Bank

F-May 15

Cheyenne

Wyoming Trust and Savings

Bank C or L

Frannie

Bank of Frannie

Greybull

Commercial Bank

C or L

Kane

First State Bank

Manville

Bank of Manville

1923

Big Piney

Marbleton State Bank

F-July 5

Buffalo

Stockgrowers Bank

Chugwaler

State Bank of Chugwater

Di.xon

Stockgrowers' Bank

LaGrange

Stockgrowers State Bank

F-June 14

Lusk

Wyoming State Bank

Medicine Bow

Stockmen's State Bank

iRANCHESTER
B SHERIDAN

CLEARMONT
° OARVAOA

3 D PARCO

SUNDANCE
OMOORCROFT
OUPTON
OSAGE o

NEWCASTLE

CASPER 8S oGLENROCK k?l/NGS ^N^'^hf

DOUGLAS H o" °" *''■"='<

^ VAN TASSEL

oGLENDO I

GUBRNSEYo [aRAMIE

lingleO I

WHEATLANDO toRRINGTON ;

>MEDICINE BOW

_ OCHUGWATER 1

QROCK RIVER ^

lagrange!

OSARATOGA
OENCAMPMENT

!es) between 1920 and 1927, and national
tgh liquidations, mergers or failures.

B. F. Yoder — his banks at Wheatland, Manville,
Torrington, Glenrock and Glendo all failed in 1923-24.

Ranchester

Ranchester State Bank

Sheridan

Sheridan Trust and Farmers Bank

Wheatland

Platte County State Bank

F-Feb. 1

1925

1924

Baggs

Buffalo

Johnson County Bank

F-Sept. 10

Burns

Carpenter

Bank of Carpenter

F-July 9

Hudson

Cheyenne

Cheyenne State Bank

F-Dec. 10

Lavoye

Clearmont

Clearmont State Bank

F-Apr. 23

Shawnee

Cowley

Cowley State Bank

F-July 9

Sheridan

Douglas

Commercial Bank and Trust Co.

Sheridan

Fort Laramie

Fort Laramie State Bank

Shoshoni

Glenrock

Bank of Glenrock

Ten Sleep

Guernsey

Commercial State Bank

Hillsdale

Hillsdale State Bank

F-July 9

1926

Kaycee

First State Bank

F-Nov. 24

Freedom

Keeline

Bank of Keeline

F-July 10

Glendo

Lavoye

Salt Creek State Bank

Lost Springs

Lingle

Lingle State Bank

F-Dec. 10

Pine Bluffs

Manderson

Manderson State Bank

F-May 25

Saratoga

Newcastle

Weston County Bank

F-Feb. 2

Osage

Osage State Bank

1927

Riverton

First State Bank

Dubois

Sheridan

Citizens' State Bank

F-May 15

Encampment

Thermopolis

Thermopolis State Bank

F-June 10

Greybull

Upton

Bank of Upton

F-July 9

Riverton

Van Tassell

Bank of Van Tassell

Shoshoni

First State Bank

Burns State Bank

Farmers and Mechanics Bank

Bank of Salt Creek

Bank of Shawnee

Sheridan Banking Company

Sheridan County Savings Co.

Shoshoni State Bank

Stockgrowers' Bank

Freedom State Bank
Glendo State Bank
Citizens State Bank
Pine Bluffs State Bank
Stockgrower's State Bank

Amoretti, Welty, Helmer and Co.
Encampment State Bank
First State Bank
Farmers' State Bank
First State Bank

F-Jan. 27
C

F-Jan. 17

C
C

1914 when he apparently sold his Worland interests. He
also helped incorporate the Bank of Moorcroft on
December 28, 1909, along with T. A. Cosgriff, and
George E. Abbott and A. D.Johnson of the First National
Bank of Cheyenne. The ultimate fate of that bank is not
known although it is probable that it never opened.

By 1921, J. L. Baird was serving as president of the
Osage State Bank, Bank of Upton and First National Bank
of Newcastle. Trouble came for all these banks in 1924.
The First National Bank of Newcastle sustained a run
which, combined with large losses and insufficient credit,
forced it into receivership on June 12, 1924. The Osage
State Bank failed at about the same time and the Bank
of Upton failed on July 9. The Baird banking enterprise
had collapsed, and most of the citizens of northeastern
Wyoming were without banking services as a result.

From the lists of shareholders on the incorporation
papers and officers listed on the examiner's reports it
appears that banking in the 1910 to 1922 period was
besieged by a speculative boom similar to the one recently
witnessed in penny oil stocks. A number of names appear
time and again. Because a director had to own only one
percent of the capital stock of a state bank, one could
become a director in a small bank capitalized at $10,000
for only $100. Some enterprising bankers did quite well,
others not so well.

In 1921, A. H. Marble is listed as the president of
the Cheyenne State Bank (later taken over and lost by
the Clarke group), Wyoming Trust and Savings Bank of
Cheyenne, Stockgrowers Bank of LaGrange, Farmers
State Bank of Slater, and the important Stockgrowers
National Bank of Cheyenne. If this is not enough. Mar-
ble was also president of the Montana National Bank of
Billings. The State Bank of Slater and Wyoming Trust
and Savings Bank of Cheyenne were liquidated under
honorable circumstances in 1921 and 1922, respectively.
The Stockgrowers Bank of LaGrange failed on June 14,
1923, but at the time Marble may have dissassociated
himself from it like he had with the ill-fated Cheyenne
State Bank. In any event, Marble's major interests, the
Stockgrowers National Bank and Montana National Bank
survived the depression years and he continued to serve
as their presidents well beyond that time.

George E. Abbott, president of the First National
Bank of Cheyenne, was financially involved in numerous
Wyoming state banks, sometimes with his cashier, A. D.
Johnson. In general these investments did not work out
well and this may have helped to propel the First National
Bank of Cheyenne to its grave in 1924. Interestingly,
Abbott sometimes appears on the same shareholder lists
as Thomas A. Cosgriff. Thomas A., John B., and James
E. Cosgriff seem to hold the record for investing in banks
throughout Wyoming and the region in the 1900 to 1930
period. The Cosgriffs survived the depression years vir-
tually unscathed and eventually consolidated their posi-
tion in Denver.

Where there were once 133 active banks, by 1927 only
the strongest 57 were left. By 1936 there were only 32
banks doing business in the state. For Wyoming depositors
and bankers, the depression started in 1924, "the year
of the bank failures."

1 . Wyoming State Examiner, Periodic abstracts of reports made to
the examiner showing the condition of state, private and savings
banks and loan and trust companies in the state of Wyoming,
1920.

2 R. J. Hoffman, "Biennial Report of the State E.xaminer from
Oct 1. 1920- Sept. 30, 1922, "report to Gov. Robert D. Carey
(typewritten), State Examiner's files.

3. Wyoming State Examiner, Periodic abstracts . . ., 1927.

4. Ibid., 1936.

5. T. A. Larson, Wyoming: A Bicentennial History C>iew York: W. W.
Norton and Co., 1977), p. 134

6. I hid.

7. J. T. .McDonald, "Address of President McDonald: Wyoming
Bankers Association Proceedings of the 16th Annual Conven-
tion," Riverton, Wyoming, Sept. 5, 1924, pp. 8-9.

8. H. B. Henderson, "Report of the Secretary: Wyoming Bankers
Association Proceedings of the 16th Annual Meeting," River-
ton, Wyoming, Sept. 5, 1924, pp. 16-23.

9. Wyoming State Leader, July 10, 1924.

10. R. W. Collins, "Address to the Wyoming Bankers Association
Proceedings of the 16th Annual Convention," Riverton, Wyo-
ming, Sept. 5, 1924, pp. 8-9.

11. Ihid.

12. I.e. Newlin, "Biennial Report of the State Examiner from Sept.
30, 1916 — Oct. 1 , 1918," report to Go\'. Frank Houx (typewrit-
ten). State Examiner's files.

13. Ibid.

14. R.J. Hoffman, "Biennial Report of the State Examiner, Sept.
30, 1918 - Oct. 1, 1920," report to Gov. Robert D. Carey
(typewritten). State Examiner's files.

15. Hoffman, 1922.

16. Ibid.

17. McDonald, p. 8-9.

18. Wyoming State Examiner, "Miscellaneous Files," containing
articles of incorporation for state banks, state bank charters, exam-
iner's reports on conditions of state banks, 1918, 1920, 1922.

19. Ibid.

20. "Annual Reports of the Comptroller of the Currency, " U.S.
Treasury Department, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing
Office, various dates).

21. Information for the biographies is from numerous newspaper
articles, biographical files and other materials in the collections
of the Wyoming State Archives, Museums and Historical Depart-
ment, Cheyenne; C. S. Peterson, Men of Wyoming (Denver:
privately printed, 1915).

22. Ibid.

23 . Note that the First National Bank of Rock River which had failed
the previous June had been looted from within, a circumstance
unrelated to the economic conditions of the time.

24. Interview of Gladys Jones, Cheyenne, 1981.

25. AMH Department files.

A Young Man
Comes of Age:

The Letters of
Charles Rapp

By Keith Beyer

The letters on which this article is based are in the Charles Rapp
Collection, Harold McCracken Research Library, Buffalo Bill
Historical Center.

On April 14, 1875, young Charles Rapp wrote home
to Columbia Center, New York, from Camp Brown,
Wyoming Territory. He had started west some time in
1874, partly as a result of his own temperament and pro-
pensity for getting into trouble. "I was wild, and the far-
ther that I got away from home, the farther I wanted to
get."

But in the three years spanned by the 14 letters he
sent to Eva Shepard, he grew into manhood and accep-
tance of the fate that sent him so far away from the home
he knew and the people he loved. Also in those three years,
he stumbled by historic events, but he understood them
and the people involved in them only in the biased way
many white Americans understood them.

In his earliest letters he was homesick. He frequently
predicted the time he would return to New York, but
above all, he asked for letters; he cajoled, scolded, even
begged for letters. He tried to tell Eva where he would
be in the future, so she would know where to send his
letters. From Camp Brown, for example, he planned to
"go up in the Gold mines about a Hundred miles South
. . .," but eventually he spent the majority of his gold-
seeking time at Miner's Delight near South Pass.

In his own way, he described the beauties of Wyo-
ming Territory to Eva, especially the colors and richness
of plant life. In many of his letters, he displayed a sen-
sitivity to the beauty of good weather and sunshine, and
to what he called "his own bird," the meadowlark. Later,
when his homesickness began to wear away, he spoke of
the trout to be fished for, the young badgers he dug up
for pets, or the thrill of the hunt "when I get to following
a Deer or Sheep."

But there was one feature of the Wyoming Territory
for which he had no use: "thay are danceing tonight out
on the open ground and such a noise you never heard
as thay make yelling and screaming it is now about Twelve
o'clock but thay Dance all night untill tomorrow noon."
This was the most positive thing he had to say about
Native Americans.

In his next letter, the second in the series to Eva, he
noted an encounter in which "we got two of our men
wounded and three Horses killed. ..." Within nine
months, he wrote from "Camp Pepper" that a band of
Snake Indians came into the valley and frightened the
miners because they were thought to be Sioux. Most
whites considered the Snakes to be "good Indians,"
Charlie wrote that he had seen "but one good Indian and
he was dead. "

Charlie's feelings against Native Americans were
never really mitigated. Many of his letters mention con-
flicts between Native Americans and whites, some leading
to death. On April 26, 1877, he wrote from Lander City
that Indians were worse than ever, "stealing everything
thay can and murdering everybody that thay can." They
ran off 20 head of horses, killed three men and "wounded
one Poor Fellow so bad that it took him six days to go

thirty . . . ."

Charlie had opportunities to aher his views, but he
turned away from such options. Once a Snake chief cor-
rectly advised Charlie that more troops were needed to
combat the Sioux who he believed were going on the war-
path in the spring of 1876. Of course, the chief was cor-
rect, because Custer fought and lost the Battle of the Lit-
tle Big Horn in June of that year.

Later, Charlie claimed friendship with Chief
Washakie, who made him a "presant of A very nice Ponie
and a Bridle made of Hair. ..." Charlie also noted that
Washakie "has always been friendly to me and what few
wite men thare is in this country. ..." But "some of
his braves are bad Indians" colored Charlie's main view,
and his earlier wish that General Crook "would exter-
minate them all and send them to the happy Hunting
Ground" summed up his attitude.

In October of 1876, Charlie wrote Eva that he was
at the Custer Battlefield three days after the battle. There
is no way of knowing if this is true, but there was con-
siderable traffic among the miners between Lander and
the Black Hills. Furthermore, Charlie said repeatedly that
he was going to the Black Hills, so there is reason to believe
he could have been there. He wrote;

the scene at the Custer Battle ground was Heartrending and

one never to be forgotten. I was thare three days after the

Battle and I never want to witness anything of the kind again.

how many A poor Mother mourns the loss of her dear boy,

for the most of them were young men. lots of them only in

thair teens.

Charlie's description of the battleground was different
for him, especially in its diction. But perhaps the enor-
mity of the experience provoked him to give the event the
significance he felt it should have. The other possibility
is that Charlie, like others in the West, was reading news-
papers from back East and parroted the language and
tone, and, in particular, the elements that held the imag-
ination of those who only knew the West from the words
of others. It must be concluded that no one will ever be
able to verify Charlie's experiences in the West.

In any case, Charlie was in Wyoming at a time when
events happened quickly, and when even minor incidents
had significance in helping to shape the future. He was
a part of these happenings, and his observations, while
not contributing new knowledge, at least reconfirm the
experiences and mood of the time. He described a dance
held when some Mormons spent several nights at Miner's
Delight; he related how Lander was growing; he admired
the settlers coming in, especially the women who braved
every hardship; and he once humorously noted that he
was writing from Camp Centennial: "I named my Pre-
sant camp centennial because you [Eva] say everything
has centennial attached to it at home."

While there is some information of historical interest
in his letters, perhaps the most important element in them
is what is learned of Charlie Rapp. To begin, he came
to Wyoming seeking gold and, probably, avoiding some

problem back home.

Charlie's first three letters to Eva were mailed about
a month apart, beginning on April 14, 1875. He told only
a little of the new country he was in; instead, it was clear
that he was homesick. He wanted letters, from the "Home
of my Boyhood." And he talked mostly of people and
events he and Eva knew together. He wrote to Eva of his
strong desire to be back at hop picking time and to have
some pepper sauce and cider. He said he wanted to come
home now rather than next winter or spring.

But by the fall, he was somewhat over his homesick-
ness— he had gold fever. When he still mentioned hop
picking time, he was not sure he wanted the pepper
sauce — it was too hot. Even though he said he was home-
sick, the content of his September letter indicated he was
much less so. For one thing, his immediate future was
in the West rather than in New York. He told Eva he
would go to the Black Hills for the winter because "these
diggens are all played out." From this point on, when
he talked of his next move, it was usually to another min-
ing site, but rarely back to New York. At the end of two
years, June of 1877, he stated clearly his new affliction —
gold fever. He wanted to get over it, but he had seen much
money made. "I have never seen such spendthrifts as
some of these miners are that get rich in one summers
work and then spend thair fortune during the winter."
In this natural adaptation to his new land, one sees
him coming to terms with the fate that he said sent him
to the West. In his second letter to Eva, May 15, 1875,
he wished his old teacher had used the birch rod more
on him, because he could have used the schooling. But,
he says, "I am a man now and my good school days is
gone by." The development of his letters shows this state-
ment was not true. He was in a position where he had
to accept manhood, but his acceptance did not really come
until later. About a year after his second letter to Eva,
December, 1876, he spoke with regret about an incident
in Ilion, New York, that seemed to have sent him on his
way to Wyoming. It can be inferred from this letter and
others that he was involved in a fracas. He wrote that his
nose was broken, and he considered himself disfigured.
He lamented the fortunes of his life, the "ups and
downs" and troubles. He regretted leaving Eva's house
to go to Ilion. you remember the time don't you I do and
allways will, had I stayed thare and let Ilion run itself wich
I think it could without my assistance I might still be among
my Friends. But I suppose that fate ment that I should go
that way and that way I went.

It was at this time he finally sent the picture of himself
to her. She had not seen him since his nose had been
broken, and he simply did not have the courage to send
a photograph. Curiously, he spoke of the image of himself
in the photograph in the third person:

See if you can tell who this Fellow is with the Broken nose.

he is an old friend of mine and I am afraid that he thinks

more of me than he does of anybody else, changed somewhat

since I left Old Columbia haven't I.

He told Eva, "I have been a bad boy in days gone by,
but I think I have improved some in the last four years,
if I do say so myself." Finally, in this letter of June, 1877,
one can see he had come to put his past in perspective.
His tone was one of acceptance and resignation rather than
remorse. He wanted Eva to tell a Mr. Browning that he
was no fighter any longer. He had "grown as Mild & as
Meek as a Lamb, well Broken and easily Handled."
Above all, Charlie let Eva know he had no plans to return.
He said he had changed a lot. "Do you think you will
know me when I come Home in about 40 years from
now?" By then, he wrote, he would have made his for-
tune.

From these letters, one can reasonably infer that
Charlie was quick to fight and slow to fit comfortably into
Columbia Center, and that he was probably very young
when he first wrote from Lander in the spring of 1875.
His relationship with Eva never seemed particularly affec-
tionate, but on several occasions he made statements that
could have encouraged such feeling in her. Early in the
series of letters, Charlie learned that Eva's father has
bought her grandfather's house. Charlie wrote that
I will have to come and bank his new house for him this fall,
shant I. or has he got some other Little Peat now to do it
for him. if thare is a Peat there Makeing Banks for that
House, he had better look out for this Little Peat when he
comes Home thare may be trouble.

Eva sometimes asked him how he looked or how he
had changed, which led him eventually to promise a pho-
tograph. But it was clear in his last letter that he was tell-
ing her, gently, not to waste any emotion on him: "Do
you think you will know me when I come Home in about

40 years from now?" Her letter to him must have men-
tioned some playfulness she and he had shared, because
he wrote that she could surely handle him if she was as
large as Libbia said she had become. Libbia was another
girl in the Shepard household, probably Eva's sister. Fin-
ally, and in this the last letter in the series, he referred
to their former quarrels and said "them times is all gone
by now." There is a note of finality in these words, as
though Eva was a part of his past.

This last letter in the series was mailed fully a year
after the letter which showed his coming to manhood and
acceptance. It is a letter that was particularly poignant
and may reveal his emotional state upon hearing of his
mother's death.

my Dear Friend you will never know what A mother is to
you until it is to late. I am grieved so that I hardly know
what to write, the weather here is like Summer the sun is
shineing here in the valley while five or six miles above here
in the Mountains it is snowing like Fury.
There was in this quotation the unusual conjunction
of his statement about the depth of his feelings, followed
immediately and without introduction by a description
of the weather. But what a desciption it was. It seems much
like Charlie: sunny and controlled on the surface, but
somewhere else in the vicinity "it is snowing like Fury."
Perhaps this is the fury that got Charlie into trouble in
New York.

This collection of letters at the Buffalo Bill Historical
Center leaves no clue about what became of Charlie. It
is not known if he left the West, when he died, or where.
We only know that his story is partly and tantalizingly told.

/(Sf^ ^^ "^^^^^ (>/~<S^y^e^ and

^ S^rofitier-

SCHAEDEL COLLECTION. AMH DEPARTMENT

Editor J note:

The following article is material excerpted from a manuscript
written by Grace Logan Schaedel, daughter of Wyoming pioneers,
Ernest Logan and Lizzie Walker Logan.

Ernest Logan, the son of Hill Logan and Elizabeth Kille
Logan, was born in Ohio and traveled to Wyoming with his mother
and sister in 1871 to join his father who worked at Camp Carlin
as an armorer. The younger Logan worked for a time in the carpentry
shop at Carlin and later as a baker's apprentice where he learned
to make candy.

His love of wide open spaces and skill with horses led him
to seek work as a cowboy on ranches in Wyoming Territory. These
were some of his happiest days and years later, he would recall
with vivid clarity, many of his experiences and adventures.

Young Logan was employed by the Cheyenne to Deadwood
stage line in 1881 and worked as a driver for that organization.
It was at this time that he became life-long friends with such well-
known Wyoming figures as Luke Voorhees and Russell Thorp.
While the Indians had ceased to be the threat they were in the 1860s
and 1870s, this was still considered a perilous occupation and
the young men who worked for the stage line had to possess both
courage and strength.

Hill Logan gave up his position at Camp Carlin in 1874
and with Homer Roberts, opened a hardware and tinsmith shop.
He continued in this line of business until his death by drowning
in 1878. He was returning home from his shop, walking across
the frozen waters of Lake Minnehaha when he fell through a hole
in the ice made by teamsters who had needed water for their horses.

Ernest became the head of the family, and although he con-
tinued to work on ranches as a cowboy, he spent his winters in

Cheyenne. During this period, he became a superb metal worker,
producing beautiful bits and spurs with gold or silver inlay. His
mother, incidentally, earned a well-deserved reputation as a com-
munity nurse through thoughtful and understanding care of the ill.

Lizzie Walker, who became Logan 's wife in 1893, came west
in 1886 to join her sister Jennie who had started a dress-making
business in Cheyenne. Lizzie was skilled at pattern making and
dress design, while her elder sister Jennie was an accomplished
milliner. Between the two of them, they saw to it that the wives
of such territorial greats as Joseph M. Carey and Francis E. Warren
were elegantly dressed.

In 1891, Logan opened a book and stationery store that featured
a soda fountain, home-made candy and ice cream. Over the years,
the location changed several times and the shop evolved into one
that specialized in Western curios and rare books on Western
Americana. Because Cheyenne was a major stop on the Union
Pacific Railroad, the shop became known from coast to coast and
Logan made friends with many people traveling through town on
their way to or from the Pacific Coast.

He and his wife Lizzie remained in Cheyenne all their lives,
raising three children. Their youngest daughter, Grace Logan
Schaedel, has based her work on memoirs written by her father,
her own diaries and her recollections. The result is a fine example
of folk history based in part on the oral tradition. Ernest Logan
and Lizzie Walker are representative of the pioneer stock who came
to Wyoming at a very exciting period in its history and who helped
to build a unique state in the American West. Their courage and
hard work are to be commended. Their story is one that gives us
a fine picture of life in another era — that of Territorial Wyoming.

Grace

Logan

Schaedel

In 1877 and 1878 when Ernest Logan was 20, he went
on an expedition, helping to trail 100 head of horses from
Fort D. A. Russell to new Fort Keogh, Mont., near the
present Miles City. The expedition was made up of 25
horse-handlers, 12 packers, and Bill Huston as boss of
the pack train. There were five men to a tent. Dr. Compte,
civilian contract doctor, traveled with them and their escort
included 25 soldiers and a first sergeant. Lt. Andrus was
in command of the entire outfit, starting out with them
from Fort D. A. Russell.

The horses they were trailing north were well-bred
stock, shipped in from Kentucky and Missouri, so they
needed plenty of protection on the way to Keogh. The
country was full of hostile Indians, who thought horse
stealing was no sin. The West was still acutely aware of
Custer's fate on the Little Big Horn, less than 18 months
before.

Their guide, Frank Grouard, had lived with the Sioux
on Powder River and was familiar with that part of the
country. He became famous as a guide on many expedi-
tions, later recorded in his book, Life and Adventures of Frank
Grouard, an Autobiography.

It was the day after Christmas, 1877, when they left
Fort D. A. Russell, starting out in a blizzard and travel-
ing very slowly on the first lap of their horse-trailing exped-
ition. Their first lay-over was at Fort Laramie, 96 miles
north, where they had a three-day rest. The weather
turned warmer as they headed for Fort Fetterman, another
100 miles to the northwest, but when they were within
seven or eight miles of Fetterman, it started to snow and

another blizzard came up. They camped on LaPrele Creek
that night and reached the garrison the next morning
about 10 a.m. It was very cold and clear that morning.
By night, the government thermometer at the hospital
registered 36 below zero. Many froze their feet and ears.
About 2,000 Arapahoes were camped on the river near
the fort. The expedition had barely finished making camp
when 10 or 12 Indian children came over to the cook tent
and watched, wistfully and silently. Dick Thomas, the
cook, took a tin plate, poured it two-thirds full of molasses
and handed it to the little girl about 10, who seemed to
be their leader. Placing the pan in the snow, she motioned
for them to help themselves to the molasses. From
somewhere in the folds of their blankets, they each dug
up a hardtack and, taking turns, carefully dipped up every
drop of the thick syrup. There was no quarreling, or shov-
ing. Telling about it afterward, Logan always said they
made a pretty sight, as they so thoroughly enjoyed their
treat. After a rest of three days at Fetterman, the expedi-
tion proceeded north to Cantonment Reno.

Logan said some 60 years later, "At Cantonment
Reno, Lt. Goldman (who died a brigadier general) took
over the command of our expedition and Lt. Andrus
returned to Fort Russell. Here we were joined by Frank
Grouard as guide. There was none better." His opinion
of Frank Grouard as a guide and as a man was shared
universally throughout the West. Grouard was one of 35
scouts who served under Gen. Crook. The general once
remarked, "I would sooner lose a third of my command
than Frank Grouard." Grouard's mother was from
Hawaii and his resemblance to the Indians was strong.
The country was covered with about a foot of snow,
so they had to travel on the ice of the river in some places;
they couldn't make any time through the snow that
covered the trail. Cloud Peak to the west was pure white
above the blue foothills. It was said that Indians did not
like to fight in bitter, snowy weather, preferring instead
to remain in their lodges when possible. This may have
been a factor in the safe passage through Indian-infested
territory with such tempting bait. It may have been one
reason for sending the horses north in midwinter. From
Kentucky to Missouri to frigid Montana was a harsh
change of climate for the 100 horses.

They had been going northeast and had turned north
when Grouard and Huston stopped the outfit and went
on ahead to look over the country before making camp
for the night. There were Crows to the west and Sioux
to the east but they stayed out of sight.
Logan later recalled:

I am reminded of how cold it was that day, by something
that happened while we waited to make camp. There was
a middle-aged Indian with us on this trip. He sat, hunched
up on his horse, but as the cold became more intense, he
slid off his horse and started stamping his feet, trying to get
some warmth into them. Lt. Goldman turned to him and
said, "It's pretty cold." The Indian grunted, walked away
a short distance to a place where some dry grass was stick-

ing up through the snow, and gathered a handful! and started
wadding it into a tight ball. He placed it on a bare spot on
the ground and lighted it; then, pulling his blanket over
himscHand the fire, he proceeded to get warm. Toward even-
ing, Grouard and Huston returned to the command, and
we started out again. The wind came up and made the cold
even more bitter.

Lt. Goldman's report after their return to Canton-
ment Reno, shows what rugged terrain they were
traversing:

The \ alley of Crazy Woman's Creek is cut by many deep

washings, and winds around many hills whose sides are very

steep. From it to Lodge Pole (Clear Creek), the road is very

broken and in many places the gulches are 30 feet deep, so

that pack animals could hardly cross them. They cannot be

avoided without a detour, according to the guide. Crossing

the extreme left portion of the bad lands, no road could be

constructed without great expense and labor. This portion

was the most difficult and tiresome of all.

They went over the divide and came out at the head

of Otter Creels in Montana and traveled down a short

distance, where they camped. Some men shot a couple

of buffalo, so they had welcome fresh meat for supper.

Otter Creek was frozen solid. They had trouble getting

enough water for cooking, and washed their faces and

hands with snow.

The next morning they started down Otter Creek and
were about five miles downstream when they heard two
shots ahead of them, then five or six in rapid succession.
The outfit closed up and concentrated in a small space,
the horses in the middle. Grouard and Huston started out
on a run for a high hill a quarter of a mile away. A hun-
dred feet from the top, they dismounted and crawled up
to the brow and, through field glasses, looked the coun-
try over. They finally signaled for the outfit to come on.
They had seen, not Indians, but buffalo hunters.

They crossed Tongue River 17 times in 75 miles, but
it was a fairly good wagon road. From this point, they
went straight through to Fort Keogh and arrived at the
garrison toward the end of January without loss of a single
horse. They had averaged about 23 miles a day, which
was doing well with the weather so cold and snow so deep.
Along the banks of the Tongue were strange-looking
stumps of Cottonwood about 12 or 15 feet high. It was
easy to see that the trees had been cut down by squaws,
beaver-wise, so their ponies could eat the buds and bark
from the branches. The snow was so deep, the horses
couldn't get down to the grass. In some of the tall trees
along the stream, the bodies of dead warriors, sewn in
rawhide, were fastened in the high branches.

While resting at Fort Keogh, Logan and a friend, Joe
Houseaux, decided to wash their clothes and clean up a
bit before starting home. For a washtub, they made a circle
of rocks about two-and-a-half feet across and a foot deep,
on the bank of the Tongue. They spread a tarp over this
circle of rocks and, by putting a second circle inside the
first, made a depression deep enough to hold water. Mean-
while they heated a pile of rocks in a good fire. They had

to chop a hole in the river ice to get water, and even get
down into the hole to cut through to running water. By
the time they had filled their tarp tub, the rocks were sizzl-
ing hot. Into the water they went, and soon it was hot
enough for their soap and clothes — no small job for a cou-
ple of young fellows to wash, Indian fashion, and hang
the clothes on the brush to dry.

They returned to Fort D. A. Russell much the way
they had gone up, but traveled closer to Powder River
to shorten the trip by six miles. Too, it was faster without
the horses they had driven north ....

. . . For several years in the 1880s, Logan rode the
range in spring, summer and fall. When spring came, he
could hardly wait to get back in the saddle. First the horse
roundup and the calf-branding, summers with the cool
Wyoming breezes fanning his cheeks, and the first little
pink wild roses on the creek bottoms, then on into the
beef roundup in the fall. For a time in 1878 he worked
for Goldsmith and Eaton on the Diamond A Ranch, head-
quartered at Bull's Bend, southwest of Fort Laramie.
Sometimes he missed seeing people in Cheyenne he would
have liked to have seen again, such as W. H. Jackson,
the U.S. Geological Survey photographer. The survey was
camped at Carlin, headed for Yellowstone.

Rosy (Harry) Card, a longtime rancher at Manville,
Wyoming, remembered in later years that in 1878 he and
Logan rode together near Fort Laramie. In an interview
with this writer in 1947, Card said:

Alter my initiation in the storm in March of 1878, soon after
I got to Wyoming, the snow still lay on the ground in drifts
late in the spring. I went in to Cheyenne and bought a four-
point wool blanket. Ernest and I punched cows together for
Sturgis, Lane and Godell on the Bridle Bit, on their range
near Fort Laramie.

Harry Card had come to Wyoming, a young

greenhorn from Ohio, and had worked first for T. W.

Chaffee, and then on the Bridle Bit. The nickname

"Rosy" was given him by Chalky, the foreman.

They was [sic] several other new hands, all a-settin' around

the fire, and four of us by the name of Harry. So Chalky

said, "This will never do. We got to name some of yuh

somepn' else. You!" he said to one, "you got red hair. We'll

call you 'Pinky'." He turned to me, settin' there in a vest

with red bindin'. "And you, Harry Card, we'll call you

' Rosy' . ' ' And you know, they called me Rosy for years and

The year 1878 drifted into December. After the fall
roundup and shipping. Camp Carlin needed Logan again.
A new man, a lieutenant in the Civil War, had come on
the job as military storekeeper, asking questions about
the territory, especially politics and mining. He had met
Logan's father at the Roberts and Logan hardware store
in Cheyenne. Ernest was to know him later as a Wyo-
ming historian, I. S. Bartlett ....
*****

... In the blustery March of 1880, Logan took a
riding job for Kingman on what was in 1883 to become

the Wyoming Hereford Ranch, seven miles east of
Cheyenne. He had ridden for the original owners, Bax-
ter and Bernard when he was 16. This time, he and two
other hands were out hunting stock that had drifted south,
near Gait, a deserted stage station just over the Colorado
hne. One of those sudden Rocky Mountain spring bliz-
zards came up, and they were lucky to be near an old cabin
in a draw where they could "hole up," with a wood fire
in the little stove. The one problem was that they ran out
of food.

Snowed in for two days, the three Kingman riders
were plain hungry. When the wind let up a little, Logan
offered to ride to the Chalk Bluffs Ranch and ask for
enough grub for one more day. He put some of the boys'
smoking tobacco in his pocket.

When he stepped down at the Chalk Bluffs house, he
knocked, and a woodchopper named Jack Abney opened
the door. Ernest told how they were snowbound at the
old cabin to the south, and were hungry. He had money
to pay. Abney listened without even a grunt, and made
no move to invite him in, let alone offer him a cup of cof-
fee. He started to shut the door.

Logan said, "I brought some tobacco."

Abney's face lighted up and, reaching out, he grabbed
him by the front of his coat and pulled him in. "Why
the hell didn't you say so?" Ernest went back with two
day's groceries in a flour sack tied behind his saddle ....

When gold was discovered in the Black Hills of South
Dakota, the need for transportation overland of men,
money, mail, gold - and women - prompted the establish-
ment of a stage line from Cheyenne to Deadwood in 1876.
Gilmer, Salisbury and Patrick, who had operated a stage
line from Ogden, Utah, to Helena, Mont., in 1869, heard
of the gold strike in the Black Hills and decided to set up
a similar line from Cheyenne to Deadwood.

They sent H. E. (Stuttering) Brown to Cheyenne as
a business scout. A shrewd company man. Brown bought
up a new, half- formed stage line which Luke Z. Voorhees
took over as superintendent. Brown was appointed
superintendent on the dangerous run north of Fort
Laramie. Voorhees later was a prominent cattleman and
served as Wyoming territorial treasurer in 1888. The stage
coach line proved to be one of the most dramatic ven-
tures ever operated in Wyoming.

A stagecoach with valuable horses, traveling in wild
unsettled country, miles from military protection, was a
target for both Sioux on the rampage and white holdup
men. The Indians resented the fact that as soon as gold
was reported in the Black Hills, their treaty with the
government promising to keep the white man south of
the Platte River and out of the Indians' hunting ground
north of it, was repeatedly violated. Prospectors swarmed
over the area, demanding that their government pro-
tect them from Indians who attacked settlers north of the
Platte, burning them out, stealing their horses, and
sometimes torturing their families. But the vulnerable

coaches were their primary targets. White renegades, often
disguised as Indians, also held up the stages and stole gold
from the treasure chests, shooting drivers, shotgun
messengers and any passengers who got in their way.

One day Stuttering Brown had a heated argument
with the leader of a band of horse thieves and accused
him of stealing a team of horses corralled for use on a
stagecoach. The man denied it and vowed to get Brown.
One April night in 1876, near the dangerous Hat Creek
Station (north of present-day Lusk), Brown and two
fellow-travelers were shot from ambush. Brown, mortally
wounded, begged the man who found him to go after
Superintendent Voorhees, so he could tell him who had
shot him. Voorhees made the long ride almost to Hat
Creek, only to learn that Brown's report of his assailant
had died with him. Although the horse thief was suspected,
the assailant was never apprehended.

Five years later, when Logan was on the scene, the
Indians were pretty well subdued. After the spring
roundup of 1881 , when Voorhees offered Logan a job as
a driver, Logan accepted before he told his mother. "I'll
fix it with your mother," said Voorhees. He looked at
Logan's slight figure up and down. "I'll explain that it
won't be a big treasure coach, the kind to draw hold-ups.
Anyway, the Sioux are mostly corralled on the Agencies
nowadays."

In 1877, a friend of the Logan family, Johnnie
Slaughter, had been the first driver on the Cheyenne Black
Hills line to be killed. Johnnie had been a lot bigger and
more experienced that young Logan. Logan knew how
his mother was shocked by Johnnie's death.

Logan rode beside the driver, learning how to han-
dle the lines of a six-horse team. It wasn't long before he
climbed down at Rawhide Buttes and into a new job. In
his estimation, it turned out to be too civilized. He saw
Indians, but they were not the threat they had been earlier.

Once when he was driving with a married couple as
passengers, a strap worked loose on the harness and, while
he was fixing it, a man with a gun rode out from behind
some rocks. The woman screamed, and Logan whipped
out his six-gun. It was only a man from a nearby ranch,
trailing a wolf that had killed a calf. His horse was jumpy
from the smell of the wolf. Afterward, they heard two shots

and hoped the man got a wolf hide. . . .

*****

Logan was too young to realize the significance of the
transitional period in western history of which he was a
part. John Hunton, up from his home at Bordeaux, told
him that Fort Laramie had been in four successive ter-
ritories without ever moving an inch — Nebraska, Idaho,
Dakota and Wyoming.

Logan met Hunton at the sutler's store, and heard
him discuss with other pioneer ranchers details of the past
events. Logan's name appears occasionally in Hunton's
famous diaries.

Logan thought these men were justified when they

objected to some of the punishment of enhsted men at the
fort, such as hanging a prisoner by his thumbs.

But a sociable young fellow also found much to
enjoy in the commotion and color of a frontier fort, with
wagon trains from everywhere arriving daily. Soldiers,
afoot or on horseback, lowered the flag at sunset,
sometimes to band music. Officers' ladies laughed and
twirled their parasols. Young boys roamed the coun-
tryside, just as he and his sister had done in Carlin. Old
men told tales of Indian battles, before the Indians were
confined on the agencies.

The sutler's store, a long low adobe building, sold the
essentials like flour, bacon, tobacco, Hniment, castor oil
and liquor. Buffalo hides were piled in a corner. The
original structure had been built in 1836 by the American
Fur Company for a company store. The army took over
Fort Laramie in 1849. In 1852, the army retained part
of the old thick-walled building and added a larger sec-
tion, its doorway weathered to a stark grey ....

On his mail route, Logan might lend a stamp or lead
a horse to Fort Laramie as a favor to a rancher — or even
buy butter for the sutler.

One time I remember, because of the high price I had to
pay for butter. The sutler at Fort Laramie, B. A. Hart, also
in charge of the bachellor [sic] officers' mess at Old Bedlam,
asked me to bring back some butter from Rawhide Buttes.
He didn't care what price I had to pay, as long as I got the
butter. It was so scarce, it brought as high as 50t a pound.
A sister of Luke Voorhees, Mrs. Amasa Lowrie at the Buttes,
made excellent butter and shipped it to Cheyenne.

Mrs. Lowrie had just packed 20 pounds to send to
market when I went to her. At first she refused to sell me
any. Said she had promised it to a firm in Cheyenne, but
I finally persuaded her to part with all of it to me for one
dollar a pound.

*****
One ranch that Ernest visited was that of John
McGinnis, ten miles north of Fort Laramie on Cotton-
wood Creek. There was always something going on.
Mrs. McGinnis added a touch of excitement to his sum-
mer. Much later, in 1948, her daughter, Mrs. Tom
Snow told of her visit for John Charles Thompson's col-
umn, "In Old Wyoming," Sept. 14, 1948:

Wyoming takes on an added flavor of remembrance in the
summertime with the return of those early settlers who, in
their later years, spend the winter in milder climates (Long
Beach) and trek homeward to summer in Wyoming. Among
these is Mrs. Tom Snow of Torrington, Wyoming, who has
recently been calling on old friends in Cheyenne. She may
complain a little of the altitude, or tell how many old-timers
died since last summer, but her sense of humor is as lively
as ever. Her white hair is just as becoming as were her red-
gold braids in 1874 when she came to Cheyenne with her
family from Illinois. To old-timers, she will always be Liz-
zie McGinnis ....

When the Black Hills gold fever struck Cheyenne in
seventy-six, John McGinnis loaded his wife and four children
into a wagon and headed north. But the Sioux were ram-
paging north of the Platte, and at Fort Laramie Mrs. McGin-
nis set her foot down. She refused to take her four children
anv farther until the Indians were subdued.

After six months at tangy Fort Laramie, McGinnis
homesteaded on Cottonwood Creek, ten miles to the north
and invested in cattle. There Lizzie watched soldiers. Black
Hillcrs and notorious characters head north, the Black Hills
fever in their eyes. To this day she cannot believe all the
evil tales she hears about Calamity Jane because that
shouting, cursing, female bull-whacker, in her fringed
buckskin skirt, once sat in Mrs. McGinnis's best chair and
ran her hand over Lizzie's red-gold hair until tears ran down
her hard face at the memory of the little girl she herself had
been.

John McGinnis died in 1880 . . . Mrs. McGinnis stayed
on in Wyoming, operating her ranch home as a wayside inn
or roadhouse, because travelers stopped and demanded beds
and meals. Lizzie was 15 by that time, the only girl for miles
around. She had been to Cheyenne to school for a few terms,
but aside from that, most of her education had been on a
horse and in her mother's house.

Mrs. McGinnis had the best floor in the country, and
all the cowhands used to beg her to give dances. So she would
mail invitations — Ernest Logan, then riding for the 4P out-
fit, wrote them for her once — and the boys would bring an
old fiddle, a banjo and two or three mouthharps with which
to beat out such tunes as Money Musk. Irish Washerwoman and
Turkey in the Straw for the square dancing. And Mrs. McGin-
nis would make mincemeat from cottontails and send all the
way to Cheyenne for delicacies for the big midnight feast.
She was an excellent cook and huge cakes and pies and great
boiled hams, and Ellis candies were none too good for
cowboys weary of beef and beans, boys who had ridden 75
or 100 miles horseback to the dance.

In that same big room, in a log-cabin wedding, the post
chaplain from Fort Laramie married Lizzie McGinnis to
Tom Snow, foreman of the Pratt and Ferris Cattle Com-
pany. They established a ranch on the Rawhide and later,
a winter home in Torrington, so their son and daughter could
go to school.

When their son died in World War I, and Torrington's
Travis Snow Post of the American Legion was named for
him, the Snows took to spending their winters in Califor-
nia. A decade later, Mrs. Snow went to France to visit the
boy's grave.

Now that Tom Snow is gone, too, Mrs. Snow comes
back alone in the summer to inspect and enlarge the ranch
on the Rawhide. These days she talks more than ever of those
other days when life in Wyoming was e.xciting and glamorous
for little Lizze McGinnis.

Logan enjoyed his work around Rawhide and Fort
Laramie and riding many miles to a dance was a bit of
a lark. But he realized that carrying the mail and short-
haul passenger runs had no future. He had substituted
as a driver on a big coach. Suddenly he realized that
he wanted to get back to the range - to working cattle.
In the fall of 188'2 he caught a glimpse in the distance
of a roundup wagon on the move, and rode out that night
for supper around the open fire. He knew some of the
riders and they introduced him around. The cook was
extra nice to him. A feeling of homesickness for the
roundup came over him, and he felt hemmed in by his
daily routine. He missed the frosty mornings with your
horse bucking the minute you stepped into the saddle.
He recalled circling the herd in the starlight - a stampede
in the night, when he had almost no sleep. He had been

annoyed at the time, but now he looked back on it as
aUve and exciting.

One day he met George Cross, a rider he had worked
with in 1881 on the Number One Roundup, when there'd
been 125 men starting at Durbin's Crossing on Pole Creek
the first day of May. Cross was three years older than
Logan but they had hit if off from the first. Meeting him
again now at Fort Laramie, then watching him ride away,
free in the saddle, stirred in Logan a longing to ride again
for a good cow outfit.

Besides, he'd had a letter from his mother. After his
father drowned, she had kept her grief to herself more
than was good for her, and lately she had been writing
that she never saw Ernest anymore. He was so far away,
and his letters didn't tell her much. Her plaintive appeal
stirred him to make a decision.

The thermometer at Laramie had gone down to 31
below, Jan. 20, 1883, and he wondered how his mother
was managing alone. Spring would be coming. Roundups
would be starting at every roundup district in the territory,
and Logan wanted intensely to be on one — the horse
roundup about the first of May, and calf roundup and
branding right after that. If he quit the next month, he
could go to Cheyenne, visit his mother, and work on some
spurs for which he had drawn a wild-rose design. He could
then look for a riding job in May, somewhere new. He
would miss his friends at Fort Laramie and around, but
surely their trails would cross again, sometime, some-
where.

In March when the boss rode in, Logan discussed his
plans. Voorhees understood how he felt. He already knew
how Mrs. Logan felt, because she had written him, ask-
ing about Ernest. Voorhees said it would be fine for the
young man to quit. Voorhees confessed that he would like
to get his money out of the stage line and start cattle ran-
ching up in that part of the country. Logan and the older
man were in agreement on many issues. In a couple of
weeks, a young fellow took over the reins on Logan's run,
and Logan rode south.

From a high spot on the road Logan looked down on
Cheyenne and it looked very good. His mother was so
happy to have him home that for a day or two she didn't
want to let him out of her sight. He felt guilty about being
away so much. Maybe in another two or three years he
would make bits and spurs as a business, but not yet. For
the time being, he went to work on the spurs in his father's
workshop, blowing the dust off his father's familiar tools,
the mallets, stamping tools and the vise.

He began to look around for a riding job. His mother
realized that he was restless when she'd had her visit, and
she was satisfied to give him up again for a while. If he
would be a cowhand, she could at least have him home
winters.

In April, he had a chance to ride for a Scot named
John Clay on the 71 Quarter Circle on the Sweetwater.
He could work on into the fall and be back in Cheyenne
for the winter. His mother had heard of Clay and his Scot-
tish connections, and felt he would be a good influence.
A good influence - Logan had to laugh - Mothers! He
was 25 years old, and he knew he was his own man.

The end of April, 1883, he took the Union Pacific to
Rawlins, his saddle and bedroll in the baggage car. One
of the 71 Quarter Circle hands met the train, and they
set out on the long ride north and west. The horse herd
was kept at a point farther north, near Moneta. Logan
learned he was to work up there with a fellow about his
own age, John Carmody. In a short time, Logan and Car-
mody formed a friendship that was to last for years ....

Logan had heard of this country and how it fared in
the big storm of 1872. Some 50 years later in Cheyenne,
he met an elderly lady, Mrs. Alverna Markle Dean, who
as a young girl had come to Wyoming from Pennsylvania.
They settled at Point of Rocks, southwest of Clay's head-
quarters, when Wyoming was virgin territory.

It was at Point of Rocks that Mrs. Dean saw one of
Wyoming's miracles of nature. A storm came up early
in the afternoon late in November, 1872. Shortly after
it descended, there started a general exodus of wild
animals, apparently sensing that the storm would be
severe.

Little Alverna stood outside their home with her father
and young brother and watched hundreds of deer,
antelope and elk trekking southward. The area between
Point of Rocks and the adjacent hills was a mass of mov-
ing animals as the exodus continued until dusk. Follow-
ing them were wolves and coyotes. There were no buf-
falo, most of which were gone from the hills by that time,
and the bears had already gone into hibernation.

"Remember this day, children," Mrs. Dean's father
said. "You will never see its like again."

Later she heard of the trek continuing into Colorado,
crossing the South Platte near Evans, and reaching Texas,
where the herd was greatly depleted by hunters and
predatory animals. The snow that fell remained on the

ground for 90 days, making grazing virtually impossible.
There were few cattle outfits in the country yet, or the

stock losses would have been enormous.

*****

Riding for Clay up on the Sweetwater in 1883 and
1884, Logan made other new friends, some of whom kept
in touch with him most of his life. There was Ed Harris,
whose daughter, Mrs. John Kirk, in 1937 came to
Cheyenne from Split Rock for Logan's 80th birthday. And
Billy Johnson, who in the 1930s was appointed United
States Land Commissioner at Cheyenne. The two old
cowboys talked over the days when they rode for the 71
Quarter Circle brand.

At one time, rioting Texas cowboys struck for higher
wages and talked of tar and feathering Clay when he
refused their demands, they rode away just as the beef
herd had been gathered to drive to the railroad for ship-
ping. Logan was up at the horse corrals. A small nucleus
of faithful hands were led by Clay himself, who wrote that
they turned the beeves out to water and graze, corralled
them overnight, and the next day the hay crew came in,
drove the beeves to the railroad. It was the first and last
time Clay had any trouble with cowpunchers.

Logan knew how to move cattle slow and easy and
not get them stirred up. Sometimes on roundup he had
to run them a little to flush them out of a thicket or a draw,
but after he got a bunch gathered, he never hurried them.
It ran off all the tallow — all the profit. Sometimes young
Logan lost his temper because some cowhand he was
paired with kept a herd on the run, and wouldn't listen.
I told the boss that if he wanted his beef run like that, he'd
have to get someone else to work with that smart-alec,
because I wasn't gonna be a part of it. So the boss cussed
out the other hand and stopped that, and then he listened.
You got to handle cattle like a basket of eggs.
When he was over 80, Logan wrote down in pencil
two or three incidents from the summer of 1884, about
the Indians' and cowboys' rivalry on the Wind River
before the spring roundup:

I worked lor some of the prominent ranchers in Wyoming
when I was a young fellow in the '80s, Some of the owners
are famous, like John Clay. The big spring roundup in 1884
was scheduled to start May 4th. The roundup wagons, with
35 or 40 men, were camped at the forks of Big and Little
Wind River at the foot of Beaver Hill, about 25 miles from
Lander, waiting for the weather to clear and the snow to melt
off.

Just above us was Black Kettle's band of Shoshone
Indians, also waiting for the snow to clear off, with all their
ponies, etc. There was about a foot of snow on the ground
that day, but there were five or six wagons already in camp
and several more arrived that afternoon.

After they came, the Indians came over to our camp to
do some trading. One of them was lame, a small Indian,
very quick and bright, named Lame Antelope, who had
sometimes acted as a guide and scout for the United States
Army. He asked if we wanted to race some of our horses
against their ponies, and we all agreed. We held two races
and our outfit won both.

The Indians weren't satisfied, so once more Lame
Antelope acted as go-between and suggested that if we had
a foot racer, they would like to take him on with one of their
braves. So the boss told him yes, we had, and pointed out
Johnnie (Shorty) McCarty, a little fellow. The Indian looked
him all over and hurried back to camp, to bring on his man,
along with about 100 Indians of their tribe.

Johnnie's head came about to the Indian's shoulder. The
Indian was tall and lank, and looked as if he could fly. He
looked like a race horse, and Johnnie like a little pot-bellied
pony.

Well, the Indians put up everything they had, and we
put up all the money we had, which wasn't very much. The
Indians piled all their bets — furs, gloves, moccasins, etc, — on
one side of the road, and we put all our money on a flat rock
on our side. An Indian and one of our side measured off
a hundred yards on the road, and their racer stripped down
to his breech-cloth and moccasins, and Johnnie took off his
coat and vest.

They got off to a good start. But I wish you could have
seen the faces of the Indians when our little bench-legged
Irish feist run right away from their long-legged racer. Also
I wish you could have seen Lame Antelope's description of
the race to an Indian who was too late to see the race. He
pointed, "Him Indian — himjohnnie," Then he showed how
they ran, and the rest was "sign talk," and good plain talk
it was, with his feet traveling up and down in place, I still
has c a beaded Indian purse I won on that race

This was in May, 1884, and so far as I know, I am the
only one of the camp still alive today, — E, A, Logan.
Cheyenne, Wyo,, Aug, 21st, 1940,
Logan's memoirs furnish other Indian tales at that
locale.

One day a blind old Indian and his grandson, about seven,
drifted into camp. Lame Antelope interpreted how the old
man and the boy had traveled from Pine Ridge in the sand
hills of Nebraska, to the camp in the middle of Wyoming,
He said the Indian, then about 90 years old, had known the
country before he became blind; so when they started out
on their journey, they got up at sunrise and the old man asked
his grandson to ride with him to the highest point in the
\icinity. The boy would describe the most prominent point
ahead of them, and also the country back of them. The
grandfather would then tell the boy whether to go to the right
or the left, and about how far. In this way, they traseled
all the way to Lander,

The horses were wintered at the 71 Quarter Circle
horse ranch, farther north, and the wranglers generally
stayed there for a few days to gather the horses for the
roundup. While they were there, in the spring of 1884,
another old Indian with a grandson in tow stopped at the
ranch. The hands had just finished supper, but the cook
warmed up the leftovers and invited the travelers to help
themselves. They were very hungry and ate a tremendous
meal.

All at once the little fellow began to cry. When the
cook asked what the trouble was, the old man grinned
a toothless grin and made motions to the effect that the
boy had eaten all he could, but felt bad because there was
food left that he couldn't hold.

The roundup of 1884, one of the largest in the state,
was made up of 31 separate roundups. Logan rode in No.

Louise Van Tassel, daughter of
cattle baron Alexander Swan
and wife of cattleman R. S.
Van Tassel, was a regular
customer at the Walker sisters '
establishment. Her name ap-
pears in the ' 'size book, ' ' now
in the personal collection of the
author.

21 roundup. The following is copied from the notice sent
out by the Wyoming Stock Growers Association to all its
members:

1884 Round-Ups

of the

Wyoming Stock Growers Association

William (Billy) C. Irvine, President

Round-up No. 21

Commence May 5 at the mouth of Muskrat on the
easterly side of Wind River; thence up Wind River to the
mouth of Beaver; thence to Alkali Springs, then cross over
to the head of Muskrat; then down Muskrat to its mouth;
thence up Poison, working its tributaries as each is reached,
to the head of Poison over to the head, and to the mouth
of Bad Water.

Fall round-up to begin Sept. 15th. T. J. Turner,
foreman; John Gatlin, assistant foreman.

When shipping was over, Logan returned to
Cheyenne for the winter. In 1884, John Clay had bought
the ranch holdings of E. W. Whitcomb and Hi Kelly,
about 50 miles north of Cheyenne, thus acquiring head-
quarters for the extensive Swan Land and Cattle Com-
pany, the famous Two Bar ....

Ernest Logan didn't know it yet, but far off in New
York City, something was brewing in 1885 that was to
bring a well-defined change of direction in his life. Little
"North-of-Ireland" Jennie Walker, a handsome reddish
blonde of thirty-some, with imperious ways and a year's
business education in Dunganon, Ireland, had been
brought up in the British tradition that the oldest was the
boss of the family. Her brother Will was older, but Will
was not on the scene. This tradition she did not hesitate
to exercise as her holy right. Miss Jennie had heard that
Cheyenne was rich and progressive, calling itself the
"Magic City of the Plains." Its streets were lined with
the beautiful homes of moneyed cattlemen, some with
British titles or Scottish financial backing. These men had

built the Cheyenne Club, known the world over, where
members entertained their ladies at lavish dinners and
balls. Cheyenne also had professional men and political
appointees from the East.

Jennie Walker was not interested in the cattlemen.
Well trained in millinery, and with a working knowledge
of dressmaking, acquired from her skilled middle sister
Lizzie, she had the inspired idea that if she went west,
wives of those well-to-do men would need someone to
make stylish hats, on which they could spend their
husbands' money. In business in New York City and in
summer at Saratoga Springs, Jennie Walker was never
short on self-confidence and business acumen.

It was before the era of ladies' ready-to-wear. Women
had a seamstress in to sew for a week, what they couldn't
sew themselves. If they had the means, they had a
fashionable dressmaker tailor beautifully fitted gowns. It
was this business Jennie sought. She wanted to bring her
dark-haired sister Lizzie out from New York to set up a
fashion establishment like no other in Wyoming. She
wanted a third sister, Minnie, to come west and teach
school.

Logan did not fall in love with Miss Jennie. He did,
in fact, have a running battle of words and wits with Miss
Jennie for some 40 years. By that time, he decided — in
Indian words — to "let the war-trails grass over." Maybe
he at last realized how greatly indebted he was to Jennie
for persuading Lizzie to forsake "Sodom", as Jennie
called New York, and join her in Cheyenne.

The letters covering her journey on "the cars" to
Cheyenne and her experiences are full of enthusiasm,
unlimited self-confidence, and plain nerve. The first cor-
respondence was addressed to Lizzie and Minnie at
Saratoga Springs, New York, and the balance, to their
flat in New York City. Brother Will, oldest of them all,
lived in New York. Younger brothers had stayed in
County Armagh, Ireland. Jennie's story of her journey
west began with a bounce:

Sept. 12, 1885. Well, girls, I have had a wonderful exper-

E. A. Logan's first
store was located at
the site of the defunct
M. E. Post bank.

iencc. There are not many passengers on our tar. I did not
take a sleeper. Too expensive. Do not kit anyone I did nol iake
a steeper. About 9:00 o/c I lay down on the seat to sleep, and
woke up at 1:00 o/c A.M., and realized that we weren't mov-
ing. I asked the lady next to me, and she smiled and said,
"Is that all you know? We have been wrecked. The sleepers
at the end of the train have split a rail and run off the track."
I was glad I wasn't on a sleeper. Well, we were kept there
five hours in Ohio, 275 miles from Chicago.

At the Chicago depot in the morning, I could make no
connection soon, so where should I stay? I was afraid to go
to a hotel without a recommendation. I walked around the
streets and looked, and I thought of a buyer I had heard of
in New York, A. A. Christie, and thought I knew his wife.
I remembered his business address. I thought. Well I will try.

I went to that address and saw a gentleman whom I
asked if there was a buyer named Christie, and he said yes,
and pointed out a gentleman. I went up to him and asked,
"Are you an American?"

He said, "No."

"Do you come from Ireland?"

"Yes,"

"Do you know the Doak family, and did you marry
Sarah?"

"Yes!" He said afterward that he kept thinking, "Who
the deuce are you?" Finally I asked if he knew Shephard
Walker, and he said, "Yes!"

So I said, "I am his sister." So he shook my hand heart-
ily and was very glad to see me. I said, "Sister Lizzie was
in Ireland two years ago, and she and Sarah's sister Lizzie
Doak had their picture taken together on High Street in
Belfast. Such beautiful dresses . . . ."

"I have one of those pictures!"

I then asked if he could recommend a good hotel, and
he said, "Yes, our hotel," meaning his house. So he gave
me directions to find the house, an hour's ride on the street
car. I then went back to the depot and had some trouble get-
ting my ticket extended to Monday. I didn't care to travel
on Sunday. I had half the agents and conductors in Chicago
exerting themselves in my behalf. Reached Sarah's about
seven P.M. A nice married gentleman about 60 escorted me
to Lakewood, carrying my baggage, and Sarah made him
stay for dinner. Her husband had telephoned, and she was
overjoyed to see me. She talked about the baby she had just
lost, and asked about all the people in County Armagh in

good old Ireland. There were three nice men turned up, one
a Mr. Henderson, Alex Christie is coming out to Denver
to go in business with me. Don't laugh. Mr. Henderson is
coming, too. Lots of beaux. I went to church with handsome
Mr. Henderson and made quite a mash.

Sept. 16, 1885. We are still in III. And I now behold
the grandest red sunset I ever saw, reflected in the Mississippi
River. At Rock Island a gentleman came in who knows all
about the West. He was kind, and one you could trust, was
interesting and talked continually all evening and next morn-
ing. All the way through, I have had just the same good luck.

7 A.M. Wed. We are about 20 miles from Denver on
the U.P., passing vast plains of buffalo grass, all public land,
I think. Now we can see the Rocky Mtns. They look very
formidable, dark and capped with snow .... Later. Well,
I reached Denver this morning. The gentleman carried my
baggage. I am staying with a Mrs. Jackson I thought I knew.
I didn't, but never mind, she invited me to stay, and I am
eating out. I think I will stay until Friday and rest up.

They all speak highly of Cheyenne. Some people named
Beaton invited me to spend the evening. I never saw anything
like how things turn up. It is wonderful how hospitable the
Denverites are, and will do anything for you. A beautiful
city, the air bracing. I walked all forenoon without feeling
tired. Trees all the way on the streets, and streams of water
running through the gutters.

Saturday. Well, here I am at the T. J. Fisher Hotel,
Chevenne, telling everyone I am an accomplished costume
designer. So don't tell anyone I am an amateur. I wish I
had learned the chart system you use, Lizzie, to cut patterns.
Here are the measurements of a lady customer. Please cut
a pattern for her. It will save me so much trouble. Bust 32,
waist 24, across the shoulders 15 14 , hip 38 (over bustle), arm
'IWi , elbow 10, under-arm 8 Vi , hand 8; length bodice, front
12, back 155/2. I am going to cut a handsome pink and blue
morning dress with watteau back and loose pleats to the
ground. Tell Min to send me some needles. Here are the
sizes ....

Dec. 2, 1885. Weather like June. My sealskin sacque
I ha\e worn only about half a dozen days, my muff yester-
day for the first time. I have joined the M. E. Church
Lyceum. We have meetings and debates. And Rev. Rayder
invited some young ladies, myself included, for supper Mon-
day evening after Thanksgiving. There are no Irish in the
Methodist church, but several English, and they have

included me, and say I speak like a Londoner.

Tom Guston wants me to go into partnership with him
on a ranch. Almost every morning at 6 o/c, some of us go
horseback riding over the prairie. It is exhilarating. When
you come, we can buy a horse and divide the cost of its board
among us. Lizzie your patterns are so perfect, I am getting
a reputation as a good fit ... . If the boys could come from
Ireland, I would take up a ranch or homestead and in a few
years the money would double itself, and you and Minnie
and I could carry on the dressmaking, and Shephard and
James could live on the ranch. You buy young calves, say
for $15. The next year, they would be worth $30, and the
next $60, and so on. This is the way it is done, and women,
too take up the land. Lots of ways of making money here,
all better than the chances in New York. I never want to
go back to Sodom again.

I make gowns for some of the wealthiest here, and I
pray for the good Lord to make them fit. [Years later, when
Ernest read that, he said, "I wonder how the Old Gentleman
liked that assignment?"]

Dec. 14, 1885. I wish I could be there for Christmas.
I guess I am homesick. Minnie's picture is before me in a
frame, and as I look up, she seems to say, "I am ready."
You know how she steps into a room. Well, she seems like
stepping toward me, tall and straight and blond. On no
account forget to have father's picture made from that
photograph taken in Belfast. It seems a pity for you to spend
your time there when there is so much work here. Is it
impossible to come now? Minnie, where are those needles?
You sent me some, but they are so fine, I cannot use them.
// is urgent. Lizzie, here are some more measurements to make
two more patterns. Waist 28 ... . My letters must be more
trouble than otherwise.

March 25, 1886. Today they vote on $400,000 bonds
for a north-south railroad through Cheyenne. If it goes
through, Cheyenne will boom. There is no place we could
do as well. Our success is assured. Later. The bonds have
carried by an overwhelming majority, and all the busincs.^
and ranch men I have asked say it means there will certain-
ly be increasing trade for Cheyenne. I will look for a house
for a millinery and dressmaking establishment, where we can
have our own business. This is our providential path. Min-
nie can teach if she takes her exams. I feel the responsibility
of bringing you here, and do want you to like it.

18lh Street and Central Avenue,
Cheyenne, 1889. Standing, left to
right, are: Lizzie Walker, Minnie
Walker, Jennie Walker and Louis
Casper.

March 30, 1886. I was sick with a sore throat, and now
have more of that rheumatism like I had in New York, and
my hands are so sore, I can hardly sew or write. Dr. Crook
gave me a course of medicine and rest. The snow is too deep
for me to go to church, but the sun is bright, the snow clean
and white — a delightful climate.

(Miss Jennie was so bent on playing up Cheyenne's
good points that she never wrote that on March 28, 1886,
the temperature fell to 16 degrees below zero.]

April 1. The last measurements were for Miss Whip-
ple, Mrs. Dr. Hun's sister, who is to be married. I have four
gowns to make. Lizzie I am obliged for drafting the patterns.
I like Cheyenne people better all the time. I am said to be
the best fitter in town. I don't tell them that Lizzie draws
up the patterns. Min, send me those needles, size 7. Now
tend to this, Minnie. I need those needles.

April 5, 1886. I can get Minnie a position to teach for
May 10, in a school on a ranch, a lovely place in summer,
30 miles northwest from here, where Miss Whipple taught.
$50 per month salary and pay $15 or $18 for board, and
from there you would have a chance for the city schools.
Write and say when you are coming. Is it not possible to
come AT ONCE? Min will have to take an examination in
arithmetic, sp., geography, reading, writing, etc., so study
on the cars; there will be so little time here before the exams.
Go to McCreery's and Wanamakers and make arrangements
for wholesale prices on goods, braid, jet, linings, findings,
etc. And girls, when you step off the cars, be dressed in pretty
colors and look as stylish as you can, for the good of the
business. And don't bring any ink!

Lizzie knew very well what Jennie meant about the
ink. When 13-year-old Lizzie had come by ship from
Ireland to New York in 1871, she had some beautiful
cashmere for a dress, a rich brownish purple called puce,
in her trunk. Also packed was a bottle of ink that she hated
to leave behind, which had spilled in transit. When Liz-
zie had pulled open the parcel, she had cried out in pain,
"Oh, my puce cashmere! My handsome puce cashmere!"
And she had cried in brother Will's arms.

At Christmas, Will and his wife gave Lizzie a length
of plum-colored cashmere, and she had wept again. And
then she beamed on them all.

The last of the Jennie Walker letters to New York were
dated April, 1886. Early in May, Lizzie and Minnie
Walker arrived, dressed in their stylish, appropriate best.
Lizzie also proudly wore a going-away gift from a close
girl friend, a gold ring set with six stones, ruby, emerald,
garnet, amethyst, ruby and diamond, the first letters of
each stone spelling REGARD. (It is still in the family.)

At 18th and Central they bought a big house to fix
up for living and dressmaking. The Downtown Motor Inn
stands there now, but sometimes the sense of the past
hovers close.

Business ballooned. They had a fat blank leather-
bound book made for measures and orders, with spaces
for all the measurements of customers that Jennie had writ-
ten about to Lizzie: neck, bust, chest, wrist, under-arm,
and those big hips over the bustle. Once Miss Louise
Smith, of an old Cheyenne family, and retired vice-
president of the Stock Growers National Bank (now First
National) looked through the names, identifying the
customers, from Laramie, Buffalo and Cheyenne. Asked
whether her mother and sisters had had dresses made at
the Walkers', she said, "Indeed, we did not. We couldn't
afford to."

Jennie wrote the patrons' names by their husbands'
titles. They included Mrs. Judge Carey and Mrs. Gov.
Warren (later U.S. Senator). Some wore their Walker
gowns to affairs in Washington, and one was worn in
Paris.

Jennie burned the old style books at each season's end,
so that no customer would be tempted to want a dress
like last year's styles. Those Elites, Bon Tons and LaModes
in color would now be almost as valuable as Godeys.

Business paper was ordered with a fancy heading:
J. & L. Walker, French Millinery and Costumes, 1721
Central Ave., Cheyenne, so different from Lizzie's modest
1884 printed cards: Miss L. Walker, Fashionable
Dressmaking, 217 East Forty-fifth Street, New York.

As a free-roving cowboy, Logan wouldn't have given
up the saddle for any girl he ever met. He took them on
picnics, buggy or horseback rides, to oyster suppers or
the theater. He had many good bachelor friends. Percy
Hoyt had bought the ranch seven miles west of Cheyenne
on Crow Creek where Whitcomb had erected a red brick
house (later the Polo Ranch), not far from Camp Carlin.

The first of July, 1889, Hoyt invited Logan to ride
out for the 4th. "We can hunt for a wolf that got one of
my calves, and is still around." Some little round pic-
tures on cards are evidence that he went. In Hoyt's hand-
writing is, "Ernest on a wolf hunt, July 4, 1889." and
"Ernest on Puss." Logan is in a light brown mustache,
a straight-brimmed, four-dent campaign Stetson, wool
pants, short gloves, boots almost to his knees, and Logan-
made silver-mounted spurs, glinting in the late afternoon
sun, his shadow long on the prairie. His saddle was a
single-rigger with almost no swells. And Puss's tail was
"pulled" in rangeland fashion, halfway up her legs, to

keep her from switching Logan.

Now Logan was over 30, and it was said that a cowboy
was good for no more than eight or ten years in the sad-
dle. It was so hard on a man. And his mind was turning
toward settling down. Friends who had married seemed
so pleased with themselves. Later, one of Logan's favorite
poets, Charles Badger Clark, put it into words:
Yes, maybe there's something I've missed
And maybe it's more than I've won.
Just a door that's my own, while the cool shadows creep,
And a woman a-singin' my baby to sleep

When I'm tired from the wind and the sun.
Then one day Logan was walking down the street, think-
ing about whether to take that job, carrying mail in
Cheyenne, when he met Lizzie McGinnis from Fort
Laramie, where he had driven a stagecoach a few years
back. Lizzie had become quite a young lady. Happily they
discussed his bit-and-spur business and her Tom Snow,
a ranch foreman:

"Mama is at the Walker sisters right now, being fit-
ted. I suppose you know the Walkers?"

"My mother knows them from the Methodist Church,
but no, I've never met them."

"Miss Jennie, the oldest, is the boss. Then there's
Lizzie, the dark, quiet one, the middle sister, a real artist
at designing and fitting dresses. You would like her. I haven't
met the youngest sister yet. Mama and I are going there for
more fittings tomorrow morning. Why don't you drop in
— say around 10:30" She glanced away and back. "I don't
think Miss Jennie likes cowboys. She's pretty high-toned."
"The postmaster says I can carry mail here in town.
I've got to decide. "

Many years later in Torrington, Lizzie McGinnis
Snow reported to this writer that she and her mother had
finished their fittings and were dressed when the door-
pull sounded, and the Black cook answered it. "And there
was Ernest Logan, all dressed up and full of bright say-
ings. Miss Jennie tried to do all the talking, but he ignored
her and talked to Lizzie" .... The very next Sunday
he hitched the team to his mother's buggy and took Liz-
zie for a drive.

From the beginning, Jennie fought it. She didn't want
her sister to fall in love just now and break up a profitable
business. Logan splurged on Lizzie. Lizzie protested, but
she did enjoy it all. He took her to the opera house to
hear Faust performed by a New York company, to church
fairs, and oyster suppers and, of course, on drives.

He termed "A-Number-l" the concerts at Turner
Hall by the local German male chorus, the Cheyenne
Turnverein, a blend of full, well-trained voices in mostly
German classics. Their accompanist, Oscar Braun, had
studied piano and organ at Heidelberg University.

Logan's courtship could hardly be described as whirl-
wind. Jennie saw to that. They would barely be seated
on the ruby cut-velvet loveseat in the parlor before Jen-
nie would shut an upstairs door and start down the
carpeted stairs. Halfway down, she would peer in the glass
transom over the parlor door to see what was up, march
in without knocking, and announce that it was time for

Interior of the Logan
store, circa 1910.

him to go home. Lizzie was going to have a full day tomor-
row and needed her sleep. After about three rounds, and
Logan not budging, Jennie would flounce upstairs again,
to call down every five minutes, "Lizzie, send that young
man home right now!"

One night they slipped quiedy out to Ellis' candy store
for oyster stew, and when they got home, laughing
together, Jennie was highly indignant that all her off-stage
scolding had been wasted.

Logan was thankful for warm Sundays when he could
take Lizzie away from 1721. Being a Methodist, he knew
she never sewed on Sunday. Bringing a little mare for Liz-
zie, he would lift her in her sweeping navy velveteen riding
skirt, from the carriage block onto the horse, her knee
hooked over the leaping horn, and step nimbly into his
own stirrups before Jennie could get out the door. Lizzie
thought that if Logan were looking for a horseman, a
fearless one, he should have picked Jennie.

"She's just jealous of us going riding," said Logan.

Lizzie liked it better in the buggy, when he handed
her up between cramped wheels. He knew a number of
quiet and lovely summer spots, like the Hereford ranch

grove, seven miles east of town.

*****

In 1889, Logan began carrying mail in Cheyenne,
working on his bits and spurs on free days, to be com-
pany for his mother on the nearby ranch. He had always
liked handling mail at Camp Carlin and Fort Laramie.

The carriers often helped each other out in an
emergency, or traded schedules if there was the need. One
time when a little boy was not expected to live through
a siege of typhoid, Logan quietly delivered the mail to
the back door. The child did recover. When Mark Draper
had a long illness, the others divided up his route and car-
ried his mail so he wouldn't lose his pay.

It was a happy day when Lizzie finally said "yes",
on a lovely summer evening. She braced herself and broke
the news to Jennie after breakfast. Jennie exploded. "You
mean you would break up our business, when it is mak-
ing money, to marry a — a cowboy?'^ Lizzie said that he
was more than a cowboy, he was a fine man, turned her
back and walked out. On the stairs, tall blond Minnie had
been listening, hugged her close and giggled.

Lizzie wrote the news to brother Will, at his office
in New York. His answer was prompt.

Dear Lizzie:

"Speechless! I am simply speechless! If it had been Jen-
nie, I wouldn't have been surprised. In fact, I thought the
letter was from Jennie until I got to the end and saw Lizzie.
You have spoiled my afternoon. When are you coming to
tell us about Ernest? You don't say when you will be mar-
ried. If I know Jennie, it won't be soon. Money, money,
money. You have the warmest blessing of your Brother,

WILL

One twilight in 1890, Ernest took her out in the car-
riage to a quiet road. Two hours later they came back,
a sly secret between them. Her REGARD ring was on
her right hand, and in its place was a diamond with four
purple amethysts at the corners. Jennie did not notice it
until morning. She was wild. Lizzie just kept her secret
smile. When the workroom girls came, all 17 seamstresses
and milliners gathered around, squealing in excitement
until Jennie marched in, glaring them into silence. It was
three long years before Lizzie got her wedding band.

Lizzie and Ernest frequently discussed what line of
work he should go into. Still strong in her memory was
her own father, bearded Thomas Walker in County
Armagh, more English than Irish, a Quaker, who had
been a merchant in Richill. Her mother, Elizabeth Sin-

^!22^'

ifiiif

16th Street, Cheyenne, 1886 or 1887.

ton Walker, had died there when Lizzie was six, her death
blamed on the potato famine, and her father had failed
in business from hard times. He later sailed to Australia
to start over, writing for his children to come and help
him open a shop. Instead, they had gone, one at a time,
to New York, and he had died alone in Melbourne.

A merchant. Lizzie began to think of a store for
Logan. Why not? His father had. Logan squinted, listen-
ing. "But where would I get the money? What I have
saved wouldn't be half enough."

" You could save, and / could save. Start small and
work it up. You've a quick head for figures. You sell your
bits and spurs."

"But what kind of a store? Papa's was a hardware
and tin shop, but there are plenty of those, and two sad-
dle shops."

In the post office on 16th Street one day, he
remembered that there had once been a bookstore in the
post office lobby. Why, sure! Books and writing paper,
and maybe candy. He had learned to make candy in a
bakery as a youth.

And so in 1892, at 216 West 16th Street, near the Inter
Ocean Hotel, famous in the West, he opened his store.
It was to move six or seven times in 40 years, sometimes
pushed out for a theater or larger store that needed the
space, but it was in operation for all 40 years, later on
handling rare books and curios. Logan's Book and Curio
Store is most remembered at the 17th and Carey Avenue
location. Once it was located where the Atlas Theater was
built on 16th Street. In 1977, the Cheyenne Little Theatre
Melodrama — an annual summertime affair — displayed an

ad of Logan's store on its stage curtain.

The big house at 1721 Central buzzed constantly with
romance. One or the other of the seamstresses or milliners
was always in love, or getting married, in a country short
of women. And the Walker sisters, all three, had their
young men, held firmly under control by Jennie, who had
a fine-looking, blue-eyed man of her own — Harry Crain
from Vermont, who called her Pet, and was willing to
let Jennie be the boss. After all, Jennie was older than
he was. And Minnie, the school teacher, surprised them
all by becoming engaged to Louis Casper, a Western
Union employee and avid worker for the Republican
Party, who marched in night parades with dramatic
flambeaux during the campaign. Later he developed skill
as a telegraph inventor.

Jennie was a shrewd business woman. All else must
wait in the wings while business was center stage, herself
the star. She was smart enough to see that Lizzie was
determined to get married. In 1892, she decided that Liz-
zie should have a house, but not just any house — one with
a side to live in and the other to help pay for it. Lizzie
bought a 66x132 foot lot on 26th Street, two blocks from
the Capitol, and Jennie pushed until a two-story duplex
was started.

Lizzie refused to let Jennie draw the plans. If Lizzie
could chart a dress pattern, she could plan a house, foot
by foot, tape measure in hand, and in her three dimen-
sional mind, visualize how a room would look. She could
use every inch of space better than Jennie ever could. Jen-
nie could just stick to her hats. The house was assigned
street numbers, 414 and 416 West 26th Street.

In New York, the Walker sisters had often taken holi-
day trips. Now they managed to take little trips, to board
at a ranch or a hotel for a few days. The summer of 1892,
when Lizzie was boarding at Mrs. Gooding's ranch on
the Colorado border, and hunting arrowheads, Jennie took
over the supervision of her house under construction,
writing letters that sounded like the same Jennie who had
written Lizzie and Minnie their instructions to New York
in 1885.

J & L Walker

French Millinery & Costumes

1721 Central Ave.

Cheyenne, Wyo.

August 16, 1892

Dear Lizzie,

I paid Mr. Wilson another V, but before doing so I had
him give me a bond. He had no bills, as before. We had
a lew words, but I said, Mr. Wilson, I am not going to quar-
rel with you, I simply want what is right, and I must have
it. so the sooner, the better.

And then he cooled down and ended up by taking me
for a drive. He commences plumbing tomorrow morning.
I am not going to have the downstairs bathroom and bay
window, but everything else. I really thought you couldn't
spare the money. Stained glass for the front door is here.
Don't hurry home.

Your Sister, Jennie

But Lizzie did get her bay window to let in the strong
sunshine in the winter and hold her little marble-top gilt
plant stand for a fern. The contract was for $2800 for the
two sides, each six rooms and bath, with tin tub and toilet,
its own high tank and chain to pull. There was no brown
marble basin like the one in the front upstairs bedroom
at 1721. It had a stone foundation and cellar, and attic
with access up a ladder, through a trap door and a big
hall closet. Lizzie and Ernest had a new house nearly ready
to move into.

The seamstresses in the big sewing room, each with
her own drawer in a long table, watched it all. There were
frequent weddings. One girl came back from her honey-
moon, blushing and laughing, and when they asked her
what it was like, she stood behind the door and peeked
out, "It was naughty — but nice."

One little girl of 16, a beginner, fresh out of Ireland,
was so good at her work, and so accommodating, she was
trusted with the key to the ware room, where yards of tulle
and merino and silesia and broadcloth were stored,
together with white box upon box of jet, French metal
buttons, silver thimbles and silk buttonhole twist,
stacked on shelves, nearly to the high ceiling. She later
married Pete Waurlamont.

And still Jennie refused to let Lizzie and Ernest get
married. Ernest was furious. They were not going to let

Jennie run their lives any longer and he set a deadline.

In later years, Lizzie told her daughters how she had
written Jennie, in New York on business, that she was
to come back for Lizzie's wedding on March 22nd, and
stay for her own on the 29th. Miraculously, it happened
just that way, with Lizzie coming down the walnut stairs
at 1721 on March 22, 1893, to be married in the parlor
by the Methodist minister from across the street. The
Black cook proudly served chicken salad, buttery twisted
rolls and wedding cake. It was a blizzardy March day,
but nothing could dampen Logan's spirits. He had his
bride. As Lizzie McGinnis said about the day Logan met
Lizzie, he was "full of bright sayings."

Lizzie was such a proper young lady, she was embar-
rassed the rest of her life because Mabel was born two
days before the nine months were up. As a matter of fact,
there was further delay. Ernest had made reservations at
the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver for the 22nd, but the
storm had a mind of its own. The train was snowed in,
somewhere between Cheyenne and Greeley, so that they
had to spend their wedding night, snowed in on the train.
Ernest wondered aloud whether Jennie had influenced
even the weatherman.

Jennie and Harry Grain were married on the 29th.
Even Minnie was married a month later.

^S^^SS®

Logan store, 17th and Carey, circa 1910. Logan (lejtj is shown posing with his daughter Mabel and an unidentified man.

Sen^ Francis E. Warren

''Warren counted as his friend every
American President in the period be-
tween Grover Cleveland and Herbert
Hoover."

ATaft

Republican:

Sen. Francis E. Warren
and National Politics

By Leonard Schlup

Pres. William Howard Toft

Ignored by historians and frequently forgotten by the
people of his adopted state, Francis Emroy Warren,
United States Senator from 1895 to 1929, was a promi-
nent public figure in late 19th and early 20th century
Wyoming history. Along with Clarence Don Clark and
Franklin Wheeler Mondell, he belonged to the famous
triumvirate that dominated politics in Wyoming for nearly
three decades. In addition to heading a political machine,
Warren gained attention as an influential businessman
whose shrewd dealings in real estate, livestock, lighting
and mercantile enterprises made him a millionaire.

Born at Hinsdale, Berkshire County, Massachusetts,
on June 20, 1844, the year of James K. Polk's election
as President of the United States, he attended the com-
mon schools and Hinsdale Academy. Enlisting in the
Forty-ninth Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer
Infantry, Warren, a private during the Civil War, received
the Congressional Medal of Honor for gallantry on the
batdefield at the siege of Port Hudson. A captain in the
Massachusetts militia and a farmer following the conclu-
sion of the conflict, he relocated in Wyoming, a part of
the Territory of Dakota, in 1868, to begin a business
career.

Warren's early success in financial affairs prompted
friends to persuade him to enter politics. His first oppor-
tunity came as a member of the Territorial Senate in
1873-1874. He was president of that body, and member
of the Cheyenne City Council. Warren's career acceler-
ated rapidly after these experiences. He served as
Treasurer of Wyoming in 1876, 1879, 1882, and 1884,
and held a seat in the Territorial Senate in 1884, but he
relinquished this position to become mayor of Cheyenne
in 1885. Although selected as governor of the Territory
of Wyoming by President Chester A. Arthur in February,
1885, he lost this appointment in November of the follow-
ing year when Grover Cleveland, the Democratic Chief
Executive, removed him from power. After President Ben-
jamin Harrison, an Indiana Republican, moved into the
White House in March, 1889, he reappointed Warren as
territorial governor, a role he assumed until elected as the
first governor of the State of Wyoming in 1890.

Warren resigned his gubernatorial office at the end
of two months to accept election by state legislators as one
of the two new United States senators. Although a dead-
lock in the Wyoming legislature in 1893 temporarily
returned him to private life and agricultural pursuits, War-
ren again succeeded in obtaining the coveted Senate prize
in 1894, remaining in that station until his death from
bronchial pneumonia at his home in Washington, D.C.,
on November 24, 1929, one month after the stock market
crash. Following funeral services in the Senate chamber,
the body of the 85-year-old legislator was taken to Chey-
enne for interment in Lakeview Cemetery.'

When death finally claimed Warren at the beginning
of the Great Depression, it removed from Congress an
able spokesman for Wyoming as well as a historical fig-
ure. Easily distinguished by colleagues for his white hair
and mustache, he won their respect for his forthright stand
on controversial issues, including support of irrigation,
reclamation of western lands, woman's suffrage and oppo-
sition to the prohibition amendment. An important chair-
man of the Appropriations Committee, among others,
Warren utilized his length of service to provide represen-
tation not usually afforded people in sparsely populated
states. In short, he strengthened the voice of Wyoming
as a senior Congressional leader during a generation
dominated, for the most part, by the Republican party.

Although political and economic concerns highlighted
his career, Warren engaged in a variety of activities that
enlarged his regional and national reputation. These
included the building of Cheyenne's Opera House in 1882
and serving as President of the National Wool Growers
Association from 1901 to 1907. Moreover, he was the
Wyoming manager of the American Cattle Trust, orga-
nized in 1887, with headquarters in New York City.

Warren counted as his friend every American Presi-
dent in the period between Grover Cleveland and Herbert
Hoover. He especially maintained close personal and
political associations with William Howard Taft, Presi-
dent of the United States from 1909 to 1913. These two
Republican leaders shared several ideas and traits in com-
mon. Both had a profound understanding of public affairs
and possessed an extraordinary combination of talents and
each set high standards of conduct and acquired reputa-
tions for honesty and integrity. Both politicians were more
Hamiltonian in their interpretation of the Constitution
than generally perceived by contemporaries and histori-
ans. They wanted to constitutionalize presidential prerog-
ative rather than adopt the stewardship theory of executive
power favored by Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roose-
velt. Unlike Taft, however, Warren was a more astute
leader of public opinion and followed an elective, instead
of appointive, road to political prominence, thereby
developing and refining campaign skills in the process.

The relationship between Warren and Taft, a friend-
ship overlooked by presidential scholars, offers historians
an opportunity to explore two fascinating personalities.
An examination of their correspondence particularly
reveals characteristics of Taft and Warren as men and
politicians. The following five letters, which Warren wrote
to Taft, show these qualities and provide an analysis of
issues, elections, and contemporaries. They are, of course,
only one part of a larger story.

In 1908, Warren endorsed Taft for the presidency and
sent a letter outlining his views on the national conven-
tions and the possible outcome of the electorial contest.

United States Senate

Committee on Military Affairs

F. E. Warren, Chairman

(Personal.)

Cheyenne, Wyo., 7/11/

Hon. William H. Taft,
Virginia Hot Springs,
Virginia

My dear Judge:^

I have just returned from Denver where I spent four
days with the Democratic convention; also one day before
and one after. From my viewpoint I believe we could hardly
have fixed things better if allowed to direct the whole
matter — i.e. , fixed things better for the Republicans. It was
not exactly a case of ' 'All were for Bryan' but nobody wanted
him," but it was nearer that than anything I have ever
known. During the entire week, among the many Democrats
with whom I conversed, I did not find any conservative,
strong business or professional men who wanted Bryan or
who were willing to stake their reputations upon the asser-
tion that Bryan could be elected. Colorado, particularly the
City of Denver, was once a Bryan hot-bed. Colorado was
one of the most extreme Bryan states when the free silver
fad was at its zenith, and a few are now predicting that Col-
orado may be carried for the Democratic state ticket and
possibly for Bryan if they can get up a state ticket and plat-
form that will placate the business interests; that Nebraska
may be carried for Bryan on account of state pride; and quite
a few think that Nevada may go to Bryan; but I heard no
one venture the opinion that any of the other western or
mountain states could be carried for Bryan.

With proper attention in Nevada— and of course the
same in Colorado and Nebraska— I believe we can clean up
everything west of the Mississippi, down to the solid south.
And it may be reasonably expected that we will make a pretty
thorough clean-up east of the Mississippi. "*

I think you have made the proper choice in Hitchcock^
for chairman of the National Committee. I feel very confi-
dent that he will "make good" all the way through. "=

Hastily and faithfully yours,
F. E. Warren
Shortly after Taft's triumphant victory over the
beleaguered William Jennings Bryan, Warren suggested
that the President-elect consider retaining a Cabinet offi-
cer who had been well-respected in Wyoming.
United States Senate
Committee on Military Affairs
F. E. Warren, Chairman

(Personal)

Honorable William H. Taft
Augusta, Georgia

Washington, D.C., 1/13/09

My dear Judge:

Acknowledging heartily the principle that the selection
of a President's Cabinet should be like a man's choice of
a wife — entirely his own, without the influence or advice of
anyone — yet after serving on the Agricultural Committee
of the Senate longer than on any other committee during
my entire service in this body, and being a farmer and a
Western farmer at that, I must acknowledge the truth and

President Taft visited Cheyenne in 1911. He is in the silk top hat, standing up in the back of the touring car.

say that, should your choice happen to fall upon Secretary
Wilson,' the present incumbent, there would be general com-
mendation and a feeling of satisfaction all around in the outer
circles.

With kindest personal regards to you and Mrs. Taft,
I am"

Faithfully yours,

F. E. Warren
The presidential campaign of 1912 was a perplexing
period in Warren's career. The division within the
Republican party between the followers of President Taft
and supporters of former President Theodore Roosevelt
resulted in a Democratic victory on the national level for
the first time since 1892. As soon as the outcome had been
ascertained, Warren sent a message to the defeated Taft.

Francis E. Warren, Chairman

Committee on Appropriations

United States Senate

Washington, DC.

Personal Cheyenne, Wyo., 11/9/12

Honorable William H. Taft
White House
Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. President:

I am heartbroken over the result!

I have not written nor wired you sooner because of the
uncertainty of our results locally and of the quickly-decided
certainty on Election night as to the general result — which
naturally destroyed interest in the results in minor States.

We were in the field here, and in the thickest of the fight
constantly, up to the closing of the polls, hoping and believ-
ing that we could give you the State. But as a certainty of
Wilson's' election was so early apparent after the polls closed,
interest switched from the head of the ticket to the legislative
ticket, on account of the bitterness of the fight against me;
and as many of our voting places are remote from the railroad
and even from telephone communication, it has taken a long
time to determine what at last seems certain — that Wilson
has carried Wyoming with a few hundred plurality.'"

The nastiest, meanest campaign ever waged anywhere
was undoubtedly the one here in Wyoming — with certain
outside help — against me. With the present prospects of a
Democratic President, Senate, and House, I would be much
happier in the long run had I gone down in the wreck with
the rest. But as one dislikes to be eliminated because of infam-
ous accusations, I feel some satisfaction in knowing that pre-
sent figures show that in the Wyoming Senate the Republi-
cans have a majority of three; in the House, a majority of
two; or a majority of five on joint ballot. This may be
increased two or three members on the Republican side, and
it is barely possible, although not probable, that we may lose
one or possibly two.

With a degree of regret that I cannot express, I am"

Faithfully yours,
F. E. Warren

In 1919, Warren and Taft turned their attention to
the Treaty of Versailles with its incorporation of a League
of Nations. Taft enthusiastically supported the establish-

ment of a world organization for the preservation of peace
and favored the League with certain clarifying reserva-
tions designed to protect the interests of the United States.
He encouraged Warren to adopt this objective. The Sen-
ator responded to Taft's initiative by complaining about
obstinate Democratic leadership on the controversial issue
and by revealing his views.

Francis E. Warren

United States Senate

Washington, D.C.

November 17, 1919

Hon. William H. Taft
New Haven, Conn.

My dear Judge Taft:

I enclose herewith confirmation-copy of my telegram
sent to you this morning.

I have already voted against Reservation No. 14, and
shall surely vote against Reservation No. 15.

In my opinion the Democratic management of this mat-
ter has been execrable, because for weeks and months there
could have been, at any time, a few very moderate reserva-
tions forced through, since a large number of Republicans
were so-called "mild reservationists" — and in saying this I
am not including myself in either extreme, although I was
not prepared, and am not now, to vote to confirm the Treaty
exactly as it was written. It may be that Senator Hitchcock'^
and those associated with him have only been carrying out
the President's" wishes — or orders, I should say — i.e., that
nothing should go through except the Treaty as written
without change in the dotting of an "i" or the crossing of
a "t" (I am using Hitchcock's own language).

After the Democratic management had forced the
Republicans to stand together and had driven the wrought-
iron nail through and clinched it on the other side, by offer-
ing all kinds of single, one-at-a-time reservations, with no
attempt to agree upon all in compromise, then lesser reser-
vations were offered, but too late.

With all good wishes."

Cordially yours,
F. E. Warren
Senator Warren dispatched a congratulatory letter in
1921 to Taft, professor of law at Yale University, upon
learning that his friend had been chosen by President War-
ren G. Harding to serve as Chief Justice of the United
States Supreme Court. When Taft accepted this appoint-
ment, he earned a unique distinction in American history
in that he gained both the presidency and the chief justice-
ship. Ironically, Taft, a judicial President, turned out to
be a political Chief Justice.

Francis E. Warren
United States Senate
Washington, D.C.

July 2, 1921

Honorable William H. Taft
Chief Justice of the United States
New Haven, Conn.

My dear Friend:

I am now satisfied that my advice, as given at the time,
was good — ahhough your decision was of course made quite
apart froni it; that is, that you should refuse appointment
as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and secure what
your friends prophesied for you — the Presidency of the
United States — and a place on the Supreme Bench later. And
to the delight of all, and to your own supreme satisfaction,
the Chief Justiceship of that great Court has come to you.

Please accept from Mrs. Warren'* and me for you and
Mrs. Taft profoundest congratulations.

With affectionate regards.""

Sincerely yours,
F. E. Warren

Several qualities characterize the letters of Warren to
Taft. They reveal Warren's support of Taft in 1908 and
1912 and his opposition to William Jennings Bryan, Theo-
dore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, the progressive
leaders of the era. Moreover, Warren did not hesitate to
disagree with Taft as he did during the Senate debate over
the League of Nations. The letters also point out that
Senator Warren suggested political appointments for
Taft's cabinet and approached him on matters of patron-
age.

Warren, the last Union survivor of the Civil War in
the upper house, served in the Senate longer than any
other person in American history up to that time. Known
as the ' ' Father of the Senate ' ' and ' ' Dean of the Senate , ' '
he had a life span that covered twenty-one presidential
administrations.

1 . General information pertaining to Warren can be located in stan-
dard biographical directories of Congress, dictionaries of promi-
nent American politicians, local histories, and obituaries. See,
for example, Bwgrapical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1961
(Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office,
1961), p. 1778; The New York Times, November 25, 1929, p. 1;
and T. A. Larson, History of Wyoming (Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press, 1965), p. 316. Warren's two political allies also
represented Wyoming in Congress. Franklin Wheeler Mondell
(1860-1939), who engaged in the development of coal mines and
oil property, was a Republican Congressman from 1895 to 1897
and again from 1899 to 1923. Clarence Don Clark (1851-1930),
a Republican lawyer from Evanston, Wyoming, served in the
House of Representatives from 1890 and 1893 and in the Senate
from 1895 to 1917.

2. Prior to his appointment as Governor-General of the Philippine
Islands and his Cabinet position as Secretary of War under Presi-
dent Theodore Roosevelt, Taft held several judicial offices, includ-
ing Judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati (1887-1890) and
a judge on the United States Federal Circuit Court (1892-1900).
He also served as United States Solicitor General from 1890 to
1892.

3. William Jennings Bryan, Democrat from Nebraska, had run
unsuccessfully as his party's presidential nominee in 1896 and
1900. In 1908, at the Denver convention, he secured the nomina-

tion for the third time.

4. Taft carried every county in Wyoming in 1908, and the
Republicans swept to victory there in other offices. Bryan cap-
tured the electoral votes of Colorado, Nebraska, and Nevada,
the three western states mentioned by Warren in his letter to Taft.
As predicted, Taft won in the northern and eastern regions of
the nation while Bryan once again claimed the South.

5. Frank Harris Hitchcock, who managed Taft's 1908 presidential
campaign, was Chairman of the Republican National Commit-
tee (1908-1909) and served as Postmaster General from 1909 to
1913. President Roosevelt and many progressive Republicans
questioned Taft's choice of Hitchcock as party chairman because
ol his conservative credentials.

6. Francis Emroy Warren to William Howard Taft, July 1 1 , 1908,
William Howard Taft Papers, Division of Manuscripts, The
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

7. James Wilson, an Iowa Republican, served as Secretary of
Agriculture (1897-1913) during the presidencies of William
McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft.

8. Warren to Taft, January 13, 1909, Taft Papers.

9. Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey was the Democratic
presidential standard-bearer in 1912.

10. Wilson received Wyoming's three electoral votes in 1912. Taft
carried only Utah and Vermont. The political animosity between
Warren and Joseph Maull Carey (1845-1924) once again surfaced
during the presidential campaign of 1912. Carey, a Republican
lawyer involved in cattle and ranching business, had been mayor
of Cheyenne (1881-1885), Delegate for the Territory of Wyoming
(1885-1890), and United States Senator (1890-1895). He served
as Governor of Wyoming from 1911 to 1915 and in 1912 was
one of the organizers of the Progressive party, an organization
tormed by Theodore Roosevelt and his followers after Roosevelt
failed to seize the Republican nomination from Taft. Running
on this "Bull Moose" platform for President, Roosevelt divided
the Republicans nationally, and this split also occurred on the
local level, including Wyoming. Although Warren and Carey had
frequently feuded over various matters, the conservative-
progressive dichotomy in Wyoming between the senator and
governor mirrored the national dilemma and further revealed the
political differences of these two state leaders.

11. Warren to Taft, November 9, 1912, Taft Papers.

12. Gilbert Monell Hitchcock, a United States Senator from Nebraska
from 1911 to 1923, was Democratic minority leader (1919-1920)
during the debate over the League of Nations.

13. President Woodrow Wilson adamantly refused to compromise
on the issue of the League and committed several errors that in
the end cost him the treaty, including his partisan appeal for a
Democratic Congress in 1918 and his failure to include any
members of the Senate or leading figures of the Republican party
on his peace commission to Versailles.

14. Warren to Taft, November 17, 1919, Taft Papers.

15. On January 26, 1871, Warren married Helen Marie Smith, a
native of Middlefield, Connecticut, who died in 1902. Nine years
after the death of his first wife, Warren married Clara LeBaron
Morgan, of Groton, Connecticut, on June 28, 1911. His son-in-
law, John Joseph Pershing, commanded the American Expedi-
tionary Forces during World War I. See "The Supreme Court
Appointment of Willis Van Devanter," by Daniel A. Nelson,
Annals of Wyoming, Fall, 1981, for Warren's request for patronage.

16. Warren to Taft, July 2, 1921, Taft Papers.

Bay State Marked an Era

By Vera Saban and Earl L. Han way

All over western Nebraska, from the forks of the Platte
on the east to Scott's Bluff brooding alongside the ruts
of the old Oregon Trail on the west, thousands of cattle
were on the move in the summer of 1887. The dust clouds
of their passing rose in the high clear air of the Panhan-
dle like exclamation points, marking the last big roundup
of the open range in Nebraska.

Since early spring the yelling, sweating, dust-caked
cowboys of the Bay State Land and Cattle Company —
with other outfits, big and small — had been busy with
rope, knife and branding iron, gathering and sorting the
vast herds into manageable bunches of about 5,000, all
bearing the Half Circle Block of the Bay State.

In Nebraska's Cheyenne County the homesteaders
had once more bested the catdemen in a referendum, leav-
ing the big outfits nowhere to turn — except across the line
into Wyoming where no hated Herd Law could collapse
their dream of empire.

The moving of those herds out of Nebraska into
Wyoming marked the passing of an era, the time when
the catde kings ruled. Considering its impact on the history
of the West it was a surprisingly brief time, less than two
decades. But neither those migrating cowmen from

Nebraska nor their counterparts in Wyoming were ready
to concede that a way of life had ended. The Johnson
County War of 1892, caused in part by that influx of
Nebraska herds, was the dying scream.

The establishment of those cattle kingdoms is credited
to John Wesley Iliff who, with the coming of the Union
Pacific Railroad, threw his herds into the Cheyenne vicin-
ity in 1868. A year later Edward Creighton was ranging
his herds on Pumpkin and Rush Creeks in the Panhan-
dle, and Jim Moore arrived with thousands of Texas cat-
tle. The Coad brothers, Mark and John, shipped in long-
horns from Texas and fine bulls from Illinois. Others
followed — Kane, Bedington, the Bosler brothers, J. J.
Mcintosh. North of the Platte, William Paxton located
his Keystone Ranch and across the river to the south was
the nucleus of the outfit that became the Bay State.

The widely flung ranges of Nebraska and Wyoming
became known worldwide as the place to get an amazing
return for money invested, with the added advantage of
adventure and romance. So they came to the West — men
seeking a fortune or merely a change, some from rural
districts but more from the cities or abroad. Within a short
time all that free range was claimed and stocked.

i t r-^

For some years their returns were almost fabulous —
range was good, water plentiful, calf crops adequate,
marketing simple with the Union Pacific and the military
posts handy. Of course there were some bad times. The
winter of 1871-72 was so severe that catde losses were
extremely high. But the range was soon stocked again.

It was a great time, while the herds of the catde kings
roamed government land — the free range. Perhaps a cat-
deman would homestead a quarter section on a stream
and establish his headquarters there. Often his cowboys
would prove up on homesteads for the boss, good sites
for second headquarters or a line camp.

From these central points the herds of the cattle baron
wandered over thousands of acres of federal land. He
would claim certain areas by "possessory rights" and occa-
sionally put up fences although fences were an uncom-
mon sight in those days. A cattleman could control vast
areas though he legally owned little land. He had the faith
to believe that Cheyenne County, with the little frontier
town of Sidney as county seat, would never change.

But changes came. With the discovery of gold in the
Black Hills in 1874 the Camp Clarke Bridge was built
over the North Platte. It was one-half mile long, had 60
spans, and was opened for travel — for a toll — in May of
1876. The bridge linked the south part of the Panhandle
with the north, and Sidney, 40 miles to the south on the
Union Pacific, became one of the wildest towns in the
West. Gold seekers, military men, freighters, Indian
scouts, and Easterners surged through the streets. Of
course, there were the cowboys from the outlying spreads.

The Bay State became perhaps the biggest in the
Panhandle and many colorful stories are told about the
famous ranch. According to Lewis Phillips of Kimball,
Nebraska, who spent many years researching county
records, the popular image of the Bay State is untrue. It
was not a British financed venture where the ne'er-do-
well sons of titled English lords dressed for dinner and
"rode to the hounds." British aristocracy never played
the romantic role of cowboy on the Bay State.

The true founding and operating of the Bay State was
much more commonplace. Several families of the mid-
west organized a cattle company in 1873 and, in 1877,
incorporated under the name of Evans-Jackson Livestock
Company, capitalized at $100,000 with the principal office
in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In addition to the original ranch
on the Lodgepole there was some homesteaded land along
Pumpkin Creek.

In 1882, the corporation, now called Evans-Mead,
bought out several outfits in the Antelope (now Kimball)
area, including the John Sparks holdings in the Lodgepole
valley, and the Carrigan and Allen ranch and cattle. Three
weeks after the purchase of these ranches John A.
McShane, nephew of the Creighton brothers, sold to
Evans-Mead, and was hired as superintendent of the entire
spread. That fall the Evans-Mead Company had a change
of names, becoming the Bay State Livestock Company.

Across the river to the north was another rapidly
expanding empire. William Paxton of the Keystone pur-
chased the Bosler herds and other neighboring outfits in
1883, and organized the Ogallala Land and Cattle Com-
pany. The appetites of the big outfits were whetted by
the proven fact that cost per cow unit decreased with an
increase in numbers of cows.

The 37 stockholders of the Bay State Livestock Com-
pany were eager to acquire more holdings. Early in 1883
the corporation bought the Bushnel ranch, including cat-
tle, for $37,000 and, a month later, paid John Creighton
$750,000 for his Circle Arrow cattle and holdings.
Seymour Robb and John Snodgrass also sold to the Bay
State and took jobs as foremen on the ranch.

In March of 1884, the Bay State, now with $3,000,000
in capital stock, paid almost a million dollars for "Coad's
Kingdom," which included all land, livestock and ranch
equipment of the Coad brothers, Mark and John. In the
early '70s the Coads had taken over the abandoned Bluffs
Pony Express Station as their headquarters ranch. Their
herds, the progeny of those first Texas longhorns and the
blooded bulls from Illinois, eventually ranged south of the
Platte from Scott's Bluff to Courthouse Rock, between
the Wildcat Range and the river.

The acquisition of Coad's Kingdom with a reputed
22,000 head of cattle "book count," 180 horses, 1000 acres
of deeded land, and more than 200,000 acres of range —
possessory rights, some illegally fenced — made the Bay
State supreme in the Panhandle.

After the Coad deal the Bay State had virtually
exclusive rights to the south side of the North Platte in the
Nebraska Panhandle. On that wide-flung empire were all
those landmarks noted by weary early-day travelers of the
Oregon Trail — Chimney Rock, Castle Rock, Courthouse
and Jail Rocks, and Scott's Bluff, all in the vicinity of the
Wildcat Range.

Only the Ogallala Land and Cattle Company to the
north of the Platte, with Billy Irvine as manager, could
match the Bay State, still with John McShane as manager.
In 1885 more small outfits sold to the two big corporations.

Near Antelope the Bay State erected a ranch house,
a prefabricated mansion shipped from Massachusetts.
Containing 30 rooms, it had a bathroom. It is said that
the cowboys reined up their horses on a nearby hill and
gazed in amazement at the huge house with an indoor
toilet.

The principal market for beef raised in the West dur-
ing the heyday of the Bay State was the government whose
contract buyers bought not only beef issue for the Ogallala
and Brule Sioux but also for the military posts — Forts
Sidney, Mitchell, Laramie, and Robinson. Government
contractors were taking all the ranchers could produce for
more than twice the Omaha market price. One saga of
the times was the Bay State's venture in buying cattle in
Oregon and trailing them to Fort Robinson. Others did
the same.

They had a good thing, those cattle kings, but it
couldn't last, and a number of events contributed to their
downfall.

There was the Homestead Law with its promise of
free land, and in the early '80s a few settlers trickled into
the Panhandle. Some soon gave up, perhaps selling their
rights to a big cattleman, usually for a dollar an acre. The
Bay State added more acres in that way.

There was the widely circulated theory, believed by
many though untrue, that "rainfall follows the plow."
By the mid-'80s the trickle had become a flood — settlers
poured into the semi-arid West and Cheyenne County
was not overlooked.

The professional land locators and railroad land agents
boosted settlement. With surplus land, ceded to them by
the government to encourage the construction of rail lines,
the rail companies pushed the settlement of the West. They
advertised, not only in the United States, but in Europe,
extolling the mildness of the climate, the richness of the
soil, the low prices of the land. And the grangers came.

Those homeseekers pushed the frontier westward and
the claims with their sod shanties began to encroach on
the baronial ranges of the cattle kings. At first the cat-
tlemen were confident that this invasion of their realm
couldn't last — plowing up grasslands, using eastern farm-
ing methods in that arid land, would be a failure. But the
farmers plowed up their quarter sections of land and when
one starved out there were a dozen to take his place.

And, in Nebraska, they had the Herd Law. The cat-
tlemen hadn't worried much when the Nebraska legisla-
ture passed the law in 1871, making it mandatory to
restrain cattle from wandering over the public domain.
At their urging a proviso was added in 1877 — the Herd
Law would be suspended in each newly organized county
until it was endorsed by a public referendum. So the early

The round-up view, inspecting a brand

Below, the Saban and Whaley families are shown in front of

the old log ranch house on the Bay State Ranch, Ten Sleep Creek.

cowmen of Cheyenne County, the voting majority in that
sparsely settled region of those days, enjoyed free and open
range.

But the settlers came and those who stayed were a
hardy lot. In county after county the tide began to turn,
population-wise, and the grangers found a legal means

to defend their rights — the Herd Law.

In Custer, Keith, Frontier, and other counties, a
public referendum eliminated the proviso of 1877, thus
endorsing the Herd Law. In the fall of 1886, Cheyenne
County, comprising the entire south half of the Panhan-
dle, found the votes to defeat the cattlemen. Following
closely on legislation making it illegal to fence the public
domain, the Herd Law tolled the death knell for the Bay
State, along with other big spreads.

Enforcing the Herd Law was not easy but often a
rancher was brought into court for damages done by his
herds to the waving grain or the green corn stalks of the
settler. Also there were acts of violence and tragic hap-
penings. Claims and counter-claims were defended with
the Winchester and the six-shooter.

Wyoming's Maverick Law added to the controversy.
Beginning in 1884 roundups in the Panhandle were con-
ducted by Wyoming Stock Growers Association rules.
Under the Maverick Law all motherless calves automatic-
ally became the property of the association. And stock with
a brand not accepted by the association inspectors was
classed as mavericks, and auctioned off for association
funds. With the subsequent discrimination against the
owners of small herds the enmity between the big operators
and the grangers increased, with more violence.

With a badly overstocked range — perhaps the chief
cause of the downfall of the cattle baron and one he himself
had brought about — the "Great White Ruin" of 1885-86
was a disaster. Out of the Dakotas the blizzard roared,
cattle drifting before it until they piled up in great heaps
and froze to death. Pumpkin Creek on Bay State land was
filled with carcasses for ten miles and their losses were
stupendous, though perhaps not the 100,000 estimated
by some.

Reeling from those losses the devastating winter of
1886-87 hit hard, and the cattle kings accepted defeat in
Nebraska. They moved out in the summer of 1887. Most
of the cattle were shoved over the line into Wyoming,
already overstocked, but with no Herd Law. Lineriders,
with Mike Shonsey as foreman, fought to keep the cattle
from heading back to their home range.

The Bay State looked for something less crowded.
They herded 10,000 steers to Judith Basin in Montana,
but their "she-stuff," 20,000 head, was pushed into the
Big Horn Basin of north Wyoming where the corpora-
tion, through John McShane, had bought a ranch.

The move was well organized with each herd of 5,000
under a foreman with a crew of 20 to 30 men. Percy
Braziel was one foreman, S. J. Robb another. Both later
returned to Nebraska. Among the riders was Nick Ray,
good-looking, proficient with horse and rope, whose life
would end in a hail of bullets at the K C ranchhouse dur-
ing the Johnson County Invasion of 1892. Another was
Morrell Wyman who stayed in Wyoming, and another
was Ed Eaton who was later involved in the last cattle and
sheep war of the West.

With the bawling, horn tossing, hoof clacking clamor
of the last herd of Bay State stock growing fainter up the
Platte the spectacular years of the Bay State in Nebraska
drew to a close. The Bay State as a corporation would
survive only a few more years but the name of Bay State
for a ranch still lives on.

Only after the other areas of Wyoming were over-
stocked had eyes turned to the Big Horn Basin of north
central Wyoming. Here was virgin land, but encircled by
mountains and far from market. Only necessity pushed
the cattlemen over that barrier, and it was more than a
decade after Iliff shipped his first beef from Cheyenne
before any cattle nosed their way into the Basin.

The cattle kings came in a rush from 1879 to 1881,
with many foreign holdings in the Cody country in the
northwest corner. The first to reach the southeast was
W. P. Noble, who called the Basin a cowman's paradise.
He set up headquarters on Ten Sleep Creek on the west
slope of the Big Horn Mountains — this would become the
Bay State.

Noble soon had neighbors, among them the adjoin-
ing Bar X Bar, established by the English company of
Moreton Frewen, already on the Powder River, and the
Shield, managed by Beckwith and Quinn, on the Upper
No Wood to the south. Within two years the entire Basin
was stocked with cattle.

In 1886 the Bay State Land and Cattle Company
bought the Noble spread, preparing for the move from
the Nebraska Panhandle.

The cattle barons of the Big Horn Basin had sole use
of this wide open range for less than a decade. In 1885
the first "nester" family trailed into this last frontier of
the nation. Between 1885 and 1893 they streamed across
the rugged mountains, taking up the choice lands along
the creeks that rollicked their way down the mountain-
sides.

The homesteaders — "nesters" or worse to the cattle-
men— threw up their log cabins and built their barbed
wire fences. This was Wyoming and the public domain
was free range. With no Herd Law here the settler had
to fence out the cattleman's herds — but he had just as
much right to that range. He built up his little herd of
cattle and numerous brands appeared on the free range,
a burr under the saddle of the big cattle king.

Trouble was brewing when the hard winter of
1886-87, with tragic cattle losses, forced many big cat-
tlemen of the Basin, especially the manager-operated
spreads, to liquidate their holdings. The newly arrived
Bay State bought out the Shield outfit and later acquired
more deeded land and range claims, including some Bar
X Bar holdings.

The cattlemen of the Basin, big and little, had learned
that they must produce hay to carry their herds through
the winter. New methods of ranching were developed and
many a cowhand had to lay aside his rope to ride a mow-
ing machine.

By the early '90s markets had tumbled, freight and
interest rates were high, predators were taking a big toll,
and the range, with dry summers, was overgrazed. The
bonanza times for the cattlemen were gone and he looked
for someone to bear the primary blame. He settled on the
"nester," for rustlers were riding the range and, to the big
cattleman, the "nester" and the rustler were synonymous.

To combat the rusding problem range detectives were
increasingly active all over the state, sent out by the Wyo-
ming Stock Growers Association. They were seen in the
Basin — Frank Canton, Joe Le Fors, Mike Shonsey and
even Tom Horn. There were lynchings and murders. A
spirit of frustration, anger, and hate rode the land.

The explosive situation erupted in the Johnson County
War of 1892, the invasion by the big cattlemen into the
territory on the Powder River, dotted with homesteaders'
shacks and, the cattlemen declared, most of them shel-
tered a rustler.

At that time Johnson County extended westward over
the Big Horns to the Big Horn River, including the Ten
Sleep country and the Bay State. No Big Horn Basin cat-
tlemen took an overt part in the Invasion but it has been
said that some big operators were "very fidgety" that
spring. Some men who took part in the Invasion had links
to the Bay State.

Without doubt the Nebraska herds trailing into Wyo-
ming territory to an already overcrowded range were some
of the causes of the Johnson County War. Men with ties
to those Nebraska spreads of pre-1887 appeared promi-
nently in the Invasion — Bill Guthrie, Billy Irvine, Tom
Waggoner, Fred Hesse and others.

The story of the Johnson County War, beginning with
the murder of Nick Ray and Nate Champion, has been
told and re-told, with both sides justifying their actions.
But changes came, the homesteaders were there to stay,
and the little cattleman replaced the big. One big outfit,
the Bay State, struggled to hang on, with patents for land
that became part of their holdings showing the names of
men involved in the Invasion — Algernon J. Winn, Frank
Kemp, Fred Hesse, Sutherland and others.

During the '90s the Bay State ran only 12 to 14,000
head of cattle, and records show that they paid taxes on
but 300 in 1897 — presumably all except the strays were
sold off in 1896. Those were the twilight years. In 1898
the Bay State Land and Cattle Company was closed out
by Judge Woolworth of Omaha.

Roe Emery acquired the ranch, still called the Bay
State, and operated it until 1908. George Saban, a former
Rough Rider with Col. Torrey, but later a family man,
was the next owner.

For years another problem had "itched the skin" of
the cattleman — the coming of the sheepman. Certain that
sheep would despoil the range the cattlemen throughout
the West sometimes reacted with violence. But the sheep-
men were a stubborn lot — the flocks stayed and more
came.

It was some years before they edged into the Ten Sleep
country. When they did the catdemen posted "dead
lines." Joe Emge and Joe Allemand refused to honor the
dead lines, with tragic results.

Masked men swooped down on the sheep camp on
Spring Creek on April 2, 1909, and left three men dead,
dogs killed, sheep slaughtered and wagons burned.

This was the Spring Creek Raid, last of the cattle-
sheep wars of the West. Five catdemen — after two others
had turned state's evidence in return for a promise of no
prosecution — were tried. Ed Eaton, the cowhand who had
come from Nebraska with the Bay State cattle in 1887,
was one who was found guilty of arson. George Saban,
owner of the Bay State, was one who was found guilty
of second degree murder.

Saban turned all his assets, the Bay State Ranch, cat-
de, horses, and machinery over to his father-in-law, W. T.
Whaley. The Saban family continued to live on the ranch
until Whaley sold to William Spratt in 1916. The Spratts
held the place until 1945.

Those were years of change in ranch operations. On
the Bay State tractor powered machinery replaced the
horse drawn mowers and rakes. Cattle strains were
improved — there were no traces of the old Texas long-
horns. A big new barn overshadowed the old log sheds.
In 1943 fire took the original rambling log ranch house
on the Ten Sleep and a new modern home was built.

In Nebraska, too, reminders of the Bay State were
erased with the razing of the old mansion. Did the ghosts
of those cowboys sitting on the hill marveling at such a
thing as an indoor toilet, watch its passing? Perhaps they
wondered at other new ways.

There were changes in ranch management. The For-
est Reserves, the Taylor Grazing Act, the Bureau of Land
Management — the cattlemen faced them all and, with the
same ingrained stubbornness of those old cattle barons,
he made a howl of protest at each change, but he adjusted.
He battled drought and blizzards, high interest, taxes, and
freight rates, depressed markets and labor shortages.
Along with the others the Bay State hung on, owned now
by Clair Lyman.

Certainly the cattle business of today has little resem-
blance to that of early times. That great exciting era of
the big cattle spreads was truly a phenomenon, a last fling
of the American frontier. It couldn't have happened before
the railroad touched the fringes of that wide-spreading
rangeland. For a time there were none to vie with the cattle
interests, but it had to be a passing, short-lived era, for
the rapid building of the railroads made those lands
accessible to the grangers and settlement of them was
inevitable.

It all happened so quickly, it was such a short, wonder-
ful, terrible, and amazing kind of time. But the glamor
and adventure of that brief era has made a lasting place
in history that will never be erased — a history which the
Bay State helped to write.

BOOK REVIEWS

Artifacts and the American Past. By Thomas J.
Schlereth. (Nashville, Tennessee: American
Association for State and Local History, 1980).
Index. Bib. Appendix. 294 pp. Cloth, $13.95.
Paper, $10.50.

Learning about our past should be an exciting,
challenging and rewarding experience for everyone. Un-
fortunately, many times our initial introduction to
historical inquiries, usually in the classroom, reading from
an outdated text, memorizing the important names, events
and dates which are usually promptly forgotten, tends to
turn off rather than turn on the majority of students.
However, as Thomas J. Schlereth mentions in the intro-
duction of his book. Artifacts and the American Past, during
the past two decades new techniques for the teaching of
history have gradually been developed. These techniques
strive to include the student in the investigative and
research process of history. Through cross-disciplinary
studies, the emphasis of these new techniques is on "learn-
ing as intellectual inquiry rather than rote memorization."

In the ten essays which make up Artifacts and the
American Past, Schlereth offers the teacher, museum
educator and researcher an interesting assortment of
methods, techniques and ideas which incorporate material
culture artifacts into the teaching and research process.
The museum, historical society and library are invited
to become partners in this exciting adventure.

Artifacts and the American Past is divided into four topical
sections: graphics as artifacts; historic sites as artifacts;
landscapes as artifacts and a final essay which examines
our perceptions of American history. Within each section,
three essays, each dealing with one aspect of the main
theme, are presented. Extensive notes and bibliographic
information are provided for each essay.

Section I, graphics as Artifacts, concentrates on the
uses of photography, maU order catalogs and cartographic
materials as teaching tools and research materials. Using

examples taken from his own teaching experiences,
Schlereth explains how an ordinary snapshot, a Sears,
Roebuck catalog or a city map can become a focal point
for an investigation into the cultural, social and economic
history of a specific time, place or group.

Although the uses the author suggests for graphics
may not come as a surprise to many, the wide variety
presented may be the spark needed to ignite a new ex-
citing program in your classroom or museum. But ideas
and techniques are not the only information to be found
here. Schlereth also gives good advice on the pitfalls
associated with the uses of graphics, particularly the abuses
of historic photographs when used as historical evidence.
He also incorporates a brief history of the development
of each form of graphic resource, while his bibliographical
citations compose a historiography of research in each of
the three areas.

Whereas Section I offers insightful reading for almost
anyone interested in historical research and teaching. Sec-
tion II will appeal most to museum professionals and
teachers. In this section, Schlereth identifies seven teaching
approaches, which turn the historic house museum or
historic village setting into a "cross-disciplinary labor-
atory . ' ' For each approach the author identifies the topic
of inquiry, student projects and a listing of bibliographical
resources. One of the more fascinating approaches is the
interior space concepts, where the student is encouraged
to acquire a personal experience with the house and
thereby begins to understand the relationships between
artifacts, house design and interpersonal relationships, and
then translate this understanding into a broader knowledge
of the social history of a given time and place. The final
essay in this section uses the artifacts from the 1876
Centennial Exhibition as a springboard for a study of 19th
century cultural history.

Section III presents perhaps the best example of
Schlereth 's use of cross-disciplinary studies. Incorporating
the work of architects, botanists, urban planners and land-

scape architects the author attempts to show how building
shapes, vegetation, street placement, and the layout of
a garden can be used as artifacts in and of themselves.
In one example the author explains how the study of tree
variety and placement can indicate settlement patterns,,
be the clues to ethnic origins in specific neighborhoods
and visual folk art. In another essay he examines the use
of the Chicago Model as an example of regional studies
which describe the investigating of a single city as a
microcosm for the study of social and economic trends
present in the nation during a specific time period.

In the final section, Schlereth acts as a "devil's advo-
cate" by defining six "historical fallacies" which he hopes
will help the reader "evaluate our attitudes toward, our
distortion about and our uses of the American past, ' ' and
three suggestions which he proposes may correct these
fallacies in our methods as teachers, museum curators and
educators and researchers.

As a final assessment of this book, several reserva-
tions must be mentioned. First, this book isn't easy to
read; the style is laborious and the content tends toward
redundancy. Although it contains some valuable ideas and
concepts, they are a struggle to dig out. Second, the ma-
jority of teaching strategies are geared toward use in a
university seminar setting, few can be applied to the
elementary, junior or senior high school or museum
education program without a great deal of adjustment.
And finally, if you are looking for a book which will give
you step by step guidelines on the uses of specific material
culture artifacts, look elsewhere. Artifacts and the American
Past is an idea book, not a teaching manual.

Michael Kelly

The reviewer is the historian at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody,
Wyoming.

Butterflies of the Rocky Mountain States. Edited with
an introduction by Clifford D. Ferris and Mar-
tin Brown. (Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press, 1981). Glossary. Color Plates. Photos.
Maps. Checklist of Species. 442 pp. Paper,
$15.95. Cloth, $35.

In his book The Forest and the Sea Marston Bates begins
with an interesting anecdote concerning the study of life:
"People often come to me with some strange animal they
have found. 'What is it?' they ask. . . . 'Oh,' I say
brightly, 'that is a swallowtail butterfly, Papilio
cresphontes.' It is curious how happy people are to have
a name for something, for an animal or plant, even though
they know nothing about it beyond the name. ' ' Bates goes
on to describe how other questions about the specimen
invariably follow including "almost inevitably" the ques-

tion, "What good is it?" He states he has never learned
how to deal with this question and often his reaction is
to ask in turn "What good are you?" Finally, he says
that the question should not be, "What good is it?" but,
"What is its role in the economy of nature?" It is not
surprising that Bates should setde on this question because
he was an ecologist and ecology is the science and study
of the economy of nature.

Butterflies of the Rocky Mountain States is a book designed
to answer the question. What is it?, when it comes to but-
terflies. Primarily a reference book, it is different than
standard manuals. The emphasis is more ecological and
its style is more readable than most manuals used main-
ly for identification. In its favor, it does these things
without sacrificing scientific validity and comprehen-
siveness. It covers the subject. As an ecologist, I found
this approach more appealing, and the book more useful
in determining the role of butterflies in "the economy of
nature." The book is a collective effort with eight con-
tributors including the editors.

There are over 500 entries in the checklist of but-
terflies in the back of the book and, to aid in identifica-
tion, four color plates representing 73 species and 102
specimens. The cost of showing every species in color
would have been prohibitive. Besides the authors agreed
that 90 percent of our butterflies could be identified from
black and white illustrations.

The book starts out on a historical continuity with the
past, by mentioning 15 early butterfly collectors in the
Rocky Mountain region. The main part of the book is
divided into three sections: five chapters of introductory
material; five chapters of species-group entries and ap-
pended materials.

The question, "What is its role in the economy of
nature?" can be partially answered by identifying an
organism's habitat and in the first chapter entitled
"Biogeography," 16 habitats in three land forms: the
plains, mountain and plateau river systems are listed.
Each habitat is briefly described with special atten-
tion to its plants and altitudes. Chapter 2, "Butterfly
Bionomics," could also be called butterflies. It deals with
life-cycles, behavior, feeding, diseases, economic aspects,
variation, genetics, and speciation. Chapters 3, 4 and 5
deal with external anatomy, taxonomy and collecting and
preserving specimens. The second major section, chapters
6-10, deals with species-group entries. The appended
materials include a glossary, a bibliography, maps, col-
lection locality data, checklist of the butterflies of the Rocky
Mountain states, a general index, an index to butterfly
names and an index to butterfly food plants mentioned
in the text. This text organization seems quite logical and
all inclusive of supporting material one would need to
study butterflies.

In conclusion, this volume is a worthwhile reference.
It adds to our understanding not only of butterflies but

also their relationships and roles in their environment.
It certainly helps a scientist answer, "What good is
it?"

William C. Edwards

Dt Edwards is a professor of science at Laramie County Community College
in Cheyenne and a Wyoming state legislator.

A Forty-Niner in Utah: Letters and Journal of John Hud-
son. Edited by Brigham D. Madsen. (Salt Lake
City: University of Utah Press, 1981). Bib. Illus.
227 pp. $22.50.

"No one can tell in what circumstances they may be
placed while journeying through life," reflected English-
born John Hudson as he taught school in a pioneer Utah
Valley settlement in 1850. Within months of this
philosophic musing, Hudson died of pneumonia at age
24, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Manti, Utah.
Hudson, who had emigrated to the United States in
1848 for business reasons, was on his way to the gold fields
of Caliibrnia in 1849 when illness forced him to stop in
Salt Lake City. He had no intention of remaining in Utah.
His letters home made frequent mention of his thoughts
of continuing the journey to California, but circumstances
decreed that he would spend the rest of his short life in
the Mormons' newly founded State of Deseret where he
labored as a schoolmaster, artist to Captain Howard
Stansbury's Great Salt Lake Expedition, court clerk and
settler in Manti.

A Forty-Niner in Utah, edited by University of Utah
history professor, Brigham Madsen, is a compilation of
letters, journal entries and drawings produced by Hud-
son from the time he started his journey from Birm-
ingham, England, in August, 1848, to the time of his death
in December, 1850. It also includes an elaborate set of
explanatory footnotes and biographic commentary by
editor Madsen as well as an index and an appendix that
reproduces the preamble and by-laws of a gold company.
Colony Guard, which Hudson joined in New York City
in 1849. These materials, particularly the journal entries
that cover Hudson's exploits with Captain Stansbury,
vividly depict frontier life in Utah. Hudson had received
a "solid English education" which, coupled with his obser-
vant and cheerful nature, allowed him to describe his cir-
cumstances and surroundings with a skillfulness that was
praised by Madsen who commented;

John Hudson has left us a rich treasure of panoramic views
and sparkHng descriptions, an inheritance which transcends
his unmarked grave. There is a lih and an elan to his prose,
a dash ol good humor and an eagerness to discover and report
the scenes which lie just over the ne.xt ridge.

A Forty-Niner in Utah is a success. Hudson's experien-
ces, personality and style of expression elevate the book
to a plane that, in Madsen's words, "leaves one with a

feeling of pleasant contemplation and serene satisfaction."
Madsen's editorial expertise gives the volume's narrative
a smooth-flowing, organized sense of completeness and
factual accuracy while a preface by Everett Cooley on the
purchase of Hudson's papers by the University of Utah
(a fine little story in itself) establishes a tone of scholarly
enterprise within the book. And the printing of /I Forty-
Niner in Utah, 1 1th in a series of similar works by the Tan-
ner Trust Fund, is commendable for the attention to
details such as quality of paper and binding, selection of
type and spacing so that each page is aesthetically attrac-.
tive, and the use of tints to set off Hudson's artistic
drawings.

In sum, A Forty-Niner in Utah will fit comfortably on
any shelf where there are classic works on the explora-
tion and settlement of the Rocky Mountain West. It is
a rich combination of primary source materials, expert
editing and high-quality printing. The product is not only
good reading, but it is an effective commentary on the
value of recording and preserving personal experiences.

Walter R. Jones

Jones, formerly Uinta County, Wyoming, librarian, is now with the University
of Utah Archives.

Summer Range. By Peggy Simson Curry. (Story,
Wyoming: Dooryard Press, 1981). 46 pp. Cloth,
$10. Paper, $5.

Peggy Simson Curry and her writing are quite familiar
to Wyoming readers. The author of four novels, a creative-
writing text, a unique poetry volume entitled Red Wind
of Wyoming, and twice a winner of Golden Spur Awards
for her short fiction, Peggy Curry is a popular figure at
readings and workshop sessions around the state. In 1981
she was named Wyoming's Poet Laureate by the
Legislature. Summer Range, her new book of poetry, is a
significant addition to the region's literature and makes
available some 35 poems, most of which have not been
collected before.

Many of the poems are, however, familiar to those
who have enjoyed Peggy Curry's readings, and this makes
the book doubly welcome. Among many well-known
pieces included in the volume are "When Words First
Spoke to Me," "Jack Patton," "Driving Down from the
Big Horns," and "Someone Left Summer," which is both
deceptively simple and moving:

What .shall we have when love is chaff,
Our fields fallow with frost?

Grant .some small highway of the heart
By bundled grass or grain

Be marked in all our snowy traveling
That we may smile and say,

"Ah. what a summering was there!"

Several threads of interest run through Summer Range.
For the Wyoming reader, there is a great deal of the
region's past and present within these poems, ranging
from the hardship and tragedy of early settlement in
"Lower Prairie Dog Creek" to the modern portrait of
impacted growth in "Wyoming Boom Town."

It sprawls in kingdoms of rattlesnakes

and rape among the sagebrush.

Bars bulge with cash,

shake to belly-gusts of laughter.

In grocery stores price soar higher,

unpredictable as January blizzards

stalling traffic for a hundred miles.

There are also many selections in Summer Range which
effectively present familiar locales, with "place" usually
becoming a springboard to deeper implications. Alcova
Lake, the Big Horn Mountains, Wind River Indian
Reservation, Bear River Valley, and Deadwood, South
Dakota, are typical backdrops. Other poems present more
generalized settings, as in one of several love poems in
the volume, "Lupine Ridge," a group of three six-line
stanzas linked by the repeated initial line and the rhymed
final two lines in each stanza. In the last stanza, Peggy
Curry moves skillfully to the implications for the couple
walking together on the lupine-covered ridge.

Long after we are gone,

Summer will stroke this ridge in blue;

The hawk still fly above the flowers.

Thinking, perhaps, the sky has fallen

And back and forth forever he may trace

His shadow on its azure face.

Long after we are gone,

Evening wind will languish here

Between the lupine and the sage

To die a little death upon the earth,

As though over the sundown prairies fell

A requiem from a bronze-tongued bell.

Long after we are gone.
This ridge will shape the night,
Lifting the wine-streaked west,
Shouldering the stars. And always here
Lovers will walk under the summer skies
Through flowers the color of your eyes.

Here and in other of the poems, a reader is caught up
in images and language through which the poet creates
a sense of believability, pleasure, in the scene itself, and
then shapes meaning and emotion from that background.

Throughout Summer Range, Peggy Curry utilizes her
careful observation and understanding of the natural
world. Moreover, she relates nature to human feelings
and attitudes, with the poet both observer and participant
in changing scenes and seasons, as in "Late Spring":

When shall the willows stir from sleep,

wandering tongues of water wound

in lover's knots around their roots?

When shall clouds spill first spring rain,
green begin to weave through winter grass?
When by rote of leaf-dream from the earth
shall trees predict the returning of the birds?

I wait on weathers of my own —

thrust of sun in mind and heart,

rain where old dreams sleep in quiet rest,

the winds that say, "Begin ..."

Another source of interest in the volume is the inclu-
sion of pieces dealing with the poet's youthful experiences.
Readers familiar with Peggy Curry's fine novel So Far from
Spring will enjoy the poems drawing upon, in personal
terms now, the North Park ranching background treated
fictionally in that novel. Examples are "When Words First
Spoke to Me," "Jack Patton," "The Hunt," and the
moving portrait of father and daughter in "Winter
Barns."

In winter barns of my childhood

There were dances. I remember

Danny Boy Shy Ann and do-si-do.

Feet beat mouse dust from the floorboards.

Our ballroom smelled of harness and the hay.

Women's skirts swung rainbow bells

In swing and promenade. Their sweating men

Held summer buttoned in their shirts

And never shed their ties.

Small wallllower rescued by my father.

The chords wound round us in a waltz.

The fiddles cried my joy and anguish

As my father led my stumbling feet,

His beaming face my only sun.

The range of experience treated in Peggy Curry's
poetry moves from such re-created memories up to the
present, and this breadth of subject and perspective
becomes one of the collection's strengths. As one of the
newer publishers in the state, Dooryard Press should be
commended for bringing out Summer Range, a book deeply
rooted in Wyoming life, in well-designed cloth and paper-
back editions. The volume will appeal to readers who know
Peggy Curry's novels and the Johnson County Cattle War
narrative poem. Red Wind of Wyoming, to those who wish
to see how Western material can be shaped into sound
poetry by an excellent author and writing teacher, and
to many others who have been awaiting the publication
of a new collection of work by Wyoming's first Poet
Laureate.

Robert A. Roripaugh

Dr Roripaugh is a professor of English at the University of IVyoming.

Indians of the Pacific Northwest. By Robert H. Ruby
and Robert A. Brown. (Norman: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1981). Index. Bib. Illus. Photos.
Maps. 294 pp. $24.95.

Indians of the Pacific Northwest will be a welcome addi-
tion to the libraries of both academic scholars of American
Indian history and to the lay reader seeking to expand
his understanding of a complex era in our national history.
Targeted for the general reading public, the book never-

theless provides students of northwest coast history with
an excellent secondary source reference.

The authors, concise and for the most part com-
prehensive, have provided an excellent historical narrative
covering White-Indian political relations from first con-
tacts to the early 20th century. The geographic area
covered in the book includes the Washington and Oregon
coastline as well as the plateau country drained by the Col-
umbia River system. The northwest plains and Califor-
nia receive some peripheral treatment.

Specific themes dealt with include early contact, sea
otter and other fur trade, economic relations with the
native populations, Christianity and the Protes-
tant/Catholic fight for conversions of souls, white immigra-
tion, the military's arrival and impact, treaty makers and
breakers, revitalization and nativistic movements and the
reservation system.

From the point of view of historical narrative, the
themes are comprehensively discussed and given adequate
treatment in view of the scope of subject matter involved.
The book is highly informative and objective in its presen-
tation of events and the figures behind them.

Indians oj the Pacific Northwest is weak in its lack of in-
terpretive framework. A synthesis is needed to provide
the reader with an understanding of the baseline aboriginal
culture and its response to increasing acculturative
pressure from white populations. The book would be
stronger and more informative if acculturation and the
concurrent factionalism as well as the subsequent
disintegration of social organization, kinship systems,
religion and subsistance patterns could be portrayed.

Such an addition would provide a rationale in Chapter
14 for Kamiakin's ultimate failure at unifying the Plateau
bands, provide a foundation in Chapter 20 for understand-
ing the desperation of Captain Jack's Modoc war and
explain Chapter 21 where revitalistic movements are
outlined. Such additions need not be extensive and would
help buttress the copious information already provided.
History should explain cause as well as effect and, if a
second edition were warranted, such information should
be seriously considered for inclusion.

Students of western history will find this book infor-
mative, easy to read and well formatted. Photographs and
illustrations are well done and may be profitably employed
by anthropologists as well as historic archaeologists. Indians
of the Pacific Northwest should be well received.

W. Michael Gear

Mr. Gear is Priruipal Invesligalor for Pronghorn Anthropological Associates,
Casper. Wyoming.

This book presents the results of an Advanced Seminar
in archaeology held at the School of American Research
in April 1976. A specific topic of the seminar was on the
Chan Chan - Moche project of 1969-74. In a word, this
volume is about pre-Inca civilization on the northwest
coast of Peru and its sociopolitical and economic systems.
Chan Chan is located on the desert coastal plain of the
Moche Valley approximately 340 miles north of Lima,
Peru. Its ruins cover an area of over six square kilometers.
The nucleus of the site consists of ten major rectangular
enclosures (ciudadelas). Each of these enclosures was sur-
rounded by 30 foot-high adobe (sun-dried earthen brick)
walls that protected the people who lived inside these
enclosures. Some of the enclosures are as large as 400 by
200 meters in extent. Chan Chan is one of the most extra-
ordinary archaeological sites in the Americas. The site of
Chan Chan is known to have been the capital of the
Chimu kingdom (A.D. 900-1467) which had been taken
over by the conquering Incas.

There are 14 chapters in the volume which deal almost
exclusively with socioeconomic and/or political systems
of the Chimu empire centered at Chan Chan. Most
authors of the volume have intensively studied patterns
of enclosures and structures in an effort to depict social,
economic and political systems of the chimu (specially
chapters 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9). Even the chronology of the
Chan Chan was based upon an analysis of adobes (chapter
4). Several chapters (8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14) attempted
to trace the cultural development in the Moche Valley
from the Early Intermediate Period in order to understand
the socioeconomic systems of Chan Chan.

Overall, this book is a highly specialized publication
on socioeconomic and political systems of pre-Inca civiliza-
tion. Major findings are primarily based upon the architec-
tures of the ruins of Chan Chan and Moche Valley. As
a result, this volume makes a significant contribution to
pre-Inca studies as well as our understanding of cultural
traditions of the Inca civilization. Although it is designed
to appeal to professional audiences, this publication will
also be of interest to students of anthropology, archaeology
and history. Any individual seriously interested in the New
World civilizations should have a copy of this book on
their shelves.

Finally, tnere are a couple of points I would like to
point out which could help to broaden the appeal to
general audiences. First, a synthesis of findings of the
Chan Chan - Moche project of 1969-74 would be a great
assistance to general readers. Secondly, there is a com-
plete lack of artifact illustrations. A few plates showing
Chimu pottery and other artifacts would also be beneficial
to readers.

Chan Chan: Andean Desert City. Edited by Michael
E. Moseley and Kent C. Day. (Albuquerque,
University of New Mexico Press, 1982). Glossary.
Bib. Index. Illus. 349 pp. $29.95.

Chung Ho Lee

Dr Lee is an associate professor of archaeology at the University of West Florida,
Pensacola.

Rodeo: An Anthropologist Looks at the Wild and the
Tame. By Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence. (Knox-
villc: University of Tennessee Press, 1982). In-
dex. Illus. 336 pp. $19.50.

If there is one sport that embodies and defines the
myths of a culture, it is rodeo. And if the ethos of the West
is individual conquest of the untamed, then rodeo serves
aptly as metaphor. Using rodeo as "text," anthropologist
Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence provides an analysis of a
distinct cultural group: the rodeo and ranch people of the
American West. Given that the heritage of these people —
pioneering, homesteading, moving back the frontier,
"civilizing" — is shared by many, and that Lawrence may
be right when she suggests that that heritage may have
much to do with what we identify as the American col-
lective consciousness, this book raises provocative ques-
tions about our relationship with our environment and
the living species with whom we share that environment.

Field research for this book meant "going on down
the road" (following the rodeo circuit). For three years
Lawrence attended rodeos across the West. To achieve
an "insider's" view she overcame a major obstacle, her
sex, and gained access "behind the chutes," where rarely
a woman is allowed. Her primary sources were the events
of the rodeo, rodeo contestants and ranch owners. She
interviewed contestants and ranchers at length. She
listened to their language and their songs, looked at their
clothing, and examined their relationships with people and
other animals. Frequently she cites historical, literary,
anthropological and sociological sources to corroborate her
findings.

Lawrence's primary thesis is that rodeo manifests the
two major dichotomies that form the warp and weave of
Western American consciousness: individualism versus
conformity and nature versus culture. With the excep-
tion of team roping and the wild horse race, rodeo events
are individual contests: the lone individual pitted against
brute force or the lone individual demonstrating a fine-
honed skill. In interviewing rodeo contestants and ran-
chers, Lawrence found that most had internalized the ethos
of rugged individualism. Yet, rodeo and ranch folk exhibit
"considerable inward conformity" as a group, as most
visibly shown by their attire and language. The paradox
of the celebration yet subordination of the individual is
best seen in the structure of the rodeo itself: the individual
competes alone, but unless the rodeo announcer mentions
the best time or score, or unless the fan keeps a pencil
handy to note scores, the spectators may not know who
won. There is no time set aside during the rodeo to
acknowledge the individual winners.

Rodeo consists of contests and displays which dem-
onstrate rule governed patterns of human domination
(culture) over animals (nature). Saddle bronc riding, for
example, one of rodeo's most popular events, is symbolic

of a contradictory Western response to nature. Rodeo fans
and the riders themselves are disappointed if the bronc
doesn't "give a good ride." What is wanted is a horse
that is extremely wild and unpredictable. When the con-
testants draw for their rides, they all hope to get the one
horse that has never been ridden. Of course, that makes
for better contest and a rider will score more points. But
in this event it is more the vivid display of wildness than
the skill of the rider that delights the rodeo fans and
engenders enthusiastic admiration on the part of the rodeo
contestants. Still, the rider must control, must bring out
or display the animal's wildness.

What is most intriguing and perhaps unique about
Lawrence's analysis is her thorough investigation of the
relationship between humans and animals among rodeo
and ranch people, and her investigation of the male view
of women in the rodeo/ranch world. The animals that are
used in rodeo and that are part of the daily experience
of ranch life, horses and cattle, are objectified as tool and
product but also have symbolic functions. It is with these
animals that strength, prowess, individualism, endurance
and aggressive competition can be demonstrated; it is by
virtue of these animals that the Western male ethos per-
sists. These animals are perceived as "other," in the sense
that their value is measured in terms of how well they serve
as vehicles by which men can manifest themselves as the
primary agents of culture.

Rodeo is primarily a man's sport, just as ranching
is a male domain. And within this rodeo/ranch world,
women are also seen as "other." As Lawrence explains,
"good" women are "kept remote by exaggerated respect"
and are expected to perform their womanly tasks quietly.
Women who do enter rodeo events are considered unfem-
inine and somehow aberrant, even those who participate
only in the events relegated to women: barrel racing and
goat tying. In her final chapters, Lawrence shows how
this same perception of "otherness" extends to predatory
animals, animals in general, land, and most assuredly the
whole of nature. Rodeo/ranch men see themselves as set
apart from and pitted against all else in the natural world,
women included.

Rodeo requires patient reading, for Lawrence is not
a particularly inspired writer. Too often it is a formulaic
structure that carries the narrative from chapter to chapter.
At times Lawrence extends her analysis to absurd
extremes. For example, she interprets one cowboy's
delight with the color of red blood on a yellow horse to
be suggestive of the Crucifixion. And Lawrence seems
sometimes too caught up in the romantic mystique of the
West to be objective, too willing to give the reader the
Marlboro image of the West. Still, the value of the book
remains. What Lawrence shows us is a series of
dichotomies that are deeply rooted in our culture and
burden us as an albatross. The unstated question is, if
we continue to embrace dichotomies which force concep-
tual wedges between the human world and the natural

world, and if we split the human world with those same
wedges, where shall we have our being?

Bernice Harris

The reviewer is Director of the Wyoming Humanities Resource Center, Laramie,
and Program Associate for the Wyoming Council for the Humanities

The Sandbar. By Walter Jones (aka History of the
Sand Bar. [1888-1977] by Walter R. Jones),
(Casper: BASO, Inc., 1981). Illus. 202 pp.

$16.95.

This book displays a "first," at least for this reviewer.
It has two distinctly different titles. The cover has one title
and author, no initial, and the title page has a totally dif-
ferent title with the author's name including an initial.

Throughout the book the area is referred to as the
"Sand Bar" in the text and on the title page; the "sand-
bar" or "sand bar" in most of the quotes and as "The
Sandbar" on the cover. None of the variations are
explained. "Sand Bar" is chosen for this review.

Anyone who was familiar with Casper prior to the
urban renewal of the 1970s will be interested in the sub-
ject of this book. The Sand Bar was wh^re locals took out-
of-town visitors. In its hey-day, it was an area of bars,
bordellos and gambling places. Not that there was much
to see from the 1950s on, except some dilapidated
buildings, cribs turned into legitimate low-income hous-
ing and a couple of "sporting houses" that everyone knew
existed but pretended didn't.

The stories about the Sand Bar persisted. Air National
Guardsmen stationed during the summer months at the
old Casper air base headed for the Sand Bar first chance
they had. Why? Because it was "off limits" and had been
since WWII. There was a certain mystique about it. In
fact, there were some Casper residents who were rather
proud of its reputation.

The Sand Bar tale is fascinating and begs to be told.
Unfortunately, the story Jones tries to tell is lost in the
untidiest job of publishing this reviewer has ever seen.

This is reportedly the first book published by BASO,
Inc. Perhaps that explains some of its difficulties. There
are more typos than are normally found in a rough draft.
They defy description, however, one example is worthy
of note. On page 183 (known only because it follows page
182, but for some unexplained reason the pagination was
omitted), is the following cutline: "One of the major con-
cerns of the Urban Renewal Agency was that the Sand
bar (sic) should have new streets, curbs, butters (sic),
sidewalks . . . workmen are lying (sic) pipe along ..."
Get the picture?

Diagrams, graphics and facsimiles are poorly
reproduced and poorly placed. Ink is smeared, especially
in reproductions of newspaper articles. In one instance,
two newspaper articles are placed so close together, they
appear to be one.

There is little, if any, consistency in technical style.
Some quotes are set off with spacing and italics, others
are within the regular paragraphs with no italics.
Sometimes the titles of newspapers following a quote are
in italics, other times they are in caps. There are so many
typographical errors that the reader soon stops reading
and starts looking for mistakes. It was no challenge.

There are no footnotes. Sources are parenthetical
following the quotes. On page 18, there is reference to
a footnote in the text, but there is not a footnote to be
found anywhere. There is no other documentation. There
is no bibliography, no index and no dust jacket.

There is no continuity. The text jumps around from
1917 to 1921 and back to 1917, then to 1937 and back
again. To add to the confusion, photos do not match the
text. An ad for a 1946's Sand Bar business is mixed in
with text concerning WWI and the 1920s. The reader gets
the impression they were shuffled and tossed in wherever
there was a blank spot, regardless of appropriateness.

Jones has done a lot of research and it deserves bet-
ter treatment. His story would have far-reaching appeal
if the book had been edited and produced differently.

Fledgling authors would do well to examine (not
necessarily buy) this book. There is much to be learned
regarding lay-out, editing, and the scholarly design of a
good history. Further, it teaches one respect for the
printer's craft.

Marion Huseas

Mrs. Huseas, a former resident of Casper, is Curator of History for the Wyo-
ming State .Museum. She has lectured and written extensively on entertainment
in the frontier West.

American Labor in the Southwest: The First One Hun-
dred Years. Edited by James C. Foster. (Tucson:
University of Arizona Press, 1982). Index. 236
pp. Cloth, $18.50. Paper, $9.85.

Professor Foster's goal in putting this book together
is laudable, but far too much of the content is lamentable.
He correctly notes that it is high time for the study of
western history to turn away from cowboys and Indians
to the rural and urban workers of the 20th century who
built much of the economy we see today. To achieve this

aim, the editor selected 14 papers from a March, 1977,
conference to represent some of the latest scholarship on
this subject.

The essays are of uneven quality, as is so often the
case with edited books. The section on the Western
Federation of Miners contains two pieces by Foster on
this union, one for those interested in the intricacies of
computerized history and the other dealing with miners
in Arizona and Alaska. D. H. Dinwoodie completes this
section with a look at the rise of the Mine-Hill Union in
the 1930s and 1940s, not arguing convincingly as to this
organization's effectiveness for its many Mexican
American members.

Other short essays deal with disparate aspects of
unionized labor. There are two studies of the Industrial
Workers of the World, a seemingly obligatory subject for
a volume on labor. The section on farm workers has a
valuable essay by Art Carstens which details the history
of California's Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975.
H. L. Mitchell's piece on farm workers is disjointed.
Edward D. Beechert treats the relationship between race
and unionization in Hawaii.

The section on Mexican labor has the most solid indiv-
idual essays. John M. Hart and Rodney Anderson have
written two historiograpical gems on the nature of the
Mexican Liberal Party and its relation to organized labor
in Mexico. David Maciel has given us a good, brief over-
view of the 20th century dynamics of Mexican immigra-
tion to the United States.

"Labor and Politics," the last section, shows that
labor has failed politically in the West. This is highlighted
by two case studies, one on Senator Carl Hayden's career
and the other on Texas state politics in the 1940s and
1950s. The book abruptly ends with a mea culpa by Mon-
signor Charles O. Rice for his anti-communist activities
in the CIO.

While a few of the individual essays are worthy of
attention, my major quarrel is with the manner in which
Professor Foster has put this book together. It leaves
unanswered or inadequately explained far too many ques-
tions. Do essays now one-half of a decade old truly repre-
sent the cutting edge of scholarship? Why does a book
entitled American Labor in the Southwest have studies on
Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexico? Moreover, the editor has
failed to inform his reader just what these findings indicate.
He does not, to give only one example, explain why
western labor was radical and characterized by charismatic
leaders. His thought that these are explained by
"something peculiar indeed with the sky, the air, the
water," or "a touch of Buffalo Bill Cody, or a dash of
Jim Bridger" (p. 9) is meaningless. Where does he see
western labor going from here? What issues should be
explored to answer the unanswered?

Only those who feel compelled to read everything on
labor in the West should bother with this book. The

significance of the latest scholarship on western labor still
awaits its interpreter.

Lawrence A. Cardoso

The reviewer is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Wyoming
and has done extensive research and publishing on Hispanics m the American West.

Boom Town Newspapers — Journalism on the Rocky
Mountain Frontier, 1859-1881. By David Fridtjof
Halaas. (Albuquerque: University of New Mex-
ico Press, 1981). Index. Bib. lUus. 192 pp. $14.95.

Since colonial days in New England, American
newspapers have chronicled the growth of the nation and
furnished grist for written histories.

Newspapers, then, in a very real way have been on
the leading edge of history. And a zesty example is
documented in Boom Town Newspapers, written by David
Halaas who is on the staff of the Colorado State Historical
Society. In this book a genre of newspapers itself is the
subject of early history along the front range of the Rocky
Mountains.

Author David Halaas sketches the role of journalism
in the rough-and-tumble mining camps from Denver north
to Montana and south to Arizona during the two decades
following the 1859 gold rush to the Rockies. He profiles
the men with derring-do and "shirttails full of type" who
ventured to this frontier. And he portrays the fortunes
as well as the failures of their newspaper enterprises in
a loose-knit narrative woven with documented vignettes
that span 20 years or so.

These vignettes, many clipped from the newspapers
themselves, reflect the often turbulent evolution of boom
towns and the uncertain destiny of practitioners of fron-
tier journalism.

Although raw and excessive in tenor at times, fron-
tier journalism is depicted as having had a stabilizing influ-
ence within the mining camp communities — even within
those that appeared only to disappear. The newspapers
that endured the free-wheeling frontier, in some instances,
have grown old and prominent and dependable — such as
Denver's Rocky Mountain News (1859).

In summary. Boom Town Newspapers reflects an inter-
esting wedge of American journalism. And the book, laced
with well-referenced footnotes and a broad bibliography,
is also a substantive addition to the library of western
history.

Robert C. Warner

The reviewer is Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Wyoming.

The World Rushed In. The California Gold Rush Exper-
ience. By J. S. Holliday. (New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1981). Maps. Illus. Appendix. Bib. 559
pp. $16.95.

The common man has rarely been retrieved more elo-
quently from the past than J. S. Holliday has done in The
World Rushed In. Based on the diary of William Swain,
a '49er from Niagara County, New York, Holliday's work
offers an eyewitness account of a journey across a conti-
nent, and the ensuing hardships of life in the placer
streams of California.

From the outset, Holliday makes clear his intent only
to serve as a guide to Swain's diary and letters. Each
chapter has a brief introduction to provide a context for
correspondences and diary entries, and from there on, the
show belongs to William Swain.

While it is well known that the migration to the Cal-
ifornia gold fields attracted its portion of unsavory
characters, William Swain was surely not among them.
Perhaps what is most significant about this book, is that
an ordinary man, trying to make a go of life, comes off
so well.

Swain was a devoted husband, father and brother.
His trip across the frontier was complicated by the
knowledge that so many of his friends and neighbors ques-
tioned the judgment of a man who would leave his fam-
ily to embark on such a perilous quest. But Swain had
confidence in himself, and trusted that he was doing the
right thing. Throughout his absence from home, he
avoided the gambling, whiskey and brothels of the gold
rush country, always remaining true to his moral code
and family.

Swain was a man at peace with himself, and possibly
that explains the easy flow of words and vivid descrip-
tions that so characterize his diary. The excitement of the

first glimpse of Courthouse Rock, the dreaded trip along
the vanishing Humboldt, and the terrible indecision at
Lassen's Cut-Off, are all carefully noted. Everyday Swain
faithfully wrote in his diary, determined to share all his
experiences with family and friends when he finally
returned to New York. Not even the trials of Nevada's
Black Rock Desert, or the frustration brought on by
searching for elusive shortcuts, prevented Swain from
writing.

Once in California, Swain, like most of his contem-
poraries, dreamed of yelling "eureka!", and of return-
ing home with wealth and a repertoire of fine tales. But,
like the majority of his peers, Swain left the gold fields
only with the tales. The Sierra streams failed to yield the
glitter he had hoped for. El Dorado proved fleeting after
all.

Finally acknowledging defeat, Swain left the gold fields
for San Francisco and the sea voyage home. There he
joined the hordes of other ex-miners who boarded decrepit
ships, where along with their faded dreams, they brought
to a close their California adventure.

In resurrecting the life of William Swain, Holliday
demonstrates a master's touch in combining scholarship
with fine writing. One finishes the book with a warm feel-
ing for Swain, and it is unquestionably a tribute to Holli-
day's narrative talents that the reader is allowed this
pleasure. In 1897, 46 years after he had returned home,
on their 50th wedding anniversary, Swain's wife, Sabrina,
lovingly raised a glass and toasted, "to my '49er. " It was,
after all those years, still a decision that he was proud of.

I wish I had known him.

AlBIN J. COFONE

The reviewer u a professor oj anthropology at Suffolk Community College, Selden,
New York.

INDEX

Abbott, George, E., 44

Abncy, Jack, 51

Agricultural Adjustment Administration, 22

American Labor in the Southwest: The First One Hundred Years, edited

bv James C. Foster, review, 78-79
Andersen, Gunmar, 13
Anderson, Esther, 21
Anderson, Gertrude Boberg, 13
Angier, F.J., 8

Artifacts and the American Past, by Thomas J. Schlereth, resiew, 72-73
Arvada, Wyoming. 35
Axford School (Platte County), photo, 17

Baird, John L., 41, 44; photo, 42

Ballard, Anna Schlick, 16

Bank of Glenrock, 41

Bank of Moorcroft, 44

Bank of Upton, 44

Banks, 34-44

Barthcll, Robert, 10

Basques, 25

Baukhages, F. E., 30

Baxter and Bernard, 51

Bay State Land and Cattle Company, 67-71

"Bay State Marked an Era," by Vera Saban and Earl L. Hanway,

67-71
Beaver Creek School (Big Horn County), 16
Beyer, Keith, "A Young Man Comes of Age: The Letters of

Charles Rapp," 45-47
Boom Town Newspapers — Journalism on the Rocky Mountain Frontier,

by David Fridtjof Halaas, review, 79
Bostwick, Louis R., 8
Boulder, Wyoming, 13
Bowman, A. E., 23, 25 26; photo, 23
Braceros, 21, 23, 25
Braun, Oscar, 58
Braziel, Percy, 70
Brewen, Rosalie, 16
Brown, Frank H., 27
Brown, H. E. "Stuttering", 51
Brown, Martin, and Clifford D. Ferris, Butterflies oj the Rocky Mountain

States, review, 73-74
Brown, Robert A., and Robert H. Ruby, Indians ojthe Pacific Northwest,

rexiew, 75-76
Bryan, William Jennings, 64
Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 47
Bunker Hill School (Carbon County), 13
Burton, Phillip G., 27
Butterflies of the Rocky Mountain States, edited by Clifford D. Ferris

and Martin Brown, review, 73-74

Camp Clarke Bridge (Nebraska), 68

Card, Harry, 50

Cardoso, Lawrence A., review oi American Labor in the Southwest: The

First One Hundred Years, 78-79
Carson, Rosella, 13
Caserman, John, 29

Central School (Niobrara County), photos, 15
Chaffee, T. W., 50
Chan Chan: Andean Desert City, edited by Michael E. Moseley and

Kent C. Day, review, 76
Cheyenne State Bank, 40, 41
Christmas programs, 14
Citizens National Bank (Cheyenne) 38, 41
Clark, Senator Clarence Don, 63
Clarke, Henry S., Jr., 40
Clay, John, 53, 54, 55

Coad, Mark and John, 68

Coc, Margaret Hoglund, 14

Coffecn. Herbert, 4

Cofone, Albin, J., review of The World Rushed In: The California Gold

Rush Experience, 80
Collins, R. W., 38

Commercial State Bank (Guernsey), 41
Cosgriff, Thomas A., 41, 44
"Country School Legacy in Wyoming," by Andrew Gulliford,

10-19
Craig, Richard B., 25
Grain, Harry, 60
Cross. George, 53
Cruz. Dellmo. photo, 29

Curry, Peggy Simson, Summer Range, review, 74-75
"Custer's Last Stand," 3-9

Dancing, 17

Daniel, Wyoming, 13

Dean, Mrs. Alverna Markle, 53

Dennis, Albert N., 25

Dippie, Brian W., " 'The Thrillen'est Fight Ever!': Sheridan

Re-enacts Custer's Last Stand, " 2-9
Dowling, J. E., 35
Draper, Mark. 59

Eaton, Ed, 70

Education, 10-19

Edwards, William C, review of Butterflies of the Rocky Alountam States,

Elk Mountain, Wyoming, 13

Emery, Roc, 71

Evans-Jackson Livestock Company, 68

Eveling, Mrs. Curtis, 23

Evergreen School (Hot Springs County), 17

Extension Service Club, 25

Fair Employment Practices Commission, 29, 30

Fairview School (Platte County), photos, 12

Ferris, Clifford D., and Martin Brown, Butterflies of the Rocky Mountain

States, review, 73-74
Finley, Nina Keslar, 14
First National Bank (Cheyenne), 38
First National Bank (Manville), 41
First National Bank (Newcastle), 41, 44
First National Bank (Torrington), 38, 40
First National Bank (Worland), 41
Fort Laramie State Bank, 40, 41
FORTS AND CAMPS

Camp Brown, 45

Camp Centennial, 46

Camp Pepper, 45

Cantonment Reno, 50

Carlin, 50

D. A. Russell, 49, 50

Fetterman, 49

Laramie, 49, 50
A Forly-Niner in Utah: Letters and Journal of John Hudson, edited by

Brigham D. Madsen, review, 74
Foster, James C, editor, American Labor in the Southwest: The First

One Hundred Years, review, 78-79
Frackelton, Dr. Will, 5, 6
Frewen, Moreton, 70

Garden Spot Pavilion (Carbon County), 14

Gay, C. C, 27

Gear, W. Michael, review o{ Indians of the Pacific Northwest, 15-lfi

Glafcke, L. B, 8
Glendo State Bank, 41
Gluessig, Alvina, 18
Gonzales, Jesse J., 29
Gorst, W. J., 27

Great Western Sugar Company, 21; photo, 24
Gross, John E., 21
Grouard. Frank, 49

Gulliford, Andrew, "Country School Legacy in Wyoming," 10-19;
biog., 84

Halaas, David Fridtjof, Boom Town Newspapers — Journalism on the

Rocky Mountain Frontier, review, 79
Hanna, O. P., 5, 6
Hanway, Earl L., and Vera Saban, "Bay State Marked an Era,"

67-71; biog., 84
Harmony School (Albany County), 13
Harris, Bernice, review of Rodeo: An Anthropologist Looks at the Wild

and the Tame, 77-78
Harris, Ed, 54
Hart, B. A., 52
Hecox, Dorothy, 13
Helvey, Robert E., 8
Herd Law, 67, 69, 70
Hesse, Fred, 71
Hewitt, William L., "Mexican Workers in Wyoming During World

War H: Necessity, Discrimination and Protest," 20-33
Hillsdale, Wyoming, 12
Hmes, Paul O., 22
Hitchcock, Frank H., 64
Hitchcock, Senator Gilbert M, 65
Hoffman, R. J., 38
Holliday, J. S., The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush

Experience, review, 80

Holliday, Mrs. 11

Holly Sugar Company, 21, 26, 27; photo, 24

Homer, Bessie, 25

Houseaux, Joe, 50

Hoyt, Percy, 58

Hunt, Governor Lester, C, 22, 25, 26; photo, 22

Hunton, John, 51

Huntoon, Peter W., "The National Bank Failures in Wyoming,

1924," 34-44
Huseas, Marion, review of The Sandbar, 78
Huston, Bill, 49

Ickes, Harold L , 28
Iliff, John Wesley, 67, 70
INDIANS-CHIEFS AND INDIVIDUALS

Bear Claw, 6

Blue Bead, 6

Curley, 6

Hairy Moccasin, 6

Medicine Crow, 5

White-Man-Runs-Him, 6
Indians of the Pacific Northwest, by Robert H. Ruby and Robert A.

Brown, review, 75-76
INDIANS-TRIBES

Arapahoe, 49

Crow, 5, 6

Shoshone, 54

Snake, 46
Ingleside School (Laramie County), 13
Irvine, Billy, 68

Jones, Marvin, 23

Jones, Robert C, 23

Jones, Walter R., review of ^ Forty-Niner in Utah: Letters and Journal

of John Hudson, 74
Jones, Walter R., The Sandbar, review, 78

Kellamer, D. M., 27

Kelly, Michael, review o{ Artifacts and the American Past, 72-73

Kemp, Frank, 71

King, Pete, 17

Labor Unions, 29, 30
Laird, Leroy E., 26

Lake, District Foreman , 29

Lake Minnehaha, 48
Lander, Wyoming, 45

Jelm School (Albany County), 14

Johnson, A. D., 44

Johnson, Billy, 54

Johnson, C. A., 26

Johnson County War, 71

Johnson, Hanna, 13

Jones, Gladys, 41

Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood, Rodeo: An Anthropologist Looks at the Wild

and the Tame, review, 77-78
LeBaron, F. W., 21

Lee, Chung Ho, review of Chan Chan: Andean Desert City, 76
Lingle State Bank, 41
Lira, Salvador Lopez, 26
Logan. Elizabeth Kille, 48
Logan, Ernest, 48-61; photo, 61
Logan, Hill, 48

Logan, Lizzie Walker, 48, 55-61; photo, 57
Logan, Mabel, 61; photo. 61
Lowrie, Mrs. Amasa, 52
Lucy, George, 18
Lyman, Clair, 71

Macdonald, D. N., 21

Madsen, Brigham D., A Forly-Niner m Utah: Letters and Journal of

John Hudson, review, 74
Marble, A. H,, 44
Martinez, Marvin, photo, 29
Maverick Law. 70
McAlister, May, 18
McCarty, Johnnie (Shorty), 54
McDonald, John T., 38, 40, 41
McElroy, John H., 22, 23, 25. 26, 27
McGinnis, John, 52
McMillan, Grace, 13
McNutt, Paul v., 22
McShane, John A.. 68, 70
Medellin, Roberto, 25
Mercado, Philip, 29

Mexican-Americans, 20-33; photos, 20, 28, 29
"Mexican Workers in Wyoming During World War II: Necessity

Discrimination and Protest," by William L. Hewitt, 20-33
Mondcll, Cong. Franklin W., 63
Moseley, Michael E., and Kent C. Day, Chan Chan: Andean Desert

City, review, 76
Murphy, Paul, 23

N
Nash, Thomas, 8
"The National Bank Failures in Wyoming, 1924," by Peter W.

Huntoon, 34-44
Newlin, I. C, 38
Newton, Wess, 23
Nicholson, W. D., 26
Noble, W. P., 70

O'Dell, Professor L. N, 4

Ogallala Land and Cattle Company, 68

Olson, Wanna Clay, 17

O'Mahoney, Senator Joseph C, 25, 27

Osage State Bank, 44

Owen School (Campbell County), 16

Parco (Sinclair), Wyoming, 35

Parker, Jennie, 5

Pastor, Frederico Gutierrez, 26, 27

Paxton, William, 67, 68

Perry, E. P., 40

Phifer, John K., 27

Phillips, Lewis, 68

Pickert, Charles, 29

Pickett, Dick, 21

Platte County State Bank, 41

Powell National Bank, 35

Powell, Wyoming, 21

Preston, Lucille, 13

Preuit, Ruby, 10

Pritchard, J. Irl, 21

RANCHES

Bar X Bar, 70

Bay State, 67-71; photo, 69 '

Bridle Bit. 70

Chalk Bluffs, 51

Diamond A, 50

71 Quarter Circle, 53, 54

Shield, 70

Wyoming Hereford, 51
Rapp, Charles, 45-47
Ray, Nick, 70
Riske, Milton, 10
Robb, Seymour J., 68, 70
Roberts, Homer, 48, 50
Robertson, Mrs. D. B., 23
Robertson, Senator E. V., 23
Rodeo: An Anthropologist Looks at the Wild and the Tame, by Elizabeth

Atwood Lawrence, review, 77-78
Rodriquez, Paul, Jr., 21
Roosevelt, Theodore, 65

Roripaugh, Robert A., review o{ Summer Range, 74-75
Roush, Floyd M., 26
Ruby, Robert H., and Robert A. Brown, Indians of the Pacific

Northwest, review, 75-76
Ruch, F. O., 12

Saban, George, 71

Saban, Vera, 16

Saban, Vera and Earl L. Hanway, "Bay State Marked an Era,"

67-71 ;biog., 84
The Sandbar, by Walter R. Jones, review, 78
Schaedel, Grace Logan, "The Story of Ernest and Lizzie Logan —

A Frontier Courtship," 48-61
Schlereth, Thomas J., Artifacts and the American Past, review, 12-Ti
Schlup, Leonard, "A Taft Republican: Senator Francis E. Warren

and National Politics," 62-66
Schwartz, Harry, 21
Schreyvogel, Charles, 8
Scott, Bill, 27

Selig Polyscope Company, 8
Selig, William, 8

Shawnee School (Converse County), photo, 16
Shepard, Eva, 45-47
Sheridan, Wyoming, 2-9
Simpson, A. A., 25
Sitkoff, Harvard, 30
Slater School, photos, 10, 11
Slater State Bank, 44
Slaughter, Johnnie, 51
Smith, Louise, 58
Snodgrass, John, 68
Snow, Mrs. Tom, 52, 58, 61
Spratt, William, 71

Spring Creek Raid, 71

Stewart, Senator Arthur Thomas, 25

"The Story of Ernest and Lizzie Logan — A Frontier Courtship,

by Grace Logan Schaedel, 48-61
Strikes, labor (cowboys), 54
Sugar beet industry, 20-33
Summer Range, by Peggy Simson Curry, review, 74-75

"A Taft Republican: Senator Francis E. Warren and National

Politics," by Leonard Schlup, 62-66
Taft, President William Howard, 62-66; photos, 62
Thomas, Senator John W. E., 25
" 'The Thrillen'est Fight Ever!': Sheridan Re-enacts Custer's Last

Stand," by Brian W. Dippie, 2-9
Tippets, Neff, 26
Tongue River, 50
Torrington National Bank, 41
Torrington State Bank, 40, 41

Union Pacific Railroad, 28, 29, 30

Upper Sage Creek School (Park County), 14

Valdez, Bernard J., 26

Vallee, H. W., 27

Van Tassel, Louise Swan, photo, 55

Van Wagner, K. D., 23, 26

Varner, R. E., 23, 26, 27

Veeder, J. S., 22

Voorhees, Luke, 48, 51, 52, 53

Walker, Ben, 14

Walker, Jennie, 48, 55-61; photo, 57

Walker, Minnie, 58, 61

Walker, Thomas, 59

Walters, Jack, 14

War Food Administration, 23, 27

Warner, Robert C, review oi' Boom Town Newspapers — Journalism on

the Rocky Mountain Frontier, 80
Warren, Senator Francis E., 62-66; photo, 62
Waurlamont, Pete, 61
Whaley, W. T., 71
Wickard, Claude R., 21, 22
Wilson, James, 65
Winn, Algernon J., 71

Woolworth, Judge , 71

Worland, Wyoming, 21. 26

The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience, by

J. S. Holliday, review, 80
Wright, Mary A., 18
Wyman, Morrell, 70

Wyoming Bankers Association, 38, 40, 41
Wyoming Employment Service, 23
Wyoming National Guard, 5
Wyoming State Examiner, 35
Wyoming Stock Growers Association, 25, 70, 71

Yoder, Benjamin Franklin, 41; photo, 43

"A Young Man Comes of Age: The Letters of Charles Rapp,"
by Keith Beyer, 45-47

Zander, Maj. C. Z., 5, 6
"Zootsuits", 20

CONTRIBUTORS

BRIAN W. DIPPIE teaches history at the University of
Victoria, B.C. He completed undergraduate work at the
University of Alberta, and received his M.A. at the
University of Wyoming. His Ph.D. is from the Univer-
sity of Texas. His research interests center on the cultural
history of the American West and he has published
numerous articles on General George Armstrong Custer.
Dippie's most recent books include The Vanishing American:
White Attitudes and the U.S. Indian Policy and Remington and
Russell: The Sid Richardson Collection.

ANDREW GULLIFORD is a teacher at Silt Elementary
School in Silt, Colorado. He has produced numerous
slide/tape shows including the acclaimed "As Far As The
Eye Can See: A High Plains Documentary" and "The
Years Ahead: Life for the Aging in Northwest Colorado."
He served as project director for the NEH Public Pro-
grams grant that resulted in "Country School Legacy:
Humanities on the Frontier." The project produced a
film, a traveling exhibit, and volumes of documentary
materials on the rural education experience in seven
western states.

WILLIAM L. HEWITT, a graduate student at the
University of Wyoming, has taught Social Studies in
Hoehne, Colorado, and Crownpoint, New Mexico. His
undergraduate studies were conducted at Adams State
College and the University of Northern Colorado. He is
a member of Phi Alpha Theta and Phi Kappa Phi,
scholastic honoraries.

PETER W. HUNTOON has earned B.S., M.S. and
Ph.D. degrees in Hydrology from the University of
Arizona in Tucson. Since 1974, he has been associated
with the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the
University of Wyoming. He has authored numerous
academic papers on geology, the most recent, a geologic
map of Canyonlands, Utah. His avocation, collecting bank
notes and paper money, led to historical research on banks
and banking in the period from 1863 to 1935. One on-
going project is his attempt to correlate bank failures in
Wyoming with rainfall's effect on agricultural production.

KEITH BEYER is an Associate Professor of English at
Northwest Community College in Powell. He has publish-
ed articles in other Wyoming journals and newsletters and
has been engaged in the informal and formal study of the
West and Wyoming for the past three years.

GRACE LOGAN SCHAEDEL is a Wyoming native,
educated at Cheyenne Business College and the Univer-
sity of Wyoming. She has taught school in a log cabin,
worked for the Department of Agriculture, and was
employed as an advice columnist for the Wyoming Eagle
for a number of years. Her knowledge of Wyoming history
is extensive and stands her in good stead as reporter for
the Pioneer Club, a group of ladies descended from some
of the state's earliest residents. She has been active in the
Wyoming State Historical Society for many years.

LEONARD SCHLUP is a professor of political science
at the University of South Alabama. Prior to his present
position, he was an instructor at UMS Preparatory School
in Mobile, Alabama, and Tarleton State University in
Stephenville, Texas. He has had 50 articles published in
professional journals and is presently conducting research
on a number of Western political leaders. He is now
writing a biography of Adlai E. Stevenson.

EARL L. HANWAY, who was born in the Sandhills of
Nebraska, is the son of a pioneer railroad man. Hanway
worked as a cowhand prior to entering the U.S. Army
in 1944. He served with the 124th Cavalry of the Mars
Task Force, the last cavalry trained by the Army. After
the war, he was employed by the Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy Railroad with Paul Henderson, noted authority
on the Oregon Trail. In collaboration with Henderson,
he researched and authored several articles on the trail.
He became acquainted with Vera Saban in 1975 and since
then the two have worked on research projects together.

VERA D. SABAN lives near Greybull, Wyoming, where
she has an active career writing historical articles. Her
work has appeared in Persimmon Hill, American West, In
Wyoming and many other publications. She recently was
given an award by the Wyoming State Historical Society
for her biography of Judge Percy W. Metz, entitled He
Wore a. Stetson. She has taught school and enjoys reading,
gardening and travel.

1*7%56

WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Wyoming State Historical Society was organized in October, 1953.
Membership is open to anyone interested in history. County chapters of the society
have been chartered in most of the twenty-three counties of Wyoming. Past
presidents of the society include: Frank Bowron, Casper, 1953-55; William L.
Marion, Lander, 1955-56; Dr. DeWitt Dominick, Cody, 1956-57; Dr. T. A. Lar-
son, Laramie, 1957-58; A. H. MacDougall, Rawlins, 1958-59; Mrs. Thelma G.
Condit, Buffalo, 1959-60; E. A. Littleton, Gillette, 1960-61; Edness Kimball
Wilkins, Casper, 1961-62; Charles Ritter, Cheyenne, 1962-63; Neal E. Miller,
Rawlins, 1963-65; Mrs. Charles Hord, Casper, 1965-66; Glenn Sweem, Sheridan,
1966-67; Adrian Reynolds, Green River, 1967-68; Curtiss Root, Torrington,
1968-69; Mrs. Hattie Burnstad, Worland, 1969-70; J. Reuel Armstrong, Rawlins,
1970-71; William R. Dubois, Cheyenne, 1971-72; Henry F. Chadey, Rock Springs,
1972-73; Richard S. Dumbrill, Newcastle, 1973-74; Henry Jensen, Casper, 1974-75;
Jay Brazelton, Jackson, 1975-76; Ray Pendergraft, Worland, 1976-77; David J.
Wasden, Cody, 1977-78; Mabel Brown, Newcastle, 1978-79; James June, Green
River, 1979-80; William F. Bragg, Jr., Casper, 1980-81; Don Hodgson, Torrington,
1981-82.

Membership information may be obtained from the Executive Headquarters,
Wyoming State Historical Society, Barrett Building, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002.
Dues in the state society are:

Life Membership $100

Joint Life Membership (husband and wife) $150

Annual Membership $5

Joint Annual Membership (two persons of same family

at same address) $7

Institutional Membership $10

1982-1983
Officers

President, Clara Jensen, Lysite-Casper
First Vice President, Fern Gaensslen, Green River
Second Vice President, Dave Kathka, Rock Springs
Secretary-Treasurer, Ellen Mueller, Cheyenne

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