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finals of
WYOMING
The Wyoming History Journal
Winter 2004
Vol. 76, No. 1
^
I ---
The Cover Art
"Snowed Up in the Rocky Mountains"
Thomas Kennet-Were Collection, American Heritage Center,
Univesity of Wyoming
Thomas Kennet-Were, an English gentleman and artist, traveled across the United States and part
ofCanadn in 1868 and 1869. He documented his trip by writing ati account of his travels, which
he titled "Nine Motnhs in the Lhiited States, " and by painting maiiy scenes hi watercolor When he
left 0)iuiha, Nebraska, in March 1869, he tmveled on the Union Pacific Railroad, still being
constructed across Utah. West of Laramie the tmin was unable to break through the snow.
According to Kennet-Were: ". . . ivhenivegotupinthemonungwefoufidthatbytheattanptsofthe
driver to charge through the snow the coupling chaim were broken. The engine andficight cars were
about a quarter of a utile ahead, a few hundred years before us was a passenger car, and ive in die
last were stuck in a snow-drift. Here we remained 26 hours, during which time weftdly appreciated
the comfoit of a sleeping car in which we ivere able to keep warm and amuse ourselves by pLrying
cards and coni>ersing with felloiv passengers, whose acquaintance by this time we had made. Our
tinned meats here became veij acceptable, diough I have never eaten any thing so nasty as they were.
. . . We attempted in the tnoming, after clearing the line of snow, to nwve the car, but the wind
which in die ftrst pLice caused die snow-drift continued so high that our efforts were of no avail. We
appealed to the driver for help . . . he told us that on his hist trip he had taken 22 days to do what
we had done in 12 hours, and guessing that we had 'better bide quiet he shut his door and went to
sleep. " Kennet-Were's experience was similar to many Union Paciftc riders eighty years Liter who
were caught in the blizzard in Nebraska and Wyoming in early January 1949. For more
infonnation about the Blizzard of 19^9 see diis issue's "Wyoming Memories. "
Information for Contributors:
The editor of Annals of Wyoming welcomes manuscripts and photographs on even,' aspect of the histon' of Wyoming and the
West. Appropriate for submission are unpublished, research-based articles which provide new information or which offer
new interpretations of historical events. First-person accounts based on personal experience or recollections of events will
be considered for use in the "Wyoming Memories" section. Historic photo essays tor possible publication in "Wyoming
Memories" also are welcome. Articles are reviewed and referred by members of the journal's Editorial Advisory Board and
others. Decisions regarding publication are made by the editor. Manuscripts (along with suggestions for illustrations or
photographs) should be submitted on computer diskettes in a format created by one of the widely-used word processing
programs along with rwo printed copies. Submissions and queries should be addressed to: Editor, Annals of Wyoming,
Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue, Laramie WY 82071, or to the editor by e-mail at the following address:
rewig@uwyo.edu
Editor
Rick Ewig
Book Review Editor
Carl Hallhcrg
Editorial Advisory Board
Katherine Curtiss, Sheridan
Dudley Gardner, Rock Springs
Sally F. Griffith, Lusk/Havertown, Pa.
Don Hodgson, Torrington
Loren Jost, Riverton
James R. Laird, Wapiti
Mark Miller, Laramie
Mark Nelson, Green River
Wyoming State Historical Society
Publications Committee
Barbara Bogart. Evanston
Rick Ewig, Laramie
Linda Fabian, Wheatland
Rowene Giarrizzo. Powell
Carl Hallberg, Cheyenne
Amy Lawrence, Laramie (ex-officio)
Phil Roberts, Laramie (ex-officio)
James VanScoyk, Scar Valley
Rose Warner, Cheyenne (ex-officio)
Wyoming State Historical Society
Executive Committee
Lmda Fabian, President, Platte County
Dave Taylor, 1st Vice Pres., Natrona Co.
Art KJdwell, 2nd Vice Pres., Park Co.
Cindy Brown, Sec^eta^)^ Laramie Counr\'
James VanScoyk, Treasurer, Star Valley
Laura Lake, Natrona Count)'
Clara Varner, Weston County
John R, Waggener, Albany County
Marge Wilder, Park County
Judy West, Membership Coordinator
Governor of Wyoming
David Freudenthal
Wyoming Dept. of State Parks and
Cultural Resources
Phil Noble, Director
Cultural Resources Division
Wendy Bredehoh, Administrator
Wyoming Parks & Cultural Resources
Commission
Carolyn Buff. Casper
William Vines. WTieadand
Herb French, Newcasde
Ernest C. Over, Pavillion
Diann Reese, Lyman
Alexandra Service, Thermopolis
Emerson W. Scott, Jr., Buffalo
Vern Vivion, Rawlins
Jerrilynn Wall, Evanston
University of Wyoming
Philip Dubois, President
Oliver Walter, Dean, College of Arts and
Sciences
Kristine Utterback, Chair, Dept. of History
nals of
WYOMING
The Wyoming History Journal
Winter 2004 Vol. 76, No. 1
"The Worst Campaign I Ever Experienced": Sergeant
John Zimmerman's Memoir of the Great Sioux War
Edited by Paul L. Hedren 2
The 1902 Murder of Tom Gorman
Byjohn W.Davis
15
Wyoming Memories: Blizzard of 1949
By Amy Lawrence, James L. Ehernberger,
and Lucille Dumbrill
.31
Book Reviews
Edited by Carl Hallberg 38
Recent Acquisitions in the Hebard Collection,
UW Libraries
Compiled byTamsen L. Hert 39
Index 40
Wyoming Picture Inside back cover
Annals ofWyoming: The Wyoming History Journal is published quarterly by the Wyoming State Historical Society in association
with the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, the American Heritage Center, and the Department
of History, University of Wyoming. The journal was previously published as the Quarterly Bulletin (1923-1923). Annals of
Wyoming (1925-1993). Wyoming Annals (1993-1995) and Wyoming History Journal (1995-1996)- The Annals has been the
official publication of the Wyoming State Historical Society since 1953 and is distributed as a benefit of membership to all
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below. Articles in Annals of Wyoming are abstracted in Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life.
Inquiries about membership, mailing, distribution, reprints and back issues should be addressed to Judy West. Coordinator,
Wyoming State Historical Society. PMB# 184, 1740H Del! Range Blvd., Cheyenne WY 82009-4945. Editorial correspon-
dence should be addressed to the editorial office o^ Annals of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Depr. 3924. 1000 E.
University Avenue, Laramie WY 82071. Our e-mail address is: rewig@uwyo.edu
Copyright 2004, Wyoming State Historical Society
Printed by Pioneer Printing. Che\'enne
Graphic Design. Vicki Schuster
ISSN: 1086-7368
2 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
"The Worst Campaign I Ever Experienced":
-'-Mi^.r
- ■ W W ."'-.,, ■■ ■ ■- " .' ~ ' ' ■-■■■:■■■
Sergeant John Zimmerman's Memoir
of the Great Siou:: War
Edited by Paul L. Hedren
Fort Fetterman on the North Platte River functioned as a gateway tunneling troops and materiel to Brigadier General
George Crook's successive campaigns against Sioux and Northern Cheyenne tribesmen in 1876-77. This late-1876
scene post-dates Sergeant John Zimmerman's passing of the post, but the attendant bustle remained constant
throughout the year D.S.Mitchell photo, courtesy Larry Ness. Yankton. South Dakota.
Zimmerman was
among those
ushered to the
front as the United
States Army
reinforced itself in
the wake of
George Armstrong
Custer's defeat in
the Battle of the
Little Big Horn
River, Montana, on
June 25-26,1876.
Shelved among the collections of the Wyoming State Archives is an untitled,
unheralded, thirty-page holograph by J. K. Zimmerman relating his experiences
with Brigadier General George Crook in the 1876 summer campaign against the
Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians. Zimmerman, then a corporal in Company
I, Fourteenth U. S. Infantry, was among those ushered to the front as the United
States Army reinforced itself in the wake of George Armstrong Custer's defeat
in the Batde of the Litde Big Horn River, Montana, on June 25-26,1876. A
sizeable command of infantry and cavalry commanded by Crook had already
engaged many of those same Indians in the Battle ol Rosebud Creek, just days
before Custer's demise. Although claiming a victory. Crook retired to the security
of a camp along Goose Creek, Wyoming, where Sheridan is today, to await
reinforcements and resupply.
Zimmerman's company was then stationed at Camp Douglas, Utah, but the
thirty-four-year-old soldier was not with his outfit when it was called to the front.
Instead, the corporal was on detached service escorting a prisoner to New York,
likely to the Bloomingdale Asylum in New York City. Upon learning from a
newscrier of Custer's death, he hastened to return to his company. In Omaha he
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
was permitted to attach to some 250 recruits bound
from the Cheyenne Depot to Crook's Big Horn and
Yellowstone Expedition. Supplies and rations were
also headed to the campaign, and the Cheyenne Depot
commander, in turn, put Zimmerman in charge as
freight traveled west to Medicine Bow and north to
Fort Fetterman. He apparently rejoined his outfit at
Fetterman, the forty men of Company I under
command of First Lieutenant Frank Taylor having
only recently arrived from Utah.
John K. Zimmerman's history before enlisting in
the Regular Army is sketchy. He hailed from
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in the southeast
corner of the state near Philadelphia, and identified
himself as a farmer when joining in Cincinnati on
March 25, 1871. He was twenty-nine years old, which
is quite a bit older on average than typical first-time
enlistees. Perhaps Zimmerman was escaping the toil
of the farm. There is no ready indication of service
during the Civil War, though he was certainly of age
and did mention a Civil War episode in his memoir.
His enlisting officer. Captain Daniel Benham of the
Seventh Infantry, noted Zimmerman's blue eyes, light
hair, fair complexion, and five-foot six and one-quarter
inch frame. He was soon assigned to Company I,
Fourteenth Infantry, then stationed at Fort Laramie,
Wyoming.
Zimmerman was discharged from this five-year
enlistment on March 25, 1876, at Camp Douglas,
upon the conventional expiration of service, but he
reenlisted the very next day. Prompt, unhesitant
reenlistments became Zimmerman's hallmark that he
repeated several times again. Although his company
was not among those ushered initially to the front as
the army commenced its war against the Sioux, when
the soldiers led by Crook and Brigadier General Alfred
Terry faltered in mid- 1876, their commander.
Lieutenant General Philip Sheridan, detailed
increasing numbers to the field, ultimately depleting
the garrisons at distant posts like Fort Bridger and
Camp Douglas. Men like Zimmerman were not
particularly conscious of the reasons for waging this
war against the northern tribesmen, but by then many
of these latecomers thought it had much to do with
avenging Custer.
Though we know very little about Zimmerman's
life before the army, he was motivated some ten years
after his service in the Great Sioux War to pen this
compelling memoir. In it we learn a bit more about
the writer. Clearly Zimmerman was an erudite man.
His long, continuous narrative is thoughtful,
reflective, and insightful, his spellings precise, and
his penmanship clear and exact. And Zimmerman was
a trustworthy soldier. He was appointed corporal
shortly after reenlisting in 1876 and exercised personal
initiative when escorting the prisoner from Utah to
New York. Foolish soldiers were not entrusted with
independent cross-country adventures. Nor were they
charged with shepherding field-bound supplies from
a railroad depot to the war front.
Zimmerman's memoir is interestingly
circumspect. He deliberately focused on the personal
hardships he and fellow doughboys and troopers
endured, and readers today intuitively feel the heat,
wet, cold, and hunger engulfing the men on Crook's
late summer march from the Yellowstone River in
Montana, eastward across the Little Missouri badlands
in Dakota, and then southward across interminable
prairie en route to the Black Hills. He provided few
names, mentioning Crook and Custer in passing, but
not his commanding officer, first sergeant, any of his
close comrades, or the occasional foil dotting his story,
like the sentry frightened by the coyote and the courier
who guided the men to camp one night during the
horrendous starvation march. Mostly, Zimmerman
wanted to report a personal tale of perseverance and
survival, and of having participated in the great
campaign against the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne
in 1876. His was a commoner's perspective, to be
sure, scored by intense personal privation, day-to-day
toil on a monotonous trail, the joy of discovering and
eating wild plums when rations were short, and the
melancholy of burying fallen comrades killed in the
fight at Slim Buttes, Dakota. This is unvarnished
history, and a tale of valor well worth remembering.
John Zimmerman probably never imagined that
his memoir would one day be published. We do not
know his motive for writing this story, aside from a
presumed self-interest, and this editor has discovered
no prior outlet for it. With a fluid, almost stream-of-
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
consciousness quality, Zimmerman's manuscript
evinces no effort at regularizing punctuation or
correcting infrequent misspellings. Zimmerman did
separate thoughts into paragraphs but frequently ran
sentences together, separated only by commas. Any
editor in his day would have corrected these matters
of convention. This editor elected to exercise a light
hand, regularizing Zimmerman's punctuation and
capitalization and correcting his misspellings, but
otherwise retaining the other hallmarks of this
extraordinary composition, as he wrote it.
No one who has always had their wants supplied,
such as the necessaries of life, do not know the misery
that is passed through in being without food a few
days. It was sixteen years ago in September last since
I was eating apple dumplings at Grand Pas. I have
not had any since that time, only what I have made
myself On several times I have been off on duty
alone or in small parties, then if chance afforded an
opportunity I usually had a good old time with apple
dumplings, if not with real green apples with Aldens
evaporated apples, something that is furnished by
Uncle Sam, somewhat the same as dried apples. No
one who has never experienced the pangs of hunger,
have an idea what a delightful sensation it is to dream
or even think of eating some delicacy. The
imagination seems to relieve the knawings of the
stomach. I will give a little experience of my own ten
years ago.
I was on detached service in 1876 (which is being
away from the company alone or in small parties) being
sent east with a prisoner. Starting back, I left New
York on the fifth of July, the same night I arrived at
Washington, D.C., purposing to stop over a few days.
As soon as I landed at the Depot I heard the Newsboy
cry "Gen Custer and his command killed by Indians
under Sitting Bull. " This was enough. Soon as I heard
it I knew that our company would be there as soon as
they could, having been ordered to be in readiness
for sometime.
I immediately proceeded west on the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad. Arriving at Omaha I reported for
duty, wishing to be sent to the Big Horn Mountains
to join the command but was told it was impossible,
as the country was full of Indians on the warpath,
and no communications with the front. I found out
that a body of two hundred and fifty recruits would
start in a few days to fill up all the companies on the
trail. I requested to be sent with them, which was
granted. Everything was being got in readiness at
Cheyenne Depot, Wyoming Territory.
Four car loads of horses, mules, wagons and
rations were started on the U.P. railroad for Medicine
Bow, ten hours run from Cheyenne. I was placed in
charge of all this Government property and rations
on the train, proceeded immediately, with the
understanding that the Soldiers (recruits) would
follow on the next train and reach Medicine Bow as
soon as I would, but detentions of various kinds
delayed the train with recruits for two days and nights.
As the train on which I was ran into the station, the
people refused to think that they were going to be
reinforced as the country was full of Indians and the
citizens were standing guard at night.
When they found out that the troops would not
arrive until night, they were much afraid of a
massacre. For two days and nights they were still in
suspense, waiting, watching, and wishing for the
delayed train. Every night until the recruits came they
were under arms. As the train hove in sight for a
certainty it brought relief to many a family who
oftentimes before had seen Indians on the hill tops
about town, ready to pounce down upon them at any
moment.
After unloading the cars then came a trying time
for the recruit horseman, the trying time for the poor
rider, many of them never having rode a horse before,
the horses many of them having no person on their
backs before. It was a pitiable sight to see the many
mishaps that befell them. You could see guns, hats,
caps, and blankets strewn along the road. Even the
men themselves were often thrown off and the horse
went scampering over the prairie, some of the old
hands would have to catch him again. The first night's
camp was a new era in many of their lives. Each man
was issued his days rations which was to last till the
next night. Many of them could eat it up in one meal,
if very hungry, and thought it very queer that they
could not get as much as they wanted, many of them
being used to going to the cupboard at home at any
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
time for a lunch. After eating their supper, then to
bed sleeping under one blanket or a double up with
two or three oi them, no root overhead except the
sky, probably before morning would be raining hard.
No matter what weather, all must be up early enough
to be marching by daylight, feeding their horses before
their own breakfast.
Five days marching brought us to Fort Fetterman,
Wyo. Territory. Then came a trying time for all of us,
in crossing the North Platte River. It was very high
for the season, occasioned by so much rain, which
was rather unusual so late in the spring. Each man
must ride his own over, no matter how deep, and in
absence of ferry boats, all the wagons must cross in
the water. Often the horses would drift down stream
a mile or more, the wagons would sometimes turn
over, baggage and all going down stream losing a
portion of it.
This crossing of the river was mostly after dark.
Once safely over all had to prepare to move by
daylight (about 3.30) hardly any one getting any sleep.
From this forward all the new hands were drilled
tolerably well in the misfortunes of camp life. Things
began to look more cheerful. Otir way from this on,
had to be felt by day and night by an advance guard
of Cavalry, looking for Indian signs. Every night camp
was about on the same footing, little sleep, bad water
(alkali, saltish) being distasteful to any one even those
who were used to it.
We spent several days marching through a country,
black from the grass being burned by the Indians on
purpose to starve our animals, but as long as we had
wagons with us we had a supply of oats and corn.
We arrived at our intended camp one night, and found
it already occupied by whom we did not know. To
make sure everything was put in order for safety or
fight as the case might be, a bugler was ordered to
the front to blow officers call, and if answered by
them we would know they were friends not foe. It
was answered immediately and we knew we were in
safety. It was General Merritt's command of the Fifth
U.S. Cavalry, en route to join Gen. Crook's command
North-central Wyoming's placid Powder River country witnessed a flurry of campaign action in 1876 as troops commanded
by General Crook traversed these rolling plains on three separate occasions^ and supply and hospital wagons traversed it
many times more. Photo courtesy the author
Annals of Wyominc]: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
in the Big Horn Mountains, the same as our
destination. We were with a large command now, and
we did not hope to catch up with them, as we
expected them far in advance, but they had a brush
with the redskins, and were delayed a day or two in
consequence.
Three more days marching brought us to the large
waiting command of Gen. Crook, at the foot of the
Big Horn Mountains, and the combined forces now
numbering over two thousand men, about half each,
cavalry and infantry. We were now close to the
mountains, the water was clear and pure soft as spring
water. We lay over one day getting ready to take the
trail after the Indians that had massacred Gen. Custer
and command. It was now five weeks since the terrible
battle was fought, and no white man had been to the
battle ground since to bury the slain. For this reason
no time was to be lost in getting ready for the start.
On the fourth of August 1876 we started on our
memorable journey with rations for fifteen days,
taking with us for each man, one blanket, one
overcoat. All wagons, spare bedding, extra horses and
mules were sent back toward Fort Fetterman.
Cavalrymen kept their horses, Infantry on foot. All
mules taken with us, were used to carry rations and
our blankets and overcoats, carrying them during the
day and giving them to us at night to sleep under.
Each man was issued his days rations separately
every night as follows, three tablespoonful of ground
coffee, three tablespoonsful sugar, three of Beans or
rice, twelve crackers (four inches square), twelve
ounces of bacon. This was a full days ration for one
man, and is the field or campaign ration. The man
may eat it up all at one meal or make two or three fit,
as it suits him best, many could eat it up at once, and
more too. Each man had one quart cup, no other
cooking utensil. He toasted his bacon or ate it raw,
boiled his coffee in the cup and drank it from the
same, making it strong or weak as far as the coffee
would go. The first days march after leaving our spare
bedding and supplies we had to cross the Tongue
River, as many as sixteen or seventeen times. The
river winds through the mountains like a snake, very
deep in the spring, but low in summer, only three or
four feet deep at that time and about one hundred
yards wide. The river runs through great cuts in the
mountains, steep and high, impossible to climb,
beside this was the Indian trail for the north country
and the only passable route.
The cavalry rode through the water good enough,
but the Infantry had to march and wade right through,
sometimes breast high other times knee deep. Our
first crossing was thought to be our only one, as we
had not been told of the others yet; all took off their
shoes and stockings, after crossing put them on again
and continue the march to the next fording place. At
the third crossing, our feet began to get sore from the
sharp rocks and sand. We were then told that there
were more than a dozen such crossings before us yet
for this day, and it would be useless to try to march
without keeping our shoes on so after this we marched
into the river removing nothing, and not delaying the
march, never thinking of changing any more.
After the last crossing (16 or 17) we went into
camp and it was quite a relief to think that it was the
last crossing of the Tongue River for a time at least.
But such looking shoes and boots as most of the men
had on was a sight, almost all of them turned down
at the heels and run over and had to be straightened
and dried that night that they could march in them
next day. But while all this is going on I must not
forget to mention that with the command were about
two hundred friendly Indians who acted as scouts,
and were always in advance to give us any information
as to Indian signs, as they were all well versed in the
lay of the country, the habits and haunts of the other
Indians, who were on the warpath, also the crossing
of mountains, streams, and trails generally, as to the
best routes traveled. That day we lay in camp almost
all day enshrouded in almost darkness, smoke from
the burning prairies and forests together with a fog
with no wind to move it from the valley between the
mountains, or drive it away. At any moment we were
liable to be drawn into ambush by the Indians as they
were not far away. In the afternoon the weather
cleared up and we marched until the middle of the
night, which brought us up to a few straggling Indians,
were left behind the main body as decoys and spies
for the main body in advance, but we knew they must
be some distance ahead from appearance of the
valley and the trail they left behind them, beating and
pounding the grass with the many pony tracks.
Annals of Wyoming. The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
Thousands of ponies and buffalo as they always drive are carried on the same pack unless the squaws carry
the buffalo before them. them on their backs like a knapsack, they are then
From this on we could see some of the effects of strapped to a board and the board is carried by the
the fight with Custer, as the battle ground was just squaw on her back. When they stop the board is stood
across the mountain to our left where the cavalry went up by a tree stump or rock, baby's head upward,
next day and buried the slain, which was over two Following them a few days further we came to a
hundred and fifty officers and men. The Indians left halt one day, seeing the hills full of Indians on our
many graves by the wayside. When they buried a front, and seemed as if they were in line of battle,
brave they roll him up in a blanket and place him in a The scouts soon reported them Indians but could not
tree top and tie his pony at the foot of the tree until say if friendly, but it soon turned out that they were
he starves. His war implements are placed in the the advance guard of Gen. Terry's, who was coming
blanket with him, the pony is for his use in the happy from the North to meet us and hoped to catch the
hunting grounds, as well as his war implements, and Indians in this valley, the Rosebud (thickly studded
show the great spirit what a warrior he was; he cuts with wild rose bushes). He came down from the
notches in his bow or gun stock one for every one he Yellowstone River, at which place he had landed from
has slain of his enemies. Government boats. The Indians were a little too sharp
Next night we came to the great Indian Camp, for us and slipped away. The wiley old chief Sitting
where they had the great scalp and war dance after Bull or tin hat as we called him, was smart enough to
the massacre of Custer and his command, and one break up his party in small bands, and struck out
of the greatest scalp dances the Sioux ever had as toward Canada and parts of Montana and Dakota,
they considered this battle one of their greatest making a new trip for all hands by following them in
achievements in warfare, and thought the great spirit their wanderings. As we were just out of rations a
was on their side. A long pole at least twenty feet division was made of Gen. Terry's supplies, and the
high was planted in the ground and lariats (pony ropes two commands started in different directions hoping
of raw hide) were tied at the top, and the braves to catch a few of the redskins by driving them back
would run the ends of these ropes through their to their reservations, or by destroying their food and
breasts; by cutting loose part of the flesh with a knife, supplies. But as it will appear hereafter we were nearly
then run and jump round the pole, until exhausted or driven to the wall ourselves by starvation and
the flesh breaks away. He was then considered a excessive marching and would have been unfit for
warrior. any engagement during the last few days of our
Terrible barbarous — but mostly done in scalp and campaign,
war dances, other braves would then take their places At this time we were on the Yellowstone River
at the same feat - other braves would keep up an near the mouth of the Powder River and it was raining
irregular dance and howl, the medicine men would hard all the time. The marching was miserable on
beat on the Tom Tom, a sort of rawhide drum, the account of mud. One night on the Yellowstone I will
squaws keeping up large fires: this sort of performance never forget as it was a continual pour all night, and
going on till the break of day. From this on the Indians not the least shelter for any one. The picket line had
seemed to be in haste to get away. We saw tepee poles to be kept up and I was on picket with a squad of
thrown away and such other articles as would be an four men about five hundred yards from camp. All of
encumbrance in a long march. An Indian and his us except one would sit together on some brush or
family carry everything they have on poles each side rocks while the other would be out further to the front
of a pony, the two ends dragging the ground thus the on watch, the rain wetting us through and through,
pack is put on the poles behind the pony, tied with About midnight a coyote (small wolf) gave one awful
rawhide both to the poles and the poles to the pony, screech, which always sounds like a hundred of them
two ends dragging the ground. The poles are for their together but they are harmless, but a terror to any
tepee (tent) when in camp. Their papooses (babies) one who is not used to them. Suddenly a sentry (a
8 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
recruit) came bounding in upon us almost frightened soon as possible as the village must be charged, there
to death with the cry that the Indians were there, but being a good supply of wild meats, which would help
all the others knew what was the matter and had a our command a few days further on. We hastened
s;ood laugh at his expense. We could not get him to forward as fast as possible and in three hours we saw
venture to the front again, alone, that night, and he the small party of cavalry all surrounded by Indians,
will never forget it. as they had already run the Indians out of camp and
Breaking camp at this place we had to cross the were holding them at bay with considerable loss to
Powder River, and it was very swift and deep Irom so both sides.
much rain. It was up to our breast and had to be As our whole command came in sight the Indians
waded, some of them losing their guns, and fell back to the hills (except a few who were in a
ammunition, by falling or slipping, on the smooth ravine surrounded) waiting and watching our
rocks. Every one had to carry one hundred rounds of movements, and kept up a continuous fire all the time,
ammunition, and it was no small weight, with our This made no difference. We were in their camp in a
other traps; and was very cumbersome in struggling hurry, and among their tents and tepees, bullets flying
in the water. For about ten days after this we had the all around, but no one was paying any attention to
best time on the whole trip as the weather was good this until we had something to eat. Afterward the
and we had a moderate supply of provisions, no Indians were taken care of in this manner, their bullets
Indians molested us. During part ol the time we had caused considerable damage among the Soldiers,
passed through what is called the petrified country especially from those who were found in the small
as all the wood, shells, bones, and many other things ravine, so a bold charge was made on their place of
turned to stone; there were no trees to be seen concealment by a thousand rifles brought to bear on
standing or alive but the ground was strewn with their hiding place.
petrified wood, even a few logs were turned to stone, Soon the havoc was complete. The few remaining
which must have lain on the ground for hundreds of Indians alive surrendered to us with several squaws
years. A little further on we came to quite a forest of and papooses. They held up a white flag and sent an
wild plum trees, and all being loaded with fruit, many old squaw to parley with us and this stopped the fire
of them ripe, and good to eat, and we had a great for awhile. Then the bucks tried to slip away from us.
feast of them. Shortly after this came the This exasperated the scouts so much that they jumped
commencement of our hard times, as we were right in among them, commencing to scalp them,
notified that our rations were running short, and must flinging the scalp high in the air, hooting and howling,
expect to live on half rations and probably less in a This was the only time I ever saw any scalping done
few days. A few days of short rations soon whets up by any one. Indian upon Indian was the real boisterous
the appetite and even the miserable quid of tobacco sr}'le. They were soon forced to surrender and come
was quite a solace to many a soldier on the march as out ol their concealment giving up their guns, many
money was more plentiful than tobacco or food. It ot them wounded that had to be carried out and laid
was a common thing for one soldier to offer another in their camp by the fire.
twenty dollars tor a small piece of tobacco, yet this All who could walk were taken with us next day,
would not buy it, much less any bread or crackers. those who could not were left in the old camp, with
While marching one day after this we were robes and blankets, with provisions and shelter, with
suddenly surprised to see a horseman at full speed a few squaws to take care of them. Nothing pleases
coming in the distance. Our conjectures were soon the Indian so much as to scalp his enemy. He draws
silenced by the news that a large Indian village had the long knife, give a long whoop, with one stroke
been run into by a small body of our cavalry who the thing is done. That night we feasted on Indian
had been sent on ahead to hurry up and forward rations dried meats, such as dried venison, Buffalo, bear and
to us. elk, also some dried wild berries and plums cured by
The courier was sent to ask for reinforcements as the Indians in their way.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
All such things as would be of any use to them,
we destroyed or took with us, so that they would be
hindered much in following us.
All the ponies we captured we took with us. Many
of the Indians got out of" camp in such a hurry that
they had no pony or blanket, so we either kept them
or destroyed them (keeping ponies, destroying
blankets). They must then walk.
At two o clock next morning we were aroused
out of a sound sleep to go on the picket line, as we
expected the Indians to return to us strong handed at
dayHght by being reinforced from other villages up
and down the valley and we must be prepared for
emergencies which we were sure would come. All of
the men except a few to take care of the sick and
wounded and a few to guard the pack animals and
horses went out from camp about five hundred yards
forming a circle around camp, lay down upon our
arms, waited for the savages and the peep of day. We
almost felt that the Indians were there in force, but
could not hear or see them. We were as still as mice,
and walked stealthily so as not to move a rock or
break a twig, and marched and waited for the fust
streak of dawn. According to expectations, the
moment we could see a few rods in the advance, the
familiar crack of the rifle broke the stillness of the
morning, telling us plainly that the Indians were there
seeing us at a much greater distance than we coulci
see them. Finding us well prepared they made one
desperate charge expecting to drive us out of their
village, but in this they were foiled. We were too strong
for them, compelling them to fall back to the hills
again, where they waited for reinforcements from
other tribes in the valley, and try some other move
on us. Now we must be up and going as we could not
stay long under the fire of the Indians, as at any time,
more of these villages might come to their aid. We
would be out of food and our sick and wounded must
be taken to a place of rest and attention.
We could not think of leaving any of our
command behind only the dead, and they had to be
buried secretly and securely in this way. A large hole
was dug in the ground right in the main trail, all of
them laid in it, covered with their blankets, then with
canvas filling up the hole as nearly as possible. A fire
was then built on top of this, the ashes afterward
scattered out about the place, all the command, horses
and men, then marched over the spot, obliterating all
signs of breaking the earth. Everything was made
ready to move. After the Indians fell back to the hills
and one side of our circle was opened out as follows
the troops marching at a distance each side of the
train. We had no time to loiter, our food was going to
run short soon again, we had at least ten days march
to communications.
The sick and wounded were taken care of in this
manner... the only conveyance was the horses and
pack mules. On those they rode or were carried, since
we had no rations, thev were used for the sick. A
packsaddle was made somewhat like a sawbuck, thus
by laying a blanket or two on top one could ride sort
of comfortable. It was good for the purpose intended,
but only a makeshift for a riding saddle, but "any port
in a storm" it was much better than walking for a
sick man. The wounded were carried in this way, two
mules for one man, one in front, one behind the
Soldiers wounded in the fight at Slim Buttes. September 9- 1 0. 1876,
were transported to hospitals in mule-drawn litters like this.
Photographer Stanley Morrow captured this scene in the southern
Black Hills as Crook's command threaded its way to Camp Robinson,
Nebraska, and Fort Laramie. Photo courtesy Larry Ness,
Yankton. South Dakota.
10 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
patient; two poles were tied, one on either side of
the mules thus made fast to the mules at both ends,
making them on a level. A blanket was then stretched
across the center between the mules and left sag down
a little. On this the wounded were conveyed as gently
as possible, as we were in a very hilly country,
sometimes straight up, sometimes down, over ditches,
gullies, creeks, mud and slush, sometimes miring down
the mules. It was any thing but pleasant for a wounded
man.
After the circle was opened out we marched in
the same fashion all day, the sick train on the center
between two lines of men. The rear was brought up
by the cavalry who played a trick on the redskins after
we left camp thus - the Indians finding that we were
moving out came down from the hills pellmell to get
whatever left behind, and to capture a straggler or
two which they saw, as a few men only, were left in
sight of them. It made them feel quite brave making
a bold dash to take them in, but in this they were
foiled to their regret, as a large body of cavalry had
concealed themselves in a small ravine, and just as
the Indians came up to it they poured a murderous
fire into them, which completely routed them sending
them back to the hills again. They remained there
until every one was out of sight after this. They never
molested us any more or even came in sight and they
might have done us a lot of mischief had they known
our condition. Traveling all day we came to what we
took to be in the distance, a pretty lake of water, but
when we went into camp we found its waters Alkali,
the worst kind.
This was now the commencement of the bad lands
of Montana, bad water, no wood for fuel, but little
grass, if we made a fire it must be of wet grass, scarce
at that.
Everything was black, bleak, and barren, all fiiU
of little hillocks, as if loads of hay had been dumped
about. Next day we came to the mountain of bones
and shells bordering on the bad lands, which looked
as if a mountain had been made almost of bones, all
bleached and another of shells. From the top of these
we could see the point of our destination, "Bald
Mountain" of the Black Hills. "So near and yet so
far," looked like a days march to the mountain (which
was 1 00 miles) and yet we had to go twenty-five miles
further. One hundred and twenty five miles to Crook
City, edge of the Black Hills.
We were not growing fat by any means. Our meat
was all gone except a few strips of dried buffalo, no
bread, no crackers, no coffee, no sugar, bacon long
since disappeared, nothing but the water of the prairie,
as we had any amount of rain. Bread. Bread - any
thing would be paid for bread. Occasionally we would
get a few wild berries, but these only whetted up the
appetite, being very sour.
All this time the mules and horses were falling by
the wayside, as they had nothing to eat except a few
blades of grass picked here and there, and but little
time to pick it.
The cavalry had long since ceased to ride, the
horses could not hold themselves up much less a rider.
We came nearer and nearer to old "Baldy," getting
weaker and weaker. We were now within one day's
march of it, and even more, as we were told in the
morning that this would be a thirty mile march, and
most of us so weak that we were hardly able to march
at all. Up early, no breakfast, up at peep of day and
start right on the march, no bother about cooking,
traveling steady all day long, no rest, the ground was
wet, better to keep moving or standing, all was water
and mud. In the morning an old Indian said he could
lead us in a direct route to our destination, as the day
was cloudy any one had to go by instinct more than
anything else, but he done it exactly as he said he
would, telling us it was a long march for any one, but
alone those worn out. We found out that he was right,
it took us until after 1 2 o clock at night.
The night was so dark you could see but little
distance ahead, raining hard, mud under foot. This
was more trying to the horses and mules than the
men, as they would mire down and could not get out.
The saddle was taken off and both left to their fate.
The road or trail was full of horses, mules, and
saddles, which had to be gathered up and brought in
during the next few days. Probably a week before all
got into camp. Men were fagged out long before night,
and began to drop behind, others trying to give
encouragement by saying camp might soon be at hand,
but on and on we marched, still no signs until about
half past eleven. A fire appeared in our front as a
beacon to guide us onward. When we got to this fire a
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
IFT'^i^"
~^*^1
:.«^M«#fc..
'^'^mm-
As Crook's summer campaign
drew to a close, his troops
subsisted on horse and mule
flesh. Here in a posed
reenactment for Yankton
photographer Stanley Morrow in
mid-September 1876. an
infantryman dispatches an
emaciated cavalry horse. Photo
courtesy the W. H. Over
Museum. Vermillion. South
Dakota.
courier was stationed at it to say to us that camp was We had five miles more to travel to get to a good
a short distance ahead. This gave renewed camp that the teams might reach us without crossing
encouragement and all hands sent up a shout, that the river, as they were loaded down with our supplies.
was carried back tor miles and many a man afi;erward
said that this shout brought them into camp that night
as they seemed to have renewed energy. Out oi a
company oi forty men, about ten only would come
into camp and stack arms, which was after midnight.
The others were all along the road for ten or fiheen
miles back. Our camp this night was only a lay down
on the bare ground, many being too weak to look lor
blankets and unable to carr)' them it they lound them.
But as good luck will have it, the rain ceased and we
had a night that was moderately cool.
During the whole night we heard stragglers
coming into camp, trying to find their companions.
Our First Sergeant (who is now dead and buried at
Washington, D.C., died while on furlough) when
about five miles from camp, fell down and could go
no farther. He told me that it we got to camp safe, to
come back after him in the morning and bring him in
dead or alive, but when we sent up the shout at the
bacon fire, it was carried back so far, that he with
some others made a final start, and struggled into
camp before morning. But hundreds of them did not
arrive until late next day, many had to be brought in
on packmules.
The river between us and the proposed camp was the
Photographer Stanley Morrow documented the quartenng of a
cavalry mount, reminiscent of Crook s infantry and cavalry troops
butchering dozens of horses and mules during the grueling days of
their Starvation March. Photo courtesy the author
12
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
Belle Fourche and as usual with other streams, high
from incessant rains, breast deep, very swift, and many
of" us too weak to stand against the current. A small
stream was first crossed and it was comical to see the
weak men tr\'ing to climb up and down the steep banks.
After crossing the small stream, a hundred or more
cattle were driven in sight toward our camp, a mile
ahead of" us. This sent forth new cheers Irom all hands,
as we knew that a good teed awaited us as the cattle
were sent out on purpose to give us some
encouragement, as we were told so often about rations
being close at hand. When we came to the Belle
Fourche, all the cavalry men were waiting there with
their horses lor us to ride over the river as they had
been to the new camp, and the horses had a good feed
of oats and they looked much more able to cross a
river than before. Each cavalryman rode one horse
and led another over and back in the water and the
spare horse was always rode by the Infantryman. So
we all crossed over dry, and I doubt if all of us could
have a waded the river safely.
Once over we went into a beautiful camp about
fifteen miles from Crook City, Wyoming Territory, edge
ot the Black Hills, and a more famished lot of men I
never saw before - save once when the Andersonville
Georgia Prisoners were exchanged for Yankee
prisoners in 1864 during the war of the rebellion.
As this Indian campaign was an extreme case to
many, being without rations so long, they did not eat
with judgment, and many of them were the worse
for it afterward.
This ended the worst campaign I ever
experienced, and the sequel to this will make as much
of a history I have already written. Such campaigns
do not show their effects until years afterward, and
today out of forty men to a company, I can only find
three that were in that long and arduous march after
Sitting Bull or what many of them vowed there they
Zimmerman may be visible in this infantry camp along the Belle Fourche River north of Deadwood. Photographer Morrow
was among the early visitors to Crook's command, the soldiers having just emerged from the dreadful Starvation March and
still showing the tatters of the campaign trail. Photo courtesy the W. H. Over Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
13
would never be caught in another campaign.
John Zimmerman's absorbing tale ot soldiering
with General Crook, the Indian fight at Slim Buttes,
and the Starvation March, clearly one of the defining
episodes of this enduring saga, did not complete his
service during the Great Sioux War. But it is telling
of his psyche that he limited his memoir to that time
between his hearing ot Custer's demise in early July
1876, and the closure ot the Starvation March in mid-
September. In a very real way, hearing the news ot
Custer's death across America may have had the same
shock value and memory impact as did the
announcement ot the Pearl Harbor attack or
assassination of President Kennedy among current
generations ot Americans. So it was tor Zimmerman.
Custer was a very visible citizen, and his death in
Montana a cataclysmic moment. Similarly, the
Starvation March had a distinctive, harrowing, wartime
quality for those two thousand soldiers who endured
^-"''^^i^5^"'-^^-
"*» . *
.-^■w-
^^■'i'.- "^ r** . -isi *^
>, .-««•
**','*-*
Zimmerman may also be posed in tliis camp of infantrymen seen just
east of Custer City in tlie souttiern Black IHills in early October 1876.
Photographer Morrow followed Crook 's men as they idled their way
through the Black Hills, recuperating after the debilitating Stan/ation
March. Tentage and other camp amenities had not yet been
returned to the soldiers. Photo courtesy the author
it, parallel with, if different in scale, the experiences of
those combatants in the Gettysburg battle or
Normandy landings. Despite the greater enveloping
stories— the Civil War, World War II— singular
moments are what most respective survivors chose to
remember ot it all.
Zimmerman and the men ot the Big Horn and
Yellowstone Expedition spent nearly a month
recuperating on a deliberately slow trek through the
Black Hills en route to Camp Robinson, Nebraska,
where they arrived in mid-October. The expedition
disbanded there, but Zimmerman's company
remained at Robinson on detached service through
December, tending attairs at the bustling station and
nearby Red Cloud Agency. In turn, in December,
rather than departing tor their permanent home in
Utah, Company I was next detailed to a six-month
stint at the Army's single-company outpost in the
southwestern Black Hills, Camp Mouth ot Red
Canyon, where it guarded a treacherous stretch of
the Cheyenne-Black Hills Road. Regrettably,
Zimmerman did not report on these episodes, which
to some modern historians are every bit as
interesting— and even more unheralded— than
Crook's summer campaign.
Zimmerman's featured experiences may have
amounted to the "worst campaign [he] ever
experienced," or, tor that matter, the only genuine
Indian campaign endured during his long service, but
it did not sour his devotion to the United States Army
nor the army's warm embrace of him. At age thirty-
nine and a sergeant in 1881, he was discharged from
Company I, Fourteenth Infantry, at Camp Douglas,
upon expiration ot term ot service, character
"excellent." As before, he promptly reenlisted for
another five-year term. Zimmerman was discharged
at Vancouver Barracks, Washington, in 1886, still a
sergeant, and this time with a character reference
noting "An Excellent Man." Again he reenlisted, now
at age forty-four. During this enlistment he transferred
to Company H, Fourteenth Infantry, and his company
changed stations from Washington to Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas.
At age forty-nine, Zimmerman reenlisted one final
time in 1891. Early in this enlistment, however, he
exercised a unique provision available to veteran
14
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
soldiers when he sought and obtained an early
discharge from the service. On July 26, 1890, the
War Department had promulgated General Order No.
8 1 , allowing enlisted men who had served ten years
or more to be discharged by way of a favor, "The
purpose being to extend all possible indulgence to
meritorious men, especially in cases where a discharge
would obviously be for the material benefit of the
soldier." Zimmerman applied for such a discharge on
September 22, 1891, declaring that he had "served
continuously for over 20 years. My discharge," he
wrote, "would be for the material benefit of myself,
as my brother died recently, and I now have the
opportunit)' of greatly improving my condition by
going into business."
Zimmerman's commanding officer. Captain
Samuel McConihe, Company H, Fourteenth Infantry,
approved and forwarded his petition, noting, "This
soldier is not indebted to the U.S. Sergeant
Zimmerman has been continuously in the service
since March 25th, 1871. He has been a Sergeant since
Nov. 1st, 1878. I have known him nearly the whole
time of his long service. He has always been a most
faithfiil, conscientious, prudent, sober, and deserving
man. From my personal knowledge of his excellent
character, and his good service which has extended
through a period of over 20 years, I recommend that
a discharge be given him at this time, as a favor, upon
his own application, and for the reasons he has stated
within."
Zimmerman's final discharge was effected at Fort
Leavenworth on October 7, 1891. He was given
retained pay of $6.43, his undrawn clothing allowance
amounting to $56.16, and accrued savings of $2,000.
He was unmarried at the time of discharge. He applied
for neither a Civil War nor Indian Wars pension,
received neither Civil War nor Indian Wars campaign
medals, and seems to have slipped into history,
leaving only his valuable reminiscence of service
during the Great Sioux War.
' Zimmerman's outline of service is drawn from
Registers of Enlistments in the United States Army,
Microcopy 233; Fourteenth U. S. Infantry Muster
Rolls, Record Group 94, Entry 53; and letters and
orders in the Principal Record Division, Adjutant
General's Office, Record Group 94, Entry 25, all in
the National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Contextually, the story of the Great Sioux War is
best developed by Charles Robinson III in A Good
Year to Die: The Story of the Great Sioux War (New York:
Random House, 1995). Efforts to resupply and
reinforce Crook's Big Horn and Yellowstone
Expedition are discussed by Paul L. Hedren in Fort
Laramie in 1876, Chronicle of a Frontier Post at War
(Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988),
chapter 5. The movement of Crook's troops in August
and September 1876, including the fight at Slim Buttes
on September 9-10 and the Starvation March, is well
told by Jerome A. Greene in Slim Buttes, 1876: An
Episode of the Great Sioux War (Norman: University
of Oklahoma Press, 1982). A homage to Zimmerman
and other Regular Army enlisted combatants engaged
in the 1876-1877 war is provided by Paul L. Hedren
in We Trailed the Sioux: Enlisted Men Speak on Custer,
Crook, and the Gr^^? 5/o2«c W&r (Mechanicsburg, Penn.:
Stackpole Books, 2003). W
Paul L. Hedren
is the National Parl< Service's
superintendent of Niobrara National
Scenic River and Missouri National
Recreational River, headquartered in
O'Neill, Nebraska. He is the author or
editor of seven books focused on
the Old Army and Great Sioux War
and a regular contributor to Western
history journals, including Annals of
Wyoming.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
15
The Dry Fork of Brokenback Creek, looking east, as it issues from the Big Horn Mountains. Courtesy the author
TheGortnans'
tiny outpost
lay at the base
of this large
mountain
range, along
the eastern
rim of the Big
Horn Basin of
northern
Wyoming.
In the spring of 1902, Tom Gorman and his wife, Maggie, lived on the Dry
Fork of Brokenback Creek, a small stream issuing out oi the Big Horn
Mountains just a few miles north oi Ten Sleep, Wyoming. The Gormans'
tiny outpost lay at the base oi this large mountain range, along the eastern
rim of the Big Horn Basin ot^ northern Wyoming. Tom Gorman and Maggie
McClellan had been married in BuHalo, on September 19, 1898, when Maggie
was barely eighteen; Tom had been considerably older, twenty-eight.'
What was the Gorman house was leased from a man named Ed Miller. Miller
had moved upon the land in April 1899 and built a small log house as part of
proving up his homestead claim.- This house, only about 430 square feet, still
stands where it did originally, about thirty or forty feet from the stream (which
' This article is drawn from a manuscript titled Goodbye, Judge Lynch, Hoiv Laii> and Order Came to Wyoming's Big
Horn Basin. The University of Oklahoma Press has accepted the manuscript for publication. Records ot the
Johnson County, Wyoming Clerk, Marriage License and Certificate of Marriage between Mr. Thomas C.
Gorman and Miss Maggie M. McClellan; September 3, IS'^S (License) and September 19, 1898 (Filing ot
Certificate); Book A of Marriage, page 418. The 1 900 Census, Big Horn Counrv', Wyoming, shows Maggie
to have been born in August. 1 880.
" National Archives and Records Administration, Homestead Proof — Testimony of Claimant by Henry E.
Miller, Record Group 40 (records of the Bureau of Land Management), Homestead file #1288 for Henn,-
E. Miller, Land Office at Buffalo. Wyoming, July 6, 1905.
16 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
true to its name, usually does not flow water).' The
house is on the floor of a small canyon so tightly tucked
into the mountains that from the house only the interior
of the canyon can be seen. The high peaks of the Big
Horn Mountains, when viewed from a far distance,
look like huge rock formations sitting atop a forested
plateau, what John McPhee referred to as "crowns on
tables."^ But from within the Dry Fork canyon, all
that is lost in a reduced horizon. The floor of the
canyon is very narrow, about two hundred feet wide,
and it is filled with box elder, cottonwood, and
sagebrush. When the sun lowers, the canyon becomes
dark quickly. The house has always been off the beaten
path, so that a visitor must divert from a county road
and only after traveling for a mile or more into the
mountain does the house come into view.
In 1 900, Tom Gorman asked his younger brother,
Jim, to come out to Wyoming from Pennsylvania.'
This was probably a happy event; Tom had last seen
his brother when Jim was only seventeen or eighteen.
But this is an age when young men change quickly
and perhaps Tom was surprised by the twenty year-
old man who arrived in Wyoming.'' The great
complication here was that Maggie Gorman, by
almost all accounts, was remarkably attractive.
Whatever there is about a woman men find appealing,
Maggie had it. She had that elusive, ephemeral
feminine quality that launches ships, that billions are
spent to achieve, that most desired of human
qualities, to be desirable. Many years after her brief
and tragic time of infamy, people in the Ten Sleep
country still talked about the aura of Maggie
Gorman.
Jim Gorman resided with Tom and Maggie when
they lived south of Ten Sleep on the George
McClellan ranch and when they moved to the Ed
Miller place north of Ten Sleep, but there were
frequent disagreements between the brothers. In the
fall of 1901, Tom objected to the attention his
younger brother showed his wife, and drove Jim away
at rifle point. ** It was not long, though, just the
following spring, when Jim came back into the
picture. Something drew him back to his brother's
home, and it was probably Maggie, whether because
of things she did, or simply because she was a "fine
loo
king
woman.
Jim returned to his brother's home, but he and
Tom continued squabbling.'" There were later sharply
conflicting accounts as to why and how it happened,
but there is no question that on April 20, 1902, Jim
killed his brother, burying a hatchet in Tom's head.
That spring, Tom had been freighting to and from
Casper with his partner, Fred Bader. ' ' In April, they
' Gloria Cutt, interview by the author, February 5, 2000. Mrs. Cutt is
a present owner of the land, who reports that the original structure,
about which she and her husband Fred are building, measures 18 feet
by 24 feet. In his homestead entry papers, Mr. Miller stated that the
house was 18 by 20 feet.
* John McPhee, Rising from the Plains (New York: Farrar, Straus and
Giroux, 1986), p. 63.
■■ "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, Novem-
ber 10,1902.
° "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, Novem-
ber 10, 1902,- see also the 1900 Census, Big Horn County, Wyo-
ming, and the marriage license referred to in footnote 1 above.
' Bob Swander, interview by the author, June 10, 2003. Mr. Swander
now lives in Cody, Wyoming, and is "pushing 70." He grew up and
ranched near Ten Sleep, and recalled a discussion, which probably
took place in the 1970s, with Jim and Topsy Bull, then an elderly
couple who had known the Gormans. He was talking to the Bulls
and the sub)ect of the Gorman murder came up. Topsy, a lively lady,
stated to her husband, "Everybody thought that Maggie Gorman
was good-looking; you didn't think so, did you?" Bob thought the
scene was cute, as Jim Bull recognized his predicament, and just
stopped saying anything. Bob thought that Jim probably did think
Maggie Gorman was quite good-looking, but certainly was not going
to declare this to his wife.
" "A Foul Murder Unearthed," Tlie Wyoming Dispatch (Cody), June 13,
1902; "Murder Near Hyattville," Sheridan Enterprise, June 21, 1902;
"Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, No-
vember 10, 1902.
Lylas Skovgard, Basin City (Basin: Timbertrails, 1988), p. 56, quoting
a man who watched Maggie Gorman testify.
'" See "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader,
November 10, 1902. The accounts of local newspapers, such as
those in Basin or Meeteetse, are, in general, not available. Fortu-
nately, however, the Cheyenne Daily Leader printed a detailed story
apparently taken from the Big Horn Rustler, and this is the most
complete, and, probably the most reliable of the newspaper stories
that appeared in 1902 regarding the first Gorman trial. In the report-
ing on the 1909 case oi Slate v. Brink, the first case arising out of the
Spring Creek Raid, the accounts in the Rustler were seemingly the
most thorough and most accurate of all the many newspapers closely
covering that event.
" Paul Prison, Under the Ten Sleep Rim (Worland (Wyoming), Worland
Press, 1972), p. 45; interview notes taken by prison which are in the
author's possession; Verona Bowes, "Vigilante Vengeance, Western
Justice Rides a Death Trail," Daring Detective, Deccember 1938, p. 28.
This last reference is to a magazine article which is in large part a
fictionalized version of the event, sensationalized to stress salacious
details, but at least the article started life honestly, beginning with
interviews of some of the participants, including Fred Bader. The
"photograph" of Maggie Gorman in that article is clearly a construc-
tion.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal - Winter 2004 17
Big Horn County, Wyoming 1903
Big Horn County as it appeared in 1903. Map courtesy tlie author
finished a trip and Tom wanted to do some work on
his wagons and the horses needed a rest, so Bader
and Gorman decided not to start out again tor a
couple oi weeks.'- There was a time, therefore, in
which the people in the area were not particularly
concerned at not seeing Tom. But then the neighbors
started inquiring about him and were given
unsatisfactory and inconsistent answers as to where
he had gone - there were ambiguous references to
Canada."
Things came to a head when Bader went to the
Gorman home in June to ask about Tom. The
Germans had a little girl, probably born in late 1900.''*
Bader described this child, saying she was "a pretty
little golden haired girl - they named her Rose."'"*
Almost one hundred years later one oi Bader's
children recounted conversations with his father about
'- Notes oi Paul Prison in the possession of the author.
" This was addressed in many ot the contemporaneous newspaper
reports and later writings, not always in the same manner, but consis-
tently enough to show that nosv neighbors thought something was
not right at the Gorman house and thev were not satished with what
they were told. See Prison, Under the Ten Sleep Rim, p.4ti. "Murder
Near Basin," Wyoming Derrick, June 1'1,1'^02; "Murder Near
Hyattville," Sheridiin Enterprise, June 21, 1902; and "Jim Gorman
Convicted, " Big Horn Count)' Neu's tind Courier. November 1, 1902.
The problem with the text here is that there is a lot of general
recollection, but not nearly enough contemporaneous documents, so
the conclusions presented had to be made from a review ot all
materials available, determining what is the most plausible, consider-
ing internal consistenc)' and known tacts.
'^ 1900 Census, Big Horn County, Wyoming, Ten Sleep Precinct. On
June 10. 1900, when the 1900 census interviews were undertaken,
Tom and Maggie Gorman reported no children, but by May 1902 a
child is being described as "a little girl," not .is a baby and she is
speaking.
'" Interview of Fred Bader by Paul Prison. Papers ot Paul Prison in the
possession of the author.
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
this visit to the Gorman home, and the one thing he
remembered most distinctly was his father's memory
of how strange the httle girl was acting.'" Fred asked
her where her father was and little Rose said something
about "under the wagon."'"
Of course, all ot this led to great suspicion. Bader
and other neighbors contacted the authorities, asking
Sheriff Dudley Hale to come out and investigate. In
the meantime, Jim and Maggie took a wagon and a
buggy, filled them with provisions and bedding, and
headed north towards Montana.'*
Hale did come to the Dry Fork of Brokenback
Creek, tound "suspicious conditions," and traced
Tom's body to a small washout, where it was buried
about one hundred yards from the house, underneath
"a thin covermg of dirt, sagebrush and stones."'"
There had been an attempt to burn the body.'" Dr.
Dana Carter and the Assistant County Attorney, C.
A. Zaring, were called to the scene; an inquest was
quickly held, with the conclusion that Tom met his
death by murder.-' All of these events apparently
happened in a hurry, because during this time it was
learned that Jim and Maggie had been seen "traveling
north."-' Deputy Frank James pursued the two
Gormans, finding them in a camp on Dry Creek near
Germania (now Emblem)."
Maggie and Jim were brought back to Basin City;
Jim was placed in the county jail and Maggie was
kept in a private house, under guard." On June 14,
1902, both of them appeared before F. T. Brigham,
justice of the peace, on a charge of first degree
murder, and both pled "not guilty." On June 16, both
appeared before the justice of the peace again and
they waived preliminary hearing.
The first newspaper stories about Tom's killing
were hardly balanced. For instance, the Cheyenne Daily
Leader carried a "special from Cody" in which it was
stated that "a horrible murder was committed near
Basin, a short time since, and only became public
yesterday. Tom Gorman, on Broken Back creek,
about forty miles from here, discovered an intrigue
between his wife and his younger brother, James
Gorman. The victim endeavored to drive his brother
away, when the pair turned upon him and killed him
with clubs.""
The first article that appeared in the Sheridan
Enterprise began with unabashed editorializing: "It's
pretty difficulty (sic) to have the mind realize that a
wife, bound by sacred ties, and a natural brother
would be the parties to the murdering of a husband
and brother, but unless all the circumstances
surrounding the taking off of Tom Gorman are at
fault, such is the case in the latest and most cruel
murder in Big Horn county."^"
The article further declared that "it would appear
that the deceased became convinced that unlawful
relations were maintained between the guilty pair and
■ Paris Bader, interview by author, February, 2000.
' Paul Prison notes in author's possession.
* "Murder Near HyattviUe," Sheridan Enterprise, June 21, 1902. The
chronology here is a puzzle. It is not at all clear from contemporary
reports, but it appears that it was several days later when Jim and
Maggie Gorman were arrested. The warrant for their arrest was
sworn out on June 7 and returned on June 13. The natural expecta-
tion is that they would have gone directly to Montana, and it did not
normally take several days to reach Montana from the location of
the Gorman house. One possible reason for delay is the possibility
that Maggie talked Jim into leaving Rose at her parents, the McClellans,
who lived a few miles south ot Brokenback Creek.
' "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, Novem-
ber 10, 1902; "Murder Near Hyattville," Sheridan Enterprise, June
21, 1902.
' "Murder Near Hyattville," Sheridan Enterprise, June 21, 1902; "Mur-
der Near Basin," Wyoming Derrick, ]une 19, 1902. This was reported
consistently enough that it must be credited, but the evidence at the
trial seemed to indicate that the fire was confined to an attempt to
conceal the burial spot.
' Autobiography of Dr. Dana Carter, Wyoming State Archives; In
State V. James Gorman, Big Horn County Case No. 109 (files of the
Clerk of the District Court of Big Horn County, Wyoming), all the
witnesses were endorsed on the Information. They were Clarence
Day, Jake Shandy, Dick Shandy, Mike Bader, Hugh Collins, Charles
McDonald, Mrs. Charles McDonald, G. W. Walker, Roy Grant, Ken-
neth McClellan, Ed Mills, Jake Johnson, Arthur Ilg, and George Bull.
Oddly, Dr. Carter is not listed, but in light of the statements in his
autobiography, there can be no doubt he was at the Gorman place
and helped in the search. Apparently, though. Dr. Walker later con-
ducted examinations of the body of Tom Gorman. In Skovgard,
Basin City, pp. 51-52, the author incorrectly states that C. A. Zaring
was the county attorney. Though Zaring was later involved with the
case, in 1902, the Big Horn County attorney was W. S. Collins, who
swore out the complaint against the defendants. See Volume 1 of
the District Court Journal, 440, files of the Clerk of the District
Court of Big Horn County.
' Skovgard, Basin City, p. 52.; "Black Page in Basin History, "Basin
Republican Rustler, March 19, 1936.
' "A Foul Murder Unearthed," Wyoming Dispatch,]\int 13, 1902; "Mur-
der Near Hyattville," Sheridan Enterprise, June 21, 1902.
' Skovgard, Basin City, p. 53.
■ "Kills Brother," Cheyenne Daily Leader, June 13, 1902.
' "Murder Near Hyattville," Sheridan Enterprise, June 21, 1902.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004 19
frequent quarrels resulted. Mrs. Gorman and James
finally decided to commit the foul deed that ended in
taking the life oi husband and brother, and fleeing
together to distant parts." It closed with a startling
pronouncement: "In addition to the above inlormation
has been received that the little daughter of the
mtirdered man is also missing. When the man and
woman hurriedly left the scene ol their crime the little
girl was taken with them btit when arrested she was
not to be found. The fear is entertained that she was
pushed from the wagon and drowned in the Big Horn
River."-"'' Other newspapers picked up this theme. The
Ndtroiia Comity Tribune went so far as to report that
Maggie and Jim were lynched when a committee asked
them where the child was. Supposedly, Maggie told
this group of people that it was none of their business
and she went on and abused the men in the group.
Whereupon, "without hirther ceremony the couple
were taken out and hanged."-'^ To the credit ol the
Wyoming Dispatch, a Cody newspaper, it took the
Natrona County Tribune to task, saying: "There has been
no lynching, nor will there be. The child above referred
to is with its mother, and has been all the while. It is
strange how so many erroneous reports similar to the
above, originate in our country. It must be that some
newspaper correspondent is seeking notoriety."'"
It is not clear where little Rose Gorman was at
the time of the arrests. Perhaps she was with her
mother "all the while," as the Wyoming Dispatch
indicated, but none of the newspaper accounts
mention the little girl when telling of her mother's
arrest. Another possibility is that she had been left at
the home of her grandparents, the McClellans.
Wherever she was, she certainly had not been
drowned, and later newspaper stories quietly
mentioned the little girl being with her mother."
Whether it was from the newspaper reports or
general reputation, though, most of the people of
the Big Horn Basin believed from the beginning that
Maggie was just as guilty as Jim.'- They assumed that
the two were lovers and that Maggie had a hand in
her husband's death in some form.'' Tom was well-
liked, his brother was not, and Maggie was seen as
highly attractive. Bader seemed to express the attitude
of the citizens of Big Horn County when he said that
Tom was "homely, but a good hard working fellow
and honest. Jim was good looking lazy and dishonest;"
he further declared that Maggie was fickle and
emotional.'' Such loaded perceptions certainly affect
the analysis of an event and these shared observations
could well have unfairly colored the judgment of
Maggie's peers. Unfortunately, the historical chronicle
is fragmented and ambiguous, making it impossible
to know with reasonable certainty (to use an
anomalous legal phrase) whether the community
judgment of Maggie was based upon accurate
perceptions or distorting stereotypes.
Regardless of whether the people of Big Horn
Coimty had fairly judged Jim and Maggie, the county
attorney, Winfield Scott Collins, had to address the
very concrete problem of prosecuting a murder. A
trial date would not be set until October 1902, but
much time and effort must go into preparation before
such an event. We know that Collins was working on
the case before September 1902, as he presented
reqtiests for reimbursement to the Big Horn County
Commissioners in September, asking to be paid for
"Livery Hire" and "Horse feed & Meals" in the
Gorman case.'^ Collins would have obtained a good
idea of Jim's defense from a number of possible
sources, most probably statements made by Jim at
"Murder Near Hyattville," Sheridan Enterprise, June 21,1 902.
' "Murder Near Hyartville," Sheridan Enterprise, June 21,1 902.
' "Lynched at Basin," The Wyoming Dispatch, ju\y 4, 1902.
' "Lynched at Basin, ' The Wyoming Dispatch, julyi. 1902.
' "State Happenings," Sheridan Enterprise, November 13, 1902.
' See Skovgard, Basin City, p. 56
' Prison, Under the Ten Sleep Rim, p. 45; Tacetta Walker, Big Horn Basin:
Stories of Early Days in Wy;'"""^ (Casper, 1936), pp. 230-.W
' Inter\'iew ot Maureen Hoilcroft and Paris Bader by the aurhor, June
1 1 , 2003. Mrs. Hoilcroh:, of Buffalo, Wyoming, is another of Fred
Bader's children, and stated that, "Our dad said she was a good
looking woman ' (referring to Maggie Gorman). The quotes come
Irom Paul Prison notes ot a Fred Bader interview in the possession
ot the author. Records trom the Wyoming Attorney General (Big
Horn County Sheriff Prison Register, p. 6) indicate that Jim Gorman
weighed 150 pounds, was "slender" and was 58" tall, and had red
hair. The Verona Bowes article (see footnote 1 1 above) contains a
photograph ot subjects identified as Jim and Tom Gorman, but this
identification is probably wrong. The same photograph found in the
Washakie Museum states that the two men were two brothers from
Lost Cabin and the two men shown look very similar; certainly one
could not be described ,is "homely" while the other is described as
"good looking."
' Commissioner's Journal, Big Horn Count)', Volume #1, p. 346.
20
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winler 2004
the time of arrest and during incarceration. By the
time trial drew near, ColHns surely knew that Jim was
going to claim self-delense, asserting that his brother
attacked him and was killed when Jim defended
himself Such a defense can be very hard to overcome
when the only witness describing an event is the
accused person.
An interesting thing happened before the trial,
however: Two attorneys, M. L. Blake of Sheridan and
John Arnott of Basin City, were retained on behalf
of Maggie."' There is some indication that Arnott
had been hired back in June when arrests were first
made.' On the other hand, not until a week before
the trial date of October 27 did the district court
appoint an attorney for Jim, when he announced that
"he has no funds with which to employ counsel."-'*
The obvious implication was that Maggie was
unwilling to present a joint defense with Jim.
Based on her later testimony, it is clear what
Maggie must have told her lawyers. She told them
she had nothing to do with the killing of her husband,
that Jim was responsible, and that he forced her to go
along after the killing occurred. This information was
surely passed on to the county attorney by Maggie's
lawyers, probably with a proposal to turn state's
evidence.-''
Such a proposal would have caused some very
heavy thinking by Collins. It was clear very early that
Maggie was not involved in the killing, but there were
serious questions as to whether she helped plan it, or
assisted Jim after it happened. On the other hand, if
Maggie was a strong witness, her testimony might
defeat any claim of self-defense by Jim. But a decision
to allow a defendant to turn state's evidence, and
provide a lenient deal in return, has to be made very
cautiously. The worst thing a prosecutor can do is to
provide leniency to the person who proves to be the
worse actor. Thus, the worse actor escapes
punishment, and the remaining defendant will
probably be acquitted because less culpable.
If Collins did his homework, he would have
interviewed Maggie at length. There is nothing in the
historical record to indicate that he did interview her,
but he most probably did, and, if so, this is what she
would have told him: Jim had lived with Tom and
Maggie at different intervals between 1900 and 1902.
The brothers had quarreled several times, had each
time made peace, but during the year before her
husband's death, Maggie felt very frightened and
intimidated by Jim. One day she noticed her husband's
absence and shortly thereafter saw a fire near the
house. Then she had a conversation with Jim and he
said he had killed Tom and buried his body nearby.
He told Maggie that he stepped from behind a wagon
as Tom came by and hit him with a hatchet and that
Tom dropped without a sound. After Tom fell, Jim
hit him again to make sure he was dead. She had not
revealed what she knew because Jim had threatened
to kill her and her child."*"
Obviously, if a jury believed the testimony of
Maggie, a self-defense claim by Jim would be out of
the question, but it all hinged on her believability.
The calculus of determining whether a jury will
believe a witness is a very complicated one. Of
course, the internal consistency of Maggie's story and
its plausible relationship to other facts was highly
important, but probably as important was the
personality of the witness. Would this beautiful young
woman charm an all-male jury, or offend them? Did
she project integrity? Did she have the fortitude and
intelligence to fight off the inevitable hard cross-
examination?
The county attorney apparently found Maggie's
story persuasive, because the decision Collins made
was to enter into an agreement with Maggie, whereby
the charges against her would be dismissed if she
" Journal of the District Court, Vol. 1, Records of the Big Horn
County Clerk of the District Court, p. 423.
" The Justice Docket, printed at page 52 of Basin City, and which
covers events between June 7, 1902, and June 16, 1902, lists John P.
Arnott as employed by defendant; see also "All the World's a Stage,"
Basin Republican Rustler, March 14, 1940.
'* Journal of the Big Horn County District Court, Vol. 1, p. 423.
^' It was the job of Maggie's attorneys to represent her, and in criminal
prosecutions, one o{ the most common - and effective - defenses is
to paint one's client as "the good guy" and one or more of the co-
detendants as "the bad guy," and offer to provide evidence support-
ing these positions, in return for lenient treatment by the prosecu-
tion.
^ This account directly follows the detailed description of Maggie
Gorman's testimony in the November 10, 1902, Cheyenne Daily Leader
("Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy"). As well, it incorporates the
recollection of Zinny McCreery as set out by Ray Pendergraft. Ray
Pendergraft, Washakie: A Wyoming County History (Worland, Saddle-
bag Books, 1985), pp. 4142.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
21
would testify against Jim. Fhe wisdom ot that risky
decision was soon tested.
The cases against Jim and Maggie were set tor
the 1902 October term of court, which meant that
proceedings would begin the week ol Monday,
October 20, 1902." For months, all the people
involved in the case had been preparing tor, worrying
about, and dreading the time ol trial, but now that
time had arrived and lawyers, witnesses, jurors, and
court personnel congregated in Basin City. One of
those "court personnel" was the presiding district
judge, Joseph L. Stotts.^^ Stotts was a man from
Sheridan who had practiced law there before coming
to the bench. He had served as district judge since
1897 and his court was very active.^' Stotts had to
travel from Sheridan to Basin, ol course; in 1902, his
trip began trom a railroad in Sheridan, to Billings,
Montana, and then south, continuing by rail. The
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad had crept
into the northern part ol the Big Horn Basin, arriving
in Cody Irom Toluca, Montana, in November 1901 .*'
The nearest railhead to Basin, though, was still a good
fifty miles to the north, in Garland, and required a
long day in a wagon or on horseback.^^ In every county
in Wyoming, cases were set for two different dates.
during a spring term and a hill term, an arrangement
that accommodated the arduousness ol travel."*^'
When Stotts arrived in Basin in October, he stayed
there and worked through all the pending cases before
returning to Sheridan. In present day Wyoming, terms
are viewed as archaic relics, having little significance
because communication and transportation are highly
efficient, but in another day they served a very
practical purpose.
loiiiii.il ot the Big Horn Cnuntv District Court, Vol. 1 . p. 4l ^.
At that time. Big Horn County was part ot the Fourth Judicial
District, which also included Sheridan County. See Wyo. R. S. 1 SOO,
Joseph L. Stotts was appointed to the district court in 189" and
served until January 190S. See Stiite ex rel. Burduk v. Schmtger. 17
Wyo. 65, 76! 96 P. 238 (1908). Between 1898 and 1906, more than
sixt)' cases ttom Judge Stotts court were appealed to the Wvommg
Supreme Court.
Lawrence M.Woods, Wyoming's Big Horn Basin to 1901. A Liite Fivnttfr
(Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, 1997), p. 20-4.
John W Davis, Sadie and Charlie (Worland, Washakie Publishing,
1989), p. 14.
The modern statute setting out terms ot court is § S-3-101, Wyo.
Stat. Ann. (LexisNexis 2003). The applicable st.jtute in 1902 was §
3299, Revised Statutes of Wyoming 1 899. For an interesting ca.se in
which F". E. Enterline challenged the validity of the term statute
(asserting that his client was improperly convicted, because the leg-
islature had not passed any statute allowing courts to proceed), see
Younger i: Hehn. 1 2 Wyo. 289, 75 R 443 (1904).
The courthouse in Basin (ca. 1901). Courtesy the Wyoming State Archives. Department of State
Parks and Cultural Resources.
22
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
On October 20, 1902, Maggie was arraigned upon
an information filed by Collins charging murder. She
was present in court with her attorneys, Blake and
Arnott, and she pled "not guilty.""' Gorman was also
arraigned on charges of murder, and at this time two
Sheridan attorneys were appointed for him, E. E.
Enterline and, oddly M. L. Blake."** Blake was never a
strong presence in the legal community in Wyoming,
but Enterline was a major figure for more than half a
century. In 1 892, as a young attorney in Rock Springs,
he filed suit against the biggest corporation in the state,
the Union Pacific Railroad, and took the case to the
Wyoming Supreme Court. "'^ He lost that case, but
persisted as an active and assertive attorney. During a
span of more than fifty-five years, the name of E. E.
Enterhne is listed more than one hundred times as
counsel for one of the parties in a case before the
Wyoming Supreme Court."" In 1898, he moved to
Sheridan."' He had no way of knowing it in 1902, but
bv 1 9 1 0 he would form a partnership with Joseph Stotts
in Sheridan; Stotts was already associated with another
lawyer, a young man named Fred Blume."' Enterline
moved to Casper in the late 1920s and practiced law
there until at least 1943."'
Jim's attorneys made a motion for a separate trial,
probably because they were aware Maggie was going
to be assisting the state against her brother-in-law.^''
The first order of business in State v. James Gorman
was the selection of a jury. In any criminal case, the
make-up of a jury is highly important, the first step
in a process intended to secure a conviction. Wlien
the charge is murder (mandating a death sentence
under Wyoming law in 1902), this beginning
proceeding is crucial. By state statute, the chairman
of the county commissioners, the county treasurer,
and the county clerk were charged to meet on the
second Monday of January of each year and make a
list of persons to serve as trial jurors (placed in a
series of four jury boxes); they were to select from
the last assessment roll of the county and were to
omit those persons "known by them to be incompetent
or not qualified to serve as trial jurors. "^^
This arrangement is obviously different from the
one used in the beginning of the twenty-first century,
even more than may at first appear. The modern
procedure is designed to produce a jury that is broadly
reflective of the general make-up of the society. In
Wyoming, in 2003, assessment rolls are not used at
all; the jury list is prepared from voter rolls, which
are further expanded by the use of driver's license
lists.
The applicable statute a century ago directed that
people were to be listed on the assessment roles who
owned land, buildings, or personal property such as
livestock, "carriages and vehicles," "clocks, watches,
jewelry, gold and silver plate," furniture, musical
instruments, farming utensils, and corporate stock.^^
A review of the actual rolls shows that the great
Journal of the Big Horn Counry* District Court, Vol. 1, p. 423.
" Journal ot the Big Horn Count)' District Court, Vol. 1, p. 423.
" Redman v. Union Pacific Railway Co. . 3 Wyo. 678, 29 P.88 (1892).
° When the name E. E. Enterline was entered in the author's LexisNexis
computer research program, one hundred "hits" appeared, which
was evidently still not the total number of times he appeared in a
case before the Wyoming Supreme Court. Almost any case that is
taken all the way to the Wyoming Supreme Court is considered a case
of importance.
' WorLind Grit, November 2, 1 909. page 2.
' See Biyant v. Cadle. 18 Wyo. 64, 104 R 23 (1909). Any Wyoming
lawyer will immediately recognize the name ot Fred Blume. He was
to have a storied career as a justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court,
generally considered the finest jurist the State of Wyoming has ever
produced. At a time when there was very little precedent from
Wyoming cases, Judge Blume handed down many fifty and sixry page
opinions in which he traced a legal concept from Roman law to
current times, and thus provided rhe srare ot Wyoming with ample
authoriry in the areas upon which he focused. Graduates of the
University- of Wyoming College of Law, especially in earlier years,
srudied one Blume case after another. Probably the only jurist more
frequently encountered was Benjamin Cardozo. For an excellent bi-
ography of Fred Blume see Michael Golden, "The Life and Times of
Fred H. Blume, Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Coun, Land and
Water Law Review 27 (1995): 95. '
Between 1931 and 1933 he served as the President ot the Wyoming
Bar Association. See the 2003 Wyoming State Bar Directory, p. 8.
Enterline is apparently the only person to serve as presidenr of the
Wyoming State Bar for rwo years. The case oi McKinney v. McKinney,
59 Wyo. 204, 135 P2d 940 (1943) is apparendy the last case in
which Enterline appeared before the Wyoming Supreme Court; he
presented oral argument to the court. During the time Enterline was
in Casper, he was married to Madge Enterline, who was also his legal
partner.
'Journal of the Big Horn County District Court, Vol. 1, p. 424.
' Revised Statutes of Wyoming 1899, §§ 3345, 3346. See Gunnelland
Elder V. State, 21 Wyo. 125. 128 R 512 (1912) at 129, wherein there
is a reference to Chapter 80, Comp. Stat. 1910 (Section 1010). "In-
competent" here refers to legal incompetence, meaning that a person
is a minor or mentally impaired, but, as noted later in the text, it may
have been applied more liberally.
'§ 1-1 1-106, Wyo. Stat. Ann. (LexisNexis 2001); SuZanne Whitlock,
Clerk of the District Court for Washakie County, Wyoming, inter-
view by the author, June 10, 2002.
" See Revised Statutes of Wyoming 1899, § 1779.
Annals of Wyoming- The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
23
majority of people listed owned land and buildings, as
well as a good amount of personal property.'" Oddly,
at least for Wyoming, women did not serve on juries.
At first, when women were granted suffrage in
territorial Wyoming, they did serve on luries, but this
practice had died out.""
The panel that was to hear the case against Jim
had been selected just a few days prior to the
beginning of the trial."" At first, twenty-four names
were drawn. All were not available so that more
names had to be drawn, which finally resulted in a
panel consisting of twenty-five jurors, from residences
that seemed to be evenly distributed around the Big
Horn Basin: C. C. Smith of Shell, T. T. Nelson of
Hyattville, G. W Bryant of Burlington, E. M. llg of
Hyattville, W L. Shafer of Jordan, Leonard Short of
Embar, C. C. Ellis of Basin, Robert Frame of
Bonanza, Olan Crandall of Cloverly, W }. Chapman
of Cody, W B. Curtis of Jordan, William Peper of
Germania, C. H. Watson of Sunshine, B. }. Neiber of
Thermopolis, C. F. Manning of Meeteetse, Cornelius
Workman of Lovell, W E. Beck of Fenton, F. A.
Whitney of Meeteetse, S. A. Watkins of Cody, A. J.
Martin of Marquette, Milo Burke of Ten Sleep, A. J.
Erickson of Burlington, John B. Gleaver of Meeteetse,
Dave Jimmerfield of Fenton, and W W Leavitt of
Shell."'
We can place these men in an accurate social
context, because the 1900 census had just been
completed, eighteen of them appear in the census,
and there is information available for another one.""
A clear, and not surprising, model appears: Of these
nineteen men, nine were married, with children, and
they owned their own farms (ranches) and homes free
and clear. Another three exactly meet this model,
except that the couples had no children. Further,
Neiber probably matched the model and Burke
certainly did, except that he owed money against his
land.""* C. C. Ellis fit, except, as a painter, he did not
own a farm. The remaining four men were single, but
were substantial property owners."''
This twenty-five man panel did not look like most
of the rest of the people in the county. It could fairly
be called a collection of patriarchs, successful men
who were leaders in the society. While almost three-
quarters of the panel members were married, within
Big Horn County less than half that percentage of
men were married."-^ And while fewer than half of
the men in the census owned real property, only two
of the nineteen panel members did not. Further,
the census forms show that among the two
occupations listed most frequently ("farmers" and
"farm laborers" - more than 90 percent in many
precincts), around twice as many men are listed as
farm laborers than are listed as farmers, and yet only
one in our nineteen lists his occupation as "farm
laborer.""" Not one juror is an example of the most
common kind of man found in the Big Horn Basin,
the lone cowboy who eked out a living while working
as a hand for different ranching outfits. That is the
clear consequence of the Wyoming law in 1902,
which provided for jurors to be selected from a list
prepared by the county assessor. The Wyoming
Supreme Court did not shrink from this
consequence, but declared that "it is a necessary
qualification of a juryman that he must have been
" Big Horn County, Wyoming, 1903 Assessment Tax Role, tound in
the office ot the Big Horn County Treasurer, Big Horn County
Courthouse, Basin, Wyoming.
'" T. A. Larson, Hnlory of Wyoming (Lincoln: The LIniversiry ot Ne-
braska Press, l''b5), pp. 84-85. One can specuLite at length why this
would be so, ranging from stated preferences by women called to |ury
duty because ot domestic responsibihties to simple sexual prejudice.
''° Journal of the Big Horn County District Court, Vol. 1, p. 414.
"' Journal of the Big Horn County District Court, Vol. 1, pp. 432^37.
"^ The men not appearing on the Big Horn County 1900 census are
G. W. Bryant, E. M. llg, B.J. Neiber, Robert Frame, W.J. Chapman,
Olan Crandall, and Cornelius Workman. There is information
available about B.J. Neiber, who was the pioneer ancestor of an old
Worland family. See John W. Davis, Worland Before H^r/irW ( North-
ern Wyoming Daily News, Worland, 1987), p. 4. There is also infor-
mation available regarding Cornelius Workman, whose grandson
Preston is retired and living in Lovell, but Workman has not been
considered in this group of nineteen.
"' Since census information is not available for Neiber, it is not known
whether he owned his land tree and clear. Too, he and his wife,
Mary, had two children when he died in 1906, but it is not clear
whether either had been born by 1902. See Davis, Worland Before
Worland.
"* W E. Beck was the son of a prosperous man from Fenton, William
Beck, and apparently owned livestock. Manning owned his own
home and Watson owned his own home and farm. W. W. Leavitt
owned his own farm and home free and clear. It is not clear whether
Cornelius Workman's holdings extended to real property in 1902,
but they certainly did later. 1900 Census, Big Horn County, Wyo-
ming
"' According to the 1900 Census, ot the approximately 3100 men in
the Big Horn Basin, about ttOO were married, or about 35%.
" 1900 Census, Big Horn County, Wyoming, Meeteetse Precinct. C. F.
Manning is listed as a "farm laborer."
24
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
assessed upon the last assessment role of the county,
and no authority is conferred upon the jury
commissioners to make a jury hst except from the
assessment roll.""'
Though the use ot assessment rolls as the base
for selectmg a jury assured that any jury would be
atypical, the selected jurors so closely follow a model,
that one suspects the overseeing officials exercised a
further role, informally excluding those who might
not have been viewed as sufficiently responsible. If
this was the case, it would not be a shock, because in
1902 a great many of the citizens of the Big Horn
Basin were very concerned about suppressing
lawbreakers and would welcome a jury of stern
patriarchs. And if such a process did take place, it
would not have been done because of a
Machiavellian impulse to manipulate justice, but as
an expression of an unspoken ethic that was widely
shared by the great majority of the population, and
probably not even perceived as unusual. Indeed,
when the defense started exercising challenges to the
panel, they showed that their primary concern was
not the apparent austere make-up ot the jury, but
more mundane considerations.
The first step taken was the drawing of twelve
names, followed by examination of the prospective
jurors by the attorneys to see if there were
demonstrable grounds for disqualification, referred
to as "cause.""** A man from Bonanza was challenged
for cause and excused, though the record does not
reveal the basis for the cause."' Bonanza is only about
fifteen miles down the Nowood River from Broken
Back Creek, and so perhaps this man had some
personal involvement in the case. Other prospective
jurors were challenged for cause, though again, there
is nothing in the record to indicate why.'" The Big
Horn Basin, with a population of about five thousand,
was a small community and, frequently, people
associated with the prosecution or defense would
have a great deal of first-hand knowledge of the
jurors. It was a social society; people did not huddle
in their homes watching television. On Sunday
afternoons, the favorite pastime was to go to other
people's homes and visit, and more often than not,
talk about other people they knew. Social events, such
as dances, were central events in their lives. All the
local newspapers from that time are filled with short
notes about all the visits everyone was making with
everyone else. A prosecutor would have the advantage
of a network of informants, county employees,
sheriffs and deputies and their families, who would
report back about jurors, telling what kind of men
they were, what kind of associations they had and,
frequently, what comments they may have made
about a case. The defense would also have its sources
from employees, friends, and relatives of the
attorneys. Both sets of attorneys took ready advantage
of this kind of information.
After the challenges for cause were completed,
peremptory challenges began, challenges not requiring
the announcement of any reason for disqualification.
The state had ten challenges and the defendant
twelve. '' The state, however, used none of its
challenges. Not so the defense, which used all but three
of Its challenges.'^ Peremptory challenges flow from a
" Stall- V. Bolln, 10 Wyo. 439, 470, 70 P. 7 (1902).
"* They were C. C. Smith, C. F. Manning, Robert Frame, B. J. Neiber,
G. W. Bryant, C. C. Elhs, W. B. Curtis, John B. Gieaver, Cornelius
Workman, W, L. Shafer, William Peper, and A. J. Martin. See the
Big Horn County District Court Journal, Vol. I, p. 440.
"' W. L. Shaffer, who was replaced by Leonard Short; D. Ct. Journal, p.
440.
™ These include Milo Burke and E. M. llg, D. Ct. Journal, p. 441. C.
H. Watson replaced Burk and W. E. Beck replaced llg. llg was
apparently related to one of the listed witnesses on behalf of the
state against Jim Gorman, Arthur llg. Information Verified by
Witnesses, Big Horn County, Wyoming District Court Case No.
109.
'' D. Ct. Journal, p. 443.
'- The District Court Journal, Vol. 1, shows the following, pp. 441-442:
after the state waived its first challenge, the defense peremptorily
challenged W. B. Curtis of Alamo. Curtis was replaced by F. A.
Whitney. The prosecution kept waiving its peremptory challenges
and the defense kept using its challenges. C. F. Manning, from
Meeteetse, was challenged, and the defense thereby took from the
jury the one man who identified himself as a laborer. A.J. Erickson
was selected to replace Manning. Robert Frame of Bonanza was
challenged by the defendant. S. A. Watkins of Cody replaced him.
Leonard Short, from Embar, was then peremptorily challenged and
was replaced by E. M. llg of Hyattville. As noted earlier, llg was
challenged for cause; he was replaced by W E. Beck. The state
waived its third peremptory challenge and the defense challenged
C. C. Ellis, the Basin painter. T. T. Nelson was called, but found
"not qualified." Daniel Jimmertleld of Fenton was then selected.
A. J. Erickson from Lovell was peremptorily challenged and Olan
Crandall from Cloverly was selected, but was soon peremptorily
challenged by the defense. The defense peremptorily challenged B.
J. Neiber and W W Leavitt of Shell was then selected. After Crandall
was ousted, W J. Chapman from Cody was selected. G. W Bryant
from Burlington was peremptorily challenged.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -• Winter 2004
25
hundred sources, some very accurately directed
at a hidden prejudice and some just whimsical. In an
individual case, perhaps the glint in the eye oi a
prospective juror ottended Enterline or he had heard
a juror was a stern man, but it is impossible to know
why any specific challenge was made. As will be seen,
though, some general patterns did emerge.
The state kept waiving its challenges, taking the
consistent position that it was quite happy with the
jury exactly as it stood at any given time. With tour
challenges remaining, the jury boxes were exhausted.
Whereupon, Stotts issued an "open venire" to the
sheriff (without apparent objection by the attorneys)
so that Hale could obtain more jurors." It sounds
very much like the sheriff was just directed to go out
and find six men, from wherever he could. This
procedure sounds questionable, but "open venire" is
addressed in several Wyoming cases, including Gnnnell
V. State, 21 Wyo. 125, at 129, in which the Wyoming
Supreme Court accepts the practice, it not
enthusiastically. As late as 1979, in Peterson v. State,
594 P.2d 978 (Wyo. 1979), an open venire was
undertaken when a justice of the peace |ury was short
two jurors; the Wyoming Supreme Court once again
accepted the practice. The sheriff summoned William
Gibson, John Larson, George Crosby, R. R. Small,
William O'Toole, and Richard Mullen and they were
added to the jury box. Crosby was drawn and he
became the last juror.
So, the jury members were C. C. Smith (Shell),
John B. Gleaver (Meeteetse), Cornelius Workman
(Lovell), A. J. Martin (Marquette), C. H. Watson
(Sunshine), F. A. Whitney (Meeteetse), S. A. Watkins
(Cody), W. E. Beck (Fenton), Dan Jimmerfield
(Fenton), W W Leavitt (Shell), W.J. Chapman (Cody),
and George Crosby (Lovell).^'^ Since the defense was
the only party exercising peremptory challenges, the
final look of the jury was very much the product of
defense intentions. A map of the Big Horn Basin
platting the residences of the jurors is instructive.
Such a map shows a distinctive pattern, as if someone
were standing at Broken Back Creek and firing a
shotgun to the west: There are lots of little points in
an arc a considerable distance away. It was obvious
that the most important concern for the defense was
to keep people off the jury who had known the
Gormans. It seems very likely that the defense assumed
that such people had liked Tom, disliked Jim, or liked
Maggie. There is nothing to indicate that the defense
was otherwise offended by this final collection of
patriarchs. They look very much like the initial panel;
five out of the nine about whom we know exactly fit
the model of a married man with children, owning
his own home and ranch free and clear.^' One of
these five, Whitney, became the foreman of the jury.
It did not take a long time to seat the trial jury; the
procedure was begun the morning of October 27 and
completed within enough time that opening statements
(including one four hours long) were made and
testimony begun the same day." Clarence A. Zaring, a
Basin attorney who had been added to the prosecution
team when Collins complained that "he is alone in this
case and the defendant has two attorneys," gave the
opening statement for the prosecution.^^ (Zaring was a
young man from Indiana, who was then part of the law
firm Collins and Zaring.^**) Enterline spoke for four
hours on behalf of Jim.'"
Many newspapers carried stories about the
Gorman trial, but almost every report was cursory, at
least with respect to the evidence presented during
the trial. This is particularly unfortunate because no
transcript of the trial is available nor are issues of
the Big Horn County Rustler, the newspaper published
in Basin and the one most likely to carry detailed
information.*" Luckily, there is one contemporaneous
newspaper article that reported the trial in excellent
detail. The November 10, 1902, edition of the
Cheyenne Daily Leader contained a story headed, "BIG
HORN COUNTTS TERRIBLE TRAGEDY," and it
occupied two long columns setting out the events of
the three-day trial. It had every sign of having been
written by a reporter who attended the trial and took
" The District Court Journal, pp. 441-142.
'' In addition to the District Court Journal, see the 1''03 Assessment
Ta.x Role, p. 13.
" Smith, Gleaver, Martin, Whitney and Jimniertield. I'lOO Census, Big
Horn County, Wyoming.
" D. Ct. lournal, p. 443; "Jim Gorman Convicted," 77v Big Horn
County News and Conner (Meeteetse), November 1, 1''02.
"D.Ct. Journal, p. 440.
'" Skovgard, Bium City, p. 39.
'" "Jim Gorman Convicted," 77v Big Horn County Ncu's and Conner
(Meeteetse), November I, 1902.
"" The Basin Republican did not begin publication until 1905.
26 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
careful notes. Indeed, there is a good chance the
reporter, though not identified, was someone from
one of the local newspapers specially hired for this
story.^'
The first witness called was Sheriff Hale/''- He
began his testimony on Monday, October 27, but it
is not clear whether his testimony was concluded on
Monday; a great deal of time could not have been
spent hearing testimony that day. What is surprising
is that all the remaining testimony in the trial was
heard the following day, and testimony was concluded
on that day.
The purpose of Hale's testimony was to set the
scene, to provide what lawyers refer to as the corpus
delicti, proof of the fundamental fact that a crime had
been committed. Hale used a diagram of the crime
scene and told jurors about that spring day when he
came to the Gorman home, learned of "certain
suspicious conditions," and "traced the body of the
deceased to its resting place . . ." The Cheyenne Daily
Leader reported that Hale's testimony "was listened
to by all in the court room with breathless
attention. "^''
The second witness was even more closely
heeded, though, as he provided sensational testimony.
Hugh Collins testified that he had seen stv'eral
quarrels between the Gorman brothers in which
Maggie "interfered to prevent a tragic ending." Then
he stated that on one occasion, apparently when he
and Jim were walking to Basin, Gorman made some
startling admissions. Tom had just taken a .30-30
Winchester rifle and chased Jim away from his home.
Collins testified that Jim told him that "he had
enjoyed illicit relations with Mrs. Maggie Gorman for
about two years, " that this was the reason Tom had
got after him, and that Jim intended to return with a
six-shooter and kill his brother.*''^
The Cheyenne Daily Leader reported that after
Collin's direct testimony, "Mr. Enterline took him in
hand for cross examination," that each of Miller's
damaging statements was "rigidly dissected," but with
little effect, and that, "the prosecution felt that an
important point had been secured in establishing a
motive for the crime."**' What should be made of this
testimony? The prosecution had just forwarded
evidence that on its face represented a damning
indictment of Maggie, the most important witness for
the prosecution, showing she had been engaged in
adultery. The prosecution had to know, also, that
Maggie would deny any such "illicit relations," so the
testimony of Collins appeared to show her a liar. Yet
the prosecution painted Collins' testimony as a great
coup, emphasizing that it established a motive.
These thoughts surely came to the jurors' minds
when the prosecution presented Maggie as their next
witness. Until the prosecution called her as a witness,
it was not known by members of the public that she
was turning state's evidence. The announcement that
Maggie would testify for the prosecution "caused a
sensation in court, as she was charged jointly with
the defendant with the crime, for which he was on
trial. "**^^
From the moment she stepped into the
courtroom, there was no question that Maggie was
not about to accede to the judgment of most of Big
Horn County that she was a scarlet woman, complicit
in the murder of her husband. At 1 1:30, the morning
of October 28, 1902, Maggie appeared, "entirely clad
in black, and heavily veiled." There was a brief
skirmish in which Enterline protested the acceptance
of evidence from her, but to no avail, and Maggie
took the stand and began her testimony. The Cheyenne
Daily Leader reported "she was apparently as cool and
self possessed as any person in the courtroom. She
took off her heavy cloak, raised her black veil, and
looked at the jury with an air of composure."^''
Maggie first told how Jim had arrived in 1900,
and stated that there had been several quarrels
*' On other occasions, the Daily Leader also printed thorough ac-
counts, indicating they were a "special to Daily Leader," which is
consistent with the Cheyenne paper engaging the services of a local
reporter. See, for example, the July 20, 1903, issue. It is not stated
as such, but it is also possible that this story is a re-print of what
was also published in the Big Horn County Rustler.
*' "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, Novem-
ber 10, 1902.
" "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, Novem-
ber 10, 1902.
*■' "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, Novem-
ber 10, 1902.
'* "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, Novem-
ber 10, 1902.
" "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, Novem-
ber 10, 1902.
" "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Independent Leader,
November 10, 1902.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
27
between the brothers, but they had made peace.'*^ She
said she first noticed her husband's absence on April
20, 1902. The next day, when she had gone looking
for horses in the adjacent hills, she saw some smoke.
Shortly afterwards she had a conversation with Jim
in which he told her he had killed her husband and
buried him in a washout.
The Cheyenne Daily Leader reported the dramatic
climax of her testimony:
She related the stor\' of the murder as it had been
told to her with a tearful modulation ot her voice.
"He told me," said she, "that Tom was coming
from the corral, and that, as he came past the
wagon, I (Jim) stepped trom behind it and hit him a
biff with a hatchet, and that he iell like a beef
without a kick or a groan. He said that he hit him a
second time to make sure that he was dead. He did
not tell me what he had done with the body," she
continued in answer to questions, "except to say that
he had decided not to burn it because it would cause
too much smoke and smell, and so had buried it."
Maggie continued and told the jury she had not
revealed what she had learned because Jim had
threatened to kill her and her child "if she said a word
to anyone about the crime." In early June, she started
to Montana with Gorman "under his threat to kill
her if she did not." The hatchet used to commit the
murder was shown to Maggie and she identified it.**'
Here the Daily Leader's presentation of Maggies
testimony stops. Unfortunately, neither the Daily
Leader, nor any other newspaper reported Enterline's
following cross-examination. Perhaps he chose to ask
no questions at all, which seems highly unlikely, but
if so, that striking moment surely would have been
reported. The Daily Leader's article is very dainty
regarding any references to sexual relations between
Jim and Maggie. Besides the Collins' direct testimony,
they report nothing regarding cross-examination on
this subject (Enterline surely addressed it, at least
indirectly, in his cross-examination of Collins). Nor
does the article say anything about the prosecution's
positions as to whether their chief witness against
Jim was a liar and an adulteress.
Despite the lack of assistance from the historical
record, it is clear what the position of the prosecution
had to be. They had to state that Collins had told the
truth when he said Jim had declared he had "illicit
relations" with Maggie, but that did not mean it was
true. A lot of young men strut around and exaggerate
their sexual conquests, especially as to an
exceptionally attractive woman such as Maggie. The
only thing that shows for sure is that Jim strongly
desired Maggie, which certainly provides motive to
kill her husband, who had driven him away under
humiliating circumstances.
Shortly after Maggie's testimony, the prosecution
completed its case in chief and rested. Jim
immediately took the stand in his own defense. His
story, in the most important elements, was sharply
different from Maggie's.
Jim testified that he was born in Allegheny,
Pennsylvania; he came to the Big Horn country in
1900 "at the solicitation of his brother," who
promised him a partnership in his business interests.'"
He lived with his brother and his wife at intervals up
to the time of the killing. He stated that he and his
brother quarreled frequently. The first quarrel was over
the colors of the British flag, Tom saying it was only
red and white and Jim maintaining it was red, white.
All of the discussion of Maggie Gorman's testimony here comes
from the November 10, 1902, Chiycnne Dtuly Leader article. The
author considers it the most reliable source. There are other recitals
of Maggie Gorman's testimony found in the historical record, such
as that found in Walker, Stones of Early Days in Wyoming pp. 230-
33; M. B. Rhodes, The Road of Yesteryear, Annals oj Wyoming 34
Ouly, l')52): 89; and Prison, Under the Ten Sleep Rim. pp. 45-48, but
all are obviously reconstructions from second-hand information
and distant memory, are replete with inaccuracies and, m the author's
judgment, are simply not trustworthy, at least in their specifics.
Another of these recitals, found in Gustafson, Carl Stanley, "His-
tory of Vigilante and Mob Activity in Wyoming," Master's thesis,
University of Wyoming, May 24, 1961, p. 49, the source of which is
the L. L Newton Collection at the American Heritage Center in
Laramie, has a great deal of detail, some of which may be accurate.
There is so much of it that is clearly wrong, however, that it is hard
to know what part is reliable. For instance, unlike what was stated
in this version, Jim and Maggie did not pull out for Montana
shortly after the killing. See Pendergraft, Washakie: A Wyoming
County History, p. 42.
"Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cbrtcnne Daily Leader,
November 10, 1902.
"Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader,
November 10, 1902. The entire discussion of Jim Gorman's
testimony comes from this article.
28 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
and blue. This disagreement escalated to the point that
Tom ordered Jim off the place at rifle point. Jim
testified that he later returned at his brother's request.
Jim stated the next quarrel was caused by Maggie
and his brother had threatened his life with a .30-30
Winchester. He said Tom followed him out the door,
throwing a beer bottle at him as he left, and then
made him put down a saddle "upon peril of his life."
Jim admitted he came to Basin on foot with Collins,
but denied that he said anything regarding improper
relations with Maggie or that he threatened his
brothers life. He stayed two weeks in Basin, but then
spent the following six weeks with Kenneth
McClellan. Jim testified about his movements the day
of the killing and said he returned to his brother s to
get a horse. The Cheyenne Daily Leader reported that,
"his testimony was given with a frankness that was
impressive."
Enterline then tossed Jim a slow and easy pitch:
"Tell us what happened on April 20, 1902. Tell the
story of that day to the jury." The Cheyenne Daily Leader
reported his response in careful detail:
"In company with my brother Tom, we began building
a wool rack," said the witness. "We worked together
on it tor some time and he left me and went into the
house and stayed a long time. About 2 o'clock in the
afternoon Tom came out where I was working, and
asked me if I was going home. Why don't you stay
and mart)' Anna McClellan, he said, applying an obscene
name to her. I told him that I did not want to marry
anyone, and that he had no business to talk about
Maggie's sister as he did, as he had sisters at home in
Pennsylvania. Tom got very mad and left me and went
back to the house. I went on with my work. Shortly
after our talk about Aina McClellan he came back,
and grabbed a broken singletree and said to me, 'Now
get down on your knees and say your prayers, you
s of a b ,' and he struck me a blow on the
side of the head which glanced over my left shoulder.
I picked up a shovel and threw it at him. He kept on
coming at me, hitting me all over the body with the
singletree. In my excitement I grabbed a hatchet and
struck him, I don't know how many times. He fell and
I dropped the hatchet and went to the corral, intending
to go away. Shortly after that I came back to where
Tom lay and found he was dead. Went to the house
and saw Mrs. Gorman; told her I had had a fight with
Tom and killed him, and that I was going to give myself
up. 'Don't do it,' she said, 'they'll hang us both.' She
advised me to bury the body, which I did. I dragged it
to the washout, laid it in, and caved the sides down for
dirt to cover it with. Next morning, I discovered a fire
on the grave, but I did not build it. Mrs. Gorman said
that a fire would destroy all signs of fresh dug earth.""
The cross-examination of Jim is not reported, but
the response of Maggie certainly is. The trial went
into an evening session, and at 7:30 that night, Maggie
was recalled for rebuttal. The Cheyenne Daily Leader
reported that, "she denied point blank several
statements made by the defense." The exact
statements are not identified, but can be easily inferred
by the inconsistencies in the two versions. Maggie
most likely denied Jim had reported a fight requiring
self-defense, that she had told him not to give himself
up, advised him to bury the body, or suggested a fire.
The case resumed the next morning at 8 o'clock,
but no further evidence was presented.'" In Wyoming,
after the evidence is closed, the jury is first instructed
and then arguments are given. In a first degree murder
case, the most important instruction is a general
verdict form which includes lesser offenses. The jury
is told to first determine whether a defendant is guilty
of murder in the first degree, but if they find the
defendant not guilty of murder in the first degree,
then to consider the lesser offense of murder in the
second degree.'- Then if they find the defendant not
guilty of second degree murder, they are to consider
the lesser charge of manslaughter. This instruction
was no doubt given in the Gorman case and is given
today.'''* There is also little doubt that each of the
attorneys spent a long time arguing from this
instruction, although the contemporaneous
newspaper articles do not provide the details of the
'" "Big Horn Counr)''s Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, No-
vember 10, 1902.
''- "Big Horn County's Terrible Tragedy," Cheyenne Daily Leader, Novem-
ber 10, 1902.
'" 4.03A, Wyoming's Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions, Revised as of
April, 1996. This instruction is referred to as a "lesser included
offense instruction." See Comment, " The Lesser Included Offense Ln-
struction. Problems With Its Use," 3 Land & Water L. Rev. 587 (1967),
by John W. Davis.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004 29
arguments. Zaring began for the state "with a short
address, in which he reviewed the hicts and deduced
conchisions from them."'^ Enterhne then gave the
principal argument on behah ot Jim, and he spoke tor
two and one-halt hours. He was followed by Blake,
who, in return, was followed by the prosecuting
attorney, Collins.'"' Although we do not have a report
of the content of the arguments, again, they can be
inferred.
The prosecution no doubt argued strongly for a
first degree murder conviction, saying that the
evidence showed Jim killed his brother purposely and
with premeditated malice, as required by the fust
degree murder statute." Jim's statements to Colhns,
the prosecution wotdd have argued, strongly show
he had been planning to kill his brother for months,
and the testimon\' of Maggie shows Jim just
ambushed his brother and, rather than acting in self-
defense, hit him a second time to finish him off. The
defense, on the other hand, no doubt argued that
neither Collins nor Maggie was credible, but that Jim's
account was believable, and that he was justified in
using deadly force, as he reasonably believed his
brother Tom intended to take his life or inflict great
bodily harm upon him."*^
After the arguments, the jur\' was put in charge
of the bailiff, and retired to their room for
deliberation. All the other participants just waited.
Time moves very slowlv for those waiting for the
return of a jury. In State v. James Gorman, though, the
wait was not extensive; the jury was not out long, at
least not for a murder case. The jurors returned to
the courtroom at 8 p. m., having deliberated for four
and one-half hours.
The announcement of a verdict is a formal event;
the defendant must be present and the official
participants in the trial, the judge, attorneys, bailiff
and clerk of court, also appear. Jim was brought into
the courtroom and when all the players were gathered,
the verdict was read:
"We the jur\' duly empanelled and sworn in the above
entitled cause do find the defendant guilty of
manslaughter.
--F. A. Whitney Foreman.'""
Just a few days after his conviction of manslaugh-
ter, Iim asked the district court for a new trial. The
prosecution consented to the recjuest and a new trial
granted. At that time, the highest appellate courts in
eleven states had ruled that when such a request was
made, the prosecution could not again try a defen-
dant for first or second degree murder, because of
double leopardy considerations. Eleven other states,
however, had ruled that the request for a new trial
represented a waiver of double jeopardy protection.
When a new judge, Charles Carpenter of Laramie,
was presented with the question in April 1903, he
agreed with the latter group of states, and ruled the
prosecution could proceed with a charge of first de-
gree murder. Upon re-trial, Gorman was convicted
of first degree murder, which then carried an auto-
matic death penalty.
An appeal followed, but many of the men in the
area objected to the delays. There was talk of a
lynching, both of Gorman and Joseph P. Walters, who
was also in the Big Horn County jail pending an appeal
of a murder conviction. The talk was strong enough
that m July the sheriff took the men out of their
cells to a place north of Basin. Gorman then escaped,
although he was re-captured three days later. His
escape very much excited the men who believed a
" The Gorman file cannot be found and the instructions given to the
jur\- are, therefore, not available, hut subsequent events show that it
must have been given; i. e., the legal battle over the consequences of
such an instruction. Such instructions were given to juries even in
territorial times. See, tor example. Territory v. WHliiim Booth, Johnson
Countv District Court Case No. 7^, found in the records ot the
Johnson County Clerk ot the Disttict Court and h-rritory v. tlids R.
5;h;V/', Johnson Countv D. Ct. case No. 1 l4.
'^ Cheyenne Daily Leader, November 10, 1902.
'"' Cheyenne Daily Leader. November 10, 1902. The newspaper article
does not recire Collins name, but sinipK refers to "the prosecuting
attorney," who was Wintleld Scott Collins. One would expect the
county attorney to save for himself an important role m the final
argument.
"" Revised Statutes of Wyoming 1899, § 49S0.
"■^ This formulation directly follows Ron v. State. 8 Wyo. t'i 1 , 38.^, ^7 P.
924 (1899), in which the Wyoming Supreme Court laid out clear
rules as to when deadly force is permitted in self defense.
"" D. Ct. Journal, p. -450.
30
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
lynching was needed, and on July 19, 1903, a mob of eight men. The first case to be tried, however, was
some thirty men entered the jail. They shot to death conducted in an atmosphere of intimidation and the
Gorman, Walters, and a deputy sheriff Shortly prosecution's case fell apart. All charges were dismissed
thereafter, Maggie received a note saying if she did not against the defendants. JjU
leave the country, the same thing would happen to
her. Of course, she left. The Big Horn County
authorities attempted to prosecute members of the
lynch mob, and even obtained indictments against
John W. Davis
grew up in Worland, Wyoming, and has practiced law tliere since 1973.
He is tlie author of A Vast Amount of Trouble: A History of the Spring
Creek Raid, published by the University Press of Colorado in 1993. Mr.
Davis is married and he and his wife, Celia, have two sons. Their home
is known as The Worland House. It was built originally in 1917 for Charlie
and Sadie Worland and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
31
t has been fifiy-five years sj^-
have called "The Grea^ BE
hit parts of Wyoming ani
the 2003 annualmeeting Q
State Historical Societ)!
Ehernberger presented an i|
ecjucational program abou^
|ial WSHS members afsl
eriences with the large ieifis:
ire the reminiscenees of Ainy
James Ehernberger, and Luc^
all long-time WSHS merri^^"
they and theii? families 1
that blizzard ift early 1919. :«',
Amy Lawrence
On January 2, 1 949, my mother noted in her diary,
"Big storm starting at noon — 40 mi. wind and snow."
That was not unusual for that time of year in the
Little Laramie Valley. But it kept snowing and the
wind came up and blew and blew and by daylight the
situation began to look serious. It was serious, tor
this was the beginning of the infamous blizzard that
devastated much of the West, leaving in its wake
ranges littered with dead livestock; roads blocked by
abandoned vehicles; trains buried in snowdrifts; a
human toll of deaths and injuries irom frostbite and
exhaustion and broken dreams. Cattle actually died
standing up as the wind blew the snow under their
hair where it melted, then froze, encasing them in an
icy death.
This was not just one blizzard, but a series of
storms, one right after the other that swept the Plains
states and kept the people reeling from one
muism
catastrophe to another. It was well into spring before
things began to get back to normal and the cost
counted. There are countless stories of hardship and
suffering and courage during this rough time.
My parents. Bill and Rena Lawrence, had a ranch
on the Little Laramie River about twenty miles
northwest of Laramie. This is their story — and mine.
I was working in Laramie at that time. I managed to
get to work at a garage on 2nd Street that Monday
morning after the storm began, but it was three days
before I could get back to my apartment on 1 8''' Street.
Every street and intersection was clogged with stalled
cars and snow drifts, so I bunked with friends who
lived nearby. All I could do to help my folks at that
point was to worry.
Meanwhile, mom and dad, who were both m their
sixties, were trying to cope with the possibility of
losing our entire herd of cattle. The cattle had to be
fed and waterholes cut for them. This was long before
Lawrence Ranch on the Little Laramie River Courtesy Amy
Lawrence.
32
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
the massive tractors with front end loaders, or four-
wheel drive vehicles were available to the general
public, and the efficient winter clothing we have now
was not even imagined. Instead, dad had to resort to
layers of "long Johns," wool shirts, jeans, and overalls,
and topped it all off with a heavy sheepskin lined
coat. At this point he resembled a huge, lumbering
bear, and would probably have sold our outfit for some
of today's insulated clothing. The hardest part was
keeping his feet from freezing. There were wool
socks, sheepskin liners, and over that some massive
four-buckle overshoes. Dad was nearly six feet tall —
with feet to match. He had to get all of that, and
himself, on a horse, because that was the only viable
transportation. As an experienced Wyoming cowboy,
he had a set of extra-wide stirrups for this kind of
weather.
This already had been a hard winter. A big snow
storm on December 21 had clogged the roads,
curtailing Christmas shopping and celebrations. The
pasture we had rented was more than four miles across
country, and otir cattle had to be fed. So on December
18 dad had saddled up his biggest, toughest saddle
horse, and, leading an extra horse, headed for that
pasture, establishing a pattern that continued for
several weeks. Some fences and roads were buried,
but dad, with a cowboy's memory ot his landscape,
managed to find the gates, river crossings, and bridges
necessary to get him to the pasture in late afternoon,
with just enough light to feed the cattle. This pasture
had an extra bonus, small springs located in heavy
stands of willows, which offered shelter and water
for our cattle, and may have helped save our herd.
Mother, of course, was left to try to cope with
struggling out to get her chickens fed and out to the
barn to feed a couple of young bulls we had there.
Although dad had dug out paths, the constantly
blowing snow usually filled them in quickly. The
Rural Electrification Association did not reach us
until the following summer, so we did not yet have
electricity or running water and mother was constantly
tormented by her worry about dad. Since the
telephone was usually out, he could not even call to
tell her if he had arrived safely at Uncle Jack's.
I remember times during lesser blizzards in later
years when dad would head out to the meadow in his
big truck to feed the cattle. If he wasn't back by close
to noon, all we could do was worry and pace the floor.
There was no way we could have found him if he
was in trouble. There were many dangers out there.
The truck could get stuck, he could fall and break a
leg, or he could slip and fall into the waterhole on the
river. Wet feet meant frozen feet. These waterholes
had to be chopped out daily and sometimes when
the water was dammed up downstream, it would come
up through the waterhole, creating an especially
treacherous, slick surface. Or the snow had drifted
in and had to be shoveled out. As the water dropped,
and the ice and snow built up, sometimes dad would
have to chop steps down to the water and shovel
gravel out of the bottom to cover the ice and make it
less treacherous for the stock.
So there was plenty to worry about that winter
of '49. We had our heifers in our meadow, and luckily,
on January 5 there was a break in the storm so dad
was able to find them just as they were beginning to
pile up against a fence, and get them to shelter and
feed.
Several things saved the Little Laramie
community from an even worse disaster. Only three
of the storms actually hit our valley, another skirted
north of us. The Rawlins area and the northern part
of Albany County were in far worse shape than we
were. National Guard trucks and planes struggled to
get feed to stranded cattle, but the losses were terrible
in some areas. Other factors that helped us out were
our old party telephone line— a "party line" radio
program that relayed messages; and a rotary snow
plow that had recently been purchased by the
California Oil Company at the then active Quealy
Dome oil field.
We could not ring the phone operator, but she
opened the line at specified times of the day to take
and relay messages. She also coordinated with the
Quealy field and told her listeners when the snow plow
was coming through. Those who had to get to town
could follow the plow and follow it back the next day.
On one occasion, a neighbor had a badly frozen face,
and with the help of the operator and the big plow
they were able to get him to town for the necessary
medical attention.
Since the plowed road was close to our house
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
33
■0
Amy Lawrence on
Lawrence Road near the
family ranch. January
1949. Courtesy Amy
Lawrence.
and I was able to talk to the folks on the parry line
when there was a break in the storms, I would load
up on groceries and whatever else the folks needed,
and bring them out. I would park on the road and
dad would bring my old "Flyer" sled and we would
load it with boxes and slide it down to the house.
However, the grocery situation was never critical
because mother, trained byyearsof Wyoming winters,
always had a full pantry. I still do, and have probably
enough food on hand to survive several blizzards.
On February 18, mother wrote that it was
"Thawing and Pleasant." The "Blizzard of '49" was
over. Although our family and most of our cattle
survived the blizzard, dad never lully recovered his
health Irom those terrible rides across country. Some
of our neighbors suHered several cattle losses, many
had frostbite, one was coping with the unexpected
birth of a child who arrived a month early. But, like
most ol the other ranchers on the Laramie Plains, we
all dug out, rebuilt, and waited for green grass.
My mother, Rena Palmer Lawrence, kept a diary beginning with her high school days in 1916.
Similar ranch diaries are an invaluable historical source. In them, ranch wives noted the weather,
shipping and calving dates, haying, and other ranch activities. These diaries have even been used as
evidence in legal disputes such as taxes owed. Following are excerpts during the time of the 1949
blizzard.
Note: Dad, William H. "Bill" Lawrence, had leased pasture Irom Johnny McGill and took oiu'
cows there November 20. This field adjoined the Jack Sanderson ranch on what is now Forbes Lane.
Jack was my great uncle. Mother's parents. Axel and Amanda Palmer, lived on what is now the
Browns Creek Angus Ranch, a mile from where we lived at that time and where I still live.'
-- Amy Lawrence
Dec. 21, 19^8 — Tuesday — Beginningofbigsnow in eve.
Dec. 22 — To toivn to shop for Holidays — Dad followed me — because ofsiiou ■ — School program in eve at Millbrook
School.
Dec. 23 — Started feeding at McGills
' Amy Lawrence has the diary in her possessions. The entries
are printed as written in the diary.
34
Annals of Wvoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
Dec. 24 — Billy gets folks — Jack andAiny here for Christmas Eve dinner — open packages. Lots of snow.
Dec. 25 — Bill and Amy get stuck in ditch at McGills while feeding — late dinner Jack couldn't come — Folks
both have bad colds — A [Amy] to town in eve. — Ground blizzard — cold
Dec. 2G — Sim — Billy late from Jack's
Dec. 27 — Tried to get to Mom's — stuck on hill — Mom has flu — snoiv-cold-windy. Lute Fisk dinner for
Coykendalls.
Dec. 28 — Mom some better — practically snowed in — Bilh rides to Jack's
Dec. 30 — Finally got to Folks. Walked in fom road. Mom better Billy rode
Dec. 30 — Friday — Billy rode. Took dinner and shared it with folks. — Fair
Jan. 1, 1949 — Went to [Holly] Hunt's for annual party — played poker — visited — -fitn.
Jan. 2 — Sunday — Big ston?i starting at noon — 40 mi. wiyid and snow — very cold — allnite — B barely makes
it home with truck [1929 Model A] from Jack's — phone out
Jan. 3 — Teyrible blizzard all day and all nite — zero — sifts in everywhere — B couldn't feed even here — puts
btdls, horses in barn.
Jan. 4 — Tues. — No let up — Blizzard all day and nite again — zero — cleared up a bit in p. m. , B finds calves
scattered — open stack — chickens in bad way — grain room filled [with sifiingsnow] — 8 ft. drifts sheds and
fence — across road
Jan. 5 — Wed — calm at last — very cold — B finds strayed calves — nearly gone — B rides to Jack's — almost
impossible — thru fields — Calif. [California Oilfield at Quealy Dome] snow plow rotary open road around
hill — took lunch to boys — they took 24 hours to Baths [about four miles].
Jan. G — Thurs — Billy rides to Jacks — digs out grain room, garage and chicken house — Fark [Frank Coykendall
a neighbor] rides up — his cattle at airport — he goes horseback — alone [ten to twelve miles]. Very cold — very
cold.
Jan. 8 — Sat — Fair — cold — wind towards evening — B rides to Jack's — still tough — Phone out.
Jan. 9 — Sun — Blizzard again — fi-om East. Not quite so severe as last. Very cold. Tough on Billy. Earl
[Bath] freezes face.
Jan. 10 — Mon. Storm let up — turned warmer about noon.
Jan. 11 — Tues. — Folks here — first time since Christmas — nice visit — fair — cold
Jan. 12 — Bun hare stops by — fair
Jan. 13 — Thurs. Doris takes Earl to doctor — face fivzen — bad
Jan. 14 — to town — sttwk in snow at Bamforts Hill — Bob Knadler and Dad help me out — hurried shopping —
Roads drifiing bad in valley. — Fair — wind
Jan. 15 — Sat — Netv storm — snow, wind, zero — A couldn't come — roads drified — Tough ride for B.
Jan. 16- — Eddie Fritzen [with California Co. and plow] — brings groceries — some wind, cold, fair
Jan. 17 — River overflowing — firezing — getting bad — cloudy — very cold
Jan. 18 — C.O.C. [California Oil Co.] opens road — big storm goes around us — some snow — cold
Jan. 22 — Sat. — Amy out in p.m. — stayed for supper — cold and fair —
Jan. 24 — Amy out for nite — very cold — fair
Jan. 27 — Folks engine out [this was the Kohler system that supplied electricity]
Jan. 28 — Friday — 35 below — listened to game — Colo Aggies — Wyo — wowU^
- The University of Wyoming Cowboy basketball team defeated the Colorado Aggies that night 56-39 at Fort Collins. The two
teams played again the following night again at Fort Collins with the same result. Cowboy 53, Aggies 41.
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
35
Feb. 2 — Wed. — Kirk helped B bring cows home from McGilh — cold — clear.
Feb. 3 — Folks got engine started at last [water and lights restored].
[Blowing and drifiing snow and cold each day.]
Feb. 6- — Sun. — Blew and drifted terribly all day.
Feb. 7 — Clear — Blowing and drifting. All roads closed. Trains stalled.
Feb. 8 — Still blowing and drifting badly. B couldn't feed till p.m.
[Cold, drifting snow until Feb. 1 1.[
Feb. 12 — Saturday — Neighbors here waiting for snow plow. Large convoy folloiinng it. — B stalls mick in Mandel
lane — bringing out grain. B cr I work 2 hrs. to get it out. Clear, snow in eve. — very cold.
Feb. 13 — A starts to toivn — has to turn back. Cal. Opens Mandel Lane — Harry and Doris [Bath] to Dr. —
frozen feet. — Fair, very cold and windy.
Feb. 14 — Alon — A goes in with convoy andfudy LeVasser [water commissionn] har for limch ayid dynamite water
holes. — fim May brings week's mail. Wyo. Beats U. State 44-36. Bitter cold ivind.
Feb. 16- — Wednesday — B & I to town at List — about six weeks — warmer — thawed a bit. Too windy to feed in
a. m.
Feb. 18 — Friday — Yeomatr^ here to clear stacks and yard — here for lunch. Thawing — pleasant.
Yeoman had a heavy equipment business and cleared out the
drifts for several ranches with a "Cat "
James L. Ehernberger
For those of us who Hved through and witnessed
the Great BHzzard oi 1949, vivid memories will
remain with us throughout our hfetime. It was an
event in our hves we could never forget any more
than the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor, John F.
Kennedy's assassination, and, oi course, now Nine-
Eleven. One thing about it, this storm played no
favorites as everyone and everything was
SNOWBOUND.
My family lived in Bushnell, Nebraska, just ten
miles east of Pine Bluffs. We were more "Wyoming"
than Nebraska because Pine Bluffs is where we
attended the movie theatre, visited the doctor and
dentist, did much of our grocery shopping, and last
but not least, attended the Laramie County Fair. We
moved to Cheyenne in 1950.
My father operated a blacksmith shop and a
hardware store. It was on Sunday, January 2, 1949,
that I remember assisting my father with the annual
inventory in our hardware store. This was a good job
for a twelve-year-old because I could easily climb up
and down the large racks that contained various types
of bolts (carriage and machine) and pipe fittings
(black and galvanized). It was during this inventory
when one of the local ranchers came in lor hardware
to hang storm windows. His ranch consisted ol sheep
and he told us that a big storm was coming in. His
prediction came true about four o'clock that
afternoon. The storm blew in very rapidly, even
though the day was already windy and cloudy, but
once the snow started to fall there was no doubt that
it was a genuine blizzard.
The blizzard continued into the night and did not
let up on the following day, nor did it subside at any
time during January 4. However, on Wednesday, the
morning dawned with clear skies and less wind. The
sights were unbelievable, snow had drifted all over
town. These weren't soft drifts. This snow was
packed like cement! Drifts all the way up to the eaves
of the roofs were common sights. Automobiles were
completely buried. No trains were running. The
highways were closed. NOTHING WAS MOVING!
EVERYONE WAS SNOWBOUND!
Having been more or less snowbound since
Sunday, I did venture to our local railroad depot about
36 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
a block away. I had an interest in the railroad even at
that young age. Our small depot was divided into
three sections. One was the lobby, the center portion
was the agents office, and the other section was the
freight room. This was one of the few times I could
recall the old coal stove was fired up in the lobby
area. The cars froze to the track and could not get
out of Hillsdale, Wyoming, so all other trains were
held. The Streamliner, City of Portland, was held at
Egbert, Wyoming, and the City ofLosA/igeles was held
at Pine Bluffs.
The agent and section foreman had discussed
another Streamliner, Cit)> of San Francisco, which was
at nearby Kimball, Nebraska, while the morning mail
train was held at Dix, Nebraska. All of the
streamlined trains were diesel powered, but the cold
weather caused problems and eventually the cars on
the trains started freezing. The train held at Kimball
required all passengers to be evacuated, filling up the
Wheat Growers Hotel, and many local residents
allowed passengers into their homes as well.
Trains were detoured over another Union Pacific
line via Sterling, Colorado, then to Cheyenne where
they went to their destination. Eastward trains had
to use the same route until the entire railroad could
be dug out by huge steam-powered rotary snowplows,
and each of the cars pulled out of the drifts one-by-
one.
Our three-day storm was nothing in comparison
to other parts of the country. President Harry Truman
authorized disaster relief and ordered the military to
assist. It was this assistance that allowed the use of
heavy equipment in the attempts to keep roads open
as much as possible. Airlifts prevented many livestock
losses. With the military's assistance the human loss
was kept to a minimum.
Subsequent storms presented additional problems
because the wind kept blowing in country roads that
had been plowed. However, other parts of northern
Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming
suffered much more than we did. The Union Pacific
location section foreman and some of his men were
stoking the fire. The foreman was listening on the
train dispatcher's telephone mounted on the wall, and
on several occasions he conversed with the agent
about plans to open the railroad. As it turned out,
the section of railroad between Cheyenne and Sidney,
Nebraska, had several passenger trains stalled in
various communities, and it was at least a week after
the storm that train operations got back to somewhat
of a normal schedule.
Due to the poor visibility during the blizzard, the
trains could not view the wayside signals. It was
necessary to "station block" the trains. In other words,
before a train could move to the next station, it would
have to have reached the second station beyond.
There was a fleet of passenger trains on the morning
of January 3, the first being the Los Angeles Limited
that was pulled by a steam locomotive. This train
experienced a two-week tie-up (the longest in history)
in the area west of Rock River to the continental
divide during February.
Looking back on this great blizzard, while it was
severe, our family did not suffer any big losses. The
farmers and ranchers suffered the most because of
livestock loss. Train travelers were delayed, but were
always fed. All highways were closed. The railroads
were strapped with many expenses keeping their lines
open and operating special snowplow trains. In the
Dakotas it was not until late March before some
people could get out.
Luckily, my father had purchased a truckload of
Hanna coal that fall, and we had a fairly full coal bin
when the storm struck. We had plenty of home
canned foods too. My mother had plenty of baking
supplies and provided bread and rolls. The little
grocery store across the street (requiring us to tunnel
through the drift) ran out of milk and many other
provisions, but we all managed somehow. Our
electricity never failed.
Since no other storm of this magnitude struck in
this region prior to the end of 1999, I am able to say
I had witnessed THE STORM OF THE CENTURY.
Lucille Dumbrill
I was a senior at the University of Wyoming and
my home was in Laramie. I was what the students at
UW called a "Laramie Girl." I was engaged to marry
a young man from Upton, Wyoming, Richard
Dumbrill, who was also a student and a returning
veteran.
Annals of Wyoming. The Wvoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
37
One of the trains ovemhelmed by the snow dunng the 1949 blizzard. This train was stucl< outside of
Rawlins. Wyoming. Courtesy UW American Heritage Center
Dick had gone home to Upton tor the Christmas unable to order from or go to the grocery store. She
vacation, but came back early in order to spend time decided that someone should go to the little store
with me and my family before school started. We had around the corner from the house for milk and some
spent some time together on New Years Day and he other things the store still might have. We ciecided it
had returned to his abode, which was a Butler hut on woiddnt be sate tor one or two people to go alone
the university campus. That night it began to snow because ot the terribly high winds that woidd blow a
and since he had been raised on a ranch and was person right over into a drih. The house was right in
attuned to weather signs, he anticipated that there the middle ot downtown. All oi the young people (I
might be quite a storm. believe there were five of us) in the house joined
Early on the morning ot January' 2, he called and hands and snaked our way through the garage and
asked if he could come to my house. I looked out the around the corner to the store where they dici have
window and asked if he thought he could make it. most oi the supplies we needed. It took quite a while
He said yes, and a few minutes later arrived after to make the trip and we were all exhausted, cold, and
driving through the snow and drifts on the streets. wet by the time we returned. The store was less than
He parked his car on the street by the house and there half a block away.
it stayed for three or tour days until the city helped us As I think back fitty-four years I remember this
plow it out. experience with pleasure. It was a time that strong
Inside our house it was cozy and warm and our bonds were tormed in the family. We certainly gained
family settled in to play games and sleep until the a real appreciation tor mother's creative cooking, and
storm was over. Little did we realize it would last tor found that we could entertain ourselves and each other
days instead ot the usual hours. We couldn't even and have a great time. We were, however, aware ot
see the houses across the street. It was as it we were the trials and tragedies that others were tacing as we
in a world of our own. Dick slept on the sota in the had a radio and listened faithfully. School was delayed
living room and seemed really happy to be there and when the storm abated a bit, all ot us pitched in
instead of his Butler hut. to help clean the sidewalks, driveways, and to tree
My mother, who was usually prepared for all Dick's car from the drifts. The rest of the winter was
emergencies, cooked wonderful biscuits, bean soup, hard and travel outside ot Laramie almost impossible,
and other foods she had on hand. The second day but for the most part our school and other activities
she started to run short of some things as she was continued as usual. flW,
38 Annals of Wvoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
BOOK
Edited by Carl Hallberg
Significant Recent Books
on Western and
Wyoming History
Warm Sands: Uranium Tailings Policy in the Atomic
West. By Eric W. Mogren. Albuquerque: University of
New Mexico Press, 2002. 2A^ pp. Illustrations, notes,
bibliography, index. Hardcover $34.95.
Reviewed by Kenton G. Jaehnig, American Heritage
Center, University of Wyoming
Tfhe West's uranium mill tailing controversy
was an unfortunate episode in American
environmental history. Western states
benefited economically from federal
subsidized uranium milling and the federal
government obtained uranium for its atomic energy
programs. After the demand for uranium dried up,
both parties were stuck with a costly long-term
environmental problem: the disposal of radioactive
uranium mill tailings.
In his first book, Wii?i?i Sands: Umniimi Mill Tailings
Policy in the Atomic West, Eric W Mogren explores the
development of federal policy regarding uranium mill
tailings. He argues the federal government was
ultimately responsible for creating and correcting the
uranium tailings problem and acknowledged this by
implementing the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial
Action (UMTRA) Project. He demonstrates UMTRA
was the result of considerable wrangling between non-
elected federal and state officials.
The federal government revived a moribund
western uranium industry during World War II, when
it ordered vanadium millers to save their uranium by-
product for the Manhattan Project. Federal support
of the industry began in earnest when Congress
created the Atomic Energy Commission in 1946. A
non-elected federal monopoly charged with regulating
atomic energy, the AEC sought national uranium self-
sufficiency for Cold War defense purposes and
peaceful applications. To accomplish this, it
contracted with western uranium millers to buy all
of their processed uranium.
Fueled by federal support, uranium milling
boomed in the West between the late 1940s and late
1960s. Communities such as Grand Junction,
Colorado and Grants, New Mexico grew up around
the uranium mills. As the industry grew, so did the
uranium tailings piles generated by the mills. When
millers ceased operations and left town, the tailings
remained.
The problem of radioactive tailings first attracted
public attention in the 1 950s when state public health
officials discovered high amounts of low-level
radiation from tailings in the rivers of the Colorado
Basin. During the 1960s, such radiation was also
detected in the air and soil at tailings sites in Colorado,
Utah, and other western states. Cases of particular
interest included the Animas River in Colorado and
New Mexico, air pollution at Durango, Colorado, and
contaminated soil in buildings at Grand Junction,
Colorado. In each case, state officials declared that
radioactive tailings posed a serious long-term public
health hazard and demanded that the federal
government assume responsibility for these sites.
The federal government's response to each case
followed a remarkably similar pattern. The AEC
argued that tailings were not a significant public health
hazard, only to be presented with evidence to the
contrary. It also claimed that it did not have
jurisdiction over the tailings, which was hotly
disputed by state, local, and even elected federal
officials. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s,
litigation ensued and ended up with the federal
government assisting in stabilizing and cleaning up
the tailings sites and assuming most of the financial
cost of these efforts.
Due to these episodes and public opposition to
nuclear energy during the 1960s and 1970s, the
federal government belatedly accepted responsibility
for the uranium mill tailings problem. In 1978,
Congress passed the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation
Act, under which the UMTRA project was initiated.
Although plagued by government foot dragging, the
UMTRA project was completed in 1998, having
disposed of forty million cubic yards of uranium
tailings in eleven states and four Indian reservations.
Warm Sands is an impressive scholarly work on
this controversial subject. Although sketchy on the
details of UMTRA project operations, it is well
researched, carefijlly written, and intelligently argued.
With the work, Mogren gives every indication he will
be a very productive scholar in the future. JUUI
Annais of Wyominci The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004 39
Recent Acquisitions mthe
Hebord Collectioa
I l\A/ I iKrr^irioc Compiled by Tamse
V^ VV l-lkJI^IlOO University of WvominqUbrari
Gompiled by Tamsen L. Hert,
Universityof Wyoming Libraries
Tfhe Grace Raymond Hebard Collection is the Wyoming research library for the University of Wyoming
Libraries. Housed in the Owen Wister Western Writers Reading Room in the American Heritage
Center, the Hebard Collection is considered to be the most comprehensive collection about Wyoming
in the state. The core of this collection is Miss Hebard's personal library, which was donated to the
University Libraries. Further donations have been significant in the development of this coUection.While it is
easy to identify materials about Wyoming published by nationally known publishers, it can be difficult to
locate pertinent publications printed in Wyoming.
If you have any questions about these materials or the Hebard Collection, you can contact Tamsen Hert
by phone at 307-766-6245; by email, thert@uwyo.edu or you can access the Hebard HomePage at: http://
www-lib.uwyo.edu/uwlibs/hebard.htm.
Amtindson, MicEaeli^^^^^^P
■mumtie^Jn the
A cumpaiioun yj[ tuur uranium
mining towns in the West — Uravan,
Colorado; Moab, Utah; Grants,
New Mexico; and Jeffrey City,
Wyoming. Extensively documented
and illustrated. A great addition to
the history of the atomic age in the
West.
Sagley, Jerry: Daniet;^l!roj^^'i
Potts, Rocky Motmtm^^^'"
Explorer, Chronicler o^
Fur Trade and ... The First
Known Man in Yellowstone
Park.m.^hY, ID: Old Faithftjk^
Eye-Witiiess Publishing, jZO^P
Potts was a member of the Ashley-
Henry expedition and provided
reports of the travels up the
Missouri, Big Horn, and Wind
rivers. He provided the earliest
accounts oi the area of
Yellowstone but was unidentified
for nearly a century. The author
located the original letters and was
able to at last identify the author
of these early accounts.
Gou7tit^:The'''Ph0pgf^i^m^,
MD:M
inco©0IS30i
Jack Richards photographed areas
in the northwestern corner of
Wyoming from the 1940s to the
1980s, this work includes 140
photos culled from the 160,000
plus images in the collection ol the
McCracken Research Library at the
BBHC. Includes Heart Mountain
as well as Yellowstone.
Brown, Larry
Canaries: 0
Made tht
Wonde
A compilation of articles on
various Wyoming residents and
visitors, some well-known, others
less so.
Born on a ranch near Meeteetsee,
Wyoming, Cleo Brown leaves
home at the age of 13 and begins
the lile of a cowboy. This is his
story.
A detailed study of the various
lacilities which confined persons
ol Japanese ancestry during WWII.
Chapter 6 covers the Heart
Mountain internment camp.
lortdn, Warren, -I?
iottles:Historical .
Wyoming, 1868-191
1
guide to the age and
Historica
rarity ol Wyoming bottles.
The first "lull-scale biography" ol
this western icon in more than
thirty years. JW
40 Annais of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Winter 2004
Ind
Arnott, John 20
Bader, Fred 16-19
Basin, Wyoming 18, 21, 26
Bath, Earl 34
Beck,W.E. 23,25
Belle Fourche River 12
Benham, Daniel 3
Big Horn Basin, Wyoming 15-30
Big Horn County, Wyoming 15-30
Big Horn County Rustler 25
Big Horn Mountains 4, 6, 16
Big Horn River 19
Big Horn and Yellowstone
Expedition 2-14
Blake, M.L. 20, 22, 29
Blizzard of 1949 31-37
Blume, Fred 22
Bonanza, Wyoming 24
Brigham, FT. 18
Br>'ant, G.W 23
Buffalo, Wyoming 15
Burke, Milo 23
Bushnell, Nebraska 35
California Oil Company 32, 34
Camp Douglas, Utah 2-3, 13
Camp Robinson, Nebraska 13
Carpenter, Charles 29
Carter, Dana 18
Chapman, W.J. 23,25
Cheyenne Daily Leader 18,25-28
Cheyenne Depot 3-4
Cheyenne, Wyoming 36
Collins, Hugh 26-28
Collins, Winfield Scott 19-20, 22, 29
CoykendaJl, Frank 34
CrandaJl, Olan 23
Crook, George 2-3, 5-6, 9, 1 1, 13
Crook Ciry, Wyoming 12
Crosby, George 25
Curtis, WB. 23
Custer, George Armstrong 2-4, 6-7,
13
Davis, John W., "The 1902 Murder of
Tom Gorman" 15-30
Dix, Nebraska 36
Dry Fork of Brokenback Creek 15,
18
DumbriU, Lucille 36-37
DumbriU, Richard 36-37
Egbert, Wyoming 36
Ehernberger, James L. 35-36
Ellis, C.C. 23
Enteriine, E.E. 22, 25-26, 28-29
Erickson, A.J. 23
Fort Bridger 3
Fort FetteriTian 3, 5-6
Fort Laramie 3
Frame, Robert 23
Fritzen, Eddie 34
Garland, Wyoming 21
Cleaver, John B. 25, 25
Goose Creek, Wyoming 2
Gorman, Jim 15-30
Gorman, Maggie (McClellan) 15-30
Gorman, Rose 17-19
Gorm.an, Tom 15-30
Hale, Dudley 18,25-26
Hedren, Paul L., ed., "The Worst
Campaign I Ever Experienced':
Sergeant Zimmerman's Memoir of
the Great Sioux War" 2-14
Hillsdale, Wyoming 36
Ilg, E.M. 23
Jaehnig, Kenton G., book reviewer 38
James, Frank 18
Jimmerfield, Dave 23, 25
Kimball, Nebraska 36
Knadler, Bob 34
Laramie, Wyoming 31, 36-37
Lawrence, Amy 31-35
Lawrence, Rena 31-35
Lawrence. William H. (Bill) 31-35
Leavitt, WW. 23, 25
Manning, C.E 23
Martin, A.J. 23, 25
McClellan, George 16, 19
McClellan, Kenneth 28
McConihe, Samuel 14
McPhee,John 16
Medicine Bow, Wyoming 3-4
Miller, Ed 15-16,26
Mogren, Eric W, book reviewed 38
Morrow, Stanley 9, 11-13
Natrmm County Tribune 19
Neiber, B.J. 23
Nelson, TT. 23
New York City 2,4
"The 1902 Murder of Tom Gorman,"
byjohn W.Davis 15-30
Northern Cheyenne Indians 2-14
Omaha, Nebraska 2, 4
Peper, William 23
Pine Bluffs, Wyoming 35-36
Powder River 7-8
Quealy Dome oil field 32, 34
Rawlins, Wyoming 32, 37
Rock River, Wyoming 36
Shafer,W.L. 23
Sheridan Enterprise 18
Sheridan, Philip 3
Sheridan, Wyoming 20-22
Short, Leonard 23
Sioux Indians 2-14
Slim Buttes, Dakota 3, 9, 13
Smith, C.C. 23,25
Sterling, Colorado 36
Stotts, Joseph L. 21-22, 25
Taylor, Frank 3
Ten Sleep, Wyoming 15
Terry Alfred 3, 7
Toluca, Montana 21
Tongue River 6
Union Pacific Railroad 4, 22, 35-36
Upton, Wyoming 36-37
Walters, Joseph R 29-30
Warm Sands: Uranium Tailings Policy in the
Atomic West, reviewed 38
Watkins, S.A. 23, 25
Watson, C.H. 23, 25
Wheat Growers Hotel, Kimball,
Nebraska 36
Whitney, EA. 23, 25, 29
Workman, Cornelius 23, 25
"'The Worst Campaign I Ever
Experienced:' Sergeant John
Zimmerman's Memoir of the Great
Sioux War," ed. by Paul L. Hedren 2-
14
Wyoming Dispatch 19
Wyoming Supreme Court 22-23, 25
Yellowstone River 7
Zaring, C.A. 18,25,29
Zimmerman, John 2-14
Wyoming Picture
These three young ivonieti trained to he sten uirrlesses in Cheyenne during the J 930s. So/ne of the t^fieal steu uirdess
duties duri)ig that early age of air transportation i)iehided loeh and utdoek the niai)i eahin door; dust die windowsilh:
carry luggage and tag the luggage; carry buckets of fuel to pla)ie when necessary; push planes into ha)igar; prepare
telegrams for passengers; swat flies; offer slippers, clean shoes before retur}iingthe))i to passengers; punch tickets, give
refunds when necessary; a)id weigh luggage and passengers. Photo courtesy WyomingState Archives, Department of
State Parks and Cultural Resources.
Join the — —
Wyoming State Historical Society....
and your local historical society chapter
State Membership Dues:
Single: $20 / Joint: $30 / Student (under age 21): $1S / Institutional: $40
Special Membership Categories are Available:
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Benehts ot membership mclude tour issues per year iit Aiiiials of Wyoming, nine issues of the newsletter, "Wyommg History News,"
and the opportunity to reeeive inlorniation about and diseounts tor various Society activities. lor more intormation about membership
in the Wyoming State Historical Society and intormation about local chapters, contact:
Judy West, Society Coordinator / Wyoming State Historical Society
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The Society also welconu's special gifts and nwnwriah.
F
Run A
The Wyoming History Journal
Spring 2004 Vol. 76, No. Z
The Cover Art
Charles Belden Collection, American Heritage Center,
University of Wyoming
Charles Beldeii photographed his daughter, Annice Willistoii Belden, fishmg in the Greybidl River
on the Pitchfork Ranch. Belden, born in California in 1887, followed his college fiiend, Eugene
Phelps, to the Pitchfork Ranch, oiimed by the Phelps family. Starting as a ranch hand in 1910,
Belden two years later married Eugenes sister, Frances, and then helped manage the ranch. Eor tiuo
decades he photographed the everyday life on the ranch.
The Back Cover Art
"Mackinaw^ "
Stephen N. Leek Collection, American Heritage Center,
University of Wyoming
The biggest trout is the Lake Trout, also knoivn as the Mackinaw. Most ofthephotograps in this
issue were taken by Stephen Leek, one of the earliest settlers in Jackson Liole, Wyoming. Besides
being a iviUlife photogiapher. Leek also was a hunter, trapper, dude rancher, and guide.
Information for Contributors:
The editor oi Aiiniili of Vl^w)«/;/^ welcomes manuscripts and photographs on every aspect of the history of Wyoming and the
West. Appropriate for submission are unpublished, research-based articles which provide new information or which offer
new interpretations of historical events. First-person accounts based on personal experience or recollections of events will
be considered for use in the "Wyoming Memories" section. Historic photo essays for possible publication in "Wyoming
Memories" also are welcome. Articles are reviewed and referred by members of the journal's Editorial Advisory Board and
others. Decisions regarding publication are made by the editor.
Manuscripts (along with suggestions for illustrations or photographs) should be submitted on computer diskettes in a format
created by one of the widely-used word ptocessing programs along with two printed copies.
Submissions and queries should be addressed to: Editor, Annals of Wyoming, Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue,
Laramie WY 82071, or to the editor by e-mail at the following address: rewig@uwyo.edu
Gues_ _„,
Adrian A.
Book Review Editor
Carl Hallberg
Editorial Advisor
u
nnais o
hof
WYOMING
JThe Wyoming History Journal
Spring 2004 Vol. 76, No. 2
2 Introduction: Bourdieu on the Big Horn? Or,
Towards a Cultural History of Fly-Fishing in
Wyoming and tfie Rocky Mountain West
Adrian A. Bantjes
isM-
6 Tlieir Numbers Are Perfectly Fabulous: Sport,
Science, and Subsistence in Yellowstone
Fishing, 1870 p^ f C c. i '<_^r'
Paul Schullerv ] '- '" 1
^■*-
19 The Past and Present of Fly-Fishing in Jack-
son Hole, Wyoming: An Interview with Jack
Adrian A. Bantjes -^ ^^-^ ',1, r, ,, -
26 These Waters Were AH Virgin: Finis Mitchell
and Wind River Wilderness
Jeffrey Nichols
36 The Fly-Fishing History of the Bighorn Moun-
tains: An Interview with Sam Mavrakis, Sr.
Tucker W. Gallowav
41 Nature, Culture, and the Fly-Fishing History of
Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West
Adrian A. Bantjes
BOOK
54 Book Reviews
:■>)' Carl Hallberg
56 Index
idiii.jL
Wyoming Picture Inside back cover
Annah ofWyommg: The \X'yomi>ig Hntoiyjouniiihs published qiurif riv h\- the \V\(.iming Sracc Hiscurical Socien" in as^ociacion
\\ ith rhe Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, the .Ajnerican Heritage Center, and the Department ot
Histon,'. Universit)' of Wyoming. The |ournal was previousK' published as the Qiuirterly Bullehn ( \''~)ljy\*^l^). Annals oj^'yoriinig
( I ''25- f 993), Wyoming Annah ( 1 993- 1 995) and Wyoming History Journal ( 1 995- 1 996). The Annals has been the official
publication of the Wyoming State Historical Societj- since 1953 and is distributed as a benefit of membership to all societ)-
iiicnibers. Membership dues are: single, S20; joint, S30: student (under 21 ), Si 5; insritutional. S40; contributing, SI 00-249:
sustaining, S250-499; patron. S500-999; donor, S 1,000+. To join, contact your local chapter or write to the address below. Articles
I n Annah ofWyoming are abstracted in Historical Absnacis and America: History and Life.
Inquiries about membership, mailing, distribution, reprints and back issues should be addressed to Judy West. Coordinator.
WVnming State Historical Societ>'. PMB^ 1 84, 1 740H Dell Range Blvd., Cheyenne \XT 82009-4945. Editorial correspondence
sh"uld be addressed to the editorial office oi Antials of^'yoming. American Heritage Center, Dept. 3924. 1000 E. Universir\-
\sL-nue, Laramie W\' 820"" 1 Our e-mail address is; rewig@u\\To.edu
I'nnted by; Piuneer Printing, Cheyenne
t iraphic Design: Vicki Schuster
C op\Tight 2004, Wyoming State Historical Society'
ISSN: 1086-^368
Annals of VVyominq: The Wyoming History Journal - Spring 2004
Introduction:
Bourdieu on the Bighorn?
Or, Towards a Cultural
History of Fly-Fishing in
Wyoming and the
Rocky Mountain West^
I guest editoi:
fiah A. Bontjei
Fly-fishing, most likely for native
Cutthroat trout in the Jackson's
Hole area. Stephen N. Leek
Collection. American Heritage
Center.
Yet, despite the faet that nearh one-third of the Wyoming population engages in
fishing, thus placing the state in third place in the nation in terms of per capita
participation, Wyoming's angling history remains to be written.- The sport has a
profound impact on regional economies through an extensive network of sporting
goods stores, fly-shops, guiding and outfitting operations, lodges, etc. The state and
the federal government spend millions of dollars every year to sustain and develop
Wyoming fisheries through activities such as the stocking of game fish, conservation
This special issue stems indirectly from a .''.002 American Studies and History seminar on the history of
fly-fishing in Europe and America, developed at the University of Wyoming with generous grants from
the American Studies Program and, later, the American Heritage Center. I am profoundly grateful to the
students in that class for their insights and contributions. I am particularly indebted to Laramie fly-
fisherman par excellence Nick Boyd, and to America's leading fly-fishing historian, Paul Schullery, for
generously sharing their knowledge and encouragement. In addition, I benefited immensely from the
insights and aid of Elizabeth Storer, Phil Roberts, Jack Dennis, Sam Mavrakis, Jeft" Nichols, Tucker
Galloway, Eric Nye, Herb Dieterich, Ed Schmidtman, Bob Righter, Ken Owens, and Scott Carlson.
Anne Marie Lane, Carol Bowers, and Leslie Shores of the American Heritage Center, as well as Tami
Hen of the Hebard Collection of the University of Wyoming Libraries, went out of their way to unearth
and reproduce fascinating material. Without Annals editor Rick Ewig this issue would never have
materialized. Also, thanks to the helpful staff of the American Museum of Fly-Fishing and to Bob
Wiltshire, director of the International Fly-Fishing Center.
- The Casper Star Tribune, July 5,2002. The articles in this issue largely focus on fly-fishing, a small sub-
culture within angling. This choice admittedly reflects rather arbitrary cultural preferences that are
worthy of analysis themselves.
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
and restoration projects, and infrastructural works.
So why this historiographical lacuna? From an
academic perspective, the histor}' oi sports and leisure
is a rich and well-developed field oi inquiry, which has
attracted the attention, not just ot antiquarians and
aficionados, but also oi prominent historians,
sociologists, and anthropologists. Dutch cultural
historian Johan Huizinga argued that the human hir/ic
impulse is more ancient than culture itself (culture si/b
specie ludi), while French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu
considered sports an important aspect of class habitus.
(Not surprisingly, celebrities from Queen Elizabeth to
Dick Cheney surface in this issue). In a seminal article
published in 1978, Bourdieu argued that "one of the
tasks of the social history of sport might be to lay the
real foundations of the legitimacy of a social science of
sport as a distinct scientific object. . ."' Since then, a vast
and theoretically sophisticated literature on sports
history and leisure has emerged, influenced by the new
social history, anthropology, and, most recently,
cultural studies. Thus, the theoretical and analytical tools
needed to approach the topic, whether from the
perspective of class, religion, gender, race, identity, or
capitalism, are readily available. * Yet, even though an
extensive and theoretically sophisticated historiography
exists for sports such as baseball and football, angling
history remains rather neglected.^
Arguably, the significance of Western angling goes
well beyond sports or sustenance. In the West, angling,
and fly-fishing in particular, has become an invoited
tradition, in the sense used by Eric Fiobsbawm,"
associated with notions of an authentic Western identity.
This trend's clearest expression is undoubtedly Robert
Redford's 1992 Fiollywood movie, A River Runs
Through It, a distinctive interpretation of Norman
Macleans classic story, which links Western masculinity
and identity with the elegant activity of flv-fishing.
Though, as Jackson fly-fisherman. Jack Dennis, argues
in this issue, the movie did not cause the nineties fly-
fishing craze and the simultaneous boom in rural real
estate around Jackson Hole, Cody, and other areas of
Wyoming and Montana, it cannot be denied that fly-
fishing has become a significant and double-edged aspect
of the appeal of the New West. This can lead to bizarre
usages of fly-fishing as a signifier of Western life, for
example the recent spectacle of bikini-clad supermodel
Bridget Hall fly-fishing the North Fork of the Shoshone
on the UXU Ranch during a shoot for the 2004 Sports
Idustrated sw'imsuh issue.**
The Western neglect of its angling heritage stands
in contrast to the way Easterners have cherished and
preserved the rich local angling traditions of their classic
trout streams, such as the Battenkill and the Beaverkili.
Besides producing an extensive literary corpus, they
have also established musea of national significance, such
as the American Museum of Fly Fishing (AMFF) in
Manchester, Vermont, and the Catskill Fly Fishing
Center and Museum, which not only hold wonderful
collections of angling artifacts, archives, books, and art,
but serve as important communit)' centers as well.
Prominent eastern universities, such as Princeton and
Yale, are proud of their angling collections, which
include works dating back to the Middle Ages.
Gradually, such interest is emerging in the Rocky
Mountain West as well." Livingston, Montana, now
' Johan Huizinga, Homo Lndc'iis: Proeve eener bepdling van bet spel-
element der ctdtiiiir (Haarlem: Tjeenk Willink, 1938), pp. 1, 7;
Pierre Bourdieu, "Sport and Social Class," in Chandra Mukerji
and Michael Schudson. eds. Rethinking PopuLir Culture: Coutem-
pomry Perspectives in CultumI Studies (Berkele)-: Universin- of Cali-
fornia Press, 1991), p. 358.
"" For an encyclopedic overview ot the recent literature on sports,
see Donald L. Deardorft II, Sports: A Reference Guide and Critical
Commentary. 1980-1 999 {'Westpon, CT. Greenwood Press, 2000),
and for novel social and cultural approaches to American sports
history, especially those emphasizing gender, race, ethnicity, and
class, S. W. Pope, ed.. The New American Sport Histoty: Recent
Approaches and Perspectives (Urbana and Chicago: University of
Illinois Press, 1997), especially Pope's "Introduction: American
Sport History - Toward a New Paradigm," pp. 1-30.
' For a serious historical analysis ot tly-fishing, see Paul D. Schullery,
American Fly Fishing: A History (New York: The Lyons Press, 1 99'^
[\" edition, 1987]). For a rare and controversial post-modern
approach, see William Washabaugh and Catherine Washabaugh,
Deep Trout: Angling in PopiiLir Culture (New York: Berg, 2001).
Hunting has received more serious academic attention. See, for
example. Matt Cartmill, A View to a Death in the Morning: Hunt-
ingand Nature through Histoty (Har\'ard: Han'ard University Press,
1993), which is quite relevant to our topic.
" Eric Hobsbawm, Terence Ranger, and Lyndal Roper, eds.. The
Invention of Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge Universit\' Press,
1984).
Fof more on this topic, see The Denver Post. September 2S, 2002,
and Paul Schullei-s's unpublished paper, "The Hero with a Thou-
sand Vices: A Rivet Runs Through It as Folklore and History."
'^ The Casper Star Tribune. February 13, 2004.
" Paul Schullery, "Frontier Fly-Fishing in the New West," Montana:
The Magazine of Western History S2: 2 (Summer 2002); 2-9.
Annais of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
boasrs the Federation of Fly Fisher's International Fly
Fishing Center, an impressive educational facility and
museum. When, several years ago, the Museum of the
Rockies at Montana State University hosted an AMFF
traveling show on the history of angling, it added a
fascinating exhibit on the history of Montana fly-
fishing. The first Montana stream histories have been
published, and recently the journal Montana dedicated
an entire issue to the history of Western fly-fishing.'"
In Colorado, a number of angling historians are
beginning to piece together aspects of that rich
tradition." Yet Wyoming, which arguably possesses one
of the most important fisheries in the United States,
lacks, with the obvious exception of the well-studied
Yellowstone Park,'- any angling histories. Each time
one oi the state's old-time sporting goods stores closes,
as has happened recently in Sheridan and Casper, another
bit of history is lost forever. There are, however, several
bright spots: for example, the University of Wyoming's
American Heritage Center, in its Toppan Rare Books
Library, boasts one of the most important antiquarian
angling libraries in the West, namely the Toppan/
LaFontaine collection, which includes everything from
medieval treatises to recent publications on Western fly-
fishing."
How can we rescue this sporting history from
oblivion? The first step is to develop an oral history
program, as this issue attempts to do in a limited way,
by publishing interviews with legendary Wyoming fly-
fishermen Sam Mavrakis of Sheridan and Jack Dennis
of Jackson. Even though oral histories, at least as
repositories of Rankean factual history, are always a
bit suspect-anglers being a tad prone to exaggeration
anyway-, they do allow us to reconstruct what one might
call the little traditions of the sport, offer invaluable
information that cannot be found in the archives, and
add couleur locale in a way that no other source can. In
addition, we urgently need to salvage the papers,
photographs, and videos of sporting stores, guiding
operations, and dude ranches before they disappear
entirely. The next step is the writing of local or regional
histories, taking advantage of the rich archival materials
available in the state archives, the American Heritage
Center, and local repositories around the state and
beyond.
At the same time, historians need to ask bigger
questions about the cultural meaning of Western fly-
fishing, and about its social, environmental, and
economic impact. The articles in this issue, far from
being antiquarian or eulogistic pieces, as is so often the
case with sports writing, all use case studies to ask these
broader, often tough, questions. In his contribution,
Paul Schullery examines how ancient sporting discourses
and practices determined the way early travelers to
Yellowstone Park interpreted the natural environment
they encountered. Jeff Nichols relates the amazing life
and legacy of Wind River Range outdoorsman Finis
Mitchell, but also problematizes the widespread practice
of stocking "barren" waters, a massive attempt to create
European-style trout fisheries in the West. As Schullery
puts it elsewhere, "we have lowered a kind of ecological
eggbeater into some glorious native ecosystems,
resulting in changes that, though they may have been
wonderful for fishermen, were disastrous for those
beautiftil little worlds that had been cranking along just
fine without our help since the last ice age."'^ In my
own contribution, I use the lenses of culture, nature,
and class to conclude that fly-fishing, even in the
Western wilderness, is as "artificial" a cultural practice
as fishing on the most manicured of English chalk
streams, and remains bound up in ancient, often class-
based, codes and discourses.
The toughest question of all is: will fly-fishing
continue to be a central part of Western life for the
foreseeable future? Two major problems loom ahead.
While the fly-fishing community has contributed
immensely to the American conservation movement
through organizations such as Trout Unlimited, there
is potential for ftiture conflict, as Dennis suggests in his
interview. Angling is often hardly a natural nctWiVf, and
the new emphasis on the restoration of native species
'" Montana: The Magazine of Western History 52 (Summer 2002).
" See, for example, John H. Monnett, Cutthroat and Campfire
Tales: The Fly-Fishing Heritage of the West (Boulder: University
Press of Colorado, 2001); Gordon M. Wickstrom, Notes from an
Old Fly Book (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2001), and,
by the same author. Late in an Angler's Life: Essays on the Sport
(Albuquerque; University of New Mexico Press, 2004).
'- Paul Schullery and John D. Varley, Yellowstone Fishes: Ecology,
History and Angling in the Park (Stackpole Books: Mechanicsburg,
Pennsylvania, 1998).
" See The Casper Star Tribune, March 4, 2004.
'■* Royal Coachman: The Lore and Legends of Fly-Fishing (New York;
Simon and Schuster, 1999), p. 189.
Annals of Wyoming The ''.'Vyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
and habitats must inevitably clash with efforts to
maintain and develop sport fishing for generally alien
species, such as brook or brown trout, and in unnatural
settings, such as tailwaters.''' The second problem is
related to the morality of the sport. While Izaak Walton
portrayed angling as a gentle art, practiced by "quiet
men and followers of peace," Lord Byron was less
complimentary, and called "the art of angling, the
crudest, the coldest, the stupidest of pretended
sports."'" Recent successful efforts to abolish blood
sports, such as the campaign against foxhunting in
England, may well spill over into the realm of fishing.'
Contemporarv' ethical and scientific debates have raised
the question whether fish are physically capable of feeling
pain, and, thus, whether angling is a morally acceptable
practice or nothing more than the gratuitous torture,
exacerbated by the much-touted catch-and-release
approach, of innocent animals."* Some scientific
research, including path breaking work at the Universit)'
ofWyoming, aims at debunking "the human tendency
to interpret the behavior of nonhumans
anthropomorphically, as if animals had humanlike
experiences and feelings."'' This controversial work, at
times reminiscent of Cartesian mechanistic approaches
to the animal kingdom, is warmly supported by sectors
of the fly-fishing community, which ridicule "Walt
Disney's use of bourgeois anthropomorphic values to
imbue animals with cosmic humanistic emotions and
rationality," taking us "into the world of pop-Zen, where
pseudo-science shakes hands with Taoism. . .""" Others
are not that sure."" How such debates will affect
sporting practices in the future is still unclear, but one
cannot assume that angling will always be an integral
part of Western life.
Still, it cannot be denied that the sport has a rich
historv' and tradition, reflected in graceful practices and
a vibrant literature. As Sparse Grey Hackle, the New
York angling writer, put it, "Some of the best fishing is
done not in water but in print.""' We hope that this
issue will be of interest to the general reader, whether a
brother or sister of the angler or not. To conclude,
with the words of Izaak Walton, "I shall stay [the
Reader] no longer than to wish him a rainy evening
to read this following Discourse; and that, if he be an
honest Angler, the east wind may never blow when he
goes a-fishing."-' Ufi
'^ See Paul Schullen's thoughtful defense ot the reintroduction of
native fishes: "Because They Belong There: A Non-Native Anglers
Reflections on Native Species," in Fly Rod and Reel 22 (January/
February 2001): 42-45, 71.
"■ The Compleat Angler or the Contemphnive Man's Recreation (New
York: The Modern Library, 1998), p. xxxviii. [First edition. 1653],
p. 8; Byron quoted in Nick Lyons, ed.. The Quotable Fnherman
(New York: The Lyons Press, 1998), p. 148.
' On the historical origins of the British anti-hunting campaign,
see Donna Landry, The Invention of the Coiinttyside: Hunting,
Walking and Ecology hi English Literature. 16^1-1831 (Houndmiils,
Basingstoke, United Kingdom, and New York: Palgrave, 2001).
'" On the research of Dr. James D. Rose of the University ofWyo-
ming, see The New York Times, May 13, 2003. His findings were
published under the title "The Neurobehavioral Nature ot Fishes
and the Question of Awareness and Pain," in Reviews in Fisheries
Science 1 0 (2002): 1 -38. Also see Sean C. Chambers, "An Inquiry
into the Ethics of Fly Fishing: Fish and Pain," (Unpublished
paper. University of Wvoming. 2002).
''\lames D. Rose, "Do Fish Feel Pain." Fly Fisherman 34 (Septem-
ber 2003): 19. For historical background, see Cartmill, A I'iew,
chapter 6.
^"John Randolph, "Fish Dont Feel Pain, Fly Fisherman, 34 (Sep-
tember 2003): "i.
-' For a more balanced view, see Paul Schuller)', "How Can You
Do That?" Fly Fisherman 3-t (September 2003): 80, ^9. 69.
■' Quoted in Lyons, ed., The Qiiotable Fisherman, p. xiv.
-' The Compleat Angler, p. xxxviii.
Classic fly-fishing outfit and lake trout. Stephen N. Leek Collection,
American Heritage Center.
Adrian A. Banties
is Associate Professor of History at the
University of Wyoming. He has
publishe(j extensively in the field of
Mexican political and cultural history. He
recently taught a seminar on the cultural
history of fly-fishing in Europe and
America.
6 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
Their Numbers are Perfectly Fabulous:
Sport, Science, and Subsistence in
Yellowstone Fishing, 1870
SK>^^*'^ '
by Paul SchuUery
On August 23. 1 871 , the Washburn Party stopped at the Bottler Ranch, near present Emigrant, Montana. The ranch is shown here the
following year in a photograph by famed photographer William Henry Jackson, The Bottlers were successful commercial hide-hunters: note
the shed full of hides (and possibly whole carcasses of elk). Fred Bottler often guided sportsmen, furthering the mixture of subsistence and
sport among the wild fish and game in the Yellowstone Valley, Photo courtesy the National Park Service, Yellowstone Photograph
Archives.
E
arly in The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner, Written by
himself [\1\^), Daniel Defoe's shipwrecked hero makes the following diary entry: "May 4. I went a
fishing, but caught not one fish that I durst eat of, till I was weary of my sport; when, just going to
leave off, I caught a young dolphin."'
With this one comment, the durable Mr. Crusoe
inadvertently suggested the complications we face when
we attempt to categorize fishing as a human endeavor.
Here was a man tor whom fishing was an urgent matter
" of survival, yet it was also a "sport." To the modern
untrained ear, a "sport" is a pastime — something done
at best to relax and invigorate, at worst jtist to kill time.
Here was a man for whom
fishing was an urgent matter of
survival, yet it was also a "sport
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (New York: Dodd Mead and
Company, 1940), p. 79.
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History' Journal ■- Spring 200-!
To the ear of Daniel Defoe, sport was apparently
something tar more complicated than that.
As it still should be. There is a e,ood deal ot
messiness in the terminology of sport, though it is
nothing compared to the casual, offhanded manner in
which many writers, including academics whom one
would expect to be more careful, reduce such ancient
human pursuits as hunting and fishing to superficial
trivialities. Sport fishing and sport himting, at the hands
of such writers, are "mere" sport, which is to sav thev
exist only to generate "fun." Outdoor sport is merely
"recreation" — another belittling descriptor for an activirv
that has declined in the popular mind from an earlier
status, in which something was literally and importantlv
re-created, to its current popular definition, as a
substitute for doing something meaningful. People are
thought to participate in outdoor sports as a "leisure
time" activity, while not engaged in socially significant
pursuits.
The rhetorical blurring of the two terms "sports"
and "games" is likewise far advanced, and will probably
become more confused as American society becomes
progressively less comfortable with outdoor sports —
the traditional "blood sports" (as if ice hockey is not a
blood sport). I cannot correct this problem, hut only
point it out to suggest further the imprecision of the
language. When most modern Americans sa\' the\' are
discussing "sports," they usualh' mean "games."
Though not all sports are games, neither are all
games sports. Hunting elk is hardly anyone's idea of a
game; Monopoly is no one's idea of a sport. And yet,
the historian John McDonald was right when he aptly
said that "a sport or game may be thought of as the set
of rules that describes it."- The two categories ma\'
have more in common than the\- ha\'e in distinction.
The imprecision and carelessness of our terminology
in sport is in fact only a reflection of the amazing
capacity of sport for both durability and flexibilit}'. Part
of sport's fascination for us as an institution worthy of
study should be the way it is transformed during its
long societal career, even to the extent that it can outlive
its apparent original cause for existence. For those who
believe that sports have tended to arise in good part
from utilitarian practice — as rodeo, for example, tests
and celebrates skills needed on a working ranch — it
might seem counterintuitive that a sport would hang
on after people no longer had any use for its skills. But
sports can and do transcend at least some of the reasons
for their creation. We might even say that over the
course of a few generations, one person's sport can
eventually become another person's game.
To illustrate the evolution, or at least
transformation, of a sport from the realm of
immediately practical to something more esoteric,
classics scholar David Sansone used the example of
ja\'elin throwing, which is still a \ital athletic event
despite several centuries having passed since there was a
going militar\' need for javelin throwers. We now throw
ja\'elins for reasons other than keeping a vital battlefield
skill in shape. "*
In a generalK' literate societ\', in which records are
easily kept and invoked, sport is an intergenerational
enterprise. Today's javelin thrower has relevance in part
because he or she competes with the records of even'
previous javelin thrower, just as today's fisherman casts
in the shadow of countless earlier angling theorists,
philosophers, and other temporally remote companions.
And, as any determined sports nostalgist will tell you,
once a sport has accumulated enough generations of
precise statistics, wispy remembrance, and glowing
legend, there will invariably be a group of enthusiasts —
both fans and actual practitioners — wanting to prop it
all up with continued performance of like kind.
In the cases of hunting and fishing, this urge to
perpetuate a sport provides us with a delicious iron\'.
While historians long neglected the stud\' of these
important human activities, the activities themselves
thrived and defined themseKes in good part through a
passionate devotion to their own long traditions. These
people ma\' not have written \'er\' good history of
themselves, but they received little help from
- John McDonald, The Origins of Angling (New \'ork; Lyons &
Burford, 1 997), p. 3. Mv thanks especial!)- to Richard Hoftmann.
York Univetsif)', Toronto, tor conversations on definitions and
the intellectual history of sport.
■^ David Sansone, Greek Athletics and the Genesis of Sport ( Berkeley:
Universit)' of California press, 1988), p. 31 . Sansone, incidentally,
also serves as a type specimen ot a scholar who can switch trom a
serious discussion ot the histon' ot competitive games to poorly
thought-out moralizing and ignorant theorizing about the blood
sports; see pp. 3 1 -32 of his book tor a classic example ot trivializing
hunting and fishing in order to dismiss them.
8 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Sprinci 2004
professional historians, so who is at fauh if the history
they now hold dear is (even more than most history)
so inclined to ancestor worship and yarnspinning?'*
Consideration of Robinson Crusoe and javelin
throwers may seem a roundabout way to approach the
varierv of influences and impulses behind fishing in the
frontier West. But the parallels between the javelin and
the fly rod are perhaps deeper and more numerous than
thev might appear. The American West provides some
striking examples of the several ways in which a sport
mav simultaneously be valued in a given social setting.
A Distinguished Set of Anglers
The experiences of the famous Washburn-Langford-
Doane expedition (which I will c;ill the Washburn Party),
who visited the Yellowstone Plateau in the late summer
of 1 870, serve as a splendid illustration ot the complexity
of a traditional sport, in this case fishing. The Washburn
Partv has been worth study merely for the distinction
oi its members. Their elected commander was Henry
Dana Washburn, a former Civil War general and Indiana
Congressman, then surveyor general of Montana
Territory. The party of nineteen included, among others,
Helena Judge Cornelius Hedges, Montana Territorial
Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue Walter Trumbull
(son of Illinois U.S. Senator Lyman Trumbull), banker-
businessman Samuel Hauser, and former Montana
Territory Collector ol Internal Revenue Nathaniel
Langford (who, in one ol those complex maneuverings
so belovedly characteristic of territorial politics, had
recently come as close as possible to being appointed
Montana territorial governor without actually
occupying the office). Their small military escort was
under the command ol Lieutenant Gustavus Doane,
who would write the most authoritative account of the
trip.^
What may have most distinguished this already
distinguished group as explorers, however, was their
extraordinary literar\' output following the expedition.
They had a finely tuned and quite accurate sense of the
historical significance of what they were doing, and they
left historians a wonderful treasury of first-hand
accounts and impressions, many of which were
published in newspapers and magazines in the months
following the trip. This wealth of material has been
employed by historians and others to better understand
the 1870s— public view of wild nature, the rise of the
national park idea. Native American activities in and
effects on the Yellowstone region, historic wildlife
populations and distribution, and other elements of the
Yellowstone setting in 1 870. The literary legacy of the
Washburn Party has only grown in value over the years.
And it continues to reveal new information, and
new stimulation to modern historians. A careful review
of the Washburn Party's experiences with fish reveals a
rich documentary record that may help illuminate a
complex and little-appreciated aspect of Euroamerican
interactions with wild nature in the frontier West: the
interplay of sport, science, and subsistence in fisheries
use. Johan Huizinga, in Homo Ltidens: A Study of the
Play Element in Human Culture (1950), said that "it is
ancient wisdom, but it is also a little cheap, to call all
human activity play." For Huizinga, "play is to be
understood here not as a biological phenomenon but
as a cultural phenomenon."'' The Washburn Party's
trout-fishing experiences illustrate the depth and variety
of that cultural phenomenon. By taking their trout-
fishing tools, practices, and values into a wilderness
setting, the Washburn Party offer us a rewarding glimpse
I do not mean to suggest that thete has been no good history
written about fishing and hunting, only that it is, proportionately,
extraordinarily rare compared to histor)' written of many other
sports, especially the team sports. For an important statement
ot the problems caused by this imbalance in attention, see Thomas
L. Altherr and John F. Reiger, Academic Historians and Hunting:
A Call for More and Better Scholarship," Environmental Histoij
Review, 19 (Fall 1995): 39-56. For a consideration of some of the
mythic elements in fly-fishing histor)' as it has been written by
the fly fishers, see Paul Schullery, American Fly Fishing: A History
(New York: Nick Lyons Books, 1987), pp. 13-17, 111-121;
Andrew Herd, "Frederic M. Halford: The Mnh and the Man,"
The American Fly Fisher, 28 (Winter, 2002): 12-17; and Ken
Cameron, "Rigor without Mortis, ' The American Fly Fisher, 28
(Winter 2002): 18-25.
■ The most useful works on the Washburn Party's background
include Nathaniel Langford, The Discovery of Yelloxustone Park
(Lincoln: Universin,' of Nebraska Press, 1972), especially Aubrey
Haines' "Foreword, " pp. vii-xxi; Aubrey Haines, Yellowstone
National Park, Its Exploration and Establishment (Washington,
D.C.: National Park Service. 1974), p. 54-99, 137-152; and
Richard Bartlett, Natures Yellowstone (Albuquerque: University
ofNew Mexico Press, 1974), pp. 164-207. For more on Langford
particularly, see Paul Schullery and Lee H. 'Whittlesey, Myth and
History in the Creation of Yelloivstone National Park (Lincoln:
Universirv' of Nebtaska Press, 2003).
" Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in
Culture (Boston: The Beacon Press, 1955), p. i. The book was
apparently first published in English translation in 1950, though
the passages I quote were dated 1938.
Annals o( Wyoming: Tiie Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
of how complicated a thing it is ior a person to toss a
hook and Hne into a river.
Sportsmen on the Trail
The area that was to become Yellowstone National
Park in 1872 was by no means unexplored in 1870.
Not only had Native Americans been intimately familiar
with this landscape for thousands of years, but also
whites had been visiting it frequently for more than six
decades. The Washburn Party saw signs of a number
of previous white visitors on their trip, and twice while
in the present park area they encountered other whites.
But the many accounts of the wonders of
Yellowstone provided by trappers, prospectors, and other
early white visitors had not constituted a respected or
widely accepted body of knowledge. So, in a vividly
real social sense, the Washburn Party, like a few other
early exploration parties, actually was engaging in a kind
of formal discovery."
Washburn Part}' members, having traveled from
Helena to Bozeman bersveen August 1 7 and August
20, were joined by Lieutenant Doane and his small
detachment of five soldiers at Fort Ellis, just east of
Bozeman. The group set out on August 22, and
stragglecf across the landscape of the upper Yellowstone
region for several weeks before returning home byway
of the Madison Valley.
Many of them were sportsmen, and hunting and
fishing were obvious attractions of this trip. Trumbull
no doubt expressed the anticipation that several of them
felt when he wrote that "we intended to hunt for all
sorts of large game, Indians only excepted. No one
desired to find any of them."*^ (I will leave Trumbull's
eyebrow-raising equating of Native American humans
with "large game" for another time, or another historian;
General background on the Washburn Parr.- members, as provided
in this essay, is from the publications of Langford, Haines, and
Bartlett, as cited above.
Walter Trumbull, "The Washburn Yellowstone Expedition," The
Oiviidiid Munthlv. 6 (May 1871): 431.
The Washburn Party spent much of their time in early September near the shores of Yellowstone Lake. They wrote the first reasonably
detailed and accurate written accounts of the lake's native trout. They enjoyed fishing the lake, but eventually Yellowstone Lake cutthroat trout
also became a critically important source of food for the expedition. William Henry Jackson 1871 photograph courtesy the National
Park Service, Yellowstone Photograph Archives.
10 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
as I said, this material continues to surprise and
challenge us).
That first night on the trail, camped along Trail
Creek, Hedges wrote in his diary, perhaps with a little
competitive triumph, that he "caught the first trout."'^
Trumbull added, in somewhat grumpy detail, that
"some of the party fished with very limited success,
catching only about half a dozen fish by their united
and untiring efforts.""^
The group's various members fished frequently
from then on, until they left the region that would
soon become Yellowstone National Park. Fishing-
minded readers would enjoy reading all their many
mentions of the trout, but here we will confine ourselves
to especially telling episodes.
On August 23, they were in what is now known as
Paradise Valley, the famously picturesque stretch of the
Yellowstone River south of Livingston, Montana. They
stopped at the Bottler Ranch, near present Emigrant,
Montana, and camped nearby this pioneer holding that
was known as the last outpost of civilization north of
the Yellowstone Plateau. Hedges said, "I went down
to fish after camping. Had no bate but meat which
they wouldn't touch.""
Here Hedges introduces us to a key element in the
society of angling: the social and theoretical rivalries
among anglers. Bait fishing was, even then, seen as the
least cosmopolitan form of fishing. According to the
loftiest dictates of refined sporting society, gentlemen
(or snobs, depending upon your perspective) preferred
sophisticated tackle employing artificial lures or flies.
Washburn Party members revealed various opinions of
the preference of Yellowstone trout for bait or artificial
lures, but when it came to what method caught the
most fish, most party members sided with the bait
fishermen. In this case, though. Hedges' implication is
a bit unclear. He could have meant that he needed
more sophisticated tackle, such as fly-fishing gear, or
he could just have been pointing up the inferiority of
meat (presumably beef, elk, or other game) to
grasshoppers, which were the most acclaimed and
successful bait of the entire trip. Judging from his later
experiences, the latter was the more likely case.
On August 24, Hedges said, "just before camping
we crossed a good sized creek with big boulders &c recent
signs of bear among the cherry bushes. Our advance
had a jack rabbit & sage hen but no fish. Couldn't
catch any grasshoppers. Couldn't get any pole but
caught some fish with [Benjamin] Stickney's pole."'-
These remarks reveal what may well have been a
common practice among the fishermen, at least
among those not using store-bought tackle. As already
noted, Hedges previously fished on August 22, so he
must have had a "pole " that day. Because poles were
so readily had at streamside, fishermen might not have
bothered to carry one with them, or on the pack
animals. At the end of a day's fishing, they could just
discard the pole, wind their line around something
convenient (like a very short stick) and stow it away
until needed again. The risk of this approach, as
Hedges appears to have been noting on August 24, is
in not finding a suitable pole the next time.
Also on August 24, Langford said that "during the
forenoon some of the escort were very successful fishing
for trout. "'^ This is our first indication that the soldiers
under Lieutenant Doane were also fishing, and they
were often quite successful. Doane echoed Langford's
sentiment, saying that, "Our mess-table was here
supplied with antelope, hare, ducks, and grouse killed
during the day, with fish caught ad libitum in the
afternoon."''^ Fish were already assuming a primary
nutritional role for the party — a role that would increase
in significance as the trip continued.
Sportsmen-Naturalists
Near Yankee Jim Canyon, Trumbull made the first
fish-related natural history observations. He said,
^ Cornelius Hedges, "Excerpts from the Diary of Cornelius Hedges
(July 6, 1870 to January 29, 1871), transcribed from the original
diary in the Montana State Historical Society Library by Aubrey
Haines, November 5, 1962, Yellowstone National Park Research
Library manuscript file, p. 2.
' ^ Walter Trumbull, "Yellowstone Papers, No. One," Rocky Mountain
Daily Gazette, October 1 8, 1 870, p. 2.
' Hedges, "Diary," p. 3.
Hedges, "Diary," p. 3. Modern anglers make a distinction between
a "pole," which is usually just a stick with a line tied to the end,
and a "rod," which typically is a professionally produced item
complete with handle, reel, and small metal "guides" spaced evenly
along its length and through which the line is cast or retrieved.
- Langford, Discovery, p. 12.
'^ Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane, "The report of Lieutenant
Gustavus C. Doane upon the so-called Yellowstone Expedition
of 1870," U.S. Senate, 4lst Congress, 3rd Session, Ex. Doc. 51,
1871, p. 4.
Annals of Vi/yoming. The Wyoming History Journal ■■ Spring 2004
"During the day plenty of small game was killed, and
the fishing was found to be excellent. Trout and white-
fish were abundant — and such trout! They can only be
found in the neighborhood of the Rocky Mountains,
and on the Pacific Slope. Few of them weighed less
than nvo pounds, and many were over three. They
had not been educated up to the fly; but when their
attention was respectfully solicited to a transfixed
grasshopper, they seldom failed to respond."'^
Here again, sporting values intrude on the narrative
we are reconstructing. Trumbull was operating in an
established literary mood with his remark about the
trout not being educated "up to the fly" The suggestion
that North American trout lacked the polish to respond
to high-quality tackle was an occasional item of angling
humor, and at times seemed even to imply a certain
pride, that our trout were not snobs. Again, bait was
preferred, but now we know that flies were tried by at
least one party member.
Of equal interest is TrtimbulTs mention of
whitefish. Whitefish were native to the Yellowstone
River through its entire length as far as upstream
Knowles Falls, in present northern Yellowstone
National Park. They were also native to the Madison
River drainage, by which route the party left the park
area and returned to Bozeman. Presumably they were
sometimes part of the party's catch, but this is the only
mention any parrv' member would make of them. As
the "poor sisters" of trout in the prevailing sport fishers
view (then as now), whitefish were rarely worth bragging
about.
Also in his August 24 entry, Doane (writing in a
report that was no doubt polished and revised after the
trip), first discussed the long-term availability and
dependability of fish as a supplemental food source for
the party when he said that "several of the party were
very successful during the morning in fishing for trout,
of which we afterward had an abundant and continued
supply.""' Doane here also made his first contribution
to the natural history of the fish: "The Yellowstone
trout are peculiar, being the largest of the genus caught
in waters flowing east. Their numbers are perfectly
fabulous, but their appetites extremely dainty. One
may fish with the finest tackle of eastern sportsmen,
when the water appears to be alive with them, all day
long without a bite. Grasshoppers are their peculiar
weakness, and tising them for a bait the most awkward
angler can fill a champagne-basket in an hour or two.
They do not bite with the spiteful greediness of eastern
brook trout, but amount to much more in the way of
subsistence when caught. Their flesh is of a bright
yellow color on the inside of the bodv, and of a flavor
unsurpassed."'
Doane, in his remark abotu the Yellowstone
cutthroat trout being "the largest of the genus caught
in waters flowing east," seems to have been comparing
the Yellowstone Cutthroat with trout in the Missouri
(or its source rivers, the Gallatin, Madison, and
Jefferson), or any of the many other rivers that join the
Missouri and host trout populations. Either he
personalK' had, or he had learned from someone with,
personal acquaintance with the various trout populations
east of the Continental Divide. It is an interesting
observation, but not one that seems supported by the
historical record; earlv records of Missouri River trout,
dating back as far as Lewis anci Clark's travels up and
down the river in 1805-1806, suggest that Missouri
River trout were sizeable.
Doane's comments on the behavior of the eastern
brook trout were possibly based on second-hand
information, perhaps from another member of the
party; Doane himself spent very little time in the East
in his life.'''^ It would be interesting to know if his
later experiences with Yellowstone cutthroats on this
trip changed his mind. Small cutthroat trout in upland
freestone streams seem to many modern anglers to feed
at least as hastily and vigorously as do eastern brook
trout (which have, regrettably, displaced them from
' Triimhull, "The Washburn Yellowstone Expedition," p. 432.
Throughout this paper, comments on fish natural histor)', history,
management, and related topics are based primarily on John D.
Varle\' and Paul Schullery, Yellowstone Fishes: Ecology. History,
ijiid Angling in the P,irk (Harrisburg: Stackpole Books, 1'098).
Additional information provided here on western native fishes,
see Roger ] Bchnke, Native Trout of Western North Ainerici!
(Bethesda: American Fisheries Society. 1992). Context on fishing
histor\' is provided primarily by Schullery, Amenciin Fly Fishing:
A History.
16
Doane, "Report, p. 3
' Doane, "Report," p. 3.
'°Haines, Vellowstone Nitional P.trk. pp. 137-139. 1 am also indebted
to Kim Allen Scott, Special Collections Librarian, Montana
State University, Bozeman, Montana, for a reading of his in-
press manuscript biography of Doane.
12 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
many of their native waters in the West).
On August 25. the party continued on an apparent
Indian trail through Yankee Jim Canyon, now just a
few miles north ot what would become Yellowstone
National Park. At some point during the day, parry
member Warren Gillette "tried my luck at fishing in
YS.— caught nothing. Others of the party caught some
fine fish — had lor supper last night & breakfast this
A.M. Antelope, Rabbit, Grouse, duck & fish."''' As
we will see, Gillette was one of the party who carried
fly-fishing gear. Perhaps his lack of success was the
inspiration tor Doane's remark about "the finest tackle
of eastern sportsmen" not serving well.
The party followed the Yellowstone River drainage
upstream, finding plenty offish and other game. On
August 28, Gillette, now in the area that would become
Yellowstone National Park, and fishing the Yellowstone
River near the mouth of Tower Creek, "Caught 7 fine
trout that would weigh from 2 to 2-1/2 pounds each.
These fish are not gamy like the trout in the east. They
make but little resistance in being taken from the water
& do not run with the hook after taking the bait."-''
Gillette was a native of New York, where he lived until
attending Oberlin College in Ohio. His background
and his comments this day further lead to the conclusion
that he, at least, was using "eastern" tackle and was
familiar with the native eastern brook trout.
It is part of the Yellowstone Cutthroat's mixed
reputation among modern fly fishers that it is, indeed,
not as "gamy" as some other species of trout. The
prevailing opinion is that, of the common trout species,
Yellowstone Cutthroats are the least strong fighters
when hooked. For example, unlike their near cousins
the rainbows, Yellowstone Cutthroats rarely jump when
hooked.-' But many of today's trout fishermen, more
than a century further along in the sport's ethical
development, do not place quite as high a premium on
the "fight" as did earlier generations of anglers. Especially
those anglers who practice catch-and-release seek to land
the fish as quickly as possible, because the fish's struggle
to escape — once such a prized part of the fishing
experience — can exhaust it beyond recovery.
Sportsmen-Survlvallsts
September arrived as the party enjoyed the scenery,
fishing, and hunting around the Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone River. Langford worried about the lateness
of the season and the prospects for provisions:
"However, the perceptible decline in our larder, and the
uncertainty of the time to be occupied in further
exploration, forbid more than two days' stay at the falls
and caiion."'- The party would display a growing sense
of urgency to keep moving, despite all their enthusiasm
for discovery and wonder.
There was another risk. There were many elk and
other large animals in Yellowstone, in appropriate
habitats. But those habitats were not uniformly
distributed across the landscape, nor was the wildlife
necessarily handy when hunters wanted food. And if
the animals should begin to migrate to winter ranges in
lower country, that source of meat would disappear.
Only birds and trout would remain.
At Yellowstone Lake that first week of September,
Washburn joined the chorus of angling theorists who
seemed to believe, or at least joked, that wild trout have
to be taught to take flies: "The fishing, which had
been good all the way up the river, proved remarkably
so in the lake. Trout from 2 to 4 pounds were to be
had for the taking. Flies proved useless, as the fish had
not been educated up to that point. "-^^ He did not
specify who, precisely, was fishing with flies, but this is
probably the earliest known reference to the use of flies
in what would become Yellowstone National Park.
Like anglers of all generations, the Washburn Party
enlisted a satisfying array of excuses, including lousy
tackle, bad weather, poor bait, ignorant fish, and heavy
streamside brush, to explain their days of failure in this
' ^ Warren Gillette, "The Quest of Warren Gillette," Brian
Cockhill, ed., Montana The Magazine of Western History 32
(Summer 1972): 18.
-" Gillette, "Quest," p. 19.
^ For an expert angler opinion and commentary on the Yellowstone
Cutthroat as a sportfish, and its contrast to the Snake River
Cutthroat, which is famous for its fighting qualities, see Ernest
Schwiebert, Troict (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1978), Vol. I, pp.
287-290, in which Schwiebert recounts conversations about
cutthroat trout with famous Jackson Hole guide Bob Carmichael.
-^ Langford, Discovery, p. 38.
^-' Henry D. Washburn, "The Yellowstone Expedition, explorations
in a new and wonderful country — description of the Great Falls
of the Yellowstone — volcanic eiuptions, spouting geysets, etc.,"
Helena Daily Herald, September 27 and 28, 1871, quoted from
reprint in Louis C. Cramton, Early History ofYellowstone National
Park ayidlts ReLition to National Park Policies (Washington, D.C.,
U.S. Government Printing Office, 1932), p. 94.
A"nais ;•" Wycr'^c The V'.'yomipg Hisiory Jcur^a' ■- Spring 20S4
fisherman's paradise (blaming the fish is always an
especially entertaining rationalization). Unlike most
modern anglers, however, parry members also listed the
threat ot physical violence as an interfering hictor. At
least once, the imagined or real approach of Indians
caused anglers to return to camp.-"^
In his September 4 report entry, Doane ofiered the
most extended observation on the characteristics of trout
of Yellowstone Lake made by the parry:
Its waters abound with trout to such an extent that
the fish at this season are in poor condition, for want
ot food. No other fish are seen; no minnDWs, and no
small trout. 1 here are also no clams, crabs, or
turtles — nothing but lull-grown trout. These could
by caught in mule-loads bv wading out a tew teet in
the open waters at anv point with a grasshopper bait.
Two men could catch them taster than half a dozen
could clean and get them ready for the frying pan.
Caught in the open lake, their flesh was \'ellow; but
in bays, where the water was strongly impregnated
with chemicals, it was blood-red. Many oi them
were full of long white worms, woven across rhe
interior oi the bod\-, and through to the skin on either
side. These did not appear to materialK- ahect the
condition ot the fish, which wete apparenth' as active
as the others.-^
The ambitious Doane, whose orders were limited
ro accompanying the party, made good use oI the
opportunity to distinguish himsell as an otficial
explorer, producing the party's most competent and
fully doctmiented report, including such lormalities as
dailv temperatures, barometric readings, and elevations.
His report was a model ot the type, and when it
appeared in June 1871, it enjoyed a briet reign as the
foremost published scientific source on the wonders ot
Yellowstone. But even as it appeared, Ferdinand H,ivden
of the U.S. Geological Survey and Captain lohn
Barlow, an engineer with the U.S. Army's Division ot
Missouri, were preparing much more protessional
survey parties (including sportsmen-explorers ot their
own) that within a \'eat woidd simply fiood the world
with scientific information about Yellowstone.
Still, Doane's report remains a literary and
intormational classic trom this early period, and his
accounts of the life historv ot Yellowstone trout were a
legitimate contribution to knowledge at the time.
Though some ot his natural history was suspect (such
as the fish lacking food; how had the trout population
persisted tor thousands ot vears if there was so little
tood? — and such as the explanation ot the color of the
flesh ot the trout, which is primarily the result ot diet),
other parts were astute. Immature Yellowstone
Cutthroat Trout are, indeed, rarely seen; they tend to
live in deeper water, out ot reach ot sport anglers. And
the observation ot the worms was to be echoed by
countless later writers who encountered this visually
disturbing but relatively benign 'at least to humans)
patasite. Doane did nor formall)' identify this creature,
but his acciuate accotmt of it and its effect on trour
preceded b\' two yeats Dr. Joseph Leidy's formal
description ot the tapeworm Diphyllobothyint)!.-^'
Langford, whose reputation as a regional booster
is well known by historians, said, in an article in
Scrihner'i Monthly, that the lake "is filled with trout,
some of gigantic size and peculiar delicacy."- There
is no evidence in the historical, archaeological, or
biological record that the trout of Yellowstone Lake
ever achieved "gigantic " size. A 24-inch specimen would
be extraordinary, btu in the lexicon of anglers of that
day even a fish that large would hardh' be considered
gigantic. It is possible that Langford's own experiences
to that time had involved only smaller trout, but it is
also possible that describing the trout this way was for
Langford just another means ot further enhancing his
description of the regions glories.
fiedges, in a newspaper article he later wrore about
Yellowstone Lake, gave us the party's best single
reminiscence of what Yellowstone Lake angling was
like tot a true enthusiast. This account stands as by far
the most extended and meaningful petsonal
sportfishing narrative to that point in the Yellowstone
area's literar)' history.
-'* Laiioford, "Wonders," p. 119.
-' Doane, "Report,' p. 19.
*-^James Pritchard, Pu'serving Yellowstone's Niitiinil Conditions
(Lincoln: Universir,' of Nebrask.i Press, 1990), p. 80.
- Langford, "The Wonders ot the Yellowstone.' Scribiier's Monthly.
May 1871. p. 11 4.
14 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
By mid-September, when the Washburn Party reached the now-famous geyser basins of the Firehole River, pictured here as photographed
by William Henry Jackson in 1 871 , they were anxious to reach home. They had little time to fish the Firehole River, now world-famous among
fly fishers, but it was barren offish life for almost its entire length anyway. The Firehole was later stocked with a variety of non-native sport fish
by early park administrators. Photograph courtesy the National Park Service, Yellowstone Photograph Archives.
M\- indi\idual taste led me to fishing, and 1 venture
that none of the party dare complain that they did not
have all the fine trout that their several appetites and
capacities could provide storage tor. Indeed, I feel in
gratitude bound to bear testimony that for fme fish,
and solid, satisf}'ing fun, there is no body of water
under the sun more attractive to the ambitious
fisherman than the Yellowstone Lake. While upon the
subject of fishing, allow me to relate one or two instances
of personal experience. One day, after the loss of our
comrade [this would be later in September-P.S.], and
when rations were getting short, I was deputed to lav
in a stock of fish to eke our scantv larder on our
homeward journey. Proud of this tribute to my
piscatoPi' skill, I endeavored under some difficulties, to
justif)' the expectations of my companions, and in about
two hours, while the waves were comparatively quiet, I
strewed the beach with about 50 beauties, not one of
which would weigh less than 2 pounds, while the
average weight was about 3 pounds. Another incident,
illustrative of the proximity of hot springs rather than
of trouting: Near the southwest corner of the lake is a
large basin of exceedingly hot springs. These springs
cover a large field. Some are in the very margin of the
lake, while others rise under the lake and indicate their
localit)' by steam and ebullition upon the lakes surface
when the waves are not too uneasy. One spring of
large size, unfathomable depth, sending out a
continuous stream of at least 50 inches of scalding water,
is still separated from the cool water of the lake by a
rocky partition, not more than a foot thick in places. I
returned along the narrow rim of this partition, a-^d
catching sight of some expectant trout lying in easy
reach, I solicited their attention to a transfixed
grasshopper, and meeting an early and energetic
response, I attempted to land my prize beyond the
spring, but unfortunately for the fish, he escaped the
hook to plunge into this boiling spring. As soon as
possible I relieved the agonized creature by throwing
him out with my pole, and though his contortions
were not fully ended, his skin came off and he had all
the appearance of being boiled through. The incident.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal ■- Spring 2004
though excusable as an incident, was too shocking to
repeat.
We noted it as a singular fact that we saw no other fish
than trout in the lake, and no small fish ot any sort.
There was a wide contrast in the color of the meat oi
these trout. While most oi them were as richh' red as
salmon, others were quite white; and as a frank
confession is good for the soul, we will relieve our own
by confessing that some at our ver\' last camp on the
lake were knind to be wormy.-^^
Despite Hedges's obvious horror at causing such
agony to the fish that was accidentally boiled, it was
not true that it was "too shocking to repeat." in fact he
was anticipating a long popular (if ghastly) practice
among Yellowstone vacationers. Purposeh' cooking live
fish just that wav became a popular visitor attraction in
Yellowstone for many years after the park was
established. The cruel practice was not made illegal
until 1929.
As the parry traveled the forested countn' around
Yellowstone Lake, Langford's concerns about food were
realized. The easy hunting was past, and their other
provisions ran low. On September 6, Hedges said "had
nothing but salt meat today. Poorest camp we have
had in tangled woods."-'' But on September 7, now
near the southern end of the southeast arm of
Yellowstone Lake, Hedges said "I went out and had
much fim catching trout, got about a doz & had a
good supper."'"
On September 9, disaster struck. As the party
thrashed through the heav)' downfall of timber south
of the lake, fiftv-fotir year-old Iruman Everts became
separated from the grotip, and despite the heroic efforts
of parry members who searched for him even after the
first snows began to fall, he wandered lost for thirty-
seven days, finally being rescued by two local
moimtaineers in the northern part of the present park.
Some of his most exasperating experiences in tr\'ing to
feed himself in the wilci involved his attempts to catch
fish.^i
Meanwhile, for the main party, trout were getting
more important as food. C^n September 10, in camp
on Flat Motmtain Arm on the smithwest shore of
Yellowstone Lake, Doane reported that "in the
evenintr large numbers of fish were cati"ht. Private
Williamson catching fifty-rwo large trout, all that two
men could carry, in less than an hour."''- On
September 1 1 , Hedges said "though it was Sun we
wanted fish so much that I went down & caught about
a dozen. ... I am to stay & lay in store offish."'^ On
September 12, Langford said "during the absence of
Washbtu'n and myself Mr. Hedges has spent the day
in fishing, catching forty of the fme trout with which
the lake abounds. Mr. [Benjamin] Stickney has to-
day made an inventory of our larder, and we find that
our luxuries, such as coffee, sugar and flour, are nearly
used up, and that we have barely enough of necessary
provisions — salt, pepper, etc., to last us ten days longer
with economy in their use. We will remain at the lake
probably three or four days longer with the hope of
finding some trace of Everts, when it will be necessary
to turn our faces homewards to avoid general disaster,
and in the meantime we \sill diT a few hundred pounds
of trout, and carr\- them with us as a precatitionary
measure against starvation. "^"^
On September 16, Doane reported the party's
preparations to leave the lake. "We spent the evening
-" Hedges, "Yellowstone Lake, " Heleiui Daily HeralA, November
9, quoted from reprint in Louis C. Cramton, Early History of
Yellou 'Stone National Park and Its ReLition to National Park Policies
(Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1932),
pp. 108-109. For variations on these stories, see also Hedges'
letter ro his sister, which includes the following passage: "The
Lake itself is 25 miles long — we reached it first Sept. 3 — I left it
on the 1 ^th having gone entirely around it — I caught hundreds
of trout 111 its waters, the smallest one would weigh more than
rivo pounds. . . . there are many hot springs around the lake &
in some places in the verv' bottom ot the lake — so close &: so hot
are some ot these springs that one day I caught a large trout &
in pulling him out he tell olif mv hook o\er a hot spring & before
1 could toss him out with mv pole he was cooked thru. . . . "
Cornelius Hedges, letter to "Dear Sister," October 11, 1870,
Montana Historical Society Collection, SC #1874, p. 3- For
another account ot Hedges's experience with the trout that tell
into the hot spring, see Trumbull, "The Washburn Yellowstone
Expedition," p. 492.
- Hedges, "Diary," p. 9.
30 Hedges, "Diary," p. 9.
■ Lee Whittlesey, Lost in the Yellowstone: Truman Everts's "Thirty-
Set'en Days of Peril" (Salt Lake Ciry: LIniversity of Utah Press,
1995) is the most thorough account of Everts' experience,
including a complete version ot Everts' own published story.
Doane, "Report," p. 23.
32
-'•' Hedges, "Diary, " p. 10.
-''* Langford, Discovery, pp. 83-84.
Arnals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
in collecting specimens from the different springs and
laving in a supply ot fish for future use."'"" Hedges
added that "I spent most of the time in fishing. Caught
about 20. Didn't have a good pole and didn't want to
wade in. Enjoyed the day very much in spite of wet
feet and head ache. "''^' As on several other occasions,
we find here a report that subsistence fishing was also
sport fishing; he still had fun.
On September 17, the main party moved out,
heading west to the headwaters of the Madison River,
\s'hich they would follow downstream. On September
1 8 they emerged from the forest into the Upper Geyser
Basin, where they spent a hectic day seeing what they
could in this extraordinary area. Then they hurried
down the Firehole River, which at that time was barren
offish life almost its entire length. On September 19,
Hedges said "no fish in river. Grub getting very thin." "*
That same day, the day before they left the present park
area, Langford said, "we are now on short rations, but
the fish we dried while camped on Yellowstone lake are
doing good service."^^
Yellowstone's First Fly Fisher?
Warren Gillette and his soldier companions, who
had stayed behind at Yellowstone Lake, had no luck
finding Everts.'''^ They followed the rest of the part)',
and on their way out they gave us our first specific
reference to a known individual fly fishing in what
would become Yellowstone National Park, one of the
world's great fly-fishing destinations. On September
24, Gillette, now on the lower Firehole or upper
N4adison River, perhaps near the junction of the
Firehole and Gibbon rivers, said, "Tried fishing. My
only fly was taken off and could get no bites from meat
bait."-^o
For historians of western fly fishing, this is a
tantalizing but frustrating statement. Had Gillette just
lost his last fly? — meaning he had lost the others while
fishing earlier in the trip? Or had just left his fly book
behind in camp, and just lost the "only fly" he had with
him? Had he lost the fly in a fish, an underwater snag,
a bush? What kind of "meat bait" did he try? Had the
advancing season eliminated the option of using
grasshoppers? We can only guess, but again, it seems
most probable, if not certain, that Gillette was the
person who kept trying the "eastern tackle" mentioned
by the others, and that despite their sarcasms he found
flies more effective or at least more satisfying to use
than meat bait. More than that we cannot support
without additional evidence.
Conclusions
We might divide the historical interest of the
Washburn Party's fish-related exploits into two areas.
The first is in the field of sport history. Here they left
us a vivid account of fishing what hyperbolic outdoor
writers would call "virgin waters. " Though untold
generations of native people and any number of earlier
white visitors had caught trout in Yellowstone, the
Washburn Party left us the first reasonably detailed
account of it, thus serving as pioneer sporting journalists
in this now world-famous fishing destination. They
used a variet}' of tackle, from the most basic to the
most sophisticated, but they left us all too little
information on such matters as tackle and line
specifications, fly patterns, and other details of interest
to angling antiquarians.
They displayed an awareness of competing sporting
styles and codes of their time by their somewhat negative
comments about the "finest tackle of eastern sportsmen,"
comments which, it seems likely, also implied a certain
pride in their frontier competence at not needing such
effete fripperies. Their values were otherwise not
surprising, except perhaps in Hedge's sympathetic
portrayal of the agony of a fish he accidentally dunked
in a hot spring. They were typical of their time in killing
ver\' large numbers of fish, but deserve pardon from
the critical judgments of later generations for these
apparent excesses, because they evidently consumed
most or all of the fish they caught. Even Private
- ' Doane, "Report, " p. 27.
-''' Hedges, "Diary," p. 11.
-'' Hedges, "Diary," p. 12.
-^° Langford, DufOf^n'. P- 116.
■'' Gillette, "Quest," p. 27, on September 18, said "Williamson
left Moore & myself to make a shelter (which we did with poles
& blankets) while he went out to hunt. In about an hour we
heard him halou in the mountains. Heard his shots first. Moore
took the mule & went to where we heard the shots & returned
with a fine fat 2 year old heifer Elk. We ate the liver for supper. I
must not forget that I killed another chicken today with my
pistol, of which I feel quite proud."
4" Gillette, "Quest," p. 29.
Anats of Wvomina The '
OTiira Hislop,' .:j
Williamson's huge carcli of Hfty-two trout on
September 10 must be kept in perspective by
calculating how little time such a haul would last when
confronted by the appetites of" nineteen hungry
travelers.
Perhaps the most important part of their sport
fishing literary legacy was simply in showing the
modern angler what is at stake in managing wild trout
fisheries. The first literate sportsmen into a new region
provide us with a kind ol baseline oi fish and game
conditions against which we can measure all later
attempts to sustain and protect these resources.
The second area of interest is a hodgepodge of
impressions that the Washburn Party provides other
historical specialists. To the historian of western natural
history, thev provided some modest but meaningfiil
first-hand observations on the regions trout — nothing
on the scale ot their lengthy accounts oi the geography
and geothermal wonders, but still pathbreaking
inlormation new to biologists. To the historian of
western exploration, trout should, but do not, loom
large in this chapter of the "discovery" of the West; it
seems clear that without trout in those critical mid-
September days the Washburn Party would have been
in serious trouble for want ol tood. To historians oi
the development and eventual solidification ol" the
national park idea as embodied in the Yellowstone Park
Act ol March 1, 1872, the mens comments of the
quality of the fishing are an indication of yet another
ol the many reasons that could be enlisted in marketing
the park to tourists.
The trout was one of the most important animals
in the history ol the Washbtirn Party. Cumulatively,
part)^ members wrote substantially more words about
the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout than they wrote about
any other wild animal species. '' Fishing was, lor this
or that subset ol the partv, a means ol acquiring lood,
"* For the most thorough compiLition ot wildhfe obscr\Mtions
b\' the \X dshburn Pirr\", see P,iul Schulle^^• and Lee Whirtlese\',
"The Documentan,- Record ot Wolves and Related Wildlife
Species in the Yellowstone National Park Area Prior to 1882,"
in J.D. Varley and W.G. Brewster, eds.. Wolves for Yellowstonfi' A
Report to the United States Congress, Volume IV. Research and
Analysis (Yellowstone National Park: National Park Setvice.
^")')2),pp. 1.S1-1.S8
An 1860s-era picture of the Yellowstone River just north of Yankee Jim Canyon appeared in
Alfred E, Mathews. Penal Sketches of Montana (the author, New Yori<. 1868). The
Washburn Party would have seen the same country in 1870, passing this way as they
followed the nver through the canyon. Note the pronghorn in the nght foreground: Mathews
spoke at some length about the abundance of game in the area. Courtesy the Yellowstone
Park Research Library.
18 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2Q04
of testing one's angling skill, of engaging in friendly
competition with other sportsmen, and of studying the
natural world. Trout were appreciated as food, as
sporting quarry, as affirmation of sporting codes, as
scientific objects, and even as potential promotional
devices.
This is not to imply that trout were that important
to everybody, all the time, in the West. It would be
unfair to liken the intensity of interest that the
Washburn Party displayed in trout to any similar interest
shown by other white residents of Montana Territory
in their day-to-day lives. Only some people fish, and
among them, the average angler in the Northern Rocky
Mountains in 1870 would have routinely combined
sport and subsistence as the only reasons for fishing.
On the other hand, that same average person would
have little day-to-day use for all the rich, diverse
elements and values of literature, fine arts, music, or
any other central human pursuit. The point of this
paper is not to elevate trout fishing to a primary focus
among historians of the West, but to alert those
historians to the opportunities that trout fishing, in its
own quiet and unique way, provides us for improving
our understanding of all the subtle and unspoken things
that our ancestors were up to when they traveled through
trout country, mi
Paul Schullery
first worked in Yellowstone as a ranger-
naturalist in 1972. He is the author, co-author,
or editor of more than thirty books, including
Searching for Yellowstone, The Bears of
Yellowstone, and Mountain Time. A former
director of The American Museum of Fly
Fishing, in Manchester, Vermont, Paul is
also author of American Fly Fishing: A
History.
Arnals o' '.'"'/vomlnq' The Wvoiiipc His::~,' Journa' -- Sp^nq
The Past and Present of Fly-Fishing in
\^ Jackson Hole, Wyoming:
\ An Interview with Jack Dennis^
by Adrian A. Bantjes
^-'^'^7;^
^sft^'^^^^jiagj
^^JJOi
Fly-fishing on Jackson Lal<e
below thie peaks of the Tetons,
Trolling would become the
technique of choice on the lake.
Stephen N, Leek Collection,
Amencan Heritage Center.
Jack Dennis, Wyoming's best-known fly-fisherman, fly-tier, and
angling outfitter, is the author of The Western Trout Fly Tying
Manual (1974) and owner of Jack Dennis Sports in Jackson,
Wyoming. Dennis appears regularly on television sporting shows,
has produced numerous fly-fishing videos, and serves as a fly-fishing
consultant to foreign governments and other organizations. He has fished
with celebrities and politicians such as Tom Selleck, Don Johnson, Dick
Cheney, James Baker, and Eduard Shevardnaze. On April 12, 2002, he
spoke with a group of University of Wyoming students about his role in the
fly-fishing history of Jackson Hole, the fly-fishing industry, conservation
policies, and, of course, the impact of the movie /\ River Runs Through It.
JD: I was born in Jackson and I spent mv childhood, even' siunmer ot ni\' life
except for one, in Jackson. My grandfather would come all the way from the
Philippine Islands to Jackson every summer... He was the banker for Chase
Manhattan Bank and he traveled the Orient doing what you call correspondent
banking. He had a first cousin that had a ranch where the Park Service headquarters
Inten'iew recorded, edited, and annotared by Adrian Bantjes.
20 Annais of Wyoming- The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
is [today] and he would come and stay with her. In the
[late twenties,] [John D.] Rockefeller [, Jr.] decided to
start buying up land to give it to the [Grand Teton
National] Park and they bought up. . .my aunt's ranch
and made it one of the first acquisitions. We were
immediately tagged as one of the traitors in Jackson to
have sold the land. . . Rockefeller was Standard Oil So
he was a bad guy; they blamed him a lot for the
Depression. . .Now, you might say, [how] does that even
relate to fishing, but that gave us one oi the greatest
fishing parks in the world, along with Yellowstone.-
A man by the name of Bob Carmichael... literally
built the very first Western fly-shop. It didn't happen
in West Yellowstone; it happened in Jackson Hole. He
actually bought an existing fly-shop there in Moose,
Wyoming,... and he opened his in the [late thirties].'
He was. . .the official guide of Teton Park. They actually
had guides hired by the park to take people out.
Remember, this is the thirties and it was still pretty
wild country. So most people didn't just go wandering
out fishing; they had guides. Guides were cheap...
Guys. ..learned. ..from Carmichael, then went
back. . .and built the famous shops of West Yellowstone,
which actually started in a guy's garage, a guy by the
name of [Don] Martinez, who tied flies for Bob
Carmichael. . .It eventually became the first shop there
and then a variety [of other shops], [Bud] Lilly's, [for
example], came... I grew up... around [Carmichael's]
shop... My grandfather was lucky enough to have
enough money to afford guided fishing trips and so I
got a chance to go on a guided fishing trip ... up until I
was about fifteen at least a couple of times a week if the
fishing was good. My grandfather was not a great fly-
fisherman but he loved doing it. So I got exposed to
the history... at a pretty young age in the fifties... So
that's my kinda background: guiding when I was eleven
years old at Carmichael's. They'd have me take a guy
up and show em the beaver ponds... There were
fabulous big fish and people just wanted to see them -
they couldn't catch them-. . .and you'd get twenty bucks
for doing it. It was a pretty good deal. So that's how I
started guiding. My experience came from that shop
and eventually I got into the business from there.
Q: How did Carmichael end up in Jackson Hole?
JD: He was from Pennsylvania. That, of course, if
you study the history of fly-fishing, is a very intricate
part [of fly-fishing history]. The Catskills, Pennsylvania,
the famous chalk streams, which very much mimic the
streams of England. . .Bob Carmichael was the product
of that area. [Writing about Wyoming,] in the book
Flies,... Boh says, "Imagine an area where you could
fish from April first to October thirty-first -which is
the fishing season-, and fish dry flies the whole entire
time, and never fish the same water twice.'''* That is the
way it was there in 1 949. Why did that guy move from
Pennsylvania? Because, in Pennsylvania, you know when
their trout fishing ends? In July. Why? Because the water
gets so hot that the only time you can catch trout at
that time is at night. Actually, it ends earlier. So,. . .those
people starred looking at the West. ..Carmichael came
out here and he brought all that Eastern tradition with
him, a little bit of catch-and-release. Bob had a rule:
you could only take one fish per person because that
was all one person could eat. . .The limit in those days
was 36 fish a day. When I started fishing, the limit was
down to 24 fish a day. When I started guiding, it was
12 fish per day... He saw what happened to the East
and he knew that it would happen [in Wyoming] ...He
started educating the people in Jackson ... that you could
do it a different way. He was a great teacher and what
he did more than anything was he inspired guides...
He got young men and... molded them and gave them
those ideals and then they ran the ball from there. A lot
of them... started their own shops
- For background, see Robert W. Rjghter, Crucible for Cotiservation:
The Struggle for Grand Teton National Park (Colorado Associated
Univcrsit)' Press, 1982). Also see Horace M. Albright, The Birth
of the National Park Service: The Founding Years. 1913-1933 (Salt
Lake Cit)-: Howe Bros., 1983).
The Moose Tackle Shop, now the Moose General Store.
" Here Dennis refers to a letter from Bob Carmichael ro J. Edson
Leonard, dated April 6, 1949, published in Leonard's Flies: Their
Origin, Natural History, Tying, Hooks, Patterns, and Selections of
Dry and Wet Flies, Nymphs, Streamers, Salmon Flies for Fresh and
Salt Water in North America and the British Isles, including a Dic-
tionaiy of 2200 Patterns (South Brunswick, New York: A.S. Barnes
and Co.; London: Thomas Yoselofif, Ltd., 1950), pp. 301-304.
Carmichael states that, "1 do not claim to have 'discovered'
Jacksons Hole dry fly fishing but will say that those who pre-
ceded me in the area with theit drys were very quiet about it." (p.
302).
Annals of Wyoming' The Wyoming History Journa: -- Spnnq 2004 2]_
Q: Did Bob Carmichael bring the East coast, dry-
fly tradition to the Rockies and how did that [impact]
local wet fly traditions?
JD: Well, the local people really didn't know much.
A lot of- [local fly-fishing] was based on Jackson
Lake. . .You got to understand that most oi the fishmg
in the West [was] in the lakes because that's where the
fish were. . .Most of the people started fishing lakes first
and then gravitated to the streams. So when Bob came
out there, most of it was in the Glen L. Evans^ school
of fly-fishing, which was snelled flies, very
unsophisticated, mostly wet flv-fishing. But Bob did
something that changed [local practices]. He brought
[the] Eastern dr\' fly [with him] but then he met these
people from California that had discovered Jackson.
California had a very sophisticated culture. . .t}'ing flies
for steelhead They had developed nymph-fishing
before, which was really an English deal, . . . because they
had very little dry-fly fishing, because vou didn't
catch. . .anadromous" fish. . .on dry flies. So. . .you took
those steelhead tactics and used them on regular
trout. ..Those people came and met Boh and introduced
him to those Western flies. One of the fly tiers that he
picked up was a guy by the name of Roy [M.] Donnelly,
who was a very well-known steelhead tier. He started
interacting with him on t)'ing diy flies and he became a
very big dry fly tier even though he had never tied dr\'
flies before. . .Then he met a guy b\' the name of Wayne
["Buz"] Buszek, who was a more contemporary tier,
so Bob had almost all his flies tied from California.
Don Martinez... did the "Irresistible" and... a nvmph
called the "Martinez Black. "...So Bob learned from
California, took his Eastern techniques and kinda
modeled his own Western way of fishing, as did a lot
of other people besides Bob throughout the West. They
took a little of this and a little of that, stirred it up in a
pot, and ended up with a particular method of
fishing... He always leaned more towards dry flies on
the river. Bob's collection of flies, I remember [it] just
like if we were standing there today. . .Most of the wet
flies were designed for the lake fishing. Now,. . .three-
quarters [of his guiding] was done on the lakes. He fly-
fished all the lakes, and they trolled flies, they cast flies.
Yellowstone, Lewis, Jenny, Bradley, Taggert...[Boh]
died in '59, his son [ran] the shop until '67,. . .using a
lot of those converted steelhead patterns, and we did a
lot of lake fishing. . .We learned to get better fish in the
rivers, and the Green [River] came on, and the South
Fork and the Bighorn Remember, the Bighorn is
a phenomenon, [but] it happened in the sixties. 1 fished
the Bighorn for pike when I went to college up there.
If someone had told me this was going to be a great
trout fishery, I'd have laughed. I went out there with
one of mv Indian friends who was on the baseball
team... We were catching northern pike like mad out
there. But that new...Yellowtail dam,...change[d] all
that... The histor)' of fishing is a relatively contemporary'
thing... Can you imagine., .thered be 12,000 fish per
mile... down there? There isn't a natural stream in this
countr}' except for Alaska that might have 1 2,000 fish
per mile.
Q: How do you fit personalK' in this tradition?
Which influences molded your approach to fly-fishing?
JD: When I was four years old, my mother had to
be put in the hospital. My father was a pilot and I ended
up with grandparents.. .We'd move ever}' year, so the
only stability 1 had in my life was fishing in Jackson.
My father eventually decided to go to Lowry [Air Force
Base, in Denver] and fly in the reserves and work for
Cart Brothers running their hunting department. So I
ended up in Colorado. . .where you'd get a great [fishing]
influence because Hank Roberts had a big [fly-nlng]
operation, and... a lot of people fish[ed] the [South]
Platte [That] was not a tailwater fisher}' then, just
the Platte River Canyon. So all of a sudden I found
myself having fishing not only in the summer, hut
partially in the winter, and [experienced] the influence
of fly-tying. When I was nine years old, my grandfather
gave me this fly-tying kit, and I struggled with it... I
tised to go down to the library in Denver. If you lived
in Thornton where I lived you weren't allowed to check
out a book.. .so I'd have to draw pictures. I looked at
the books and there . . . was nothing out there to teach
anything. I'll never forget going to a sport show in
Glen L. Evans, Inc., was a well-known fly manut.icturer based in
Caldwell, Idaho.
'' Sea-run fish.
Buszek established his fly shop in V'isalia. California, in 1947.
22 Annals of Wyoming: The VVyomino Miginn.. innmai - Snnnn 200J
"^Wl
Fly-fishing for Lal<e Trout on Jackson Lake. Steplnen N. Leek Collection, American Heritage Center.
Denver. A mI was U'in^ this "Irresistible" —she was a
Japanese lady- and I was trying to look at it and every
time I looked at it she would hold her hand over it. I
said, '"VC'Tiy are yoti even tying here?" "Well, Mr. Roberts
allowed me to tie, but I'm not allowed to show this
fly." And that influenced me so much, that you would
keep inlormation away from people, for proprietary
reasons... I learned to tie flies, had a few people show
me, but mostly I learned it on my own. . .There [weren't]
many books, what books we could grab on to
influenced us...
I got into Jackson right behind Carmichael. There
was nobody there to take his place... I kinda stepped
into that, went out and made a reputation. I was ver)'
lucky that Curt Gowdy"^ put me on a TV show, 77;!?
American Sportsman, in '68. That kinda gave me the
confidence. I started the shop when I was nineteen, and
I kinda just learned my way through it... If I had stayed
in [college], I probably would have lost that
opportunit}'. Somebody else would have taken it. It's
just fate. I leel that I've had an influence on fly-
fishing...There's a guy by the name of Lefty Kreh, 76
years old, he's the most recognized name in fly-fishing.
He had a day job until he was sixty; he wrote the sports
column for the Baltimore 5?/;?... and he wrote for all
the magazines... Finally, in his sixties, he reached a
pinnacle in the sport, and his income at that point
would have equaled what a first year lineman, not
even... [on] a pro team, [might make]. So there's no
money in this. . .None of the people in this sport got
in it for money, they got in it because they loved it,
and they had a day job. . .Look at Gary Borger' , he
was a college professor until last year... Dave
Whitlock'" was a commercial artist. ..Gary
LaFontaine" was a clinical psychologist for the
Montana prison system... Mike Lawson'' was a
school teacher before he opened his shop. He
taught... industrial arts... Most of these guys are
terrific teachers because that's what they did. So this
kinda evolved as. . .a boutique type business. If there
* Famous Wvoming-born sports broadcaster.
" GatT,- Borger is professor-emeritus at the Universit)' of Wisconsin,
Wausau, and a well-known fly-fishing author, teacher, video
producer, and tackle designer.
'" Dave Whitlock gave up his position as a research chemist to
become a fly-fishing artist, writer, tier, and teacher. He owns the
Whitlock Fly-Fishing School in the Arkansas Ozarks.
" Gary LaFontaine, a pioneering fly-fishing author, taught behav-
ioral psychology at the Universit}' of Montana until his death in
2002. A fly-fishing book collection was established at the Ameri-
can Heritage Center of the University of Wyoming to honor his
achievements.
'- Mike Lawson, a well-known Idaho flv-fisherman, tier, and au-
thor, owns the Henry's Fork Angler's Shop in Last Chance, Idaho.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
[are] any true professionals, I'd have to call them guides.
Now we've got about five kids that work [or us that
guide in the summer here, in the winter in Argentina,
in the oil-seasons in Costa Rica. That would be a
professional They're making their whole entire living
on fishing. And you know what, they last about six
years, doing that, because its such a hard deal they just
can't handle it. They start getting really serious burnout.
Dennis on Conservation and the Fly-Flshing
Industry
JD: There's a movement among... a lot ol the
young biologists [of the Fish and Wildlife Service] that
we should go back to the native species. Untortunately,
we've built up a sport fishing industry, which has been
perpetuated since our founding lathers wanted to change
fishing in Pennsylvania. . . [Michael] Finley' ' and I, the
former superintendent of Yellowstone [National Park],
had some big talks about that, because we funded a
Yellowstone introduction program through the One
Fly Foundation. ''...[Many local guides] lelt that [the
Park was planning to go] in and tak[e] all the browns
and rainbows out ol the Madison and Firehole River.
Of course, I went immediately to Finley and I said,
"Finley,. ..don't take away a fishery."... What's
happening within the Fish and Wildlife Service is you
have the younger ones coming up with a little bit
different views. So there is a very big conflict. . .and we re
feeling a little bit threatened.
In Denver, for years and years, they had the fly tackle
dealers' association meeting, then it went to Salt Lake,
now it's back in Denver... It kinda brought the
competition level up and also changed the
magazines. . .There is no sport on earth that has more
books. Consequently, there is no sport on earth that
has more magazines. . . [There are] probably two dozen
fly-fishing-oriented magazines It's funny, because the
readership is very small... Out of five million fly-
fishermen, they have about 180,000 people that read
fly-fishing magazines... Yet 75% of [the fly-fishing
tackle companies'] advertising budget is going to be for
those magazines... They spend way too much money
on magazine advertising. . .Yet those magazines are still
out there. We all feel, among the professionals, [that]
there need to be about a third of those matrazines, and
that the manufacturers should be putting more
money into. . .education but, you know, people
in the magazines feel differently. They have three
magazines on saltwater fly-fishing. It would be nice
to have one, but three.'
Business has got to grow. Now rod
manufacturers [have] made [fly-fishing] into an
industry... It is a small business. I guess there are
people that want to make a living out of it and
there's a desire for us to have nice rods, nice lines
and stuff. Anv business that doesn't grow is not
healthy. . .The kind of people that really make the
business go are the kind of people that make any
business go. Unfortunately, those kind of people
don't want to get caught in a business they don't
make very much money in. Consequently, )'ou don't
get but very few people who know how to reall)'
run a business. [The rod company] Sage is a prime
example of a good-run one. 1 remember sitting there
with some friends of mine and one of them happens
to be the leading lawv'er in Hollywood. I watched
him go from just being a lawyer with Disney to
being the top guy. f^e loves fly-fishing... He has a
lot of power in the motion picture industry. . .He's
Harrison Ford's lawyer, he gets 10"o of everything
Harrison Ford makes, 1 5%....And another guy was
a big leading New York investor. . . .They're all worth
a fortune, have big beautiful homes in Jackson, their
own little streams. Another guy was one of the
presidents of Deloitte and louche, and then )iie.
And they're saying, "You know, jack, you really
made a mistake here. You should have a place in
Beverlv Hills. Fhink about the amount of money
vou could make in California. " 1 said, "Look, you
guys, ...I think you're nuts because here I am in
lackson. Yeah, 1 don't make anwhere near what
vou guvs make but vou knciw, I had for 25 years
all that that vou guvs have had to pay millions to
come and enjov and vou only tjet to do it on
" Yellowstone National Park Superintendent from 1194-2001.
'■' The One-Flv Foundation manages funds earmarked tor consen'a-
tion projects and raised during the annual Jackson Hole One Fly
angling competition. The competition, which statted in 1986,
involves lly-Fishing teams that Fish with only one tly per person.
Participants include tly-Fishing professionals as well as celebrities
and politicians such as Dick Chenev, Al Simpson, and Curt Gowdy.
Annals of VVvoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
weekends"... And they go, "Never thought of it that
wav." "In one week you do [more] contracts in the
motion picture business, more than what in ten years
the flv-fishing industry brings in." At that time, he just
got through handhng the sale to SONY of Columbia
Pictures. . . I think it's hard for them to think small.
Q: Some people say that the movie A River Runs
Through It^" led to the fly-fishing boom of the nineties.
Do \'ou think that's true?
JD: I think it was evolvbig that way. ..After the
war people had a lot more recreation time,. ..the
spinning reel came in, and there was a real move to go
out and fish. Because spin fishing was so easy..., the
emphasis was not on quality, it was on just taking fish.
[There] was a lot of. ..consumerism. It mirrors the
consumerism in the United States, two cars in every
garage and all that. ..But what. . .changed fly-fishing is
the changing ol the lines. . .When you went out in the
thirties, forties, fift:ies, you had to grease your fly line.
It was a long process. And you had to soak your leaders.
Two things happened: the invention of good nylon,
which. . .provided leaders that vou didn't have to soak
for an hour, and the inventing of the plastic coated fly
line. Then the fiberglass rod came along, which made
fly rods portable. Before that, it was too expensive. A
cane fly rod would have been [in] today's dollars abotit
rwo thousand dollars. . .The cost of a fly rod has gone
way down. . . .There were ver\' [few] books. . . But all of
a sudden in the seventies there was this great interest in
doing books on fly-tying, books on getting better, and
[a] few people [saw an] opportunity. . .to teach. . .That's
when it started gaining momentum. And then the
guiding phenomenon started. People had enough
money and they figured that they didn't have any time
to learn; they just hired a guide... So the guiding
operations gradually grew. That takes off about sixties,
seventies. . .Another thing happened, it's quality water:
taking the Madison, making it catch-and-release,
identifying in the early eighties waters that needed
protection. The change in the attittide of people. ..[The
catch-and-release ethic] appealed to a new generation
of Americans... It started [in the eighties] with the
guides. The guides realized that you couldn't bonk the
fish over the head and keep coming back there and
catching them The guides kinda perpetuated on the
rivers the catch-and-release ethic mainly out of self-
protection.
Everything kinda all came together at once in the
movie, it just all started... gaining in popularity, and
the movie just kinda kick-started it to the general
public I think what happened is it just all came
together at the same time. The books got better. . . [They
first] attempted to [make the movie] in '81, '82. It
would not have had the impact [at that time]... What
A River runs Throiigl) It [reflected was the longing for]
a simpler way of life... That's when we saw the
movement out to Jackson. You can't blame the movie
[for] that. People were looking to get back to a simpler
way of life out West. . .1 think it was just a time waiting
to come. Fly-fishing kinda hit it... In 1980, William
Hurt tried to get it, the actor. He was good friends
with Glenn Close, who lives in Big Piney. He got to
tying flies with my book. . .and then met Glenn through
a Broadway play. He came out to [Glenn's father,] Bill
[Dr. William T] Close,"' [who] is about as pure a fly
fisher as a guy can fmd. Here's a guy who's fished all
through England, who [was] a missionary doctor in
Africa, discovered the Ebola virus, he's a superstar in
his own line... He taught Bill a lot about fly-fishing
and [its] history... He read A River Runs Through It,
and it just blew him away. It was always Bill's favorite
book, and I think he tried to get it... [But] Bill just
wasn't the personality and the old Norman was kinda
his own man. The movie portrays him as this gentle
guy and his brother [as] the wild guy. But Norman
didn't have a lot of friends. He was pretty ornery.. . .He
was a typical writer. . .So I think Bill just didn't hit all
the right buttons vvith him. I remember about '86, '87,
[Robert] Redford took an interest in it, and he did like
four, five years of research. . . Before he died, [Maclean]
'■ The 1992 movie, directed by Robert Redford, was based on
Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It (Chicago: Univer-
sity of Chicago Press, 1976). Maclean was a Universit)' of Chi-
cago Professor of English. He died in 1990. His son John vehe-
mently denies chat Maclean is in any way responsible for the
fly-fishing boom of the nineties. See Gerry Merriam, "Norman
Maclean," www.missoulian. com/specials/ 1 OOmontanans/list/
018.html.
'" William T. Close was a missionary physician in the Congo for
sixteen years (1960-1976). His team helped contain the first
Ebola virus outbreak of 1976.
Annals of Wyoming- The Wyoming Histcr/ Journal - Spring 200-
sold the rights to Redford...! worked a. lot with
Redford's people. They wanted me to be the advisor
on it, and I told them I didn't have the time or the
ability to do it... I did think it needed to be [shot] in
Montana and it needed to have somebody who lived
[there]...! recommended John Bailey' and that's who
they eventually hired. The reason [the movie] turned
out the way it is, is because ot John Bailey. . .Actually,
Jerry Siem did most of- the casting... He's the guide
and rod designer. . .He worked. . .as a guide and then he
went up and worked tor Winston before he went to
Sage... John had Redford's ear. He said, "This is the
way it's gotta be written and you can't Hollywoodize
this. It's gotta be the way the book is. This book is like
a Bible to a lot ol people."
I remember getting the book from Norman... He
gave me this book, [and] he says, "Well, it's not much
of a book, it's just kinda a story of my family. . .All my
life I've tried to make sense ol what happened to my
brother, and my father always [told me I] got to write
about this. I'm just old enough now and I'm done with
being a college profossor."...He just kinda minimized
it. He says, "I think my best stor)' is the one on the
forest service. [The story A River Runs Through It is]
too personal. . .1 had to change some things just to make
it work." Actually, the way his brother died [in the story]
is not the way he really died. I think he just was an
alcoholic So, it A River Runs Through It wouldn't
have got made, somebody [else] would have tried
to. ..get [fly-fishing] going. It would have
happened... They've been trying to get A River Why
made. [The author, David James] Duncan says every
time he turns around he's got somebody going to do
Owner of Dan Bailcv's FIv Shop in Livingston, Montana. Son of
legendary Hv-fislierman Dan Bailev.
Afteran 1890 planting in
Shoshone and Lewis lakes in
Yellowstone in 1 890, lake trout
or mackinaw proliferated and
soon colonized Jackson and
Jenny lakes, often negatively
affecting the native cutthroat
population. The lake trout, a
voracious predator that has
been known to reach a weight
of more than 1 00 pounds, today
threatens the native population
of Yellowstone cutthroat in
Yellowstone Lake. Courtesy
Amencan Heritage Center.
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal - Spring 2004
By his
reckoning, Finis
stocked two and
a half million
trout fingerlings
in 314 lakes
during the
1930s. He went
on to hike,
climb, photo-
graph, fish, and
guide others
through the
region for half a
century.
"Fishing Gorge Lal<e is a great reward for the effort required to get to it. It has rainbow trout
which migrated downstream from both Seneca and Hobbs Lakes. Then they also followed
downstream into Suicide Lake which can only be reached from Gorge, unless one wants to
commit suicide. That's why I named it Suicide Lake." Finis Mitchell quote. Courtesy
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
In 1931, six horses plodded up a rough trail, each loaded with two milk
cans full of water. In each can, a thousand inch-long trout sloshed
beneath a layer of burlap. When the pack train reached the shore of a
small alpine lake, Finis Mitchell unloaded the cans and tipped them
into the cold mountain waters, and the tiny fish scattered into the depths.
Those fish were entering a new world. Almost none of the hundreds of
lakes that dot Wyoming's Wind River range had indigenous populations of
trout. In MitchelFs words, "these waters were all virgin."' By his reckoning.
Finis stocked two and a half million trout fingerlings in 314 lakes during the
1930s. He went on to hike, climb, photograph, fish, and guide others
through the region for half a century. Finis set out to make himself the
range's acknowledged expert, perhaps even a legend, and he succeeded." For
many hikers and fisherman. Finis is an inspiration, a kind of Johnny Appleseed
in overalls who could still be found walking his beloved range decades after
Finis Mitchell, Wind River Trails: A hikingand fhhinggnide to the nutny traib and lakes of the Wind
River Range in Wyoming (Salt Lake Cit)': Wasatch Publishers, 1975), p. 8. "Finis" is pronounced
with a long initial "i," it rhymes with "highness."
Mitchell repeated "314" many times; e.g. Pinedale Roundup, March 3, 1949; Mitchell, Wind
River Trails, pp. 8-9; and personal interview with Finis Mitchell by Mark Junge, July 3, 1989, Oral
History 2010, Wyoming State Archives, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources
[hereafter cited as OH 2010]. During the early 1970s, Finis created a list of the lakes he stocked
for David Dutek, a WGFD fisheries biologist in Green River; the list names about ninety-five
lakes (there is some ambiguity) and is labeled "Finis Mitchell records," n.p., ca. 1972, copy in
author's possession [hereafter cited as "Finis Mitchell records"]; David Dufek personal commu-
nications with author, April 12, August 7, and August 9, 2002. The discrepancy may be the result
of inadequate record keeping or the long time gap. Irv Lozier, a longtime friend of Mitchell's,
claims that "Finis was almost determined to be a legend in his own time"; personal interview with
Irv Lozier, Cora, Wyoming, July 17, 2002. Rebecca Woods, author of Walking the Winds: A
Hiking and Fishing Guide to Wyoming's Wind River Range, 2"'' ed. (Jackson, Wyoming: White
Willow, 1998), believes that Mitchell knew the range "better than almost anyone, myself in-
cluded"; Rebecca Woods, personal communication with author, August 2, 2002.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journai -- Spring 2004
his good deed.' By the 1970s, some called him the
"Man of the Mountains" or even "Lord of the Winds."
His trout stocking was one of the things of which he
was most proud.'
Some environmentalists and fisheries biologists,
however, believe introduced fish have compromised the
natural or wild quantities of fishless lakes throughout
the West, and fisheries managers confront a variety of
dilemmas caused by the exotics. In Mitchell's case,
however, most people seem to have chosen to believe
that the descendants of his fish are both natural and
wild. However he is viewed, Mitchell helped to shape
a wilderness as he built his legend.
The Wind River range in west-central Wyoming
contains rwenry-three peaks above thirteen thousand
feet and is part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
On the Pacific side of the Continental Divide, the
federally designated Bridger Wilderness contains most
of the lakes Mitchell stocked. Nearly all of the waters
of the Bridger are part of the Green River drainage, the
largest tributary of the Colorado. The steep, rockv
outlets of mountain lakes often formed waterfalls which
blocked native fishes from migrating upstream into
those waters.^
The range has a long human history as a commons,
perhaps as much as fourteen thousand years worth.
Archaic Indian peoples hunted and gathered edible
plants there, and Shoshone bands hunted, carved tools,
and walked its passes.'' Trappers found the region rich
in beaver, and several of the famous 1830s rendezvous
were held on the upper Green River. By the 1870s, a
few people had settled north from the railroad line,
and soon ranchers were grazing cattle and sheep in the
openings, parks, and meadows of the range. "^ Its vast
watersheds received federal protection when President
Theodore Roosevelt added much of the range to the
Yellowstone Park Timber Land Reserve. The Winds
thus became one of the early pieces of the permanent
public domain."
MitchelFs family joined the small influx of
immigrants in 1906. Finis' father Henry traded his
forty acre Missouri farm for 160 acres in Wyoming,
sight unseen. Henry, his wife Fay, seven-year-old Mary,
five-year-old Finis, and toddler Dennis confronted their
patch of "sagebrush and sand and junk," and Fay begged
to go back home.'" Finis wrote years later that the
Winds were already exerting a strong pull on him: "I
prayed that father would win this argument. So I would
' I borrowed the "Johnny Appleseed " comparison from the artist
Mark Vinsei; it appears at http://www.vinsel.com/082599.HTM,
accessed Januan,' 2S, 2002; Mark Vinsei, personal communication
with author, July 24, 2002.
■* See, for example, James R. Udall, "Finis Mitchell, Lord of the
Winds," Audubon Quly 1986): 72-88; Finis Mitchell slideshow at
Casper Rotary Club, October 16, 1989, Oral History 1443, Wyo-
ming State Archives [hereafter cited as OH 1443]. For "Man O'
the Mountains," see Mitchell, Wind River Trails, p. 3.
^ Joe Kelsey, W'vomiiig's Wind River Range (Helena, Montana: Ameri-
can and World Geographic Publishing, 1988), pp. 7-12, 32-35;
D.B. Shimkin, "Wind River Shoshone Ethnogeography," Anthro-
pological Records 5 no. 4 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: Universir)' of
California Press, 1 947), pp. 262-64; Ron Remmick, Wyoming Game
and Fish Department, "Managing the BWA Fisheries." n.p., 1994,
copy in author's possession; and Roland A. Knapp, Paul Stephen
Corn, and Daniel E. Schindler, "The Introduction of Nonnative
Fish into Wilderness Lakes: Good Intentions, Conflicting Man-
dates, and Unintended Consequences," Ecosystems 4 (2001): 275.
The Sweerwater River drains a small portion of the Winds to the
North Platte River.
" James R. Schoen, "Archeological Investigations m the High Coun-
try: Sur\'ey Results from the Bridger, Gros Ventre and Teton Wil-
derness Areas, Bridger-Teton National Forest," April 1998, copy in
author's possession, p. 2; Shimkin, "Wind River Shoshone
Ethnogeography," pp. 24^-84; Ake Hultkrantz, "The Shoshones in
the Rocky Mountain Area," Annals of Wyoming }i^ (April 1961):
33-35; and David VIcek, Bureau of Land Management archaeolo-
gist, personal communication with author, July 3, 2002.
' William H. Goetzmann, Exploration and Empire: The Explorer and
the Scientist in the Winning of the American West (New York and
London: WW Norton and Company, 1978), pp. 116, 196-197,
242-43; William H. Goetzmann, Army Exploration in the American
West. 1803-1863 (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1 991 ),
pp. 52, 81-82; and Warren A. Beck and Ynez D. Haase, Historical
Atlas of the American West (Norman and London: L'niversity of Okla-
homa Press, 1989), map 26.
' Robert G. Rosenberg, Wyoming's Last Frontier: Sublette Count}', Wyo-
ming: A Settlement History (Glendo, Wyoming: High Plains Press,
1990), pp. 17-41, 85-86; David Vlcek, "The New- Fork Wagon
Road: A Nineteenth Century Southwestern Wyoming Lifeline to
the Union Pacific Railspur," paper delivered at Russ Tanner Sym-
posium on Southwest Wyoming, Society for Historical Archaeol-
ogy meetings. Salt Lake City, 1999, copy in author's possession, pp.
2-4.
" Harold K. Steen, "The Origins and Significance of the National
Forest System," in Origins of the National Forests: A Centennial Sym-
posium, ed. Harold K. Steen (Durham: Forest Histon' Society,
1992), p. 7; Dan Flores, The Natural West: Environmental History in
the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains (Norman: University of Okla-
homa Press, 2001), pp. 1 19-22.
'" Quote from OH 2010. The Boulder Canal Company promised
"Irrigable Land - Best on Earth": PinedaU Roundup, August 30.
1905. The canal company failed, and many homesteads only re-
ceived adequate water years later; Pinedale Roundup, July 15,1 926.
See also Finis Mitchell, "My Life," a fragmenrani' manuscript trans-
lated by Sandra Snow, email to author of July 16. 2002 [hereafter
cited as Mitchell, "Mv Life"]; and patent no. 568, Sublette Count)',
"Deeds Transcribed Book 4," p. 296, no. 31942, recorded August
20, 1912.
28 Annals of Wyoming' The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
o;et into those massive mountains.""
The Mitchells scratched a precarious living from
the soil, which was too high, cold, and dry for most
farming. On an elk hunt in 1909, Finis climbed his
first mountain and gained a memorable look at ranks
of snow-capped peaks. Nearly all of the alpine lakes he
could see were barren of fish, but the lower waters
already contained a mix of exotic and native species,
including the only indigenous trout, the Colorado River
Cutthroat. A neighbor taught Finis to fish, and two
lifelong obsessions — climbing and fishing — were
born.'-
Wvoming's officials had decided decades earlier to
maximize the production of territorial waters, and the
public eagerly joined in a consensus that lasted the better
part of a century. The legislature created a Board of
Fish Commissioners, which eventually became the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD). The
board reported in 1883 that "a majority of our streams
are sterile of good fish, whilst a remainder in many
places are nearly exhausted of a once bountiful supply."
They concluded that managed fishing could boost
Wyoming's immigration and its infant tourist
economy' ' The board decided to "plant" exotic species,
including "sunfish, wall-eyed pike and trout, carp, brook
trout and bass, ..." Fish were a crop like corn or wheat
to be nurtured in the "soil" of Wyoming's waters. The
territory imported rainbow, brook, and lake trout, all
native to North America, along with browns from
Europe, and planted them in waters throughout the
territory.'""
The first known stocking in what became the
Bridger Wilderness occurred in 1907, when cutthroat
trout were planted in North Fork Lake.'^ When the
state fish commissioner surveyed the Wind River
mountain lakes in 1914, he reported five hundred
fishless lakes, although several of the larger lakes along
the front had "natural" (i.e. naturally reproducing)
populations of cutthroat, brook, and rainbow trout."'
Trout fry' were brought to Rock Springs by
railroad and transferred to private automobile or trucks.
Local ranchers and sportsmen drove them north,
accompanied by National Forest Service rangers, who
supervised the planting.'^ The region got its own
branch hatchery at Daniel in 1917. Local papers issued
blanket appeals to anyone willing to retrieve fry and
plant them in area waters.''-' One editor grumbled
about the Winds' unused fishing potential: "Fier
mountain lakes are well-nigh numberless. Today many
. . . streams are without trout, and the number of
lakes without them is appalling [sic]. . . . Fish are as
' ' Mitchell, "My Life."
' - On indigenous fish, see Patrick C. Trotter, Cutthroat: Native Trout of
the West (Boulder: Colorado Associated University Press, 1987),
pp. 10, 151-62; Patrick C. Trotter, "Cutthroat Trout," in Trout,eA..
Judith Stolz and Judith Schnell (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole
Books, 1991); Shimkin, "Wind River Shoshone Ethnogeography,"
p. 268; and "Native Fish Species of Wyoming," Wyoming Game
and Fish Department Website, http://gfstate.wy.us/HTML/fish/
native.htm. accessed August 1, 2002. On Finis' climbing and fish-
ing, see OH 1443; Mitchell, Wind River Trails, p. 6; OH 2010;
Mitchell, "My Life"; and Finis Mitchell, Letter to the Editor, Pinedale
Roundup. October 9, 1980.
' ' Quoted in Neal Blair, The History of Wildlife Management in Wyo-
;H/tt^ (Cheyenne: Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 1987), p.
22. See also Robert W. Wiley, "Wyoming Fish Management, 1869-
1993," administtative report for Wyoming Game and Fish Depart-
ment Fish Division, July 1993, copy in author's possession, pp. 1-2,
Appendix 1, p. 22.
' ^ Blair, Wildlife Management, pp. 24, 30; John Byorth, "Trout Shangri-
La: Remaking the Fishing in Yellowstone National Park, Montana
The Magazine ofWestern History 52 (Summer 2002): 38-47; Robert
Henry Smith, "Rainbow trout," in Trout, pp. 304-23; William A.
Flick, "Btook trout," in Trout, pp. 196-207; Charles Harold Olver,
"Lake trout," in Trout, pp. 286-99; and Robert A. Bachman, "Brown
trout," in Trout, pp. 208-29.
' ^ Ralph Hudelson, Galen Boyer, and Jack McMillan, "High Moun-
tain Lake and Stteam Survey of the Btidger Wilderness Area: 1969-
1975," Completion Report: D.J. Report F-l-R-8; F-lR-9; F-IR-
1 0; F- 1 -R- 11 ; F- 1 -R- 1 2 (Cheyenne: Wyoming Game and Fish De-
partment Fish Division, 1980) [hereafter cited as Hudelson, Boyer,
and McMillan, "High Mountain Survey"] . Finis Mitchell was among
those who contributed written reports for this survey; k.
'" Wiley, "Wyoming Fish Management," p. 5.
'" "Fry" refers to a larval trour after it has absorbed its yolk sac;
"fingerling" can mean a tiout up to one year old. Older sources
sometimes use the terms interchangeably. See Theodore C. Bjornn,
"Spawning and development," in Trout, pp. 60-64; and Trout, s.v.
"fingerling," p. 368.
' * For examples of planting, see Pinedale Roundup, March 1 6, June 8,
and June 22, 1911, September 25, 1913, July 2, August 6, and
Octobet 8, 1914, and October 7, 1915. See also Hudelson, Boyer,
and McMillan, "High Mountain Survey" 11.8, 12.12, 12.13, 12.15,
and 12.22.
'" On the hatchery, see Barbara Pape, "Daniel Fish Hatchery," in
Daniel Wyoming: The First Hundred Years, 1900-2000, ed. Hayden
H. Huston (Daniel: Daniel Community Center, 2001), pp. 130-
31; Pinedale Roundup, February 8, 1917; and Blair, Wildlife Man-
agement, p. 53. For appeals, see Pinedale Roundup, April 25, 1924,
June 25, 1925, September 30, 1926, August 18, 1927, and August
9, 1928. State officials often thanked those who assisted; see, for
instance, Carl Lund, "Fish Hatcheries Department Report," in
Bruce Nowlin, "Biennial Report of the State Game and Fish Com-
missioners of the State of Wyoming, 1927-1928," p. 35.
Annals o'' Wyoming' The 'A'yominq Hislor/ Journal - Spring 2004
29
necessary as scenic attractions to lure the tourist."""
The Mitchell himiiy benefited from this early
stocking, but by 1^)IS, Henry had abandoned his
troubled farm and brought the family to Rock Springs.
When Henry became ill, Finis had to leave school after
the eighth grade to find work.'' The Union Pacific
Railroad hired him in 1923, and two years later he
married Emma Nelson. When the Depression hit. Finis
was laid ofi in 1930. He tell back on his wilderness
skills he had learned as a boy. A family friend suggested
that he open a fish camp, so Finis, Emma, and Henry
Mitchell obtained a Forest Service lease to establish a
camp at Mud Lake in Big Sandy Openings, |ust inside
the boundaries of Brida:er National Forest." Finis
quickly found, however, that only five nearby lakes had
native trout, so he and his father attempted a
cumbersome stocking process. They catight seventeen
grown cutthroats in Big Sandy Lake and packed them
to nearby fishless lakes. Two years later. Finis caught
one of those emigrant trout: "He looked like you had
blowed him up with a pump he was so fat."-' Soon
after that first stocking attempt, Walter Brewer,
superintendent of the Daniel hatchery, came by the
camp. Brewer offered to bring fiy to the Mitchells if
they wotild plant them. Finis was thus in a well-
established tradition of voluntary stocking of state-
hatched fish by private citizens into lakes on the public
domain.-^
By Finis' oft-told count, during the next seven
years he and his helpers planted 314 alpine lakes,
mostly in the Big Sandy, East Fork, and Boulder Creek
drainages about nine thousand feet. Many other local
residents stocked area waters, including Finis' brother,
-'" Pmediile Roundup, ]<m\.u\ry 18, 1923.
'' Warranrv' Deed no. 40287, Sublette Count)', "Deeds IVanscribed
Book 4," p. .V9. Finis took correspondence courses in unknown
subjects and taught himself to type; Piuediile Roundup, August 3,
1922; personal interview with William Mitchell, Pinedale, July
16, 2002.
"' Mitchell, Wind River Trails, p. 7; Rack Springs Daily Rocket-Mmer,
December 2, 1987; and OH 2010. Henn,- and Fay Mitchell di-
vorced at some point before this; personal interview with Anna
Dew. July 30, 2002, by telephone from Glendive, Montana. Anna
Dew is the daughter of Finis and Emma.
-"■ Mitchell, Wn,d River Trails, p. 11; Udall, "Fims Mitchell," p. 79.
■^ Although Mitchell never names Walter Brewer outright in the
sources found, he does refer to "the state hatchery," "the superin-
tendent," and planting fish with "Walt." The Daniel hatcherj' was
the nearest and most convenient, and Brewer is known to have
planted many waters on the Wind River front. OFi 20 1 0; Pinedale
Roundup, September 2^,1 '^30, December 31.1 93 1 ; Pape, "Daniel
Fish Hatchery," pp. 130-31; and Ralph Faler. personal communi-
cation with author, July 5. 2002.
The exactness ot Finis' figures suggests that he kept careful records.
He kept extensive diaries and log books, but access to those was
not available; Anna Dew, personal communication with author,
July "i. 2002. For others, I relied on the following sources: Jim
Washam, personal communication with author, July 31, 2002;
Alta Faler, personal communication with author, July 8. 2002;
Ralph Faler, personal communication with author, July 5, 2002;
Cliff Brewer, personal communicition with author, August 2, 2002;
Irv Lozier intei'view; Anna Dew interview; Mitchell, Wind River
Trails, p. 81; and OH 2010.
'The president of the
Westinghouse Electnc
Supply Company fishes
Pole Creek as it enters
1000-lsland Lake, Pole
Creek is the mam stream
which crosses under U.S.
187 one mile east of the
Pinedale Airport. At that
point it is carrying, as
near as I can count up
in my mind, the waters
from 136 mountain
lakes." Finis Mitchell
quote. Courtesy
Amencan Heritage
Center, University of
Wyoming.
30 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
Dennis.-^ Finis wrote that the hatchery might bring
him "rainbow, cutthroat, CaUfornia golden, brook,
or German brown" trout.-*' His favorite, and the
favorite of many fishermen for its beaur)^ rarity, and
excellent taste, was the California golden, native only
to the Kern River watershed. -
For six decades. Finis insisted that he had planted
fish ("FREE for all people") for the benefit of fiiture
fishermen.-*^ An interviewer provoked an indignant
denial when he suggested that the stocking was a business
decision, but Finis and Emma later agreed that it was
indeed part of their effort to earn a living.-' The full
answer must include a little of both altruism and self-
interest. While the success of the camp depended on
thriving populations of trout, the payoff from stocking
fmgerlings was years away and uncertain at best. The
Mitchells were thinking both of short-term gains and
generations of fishing to come. And, as Finis' legend
grew, he probably took a longer view of what he had
done.
When the war brought better economic times in
1940, the railroad rehired Finis and the family moved
back to Rock Springs, where he and Emma lived for
nearly the rest of their lives. '" With a steady paycheck,
the mountains ceased to be the means by which Finis
made a living, and became again a source of beauty,
spiritual solace, and recreation. As soon as the snows
melted. Finis headed north on virtually every weekend
and vacation. " He meant to do more than just enjoy
the scenery, however. In 1949, he wrote that "it has
been my sole ambition since I retired from the fishing
business in 1937, to master this rugged and massive of
all Rocky Mountain ranges." "Master" meant hiking
every trail, climbing every mountain, and exploring
ever)' watershed, until his knowledge of the place was
encyclopedic. ^-
Finis' standing as a backcountry expert grew over
the decades, thanks in large part to his vigorous
promotion of his favorite region (and by extension
himself). By the early 1940s, he was presenting
slideshows and giving talks to local groups. Invitations
came from people he had met at the fish camp or on
the trail. As his reputation spread, he addressed audiences
across the country.''' Trout stocking was an important
element in his story. In the same 1949 letter in which
he laid out his goals, Finis was already rehearsing the
legend that he would repeat countless times:
"Everyone knows I operated the first fishing camp
to be established on the Pacific slope of our Wind
River Range. . . . They also know that ... we packed
out on pack horses 2 million trout with which we
stocked 314 individual lakes, and from these through
connecting streams, another 700 became stocked. "^''
Finis also reported running totals of his Wind River
experience. In 1987, he estimated that he had hiked
fifteen thousand miles, climbed 276 peaks, and worn
out twelve cameras taking 120,000 photographs.'^
Finis became especially well known after 1975,
when he published Wind River Trails, the first general
guidebook to the region, which included a short
autobiography.''' The 1970s and 1980s brought
magazine and newspaper profiles, an honorary
Doctorate of Law degree from the University of
Wyoming, and awards from the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Izaak Walton League, the
National Forest Service, and the state legislatures of
^'' Mitchell, Wind River Trails, p. 8.
-" "Finis Mitchell records"; OH 2010. On goldens, see Phil Pister,
"Golden trout," in Trout, pp. 280-85.
■' For instance, in a slideshow videotaped in 1987; "Finis Mitchell
videorecording no. 3," Hay Library, Western Wyoming College.
"FREE . . ." appears on "Mitchell Peak," postcard no. 110114,
distributed by Great Outdoot Publishing, Pinedale.
'' OH 2010. His children both told the author that Finis' original
motivation was indeed economic; William Mitchell interview; Anna
Dew interview.
'" Anna Dew interview; OH 2010; and Joe and Lynn Thomas, per-
sonal communication with author, July 8, 2002. Joe Thomas re-
membered that his father purchased Finis Mitchell's Mud Lake
lease and equipment in 1940 and operated the Big Sandy Lodge
there. Finis spent his last several years in a senior home in nearby
Green River; John R. Waggener, personal communication with
author, October 14, 2002.
" OH 2010; William Mitchell interview; and Anna Dew interview.
'- Pinedale Roundup, March 3, 1949. See also "Finis Mitchell
videorecording no. 1," Hay Library, Western Wyoming College;
Woods, Walking the Winds, "First Ascents," appendix, pp. 225-26;
Irv Lozier interview; and William Mitchell interview.
'^ William Mitchell interview; Anna Dew interview. For examples of
slideshows across the nation, see Superior [Wisconsin] Evening
Telegram, September 28, 1979; "Itinerary-Finis Mitchell-Georgia
Visit-November 1980," n.p., OH 2010 file, Wyoming State Ar-
chives.
'" Pinedale Roundup, March 3, 1949.
^^ Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miner, December 2, 1987. William Mitchell
reports that the photograph total is closer to a quarter million;
William Mitchell interview.
* Melvin Davis, personal communication with author, October 8,
2002; Jeff Grathwohl, director of University of Utah Press, per-
sonal communication with author, August 2, 2002. The latter
press purchased WiW^/Wr75a/Zffrom Wasatch Publishing in 1999.
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004 31
Wyoming and California.^" Perhaps his proudest
honor was the designation oi "Mitchell Peak," a Wind
Rivers mountain Finis climbed many times. ''' During
the 1980s, age finally began to catch up with him,
and by the early 1990s, he was too trail tor further
hiking. Mitchell died on November 13, 1995, one
day before his ninety-fourth birthday.''
Finis lived to see many changes in the management
of Wyoming's fisheries. Fie was aware Irom an early
date of the possible failures of stocking. His son
remembers catching rvvo hundred fish in a single evening
in 1945 trom Middle Fork Lake, which Finis had
stocked with brook trout. "They were starving to
death. . . . These high lakes don't produce food last
enough to support a big population."^" Finis vowed
"to lure enough anglers ... to at least partially save the
millions ol accumulated trout which has [sic] resulted
from my stockings. . . ."*'
Fish biologists had already determined that high
altitude stocking should be more caretully regulated.
In 1 935, James Simon called for "discretion" where food
was scarce, and suggested taking the various species'
native habitat elevations into account; cutthroat and
golden trout in the highest lakes; brook or cutthroat in
the middle zone; and rainbow, cutthroat, or brook in
the lower waters."*' In 1940, Simon, then the state
fisheries chief, declared that his agency would no longer
allow private individuals like Mitchell to plant fish:
"Great losses have been suffered through improper
planting. Both the Federal agencies and the Fish
Department have allowed such losses through
distributing fish to individuals who did not give them
the proper care."^' The Game and Fish Department
began to hire trained fisheries biologists concerned with
appropriate habitats for indigenous species instead ol
working solely for the largest possible catch. The long
tradition of volunteer planting ot exotic species by
private individuals no longer seemed the wisest
course.^"*
The higher degree ol foderal protection alforded
Wind River lakes strengthened the emphasis upon
indigenous species. On February 9, 1931 (just months
before Mitchell planted his first hatchery fish), the U.S.
Secretary ol Agriculture established the Bridger
Primitive Area, which meant an emphasis upon
nonmechanized transport and limited permanent
structures. As a practical fact, the service's management
changed little, since the region received so little human
traffic."*"
As the wilderness ideal gained currency, some
considered the Winds ideal candidates for a higher level
of protection. In 1957, the regional forester proposed
that the area be administratively reclassilied as
"wilderness." Among the "outstanding features" the
forester highlighted was its fine trout fishing. The
Secretary of Agriculture accepted the recommendation
in 1960 and desi2;nated the Bride;er Wilderness. V(Tien
Congress passed the landmark Wilderness Act four years
For an example ot profiles, see Wli/I Stnvt loiirnal. September 20,
1 979; for the honorary Doctor ot Laws degree, see Casper Star-
Tribune, August 1 , 1 977; for the EPA award, see Pinedale Roundup,
November 23, 199S, tor the Izaak Walton League's Joseph W.
Penfieid Award, see Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miiwr, December 2.
198^; tor the Forest Services' 75"'' Anniversary Award, see Pinedale
Roundup, October 2, 1980; for the Wyoming Senate honorarium,
see Wyoming Eagle, February 25, 1989; and for the California honor,
see California Senate Rules Resolution No. 1 ^6, October 8, 1969.
In 1997, Western Wyoming College dedicated "Mitchell's Dining
Room" on its Rock Springs campus. The room contains a portrait
ot Finis and Emma, originals of many of Finis' honors listed here,
tramed articles, some of his own writings, and other memorabilia.
'^ The L'SGS set aside its long-standing rule against naming
landtorms for living persons; Rock Springs Daily Rocket-Miner.
August 13, 1975.
"' 014 2010; William Mitchell interview; Udall, "Finis Mitchell";
and Pinedale Roundup, November 23. 1995.
■"' William Mitchell inter\'iew. See also "Finis Mitchell records";
OH 2010.
' ' Pinedale Roundup. March 3, 1949.
^ ' James R. Simon, "A Survey ot the Waters of the Wyoming
National Forest," Department of Commerce, Bureau of
Fisheries, April 1935, copy in author's possession, pp. 11, 13;
Hudelson, Boyer, and McMillan, "High Mountain Sun,'ey," c-d.
^' lames R. Simon, "Report ot the Fish Division," in Robert Grieve,
"Biennial Report ot the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission,
1939-1940," p. 32.
^■' Blair, Wildlife Management, pp. 77, 138; Wiley, "Wyoming Fish
Man.igement," pp. 7-10; personal interview with Fred Eiserman,
July 29, 2002, by telephone trom Casper; and person.il inrerview
with Tom Bell, July 29, 2002, bv telephone trom Lander; and
personal communication with Mike Stone. Julv 31, 2002.
Eiserman was fisheries biologist tor the district that included the
western Winds in the 1950s and later state fisheries resource
manager. Bell was a WGFD fisheries biologist in the late 1940s.
Stone is currently Wyoming's Chiet of Fisheries.
■"^ Albert Wm. Collotzi, Don Bartschi, Glen Dunning, Ralph
Hudelson, "Bridger Wilderness Fish Management Plan, " fuK'
1978 (revised), pp. 1-2 [hereafter cited ,is Collotzi et al.,
"Bridger Wilderness Fish Management Plan"].
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
later, the Bridget was one oi the "instant" areas created
because of its existing administrative status."*''
hi one important way, the Winds do not seem to
fit the famous definition of "wilderness" written into
the Wilderness Act, which reads in part: "... [A]n area
where the earth and its community of life are
untrammeled bv man, . . . which is protected and
managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and
which . . . generally appears to have been affected
primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of
man's work substantially unnoticeable; . . .'"' The
meanings of "natural" and "nature" are various, but the
Wilderness Act clearly refers to non-human processes
or aspects of the material world. The research ecologist
Peter B. Landres and his collaborators have proposed a
useful distinction between "wild," which they equate
with "untrammeled" (defined as "unimpeded,
unhampered, uncontrolled, self-willed and free") and
"natural" (for which thev suggest the synonyms "native,
aboriginal, indigenous, and endemic"). The Wilderness
Act assumes that wildernesses are both "wild" and
"natural." Mitchell's stocking helped expose some of
the ironies inherent in that assumption."*'^
Like virtually every other landscape, the Bridger
Wilderness contains evidence of thousands of years of
human use, such as Indian lithic sites, the remnants of
small dams, and trappers' cabins. And several hundred
lakes contain the imprints of the work of Mitchell and
others. The descendants of those planted trout can
hardly be considered to "trammel" the entire wilderness,
but some environmentalists and biologists believe they
have hindered the free action of the communirv' of life
within individual lakes. ^''
Trout are large, voracious, and opportunistic
predators that can alter the ecology of a mountain lake.
Finis wrote that the lakes he stocked were "just fidl of
water lice, leaches (sic), fresh water shrimp, and that
kind of stuff ..." As he later discovered, however,
some lakes lack sufficient food for an exploding trout
population. '° Simon wrote that "a lake with no fish
present may appear to have good food until fish are
introduced, then in a short time, this food supply
diminishes, leaving the fish in a semi-starved
condition."^' Fish introductions can have consequences
upon existing vertebrate and invertebrate communities.
For instance, trout originally planted during the 1 930s
in Idaho and Washington have significantly lowered
the densities of amphibians.^- Although trout-prey
relationships in Wind River lakes have not been
intensively studied, specialists, including WGFD
biologists, believe that larger-bodied individuals within
each prey species have almost certainly declined. ■'
'"' Collotzi et al., "Bridger Wilderness Fish Management Plan,"
pp. 1-2. The Bridger Wilderness was expanded by some
36,000 acres in 1984; see "Laws and Administration for the
Bridger Wilderness," in National Wilderness Preser\'ation
System Website, http://w\vw.wilderness.net/nwps/
publaw_view.ctm?wname=Bridger, accessed September 11,
2002.
■*' Wilderness Act, Statutes at Large, 78, section 2 (c), p. 89 1 .
"•^ Peter B. Landres et al., "Natural and Wildness: The Dilemma
and Irony of Managing Wildernesss," USDA Forest Service
Proceedings RMRS-P-15-VOL-3, 2000, pp. 377-81. See also
William Cronon, "Introduction: In Search of Nature," in
William Cronon, ed.. Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human
Place in Nature (New York and London: WW Norton, 1996),
pp. 25-37; Cronon, "The Trouble with Wilderness; or. Getting
Back to the Wrong Nature," in Cronon, Uncommoyi Ground, pp.
69, 79-89; and David N. Cole, "Management Dilemmas That
Will Shape Wilderness in the 21" Century," Joimial of Forestry
(January 2001); 4-8.
^" Knapp, Corn, and Schindler, "The Introduction of Nonnative
Fish into Wilderness Lakes," p. 275; and David S. Wilcove, The
Condor's Shadow: The Loss and Recovery of Wildlife in America
(New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1999), pp. 120-21.
Good general discussions of stocking can be found in Delano
R.Grafif, "Why stock?" in Trout, pp. 341-45; Robb E Leary,
"Why Not Stock?" in Trout, pp. 346-50.
'" Mitchell, Wind River Trails, p. 8. One investigator in the 1940s
lound more than 90 percent of trout stomach contents to be
diptera, a large genus including many flies; one contained the
remnants of a four-inch rodent. See O.H. Robertson, "An
Ecological Study ot Two High Mountain Trout Lakes in the
Wind^River Range, Wyoming," Ecology 28 (April 1947): 97-98.
For a long list of potential trout foods, see Hudelson, Boyer, and
McMillan, "High Mountain Survey," Appendix A, 1,
^' Simon, "Sur\'ev of the Waters of the Wvoming National Forest,"
pp.7, 12.
'- David S. Pilliod and Charles R. Peterson, "Local and Landscape
Effects of Introduced Trout on Amphibians in Historically
Fishless Watersheds," Ecosystems 4 (2001): 322-33; William J.
Liss and Gar)' L. Larson, "Complex Interactions ot Introduced
Trout and Native Biota in High-Elevation Lakes," http://
biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/pn 170.htm, accessed
November 1 , 2001 ; and Paul Stephen Corn and Roland A.
Knapp, "Fish Stocking in Protected Areas: Summar)' ot a
Workshop," USDA Forest Service Proceedings, RMRS-P-15-
VOL-5, 2000, pp. 302-03.
^'^ Personal interview with Kurt Nelson, WGFD Fisheries Biologist,
Bridger-Teton National Forest, Pinedale region, July 17, 2002;
personal inten'iew with Ron Remmick, WGFD Fisheries
Supervisor, Green River and Pinedale region, July 2, 2002; and
Debra Patla, "Amphibians ot the Bridger-Teton National Forest,"
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Amphibian Project, n.p.,
Herpetologj' Laboraton,', Idaho State University, February 22,
2000, copy in author's possession.
Annais of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal ■- Spring 2004
"Here I photograph a Union Pacific Railroad photographer as he shoots over Upper Cooks
Lake with (left to right) Monta Lester, Wall Mountain, Fremont, Narrower, and Knife Point. I
seldom go to the Wind River Range to fish any more. My aim is to climb all the peaks and
take pictures to show people what is actually theirs." Finis Mitchell quote. Courtesy
Amencan Hentage Center, University of Wyoming.
The various trout subspecies do not necessarily
coexist well. Differences in spawning season or feeding
habits can result in the dominance of one and the decline
or complete elimination of another. Brook trout have
especially thrived as they can spawn heavily in conditions
where other subspecies do less well. More importantly,
brook trout eggs and fiy were more easily available than
other species, and so more widely planted. ^^ Simon
found golden trout succeeding in Clear Lake in 1934.^^
Mitchell reportedly planted brooks in Clear Lake in
1931, and today, only brooks are found. ^'' Goldens
were planted in the Cook lakes as early as 1929, but
they have been fighting a losing battle against brooks
since about 1943.^ Where native cutthroats compete
with other trout, the latter often prove hardier.^*^ Finis
admitted in 1985 that he had not understood the
"disasters" that brook trout could cause, and advocated
careful poisoning ot the unwanted fish.^'
Some subspecies get along too well, however.
Goldens can interbreed with rainbows, for example,
producing hybrids with reduced lertility. The widely
stocked Yellowstone Cutthroat can interbreed with
native Colorado River cutthroats."" While none ol the
trout subspecies in Wind River lakes have been listed as
endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species
Act, Wyoming classifies the increasingly rare Colorado
River cutthroat subspecies as "sensitive.""' The WGFD
worries that another Mitchell could endanger the
desirable imported golden trout population. The
department suggested in 1*^80 that "some misguided
person . . . with a large dishpan" could catch brooks
Irom the East Fork River and transplant them into
nearby lakes, wiping out the golden trout. "-
^^ Flick. "Brook trout, pp. l^'9-202; Simon, "Report of the Fish
Division. 193^-1940," p. ,V). The WGFD con.sistentiy reported
planting more brook trout than any other subspecies; see, tor
example, Frank Cook, "Fish Hatcheries Department," in Robert
A. Flocker, "Biennial Report of the State Game and Fish
Commissioner of the State ot Wyoming, 1933-.1-4, p. 30. I he
Daniel hatchery' superintendent planted more brooks than all
others combined in 1939, but in 1940, more "natives" (i.e.,
cutthroats from all sources) than brooks were planted; Simon,
"Report of the Fish Division, 193''-40," p. 40.
"■ ' Simon, "Survey ot the Waters ot the Wyoming National Forest,"
p. 10.
""■ "Finis Mitchell records"; Woods, W'ti/k/ug r/v Wiuriu p. 116.
Hudelson. Bover, and McMillan, "High Mountain Sur\'ev,"
^^ Ray Ring. "The West's fisheries spin out ot control," Hig/i
Country News. September 18. 1*^95; Trotter. "Cutthroat trout,"
pp. 262-64.
^" Piuedale Roundup, September 19, 1985.
"" Leary. "Why not stock?" pp. 349-50; Trotter, "Cutthroat trout."
pp. 248, 264.
"' Wyoming Game and Fish Department, "Wyoming Game and
Fish Department Comprehensive Management and Enhance-
ment Plan tor Colorado River Cutthroar Trout in Wyoming,"
1987; "Conser%'ation Agreement and Strateg)' tor Colorado River
Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhy)ichus cLirki pleuriticui) in the State ot
Colorado, LItah, and Wyoming," March 19T).
''- Hudelson, Boyer, and McMillan, "High Mountain Sur\'ey, '
2.10.
34 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
These problems and the consideration of the
Wilderness Act brought about a major change in the
management of Bridget waters. The comprehensive
1978 Bridger Wilderness Fish Management Plan
established the "natural or wildfish concept" as a
management goal. The WGFD defines "wild" as "a
naturally reproducing fishery" without further
stocking.''' By the mid-1990s, WGFD stocked only
nine lakes on the Bridger, all with either golden or
Colorado River cutthroat, and the agency no longer
stocks fishless lakes. The official Wyoming fishing
regulations brochure provides a toll-free number for
fishermen to report illegal fish planting ("costly to both
you and the fisheries resource").''^
For a few people, however, the end of stocking is
not enough. They believe that the presence of trout
in Wind River lakes is unnatural, and that il it were
politically possible to do so, those fish would be
removed.''^ Such removal, however, would entail
further human manipulation of the lakes through
poisoning or other methods, compromising the
wildness ot the region and possibly injuring other plant
and animal species.'*
Those who regret the stocking of Wind River lakes
are almost certainly in the minority. Most people
familiar with Finis' story take, at worst, a "what's done
is done" attitude. Mitchell's actions, after all, were in
a well-established tradition of developing fisheries in
as many waters as possible, and he acted with the
support of the WGFD, the National Forest Service,
and public opinion long before the Wind Rivers were
designated wilderness. To those who protest the
ecological damage wrought on the indigenous flora
and fauna, Wyoming officials note that more than
half of the lakes on the Bridger Wilderness are still
fishless, just as "in their pristine state."'' The plights
of the fairy shrimp or the caddisfly have not yet
received much attention.''**
Other people are much more enthusiastic about
Finis' stocking. The Bridger Wilderness is popular
with backpackers, probably half of whom carry a rod
and reel. During the 1 930s, stocking hundred of lakes
for a handful of hikers seemed quixotic, and as a
dedicated backpacker, Mitchell was unusual. Only
560 persons reportedly visited the Bridger Primitive
Area in 1936, and less than one hundred of those
traveled on foot.''' By the 1970s, Finis seemed
virtually a prophet for the thousands who came to
hike and fish the Bridger like he did. Today, about
three hundred thousand people visit the Wilderness
annually, and fishing for trout in the gorgeous alpine
scenery is one of the main attractions. "
Many people seem to have reached an unspoken
consensus that Wind River fish are both "natural" and
"wild," and thus in keeping with the Wilderness Act.
By the time the area was designated "wilderness," many
generations of fish had spawned, grown, and died since
Mitchell's 1930s plantings, in many lakes without any
further stocking. By the WGFD's classification and
Peter Landres' definition, those descendants are indeed
"natural," i.e. native-born. And the department has
declared those fish to be "wild" under their policy of
no further stocking; that is, no more human
manipulation other than fishing. ' Finis himself drew
a revealing distinction between Wind River lakes and
the Flaming Gorge reservoir: "They keep dumping
"' CoUotzi et al, "Bridger Wilderness Fish Management Plan," p.
3; Wyoming Game and Fish Department, "Why not visit a fish
hatchery?" n.p., n.d. See also Hudelson, Boyer, and McMillan,
"High Mountain Survey," j; Blair, Wildlife Management, p. 236.
'"■' Remmick, "Managing the BWA Fisheries," p. 3; Wyoming
Game and Fish Commission, "2002 through 2003 Wyoming
Fishing Regulations," p. 17.
'" Remmick, "Managing the BWA Fisheries"; David Hohl,
personal communication with author, July 3, 2002; personal
interview with William Worf, by telephone fi-om Missoula, June
24, 2002; and Kurt Nelson interview. Hohl is the former
recreation super\'isor for the Bridger National Forest, Pinedale.
Worf is the board president of Wilderness Watch and former
supervisor of the Bridger Narional Forest.
'''' Landres et al., "Naturalness and Wildness," pp. 377-81.
*"'" Remmick, "Managing the BWA Fisheries."
''* Kurr Nelson inten'iew; William Wort interview; Tom Bell
interview; and Fred Eiserman interview.
"' Pinedale Roundup, December 3, 1956. On backpacking, see
Roderick Frazier Nash, Wilderness and the American Mind, 4'''
ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press), pp. 316-19; on Finis
and other backpacking, Ir\' Lozier interview; William Mitchell
interview.
" Untitled draft histor)' ot Bridger-Teton National Foresr,
personal communication with author from James R. Schoen,
July 10, 2002.
' Landres et al., "Naturalness and Wildness," p. 377; "Bridger
Wilderness Action Plan and Implementation Schedule," March
1995. pp. 23-25; and "Why not visit a fish hatchery?" See also
Kenneth R. Olwig, "Reinventing Common Nature: Yosemite
and Mount Rushmore — A Meandering Tale of a Double
Nature," in Uncommon Ground, pp. 379-408, esp. 386.
Annals o( Wyoming' The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
in more and more fish all the rime [into Flaming
Gorge]. And that's sort oi a man-made condition.
While this up here is a natLual condition." "
The consensus on Wind River trout has been a
useful one: it helped Finis burnish credentials as a
conservationist, it helped wilderness aclvocates garner
support for statutory protection, and it served to
promote Wyoming fishing and tourism, li we accept
that humans are part ot "nature," we can perhaps
reconcile the apparent contradiction oi the
Wilderness Acts language. Mitchelfs dedication to
his chosen place was extraordinary, and he deserves
to be remembered as a friend of wilderness. He is
also in a long tradition of humans using the Wind
River mountains for food, drink, recreation, and
communion with goci or gods. Fhe place we know
today as the Bridger Wilderness, including its
superb trout fishing, is their collective creation. Mii
'- Finis Mitcliell testimony. May 31. 1473. tape recording. Pinedale
Resource .Area MFP. Bureau of Land Manauement.
Finis Mitchell displays the sign,
"Our Sacred Rim," which he and
30 children and adults from three
or four area churches placed in
the Wind River Range. The rim
IS south of Fremont Gorge and
placed where pictures can be
taken with the sign in the
foreground and Gannett Peak,
13,804 feet, can be seen on the
honzon. Many lakes lie 2,000
feet below the nm, Fremont
Peak. 1 3.745 feet. Suicide Lake
and the white water of the
streams leading into the lake can
also be seen from the nm,
Gannett Peak is the highest
mountain in Wyoming and
Fremont Peak is the second
highest in the Wind River
Range, Mitchell said a couple
from London, England, joined
their group when they reached
the range and that the
youngest member was a 1-
month-old baby. Courtesy
Wyoming State Archives,
is assistant professor of history at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. He received his
Ph.D. in History from the University of Utah in 1998 and is the author of Prostitution, Polygamy,
and Power: Salt Lake City. 1847-1918 {Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2002).
36 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
The Fly-Fishing History of the Bighorn Mountains:
An Interview with Sam l\^avral<is, Sr;
by Tucker W. Galloway^
pioneering fly-
fisherman of tine
Bighorns and former
owner of the Ritz
Sporting Goods
Store in Sheridan,
Wyoming.^
Besides operating
one of Wyoming's
legendary sporting
shops, IVIavrakis
starred in numerous
angling movies,
fished with Joe
DiMaggio and other
celebrities, and
rubbed elbows with
Queen Elizabeth II.
TG: Did your father fly-fish?
SM: No, no, he was just an old Greek gambler, bootlegger, and racketeer. He
started a gambling joint and a pool hall. In fact, when he come to the U.S. Irom
Greece in 1909, he worked in a coal mine in Price, Utah, for a while and then he
moved out here. There was a coal mine village out here called Monarch. . .And he
got hurt in the mine there so [he was] given the company pool hall. That's when my
brothers and I were six, seven years old. He bootlegged and bootlegged and
bootlegged. ..My brothers and I, when we'd get out of school at night, we'd hurry
Adrian Bantjes edited and annotated this interview. Sam Mavrakis clarified several points during a brief
phone interview with Bantjes on March 16, 2004.
For details, see Galloway's unpublished paper, titled "Fly-Fishing and Tourism History of the Big
Horn Mountains," University of Wyoming, 2002.
The Ritz Sporting Goods Store in Sheridan was a legendary gathering place for hunters and anglers
until it closed in 1998. See Bob Krumm. "Downtown Sheridan will be a bit colder," in The Billings
Gazette, December 10, 1998. Waldo "Irish" Leach (1914-2002) was one of Mavrakis's fly-tiets. See
The Cmper Star Tribune, July 30, 2002.
Annais of Wyoming- The Wyoming Hislon,' Journal - Spring 2004
home to bottle more beer, so he'd have something to
sell the next day. When he got caught bootlegging, I
remember one time they put him in jail for a month.
But they put him in onlv at night, thev turned him
loose in the daytime. So he'd come home and brew
another batch of beer, and when he'd go to jail at night
we'd go home and [bottle] em. Oh, it sure was a good
life.
When my dad had a pool hall and a gambling joint
in the Ritz and I had a football scholarship to BYU and
I'd come home, he'd put me to work dealing
cards. . .Then the chief of police wotild call once a month
and he fines me. Even though it was illegal to gamble,
we did anyway but we had to pay a fine ever}' month.
A hundred and four dollars and seventy cents fine. And
always cash. So my dad would give me one hundred
and four dollars and seventy cents, and I'd take it down
to cit)' hall. The chief would say, "Raise your right hand,
son. Are you guilty?" And I'd say, "I don't know what
the hell I'm guilt}' ol but I guess I am." But. . .there was
a stool pigeon, and I'll never forget the bastard, a guy
by the name of Earl Moore, -he worked at the post
office-, and he'd come down every day and take our
names oil the police blotter and take them up to the
courthouse and record them. So my dad and I decided
to go to Greece, oh, about 55 or 57 years ago, and I
couldn't get a passport, because [I was] recorded at the
courthouse as a gambler, bootlegger, and racketeer. So I
had to send to Malcolm Wallop, United States Senator,
and another Senator, to help me to get my passport.
TG: How did you start fly-fishing?
SM: I used to fly-fish a lot when we had the poo!
hall. In fact, I'd sit there and tie flies in my spare time
and build rods, repair rods and reels... My dad built
the pool hall there in 1915, I think, a gambling joint
and a pool hall. . . [I] racked balls and gambled and stuff
for my dad. Then finally they closed gambling and the
whorehouses and everything in town and then. . .they
made a sporting goods store out of it. That was in about
'47. That's when I got into the movie business. . .Years
ago, George Grunkemeyer' [of Vacationland
Studios^ ] . . .used to write a fishing story, and then he'd
go back East and sell it... Grunkemeyer wrote the story,
but I did the fishing. I was the expert in fishing. . .1 was
a ham actor... Half-hour movies. Alaska, Canada,
Montana, Wyoming, Florida, Mexico, we went all over
the countr)' making these movies. He was a hell of a
good fly-fisherman. He taught me some... When he
said we got to make a fly-fishing film. . . [in] Alaska or
Canada, I'd check the history on the stream up there,
read a bunch of books, and learn a hell of a lot, and tie
a bimch of flies. I can sit there and tie a fly in thirty
seconds.
TG: What kind of fly-fishing techniques did you
use? How has fly-fishing equipment changed since you
first started fly-fishing?
SM: Well, I did a lot of research and I found out
that 99 percent of the streams coming off the Bighorn
Mountains, those fast cascading streams, are wet-fly
fishing. They're not dry fly... We taught that in the
movies. So when we went fly-fishing, we'd go straight
upstream,. . .with short, loose casts, and let it sink, and
when the line stops, strike, and you'd got a fish. . .In the
olden days we had those bamboos, real light and delicate
bamboos. You didn't have tapered lines, you just had a
level fly line, and with the soft action of the bamboos,
voti could cast quite a ways. . .But then they come up
with glass rods and steel rods; they're stiffer so you got
to use heavier lines, and now... they've come up with
graphite rods... You used to use a lot of automatics
[reels]. But automatics, if you're catching big fish like
we did a lot of times, is not worth a damn. Because
you get to the end of this spring, and it tightens, tightens,
tightens, and it busts your line and leader off. . .So we
got away from using automatic reels right off the hat.
Just use hand cranks.
George Grunkemeyer owned a photography studio and a
movie studio, Vacationland Studios, in Sheridan. George's son,
George Wilham -Bill" Grunkemeyer (1942-2003) Followed
in his father's footsteps and in the mid l')80s formed Grunko
Films, which produced fishing, hunting and wildlife \ideos.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal proclaimed April ~. 2003, as "Bill
Grunkemeyer Day" in Wyoming.
Among other movies, Vacationland Studios made Wyoming
AAventiife (1956) for The Wyoming Travel Commission and
the Ford Motot Company. Mavrakis made about eight or ten
movies with George Grunkemeyer. Personal communication
from Sam Mavrakis, March 16, 2004. According to Ktumm,
Mavrakis also starred in three Wright and McGill Co. promo-
tional movies. See note 3.
38 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
Small stream fly-fishing in Wyoming. Stephen N. Leek Collection, American Heritage Center.
TG: What are your favorite flies? Have they
changed?
SM: Years ago there's a guy by the name of [Franz
B.] Pott," he designed the Potts fly, a hair fly. In fact, I
tied a couple yesterday. He tied them with badger hair,
and he put a colored stripe on the belly. That he called
a "Sandy Mite." Then, in 1954, I designed these two
flies. I call them my "Greek Brown" and my "Greek
Grey" and that's all I've ever used for all those years,
wet-fly fishing... You've got a lot of fancy flies since
then, but, you see, when you're fishing— and this I
emphasized in the movies a lot--when you're
fishing... fast cascading water... you fish with wet
flies... I tie them with a little different, heavier hook,
and I tie them with a chenille body and they absorb
water real easy, you see, and they sink. Then if they
don't sink far enough, you take this leaded wire and tie
a couple of strands on the body down there on the
shank of the hook before you put your fly on it and it
acts like a sinker and helps it sink, you see.
One thing also I've found... You know, they say,
"Guys, boy, I tried everything in the book, and I
couldn't catch fish and finally I picked on a fly that
was green and brown and stuff and I caught fish like
crazy." That is a bunch of unadulterated baloney. The
only reason he caught fish then is because the fish
[saw] a silhouette he enjoyed. . .They can't see the color.
All they see is the silhouette. . .My secret— and I've said
this many times— you walk up to a body of water and
eyeball it, and tell yourself this is typical wet fly water,
this is typical dry fly water, this is typical big fishing
water, this is typical lure fishing water, and put on
what you think you should use and catch fish, then
you're a true angler. Like I say, in the last fifty-some
years, in all the movies I made, all I take is that Greek
Brown and Grey, and I put a few in an envelope in
my shirt pocket and that's all the flies I use. Next time
you catch a fish, you dress him up, and cut his belly
In the 1 920s, Pott, a Missoula, Montana, barbet and wigmaker,
was famous for his woven hair trout flies. The Montana fly-
tying influence thus made its way as far south as Sheridan. See
Paul Schullery, American Fly Fishing: A History. The Full Story of
Fly Fishing in America (New York: The Lyons Press, 1999, 2nd.
ed.), pp. 184-85.
i,npa[s ■;■' ■.'.'vijiri'; 'ne '.VvD^ir::;
open, and you'll see green bugs, blue bugs, purple
bugs, yellow bugs. Hell, he eats anything that comes
along, you know. He's not particular about a certain
color... That's a btmch ol" baloney. Putting it where
the fish are at; that's it!
TG: What do you know about the earliest stocking
efforts around here? Do vou think the Game and Fish
has done a good job?
SM: Well, I remember in the late twenties and
thirties, there's a guy that worked tor the Wyoming
Game and Fish Department. He used to plant fish and
stock them all over the state and pick me up and we'd
go and stock em, . . . Laramie, Lovell, Cody, and all over,
and that was in the thirties. [Now] the Game
Department is. , .stocking all the streams, improving the
habitat, 1 think [the fishing] is better now than it's ever
been before. And all the reservoirs the\''\'e btiilt, vou
know, they've introduced a lot ot fish... A lot of" big
water running down below the reservoirs. . .They're the
finest game department in the world. In tact, I made a
cotiple oi films tor the game ciepartment too...The\'
were sure fantastic people. I sure liked them. In tact,
years ago, the Wyoming legislators were trying to pass
a bill to take the Wyoming Game and Fish money, you
know, from licenses and all that stuft, and put it in a
general ttmd so they could use it tor an\'thing...So I
got wind of it, and I had 10,000 cards printed. 10,000.
"We're opposed to our legislators taking our Game
Department funds. " So I sent them to all the sporting
goods stores all over the state. They signed them and
sent them to Cheyenne. ..One day one ot the
legislators--! knew him real well, he was trom here—
he called me up and says, "For Christ's sake, you damn
Greek, call ott your dogs. We got the message. " I
became a hero ot the Game Department.
TG: How do vou think the privatization of land
around Sheridan has attected tly-fishing?
SM: Well, its hurt it. 1 think not the privatization
so much because most ot the people, the ranchers, are
friendly enough that [it] you ask them, they'll let you
go fishing. But I think that what's hurting them mostly
is these outfitters and guides are coming out and leasing
a bunch ot land and closing it for you.
TG: Did you ever do any guiding when you
owned the Ritz?
SM: No, just in the movies. Oh, 1 think... the
Prince ot England, Lord Porchester,'^ Vice President
Dan Quayle, George Bush [Sr.], Joe DiMaggio, Ben
Johnson, the movie actor,' Pam Dauber, the movie
actress,'" I've taken a lot ot those people out. I had a
system: I put them in my jeep with a cooler of tood
and drinks, beer and so, and take em fishing, never asked
them tor a picttire. ..Then, when I got em home and
we had supper here at the table and got them halt tull
ot wine, the sky was the limit. I remember one time
Joe DiMaggio was sitting there and having supper and
he was pretty well loaded by then, and I said, "Joe,
would \'ou sign a baseball card? " And he sa\'s, "Hell,
yes. How many do you got? " I says, "I got a dozen. '
He says, "Bring em all out. "...Ever}'body else, Ben
Johnson and [the] Vice President, and the Queen,
tickled to death to. . .write up some picture. I had them
all in the Ritz there...! had that museum... So, trom
[being] a gambler, racketeer and bootlegger, I meet the
Queen, the King, the Vice-President, the President,
Bobby Knight, Joe DiMaggio, and all ot them, and
took them all fishing. Oh, I had a good time, though,
with all those guvs. Nice tellows, and plain people.
TG: How do you think tourism has attected the
Sheridan area tor flv-fishin";?
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visited Canyon Ranch in
Big Horn, Wyoming, in 1969. According to Tad Bartimus,
Mavrakis "shared a drink with Prince Philip fifteen years ago
at the Canyon Ranch." See "Queen Elizabeth Visits Wyoming:
British Monarch Savors the Land and the People," in Aineri-
aui Wat Vol. XXII: no. 2 (March/April 1985), pp. 2')-.55.
During that visit, he presented the prince with flies. The
Liimmie Ddi/y Boomerang, October 14, 198-4.
'"' Sir Henry Herbert, Lord Porchester and the 7''' Earl ot Carnarvon
(1924-2001), married Jean Wallop, sisrerofLInited States Sena-
tor for Wyoming, Malcolm Wallop. Lord Porchester was the
Queen's racing manager. According to Mavrakis, he was nick-
named "Porchy." Personal communication, March 16, 2004.
Johnson ( 1^M8-1996) starred in numerous HolK-wood produc-
rions, including many Westerns.
'" Best known tor her role in the 1978 television series "Mork
and Mindy."
40 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
SM: Oh, tourism helps a hell of a lot. Because 90
percent can't fish ... and all they're doing is coming
and spending money, you know. . .Maybe one out of a
hundred can fly-fish. In fact, the only one I took out
that could fly-fish was Bobby Knight. He was
fantastic. . . He was a beautiful caster.. .He was the only
guy I took out that I didn't have to help. The rest,
movie actors and princes and queens, I had to help
them all. They used to come to the Ritz, and the first
time they'd buy a fishing license, and then ask what
kind of flies to use, and I'd mention two or three, and
the first thing he'd buy a dozen. It doesn't matter. A
dollar, seventy-five cents a piece. And he wouldn't cast
... and he'd snap em off. They were big business.
TG: Did you lose a lot of old pictures when the
Ritz burned down?
SM: Yes, 90 percent of them lost. The Queen,
when she came years ago," she had her own
photographer when she came in the Ritz and took
hundreds oi pictures and she had them developed and
sent them to me. Then when the place burned down,
she realized that some of those pictures might have
burnt, so she sent me a complete new roster of them.
All kinds of pictures. . .She was sure a nice gal. We got
to be good friends... I used to take [Lord Porchester]
pheasant hunting out here on [Malcolm] Wallop's place
and actually he was the best shotgun shot I've ever
seen in my life. Three pheasants would come on up
and he'd go "Boom, boom, boom," and all... three
would be in the air coming down at once, that's how
fast he was. But when [the Queen] came, she told me
this was the third time in her entire life that she was
able to go into a store like mine and shop.'' She was
like a little kid: "I want this, I want that, I want
this. "...We got to be real good friends. ..In the
meantime, she got to the door, and she didn't go out
yet. An obnoxious [journalist] come in with a big TV
camera, completely ignored her, come up to me and
says, 'Tm from BBC broadcasting Britain. What did
the Queen buy?" So cruel and rude, you know, and I
looked at her, and she's standing in the doorway. . .and
I looked at his camera real long, and I said, "Sir, it's
none of your goddamn business." She says, "Thank,
you, Sam, you're my friend." Probably the first time
she heard cursing like that in all her life.'-' U|
" Queen Elizabeth II visited Sheridan from October 12 to Oc-
tober 15, 1984, as a guest of Lady and Lord Porchester. For
details see, "A Horsey Holiday for Her Majesty: Queen Eliza-
beth tours Kentucky farms and Wyoming ranches," in Time
vol. 124, no. 17 (October 22, 1984), p. 47. The Queen stayed
at Canyon Ranch in Big Horn, established in the 1880s by '
Oliver Wallop, the future Earl of Portsmouth. Time quotes
local rancher William Schroeder as commenting, "What's the
fuss?. ..There's been limeys infesting this valley for 100 years
now. It's too late to get all worked up over another one."
Ironically, Canyon Ranch is today operated by guide Paul
Wallop as a fly-fishing and shooting resort.
'- The Sheridan Press reported that when the Queen hosted a
dinner part at the Maverick Supper Club it was "believed to be
only the third time in her life she ordered from a restaurant
menu. " The Sheridan Press, October 15, 1984.
" The Sheridan Press described the Queen's visit to Sheridan as
follows: "Shortly after 10 a.m. the queen srepped out ot her
limousine wearing a coral two-piece suit in front of the Ritz
Sporting Goods Store. She was greeted by owner Sam Mavrakis,
a world-renowned fly fisherman, who also met Prince Philip,
the queen's husband, on his trip to Canyon Ranch in 1969.
Mavrakis presented the queen with a handmade fly pole per-
sonally inscribed to the Duke of Edinburgh and a box ot hand-
tied flys [sic]. Referring to Prince Philip, the queen said, "He'll
really appreciate this. He just loves to fish." She also stopped
at King's Saddlery, the Big Horn Mercantile, and the Bradford
Brinton Memorial." The Sheridan Press, October 15, 1984.
For a photograph of Mavrakis offering the fly rod, see The
Sheridan Press October 16, 1984. The Laramie Daily Boomer-
ang, October 14, 1984, adds: "Mavrakis said he had been
nervous about the queen's visit for weeks, but the moment
she walked into the store and shook his hand all ner\'ousness
disappeared. "She's a wonderful person -a warm human be-
ing," he said. The queen ordered items for herself and several
members of her family, but Mavrakis would not reveal what
they were buying, "It's a private visit and it should be kept
private." The Denver Post, October 14, 1984, was less dis-
creet, and reported that Her Majesty had purchased "a down-
filled khaki vest and matching pants, and down parkas for her
husband and three sons."
Tucker W. Galloway
is a Wyoming native. He Inas a Baclielor's of
Science in IVIolecular Biology and a second in
botany, both from the University of Wyoming.
He plans to attend medical school in 2005.
He advises all who read this article to enjoy
flyfishing, respect the trout, and in the words
of his grandfather, "stay sober 'til sundown."
Annais of Wyoming. The Wyoming Hisiory Journal -- Spring 20C4
^n
?°i
hr ^^A'l^^ Ao EmiMj^B^
Introduction: Fly-Fishing Cultures and the Imagined West
In recent years, American popular culture has come to portray fly-fishing as
an essential ingredient of Western culture and identity. By analyzing the creation
of this particular representation we can learn much about the way Westerners and
non-Westerners alike have invented, and continue to invent, an imagined West.
In a recent article in the journal Montana, environmental historian Paul Schullery
succinctly identifies the problem: "The question. ..is who, in fact, has defined the
West as a fly-fishing kind ol place? And the answer is that lor the most part it was
not us [T]he West is a national fantasy, a place where bigger, stranger, more
heroic things are possible."'
Is there any truth to this novel stereotype? Moreover, is there anything
specifically Western about angling in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West?
Stereotypes of Western angling often seem reminiscent oi Frederick Jackson Turners
frontier thesis. Here, in the sublime Rocky Mountain wilderness, rugged.
Paul Schullery, "Frontier Fly-Fishing in the New West. "Montana: The Magazine of Western History 52
(Summer 2002): 5, 7.
Yellowstone Lake, Mary's
Bay, 1871. Photo by W,H.
Jackson. Courtesy
American Heritage Center.
Ar^ia's of \'V"om!nQ: The VV'/ominc Histor,' Journal -- Sprino 2004
individualistic Western anglers battle monster trout
on big brawling rivers like the Yellowstone, generally
nymphing with heav\' rods and weighted flies. As West
Yellowstone guide Bud Lilly put it, "The scale of
western fishing is grand These are big
rivers... Western trout have a larger-than-life
reputation."- Fly-fishing in the West is a true encounter
with nature. Charles Brooks, the biographer ol the
Madison River, described the middle section of the river
as "a frustrating, maddening, sometimes haughty,
sometimes frightening, but always seductive stream. It
is too big, too rough and brawling, too mighty and
majestic to become intimate with."' This is also a
homegrown, democratic, or, as John Gierach puts it,
populist tradition, played out, not on the "beats" of
privatelv owned streams, but on millions ot acres of
pristine public wilderness.^ As Tom McGuane
amusingly tells us -and his joke is particularly apt for
the West, "When a perennial and unsuccessful
independent candidate for president from the Midwest
explained the origin of the United States, he said that
Europeans, tired of asking for permission to fish, looked
lor a place to live in which they could fish wherever
they pleased."^
This is a far cr\' Irom the sport as practiced on the
manicured chalkstreams of Kent or the freestone rivers
ol the Catskills. Eastern or British flv-fishing is often
stereot}'pically portrayed as highly technical dr)' fly-
fishing for finicky, "educated" trout on bucolic, dainty
little streams. This is a sport of the privileged, whether
members of the British aristocracy or Eastern plutocrats,
who congregate in elite clubs on private trout waters
such as the Houghton Fishing Club on the River Test,
or the classic club waters of the upper Beaverkill in New
York. This clubby ambiance still characterizes the
Battenkill Valley near Manchester, Vermont, an old
resort where Americas nineteenth-centur)' elite engaged
in golf, fly-fishing, and other summer leisure activities
while residing at their summer villas or at the Equinox
Hotel. Today, this ambiance is enhanced by Land
Rover's four-wheeling school, falconry and equestrian
clinics, luxun,' outlet malls selling Burberr)' coats and
Barbour shooting jackets, and the Orvis store, where
the fishing department can be found hidden behind
the upscale clothing and furniture departments.
The purpose of this essay is not to argue that there
is no such thing as a distinct Western fly-fishing
heritage, but to point out what Western anglers actually
have in common with their Eastern and European
brethren. Far from being a homegrown tradition,
Western fly-fishing is, of course, part of an arcane and
highly globalized sporting tradition inspired by
ancient, generally British, socio-cultural practices. This
becomes clear when we examine fly-fishing's
relationship to nature, society, and sporting praxis.
The Western angling environment, though
undoubtedly more rugged than that |-ound, say, in
England, is not, strictly speaking, natural. It is essentially
artificial, the result of an impressive effort to recreate
European style fisheries in an alien environment by
extensive tinkering with local native ecosystems,
whether through the extensive stocking of non-native
species, or the creation of tail waters and manmade
spring creeks. This is not only true of the United States;
the proliferation of fly-fishing reflects the globalization
of sporting traditions. During the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, trout fisheries were established from
India to Tanzania, and from Patagonia to Japan, all in
an effort to recreate a British sporting landscape, culture,
and praxis.
Though in the West access traditionally has been
much better than in Europe or on the East Coast, where
many quality waters are monopolized by select fishing
clubs, the sport still has a long history of exclusivity. In
the West, the development ol fly-fishing during the
nineteenth century was closely linked to the expansion
of the railroads and the growth of a burgeoning tourist
industry that catered to the urban middle and upper
classes and wealthy Easterners. More recently, angling
has assumed such a cachet that it has become part of"
the wider process of the resettling of the West by wealthy
outsiders, many of whom are eager to establish exclusive
"sporting estates" and "fishing lodges " on private waters.
' Bud LilK- .ind Paul Schullcry, Bud Lilly's Guide to Western Fly
Fishing (New York: Nick Lyons Books, 1987), pp. 5-6.
' Charles Brooks, The Living River: A Fisherman's Lntimate Profile of
the Madison River Watershed -Its History, Ecology, Lore, and An-
gling Opportunities (New Jersey, New York: Winchester Press,
Nick Lyons Books, 1979), p. 133.
' John Gierach, Another Lousy Day in Paradise (New York: Simon
and Schuster, 1996), p. 204.
^ Charles Lindsay and Thomas McGuane, Upstream: Fly Fishing in
the American West (New York: Aperture Foundation, 2000), p.
24.
Though, as we shall see, private Catskill-style clubs
are relatively rare, Western trout streams have become
increasingly privatized, or are in the process ot being
locked up bv guiding outfits that cater to wealthy
sportsmen. Though the vast expanses ot Western public
lands militate against total monopolization, the
democratic, populist tradition ot local fly-fishing may
one day become a distant memory.
The development ol Western angling practices and
techniques is another topic of cultural interest.
Wyoming angling is the result of the interaction of what
one might call, borrowing anthropologist Robert
Redfield's concept, the great tradition of fly-fiishing,
essentialK' imported from Britain and the East, with
local little traditions and environments, that ultimately
resulted in a distinctly Western style of fly-fishing. This
article examines the development of the sport of fly-
fishing in Wyoming and neighboring Rocky Mountain
states (Colorado, Montana) by focusing on the
interaction between local players, such as anglers, guides,
dude ranchers, developers, state game and fish
employees, and external actors, e.g., railway companies,
wealthy sportsmen, omside angling promoters, federal
agencies, etc. The result ot this interplay over a period
of roughly 125 years is the creation of one of the best
sports fisheries in the United States. Ironically, the West
has made the transition from an angling frontier to a
fly-fishermahs Mecca, in the process becoming a center
that now disseminates angling practices to the rest of
the countiy and the world.
Western Nature and Fiy-FJshing
Early travelers' accounts clearly indicate that Rocky
Mountain waters offered excellent fishing for seemingly
endless numbers of native cutthroat trout.'' Yet many
streams and lakes considered excellent fisheries today
lacked "game fish," as narrowly defined by
contemporaiy angling discourse, and were thus seen as
"virgin" or "barren," just waiting for the finishing touch
of man to create a sporting paradise. Fish were, of
course, a valuable food source for soldiers, settlers,
railroad workers, and miners, and exploited on a colossal
scale. Market fishermen did a brisk business supplying
booming Western towns and camps with a steady
supply of fish. The effects of overfishing and
environmental degradation were devastating for the
native cutthroat. By 1937, the Greenback
{Oncorhynchits elarki stouiias) was considered extinct
throughout its vast former range (though small pockets
were rediscovered in 1969). The Colorado River
cutthroat ( O. elarki pleuriticus) only survives in the
isolated mountain headwaters of a few streams, such as
the Little Snake River in Wyoming. The Westslope
cutthroat (O. elarki leiuisi) now only inhabits l."^ percent
of its former range."
The 1883 report of the Wyoming Territorial Fish
Commission acknowledged that "it is an admitted fact
that a majority of our streams are sterile of good food
fish, whilst a remainder are nearly exhausted of a once
bountiful supply."' The Laramie and North Platte river
basins, for example, today known for their excellent,
often blue ribbon, fishing, held no trout at all. This
was true of other watersheds as well. According to the
Wyoming Fish Commission, the Sweetwater and
Powder rivers. Clear Creek in Johnson County, the
headwaters of the Little Missouri River and Sand Creek,
were barren of trout. This was also true of many of the
state's thousands of high mountain lakes, for example
in the Wind River and Snow\' ranges. In southeastern
Wyoming, trout fishing was limited to a handful of
small tributaries of the South Platte, in particular Dale
Creek, where the native greenback population was
rapidly heading towards extinction.'"
Early Western Angling Tourism
Paradoxically, while western Fisheries rapidly
declined during the late nineteenth century, angling
tourism became a significant factor, as was the case on
many famed Eastern streams. The Wyoming Fish
Commission understood that "wherever [tourists] can
" On n.itive cutthroat, see Robert J. Behnke, Trout and Salmon
of North America (New York: The Free Press, 2002), pp. 155-
I'-W; John H. Monnett, Cutthroat anil Campfirc Ta/c-s: The-
Fly-FishiJig Heritage of the West (Boulder: Universit)' Press ot
Colorado, 200 D.Vp- 16-31.
Neal Blair, T/te History of \i'tldhfe Management in Wyoming
(Chevenne: Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 1987), p.
15; Monnett, Cutthroat, pp. 6, 21-24.
' Behnke, Trout, pp. UiO, 19.i, l')5.
'' Citation m Blain History, p. 11.
'" Chuck Ritter, "The Good Old Days," in Wyoming Wildlife
XXI (Jantiary, 1957): 21, 25. In addition. Fish Creek, Trail
Creek, and Sheep Creek. Baxter and Stone also mention
Lonetree Creek in Albany and Laramie counties. See George
T Baxter and Michael D. Stone, Fishes of Wyoming. (Chey-
enne: Wyoming Fish and Game Department. 199S), p. 178.
44 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
Fishing for native
Snake River
cutthroat trout near
Jackson Hole.
Unlike other
cutthroat
subspecies, the
Snake River
cutthroat
miraculously
survived the
introduction of non-
native species and
is still the
predominant fish in
the Snake River, a
famed western
fishery. Stephen N.
Leek Collection,
American Heritage
Center.
find game fish and fish they will certainly
go.... Thousands of dollars will be left here annually by
encouraging legislation."" The conckision they reached
was that Western waters were to be stocked with non-
native game species. However, even before the stocking
ol Wyoming waters started in the 1880s, the first
tourists traveling through Wyoming and other Rocky
Mountain regions fotmd excellent fishing, often in
streams today not featured in the guides. In his 1873
The Fishing Tourist Angler's Guide and Reference Book,
angling writer Charles Hallock eulogized the fabulous
fishing opportunities ol the Rockies, especially around
Sherman in the Laramie Range:
The Rocky Mountains are traversed
everywhere by trout streams; and the overland
tourist who is inclined to spend the months
of July and August among their peaks and defiles
and magnificent upland parks, can hardly cast
his line amiss in any of them. In the vicinity
of Sherman, on the line of the Union Pacific
Railway... the trout fishing is equal to any on
the road. Dale Creek, a tributary of the Cache-
a-la-Poudre River, and other streams in the
immediate neighborhood, abound in trout of
the finest quality, and weighing from a quarter
of a pound to two pounds each; their flesh is
hard and white as that of the mountain-trout
of Vermont. Even the tiniest rivulets swarm
with them. Fifteen miles beyond Sherman, at
Virginia Dale, the Dale Creek traverses a canon
whose walls are 600 feet high, and the adjacent
scener}' is wonderfully diversified by grottoes,
gorges, dells, canons, precipices, towering-
peaks, and rugged recesses. Antelope, elk, black-
tailed deer, bears, sage-hen, and grouse, abound
in the hills and on the plateaus. There is
excellent hotel accommodation for the
sportsman.'"
Hallock also recommended Lake Como and the
Medicine Bow River, the Bear River and Bear Lake on
the Wyoming-Utah line, and the Fort Bridger area,
where excellent rooms and guide service could be found
at Judge Carters Hotel.''
In neighboring Colorado territory, tourism
developed early as well. Denver lawyer, judge, and
" Citation in Bkir, History, p. 24.
'- Chatles Halloclc, The Fishing Tourist Angler's Guide and Reference
Book (New York: Harper and Btos., 1873), pp. 217-18.
" Ibid.
Annals of Wyoming- The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
sporting writer, Lewis Browne France (1833-1907),'''
who often published under the nom de pliuue
'Bourgeois,' described his angling adventures in a series
of- delightRil books and articles. During the mid- 1 860s,
anglers like France would travel thirty-five miles fiom
Denver to Bear Creek to camp and fish lor trout. By
the early 1870s, angling tourism began to focus on the
"Grand" (Colorado River) and Williams' Fork in the
Middle Park near Hot Sulpher Springs. France describes
the arduous trip, first to "Idaho" by train, and Irom
there fifty miles overland via Empire and over Berthoud
Pass to camps along the Colorado. Here tourists fished
for plentiful seventeen-inch trout and soaked in the still
undeveloped hot springs.''' In 1875 France embarked
Third Annual Fish Fry,
Saratoga, Wyoming,
September21, 1910. While
the North Platte River
drainage held no trout pnor to
the stocking efforts of the early
1880s, it soon produced
prodigious numbers offish.
Three thousand nine hundred
twenty trout were consumed
that day. Despite such
waste, and thanks to special
regulations, the North Platte is
today a blue nbbon fishery.
Courtesy Amencan Hentage
Center,
on a summer vacation with his wife and "the governor"
(his son) in the still relatively pristine Estes Park region.
From Denver, France took the Colorado Central to
Longmont, and then made his way by horse team
fifteen rough miles up the Saint Vrain canyon along
an often barely visible trail. There he set up his base
camp at Fergusons cabin below Prospect Mountain
and spent six weeks fishing the Thompson and Falls
'■* For a brief biography, see John H, Monnett, "Foreword" to
L.B. France, With Rod diiei Lnie in Colorado Waters (Boulder;
Pruett Publishing Co., 1996), pp. vii-xi.
'^ L.B. France, With Rod and Line in Colorado Waters (Denver:
Chain, Hardy & Co., 1884), pp. 6, 9-13, 18, 22-23, 29, 31.
"One hundred and fifty fish in five hours," Successful fishing expedition to Jack Creek, near
Saratoga, in 1910, (Courtesy Amencan Heritage Center.
46 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2Q04
rivers, and smaller streams in Horse Shoe and Willow
parks."' Even at that early date, tourists were regularly
making their way up into the range, but the streams
were still not fished out: "The trout struck and I landed
them so fast that the sport began to be
monotonous..." "[C]ombining business and sport,"
France filled a sixteen-pound lard can with trout. '^
Just as Wyoming old timers today laugh at the
fancy city slickers who, clad in elegant designer apparel
and armed with the most expensive tackle, overrun
our streams every summer, France ridiculed the dandy
"tenderieet" who increasingly disturbed the peace at
Estes Park:
There was one young gentleman... He was
dressed in light drab pants, cheviot shirt, and
a broad-brimmed felt hat, the band of which
was stuck full of flies of all sizes and a multitude
ot colors. He had a fiftv-dollar rod and a fifteen-
dollar reel oi" wonderful combination; his eyes,
emphatic with disgust, glaring through his
glasses, he avowed there were no fish in the
Park. He held up a crimson fly that would
have driven crazy any fish except a sucker...!
told him that the trout was a queer fish, and
that perhaps he had better try a blue flannel
rag, and offered to give him a piece of my
shirt, but he got mad, tore around, and
threatened, in popular parkmce, to take off the
top of my head.'^
By the early eighties the author was nostalgically
lamenting the loss of his idyllic mountain getaway at
Estes Park, which was now "easy of access..., the trail
having given way to the wagon road,"'' and decrying
the "desecration" of places like Grand Lake, where
shanties and shacks were sprouting up everywhere and
even chic French tourists appeared, including, he noted
with horror, a mademoiselle with a monkey.'"
Just as the railroads had opened up to mass tourism
the Catskills, the Adirondacks, Michigan, and other
angling destinations, the development of railroads had
an enormous impact on sport fishing in the Rocky
Mountains.-' In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was
completed. From the 1870s on, a rapidly expanding
network of Western railways, for example the Colorado
and Southern (the "Fisherman's Special" up the South
Platte Canyon--), the Denver and Rio Grande, and
the Midlands, transported angling tourists, including
many Denverites, to new fishing resorts and ranches
located on distant mountain streams and lakes. By
the early twentieth century, a widespread network of
angling resorts catered to the needs of Colorado
anglers. Close to Denver was the famed Canyon of
the South Platte, where tourists lodged in cabins at
Deckers Springs Fishing Resort in Deckers or took
rooms at the Hotel Glenisle. The Gunnison River,
reached by the Denver and Rio Grande, boasted
numerous fishing inns, including the popular inn at
the Cebolla depot, right on the river, the Rainbow
Hotel in Sapinero, and the lola Hotel and Fishing
Resort. North of Grand Lake John G. Holzwarth built
the Holzwarth Trout Lodge shortly after 1917,
followed by his Never Summer Ranch in 1923. Here
trout catches were "limited" to twenty pounds per
person. The Keystone Hotel, in Home, Larimer
County, welcomed anglers fishing the Cache la
Poudre.-' Trapper's Lake near Meeker featured a
famous fishing lodge, established in 1917, which, sadly,
burned to the ground during the Big Fish Fire of
2002.-"
In Wyoming, railroads played a similar role. The
1886 Angler's Guide Book and Tourists' Gazeteer [sic]
'" "Bourgeois" [L.B. France], "The Lure," in Charles F. Orvis and
A. Nelson Cheney, eds.. Fishing with the Fly. The Orvis-Cheiiey
Collection (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1883),
pp.145-55.
' Ibid., p. 149.
* France, With Rod and Line, pp. 33-34, 41.
'' "Bourgois," "The Lure," p. 145.
" France, With Rod and Line, pp. 96-98.
' Paul Schullery, American Fly Fishing: A History. The Fidl Story of
Fly Fishing in America (New York: The Lyons Press, 1999). pp.
43-49, 130-31
-' Nolle Mumey, Wigivam: The Oldest Fislmig Chtb in the State of
Colorado, with some Histoiy of Douglas and Jefferson Counties
(Boulder: Johnson Publishing Company, 1969), p. 35; William
C. Harris, ed., The Angler's Guide Book and Tourist's Gazeteer of
the Fishing Waters of the United States and Canada, 1886 (New
York: The Angler's Publishing Company; Chicago: The Western
Angler's Publishing Co., 1887), pp. 39-43.
'' See for references the Denver Public Library's Western His-
tory/Genealogy Department's photographic collection; Harvey
H. Kaiser, Landmarks in the Landscape: Historical Architecture in
the National Parks of the West (San Francisco: Chronicle Books,
1997), p. 173.
•^ Monnett, Cutthroat, pp. 96-99; Nanci and Kirk Reynolds, West-
em Fly-Fishing Vacations (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1 988),
pp. 89-90.
Hi?;r.rv Journa'
followed the Union Pacific lines and the stagecoach
routes. In southwestern Wyoming, travelers stopping
at Aspen, Carter, Cokeville, Piedmont, Milliard, Twin
Creek, and Evanston, could tr\' their luck lor "mountain
trout," whitefish and grayling in the area's mountain
lakes or on the "grand Fishing section [s]" of the Bear
River, the Blacks Fork of the Green, the Smiths Fork
ol the Green, the Henrys Fork of the Green, the Hams
Fork, (Big) Muddy Creek, Spring Creek, and the superb
Beaver Creek. Fort Bridger was recommended lor
accommodations, while Cokeville had a Union Pacific
"eating house." Hotels cost two or three dollars a day,
the "section house" at Hilliard filt\' cents a dav, a guide
and team ol horses five dollars. Adventurous souls could
take the stagecoach 1 SO miles north to Fort Witshakie,
where splendid lly-fishing could be had on the lorks ol
the Little and Big Wind rivers. Those getting off at
Rawlins or Fort Steele would have to rough it. To fish
for trout and 'mullet' on Savery Creek, the (Little) Snake
River, or at Battle Lake, anglers would travel fifty miles
and camp out. Near Laramie, Tie Siding, and
Sherman, "very fine trouting" lor "brook" or
"mountain trout" [sic] was to be had on Dale Creek,
Fish Creek (the best), Texas Creek, Sheep Creek, Trail
Creek, and the Cache la Poudre River in neighboring
Colorado. ^^ Tourists traveled to Yellowstone Irom the
north via the Northern Pacific Railroad, and, from
1909 on, also entered via West Yellowstone. The first
cars were allowed to enter the park in 1915, opening
up the park to the mass tourism ol "Sagebrushers."-"
As late as the 1940s, Cheyenne and Casper anglers
hopped on trains and were let oil near choice fishing
holes on the North Platte. When lack Hemingway
visited his lather and stepmother in Casper in 1946, a
railway engineer called Blackie took him out to the
excellent water below the Black Canyon, now long
submerged by Seminoe Reservoir, where they hooked
into five-pound rainbow."
While in Colorado fishing resorts were common,
in Wvomino; and Montana other forms ol loddng seem
to have prevailed. Alter the turn ol the centurv.
Easterners eager to settle in the West established the
first dude ranches, such as the Eaton Ranch in Wolf
Wyoming. The Dude Ranchers' Association worked
closely with the Northern Pacific Railroad to attract
well-heeled Eastern dudes to the West. By the 1930s,
some dudes arrived in Wyoming on the new direct
flights to Cheyenne Irom New York and Chicago."-
Angling was an important component of the dude's
vacation activities. The Eaton Ranch advertised fishing
on Woll Creek, "a fine trout stream," as one ol its
highlights. A 1911 pamphlet leatured pictures of the
stream and a woman fly-fishing, and advised the use of
flies such as the Montreal, Silver Doctor, Beaver Kill,
and Dusty Miller, tied on a no. 12 hook. The "quiet
stream through the ranch \'ard will allord well repaying
sport, with the dinner gong within easy earshot."
However, better fishing lor larger trout could be had
up the canyon or at the lamed Dome Lake, "the
fisherman's Mecca.""" A lew ol these dude ranches
ultimately became elegant fiy-fishing lodges, most
notabh' the Crescent H Ranch near Wilson, Wyoming,
with its superb private waters on Fish Creek and the
Snake River, which became an Orvis-endorsed fly-
fishing lodge."' Less pecunious locals relied on rustic
cabin lodging lor their fishing trips, lor example, the
Woods Landing Resort on the Big Laramie, still in
operation today, or the now abandoned Rainbow Camp
on the North Laramie.
Managing Delicate Fisheries
Ai English chalk stream, carelully tended by a river
keeper and his stall, who cut weeds in the streambed,
lay out hellgrammite boards, mow the river banks, and
often heavily stock the waters, seems the antithesis of
the rugged Western style ol angling lor wild trout in
remote streams and lakes. Yet the excellent fishing
opportunities Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West
have to oiler today are, to a ven' significant degree, the
result ol a massive and extremely costly ellort spanning
-^ Harris, The Angler's Guide Booh, pp. 207-08.
-'' Monnett, Ctitthvoiit, pp. 38-,Vl; Joel H. Bernscein, F.vnilies that
Take in Friends: An Infornial History of Dude Ranching
(Stevensville, Montana: Stone)'dale Prcs.-;, 1983), p. 44.
- Personal communication, Gerald K. Henning; Jack Hemingway,
Misadventures of a Fly Fisherman: My Life with and without Papa
(Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company 1986). p. 225.
-" Bernstein. Fanii/ies. pp. .V)-64, 99.
-" Eaton Ranch Pamphlet. 1911. I am grateful to Tucker Gallo-
way tor providing me with a cop\-.
'" For glossy pictures and details, see Ralph Kvlloe, Fishing Camps
(Salt Lake Cit>-: Gibbs Smith. Publisher, 1996), pp. 74-75;
Reynolds and Re\nolds, Western Fly-FishingVacations, pp. 1 92-
93.
48 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
r-^^^^-^a-^^Pteiiifi^^ - ^
Angling on the Big
Laramie River near
Laramie, 1910. After
stocl<ing in ttie late
nineteenth century, the
river soon produced
rainbows up to seven
pounds. However, the
diversion of water to
Colorado and heavy
irrigation negatively
affected the stream.
Courtesy American
Heritage Center.
more than a century to stock and scientifically manage
game fish in thousands of Western lakes and streams.
Angling is only to a limited extent a "natural" practice.
Instead, In many areas of the West, nature has been
manipulated and modified to accommodate ancient
cultural practices rooted in the European past.
As elsewhere in the United States, the West was
not immune to the disastrous effects of over-fishing,
pollution, and environmental degradation related to
logging, mining, industrialization, and urban
development. The wanton destruction of fisheries by
"fish hogs" mirrored the near extinction of the buffalo.
To counter this precipitous decline and address the lack
of game fish in many parts of Wyoming, the state
legislature passed legislation to protect a rapidly
dwindling resource, while massive stocking campaigns
were undertaken, starting in the 1880s. Neal Blair has
chronicled the administrative process in great detail. The
Wyoming Territorial Legislature passed an act for the
protection of game and fish as early as 1869, and
appointed a fish commissioner in 1 880. That same year,
fifty thousand rainbow and brook trout were shipped
to Wyoming by rail from Wisconsin and planted in
tributaries of the North Platte River. Streams and lakes
throughout Albany, Laramie, and Carbon counties were
once again stocked heavily with trout the next year.
Other species soon followed, though many initial
plantings failed: carp (1883), landlocked salmon
(1890), brown trout (1890), crappie (1885), mackinaw
(1 890), whitefish( 1890), sand pike or walleye (1882),
and grayling (1900)."' Starting in 1882, the Wyoming
Legislature enacted legislation providing for the
propagation and distribution of game fish. At Soldier s
Spring (Fort Sanders) near Laramie, the state's first fish
hatchery was established in 1884. The hatchery soon
produced millions of non-native brook trout, lake
trout, and rainbow trout for planting throughout
Wyoming. " Fingerlings were transported in cream cans
by rail, and sometimes by wagon, a risky endeavor,
especially during the hot Wyoming summers. New
hatcheries soon followed in Sheridan and Sundance.
The fish commission successfully introduced brook and
rainbow trout to the North Platte, the Big Laramie,
the Sweetwater, the Powder River, and Sand Creek. The
results were often phenomenal. The Big Laramie River,
for example, was soon rendering rainbows up to seven
pounds and brook trout of up to three and a half
pounds." Even the remote Yellowstone Park streams,
" James R. Simon, Wyoming Fishes (Cheyenne: Wyoming Game
and Fish Department, 1946), p. 12.
'- Blair, History, pp. 1 7-24.
" Ritter, "Good Old Days," pp. 20-25, 29.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming Hislory Journal - Spnno 2004
49
such as the Firehole and Gibbon rivers, were
repeatedly stocked with brook, brown, rainbow,
grayHng, and even black bass. A hatcher)' operated on
Yellowstone Lake Irom about 190^ to 19S5, when
the park finally discontinued fish plantings. The
Firehole River, once devoid ol trout, is now considered
one of the nations classic trout streams, immortalized
by angling writers such as Ernest Schwiebert.'*
Starting in the 1930s, enterprising outdoorsmen like
Finis Mitchell began stocking the Wind River Range,
using pack trains to carry the fish into isolated alpine
lakes. '^ By 1923, state hatcheries had been established
at Laramie, Dubois, Hvattville, Cody, Story, Cokeville,
and Daniel, and the state added new hatcheries in
Tensleep in 1928, at Como Bluff and Auburn during
the 1940s, and at Casper and Tillett Springs in the
1930s. Fish production grew astronomically, from
nearly 6 million in 1923 to 29 million by 1931-32.*
Starting in I960, the Game and Fish Commission
began to deploy aircrah tor planting purposes, a far
cr}' from the old milk can approach.'
The post-war years witnessed the rapid growth ol
recreational fishing. Wyoming was becoming a fishing
destination tor tens ol thousands ot non-resident anglers:
"Fishing in itselt has become one ot the main recreational
factors affecting the economy ot many of our local
communities, and the state as a whole." Not
surprisingly, the responsibilities of the fish division
expanded dramatically to include consei-vation, stream
rehabilitation, pollution monitoring, access and
infrastructure, scientific studies, etc. ''^
Ironically, one factor that gave an enormous boost
to Western angling was the construction ol numerous
dams during the twentieth century. Manv ot todays
hotspots (or, "hog holes," as Gierach calls them'' ), such
as the Green at Flaming Gorge, the Miracle Mile and
Grey Reef on the North Platte, the Bighorn below
Boysen Reservoir and below Yellowtail Dam at Fort
Smith, Montana, the Shoshone below Bulfalo Bill
Dam, the South Platte below Cheeseman and Spinney
mountain reservoirs, the San Juan below Navajo Dam,
etc., are recently created tail waters. The tamed Green
River fishery below Flaming Gorge Dam at Dutch
John, Utah, for example, came into existence in 1964
alter a massive campaign to exterminate non-game
species and stock millions of game fish.^" Some of the
region's best fisheries are thus very recent and entirely
artificial creations, fly-fishing Disneylands, as some
anclers call them.
1 he classic Western spring creeks, which tend to
hold trout of enormous size and pose the expert angler
with the ultimate fly-fishing challenge are also, in a sense,
artificial environments. Many, lor example the lamed
spring creeks in Paradise Valley near Livingston,
Montana, are extremely vulnerable to spring flt)ods
and other environmental lactors and require constant
maintenance. Numerous Montana spring creeks, such
as the McCoy Cattle Company creeks near Dillon, are
essentially manmade environments, the result ol
extensive landscaping, dredging, and rechanneling with
heavy ecjuipment.*'
Class and Fly-Fishing: Elite Angling Clubs
of the West
In Great Britain, fly-fishing has been associated with
an "aristocratic" sporting ethos. Though the L^nited
States has seen the emergence ot both elite and
ciemocratic angling traditions, the New York bourgeoisie
certainly sought to emulate the British angling ambiance
at numerous private clubs established on prized CatskiU
streams. '" Does the West have a distinct, more
democratic, or populist tradition.'' Certainly, the
availabilirv' ol prime trout waters throughout the Rocky
Mountain region enhanced the opportunities lor broad
segments ol the population to engage in fishing.
■ Baxter and Stone, Fishes ofWyojiiiiig, p. 16"; Brooks, The Living
River, pp. S6-3''; For details, see John B\orth, "Trout Shangri-
La: Remaking the Fishing in Yellowstone National Park," Mon-
tana : The Magazine opX'estern History S2 (Summer 2002): 38-47.
' Finis Mitchell, Wind River Trails (Salt Lake Cit}': Wasatch Pub-
lishers, I')?''). See Jeftrey Nichols' contribution to this issue.
' Blair, Htston, pp. S9, 72, 88, 105, 158. The Laramie hatcher\'
closed in 1042, the Cokeville operation in 1946.
■ Ibid., p. 160.
' Ibid., pp. 1S9, 169-70.
' John Gierach, Even Brook Trout get the Bhies (New York, Simon
and Schuster, 1992), ch. 7.
' See Ed Engle, Fly Fishing the Tailivaters (Harrisburg, Pennsylva-
nia: Stackpole Books, 1991); Blair, History, pp. 173-76, 195; On
dams, see wvvw.usbr.gov/dataweb/dams.
William G. Tapply, "Creeks on the Rise," American Angler 11
(March 2004): 66-74.
■ On angling clubs, see Schullery, American Fly Fishing, ch. 12;
William Washabaugh with Catherine Washabaugh, Deep Trout:
Angling in Popular Culture (New York: Berg, 2000), ch. 5.
Annals nf I'Vyommg: I he Wyoniino Historx' Journal -- Spring 2004
However, the West is not immune to angling elitism,
and we find a few examples oi angling clubs in
Colorado and Wyoming. In 1894, inspired by the
dream of Edward Gillette, surveyor and chief engineer
for the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad, a
group ot influential Nebraska and Wyoming
businessmen established a fishing lodge on 1,040 acres
surrotmding Dome Lake, a renowned fishing hole
located in the Bighorn Mountains near Sheridan. By
the time it became a private club in 1901, Dome Lake
boasted an impressive lodge, comfortable cabins,
electricirs', a chel and servants, and three stocked lakes.
Earlv members included Nebraska businessmen,
bankers, and lawers, such as C.N. Dietz, George W.
Holdrege, and Capt. Henry E. Palmer, as well as
members of the Sheridan elite, such as cattleman and
future Wvoming governor and senator, John B.
Kendrick, the Moncriefife brothers, Oliver H. Wallop,
and Bradford Brinton. Between 1894 and 1897, the
resort's waters were stocked with nearly 190,000
brook, rainbow, and cutthroat trout. Interestingly, the
club has lasted until this day, with membership still in
the hands of the descendents ol the original
members. ^^
In Colorado, the most exclusive angling club
catered to the needs of the Denver social elite. Located
on a prime stretch of trout water on the South Platte,
the Wigwam Club was established in 1921 when
Denver Post owner E G. Bonfils and his associates
purchased the old Gill Resort and constructed a lodge
and cabins on the club's 240 acres. Membership included
the creme de la creme of Denver society, and the club
was often referred to as the "Millionaires' Club, " which
may be a slight exaggeration. '''^ The club was very
protective ol its exclusive fishing rights, and hired a
heavyweight wrestler to discourage poaching by riffraff
from neighboring resorts.
Much later, in 1 964, George Butler Storer, an Ohio
broadcasting entrepreneur who had fallen in love with
the West, spent an initial $2.5 million on the
development of the Old Baldy Club, an exclusive golf
and angling resort located on the North Platte River
near Saratoga, Wyoming. According to The Denver Post,
the club, created for "persons ol means who love to
hunt and fish and golf and who respect the rules of
sportsmanship," boasted an eighteen-hole golf course,
twelve miles of trout stream (fly-fishing only), a
clubhouse and chalets, and a pro shop. Resident
initiation fees ran one thousand dollars, annual dues
live hundred dollars.'*'' Today, this "sportsman's
paradise," now enhanced by a pool, tennis courts, a skeet
and trap range, and a stocked private lake, has 250
members.""' Fishing is still excellent on Old Baldy's
waters, especially the famed Trout Run, thanks to the
stewardship of the club's stream manager and fishing
guides.'
Such clubs are no anomaly, and elite interest in the
Western fly-fishing scene has increased dramatically in
recent years. The popularity of fly-fishing is undoubtedly
linked to the Western real estate boom of the 1990s.
Wealthy outsiders have streamed into the Greater
Yellowstone area and, for that matter, just about any
scenic region of the Rocky Mountains, in search of
solitude, hunting, and fishing, in the process
dramaticallv transforming many Western rural
communities. Wyoming's Teton County is today the
nation's most affluent cotmry,"*** boasting, for example,
the offices of Christies Great Estates. The historic
Crescent H Ranch, with its 1927 lodge and a core of
233 acres, until recently an Orvis-endorsed fly-fishing
lodge, recently went on the market for nearly $17
million. Surrounding tracts and homes, with access to
the ranch's seven miles ol private Blue Ribbon fishing
on Fish Creek, the Snake River, and other spring creeks
and ponds, are selling briskly. Many properties are
marketed as "private fishing estates," where 27-inch
rainbows and 3 1 -inch cutbows can be caught."*'' Some
Jackson realtors specialize in "the protection of privately-
owned wildlile and trout habitat," and oiler lor sale
"'' Kevin E. Rucker, Where Time Stands Still: A Histoij of the Dome
Lake Club (private edition, n.d. [2001]), pp. 7-22, 34. Also
see Michael A. Amundsen, Wyoming Time and Again (Boul-
der: Pruett Publishing Co., 1991), pp. 31-42.
■*-' Mumey, Wigwarn, pp. 119, 152, 178.
"■^ Larry Birleffi, "A Place for Eagles," Empire Magazine (The Den-
ver Post), December 6, 1964.
^" Old Baldy Club promotional pamphlet (2000). 1 am grateful to
Ander Schumann for providing me with detailed information.
"^ Ander F. Schumann," Old Baldy Club, Saratoga, Wyoming: An
Oral HistoPi' and Analysis of the Old Baldy Club," Unpub-
lished paper, Universirv' of Wyoming, 2002.
^''' The Casper Star Tribune, April 18, 2004.
^'' Real Estate of Jackson Hole Pamphlets, circa 2002, 2003.
Annals o' Wyoming The Wyoming Hislcn..' Jojrnal - Spring 2004
fly-fishing properties in Wyoming, "the most wealth-
friendly state," Idaho, Montana, and other Western
states. Wyoming fly-fishing ranches on the Green,
Bighorn, Wind, Salt, and Hoback rivers typically run
in the $2-3 million range. ^" Exclusive new
developments in Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado,
are now planned /rro/rW spring creeks and along trout
streams. Near Bozeman, Bud Lilly designed a stretch
of Baker Creek for a new fly-fishing residential
community.^' Sic transit gloria mimdi, some might say,
while others, including prominent fly-fishermen,
maintain that upscale fly-fishing "tourism saved our
country" and actually benefits the conservation oi
threatened Western trout habitat.'-
Western Fly-Flshing Techniques
Western angling traditions developed gradually as
the result ot the interaction of external influences, i.e..
Eastern and British traditions brought in by outsiders,
and local experimentation. Early practices were often
primitive, due to the distances separating settlers from
the fine tackle shops of the East or West coasts. One
Montana angler describes his first experimentation with
"flies" during an arduous march from Corinne, Utah,
to Missoida, Montana, in 1877. For want of the real
thing, he cast a red piece of flannel on a hook to rising
trout and promptly hooked an eight-inch fish.^'
Colorado angler Lewis France initialK' fished with plum
bush pole, linen line, and simple wet flies, borrowed
from a friend, "saved over from more civilized times. "'^
Our Missoula "fly-fisher" used an "eighteen foot
tamarack" with a no. 3 Frankfort, Kentucky, reel, which
a friend described as a "nail keg," before making his
own flv rod, and finally sending East for "a very fine
split bamboo rod."''' France suggested carrying the
following tackle: "in your fly books a little of everything,
but of o;rev and brown hackles,... coachmen and
professors, an abundance... [If nothing else worked,
there were always hoppers]. For a rod. . .Ash butt and
second joint, with lancewood tip, Greenheart or
Bethabara. . .Then, when you feel that you can handle
a rod with the same deftness a mother her firstborn,
save up your money and buy a first class split
bamboo.""' After the turn of the centur}', many Western
hardware stores and some hotels carried fly-fishing
tackle, creels, and flies.' On the opening day of the
1904 trout season, June 1, the George Tritch Hardware
store on Arapahoe Street in Denver, which claimed to
carry the best stock of tackle in the state, offered a
complete fly-fishing outfit, consisting of a two-tip
bamboo rod, twenty-five yards of silk line, a click reel,
two dozen snelled hooks, three leaders, and three dozen
flies, for the princely sum of two dollars. They also
carried wading pants, khaki wading boots, fishing coats,
landing nets, fishing hats, and "refrigerator lunch
baskets. "'"^
In her 1 892 classic. Favorite Flies and their Histories,
Mary Orvis Marbury published the opinions of a
number of Western anglers on the effectiveness of flies.
The results indicate that Western fly-fishermen were
rather consei-vative and stuck to a very limited range of
traditional flies, especially varieties of the Coachman,
the Brown Hackle, the Professor, and the Black Gnat.'"
Charles P. Hill of Rawlins, Wyoming, preferred the
Scarlet Ibis when fishing the distant waters of the Sierra
Madre, such as the (Little) Snake River and Slater and
Savory creeks. C. S Farren, of Cokeville, used a wide
variety of flies, but the Coachmen were his "standard
flies."''" Clearly, late nineteenth-century Western anglers
tended to depend on a limited number of standard flies
and tackle procured from New York or San Francisco.'''
Innovations were met with derision by anglers such as
William H. DeWitt, of Helena, ^lontana:
"I... emphatically condemn the flies, recently placed
upon the market, made in the verisimilitude of flies
and insects. They are a thing of beauty upon the dealers
card, and attractive to an amateur buyer; but three or
four casts make hotchpotch of them, and excite the
"" Sec w\v\v.Hyri,shint;properties.com.
"■' T.ipply, "Creeks...,' p. "0.
'■Jack Dennis, "Fishing in che Shadow ot theTerons," presentation
at the University Flycasters' Anglers' Symposium, Laramie, Wyo-
ming, April 22-2.\ 2004.
^' Mary Orvis Marbur)-, Favorite Flies aitd their Histories (London:
Phoenix House Ltd., 195^ [reprint of llSi edition]), p. 448.
'■* France, With Rod and Line, p. 6.
^'' Orvis Marbury, Favorite Flies, pp. 4S1-52.
'" France, Wtth Rod and Line, p. 33.
' See the Denver Public Library's Western History/Geneaiogv
Department's photographic collection tor numerous examples.
'''"' Tlie Denver Post, NLiv 2^1. 1 904. I am grateful to Tamsen Hert for
this reference.
^^ Or\'is Marbury, Favorite Fhes, pp. 432-40, 446o'i. 461-67.
'■" Ibid., pp. 43^-39.
'"' Ibid, pp. 4'SO-Sl.
"- Ibid., p. 662.
52 Annals of Wyoming: The Wvoming History Journal -- Sprino 2004
ridicule of a crafty, four-year-old trout who has been
snapping up grasshoppers for three seasons."''"
Denver ultimately became an important regional
center for the angling industry. The Goodwin Granger
Co., established after World War I, and the Phillipson
Rod Co. (1946), crafted fine cane rods. From the 1920s
on, the Wright and McGill Company produced fly-
fishing tackle. Hank Roberts' company supplied
premier flies.''^ By the 1920s, Missoula and Butte were
producing legendary homegrown fly tiers such as Franz
B. Pott, who pioneered woven hair flies, Jack Boehme,
Norman Means, and, later, George Grant. A decade
later. West Yellowstone and Livingston, close to the park
waters, Yellowstone River, and the spring creeks of
Paradise Valley, became innovative angling foci, featuring
a mix of local and newly arrived fly-fishing experts, such
as Bud Lilly and Dan Bailey. In the Jackson area,
pioneers like Bob Carmichael and "Boots" Allen
developed a new style of Western fly-fishing.'"'*
Despite such developments, the West seemed
remarkably resistant to change. Before World War II,
Western fly-fishing was essentially wet fly-fishing.
Western anglers ignored the dry fly revolution, first
championed by Frederic Halford in England during the
1880s and well established among Eastern anglers such
as George LaBranche. During the 1930s, newcomers
like Dan Bailey, of Livingston, and California tier Don
Martinez, of West Yellowstone, introduced dry fly
fishing in Montana.''^ But it was not until the 1940s
that dry flies were well established in Montana and
Colorado. As late as 1949, Bob Carmichael could still
describe this technique as innovative: "I do not claim
to have 'discovered' Jackson's Hole dry fly fishing but
will say that those who preceded me in the area with
their drys were very quiet about it. Fishing these waters
first in the early thirties, 1931-1936, I found fishing
too good to be very interesting. Local natives wanting
a change of diet would catch a bull head, cut a willow
and horse out enough trout to satisfy their immediate
needs."''''
In many areas of Wyoming, such as the Bighorns,
fly-fishermen refused to adopt new techniques and
continued to tie wet flies. The now archaic Pott flies,
such as the Sandy Mite, a stonefly imitation, were
common throughout Wyoming until quite recently.
It is startling that even today, more than eighty years
after their introduction, fly-fishermen such as Sam
Mavrakis of Sheridan and Mike Kaul of Pinedale still
tie and use Pott flies. ''^ As Bud Lilly of West
Yellowstone recalls, even "[t]he early 1950s were still
a time of pioneering in fly fishing around our part of
the country," though gradually the efforts of locals
and imports, such as Bailey in Livingston, Lilly,
iii
Extensive photographic evidence leaves no doubt that many Western
women enthusiastically embraced the sport of fly-fishing. Stephen N.
Leek Collection, Amehcan Heritage Center.
' See for details Dicl< Spurr and Michael Sinclair, Colorado Clas-
sic Cane: A Histoiy of the Colorado Bamboo Rod Makers (Grand
Junction: Centennial Publications, 1991), and Monnett, Cut-
throat, pp. 80-82. Also see jack Dennis' interview in this issue.
' SchuUer)', American Fly Fishing, pp. 184-85; Pat Minday, " A
millionaire couldn't buy a piece of water as good': George Grant
and the Conservation of the Bighole River Watershed," Mon-
tana: The Magazine ofWestern Histo>j52 (Summer 2002): 21-37;
Ken Owens, "Fishing the Hatch: New West Romanticism and
Fly-Fishing m the High Country," Montana : The Magazine of
Western History 52 (Summer 2002): 10-19; George E Grant,
Grant s Riffle: . . .A collection of thoughts, ideas, and memories (Butte,
Montana: Bighole River Foundation, 1997). Also see the inter-
view with Jack Dennis in this issue.
' See the inter\'iew with Jack Dennis in this issue. Also see Schuller)',
American Fly Fishing, pp. 185-88; Owens, "Fishing the Hatch..."
' Quoted in J. Edson Leonard, Flies (New York: A.S. Barnes and
Company, 1950), p. 302.
See the inter\'iew with Sam Mavrakis in this issue. Mike Kaul,
"The Green and New Fork Rivers," presentation at the Univer-
sity Flycasters' Anglers' Symposium, Laramie, Wyoming, April
22-23, 2004.
' Bud Lilly and Paul SchuUery, A Trout's Best Friend: The Angling
Autobiography of Bud Lilly (Boulder: Pruett Publishing Com-
pany, 1988), p. 36.
Annrils of Wyoming- The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
53
Martinez, and Vint Jolinson in West Yellowstone, and
Carmichael and Allen in the Jackson area, would begin
to pay olh'"'* As Schullery has noted, in recent decades
a process ol" ctiittual homogenization has come to
affect local, relatively isolated. Western angling
traditions. Yet this same development has allowed
today's Western anglers, such as Jack Dennis, Gary
LaFontaine (R.I. P.), Mike Lawson, Bud Lilly, etc., to
assume national prominence and disseminate a new,
hybrid style ol Western fly-fishing aroimd the globe.''''
Weighing the catch near Jackson Hole. Stephen N. Leel< Collection,
American Heritage Center.
Conclusion
Despite its claim for uniqueness. Western fly-
fishing is a cultural practice with deep roots in Eastern
and European sporting traditions. It evolved throtigh
the interaction of local and imported discourses,
techniques, and practices. In the process, Westerners
dramatically altered the Western environment to
maintain fisheries of often exotic game species,
destroying existing natural ecosystems. Yet, as Schullery
convincingly argues, despite the continuities and
similarities one can find between Western fly-fishing
traditions and those of other parts of the United States
and the world, "authenticity has endured. There is such
a thing as western angling, and it has a long, distinctive,
and flavorful history." " What that Western element
exactly is is hard to explain. Maybe the mystique of
Western angling is best captured in the lyrical prose
of Tom McGuane, when he describes a caddis hatch
on the Madison, or the gaze of a doe across a wild
moimtain stream, or in Russell Chatham's limiinous
paintings of stmimer evenings on the Yellowstone
River. ' Unfortunately, lyricism alone is not enough.
Whether we like it or not, and for better or worse,
fly-fishing has become an integral part of Western life
and culture. Only by understanding its origins and
development as a cultural practice can we contemplate
its present impact and future. mi
""' Schullery, Frontier Fly-Fishing..., ' p. 8.
"> Ibid., p. 7.
" Lindsay and Thomas McGuane, Upstream.
54
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal - Spring 2004
BOOK
Edited by Carl Hallberg
Significant Recent Bool<s
on Western and
Wyoming History
Breaking Clean. By Judy Blunt. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 2002. xxii + 303 pp. Illustrations, map. Hard-
cover. $24.00. Reviewed by Elizabeth M. Esterchild,
University of North Texas
Jr udy Blunts narrative describes the reality of ranch
life in the contemporary American West. Her tale
I is about commitment and loss, about hard work
d heartbreak, about pure contentment and searing
anger. It is a true story told plainly, and thereby is both
timeless and timely.
Alone among western writers, even women writ-
ers, Blunt reveals one of the best kept secrets about ranch
countr)': how the dark shadow of patriarchy lingers past
its time. Patriarchy - male dominance - does not touch
all aspects of ranch life, but where it does it is rooted in
de facto male ownership of most of the ranch prop-
erty. Growing up in Montana, Blunt first noticed male
privilege in the asymmetrical division of labor by gen-
der. She learned to do outdoor work - the many skills
connected with riding, working cattle, driving tractors,
putting up hay, building fences - and performed them
just as well as her brother. But she had the added bur-
den of working inside the house long after the outdoor
work was done. And she learned even earlier to do what
ranch women know, to hold their tongues when men
are talking.
Only toward the end of the book does Blunt re-
veal what she learned earlier in life. As a youngster, she
watched in amazement as her grandfather's ranch prop-
erty was divided between his two sons, leaving nothing
for his daughters. Not long afterwards, her father an-
nounced his plans to repeat his father's action. Even
though she had wholeheartedly given her soul to this
land, she would never own one square inch of it.
After marrying a neighbor who was twelve years
her senior, Bkmt learned she could neither own prop-
erty nor direct the course of her own labor. Her father-
in-law's wife showed up every day, telling her repeat-
edly what groceries she could buy and how she should
do her work, which, among many other things, in-
cluded cooking for the haying crew. She then began
writing about the pain in her life. Perhaps the sharpest
hurt developed the day her father-in-law strode in from
the noon meal and found it not quite ready. With a
roar of displeasure, he took her typewriter out to the
shop and pounded it to death with a sledgehammer.
Blunt reftises to be the bitter person one would
expect from the broad outlines of her life just given.
Throughout the book, she pauses often to tell about
the wonders and the joys of ranch life, many of them
connected with animals, both pets and livestock. Among
these pleasures was the absolute contentment she expe-
rienced in the barn on cold nights watching and re-
maining ready to help a young heifer give birth to her
first calf In those wondrous times, even as she knew
she would be breaking clean of the shadow of patriar-
chy, she could still reflect on all the beautifiil aspects of
being a ranch woman.
Few ranchers today acknowledge the existence of
patriarchy or understand its profound impact on their
lives. But it does exist and it continues in dozens of
ways. Perhaps Blunt's forthright telling of her story
will encourage others to speak Ireely about all aspects
of the lives of ranch women and men.
The Important Things of Life: Women, Work, and
Family in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, 1880-1929.
By Dee Garceau. Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press, 1997. x + 215pp. Maps, notes, annotated
bibliography, index. Hardcover, $50.00. Reviewed by
Elizabeth M. Esterchild, University of North Texas
A
fascinating account of women's lives, this book
opens our eyes to the centrality of women's
.work in building early day mining and ranch-
Annals of Wvomlno: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004 55
ing communities. Garceau used the decennial cen-
suses of 1880-1920 to identify demographic charac-
teristics, work lives, education, family, and household
structure ot town and rural women. Other soiuces
included oral histories, written memoirs, local news-
papers, folklore, and one hundred interviews she con-
ducted with older women and men.
Garceau studied the largest ethnic groups in the coal
mining industry: first the English, Irish, and Scottish;
then Swedish, Finnish, German, and Slavic women in
later times. Ohen born abroad, these town women -
townspeople were 85 per cent ol the population - con-
trasted sharply with ranch women who were mostly
native born and largely from the Midwest. Ranchers
had often migrated in clusters of related families, bring-
ing with them an agrarian, middle class tradition ot
owning property and being sell employed. In town,
people had come more often as individuals seeking a
livelihood. Their attempts to maintain ethnic traditions
were somewhat thwarted because several distinct na-
tionalities mingled in the work in the coal mines and
there was little, it any, ethnic segregation in residence
patterns.
In addition to cooking, cleaning, and laundry, ranch
women did gardening, dairying, sewing clothing, and
raising chickens. The latter could be used to directly
sustain the family or, by selling the products, to sup-
port indirectly the ranch. This productive labor, which
was a source ol immense pride to ranch women, coupled
with frequent male absence and having fewer children
than their mothers, all helped create more control lor
women and to erode some ol the patriarchal authority
exercised by men. But women continued to interpret
their work as supporting the family, rather than as a
means for achieving autonomy. Ranch daughters gradu-
ally became involved in more outside, or mens work;
they, too, rarely used this labor as a stepping stone to-
ward independence. Rural women "held to traditional
notions of womanhood even as their behavior departed
from it" (p. 10).
In the coal towns, single women worked as ser-
vants in middle class lamilies, and in hotels and board-
inghouses. Married immigrant women kept boarders,
raised gardens, milked a cow or two, and took in laim-
dry. Later, daughters took up white collar work as the
range ol businesses expanded alter 1900. The town
women used these jobs as stepping stones to a richer
lile in which they were less dependent on their hus-
bands, though they did not stray far away from tradi-
tional values.
Garceau explored myths surrounding single women
homesteaders, finding fewer than might be supposed.
Most women homesteaders were simply getting addi-
tional land for their parents or husbands. Only a few
used their work to gain independence from conven-
tional family life.
Ranch daughters had more variety in their work
than their mothers, which Garceau implies was a life
cycle change rather than something that would carry
throtigh to future generations. Women would marry
young and produce children which took them away
from the outdoor work. Garceau mitrht also have noted
the distinction between private and public spheres, so
that girls could "cowboy" in the privacy of the family
more often than in the large gatherings of men in round
ups and harvest times. Generally, women were excluded
from men's work (except in emergencies), which was
both more glamorous, dangerous, and conscientiously
profit oriented than women's work. Finally, inherit-
ance patterns in the West favored sons much more
than daughters, so that women rarely acquired enough
propert}' or livestock to live independently of men.
Women came closer to achieving parity among
the working classes in town. Neither women nor men
acquired much propert)^ and men's work was perceived
as mtmdane, albeit dangerous. Single women and wid-
ows could come closer to earning wages equivalent to
men's, and this, too, eroded male control more rapidly
than on the ranches.
Overall, there was probably much more similaritv
between town women and ranch women than this re-
view implies. Clearly, Garceau used conventional ma-
terials, but drew unconventional insights regarding
women's lives. In so doing, she has set a very high stan-
dard in using the contrast between the two to illumi-
nate the lives of both. Uf
56 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Spring 2004
Index
American Heritage Center 4
American Museum of Fly Fishing 3-4
The American Sportsmen 22
Bailey, John 25
Bantjes, Adrian A. (author) 2-3, 19-25,
41-53: bio 5
Battenkill Valley, Vermont 42
Big Horn Mountains 37
Blair, Neal 48
Bonfils, EG. 50
Borger, Gary 22
Bourdieu, Pierre 3
Bozeman, Montana 9,11
Brewer, Walter 29
Bridger National Forest 29
Bridger Primitive Area 3 1, 34
Bridger Wilderness 27-28, 32, 34
Bridger Wilderness Fish Management
Plan 34
Brooks, George 42
Bush, George 39
Buszek, Wayne "Buz" 21
Carmichael, Bob 20-22, 52
Catskill Fly Fishing Center and
Museum 3
Chatham, Russell 53
Close, Glenn 24
Close, William T. 24
Crescent H Ranch 50
Crusoe, Robinson 6, 8
Dafoe, Daniel 6-7
Dale Creek 43-44, 47
Daniel, Wyoming 28-29
Dennis,Jack3-4, 19-25, 52
DeWitt, William H. 51
DiMaggio,Joe39
Doane, Gustavus 8- 13, 15-16
Dome Lake 50
Donnelly, Roy M. 21
Dude Ranchers' Association 47
Eaton Ranch 47
Estes Park, Colorado 46
Evans, Glen L. 21
Farren, C.S. 51
Finley, Michael 23
Fish hatcheries 48-49
Flaming Gorge reservoir 34-35
Fly Fisher's International Fly Fishing
Center 4
Fly fishing 2-53
France, Lewis Browne 45-46, 5 1
Galloway, Tucker W 36-40
George Tritch Hardward Store 5 1
Gierach,John42, 49
Gillette, Edward 50
Gillette,Warrenl2, 16
Gowdy, Curt 22
Grand Teton National Park 20
Green River 27, 47, 49
Grunkemeyer, George 37
Hackle, Sparse Greg 5
Hauser, Samuel 8
Hedges, Cornehus 8, 10, 13, 15-16
Hemingway, Jack 47
Hill Charles R 51
Hobsbawm, Eric 3
Houghton Fishing Club 42
Huizinga, Johan 3, 8
Hurt, NX'illiam 24
Jackson Lake 21
lackson, Wyoming 19-24
Kaul,Mike52
Knight, Bobby 39-40
Kreh, Lefty 22
La Fontaine, Gary 22, 52
Landres, Peter B. 32
Langford, Nathaniel 8, 10, 12-13, 15
Lawson, Mike 22, 52
Lilly, Bud 20, 42, 51-52
Lord Byron 5
Martinez, Don 20
Maclean, Norman 3, 24-25
Marbury, Mary Orvis 5 1
Mavrakis, Sam 4, 36-40, 52
McDonald, John 7
McGuane, Tom 42, 53
Mitchell, Dennis 27, 29
Mitchell (Nelson), Emma 29-30
Mitchell, Fay 27-28
Mitchell, Finis 4,26-35,49
Mitchell, Henry 27-29
Mitchell Peak 31
Moose, Wyoming 20
National Forest Ser\'ice 28-29, 34
Nichols, Jeffrey 4, (author) 26-35; bio
35
Old Baldy Club 50
Paradise Valley 10, 49
Pott, Franz B. 38, 52
Quayle, Dan 39
Queen Elizabeth 39-40
Redfield, Robert 43
Redford, Robert 3, 24-25
"A River Runs Through It" 3, 24-25
Roberts, Hank 2 1-22, 52
Rockefeller. John D. 20
Rock Springs, Wyoming 28, 30
Sansone, David 7
Schuller)', Paul 4, (author) 6-18, 41;
bio 18
Sherman, Wyoming 44
Simon, James 31,33
Snowy Range, 43
Storer, George Butler 50
Teton County, Wyoming 50
Trumball,Walter8-ll
Turner, Frederick Jackson 41
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 23
Wallop, Malcolm 37, 40
Walton, Izaak 5
Washburn, Henry Dana 8-12
Washburn - Langford — Doane
Expedition 8-18
Whitlock, Dave22
Wigwam Club 50
Wilderness Act 3 1-32, 34-35
Wind River Mountains 26-35, 43, 49
Wyoming Game and Fish
Department 28, 31-34, 39, 49
Wvoming Territorial Fish Commission
28,43
Wvoming Territorial Legislature 48
Yankee Jim Canyon 10, 12
Yellowstone Lake 12-13, 15-16
Yellowstone National Park 8-12, 15-17,
19-20, 23
Yellowstone River 10-11
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The Wyoming History Journal
Summer 2004 Vol. 76. No. 3
2 Native American Sagas from the
Diaries of John Hunton
|ohn Hunton and L.. Ci. (Pat) Mannerv
Edited bv Mike Crtiske
14 Pat Flannery
SalK- V'anderpoel
24 J. D. Conley's Cabinet of Curiosities
and Other Early Wyoming Museums
Beth Stiuthwell
ih >-iNivtK5.iiv 33 Recent Acquisitions in the Hebard
Libraries Collection, UW Libraries
lamsen L. Hert
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36 Book Reviews
(Cj>ii'lLMli)ii'ii)Lri3 41 Contributors' Biographies
42 Index
Wyoming Picture
Inside back cover
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Annals of Wyominp: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
Native American
Sagas from The
Diaries of
John Hunton
bv
John Hunton and L. G. (Pat) Flannery
Edited by Michael Griske '
Preface
I suspect that most readers of
Annals ofWyo?7iingh2.vc heard of
John Hunton, who was a Wyo-
ming pioneer and prominent
businessman in the Fort Laramie area when the post
was headquarters for miUtary operations against the
Sioux and other Native American nations, as well as
being one of the major crossroads of the Old West.
Some of you might also remember L. G. (Pat) Flannery, my grandfather and Mr.
Huntons good friend, despite a fifty-five-year difference in their ages, who was a
Wyoming historian, newspaper publisher, statesman, cattle rancher, and veteran
of both world wars. A colorful character in his own right, Pat dedicated the last
years of his life to historical research and to a very special labor ol love, the publi-
cation of the diaries kept by Mr. Hunton in which his entries span more than half
a century.
' Mr. Griske is the grandson of L.G. (Pat) Flannery. The John Hunton Diaries are located in the
John Hunton Papers held by the American Heritage Center.
John and Blanche Hunton.
Courtesy John Hunton
Papers, American Heritage
Center, University of
Wyoming.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004 3
My grandfather published the diary entries be-
tween 1 873 and 1 882 in tour volimies oi fiheen hun-
dred copies each, and two more vokmics with entries
between 1 883 and 1 888 were pubHshed aher his death
in 1964. hi addition to these daily diary entries, Pat
also included narratives by Hunton anci others in these
books, and his own painstakingly-researched editori-
als, to clarify and expand upon events of" that period.
As a result, the publications vividlv preserved dav-to-
day life on the frontier and presented profiles as well
as true exploits not only of people living in that era
who have been all but forgotten, but also of such
well-known Western folk characters as Wild Rill
Hickok, Calamity Jane Canarv, Buffalo Bill Cody,
Generals George Armstrong Custer and George
Crook, Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, and many others,
most of whom Hunton knew personallv.
As previously mentioned, Pat initiallv had onlv a
relatively small number of these books printed. His
plan, as I recall, was to pursue republication in larger
numbers after the first printings, but he passeci awav
before having a chance to make this dream a reality.
His only child was my mother, Billie Griske, who
renewed the copyrights for Pat's works in the 1980s
and, in response to numerous requests for the origi-
nal volumes, republished a few excerpts in small book-
lets.
After Billie's passing, I decided that 1 would also
like to share this fascinating and historical material
with others, lo that end, km now pursuing the pub-
lication of an abridged and reformatted version of
mv grandfathers monumental works so that this
material can once again be accessible to Western his-
torv enthusiasts.
In the meantime, 1 thought that subscribers to
the Amiitls woidd enjov reading the following profile
of John Himton and sagas of Native Americans from
the original volumes. Note that Hunton's diary en-
tries are indented and italicized, and narratives other
than those aiuhored b\' my grandfather are in quotes
and indented, so that thev can be differentiated at a
glance from Pat's writings. M\' editorial comments
anti insertions are bracketed for the same reason.
L. G. (Pat) Flannery, Mr. Hunton's close fnend to whom he
bequeathed his diahes. Courtesy L. G- Flannery papers,
Amehcan Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
A Profile of John Hunton
John Hunton was born at Madison C. H. [the C.
H. beintr for court house or count\' seat], Virginia,
onjantiary 18, 1839, of Alexander B. and Mar\- Eliza-
beth (Carpenter) Huntiin. Little is known of his
childhood. He joined the arm\- at [age] 18 and saw
his first military service at Harper's Ferry in 18^9.
Madison was in that borderland between the
North and South where the cleavage of loyalties split
families, set brother against brother, and father against
son. Hiuiton chose the Soiuh. He was with Pickett
at the charge of Gettysburg and ser\'ed with the Con-
federate Armv of Northern Viririnia until Lee sur-
rendered at Appomattox.
With his homeland overrun and devastated, John
Hunton tiu'ned his eves westward and m the spring
of 1876 traveled, via St. Louis and Glassgow, to Ne-
braska City. From there he whacked btdls on to Fort
Laramie, bastion of the plains and headquarters of
military operations against the Indian tribes. There
he worked for several years as a clerk in the Sutler's
store at the old fort, which was to be "home " for the
vouns^ Virsiinian for most of the rest of his life.
4 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
That first winter, 1867, he shared a room with
the famous scout, Jim Bridger, who had been em-
ployed by the government to guide our troops. They
occupied the northeast corner room of the Sutler's
building which was being used as a small hay mow
when Mr. Hunton pointed it out to the writer about
1919. At that time the north end of this historic
building, made ol adobe bricks and imderstood to
be the first permanent structure in what is now the
state ol Wyoming, was a horse barn. It has since
been restored and preserved by the National Park
Service. But in 1919 the main room ol the old store
still had its counters along the walls, there were still
some articles of ancient merchandise on its dusty
shelves, bundles ol undelivered letters in its aban-
doned post office and a stack of bullalo hides, rotted
with age imtil they tore apart like tissue paper, were
piled in one corner ol the room from floor to ceil-
ing.
In 1870 Hunton took a contract to supply Fort
Laramie with firewood, and his government contracts
expanded steadily during the next ten years into big
business lor that period. In addition to wood he
supplied hay, beel, charcoal, lime and other commodi-
ties to Fort Fetterman and Camp McKinney as well
as to Fort Laramie, and hauled Ireight with oxen from
Medicine Bow Station to Fetterman, Ft. Steele, Ft.
Phil Kearny, Ft. Reno, Ft. Smith and other early mili-
tar)' installations.
In 1871 he became half owner, in partnership
with W. G. Bullock, of the SO cattle, understood to
be the first herd in this area, aside from work oxen.
This herd, according to Hunton, was started in 1868
by a man named Mills who brotight the stock Irom
northern Kansas.
Hunton was the last post trader at old Fort
Laramie; he was one ol the first and also one ol the
last commissioners ol Laramie County when it em-
braced the present counties ol Goshen and Platte.
Most ol the early settlers in that area proved up on
their homesteads belore him when he was United
States C6mmissioner from 1892 to 1907. As a civil
engineer, largely sell-taught, he participated in the
original survey ol north central and western Wyo-
ming when it was mostly an uncharted wilderness
area, and he planned and surveyed many of the earli-
est private reservoirs and irrigation systems in south-
eastern Wyoming.
On one of our rides together- . . . , [Hunton]
expressed himself to the writer as considering the white
man primarily responsible lor the Indian wars. He
said the tribesmen were originally a dignified, trust-
ing people who kept their word and agreements and
were inclined, for the most part, to be friendly until
alter they had been lied to, cheated and treated with
contempt by their white brothers, or at least by some
ol them. But he also pointed out that once their
confidence had been destroyed, the Indians not only
learned and embraced the civilized arts of treachery
and deceit they added to them certain distinctive
techniques of savage cruelty and cunning which made
warlare on the plains a fearsome thing.
The Grattan Massacre^
The Laramie River flows into the North Platte
about two miles below (east) ol Fort Laramie. Start-
ing some distance below this point, their lodges
stretching lor miles along the Platte, was an encamp-
ment of several thousand Indians, various bands and
tribes ol the Sioux Nation. The year was 1854. It
was the month of August.
They had gathered lor their annual handout of
goods and supplies, due them Irom the United States
- Hunton and my grandfather used to "ride the range" together
in a bucivboard on business or just for relaxation. During these
outings, Hunton would occasionally speak of his life, times,
and views, including the perspective sympathetic to Native
Americans that echoes reasons discussed in this article's narra-
tives for their adoption ot savage wavs.
' My grandhither described the following events In his books
even though they took place a tew years before Hunton came
to Fort Laramie. However, this narrative sets the stage for Pat's
other passages about the quarter-century of hostilities on the
plains that the massacre precipitated and their significant im-
p.act on Hunton's life, all of which started with the seemingly
trivial killing ot a "lame and half-starved old cow" abandoned
by its emigrant owner. The major report on the Grattan
Masssacte appears in House Executive Document 63 (Serial
788), 33 Cong., 2nd Session, pp. 1-27. For more information
about the "Grattan Massacre" see George E. Hyde, Spotted Ta'd'i
Folk: A History of the Brule Sioux (Norman: Universit)' ot Okla-
homa Press, 1974), pp. 31-32, 50-58; Robert W. Larson, Red
Cloud; Warrior-Statesman of the Lakota Sioux (Norman: Univer-
sity of Oklahoma Press, 1997), pp. 67-68, 71, 75; and Robert
M. Utiey, Frontiersmen in Blue: The United States Army and the
Indian, 18-^8-1865 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press,
1981), pp. 113-15.
Annals of VVvomirq: The '.'Vvo.thpq Historv Journai - Si/^'ri-er ;
government under treat)'. The date set for distribu-
tion was long past. They had been waiting tor weeks.
Their goods were stored several miles upstream in a
warehouse at what was known as the Gratiot Houses,
a trading post also called Fort John, a short distance
east of- Fort Laramie — but the Indian Agent, Major
J. W. Whitfield, had not arrived to issue them. Each
day the Indians had to drive their ponies a greater
distance for trrass. Each dav their hunters had to rantre
in ever-widening circles in search of game for the
cooking pots. They were tmderstandahlv restless and
provoked.
Also running near the Platte, almost within sight
of these Indians, was the emigrant route generally
known as the C^res,on Trail, o\'er which an almost
constant stream of covered wagons plodded their
weary way wesr^vard. This trail was known among
the Indians as "The Holv Road" because of the terms
of a trearv' between the Siotix and the white men
made on Florse Creek, near Fort Laramie, in 18S1.
This treaty provided that the red men would not at-
tack or molest the white mans wagon trains travel-
ing this trail; that if Indians should steal from the
emigrants, the chiefs would see that full restitution
was made; that if the whites stole from the Indians,
the government would recompense them for their
loss. In return for this safe passage, the United States
promised to issue the Sioux tribes $^0,000 worth of
goods each year — deliverv to be made near Fort
Laramie. It was a touchy situation, an uneasv truce,
marred by some incidents on both sides — but it
worked pretU' well, the wagon trains had gotten safely
through, until this lame and half-starved old cow came
staggering along the afternoon of August 18, 1854.
She belonged to a . . . wagon train, which left her
behind when she could no longer keep up. A young
Miniconjou brave named F^igh Forehead, on his way
to visit the camp of the Brules nearby, discovered the
cow, down, helpless and apparently abandoned. F^e
promptly slaughtered her, summoned some of his
Brule friends, and they had a feast. The wagon train
proceeded to Fort Laramie, [where] the owner of the
cow reported her stolen by Indians and demanded
compensation.
Conquering Bear, chief of the Brules, also heard
of the incident and realizina; it mi2;ht be considered a
violation of the treaty, immediately went to Fort
Laramie and offered a pony as restitution for the cow.
Old records indicate that a good horse was worth at
least two good cows alons; the trail.
LJnfortimateK', most of the officers and men on
duty at Fort Laramie were absent, leaving only a skel-
eton garrison in the post and Lt. LIugh B. Fleming
in temporarv command. Lt. Fleming, a voung of-
ficer, was apparcntK' reluctant to make a decision in
the matter and C'onquerimi Bear, unable to siet an
answer to his offer, returned to his camp and held a
night conference with other head men. EarK' next
morning, Man Afraid of F^is Horses — although some
translations say it should be Man Afraid of His
Woman — a sort of over-chief among the Sioux,
returned with a small delegation to the Fort and re-
newed the offer. Again they could get no decision
from Lt. Fleming, who left them cooling their heels
all morning and into the earh' afterin)on.
Now comes the most amazing and difficult to
understand part of the whole proceedings. Although
refusing to accept ftdl restitution for the cow as the
treaty provided, Lt. Fleming instead authorized Lt.
John L. Cirattan to take a detail to arrest High Fore-
head, which he had not authoritv to do, and then
washed his hands of the whole affair. Grattan, a green
and hot-headeci 24-vear-old, just graduated from West
Point, started celebrating his first command with a
bottle while assembling his expedition — a wagon,
two 12-lb. cannon, a sergeant, 25 privates, and 2
band musicians. When Chief Man Afraid and his
delegation saw this column cross the Laramie and
head toward the Indian encampment about 2 p.m.,
with Lt. Grattan and Lucian Auguste, a half-breed
interpreter mtich hated hv the Indians, at its head,
they were disturbed and decided to trail along. What
they observed was not reassuring. I he interpreter
was obviouslv drunk, and at least some of the sol-
diers were nipping from a bottle of their own.
The first stop was at the Gratiot Houses store-
room, where Lt. Grattan told the clerks and [a] few
soldiers on guard about his mission, while interpreter
Auguste galloped his horse among the Indians out-
side, shouting insults and brandishing his pistol. As
they came to each band of Indians, Grattan issued
orders for them to stay in camp, which Auguste passed
6 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
on, embellished with more threats and insults.
The next stop was at the Bordeaux Trading Post,
. . . , where Grattan told James Bordeaux to send for
Conquering Bear. While they awaited his arrival,
Auguste continued his campaign of insults and threats
among the Indians in the area. Bordeatix, who of
course understood the Sioux language as well as En-
glish, was greatly alarmed and told Grattan the man
[Auguste] had to be stopped or trouble was sure to
follow. He also told the lieutenant il he would put
Auguste inside the post away from the Indians that
he, Bordeaux, could settle the whole thing in 30 min-
utes. Grattan took no action.
When Conquering Bear arrived, Grattan de-
manded that he surrender High Forehead. The Bear
told him High Forehead was not a member ol his
tribe, merely a visitor at his camp, and he had no
authority over him or to surrender him. The Brule
chief also increased his olfer ol indemnity to several
ponies, and Bordeaux and other white men present
all urged Grattan to delay further action until the
Indian Agent arrived.
Lt. Grattan's answer was to march his men right
into the Brule camp, point his cannon at Conquer-
ing Bear's lodge, line his men up on both sides, order
them to cap their rifles and be ready to fire. He then
stepped forward and told the Brule chief he intended
to personally search the camp and arrest his man.
Bear said that would be a bad thing to do, and of-
fered a mule, worth at least tAvo horses, in addition to
the ponies — many times the value ot any cow. The
pow-wow continued. Augustes interpreting became
more inaccurate and insulting to both sides. Then
suddenly High Forehead stepped from one of the
lodges, shouted to Grattan he would not surrender
but was not afraid to die, and [was] ready to fight
[Grattan] to the death.
Meanwhile, from the root ol his trading post,
Bordeaux and several other white men could see that
braves from the other tribes had quietly surrounded
Grattan on both flanks and the rear. They persuaded
Bordeaux to go and replace Auguste as interpreter to
prevent a fight. Bordeatix jumped on his horse and
started, but he was too late.
Several scattering shots were fired and one In-
dian fell. The Bear shouted at his Brules to hold their
fire, that maybe the white men would go away. In-
stead, Grattan stepped back into line, grabbed the
lanyard of one cannon, and signaled his men to fire.
The cannon were pointed a little too high and their
balls whistled harmlessly over the tepees, but at the
first volley Conquering Bear, who had tried so hard
to prevent a clash, foil mortally wounded. The Brules,
gathered about their foUen chieftain, responded with
a flight of arrows. Lt. Grattan was one of the first to
go down — his body carried 24 arrows when recov-
ered. The interpreter and a soldier holding Grattan's
horse galloped off toward the Holy Road at the first
shot and were next to be killed. Several men piled
into the wagon and the driver whipped his horses
back over the trail. Indians covering the rear took
care of them. The remaining 15 or 20 soldiers re-
treated over rough ground to the base of a brush-
covered hill and, for a time, their fire held most of
the warriors beyond arrow range. But when they
made a dash from their cover across a flat stretch
toward the Holy Road, hundreds of mounted war-
riors charged and hacked them down. Within a few
hours after those thirty men had left Fort Laramie,
full of high spirits in more ways than one, all were
dead.
The now thoroughly-enraged warriors spared
Bordeaux and his family because he was a brother-in-
law of the tribe and long-time friend, and [the Brules]
failed to find the several white men hidden on his
roof But they rampaged through the night, swear-
ing death to all whites. Next morning they rode up-
river to the warehouse where their goods were stored
— and from which the few soldiers and clerks had
discreetly retired — helped themselves to what they
wanted and scattered most of the goods — flour, sugar,
bacon, etc. — from the shelves in a fury of destruc-
tion. Then on they went to Fort Laramie, where
some say they made a token attack, others that they
contented themselves with circling the Fort on their
ponies and driving off all loose stock. On the third
day, they struck their great camp on the Platte and
returned to their various hunting grounds.
So it was not until the fourth day that a civilian
and military burial party was able to reach the scene
of the massacre. What they found was not pretty.
The slain had been mutilated beyond recognition.
Anna's of VVyoming The Wyoming History Journal -- Si:"imer 2J04
Hot August sunshine had done the rest. Only the
body of- Lt. G rattan was returned to the post tor
burial. It was identified by a watch he was carrying.
The rest were quickly covered in one common, shal-
low grave. The incident triggered a quarter-century
of intermittent savage warhire on the plains . . .
About 1920, . . . John Hunton showed the writer
this common grave. It was a depression about IS
feet in diameter and perhaps 3 teet deep in the cen-
ter. The surroimding land was still brush-covered
river bottom. He told us it had been a moimd when
he first came to the coimtry in 1 867. I he winds ol
more than hah a centurv had hollowed it out. Mr.
Himton stepped into the depression and scratched
around with his cane. He unearthed a tarnished brass
button, a uniform collar insignia, and what appeared
to be a piece ot arm bone and a human tooth. We
reburied these evidences of an ancient tragedy in the
dust}' earth and went away from there.
An Ill-fated Trek to Washington
Tuci., Mar 23 [1S~5] - Expedition under Capt. Mix
started to bring minen out of Blaek Hills... Considerahle
exeitenie)it about Blk. Hills. . .
The above long-past and forgotten minor mili-
tan' movement was a prelude to major war with the
Sioux, which was to follow discoven' of gold in the
Black Hills [of South Dakota] and the rush of thou-
sands of miners into that area, which the Indians con-
sidered a violation of their territory and of their peace
treaties with the white man.
It is difficult tt) imagine the . . . [magnitude of
this mass migration] from all over the nation — men
lured by the magic word "gold," with their dreams of
quick and easy wealth, and the women who always
follow the path of such ad\enturers. Newspaper sto-
ries and other records of the day show that [before
the rush was over], large organized groups from the
states of Maine, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Missouri,
Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Illinois, Tennes-
see, Louisiana, and New York — to mention a few
— flooded into Che\'enne . . . , all clawing their way
toward that Promised Land. Huntons [entries in his
diaries for that "feverish period" indicate that] . . . 4-
horse and 6-horse coaches [were] passing through Bor-
deaux at all hours of the day and night . . .
[At first, the Sioux used peaceful means in tr\ing
to persuade the white man to honor the treaties and
stem the flow of tiold-crazed miners, as discussed be-
low.
Fri. May ~ /I8~5J — Louis Loub passed, said Indians
were on way to Washington . . .
Sat, May 8 — Making fenee. Indians passed going to
Washington . . .
The above laconic entries were the prelude to
considerable history. We are indebted to [the late]
Hon. Joseph C. O'Mahone)', chairman of the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs . . . , the Librarv of
Congress, [the Annual Reports of the Commissioner
of Indian Affairs for the years 1874 - 1877, and the
Washington Star] for much of the following infor-
mation concerning that delegation of Indian chief-
tains who passed through Huntons Road Ranch at
Bordeaux that May dav ... on their way to see the
Great White Father in Washington. They were
headed bv Chief Red C:ioud. '
For more informjtion .ibout Red Cloud see Robert i\1.
L'tle)', The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sit-
ting Bull (New York: Henry Hoir, 1993); and Larson, Red
Cloud.
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
Others in Red Cloud's delegation, according to
Washington records, were: American Horse, Little
Wound, Shoulder, Conquering Bear [not to be con-
fused with the chief Conquering Bear who was killed
during the Grattan fiasco described above]. Face Sit-
ting Bull, Trail Lance, East Thunder, Black Bear, Iron
Horse, Pawnee Killer, and Mr. and Mrs. Bad Wound.
In all there were three delegations from the Sioux
Nations which converged on Washington that spring,
the other r\vo being led by Lone Horn, chief of the
Minneconjous, and Chief Spotted Tail.
Three Indian Agents, Maj. H. W Bingham, J. J.
Saville, and E. A. Howard accompanied the delega-
tions, and William Garnett and Louis Bordeaux went
along as interpreters. They arrived in Washington
on the I6th and 17th of May and were quartered at
the Tremont House.
Chief Red Cloud and the delegations first met
President Grant at the White House on May 19th,
but after greeting them, the President said he was too
busy to discuss their problems that day and shunted
them along to talk with the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs and the Secretar}' of the Interior — a real case
of "passing the Buck" if there ever was one.
This brush-off seemed to anno\' the big chiefs.
Lone Horn is reported to have "informed the Presi-
dent that he and his forefathers had owned all of this
country at one time, and that he was claiming entire
ownership, as of that day, tor the Indians," and they
were "fully prepared to fight for their rights." Next
Spotted Tail and Red Cloud chimed in and said, "with
angr\' gestures that unless he appointed a day very
soon to meet with them, he, the President, would be
sorry." But . . . Grant, it seems, just wasn't in any
mood for pow-wowing and "with this the entire del-
egation marched out."
At a subsequent meeting with the Indian Com-
missioner, "Red Cloud spoke first, maintaining that
the white man had told him many lies, and he had
come to Washington to find the truth from 'The Great
White Father'." He received a promise they could
see the President some other day.
On May 21st, "the delegation and their inter-
preters appeared at the Commissioner's office to de-
mand a change of quarters from the Tremont House
to the Washington House, maintaining that their
rooms were too small." The Commissioner's long
reply to this complaint added up to "no soap," and
the Indians went away mad again. At one confer-
ence. Lone Horn complained "they did not have
enough food on their reservation nor weapons with
which to obtain food." The Commissioner's come-
back was that Lone Horn's band was short of food
because they "entertained and supported other Indi-
ans" — and the request for guns was turned down
because "Bad Indians" might get them. It is not sur-
prising that the boys began to feel they were getting
no place fast. On one of these occasions, the Com-
missioner asked Spotted Tail how he felt about the
situation, and the chief replied, "I don't brag about
the Black Hills countr\' when I am talking to white
men, but I love it and don't want to leave. "
Finally, on May 26th, they got their interview
with President Grant, and the old general lost no
time in laving, down the law of might makes right.
He is quoted in part as saying: "They must see that
the white people outnumber the Indians two hun-
dred to one in the territories of the United States.
This number is increasing rapidly and before many
years, it will be impossible to fix the limits where the
Indians can prevent the white people from going. It
will soon become necessary for white people to go to
countries, whether occupied by Indians or not, the
same as thev go from one state to another."
And so Red Cloud and his red Brothers got the
truth from their "Great White Father." The Presi-
dent then proceeded to " . . . point out to them the
advantages both to themselves and [their] children if
they enter into an agreement I shall propose to them.
There is a territory south of where they now live,
where game and grass is better, and where whites can
be sent among them to teach them the arts of civili-
zation. This year there has been great difficulty in
keeping the white people from the Black Hills in
search of gold . . . Each recurring year this same diffi-
culty will be encountered unless the right to go to
that country is granted by the Indians. In the end,
this purpose to get into that country may lead to
hostilities between the whites and the Indians with-
out any special faults on either side. " President Grant
then ended the interview by saying, "I want the Indi-
ans to think of what I have said to them. I don't
Annals of VVvomina The '.''."■. omina HistOTv Jou'nai - Sjn^mer 2C.'-
want them to talk today, hut to speak freely with the
Sectetar)' ot the Interiot and the Commissioner of
Indian AHairs.
The\' met with Secretary of the Interior Delano
and Commissioner Smith on May 27th and were
given some more blunt advice. After telling them
how good it was for the Indians to be at peace with
the whites and pointing out that the government was
spending $1,200,000 annually on supplies iov the
Sioux, the Secretarv threatened discontinuance of
further aid unless they accepted the government's of-
fer, being quoted as saving, "Now if vou don't do
what is ris;ht, Cono;ress will retuse to "ive you any
more aid.' ( . . . That still seems to ha\'e a familiar
echo in some of toda\''s official statements concern-
ing our foreign economic policy).
And what was the government's offer for the
Black Hills and other concessions? "Commissioner
Smith then stated that Congress would give them
S23,000 for their land and send them into Indian
Territory to settle. ' No, friend, we didn't leave off
any ciphers. $23,000 . . . was the government's of-
fer.
Spotted Fail's repK' to Secretary Delano's propo-
sition was something of an oration, its logic wtirth\',
in our opinion, of presen'ation and was as follows:
My father. I have coundcrcd all the (iieiit F,ither told
me. iVid hiire eoiiie here to give ]'(iii all iiinirer . . . When
I ii'iii here before, the President gave me my eomitry. and
I put my itake down in a good phiee. and there I want to
stay . . . I respeet the Treaty (doubtless referring to tlie
Treaty' of 1868) but the white men wlio eome in our
country do not. You speak of anotlier eountry, but it is
not my country: it does not eoiwern nie. and I want
noticing to do witlt it. I was luit born there . . . If it is
such a good eountry. you ought to send the white men
now in our eountry tin-re and let us alone . . .
Wrangling ct)ntinued on a number of minor
points, including interpretation of the terms of the
Trean,' of 1808, but the Indians refused to si^n any
new treat}' or agreement until they had tetiuned home
to consult with their people . . . |Thev] left Washing-
ton empty-handed on June 4th.
Had a successful solution been found, the great
Indian wars of 1876 mio;ht not have been fought.
and there would have been no Custer Massacre. For
a time, our government did try, unsuccessfully, to
stop the tide, according to most historians — but the
magic word "Cold " was too powerful a drug, then as
now In yain did Washington issue its proclamations.
In vain did our troops tn,' to block the trails . . . [but
in retrospect], perhaps no human power could ha\'e
stemmed that ant-like, gold-crazed horde.
So the Indians fought and thousands died . . .
But [their] cause was hopeless. Ihe strength of the
Sioux was broken. President Crant "spoke with a
straisrht tongue " — the odds were too "teat.
The Saga of Fallen Leaf ^
rhe legend of Ah-ho-appa (Fallen Leaf) and of
her father Shan-tag-alisk (Chief Spotted fail of the
Brule Sioux) has been often told in song and story,
and in many wavs. At least part of it is true. It is a
sttange tale of intermingled fact and fanc\' abt)ut a
girl who wanted to li\'e and lo\'e in a world of which
she was not a part — and of her father, a remarkable
leader of men.
In the simimer of l'-)28, a few months before his
death, |ohn Himton was interviewed at C^ld Fort
Latamie b\' Joseph C. Masters. He showed Mr. Mas-
ters where Ah-ho-appa had been buried on a scaffold
and told him what he knew of the circumstances.
Mr. Mastets then wrote a newspaper feature story
about her. In I '-HiO, Russell Ihorp of C'he\enne sent
[my grandfather] a clipping of that stor\' and . . .
photographs of the scaffolding which held her remains
for many years. . . and of her father.
Ah-ho-appa must have been a lonely girl, not in
phwsical or spiritual harmon\- with her own people,
or so the legend "oes. Since she did not feel and
^^ The niilitan' and emigrants" lust tor land. gold, and adventure
were not the onlv forces that threatened the Sioux' way ot lite
duriiig this bjgone era. For instance, some ot them were
lured troni their tribes b\' a tascination tor the "white man"
and his culture. In his works, mv grandtather presented the
tollowing case in point, the sad stop,- ot an obsessed maiden.
Fallen Leat, and her tather. Spotted Tail, whose "ill-fated" jour-
ney to Washington in 187S with other chiettains and their
delegations w.is previousK described in this article. For more
intormation about Ah-ho-appa see Wilson O. Clough, "Mini-
aku. Daughter ot Spotted Tail, Atiihils of Wyoming 1 (Oct.
1967): 187-216; and Hyde, Spotted Tad's Folk. pp. 108-110.
10 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
think as they did, she could not be one with them.
And from the whites, whom she admired and appar-
ently wished to emulate, she was set apart by the
chasms ot heredit)', skin color, and prejudice.
Thus it was that during a long visit at Fort Laramie
about 1864, she would sit, day after day, alone and
apart, on a bench at the Sutler's store, observing all
that went on — thinking who knows what thoughts
and experiencing who knows what lutile longings.
Some stories say she was secretly in love with one of
the dashing young officers. As to that, this writer has
no evidence.
It is said the daily ceremony oi guard moimt al-
ways held her enthralled, and that the soldiers took
pride in putting it on with special dash — just for
her. To them she was "The Princess," set apart by her
grave reserve and dignity.
And then one day. Spotted Tail led his people
north, back to the Powder River country, and took
his daughter with him — away from Fort Laramie,
which she never saw again in life. After her depar-
tiue, at a gathering of officers at the old fort, one of
them claimed to have known Ah-ho-appa in earlier
years and said that even as a small girl, she had sworn
ne\er to marry an Indian, and she never did, al-
though legend has it that some of the rich young
braves of the tribe offered Shan-tag-alisk as many as
200 ponies for her hand. Another story is that on
one occasion, a Blackfoot warrior attempted to carry
her off by force and she cut him up with her knife to
the point of death. Spotted Tail took such pride in
this exploit that he never attempted to force her into
marriage.
General Harney is said to have once presented
her with a little red book which, although she could
not read or even speak English, became one of her
most treasured possessions. She dressed herself as a
young man, liked to carry a gun like her father, and
performed none of the squaws' menial tasks.
Two years after her departure from Fort Laramie
found Ah-ho-appa dying in a lonely tepee on the
Powder. Some said it was consumption — others a
broken heart. Shan-tag-alisk, in desperate grief, prom-
ised to take her back to Fort Laramie in the spring
(1866), but Indian tradition, handed down from gen-
eration to generation, has it that she told her father
how much she would love to go, but that it was too
late.
And so she languished and died — but not until
after a promise from Spotted Tail, that he would bury
her on a hillside near Fort Laramie, where her spirit
could look down upon the old parade ground and
watch again the guard mount she loved so well . . .
They wrapped the frail body in smoked deerskin
and placed it upon two white ponies, lashed closely
together, for the week-long journey through deep
winter snows. A rtmner was sent ahead by Spotted
Tail, asking officers to grant his daughter's dying re-
quest for burial overlooking Fort Laramie.
The funeral cavalcade, while still some fifteen
miles from the Fort, was met by a military escort sent
by Post Commander Major George O'Brien. It con-
sisted of an ambulance, a company of cavalry in dress
uniform, and two 12-pound mountain howitzers.
Ah-ho-appa's mortal remains were placed in the am-
bulance, her two white horses tied behind.
Chief Spotted Taif father of Ah-ho-appa. Courtesy of the Grace
Raymond Hebard Papers, American Heritage Center, University
of Wyoming.
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004 1 1
The entire garrison, headed by Col. Maynadicr
oi the First U. S. Volunteers, turned out to meet the
hmeral cortege at the Platte River, about two miles
from Fort Laramie. Next da\' the burial scaffold was
erected on a gentle slope, hall a mile or so north of
the Fort hospital. It was made of stout poles, laced
together at the top with thongs to hold the coffin.
(About 1920, John Hunton took this writer to the
site of that scaffold, some of which was still standini;,
with a few rotting boards from the coffin K'insr on
the ground below.)
The two white ponies were sacrificed, their heads
and tails nailed to the poles, so that Ah-ho-appa would
not be afoot in the spirit world. 1 he bodv, still in its
deerskin shrtuid and fiuther wrapped in a red blan-
ket, was then placed in the elaborately-decorated cof-
fin resting on a caisson and slowly hauled to the scaf-
fold, escorted bv the garrison in dress array.
Post Chaplain Wright conducted a formal white
man's burial service. When he had finished, Spotted
Tail indicated he wanted his daughter buried in the
Indian way. He wanted to find her in the red man's
happy hunting ground and be reunited with her
there. He did not want her lost to him forever in the
white man's heaven. His every wish was followed.
When the ceremonies were over, Shan-tag-alisk cut
what he doubtless hoped was the last thread binding
his daughter to the white man's hereafter by return-
ing to Chaplain Wright the parfleche sack contain-
ing [the little army Episcopal pra\'er book given to
her by Ceneral Harney many years before] . . .
The soldiers were deployed in a large square about
the scaffold. Within that square, the Indians stood
in a circle around the coffin. K4ajor O'Brien placed
a pair of white kid cavalr\' gloves in the coffin to
keep Fallen Leaf's hands warm on her lonely journey
to the other world, and also a new dollar bill with
which to buy food along the way. Then the Indian
women came up, one bv one, and talked to her in
long, earnest whispers — doubtless messages for her
to carry on to their own departed loved ones. And
each put something she might need beside her body
— a bit of mirror, a string of beads, some little to-
ken.
The lid was then fastened down, [and] the squaws
lifted their princess to the top of the scaffold and
lashed a buffalo skin over all, as the men stood by,
mute and motionless. The soldiers, facing outward
in their large square, fired a final salute of three vol-
leys. Red men and white men then marched back
together to the post as darkness fell and it began to
sleet and snow — that is, all marched back except the
howitzer detail, which remained at the burial site,
built a large fire, and discharged their cannon even.'
half hoLU' Luuil da\'bi"eak. Sioux warriors apparently
kept a watchful eye on the grave for Jquite some time
after that] . . .
Many years later, so the story goes, a young and
impetuous military doctor came to Fort Laramie. He
had the impudence and appalling lack of respect to
remove the bones of Ali-ho-appa and make a skel-
eton of them for his office. One day, scouts brought
word to the post that Shan-tag-alisk, with a part)' of
warriors, was approaching to take away the remains
of his child. Post atuhorities, in near panic, gave the
great, friendh' chief and his party a ceremonious wel-
come and persuaded him to rest overnight at the Fort
before going to claim his daughter. This gave them a
chance to replace Fallen Leaf's bones in her casket
before morning and remo\'e e\ idence that her grave
had been violated. Had thc\' failed, old [Spotted Fail]
might have felt relieved of la promise he made to his
daughter to] . . . never again . . . make war on the
whites — and who could have blamed him? She was
flnalK' btuled tmder a suitable monimient at the Rose-
bud Agency in South Dakota.
Eugene Ware, an officer who was present and
wrote an account of ]Fallen Leaf's] burial at Fort
Laramie, added this thought to his record:
Hfr story /s tlw story of the persistent inelancholy of tfie
luiiihvi niee; of /c/)/gs horn in fiore/s ivid (fyiug tliere: of
geniuses horn wlwre genius is a erinw: of heroes horn
before their age lUid dying unsung: of heaury born wlwre
its gift iCiis fat,//; of inerey horn among wolves; of states-
nien born to find society not yet ripe for their labors to
begin, and bidding tlw world adieu firnn the scaffold.
The daughter of Shan-tag-alish was o>ie of those indi-
viduals found in all finds, at all places, and anun/g all
people; she was misplaced.
See Eugene F. \C^ire, T/ie hidhvi War of 186-1 (Lincoln:
Univer.sir)' of Nebrask.i Press, l'-)'-)^), pp. 407-^(18.
1 2 Annals of Wvominq: The Wyoming HisiorA' Journal -- Summer 2004
The record also indicates that her father was of
unusual intellect . . . with deep and abiding under-
standing ot himian rights and ciignitv, who realized
the hitilitv of" war as an instrument oi" justice. If his
reasoning and attitudes were those oi an "ignorant
savage," perhaps more ol: the same would be benefi-
cial in high places — even today.
A Brother Lost
Fri, May 5 [1876] — Got back to Milk Ranch about
sunset. Heard of horses beingstolen on Chug &]im [one
of John Huntoii's brothers] niissnig. Went to Post
[Fetterman] .
Sat, May 6 — Staid at Post last night. 8 A.M. got
telegram announcing that Jim had been killed by Indi-
ans. Started to [Bordeaux].
Sun, May 7 — Got to Ranch 2 P.M. Started to Chey-
enne with Jim's remains at 5 o'clock P.M. . . .
Mon, May 8 — Staid at Kellys last night . . . Got to
Cheyenne at 5 PM. Arrangements [Jor Jim's futieral]
made by Mr Fogelsong and Frank Hunter . . .
Tues, May 9 — /// town [Cheyenne] all day. BURIED
JIM.
The several [newspaper and other] stories of how
Jim Hunton was killed vary considerablv in detail.
Many years later, John Hunton's own account of
Jim's killing was written b\' him tor the Fort Laramie
Scout xx\A published therein [as follows] . . .
. . . May 4, 1876, James Hunton, my brother, left . . .
my home on the afernoon of that day to go to the ranch
of Charles Cofjee, on Boxelder creek . . . to get a horse he
had traded for. While going down through 'the notch' in
Goshen Hole, about half way between the two places, he
was waylaid, shot atid killed by five Indian boys, who
were out on a horse stealing expedition. The Indians
then went to my ranch . . . afier night atid rounded up,
stole and drove off every head of horses and mules (38) I
owned except my saddle horse, which I had with me . . .
The horse my brother was riding ran and the Indians
could not catch him and the next moriTing was seen on
top of the bluff east of the ranch. Blood on the saddle told
the tale and a searching party found the body that afer-
noon.
There is reason to believe John Hunton learned
some of the details of his brother's death directly from
the ver\' Indians, or at least one of them, who com-
Jim Hunton, the brother of John Hunton, was killed in May
1876. Courtesy John Hunton Papers, American Hentage
Center, University of Wyoming.
mitted the act. One sultry summer day in the early
[1920s], jogging to the "Station" Irom Fort Laramie
with Mr. Hunton in his old buckboard ... he told
the writer substantially this story.
Some time alter his brother's death, when there
was again an uneasy peace between the red men and
the white, Hunton was present at an Indian "feast "
— we do not know the date or place. He told how
on occasions the Indians would gorge themselves with
unbelievable quantities of meat, often to the point
where they would fall over unconscious, as though
drunk, and sleep the clock around where they lay.
He also recalled that these same Indians . . . could
travel for da\'s without food and apparently suffer no
serious discomfort or loss of strength.
And at such feasts following the end of hostili-
ties, it was considered proper and commendable for
Annals of Wyoming TheWyominqHistory Journal -Summer 2004 13
warriors who had distinguished themselves to make
speeches bragging of" tlieir exploits and telHng how
they had killed their late enemies. On this night a
young Indian arose and told in gor\' detail how he
and others had killed jim Hunton.
John Hunton said simply, "When I heard it, 1
suddenly saw red" and he reached for his gim with
hut one thought, to kill that Indian. Squatted beside
him in that dim circle by the flickering fire was a
young cavalry officer who saw Himton's move and
grabbed his gun arm by the wrist before he could
draw. Without moving from their places, and ap-
parently unobser\'ed, the nvo men struggled silently
for a few seconds until Hunton retrained his senses.
and sat stoically dead-panned during the remainder
of the evening, as demanded by protocol. 1 he old
"cntleman observed thouditfullv that had he fired
on his brother's killer, the twenty or thnt\' white men
present woidd LuidoubtcdK ha\'e been killed in a
matter of seconds b\- the hundieds of Indians who
surrotmded them.
So that unknown, cjuick-witted \'oimg officer
with a strong grip possiblv robbed history of another
massacre. We would probabK' all be stnpriscd if we
knew how manv momentous events actually hinge
on small incidents which seldom find their wa\' into
the books.
AIU
1 4 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
L. G. Flannery Papers
courtesy American
Heritage Center,
University of Wyoming
We take the
Hunton treasure
for granted with-
out remembering
or even knowing
the guardian of
that treasury, Pat
Flannery.
Those oi us steeped in Wyoming history seem to forget that the whole
wide world thinks it knows everything there is to know about our
short history from western movies and romance novels. The other
impression of Wyoming history was said, partly in jest, the other day by Rae
Whitney, the widow of a tormer priest who sometimes served our All Saints'
Episcopal church when we were without a full time rector. Rae was born and
educated in England where history can go back endless numbers of years.
She said, "1 wonder about you Wyomingites and your passion for history, it
seems to me you have very little of history." I replied, "That explains why we
make so much of what we have." The actual eyewitness accounts of the fron-
tier and its people are rare. One of the most valuable collections of personal
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Jourral" Summer 2004 15
experiences in the earlv days of the development oi
Wyoming is the John Himton collection. We take the
Hunton treasure tor granted without remembering
or even knowing the guardian oi that treasur}', Pat
Flannery. Without his chance acquaintance with
Hunton, which developed into a lite long friendship,
the Hunton diaries, if they still existed, might be in
some nice air controlled archive revered but forgot-
ten. To tell the truth that is where they are, safely pre-
sers'ed at the American Heritage Center at the Uni-
versity of Wyoming in Laramie. 1 he\' are not forgot-
ten. Nearly every history of Wyoming 1 have read has
referenced Huntons diaries as a source, made pos-
sible by the dedication of Huntons friend and heir to
the diaries, Pat Flannery.
Other sources for those of us who want to learn
about our early days are the few diaries preser\'ed in
our state facilities, the archives in Cheyenne and the
Heritage Center. In some fortunate circumstances
there were letters such as the beautifullv illustrated
examples of the artistic talent of Charlie Russell, fhere
are the careful records of Lewis and Clark, but as far
as I can fmd out, little was written by Jim Bridger;
nothing by Jacques La Ramie. Some are photocop-
ied and preser\'ed in the archives. In fact an account
of my family's ancestor's adventures on the trail to
the gold fields in California is among those.
Not many of the early residents of Wyoming were
able or even interested in recording their day to day
activities on the beaver trap line, or himting for a
meal. Those conditions were not condticive to im-
mediate recording of events or experiences. Their
times were so different from our own that we forget
they lived in a world where paper and pencil were
not easily replaced; not ever}' pioneer could read and
write. Our lives seem imremarkable, too, but future
generations may marvel at how primitive we were.
John Hunton was unique, he was educated and he
recorded many of his experiences in letters home and
the diaries. From one of John Huntons letters comes
the motto for the village of Fort Laramie, embla-
zoned on the roadside as the traveler approaches. He
was asked about conditions in the West and he re-
plied to the correspondent that Fort Laramie was a
town of 250 good souls and six old grouches. Fort
Laramie has proudly displayed that sign for man\-
years. Hunton had arri\ed in W\'oming, at Fort
Laramie, in 1867 where he shared a room with Jim
Bridger. A Virginian and veteran of the Civil War,
he had "whacked mules" along the trails from Ne-
braska Cir\', a staging point for the West, as far as
Fort Laramie. Much later in his life Himton became
a friend of Pat Flannery.
Flannery was a contemporar)' of m\- parents and
his daughter, Billie, was myTorrington school friend.
We were junior members of the American Legion
Auxiliary too. When we were older her children
played with my children when we all li\ed in
Torrington or Cheyenne. Pat was a fixture in our
communit)', as the publisher and editor of the local
newspaper he inserted little tidbits of information
about the quirky habits of our populace or other
funny events. He was an ardent patriot and one of
the strong supporters of the American Legion, hav-
ing served as he did in World War I. He arrived in
Coshen Count\' in 1*^)22 with many veterans of that
war under the auspices of a government program
which provided homesteads in a lotter\' opportunirv.
When Pat came to Wvoming with his bride, Laura
Alice Moomah, and their baby daughter, Billie, he
homesteaded near Fort Laramie.
Leon Grayson "Pat" Flannerv was born in St.
Louis, Missouri, on March l4, 1894. He started
school in St. Louis and in Chicago before his parents
moved to Colorado when he was twelve. After high
school in Denver he attended the Colorado State
College of Agriculture at Fort Collins before his mili-
tar}' service. His interests at the universit\- included
the school newspaper
By the time the Flanner\'s arrived at their home-
stead, the former centerpiece of tra\'el on the se\'eral
trails leading to the gold mines in California or to
Oregon, the old fort was a decaying shell. Planner)'
became a friend of an elderly neighbor, an "old timer '
John Hunton. He learned of the diaries Hunton had
carefulK' filled through fifr\' years.
Much like other WW] veteran homesteaders, Pat
did not last long as a farmer Manv of the idealistic
new farmers were not farmers or even had rural back-
grounds. Some of those reading this stor}^ may know
that farming is an art, usualK- handed down from
father to son with hands-on practice. It was not easv
1 6 Annals of VVyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
to learn how to farm in the three year "proving up"
residency period required to gain legal title to the
plots of land. At the time ot this project by the fed-
eral government the acreage of each farm was eighty
acres. A few earlier efforts at peopling the West had
granted one hundred sixty acres largely in Colorado.
The additional complication of irrigated farming
proved daunting lor the easterners who had lived in
areas with sufficient natural moisture to grow crops.
Many just used the property as a leg up to continue,
or return to, former vocations or to establish another
profession, usually in the area from which they had
come bv selling their homesteads. The population of
Goshen County during and immediately after the
earlv 1920s swelled to some eighteen thousand souls.
And it diminished to its present number of about
twelve thousand by the mid to late 1930s. The diver-
sity of these new Wyoming residents was one of the
unique aspects of the population. They were all vet-
erans and that was the only requirement with a small
filing tee for the lottery drawing. The homesteaders
came from nearly every one of the forty-eight states;
ever)' religion was represented, every ethnic back-
ground. Like Pat and my parents, some stayed on
the homestead even after the three year residency re-
quirement. In some cases the length of time in mili-
tary service allowed for that 'overtime' to reduce the
residency needed. My mother insisted that they only
had to live on the homestead seven months a year for
a year and a half because of my fathers lengthy ser-
vice before WWT and in France durino; the war.
The Flannery heritage and education was pub-
lishing so it was almost pre-ordained that Pat and
Alice Flannery would found The Fort Laramie Scout,
a weekly newspaper. It had a limited circulation, was
delivered by mail and the annual subscription rate
was two dollars. Its readership quickly increased be-
cause of Pat's quick way with a phrase, and a mock-
ing kind of humor for the foibles of those people
who were the subjects of his news. As he roamed the
area, his outgoing personality found items of local
interest to add to state and national news. His asso-
ciation with Hunton had increased to a trusting
friendship. Pat proposed publishing excerpts from the
Hunton diaries in each edition of the paper. Hunton
demanded the assurance that Pat would not alter any
information or phrasing or spelling in the diaries to
make them sound better than they were. The short
item in each newspaper ended with "to be contin-
ued." It was the first public recognition of Hunton's
history.
Very soon the newspaper expanded with a new
name of The Goshen County News and Fort Laramie
Scout. Its editorial office was in Lingle some ten miles
east of Fort Laramie and the Flannery homestead.
The expanded readership resulted in a very good, lu-
crative newspaper. Pat sold the Lingle paper to Floy
and Leo Tonkin and moved his operation to the
county seat at Torrington another ten miles east on
the railroad line. The Tonkins were as creative and
ambitious as the Flannerys and their paper continues
publication to this day.
The Goshen County Neivs frankly supplied a
Democrat political party view for its readership. Pat's
advocacy was strong for the Democrats just as the
Torri)igton Telegrani offered the opposing view. It was
not unusual for the strongest Republican to subscribe
to Pat's paper because it was entertaining. He pre-
sented the news with humor and respect. The con-
tent was something like the publication much earlier
in England of the works by Dickens. In addition to
the Hunton column, it featured a serialized novel
which filled more space in the paper than Hunton's
excerpts, cartoons, and a nod to national and inter-
national news. An example of its attraction appeared
on January 26, 1927:
Our learned county superintendent of schools, C. C.
Smith, believes that an agile body and firm muscles
are worthy and necessary compliments to an active
brain and strong mind. While illustrating his theory
with a few simple feats of physical prowess before sev-
eral of our able and charming school marms at his
home the other evening he is said to have performed a
split that was all wool and a yard long, illuminating
and revealing, uncovering the entire proposition so to
speak.
It is understood that Mr. Smith did not, at first in-
tend to go into the matter at such great length but. ..a
rug upon which he was demonstrating slipped, caus-
ing him to hastily revise his plans and execute this
Annals of VVvommii The Vv'voniiiiQ Hislorv Journal -- Summer 200-;
split - one of the most complete on record....the News
regrets that it cannot proceed with fijrther details. ..ahcr
accomplisliiiii; his teat he is reported too have backed
modestK' to the wall and slid as inconspicuousK' as
possible onto a sohi where he remained demurely seated
- thus keeping the details hurlv well hidden.
In the early l')20s when Flannery and Hunton
met, he was well and still ser\'cd as president ot the
Wyoming Old limers who met at the state htir in
Douglas once a year. The Htmtons had miwcd to
Torrington a more comkirtable access tor the two
friends. In the discussion ol the fmal disposition of
the diaries, it was clear that Hunton expected they
woidd be published. The agreement was the same as
the the one regarding the excerpts in Pat's newspa-
pers. It was not a formal document, there was to be
no fooling around with Huntons own words or an\'
effort to make them more interesting than they were.
In the case of these two friends it would be honored,
tmlike Yogi Berras sa\'ing: "An oral agreement isn't
worth the paper its written on." When Pat edited the
diaries he used Htmtons words even when he added
explanations of some details.
Pat bought the Hunton farm just outside Fort
Laramie when it was available. Its dwelling was ex-
acth' like most ol the primitive houses of the original
residents. It was a shack about twelve leet hv twenty.
The conversations between Hunton and Flannery
are forgotten, but when Hunton died in 1928, Pat
Flannery received the fitty diaries, one for each vear
through 1927, with the exception of the later months
of 1888 and the first few months of 1889.
There was never any question in Flannerv's mind
that he had inherited a priceless treasure. He ct)n-
stilted the respected historian Cirace Ravmond Hebard
about the appropriate way to use them. Thev agreed
that a passage of time, perhaps rwenr\'-five years, would
give a perspective to the life and work ot Hunton
and allow for more careful presentation of the dia-
ries.
Pat continued to publish his newspaper which
crusaded h)r many needed improvements in the
county: a new bridge over the Platte River; he sup-
ported the establishment ol an orphanage at
Torrington bv the Roman Catholic Church, and as-
sisted in acquiring the land for it; he lauded the win-
ners in high school athletics and other activities; he
reported on honors at the coimt\- and state fairs. In
the matter ol the bridge, which was considered mod-
ern, made of concrete as it was and fairly new, he
pointeci out that it presented a serious hazard since it
had no pedestrian lane. Flannerv explained that the
new Hollv Sugar hictorv had caused a basic change
hv the users ol the bridge. Workers in the lactory
south ol the town of Ibrrington had to compete with
traffic to walk to wt>rk.
He wrote of the tragedies in the community.. .an
example was the death ol "little Mae Hackleman.
There is sorrow in the home ot her parents and a
happy presence has also departed from Jim Johnsons
school bus. ..she was taken sick a few weeks ago and
her death came Friday after an unsuccessful mastoid
operation in Chewnne. His stor\' continued to name
bus mates who would miss their "pet and her "kindh',
cheerlul little spirit. "
On another occasion he described in detail the
death ot a young woman killed in the nearby town
ot Henr}' in what must have been a case ot mistaken
identity since the local police officer, lim Nolan, was
driving her home to Morrill. He explained there was
a report of a stolen car and officers approached a car
on the side of the road, shots were fired by C.L. Landiy
ot the DeLue detective agenc\' and Miss SvKia Kelly
was accidentalK' killed. Fhat same paper ttild ot the
hunting accident death of Billy Heffi'on, the nephew
ot the large Heffron family. I he Heftrons, unmar-
ried brothers and sisters, lived in a spacious house on
IS'"' street west. Fhey had adopted Billie .\nd his sis-
ter, Doll)', when their parents died. Billies gun had
discharged as he pulled it trom the car to shoot a
rabbit on the same street about a halt mile west of his
home. 1 have never seen anyone cHie, especialK' h\'
gimshot, so 1 remember well the description hv Keith
Housen, Billies friend who was there that day. Keith
tried to assist Billie who was lying; on the road, with
spasms and heavy jerking. Keith said he had always
thought that anyone shot just dropped dead and did
not move as they do in the movies. Keiths conversa-
tions were not reported in the newspaper. As the reader
can see it was a folksy newspaper, naming names and
describins; incidents in a manner not seen in today's
18 Annals of VVyoming: The Wyoming Histor/ Journal -- Summer 2004
papers.
When the Goshen Chapter oi the Wyoming State
Historical Society was chartered in 1954, Pat, Alice,
and my parents were charter members. In 1955, the
society at it's annual meeting honored Pat with it's
outstanding historian award. Pat received a document
signed by the revered historian Lola M. Homsher.
Pat was among the sixty-six members ot Post # 5
ol the American Legion, veterans ol World War I
who formed a "Last Mans Club." To those of us whose
fathers were members its purpose was ghoulish and
repugnant. It was a club which was to meet once a
year, the First weekend in June, to toast their com-
rades in arms, those lost in the war and those who
died each year. The membership was limited to the
sixty-six who attended the first meeting on June 3,
1940. The men in the prime of their lives a little over
two decades alter "the big war" scoffed at the idea ot
death. It was hir away, but inevitable they knew. The
three who sur\'ived the longest were to drink a bottle
of wine held in trust by the "head man ' from each
banquet. Political views were not discussed at those
annual meetings where they were bound together by
the war and their common memory. No matter how
politicalK' oriented they were there was no subtle axe
to be ground. Pat was an ardent Democrat; my fa-
ther a passionate Republican. My father, Phil Rouse,
and Pat must have mutually agreed that lor our coun-
tr\' to sun'ive r\vo strong political parties must be
encouraged to provide balance and a lair exchange
of ideas and positions. At least that was my lather's
often mentioned reason for voting, or for working
for a candidate.
Pat was among the majority who made the effort
to get to every reunion, to participate in the
comraderie and listen to the stories often colorfully
embroidered with the passage of time. In the annual
photographs one can feel the friendship and the bond-
ing, although the backgrounds, beliefs, and careers
were as dissimilar as any collection of people could
be. NearK' all had been homesteaders who had come
to eastern Wyoming with high hopes of owning land
and becoming wealthy. A goal reached by few. The
Legion hall where they met had, of course, the obliga-
tory bar, but the photographs do not show any large
number of glasses for liquor. In the one dated 1953,
Pat is the only man with a cocktail glass in his hand,
he is easily identified in the group by his bow tie. I
have never heard that Pat imbibed to any degree. It is
interesting to speculate how it happened that he
looked like the only man who might be a drinker,
when I know that nearly all would join in a drink at
least once a year. One of my historian friends com-
mented when I mentioned that I was researching in-
formation about Pat, "My mother always referred to
him as a flannel mouth Irishman." I looked up that
meaning, it seems it refers to a stereotype of a good
talker.
It was my privilege and that of other daughters
and our mothers to prepare and serve the meal. The
mothers cooked it in the hall's kitchen and we "girls"
were the servers. The menu never varied, fried
chicken. ..potatoes and gravy, green beans, hot rolls,
and pie. The organization and its customs started
when we were in high school and continued through
the time when some of us inherited the cooking job
and our children were the ser\'ers. It was a memo-
rable activity for me to share. It gave me respect for
strong pull of love of country and comrades. Over
the years the preparation and serving of the meal be-
came less and less of a chore as the numbers of the
Last Man's Club dwindled. The final three were Dr.
Bryan Fuller, a veterinarian. Doc F.S. Brown, chiro-
practor, and Frank Zimmer, oil refinery and eleva-
tor owner. When the three actually opened the bottle
of wine, it had turned to vinegar. Ceremonial glasses
of the spoiled wine were suitably raised in a toast to
the sixty-three who were gone. They were not alone.
They had been invited to share their celebration with
the annual meeting of the "Last Squad," the later
generation of World War II veterans with the same
purpose as the Last Man's, remembering. Pat and my
father had long since been among the honorees as
they had left this life.
The eldest among the remaining members hosted
the reunion each year. When it was his turn to be
'last man' and host the dinner on June 7, 1954, my
father led the memorial with a poem which I found
as I researched Flannery's life and that of the Last
Man's Club:
Annals of Wvomino The 'A'v
- qiirntripr 90(1^
"My comrades:
Each year we meet
To toast the dead.
As some have saici.
But a treastired moment
With meaning clear ...
That when we leave
This earth so dear.
You , Comrades,
Will gather here
And drink to us,
As we to them ...
These friends ot ours,
Whose empty chairs
Denote their passage
From worldly cares.
If thev had taults
We know them not.
Of" them, our memories
Hold no slot.
These were men;
Friends so true.
That here tonight
We gather anew.
To toast our comrades
Of yesterday
Who from our club
Have gone away."
With the advent of the adniinistraticTn of Franklin
Roosevelt, an increase in interest in the Democrat
party was generated in Wyoming. Pat entered into
political activities with his usual zeal. He was elected
state chairman ot the party and served "almost con-
tinuously from l'-)33 to 1938 when there was 100%
Democratic control ot the entire congressional del-
egation and the five major state offices," according
to AHce, "when Democrats experienced the greatest
victories" in the state. She did not mention the 1()0*)'()
Democratic legislanuc in 1869 which presented the
Republican governor with a bill designed to embar-
rass him. It created the right for women to vote! Re-
publican Governor John A. Campbell had the last
laugh, he signed it.
Ihe period of Flannery's guidance saw Gover-
nors Leslie A. Miller and Lester Hunt and Senator
Joseph O'Mahoney among others become leaders in
the state. Flannery himself represented Goshen
County in the state legislature. In 1948, he gave in-
ctmibent Republican (Congressman Frank A. Barrett
a rtm for his mone\' when he lost the election by
three thousand votes. Flannery was remarkably suc-
cessful in other aspects of his life. According to Red
Fenwick, noted columnist tor 1 he Denver Post, he
was a complicated man, part ot the worldly political
L. (;. "PAT*-
FLANNERY
'at
CONGRESS
IT
IS
IMPORTANT
THAT
YOU
VOTE
The Jc
Li or Hor
nc or Fofm
O. Rl
putoticn
thar
VOu
help lo
sove mnv
be vc
LJf Own
Publrshed bv
FLANNERY FOR CONGRESS CLUB
P 0 Box 27 S
Lingle, Wyoming
Flannery's campaign brochure. Courtesy L. G. Flannery
Papers, American Hentage Center, University of Wyoming.
20 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
scene, and still content with the simple life of Huntons
old shack.
In an earlier colulmn titled "A HAPPY MAN"
Fenwick had written that at least in the opinion of
one very happy gent named L.G. (Pat) Flannery,
the components of true happiness are relatively
simple what makes all this seem so remarkable to
me is that Flannery is a study in contrasts. ..at one
time [he] was Wyoming's kingmaker. He could name
a postmaster, appoint a judge, put a man in office or
take him out. He could almost singlehandedly deter-
mine the fate of important legislation and without his
blessing a man's political future wasn't worth a three
cornered dime."
Another period oi influence by the Democrats
occurred long after Alice and Pat were gone. For
twenty years, Wyoming had governors, Ed Herschler
and Mike Sullivan, and a secretary of state, Kathy
Karpan, who were Democrats. With his advocacy of
the Democratic party, Pat would have been pleased
to see such worthies carrying his standard.
As the Depression deepened, he was able through
his connections to be named to positions in the state
government: secretary ol the State Board of Chari-
ties and Reform and later, director of the State De-
partment of Commerce and Industry. He worked a
year during the Depression in Washington D.C. be-
fore he was appointed by Harry Hopkins to the posi-
tion of Wyoming administrator of the Works Progress
Administration. That organization researched and
produced an important volume fdled with facts and
figures about Wyoming. While it is no longer in print,
it is often used to research Wyoming history: WTO-
MING, A Guide to its History, Highways and People.
In that capacity he supervised the many efforts made
to ease the Depression years with its high rate of un-
employment.
In his obituary in 77?^ Denver Post, mention was
made that Flannery resigned the WPA directorship
with a salary of "$5,000 a year to enlist in the army
at $21 per month." His obituary, written by Fenwick
for the Post, described his political career and his tri-
umphant FULL SLATE ELECTED in 1938.
As Fenwick wrote, Pat was ever the patriot and
he did enlist as a private in the army the day after the
Pearl Harbor attack. In some of her writing Alice
said that he gave up a high paying job for a noble
ideal. Her remarks seem to indicate she did not quite
share the patriotic zeal but we all knew she loved and
respected her interesting, complex husband. To those
who had survived the Depression years, as Flannery
had, his enlistment spoke of a man of principle and
selfless honor. It explains his popularity and respect
in every job he held in every community he served.
As the war ended he had attained the rank of master
sergeant.
After the war he served in Washington as admin-
istrative assistant to Senator O'Mahoney for six years.
As a sidebar tidbit: the senator's name was always an
interesting topic of conversation. He insisted it was
O'mahonee (ma as in Ma), but Republicans and other
critics insisted on referring to the distinguished sena-
tor as O ma-hoe'-knee.
After his retirement, Flannery turned again to
the diaries of Hunton. He left Alice and the children
and moved, ftdl time, to the shack at Fort Laramie
and worked on the Hunton diaries with the same
zeal he had brought to all other projects in his life. As
that period of time allowed by Dr. Hebard's and his
decision approached, he began his careful perusal and
decided how to present them to posterity. Naturally
he began at the beginning: Hunton's first diary.
Hunton arrived in Dakota Territory in 1866 and
served as a clerk at the post store in Fort Laramie.
Later he settled on a plot which he called Bordeaux, a
time detailed in the diaries. He had put down roots
and stayed the rest of his life in the area about forty
miles wide and sixty miles long which in the present
day is called Goshen County. He had an association
with Fort Fetterman and the town of Douglas at one
time. But most of his life was spent in Laramie
County, later to be divided into Goshen and Platte
counties. Three years alter Hunton came to the re-
gion it became Wyoming Territory on April 3, 1 869.
He recorded in small books the routine and some-
times the exciting people and incidents of his life in
primitive Wyoming. The originals are small leather
bound volumes 3x5 inches. When time came for
publication Flannery selected the same size and simi-
lar suede-like covers. Pat described the diaries as all
.!nn,JnnrnQl-- Summer 2004
•^niiirrn ir, Feukuary 4, iSydl
'/^
la (i Ut '/^ Ua /^ ' • ^U^-if^^Ci'^
r^.
t-^- v^<
//'/S^
7
Jvht^iti^^ ///I'M- J,
y
/j^^^^- //^'y (li/-/../^^ /'/r.Jy
I'MWi'iV, Ff.bruaky 6, 1874
,)fi^fUMI^ i,H^/fr %....c.^.^
jS^^a^-j -Satuuda^ 7
AV/ c^^^^
wm
mmmmmimmmmmf'
Pages from Hunton's 1875 diary Courtesy John Hunton Papers. American Hentage Center. University of
Wyoming,
alike. He chose the 1873 diary ro describe in detail:
"solidly bound with a double leather cover. The out-
side has weathered to a deep brown, the inside one
retains its natuial lii;hr-tan freshness and has two
leather pockets, front and back.. When the double
flap of the outside cover is tucked into its slot the
entire book is well protected against weather and
rough treatment when carried in a man's pocket or
saddle bag."
The pages are gold edged, unfaded, crisp and full of
"life" and made of paper built to withstand the effects
of water. In fact, the fh- leaf proclaims the paper to be
a 'Patent Erasible Surface, Patented October 24, 1 86^.
Use a soft pencil and erase the moisture.' Hunton made
his entries with both ink and pencil, apparentK- de-
pending on whether he wa.s ar home or camped on
the trail.
"And not a leaf in the book is loose from its binding, "
with some awe Pat concluded his description.
As he workecl on the books he was true 10 his
promise to organize, edit, and add explanations and
supplementar\' materials, onl\- to make this earliest
of W\'t)ming historians perfecth' clear to the reader.
The fdunton diaries compare for accurac\' and dcfith
to those of Samuel Pepvs, the most remembered dia-
rist of all. His diaries do not reveal the salacious inti-
mate facts of life as Pepys' do. It seems clear that
Hunton hoped his diaries wotdd be preser\ed and
read h\ future generations, unlike Pep\'s who it is
believed did not intend to reveal his observations to
22 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal - Summer 2004
a passing parade but to himself.
There is universal agreement that the Hunton
diaries would not be as useful, especially in their origi-
nal volumes, without a word or two here and there
to clarify the meaning, or the action taking place.
Hunton casually mentions the names of his friends
and acquaintances: John Clay, Francis Warren, the
Kimballs and Wilkins, John Kendrick, Bryant
Brooks, even Calamity Jane and Buffalo Bill Cody.
He described the life of the frontier and its gradual
emergence to more civilized society sometimes with
a comment about the changes. He discusses irriga-
tion, that vital source of growth. He mentions In-
dian problems, outlaws, jail breaks, social affairs —
one chapter is devoted to the Cheyenne Club, a ha-
ven for the elite of the state.
Volumes five and six of the diaries were ready for
publication at the time of Pat's death, February 4,
1964. Alice arranged for the publication of number
five by the Lingle Guides publisher, Edwin Lebsock,
from the manuscripts Pat had prepared in 1964. For
the sixth volume in 1970, she found a publisher in
The Arthur H. Clark Company of Glendale, Cali-
fornia.
Hunton kept the diaries through 1927. Flannery
had prepared several manuscripts for publication be-
fore his death, which are unpublished and stored in
the American Heritage Center at the University of
Wyoming. They would have covered the "civiliza-
tion" of the area and a new cast of characters almost
as colorful as his earlier acquaintances. The published
and edited volumes are long out of print, prized by
collectors.
Pat's devotion to preserving and presenting this
slice of Wyoming's short history was difficult for the
family. No doubt that is true of any person dedicated
to a mission. When he spent the years in the Hunton
shack just outside the gates of Fort Laramie National
Historic Site, changes were occurring there. It had
been declared a national park in the mid- 1930s and
efforts were begun to restore it. Those improvements
after the war had stabilized many historic buildings.
It was described in a Redbook Magazine as the "jewel
of the National Park Service." The acknowledgment
of the importance of Fort Laramie to the West's civi-
lization can be partially attributed to Flannery's in-
fluence and connections in Washington, D.C.
He was so absorbed in his mission that his grand-
daughter remembers him as a far away person, one
she did not know very well. In these last days as I
— Announcing Publication of —
Volume 4
John
Hunton's
Diary
1880 - '81 - '82
$5 per copy
• 248 Pages.
• 17 Illustrations and Maps.
• Summary of Contents for Each Month.
• Index of Some 800 Pioneer Names, Places and
Events.
• The Continuing Day by Day Record of All Phases
of Pioneer Lite in Wyoming. A Period of
New Wealth and New Romance on the
Frontier.
• Edition Limited to 1500 Copies, Numbered and
Signed by —
L. G. FLANNERY
Previous Volumes of
JOHN HUNTON'S DIARY
Still Available in Limited Supply
VoL 1—1873-75 - - $3.00
Vol. 2— 1876-77 - - $5.00
VoL 3— 1878-79 - - $5.00
Prices Quoted Include Cost of Mailing to Addresses
in the U. S. A.
(over)
Brochure for Hunton diaries. Courtesy L. G. Flannery Papers,
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Annals of Wyoming- The Wyoming Hislory Journal --Summer 2004 23
inquired about him, I foLUid k'w people rcmainint; in
the communit)' who actually knew him or remem-
bered his name. Among those who had heard of him
the mention oi his name was greeted with respect.
Pat's research and prepared manuscripts included
all diaries with the exception of the last lew months
of 1888 and all ol 1889. It was during that period
when Wyoming's cattlemen lost their product to the
worst blizzard recorded until 1949. Hunton was bank-
rupt at that time, perhaps because of the weather or
other circumstances, and returned to Fort Laramie
to the position ol post trader. The diaries resume in
1890 with no reference to the missing reports for a
year and a half Flannery thought they may have been
lost, or destroyed lor some reason bv Hunton him-
self.
Flannery was diagnosed with cancer and hospi-
talized in Cheyenne on January 19, 1964. Fie was
transferred to the veteran's hospital in Denver within
a week and died there on February 4. F^e was sixty-
nine years old. He was survived at that time by his
wile, Alice, and his daughter, Billie, and rwo grand-
children, Patricia and Mike Griske. His daughter and
grandchildren are his remaining survivors. It was
appropriate that his funeral service was conducted in
the Fort Laramie community church and he is bur-
ied in the historic Fort Laramie cemeter\'.
The Wyomingite passion lor making the most ol
oiu' history was confirmed by the selection ol his
memorial. Friends were invited to contribute to the
Wyoming State Historical Socier\' in lieu of llowers.
flIV
2d Annsij of Wvorrina" The Wyomino Mictnn; Journal - Summer 200^^
William H. Reed in the bone
laboratory that was called the
"Bone Room" at the Univer-
sity of Wyoming. The
university hired Reed, who
was a geologist, in 1896. In
1903 he became the curator
of the university's museum,
which exhibited many fossils
found in Wyoming. Courtesy
Samuel Knight Collection,
Amencan Heritage Center,
University of Wyoming.
Introduction
Throughout the 19''' century, that innate human desire to collect and display
unique and wondrous objects took hold of the American imagination. Popular
"dime" museums flourished in eastern cities, as places to educate and delight the
masses. Even non-English speaking immigrants and illiterate visitors could enjoy
the visual exhibits.' Private individuals often maintained their own "cabinet"
collections, with souvenirs of personal travels or of their scientific and cultural
interests. -.^iLi^cui ot ^■''' '' ' •"ling Tei'iuuiy a.ii.u established a
of popular curiosity museums as well as small, pri-
vate collections or cabinets. Wyoming's first governors played pivotal
roles in both encouraging legislation and personally developing public exhibi-
tions designed to promote the economic potential of the territory. Some of these
initial exhibits created the core collections of the present Wyoming State Mu-
seum.
In 1891, John D. Conley, a member of the first University of Wyoming
faculty, created the first campus musetun. This was the first serious public mu-
seum developed as a tool for education. It became a repository for Wyoming's
natural and cultural treasures and was soon heralded as "the best working cabinet
Steven Conn, Museums and Americivi hitellectitiil Life. 1876-1926 (Chicaep, Illinois: University
of Chicago Press, 1998), p. 4.
Annals of Wyoming. The Wyor
- Summer 20C'4 25
in the West."" This small roomful of exhibit cabi-
nets formed the foundation for most of the scientific
and cultural institutions on campus today, including
the Geological Museum, the Avcn Nelson Herbarium,
the Anthropology Museum, the American Heritage
Center, the UW Art Museimi, and the l^ntomology
Exhibit.
Early "Museums" and Cabinets in Wyoming
1 he first establishments in Wyoming calling
themselves "museums" were places more for the pur-
pose of amusement than for scholarship. James
McDaniel, who billed himself as "the Barnum of the
West," opened Wyoming's first public museiun in
Cheyenne during October 1867, one month before
the Union Pacific Railroad tracks reached the town.'
This "Museum of Living Wonders," on Eddy Street
(now Pioneer) between sixteenth and seventeenth
streets, also housed a saloon with two bars and a the-
ater. Admission was free, as long as the patron was
willing to purchase a cigar or a drink beforehand.
The museum did maintain an entrance separate from
the saloon's to encourage attendance hv ladies and
families.
Trofessor ' McDaniel had a flare for self-
promotion and produced a series of extravagant news-
paper advertisements, shrewdly positioned among the
lines of news reporting in The Cheyenne Leaiier. to
publicize his constantly changing attractions. He
made a trip east to secure new museum stock in 1 869
and returned with
specimens of animals of all parts of the world. Ameri-
can and Egyptian porcupines, the wonderful white
parrots, anacondas and monke\'s and apes, of the small-
est, largest, and funniest kinds. The Museum is now
filled with every description of curiosities, even to a
life-like statue of the Feegee Mermaid. No other town
in the west can boast of an exhibition equal to the
Mcl^aniel's Museum.^
The infamous "Feegee Mermaid " was one of the most
extravagantly promoted attractions at Phineas T
Barnum's American Museum in New York in 1843-
Barnum's elaborate marketing campaign of this rather
obvious manufactured curiosit)' filled the New York
newspapers for weeks before the display opened and
succeeded in netting him one thousancl dollars in-
come in a single week." It is unknown if McDaniel
purchased Barnum's creation or if his was a different
specimen. If any of McDaniels live animal speci-
mens expired, the\' were merely stuffed and promoted
anew.
M'DAITIELS'
Cheyenne Museum
iii.'
LIVING 'WONDERS
Alill
WORKS of ART
AtiSO
BRILLIANTLY U.LUMINATEU
H TE JiOfeCOl'IO
.\ N I )
Cosmoramic Views
Together witli a rare Collection of Niitive
und Foreign Animiils, liirdu, 1i<»n<'i>ii-
htriclnrs, Anar«n(las, etCiUtr., t-U'.
Tlie kbucumous, or Cjrave Ooks
OF CKX'rK.M, A.MFIJKW.
(ire uiirucLioiis llml will well ropiiy " vUil.
Open llii) iiii«l K\ciiliiu*
."-irm-.Fr liOlWi.n Kirn \Ni> ITth,
CHEYENNE, Wyotning Territory.
Advertisement for McDaniels museum found in the Cheyenne
Daily Leader. Courtesy American Heritage Center, University of
Wyoming.
Univenity ofWyoming Circular of General hiformation. 188~-
1888. V and 2"^ Editions (Boomerang Publishing Company,
1 887) ; and Second Annual Report of the Uiiivei'sity of Wvoiiiriig
(1893), p. 8S.
The Cheyenne Leaden November 9, 1867.
The Cheyenne Leader, October 29, 1867: and Milt Riske,
"James McDaniel, Barnum ot the West, " The Denver Post,
December 9. 19^9,
The Cheyenne Leader, January 18, 1869.
A.S Dennett, Weird and Wonderf(l, the Dtine ALuseiini m
America (New York Universir\' Press, 1997), pp. 27-28.
26 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
McDaniel's museum owned a stereopticon with
fifteen hundred stereoscopic views available for dis-
play (of which 375 could be seen at any one time).
Many scenes portrayed a military theme, and were
actively promoted for the interest of soldiers from
the nearby Fort D. A. Russell. The most popular
attractions were a series of the live performers, such
as "Miss Charlotte Temple, the great English Giant-
ess," "a world renowned Circassian girl... a beauty of
rarest description," and Professor A. C. Clark, a "well-
known pedestrian" whose stunt of walking non-stop,
without eating or drinking for more than fifty hours,
was finally halted by a doctor's order. The museum
also boasted a gallery with "choice pictures of art";
"masterpieces of the most noted American and Eu-
ropean artists" which McDaniel proclaimed that "ev-
er)'body should visit... for it is a rare chance, indeed,
of seeing such superb paintings in this weird region
of earth. "'"^
McDaniel's enterprise grew and evolved through
the years, continually re-inventing its attractions and
focus. His enthusiasm was undaunted when his vari-
ous museum buildings twice burned to the ground
and once suffered a roof collapse due to snow. He
simply rebuilt in a newer and finer building. His es-
tablishment continued to grow and thrive through
its eleven- year life in Cheyenne. The new "McDaniel
Building" at 1615 Pioneer Avenue eventually housed
the Sixth Legislative Assembly in 1879, although by
that time McDaniel had sold the structure and moved
on.'^
Another early museum in southeastern Wyoming
was the "Museum of Rocky Mountain Curiosities"
located on the north side of the Union Pacific Rail-
road tracks in the town of Sherman. This museum
building, actually a glorified curio shop, was located
at the end of the row of hastily constructed wooden
structures, including a saloon, store, restaurant, and
boarding house. Sherman, the highest town on the
U.P.R.R. transcontinental line, was a required stop-
ping point for engines needing water and service.
The businesses in this small town catered to railroad
passengers looking for a way to pass the time during
these maintenance procedures. Prairie dogs in
wooden cages, as well as apples, trinkets, and rocks
specimens were sold to tourists.'"
SKIXINT, PEiAIRIE DOTS
Railroad passengers buying caged prairie dogs sold by the
Hfiuseum in Sherman, Wyoming. Image from Frank Leslie's
Illustrated Newspaper, reprinted in Out West on the Overland
Train by Richard Reinhart.
Laramie's irreverent humorist. Bill Nye, poked
fun at the marvels on display in Sherman in several
of his essays, but it is unknown how much of the
detail in his yarns was actually based on reality. He
joked about "two stuffed coyotes chained to the door,
one on each side " "Sometimes a tourist asks if
these are prairie dogs."" In "Home-Made Indian
Relics " he described some merchandise displayed in
^ Campton Bell, "The Early Theaters, Cheyenne, Wyoming,"
Annals of Wyoming 25 (January 1953): 3-21.
" The Cheyenne Leader, October 29 and 31, 1867.
' Marie H. Erwin, Wyoming Historical Blue Book, A Legal and
Political History of Wyoming 1868-1943 (Denver, Colorado:
Bradford-Robinson Printing Co., 1946), p. 235; and Bell,
"Early Theaters," p. 16.
'"Clarice Whittenburg handwritten notes, Clarice
Whittenburg Papers (Ace. #364), American Heritage Cen-
ter.
" Edgar Wilson (Bill) Nye, "The Gentle Youth from Leadville"
in Bill Nye and Boomerang (Chicago, Illinois: Homewood
Publishing Company, Chicago, 1883), pp. 201-202.
Annals of Wyominc) The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004 27
Sherman, Wyoming, home to the "Museum of the Rocky Mountain Cunosities." one of Wyoming's first museums.
Courtesy Amencan Hentage Center. University of Wyoming
the museum: a "bale ol" Indian arrows" that were so
"remarkably well preserved. They are as good as new."
Also tor sale were "...some Western cactus as a curi-
osity for the tenderfoot who had never fooled with a
cactus much."'' This museum and the entire block
of buildings, excluding the depot, burned to the
ground "with all the ardor with which it was con-
structed" during a fire in September 1891.'''
A similar exhibit ol "Rocky Mountain Curiosi-
ties" was displayed near the Green River train sta-
tion, in southwestern Wyoming. A pair of caged
moimtain lions thrilled the travelers outside, while
indoors
we find the neatest and prettiest ot rooms, in which
fossils and petrifactions jostle mixed drinks and brandy
straight. Fhere are whole logs of petrified wood, bro-
ken down the middle to show sparkling quartz cr\'s-
tals bedded in their hollows; slabs two feet long, with
delicate dark tracer)' of fishes, ferns, or water plants;
moss agates of every shade; milkv-whitc, dark gray,
and purple amethysts; and California diamonds - clear,
sparkling crystals, colorless as water.'''
The "California Diamonds" were actually large quartz
crystals. The more tantalizing title was for the ben-
efit of gullible, but hopehiUv affluent, tourists.
Nearby cliffs exposing the fifty million-\'ear old Green
River Formation were the source of the fossil fish
and plants. Specimens of these types of fossils are
still sold in rock shops today.
There were undoubtedly scores of Wyoming's
earliest settlers who maintained small personal col-
lections of the interesting rocks and fossils accumu-
lated from theif new surroundings but, unless they
were later donated to a public institution, little record
of them is left. Bill Nye was inspired to write about
his own "Cabinet" of "wild western things" in his
1888 collection, Baled Hay.
Beginning with the skull of old Hi-lo-fack-and game,
a Sioux brave, the collection takes in my wonderful
bird, known as the Walk-up-the-creek, and another
rara avis, with carnixorous bill and web feet, which
has astonished eyer\'one except the taxidermist and
myself.'^
'- Bifl Nye, "Home-ni.idt; Indian Relics" in Bill Nye iitid Boo-
merang, pp. 235-39.
'' The Cheyenne Leader, September 17, 1891.
' ^ Ricfiard Reinhart, Out West on the Overland Train: Across-the-
Continent Excursion with Leslie's Magazine in 1877 (Palo Alto,
California: American West Publishing Co., 1967), p. 83.
'" Bill Nye, "My Cabinet," " Baled LLayiChiago, Illinois: Belford,
Clarke & Co., 1888), pp. 72-74.
28 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
The Earliest "Scientific" Promotional Exhibits
The Wyoming Territorial Legislature authorized
an act in 1871 creating the first territorial library
and charged its librarian with the creation of" a min-
erals display case, in addition to his more typical li-
brary administrative duties. The legislative assembly
also proposed a circular soliciting mineralogical items
for display to be distributed to all citizens oi the ter-
ritor}^ Unfortunately, the legislature initially failed
to provide necessary appropriations to fulfill all of
their own requirements. John Slaughter, appointed
by Governor John A. Campbell, served as territorial
librarian from 1872 until 1890. The library, includ-
ing cases for the mineral cabinet, was eventually
housed on the third floor of the Cheyenne Opera
House, after that building was completed in 1882,
and then moved to the top floor of the new com-
pleted Capitol Building in 1888.'"
Wyoming's fledgling mining industry also dis-
played mineral collections for public inspection. A
notice in the February 5, 1875, CI wyeniie Leader ^ro-
moted a "neat little cabinet containing fine speci-
mens from the Metcalf Mines" displayed at
Houseman's hardware store in downtown Chey-
enne.' The Metcalf like many of Wyoming's early
mining prospects, tried in vain to produce market-
able quantities of copper, gold, silver, or galena and
was continually looking for new investors to con-
tinue its work.
The late 1 870s saw the convergence of the two
most important forces stimulating the development
of museums in Wyoming as promotional tools. The
first was the appointment of John Wesley Hoyt as
the territorial governor in 1878. In Hoyt, Wyoming
gained a leader of remarkable physical and mental
energy, wide-ranging vision, and uncanny foresight.'^
He was a "highly educated world traveler with the
soul of a poet and the mind of a reformer and con-
servationist."'' With his background knowledge of
chemistry, medicine, and natural history and his keen
interest in scholarship and all forms of higher educa-
tion, Hoyt encouraged the instigation of several cabi-
nets and museums devoted to the enrichment of the
cultural and scientific atmosphere in the state. Sec-
ondly, at this time Wyoming was actively trying to
encourage exploration and production in its mining
industry and to promote this mineral wealth to the
rest of the world. Hoyt was instrumental in accom-
plishing this mission and was a great proponent of
the use of exposition exhibits or traveling museum
displays to aid in this endeavor.'" In 1882, he and
Professor Bailey collected and arranged materials for
a Wyoming exhibit at the National Mining and In-
dustrial Exposition, held in Denver. The Deliver
Daily Tribune commended their exhibit:
Not one presents a more diversified or interesting
collection of products that will attract the atten-
tion of the manufacturer than Wyoming. Besides
the mineral exhibits there are two cases filled with
its rare fossil turtles and other choice petrifac-
tions, for which the Territory is famous, while
photographs and specimens call to mind the en-
chanted land' of the Yellowstone Park.-'
In 1881, Hoyt appointed Frederick J. Stanton as
the state's first territorial geologist. One of the main
duties of this new office was to promote Wyoming's
mineral riches. Stanton accomplished this by devel-
oping several mineral resource exhibits, which trav-
eled to Milwaukee, Chicago, Omaha, and the Illi-
nois and Nebraska state fairs. The display at the
Nebraska fair even won a prize for best mineral ex-
hibit." It is unknown if these traveling collections
were ever returned to the state for display.
It was not until 1 884 that the Wyoming Legisla-
ture provided funds to the third territorial geologist,
Samuel Aughey, specifically for the creation of a per-
manent display of minerals and geologic specimens.
Aughey was well aware of the fact that several large
"" Jim Donahue, Wyo»iiiig Blue Book: Guide to the State Govern-
tneiit d)id Municipal Archives ofWyomiiig, Vol. V, Part II (Chey-
enne: Wyoming State Archives, 1991), p. 496; and personal
communication with Dominique Schultes Wyoming State
Museum, April 2003.
" The Cheyenne Daily Leader, February 3, 1875.
' " Henry J. Peterson, "John Wesley Hoyt, Territorial Governor of
Wyoming" Annals of Wyoming 22 (January 1950): 21.
" T.A. Larson, History of Wyoming (Lincoln; University of Ne-
braska Press, 1978), p. 134.
-" Peterson, "John Wesley Hoyt," pp. 50, 51, and 60.
-' The Denver Daily Tribune, August 27, 1882.
'- William Bryans, A History of the Geological Survey ofWyoming,
Bulletin 65 (Cheyenne: The Geological Survey ofWyoming,
1986), p. 8.
Annals :j! VVvorninq The VVvomina His!orv Jou'rai - Sjmner
East Coast institutions had been accumulating
Wyoming's vertebrate fossils since 1868, while the
state had no collection of "these educational treasures"
of its own. He was determineci to rectify this by
financing, at his own expense, an expedition to dig
dinosaur fossils at Como Bluff during the summer of
1885. He hired Wilbur C. Knight, who had been
his student at the University of Nebraska during the
previous year, as his assistant. rhe\' proceeded to Al-
bany Coimty to collect specimens for the state."'
During this expedition and in the course of his eco-
nomic geology field work throughout the year, they
collected "several thousand specimens in mineralogy
anci paleontology."'' Complaining that his office was
too small for the public to utilize these collections
properly, Aughev advocated the rental of an addi-
tional large room to serve as a museum. However,
only a small display cabinet in the territorial geologist's
office was ever built. Ihe fomth and final territorial
geologist, SaniLiel D. Ricketts, was also charged with
obtaining display quality specimens. The Third W\'o-
ming Legislature finally did pass a mandate to create
space and funding for these displa\'s in 1 89S, when it
formed the W\'oming Historical Society, the fore-
rimner of the Wyoming State Museiun.'''
The Wyoming Academy of Sciences, Arts and
Letters
On November 15, 1881 , a new organization was
formed whose aim was
the encouragement of historical and scientific research,
the promotion of the practical industries of W\oming,
the collection and preservation of authentic records of
territorial history the formation of historical, scien-
tific and industrial museums, and the enlargement of
the territorial library.'''
The first meeting of this new Wyoming Academy of
Sciences, Arts and Letters, was held in Cheyenne's
Baptist Church on January 17, 1882, under the di-
rection of Hoyt, who ended his term as governor
that spring. He had previously founded an Academy
of Sciences, Arts and Letters in Wisconsin so it was
natural that he was elected as first president of
Wyoming's academy. Hoyt served in that capacity
until 1 890. The academy secretary described the
group as having the "heart}' cooperation of all friends
of science in Wyoming."" Among its 108 members
were names which appear repeatedly throughout this
stor}' of Wyoming's fledgling museum history: John
W Hoyr and Mrs. Hoyt, A. Judson Cjray, Frederick
Stanton, John Slaughter, Frank Bond, Francis F'.
Warren, Melville C. Brown, Stephen W. Downey, ].
H. Finfrock, W. H. Holliday, F^lward Ivinson,
Ethelbert Talbot, and J. D. Conley."'"
The club's main function was the presentation of
papers by the membership at regular meetings, but
the development of a libran' and a museum for mem-
bers' use were also goals set forth in the academ\' by-
laws:
No books shall be taken from the f ihrar\' or speci-
mens from the Kkiseum except bv aLithorit\' of the
trustees but it shall be the dut\' of the Board to pro-
vide ior the district to the higher institutes oi learning
in the territor\' of such duplicates of r\'pical specimens
m natural history as the Academy ma\' be able to sup-
ph" without detriment to its own collections."'
Frederick Stanton was elected as the museum's first
curator and John Slaughter its first librarian. Dur-
ing the very first meeting of the club, the president
reported that ntimerous contributions to the library
and museum had already been received.'" A public
request for further donations to the museum was pub-
lished in T/.'f CheyoDie Sun on April 26, 1884. By
'' Ihid., pp. 14 -IS.
'"' Samuel Aughcw A)inii,il Report of tltc Icrritonal Geologut to tlw
Governor of Wyniiiiiig (L.iramie: Boomerang Printing House,
1886), p. 2.
-^ Personal communication with Dominique Scliultes. Vlyoming
State Museum. April 2003.
''' Peterson, "John Wesley Hoyt," pp. SS-S^).
' A.J. Gr.iy, "Letter to Edward Ivinson, Dec. 24, 1883. Recortl
Book, Wyoming Acddemy of Scieticfi, Arts and Letter (Che\'enne.'
Wyoming State Archives), p. 6.
-'* Certifiedte Bool;. Wyoming Actidemy of Seienees, Arts iiiid Letters
(Chevenne: Wvoming State Archives, 1881-1886).
■"' Trnihiietiom of the Wyoming Aeiidemy of Seienees, Arts and Letters.
vol.1, 1882, p. 1 1.
'" Ihid.. p. IS. Note that this reference to "higher institutes ot
learning" came five years belore the Uni\ersity ol Wyoming was
founded.
30 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
1890, many of the academy officers were living in
Laramie and were associated with the University of
Wyoming. Academy letterhead that year listed J. D.
Conley as the curator of the academy's museum. At
this time he was also serving as curator of the
universit}''s museum. No record could be found of
the ultimate disposition oi the academy museum's
collections, although correspondence by Hoyt indi-
cated his desire to combine the two. ''
The Formation of the University of Wyoming
Museum
It should be noted that many of the men involved
in the founding oi the University ot Wyoming in
1886 were already members of the Wyoming Acad-
emy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. Governor Francis
E. Warren appointed J. H. Finfrock, M. C. Brown,
W. H. Holliday, J. H. Hayford, Edward Ivinson, Hoyt
(later replaced by J. Y. Cowhick) and Aughey (later
replaced by L. D. Ricketts) as members of the
university's first board of trustees. "*■ These men were
responsible for choosing the facult)', appointing the
facilities, and formulating the curriculum. In May
1887, the university presidency was offered to Hoyt.
Conley was the first faculty member hired, although
No record can be found ol the election of either Pro-
fessor Nelson or of Professor Conley. They have evi-
dently reigned by right of antediluvial conquest or
have claimed 'squatters' rights. '""
find in this frontier and western country."" Conley
was an instructor of
geology, physics, chemistry, mechanical drawing, book-
keeping, commercial law, correspondence, penmanship,
aesthetics, farm accounts, methods of instruction in
physical science, art of technical drawing, as well as
serving as vice president (of the University), meteo-
rologist and curator of the museum."'
This list, prepared in 1936 by oneof Conley's succes-
sors, Samuel H. Knight, omitted a few jobs: teaching
commercial arithmetic, astronomy, an extension class
in geology, "natural philosophy," and the "Art of
Teaching Drawing, " as well as serving as dean of the
faculty, faculty secretary, and agricultural chemist of
the experimental station." Conley also served as act-
ing university president for the first three months of
1891, after the board of trustees fired Hoyt, and be-
fore the new president, Albinus A. Johnson, assumed
office. Conley also served as president of the Laramie
Board of Trade. ^**
The university's very first Circular of General In-
formation promised that "there will soon be formed a
valuable geological and mineralogical museum" on
campus. '*'' The original Bylaws for the Government of
the Board of Trustees, the Faculty and Students of the
University ofWyoming required that a museum com-
mittee be appointed from the trustee members, that
a curator of the museum be selected from the faculty,
John Dykeman Conley was born in Brockport,
New York, and educated in state normal schools be-
fore entering Hamilton College, New York, in 1865.
After obtaining his A.B. degree and taking an addi-
tional year's training in chemistry, he was hired as a
professor of chemistry and the "kindred sciences" at
Blackburn University, Carlinville, Illinois. During
his eighteen years at Blackburn, Conley was instru-
mental in the design and appointments of a new sci-
ence building on that campus, an effort which in-
cluded the arrangement of a large, donated cabinet
of minerals and fossils.'^
Conley moved his family to Laramie during the
summer of 1 887 and was pleasantly surprised to find
Laramie "far in advance of anything he expected to
-" Letters, Wyoming Acaetemy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, February
22, 1890. letterhead listed John W. Hoyt, President, Prof. J. D.
Conley, Curator of Museum, Ethelbert Talbot, Hon. V. Pres. and
L. D. Ricketts, Dept. Officer.
^- Wilson O. Clough, A Histoiy of the University ofWyoming, 1887-
75*37 (Laramie Printing Company, 1937), p. 19.
^•' Chronicles of the Alumni of the University of Wyoming, 1911.
''' Souvenir: First Annual Commencemetit of the University ofWyo-
ming, 1891, p. 9.
^' Clough, A History of the University ofWyoming, p. 23.
^' Samuel H. Knight, "History of the Department of Geology
and the Geological and Paleontological Museum of the Univer-
sity ofWyoming" manuscript in the Wilson O. Clough Collec-
tion, Ace. #4000026, American Heritage Center, 1936, pp. 1-
2.
'^ Chronicles of the Alumni of the University ofWyoming, 191 1, p.
28.
" Clough, A History of the University ofWyoming, p. 46.
'' Wyoming Circular of General Information, 1887-1888, \" Edi-
tion, 1887, p. 7.
Annals of Wyoniinq The Wyoming History Journai-- Summer 2004 31
and that this curator "shall have charge of the cabi-
net, museum and all collections."'" Conley served as
musetmi curator tor the university horn 1887 until
1893.
Early University IVIuseum Collections
When the interior finish work on the third lloor
of Universit}' Hall was completed in 1890, space was
fmally available to arrange a museum display.^' A
reporter Irom the LaniDiie Boo!?!f>niig visited the cam-
pus in July 1891 to describe the shared space for the
new museum and library;
The work of tlu' fittint; up the room in the north end
ol the third lloor is m progress. The room will be
simpK' beautilul in its arrangements. In the center ol
the south side a Flight ol iron steps with brass railings
leads to the upper cases ol books. Along in tront of
these is a beautilul balcony ol antique oak There
will be eight large glass cases arranged abiuit the room
and these Prof. Conle\' will fill with his large private
collection ol lossils, minerals and Indian and Mound
Builder's relics. '-
Stnprisinglv, the nototiouslv penurious trustees al-
lotted $1 ,71 8.88 tor improvements to the libran' and
museum that year.^'
The university had been receiving material do-
nations since it opened. An early museum record
book lists more than two hundred specimens con-
tributed by Dr. |. H. Finlrock (president ol the first
board ol trustees and first donor) between 1887 and
1891:
several collections from the Smithsonian Institution,
including sevent)'-seven specimens ol ores and min-
erals, 140 species offish, and mt)re than one hun-
dred plaster casts ol Indian relics:
They consist ol fine Adzes, Discoidal Stones, Digging
Implements, Stone Swords, Gouges, Picks, Stone
Hatchets, Pipes, Spear-heads, Sinkers and ceremonial
objects, all carefully colored to represent the originals
from which thev were taken. ^''
Citizen donations included a strange assortment
ol curiosities ol dubious scientific value, including
an iron chest that had been used under a stasie coach
seat to carry the express mail, a pair of dwarl deer
antlers, five trap-door spider nests, one Indian skull,
a "perlectly spherical Hairball, taken Irom the stom-
ach ol a yearling," rwo bottles ol trout eggs, one pait
ol flying fish "wings," and three stulled ducks. ^" Se-
lected citizen donations were grouped into one cabi-
net while Conley filled the other seven cases with his
own personal collection, accumulated in more than
twenty years ol collecting.
Conley's contributions were ol a more practical
nature, mostly minerals and lossils, which he used
when teaching Historical Geology and Paleontolog}'.
Even some ol his "cultural" artilacts were used to teach
geological processes:
Prof CAinley has a horseshoe which is a great curios-
ir\'. When in Yellowstone Park he placed it in one ol
the hot springs and lelt it lor three days. The lime
samples ol copper and silver ore, specimens ol galena,
turquoise and calcareous tula, a cluster ol quartz crys-
tals, vertebrae of a fossil reptile, the tooth of a whale,
boxes ol sea shells, a sea urchin, one centipede, a Hint
Indian sctaper and arrows, a piece ol worm-bored wood
and a relic from the Chicago fire.'"
Other ptominent contributors were Hon. Stephen
W. Downey, Judge Melville C. Brown, Hon. Homer
Merrell, Dr. Grace R. Hebard, Mr. William H. Reed
(the "specimen man"). Professors W. I. Smith and
Dice McLaren and Constantine P. Arnold. Senator
Joseph M. Carey was also instrumental in securing
""' Second A)i>iiiiil RL'pori oj the Uinveriityof\\'yo»u}ig, 1893.
'' Deborah Hardy, Wyoming University: The Firsr 100 ]'eiiii, 1886-
1986 (Laramie: The University of Wyoming, 1986), p. 23.
■*' The Laramie Boomerang, July 18, 1891.
'' First Annua/ Report (L.u3.ni\e: L'niversirv ot Wvoming, 1892),
p. 12. ^
■•^ Brent H. Breithaupt, "Dinosaurs to Gold Ores: The 100 Year
History of the University of Wyoming Geological Museum.
Wyoming Geological Association Guidebook, 50''' Field Confer-
ence (Casper: Wyoming Geological Association, 1993), pp.
19-38.
^^ Ibid.; Second Annual Report of the University ofWyoming{l895),
p. 9; and The University ofWyoming Catalogue for the Year 1891-
1892 (Laramie: The Republican Book and Job Print, 1892),
pp. 85-86.
^'' The University ofWyoming Catalogue for the Year 1891-1892,
p. 85.
32 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal - Summer 2004
deposit was so great that it covered the shoe entirely
and it is now as white as though it had been painted."^
Although he displayed "almost everything in geologi-
cal curiosities," it was those specimen r}'pes not lound
in Wvoming ot^ which he was most proud.
While Wvoming is one of the richest regions in the
world for mesozoic fossils, a region from which Pro-
fessors Marsh, Cope and others have taken Iragmen-
tarv remains of many gigantic saiirians and other fos-
sils, vet, in order to make the geological stor\' com-
prehensive, including the ancient as well as the medi-
eval and recent history, more than Wyoming fossils
are necessary.''^
In addition to his geological and archeologlcal speci-
mens, he also loaned an old flint lock rifle used in
the Revolutionary War, a pair of silver spectacles, a
watch chain from the War of 1 8 1 2, and a powderhorn
carried b\' Conley's great grandfather in the Battle of
Saratoga.^''
Each of the estimated rwenry thousand specimens
was neatly labeled and arranged on small wooden
blocks. An article in the Laramie Boomerang an-
nounced the opening of the museum with an invita-
tion for the public to "visit anytime." In tact it en-
couraged the public to visit many times.
Wilbur C. Knight was hired as a professor of geology,
mining engineering, assaying, and metallurgy in 1 893
and during the next year replaced Conley as curator
of the museum. William H. Reed was hired in 1896
as an assistant geologist and he, in ttnn, replaced
Knight as curator. Under the direction of these two
men the university museum's geological and paleon-
tological collections increased dramatically. By the end
of that decade the museum claimed to have the sec-
ond largest collection of American Jurassic period
vertebrate fossils in the world. ^^ Contrary to Downey's
prediction, the supply of Wyoming's fossil treasures
are still not exhausted and new materials are continu-
ally being collected and displayed.
From these first tentative steps during the nine-
teenth centuiy, to entertain, promote the territory's
minerals, and educate, Wyoming's museum collec-
tions have grown to fill scores of facilities through-
out the state. At the universit)' Conley's original cabi-
net of curiosities has expanded into today's broad rang-
ing campus institutions that draw thotisands of \'isi-
tors from all over the world. j|h|
One case should be thoroughly inspected at a time.
Even in this way a dozen visits would re\'eal some-
thing new each time as the specimens are so numer-
ous. The room is fitted up beautifully and altogether
it is a delightful place. ^"
The Future of the University Museum
C^ampus museum development remained an im-
portant topic of business throughout thel890s. In
the 56i//z'£';//'r volume produced in June 1891, for the
first graduating class, Stephen W. Downey is cred-
ited with advocating the creation of a "fossil palace"
on the campus:
Give us a fossil palace by all means. Consider the fact
that the material which we now can procure in great
abundance is being fast exhausted. Show the world
that the people of Wyoming are pioneers in art as well
as in other walks of life.^'
The Ltiramie Boomerangs September 17, 1891.
The Laramie Boomerang, September 17, 1891.
The Laramie Boomerang, September 17, 1891.
The Laramie Boomerang, September 17, 1891.
Souvenir: First Annual Commencement of the Universit)' of^'yo-
»H»?(1891), p. 9.
Breithaupt, "Dinosaurs to Gold Ores," p. 21.
M*UNIVH<SIIV
~~i.^ WVOMINl
Libraries
in the
fc:^_.L._
Recent Acquistions
Hebard Library, UW Libraries
Tamsen L. Hert, University of Wyoming libraries
The Grace Raymond Hebard W)'oming Col-
lection is a branch oi the Llniversity ot Wyo-
mine, Libraries housed in the Owen Wister
Western Writers Reading Room in the American
Heritage Center. Primarily a research collection, the
core oi" this collection is Miss Hebard's personal li-
braiy which was donated to the tmiversity libraries.
Further donations have been significant in the devel-
opment oi" this collection. While it is easv to identify'
materials about Wvoming published by nationally
known ptiblishers, it can be difficult to locate perti-
nent publications printed in Wyoming, f he Hebard
Collection is considered to be the most comprehen-
sive collection on Wyoming in the state.
If you have any questions about these materials
or the Hebard C]ollection, you can contact me bv
phone at 307-766-6243; by email, thert^'uwv'o.edu,
or you can access the Hebard HomePage at: http://
ww\v.u\vyo.edu/lib/heb.htm.
New Publications
Call, Lee R. Reflections of the 20''' Century hi
Star Valley Wyoming, 1900-2000. Afton, WY:
Printstar, 2000.
Hebard & Coe F 767 .S73 C355 2000
An examination of the history of Star Valley com-
piled from articles originally published for the local
newspaper.
Cassidy, James G. Ferdinand V. Hayden: Entre-
preneur of Science. Lincoln and London: Univer-
sity of Nebraska Press, 2000.
Hebard & Geology QE 22 .H3 C37 2000
A histoiy of the development of the Hayden Surveys
and their relationship to the practice of science.
Church, Clare. Arthur Ternan (1884-1907): 'the
Cowboy in Wyoming. " Lymington, Hampshire,
England : C. Church, 2002.
Hebard F 767 .A3 T4763 2002
Pieced together from letters between Arthur and his
parents, this is a biograph}' of an earl\' resident of
Alban\- Countv, Wyoming.
Fifer, Barbara. Wyotning's Historic Forts. Helena,
MT: Farcountry Press, 2002.
Hebard & Coe F 761 .F544 2002
A pictorial histor\' of W\'oming's ftirts.
Francis, Julie E. and Lawrence L. Loendorf.
Ancient Visions: Petroglyphs and Pictographs of
the Wind River and Bighorn Country, Wyoming
and Montana. Salt Lake City, LIT: University of
Utah Press, 2002.
Hebard & Coe E 78 .W95 F735 2002
Provides a sampling of the wonderful rock art figures
found in Wvoming's north central region.
Hagan, Barry J. "Exactly in the Right Place": A
History of Fort C.F. Smith, Montana Ferritory,
1866-1868. El Segundo, CA: Upton & Sons, Pub-
lishers, 1999.
Hebard & Coe F 739 .F48 H343 1999
The third of the military posts along the Bozeman
Trail, Fort C.F. Smith is primarily remembered for
the Hayfield Fight, August 1, 1867. The author has
thoroughly researched the militarv records to pro-
vide this accoimt.
Henry-Mead, Jean. Westerners: Candid and His-
toric Interviews. Evansville, WY: Medallion
Books, 2003.
Hebard & Coe F 760 .H467 2003
1 his work contains a sampling of the hundreds of
34 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
interviews conducted by the author. Many Wyoming-
ites are included — Chris LeDoux, Conrad Schwiering,
Dick Cheney, Thyra Thomson and more!
Huston, Hayden H. Daniel, Wyoming: The First
Hundred Years 1900-2000: A History of Daniel
atjd Surrounding Areas. 2 vols. Salt Lake City,
UT: Agreka Books, 2000.
Hebard & Coe F 769 .D36 D36 2000 v. 1-2
"This book is a remembrance of the pioneer settlers
of the upper Green River valley." Includes many
photographs and maps.
Janetski, Joel C. Indians in Yellotvstone National
Park. Revised ed. Salt Lake City: University of
Utah Press, 2002.
Hebard & Coe E 78 .W95 J36 2002
A popular history of the inhabitants of Yellowstone.
Jewell, Loretta and Susan Chaires. Then to Now:
A Collection of Favorite Recipes Spiced With Tid-
bits of History From Carpenter School and Com-
munity of Carpenter, Wyoming. Carpenter, WY:
Carpenter School & Community, 1996.
Hebard TX 715 .T495 1996
Includes numerous photographs which accompany
the historical tidbits.
1900-1930. Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories
Publishing Company, Inc., 2000.
Hebard & Coe HE 356 .Y4 M445 2000
A history of one of the overlooked early highways in
the United States.
Peterson, David William. Yellotvstone: Like No
Other Place On Earth. Helena, MT: Farcountry
Press, 2002.
Hebard & Coe F 722.55 .P484 2002
Primarily color photographs with excerpts from the
1870 Washburn-Doane Expedition.
Petzoldt, Paul K. Teton Tales and Other Petzoldt
Anecdotes. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press,
1995.
Hebard & Coe GV 199.92 .P48 P489 1995
A collection of reminiscences from this Wyoming
climbing pioneer.
Pitcher, Goldie Norah. McFadden: The Totvn
They Called "Camp. " Rawlins, WY: s.n., 200?
Hebard & Coe F 769 .M38 P583 2000z
A history of the short-lived town of McFadden, Wyo-
ming. Located between Rock River and Arlington,
McFadden was once home to approximately four
hundred residents.
Lindmier, Tom. Drybone: A History of Fort
Fetterman, Wyoming. Glendo: High Plains
Press, 2002.
Hebard & Coe F 769 .F58 L46 2002
A detailed study ol this fort on the Bozeman Trail.
Includes short biographies of some of the residents
and officers of the fort.
Little, Billie. Sheridan County History:
Going. . . Going. . . Gone? Sheridan, WY: Sheridan
County Historic Preservation Commission, 1999.
Hebard & Coe F 767 .S55 L588 1999
Results of a photo history contest in Sheridan County
and the efforts of the commission to "raise commu-
nity awareness about the disappearing remains."
Meeks, Harold A. On the Road to Yellowstone:
The Yellowstone Trail and American Highways,
Rutter, Michael. Wild Bunch Women. Guilford,
CT: TwoDot, 2003.
Hebard & Coe F 590.5 .R87 2003
From the back cover, "Explore the lives of the pistol-
packing, hell-raising, high-spirited gals who traveled
with Butch Cassidy's notorious Wild Bunch gang."
Biographical information on nine of the women as-
sociated with the Wild Bunch.
Scharff, Virginia. Twenty Thousand Roads:
Women, Movement, and the West. Berkeley: Uni-
versity of California Press, 2003.
Hebard F 596 .S26 2003
An examination of women's stories and their partici-
pation in the "West." Includes chapters on Sacajawea
and Grace Raymond Hebard.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal --Summer 2004 35
BOOK
Edited by
Carl Hallberg
Significant Recent Books
on Western and
Wyoming History
Public Lands and Political Meaning: Ranchers, The
Government, and the Property Between Them. By
Karen R. Merrill. Richmond: University of California Press,
2002. Illustrations, notes, bibliographic essay, index. 293
pages. Hardcover, $50.00.
Private ranchers and federal officials have locked
horns over livestock grazing issues ever since the
post-Civil War settlement ol the American West. In
Public Liuuls ivid Political MciDiiiig, Karen iMerrill
traces this complex relationship from the 1870s to
1950, a period that saw many changes in perspective.
The evolution of grazing policy during this era set
the stage for later conflicts with environmental groups
that continue today.
According to Merrills introduction, the vast pub-
lic lands owe their existence to two factors: ( 1 ) the
original thirteen states ceded claims to western lands
in 1787 when the new federal government began,
and (2) treaties and wars in the nineteenth centur\'
(p. 7). Six subsequent chapters and an epilogue flesh
out how different ideas about property have affected
grazing policies.
Chapter one discusses nineteenth centurv policy
making when most lands were open for homestead-
ing. The development of the Forest Service in the
Department of Agriculture influenced earlv grazing
policies, and ranchers organized into groups like the
National Live Stock Association to better represent
industry interests.
Chapter two investigates the role of the home-
steader in the development of public land policy. As
homesteading became less of a factor after World War
I, federal lands were regarded more as property that
should remain in public ownership.
Chapter three delves into the early consideration
of states' rights, where public lands might be given to
the western states. As these efforts weakened, the
Forest Service undertook studies to counter the ad-
verse effects of overgrazing that had occurred in the
past, and developed regulations. In addition, policy
shifts in the Department of Interior from homestead-
ing to grazing management signaled interagency com-
petition with the Department of Agriculture for con-
gressional funding.
By 1929, President f^omcr appointed a commit-
tee to look into handing the public domain over to
the states. Chapter four in\'estigates the states' rights
issue in detail, but the idea ne\er full\- achieved ac-
ceptance. Chapter five is a summar\' of the Tavlor
Grazing Act of 1 934, which set forth grazing policies
that affect the vast majority of rangelands in the west-
ern United States, both public and private.
Chapter six covers the period from 1933 to 1950,
during which the Bureau of Land Management was
established in the Department of Interior. Public lands
have become property slated for sustainable manage-
ment rather than earmarked for disposal through
homesteading. H\'en so, the debate continues whether
ranchers hold grazing rights or pri\'ileges on public
domain.
Merrill's epilogue touches on the sagebrush re-
bellion of the 1980s, environmental groups influ-
encing grazing policies, and the development of en-
vironmental impact statements. These issues are be-
yond the scope of her book, but each was affected in
part by the historic events she has chronicled.
As long as the West is comprised of private land
owned b\' ranchers, and public lanci leased h\ them,
there will be a need for dialog. The more that ranch-
ers and land managers communicate, the better will
be their decisions. Merrill's book has shown this to
be the case.
Public Ldudi iVid Political Meaning is an afford-
able book about a relevant topic. One of its greatest
contributions is the illustration of conflicts between
the Department of Agriculture and the Department
36 Annals ofVVyoming: The Wyoming History Journal --Summer 2004
of Interior over public land issues and federal appro-
priations. Before you read another polemic about re-
moving livestock from the range, read Merrills work
for a clearer picture of the history behind the scenes.
— Mark E. Miller, Wyoming State Ar-
chaeologist
The Wagon Box Fight: An Episode of Red Cloud's
War. By Jerry Keenan. Conchohocken, Pennsylvania:
Saves Publishing Company, 2000. 158 pp. Illustrations,
maps, notes, bibliography, index. Paper, $14.95.
7 "he Wagon Box Fight is an updated, improved vol-
ume about a classic account about a classic en-
gagement. On August 2, 1867, soldiers and civilian
contractors engaged a numerically superior Lakota
force bent on destroying them. The attack occurred
on a wagon box corral serving as a woodcutters' out-
post ol^ Fort Phil Kearny. The army prevailed because,
according to Jerry Keenan, "[t]he new Springfield
breechloader was the predominant weapon on this
day ..." (p. 33). The breechloaders had given the
soldiers the ability to deliver a "steady volume of fire"
without the "usual pause in firing" associated with
muzzleloaders (p. 39). If the defenders "had been
armed with muzzleloaders instead of breech-loaders,"
opined the officer who led a relief column of the
battle, "[the] party would have been massacred be-
fore my arrival" (p. 46).
Fort Kearny was a thorn in Red Cloud's side.
Actually, the fort near present-day Sheridan, Wyo-
ming, was one of three thorns in his side. The others
were Fort Reno, to the south, and Fort C.F. Smith,
farther north. The forts were on the Bozeman Trail
to protect travelers heading to Montana and its mines.
In 1866, Red Cloud had refused to treat with the
commissioners at Fort Laramie who sought unmo-
lested passage for travelers. Instead of pledges of peace.
Red Cloud promised to harass intruders in his Pow-
der River country. Undeterred, the army erected the
forts, and true to his word. Red Cloud made the sol-
diers' lives miserable.
To Colonel Henry Carrington fell the responsi-
bility of building the forts and neutralizing the In-
dian threat. He chose a beautiful location for Fort
Kearny along Piney Creek just a stone's throw from
today's Story, Wyoming, a picturesque community
where cabins nestle among the pine growths that were
crucial to the building of the fort. The threat of In-
dian attack compelled Carrington to build a pali-
saded post. Lumber for construction stood four miles
away. Civilian woodcutters spent their days falling
timber and moving it to the fort, soldiers dutifully
guarded them, and the Indians kept Red Cloud's
promise.
In December 1866, a brash Captain William
Fetterman led eighty men to their deaths by pursu-
ing a small band of Indians who had been harassing
the woodcutters. The band was a decoy that led
Fetterman into a trap. Vastly outnumbered, his com-
mand perished to the last man. In early July of the
following year, Fort Kearny received a shipment of
Springfield breechloaders. In August, when Red
Cloud's fighters hoped to replicate their victory of
December, the soldiers armed with breechloaders in-
stead "exacted a measure of retribution for the
Fetterman disaster" (p. 17).
In The Wagon Box FightKeenan updates the story
about this fight that he first told thirty years ago. He
has added much to the account, providing more back-
ground on the historical and geographical setting of
the battle. More importantly, this volume benefits
from a 1993-1994 archaeological study of the site
"to identify where the Wagon Box corral might have
been located" (p. 97). Veterans of the battle had iden-
tified two sites for the corral. Each site had its sup-
porters in a controversy that lasted nearly ninety years.
The archaeolosrical study determined that a laro-e rock
monument erected in 1936 approximates the loca-
tion of the corral. This conclusion must have given
Keenan great satisfaction, because in his earlier edi-
tions he had come to the same conclusion. The ar-
chaeological report, including illustrations, is included
as an appendix, as are contemporar}' official reports
and personal accounts about the battle.
The Wagon Box Fight is an informative, easily
read account about a tiny slice of Western history.
Students of the West, military history, archaeology,
and Indian-US relations will find this a valuable vol-
ume.
Annals of Wvominq The Wyoming History Journal- Summer 2004 37
— Larry C. Skogen
New Mexico Military Institute
Petticoat Prisoners of Old Wyoming. By Larry K.
Brown. Glendo: High Plains Press, 2001. xix + 256 pp.
Illustrations, source notes, index. Paper, $14.95.
Higii Plains Press recently published Petticoat Pr'n-
o)iers of Old Wyoming, Larr\' K. Brown's third
voliune nbout crune and criminals in frontier Wyo-
ming. In his latest work. Brown narrates the place,
circumstances, and results ol the activities ol rvvent}'-
four women who were incarcerated in Wyoming's
fust "gra\' bar hotels "- the territorial prison at Laramie
and, alter its opening in L^^OK the state prison at
Rawlins. Beginning with the 1880 story about Nettie
Stewart-Wright, who allegedly stole government
property, and ending with Ella Smith's 1908 crime
ot branding two colts, Petticoat Priioiien documents
almost thirty vears of gender-baseci pathological be-
havior that reflects the dysfunctional side ol
Wyoming's multi-Iaceted late territorial and early
statehood history. As Brown enimierates, the crimes
these women stood accused ol ranged h'om the more
mundane acts of grand larcen\', burglary, arson, rob-
bery, felonious assault, selling liquor without a license,
forger}' and counterfeiting, misbranding livestock,
felonious entry, and theft of government property to
the more frightening and sometimes confused and
controversial acts of manslaughter, assault to commit
manslaughter, and kidnapping.
On the surface. Petticoat Prisoners is a simple chro-
nological narrative about those moments in the lives
of two dozen women when their actions ran counter
to the established laws of Wyoming and the nation.
Thematically, however. Brown's history is much more
than a brief recoimting of events. It is a study of
gender as a factor in the legal processes that were
taking form in an isolated, rugged, and often violent
western frontier environment wheie the forces of
order anci lawlessness collided sharpK'.
Brown is a skillful biographer of individuals who
could not avoid bringing trouble upon themselves
and their associates. Throughout Petticoat Prisoners,
he describes the mechanisms of a jirstice system in
which little regard was shown for an accused persons
sex, but much attention was given to the details of
evidence, deliberation, sentencing, confinement, and
the appeals process. Of the rwent\'-four women in
Brown's volume, for example, two obtained freedom
from incarceration because of a lack of evidence, while
seven others received early releases based upon ap-
peals either to higher courts or to Wyoming's gover-
nor for commutation of their sentences.
Hallmark features include Browns' \'iyid narra-
tion, Wyoming Women's C^enter Warden Nola
Blackburn's foreword, the author's preface and intro-
duction, a bibliographic "sources cited " section at the
end of each of the book's seventeen chapters and epi-
logue, twenty-five photographs (the majority are
prison mug shots), an epilogue that brings closure to
the narrative, a chronologically arranged appendix
titled "Female Felons Imprisoned at the Wyoming
Penitentiaries, " and an index to conclude the work.
Altogether, these features provide interest, insight, and
authentication that add richness to Brown's endeavor
In conclusion. Petticoat Prisoners is a well-docu-
mented examination about the experiences of a set
of women whose stories reside within the darker
realms of Wyoming's history. Brown has prodticed
another \'olume in his growing repertoire of works
that reflect with verve the histories William F. Bragg
produced two decades ago. Equally noteworthy.
Brown's book is a significant addition about women
in Wyoming and the West. Overall, Petticoat Prison-
ers is a book that desers'es its place among the varied
histories that fill the shelves of private collections and
public and academic libraries which offer the serious
reader meaningful works on Wyoming and the West.
— Walter Jones
J. Wiliard Marriott Librar>'
Universitv' of Utah
America's Second Tongue: American Indian Educa-
tion and the Ownership of English, 1860-1900. By
Ruth Spack. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 2002.
242 pp. Illustrations, bibliography, index. Hardcover,
$45.00.
Language possesses incalculable importance. It de-
marcates edges and boundaries, draws lines of
distinction, and defines. It provides continuitA' be-
tween generations, passing along cultural tracHitions,
38 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
life ways, and history. Its nuances are communicated
with subtle inflections and rhythms to shade mean-
ings. It is a great unifier, bringing and bonding people
together. Most importantly, perhaps, a living language
can serve as a measure of a populations overall health
and sustainability. Lamenteci, most recently by the
politician and commentator Patrick Buchanan, as goes
the vernacular, so goes society, at least society as
known at any one place and time.
Although considered from a perspective very dif-
ferent from Buchanans, this is an argument made by
Ruth Spack, an associate professor ot English and
the director ol English for Speakers ol Other Lan-
guages Program at Bentley College. Her study ana-
lyzes the English-only policy that was implemented
by the federal government in Indian schools in an
attempt to strip Indian peoples of their cultures. The
cornerstone ol a process designed to facilitate Indian
absorption into the mainstream of the dominant
American societv, English-only began in earnest with
the Peace Policy of the Grant administration and
reached its peak by the turn of the century. As the
handiwork of missionaries and Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs officials, it is positioned by Spack within a
colonialist context. "Control over language served as
an important instrument in political as well as cul-
tural exploitation," she asserts, "for it could be used
to represent indigenous peoples' lives in such a way
as to weaken claims of Native sovereignty and
strengthen the United States government's bureau-
cratic and territorial agendas" (p. 14).
Yet, the promise of English-only was never fully
realized. According to Spack, this was primarily due
to "government officials' own ignorance, indifference,
and colonialist mentality" (p. 42). Additionally, "the
Indian Office underestimated the life-sustaining
strength of linguistic and tribal identity. " Even in those
instances when second language fluency was achieved,
Spack's research reveals, it was often utilized in a con-
tradictory manner to federal aims, as a form of subtle
resistance by Native writers to American Indian poli-
cies, for example. In the end, then, the English-only
program had dealt a crushing, but not a lethal, blow.
This book provides welcome insight into an im-
portant aspect of Indian history. It is immersed in
the literature, well written, and replete with fresh
analysis. But a few cautionary words are in order.
While America's Second Tongue is packaged as a com-
prehensive study with broad application, the data that
informs it is primarily derived from the Yankton
Sioux Agency and the two off-reservation boarding
schools, Hampton and Carlisle, which recruited stu-
dents from Dakota Territory. Against such a narrow
backdrop, it is important to keep in mind the varied
experience of assimilation and the problematic na-
ture of generalizing on the success or failure of Ameri-
can Indian policies. While Spack's research is thor-
ough with the context chosen, the Western United
States and Alaska are all but ignored.
Moreover, other studies have determined that
Indians who lived or attended boarding schools lo-
cated in urban areas felt the sting of acculturation
more pointedly than did the rural Indians who make
up the predominant focus of this book. Many of those
urban students achieved English fluency in day schools
and reservation boarding schools before having at-
tended an off-reservation boarding school. As has
been documented extensively, many tribes (particu-
larly those situated near population centers) suffered
virtually the complete loss of their cultures, includ-
ing their languages, which have become the focus of
extensive recovery efforts. It should also be noted
that the obligation of English-only was not confined
to Indian education. It permeated all facets of the
reservation environment as well. In brief, the im-
pact - or success and failure - of the English-only
program was probably more wide-ranging than the
research presented here indicates, depending on lo-
cation, conditions, and circumstances. While this
book is well done, the inclusion of more compre-
hensive statistical data would have been helpful. It
would have provided a fruitful basis for comparison,
strengthened Spack's thesis, expanded the scope of
the volume, and more thoroughly revealed tribal and
regional distinctions.
— Gary C. Collins
Maple Valley, Washington
m
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004 39
CiS'Bl^iJ'Oli) 3111(1)119
MICHAEL GRISKE
Native American Sagas from the Diaries of John Huiiton, page 1
Michael Griske was born and raised in Torrington and now resides in
Hicksville, New York, with his wife, Catherine, and their son, Ryan. He
recently completed a condensed version ot his grandhithers manuscripts
about John Hunron's lite, loves, and times, and is seeking a book publisher
for this enthralling and historical material. For more inh:>rmation, contact
Mr. Griske at the tollowincr e-mail address: mgriske@earthlink.net.
SALLY VANDERPOEL
Wyoming Memories: Pat Flannery, page 14
Sally Vanderpoel came to Huntley in southeastern Wyoming in 1922 at
the age of fourteen when her parents homesteaded there. She graduated
trom Torrington High School in 19.^8 and the Universit}' ot Wyoming
four years later, where she loved being a Kappa Kappa Gamma. She is a
long-time member ot the W\'oming State Historical Socier\' and ser\'ed as
president ol the society. She has written several books, including Wrinklebclly,
about the World War 1 veterans in eastern Wyoming. Her latest book,
published in 2003, is a biography ot former Wyoming Governor Stan
Hathaway.
BETH SOUTHWELL
J. D. Conley's Cabinet of Curiosities and Other Early Wyoming
Museums, page 24
Beth Southwell was born in Connecticm but has lived in Laramie, Wyo-
ming, since 1980. She receixed her B.S. in geologv from the LIni\ersitv ol
New Mexico and became hiscinated with the histor\' ol Wyoming paleon-
tology while pursuing graduate work at the Universitv of Wyoming. An
active volunteer at the U.W Geological Museimi, she enjovs digging for
dinosaur bones in the Wyoming badlands during the stmimer and digging
for clues to Wyoming's geologic past in the archives in the winter.
ii
40 Annals of Wyominq: The Wyoming History Journal -- Summer 2004
Ind
j-\h-ho-cipp,i 9-12
American Heritage Center, Universit)- of
Wyoming 15, 22
American Horse 8
America's Second Tongue: American Indian
Education and the Ownership of
English. 1860-1900. by Ruth Spack,
reviewed, 37-38
Aughey, Samuel 28-30
Auguste, Lucian 5-6
Bad Wound 8
Barnum, Phineas T. 25
Barrett, Frank A. 19
Bingham, Maj. H.W. 8
Black Bear 8
Bridger, Jim 4
Bordeaax, James 6
Bordeaux, Louis 8
Brown, F.S. 18
Brown, Larry K., Petticoat Prisoners of
Old Wyoming, reviewed, 37
Bullock, W.G. 4
Campbell, John A. 19, 28
Carey, Joseph M. 31
Cheyenne Daily Leader 25, 28
Cheyenne, Wyoming 25-26, 28-29
Clark, A.C. 26
Collins, Cary C, reviewer oi America's
Second Tongue: American Indian
Education and the Ownership of
English. 1860-1900. 37-38
Como Blufif, Wyoming 29
Conley, J.D. 24-32
Conquering Bear 5-6
Denver Daily Tribune 28
Denver Post \9-2Q
Downey, Stephen W 32
East Thunder 8
Fenwick, Red 19-20
Finfrock, J.H. 31
Flannery, Alice (Moomah) 15-16, 19-
20
Flanner)', L.G. "Pat" 2-13, 14-23
Fleming, Lt. Hugh B. 5
Fort Laramie 3-6, 9-12, 15, 22
Fort Laramie Scout 16
Fort Laramie, Wyoming 15-16, 20, 23
Fuller, Br>'an 18
Garnett, William 8
Goshen County News and Fort Laramie
Scout 16
Goshen County, Wyoming 15-16, 19-
20
Grant, Pres. U.S. 8-9
Grattan, Lt. John L. 5-7
Grattan Massacre, 4-7
Green River, Wyoming 27
Griske, Billie 3, 15, 23
Griske, Michael, 23, editor 2-13, (bio
39)
Griske, Patricia 23
Hackleman, Mae 17
Harney, Gen. W.S. 10-11
Hebard, Grace Raymond 17, 20, 31
HefFron, Billy 17
HertjTami, ed. ot "Recent Acquisitions
in the Hebard Library, UW Libraries,"
33-34
High Forehead 5-6
Homsher, Lola 18
Housen, Keith 17
Howard, E.A. 8
Hoyt, John Wesley 28-30
Hunt, Lester 19
Hunton, Alexander B. 3
Hunton, Blanche 2
Hunton, Jim 12-13
Hunton, John 2-13, 14-23
Hunton, Mar)' Elizabeth (Carpenter) 3
Iron Horse 8
"J.D. Conley's Cabinet ot Curiosities and
Other Early Wyoming Museums," by
Beth Southwell 24-32
Johnson, Albinius A. 30
Jones, Walter, reviewer oi Petticoat
Prisoners of Old Wyoming, 37
Keenan, Jerry, The Wagon Box Fight: An
Episode of Red Cloud's War, reviewed,
37
Kelly, Sylvia 17
Knight, Samuel H. 30
Knight, Wilbur C. 29, 32
Landry, C.L. 17
Laramie Boomerang 31-32
Laramie, Wyoming 30
Last Man's Club 18
Lebsock, Edward 22
Little Wound 8
Lone Horn 8
McDaniel, James 25
Man Afraid of His Horse 5
Masters, Joseph G. 9
Maynadier, Col. Henry E. 11
Merrill, Karen R., Public Lands and
Political Meaning: Ranchers. The
Government, and the Property Between
Them, reviewed, 35
Miller, Leslie A. 19
Miller, Mark E., reviewer oi Public Lands
and Political Meaning: Ranchers, The
Government, and the Property Between
Them. 35-36
Museum ot Living Wonders 25-26
Museum of Rocky Mountain Curiosities
26-27
Museums, Wyoming 24-32
National Mining and Industrial
Exposition 28
"Native American Sagas from the Diaries
of John Hunton," ed. by Michael
Griske 2-13
Nolan, Jim 17
Nye, Bill 26-27
O'Brien, Maj. George 10
O'Mahoney, Joseph C. 7, 19-20
"Pat Flannery" by Sally Vanderpoel 14-
23
Pawnee Killer 8
Pepys, Samuel 21
Petticoat Prisoners of Old Wyoming, by
Larry K. Brown, reviewed, 37
Phineas T. Barnum's American Museum
25
Public Lands and Political Meaning:
Ranchers, The Government, and the
Property Between Them, by Karen R.
Merrill, reviewed 35-36
Red Cloud 7-8
Reed, William H. 32
Ricketts, Samuel D. 29
Rouse, Phil 18
SaviUe, J.J. 8
Sherman, Wyoming 26-27
Sioux Indians 2-13
Skogen, Larry C, reviewer of The Wagon
Box Fight: An Episode of Red Cloud's
War, 36
Slaughter, John 28-29
Smith, C.C. 16-17
Southwell, Beth, author 24-32 (bio 39)
Spack, Ruth, America's Second Tongue:
American Indian Education and the
Ownership of English, 1860-1900,
reviewed, 37-38
Spotted Tail 8-12
Stanton, Frederick J. 28-29
Temple, Charlotte 26
Thorp, Russell 9
Toirington Telegram 16
Torrington, Wyoming 17
Trail Lance 8
Trail, Oregon 5-6
University of Wyoming 24, 30-32
Vanderpoel, Sally, author "Pat Flannery"
14-23, (bio 39)
The Wagon Box Fight: An Episode of Red
Clouds War, by Jerry Keenan,
reviewed, 36
Ware, Eugene 11
Whitfield'^ Maj. J. W. 5
"Whitney Rae 14
Wyoming Academy of Sciences, Arrs and
Letters 29-30
Wyoming Old Timers Club 17
Wyoming Territorial Legislature 28
Zimmer, Frank 18
Wyoming Picture
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Vol. 76, No. 4
Art
"Feeding a Wild Bear,
Yellowstone Park"
J. E.Haynes postcard,
Arthur De ma ray Papers,
American Heritage Center,
University of Wyoming
"Guests of the park derive great enjoyment from watching the antics ot the bears. The
American brown bears which occur in two color phases — black and brown — are more
ntimerotis in the park than grizzlies." Text is from the Haynes postcard, which is not
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WYOMING
The Wyoming History Journal
Autumn 2004 Vol. 76, No. 4
2 The Promotion of Yellowstone
National Park by the Union Pacific
Railroad
1 hornron Waicc
13 Bronco Nell, A Woman Horse Thief
Fcli-x Alston
Edited bv Felix Scott Alston
fc . 18 Escape from Heart Mountain
■""■'^Ir'" BcttvY. Taira ■ — -*n, ,
/
Nnv 0
BOOK 25 Book Reviews
R£^l£iVS t^d'tcd bv C:arl Hallberg
Art Reese,
Wyoming!
Commiss
Carolyn 1
Lynn Car]
Roger Mc
Ernest C.
Diann Re
Emerson "SKSij
William Vines,
Barbara Vlerri,'!
]errilynnWaU,E,
University of Wy
Philip Dubois, Presid<
Oliver Walter, D( — '
Sciences
Kristine Utterbai__,^
History
Ci^'lj'iij'ijlijii'ii)'/^ 33 Contributors' Biographies
34 Index
Wyoming Picture
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Graphic Design: X'icki Schuster
Annals of VVvominq: The Wyoming History Journal -- Autumn 2004
Old Faithful as shown in
Union Pacific booklet
"Western Wonderlands"
advertising Yellowstone
National Park and other
"interesting vacation lands of
the West;' (not dated)
Courtesy American Heritage
Center. University of
Wyoming.
The Northern Pacific Railway has generally been cred-
ited with promoting the establishment of Yellowstone
National Park in 1872, but the Union Pacific Railroad
(UPRR) quickly saw the potential for a profitable busi-
ness associated with transporting tourists to the park.
The railroad surveyed various potential routes from the Utah & Northern main
line running between Pocatello, Idaho, and Butte, Montana, to the western edge
of the park. However, during the 1 870s and 1880s, the Union Pacific experienced
severe financial difficulties and could do little besides advertise what services they
had for travel to the park.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal -Autumn 2004 3
The line to what is now West Yellowstone was
not built until 1907, after the Union Pacific emerged
from bankruptcy just before the turn oi the century.
The LInion Pacific Railway Compan\', which had
been created following the merger of the Union Pa-
cific Railroad Company with the Kansas Pacific Rail-
way in 1880,' went into bankruptcy in 1893, and it
was not until Julv 1, 1897, that the company was
reorganized as the UPRR, with the Oregon Short
Line a subsidiary of the new company."
E. H. Harriman, who took over control of the
UPRR when it was reorganized in 1897, unclertook
a massive improvement of the entire railroad, rebuild-
ing the main lines and building branch lines through-
out the western states reached bv the railroad. Amt>ng
the branch lines, and constructed during this time
period, was the line built by the Yellowstone Park Rail-
road Company. This company, which was organized
and controlled by the UPRR, built a line from St.
Anthony, Idaho, to the western edge of Yellowstone
National Park at what is now West Yellowstone, Mon-
tana.' The Yellowstone Park Railroad was transferred
to the Oregon Short Line by a deed of sale on Octo-
ber 31, 1910.-^
Following the end of Worlci War I, the Oregon
Short Line built new facilities at West Yellowstone,
including a baggage building, a large dining lodge,
and an employee dormitory 1 he convenience of trav-
eling over the Lhiion Pacific to reach the park re-
sulted in half of all rail travelers to Yellowstone tak-
ing the railroad tt) West Yellowstone for their visit
between the two world wars. The north entrance,
reached at Gardiner by the Northern Pacific Rail-
way, was a close second, while the eastern entrance
through Cody and the sotith entrance were not used
by a significant number of tourists.^
With the increased popularity of the automobile
during the 1920s and the negative impacts of the
Depression and World War II, rail passenger travel
to Yellowstone decreased. Fhere was a slight increase
immediately following World War II, but the num-
ber of rail passengers quickly decreased to the point
it was no longer profitable to run trains to West
Yellowstone. The railroads gradually discontinued
train service to Yellowstone. The UPRR discontin-
ued the last trains to the park boundar\' in 1960.
Following that, bus connections were required, and
that, too, was cut back during the next years. By the
time Amtrak, a federal agency, took over the nations
rail passenger trains in 1 9'^ 1 , rail traxel to ^'ellowstone
was virtually non-existent.''
A closer look at the promotion of the park b\' the
UPRR between the years 1923 and 1960 shows how
the railroad attempted to entice tourists to travel to
the park at a time when the railroad was promoting
rail passenger service. Fhere were advertisements in
national magazines and local newspapers through-
out the cotintr\' as well as brochures and booklets
describing travel to the paik. Even the ptiblication
for L'PRR employees. Tin' Lhiioji Piicific Magazitie,
was used to promote visits to the park, with numer-
ous articles describing the park anei its attractions.
Robert Atlie.irii, Lhiion I'nifir Country (Lincoln, Nehr.iska:
Bison Books, 1976), p. 227.
Don.ild Robertson, Encyclopi'diii of Wesh-rii Railruii/1 History,
\oliiine II. The Moiiritiiiji States (Dallas, Tcx.is: T.i\lor Publish-
ing Company, 1991). p. 233.
The Articles of Incorporation of the )el/oicstone Park Rai/roat/
Company stated that the new railroad would construct a line
from "the town of St. Anthony, connecting with the St. An-
thon\' Railroad, ... to a point near the western boundan,' ot
the Yellowstone National Park. . . ." The new company was
authorized tcT issue 1,2?() shares ot capital stock at SHItl.OO
each. W,H. Bancroft, who was superintendent ot the Oregon
Short Line, held 1,241 ot these shares as trustee. Bancroft
and other officials of the Oregon Short Line each held one
share as stockliolder. Author's collection.
Corporate History of the Oregon S/wrr Line Railroad Conipany as
of June 30, 1916, p. 63.
Based on figures in the "Annual Report of \ellowstone Na-
tional Park" rele.ised by the superintendent each year. Lhe
LInion Pacific reached the west entrance to the park and the
Northern Pacific reached the north entrance. The Chicago,
l^urlington & Quincy accessed the east entrance, and the Chi-
cago & North Western provided service to the south entrance.
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific also proxided ser-
vice through the west entrance.
Based on a review of L'nion Pacific timetables. I he last sched-
uled passenger train service co West Yellowstone was listed in
their timetables for the summer of 1960. The following year
the Union Pacific advertised service to Ashton, with connect-
ing bus service to West Yellowstone. Later timetables showed
this ser\'ice was then cut back to connecting bus sen'ice from
Idaho Falls.
Typical of these atticles were ones tilled ' The Colden Anni-
versary of Yellowstone National Park," published in the March
1922 issue ot The Union Pacific Magazine and "Trip Through
Yellowstone National Park, published in the August 1922
issue.
4 Annals of Wyoming: The VVyoming History' Journal -- Autumn 2004
One of the most interesting promotional campaigns
was the one using cartoon bears, as exempHtied by
fliers which were pubHshed from 1923 tintil 1960.
Today, the railroad advertisements tor Yellowstone
are sought bv collectors ol both railroadiana and
Yellowstone National Park memorabilia.
The promotion ot Yellowstone by the UPRR can
be divided into two segments: from 1880 through
1 907 (when the Yellowstone Park Railroad Company
reached West Yellowstone) and from 1908 through
1960. For perspective, the advertising promotions
must be studied with relation to the time and what
was happening in both the park and the country.
THE FIRST UNION PACIFIC ADVERTISEMENTS
The Utah & Northern Railway, a subsidiary of
the UPRR, reached the Idaho-Montana state line on
March 9, 1880, as it was being constructed from
Ogden, Utah, to Butte and Garrison, Montana. See-
ing the potential for a profitable passenger trade, the
railroad immediately began advertising travel to the
park over their line. During the winter of 1 879- 1 880,
the railroad published a folder which boldly stated,
"New Rail Route to MONTANA Via Union Pacific
and Utah & Northern Railroads. Save Time, Money
and 1,000 miles of Distance to Montana and
Yellowstone Park." The folder went on to describe,
in detail, the disadvantages of traveling to Montana
on the Missouri River through Fort Benton." Appar-
ently the railroad had considered building a line to
the park while the route to Montana was being con-
structed. Jake Blickensderfer, who had surveyed the
original route of the Union Pacific across the Mid-
west, recommended a route from their Utah &
Northern line at Eagle Rock (present-day Idaho Falls)
to the western border of the park.'^ In 1879, the
Yellowstone National Park superintendent's report
showed a proposed line from the Utah & Northern
line at Virginia City, Montana, up the Madison River
to the geyser basins.'" Not only was this line never
built, but the Utah & Northern bypassed Virginia
City. A map from Strahorn's To the Rockies and Be-
yond, published in 1880, shows the railroad planned
to construct a line to the west side of Yellowstone
leaving the Ogden-Butte line at Beaver Canyon, south
of the Idaho-Montana state line, proceeding east to
the park." This indicated the UPRR was aware of
the value of a line going directly to the park even
while the line was being constructed.
Due to the financial problems of the railroad at
the time, no construction to the park was done by
the UPRR, despite those promising business pros-
pects. Meanwhile, the Northern Pacific reached
Livingston, Montana, in 1 883, on its way to the West
Coast, and immediately built a line south to Cinna-
bar, a short distance from the north entrance at
Gardiner,'" and quickly realized a profitable sum-
mer tourist business. Despite encouragement from
the Northern Pacific, the UPRR was not able to par-
ticipate," although it did begin offering stage service
from Beaver Canyon, and later Monida, east to the
park. This stage service was advertised in special bro-
chures which had color covers and enticing maps and
itineraries for travel to and through the park. The
fact the park was one and one-half to two days stage
ride from Monida was understandably mentioned
only briefly, while the tour through the park was
emphasized.'"'
Travelers, however, knew that the Northern Pa-
cific, whose terminus was only a few miles from the
park, was the easiest way to reach the park, and this
fact was promoted by the Northern Pacific's Wonder-
land smes. Published from 1883 to 1906,'^ the bro-
chures noted how easy it was to reach the park if one
traveled the Northern Pacific. Because the Northern
Pacific route through the north entrance was so con-
" Colorado Rail Annual No. /5 (Golden, Colorado: Colorado
Railroad Museum, 1981), p. 60.
' Maury Klein, Union Pacific, The Birth of a Railroad (Gar-
den C\xy, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1987), p.
523.
'"Aubrey Haines, The Yellowstone Story, V^/HWf/(Niwot, Colo-
rado: University of Colorado Press/ The Yellowstone Asso-
ciation for Natural Science, History & Education, Inc.,
1996), p. 255.
" Ibid, p. 51.
'- Craig Reese, "The Gardiner Gateway to Yellowstone," The
Mainstreeter 15 (Spring 1996): 5
'•' Klein, Union Pacific, p. 523.
'■' Where Gush the Geysers (Oregon Short Line brochure), 1 899,
Yellowstone National Park Research Library.
" Personal communication from Lee Whittlesesy, archivist and
historian, Yellowstone National Park Research Library.
■V
Annals of Wyoininq: TheV'/vaTing History Journal-- Autumn 2004 5
venient, the Union Pacific could not effectively com-
pete tor travel to the park, and it could not do any-
thing to make travel to the park anv easier.
However, in an ethirt to promote travel over the
rail line to the park, the Oregon Short Line pub-
lished brochures titled WLwre Gusli the Gcyicn. The
first edition, published in 1 899, not onl\' had a paint-
ing on the cover, but also inclucied hand-colored pho-
tographs on the inside showing some ot the destina-
tions in the park, along with the rates hit the tour
packages. Tour routes available included one leaving
from Monida to the park, and exiting though Cin-
nabar. The brochure was the convenient size ot a rail-
road timetable, approximateh' totu inches b\' nine
inches.'"
After the UPRR entered bankruptcy in 1893, it
took several vears tor it to reorganize. After it did.
Harriman became president of the newly reorganized
railroad. He immediatelv started a program to re-
build the rail lines.' He also began construction of
branch feeder hues to provide added traffic anci busi-
ness for the UPRR. At the turn of the centun,', the St.
Anthony Railroad was built from Idaho Falls, Idaho,
north and east to St. Anthonv to reach the Upper
Snake River Vallev.'" fhe thirtv-seven mile line was
sticcessful, but remained fift\' miles short of the west
side of the park. Travel to Yellowstone from Monida
was still the UPRR's preferred rotite, and the Oregon
Short Lane even proposed improving the stage road
'" Where Gush the Geysers brochure.
' Maury KJein, The Life iDiel Lege)id of E.H. Hanhnan (Chapel
Hill, North Carolina: the University of North Carolina
Press, 2000), p. 130.
'" The Corporate Histoty of the Oregon Short Line, p. 'i.r
PiclO'ial mop ihowtng »osi Weiiem Empire on<
scenic Vacolion Wondeilandi ie'ved by tf,
Union Pacific Railroad and iis connecting lines
- RAILROAD
Map of Union Pacific Railroad's western routes from "Western Wonderlands" brochure, ca, 1940. Courtesy
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
6 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Autumn 2004
from Monida ro the park at the turn of the century,'''
although the railroad did not take action on that pro-
posal.
COMPLETION OF THE LINE TO WEST
YELLOWSTONE
The UPRR incorporated the Yellowstone Park
Railroad Company on September 12, 1905, to build
a line from St. Anthony to the west side of the park.
Construction began on October 3, 1905.'" Connect-
ing stage service was provided b\' Fred Haynes'
Monida- Yellowstone Company from Marysville and
the end oi" the line to the park while the new line was
being constructed. Completed on November 12,
1907,-' the line was almost immediately closed by
winter snows, but the next spring the railroad began
advertising and promoting travel to the park in its
timetables. The success ol this advertising was readily
apparent, judging by the increase in the numbers ol
railroad tourists to the western edge ol Yellowstone."
Tra\'el to the park was interrupted bv World War
I when the hotels closed, although the camping areas
remained open.'' Immediately after the war, the rail-
roads all began a vigorous competition lor tourist
travel to the park. Although it was a seasonal busi-
ness, extending from mid-June through early Sep-
tember, transportation ol passengers was profitable.
Special hires were ollered and the trip was promoted
as a side trip on a transcontinental train ride, espe-
cially during years when there were fairs or exposi-
tions on the West Coast.'' In 1939, for example, the
UPRR promoted a side trip to Yellowstone for those
going either to the New York World's Fair or the San
Francisco World's Fair in a tour page flier promoting
Yellowstone.
During the early 1920s, the UPRR saw its busi-
ness increasing every year, and the facilities at West
Yellowstone were accordingly expanded.'^ The origi-
nal baggage room in the depot was found to be too
small and a separate baggage building was con-
structed. The dining facilities were also inadequate to
meet the needs of the hundreds of passengers who
arrived on some days, so the railroad built a new,
large dining lodge designed by the famous architect
Gilbert Stanley Underwood. In addition, a dormi-
tory for summer employees was built to replace the
makeshift bunk cars used by the employees. By 1923,
more than fifty percent of rail passengers to the park
traveled through West Yellowstone, a fact duly publi-
cized by the railroad, although automobile traffic was
even then rapidly outpacing rail travel to the park.'''
THE PROMOTION OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL
PARK
The advertisements printed by the Oregon Short
Line hi^hliCThted not only the ease of reaching the
park over its rail line, but also the various tour routes
and options available in the park itself. These adver-
tisements were not particularly elaborate or original,
but rather were informative black and white bro-
chures with some color added. They included nu-
merous black and white photos showing the various
sights in the park.
The UPRR also promoted Yellowstone in all
forms of the media. In 1922, the railroad had a live
radio broadcast on Bullock's Broadcasting Station
(KNN) in downtown Los Angeles by a representa-
tive of the railroad to promote travel to the park.'
''' "Report ot the Acting Superintendent ot the Yellowstone Na-
tional Park," October 14, 1902, p. 4.
-° The Corporate History of the Oregon Short Line, p. 63.
-' The railroad printed a special pocket-sized brochure commemo-
rating this event titled "Union Pacific and Oregon Short Line
Railroads, November 12, 1907, Yellowstone Park, 1909." It
described the tour routes available through the park for the
1909 season.
-- In the 1908 "Report of the Superintendent of Yellowstone
National Park," it was noted that "the branch line ot the Or-
egon Short Line Railroad from Idaho Falls to the western
boundary of the park was completed and ready for passenger
traffic at the opening of the park season of 1908, and the records
show an increase of visitors to the park through the western
entrance of about 3,000 over 1907." According to this re-
port, 7,172 visitors to the park entered through the west en-
trance that year.
'^The "Annual Repon ot the Superintendent tor the year 1918,"
stated that the hotels were closed, but that the camping areas
remained open, p. 4.
^'' "Western Vacations at Bargain Prices," in The Union Pacific
Magazine, April 1932, p. 12. This article noted some of the
special passenger stopover privileges which were available dur-
ing the summer of 1932.
-^ Annual reports ot the Union Pacific Railroad for the years end-
ing December 31, 1921, 1925, 1926. and 1927.
''' "Annual Report of the Superintendent," 1923.
'' "Radio Broadcasts Yellowstone Park Attractions," The Union
Pacific Magazine, September 1922, p. 40.
J
Annals of VVvominq' Tne VVyominq Hislor; Journal -- Au'iin" 2004
The railroad published numerous special advertise-
ments and notices through the years to reach various
markets. It had advertisements in national magazines
such as National Geographic and newspapers in large
cities and mailed out brochures with tour routes and
schedules tor visits through the park, trying to reach
the maximum number of potential travelers.
hi 1 909, onlv a year aher the tracks reached West
Yellowstone, the Oregon Short Line even included a
large notice in The Official Guide of the Railways,
something not t\'pically seen in the Guide. Locatecl
^FiunmoNE^
NATIONAL park:
XCURSIONS
UNION PAOFIC
i_4W Expfnset Included
SUMMER-1928
Cover of Union Pacific Railroad brochure advertising its 1928
excursions to Yellowstone National Park. Courtesy Hebard
Collection, University of Wyoming Libraries.
on the same page as the listing showing the train sched-
ule to Yellowstone, the advertisement proclaimed:
"The NEW LINE to Yellowstone Park Direct to the
Park Boimdarw" An additit)nal note stated: "Side trips
hir the Park at low rate, allowed on all tickets to the
Alaska- Yukon-Pacific Exposition." The railroad's em-
plo\'ee magazine. The Union Pacific Magazine, pub-
lished during the 1920s and 1930s, also had numer-
otis articles promoting travel to the park, such as tlie
ones titled "Yellowstone, America's Animal Refuge""''
and "The Winter Job ol a Yellowstone Park Forest
Ranger," " complete with photographs. I he cover ol
the Jime 1922 issue ol the magazine was a Havnes
photograph ol C^astle Cone and Beehive Geyser.
The L'PRR published a series ol brochures dur-
ing the 1920s, approximateh' thirt\'-two pages long,
describing various attractit)ns on the L'nion Pacific
lines. One of them, published in 192.^, was titled
"Yellowstone National Park, and it had a color cover
w ith an artistic rendering ol Old Faithlul, one ol the
most lamous attractions in the park. " Lhere was also
a series ol brochtu'es the size ol a timetable titled
"Western Wonderland" and "Along the L'nion Pa-
cific System," describing the sights along the railroad
and alwa\s including ^elk)wstone. Even when the
Lhiited States Railwax" Administration operated the
nations railroad dtu'ing World Wir I, the UPRR pub-
lished a lolder promoting travel to Yellowstone lor
1919, the \'ear following the end ol the war."'
The UPRR had its own travel department and
librar\', with booklet titles mc\v\A\\\'i^ Zion-Bryce Can-
yo)i-Gra}id Gaiiyon National Parks; Galifornia; Colo-
rado Playgrounds: and Ditde Ranches. Following the
establishment ol the Grand leton National Park in
1 929 south ol Yellowstone, the UPRR also promoted
tra\'el to that park, either through \'ellowstone or
through \'ictor, Idaho, with totu' packages lor both
"'" T/w Union Pacific Miigaziiw, August l^)2'i, p. 10.
"" Ibid., Februar)' l'^)31. p. 13.
-'" Yellowsto}ie Niuio)iiil Piirk [Vin'ion Pacific R.iilroact, 1^)23), 32
pp. Author's collection.
'' YellowUoiie Natinnal Park — Wyouiuig — Montana — Idaho
(United States Railway Administration, National P.irk Series,
Season 1')!')), Yellowstone National l\irk Research Library.
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Aulumn 2004
parks available. '" The Department of Tours and vari-
ous representatives of the railroad throughoiu the
countr}' provided information about these tours.''
Following World War 11, when rail tourist traffic
to the park was in decline, the railroad produced more
modern brochures. Printed with a color photograph
on the cover, they were smaller, but contained much
ol the same information. Separate advertisements ior
Yellowstone were not as common, and the travel itin-
eraries were merged into other possible sights to visit
along the Union Pacific lines. A 1959 booklet titled
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, printed
by the UPRR, was approximately five inches by seven
inches, with a color photograph on the cover. By 1 960,
when passenger ser\qce to West Yellowstone ended
the advertising budget had been cut to the bone. One
of the advertisements for 1960 showed a bus, obvi-
ously cut out and pasted onto a scene showing Old
Faithful in the background.'^ After that, only the
informational fliers to travel agents were sent out,
giving the appropriate tour information as connec-
tions were cut back, from West Yellowstone to Ashton
and then to Idaho Falls. '^ However, even at this time
the railroad's ticket en\'elopes retained a picture of
Old Faithful and a description of how to reach the
park using the Union Pacific lines.'"
During the 1950s, the UPRR also prepared a se-
ries of large photographs of scenes along its lines,
including Yellowstone and Grand Teton national
parks. These large color photographs included the
words "Union Pacific Railroad" in the bottom cor-
ner, and were meant to be framed and mounted in
depots and at travel agencies.''^
THE BEAR ADVERTISEMENTS
To encourage its expanding business, the UPRR
began printing a series of cartoon bear advertisements
promoting Yellowstone in 1923. Feeding the bears
was considered a novelty and an attraction for park
visitors, and the railroad wanted to emphasize the
ease of seeing wildlife up close. The fliers were appar-
ently mailed to travel agents and ticket agents all over
the country to inform them of various train sched-
ules and sights to see in the park.
The bear cartoon advertisements were interest-
ing and noteworthy for a variety of reasons. They
were, and still are, enjoyable and fun to view. Busy
with many activities, the bears were shown in comi-
cal situations. The railroad released up to six differ-
One of the bear advertisements used by the Union Pacific
Railroad to promote its service to Yellowstone National Park.
Courtesy Hebard Collection, University of Wyoming Libraries.
'* "Reached via Union Pacific" (Union Pacific Railroad, 1929).
This is a four-page flier advertising tours to the new Grand
Teton National Parte, one of several printed by the Union
Pacific through the years.
-" 'Yellowstone Opens June 20" (Union Pacific Railroad, 1929).
This information was on the back page of a four-page flier
advertising travel to Yellowstone National Park, and was of-
ten found on many of their advertisements.
'" The Union Pacific Bulletin, March 1960. This was a publica-
tion of the railroad for their ticket agents to inform them of
the passenger and tour services available on the railroad.
-'■' "Additional Information for Agents Regarding Yellowstone
National Park Tours, Hotels, Facilities, etc. Summer of 1961,"
published by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad,
the Union Pacific Railroad, and rhe Northern Pacific Rail-
way Company. Author's collection.
-"' Ticket envelope. Author's collection.
' Author's collection.
Annals ofWyoming: The Wyoming History Journal --Aulumn 2004 9
enr bear ads each year, each of them containing dif-
ferent messages and information. Thev might con-
tain train schedules, destinations, and sights to see,
or just nickidc pictures oi views in the park. The Hi-
ers were centered around \'arious themes, ranging
from sports to fairs to the latest technology (such as
"Tell-A- Vision") to references to national elections.
Designed to attract casual viewers, the advertisements
always included the UP shield on the front and would
include scenes such as Old Faithful or the Old Faith-
ful Inn in the background. The bears would be busy
doing a number of acti\'ities.'**
There are more than ninet\' known bear ad\er-
tisements. Thev were printeci on 11x17 inch paper
folded to make a four-page flier Onh' a few thoti-
sand copies of each flier were printed and distributed
by the railroad. The UPRR released several each vear
in the 1 920s and 1 930s, and none are known to have
been printed dtuing World War II since passenger
service to West Yellowstone was discontinued dtuing
the war following the 1942 season. Following the
war, only one or two advertisements were printed
each year, but the bear cartoon theme was continued
imtil 1960. The bears were shown on the co\'er page.
The back page and inside fl\'er would list train sched-
ules, sights to see in the park or at other locations
along the UP's lines, as well as special events. The
advertisements after the war were more colorful and
busier than the previous ones.
The same bear cartoons were also used by the
railroad for other purposes. Some of the advertising
booklets published during the 1950s, for example,
included photographs with the cartoon bears added
onto the same page.''* The children's menu on the
dining car also had the same bears on the menu, and
there was even a coloring book with the bears, with
rhymes promoting Yellowstone.'"
It is not known who prepared most of the bear
cartoons, but it is known that the UP would show
them to the Yellowstone Park Association to receive
its concurrence before releasing them. The railroad
typically used commercial artists hired speciflcalh- ior
that purpose. Walter Oerhle was a Chicago artist who
prepared some of the advertisements for the railroad.
He also prepared some of the murals in the Old Faith-
ftil Inn, which were included in the remodeling of
the bar at the end of Prohibition in 1933, at the re-
quest of architect Robert C. Reamer. *' Some of these
murals are still on the walls in the Inns cafeteria,
while others have been reproduced on glass etchings
in the bar. The theme of playful bears was maintained
on those murals, using the same style of bears. An-
other artist known to have made some of the adver-
tisements was William Willmarth'' from Omaha. Fie
drew niunerous other ad\'ertisements for the railroad
through the years, until the UP replaced his drawings
with photographs.
Fhe railroad also used live bears in some of its
advertising. There are photographs showing the bears
with a group of \'oung women on the back of an
observation can If one Kuiks carcftilK' at the image,
however, one can see that the bear is being held ti2;htlv
with a chain h\' a handler.'' Apparentlv the advertis-
ing department determined that bear cartoons were
a lot easier to prepare than working with live bears.
For several \'ears dtiring the twenties, the compan\'
magazine included the outline of a bear at the header
oi the section covering the news from the Montana
Division, which included the line to West
Yellowstone.
Although the UP is most closely associated w ith
the bears at Yellowstone, the Northern Pacific also
'" The origin.ils of most ot the cartoon be.ir advertisements are
at the Union Pacific Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. Copies
are also at the Yellowstone National Park Research Library.
'" In the advertisint; brochure "Yellowstone and Grand Teton
National Parks." published by the Union Pacific Railroad in
193'), the same bear cartoons were used on pages describing
stopovers and train service. Copy in authors collection.
""' An original copy is .ivailable at the Union Pacific Museum in
Omaha, Nebraska, and copies at the Yellowstone National
Park Research Libran,'. The Niitiotiiil Geographic magazine
had advertisements promoting Yellowstone which included
cartoon bears. The November 1911 issue had an advertise-
ment by the Union Pacific listing advantages of visiting the
park, and there were nvo cartoon bears included in the halt-
page advertisement. The Mav 1933 issue had a quarter-page
advertisement by the Northern Pacific showing a similar car-
toon bear, also promoting traxcl to Yellow stone National Park.
'' Letter from Robert C. Reamer to Wm. B. Nichols, president
ot the Yellowstone Park Hotel Company. October 18. 1934,
Yellowstone National Park archives, box YTC-34.
'- Michael Zega, "Travel by Train. ' X'nitag,- R,iils, Winter 1997.
■'■* LInion Pacific Museum photo #4176.
10 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal --Autumn 2004
used cartoon bears in its advertising. Its advertise-
ments, however, were not as exclusive, nor were they
used as long as those of the UP."*"* The remnants of
these bear cartoons can be seen at Mammoth Hot
Springs, where they are on signs advertising food ser-
vices.
SUCCESS OF THE PROMOTION
It is difficult to judge the overall success of" the UPs
promotion efforts for travel to Yellowstone National
Park because the automobile ultimately displaced the
train as the primar}' means of visiting the park. In
addition, much of the advertising was intended to
make potential travelers aware of the park and how
to reach it, rather then being intended for a specific
trip. Ho\\e\er, based on the numbers of rail travelers
through the various entrances, it is apparent that its
advertising campaign was successful, with more than
fifty percent of all rail travelers entering the park
through the west entrance over the UP lines, based
on the annual reports hv the superintendent of the
park.
There were four tratewavs used bv the five rail-
roads to reach Yellowstone, the west, north, east, and
south entrances. The UP reached the west entrance,
and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific
Railroad reached the Gallatin gateway in 1927, with
the passenger traveling by bus to West Yellowstone.
Prior to this time, travelers on the Milwaukee Road
had to travel by bus from Three Forks, Montana, to
reach the park. The Northern Pacific Railway reached
the north entrance at Gardiner, and the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad reached Cody, Wyo-
ming, and tourists rode buses to the east entrance. A
few travelers went over the Chicago and North West-
ern Railway to Lander, and had a one and a half day
bus ride to the south entrance. The following data is
taken from the annual report of Yellowstone, pub-
lished by the superintendent. The number of rail visi-
tors was reported separately from the number of visi-
tors by car. This listing shows the number of cars,
not visitors, who passed through the entrances to the
park.
■'■' "Yellowstone National Park — 1916 — Yellowstone Western
Stage Company," advertising brochure. Yellowstone Na-
tional Park Research Librar)'.
West North East South
Entrance Entrance Entrance Entrance
Year
1920
Rail
14,268
9,717
4,075
1926
Rail
18,981
14,127
7,611
271
Cars
14,862
9,288
15,827
4,344
1929
Rail
19,213
12,243
7,233
290
Cars
76,897
39,198
73,732
24,758
1933
Rail
2,847
2,955
966
19
Cars
14,244
11,110
16,723
4,857
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal- Aiilumn 2004 11
1 936
Visits were not reported tor eaeh entrance, but there was a total ot 4 1 2,608
visitors to tlie park, of whom 19, 472 arrived h\' rail.
Rail travelers were not reported following World War II since the number
was insignificant compared to those arriving by automobiles.
As can be seen by Icioking at the data, the west
entrance was, ("or most \'ears, the most heax'ily used
bv rail travelers. After dropping dtuing the Depres-
sion, the number ol rail travelers slowly rose, but the
automobile was obvioush' the primar\' means ol vis-
iting the park.
CONCLUSION
Fhe UP's promotion ol Yellowstone Natit)nal Park
not onl\' encouraged tra\el to the park, but it also
created a legacy oI artwork that is memorable. Al-
though it is no longer possible to travel directly to the
park b\- train, special railroad tours still exist, such as
the American Orient Express rail tours, which include
a bus trip througli the parks.
GAKDINKK KI\1.R Hor M'KlNijS. \ I.I.LUW S luN 1- .NAIIO.NAL
t'AKK —Reached via the L'niun I'acihc System.
Image from the Union Pacific booklet The Evolution of the
Locomotive from 1813 to 1891. Courtesy American Heritage
Center, University of Wyoming.
PARK TOURS
The Oregon Short Line and the Union Pacific
offered a wide variety of tours through
Yellowstone National Park from 1908, when the
railroad first reached West Yellowstone and e\'en
after 1960, when passenger service was discon-
tinued to West Yellowstone. With the coopera-
tion of the competing railroads, a tourist could
enter through West Yellowstone and leave
through another entrance. The railroad would
transport the tourists baggage for them to the
station from which they would then depart. The
tours could also be custom made and length-
ened for a nominal fee, but there were set "pack-
age" tours which were described in the fixer and
brochures.
In 1899 the Oregon Short Line listed the
following schedule for one of these tours in its
brochure "Where Gush the Geysers."
Day 1: Leave Monida and arrive at Grayling
Inn
Day 2: Arrive Fountain Hotel
Day 3: Visit Upper Basin, stav at Fountain Fio-
tel
Day 4: Arrive Lake Fiotel
Dav 5: Arrive Canvon Llotel
12 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal --Autumn 2004
Day 6: Arrive Mammoth Hot Springs
Day 7: Arrive Grayling Inn
Day 8: Arrive Monida
Visitors traveled on four horse Concord coaches oi the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Company.
In 1916, the Yellowstone-Western Stage Company suggested four possible tours through the park.
They included a two-day tour from the western entrance (shown as "Yellowstone" on their map) to
the geysers; a tour-day tour to the main points of interest in the park; a five-day complete tour of the
park; and a four-day tour of the park entering through Yellowstone and leaving through Gardiner.
In 1917, the coaches were replaced by eleven passenger buses operated by the Yellowstone Park
Transportation Company. After 1929, following the establishment of Grand Teton National Park,
tours through both parks were available, and a tourist soon could enter through either West
Yellowstone or Victor for the trip through both parks. By 1959, the tours by rail were apparently
more flexible, and escorted tours were still available. No specific tour schedules were listed in the
booklet titled Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, although the park buses operated on a
schedule.
il
St-l_^EEP ROCK AND point; OF OQuiRR
Page advertising Yellowstone National Park from View Album of Resorts on the Union Pacific Railroad, not dated. Courtesy
Hebard Collection, University of Wyoming Libraries.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal --Autumn 2004 13
BRONCO NELL, A WOMAN HORSE THIEF
^m
As told by Felix Alston
Edited and with an introduction by Scott Alston
'I INTRODUCTION
Texas Trail cowboy; Bald Mountain City (City of Broken Hearts)
gold miner and election judge; Basin City livery and feed store em-
ployee and owner, and water and ice man; Lovell and Irma Flat store-
keeper and postmaster; Marquette and Irma Flat farmer; Yellowstone
National Park guide; contractor for the National Park road along the
North Fork of the Shoshone to the national forest reserve; hunter and
fisherman; Big Horn County Justice of the Peace, clerk, tax collector,
deputy sheriflF, under-sheriff, county sheriff; warden of the ^C^oming
State Penitentiary
Felix Alston in Basin dunng
the 1909 Spring Creek Raid
tnal. Courtesy the grandchil-
dren of Felix Alston, Felix
Scott Alston and Virginia
Taylor Muller.
His love
affair with
Wyoming
only ended
with his
death in 1956
at the age of
eighty-six.
In some ways, the succinct foregoing paragraph better illuminates
the colorful Wyoming years of the diminutive (five foot six inch) Texan
Felix Alston than a more labored distractive narratixe. Alston's finest
hours are to be found in the undertakings, activities, and time frame
delineated by the above few words. His love affair with Wyoming only
ended with his death in 1956 at the age of eighr\'-six. He left Wyo-
ming for California in 1919 or 1920 and never returned. Ifhe had ever
learned to drixe a car he might ha\e tra\eled again to Wyoming, but
though once a cowboy and master of the reins he was not of the wheel.
In contrast, his wife Mamie was one of the first women automobile
drivers in Wyoming. Moving to their California orange grove in 1912,
she and the four Basin, Wjoming, born Alston children traveled to
Rawlins every summer in her Studebaker touring car. She was always
at the helm during this remarkable feat, and remained the Alston family chauffeur
until her death.
Alston kept many of his Wyoming contacts until he outlived them all. There were
annual Wyoming state picnics to be attended in the Los Angles area and friendships
to be nurtured with those he had left behind and those Wyomingites coming through
California, as well as with those settling in the state. Curiously, he seemed to have,
and highly value, as many ex-cons as friends as law-abiding citizens. Maybe it was
because he knew too well how tenuously thin the line could become between law-
abiding and unlawful. How civilization had replaced Wyoming's frontier shortlv after
statehood and how so manv grasped that fact too late or maybe never realized it at all.
How circumstances and events with new perspectives by the people can carry a man
across that line and criminalize him. One only has to read the mmierous letters
Warden Alston wrote to the \arious governors of W\'oming, concerning prisoners'
parole potential, to understand how he judged his fellow man. He rarely mentioned
the crimes, but rather spoke of the man's character, trustworthiness, and potential
place in society.
In the spring and summer of 1952, Alston dictated numerous recollections of his
Wyoming years while his third daughter, Helen Jastrow, sat at the Underwood, typing
14 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal - Autumn 2004
a verbatim rendering of his spoken words. This was ac-
complished in the cool shaded yard of his Reseda, Cali-
fornia, Spanish style home. He was painfully deaf in these
years and it is likely that his daughter's shouts for clarity
or repetition permeated the neighborhood. In looking
back on this, decades later, his daughter was somewhat
embarrassed and sincerel}' hoped that their neighbors were
entertained. "At least, they did not complain about Dad
and I ranting at one another in the yard that summer."
The story of Bronco Nell was dictated at this period.
A man and his wite arrived in Meeteetse, Wyo-
ming, in the spring of" 1 900. They had a string
ot six or eight work horses, two freight wag-
ons and what was known as a kooster (a cart covered
over like a covered wagon containing a cook stove
and bed that was always trailed behind the freight
wagons). They also had a small bunch of range horses.
The man, for some reason that I never knew, put on
his hat and walked off, leaving the woman to man-
age the best she could with what propert)' he had left,
tor herselt and small baby.
She took the name ol Nell Smith, acquired a
small place in the edge of this little town where she
had barns, a corral along with a small bunk house. In
order for her to make an adequate living for herself
and child it was necessan' for her to engage in some
occupation whereby she would have sufficient income.
She then went on the road with her freight outfit
hauling wool from any of the interior points to the
railroad at Casper, Wyoming, or Billings, Montana.
On her return trips, she would load her outfit with
groceries or any other supplies needed by the mer-
chants or the ranchers. While on these trips she would
break her best horses to work in the team; for this she
was always referred to as Bronco Nell. She was not a
big woman — never weighing more than one hun-
dred and thirt)' pounds, but was very efficient han-
dling broncos as well as a string team of freight horses.
As she acquired more teams than she really needed
she would dispose of the surplus horses, which added
very materially to her income.
She acquired a small coal mine about three or
four miles from Meeteetse, employing one or two
broken-down coal miners to mine this coal. They
were the only help she had in conducting this mine
or her freight outfit. Nell even hauled her own coal
from the mine to deliver to her various customers in
the town.
On account of her manipulating this freight out-
fit she naturally attracted the attention of all horse
lovers as well as horse thieves. She was known far and
wide by all the horse thieves; and any of them were
willing to increase her herd of horses instead of steal-
ing them from her. Consequently, they gained her
confidence and she certainly responded by protect-
ing them. She would always feed and fmd a place for
any of them to sleep in her bunkhouse. It was impos-
sible to get any information from her concerning
the actions or whereabouts of any of her acquaintan-
ces who might be violators of the law.
One of her loyalty acts to the profession of crooks
was to harbor an escapee from the count)' jail by the
name of Bob Stratten. He had escaped, made it on
foot through the Bad Lands for a distance of sixty
miles to her place. She had a number of colts on
hand that she was weaning and in order to take care
of Stratten she turned a basket hay rack upside down
in the center of the corral, hauled straw by the tons
entirely covering and burying the hay rack, where he
lived the balance of the winter, which was a perfect
place to hibernate. Due to Nell's loyalty Bob was not
discovered by the law, and when spring came he dis-
appeared.
Nell was not satisfied weaning her own colts but
proceeded to wean colts that were the property of
others. Some people knew that she was doing it, but
it was difficult to prove after the colts had been sepa-
rated so long from their mothers that neither would
recognize the other. During this time Nell's herd of
horses increased with amazing rapidity. By this time
she got to be an awful eyesore and nuisance to all the
horsemen in the country but they considered it would
be almost an utter impossibilit}' to secure a jury who
would convict a woman of horse stealing. For that
reason some of them were dilatory as to prosecuting
her.
Several of these horse owners came to me for
advice as to what action to take since I was sheriff of
Big Horn County. They seemed to think that the
loyalty of the average Western man to women would
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journai --Aulunin 2004 15
prevent a conviction in court. I differed with them
and contended that it we could get convincing testi-
mony oi her gtiih we would not have an\' dilhculty
in securing a verdict ol" gtiiity. At my suggestion one
oi these horsemen lek two of his colts the mothers
had weaned with the herd ot range horses. He had
marked these colts with a hair brand under their manes
and had the witnesses note anv outstandinii marks or
peculiarities thev had. Within the next two weeks Nell
picked up these colts and put then in her corral with
some oi her own.
The owner, with his hired man, went to
Meeteetses histice Court, had a writ ol replevin is-
sued and delivered to mv deputv sheriH, which he
sei'ved bv seizing the colts and retinning them to their
owner.
The deptity sheritl called me Irom Meeteetse and
inlormed me that he had seized the two colts that
Nell had stolen and returned them to the owner and
supposed that was all there was to it. 1 told him to
make special notation ot the entire transaction in his
mind, as we would probably want him to appear in
court in case Nell was prosecuted. He said: "\\ hat in
the hell is the use to prosecute her unless you convict
her? This cotmtrv never has, in its histor\', convicted
a woman lor crime."
I told him that I believed in loyalty to the oppo-
site sex as much as anyone, but 1 thought the time
had come when it was necessar\' to put such women
as Nell out ol business. The hict that she was a woman
did not constitute a valid excuse tor her to appropri-
ate other people's property. I never knew or heard ot
a woman convicted lor stealing horses but we would
make an exception in this case, as she had become a
nuisance. 1 considered it would not be dilficult to get
a verdict ot guilty.
I went to C.A. Zaring who was county attorney,
conferred with and gave him all the developments in
the case as to Nells horse stealing. He looked at me
and said: "God almighty, do you think we could con-
vict a woman tor horse stealing? It vou think we can
I am with you one himdred percent. I have heard
considerable complaints as to Nell's activities and she
must be a dinger ot a horsewoman. Within thirty
days before district court sets we well tile a complaint
direct under the 'Live Stock Statute' which makes it a
penitentiarv ottense to steal live stock ot any value."
1 told him we had positive evidence in that the
owner ot the colts, along with his hired man, could
positively identity both ot them. That the deputy sher-
itt had reclaimed them trom Nell and had delivered
them back to the owner. Nell had claimed ownership
ot the colts, btit atter the otticet took possession ot
them she claimed then that she might be mistaken in
the identity, which was an impossibility as she did
not have one animal ot an\- description in that pat-
ticular range.
Mr. Zaring tiled a criminal indictmenr, which
meant that it would be necessary tor Nell to tLuntsh a
bail bond to appear at the next regular term ot dis-
trict cotut.
I did not arrest Nell and take her into custody
but instructed her to post a bond immediateh' or else
be remanded to jail.
On the tlrst day session ot the court Nell appeared
in person with her law\'ers which consisted ot the
leading law tlrm ot the countv, Ridgley and West.
That torenoon session ot the court was devoted en-
tirel\- to reading ot the criminal docket and setting
all criminal cases tor trial. Nell's case was the last one
to be heard. Puring the noon recess the judge no-
ticed the case on the docket "State ot Wyoming vs.
Nell Smith" which really meant a criminal indict-
ment. Never having had a woman criminal in his
cotut the judge was curious to know what charge was
against Nell. He asked the coiuit\' atrorne\' and I "what
was the charge?" to which Mr. Zaring replied: "Horse
stealing."
The judge smiled and asked Mr. Zaring "Do \'ou
realK' believe it is possible to convict a woman ot
horse stealing? "
Mt. Zaring replied by saying: "The sherift says
he has the most convincing testimony which places
her beyond anv doubt ot guilt."
At the completion ot Nell's trial the case was placed
in the hands of jury about four o'clock. The bailitt
took the jur\- to dinner atter which thev retired to
the jtu'v room tor deliberation. The judge lett in-
structions that it the jur\' brotight in a \'erdict betore
eleven o'clock that nidit to call him and he would
1 6 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Autumn 2004
hear it, otherwise to turn in a sealed verdict to the
clerk of the court. About ten o'clock they informed
the bailiff that thev had arrived at a verdict. All inter-
ested in the case congregated in the courtroom to
hear a verdict of "guilty as charged" without any rec-
ommendations.
Of course, it was necessary to place Nell in jail.
She and 1 took her little girl, Ruth, over to my resi-
dence and leh her with my wile where she remained
until the county commissioners made arrangements
with a Mrs. Gebhardt in Meeteetse to keep her until
her mother was released trom prison.
Nell was transferred with others who had been
convicted at this term ol court to the state prison at
Rawlins, Wyoming, where she served her lull two-
year term as sentenced by the court.
At the conclusion ol her trial she had given her
lawyers full power of attorney to dispose ol any and
all ol her propert}', which they did lor a very nomi-
nal sum, and lorgot to remit any part ol it to Nell.
Upon one ol my various trips to the prison while
taking prisoners there the warden informed me that
Nell wanted to see me. She had been in prison about
a year by this time.
I said: "All right, send her in."
When she came into the warden's office 1 said to
her: "Nell, you hate me worse than the Devil hates
Holy Water — why do you want to see me, and what
about?"
To which she replied: "At one time I hated and
despised you most of all people I ever knew, but now
I have made up my mind that you are the most de-
cent one ol the whole damn bunch. Those lawyers
have sold all of my property and my time will expire
here betore a great while and 1 haven't enough money
to pay my fare home, and don't consider there is any
chance to steal a horse to ride home. I am wondering
how I will get there."
1 told her to write her lawyers to send her suffi-
cient funds to get home "or else."
In due time she arrived back in Big Horn County
flat broke and said she understood her lawyers had
sold all of her property for two thousand dollars when
the freight outfit alone was well worth that amount.
She asked me: "What can 1 do to get even a portion
ol the sales?"
The Wyoining State Penitentiary in Rawlins, ca. 1912. Alston served as the warden of the penitentiary from
1911 to 1919. Courtesy the grandchildren of Felix Alston.
Annals of Wyominci The Wyoming History Journal-- Autumn 2004 17
I laughingl)' advised her to tell her lawyers that it
they did not diwy up some coin h"om the sale of her
propert}' that she would horse whip them in the street.
I don't know what action Nell took btit the next
morning I saw her at the stage station on her way to
Meeteetse and asked her what success she had finan-
cially. Nell grinned and said: "I am not broke."
She went to Meeteetse where she got her daugh-
ter and thev went to Cody. I have not seen either ot
them since.
It would not be fair to end this story without
paying the highest compliments to that little girl, Ruth.
A man I know well who has been a lil-e-long resi-
dent ol Cody told me the following concerning Ruth
and Nell's life in Cody. 1 will tell it in his own words
to the best oi my ability,
"When Nell and Ruth came to Cody Nell put
Ruth in schools. She would work at any kind of hon-
orable work that she could get to do to keep Ruth in
school and in nice clothes. She was well rewarded lor
her eltorts to educate Ruth and give her the best op-
portunities that she could possibly afford as Ruth was
one of the outstanding students in high school, nice
looking with the appearance of important intelligence
and refinement. In fact, she was all that anv parent
could expect of their offspring. She graduated from
high school with the highest of honors and in some
kind of a musical contest she won a prize which was a
fine piano. '
Ruth's father, who had walked out on them when
she was a bab\', and retiuned to Texas, but never tried
to contact either Nell or Ruth bv comnumication or
otherwise, had acquired some land holdings on his
return to Texas on which oil had been discovered.
During this time he had undoubtedly kept tabs on
them as he appeared in Cociy shortl)- after Ruth gradu-
ated from High School. He wanted Nell and Ruth to
forget all the past and go with him. Nell very prompth-
informed him that he could do as much and what-
ever he pleased for Riuh but as far as she was person-
ally concerned she had made her own wa\' for fifteen
years without him or his aid and she certainly would
continue to do so.
He put Ruth in a college of music in New York
state where I understand she went to the top.
With all of Nell's career as a horse thief and pro-
tecting others in the same profession, she certainly
deserves a great deal of credit for the manner in which
she has conducted herself after her release from prison,
anci, if living, is eighty-three years old.
une
1952
Post script: Mrs. Ella Smith, a.k.a. Bronco Nell, was
charged and tried in Big Horn Count\' in the spring
of 1 908. She was found guilty of the charges on May
2, 1908. Sheriff Alston took her into custody at that
time and transported her to the Wyoming State Prison
on June 3, 1908.
The Alston children (left to right) Virginia, Helen. Felix, and
Unis in 1910, Nell's daughter Ruth was about the same age as
Unis, born in 1901, Courtesy the grandchildren of Felix Alston,
1 8 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Autumn 2004
Sketch of Heart
Mountain Relocation
Center by Jacl<
Yamasaki which
Henry Taira presented
to Charles Decherl "to
thank him for helping
his family escape the
drab confines of Heart
IVIountain to the wide-
open spaces of the
Dechert Farm."
Courtesy the author.
Escape from Heart Mountain
by Betty Y. Taira
In 1941, my family was among the thousands of Japanese and Japanese
Americans Hving on the West Coast. My parents, Shizu (1898-1955) and
Henry Kakukichi Taira (1901-1967), were born in Okinawa, Japan, and im-
migrated to Cahfornia around 1917-1919. My sister, Amy Yemiko (1928-1983),
my younger brother, Calvin, and I were all born in California. We were a typical
Japanese American family of that period: My father was a landscape gardener in
Beverly Hills, and my mother ran a small hotel and rooming house at Third and
Omar streets in Los Angeles, not far from Little Tokyo.
My father worked for a number of families in Beverly Hills and Hollywood.
It was always a special day when he would take me with him. He took me most
often to the Foster s; only much later did I learn of our close connection with
them. One day I noticed that my name on my birth certificate is "Yeiko Taira."
When I asked my parents why "Betty" was missing from it, they told me that Mrs.
Foster asked my father to name me "Elizabeth" after a baby daughter they lost.
My mother refused because she could not pronounce Elizabeth. Mrs. Foster
reminded my father that they called her "Betty." So, from the time I was a
toddler, my family called me Betty, and my legal name is Betty Yeiko Taira.
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, hysteria
gripped the country, especially residents of the West Coast. There were immediate
calls for the removal of people of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast states.
Initially it was not clear what was to happen to us. On February 19, 1942, Presi-
dent Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which allowed the army
to form military zones and exclude any people from those zones who were deemed
a potential threat to national security. This policy came to fall exclusively on
people of Japanese ancestry.'
1 Roger Daniels, Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in World War II (New York: Hill and
Wang, 1993), pp. 46-48.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal-- Autumn 2004 19
Above. Calvin Taira in front of the barracks at the Heart Moun-
tain Relocation Center dunng February 1943. Courtesy the
author.
Left. Amy Taira on barrack steps at the Heart Mountain Reloca-
tion Center dunng February 1943, Courtesy the author.
It was decided that people oi Japanese ancestr\',
most of whom were American citizens, be removed
from their homes and phiced, temporariK', in so-called
"assembly centers." Later thev would be moved to
permanent camps farther inland. When it was pro-
posed that one of the permanent camps be located in
Wyoming, that state's governor, Nels Smith, statecf:
"If you bring Japanese into my state, I promise thev
will be hanging from every tree."' Some Wyoming
residents said that we Japanese might be used as la-
borers for local farmers. But W J. Gorst of Worland,
president of the Montana- Wyoming Beet Growers
Association, said that his organization was opposed
to bringing Japanese people into the state as farm
" Daniels, Prisoners Without Tridl, p. 57.
' Mike Macliey, Heart Moiiiitani: Life in Wyoming's Concentra-
tion Camp (Powell, Wyoming: Western History Publications,
2000), pp. 10-12.
laborers or an\thing else. Fortunatelv for our family,
that was not the feeling of the majoritA' of W\'oming's
residents.'
Our famiK' was e\acuated tt) the Santa Anita As-
sembl}' Center in May 1942, and then moved to
Heart Moimtain, W\'oming, in the fall of that \'ear.
We carried our entire famih's beloniiintis in three
suitcases.
After our arri\al at Heart Mountain, m\' father
worked as a carpenter helping to build the camp in-
firmary After that work was completed, mv father
and several of his friends went sugar-beet topping at
Helena, Montana. When that work was fmished, the
men returned to Heart Mountain, but they soon left
again, this time to work in the beet fields near Bill-
ings, Montana. Mv father described their li\ing quar-
ters as a shack with bunk beds — but e\'en these mea-
ger conditions pro\ided a more positi\'e environment
than at Heart Mountain because there were neither
armed militan' ciuards, nor barbed wire fences con-
20 AnnalsofVVyominq:The Wyoming History Journai--AutLjmn 2004
fining them. He said the only fences he saw were to
keep the farm animals confined.
When he returned to Heart Mountain, my fa-
ther sought opportunities through which our whole
family could leave the camp. Many single men and
some women were afforded the opportunity to leave
the camp on an individual basis. It was less of a prob-
lem to sponsor or hire an individual adult as opposed
to taking on the responsibility of sponsoring a fam-
ily with children. The relocation program consisted
of three different t\'pes of leave. Short-term leave per-
mitted camp residents to travel outside Heart Moun-
tain to check relocation possibilities and job pros-
pects. Indefinite leave allowed the internees to live
and work outside of the camp. And seasonal leave
gave residents the opportunity to work on agricul-
tural projects, and then return to camp when the
work was completed.' My father had already been
to Helena and Billings on seasonal leave, but what he
wanted was to get our entire family out of camp on
indefinite leave. So I accompanied my father to an
office in camp to fill out forms to seek a sponsor. He
was interested in working on a farm growing veg-
etables, work he learned when he came to America as
a teenager. I remember the clerk telling my father
not to get his hopes up about getting our whole fam-
ily out of Heart Mountain. But one day, my father
received good news; a man named Charles Dechert
agreed to sponsor our whole family. Even though the
government required that reams of paperwork be
filled out and approved before we would be allowed
to leave Heart Mountain, the agreement between my
father and Mr. Dechert was sealed with a handshake.
In March 1943, Mr. Dechert came to pick us up
and drove our family to his farm outside Riverton,
Wyoming, located on the south side of Ocean Lake.
Finally, we were free of armed guards, five people
living in one room, eating in mess halls, and taking
turns using the shower stalls and toilets, which were
some distance from our barracks. It was during the
time that we lived on the Decherts' farm that my
father presented an original drawing by Jack
Yamasaki^ to Mr. Dechert to thank him for helping
his family escape the drab confines of Heart Moun-
tain to the wide-op Ml spaces of the Dechert farm. The
drawing was the only thing of value he could give the
Decherts.
My parents were especially thankful for the trust
the Decherts had in them, that they risked taking
in a Japanese family in the midst of war and afford-
ing us the opportunity to escape the confines of camp.
My father often reminded us of how much we owed
the Decherts for providing us with a place to live as a
nuclear family once again, as we had in
California. One of the things about camp life that
had truly concerned my mother was that we no longer
did things as a family. Within the first months of our
arrival at Heart Mountain, my father had already left
camp twice to work. In the dining hall, we children
began to sit with our friends. The men sat in one
area and the women in another.
The evening we arrived at Mr. Dechert s farm on
the shore of Ocean Lake, we were greeted warmly by
Mrs. Dechert. Their children. Dubby (Donald), Tad
(Dale), and Chop (Lloyd) were already asleep. It was
late and we were taken to some fishing cabins owned
by the Hoffman family where we stayed for the first
few days while Mr. Dechert put a concrete floor in
the tie building where we would live. The Decherts
prepared some food for us and left us eggs and bread
for breakfast the next morning. They showed us how
to heat the cabin using the pot-bellied stove, but by
morning, the eggs were frozen. We were so surprised
that there were no toilets in the cabin, although in-
door plumbing was rare then. My greatest fear was
having to go to the outhouse before we went to bed.
I don't remember exactly when the rest of us met
our neighbors, the Reeses, but Mr. Dechert took my
■* W. Joe Carroll, Relocation Division Final Report, Japanese
American Evacuation and Resettlement Papers, Ml. 60,
Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
^ Jack Yamasaki, an artist, was a friend of my parents when
we were incarcerated at Heart Mountain. He did pencil
drawings because the pencil was almost the only art
supply available to him during our early days in camp,
and perhaps, that was his favorite medium. In any case,
the artworks I have seen by Mr. Yamasaki were pencil
drawings. The sketch has a date on it of March 5, 1943;
we left Heart Mountain on March 7, 1943. My parents
gave the drawing to the Decherts sometime between
springs 1943-1945 when we lived in Riverton, in
appreciation for their part in our escape from the Heart
Mountain Relocation Center.
Annals of Wyoming The V^yoming Histor\' Journal - Autumn 2004 21
dad to the farms close by to introduce him. To city
folks like us, the neighbors seemed to live far away.
As time went on, the neighboring farmers came to
visit to see what Mr. Dechert was going to do on his
htrm. We also met other neighbors through our
schoolmates. 1 don't think any of us had much time
to play. Everyone had chores to do after school.
Not too long after we were arrived, Mr. Dechert
invited "Sam" Seikyu and Helen (Miyagi) Nakahara,
our very close familv friends, to join us. We lived
together as one family. The Nakaharas were with us
until December 1943 at which time they moved to
New York Cirv.
Among m\' memories are m\- mother's delicious
Okinawan donuts [aiidagi] which we took to neigh-
bors who gave us fresh eggs. We later raised our own
chickens and had our own eggs, but she continued to
share Japanese foods with the neighbors. There was
no shortage of meat because we raised pigs and chick-
ens, and Mr. Dechert went hunting. We had venison
and pheasant for the first time. The neighbors would
also share lamb with us.
Outside of camp, our life approached ntirmalc\'
thanks to the local residents. We attended the I'avillion
School (although we lived closer to Riverton, we
were in the Pa\'illion School District). Mr. Dechert
and my father took us to register as soon as we ar-
rived. They also had to arrange for the school bus to
pick us up. 1 don't remember the distance from our
home to I'ax'illion, but it took a long time to get
there on a good day. On days after the thaw, it took
two hours because the bus kept getting stuck in the
mud. On some occasions, when we finally reached
the school, it was time for hmch.
The hiaih school was a hutre frame buildino;, and
the elementar\' school was a two-story brick build-
ing. Amy, my sister, was in the ninth/tenth gracie, I
was in the fourth/fifth grade, and my brother Calvin
was in the first/second grade.
We attended Sunday school with our school bus
driver, Mr. Lund, and his wife, who was our music
teacher. They picked us up and brought us home al-
though the church was quite some distance from their
home.
Ihat fust Halloween, we learned how farm kids
played pranks on their neighbors. Some of our neigh-
bors came h\ in the evening to pick us up on horse-
back, and as we ^ot to a neis:hbor's house, the older
kids would topple the outhouse. I was scared, first, of
snakes, which I learned were nocturnal animals, and,
then, about the trouble we would he in for knocking
o\'er the outhouses. After the mischief, we went to
Amy Tairas
classmates at
Pavillion School in
1945. Courtesy the
author
22 AnnalsofWyoniinq:TheV\/vominqHislorYJournal--Aulumn 2004
the Fosters' home to bob for apples. We had never
done that before.
Mrs. Dechert taught us so many things. We learned
to make butter by churning the cream she saved from
the milk; how cottage cheese is made; and even drank
a bit of real buttermilk. What fun we had learning
to pull taff}'! I was too young to help with the can-
ning, but my mother and sister learned. This came
in handy when the Decherts moved in 1944 to their
new home, a farm approximately fifteen miles away.
My sister and mother were able to do their own can-
ning. Mrs. Dechert also taught my sister how to make
her great chocolate cake made with mashed potatoes.
In winter, our neighbors taught us how to ice-
fish. Ocean Lake was close by, and the water would
freeze more than a foot. The men had to cut a hole
in the ice and drop a string line to catch ling. Each
night, we would walk in the freezing weather to check
the lines. During the spring and summer months,
we fished there daily by boat for our dinner. We had
so much fun. It took ver)' little time to catch a bushel
of crappies to feed our family and the hired hands.
Our wells provided us with plenty of water. But
we learned very quickly that the water was not suit-
able for drinking. We were able to get water for drink-
ing and cooking from a neighbor.
During the harvest season, the farmers would get
together and help one another thresh the grain. At
other times of the year, they would help castrate (I
didn't know that this term could be used in a vulgar
manner until I left the farm) sheep and cattle.
To help with the potato harvest our first year there,
Mr. Dechert hired Indians from the Wind River Res-
ervation. After some begging from me, Mr. Dechert
and my father allowed me to go with them to pickup
the workers. At the reservation, I saw a number of
tepees where the Shoshone Indians lived. There were
also some wooden frame houses. Among the things
they loaded on the truck was a large kettle in which
they cooked their lunch out in the fields for the two
women, four men, and two boys who came to work.
One of the children asked me if I were Indian. When
I told him that I was Japanese, he let it go at that.
In terms of interaction, we were the only Japa-
nese family in the area until our friends the
Yamashiros joineci us from a camp in Arkansas. Mr.
Dechert invited them to his farm in 1944. They
later went to work for the Chambers family closer to
Pavillion.
It is my recollection that there was mutual respect
with our neighbors. I cannot remember a time when
we were treated in a negative way, nor did I hear my
parents discuss it. My thought is that we were the
recipients of their kindness due to the rapport the
Betty Taira's Pavillion School classmates on Sadie Hawkins Day. Courtesy the author.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal- Autumn 2004 23
Decherts had already established with the neighbors.
In March 1945, our himiiy moved to Denver to
join Mr. and Mrs. Takashi Higas' family. Ihere my
parents worked on a celery ranch where the\' har-
vested the celery, washed the celery tor packing, and
crated it tor shipping. Although we lived on the out-
skirts of Denver, we were surprised that the home we
moved into had no electricit\'. We had rtmninsi wa-
ter but no indoor bathroom or toilet. Our h'iends
had built a large Japanese-style bathhouse, so this as-
pect oi living was more comfortable tor us. Every
evening after work, our triends came over to take a
bath in the ofiiro (bathhouse). It was the one time oI
dav they could take it easy aher a hard day's work.
There was an orphanage ciown the street Irom
us, and the children living there went to school with
us. When I saw how they lived in crowded rooms, I
was thankhil that we had a large, rwo-stor)' house
with lots ol room.
Amy, my older sister, moved to Washington, DC,
alter school closed in June; theretore, it became m\'
job to learn some cooking, do the laundry on Sattu-
days, and hatd wood to heat the bath water. 1 loved
stoking the fire tor the bath each dav, but doing the
laundry was a chore. My mother worked in the field-
and-packing house from morning to night, so there
was little time tor her to do the household chores.
Sunday was supposed to be a day ol rest, but I don't
think they had many oI those days.
There were two momentous days in 1943, the
first was when President Roosevelt died in April, and
the second was when the war ended in August. V-J
Day was traumatic tor me because of" messages that
some lehovah's Witness members leh with me each
time they visited. Ihey told me that the world was
coming to an end and that I would know it by all the
sights and sounds that would occur. One day in Au-
gust (V-J Day), the trains that came by our house
blasted their loud horns incessantk — not just at the
crossings. The Gates Rubber Company's whistles were
blasting, and people were jumping on top ol their
cars and trucks. I knew it was the end of the world.
My parents, ol course, were in the fields. My
mother had cautioned me that 1 was to keep my eyes
on my brother when they were not at home. He was
playing with his best triend Bobby Higa (now The
Honorable Judge Robert Higa in California) several
blocks away. 1 ran all the way to the Higas' hysteri-
cally. When I got there, Bobby's cousin calmed me
down and told me that ever)'one was celebrating the
end of the war. What a relief that was to me, the
world was not coming to an end after all.
Our family moved again and settled for good in
Washington, DC. My sister, brother, and 1 attended
and graduated from the DC public schools during
the segregation era. Amy finished cosmetolog)' school
after she was married and had her first child. I gradu-
ated from college and earned a Bachelor of Science
in Education and later earned a Master's in Educa-
tion. M\' brother Calvin became a dentist.
After spending thirty-five years as an educator, I
retired from working overseas and moved back to
Washington, DC. 1 had worked in Washington, DC,
Honolulu, and with the Department of Defense
Dependent Schools in japan, Korea, and Spain. From
the classroom, 1 moved on to become a counselor
and then assistant principal, principal, and regional
coordinator. When I retired, I was the assistant to
the district superintendent in Spain. 1 am semi-re-
tired now, working at the League of Women Voters
of the United States just three days a week.
Calvin and I are the only ones left of our imme-
diate family. It was important for one of us to meet
with Mr. Dechert and personally express our grati-
tude to him, but we had lost contact with him. Still,
things happen in mysterious ways. During school year
1984-8S, when I was assigned to the District
Superintendent's Office in Korea, I was invited to be
on an augment team for our school evaluations. The
head of the team from the North Central Associa-
tion of Colleges and Schools (NCA) was Mr. Jack
King, former Superintendent of Schools in Lander,
Wyoming. In my letter of introduction to Mr. King,
I mentioned that our family had lived in Ri\erton,
Wyoming, and told him about Mr. Dechert. Not
only did Mr. King visit the Pavillion School to seek
some of our former schoolmates, but he also con-
tacted Mr. Dechert. It was Jack King who reunited
us with Charles [dechert.
It was through this connection that I visited Mr.
Dechert during the summer of 1985. By then, he
had retired from farming:. We had a woncJerful three-
24 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Autumn 2004
day visit talking about what made him decide to spon-
sor our hunily. He said that soon after the war began,
he had wanted to do something to help in the war
effort. He decided that growing vegetables would be
one way to help other farmers in his area since they
were mainlv crop farmers. At about the same time,
he heard that some Japanese folks at Heart Moun-
tain were looking for opportunities to leave camp, so
sfH
Amy Taira's 1943 science class at the Heart Mountain Reloca-
tion Center. Courtesy the author.
he thought that he might hire three or four
men. When he contacted the authorities at Heart
Mountain, he learned that one person with a fam-
ily (my father) had signed up to help with vegetable
hirming.
Mr. Dechert also said he was concerned about
his ability to start this farming before the spring thaw
because he needeci to make some plans betore go-
ing ahead with this undertaking. But before going
any ftirther, he discussed with his wife, Lena Schwabb
Dechert, the possibility of sponsoring a whole
family as opposed to the three or four men they
had discussed. We thank both Mr. and Mrs. Dechert
for their decision to sponsor us. A short time after
Mr. Dechert's first visit, we were on our way to
Riverton.
I know from my visit with Mr. Dechert in 1985
that he, and his wife too, experienced some hard-
ships. He said that our family left Wyoming at the
right time for us and for him. His uncle and aunt,
George and Emma Dechert, had lost a son in the
Pacific and were not happy that he was sponsoring
a Japanese family. Had I not asked, I do not think
Mr. Dechert would have mentioned this difficult
time.
When I visited with him, Mr. Dechert said he had
a great desire to get some young Japanese farmers
from Hokkaido, where much of his cattle feed was
sent, to teach them about farming methods practiced
by him and his sons. He told me not to be surprised
if he decided to visit Japan. I was waiting to hear
from him later that year, but in October 1985, I re-
ceived word that he had passed away. Now we are in
touch with his son Lloyd Dechert and granddaugh-
ter Dr. Renee Dechert. It is my hope that one day
before too much time passes, we will have a reunion.
Although I have visited Wyoming, I would like to
have my brother and sister's family members see where
their grandparents and parents lived. If there are any
buildings left, I'd like them to see our old home.
We owe our good fortune to our parents who
sacrificed so mtich to give us what we have today. It's
too late to tell them that we understand how much
they did for us. Coming to a new country with noth-
ing but dreams, they understood the importance of
education and family. Whatever they did — work or
play — they did it with us in mind. We honor their
generation and those who had an impact on our lives,
like the Decherts, during a very difficult time in his-
tory.
JW
Henry Taira's panel truck in which the family moved from
Riverton to Denver and then to Washington, D.C. Courtesy the
author.
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoniing History Journal ■■ Autumn 2004 25
BOOK
Significant Recent Books
on Western ana
Edited by
cariHaiiberg Wyoming History
Morning Star Dawn: The Powder River Expedition
and the Northern Cheyennes, 1876. By Jerome A
Greene. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2003.
289 pages. Illustrations, map, index. Hardcover. $34.95.
From the close of the Civil War to 1 876, the north-
ern plains endured eleven years of intermittent
warfare between the allied Lakota and Northern
Cheyenne tribes and U.S. military forces. The year
1876 was not a good one for the U.S. Army. Colonel
Reynolds' lackluster performance dining his assault
on a Northern Cheyenne village on the Powder I^iver
in March accomplished nothing militarily except his
own court martial. Ceneral George Crook narrowly
escaped disaster in a stand-up fight on Rosebud Creek
in mid-|ime. Less than two weeks later, Cicorge
Armstrong Custer and his command were crushed
on the Little Big Horn River. However, by Septem-
ber, the army's fortunes began to improve in a small
but successful engagement at Slim Buttes. The last
struggle of the vear, commonly referred to as the
"Dull Knife Fight, " took place on the Red Fork of
the Powder River in the Big Horn Mountains of
Wyoming and is the basis of Jerome Greene's latest
book.
In this second volume of the "Campaigns and
Commanders" series, Greene, a noted authority and
prolific writer on the Plains Indian wars, examines
the wintry battle in mid-November in which George
Crook's cavalry, led by Colonel Ranald Mackenzie,
made a surprise attack on a band of Northern Chey-
enne under Morning Star, known to the Sioux as
"Dull Knife, " at the Indian's winter camp. This single
campaign and battle was not an isolated, solitary
event. In order to place it in a proper historical per-
spective, Greene writes an excellent and valuable ac-
count about the long string of broken treaties, raids,
and fights on the high plains from the close of the
Civil War to the commencement of Crook's winter
campaign in mid-November 1876.
This is a very readable and thorough account
about the campaign from the perspective of both the
cavalry and the Indians. Greene describes in suffi-
cient, but not excessive, detail C^rook's logistical prob-
lems of equipping and feeding a column of soldiers
and animals stretching more than five miles in length.
Greene also brings in some of the personalities of the
participants, such as reports bv officers expressing their
personal feelings and frustrations about Crook's lead-
ership and decisions. The Indians are not ignored as
Greene also describes the background and personal-
ity of the Northern Cheyenne chief Morning Star,
who was then in his late sixties and a veteran of nu-
merous, well-known earlier fights such as the
Fetterman and Rosebud engagements.
What is significant about this book, in compari-
son with many earlier accounts about the Indian
Wrrs, is Greene's detailed, unbiased descriptions about
the rigors and hardships suffered by both the Chev-
enne people and the American militar)' in the winter
campaign. The army's strategy during the Indian Wars
on the high plains centered on surprise attacks on
Indian villages, usually during the wintertime, such
as Custer's assault against the Cheyenne on the
Washita in 1868. In contrast, the battles on the Rose-
bud and Little Big Horn were stand-up fights, where
the mettle of the Sioux and Cheyenne tested and
bested the American army. Surprise attacks were there-
fore usually more successful from a military point of
view. The disturbing aspect of this strategy was that
the attacks were willfully directed not only against
the warriors, but against the non-combatant women,
children, and elderly as well. The destruction of
Morning Star's village and his people's winter fooci
supply, clothing, and shelter in the deep snow of the
Big Horns was utterly devastating. Greene expresslv
declines to judge or discuss the morality of such a
26 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Autumn 2004
Strategy. Instead, he gives plenty of facts from both
the Indian and mihtary points of view from which
the reader can make a judgment.
I wondered why Greene felt that a book cover-
ing only one campaign and one battle was needed.
After all, the numbers of the participants involved
did not approach those engaged on the Rosebud and
Little Big Horn nor did the campaign directly affect
the more numerous Sioux. Greene's answer is that
the destruction of the village and dispersal of its in-
habitants effectively ended the Northern Cheyenne
alliance with the Siotix, thus effectively ending the
"Great Sioux War."
V. Rodney Hallberg
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Interpreters with Lewis and Clarlt: The Story of
Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau. By W Dale
Nelson. Denton, TX: University of North Texas, 2004.
184 pages. Maps, illustrations, notes, bibliography, in-
dex. Hardcover, $24.95.
t is a good time to be an aficionado of Lewis and
I
Clark. The bicentennial of Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark's 1803-1806 expedition to the Ameri-
can West is taking place in the context of a growing
body of literature on, and public interest in, the mem-
bers of the "Corps of Discovery." Of course, there is
Stephen Ambrose's popular study of Lewis, Undaunted
Courage (1996). Landon Jones' William Clark and the
Shaping of the West (2004) looks at Clark, and Robert
B. Betts' In Search of York (2001) discusses Clark's
African American slave.
A recent addition to this body of work is journal-
ist W Dale Nelson's Interpreters with Lewis and Clark:
The Sto>y of Sacagawea aiid Toussaint Charbonneau.
The author begins with French-Canadian fur trader
Charbonneau and his Shoshoni wife, Sacagawea, join-
ing the Corps of Discovery in 1804. Roughly the
first half of the book surveys the couple's activities as
members of the expedition, in particular their role as
interpreters and negotiators. For example, the pres-
ence of Sacagawea, a woman, helped convince Nez
Perces that the explorers' intentions were not hostile.
The book's second half examines the post-expe-
dition years. Nelson pays particular attention to
Charbonneau's work as a fur trader and as an inter-
preter for the United States. Also discussed is Jean
Baptiste, born to Sacagawea and her husband while
they served with Lewis and Clark. Baptiste was a fur
trader, traveled to Europe and North Africa, guided
the "Mormon Battalion" during the Mexican-Ameri-
can War, and participated in the California Gold
Rush.
Nelson's chronological and highly readable nar-
rative incorporates many interesting details and quo-
tations from primary and secondary sources. There
are several maps and illustrations, but relatively little
analysis. Nevertheless, the author's judgments do
sometimes come through. Charbonneau comes across
as a flawed, but significant figure who has not re-
ceived the attention he deserves. (Fiow many things
have been named after Charbonneau compared to
better-known members of the corps?) The author ar-
gues that Sacagawea died at Fort Manuel in 1812,
rejecting historian Grace Raymond Flebard's thesis
that the Shoshoni interpreter lived until 1884 and
died on the Wind River Reservation.
Still, some readers might long for more analysis.
Nelson mentions at least one incident in which
Charbonneau hit Sacagawea, but writes that such be-
havior was not atypical for early nineteenth century
American men. Yet, the author also points out that
Clark chastised the French-Canadian for striking his
wife, suggesting that there were social norms at that
time that did not sanction the physical abuse of
women. It is all well and good to evaluate
Charbonneau by the standards of his time, but which
of those early nineteenth century standards should
we use?
In addition, one might raise questions about
Nelson's discussion of certain issues, such as the small-
pox epidemic of the late 1830s. The author rightly
notes the devastating impact on the tribes, especially
the Mandans, and the efforts by the United States to
inoculate Indians. However, scholars like Russell
Thornton have shown that some whites had deliber-
ately tried to infect Native Americans with smallpox
at various times and that some settlers were pleased at
the massive Indian deaths caused by epidemics. Ac-
knowledging such facts would give the book more
balance on this issue.
Such concerns aside, Nelson has written a useful
Annals of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal ■■ Autumn 2004 27
book. It is readable and offers valuable detail about
the lives of some members of the Corps of Discovery
that have not always enjoyed the spotlight. Those
interested in the Lewis and Clark expedition and the
history of the 19''' century American West will likely
fmd hitcrpreters worth a look.
Christopher K. Riggs
Lewis-Clark State College
African American Women Confront the West, 1600-
2000. Edited by Quintard Taylor and Shirley Ann Wilson
Moore. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2003.
390 pages. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. Hard-
cover, $34.95.
African A))U'ricit)! Wo))h')i Co)ifrout the West is an
-/j-important contribution to western historiogra-
ph\', which, in focusing upon a group often
marginalized in scholarship, reflects the inclusive na-
ttue of the new Western histor\'. Editors Quintard
Taylor and Shirley Ann Wilson Moore have selected
seventeen essays which demonstrate the state of the
field. In addition, the \'okune includes thirteen \'i-
gnettes or primar\' documents, giving voice to the
African American women discussed in the essays.
This volume does not emphasize the victimiza-
tion of African American women in the West. Rather
the stories chronicled are about the social agency of
these women through familw chmch, civic clubs, and
reform movements. la\'lor and Moore conclude that
black, western women "turned to their work of build-
ing communities, caring for families, founding and
maintaining institutions, and attaininc: social and eco-
nomic justice with a profotmd con\iction in their
own abilities to move be\'ond the limitations racism
and sexism had placed upon them" (p. 17).
The essavs are arranged in a chronolocrical fash-
ion. Debra S. McDonald argues that Afrohispanas
used the legal system, the chinch, and even witch-
craft to negotiate a place on the Spanish Southwest-
ern frontier. Nineteenth century California is the sub-
ject of three articles. Lynn M. Hudson presents the
storv of May Ellen Pleasant, who used the mask of
"mammy" to accimiulate property. Barbara Y. Welke
describes African American women in San Francisco
fighting for cc]ual access to public spaces. Susan Bragg
chronicles the efforts of Sacramento black parents to
attain eciucational opportunities for their children.
But the volume is hardly limited to California. Peggy
Rile\' tells the story aboiu how women in the Bethel
African American Methodist Episcopal (Church of
Creat Falls, Montana, shaped their chinch and com-
munity. Ronald C^oleman focuses upon the life of
lane Elizabeth Manning James, an African American
woman who struggled to find a place ft)r her family
within the racial hierarchy of the Mormon faith.
Most articles selected by Laylor and Moore focus
upon the twentieth century West. Susan Armitage
provides readers with an oral histor\' of Dr. Ruth
Flowers in Boulder, C^olorado. 1 he first African
American woman to graduate from the Universit}' of
Colorado, Flowers makes it clear that the Mountain
West was hardly free from racial prejudice. Moya
Hansen, in her study of jobs in Denver during the
first seven decades of the rvventieth centurw pro\'ides
c|uantitati\'e support for the anecdotal evidence of
Flowers. Hollywood stereotyping of black women is
analyzed by Alicia Rodriquez-Estradas account about
Fredi Washington and Dorothy Dandridge. Quintard
Tivlor contributes an essav on campaigns for social
justice in the Pacific Northwest led bv Beatrice Mor-
row Cannadv working with the NAACP and Susie
Revels Cayton, a Communist Party orsranizer.
Although racial prejudice still characterized
America during the Second World War, new oppor-
timities were present for African Americans in the
West and the nation. The role of African American
women in fostering a sense of community among
migrants moving to the East San Francisco Bay area
is the subject of a fine essay by Cretchen Lemke-
Santangelo. Cdaytee D. White obser\'es that African
Americans were initially drawn to Las Vegas by em-
plovment as maids in the hotel industry, but by the
1970s many had moved into the gaming industr\-.
Fhe history of African American women in the
civil rights movement is the topic of essa\s b\' Merline
Litre, Chervl Brown Henderson, Linda Williams
Reese, and Jane Rliodes. Of special interest is the
argument made bv Rhodes that women played a piv-
otal role in the Black Panther Part}', its macho image
nor^vithstanding. Rhodes asserts, "Women were at the
heart of the Black Panther Partv, and their enduring;
28 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyominc) History Journal -- Autumn 2004
presence forced members and nonmembers alike to
rethink their attitudes about gender" (p. 360).
In her survey of hterature on African American
women in the West, Glenda Riley concludes that
much work has been conducted in the field since the
1 990s, but much scholarship remains to be done. This
volume by Titylor and Moore highlights the analysis
of Rilev and should inspire general readers and schol-
ars alike to explore the contributions ol African
women in forging communities in the West.
Ron Briley
Sandia Preparatory School
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dreamers and Schemers: Profiles From Carbon
County, Wyoming's Past. By Lori Van Pelt Walck.
Glendo: High Plains Press, 1999. 256 pp. Illustrations,
bibliography, index. Paper, $14.95.
Those interested in making lists and identifying
"the best" in a given category as the turn of the
century seems to have inspired, may take a lesson
from this author and her book on Carbon County,
Wyoming. Organized as one of the territory's origi-
nal five counties, Carbon County has had a storied
past. The author attempts to capture that past with
vignettes on thirty-three individuals who "had some
stake in forming the County" (p. x). These brief bio-
graphical entries, approximately two thousand to
thirty-five thousand words in length, highlight the
entrant's career and comment on their connection
with the county. The longest entry is reserved for
Governor Fenimore Chatterton, who followed a
checkered path from New York, through law school
at the University of Michigan, on his way to being
the state's chief executive at the turn of the century.
Among Chatterton's notable accomplishments was
his refusal to commute the capital murder convic-
tion of range detective Tom Horn to life imprison-
ment.
Chatterton narrowly edged legendar)' mountain
man Jim Bridger and notorious cattle rustler Ella
(Cattle Kate) Watson for the most space in the book.
The shortest entries are reserved for husband-wife
team Richard and Margaret Savage and land/mining
partners Ed Haggarty and George Ferris. Each gets
about twelve hundred words. Four vignettes are about
women and one is reserved for African American
Isom (Ned) Dart. In addition to Bridger, other na-
tional notables include outlaw Butch Cassidy and
transportation magnet Ben Holladay.
Individuals less well known, but still important
to Wyoming and Carbon County, include French
army officer Philippe Regis de Torbriand. Arriving
in America to participate in this nation's Civil War,
Torbriand distinguished himself in battle and was
brevetted to major general before the war was over.
He remained in the U.S. Army following the war,
and his last years as a soldier were spent as commander
of Fort Fred Steele. Another subject, Thomas Tipton
Thornburgh, was also connected to Fort Steele, serv-
ing as "one of the youngest military officers to earn
the rank of Major" (p. 47).
Most professions present in Carbon County are
also represented in this book. Mining, ranching, land
speculating, and law enforcement dominate the oc-
cupations represented. However, most individuals
were engaged in multiple activities (hence the title)
and seldom stayed with one job for long. The most
common "cross-over " career came from outlaws who
settled down to become lawmen.
Individuals recounted in this volume came or
passed through all regions of Carbon County. How-
ever, those whose activities occurred at or near one
of three places - Fort Fred Steele, Encampment, and
Saratoga - get mentioned most often. Fort Steele,
founded by Colonel Richard I. Dodge, provided
militar)' protection for the transcontinental railroad
and extended its mission to monitor Indian activities
after the railroad was completed. The town of En-
campment evolved from a fur trapper rendezvous
site, and Saratoga, known for its spring water, began
as a stage stop and was named for an earlier settle-
ment in New York.
This book makes interesting reading. But it is
difficult for the general reader to understand the ra-
tionale for how the characters were selected. The au-
thor, a native of Nebraska and trained as a journalist,
has done a good job in gleaning data from personal
memoirs, popular histories, newspapers, and other
miscellaneous publications. However, the narrative
does not focus on serious scholarship and is more in
AnnalsofWyominqTheWyominflHistofyJournal-Aulumn 2004 29
the category of story telling. Even so, it is a delight to
read and even serious scholars will find tidbits oi in-
formation to satisfy their intellectual curiosity.
C. Fred Williams
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
The Church Universal and Triumphant: Elizabeth
Clare Prophet's Apocalyptic Movement. By Bradley
C. Whitsel. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2003.
Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. 237 pages. Cloth,
$39.95; paper, $19.95.
Alternative forms ot spiritualit\- dealing with the
occult have been an integral part, albeit an o\'er-
looked t)ne, ol American religious history. For this
book, Bradle\' Whitsel, an assistant prolessor ol ad-
ministration ot justice and political science at Penn-
sylvania State Universitv in Fa\'ette, has compiled a
histor\' ol Chmch Uni\'ersal and Iriunipliant, which
was well known in the early 1 '■)90s when its members
took rehige in Park Count}', Montana, to wait out
an imminent nuclear attack on the United States.
WhitseFs objective is to understand the politics of
change and adaptation vvithin the chmch.
The Church Universal and triumphant (CUT)
was organized in 19^8. What made it so enticing,
according to Whitsel, was the complicated mix ot
metaphvsical thought, miUenarian social movement,
and ultra- patriotism promulgated tmder the charis-
matic leadership of Mark Prophet (1918-1973) and
his wife and successor, Elizabeth Clare Prophet ( 1 942-
). Central to CUT's theology was a belie! "in the
existence of divine sprit beings (Ascended Masters)
who governed the course ot lite on earth" (p. 7) and
that America was assigned a leadership role in the age
to come. To those ends, CUT sought to bring the
knowledge of the Ascended Masters to the world anci
to prepare believers for the coming catastrophe which
would usher in the golden age ot Aquarius. Onh' the
continuing threats ot niunerous spiritual and terres-
trial evils, including the federal government, com-
munism, extraterrestrials, and in general outsiders
who were wary of cults or did not know the theology
of CUT, prevented this seemingly glorious revela-
tion from occurring.
For nearly fifty years, CUT credibilit}' and mem-
bership fluctuated due to differences among the
church members about its internal operation, inves-
tigations bv federal agencies, and the failure of the
prophesized nuclear attack. But throLigh it all, there
remained a faithful bt)dy of followers. For their part,
church leaders kept CUl theology meaningful by
replacing seemingly irrelevant doctrines with new
ones as the circumstances required. The fall of the
Soviet Union, the advent of New Age, the violent
acts of other apocaK'ptic groups, the emergence of
AIDS, international terrorism, the death of Mark
Prophet, and the rising star and declining health of
Elizabeth Prophet further contributed to the CUT's
continuing attempts to remain true to its spiritual
foundations. The sticcesses and trials ot the church
are also reflected in changing location, governing
strticture, and architecture of the church headquar-
ters, first in Washington DC, then Malibu, Colo-
rado Springs, and Park County, Montana. CUT
managed to siu'x'ive it all. F4ow it did so is what Whitsel
documents verv thoroughh- using a \ariety of sources
and interviews.
Whitsel shows that within a larger context CUT
was not truK' novel or ium]ue. He provides concise
and informatix'e histor\- about the origins and de\'el-
opnient of the metaphvsical movement in the United
States and shows how many spiritual and administra-
tive ideas and processes used bv CUT are endemic to
the milicLi of alternative religions.
This book is not an eas\' read. Also, unless read-
ers are familiar with them, references to social theo-
fists and twentieth century patriotic millennium
American movements mav seem vague and obsciue.
However, if readers persevere, they will find WhitseFs
book ver\' interestina;.
Carl Hallberg
Wyoming State Archives
Ethnic Oasis: The Chinese in the Black Hills. By Liping
Zhu and Rose Estep Fosha. Pierre: South Dakota His-
toncal Society Press, 2004. 108 pages. Illustrations, foot-
notes, index. Paper, $15.95.
The HBO series, Deadwood, has had quite an im-
pact on American television audiences, hereto-
fore unaware that the vocabulary of pioneer
30 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Autumn 2004
westerners had so much in common with The Sopra-
nos. Historians and archaeologists, while less prone,
perhaps, to outbursts of rough-and-tumble mining
camp profanity, have had much to get excited about
concerning Deadwood as well. During several recent
summers, the city of Deadwood and its Historic Pres-
ervation Office have sponsored excavations and in-
vestigations of the city's "Chinatown" section by the
Sough Dakota State Historical Society's Archaeologi-
cal Research Center. The artihicts thus far uncovered
have shed considerable light on Deadwood's
multiethnic past and the four essays in this brief vol-
ume offer readers an updated assessment about the
Chinese experience in the Black Hills and similar
western communities.
Historian Liping Zhu opens the collection with
a background essay on Chinese immigrants in the
frontier-era Black Hills, noting the presence of small
numbers of Chinese pioneers as early as the winter of
1875-1876. Never exceeding about 250 individuals
in Lawrence County, the Chinese population in the
Deadwood area dwindled to just a few dozen by 1910.
While some engaged in mining, most took part in
the creation of a distinctive social and economic niche
as servants, cooks, laundrymen, and restaurant own-
ers. What is most interesting about Zhu's piece is his
finding that, following an initial period rife with anti-
Chinese hostility, the white majority in Deadwood
came to accept the Chinese as an integral part of the
communit)'. Chinese funerals and New Year's celebra-
tions became popular among white spectators, and
Chinese residents regularly participated in Fourth of
July festivities, including parades and fire hose races.
The second essay is a preliminar)^ report on the
excavations written by archaeologist Rose Estep Fosha.
Research conducted thus far by professional and ama-
teur archaeologists, students, and vokmteers supports
the "ethnic oasis " thesis. Deadwood's "Chinatown"
was a predominately male and largely insulated com-
munity within a community that nonetheless inter-
acted in significant ways with the dominant society.
Artifacts recovered included ceramic and glass bottles
and jars, gaming pieces, opium smoking parapher-
nalia, clothing items, and porcelain dishware. Fur-
ther analysis of botanical and faunal remains from
privy sites will likely reveal more detailed informa-
tion about daily diet and food preparation, while pro-
spective excavations of a temple, a laundry, and a
barn will provide additional data concerning the
Chinese residents' social, religious, and economic
practices.
Two short essays (presented by their authors at a
May 2003 symposium in Deadwood) are included
to offer comparative contexts for the emerging schol-
arship on the Chinese in the Black Hills. Donald L.
Hardesty of the University of Nevada, Reno discusses
archaeological research on Chinese populations in
frontier Nevada and suggests several promising "re-
search pathways" (p. 74), such as the exploration of
Chinese immigrant foodways or cultural landscapes.
A. Dudley Gardner of Western Wyoming College in
Rock Springs explores the differences between Chi-
nese in core communities such as Evanston and Rock
Springs and communities in peripheral locales, pri-
marily railroad and mining camps. Archaeological
research in these places has revealed qualitative and
quantitative contrasts in terms of diet and material
culture.
In the early twenty-first century, the city of Dead-
wood continues to trade prosperously on the nasty
reputation of its short-lived "Wild West" days. Hope-
fully, many visitors will take some time to investigate
the heretofore hidden history of the Chinese now
being more clearly exposed via the always fruitful
merging of history and archaeology. Ethnic Oasis is a
worthy contribution to our deeper understanding
about these diverse frontier communities.
Frank Van Nuys
South Dakota School of Mine and Technology
Rapid City
Wayne Aspinall and the Shaping of the American
West. By Steven C. Schulte. Niwot: University of Colo-
rado, 2002. Illustrate, notes, bibliography, index. 249
pages, hiardcover, $29.95
Wayne Aspinall (D-CO) recognized that the
West has limited natural resources. He un-
derstood that they needed to be harnessed in order
for the region's people merely to survive. He spent
most of his public career fighting for reclamation
projects and other ventures that helped his Colorado
Annais of Wyoming The Wyoming History Journal - Autumn 2004 31
district and the entire American West develop eco-
nomically. I his campaign made him both a hero and
a villain.
Steven Schiiltc astutely explains how Aspinall, a
seli'-proclaimed conservationist, became one oi the
biggest enemies of the environmental movement.
Schulte portrays Aspinall as a multi-use conservationist
in the tradition oi Gii-t"ord Pinchot and redd\'
Roosevelt, bclie\'ing that nannal resources should
provide the greatest good to the greatest number oi
people. This philosophy motivateci the congressman
to work tirelesslv for the economic cievelopment of
the Wests limited resources. However, the new envi-
ronmental nu.vement oi the l'-)6()s and 1970s em-
phasized preservation and nature's aesthetic value over
development. 1 hroughout the 196()s, Aspinall used
his considerable influences as chair of the House In-
terior Committee to thwart, delaw and reconfigure
environmental legislation to reflect more closeh' his
utilitarian-conservationist philosophy. 1 his made him
one of the biggest foes of the environmental move-
ment and a hero to industries and workers depen-
dent on utilizing the countrv's natural resources. Bv
the 1970s, the environmental movement was part of
mainstream Democratic politics and Aspinall found
himself out of step with the voters. This caused his
defeat in the 1972 Democratic primarv. Even in his
retirement, Aspinall continued to advocate for multi-
use conservation and became active in the Sagebrtish
Rebellion.
AspinalFs intellectual continuity, contrasted with
America's shift on environmental issues, creates an
engaging story. Schulte tells this tale very well. He
does not vilifv Aspinall or his foes, but presents a
balanced and fair accoimt of both sides. Schulte sees
Aspinall as neither \illain nor saint. Aspinall is char-
acterized as a man who saw himself as a conserva-
tionist doing what he believed was in the best interest
of his district and the West. This convincing por-
trayal not only provides insights into Aspinall as a
man and congressman, but also into the monumen-
tal change in Americas's views on the environment.
Through Aspinall, Schulte demonstrates that not all
conservationists embraced the environmental mo\e-
ment. Aspinall is eiepicted as a reasonable and prin-
cipled man who believed in utilizing natural resources
for the benefit of all humanirs' and not as a lackev for
extractive industries. This highlights the complexit}'
and integrity of those who opposed the environmen-
tal nn)vement and its initiatives.
Schulte concentrates his study on Aspinall's po-
litical savvy. It was his legislative acumen that allowed
Aspinall to put his imprint on environmental policy
and ultimately, the shape of the West. While Schulte's
emphasis on the political maneuxerings is important
to the stt)r\', it sometimes overwhelms the reader. At
times too much detail is provided on the legislative
process and the reader loses the context in wliich the
politic, il battles were taking place. Clreater emphasis
on the shift in the countrv's beliefs on emironmen-
tal issues and Aspinall's reaction to this change would
have benefited the study. Despite this, Schulte pre-
sents a well-balanced and intriguing story.
DarrylWebb
Marquette University
The Johnson County War. B\ Rill cVNeal. Austin,
lexas; t:akm I'lcss, 2004. 298 pp. Photos, bibliogra-
ph\', index. Paper, S2'7.9S.
In early April of 1892 fifty-seven Wvoming
ranchmen and their employees got off a train in
Casper, Wyoming, and set otit hv horseback and
wagon toward Buffalo. Their stated purpose was to
rid Johnson County of rustlers who they claimed had
been preying on their cattle herds to such an extent
that they could no longer make a profit. On their
way to the town the group stopped at an is(.)lated
ranch and killed two men after a prolonged gun battle.
The delay caused by this incident gave the residents
of Johnson Cxnuitv time to organize. Townsmen and
small ranchers besieged the "invaders' in their turn
at another ranch. In the course of this battle, Pvvo
more men killed themselves accidentally with their
own guns. The "rustlers' and "invaders" exchanged
gunfire for two days, until the United States Cavalry
from Fort McKinne}' intervened. Ihe troops arrested
the besieged and escorted them back otit of the county.
This affair has since been known to histor\' as the
Johnson County War.
In spite of the relatively low mortalit}' rate and
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Autumn 2004
the farcical aspects of the business, the Johnson
County War has inspired numerous writers. Charles
Penrose, in The Rustler Business, and Jack Flagg, in A
Revieiu of the Cattle Business in Johnson County, pub-
lished participants' views from opposite sides. Owen
Wister, in The Virginian, and Jack Schaefer, in Shane,
both incorporated elements of the story in their fic-
tion. Helena Huntington Smith, in War on Powder
River, wrote the standard history in 1 966. Margaret
Brock Hanson, in Poivder River Country, edited an
impressive collection of primary documents relating
to the subject in 1981. Altogether, the Johnson
County War may be one of the most thoroughly
documented western shooting affairs ever.
Bill O'Neal's The Johnson County W&r draws from
all these sources in an attempt to reconstruct the events
from as many points of view as possible. O'Neal has
been remarkably thorough. The bibliography lists
court documents, newspapers, histories and novels,
films, scholarly and popular articles, and a wide range
of archival sources. To supplement the manuscripts,
letters, and oral histories found in Wyoming, O'Neal
(a Texan) has added some previously untapped sources
trom Texas and Oklahoma. The Wyoming ranchmen
who invaded Johnson County imported twenty-two
"hired guns " from Texas (and one from Idaho). These
men have previously been little more than names in
the story. Using an autobiographical manuscript writ-
ten by one, George R. Tucker, O'Neal gives the Texas
men a voice and refutes the idea that they were merely
hired killers. Many had previous experience in law
enforcement and had been employed as deputy sher-
iffs and marshals.
O'Neal also tries to put the events in context by
including chapters on the Wyoming Stock Growers
Association, the settlement ol Johnson County, the
lynching of Ella Watson and Jim Averell, and the
background of American vigilantism. Vigilante ac-
tions in Montana in the 1860s, according to O'Neal,
instructed the Johnson County invaders. However,
the justifications of vigilante apologists like Nathaniel
Langford and Granville Stuart are taken at face value.
Modern historians are re-examining these events and
finding that they were controversial and many-sided.
O'Neal reports the vigilantes' side as though there
was no other.
In the case of his main text, however, he is more
balanced. To a large extent, his purpose seems to be
to present evidence without passing judgment. He is
not always consistent in this neutrality. In his chapter
on Ella Watson, which draws heavily on George
Hufsmith's The Wyoming Lynching of Cattle Kate, his
sympathies are clearly with Ella. But, for the most
part, O'Neal reports without interpreting and leaves
it up to the reader to draw conclusions. No attempt
is made to evaluate the various sources for reliability
or to critically compare one to another. This lack of
analysis means that The Johnson County War wiW ap-
peal more to the general reader than to a scholarly
audience. In the final chapter O'Neal discusses fic-
tional depictions of the invasion, but even here he
does not suggest reasons for the story's popularity;
nor does he attempt to analyze the various interpre-
tations. Some such summary would have added in-
terest to the text.
The Johnson Coimty War suffers most from ama-
teurish publication standards. Too many photographs
appear to be reproductions of photocopies. The text
presses so close to the margins that it seems, at times,
about to escape the paper. These points do not affect
the narrative, but they reduce the pleasure of read-
ing.
Overall, The Johnson County War is a commend-
able compilation of all the available documentation
for an event that continues to capture the imagina-
tion of students and general readers alike. The book
tells the story thoroughly from the beginnings of big
cattle ranching in the Powder River Basin to the drawn
out legal proceedings against the invaders, which
bankrupted Johnson County. O'Neal certainly knows
his topic. Readers who wonder how the ranchmen
could have miscalculated so badly the support they
would receive locally and scholars interested in the
reasons why the tale continues to fascinate will have
to supply those answers themselves.
D. Claudia Thompson
American Heritage Center
m
Annals of Wyoming- The Wyoming History Journal -- Autumn 2004 33
CtSiiiiiirSfeiiiiDiJS)
Thornton Waite
The Promotion of Yellowstone National Park by the Union Pacific
Railroad, page 2
I hornton Waite is a project manager at the Idaho National Engineering
and Environmental Laborator\- and hves in Idaho Ealls, Idaho, with his
wife Susan. They have two daughters who are attending college. He is
interested in railroad histor\' and has researched and written four books
on the histon' ot Idaho railroads. He has also published a portfolio and
histor\' o[ the Union Pacific bear ad\'ertisements for Yellowstone National
Park and written numerous articles on railroad histor\' anci contemporary
railroads for railroad-oriented magazines. Researching the histor)' ot
railroads and taking photographs of trains are among his ta\'orite pas-
times.
Felix Scott Alston
Bronco Nell, A Horse Woman Thief page 1 3
Felix Scott Alston is the grandstMi ot SheriH Alston. He has been research-
ing the W\'oming public life (1894 to 1919) ol Alston for fifteen years.
Numerous trips to Wyoming have been made to the W\'oming State
Archives, the American Heritage Center, and the libraries and historical
societies of Park, Big Horn, Washakie, fohnson, Sheridan, and Laramie
counties. Manuscripts ol other oral histories of Felix Alston have surfaced,
including Alstons perspective on the 1909 Spring Creek Raid.
Betty Y.Taira
Escape font Heart Mountain, page 18
Betty Y. Taira earned bachelors and masters degrees in education. She spent
thirty-five years as an educator and worked in U.S. Department ol Defense
schools in Japan, Korea, and Spain. Upon her retirement, she returned to
Washington, D.C. where she lives today, and works part-time for the League
of Women Voters.
34 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal - Autumn 2004
Ind
Afi-iav! A»ieric,vi Women Confront the West,
1600-2000. edited by Quintard Ta\'lor
and Shirley Ann Wilson, reviewed 27-28
Alston, Felix 13-17 (photo 13)
Alston, Felix Scott, editor (bio ii)
Alston, Mamie 13
Amtrak 3
Basin, Wyoming 13
Beverly Hills, California 18
Big Horn Count)', Wyoming 14, 16
Blickensderfer, Jake 4
"Bronco Nell, A Woman Horse Thief," by
Felix Alston, edited by Felix Scott Alston
13-17
Briley, Ron, xewevJCT oi African American
Women Confront the West. 1600-2000 27-
28
Bronco Nell (Nell Smith) 13-17
Butte, Montana 4
Chicago, Burlington &: Quinc\' Railroad
10
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific
Railroad 10
Chicago and Northwestern Railwa)' 10
The Church Universal and Triumphant:
Eliziibeth Prophet's Apocalyptic Movement,
by Bradley C. Whitsel, reviewed 29
Cinnabar, Montana 4
Cod)', W)oming 10, 17
Dechert. Charles 20, 22-24
Dechert, Emma 24
Dechert, George 24
Dechert, Lena 20, 22-24
Dechert, Lloyd 24
Dechert, Renee 24
Denver, Colorado 23-24
Dreamers and Schemers: Profiles fi'om
Carbon Count}', Wyoming's Past, by Lori
\'aii Pelt, reviewed 28-29
"Escape from Heart Mountain," hv Betty
Y. Taira 18-24
Ethnic Oasis: The Chinese in the Black Hills.
by Liping Zhu and Rose Estep Fosha,
reviewed 29-30
Executive Otder 9066 18
Fosha, Rose Estep and Liping Zhu, Ethnic
Oasis: The Chinese in the Black Hills.
reviewed 29-30
Gallatin, Montana 10
Gardiner, Montana 3
Garrison, Montana 4
Grand Teton National Park 7, 12
Greene, Jerome A., Morning Star Daivn:
The Powder River Expedition and the
Northern Cheyennes. 1876. reviewed 25-
26
Hallberg, Carl, reviewer of The Church
Universal and Triumphant: Elizabeth
Prophet's Apocalyptic Movement 29
Hallberg, \'. Rodney, reviewer o( Morning
Star Dawn: The Powder River Expedition
and the Northern Che)ie?ines, 1876 25-26
Harriman, E.H, 3, 5
Heart Mountain Relocation Center 18-20,
24 (sketch 18; photos 19, 22, 24)
Higa, Robert 23
Higas, Takashi and family 23
Jastrow, Helen 13
Idaho Falls, Idaho 4-5, 8
Interpreters with Lewis and Clark: The Story
of Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau.
by W. Dale Nelson, reviewed 26-27
The Johnson Count)} War. bv Bill O'Neal,
reviewed 31-32
Kansas Pacific Railway 3
Ring, lack 23
Lander, W)oming 10, 23
Livingston, Montana 4
Mammoth Hot Spiings 10, 12
Meeteetse, Wyoming 14-15, 17
Monida, Idaho 4-6, 11-12
Monida and Yellowstone Stage Company
6, 12
Morning Star Dawn: The Powder River
Expedition and the Northern Cheyennes.
1 8^6. by Jerome A. Greene, reviewed 25-
26
Nakahara, Helen (Miyagi) 21
Nelson, W Dale, Inteypreters with Lewis
and Clark: The Story of Sacagawea and
Toussaint Charbonneau. reviewed 26-27
Northern Pacific Railway 2-4, 9-10
Oerhle, Walter 9
Ogden, Utah 4
OW FaithRil 7-9
O'Neal, Bill, The Johnson County War.
reviewed 31-32
Oregon Short Line 3, 5, 7, 11
Pavillion, Wyoming 21
"The Promotion of Yellowstone National
Park by the L'nion Pacific Railroad," by
Thornton Waite 2-12
Rawlins, Wyoming 16
Reamet, Robert C. 9
Riggs. Christopher K. reviewer of
Interpreters with Lewis and Clark: The
Ston' of Sacagawea and Toussaint
Charbonneau 2.(>-X7
Riverton, Wyoming 20
Roosevelt, Ftanklin Delano 18
Santa Anita Assembly Center 19
Schulte, Steven C Wayne Aspinall and the
Shaping of the American West, reviewed
30-31
Seikyu, "Sam" 21
Smith, Nell 13-17
Smith, Nels 19
Smith, Ruth 17
St. Anthony Railtoad 5
Stratten, Bob 14
Taira, Amy (Yemiko) 18-24 (photo 19)
Taira, Bern' Yeiko., author 18-24 (bio 33)
Taira, Calvin 18-24 (photo 19)
Taira, Henry Kakukichi 18-24
Taira, Shizu 18-24
Taylor, Quintard and Shirle\' Ann Wilson,
editors, African American Women Confivnt
the West. 1600-2000. reviewed 27-28
Thompson, D. Claudia, reviewer ot The
Johnson Count)} War 51-52
Three Forks, Montana 10
Undenvood, Gilbert Stanley 6
The Union Pacific Magazine 3, 7
Union Pacific Railroad 2-12
United States Railway Administration 7
Utah & Northern Railway 2, 4
Van Nuys, Frank, reviewer of Ethnic Oasis:
The Chinese m the Black Hills. 29-30
Van Pelt, Lori, Dreamers and Schemers:
Profiles from Carbon Count)', Wyoming's
Past, reviewed 28-29
Victor, Idaho 7
Virginia Cit)\ Montana 4
Waite, Thornton, author 2-12 (bio 33)
Washington, D.C. 23-24
Wayne Aspinall and the Shaping of the
American West, b)' Steven C. Schulte,
reviewed 30-31
Webb, Darr)'l, reviewer of Wayne Aspinall
and the Shaping of the American West 30-
31
West Yellowstone 3, 6, 8-11
Whitsel, Btadley C The Church Universal
and Triumphant: Elizabeth Prophet's
Apocalyptic Movement, reviewed 29
William, C. Fred, reviewer oi Dreamers and
Schemers: Profiles fiom Carbon Count)',
Wyoming's Past 28-29
Wiilmarth, William 9
Wilson, Shirley Ann and Quintard Taylor,
editors, Afiican American Women Confiont
the West, 1600-2000. reviewed, 27-28
Wind River Reservation 22
Wyoming State Penitentiary 16 (photo
16)
Yamasaki, Jack 20
Yellowstone National Park 2-12
Yellowstone Park Association 9
Yellowstone Park Railroad Company 3-4, 6
Yellowstone Park Transportation Compan)-
12
Yellowstone- Western Stage Company 12
Zaring, C.A. 15
Zhu, Liping and Rose Estep Fosha, Oasis:
The Chinese in the Black Hills, reviewed
29-30
AnnaisofWyominq The VVyom.nQ History Journal --Autumn 2004 35
JVto
j^mk
Carroll Baker on the newly constructed wooden bridge the stars of
Cheyenne Autumn used to enter the Lincoln Theater, On the left
is Cheyenne Mayor Bill Natron and on the nght is Larry Birleffi,
Courtesy Carroll Baker Papers, American Heritage Center,
University of Wyoming,
Cheyenne Autumn movie premiere in Cheyenne, Wyoming, October 1964
m LvV(|^^^^| "TTohn Fords epic morion picrure, CheyeiiiwAnrmnii,
premiered in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Ocrober
3, ]'^)64. The festivities lasted several days and
Light national pLiblicit\' to Wyoming's capital city.
An entotnMge including many of the film's stars, Carroll
Baker, Karl Maiden, Ricardo Montaiban, Patrick
Wayne, Delores Del Rio, Cilbert Roland, and Mike
Ma7.iirski (jimm\' Stewart would join the group the
next da\), arri\'ed on a special Union Pacific train
Ihtirsda}' e\'ening October 1. Two thousand people
greeted them at the station.
1 he movie was based on iVlari Sandoz' book of the
same title. Production notes for the film state it "is an
tmdiluted accotmt of the shabb\' treatment gi\en a
band oi '-H^O northern Che\'ennes after the\- had sur-
rendered to Ceneral Miles in 187" and were sent to
lix'c on barren reserxation land in which is now the
State of Oklahoma. . . . On the night of" September *■),
1878, the ragged remnants: 300 men, women and children, slipped awa\' in the darkness in a desperate
attempt to reach their Yellowstone homeland, neatb- ISOO miles awa\'. 1 he\- did not wish to cause bloodshed
but fight they would, if necessarv. This amazing flight, dtuing which the Indians were pursued by as manv as
10,000 U.S. troops, forms the bulk of Chiyctnu- Aii-
tUDUl."
Warner Brothers selected Chevenne as the site of
the premiere because the cit\' was named for the Cdiev- F. '^iOS^^b^
enne Indians. On Friday, October 2, the Holhwooci
group boarded a bus and traveled to Fort Laramie, where
they spent the entire day. The Casper Troopers provided
entertainment and the Cheyenne Indians adopted
Stewart and Baker into their tribe. The next da\' the
actors participated in a parade from the Union Pacific
Depot to the Capitol, where Stewart presented Chev-
enne Chief John Wooden Legs a special model of the
Winchester rifle commemorating Wyoming's sevenr\'-
fifty year of statehood. 1 hat evening ele\en htmdred
people attended the premiere at the Lincoln Theater. A
party at the Mayflower restaurant followed.
Carroll Baker as she rode towards the Capitol, Courtesy
Carroll Baker Papers, Amencan Hentage Center. University
of Wyoming,
36 Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal -- Autumn 2004
ti/^^mmf
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has been reprinted. The book features over 250
pages of informative text and countless historic
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The book is only $40.00 and is available through
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Historical Society, select museums and sponsor
banks. If you prefer, you may add $6.00 for postage
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of $46.00 directly to the Wyoming State Historical Society at WSHS Book
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