The hand-book of Wyoming and guide to the Black Hills and Big Horn regions

Front matter

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PART FIRST. The Resources of Wyoming

Chapter I. — Early History — Spanish Explorations in the West — Castilians in the Big Horn Region — Father De Smet among the Indians — Organization of Wyoming 9

Chapter II. — The Wyoming of Today — Wealth and Productions — A Territory Teeming with Natural Resources — Utilization in 1877 and Future Possibilities 20

Chapter III. — Stock Raising and Dairying — The Business as Carried on in the New West — Its Immense Profits — Wyoming the "Stockman's Paradise" — Number of Cattle, Price of Herds, Cost of Keeping and the Result in "Reliable Figures" — Improved Sheep Husbandry 27

Chapter IV. — Agriculture — The Fertility of Wyoming Soils, the Climate, Market, etc. — Practical Experiences of Wyoming Farmers . . 47

Chapter V. — Mines and Mining — Wyoming's Immense Coal Measures, their Extent and Present Development — The Laramie and Sweetwater Gold and Silver Mines — Wonderful Deposits of Iron, Native Soda, Marble, Sulphur, Petroleum, etc , 51

Chapter VI. — Forest Productions — The Great Lumbering Interest of the Northwest, and the Part Played by Wyoming Forests — Superiority of Wyoming Pine — Present Production — Manufacture of Charcoal . 74

Chapter VII. — The Manufacturing Interest — Wyoming's Unexcelled Water- Powers, Mountains of Iron and Vast Beds of Coal — A Region for the Forge, the Shuttle and the Loom — Value of Manufactured Articles in 1877 79

Chapter VIII. — Physical Geography and Climatology — Influence of Pacific Current upon the Climate of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains — The Advantages Possessed by these Regions over the Atlantic Sea-board States — Popular Fallacies 84

Chapter IX. — Manners and Society — How Absorbing Literature is Produced by Eastern Correspondents — The "Border Genius " and his Pranks — Woman Suffrage 105

Chapter X. — Wyoming for Health and Pleasure — Natural Wonders — Game and Fish — Yellowstone National Park — Wyoming as a Resort for Invalids — Dr. Corey's Valuable Suggestions 110

VI CONTENTS.

PART SECOND. Counties, Cities and Miscellaneous Information

Chapter I. — Counties, Cities, Military Posts, etc. — Outlines of all Counties and Cities, their Wealth and Productions — Schools, Churches and Societies — County Officers, Banking, Railway and Telegraphic Facilities — Cost of Living, Wages, Price of Real Estate, Rents, etc 139

Chapter II. — Synopsis of Laws — Exemptions, Limitations, Interest — United States Mining and Homestead Laws, Reclaiming Desert Lands — Weights and Measures 160

PART THIRD. The Big Horn and Black Hills Regions

Chapter I. — The Big Horn Region — Location and Prominent Natural Features — The Recent Jaunt of Generals Sheridan and Crook 181

Chapter II. — Early Gold Hunting — Indian Tradition — Testimony of Prominent Explorers and Army Officers — What Jim Bridger and Tom Sun say about Gold in the Big Horn Range 185

Chapter III. — Soil, Climate, Grasses — Choice Nooks for the Farmer and Stockman — The Grand Rivers and Beautiful Valleys Along the Base of the Big Horn Range 197

Chapter IY. — Fruits, Flowers, Game, Fish, Routes, etc. — The Indian Question — Present Population of the Big Horn Region and its Means of Defense 212

Chapter V.— The Black Hills — Early Discovery of Gold — Mining, Stock-Raising, Agriculture, Lumbering and Other Interests — Cities and Camps, with their Location, Wealth, Resources, Population and Business — Routes Compared — Natural Identity of the Entire Black Hills Region with Wyoming 219

Chapter VI. — Reminiscences and Miscellaneous Happenings — How the Seat of Empire has been Laid in the New Northwest — The Great Trans -continental Railway, and its Effect upon Western Development 243

PART FIEST.

The Resources of Wyoming

AND PRESENT DEVELOPMENT.

WYOMING.

Chapter I. A Bit Of Early History

SINCE the time when Isabella pawned her jewels to procure an outfit for Columbus, the desire to discover the golden sands of the west has not lessened; and to recount the disappointments and disasters that have resulted therefrom would be no easy life-time task. Although the Genoese navigator had no idea of enriching himself by his perilous launch, in 1492, he at least hoped that the coffers of Ferdinand and his queen would be replenished by the wealth of new possessions. But most of his -companions were adventurers in quest of gold and glory, reckless and oftentimes cruel to brutality. The missionaries who accompanied him were Franciscan friars, whose zeal for the conversion of the savages was only surpassed by the thirst of their companions in bucklers for gold. Thus a religious zeal, which teaches its votaries to despise riches on earth and lay up treasures elsewhere, and a most avaricious desire for wealth on the part of these adventurers, went hand in hand exploring the southern part of North America more than three centuries ago.

Four survivors of the ill-fated Spanish expedition to Florida, in 1528, bravely made their way westward across the Mississippi, traversed those sections now known as the commonwealths of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and finally reached the Gulf of California. Reappearing among former friends after several years of absence, they occasioned no little astonishment. Their glowing accounts of the kingdoms, cities and towns they had passed through, and the barbaric wealth and splendor they had witnessed excited and fascinated their listeners to such a degree 2 that an Italian friar, named Mark, determined to visit the country. He induced one of these four men, a negro named Stephen, to return, and boldly penetrated the wilderness until he came within sight of the city of Cibola, a location not made plain by early chroniclers. Here the venturesome friar and his companion were attacked by natives, and in the fight the negro was killed, leaving the isolated explorer only the alternative of swiftly retracing his steps.

Friar Mark did not abandon his project, however, and in 1540 he induced the chieftain Coronado to head an expedition to Cibola, stimulating the new adventurers by richly-colored tales of the vast riches and entrancing beauty of the place. Other Franciscans accompanied the expedition. Finally Cibola was reached, but not so the reputed wealth, for the place proved a barren prize. The friar was overwhelmed with reproaches, and, returning to the coast, soon died.

But enchanting tradition whispered that there were other cities of untold wealth farther in the interior, and Coronado pushed on. He crossed the Eio Grande near the present town of Santa Fe and pushed northward to the Arkansas, but still failed to find the golden cities. True, he encountered numbers of small Indian villages, but fortune was no nearer than when he started from the sunny shores of the southwestern gulf. Growing thoroughly discouraged, after a two years' search, Coronado returned, leaving two zealous friars, however, at Indian villages along the Rio Grande.

The fame of the supposed rich cities had now reached the City of Mexico and Tampico, and an expedition in quest of them started from the latter place in 1542. During the march northward an Indian village on the east side of the Rio Grande was named Santa Fe (holy faith), and became the base of future explorations. The two missionaries left behind in this vicinity by Coronado had already suffered death at the hands of the Indians. From this time forward there were alternate successes upon the part of the Spaniards in establishing missions in New Mexico and of the savages in destroying them. The rich cities to the northward were yet undiscovered, although little doubt prevailed as to their existence.

During the progress of the Mexican war, in 1846, a highly educated Mexican padre, named Ortiz, was captured near El Paso in the act of bearing dispatches to his countrymen south of the Rio Grande. While a prisoner in the hands of General Stephen W. Kearney's followers, he volunteered the statement to different American army officers that the Spanish had early in the seventeenth century obtained a footing in the mountainous region some seven or eight hundred miles north of Santa Fe, but still south of the great muddy river (the Missouri) ; that they had built stone houses and arastras, and for nearly a quarter of a century had sent trains to the south laden with gold and rich furs. About 1650, however, the savages of the region commenced a wholesale massacre of these pioneers, and all were swept away as far south as Santa Fe. Ortiz had in his possession an old Spanish book, written late in the seventeenth century, describing all of the country between the Rio Grande and the Missouri, and also containing statements verifying those volunteered by himself, to the effect that the ruins of these settlements existed in the northwest, and that great canals and other auxiliaries to mining had been there constructed.

At intervals of many years following, reckless adventurers risked their lives to reach the northern land of promise, but these never returned after crossing the Arkansas. As late as 1781, a small expedition, accompanied by Jesuit missionaries, left Santa Fe and penetrated the great northwestern plains, but there is no account of the return of any of the party.

These facts become especially interesting in connection with the developments of American explorers in our own time. Members of General Connor's Big Horn expedition of 1865, now residing in Cheyenne, vouch for the statement then made that ruins of stone houses, evidently more than a century old, were found near the shores of the beautiful Lake de Smet, at the eastern base of the Big Horn Mountains. In 1866, the remains of an old Spanish arastra — a quartz-crushing implement — were found in the same region, at a point about fifty miles southwest of Fort Phil Kearney. Ruins of stone houses and fortifications were also discovered by Colonel Mills' expedition in the Big Horn country as late as the fall of 1874. Montana miners who were driven by the Indians from the Rosebud Mountains, east of Fort C. F. Smith, where they were prospecting in 1866, reported that there was evidence that mining had been extensively carried on, on some of the bars there, a long time previous to their visit.

They found traces of iron tools which had been devoured by rust, the line of a former ditch to convey water upon the bars, and some other indications which lead to the conclusion that the Spanish adventurers alluded to had not only obtained a footing in the region, but had also perished there while in the realization of their wildest dreams.

It is stated as a fact, capable of verification, that there is now a map in the archives of Paris, prepared by Jesuits as early as 1792, which contains a correct topographical sketch of the Black Hills and Big Horn Mountains, and that both are marked as auriferous regions ; but from whence the information was derived is more than can be definitely ascertained. Certain it is, however, that missionaries and gold-seekers visited portions of the present Territories of Wyoming and Montana, in search of souls and the royal metals, during the last century.

Father De Smet. — No doubt one of these indomitable missionaries, Father Peter John De Smet, became thoroughly acquainted with the country now embraced in Wyoming upward of thirty years ago. This intrepid disciple of Loyola emigrated from Belgium to America in 1823, and, proceeding to St. Louis, soon founded the St. Louis University. His abilities as a naturalist, botanist, metallurgist and geologist were very marked. His love for these studies, and a genuine desire to elevate our savage races, soon led him to follow a resolution made before he left his native land — to become a missionary among the Indians. Accordingly, in 1838, he commenced the career which has since given him so much prominence, and in 1839, with two companions, drifted fearlessly northward, destined for the fur-trading post of Fort Benton. In June of that year the trio camped at the present site of Cheyenne — a fact that the venerable missionary cited when here in 1868 with Generals Sherman and Sheridan.

"How long have you lived in Cheyenne?" asked the Father of a gentleman with whom he was conversing.

" Since last November, Father. I suppose I may consider myself one of the oldest settlers of the place."

" If I were so minded," remarked the missionary, " I could justly lay claim to being an older settler than you, for I camped here one night in June, 1839, on the banks of Crow creek, near the railroad bridge."

After leaving Crow creek the missionaries crossed the country to the Yellowstone, and from there to Fort Benton. They had many interesting adventures with Indians during the trip ; were often delayed by the savages, their movements suspiciously watched, and their motives in visiting the country carefully inquired into. But the gentle manners and sincerity of De Smet soon won for him their confidence and esteem. For about ten years his travels and explorations among the northern tribes were practically unrestricted — he was free to go and come, and met with hearty welcomes from the same savages who have since carried on a bitter warfare, and who have just succumbed to the military under General Crook and other officers. In 184y the "Black Gowns" (as these missionaries were styled among the Indians) were prohibited from coming out on their missions at the trading posts, because the small-pox had been communicated to some of the bands by whites, and swept with fearful fatality to others. This was the only obstacle ever placed in the way of the self-sacrificing priests, and this was again soon removed. During these years of pilgrimage Father De Smet became well acquainted with the geological formation of the country, as well as with its geography and topography. From the forks of the Cheyenne on the east to Great Salt Lake on the west, and from the head waters of the Columbia river on the north to the Platte on the south, he was quite generally " at home." On his return to St. Louis from one of his long trips, just as the discovery of gold in California was made known, he heard some acquaintances expressing doubt as to the wonderful stories from the west. Turning to them, he said: "I do not doubt it. I am sure there is gold in California;" and after a moment's pause he quietly added : " I know where gold exists in the Eocky Mountains in such abundance that, if made known, it would astonish the world. It is even richer than California!" Among those who knew him best his statements were taken for literal truth, and when asked to corroborate the assertion quoted he would make no explanation, merely adhering to it and saying that he had promised the Indians never to describe the location of this wealth.

Rev. Toussaint Mesphlie, now a Catholic chaplain in the United States army, is authority for the story, already quite generally known, in which De Smet told of the Indians showing him handsful of nuggets which they proposed manufacturing into bullets for an old pistol which the Father had given to a prominent chief. De Smet was really taken to the spot from whence the nuggets were obtained, and found it to be immensely rich. But he taught the savages the value of it, told them their beautiful country would soon be desecrated by white miners if the facts became known, and in return was compelled to promise never to reveal the secret of its location. To the question once asked him by a bishop of his church at Omaha, "Are those mines on the Pacific coast the ones you have told about ? " the Father answered in the negative, and then sorrowfully added, "but I fear it will not be many years until they are discovered, and then what will become of my poor Indians?" To army officers and others he has often admitted his knowledge of those mines in the northwest, when closely pressed to do so, and many persons are now living who have tried in various ways to extract more definite knowledge from him. Most of these believe that a careful prospecting of the Big Horn and Wind river regions will certainly reveal the terra incognito, because it is understood that the old Montana mines were not meant, and that no spot yet discovered in the Black Hills answers to his glowing description.

While in Cheyenne, in 1868, he visited the home of a well-known citizen, and during his stay gave a most interesting and satisfactory account of northern Wyoming and the Yellowstone region. Among other things, he said : " There are a great many lovely valleys in that section, capable of sustaining a large population. The mountain scenery is truly grand, and the vast forests of timber wonderful and invaluable. Often have I seen evidences of mineral wealth in this wonderful country at different places. The whole range of the Eocky mountains, from New Mexico to British America, is mineral bearing. In many places the streams are stocked with trout, and game was abundant wherever I went. The climate is delightful, often reminding me of the climate in the south of France, near the Pyrenees. I have ridden through some of these rich valleys where the grass was so rank and tall that my head was not visible above its top when seated on horseback."

Among the many literary works of Father De Smet were a series of letters which were continued for nearly thirty years and

"father de smet and the aboriginal miner."

were published in a French periodical. These letters no doubt contain a fund of information concerning our Territory, which some future historian will gladly avail himself of. His death at St. Louis in 1873 was a matter of universal regret. It can never be said that the thought of gain on earth was the secret of his labor, and the pure unselfishness which so strongly characterized his missionary work gave him the confidence of our savage races to an extent never before, and probably never again, to be gained by one man. To-day his name is reverentially used by young and old of the agency Indians. The sacred emblem of his faith — the cross — is worn universally, by hostile and peace Indian alike, and it is the principal design for ornament on their weapons and garments. His name is inseparably connected with the history of Wyoming.

Other Explorers. — Granting that our old-time friend, Jim Bridger, was here when, as he expressed it, " Laramie Peak hadn't commenced to grow and was a hole in the ground," we are compelled to divide honors about equally between officers of the American army and representatives of the great fur companies for first following in the wake of Spanish and Jesuit adventurers and missionaries. These later explorations, which resulted in a permanent occupancy of the country, dated from the first years of the present century. Besides the gallant achievements of Lieutenants Lewis and Clarke, Captain Bonneville and General Fremont, the latest nearly half a century ago, we have it from reliable authority that the hardy spirits of the northwestern fur companies had trapped no less than 3,000,000 beavers along the northern range of mountains previous to 1825 — a statement which tells the whole story of early pioneering, with its train of thrilling episodes and soul-trying emergencies.

Organization. — After the creation of Dakota Territory, the greater portion of the region now embraced within the limits of Wyoming belonged to our sister commonwealth first named. To Dakota, therefore, our earliest pioneers looked for what little law and justice was given them ; and it was the rule, rather than the exception, that citizens at this long distance from the capital waited either very long or else hopelessly for even such little satisfaction. It is a fact well known that more revenue was gained by the territorial treasury from this isolated section than from all of eastern Dakota, while the taxation here laid by the

United States aggregated very handsome amounts. But with the completion of the transcontinental railway a new era was inaugurated, and the enterprising settlers who laid the foundation for our new State, that is to be, made vigorous efforts to secure an organization nearer home. These were baffled until July 25, 1868, when the act to provide a temporary government for the Territory of Wyoming became a law. The boundaries designated for the foundling were the forty-first and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude and the twenty-seventh and thirty-fourth meridians of longitude west from Washington. This gave the Territory the generous dimensions of 355 miles in length by 276 miles in breadth, and, besides taking a large proportion of Dakota's domain, carved smaller areas from Colorado and Utah.

Federal appointments for nearly all offices were made during April, 1869, and on the 10th of May following the new government was in complete working order, with Cheyenne as the capital. The gentlemen who first filled positions of trust were : J. A. Campbell, Governor; Edward M. Lee, Secretary; Church Howe, Marshal ; J. M. Carey, United States Attorney ; John M. Howe, Chief Justice ; J. W. Bingham and W. S. Jones, Associate Justices; C. D. Euger, Surveyor General; Frank Walcott, Receiver Public Land Office.

The first legislative assembly in Wyoming was organized at Cheyenne October 12, 1869, with Wm. H. Bright as President of the Council, and S. M. Curran, Speaker of the House. The legislature adjourned sine die on the 10th of December, after having given the first laws that were considered really binding by the people of this section. Succeeding sessions have been held biennially, meeting, according to enactment, one month later than the first.

The present Territorial government consists of the following: Governor, John M. Thayer; Secretary, Geo. W. French; Marshal, W. F. Sweezy ; District Attorney, E. P. Johnson ; Surveyor General, E. C. David; Treasurer, A. R. Converse; Auditor, Orlando North ; Collector, E. P. Snow ; Justices of the Supreme Court, J. W. Fisher, Wm. W. Peck, J. B. Blair; Superintendent of Instruction, John Slaughter; U. S. Commissioner, J. W. Bruner ; Register U. S. Land Office, G. R. Thomas ; Receiver of Public Moneys, I. C. Whipple ; Librarian, John Slaughter.

A BIT OF EARLY HISTORY.

The following is the official count of the elections for delegate to Congress in Wyoming since the organization :

1872. 1874. 1876.

Counties.

« d

O

I* a> d an

e 3

3 d

53 ops u

« d

8*

Is

722 593 138

389 886 862 679

428 150 398 363 327

369 183 380 279

79 518 399 116

261 572

186 160

282 677 306 584

699 363

881 406 657

1.010 529

1,242 '496 587

407 940 423 457

Totals.

1,963

3,331

1.368

1,666

1,439

1,471

1,742 271

2,404

3,864 1,104

2,760

Majority

. ...| 606

Whole vote (including scattering) . .

5,266

3,202

3,213

5,404

6,626

It should be mentioned that the vote of 1869 was greatly out of proportion to the permanent population, as the new railroad towns and mining camps were filled with a large floating population, which disappeared with the flush times of the earliest days.

Chapter II. The Wyoming Of To-day— Wealth And Productions

WHILE perusing the pages which follow, the reader should ever keep in mind two very important facts: First — that the field reviewed has until the present been almost wholly recognized as the sacred and impenetrable stronghold of the most powerful of America's savage nations ; that the Indian has held possession of nearly all of the domain which could be rendered productive and has greatly retarded the development of the remaining and most undesirable portion by systematically plundering its pioneers. Second — that while more accessible commonwealths have always held out great inducements for speedy settlement, and have thus in a single decade quadrupled their population and productions, Wyoming has really made no earnest effort to attain such an end. It was plain that protection could not be afforded the emigrant except along the southern line of the Territory, where desirable locations are limited, and the legislature which abolished all efforts tending to secure miscellaneous immigration was wise and judicious — even if its humane spirit was wondered at by rival Territories.

But the Wyoming of to-day glows with a new life. Peace has dawned so suddenly that the long-fettered frontier has scarce awakened from its ten years of darkened dreaming. To realize that her grand area of nearly 100,000 square miles, crowded with all the bountiful resources of a coveted empire, is at once and forever emancipated from savage sway, may be easy in quiet New England, but not so where the keys of development have always been carried at the girdle of a hostile possessor. To define the thrill which permeates the frame of the first herdsman who pushes his flocks northward across the Platte river at staunch old Fort Fetterman, and sets his feet firmly upon " Indian ground," might also be a prosy task in the east, but in the valleys of Wyoming it will meet an echoing tingle never to be forgotten. And now, while celebrating such an epoch, let us not

WEALTH AND PRODUCTIONS. 21

forget to whom its bright inception is due, but with our rejoicing mingle thanks to the gallant, hard-worked and faithful military of the Department, directed by General G-eorge Crook, and to the new zeal manifested in our welfare by an awakened administration.

The natural capabilities of few regions are so generously and favorably diversified as in that embraced within the limits of "Wyoming. Forest and plain, mountain and valley, water-course and upland alternate and unite to furnish the most accessible field for the speedy creation of a large and prosperous commonwealth. Her grazing area proper aggregates 55,000 square miles, while much of the mountain surface omitted in this estimate is thickly carpeted during summer and fall with her most succulent and nutritious grasses. That portion of the surface susceptible of cultivation comprises nearly 20,000 square miles of bottom and uplands. The timber area, less the many extensive patches along water-courses in the lower valleys, is fully 30,000 square miles — a portion of this covering the best grazing lands. Including the latest discoveries in the northern part of her domain, Wyoming possesses 24,000 square miles of coal lands, with vast deposits of rich iron ores alternating in different sections. The regions in which precious metals are known to exist present an area of 40,000 square miles, all underlying the forest region already noted. Among other important natural auxiliaries are immense deposits of marble, soda, plumbago, oil-bearing shale, petroleum and red oxide of iron, all adjacent to the line of the Union Pacific Eailway, and some of them already commencing to swell the wealth of the Territory's productions.

To more strikingly present the extent of these natural features and their capabilities, let us indulge in a few comparisons. "Wyoming's grazing area is greater than the entire area of Kentucky, a State which in 1870 owned 1,639,092 head of sheep and cattle, beside over a million head of other live stock. Her agricultural area of virgin and fertile soil is greater than that of the States of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined, which on their artificially fertilized soil produced in 1870 5,857,239 bushels of grain. Wyoming's forests cover more territory than those of the great lumbering State of Michigan, whose product in this line reaches a value of $40,000,000 per annum. And her surface underlaid with strata after strata of coal, exceeds that of the coal

HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING.

lands of Pennsylvania, whose product reaches $50,000,000 or more annually.

The eleven principal rivers of the Territory — the Yellowstone, North Platte, Big Horn, Green, Bear, Snake, Tongue, Laramie, Cheyenne, Powder and Sweetwater — have a total length within her limits of 4,000 miles, and with their numberless tributaries afford her a more complete and better distributed water system than any of the trans-Missouri States or Territories can boast. These facts are all enlarged upon in succeeding pages, and are merely thus outlined to give the reader an idea of the wealth lying latent in the new northwest. And now let us see hastily what progress the pioneer, in his trammeled state, has made in the utilization of these princely resources.

The following table, exhibiting the assessed valuation and population of the Territory in 1870 and 1877, is compiled from the official returns and includes the reports of the present year.*

Counties.

Est.

Population.

Assessed Valuation.

Rate of

Taxation

Name of Countt Seat.

2,500

2,000

4,000

4,500

1,750

11,818,449

Sweetwater . . .

Uintah

Mills.

21 15

Laramie City.

Rawlins.

Cheyenne.

Gre'nRiv.Cy.

Evanston.

14,750

28,540

$5,516,748

Basing this estimate upon the opinions of numerous well informed citizens in different sections of the Territory, the writer places the true present valuation of all property at $15,500,000.

Wyoming is in a most healthy and gratifying financial condition. There is no territorial indebtedness, but the handsome surplus of $13,000 remains in her treasury. The valuation of property, according to assessment returns just noted, has increased from $5,500,000 in 1870 to $9,000,000 in 1876, and $11,- 818,449 in 1877. The Territorial tax of three mills for this year will place the treasury in even better condition than it is at present, notwithstanding the fact that the meeting of the legislature during the coming autumn will cause a large drain upon its funds. A majority of the counties can present the same proportionate financial prosperity.

* Returns from Carbon aud Uintah counties could not be obtained, and are thereforeestimated from best data at hand.

WEALTH AND PRODUCTIONS. 25

A careful summing up of Wyoming's productions for the year 1877 results as follows:

Coal, 524,000 tons at average of $4 per ton $2,096,000

Gold, dust and bullion 815,000

Hay and other farm products 485,000

Live stock and wool 990,000

Manufactured articles, including lumber, stone, etc 3,918,120