.NNALS of WYOMING

Volume 64, No. 1 Winter, 1992

In 1895 the state of Wyoming established a department to collect and preserve materials which interpret the history of Wyoming. Today those duties are performed by the Division of Parks and Cultural Resources in the Depart- ment of Commerce. Located in the department are the State Historical Research Library, the State Archives, the State Museum, the State Art Gallery, the State Historic Sites, and the State Historic Preservation Office. The Department solicits original records such as diaries, letters, books, early newspapers, maps, photographs and records of early businesses and organizations as well as artwork and artifacts for museum exhibit. The Department asks for the assistance of all Wyoming citizens to secure these documents and artifacts.

GOVERNOR OF WYOMING Mike Sullivan

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE DIRECTOR

Max Maxfield

STATE HISTORIAN David Kathka

WYOMING PARKS AND CULTURAL RESOURCES

COMMISSION

George Zeimens, Lingle

Frances Fisher, Saratoga

Pam Rankin, Jackson

Karin Cyrus-Strid, Gillette

David Peck, Lovell

Norval Waller, Sundance

Jere Bogrett, Riverton

Mary Ellen McWilliams, Sheridan

Hale Kreycik, Douglas

WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

OFFICERS, 1991-1992

Dale J. Morris, President, Green River

Walter Edens, First Vice-President, Laramie

Sally Vanderpoel, Second Vice-President, Torrington

Sherry Taylor, Secretary, Casper

Gladys Hill, Treasurer, Douglas

David Kathka, Executive-Secretary

Judy West, State Coordinator

ABOUT THE COVER— The cowboy has become a mythic figure in Wyoming. Owen Wister's The Virginian helped create that myth. Gerald Thompson examines reality and morality in Wister's tale of a nameless cowboy in "Owen Wister and His Critics: Realism and Morality in The Virginian." This photograph of cowboys around a chuck wagon is from the collec- tions of the Wyoming State Museum (WSM).

e4

NNALS of WYOMING

Volume 64, No. 1 Winter, 1992

STAFF

Rick Ewig, Editor

Jean Brainerd, Associate Editor

Roger Joyce, Assistant Editor

Ann Nelson, Assistant Editor

Paula West Chavoya, Photographic Editor

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Michael Cassity Roy Jordan David Kathka William H. Moore Robert L. Munkres Philip J. Roberts

ANNALS OF WYOMING was established in 1923 to disseminate historical information about Wyoming and the West through the publication of articles and documents. The editors of ANNALS OF WYOMING wel- come manuscripts on every aspect of Wyoming and Western history.

Authors should submit two typed, double- spaced copies of their manuscripts with footnotes placed at the end. Manuscripts submitted should conform to A MANUAL OF STYLE (University of Chicago Press). The Editor reserves the right to submit all manuscripts to members of the Editorial Advisory Board or to authorities in the field of study for recommendations. Pub- lished articles represent the view of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Division of Parks and Cultural Resources, Department of Commerce or the Wyoming State Historical Society.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OWEN WISTER AND HIS CRITICS: Realism

and Morality in The Virginian 2

by Gerald Thompson

UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION: 100 Years of Service

to the State 11

by Johanna Nel and Johannes E. Nel

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER: A Resource

as a Resource 22

by Gene M. Gressley

BOOK REVIEWS y |5a..5^pjY GF TH£27

Whiteside, Regulating Danger: The Struggie^UNER-'TY OF WYOMING for Mine Safety in the Rocky Mountain I •.;■■; ,1.1 iH £207'1

Coal Industry, reviewed by David A. Wolff.

Klein, Union Pacific: The Birth of a

Railroad 1862-1893 and Union Pacific: The Rebirth 1894-1969, reviewed by T. A. Larson.

Finkhouse and Crawford, eds., A River Too Far: The Past and Future of the Arid West, reviewed by Jim Donahue.

jared Fox's Memmorandom: Kept from

Delton, Sauk County Wisconsin toward California and Oregon 1852-1854, reviewed by Robert L. Munkres.

Madsen, Glon/ Hunter: A Biography of Patrick Edward Coiuior, reviewed by Walter Jones.

ANNALS OF WYOMING is published quarterly by the Division of Parks and Cultural Resources, Department of Commerce, Barrett Building, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002. It is received by all members of the Wyoming State Historical Society as the official publication of that organization. Membership dues are: Single $9; Joint $12; Institutional $20; Life $150; Joint Life $200. Current membership is 2,010. Copies of previous and current issues of ANNALS may be purchased from the Editor. Cor- respondence should be addressed to the Editor. ANNALS OF WYOMING articles are abstracted in Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life.

(< I Copyright 1W2 by the l^i\ ision ol l\irks ond Cultural Rosiniivcs, PopartnuMU ot Comnu-ivo

OWEN WISTER AND HIS CRITICS

Realism and Morality in The Virginian

by Gerald Thompson

Shortly after midnight on July 3, 1885, Owen Wister stepped down from the platform of a Union Pacific train at Rock Creek, Wyoming, beginning what would become a lifelong relationship with both the Far West and regional mythology. The young Philadelphian had undertaken the long journey west to restore his less-than-robust health, and in so doing he followed a path taken the previous year by his Harvard classmate Theodore Roosevelt. Years later Wister recalled that on the next day, July 4, he encountered Wyoming cowboys. Instantly he thought of them as sym- bols of primitive independence: "This very first day of my knowledge of them marks a date with me," he wrote in The Virgmian, "for something about them, and the idea of them, smote my American heart, and I have never forgotten it [for] ... in their spirit sat hidden a true nobil- ity, and often beneath its unexpected shining their figures took a heroic stature." But almost two decades would pass before Wister published The Virginian in 1902. By then he had been writing western stories for more than ten years, but it would be The Virginian, his only important novel, that established the formula for one of America's best- known myths, the Cowboy Hero.^

While much literary analysis of The Virginian, written during the last ten or fifteen years, has been favorable and treats the novel as serious fiction, some of Wister's best- known critics have demonstrated a visceral dislike for the book and for the Cowboy Hero in particular. Within the ranks of dissenters from the myth, there exist two branches of criticism: 1) writers who object to Wister's simple moral- ity, and 2) scholars who attack Wister's lack of realism.

The first category of critics perceive the Cowboy Hero as the epitome of rugged individualism, a character with- out social ties or obligations. The Virginian represents for these scholars Americans' negative traits. He stands for the primitive savage in all men, always ready to spring forth into primordial violence. Indeed, many of The Vir- ginian's harshest detractors believe the book glorifies violence, anticipating by decades the spaghetti westerns of the 1960s, and taken to an extreme by Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969). The Virginian did not respect the law, they argue, pointing out that the Cowboy Hero helped

1. Owen Wister, The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1902), p. 33; Ramon F. Adams, The CowtJian & His Code of Ethics (Austin: Encino Press, 1969), pp. 3-14. The only full-scale biography of Wister is Darwin Payne, Owen Wister: Chronicler of the West, Gentlemen of the East (Dallas, Texas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1985). Two important studies are George T. Watkins, "Owen Wister and the American West: A Biographical and Critical Study" (Ph.D. dissertation. University of Illinois, 1959); and Neal E. Lambert, "The Western Writings of Owen Wister: The Conflict of East and West" (Ph.D. dissertation. University of Utah, 1966). G. Edward White, The Eastern Establishment and the Western Experience: The West of Frederic Remington, Theodore Roosevelt and Owen Wister (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1968), contains valuable insights about three men who helped to create the image of the West. Ben M. Vorpahl's work is some of the most enlightening on Wister; see his My Dear Wister: The Frederic Remington-Owen Wister Letters (Palo Alto, California: American West Publishing, 1972); and "Henry James and Owen Wister," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 95 (July 1971): 291-338, for example. Lee Clark Mitchell, "When you Call That . . .': Tall Talk and Male Hegemony in The Virginian," PMLA 102 (January 1987): 66-77, points out that the novel focuses on the exchange of ideas, rather than action scenes.

OWEN WISTER AND HIS CRITICS

to lynch several rustlers. Wister's character also ignored religious morality: in the prelude to the novel's climactic duel, the Bishop of Wyoming failed to persuade the Vir- ginian that a good Christian would avoid a confrontation with the villain Trampas. Some of these writers also charge that Wister's hero served an aristocracy of wealth, and was a capitalist tool used to exploit the land and its people. A final indictment leveled against Wister declared him to be a racist. 2

To capture the intensity of these critics, one needs to read their vehement words. Edwin H. Cady, in his oft-cited work. The Light of Common Day (1971), can barely contain himself:

His (Wister's) success represents a standard necromantic wor- ship of the bitch-goddess (success) on a Social Darwinian altar. In the perspectives of American cultural history, Wister ended by aligning his creation with the extractive-exploitative tradi- tion of the western rape of nature which, cubed, has brought us to the crisis of a technological culture on the edge of drown- ing in its own excreta.^

Leslie Fiedler, the literary guru of the 1960s, directed his ironic insights at Wister in several important books. In Love and Death in the American Novel (1966), he raged:

2. Sanford E. Marovitz, "Owen Wister: An Annotated Bibliography of Secondary Material," American Literary Realism, 1870-1910 7 (Winter 1974): 1-110, provides an exhaustive listing of reviews and criticism on Wister. Influential critics, such as Van Wyck Brooks, Carl Van Doren, and Bernard De Voto, considered The Virginian as a worthy example of a less important genre. George Watkins, who produced a Ph.D. dissertation on Wister's work, concluded that ". . .at best The Virginian is a second-rate novel." Van Wyck Brooks, The Confi- dent Years, 1885-1915 (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1952), pp. 87-91; Carl Van Doren, The American Novel, 1789-1939 (New York: The Mac- millan Company, 1940), pp. 203-207; Bernard De Voto, "Horizon Land (1)," The Saturday Review of Literature, October 17, 1936, p. 8; and Watkins, "Owen Wister and the American West," p. 363.

3. Edwin H. Cady, The Light of Common Day (Bloomington, Indiana: In- diana University Press, 1971), p. 191.

Cmvhoi/ty and llicir chuck icai^oit. I he hhittioii of the /'//d/iiy/v;/'/; /s not kihurii.

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

The Sermon on the Mount has yielded to the Code of the West with only the most perfunctory of struggles. The Virginian is a fable, cloying and false, which projects at once the self-hatred of the genteel eastern sophisticate confronted with the primitive, and his dream of a world where "men are men," i.e., walk with smoking guns into the arms of women who cheerfully ab- dicate their roles as guardians of morality.-*

Two years later Fiedler directed these barbs in The Return

of the Vanishing American (1968):

But behind the talk of honesty and chivalry, it is personal violence, taking the law into one's own hands, for which The Virginian— along with all of its recastings and imitations right down to High Noon— apologizes. The duel and the lynching represent its notions of honor and glory. ... It hardly matters, band of vigilantes against band of outlaws or single champion against single villain— the meaning is the same: a plea for ex- tra legal violence as the sole bastion of true justice . . .

The values of the Virginian, Fiedler expounded, were the same ones which motivated the Ku Klux Klan, and he dis- cerned little difference between an execution of cattle rustlers in Wyoming or a lynching of Blacks by the KKK in the Deep South. The Virginian should properly be com- pared to Thomas Dixon Jr.'s The Clansman (1905), declared Fiedler.^

In addition to the critics who condemned The Vir- ginian 's morality, another school existed which attacked the novel for a lack of realism. Many of these writers were native westerners, who disliked the novel because it failed to depict with accuracy the life of a cowboy. These in- dividuals often mentioned Andy Adams as an example of how a writer should deal with western themes. Adams' The Log of a Coiuboy (1903), and Douglas Branch's influen- tial study The Cowboy and His Interpreters (1926), established the basis for much of the realists' critique. The Virginian was a cowboy without cattle, observed Branch, and "there was not one scene set on the range . . ."It seemed that westerners wanted their region, even in novels, to be por- trayed with precision or not at all. Two decades later, J. Frank Dobie extended Branch's comments in his Guide to the Life and Literature of the Southioest (1942), stating "This hero does not even smell of cows." By then Dobie loomed large in southwestern literary circles. In western literature Dobie was the best-known academician and writer in Texas, and his words of censure carried great weight. He suggested that Wister's pedigree as an urbane Harvard man prevented him from understanding his subject; more-

over Wister lacked sufficient experience in the West. Unaware that Wister had traveled and lived in the region for a part of every year from 1885 to 1902, Dobie charged that the author's brief trip to Wyoming in the summer of 1885 constituted his total preparation for writing The Vir- ginian. Continuing the realists' argument, Joe Frantz and his co-author, Julian E. Choate, Jr., in 1955 repeated the hackneyed observation that the book lacked a cattle aroma, but they also faulted the scene where the vigilantes hang the rustlers. Frantz and Choate, who understand the Code of the West, seem to be saying in The American Cowboy: Myth and Reality (1955), that if the Virginian had been true to the code, he could never have participated in executing his old friend Steve even if he did purloin cattle.^

Other critics of Wister soon discovered racism and class conflict in The Virginian. Mody C. Boatright noted that Wister's heroes were always Anglo-Saxons, even if they were not always cowboys. Marvin Lewis, in 1954, analyzed The Virginian and found a cowboy hero who helped to sup- press lower-class aspirations. The Virginian always sided with the cattle barons, the owners of the means of pro- duction (cattle) in their struggle to defeat the small ranch- ers and thereby monopolize the stock-raising industry. In accepting a Marxist interpretation of the western experi- ence, Lewis felt that a true cowboy hero belonged on the side of the oppressed masses. Wister was little more than an apologist for the Johnson County War of 1892, Lewis charged, an interpretation which would reach fruition three decades later in Michael Cimio's film. Heaven's Gate (1982). An excellent dissertation on Owen Wister also appeared at this time: George Watkins' "Owen Wister and the American West." In an approach quite similar to Lewis', but without the Marxist framework, Watkins argued that almost all the novel's characters were thinly disguised real people who had participated in Wyoming's tumultuous events of the 1890s. ^

4. Leslie Fiedler, Loz>e and Death in the American Novel, rev. ed. (New York: Stein and Day, 1966), pp. 259-260.

5. Leslie Fiedler, The Return of the Vanishing American (New York: Stein and Day, 1968), p. 139.

6. Andy Adams, The Log of a Cozvhoy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Dai/s (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1903); Douglas Branch, The Cowboys and His Interpreters (New York: D. Appleton and Com- pany, 1926), pp. 192-200; J. Frank Dobie, Guide to Life and Literature of the Southivest, rev. ed. (Dallas, Texas: Southern Methodist Univer- sity, 1952), p. 124; Joe B. Frantz and Julian E. Choate, Jr., The American Cowboy: Myth and Reality (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955), pp. 116-117, 159-160.

7. Mody C. Boatright, "The American Myth Rides the Ranges: Owen Wister's Man on Horseback, Southwest Review 36 (Summer 1951): 157-163; Marvin Lewis, "Owen Wister: Caste Imprints in Western Letters, Arizona Quarterly 10 (Summer 1954): 147-156; Watkins, "Owen Wister and the American West," pp. 300-367.

OWEN WISTER AND HIS CRITICS

But it was Bernard De Voto, Pulitzer Prize winner and editor of Harper's, who became Wister's most prominent antagonist. De Voto plaited together the two divergent strains of criticism— amoral and unrealistic— in several key articles on western literature. For nearly thirty years, De Voto was viewed by the eastern intellectual establish- ment as a high priest in literary matters, but his ideas were also respected in the Far West, for De Voto was a native westerner, raised in Utah, who had authored regional histories such as Year of Decision (1943) and Across the Wide Missouri (1948). De Voto's thoughtful comments on Wister first appeared in 1936 in The Saturday Review of Literature in a short, two-part essay titled "Horizon Land." Later, in 1955, he extended his remarks in his Harper's Easy Chair column. With the historian's devotion to facts, De Voto began by asserting that great literature was always realistic, never mythic. The further an author departed from real- ity, the lesser the work's quality. Not satisfied to end his assault upon the western novel with the realists' lament, De Voto also incorporated the fashionable view that the Virginian was a moral hypocrite. Wister glorified violence, De Voto felt, and in the Virginian he had created: A sun god in leather pants, the Hero, and his adversary, who represents evil, the guns speak and The Hero, who has or has not suffered a flesh wound, steps sideward into a girl's expec- tant arms. This outcome solves all technical problems of ethics, social sanction, and human motivation. It is the climax of the fantasy that has kept the cowboy story from becoming serious fiction. No doubt it is implicit in the myth of the Old West and somebody else would have invented it if Owen Wister hadn't. But he did invent it and the literary historian can trace it to a simple caste snobbery.

One cannot overestimate the impact of De Voto's words on the intelligentsia's perceptions of the western; he had confirmed their worst suspicions.^

From this abbreviated survey of Wister's detractors, one might assume that little favorable criticism had been written, but this is not the case. Immediately after the novel's publication, Henry James had praised Wister for drawing the Cowboy Hero with a "lucid complexity & evolution. . . ." adding that the "whole thing (was) a rare and remarkable feat." Frank Norris, who had condemned the Southern Pacific monopoly in The Octopus, called for a character like the Virginian in an early essay:

The great figure of our neglected epic, the Hector of our ignored Iliad, is not, as the dime novels would have us believe, a law- breaker, but a lawmaker; a fighter, it is true, as is always the case with epic figures, but a fighter for peace, a calm, grave strong man who hated the lawbreaker as the hound hates the wolf. He did not lounge in barrooms; he did not cheat at cards; he did not drink himself to maudlin fury; he did not 'shoot at the drop of the hat.' But he loved his horse, he loved his friend, he was kind to little children. . . .

Wister critic Edwin Cady would later quote Norris' passage in The Light of Common Day and declare himself embar- rassed by these qualities, all of which were hallmarks of the Virginian. This was romance not realism, sneered Cady.^

In recent years a surprising number of scholars have authored thoughtful articles on The Virginian. These range from Neal Lambert's studies of the composition of a cul- tural hero to Sanford Marowitz's examination of Wister's ideas on democracy as revealed in The Virginian. Ben Vor- pahl and Julian Mason have both contributed much to our understanding of Wister's intellectual background, and Darwin Payne has published Oioen Wister: Chronicler of the West, Gentleman of the East (1985), the first full-length biography of Wister. Most of the pro- Wister writers do not concern themselves with the question of whether or not the novel constitutes a great work of literature, a focus of De Voto's critique, but instead analyze how the author managed to produce such an enduring myth.^°

Nevertheless, areas exist in the recent studies of the Cowboy Hero which remain only lightly explored. One of the most significant of these neglected realms is an analysis of the novel's morality. Wister had made it clear that The Virginian centered around moral questions, and especially the nature of justice. It was also clear that many of Wister's critics dissented from his definition of morality. Thus an examination into what Wister was trying to say about justice becomes a major point for anyone interested in the creation of the Cowboy Myth.

8. Bernard De Voto, "Horizon Land," p. 8; Bernard De Voto, "The Easy Chair: Birth of An Art," Harper's, December 1955, pp. 8-16. Robert G. Athearn, The Mythic West (Lawrence; University Press of Kansas, 1986), p. 166, takes an approach similar to Dv Voto .ind Fiedler, declar- ing the popular western "profoundh' conservativo."

9, Carl Bode, "Henry James and Owen Wister," American Literature 26 (May 1954): 250-252; and Cady, The Light of Coiumon Dai/, p. 67.

10. Lambert, "The Western Writings of Owen Wister,"; Lambert, "Owen Wister's Virginian: The Genesis of a Cultural Hero," Western American Literature 6 (Summer 1971): 99-107; Vorpahl, "Henry James and Owen Wister," pp. 291-338; Sanford E. Marovitz, "Testament of a Patriot: The Virginian, the Tenderfoot, and Owen Wister," Texas Studies in Literature and Language 15 (Fall 1973): 551-575; Gary Scharnhost, "The Virginian as a Founding Father," ,Anzona Quarterly 16 (April 1985): 226-241. Scholars who scMiiewhat diminish Wister's literar\' aducvo- ment would include IXm D. Walker, Wister, Roosevelt, and laiiios: A Note on the Western," Aiucruan Quartcrhi 12 (I'all l%0): 35S-3o(->; and lohn I), Nesbitt, "Owen Wistors Achic\cnu-nt m I itorar\- Tradi- tion," lVVs/(7)/ American Literature IS (iall l'-i,S3): l'-''-'-20S.

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

Before reviewing the role of morality and justice in The Virginian, serious attention must be given to the realists' critique. Did Wister intend to write a realistic novel? Using Wister's own thoughts and writings, one can establish that he was consciously producing myth, not history veiled as realistic fiction. In the preface to the first edition, Wister mused:

And sometimes it is asked, Was such and such a thing true? Now to this I have the best answer in the world. Once a cow- puncher listened patiently while I read him a manuscript. It concerned an event upon an Indian reservation. "Was that the Crow reservation?" he inquired at the finish. I told him that it was no real reservation and no real event; and his face ex- pressed his displeasure . . . And I could (not) help telling him that this was the highest compliment ever paid me. . . .^^

Through his private correspondence and his diary, Wister revealed his desire to draw the image of a mythic western figure. He declared that epic figures always arose from the clash between civilization and the primitive. Throughout a thoughtful essay, "Concerning 'Bad Men': The True 'Bad Man' of the Frontier, and the Reasons for his Existence," in Even/body's Magazine (1901), Wister com- pared the expanding American civilization to that of the ancient Israelites. "For what is the frontier," he asked, "but a modern moment of an earlier universal epoch?" With repeated examples, Wister tried to demonstrate that civilization bridled man's primitive and rash impulses, while at the same time keeping men from displaying their most heroic traits. Although he believed that heroic figures always served civilization, this should not be interpreted as Wister's support for economic exploitation of the civilized (wealthy) over the primitive (poor). An angry diary entry in June, 1891, expressed his intense dislike of Gilded Age profiteers: "These people produce nothing, improve nothing, and help nothing, except when they help themselves to somebody else's money. "^^

Two months after penning the diary note, in mid- August, 1891, Wister stood at Yellowstone Falls and thought of the region's significance. The West did not re- mind him of the South, he wrote, nor of anything he had read in Homer, "... but you can easily believe Monsar- rat [The Holy Grail's mountain in Parsifal] is round the next corner or expect to see the Gods stretch a rainbow to

Bernard De Voto was a critic of The Virginian. He believed great literature was always realistic, which The Virginian was not, and that the Virginian was a moral hypocrite.

Walhalla." He compared the Yellowstone to the Rhine, and felt that the West had simply reproduced in a new guise mankind's oldest stories that dealt with the nature of good and evil. As yet, no legends or myths were found about the Yellowstone region, but he recognized a golden op- portunity to formulate a new American myth that reveal- ed old truths. Several aspects of Wister's most important book. The Virginian, would be influenced by his personal hero, the German composer Wagner, with the most notice- able Wagnerian device being the Cowboy Hero's anonym- ity, paralleling that of the White Knight of Lohengrin. ^^ But if the novel is about mythological heroes, why have the realistic critics continued to attack the book on this point? Was an author not permitted to write from a roman- tic perspective? One might personally agree with De Voto that great fiction must be realistic— Cady's slice of common day— but is not the question of realism vs. romanticism a matter of taste? The problem may well have arisen because

n. Owen Wister, The Virginian, p. x.

12. Owen Wister, "Concerning 'Bad Men': The True 'Bad Man' of the Frontier, and the Reasons for His Existence," Everybody's Magazine 4 (April 1901): 326; and Fanny Kemble Wister, ed., Owen Wister Out West: His journals and Letters (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958), pp. 97-98.

Wister to Sarah Wister, August 11, 1891, in Journals and Letters, pp. 126-129. For an extended analysis of the importance of Wagner's in- fluence on Wister, see Gerald Thompson, "Musical and Literary In- fluences on Owen Wister's The Virginian, " South Atlantic Quarterly, 85 (Winter 1986): 40-55.

OWEN WISTER AND HIS CRITICS

Wister used a realistic framework to shape a romantic con- tent. He felt that his book must correspond to scientific knowledge, and every event had to be plausible in, what Wister termed, the post-darwinian world. A couple of ex- amples help to illustrate this point. What might have once been considered a spiritual rebirth like Paul's New Testa- ment experience can be read in The Virginian as a case of mental renewal. The psychological development of his characters often reflected the scholarship of his friend, William James, and Wister even noted that an individual like Trampas, whose behavior might once have been at- tributed to demons, could now be explained by what psy- chologists would call a criminal disposition. This overlay of realism has confounded some of Wister' s critics. The mythic Cowboy Hero was never intended to be representa- tive of cowboys in general, but there might have been one like him. Wister said he was one in a thousand. For those western critics who have mistaken the book for a failed at- tempt at realism, the Virginian has some appropriate words: "A Western man is a good thing. And he gener- ally knows that. But he has a heap to learn. And he generally don't know that."^"*

In sum, one is left agreeing with the realist opponents of the novel: The Virginian is not a realistic novel, but then that was never Wister's intent.

On the other hand, the criticism directed against the novel's morality is more complex, and far more important. If Fiedler, De Voto, and others are correct, Americans have made a serious mistake in thrusting forth the cowboy as a central mythic figure; this "sun god in leather pants" might endanger everyone. Does Wister glorify violence, and make a plea for extra-legal solutions to matters of justice? The answer to this question is greatly enhanced by an exploration of Wister's life and writings beyond the narrow confines of The Virginian.

In the new preface to the novel's second edition, Wister declared that if his book was "anything more than an American story, it [was] an expression of American faith." Like most academic critics of the novel, Henry James, writing in 1902, recognized that the story dealt with moral evolution— a cowboy version of Pilgrim's Progress. As the novel develops and the years pass, the Virginian changes and grows into a crusader for justice. By the novel's end he is far different from the wild, carefree young man of the book's early pages. Even Wister's detractors

acknowledge this change, but the question remains, does the Cowboy Hero advocate violence as a standard solu- tion to legal problems? That is the centerpiece of the argu- ment against the novel's morality. ^^

If Fiedler and others had taken the time to investigate Wister's life, they would have found someone most un- likely to author a work which favored primitive violence over the civilized conduct. Wister grew up in a home en- vironment devoted to art and scholarship, and numbered among his friends some of the greatest minds of the nine- teenth century. He was an intimate of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and after receiving his law degree from Har- vard, Wister practiced law in Philadelphia for many years. From his writings on legal matters, one can state that Wister possessed a scholar's knowledge of law and its development. 1*' He felt that the cornerstone of Western Civilization was the Anglo-American legal tradition, and The Virginian should be read as a novel about civilization coming to the frontier.

In his politics, Wister was a progressive Republican and a reformer. Far from being a mouthpiece for the nouveau riche, as Fiedler and Lewis assert, he rallied against their excesses; the Gilded Age had produced far too many primitives, uncivilized barbarians. At the turn of the century, the young author /lawyer became affiliated with a Philadelphia reform movement and even tried to win a seat on the city council. Although unsuccessful as a candidate, he began to write on political subjects. His

14. Payne, Chronicler of the West, pp. 95, 161, 189; Wister, "Concerning 'Bad Men,' " pp. 327-328; and Wister, The Vir;^inuut, p. 498.

15. Wister, The Virginian, new ed. (New York; New American Library, 1979), p. vii; and Vorpahl, "Henry James and Owen Wister," pp. 316-317, 325-326. A hasty reader might conclude that Wister's arti- cle, "The Evolution of the Cow-puncher," Harper's New Monthly Magazine 91 (September 1895): 602-617, supported the supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon race. Wister, however, used the word race as a synonym for culture, making his statements on cultural differences far less offensive. Boatright stated that "Wister subscribed wholeheartedly to the myth of Anglo-Saxon racial superiority," and found Indians, Mexicans, and Jews inferior. Such statements are con- tradicted by Wister in "The Evolution of a Cow-puncher," where he concluded that the typical cow-puncher was not compatible with the progress of civilization for "he has never made a good citizen, but only a good soldier . . ."A number of Wister's fictional characters, such as Scipio LeMoyne (a mulatto) are minorities with noble qualities. Marvin Lewis attributed a caste mentality to Wister, which blinded him to the widespread democratic spirit of the West. Lewis ignored Wister's definition of aristocracy, a joffersonian nieritocrac\', open to anyone with the proper talent and ciiaracter.

I(v Ciuen Wi.ster. RooseivU: Ihe S/cn/ of ti I'nciuiship (New ^ ork; Ihe Mac- millan Company. 1^)30), pp. 128-147; and Owen Wister. llie Pentecost of Cahxniity (New Nork, The Macniillan Compans , I'-Mo), pp. ti2-o3, 69-90.

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

most hard-hitting article attacked corruption and was ti- tled "The Keystone Crime: Pennsylvania's Graft-Cankered Capitol," published in 1907 in Everybody's Magazine. A summary of his views can be found in the preface to The Virginian's second edition (1911), where Wister declared that democracy faced many enemies "both in Wall Street and in the Labor Unions; but those in Wall Street have by their excesses created those in the Unions, they are the worst. ..." While hardly an endorsement for the closed shop, Wister was far from being Fiedler's capitalist tool, nor was his alter ego, the Virginian. ^^

In a slim volume published in 1916, Wister gave his most coherent analysis of the nature of morality and justice. Titled The Pentecost of Calamity, the book made a plea for American involvement in the Great War. Wister argued that the foundations of Western Civilization were at stake in the conflict, and he harshly condemned Woodrow Wil- son's antiwar stance as "the maxims of a low prudence, masquerading as Christianity." The attack on Wilson's neutrality had an analogy in The Virginian, when the Bishop of Wyoming attempted to prevent the duel with Trampas. Wister's critics would have us believe that the Cowboy Hero ignored sound advice in his decision to confront Trampas— still another example of an extra-legal solution. But that does not dovetail with Wister's known regard for justice, and the explanation for this dichotomy can be found in The Pentecost of Calamity. ^^

In his call for American intervention in the Great War, Wister said that the most important thing that might be lost in a German victory would be the western legal system. Those laws were founded on the "doctrines and generalizations of Locke, Montesquieu, Burlamaqui and Beccaria." Beccaria is particularly important for The Vir- ginian for he elaborates in explicit detail on a key question raised in the novel: when is the death penalty justified? The Italian jurist, noted for his advocacy of criminal rehabilitation, believed that all legal systems required a strong infusion of Christian mercy. There existed only one type of case which justified capital punishment, Beccaria wrote. When a rei'olutionary situation existed, the death of a particular individual might be necessary if that person held such power as to endanger the nation's safety. In the preface, Wister had stated that The Virginian was a colonial

17. Payne, Chronicler of the West, pp. 257-262; Wister, "The Keystone Crime: Pennsylvania's Graft-Cankered Capitol," Everybody's Magazine (October 1907): 435-448; and Wister, The Virginian, p. vii.

18. Wister, The Perttecost of Calamity, pp. 140-141.

romance, and by the time of the showdown with Tram- pas, Beccaria's revolutionary climate existed within the Wyoming colony. Trampas' career extended beyond rustling and murder, with the rustler element controlling county governments and their courts, and opposing the governor and those fighting for statehood. Trampas con- stituted an individual whose existence endangered Wyo- ming statehood under Beccaria's strict definitions. >''

Beccaria's Of Crimes and Punishments also discusses the subject of honor and dueling. "The most effective way of preventing this crime (dueling) is to punish the aggressor ..." stated Beccaria, "and to declare innocent the man, who for no fault of his own, has been forced to defend what existing laws do not secure to him, that is to say the opinion entertained of him by others." When Trampas slandered the Virginian, calling him a cattle rustler, and issued his challenge, he became the aggressor. The opposite of a plea for extra-legal violence, Wister's story follows closely the Italian jurist's ideas in an almost formula fashion. Readers should not be surprised that The Virginian, a book written by a sophisticated, thoughtful lawyer, would take a technical approach to an apparently simple subject.-''

If the duel with Trampas was within the law, what about the lynching of the rustlers? Of course, Beccaria does not call for capital punishment for crimes like rustling; he urges restitution rather than incarceration. But in Wyoming in the 1880s, one was dealing with a primitive American civilization emerging from the wilderness— "a space across which Noah and Adam might have come straight from Genesis," declares the novel's narrator. The Code of the West equated with the Mosaic Law, and just as Mosaic Law eventually was transformed into a more humane legal system so would the harsh laws of the frontier give way.^^

Literary critics have often charged that Wister glorified vigilante justice, but Wister never condoned lynch law, ex- cept as a temporary expedient required in fledgling societies. Wyoming, in the novel, undergoes a fast-paced economic, social, and political evolution, and as the region changes, so does the leading character, the Virginian. By the novel's conclusion, the Virginian has evolved into an

19. Ibid., p. 62; and Cesare Beccaria, Of Crimes and Punishments, trans, by Jane Grigson (London: Oxford University Press, 1964), pp. 45-49.

20. Beccaria, Of Crimes and Punishments, p. 72.

21. Wister, The Virginian, p. 13. Most legal scholars draw a sharp distinc- tion between the execution of rustlers and Ku Klux Klan lynchings. For example see Wayne Gard, Frontier fustice (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1949), p. vi.

OWEN WISTER AND HIS CRITICS

Big Nose George Panott, although not a cattle rustler, did suffer what luam/ believe to be the most typical adimiiisteruig of justice in the West, a lynching.

American version of a knight of the Grail, and serves as an agent of civilization helping to bring the frontier to an end.

The central event in the Cowboy Hero's spiritual prog- ress is the lynching of Steve, an old friend lured into rust- ling. In "The Cottonwoods," chapter thirty-one, the Vir- ginian and his fellow vigilantes hang Steve and Ed, while the villain Trampas escapes. Although he fulfilled the let- ter of the Code of the West, the Virginian was filled with self-recrimination. As he rides away from the execution scene, the Virginian does not even seem like the same character of the early novel. "He gave a sob," stated the tenderfoot narrator, and was "utterly overcome." The Virginian, in mental and emotional turmoil, struggles with

the justice of the hanging. The narrator, in a role reversal, expounds upon the necessity of the Code of the West in a primitive land. Throughout the novel, while the Virginian has been developing the more civilized (feminine) side of the character, the narrator has been engaged in an opposite pilgrimage becoming more masculine. As the tenderfoot and the Virginian ride away from the cottonwoods where the execution took place, the Virginian continues to brood about Steve and that night in the mountains he falls asleep only to dream of his dead friend who asks: "Do \'ou think ycHi're fit to live?"-"

22. Wister, 77/r \7/xn/ 1 iti'iMiN' lntluiMHi.v

, pp. 401-41 pp. 49-51.

iiid Ihompson, "Musical aiid

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

Steve's dream question recalls Portia's reply to Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, which was another of Wister's favorites: "Therefore, Jew, though justice be thy plea, con- sider this, that in the course of justice none of us should see salvation: we do pray for mercy." The cowboy has moved far away from the western code in wishing to have shown the rustlers mercy. For Wister, mercy was the most important ingredient in justice, and in this attitude he closely followed the ideas of Montesquieu, whom he greatly admired.

The critics who have condemned Wister for support- ing lynch law either have not read with care the relevant passages or they are taking a modern image of the cowboy and superimposing it back on the Virginian. After his ex- periences on "Superstition Trail," chapter thirty-two, one feels certain that the Virginian would never again be involved in lynching cattle thieves. In his moral evolution, he had realized that the punishment must fit the crime. In 1940, four decades after the publication of The Virgmian, Walter Van Tilburg Clark in The Ox-Bow Incident would again concentrate an important western novel around the lynching of cattle rustlers. Clark's novel took a more direct approach to its subject— the wrong men are hanged— and therefore his work did not lend itself to misinterpretation.

In conclusion, one wonders why so many non- academic readers of The Virginian have failed to see the work's subtlety. The answer seems to be that a number of famous critics were so familiar with formula western that they failed to suspect The Virginian might be a serious work worthy of careful reading and extensive analysis. More- over, since The Virginian's turn-of-the-century publication, thousands of westerns have appeared as books, films and television programs, causing the novel's complexity to become lost under an avalanche of simple-minded melo- drama. Then during the 1950s and 1960s, intellectuals grew uncertain about national morality; assassinations, cor- porate corruption, the Korean and Vietnam wars, en- vironmental pollution, and racism seemed the hallmarks of American life. The western, particularly western movies, began to reflect this inner darkness. Pop writers and scholars, like Fiedler, looked back at the genre's origin and

said that if the novel The Virginian had spawned the glorification of American violence, then the Virginian, the Cowboy Hero, must embody all those negative traits. Of course, there does exist an element of truth in this view, for the book does indeed contain cowboys with all of the negative characteristics. But Fiedler and De Voto failed to make a basic distinction when they libeled the Cowboy Hero, calling him the literary archetype of negative values. The cowboys described by Wister's critics were the villains of The Virginian, not the drawling hero. Those black-hatted men, personified by Trampas, were indeed outside the law, crude and violent individuals. Perhaps the darker image of the West that emerged in the sixties spoke more truthfully to modern times and concerns but that was not the argument made by Wister's critics about his book.

It now seems ironic that Fiedler and De Voto could have attributed the values of Trampas to the Virginian, but they never examined the novel from an historical perspec- tive. Most likely, it was yet another case of allowing pre- sentist images to cloud and distort the past. While these writers thought they were studying the origin of the Cowboy Hero, they failed to use historical research tech- niques; they never subjected the work to content analysis, nor did they bother to study Wister's life and writings in depth. If they had approached The Virginian as a reflection of the deepest values of a highly sophisticated intellectual, they would have discovered a far different book— one which extolled the values of law and civilization over the violent and primitive.

GERALD THOMPSON, Professor of Histon/ at the University of Toledo, is a specialist in Western American History and Native American Studies. He is the author of The Army and the Navajo: The Bosque Redondo Reserva- tion Experiment, 1863-1868 and Edward F. Beale and the American West. From 1 984 to 1 990 he was the editor of Phi Alpha Theta 's jou rnal, The Historian. His current research is focused on mining in the Far Southwest and on cultural studies relating to the West, such as this article about Owen Wister's The Virginian.

10

UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION:

100 Years of Service to the State

by Johanna Nel and Johannes E. Nel

On a cold winter's day, 101 years ago, the Legislature of Wyoming made history when they placed the control of the appropriations from the Morrill and Hatch acts of Congress into the hands of the Board of Trustees of the University of Wyoming. This started a chain of reactions directly responsible for the education of thousands of peo- ple living in the remote areas of Wyoming. The passing of this act on January 10, 1891, enabled the university to establish an agricultural experiment station which activated the creation and dissemination of scientific information to the farmers and ranchers of the state. At a significant time like this it seems appropriate to pause and look back at the historical roots of an institution that played such a major role in the provision of educational opportunities to the people of Wyoming. 1

Eighteen years after the creation of Wyoming Territory, the University of Wyoming was established in 1886, as a result of appropriations made by the Morrill Act of 1862 and the Land Act of 1881. Work was begun with much en- thusiasm and great expectations, but the pioneer years were difficult. Fortunately, the university had a small but able faculty who performed not only the duties "properly belonging to their respective chairs, but cheerfully accepted extra burdens when important to the general success of the institution. "2 In their concern for the continuing educa- tion of citizens living in remote areas, for instance, they

1. "President's Annual Report," University iif Wydming, l'^)!'-), p. I"-); Wyoming Farm Bulletin, 1917, p. 2.

2. "Report of the Trustees to Ciovernor WcU'ren," University ot Wyo- ming, 1889, p. 6.

arranged for the establishment of extension centers in several towns alongside the railroad. ^

At the turn of the century, farmers and ranchers in Wyoming had extensive learning needs. Large numbers of settlers who knew very little about stockraising or agriculture in general came to Wyoming through the home- steading program. 4 They lacked both farming skills and cultural enrichment.^ The purpose of this article is to describe the early efforts on behalf of agricultural extension to help settlers to survive both physically and culturally, and to illustrate the events leading up to the establishment of the Cooperative Extension Service in 1914.^

By 1900 the number of homesteads in Wyoming grew to 3,549, and in 1920 16,669 were listed by the Bureau of Land Management. The university realized these farmers and ranchers were desperately in need of agricultural education." However, it was not until the Legislature of Wyoming placed the control of the appropriations from the Morrill and Hatch acts into the hands of the trustees, that

A. A. Johnson and G. Hebard, "Wyoming Uni\ersitv Extension

Association," 1889, American Heritage Center, University of

Wyoming.

"Eighteenth Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station,

1907, p. 23; C. T. Brady, Rccollcctious of a Missiouan/ in the Great Went

(New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900).

Brady, Recollections of a Missionary.

The Ranchtuan's Reminder, 1905, p. 15; "Eighteenth Annual Report

of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1907, p. 25; "Twenty-Third

Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1912, p. 19;

Wyomiji;^ Farm Bulletin, February 1914; February 1915; Proceedings

of the American Association of Farmers Institute Workers Z' U^U.

11

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

the first attempt could be made to disseminate agricultural information to the rural population. These two acts made provision for the support of agricultural colleges and for the acquiring and diffusing among the people of the United States, useful and practical information on subjects connected with agriculture, and to promote scientific investigation and experi- ments respecting the principle and application of agricultural science.*

These appropriations enabled the university to establish an experiment station and six sub-stations. On March 27, 1891, Dice McClaren, former professor of natural history at the Maryland Agricultural College, was ap- pointed as the first Director of Experiment Stations.

Agricultural personnel began in earnest to do experi- ments and to study the special problems connected with arid and high altitude lands. ^ Since Wyoming was a pioneering state, agricultural knowledge regarding farm- ing and ranching under Wyoming conditions did not exist. Officials thus had to "create" the knowledge through research and experimentation before they could carry it out to the farmers and ranchers of the state. As results of research became available, the information was published and distributed to rural adults by way of Bulletins, '^^ and through a monthly journal called the Ranchman's Reminder,

"Eighteenth Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1907, p. 23. "Many of these settlers are wholly unacquainted with the business of irrigating the land, while in the districts where dry farming is to be practiced, there is need of careful and thorough in- struction on the principles of cultivation and care of crops to be grown under our western conditions. There is a demand for scientific in- struction along the various lines that are being undertaken by these new settlers, such as irrigation, dairying, stock feeding, stock breeding, control for alkali, rotation and cultivation of crops, veterinary subjects, and other questions of a scientific nature which may arise from time to time."

Dice McClaren, "Wyoming Experiment Station: The Organization and the Proposed Work of the Station," Bulletin No. 1, May 1891, p. 3; "Sixteenth Annual Report," 1906, p. 9. The two Morrill acts (1862 and 1890) established and supported agricultural colleges, while the Hatch Act of 1887 appropriated fifteen thousand dollars annually to each state for scientific research in agriculture and the dissemina- tion of the results through bulletins to be sent free to residents upon request. "Sixth Annual Report of Wyoming Experiment Station," 1896. The Morrill Act, approved August 30, 1890, was to aid agricultural colleges and the Hatch Act for establishing agricultural experiment stations.

"Thirteenth Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1902-1903, p. 7.

"First Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1891, pp. 99-100; "Thirteenth Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1902-1903, p. 8. By 1902 fifty-seven bulletins had been published.

I

Entered as second-class matter. July 16, 1911, at the Post Office at Laramie. Wyomins.

Sent free to residents of the State upon request.

Aven Nelson. President. University of Wyu.

^" i^,,^"'''"* ^«**»- Agricultural College

>-. S. Barrage. Secretary. University of Wyo.

Extension Staff

Administration

r' w ^»T° ---Director and Editor

H ,\PJ^^^ Administrative Anistant

Hazel McCrory Assistant Clwlc

f^l r"'^^; Assistant Clerk

Lottie C. Freely AsBistant Omtk

Cedle Brandt Assistant Qerk

State SpeciaUsU

J. D. McVean Animal Huslwndry. Laramie

T. S. Parsons. .Crops and Soils, Laramie Kr" ^ J»ck»on..Rodent Control Work. Laiwnle

N. E. Luce Poultryman. Laramie

Cennty Agnealtaral Agent WoA Frank P. Lane. Acting State Leader. Laramie Wendell Calhoun. __Big Horn County, Basin Philip B. Mile8....Campl)ell County. Gillette

M. B. Boissevain Fremont County, Lander

Earle G. Reed Laramie County, Cheyenne

M. O. Maughan Lincoln County, Afton

John C. Hays Natrona County, Casper

J. Carl Laney Niobrara County, Lusk

Geo. C. Burekhalter, Platte Co., WheatUnd

™ J- Thomas Sheridan County, Sheridan

W. H. Carrington, Jr.. Uinta Co., Evanstoa

John T. Weaver..Wa8hakie County. Worland

Geo. F. Holmsteed.. Weston County. Newcastle

Boys' and Girls' Club Work

Ivan L. Hobson State Leader. Laramie

Paul H. Dupertui8..A88i8Unt Leader, Laramie

Emily Linhoff Assistant Leader. Laramie

L. A. Marks..EmerKency Assistant. Laramie County Home Demonstration Work

Margueritte Allen

Acting State Leader. Laramie

Nelle E. Huff Big Horn County. Basin

Helen L. Corliss Fremont County. Lander

Katharine E. Bennitt.. Laramie Co.. Cheyenne Gertrude Gibbens. Platte County, Wheatland Edith Ramsey Sheridan County, Sheridan

Agricultural officials at the University of Wyoming in the early 1900s published the results of their research and experiments first in the Ranch- man's Reminder and then in The Wyoming Farm Bulletin. By 1913 the circulation of the Bulletin urns 11,500.

which provided ranchers with the latest in scientific discoveries. In 1911 the Ranchman's name was changed to the Wyoming Farm Bulletin, and by 1913 the circulation was reported to be 11,500. Efforts were geared towards solv- ing questions in the "interests of the ranchman and the farmer, so that they might intelligently cultivate such crops as may be successfully grown."" Funding was, however, a problem, as can be seen from the amount of correspon- dence that passed between Washington and Laramie

11. "Fifth Annual Report of the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station," 1895, p. 29.

12

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

regarding federal agricultural appropriations. ^2 jj-, September, 1902, the university took possession of the old penitentiary property in Laramie, and converted it into an experiment farm for the Agricultural College." In January, 1907, the Ninth State Legislature of Wyoming donated it to the university, in addition to a sum of $5,000 to be used in repairing the buildings and putting the farm in condi- tion for the livestock work of the station.^"*

Evidence indicates that the staff carried a heavy load. Not only were they teaching in the College of Agriculture, but they also had to do research, write informational bulletins, and handle a great deal of correspondence. ^^ They also went out on expeditions to gather information which could be passed on to the farmers and ranchers of Wyoming. 1^ Dr. Aven Nelson, professor of botany, re- ported in 1896 that three expeditions were carried out that year. In making these collections, professors and helpers had to travel sixteen hundred miles by rail, 184 miles by stage, and about 275 miles with camp outfits. The effort was regarded as worthwhile, however, since an increas- ing number of adults asked for information, and members of the faculty reported that the correspondence of the department was constantly increasing, and that letters on "various botanical subjects such as weeds and the deter- mination of other plants" were frequently received. All of these received "prompt attention and the best information at hand on the subject of the inquiry. "'^

The greatest effort towards education for farmers and ranchers at the turn of the century remained geared to- wards the writing and distribution of educational Bulletins. The agriculture department found that the spread-out nature of the population and the vast distances to travel, left professors no choice but to resort to the mail service

12. Commissioner of Education to Stephen W. Downey, April 17, 1895, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

13. "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1904-1905, p. 26.

14. "Seventeenth Annual Report of the Experiment Station of Wyo- ming," 1906-1907, p. 22; "Nineteenth Annual Report of the Experi- ment Station of Wyoming," 1908-1909, p. U.

15. "Thirteenth Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1902-1903, p. 3.

16. "First Annual Report of Wyoming Experiment Station," 1891, pp. 3-4. Four bulletins were published the first year. By 1896 thirty-one had been published. By 1902 the number had increased to fifty-seven,

17. "Sixth Annual Report of Wyoming Experiment Station," 1896, p. 16; the Rock Springs Rocket, February 16, 1912, announced that Dr. Nelson had issued a special bulletin "which contains indispensable information to stock growers," and that it would be mailed free of charge upon request.

in order to reach adults living in remote areas. Press releases, varying in length from approximately two columns to three paragraphs, were also sent to the news- papers in Wyoming on a regular basis.

In 1909 Director Towar reported that, with the grow- ing importance of the experiment station, farmers and ranchers were increasingly turning to the university as a source of information. Numerous letters of inquiry were reaching the staff every day. Literally "hundreds of per- sonal letters were written," pertaining to soil conditions, how to handle various crops, kinds of animals to use for dairying— in fact "all manner of questions relative to agriculture."'^ While it was frequently possible to answer questions by the mailing of a Bulletin dealing with specific problems, a large amount of work was nevertheless in- volved in replying to the letters of farmers and ranchers. Although extremely time consuming, the experiment staff regarded it as their proper function. ''*

An important step in disseminating agricultural knowl- edge was taken in March, 1904, when the first short course for "the benefit of ranchmen and farmers who were unable to be in residence at the university for the longer course, " was offered by the university. ^o A short course was defined as consisting of a

regular system of instruction, usually by lecture and laboratory methods, to be pursued for a number of days. Such courses commonly cover brief practical instruction in stock or grain judg- ing taking up such additional information as may be timely and useful. Such courses should last from one to two weeks. ^i

The short course filled a specific need of farmers, ranch- ers, and their wives and was, since its inception in 1904, well attended. At the first short course 173 adults signed up to learn about irrigation and stock management. Hav- ing personally attended a short course, Governor Bryant B. Brooks recommended that the short course "be put on wheels," so that more people could benefit from it. As a result of his efforts, the 1905 Wyoming Legislature made an appropriation of $2,000 to pay the expenses of farmers' institutes to be held in different parts of the state. Unfor- tunately, none of the Hatch Act appropriations could be used for such a purpose.

18. A. E. Bowman, "Agricultural Extension Work in Wyoming: .Xn Open Letter," January 27, 1915, p. 3.

19. "Twentieth Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1909-1910, pp. 11-12: Trosident's Annual Report.' 1'-'15, p. (r stated that "practical bulletins were distributed in large numbers.

20. "Twelve and Thirteenth Annual Report ot the President ot the Liniver- sity of Wyoming," I'-HH. p 5.

21. The Ramhituitrs Rniinuict. 1^05, p. 15.

13

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

The Ranchman defined an institute as "a meeting of farmers or ranchmen for one or more days in which sub- jects of special interest are discussed by them and others may be invited to take part in, or lead the discussions with papers or lectures. "^^ It promised farmers and ranchers that "wherever a group of farmers or ranchmen can be gathered together for a few days of conference on the subject of stock judging, stock feeding, irrigation, and the like, university professors will be sent to lecture and conduct practical demonstrations."-^

The first farmers' institute took place on March 29-31, 1905, in Cody, 24 a town 360 miles from Laramie. In spite of the season being "somewhat advanced for institute work, as nearly all the ranchmen in the neighborhood of Cody had begun spring's work," the attendance was "re- markably good. "25 Seven sessions were held, with seventy farmers and ranchers attending during the day, and two hundred during the evening. Evening lectures were illus- trated by stereopticon views, and all lectures about stock judging were given with "representative animals in the ring." At the conclusion of the institute the three instruc- tors declared that it was "well worth the effort," in spite of the fact that it took them two and one-half days by train to get there.

An extended institute tour was offered from February 20 to March 13. The agricultural team, consisting of Pro- fessors Buffum, George Morton, and Aven Nelson, trav- eled more than four hundred miles by stage and wagon, and a thousand miles by rail in bad weather conditions to conduct a number of institutes requested by various groups. Fortunately, according to the Ranchman, the men, being "accustomed to sage brush for thirty years," were able to survive

four-horse runaways, narrow escapes from wrecks and tipovers, occasional but real hostile people, travel through a vast unsettled territory in an unusual blizzard, mountain passes filled with snow drifts, frozen faces and chilled feet, forty mile rides with the temperature below zero in wind and snow and of some meals absent and other grateful ones of Indian cookery and horse meat. "2''

As an example of the eagerness of the farmers for the help afforded by the institute. Brown tells the story of a Sheridan man who, after listening to the opening lecture by Buffum on stock-judging, telephoned his partner liv- ing seven miles out of town that the institute was worth attending. The friend consequently walked the seven miles in order to be present at the evening session. ^^

The cost to the state fund of these different institutes seemed to vary according to the distance the university lec- turers had to travel. The above mentioned Wheatland farmers' institute, for instance, ran up a cost of $79.25 to the state fund while the amount for the Buffalo institute came to $250.50.^8 Evidence seems to indicate that the railroads had furnished the lecturers with free transporta- tion prior to 1907. When this was withdrawn, farmers' in- stitutes became much more costly to the university and university officials declared that the work could not be done without the help of state appropriations. 2''

The first lecture for women at a farmers' institute was presented at the Wheatland institute, held November 21-23, 1907.^'^ When Professor Minna Stoner, then head of the home economics department, spoke to the women on the topic of "Domestic Science and Education," she made home economics history. Her presentation became the unofficial start of the university's home economics exten- sion work. It was the first time at which the latest knowledge in homemaking was brought directly to the women who faced problems in their homes. It also repre- sented the university's first use of the "family approach" in extension work.^^ On February 27, 1908, Stoner again addressed the women at the Laramie farmers' institute. ^^ According to Bowman, county institutes from then on usually included a speaker carrying an educational message to women. ^^

In 1910 farmers' institute work came to all but a stand- still when Governor Brooks vetoed a four thousand dollar appropriation for institute extension work.'*'* In spite of the lack of funding, the university tried to keep the interest in farmers' institutes alive during the next two years. By

22. The Ranchman's Reminder, 1905, p. 15; "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1908-1909, p. 84.

23. The Ranchman's Reminder, 1905, p. 1.

24. "Fifteenth Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1904-1905, p. 20.

25. The Ranchman's Reminder, 1905, p. 28.

26. The Editor, 1906, Notes on February and March Institutes; The Ranch- man's Reminder, p. 21.

27. The Ranchman's Reminder, 1905, p. 36.

28. The Ranchman's Reminder, 1905, p. 36.

29. The Ranchman's Reminder, 1907, pp. 34, 36.

30. "Eighteenth Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1907-1908, p. 25.

31. Fifty Golden Years of Home Economics in Wyomiii\^, p. 13.

32. Wilson O. Clough, A History of the University of Wyomin^i 1887-1937 (Laramie, Wyoming: Laramie Printing Press, 1937), p. 90.

33. Bowman, Agricultural Extension Work, p. 37.

34. The Ranchman's Reminder, March 1911, p. 32.

14

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

1913 the work resumed again when the Legislature appro- priated ten thousand dollars to be expended for extension work in agriculture for the biennium 1913-1915.

The Catalogue announced that the farmers' institutes were to be an important element of the extension work dur- ing the 1913-1914 college year.^^ By 1915 the university had reached the point where they could say that "there are few towns in Wyoming now that have not at some time had a farmers' institute. "^^ Demands for meetings were so numerous that it was "taxing the resources of the exten- sion division and the agricultural college faculty and experi- ment station staff to meet them." It was promised, however, that requests would be met as far as possible, "in the order they are received. "^^ Even though twenty- six more towns were reached during 1915 than the previous year the university was still not able to fulfill all the requests for farmers' institutes they had received. ^^

Reminiscing about the early trials and tribulations of the farmers' institutes, a 1915 Farm Bulletin tells about local people who had little conception of the purpose of such meetings, and how they have showed a spirit of coopera- tion and initiative in spite of not knowing what was ex- pected of them. Some groups provided a picnic dinner in which everybody joined, others added a program of music and short talks by local people. In 1916, 8,414 persons at- tended farmers' institutes in Wyoming, ^^ and in 1917, County Agent A. H. Tedmon reported that fifty-one meet- ings had been held during the month of January in Big Horn County as part of its institute schedule. With an attendance of 2,854 persons, this was the largest number they had since the institutes started. ^o

In the 1908-1909 Catalogue the university announced it was contemplating an enlargement of the farmers' in- stitute system by conducting, for a week or more, a short school of agriculture in the larger agricultural centers in Wyoming. The plan was to place a faculty member at the school, who would remain there through the entire period and do a considerable portion of the lecturing and demon- stration. He would be assisted by other lecturers who would spend two to three days giving demonstrations in

35. "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1914.

36. "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1915, p. 114.

37. "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1915, p. 114.

38. Wi/oniin^'^ Farm Bulletin, September 1915.

39. "President's Annual Report," 1916, p. 20; "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1917, p. 300.

40. Wi/omitj;^ Farm Bulletin, Marcii 1917, p. 136,

ANNOUNCEMENT

OF A

Farmers' and Ranchmen's

SHORT COURSE

January 6th to 17th, 1913

THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING

LARAMIE. WYOMING

Agricultural Chemistry ^ Dean H. G. Knight

Animal Breeding, Breeds and Feeding Prof. A. F. Faville

Stock Judging _ Prof. A. D. Faville, Dr. R. H Prien,

and Mr. James McLay Soils, Crops and Groping „ - _ Prof. T. S. Parsons Veterinary Elements _ _ . _ Dr. R. H, Prien

Rural Engineering, Prof. J. G. Fitterer and Prof J. S. Parsons Botany - Dr. Aven Nelson

Animal Parasites _ _ _ ^ Dr. L. D. Swingle

Wool _ . _ _ - Prof. J. A. Hill

Dairy Appliances _ Prof. A. D. Faville

ILLUSTRATED EVENING LECTURES

No special preparation necessary. Two weeks hard work for better Agriculture! Glass rooms. Laboratories and Illus- trated Lectures will be open as to regular students. Special work will be assigned ladies in Domestic Science and House- hold Economics.

For information and application blanks, apply to

C, A DUNIWAY. President,

TIlis "Announcement of a Farmers' and Ranchmen's Short Course" was published in the December 1912 issue of The Wyoming Farm Bulletin.

their special fields. The idea was that such schools would take the place of short courses at the university. By bring- ing the school to the students, rather than expecting them to come to the school, the university hoped to improve its services to the people of the state. The first three schools of agriculture were held at Wheatland, Basin, and Buffalo and had a total attendance of 2,125.

The Institute Train was a variation of the farmers' in- stitute. Several states used this train during the early years of the twentieth century as a means of extending agri- cultural knowledge to adults in rural areas. In some states the institute train was called the "institute special, " "corn special," or "institute on wheels." BasicalK', the idea was to equip a train with exhibits, equipment, and machiner\'.

15

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

as well as instructors and speakers, and send it along the railway lines to the various parts of the state. The train was to stop for a stated time at each station; it could take a week or even two during its journey throughout the state. *^

The university planned to have various professors travel with the train in order to give lectures and demon- strations. Among these persons would be the state expert in dry farming, the professor of animal husbandry, the pro- fessor of irrigation engineering, the professor of domestic science, and "others who can be of service. ""^^ Consisting of two passenger cars, a baggage car, and two private cars for the accommodation of those accompanying the train, the Ranchman's Special, as it was called, made its first stop at Harrison, Nebraska, on October 19, 1909. From there it went to Shoshoni, which is in the center of Wyoming, making nineteen stops along the route, allowing thirty- seven hundred people to look at all the exhibits and to listen to the lectures on dry land agriculture.

Short talks were given to those people who passed through the cars, and at two or three places meetings were held in the towns during the evening. The idea of an ed- ucational train was so well received that the university, upon completion of the tour, decided to make arrange- ments to operate a similar train over the Burlington lines. ^^

In December, 1915, the Wyoming Farm Bulletin reported that the "livestock and Better Farming Demonstration Train" had, during the month of October, finished a very successful run through Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado.^ Making twenty-six stops in all, the train welcomed 4,821 visitors^^ who came to look at the exhibits and listen to various short lectures. This demonstration train traveled through Wyoming from October 4-16, 1915, reaching its last point in Cheyenne, Wyoming.'*'' Accompanied by four- teen speakers, the train was under the supervision of specialists of the United States Department of Agriculture and the agricultural colleges of the states of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Utah. In addition to the various ex- hibits of wool, and the samples of the various grades of wool, six head of live sheep also went with the train to show farmers the various grades of wool as they appeared

41. ]. D. Towar, "Movable Schools of Agriculture," The Ranchman's Reminder, 1908, p. 92.

42. Ibid., p. 55.

43. Ibid.; "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1911, p. 99.

44. Wyoming Farm Bulletin, December 1915, p. 87.

45. George Boyd and Burton Marston, The Wyoming Agriculture Exten- sion Service and the People Who Made It (1965), p. 51.

46. Wyoming Farm Bulletin, December 1915.

on the sheep. The primary purpose of the tour was "to dispel the common idea that wool was wool and that selec- tion was unnecessary."^^ Follow-up work and assistance was offered to all ranchers and farmers who had visited the train. Interested persons could ask their county agents for more "help and advice, or ask the agricultural college for guidance" along the lines they wished to proceed.

At about the time that the university had made the decision to "bring the school to the student" by way of short courses in different counties. President Charles O. Merica made the observation that "there was much demand upon the part of the settlers in all the newly colonized districts for definite scientific instruction that they can use at once." However, with the funds available for extension, the university was unable to meet this demand. He sug- gested that demonstration farms be established at various places so that farmers could see what the agricultural possibilities were for that specific part of the state. "^^ He saw it as a necessity to help the thousands of people who were coming to the state yearly to create farm homes. These demonstration farms would not be sub-stations owing anything to the federal government, but they would be conducted under the supervision of the agricultural col- lege and supported by state funds. They would not be engaged in the kind of research work as was being carried on by the federal government, which often took years to reach the farmer, but would instead "undertake to discover and publish just what can be done at these places and how to do it."'*'' The farms would not be experiment stations, but rather farms where owners under the guidance of experts from the university, tried to grow the largest possible crop with the least expense, thus demonstrating to fellow farmers what practical techniques could be implemented.

The university was hoping to work in a cooperative way with a number of farmers who would be willing to set aside a certain number of acres, divided into small plots, to be farmed by themselves under the written directions of a superintendent connected with the university. Experi- ments were to be carried out from year to year and the results would be "fully published, setting forth failures as well as successes. "5° Published in simple and direct language, it was believed that these publications would prove to be valuable "text books" for the current and future settlers of Wyoming.

47. Natrona County Tribune, January 27, 1916.

48. "President's Report to the Board of Trustees," 1909-1910.

49. The Ranchman's Reminder, August 1910, p. 57.

50. The Ranchman's Reminder, August 1910, p. 57.

16

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

The sole purpose of the demonstration farm was to grow the largest possible crop with the least expense, and to demonstrate what practical things could be done. Only those crops that were reasonably certain to prove successful would be grown. 51 The rationale for having the farmer do the work himself, was that when "other neighboring farmers see an ordinary farmer doing the work and some- thing extra good comes out of it," they appreciate the fact and realize that it is for them to avail themselves of these better methods. ^^

Apparently several farmers cooperated with the uni- versity in this project. A report, issued in 1916 by the Department of County Agricultural Agents, mentioned that the state leader had visited ten demonstration farms during that year."

It should be noted that interest in extension work was growing throughout the United States at the turn of the

century. Many institutions had agricultural extension departments and were using movable schools and agri- cultural trains as methods to carry university extension to rural areas. From time to time federal appropriations were made to supplement state funding for agricultural educa- tion. In 1912 an important step was taken to establish an extension division at the University of Wyoming when a Memorandum of Agreement was drawn up between the Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture and the College of Agriculture, providing for Cooperative Farm Management studies and field demonstrations. It was agreed that the salary and expenses of a state leader and an assistant state leader would be

51. The Rmicluiimi's Reminder, October 1911, pp. 63-64; June 1911, pp. 47-48.

52. The Ranchman's Rennmier, December 1911, p. 6.

53. Wyoming Farm Bulletin, March 1916, p. 132.

Governor Bryant B. Brooke (hand on rail) joined ^tafj from the ilnireri^ih/ of W'l/oniin^^ on this special exhibit tram irhuh trai'eU\l the state dti the earhi 19005.

17

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

shared by both parties. To start the work, Henry Knight, dean of the College of Agriculture and director of the Ex- periment Station, became acting state leader on November 25, 1912, with Albert E. Bowman as assistant state leader. ^^ Two county agents were also appointed.

Describing to rural adults what was meant by the term farm management, and what the university's educational role was to be, the June, 1912, issue of the Wyoming Farm Bulletin explained that the university instructor starts with the assumption the farmer understands his own farm bet- ter than anyone else. The farm is taken as a unit and studied in its relationship to the business and social world with its various and changing needs. In cooperation with the farmer, the farm management official tried to find answers to questions concerning the best type of farming in each locality, the best arrangement of buildings, roads and fields, the most profitable cropping system, the kind and number of animals to be kept, the best farm equip- ment, the cost of production, and the most profitable amount and distribution of labor. ^^

The next step in the cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Plant Industry and the university was the appointment of a county agent. Regarded as a most im- portant factor in the cooperative agreement for extension work in agriculture and home economics, the United States Department of Agriculture was willing to provide twelve hundred dollars per annum towards the support of an agri- cultural agent in any county who would agree by contract to appropriate at least the same amount per year. The university had to supervise the work through the state leader. 56

In a lengthy article which appeared in a 1913 issue of the Sheridan Post, D.W. Working, who was, at that time, in charge of farm management for the United States govern- ment in the district comprising Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, explained the new profession of "county agriculturist." We are required to work with farmers— to study with them rather than to study for them, so we become partners with the farmers to whom we are sent. They give us facts; we give them facts; and then they and we try to find the meaning of the facts as they may apply for good or harm on the farmer's own farm.'^

Sketching the characteristics of a good county agriculturist. Working listed the following qualifications and personal characteristics as being indispensable:

He is a man who must l<now the farm from the farmer's stand- point, who must know the sciences that serve agriculture, from the standpoint of the scientist, and who must have the gift of gumption that enables a man to translate sound theory into correct practice.

Having found a man so prepared for service and having the graces of spirit, and the graciousness of manner that enables the man of learning to win and retain the liking and respect of dogs and children and common men— then we have a man fit to associate on an equal basis with farmers and others in- terested in better agriculture and more wholesome life in the country.

He is a man who prefers not to give advice, choosing rather to present the facts that every man may be his own advisor. He prefers not to tell men how to do things, choosing rather to ask questions and to offer hints that will lead every man to discover the how for himself.'*

In the same vein. Professor Oviatt, state leader of farm management, argued that "the mission of the county agri- culturist was to study, that he may teach." Since the idea of better business and better farming "spreads from farm to farm," he believed that "farmers were their own teachers. "5'' On May 13, 1913, the first county agent was appointed in Wyoming. ^° With a great deal of energy, engaging personality, and tactfulness, A. L. Campbell soon won the respect, confidence, and cooperation of the farm- ers and ranchers in Fremont County. During the first year of his appointment, he traveled 5,208 miles by train, horse- back, buggy, and motorcycle building up a total cost of $552.65. His first annual report showed that 1,902 miles were done by motorcycle, 1,118 miles by team and saddle horse, 2,078 miles by railroad, and 110 miles by auto- mobile.^^ The Twenty -fourth Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station commented on the fact that Campbell had brought "enthusiasm to the farmers and had suc- ceeded in introducing many new methods which have proven to be profitable for the farmer. "^^

In the 1914 Catalogue, the university expressed the hope that it would be possible to place eventually an agricultural

54. "Twenty-Third Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1912-1913, p. 19; Bowman, "Agricultural Extension Work"; Wyoming Farm Bidletm, March 1913, p. 293; "President's Annual Report," 1914, p. 13,

55. Wyoming Farm Bulletin, June 1912, pp. 163-165.

56. "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1914, p. 209.

57. Sheridan Post, July 22, 1913.

58. Sheridan Post, July 22, 1913; Wyoming Farm Bulletin, September 1915.

59. Sheridan Post, October 21, 1913; "President's Report to the Trustees," 1914, p. 13.

60. "Twenty-Third Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1912-1913, p. 19; "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1914, p. 22; Laramie Boomerang, January 29, 1915.

61. Bowman, "Agricultural Extension Work," pp. 6-13.

62. "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1914, p. 104.

18

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

agent in every county of the state. Among the great sup- porters of extension during this period were Henry Knight and Albert E. Bowman. Knight, who became the first dean of agriculture in 1912, also acted as director of the experi- ment station and professor of agricultural chemistry. ^^ Bowman came to the university in January, 1913, and started his work in extension with great enthusiasm. As assistant state leader in farm management, demonstra- tions, and investigations he practiced grass roots teaching by going into homes and fields.^'* It was told of him that he got up with the family at 5 a.m., helped with the milk- ing, feeding, and other chores and then proceeded to tour the ranch and make suggestions on watering meadows, increasing the hay crop, and so on.^^ On July 1, 1913, Charles Oviatt was appointed as state leader of extension, succeeding Knight, who had served as acting state leader under the memorandum between the university and the Bureau of Plant Industry. A second county agent, H. E. McCartney, was appointed on July 11, 1913, and assigned to work in Sheridan County.*'^ In 1914 Allen Tedmon became the county agent for both Big Horn and Washakie counties; this did not work out, however, and after a seven months trial he was assigned exclusively to Big Horn.*^^

In 1914 the Smith-Lever Act was passed which provided money for the states and territories to conduct cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics. The state of Wyoming was to receive ten thousand dollars for the year beginning July 1, 1914, with an increase of $1,249.20 per year for seven years. Dr. A. C. True explained the act as follows:

The work called for in this act is of a strictly educational character, as an extension of the educational functions of the colleges to persons not resident in the colleges. It is to be primarily instruction and demonstration and secondarily, the imparting of information, and this work must be confined to the subjects of agriculture and home economics.''*

63. Clough, History of the University of Wyoming, pp. 88, 107, 120.

64. Marston and Boyd, The Wyoming Agriculture Extension Service, p. 10.

65. Ibid., p. 11.

66 . ' Twenty-Third Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station, 1912-1913, p. 19; "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1914, p. 222.

67. Bowman, "Agricultural Extension Work," p. 16; Laramie Daily Boomerang, January 29, 1915.

68. "Proceedings of the 19th Annual Meeting of the American Associa- tion of Farmers' Institute Workers," November 9-11, 1914, Washington, D.C., p. 108.

These fanners were thrashing grain at a)\ exferinieiitnl farm in C//ci/c;;;;c /// I'U I.

19

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

He argued that farmers' institutes could be considered within the provision of this law only so far as they may be agencies through which the colleges can carry on the educational work called for in this act.^'* Bowman became the director of the Cooperative Agricultural Extension Ser- vice and immediately started to assemble a competent staff of subject matter specialists to work among the farm and ranch people, and to assist county agents as they were appointed in various counties.

Blanche M. Olin was appointed as state demonstrator in home economics in September, 1914, and through demonstrations, lectures, and discussions she helped to educate large numbers of women regarding better home practices. The rationale for this appointment was explained in the Catalogue:

Believing that the prosperity and happiness of a home depend as much upon the skill and intelligence of women as upon the earning power of men, a Home Economics demonstrator has been added to the agricultural extension force. She demonstrates labor saving devices, household decoration, and methods of preparing foods, balance rations, home dressmak- ing, etc. She works with women in clubs and meetings and individually.^"

In addition to the three county agents, Campbell, H. E. McCartney, and Tedmon, Wyoming had four people who devoted all their time to extension work: a state leader. Bowman, who had general supervision of the work in the state; a dairy expert, E. F. Burton, who helped the dairy and livestock interests; a leader of boys' and girls' clubs, Ivan L. Hobson; and a home economics lecturer and demonstrator, Olin, who looked after the interests of the farm women. ^^

The Farm Bulletin in 1915 announced that a new state leader was appointed since "the agricultural extension work has grown with such great rapidity that it has been impossible for Mr. Bowman, the director of extension, to handle efficiently all of the work."''^ At that time, eight counties had agricultural agents. ^^ Although confident that

69. "Proceedings of the 19th Annual Meeting of the American Associa- tion of Farmers' Institute Workers," p. 108.

70. "University of Wyoming Catalogue," 1915, p. 114; 1916, p. 284.

71. Wyoming Farm Bulletin, February 1915, p. 5; "President's Annual Report," 1914, p. 24.

72. Wyoming Farm Bulletin, July 1915, p. 4.

73. "President's Annual Report," 1915, p. 8; "President Duniway's Report to the Board of Trustees," December 13, 1915, p. 7, stated that Wyoming would have ten or eleven county agents that year.

satisfactory progress had been made. President Clyde Dun- iway felt in 1915 that it was still "too early to speak con- fidently in detail on the results of this system of extension work which has been stimulated by and founded upon the Smith-Lever Act." He believed success depended more upon the "qualifications and character of the individual county agents than upon any other one factor."

County agent work was growing rapidly. An annual report issued in March, 1916, covering a period of eight months, stated, among other things, that the state leader had traveled 16,124 miles by rail, twenty-seven hundred miles by automobile and stage, spent 131 days in the field, and seventy days in his office.^* At this time the agronomist was also reporting that the correspondence work of the office was constantly increasing and that many inquiries concerning farm topics were received every day, and promptly answered, at a rate of "nearly 300 letters per month. "^5

Duniway, in looking back over the two years since the passing of the Smith-Lever Act, remarked in his Annual Report of 1916 that, even though the work cannot be re- duced to statistics, a "striking development had occurred over the past two years. "^^ During World War I Mrs. Mary McFarlane became Wyoming's first female extension spe- cialist. Knight resigned in 1917, and with his departure the university lost the person who had unified the work of the experiment stations in the state. ^^ In 1919 President Aven Nelson stated the educational effort as exerted by Co- operative Extension had been "growing in magnitude and importance from year to year."^^

In conclusion, evidence indicates that University of Wyoming agricultural officials, prior to 1905, relied primar- ily on the mail service for the dissemination of knowledge to adults living on farms and ranches. The results of extensive experimentation and research done on various experimental farms were provided to rural adults by way of bulletins, the Ranchman's Reminder, the Wyoming Farm Bulletin, and various press releases. Agricultural person- nel also handled a tremendous amount of correspondence dealing with questions on farming methods and the rais- ing of stock. In 1904 the first short course for "ranchmen

74. Wyoming Farm Bulletin, March 1916, p. 132.

75. "Twenty-Sixth Annual Report of the Wyoming Experiment Station," 1915-1916, p. 79.

76. "President's Annual Report," 1916, p. 21.

77. W. O. Clough, History of the University of Wyoming, pp. 88, 107, 120.

78. "President's Annual Report," 1919, p. 19.

20

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

and farmers who were unable to be in residence at the uni- versity for the longer courses," was offered on the campus of the university, and in 1909 a number of farmers were persuaded to convert a part of their properties into demon- stration farms. These demonstration units were developed under the direction of agricultural specialists to serve as examples of optimum production units in specific areas.

Farmers' institutes came into being in 1905 and in 1909 the first movable schools of agriculture were held in Wyo- ming. These schools, usually conducted over a period of ten to fourteen days were, in essence, off-campus agri- cultural short courses. An institute train, equipped with agricultural exhibits, equipment, machinery and several in- structors, was introduced in 1909. A variation of the farm- ers' institute, this method of bringing knowledge to rural adults appeared to be successful.

Faculty members were also active at county and state fairs where they served as judges, lecturers, and demon- strators. In 1912 a cooperative agreement was signed be- tween the Bureau of Plant Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture and the College of Agriculture, which provided for cooperative farm management studies and field demonstrations. State leaders and county agents were appointed to study farm and range conditions so as to provide practical knowledge to farmers and ranchers.

Organized agricultural extension grew in Wyoming with rapid strides,^" and in the words of the editor of the Wyo- ming Farm Bulletin, brought knowledge and information, in a form suitable for use, and derived from research done at their own state university to the people of Wyoming. ^° According to him, "the growth of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics in Wyoming was an indication of the popularity of education for all . . . the people's verdict of the value of this kind of service. "^^

79. "President's Annual Report for the Year 1918-1919, University of Wyo- ming Bulletin, p. 19.

80. YJyomirig Farm Bulletin, July 1917, p. 2.

81. Wyoming Farm Bulletin, July 1917, p. 2.

JOHANNA NEL received her Ph.D. in Adult Education from the University of Wyoming in 1986. Presently she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Foundations and Instructional Technology at the University of Wyoming. She also serves as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Educa- tional Administration and Adult Education. Dr. Nel is a former board member of the Albany County Chapter of the Wyoming State Historical Society.

JOHANNES E. NEL received his Ph.D. in Animal Science from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, in 1967. He is currently a Professor in Animal Science at the University of Wyoming and serves as Sheep and Wool Extension Specialist with the Cooperative Extension Service. He is a member of the Albaiiy County Chapter of the Wyoming State Historical Society.

21

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER

A Resource, as a Resource

by Gene M. Gressley

Editor's Note: Gene Gressley presented this paper at the Centennial Conference held in Cheyenne during September 1991. Because of space limitations it was not included in the Fall 1991 special issue 0/ Annals of Wyoming. Other conference papers will appear in future issues.

The challenge: to describe the research wealth of the American Heritage Center (AHC) in twenty minutes. The experience is akin to that of a friend of mine, who finally at age seventy-six fulfilled a life long dream of seeing the Kentucky Derby. Situated about twenty rows up in the stands, he sat down to enjoy a beautiful May day at Churchill Downs. He felt so in tune with the world that he began tapping his feet to the melodies of Stephen Foster, which were floating through the ether. All of a sud- den the reverie of my friend was broken by a shot at the starting gate. The horses were off! Everyone in the stands stood up, stretching their necks for a better view. Being short of stature, my friend first peeked over one shoulder and then another one, bobbing back and forth, to no avail; the race was finished in a little over two minutes. In relating his experience my friend exploded, "Gene, all I saw of the race was two horse tails, maybe part of one jockey, and three horses' heads— for this I spent $2,000!"

Well I hope none of you have spent two thousand dol- lars to be here, but at the end of this race you may feel like my friend— frustrated! For all I can do for you this after- noon is provide you with a peek at some of the peaks of this enormous collection of thirteen thousand plus collec- tions covering more than a dozen major research fields.

In 1956, July 1, to be exact, when I arrived on the University of Wyoming campus, the Western History and

Archives Department, as it was known then, had 284 col- lections. We immediately began building up research areas which were indigenous to the history of the Rocky Moun- tain region: economic geology, specifically, the petroleum and mining industries; the livestock industry; the water "industry"; writers of the western scene; conservation; transportation, particularly railroads and aviation; regional and state political figures, and of course what, for a better nomenclature, we will call general western history, jour- nalism, performing arts, and music.

As we all realize, when you develop a research area you endeavor to make it as complete and rich as possible, so that a researcher does not have to visit you for a sole collection, but can indulge his/herself in as many flavors as possible.

First, livestock history was an obvious field of acquisi- tion. The first collection to arrive at the university, pre- dating the Western History and Archives Department, was the enormously valuable files of the Wyoming Stock Grow- ers Association, the most complete set of historical records relating to any state livestock organization extant. During the succeeding years we added to this historical founda- tion the American National Cattlemen's records (due to the skill of Joe Watt of Sheridan, who sold this organiza- tion on what we were trying to do), the Wyoming Wool Growers Association, the National Wool Growers files, some sixty individual ranches including Moreton Frewen, Frank Hosier, John B. Kendrick, and Francis E. Warren.

Another pre-eminent collection, not only nationally but internationally, is our economic geology collection. In this realm are the records of more than three hundred mining engineers, geologists, executives, and the piece de resistance of the fifty-two ton Anaconda collection.

22

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER

In petroleum history are the papers of George Henry Bissell, who provided the capital for the first oil well in America, the Drake well at Titusville, Pennsylvania; the personal files of A. Beeby Thompson, who developed the Baku fields in Russia and reported on the LaBarge field in Wyoming; the huge Midwest and Argo company records, two of the most successful "independent" petroleum operations in the Rocky Mountain region; the files of fif- teen past presidents of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. This collection was put together with the assistance of Orlo Childs, onetime member of the University's geology department, past president of the AAPG and the Colorado School of Mines. Of the 150 in- dividual geologists represented some of the most notable are: Thomas Harrison, Charles Rath, Charles Hares, John Archbold (second president of the Standard Oil of New Jersey), and the dissolution records of the Standard Oil trust.

The mining collection is distinguished by the records of: Eliot Blackwelder, Chairman of the Geology Depart- ment at Stanford and an authority on the Owl Mountains of Wyoming; Hennen Jennings, a developer of South Africa mining with his friend Cecil Rhodes and the prime mover behind the extremely successful Conrey Mining Company in Montana; Sir Ronald Prain, who guided some

of the corporate investment following Cecil Rhodes in South Africa; and, of course, as we have noted above all, the Anaconda. The historical riches in those some twelve hundred files have not even been plumbed.

Along the tracks, the center has the letters of Jack Case- ment, who laid the tracks of the Union Pacific, home to his wife in Painesville, Ohio; the Union Pacific Coal Com- pany, especially the sizeable collection of glass negatives recording life in the underground mines of Kemmerer, Rock Springs, and Hanna; the four tons of records of the Chicago, Rock Island Railroad, plus the entrepreneurs William Dixon (whose efforts were thwarted by the Rock Island) and Alfred Perlman, who put together the huge New York Central-Pennsylvania systems, in addition to revitalizing the Western Pacific.

The "manufacturers of blood and thunder," namely, the western writers, are represented by: the journals of Owen Wister; Jack Schaefer, who wrote Shane; Hoffman Birney, reviewer of westerns for the New York Times; in ad- dition to 160 more individual writers. The files of the organization of the Western Writers of America are ex- tremely significant for recording the marketing ups and downs of western fiction.

Among the friendly skies of the center are two Wyo- ming executives who played major roles in the develop-

This plioto^niph is of tlic iiuuicl of the new Aineneaii Uerita^^e Center mid University of V^yoitiiii^ Art Miiseiint irliieh will be iOinpUidi iiiinii^. the fall of) 993.

23

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

merit of America's aviation industry: Gerald Brooder of Sheridan and Robert Canaday of Lusk. Brooder, after founding Inland Airlines in Wyoming, became a Vice- President of Western Airlines. Canaday, a premier salesman for Douglas Aviation, concluded his career as Senior Vice President of Douglas. The log books of Jack Knight, who made the first over-night flight for the air- mail from Oakland to Chicago, are in the center. Mundy I. Peale, who owned the Bull Mountain Cattle Company, southwest of Laramie, became President of Republic Avia- tion. These are just a few of major figures dotting the roster of American aviation.

In journalism, Wyoming journalists include Joseph Jacobucci, Roy Peck, M. G. Barrow, Red Fenwick, James Killgallen and Robert Crawford. Eight members of the Board of Editors of the Neiu York Times and ten coii^ributors to the New Yorker magazine will find their papers in Laramie. Among the most recognized are Rogers E. M. Whitaker, Leonard Silk, Ada Louise Huxtable, Philip Ham- burger, Richard Tregaskis, and Bill Stern. This is but a glimpse of the one hundred-plus journalists whose records are shelved in the center.

Diverging just a moment from manuscripts, we should note two major collections of western art— the paintings of Alfred Jacob Miller and Henry Farny. The Miller collec- tion was acquired for the center and the university through the sole efforts of the late Robert Warner. Miller, as many of you know, was the first artist to depict Wyoming, in- deed the only artist to paint a rendezvous who actually par- ticipated in the event.

The Henry Farny Collection is the gift of the Rentschler family of New York City. Farnys are now valued, mone- tarily speaking, at levels comparable to those of Remington and Russell. He painted only three hundred oils. The Rent- schler collection of eleven Farnys (eventually to be fifteen) is housed in a room in the center which duplicates the original library of George Rentschler at One Sutton Place, South, New York City.

The only bronze of great significance is the Bronco Buster by Frederic Remington. The amazing bronze was given to the AHC by Arthur Lafrentz, whose father, Frederick Lafrentz, was the first secretary of the Swan Land and Cattle Company.

The photographer of Meeteetse, Charles Belden, is represented by two thousand plus negatives. Belden was one of the outstanding photographers of the contemporary (early twentieth century) West. Jack and Lili Turnell, the granddaughter and grandson-in-law, negotiated with their family in presenting the gift to the university.

Among the forty some artists represented in the center, probably the most significant overall collection is the one of Garrett Price. A son of Dr. Sam Price of Saratoga, Wyoming, Garrett Price was commissioned to do more than ninety covers for The New Yorker. Another illustrator, whose cartoons "The Little King" were favorites of readers of The Nezv Yorker, was Otto Soglow.

Of course, it is the art of these artists which most at- tracts our attention. However, there are significant manu- script files on many of those named above, particularly Alfred Jacob Miller, Charles Belden, and Garrett Price.

Among the papers of political figures of Wyoming, the researcher will find Senators Frank Barrett, Clifford Hansen, Joe Hickey, Lester Hunt, John Kendrick, Gale McGee, Milward Simpson, Malcolm Wallop, Francis War- ren, and Congressman Teno Roncalio. Among other political potentates are those of James LeCron and R. R. Rose. These two collections offer insight into Wyoming progressivism and democracy. We should emphasize that these political papers vary both in quantity and quality. Warren never kept his incoming correspondence, taking load after load to the D. C. dump. The Joseph Carey papers would offer, if they were available, remarkable knowledge of both the Republican and Progressive parties.

There are two major contemporary historical fields which have been developed, in part by an especial rela- tionship to Wyoming. These two are antitrust and American Revisionism in both wars, but primarily the Sec- ond World War. The antitrust section was an obvious development with Thurman Arnold, U.S. Assistant-At- torney General for Antitrust, being born and raised in Laramie. However, the evolution of our antitrust area il- lustrates our approach to archival acquisition. You first ac- quire the papers of a central figure, a "star" if you will, then you use this star as a magnet to attract other figures who orbited in the same field, in this case— Hugh Cox, Vic- tor Kramer, Gerhard Gesell, Alexander Holtzoff, and Milton Friedman.

Revisionism, for the lack of better taxonomy, is a school of journalists, historians, and publicists, who basically take the position that the allied powers, in both world wars, bear responsibility for the occurrence of the two wars. An historian at the University of Wyoming in the early sixties, Lawrence Gelfand, suggested to me that we seek the papers of a leading revisionist, Harry Elmer Barnes. We did so, ending up with not only the Barnes files, but the entire entourage around Barnes: Admiral Husband E. Kim- mel. Captain L. N. Safford, C. C. Hiles, George Morgenstern, and George Deathredge.

24

AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER

In water resources, it is as amazing to me today as it was twenty years ago, that the only university in the na- tion to have a substantial collection of manuscript water resource material is the University of Wyoming. I should note in passing that the University of California, Berkeley, has the best printed collection of material on water. To- day the center has the papers of 130 civil engineers, bureaucrats, attorneys, and water policy makers, including five Commissioners of the Bureau of Reclamation: Floyd Dominy, Harry Bashore, Arthur Powell Davis, Ellis Arm- strong, and F. N. Newell. The papers of W. G. Sloan, "co- father" of the Pick-Sloan plan to develop the Missouri River, are there. William Warne, who put together with Governor Pat Brown the California Water project, pre- sented his files. Jack Savage, who is held in awe by ar- chitectural and civil engineers because of his creations the Boulder and Grand Coulee dams among some thirty other dams donated his papers.

We hear much these days of environmental concerns. The historical guild, which is often more presentist than it likes to admit, enjoys fads— in 1990 one of the "hottest" areas is environmental history. In the mid-1960s the center began acquiring conservation history. As a result, at pres- ent two of the strongest archives on conservation history in the nation are in this region, specifically the Denver Public Library and the American Heritage Center. The center contains the papers of some 350 individuals and organizations devoted to conservation. If a researcher is interested in park policy, he can consult the files of two former directors of the National Park Service, Arthur Demaray and Conrad L. Wirth. If land policy is his topic, Marion Clawson and Laurence Hewes material is available. Should his concerns be with wildlife biology, Margaret and Louise Murie have presented the files of their husbands, Olaus and Adolph Murie. Frank Craighead, Jr., and Ver- non Bailey have written pioneering studies of wildlife. The research and personal memorabilia for their work is in the center. A couple of years ago, a prize winning volume on plant ecology was based largely on the Frederic and Edith Clements Collection.

The area of performing arts is another example of how cooperation between faculty and archivists can go a long way towards making a significant archive. James Welke, now Dean of Communications at Central Florida Univer- sity (adjacent to Disney World, which for Welke has meant a substantial largesse coming into his department) sug- gested that we think of the performing arts area. Person- ally, I have to confess I was not intrigued (my personal research interest is economic history). However, one can-

not scorn uncomfortable subjects. Such a position for an archivist, of course, is anti-intellectual and indefensible. Furthermore, in an amazingly brief period, we acquired the memorabilia of 170 writers, producers, directors, actors, and actresses. The largest radio comedy collection in the nation is in Laramie, including such writers as John L. Green, Carroll Carroll, Parke Levy, and Ozzie Nelson. The pre-eminent collection, of course, is the papers of Jack Ben- ny, which some eight universities and institutions (to my knowledge) were soliciting. Paul Monash, who produced "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," presented his material. David Brown of Zanuck-Brown fame has given some of his files, but much more is to come. His John O'Hara correspondence is fascinating to say the least. As an investor. Brown has attracted as much if not more at- tention than as a producer. Fortune has called him along with Warren Buffet of Omaha, one of the shrewdest in- vestors in America.

Allied with the film-television section is the film music archives, the largest in the United States. Here repose the scores, records, tapes and memorabilia of Maurice Jarre of "Dr. Zhivago"; Adolph Deutsch, whose last film was "The Apartment," and Bronislaw Kaper, who wrote, "Hi Lili, Hi Lo" for "Gigi."

In conclusion, the future for the center is bright, especially with the new building now on the horizon and if we follow a few simple but crucial precepts:

A. We must always remember that the center is a liv- ing archive, not a mausoleum. If we cease our acquisition, we will freeze our collection, our reputation, and our future. Most certainly, you should make sure that you process and organize your collection— once you have it. The point is worth repeating— an archive that does not have material flowing in the door is dead. It is that sim- ple. I assure you that in 1956, no one was talking to me about what we should do with 284 collections.

B. Geography will not be a problem if you remember your mission. You are a university centered archives, with a broad intellectual community and public to serve. Nor are your goals restricted to the university community, the public of Wyoming first and foremost have demands on your facility. After all, it is their dollars that made it possible. And secondly, in many areas of acquisition vou are dealing with professions which range, geographically speaking, across the nation and the globe. The self-evident ones, mining, petroleum, water, and conservation, come easily to mind, there are many others. To ask for A. Beeby Thompson's material on the LaBarge field, but to ignore ills career in Europe, is a prox'incialism wo cannot afford.

25

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

C. The center illustrates one basic premise that you do not do anything by yourself in this world. We have en- joyed wonderful backing from the people of the state of Wyoming, the trustees and successive administrations of the university, dedicated donors across the nation and, in- deed, the world. For this we give thanks.

D. As the result of the last paragraph, we no longer confront or have to overcome the question we constantly encountered in 1956. Why should I give anything to Wyoming? Wyoming, where is that, close to California, is it not? No longer does the Center have an identification problem. I do not think I need to assure you that research- ers, donors, and the general public know where it is located.

E. Finally, we tend to forget that we are not collecting for today— we are collecting for the twenty-first century and beyond. Certainly, we have collected junk, or at least we think we have. The old cliche, one man's dessert is another

man's poison, is most certainly apropos. But unless we have the perspective of decades, it is not only arrogant, but downright unintelligent to select knowledge for the generations of the future, for if you do you are condemn- ing those same generations to ignorance. Indulge me for one more repetition, for that philosophy has been basic to the foundation of the American Heritage Center. We are collecting for the future, not just for the present. Unless we have the perspective of decades, it is not only arrogant, but downright unintelligent, to select knowledge for the generations of the future, for if you do you are condemn- ing those same generations to ignorance. Thank you!

GENE M. GRESSLEY has been at the University of Wyoming since 1956. For the majority of those years he served as Director of the American Heritage Center. He has authored numerous articles dealing with the American West, as well as seven books, including Bankers and Cattlemen and The Twentieth Century West: A Potpourri. Presently he senses as All-University Professor in Laramie.

26

BOOK REVIEWS

Regulating Danger: The Struggle for Mine Safety in the Rocky Mountain Coal Industry. By James Whiteside. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990. Illustrated. Index. Bibliographical Essay. Notes. Maps, xv and 265 pp. Cloth $37.50.

Has anyone been keeping count? The number of books and articles about the history of coal mining seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. What was once a virtually ignored topic has finally come into its own. Why? Probably for a number of reasons, but I see it partially as a result of social history. Social historians (and their regional counterparts— historians of the "new West") discount the heroic and romantic elements in history and instead look into the everyday lives of our ancestors. Historians of this genre probe into the realities of life, which often reveal hardships and despair. And believe me, coal mining fits this description. Consequently, many social historians have turned their attention to the business of coal.

Although the increase in the number of books about coal has been dramatic, and despite the fact that Wyoming currently leads the nation in coal production, many of the new works do not mention the Cowboy State. Rightly so, for decades in the past Wyoming generally hovered around twelfth in national coal output. But still, it may be worth- while to review some of the recent publications that mention the Wyoming coal industry. The best general study, and a true social history, is Priscilla Long's Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America's Bloody Coal In- dustry. While it covers the industry nationally. Long does draw Wyoming into the story when she deals with labor conflict in the Colorado coal mines. For a specific look at Wyoming's coal industry. Forgotten Frontier: A History of Wyoming Coal Mining by A. Dudley Gardner and Verla R. Flores is excellent. Also a social history, it covers the people, the communities, the work, and the companies. Another interesting book is Robert Rhode's Booms & Busts on Bitter Creek: A History of Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Moving away from the more scholarly works, and away from books that can be called social histories, a number of popular histories or personal reminiscences have been done. Mabel E. Brown and Elizabeth Thorpe Griffith write of Cambria in In the beginning there were three towns. Cambria flourished for forty years; Field City— alias Tubb Town after a brief heyday, moved en masse to Neivcastle—"and then there was one. " Frank R. Dallezotte looks at his past in Oakley, Wyoming: Gone . . . But not Forgotten. Lorenzo Groutage discusses the southwestern corner of Wyoming in Wyoming Mine Run, and Sharon Rufi of Almy published a book about her town to commemorate the Wyoming centennial.

One event in Wyoming relating to coal stands out as the most popular— the Rock Springs Massacre. This has been explored several times, including by the dean of Wyoming historians, T. A. Larson, in "The Chinese Massacre," by Paul Crane and T. A. Larson, Annals of Wyoming, January and April 1940. Some of the new pieces include Craig Storti's Incident at Bitter Creek: The Ston/ of the Rock Springs Massacre, and two articles, "Governor Francis E. Warren, The United States Army and the Chinese Massacre at Rock Springs," by Murray L. Carroll in the Fall 1987 Annals ofWyomijig, and "Civil Disorder and the Military in Rock Springs, Wyoming: The Army's Role in the 1885 Chinese Massacre," by Clayton D. Laurie in Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Summer 1990.

Most of the works listed above are readily available and generally easy to read and understand. But also appear- ing are monographs on specific aspects of the coal industry. One example is Keith Dix' What's a Coal Miner to Do? The Mechanization of Coal Minitig. This explores the impact of mechanization on the miner's life and his values. This com- bines elements of social history with a history of tech- nology. Although this book pertains primarily to eastern coal operations, it does mention Wvoming's Union Pacific Coal Company— an organization that adopted many oi the

27

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

industry's mechanical advances. To enjoy this book, how- ever, a deeper understanding of coal mining is required.

Another book that is within this monographic style (and the point of this review) is James Whiteside's recent book Regulating Danger: The Struggle for Mine Safety in the Rocky Mountain Coal Industry. In this piece Whiteside discusses what is perhaps the most shocking element in coal mining, the vast number of accidents and subsequent deaths. Whiteside states that from the 1880s to the 1980s more than eighty-two hundred workers died in the Rocky Mountains as a result of coal mine accidents. On a super- ficial level one would think that the cause of mine accidents could be easily recognized and then corrected. But as Whiteside accurately points out, the reasons for accidents and the explanations for the lack of measures to correct the problems are mired in a complex web of social atti- tudes, political circumstances, economic concerns, and workplace traditions. In short, the total industrial environ- ment is reflected in accident rates.

From the beginning of coal operations in the Rocky Mountains up to recent years, Whiteside follows the three groups that could make the workplace safer: the operators, the miners, and the government. During the late nine- teenth century the miners were responsible for their own safety and for performing safety measures. The miners, however, were paid for what they produced, and when they put in roof supports, they essentially lost pay. Con- sequently, miners often ignored safety procedures. The first mine laws and the early safety activities of the com- panies reflected this idea that the miner was responsible for his own safety. Whiteside then draws the story for- ward, examining the procession of laws passed by the various states that attempted to shift some of the respon- sibility to the mine management. He also evaluates cor- porate philosophies as they changed through the years. His conclusion: the results were always the same, the miner remained responsible for his own safety. Not until recently have federal regulations and technological advance- ments given the coal miner some relief.

Whiteside is convincing and correct. His research is thorough, and his writing demonstrates his depth of study as he quotes extensively from state mine inspector reports. Plus, he paints a balanced picture. Whiteside covers the plight of the workers, backing it up with numbers, much as many good social historians would do. But he also deals fairly and squarely with the companies and officials involved.

I have complaints, but only two minor ones. First, once again Colorado proves to be the center of the Rockies. True,

he deals with Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado, and his title says he covers the Rocky Moun- tains, but Colorado is without a doubt the star of the show. Colorado, of course, did produce more coal than any of the other states, but sometimes we in the outback feel ig- nored. Second, Whiteside studies the laws in each state, and their impact in that state. There probably is no other way to do it, but the number of laws discussed in each of the states occasionally overwhelms the reader with details. These points, however, do not affect the quality of the text. The book is good, but it is not for beginners. Regulating Danger is for those who like mining, love everything writ- ten about Wyoming, or enjoy the process of regulation. And it is, as well, an excellent addition to the increasing number of books about coal.

DAVID A. WOLFF Arizona State University

Union Pacific: The Birth of a Railroad 1862-1893. By Maury Klein. Garden City, New York; Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1987. Illustrated. Index. Selected Bibliography. Maps, xiii and 685 pp. Cloth $27.50.

Umon Pacific: The Rebirth 1894-1969. By Maury Klein. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1989. Illustrated. Index. Source Notes. Selected Bibliography. Maps, xviii and 654 pp. Cloth $29.95.

This work represents a great leap forward in Union Pacific historiography. Generally, the Union Pacific books published hitherto have been short on facts and perspec- tive. Their authors did not have access to corporation records. True, the U.P. opened the door part-way twenty- five years ago and permitted the late Robert Athearn to use records related to nineteenth century branch-line history, and helped finance his book-writing project. Athearn covered the early branch-line story pretty well in his volume Union Pacific Country (New York: Rand McNally, 1971).

Apparently satisfied with Athearn's performance, the U.P. funded the research and writing of Maury Klein for the work at hand, which is a comprehensive history of the corporation from its beginning in the 1860s to 1969. Klein, a University of Rhode Island professor, received access to voluminous company records never before made available. Klein probed many other sources as well. His previous books. The Great Richmond Terminal, The Histonj of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and The Life and Legend of Jay Gould, seem to have assured U.P. President John C. Kenefick and his board members that Klein would deliver the kind of history they would appreciate.

Lest readers might think that a U.P. subsidy would

28

BOOK REVIEWS

color his opinions, Athearn explained that company of- ficers "stressed that all points of view, attitudes, and con- clusions were to be mine alone." Likewise, Klein wrote that "The views and interpretations . . . are mine and in no way represent those of the corporation." He added that he was given "complete editorial freedom."

Klein decided early in his research that, except for a few short periods, the Union Pacific suffered so much from internal bickering and lack of strong leadership that he would make these conflicts his central theme. He certainly rips the hide off many corporation executives. On the other hand, he believes that a few of them have been treated too harshly in the past. Klein argues that "They were neither heroes nor villains," but simply capitalists who risked their fortunes in a project that few moneyed men would touch because the costs would be too great, leaving little chance to recover the costs for decades.

Klein also rejects the widespread belief that Jay Gould set out to wreck the U.P. in the manner of some modern hostile take-over artists. Instead, claims Klein, Gould focused his extraordinary talents on making both the U.P. and himself prosperous by combining the Kansas Pacific with the U.P. He failed by a hair, and appeared to have hurt the U.P. for a few years, but in the long run the U.P. benefited from his strenuous efforts.

Klein displays remarkable talent for producing thumb- nail characterizations. For example: "Thomas C. Durant's craving for the limelight was matched by an inability to keep his focus on business at hand." Grenville M. Dodge was "an ordinary looking man with some extraordinary qualities. . . . He listened well and had a quick analytical mind that leaped to sound conclusions before most men understood the question." Oakes Ames "was the man of action, Oliver the punctilious bookkeeper. . . . Once de- cided on a plan, Oakes plunged ahead with little regard for consequences. . . . The hapless Oliver calculated and agonized himself into fits of indecision." "The choice between Durant and Oliver Ames was more than ever one between the lesser of two evils." Charles Francis Adams, Jr. was "the foremost railroad theorist of the age" but "failed wretchedly at every aspect of management." Gould had an "incredible range of talents . . . skill at human rela- tions" and "utter lack of ego." E. H. Harriman, first presi- dent after the 1890s receivership, "blazed through the transportation industry like a comet. . . . He not only craved power, he radiated it. . . . He had one blind spot diplomacy and tact" and was consequently abrasive.

Carl Gray, president during the 1920s, was "a south- ern puritan." He had "ability . . . grace under pressure

. . . patience ... an affable man utterly lacking in pretense or arrogance . . . impossible to dislike or distrust ... a benevolent father figure of a man with a ready smile and 'just plain folks' manner." Yet "he could be tough."

Gray's very tough 225 pound successor. Bill Jeffers, "knew how to work and how to fight . . . took only one vacation in forty years." He was "the classic 'Irisher' . . . in essence a monk, with the railroad as his monastery . . . crude though dapper . . . with his tough-guy manner and macho code." George Ashby, short-term president after Jeffers, was "the diminutive accountant . . . shrewd and inscrutable . . . intelligent, sensitive . . . whose ambitions suffered from a fatal flaw . . . alcohol . . . insecure . . . fric- tion with his major officers left him permanently scarred." Following Ashby, Arthur Stoddard, like Jeffers, "had no hobbies or outside interests, but he lacked Jeffers' total dedication. . . . Stoddard did not fancy himself as a czar, but he kept the crucial trappings, notably the secret police, the spies and an autocratic hierarchy staffed with favorites."

The general reader may throw up his hands at the mass of details, the complicated relations with other railroads, and continual disputes with state and federal agencies. But serious railroad historians will read every word.

T. A. LARSON University of Wyoming

A River Too Far: The Past and Future of the Ami West. Edited by Joseph Finkhouse and Mark Crawford. Nevada Humanities Committee, University of Nevada Press, 1991. Illustrated. Bibliography. 175 pp. Paper.

A River Too Far is a collection of excerpts from notable publications concerned with water usage, politics, policy, and social values in the arid West. The excerpts are taken from: Desert Passages by Patricia Limerick; Cadillac Desert by Marc P. Reisner; Rii'ers of Empnre by Donald Worster; "Replacing Confusion with Equity: Alternatives for Water Policy in the Colorado River Basin" by Helen Ingram, Lawrence Scaff, and Leslie Silko, taken from New Courses for the Colorado River: Major Issues for the Next Centurxj, edited by Gary D. Weatherford and F. Lee Brown; "Wilderness Values and the Colorado River" by Roderick Na'sh, from New Courses for the Colorado River; Major Issues for the Next Century; "A River" from Encoufiters with the Archdruid bv John McPhee; and from The Auwrican YJest as Living Space by Wallace Stegner.

With publication dates ranging from 1971 to 1987, the excerpts, perhaps, are somewhat dated in view of the drought pervasive throughout the West since 1987. Never-

29

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

theless, the viewpoints expressed in the readings are im- portant in understanding the influence of water scarcity in the arid West, and particularly the desert region, in- cluding parts of Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California, about the development of western society, and the problems and issues it will need to face during the next century.

In the excerpt from Desert Passages, Limerick presents an overview of desert history and its harsh reality, and compares it to the irrigation based desert culture of the 1980s. Reisner's Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disapjpearing Water deals specifically with the politics in watering the desert, and the effects on those segments of society left out of the watering equation. Worster critiques water development in the West and examines the roles of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and other federal agen- cies, as well as the motives of individuals involved in the development. To these three writers, water is more than a commodity to be used for economic development. Rather, water includes a group of human and social values, which should be used in determining its usage and distribution in an arid land.

Political scientists Ingram, Scaff, and Silko explore these values in "Replacing Confusion with Equity: Alter- natives for Water Policy in the Colorado River Basin." They present a theory for the practice of fairness determining water distribution and usage based upon identified social and human values, within the arena of democratic ideals and realities. Nash in "Wilderness Values and the Col- orado River" discusses human value in terms of personal understanding and environmental ethics. He takes the reader down the Colorado River and into the Grand Can- yon, examining its value in view of the perspective and experience of the individual looking at the canyon. This scenario is emphasized by McPhee in his book. Encounters with the Archdruid. The reader accompanies Floyd Dominy, former commissioner of reclamation, who began his career in Campbell County, Wyoming, and David Brower, former Sierra Club executive director, on a make believe raft trip down the Colorado, and contrasts each man's view of the river and the canyon, emphasizing the commitment and sincerity of each man to his ideals and values. A River Too Far ends with an essay by western historian Stegner. The essay is based upon his many years of study and observa- tion of the West, and expresses his disillusionment with the desert society, and predicts its decline.

Thirty-five photographs by photographers who par- ticipated in the Water in the West Project are virtually another essay included in the book. The photographs

depict water usage from Nebraska to Los Angeles and vividly illustrate the current status of water usage and waste in the arid West.

A River Too Far is important reading for every Westerner who wants to understand the region in which he or she lives, and some elements of the history of its most vital resource, water. The complexity of the decisions concern- ing water, its usage and distribution, that need to be made, if the West is to remain a viable region in the next cen- tury, confront the reader throughout this unique book.

JIM DONAHUE Wyoming State Archizvs

Jared Fox's Memmorandom: Kept from Dellton, Sauk County Wisconsin toward California and Oregon 1852-1854. Benton, Wisconsin: Cottonwood Publishing Company, 1990. Illustrated. Appendix. Endnotes. Bibliography- xv and 250 pp. Paper.

The diary kept by Jared Fox for a twenty-eight month period during the years 1852-1854 differs significantly from many of those kept by his contemporaries. While most of those who went "westering" during the middle third of the nineteenth century did so in search of a better life. Fox seems to have been running away from quite an unsatisfac- tory existence "back home," even though he ultimately returned there after not finding any success in Oregon and California. It seems quite apparent that Fox was unhappy in his marriage. During his extended absence, for exam- ple, he wrote numerous letters to friends and business associates, but exceptionally few to his family. In fact, prac- tically the only occasion upon which he demonstrated significant emotional involvement occurred in January, 1853, when he was forced to sell his two remaining horses, bemoaned the death of his dog, and expressed great con- cern over the grave injury suffered by his closest friend, Charles Deval. No such concern or involvement is ever ex- pressed vis-a-vis his wife and family.

The account of the trip west takes up only the first fifty pages of this account. As indicated in the foreword, Mer- rill Mattes (who would object to the author's designation of the north side trail as the "Mormon Trail") describes this diary as "one of the more thorough records of the 1852 migration." Even so, the record kept is informative pri- marily about the details (particularly the difficulties) of trail travel and the equipment required as well as some con- siderable reference to flora and fauna encountered. What is not included is much information about people encoun- tered during the trip, although Fox does carefully record the names of the people buried in the twenty graves which

30

BOOK REVIEWS

he saw; he also provides an estimation of the number of people on the trail. Furthermore, Fox pays almost no at- tention at all to significant landmarks, noting only In- dependence Rock and Soda Springs, without including much information about either site.

The remaining two hundred pages of this account are taken up with a day-by-day record of Fox' life, first in Oregon, then in California, and finally on his sea voyage (and trip across Nicaragua) to New York and rail trip back to Wisconsin. Several characteristics stand out in this por- tion of the book. On the very positive side. Fox again and again records relatively detailed descriptions of the plant life, and sometimes the animal life, resident at his various locations, not just during the trip west, but also in selected parts of Oregon, California, and Nicaragua. In like man- ner. Fox is most explicit about the cost of provisions pur- chased at various times during his more than two year odyssey, up to and including what it cost for lodging, meals, and so on in New York City, as well as the fare from New York to Milwaukee on the New York & Erie Rail Road ($19.50). Anyone wishing to obtain such historical economic information will find at least a modest gold mine here.

Although they are relatively few in number. Fox does on occasion include in his "Memmorandom" human in- terest events, some personal, some observed. During February, 1853, for instance, he reported seeing Indians who had died from White man's disease in such numbers that dogs had unearthed the remains and were chewing on the bones. A month later a group of Indian women begged to be taken on board a river vessel on which Fox was a passenger. Their reason? They were the captive wives of a chief who had died and they feared that they would be put to death as part of the funeral ceremonies. Fox notes both that he was sorry for them and that the boat simply could not accommodate the fleeing women. At this moment, warriors from the tribe appeared, after which the women were seen no more. A final, personal example oc- curred a year later, in February, 1854. Fox went to sleep with a candle still burning; it burned down to the point of setting his pillow on fire. He was finally awakened by the heat of the burning pillow!

Without any question, however, the most pronounced ingredient of the journal, at least in the sense of being the most frequently repeated, is Fox' continuing bouts with sickness/illness and physical/psychological discomfort. Beginning upon his arrival in Oregon, in September, 1852, Fox reported a boil on his face which not only was very painful, it also gave rise to a fear on his part of cancer; dur-

ing the next two months he continued to report himself in ill-health. He seems to have suffered regularly from diar- rhea and from headaches. The entries for April 5 and 7, 1854, illustrate the type of diary entries frequently en- countered. On the former date. Fox wrote: "I have been quite out of repair all day having a pain in the chest. Whatever I eat or drink seems to distress me." On the lat- ter he wrote: "I was near sick with a pain in my bowels. Dont know what to do for it." And he ended his western sojourn as he had begun it; he got dreadfully ill in San Francisco the night before he set sail for home.

As with any book, there are some questions that oc- cur as one reads it. On various occasions Fox referred to "thrashing" his horse. Doc, and on another to "salting" his horses. One wonders why neither term/procedure/pro- cess is defined. On page twenty-eight, footnote two, the author quotes extensively from a source that implies the transfer of title of Fort Laramie from the American Fur Company to the United States Government. Would it not have been simpler for the author and the reader if the pur- chase of the fort had been simply stated as a historical fact? Finally, the diary states that Levi and Jared Fox parted com- pany immediately beyond South Pass, with Levi, accord- ing to an endnote, taking the Hastings Cutoff to Califor- nia. Since Jared continued on to Ham's Fork of Green River, approximately the point at which the Hasting 's Cutoff began (at Fort Bridger), the reader is left wonder- ing what route did Levi follow?

In conclusion, I claim a reviewer's privilege to nit-pick. I can appreciate the use of endnotes instead of footnotes to "simplify composition," but why should the interests of the truly interested readers be sacrificed to those of the casual readers "who prefer to ignore footnotes?"

Jared Fox's Memmorandom will be a useful addition to the library of anyone interested in travel on the Oregon- California Trail as well as in life among the religiouslv- inclined working class in Oregon and California at the mid- point of the nineteenth century.

ROBERT L. MUNKRES Muskiiis^inn Colh\c

Glon/ Hunter: A Biography of Patrick Edward Connor. By Brigham D. Madsen. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1990. Illustrated. Index. Bibliography. Notes. Maps. i\ and 318 pp. Cloth $27.50.

Glory Hunter: A Biography of Patrick Edward Connor is the latest in a growing list of books that University of Utah Professor Emeritus, Brigham D. Madsen, has written or

31

ANNALS OF WYOMING

WINTER 1992

edited during the past three decades. Glon/ Hunter is about the "controversial and stormy" public career of Patrick Connor, an Irish emigrant who chose to seek fame and for- tune in the American West during the latter half of the nineteenth century.

Madsen suggests that Connor is an important figure in Western history because his attitudes and experiences "typified the boom-and-bust spirit which characterized many of the adventurers who joined the gold rush to the American West" (p. 276). In part, Madsen describes Con- nor as a crude, poorly educated, prejudiced, and violent individual. Yet, he softens this appraisal by declaring the man to have possessed restless energy, a fierce loyalty to friends and the United States, an honestly outspoken man- ner. He had many talents and achieved fame as a military leader, mining entrepreneur, businessman, and politician. Highlights of his adventuresome career include leading military expeditions against both the Shoshone Indians in northeastern Utah, and the Sioux, Arapahoe, and Chey- enne in north-central Wyoming. He also attempted to ex- plore for the minerals of Rush Valley, Nevada, and Tooele County, Utah, while concurrently seeking public offices such as governor of Nevada, and county recorder of Salt Lake County, Utah.

Madsen concludes that good fortune alluded Connor, especially in political and business affairs. Commenting on the man's success as a contractor in California, where he moved during the gold rush years of 1849-1850, Madsen states that Connor "was more successful as a small general contractor than as a mine promoter later in life" (p. 43). Failure haunted Connor in every aspect of his career. As

a soldier, the results of his military campaign into the Powder River Basin is subject to debate, while many un- successful attempts to win an elected office in Utah and Nevada testify to his inability to achieve his ambitious goals.

Two features make Glon/ Hunter an excellent inter- pretive history. The first is that while Madsen projects a tone of admiration for Connor, he maintains a balanced viewpoint that allows him to discuss Connor's faults. Madsen pegs Connor as coldly indifferent and doggedly brutal toward his enemies, and declares these traits to be the dark side of Connor. Madsen even relates that critics of Connor's Indian policy called him an "exterminator." The second feature is Madsen's impeccable honesty in acknowledging the "paucity" of personal records from which to construct Connor's biography. Early in the volume he states that two disastrous fires destroyed most of Connor's private papers, forcing the author to rely most- ly on public records. Madsen also admits having difficulty in providing anything more than "bare generalizations" concerning Connor's life because of Connor's reluctance to reveal his personal history.

Glory Hunter is an honest and stimulating work about a strong-willed man who boldly pursued his elusive for- tunes in the Rocky Mountain West. As the book's author, Madsen adds another accomplishment to his list of fine histories while, at the same time, giving the serious reader a new account of a frontier adventurer.

WALTER JONES

Marriott Library

University of Utah

F .A LI

e/lNNALS of WYOMING

Volume 64, No. 2 Spring, 1992

at>yT«!M-rtS,Sl»-L»

Bi'ji-^ tt.

In 1895 the state of Wyoming established a department to collect and preserve materials which interpret the history of Wyoming. Today those duties are performed by the Division of Parks and Cultural Resources in the Depart- ment of Commerce. Located in the department are the State Historical Research Library, the State Archives, the State Museum, the State Art Gallery, the State Historic Sites, and the State Historic Preservation Office. The Department solicits original records such as diaries, letters, books, early newspapers, maps, photographs and records of early businesses and organizations as well as artwork and artifacts for museum exhibit. The Department asks for the assistance of all Wyoming citizens to secure these documents and artifacts.

GOVERNOR OF WYOMING Mike Sullivan

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE DIRECTOR Max Maxfield

STATE HISTORIAN David Kathka

WYOMING PARKS AND CULTURAL RESOURCES

COMMISSION

George Zeimens, Lingle

Frances Fisher, Saratoga

Pam Rankin, Jackson ^

Karin Cyrus-Strid, Gillette

David Peck, Lovell

Nerval Waller, Sundance

Jere Bogrett, Riverton

Mary Ellen McWilliams, Sheridan

Hale Kreycik, Douglas

WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

OFFICERS, 1991-1992

Dale J. Morris, President, Green River

Walter Edens, First Vice-President, Laramie

Sally Vanderpoel, Second Vice-President, Torrington

Sherry Taylor, Secretary, Casper

Gladys Hill, Treasurer, Douglas

David Kathka, Executive-Secretary

Judy West, State Coordinator

ABOUT THE COVER-Tliis is a 1903 photograph by famed UP photographer, J. E. Stimsori. This view is of the Sybille Valley, and is part of the Stinison Collection housed in the Wyoming State Museum (WSM).

c4

NNALS of WYOMING

©[EMI

Volume 64, No. 2 Spring, 1992

STAFF

Jean Brainerd, Associate Editor

Roger Joyce, Associate Editor

Ann Nelson, Assistant Editor

Paula West Chavoya, Photographic Editor

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Michael Cassity Roy Jordan David Kathka William H. Moore Robert L. Munkres Philip J. Roberts

ANNALS OF WYOMING was established in 1923 to disseminate historical information about Wyoming and the West through the publication of articles and documents. The editors of ANNALS OF WYOMING wel- come manuscripts on every aspect of Wyoming and Western history.

Authors should submit two typed, double- spaced copies of their manuscripts with footnotes placed at the end. Manuscripts submitted should conform to A MANUAL OF STYLE (University of Chicago Press). The Editor reserves the right to submit all manuscripts to members of the Editorial Advisory Board or to authorities in the field of study for recommendations. Pub- lished articles represent the view of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Division of Parks and Cultural Resources, Department of Commerce or the Wyoming State Historical Society.

OCT 1 5 1999

TABLE OF£QNIENXl

TOM HORN AND THE LANGHOFF GANG by Murray L. Carroll

FAMILY TRADITIONS . by Mark Dugan

34

45

60

REVIEW ESSAY

WYOMING TIME AND AGAIN: REPHOTOGRAPHING THE SCENES OF J. E. STIMSON by Michael A. Amundson

BOOK REVIEWS 64

Smith, Sagebrush Soldier: Private William Earl Smith's View of the Sioux War of 1876, reviewed by David L. Fetch

King, The Free Life of a Ranger: Archie Murchie in the U.S. Forest Service, 1929-1965, reviewed by Robert W. Righter

Carlson, Tom Horn: "Killing men is my specialty ..." reviewed by Phil Roberts

Patera, Grand Encampment Copper Toums, reviewed by Mel Duncan

BOOK NOTES . VIDEO REVIEW

ANNALS OF WYOMING is published quarterly by the Division of Parks and Cultural Resources, Department of Commerce, Barrett Building, Chevenne, Wvoming 82002. It is received by all members of the Wyoming State Historical Society as the official publication of that tirganization. Membership dues are: Single $9; Joint $12; Institutional $20; Life $150; Joint Life $200. Current membership is 1,967. Copies of previous and current issues of ANNALS may be purchased from the Editor. Cor- respondence should be addressed to the Editor. ANNALS OF WYOMING articles are abstracted in Historical Abstracts and America: Historv and Life.

© Copyright IW2 bv tlu- Huision ot 1'

d Cultural Re

'S, PopaitnuMit

TOM HORN AND THE LANGHOFF GANG

by Murray L Carroll

When Tom Horn was tried for the murder of Willie Nickell, he took the stand in his defense. During the cross- examination by Walter R. StoU, the prosecuting attorney, Horn cited his arrest of "one of the most notorious cow gangs in the country, the Langhoff outfit --" as an exam- ple of his work as a range detective.^ He phrased his state- ment to imply that this had been a major gang, and that those in the court room, especially the jury, should be well aware of the importance of these arrests. The balance of the cross-examination, as it applied to the "Langhoff Out- fit," was primarily concerned with resolving the date and the location where the arrests took place.

It has been alleged that the failure to get convictions of all those involved in this, his first case as an indepen- dent stock detective, is what caused Horn in the future to ignore the legal system and, in effect, set himself up as judge, jury, and executioner. If so, an understanding of the Langhoff case is important to an understanding of the enigma that was Tom Horn.

The identity of the Langhoffs, the extent and nature of their alleged criminal activity, and the importance of their capture were not brought out in the trial. Authors dealing with Horn's life, have, to a large extent, quoted the trial testimony without further examination into the nature of the Langhoff gang.^ John Clay, manager of the

Dean Krakel, The Saga of Tom Horn (Laramie, Wyoming: Powder River Publishers, 1954), p. 136.

Bill O'Neal, Cattlemen vs Sheepherders (Austin, Texas: Eakin Press, 1989), p. 101; Jay Monaghan, The Legend of Tom Horn, Last of the Bad Men (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Publishers, 1946), p. 154; Lauran Paine, Tom Horn, Man of the West (Barre, Pennsylvania: Barre Publishing Co., 1963), p. 140. A recent book. Chip Carlson, Tom Horn: "Killing men is my specialty ..." (Cheyenne, Wyoming: Beartooth Corral, 1991), pp. 20-28 does cover the case in more detail.

Swan Land and Cattle Company and president of the Wyo- ming Stock Growers Association, was Horn's employer during the Langhoff episode. He wrote a romantic fictional version of the story titled, "The Fate of a Cattle Rustler," published first as a booklet in 1910, then republished in the Live Stock Report, May, 1911, and in his book. My Life on the Range? Clay's fiction occasionally has been quoted as fact although he clearly identifies it as fiction based on fact. Beyond Clay's fiction, there is very little information available about the Langhoffs or their activities.

Fred (Ferdinand Albert) Langhoff was born in Jeffer- son County, Wisconsin, June 14, 1856. In 1869, at the age of thirteen, he joined a wagon train bound from Wiscon- sin to Dakota Territory where he went to live with an older brother. By 1878 he was a working cowboy with Laramie Valley pioneer rancher Charley Hutton's herds in North Park, Colorado. The 1880 census listed him on a ranch at Dale Creek, Wyoming. ^ On December 6, 1881, he mar- ried Evalina Farrell, twenty, at a large wedding held at the Farrell ranch in the Little Laramie Valley.^ Evalina was the third of the eight Farrell children. Evalina' s father. Cap- tain Edward Farrell, was a Civil War veteran, a pioneer wagon master on the Overland Trail, and an early settler in the Laramie Valley. His F Vi circle brand was among the first registered in Albany County.^ In 1870, he was listed as one of the five major stock growers in the county.^ Fred

3. John Clay, My Life on the Range (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963), pp. 290-303.

4. Wyoming 1880 Census.

5. Laramie Weekly Sentinel, December 10, 1881.

6. R. H. Burns, A. S. Gillespie, and W. G. Richardson, Wyonwig's Pioneer Ranches (Laramie, Wyoming: Top-Of-The-World Press, 1955), p. 45.

7. Lola M. Homsher, The History of Albany County to 1880 (Lusk, Wyo- ming: Privately Published, 1965), p. 42.

34

LANGHOFF GANG

Fred Langhoff ca. 27 years old

and Eva, as Evalina was usually called, leased a ranch in the Laran^ie Valley for a time, then went to Fred's home in Wisconsin. In 1881 they located a ranch in the Sybille Canyon of the Laramie Mountains, where the main and middle forks of Sybille Creek join. They owned 360 acres outright and were proving up another 160 acres. They ran about 150 head of cattle and about fifty head of horses under the LF- and 2J brands. Fred built a substantial log house, stables, barns, outbuildings and corrals. In 1886 he filed for 1.21 cubic feet of water per second to irrigate eighty-five acres of alfalfa hay land.^ Fred was an excellent cowman, but he was considered to be an expert horse- breaker and trainer and his services were much in demand. He also engaged extensively in horse breeding and trading. Eva was an expert rider and an excellent hand with live- stock as well. The Langhoffs prospered and enjoyed life. They had three children, two sons and a daughter. Fred's mother and his brother, Henry (Hank), came to the Sybille country from Wisconsin and established a small ranch close by on Blue Grass Creek. Hank was a farmer, not a rancher, and he and his mother soon moved in with Fred and Eva.

Hank and Gus Rosentreter, a young German immigrant, worked together digging wells and building fences for the new settlers moving into the valley.

Some neighbors questioned the source of the Lang- hoffs apparent prosperity. There were hints that the title to some horses Fred sold and traded could not stand close scrutiny. Eva was also criticized for her free and easy man- ner and for her familiarity with some of the visiting horse traders and buyers from the East who frequently visited the ranch. Some neighbors felt she might be using her charms to help the buyers overlook the cloudy titles to the horses they bought. Eva may have been flirtatious, friendly, or even more, with the frequent Eastern visitors, but unsubstantiated rumors were all the neighbors had to go on. The women of the area, even while gossiping about her, admitted that she had much personality and charm. ^

The Langhoff ranch was the center of a growing com- munity. Some twenty-five or thirty families had settled within a small radius of the ranch. These families were ap- plying pressure on Albany County to provide them with a direct, improved road to Laramie through Wall Creek Canyon and to give them a school and teacher.^" This growing community was sandwiched between the large ranches in the Laramie Valley, and the massive Two-Bar Ranch of the Swan Land and Cattle Company, which con- trolled most of the Sybille Valley. The lands and the water the settlers were preempting were impinging on areas the large ranchers considered theirs. Langhoffs ranch was in a particularly sensitive location. It directly adjoined Two- Bar land along Sybille Creek that had been used by it to control the adjacent pasture land."

As the settler population increased, a siege mentality developed among the large ranch owners. Clay described the Swan Land and Cattle Company as "a solitary ship surrounded by rocks and quicksand in the form of small ranchmen, sheepmen, and dry farmers. "^^ jYiq settlers, for their part, felt equally put upon. They had filed on their claims legally and they expected to have the unencumbered use of the land and water to which thev

8. Burns, et. al., Wyoming's Pioneer Ranches, p. 377.

9. Maude Sommer, "History of the Sybille Country— Part 2; Early Set- tlers," pp. 5-6, Works Progress Administration (WPA) 1367, Historical Research and Publications, Division of Parks and Cultural Resources, Department of Commerce, Cheyenne.

10. Laramie Daily Boomerang, May 23, 1887.

11. Earnest Staples Osgood, The Day of the Cuttlcmen (Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press, 1^29), map follow ing p. 204.

12. Clay, My Life on the Range, p. 204.

35

ANNALS OF WYOMING

SPRING 1992

were entitled. The cattlemen, finding their usual trails or water holes fenced off, occasionally cut the fences rather than take a different route or look for a different water hole. Sometimes the cattlemen had little choice in the matter. Coming upon an unexpected fence, the cattle would mill around until the fence gave way. The homesteader's gardens or crops were trampled and his livestock mixed up in the herd. If an extra strong fence, dogs, or an extra effort saved the homesteader's holdings from the cattle, at least temporarily, the cattleman's wrath probably also was aroused. The sudden and unlooked for situations created tensions on both sides and incited frictions of a lasting nature. The narrow valley of the Sybille, Plumbago Canyon, Wall Creek Canyon, and their tributaries were the areas being settled by the homesteaders; they were also the traditional trail routes to the stock shipping points on the Union Pacific Railroad such as Rock Creek."

From the homesteader's point of view, a little mav- ericking often became a little rustling, or at least dining off the big rancher's beef. Since the Swan, in its various opera- tions, ran between forty and a hundred and ten thousand head of cattle and five to eight hundred horses in the late 1880s and early 1890s, it is easy to understand how a small neighboring rancher or homesteader could be tempted. ^^

When trouble did come to the Langhoffs, the Swan Land and Cattle Company was only incidentally involved. On June 10, 1892, Fred shipped twenty-six head of horses from Laramie to Owensburg, Kentucky. As the Cheyenne Daily Leader so aptly put it: "It would have been a very profitable transaction for Langhoff had it not been that the owners of the horses, J. C. Coble, the Inter-Ocean Hereford Association, and the Laramie River Cattle Company thought they would like to share in the profits of the sale."^^ Sheriff A. D. Kelly and Deputy Sheriff Jim Van Zant of Laramie County followed Langhoff to Kentucky. When they ar- rived, they found that he had disposed of the horses and moved on to Clintonville, Wisconsin. While Van Zant stayed in Kentucky to locate and replevin the stolen horses, Kelly followed Langhoff to Wisconsin. After a delay caused

13. Sommer, "History of the Sybille Country," p. 6.

14. Harmon Ross Mothershead, The Swan Land and Cattle Company, Ltd. (Norman; University of Oklahoma Press, 1971), p. 186. At the Langhoff-Bath preliminary hearing in Laramie in November, 1893, Alexander Bowie testified that the Swan Land and Cattle Company had 40,000 head of cattle on the range. Laramie Daily Boomerang, November 16, 1893.

15. Cheyenne Daily Leader, August 10, 1892.

by a defect in the extradition papers, Kelly finally return- ed to Cheyenne with his prisoner. ^^ This unexpected trip east did not particularly please Kelly. He was still respon- sible for the Johnson County invaders locked up in Keefe Hall in Cheyenne awaiting their hearing, and the bills for their custody were piling up in his name.^^

Besides Fred, Eva, Thomas Boucher, and Louis Bath also were charged. Boucher and Bath were two cowboys who worked for the Langhoffs. Bath was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bath, German immigrants and pioneer Laramie hotel proprietors and ranchers. The Bath ranch was on the Little Laramie River, close to Eva's parents' ranch. 1^ The Baths and the Farrells settled in the valley at approximately the same time. Although Eva Langhoff was somewhat older than Louis Bath, they had grown up together. Fred was arraigned on charges of grand lar- ceny while Bath and Boucher were charged with grand larceny and receiving stolen property. Eva's name appears on the charges, but there is no indication that she was ar- raigned with the other three. ^^ The three pled "not guilty" and were bound over for the November court term. Bond for Langhoff was set at three thousand dollars and at two thousand dollars each for Bath and Boucher. Since they were unable to post bond, all three were returned to the county jail. Bath's bond was posted in a few days and he returned to the Langhoff ranch.

The information that set Kelly on Langhoffs trail came from James Moore. Moore was a tough, scarred, twenty- eight year old Texas cowboy who had been hired as a stock detective by Alexander Bowie, foreman of Swan Land and Cattle Company's Two-Bar Ranch. He was instructed to watch the Langhoffs whom Bowie suspected of rustling Swan cattle. Moore claimed he met the Langhoffs moving the horses and that they told him they had gotten them in Laramie County. He claimed the original T brand of Coble's horses had been changed to the 2J and that the

16. Letter dated August 5, 1892, Clarence Clark, Private Secretary to the Governor of Wisconsin, to the Honorable Amos W. Barber, Gover- nor of Wyoming, Wyoming State Archives, Division of Parks and Cultural Resources, Department of Commerce, Cheyenne, hereafter cited as Archives.

17. Helena Huntington Smith, The War on Powder River (Lincoln: Univer- sity of Nebraska Press, 1967), p. 263.

18. Burns, et. al., Wyoming's Pioneer Ranches, p. 288.

19. State of Wyoming, County of Laramie, Criminal Docket 3, Case No. 397, "The State of Wyoming vs Fred Langhoff, Eva Langhoff, Louis Bath and Thomas Boucher," Archives. Eva's name does not appear in the Criminal Appearance Docket, Laramie County, Vol. 3, p. 397, with the other three.

36

LANGHOFF GANG

brands were fresh. One had the 7XL brand of the Warren Livestock Company that had been blotched, and the horse had been rebranded with the LF-. Another, originally branded IB, belonged to Abraham Bare. The IB had been changed to WB then the horse had been rebranded LF-. Moore reported his discovery to Bowie who then notified Kelly and the owners of the horses. Moore's descriptions matched horses found among those sold by Langhoff in Kentucky. 20

Unfortunately for Moore, and for the prosecution, earlier in the spring he had stolen a saddle from the Dia- mond Ranch of George D. Rainsford. Rainsford, a New York native, had come to Wyoming to raise cattle and horses. Besides his livestock interests, he was an architect of some note and had designed many of the cattle barons' Cheyenne homes. Like most of the large stock raisers, Rainsford spent most of his time in Cheyenne. His horse- breeding ranch, the Diamond, was not too far from the headquarters of the Swan Land and Cattle Company in Chugwater. When Rainsford was at his ranch, he was a frequent visitor to Chugwater. His calls, however, were seldom social. He usually came to complain to Bowie about the conduct of the Swan cowboys. Rainsford was arrogant and overbearing, and was intensely disliked by the Swan cowboys who took great pleasure in bedeviling him.

Clay and Bowie asked Rainsford not to prosecute Moore since he would be the key witness in the horse- stealing case. Rainsford insisted on the prosecution as he put it, "for the purpose of breaking up the practice of Moore and others from stealing from the place, "^i Of more interest to the general public was the fact that on May 23, the same day Moore was charged with stealing the sad- dle. Dr. Charles Bingham Penrose of Philadelphia, the surgeon with the Johnson County invaders, was formally charged with the murder of Nate Champion and Nick Ray. However, he was freed on one thousand dollar bond.^^

Although Moore's defense attorneys were Hugo Donzelmann and Josiah A. Van Orsdel, two of the best and most expensive in Cheyenne, and the fact that they presented a formidable battery of defense witnesses, he was found guilty of grand larceny of a saddle with a value

of $32.75. He was sentenced to three years at hard labor in the penitentiary in Laramie. ^^

The defense started the appeal process immediately, then filed a petition for Moore's pardon with Governor Amos W. Barber. Interestingly enough, the petition was drawn up by John M. Davidson, the prosecuting attorney. Among the twenty-nine signers were Walter R. Stoll, the deputy prosecuting attorney; Henry Hay, merchant, rancher, and president of the Stock Growers National Bank of Cheyenne; his business partner, I. C. Whipple; Willis A. Van Devanter, former Chief Justice of the Wyoming State Supreme Court, and later. Justice of the United States Supreme Court; and Sam Corson, secretary-treasurer of the Union Mercantile Company. A rather imposing group of citizens to be interested in a stove-up, crippled cowhand's conviction for stealing a saddle. ^^

On September 28, the Langhoffs suffered another tragedy. When their daughter, Elizabeth, went into the tool shed where Henry Langhoff slept, she found him hang- ing from a beam. He had made a noose from a piece of rein and jumped from the wheel of the wagon. Illness and grief over Fred's continued incarceration were given as the probable reasons for the suicide. ^^ Shortly thereafter, Fred's mother also died.

On November 22, the original case against Langhoff was dismissed, and a new information was filed. The cases against all three were indexed and docketed for trial on December 15. New bail was set at fifteen hundred dollars each. Boucher and Bath requested, and were granted, a separate trial. Langhoffs case was continued, and his bail was reset at twenty-five hundred dollars. 2'' Langhoffs at- torney at this time was Judge William H. Parker of Dead- wood, South Dakota. This was a somewhat unusual choice. During the 1880s Judge Parker coordinated the Wyoming Stock Growers Association's detective and law enforce- ment activities in northern Wyoming, northwestern Nebraska, and the Dakotas. He often served as the associa- tion's special prosecutor in rustling cases in all three areas. 2^

20. State of Wyoming, County of Laramie, Criminal Docket 3, Case No. 410, "State of Wyoming vs James Moore," Exhibit "A," Archives.

21. Cheyenne Daily Sun, June 2, 1892.

22. Lois Van Vali<enburgh, "The Johnson County War: The Papers of Charles Bingham Penrose in the Library of the University of Wyo- ming with Introduction and Notes" (M.A. thesis. University of Wyoming, 1939), p. 81.

23. Cheyenne Daily Sun, June 2, 1892.

24. Petition for Pardon, to Governor Barber on Behalf of James Moore, December 1892, Archives.

25. Laramie Daily Boomerang, September 29, 1893.

26. The State of Wyoming, County of Laramie, Criminal Appearance Docket, Vol. 3, p. 397, Archives.

27. Cheyenne Daily Leader, December 15, 1892.

37

ANNALS OF WYOMING

SPRING 1992

Bath and Boucher came to trial immediately. Without the testimony of Moore, the prosecution's key witness, the judge instructed the jury to bring in a verdict of "not guilty. "2^ Barber signed Moore's pardon on December 28. Probably because of the power struggle between Barber and the incoming governor, John E. Osborne, Moore was given a second pardon by Osborne on January 10, 1893. ^'^

The stockmen were beginning to have some doubts about the value of their star witness, and the wisdom of having gotten him out of the penitentiary. It began to ap- pear that his knowledge of the case stemmed from more than casual observation. Donzelmann, then representing Fred Langhoff, tried to negotiate a deal that would free Langhoff, and at the same time relieve the stockmen of the embarrassment of Moore. The situation had become too complex. Some of those involved in Langhoff's prosecu- tion felt they had too much time and money invested not to push the case to completion.

Langhoff was approached with a deal whereby the charges against Eva and him would be dropped if he would deed over the ranch to one of the stockmen for fifteen hun- dred dollars. There is no evidence who the stockman was, but it was probably either Coble or Clay. At first Eva re- fused to agree, but on February 8, 1893, a deed was drawn up and signed by Fred and Eva, with E. D. Hiskey and T. J. Fisher of the Laramie National Bank in Laramie as witnesses. ^'^

The deed was never registered, and it was rumored that the stockman involved was afraid of being charged with compounding a felony and backed out. Instead of dismissing the charges, he wanted the Langhoffs released on their own recognizance and the charges carried over from court term to court term without coming to trial. This did not suit Van Orsdel, who was now the county and prosecuting attorney for Laramie County. Before his elec- tion. Van Orsdel had been promised five hundred dollars if he got the Langhoffs convicted. He had been paid two hundred dollars as a retainer, but stood to lose three hun- dred dollars if they did not come to trial. He was finally paid off by the stockmen involved. ^^

On May 20, Donzelmann filed an information against Moore charging him with the theft of the Coble, Warren, and Bare horses. StoU, who had originally prosecuted Moore for the theft of the Rainsford saddle, now found himself squeezed out of the Langhoff deal, so he took over Moore's defense on the horse-stealing charges. It was rumored that StoU tried to work out a new deal with Donzelmann which would free both their clients.

The stockman holding the as yet unrecorded deed to the Langhoff ranch again got cold feet. He told Donzelmann that his foreman and his attorney had prom- ised Moore that he would not be prosecuted if he testified against the Langhoffs. The stockman walked out of Donzel- mann's office leaving the deed behind, and leaving Don- zelmann very little time to prepare the Langhoff defense. ^^

Fred was still being held in the Laramie County jail, and on May 9, a bench warrant was issued for the arrest of Eva. The warrant was returned on May 17 and Eva was released on her own recognizance. ^^ Donzelmann filed for a continuance until June 15. The Langhoff's affidavit stated they could produce witnesses who could testify to the sale to them of all the horses except Coble's eight head. These, the affidavit stated, had been sold to the Langhoffs by Moore who represented himself as the legal owner. 3"* The motion was denied and the trial date set for June 7. The legal maneuvering now began in respect to the order of the trials. Moore was the chief witness against the Lang- hoffs. They, in turn, were the chief witnesses against him. The advantage obviously lay with whomever was tried last. If the defendant or defendants in the first trial were found guilty, the credibility of the defense in the second trial would be materially improved. The Langhoffs lost. Not only that, Moore's case was continued over to the fall term.

The Langhoff case was the first on the criminal docket. It was an unusually warm day for June in Wyoming. Be- cause of the notoriety of the case, the courtroom was packed. The three Langhoff children sat close to their parents at the defense table. After the jury was selected, the first witness called was Moore. Donzelmann objected on the grounds that Moore was a convicted felon. Stoll, now assisting the prosecutor, offered to present Moore's pardon in evidence that his citizenship had been restored and that he was therefore a competent witness. Stoll

28. Cheyenne Daily Leader, December 16, 1892.

29. Letter dated January 11, 1893, Amos W. Barber, Secretary of State of Wyoming, to John E. Osborne, Governor of Wyoming, Archives.

30. Cheyenne Daily Leader, June 13, 1893.

31. Cheyenne Daily Leader, June 13, 1893.

32. Cheyenne Daily Leader, June 13, 1893.

33. The State of Wyoming, County of Laramie, Criminal Appearance Docket, Vol. 3, p. 397, Archives.

34. Motion for Continuance, "State of Wyoming vs Fred and Eva Langhoff," June 2, 1893, Archives.

38

LANGHOFF GANG

Eva Langhoff as a teenager 18 years old.

looked through his papers, but could not find a pardon. The chief clerk from the secretary of state's office was sum- moned with the pardon records. He was placed on the wit- ness stand and testified that Moore had been pardoned. Donzelmann still objected, and StoU was called to the stand. He swore he had the pardon in his possession when he came into the court, and read a copy into the trial record. ^^ Moore then took the stand. He testified that he, Fred, and Eva had gone to Coble's ranch together and had driven the horses to the Langhoff corral where they had done the rebranding. He went on to say that after he had been sent to prison for stealing Rainsford's saddle, Fred had then taken care of shipping and selling the horses for both of them. 3^ When the trial resumed on June 8, Matt Penington, Coble's range rider, testified as to the identity of the horses.

Coble testified that Langhoff had offered him one thou- sand dollars to drop the charges. Other state witnesses in- cluded the Union Pacific freight agent from Laramie, who testified the animals were shipped from Laramie to Ken- tucky. The prosecution rested at 3 p.m. The defense called half a dozen character witnesses, then in a final attempt to impeach Moore's testimony. Sheriff Houchins of La Vaca County, Texas, was called. He testified Moore was actually Martin Fisher, and that he had fled La Vaca County in 1889 to avoid prosecution on horse-stealing charges. Moore showed no emotion during Houchins' testimony. Houchins was the last witness called, and after closing arguments, the jury retired at 10 p.m.^^ When no decision had been reached by the following morning, speculation among the spectators was that Eva, at least, would be freed because of the three children. Others conjectured it prob- ably would end with a hung jury. The afternoon of June 9, Adam Adamsky, the jury foreman, reported to Judge Scott, "Your Honor, we stand as we did at the beginning, we can't agree." The judge ordered deliberations con- tinued. That night, at 10 p.m., the jury again reported that they were unable to reach a verdict, and again were ordered to resume deliberations.^^ At 3:30 during the after- noon of June 10, the jury acquitted Eva, but still could not agree about Fred. Scott accepted the verdict on Eva and re- turned the jury to their deliberations. At 6:00 p.m., Adam- sky reported that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked. There was a violent disagreement among the jurors in open court, and Scott finally dismissed them. The vote had been eleven to one for acquittal all the way through in Eva's case, and had varied from eight to four to six to six for ac- quittal in Fred's case. The hold-out in Eva's case had agreed to change his vote if Fred were found guilty. When the ballot on Eva was taken, it was still eleven to one. The hold-out suggested that another ballot be taken. This time the count was twelve to zero for acquittal. The next ballot on Fred was six to six. The hold-out in Eva's case was told that since he had not voted for acquittal when he said he would, the agreement no longer held. The jury had deliberated a total of forty-five hours and had taken 108 ballots.^'' Donzelmann may not have had the time for preparation that he had hoped for, but he came close to winning the whole thing in spite of the strong prosecu- tion case.

35. Cheyenne Daily Leader, June 8, 1893.

36. Cheyenne Daily Leader, June 8, 1893.

37. Cheyenne Dnily Leader. June ^), 18^)3.

38. Cheyenne Daily Leader, juno 10. 18^)3.

39. Cheyenne Daily Leader, Juno 11, 1893.

39

ANNALS OF WYOMING

SPRING 1992

On June 12, Fred's bond was set at fifteen hundred dollars and he was released from jail. Moore was released on one thousand dollar bond the following day, and both were bound over for trial in the fall term.

The Langhoffs were bankrupt. They had been forced to mortgage all their holdings to raise the money for their defense, and the last of it had gone for Fred's bond. If the original deal had gone through, the ranch would have been lost but Fred would have been free, their livestock would have been clear, and they would have had the land they were still proving up. Now, they had a large mortgage, no cash, and another trial pending in the fall. They went back to the ranch. Bath was still there keeping things run- ning. It is not clear exactly when Fred decided to leave, or what the nature of the agreement reached between Eva and him was. Neighbors soon noticed Fred's absence. When asked about him Eva smiled enigmatically and denied any knowledge of his whereabouts. Bath continued on as foreman. The nature of the relationship between Bath and Eva is unclear. Neighbors voiced suspicions that it was more than that of an employer and employee. There were no full-time hands. When extra help was needed, drifters or neighbors were temporarily hired."*"

About the middle of October, Bowie hired Horn as a range detective for the Swan Land and Cattle Com- pany. His assignment, as had been Moore's, was to watch the Sybille Valley settlers, particularly the Lang- hoffs. It is probable that Horn first came to the atten- tion of Bowie and Clay while working as a Pinkerton detec- tive employed by the Wyoming Stock Growers Associa- tion and as a deputy United States marshal. Under the alias of Thomas Hale, he was in Johnson County immediately after the stockmen's invasion."*^ He, Frank Grouard, and Baptiste "Little Bat" Garnier were the only three deputy United States marshals who were willing to work in John- son County in the summer and fall of 1892. Hale or Horn made it quite clear to Marshal Joseph Rankin that he took

orders only from the Wyoming Stock Growers Associa- tion."^^ Bowie and Clay arranged for Horn to be deputized by Sheriff Ira Friedendall of Laramie County. This gave him legal authority to take immediate action, something Moore had not had.'*^

Horn rode around the Langhoff ranch and stayed in the surrounding hills watching, day and night, for nearly three weeks. During the night he came in close to the ranch moving back into the hills at daylight. There were reports that Eva was selling cattle and meat in both Cheyenne and Laramie. According to Horn, the last day of October Eva and Bath delivered three calves to Balch's market in Laramie, although there were not any Langhoff cows with calves on the ranch. He also said that he found unbranded calves in the vicinity of the Langhoff range following cows branded with Swan Land and Cattle Company's Two-Bar brand. On the evening of November 12, Horn saw Eva and Bath bring five calves, including two of those he identified as having been with Two-Bar cows, down the canyon to the ranch. When they took the cattle into the barn, he was certain they planned to butcher that night. Wanting both help and witnesses, he went back to the Two-Bar ranch and got Bowie.** On the way back to Langhoffs, they stopped at the Plaga ranch and picked up Rudolph and Raymond Henke and Rosentreter, and then went to the Tom Moore ranch and added Moore to the party. *^ Rosentreter, hav- ing been a friend of Henry Langhoffs, did not want to help, but decided that with Horn in charge, he really had no choice.*^

They arrived at the Langhoff barn about 7 p.m. There was a light visible, so they opened the door and went in. Besides Eva and Bath, James and Nellie Cleve and William Taylor were also present. The carcasses of the calves and cow were hanging from the rafters. Nellie Cleve was holding a lamp and Eva and the men were working on the carcasses. James Cleve was a professional boxer who also worked in various livery stables in Laramie. He was the son of Thomas Cleve who had settled on Sybille Creek about 1885. The elder Cleve had been admitted to the state hospital with paresis and James and Nellie had looked after

40. Sommer, "History of the Sybille Country," p. 6.

41. Margaret Brock Hanson, Powder River Country (Cheyenne, Wyoming: Frontier Printing Company, 1981), p. 360; letter dated October 31, 1892, ]. P. Rankin, U.S. Marshal for Wyoming, to the Attorney General, Washington, D.C., Archives; letter dated February 2, 1915, William C. Irvine to Dr. Charles B. Penrose, in Van Valkenburgh, "The Johnson County War," Appendix B, p. Ixvii.

42. Letter dated October 31, 1892, U.S. Marshal Joseph Rankin, to the Attorney General of the United States, Archives.

43. Laramie Daily Boomerang, November 15, 1893.

44. Laramie Daily Boomerang, November 15, 1893.

45. Laramie Daily Boomerang, November 16, 1893.

46. G. W. Rosentreter, "My Cowboy Experiences in the 1890s," Annals of Wyoming 37 (October 1965): 221.

40

LANGHOFF GANG

his ranch for about five weeks. They had come to the Langhoff ranch the evening before to borrow a wagon. Bath told them he would need the wagon to haul meat to Laramie, and asked Cleve to stay over and help with the butchering the next evening. Taylor had lived in the Sybille country for about two years. He worked on various ranches in the area and raised potatoes to sell in Laramie and Cheyenne. He too, had been hired by Bath to help with the butchering.*^

Horn and Bowie held their rifles on the occupants of the barn and placed them all under arrest. Bath, holding a butcher knife in his hand, started towards Horn. Horn told him to drop the knife or he would put a bullet through

his head."*^ Bath dropped his knife, then asked Horn if he had a warrant. When Horn replied that he did not, Bath said they would not go with him without a warrant. Horn replied that if they did not, it would be a surprise to him.*^ The butchering was finished under Horn's supervision, then all the prisoners were taken to the Langhoff house where beds were made for them on the floor and Horn and Bowie guarded them the rest of the night. Rosentreter was sent to the Jones, Mule-Shoe, and Two-Bar ranches of the Swan Company to get company wagons to take the beef and the prisoners to Laramie the next morning. ^o The prisoners offered to go to Laramie in their own wagon, but instead, they were taken to Iron Mountain in the Swan wagons and put on the Cheyenne Northern Railroad for Cheyenne. Horn and Bowie decided this was necessary. In Cheyenne, Horn obtained proper arrest warrants which instructed him to deliver the prisoners to Laramie. Since the arrests were made in Albany County, and Horn was deputized in Laramie County, he used this means of mak- ing the arrests legal before delivering the prisoners to Laramie. 51

The preliminary hearing was held before Judge J. H. Hayford on November 16. Testimony presented indicated that the butchered cow carried a B-FL brand, not the Langhoff FL-. It was suggested that it might have been one of Ora Haley's H- cattle with the brand reworked to make it B-FL. Haley was one of the most powerful cattlemen and bankers in Wyoming. Later he reputedly hired Horn to protect his interests in Brown's Park, Colorado. For some reason, this line of investigation was not pursued. All the calves were unbranded. The charges against the defen- dants were based solely on two of the calves valued at five dollars each. These were the calves identified by Bowie and Horn as having been seen earlier with Two-Bar cows. Philip Bath, Louis' brother, testified he had cattle with his brand. The Hat, and others branded Two-J-Bar-H and EU, which he had purchased from Moore, grazing in the area in Louis' charge. Boucher testified that he had eigh- teen head in the area carrying the B-Bar-B brand, and that he had given Louis permission to kill or dispose of the calves as long as he fed the cattle. Louis testified that he also had cattle branded DOG and three U's, his

Gus Rosentreter on his horse Raven.

47. Laramie Daihj Boomerang, November 17, 1893.

48. Rosentreter, "My Cowboy Experiences," p. 223.

49. Laramie Daily Boomerang, November 15, 1893.

50. Rosentreter, "My Cowboy Experiences," p. 223.

51. Laramie Daily Boomerang, November 15, 1893.

41

ANNALS OF WYOMING

SPRING 1992

brands, and others branded FB connected, his brother Fred's brand, grazing in the area. With the two Langhoff brands, LF- and 2J, this made a total of nine brands being carried by livestock supposedly under Louis' control. Bath testified that the calves killed that night were un- branded, but belonged to B-Bar 5 cows. He testified that none of Boucher's calves had been branded because the cattle had not been found until after the roundup had pass- ed through. He also testified that he had previously killed and sold unbranded calves of the B-Bar 5 cows. These un- branded calves were properly classified as mavericks, and killing a maverick was a violation of Wyoming stock laws. Horn testified he had found evidence that Eva and Louis had, in the past, branded calves' hides after the animals were killed."

Hayford discharged Nellie on the grounds that the law provided that a wife, acting under instructions from her husband and in his presence, could not be held criminally liable. She was immediately rearrested and turned over to Sheriff Hanson of Carbon County on charges of obtaining money under false pretenses. Because of the three children, Eva was released on her own recognizance. Cleve and Taylor were held on five hundred dollar bond each, and Bath on one thousand dollar bond. All four were bound over for trial in January. ^^

Meanwhile, Fred Langhoff was due for retrial in Chey- enne on November 20. When he did not appear, his bond was declared forfeited and a warrant for his arrest was issued. 54 Moore also failed to appear. His bond also was forfeited and a warrant was issued for his arrest. ^^ It is pro- bable that when they were released on bond, either by actual agreement or tacit understanding, it was not ex- pected they would appear for trial. In either case, with both of them gone from the scene. Coble, the Swan Land and Cattle Company, and the other large stock growers in the area were saved any further embarrassment that might have resulted from a trial, and both were effectively re- moved from the area.

Fred Langhoff never returned to Wyoming, at least not openly. He disappeared for a few years during which time, under an alias, he may have ridden in Buffalo Bill Cody's

52. Laramie Daily Boomerang, November 17, 1893.

53. Laramie Daily Boomerang, November 17, 1893.

54. State of Wyoming, County of Laramie, Criminal Appearance Docket, Vol. 3, p. 398.

55. State of Wyoming, County of Laramie, Criminal Appearance Docket, Vol. 3, p. 410.

Louis Bath pictured ca. 1910.

Wild West Show, or in one of the other wild west shows on the road at the time. In 1897, he surfaced in Rochelle, Illinois. He took the German spelling of his name, Langholf . Divorced from Eva, he now married Estelle Babb, with whom he had nine children. He established himself as a widely respected horse breeder and trainer. He died in 1925 at the age of 69 from complications resulting from a riding accident.''^

There is no record of where Moore went. It is very probable that he too left Wyoming. He was not available to verify the sale of the cattle to Philip Bath, and no sub- poena was issued for him as a witness. Since Philip could not produce a bill of sale, Moore's testimony was the only other proof available that there had, in fact, been a sale.

When the court convened on the case on January 13, 1894, Taylor and Cleve requested, and were granted, a separate trial. At the request of the prosecution, Louis' bail was revoked and he was remanded to the county jail. The original jury panel was exhausted and an open venire for seven men had to be issued before the trial of Eva and Louis could begin. The trial ran for four days, finally go- ing to the jury at 4 p.m., January 16. During the trial, Louis

42

LANGHOFF GANG

made an unsworn statement, while Eva remained silent. The rest of the witnesses for both the prosecution and the defense were the same as at the preliminary hearing. ^^

The jury was out all night. At 9:30 p.m., they asked if they could bring a verdict of guilty against one defen- dant and disagree on the other. They were told that they could, and were then locked up for the night. At 11:00 a.m. on January 17, they delivered their verdict. They found Bath guilty and acquitted Langhoff . Louis' mother scream- ed and cried when the verdict was announced, as did Eva. C. W. Brammel, attorney for the defense, immediately noted exceptions to the verdict and to the instructions to the jury. When the court reconvened in the afternoon, the prosecution requested the dismissal of the cases against Cleve and Taylor. ^^

On January 30, the presiding judge, J. W. Blake, denied the defense motion for a new trial and sentenced Bath to eighteen months in the state penitentiary in Laramie. Blake gave Bath a stern lecture with the sentencing, stating that he believed there were others equally guilty with him. Bail was denied while the case was under appeal and Bath was returned to the county jail.^^ The Supreme Court acted quickly, denying Bath's appeal. He was turned over to the warden of the penitentiary the next day to start his sentence as convict number 165.^° Bath's family started a petition for a pardon immediately after the sentencing. Governor John E. Osborne granted him a full pardon on January 5, 1895. While most of the signers of the petition were business and professional men from Laramie, several prominent ranchers, and members of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, signed it as well.^^

One person who would not sign the petition was at- torney Melville C. Brown. Brown, a prominent and widely- respected member of the Wyoming Bar, had served as assistant prosecutor and was an attorney for the Swan Land and Cattle Company. He wrote a strong letter to Osborne urging him not to grant a pardon. He stated, "Bath has been connected with a very bad gang of thieves for two or three years and he is the only one thus far brought to justice. *'2 Osborne, a Democrat, had little sym-

56. Letter dated September 15, 1983, Dever Langhoff to author.

57. Laramie Daily Boomerang, January 16, 1894.

58. Laramie Daily Boomerang, January 17, 1894.

59. Laramie Daily Boomerang, January 30, 1894.

60. Wyoming State Penitentiary, "Receipt for Louis Bath," dated January 31, 1894, Archives.

61. Pardon File, Louis Bath, Archives.

62. Pardon File, Louis Bath, Archives.

pathy for the large stock growers and had been elected, at least partially, because of voter backlash to the Johnson County Invasion.

Bath never was in trouble with the law again. He was a member of the University of Wyoming football team in 1896. He leased various Laramie Valley ranches and en- gaged in business in Laramie until his death on October 25, 1932.63

Fred Langhoff's forfeited bail and the cost of her latest trial left Eva absolutely penniless. Her parents, the Farrells, had lost their ranch as well and had moved into Laramie, so she could not go back to them. She worked on various ranches through the years, finally settling in North Park, Colorado. She never remarried, and died at the home of her daughter, Elizabeth, on a ranch near Walden, Col- orado, on July 13, 1939.^4

The Langhoff story presents an interesting enigma. In it are all the elements of a classical western novel: the large, foreign-owned ranch; the struggling small settler; the hard- nosed detective; and, possibly, a touch of illicit romance. Whether the Langhoffs were the large-scale horse thieves and rustlers the stockmen accused them of being, or whether they were unfortunately holding land the Swan Land and Cattle Company wanted to control, will always remain a mystery. The first jury found Bath innocent of the horse stealing charges, while the second found him guilty of rustling Two-Bar calves. His admission that he had killed the unbranded calves, corroborated by the evidence of other witnesses, was enough to convict him under Wyoming law. The judge, in his charge to the jury stated, "Every person who shall aid or abet in the com- mission of any crime, or shall counsel, encourage, hire, command or otherwise procure such offense to be com- mitted; and every person concerned with the commission of a crime, whether he directly commits the act constituting the offense— is a principal and may be convicted the same as the principal actor. "^^ In Eva's case, the jury chose to disregard this portion of the instructions. She was found innocent of the cattle-rustling charge just as she had been found innocent of horse-stealing earlier. The decisions of both juries appear to have been based less on the evidence, or lack of it, than out of sympathy for the Langhoff children. Perhaps it also was because she was a woman, although simply being a woman was not always enough as Ella Watson found out.

The charge that the large cattle companies could not get justice from Wyoming juries is difficult to sustain in this series of events. Moore was found guilty of stealing Rainsford's saddle; there was no evidence against Bath and

43

ANNALS OF WYOMING

SPRING 1992

Boucher in the horse-stealing case, and Moore did not im- plicate either man when he testified against the Langhoffs; and, in both the horse-stealing case in Cheyenne and the cattle-rustling case in Laramie, the jury deliberations ex- tended for long periods of time and seemed to indicate a sincere effort by the jurors to reach fair and equitable ver- dicts based on the evidence.

It appears the primary goals of Clay, the Swan Land and Cattle Company, and the other large ranchers in the area were to remove the Langhoff operation, gain control of the Langhoff land and water rights, and, at the same time, intimidate the other small operators in the Sybille Canyon. The Langhoff ranch came into friendly hands when the title passed to a wealthy Cheyenne resident by the name of Hoffman, who hired Hartwig Martens to operate it.^^ The Swan had trouble later in the Iron Mountain-Horse Creek area with William Lewis and Fred Powell, but there was no more trouble in the Sybille Can- yon. Just the single conviction of Bath apparently was enough.

As relatively minor as the entire Langhoff incident was, it is difficult to believe it played any major role in shaping Horn's philosophy. During this period, other stock detectives in Wyoming and elsewhere in the West exer- cised summary justice with relative impunity. If Horn had

not been found guilty of killing Willie Nickell, it is probable that like August Pasche, Ben Morrison, James L. Smith, David Shuck, Alfred Nard, and so many others, he would have passed into history all but unnoticed.

63. Laramie Republican-Boomerang, October 26, 1932.

64. Laramie Republican-Boomerang, July 14, 1939.

65. State of Wyoming, Albany County District Court, Criminal Case No. 587, "State of Wyoming vs Louis Bath, et. al.," "Instructions to the Court," Archives.

66. Burns, et. al., Wyoming Pioneer Ranches, p. 377.

MURRAY L. CARROLL holds a Ph.D. International Relations and Diplomatic History and retired from the U.S. Army as a Lt. Colonel. He has taught at the University of Connecticut and the University of YJyoming. He presently lives in Anacortes, Washington where he researches and writes Western history. The Annals previously published his article, "Governor Francis £. Warren, The United States Army and the Chinese Massacre at Rock Springs, " in Fall, 1987.

44

FAMILY TRADITIONS

by Mark Dugan

If one was to look back in time and pick a date at random, say April 30, 1894, he or she would likely find a typical Wyoming ranching family repairing winter dam- ages around the ranch or bringing the cattle in to spring and summer forage areas. This would not stand true for the Fred Powell family, for wife Mary and son Bill were in court as defense witnesses in Fred's trial for incendiarism. Take another day, October 14, 1910, for instance. One might find a ranching family hauling winter feed to their livestock or preparing their outbuildings for the coming winter's blast, while Mary Powell, on this same day, was being arrested for burning her neighbor's hay. Family tradition in the Powell clan was a far cry from the normal practice of the small rancher in turn-of-the-century Wyoming.

The Powell name likely would have remained in obscurity, recorded only on the court dockets and cases now filed in the holdings of the Wyoming State Archives, if not for one incident; the shooting of Fred Powell by an assassin, allegedly the notorious Tom Horn. This assump- tion resulted from the ambush killing of Fred Powell's friend, William Lewis, a little more than one month before Powell's death. The manner in which both men died was identical, and common consensus is that Horn was paid by members of the big Wyoming cattle corporations to kill both men in retaliation for rustling activities. In Lewis' case this was likely fact; Powell's death was another matter en- tirely which will be pointed out.^

Fred Powell was scourge to all of his neighbors; his wife Mary and then his son Bill followed in his footsteps. To those he liked, Powell was undoubtedly friendly and pleasant; but he had a mean streak and to anyone who incurred his wrath he would stoop to petty reprisals such as destruction of property, arson, and general harassment. He also rustled their stock. To Powell, it was do unto others before they did it unto you.

Born in Virginia, Fredrick U. Powell was thirty-seven years old at the time of his death in September, 1895. He came to Wyoming around the latter part of the 1870s, and took a job with the Union Pacific Railroad in Cheyenne. Even though he had lost an arm while in the service, the railroad gave him a job as a night watchman. The com- pany later fired him when it was discovered he had taken twenty dollars from a man who was beating his way across the country. From here he moved to the Sybille country.

It was around 1881 when Powell settled on 160 acres on Horse Creek in Albany County, located six miles from the Laramie County line and seven miles southwest of the ranch of his friend William Lewis. On December 23, 1882, he married twenty-three-year-old Mary (Keane) Wanless in Laramie County. Their only child, William Edwin, was born on November 9, 1884. The lifestyle of the Powells was one of adversity and chaos from the start and, despite the loss of his arm, Fred Powell was described as a tough and husky man who was looked upon as a rustler from the moment he located on Horse Creek. ^

A history of William Lewis' life and death and Fred Powell's history and an abbreviated history of Mary Powell is contained in the author's book. Tales Never Told Around the Campftre (Athens; Ohio Uni\'ersity Press/Swallow Press, 1992).

Cheyenne Daily Sun-Leader, September 11, 1895; Laramie County Mar- riage Records, Vol. 2, Book 2, p. 218, Wyoming State Archives, Divi- sion of Parks and Cultural Resources, Department of Commerce, Cheyenne, hereafter cited as Archives; Dean F. Krakel, The Saga of Tom Horn (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1954), pp. 7-8; Ver- dict of Coroners Jury, No. 133, Albany County, Wyoming, September 12, 1895, Fred U. Powell, Archives; Burial record, William E. Powell, Stryker Mortuary, Montgomery-Stryker Funeral Home, Laramie.

45

ANNALS OF WYOMING

SPRING 1992

On July 24, 1889, Powell reportedly stole four head of cattle in Albany County; one from Hugh McPhee, two from a man named Hayward, and another from a man named Lannon. On September 7, a criminal warrant was issued and Powell was arrested. Unable to post a six hundred dollar bond, he was remanded to jail. Preliminary hear- ing was held on September 10, and the court ordered him to appear before a grand jury on October 16. His bond was reduced to three hundred dollars which was furnished by his father-in-law, John Keane. Strangely, Powell's brothers- in-law, William E. and Charles Keane, were prosecuting witnesses. Apparently the grand jury did not find enough evidence to indict him or else the plaintiffs dropped their charges, for Powell was never brought to trial. ^

In Cheyenne a year later, on August 16, 1890, S. L. Moyer charged Powell with grand larceny in Justice of the Peace Court and a warrant was issued. Constable B. S. Smith arrested Powell the same day. On the evening of August 18, Powell appeared in court with his attorney, J. C. Baird. The prosecution presented its evidence and the defense made a motion to dismiss on the grounds that "the evidence did not show that any crime had been commit- ted by the defendant." Justice W. P. Carroll sustained the motion and ordered "that the complaint in this case is hereby dismissed and the defendant is discharged from custody."*

Powell's troubles took a different turn in January, 1892, when his wife sued him for divorce. On January 4, in Lara- mie County District Court in Cheyenne, Mary Powell filed her petition claiming that for seven years her husband failed to provide for her or their seven-year-old son. She also stated that Powell threatened to shoot her with a revolver the previous November 30, chased and struck her with a knife on December 19, and abducted their child on Decem- ber 30. On January 4, a summons to appear in court on February 6 was issued and served on Powell, but he failed to show up in court. Needless to say, the divorce was granted on February 19, and Mary was given custody of their child. Following the divorce, Mary lived in Laramie. But

3. Albany County Criminal Case No. 447, Territory of Wyoming vs. Fredrick U. Powell, Stealing and Killing Neat Cattle, Archives. All subsequent criminal and civil cases, unless otherwise indicated, are from the holdings of the Wyoming State Archives.

4. Cheyenne Justice of the Peace Criminal Docket, State of Wyoming vs. Fred Powell, Grand Larceny, pp. 185, 359.

1. Fi 2. Wi 3. Mc 4. Sv	ed Powell ranch; Powell shot and ki lliam Lewis ranch. ntgomery ranch; William Lewis shot /an Land and Cattle Company.	" 11. a,-
ALBANY \ \ COUNTY \ / , J \ Mou
ron ita; A 3
	1
	\J}	'^ y/Laramie 1 WYOMING	Hor Cre
\

46

FAMILY TRADITIONS

jptember 10, 1895. illed, July 31, 1895.

Cheyenne

COLORADO

strange as it may seem, it appears that she and son Bill periodically lived at the ranch with Fred until his death. ^

Five months following the divorce, Powell again ran afoul of the law, and would continue this pattern every year until his death. On July 15, 1892, he was arrested by Albany County Sheriff C. C. Yund for stealing a horse on July 11 belonging to Josiah Fisher. The preliminary hear- ing in Laramie began on the July 16 and Powell pled not guilty. For four days both sides presented their evidence and Powell was bound over for trial during the next court term. He was released on two hundred dollars bond. On September 19, the trial commenced under Justice J. H. Hayford. On the same day the jury turned in a verdict of not guilty.^

For whatever reason, a year later Powell ostensibly began his vendetta against his Albany County neighbors. On July 23, 1893, he was charged with malicious trespass and destroying fences belonging to Etherton P. Baker. Ap- parently Powell feared the brand of adjudication handed out by Hayford, for on July 29, he requested and received a change of venue to Justice M. A. Hance's court. He was tried on July 31, found guilty, and fined fifty dollars plus thirty-nine dollars court costs. Powell immediately appealed, which was granted on September 12, and he was released on a two hundred dollar appearance bond. Four days later he lucked out again when the jury turned in a verdict of not guilty.^

Evidently Powell figured he could get away with any- thing; however, his luck was running out. On April 24, 1894, he continued his reprisal against his neighbors when he set fire to clothing, bedding, and food products belong- ing to Joseph Trugillo and Baker. Three days later Sheriff C. C. Frazer arrested him on the charge of incendiarism and hauled him into court. The case was continued until April 30. Still apprehensive of a ruling under Hayford, Powell requested and was granted a change of venue to Hance's court, and the case was tried that day. Both Marv and young Bill Powell appeared as defense witnesses. In spite of this, the jury had had quite enough of Powell and found him guilty. He was fined fifty dollars or, if in default,

Laramie County District Court Civil Appearance Docket No. 5, p. 231, and Petition, Mary N. Powell vs. Fredrick U. Powell, Divorce; Laramie County District Court Journal, Vol. 12, pp. 618-619. Albany County Criminal Case No. 560, State of WNominj; vs. Frodnck U. Powell, Stealing Live Stock.

Albany County Criminal Case No. 584, State of Wyoming vs. Fredrick U. Powell, Malicious Trespass and Destruction of Property.

47

ANNALS OF WYOMING

SPRING 1992

a jail sentence at one dollar per day until the fine was paid. Naturally he appealed, and was released on one hundred dollars bond.^

PoweU could not seem to stay out of trouble. On July 8, 1894, he trespassed on the property of Harry P. Richard- son and rode off on one of Richardson's horses without consent. He was arrested on July 10, on the charge of malicious trespass, and, on July 13, again received a change of venue from Hayford's court to Hance's. Trial was held the same day and Hance, now tired of Powell's antics, quickly found him guilty and fined him forty-five dollars. Powell appealed for retrial and was released on one hun- dred dollars bond.''

Powell's appeal trial for incendiarism came to court on September 12 under Judge J. W. Blake. By this time every- one was fed up with his shenanigans and the jury found him guilty the next day. On September 18, Blake sentenced him to four months in the county jail, retroactive to September 14. Because of his conviction. Prosecuting Attorney W. H. Bramel entered a nolle prosequi on September 15 in the Richardson case.^"

Following his release from jail, Powell began receiv- ing letters warning him to stop stealing stock and leave the country, or face the consequences. At first he likely ig- nored them as idle threats. It was a different story after William Lewis was killed. The Daily Sun-Leader grimly summed up the situation:

The statement was repeatedly heard after the Lewis killing that "One Armed" Powell would be the next to go, and Sheriff [Ira] Fredendall told Powell at the sale of the Lewis stock that he, Powell, was a fool to stay on Horse Creek and run the risk of losing his life at any moment. Powell appeared to be con- siderably frightened after the murder of Lewis became known, and it is understood that he was selling out preparatory to leav- ing the country.

Not long ago Mrs. Powell was in this city [Cheyenne] and called at the Sun-Leader office. She stated that their cattle had all been sold and that they intended going away."

On September 3, Powell reportedly received this last letter:

8. Albany County Criminal Case No. 598, State of Wyoming vs. Fredrick U. Powell, Incendiarism and Malicious Trespass.

9. Albany County Criminal Case No. 60L State of Wyoming vs. Fredrick U. Powell, Criminal Trespass.

Albany County Criminal Case Nos. 601 and 598, State of Wyoming vs. Fredrick U. Powell, Criminal Trespass, Incendiarism and Malicious Trespass. Cheyenne Daily Sun-Leader, September 11, 1895.

10

11

Mary PoweU during her later years.

48

FAMILY TRADITIONS

Laramie, Wyo., September 2, 1895 Mr. Powell— This is your third and last warning. There are three things for you to do— quit killing other people's cattle or be killed yourself, or leave the country yourself at once.

The letter was written in a disguised hand by a good pen- man and, of course, was unsigned. ^^

The man did not move fast enough. At 7:30 on the morning of September 10, Powell died. Here is the state- ment of Andrew Ross, Powell's hired man:

I have worked for Fred U. Powell one month. We were alone on the ranch. Mr. Powell and I, we got up about 4 A.M. this morning. We started to haul hay, hauled one load and started for another. We got to a place about Vi mile from the ranch down the creek, stopped wagon, got off. Mr. Powell told me to cut some willows so we could fix the rack. [To replace a stick that was missing from a hay rack.] As 1 was cutting the second willow I heard a shot fired. I looked around and saw Mr. Powell with his hand on his breast. 1 ran toward him. He exclaimed "Oh! My God!," then fell. I went to him. Examined him and found he was dead. I then went to the ranch of Mr. [Benjamin] Fay and notified Mr. Fay.

I examined the surrounding vicinity and from what 1 could ascertain the shot was fired from a ledge of rocks about 250 feet [yards?] distant. 1 examined the body and found a gun- shot wound entering the breast near the center and came out at right of spine near 4th rib. 1 couldn't see any person when I heard the shot or afterward."

Ross arrived at the Fay ranch a badly frightened man. He encountered Beulah Richardson, who carried the mail between Laramie and Summit. She immediately took the news to Sheriff Grant in Laramie. Ironically, she was the wife of Harry P. Richardson, who had brought charges against Powell for malicious trespass.

Mary Powell was in Laramie at the time of the killing. When she received the news she left for the ranch with the sheriff and Coroner Andrew Miller. The inquest was held later that day, and the verdict read, "A gun shot wound inflicted with felonious intent by a party or parties to the jury unknown."^''

The Daily Sun-Leader gave a more detailed report after Sheriff Grant made his investigation:

It was supposed that the parties who shot Lewis also killed Powell . . . Powell was shot but once and killed instantly. A rifle ball entered the left side, near the heart, and came out over the right hip. The range was downward. The assassin was con- cealed behind a ledge of rocks on the opposite side of the creek, and was over 200 yards distant when the fatal shot was fired. After Ross ran away, the killer walked down to the body, viewed his work and returned to the hill, where he mounted his horse and rode away. His footprints were clearly discer- nable and careful measurements show he wore a No. 8 boot, and was a man of considerable weight. The officers suspect who the assassin was but have no tangible evidence. '^

On September 11, Mary Powell brought Fred's body to Laramie where, at 4 p.m. the next day, he was buried. She adamantly denied that he had received any warning letters to leave the country. ^^ This leaves the questions of who and why.

Horn was suspected of Powell's murder, and he was brought before a grand jury for questioning. He was never indicted because of insufficient evidence, and no one was ever arrested for the killing of Fred Powell.^^

Following Powell's death, his brother-in-law, Charles Keane, moved to the Powell ranch where he helped take care of the stock and did whatever work needed done. On the evening of January 21, he picked up the following let- ter from the Laramie Post Office, which was printed in the Laramie Boomerang:

Laramie, January 21, 1896

Charles Keane:

If you don't leave this country within three days your life will be taken the same as Powell's was.

Unlike Powell, Keane' s character was never in question, so the death threat letter was likely a guise meant to muddy the waters concerning Powell's death. According to the ar- ticle in the Boomerang, the threat worked:

He [Charles Keane] was seen by a Boomerang representative this morning to whom he said that he would comply with the warn- ing . . . and he did not think it would be wise for him to court death in this instance. The services of James Stirling were secured to accompany him back to the ranch to make the necessary preparations for abandoning the property.

Mrs. [Mary] Powell stated this morning that it now looked to her as though someone wanted the property, and that if this were the case she would gladly sell it instead of having the system of assassination carried out.'**

12. Cheyenne Daily Sun-Leader, September 11, 1895.

13. Coroner's Inquest and Verdict of Coroner's Jury in death of Fredrick U. Powell, September 10, 1895, Archives.

14. Cheyenne Daily Sun-Leader, September 11, 1895; Coroner's Inquest and Verdict of Coroner's Jury in death of Fredrick U. Powell, September 10, 1895.

15. Cheyenne Daily Sun-Leader, September 11, 18'-15.

16. Clwyenne Daily Sun-Leader, September 12, 1895.

17. T. A. Larson, History of Wyoming (Lincoln: University ot Nebraska Press, 1965), p. 373; Laramie Repnd'lican-Boomeraug, )anuar\- 13, bUl.

18. Laramie Daily Boomerang, January 27, 1896.

49

ANNALS OF WYOMING

SPRING 1992

Unlike Lewis' killing, the evidence shows that there was no connection between the big cattlemen and Powell or Keane, and they had no reason to eliminate either one of them. All of Powell's court cases and litigations were with his neighbors, who were small ranchers. What grounds would the prominent cattlemen have had to kill Powell? Because he was a known rustler? This is highly unlikely, and would have been a foolish move since loose talk had already linked them with Horn in the killing of William Lewis. The plausible solution to the question of who killed Powell is provided by his wife Mary.

Although Mary led a willful and dubious life, she had her good side. It is also revealed that Mary, with absolute certainty, stated she knew who killed her husband, which is perceivably the truth. Here is a first hand account of her views and convictions:

Mrs. Powell [Mary] was very alert and recalled many incidents concerning the murder of her husband Fred. She again told us that Tom Horn did not kill Fred Powell. She said that legend had been established and try as she might she would never be able to change the story. And she said, she could not prove the murderer's guilt.

The Powell's were feuding with a neighboring rancher. The rancher was not a very pleasant man. Perhaps his disposition could be attributed to his childhood. He was a "Street Orphan" picked up by the authorities in some city to save expense of caring for him he was then shipped with others to a point in Iowa where they were chosen by people in the west. He was chosen by a Wyoming rancher, probably for cheap labor.

After the murder of Powell, Mary made life miserable for the rancher. He did not drink and Mary was noted for her alcohol intake. If she had liquor with her when she crossed the rancher's path she insisted he drink with her. Out came her trusty gun and quirt.

She told us one time she accosted him at the Leslie Mine in the hills near her home. She insisted he drink with her. She threatened him with bodily harm and used the quirt on him.

The rancher ran down into the mine to avoid her attack. Mary rolled stones into the mine. The rancher knew he wasn't going to escape so he came up. Mary forced him to drink until he collapsed.

Mary Powell was quite a character but she was not a

Taking into account Fred's track record, there is no doubt that he had many enemies among his neigh- bors, and who knows how many others he had provoked who had never taken him to court. If this rancher did kill Powell, he timed his act well. It was only six weeks follow- ing the death of Lewis, and the rumors were flying that the cattlemen's hired killer Tom Horn had done the deed. The rancher could pull off a copy cat killing and the suspi- cion would fall on Horn and the big cattlemen, and this

is exactly what happened. Following Powell's assassina- tion, Mary began her vendetta against the rancher. If he had known that she would take this course of retaliation, he might well have reconsidered his actions. Although the evidence is circumstantial, Mary was likely correct in her presumption.

Author Chip Carlson reports that following Fred's murder, Mary went to work as a cook for the large cattle corporation the Swan Land and Cattle Company, at their Two Bar ranch. Here her irascible and hot-tempered nature was much in evidence. Carlson writes:

One day at noon dinner an indiscreet cowboy at the long table began griping about the food. Mary walked up behind him, pulled a six-shooter out from under her apron, and stuck the muzzle under his ear. She said, "Now you are going to eat that meal, and then, you son of a bitch, you are going to tell me how good it was.''^^

If Mary did indeed go to work for the Two Bar, this is added evidence that Mary did not suspect the Swan Land and Cattle Company or their off and on employee Horn with the murder of Fred.

Mary's life was as turbulent as her husband's. A strong-willed and outspoken woman, she had a character to match Fred's. Born Mary Nora Keane on August 7, 1859, the first born of Irish Catholic immigrants John and Mary Keane, she is recorded as the first White child born in Golden, Colorado. The Keanes fostered three more children in Colorado: William E. in 1861, Alice in 1863, and Katie in 1865. ^^

Laramie was founded in the southeastern portion of Wyoming with the coming of the Union Pacific Railroad during the spring of 1868. With it came thirty-five-year- old John Keane, his wife Mary at thirty-one, and his three children. He immediately obtained a plat of land one mile east of town and built a farm house. He also began building a saloon in Laramie between C and D streets and Second and Third. It was Keane's unfinished building that became the gallows for desperados Big Ned Wilson, Con Wagner, and Asa Moore, who were lynched by Laramie vigilantes

19. Letter to author, August 23, 1990. Name withheld by request.

20. Chip Carlson, Tom Horn; " Killing mey^ is my specialty . . ."(Cheyenne, Wyoming: Beartooth Corral, 1991), pp. 38-39.

21. Laramie Republican-Boomerang, January 13, 1941; 1870 Albany County, Wyoming Territorial Census, p. 19; Official Verification of Death of Mary Powell, Vital Records Services, Division of Health and Medical Services, State of Wyoming, Cheyenne, hereafter cited as Vital Records. The Keane name in various documents and newspapers is often erroneously listed as Kane.

50

FAMILY TRADITIONS

on the night of October 18, 1868. Perhaps Keane was part of the group. ^2

By 1870, the Keane's family had grown. On June 21, 1868, their son, Patrick "Patsy" Sarsfield Keane, was born. He was recorded as the first White child to be born in Laramie; however, his short life ended on December 28, 1878, from the effects of a severe cold. In February, 1870, twins Rosy and Charles were the last children born into the Keane family. During the years 1883 and 1884, Keane was listed as farming east and south of Laramie's city limits."

In 1951 Wyoming Historian Mary Lou Pence wrote that Keane wanted the best for his first born and sent Mary east for schooling in a convent. If this was true, Mary was back by the time she was sixteen, for at that time she left home. Pence also quoted the following statement about Mary from an old-time resident:

Before that [the killing of Fred Powell] she was about the softest- spoken lady hereabouts. Never any pretending about Mary. When Fred'd brag how he intended the Powells to be big cat- tle kings one day, Mary'd say, quiet-like, "I like our home here. Only thing I'd change, maybe, is the south window— make it bigger so 1 could pot some meadow violets, "^-i

This is a nice way for one to remember Mary; however, documentation will show that this was just a bit of romanticism.

Mary Nora Keane's life began its tempestuous course on January 30, 1875, when, at sixteen, she married John G. Garrett in Laramie. The wedding was officiated by Eugene Cusson, Catholic pastor, and witnessed by Mary's parents. Judged by future events, marriage held no satis- faction for Mary, for by 1878 she was no longer living with Garrett. It is probable that the marriage had been annulled. At this point Mary was working, presumably as a waitress, at the New York House Restaurant, opposite the Laramie railroad depot. On August 30, Mary attempted suicide according to this report in the Laramie Daily Sentinel:

22. 1870 Albany County, Wyoming Territorial Census, p. 19; Mary Lou Pence, The Laramie Ston/ (Casper, Wyoming: Prairie Publishing Co., 1987), pp. 5, 12; C. Exerta Brown, Brown's Gazeteer of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad and Branches of the Union Pacific Railroad (Chicago: Bassett Brother's Steam Printing House, 1868), p. 315.

23. Laramie Daily Sentinel, December 28, 1878; Pence, The Laramie Story, p. 10; 1870 Albany County, Wyoming Territorial Census, p. 19; Laramie City Directory, 1883-1884, p. 70.

24. Mary Lou Pence, "The Woman