1 10 3 https://caspercollege.cvlcollections.org/files/original/cc4af188488ec47f78bb89ef6ddfedd6.pdf daafc999b80810821f6c093ceddf0ef4 PDF Text Text 8TARTIN0 A CATTUS RAW IN WTCaiZm Zb Febrwry, 1882, I oelebra^ ny wist btr^idi^ bir tr*dlag six Maver trap* and a •aek of flour f(»r a famtor** oabia oa th* head of UoARy eroelu Thi* oabia, built th® prrriou* year by P*t th* Tra >p«P and Black Jiaok, w* about 14 foot •quar®, aado out of largo grooa plao logo, with a dirt roof and dirt floor* A big atoae fireplace ia one oad, with tho ohiaaoy built up oa th® outsld® of th* buildiBg* furaiohod both heat and light. Thmro wore ao wiadowo and tho floor was made f>om aa oik hide stretched cm topee pole*. A ln>ooK. mdo from willow twigs, wa* used to sweep the dirt floori aad all the oookiag was oror tho coals from tho fireplace, using dutoh oreas aad rery thiok skillets. Tho oabia was well sheltered sad half hidden ia tho willow brush. I spent the winter of *82 aad *89 ia the oabia, aost of the tiae alcmo, except for a month or so whim Bill Foalx lived with ao. time was fully oo» snqsied trapping aad hunting sad during th* winter, 1 aad* rathmr elaborate plans to build a aow house aad start ranch life oa ay own hook. ffli* game was <piite plsaiful. There were aaay bmver in tho hoad«<waters of the stream aad also a few otter aad mink. Th* coyotes and tiaber wolves wore howling tho foot hillsi and the furs gathered that fall and wintw brought m several Inindred dollar*. Runwrous White-tailed deer lived in the brush along the creeks and thousands of antelope grazed <m the broad plateaus. Large bands Of elk aumiered ia the BKRmtains and both black and grizzly bear were plentiful. Zb tho winter time, many of the aatelop* aad elk crossed to tho north side of tho Platte river to winter la the send hills. Tho buffalo wore practically ex- twpainatod, exc^t for a few stragglers on the north side of tho Platte IMver. Fro«ju«atly in the fall small bands of Indians, hunting parties, visited that section aad for several year* I did oonsidmrable trading with �Z « starting oattla ranch ohanglng augar end ooffaa Sot tlwir tanned huok*alcin« la the spring of *8S« I started with a four-horse teaa for Fort Collins to ship the hides end furs aoousulated through the e&ntiMPi and on ny return Joums;'* stopped in Laraaie City te lay in ay aunner «ipplies^inoludii^ first aoeiag snskiae «ad hay rake* There, Z deeidod I would need a hired nan and was very fortunate in seourlng the serviees of a young fellow ay osn age, who had lived on a raaeh at Virginia Dale, Colo*, and was familiar with all kinds of ranah weric* Together, we left Laranie City with our four-horse load of supplies* At letrsBie river, we net our first diffioulty* The water in the river was dangerously high with a great flood sweeping around the west approaoh ot the bridge, threatening to oarry awiy the entire struoture. Fearing the bridge would be washed out, we hurriedly orosoed, but mired dean in the flood waters on the west side of the bridge and spent the rest of the day trying to salvage our supplies* Most of then had to be oarried to the bank on horse baok and the fans maohinery draggod ashore with long ropes. We were both soaking wet and spent a very disagreeable night trying to dry things out around our oamp fire. Late in the aftemoflai ^uat as we were over most of troubles, along e—e tee big freight outfits, headed by Al Ayers, and some neighboring ranohers on the La Prele. One of their wagona was loddod with a sheet iron Mpping vat fkr sheep and I know we speoulated about It, beeauso we were unaware of aiywno ossdng shssp in that seotion. We reloaded mir outfit and reaohod the eabin on oro^ on the seocnd 0t Jvlyt 1889, There were no wagon roads in that country, excepting an old one irtiloh followed up Deer oxwek^ and we then took some gome trails aoross the Middy, The country was unsurveyed and I was the first settler on the creek. �S « Startlzis a aattla ranoh mMb oonaiatad af a •quattarb rl|^ md Z only plaaaad a vary aaall aatflt* I fait that abaut ISO aoraa af laad with a few head af aattXa vattld ba all I would avar aara fwr* Baaa to aaoura a tvtt aattla would raquira aona outslda aapltal,aad I had plaaaad aaating Inrothar, dolma la Chloago July 4 to or» goalsa a llttla cattle ooBqpaay* Tha delay at Laramie river had made oqr tlaa very shot,00 I told Jack to make hlmaelf at hone at the eabla aad thea go up the oreek about half a mile to ahere the etr«san eoaw through a ridge of roaka aad otart dlgglae a Una of poet holaa a rod apart* going eaat uatll he reariiad tha higher table laad aad lhaa dlgglag north uatll 1 returaad* I told hla X would be ewoy about a weak or 10 dayo* aad ^mo wo would go up la tha aouatalao mid aaaa poles to build our faaoa wlldu It woe 80 Biles from ay eabla to Rook Upeek^on the imioa Paolflo railroad* and ahlle I was giving Jaek his inotruoti<ms I was also saddling ny horse and putting la a eouple sandwlohes to eat on the road* as Z wanted to keep ny appointment la Chicago as nearly on tine aa possible* X left ny eabla 11130 that Morning aad rode into Baek Creek the next aoralBg la tine to oatoh tdie 9 o’olook train* I think It wan eao of the longest aad beot«tlBod rides I ever Bade* la Chioago, X setsvod into a partBsrshlp with ay fa^er aad brother* they puttlag la a thousand dollars oaeh against ay aoounulated outfit la V^o- Blngi and X went up into '"isoonsln aad purohased 80 head of yearling heifers froci the farmers* These* I shipped to Rook Creek and branded T»V froB an old 7 shaped Iron whioh X found thrown away at the stoohyards* X thoa took ay saddle horse* whioh I had left at ths Seven-Mile Spring ranoh* purohased a little ooffee aad eon Boal froa Charlie Clay* who was at that time ruanlag a grooery store at Book Creek* (he afterward aovod his laoroantile eotabllshsMBt to Doug­ las. } sad opening the gate at the oorral started ny 80 head of yearling heifers �< - starting a oattle raac^ for ia^ laaeae rent^ I had little diffioulty getting then hone alone, as I simpler followed them along and whecever they wwe ready I oeasped wl'^ thOBa Of eourse, this all toelE time, «sd instead of being away a week «r ten deys as 1 had palnned, I had been gone nearly a month, and aattnrally wondered what ny first hired nan had been doing all the time I was away, Wan I reaohed the eabln, I found ante That thirty da^w* worie of Jack’s laid the foundation for all ay life’s real trouble* The line of post holes he had dug north during ay absenoe was about the most dlsoouraglng thing I erwr looltwd at, and from that day to this, 1 hare worked night and <kiy trying to oateh with then* Z didn’t wish to waste the pent holes, and in order to sake use of then* I had to revise all ny plana* My 160>*«ore ranoh stretahed out into a large doandn* Ihr two ears oattle had to be followed wl^ naay others. Instead of a t9ti poles from the mountains to build the fenee, Z had to go In debt for a lot of barbed wire. Jack’s great line of postholes wee one of the aevsn wanders of the territory, lie beaasn maowned as Poet Bole Jaok, and Is tod^ living in Casper^ still ohuekllng ov«r the trouble hla famous post holes Inrought me* Ills brother, TMrt, was oalled Post Bimber Two, and in later years started a part- nershlp business la Gleorook under the zubbo ot a>^ Post* Sven now, after a lapse of 48 years, I am still striving to eatoh up with that line of poet holes* When the gevenesont surveyed ^e ls»d in that seotion, Z found he had run his line of post holes north by ths stars without allowing any variatioa* Z still use that line fenoe, but have had to buy an awful lot of land to pretest it* During the sua-.ser and fall of ’83, we eosapleted our new house anH re­ luctantly abandoned the old eabla* This new ranoh house was 18 feet wide nd e 36 feet long, made of hewed logs* I insisted on having all the logs peeled* �S » Startlzifi a oattXe raooh baoausa la tha first aaUa I bought -tiia alaa aad paokorats as wall as aumaroua smaller animals maoyed me greatly by getting under the loose bait; of tha house logs* Qne-half of ny naw oabla* a large room 18 feat square, was used tor o, kitohen, dining room and parlort aad the other half was divided Into IdiTM bedrooms* It seemed to no tha last word la western luxury* About that time Fort Fattaraaa was abandanad* aad I saeurad two old doors and six double windows from some of tha abandoned buildings at tha post* These were all dif­ ferent sites and both doors rather low| tha windows of different widths aad heli^ttst but It was all oomfortable aad hows llks* tho ouaoassful ranehaaa la a new oountry aust ba more or lass a jaok-of all trades* As engineer, wa had to run out our Irrlgatlag ditches, largely by the use of a 16-foot board aad spirit level* Ona of ay neighbors, used thi« same oootrlvanoa, but unfortunately used the short leg In front and spent natay ot iiio best years of his life digging dltehes that failed to nake water rtm hill* Tha first year, wa had great difficulty la saeuring anoui^ Iwqr tw oaar oattla* Most of It had to ba out la out-of-the way plaeao wliereaar wa could find patohas of j^rass wnth aowlag* We ware quite busy finishing our house before winter aad building shelter sheds for the cattle* la the suomer of *84, ay father and brother came out from Chioaro to sea how I was getting along with their two thousand dollars* They took the stage from Bosk Craide to Fort Fattaraaa where I net them with a wary dalapldatad buak beard aad asagy team* They ware eartalaly a dlsaouraged looking outfit when wa reached tha ranoh^ aad ay baehelor haras did not seem to la|irass them favorably* I was doing sy oen cooldag, aad the saaond noraiag aftsr their ar­ rival, fath r was slightly under tha weather aad ay sour dough panoakee aad �0 « starting a cattle nooh fried antelope meat did not appeal to hiia. All he wanted waa piollee. At that tine X bought salted pieloela the keg ih Laraisie and then ehen needed would freshen Ihm in a large operwaouthed ehowoohosr bottle* The night before X had forgotten to cover up "Uie mouth of the ohow»oho« bottle, ehioh was standing as usual in Vjf hand«nade oupboard, and a eouple of ad.co had fallmi into it* X up frost table and brought ^th«r the bottle of pielM edthout notioing the niee* X will neeer fos^et the look of dlseeuragosMBt sdiioh smpt over his foes shea he reaohsd his fork into the ehow>ehow bottle for a piokle and brought out a MUSS* ^jr ftther, with a look of disguot* shoved the bottle of pioles aomss the table toward ns and said, ^Bryant, there is a nouse in ^e j^oklM*" brother, winked at ne aoross t^ table and I gotup, very solenly, Mrried the ehow-ohow bottle to the door, oarefully threw the mous^ out, dlsoovered the seeond one there, told ay father ywre were two then, bhu^ht the bottle baek and placed it bmide his plate at the table, saying, "I an very sorry, but X usually throw the niee out before brsakfast** Tkther got up front the table and went into the other roon, and ^y Brother J(ha, and X spent the rest at the nomiag lai^^iiag about it* Tkthm^ eould not see the Joke and said he would like to get even with John for so aueh laughing* The next morning. Post hole Jack killed an «Bu>naous rattle snake Just out­ side the front door* This rattle snake we oarefully ooiled on the door sill md thm mlled to ay broiler to oene out ami see the son rise* John was wear­ ing a long shite night shirt, the first ever seen in our part of the oountry and when he opened the low door and stepped out in his bare feet to gase at ths glorious noming sun Just appeariag above the distant nountain, his bare foot rested squarely on the dead rattle snake* wyi an unearthly scream, his hand hit the top of the door sill and the next noneat he was hopping around in the dewy grass in front of the house* Bost Hole Jack rushed op with a olub and �I - exaTKuag a oaxxxo rancn pouxided the aaake dead, idiile I slipped over to iqr hrether «sd showed a little spot above his ankle where the snake aust have bitten hisu Very ttn-ilTr- ly. Jack and Z eseorted ay imfcHrtiiBate brother into -tiie hoasa end pat Idn to bed. I asked .Mok to find sone oaotus as qulokly as he oould, while I laotted a stroae oord very tightly around brother's li^ at the knee to prevent the poison from rea<diiag his heart. Thon wo split the oaotus and bandaged up the leg vMle Post Hole suggeMrted ‘teat perhaps we should kill a ohlcken as the fresh blood fron the ohioken might help draw out the poison. I had made the bsn^ige so tight that his foot was eoeiaeneing to swell and wy father was gett» Ing terribly worried and thought vw should send to Fetteman right aaay fbr Dr. Mrber. I finally took ny father outside, aade him {sroedse aoareay and told hi* it was all a joke, that the snake had been dead sens tins before, John stepped OB it. Father thought we were oarryiag Idle j<d» too far. but in those days real aanoesNBt had to be hone«nade and Peat Bole desk and I were having so mueh fun out of it that we kept it up sens time. Along toward noon, we made ny brother a pair of emtohes from soim old Indian ti^ee poles, making one oruteh several inohm shorter they, the ether, and in the ev« aing he was able to hobble around a little, but oould graphloally desoribe just how it felt to have the rattle snake poison workis^ his left side toward his heart. It took him several days to reoover from this rattle snake bite, but he ms always very proud of it and later oa glowingly piotured all his smisations to Dr. Barber and others at Fetteman. Of oourse they knew the real inside of the story but would egg him on as his desoriptloos were trul^ thrilling. The gradual buildln; up of the ranch ms a souros of kesa oourse -ttie work was frequmtly disooura^ng and tdw workiag hours vary of �8 • Starting a cattle ranoh bttt tlMi 4«jr of tra&sfttndoK the 4oo«rt woto lato floltfo of wRving grain and ■f alfalfh la truly wondorful and inspiring* Aa the yaara amt ty, the is^rovonants inereaaad along with the oattie and may visitors enjoyed life with us during the swaner oonths* There ws so auoh garae in the country with no nearby indueesient to spend laoney* that aetual naming expenses were very low, so in the eourae of three brief years our rancdi on the laiddy had gmrwn to be quite an attraoUve plate and I deeidf^ to go baoh to Nahamaka and bring out a aohool mana to <to the otM^Lag* This prove: to be the wisest anve I ever node* She is here with ne today* after 44 years assistance in buildiag up «iit partioular cattle nmoh* and I tn sure it enjoying ^8 old-tiaer’s eelebratitm at nueh aa asqr of iiie rest of US* e e e (The above is part of an address delivered by foraanr Gov* B* B* Breeks at the Old Tiatr*t reunion at the ^aaalng state fair at Oou^^las in Septe^er of 1930* It hM been espied from the Tribuno-IIerald, Septe* 21, 1930* p* 3.) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alfred J. Mokler Articles, Bulletins, Compliments, Correspondence and Speeches Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/</a> Description An account of the resource This digitized collection contains material from the Articles, Bulletins, Compliments, Correspondence and Speeches series of the Alfred J. Mokler Papers. At the collection-level the the Alfred J. Mokler Papers consist of holograph manuscripts, which is to say, manuscripts written in the author's hand, and typescripts from the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writer's Project which date to the 1930's. Much of this material may be found in Mokler's notebooks. In addition, researchers will find Mokler's unpublished typescript of a Chronology of Wyoming written for the Works Progress Administration. Material from some of these pages was used in Wyoming: A Guide to its History, Highways, and People. Mokler's papers also consist of approximately 300 original photographs, many of which were used in his publications. There are 15 scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, personal diaries and yearbooks, and 10 Letterboxes, of which contain publications and other materials Mokler collected as well as correspondence. Copies of Annals of Wyoming and books from Mokler's library were also gifted to the repository. Researchers will find a lot of Casper and Natrona County history in Mokler's papers. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alfred J. Mokler Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Alfred J. Mokler Papers, NCA 01.v.1992.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context NCA_01.v.1992.01_Articles-Speeches Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Typed address Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Description An account of the resource Part of an address delivered by Wyoming Governor Bryant Butler "B.B." Brooks. His address was given at the Old Timer's reunion at the 1930 Wyoming State Fair in Douglas, Wyoming. This address is found in the the Articles, Bulletins, Compliments, Correspondence and Speeches series of the Alfred J. Mokler Papers. At the collection-level the the Alfred J. Mokler Papers consist of holograph manuscripts, which is to say, manuscripts written in the author's hand, and typescripts from the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writer's Project which date to the 1930's. Much of this material may be found in Mokler's notebooks. In addition, researchers will find Mokler's unpublished typescript of a Chronology of Wyoming written for the Works Progress Administration. Material from some of these pages was used in Wyoming: A Guide to its History, Highways, and People. Mokler's papers also consist of approximately 300 original photographs, many of which were used in his publications. There are 15 scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, personal diaries and yearbooks, and 10 Letterboxes, of which contain publications and other materials Mokler collected as well as correspondence. Copies of Annals of Wyoming and books from Mokler's library were also gifted to the repository. Researchers will find a lot of Casper and Natrona County history in Mokler's papers. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Governor Bryant Butler "B.B." Brooks Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Alfred J. Mokler Papers, NCA 01.v.1992.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context NCA_01.v.1992.01_Articles-Speeches_CattleRanch Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/</a> Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1930 Subject The topic of the resource Frontier and pioneer life -- Wyoming Title A name given to the resource Starting a Cattle Ranch in Wyoming https://caspercollege.cvlcollections.org/files/original/7cf57ad37979d0abb7ec8ac6d17df304.tif 491c7a6c036f0d1bd31df71009bfcdde Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alfred J. Mokler Articles, Bulletins, Compliments, Correspondence and Speeches Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/</a> Description An account of the resource This digitized collection contains material from the Articles, Bulletins, Compliments, Correspondence and Speeches series of the Alfred J. Mokler Papers. At the collection-level the the Alfred J. Mokler Papers consist of holograph manuscripts, which is to say, manuscripts written in the author's hand, and typescripts from the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writer's Project which date to the 1930's. Much of this material may be found in Mokler's notebooks. In addition, researchers will find Mokler's unpublished typescript of a Chronology of Wyoming written for the Works Progress Administration. Material from some of these pages was used in Wyoming: A Guide to its History, Highways, and People. Mokler's papers also consist of approximately 300 original photographs, many of which were used in his publications. There are 15 scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, personal diaries and yearbooks, and 10 Letterboxes, of which contain publications and other materials Mokler collected as well as correspondence. Copies of Annals of Wyoming and books from Mokler's library were also gifted to the repository. Researchers will find a lot of Casper and Natrona County history in Mokler's papers. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alfred J. Mokler Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Alfred J. Mokler Papers, NCA 01.v.1992.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context NCA_01.v.1992.01_Articles-Speeches Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Photographic print Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Goose Egg Ranch Photograph Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/</a> Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1925 Subject The topic of the resource Casper (Wyo.) -- History.; Frontier and pioneer life -- Wyoming -- Casper.; Natrona County (Wyo.) -- History. Description An account of the resource Photograph of the Goose Egg Ranch House taken in 1925 and developed at the Kimball Drug Store in Casper, Wyoming. Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Alfred J. Mokler Papers, NCA 01.v.1992.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context NCA_01.v.1992.01_Articles-Speeches_GooseEggRanchPhoto Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource TIF Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Goose Egg Ranch House and "The Virginian." Alfred J. Mokler Papers, NCA 01.v.1992.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. https://caspercollege.cvlcollections.org/files/original/7a579097f67300f2d0b33e71afabdc7f.pdf 7bc6104c76c71860bfcf8ac9ad25e992 PDF Text Text 'liffl GOOSE EGG RANCH HOOSE AND "THE VIRGINIAN" ' (By Alfred J. MbklerJ / • Written by request fron people living in Medicine Bow, Kemmerer, Thermopolis, Buffalo and Casper. VACATING This OLD HCMLSThUkD i "The soul's dark cottage, battered and decayed. Lets in new lights through chinks that time has made." I shall move from this dwelling ere long; Years agone it began to decay. Its timbers are not very strong. Its gables the winter winds sway. Many footsteps the threshold have worn; the windows are clouded with dust; The curtains are faded and torn. The hinges are covered with rust. ; j < . / ■ ' ; The rain filters through the old roof, The snow seeks the cracks in the wall; No spot 'gainst the breezes are proof. In parlor, or kitchen, or hall. I shall leave the dwelling ere long; It has been a good house in its day. About it sweet memories throng. As I leave the abode for aye. My father a Temple has reared; He invites me in its mansions to dwell. His good^ness the old cottage cheered. As I know where He is all is well. I shall leave the old dwelling once dear, To dwell in the mansions above, f To taste of the Heavenly cheer, fi ■ And live in the j:f)here of His love. foregoing The/shcaw stanzas, composed nearly a quarter of a century ago, when this writer . . ■ had reachedhis three score of years,are analogous to an aged person who feels that he is well on his way to the realms of everlasting peace, and his physical condition ’ is comparable to an old dwelling in which he heg„^pent many years of active life.' 'E? The Goos© Egg ranch house a quarter of a century ago end a human being who had reached the age of three score years were, to a considerable extent^phc^ypical. However, romance, fiction and song still linger at the threshold of the old Goose Egg ranch house, located about fifteen miles in a southwesterly direction from the thriving city of Casper. A quarter of a century ago the old building had’’ commenced to show the effect of ravages of time and the elements, but it is now decayed, dilap­ idated and fallen into ruin. �published The Goose Egg became renovmed in 1902, when Owen Wister/jww** his novel, "The Vir ginian," which^ag probably been the most widely read book of fiction ever written portraying this western country. During the past %Whty-fi-veAanb more, due to the great popularity of the novel, the people of Casper, and more particularly the members of the Natrona County Pio* neer'association, have been criticised and censured in a more or less degree because they have allowed this old historical (?) mansion to fall into disrepa3|f and deacy.'[p ■p Ten or twelve years ago a proposal for the protection of the old building from febe collapse, ruin and the pillaging, of the despoiling relic hunters was brought before the annual meeting of the Pioneer association, and in response to the proposition, the late Governor Bryant B. Brooks, who was well versed on the history of Vfyoming, ■*fhile and more especiallyi^the history of Natrona county, said that/the Goose Egg in the early days was a prominent place for the people to visit, it was no ,s orae more so than/other ranch houses and homes of cattlemen in this part of the State, and that the Goose Egg had no historical significance whatever. The Governor further said that Casper’s old town hally^ Casper’s first church building, whichj in addition to being used for religious meetings, was also used for a school house in the early days, and that the first meetings of Casper’s town council and other important gatherings were have been pleased to held there. Many of ua, the Governors said, would hav^^ seeA these old buildings preA majority of served, but sentiment must give way to advancement and progress./^e members pf the association were in on the proposal accord with the Governor, and resolved to tske no action ___ J Vifister Came V.’est for Health Ic (center ) A biief history of the Goose Egg and a short biographical sketch cf the author of the *nrsinlanr' portraying a horseman of the plains, no doubt will be attractive to the reader who is interested in the old dwelling and the author who made the building famous; Ow^i Wister was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on July 14, 1860, into a family of lit erary traditions. He was reared in Germentown, where he attended the public schools, but in 1873 he entered Saint Paul’s school in Concord, New Hampshire, and in 1878 he entered harvard, where he graduated in 1882. After his graduation from Harvard, he went to Paris to study composition and music, but due to his precarious physical con. �dition he was forced to return to the United States. In 1885 his health became so haz­ ardous that it W8S decided he should spend his summers in the mountain region of Wyom­ ing. He was among the first of this state's "dude ranch" patrons, and it was due to his visits here during the summer months each year that he was restored to health, and it was also here in Wyoming that he received his inspiration for the production of his "Virginian," which brought to him fame and a fortune. When Wister first came to loom­ ing, the town of Casper had not yet been established, and Wister came by train frcan the east on the Union Pacific railroad to Medicine Bow. From the "Bow" he went to the Torrey ranch, located in the Owl Creek country, a distance of 224 miles, by team and buck-board. number of men have claimed the honor of being the "Virginian" who drive the team that brought the author to the Em Bar ranch. Having graduated from the Harvard law school, ifister practiced his profession in Philadelphia* dur ing the fall and winter months. He also devoted himself to the accumu­ lation of information on the manners of the people of the west and vividly presenting his western sketches to Lippenoott's and other eastern magazines. / ^Impressed by Goose Agg\bfic / In the early summer of 188Sinister made his second visit to Wyoming, coming on t e Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley (now the Chicago 4 Northwestern railroad) as far as Orin Junction, the terminus of the line at that time. From Orin Junction he came to Fort Fetterman by stage coach. At Port Fetterman he hired a man with a team and buck-board to transport him to his headquarters in the Owl Creek country, not far from where Ther­ mopolis was later located. His first night out from Petterman he camped on the site where the town of Casper was located two years later. The next morning, on his way to the interior, he stopped at the Goose Egg ranch house. This western cattleman's mansion, way out in the plains, had the appearance of an oasis in the desert to Wister, and it .^de such an impression on him that in 1902 he used it as the most prominent headquarters for the exciting events of his nove)., "The Virginian. It was in 1897 that he published his first novel: "Lin is.cLean." it was a cowboy I**" story, but there was not enough "kick" in it to suit the reeding public. The returns s • from the sale of the book were far from being satisfactory. He had collected most of his material for the novel from the ranch foreman and visitors to the Torrey tin Bar (M—) cattle ranch. Although his "Lin McLean" did not come up to the author's hopes and expectations financially, he determined^give it another trial. To collect the maPoj. iipg second novel he spent the suitener^ months. for several years on the range, in the camps and on the round-ups with the cowboys. They told him stories and adven­ tures which covered the country from the panhandle in Texas to the Musselshell in April, Montana. Then "The Virginian" was published in/1902. Its popularity spread over the Great Northwest and through the middle and eastern states like wild-fire on the open were published prairie. The demand for the novel was so great that two more edit ions/in June. They, 4,^ were soon sold out, and four more editions were printed in July; three more went to Dress in August, two in September, two in November and two more in December of 1902. of fiction. Never before had there been such a "run" on & book /Up to 1945 there had been more than fifty extra editionjyof the book published, end tlTT iihmi 1 up to the present time/. i. popular, not only In thia country, but alto in th. European countries In addition �to the publication of all these editions, the novel in 1904 was reduced to a theat­ rical edition and was re-enacted on the stage and on the screen. From these dramat­ ized editions alone the author received a royalty amounting to a handsome fortune. ^shortly after the commencement of the apsnish-American va It was Owen Wister who, in 1898,/foiai suggested to Colonel Jay L. Torrey that Wyoming might be brought into the lime-light to a considerable extent if the Second United States Volunteer Cavalry, to be known as “Torrey’s Hough Hider^ were formed. Mr. Torrey soon perfected the organization, and the TWnii^>jregiment was composed mostly of T/ltyoming men, -irpny of whom were from Casper and this immediate vicinilty The troopers left Cheyenne by train on June 22, 1898, for Camp Cuba Libre, Jacksonville, Florida, but the the bovs could get into action. a J war ended before ’Virginian’ Purely Fiction< bflc The ston/- of “The Virginian," and especially that part which w> s supposed to an extraodinaxy and attractive manner have occurred at the Goose Egg ranch house, is told in such/'^th&t a great many people, even to this day, are of the opinion that the whole affair v/as an actual occurence. But at the very beginning of the novel the author explains that the story is purely fiction, and not an event. It was not Wister’s intention or desire to try to make his readers believe the apparel on a dozen or more babies could be transferred fraa one to another by a couple of awkward cowboys without awakening the infants. If the children were awakened, naturally they would cause a commotion and thus attract the attention of their mothers, and this would upset the plans of the promoters. But, ac­ cording to the story, the infants slept so soundly that they were undressed and re­ dressed without a whimper from any one of them. In addition to this absurd and ludi­ crous part of the anecdote, the story goes beyond the imagination of any normal minded and matured person and declares thg^t after the dance was over, the fathers and mothers of the children put their cloaks and hoods on them, tucked them in the buggies and drove to their several homes, some of them being as far away as twenty miles, and it was not until the mothers commenced to get them ready for their own bed that they dis­ covered they had brought home rheir own baby’s clothing, but someone else’s infant. The natural aptitude of any animal, including the huijian race,would indicate the f> *. by preposterousness of such a contingency. In fact the whole^story is contrary to nature, instinct and reason. The Goose Egg is located on a promontory overlooking a vast area of range land. �It is a short distance west from the bank of the Worth Platte river and not far from the mouth of Poison Spider creek in central Vfyoming, but it is not alone in its claim for the setting of the "Virginian" story, for nov/ comes Shumay’s "History of Northwe^st Webraska" with the claim that; "lAany of the incidents contained in the ’Virginian’ were the experiences of the people in the Panhandle of Nebraska in the early days. Wiile the mothers of the sleeping infants were dancing," continues Shumay, "cowJBys changed the wraps which the babies wore, and changed their positions, to the end that when the dance broke up, most the parents started home with the right clothing but the wrong baby. As the discoveries were not made until, the parents vzere at home, in some cases twenty miles from the scene, it took considerable time to straighten out the tangle of who was who in babyland. This incident, or one just like it, occurred at Alex Perry's on Little Horse creek, and the two miscreants—some of the mothers called them criminals—were Chris Mitchell and Tom McShane. Molly Woods, who taught school on Beaver creek, was one of the central characters in the story, and she married the Vir­ ginian. The book was quite true to the life of the west at that time, and while the author selected his characters in this vicinity, they had their prototypes in many localities. The loves, the hates, the combats, the mischief makers, and all that went to make up life in the cow country, was found here and elsewhere, wherever the range cattle roamed. j Other Localities Claim Incident^ bflc Anri Northwest Nebraska is not the only locality that has attempted to filch the story from Vltyoming. The little town of Julesburg, Colorado, also claims to have had a "baby mixing" affair that was the nucleus for Wister's bigger and better tale. The story was published in the Belle Fourche Bee, recounting and narrating thusly; "From 1876 to 1881 there was a family living in Julesburg named Weir, who pnactically was the leader in social affairs. There were two railroad section houses in the town, one being conducted by a white family, and the other by colored people. All kindyof enJulesburg tertainmentM vjere staged in the/school house. A small shack near the school building was occupied by a bachelor. A big dance was given in the school house on Saint Pat­ rick’s day, and the white woman of one of the section houses, who had a small baby, was on the reception committee. The Kegro lady who lived in the other section house had a baby about the same age as the white baby of the other section house, and she �■was hired to assist serving the refreshments. The two women ’parked' their in­ fants in the bachelor's shack near the school building. The bachelor connived with')’^' Weir, the society leader, to play a joke on the two section house mothers. The bach­ elor secured some lamp-black and some white enamel. He lamp-blacked the white baby's hair, shoulders, arms and hands, and he enameled the colored child in the same manner. Then Mrs. Weir changed the infant's outer garments from one to the other. *When the dance broke up, everybody went home, including the two section house wo­ men and their infants. Shortly after the mothers arrived home each of them discovered the deception, and each of them started for the other's house, and each carrying the other's child. They met about midway between the two section houses, and there was a ^clash.’ Opprobrious epithets and amplified shrieks from the two women attracted a crowd of people to the scene who prevented them from pulling out each other's hair. The baby mii-up was strightened out by the peacemakers, and the two mothers and the two children returned to their separate homes. The bachelor left.town for a couple of months. Mrs. Weir retained her standing in high society." This affjj)6r is said to have occurred a number of years previous to the publication of the "Virginian," and it was told to Wister one night by the cowboys while they were camping on the range. Wister, it was claimed by the early residents of Julesburg, ex­ tended and embellished the story and used it for his "Virginian." It was at the Goose Egg ranch house, according to the novel, that the Virginian rode on horseback more than 100 miles to see Molly Wood, the school teacher, and to be in attendahce at the dance. And it was here that the Virginian again met Trampas, his bitterest enemy, and made him "stand on his laigs" and admit that he was a liar ^^l^en he made seme degoretory remarks concerning the school teacher,^ butyls euppnaad have been in Buffalo, at the old Occidental hotel, where the Virginian finally "got" his man. At the Goose Egg mansion, however, Molly Wood snubbed the Virginian because he was so rude that he did not wait for an introduction before he asked her to dance with him, and he felt so badly about it that he and his cowboy friend, Lin McLean, got gloriously drunk, and then changed the clothing on a dozen or more sleeping babies. In addition to his western stories, Wister wrote several volumes on Political and Social Anglo-American Relations, and he was made an "Honorary Fellow of the Royal So­ ciety of Literature." �Pageant Based on Story bflc Owen Wister died on July 21, 1938, at his sumner home, ’’Crowfield^ in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. At the time of his death he was 78 years of age. In Casper during the afternoons of August 17 to 20, 1938, at the Natrona County High School stadium, the alleged happenings at the Goose Egg were re-enacted by the students as a feature of the ’’Vtyoming on Parade Pageantry." The exchanging of the clothing on a dozen babies by two supposed to be cowboys was a specia£^feature of the pagent. On July 2, 1939, at 12 o'clock, noon, the looming Landmarks commission dedicated a monument, which had been erected at Medicine Bow, honoring Wister, who had made at this point that little village famous because he had transferred from the train^to the buck­ board transporting him to the Tin Bar ranch, by the cowboy from Virginia, On February 24, 1939, a mountain peak in 'Scorning was formally named "Mount Wister." "• ' ' X,- Mount Wister for some time, and on the above date the name was officially confirmed summers by the United States Board of Geograpjgical Nemes. For a number of/:i^e«»»,^Wister lived ----— ---------------------on a homestead at the foot of the mountain rrnge which includes Mount Wister. vto In his novels Wister made/^pretensions to historical accuracy, but throughout Wyo(^ff i raa ti vely ming, and in Nebraska and Colorado, the characters in his books have been rreel^and^ named: As the actual Virginian, a man named Charles Ball, living in the southwestern part of the ssjlte, declared that he w^^s the man, and in May, 1941, he was transported by airplane to New York City, where he was the "honored" guest of the National Broad­ casting station. On the program of ’’We, the People," Bell announced to the world that he drove the team and buck-board, with Wister as the passenger, 4^ uxedicine Bow to Virgil Rice, Judge Torrey's Em Bar ranch. Others claim that^the foreman of the Em Bar Cattle com­ pany, v^ho died in Thermopolis a nxanber of years ago, and was buried in the Thermopolis cemetery, was positively selected by the author as the leading charsctei' of his Et<^. Then again, quite a number of people in Casper and central Vltyoming are positive that "Missou" Hines, the well known CY cow hand, stock agent for the Northwestern rail­ road, and later employed by the Midwest Oil ccmpsny, who died in Denver, February 16, 1943, st the age of 81 years, was the hero in the novel. Others are'^poe^A*^ that Geor ■^rln the early V;part of this century /Colonel Jay L. Torrey end OwfiiijV(ister often visited with this writer in the Casper sV W ti th e gen tlem an from V ir g in ia . fe? The peak, which rises 11,480 feet above sea level, had been known as �1 Weekly Tribune office, and Mr. Wister frequently said thatj^he characters named in his novels were attributed to no one in particular; that he would not want to embarrass anvone as impersonating an unfavorable individual, and neither did he desire to foist anyone on the public as a hero. There vrere but fev/ people in any state or any community ^composite beingf, ** who could correctly represent the characters, which were^nS^einto /[ or a numbeh of ' persons grouped Into one »«n. Searights^ bflc * In the middle 80’s the Goose Egg was one of the most up to date and modern ranch houses in central Vl^oming. The Eearights, who formerly lived in Texas, had constructed elegant dwellings in Cheyenne, and they vzere purported to have made ’’big" money ranging which induced them to construct the’’Goose Egg? their herds in this part of the state^„and it was generally believed that if the ^d rooms in the building could relate what occurrec in them during the hurly-burly days, their stories would be even more exciting than the tales so vividly described by Wister. for the building. The lumber, hardware and other materialy' except the stone, which was quarried from the hills in the immediate vicinity, was hauled by freight team.s from Cheyenne, a dist­ ance of more than 200 miles. The late Martin Gothberg, a prominent rancher of Natrona county, and a resident of Casper until his death on October 22, 1947, worked as a cow­ boy for the Searights. In 1886 Joseph M. Carey bought the Goose Egg^ property, and in 1929, ^and James -d. N. May/ it wes sold to D. Ks . W-’’en Mr / bpeas died on February 17, 1945, and James .A., died on June 9, 1946, the widows, Mrs, Mary ^and ?^rs. James (Ethel) Speas became joint owners of the property, and they are will<7 /j ^he gilding ing to join with the people of the community if desireijtcTaveyrrestored and preserved as a place commemorable to the early-day cattle raising industry. When the town of Bessemer was established in the summer of 1888, Judge Carey rented the Goose Egg building to William Clark, who advertised in the Catper Weekly Mail and the Bessemer Journal that this was ’’the best hotel in central Wyoming, with accommoda­ tions unsurpassed." tie also advertised in these newspapers that he could’’supply parties who wished to go over the oil regions, with good rigs and saddle horses at reasonable rates." tiis son, John Clerk, wts proprietor of the Bessemer-Casper stage line, v/hich made the trip between the two town$ twice daily. The town of Bessemer was situated than less /one mile west from the Goose Egg, but now it is one of the several "ghost tov.ns" of Natrona county, with no evidence whatever of habitation, except a fev; holes in the ground, where there were once cellars under the buildings. �7 Under date of December 11, 1947, in answer to an inquiry, a letter was received from Mrs. Dora McGrath of Thermopolis, who is recognized, and justly so, as the most relia­ ble historian in Hot Springe county and the surrounding country, who says, in pert: "There were some people here who believed that Virgil Rice, who w? s foreman for the J. L. Torrey ranch, near here, was the inspiration for 'The Virginian,' but Mrs. Elizabeth B. Short of Thermopolis, who was well acquainted with Mr. Wister, has one of the bc^ks he published in the first edition of 'The Virginian,' which was given her by Mr. Wister, and she was a character in 'Lin McLean.' Mrs. Short was a companion of Mr. Wister and George West while 'The Virginian ' was being written, and she is one of the few living pioneers who remembers Wister's first visits to Wycming. She was instrumental in helping Wister with his work...and she, her sister Ahna, and George West accompanied him to the government dances. She went to Port Washakie in 1892." ) Mrs. Short’s Statement t bflc In regard to the person who is supposed to have characterized the Virginian, Mrs. Short says: "Owen Wister traveled from Orin Junction through the lower part of looming and around Casper by stage, buck-board and on horse back getting acquainted with the west. He then went to Port Washakie where he met George West, who wee a well-eduacted, and kindly soft spoken/raan; a man who had personal contact as well as understanding with both the Indians and white man. Wister persuaded West to give upfhis job as government operator and to go out with him as an interpreter and friend of the Indians to gather material for a book that he intended to write. Chief Washakie's oldest son, Dick, accompanied them as a guide and trail hunter. Dick became chief of the Shoshone tribe after his father's death. They traveled all over the western part of the state: Jackson's Hole, Yellowstone Park, and down through the Yellowstone and the Buffalo Bill country, and then^to Fort Washakie. While on this trip George West became 'The Virginian' to Wister, and gave him the character of his famous book. Another character of the book, known as 'Slira Jim,' was Jim Thomas, who owned a ranch in the Wind River mountains, end another was Jim Burris, who also lived there, •g and was better known as 'Chalk EyeVV George West drifted to the-West coast and ran a hotel in Portland, Oregon, after he left Fort Washakie, and Mrs. Short visited him in Portland a number of years after "The Virginian" was published. �Victorine Frost of Golden, Colo., was one of the numerous visitors to the Goose iigg several years ago, and she was so deeply impressed with the deserted old mansion and its forlorn appearance that she contributed the following sym5^ patheic ode to its memory: Thh GOOSE EGG EaECH HOUSE ■ A specter, I stand so gaunt and grim. Gazing out over the valley's rim, Through the shimmering waves of summer heat, I fancy I hear the rhythmic beat Of many horsemen approaching my door For rest and refreshment, as in days of yore. And there far off through the sunset's glow Are other riders of long ago. Wagon trains with intrepid souls. Who chose hardships and danger to win their goals. Alone, untenanted, a vigil I keep. With the v/andering shepjtrd And his bands of sheep Through, my gaping windows and torn w’slls wioonbearas filter, light footfalls Of ghostly visitors tread the floors. And go in and out ray open doors. j • Time and the elements have taken their toll About my ruins strangers stroll. o'er my broken doorstep they lightly comeJ. I stand defenseless, submitting, dumb. They tear me to bits for souvenirs; They and the marching, relentless years Are slowly combining to cause my fall: Is there no friend to stop it all? A lasting memorial I'd like to stand. Watching o'er the cherished land Our pioneers so bravely won, A monument to deeds well done. A bit of reverence, a kindly thought, I would to this hallowed spot, you brought. Perchance a flower on my threshold lay, In memory of the souls of yesterday. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alfred J. Mokler Articles, Bulletins, Compliments, Correspondence and Speeches Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/</a> Description An account of the resource This digitized collection contains material from the Articles, Bulletins, Compliments, Correspondence and Speeches series of the Alfred J. Mokler Papers. At the collection-level the the Alfred J. Mokler Papers consist of holograph manuscripts, which is to say, manuscripts written in the author's hand, and typescripts from the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writer's Project which date to the 1930's. Much of this material may be found in Mokler's notebooks. In addition, researchers will find Mokler's unpublished typescript of a Chronology of Wyoming written for the Works Progress Administration. Material from some of these pages was used in Wyoming: A Guide to its History, Highways, and People. Mokler's papers also consist of approximately 300 original photographs, many of which were used in his publications. There are 15 scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, personal diaries and yearbooks, and 10 Letterboxes, of which contain publications and other materials Mokler collected as well as correspondence. Copies of Annals of Wyoming and books from Mokler's library were also gifted to the repository. Researchers will find a lot of Casper and Natrona County history in Mokler's papers. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alfred J. Mokler Language A language of the resource ENG Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. Alfred J. Mokler Papers, NCA 01.v.1992.01 WyCaC US. Casper College Archives and Special Collections. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context NCA_01.v.1992.01_Articles-Speeches Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Holograph manuscript Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Goose Egg Ranch House and "The Virginian" Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/</a> Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1948 Subject The topic of the resource Casper (Wyo.) -- History.; Frontier and pioneer life -- Wyoming -- Casper.; Natrona County (Wyo.) -- History. Description An account of the resource Holograph manuscript titled "The Goose Egg Ranch House and 'The Virginian'" as found in the Articles, Bulletins, Compliments, Correspondence and Speeches series of the Alfred J. Mokler Papers. At the collection-level the the Alfred J. Mokler Papers consist of holograph manuscripts, which is to say, manuscripts written in the author's hand, and typescripts from the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writer's Project which date to the 1930's. Much of this material may be found in Mokler's notebooks. In addition, researchers will find Mokler's unpublished typescript of a Chronology of Wyoming written for the Works Progress Administration. Material from some of these pages was used in Wyoming: A Guide to its History, Highways, and People. Mokler's papers also consist of approximately 300 original photographs, many of which were used in his publications. There are 15 scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, personal diaries and yearbooks, and 10 Letterboxes, of which contain publications and other materials Mokler collected as well as correspondence. Copies of Annals of Wyoming and books from Mokler's library were also gifted to the repository. Researchers will find a lot of Casper and Natrona County history in Mokler's papers.