https://caspercollege.cvlcollections.org/files/original/cdc6c9d201a9c32433d346ddc97db42d.pdf 776af32dc3aa61021e189669e9bac686 PDF Text Text 1 Wyoming State Journal, Lander, Wyoming, Jan. 25, 1933 >4"' ceased to fall and the wi^ -was f* less furious.-. Mr. Ryder, .there­ frozen but her hand.s, feet and ! face were quite badly frosted and for, although badly frozen,,'a.gain [ the awful ordeal thru which she A set out in a last heroic attempt t had passed had completely unf to. secure help. In this effort he , nerved her. She, however, re­ 5 succeeded in reaching the. Dry | sponded at once to the rest and i Sandy station, but he was .’in al care accorded her at the Dry ^ terribly exhausted condition and Sandy station and it seemed that waa able to give to the stock fen­ she would recover. Several days Stage Drivers Worked Heroically to Get Thru der,. John Thorn, -little informa- I passed before her family at South ❖ With Passengers Who Suffered Greatly tion as to where he had left his! Pass learned of her plight, b,ut as ■ * passenger, Maggie Sherlock and I soon as the roads had been igain (By Peter Sherlock of South Pass) the horses and sleigh. Mr. Thorn, I opened to travel, her stepfather, however, gained some idea of James Smith, went out to Dry where the sleigh had been left, I Sandy and brought her home, ar- j riving with her at South Pass on ! While, the fi.rst half , of the win­ bearings, he set out again. Short­ and with a fresh team of horses, February 11th. After her return ' ter of 1882-3 in Wyoming, had ly after the second start was he at once started out in quest of home she continued to improve for i not been marked by the usual se­ made, the wind Increased in ve­ the .missing girl. After searching several days, giving rise to fond ; vere December and January locity, the snow fell faster and the for some time, Mr. Thorn finally hopes on the part of the faoiily storms, there had been a number storm assumed the proportions of • saw the seat of the sleigh,, pro i truding from, a deep snow, .drift ; and friends that she would iiot , of light falls of snow and the I a blizzard. i only be completely restored 1 to i weather, for the most, part, , had [ George Ryder was a young man, and removing the seat of;, the complete health but that her been cold and disagreeable, but! a Texan by birth, who had come J sleigh and digging down into, the hands and feet would also l^a up to January 3.0th, 1883, the i north during the summer of 1882 snow beneath it, he found .MagWhoozit No. 142 saved from the surgeon’s knil^ snow which- had accumulated on ! and he was therefore unacquaint­ ; gie Sherlock, wrapped in a buffa­ the ground, had not reached such i ed with the rigorous winter cli- lo robe, still alive, but in a semi­ could and after proceeding about There hopes, however, were d™j! Adepth zirtf 1^ rtasei +toi-i make rr* a V Q it-necessary i 4co . fO'c! mate of Wyoming. Soon after | condition. He extrifl a mile, he came upon Mr. Stuart fined to be creully crushed as t^^ J. L. Sanderson & Co. then oper- j making the second start from the I cated ,lhe sleigh from the snow, a'a lying in a bed of a deep gulch, al­ ! period of recovery was follow®! ating a stage line, furnishing mall ( Dry Sandy station, he again lost 'speedily as possible and hifching i most burled in snow and in an al- ( by a sudden change for the worsH and passenger service between the the road and he became so be- the team to it, he returned with ! most unconscious condition. With until on February 21st, deal® town of Green River, on the U. P.-■ wlldered by the blinding storm, the girl to the pr^l Sandy station ! great difficulty Mr. Manning suc­ claimed her as its shining mark.H R. R. and Ft. Washakie, 150 miles that he had no idea where he was ■Where/ Mrs. Thorn received her ! ceeded in reviving him and in get­ ! 'W. J. Stuart and Al Doughert® to the northward, .andy serving, en or what course to pursue to pro­ and tenderly chred for her, for ! ting him to Pacific Springs sta­ /were taken to Green River as sooiw route, the towns Of South Pass, ceed on his way, or to return to several ' days, until she could be tion where first aid ti-eatment was ! as possible after the roads hadB Atlantie-C it y :and. rLanide r,-. :to-'in ake-.'■ the'shelter of the station at Dry rernoved to her home in South ' applied to his feet, hands and face I been opened. Mr. Stuart received! which were found to have been ■'' ' attention at Green River! the usual winter change in mode Sandy. He drove about for some Pass. '/' *■’ of conveyance, from spring wagons hours but made little headway be­ I and Mr. Dougherty was sent to at The .stage for South ^ass left I terribly frozen. to sleighh On Jan. 30th. howev- cause of the snOw which the wind the station at, Big Sandy , pn the i Mr. Clark, like Mr.. Scott, per- ! hospital in Laramie, Both ultl- i or, a heavy snow storm set in now blowing at a terrific rate, evening of Jan. 30th with a man ! ished in the effort to reach safety. ihately recovered, but Mr. Stuart [ along the line of this route and'as .had piled in huge drifts through by' the name of Scott as driver and Mis body was found little more lost both hands, portions of both i the stor'm' Continued throughout which the horses drawing the William V. Clark, a ranchman of ' than a mile frOm Pish creek, feet, his nose and both ears, and J the night tand ■was unaccompanied .■sleigh, floundered with great dif- the Lander valley, as passenger, i where the sleigh was abandoned, Mr. Dougherty had one foot am­ by wifid,^ the show lay Where it ;: flculty,: Night had closed in and The snow which had been falling! but buried in a deep drift of snow, putated above the ankle and the' fell, with the result, that by naofn- imi>enetrable darkness added to all day and which continued to-1 it "was not discovered until several other at the instep. He also lost ! ng of Jah. 31st. hilltop And low- the blinding fury of the storm; the fall throughout the night, com­ weeks after the tragedy. portions of most of the fingers of ; .ahd were blanketed twith hnow to _ temperature; too, had dropped pletely obliterated the track and ! The stage scheduled to leave both hands. Both men were there-! V depth of Over 12'inhheg; " rapidly and the cold had become as darkness closed in, the driver; the station . at Bi^ Sandy , for Green fore hoplessly crippled for the re-! i The schedule on the Green Rlv- intense. In spite of the intense lost the road and wandered about ! River dti’ the mOfUing of January malnder of their lives. 5r, Ft,. Washakie stage line call- cold, the- smothering snow with making little headway, until morn- 31st, with Al DOugherty as driver, Wyoming has long been noted 3d- for the trip, one way, to be which the air was laden, was ex­ ing, With daylight, the road was delayed startiiig for several hours as ,a land of rigorous winters . ^ave been the blizzards hade in 36 hours and this was di­ tremely wet, this being a charac­ located and the stage proceeded awaiting the arrival Of the stagej vided into three drives of about teristic of the north east blizzard, on its way toward South Pass, ar­ : due from South Pass, but as the that have swept over the moun­ 10 miles each, these being a ^day |I and the wet snow, driven by the riving at Pacific Springs . about i South'Pass stage failed to arrive, tains and across the prairies tak­ I fierce wind, adhered tenaciously noon Jan. 31st, where Mr. Stqart Mr. Dougherty started for Green ing their toll of human lives and Jrlve between . Green River 'and < 3ig Sandy, a night drive hetween j to whatever it came in contact boardeil it to return to South.,; River in the afternoon. He ----had leaving widespread destruction in . Jig Sandy and South Pass and a. Vflth .and ,^t,, once fornie^ a Pass; there were therefore on the i Proceeded on his way Only about their wake, but never since the ! iay drive between South Pass and ! sheet of ice. To face such a stage leaving Pacific Springs for j ®®von miles when the blizzard I! earliest white settiers entered this : i;t. Washakie. ! lt.-had however, storm was. a human impossibility South Pass, Mr. Scott, the driver,/ struck him and so fierce was the !: section has it been visited by a that he.was unable to either ii blizzard equal in intensity, duraP^'actice of the stage com- and’ to 'travel' with it, through Mr. Stuart, superintendent of the ! )any to discontinue the night deep drifts of snow,' in impene- stage company and Mr. Clark, the [SO forward or return to the Big !j tion and fury to that of 1883. No '.five, during fhe. winter, months;’^Wable darkness, and t with Uhe :air passenger. Mr. Scott had sug- j Sandy station, and to remain record is available of the temper- j ereby increasing the time . re- J thick,.with whirling, wind-driven gested that the stage lay over at ."^i’ere he was seemed a;imost cer-!! ature which prevailed thruout the ired for making the through, snoyv, was almost equally impos­ Pacific Springs until the tblldwing | tain death. He knew that the Big !I storm, as no one in the region to .60 hours, but because of sible. Under these frightful con­ morning, as he and Mr. Clifk were i Sandy river, on which the stage !I where the blizzard reached its absence of serious, snow ditions, the team driven by Mr. weary from a sleepless night and ! station bearing that name was sit- greatest intensity, was provided s up to the last week in Jan- Ryder became exhausted and day of travel, and signs of the im-J uated, ran two or three miles to with a spirits thermometer, but 1883, this change from sum-' when he drove into a depression, pending blizzard were already in the west of the point he had reach­ it.is known that the temperature to winter schedule had not, filled yVith snow, he waS unable evidence, but Mr. Stuart insisted ' ed with the stage, and he there­ was far below zero as the mercury Igne into effect. The storm.' t0 urge the horses forward and on proceeding on the way to South ' fore decided to make an effort to in the ordinary thermometers des­ ^lary 3ofh prevented ttie arr", tj)pre.' the sle,igh remained until Paas, saying that as the road had ! r^.<lb...t.h.e strga.m hoping , that he cended into the bulbs and Just been staked the remainder of ! mig’llf tiien be able to fbliow 'up mained frozen for two days. Sii g* South Pass of the stage the/s,torm was over. ^eft Pt. Washakie that ■ ' It is proHabla that Mr. Ryder, the trip could be made without the streani ',to th,e station. He ac­ ! the time of this blizzard it 1 cordingly unhitched the horses and and was due to arrive ,at like most persons after becoming serious difficulty, ■ been the practice of old settl ss In the. evening and be-' lo^t; had traveled, for the most The furious north east blizzard with a Arm hold on-the traces he' ! in discussing any storm of unu the failure of the Ft., pirt, in a Circle, as the place where was encountered shortly- after the., v---scveiny severity to Compare it with , ■St stage to arrive the stage ''his sleigh was found after the stage left Pacific-Springs and al-: tng westward, with the storm hn,,.,rd nf isss Fifty Years Ago Many Pioneers Lost Lives When Exposed to the Terrible Cold in the BLIZZARD OF 1883 �^^^T^nd .gloomy, ine sl^ ^^Vvily pvercas},_and snow was^, which the stage road pa’^ed ’and^ Pass, but the .storm .had , now travel up stfCarh. He finally go' BR^bt^t there was no wind ai],d he was therefore unable to recog­ reached its. height and the worn this, question straightened out ii nize the gulch and to take advan­ out horses could no longer be in-1 his rnind, hut found that in ordei |n.empevature, was soriiewhat ----- " tage of of making wt it XV as I*u a *-> means — - c3 UUVCM to duced LU face X<XVC: it. it. X'Xg 11 V' had Night ’ilCvVl come! VVUltJS to follow Up the stream oviv^Clllt he IIC woUlc TVWUXV *^jve normal for that time ef -- - Sandy station, qj^ and inky darkness added ■ to j he cohipelled to face the storm t< [,'It was therefore thought! his’Way to the Dry 'Kio Tl 1 1 and Fti O M .1. v _ . . _ . . n .1 ■ j __ . • 2 tj rSi TVl /S ' ' ici v+ ' ‘a « J ' X V 1 _ ' 1 ■ L. [thereby saving his own/nXTlife Ryder, driver of„ the,■. that “ ,■ ,lady , passenger the, horrors of the situation. The j ®h.uie extent' and[ this he was un ini-en. George ~ of the young three men held a[ hurried consul, hble able to ,do. ,dq.[ He therefore decidec ’jge 'le'ft South Pass for Big San- I who ahardd his awful plight. tatidh, in which it was decided to remain, where he was and hj that morning that he would Jjite the 'drive without serious- ■ ; Throughout the night of ' Jan. that to. face the storm for the dis- rlgprous exercise escape freezins ..ijjfticUlty. He had with him, as,■^ist the blizzard raged with un- tance of 4 tniles to the town of until the storm had abated. The J passenger,’Maggie Sherlock, the. ■dilmihlshed ' fury. Maggie Sher­ South Pass wpuld be a physical , h’-'y ^iP^ along the east side o, lock"Was wafnfljr clad an'd_ well impossibility, but they thought'* : the. ’’'' riyer hfdhe the wind, to somt eighteen year old daughter'qf Mrs. provided with wraps and crouch ­ [extent, and a'patch Of willows that they might be able to retrace j>.net Shiith, of South Pass, who [ growing along the banks of the plahhed ’ gotn^ to Salt Laite City ing in the box of the sleigh, she their steps traveling with the (fherO she intended atteudlng protected herself, ad best she storm, and reach the shelter of stream furnished a little proeccould, from the bitterly cold wind the station at Pacific Springs eight tion. He thought of trying tc school. ' W'. J." Stuart, the super­ intendent Of the'stage company, and the whirling snow: JJt. JRyd- miles distant. They unharnessed start a fire but in that hurricane er unhitched the horses and he the worn out horses and turned of wind and with the air a mass was also on the outgoing stage ,'ind the stagewas loaded to ca­ spent the night in walitfng back them loose and they then set out of. wet. driving snow, he knew that pacity, wifh'''fcuridies of long wil- andforth, beside the sleigh, in an to battle for their own lives in he .ivquld never be; able to get a 10ws^ which Mr,...Stuart, intended effort to keep;.up circulation and an effort to reach Pacific Springs. fife s.farted; therefore, fastening using to [stake, .t^e^ tqad ajs he went withstand the penetrating death- 1 For a time the two men remained the ends of the traces of the hardealing " cold.? Both fervently J_ _ of the ______________ at_one stakes alongside the hess Oh'one of the horse’s together along, from Hq^'th [Pass to. Pacif­ hoped that-with the light of day j poad while the other weqt forward, and funning his.arm thru the loop ic 'Spriii'g^ th’e'..fir3t[ .atatiqn Out - the - pext stake,.! - ' thus formed he. drove the horse fromi. Soti'l:h ,[Fais. . The ^ '['distance the storin' would abatef.and that: until he had- found of .Pacific fepriiigs ffpni [ South they would then be-able'to reach i when he would call td his two rbefpfe him thru the snow alongPass' was 'afou't'.'12 ’’milesi'. The shelter, or that _help.--woUld come companions and when 'they had [side the 'patch of willows oh the staMrt.g"[.d'7th®. whs done by to them, but theTnorning of Feb., come up to him he would again I hahk of the stream and forward pla’nting. 'a if>lllp^*'.upfight‘in the 1st broke with no cessation lir the go forward and locate the next! and back he drove and, followed sndV," ^!' iiife'rvals’’of '26[['Or .30 fury of the elements and the storm stake, but as the progress made [ and stumbled'afUf the horse thrufeet, along the side or the road continued with undiminished in­ in this way was, very- slow and as [ piit the night and the next day and and the purpose was to enable the | tensity throughout that day and Scott and Clark felt ■ that they f the night following, until at last stage dri^r .to follq^ the road in the night which followed. Dur­ could not long endure the terrific; on Fehruafy 2nd the storm modsevere storm ~or when the track ing the day, Mr. Ryder made sev­ storm, they set out Saying the [ efated. had become obliterated bjr, heavy eral futile attempts to make his case was one in which each man,' Al Dougherty was a young man falis of sno'W.' This was the first way to the Dry Sandy station, but should strive to save himself, an(li of powerful physique, but his trip for the winter of ,a sleigh ov­ each time, he returned to the leaving Stuart who because of his hands and feet were badly frozen anxious buffalo overcoat and heavy cloth­ and he was nearly exhausted by er'th.e road and'its prdgrOss was sleigh, to report to his retarded, to some extent, by the passenger, the failure of his ef­ ing was unable to keep pace with the terrible experience thru which work of Staking the road .and the fort; he also got Miss Sherlock on them. None of the three men he, had passed. He therefore depth Of the nfe'W unpacked snow. one of the horses and mounting succeeded in reaching - Pacifi<| realized that if he would save his • life,he must seek aid without de­ It -was therefore nearly noon when the other horse himself, they Springs during the storm, On February 2nd Rafter thq day, and with this end in view, he the station at Pacific Springs was started out, hoping to be able to on reach the Dry Sandy station blizzard had subsided,sJoe Johnl started up the stream driving the reached. [ [" '” HCre ilTr. ■Stuart remaihed in­ horseback; but this too proved un­ son, the stocktender ^t * Pacifii i horse before him and clinging tc successful and returning to the Springs started on foot’ifor South i the traces of the harness as he had tending to await the incoming remain Pass and a short distanch, from the done for the proceeding forty stage and to. return, with it, to sleigh, they decided to there until the storm had passed, South Pass. A change of horses [ road on top of the dividC between hours, but the snow was deep and which they accordingly did. Pacific Springs and the Sweetwater! .horse and man were worn out alfor the outgoing stage, was had 'With the dawn of day, on Feb. rlver. about three and one halt mostto the point of collapse, at Pacific Springs and’the driver, Mr. Ryder, with his youfig lady 2nd, the storm gave signs of miles from Pacific Springs, hi therefore, progress was slow. passenger, proceeded on their way breaking. The cold was still in­ found.the trozen and lifeless body ;Mai|y times; the struggling man for the next drive of 11 miles, to tense, but the snow had almost of Scott. Loyal Manning, also ai lost his hold on the traces and employee of the stage company a| fell in the snow, but with desper­ the station at Dry Sandy. This Pacific Springs had left the stai ate tenacity, he each time regained drive was made without serio-us tiOh a short time after the depart his feet and again securing his incident’, but travel Was slow be­ ture of Mr. Johnson and made hij^ hold on the - traces he once more cause of the constantly increasing way to the top of the divid^ moved slowly forward. Within defith of the sndw which had con­ toward Sweetwater, thinking thaj two hundred yards of the station, tinued to fall throughqhf the day. he might possibl}^.; find spuieon^ ' at Big Sandy, he fell and it seem­ By the time the Dry Satidy station had been reached, the day was [ who had been caught in the storr^ ed to him that the end of the well Spent, and to add to the [ and who would be in need of a^ struggle had been reached as he gravity of’ the situation, a strong ! sistance. When he had reached was now so utterly exhausted that north east wind had sprung up ! a high emminance,'comm,anding d he could not regain his feet, he and the snow had commenced to good view of the surrounding however, made one desperate ef­ drift. It would have been the country, he saw on a. hillside some fort and crawling on his hands and part' of wisdom for’the driver to distance off to the north west ft knees reached the station in that have remained at the Dr'S; Sandy dark object. He started toward way. station until the storm had abated, this object which he later found When George Ryder reached the 'But Mr, Ryder insisted on going to be only a dark rock which had station at Big Sandy, his hands, ^rward, and after securing a been swept bare by the wind, buj feet and other portions of his kange of horses, he set out, with while traveling toward this object, body were found to have been ter­ ■passenger, on the next drive of he discoverd a line of indistincjl ribly frozen, and although Mr. and ^H|ailes to the station on Little ! marks in the snow, and believing Mrs. Thorn did everything within He had proceeded only a ! that these might be footprints Of their power for him, it was evi­ ^^^^^^ance when he lost the [ some one traveling thru the snoW dent from the first that he could after some difficulty he during the storm, and that thp not survive his awful experience. the Di'y Sandy station, footprints had been nearly obliter­ He died on the third day after ^^^^^Believlng that be could ated by the drifting snow, he fol- [ reaching the station. Maggie Sher­ after securioi bie Whoozit No, 137 S ' lowgd the line »» cipsely »» b( lock bad not b?ep so sortousiy �Bridger also named Alum creek a tributary of the Yellowstone One 7 in cjj '^day he crossed a creek and rode several miles out into the prairie. The return journey seemed only about half the distance of his out­ going trip, and his horse went lame He dismounted to look at his ani­ mal’s feet and discovered that they had shrunk to pin points. He tasted some water near by and found it heavily charged with alum. He at­ tributed the shrinkage of the dis­ tance and the condition of his horse’s feet to the astringent quali­ ties of the alum water, and named the creek accordingly. Alum creek it is to this day. What Daniel Boone was to Ken-1 ^cky Bridger was to Miiiilwmi'THII ' ' . He was the true type of i mountain man. He was one of the best of the fearless generation which scouted out the obscure trails, out­ guessed the Indians at their own game, and made the way clear for the more settled life of the pioneers who were to follow. Bridger deserves a high place in AtoaMaMb nail of ' fame^ Colter he was tli>n»<i»it. ' white known to have visited the Yellowstone National park, his per­ sonal knowledge of the wonderland dating back to 1829<fff <^Eridger haa'^seEIimany wonderful things in the west, of which he told j his friends, but the public was inclineej to doubt his veracity. So, when he tried to inform his ac­ quaintances on the lower Missouri, where he would go occasionally with a boatload of furs, of tl^ scenicmarvels of the Yellowstonejlaiis, he' TOS laughed out of countenance.^ ^ne of the stories credited to him had to do with the celebrated obsid­ ian cliff, of black volcanic glass, familiar to tourists who have visited the park. Bridger claimed to have discovered it on a hunting trip. His story was that one day he was in the park hunting. He came up to a bull elk of gigantic proportions which, apparently, was grazing only a short distance from him. He took careful aim at the animal and fired. To his astonishment, and he was a dead shot, the elk did not appear to have been wounded, and paid no i attention to the report of the rifle. I He shot again, with the same result, i Four times in all he fired, missing each time. The elk continued to graze undisturbed, and paid not the slightest attention to Bridger. Dumfounded, he rushed toward the elk. crashing into a wall of transparent glass. He walked around t^e glass cliff, but the elk had disajjpeared. Then he walked back and the elk was again grazing within a few feet of him. He repeated the per­ formance with the same result. Sev­ eral miles away and just discerni■ ble, he saw his elk. The obsidian glass, according to his explanatiorx 7 was a telescopic lens and brought the elk up to within a few feet of him. snciksrffianr-iupidiy '■Another Bridger story was about a hot lake which he discovered in! the Yellowstone park. Thousands of i young ducks covered its surface.! When he got to the lake shore he noticed that every few minutes more! young ducks would pop up out of the water in every direction. He found that the mother duck laid' her eggs in the warm water, which hatched out the young ducks, and as they freed themselves from the shells they would pop up to the surface. The lake was a natural in­ cubator. "Along the shores of the Yellow-1 stone lake are several immense springs which discharge boiling wa­ ter into the lake. About the place where the hot water flows into the lake it lies several feet thick above the cold water, on account of the difference in specific gravity be­ tween the hot and cold water. Bridger’s story was that he would bait his fish hook, and with weights on his hne, sink it through the hot and into the cold water, when he had hooked his trout he would pulli it into the hot water just above! and let it remain there until it wa«i cooked. ____ . —Xhese wereia fe^df 'thFstbfiM with which old Jim Bridger regalfd. the tenderfeet living in and other Missouri river towns, oni his occasional trips back to civili­ zation. Because of them he made a! Munchausen reputation for himself. So when he told the world of the wonders of the Yellowstone park, along in 1835, his story QiUih£_ri»F was discredited, and no one would believe him. He went to the newspapers and publications of the time with his narrative, but the edi­ tors laughed at him. One western newspaper, which had ridiculed his Describefl EcW’Vtvidly Bridger also told of a remarkable! echo, near a spot where he frequent­ ly made camp. According to hisi story, it took the words thrown; against the cliff just six hours to come back after utterance. When he was retiring he would say to the cliff, “jrane to get up!” Six hours later, at a time he wished to arise , from his slumbers, his own words would awaken him. Another of his stories was to the effect that while Ore^^lalTS^ the bweetwater country on his way to the S valley at a point about five miles east o< Devil s Gate, he picked up a stone and threw it across the river at an antelope. He missed the antelope and ^h^ stone sank into the ground. Several years later, when he returned, the mistle he had thrown across the river had grown to, such proportions that it was as large as a goodsized h^se, and finally grew into what is now known^as which covers an area of twenty-five acres and it its highest point is 193 feet. years after the derisive publication^ apologized to Bridger editorially after the knowledge of the existence, of the Yellowstone park became! generally known. >) I sd 'tiaL �1 /* < CAPTAIN BOKKEVILLSli ADVENTUBSft -——. *' Most Interesting, Fascinating and Enchanting Stories of the Far Vilest -Ever Published. Mors than a century ago Captain Benjaioin L.3. Bonneville re­ turned to the ^JBl^tes" from the "Fur Country of the Far West”, after a ■Bhr_99 year’s experience of hardships in the mountains among the trappers and traders and the Indians. The expedition had coat the people who furnished the money for the enterprise more than $75,000. Bonneville himself had lost his standing in the army by violating end overrunning his leave of absence{ he was generally discredited, and he was decidedly a disheartened man. Today he is looked upon by '^<njany'/as the moat popular "explorer” that ever invaded this then wild, {rv^ savage country, aed the man who crowned this venturesome, valorous, distinguished hero v/ith so much fame and glory by transcribing his jumbled notes into a fascinating,bewitching story v/as never west of the hiissouri^Rivar at St. Louis. It was mors than a century and eighty years before Bonneville was bom that Shakespeare wrotsi "Some men are bom great; some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them." Many historians and authors claim that Bonneville came under ths lattsr classification; that the wily captain not only had greatness thrust upon him, but that he was a speculative adventurer and a deceptive faker. Whatever may have been the captain's true standing as an ex­ plorer or a fur trader, it cannot be denied that he performed a great and lasting service to thia wonderful west, even though all may be ,4 true that his opponents have written him. Benjamin Louis Bulalie de Bonneville was 'oom in Francs April 14, 1796. He came to America with Thomas Pains and secured a cadet- , �ship at West Point and graduated in 1819. He returned to France in 1825 with General LaFayette where he remained several years and upon his return to America he was assigned to duty on the western frontier. He secured a leave of absence from August, 1831, to October, 1833, with permission to explore the Far West, The letter from the War Department specified that he vzas to "explore the country to the Rocky fountains and beyond, with a view to ascertaining the nature and character of the several tribes of Indians inhabiting those regions} the trade which might be profitably carried on with them; the quality of the soil, the productions; the minerals, the natural history, ths climate, the geog­ raphy and topography, as well as the geology of the various parts of the country." Alfred Seton, a Kew York capitalist, provided the funds for the Bonneville expedition. One hundred ten men composed the party, and they had the finest assortment of goods and equipment that was ever taken into the mountains, tiiagons drawn by oxen and mules - were ths first to go forth on an expedition of this nature. They left Fort Osage, ten miles from Independence, tiseouri, on Lay 1, 1832. The route was up the valleys of ths Platte and Sweetwater, through South Pass, and then on to the Green river valley. Bonneville erected his first permanent trading post on the west shore of Green river, about five miles above the mouth of Horse creek. In history this was called Fort Bonneville, but the trappers called it "Fort Nonsense” or "Bonneville’s Folly", because of the fact that the winters at thia point were so severe the Indians and trappers sought a more convenient climate, and Bonneville, for the same reason, after he made the discovery of his mistake, set out for a new location, and finally established his headquarters on the Lemhi �fork of tha Salmon river. After hunting and trapping in this part of the country all winter and meeting with many disappointments and some misfortune, Captain Bonneville in the early spring set out for the headvzatera of Powder River. Here ho was oeaieged by the Aricara Indians who pilfered and robbed him of horses, furs and supplies, and as a result of his year's work, the captain hadyjbwfe about twenty- three packs of beaver, and on^ a few horses. In the valley of the Godin river, and on the plains of the Snake river, where can be seen the Three Buttes to the south and the Three Totons to the far southeast, on June 22, 1833, Nathaniel J. Wyeth met one of Bonneville's clerks, a man named Hodgkiss, and by him Wyeth sent a letter to Bonneville proposing a joint hunt in the country south of the Columbia river as far as the vicinity of the Spanish settlements in California. The proposition was accepted Iqr Bonneville, and Wyeth joined Bonneville on July 2, at a point about eighteen miles east of Henry river, where they remained for five days, writing letters and making arrangements for ths hunt. It was arranged that Wyeth should lead the party. In less than two weeks, however, the//pgwpoiaiittun Qmd fitl.lan thrsugh, and Bonneville continued on his own resources. In a letter written by Fontenelle to KcKenzie at the Green River rendezvous on September 25, 1833, he says* •'Bonneville, seeing that he is nearly gone, playa the devil with us. He offers to common hands $350 to $1,000 per annum, knowing that when the time is up he r will pay them with wind. Kany of the men that I have ^ught out, having received a larger allowance in ^S^' Louis, have left ma ... He (Bonneville) is out of goods and can get no supply thia year. I am ir> hopes we shall get clear of him ... If he continues as ha has done, �$80,000 will not save him," Bonnsville*8 leave of absence would expire in October, but in ths face of this he did not return to the '^Htates" with his meagre returns, but detailed his first assistant, M.S. Carre, udio was to deliver them at St. Louis, while he decided to inaugurate his fall hunt in the Crow country, but in order to make a "thorough exploration of the Great Salt Lake and the country around it," he sent out one of his men, I.R. ffalker, by name, whom he considered coispetent to make the important "exploration." But on thia “explor­ ation" Bonneville's instructions to Walker were to "Xeep along the shores of the lake, and trap in all the streams along the route," Walker took with him on his Salt Lake "expedition" forty men, and he was to be absent a year. Bonneville was to meet him the following summer in ths Bear river valley. The Walker party departed for the Salt Lake country on July 24, 1833. It is evident they had explored sufficiently the "Great Salt Lake and the country around it* in a vary short time, for on iUigust 7, they set out in a westerly course through the Salt hake desert and after several weeks* travel over the barren plains they reached the Hxuabolt river. Indians were encountered while following down this stream, and a number of the red man were killed by the trappera because of their thieving propensities. This enraged the Indians, and a few days later a battle ensued in vhich thirty-nine of the rod men were killed, and only one or two of the white men slightly wounded with arrows. This ended the trouble with the mis­ chievous Indians, and the men proceeded on their westward way, to be hindered only by the mountain fastnesses. They encountered many hard­ ships, found no game, and finally were compallad to kill their poor �horaea for food. After weeks of wandering, suffering and consuming seventeen of their horses, they reached the foot of the main range of the Sierra/l^ountaina on October 30. They then came upon the Yosemite river, which they followed and finally, in the middle of Hovamber, reached the San Francisco bay, then traveling in a southerly direction the party on Kovember 20, first caught sight of the Pacific ocean, fhe Walker party remained in sunny California during the winter and on Fabniairy 14, 1834, started on their return trip to again join Bonneville in the Rocky Mountains. They encountered nearly as much hardship on their return trip as they did on their westward journey, and they again came in contact with the same tribe of Indians with whom they had had trouble^another battle was fought and fourteen Indians ware killed and mAwy were wounded. Three of the man ware slightly wounded. The party made its way up the Snake river, and on June 1, arrived at the appointed rendezvous on Bear river where they were mot on June 20, by Captain Bonneville. Ths California trip by the Walker party was a disappoint­ ment to Bonneville, and he deamad it a great failure, for the •‘Great Salt Laka and the country around it* had not been sufficient­ ly explored, and no furs ware brought in. On July 25, 1833, the captain and his full party left the rendezvous fa* the headwaters of the Sweetwater rivar and arrangements ware made to transport what furs they had to^^ Louis. After much maneuvering to avoid the troublesome Indians, the captain finally re­ turned to headquarters on the Snaka river where his men were to trap, while he decided to explore the Columbia river. After toiling over the mountains, having numerous encounters with the thieving Indiana, �and meeting with great hardships, Bonneville and his two men on liar ch 4, 1834, reached the Hudson's Bay post near walla'Walla, where they were graciously received, but they ware denied supplies, because Bonneville was considered a competitive trader to the Hu/idson’s Bay company, and not an explorer for the United States government. On account of being wholly without supplies, Bonneville was precluded from further descending the Columbia river, and on liarch 6, started on his return trip to his winter camp on the Fortnauf, arriving there on May 12. From hare the reunited party left for tha Bear river valley rendezvous, whara they found Walker and his party, and soon after Cerra ratui*ned from Louis with the annual supplies. Thera was general rejoicing among tha mountain men on account of once more being united and they indulged in the customary celebration of feasting and drinking, but not so v/ith the leader. On account of the poor supply of furs gathered during the year there was but gloom for him, and it was ths general opinion among the traders and tappers that another year "would ba the end of him in the mountains", for the niuabsr of furs that had been sent to the market would not bring a sufficient sum to pay the man half the money due them. In the face of the gloom and the past two unsuccessful years the captain decided to stay another year in the mountains. Tha furs that had been accumulated the past winter were sent to Louis and hia men were sent to different sections of the trapping country, and Bonneville himself decided upon another trip to the Columbia. He left on July 3, with twenty-three men, going via the Snake river, and in due time reached the Columbia about fifty miles below the Walla Walla, but tha Indians showed their prefaranca for the Hudson's �Bay company, and ones mors the expedition proved unaucGsssful—or rathar a complete failure, and the captain once more faced toward the east, and after a great deal of suffering and hardship they arrived on the Snake river on October 30, and on November 17 they arrived at the caches on Baar river, and spent the winter on the upper ©id of that river, where game was plentiful and hardship and want was un­ known, The party was visited by many bands of Indians, and occasion­ ally some white trappers. In the early spring of 1835, Captain Bonne­ ville commenced to make arrangements to leave the mountains, and on April X he broke camp on Bear river. On June 10, ha had arrived at a point a short distancevto the east of the Wind River Jfiountaina. On June 22, he reached the rendezvous on the forks of Wind Jtiver where he was joined by his men who had been sent to the Crow country, and the united party here celebrated the Fourth of July, after which Bonneville started on his journey toward the states, arriving at (S^ Louis on August 22, 1835. The captain’s leave of absence had expired in October, 1833, and he was dropped from the rolls of the anay on May 31, 1834, He immediately set out to be re-instated, but there was a strong oppo­ sition to his re-instat ament among the aray authorities, but on April 19, 1836, he was re-instated by President Jackson "on account of his contributions to geographical knowledge of the mountain coun­ try, and for the further reason that his expedition had been at his own expense and none whatever to the United States government," After being re-instated. Captain Bonneville served in the Seminole and Mexican wars. He was wounded in the latter war. It is said that his sympathies were with the secessionists during the Civil War, but he remained loyal to the Union, In due �time ha was advanced to idajor and later to Lieutenant Colonel, than to Colonel and finally to Brevet Brigadier General on liarch 13, 1865. Soon after the Civil War he retired from the army and made his home at Fort Smith. He was married twice, end died June 12, 1878, and hie remains ware interred in Belle-fontaine cemetery at St. Louis. Commercially, Bonneville’s expedition was a failure, for the captain was not trained in business, especially to compete with ths Hudson’s Bay and the other companies that were then in the fur trad­ ing business, for he held himself above the base methods resorted to by the other traders. He was always hospitable and quite popular among the Indians as well as the whites. During his four years in the mountains not one of his men were lost and not and Indian was killed by his orders. Xt is claimed that the two maps of the western country he furnished the goverament wore "filched" from the maps made by Albert Gallatin the year before, but Bonneville has been given full credit for them, and it was these maps, mors than anything else, that caused President Jackson to re-instate him in the army, No doubt ths greatest debt the people of the United States owe to Bonneville of a historical nature was the furnishing to Washington Irving the notes from which ware written that intensely interesting description of the Rocky Uountains, which, when it first appeared bora the title of "The Rocky Uountaina, or Scenes, Incidents and Ad­ ventures of the Far Y/estj Digested From the Journal of Captain B.L.B, Bonneville, of the Army of the United States, and Illustrated From Various Other Sources," In later years the revised and re-printed edi'fei bear the name of "Adventures of Captain Bonnevilla," **By tha Eternal ’ S'? I’ll that you are ra-instatad to your �conmaad. For this valuable aarvica to the War Department and the counti*y you deserve high promotion.'* Thia was the exclamation of President Andrew Jackson when Bonneville showed him his two maps of the mountain country, one of them being the region about the sources of the laissouri, Yellowstone, Snake, Green, Wind and Sweetwater Rivers, which also included the region of the Great Salt Lake. The other map included the country westward to the Pacific ocean. Albert Gallatin had prepared maps the year before which con­ tained nearly all the important features of the Boiuxeville maps, but in some instances ths Gallatin maps were more nearly correct than BonnevilH’s, It is evident that Washington Irving’s emballieliment of Bonneville’s adventures into high-class literature mads them mors in­ ters sting and gave the captain more fame than his actual discoveries during his ^Exploration" of the Mountain Country of four years. It will be noted on the maps furnished by Bonneville that he gave the name Youta (Stau) to the Great Salt Laks, but posterity has very propsrly refused to recognize that great body of water undsr that name. Additional light discovered since Washington Irving wrote Bonneville’s Adventures disclose many discrepancies and considerable presun^tuousness on the part of Captain Bonneville upon his "explor­ ations'* and "discoveries", which are too numerous and too extended to mention hers. It may be said in Captain Bonneville’s favor, however, that he was a popular leader of men on his expedition to the Mountain /dwntry, and that he managed the men in his party with open and splendid judg­ ment, and during his four years in ths mountains not a man of his party lost his life, while great numbers of men from other companies �lost thair lives through sickness and being killed by the Indians. Bonneville was popular with the Indians, and although they robbed him and imposed upon him, he never killed any of them and seldom had a dispute with them. Ho never furnished liquor to the Indians to in­ duce them to trade with him, and this, no doubt, was one of the con- tributing factors for his expedition^ being a complete failure from a comercial standpoint. It was the rule among the Indians in those early days to trade with no one who would not furnish them with enough Tire water” for a week or ten day’s debauch. "Mo fire water,* no trade*, was ths universally adopted slogan among all the tribes of ths red men. iill through life Bonneville was lucky. -Even his unsuccessful expedition to the Mountain^pduntry proved to be his most successful adventure, for his luckiest day was when he met Washington Irving, who took his notss and worked them into one of ths most interesting, fascinating and enchanting atories of the Far West that has ever been published. Alfred Mokler, Author \ Bibliography} Washington Irving’s "Adventures of Captain Bonneville." Putnam n.d Hiram M. Chittenden’s "History of the Fur Trade of the Far V/est." Harper 1902 � 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 Letterboxes Subject The topic of the resource Local authors -- Wyoming -- Natrona County -- Casper Casper (Wyo.) -- History Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.) Natrona County (Wyo.) -- History Description An account of the resource The Alfred J. Mokler Letterboxes are a series of the larger archival collection that are his papers. Both his Letterboxes and his Notebooks available in this digital repository include holograph manuscripts, which is to say, manuscripts written in the author's hand. Much of the material in Mokler's Letterboxes dates to the 1920s and 1930s. 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. 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 Letterbox 2-B Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alfred J. Mokler Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/</a> Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Lander Journal Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1933 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. Description An account of the resource This Letterbox contains a January 25, 1933 newspaper article from the Lander Journal titled "Blizzard of 1883: Stage Drivers Worked Heroically to get Thru with Passengers Who Suffered Greatly " other newspaper articles and captions, and a paper titled "Captain Bonneville, a Speculative Adventurer: Most Interesting, Fascinating and Enchanting Stories of the Far West Ever Published." 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