April 10

1803   Napoleon told his Treasury Minister that he was considering selling Louisiana to the United States. Attribution:  On This Day.

1768   The Marqués de Rubí filed a report recommending that Spain abandon East Texas, exterminate the Lipan Apaches and maintain only San Antonio and Santa Fe north of the Rio Grande.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1875  U. S. Cavalry escorts an illegal Black Hills mining party, the Gordon Party, to Ft. Laramie.

1878  John W. Hoyt appointed Territorial Governor.  Hoyt was a well educated polymath and had not sought the job.

1890  Red sandstone quarry opened at Iron Mountain.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1892  The news of the invasion spread in Johnson County and the local population began to react.  Jack Flagg, after having nearly been caught by the invaders rode north spreading the news.  The invaders soon received news themselves that residents of the county were in alarm and armed men were on the way to counter them.  An argument ensued as to whether to take refuge at the T. A. Ranch and hole up in anticipation of an assault by Johnson County residents, and in order to wait for anticipated relief from Federal troops from Ft. McKinney or to proceed with the attack and head to Buffalo.  In the meantime, a posse lead by Sheriff "Red" Angus in fact arrived at the KC and found the dead bodies of Nate Champion and Nick Ray, and that the Nolan cabin, which had been leased by Champion, had been fired.  They the returned to Buffalo, a round trip of 120 miles.  The Johnson County Invaders begin to dig in and fortify at the T. A. Ranch.   The Invaders suffered two defections, who rode off towards Buffalo on their Western Union leased horses (horses from Western Union had been leased for the invasion.  They were arrested in Buffalo.  One of the men had been a reporter, and was released when Major Fechet, from Ft. McKinney, vouched for him.  In the mean time, Flagg and 49 men had traveled to the TA.

The events of April 10 are illuminating in showing how badly lead the expedition was.  In the several days that had passed since the invaders disembarked in Casper, they had been delayed by weather near Casper, and had only managed to launch an assault on the Champion cabin.  In spite of  grossly outnumbering the cabin defenders, defeating Champion had taken all day, and the decision to attack the cabin, and Champions stalwart defense of it, had resulted in the invading party loosing a critical day.  Their leased horses were being depleted, rumors were rife as to what was going on, and their presence had been discovered in Johnson County near the southern end of the county.  Authorities in Buffalo, on the other hand, together with Johnson County residents, were reacting swiftly.  Sheriff Angus, unlike the invaders, managed to ride to the Champion cabin and back, a whopping 120 mile round trip, and put together a posse, inside of 24 hours.  Johnson County residents, for their part, managed to actually form an ad hoc armed band equally as large as the invading party and, by the end of this day, besiege the invaders.

1909  News of the Spring Creek raid hit the papers.

1980  The Chapel of the Transfiguration added to the National Registry of Historic Places.

1994  A 4.6 earthquake happens in southwestern Wyoming.

2020  Good Friday, which was proclaimed by Governor Gordon as a Day of Prayer in light of the Coronavirus Pandemic.