Lex Anteinternet: Bells of Balangiga to depart

Bells of Balangiga to depart

Gen. Jacob Smith inspects the ruins of Balangiga a few weeks after the battle there.

The Bells of Balangiga, war trophies from the Spanish American War, are going back to the Philippines, according to a government press release.

The bells have long been a matter of contention between the United States and the Philippines.  The 9th Infantry, which took the bells, maintained that it was ambushed in the locality, where it was garrisoned, and the bells symbolized its defense of itself from a surprise treacherous attack.  The Philippines have asserted the battle represented an uprising of the indigenous population against occupation and that the conclusion of the battle featured the killing of villagers without justification.  Both versions of the event may be correct in that it was a surprise attack on a unit stationed in the town and, by that point in the war, 1901, it had begun to take on a gruesome character at times.

Whatever the case may be, the bells, from three Catholic Churches, have long been sought to be returned.  Two of the bells are at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, which which the 9th Infantry had later been stationed at when it was Ft. D. A. Russell, and a third has been kept in Alaska.  It would appear that they're now going to go back to the churches from which they came in the Philippines, almost certainly accompanied by at least some vocal protestations from Wyoming's representation in Congress, I suspect.  As the current Wyoming connection with the 9th Infantry, let alone the Philippine Insurrection, is pretty think, it's unlikely that the average Wyomingite, however, will care much.  Indeed, while it caused its own controversy, a former head of a veteran's position in the state came out for returning the bells the last time this controversy rolled around a few years ago.

December 7

Today is, by State Statute, WS 8-4-106, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  The Statute provides:

(a) In recognition of the members of the armed forces who lost their lives and those who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, territory of Hawaii on December 7, 1941, December 7 of each year is designated as "Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day". The day shall be appropriately observed in the public schools of the state.
(b) The governor, not later than September 1 of each year, shall issue a proclamation requesting proper observance of "Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day".
(c) This section shall not affect commercial paper, the making or execution of written agreements or judicial proceedings, or authorize public schools, businesses or state and local government offices to close.

Your Recollections:  What about you?

Do you have any personal recollections about December 7, 1941?  Either first hand, or that you recall hearing from family and friends?  And, by that, not just Pearl Harbor stories, but I'd be very interested to learn of any family recollections from those at home, on that day.  Wyoming is three hours ahead of Hawaii, did your family hear it that morning, or later in the day?  Just after church, or while tuning in for a football game?  Any recollection is welcome.

_________________________________________________________________________________

I also note, at least according to an engineer who explained it to me, that December 7 is also a date involving an astronomical anomaly, that being that it is the day of the year which, in the Northern Hemisphere, features the earliest sunset.  That doesn't, of course, make it the shortest day of the year, it's just that the sunsets the earliest on this day, or so I am told.

1868  U.S. Post Office reestablished at Green River.

1890   The subject of sermon at the Rawlins Presbyterian Church was “Choosing a Husband.”

1898  Battery A, Wyoming Light Artillery, arrives in Manilla where it will serve in the Philippine Insurrection.

1909   The Natrona County Tribune reported in a story that ran this week:

"Snowed In.

"W. L. Hobbs and Dr. J. W. Padgett left Lander over seven weeks ago on a three weeks' elk hunt, and the first of last week one of their horses returned, and their friends feared that they had perished in the deep snow in the mountains, and relief parties were organized to search for them. On Sunday night Dr. Padgett was brought into Lander by a trapper, and the doctor said that Mr. Hobbs was badly snowed in near Fremont Peak, there being three to five feet of snow all over the mountains. He said that Mr. Hobbs would not leave his horses, that he had plenty to eat and was clearing small patches of ground so his horses could feed, that there was no immediate danger of either the horses or Mr. Hobbs perishing."

1910  Cornerstone laid at high school in Lander.

1916   The Cheyenne Leader for December 7, 1916: Wyoming Guard coming home before Christmas?
 

The proverbial soldier "home before Christmas" story was running in the Leader.  Would it be true?

And given the rest of the news, how long would that be true for, if it was true?

1916:  Farmer Al Falfa's Blind Pig released, December 7, 1916
 

1916 saw the release of an entire series of Farmer Al Falfa cartoons. This film was the eleventh to be released this year (there's some dispute on the date, some sources claim the release date was December 1).

The series continued all the way through 1956, making it a very successful cartoon.

This particular cartoon is not on line, and it might largely be lost, like many films of this period.

Farmer Al Falfa in Tentless Circus, a cartoon released earlier in 1916.

Farm based cartoon would make up an entire genre of cartoons for a very long time and show the curious nature of the United States in regards to its rural population.  If we look at the 1920 census, the closest to the year in question, the US was 51.2% urban.  That's really remarkable actually as it meant that the US was already a heavily urban society at the time.  It might be more telling, however, to look at the 1900 census. That would reveal that, at that time, the US was 39.6% urban and 60.4% rural.  In other words, the US had gone from having a population that was clearly majority rural in 1900 to one which was slightly majority urban by 1920.

Like a lot of things about this era, almost all of which are now unappreciated, this meant that the society was undergoing massive changes.  We like to think of our current society experiencing that, and indeed it is, but arguably the period of 1900 to 1950 saw much more rapid changes of all types, a lot of which would have been extremely distressing to anyone experiencing them.  Indeed, carrying on the US would be 56.1% urban by 1930, meaning that in a thirty year period the US had effectively gone from heavily rural to heavily urban, with the percentage effectively reversing themselves in that time period.  Indeed, while not the point of this entry, this would really call  into question the claims by folks like James Kunstler that the Great Depression was not as bad as it seems because everyone came from a farm family and had a farm to go back to.  The nation had more farm families, to be sure, during the Great Depression than now, but the nation had been rocketing  into an urban transfer during that period for a lot of reasons, a lot of which were technological in  nature.

None of which is what this entry is about. 

Rather, what we'd note is that Farmer Al Falfa is an early example of a rustic depiction of farm life for movie goers.  Cartoons were shown before movies at the time and would be for a long time.  Depictions of farmers as hicks, but somewhat sympathetic hicks, were common in cartoons throughout the this period and on into the 1950s.  That's interesting in that it was a cartoon depiction of the American duality of thought in regards to farmers.  On the one hand, as people moved from the farms into the cities, they wanted to view their new lives as more sophisticated in every way over rural life, even if that meant running down rural residents.  On the other hand, rural life remained familiar enough to the viewing audience that really rural characters were familiar to them and the depictions, even if condescending, had to be at least somewhat sympathetic.  Depictions like this would last for a long time, even if they began to change a bit by the 1940s when urbanites began to show more interest in rural life. Even at that time, however, the depictions could run side by side, as with the introduction of Ma and Pa Kettle in The Egg and I.

1917  The USS Wyoming, under sail since November 25, arrives in Scapa Flow.  Four U.S. battleships arrive at Scapa Flow taking on the role of the British Grand Fleet's Sixth Battle Squadron. These include USS Delaware (BB-28), USS Florida (BB-30), New York (BB-34), and USS Wyoming (BB-32).

1917  The United States declared war against Austria-Hungary.

 December 7, 1917. The United States Declares War On Austria Hungary

Whereas the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government has committed repeated acts of war against the Government and the people of the United States of America : Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That a state of war is hereby declared to exist between the United States of America and the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government; and that the President be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the United States and the resources of the Government to carry on war against the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government; and to bring the conflict to a successful termination all the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States.

1917   The Cheyenne State Leader. Disaster and bad decisions
 

On December 7, a date we associate with a later war, Cheyenne's residents had headline about another maritime disaster.

And they got to read about a stupid proposal., the concept of eliminating German from the high schools even though it was a popular course.

War . . . 

 

1933  Natural gas explosion at bank in Torrington kills one and injuries four

1941  US military installations were attack in Hawaii by the Imperial Japanese Navy bringing the US formally into World War Two.

It was a surprisingly warm day in Central Wyoming that fateful day.  The high was in the upper 40s, and low in the lower 20s.  Not atypical temperatures for December but certainly warmer than it can be.

Events played out like this:

0342 Hawaii Time, 0642 Mountain Standard Time:  The minesweeper USS Condor sighted a periscope and radioed the USS Ward:   "Sighted submerged submarine on westerly course, speed 9 knots.”

USS Condor

0610 Hawaii Time, 0910 Mountain Standard Time:  Japanese aircraft carriers turn into the wind and launch the first attack wave.

0645-0653:  Hawaii Time, 0945-0953 Mountain Standard Time:  The USS Ward, mostly staffed by Naval Reservists, sights and engages a Japanese mini submarine first reported by the USS Connor, sinking the submarine. The Ward reports the entire action, albeit in code, noting:  "“We have dropped depth charges upon sub operating in defensive sea area" and “We have attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area.”

 USS Ward

At this point in time, most Wyomingites would be up and enjoying the day.  A large percentage would have gone to Church for the Sunday morning and have now started the rest of their Sundays.

0702 Hawaii Time, 1002 Mountain Standard Time:    An operator at the U.S. Army's newly installed Opana Mobile Radar Station, one of six such facilities on Oahu, sights 50 aircraft hits on his radar scope, which is confirmed by his co-operator.  They call Ft. Shafter and report the sighting.

 0715 Hawaii Time, 1015 Mountain Standard Time:  USS Ward's message decoded and reported to Admiral Kimmel, who orders back to "wait for verification."

0720 Hawaii Time, 1020 Mountain Standard Time:  U.S. Army lieutenant at Ft. Shafter reviews radar operator's message and believes the message to apply to a flight of B-17s which are known to be in bound from Califorina.  He orders that the message is not to be worried about.

0733 Hawaii Time, 1033 Mountain Standard Time, 1233 Eastern Time:  Gen. George Marshall issues a warning order to Gen. Short that hostilities many be imminent, but due to atmospheric conditions, it has to go by telegraph rather than radio.  It was not routed to go as a priority and would only arrive after the attack was well underway.

0749  Hawaii Time, 1049 Mountain Standard Time:  Japanese Air-attack commander Mitsuo Fuchida looks down on Pearl Harbor and observes that the US carriers are absent.  He orders his telegraph operator to tap out to, to, to: signalling "attack" and then: to ra, to ra, to ra: attack, surprise achieved.  This is interpreted as some as Tora, Tora, Tora, "tiger, tiger, tiger" which it was not.  Those who heard that sometimes interpreted to be indicative of the Japanese phrase; "A tiger goes out 1,000 ri and returns without fail.” 

0755 Hawaii Time, 1055 Mountain Standard Time:  Commander Logan C. Ramsey, at the Command Center on Ford Island, looks out a window to see a low-flying plane he believes to be a reckless and improperly acting U.S. aircraft.  He then notices “something black fall out of that plane” and realizes instantly an air raid is in progress.  He orders telegraph operators to send out an uncoded message to every ship and the base that: "AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT DRILL"

0800 Hawaii time, 11:00 Mountain Standard Time.  B-17s which were to be stationed at Oahu begin to land, right in the midst of the Japanese air raid.

0810  Hawaii Time, 11:10 Mountain Standard Time.  The USS Arizona fatally hit.

 USS Arizona

0817 Hawaii Time:  11:17 Mountain Standard Time.  The USS Helm notices a submarine ensnared in the the antisubmarine net and engages it.  It submerges but this partially floods the submarine, which must be abandoned.

 USS Helm

0839  Hawaii Time.  1139  Mountain Standard Time. The USS Monaghan, attempting to get out of the harbor, spotted another miniature submarine and rammed and depth charged it.

 USS Monaghan

0850 Hawaii Time.  11:50 Mountain Standard Time.  The USS Nevada, with her steam now up, heads for open water.  It wouldn't make it and it was intentionally run aground to avoid it being sunk.

USS Nevada

0854  Hawaii Time.  1150 Mountain Standard Time.  The Japanese second wave hits.

0929 Hawaii Time.  1229 Mountain Standard Time.  NBC interrupts regular programming to announce that Pearl Harbor was being attacked.

0930  Hawaii Time.  1230  Mountain Standard Time.  CBS interrupts regular programming to announce that Pearl Harbor was being attacked.

0930 Hawaii Time.  1230 Mountain Standard Time.  The bow of the USS Shaw, a destroyer, is blown off.  The ship would be repaired and used in the war.

 Explosion on the Shaw.

0938 Hawaii Time, 1238 Mountain Standard Time.  CBS erroneously announces that Manila was being attacked.  It wasn't far off, however, as the Philippines would be attacked that day (December 8 given the International Date Line).

10:00 Hawaii Time, 13:00 Mountain Standard Time

The USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor on this day.

1300 Hawaii Time.  1600 Mountain Standard Time.  Japanese task forces begins to turn towards Japan.

A third wave was by the Japanese debated, but not launched.

Wyoming is three hours ahead of Hawaii (less than I'd have guessed) making the local time here about 10:30 a.m. on that Sunday morning when the attack started..  The national radio networks began to interrupt their programming about 12:30.  On NBC the announcement fell between Sammy Kaye's Sunday Serenade and the University of Chicago Round Table, which was featuring a program on Canada at war.  On NBC the day's episode of Great Plays was interrupted for their announcement. CBS had just begun to broadcast The World Today which actually  headlined with their announcement fairly seamlessly.

2010  Lighting ceremony held in Washington D.C. for the Capitol Christmas Tree, which this year came from  the Bridger Teton National Forest.

September 28

490 BC Greeks defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon.

1066 William the Conqueror, the duke of Normandy, invades England. The Saxon forces, haveing recently fought Harald Haadraada at Stamford Bridge, were located a considerable distance to the north.

1769   Captain Rafael Martínez Pacheco post as commander of San Agustín de Ahumada Presidio.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1891   Paul Ranous Greever born in Lansing Kansas.  He was a graduate of the University of Kansas law school and came to Wyoming after serving as an officer in World War One.  He was Wyoming's Congressman from 1935 to 1939.

1901   At Balangiga on Samar Island, Philippine villagers surprised a the US military Company C, 9th Infantry Regiment. Church bells, allegedly used to signal the attack, were taken by the Americans as prizes.  Thirty-eight  of Seventy-four US soldiers were killed and all the rest but six were wounded. Philippine casualties were estimated at 50-250.  The bells were installed at Ft. D. A. Russell Wyoming upon the 9th Infantry's return, where they remain today on the now F. E. Warren AFB.  The Philippines still seek their return, and the presence of the bells remains an ongoing controversy.  A few years ago a member of the Wyoming Veterans Commission lost his seat by stating that he supported their return.  The Philiipinno representatives maintain that the bells in some cases reflect that they were taken from churches other than those near the battle.

1909  Sheridan accepted plans for a new town hall. Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1916   Two battalions of the Wyoming National Guard left for the Mexican border.  Attribution:  On This Day.

The Punitive Expedition: Addtional Wyoming National Guard units leave for the border, maybe. September 28, 1916.
 

 New York (not Wyoming) Guardsmen entraining, June 1916.  Similar scenes, however, would have taken place near Cheyenne.  These troops, by the way, have a real mix of gear, as photos of Wyoming's troops do as well, as more modern canteens hadn't caught up with them yet and they were still using bedrolls, frontier campaign style, rather than backpacks.  In terms of the scene, we see Guardsmen caught in the moment between the style of Frontier campaigning and modern warfar.

When I originally posted this item it read:

Two additional battalions of the Wyoming National Guard depart for the Mexican border.

These units had been under orders since June.

This might be right, but frankly what I think is may be the case is that the historians who suggest this have the departure dates confused.  But maybe not.

It's possible that the entraining took place on the 27th and 28th, but it seems possible that it took place all late in the night of  the 27th.  Still, the "two additional" battalions items does raise some questions and its not impossible that the Guard entrained over two days.

Raising more questions, 642 Wyoming National Guardsmen were mobilized in the Punitive Expedition.   The first newspaper reports on their departure only indicated that a little under 150 left on the night of the 27th. Assuming that's correct, the bulk of the men were still encamped near Cheyenne.  And if that's right, and it may well be, that means that is perfectly possible that more left over the next two days on additional trains, or at least that more left on a separate train on the 28th.

If you know, let us know.

The Wyoming Tribune for September 28, 1916: Guard leaves on 26 trailroad cars, revolt in Greece, and we're a sick soft nation in 1916, apparently

 

The always more dramatic Wyoming Tribune noted that the Guard was "finally" off for the Mexican border, but its the other headlines that really drew attention.

I'd hardly regard the US of 1916 as sick, soft and fat, but apparently somebody did.

Cheyenne State Leader for September 28, 1916: The troops have left

In today's edition of the Cheyenne State Leader we learn that the Wyoming Guard departed the prior night, after an apparently long day of delays.

The bottom entry, I'd note, reminds us to be careful out there.

1918 

Col. J. W. Cavendar, a Casualty of the Great War. Who was he?

The September 28, 1918 Casper Daily Press in which we learn a fair amount about Joseph J. Cavendar.  What we don't actually learn from this paper is the true circumstances of his death.

From the Wyoming newspapers of September 27, 1918, we learned that Col. J. W. Cavendar had become a casualty of the fighting on the Meuse Argonne.  He was the commander of the 148th Field Artillery, one of the units formed out of Wyoming National Guard infantrymen (as well as the Guardsmen of other regional states, or at least the state of Utah.

But who was he?

It's pretty hard to tell.

What we know, or thought we knew, from the Cheyenne papers of the day is that he was an attorney, and they report him as a local attorney, and hence the problem.

Lawyers may rise to the heights of great fame during their lifetimes, and certainly the ascendancy to high positions has been common, including in a prior era to the command of Federalized National Guard units.  But after they are dead, they are almost always completely forgotten.  The fame of lawyers follows them into the grave.

From what we can tell, the Cheyenne papers that reported him as "local" were a bit in error.  He was a Georgia born attorney who had originally apparently been a shopkeeper. According to the Casper paper set out above, he came to Wyoming at first to enter ranching, but that must not have worked otu as he returned to Georgia and entered the law. After that, he came back to Wyoming, was admitted to the bar here, and then practiced for a time in Carbon County before relocating to Park County.  In 1912, as the newspaper above notes, he was elected as Park County Attorney.

The old part of the Park County Courthouse, which was built in 1912, the year Cavendar became the Park County Attorney.

A little additional digging reveals that he'd been in the National Guard for awhile.  In 1911 he'd been elected, as that's how they did it, as the Captain of the infantry unit in  Cody.  His wife was asked to speak for Spanish American War pensioners as late as 1921, in hopes they'd claim their pensions, so his memory remained that strong at least to that point.  Perhaps more interestingly, given that he was born in 1878, that raises some question of whether he'd served in the Army during the Spanish American War.  He would have been old enough to do so.

He was in command, at least for a time, of the Wyoming National Guard troops that were mobilized for the crisis on the Mexican Border and was a Major in the National Guard by that time.

So we know that Col. Joseph W. Cavendar was a Georgia born lawyer who had relocated to Wyoming twice.  He'd started life as a merchant, and then switched to ranching, then went back to Georgia and became a lawyer.  After that, he came back to Wyoming and ultimately ended up the Park County Attorney.  At some point he'd entered the Wyoming National Guard.  Given his age, he was old enough to have been a Spanish American War veteran and it would be somewhat odd, given his obvious affinity for military life, if he had not been.

At the time of his death he was fifty years old.  Not a young man.  And there's a ting, maybe, of failure to his life.  It's subtle, but it's sort of there.  The law was his third career and Wyoming was his second state of practice.

But perhaps that's emphasized by what we later learn.

Cavendar killed himself.

Indeed, what we learn is that on the very first day of the Meuse Argonne Offensive the Army found the fifty year old Park County Attorney, former rancher, former merchant, wanting and informed him that it was relieving him of his command and giving him the choice of returning to the United States to be mustered out of service or to be reduced in rank to Captain and return to service in that capacity.  Instead he walked over to the hotel where he was staying and killed himself with a pistol.  The Army, no doubt wanting to save his reputation, or perhaps worried that the relief of a National Guard officer (from a state in which powerful U.S. Senator F. E. Warren was. . . Gen. Pershing's father in law, was from) reported him killed in action.

Cavendar had been in front of a board that was reviewing National Guard officers and finding more than a few of them wanting.  Some were higher ranking that Cavendar.  By the time the true story broke, following the war, the sympathies were clearly on the relieved National Guard officers side and the action regarded as an outrage.

Was it?  That's pretty hard to say. Cavendar had been in command of his unit for a good five months at the time he was relieved. But that doesn't mean that his service had been perfect or that there weren't better officers, and potentially younger ones, coming up behind him.  On the other hand, the Regular Army was legendary for containing officer that had a strong, largely unwarranted, animosity towards the National Guard.  Indeed, elements of the Army had openly opposed making the Guard the official reserve of the Army in 1903, an action which if they had been successful in would have lead to absolute disaster during World War One.  Nonetheless, as late as World War Two the Army seemed to retain a strong animosity in some quarters towards National Guard officers and relieved many of them with no clear indication as to why.  No doubt some, perhaps many, warranted removal, but the Army seemed more zealous in its actions than facts warranted.

Whatever happened, apparently Cavendar couldn't bare what he regarded as the shame of it, or perhaps other things combined to push him over the edge. Whatever it was, he shouldn't have done what he did.  Indeed, followers of the blog on Canadian colones in the Great War would note that many of them were relieved and went on to be highly regarded.  Relieving officers in wartime isn't unusual, it's part of the service.  

Well, anyhow, now we know more about Cavendar than we did, sad story though it is.

1918  Villa rides again and the Spanish Flu marches through American camps. The Cheyenne State Leader, September 28, 1918

Death in various forms figured prominently on the front page of the Cheyenne State Leader for September 28, 1918.

Including in that was the resurgent Pancho Villa. . . whom only two years prior was the prim military concern of the United States.

1930  Union Pacific towns  Cumberland No. 1 and No. 2 dismantled.  Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.

1930  S. H. Knight took photographs of the Centennial Valley and of this lodge in southern Wyoming.

August 29

1865  Gen. Connor lead 125 Michigan cavalrymen and 90 Pawnee in an early morning assault on an Arapaho village encamped on the Tongue River in the last battle of the Powder River expedition  The battle was at the current location of the town of Ranchester..  At the time of the assault, many of the Arapaho fighting men were away fighting the Crow Indians along the Big Horn River, although the cavalrymen and their Pawnee scouts were nonetheless outnumbered.  The fighting lasted all day, and Connor had to bring up two howitzer to repel an Arapaho counterattack designed to hold Connor's force back while the Arapaho withdrew their camp, which included the remaining older men, women, and children.  Sixty three Arapaho were killed in the battle, and eighteen women and children were taken prisoner but subsequently released.  1,000 Arapaho horses were taken and killed.

The battle is notable for several peculiar reasons.  For one thing, while Connor's forces were in the field to address Indian raiding that had gone on earlier that year, it appears that the Arapaho, which were a very small band of Indians, were not at war with the US, or at least this band was not. So the assault, while conceived of by Connor as an attack on a hostile band, was in fact an assault on a peaceful band. The assault would turn them hostile, however, and they would be allied with the Sioux and Cheyenne up through the 1870s.

1870  Mount Washburn in Yellowstone National Park ascended for the first time by members of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition.   The scientific/topographic expedition was under a military escort lead by U.S. Army Cavalry officer, Lt. Gustavus Cheyney Doane, who made this report:

The view from the summit is beyond all adequate description. Looking northward from the base of the mountain the great plateau stretches away to the front and left with its innumerable groves and sparkling waters, a variegated landscape of surpassing beauty, bounded on its extreme verge by the cañons of the Yellowstone. The pure atmosphere of this lofty region causes every outline of tree, rock or lakelet to be visible with wonderful distinctness, and objects twenty miles away appear as if very near at hand. Still further to the left the snowy ranges on the headwaters of Gardiner's river stretch away to the westward, joining those on the head of the Gallatin, and forming, with the Elephant's Back, a continuous chain, bending constantly to the south, the rim of the Yellowstone Basin. On the verge of the horizon appear, like mole hills in the distance, and far below, the white summits above the Gallatin Valley. These never thaw during the summer months, though several thousand feet lower than where we now stand upon the bare granite and no snow visible near, save n the depths of shaded ravines. Beyond the plateau to the right front is the deep valley of the East Fork bearing away eastward, and still beyond, ragged volcanic peaks, heaped in inextricable confusion, as far as the limit of vision extends. On the east, close beneath our feet, yawns the immense gulf of the Grand Cañon, cutting away the bases of two mountains in forcing a passage through the range. Its yellow walls divide the landscape nearly in a straight line to the junction of Warm Spring Creek below. The ragged edges of the chasm are from two hundred to five hundred yards apart, its depth so profound that the river bed is no where visible. No sound reaches the ear from the bottom of the abyss; the sun's rays are reflected on the further wall and then lost in the darkness below. The mind struggles and then falls back upon itself despairing in the effort to grasp by a single thought the idea of its immensity. Beyond, a gentle declivity, sloping from the summit of the broken range, extends to the limit of vision, a wilderness of unbroken pine forest.

William Henry Jackson on Mount Washburn a few years later.

1899  Wyoming volunteers returned from service in the Philippines, via the Port of San Francisco.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1900  The Hole In The Wall Gang robbed a train near Tipton.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1918  More news from the border, Noyon falls to the French, mule reunion, and twenty personal questions. The News. August 29, 1918.

Sniping was still going on, but I don't know if this ultimatum was delivered or not.  It may have been.

The Casper paper was also reportign that Gen. Cabell had issued an ultimatum.

As usual, the Laramie Boomerang was less dramatic about things.  But there was disturbing news about new "sin taxes".

The Wyoming State Tribune lead with the fall of Noyon to the French, as did every other paper.  But it also had a touching story on an equine reunion and discussed the twenty personal questions new draftees would be asked.  Along with a story on the events in Nogales.

1923  Wednesday, August 29, 1923 Scaling Heights.

Teton's, 1902.

The South Teton was scaled for the first time. The climbers were Albert R. Ellingwood and Eleanor Davis. That same day, Ellingwood became the first person to climb the 12,809 feet (3,904 m) high Middle Teton.

Granite Peak, in Montana, was scaled for the first time.  The climbers were Elers Koch, James C. Whitham, and R.T. Ferguson, 

1970  The Medicine Wheel was designated a National Historic Landmark.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1971  The Casper Buffalo trap was discovered.

2004  3.8 earthquake occurred 95 miles from Gillette.  Attribution:  On This Day..

August 6

1814  Esther Hobart Morris, nee McQuigg, born in Tioga County, New York.

1846  DeForest Richards, Governor from 1899-1903, born in Wilcox County, Alabama. Attribution:  On This Day.

1850   Louis Vasquez becomes the Postmaster at Ft. Bridger.

1867  Indians raided Union Pacific near the present location of Lexington Nebraska.

1890     Cy Young made his major league debut with the Cleveland Spiders of the National League.

1898  The Wyoming Battalion left the steamer Ohio in Manila Bay and went into camp at Paranaque.Attribution:  On This Day.

1910  Crystal Lake Dam completed.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1916    Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages. Previewed on this day.
 

The film Intolerance was previewed in Riverside California on this day in 1916.  Regarded as a masterpiece of this era, the film is a series of vignettes involving a poor young woman separated by prejudice from her husband and baby and site between stories of intolerance from throughout history.  It was a reaction, in part, to the negative reaction to the racists Birth of a Nation by the same director.  Like a lot of silent movies, it was long, running 3:17.
1916  The Sunday State Leader for August 6, 1916. Laramie steps up to the plate with Guard recruits.
 

Cheyenne's Sunday State Leader was reporting that neighboring Albany County had come in with Guardsmen to help fill out the state's National Guard.

And the GOP comments on Wilson's policy on Mexico wasn't being well received everywhere.

And labor was unhappy in New York.
1945  The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, the first use of such a weapon, and of course one of only two such uses.

 Japanese photograph found in 2013 of cloud from Hiroshima approximately thirty minutes after detonation.

1965     President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.

July 31

1867  Ft. Fetterman given that name.  It was only in its second week of existence.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1868  Ft. Phil Kearny abandoned.

From:   Some Gave All:  Ft. Phil Kearny, Wyoming 

These are monuments at Ft. Phil Kearny, the command which suffered defeat at the Fetterman Fight, but endured an attack later at the Wagon Box Fight.

This blog does not attempt to document battlefields photographically, and the same is true of historic sites. For this reason, this entry does not attempt to depict all of Ft. Phil Kearny. Those wishing to see more photos of the post should look here. Rather, this only attempts to depict a few things topical to this blog.

The monument depicted above is an early one, placed by the State of Wyoming well before any archeology on the post had been done, and very little about its grounds was known. Now, because of archeology on the site, this monument is in a location where it is probably only rarely viewed.


These photographs depict a common device for historic sites in Wyoming, a pipe used for sighting a distant location. In this case, the location is the location of the post cemetery. The cemetary originally held the bodies of the soldiers, and civilians, killed at the Fetterman Fight, but the bodies were later removed to the national cemetery at Little Big Horn.

1892  Legendary Wyoming geologist and University of Wyoming geology professor, Samuel H. Knight, born.  His parents moved to Laramie in 1893, so he was associated with Laramie his entire life, save for attending Columbia for his doctorate, and his service in World War One.  The geology building at the University of Wyoming is named after him.

1898  Wyoming volunteers, the Wyoming Battalion, land at Manila and disembark from the Ohio.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1899  The Wyoming Battalion, having been in the Philippines for exactly one year, embarked on the Grant at Manila and started their journey home. Attribution:  On This Day.

1914  Twenty-five Yellowstone coaches robbed.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1914     The New York Stock Exchange closed due to the outbreak of World War I.

1916   The Wyoming Tribune for July 31, 1916.
 

Cheyenne's more dramatic paper, the Wyoming Tribune, with a grim headline for July 31, 1916.

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Headlines like this one almost seem like something that's more from our own era, so perhaps it serves to remind us that giant natural disasters have been around for awhile.

The Wyoming National  Guard was still awaiting orders in that hot 1916 July.

1918  A milestone in aviation history: Aviators parachute from from moving aircraft in France. . . .and Texas. 

It was reported that on this day, in 1918, a French aviator, and an American one, both experimented with parachuting from moving aircraft.

Like all things aviation,  parachutes were advancing fairly rapidly under the pressure of World War One. They'd already been introduced for balloon crewmen, who could parachute out of balloons in combat scenarios.  Indeed, they typically did so when it became apparent a balloon was about to be attacked, as they had to put the parachute harness on in order to get out. They did not simply routinely wear it.  But up until this point in the war, it had not been the case that aviators wore parachutes or even could.

Indeed, it would not become standard until after the war.  While these experiments proved it could be done, it remained the case that wearing an early parachute in an early airplane was not easy to do, and indeed, was largely impractical for the most part.

Meanwhile, in the other local newspaper, the news was all about oil. . . and natural gas.

Indeed, this paper has a number of interesting things reported in it in the energy news that would predict the future.  Gasoline was coming on. . . but natural gas was arriving and replacing coal.

1919  Sportscaster Curt Gowdy born in Green River.

1930 The radio program The Shadow airs for the first time.

1937  Wyoming deeded Ft. Laramie to the Federal Government. Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1943  The USS Sheridan, APA-51, an attack transport, commissioned.

1981     A seven-week strike by major league baseball players ended.

2003   Ft. Yellowstone designated a National Historic Landmark. Attribution:  On This Day.

2003  Jackson Lake Lodge designated a National Historic Landmarks. Attribution:  On This Day.

2006  Casper's Jonah Bank received its certificate of Federal Deposit insurance, essentially marking the commencement of its operations.

July 6

1836   Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding at the 1836 Rendezvous
 

This entry more likely belongs at our Today In Wyoming's History blog, as it isn't so much of a church item (well maybe it is) as a history item.  Note how particularly early this Oregon Trail event was, 1836.  Well before the big flood of travelers starting going over the trail in the late 1840s.

1863  John Bozeman leaves Ft. Laramie to scout a trail to the Yellowstone Valley. The trail would become the Bozeman Trail.

1876  The Army commences to inform the widows of the Little Big Horn Battle of the loss of their husbands at Ft. Abraham Lincoln.

1890  The streetcar line in Cheyenne running from Capitol Ave. to Lake Minnehaha completed.  Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.

1899  The Wyoming Battalion received its orders in the Philippines to return to the U.S. Attribution:  On This Day.

1918  Because the Germans doing it seemed like such a good idea? Now the Allies opt for intervening in Russia.

And Woodrow Wilson decided that the U.S. would participate in it, over the objections of Army which advised against it.

Everything about Russia during World War One has a certain pipe dream quality to it.  The Western Allies had hoped from day one that the giant nation would prove to be a vital and decisive ally. It did turn out to be a handful for the Germans, who ultimately defeated it, but the German hopes for what they had defeated and their greed meant that the fruits of that victory were never realized.

Following Russia's collapse into civil war the Allies hoped that the situation could be restored and a new republican government would rejoin the war, a hope that was folly at best.  Ultimately that hope lead to the decision to intervene in Russian affairs, putting the Allies into the extraordinary position of fielding expeditionary forces that would deploy direction into a civil war when, at that very time, the Allies were on the verge of loosing the war themselves on the Western Front.

Perhaps it is somewhat understandable, but only somewhat.  There was really no earthly way that Russia was coming back into World War One.  Moreover, the force needed to insure a quick White Victory, which is what would have been necessary to achieve that result, just wasn't there. . . which suggests that the Allies thought the Reds weren't really as powerful in 1918 as they were.  Not that they were not challenged, to be sure.  The Whites were also powerful at that time and the Communist government had seen an uprising on July 6 and 7 from the left, in the form of an attempted seizure of the government by the Left Socialist Revolutionaries.  Russia was a mess.

But the Allies, in the midst of the largest war since the Napoleonic Wars, weren't going to be able to reverse that.

Indeed, in the American Army's case, they weren't even going to be given a clear mission.

1922 Seven gamblers were arrested in Yoder, in the garage of a deputy sheriff.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1922.  Thursday, July 6, 1922. Casper and Oil

The big news in Casper was that the Texas Company, generally referred to as Texaco, was coming to Casper.  It would build a refinery on the edge of what became Evansville, referred to in these articles as the lands belonging to the Evans Holding Company.

The refinery was one of three in operation here when I was young, including the giant Standard Oil Refinery and the Sinclair Refinery, the latter of which had been built originally by Husky Petroleum.  Only the Sinclair Refinery remains in operation.  The Texaco refinery closed in 1982.  The Standard Oil Refinery closed for good in 1991.

1976  Frederic Hutchinson Porter, an architect responsible for the design of several important buildings in Cheyenne and a Cheyenne resident, died.

May 27

1837         James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, born in Homer Illinois.

1870  Indians who raided a Kansas Pacific construction crew on the 13th crossed the Union Pacific near Antelope with cavalry under Forsythe in pursuit.

1876.  The Powder River Expedition leaves Ft. Fetterman.

1893  The first electric lights in Sheridan were turned on at the Sheridan Inn.

 The Sheridan Inn, in 2012.

1898  Troop F 2nd U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, c0ming from Rock Springs, Green River and Cheyenne, mustered in at Fort Russell.  Officers and men were:  Willis F. Hoadley, Captain; Leonard L. Deitrick, first lieutenant; Thomas J. King, second lieutenant; Frank Kidd, first sergeant; Daniel B. Shields, quartermaster sergeant; John A. Jackson, George E. Artist, George Landenberger, George D. Solomon, William A. Crawford and Jeremiah Maly, sergeants; John W. Peters, Bert McClure, Angus J. Matheson, Jacob L. Parrott, Frank C. Wells, Melville W. James, Josiah H. Eardley and John E. O'Riley, corporals; Frank J. Gunther and Edward F. Ely, trumpeters; Lucius A. Place, saddler: James Paulson, wagoner.  Troopers–Benjamin Benz, Joseph Bird, Henry C. Bloom, John N. Bodendick, John E. Brooks, Samuel K. Brown, Morrison Chester, Charles W. Cole, Bert Collins, Thomas Craig, Allison Davis, Walter Durbin, Albert B. Ekdall, Max Fairbanks, William Farley, Rufus E. Garner, Frederick Hagen, Patrick W. Haley, Frank O. Johnson, Leo Leffler, Milton M Lewis, George H. McBride, James W. McGuire, Robert McKlem. Arthur Maher. Robert Manassa, Philip Michaels, William D. Moffatt, John Muir, Robert Myers, Charles O'Brien, William O'Brien, James H. Patterson, Harry N. Pauley, Walter J. Peckham, Emile Peterson, Edward Petteys, Charles A. Pierson, Ellsworth Porter, Lawrence Riordan, George G. Robinson, George W. Sadlier, Adolph C. Saunders, Edward G. Schoel, Benjamin Smith, Edgar M. Smith, Eugen Tiberghein, Frederick O. Wale.

1908   Congress passes the “Second Dick Act", part of a series of statutes that fully establish the National Guard as the reserve of the Army.  This was part  of a significant reform movement in this direction at this time, backed by National Guardsmen, who feared that the alternative was to be relegated to a species of state police for strike breaking.

Co. C. Wyoming National Guard, 1916, Powell Wyoming.

1911    Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey was born in Wallace, S.D.

1918  The Kaiserschlacht Carries on. May 27, 1918. Operation Blücher-Yorck.

Operation Blücher-Yorck.

 The big picture again.  This time, having failed to push the British into the sea, the Germans turned their attention to the region where British forces and French forces met, with a diversionary drive on Paris.  This "third German drive" was as successful in terms of gaining ground as the first German drive was, and it threatened Paris even as a diversion.

On May 27, 1918, after two full months since the spring offensive first began, the Germans launched Operation  Blücher-Yorck against the French near the River Aisne.  It became a straight drive towards Paris designed to split the French and British forces from each other and cause the British to divert forces to save the French capitol.  The offensive used the same set of assumptions that the Germans had about their enemies earlier in the spring, namely that the British were the real threat.  The attack, therefore, was a large scale diversion.  While designed to put pressure on the French, in reality the main blow fell against British units that had been in the line in this relatively more quiet sector.  French failures to design a realistic defense lead to initial German success.

The Germans did in fact break through at the gap between French and British forces and their drive towards Paris was remarkably successful.  The Germans in fact continued to advance up until March 6.  During this phase of the Spring Offensive American troops began to be deployed against the Germans in strength and in fact the US 1st Division launched its own offensive on May 28 at Cantigny.  This signaled the beginning of the large-scale use of American troops in the war.  Losses on each side were again roughly equal, with the Allies loosing 137,000 men and the Germans 160,000.

Of course, at this point the Germans didn't really have the men to loose.  But given the commitment they had made and the state of the war, they no longer really had an option. . . other than trying to come to the table.

1919  May 27, 1919: The Peace Conference waits on the Germans, Wyoming troops wait on discharge, Tragedy in Casper.

David Lloyd George, Vittorio Orlando, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson in Paris, May 27, 1919.  Of interest, only Orlando wears the Edwardian suit, a somewhat less formal alternative to formal dress clothes. Everyone else were's morning coats, which were not i the nature of tuxedos today, but conventional formal wear.

The peace conference continued on with the question still being, would Germany sign, or not?

The Wyoming State Tribune was reporting that British and American Marines had been landed, as a result of the uncertainty, in Danzig.  I've never read that claim before and I frankly wonder if its correct.

In the same issue, a building story about the perception that troops from the West were not being mustered out as quickly as those from elsewhere was reported on.

And the news that the NC-4 had nearly made it to Portugal was featured.

It was also featured in the Casper paper, which also had the story about Western troops. The big news in Casper, however, was a tragic explosion near town.

It wasn't Memorial Day, like it is now, but the weather was certainly more holiday like.  Casper was enjoying a warm spell in 1919.  It isn't now.

 Seattle, May 27, 1919.

Seattle Washington was photographed.

1920   Frank A. Hadsell becomes warden of the State Penitentiary.

1929   Pen used by President Coolidge to sign the bill creating Grand Teton National Park donated to State Museum.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1941  President Roosevelt proclaimed an "unlimited national emergency"..

1944 Roy Rogers bought a horse to act as a Trigger stand in, in Lusk Wyoming.

 

2011 The Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum had the grand opening of their new museum.

2013  Memorial Day for 2013.

2019  Memorial Day for 2019.

2020 Pandemic, Part Two.  Governor Gordon issues new quarantine orders and cancellation of rodeos occurs.

May 28, 2020

Governor Gordon issued a new series of modifications to his existing quarantine orders, with some of the modifications being quite extensive.

Outdoor gatherings up to 250 persons to be permitted under new health orders

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon has announced that updated public health orders effective June 1 will ease restrictions on public gatherings, allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 250 people.

The updated orders allow for outdoor events to occur with social distancing and increased sanitization measures in place. Sporting events, rodeos and other events will be permitted to have up to 250 spectators in attendance, in addition to the event participants.  

"It’s time we had the chance to enjoy summer,” Governor Gordon said. “The ability to gather outdoors in larger groups will be good for Wyoming citizens, businesses and our communities as we enter the season. We are not out of the woods yet though, so please use good judgement and don’t jeopardize yourself and others by acting recklessly. We want to keep moving forward.”

Hosts and organizers of these outdoor events are asked to screen staff for symptoms of COVID-19 and ensure adequate personal protective equipment is available. Food and beverage services at outdoor gatherings are required to follow the provision for restaurants outlined in Public Health Order No. 1.

Indoor events and gatherings, other than religious gatherings and other exemptions listed in the order, will continue to be restricted to groups of 25 or fewer. No significant changes are being made to the updated Public Health Orders 1 and 3.

Updated copies of all three Public Health Orders are attached and can be found on the Wyoming's COVID-19 website. 

--END--

 

• Fifth Continuation and Modification of Statewide Public Health Order #1.pdf

• Fifth Continuation and Modification of Statewide Order #3.pdf

• Fifth Continuation and Modification of Statewide Public Health Order #2.pdf

One of the significant changes, we'd note, is that churches are now allowed to reopen to groups larger than 25 in number, with certain social distancing provisions in place.  Restrictions on Communion were lifted, with guidance.

Governor Gordon also expressed his disappointment on the cancellation of a variety of rodeos around the state.

Governor Gordon expresses disappointment that Wyoming's 6 largest rodeos are cancelled in 2020 

Governor stands with event organizers to support their decision

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and representatives from the state’s largest rodeos announced today that six of Wyoming’s large rodeos and events will not take place in 2020. This decision factored in economics, health concerns and logistics.  

The cancellation decision was made collectively and includes the Thermopolis Cowboy Rendezvous PRCA Rodeo in late June as well the Cody Stampede, Central Wyoming Fair & PRCA Rodeo in Casper, the Sheridan WYO Rodeo and Breakaway Roping, Laramie Jubilee Days, and Cheyenne Frontier Days, all scheduled for July. 

“This hurts. I grew up with rodeo and it is part of Wyoming’s fabric and our culture,” Governor Gordon said. “All the rodeos impacted today are fabulous events. It is with a heavy heart, and only after many long discussions with these fine folks on ways we could make large-venue rodeos work, did we realize that it just wasn’t going to be possible this year.” 

The Governor and his staff met with rodeo committee members from Cody, Sheridan, Thermopolis, Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne over the past several weeks to consider potential social distancing measures, entrance and exit plans, and other possibilities to ensure safely staging rodeos, parades, carnivals and concerts. 

Flanked by representatives of all six rodeos, the Governor said that after several weeks of evaluation, discussions, and considerations of every possible scenario, it was clear that there was no safe or economically viable path forward at this time for these events. 

“The health and safety of our fans, volunteers, contestants and first responders is our primary concern.” the Governor emphasized. “I know what this means for rodeo, for our communities and to Wyoming’s summer. The financial and emotional impacts are immense. But it’s the right thing to do. We are committed to doing all we can to ensure smaller rodeos and events will still be able to occur." 

While these six Western celebrations are not possible in 2020, there is a statewide commitment to returning stronger than ever in 2021. A video message from organizers of all six events can be found here. 

Contact information for each of the rodeos follows below:  

Thermopolis Cowboy Rendezvous

Contact:  T.J. Owsley; thermopolisprca@gmail.com ; 307-921- 0534

www.thermopoliscowboyrendezvous.com

 

Cody Stampede

Contact:  Mike Darby; michaelsdarby@hotmail.com; 307 250 1259

www.codystampederodeo.com

 

Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo

Contact:  Tom Jones; t_jones@centralwyomingfair.com; (307) 258-3886

www.centralwyomingfair.com

 

Sheridan Wyo Rodeo

Contact:  Billy Craft; bcraft@craftco.com; 307-751-1831

www.sheridanwyorodeo.com

 

Laramie Jubilee Days

Contact:  Guy Warpness; gwarp59@gmail.com; 307-760-8777

Laramiejubileedays.org                                                                                                  

 

Cheyenne Frontier Days                               

Contact:  Nicole Gamst; nicole@cfdrodeo.com; 307 778 7210                              

www.cfdrodeo.com

--END--

The lifting of some restrictions combined with the cancellations expresses the interesting dual approach to things that is currently occuring in the state. As the state lifts restrictions every couple of weeks, individual cities and entities are continuing to cancel events. Now nearly every significant rodeo in the state has been cancelled for the season, an event which followed the earlier cancellation of the college rodeo finals.

The cancellation of the rodeo finals resulted in the postponement of the AOPA fly in to 2021.  Also postponed were the performances scheduled for this year's Natrona County Beartrap festival, as it was cancelled.

So while businesses and institutions are allowed to open up, annual events are largely being postponed.

There is of course a resulting economic impact from big events being cancelled.  According to the Tribune, the county will lose $4,000,000 in lost revenues due to the fair and rodeo being cancelled.  But a person has to wonder, as we will in a separate thread, what attendance would have been actually like this year.  With restrictions lifted around the state some large gatherings are occurring nationally, while in other places people have been slow to return.

A nationwide poll that was conducted surprisingly indicates that only 50% of Americans would receive a vaccination, if one is developed. That would mean that with existing infections it'd still be questionable if the United States reached herd immunity.

That's really stunning under the circumstances. During this crisis there's been a fair amount of shaming of people who haven't worn masks or who failed to self isolate.  Whether or not those things are justified or not, a public reaction against those who would not vaccinate, and who therefore are really voting to keep the pandemic going, would be legitimate.