Wyoming Tribal License Plates

These are neat:

UW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

UW LICENSE PLATES

Tribal License Plates to Fund Native American Student Scholarships at UW

But a question, and I ask it seriously.

Would putting these on a vehicle, assuming that you are not enrolled in either Tribe, be regarded as cultural appropriation?

I think I saw one of these recently, and had simply assumed that the vehicle belonged to an enrolled tribal member, which is partially why I'm asking, the other part being that I think it would matter how this would be viewed by those who are enrolled in either tribe.

Blog Mirror: Traveling With the Ninth Cavalry

Traveling With the Ninth Cavalry

Wyoming History In The Making: EPA Stays Riverton EPA ruling. February 13, 2014.

At the bequest of the business counsels of both Tribes, and the State of Wyoming, the EPA has stayed its ruling that held that Riverton was within the boundaries of the Reservation.

While they no doubt approached it from somewhat different angles, this was a wise decision for all, as it gives time in which for this matter to develop legally, as well as to adjust to any potential consequences should the decision later be upheld.

October 9

Today is Leif Erikson Day

Leif Erikson Day has been federally recognized since 1964, but the day is merely a recognition, not a holiday.  The October 9 date was chosen as it was the date on which the Restauration, a ship carrying Norwegian immigrants to the United States, entered New York Harbor in 1825. That wasn't the first ship carrying Scandinavian immigrants to enter U.S. waters, but it was an early one in what became a significant migration.  Erikson's landing in North America, on what is now Labrador or thereabouts, occurred approximately on this date in 1002, however.

1835    Texans occupy Goliad.

1892  A natural gas deposit was discovered near the brewery in Buffalo. Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1906  Joseph F. Glidden, inventor of barbed wire, died.

1916   A game so long it didn't even make the afternoon edition. The Wyoming Tribune for October 9, 1916
 

Yesterday's (i.e., October 8, 1916) spectacularly long and spectacular fourteen inning, one score, World Series game apparently ran to long to make the 3:30 edition of the Wyoming Tribune, which had to accordingly report it the following day.

Also on that day we learn that a Cheyenne girl was on a ship torpedoed at sea, and that the Tribune felt that Wilson's game was up.

1916   Holscher's Hub: Utah State Capitol. Inaugurated on this day in 1916.
 

Holscher's Hub: Utah State Capitol:

The Utah State Capitol was inaugurated on this day in 1916.

When you are a business traveler, you see things when you see them. Early morning photo of the Utah State Capitol building.  Taken with an Iphone.

1918  Countdown on the Great War. October 9, 1918. Cambrai Falls, Lost Battalion Rescued, UW Closes.

Private Thomas M. Holmes of the 82nd Division, East Aurora New York, receives chocolate from Lt. Burgess of the American Red Cross Field Hospital No. 328.  October 9, 1918.

1.  Cambrai Falls to Allies.

2.  The Lost Battalion rescued.

3.  UW closes its doors due to the flu.

4.  Landgrave Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse took a late war job opportunity to become the elected King of Finland. He'd occupy that role, designed to cement Finland to Imperial Germany, only until December 14 when the position ended in light of the end of Imperial Germany.  He never actually made it to Finland while he was King.

1919  The first fatal airplane crash in Wyoming's history occurred when Lt. Edwin Wales's plane crashed in a snowstorm near Elk Mountain.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

Oberg Pass. The Site of the first aircraft fatality in Wyoming.

Which occurred as part of the 1919 Air Derby.

This crash, discussed elsewhere, is usually referenced as occurring "west of Cheyenne".  It is west of Cheyenne, but the pilot was following the Union Pacific Railroad and a much better description would have been north west of Laramie, or even south of Medicine Bow.

Blog Mirror: Small planes, big mountains: Retracing the 1919 ‘Air derby’

Small planes, big mountains: Retracing the 1919 ‘Air derby’

October 9, 1919. The Reds Win A Tainted Series, Air Racers Already in State, and a Tragedy

Lefty Williams, the White Sox starting pitcher for the final game of the 1919 World Series. His performance was so bad that he was taken out of the game after one inning and replaced by Big Bill James, who was not in on the plot, but who performed badly all on his own.

And so it came to an end, at least for now.

The headlines seemed to say it all.  But as a win goes, it will forever be remembered as a false victory.  One obtained because certain members of the Red Sox not to win, but rather to accept money in payment for losing.

The loss was pathetic.  Rumors started nearly immediately that the game had been thrown and one noted sports reporter write a column that no World Series should ever be played again.

In less than a year, the cover of the plot would be off.

As the series ended, news of the air race started to dominate the local papers.  The speed of the new mode of transportation was evident. The race had just started and planes were already over Wyoming.

Airco DH-4

Not reported in these editions, one of the planes had gone down in Wyoming, killing the pilot.  It was the first fatal air crash in Wyoming's history.  It occurred when Lt. Edwin Wales DH-4 would go down in a snowstorm near Coad Peak (near Elk Mountain).  Specifically it went down over Oberg Pass.  His observer, Lt. William C. Goldsborough, survived the crash and walked into an area ranch for help.

Hard to discern in this photograph of the old rail bed of the Union Pacific, you can see Kenneday Peak, Pennock Mountain and Coad Peak.  The pilots had been following the Union Pacific and were diverting to what looks like low ground to the right, Oberg Pass.

Oberg Pass is the low ground between Pennock Mountain and Coad Peak.  In decent weather they would have been fine, but flying in 1919, in a snowstorm, they likely iced up right away. They no doubt knew they were in big trouble pretty quickly and the plane went down in rugged ground.

Elk Mountain as viewed from Shirley Basin.  This was to the north of the where they went down and they were trying to go to the south of the substantial peak.

This crash is often inaccurately noted as having occurred "west of Cheyenne".  It was "west" of Cheyenne, but west a long ways west of Cheyenne.  It was northwest of Laramie and the closest substantial town was that of Medicine Bow, if you consider Medicine Bow a substantial town.  The destination was Wolcott Junction, which doesn't have an airfield today.  Of course, the DH-4 didn't take much of a run way of any kind to land on.  Going through the pass would have shaved miles off the trip and avoided a big curve around the substantial Elk Mountain.

The Air Derby had already proved to be a fatal adventure, and it would continue to be so.  Lt. Goldsborough would carry on after recovering however, by which we mean carrying on in the Air Corps.  He lived until age 73 and retired to Redondo Beach, California.  He went to Hawaii with the Air Corps in 1923 and therefore was a very early aviator there.  

Not surprisingly, given the infancy of aviation, Goldsborough would go on to endure other incidents. As a Captain he ground looped a Boeing P-12 C in 1937. In 1938 he'd be involved in another airborne tragedy, as a Major, when he was the pilot of a plane that left Langley Field for a flight to Jacksonville Florida and weather conditions so obscured the ground that he could not land.  Both he and a civilian government employee passenger were forced to bail out of the aircraft as it ran out of gas. The passenger's parachute failed to open and he was killed.  The then Major Goldsborough successfully landed.  The incident ended up in a lawsuit against an insurance company.  He must have still been in the Air Corps when World War Two started, but at that point, I've lost track of him.  At age 46, and a Major, he would have then been a fairly senior officer.

1919  The Cincinnati Reds win the World Series, but soon it would be evident that some members of the Chicago White Sox had taken bribes to thrown the series, sparking an enduring scandal in American sports.

1922  A petition for rehearing was granted by the United States Supreme Court in Wyoming v. Colorado, a suit seeking to adjudicate the distribution of water from the Laramie River.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Charles Burke telegrammed Superintendent of the Wind River Reservation's Shoshone Agency R. P. Haas at Fort Washakie, giving him permission to work with actor Tim McCoy and film producers in the movie The Thundering Herd.

September 26

1736  Carlos Benites Franquis de Lugo arrived in San Antonio to begin his period as ad interim governor of Texas for Spain.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1872  Part of the Wind River Reservation ceded to the United States.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1876  Additional Wind River Reservation lands ceded to the United States.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1904  Pinedale founded.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1908  Wyoming State Bankers Association organized.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1911 This item from the Natrona Tribune, as later reprinted by the Casper Star Tribune:

William A. Ford was run into at noon yesterday [Sept. 26] by a run-away team hitched to a wagon, and sustained injuries from which he died half an hour later. He was working on a cement cross walk in Park addition near W. F. Henning’s residence, when the electric light whistle was blowing for 12 ‘o’clock. His son Arlie was with the team unloading some dirt in the old oil pond. The team became scared at the whistle and ran up the road toward Mr. Ford, who had his back to the team and did not see them coming. Mrs. Henning saw the danger he was in and called to him, but he did not hear her. The team was soon upon him, the tongue of the wagon and the neckyoke striking him in the back and crushing numerous bones. He was then thrown under the wheels and was carried for about 60 feet, going around with the wagon wheel. ...

He was carried into the home of Ed. Davidson where he died in half an hour. ...

Mr. Ford was one of our most highly respected citizens; he was a member of the town council and has held a number of offices of trust, and he has a large circle of friends who sympathize with the beloved ones in their great sorrow.

1916   Wyoming National Guard leaves for service on the Mexican border.  It had been Federalized during the summer.   Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

Douglas Enterprise for September 26, 1916: State Fair in progress, Bryan speaks.
 

In Douglas, where the State Fair was going on, the Guard also didn't make the news.

Bryan did, however.  He spoke there as well, no doubt doing a whistle stop tour of Wyoming.

The Casper Record for September 26, 1916: Bryan speaks, fair a success.

 

Far to the north of Cheyenne, one of the Casper papers reported that William Jennings Bryan spoke in town, and that the county fair had been a big success.

Nothing on the Guard.

Fairs were apparently held later in the year at this time.

The Laramie Republican for September 26, 1916: Villa moves north.

 

One of the Laramie papers also managed to miss the entraining of the Guard, even though Laramie is only fifty miles from Cheyenne.  It reported Villa moving north, however.

Wyoming Semi Weekly Tribune for September 26, 1916: Wyoming Guardsmen to Entrain

 

The Wyoming Semi Weekly Tribune, which was published by the Wyoming Tribune, oddly did managed to note that the Guard was going to entrain today, even though its daily paper had omitted that news.

Entrain, I'd note, is a verb we don't use much anymore.  But it would have bee quite a bit more common then.

The Cheyenne Leader for September 26, 1916: Rousing farewell planed for Guard.

 

The less dramatic Cheyenne State Leader reported that there would be a rousing farewell for the Guard in Cheyenne.

The State Fair also had opened, much later, I'd note, than it does today.

Wyoming Tribune for September 26, 1916. Villa on the move, Pershing promoted

 

On the day of the anticipated move of the Wyoming National Guard the Wyoming Tribune, always somewhat dramatic, reported Villa advancing toward American troops, Pershing promoted, and even cannibals in gross acts, but nothing about the Guard on the front page.

It wanted every county represented at the State Fair, however.

The Punitive Expedition: The Wyoming National Guard departs for the Mexican border (or not). September 26, 1916

 

The Wyoming National Guard departed Wyoming for service on the Mexican border, according to some sources.  That this was to occur was reported several days ago in the local press, and there had been heightened action in Mexico over the past week showing that Villa was still very much an active player in Mexico.

 Some of those Guardsmen.  Members of Company C, raised from Park County Wyoming, 1916.

Because this was a significant event in the context of what we're looking at here, as well as in the history of the state, we're going to be looking at a few newspapers again from this and the following days to see how they treated the story.

And in doing that we are going to question whether this date is actually the correct one.  It's cited by some, but the period newspapers suggest it might have been the first day of a lot of waiting around expecting to entrain, in true military fashion. 

Theodore Roosevelt and Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. September 26, 1916

 

1918  The 100 Days: The Meuse-Agronne Offensive. September 26, 1918-November 11, 1918. Phase I (September 26 through October 3, 1918).

On this day in 1918 the U.S. Army launched its most significant, and final, offensive of the Great War.  The action would last from this day until the last day of the war.

Troops of the 23d Infantry firing a 37 mm trench gun during the Meuse Argonne Offensive.

The stage had been set for the effort in the argument that Gen. Pershing and Field Marshall Foch had some weeks back, which we earlier detailed here.  At that time, Foch had wanted Pershing to abandon the planned assault on St. Mihiel in favor of an attack upon Metz.  Pershing had resisted as this would have made the U.S. Army subordinate to a French effort, but he did agree, and indeed developed, an alternative plan which called for a rapid redeployment of US forces in a new direction. That change in direction required the U.S. to redirect its forces at a right angle and cover 60 miles in short order, which was amazingly accomplished.  The resulting offensive was massive in scale, involving 1,200,000 men on the US side, including French and Siamese troops, and it remains the costliest battle in American history.

D Day for the offensive started with a massive artillery bombardment which expended more ordnance in three hours than the U.S. had expended during the entire Civil War.  The cost of the bombardment amounted to an expenditure of $1,000,000 per minute.   The ground assault commenced at 05:30 on this day with the V and III Corps making their objectives but the with those assigned to the 79th and 28th Divisions failing to meet theirs, and the 91st division being compelled to withdraw from Epionville.  On the following day, the 27th, most of the 1st Army was stalled, although the 79th did manage to capture its objective of Montfaucon d'Agronne.

On the 29th the Germans committed an additional six divisions and they staged a local counter attack.  The 35th Division was so strongly countered that it was effectively destroyed and had to be withdrawn from combat although certainly elements would be redeployed.  Adjacent French units also faced stiff opposition but managed to make greater gains, in part due to the terrain.

Wind River Virtual Museum

Wind River Virtual Museum

Sidebar: Native Americans in Wyoming.

As followers of the blog know, I have, over the past few months, posted a few items on certain ethnic groups that have had a prominent role in Wyoming. Some may have wondered why, in doing that, I haven't posted any on Native Americans, or as the Canadians like to call them, the First Nations.  I don't have a really good excuse, other than its actually a surprisingly complicated topic and somewhat difficult to do.

 Bannocks in Jackson's Hole, 1895, by Frederic Remington.

It would be tempting to post one with this title, but I'm not going to, other than to introduce this topic, as it would be unfair to the various tribes that have in the past, or presently called Wyoming their home.  It's common to see terms such as "Plains Indians" and the like to describe the native inhabitants of any one region of the upper West, but the fact of the matter is that Indian tribes represent a group of ethnicities, rather than one single one.  Still, as an introduction, it makes sense to at least handle the topic collectively to get it rolling.

In the popular imagination, Pre Colombian North American was populated by rather fixed Indian populations.  In reality, however, this was far from true, and this was particularly untrue in the arid West.  Native populations were not only aboriginal, they were in a near constant state of migration, albeit slow migration, prior to their contact with European Americans, or even after it.  We know, for example, that both the Navajos and the Apaches are Athabaskan peoples, whose nearest ethnic relatives live in the Canadian far north.  The Navajos first, and the Apaches after them, started migrating south at some point for reasons not known, and when the Spanish first contacted them they were still on their way south.  Their cultural memories still retained memories of great white bears and fields of migrating birds, things their ancestors had observed in the far North decades and decades prior, but not so many prior that the memory was not retained. And so too with many other Indian cultures.

For the most part, the history of Indians in the West begins wit their first contact with Europeans operating out of the United States, Mexico or Quebec.  What occurred prior to that is a bit murky.  We know that Wyoming, in ancient times, had populations of natives that built pit houses, a practice not engaged in by any of the later tribes, and which may very well have been constructed by the ancestors of a people that had moved far to the south by the time the Corps of Discovery made the first U.S tour of the area. That early history is important, however, in that  these people left some sort of a record of their presence.  Seemingly living in a somewhat wetter era, they lived in a less nomadic manner than their later ancestors, and had seasonal fixed dwellings.  Theories exist as to who they may have been, and we don't really have a very solid idea of what people or peoples they were, other than that they were there.  They also seem to have been the first people to leave a record in stone, such as with the Medicine Wheel, with such structures remaining in use by later peoples, who perhaps conceived of them differently.  Research goes on, and perhaps some day we'll know a great deal more than we currently do.

More recently we know that Wyoming was the home of certain tribes in the 18th Century who remained in the 19th Century.  The Shoshone, a people speaking an Utzo-Aztec language, was one of those groups, and perhaps the most dominant.  

The history of the Shoshone will be dealt with in a separate entry, given that their presence in the state is so significant, and it will have to suffice here to simply note that this people had a long and significant presence in the state.  They still do, as they are one of the two tribes that have, as their reservation, the Wind River Indian Reservation.

The Crows, or Absarokas, likewise had a long history in the state..  The Crows speak a Siouian language and were a significant Plains people whose range stretched far into Wyoming when European Americans first entered the state.  Like the Shoshone, and the other peoples mentioned here, they'll be addressed separately.  It's interesting to note, however, that the Crows and Shoshone fought each other prior to European American contact, but they were both allies of the United States in the Indian Wars of the 1860s and 1870s, as the jointly attempted to arrest the progress of the Sioux and Cheyenne in entering the state.  Unlike the Shoshone, the Crows do not have a reservation in Wyoming, but they still have some presence, and the major Crow reservation is located just over the Montana border.

The Sioux, a collection of closely related people, and the Cheyenne, a group that was allied to them, likewise had a major role in the state.   Neither group had a long history in the state, or perhaps even any history, when European Americans first entered Wyoming. The Sioux and the Cheyenne were, rather, invaders, and highly successful ones at that. That too is part of the story.  Interestingly, their alliance was one that overcame an ethnic divide between the people, as the Cheyenne spoke an Angonquian language, not a Siouian one.  The Cheyenne, for their part, were a stunningly wide ranging people whose presence stretched northward into Montana and southward down to Oklahoma.  As with the Crows, neither the Sioux nor the Cheyenne have reservations in Wyoming, but they do have ones nearby, with there being a Sioux reservation in South Dakota and a Cheyenne reservation in Montana, respectively.

The Arapaho were another group that were allied to the Sioux, and their ancestry may have, at one time, united them with the Cheyenne, although that is not known.  They'd entered the state prior to European contact, but they too were relatively recent arrivals.   The Blackfeet, who were present in northern Wyoming, were closely related to them, and in fact may have really been the same people.  The Arapahos were such a a small group that the Indian Wars were particularly perilous to their survival, which they recognized, and they are the other Wyoming tribe which is present on the Wind River Reservation today.

Paiutes and Utes also entered Wyoming, although more on its fringes. These people, who seem to be rather ignored in the history of the Plains, also spoke a Utzo Aztec language and therefore are related to the Shoshones in some fashion.  Of course, not too much can be placed on mere language groups, as English and German are both Germanic languages in the Indo European Language group, which has not meant for historic alliances.

The Comanche had their origin in Wyoming, as will be seen in the history of the Shoshone, a fact largely obscured by their later history. And the Cherokee crossed it and left their name in the form of a trail.

A group largely and unfairly ignored in Wyoming's history is the Metis.  We associate the Metis, a "mixed" group of people, mostly with western Canada today, but their range stretched far to the south and into the Powder River Basin.

As we progress though this story and try to make it complete, we will not cover every single group.  As can be seen, some peoples had tangential roles in Wyoming.   The Shoshone and Arapaho must be covered, of course, and will be treated to separate entries. So too will the Cheyenne, Sioux and the Crows. 

July 3

1778  The Wyoming Massacre occurred during the American Revolution in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania. 

1865  Gen. Connor arrives at Ft. Laramie with orders to protect the Overland Stage from Indian raids.

1868  The Wind  River Reservation created.  Originally the reservation was a reservation for the Shoshone tribe, whose leader, Washakie, had requested that the government set aside a reservation for his people.  The Arapahos would come to call the reservation home some years thereafter. 

1869  Sioux raid Wind River valley but are driven off by soldiers. 

1876  The Bozeman Times publishes the first written account of Custer's defeat at Little Big Horn.

1890  Idaho admitted to the Union as a state.

1901  The Wild Bunch rob a Great Northern train near Wagner Montana, their last robbery in the U.S.

1901  First automobile appears to appear in Calgary, Alberta.

1919  July 3, 1919. But wait, what about Battery F? Battery F, 148th FA, returns home and Bisbee Riots.

One of the purposes of this blog is to correct errors and misconceptions, and we find that here we're victim of one.

Indeed, careful observers here will note that we've reported the 148th as basically mustering out twice. . . once in New York, and once at Ft. D. A. Russell outside of Cheyenne.  We think we figured out the origin of that confusion, however.  The Camp Mills event was the one that released the unit from the Army's rolls, and the Cheyenne one was the one in which the artillerymen were discharged.

That latter date was taken from a source we were relying on, but contained an error.

Battery F of the 148th wasn't home until this day.

For some reason Battery F had been delayed in returning home and just made it on July 3, something I hadn't run across before.  And upon arriving the men of Battery F were the subject of a big July 3 celebration welcoming their return to the state in Cheyenne.

Company F was entirely from the northern part of the state.  So not only were they the seeming last of the National Guardsmen to return home, they had further to go to get all the way home as well.

While celebrations were going on in Wyoming, riots were going on in Bisbee Arizona.

The riot started off as a confrontation between a while military policeman of the U.S. Army and black cavalrymen of the 10th Cavalry.  The town already had a marked racially tense atmosphere in which strong racial prejudices against Hispanics and Asians were highly exhibited.  In spite of this, black cavalrymen from the 10th Cavalry from nearby Ft. Huachuca did frequent the town.

As with many towns near Army posts, the town had military policemen in it on frequent occasion and it was just such a confrontation that escalated into a riot.  What exactly occurred is not clear, but the main participants in the event seem to have been white policemen and black cavalrymen.

While there were serious injuries they did not prevent the 10th Cavalry from participating in the Independence Day march the following day.

1943 The Pole Mountain military reservation, formerly used for the training of Wyoming National Guard cavalrymen and cavalrymen from various posts around the region, is opened to civilian picnickers. That this would occur in 1943 says something about the direction the Army was headed in at the time.

April 9

1682 Robert La Salle reached the Mississippi River.

1867  The Senate approved the purchase of Alaska.

1884  Death, on the Wind River Reservation of an elderly Shoshone woman whose grave marker lists her as Sacajawea.  She almost certainly was not, but at the time of this woman's death there were those championing that idea, and some still adhere to it.

1890  F. E. Warren inaugurated as first governor of the State of Wyoming.  Warren was a Civil War recipient of the Medal of Honor, and would shortly become Wyoming's Senator.  His daughter married John F. Pershing, and his name was later given to Cheyenne's Warren Air Force Base, which was first Ft. F. E. Warren.  He is not wholly without controversy, as he was closely associated with the Wyoming Stock Growers Association at the time of the Invasion, and it is fairly clear that he had at least some tangential involvement with the events of that time.  His association with events nearly cost him his Senatorial seat.

1890  Government conducts auction of buildings and furniture at Ft. Laramie.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1892  The siege of the Champion cabin at the KC Ranch commenced at 4:00 AM when the men built sagebrush fires for heat near the point of their intended assault. The invasion was already going badly, as in the three days since it had commenced it had advanced only 50 miles and taken no action other than to rip down a series of telegraph lines, a tactic that would be adopted by their opponents who would take it up to keep the news of the failure of the action from happening later.  Weather was playing a factor, as snowy weather took the imported Texas gunmen off guard, as they had not dressed for winter, April still being a winter month in Wyoming.  The siege at the KC would last all day long, in spite of the defenders number only three men, only one of whom was wanted by the invaders.  The invaders numbered about 50.  The invaders ultimately killed Nate Champion, who was one of their prime opponents by their reasoning, but the end of the action would see an invader casualty as well, when one of them suffered an ultimately fatal gunshot wound when his horse objected to his mounting.  Grossly overweight, the Wyoming cow pony blew up upon his attempting to re mount, ultimately throwing the rider and taking off his rifle at the same time, which discharged.  Nick Ray, who as at the Champion cabin at the time of the assault, was also killed in the battle. Two trappers who were present were basically removed from the fighting.

 Nate Champion, center, and Dud Champion, far right.  Dud Champion would be murdered by an unknown killer the following year.

Some Gave All: Last Stand of Nate Champion, Buffalo Wyoming: A monument on the corner of Big Horn and Main in Buffalo Wyoming, commemorating Nate Champions attempted dash from his cabin.

April 9, 1916:   Sunday State Leader: April 9, 1916
 

April 9 was a Sunday in 1916.  The Casper papers didn't print an edition on Sundays at that time.  Indeed, the big paper, if we'd call it that, for the Casper Daily Press was the Friday edition, which recapped the news of the week.

The Cheyenne paper, which Casperites would likely not be getting, did print a Sunday edition however.  This is it, for that day.

1937   Nina Moran appointed State Librarian and exofficio State Historian.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1938  These Mason's photographed in Hanna. Fraternal organizations had much broader membership at this time, and also were much more important in community life.

1942  The Wartime Civilian Control Agency established to administer wartime internment.

1992  Gale McGee, Wyoming's Senator from 1959 to 1977, and later U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States, died.

2004  Marine Corps Lance Corporal Chance Phelps killed in action in Iraq.

2016:   Our entry for this date on Lex Anteinternet.

Tracking the Presidential Election, 2016, Part II

I started this thread at the commencement of the 2016 Election Season:

Tracking the Presidential Election, 2016

The focus of this blog, at least theoretically, is on events of a century ago.  Indeed, the event that really motivated the concept of a novel and hence this support blog occurred 100 years ago, and is coming right up.  So we should be looking at the 1916 Presidential election.

That election, as the readers here well know, featured Woodrow Wilson in a contest against Charles E. Hughes. Wilson, of course, campaigning on "He kept us out of war" won.

President Woodrow Wilson.

Charles E. Hughes.  Maybe the beard, in the post bearded era, did in his chances.

I can't compare that election to the current one, as it was nothing like it.  I can compare, and often have, President Obama with President Wilson (without Wilson's racism, however) as in my view they're both guilty of confusing talk with action.

When I did that it was my intent to run that thread all the way through to the end of the campaign.

It's proven to be impossible, however, as the thread has grown impossibly large, and now when I update it the effect is to wipe out all of the other posts on the first page of the blog.  It's basically threatening to suck the life out of the blog, the same way this election is sucking the life out of the country, or so it seems.

So, I've decided to stop trying to update one single entry and start a part two.  There may be more parts later on, depending upon how things go.  There probably will be.

And this is a good point at which to do this, as the race really seems to have turned a corner recently.  It isn't the same race that the pundits were declaring inevitable results for just a couple of weeks ago, although it should be noted that we never did that here.

So, here's part two.

First, the tell of the tape as of today, following the Wisconsin victory for Cruz and Sanders, and the Colorado victory for Sanders.

Democrats (needed to win 2,383)

Clinton:  1,740, or 1,739 (469 Superdelegates)

Sanders:  1055 or 1070 (31 Superdelegates).

Martin O'Malley:  1 (now out)

Republicans (needed to win, 1,237)

Donald Trump:  737 or 753 (1 of which is an unpledged delegate)

Ted Cruz: 505 or 478 (12 of which are unpledged).

Marco Rubio: 171 or 173  (now out)
John Kasich: 143 or 144

Ben Carson: 8  (now out)

Jeb Bush: 4  (now out).

Carly Fiorina:  1 (now out)

Ron Paul:  1 (now out).

Commentary. 

First let us note that the Trump tallies have gone down, that's right, down, since the last tally.

And Marco Rubio's have gone up.  Yes, up, even though he's out.

This race is far from over.

Now, I've been saying that all along, in spite of the press treatment of this race as being over and Trump and Clinton as being the nominees.  They aren't the nominees yet.

And there's more than a fair chance they won't be.

Indeed the pundits have now stated that the race is up in the air.  Last weekend one of them actually blew up at the assertion that Sanders couldn't win the Democratic nomination and that Trump had won the Republican nomination.  And there's suddenly a lot of discussion of the convention rules and what they mean, or the fact that there really aren't any rules.

A lot of things have gone into this, including a sharper focus in the GOP race on the various positions and statements of the candidates. And in spite of the assertions to the contrary, Kasich remaining in the race appears to be hurting Trump but not helping Cruz.  On the Democratic side discontent with Clinton and a surprisingly broad appeal for Sanders is making it far from certain that Clinton will gain enough delegates to prevent a contested convention.

And, as one of the pundits this past weekend finally admitted, there really is no prior convention or even election that provides a useful guild, as up until recently the conventions weren't dominated by primary elections, but by state conventions. So, we may be back, oddly enough, to the old free form convention of old.  Indeed, I suspect we are.

So, given that, my prediction right now is that neither the GOP or the Democrats enter conventions with the result of the race determined.

And if that occurs, on the GOP side Trump will not be the nominee.  He lacks a majority of the delegates now, and that may still be the case by the convention.  And, if he has a plurality, it will not matter.  I'd give Cruz less than a 50% chance of being the nominee as well.  Kasich, maybe, but more likely than that a candidate not currently running.

And while I think it more likely that Clinton take the nomination in a contested convention, I don't think its a guaranteed result by any means.  Sanders still stands a chance, as does a candidate not running at the present time, including Biden.  Sanders is actually within striking distance of Clinton on pledged delegates, and if his tally exceeds that of Clinton's the Superdelegates may truly being to fall apart for Clinton. At least some will defect, or being to look for a compromise candidate.

For the first time in a very long time, it's actually possible that the candidates in the fall might not be those who ran prior to the conventions.

First Commentary Followup

The real nature of the national contests this year is showing up in a surprising way locally. Wyoming is actually getting a lot of attention from the various campaigns, save for the Kasich campaign, which might tell us something about it. 

The Democrats hold their county conventions this Saturday.  The vote at the county level will determine the elected delegates.  The Superdelegates have already pledged for Clinton in spite of the strong state wide general dislike of Clinton. 

Demonstrating how tight this race really is, at the local and national level, both campaigns have sent representatives of surprising nature here recently.  Earlier this week Jane Sanders spoke in Casper.  On the same day, Bernie Sanders spoke in Laramie.  The choice of Laramie, Wyoming's most liberal town (omitted Jackson, whose demographics don't reflect the state very well) was a wise one showing some knowledge of demographics in the state on the part of somebody.

And Sanders has been running television ads. These may be the first Democratic pre convention ads to be ever run in the state.

The Clinton's sent Bill Clinton to Cheyenne.  In Cheyenne he gave a speech where he mentioned the plight of coal.  That shows that they're paying attention to what is going on in the state, but it's also the sort of thing that is fueling the sort of cynicism that is drawing in a lot of people to Trump and Sanders this year.  I doubt very much that anyone here thinks the Clinton's really feel that coal has a long term future in the national energy picture.  Sanders is opposed to fracking, which is part of his national plank, which will mean than in a general election he'll be a flop here, amongst other reasons, but at least he's honest about it.

The Republican state convention is on April 12.  The GOP system is odd as the county conventions have already been held and chose delegates, with nine out of twelve going for Cruz.  The remainder of the twenty-nine total will be chosen at the state convention.

Cruz will come and address the convention, again showing how tight the national election is.  The Trump campaign is sending Sarah Palin to address the GOP convention.  Idaho Governor Butch Otter will cross the state lines to address the delegates for Kasich.

On the Kasich campaign, their choice is the oddest and saddest, and they basically haven't mounted a campaign here. Perhaps that's because they felt that they didn't have a chance here, or perhaps they don't have the cash or the base. There were Rubio supporters in Wyoming although Rubio did not show well at the county conventions.  This is all odd as Cruz is vulnerable for his stated views, in Idaho, about public lands.  Public lands in public hands is a huge issue here and the vast majority of Wyomingites are hugely in favor of keeping it that way.  Trump is known to favor keeping the lands in public hands, Cruz actually favors privatizing them.  Kasich's views are unknown, but if his views on this issue mirrored Trump's, Clinton's and Sander's, he'd have an opening I suspect.  A lot of the votes going to Cruz here now are simply going to him as he's not Sanders.  Otherwise I suspect the support isn't deep.  Cruz is definitely running the best, and most politically astute, campaign here on the GOP side.

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April 8, 2016

Updated totals following Colorado.

Democrats (needed to win 2,383)

Clinton:  1,767 (469 Superdelegates)

Sanders:  1 110 (31 Superdelegates)

Martin O'Malley:  1 (now out)

Republicans (needed to win, 1,237)

Donald Trump:  743 (1 of which is an unpledged delegate)

Ted Cruz: 520 (12 of which are unpledged).

Marco Rubio: 171 or 173  (now out)
John Kasich: 143 or 144

Ben Carson: 8  (now out)

Jeb Bush: 4  (now out).

Carly Fiorina:  1 (now out)

Ron Paul:  1 (now out).

Commentary

Why is a Clinton victory regarded as inevitable, when she has over 600 delegates left to capture, while a brokered convention in the GOP is regarded as likely when Trump is about 500 delegates away from securing the GOP nomination?

I'm not saying that a Trump victory is inevitable. Rather, I"m saying that a Clinton victory isn't.

April 10, 2016

Yesterday the Wyoming Democratic Caucus was held.  Here's the new table:

Democrats:  Needed to win, 2,383.

Clinton: 1,774 (469 of which are Superdelegates)

Sanders:  1,117 (31 of which are Superdelegates)

Republicans:  Needed to win, 1,237.

Trump:  743 (of which 1 is an unpledged delegates).

Cruz:  532 (of which 12 are unpledged delegates)

Rubio:  171.  Rubio has suspended his campaign.

Kasich:  143.

Carson:  8  Carson has suspended his campaign.

Bush:  4  Carson has suspended his campaign.

Fiorina:  1  Fiorina has dropped out of the race.

Paul:  1  Paul has dropped out of the race.

Commentary

Okay, a couple of comments.

First of all, these tallies are based on those kept by the New York Times.  You can find alternate ones that vary, sometimes quite significantly.  None of the alternate tallies impact who is the front runner, but they truly are different.  The Times is generally a lower tally.

Part of this might be based on the fact that there's actually more doubt in who takes what in terms of delegates than might initially appear to be the case.  So at any one time time, there could be a 20 delegate swing in the top contenders.  Indeed, these tallies tend to change a bit days after an election is supposedly concluded as the actual picking of the delegates commences.

Next, the Wyoming Democratic vote was yesterday.  This vote is very illustrative of a couple of things.  One of them is that Hillary Clinton has a huge likeability problem.  The second one is that Sanders has a very difficult time getting to where he needs to be even "winning" a state.

You'd have expected that a well established candidate link Clinton would have blown the doors off the Sanders campaign bus against Sanders.  Wyoming's basic outlook on things tends towards the Libertarian, and Sanders Socialist world outlook is about as far from the average Wyomingites as can be imagined.  None the less, Sanders took over 50% of the Democratic vote.  A lot of that is simply because people don't like Hillary Clinton.  Even with the endorsement of one of the state's former governors Clinton couldn't take the state in terms of the popular vote.

None the less, in delegate breakdown, she took the same number of elected delegates that Sanders did.  They each took seven. So if its a "victory", it's a Pyrrhic victory.  The real result is a wash.  Neither candidate really pulled ahead.  If Sanders can really pull ahead somehow, the seven delegates he took in Wyoming might matter.  But right now they surely do not.  Moreover, all of the state's superdelegates are presently pledged to Clinton, giving us an example of exactly what Sanders has been saying shouldn't happen. The majority of Wyoming Democrats, barely, might want Sanders, but the majority of the state's delegates, after the superdelegates are considered, are going to Clinton.

How the Democrats got themselves into this mess is interesting, but then both parties are in a mess right now.  The Democrats are set to nominate the most unlikable candidate they've run in a century.  She is so unlikable that she should be easy pickings for the GOP, but for the fact that the GOP seems to be heading towards nominating the least electable candidate of their own since 1964.  The parties, if their front runners win the nomination, will pit two candidates against each other that are hugely unpopular with large segments of the American public.  Perhaps, in an odd way, that wouldn't be a bad result as none of the front runners is likely to have much truck with Congress.  And that would include those in second position.  Cruz is barely more liked by average Americans than Trump.  Sanders is generally liked but his positions on almost everything are not going to be taken seriously by Congress.

For these reasons, oddly, the best hope for both parties are contested conventions resulting in the picking of somebody other than somebody now running.  There's a relatively good chance of that happening with the GOP and a slight chance of that happening with the Democrats.  With the Republicans, basically, if the current trend in the primaries continues that will happen.  With the Democrats, it's unlikely unless the Superdelegates bolt in mass, which perhaps would be the best service they could offer their party at this time.

On one final item, there's now a building movement to draft Gen. James Mattis as a GOP candidate or even as a Third Party candidate.  This hasn't gone far enough yet to regard there being a high likelihood of it happening, but there's definitely talk of it occurring.  The retired Marine Corps general was popular with servicemen who served with him, and he's not a professional politician.  He reportedly has some big money behind a campaign to draft him, although there's no evidence that he's supporting the movement himself.  It's an interesting development that should be watched.

2020  Governor Gordon requested a Federal disaster declaration for Wyoming. The Governor’s press release on the request stated.

Gov. Gordon requests federal disaster declaration for Wyoming  

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon has submitted a request to President Trump asking for a major disaster declaration for Wyoming. The declaration would allow all 23 of Wyoming’s counties and the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes to access funding and services for crucial assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“Though Wyoming has not reached the dire situations of some states, this declaration will help us to prepare and mobilize resources when we need them,” Governor Gordon said. “I look forward to a swift response to our request from the federal government.” 

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act allows states to request a Public Assistance and Individual Assistance Disaster Declaration to respond to incidents that exceed capabilities of a state to respond effectively.  

The declaration provides Wyoming the opportunity to access assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction of temporary medical facilities, if needed. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing sites in Wyoming to identify extra space for overflow patients and healthcare workers should it be needed.  

“This requested declaration will help ensure Wyoming gains access to critical assistance as we continue our mission to respond to this pandemic,” Wyoming Office of Homeland Security Director Lynn Budd said. “Providing individual assistance programs will be vital to help our residents recover from this crisis.” 

The declaration also allows the state to receive additional federal resources and services for Wyoming residents, including crisis counseling, disaster unemployment assistance, legal services, disaster case management and Small Business Administration disaster assistance.  

As of April 9, Wyoming has 230 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 18 counties.

On the same day, he proclaimed Good Friday, April 10, a Day of Prayer.

Governor Gordon proclaims April 10 Day of Prayer  

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon will sign a proclamation tomorrow declaring Friday, April 10, 2020 a Day of Prayer in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The day of prayer is cross-denominational with the intent to unify people of many faiths during the crisis. 

“Across all faiths and beliefs, we can all come together at this time of year to find a sense of peace and purpose,” Governor Gordon said. “I invite our leaders and citizens to pray that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, our soldiers and their families watched over, the economy strengthened and life normalized.” 

April 10 is Good Friday and is observed by many denominations as a day of prayer and fasting. Joining the Governor in this effort is the National Association of Evangelicals and the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. People of all faiths are welcome to participate.

In Casper, on the same day, a small group of libertarian protesters gathered in Pioneer Park to protest the Governor’s emergency orders and seeking to have them lifted as being harmful to business.  The National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander also announced layoffs given the COVID 19 Pandemic and its impact on their school.