June 8

1888  John Merritt and C.W. Eads established the town of Casper.  Their initial site would be at the present day intersection of McKinley and A Street and anticipated the arrival of the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad (Burlington Northern Railroad) the following week..   Present day Eadsville, once an independent town but now part of Casper, is named after Eads.  Attribution:  On This Day.

 Casper in 1890.

1915  Hoyt Hall at the University of Wyoming named for John Hoyt, UW's first president and a former territorial governor.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1918  A total eclipse of the sun was experienced in Southwest Wyoming, as well as in Denver Colorado.


1974  Suddenly a pop icon years after his death, due to the movie "Jeremiah Johnson", Mexican War veteran, frontiersman, trapper and former Cody Sheriff John "Liver Eating" Johnston is re-interred at the Cody Cemetery.  Robert Redford, who had played him in the film, was on hand.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

June 7

1858  Ft. Bridger officially  named that.

1869 Ft. Bridger Treaty, Wyoming (then part of the Territory of Utah) signed, stating:

ANDREW JOHNSON, President of the United States of America, to all and singular to whom these presents shall come, greeting:
Whereas a treaty was made and concluded at Fort Bridger, in the Territory of Utah, on the third day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eigbt, by and between Nathaniel G. Taylor, William T. Sherman, William S. Harney, John B. Sanborn, S. F. Tappan, C. C. Augur, and Alfred H. Terry, commissioners on the part of the United States, and Wash-a-kie, Wan-ni-pitz, and other chiefs and head-men of the eastern-band of Shoshonee Indians, and Tag-gee, Tay-to-ba, and other chiefs and head-men of the Bannack tribe of Indians, on the part of said band and tribe of Indians, respectively, and duly authorized thereto by them, which treaty is in the words and figures following, to wit:
Articles of a treaty with the Shoshonees (eastern band) and Bannack tribes of Indians, made the third day of July, 1868, at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory.
Articles of a treaty made and concluded at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, on the third day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, by and between the undersigned commissioners on the part of the United States, and the undersigned chiefs and head-men of and representing the Shoshonee (eastern band) and Bannack tribes of Indians, they being duly authorized to act in the premises:

ARTICLE 1.

From this day forward peace between the parties to this treaty shall forever continue. The Government of the United States desires peace, and its honor is hereby pledged to keep it. The Indians desire peace, and they hereby pledge their honor to maintain it. If bad men among the whites, or among other people subject to the authority of the United States, shall commit any wrong upon the person or property of the Indians, the United States will, upon proof made to the agent and forwarded to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, at Washington City, proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also re-imburse the injured person for the loss sustained.
If bad men among the Indians shall commit a wrong or depredation upon the person or property of any one, white, black, or Indian, subject to the authority of the United States and at peace therewith, the Indians herein named solemnly agree that they will, on proof made to their agent and notice by him, deliver up the wrong-doer to the United States, to be tried and punished according to the laws; and in case they wilfully refuse so to do, the person injured shall be re-imbursed for his loss from the annuities or other moneys due or to become due to them under this or other treaties made with the United States. And the President, on advising with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, shall prescribe such rules and regulations for ascertaining damages under the provision, of this article as in his judgment may be proper. But no such damages shall be adjusted and paid until thoroughly examined and passed upon by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and no one sustaining loss while violating or because of his violating the provisions, of this treaty or the laws of the United States shall be re-imbursed therefor.

ARTICLE 2.

It is agreed that whenever the Bannacks desire a reservation to be set apart for their use, or whenever the President of the United States shall deem it advisable for them to be put upon a reservation, he shall cause a suitable one to be selected for them in their present country, which shall embrace reasonable portions of the "Port Neuf" and "Kansas Prairie" countries, and that, when this reservation is declared, the United States will secure to the Bannacks the same rights and privileges therein, and make the same and like expenditures therein for their benefit, except the agency-house and residence of agent, in proportion to their numbers, as herein provided for the Shoshonee reservation. The United States further agrees that the following district of country, to wit: Commencing at the mouth of Owl Creek and running due south to the crest of the divide between the Sweetwater and Papo Agie Rivers; thence along the crest of said divide and the summit of Wind River Mountains to the longitude of North Fork of Wind River; thence due north to mouth of said North Fork and up its channel to a point twenty miles (32 km) above its mouth; thence in a straight line to head-waters of Owl Creek and along middle of channel of Owl Creek to place of beginning, shall be and the same is set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Shoshonee Indians herein named, and for such other friendly tribes or individual Indians as from time to time they may be willing, with the consent of the United States, to admit amongst them ; and the United States now solemnly agrees that no persons except those herein designated and authorized so to do, and except such officers, agents, and employes of the Government as may be authorized to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties enjoined by law, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the territory described in this article for the use of said Indians, and henceforth they will and do hereby relinquish all title, claims, or rights in and to any portion of the territory of the United States, except such as is embraced within the limits aforesaid.

ARTICLE 3.

The United States agrees, at its own proper expense, to construct, at a suitable point on the Shoshonee reservation, a warehouse or store-room for the use of the agent in storing goods belonging to the Indians, to cost not exceeding two thousand dollars; an agency building for the residence of the agent, to cost not exceeding three thousand; a residence for the physician, to cost not more than two thousand dollars; and five other buildings, for a carpenter, farmer, blacksmith, miller, and engineer, each to cost not exceeding two thousand dollars; also a school-house or mission building so soon as a sufficient number of children can be induced by the agent to attend school, which shall not cost exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars.
The United States agrees further to cause to be erected on said Shoshonee reservation, near the other buildings herein authorized, a good stearn circular-saw mill, with a grist-mill and shingle-machine attached, the same to cost not more than eight thousand dollars.

ARTICLE 4.

The Indians herein named agree, when the agency house and other buildings shall be constructed on their reservations named, they will make said reservations their permanent home, and they will make no permanent settlement elsewhere; but they shall have the right to hunt on the unoccupied lands of the United States so long as game may be found there on, and so long as peace subsists among the whites and Indians, on the borders of the hunting districts.

ARTICLE 5.

The United States agrees that the agent for said Indians shall in the future make his home at the agency building on the Shoshonee reservation, but shall direct and supervise affairs on the Bannack reservation; and shall keep an office open at all times for the purpose of prompt and diligent inquiry into such matters of complaint by and against the Indians as may be presented for investigation under the provisions of their treaty stipulations, as also for the faithful discharge of other duties enjoined by law. In all cases of depredation on person or property he shall cause the evidence to be taken in writing, and forwarded, together with his finding, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, whose decision shall be binding on the parties to this treaty.

ARTICLE 6.

If any individual belonging to said tribes of Indians, or legally incorporated with them, being the head of a family, shall desire to commence farming, he shall have the privilege to select, in the presence and with the assistance of the agent then in charge, a tract of land within the reservation of his tribe, not exceeding three hundred and 20 acres in extent, which tract so selected, certified, and recorded in the "land-book," as herein directed, shall cease to be held in common, but the same may be occupied and held in the exclusive possession of the person selecting it, and of his family, so long as he or they may continue to cultivate it.
Any person over eighteen years of age, not being the head of a family, may, in like manner, select and cause to be certified to him or her, for purposes of cultivation, a quantity of land not exceeding 80 acres in extent, and thereupon be entitled to the exclusive possession of the same as above described. For each tract of land so selected a certificate, containing a description thereof, and the name of the person selecting it, with a certificate indorsed thereon that the same has been recorded, shall be delivered to the party entitled to it by the agent, after the same shall have been recorded by him in a book to be kept in his office subject to inspection, which said book shall be known as the "Shoshone (eastern band) and Bannack land-book."
The President may, at any time, order a survey of these reservations, and when so surveyed Congress shall provide for protecting the rights of the Indian settlers in these improvements, and may fix the character of the title held by each. The United States may pass such laws on the subject of alienation and descent of property as between Indians, and on all subjects connected with the government of the Indians on said reservations, and the internal police thereof, as may be thought proper.

ARTICLE 7.

In order to insure the civilization of the tribes entering into this treaty, the necessity of education is admitted, especially of such of them as are or may be settled on said agricultural reservations, and they therefore pledge themselves to compel their children, male and female, between the ages of six and sixteen years, to attend school; and it is hereby made the duty of the agent for said Indians to see that this stipulation is strictly complied with; and the United States agrees that for every thirty children between said ages who can be induced or compelled to attend school, a house shall be provided and a teacher competent to teach the elementary brances of an English education shall be furnished, who will reside among said Indians and faithfully discharge his or her duties as a teacher. The provisions of this article to continue for twenty years.

ARTICLE 8.

When the head of a family or lodge shall have selected lands and received his certificate as above directed, and the agent shall be satisfied that he intends in good faith to commence cultivating the soil for a living, he shall be entitled to receive seeds and agricultural implements for the first year, in value one hundred dollars, and for each succeeding year he shall continue to farm, for a period of three years more, he shall be entitled to receive seeds and implements as aforesaid in value twenty-five dollars per annum.
And it is further stipulated that such persons as commence farming shall receive instructions from the farmers herein provided for, and whenever more than one hundred persons on either reservation shall enter upon the cultivation of the soil, a second blacksmith shall be provided, with such iron, steel, and other material as may be required.

ARTICLE 9.

In lieu of all sums of money or other annuities provided to be paid to the Indians herein named, under any and all treaties heretofore made with them, the United States agrees to deliver at the agency-house on the reservation herein provided for, on the first day of September of each year, for thirty years, the following articles, to wit:
For each male person over fourteen years of age, a suit of good substantial woollen clothing, consisting of coat, hat, pantaloons, flannel shirt, and a pair of woollen socks; for each female over twelve years of age, a flannel skirt, or the goods necessary to make it, a pair of woollen hose, twelve yards (11 m) of calico, and twelve yards (11 m) of cotton domestics.
For the boys and girls under the ages named, such flannel and cotton goods as may be needed to make each a suit as aforesaid, together with a pair of woollen hose for each.
And in order that the Commissioner of Indian Affairs may be able to estimate properly for the articles herein named, it shall be the duty of the agent, each year, to forward to him a full and exact census of the Indians, on which the estimate, from year to year, can be based ; and, in addition to the clothing herein named, the sum of ten dollars shall be annually appropriated for each Indian roaming, and twenty dollars for each Indian engaged in agriculture, for a period of ten-years, to be used by the Secretary of the Interior in the purchase of such articles as, from time to time, the condition and necessities of the Indians may indicate to be proper. And if, at any time within the ten years, it shall appear that the amount of money needed for clothing under this article can be appropriated to better uses for the tribes herein named, Congress may, by law, change the appropriation to other purposes; but in no event shall the amount of this appropriation be withdrawn or discontinned for the period named. And the President shall annually detail an officer of the Army to be present, and attest the delivery of all the goods herein named to the Indians, and he shall inspect and report on the quantity and quality of the goods and the manner of their delivery.

ARTICLE 10.

The United States hereby agrees to furnish annually to the Indians the physician, teachers, carpenter, miller, engineer, farmer, and blacksmith, as herein contemplated, and that such appropriations shall be made, from time to time, on the estimates of the Secretary of the Interior, as will be sufficient to employ such persons.

ARTICLE 11.

No treaty for the cession of any portion of the reservations herein described which may be held in common shall be of any force or validity as against the said Indians, unless executed and signed by at least a majority of all the adult male Indians occupying or interested in the same; and no cession by the tribe shall be understood or construed in such manner as to deprive, without his consent, any individual member of the tribe of his right to any tract of land selected by him, as provided in Article 6 of this treaty,

ARTICLE 12.

It is agreed that the sam of five hundred dollars annually, for three years from the date when they commence to cultivate a farm, shall be expended in presents to the ten persons of said tribe who, in the judgment of the agent, may grow the most valuable crops for the respective year.

ARTICLE 13.

It is further agreed that, until such time as the agency-buildings are established on the Shoshonee reservation, their agent shall reside at Fort Bridger, U. T., and their annuities shall be delivered to them at the same place in June of each year.
N. G. TAYLOR,
W. T. SHERMAN,
Lt. Genl.
WM. S. HARNEY,
JOHN B. SANBORN,
S. F. TAPPAN,
C. C. AUGUR,
Bvt. Major Genl. U. S. A., Commissioners.
ALFRED H. TERRY,
Brig. Gen. and Bvt. M. Gen. U. S. A.

Attest:
A. S. H. WHITE, Secretary.

Shoshones:
WASH-A-KIE. his + mark
WAU-NY-PITZ. his + mark
TOOP-SE-PO-WOT. his + mark
NAR-KOK. his + mark
TABOONSHE-YA. his + mark
BAZEEL. his + mark
PAN-TO-SHE-GA. his + mark
NINNY-BITSE. his + mark

Bannacks:
TAGGEE. his + mark
TAY-TO-BA. his + mark
WE-RAT-ZE-WON-A-GEN. his + mark
COO-SHA-GAN. his + mark
PAN-SOOK-A-MOTSE. his + mark
A-WITE-ETSE. his + mark

Witnesses:<br /> HENRY A. MORROW,
Lt. Col. 36th Infantry and Bvt. Col. U. S. A., Comdg. Ft. Bridger.
LUTHER MANPA, U. S. Indian Agent.
W. A. CARTER.
J. VAN ALLEN CARTER, Interpreter.

Ratification by United States Government

And whereas, the said treaty having been submitted to the Senate of the United States for its constitutional action thereon, the Senate did, on the sixteenth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, advise and consent to the ratification of the same, by a resolution in the words and figures following, to wit:
IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, February 16, 1869.
Resolved, (two thirds of the senators present concurring,) That the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of the treaty between the United States and the Shoshonee (eastern band) and Bannack tribes of Indians, made and concluded at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory, on the third day of July, 1868.
Attest: GEO. C. GORHAM, Secretary.
Now, therefore, be it known that I, ANDREW JOHNSON, President of the United States of America, do, in pursuance of the advice and consent of the Senate, as expressed in its resolution on the sixteenth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and sixtynine, accept, ratify, and confirm the said treaty.
In testimony whereof I have hereto signed my name, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the ninety-third.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

By the President

WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

Secretary of State.

1888 The Platte Valley Lyre (Saratoga Sun) newspaper founded.

1897   The Big Horn Hot Springs were ceded by the Federal Government to the State of Wyoming which, at that time, placed under the control of the State Board of Charities and Reform.The Hot Springs formed the bases of what would become Wyoming's first state park, near Thermopolis.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1910  Byron Wyoming incorporated.

1918  Julia Greeley, "Denver's Angel of Charity", who presently is the subject of a cause for Sainthood, passed away in Denver.

1918  The Battle of Belleau Wood. June 7-9, 1918 Stalemate

The Marines now held a foothold in the Belleau Wood.  The Germans were in the Wood as well.

At midnight on June 7, the Germans launched as assault on the Marines and were completely stopped.  The Marines, in turn, launched an assault on the Germans on June 8 and it was likewise halted, taking so many casualties by this point that the Marine battalion that participated in it had to be relieved and replaced by a more fully manned one.

On June 9 French and U.S. artillery virtually destroyed the Wood, a former pristine hunting ground.  The Germans, in turn, fired artillery into Lucy and Bouresches and reorganized inside the Wood.

But note what wasn't happening.  The Americans had not fought this battle according to script at all. . . and the Germans were not advancing.

The news of the Marine Corp's actions of a day ago hit the front page back home, with dramatic results. This was likely the first time Americans had really thought of the Marine Corps in this fashion.

What was missed in these accounts is a significant factor.  American troops of the 1st, 2nd and 3d Divisions were in action, and as American divisions. But they were not in the overall command of an American Army.

Rather, these divisions had been supplied by the U.S. command, somewhat reluctantly, after it became convinced that the Germans might break the French and British lines.  So, while the divisions fought under their U.S. commanders, these three divisions, made up all of regulars, were above that level now in the French sector under French command, albeit temporarily.

On a local note, the school district in Casper (there was more than one in the county at the time) had purchased property that would become Roosevelt School in 1922.  The school was, rather obviously, named after the recently departed President  Theodore Roosevelt.  It was in use for decades, having completed its service as an alternative high school, and was recently closed and transferred to another entity for a veteran's facility.

This is a situation the US had hoped earnestly to avoid.  Indeed, while the German 1918 Spring Offensive was no surprise whatsoever, the US high command in France had studied it under Gen. Fox Connor and determined that the Allies could resist it successfully without U.S. help, and this would leave the Americans ready to go into action in the Fall and Winter, bringing the war to a conclusion in 1919.

Whether the US was right about that or not can be debated. There was good reason to feel that the Americans were flatly wrong about the French ability to hold out without US assistance by this point in 1918.  And in fairness by this point the American high command was convinced and the three US divisions made up of regulars did in fact start fighting, but not under an overall US command like the Americans had planned on. This would develop into a inter allied spat of a rather serious nature as the summer rolled on.

1921   Guido F. Schlote of Afton received his second patent of the year, this one for an electric switch lock.

2007  The Mountain View Hotel in Centennial added to the National Register of Historic Places.

June 6

1886  Douglas Budget founded.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1892  Information filed in State of Wyoming v. Alexander Adamson, et al. Murder in the First Degree, chargng Alexander Adamson, William E. Guthrie, William Armstrong and J. A. Garrett with the murder of Rueben "Nick" Ray during the Johnson County War.  This was a criminal charge filed in Johnson County, as opposed to Laramie County where the charges stemming from the Johnson County War.

1894  In the reverse of the usual story, Colorado's Governor Davis H. Waite orders the Colorado state militia to protect and support tminers engaged in a strike at Cripple Creek.  Mine owners had already formed private army.

1908  A man from Cody Wyoming was the co-winner of the Evanston Wyoming to Denver horse race, one of the long distance horse races that were common in Wyoming at the time.

1912  President Taft signs the Homestead Act of 1912, which reduces the period to "prove up" from five years to three.  This was unknowingly on the eve of a major boom in homesteading, as World War One would create a huge demand for wheat for export, followed by the largest number of homestead filings in American history as would be wheat farmers attempted to gain land for the endeavor.  Attribution:  On This Day. 

Wheat farmer, Billings Montana.

1915  British commissioners began to purchase remounts in Wyoming.  The purchase of horses for British service in World War One created a boom in horse ranching which would continue, fueled both by British and American service purchases, throughout the war, but which would be followed by a horse ranching crash after the war.

 U.S. Army Remounts, Camp Kearney California, 1917.

1918  Sad news arrived in Sheridan County on this day, according to the Sheridan Media history column, when relatives of Roy H. Easton, 25, homesteader from Verona, received news that he had been killed in action in France.  He was the first Sheridan County resident to die in World War One.

1918  Getting the news of the American victory on the Marne and having a giant overreaction in Sheridan. June 6, 1918.

On June 6 the American victory at Château-Thierry was beginning to become a little more clear, although the newspapers anticipated more action.  That action was ongoing in the Belleau Wood, which was just next door and which really is part of the same battle.

In Sheridan the town in engaged in an absurd overreaction and the schools burned German books.  Learning German certainly didn't make a person some sort of German sympathizer and indeed, learning the language of your enemy is a good idea.

A Natrona County resident measuring 6'7", very tall for any age, enlisted in the Army.  I'm somewhat surprised that his height didn't disqualify him for service.  You can be too tall to join.

1944 Allied forces land in Normandy, in an event remembered as "D-Day", although that term actually refers to the day on which any major operation commences.  This is not, of course, a Wyoming event, but at least in my youth I knew more than one Wyoming native who had participated in it.  Later, I had a junior high teacher whose first husband had died in it.  A law school colleague of mine had a father who was a paratrooper in it.  And at least one well known Wyoming political figure, Teno Roncolio, participated in it.  From the prospective of the Western Allies, it might be the single most significant single day of the campaign in Europe.

All the photos above are courtesy of the United States Army.

1948  President  Truman delivered a speech from the Governor's Mansion's porch in Cheyenne.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.  He stated:

Governor Hunt, and citizens of Wyoming:

It certainly is a very great privilege and a pleasure for me to be here today. I received an invitation from Governor Hunt to call on him this afternoon, and I was most happy to accept it. I have known him a long time, and I like him, and I think he is a good Governor.

I have always been very much interested in this great city. I was here while the war was going on in my official capacity as chairman of an investigating committee to look after some construction that was going on here. And I found nothing wrong.

I hope sometime I can come back and be able to discuss the issues before the country with you. I always make it a rule never to make speeches of any kind on Sunday. I don't think it's the proper day for speeches that are not of a religious character, and since I am not a Doctor of Divinity, I can't preach you a sermon.

But I do appreciate most highly the cordiality of your welcome. It is a pleasure for me to get to see you, and it is a privilege for me to stop in Cheyenne long enough to call on your Governor.

Again, I hope that when I come here I can talk to you straight from the shoulder on certain things that confront this country.

[At this point the President was presented with an invitation and a hat. He then resumed speaking.]

Thank you very much. The invitation says, "Mr. President, your many friends in Cheyenne, Wyoming, will be greatly honored if you can attend the Cheyenne Frontier Day, July 27-31st, 1948." I have always wanted to do that, and I hope some day I will be able to do it.

Now I am going to see just how this hat works. [Putting it on.] That's all right.

Text of Speech courtesy of Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office.

2017  Steven Biegler installed as the new Catholic Bishop of Cheyenne.

2018  For the second time in a single week, a tornado touched down in Wyoming.  In this case, the tornado touched down about eight miles north of town.

Laramie has some impressive summer weather.

June 5

1853  First hostile encounter between the Sioux and the U.S. Army occurred near Ft. Laramie.

1889  Wyoming appointed a resident to the United States Military Academy for the first time.  Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.

1917  Conscription starts for World War One.  Or, more accurately, registration for the draft commenced.

This was the first time that the United States had conscripted soldiers, in the sense in which the term is generally used, since the Civil War and it was only the second time in US history that the nation had conscripted.

The measure had been debated and was not without controversy.  Even the name of the process, which would stick for later acts of conscription, "Selective Service", reflected that, as the system was designed around the concept of men being selected by local boards, and it was hoped that it would seem, therefore, less of a pure act of compulsion by the national government.

While it was generally supported, it remained controversial in some quarters.  Having said that, the huge patriotic drive that was engineered by the Wilson Administration to support the war effort had a definite effect  and what was feared might be a deeply unpopular move proved not to be.

It perhaps should be noted, as a historical item of interest, that while this was the second draft in American history, Americans in 1917 were only about sixty or so years past the era of compulsory male militia duty, another type of military compulsion. That duty was universal early in the country's history, but it generally wasn't terribly burdensome for most men (except, perhaps, when the militia was called out), as except during times of emergency, the militia generally mustered once a year and it generally turned into a bit of a party.  Conscription of this type, ie., the World War One draft, definitely wasn't a party.

1918   Belleau Wood. The news hits home. June 5, 1918.
 

On June 5 all the newspapers were full of the early news from Bealleau Wood, although the battle had not yet acquired that naem.

The death of Charles Fairbanks, Theodore Roosevelt's Vice President, was also on the front page.  Fairbanks hadn't been the Vice President all that long ago, but already the major figures of the early Progressive Era were starting to pass on.

It what might have been the first news of it's type to hit US newspapers (maybe), the press was also starting to worry about seaborne air raids, at this time in the form of aircraft transported by submarines.  As absurd as that may sound, the Japanese did in fact do that during World War Two, having perfected the ability between the wars, and used them in at least one small raid off of the Pacific Northwest.

Early summer weather was significant enough to make the front page in Laramie, and as any Laramie resident can attest, early Spring weather in Laramie can in fact be "unsettled."  Summers in Laramie are beautiful, but they feature some spectacular storms.
1920  The Wyoming State Council of the Knights of Columbus held its first meeting, in Casper.

1922 The United States Supreme Court rules in Wyoming's favor in Wyoming v. Colorado, thereby ruling in favor of Wyoming's prior appropriation of the Laramie River.

1923  Tuesday, June 5, 1923. North Casper to become part of Casper

It is simply unimaginable to me that North Casper was not always part of Casper.  I had, truly, believed it was.

Not so, apparently.

1933 U.S. goes off of the Gold Standard.

1982  A huge severe storm system hit Wyoming, western South  Dakota and the Texas panhandle with severe weather.

2009  A tornado touched down in Goshen County. As it was filmed, it was one of the most analyzed tornadoes at the time.

2020  A second gathering in protest of the death of George Floyd was held in Casper.  An earlier Casper event occurred several days prior, organized by a local group, where as this one was organized by one centered in Colorado.

Completely unrelated, but emblematic of the stretched financial times, the State announced it was closing ten highway rest stops in a cost saving's move.

June 4

1789   The US constitution, enacted as sovereign law, went into effect.

1812   The Louisiana Territory was renamed the Missouri Territory.

1876  A mere 83 hours after leaving New York City, the Transcontinental Express train arrives in San Francisco.

1889  Converse County Sheriff  Josiah Hazen was shot and killed attempting to arrest members of a train robbing gang that included Kid Curry, who became well known as a member of the Wild Bunch.

1914 Thursday, June 4, 1914. Graduation.

The graduating class of NCHS had their photographs on the front page of the paper.  Slightly more were female than male, which was generally the rule at the time.  Some familiar last names in the group, including one, Edness Kimball, whose name is memorialized in a city park, and who Wyoming's first female Speaker of the House, and another whose last name, Speas, adorns the fish hatchery.  A notable group, we might note, came from ranching families, including one, Grieve

Kimball, or as she's usually called, Kimball Wilkins, was remarkable in a variety of ways. And showing how much Wyoming has changed, she was elevated to speakership in 1966 as a Democrat, as the Democrats were the majority party in the Legislature in the late 1960s.  She never actually got to serve in that role, however, as the legislature met every other year, and she was elected to the State Senate that year.  She lost her bid for reelection in 1970, but was elected again to the House in 1972, serving until her death in 1980 at age 84.

Myrtle Speas went on to become a teacher, and then married and moved to Memphis.  Interestingly, she returned to the Speas Ranch in 1921 for the birth of her first child, then returning.  Her daughter, Mary, lived until 2019, dying at age 97 in Tennessee.

Draft horses, as can be seen, remained such a significant source of, well, horsepower, that there was an advertisement for them in the paper.

The Homestead Act was still in force (the peak for homestead entries was still yet to come), but there was an ad trying to lure Wyomingites to Western Canada for better opportunities . . .opportunities today which are largely available only to the very wealthy.

1918  Battle of Belleau Wood. General Bundy takes command and the French arrive. June 4, 1918.

On this day in 1918, Omar Bundy, U.S. Army, 2nd Division, took command of the entire Belleau Wood front thereby giving it a consolidated leadership. On the same day the French 167th Division arrived, which was placed under Bundy's command.

Omar Bundy, U.S. Army.

And the news of what would come to be known as the Battle of Belleau Wood began to hit the front page back in the US.

1919  June 4, 1919. Congress passes 19th Amendment.

Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution when the Senate approved the same, providing the franchise to women:

The right had already been confirmed by a variety of states, including Wyoming.  It would be ratified by the states on August 18, 1920.

The "Silent Sentinels" ceased picking the White House on this day as a result of the passage of the 19th Amendment.  They had been picking six days a week, excluding Sundays.

1922  Legendary Wyoming oilman and philanthropist Fred Goldstein married Ida Goldberg in Denver.  Goldstein is an example of how a lack of education was not a bar to success in his era.  He only attended school through grade 8 before going to work in American Pipe & Supply, his father's company, in Denver.  This would lead to a career which would make him enormously financially successful and which would also have a dramatic impact on Casper, where he ultimately relocated to direct the company's activities there.

1931  Amelia Earhart landed at Parco and stayed the night in the famous Lincoln Highway hotel there.

A thread on that hotel on our companion blog:

The Golden Era of Classic Hotels: Parco

The Parco Hotel.

If you try to book a room in the Parco Hotel today, you won't be able to.  Indeed, you won't even be able to find Parco. But the classic building is still there, in another use, and the town is still there, under another name. 

Parco was a company town started by the Producers & Refiners Corporation to house their operations and workers in Carbon County Wyoming.  It was built in 1925.  It says something, perhaps, about the nature of transportation at the time that the company undertook this, as the existing town of Rawlins was very well established by that time and quite nearby.  I estimate Rawlins to be a mere seven miles distant, and the Wyoming Highway Department places it at three miles.  Not much.  But ParCo chose to build its refinery distant from the Union Pacific railroad town and county seat for some reason.

 Spanish architecture buildings in Sinclair.

That wasn't the only (perhaps) unusual thing ParCo did. It also hired an architect to design the company town with a distinct architectural style and to include a very distinct hotel.  The town was not only on the Union Pacific, a necessity for a Carbon County refinery, but it was also on the Lincoln Highway.  ParCo was apparently run by a type of visionary, who saw that at least travelers heading west from Laramie and who passed by Medicine Bow might be looking for attractive lodging for the night.

So the company built the Parco Hotel.  Covering an entire city block, the Spanish architecture hotel featured 60 rooms and had two bell towers.  It was quite the hotel.  ParCo, however, didn't survive the  Great Depression and sold out to Sinclair in 1934.  In the 1940s, the town, still owned by the main employer, with that employer being Sinclair, changed its name to Sinclair.  In the 1960s Sinclair sold the town's buildings to its residents.

Another view of the Parco Hotel.

When the Parco Hotel ceased to be a hotel, I have no idea, but it was long ago.  In some ways, it's almost a shock to think of there being a near luxury hotel in its current location, with the larger town of Sinclair so close, and the main employer in Parco being the refinery, which continues on in operation to this day.

Towns separated by only a few miles are unusual in Wyoming's interior. There are some other examples, but not many.  That Parco came about with Rawlins so close is a bit of a surprise, and a luxury hotel in Parco is an even greater surprise. But perhaps that says something about transpiration at the time.  Even at three miles, in 1925, could have been rough traveling in in the winter, and perhaps for refinery operations you need the workers right there.  If the refiner wasn't going to build in Rawlins, it perhaps had to have a company town where it built.  And town it built had nice buildings. That they thought of a hotel where they did, perhaps reflected the nature of travel on the early Lincoln Highway.  The trip by interstate highway from Laramie to Sinclair is 93 miles today. If a person is driving from Cheyenne its 142 miles. But on the Lincoln Highway those miles were longer, and harder.  I'd guess that the distance on the Lincoln Highway was more like 110 to 120 miles from Laramie, with an added 50 if you came from Cheyenne.  By the time you traveled that distance, in 1925, you were likely ready for a stop. Rawlins was only another few miles, but that few miles probably seemed like an unwelcome few miles in 1925.  Rawlins was, no doubt, catching all of the train travelers.  But Parco probably caught quite a few of the motorists.

1943  Little Laramie River Floods.  Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.

1980  Miner's Delight placed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

2002  Draper Museum of Natural History opens in Cody. Attribution:  On This Day.

2018  A rare EF3 tornado touched down in Campbell County Wyoming near Gillette in the early afternoon. The destructive tornado destroyed homes.  It was the first EF3 to touch down in Wyoming since 1987.

2018  Wyoming became the first state to have a legally sanctioned bare knuckle boxing match in decades, with the opening bouts between a host of contestants. The bout was held in the Cheyenne ice arena and drew large crowds. Wyoming authorized the bare knuckle contest based on research showing that bare knuckle boxing was perhaps less dangerous to the contestants than conventional boxing.  The bouts were also shown on Pay Per View.

June 3

1862  6th Ohio Cavalry regimental commander Lieutenant Colonel William O. Collins received orders to take three companies to South Pass to protect the employees and property of the Overland Mail Company and the Pacific Telegraph.

1888    The poem "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer was first published, in the San Francisco Daily Examiner.

The Outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that -
We'd put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat.

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped-
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And its likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two."

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.

1919  June 3, 1919: Anarchists bombings and The 148th Field Artillery boards the USS Peerless. . .

bringing their service in the Great War and the following Army of Occupation to an end.

The USS Peerless was the former Steamship Eagle which had been brought into U.S. service as a transport during World War One.  In that capacity, she brought the troops of the 148th FA home to the U.S., including the Wyoming National Guardsmen that served in that unit, their role in the Great War now complete.

In September she'd be returned to her civilian owner, who once again returned her to her civilian name of Eagle.  She'd remain in service as a civilian transport until 1949, when she was scrapped.

The return of the 148th was big long awaited news for Wyomingites as it meant the return of the last of Wyoming's serving National Guardsmen. The news made the front page in Cheyenne, as did the proclamation of Boy Scout Week, if inaccurately, but another big event, a series of anarchist bombings the prior day, not surprisingly became the big headline.

The 1919 anarchist bombings would fuel the Red Scare of 1919 and lead to a rapid crack down on left wing activities in the United States.  Some date the event to the bombings, but it was already ongoing and the strikes of 1919 had already begun to fuel, along with other events, national and international.

1926  Training Camp for National Guard at Pole Mountain approved.  Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.

1948 Thirty eight contestants entered a horse race between Sheridan Wyoming and Billings Montana, 137 miles. The state had a culture of long distance horse races at the time.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

2020  Nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, a black resident of Minneapolis Minnesota, during an arrest by police spread to Casper.

In much of the nation the protests, which had been running over a week, had turned violent and had broken out in looting.  This included Denver, which saw street protests get out of hand. This resulted in widespread concern in Casper that this would likewise occur even though the organizing group, composed of young Natrona County residents, had eschewed any such acts.  Nonetheless such incidents across the country and the rumored involvement of outside groups less concerned about racial inequality but other causes in those incidents sparked great concern, as well as numerous rumors, and as a result the city asked downtown businesses to close for the day, even as the organizing group tried to organize a post march local buying event.

Marchers gathered in front of the county's building.

As it happened the event largely took place without incident.  A large crowd marched from Casper's new David Street Station to the County building where various participants spoke.  A young African American woman featured by the local news apparently was one of those individuals and, based upon the news reporting which featured here, was very well spoken.

The organizing group asked people to disperse at 1:00 p.m. but not everyone did and a second march crossed the town on 2nd Street. This resulted in the only injuries when a truck accidentally hit a police car and ended up in Conwell Park, injuring several of the protesters in the truck.  At the intersection of 2nd Street and Wyoming Blvd, the crowd was dispersed when occupying an intersection and a liquor store was provided with precautionary protection.  The event then became a motor march in which that group of protesters returned downtown and occasionally yelled at bystanders and police, but which by appearance had devolved to principally be an event of the type that gathers people who go to events.

Camouflaged policeman on roof of First Interstate Bank Building.

The city was witness to the unusual special of a large and serious police presence, including the staging of special response police on downtown rooftops.

Officers on top of First Interstate Bank Building and the Federal Courthouse.

In a real oddity, the event drew the presence of what might partially be regarded as counter protesters in the form of men who were heavily armed who followed the march.  That in turn caused some of the marchers to also be heavily armed.  Combined with the heavily armed police presence, the day featured what was likely an all time high presence of armed citizenry for the last century.  Nobody made recourse to arms in any fashion, however, and the two groups largely seem to have gotten along.

June 2

1865 Sioux and/or Cheyenne attack Platte Bridge Station.  The Indians approach the station and fire on it, men of the 11th Ohio give chase. They run into trouble when the Indian band they were chasing, only ten men, turns out to be a lure and they are ambushed.  Fortunately for them, at that moment a a detachment from the 11th Kansas arrived and a running fight ensued.   Two troopers were killed, and one Indian.

1884  Lilly Langtry played at the Cheyenne Opera House.

1890  Douglas restricted the watering of lawns between 4 and 8 p.m.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1899   The Wild Bunch robbed the Union Pacific Overland Flyer No. 1  near Wilcox, taking between $30,000 and $60,000.  This robbery is famous in part for the large amount taken, but also for the destruction of a rail car by explosives which were used to open a safe.  This is depicted in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  Attribution:  On This Day.

The Overland Flyer in 1906.

Longtime Wyoming residents may wonder where on earth Wilcox is.  That's because, it isn't.  It's a named spot on the railroad just north of Rock River.  If this same crime occured today, people would report it as having occured north of Rock River.  It occured very near the junction with the Fetterman Road.

I've driven past this spot thousands of time and never realized where it was. This was a bold action, as Rock Rover was more substantial than it now is (the explosion clearly could have been heard from there) and Medicine Bow not all that far to the north. 

1899  The First Philippine Republic officially declared war against the United States, although clearly the war, which the US termed an insurrection, had been going on for some time.

To recognize it as a war would have required a declaration of war, which in turn would have recognized the sovereignty of the Philippine Republic, which would have made a mockery of the US position on the islands.

Almost always, when people accuse the US of being involved in "colonial wars", they're full of it. This, however, was a colonial war.

1924  Congress passes the Indian Citizenship Act, conferring citizenship on all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the country.

1939  Guernsey State Park Museum opened.  Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.

1945  Ft. F. E. Warren made a redeployment center for Quartermaster and Transportation Corps troops, a rather surprising thing considering how late in World War Two this was.

1978  The J. C. Penny District in Kemmerer added to the National Register of Historic Places.

June 1

1832   Nathaniel J. Wyeth's Oregon expedition reached Fort Laramie. Attribution:  On This Day.

1865 Sioux and/or Cheyenne attempt to drive stock off Sweetwater Station.. They burn Rocky Ridge Station that night  but dispersed with the blackpowder stores exploded.  The five enlisted me of the 11th Ohio stationed there took refuge in the well.

1909  Pathfinder Dam completed.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1916   The local news, June 1, 1916. No Jutland yet
 

But both the epic Battle of Verdun and the ongoing Punitive Expedition were.

And there's an education headline that looks surprisingly similar to those we read today.

1931  The cornerstone for the Sublette County Courthouse.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1933  First Wyoming Highway Patrolman assumed duties.  The WYHP, as recently discussed in the Annals of Wyoming, grew out of prohibition enforcement.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.