Natrona County, Wyoming - The whole text, 1923 (part 6 of 15)

Casper and Douglas were connected by 'phone in June, 1902, and the patrons in each of the towns on the first day of the service were allowed to converse with each other as many times and as long as they desired without charge. The Freeland telephone line, which included Bessemer, was completed about the middle of December, 1902, with the following ranchmen as subscribers: J. W. Price, O. M. Rice, Martin Gothberg, Alex Mills, Dan Speas, Denecke & Wright, Roily Clark, C. N. Richards, G. W. Martin, A. G. Cheney, W. D. Kennedy, Ira Karman, W. D, Blattenberg, Harold Banner, Goose Egg Ranch, E. L. McGraugh, D. and J. Michie, J. G. White, Miller Bros., Cheney's Bates Creek ranch and the Norman Calmon ranch. Two years later the Big Muddy line was established, and then followed a line to the Oil City country.

Casper gradually increased in population, and with this increase came new residences and additional business houses which were supplied with telephones, and in February, 1907, the room originally occupied by the exchange became so crowded with one additional operator and more equipment that the company moved into three rooms in the Rohrbaugh block, on the south side of Second street, between Center and Wolcott. The Geneseo system was discarded and the common battery system was established, the number of operators was increased from three to four, three for the day calls and one at night, in addition to the manager, who acted as bookkeeper, collected the bills, corrected the line troubles, took a turn on the switchboard occasionally and entertained the patrons who called to register a complaint or to spend an hour or more in social intercourse.

The Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone company was merged into the Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph company on July 20, 191 1, and the plant at Casper has since been operated under this name.

The town continued to increase in population, more business houses were established and new residences were built. With this increase the demand for telephones increased, and the company's goal for 1910 was 300 instruments; this goal was reached and the 500 mark looked to be not far off. The three rooms were inadequate, more operators and other additional help were required, until there were half a dozen operators on the switchboard, a regular bookkeeper was employed, and there was a regular trouble man, and several linemen and repairmen constant!}' employed. This was after the oil boom in Salt Creek, when the building of the refinery in Casper had been started, and with this boom came many new residences, professional men and business concerns, and many new telephones were required, and the company demanded more room for its additional equipment, until the whole of the west side of the upper floor in the business block was utilized. But Casper continued to grow and expand, and in order to keep pace with the town the telephone company required more room, and in 1917-18 erected a two-story and full basement building 45x50 feet on its lot immediately east from the postoffice, which is used exclusively by the company for its business oflSces, operating rooms, and housing of equipment, with storage and battery rooms in the basement, and the Casper telephone exchange is now equal to any in the state. The switchboard is of the latest type, manually operated board. The multiple system is employed, which means that the operator can connect and ring any line on the board; however, each operator receives calls only from those lines connected to her special position. On January i, 1923, there were forty operators employed in this exchange, including the lady chief. They work in eight-hour shifts, but are relieved every two hours for a brief rest. A retiring room is maintained, adjacent to the operating room, and this room is supplied with many comforts, including current magazines, newspapers and stationery. Tea, coflFee, chocolate and milk are furnished by the company to the operators without charge.

The calls handled through this exchange are a revelation in number. The record for the average day is about 28,000. The busiest period is just before noon, when the average is about 2,400 per hour. The average calls from eight o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in the evening are about 2,100 per hour. There is a rapid increase from seven until nine o'clock in the evening, after which hour the number of calls commences to decrease.

The unusually large number of changes and removals in Casper adds to the burden of the operators. Fully 500 changes are made durmg a directory period, or every three months. While these changes are in process it requires the closest attention on the part of operators to observe the markings on the multiples, which indicate changes and disconnections, to prevent the ringing of wrong numbers.

It has been and still is a problem in extension work to keep pace with the growth of Casper. Since 1917 there has been a gain of 2,500 telephones, 670 of which came in 1921 and 650 in 1922. There is now a total of 4,170 subscribers using the local telephone service. The company put in $30,000 worth of new cable during 1920, and more than duplicated it in 1921.

It IS fortunate that reasonable allowance was made for future extension when the Casper exchange was constructed, otherwise the company could never have answered the public demand as well as It has, for during the first nine months of 1922 the company completed an expenditure of more than fifty thousand dollars for equipment, the larger portion of which was used for aerial and underground cables and new pole lines to outlying additions to the city. In addition to the fifty thousand dollars expended during the nine months of 1922, the company built a private leased wire to Teapot Dome for the Mammoth-Sinclair Oil company interests and added three toll lines from Casper to Salt Creek, in addition to which the company installed three hundred additional subscribers' lines on its switchboard before the end of 1922 for its Casper patrons.

Compared with the original plant in 1902, which was installed at an expense of $5,500, the company's plant twenty years later is second to none in the state, and instead of forty-nine instruments there are now 4,170; then two operators attended the switchboard during the twenty-four hours and now there are forty; then two men took care of all the business for the company, installing new instruments when required, keeping the lines in repair and performing such other duties as were required and now there are twenty-two employed.

A. W. Scott was the telephone company's first manager in Casper, remaining from March, 1902, until 1903, when he was succeeded by J. E. Frisby. Mr. Frisby was succeeded by H. B. Lovett in 1904, and he remained until 1905, and then came J. A. Bell, with his wife and six-year-old daughter. Mr. Bell spent more time on the gambling tables than he did in looking after his company's affairs, and he squandered so much of the company's funds that he was unable to make good his shortage, and he squared the account by swallowing about two ounces of carbolic acid. Homer F. Shaffer took charge as manager in August, 1906, and remained until April, 1909, during which time he made many improvements in the system and the service. E. E. Stone succeeded Mr. Shaffer, remaining until March, 1910. Then came B. H. Engelke, who remained until August, 191 1. He was succeeded by Charles A. Cullen, who remained from 191 1 until June, 1918. J. Frank Cowan was manager from 1918 until May, 1920, who was succeeded by H. D. McCormack, who is the present (1923) manager.

The company has made arrangements for the expenditure of more than $100,000 on its Casper plant in 1923, $20,000 of which will go toward an addition to its building. This addition will mean the enlargement of the present operating room on the second floor and the terminal room on the ground level. There will also be approximately nine miles of new cable, a large part of which will be relief underground cables. These cables will be on East Second street and Yellowstone avenue. These cables will be sufficient to care for a city with a population of 75,000. A total of ^43,400 will be expended on the cable improvements. Thirteen thousand dollars will be spent on a new telephone repeater and ^13,500 on central office equipment. The addition to the building means that the structure will be enlarged thirty feet to the south and extended the width of the present terminal section of the structure. The telephone repeater serves as sort of a booster station for long-distance calls going through the city. The addition of this repeater means that there will be four in use in Casper. The Casper exchange, with these improvements, will be the largest of any telephone exchange in Wyoming, and on January i, 1923, had over 1,000 more telephones installed than any other city in the state.

"The trend of events and the progress of the state of Wyoming are such that a change of the location of the state capital is inevitable and imperative. It must come sooner or later, considering the future possibilities of that part of the state farthest removed from the present location of the seat of government." This was the announcement made by the people of Casper in the fall of 1904, when the matter of voting for the permanent location of the state capital was to come to a vote at the general election in November. Casper was an aspirant for the capital at that time, and it was argued that no city in the state had a more legitimate claim than this progressive town; "located as we are, in the center of the state, it is the logical and proper place for the seat of government. Casper is typically a Wyoming town and has the interests of her own state most fully at heart, as has been most clearly demonstrated by the active part which it takes and always has taken in every enterprise that boosts the possibilities of Wyoming. Every voter in the state who has interests of the state at heart should keep these points in view when he casts his ballot. With the construction of two large government reservoirs now under way in Central and Northern Wyoming and with the introduction of new railroads into this portion of the state, we are just entering upon a period of unprecedented development, and it is particularly essential to the best interests of our fair state to prevent the permanent location of the capital from being established in one corner of its territory. Now that the western, northern and central parts of the state are about to become available for the entry of thousands of settlers, it is the prime moment to make this important decision. If Casper does not carry the state this year, even though Cheyenne does not get the majority, it will be years before the question will arise again for the determination of the voters of the state. Meanwhile Cheyenne will

"Cheyenne is unfavorably situated on the map for the permanent location of the capital. No one who has the best interests of the state as a whole at heart, and who realizes the great possibilities and the future of the western, northern and central parts of the state will for a moment contend that in so great a state as ours the capital is properly located in one corner of the state, more inaccessible to some parts of the state than the city of Chicago. This is an abnormal and undesirable state of facts. Developing Cheyenne does not develop the state. She is as large as she ever will be. There are no more new fields of industry around Cheyenne to discover or reclaim. It is the old town. For years her chief resources have been principally the legislature and her capacity to get a whack out of every appropriation made by the state. The chief support of her citizens is the town's political graft. Of the salaried appointive offices her citizens hold nine-tenths. Every town in the state has suffered at the hands of the Cheyenne politicians. Cheyenne is not strictly a Wyoming town, she is essentially a Nebraska town, and so dependent is she upon Nebraska that her newspapers look to Nebraska for their chief support. The main object of the Cheyenne politicians in their endeavor to procure the Pathfinder dam, as every one knows, is to secure the benefit of the irrigation of Nebraska lands near Cheyenne. About two-thirds of the water stored in this reservoir will be used, as is well known, in irrigating Nebraska lands."

This and other strong arguments were used and scattered broadcast. The people of Casper were united and they put forth their best efforts to secure votes, but they finished a poor third in the race. Cheyenne received 11,781 votes; Lander, 8,667; Casper, 3,610; Rock Springs, 429, and Sheridan, 122. It was surprising, but nevertheless true, that many of the towns in the central and northern parts of the state voted for Cheyenne in preference to Casper.

But the permanent location of the state capital was not definitely settled, for no town received a majority of all the votes cast. At the meeting of the state canvassing board held on December 21, 1904, it was declared:

"The board finds and declares that no city, town or village received a majority of the votes cast at the election upon the question of the permanent location of the seat of government.

"And Fenimore Chatterton, president and member of the board, further finds and declares that, therefore, no city, town or village has been elected as the permanent location of the seat of government, to which said finding and declaration of the said Feni- more Chatterton, William C. Irvine, secretary and member of the board, dissents and objects. Leroy Grant, auditor, refused to sit with the board."

At the session of the state legislature in 1923 a bill was introduced in the house providing that the state capital be moved from Cheyenne to Casper, but the bill had not been disposed when this volume had gone to press.

Horse racing was the most exciting and popular sport in Natrona county in the early days. To go on a bear hunt, or spend a week or ten days in the mountains and bag a few deer, elk or mountain sheep furnished amusement and excitement for some people, but a horse race was always the big event that attracted every man, woman and child in the county. There would have been no horse racing, however, if there could have been no betting. The people of the county then divided and lined up for their favorite horse in the race, praised and applauded his good points and displayed as much enthusiasm as they do in this enlightened age upon their favorite candidate during an election campaign. During the first two or three years after the town of Casper was organized these races were between cow ponies and range horses, but in the early spring of 1893 Dan Robertson went to Chadron, Nebraska, and bought a real race horse; his name was Doc Middleton. Doc was famous in Nebraska, for several seasons having won every race he entered. Mr. Robertson did not advertise that Doc was a race horse, but said he was a fancy buggy horse. The Fourth of July was when the big races generally took place, and six weeks before the races were to occur Doc was sent out to the Charles Richards ranch in Bates Park to be trained for the track. The fact that Doc was a blooded race horse was supposed to be kept a secret, but to keep secret the fact that a blooded race horse had been brought into the country was as impossible then as it would be now to keep the people from knowing that it was cold in the winter or hot in the summer time. Besides the owner of Doc, JefF Crawford and Charlie Richards were his principal backers. Hugh Patton conceived the idea that it would be interesting and profitable to bring a better horse here and enter the race against Doc, and he sent word to Jim Dahlman, who then lived in Chadron, to get a race horse that could beat Doc Middleton and bring him to Casper to enter the race on the Fourth of July. Dahlman went to Chicago and bought a horse named Sorrel John, and sent him to Casper by express with a professional jockey. Sorrel John was in town about a week before the Fourth, and he displayed speed that astonished those who saw him travel, and the backers of Doc were skeptical about backing their horse for a large amount of money.

A kite-shaped half-mile track was built by Charlie Crow in the then extreme eastern edge of town; the judges' stand, which consisted of a large box, borrowed from one of the stores, was located at the intersection of North Durbin and East A streets, where John T. McGrath now has his residence. The back stretch was between First and A streets. At that time this part of the country was not platted into streets and town lots, but was a rough greasewood and sagebrush flat. The building of this race track was financed by popular subscription. There was no grand stand and no seats of any kind, and no admission fee was charged. Sorrel John was trained and tried out on this track by the professional jockey for a week before the date of the big event, and Doc Middleton was trained every day at the Richards ranch. The purse for the winner was $500.

The owners and backers of Sorrel John were willing and anxious to wager most any amount of money that their horse would win, but the backers of Doc were not so confident, and the bets they made were in small amounts, but Charlie Richards put up all the money on Doc Middleton that he had and all he could borrow.

During the forenoon of the Fourth the usual Independence day program was carried out, and at 2:15 in the afternoon the big race was to be run. Everybody gathered around the track. Charlie Richards was to ride Doc Middleton against John Tracy, the professional jockey, on Sorrel John. There was another horse, King George, who entered the race, but he had no chance of winning a place unless the other horses fell dead on the track. The time had arrived for the race; all the business houses in town were closed, and everybody was at the race track. Sorrel John won the pole. Doc Middleton was second and King George was on the outside; the horses were scoring up; the expert jockey from Chicago was using all the tricks he knew and was taking every advantage possible; men, women and children were crowded around the track, craning their necks to see every move of the racers. It was a half-mile dash; a man with a snare drum was the official starter; the racers came up to the scratch, but the spread was so great it was not a go; the starter pounded on his drum and the horses returned for a new start; again they crossed the scratch, and again they were called back by the starter with his drum; the third time they came up the starter cried " Go," and they were off; Sorrel John was ten feet in the lead of Doc Middleton, and King George was fully thirty feet in the rear. The backers of Doc and the King protested that it should not have been a go, but it was no use, the race was on. For the first three hundred feet Doc gained on John, and at six hundred feet from the scratch they were neck and neck; then a shout went up from the crowd; the horses were neck and neck all the way 'round the track until they reached the home stretch, when Doc forged slightly ahead of John; the riders of both horses persuaded their mounts forward and the animals were making a supreme effort to go faster; Doc's throat latch was under the wire when John's nose reached it; Doc won; King George was forgotten entirely; then most of the great crowd of people sent forth cheer after cheer, and it was said that the owner of Doc was so happy that he opened his mouth and forgot to close it, but just stood there taking in the sights supposedly thinking he was cheering with the crowd. There were other races that day, but the big event was over.

Like all sporting events where the game is close, the backers of Sorrel John found plenty of excuses for their horse coming in second under the wire, and they were anxious to arrange for another race. Doc Middleton's backers had now gained confidence and they were willing to risk the reputation of their horse and their money on a second race. A quarter-mile dash was arranged for on the 20th of July and a wager of ^500 a side was put up, in addition to which there were many side bets; Charlie Richards put up all the money he had won and again all he could borrow. This second race attracted fully as great a crowd as was in town on the Fourth of July. The race was on the same track as the first race. Doc won the pole this time and the start was very nearly even; Doc took the lead, but at 200 yards John pushed ahead, but was unable to hold it; Doc soon closed up the gap, and the horses ran side by side until they came to the home stretch, when Doc pushed to the front and scored half a length ahead of John.

Jim Dahlman was a good sport, and acknowledged that Doc was the faster horse, but he said it had cost him more than a thousand dollars to be convinced, and it was his intention to get back his expense money. The gambling tables were in operation in Casper those days, and dealers were on duty at all hours, both day and night; the sky was the limit, and nobody was barred. Faro gave the house the advantage only of the "splits," and those playing against the house could place their bets to their best advantage. Dahlman chose this game to replenish his depleted exchequer; he played from early evening until after midnight and when he retired he was short more than $1,600. The next day he returned to his home in Chadron. In after years he moved to Omaha where he was more successful than he was in Casper, and was several times elected mayor of that city and was known as the "Cowboy Mayor."

Charlie Richards took Doc Middleton to all the races in Southern Wyoming, and won every race he entered, but in the fall of the year the horse injured himself in some way and Mr. Richards shot him.

There have been many horse races in Casper since that event; we have had much better race tracks, and we have provided grand stands with good seats and a good view of the track, but there has never been so much interest or excitement displayed in any of these later events as there was when Doc Middleton beat Sorrel John in 1893.

A tremendous cloudburst occurred on Casper mountain at the head of Garden creek, at about nine o'clock Tuesday night, July 30, 1895, and a sea of water twenty feet deep came thundering down into the valley, carrying with it large boulders, logs, and debris of all kinds, and the terrific force of the current left death and destruction in its path.

Dark clouds commenced to gather over the mountainside early in the evening, and at first there was quite a heavy rainfall which increased in its fury until the terrific downpour lashed the trees and the rocks and the winds buffeted the living creatures along the foot hills of the mountains and in the valleys below, and between the gusts one could hear the wail of the storm-tossed trees and the distant roar of the flood foaming across the lands. In the little town of Casper the sound of the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the downpour of the rain were terrific for several hours. It was fully an hour after the storm had abated before the people of Casper were apprised of the terrible disaster that had been caused by the storm.

A freighter named Newby and his family were camped just south of the CY gate, about two miles south of Casper, and as they were in bed when the cloudburst occurred, the water was upon them before they realized they were in danger. Mrs. Newby and her child were carried away in the flood, but the husband and father escaped by clinging to a log. Samuel Harrison and his family were camped near Newby and two of his small children, a boy and a girl, were carried away. Mrs. Harrison escaped with one of her children in her arms, but Mr. Harrison was carried down the stream over a hundred yards until he caught hold of the trunk of a tree and hung on until the force of the torrent was past. Others who camped in the path of the torrent were E. E. liams, Ed Kerns, James Smith, Fred Seely and Frank Arbiter, most of whom were freighters, and their entire outfit was carried away and dashed to splinters on the boulders. Along the path of the flood was scattered wreckage of every description, clothing, bedding, groceries, pieces of wagons and harness. Those who escaped with their Hves were clad only in their night clothes and they suffered a great deal from exposure. The people of Casper, however, furnished them with clothing and food, and in the morning nearly every man in the town went out to the scene of the disaster to assist in the search for the bodies that had been carried with the flood.

The remains of the two Harrison children were recovered along the banks half a mile below where they were camped, and the body of Mrs. Newby was found covered with wreckage, and her baby was found close to the bank in a tree a considerable distance below. The remains of the three children and the lady were brought to Casper and placed in the town hall where the ladies of Casper dressed them and prepared them for burial.

Everything possible was done to assist the surviving unfortunates; they were supplied with the necessities of life; houses were furnished the families; the men were provided with employment and except for the loss of life, it was not long until all had fully recovered from their terrible experience.

Many children in Casper died from the effects of cerebrospinal meningitis during the latter part of May, 1898, and the people became so alarmed that nearly all the mothers in the town took their children away. On the loth of May more than fifty children and twenty-five women left on the train for the east and each day following for a week women and children left the stricken town until hardly a child was left and those who did remain were not allowed to venture on the streets and were scarcely allowed outside the doors of their dwelling places. The schools were closed, church services were discontinued, and the homes in the town were left uninhabited except by the head of the family.

In one day more than a dozen children were stricken, and as there were but two physicians in town, Dr. Leeper and Dr. Bennett, they made their visits and administered to the little sufferers during the day and night without rest or sleep.

The disease made its appearance without warning, the first symptoms being pain in the head, fever, and acceleration of the pulse. Purple spots appeared on the surface of the body, the muscles became rigid, the head was drawn back, and the pain was very violent. The patient became stupid and deaf and death supervened within fortyeight hours.

Concerning the origin or producing causes of the terrible disease and respecting the modes of treatment, the physicians at that time knew but Httle. Some claimed that the disease was caused by the unsanitary condition of the town. The town was at that time in a most unsanitary condition. The local newspaper made a plea to the town council to compel the citizens to clear their residences of all garbage, to remove the cow corrals and hog pens that were maintained in the middle of the town and clear the streets and alleys of all rubbish. The town council acted favorably upon the plea and in less than a month all signs of the disease had disappeared; the mothers with their children commenced to return and by the middle of the summer the children were allowed to come out on the streets and mingle together.

The last Indian dance to be given on the streets of Casper was on the evening of October 20, 1897, by about forty Shoshones on Second street in front of the Odd Fellows building. The principal part of their dress was on their heads and there was scarcely anything on their bodies. The music was furnished by six buck Indians, who pounded on an oil barrel with sticks while all the Indians chanted their weird songs. The dancers circled around a bonfire in the middle of the street. The bucks led the dance for an hour and then the squaws joined in. Nearly every white person in the city viewed the dance and contributed a small amount of cash which was turned over to the Indians. In the early days Indians dancing on the streets was not uncommon. The editor of the Tribune at that time described the affair in the following manner:

"One of the most enjoyable and highly entertaining dances of the season was that given by about forty Shoshone Indians in the street in front of the Odd Fellows building last Tuesday evening. Those who participated in the affair were dressed in the grandest style of ball room paraphernalia. Falling Star, the boss buck, wore a crow on his head and a pair of moccasins on his feet and that was about the extent of his clothing. Afraid-to-Ride-a-Horse wore one feather in his hair and a V-cut pair of stockmgs, very low. He danced the two-step and gavotte schottishe in elegant style. Red Cow and all the rest of the dancers wore paint on their bare legs and low-cut moccasins and danced to the sweet music, which was furnished by the Indian orchestra, the musical instrument being an oil barrel turned upside down and half a dozen Indians pounding on it with sticks. As the dance went on, all the musicians sang a song which sounded very much like a dozen cats on a roof in the night time. The bucks kept up the dance till 9:30 and then the squaws joined in and danced around the fire once or twice, after which all dispersed to their respective tents to count out the money that was contributed by the people who witnessed the war dance."

At the seventh session of the town council of the town of Casper, which was held July 20, 1889, the mayor and councilmen were forcibly impressed with the fact that the time had arrived when a limit must be set for some of the women to parade the streets, visit the saloons and frequent the dance halls, and in the wisdom of the city fathers, at this meeting it was decided that from ten o'clock at night until seven o'clock in the morning should be about right and proper for a "wide open" town where "everything went," and accordingly an ordinance was adopted to that effect, the exact wording of the new town law being:

" It shall be unlawful for any woman to frequent or remain in the barroom of any saloon in the town of Casper between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., and any woman who shall enter, frequent or remain in the barroom of any saloon in said town between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in any sum not less than five dollars nor more than twenty-five dollars.

" It shall be unlawful for any woman to use any vile, profane or indecent language, or to act in a boisterous or lewd manner, or to smoke any cigar, cigarette or pipe on any street in Casper, and if any woman shall use any vde, profane or indecent language, or shall act in a boisterous or lewd manner, or shall smoke any cigar, cigarette or pipe on any street in Casper she shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in any sum not less than five dollars nor more than twenty-five dollars."

This ordinance was not as rigidly enforced as it should have been, but for several months after its adoption the women whose conduct it sought to regulate did not parade the streets so brazenly as they had heretofore. After ten o'clock at night, however, and until seven in the morning, it being legitimate and lawful for these women to visit the saloons and parade the streets, they exercised their franchise to the full extent and without restraint. Every saloon had its piano, and some of them had two, besides other musical instruments, and the program consisted of music and dancing, drinking and gambling.

The men and women who thus made night hideous for weeks and months, celebrating, as they considered, with proper conviviality, commenced to encroach upon the time set apart for the decent citizens to appear on the streets and visit the business houses, and it was not long until the ordinance was considered a dead letter. Lewd women paraded the streets and frequented the barrooms at all times of the day and night, and the officers of the law gave them a free hand to do as they pleased.

This condition existed until it became intolerable by the better class of citizens, and the grand jury was appealed to to regulate the morals of the town. The first grand jury to sit in Casper was in session in August, 1891, and after due deliberation the jury made its

"Appreciating the fact that the town of Casper is a part of Natrona county, and the jurors' attention have been called to the loose manner in which matters pertaining to public morals is allowed to go on and the authorities decline to take cognizance of the matter, believing it to be the duty of the town officials to punish practice of open lewdness within the town, we do recommend that the town officials cause those living in disregard of law to be punished, and that if the officials whose duty it is to bring them to justice fail to do their duty that they put in office men who will, and not try to shift the responsibility."

Accordingly the court ordered that the town officers enforce the laws, but even at its best the town was far from being classed as a "Sunday school town," especially by the tenderfeet who often visited here. These tenderfeet sometimes participated in the "carnivals" for a one-night stand only, and while the carousal was by no means a tame affair, the visitors, in their reports, after they left the "wild and woolly" place, exaggerated the affair at least two-fold and sometimes ten-fold.

As late as 1897 this scum attempted to dominate the town elections, and sometimes they were successful in electing a councilman or two. At these elections the contest was bitter, but the better element each year gained in numbers, and men were put in office who made the laws more stringent.

The "ten at night till seven in the morning" ordinance was repealed in 1898, and the lewd women were kept off the streets and out of the saloons entirely, and Casper then became a " Sunday school town" proper. The worst of the tough element who did not voluntarily leave town were ordered to move. They were given a reasonable length of time to arrange their affairs, but they were forcibly informed that if they were in town after the date specified for them to make their departure, the officers of the law would not be responsible for what might happen to them. Needless to say none of them were ever seen in town after the time announced for their departure, and most of them left, attracting as little attention as possible.

There was one woman, however, who proved an exception. On the date set for her to make her exit she mounted the rear platform of the last railway coach and as the train was pulling out, she addressed the citizens at the depot with the hardest and most blasphemous oaths the human tongue could articulate. The authorities at Douglas were notified to place her under arrest and she was returned to Casper. The heaviest fine possible under the law was placed against her, but the fine was remitted if she would leave the town at once and never return, which she agreed to do, but when she reached her room she swallowed a dose of laudanum with suicidal intent. An emetic relieved her of the poison, and in a few days she made her departure, but before she went she thanked the pohce magistrate for the consideration that had been extended to her and she apologized to the peace officers for all the trouble she had caused them, and said she was indeed sorry for having used such vile language before such a large number of decent people. Upon her departure she said she would never return, and if she said anything else, good, bad or indifferent, it was uttered in a low breath.

From 1898 until 191 1 the saloons of Casper were conducted along about the same lines that saloons in any of the western towns were conducted. Most of the saloon men here obeyed the law in regard to selling liquor to minors and habitual drunkards, and they conducted their places with decorum, but there were others who took every advantage of the law by selling liquor to young boys and confirmed drunkards; men who became hopelessly and helplessly drunk in their places were robbed of all their money and then kicked out on the street. This, of course, had a tendency to reflect upon the better class of saloon men, as well as those who had no regard for the law, and on March 26, 191 1, the town council ordered all the saloons of Casper to be closed on Saturday nights at midnight and remain closed until Monday mornings at 12:01. This was the first time the saloons had been closed on Sundays since the existence of the town in 1888. The better class of the saloon men obeyed this order strictly, as they did all other laws and orders of the authorities, but there were some who persisted in keeping their back doors open and furnishing liquor to all who called for it. As a whole the saloon keepers of Casper conducted their places in accordance with the provisions of the law and commanded more respect than the men in that class of business usually commanded, but the few who violated the laws are the ones who brought condemnation upon all of them and it was also this class of saloon men who no doubt caused the law to be enacted which at midnight on June 30, 1919, put them all out of business in the whole of the United States. There were nine saloons and a brewery in Casper when the prohibition law went into effect. Funds were raised for the building of the brewery during the summer of 1914, and it was formally opened on July 26, 191 5. More than a thousand people were at the opening on this date, who were served with "Wyoming Light Lager," cheese and sausages. No one returned to the city hungry or thirsty; the limit of the amount a man ate and drank was his capacity. The opening was such a grand success and the brewery was so popular that the management kept open house during the entire week, and on Saturday night the immense crowd that congregated there voted the opening "a great success, the

The names of the saloons in Casper when the prohibition law went into effect may be interesting in future years. They were: Midwest Bar, Grand Central Bar, The Wyoming, The Buffet, Stock Exchange, Elkhorn, The Inn, Parlor Car, Burke's Place. For several months previous to the closing of the saloons a thriving business in the liquor traffic was done, many truck loads of whiskey, wine, and beer being hauled to the residences of those who desired to lay in a supply. After the first of July a number of the saloons continued business with the same fixtures, in the serving of soft drinks, and considerable business was done by bootleggers who sold whiskey at prices ranging from three to five dollars per pint. When the supply of the bootleggers was exhausted many of the private supplies in the cellars of the residences were stolen and peddled out, and when this was gone the moonshine, private stills and home brew came into existence.

Realizing that the officers would experience difficulty in the enforcement of the prohibition law Governor Robert D. Carey addressed letters to all the sheriffs and prosecuting attorneys in the state as follows:

"I want to impress upon you the necessity for the strict enforcement of the law, and your insistence that the spirit of and letter of the same be carried OLit from the time that the law becomes effective. As governor of this state it is my duty to see that this law is enforced but it will be impossible for me or any one else to enforce it without your hearty co-operation, and I want to feel that we can count on the same co-operation on your part."

That the state and county officers have made an effort to enforce the prohibition law, not only in the state of Wyoming, but in all the states of the Union, is evidenced by the large number of arrests and the enormous amount of liquor that has been confiscated and destroyed, but when the saloons went out of business at midnight on June 30, 1919, bootlegging and the illegal sale of liquor was commenced at 4 o'clock in the morning of July i, 1919, and has rapidly increased every day since, and many heinous crimes have been committed and many men have been sentenced to long terms in prison because of the illegitimate manufacture and sale of ardent spirits, and many men have been poisoned by drinking that baneful and noxious substance called moonshine.

The first steam sheep shearing plant to be operated in the United States was erected near the town of Casper in the early spring of 1894 by J. B. Okie, and associates. At 3 :30 o'clock in the afternoon on

Sunday, April 22, the signal was given to start the engine. A large number of sheep owners, sheep shearers, wool buyers and citizens of Casper were present. The local newspaper announced that "Amid much applause, the first sheep was sheared by Mrs. Okie, the wife of the man who was instrumental in initiating this method of sheep shearing to the American people, and Mrs. Okie enjoys the distinction of shearing the first sheep ever shorn by this method in America, and she performed the task in less than five minutes."

The Graham house and the Wentworth hotel, one located on the southwest corner of Midwest avenue and Center street, and the other situated on the southeast corner of the same streets, were the leading hostelries of Casper from the date of the town's incorporation until 1894, when the Grand Central hotel was built on the southwest corner of Second and Center streets by David Graham. For many years the Grand Central was considered the best hotel in the state outside of Cheyenne, and traveling men who were compelled to be in the central part of the state the latter part of the week made it an object to spend their Sundays in Casper, where they were sure of the best hotel accommodations. Many banquets were given in honor of distinguished guests and many social functions were held in the dining room of the Grand Central from 1894 until 191 3. By this time the town had grown considerably and there were so many transients coming in that the need of a larger and more modern hotel was recognized, and on April 8, 1913, the Midwest Hotel company was incorporated, with a capital stock of $100,000, with W. F. Henning, R. D. Brooks and N. S. Wilson as directors. Lots 17 and 18, block 8, on the southwest corner of First and Center streets, were bought for $19,000. The Midwest Oil company subscribed for $64,000 of the bonds and the public spirited citizens of Casper subscribed for $36,000. To encourage the building of this new hotel, which by this time the town was sorely in need of, the town council, at its regular meeting held on May 5, 1913, by a unanimous vote adopted the following resolution:

"Comes now the Industrial club of the town of Casper and asks that as an inducement to secure the erection of a modern hotel building the town council of the town of Casper make some concession upon water rates.

"Whereas, The Midwest Hotel company is planning the erection of a large modern hotel on lots 17 and 18, in block 8 in the town of Casper at a cost of about $125,- 000.00; and,

"Whereas, The rapid growth of the town of Casper, and the inadequacy of the present hotels have demanded such hotel as necessary to the welfare of the town; and,

"Whereas, Said Midwest Hotel company has appealed to the public for bond stock subscriptions to aid in the great undertaking, and has met with prompt response; and,

"Whereas, The Industrial club of said town has requested the town of Casper to assist in the accomplishment of the enterprise as an inducement to the company to proceed with the construction of the hotel, by selling water to said company at a nominal water rental, as is customary in other towns and cities: therefore, be and it hereby is,

"Resolved, That the town of Casper through its duly authorized officers enter into a contract for a period of five years with the Midwest Hotel company for the furnishing by the said town of Casper of water to said Midwest Hotel company for the sole purposes of the hotel building at an annual water rental of $1.00 per annum; Provided, That the said hotel company shall at all times during the period covered by said contract as a condition thereof exercise due care to avoid unnecessary waste of such water so furnished under such contract, including the use of automatic shut-offs at all water openings.

The contract for the erection of the building was awarded to Howard & Wood of Cheyenne on July 23, 1913, for $59,350. This price did not include the installation of the elevator, cost of architecture, electric wiring, refrigerator system, vacuum cleaning system, telephones or the plumbing and heating systems. Work was commenced on the excavation for the basement on July 31, and the building was finished in April, 1914. Frank J. Donohoe formally opened the hotel May 5, 1914. A dinner was served at 7 o'clock in the evening, at which it was announced that the guests could eat and drink to their hearts' content at five dollars per plate. The dining room was filled with people from 7 until 10, but the barroom was open all night.

Mr. Donohoe conducted the hotel until March 22, 191 5, when the sheriff of Natrona county took charge by foreclosure proceedings executed against the furniture in the sum of $19,334. The furniture was removed and the doors of the building were locked. The hotel remained closed until May 5, 1915, when half a dozen of Casper's progressive men refurnished the building throughout and secured the services of C. W. Adams as manager.

Work was commenced on the excavation for the basement and foundation of the Midwest hotel annex the first part of December, 1916, and the contract for the erection of the building was let to Archie Allison of Cheyenne for $30,500, which did not include the plumbing, electric wiring, etc., etc. Instead of this hotel being called the Midwest Annex, as was at first intended, it was named the Henning, in honor of the man who owned the building. The Henning was formally opened August 15, 1917. The two hotels were consolidated under the name of the Henning on January 12, 1919, and on March i, 1919, A. K. Bott was secured as manager.

Gambling Was A Lawful Profession I9I

Gambling in Wyoming up until 1901 was licensed by the laws of the state, and was considered as legitimate a business as banking or any other kind of commercialism, and games of poker, faro, monte and roulette were in operation in all the villages, towns and cities of the state all day and all night. Every saloon in Casper had its gambling paraphernalia, and the games were played on the square; an employeewould be discharged if he were caught cheating a patron, just as quickly as a clerk in a store would be discharged for overcharging or cheating a customer. Nearly everybody frequented the gambling places; there were some, however, who did not participate in the games, but they went for the purpose of looking at others play, and they seemed to think no more of it than if they were going to a baseball game. On more than one occasion, when big stakes were up, some of the pillars of the churches and even some of the ministers were onlookers.

The money, large piles of currency and stacks of gold and silver, was stacked in the racks on the gambling tables, similar to the manner in which the money was placed on the counters in a bank. If a patron came in and won, his chips were cashed the same as though he had sold produce at a grocery store ; if he lost, it was considered a legitimate business transaction, and no complaint was made. Everybody was considered on the square until he was proven otherwise, and it was seldom that anyone was even suspected of being dishonest. There was one man, however, called Black Dick, a tin-horn and roustabout, who on a Sunday night in the fall of 1890 "lifted" a stack of silver from one of the monte tables in the White saloon while a big game of poker was going on at another table. When it was discovered that the money was gone, Dick was suspected and more of an effort was made by the people to apprehend him than there is nowadays to capture a man who will hold up a woman on the street and rob her of her pocketbook. Dick immediately left town with the cash, but the next morning the sheriff caught him at Big Muddy station when he attempted to board an east-bound train. He was brought back to Casper, and there were some people who were inclined to lynch him, but they were induced to forego this severe punishment. He was, however, tried in court, found guilty, and sentenced to ninety days in jail. He was then taken to Douglas where he served his sentence. Natrona county did not afford a jail at that time and all our prisoners were kept in the Converse county jail. Neither did the state have a penitentiary at that time, and all the state's prisoners were taken to the penitentiary at Joliet, Illinois. On account of the expense of tak- ing prisoners to the penitentiary there were not many trials in the district court. If anyone committed a crime that would not justify the expense of a trial and transportation to jail or the penitentiary, the law-abiding citizens ordered him out of town and if he did not go his punishment was more severe than a term in the penitentiary.

As evidence of how the people considered gambling in those days, we quote an item from the Wyoming Derrick on February 18, 1894: "The town is the liveliest in the state. Business of every kind is good, and as a further evidence of our prosperity there are four stud poker games in full blast. There were two games at the Stock Exchange last week, the game continuing the entire night. A large sum of money changed hands, and there was much excitement."

Another news item which appeared in the Natrona County Tribune in 1900 was to the effect that "two tin-horn gamblers in Casper 'loaded' a roulette wheel in one of the gambling houses in the afternoon while business was dull and when there was no one attending the wheel, and in the evening when operations were commenced and after a few plays had been made, the discovery was made that there was something wrong and the men who did the job were spotted. They soon made their escape from the building and left town before the people could deal with them in accordance with their feelings. A man who would cheat at a gambling table is considered the worst kind of a cheat."

At the sixth session of the Wyoming state legislature, held in 1901, the anti-gambling law was enacted. It was after this law went Into effect that the gambling tables were moved into the back rooms. The legitimate, or square, gambler went out of business, but the crooked gambler, who would violate the laws of the state had no hesitancy in violating the laws of percentage in the break of the cards, and at every turn took advantage of the unsophisticated player who was inveigled into the game, and if he could not be induced to lose his last dollar at the gambling table, he was generally doped and then robbed of his money, which was fully as legitimate a way of getting it as at a crooked game at the table.

It is no easy task for a man of middle age and ordinary weight to walk from Casper to the Pathfinder dam in forty-eight hours, a distance of about fifty miles, under ordinary conditions, but for a man past fifty years of age and weighing 285 pounds to plod over the rough road, under a broiling sun for more than nine-tenths of the distance, and through a drenching rain and heavy mud the remainder of the way, is a difficult undertaking, but on August 9, 1909, Louis J. Price, whom no one would dispute as to the age and weight, left Casper at 7 o'clock in the morning, on a wager of ^250, and he arrived at the dam at 5:15 on the morning of the nth, one hour and forty-five minutes ahead of time. A wagon loaded with provisions and bedding preceded him. For the first twenty miles it was easy going and the pedestrian earned about $10.00 for each mile he traveled, but the second morning out Mr. Price discovered that he had a sprained ankle and both feet were badly blistered, and the going over the rocky road was hard. The scorching rays of the sun added nothing to his comfort, but he plodded on until he reached Alcova, a distance of thirtyfive miles. It was late in the afternoon; here he rested for an hour and then resumed his journey, and after going about eight miles he encountered a terrific rain storm, and he was compelled to "lay by" from 8 o'clock until midnight. He had about seven miles further to go, but that seven miles was the hardest part of the whole trip; he was weary and foot-sore; the mud was deep, and the night was dark; he stumbled over rocks, and the gumbo clung to his shoes until he carried several pounds' extra weight on each foot, and the tracks he made in the mud were larger than an elephant would make; his stride was short and his progress was slow; he slipped and fell many times. When daylight came he was within sight of the dam, but for every ten steps he took it seemed as though the dam had moved away twice that distance; he was now counting the steps instead of the miles. He realized the time was getting short in order for him to win the wager and he made an extraordinary effort, and finally he caught up with the river which seemed to be so rapidly moving off in a southerly direction, and then the goal was reached; he had covered the distance in forty-six hours and fifteen minutes, and he laid down on the ground along the canyon completely exhausted. If he had had another half mile to travel he could not have covered the distance within the time limit, and he would not only have lost his wager, but it was the most trying effort of his life, and although his reward was a fraction more than five dollars per hour for the time he had put in, it was the hardest money he ever earned. He was reduced in flesh just ten pounds in the forty-eight hours and the hardships he endured cannot be described.

Alfred Willey, a wool buyer, who made the wager with him, had no witnesses along the route; he said he required none; he was willing to pay over the money if Mr. Price said he had won it, for he knew there would be no cheating; he knew that the wagon was close at hand and he also knew that if Mr. Price had gotten in the wagon to ride that the wagon would have been headed toward Casper and not toward the Pathfinder dam, and this confidence placed in him was of more satisfaction than the money he received or the gratification of reaching the goal within the specified time.

There is not a county in the state of Wyoming and probably not a county in any of the western states that has as many high-class automobiles, according to population, as Natrona county. In the city of Casper for a distance of at least three blocks on either side of Center street, and about the same distance on Second street, parking room is at a premium from 8 o'clock in the morning until ii o'clock at night, and the estimated value of the cars in these six blocks runs up to more than a million dollars. In addition to these there are always several hundred cars parked on many of the side streets.

In the spring of 1908 there was not an automobile in the county. During the summer of 1908, Mr. J. P. Cantillon, the division superintendent of the Wyoming & Northwestern railway, brought the first automobile to Casper. It was shipped in on the train, and upon its arrival attracted more attention than "Tricky" Brown's one-horse cart would attract at this time were it to pass down the street. Mr. Brown was a gatherer of junk in Casper in the early days and his horse and cart and harness compared very favorably with the junk he picked up from the dumping grounds. Mr. Brown was nicknamed "Tricky" on account of his very clever sleight-of-hand performances. But going back to Mr. Cantillon 's auto. It was a second-hand Pope- Toledo, twenty h. p. five-passenger machine. The first day it was driven up Center street, the chug, chug, chug could be heard for a distance of ten blocks, and the smoke that emitted from the exhaust could be seen for an equal distance. The noise and the smoke from this "horseless carriage," as it was then called by many, caused every business man and clerk to rush out of the stores and view the wonderful spectacle. The machine turned the corner on Second street east and was driven as far as the stock yards and back, without stopping, which was considered a wonderful feat. To start the car it was cranked from the side, and the cranking process oftentimes required at least half an hour. The favored few who had an opportunity to ride in this machine always went prepared to walk home, and they were seldom disappointed, but the car occasionally came back without being hauled in by a team, for an item in one of the local newspapers recorded the fact that "it has made numerous long trips, among them being a trip to Pathfinder dam and to the Salt Creek oil wells, both places being a distance of fifty miles from Casper."

Casper Has Millions In Automobiles I95

C. M. Elgin was the second owner of an automobile in Casper. On April 15, 1909, he brought in a new Chalmers-Detroit, thirty h. p. five-passenger car. There were no side doors at the front seat, for they did not put doors in front those days. Mr. Elgin drove this car from Denver to Casper and the local newspaper said it was "a most remarkable trip, driving from Denver to Cheyenne in five hours and forty-five minutes; from Cheyenne to Douglas in ten hours and from Douglas to Casper in three hours, or eighteen hours and forty-five minutes from Denver to Casper. This was the actual driving time, the time spent along the road when the car was not in operation being deducted."

The Nicolaysen Lumber company during the summer of 1909 had shipped in an "International auto buggy," twenty-two h. p. fivepassenger. This machine had a forty-inch front wheel and a fortyfour-inch rear wheel, with solid rubber tires. One of the astonishingly long trips made with this buggy was in the fall of the year, when it was driven to the Bates Park country, a distance of thirtyfive miles, in a little better than two hours.

M, N. Castle owned the fourth car in Casper. It was a secondhand Reo, twenty h. p., and was bought during the summer of 1909. He used this car in connection with his livery business, and it was the first automobile to make a trip to Garden creek, but it was pushed up most of the steep hills. With these four automobiles in town, B. A. Elias considered it a good field for the establishment of a garage and repair shop, and about the middle of July, 1909, he located here, and brought with him a Buick eighteen h. p. car. In August Mr. Elias and Wm. Noonan opened up Casper's first garage and repair shop and to keep the five automobiles in good running order kept them very busy, for there was always one machine out of repair and sometimes the five of them were out of commission at the same time.

In 1910, quite a number of new cars were brought in, and since that time a new car has attracted but little attention, and in 1922 it was estimated that there was one automobile in Casper for every six persons.

Realizing that the automobile tourist trade and good will were valuable assets to any city, the Casper Motor club and Chamber of Commerce made plans in the spring of 1921 for a tourist camp for Casper. With the true Casper spirit it was decided to make this the best camp in the west. Ten acres of ground at the south end of Durbin street was dedicated by the city of Casper for the purpose and a modern camp building with all possible home requirements was built at a cost of $7,500, by the Casper Motor club. The building is 40x40 feet, equipped with gas, electric light, and telephone. There is a large screened porch where the guests may eat after cooking their meals in the modern kitchen. Toilet rooms for men and women are equipped with tubs and showers, and a laundry room with tubs, electric washer, and ironing board. The living room is spacious and there are writing desks and a Victrola. A matron in charge looks after the needs of the visitors, gives information concerning the city, and extends to them a cordial welcome to Casper, which they in turn are asked to spread to anyone they may meet along the road. The camp justified itself fully during its first season. Although it was not opened until July 2, 1921, the records showed that to October 5, 2,340 cars stopped at least one night and the expenditures made by the visitors according to their own figures were $33,362.39. an average of $14.26 for each car. c u

During the season of 1922, or from June i to September 15, 3,385 cars stopped at this camp, and the tourists spent more than $'51,000 in the city. Every state in the Union except Vermont and Delaware was represented and cars from outside the United States were from Alaska, Korea, New Zealand and Canada. Even with this splendid showing it was estimated that only one in every five cars that passed through Casper stopped at this camp, many of them stopping at the hotels, while others passed through without stopping over for a day. These latter, of course, were not included in the above figures. During the month of June, 695 cars stopped at this camp; in July, 1,076; August, 1,212; September, 402. Seventy-seven different makes of cars were registered. More than one hundred people who were travehng through as tourists became permanent residents of Casper in 1922. Three persons are employed at this camp during the tourist season, a man and his wife, who care for the buildings and equipment, and a man who has charge of the sanitation and registration.

An airplane soared over the city of Casper at 3:55 in the afternoon of September 29, 1919, with Bert L. Cole as the pilot and Jay Y. Stock, the passenger, this being the first time that human beings had ever viewed the city from the air in a flying machine. Mr. Stock was the owner of the machine, and had it brought here for the purpose of establishing aerial service to the people who might desire it for either pleasure or business.

Although traveling by airplane had become quite commonplace in other parts of the country the atmospheric conditions in Central Wyoming caused the aviators to shun this part of the country. Arrangements were made about ten years previous to this for an exhibition flight at a Fourth of July celebration by an aviator from BilHngs, Montana, but his machine never rose from the ground, although a start was made, but instead of soaring in the air the man and the machine skimmed along the surface of the earth at top speed for several hundred yards, and then the machine tore its way through a fence and was stopped after it had entered a large tent, with its wings, flys and steering apparatus so badly crippled that it was necessary to send it to the factory for repairs; consequently when the Stock airplane came sailing over the city it was the first time that many of our citizens had ever seen an airplane in action and naturally attracted the attention of nearly every man, woman and child in the city.

This machine was brought from Springfield, Massachusetts, to Casper, making the entire distance through the air. From Denver to Casper the flying time was three hours and fifteen minutes. It was brought to Casper to be used by the public, and it was announced that passengers would be taken to New York City if they desired, and if they were willing to pay the price. There is no record of anyone having chartered the car for New York, but flights were made over the town with passengers, who paid twenty dollars for a twenty-minute ride. Later, several trips were made to Cheyenne and Denver on urgent business.

This ship was described as being driven by a six-cylinder motor with dual feed and ignition systems, having two magnetos, two spark plugs on each cylinder, two carburetors and two complete sets of wiring on the engine in operation all the time. Both systems were tested out before the plane left the ground on every flight. The gasoline used was of a very high test, a seventy-degree baume being found the most desirable and the lubricating oil was composed of half castor oil and half petroleum lubricant, the latter of very high grade stock. It was said that this ship was better adapted for the high altitude of this region than any other make of plane and was readily capable of making a flight of 20,000 feet in the air. With its fuel tanks full, the plane could stay in the air five and a half hours and make an average speed of 1 10 miles per hour without exertion.

A splendid landing field about a mile east from Casper was prepared and a five-thousand-dollar hangar was built, which included a complete electric light plant, ofiice equipment and living quarters for the employees. Business was so good that another plane was soon brought in, and it was announced that two huge passenger planes had been ordered, which would cost ^70,000; each of these planes would seat eight passengers, and regular flights would be made to Denver, Cheyenne, Laramie and other cities. These two "Pullmans of the air" were said to be fitted out like real coaches on the inside. Wicker chairs were arranged in tiers of two, and. the seats were placed so that full view was provided of the surrounding country from any one of the fifteen windows in the ship. Each of the planes was capable of making 130 miles per hour.

In view of the fact that Casper had been placed in a predominating position regarding aviation, the city council heartily endorsed the actions of the promoter of this enterprise and at a meeting of the council held on January 4, 1920, an appropriation of $3,000 was made toward aiding the aviation program and putting in improvements for the landing field and hangar, and it was announced that "this was one of Casper's biggest assets. " The appropriation of this amount of money was not approved by some of the city's taxpayers, who complained that the councilmen "sure had the bug," and they said that within a year all the members of the city council, as well as all the taxpayers, would realize their mistake. At this point, it is not out of place to state that the two huge passenger planes which were to cost $70,000 that were to have been bought, have not, up to the present time, which is early in the year 1923, ever made their appearance in or over the city, and that the prediction made by those who objected to the appropriation of $3,000 came true before the specified time.

The Western Airplane and Motor company was incorporated in January, 1920, with a capital stock of half a million dollars, and the purpose of the incorporation was announced as being "for the development of aerial navigation in this part of the country, with Casper as the center of operations, and the establishment of aerial passenger routes between Casper and Denver, Casper and Salt Creek, Casper and Yellowstone park and other points, as well as the regular service of aerial sight-seeing flights in the vicinity of this city.

"The company starts with two machines; the 150-horsepower Curtiss Oriole, a 2-passenger machine, and the 90-horsepower Curtiss JN4-D, a i-passenger machine, both of which have been in use here for some time. The 8-passenger Eagle will be delivered as soon as the factory can turn it out and in this connection the most sensational boosting trip ever staged in behalf of Casper will be undertaken.

"The aviation business, since it was established here has been popular and profitable and its future appears more promising. A big engagement for the eight-passenger Pullman has already been booked. It has been chartered to take a party of ten prominent men to the Dempsey-Carpentier fight, wherever it may take place, in this country, in Canada or in Lower California."

Airplanes In Casper 199

An accident occurred on the morning of January 14, 1920, in which Miss Maud Toomey was killed, and Bert Cole, the pilot, was slightly injured. The pilot and the passenger had been in the air with the machine about twenty minutes, and were about to make a landing when the plane took a nose dive of nearly 500 feet into the landing field. The front portion of the plane was a mass of splinters and it was necessary to tear away the wreckage to remove the body of the young lady, who was yet alive, but was unconscious. As soon as she could be extricated from the mass she was taken to the hospital where she died in three hours. Her injuries were enumerated as having been two broken arms, a broken leg, fractured ribs and a skull fracture, and the fracture of the vertebrae about her neck. Cole's injuries were but a few slight cuts and bruises, and he was in the hospital but one day. After this accident the aviation business was not quite so "popular and profitable" as it had heretofore been.

During the summer of 1920 an effort was made by the Casper Chamber of Commerce to have airplane mail connections established between Casper and Cheyenne and Denver, thus connecting with the transcontinental service arriving in Cheyenne from Omaha, but this effort failed, and the mail continues to come in over the slow-going cars propelled by steam engines.

By this time the thrills of tail spins, falling leaf twirls, fancy spins, loop-the-loop and straight line speeding at a rate of more than one hundred miles an hour had gotten to be an old story, and did not interest the people as they did when the plane first made its appearance over the city, and something new and more daring must be brought forth to create interest and attract attention, consequently on May 20 at 6 o'clock in the evening Pilot Cole and a young man named Frank E. Hansen soared into the air more than five thousand feet, when the machine was turned bottom side up and Hansen leaped out. He dropped through space several hundred feet with the swiftness of a bullet shot from a rifle, and then the parachute opened from its folds and Hansen slowly and safely descended to the earth. More than five thousand people were on the aviation field to see the man flirt with death, and it may be said that all were greatly relieved when the stunt was safely over. The performance was repeated time and again until the evening of July 2, when an ascension of 4,400 feet was made and Hansen leaped out with his parachute. The parachute opened as usual but almost immediately collapsed. The aviator saw the parachute collapse, and knowing that it meant sure death to his companion, he veered his ship into a sharp dive and made an effort to intercept the falling man. The plane shot beneath Hansen, the aviator attempting to get under him so that he might land on the wings of the plane, but Hansen missed the ship by about twenty feet and when he struck the ground it was with such force that his body was half buried in the earth. His right side was crushed and mangled to a pulp and it was said that every bone in the man's body was broken except the upper bone in the right arm and the bone in the right thigh. This accident, together with the one when Miss Toomey lost her life, lessened the enthusiasm of those who had a desire to fly, and although one of the planes made ascents nearly every day during the remainder of the summer months there were but few passengers who went up. During the winter months the planes remain in the hangar, but are brought out occasionally during the summer, but they are not nearly so popular as they were when they first made their appearance over the city.

During the summer of 1922 an airway service was established between Casper and Salt Creek, trips being made in the airplane on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, but this mode of travel was not popular with the public, and proved unprofitable for the company and was soon abandoned.

On August II, 1922, aerial photographs of the Salt Creek and Teapot oil fields were taken by government representatives. Flying at a height of ten thousand feet and at a rate of eighty-five miles an hour an exposure was made of the oil fields every twenty-nine seconds. It required seven days for the aviator and the photographer to complete the work, which resulted in securing a series of overlapping pictures, which when trimmed made one large photograph of the fields. The camera used was the same as those used in war times, and was almost entirely of aluminum, weighing approximately thirty pounds. The machine was fastened securely to the plane and was operated with a trigger, similar to the trigger on a machine gun.

The first wireless telegraph system to be established in Natrona county was erected in 1916 by Major Ormsby. The aerial wires were strung above his residence property on Center street, between Sixth and Seventh streets. Another system was established at his Spearhead ranch in Converse county, more than fifty miles distant, and a great many messages were sent and received from these two stations. Another system was erected the same year near the Burlington passenger station by one of the telegraph operators and was used merely to pick up any messages that came through the air waves. During the world war in 191 7 the government required these systems to be dismantled and they were not again put in operation, and no more wireless systems were established in the city until 1922, when more than two dozen radiophones were installed. Some were put in private homes and others were put in stores for the entertainment of the public, and others were put in club rooms for the entertainment and enlightenment of the members. The Daily Tribune had one installed in its office for its convenience and entertainment, but the largest system in the city was erected during the month of August, 1922, by the Illinois Pipeline company, which is used to receive and send private messages to Lima, Ohio, the headquarters of the company. The aerial wires are strung from two 150-foot steel towers, which are 500 feet apart. The wave length of this system is 1,685 meters, and the sending and receiving radius of the instrument is 2,000 miles. This is the largest system in the western states, excepting several government stations on the Pacific coast.

The assessment of the town of Casper and Natrona county was made separately from 1891 to 191 3. During those years the town clerk acted as town assessor, and in 1891 the town's assessed valuation was $80,459; in 1895 it had increased to $231,486.50; and with each succeeding year there was a substantial increase which is shown as follows: Nineteen hundred, $300,511; 1901, $396,217; 1903, $411,- 088; 1907, $628,508; 1910, $1,685,657; 1913, $2,456,831. An increase of more than twenty-two and one-half million dollars was made in the assessed valuation of the property in Casper in the succeeding eight years, the exact figures for 1921 showing the assessed valuation to be $24,810,371, and in 1922 the assessed valuation of the city was $26,886,062.

THIRTY-FOUR years - from 1888 to 1922 - is not a very long time for the building up of a city with an assessed valuation of twenty-seven million dollars and the home of twenty-seven thousand people - one thousand dollars for each and every man, woman and child in the city; the largest, the most progressive and the most prosperous city in Wyoming. This twenty-seven million dollars' assessed valuation does not include nearly four million dollars worth of property in the name of the city, nor does it include the property in the name of Natrona county, and it is only fair to presume that the assessed valuation is not more than two-thirds of the full valuation of the property, therefore to say that there is more than forty million dollars' worth of property in Casper belonging to the taxpayers, the city of Casper and Natrona county would be putting it at an exceedingly low figure.

On the 1st of June, 1888, the tract of land now occupied by the city of Casper, with its hundreds of business houses, thousands of dwellings and many large manufacturing establishments, was but a barren waste of sand, sage brush and cactus; not a house, or a tent or a living soul occupied the land at that time; even the cattle did not linger long here, on account of the unproductiveness of the soil. The roaring of the wind during the day and the yelping of the coyote during the night were then the only signs of action on these bleak plains. But it was at about this time that John Merritt rode into the valley on horseback, and he camped along the river bank; he was the sole resident of Casper for nearly a week, then on the 7th of June came C. W. Eads, with his daughter Fannie, his son Kise, and Abe Nelson and John Johnson. They put up the first tent on the ground; John Merritt had slept in a round-up bed until they came. The next day after Mr. Eads and his party arrived a number of others came in and each succeeding day brought in many others, and before the middle of the month there were about one hundred people here. The Chicago & Northwestern Railway company reached this point with its branch line on the 15th of June, and before the end of the month another hundred residents had been added to the town. This "tent town" was situated about three-fourths of a mile east from where the Natrona county court house is now located. Where the town was to be permanently located had not yet been platted or surveyed, and this work was not completed until late in October, after which the town lots were sold, and in November of that year the work of moving the buildings down from the temporary location and the construction of new buildings on the permanent location was commenced.

On the 9th of April, 1889, John Merritt made application to the board of county commissioners of Carbon county (Natrona had not yet been organized) to have the town of Casper incorporated, and on the 8th of July, 1889, the first mayor and councilmen were elected.

The business lots in the town were 25 x 100 feet and the residence lots were 6ox 140 feet. The corner lots in the business section sold for $250 and the inside lots sold for ^200, while the residential corner lots sold for $125, and the inside lots brought ^100. In 1895 ^^^ prices on these lots were doubled, and in 1909 the prices of the residential lots were raised again, to $300 and $375; all the business lots had by this time been sold by the townsite company. In 191 2 another raise was was made in the prices to ^500 and $650, and again in 1917 the prices went up to ^1,000 and $1,250. Many new additions and subdivisions to the town had been made and the lots that were being sold at the above prices were quite a distance from the business section of the town, and in 1922 the prices on these lots had increased to $4,000 and $5,000. With the phenomenal upbuilding of the town and prospects for a bright future the city of Casper at the beginning of the year 1923 offers unbounded opportunities for the investor of capital, for the home owner and for industries of many kinds. Ideally situated at the foot of Casper mountain, in the North Platte river valley, and almost in the geographical center of the state, it is the metropolis of an industrial empire.

The city now boasts of a business district extensive in scope and metropolitan in arrangement. Its extensive residence district spreads over many broad acres. Beautiful business buildings and homes are monuments of tribute to the foresight of the pioneers.

During the past five years Casper, it is estimated, has spent approximately $20,000,000 in transforming its outward appearances exclusive of approximately the same sum spent by the oil refineries that are located here.

Casper's unique location, as outlet of the Lander valley and the Big Horn basin has made it the jobbing center of Central Wyoming. This field is scarcely tapped yet but the advent of huge jobbing houses here, already in existence and contemplated, will entrench Casper's position during the coming years.

Casper is also a division point of the Burlington and Northwestern railroads and averages yearly greater freight tonnage, due principally to oil shipments, than many of the great industrial cities of the country. The freight earnings of these two railroads during the year 1922 was more than twenty-two million dollars.

Casper supports a packing plant which has an employing capacity of 100 persons. The Natrona Power company furnishes electric service both power and lights at a moderate rate. The plant investment of the company here approximates ^1,000,000.

Casper has an approximate valuation of $40,000,000. It is the capital of Natrona county which has an assessed valuation of $61,- 000,000, all of which is tributary to Casper and finds its outlet in this city.

It is the home of the best school system in the state of Wyoming and many modern buildings, including seven modern grade school buildings, a general high school and a new vocational high school, which represents investment of over $2,000,000, are operated here. Bonds in the amount of $500,000 were voted by the district in the summer of 1922 for the construction of another high school building.

During 1920 and 1921 Casper spent approximately $2,500,000 in municipal improvements including extension of water and sewer systems to provide adequate protection and service to every section of the city.

Casper is now one of the most important cities of two automobile highways, the Grant Memorial highway which extends from Chicago to Portland, Oregon, and the Yellowstone highway which is looped with the Park to Park highway, aflPording continuous avenue to visit all national parks in the western country.

Nearly every religious denomination is represented in Casper. All sects have erected handsome new structures or contemplating erection of new homes during the coming year.

Blessed with an adequate supply of water furnished by the North Platte river and the smaller streams from the mountains, with central location, facility for advancement, abundance of natural gas for fuel and with the spirit of progress, the accomplishments of the past will soon be outstripped by the undertakings of the future.

The Casper-Alcova irrigation project which contemplates opening up 125,000 acres of land tributary to Casper, is a matter of future accomplishment. Government surveys have shown the project feasible. Adequate supply of water is contained in the Pathfinder dam to transform the district covered from an arid stock grazing land into an area which will afford homes for potential thousands.

Retrospective And Prospective View Of Casper 205

At the session of congress in December, 1922, the estimates of appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1924, submitted by the bureau of the budget, among the interior department items, was $1,420,000 for this project. It may be several years before this project is completed, but it will surely come, then these 125,000 acres of irrigated fertile soil will supply sugar beets for a factory to be located in Casper with an annual production of 16,000 tons of sugar. The pulp derived from 110,000 tons of raw beets, which should be the average annual production for 11,000 acres of beets, will fatten 6,875 two-year-old steers every season. This will enable the cattle men to fatten their own range stock for market at minimum cost. Sugar beet pulp is also excellent feed for fattening sheep, of which we have 225,000 in Natrona county.

Fifty thousand acres of alfalfa averaging three tons to the acre, 150,000 tons annually, will provide hay for thousands of cattle and sheep and thus permit the Natrona county ranchman to pick his own market and avoid seasonal marketing which has always been a serious handicap to Wyoming ranchmen. Our alfalfa is unexcelled for the making of alfalfa meals and stock foods.

Fifteen thousand acres of small grains will produce a crop of 250,000 bushels of wheat, 41,000 bushels of oats, 18,000 bushels of rye, 37,000 bushels of barley annually. The wheat will supply a flour mill in Casper having 108 barrels daily capacity and most of the other grains will be fed to stock by the farmer.

Five thousand acres of potatoes should yield annually an average of 750,000 bushels, enough to feed the city of Casper and operate a starch factory with an annual output of 5,625,000 pounds of starch.

Four thousand acres of corn should produce an average annual yield of 100,000 bushels of corn, or 28,000 tons of ensilage. Twentyeight thousand tons of ensilage will winter 3,000 head of dairy cattle and 13,660 head of beef cattle.

This wealth and these industries will be incentives for other capital and other industries to locate here, and then Casper will be to Wyoming what Denver is to Colorado.

In the accomplishments of the past and the undertakings of the future, the strong financial institutions of Casper have played and will play an important role. During the past year these institutions cleared in excess of $50,000,000. The banking institutions of Casper have kept pace with the city.

Casper's Chamber of Commerce, boasting of 1,300 members and the largest per capita membership of any city in the country, has done much to foster the growth of the city and assist in its upbuilding during the past few years.

In 1922 the city of Casper showed a two-milHon-dollar increase in property assessed valuation over 1921. In 1921, Casper's assessed property valuation was $24,810,371 and in 1922 it was $26,886,062. This increase was made despite the fact that all valuations on improvements were cut 10 per cent.

A comparison of the inventories of the property belonging to the city of Casper on January i, 1912, and on January i, 1922, a period of ten years, is of special interest. The 191 2 inventory showed :

Retrospective And Prospective View Of Casper 207

Sixty-four thousand square yards of street paving were laid in the city of Casper during the year 1922. The paving of streets in Casper has added a great deal to the scenic beauty of the city as well as being of great convenience to all. Plans for paving during 1923 will cover fully as many yards as were covered in 1922, and it is expected within a few years most of the streets within the city limits will be paved.

With Casper's splendid fire department and fire-fighting equipment, the city is equally well protected with a competent police department, as will be shown by the number of arrests made during 1921 and 1922 and the fines collected: There were 1,956 arrests made in 1921, with fines amounting to ^38,861.50. In 1922, 2,991 people were arrested, and ^33,613 in fines were collected, and in addition to this amount there were $3,450 in fines which were satisfied through the serving of sentences in the city jail. Charge of intoxication, bootlegging, traffic violations and disturbances of the peace headed the Hst. In addition to the arrests made by the city police department, there were 529 arrests made during 1922 by the sheriff's office of Natrona county. The crimes committed show a wide scope, ranging from murder to shoplifting. Violations of the liquor law predominated with 161; fifty-five were arrested for gambling; thirty-four for stealing automobiles; eight I. W. W.'s were arrested; three for attempted murder and two for murder, and one for confidence operations and one for embezzlement.

Water and Sewer Mains, Paving - The city of Casper on January I, 1923, had forty-seven miles of water mains, ranging in size from 4-inch distributing mains to 14-inch trunk lines; more than twenty miles of bitulithic and concrete street paving; thirty-four miles of 8, 10, 12 and 15-inch sanitary sewers, and fourteen miles of 8 to 72-inch storm sewers.

NINETEEN pupils were enrolled in the subscription school taught in Casper by Mrs. Adah E. Allen, which was commenced on Monday, March 5, 1889, and ended the middle of April. This was the first school conducted in Casper. Mrs. Allen came to Casper the latter part of February from Lusk with the intention of going to Ervay to teach school at that place, but the citizens of Casper induced her to remain here. Concerning the opening of the school, the Casper M<rz// of March 8 said: "Mrs. Allen commenced a subscription school last Monday. The outlook is good for a successful term, although there is great need of more room and conveniences for the pupils. The children all seem bright and will doubtless appreciate the privilege afforded them. One of Casper's needs at present is a school house." In the same issue of the newspaper, Mrs. Allen called attention to the fact that, "Those persons who so kindly agreed to donate toward a private school will please leave the amount with Mr. C. C. Wright at the postoffice and receive credit for the same," and in the issue of April 18, Mrs. Allen announced that, "The citizens of Casper and vicinity will please accept my sincere thanks for the many favors received and for their support toward the private school." There is no record of the school closing at this time, but the above would indicate that her term had ended, inasmuch as she had thanked the people for the favors and support they had given her.

The first act toward the establishment of a public school in Casper was at a meeting held March 28, 1889, for the organization of school district No. 33, in Carbon county (now Natrona). At this meeting the following trustees were elected: C. W. Eads for the short term, or until May, 1890; Joshua Stroud, for the middle term, or until May, 1891; and P. A. Demorest, for the long term, or until May, 1 891. Mr. Demorest was elected president of the board and Mr. Eads secretary. An official call was made for a meeting of the board as follows: "Notice of annual school meeting of district No. 33, in Carbon county, is called by Charles W. Eads, clerk, to meet at the store of N. S. Bristol & Co., at i o'clock, the 6th day of May, 1889, to transact such business as may properly come before said meeting."