Lusk and Mother Featherlegs

Before entering Lusk, we stopped at the local rest area and discovered the grave of  George Lathrop.

IN MEMORY OF
GEORGE LATHROP
PIONEER OF THE WEST, INDIAN FIGHTER, VETERAN STAGE DRIVER
BORN AT POTTSVILLE, PA., DECEMBER 24, 1820
DIED AT WILLOW, WYO., DEC. 24, 1915
BURIED HERE
"A GOOD MAN WHOSE LIFE WAS FILLED WITH STIRRING EVENTS"
MARKING THE CHEYENNE AND BLACK HILL TRAIL.

THIS MARKER IS ERECTED ON THE OLD CHEYENNE AND BLACK HILLS STATE ROAD
IN MEMORY OF THE OPERATORS OF THE LINE AND THE PIONEERS WHO TRAVELED IT.
OPERATORS OF THE STAGE LINE: LUKE VOORHEES, RUSSELL THORP, SR.

All that remains of the local drive-in.

In the not so distant past, Highway 85 was also known as the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stagecoach Line and Lusk is the home to the last stagecoach to run the line. The last coach departed Cheyenne on February 19, 1887 and was driven by George Lathrop. From Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane to regular folks like you and me, the line was an important venue for early travelers. It also housed thousands of dollars in gold bullion and silver and was the brunt of more than one holdup attempt. The stages ran continually night and day, with stops made for meals and a change of horses. The trip between Cheyenne and Deadwood took three days by coach. Stage stations were located every 15 miles along the route.

On the windswept plains of eastern Wyoming stands the only monument to a prostitute known to exist in the United States. Though "Featherlegs,” as she was known, was seemingly well liked by area residents, it is doubtful that the area citizens would have built a monument to her during her heyday. However, she was seemingly perceived to be an "important” part of history along the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage Road when the monument was erected in 1964.

Back in 1876, on the Silver Springs Road, near Muskrat Canyon, Charlotte "Mother Featherlegs" Shephard established a saloon and "house of ill-repute.” Though it was really more of a dugout than a "house,” it didn’t stop the many men, lonely for female companionship, from frequenting her establishment.

The story Davis told was; “Ma’amShe was called "Featherlegs” because her lace trimmed red pantalettes made her limbs look like chicken legs and she was often known to gallop across the prairie riding astride a horse with her lacy ruffles flowing in the wind. When one of her customers commented that she looked just like a feather-legged chicken, the nickname stuck. A middle-aged auburn-haired woman, she ran the establishment along with an outlaw who was called Dangerous Dick Davis. In no time, the saloon and brothel became a favorite gathering place for Dangerous Dick’s cohorts. Mother Featherlegs was often entrusted with large sums of money and jewelry, that she would hide for the outlaws until they could safely dispose of them.

But for Featherlegs, the prosperity was not to last. In 1879, when a woman named Mrs. O.J. Demmon, the wife of a Silver Springs rancher, took a ride along the trail, she found the madam’s murdered body next to the spring. Having laid their for several days, moccasin tracks like those worn by "Dangerous Dick” were found around her body. Featherlegs was buried where she died. Meanwhile, Dangerous Dick had skipped the country, along with her cache of money and jewelry.

With the booty in hand, Dangerous Dick returned to the swamps of Louisiana, which had long been his preferred choice for his outlaw activities. However, a couple of years later he was found there and charged with robbery and murder. Before he was hanged, he confessed to having killed Mother Featherlegs and told the world that her real name was Charlotte Shephard.

The reason we went to Lusk was mainly to see where Mother Featherleg's monument was.