May 1, 1883…William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody staged his first Wild West Show.
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August 4, 1999 Corey and I stopped on visited at the Buffalo Bill Ranch while on our trip out west.  This is where Buffalo Bill Cody settled on a ranch just north of North Platte in 1877. At the time, Buffalo Bill was in the midst of his famous Wild West Show, which featured scenes from the "West." Buffalo Bill had ventured into many other occupations before, and after, the Wild West Show.

He began as a Pony Express rider, at one time riding 322 miles in 21 hours, 40 minutes and going through 20 horses. Once the Civil War broke out, he was still too young to enlist, so he became a ranger, dispatch bearer, and scout in Missouri, Kansas, and the Santa Fe Trail. William F. earned his nickname of Buffalo Bill when he won a buffalo-hunting contest.

The Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park encompasses 16 acres of the 4,000 acres of Buffalo Bill's Ranch or Scout's Rest. The house, barn, and outbuildings are preserved and house Buffalo Bill and Wild West memorabilia and artifacts from Chief Sitting Bull. The three-story Victorian house was built in 1886, and was the home for Buffalo Bill, now it is open for the public to see what the times were like when this most famous showman lived.

Crawford and Ft. Robinson, Nebraska

Crawford sprang up as a tent city on land owned by homesteader-newspaper correspondent William E. Annin in 1886 when the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad pushed through the Nebraska Panhandle. To incorporate the town, editor William Edgar supplemented civilian signatures with those of obliging soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Robinson. After the Burlington Railroad passed northward in 1887, Crawford became a supply depot and entertainment center for the Fort. Troops no longer man the "Outpost on the Plains," but the Fort, 3 miles to the west, remains as an important historic site and tourist attraction.

Named for Army Captain Emmet Crawford, a Fort Robinson soldier, the city lies in the White River Valley in Pine Ridge country and serves an extensive cattle ranching and farming area. The Fort Laramie-Fort Pierre Fur Trail of the 1840s and the Sidney-Black Hills Trail active during the Black Hills gold rush of the 1870s both passed through this site. Crawford has been host or home to such personages as Sioux Chief Red Cloud; former desperado David (Doc) Middleton; poet-scout John Wallace Crawford; frontierswoman Calamity Jane; Army scout Baptiste (Little Bat) Garnier, shot down in a saloon; military surgeon Walter Reed, conqueror of Yellow fever; and President Theodore Roosevelt.

Black soldiers of the Ninth and Tenth cavalry regiments (called 'buffalo soldiers' by the Plains Indians) garrisoned Fort Robinson for eighteen years and played an important role in northwestern Nebraska's history. Organized in 1866, the regiments first served in the Southwest.
In 1885 the Ninth Cavalry arrived at Fort Robinson, which was regimental headquarters from 1887 to 1898. The black troopers helped build the new post during the fort's 1887 expansion and were the first cavalrymen sent to the Pine Ridge Reservation during the Ghost Dance trouble of 1890. Lt. John Alexander, the second African American graduate of West Point, and Henry Plummer, the first black chaplain in the regular army, served here. So did ten buffalo soldier Medal of Honor men. 
In 1902 the men of the 'Fighting Tenth' Cavalry, veterans of the Battle of San Juan Hill, made their headquarters here. Four years later the Tenth helped capture Ute Indians who had fled their Utah reservation, the last military action against Indians on the northern Plains. In 1907 the regiment left for duty in the Philippines."

The view inside Ft. Robinson.

Just before 10 P.M. on January 9, 1879, the 130 Cheyennes held in the cavalry barracks made their desperate bid for freedom. After disabling the soldier guards, they fled across this ground to the White River beyond. Under heavy fire from pursuing troops, they followed the river and climbed the high buttes several miles to the west. During this initial fighting, twenty-seven Cheyennes and five soldiers were killed. The Cheyennes were buried in a mass grave near the post sawmill."

The scenery around Ft. Robinson.

Montrose, Nebraska

This monument on the summit of a conical hill nearby, honors Col. Wesley Merritt and troops of the Fifth US Calvary who used this position to prevent a group of approximately 800 Cheyenne Indians from joining the victors of the Little Big Horn Battle. As the troops charged toward the southeast, the Cheyenne returned to the Red Cloud Indian Agency near Fort Robinson. The Indian leader, Yellowhand, was killed during the skirmish. 
This same hilltop was the site of a civilian "fort" used in protecting area residents in case of Indian attack during the Ghost Dance troubles of 1890. The anticipated attack never came. Parts of this outpost are still visible.

Montrose Church and cemetery.

Immaculate Conception Church was planned in 1886 and build in 1887.

The oldest grave in the cemetery is dated 1839.

Across the road from the Montrose church is a monument that marks the spot where Buffalo Bill Cody scalped Chief Yellowhand, the Cheyenne leader, after hand to hand combat.  His scalp was displayed for years in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

Nebraska - Part Two

Here we are again - just in another part of the state.

Large pioneer ranches were established in this region of Nebraska in the 1870's and early 1880's. Charles F. Coffee was one of these pioneers, with ranch headquarters on Hat Creek in Nebraska and Rawhide Creek in Wyoming. By June, 1886, the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad (later the Chicago and North Western) reached the present site of Harrison. On August 15, Coffee shipped the first train load from Harrison to Chicago.

Coffee Siding, located here to avoid higher freight rates in Wyoming, became an important shipping point for Nebraskans. Wyoming ranchers also trailed herds here for shipment. Near the 1,023 footlong siding, Coffee built seven cattle pens. Cattle awaiting shipment were pastured on the Niobrara River south of here. As many as three cattle trains, each consisting of not less than fourteen cars, were sometimes shipped at a time.
Ranching continues as the major industry in Sioux County, but development of better roads and use of huge cattle trucks have reduced dependence on railroads. Sidings and pens used continuously through the 1940's were removed in 1958, and little remains to mark Coffee Siding and the pioneer ranching activity it represented.

Remnants of the trestle

Remnant of a rail bed

"Near here are ruts left by the famed 1874 Sioux Expedition, a U.S. military force sent to establish Camps Sheridan and Robinson. The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie had guaranteed food and supplies to the Sioux and other tribes in exchange for lands ceded to the United States. To distribute annuity goods, Red Cloud Agency was established on the North Platte River below Fort Laramie. In 1873 the agency was relocated to the White River Valley near present-day Crawford.

Misunderstandings between Indian leaders and agents hampered the distribution of supplies during the winter of 1873-74. In three separate incidents in February, hostile bands of Sioux killed freighter Edward Gray, Red Cloud agent Frank Appleton, and two soldiers from Fort Laramie, including Lieutenant Levi Robinson. General Philip Sheridan responded by organizing the Sioux Expedition.

In early March nearly one thousand troops followed an old fur-trade route from Fort Laramie to the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail Agencies. The establishment of Camps Robinson and Sheridan maintained an uneasy peace until the outbreak of the Sioux War two years later. Camp Robinson was renamed Fort Robinson in 1878 and the improved Fort Laramie—Fort Robinson Trail helped supply this outpost on the plains."

Deja Vu - Scottsbluff, Nebraska

Last weekend was when Joe and I went on our daycation to Scottsbluff, Nebraska.  Though this was Joe's very first visit, it was my second one.  I visited here in August of 1999 with Corey while we were on our two week driving vacation.  This 14 million year old sedimentary mass loomed for days in the distance and signaled pioneers they were entering into the western lands.

From notes Corey and I'd written documenting our trip..."Scottsbluff is indescribable - can see Laramie Peak 120 miles away in Wyoming and Chimney Rock 23 miles away.  Saw a deer and the wind blew so cool my ear turned cold.  Saw another deer while driving down - took a couple of pictures with her just standing there.

While checking out this morning, Corey met a bald-headed big biker man and his wife who had Harley's staying at the motel.  Turns out they're from Denver and he's a probation office.  He gave Corey his card is case we need help when we arrived there.

It's misting rain this morning and it's 67 degrees.  We went to get our gas last night - paid $1.18 a gallon.  But, that good cause I just saw $1.28 a gallon a minute ago".  (Note:  I wish we could buy gas at any of those prices now.  Today's current lowest rate here in Casper is $3.29 per gallon).

Our notes also said..."FYI  Scottsbluff has a cow dung odor".  (It still did last weekend).

Heading Back From Scottsbluff

YeeHaw...back in our home state!

This says...
1876 - 1897
In remembrance of the hardy pioneer stockman and cowboys who drove their Texas herds across this spot into central and northern Wyoming.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!  There was a storm brewing on the other side of
this mountain ridge and the sun was still trying to break through the clouds.  I loved how
brilliantly white the edge of the mountain looked where the sun peeked through.  I stopped
 and got out of the car to take a series of pictures and this is the only one I got before
the clouds instantaneously covered the sun.

This paved road is so old and unused that it has cracks so wide that grass is growing in
between the cracks.

Wheat fields that look like a quilt.

These two pictures (above and below) show a canyon that we unexpectedly came upon.  Unfortunately, the camer does not show the depth of the canyon.  It was almost like the Grand Canyon.

Another favorite picture....this old windmill with the mountain range in the back, the old junked car and the barbed wire fence.

Morrill, Nebraska

Shortly after we'd entered Nebraska, I spotted this old sheep herder's shelter alongside the road.  I had to turn around to take a picture and when I did, I discovered an unexpected pleasure.

There was another sheepherder's trailer and there was also a scrape sculpture cowboy standing in the front yard.

There was a gentleman sitting on his front porch.  I couldn't resist and we drove up into his circular drive.  These are some of the things we saw...

Even his home was full of all kinds of wonderful things like old furniture and lots and lots of old saddles.

I was told that this iron cage was the original jail cell for the little town.

And there were lots of old iron bedsteads which I would love to have as well as some old pots.

We Made It To Nebraska

Joe is saying "Hello from Nebraska".

Is this not the strangest looking picture area you've ever seen?

From all directions they came in late summer 1851--Plains Indian tribes, summoned by government officials so their chiefs could smoke the peace pipe and sign a treaty with representatives of "The Great Father." Never before had so many American Indians assembled to parley with the white man. (Estimates range from 8,000 to 12,000.) It was perhaps history's most dramatic demonstration of the Plains tribes' desire to live at peace with the whites. The tribes had been invited to assemble at Fort Laramie, but a shortage of forage for their thousands of horses caused the parley to be moved downstream. Because some tribes had been at war for generations, most Indian camps were widely spaced to minimize contact. About 270 soldiers were present to help keep the peace. However, a spirit of friendliness prevailed.  Among those helping bring the tribes together were mountain man and trailblazer Jim Bridger and Jesuit Father Peter De Smet, the beloved "Blackrobe" who worked 50 years among the Indians.

(Legend under map)

Beyond the tree line about 2 3/4 miles in front of this marker, Horse Creek flows into the North Platte River. There the treaty was signed September 17, 1851. Officially known as The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, it is commonly called The Horse Creek Treaty.

The treaty was proposed by former fur trader Thomas Fitzpatrick, Upper Platte Indian agent, supported by David D. Mitchell, superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis. The treaty provided that the government would give the tribes $50,000 a year in goods for 50 years for damages caused by emigrants bound for Oregon, California and Utah. In return the Indians would allow free passage on the emigrant trails, permit forts to be built on their land, and pledged peaceful settlement of intertribal disputes. Signing were such chiefs as White Antelope (Cheyenne), Little Owl (Arapaho), Big Robber (Crow) and Conquering Bear, whom the whites persuaded the Sioux to elect as head chief.  Assiniboine, Mandan, Gros Ventre and Arikara chiefs also signed. The Shoshone traveled over 400 miles but were not asked to sign because they were not from the Plains.  With few exceptions, the tribes honored the treaty until 1864, when the whites' demand for land  pressured the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho into warfare, ending the hope for peace which had prompted "The Great Smoke."

July 16 Daycation - 433 Miles

We left Wyoming and headed east to Nebraska today.  Our goal today was to go to Scottsbluff, Nebraska.  Why?  Because we could.  It was so close, Joe had never been there, it had been about 12 years since I had and it would give us the opportunity to visit other places in the great state of Wyoming that we'd not explored yet.

I didn't pack a picnic lunch this time (but had plenty of frozen bottles of water just in case) because I knew we were going to be around civilization most of the day and wasn't expecting any back roads of dirt or gravel or cows standing in our way today.  I had even researched on the internet places to eat in Scottsbluff and it was perfectly clear that we were going to feast on chicken strip dinners or foot long coney dogs with tater tots today accompanied by a diet Cherry Limeade.  Yep!  It was going to be lunch at Sonics!  So off we went with a wing and a prayers and "Barking Bob" our unreliable GPS dude, binoculars and a freshly charged camera and the frozen water and Joe's meds AND a full tank of gas...

The summer flowers are beautiful right now.  These were growing alongside the highway.

The inscription reads...

"The Cheyenne-Black Hills Trail passed near this point between 1876 and 1887. Built to supply the Dakota gold camps, the road was constructed in violation of the Ft. Laramie Treaty of 1868 which reserved the Black Hills for Sioux Indians.  Stagecoaches and wagons carrying passengers, freight and gold bullion rumbled through nearby Ft. Laramie, an important stopping point along the line, until the arrival of the Chicago and North Western Railroad rendered the route obsolete".



When we were driving through Ft. Laramie this morning, we almost got caught in a parade.  It seems Oregon Trails Day was being celebrated in most every town along the route and they were all having parades and car shows or craft shows. 

This monument reads...

This monument marks the location of one of the earliest conflicts between the American Indians and soldiers in Wyoming. The fight broke out when Brevet 2nd Lt. John L. Grattan and 28 soldiers attempted to arrest a Sioux Indian for killing a crippled cow belonging to a Mormon wagon train. An allegedly drunken interpreter, who had grievances against the Indians, apparently mistranslated an offer by Chief Conquering Bear to replace the cow with a sound pony of his own.  Grattan ordered his men to fire and when the gun smoke cleared, Grattan, almost his entire command and the chief lay dead. This August 1854 incident led to years of intermittent hostility along the trail. An Oregon Trail crossing monument is located just beyond the Grattan marker.

 

One of the amazing things seen today was the amount of corn being grown in the southeastern portion of the state.  There were acres and acres of it.

And, we got stopped by a train with 82 cars in Lingle, Wyoming.

East of Torrington, near the Wyoming/Nebraska state line, is the camp site of Robert Stuart and

his party of Astorians. They were the men who laid out and first traveled the route from the West

Coast to St. Louis, which later became known as the Oregon Trail. Leaving Astoria, John Jacob

Astor’s fur trading post at the mouth of the Columbia River, the Astorians got as far as present-

day Torrington by December, 1812.  According to Stuart’s diary, the party constructed

a small shack and spent the rest of the winter on the bank of the North Platte River.

It's apparently time to harvest the hay as we've seen many fields which look like this.  We've seen bales of rolled hay, BIG rectangular bales and much smaller rectangular bales.