Srreet SCENE, BUFFALO, Wyomtnc. 1903 MELBOUKNE
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SrREET SCENE, BUFFALO, WYOMtNC. 1903 MELBOUKNE. THE AUSTRALIAN RAIN WIZARD ........................ 5 Clark C. Spence THE SHOSHONES IN THE ROCKY MT. AREA .............................. 19 Ake Hulskrantz A FAMILY PORTRAIT ........................................................................... 42 Mrs . Wilburta Knight Cady THE HOLE.IN.TBE.WALL. Part VIX. Section 2 .................................. 53 Thelma Gatchell tondit IN MEMORIAM. Loren Clark Bishop .................................................... 72 OVERLAND STATE TRAIL .TREK NO. 1 .......................................... 73 Trek No . 11 of Emigrant Trail Treks Compiled by Maurine Carley PqEM . THE QLrARTZlIE ARROWHEAD ........................................ 102 Hans Kleiber WYOMING ARCHAEOLOGICAL NOTES ......................................... I04 L. C. Steege WYOMING STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY ...................................... 106 President's Message by Mr . E. A . Littleton BOOK REVIEWS Mattes, Indinns. Injnnis and Infatirrjl: Andrew and Elizabeth Burt on fhe Frontier .................................................................................... 108 Cooley, Meet Me on the Green ............................................................. 109 Howard, Urrr Chief Joseph .................................................................... 110 'raylor, Glimpses into Edgemont's Pasr .................................................. II I Kane, A Guide to the Core and the Administrution of Manuscripts .... 111 Elston. Sage brush Serenade ....................................................................I13 Worthwhile Rooks on the Editor's Desk ................................................ 113 CONTRFBUTORS ...................................................................................... El5 ILLUSTRATIONS ACCOMPANYING ARTICLES Street Scene. Buffalo. Wyoming. 1903 .................................... Frontispiece Melbourne. The Australian Rain Wizard ........................................ 4, 7, 14 The Shoshones in the Rocky Mt . Area ................................................ 36 A Family Portrait .................................................................................... 43 The Hole-in-the-Wall .......................................................................... 56, 62 In Memoriam, Loren Clark Bishop ...................................................... 72 Wyoming Archaeolegical Notes, Midland Poi.nt .................................. 105 Maps: The Hole-in-the-WaIl .................................................................. 54 OverIand State Trail .Trek No. 1 ........................................ 74, 75 LOREN CLARK BISHOP March 4, 1 887 - February 20, 1961 Wyoming lost one of her foremost citizens upon the passing of Loren Clark Bishop. His was a remarkable life of outstanding achievement both in his chosen profession of engineering and in his avocation of marking and mapping the historic sites and trails of Wyoming. His work remained unfinished, and it behooves those who follow to take up where he left off and carry his plans forward. Trek No. 1 1 of Emigrant Trail Treks Sponsored by WYOMING STATE HISTORlCAL SOCIETY Albany County Historical Society and Carbon County Historical Society under the direction of Clark Bishop, Albert Sims and Lyle Hildebrand Compiled by MAUR~NECARLEY, Trek Historian September f 7-18, 1960 Caravan - 34 cars - - - - - - 75 participants OFFICERS Captain............. .....Li. R. 0.Galloway, Wyoming Highway Patrol Assistants............... Albert Sims, Clark Bishop Guides .................... Lyle Hildebrand, L. C. Abbott, Willing Richardson Wagon Boss ........... Dr. Robert H. Burns, A. S. "Bud" Gillespie Historian ................ Maurine Carley, Dr. T. A. Larson Topographers........ .H. M. Townsend, 5. M. Lawson Photographers ........ NeaI E. MilIer, Willing Richardson Press ...................... Lael L. Miller Registrar................ David CorthelI Cooks.................. -:Elizabeth Hildebrand, G. R. McConnelI NOTE: Nurnbers preceding 'W" indicate distances on the Over- land Stage Trail northwesterly from Yirginia Dale Stage Station. 9: 30 AM. In spite of a dense fog, seventy-five well wrapped trekkers gathered at the old Virginia DaIe Stage Station to retrace the Overland Stage Trail. After registering and appraising the exterior of the station, the party went inside. The squared-off logs have been whitewashed, brands have been painted as a border around the walls and relics of the past proudIy displayed. The station is now used as a community house, so we were able .to sit comfortably on sofas, rockers, or on ice cream chairs around 74 ANNALS OF WYOMING the wall as we were weIcomed by Mr. A. H. Stark, the present owner of the place, following which two papers were read on the history of the area. VIRGINIA DALE STAGE STATION ON THE OVERLAND ROUTE by Mith R. Williams Virginia Dale, situated in a beautiful valley in the Black Hills (Laramie Range) of northern Colorado and southern Wyoming EM, GRANT 7rn-l~ rm~#No. rr .. ., pap*. /7-/a, /960 . -' ..\ &up #a,/ of I mups N .. ' d6~hNP /" - O/d5.+uqe 5~urioos ,. - Over/u~d?77u/'/ .., .. , Pre~eorduy ~ouds &fw5r=a7: 17 ?A. '?, :*\ C.C.I t.1m OVERLAND =AGE TRAIGTREK NO. 1 75 and now a peaceful ranching community, was one of the most famous Overland Stage Stations on the Overland Route to Cali- fornia. Its name and fame spread from ocean to ocean by the stage travelers. National magazine writers and news correspond- ents described it in terms of praise and then again with awe and superstition. in mid-1862 Virginia Dale was established as the first division point northwest of Denver when the Overland Stage Line moved southward from the Emigrant or Oregon Trail where stage prop- erty cozrld no longer be protected from Indian depredations along 76 ANNALS OF WYOMING the norkhern trail. Joseph A. Slade, better known as Jack Bade, was appointed Division and Station Agent. He was transferred from the North PIatte or Oregon Trail Route where he was known and recognized as the most efficient Division Agent on the stage line. It is said of him that he never failed to get the United States mails through on time on his division, and stage robbers and road agents had a great fear of him. The station house, stage stables, and other buildings at Virginia Dale were erected by Slade, and the old station, its walls scarred by bullet holes, is still standing on the site where it was originally located. Thus Slade was the first white inan to locate in what is now known as Virginia Dale. He named the stage station "Virginia Dale" in honor of his wife's maiden name. Nearby, to the west of the station, is a well which in 1864 was dug sixty-five feet deep in solid granite. This well is still in use. The first shingles used for the stage station were freighted from St. Joseph, Missouri, at the cost of one dollar and fifty cents per pound. Slade had the reputation of being a gambler and desperado, but he never neglected his duty as division and station agent. A strict disciplinarian, he never permitted his orders to be disobeyed or evaded. At times, when under the influence of liquor, he was a terror to his associates, n fiend incarnate. It is said he made Virginia Dale Station a rendezvous for gamblers and road agents. 'To the east of the stage station is a high hill, Lookout Mountain, upon the summit of which Slade erected a stone lookout. Here~he kept a watchman most of the time who coutd view the station and the plains far to the east and to the northwest. Tf the sentinel saw danger approaching the station, he would signal to the men at the station, thus often averting Indian massacres which have dotted the plains with graves of victims. A mile to the northeast of the station lies Table Mountain, a mile long, a quarter of a mile wide, and quite flat on top. Its rim of shale rock and the perpendicular cliffs make it very difficult of ascent. By means of a very few trails can the top be reached. From its summit a clear view of the surrounding country can be obtained. This was the retreat chosen by the road agents who terrorized the stage line. It was an ideal hide-out as it was covered with abundant grass upon which horses could feed, and it has a small lake on top. In this "Robber's Roost," the gang built themselves a cabin and lookouts whe~ethey were safe from inter- ference. Tt was quite generally believed that Slade: was the leader of this gang, and while he performed his duties as station agent, he also notified the "Roost" when there was a particularly valuable shipment on its way. The reason for the belief was that the gang always seemed to know when and where to put their fingers on money, jewels, and liquors. At one time during Slade's incumbency, sixty thousand dollars worth of gold being shipped by the government as several months' OVERI,ANI3 STAGE TRAILTREK NO. 1 77 back pay to the soldiers, never reached its destination. When the stage arrived at Virginia Dale, it was supposed to await an escort of troops from Fort Collins. The soldiers were late in arriving, so the driver started on, perhaps thinking a few minutes could not endanger the treasure. At this precise time the bandits attacked, but this time they were pursued by the United States cavalry. After the robbers were exterminated, the strong box that had contained the money was found in the creek, its top and bottom gone. The money is one of the supposed buried treasures of Colorado, and it is believed that the bandits hit it in the vicinity of Table Moun- tain before they were caught. In