Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 - 150 Years

On April 29, 1868, a treaty was signed between the United States Government and the Sioux Nation.  The treaty would move the Sioux away from the war on the plains, and onto a Black Hills Reservation in Dakota Territory. This treaty following the treaty of 1851 attempted to bring peace to the frontier part of the United States. For moving to the Black Hills the Sioux were to be given food, clothing, and annuity payments, on an annual basis. The government also agreed to close travel along the Bozeman Trail along with the forts along that trail.

150 Year Anniversary of the Treaty of 1858

Starting Saturday, April 28, and running through Tuesday, May 2, Fort Laramie will be hosting – Honoring the Spirit On the Northern Great Plains. The fort is expecting nice crowds of up to 4,000 on Saturday and great crowds for the other three days of the celebration. Looks like a terrific time.

Did the Treaty Work?

It was working, as well as most treaties, for a few years, and then Custer and his men found gold in the Black Hills, which for all practical purposes ended the usefulness of the treaty. The government tried to purchase, then lease, the Black Hills so that gold seekers could head into the area. The Sioux already pushed to their limit, refused. Two years later, Custer and the Seventh Cavalry were wiped out at Little Big Horn, escalating a decade of Indian Wars in the west.

Honoring the Spirit On the Northern Great Plains, a celebration to be held the last two days of April and the first two days of May 2018. Click the links to read all about it.

Today's photos from my many trips to Fort Laramie, a terrific place, and one all western history buffs need to visit.

https://twitter.com/FortLaramieNPS

https://www.nps.gov/fola/planyourvisit/calendar.htm

A Ride With The President

In late May of 1903 the president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt,  rode 50 miles from Laramie to Cheyenne. The story is well known in Wyoming and to Roosevelt and presidential scholars. Not much has been said about those accompanying him, and I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the riders who rode with the president up the mountain trail.

Francis E. Warren - U.S. Senator from Wyoming

Warren was the man that did it all for the State of Wyoming. Served as territorial Governor twice before being elected as Wyoming's first governor. Shortly after becoming Governor he was elected to the Unites States Senate. Warren served as a Senator from 1890-93 then was elected again in 1895 and served until his death in 1929. At the time of his death, he had served longer than any other U.S. Senator and was the last Civil War Veteran to serve. Warren was also a Civil War Medal of Honor winner.  Warren's daughter married John J. Pershing in 1905. Pershing went on to lead the American Expeditionary Force in WWl.

Frank Hadsell - U.S. Marshal

Appointed a U.S. Marshall for Wyoming in 1872, Hadsell is best known as one of the posse leaders who tracked down Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch after the Wilcox Train Robbery.

Wild Bunch

Joe LeFors - Deputy U.S. Marshal

LeFors was appointed by Hadsell, reportedly after asking repeatedly. He bragged of being with Hadsell after the Wilcox Train Robbery but most likely was not. He did lead a posse after the Wild Bunch robbed the train at Tipton Wyoming. LeFors is best known for bringing in Tom Horn. In modern days LeFors name is well known among western movie lovers because it is mentioned as the mysterious man in the white hat chasing Butch and Sundance in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

N.K. Boswell - Albany County Sheriff

Boswell was the first sheriff of Albany County and most responsible for cleaning up- actually; they strung them up – Laramie’s crooked Marshall Steve Long along with his half-brothers, Ace and Con. Today he may be best known as the man who built the historic N.K. Boswell Ranch south of Laramie near present day Wood’s Landing.

R.S. Van Tassell - Cheyenne area rancher

One of the largest landowners in Wyoming history. One of his holdings, his Laramie County Ranch, was where Roosevelt and his companions stopped several times and changed horses at least once was listed as approximately 21,000 acres. During the ride Van Tassell who was near 70 years old at the time set such a fast pace that President Roosevelt, nearly 30 years his junior, reportedly said, “Say, Van, you old rascal, I believe you're trying to show me up.” Van Tassell for much of the 50 plus mile ride rode his favorite mount, Gypsy. Van Tassell kept and rode a horse named Gypsy for more than 50 years. Obviously several different horses, but most certainly a good way to remember your horse's name.

Seth Bullock - Black Hills Forest Reserve Supervisor

A long time friend of the president. Bullock was a Lawman from Deadwood South Dakota, a position he took over the day after Wild Bill Hickock was murdered.  He met Roosevelt in 1884 when he was in Deadwood and Roosevelt was a lawman in North Dakota. Roosevelt once said of his friend, "Seth Bullock is a true Westerner, the finest type of frontiersman." Bullock, although never deployed was a captain in company A of Roosevelt's famous Roughriders. When Roosevelt was inaugurated, Bullock rode in the parade along with Tom Mix to honor his friend. It was Roosevelt, as president, that appointed Bullock to the position in the Black Hills.

Crazy Discovery Tail

Not sure if every state has a tail of discovery, but Wyoming does. I would rather call it, the, who was here first story. The answer is, of course, Indians, several tribes. But much like Columbus discovering America, when there were already a million, or so people here, Wyoming, for years taught about who the first, non-Indian to enter Wyoming was, and like Columbus often said they were the discoveries of Wyoming.

Many texts tell us that a brother duo, the Verendrye’s were likely the first non-natives to visit the cowboy state. Nice, but this is based on the fact that school children in South Dakota found a lead plate in 1913 that was buried by Chevalier de la Verendrye dated March 30, 1743. This is a fine tail, and likely true, with a few details filed in, but it was a long way to Wyoming from Fort Pierre, South Dakota.

Historical speculation seemed to get carried away. Some would be historians assumed the Verendrye’s must have journeyed on to the Black Hills from Fort Pierre and then might just have gone on to Wyoming. Maybe just to say they had been there, just kidding.

Fort Pierre is some 200 miles from the Wyoming border; believe I will stick with my belief. John Colter, who traveled west with Lewis and Clark, left the ‘Corpse of Discovery’ on the west coast and made his way back east, stopping in what is today Yellowstone. No one believed him when he told tales of Yellowstone wonders, but later they were proved true, and I have been there to see them.

Historical facts are just that, they can be proven; historical speculation belongs in fiction, not textbooks.