The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of our young nation. Here is the 10th in a series of articles reporting, state by state, what the Louisiana Purchase represents today.
Jim Bridger was born March 17, 1804, just as Lewis and Clark finished preparations for their expedition. Bridger came west in the 1820s, as a fur-trapper and trader across a wide region. He particularly liked the valley of the Black Fork River in present-day Wyoming and he and a partner started a trading post there because Bridger said it was "in the road of the emigrants."
Sure enough, the first white-topped wagons of the pioneers followed the North Platte and Sweetwater Rivers to South Pass and then down to Fort Bridger in 1841 and 1843. At that time another fur-trade post, Fort Laramie, served travelers on the eastern side of the region that would eventually be Wyoming.
About 400 miles of this winding trail separated the two posts. There was little else for pioneers along the route.
These travelers created landmarks such as a sandstone cliff west of Fort Laramie where they carved their names, and a granite outcrop the wagon train leaders wanted to reach each year by the Fourth of July. Travelers now look on their road maps for, respectively, Register Cliff and Independence Rock.
Bridger and other former "mountain men" guided some of these travelers, few of whom cared to settle in Wyoming. They observed the exploding streams of boiling water, steam and mud in western Wyoming. People who had not been to these places called Bridger's stories fabrications.
But in 1871, a federally financed expedition of scientists, two artists and a photographer studied the area. The group's 500-page report persuaded Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park, still the most widely known feature of Wyoming.
The railroad, gold - and land
Four years earlier, Wyoming Territory had been carved out of portions of Dakota, Nebraska and Idaho territories. The Union Pacific Railroad had linked with the Central Pacific Railroad in 1869 after laying tracks across southern Wyoming. Gold had been discovered near South Pass, proof that all the folks headed to California for wealth in 1849 had bypassed riches.
Shortly after gaining territorial status, Wyoming set itself apart when its first legislature granted equal suffrage to women. The legislators hoped that would attract more women to the territory, where men were by far the majority. Wyoming women also were the first to serve on juries.
But real settlement started not because of suffrage but rather because of the 1862 Homestead Act; it gave to any head of a household who was at least 21 years old 160 acres to farm. By 1890, when Wyoming became the 44th star on the flag of the United States, ranchers had spread over much of the land, working alongside miners, loggers and townspeople.
During the next century, Wyoming spiraled in a continuing boom-and-bust pattern. When mining and energy development was in an upswing, Wyoming's fortunes followed; likewise, high cattle and sheep prices helped the rural towns and residents.
Today, Wyoming still relies on mining and agriculture, but tourism is a growing segment of the economy. Gov. Dave Freudenthal cites the low taxes and "great work ethic" as reasons for a "phenomenally business-friendly" state.
Still, Wyoming is the least-populated state, with just about 500,000 residents. As former Gov. Mike Sullivan often said, Wyoming is just a medium-sized city with very long streets.
The state's biggest cities are Cheyenne, the state capital with slightly more than 50,000 residents, and Casper, also about 50,000.
Started as railroad towns when the Union Pacific pushed through in 1868-69, Laramie (home of the state's only four-year university), Rawlins, Rock Springs, Green River and Evanston anchor the southern half of the state. Other cities with populations up to about 25,000 include Gillette, Sheridan and Riverton.
In Wyoming, there are a lot more museums and rodeo arenas than shopping malls.
Room for celebrities to roam
Most visitors head to Jackson Hole, which plays host to about 3-million people a year. This is the home of vice president and former congressman Dick Cheney, and it has been frequently visited by former President Bill Clinton. Actors Harrison Ford and Sandra Bullock also have homes there.
The draw is not so much Jackson Hole but its proximity to Grand Teton National Park with its world-class climbing and hiking opportunities and, just a few miles to the north, Yellowstone National Park.
A century ago, the region's celebrity was Wild West showman William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. He had a hand in the creation of the town of Cody, east of Yellowstone. The town is the location of the excellent Buffalo Bill Historical Center, which is actually five museums devoted to not just to the colorful showman but also to Western art, Plains Indians, natural history and firearms. In Cody visitors also can learn about music of the West at Cowboy Songs and Range Ballads, or attend a rodeo on any summer night.
But the big rodeo action in "The Cowboy State" is the last week each July at the Cheyenne Frontier Days, said to be the world's largest outdoor rodeo.
It isn't just rodeo that sets Wyoming apart from other Western states. There is the unusual landscape, which ranges from high plains to high desert and includes the rocky peaks along the Continental Divide. There are major fossil finds near Kemmerer and in the Bighorn Basin. Though Yellowstone is noted for its spouting geysers, bubbling mudpots and abundant wildlife, at the far eastern edge of the state is the rock monolith Devil's Tower, America's first National Monument. (You saw it, over and over, in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.)
"The vastness of (Wyoming) is the thing that is least appreciated by people from the outside," Gov. Freudenthal said.
Residents are generally rugged individualists who might have to drive 70 miles to a movie theater or a doctor. We like to hike, camp, hunt and fish and ride horses. We eat beef.
We are passionate about snowmobiling, ice fishing, snowshoeing and skiing - which is a good thing. Winter in Wyoming lasts a lot longer than it does in most places. Some folks say there are two seasons: winter and the Fourth of July.
Truth is, you'll find a lot of mud and wildflowers in the spring, when ranchers are taking care of newborn calves and lambs, and when you can also see wild animal babies ranging from elk and bison calves in Yellowstone to wild horse foals on the Red Desert.
Summer is known for rodeo and hometown festivals devoted to pastimes such as fiddling in Shoshoni, wood chopping in Encampment, bluegrass music at Beartrap Meadows near Casper, and mountain-man rendezvous at Riverton, Pinedale and Fort Bridger.
In autumn, aspens paint the mountain country near Afton, Baggs and Dubois, while the bright red and orange leaves of maple and oak dominate near Sundance and Hulett.
With many miles of trails - the historic Oregon, California and Mormon trails, plus the Pony Express Trail - Wyoming faces challenges to preserve the past while developing for the future. Extensive oil and gas reserves underlie the state, along with other minerals, often causing conflict between preservationists, conservationists and developers.
The governor also is concerned by a growing trend of absentee land ownership, which can restrict open spaces and thus drive up land prices, adversely affecting family ranching operations.
Yet, much of the state is still as it was when pioneers first saw it nearly 200 years ago: the population is more male than female, Old Faithful continues to spew into the blue sky and beaver live in clear streams.
- Third-generation Wyoming native Candy Moulton is the author of "Roadside History of Wyoming" and 11 other Western history books. Her Web site is www.candymoulton.com
Top two annual festivals
Cheyenne Frontier Days boasts it is "the Daddy of 'em All." Said to be the world's largest outdoor rodeo, it attracts the nation's best bull riders, barrel racers, bronc riders and wild-horse racers, as well as rodeo queens, American Indian village and rodeo clowns. The event features free pancake breakfasts, parades with dozens of horse-drawn vehicles, and shows with big-name acts such as George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban.
This year the event runs from July 23-Aug. 1. For more information call toll-free 1-800-227-6336 or go to www.cfdrodeo.com
Fort Bridger Mountain Man Rendezvous, held during Labor Day weekend, takes place in the town that was begun by Jim Bridger. The Rendezvous recalls the days of the trapper, with authentically costumed mountain men, Indian camps, and muzzle-loading target-shooting and knife-throwing competitions.
The best (and most grotesque) legend, true or false
Outlaw George "Big Nose" Parrott killed the first two lawmen to die in the line of duty in Wyoming and then escaped to Montana, where he was tracked down and returned to Wyoming for trial. Convicted and sentenced to die, Parrott escaped jail in March 1881, was captured by vigilantes, and hanged from a telegraph pole.
Then - and this is true - he was skinned by two doctors and an apprentice. A pair of shoes was made from his skin; the shoes are on display at the Carbon County Museum in Rawlins. Parrott's skull was cracked open and part of it served as a doorstop for years. His remaining bones were buried in a whiskey barrel on Front Street in Rawlins.
Three must-see places
Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody. With five major museums in one complex, visitors need at least a day to explore the Historical Center. Attractions include the Buffalo Bill Museum, Whitney Gallery of Western art, Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum and Draper Natural History Museum. For information, go to www.bbhc.org or call 307 587-4771.
Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. These are top attractions in Wyoming. You can see Grand Teton in a day and Yellowstone on a second day, but to truly experience the area's history, wildlife and natural beauty, plan at least three days in the two parks.
Fort Laramie National Monument. Started as a fur trading post in 1834, Fort Laramie became a military post in 1849 to provide protection for the wagon trains traveling the Oregon-California Trail. Two important Indian treaties were negotiated here, and the site was headquarters for troops later involved in the Northern Plains Indian Wars. The fort has living-history programs that interpret the fur trade, pioneer trails, Plains Indians and military eras.
Interstate 80 between Elk Mountain and Laramie during a blizzard.
Highway 14 and 14A through the Bighorns if you are pulling a trailer.
A rocky peak anywhere along the Continental Divide in a thunderstorm.
The best places to taste regional cooking
The chuckwagon cookoff at Cheyenne Frontier Days; Rose's Lariat in Rawlins for authentic Mexican food; Svilars or El Toro in Hudson for steak.
A famous native son or daughter
Sportscaster Curt Gowdy, who got his start in Laramie. Shoshone Chief Washakie, noted for his skills as a warrior, also hunted with Jim Bridger and decided that working with white settlers and Army leaders in the latter half of the 19th century was preferable to fighting them. He sat in counsel with Mormon leader Brigham Young and was able to get federally financed schools for his followers. Washakie died in 1900.
A major problem residents now face
How do we keep young people in Wyoming, or bring them back?
Gov. Freudenthal says, "For somebody whose children are moving out of state, it's a painfully personal question." He added that Wyoming needs to use its mineral wealth to invest in education. He also thinks the state needs to add such industries as information processing and smaller manufacturing companies.
A joke we tell on ourselves or on the rival state
It's not that the wind is always blowing in Wyoming, but once it stopped and everybody who was leaning into the wind fell over.
On the Web
Readers can find all the articles in our series on the Louisiana Purchase, which ends in May, by going to the Web site www.sptimes.com/lapurchase There are links to the installments and interactive features.
