Misc. Records

Where to Emigrate and Why - Frederick B. Goddard, Peoples Publ. Co., 1869

WYOMING.

        THE new Territory of Wyoming was organized in the summer of the present year (1868). It is bounded as follows: on the north by Montana; on the south by Colorado; on the east by Dakota and Nebraska; and on the west by Idaho and Utah. It lies between the 41st and 45th parallels of latitude, and embraces about one-third of what formerly constituted the Territory of Colorado. The Black Hills pierce the center of the Territory from its southern limits, and the Rocky, Medicine Bow, and Uintah mountains form a part of its southern and western boundaries. Portions of Nebraska and Dakota were appropriated in the construction of Wyoming.

        The name of "Lincoln" was first proposed for this new Territory, in honor of our martyred President, but "Wyoming" (from the Indian Maughwauwame, signifying " large plains,") was finally adopted. It is a euphonious name, and appropriate to the Territory in its significance.

        The rapid advancement of the Pacific Railroad, and the magical growth of towns and cities along its route, were the chief impulses to this new territorial organization. The city of Cheyenne, situated near the foot of the Black Hills, boasts a population of 4,000. Eighteen months ago its site was a wilderness, the home of the coyote and prairie-dog—now its thronged streets and crowded warehouses exhibit all the characteristics of rapid commercial advancement and prosperity. Numerous banking houses, several large hotels, two or three daily newspapers, and every trade and profession here find a profitable field for enterprise.

        The topography of Wyoming may be described as an extensive rolling plain, broken at intervals by lofty mountain ranges, which stretch across the Territory in several directions. The Wind River chain starts from the western boundary, and penetrates nearly half the distance to its eastern limits. These ranges are flanked on either side by vast tables and plains, some of them well watered, and nearly all covered with a luxuriant growth of the most nutritious grasses. The vicinity of Bridger's Pass, and the valley of Bitter Creek, are exceptions to the general fertility of the Territory. Here dearth and desolation reign supreme. The hills and mountains are covered with ashes and scoria, and all around are the grand and gloomy evidences of the volcanic disturbances which at some former period devastated and wasted this region. Even the sage brush, capable of a thrifty growth in the sands of the "Desert," here struggles for a sickly existence.

        SOIL.—A very large portion of Wyoming must be susceptible of profitable cultivation and development. The Laramie Plains, immediately west of the Black Hills are as ready to-day for the plow and the spade as the fertile prairies of Illinois. The soil is excellent, consisting of a sandy loam, and grass grows most luxuriantly. In some districts there are numerous streams, while in others there is at times a scarcity of water. But the rains are frequent and opportune, and as a grazing region this Territory presents most favorable advantages.

        MINERALS.—In the Sweetwater Valley, and along the sources of Wind River, important discoveries of gold have been made, and rumors are current of immense yields obtained by a party of miners who carefully sought to conceal from the public the large product of a single winter's operations. It is well known, however, that rich ledges of the precious metals exist in the vicinity of the South Pass; and without doubt, another twelvemonth will develop sufficient to establish the claim of Wyoming to rank among the great gold-producing regions of the Rocky Mountain range.

        The districts where gold has been found are within twenty-five miles of the Pacific Railroad, and are easily accessible at all seasons.

        Immense coal and iron beds have been discovered in close proximity to the Pacific Railroad, and lime and gypsum are abundant. Lead and copper also exist, and certain portions of the Territory are rich in oil springs. Numerous salt springs have been discovered, some of which have been worked profitably.

        TIMBER.— The supply of timber in Wyoming, especially along its southern boundary, is inexhaustible. The Black Hills—so called from the density of their foliage of evergreens, which at a distance present almost an inky appearance —are covered with pine, spruce, and hemlock, while the Medicine Bow, Elk, and Uintah mountains, are feathered almost to their summits with the pine, the spruce, and the cedar. The Big and Little Laramie, and the Medicine Bow and North Platte rivers, at high stages of water, afford excellent facilities for rafting lumber to the interior and sparsely timbered portions of the Territory.

        The climate of Wyoming is almost unsurpassed for salubrity and healthfulness. The winters are mild and open, and in many parts stock feed and fatten upon the standing grasses, requiring no shelter from November to April. In Colorado, where the climate is like that of Wyoming, cattle have been driven in midwinter direct from the plains where they were feeding, to the shambles, producing beef of the sweetest and juiciest quality.

        The rapid and prosperous growth and development of Wyoming Territory is already placed beyond a doubt. The people have effected a territorial organization under a liberal constitution, guaranteeing to every man the rights of citizenship. Wyoming offers superior and rapidly increasing attractions to the farmer and stock-raiser. Although her lands are yet unsurveyed, and undisturbed by wild speculation, there is no bar to settlement upon her broad plains and beautiful savannas, and all the advantages involved in the Homestead and Pre-emption laws can be secured without difficulty. Violence and disorder, which have so often characterized the early settlement of our mineral regions, are fast giving place in Wyoming to the irresistible influences of lawful and peaceful industry. Already the germs of a splendid State have taken root around the Black Hills, and the young tendrils are nourished by resources and natural advantages which promise to rival those of any other region of the far West. Ere long the westward tending engine, freighted with thousands of eager emigrants, will pause at Wyoming to discharge its precious burden. Before the advancing footsteps of civilization the Indian must retire. His hunting-grounds will be turned into cornfields, and the smoke of his wigwam superseded by the rising incense of a thousand hearth-fires.

Transcribed by Kathy Sedler.