🚧 The American West | Cowboy State Daily

The American West is a place of cultural significance, dominant landscapes, and stories that transcend time. In this series learn about the people, the myths, legends, and reality of a place that is unique in American History.

The American West: Bicycles and Buffalo Soldiers

To folks not familiar with the village of Missoula, Montana, or of the United States army post aptly named Fort Missoula located about four miles southwest of town, the sight which presented itself during the early morning of June 14, 1897, might have seemed strange indeed.

James A. CrutchfieldJuly 27, 2024

Smokey Bear is flown from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to his new home at the Washington National Zoo in a Piper J-3 Cub by New Mexico Assistant State Game Warden Homer C. Pickens in 1950. The little bear was rescued from a forest fire and named Smokey after the fire prevention symbol of the U.S. Forest Service.

The American West: Smokey Bear, America’s Most Iconic Forest Ranger

How a scared little 5-pound bear cub who survived a devastating wildfire in 1950 became a national icon. Smokey Bear remains America’s most iconic and recognizable forest ranger.

James A. CrutchfieldJuly 21, 2024

Guy Holt rides the legendary rodeo bronc Steamboat in 1903.

The American West: Steamboat Embodies Wyoming’s Cowboy Legacy

Wyoming’s most enduring symbol is our cowboy license plate. It's an old argument across Wyoming as to the rider depicted on the license plate. In Pinedale, old timers may tell you it’s Guy Holt. In Lander, sentiment leans toward Stub Farlow. In Laramie, the name most often mentioned is Jake Maring.

Candy MoultonJuly 20, 2024

The American West: The Battle of Granby -- 2004

Marvin Heemeyer climbed into his improvised tank-bulldozer, cranked up the engine, and proceeded to drive through the wall of his rented building onto the parking lot of business neighbor Cody Docheff’s newly constructed concrete plant.

James A. CrutchfieldJuly 14, 2024

The American West: Fort Laramie Attacked

Though one of the most important military forts in the West, Fort Laramie lacked fortifications. It was an open assemblage of buildings that one might usually expect to find within protective walls of any U.S. Army fort in the Nineteenth Century.

Terry A. Del BeneJuly 14, 2024

The American West: How Calamity Jane Earned Her Stripes As An Army Scout

Sporting buckskin and a rifle, Calamity Jane looked every bit the part of a Western frontierswoman. She didn’t take kindly to the word “no" and quickly proved herself as an invaluable Army scout for troops in the Black Hills region.

Candy MoultonJuly 07, 2024

The Golden Spike ceremony on completion of the first transcontinental railroad, as trains of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific rail met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10 1869. The image is one half of a stereoscopic image.

The American West: Transcontinental Railroad Challenge No. 1 — Where To Put It

Before the first transcontinental railroad could open the untamed West to the rest of the nation, a crucial decision had to be made — where to put it.

James A. CrutchfieldJuly 06, 2024

This painting depicts Fr. Pierr-Jean De Smet, who traveled extensively throughout the early West spreading the gospel and establishing Catholic missions.

The American West: Fr. Pierre De Smet, The Jesuit Priest Who Baptized The West

Jesuit priest Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet was born in Belgium, but found his life’s calling establishing Catholic missions throughout the early settlement of the West, including holding the first Catholic mass in Wyoming.

Candy MoultonJune 30, 2024

Graves of the victims of the 1864 attack on the Kelly-Larimer wagon train. William Larimer, the Rev. Andrew Sharp, Noah Taylor and Franklin Sullivan are buried in a single grave on the left; Little Mary Kelly, as she was known in contemporary accounts, is buried in the right-hand grave.

The American West: The 1864 Attack On The Kelly-Larimer Wagon Train

All that’s left today of the July 12, 1864, attack on the Kelly-Larimer Wagon Train in what would later become Wyoming Territory are the harrowing accounts of women taken captive and a small graveyard.

Terry A. Del BeneJune 29, 2024

An illustration depicting Fetterman's Massacre that was printed in Harper's Weekly on March 23, 1867. The battle was Dec. 21, 1866.

The American West: Fetterman’s Massacre Was High Drama On The High Plains

The bloody and ill-advised skirmish with Indian warriors at Fort Phil Kearny in 1866 that became known as Fetterman's Massacre didn’t have to happen. Capt. William J. Fetterman disregarded orders and got his troops wiped out.

James A. CrutchfieldJune 23, 2024

When Rudyard Kipling visited Yellowstone National Park, he wasn't impressed, writing that, "Today I am in the Yellowstone Park, and I wish I were dead."

The American West: That Time Rudyard Kipling Came To Yellowstone And Wasn’t Impressed

Rudyard Kipling was in a foul and despicable mood when his editor sent him to visit America. He was not impressed with the American West. "Today I am in the Yellowstone Park, and I wish I were dead," he wrote.

Terry A. Del BeneJune 22, 2024

Left, A portrait based off of a historic sketch by Paul Kane that might be of Narcissa Whitman. Right, Eliza Spalding.

The American West: First Missionary Women At Rendezvous Were True Trailblazers

Eliza Spalding and Narcissa Whitman were the first white women to come west in 1836. Although riding in a wagon across the Kansas and Nebraska was not a smooth journey, they found it to be a great mode of transportation.

Candy MoultonJune 16, 2024

For nearly 200 years, the rendezvous has been a truly American invention that not only promoted westward expansion and exploration, it was — and still is — one hell of a party.

American West: The Rendezvous Was — And Still Is — One Hell Of A Party

In 1825, Gen. William Ashley introduced a system known as the rendezvous, a methodology that revolutionized, but also simplified, the entire concept of trading with the American Indians. A total of 15 annual rendezvous were held between 1825 and 1840 and 11 of them were in Wyoming.

James A. CrutchfieldJune 15, 2024

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