Alexander Majors, witnessed the great event and thanked God that he lived to see it. His pony express riders, his stage drivers and bull whackers congratulated each other over the fact that a more rapid method of transporting the mails, passengers and freight across the Rocky Mountains had been found and that the sun of civilization was flooding mountain and valley where all before had been loneliness danger or death. The few remaining trappers looked on from afar, scarcely being able to believe in the reality of what their eyes beheld. The wild man of the mountain refused to sanction the coming of the train of civilization, fully realizing that it was a power that would crush him and all his warriors.

During the summer of 1868 private enterprise kept pace with the operations of the railroad company; in fact led the advance. In the account of the building of Fort Steele I have given some idea of the rapid growth of the temporary towns which were started ahead of the railroad. Town building was very popular with a large number of enterprising men but some of these were so unfortunate as not to consult the wishes of the railroad company and the latter, not feeling under obligations to meet the wishes of town builders, often left the embryo cities in the lurch. During the early summer of 1868 Green River was selected by private individuals as the place to build an important city. In July the town was laid out, lots sold, houses built and by September two thousand inhabitants occupied the place but when the railroad reached that point the company bridged the river and went on without paying the least attention to the enterprising town lot speculators who expected to make money by forcing the company to recognize a large town. Years before this, there had been an important trading station at this place, it being an old emigrant crossing. In the early days the Mormons had a ferry there, the river being seldom low enough to be fordable except late in the fall. When the water was up this ferry was in demand and the price of crossing was from five dollars up, according as

the owners were found able to pay. The rush next was to Bryan, from which station a stage was run to South Pass. There was a good deal of uncertainty in those days as to the intentions of the railroad company. Bryan promised well but somehow those who had so often been disappointed had little faith in the future and when a new town was announced on Bear River most of the people stampeded to that point. Early in November Bear River City contained a large population composed mostly of the rough element and as a consequence robbery and murder were frequent. The better element in the town finally made an effort to overawe the lawless and to accomplish this a vigilance committee was formed and wholesale arrests were made and the prisoners locked up in a temporary jail which had been provided. This enraged the rough element and a riot occurred. To add to the confusion the men belonging to the different contractors' camps on the outside came to town and joined in the riot and were promptly arrested and locked up. On November 20, armed men from the railroad camp came into the town, released all the prisoners confined in the jail and then applied the torch to the building. They next visited the Frontier Index office, which paper had boldly proclaimed the necessity of law and order, applied the match and the building and its contents were consumed. The town was abundantly supplied with a police force, but these were helpless in this emergency. The assistance of troops was asked for from Fort Bridger to quell the riot but these did not arrive until 8 o'clock of the morning of the 21st when order was restored. In this riot no one was killed but sev eral persons were badly injured. Mr. Freeman, the editor of the Index was the greatest loser, his newspaper plant being entirely destroyed. This outrage was deeply regretted by all the well meaning people of the town but there was no redress and so Mr. Freeman was obliged to suffer in silence the loss of his property. The Frontier Index is mentioned in another part of this history. It was known as a "Press on Wheels," because the outfit was hauled in a wagon from

place to place in advance of railway construction. It sometimes remaining as long as six months in a place but seldom a year. It did good work in Wyoming and its editor is worthy of remembrance in the history of our state.

The work accomplished during the year 1868, in railway construction, was remarkable. The well trained forces were kept in the field until December and in some places the work went on all winter. As early as October, trains were running to Bridger's Pass and much of the construction work was completed as far as Bear River, and thus matters stood at the close of the year 1868.

What happened in 1869 will be detailed in the next volume of this work.

CHAPTER XLV.

PIONEERS AND ORIGIN OF NAMES.

AUGUST LUCIUS, FIRST GOVERNMENT INTERPRETER AT FORT LARAMIESERGEANT LEODIGER SCHNEIDER-WARD AND GUERRIER AND OTHER POST TRADERS AT FORT LARAMIE-JAMES BAKER-ORIGIN OF THE NAME INDEPENDENCE ROCK-RICHARD WOOTTEN IN WYOMING-ORIGIN OF THE NAME PLATTE RIVER-B. F. LOWE, HENRY PERRI-OLD TRAPPERS AND TRADERS-ORIGIN OF NAMES OF BIG HORN RIVER AND MOUNTAINS, BIG WIND RIVER, WIND RIVER RANGE, Shoshone RANGE, POPO AGIE RIVERS, TETON RANGE AND PEAKS-CLIMBING THE GRAND TETON.

In the preparation of this work it has been difficult to speak at length of many of the characters who figure in the historic events, and the same difficulty exists in regard to localities, and the origin of names of rivers and mountains. This chapter is given to supplement what has already been mentioned and to more fully explain matters of historical importance. Under this head will be found many things of absorbing interest which form a part of our early history. This chapter is made up of those things which merit a place in this volume and which of necessity were left out of chapters where mention occurs.

One of the interpreters at Fort Laramie was August Lucius. He accompanied Lieutenant Grattan on the morning of May 19, 1854, to arrest the Indians who killed the Mormon cow or ox, and he was there killed in what was known as the Grattan massacre. This affair is explained on pages 322-3. Lucius was a man of a quarelsome disposition, when under the influence of liquor, and as he had been drinking on the morning of that day, it is believed that his condition caused the Grattan massacre.

Sergeant Leodiger Schneider was stationed at Fort Laramie and on continuous duty thirty-seven years. He arrived at the post with Company G, Sixth Infantry, August 12, 1849, and during the year 1886 was ordered east to take charge of the property of an abandoned post in New England. This veteran joined the army in 1836. He was born in 1818 of German birth and enlisted from Pennsylvania. At an early age Schneider was apprenticed to a bookbinder, but not liking the trade he joined the army. The Sergeant was a well known figure at Fort Laramie from the first year of its founding as a military post down to within three years of its abandonment. During all these long years he was respected and trusted by every commander. At the time of the Grattan massacre there were three or four women at the post, and these quite naturally were much frightened, as they greatly feared that the Indians would make an attack on the garrison, and Schneider, to quiet their apprehensions, ordered that they be concentrated so that a better defense of them could be made. He was a great friend and admirer of First Lieutenant Richard B. Garnett, who assumed command of Fort Laramie July 19, 1852. Garnett resigned in 1861 and cast his lot with the Southern Confederacy and won distinction and high rank in the Confederate army. He was killed at Gettysburg on the 3rd of July, 1863. Schneider died, as near as I can learn, in 1892.

Among the recollections regarding early traders, Seth E. Ward is entitled to a prominent place. He came west to Fort Lupton, Colorado, in 1836, and engaged in business, trading with Indians as well as white men, over a considerable territory. In the early forties, this pioneer and William Guerrier established a trading post nine miles above Fort Laramie on the North Platte, on the south side of the river. They built a stone fort, or trading post, and conducted business there for several years. During the winter of 1858 Guerrier was in the Powder River country, trading with the Indians. On February 16th he was accidentally killed in a very singular manner.