Across The Fence: Re-writing Wyoming's history

On July 10, 1890, Wyoming Territory was granted statehood and became the 44th state to join the ranks of the U.S.

Last weekend in Cheyenne, Wyo., a celebration of those 125 years was commemorated with a block party that encompassed the Capitol grounds, the state museum and nearby parks.

My wife and I were among the fortunate few who were privileged to be included in a "behind the scenes" tour on the third floor of the Wyoming State Museum where untold numbers of artifacts are securely stored. The collection of artifact – representing various aspects of Wyoming histor – range from a Civil War battle drum that was used as a writing surface by General Sherman to the head cover (cap) of a Japanese General who was tried, convicted and executed for his alleged war crimes.

The connection of these, and many other artifacts, to Wyoming history was most intriguing. We were pleasantly affirmed in our personal convictions that it's not only the historical artifacts that are important but also the stories behind them that keep our histories alive.

As a self-proclaimed history buff, I am always looking for the next story and constantly searching out historical tidbits of interest from events in the central Great Plains region of the U.S. I have often remarked at the abundance of historical events that have occurred in this area. The stories to be told come from the original native inhabitants of the region and from the explorers, mountain men and traders, immigrants, soldiers, cattlemen and sheep men, builders of cities and settlers of vast open prairies.

The stories told are stories of hardship and triumph, oppression and privilege, vision and fortitude, conquest and surrender. All are important and all are a part of who we are, where we came from and what we will become.

It seems that more and more frequently we hear of historical events that are nearly forgotten or even erroneously recounted. And there are significant events of which our younger generation are not taught and remain unawares

I am reminded of a time when I was standing in line at a theatre to attend the showing of the 1997 movie, Titanic. Ahead of me in the line was a group of high-school aged youth who were excitedly discussing the movie. "I've already seen it three times," said one young lady, "The part when the ship sinks is awesome!" she gushed. Another lady who was also waiting in line was most upset by the supposed "spoiler" and remarked, "Oh great. Did you really have to ruin it for the rest of us?" I couldn't believe that not everyone already knew about the sinking of the Titanic.

With the popularity of historical fiction some misinformation is often construed to be factual and the truth becomes distorted. This is nothing new and such embellishment of actual events has been occurring ever since imaginative writers have found an audience willing to pay for the exaggerated telling of tales. The dime novels of days gone past romanticized and embellished the lives of men such as Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Jesse James and a dozen other notorious lawmen and outlaws and popular fiction became contentious fact.

In 2011, AMC introduced a five-part series of a violent and often graphic telling of the construction of the first Trans-Continental Railroad. The series is named, "Hell on Wheels." The bulk of the series takes place in the Nebraska/Wyoming region and while the main characters are obviously fictionalized the supporting roles are clearly factual characters.

Union Pacific Vice-President and railroad financier Thomas Durant is a central character. President Grant's appointed Provisional Governor of Wyoming Territory, John Campbell is also a significant player in the series. So, as the series progresses it becomes easy to suppose that some of the major plot storylines have some basis in historical fact. Lending to that spirit of authenticity are infrequent references to actual places and events.

For example, in one recent episode the 'action' involved a special train being dispatched from Cheyenne back east to Omaha. Included in the dialog was the line, "We'll meet up at the Kimball water stop."

At first, I was impressed with the writer's attention to detail, and a bit prideful that Kimball was even mentioned in such a sweeping production. But, the story takes place in the late 1860s to early 1870s. It should have been the Antelope water stop. Antelope Station was renamed Antelopeville and then in 1885 the name was changed to Kimball, so much for authenticity.

So, in one of the later episodes a young woman, who is also the local preacher in the fledgling railroad town of Cheyenne, mortally shoots one of Gov. Campbell's deputized lawmen. Gov. Campbell convenes a court of inquiry and, due to extenuating circumstances offers the woman a pardon which she refuses, leaving the governor with no choice but to sentence her to hang and hang she does.

That particular episode is a pivotal sub-plot in the overall story of the building of the Union Pacific and for a moment I wondered if I was unaware of a significant event in Wyoming history, namely the first legal execution, by hanging, of a woman in Wyoming Territory. No such event ever occurred.

However there was one, and only one, lynching of a woman in the Territory of Wyoming and that was on July 20, 1889, one year prior to statehood.

In a special dispatch, dated July 22, 1889, to the Cheyenne Daily Sun from Douglas, Wyoming the headline "Double Lynching" occupied the top, center of page 2:

"Early yesterday morning a cowboy named Buchanan reached the ranch of E. J. Healy, forty miles west of Casper and reported the lynching of Jim Averell and Ella Watson Saturday afternoon by stockmen. Averell kept a 'hog' ranch at a point where the Rawlins and Lander stage road crosses the Sweetwater. Ella Watson was a prostitute who lived with him and is the person who recently figured in dispatches as Cattle Kate, who held up a faro dealer at Bessemer and robbed him of the bank roll. Both, it is claimed, have been in league with Jack Cooper, a notorious cattle thief who died with his boots on in that vicinity a few months ago.

"Buchanan says Averell started for Casper Saturday, accompanied by the woman and that they were taken from the wagon by a party armed at a point on Sweetwater not far from the town of Bothwell and hanged from the summit of a cliff fronting the river. Buchanan came upon the lynchers just after the woman had been swung up.

He claims to have identified several men, among them four of the most prominent stockmen in Sweetwater valley."

At that time, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association had considerable influence over the local newspapers. In order to garner public support of their lynching of Averell and Watson the two were portrayed as cattle thieves in addition to Ella accused of being a prostitute who exchanged her favors for cattle and Averell a pimp, a drunk and a abuser of women.

Newspapers across the region, and as far away as Chicago and New York, carried the stories of thievery and debauchery that served to justify the lynching of the unsavory pair. Chicago papers made light of the lynching indicating that Averell was deserving of the deed due to his alleged cattle rustling and the fact that he was a Democrat.

Ella on the other hand got what she deserved which should have been expected given that the State of Wyoming had recently given women equal status with men by allowing them to vote.

Despite the barrage of negative press the lynch mob was identified and arrested. The cattlemen arrested were allowed to pay each other's bail and were released. The coroner's report, based on the inquest, sited the deaths of Averell and Watson as death by lynching and the murderers were identified as A.J. Bothwell, Tom Sun, John Durbin, R.M. Galbreth, Bob Conners and E. McLain. As the scheduled trial date approached all of the witnesses for the prosecution either disappeared or mysteriously died. When court convened and no witnesses came forth the case was dismissed and the accused set free.

In reality, Jim Averell and Ella Watson were engaged to be married and had purchased a marriage license some time before their lynching. Both Ella and Jim were actively proving up homesteads. Jim was the local postmaster and provided boarding and meals for travelers along the Oregon and Mormon trails. Ella was the cook and also took in laundry and mending from local cowboys and homesteaders using her earnings to purchase cattle.

The lynching of Jim and Ella was the prelude to the infamous Johnson County Wars. The Wyoming Stock Growers Association's attempt to rid the range of settlers and small ranchers failed and the example that Jim and Ella were supposed to be, only fueled a stronger resistance to their crumbling empire.

M. Timothy Nolting is an award-winning Nebraska columnist and freelance writer. To contact Tim, email: [email protected].