The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-12-22
THURSDAY, DEC. %, 1881.
HISTORY OF THE "LBADER.'

one in the history of that portion
of territory belonging to Dakota,
and known now as Wyoming.
The bison and elk and deer and
antelope and wilder game had
roamed the plains and hills of this
region from the dawn of earth's
creation, unmolested save by the
untutored savage whose prompt
ings of hunger sped him forth
with bow and arrow, or by the
emigrant going over the old emf
grant trail toward the golden
shores of the Pacific, to burrow
in the sandbars of California or
to pillow in pastures green where
rolls the Oregon down to the
sea-.
But in 1867, Progress, with her
magic wand, brushed aside the
wild beast, the Indian and the
hunter, and strapped the iron
bands of her pathway over these
broad plains, up, over, and
though the almost impenetrable
Rockies, and united the two great
oceans of the world in a bond
that throbbed with the pride of
the greatest achievement of the
worlds engineers. The iron
horse, with his lungs of iron, and
breath of flame and smoke, and
bones of steel and sinews of brass,
snorted defiance at the obstacles
of the wilderness, and proudly
flew over the plain outspeeding
the feetfooted deer, and cen out
stripping the wind. This region
was then opened up for cIviliza-
ton. The vast wealth contained
in our pastures, and in our miner
ais, were then made accessible TO
capital. A new empire was
opened to the world.
But ven before this day there
were men of enterprise and har-
dihood who braved the hardships
incident TO frontier life and
camped on our townsite. They
builded on their Judgment that
the towns laid out along the line
of the Union Pacific railroad
would prove to be lasting and
wealthy communities. They
came months before the arrival
of the road, and they at once set
about to establish and found a
city. Among the first arrivals
was the ubiquitous editor. 1t is
somtimes said that the first symp-
toms of a western town are a few
tents, a saloon and a newspaper.
1t was nearly so in Cheyenne.
Two months before that grand
transcontinental artery of trade
and commerce had pulsated
through this region, the CHEY-
RNNB LEADER was established.
The editor and proprietor, n. A.
Baker, came up from Denver
where he had endeavored to found
a paper, and learned, to his cost,
that the venture could not be
made a success. He issued one
number of the COLORADO LEADER
there, and suspended operations
until he resumed in Cheyenne on
September 10th, 1867. The pa
per had but a poor beginning.
1t was a small four column paper
10i x 15i inches in size, but it
seems to have been adapted to
the first wants of the town. OF
course no attempt was made to
give telegraphic news, for the tel
egraph wires followed the laying
of the track. Indeed, it was not
until the year 1872 that the LEA
DER secured the associated press
report, and placed the people of
Cheyenne on a level with the
world in the matter of receiving
the very latest news.
In his salutatory, Mr.. Baker
said: "This is an age of speed.
Railroads are the influence that
work changes bewildering to con-
template. An apt and striking
illustration ofthis is presented in
the growth of Cheyenne, this in
FAINT prodigy, and railroad city of
the west. Scarce six weeks ago
but two houses indicated the To-
cality of the town, where now
between one and two hundred
houses stand to attest the vigor.
with which American people set
about important undertakings"
And this was two months
before the arrival of the railroad,
for at this date the track was yet
ffty-fve miles distant.
The paper was dated at "Chey-
enne, ID. T.,"-Dakota Territory,
for Wyoming Territory, was not
organized until July IS, 1868.
In gazing over the first issue we
find the advertisement of but one
man who is still in business here,
and that is f. w. Freund, the
well known gunsmith. The rest
scattered with the varying for
tunes of the city, and they are re-
membered only by the pioneers of
'67, as they gather in mid-winter