The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1882-10-24

During the time that a democratic
delegate represented Wyoming at
Washington the post road to the Black
Hills was taken away from Cheyenne
and transferred to Sidney.-Sun of
Sunday.
This paragraph was the opening lie
of a network of stupid prevarications
which the Sun printed on Sunday I'M
der the heading, "Who Is to
Blame ?" To repeat the statement
that the post road to the Black Hills
was taken away from Cheyenne while
Post was delegate in face of the dates
and facts already published in the
LEADER shows a brazenness in falsify-
ing and SO absolute a dearth of sound
reasons for fault-inding that to keep
up the show Of a fight on the matter of
mail routes is an insult to the intelli-
gence of the SUMS readers. Once more
we publish the particulars of the dis
continuance of this route before Mr..
Post thought of being delegate, and Of
what he did toward re-establishing it.
The mail route from Cheyenne to
Deadwood City was run under a special
contract from the p~ostofice department
from March, 1877, up TO Oct. 1, 1878,
at which time, under an advertisement
for miscellaneous news lettings, the
contract was awarded to one John E.
Kemp at SIG, 900 per annum. Kemp's
contract with the government expired
June 30, 1882, but, in the meantime,
Kemp, finding that he could not carry
The mail for the contract price, made
statements to the p~ostofice department
to the effect that the government could
save money, and Cheyenne and Dead
wood be served equally as well by hay
ing the route changed from Cheyenne
to Horse Head and the price curtailed
to $4,000 per annum, stating in his
affidavit that by connecting at Horse
Head with the Sidney and Deadwood
stage line the same time could be made
from Cheyenne to Deadwood as via
Jenny's ~Stockade, or the old route.
The department, evidently on these
representations, cuItailed the route.
This all occurred in 1873. Kemp's
contract not being a paying one to him,
he sublet 1t to Salisbury & Co., and it
was run by them during the contract
term.
In January, 1880, the route was
again curtailed, from Cheyenne to Raw
hide Buttes, seven times a week, and
from Rawhide to Buck Horn p~ostoflce
twice a week.
All of this occurred before Mr.. Post
was elected as delegate to represent
the people of Wyoming territory.
The route from Cheyenne north
curtailed by the p~ostofice
department to end at Rawhide Buttes,
and the number of trips decreased from
seven times a week to three times a
week. The second assistant postmas-
ter-general issued this order March IL,
1882. The notice reached the Cheyenne
postoffice about March goth following.
The people living north of Cheyenne
and General Merritt and the other
army officers of Fort Lrramie wrote
Mr.. Post that they could not see why they
should be left with such poor mail
facilities, and asking him to see the
proper authorities, and, if possible, to
have the mail service reinstated to
seven times a week to Rawhide Buttes,
and twice from there to Buck Horn.
Mr.. Post, On receiving such letters,
went to the department and succeeded
IN getting the postmaster-general to
order seven trips a week from Cheyenne
to Rawhide Buttes. BY our delegates
energy we not only got this route re-
instated, but he had a route from Bor-
deaux to Fort Fetterman established
and service ordered on, commencing
July l, 1882; he POST being the first
delegate from Wyoming that succeeded
in getting so many important routes
established, the one from Bordeaux to
Fort Fetterman having been asked for
by large numbers of citizens by petition
several times before Mr.. Post was
elected delegate.