, 1906-01-12
ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF REPUB-
LICAN RECEIVED BY FORMER
RESIDENT WRITER OF
LARAMIE.
F. E. Bosworth, Who Was Here Sever
al Years Ago, Writes That He Can
Find Few Names With Which He
is Familiar-Was Assistant Enui-
neer OF Pioneer Canal and After
wards Went to state Capital.
Morgantown, N. G., Jan. A. 1sOe


To the Editor of The Republican.
Dear Sir:-I am in receipt of your
illustrated special edition, and find 1t
very interesting, my only disappolnt-
ment being that it refers to so few of
the men whom | knew when in Lara
mic. AS it is twenty years since | left
there, however, there has been abund-
ant room for change, and l suppose l
have no reason to find fault that
changes nave occurred.
l went TO Laramie in the fall of 1884,
as assistant engineer on the big irri-
eating ditch built by the Wyoming
Land and Improvement company across
the Laramie plains,G. A. d'Hernencourt
being he engineer in charge. Davi-
gnon &c Allen were the contractors,
and l understand the Allen brothers,
good fellows both, are living near Lar
annie today. When work on the ditch
was practically stopped by the cold, |
went into the office of Colonel s.. w.
Downey, secretary of the company, and
remained there until 1886, when l
went to Cheyenne as chief enrolling
and ~engrossing clerk of the lower
house of the Legislature.
l learned with sincere regret of Col
onel Downey's death some two or
three years ago. In a long and some
what varied experience l have never
met a man who more nearly realized
my idea of a true Christian gentleman.
Kindly n courteous to all, he was
honest and honorable in every way and
was a true embodiment Of that much
hackneyed phrase, ''one of natures no
blemen." In his Office at that time
were H. V. S. Groesbeck, later supreme
court judge, and N. Z. Corthell, who
had afterwards, | believe, a very mar
row escape from becoming United
States senator. | have still the copy
of Thackeray's verses which the latter
gave me on Christmas of that year.
Unfortunately the pocket knife given
me by Colonel Downey at the same
time has not stayed with me Sc long.
When | went to Laramie the only
daily paper was the Boomerang, which
had been made famous by Bill Nye,
whose name was still on the postoffice
safe. The editor at hat time was w.
Fl. Kent, an all-around good fellow and
very competent journalist, and the
business manager was Mark Jennings.
Being myself a journalist by profess
sicn, | wrote more or less for the pa
per while there.
One of the characters of the town at
that time was Bill Root, who kept an
agricultural warehouse n who had
always a good story at his tongues end.
1t was said that Bill Nye built himself
on him n certainly Nye's Writings
were in much the style of Roots talk.
Your picture of Kuster's hotel brings
wildly to mind Charlie Kuster, who
kept it when | was there. A good-na-
tured, generous little German, he had
many friends. One story he especially
delighted in. 1t was of a cowboy who
came into his place one night with an
elegant jag on. After making himself
generally obnoxious he made that IA
vorite statement of the would-be bad
man of the west, I'm a son of a b.
from Bitter creek Il tells him.
Charlie would say gleefully, when re-
lating the incident, "how l always
knowed he was a son of a b., but l
never knowed before we're he come
from"
There was no university when l was
there, and but one or two of the fine
buildings you show had been erected.
The town has grown n improved
with age, as was to be expected, it hav-
ing always been healthy and vigorous.
l returned to my home in the east in
1887, and have since then been engaged
in newspaper work, mostly in New
York and Boston, being located here
only temporarily. l have always de
sired and intended 10 visit the west
again, and hope it may yet be my lot
to stand on the slope which Laramie
occupies and look out once more on the
broad expanse of the Laramie plains.
F. E. BOSWORTH.