Omaha daily bee., 1906-08-19

gulches, bowling past irrigated farms and
ranches that blossom like veritable cor
ners of the Garden of Eden, skirting the
edge of picturesque Indian villages from
which stolid braves. bashful squaws and
shy pappooses gaze forth In mild curl
osity; skating on two wheels over the
"hogback" Ia razorback hog at that. one
thinks), thirty-flve miles before the jour
ney's end, and finally winding up with
grand flourish land feeling on the part
of the passengers of profound gratitude
that no bones are broken) in the sleepy
hamlet of Lander, the four-horse stage
coaches make their daily trips with reg
ularity an indifference to wind and weather
and a fidelity to schedule that many an
eastern railroad might copy with proht
! to its stockholders and benefit to the peace
of mind of it's patrons.
Lander In It's Glory.
| Lander's chief claim to fame and i'm
portance hitherto has rested on the cir
cumstance that it is the reservation town
of the Wind River. or Shoshone, Indian
reservation. only a short distance from
Fort Washable where a contingent of
Uncle Sans soldiers are posted to keep
the copper colored wards of the govern
ment on their good behavior-and incl
ldentally to see to 1t that the cattlemen
and sheep owners of Wyoming refrain from
fencing in the public domain and from
pasturtng their iocks and herds the
lands of the Indians. The nearest railroad
points to Fort Washable and Lander are
Casper. on the Chicago and Northwestern,
and Rawlings, on the Union Pacihc-each
distant fully $50 miles. Any one wanting to
visit either the fort or the reservation
must, perforce. travel by stage from Rawl-
ings or Casper. If Casper is the starting
point, the traveller must change stage lines
at Round Hill, 70 miles out; but II the
| start is made from Rawlins, the same line
will see him through TO the journeys end.
| Next to the ranches, Indian villages,
| stage stations and reservoirs for water
| ing stock, the most interesting sights OF
! the trip are the freighters outfits These
consist OF three or four heavy freight
wagons, each drawn by four or six horses,
and a ''gooster" The "gooster" is the
4 residence OF the freighter II Is a light
two or four-wheel wagon. containing the
| bedding and household goods OF the
freighter. and generally his wife and his
| complement oe children. Not even the
gypsies are so constantly on the move as
are the freighters of Wyoming. who play
| a highly important part in the economic
! life of the people of the more isolated por-
| lions of Wyoming and other western states.
| Freighting from Rawlins TO Lander costs
2 cents a pound. although to enforce that
rate the freighters went through a long
strike last fall 1t goes without saying
| that prices I'm Lander are high. In a few
more weeks, however, all this will be
changed. Some time soon the Chicago &
| Northwestern Railroad company's extern
sion will be completed from Casper to
| Lander. and the traveller will then be able
to make in a few hours the trip that now
requires three long and wearying days
The end OF the Rawlins-Lander stage lie.
| therefore. easily foreseen. II may drag on
for a few months. OF even years. more, up
held by Sunset and other hamlets too far
distant from the railroad for convenience;
but It must eventually so the way OF the
Overland OF the stages that used 10 cross
the Alleghenies from Philadelphia 10 Pitts
burg and frontier towns in the Ohio val
ley.
Land Hunter Plentiful.
Nevertheless. in these last days OF its
existence the Rawins-Lander stage line
enjoys a greater patronage than Il ever
did in the past On July the rsgistras.on