Chapter XVII: A Word About Wyoming

Midway between the rock-ribbed coast of New England and the golden sands of the Pacific, high above and beyond the reach of the malaria laden winds that gather in the low lands on either side, sits fair Wyoming, youngest born of the sons and daughters of our Republic. Resting on the summit of the great Rocky Mountains, her garments fall in graceful folds to the East and West, covering an area of nearly four hundred miles square. Within these rectangular lines is found a variety and richness of nature elsewhere unknown, and absolutely beyond the power of words or brush to paint.

Here we see the broad, treeless plains stretching away in the distance, earth and sky blending, like the sailor’s morning welcome in the calm of mid-ocean. Yonder the rolling approaches to the foothills, green with grasses and decked with flowers of a thousand hues. There the foothills themselves, the bodyguards and picket sentinels of the great ranges, ever on duty as the trusted soldier on the tented field. These supports to the great backbone of the continent are as varied in their conformation and consistency as are the comprehensions of the human mind. One is the perfection of symmetry, when viewed from any quarter, its sides smooth and inviting from base to apex; another, rock piled upon rock, craggy projections here, cavernous depths there, walls perpendicular and walls hanging over; stones smoother by the action of the elements on their surfaces, or shaped into all manner of grotesque forms by these same elements, as their composition is uniform or conglomerate in character.

Then come the mountains, the giants in nature, rearing their proud heads far into the etherial blue, and from their vantage ground wearing a smile that reaches out and gladdens the earth in its lower fields; the dew drops from the mountains, gathered there while the storm king reigned, are the joy, the life of the plains below. Raised from the lower depths by the strong pulsations of nature, these mountain ranges cross the state from south to north, with diverging spurs to the east and west, forming a network of mountains, slopes, valleys and plains. On yonder peak rests the snows of centuries, a robe of whiteness, unspotted by the changing rays of the sun, unsullied by the tornado’s sweep, and secure from the cyclonic embrace of electric combinations. Down the sides of this cloud-piercing pile the pine tree grows in sturdy thrift, and from the shady nooks spring babbling brooks that dance and sing their way to the Platte and the Yellowstone, whence they wander on to lose their identity in tropical seas.

The placid beauty of the plains, the enchanting, soul-inspiring and matchless grandeur of the Platte canyon, the sublimity of Yellowstone Park, the playground of the gods, afford a variety of scenery so entrancing that the mind is satisfied and the soul is filled to overflowing.

As the surface of the state invites to contemplation and satisfies the most ardent lover of nature’s work, so beneath these masterpieces of omnipotent mechanism lies buried a material wealth as inexhaustible as are the sands of the sea shore. Black diamonds, the coal of commerce, underlie more than one-half of the state, and Wyoming could warm the nations for a century without material shrinkage of the supply. Nature’s active laboratory seems to be located directly under this keystone of American commonwealths, for chemical combinations and experiments there conducted have given us not only the gems from the mountains, but pearls from the ocean depths. Every mineral of value known to commerce or manufactures is found in greater or less quantity, and the iron mines are the marvel of all beholders. The oil fields of the state are greater than those of Pennsylvania and Ohio combined, and the soda lakes are the glory and pride of the continent.

We are blessed with the raw material for a great manufacturing community, and the soil of our valleys is like unto the delta of the Nile. The cloudless days of nearly all the year, and the bracing winds that chase o’er plain and hill drive malaria far away, and physical development becomes perfect.

Wyoming is nature’s bonded warehouse. Here are stored the treasures of a continent, but for ages the doors have been securely fastened and the seals are yet unbroken. Intelligent research will find the keys and deliver the goods to a waiting world for the pleasure, comfort and enchantment of the people. To this end we invite the prospector to come within our gates and swell the number of developers.

Already blessed with a home-loving and patriotic citizenship, the topography and climatic conditions of the state will stimulate Republican sentiment among all classes, and as the years and the ages roll by Wyoming will be pointed to as the birthplace of true Democracy, the land of freedom to men and women, the one spot in nature’s wide domain where the laws are made by the governed, without regard to sex. As we now lift our eyes to Andorra, the oldest Republic, nestled securely in the fastnesses of the Pyrenees, and thank God that one tribe has preserved a Republican form of government for twelve hundred years by reason of its bravery and love for human liberty, so as the history of the world’s progress is written in future years, will the eyes of all people turn to this commonwealth as the land where brave men and fair women, free men whom the truth makes free, equally hold in trust, and sacredly preserve the rights and liberties of the people.

Rocked in cradles guarded by nature’s great mountain sentinels; developed in the atmosphere of freedom that breathes from every hillside and valley in these highlands; brought to man and womanhood under the magic touch of nature in its grandest forms, the offspring of Wyoming will be as proud, brave and patriotic a race as ever sprung from the descendants of Eden’s illustrious pair. To a people thus fortunately situated the future is assured, and we invite the brave and the good of all lands to come and abide with us, in the full belief that the domination of the old cattle-growers’ ring is ended, and that from this hour the people will rule.