Cheyenne is the half-way house, on the Union Pacific Railroad, between the civilization of the East and that of the West. It is situated on Crow Creek, a branch of the South Platte River, just at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. A few miles away to the westward the ascent of the Black Hills begins, the road ascending over the rugged granite hills, and winding in and out of miles of snow sheds. It is five hundred and sixteen miles from Omaha, and has an elevation of more than six thousand feet above the sea, being one thousand more than Denver, and with an atmosphere proportionately rarer and dryer.

The city is a child of the Pacific Railroad, being, during the building of that road, its winter terminus. When it was found that Cheyenne was probably to become an important railroad point, there was a grand influx of roughs, of all classes and of both sexes, to the spot. Habitations sprang up as if by magic, and were of the rudest construction, some of them being mere dug-outs in the sand hills. Town lots ran up to fabulous prices. The first city government was organized in August, 1867, and the first newspaper, the Cheyenne Leader, published on the nineteenth day of the following month. On the thirtieth of November, 1867, the track layers reached the city limits, and were greeted by music and a grand demonstration on the part of the people. The first passenger train arrived the next day.

In the winter of 1868 Cheyenne contained not less than six thousand inhabitants. Lawlessness was the order of the day, and gambling, drinking and shooting were the favorite recreations. Knock-downs and robberies were matters of course, and murders of too frequent occurrence to cause special excitement. During these early days of its history the young city acquired two names, both of which were exceedingly suggestive, not to say appropriate. Its rapid growth fastened upon it the name of "Magic City of the Plains;" the desperate character of its inhabitants, that of "Hell on Wheels."

When the city was but six months old, the patience of the order-loving people was tried beyond endurance. A Vigilance Committee was formed, and justice came swift and sure, without the intervening and delaying processes of the law. Its first public demonstration occurred in the following manner. Three men had been arrested on January tenth, 1868, charged with stealing $900, and put under bonds to appear at court. On the morning of the day after their arrest they were found on Eddy street, walking abreast and tied together, with a placard attached to them, bearing the following inscription, in conspicuous lettering: "$900 stole; $500 returned; thieves, F. S. Clair, W. Grier, E. D. Brownville. City authorities, please not interfere until 10 o'clock A. M. Next case goes up a tree. Beware of Vigilance Committee." During that year no less than twelve desperadoes were hung and shot, and five sent to the penitentiary, through the agency of the Vigilance Committee. The condition of affairs was at once materially improved.

In 1871 the Territorial Legislature passed a bill giving universal suffrage, without distinction of sex. The ladies at once made use of their newly-acquired political right, with an earnestness and universality entirely unexpected by those who had conferred its exercise upon them. In their capacity as grand jurors, they closed every gambling saloon and brothel in the city, put restrictions upon the liquor traffic, brought criminals to justice who had heretofore defied the law, and, in brief, made a clean sweep of the city, raising its social and moral standard. Women of all classes voted, and, strange to say, even the worst women voted for law and order. Political parties found it necessary to put up men with a good moral record, as well as those politically sound, for the women would not vote for a bad man. All classes recognized the good results of woman suffrage, and all opposition to it was speedily overcome.

Cheyenne is now one of the best governed and most orderly cities in the country; and every Governor of the Territory, whatever his political complexion, has given his unqualified testimony in favor of women at the polls. Women not only deposit their ballots unmolested, but are treated with the utmost courtesy, and the polling places are made comfortable, and even elegant, for their reception. It is no uncommon thing for husband and wife to vote opposing tickets, but no divisions or even disturbances in families have resulted, thus far.

On the first of July, 1867, there was but one house in Cheyenne, standing on what is now Eddy street, between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets, built of logs, smoothly plastered outside and in, and owned by Judge J. R. Whitehead. Six months thereafter there were no less than three thousand houses in the city. The first lots were offered for sale in July, 1867, at one hundred and fifty dollars. Thirty days afterward they sold at one thousand dollars each, and in two or three months later for two thousand five hundred and three thousand dollars. Stores were erected with marvelous rapidity, in its early history, a good-sized and comparatively substantial warehouse being put up in forty-eight hours. The business of the first six months was enormous, single houses making sales of from ten thousand to thirty thousand dollars per month. In two months after the Post-Office was established, it averaged twenty-six hundred letters a day.

As the railroad progressed westward across the mountains, and finally reached the Pacific, Cheyenne suffered a reaction from its sudden and wonderful prosperity. The road took much of its business with it, and the town fell dead. But the discovery of gold in the Black Hills gave a fresh impetus to its business interests. It is also located in the midst of a great stock-raising region, and is surrounded by ranches of stock-men engaged in raising cattle, horses and sheep for market. The cattle and horses find sustenance the year round in the native grasses, and Cheyenne is the natural centre and trading post of these ranch-men. Each year the business increases, and the shipments from the city become larger. Wool is becoming an important export, being produced in great quantities on the large sheep farms.

The railroad has constructed extensive machine and repair shops at Cheyenne, which furnish employment for a large number of workmen. The rickety structures of its early days are fast giving place to substantial brick buildings. There is a fine Court House and Jail, a City Hall, Opera House, and several Public School buildings. In proportion to its population, Cheyenne has now more substantial and handsome business houses than any other western city.

Stock raising is the only agricultural pursuit for which Wyoming is adapted. The soil about Cheyenne is barren, and in no way suited for farming purposes. The rainfall during the year is very slight, and it has been found necessary to resort to irrigation. Therefore, ditches run through the streets, supplying water for the gardens throughout the city, and, by means of this irrigation, what was once a desert is becoming green with trees and shrubbery.

The mineral resources of Wyoming are very rich. Silver and gold are both found in the ranges of hills and mountains to the north and west. Moss agates, opals, topaz, garnets, amethysts, onyx and jasper have all been found in the immediate neighborhood of Cheyenne, and some of the specimens are exceedingly beautiful.

The high elevation of the city gives it a delightful climate. The winters are mild, and the summers free from excessive heat.

Cheyenne has a special niche in my memory, since, in making my horseback journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in 1876, it was the last place at which I dined before entering the Black Hills and falling into the hands of the treacherous Arrapahoes.

The rapid growth which Cheyenne made at the beginning of her existence, and the feverish activity of her business enterprises, have given place long since to a slower but more healthy life and development. Her trade interests are being placed on a firmer foundation, and when the resources of the surrounding country are utilized to the fullest advantage of the city, its prosperity will be assured.

CHAPTER XI.