Selections from John Crowley’s Diary, 1868
John Crowley Waits for the Railroad to Lay Out the New Town of Laramie
The following entries are from a diary kept by John F. Crowley, starting January 1, 1868 to May 8, 1868. Born in Prescott, Ontario, Canada, in 1841, he completed elementary schools there and then moved to Ogdensburg, N. Y., at the age of 16 to apprentice as a wheelwright. He enlisted in the Union Army at the beginning of the Civil War, becoming a musician in General Slough’s Brigade Band, U. S. Volunteers. He participated in the battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville and served in the ambulance service at Gettysburg. He was in Alexandria, Virginia, at the time of Lincoln’s assassination and he became a member of the guard of honor at Lincoln’s funeral. He returned to Ogdensburg, stayed briefly and in the spring of 1867, traveled West to Dakota Territory. In April, 1867, he arrived at Fort Sanders, south of present-day Laramie, where he was government wheelwright. The diary begins after he left government service at Fort Sanders nine months later.1
The entries were written in pencil and transcribed in 1987 by Miriam Crowley McCue, Lexington, Mass. The transcribed copy was loaned to Annals of Wyoming through an arrangement between Crowley family members and Maria Madigan, Laramie resident and long-time member of the Albany County Chapter, WSHS. The original diary remains with the Crowley family.
Jan. 1, 1868 [Wednesday]: Just got Discharged from Government Service by reason of an order from Washington. Discharging all employees at Fort Sanders DT [Dakota Territory]. Did not enjoy myself very much today but had to do the best I could in this part of the Country. Went to hear a Serenade in the evening at General Gibbon’s Quarters. It was a great treat for me. Weather Cold and Clammy. Kept in the House Most of the time. Concluded it about the best place to be.
Jan. 2: Went to work to help to put up a barber Shop. Got it done and then the man found out he had no Money to pay us. felt a little vexed about it. Worked some on a Meat House and quit for the day. Weather Cold and a heavy snowstorm raging and everything looks very dismal….
Jan. 3: Another Change in affairs, our cook got discharged and started for Cheyenne, so we have to cook for ourselves, rather tough but we have got to stand it….
Jan. 4: Weather Cold and Stormy. not much excitement in Camp. everything very dull and I am beginning to get discouraged. Think some of going back to the States to try a civilized life once more. Went to see about a contract to get out Rail Road ties. did not like the price so would not go into untill i [sic] looked around a little more.
Jan. 5 [Sunday]: Did not pass a very pleasant day. most of the boys has left and our quarters are very lonesome without them, wont stay here much longer. Got a job to finish a house on the Little Laramie. expect to go up there tomorrow Morning and I am very glad of it for I am tired laying around here and want a change. do not know how long we will stay up there. Heard that we were to be hired again at this post by Government do not know how true it is.
Jan. 6: Got up very early and started for Mantils2 Ranch on the Little Laramie River to finish a house. Had a very Cold ride of it but finaly arrived all right. Made a bargain for the Job. Commenced it but did not do a great deal as the weather cold to work out doors. Laid on the flor [sic] of the ranch but being tired out slept sound.
(The diary goes on to describe other building projects around the fort, including construction of an ice house, and anticipation over where the railroad planned to build their “new town.”)
Feb. 29: Got our Ice House ready for the Ice. expect to commence to fill it soon if the Ice gets good. Weather getting colder. hope it will so that we can get good ice. Went down the river on a little foraging expedition and it proved successful. got back rather tired.
March 1, 1868: Made my regular trip to Fort Sanders. heard considerable talk about the discovery of gold at dale City.3 good deal of excitement about it at the post. do not take much stock in it myself. seen several of the old Carpenters. Most of them loafing. times dull. Weather cold and Windy. Got back to camp all right….
Mar. 5: Home at last-- got the roof on our Cabin at last and commenced to live. find a great deal of difference between it and our wagon cover tent. do not have quite so much dirt to eat but we can get along without that luxury or we try. our stove smokes some but we do not mind trifles. Wind still blowing hard. Indications of a storm.
Mar. 6: Went up to Sanders to get a grate for our stove. had to make one myself. Came to the conclusion that I was not a very good blacksmith. Times dull up there. expect lively times when building commences at Laramie City….Heavy snow storm raging all day.
Mar. 7: Living in good shape. enjoy our Cabin very much and find that we can live far more comfortable that we could at the post—and a great deal cheaper. nothing like having a home if it is a log cabin on a prairie. Weather cold and stormy….
Mar. 9: Nothing to do. was not in a hurry getting out of bed and had a good comfortable place to sleep. Fixed a targate [sic] and practiced some with my rifle. Made some very good shots for a green hand. Capt Metcalf and Jimmy Vine visited us today.4 did not stay long. Weather getting pleasant again.
Mar. 16: Did not have much to do today so I took a trip up to Sanders to see how things looked up there. found everything very dull. all waiting for the new town to commence. think they will sell lots soon. Some talk of a new post going to be started at North Platte crosing [sic]. 5 hope they will for I would like to go up there to work. Weather rather cool.
Mar. 17: Saint Patrick’s Day in the Morning.” Went up to Sanders for a “walk.” found things somewhat livelier. Paymaster there paing [sic] off the troops. plenty Money flying around and lots of the soldiers on a spree. all seem to feel well. Got a job from blackburn [sic] and expect to go to work at Laramie tomorrow morning. Weather cold and stormy.
Mar. 18: Commenced working for Blackburn6 at the new town of Laramie. did not do much as the wind was very high. heard that the company was going to commence selling lots soon. I hope that they will for that will make evry [sic] thing lively. Weather rather cold and very high Wind but there are indications of fine weather. hop [sic] it will come.
Mar. 19: Worked half of the day at Laramie framing a house. business beginning to look a little brighter and I think times will soon be good. If not, there will be a grand “Skidaddle” from this part of the Country for people are getting discouraged about this place. The R R Company are waiting for a permit from Washington to sell lots. expect it soon. Weather cold and windy.
Mar. 20: Working at Laramie but if they do not soon commence to sell lots, will run out of a job. hope they will soon begin for I do not want to lay around much. [Plenty?] houses ready to go up, if the town was ready. Weather a little more pleasant but windy.
Mar. 21: Sweet Saturday has arrived again and having worked hard all day, I feel like having a little rest but having a little business to attend to at Sanders, I was obliged to walk up there. Got back about tired out. Weather warmer….
Mar. 22 [Sunday]: Did not do much travelling for I was determined to enjoy this sweet day of rest. remained at our “Cottage by the Laramie” all day and had a very pleasant time of it and got well rested. all ready for another week’s work. Weather warm and pleasant. hope it will remain so….
Mar. 24: Now we have got it. another violent snowstorm. Could not go out to work, therefore I’ve had to stick close to our Cabin and found it to be a good institution in a storm. the other Carpenters that are in tents and shake ups must have a “bitious” time of it. I Pity them poor Cusses.
Mar. 25: Storm continued to rage fearfully all day. Kept close by the ranch and did not mind it much, but come near being snowed under. it beats anything that I ever seen in my life and I do not care about seeing any more storms like it. Cannot see any thing out of doors 10 feet from the house.
Mar. 26: Weather moderated considerable and we managed to get out of our hut, but had a good deal of shoveling to do first. sun come out fine and made things look better. Went up to Sanders, had a very hard walk of it through the snow. Nothing new up there. Got back all right but felt rather tired.
Mar. 27: Went to work at Laramie and got the frame dug out of the snow. it was rather mean work but it had to be done. Lots not on market yet, all waiting anxiously for them to be sold. heard that they were going to begin shooting last night at the town. false report, no one shot. Weather quite pleasant.
Mar. 28: Got near all done that we can do until the lots are sold. heard that the [town?] was going to be removed to the Little Laramie Crossing. hope they will do that or something else to make the times better. Weather very pleasant.
Mar. 29 [Sunday]: Another day of rest has arrived and I enjoyed it very well. did not go far from the ranch. read all day and was well rested….
Mar. 30: Finished up what work I’ve had to do on the fram[e] so we will have to wait until the lots are sold before we can do any more to it, hard telling when that will be. if not soon, then good by Laramie plains [plans?]. Weather getting a little cooler….
April 1, 1868: Started on a hunt to the Black hills7 but a snow storm commenced and we had to put back for our Cabin and remained there the rest of the day. Storm continued all day.
April 2: Weather still stormy. Oh, what a place for wind and storms and I hope I will not have to stay here next winter, everything looks dismal and nothing doing. Went out with a party hunting. Chased some antelope black-tailed deer but they were so wild we could not get near them. got some sage hens and came home.
April 3: Felt so tired after yesterdays hunt I concluded not to leave home today. got a book and read all day and got well rested ready for another expedition. Nothing doing at Laramie. no lots sold yet. Weather Moderating….
April 6: About tired laying idle but cannot help it for there is not anything to do. No lots sold at Laramie yet and we can not go to work until they are. Heard that Gen. Sheridan and Angus [Augur?] was expected at Sanders and Augur had the town papers with them.8 I hope it is true. Went up to the post and got my “dog.” Weather warm but wind rising….
April 10: Went up to Sanders. found business as usual. very dull. No lots sold at Laramie yet. do not think that they ever will be sold. Almost made up my mind to leave this place. …Weather getting colder and Wind Rising….
April 14: Got up early and started for the hills. Weather fine when we started but after we got there, it was very stormy and could not hunt much. got about 3 miles from our camp and made a fire. sat there until the storm abated a little and started for Camp. Met two large Bears and had a glorious hunt after them and finally made “bruin” give up the ghost, but had a tough time of it before we killed them. left them and got to Camp, proud of our days work. put in a rough night. it was so cold.
April 15: Took the Mules and started for our Bars had some fun getting them on the Mules’ Backs but was near froze in the operation. got back to camp with them and started for home. Could not stay any longer the weather was so cold. Got home all right but rather tired.
April 16: Dressed our Bears and cooked some. found it first rate Meat. Going to tan the hides. Think I will keep mine for to remember my first bear hunt. …. Weather cold and windy. Heard that the lots at Laramie were to be sold on next Monday. hope it is so….
April 18 [Sunday]: Three cheers. Great preparations for building at Laramie lots to be sold on Monday next, sure pray. everyone feels good about it, no more loafing I hope for this reason for I have got enough of. Weather getting warmer.
April 19: “All quiet on the Laramie” but think there will be stirring [?] times this week. remained home all day very lonesome. Weather plesant [sic].
April 20: Lots at Laramie sold and everything looks like business and building is commencing at a fast rate. hope it will continue so all summer wages will be good. Weather fine and warm.
April 21: Had to go up to the post so I did not commence work but expect to tomorrow. people flocking into Laramie very fast. expect that they will commence shooting soon. Heaps of gamblers and pickpockets arriving daily. Weather Comfortable.
April 22: Commenced to work on Freeman and Wright building.9 Worked all day and at night felt better by far than if I had loafed. quite a lot of foalks [sic] in town and all sorts of outfits coming in every hour. buildings going up very fast. Weather warm.
April 23: Had a chance of another job but had plenty of work without it. Got Freeman’s frame put and getting along well with it. Heard of an Indian raid on some graders at rock creek.10 did not hear all the particulars. Weather a little cooler
April 24: Commenced work in the morning but was stopped by a snow storm. had to quit untill noon worked the rest of the day. Seen a fight in town. they came near shooting but was stopped but do not think it will be long before someone is killed.
April 25: Weather very pleasant worked all day and was glad when night came for I was tired. cars expected here in a short time. Then look out for [biz?]
April 26 [Sunday]: Welcome sweet day of rest. Went to town to see what was going on. seen a great many drunken Men and a good many wanted to fight, but they did not make it out. some drew their revolvers but did not use them. Oh, it is a horrid place. nothing thought of a sunday excepting gambling, and fighting Weather very warm
April 27: Laramie increasing in size very fast. buildings going up in every direction and every indication of it being a lively place for some time to come. Working every day and feel first rate. got the building near done. Weather Lovely.
April 28: Thought I was gone up to day but thanks to providence, I was saved. was working in the second story of the building when a “tornado” struck it and down she went. I managed to jump before it fell. there was one man hurt but not very bad. Wind high. Cleared away the ruins. ready to go to work again.
April 29: Commence to put up the building again. Got along very well but things were badly mixed. would sooner build a new one than work at the old one. every thing full of nails. Weather pleasant. Got a letter from L. T. Bray.
April 30: Got our building near up again and glad of it. had some heavy work at it. Another week [sic] whirl wind came along and upset another building. did not hurt ours this time. Town flourishing.
May 1, 1868: Got our building as far along as it was when it blew down. will soon have it done. More Indian trouble at Rock Creek. several men scalped by them. none here yet. Weather warm. worked all day.
May 2: Wind blew very hard. did not work but of a day. Met Cap. Metcalf and went electioneering for “City” officers for Laramie but it did not amount to much as the General declared it null and void. Laramie is in full blast and every thing is Moving lively. Cars expected here tomorrow or next day.
May 3: Cars in sight but will not get in to day short of [ ? ]. Hardy, the prize fighter, was shot at Laramie to day by the deputy sherrif [sic]. not dead yet but cannot live. town filled up with Gamblers Pickpockets and robbers. Weather plisant [sic].
(Crowley was ill and stayed in his house on May 9, the day that the first locomotive pulled into town. The entries end soon after with a comment that he is returning to Cheyenne where he went into business, raised a family, and remained the rest of his life).
1 Biographical information is drawn from a biography in Sharon Lass Field, ed., History of Cheyenne, Wyoming II (Dallas: Curtis Media Corp., 1989), 251-252. Crowley is listed in Saltiel as a “blacksmith” living on Thomes between 16th and 17th Streets, Cheyenne, in 1868. E. H. Saltiel and George Barnett, Directory to Cheyenne, 1868. (Reprinted, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1975), 45.
2 According to the record, Philip Mandel was the first settler on the Laramie Plains. He located his ranch in 1859 and made one of the first homestead entries for the Dakota Territory in 1864. Later, he managed the stage station and sold hay to the government at Fort Sanders. Robert H. Burns, A. S. Gillespie, W. G. Richardson, Wyoming’s Pioneer Ranches. (Laramie: Top of the World Press, 1956), 13, 14. See also, Amy Lawrence, “Overlook: Old Miller Ranch, Lawrence Ranch and Overland Trail,” in Wyoming State Historical Society Trek (brochure), 1999, 11.
3 Dale City had a brief but rowdy existence in the late 1860s when it served as the home base for workers constructing the Dale Creek trestle for the transcontinental railroad. Some 45 log cabins, a dance hall, three hotels and assorted other buildings made up the “town.” See Mae Urbanek, Wyoming Place Names. (Boulder: Johnson Publishing Co., 1967), 53; Mary Lou Pence and Lola M. Homsher, Ghost Towns of Wyoming. (New York: Hastings House, 1956).
4 Jimmy Vine (b. Isle of Man, 1836, d. Laramie, 1907) was employed to build the officers’ quarters at Fort Sanders. Later, he owned a furniture store in Laramie. He served on the city council and as Albany County commissioner. His “ranch” was located north and east of Laramie, approximately four miles from town. Burns, Gillespie and Richardson, 212, 213.
5 The reference is to Fort Fred Steele, built by the army along the North Platte River as a post to protect the railroad.
6 “Blackburn” likely refers to pioneer merchant Roland Blackburn who operated a meat market and coal business in Laramie in the 1870s. See Burns, Gillespie and Richardson, 268, 284.
7 The name was applied to today’s Laramie Range, east of Laramie. The reference is not to the presently named “Black Hills” in northeast Wyoming and western South Dakota.
8 Reference apparently is to Col. C. C. Augur. Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the U. S. Army I (Washington: GPO, 1903), 175.
9 Charles Wright operated a Laramie tannery in the early 1870s. His tannery is noted in the Laramie Daily Sentinel, Nov. 5, 1870. His obituary is the Sentinel, June 5, 1875.
10 Heitman lists an army encounter with Indians at Rock Creek on April 3, 1868. Heitman II, 430.