Louis E. Cooke, Gen'l Agent. / Buffalo Bill's Wild West
Lafayette LA [1]Oct. 24th 1900 My Dear Beck—
Have just wired you to immediately have coal fileing trasfered to us— we should have learnt a lesson by this time— So that no one else can beat us— And not trust to our own opinion too much— I should have filed on that coal land my self— But you thought our segregation would hold it— So lets take no more chances— Van Orsdel [2] & Burdick [3] wanted to know as soon as we fixed Darrahs contest on land— so I wired them allso— Morrill [4] —
Get our matters safe quick or some one else will protest or jump coal land— dont delay an hour in protecting our rights—
Yours truly W. F. CodyNote 1: Buffalo Bill's Wild West performed in Lafayette, Louisiana, on October 24, 1900. [back]
Note 2: Josiah Alexander Van Orsdel (1860-1937) became a county prosecuting attorney of Laramie County, Wyoming, in 1892; a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives in 1894; the state attorney general of Wyoming from 1898 to 1905; an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Wyoming 1905-06; assistant to the U.S. Attorney General 1906-07; and U.S. federal judge from 1907 to 1937. [back]
Note 3: Charles W. Burdick (1860-1927) was a prominent Cheyenne lawyer, and served as the first Wyoming state auditor (1890-94) and later as Wyoming secretary of state (1895-99). [back]
Note 4: Charles Henry Morrill (1843-1928) a prominent American businessman who was once president of the Lincoln Land Company. He would help the Burlington Railroad to find the best railroads through the Midwest territories. Cody was once a guide for Morrill exploring the Yellowstone Valley in Wyoming for the railroad. Morrill received invitations for the yearly hunting expeditions organized by Cody. [back]
