Letter from William F. Cody to George T. Beck, July 24, 1895 Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917 Johnston, Jeremy Christianson, Frank Seefeldt, Douglas, 1964- Supported in part by a grant from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, a program of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. 2013 William F. Cody Archive University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center for Digital Research in the Humanities
319 Love Library University of Nebraska–Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68588-4100 cdrh@unlnotes.unl.edu
Lincoln, Nebraska
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68588-4100
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BBWW performed in Montpelier, Vermont, July 24, 1895. Horace C. Alger (1857-1906) was a banker from Sheridan, Wyoming, who was mayor of Sheridan in 1889 and a candidate for Governor of Wyoming in 1898. Cody, Beck, and Alger were responsible for developing the Shoshone Irrigation Company. Theo Heckert was a railroad contractor who had a "grading outfit" used in construction of the Cody canal [See Patrick's The Best Little Town by a Dam Site, p19]. Russell refers to M. R. "Mike" Russell, a/k/a/ "Deadwood Mike," a long-time friend of WFC, who was owner of the Buffalo Saloon in Deadwood, S.D.; when WFC bought cattle and horses from Mike Russell, the brand TE came, too; thus, the name TE Ranch, Ishawooa, Wyoming. Anson Higby (~1862-unknown) was a banker in Deadwood, S.D., who in 1893 partnered with Mr. C. H. Grinnell (later Mayor of Sheridan), J. R. Phelan, George T. Beck to form the Sheridan Fuel Company on lands approximately four miles north of Sheridan. This area soon became a thriving company-owned mining camp known as Higby. Higby became president of the Basin State Bank in Basin, Wyoming, as well as mayor and baseball coach of the town. He was the secretary for the Wyoming State Fair board for about five years beginning in 1913. Higby was elected to the board of directors for several emerging oil-gas companies including the Flat Top Oil & Gas Company, the Emery Oil Company, the Glenhurst Company, and worked for the Midwest Refining Company out of Casper, Wyoming. "Leighter" might have been misspelled by WFC. He may have been referring to one of these two men who had major investments in the Sheridan area: Levi Z. Leiter (1834-1904) was a businessman from Chicago with extensive business interests in Wyoming, including ranching, mining, and the development of water resources. Joseph Leiter (1868-1932), only son of Levi Leiter, was a self-described capitalist [See 1920 and 1930 United States Federal Census Record for Joseph Leiter]. He managed the business affairs of his father and then of his father's estate starting in 1904 which included four ranches in Wyoming [See http://www.ucrossfoundation.org/about-us/ucross-ranch/]. Leiter was a major force with the Lake DeSmet Water Project in Johnson County, the second Kearney Lake Company and other irrigation projects that serve crop lands to this day. William E. Hymer (~1853-1933) was one of the early members of the Shoshone Land and Irrigation Company. Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917 Letter from William F. Cody to George T. Beck July 24, 1895 1 page University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Buffalo Bill Letters to George T. Beck (Acc. #9972) ah031280

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Texts Correspondence Buffalo Bill's Wyoming Beck, George Washington Thornton, 1856-1943 Alger, Horace Chapin, 1857-1906 Heckert, Theodore Russell, Michael R. "Mike", 1847-1930 Higby, Anson, ~1862-? Grinnell, C. H. Phelan, J. R. Zeiter, Levi Z., 1834-1904 Leiter, Levi Z. (Levi Ziegler), 1834-1904 Hymer, William Ebert, 1853-1933 Shoshone Irrigation District (Wyo.) Weakly, Laura K. Changed Leiter's name Weakly, Laura K. Added annotations Weakly, Laura K. Initial encoding Clark, Linda Proofing Boyce, Gary Transcription Adams, Deb Transcription

The Buffalo Bill Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World.

Col. W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), President.Nate Salsbury, Vice-Pres't and Manager.John M. Burke, . . . General Manager.Albert E. Scheible, . . . Business Manager.Jule Keen, . . . Treasurer. Montpelier July 241 Dear George—

I have wired & wrote you— I wrote Alger & Heckart— But no reply. I hope nothing will prevent the meeting at Sheridan Aug. 1st And George have it settled then and there— would like to know if Higby2 is in if he is Russell will be in. Two good Men— What about Leighter3. Have you fixed contract with Wyo. State Land Board? We must have our contract before we go to far— Organize Town Site Co. also Aug 1st I wrote Hymer to put the Sulphur Springs4 in to the Townsite Co— Then find out best way to get good title to Land for Town. Take it cool but get there— And have things Iron bound— & letslet's get to work—

Bill Note 1: The year is not inscribed by Cody but is 1895 as determined by the Routes List: Buffalo Bill's Wild West performed in Montpelier, Vermont, on July 24, 1895. Note 2: "Higby" was likely Anson Higby (b. 1862), a banker in Deadwood, S.D., who in 1893 partnered with Mr. C. H. Grinnell (later Mayor of Sheridan), J. R. Phelan, and George T. Beck to form the Sheridan Fuel Company on lands approximately four miles north of Sheridan. This area soon became a thriving company-owned mining camp known as Higby. Higby became president of the Basin State Bank in Basin, Wyoming, as well as mayor and baseball coach of the town. He was the secretary for the Wyoming State Fair board for about five years beginning in 1913. Higby was elected to the board of directors for several emerging oil-gas companies including the Flat Top Oil & Gas Company, the Emery Oil Company, the Glenhurst Company, and worked for the Midwest Refining Company out of Casper, Wyoming. Note 3: "Leighter" might have been misspelled by Cody, who may have been referring to one of these two men who had major investments in the Sheridan area: Levi Z. Leiter (1834-1904), a businessman from Chicago with extensive business interests in Wyoming, including ranching, mining, and the development of water resources; or Joseph Leiter (1868-1932), only son of Levi Leiter, who was a self-described capitalist. Joseph Leiter managed the business affairs of his father and then of his father's estate starting in 1904 which included four ranches in Wyoming. Joseph Leiter was a major force with the Lake DeSmet Water Project in Johnson County, the second Kearney Lake Company, and other irrigation projects that serve croplands to this day. Note 4: "Sulphur Springs" is likely Cody's reference to "DeMaris Springs," a warm sulphur spring located in the middle of the original Cody City town site.