Title: Letter from William F. Cody to C. L. Hinkle

Date: May 17, 1901

Author: Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917

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Louis E. Cooke, Gen'l Agt.
Buffalo Bill's Wild West

St Louis, Mo, May 17th, 1901. [1]

Mr. C. L. Hinkle,
Cheyenne, Wyo.

My dear Hinkle:—

Your favor of the 15th before me. As I don't want to injure De Maris, who thinks he owns the springs, and very justly so, I will make application for 130,000 gallons of the different waters per day from those springs for the use of the Military College and for my hotel and for bathing and shipping purposes. [2] I think that the w ter should be shipped all over the country as soon as the railroad gets there. It wilo advertise the state. Now if you will fix this application up for me so it will be in legal form I will sign it and give bonds if necessary. [3] Make it for as long a time as possible as I will have to go to several thousand dollars expense to fix the springs. This amount of water will be only comparatively a drop taken from the immense flow of those springs and I wont be injuring any one in taking it. [4] Instead I will be benifiting the people and advertising the State.

Very truly yours,

W. F. Cody

Note 1: Buffalo Bill's Wild West performed in St. Louis from May 13 to May 18, 1901. [back]

Note 2: Penciled notes, not in Cody's handwriting, on the back of the last sheet of Cody's letter to Hinkle dated April 27, 1901, refer to this 130,000 gallons per day figure. [back]

Note 3: As chief clerk of the Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners, Hinkle had no direct jurisdiction over water use permits, which were administered by the state engineer's office. William F. Cody must have believed that Hinkle could intercede for him with the relevant authorities in Cheyenne. [back]

Note 4: Cody's application for water rights at DeMaris Springs was apparently never approved, and Charles DeMaris remained in control of the site. [back]

Title: Letter from William F. Cody to C. L. Hinkle

Source: McCracken Research Library (MRL), MS6.0111

Date: May 17, 1901

Author: Cody, William Frederick, 1846-1917

Topic: Buffalo Bill's Wyoming

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