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Pioneers of Outlaw Country

Author: Hot Springs County Pioneer Association

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A historical podcast featuring stories from the pioneers who dared make the outlaw territory of Wyoming home. These are their stories. 

This podcast series has been supported by our partners; the Hot Springs County Pioneer Association, the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, a program of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, the Wyoming Humanities, and the Wyoming Office of Transportation. 

26 Episodes
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Send us a textWelcome to a special edition of Pioneers of Outlaw Country! Journey with us through the rich and adventurous history of the Yellowstone Highway through the Wind River Canyon, now a scenic by-way. From its rugged landscapes to the tales etched into its cliffs, this byway has seen it all.We kick off with the Gold Rush era, exploring how the promise of fortune drew eager prospectors into the canyon, igniting a frenzy that transformed the region. As gold seekers braved the treachero...
Send us a textWhen You Call Me That – Smile! It was now the Virginian's turn to bet, or leave the game, and he did not speak at once. Therefore, Trampas spoke. “Your bet, you son-of-a—.” The Virginian's pistol came out, and his hand lay on the table, holding it unaimed. And with a voice as gentle as ever, the voice that sounded almost like a caress, but drawling a very little more than usual, so that there was almost a space between each word, he issued his orders to the man Tr...
1885 Cattle Round Up

1885 Cattle Round Up

2024-03-0709:23

Send us a textThe strike of a rattlesnake, the danger of stampede, the whistling of cowboys, the swish of a lasso and the sting of the hot sun. The cowboys on round-up are a true pioneer of Wyoming. Welcome to another episode of "Pioneers of Outlaw Country," where we delve into fascinating stories from Wyoming’s past that often go unnoticed. I am your host, Jackie Dorothy, and today we are traveling on a round-up with one of our favorite tourists, Owen Wister. His observa...
Send us a textThe Harvard student of law bent over his journal, writing in camp light and by kerosene. He was capturing the words that he would one day use to write the most popular Western fiction in the world. In 1885, a young tourist arrived in Wyoming and went by stage to Medicine Bow. He was a 24 year old Owen Wister who faithfully recorded in his journal all that he saw - and he wasn't very impressed! Years later, these jottings were the experiences of the Tenderfoot and the...
Send us a textWhen we think of the early visitors of Wyoming, we think of the cowboys, homesteaders, miners and others coming to the West to make their fortune. There was another group of young men who came west on the trains and stagecoaches. These were young, rich men looking for an adventure and relaxation. They were not in Wyoming to find their fortune but here to vacation.Among these young tourists was a Harvard student of law, Owen Wister. His journals kept a record of his first arrival...
Send us a textThe faded pencil script spelled out rough poems, descriptions of sunsets and hangings, saloon scenes, cowboy tall tales, the wide-open prairie and the sharp retort of the gun. From Owen Wister’s pen, the cowboy myth was born and became a true relic of Wyoming’s rich past. The Pioneers of Outlaw Country. Cowboys, Lawmen and Outlaws… to the businessmen and women who all helped shape Wyoming. Here are their stories. Owen Wister, His Forgotten Wo...
Send us a textThe most famous cowboy prank in Wyoming... may never have happened. Or did it? In his novel, The Virginian, Owen Wister tells of a baby swapping prank that happened at a rural dance. It was common practice in those days to pile the babies under chairs and tables to sleep while the parents danced the night away. According to Wister, two cowboys took advantage of this situation to pull a legendary stunt! After his novel was published, residents of Thermopolis and other...
Send us a textWhen Owen Wister brought his family to Wyoming in 1912, they brought along a special friend: Peeshee, the waltzing mouse. The inclusion of this tiny tourist in their family gives us insight into the Wister family dynamics and their love of nature in all forms.The Waltzing Mouse, once as common as goldfish as pets for children, was a puzzle to the scientists who studied them. These tiny creatures would whirl in circles rather than walk in straight lines and were more docile than ...
Send us a text"Young man, go west!"Among the cowboys and frontiersmen, miners and homesteaders were a group of young adventurers - the rich young tenderfoot. These tourists were not seeking their fortunes but were tourists, looking to get away from the confines of civilization even briefly. One of these young men took his journals and turned them into fiction, becoming one of the best-selling authors in America. Even today, his novel, The Virginian, is one of the top 50 fictions in the l...
Send us a textIn 1902, the most popular book in America was The Virginian by Owen Wister. This book changed America's perspective on the cowboy and turned the once maligned cowhand into a romantic hero.Told at times through the eyes of the Tenderfoot, this is a story of a courageous but mysterious cowboy known only as “the Virginian”. He works as foreman of a cattle ranch in the Wyoming territory during the1880s and is admired by his friends and enemies alike. The gunplay and viole...
Send us a textIn 1903, Tom O'Day was villainized in the newspapers as a notorious horse thief but his friends and acquaintances defended him as a cheerful Irishman who may embellish a brand once in awhile. That February he was unarmed when, suddenly, he was in the fight of his life. Join us on this exciting escapade of one of Wyoming's most beloved outlaws, Tom O'Day! Thank you for listening to Hot Springs County Pioneers. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episod...
Send us a textHappy New Year! What better way to celebrate than to travel back in time to 1884 in the Wyoming Territory. Warning... Sprinkled in with the 1884 New Years predictions are superstitions and even an old-fashioned romance. We are celebrating the 1884 New Year just as residents did that same year and reading through the Cheyenne Daily Sun after staying up to bring in the New Year! 1883 had been a time of prosperity for many in Wyoming and the fledging city of Cheyenne. The cat...
Send us a textThey were daring adventurers, forgers of a new life, homesteaders …. and forgotten to history. These vanished people were true pioneers of Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The Pioneers of Outlaw Country. Cowboys, Lawmen and Outlaws… to the businessmen and women who all helped shape Thermopolis and Hot Springs County, Wyoming. Here are their stories. The Lost Owl Creek Colony Many, many years ago, strangers came from t...
Send us a textHe was the founder of Thermopolis, well-respected businessman and cattleman, a dashing bachelor, expert horseman and a murderer. This cattleman and businessman was a true pioneer of Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The Pioneers of Outlaw Country. Cowboys, Lawmen and Outlaws… to the businessmen and women who all helped shape Thermopolis and Hot Springs County, Wyoming. Here are their stories. Ben Hanson, The Murder of Tom Bird A rumor o...
Send us a textShe was the daughter of an oil man, grew up in the Grass Creek oil field – playing among the pumpjacks and dancing at the one-room school house in the early part of the 1900’s. This student of the land was truly a pioneer of Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The Pioneers of Outlaw Country. Cowboys, Lawmen and Outlaws… to the businessmen and women who all helped shape Thermopolis and Hot Springs County, Wyoming. Here are their stories. Elizabeth Mc...
Send us a textOver the Stage Line to Thermopolis They were adventurers, farm boys, prospectors, family men and former soldiers. These men who drove the stage through Wyoming had to be endure the heat of summer and the sleet and snow of winter... and bandits. These hardy stagecoach drivers were true pioneer of Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The Pioneers of Outlaw Country. Cowboys, Lawmen and Outlaws… to the businessmen and women who all helped shape Thermopolis and Hot ...
Send us a text A single gunshot rang out. It was night on a bustling Wyoming street - yet no one admitted to recognizing the gunman who escaped into the crowd…. Dora McGrath: A Lady of the Wild West She was the daughter of homesteaders and wife of a coal miner. A mother, business woman, stylish lady of society, soldier advocate, and first woman senator of Wyoming. This courageous mother was a true pioneer of Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The Pioneers...
Send us a textJoe Meek: The Mountain Man He was the tall Virginian. A trapper, Indian fighter, pioneer, peace officer, frontier politician, and lover of practical jokes and Jacksonian democracy. This friend and companion of Kit Carson and Jim Bridger was a true pioneer of Wyoming and Hot Springs County. The Pioneers of Outlaw Country. Cowboys, Lawmen and Outlaws… to the businessmen and women who all helped shape Thermopolis and Hot Springs County, Wyoming. ...
Send us a textAs the wind blew across the snow, the mountain men made a winter camp without provisions or hope of getting any until they reached the plains where the buffalo roamed. They were living off the land and the deer and elk had fled this high country. It was 1829 and Joe Meek was a teenage runaway who had joined this band of men as a hired hunter and trapper only the spring before. The tall Virginian had already been attacked by Indians, lost in the country and had met starvatio...
Send us a textHe was a man of the West. A cowboy, husband, father, outlaw, hired assassin, lawman and lone wolf. This Deputy Sheriff and Horse Rustler was a true pioneer of Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The Pioneers of Outlaw Country. Cowboys, Lawmen and Outlaws… to the businessmen and women who all helped shape Thermopolis and Hot Springs County, Wyoming. Here are their stories. Albert Slick Nard, Lawman & Outlaw Part II –– Lawman to Outlaw...
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