Laramie hosted many travelers crossing the country on the newly completed transcontinental railroad. Few had a more exciting ride than those in this account from a local newspaper. (Don’t try this at home!)
Laramie Daily Sentinel, May 26, 1870:
“One of the excursions today from the east met with a very singular adventure and a narrow escape, withal. A young lady, Miss Mattie L. Evarts, a correspondent of the Chicago Evening Journal, in company with Charles Whited of the telegraph construction corps and E. E. Ludlow, an operator, got upon the cow-catcher, or pilot of the engine at Sherman for a novel ride. They had it.
“When about half way down the mountains to this city, it commenced to hail and rain pouring down in torrents. When within about two miles of this place, the engine ran into a steer that stood upon the track. The creature was instantly killed at their feet; but fortunately was thrown from the pilot and track instead of being piled up on the party, or throwing the engine from the track as might have been expected.
“The train was running at great speed and it was a thrilling adventure and narrow escape. We were at the depot when they came in still maintaining their ground, but we were informed the young lady was the coolest and least excited of the party.”
Smoot-Hawley Tariff and Impact on Wyoming Commodity Prices, 1930
When the ill-advised protectionist, nationalist Smoot-Hawley tariff wa enacted by the Herbert Hoover administration, the wide-ranging impact on Wyoming commodity producers generally was disastrous. The tariff went into effect on June 17, 1930.
Here are some prices paid to Wyoming commodity producers less than a year later: wheat, 14 cents/bushel; cattle, $4.14/hundred (about 4 cents a pound); oil, 19 cents/barrel (a barrel is 42 gallons, thus oil was going for less than a half-cent per gallon). To call it ruinous to Wyoming’s main industries would be an understatement.Sometimes, Presidents can learn a thing or two from history; sometimes, not. Today’s news (June 19, 2018), in many ways, show this President’s ignorance of history as to trade and his inherent evil by his immigration child-separation policy.