Myths have surprisingly long lifespans and they are extremely difficult to correct once they’ve been accepted by the popular culture. Following are at least 12 examples from Wyoming. The exact sources are not always clear; the “de-bunkers” were often historians who had to labor long and hard to get to the “truth” in each case. During this talk, I will examine possible origins and then the facts as uncovered later by historians.
THE SYMBOLS
“The cowboy on the bucking horse logo on the license plate is:
Clayton Danks
Guy Holt
Stub Farlow
….
“my grandfather”
“composite of every cowboy”
Joe Meyer
Joe Glenn
And the horse…..
Steamboat
Red Wing
THE NOTORIOUS
“Tom Horn wasn’t hanged. They hanged his double and he slipped away.”
“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid didn’t die in Bolivia. Butch returned to America, changed his name to William Phillips and died in Spokane, Washington.”
“Laramie got the University of Wyoming and Rawlins got the prison because Rawlins had first choice.”
THE FAMOUS
“Edison invented the light bulb on the shores of Battle Lake by watching the embers on his bamboo fishing pole glow.”
“Sacajawea lived to old age on the Wind River reservation, died there, and was buried in the cemetery.”
“Winston Churchill was nearly born in Wyoming while his parents visited at the Frewen ranch in the Powder River country.”
LOCAL MYTHOLOGY
“Portugee Phillips rode one horse, War Eagle, the entire 235 miles from Fort Phil Kearny to Fort Laramie. The horse dropped dead in front of Old Bedlam at the end of the ride.”
“Esther Morris held a tea party….”
BOOKS
“The first edition of Asa Mercer’s book, The Banditti of the Plains, was confiscated and nearly all were destroyed.”
“Owen Wister did not write The Virginian.”
THE IMPLAUSIBLE
“The Medicine Wheel was constructed by extra-terrestrials.” –John Eddy, astronomer
“Chili was invented in Wyoming by a sheepherder who used it to warm the feet of his sheepdogs.” –Red Fenwick