Wyoming
Attitudes. . . Short Ropes and Long Falls. . .Prison Walls
by
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As much as racial issues stirred the growing Wyoming
population, so did criminal activities; but attitudes about crime and
lawlessness were not as easily pigeon-holed as were the fixed opinions about
race and minority issues. More often
than not, many of the early Wyoming settlers had hedged a bit here and there
and, depending upon the situation, might well have found reason to lend comfort
and aid to another person who had drifted from the center line. Generally,
however, during the first years of territorial history the absence of specific
criminal codes often left criminal acts ignored, unresolved, pending, or
available for vigilance committee action--
-- Frank Hadsell, a Territorial Legislator, when
interviewed about this very subject in 1886, perhaps best described the
attitudes of the law abiding with a recounting of his personal
experiences: “--you have to hang
rustlers. It’s a ground-hog case.” Lynch law, Hadsell continued, “--makes our
frontier civilization safe and it’s fair-- if we gave all the rustlers a trial
in court, it would cost more than our herds are worth and then maybe half of
them would get off--”
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About the Book
The author has scoured many Wyoming Territorial newspapers and governmental records in order to find elusive versions of Wyoming Territorial and early state history. With a focus on territorial crime and punishment, the author has ventured into areas of wanton waste and destruction of territorial resources, occurring at the very time that early laws were written. While laws were enacted to establish order and safety within the territory, the American Indian, the Blacks, and the Chinese in Wyoming Territory were inhumanely and criminally disenfranchised from the rights the early settlers heaped upon themselves.
Those pre-territorial, territorial, and early state political perceptions of who should and how they should enjoy the good life were soon to be reflected within the laws that governed the sale of alcohol, gambling, the numerous houses of pleasure, the use of natural resources, and the ways the average citizen was to be safeguarded. The selective enforcement of territorial and early state laws enabled the elite and well-heeled to amuse themselves unfettered.
Lawbreakers with political connections often received tailored prison sentences, pardons, and commutations, while the criminal who lacked family status and influence was not on the receiving end of such benevolence.
These selections of particularly well documented early Wyoming history have not been written so as to make history more pleasant.
About the Author
Raised on the Crow Indian Reservation near Wyola and
Lodge Grass, Montana, Duane Shillinger was early exposed to the struggles of
people who possessed little in the way of material wealth. The Reservation was an exciting and adventurous
place for a young boy, but it was also a demanding environment. The life situations experienced on the
Reservation would ever serve to moderate and place in perspective those things
encountered on a daily basis.
After college, Duane became employed at the Wyoming
State Penitentiary as a counselor. He
was eventually appointed as warden, serving at both the old state prison and
the new state prison. As warden Duane would manage with a “hands-on” style,
believing that the warden should never be “desk-bound.” Governor Mike Sullivan once complimented
Duane, after walking through the cell blocks with Duane, on his ability to
recognize each inmate by his first name.
An interest in both penology and in Wyoming’s
history motivated Duane to research, select, and place in book form this
collection of images from Wyoming’s past.