Sep 17, 2015 - Sale 2391

Sale 2391 - Lot 374

Price Realized: $ 688
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750
(WYOMING.) Pair of substantial letters from Wyoming officials regarding the territory's tempestuous politics. Autograph Letters Signed from John M. Thayer as territorial governor and Gilbert Adams as former United States Marshal to United States Attorney General Edwards Pierrepont. 13 and 2 pages; condition strong. (MRS) Cheyenne and Laramie, WY, 25 September and 12 October 1875
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Governor Thayer rails against the recent replacement of the territory's U.S. Marshall with Frank Wolcott (best known for his later unsavory role in the Johnson County War). Thayer provides numerous examples of the capricious form of justice practiced in the territory. For example, "in Judge Thomas' district, the deputy sheriff had summoned several colored men as jurors in attendance in court. Judge Thomas promptly discharged them and threatened the officer with dismissal if he summoned that class of persons again." The other letter is from the marshal who was replaced by Wolcott. He had apparently been dismissed on a charge of forgery, which he vehemently denies. Provenance: Hamilton sale, 14 January 1965, lot 212, to the consignor.