Capital Characters of Old Cheyenne

by Lori Van Pelt

Early Cheyenne, Wyoming, was jam-packed with fascinating people, both famous and infamous. Lori Van Pelt has written 24 biographies ranging from water law pioneer Elwood Mead, whose name graces one of the nation's most spectacular reservoirs, to champion rodeo cowgirl Prairie Rose Henderson, who died alone on her namesake prairie. Barney Ford, the son of a slave, owned the city's finest hotel. Persimmon Bill was a quick-change artist, a master of escape, and a murderer. Asa Mercer wrote the most controversial book in Wyoming history, Banditti of the Plains. During Dazee Bristol's 105 years she bubbled with vitality--when she didn't have a buggy, she rented a bike to ride to a ranch to meet President Teddy Roosevelt; she played the honkytonk organ on Frontier Days parade floats for 41 years; she wrote a newspaper column which ran more years than any other in the nation. This book is a must for anyone interested in Cheyenne or Wyoming history. It will provide excellent source material for many years to come. Lori Van Pelt is quickly becoming one of the most respected writers in Wyoming with both a book of short stories from the University of New Mexico Press and a biography of Amelia Earhart in Forge's American Heroes series, newly released this year.

287 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2006