We offer another mixed bag this month with a brief biography of Jim Bridger and an item on the fate of the outlaw Big Nose George—before and after his death. We offer more too on the turbulent Indian Wars of the 1860s and 1870s, with a new education package for students and teachers and info on a new, free app offering audio links about Indian Wars sites. The app, TravelStorysGPS™, is aimed at history-minded travelers acrossing our state with their smartphones and tablets.
 
Jim Bridger’s mental map of the West
Jim Bridger’s skills as guide, mapmaker and businessman were unmatched. After 20 years trapping beaver in the northern Rockies, he co-founded Fort Bridger on the Blacks Fork of the Green River in 1843. Later, he guided important government exploring expeditions and troops on Indian campaigns. In 1868, he retired to Missouri, where he died in 1881. Read James Lowe’s bio of Bridger and see a remarkable artifact—an 1860s hand-drawn copy of the map of the West he kept in his head at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/jim-bridger.
 
Big Nose George and those shocking shoes
Train robber and confessed murderer Big Nose George Parrott was lynched in downtown Rawlins, Wyo., in 1881, after he tried to break out of jail. Later, local physician and future Wyoming Gov. Dr. John Osborne had a pair of shoes made from the outlaw’s skin. Read more in WyoHistory.org Assistant Editor Lori Van Pelt’s article at http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/big-nose-george-grisly-frontier-tale.

Fort Reno and Cantonment Reno: same name, different purposes  
Two military posts were built a few miles apart during the Indian Wars near the strategic Bozeman Trail crossing of Powder River—Fort Reno in the 1860s and Cantonment Reno in the 1870s. The first was one of three forts whose existence provoked the tribes into war. The second was an important supply base for Gen. George Crook when he led three different expeditions into the Powder River Basin as part of the U.S. Army’s final drive to force remaining free-roaming Sioux and Cheyenne bands onto reservations. Fort Reno and Cantonment Reno: Indian Wars Outposts on the Powder River by Lori Van Pelt & WyomingHeritage.org
http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/fort-reno-and-cantonment-reno-indian-wars-outposts-powder-river.

Quiz yourself: Indian Wars education package 
For teachers, students and anyone who wants to pursue more in-depth study of the Indian Wars, WyoHistory.org presents a new education package featuring lesson plans and 13-question quizzes for Fort Laramie; Fort Fetterman; Fort Caspar; Fort Reno and Cantonment Reno; Fort Phil Kearny; the Fetterman Battlefield; the site of the Wagon Box Fight; and the Connor Battlefield. See it all at http://www.wyohistory.org/education/indian-wars.
 
Indian Wars audio narratives available 
WyoHistory.org recently teamed with an app developer in Wilson, Wyo., to create GPS-triggered audio narratives for people touring these same eight Indian Wars sites. These narratives, together with photos of places and people important to each of the historic sites, are available now to smartphone users who download the free app at TravelStorysGPS™.

At the same time, as you travel Wyoming, take WyoHistory.org with you with our downloadable travel itineraries. Use QR codes in the brochure to quickly access our website for in-depth articles, maps, directions and photo galleries—all with info on these historic sites and landmarks. Find out more at http://www.wyohistory.org/travel.
 
C-SPAN Wyoming coverage now online
Deborah Lamb, C-SPAN Cities Tour coordinating producer, recently let us know that C-SPAN’s Cheyenne Weekend, which was broadcast in early September and featured a number of Wyoming authors, historians and other dignitaries on C-SPAN’s Book TV and History TV, is now available to view online. It’s now available indefinitely, along with the segments from C-SPAN’s Casper Weekend, which was broadcast in mid-August. See all the segments—lots of good viewing here—at http://www.c-span.org/search/?searchtype=Videos&sort=Most+Recent+Airing&all%5B%5D=Wyoming.