When the reigning monarch of Monaco went hunting with Buffalo Bill in 1913, the world took notice. The hunt—both for big-game animals and positive publicity—turned out well for both men. This month, we offer a look at those events, the remarkable life story of a mountain man and a brief history of how Wyoming’s capital city, Cheyenne, survived its end-of-the-tracks origins to thrive as a government, commercial and transportation hub. 

Camp Monaco

In 1913, Buffalo Bill joined Prince Albert I of Monaco—the first reigning monarch ever to visit the United States—on a big-game hunt east of Yellowstone National Park. Both were at points late in their lives where they badly needed good publicity—and they got it. To learn more, read John Clayton’s article “The Royal Hunt, 1913: Prince Albert and Buffalo Bill” at https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/royal-hunt-1913-prince-albert-and-buffalo-bill.

Beaver Dick Leigh

Trapper, ferryman, hunting guide and Mexican War veteran Beaver Dick Leigh lived an active, colorful and sometimes tragic life on both sides of the Tetons in the mid and late 19th century. Leigh, Jenny and Beaver Dick—now String—lakes in Jackson Hole are named for him and for his first wife, an Eastern Shoshone from Washakie’s band.

Read historian Steve Roberts’ piece, “Beaver Dick Leigh, Mountain Man of the Tetons” at https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/beaver-dick-leigh-mountain-man-tetons.

The Magic City of the Plains

Union Pacific locomotives still rumble through Cheyenne, as they first did 150 years ago. But after the railroad arrived in November 1867, skeptics questioned whether the town would last, as so many other end-of-tracks communities had died once the graders and tracklayers moved on. Read more about the city’s history in WyoHistory.org Assistant Editor Lori Van Pelt’s article “Cheyenne, Magic City of the Plains” at https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/cheyenne-magic-city-plains.

Digital Toolkit: Grace Hebard and Wyoming’s World War I Home Front

As Wyoming and the nation continue to observe the 100th anniversary of U.S. involvement in World War I, this month we offer a toolkit new topic: “Grace Raymond Hebard and the Wyoming Home Front in World War I.”

The toolkits, designed primarily for classroom use, are aimed at students at secondary levels and above. They connect topics in Wyoming’s past with one of 12 main areas of U.S. history, from the Constitution through the Cold War to coal-rich Wyoming’s role in the nation’s future.

Each toolkit meets Wyoming State Social Studies Standards and offers a quick summary of the topic, links to primary source material, more detailed background information and exercises to help students and their teachers explore further. See more toolkits on WyoHistory.org’s Education page at https://www.wyohistory.org/education.