Postcard from the Past – The Return of Spring

An editorial in the April 3, 1876, “Weekly Sentinel,” published in Laramie, laments:

“The wild ducks are beginning to make their appearance again, showing that spring and warm weather are not far away. On the whole, we have had but very little reason to complain of the weather, in this particular locality, during the past winter, but it will be a pleasant sight to see the Laramie Plains green once more and all of the cattle sleek and fat.

“The wild fowl will swarm in the river and in the handsome lakes to the southwest of us, and our markets will have some change from the beef we have been obligated to eat, however good it may have been. Not only will we have an improvement in the way of something for our tables, but there will be some other birds to be seen ‘round about besides our little friends and the snow-birds, who do everything in their power to cheer us up during the lonesome winter time.

“Yes, we are glad the spring is returning – glad the wild ducks are flying about overhead and glad to think the grass will soon don its green mantles of spring.

“Nature, like the beautiful belle that she is, has her appropriate costumes for the different seasons, each of which is in the highest degree becoming, but of all her robes and all her styles, perhaps the spring style is the most enchanting. And, when she decks herself with dainty flowers and bright leaves, weaving chaplets of wondrous beauty for herself, we think she shows to her very best advantage.”

An article in the same newspaper had the editor showing a bit of “cabin fever” with the following blurb:

“The telegraphic correspondent of the Chicago Inter-Ocean has been in a terrible sweat for the past week because he feared the Sentinel was stealing and publishing his ‘specials.’ We advise the poor ass to shave his head, put a mustard poultice on his hoofs and go to bed.

“Good heavens! We wouldn’t publish the stuff he sends to the Chicago Inter-Ocean if he would send it to us gratis and prepay it, let alone steal it. They (his articles) are destitute of both sense and truth, and the only object they ever had in view was to puff Cheyenne and the Black Hills, so that the correspondent could dead-beat his grub at the Cheyenne hotels on the strength of them.”

So there, take that, all of you who wrongly accuse the writer of the “Postcard” of “stealing” most of the material for this column – while really what he happily does is “borrow” all of it, pile it high and pass it along as journalism. – D.P.

Have a wonderful spring! With such great spring weather a young person’s fancy, or fantasies, turn to that of love, while us old fogies turn our desires into fishing.