American Endurance

by Richard A. Serrano

  For background on Joe Gillespie, I thank Clay Comer of Calumet, Oklahoma, and his work in pulling together family history, letters, photographs, and memoirs about his great-grandfather. “I always knew he was a famous cowboy and thought I knew him well,” Clay told me as we researched the old man. “But it has been amazing how time can change your memories.”

  Harold Comer’s comments are drawn from his personal writings as well as interviews he gave to others, including Chadron reporters in the summer of 1993 to mark the hundredth anniversary of the Great Cowboy Race. Also of help was great-grandson Daniel Gillespie of Shady Cove, Oregon.

  For more on Joe Gillespie, see Watson, Prairie Justice, 31–33; and Voices of the Sandhills, Tryon, NE (Winter 2004–2005): 1.

  The Cedar Rapids (IA) Journal article on favorite son Joe Gillespie was published during the cowboy race on June 25, 1893.

  The quotation regarding Gillespie’s “glib manner” is from the Chicago Daily News, June 26, 1893, 1.

  Gillespie’s dustup with Chadron town marshal Timothy Morrissey comes from Iaeger, Man of Many Frontiers, 241. For more about Morrissey, see Compendium of History, Reminiscence, and Biography of Western Nebraska, 140–41.

  Ora Niegel’s reminiscences about her grandfather appeared in True West (September–October 1959): 10–11.

  Also of great value is the travel diary of Gillespie’s wife, Anna, documenting their trip from the Nebraska Panhandle to west central Oklahoma. It is included in “Coxville, Nebraska, to Fay, Oklahoma, by Wagon (1893): The Journal of Anna Gillespie,” Nebraska History (Fall 1984): 344–65.

  James “Rattlesnake Pete” Stephens eventually returned to the middle of Kansas, and it was there that I discovered much about his long life as a cowboy–turned–town barber who often regaled boys and newspaper reporters with tales of the Great Cowboy Race. Family member Joan Pivonka was of great help in learning more about Rattlesnake Pete, as was Jack S. Gellerstedt of Forest, Virginia, one of the boys who long ago came crashing into Pete’s barbershop.

  Of special interest is Ed Tolle, “Rattlesnake Pete and the Great 1,000 Mile Horse Race,” in the Reno County Historical Society’s journal, Legacy (Fall 1995): 2–11. Stephens was periodically quoted in the Hutchinson (KS) News and the Hutchinson News-Herald, generally describing the race and complaining about false stories that occasionally popped up, such as allegations that he had served whiskey to his horse General Grant. The dates of these stories are July 7, 1927; June 6, 1930; March 10, 1932; June 13, 1933, 1; April 17, 1942; June 13, 1943, 1; June 6, 1944; April 26, 1946; June 16, 1946; May 16, 1948, 18; and June 19, 1957. A good description of Stephens during the race ran in the Chicago Herald, June 16, 1893, 1.

  In the dying days of the Old West, a number of “Rattlesnake Petes” rode in off the prairie. Buffalo Bill’s aide William Liddiard, for instance, is mentioned in the Columbus (NE) Journal, March 14, 1900, 1.

  The imposter bursting into Deadwood, South Dakota, was unmasked in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, August 9, 1935, 8.

  August “Gus” Robson claimed that he had hunted in Africa with Theodore Roosevelt and served as the former president’s personal barber, according to the Lincoln (NE) Star, January 9, 1932, 1. Robson also showed up in the Waterloo (IA) Press, February 2, 1939, 3; and in Laura Trowbridge, “The Fabulous Cowboy Race,” West (April 1968): 16–17, 48–50, where Robson is confused with the Rattlesnake Pete of Kansas.

  “Rattlesnake Pete” Gruber of Pennsylvania can be found in the Los Angeles Herald, September 19, 1897; New Orleans Times-Picayune, July 31, 1893, 8; Columbia (TN) Herald, June 9, 1893, 6; and Reading (PA) Times, July 15, 1901, 5.

  Stephens’s position on the local barbers’ union strike was reported in the Hutchinson (KS) News, October 25, 1916, 2.

  Emmett Albright is featured in Iaeger, Man of Many Frontiers, 106, 110–11, 115, 120, 129, 137, 144. See also Chadron Citizen, February 23, 1893, 1.

  Joe Campbell is highlighted in the Chadron Signal, May 27, 1893, 1.

  All that could be found regarding “Little Davy” Douglas came from a story in the Philadelphia Times, August 20, 1893, 5, relating that he was being mistaken for a stockman named Dave Douglass from Montana.

  George “Stub” Jones, also sometimes called “Abe” or “Eb,” is mentioned in Lemmon, “Developing the West,” 6–7.

  Charley “C. W.” Smith appears in Lee and Williams, Last Grass Frontier, 244; and the Hot Springs (SD) Daily Star, June 8 and October 27, 1893.

  Meg van Asselt of McPherson, Kansas, the granddaughter of the man who donated Smith’s boots to the Dawes County Historical Museum, was interviewed by the author on January 25, 2015.

  8. So Long, Nebraska

  The nation’s newspapers recorded the crack of the pistol shot fired high above the Blaine Hotel and the launch of the cowboys to Chicago. Stories were published in the Chicago Times, June 14, 1893, 1; Chicago Herald, June 14, 1893, 1; Chicago Tribune, June 14, 1893, 2; Omaha Daily Bee, June 14, 1893, 1; New York World, June 14, 1893, 3; Sioux City (IA) Journal, June 14, 1893, 1; Chadron Citizen, June 15, 1893, 1; Dawes County Journal, June 16, 1893, 1; Chadron Signal, June 17, 1893, 1; and Rushville (NE) Standard, June 23, 1893, 1.

  The Buck letter to Governor Crounse is in the Nebraska state archives.

  Governor Boies’s letter to Iowa county sheriffs was reported by the Sioux Valley News in Correctionville, Iowa, June 15, 1893, 1; and the Helena (MT) Independent, June 14, 1893, 1.

  The Altgeld pardons, as well as the Illinois lynching, are discussed at length in Barnard, “Eagle Forgotten,” 178–79. See also Omaha World Herald, June 27, 1893, 1.

  Governor Altgeld’s proclamation warning against any cruelty to the horses is included in Barnard, “Eagle Forgotten,” 178–79. See also Chicago Herald, June 14, 1893, 1; and Sioux City (IA) Journal, June 14, 1893, 1.

  John Shortall’s prediction that “there must be cruelty” appeared in the Omaha Daily Bee, June 15, 1893; and the Columbus (NE) Journal, June 21, 1893, 1.

  Oscar Little’s work in alerting Iowa county sheriffs was covered by the North Platte (NE) Tribune, June 14, 1893, 1; and the Cedar Rapids (IA) Gazette, June 13, 1893.

  Buffalo Bill Cody’s sudden insistence that “I knew nothing about the race” ran in the New York World, June 17, 1893, 4; and the New York Evening World, June 17, 1893, 3.

  Cody’s lengthy comments decrying the “Eastern people” who “don’t understand what our western prairie horses are like” appeared in the Chicago Evening Post, June 17, 1893, 1.

  As the cowboys tore off for Chicago, the nation’s newspapers and magazines followed them with daily and weekly coverage across three states to the world’s fair. But often the most comprehensive coverage came from local newspapers along the route, while the larger papers in Omaha and Chicago hired correspondents and stringers in Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois for updates.

  Coverage highlights included the following:

  Hay Springs, Nebraska—Chadron Citizen, June 15, 1893, 1; Chadron Signal, June 17, 1893, 1; Chicago Herald, June 15, 1893, 1.

  Rushville, Nebraska—Rushville Standard, June 17, 1893; Chicago Herald, June 15, 1893, 1; Omaha Daily Bee, June 15, 1893, 1.

  Gordon, Nebraska—Chadron Citizen, June 15, 1893, 1; Chadron Signal, June 17, 1893, 1; St. Paul Daily Globe, June 15, 1893, 5; Nebraska State Journal, June 15, 1893, 1; Decatur (IL) Republican, June 15, 1893, 5; Chicago Herald, June 15, 1893, 1; Quincy (IL) Daily Herald, June 16, 1893, 1; New York Evening World, June 15, 1893, 3; Omaha World Herald, June 16, 1893, 1; Chicago Record, June 15, 1893; Omaha Daily Bee, June 15, 1893, 1; Ainsworth (NE) Star-Journal, June 29, 1893.

  Valentine, Nebraska—Chicago Daily Tribune, June 16, 1893, 1; Omaha Daily Bee, June 16, 1893, 1; New York Evening World, June 16, 1893, 5; Quincy (IL) Daily Journal, June 16, 1893, 1; Washington (DC) Evening Star, June 16, 1993, 6.

  Ainsworth, Nebraska—Ainsworth Star Journal, June 22, 1893, 1; Dawes County Journal, June 16, 1893, 1; Chicago Herald, June 17, 1893.

 
Long Pine, Nebraska—Nebraska State Journal, June 18, 1893, 1; Chadron Signal, June 17, 1893, 1; Leavenworth (KS) Times, June 17, 1893, 1; Omaha Morning World-Herald, June 17, 1893, 1; Chicago Daily Tribune, June 17, 1893; Chicago Herald, June 17, 1893; Chicago Tribune, June 18, 1893; Chicago Post, June 18, 1893; Iowa City (IA) Daily Citizen, June 17, 1893, 1; Omaha World-Herald, June 18, 1893, 1.

  The Omaha Daily Bee’s column that began “Talk about circus day” was published June 17, 1893, 1.

  The Harvey Weir telegram was reported by the Chadron Signal, June 17, 1893, 1.

  Newspaper editorials from Toledo; Minneapolis; Milwaukee; Lawrence, Kansas; and New York were collected under the headline “Cowboy Cruelty” and published in the Chicago Daily Tribune, June 16, 1893, 13.

  Newport, Nebraska—Chicago Evening Post, June 17, 1893; Algona Upper Des Moines, June 21, 1893, 1; Norfolk (NE) Daily News, June 19, 1893, 1; Washington (DC) Evening Star, June 17, 1893; Omaha World-Herald, June 18, 1893, 1. The Chicago Evening Post, June 17, 1893, described Rattlesnake Pete’s headgear full of snake tails as a “hideous looking ornament.”

  O’Neill, Nebraska—O’Neill Frontier, June 22, 1983, 1; Nebraska State Journal, June 18 and 19, 1893, 1; Quincy (IL) Daily Herald, June 17, 1893; Chicago Tribune, June 18, 1893; Chicago Herald, June 18 and 19, 1893; Chicago Post, June 18, 1893; Omaha World-Herald, June 18, 1893, 1; Sioux City (IA) Journal, June 18, 1893, 1; Springfield (IL) Sunday Journal, June 18, 1893, 1.

  “Little Davy” Douglas’s decision to throw in the towel and quit the race was reported by the Chicago Herald, June 18, 1893; and the Omaha World Herald, June 19, 1893.

  The Cedar Rapids (IA) Evening Gazette editorialized against “cowboy cruelty” in its June 17, 1893, edition.

  Wausa, Nebraska—Omaha Daily Bee, June 19, 1893, 1; Quincy (IL) Daily Herald, June 17, 1893; Algona Upper Des Moines, June 21, 1893, 1; Chicago Herald, June 19, 1893; Chicago Tribune, June 19, 1893; Sacramento (CA) Record-Union, June 19, 1893; Columbus (NE) Journal, June 21, 1893; Chicago Record, June 19, 1893; New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 19, 1893, 2; Omaha World Herald, June 19, 1893; Sioux City (IA) Journal, June 19, 1893, 1.

  The Missouri River crossing by the top three leaders in the race was reported by the Sioux City (IA) Journal, June 20, 1893, 1; Omaha Daily Bee, June 20, 1893; Iowa City (IA) Daily Citizen, June 20, 1893, 2; Dubuque (IA) Daily Herald, June 21, 1893, 1; Chicago Inter Ocean, June 20, 1893, 1; Cedar Rapids (IA) Evening Gazette, June 20, 1893; New York Evening World, June 20, 1893, 3; and Chicago Post, June 20, 1893, 1.

  9. In God’s Land

  Sioux City, Iowa—The long night of excitement at the river shore and inside the Hotel Oxford, the saloon, and the horse barns was vividly told in the Sioux City, Iowa, Journal, June 20, 1893, 1; Cedar Rapids (IA) Evening Gazette, June 20, 1893; Chicago Inter Ocean, June 20, 1893, 1; Chicago Herald, June 20, 1893; Dubuque (IA) Daily Herald, June 21, 1893, 1; Sioux Valley News, Correctionville, Iowa, June 22, 1893, 1; Norfolk (NE) Daily News, June 21, 1893; Madison (NE) Chronicle, June 28, 1893; and Iowa City (IA) Daily Citizen, June 20, 1893, 2.

  The response to George Angell’s comments from an unidentified race committee member in Chadron appeared in the Chicago Inter Ocean, June 19, 1893.

  Doc Middleton’s internal struggles on whether to continue racing were discussed in the Norfolk (NE) Daily News, June 20, 1893; Dubuque (IA) Daily Herald, June 22, 1893; and Chanute (KS) Daily Tribune, June 23, 1893, 2.

  Laura Penrod told of the overnight visit by Doc Middleton at her family home in Galva, Iowa, in a story in the Ida County Courier, June 26, 1985. The article includes a photograph of a smiling Penrod, ninety-one years old, holding up her family’s prized quarter.

  Correctionville, Iowa—Sioux Valley News, Correctionville, June 22, 1893, 2.

  Galva, Iowa—Sioux City (IA) Journal, June 22, 1893, 1; Omaha Daily Bee, June 22, 1893, 1; Chicago Herald, June 22, 1893; Dubuque (IA) Daily Herald, June 23, 1893, 1.

  The letter signed “J. H. B.” ran in the Chicago Inter Ocean, June 21, 1893, 9.

  The newspapers venting their opposition to the cowboy race—in Boston, Milwaukee, and Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michigan—were cited in the Chicago Inter Ocean, June 21, 1893. Other editorials that weighed in against the race were published in Wheeling, WV; New York; Evansville, IN; St. Paul; Indianapolis; Washington, DC; Alton, IL; Springfield, IL; Detroit; and Bloomington, MN.

  Joe Gillespie’s recollections appear in Ora Niegel’s profile in True West (September–October 1959): 10–11.

  Fort Dodge, Iowa—Fort Dodge Chronicle, June 21, 22, and 24, 1893; Marshalltown (IA) Evening Times Republican, June 22, 1893, 1; Omaha Daily Bee, June 22, 1893; Dubuque (IA) Daily Herald, June 23, 1893, 1; Iowa City (IA) Daily Citizen, June 23, 1893, 3; Chicago Inter Ocean, June 23, 1893, 2; Nebraska State Journal, June 23, 1893.

  Webster City, Iowa—Chicago Herald, June 22, 1893; Lincoln (NE) Daily News, June 23, 1893, 2; St. Paul Daily Globe, June 23, 1893, 5.

  Iowa Falls—Marshalltown (IA) Evening Times Republican, June 24, 1893; Cedar Rapids (IA) Evening Gazette, June 24, 1893; Chicago Tribune, June 24, 1893; Iowa State Register, June 24, 1893.

  The antics by Joe Gillespie and James Stephens at the Cedar Falls circus and Rattlesnake Pete’s dream were reported in the Dubuque (IA) Herald, June 25, 1893, 1. Manchester, Iowa—Manchester Herald, June 26, 1893; Chicago Inter Ocean, June 25, 1893.

  Waterloo, Iowa—Chicago Herald, June 24, 1893; Iowa City (IA) Herald, June 28, 1893, 2.

  Cody’s involvement in the race, and the suggestion by the Omaha World Herald that he “could put himself at a very much better enterprise,” was picked up by other newspapers around the nation, including in small papers out west such as the Red Lodge (MT) Picket, June 17, 1893; and the Nevada State Journal, June 23, 1893.

  Oscar Little’s encouraging of sheriffs along the Mississippi River to stop the cowboys was reported in the Freeport (IL) Bulletin, June 24, 1893; Chicago Herald, June 22, 1893; Marshalltown (IA) Evening Times Republican, June 26, 1893; and Chicago Mail, June 23, 1893.

  10. Across the River and into Illinois

  Dubuque and the Mississippi River bridge—Dubuque Daily Times, June 25, 1893, 1; Dubuque Daily Herald, June 27, 1893; Chicago Herald, June 26, 1893; Chicago Times, June 26, 1893; Chicago Inter Ocean, June 26, 1893; Marshalltown (IA) Evening Times Republican, June 27, 1893.

  The Sioux City (IA) Journal noted that Doc Middleton rode the train to Dubuque, and the Omaha Daily Bee, June 27, 1893, reported that Doc shipped his horse from there to Chicago.

  Galena, Illinois—Chicago Record, June 26, 1893, 1; Quincy (IL) Daily Journal, June 16, 1893; Lincoln (NE) Daily News, June 26, 1893, 2; Davenport (IA) Daily Republican, June 27, 1893, 1.

  Freeport, Illinois—Freeport Bulletin, June 26 and 27, 1893, both 1; Chicago Record, June 27, 1893, 1; Chicago Daily News, June 27, 1893, 1; Chicago Evening Journal, June 2, 1893; Rockford (IL) Register, June 26, 1893; Chicago Inter Ocean, June 27, 1893, 1.

  Rattlesnake Pete’s complaints that other cowboys had secretly passed him in wagons and buddies appeared in the Chicago Herald, June 27, 1893.

  Byron, Illinois—Chicago Record, June 27, 1893, 1.

  DeKalb, Illinois—Chicago Tribune, June 27, 1893; New York Evening World, June 27, 1893; Chicago Herald, June 27, 1893.

  The final two routes to Chicago, including the shortcut, were detailed by the Freeport (IL) Bulletin, June 27, 1893, 1; and the Chicago Tribune, June 27, 1893.

  11. Chicago

  Additional sources about Chicago and its years leading up the fair include Edgar Lee Masters, The Tale of Chicago (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1933); Bessie Louise Pierce, A History of Chicago: The Ride of a Modern City, 1871–1893, vol. 3 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957); Donald L. Miller, City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996); Bessie Louise Pierce, ed., As Others See Chicago: Impressions of Visitors, 1673–1933 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1933), esp. 36
9–517; Perry R. Duis, Challenging Chicago: Coping with Everyday Life, 1837–1920 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998); Chaim M. Rosenberg, America at the Fair: Chicago’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008); Dennis B. Downey, A Season of Renewal: The Columbian Exposition and Victorian America (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002); Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (New York: Crown, 2003); and Emmett Dedmon, Fabulous Chicago (New York: Random House, 1953).