Memoirs Of A Pioneer. Being The Autobiography Of George Lathrop One Of The First To Help In The Opening Of The West. (Cover Title)

GEORGE LATHROP

Publication: The Lusk Herald, 1917, Lusk, Wyoming

First edition. 12mo. Printed wrappers, 33 [1] pp. The autobiography of George Lathrop, early Wyoming settler, Indian fighter, and Cheyenne-Deadwood stage driver. One of the first to help in the opening of the Great West. Lathrop (1830-1915) died before the original publication in a newspaper. Graff 2409 says: "George Lathrop was one of the early cattle and stage drivers of the West. He died in 1915 and Luke Voorhees, proprietor of stage routes, finished his narrative from the notes given him by Lathrop." Lathrop was transported to a doctor in Manville where he died. The doctor who attended Lathrop was Dr. J. F. Christensen. Stagecoach routes fizzled as railroads spread through the area, and George Lathrop drove the last Cheyenne-Deadwood stagecoach, drawn by six horses, on Feb. 19, 1887. Lathrop, a longtime coach driver, later found employment on the Rawlins-Baggs stage line and then at a copper mine at Muskrat Canyon near Rawhide Buttes, south of Lusk. Friends encouraged Lathrop to write of his adventures along the stage lines, and in 1915 he began writing his memoirs. He wrote about being a pioneer in the Wild West, fighting Indians, and his adventures driving various coaches with travelers and crooks along for the ride. Lathrop died on Dec. 24, 1915, his 85th birthday, and his handwritten stories were published by the Lusk Herald. Fine copy of a rare item.

Inventory Number: 52651