to his nature and so firmly to his love of adventure that he came to Cheyenne and worked for a time as a common "puncher." Afterwards he purchased a small herd of his own and moved them to White river valley. At first he ranged from the head of White river to Fort Robinson and later moved over the divide to Running Water. It was known as the Three Crow Ranch, and was sold in 1883 to a company of which Bartlett Richards was manager. Dawes county then knew Bronson no more except through his books : "Reminiscenses of a Ranchman" and other stories. But a bighearted, brave and generous man like Bronson could not live in an untamed country such as this was at that time without the impress of his personality. He did not have as much "cow sense" as some of our earliest people, but he had the advantage of travel and education which in most of us was sadly lacking and those who were privileged to know him were

First House in Dawes County, Built in 1879 and 1880

more or less enriched by his few years' stay among us.

A stage line from Sidney to the Black Hills with steel lined Concord stages of twelve passenger capacity was established and put in operation through a part of what is now Dawes county in 1876. In a short time it carried mails. The stage travelled what was called the Deadwood trail entering the county at a point a little southeast of the present town of Marsland. thence over the divide and down Breakneck hill to White Clay creek crossing White river at the old Red Cloud agency about midway between Fort Robinson and Crawford. The schedule time from Sidney to Red Cloud, a distance of 120 miles, was 24 hours.