8vo (224 x 145 mm). 91 pp. including advertisements. Original blue printed wrappers (upper wrapper with pale dampstain along spine); blue quarter morocco slipcase. Provenance: Presumably the Jay T. Snider copy, with bookplate removed from chemise (his sale, Christie's New York, 21 June 2005, lot 321). 

FIRST EDITION of this early history of the Wyoming Territory, with local advertisements on the versos of the first 50 leaves, and with a long alphabetical directory at the end. J. H. Triggs spent 12 years on the plains and in the Rocky Mountains. His history of the region begins "from the day of first settlement in April of 1868. It has long been recognized by students of western history as probably the most honest, outspoken, and vivid account of the early and turbulent days. Laramie was famous for its disorder, crime, and rapid growth. Triggs describes the horde that first came in as made up of one-fifth honest and daring men, the balance 'were gamblers, thieves, highwaymen, robbers, cut-throats, garroters, prostitutes, and their necessary companions.' The narrative describes the ensuing mass-meeting to form a government; its organization and collapse; the reign of violence; the formation of the Vigilance Committee government; the battles between the Vigilantes and the new police and succeeding events, until finally the Territorial legislature in desperation, took away the city's charter, and put the community under the jurisdiction of the Federal courts" (Eberstadt 136:667h). Adams Herd 2332; Adams Six Guns 2239; Graff 4191; Howes T-351 ("b"); Stopka Wyoming Territorial Imprints 1875; Streeter IV:2245.