South Pass Wyoming

South Pass and Its Tales by James L. Sherlock
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book represent my first foray into American History. It deals with the founding of South Pass in Wyoming. The author , James Sherlock , collected the stories from his blind uncle. Peter , the blind uncle, used to tell tales in front of the hardware shop where he used to work. Despite being blind he knew where everything was in the store.

James Sherlock is an established family member. His relations played an important part in the towns life . They built a hotel, dance hall and several other businesses. His style is to first tell about the towns founding and then look at old houses and building and tell the tales and history associated with that building.

If you are a glutton for detail then this is your book. Not only does he relay the history but he also describes the materials used to build the building and what technique the construction workers used. Most of this went in one eye ball and out the other. many of the tails are amusing and show what life was like back in the early days.

The photographs give you a good picture of what it was like . Log cabins , dirt roads, horse and buggy . It was a land that could be rough yet had law and order. Disputes could be resolved peacefully or someone could get shot. That is how it works. There were threats from marauding Indians and the cold snowy winds of nature . A must read for those who love Wyoming.

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