Modern travelers leave Interstate 80 at Rawlins, driving the bypass loop on the east side near the high school to join up with U.S. Highway 287. After 44 miles of largely open desert, dotted by near ghost towns at Lamont and Bairoil, the highway heads northeast to Casper, or northwest toward Lander and Riverton on Highway 789.
To someone rolling along at 70mph in heated or air-conditioned comfort, it doesn’t mean much, but when the route was originally surveyed in 1878 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the 158-mile proposed route was a challenge.
The original route had stagecoaches and freight wagons cutting north at Muddy Gap to travel between Split Rock and Green Mountain along the very familiar Oregon Trail along the Sweetwater River.
Before the road became viable, a cutoff through Crooks Gap was found after a trip across the Red Desert to a “gap” in the Green Mountains. It was here that Crooks Station was established on the route from Rawlins to Ft. Brown, beginning in 1883.
Crooks Station was fed by Crooks Creek, a sometimes seasonal stream that ran dry during especially hot summers in July and August. It was the first stop on the stage and freight route inside Fremont County.
Named in honor of General George Crook of U.S. Cavalry fame, the station was the last desert stop on the trail before reaching the relative comfort and security of the Sweetwater River at Rongis.
Once travelers or freighters left the Union Pacific station at Rawlins they had watering stops at Bell Springs, and then a station with meals, and fresh horses waiting at Bull Springs.
The horses needed to be fresh, since the next stop was Lost Soldier, up a substantial incline to an elevation of 7,600 feet. It was the highest spot on the road between Rawlins and Ft. Washakie.
It was downhill a bit to the next stop at Crooks Gap.
Bell Springs took its name from the rock formation above the spring that resembled a bell if you squinted a bit. The waterhole was the only one between Rawlins and Muddy Gap, the original route.
Instead of going around Green Mountain via Muddy Gap and Split Rock to intersect with the Sweetwater, the route turned north to Bull Springs.
Bull Springs was a primitive outpost, even by 1880s standards. Amenities were rare, but water, and a change of horses, along with what passed or didn’t pass sometimes as a meal were available.
Reaching Lost Soldier was a welcome relief to both man and beast, but it earned its name through a tragic event.
In 1880 three enlisted men stationed at Fort Steele heard a rumor that there was a still in the mountains above the fort. They set out, got caught in a snowstorm and two of the three men died after getting lost in the storm.
A search party never found the two victims, and the place became known as Lost Soldier.
Crooks Gap didn’t have a post office when the trail opened, but a few years later, the office at Rongis was transferred to Crooks Gap. Letters were still addressed to Rongis, but they had to be picked up about 12 miles further to the southeast below Green Mountain.
The best thing about Crooks Gap according to many travelers was Mrs. D. M. Fisher.
Mrs. Fisher was an excellent cook, a skill highly valued by the men working the coaches and freight wagons as well as their passengers.
Her obituary in the March 30, 1932, Wyoming State Journal, explained her reputation well.
“Mrs. Fisher had a good place, she served excellent meals and accommodations for travelers who wished to stay overnight. The distance was a hard day’s drive from Rawlins and travelers appreciated the service they found there in a new country where a place to sleep was at a premium. She was a successful businesswoman, a hard worker, and sufficiently able to take care of herself in a pioneer county. She held the respect and confidence of all for her fine character and many good qualities.”
Fisher purchased the ranch, including the Crooks Station from Jennie Boland, who later moved to Lander. She sold the station to Con Sheehan in 1886, and he owned the land well into the 20th century.
Con Sheehan was a ranch hand along with Ed Harris, and Mason Rigby on the 71 Ranch. Each of these men built their own herds while working for the ranch. Harris was the wagon boss, leading a crew of 25 men. Rigby and Sheenan were wranglers.
In Harris’ obituary from October 17, 1935, a poem written by Badger Clark was printed that epitomized the passing of the early cowboys of the Sweetwater.
“Rest to their souls, if they care to rest, or else, fresh horses beyond the crest, and a star sprinkled range to ride!”
Crooks Gap was isolated, perhaps the most isolated stage station on the road from Rawlins to Ft. Washakie. It was a haven for horse thieves, outlaws, and other unsavory characters. The vastness of the Red Desert just to the south made a perfect escape route for the unsavory types that often haunted stage lines.
Horse theft was the most common crime around Crooks Gap, though a few fistfights and other more serious altercations occurred. Most were handled by Mrs. Fisher.
Adventurers, prospectors, and thrill seekers often left the Union Pacific at Rawlins and headed north into Wyoming to seek their fortune. Few found it there, and some never left.
AN UNKNOWN SKELETON
A Mysterious Tragedy of Two Years Ago Near Rongis –
The Boomerang – April 26, 1894 – “The information comes from Lander of the finding of the remains of an unknown man near Crook’s mountain, on the stage line between that place and Rawlins and about five miles south of Rongis post office. The discovery was made by Eli Signor, postmaster at the above mentioned place, and from all indications the man has been dead two or three years. There were found with the body a shotgun, which was loaded, and a five-shooter, two chambers of which were empty, and in one of the pockets of the clothing a ten dollar gold piece and four dollars in silver. No clew has been discovered as to his identity, and no one is known to be missing from that section. The coroner of that county has left for the scene of the discovery to make an investigation.”
THE REMANS IDENTIFIED
The Body Found Near Rongis that of Mrs. James Kime’s Brother. When C. G. Coutant, now In this city, was shown the item ‘printed yesterday about the discovery of the body of a man near Rongis in Fremont County, he said: “The remains are those of a brother of Mrs. James Kime. He lived in St. Louis and had not seen his sister for a great many years and concluded to make her a visit. He was a great lover of hunting and took his gun along with him. When he arrived at Rawlins Instead of taking the coach he went afoot. This was in the fall of 1892. Parties saw him and talked with him at Bonhack’s ranch about forty miles from Rawlins onthe Lost Soldier. He remained on the ranch some time, but started north from there and was never again seen, and it is supposed that he was caught In a storm. The place where the body was found Is about twenty-five miles north from Bonhack’s ranch. Considerable search was made for him at the time. The Hon, James Kime made every effort to find him, but came to the conclusion that his brother-in-law had become lost in a storm. The deceased left a family In St. Louis.
“The country In which he was found is very wild and isolated, few habitations being located there. There have been but two men lost in that country as far as I know of, and one of those was a stock tender on the Rawlins stage line. He was lost about the same time as Mrs.
Kime’s brother, the news of which was duly published at the time. I am satisfied that the man just found, is not the latter for the reason that he had no gun and was not in search,
of stock and was out of money.”
The station gained a bit more respectability after the post office at Rongis was moved there.
The post office’s name was still Rongis, creating confusion for travelers, map makers, and government agencies. The addition of the post office brought more travelers, along with drifters, confidence men, and outlaws looking for a drink and a chance to ply their illicit sills.
A story reported in Lander in the spring of 1893 indicates the extent of organized crime, primarily cattle rustling and horse thievery that kept the Fremont County Sheriff busy. There were stage robberies as well, but they were closer to Lander most of the time. The terrain was responsible for most of this since the open vistas of the Red Desert from Rawlins to Crook’s Gap allowed coachmen to see approaching riders. The trees along the Sweetwater River provided better cover for ambushes.
The Fremont Clipper – April 7, 1893
TWO IMPORTANT ARRESTS,
Joe Nutcher Arrested at Alliance, Nebraska
Nye, Alias “The Montana Kid,” Captured at Crooks Gap
“Joe Nutcher was arrested at Alliance, Nebraska, by the Sherrif of Box Butte County, on a charge of horse theft, he having driven some thirty-five head into that place. Virgil Rice, who was onto the racket, had followed him, (Nutcher.) and it was at his insistence that the arrest was made. Nutcher did not like the idea of being brought back by an officer, and Virgil gave him the privilege of coming back with him, which he did, arriving here Saturday, and now occupies a cell in the county jail. A present writing, (Tuesday) there has been no arrangement for a preliminary investigation, but it will probably occur some time this week.”
Ed Nye, alias the “Montana Kid” who is supposed to be interested with Nutcher, was arrested by Sheriff Stough at Crooks Gap Sunday morning.”
An associated story with the headline, “Deserves Special Mention.” Followed
“The arrest of Nye was a clever piece of strategy and deserves special mention.
Sheriff Stough got wind of Nye passing through the county in the vicinity of Lander, and Sunday evening, through the aid of the telegraph, learned that his man was at Crook’s Gap, a stage station thirteen miles east of Rongis.”
The exploits and daring of Fremont County Sheriff Stough and Deputy Axe were detailed in another story.
A Rapid Ride
“Sheriff Stough having learned of the whereabouts of his man determined to nab him and to that end started about eight o’clock Saturday evening being mounted on a good horse determined to reach Crook’s Gap before Nye would leave the next morning. The distance from Lander to Crook’s is seventy-five miles. So it will be seen that the undertaking was a big one and required rapid riding of horses at Beaver and Meyerville pushed rapidly forward, arriving at Crook’s at about five o’clock Sunday morning, having made the distance of seventy-five miles in nine hours or over eight miles an hour including stops.
On his arrival, the sheriff and Deputy Axe, who had accompanied him, put their horses in the barn and waited the time when Nye would come to the barn to feed his horse, which he soon did. When ordered to throw up his hands, his right involuntarily went to his hip, but fortunately, he had left his belt in the house and discovering his error threw up his hands and surrendered. He was at once started for Lander where he arrived in charge of the sheriff Monday evening and Mr. Nye now languishes behind the bars. Charged with complicity in the Nutcher affair. These two arrests are regarded as important, as Nutcher is believed to have been engaged in crooked work for some time, and Nye is no doubt an accomplice.
Stockman from the Owl Creek country are much elated over the prospect of having the gang broken up. There are others implicated and arrests will no doubt follow.”
The area ranchers received their mail at the post office and had supplies dropped off at the Crooks Gap Station. The business from freight handling and stage passengers kept the small store, and bar going year-round.
Not much remains of Crook’s Gap today. It is a road favored by ranchers, deer, and elk hunters who want to cut west of Green Mountain from Jeffrey City toward Bairoil and the Red Desert. But once, it was a way station on the expansive frontier.