Daniel Sandoval

Violence was in the news for the third week of October, with teachers in 1907, a ride in 1932, hunters in 1957, and court action in 1982.

100 years ago

Bear the rod - Riverton was disturbed by reports of corporal punishment of students in October 1907.

The Oct. 23, 1907, Natrona County Tribune said H.D. Gough, Wyoming humane officer, had received a letter alleging sadistic punishment of students as young as 8 years old. The letter said a boy named Gibson was held over a sawhorse while teachers beat him with a braided leather quirt, leaving dark bruises.

Warrants were sworn against the two teachers and trial dates were set, said the letter.

Prosperity flow - Of the towns in central Wyoming, Casper saw the most homes built from fall 1906 to fall 1907, the NC Tribune reported. Casper had 150 new houses, Lander had 100, and Thermopolis had about 75.

Douglas saw six new houses during the same period, according to a report from the Douglas Enterprise. The Enterprise noted that a bond issue was going to be put to town voters for water mains, because affordable water was crucial to growth.

The NC Tribune agreed, gloating that Casper wouldn't have its 3,000 happy residents if not for abundant water and infrastructure.

Guns and booze - A tussle between two Shoshoni men left one badly wounded during the third week of October 1907. The Commercial Hotel's landlord, identified only as Smart, got into a quarrel with a miner named Howard.

Smart got the better of Howard in a fistfight. But then Howard shot Smart through the left arm and right shoulder. Smart was expected to survive his injuries but be crippled for life.

75 years ago

River Styx - A body washed up against bridge pilings near Alcova on Oct. 22, 1932. Harvey Perkins, 38, had suffered before he was slain, leading investigators to believe that he was "taken for a ride."

Five gunshots, two blows to the head and a deep cut from the chest to the lower torso suggested Perkins had died fighting, and that his body may have been mutilated.

Perkins had a brush with the law a week before he went missing. He was accused of robbing at gunpoint J.J. Allen, who was thought to be operating a still. After a court appearance, he was freed him on his own recognizance.

Perkins was seen in the company of three young men, but the trio disappeared just before the body was found.

A day after the murder story came out, the Natrona County sheriff got a call from Livingston, Mont., authorities who were holding three men in connection with a robbery and shooting of a shopkeeper. A deputy was sent to investigate.

Mummy - One of the earliest newspaper references to an archeological mystery appeared in the Oct. 23, 1932, Casper Tribune-Herald.

Seven months earlier, a prospector had found a tiny male mummy in a cave near Pathfinder Reservoir. The discovery touched off a storm of debate about the prehistoric inhabitants of the Pedro Mountains.

One of those discussions was held in Cheyenne Oct. 22, 1932, when the state historical society tried to draw a line from the scant supply of artifacts in the area to the unknown culture that might have produced the mummy.

50 years ago

Hunting perils - One hunter lost his life and another lost a leg in unrelated hunting accidents, as reported in the Oct. 22, 1957, Casper Morning Star.

William Henry Euler, of Topeka, Kan., was fatally shot while hunting in Washakie County. Percy Bozeman of Plano, Texas, had mistaken Euler for a bear.

Sheridan resident Paul Madais was shot in the knee by a hunting partner. The injury was severe enough to require amputation.

25 years ago

Vindication - The legal nightmare for a former Natrona County coroner ended when first-degree murder charges were dismissed in California in mid-October 1982. Don Cornett was accused of the strangulation death of Donnie Sarafin in Santa Cruz, Calif.

After a year and a half and a hung jury, a court in Santa Cruz County found that police had shored up their case with a number of improprieties, any one of which could cause reasonable doubt in a jury.

"A Look Back in Time" is made possible with the help of Western History Archivist Kevin S. Anderson at the Casper College Western History Center, which is open to the public.