Name that body of water

by Doug Crowe
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 1:20 PM MDT

Dee Linford's 1944 catalog of Wyoming Stream Names lists 38 Spring Creeks, 30 Cottonwood Creeks, 29 Beaver Creeks, 28 Willow Creeks, 25 Bear Creeks, 23 Dry Creeks, 21 Horse Creeks and 18 Sand Creeks.

There are also multiple Muddy Creeks, Clear Creeks, Rock Creeks, Brush Creeks, Cabin Creeks, Canyon Creeks, Deep Creeks and Sheep Creeks.

A great many of these names are represented in Natrona County. But not all of our drainages are labeled with such mundane identifiers.

Take, for example, the Platte. Its name dates from 1739, when two Frenchmen, the brothers Mallet, came upon it while traveling southward from the Missouri River to Santa Fe.

They struck the river on June 2 of that year and wrote, "Le 2 Juin, ils tomberent sur une riviere qu'ils nommerent la Riviere Plate."

Apparently this appellation (in English, the Flat River) referred to the shallow and placid character of the water where they crossed.

It went on to become the river of excitement and romance and danger. Indian wars were fought along its banks, and its course determined the road of westward expansion and the path of empire.

Also prominent in history and mythology is that famous tributary of the Platte, the Sweetwater.

It was known to early trappers and explorers as the "Riviere de l'Eau-douce" (River of Sweet Water) and in its valley the first trappers’ rendezvous was held in 1824.

A scant quarter of a century later, as many as 35,000 emigrants a year were toiling up this river to South Pass and beyond, following their dreams of gold, free land and new horizons.

The place where the Sweetwater once joined the Platte is now inundated by Pathfinder Reservoir, named for "The Great Pathfinder" John C. Fremont.

Ol' John C. nearly met his maker in the canyon below this spot where he lost his boat and most of his equipment in an 1842 effort to negotiate the canyon's rapids.

Further up the Sweetwater are small streams with unique and intriguing names, one of which is Whiskey Gap Creek.

In 1862, Company A of the 11th Ohio Cavalry, under the command of a Major Farrell, camped along this creek.

The major discovered a barrel of whiskey in a civilian wagon accompanying the column and ordered it dumped.

Most of the contents ran into the stream, where soldiers salvaged what they could with cups and pans, and Whiskey Gap Creek was born.

Not far from Whiskey Gap Creek is Lost Soldier Creek. The genesis of that name stems from a soldier who was separated from his detachment during a snowstorm.

By a stroke of luck, he managed to come upon a local rancher's home. The rancher, Tom Sun, was away at the time, but the latch string was out.

Apparently the soldier was not familiar with this time-honored western custom and instead removed a window to gain entry.

Mr. Sun later observed that “a man lacking the sense to enter another's house by the unlocked door would get lost anywhere.”

Finally, one of this country's most famous watercourses begins just west of Casper.

Powder River's longest tributary drains a portion of the Rattlesnake Range. The derivation of the name is subject to speculation.

Some think it may have been named after an early trapper's cache of black powder as was the Cache la Poudre in Colorado. Others believe the name comes from the abundance of eroded coal particles, which resemble black powder.

In any case, Powder River is famous in song and story and a symbol of the romantic notion of the Wild West.

As Joe Glenn would say, "Powder River, let ’er buck!"

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