Sam Stringer

Sam Stringer (1830-1905) led a remarkable life before he even became a mail carrier in this area as a senior citizen. He fought the Seminoles in Florida, for which he received a pension later in life, and was a teamster in the Confederate Army (where in one battle he lost his entire outfit) before coming to Johnson County as a teamster with Henry B. Carrington in 1866. He missed being massacred with the wood-cutting party at the Fetterman Fight because his wagon was being repaired at the time. As a mail carrier, he transported mail from Buffalo through Mayoworth and over the mountain to Ten Sleep and back. One on of these trips a winter storm stranded him in the mountains, and he was forced to eat tallow candles and pitch from trees to survive. He managed to make it back and after recovering resumed his mail duties for many years.
Source: Listen Closely Volume II

Annals of Wyoming, Vol. 11 January, 1939 No. 1


September, 1935.

It might be permissible to mention a few things in regard to Sam Stringer's past history, a part of which he told me over forty years ago.

When a young man he was a teamster in the Confederate Army and at the Wilson Creek battle near Springfield, Missouri, he lost his entire outfit. He came as a teamster with General Carrington in 1866 to where Fort Phillip Kearney was established in what is now Johnson County, Wyoming, in 1866. He told me he would have been with the wood train when it was attacked by the Indians had it not been that his wagon was at the Fort at the time for repairs. He was one of the men from the Fort who assisted in bringing in the bodies of the dead soldiers killed by the Indians at what is now known as Massacre Hill, where Fetterman with seventy-eight soldiers and two civilians were killed December 21st, 1866.

Mr. Stringer drew a small pension for fighting Seminole Indians in Florida as a volunteer.

He was also with General George A. Custer, as a teamster, in 1868 when Custer left Camp Supply, December 7th, 1868, with about fifteen hundred soldiers to fight Indians. Custer located a large camp of Cheyennes with Medicine Arrow a? principal Chief, on Sweetwater, a tributary of Red River, December 17th. Custer was trying to locate two white women who had been captured by the Cheyennes while raiding Salina, Soloman, and Republican Valleys in Kansas during the summer and fall of 1868. One of the women, 19 years old, was Mrs. James S. Morgan (formerly Miss Brewster) who was a bride of less than a month. The other was a Miss Sarah White, 18 years old. When Custer ascertained that these two women were in this camp and knowing what their fate might be if he attacked the camp, after meeting some of the Indians with a flag of truce, he used strategy to get possession of the women. After four or five days of dickering and holding some of the Chiefs as hostage for their safe delivery, he succeeded in having the women turned over to him. Daniel A. Brewster, a brother of Mrs. Morgan, was with Custer and the first one to meet his sister. Mr. Stringer was with Custer at this time and also the late W. G. Angus of Buffalo, Wyoming. Each of these men related to me some of the happenings of this particular event. I was informed that the bands played "Home, Sweet Home" while these two women were approaching the soldiers, and Mr. Angus said he thought it was the sweetest music he had ever listened to. Mr. Stringer gave me rather a vivid account of this entire affair. On their departure for their former home the soldiers took up a collection and presented to the two women, over seven hundred dollars.

I might say, also in conclusion, that Mr. Stringer at one time had several mule teams and did construction work in railroad building, and at one time was robbed of several thou- sand dollars.

Mr. Stringer worked for the Government as a civilian teamster for several years. He also carried the U. S. Mail for a number of years, over various routes, and at the time of his death he had the mail contract from Buffalo, Wyoming, to Sussex, Wyoming.

A. L. Brock, Buffalo, Wyo.

Annals of Wyoming, Vol. 11 January, 1939 No. 1
EARLY EXPERIENCES OF A MAIL CARRIER
By A. L. Brock, of Buffalo, Wyoming

A. L. Brock, Buffalo, Wyoming,
During the latter part of March 1892 Sam Stringer was carrying the U. S. Mail from Buffalo via Mayoworth across the Big Horn Mountains to Ten Sleep, Wyoming. The snow at that time was rather deep on the mountains between Mayo- worth and Ten Sleep. While Mr. Stringer used only one team of mules from Buffalo to Mayoworth, he used four to carry the mail over the mountains when the snow was deep.

After leaving Mayoworth and reaching his cabin on the head of Pass Creek on the mountains, he left his mules tied to a light wagon and continued on snow shoes to Ten Sleep pulling a toboggan loaded with the mail. After an absence of seven days from Mayoworth, W. W. Morgareidge, J. R. Morgareidge, W. S. Jones and myself started out to ascertain why he had not returned. After going as far as was possible on the mountains with horses, the writer looked after the horses while the other three men went on snow shoes to the cabin on Pass Creek where they found the mules tied to the wagon still wearing the harness. The mules had succeeded in reaching the hay and grain on the wagon and had gnawed quite a bit of the wagon box including the hickory wagon bows.

The three men spent the night at the cabin, while I stayed over night with the horses, three miles back on the trail. During the night the wind blew my camp fire away and I put a saddle and blanket on one of the horses, which was accustomed to being in the stable, to keep him from getting so cold. I might add that I passed a very disagreeable night as care- taker of the horses.

The three men, after their night at the cabin, turned the mules loose and brought them to where they could get feed and then came to where I was with the saddle horses. We concluded that Mr. Stringer had perished and was under some snow drift. We then returned home, this being the ninth day since Mr. Stringer had left Mayoworth.

We learned later that Mr. Stringer, on the return trip from Ten Sleep broke one of his snow shoes, became very sick and was about three miles from the cabin on the night that the three men stayed there. He crawled on his hands and knees most of the way from there to his cabin as he was sick and had only one snow shoe. When he reached the cabin he didn't have any matches and in order to start a fire he picked his handkerchief to pieces and made a pile of lint and then covered this with fine shavings and shot into it with his six shooter.

After staying there several days while recovering from his illness and eating what provisions he had, including tallow candles, he started for Mayoworth with the mail sack. When he reached the point where he found the mules he took some cord from his snow shoes, tied the mail sack on one of the mules and tried to bring them with him. but the mule got away and he could not catch him again.

Mr. Stringer was so very weak that he started on for Mayoworth leaving the mail sack on the mule. Soon after leaving the mules a severe storm struck him. He went into the timber and while sleeping by the fire his clothing caught and he burned a large hole in the back of his coat. He ate pitch from the trees during the three days storm. At one time a gray wolf was following him and kept getting closer and closer. Stringer wanted the wolf for food. When it approached as near as he thought safe he drew down on it with his trusty six shooter, fired, but missed the wolf, and it ran away. Stringer stated that he felt so badly that he wept. He then continued his journey and finally reached what was at that time the Cochie Ranch, about four miles west of Mayoworth, in a very weak condition and his feet badly frozen. Cochie saturated his feet with coal oil which probably saved them from having to be amputated later.

Mr. Stringer told me that while he was sick and delirious he could hear people talking in Buffalo and recognize their voices.

George B. McClellan and Tom O'Day came across the mountains on snow shoes and seeing the mule with the mail sack on him, took the sack and brought it in with them. The mules were later brought in by Jerry Morgan. The rivets on the leather mail pouch had made sores on the mule, causing the hair to be white when healed.

After the harrowing experiences of Mr. Stringer, it was found that the mail sack contained but one lonely letter.

It is commendable as well as an example of the loyalty and trustworthiness in trying to keep the mail sack with him when he thought he was facing possible death from sickness and hunger and exposure.

After recovering from his serious adventure he again resumed his duties as mail carrier. He had carried U. S. Mail for many years and over various routes, and at the time of his death had the mail contract from Buffalo to Sussex, Wyoming.

He was a good citizen, loyal to his Government, true in his friendships, and during his last illness, he being a Mason, was cared for by the Masonic Fraternity.

Newspaper Article:

Sam Stringer, the mail carrier between Buffalo and Red Bank, Wyoming, a small office over in the Big Horn basin, lost his bearings on his last trip and came near perishing in the snow . He was discovered on the mountains by Deputy Sheriff Hopkins, who conducted him to a ranch several miles distant. Stringer had been traveling about in the deep snow for two days without food, and was about to give himself up as hopelessly lost.

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