Today In Wyoming's History: June 2: 1899 The Wild Bunch robbed the Union Pacific Overland Flyer No. 1 near Wilcox, taking between $30,000 and $60,000. This robbery is famous in part for the large amount taken, but also for the destruction of a rail car by explosives which were used to open a safe. This is depicted in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Attribution: On This Day.
The Overland Flyer in 1906.
Longtime Wyoming residents may wonder where on earth Wilcox is. That's because, it isn't. It's a named spot on the railroad just north of Rock River. If this same crime occured today, people would report it as having occured north of Rock River. It occured very near the junction with the Fetterman Road.
I've driven past this spot thousands of time and never realized where it was. This was a bold action, as Rock Rover was more substantial than it now is (the explosion clearly could have been heard from there) and Medicine Bow not all that far to the north.
The First Philippine Republic officially declared war against the United States, although clearly the war, which the US termed an insurrection, had been going on for some time.
To recognize it as a war would have required a declaration of war, which in turn would have recognized the sovereignty of the Philippine Republic, which would have made a mockery of the US position on the islands.
Almost always, when people accuse the US of being involved in "colonial wars", they're full of it. This, however, was a colonial war.
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