[Newspaper] Northwestern Live Stock Journal - Second to Last Issue

Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1892. Good. [Newspaper] Northwestern Live Stock Journal - Second to Last Issue, Asa Shinn Mercer, Cheyenne, Wyoming, October 7, 1892, 15 x 21.75 inches, 2 pp.

Single page of newsprint with text on both sides; thin and fragile but not brittle; text bright and legible; some separation at creases; moderate chipping and edge wear; some pencil marks highlighting various sections of articles; orange sticker affixed over title bearing the words "Warren Livestock Co 71". Good condition overall. Uncommon; three "Northwest Live Stock Journal" collections listed in OCLC as of December 5, 2023, though none specify if they include the Oct. 7 1892 issue; certainly this copy is unique, having been owned and marked up by the Warren Livestock Company.

Published by Asa Shinn Mercer, this is the second to last issue of this newspaper which had all of its advertising pulled after Mercer wrote his book "Banditti of the Plains", which was critical of the cattle owners' actions during the recently-ended Johnson County War. The main story of this issue is "The Warren Arid Land Bill. The Monumental Steal of the Centuries: Plutocracy vs. Democracy: The Rights of the People Endangered by Corporation Greed." This copy was sent to and belonged to the Warren Livestock Company. (Pat Hall, 2008)

Asa Shinn Mercer (1839-1917) was one of the founders and the first president of the Territorial University of Washington. He became well known throughout the West as a publisher, and eventually made his way to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he began publishing this paper. His writing grew more critical of the cattle industry over time, and during the Johnson County War his newspaper office was destroyed by arson. After the war, he became a rancher in Hyattville, Wyoming.