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Was A New Yorker, 
Thomas Cooper was 'born in. New 
York City on November 15, 1850. His 
mother died when lie was but 3 years 
of age. A few years later, his father 
again married and moved with the 
family to Monmouth, Illinois. Home 
life, under the guidance of a step¬ 
mother, was not pleasant for the 
I lad. At the age. of 0. lie left home. 
BhinV -hu-go and vveJff developed for 
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his youth, he managed to secure work 
in a stone quarry not far distant, 
where he performed a man’s labor for 
a number of years. 
At the outbreak of the Civil War, 
when Tom was but 13 years of age, 
he enlisted in the Seventeenth Illin¬ 
ois Cavalry and went to war, seeing, 
service in Missouri. He was soon ap¬ 
pointed an orderly to Major Hillard, 
an old friend of the family. 
At the close of the war he was mus¬ 
tered out of service at Jefferson Bar¬ 
racks to become a courier, and for 
some time he engaged in carrying, 
messages from Missouri river points 
over the old 'Smoky Hill Trail to Fort 
Larned and other Kansas posts. 
In 1867, he came- to Jujestmrg and 
from this place: came with the Union 
Pacific construction party into Chey¬ 
enne. 
Remained in the West. 
From that time on, his life was' 
spent in the west. He joined the Un¬ 
ited States Geological Survey under 
Prof. Hayden and saw five years of 
service surveying the western states. ! 
At 'this time, the Indian was lord and 
master of the west. During s a sur¬ 
veying expedition, it befell the lot of 
“Colonel Tom” ^o save, single-handed, 
a large amount of government prop¬ 
erty from the Indians. In recognition 
of his bravery,, the United States 
Geological Survey presented him with 
a beautiful revolver, which he kept 
until his death. 
Following his five years’ service 
with the geological expedition, he 
drove a stage for Luke Voorhees, who 
at present is receiver at the- United 
States land office in'Cheyenne. This 
stage was driven on the old Black 
Hills-Deadwood route and into Saute 
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On Custer Battlefield. 
He was with the Crook expedition 
in ’76, joining the party as a guide, 
in company with Big Patti ste. Ten 
days following the'Custer battle with 
the Indians, in which Custer was 
killed, “Colonel Tom” and party rode 
upon the blood-stained battlefield. 
While on this expedition he partici¬ 
pated in the battle of Little Rosebud 
against the Sioux Indians near the 
Montana line in northern Wyoming. It 
was in this battle that the great Sioux 
■Chief, American Horse, was ■cap¬ 
tured. 
The Leadville mining excitement 
later directed his attention into Lead- 
J ville, Colo., where he engaged as 
stage driver into the Leadville camp. 
It was while he was driving into, 
Leadville that he met With an acci- 
dent which resulted in »ls being 
slightly crippled for life. The harness 
of the leaders broke as the stage was 
on a down-grade. He was pulled from 
his seat at the top of the stage, fall¬ 
ing beneath the wheels. His right foot 
was crushed under the weight of the 
stage. For months he lay ill, and 
many times his life whs dispaired of. 
Eventually, he recovered, but he : al¬ 
ways afterward walked with a limp. 
Back to Cheyenne. 
In 1884, he returned to Cheyenne. 
1 For several years thereafter, he acted 
as scout and guide to mfany hunting 
expeditions. During one party with 
John Lee Carroll, of Baltimore, 
expedition under “Colonel Ti 
guidance, the party wintered in J 
son’s Hole in the winter of 1890. 
Norton Downs, now of Germane 
Philadelphia, was the physician of 
party; The physician , contra 
diphtheria, and became dangero 
ill. The announcement was made 
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