Dime Library

Texas Jack Omohundro shaped the American West not just in the perceptions of theater-goers who watched him on stage, but through the lives of the men he took on treks throughout the West, and specifically in Wyoming. In 1878, Texas Jack headed for Rawlins with Count Otto Franc von Lichtenstein and Doctor Amandus Ferber. Both men were wealthy Germans who had earned their fortunes in America; Franc importing fruit and Ferber as one of New York City's finest medical doctors.  The trio spent three weeks exploring south of Rawlins followed by six weeks in the Bighorn Basin. As they fished and hunted for deer, antelope, elk, and buffalo, Franc and the former Texas cowboy discussed the region's potential for cattle ranching. The next year, Franc returned to the area to start his own cattle operation along the Greybull River, naming it Pitchfork Ranch.  Franc died in 1903. He never married and had no children, and the ranch was left in his will to two sisters who still lived in Germany. Franc's brother trav