This brochure describes rodeos in Bozeman and Ellensburg (both of which were on the NP main line), Coeur d’Alene (not far from the Northern Pacific station in Spokane), Cheyenne (served by Union Pacific but reachable by NP to Billings and from there by the Burlington), and Pendleton (also on the UP mainline but reachable via Northern Pacific to Pasco and then on a branchlike, the former Washington and Columbia River Railway, to Pendleton).

Click image to download an 5.1-MB PDF of this 4-page brochure from the Minnesota History Center.

The front cover painting shows a cowboy riding a bucking bronco, both of which have amazingly sedate looks on their faces. In contrast, the photographs of actual rodeo events on page 3 tell stories of brief terror and violence.

The painting is signed “W.J. Wilwerding 1925.” Walter Joseph Wilwerding (1891-1966) was lifetime Minnesota resident where he worked as a wildlife artist and illustrator, mainly of children’s books about animals. Perhaps his orientation to children is what led him to make the rider and horse appear so relaxed instead of terrified. Although the painting was done in 1925, the schedules on page 4 of the brochure match 1926 timetables.