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WYOMING
LEGENDS
Johnson County War |
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Into
the vast open range of
Wyoming, where thousands of buffalo once roamed, came
great herds of cattle in the 1880’s. At this time, most of the land was
public domain and utilized primarily by large cattle ranchers, but as more
and more small homesteaders moved into the region, the cattle barons began
to resist.
In 1884, the entire range was monopolized by
some twenty big ranches who allowed their cattle to roam freely on the open
range. Each spring, a roundup was held, where the cows and calves belonging
to each ranch were separated and the calves branded. |

Open range in
Wyoming. |
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However, sometimes, calves were taken and branded before they could be rounded
up, causing the large ranch owners to aggressively punish cattle rustlers.
Because the cattle barons generally ran their ranches with a “hands-off”
approach, hiring
cowboys and foremen to do the work, they usually forbade their
own employees from owning cattle. This eliminated any temptation to take a few
orphan or stray calves.
In the
beginning, property and water rights were usually respected among big and small
ranches based on who was first to settle the land and the size of the herd.
However, as more and more homesteaders moved into the region, some of the large
ranches banded together to monopolize large areas of the open range in order to
prevent newcomers from settling.
Adding fuel to the fire was an
increasing number of missing cattle, especially the unbranded calves. Though
the vast majority of small ranchers were hard-working men, there were some who
saw the maverick calves as a way to build their herds and would unscrupulously
make away with them before the large ranch round-ups. Before long, the cattle
barons began to blame the homesteaders for any missing cattle. The cattle barons
were also unhappy as they watched more and more of the open range being taken
over by large sheep herds – blasphemy to a cattleman.
The tension increased between
the cattle barons and the smaller ranch owners after a summer of drought was
followed by severe blizzards during the winter of 1886-1887. Thousands of cattle
died of the bitter cold and more were lost to wolves and cattle rustlers. At the
same time, cattle prices plummeted, causing the cattle barons' profits to drop
dramatically and even put a few of them out of business.
By this time, the large ranches were greatly
outnumbered by the homesteaders who had little sympathy for their problems. Time
after time, cattle thieves were hauled into court, but it was almost impossible
to get a jury to convict anyone. Finally, the cattle barons decided to take
matters into their own hands and stepped up the number of range detectives hired
by the
Wyoming Stock Growers Association to help curb cattle rustling. The
Association also drew up a number of new rules that made it extremely difficult
for anyone to register a new brand and employed stock inspectors at shipping
points to confiscate cattle with unregistered brands. |
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Branding cattle in 1891.
This image available for
photographic prints and downloads
HERE!
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The large ranchers also
began to aggressively appropriate land where they controlled the water
supplies and excluded smaller ranchers from participation in the annual
roundup. At the same time, the detectives hired by the Association were
increasing implicated in the deaths of a number of small ranchers and
suspected cattle thieves.
Things really came to a
head when homesteaders
Ella Watson and
Jim Averell were accused of cattle
rustling and hanged in July, 1889. Though the small area ranchers were
enraged, the intimidation continued.
Finally in the spring of
1892, the angry small ranchers decided to start their own association called
the Northern
Wyoming Farmers and Stock Growers Association. |
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The
Wyoming Stock Growers
Association then decided to hire some 50 men, including a number of known
Texas
killers, to eliminate the alleged rustlers in Johnson County. On April 5, 1892,
a large party of cattlemen, five stock detectives, including
Frank M. Canton,
and 23
gunfighters, under the command of
Major Frank Wolcott, set out from
Cheyenne on their way to Buffalo. Beyond Casper, the force, called the
“Regulators,” began cutting the telegraph lines along the way, in order to
prevent an alarm.
The armed men first targeted
Nate Champion of the KC Ranch, who had been actively promoting the rival
Northern
Wyoming Farmers and Stock Growers Association and a competing roundup.
When the hired guns arrived, they found only four men at the ranch cabin. Two
trappers who were just passing through were captured, but
Nate Champion and
cowboy, Rueben "Nick" Ray, were shot and killed.
During the siege, Jack Flagg, a
suspected rustler, and his stepson Alonzo Taylor unwittingly crossed the firing
zone. Though the
gunfighters chased them, the pair escaped to warn the people of
Buffalo of the group of armed men. The following day, Buffalo Sheriff
Red Angus
led a posse of 200 men to find the
gunfighters. Holed up at the TA Ranch on
Crazy Woman Creek, the posse laid siege to the ranch and Wolcott's men.
A standoff occurred until one
of the "Regulators" escaped and contacted the
Wyoming Governor. In no time, the
Sixth Cavalry from Fort McKinney proceeded to the TA Ranch to save the
Association members from the sheriff’s posse. Early on the morning of April
13th, the standoff came to an end when the cattlemen surrendered to the 6th
Cavalry.
In the protective custody of
the cavalry, Wolcott and his men were transferred to Cheyenne. The
Texas
gunfighters immediately disappeared after bail was made and they were released.
Court proceedings began for the locals and a trial was eventually set for
January, 1893. But as time dragged on, material witnesses disappeared and
finding impartial jurors proved to be next to impossible. Ultimately, the high
cost of the trial led the court to dismiss the entire case.
Though the Johnson County War
was over, scattered violence continued for over a decade as rustlers continued
to be hanged.
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, © January, 2007
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From the Rocky Mountain General Store
Cowboys
and the Wild West: An A-Z Guide From The
Chisholm Trail
To The Silver Screen
by
Don Cusic
Cowboys and the Wild West comprise a folklore that is uniquely
American -- as much a part of American history and culture as the signing
of the Declaration of Independence or baseball.
Annie Oakley,
Doc Holliday
and
Bat Masterson
hearken back to the days of
saloons,
frontier justice and quick draws. singing
cowboys,
TV
cowboys,
Old West
musicals, and film westerns are the modern incarnations. But whether at
the real
O.K. Corral or
on the screen at the local movie theater, the tales, characters and spirit
remain the same: colorful, vibrant and folksy.
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