Chapter XXII: Appendix (2)

Ijams said that arrangements had been made to watch the soldiers very closely at McKinney and see that they did not desert or steal a Gatling gun and join the rustlers. He said that parties in Buffalo would look after the soldiers so closely at McKinney that they would be perfectly harmless, so far as the mob was concerned. About 6 o’clock in the evening the mob left on the train for Casper. Before leaving the stockyards the mob in Cheyenne were joined by the mob from Texas that came on the train from Denver. I think there were about 52 men on the train when the mob left Cheyenne. There was no excitement on the train until after dark, when orders were given for every man to get a rope and have his guns ready. The leaders of the mob said the sheriff from Buffalo and one or two of his deputies might be coming on the train from Casper to Cheyenne; that a good many people in Cheyenne had known for some time the mob would start for Johnson County and that the people in Buffalo might have heard about the mob, and the sheriff and one or two deputies might be coming to Cheyenne to see what they could find out. The leaders of the mob said arrangements had been made so the mob would know if the sheriff and party were on the train, and if they were they said it would change the plans of the mob altogether. That it would be necessary for the mob to stop the train from Casper if the sheriff and party were on and to hang the sheriff and his deputies and any rustlers that might be on the train.

The leaders of the mob said there were several rustlers in Casper that they would hang up if they were obliged to capture the sheriff and party from Buffalo, but if sheriff and party were not on the train from Casper that the mob would go direct to Buffalo without interfering with anyone. Before the train the mob was on met the train from Casper the leaders of the mob reported that sheriff and party were not on the train from Casper. The train the mob was on arrived at the stockyards near Casper a short time before daylight and commenced to catch and saddle up their horses. By the time the part of the mob left the stockyards that had their horses in the last of the three cars the sun was about one-half or three-fourths of an hour high, and parties in Casper seemed to be watching the mob closely. Some of the mob said there were several rustlers in Casper from Johnson County that they ought to hang, but they did not want to make any disturbance until they got to Buffalo. They said if the mob caused a disturbance in Casper the sheriff in Buffalo would swear in 100 or 200 deputies and come to meet the mob in the Powder River country. The mob said the only way they could succeed was to come to Buffalo and kill off the sheriff and his deputies, so that the citizens would have no leader and no law in the country to protect them. The mob came about six or seven miles north of Casper and stopped for the wagons to come up in order to get breakfast. The mob stopped in camp until about 1 o’clock. About noon several of the mob went out and brought in a horseman. The mob said they intended to kill all rustlers that they would capture on the road. They held the horseman prisoner for about half an hour. He was unarmed and proved to be a man that was riding after sheep. The took him along prisoner for six or seven miles north of where they camped at noon and turned him loose, after making him promise to say nothing about seeing the mob in the country. The first night out from Casper, the night of the 6th of April, the mob camped about 20 miles north of Casper. On the morning of the 7th of April they were called together and told that hereafter Tom Smith and the rest of them would be in command of Frank Canton; for them to obey orders and ask no questions. About 10 o’clock on the morning of the 7th of April the mob stopped a young man from Buffalo by the name of Kingsbury. They said he was a sheepman’s son. He was allowed to go his way. About noon on the 7th of April they camped about 30 miles north of Casper and got dinner. From there they left the wagons and arrived at John Tisdale’s on the night of the 7th of April, about 8 o’clock in the evening; the weather was very stormy.

About 10 or 12 miles before the mob got to Tisdale’s ranch they were met by Mike Shonsey, who informed them that at a ranch on Powder River there were 15 or 16 rustlers. I could not get any information at the time just what ranch it was the rustlers were at, or in just what part of the country the ranch was, but I have since learned that the ranch that Shonsey meant was the K. C. ranch, on the middle fork of Powder River. The Texas part of the mob stopped in the bunk-house at Tisdale’s ranch; the stockmen stopped at the residence. I was with the Texas party. On the morning of the 8th of April we were told by the leaders of the mob that we would lay over at Tisdale’s place that day and wait for the wagons to come up and the men would have a chance to rest. The Texas men were about played out. In the afternoon we were told that the leaders had decided to make a raid on the rustlers on Powder River, about 16 miles from Tisdale’s. The leaders, in the evening, gave orders for the mob to kill every man on this ranch they proposed to raid, and to leave no man alive about the ranch to tell any tales afterward, no matter who he might be. The wagons arrived at Tisdale’s ranch about 5 o’clock the evening of the 8th of April.

After the wagons arrived at Tisdale’s we were told by the leaders that it would be the last place we would probably see the wagons unless by an accident the teamsters were able to deceive the rustlers and get through to Buffalo; that for every man to get what ammunition and blankets he wanted to take along with him; that after raiding the ranch on Powder River the country would be full of straggling rustlers, and the chances were they would capture the wagons. About 7 o’clock in the evening four men were detailed to go to the ranch on Powder River and keep off a safe distance and see if the parties who lived at the ranch had left or not. I managed to get one of the Texans, who was detailed for the occasion, to let me go in his place. I had caught my horse and started to saddle up, when Walcott came down from the house and said I could not go along with the party to investigate matters. He said the men that were detailed for the occasion would have to go, and that us fellows would have to learn to obey orders and better ask less questions. If I had gone along with the party of four to investigate matters of the K. C. ranch I intended when we got in sight of the K. C. ranch to get off my horse and empty my Winchester at the rest of the gang and then to go down to the house and inform the parties who were living there as to the state of affairs in their part of the country. Mike Shonsey, Jack Jones, Elick Kinzie and one of the Bookers left Tisdale’s ranch to investigate matters at the K. C. ranch, on the middle fork of Powder River. They were to meet the balance of us four miles south of the K. C. ranch, after they had investigated matters and let the rest of the mob know how everything was running about the ranch.

The mob left Tisdale’s ranch about 11 o’clock on the night of the 8th of April and stopped several hours in a gulch on the road about four miles from K. C. ranch and waited for the return of Shonsey and party. Shonsey and their party finally returned to the gulch where the balance of the mob were waiting, and reported everything all right at the K. C. ranch; they said the parties there were not expecting anything, and that they were playing the fiddle and having a good time generally. Shortly after the return of Shonsey and party the mob started for the K. C. ranch. Joe Elliott had about 10 pounds of giant powder tied behind his saddle. It was the intention of the mob to blow the house at the K. C. ranch up with the giant powder and to shoot any of the men who showed up in sight at the K. C. house after the explosion. But the mob got to the K. C. ranch too late to use the powder. It was breaking day when we got in sight of the ranch; about the time the mob saw the K. C. house, the leaders of the mob, Major Walcott, Frank Canton and Tom Smith, called to the mob to halt, pointed out the K. C. house and said the parties they proposed to kill were living there and that they did not intend to allow any man that was about the place to get away alive. They said the mob were too late to use the giant powder; that they would have to surround the house and let the parties come out as far as possible and then they would shoot them down. The leaders then ordered six men to go on the south side of the K. C. house and conceal themselves in a gulch in order to shoot any parties that might show up in sight. The six men ordered to take a position in a gulch south of the K. C. house were Mike Shonsey, Jack Jones, Elick Kinzie and three of the Bookers. The balance of the mob went to the river and left their horses in charge of a part of the mob at the river about one-half mile above the house; a part of the balance of the mob went down the river from where they left the horses and hid behind the bank of the river for a distance of about 100 yards above the bridge, and the rest of the mob went to the stable, and some of them were concealed in the stable and to the left of the stable; and some of the mob were behind the end of the stable next to the river. When daylight came John Tisdale and I noticed a wagon in front of the K. C. house; Tisdale said that the party at the house had company.

I told Tisdale that the visitors might be friends of the stockmen who were traveling through the country, and were obliged to stop all night at the ranch. I told Tisdale that I did not hire out to kill men as I came to them, and I thought it would be a good idea if we found out who the strangers were at the K. C. house. Tisdale said he would like to find out who the parties were, but it would not be safe to go to the house. I told Tisdale that I would take chances on going to the house; that I would go a-foot and tell the parties at the house that I came from Buffalo and was going to the railroad to leave the country. Tisdale said all right, for me to go to the stable and tell the men at the stable about it. I went to the stable and told Canton and Wolcott that Tisdale was satisfied that the parties at the house were friends of his, and that he told me to go to the house and investigate. Walcott and Canton said that Tisdale must be crazy; that they would allow no man to go to the house; that if the parties at the house were friends of his that the chances were they would be out of luck. If I had gone to the house I intended to inform the parties at the house about the mob, and I intended to stop at the house and not return. I was satisfied with what Joe Elliott and others had told me that the mob could never dislodge the parties in the house. I never heard them say anything about running a wagon against a house to burn it down, but I was afterwards told that the plan was studied up in Cheyenne over a year before the mob started.

After my talk with Wolcott and Canton about going to the house, I went back along the river bank to where I had left Tisdale. Orders had been given by the leaders for every man to carry but five cartridges in his six-shooter and to have no loads in his Winchester; it was claimed that at the time that Joe Elliott and party made the assault on Champion and Gilbertson, that the party were waiting in the brush for Champion and Gilbertson to come out of the house so they could shoot them, and that one of the party let his six-shooter fall on the ground, and that it went off, and the party were obliged to make an assault on them for fear they might have heard the gun and would get to thinking the matter over and would not come out of the house. The leaders said that if any of the gang did not want their heads shot off they had better not allow any guns to go off accidentally.

The mob lay in ambush at least two hours before any one showed up at the house; then one man came out and went back into the house again. In about 15 minutes afterwards an old man came out of the house with a water bucket in his hand and came straight towards the river. I kept showing up all that I thought was necessary, when I saw the two men appear, but the old man kept coming straight for the river. When he got behind the bank of the river Frank Canton, Joe Elliott, Ben Morrison, Tom Tabor and Tom Smith took the old man prisoner and had one of the Texas kids guard him down in under the river bank, just below the bridge. In about half an hour after the capture of the old man two men came out of the house and seemed to be on the lookout from their appearance. I thought they were aware there was something wrong. I kept dodging up so they could see me, and the largest man of the two went in the house in a rush.

And the young fellow stood around awhile and seemed to be watching in the direction of the river. I showed up again in sight. The bank was poor protection where I was. The young fellow had just gone in the house and I expected they would begin shooting from the house. I left my position and went up the river about 40 yards to where John Tisdale was at a cottonwood tree. The young fellow showed up again and came out of the house and picked up a club and began whittling on it and coming toward the river. He seemed to be on the lookout all the time. It took him about half an hour to come from the house to the stable. He was then taken prisoner by Canton, Elliott and party. Shortly before the young man got to the stable the big man came out of the house. I showed up again and took a good look at him, and asked Tisdale who he was. Tisdale said he did not know the man; that he was not wanted by the mob. The big man came out to where there was a cottonwood tree and took an axe in one hand and began cutting the bark high up on the tree. Shortly after the arrest of the young man the big man quit cutting the bark on the big tree and walked over near a smaller tree. He had been there for perhaps 10 minutes when there was a shot fired from an aperture in the stable that was used to throw out the manure. Almost at the same time that the first shot was fired from the stable the men stationed at the north end of the barn commenced firing, and those men stationed in different localities fired about the same time. The big man staggered and fell. The mob kept up a continual fire, and the big man commenced crawling on his hand and knees towards the door of the K. C. house. After the mob had fired perhaps 100 shots there was a man appeared in the door of the house, in plain view, and began shooting toward the stable. He fired a number of shots and went out of sight in the house. He disappeared only for a moment and then came out in full view and began shooting again. During this time the mob kept up a constant fire and the big man that was shot near the house kept crawling toward the door. By the time the big man got near the door of the house the small man had shot 10 or 20 shots. The small man then put down his gun and pulled the big man in the house. The mob kept shooting at the house for the balance of the day, and there was a good many shots fired from the house. The mob claimed that the first man shot was Nate Champion. The mob kept the house surrounded and sent to a ranch to get a wagon load of hay to run against the K. C. house to burn it down, but the men came back that had been sent after the wagon and reported that the wagon was away from home. About 3 o’clock a man and a boy came along the road. The man was on horseback and the boy was driving the team. The mob told them to throw up their hands and immediately began firing at them. They whipped up their horses, and after going a mile or so they took a horse out of the harness, the boy mounted the horse, and they made their escape, closely followed by some of the mob, who fired a good many shots at them. The mob captured the wagon and horse left behind by the boy and man. They brought the wagon down to the stable and loaded it with brush, hay, wood and pitch pine. Major Walcott, A. B. Clark, John Tisdale, Tom Smith and James Dudley then run the wagon against the K. C. house and set fire to the hay and shavings on the wagon. The house soon caught fire. There had not been a shot fired from the house for over an hour before the wagon was run against the house. The mob thought that both men in the house might be dead.

In about half an hour after they had run the wagon against the house and set fire to it, a man ran out of the south end of the house and continued running south. The mob at the stable and vicinity kept up a continual fire on the man that came out and was running south. After the man had run about 200 yards and was nearly opposite a part of the mob who were concealed in a gulch south of the house, the mob at the stable and vicinity quit firing, and the part of the mob who were concealed in the gulch south of the house raised up and began firing and killed the man who came out of the house at the K. C. ranch. The man that was killed in the gulch south of the K. C. house the leaders identified as Nate Champion. They said they were mistaken about the first man that was shot in the morning. They said that when they captured the teamsters, Jones and Walker, that Walker told them that there were only two men at the house, Ray and Champion. The mob said the first man shot in the morning must have been Nick Ray. Tom Smith, of the mob, went through Champion’s pockets and found a memorandum book, with sketches of the fight at different times during the day. One of the mob took Champion’s six-shooter and belt. After Champion’s pockets had been rifled, Sam T. Clover, at the request of some of the mob, Tom Smith, Joe Elliott and others, wrote upon a piece of paper, “Beware, Cattle Thieves!” and buttoned the piece of paper upon Champion’s vest. Tom Smith, Elliott and others of the mob said they wanted that piece of paper left on Champion’s body so that when his friends found him that they would know what he was killed for, and so that his friends would know what to expect if they stayed any longer in the country.

After the mob had killed Champion and Ray at the K. C. ranch we took supper at the wagons, about half a mile above the K. C. house, on the river. After supper we started for Buffalo. About six or seven miles from the K. C. ranch we changed horses and kept on the road to Buffalo until near a place known as Carr’s ranch, where we saw a bright fire burning about half a mile ahead. Some one in the direction of the fire let a gun go off. We then left the road and turned to the left and cut a wire fence and went through a large field, and came into the road again and followed the road to the 28 ranch, where we got some coffee and bread and took two hours’ rest in the loft of the stable. We then started for Buffalo on the morning of the 10th of April, and came a short distance toward Buffalo from the TA ranch when Ford, who had gone to the TA ranch to get a change of saddle horse for one of the mob, by the name of Dudley, came riding up to where the mob had halted, and reported that Dudley’s horse had bucked with him and thrown him, and that his Winchester fell out of the scabbard and was discharged about the time that Dudley fell from his horse, and shot Dudley, breaking his leg. The leaders claimed that arrangements had been made with parties in Buffalo to meet them a short distance from Buffalo and inform them as to the state of affairs in Buffalo. While we were talking about what to do with Dudley a man rode up to us. He came from the direction of Buffalo.

This man informed the leaders that there were over 200 settlers in Buffalo up in arms against the mob, and that the settlers were deputized as a sheriff’s posse for the purpose of arresting the mob. This horseman informed us that the sheriff was in the Powder River country with a posse looking for the mob. This horseman said that the parties that had charge of the arrangements for assassinating the sheriff at Buffalo had intended to kill the sheriff on the night of the 9th of April, in order to keep the sheriff from organizing sheriff’s posses before the mob could get to Buffalo. But the horseman said that a man from Powder River had rode into Buffalo on the afternoon of the 9th of April and reported the fight at K. C. ranch, and the man said that the sheriff had organized a posse and started to Powder River before the parties who had intended to kill him had an opportunity to do so.

The mob turned back and went to the TA ranch and fortified. The leaders claimed the reason they were fortifying at the TA ranch was on account of their plans miscarrying in regard to the killing of the sheriff on the night of the 9th of April. The mob intended to kill the sheriff and his deputies, if they first made a raid on Buffalo. But if the mob should get in a fight on the road to Buffalo, so that there was a chance for the people in Buffalo to hear about the mob being in the country before they had time to get to Buffalo, they claimed to have made arrangements with certain parties in Buffalo to assassinate the sheriff and his deputies in order to prevent them from swearing in a large posse of men for the purpose of arresting the mob.

About 12 o’clock a party of 15 or 20 men were seen by the mob a short distance from the TA ranch going on the road towards Buffalo. The leaders of the mob said the party were the sheriff and posse and gave orders for every man of us to conceal himself and keep out of sight until the sheriff and posse came up so close that we could see the white of their eyes from the stable, and then the leaders of the mob said for us to open fire on the sheriff and posse, and to kill every one of them. The leaders of the mob claimed that the sheriff and posse would come to the ranch to demand the surrender of the mob, but the sheriff’s party kept the road toward Buffalo and did not come to the ranch that day, April 10th, 1892. The leaders claimed that we were safer fortified at the TA ranch than anywhere. They said the sheriff at Buffalo would deputize several hundred settlers for the purpose of arresting the mob who would have taken no part in the fight. If the sheriff and deputies had been killed on the night of the 9th of April, according to the arrangements made by the mob with certain parties in Buffalo, the leaders of the mob claimed that it would be impossible for the sheriff’s posse to capture us at TA ranch inside of a week, and that before that time Governor Barber and Senators Carey and Warren would manipulate the troops at McKinney in such a manner that the troops would come to the rescue of the mob before the sheriff’s party could do us any injury. The leaders of the mob were very bitter towards the soldiers at McKinney, and especially the commanding officer. The leaders of the mob said they knew the teamsters and wagons would be captured by the rustlers, and that they had fixed up a good scheme on the old beef-eating vagabond who was in command of the troops at McKinney. They claimed that they had told the teamsters to tell everybody that they had orders from the leader to drive the wagons to the post at McKinney and turn them over to the commanding officer at the post according to arrangements that the leaders had made with the commanding officer to take charge of the wagons a week before.

About 12 o’clock two men came from Buffalo and joined the mob; one of the men was Phil Du Friend and the other, I understood was George Sutherland. The men brought considerable news from Buffalo to the mob. The mob claimed the cause of their being obliged to fortify at the TA ranch was on account of the sheriff and deputies not having been killed, according to arrangements. They claimed that if the sheriff and deputies had been killed that there would not have been any officers to swear in a posse of men as deputy sheriffs for the purpose of arresting the mob, and that the settlers would not have taken the responsibility upon themselves of turning out and fighting the mob. On the other hand, the leaders claimed that if the sheriff and deputies had been killed according to arrangements made by the leaders of the mob, that their friends would have joined them when we came to Buffalo, and that the expedition would have been a success instead of a possible failure. These matters were talked over by the leaders, Du Friend and the other man from Buffalo.

The leaders explained to Du Friend and the other man that we would be obliged to fortify and remain at the TA ranch until Governor Barber, Senators Carey and Warren sent the troops at McKinney to our rescue. The leaders claimed that we could stand the sheriff’s posse off for a week if necessary without losing any men, if the friends of the mob in Buffalo would closely watch the soldiers at McKinney and prevent the soldiers at McKinney from stealing out a Gatling gun and turning it over to the sheriff’s posse, some of whom the leaders said were ex-soldiers and knew how to work a cannon. The leaders told Du Friend and the other man that the morning of the 11th of April they would send a man from TA ranch to Cheyenne to confer with Governor Barber and the officers of the stock growers’ association in regard to the predicament the mob was in, and for the purpose of making arrangements with the officers of the stock growers’ association to have at least 150 men in readiness to reinforce the mob whenever the officers of the stock growers’ association thought it would be expedient. The leaders explained to considerable length to Du Friend and the other man that there was yet a show for the mob to make a success of their raid, if their friends in Buffalo would go to the front as they agreed to. The leaders told Du Friend and the other man that there was a show for the troops from McKinney to come out to the TA ranch in the night to stop the fight. The leaders explained to Du Friend and the other man that if some of the friends of the mob could be concealed in a gulch by themselves near the lines of the rustlers and open fire upon the troops from McKinney, that the success of the raid made by the mob depended upon that one circumstance. The leaders said that their friends in Buffalo would have plenty of time to make their own arrangements in regard to selecting their ground, so there would be no trouble for them to get out of the way after they had fired on the soldiers, and the fight had began between the soldiers and the rustlers. The leaders said that if the friends of the mob could bring on a fight between the soldiers and the sheriff’s posse in the night that the mob would have their horses saddled for the occasion, and that as soon as the fight began between the soldiers and sheriff’s posse that the mob would mount their horses and make their escape towards Cheyenne, where they would be joined by reinforcements, and would come back and kill every man that had packed a gun against them at the TA ranch.

The man that came from Buffalo with Du Friend said he would go back to Buffalo and see what arrangements he could make to bring on a fight between the troops and the sheriff’s posse. He left in the afternoon for Buffalo. I asked Du Friend when he first heard the mob was coming to Johnson County. He said the first he knew for a certainty that they would raid the county was last January when he was in Cheyenne. I asked him if he had come from Buffalo to join and stay with them; he said he had. Du Friend said that if the rustlers got a hold of me all they would do would be to shoot me, but he said that if he fell in the rustlers’ hands they would burn him. On the afternoon of the 10th of April, the mob built their fortifications in order to stand off the sheriff’s posse until Governor Barber, Senators Carey and Warren could send the troops at McKinney to the rescue of the mob. The leaders claimed that if they attempted to retreat when their horses were so near played out that they would be surrounded by the sheriff’s posse and would have to surrender to the civil authorities--something the mob said they did not propose to do under any circumstances.

On the night of the 10th of April one of the mob came to the TA ranch about 10 o’clock in the evening. He said that he was riding in the head teamster’s wagon; and had his horse saddled and tied behind the wagon; said that sheriff’s posse passed the wagons on their road to K. C. ranch; said sheriff’s posse asked the head teamster a few questions and then went on. He reported that after sheriff’s posse left the wagons he got on his horse and came to join us; he said the country was full of rustlers. About 3 o’clock in the morning of the 11th of April I went from the fort down to the house to get some grub for the men at the fort; at the house I saw a man with his leggins and spurs on; I supposed that he was the man that was going to Cheyenne. I asked Fay Parker who he was, and Wolcott spoke and said the man’s name was Johnnie Jones; that he was a distant relation of a great grand-aunt of his, and that I would better take a good look at him so I would know him the next time I saw him. After I had finished my breakfast at the house I took some grub and coffee up to the men at the fort. About daylight a number of horsemen appeared in sight of the fortifications coming from the direction of Buffalo. The firing then commenced and was kept up most of the time until the surrender of the mob to the troops at Fort McKinney.

During the fight at the TA ranch the mob seemed to feel perfectly secure from danger; they claimed that they were so strongly fortified that the sheriff’s posse would not change the works, and that it would be impossible for the sheriff’s posse to get their rifle pits close enough to harass the mob before Governor Barber, Senators Carey and Warren would send the troops at McKinney to the rescue of the mob. Then they claimed that if the rustlers and troops did not get into a fight that it would be necessary to surrender to the military authorities and be taken to Fort Russell at Cheyenne, where, the leaders claimed, they would be turned loose in a short time, and they would come back to Johnson County stronger than ever, and would kill every man that packed a gun against them at the TA ranch. The leaders seemed to think the possible failure of the raid was due to the fact that the sheriff and deputies were not killed on the night of the 9th of April.

During the fight at the TA ranch the mob talked a great deal about the way the men who were in the employ of the Stock Growers’ Association last summer and fall had terrorized the settlers. They claimed that last summer and fall there was only four men in the employ of the stock association for the purpose of killing off the rustlers; they claimed these four men were Frank Canton, Tom Smith, Joe Elliott and Fred Coats. Elliott and Canton had a good deal to say about how they would be back after the fight at the TA ranch. They said they would terrorize the settlers of Johnson County when they got back again so that those settlers who had an opportunity to leave would get out of the country the best way they could. The troops from McKinney did not arrive quite as soon as the leaders expected; they thought that the commander of the troops was standing in with the sheriff’s posse, and had taken the wrong road to the TA ranch. When the troops came in sight soon after sunrise the mob appeared in fine spirits, and said that their friends--Governor Barber, Senators Warren and Carey--had sent the troops to their rescue, and that it would be but a short time when they would come back stronger than ever, and would kill off every man that packed a gun again the mob at the TA ranch.

GEORGE DUNNING.

(At end of Mercer’s BANDITTI OF THE PLAINS.)

State of Wyoming, County of Johnson, ss:

Personally appeared before me, T. P. Hill, clerk of the District Court in and for Johnson County, State of Wyoming, George Dunning, who is personally known to me as the person who signed the foregoing statement, and deposes upon oath, duly administered to him, that the foregoing statement by him signed and comprising 44 pages, numbered in red ink from 1 to 44 inclusive, was written by him, is made without solicitation, fears or threats from any party or parties whatsoever, and that all the matters and things contained therein are true to his own knowledge and belief.

GEORGE DUNNING.

Subscribed in my presence and sworn to before me this 6th day of October, 1892.

T. P. HILL,
Clerk, District Court.

By Gustave E. A. Moeller, Deputy Clerk.

Transcriber’s Notes

Errors in punctuation have been fixed.

Spelling, including names, has been retained as printed in the original publication, except as follows:

Page 17: Changed "stockgrowers" to "stock growers"

Page 21: Changed "give notice" to "gave notice"

Page 23: Changed "WYOMING STOCK-GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION" to
"WYOMING STOCK GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION"

Page 24: Changed "any astray sold" to "any estray sold"

Page 27: Changed "H. B. Ijam" to "H. B. Ijams"

Page 42: Changed "forebade" to "forbade"

Page 58: Changed "Ford McKinney" to "Fort McKinney"

Page 67: Changed "had let his friends" to "had led his friends"

Page 69: Changed "subpoenaes" to "subpoenas"

Page 73: Changed "city marshall" to "city marshal"

Page 111: Changed "Andora" to "Andorra"

Page 111: Changed "Pyrennes" to "Pyrenees"

Page 111: Changed "illustrous" to "illustrious"

Page 113: Changed "verbage" to "verbiage"

Page 116: Changed "depradation" to "depredation"

Page 117: Changed "H. G. Ijams" to "H. B. Ijams"

Page 118: Changed "bcoming" to "becoming"

Page 120: Changed "Rowels" to "Rowles"

Page 122: Changed "Ijams were" to "Ijams was"

Pages 122, 123, 124, and 125: Changed "Ijam’s" to "Ijams’"

Page 127: Changed "Growers’s" to "Growers’"

Page 129: Changed "the the rustlers" to "the rustlers"

Page 132: Changed "gatling gun" to "Gatling gun"

Page 133: Changed "sheriff and and party" to "sheriff and party"

Page 133: Changed "wer not" to "were not"

Page 147: Changed "mattersand" and "matters and"

Page 147: Changed "dayof" to "day of"

Enclosed italics font in _underscores_

Enclosed small capitals font in +plus signs+