Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1878-08-31

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Ever since 1870 there has been o crew Of
desperate rufians skipping around over
the plains, through valleys and into the
mountains, within q boundary Of q hun
bred miles south Of the line of the Union
Pacific Railroad, with Cheyenne for an
eastern limit and Salt Lake for the west
ern. This gang is composed Of such speci-
mems as Charley Williamson, the notorious
murderer and jail-breaker from Salt Lake I;
Jack watkins, the slayer Of the Laramie
Sheriff q few years ago-a man who has
often rolled oyster cans up the streets OF
Cheyenne. by shooting just under them
with his navy revolver aud 8 dozen more
equally promising cut-throats. They have
been sauntering around from the Little
Snake up to the Sweetwater country for
all these intervening years, hunting, trap
ping, horsc-racing and stcaling-having
things pretty much their own way. Their
last freak is embodied in he following dis
patch. Any Of our readers who came
across the plains on the old overland route
will recognize the scene OF their last ex-
plot. Carbon is a station on the U. p,
almost directly north Of old Fort Halleck I;
Medicine Bow il Q railroad point eighteen
miles north Of where emigrants used to
cross Rock Creek; Percy is the station o
little northwest of Elk mountain, and about
twenty miles from it Rattlesnake creek is
thirty miles northwest Of Percy. Parties
who have been once over the old stage
road, we think, will now read Of the opera
tons Of this crew, and can figure out pref
ty correctly the route Of the gang:
OMAHA, August 27.-On Saturday the
18th instant, q section foreman on the
Union Pacific Railroad, running east from
Medicine Bow, Wyoming Territory, while
going over the track at the east end Of his
section, which is five miles from Medicine
Bow, about 9 P. NJ, found all the spikes
pulled out from one rail and all the spikes
taken off. He at once reported the facts to
the officers o. the road. There we're tracks
Of horses and men discovered near the
railroad track, but shortly after the dis
covery q hard shower came up and oblit-
Grated the trail. The next morning tSun-
day.. AZ soon as it was light, . party was
sent out to try and find the trail and fol-
low it. About two miles from the track
they struck the trail Of eight shod horses.
This trail was followed westward along the
south side Of the railroad, running out
from the track and then in again alter
nately several times, until the party at
night left the trail at Percy Station. The
party after making this trail had evidently
avoided all ranches and public places, and
had not followed the regular line Of travel.
On Monday morning the 10Th, the officers
Of the road engaged an experienced hun
ter, named Vincent, to go out and look the
ground over and see il the party could be
found, and ascertain who they were. He
took with him Deputy Sheriff Weddowfeld
Of Carbon, and together they started out
before breakfast without blankets or equip
age of any kind. expecting to return for O
late breakfast. On Wednesday, nothing
having been heard Of them, searching
parties were sent out to look for them.
On last Saturday these parties returned
without having found any trail of the
missing men, but they had met a party of
surveyors Sunday in the vicinity of Elk
mountain, who informed them that on the
previous Monday morning they saw two
men travelling towards Big canyon and
Rattlesnake creek, and shortly afterwards
the two men disappeared in the timber,
when the surveyors heard about twenty
shots fired in rapid succession, but suppos-
ing the two men were hunting, and think
ing there were others belonging to the same
party in the canyon, they paid no attention
to the firing until they met the party Of
searchers from Carbon. The Carbon party
came into Medicine Bow and telegraphed
the facts to Sheriff Lowry at Percy. Lowry
Immediately organized . party Of twenty
men, came to Medicine Bow On train No. 6
at $50 4. ". yesterday, and at once struck
out for Elk mountain. Superintendent
Dickinson of the Laramie division accom-
panied the expedition. They searched all
day yesterday, being accompanied by one
OF the surveyors who heard the firing, but
they found nothing to excite any sus-
picion, and camped last night at Haw-
ley's ranch. This morning they re-
sumed the search, being accompanied
by John Foote. who was acquainted
with the country, and who led the men
to o spot where . party had recently
camped. They commenced searching in
this vicinity, and Don found the dead
bodies Of Weddowfeld and Vincent, badly
decomposed. They undoubtedly had been
murdered at the time when the surveyors
heard the shots. Weddowield had two
shots in the neck md Vincent four in the
chest. The bodies were taken into Percy
this afternoon. yincent's remains were
sent to Rawlins for burial, he having no
relations in this country. Deputy Sheriff
Weddowfield's remains were sent to Car
bon. The murder was committed by the
same gang of outlaws who had intended to
ditch the train and rob it on the 18th. 1t
seems that when the section man dis
covered their deviltry at the railroad track,
he must have been watched by some OF the
gang, who thereupon disappeared when
they were foiled. Elk Mountain, where
the murder was committed, is twenty miles
from Percy. The plan Of the railroad Of
fcials was to discover and locate the
desperadoes and then the company was to
send a posse to take them. These facts
are obtained from . dispatch this evening
by Assistant Superintendent ]. T. Clark.