River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-04-05
Cow Boys in Iowa.

For number of years the country in the
vicinity of of Extra and Brayton, in the
southern part OF Audubon and the northern
part of Cass counties, Iowa, has been more
or less terrorized by gang ofroughs known
as the Crooked creek cowboys" consisting
principally of Colbert Strahl and son, Rollo
and Jesse Millholland. The officers and the
law were set at defiance until a point was
reached when it was deemed necessary TO ex-
terminate the gang. On Feb. 16, Rollo
Stahl, son of Colbert, was shot in Extra by
the officers, and died next day. A few days
after another son, Dodge, was killed in the
Black Hills. The loss of his two boys oper-
ated to make the old man desperate
and he has been drinking hard ever since,
and it is said has made many threats. One
of those concerned in the shooting Of Rollo
was George Hallock, young man of twen-
ty years, son of III. N. Hallock. Young
Hallock is a crack shot, and is not man
to fool with. The way the story goes,
Strahl and Millholland were in Howletts
saloon in Cakfield. Both had been drink
ing. Strahl saw Hallock pass by on load
of corn. The two men Immediately got 3
blackboard and started after Ha ock.
Nearing the old Brown farm about O block,
where Hallock was taking the corn, their
harness q
ment This enabled Halloek to get inside
the feed lot with his load. A correspon-
dent who interviewed Hallock gives his own
words as to what followed:
They were Just behind me and as they
turned to come in the gate, both had revol-
vers in their hands, and Strahl said: Now,
then, damn you: we have got you" had
slipped down off the load and held the team
with one hand and in the other was my re-
L I.4C or1d he drnr
ed: pulled on Milholland, and he went
down.
Hallock fred twice more but neither shot
took effect, as the horses wheeled around
and ran towards 0akfield. Strahl fell of
the truckboard at the first shot, and Mill
holland fell off about fifty yards from where
he was hit. Strahl was carried into Judge
Turner'S where he fingered till IL o'clock
Friday night. when he died. The ball
struck him in the throat. Millholland was
hit lust over the right eye. The doctor has
not found the bullet yet. He was alive,
but very low, and is since reported dead.
The revolvers which the two men had
were found ON the ground near where
they fell StrahPs was a self-cocking bull
dog. while that of Millholland was an ordin-
airy weapon, and was cooked. The weapon
with which Hallock did the work is a long
80 callber six-shooter, and he said it was q
revolver he would have been surer. Hal
lock talks unconcernedly about the matter,
as if il was an ordinary occurrence, and evil
IDENTIFY feels no anxiety about the result, and
he gave himself up and is now in charge OF
an officer 1t is but fair to say that public
feeling is mostly with him. When your
correspondent lett 0akfeld the coroner's
Jury had not rendered q verdict,
but Judgment is that it will
be a case OF selfdefense. Strahl leaves 8
wife and adaughter, aged twenty-five years.
Millholland leave}a vile and small family.
Ssrahl was formerly citizen of Des MoiRes.
He was q well-to-do farmer, hfty-fiye years
of age. and the proprietor Of 40 acres OF
fine and, beside other property. He was q
powerful man, and great pugllist; IN fact
his friends say he never met his equal in q
rough and tumble fight. Millholland is
about thirty, and Is the same sort of a man
as Strahl, except that be drinks good deal.
Strahl has been considered the leader of
what is known as the Crooked creek
gang"