Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-06-20
FIVE AGAINST TWO /!
Shooting Affair Down on the Salt Fork-oid
Man Watt and His Son Shot Dead.
They Were-Fence Cutters and Gate-Breakers,
and the G Outfit Stopped Them!

~ eo"h w culcoudy dDOuI HOOH, Dy ~.
L. Shipman and Hi. Dyer, two foremen
for the firm of Gregory, Eldred & Co.,
and their stories are in substance as fol-
lows:
For several weeks parties have been
passing through the different ranges
down in that section, and have been
cutting the fences and destroying the
gates placed at convenient distances.
One of the ranges that suffered most
from these depredations was the Stith
pasture, now the property of Gregory,
Eldred q Co., which adjoins the Com
anche Pool pasture. Last Tuesday d.
L. Shipman, Hi. Dyer, 10. Ringer, Dick
Stephens and John Court, employees of
Gregory, Eldred & Co., having finished
branding a lot of calves they had gath
cred from the COmanche Pool roundup,
were returning to camp, at Buffalo
Springs, when 10. III. Ringer, who had
charge Of the camp, remarked that he
would ride down by the gate between
the Comanche Pool range and the pas
ttIre and zee if the gate had been dis
turbed; remarking that parties had
been passing through there lately and
had broken down the gate and destroyed
it. HewenttO the gate and found fresh
wagon tracks leading west from it, these
being plain by reason of the rain that
had fallen that day. He returned to
the other men and reported the fact.
hnQr ~, 60 al lNxyN
to ascertain who was committing the
depredations, and accordingly set out
the direction the wagon tracks were
going, and soon came up with two par
ties, the one behind being an old man,
driving two horse team and the one
in front young man about % years
old, riding the lead wheeler of a four
horse team. Mr.. Shipman, the foreman,
rode up to the man in front and remark
ed that he wanted to speak to him. The
young man asked him with an oath
what was wanted, and at the same
time started to draw revolver. Ship
man told him not to do that, for no
trouble was wanted; but the young
man persisted, and as he was about to
shoot, Shipman knocked his arm and
the pistol was discharged between the
horses hitched to the wagon. He raised
the pistol the second time and fired, the
ball passing through Shipman's clothing
on the right side, plowed through the
skin, and, it is thought grazed rib.
At that the leaders of the team became
frightened and wheeled around, Ship
mans horse got tangled up with them
and fell, throwing him. lie got up and
started after his horse, and at that in
slant general flreing occurred, and in
a minute had ceased when both OF the
the teamsters were found to be shot
dead, both being away from their wag-
Ons.
1t is not known for certain who fired
the fatal shots but the parties admit
that Dyer, Ringer and Stevens were the
only ones armed, and say that Stevens
nor Court had pist OILS.
After the the shooting ceased it was
found that one of the wagons was over
turned and a horse fast under it. The
harness was cut loose and the horse re-
leased, and further than this nothing
was done, and the bodies allowed to re-
main undisturbed, no examination
whatever being made. They did not
know the parties killed and did not re-
member of ever having seen them be-
fore.
Shipman and his party went OH to
camp and early Wednesday morning
Shipman and Dyer started to town
and arrived here about noon, and i'm
mediately notified Coroner Singer and
Deputy Sheriff VanSlyke, and later i'm
the day these officers, accompanied by
Geo. w. Ellis, Ed. Sample and Tom.
Doran, started to the scene of the trag-
edy, to make further demonstrations.
From another source it is learned
that after the killing, which occurred
about shutdown Tuesday, the party
went to the camp at Buffalo Springs.
but did not give any intimation as to
what they had done. A party from
the lower roundup, consisting of j. A.
McCarty, Ed. Golf, John McFadden
and several others were camped at Buff
falO Springs Tuesday. evening, and
were present when Ringer brought tho
news to camp that the gate was down.
1t was then that Mr.. Shipman and his
party started out OH horseback to as
certain who had been cutting the gates.
They did not return until after dark,
when nothing was said about the kill
ing. 1t is presumed that the parties
who did the shooting wanted to keep
the matter quiet until they could make
it known to the officials.
The party from here got lost and
but Singer and Hi Dyer went to Kiowa
Wednesday night, and dad not arrive
at the scene of the tragedy until IL
O'Clock yesterday.
Coroner Singer stayed all night at
the Stith camp and started yesterday
morning to where the murders were
committed. AT a point one and one
half miles west of the Comanche Pool
fence, he found one of the empty wag-
ons with the tongue broken out; scat
tered around were scraps of leather
and the ground was considerably torn
up. Going on acrUss the Salt Fork to
the Mexican Flat, he found the house
where the dead men had lived, and
learned that their names were Thomas
Watt, 81 years old, and his son young
man OF p years.
The coroner could not find enough
men present to make up a jury, and
deputized Mr.. Yates as special officer
to hunt up a jury. BY noon six mer
had been secured and these started into
the work OF investigation.
Two sons of the old man killed ga,
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