, 1885-02-04
THE NORTHERN FIGHT.
A Breezy Expose of the Crook
County Troubles.
The Cowboys Spoil a Neat Little
Political Compact.
Struggling for the County Seat and
Contrasting the Election.

Contrasting the Election.
To the Editor Of TUE LEADER
SUNDANcE, Wyo., Jan. 81, 1885,
DEAR SIR; l infer from the allusion
made in The LEADER Of the Crook coun-
ty election, that the Cheyenne people
have very vague and indefinite ideas con-
corning the matter. Probably a brief
outlining ofthe prime factors that eyoly-
ed the present state of county affairs will
not be entirely void Of interest to your
readers. To begin at the beginning. the
commissioners appointed by Governor
Hale, to organize Crook county, had but
ten days time, as they construed the law
under which they were acting, in which
to locate voting precincts and call an cleo
ton. This limited time precluded the
possibility Of holding delegate conven-
tons in the county for the nomination Of
candidates for the county Offices. The re-
suit was the hastily calling Of two mass
conventions, one on Sand creek, and the
other at Sundance, the two rival points
for the location of the county seat.
AT the Sand creek or Beulah conven-
ton, the stockmen and Sand creek forces
joined hands across the bloody chasm''
for the advancement Of mutual interests.
The stockmen, in order TO preserve their
ranges against the advancing horde Of
grangers and civilization, were DESTROYS
Of locating the county seat as re-
motely as possible from their stock
ranges. The denizens Of Sand creek and
vicinity were DESTROYS of locating the
county scat in their midst in order to ad-
vance the value Of their worldly posses
sions.
The compact entered into between those
two united elements was that the stock
men should furnish the necessary inAu-
ence and votes 10 locate the county seat
at Sand creek, in return for which the
Sand creek faction was to furnish votes to
elect the stockmen's ticket.
In the meantime Sundance held a mass
convention and nominated a full set of
candidates for the county Offices, and like
her competitor-Sand creek-made
everything else subsersiye to the county
seat question. The qualifications and
merits of the candidates were Of seeondary
importance throughout the entire contest.
The Sand creek adherents stuck to their
ticket, and manfully absorbed their "a
tons of crow. and with one execution
elected the entire ticket They sold their
birth right for a mess of "potaQe" and
failed in the end to get Che mess of not
age. The stockmen failed to deliver the
goods they had contracted. and thereby
hangs a tale. The festive cowboy failed
to dance TO the Sand creek music. and
proved by his vote that however indiffer-
ent he might be AZ In he merits of the
opposing candidates. he had a warm Mace
in his affections for Sundance, where he
had ever been Hospitality entertained.
And again, Sundance, was twenty miles
nearer his solitary haunts than Sand
creek, which meant that he could often
times make a flying visit to Sundance,
when he could not reach Sand creek.
The defeated. candidates at the Sun
dance convention .bolted, and organized
two or three independent and spurious
tickets, the only result of which was to
defeat the regularly nominated candidates.
But for the selfish move Of the boilers.
Sundanee would have elected her candi-
dates with more certainty than she secur-
ed the county seat. The results Of the
election are likely to bring about several
legal contests. II is rumored that Gam
mon will contest Mr.. Pettigrew's right to
the office Of treasurer, on the grounds that
this one election 70 the Office of probate
judge entities him to the treasurership
also.
Judge Alden intends to contest the
right Of Fowler, of Cheyenne. to the of.
fee Of county and prosecuting attorney. on
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