Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-03-28
MONTANA STRANGERS
SIXTY-TWo THIEVES STRUNG
UP IN SHORT ORDER.
Desperate Men Terrorized by the
Swift Workings Of Plan Devised
by the Cattlemcn.


a better organized nor more persistent
gang of horse thieves than the ones
which infested the Bad Lands of Dakota
between 1882 and 1884. 1t can hardly
be said that the gang had headquart-
ers, as its members were ON the move,
but the town where they appeared of
fenest was the collection OF shanties
known as Little Missouri.
This little hamlet, says the Globe Dem
ocrat. has achieved national reputation,
and for years has been known us the
toughest town in America. Its palmiest
days were in 1884. At that time the
troops stationed there had Just been re-
moved; Commodore Gorringe had
bought their quarters known as the
Cantonment; cattle by the tens Of thous-
ands were being brought into the Bad
Lands; cowboys were taking the place
of the Indian; the Marquis de Mores
was beginning the establishment of
slaughter houses, and frontier charac-
ters were attracted to the new town.
Numerous among these characters
were the horse thieves, with whom the
region soon became infested. 1t was
perfect paradise for these gentry. The
buttes or hills, of which the Bad Lands
is made up, were placed in no more
order than if shot out Of gun. One
might rs well try to follow the trail of
bullet through the air rs the one left by
a man who took the slightest pains to
cover his tracks. Twelve miles from
Little Missouri ran the Montana line.
Once across il, the horse thief was safe
from service by Dakota Sheriff. The
nearest officer of the law with iurisdic-
ton was III Mandan, 160 miles to tho
eastward. To tho southeast one could
go 800 miles and never see sign of
human habitation. To the south, 200
miles away, were the Black Hills. In
the intervening country there was but
an occasional COW camp. To the north
ward, 175 miles, was the Canadian line
Once across it there was no difficulty in
disposing of horsefesh at fancy prices.
These points We're at once grasped by
the 'lrstlers," and it was "dead
cinch" that man from the south witha
string of horses had either run them off
from Wyoming or the Black Hills coun-
try. Horse thieves were practically safe
from pursuit when they reached the
Bad Lands.
Good citizens even now shudder at
mention of the terrible band of
avengers. Their reign was "short,
sharp and decisive" They had mis-
sion to perform, and well did they per
form il. In less than three months they
had hung or shot sixty-three men in
various parts of Montana and Western
Dakota. Only sixty-two of these men
were horse thieves, the other being a son
of the Fort Buford post trader. He
was with the horse thieves when he was
shot.
Hardly Montana OF Western Dakota
newspaper has to this day the courage
to speak of this red-handed band OF
regulators. Its formation was so secret,
its operations so swift, bloody and
efectual, and its disarmament so sud
den, that not fifteen men outside of its
members knew who its members were.
All the public knows, or cares TO know,
Is that horses or cattle running on the
range were afterward as safe fifty miles
from the home range as if they were
under the eye Of the owner. The or
ganization of the horse thieves was COM
pletely broken up. From that bloody
raid Of the 'StrangleTs" was born an
almost perfect reign of safety for range
stock.
The formation of the band of men
known as the montana Strangers
was as much an outgrowth of necessity
rs is the passage and enforcement of
proper laws in n well-settled community.
1t is not hard task to Justify the acts
of the "Siranglers to man who has
lived on the frontier for any length of
time. Aside from shooting scrapes and
theoccaional pnltrcatmentofa stranger, /
there was but little law breaking in Little
Missouri, but il was recognized by all
that man had only "six-shooter
right " to life and property. Numerous
warrants had been issued in Mandan.
160 miles away, for the arrest of men in
Little Missouri, bat not one of them
was ever served. Tho officer Of the law
might como up to the tough hamlet in
the Bad Lands and hohnnb day or two
with the man for whom he held the
warrant, bat the legal document was
always returned with tile endorsement
" MOI found" Ut vas simply impcg-
sihle to receive any support from the
law, and the ''rustieTs took Advantage
OF the opportunity to carry on tier
operations with impunity. The catte
men were widely separated, some Of ttef
ranches being sixty or seventy M
from their nearest neigibor. All y
sufferers from the dopredations o.
horse thieves, but even the br
among them did not dare deal out T.,
border justice to the men they kue@
were robbing them. The thieves had a
perfect organization, and would have
taken summary vengeance on any one
rash enough to oppose them.
Such a state of lawlessness could not
last forever, and the end came about
through two widely different causes. 4
The first was the organization of cattle +
men known as the Montana Stock /
growers Association, and the second
was the order of President Cleveland
ordering all the range cattle to be driven
from the Indian Territory. Eleven
members Of the association bound them
selves together in a secret order whose
sole object it was to free the country (
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