Wichita eagle., 1889-11-01
che aaithfa aIy Eagle griday gorune ouenber 1888

CHEYENNE. Wyo., Oct. 30-The country
can hardly have forgotten the tragic story
of Cattle Kate" and Postmaster James
| Averill. On the Goth of July these two
persons were taken from their homes and
| hanged. The incident occurred in broad
daylight. The locality was on the
Sweetwater, about sixty miles north
of Rawlins. The lynchers were we'll
known cattlemen. In the. version
OF the affair given to the press
at the time the woman and the man were
represented as the leaders of a band of cat
| tie thieves. She, it was stated, died ours
ing the avengers. He asked, as last re-
quest. that a certain man should not be his
successor as postmaster.
Wyoming people were not entirely salts
fed with the story. An investigation was
instituted. The results as they become
known are causing good deal of feeling.
1t was expected that the grand jury,
which has been in session at Rawlins,
would return indictments for murder
against six cattemen. But when
the matter was taken up two principal
witnesses could not be found. Two
men were examined, and the inquiry was
transmitted to the next grand jury. Of
the sixteen members of the body which
has just adjourned, seven were cattlemen,
and their sympathies were presumably
with the lynching party. There is grow
ing determination, however, not to let up
until the men who did the hanging are
tried for it. If the facts are as now re-
ported the deed was bad stain upon
Wyoming.
Cattle Kate" had forty-si1 head Of
stock. Half OF them, it Is now
known positively, were not stolen.
been stolen. If they were stolen, the
woman had no part in the crime, for she
received them in trade. AS for Post
master Averill, he had no cattle when he
was lynched, and had not had any during
the time he had lived in Wyoming. Yet
the only reason given for the horrible
crime was that the man and woman were
cattle thieves.
The woman's name was Ella Watson.
The worst thing that can be said OF her is
that she was unchaste. She formerly
libed in Rawlins, and was known there as
woman of bad repute. Averill lived on
the Sweetwater number OF years.
His wife died and he got Ella Wat
son to go up into the country as his
housekeeper. 1t was understood that their
relations were intimate, but some time be-
fore the lynching they had separated and
were living apart. Averill had taken up a
desert claim and had made proofs. He
was living on homestead and keeping
stopping place for travellers, using the
money to improve his place. lie had made
four miles of irrigating ditch. The plain
truth is that the version of the lynching
given out through the cattlemen last sum-
mer was tissue of lies. The man and the
woman were hung. The causes and the
circumstances attending the trag-
edy were sadly misrepresented. A
boy saw the lyDchers take the woman from
her house and then 90 after Averill This
boy recognized the party and told the
names. He has since disappeared. He &C
companied his father to Rapid City, S.
Oak, and there trace of him was lost. A
man named Buchanan was at Averilfs
house. He followed the lynchers and saw
the hanging from a distance, He even
went so far as to fire shot which wounded
one of the cattlemen. Citizens interested
in seeing the affair thoroughly inves-
tigated got Buchanan down to Raw
Inns and hired man to protect
him. Two or three days before court open
ed this important witness went up the
Oregon Short line and disappeared in the
of some ranches twenty or thirty
miles from Soda Springs The efforts to
thwart justice have had the effect of max
ing the better class of citizens more deter
mined than eyer to have the law take its
The country has not heard the
last of Cattle Kate" and Postmaster
Averill.