The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-01-27
WYOMING.
a Very Black Page in That States
History.
A Calm Statement of the johnson County
Cattle War and How 1t
Resulted
Correspondents Of TIE HERALD.


Wyoming will have one black page at
least, which will ever be blot upon its
fame. 1t is the johnson county cattle in
fanny, which is rendered all the more
shameful by the dismissal of the cases
against the men who figured in the front
of the crime. 1t is and for some time will
be the chief topic of conversation among
reputable people in the state, who feel
measurably disgraced by the failure to
bring those defendants TO justice. 1t has
also been made a matter for Legislative
action,
The report of a committee of the House
to whom it was referred, shows how it is
regarded by those who have thoroughly
investigated it, The testimony given be-
fore that committee is on file. | have
read it and ,consider it one of the most
horrible things OF the kind that has &C.
CURED in the wild west.
The evidence shows beyond q reasonable
doubt that a cattle association, composed
OF leading men in the state, under the
plea of getting rid Of rustlers--cattle
thieves, branders Of other mems calves
deliberately planned the assassination of
& number of men who had become obnox-
ious to them personally or were cOnsi0-
cred inimical to their interests. They
hired men from Texas and from Idaho to
do their murdsrous work and some OF
them personally engaged in the raid. The
testimony of George Dunnlng, who was
brought from Florida Mountain, OWyhee
county, Ida, for this purpose is the most
direct and detailed of the disclosures made
before the committee.
From this il appears that last April
fifty-tyvo men, armed to the teeth and
supplied with dynamite, left Cheyenne in
TO TOh
the purpose of killing all the people at
ranch there, and then going on to Buffalo
in that county and capturing it, with the
intention of continuing their murderous
work in that region, until they had cleared
the country of such cattlemen as were not
in harmony with their schemes.
While they were lying in ambush near
the ranch, waiting for an opportunity to
kill the men who were there and who had
escaped their vengeance on former occa-
sion when two men were killed, .. IL.
Flagg, commonly known as Jack Flagg,
and his boy came along the road and they
opened fire upon him and the boy. Sing
ular to say, hundred shots were fired
without touching either of them, but
only hitting one of the horses which was
hauling the wagon In which the boy rode
while FJagg was on horseback. Flagg
got his Winchester from the wagon and
faced the crowd, who retired when be
stood at bay. He only had three shells in
the gun. The boy cut one of the horses
loose and mounted it. Flagg jumped on
his horse and they escaped unhurt, al
though the assassins were only forty
seven steps away when they commenced
the fusilade.
Flagg is here, a small, wiry, gentle
manly fellow, but quite pleasant and fear
less. He has given his testimony before
the committee corrobOrating Dunning's
evidence. He rode to ranch where Mr..
Robert Foote, now contesting Tisdale's
seat in the Senate, was waiting on his
way TO the same pace for which
Flagg was bound and warned him to go
back. BIS did so. FoOte was one of the
victims marked out for,Yengeance. accord
ing to Dunning's testimony, John n.
Tjsdale, now the sitting senator, having
in vile and filthy language told his pur-
pose as to Eoote.
The band of assassins were too cowardly
TO go up to the ranch where the men
were whom they intended to kill, but lay
around in concealment ana sent one or
two spies to find out at night what the
occupants of the ranch were doing, and
learned that some one was playing q I'D
die and they were having good time. A
big man came out next morning, and
while taking bucket to get some water,
was shot down. He craWled TO the house
but died. A rolling mass of brush and
WCeQS WIS 1lulJIOf1SCus Will wagon
wheels to move it, and pushed up to the
house ond set on IRE. man ran out
who was shot down. The burned body of
a man was afterward pulled out of the
embers of the fire.
News OF the raid was taken to Buffalo,
where Red Angus" the sheriff, took
means to check the invasion and save
Buffalo. The mob went to Tisdale's place
and fortified themselves when they
learned how matters stood. Their sur
render to the military has been chronicled
ana published and the subsequent pro-
ceedings have appeared in the press dis
patches. Angus has given his testimony
before the committee. He is a stout.
.orid fellow, quiet but determined and
hard man to meet in fuss, but bears no
manners of q bully or brsggart.
mr. Foote is a small man with long
white beard and q thin voice. He is a
crack shot, but has nervous manner and
while bearing the appearance Of respect
ability and reliability is not heavy
weight intellectually. He vouches for the
honesty of Nate Champion and Nick Ray,
who were killed at the rancho, and gives
interesting particulars of the doings of
some of the Wealthiest men engaged in
the raid, in getting possession of other
mems stock and then crying out about
cattle stealing as an excuse for their MUIR
derous assault.
The worst feature in this abominable
business is the occupancy of seat in the
Wyoming senate by John n. Tesdale.
who according to the sworn testimony,
was one of the ringleaders In the raid
and fred several times at Flagg and
during the ranch murders. He has rep
resented himself as resident of Albany
county and OF Salt Lake city while sitting
for johnson county IN the legislature. He
is a Republican and a Warren man. and
is necessary to the election of the latter
70 the United States Senate, and is there
fore retained in his seat. He " be ex-
PEELED, but if SO, it viii not d, after
the senatorial election. A OF 81 b is
Republican politics.
Most of the chief actors the johnson
county tragedy are now In cheyenne. and
il speaks well for the lew and order rsg-
ulators here that there has as yet been no
collision between any of the men. They
also 90 about their business quietly mix
with the public and attend the theatre.
which, by the by, is very neat and
/. pleasant opera house, we'll conducted and
with good appointments and was filed
on Monday night, when our Ed Royle
and his company presented his
popular play of Friends - 1t was the
most orderly aud quiet audience have
( seen for very long time, and yet many
. OF these desperadoes were there with
ladies well attired and as polite as the
best.
The flavor of romance which surrounds
these affairs is quite piQuant, but there is
also a touch Of horror in it that mars the