The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-08-11

George r. Caldwell, the Rawlins (WyoO
correspondent of the Denver News. is the
author of the following sensational story:
The historic depredations of the old
time and famous Murrell gang of Ms
sissippi rivef and southern swamp thieves
and desperadoes bid fair TO be far
eclipSed by the record of the at present
operating gang of bandits now plundering
and terrorizing the border and neighbor
ing portions of Wyoming, Colorado.
Idaho and Utah.
This great frontier bandit aggregation
has an Differed and disciplined organiza-
ION, comprising range robbers, bank rob-
bers, highwaymen and secret fences or
receivers and disposers OF stolen property,
Sheriff Ward. of Uinta county, Nyo.,
estimating 10 your correspondent the
total strength of the band at 500 mem
bers.
Including in their nefarious work Dor
der portions of the before named states,
these banded thieves have a systematic
chain of posts, or stations, for the tenn
porary storage or handling of their plum
der and as gang headquarters and opera
ton bosses, the chief of such stations be-
ing, as far as now known, the Robbers
RoOst, on Blue mountain, between Utah
and Colorado; Browns Park Cor hole). on
the borders of Colorado, Utah and Wyom-
ing; Green mountain, in Utah, south of
the Rio Grande railroad crossing of
Green river; Powder Springs, in south
east Sweetwater county, Wyo., and the
Hole-in-the-Wall in Johnson county,
Wyo.
COMPONENT CRIME
This great criminal borde~x~ganizatio
appears to consist of respective local
captancies, each local captain reporting
to the supreme captain, all important
matters being of final reference to an ex-
cutive high commission composed OF the
various local captains with the supreme
captain in the chair.
The local captain of the Powder Springs
or the Snake river division, is 'Broncho"
Tnhr he In1n iS i
rected by Butch" Cassidy, already no
toriOus as escaping death at the hands of
the avenging citizens in last year
slaughter of the Meeker (COlo.) bank rob-
bers; the Robbers Roost captain is Jim
Stevens, wanted it is said. by Colorado
authorities for divers crimes the Green
mountain local chief is Andy Strong, well
known in Utah criminal range annals,
while the supreme captain is reported TO
be Tom Turley, a refugee from Colorado
justice as the brutal murderer of Ed
Neiman, at River Bend, on the Kansas
Pacific railroad in 1873
The local bandit companies are evident
ly trained to obedience and certain mill
tary routine-the Powder Springs organi-
cation. for instance, operating south of
Rawlins in the Snake river region, hav-
ing sub-officers from lieutenant down.
ward, with a regular uniform officers
insignia. etc. The members of the local
band are well supplied with $40 bills, sup
posed to be a result of the robbery of the
United States paymaster last spring.
CRIMES CREDITED TO THE GANG.
The crimes already credited to these
bandits are legion, including the well
known stock depredations of the HOle-in-
the-Wall gang, the United States pay
master robbery above noted the robbery
last year of the Meeker (Colo.) and Mont
pelier Qda) bank raids the Bridger
OWyo.) store robbery; the last highway
robbery of a Mexican. on the Snake
river. of $3.50, and the holduD on the End
of this month of the Lander-Rawlins
stage.
AT their Powder Springs station the
thieves are said to have under herd 800
head of stolen Utah cattle awaiting a
favorable sale opportunity, as well as a
large number of stolen horses. At BaggS,
on the Snake river, so members of the
local gang lately INDUCED in the pas
time of shooting up the town. stani-
peding the citizens and perforating doors,
floors and ceilings with Winchester and
revolver bullets.
OF the four members of the Robbers
Roost band. who robbed last June the
store of the Gold Bros, at Fort Bridger,
Sheriff Ward of Uinta county, Wyo., has
captured three, viz: Henry Lee, William
Meeks and John Henry, alias Dick
Thompson. The same sheriff has lately
also captured Bud Meeks, one of the
Montpelier bank robbers.
Drastic measures are necessary for the
elimination of this powerful and active
criminal league. The states concerned
should take concerted action.