The Washington bee., 1899-05-27
aOODIHRSTY OUTLAWS.
Their Daring Depreda@ons
Have Aroused the Off
cialS of Four States,
IS THE LEADER.
Governors of Colorado, Utah, Wyo
ming and Idaho meet to Devise
Means to Capture or Kill.

Marauding and Murdsfous Bands Con-
duct Their Outrages Practically With.
out ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Offered for
"Butch" Cassidy Aggregate Over Twen-
ty Thousand Dollars.
Within a short time, in the city oil
Salt Lake, Utah, there was held meet
ing of the governors of four states OF
the Union, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming
and Idaho, for the purpose of deyising
means to rid the Businesses Of the
Rocky Mountains of a gang of outlaws
that has pillaged all that came within
their reach. The gang includes SOC
of the widest desperadoes in the west
This in the present day may sound
like an exaggeration, but that is not
the case Under the leadership OF
Butch" Cassidy no more villainous
ruffianly band was ever organized.
That their depredations have not been
more extensive has been due to the
safeguards with which civilization has
surrounded the country.
After the ordinary methods of hunt
ing outlaws had been tried unsucceSs-
fully it was decided that drastic means
must be employed. Rewards have
been repeatedly offered for Butch"
Cassidy, dead or alive, and after each
fresh outbreak these awards have in
Variably been increased. IL all the Of
fers which have been made from time
to time hold good, the slayer of Butch"
should he ever live to claim his reward
would be entitled to upward of $40, 900
in blood money.
The forces are subdivided into five
bands, each controlled by its own lead
er, with Cassidy as the supreme power
The outlaws now practically control
the sparsely settled region extending
from central Wyoming southwesterly
through northwestern Colorado and
Utah, and almost to the Arizona line.
Marauding and murderous bands con-
duct their raids without restraint. The
theftS of live stock run into the mil
lions. Ranchmen are murdered and
driven out of business, and the officers
of the law are powerless.
These bands have a number of
strOngholds in the mountains. Each
is both rendezvous and fortress, alb
solutely impregnable. They can only
be reached by traversing deep and
narrow gorges. scaling lofty and rugged
peaks and penetrating the widest re-
cesses of the Rocky mountains. In
many places the only trail lies over a
narrow shelf of rock, cut by the ban
dts along the face of a precipice.
Holes have been drilled into which in
case of close pursuit dynamite can be
placed and the trail blown into the
chasm below, thus battling all pursuit
About four years ago Butch" was
shot at from ambush near Green river
by cowboy known as Hackney"
Hughes, whose only object was to Sc
cure the reward offered by the state
authorities of Utah. The bullet pierced
the lobe of his ear and the blood
streaming down his face acted upon
Cassidy as red flag might to a mad
dened bull
With howl of rage he turned his
horse just as another bullet passed
through the rim of his sombrero. A
puff of smoke from a clump of bushes
showed where the assassin was con-
cealed. For unique profanity Butch
Cassidy hasn't his equal in the states
and on that occasion he is said to have
fairly surpassed himself Ripping out
a string of oaths that would reach from
Dan to Beersheba he jumped from his
horse and lodged behind a boulder.
He waited for twenty minutes and
then the cowboy shot the outlaws
horse. which had been grazing in the
open. That was more than Butch"
could stand. Throwing caution to the
winds he ran towards the clump of
bushes with a pistol in each hand.
barking at every step.
But Hughes, considering discretion
the better part of valor, had jumped
on his horse and succeeded i'm making
good his escape But the vindictiye
nature of Butch" Cassidy asserted it
self. He had recognized his assailant,
and every member of the band received
instructions to be on the watch for him.
Hughes left the Green river country.
and it was not until six months later
that he was located, on the north fork
OF the Powder river, up in Wyoming
Cassidy was notified. and with a doz-
en- picked men he reached the ranch
where Hughes was working 1t was
during the spring roundup. The two
men met face to face. Hughes knew
what was coming and pulled his gun.
But he wasn't quick enough Cas-
sidy's pistol cracked first, and the cow
boy dropped from ais saddle with a
bullet through hi. right eye
Cattle stealing is the chief source of
income to Cassidy and his followers.
One company alone in central Utah has
lost 1000 head during the past two
years, worth at the present prices,
10000. These were driven through !!
colorado and into New Mexico. II is |
driving these stolen cattle from |
ne state into another and out of the |
'ountry that their system of co-opera-
ion is beneficial.
However, any operation that prom
5eS adventure and financial reward is /
ever overlooked. Trains are held |
up, express companies and banks are
rObbed. and even individuals whom /
known to have money in their posses
ion are relieved of their possessions
II true road agent style.
a">'railan Sign Language
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