The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-06
THE SHERIFF'S POSSE
WAS BADLY ROUTED
Thought They Had the DeSperad0es,
But They Got Away.
Two Horses Shot From Under Mem
bers of the Pursuing Party-Ten
Men With the Sheriffs No Match
For the Renegades-Rained Bull
lets Around These Would-be
Captors Until They Ran For a
Corner-Start Chase Again.

Omaha, June 5.-A special to the Bee
from Cheyenne, Wyo., says:
The sheriff's posse which left Casper
Yesterday in pursuit of three of the
Union Pacific train robbers overtook
them when thirty miles out, and were
given a severe setback in the fight
which followed, the robbers shooting
two of their horses and stampeding two
more.
The posse consisted of Hazen of Con
verse county, Heistand of Natrona
county, Lee Devine, foreman OF the
"Cy'' outfit, and seven others. Ihey
followed the trail of the robbers almost
due north and over high. sandy, rolling
prairie The bandits had eaten lunch
at Teapot rocks, twenty-five miles from
Casper, where, with field glasses, they
could see the country behind them IoI
ten miles, and probably saw their pus-
suers approaching. They had been FOL
lowing high ridges, but after leaving
Teapot Rocks struck down draw &c
the head of Teapot creek and followed
along the creek bottom for six miles.
At a high cliff of rock the bandits
turned abruptly to the left and rode
into the rocks. They We're seen by the
posse and followed closely, one man
trailing them while the others rode &c
the side. Within 200 yards of the rocks
Charles HalIaby and Z. T. Payton were
in the lead Suddenly two shots rang
put and Payton's horse went down with
bullet through its heart. The whole
posse dismounted and ran among the
rocks for cover.
Under the Bandits Fire.
In few moments other shots were
fired by the robbers, but only two shots
were fired in return, as they were COM
pletely hidden behind rocks and could
not be seen. A few minutes later j.
h Long of the posse, who had been
some distance behind, came up, and the
robbers put a ball through his horse
lengthwise and rained bullets around
him like hail. Two more of the horses
stampeded down Il draw to the east
and the posse was considerably de-
moralized.
The robbers took advantage of this
TO beat a haSty retreat, and as 1t was
too dark to follow them, the pursuit
ceased till this morning, when the trail
was taken up at the head of Dug Out
creek forty miles north of Casper. Tive
of the posse returned to Casper, where
reinforcements were mounted on good
horses and Immediately started out &c
take the trail.
General Manager Dickinson, Superin-
tendent Harris, Mr.. Buckingham of the
Union Pacific; Superintendent Daniels
and Manager Gentsch of the Pacific
Express. and Special Agent Wizard OF
the Union Pacific are at Casper, direct
ing the pursuit. If the robbers succeed
ed in reaching the Hole in the Wall
the fastness will be surrounded and a
determined effort made. to capture
them.
At the scene of the ambush one of the
posse found a strange shotgun marked
Pacific Express Co." which had been
dropped by the robbers. Frank Webb
and ]. b. Miller of the sheriff's posse
We're knocked down by lightning dur
ing the pursuit and seriously injured.