The San Francisco call., 1899-07-02
LIVELY HUNT THROUGH THE WESTERN STATE

NJ OF even the stirring annals Of Mis-
M souri, and The Cherokee Strip, where
' train robbing and fight were re-
duced 70 q fine art, can furnish the
tale o. such q man hunt as that which
has just been led zigzagging across sandy
plains. swollen streams, through precip-
Itous canyons and over rugged mountain
ranges IN Wyoming.
Three men. desperate and daring, with
z price Of thousands Of dollars on the
head Of each, have been the quarry. More
than five hundred men have been the pur-
suers-sherifs and deputies. marshals and
deputies, cowboys and prospectors, and
old Indian fighters, picked men from. the
State and Federal troops, and even Sho-
shore Indians, all crack shots and all
eager for the reward or for q fight that
would stir the blood. Aiding them have
been bIocdhounds trained to follow hu-
man fugftives For almost four hundred
miles the chase was led, until. separated
from their friends and surrounded by
their enemies. George and: Tom Roberts
and George Currie, leaders of the notori-.
GUS ''Hole-iu-Lhe-WaII" band sought z
final refuge in the Owl Creek Mountains,
near the Shoshone.
The story Of the hunt is. tale Of the
frontier, Of lawless men who have lived
long in the cTags and become ike eagles
stunning mankind, except when they
sWooped down upon. some country bank to
rob II al the point Of pistol, or rode out on
the range TO gather in the cattle or horses
Five States have known the exploits of
the '~Hole-in-the-Wall band. From the
Black Hills of Dakota to the Robbers
Roost," in Utah, from Central Montana
to Central Colorado, for. years the bold
outlaws, about Atty In number, have plum
dered cattle raissrs, settlers, banks and
postofHcek. Their refuge deserves well TO
rank with the wonders that have been
gathered By, nature in the. Yellowstone
The aEoIe-in-the-WaIl" is about fifty
miles south Of Buffalo, Wyo,, and eighty
miles northwest. of~CaspeZ. It ie the outlet
TO a great hssin, about twenty miles wide
and thirty miles long. Here once was
lake henmed in by the Big Horn Noun
fains and a high. ridge that runs almost
. on the outside Of this ridge IS huge
cliff. between five ard six hundred feet
high, and extending almost its whole
% nlDassable. The Hole" was made by the
water from the lake. which oyerfowed,
and in centuries cut out q channel for
Greek and its two forks now water the
valley and md an outlet through tho
In the: narrow gorge only two horses
can pass: abreast. and the robbers have
always been able to hide themselves in
the valley or the Big Horn mountains be-
fore their pUrsuers could pass the narrow
Posses have followed bold members. OF
Hole in the Wall" but when they
reached that narrow gorge lost the trail
and had to turn back, Men who had
something to- conceal, however. have been
certain OF a cordial reception, fresh
horses and: aid in conceaiment until the
hunt was ended.
It, was only when the leaders Of the
band put a climax on their feats by at
tacking the fast mail on the Union Pa
eifc Railroad that. they found enemies de-
fermined TO follow them through their
retreat and drive them out Less des-
perate men would have hesitated long to
undertake this task, for all frontier ban
dts know the Government never forgiyes
one: who. tampers with its mails and rail-
ways. and express companies will hunt
to the death those who interfere with the
safety of their. business.
The bandits deed will live long in the
memories of western railroad men. II
was early on the morning Of June that
they. stopped the first. section of the west
bound fast mail half mile east of the
Wilcox Creek bridge, compelled the en-
o gine' driver TO take the mail and express
cars across the. bridge, blew up the struc-
ture with dynamite and then shattered
the express car and safe with a charge
of that explosive; only TO find less than
$1,000 10 reward. them.
There were six men in the daring band.
They stopped the train with red and
white emergency signals, and covered the