The Coconino sun., 1901-02-23
SEARCHLIGHT GUARD
Electricity to Be Employed on
 Western Cattle Ranges.
same Power win Be utilised in Ex- scatiag Thisves When Cap- tuPsa Instsad of OlA Style
 Lynehin1.


 of Black Jack" Kelley and the Hole in-the-Wall" gang of horse thieves and border ruffians, the ranchmen of Routt county, Col, have adopted a novel plan of protecting their herds of cattle. sheep and horses, says the Chicago American. a. .,..--
 Not only do the ranchuen fear the raids of the ruffians, but the Indians from the Utah reservation have made things lively for them for months past.
 The robbers are experts at their business. They know every canyon and gulch that seam the grazing grounds and are as expert in dodg- ing pursuit as in changing the brands on live stock. So thorough have they become in their work that the choicest stock has been almost cleaned out for a radius of 50 miles, and no sooner is choice bull brought in for breeding purposes than he mys- teriously disappears as though dropped into a crater.
 For months the ranchmen have had nightly patrols. Capt. w. S. Seavey. of the Thiel detective agency, has been at work on the matter, but the thieves are too clever to be caught by ordinary means. Tracking is almost an impossibility, for it has frequent ly been suspected that as soon as 6 horse is stolen he is fixed up with "mittens," padded shoes that are fre- quently changed so as to elude pur- suers.
 Early in the spring when the night riders were first put on the range it was thought the problem had been solved. But the trick only lasted long enough to give the robbers time to plan, for they set out pickets to watch the riders and then got into the cir cle and picked out the choicest steers and sleekest horses in the lNnch.
 During the summer there was a horse race at Craig in which a very valuable animal belonging to ranch man living about ten miles from town was entered. The horse came from good stock, but looked seedy and rusty from two seasons on the range. The gamy animal won the most excit- ing race of the day by long odds and was a popular favorite among the cowboys and ranchmen.
 For two years the horse had escaped the eyes of the robbers, or, possibly, looked too ragged to be of value. But that night she was stolen from the corral within hundred yards of her owners cabin. She was probably driven north into Wyoming and clipped, after which the brands were changed, the animal finally reaching the market thoroughly disguised.
 A few days ago the annual roundup meeting was held near Craig. and the most important matter discussed was the reign of robbery that was ruling the ranches in Routt county. J. Dud- ley Morton, who has an interest in one of the large ranches in the vicin- ity, but whose home is in California, was present, and he suggested a plan that met with instant favor and has already gone through the preliminary stages.
 On Big Beaver creek, just about the geographical center of the robber-in- vested community. is waterfall of nearly 200 feet. The stream IS never dry, winter or summer, and it. is pro- posed to install turbine wheel and dynamo and furnish currents for searchlights to be installed O, watch towers on the four little hills that are within a mile or two of the falls.
 The summits of these hills command unobstructed views of practically all the grazing land most tapped by the thieves. and it is proposed to keep the beams of dazzling light sweeping