Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1901-01-24

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81 BLACK Jack" Kelley and the Hole
thythe sWall'' gang Of horse thieves and
lentdaE rufians. the ranchmen Of R0utt
souhfS. Col, have adopted novel plan
of protecting their herds Of cattle.
sheep and horses, says the Chicago
American.
Not only do the ranchmen fear tho
raids of the rufiians, but the Indiana
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 dod9s
ing pursuit as ia changing the brands
on live stock. So thorough. have they
become in their work that tho
choicest stock has :beensalmost cleaned
out for q radius Of so miles, and mo-
sooner is choice bull brought in
for breeding purposes than he mys-
teriously disappears q though
dropped into q crater. 49,.
For months the ranehmen hare shad
nightly patrols. Capt NJ. s. Geavsy
Of the Thiel detective agency hi
been at work on the matter, but tho
thieves are too clever to be caught by
ordinary means. Tracking is almost
nm impossibility, for it has frequent-
~ been suspected that as soon as .
horse is stolen he is fixed up with
"mittens," padded shoes that are FREE
quently changed SO as to elude pnE
ssners.
Early in the spring when the night
riders were first putson the range u
was thought the problem had besn
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-
Gle and picked out the choicest steers
and skleekest horses in the bunch.
During the summer there was q
horse race at Craig in which very
valuable animal belonging to q rancho
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 popular favorite among tho
cowboys and ranchmen.
For two years the horse had escaped
the eyes of the robbers, or. possibly,
slooked too ragged to be of value. But
that night she was stolen from tho
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 plan
that met with instant favor and has
already gone through the preliminary
stages. s q,
On Big Beaver creek. just$about tho
geographical center Of the robber-in-
vested community, is a. waterfall Of
nearly 200 feet. The stream is never
dry, winter or summer, and it is pro-
posed to install q turbine wheel and
dynamo and furnish currents for
searchlights to be installed on watch
towers on the four little hills that are
within mile or two of the falls.
The submits 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
over the focks all night to detect at
once any commotion in the herds or
the presence of unwelcome visitors.
It has been shown that five men will
supplant the 20 or 30 who now ride
the range at night. and the cost will
be practically nothing in comparison.
Saving so head of horses in two
years will pay for the entire plant,
and the security from theft Of other
animals will more than pay operating
expenses, making the. saving on the
present range riders, at $35 a month
and board, quite respectable item.
It is proposed to have one man at the
generating station and another on
each of the four towers. These in
turn will be connected BY telephone,
which will also be extended to az
many of the ranches as possible, so
that, should anything suspicious oc-
cur even at. the outer edge of the
lighted area, some persons can DO
aroused to Immediately Investigate.
The men on the towers will, Of
course, be armed with thesnew long-
distance rifles that will be effective
at least for soaring purposes up to a
mile. A few sticks of giant powder
can be used for bombs to arouse tho
entire community in case of necessity,
while the man at the generating sta
ton will have his pony saddled and
bridled, ready to start outson the war
path as soon as needed.
When the robbers are caught it IS
proposed to electrocute them with tho
electric current instead Of lynching