The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-12-27
A WESTERN CATTLE WAR.
Stories of the Outlaws Rendezvous in
Colorado.

Stories of the outlaws Rendezvous in
| Colorado.
The story of the bandits stronghold
| in the canons southeast of Lamar, Col
| as it is being gradually unfolded by
returning members If the sheriff S
| posse, sounds more like a selection
from the pages of yellow backed dime
novel of twenty-five years ago than q
recital of present-day conditions in 4
peaceful section of Colorado. George
| A. Watson, one of the party of hunters
! that was relieved of its horses and
mules by Smith and the Stanleys af-
! ter the fight on December 4, returned to
Lamar to-day, having in custody
! Smiths daughter Rose and her hus-
band, Jorgensen, and Callie Stanley,
now being kept under surveillance
! here. Watson had been in the territory
of the bandits ever since the loss of
! his party's stock, trying to get some
! information regarding the whereabouts
/ of the outlaws. He tells an interesting
story Of his adventures in the Robbers
Roost country during the ten days he
was out. When Smith left with the
hunters mules he promised to turn the
animals loose in pasture few miles
from his cabin at Burnt Springs. Wat
son went to the pasture in hopes Of
! finding the mules but the Stanley boys
had pressed on south with them.
| Watson then assumed the role of a
traveller who had lost his horses and
went unarmed to Shell canon. where
the little settlement Of outlaws is To-
Gated, and remained among them two
days, picking up such information as
he could. At the cabins he visited
there were no cordial greetings but
every one was suspicious and alert. AT
every place he was held up at the point
of a Winchester and made to give an
account of himself before he could en-
ter. All the men had weapons in plen-
ty and their rifles were never out of
their reach, day or night. watson $
observations led him to believe that
there were about twenty-five men in
the Shell Canon gang of outlaws. and
this belief has been confirmed by ad-
missions since made by the women in
custody. These outlaws live in rude
cabins of stone or cedar, located in
places very difficult of approach except
to the initiated. The cabins have high
loopholes for windows, and the doors
are so narrow that not more than one
person can squeeze through them at
once.
The house where Watson slept two
nights was owned by an old woman
named Wylie, who lived there with her
sons and daughters. This woman
seemed to be the confidential adviser
of the gang, and they assembled al
imost nightly at her place for consulta-
ton. On the first night that Watson
stayed there fully fifteen people slept
in the little hut and he heard them
counseling together in an adjoining
room and coming and going softly
through the night. Several times the
men close to Watson peered in his face
to see if he was asleep, and he de.
scribes his situation alone in thai
crowd as one he wished himself vel
out of. During the night he heard the
old lady go out and hold Whispered
conversation with some one who came
up on the outside, and next morning he
noticed that bundle of food and cloth
ing he saw tied up the evening before
was missing. This probably went tt
Indian Bill" Smith, who had come ir
: during the night for food and informa'
ton.
On the morning of his second days
stay at Mrs. Wylie's, Watson urged bel
to try to prevail upon Smith and hi!
companions to surrender as they hat
not killed any Of the officers and were
then ieopardizing their lives. She de
INJURED at first, but finally consented t
!. try to- have them give up Subsequen
events proved that at The time she wa!
ticking she knew the Stanley boy!
were well on their way to No Mans
Land, and that "Indian Bill" was Sc
curely hidden in one of his caves in thu
side of the canon.
The place which the gang selected fo
it's settlement is not such as would b.
chosen by an industrious man, VIII,
wanted to make a living for himself
The places where they located thei
cabins are as securely guarded by ma
ture from surprise and sudden attacl
as were moated castles of mediaeva
times. From the Wylie cabin a rock!
trail, hidden by a thick growth o
} cedars, leads up to high mesa, from
which a view of the country for man!
miles around can be had. On thi
mesa, we'll fenced and concealed from
casual notice by heavy cedars, is
good-sized pasture, provided with plen
ty of forage and water, and here wa
a large number of horses and mule
and a few cattle, most of them un
branded, which, it is supposed, wer