The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-04-29
BANDIT CITY or REFUGE.
A Resort Where Outlaws are 1.fe
From Law.

From Law.
Cheyenne, Wyo., April 25.-Polict
officials throughout tn. country, ba,
especially in tho West and North
wes,, have recently had their atten
tion attracted to the "Hole-in.the
Wall, the most notorious aud ia
many ways unique hiding place fol
desperadoes in the world. Within
the grim granite walls of the Hole are
more than two score Of men, most OF
whom are wanted for more than one
murder. Without are the peaceful
farms and ranches of the rapidly
growing Northwest. If one of the
men in hiding should venture beyond
the boundaries Of this strange place Of
refuge he would be shot on sight.
And several bloody and unsuccessful
attempts to raid the hole have proved
that it is just as dangerous for an out
slider to try to enter.
Interest in the "IIolc in the Wall"
was revived by the report that Tracy,
the notorious bandit, was heading for
it when he met his death. Every
Western sheriff knew that if Tracy
once succeeded in reaching the hole
his capture would be practically i'm
possible. Men who incurred the en-
nifty of their fellow outlaws have
sometimes been given up by the in
mates of the hole. That is the only
way in which the law has ever secured
q grip on man who once reached it.
Even attempts Of United States caval-
ry to force an entr'uce have been re-
PEELED by the bandits who made it
their haven.
The Hole-in-the-Wall is ono of the
most remarkable of the many strange
freaks Of nature in the Rockies. It
consists Of great wall of granite, al
most impossible even for the nimble
and sure-footed mountain goats. The
wall is shaped like rough circle and
forms q natural fortress which is
practically impregnable. Once safely
encouched within score OF good rifle
men (and the men who have made it
their refuge are among the best shots
in the West) could defy IN army.
The Hole-in-the- Wall is situated in
the northern part Of Wyoming, just
south Of the Montana State line, west
Of the Big Horn Mountains and east
of Yellowstone Park. There is but
one entrance to the hole, narrow
gateway through the great walls Of
granite, where the Powder River pours
through. Probably there is not in
the whole world another place that
could be moro easily defended by
desperate men or where they could so
securely defy the law. The pursuit
Of Tracy would perfolce have stopped
at the grim entrance to the hole.
Where the Powder River has forced
it's way into the Hole-in-the-Wa the
cliffs rise up preoipitately on both
sides. On the left side Of the river
and about fifty feet above it's surface
runs rough pathway, which could
hardly be called road. It is so mar
row that two horses cannot ride
abreast. Any person wishing to en-
ter this hole in the wall must pass
through this defle. Even if no de-
fence was made the journey would be
toilsome to the last degree. At every
step, however, the intruders would be
under fire from all sides aud in q po-
siticn whereit would be practically
impossible to retaliate, as tho defend
ers would be invisible. The character
of the country precludes the uso Of
artillery and no troops could hope to
effect much with riflcs. Sc the dwell
ers in the Hole-in- the Wall have lived
in cheerful defiance of the law, al
though nearly every man in hiding
there has committed not one but
many crimes that deserve the death
penalty.
Long before the hole became hid
ing place for white desperadoes it was
known and used by the Indians. A
remnant of the Sioux band fed there
after the Custer massacre. Later an
attempt to corral them was made by
United States troops, but failed utter
".
A few years after the Sioux had fed