Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1907-06-12

time before McCracken could dis
mount and get his Winchester from.
the scabbard, and when he did,
another cowboy by the name of
Woods who was with him, had be-
gun firing also. McCracken took
aim at Ward and shot once. Ward
fell from his horse, but whether
McCraken's bullet or some other
bullet (there were four or five
shooting by this time) hit him
no one knows, but the probability
is that McCracken's is the one that
did the work. Ward lived a few
hours and during all this time ours
ed McCracken and said that if he
had had Winchester he would
I have surely killed him. AS it was,
Ward emptied his revolver shoot
ing at McCracken but did not hit
him. The above facts are support
ed by affldavits now on file in the
federal court, nearly all of which
are from men who worked with the
Johnson Campbell outfit.
\ SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Immediately after the shooting
some of the J.-C. outfit hurried to
camp to reinforce themselves with
men and guns and McCracken's
friends advised him to leave He
did so, but none too quickly for in
a short time some twenty heavily
armed ruffians were back on the
ground looking for him.
For time after the trouble Bud
worked for D. L. Taylor, of Trini.
dad, Colorado, who will be re-
membered in Barber county as the
proprietor of the SunAower Here
ford ranch, at Elm Mills, which
was sold several years ago, Mr..
Taylor returning to Colorado. He
told Mr.. Taylor all about the
trouble and Mr.. Taylor volunteered
to help him Mr.. McCracken and
several of his friends wrote the fed
eral officials in the Territory ask
ing if an indictment had been
found and they were informed by
us. Marshal Tidwell that there
had not been, that it was
plain case of self defense and
no attention was paid to it.
At this point in this story, it might
be asked why Mr.. McCracken did
not remain on the ground after the
shooting. The answer is that it
would have meant deliberate death.
The Indian cowboys were up in
arms and the federal officers were
not on the ground to give him
proper protection. By going away
and working a short time he ac-
cummulated funds to secure a fair
trial in court, if any was desired,
and all necessary arrangements
could have been made for his pro-
lection during the trial.
But no indictment was brought
and everything seemed to quiet
down until twelve years thereafter,
when in 1897 an indictment was
found against McCracken by the
federal grand jury at Chickasha.
No notice was ever served and Bud
did not even know that the indict-
ment was made until years after
ward. IN those days it was said
that men were indicted in that
country for causing inclement
weather-an indictment could be
nad on appllcatlon, all sizes MADE
to order.
No action was taken on this in
dictment, district attorneys pigeon
holed it as regularly as it came be-
fore them for the reason that there
was no evidence to support GRIM
inal charge. Finally last fall a
man who resided at Kiowa went
to Chickasha and interested the
! district attorney there and the in
dictment was dug up. A warrant
was issued some time in February
and sent to U. S. District Attorney
Bone of Kansas to have it served
on Sheriff McCracken. Mr.. Bone
u