The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1910-01-28

,oc..d q, . ,oom IN the hotel. He broke
window before morning and promptly paid Tor
It by McDonald's request A..
Removing to Hardeman county was tne
only thing that saved BIZ MCDONALD tiom 20
ing drafted into oficial service where he was
In the counties bordering on Indian territory
and up through the Panhandle man had 10
stand pat" whatever his hand and hold his
own BY strength of arm and quickness OF
trisxer Cow thieves and cutthroats abounded
Onicials often worked in accord with them or
were afraid to prosecute. The man who would
neither cooperate with outlaws nor condone
their offenses was already on the sfouho anu
would presently be In the field.
Hardeman county had lately been organ
lied and the settlers were cowmen cowboys
and gamblers-lawless enough themselves
and another element, which pretended to be
these things. but in reality. we're outlaws. pure
and simple The latter lived chiefly on tho
herds driving on horses and cattle and hiding
them in remote and inaccessible places. Often
the cattle were butchered. their hides, which
were marked with brand and earmarks, de-
stroyed to avoid Identification and the meat
sold Men who did these things were known
we'll enough. but went unapprehended for the
reasons named In certain sections Of the
territory itself and In No-man's Land "a piece
Of disputed ground lying to the north of the
Panhandle. now . part Of Oklahoma) matters
were even worse. In tnee0 piAcoe tnor0 was
hardly . ssmblance Of law.
II was in 1885 that Bill Mcdonald disposed
Of his lumber interests In Wichita Falls. r.
invested In cattle and set out once more for
the still farther west. He had filed some
school land on Wanderers creek In Hardeman
county about four miles from where the town
OF Quanah now stands. the heart of what was
then the wilderness. He did not go there i'm
mediately. however: he conducted for brief
time q lumber business at Harold. Willbargef
county, Circumstance hardly worth men
tioning save for an incident Of another sort
which occurred at this place and period. Nc
Donald, whose reputation ~ . man Of nerve
had travelled to Harold. was one night called
upon BY Ranger Lieut. Sam Platt to assist him
in handling q gang of outlaws. known as the
Broken band. that infested that nefghborhood.
The Brookens had ridden into Harold and
we're running things pretty much in their own
way. Platt and Mcdonald promptly bore down
upon them and a running hight ensued as the
Brookens retreated About 100 shots were
fred altogether. but 1t dark and the range
too great for accuracy. Nothing was accom-
plished, but the event marked the beginning
Of q warfare between Bill Mcdonald and
band Of cutthroats. the end Of which would
be history. It was soon after this first skfr
mish that Mcdonald sold out his business in
Harold and set out for his Hardeman county
ranch Az on his former migration. he drove
his cattle to the new land and after the frst
hard days drive camped at nightfall in .
pleasant spot where grass was plentiful and
water was handy.
The next morning. when preparations for
an early start were under headway, 1t was
suddenly discovered that four of the best
horses and . nne Newfoundland dog were
missing Two Of the horses were found astray
evidently having broken loose from their cap
tors It was further discovered that the
Broken band had q rendezvous in what was
known ~ the Cedar Brakes a stretch Of rough
country densely covered with scrubby cedar.
located about II miles to the southwestward.
Mcdonald naturally felt that It was now his
turn to move again In the Broken game. but
1t did not seem expedent to stop the Journey
with the herd and undertake the move Just
then, 10. biding his time, he pushed on to his
land on Wanderers creek. whore he estab.
lishsd his ranch. fenced his property built .
habitation for himself and the wife who was
always ready to follow him into the wilder.
ness. then promptly he rode over to Margaret,
at that time the county seat, and asked Sheriff
Jim Alley good man with his hands over.
full-to appoint him deputy. that he might BE-
gin the work which clearly must BE- done in
that country before It could become . proper
habitation for white men," The commission
was readily granted and froa that appoint,