The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1912-07-26
RI]STLERS BUSY
OUT west AGAIN.
Herd Owners Form ProteC-
tive Association.
Telephones are Doing Good Ser
vice In Trapping Marau-
ders.

sioux Fails, $. ID, July 2i.-Th"
passing of the great cattle rslrgcs of WeS
tern South Dakota hash Of affected the
work of the expert cattle "ruSlers,'
whase operations, since the whipping out
of the big herds by reason of the &C.
cupancy of great parts OF the forn'oI
great cattle range by homesbeaders,
have been confined to the herds Of
the small oattle,men or ranchrs, as they
are termed.
These men own from 100 to 30 head
of cattle each, and in the aggregate
their herds would make a respectable
showing compared with the big herNis
of the great cattle companies which
formerly were engaged in the cattle
raising business ON big scale in that
part of South Dakota lying bstwsen
the Missouri river and the Black Hills
and north of the Black HILLS
LII uile ofu udyS vi OdlutE VII
a large scale the operations of the rust
lers became 80 annoying and caused such
heavy losses to cattle owners that what
has since been known as the Western
South Dakota Stockman's Association
was organized. Funds were raised cor
putting an end h5 the operations of the
rustlers, and many of the thieves were
either lodged in the penitentnry or com
PEELED to leave the country.
With the passing of the big herds the
operation of the rustlers for a time
ceased, only to be resumed when the
small cattlemcn or nanohers occupied
the country formerly included in the
great range and their small herds COM
menced to be seen in every valley AMI
on every hill.
To cope with the neeg condtions what
is known as the Fall River and Custer
County Live Stock Owners Protective
Association was organized. with head
quarters i'm the frontier town of Buffa-
10 Gap, in the foothills of the Black
Hills. This association now has taken
its place as perhaps the lesUiing anti
horse and cattle thief association in the
United States.
Funds for the prosecutor of Tie
rustlers are provided by the membership
fees and by assessing members a certai
sum for each herd of cattle owned by
them.
The most recent exploit of the associa-
tino in the prosecution line was the ar
rest of three man-JOhn Rush. Joseph
Norman and John AShbault-on the
charge of rustling cattle belonging 10
members of the anti-cattle-thief nssocia-
ton. The juries. after only few
minutes consultation, returned verdicts
of guilty against them. Rush was seq
fenced TO a torn Of -four years in prison
at hard labor. Norman was given three
and onc-hah years. while Alshbault was
sentenced to three years.
The anti-cattlc thief aSslctation has
ian even il,e mast re-
mote PARTS Of the territory covered by
II, and when a raid is niuie by rus,
lers the officers an, prnmptly notified.
and witlin remarkably bri.f tine
posses of heavily armed mea have Start
ed from different d,rpctions 70 close
In on the rustlers anj prevent tn n
escaping with the stol,pl stock
The long dis,a,net telephone Encs
which now extend fran thr frontier
towns through the surrounding region !
are proving very vilulL,l, in rnebln,;
the officers to tak' the trriI of The |
rusters with the I-S,.s, possible decay |
and in keeping the m'mbrs of the |
various closing-tn p,s,ns infurpmcd Of |
.he movements of the rI.tl rs after they
pave been locnei in "A c.rtafn distrirt.
The organic dion af the WcistsFn Spu'h
30 thorough and it's work in runnn;
Town rus'ters pcrfoiynoh with such
lromptn' ss and cffcotiyrnes that it
has attracted She attention of cnti,c
md horse naiscip5 in other W,stcrn
states, who ARE oiisan'nnS Similar az
ociations and adopting the methols %
lac South Dakota Organization.