, 1922-12-20

Scott Hazen, was elected sheriff of
Hot Springs county.
In 1900. United States cavalry
toop up the trail Of the Hole in the
Wall gang and searched every hay
stack in the Big Horn Basin from
Bonanza TO Stove creek. But they
did not find the quarry.
Joe La. Fors, special agent OF the
Union Patific who could follow
saddle horse trail at a hand gallop
and who ran down and captured the
welfknown Tom Horn was the sworn
enemy of the Hole In the Wall"
gang. With his operatives, he sue
seeded in stopping their d%epredations
but he never captured a bona fide
follower Of the Curry brothers
After n Union Pacific robbery,
slashed registered mail bags were
found In a quaking aspen grove at the
head of Bear Creek in the Big
Horns-thirtysix hours after the
robbery. Bear creek q tributary Of
the No Wood is at least $50 miles
from the nearest point on the Union
Pacific and there were no autos in
those days.
Joe La Fors maintained a stable
Of specially trained saddle horses. In
the yards at Cheyenne, a train with
! steam up was always waiting to take
a posse to the port of call. But they
did not catch Hole in the Wall"
gang.
With their defiant yell Of Powder
l pfr-n- -Iy@l4 l., A. ruTzTJy --
vanished into the badlands night and
by dawn, they were $50 miles north
and still travelling.
Gradually. cowpunchers and sheep
herders coming into Casper to cele-
brate took up the warwhoop. AS
h little ball spun in the roulette
circle and the red liquor flowed over
the bar of the Grand Central, the
Wyoming and Long Jacks, the range
men beloved Powder River-Hole
in the Wall"
The old West passed or became
embarrassed in the presence of oil
riches. The eastern rangers chirp-
ed. Powder River-Let 'er buck"
Forgetting that a mare is seldom seen
in a bucking exhibition. And the
name of the Hole in the Wall" sunk
into oblivion. There were none to re-
member that the title carried with
it barking six-shooters, western
blood. bitter tears and sudden death.
After a period Of i~nocuous desue-
tude, a certain gang of ribald young
men known as the Wild West of 91st
Division of the United States Army
went to France in the World War.
They had been trained at Camp Lewis
These timber jointed lads were sent
into battle n rainy day in France
before they hardly knew squads east
from squads west. Before the sun
sank, they climbed over the top chant
ing Powder River, a mile wide and
an inch deep, the largest river in the
world and Gawd knows how long"
and chased five times their weight
in German wildcats clear. back to the
Rhine. Incidentally. they captured
more machine guns that day than the
Wanted Rainbow division had during
its entire service n France. So they
moved the "'Powder River" outfit to
Belgium where the strife was bitter
and bloody.
But the A. E. F. recognized In the
yell, the appeal of warriors and nervy
men. The old echo of the Hole in
the Wall gang was there. The A.
E. F. took it up and today 1t is one
of the famous slogans Of America.
It Is really a thing of historical
delight today, to hear a fatted calf
who came within about three thous
and miles of he French front, but
managed to Grape together several
fat war contracts, life his treble ten
or In the battle cry Powder River"
1t Is inspiring to one who has heard
the old cry come out Of dirty little
western saloons after five thousand
beef steers had been loaded or fifteen
thousand Heinies had been whipped.
There will come a time of reckoning
when the west wind whimpers sore.
When the trails have hid their
traces and the riders ride no more"
POWDER RIVER BILL