Chapter III

ORGANIZING THE INVASION--THE WYOMING STOCK GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION AS A
PROMOTER--CHEYENNE THE RENDEZVOUS OF THE PLOTTERS--ACTING GOVERNOR
AMOS W. BARBER PREPARING THE WAY FOR THE INVADERS--THE PRESS OF THE
LAND HOODWINKED INTO FALSE STATEMENTS TO PREPARE THE PUBLIC MIND TO
SYMPATHIZE WITH COMING EVENTS

The invasion of the state of Wyoming by a band of cutthroats and hired assassins in April, 1892, was the crowning infamy of the ages. Nothing so cold-blooded, so brutal, so bold and yet so cowardly was ever before recorded in the annals of the world’s history. The results proved disastrous to the outlaws themselves and cast a shadow upon the name of the state that will require a decade of years to dissipate by the sunlight of a continuous prosperity. The crime was so great that the lapse of years will only tend to magnify it in the minds of all readers of Wyoming history. In this case the sins of men will live after them. The audacity, the foolhardiness, of the gang of desperadoes was such that a study of how it was planned and upon what they relied for success, seems a necessity in order to convey to the mind of the reader the impression that the whole story is not a fiction, the work of an overwrought imagination. Hence, this stopping by the way to illustrate the various steps taken.

It is believed that early in the year 1891 it was determined by the stockmen to terrorize the ranchmen and rustlers of the northern part of the state and drive them from the ranges. How, it mattered not. H. B. Ijams, secretary of the Board of Live Stock Commissioners, takes to himself credit for suggesting to the board the idea of seizing the cattle shipped to market by such persons as the stockmen saw proper to class as “rustlers,” have the money sent to him as secretary of the board, in Cheyenne, and force the shippers to make a pilgrimage to the capital to prove their property. It was believed that this would so embarrass and cripple the little fellows that they would go out of the business. Thousands of cattle were so seized, and considerable money thus obtained yet remains tied up in the hands of the commission.

In January, 1891, the Legislature passed an act creating the “Board of Live Stock Commissioners of Wyoming.” The board consists of three members, and employs a secretary.

Following are the sections that, in the opinion of Mr. Ijams, justifies the action taken as above indicated:

“Sec. 13. The Board of Live Stock Commissioners shall exercise a general supervision over, and so far as may be, protect the live stock interests of the state from theft and disease, and shall recommend from time to time such legislation as in their judgment will foster said industry.

“Sec. 17. Said Board of Live Stock Commissioners is hereby authorized and it is made its duty to appoint such stock inspectors as it may deem necessary for the better protection of the live stock interests of the state, and to distribute them at such points or places within or without the state as will in their judgment most effectually prevent the violation of any and all laws of the state for the protection of stock.

“Sec. 26. It shall be the duty of all persons shipping estrays at once upon the sale thereof to remit to the secretary of the live stock commission the proceeds received for each and every estray, the ownership of which shall be unknown to the inspector to whom a receipt for the same was given. If any inspector shall at any time sell an estray shipped from this state, he shall immediately remit the proceeds thereof to the secretary of the live stock commission.

“Sec. 29. The secretary of the live stock commission, upon satisfactory proof of the ownership of any estray sold, as above provided, and for which he has received the money, shall pay such owner the amount received from the sale of such estray or estrays; Provided, That such ownership shall be proven within one year after the publication of the notice of sale of said estray or estrays, as above provided. Proof of the ownership shall be by affidavit of the owner with at least one credible corroborating witness.”

Just where the extra judicial power conferred upon the board is given is difficult to see in the above. Yet, it has been freely exercised.

This plan, while it worked a great hardship upon many innocent people, did not deter the settlers from attempting to raise and ship cattle to market. Failing in this, more heroic methods were adopted, as delineated in Chapter II. Still unsuccessful in gaining control of the rich valleys of the north, a large number of prominent stockmen met in Cheyenne in the early winter of 1891-2 and presumably agreed upon the invasion as later planned in detail.

Money was a prime necessity and a subscription paper was circulated among all the stockmen of the state, who were believed to be in sympathy with the movement, and it is said by some who saw the list, that nearly a hundred thousand dollars was subscribed to this “Extermination Fund,” if we may coin an expression to fit. The cash being provided for, the next thing in order was to gather in the leaders and see upon what ground they stood. True, a good many ranchmen refused to contribute and be a party to the proposed outrage, but enough, in the opinion of the inner circle of plotters, had been committed to force the others into line.

The three members of the Wyoming Board of Live Stock Commissioners, J. W. Hammond, W. C. Irvine and Charles Hecht, state officers, were in the city most of the winter. Frank Walcott of Glenrock, came in about or soon after the holidays, and several other leading stock raisers from various parts of the state and from the East were frequently seen in the city. These, in connection with several cattlemen domiciled in Cheyenne, made a large list of interested parties to work for a common end.

Ex-Governor Baxter’s office, in the Commercial Block, seemed to be the invasion incubator, for there Walcott and Irvine, the first and second in command of the cutthroat army, generally were to be found in consultation “over private business,” as the man in the outer office was wont to explain to callers.

Knowing that their contemplated action was in direct and flagrant opposition to all law and an over-riding of the constitution of the state, it was necessary to ascertain how those in authority would look upon the matter. Acting Governor Barber, as executive of the civil government and commander-in-chief of the state militia, was the first man to look after. During the months of February and March the Governor and the stockmen were almost inseparable. Irvine, Walcott, Baxter, Ijams, Hammond and Hay seemed each to be a twin brother of the executive, and at his office, adjoining the Cheyenne Club House, the passer-by in the night could almost always see one or more of these people closeted with or going into the governor’s place. That they captured him, body and soul, his later official acts and his refusal to act abundantly testify. The path from Baxter’s office to the acting governor’s dormitory might appropriately be termed the trail of blood.

Having made “medicine” with the governor, friendly relations were to be created with the military at Fort D. A. Russell. That these efforts were, in a measure, successful is evidenced by the capture of government tents with the invading hosts, supposed to have been loaned to them by some of the post officers.

Presumably, the United States Senators, Warren and Carey, needed no coaching. Both were leading stock growers and general rumor credits Carey with being a contributor to the working fund of $1,000 in cash and other valuable considerations.

Other Senators and men high in the nation’s councils are believed to have been led into approval of the diabolical scheme by misrepresentation and fraud.

Dropping back to the state officials, their action after the collapse of the murderous raid led the people, generally, to believe that many of them not only knew of the plans laid, but actually gave encouragement to their carrying out.

Being reasonably assured of the official support of the state authorities and important outside aid, as early as January, 1892, a systematic effort was made to create public sentiment favorable to their hellish work, through the press outside of the state. During the holiday season a long article appeared in the Washington Star abusing the people of Johnson county, classing them as rustlers and bad men generally. It made a great story out of the wrongs suffered by the cattlemen, and was evidently inspired by some person informed as to what the spring months would usher in on the plains of Northern Wyoming. Omaha, Chicago, New York and Philadelphia papers also contained frequent articles calculated to make their readers believe that a reign of terror existed in half a dozen counties in the state that could only be overcome by a resort to arms, especially as all the court and peace officers of these counties were said to be open and avowed rustlers or acknowledged sympathizers therewith. This class of reading matter was uncommon for the papers publishing it, and could not have appeared so uniform in character and even in dates without some inspiring hand behind it. The only rational conclusion, therefore, is that the invader managers had a literary bureau charged with the duty of creating a public sentiment in the land to which they could point as a moral backing of their future developments. This work was carried down to the day of entering the field, and even after the capture of the outfit. For weeks before the start the Denver papers fairly bristled with blood-curdling stories of the outrage, committed by the desperate homeseekers north of the Platte River against the poor cattle kings.

These preliminary arrangements had all been so easily and successfully worked that the stockmen seemingly actually believed they could capture the state, run its country people over the border and return to the conditions present when there was no man in all the north country save the festive cowboy and he a law unto himself. As evidence that they had arrived at this frame of mind, the following interviews with H. B. Ijams and George W. Baxter of Cheyenne, given in Denver, Colorado, while the expedition was in the north, are cited. The first is copied from the Cheyenne Daily Tribune, one of the invader’s most trusted organs, of date April 12, 1892, and we give it as it appeared in that delectable sheet, headlines and all. It shows very clearly how the ex-governor felt at that time, and what his hopes were founded upon. It is good reading at this late date:

“WIPE THEM OUT

“All Honest Citizens Are in Hopes That the Cattlemen Will
Exterminate the Rustlers--Governor Baxter Is Interviewed--What
Northern Cattlemen Have
to Say About the Warfare--Other
Questions Discussed.

“DENVER, April 12.--Ex-Governor Baxter of Wyoming and Judd Brush of Greeley, President of the Cattle Growers’ Association, are in the city, in company with a number of prominent cattlemen of this state and Wyoming. A member of the party, in speaking of troubles in Wyoming, said: ‘The sympathies of nine-tenths of the people of Wyoming are with the cattle owners. I do not know to what extent the people of Colorado are informed as to the points at issue in the fight which is now fairly under way, but from what I have learned I am willing to give all the assistance possible to any body of men which will attempt to exterminate the rustlers.

“‘The latter have terrorized whole communities for years and practically control the actions of officials in several counties of the state. The cattlemen who have gone into the state at the head of the fighters whom they can trust are men who were driven off the ranges by the rustlers. Many of these men saved their lives only by escaping on fast ponies under cover of darkness. The time has come when they must quit the state altogether or make a fight to the death. The party was organized quietly in this city, as it was felt that the preliminary arrangements could not be safely made in Wyoming, so widespread is the influence of the rustlers.’”

“‘Is there no other way by which the interests of the cattlemen could be protected?’”

“‘Absolutely none. The courts have been appealed to time after time, in vain. Grand juries refused to indict the cattle thieves, although in many cases the rustlers appeared before the jury and acknowledged their guilt. It is simply a battle for existence on the part of the cattle owners in half a dozen counties. They must maintain their positions with rifles or let the robbers have full sway. I have been told of instances where the rustlers served notice on merchants, saying that they must keep quiet or suffer condign punishment.’”

The day before the above quoted interview, H. B. Ijams, secretary of the Wyoming Board of Live Stock Commissioners, was in Denver, and a Republican reporter interviewed him at length. From his statements we produce the following extract:

“‘I do not believe any of these reports,’ he said, ‘of conflicts having taken place. I think that all these dispatches are inspired by the rustlers and their sympathizers. There are newspapers of Wyoming which have always advocated the cause of the thieves and they are still at work fixing up these reports. The rustlers have charge of the wires and I am waiting now for the time when our men can get hold of them. So, while I am pretty much in the dark, I am certain that the true situation of things has not been told.

A SURGEON WITH THE INVADERS

“‘One thing I know cannot be true. The dispatches say that a wounded man was brought into Buffalo who was supposed to be one of our invaders. That is absurd. A good surgeon, with everything which he might need, is with the invaders, and if anybody is hurt, he is taken care of in the camp. They are well provided with everything that may be needed. And I want to emphasize strongly the character of the invading party. There are about sixty good men, and of that number, twenty especially are among the best citizens of the whole state. They are men who have been driven out of Johnson county by the gang of rustlers, and they are going back for--well, “retribution” is a good word.

FIGHTING FOR HOME AND PROPERTY

“‘They are fighting for life, home and property, and I want to predict that the rustlers will be wiped out. With the aid of Sheriff Angus, the rustlers cannot muster as many men by far as our party will have in the field very soon. As for the militia, I fancy that most of them are now with one party or the other. The company at Buffalo will pretty certainly stick to the rustlers. The “TA” ranch, where the fight is said to have occurred, is owned by Dr. Harris of Laramie City and his foreman is one of the leaders of the invading party.

EXPLAINING DISPATCHES

“‘Now I think I can explain some of the vague dispatches. Men come in to Casper and Cheyenne and other towns with stories of what they have seen and heard, when they have no foundation for such tales. Before I left Cheyenne a man came in from the west and began to tell how he had met “our” party well out on our journey. I questioned him pretty closely and knowing just exactly the make-up of our party, it soon proved that his story was an entire fabrication. So it is with the most of the messengers from the seat of war. There may have been a fight, or several of them, but I doubt it. Our party is not going at things hastily, and when we do hear reliable news, it will be of a very decided nature.

“‘It is useless for me to go into a history of this trouble and the conditions leading up to it. The Republican has given the account very accurately and completely. All we need now is news, news.’”

Vague rumors of disaster to the cattlemen had reached the press and these two valiant long-range fighters, taken by surprise, unbosomed themselves, thus giving a clear insight to the public of the faith of the constitution wreckers then on the gory field of battle, and the camp followers engaged in feeling and trying to regulate the public pulse.

Another thing that gave hope was the belief that they had fully enlisted the sympathy of the President of the United States in their behalf. On the 17th of April, the following telegram was sent from Paris, Texas, to the San Francisco Chronicle and published generally throughout the country:

“About two weeks ago eleven men, who had for years been acting as either United States deputy marshals or deputy sheriffs, left here rather mysteriously, and it was given out that they had gone West to enter the cattle business. They belong to the party that was rounded up by the troops and rustlers and taken to Fort McKinney. It turned out that they were sent to Wyoming by the United States Government to help the big ranchmen protect themselves from the raids of the rustlers. The large cattlemen, it is said, appealed to President Harrison for protection, and offered to pay for men who would come and aid them in maintaining what they considered their rights. The President requested the marshals of the Eastern, Western and Northern districts of Texas to go to Wyoming at once, and a party of forty-three was organized. It is said that they took oaths as Pinkerton detectives.”

While it is probably not true that the President had any conception of the depth of villainy to which the treason plotters were stooping, it has been generally understood that his consent to a transfer of a deputy marshal from the South to Wyoming had been secured. That an effort was made to gather up a large number of these Southern deputies by the agents of the invaders is known, and the braggadocia with which Ijams speaks in the above quotation when he says, “Angus and the rustlers cannot muster as many men by far as our party will have in the field very soon,” indicates that recruits were expected from this direction. The circumstances and conditions strongly point to some kind of an understanding with the United States Marshal’s office at Washington, if not with a higher power.

It is evident, also, from the tone of the Baxter-Ijams interviews given above that they expected many recruits from Denver, and were in that city to aid in forwarding a second battalion to the front. Squads were promised from Casper, Douglas and Newcastle, and it is known that a case of guns was shipped to Douglas, addressed to Acting Governor Barber about that time, and later shipped to Cheyenne, without being opened, presumably because the volunteers were all on the other side. Buffalo was booked for a hundred men, and stragglers were to come in from the Big Horn and other places. But none of these auxiliaries materialized. Baxter’s “nine-tenths of the people of Wyoming” were found to be in sympathy with the people and against “the cattle owners.”

All of these promises to aid, and the splendid detail of plans laid, however, led Baxter to boastingly say to the Denver interviewer, “I am willing to give all the assistance possible to any body of men which will attempt to exterminate the rustlers.” This promised assistance did not seem to arouse the common herd of Denver to the enlisting point, notwithstanding the liberal terms of $5 a day and $50 for each and every scalp taken by any of the force. (See Downing’s confession in the appendix.)

As evidence of complicity between Wyoming’s acting governor and the invaders, it is in order to present the following transcript from the books of the Adjutant General’s office:

Cheyenne, Wyo., March 23, 1892.

General Order No. 4.

Colonel De Forest Richards, Commanding First Regiment,
Wyoming National Guards:

Sir:

Colonel De Forest Richards, commanding First Regiment Infantry,
Wyoming National Guards, is hereby directed to instruct his company
commanders that they shall obey only such orders to assemble their
commands as may be received from these headquarters, to assist the
civil authorities in the preservation or enforcement of the laws of
the state of Wyoming.

By order of the Governor and Commander-in-Chief.

(Signed) FRANK STITZER,
Adjutant General.

In order to show that the above order is in direct violation of the laws of Wyoming, the following copy of Section 33, Chapter 85, Session Laws, 1890, is given:

“Sec. 33. Whenever in any county there is tumult, riot, mob or any body of men acting together with intent to commit a felony, or to do or offer violence to person or property, or by force or violence to break or resist the laws of the territory, or in case of an Indian outbreak, and the civil authorities are unable to suppress the same, or there is reasonable apprehension thereof, the governor or sheriff of the county, or the mayor or judge, during the absence of the governor, may issue his call to the commanding officer of any regiment, battalion, company, troop or battery, to order his command, or any part thereof, describing the same, to be and appear at a time and place therein specified to act in aid of the civil authority.”

Why should Amos W. Barber, acting governor, violate this plainly written statute? Why should he, by an official act, over-ride the law and transfer the power to call out the militia from the civil to the military branch of the state government? It was a very strange proceeding. There is but one explanation possible--it was a necessary safeguard to the invaders. With that law in force the moment a band of invaders crossed the line of Converse or Johnson counties the respective sheriffs would call out the company and contest their advance. This would be a menace to the cattle men. There was a strong company at Douglas and one at Buffalo. Malcomb Campbell of Converse County, and W. G. Angus of Johnson, were known to be men who would act promptly in an emergency, and shape their action to the interest of the people. The military must be withdrawn from their call. This order was made on the 23rd day of March, and on April 5th the cattlemen’s forces moved on Johnson County--a “mob, or body of men acting together with intent to offer violence to person or property,” in the county; but the hands of the sheriff were tied, so far as the authority to call out the military was concerned. Do you see how nicely the order fit the case? Can any fair-minded reader fail to realize that General Order No. 4 was issued for the protection of the cattlemen while engaged in their bloody work--to render the settlers of Johnson County helpless in the hands of a gang of men supposed to be large enough in numbers to burn and loot the premises of the lone settlers on the public domain?

The constitution of the state of Wyoming contains the following distinct and easily understood utterance:

“Article No. XIX.--Police Powers.--Section 1. No armed police force, or detective agency, or armed body, or unarmed body of men, shall ever be brought into this state for the suppression of domestic violence, except upon the application of the Legislature or executive, when the Legislature cannot be convened.”

Under the above section of the constitution the duty of the governor is clearly manifest in the emergency of an invasion of the state. Amos W. Barber was acting governor of Wyoming on the 5th day of April, 1892, when an armed body of men came on a special train from Denver, and after stopping for a time in Cheyenne, rolled away on another special train made up at the city depot and stockyards for the northern part of the state, on murder and arson bent. His closest personal friends, with whom he had been in intercourse most of the day, joined the gang at the depot, and it was simply impossible, under the circumstances, for him not to have known of the violation of the constitution being perpetrated. The governor is Commander-in-Chief of the state troops, yet he folded his arms and allowed the hired army to move on the unsuspecting settlers while they were plowing for their spring crops and endeavoring to provide for the wants of wives and children.

But were it possible not to understand the conditions present at that time, the following day everybody knew what had happened and an intercepting order could have been sent and the troops ordered out. This was not done. When asked why, he replied that he had no official knowledge of the violation of the constitution and could not act on simple hearsay. Waiting for the barn to burn before the water was turned on.

In order that the acting governor may not be misrepresented, the following clipping is taken from the Cheyenne Leader of April 8th, 1892:

“Governor Barber was seen yesterday and asked if he had taken any action with reference to the armed body of men which entered and passed through the state on Tuesday evening.

“‘I have not,’ he replied. ‘The matter has not been brought to my attention officially. I only know of the matter through newspaper reports, which, as you know,’ he added, with a smile, ‘are somewhat conflicting on the subject.’

“‘Do you intend to take any official notice of the matter?’

“‘As soon as I have learned the facts I will take such steps as I may deem necessary. I was more interested in the statement from Douglas, published in the Leader yesterday, than anything else. It was to the effect that the militia could hereafter be only ordered out by the Commander-in-Chief. This matter has been under consideration ever since the last Legislature adjourned. Previous to that, under certain circumstances, judges, sheriffs or mayors could call out the militia. This was changed by the last Legislature so that this power rests exclusively with the governor. During my absence from the state I was much worried that something of this sort would be done. The idea of the order was to make it plain that the militia could only be ordered out by the governor, as no one else now has that authority. The order was issued over a month ago.’”

The reader can compare the law quoted above, which was then and is now in force, with Barber’s statement, and draw his own conclusions as to exclusive power resting with the governor. Besides, if the law conferred no authority upon “judges, sheriffs and mayors,” why issue an order to prevent the exercise of power not possessed? The peculiar exigencies of the case seemed to demand it--namely, the preservation of the proposed invaders.

Another circumstance that confirms the belief in the mind of the general public that the governor had a guilty knowledge of the proposed invasion is the fact that Charles B. Penrose was employed as surgeon to the invaders and accompanied them for a time on their raid. When captured he had in his possession a case of surgical instruments belonging to Governor Barber, and no one will accuse him of stealing them--they must have been loaned to him for use, and loaned by their owner. Dr. Penrose was a close personal friend of the governor, and was in Cheyenne as his guest at the time of the start. Is it reasonable to suppose that this stranger would accept so responsible a position as surgeon general of an invading army without consulting his old college chum with whom he was in daily contact?

Having smoothed the way of the transgressors to the satisfaction of themselves, the steering committee began to look around for fighting material. To meet on anything like equal footing the hardy pioneers who had braved all the dangers of frontier life required men of nerve, practical experience and good horsemanship. Texas and the Southwest was the most inviting field, so a number of special agents were sent there to open recruiting stations. The wages offered were flattering, and to a certain class of reckless men sufficient inducement to undertake the hazardous job. Fortunately, for the information of the public, George Dunning, one of the hired men, made a confession, under oath, and told the terms upon which all of the men were recruited. These were $5 a day and all expenses paid, including a mount of horses, pistols and rifle. In addition, each man of the command was to receive $50 for each and every man killed by the mob. George W. Baxter, R. M. Allen, Frank M. Canton, Tom Smith and a few others are reported as the recruiting agents sent to the Southwest, while it is known that H. B. Ijams went on the same mission to Idaho. The work of enlisting was a little slow, for brave, honorable men hesitated when given to understand exactly what was expected of them. Going to war in the regular way, when patriotism and duty calls, is one thing--going to fight for a set of corporation cormorants against settlers on the public domain, simply for the money there is in it, is quite another. However, with the long list of ex-deputy marshals and thoughtless cowboys between the piney woods of Texas and the Rio Grande, the agents of the cattlemen believed they had secured sufficient force to be effective in connection with the large number of volunteers promised from Wyoming and adjoining sections.

So the men were ordered to report at Denver, Colorado, the 1st of April, 1892, where they were to be met by a committee, after the annual meeting of the Wyoming Stock Growers’ Association, on the 4th. The association meeting was attended by many leading cattle raisers from all over the state, and while nothing is known by the public as to what its secret actions were, it is believed that the work of the several special committees was approved and the general plan of the campaign adopted. Results immediately following force the above conclusion.

Before adjournment on the 4th, the following resolution was introduced by W. E. Guthrie and passed by a unanimous vote:

“Whereas, The cattle interests of this state have been seriously jeopardized by thieves and outlaws; and

“Whereas, Many herds are leaving this state to seek protection elsewhere; be it

“Resolved, That the Wyoming Stock Growers’ Association appreciates and endorses the able and fearless manner in which the Board of Live Stock Commissioners have attempted to guard the interests of honest cattle owners in the state, acting as they have without compensation or reward, and solely for the general good and prosperity of the state; be it further

“Resolved, That we believe all money now withheld by such board to be the proceeds of stolen cattle, and that we commend their cause in retaining the same until proof of ownership shall be made.”

This is a direct reversal of all law and practice--branding men as thieves and then requiring them to prove themselves honest, instead of counting them honest until proven to be dishonest. It was an approval of the idea of the invasion--taking the law into their own hands, or rising superior to the law and declaring that they “were a law unto themselves.”

The Idaho contingent was ordered to report at Cheyenne, and a squad was expected to be at Casper. About twenty-five men were gathered at Cheyenne, and all day during the 5th the work of preparation was going on. Guns and pistols were purchased by the score and ammunition was carted out by wagon loads. Rolls of blankets were shipped, and altogether it was a busy day in the Capital City.

The plan of the campaign, it is believed, was to go direct to Buffalo, kill Sheriff Angus and his deputies, and there be re-enforced with a large number of co-workers, when they would capture the town, kill twenty or thirty citizens and then raid the settlements in the county, killing or driving out several hundred more, thus getting rid of all their enemies. After satiating themselves with the blood of Johnson County’s citizens, they undoubtedly expected to make detours into Natrona, Converse and Weston counties, where they had dead lists in the hands of the mob, covering many settlers and some business men in each county. Spotters were already in each county locating the men to be killed, and apparently they anticipated a regular picnic in their work of death. One leading idea seemed to be that a reign of terror would at once be brought about and that hundreds of settlers would gather up their families and fly for safety before the approach of the crimson-handed slayers. To prevent the sending of news by wire in advance of the cutthroat band, men had been posted along the telegraph line leading north, with instructions to cut the wires and leave the communities in ignorance of their approaching danger.