Johnson County War

Conflict over land was a common occurrence in the development of the American West, but became particularly prevalent when large portions of it were settled by new immigrants for the first time through the Homestead Acts. It is a period that one historian, Richard Maxwell Brown, has called the "Western Civil War of Incorporation", which the Johnson County War was a part of. This contributed to the West's reputation for violence. Large numbers of cattle were turned loose on the open range by ranches. Each spring, round-ups were held to separate the cattle belonging to different ranchers. Before a round-up, an orphan or stray calf was sometimes surreptitiously branded, which was the common way to identify the cow's owners. However, as more and more homesteaders called "nesters" and "grangers" moved into Wyoming, competition for land and water soon enveloped the state, and the large cattle companies, also known as “cattle barons”, reacted by monopolizing large areas of the open range, preventing homesteaders from using it. Thousands of cattle were lost in the calamity, forcing the surviving cattle barons to cut wages and lay-off many of their cowboys. In turn, these cowboys filed for homestead, further increasing competition. To protect whatever livestock remained, the cattle barons reacted with a catch-all allegation of rustling against their competition. The cattle barons also held a firm grip on Wyoming's stock interests by limiting the number of grangers who could participate, including in the annual round-ups. They also forbade their employees from owning cattle for fear of additional competition, and they threatened anyone they suspected to be rustlers. However, records showed that they were still not successful. Wyoming Stock Growers Association Many of the large ranching outfits in Wyoming were organized as the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (the WSGA) and gathered socially at the Cheyenne Club in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Comprising some of the state's wealthiest and most influential residents, the organization held a great deal of political sway in the state and region. The WSGA organized the cattle industry by scheduling roundups and cattle shipments. The WSGA also employed an agency of detectives to investigate cases of cattle theft from its members' holdings. Grangers and rustlers often intermixed with one another in the community, making it more difficult for detectives to differentiate the criminals and the innocent homesteaders. Bandits taking refuge in the infamous hideout known as the Hole-in-the-Wall were also preying upon the herds. ==Name and date==

The term "Johnson County War" has been in use as early as April 23, 1892 during a report on the war by the Colorado newspaper Weekly Gazette. Author D.F. Baber used the term "Johnson County Cattle War" in his 1947 book about the conflict. Many writers of the time such as Asa Mercer and Owen Wister, dated it strictly to April 5–13, 1892, specifically during the Invasion. Modern historians proposed a broader duration that included every WSGA-related casualties all throughout the state. John W. Davis offered an alternate date of 1891–1892, with "Wyoming Range War" as another name for the conflict. Mathias Nelson suggested that it should be from July 20, 1889 to May 24, 1893, beginning with the double lynching of Ella Watson and Jim Averell and ending with the murder of Dudley Champion. During the 2022 congressional session that celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the Wyoming Stock Grower's Association, the same 1889–1893 date was utilized. ==War==

Early killings was lynched in 1889 by wealthy ranchers who accused her of cattle rustling, a charge that was later shown to be false. On July 20, 1889, a range detective from the WSGA named George Henderson accused Ella Watson (better known as Cattle Kate), a local rancher, of stealing cattle from WSGA rancher by the name of Albert John Bothwell. The cattlemen sent riders to seize Watson before capturing her husband Jim Averell as well. Both of them were subsequently hanged near the Sweetwater River. This gruesome act was one of the rare cases in the Old West in which a woman was lynched, an event that appalled many Wyoming residents County Sheriff Frank Hadsell arrested six men for the lynching and a trial date was set. However, before the trial, threats were sent to the witnesses who were to testify against the aggressors. One of those witnesses was young Gene Crowder, who mysteriously disappeared under unknown circumstances before the trial. Another, Averell's nephew and foreman Frank Buchanan, disappeared from the county as well after a shootout with unknown suspects, and was presumed to be hiding or murdered. Ralph Cole, another nephew of Averell's, died on the day of the trial from poisoning. A friend of Waggoner named Jimmy the Butcher, who was once arrested for rustling cattle belonging to the Standard Cattle Company, was also murdered. Range detective Tom Smith killed a suspected rustler, and when he was indicted for murder, political connections to the WSGA secured his release. These killings precipitated more hostilities and violence in the years to come. The next individual to be targeted was a former cowboy named Nate Champion. On the morning of November 1, 1891, Champion and another man, named Ross Gilbertson, were sleeping in a cabin near the Middle Fork of the Powder River when a group of armed men went inside. Only two were able to fit into the small cabin while four others stood by outside. Champion was immediately awakened by the intrusion, and as the gunmen pointed their weapons at him, Champion reached for his own pistol hidden under a pillow and a shootout commenced. Champion successfully shot two of the gunmen, mortally wounding and killing assassin Billy Lykins. The rest of the assassination squad subsequently fled. Champion was left uninjured except for some facial burns from gunpowder. In a subsequent investigation of the attack, the names of those involved were leaked to two ranchers: John A. Tisdale and Orley "Ranger" Jones. However, both men were ambushed and murdered while they were riding, which outraged many of the small ranchers and farmers in the state. Led by a John R. Smith, Joe Debarthe, and Nate Champion, the group aimed to foster competition and challenge the grip of the WSGA on the Wyoming economy. Upon hearing this, members of the WSGA immediately viewed it as a threat to their hold on the stock interests. They then blacklisted members of the NWFSGA from the round-ups in order to stop their operations. However, the NWFSGA refused the orders to disband and instead publicly announced their plans to hold their own round-up on May 1, a month before the WSGA's. According to researcher Levette J. Davidson, this act became the "last straw" that inspired the WSGA to commit fully to armed violence. In March 1892, the cattlemen sent agents to Texas from Cheyenne and Idaho to recruit gunmen and finally carry out their plans for exterminating the homesteaders. This group became known as the "Invaders". While on horseback, Canton and the gunmen traveled ahead while the party of WSGA officials led by Wolcott followed a safe distance behind. Gunfight at the KC Ranch The first target of the WSGA was Nate Champion, who was at the KC Ranch at that time. They were tasked to perform the assassination that others had failed to carry out five months before. The group traveled to the ranch late Friday, April 8, 1892, quietly surrounded the buildings, and waited for daybreak. As the siege dragged on, a settler rode off to Fort McKinney requesting to borrow a cannon but was turned down. A blacksmith named Rap Brown tried to build his own cannon, but it exploded upon first testing. He then built a siege engine that the posse referred to as a "go-devil' or "ark of safety" - a large, bullet-resistant wagon that would help the settlers get close to the ranch so they could throw dynamite at the Invaders. Fortunately for the Invaders, one of their members, Mike Shonsey, managed to slip from the barn and was able to contact Governor Barber the next day. Frantic efforts to save the WSGA group ensued, and two days into the siege, late on the night of April 12, 1892, Governor Barber telegraphed President Benjamin Harrison a plea for help. For unknown reasons, the telegram failed to reach President Harrison, so Wyoming senators Joseph M. Carey and Francis E. Warren visited the White House in person and woke the President, informing him of the increasingly dangerous "insurrection" in Johnson County. Harrison immediately ordered the U.S. Secretary of War Stephen B. Elkins to address the situation under Article IV, Section 4, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which allows for the use of U.S. forces under the president's orders for "protection from invasion and domestic violence". The Sixth Cavalry from Fort McKinney near Buffalo, Wyoming, was ordered to proceed to the TA Ranch at once and take the WSGA expedition into custody. The Sixth Cavalry left Fort McKinney a few hours later at 2:00 on the morning of April 13 and reached the TA Ranch at 6:45 A.M. Colonel J.J. Van Horn, the officer in charge of the unit, negotiated with Sheriff Angus to lift the siege, and in return the Invaders were to be handed to civilian authorities. The Sixth Cavalry took possession of Wolcott and 45 other men with 45 rifles, 41 revolvers and some 5,000 rounds of ammunition, before escorting them first to Fort McKinney and then to Cheyenne. The text of Barber's telegram to the President was printed on the front page of The New York Times on April 14, and a first-hand account of the siege at the T.A. appeared in The Times and the Chicago Herald and other papers. ==Arrest and legal action==

The WSGA group was taken to Cheyenne to be held at the barracks of Fort D.A. Russell (currently Francis E. Warren Air Force Base) since the Laramie County Jail was unable to hold that many prisoners. They received preferential treatment and were allowed to roam the base by day as long as they agreed to return to the jail to sleep at night. Johnson County officials were upset that the group was not kept locally at Ft. McKinney. The general in charge of the 6th Cavalry felt that tensions were too high for the prisoners to remain in the area. Hundreds of armed locals sympathetic to both sides of the conflict were said to have gone to Ft. McKinney over the next few days under the mistaken impression the Invaders were being held there. ==Final killings==

Tensions in Johnson County remained high. On May 9, 1892 U.S. Marshal George Wellman was ambushed and killed by locals en route to the town of Buffalo. The incident received national attention, with Wellman being the only marshal to die in the war. Wellman had been one of the hired guns who joined the Invaders, and his death was grieved by a large crowd. The Sixth Cavalry, sent to relieve the county of its violence, was said to be influenced by intense local political and social pressure, and were unable to keep the peace. One infamous event occurred when a group of men set fire to the post exchange and planted a homemade bomb in the cavalry's barracks. Notable officer Charles B. Gatewood was seriously injured by the ensuing bomb blast, shattering his left arm and ending his cavalry career. The Ninth Cavalry of "Buffalo Soldiers" was ordered to Fort McKinney to replace the Sixth, commanded by Major Charles S. Isley. Another buffalo soldier, by the name of Brown, was also murdered, when a cowboy shot him while both were in a rifle range. In September 1892, as the aftershocks of the stand-off were still being felt throughout the county, two alleged horse rustlers named Jack Bedford and Dab Burch were gunned down by range detectives east of the Big Horn River. The killers escaped to Montana with assistance from Otto Franc, a rancher who had sided with the large cattle company faction. On May 24, 1893, Champion's brother, Dudley, came to Wyoming looking for work and was shot and killed in cold blood. from Buffalo, Dudley had come across the ranch of Mike Shonsey, who, after seeing him, immediately grabbed a gun and fired at him. A coroner's inquiry ruled Shonsey's actions were self-defense and he was acquitted of murder. Afterwards, Shonsey left the state before the officials could continue with the investigation. He further threatened Shonsey and demanded he give up the names of the rest of the assassins. This event made Shonsey harbor hatred toward Champion and probably toward his brother Dudley as well. Dudley Champion was the last person killed in association with the Johnson County War. ==Aftermath==

Approximately 20-40 people were killed in the conflict. A number of tall tales were spun by both sides afterwards to make their actions appear morally justified. Parties sympathetic to the invaders painted Watson as a prostitute and cattle rustler. They painted Averell as her murderous partner in crime and pimp and Nate Champion as the leader of a vast cattle rustling empire. They claimed that he was a leading member of the fabled "Red Sash Gang" of outlaws that supposedly included the likes of the Jesse James gang. These claims have since been discredited. Horn did briefly work as a detective for the WSGA in the 1890s but there is little evidence he was involved in the war. Political effects Although many of the leaders of the WSGA's hired force, such as William C. Irvine, were Democrats, the ranchers who had hired the group were tied to the Republican Party and their opponents were mostly Democrats. Many viewed the rescue of the WSGA group at the order of President Harrison (a Republican) and the failure of the courts to prosecute them a serious political scandal with overtones of class war. As a result of the scandal, the Democratic Party became popular in Wyoming for a time, winning the governorship in 1892 and taking control of both houses of the state legislature in that election. Economic analysis Historian Daniel Belgrad argued that the war began as a conflict of opposing ideologies in terms of property rights. As centralized range management emerged as a solution to overgrazing, it received opposition from a large majority of American settlers who favored decentralization and the use of private winter pastures. The popular image of the war, however, remains that of vigilantism by aggressive landed interests against small individual settlers defending their rights. Although victorious in their legal battles, the cattle barons eventually relented in their efforts to control the open range. Many prominent leaders and individuals of the WSGA, such as Frank Wolcott, Frank M. Canton and Tom Smith, left the area; and by 1893 the association finally allowed smaller ranchers and farmers to apply for membership. The effects of the war lingered for years, affecting economic growth such as plans to build a railroad through Buffalo, which did not come to fruition. ==Legacy==

The Johnson County War has been one of the best-known range wars in the American frontier. It has been a popular feature of the Western genre of fiction, which includes literature, films and television shows. The Banditti of the Plains, written in 1894 by witness Asa Mercer, is the earliest record of the Johnson County War. The book was suppressed for many years by the WSGA, who seized and destroyed all but a few of the first edition copies from the 1894 printing; they were rumored to have hijacked and destroyed the second printing as it was being shipped from a printer north of Denver, Colorado. Jack Schaefer's popular 1949 novel Shane treated themes associated with the Johnson County War and took the side of the settlers. The 1953 film The Redhead from Wyoming, starring Maureen O'Hara, dealt with similar themes; in one scene O'Hara's character is told, "It won't be long before they're calling you Cattle Kate." In the 1968 novel True Grit by Charles Portis, the main character, Rooster Cogburn, was involved in the Johnson County War. In the early 1890s Cogburn had gone north to Wyoming where he was "hired by stock owners to terrorize thieves and people called nesters and grangers... . I fear that Rooster did himself no credit in what they called the Johnson County War." Films such as ''Heaven's Gate (1980) and The Johnson County War (TV-movie, 2002) painted the wealthy ranchers as the "bad guys". Heaven's Gate was a dramatic romance loosely based on historical events, while The Johnson County War was based on the 1957 novel Riders of Judgment'' by Frederick Manfred. The range war was also portrayed in an episode of Jim Davis's syndicated Western television series Stories of the Century, with Henry Brandon as Nate Champion and Jean Parker as Ella Watson. American Heroes Channel presented the Johnson County War in the sixth episode of their Blood Feuds series documentary. The war was also featured in the 8th episode of Kevin Costner's historical documentary entitled ''Kevin Costner's The West''. The story of the Johnson County War from the point of view of the small ranchers was chronicled by Kaycee resident Chris LeDoux in his song "Johnson County War" on the 1989 album Powder River. The song included references to the burning of the KC Ranch, the capture of the WSGA men, the intervention of the U.S. Cavalry and the release of the cattlemen and hired guns. The Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum in Buffalo featured dioramas and exhibits about the Johnson County War, as well as a bronze statue of Nate Champion. Kaycee, Wyoming, the old site of the KC Ranch, also erected the Hoofprints of the Past Museum to commemorate the war. ==See also==