The Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River and the Wyoming Range War, was a range conflict that took place in Johnson County, Wyoming from 1889 to 1893. The conflict began when cattle companies started ruthlessly persecuting alleged rustlers in the area, many of whom were settlers who competed with them for livestock, land and water rights. As violence swelled between the large established ranchers and the smaller settlers in the state, it culminated in the Powder River Country when the former hired gunmen to invade the county. The gunmen's initial incursion in the territory alerted the small farmers and ranchers, as well as the state lawmen, and they formed a posse of 200 men that led to a grueling stand-off. The siege ended when the United States Cavalry on the orders of President Benjamin Harrison relieved the two forces, although further fighting persisted in the following months.
Kaycee is a town in Johnson County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 247 at the 2020 census. It is home to a museum that preserves the cattle ranching heritage of the area, especially the history of the Johnson County War.
Thomas Horn Jr., was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committed 17 killings as a hired gunman throughout the West, Horn was convicted in 1902 of the murder of 14-year-old Willie Nickell near Iron Mountain, Wyoming. Willie was the son of sheep rancher Kels Nickell, who had been involved in a range feud with neighbor and cattle rancher Jim Miller. On the day before his 43rd birthday, Horn was executed by hanging in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Nathan D. Champion — known as Nate Champion — was a key figure in the Johnson County War of April 1892. Falsely accused by a wealthy Wyoming cattlemen's association of being a rustler, Champion was the first person targeted by a band of hit men hired by the cattlemen. In reality, Champion was simply a small rancher who stood up against the big cattlemen's practice of claiming all unbranded young cattle on the range. He is celebrated for his heroic stand in his besieged cabin and for a heartfelt letter written at the time describing the events.
Cattle raiding is the act of stealing live cattle, often several or many at once. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer. In other areas, especially in Queensland, the practice is known as poddy-dodging with the perpetrator known as a poddy-dodger. In North America, especially in the Wild West cowboy culture, cattle theft is dubbed rustling, while an individual who engages in it is a rustler.
Johnny Lang was an American cattle driver who discovered Lost Horse Mine in Joshua Tree National Park. He claimed that he had moved to the area because his brother had been gunned down in New Mexico with six other cowboys. In 1890, in the process of herding their cattle, they lost their horses in what is now known as Lost Horse Valley. He tracked them to what is now known as Keys Desert Queen Ranch, which at that time was believed to be occupied by cattle rustlers from what known as the McHaney Gang, but did not find the horses. He then claimed he then met "Dutch" Frank, who claimed he discovered a rich gold claim but was afraid to develop it because he had been threatened by the purported rustlers. Lang and his father bought the rights to the mine, purportedly for $1,000.00, and named it "Lost Horse". He claimed to have taken on three partners as back-up, out of fear of the gang of purported rustlers or having his claim jumped. The four men filed their claim, set up a two-stamp mill and began to produce substantial amounts of gold. Lang's claim and mill were then sold to a Montana rancher named J.D. Ryan. Much of this history was provided by longtime Joshua Tree area resident William F. Keys, for whom Keys Ranch was named.
Commodore Perry Owens was an American lawman and gunfighter of the Old West. One of his many exploits was the Owens-Blevins Shootout in Arizona Territory during the Pleasant Valley War.
Horse theft is the crime of stealing horses. A person engaged in stealing horses is known as a horse thief. Historically, punishments were often severe for horse theft, with several cultures pronouncing the sentence of death upon actual or presumed thieves. Several societies were formed in the United States to prevent horse theft and apprehend horse thieves. However, horse theft continues to occur throughout the world, as horses are stolen for their meat, for ransom, or in disputes between their owners and other persons. Horse theft today is comparable to automobile theft, a crime punishable by felony jail time.
The Mason County War, sometimes called the Hoodoo War in reference to masked members of a vigilance committee, was a period of lawlessness ignited by a "tidal wave of rustling" in Mason County, Texas in 1875 and 1876. The violence entailed a series of mob lynchings and retaliatory murders involving multiple posses and law enforcement factions, including the Texas Rangers. The conflict took the lives of at least 12 men and resulted in a climate of bitter "national prejudice" against local German-American residents in the following years.
The Mysterious Rider is a 1938 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Douglass Dumbrille, Sidney Toler, and Russell Hayden. Written by Maurice Geraghty based on the 1921 novel The Mysterious Rider by Zane Gray, the film is about a notorious outlaw who returns to the ranch he once owned and takes a job disguised as a ranch hand. Unrecognized by the ranch's current owner, he waits patiently for an opportunity to expose the men who murdered his partner twenty years ago, framed him for the crime, and then stole his ranch. The film was later released for television in the United States as Mark of the Avenger.
Matthew "Mack" Harrison Marsden was a livestock trader who lived in rural Jefferson County, Missouri. Marsden was suspected of many crimes from 1881 to 1883, including arson, murder and robbery. Though he was often accused, questioned, and arrested, he was only brought to trial once, and was acquitted. Marsden's family background gave no hint of criminal activity. On the contrary, he came from an established family of farmers, engineers, and stockmen, and his wife's family members were known as leaders in the local church. His story came to an end when he was murdered. Although four different men were arrested, and three of them tried for the killing, no one was ever convicted. Mack's suspected killers left the county, the murder remained unsolved, and Marsden's death corresponded with the end of a years-long crime spree. Newspapers suggested that his killing was a service to the community, and for decades, people continued to believe he was behind a gang that committed a long series of unsolved crimes.
The historic town of Rocky Point was on the south side of the Missouri River in Fergus County, Montana, in the Missouri Breaks. Rocky Point was located at a natural ford on the Missouri River.
Rustlers is a 1949 American Western directed by Lesley Selander. The film is a Tim Holt B Western about a group of Arizona ranchers intent on stopping a gang of cattle rustlers.
The history of vigilante justice and the Montana Vigilantes began in 1863 in what was at the time a remote part of eastern Idaho Territory. Vigilante activities continued, although somewhat sporadically, through the Montana Territorial period until the territory became the state of Montana on November 8, 1889. Vigilantism arose because territorial law enforcement and the courts had very little power in the remote mining camps during the territorial period.
Granville Stuart was an American pioneer, gold prospector, businessman, civic leader, vigilante, author, cattleman and diplomat who played a prominent role in the early history of Montana Territory and the state of Montana. Widely known as "Mr. Montana", Granville's life spanned the formative years of Montana from territorial times through the first 30 years of statehood. His journals and writings have provided Montana and western historians unique insights into life in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains during the second half the 19th century.
Burton C. Mossman was an American lawman and cattleman in the final years of the Old West. He is most remembered for his capture of the notorious border bandit Augustine Chacon in 1902, though he was also a successful businessman who owned the large Diamond A Ranch in New Mexico.
The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) is a non-profit membership organization that works on behalf of Montana cattle ranchers.
The Lone Rider in Texas Justice is a 1942 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Steve Braxton. The film stars George Houston as the "Lone Rider", Al St. John as his sidekick "Fuzzy" Jones and Dennis Moore as Sheriff Smoky Moore, with Hillary Brooke, Karl Hackett, Lee Powell and Forrest Taylor. The film was released on June 12, 1942, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
Isam Dart, also known as Isom, was a cattle driver, rancher, and horse and cattle rustler during the late 19th century in the Wild West. He settled in Browns Park in northwestern Colorado, where he was considered by his neighbors to be a "superlative rider and roper, a good neighbor, and an expert and industrious cattle thief." He and his partner Mat Rash were gunned down in separate events and were believed to have been assassinated by Tom Horn, a hired gunman.
The Pecos War, also known as the War of the Pecos and the Chisum War, was a range war fought by cattle baron John Chisum against neighboring small ranchers, farmers, and Native Americans from 1876-1877 along the Pecos River in New Mexico. The conflict was caused primarily by competition: Chisum believed that his livestock and other resources were being depleted upon by people he alleged to be rustlers. At the same time, Chisum was also fighting Mescalero Apaches from the nearby reservations who were said to prey on his herds.
