A few months ago I was
contacted by Earl Madsen, owner of the historic TA Ranch outside Buffalo,
Wyoming. Earl explained to me his plans to commemorate the West's most notable
range war during its 125th anniversary year. The Wyoming conflict between large
ranchers and small homesteaders came to a head in 1892. I wrote an account, The
Johnson County War, which won the 2005 Book of the Year Award of the
National Association for Outlaw and Lawmen History. During my research period,
Karon and I stayed on two or three occasions at the TA, which played a central
role in the climax of the Johnson County War. So when Earl asked me to come to
Wyoming to represent Texas at the 125th Anniversary of the Johnson County War,
I eagerly accepted his invitation.
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With Earl Madsen, owner of the TA Ranch |
I felt the same way
about participating in this anniversary as I had when asked why, as a Texan,
was I writing about a major Wyoming event? I always replied that a Texas cowboy
(Nate Champion) was the great hero of the range war. A Texas fugitive (Joe
Horner) escaped custody in the Lone Star State and, under an assumed name
(Frank Canton) came to Wyoming, where he was a feared assassin during the
Johnson County War. And wealthy cattlemen hired more than a score of gunmen
from Texas to try to impose their will in Johnson County. Therefore it seemed
quite appropriate for a Texan to write about and to speak about Wyoming's
Johnson County War.
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Heroic statue of Nate Champion, by sculptor Mike Thomas |
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Statue of Frank Canton |
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Statue of rustler about to be apprehended by Frank Canton |
I flew into Billings,
Montana, on Thursday, September 14, and rented a vehicle for the beautiful
drive to Buffalo. I arrived at the TA late in the afternoon, just as Earl and
his gracious wife, Barb, were beginning to host a dinner for the participants
in the next day's events. Earl had asked me to moderate a two-hour panel, to be
held from 10 to 12 the next day, Friday, September 15. He assembled a stellar
panel, featuring former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson and Alan's older brother,
Peter, a prominent college administrator and a Wyoming legislator. Alan and
Pete's father, Milward Simpson, was governor of Wyoming from 1955 until 1959.
Other panelists included John W. Davis, Wyoming attorney who wrote Wyoming
Range War, focusing upon the legal machinations of the Johnson County War;
Bill Markley, writer for True West and Wild West magazines, and a
re-enactor in such motion pictures as Dances With Wolves and Gettysburg;
Tim Slosser, English author of More Than Cowboys and Out West,
and producer of more than a dozen documentaries about the American West for the
BBC and National Geographic; and Jim McGagna, Executive Director of the Wyoming
Stock Growers Association, which played a crucial role in the Johnson County
War. Also present was Sylvia Bruner, Director of Buffalo's Jim Gatchell Museum,
a major sponsor of the event.
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With Sylvia Bruner, Director of the Gatchell Museum |
On Friday morning, after
an excellent breakfast at the TA, I drove into Buffalo early to visit with the
crowd gathering at the Civic Center. I renewed many acquaintances with
history-minded friends who had helped me put together my book. There was a film
crew present, headed by Tim Hoch, who is hoping to develop a documentary. An
audience of 120 assembled for the panel discussion, and the two hours flew by
rapidly. Following a Question and Answer period, we were treated to a catered
lunch by Buffalo's Sagebrush Café. During and after lunch we were approached by
numerous guests who wanted to ask further questions and who asked for
inscriptions in books they had just purchased. On Friday evening a dinner was
held at the Civic Center, featuring several presenters who were descendants of
participants in the Johnson County War.
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Bill Markley at the Speakers' Stand |
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Tom Hoch, head of the film crew |
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Earl Madsen acquired Frank Canton's 3-room cabin and moved it to the TA, where Karon and I were the first to stay there. |
The Saturday highlight
was a re-enactment at the TA Ranch of the climactic events of the two-day siege
by 400 townspeople of more than 50 "Invaders" of Johnson County,
including 20-odd Texas gunmen. For two days the Invaders, who already had
killed accused rustlers Nate Champion and Nick Ray at the KC Ranch, 40 miles
south of Buffalo, forted up at the TA while angry citizens besieged the ranch
with rifle fire. Townspeople seized three supply wagons of the Invaders, firing
their own ammunition at the Invaders. The chief defense points were the TA's
log cabin and barn, as well as a redoubt hastily constructed on a hill.
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Tourists beginning a wagon tour of the TA |
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The historic TA Ranch cabin |
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The most famous barn in the West |
Townspeople fashioned a
"Go-Devil" from two of the confiscated wagons, lashing the vehicles
together with protective planking in front. On the third morning of the siege
citizens intended to advance behind the Go-Devil, but before this assault could
be made three troops of cavalry from Fort McKinney, located two miles west of
Buffalo, arrived to take the Invaders into military custody. The dramatic
arrival of the U.S. Cavalry averted a bloodbath, and months of legal maneuvers
followed.
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Filming a scene at the barn |
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Earl Madsen with cavalry re-enactors |
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Part of the crowd preparing to watch the re-enactment |
The Johnson County War
later was memorialized by such classic novels and movies as The Virginian
and Shane, along with numerous non-fiction books and TV documentaries.
Buffalo-based sculptor Mike Thomas executed statues of Nate Champion and Frank
Canton which adorn the Main Street of Buffalo.
On
Saturday afternoon the re-enactors and film crew rehearsed seven scenes, and
this dress rehearsal offered the best opportunity for photographs. Although the
temperature dropped into the 30s and there was a light mist, a large crowd
assembled for the five o'clock re-enactment. Certainly it was thrilling to view
a re-enactment at the very site where a major gun battle exploded 125 years
ago.
For more information, contact info@taranch.com
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