The Johnson County War

• range war in 1892
• Wyoming 1870's was full of wealthy cattle ranchers who got the best job in government and the legal system
• However the winter of 1886-87, caused huge losses for wealthy cattle ranchers and their power decreased - small ranchers did better - the wealthy ranchers thought this was because they stole some of their cattle (cattle rustling) - they used their powerful association (Wyoming Stock Growers Association, WSGA) to ban small ranchers from the spring round up
• The WSGA took the law into their own hands over people they suspected to be rustling - Ella Watson and Jim Averill were both murdered, even though they were both innocent of rustling - other ranchers copied this and this lead to a lot of murders
• by 1892, small ranchers in the Johnson county decided to get their own back - they held a spring round up a month earlier than the WSGA - this wat they could take all the unbranded calves for themselves
• the WSGA reacted by planning an invasion of Johnson county to kill 70 men - they raised $100000 to pay for 22 hired gunmen from Texas - they did all this with the full knowledge of Wyoming's governor
• the gunmen attacked the KC ranch where some of the men on the hit-list were - word reached Sheriff Angus of Johnson County who raised a force and went after the Texans - the invaders hid whilst 300 Johnson county residents surrounded them - the US calvary arrived to save the Texans
• the Texan Invaders were helped by the WSGA - the best lawmen were brought to defend the invaders - the lawyers dragged the trial out until Johnson County ran out of money and the case was dropped - therefore, the WSGA got away with causing conflict and planning murder