Aftermath of Ella Watson/James Averell lynching

Both Ella Watson and James Averell were left to hang for two and a half days in the July heat. When their bodies were cut down, they were taken to Averell’s roadhouse, where Justice of the Peace B.F. Emery, a Casper attorney, solemnly swore in those present and held an official coroner’s inquest over their bodies. Further, he made the resulting verdict to the effect that the deceased met their death at the hands of John Durbin, Tom Sun, A.J. Bothwell, Robert Conner, Robert Galbraith and a man named Earnest McLean.

Ella and James's remains were then returned to Averell's ranch about 3:00 a.m. on July 23, 1889 by E. Joseph Healy, who was a juror on the inquest panel.  Ralph Coe, along with another man by the name of Jess Lockwood, buried the couple. With the formation of the Pathfinder Reservoir, Ella Watson's and James Averell's graves were covered with several feet of water. 

At the time of their deaths, Jim was 38 and Ella was 27.

Deputy Philip Watson arrested the six vigilantes: Albert Bothwell, M. Earnest McLean, Robert “Captain” M. Galbraith, John Henry Durbin, Robert Conner, and Tom Sun, and took them to Carbon County, where they were turned over to Sheriff Frank Hadsell. The following day, on July 26, 1889, the Cheyenne Daily Leader reported:

“A Rawlins telegram says that all the men were arrested by Sheriff Hadsell of Carbon County and given a preliminary hearing yesterday afternoon. Bail was fixed at a $5,000 bond. Each lyncher was allowed to post each others bond.”

The Grand Jury was convened for August 25, 1889, but before the witnesses could testify, they begin to mysteriously die or disappear. Shortly after the hangings, Gene Crowder disappeared, never to be seen again. Some said that his father heard of the affair and took him away to protect him from the powerful members of the Stock Association. John DeCorey, the boy who worked for Ella, allegedly went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, but was never summoned for the hearing.

Then Frank Buchanan also disappeared before the hearing. He was reportedly last seen in protective custody in Cheyenne, Wyoming. However, a year or so later, W.R. Hunt, a reporter working for the Chicago Inter Ocean reported seeing him.  A notebook by Hunt, found years later in the attic of a Kansas City home, tells where Buchanan wandered all over the country for the next year or two, hiding from the powerful cattlemen and fearing for his life.

Ralph Coe, Jim Averell’s nephew, mysteriously died on the very day of the scheduled hearing, possibly from poisoning.

With no witnesses to testify, all charges were dropped against the six cattlemen. No attempts were ever made to investigate the death of Ralph Coe, nor the three disappearances of the primary witnesses against the six ranchers.

Rumors abounded that Bothwell had some of his cowboys ride to the different homesteaders and small ranchers telling them, if they testified against the ranchers that they would be burned out or worse – end up like Jim and Ella.

A neighbor would later say that the whole affair grew out of land troubles. Averell had contested the land Conner was trying to hold, had made Durbin some trouble on a final proof, and kept Bothwell from fencing the whole Sweetwater Valley. He also stated that Ella Watson had a small bunch of cattle and had come by them honestly – freshly branded because she had only recently recorded her brand. Nevertheless, this unnamed neighbor did not come forward for the hearing.

There were others too, who did not come forward, either because they feared retribution from the powerful forces of Bothwell and his cadre or because they sided with the cattlemen – two from the local newspaper, the Sweetwater Chief. H.B. Fetz, editor of the Sweetwater Chief and his assistant J.N. Speer witnessed the abduction with field glasses from the rooftop of the newspaper building. Both men claim they were tipped off about the events by unnamed cattlemen. Watching the angry procession file very near, they first saw the procession as they made their way to examine Ellen’s calves and again later, when they had abducted Ella and Jim. Neither volunteered to give testimony at the grand jury hearings that were later held in Rawlings.

 Another witness to the abduction was a man by the name of Dan Fitger. While Fitger was plowing a hay meadow, he could clearly see the lynching party down in the river bottom, with Buchanan following far behind. Fitger never came forward at the hearings, but years later told this story to his family.

George W. Durant was appointed administrator of Ella's and James's estates. The land, which was not yet legally theirs as the length of residing on the property as per the terms of the homesteading act had not been fulfilled, would have to be turned back over to the government. Ella’s property, with the exception of a few personal items, was sold at auction for $322.75. Averell’s property netted $657.90. Durant also filed a lawsuit against A.J. Bothwell and John Durbin for the return of 41 head of cattle with the LU brand, but the lawsuit was never ruled upon.

In the same year as the lynching, both Albert Bothwell and Tom Sun were made members of the Wyoming Stock growers Association Executive Committee and Captain Galbraith were elected to the legislature. John Durbin served one year on the committee with his two neighbors in 1894.

A few years after Ella’s death, Bothwell finally acquired both Watson’s and Averell’s homesteads and moved his house onto what had been Ella’s homestead claim.

Much of the confusion surrounding this entire affair, as well as the apparently inaccurate information about the victims, resulted from the abundance of bad press that “Cattle Kate” and Jim Averell received from the Wyoming newspapers following their deaths. It appears that the press was also in the “pockets” of the powerful Stock Growers Association. In order to protect themselves against the public outcry, the Stock Growers Association used the power of the press. The three newspapers in Cheyenne trumped up the backstory that Ella was a prostitute and a rustler, while Averell was accused of being not only her pimp, but a murderer--that accusation resulting from the death of the man Averell shot and killed in Buffalo, WY, some years prior. 

The death of Ella Watson and Jim Averell prompted the organization of the Northern Wyoming Farmers and Stock Growers Association in direct opposition to the very powerful Wyoming Stock Growers Association. The formation of the NWFSGA ignited the cattle wars in Johnson County in the early 1890s.

Murder on the Sweetwater

Last month, I wrote a little about the early life of Ella Watson and James Averell, and what ultimately put them into the direct sights of the powerful Wyoming Stock Growers Association, namely the Maverick law and the requirement that no one could purchase a “maverick” without a registered brand. Without a registered brand, any homesteader or small rancher who might brand cattle he bought could be accused of rustling. And, the WSGA controlled who was awarded registration of a brand. It was the perfect Catch-22. The Maverick law blocked any competition to the WSGA the small ranchers and homesteaders might mount. It also put the small ranchers and homesteaders own calves at risk if they were to stray because nothing stopped the WSGA from rounding up those straying cattle and selling them as "mavericks."

There was another practice the large cattle owners employed, which was to illegally file land claims under the Homestead Act. How this was done was through both subterfuge and straight out bribery. Once the claims were made, moveable cabins would be placed on the land, so the cattlemen could claim the property had been "improved" which was a requirement of the Homestead Act. Money crossed the palms of the inspectors, so the "homesteaders" would know well in advance when the inspector was coming, and the moveable cabin was pulled up onto logs and rolled from claim to claim. Jim Averell, as a Justice of the Peace, saw this happen over and over. He began to write letters to the newspaper at Casper, Wyoming, bringing to light this duplicity and in turn, he infuriated the large cattlemen.

On March 23, 1888, Ella filed her official homestead claim with the Land Office in Cheyenne. Between both homesteads, James and Ella now owned more than 320 acres of land. Ella continued to improve her property by building corrals for the livestock and fencing much of the property.

looking northwest from atop Independence Rock toward the LU Ranch and Bothwell's ranch

photo circa 1900

In 1888, under heavy pressure from the small cattle and landowners, the Territorial Legislature repealed the Maverick Law. In the fall of that year, Ella bought 28 head of cattle from a man who was driving them from Nebraska to the Salt Lake basin. But by the time the cattle arrived in the Sweetwater Valley, the animals were footsore and in poor condition.  On December 3, 1888 Ella applied for the WT brand through the Carbon County Brand Committee in Rawlings, but they rejected her application. In March of 1889, she bought a brand from a nearby rancher and since it was already registered this application was accepted. Ella now owned the LU brand.

In 1889, Ella had two teen-aged boys working for her, Gene Crowder and John DeCorey. Averell’s nephew, Ralph Coe, was also working for the LU brand. Another friend who helped Ella and Averell was their neighbor, B. Frank Buchanan. Buchanan helped mend fences and assisted with branding the cattle.

Albert John Bothwell, a wealthy cattleman and member of the Stock Association, lived about a mile from Jim and Ella. Prior to Ella homesteading her piece of land, Bothwell had used the property, as well as other large sections of open range, as pastureland for his cattle. In fact, Bothwell was in the habit of running his cattle through the entire Sweetwater Valley, spreading out some twenty miles.

Though he didn’t own all of the land, he acted as though he did. Bothwell’s main focus was to get the homesteaders off of “his” land. He was furious when Jim and Ella homesteaded the property that he considered his best pastureland. Approaching Ella several times, he tried to by her property but she refused him.

Jim Averell had given Bothwell a right of way through his property so that Bothwell could irrigate his pastureland, but on a few occasions, Jim had threatened to cut off his water supply, which further infuriated the cattleman. Bothwell was determined to run Jim and Ella off their property.

When Jim wrote the letters to the Casper Newspaper, Bothwell sent his cowhands to harass the couple. The men would often just watch the couple to make sure they didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. At other times, the cowhands placed skulls and cross bones on their doorways. Bothwell also had the men fence in areas of land that did not belong to him.

On July 20, 1889, a stock detective named George Henderson rode through Ella’s pasture in the early morning, finding the cattle she had purchased the previous December sporting brand new LU brands. Henderson, a member of the Stock Association, quickly suggested that Ella might be illegally branding cattle. Bothwell saw this as his long sought after opportunity to rid himself of Jim Averell and Ella Watson, even though Ella had had possession of the cattle for more than six months.

Bothwell sent for other cattlemen in the immediate area to meet him for an urgent meeting. Who knows what he actually told them, but by the time the meeting was over the cattlemen were convinced that Jim and Ellen had stolen the newly branded cattle. One of the men rode over to Ella’s pasture to verify the new brands, returning to tell the others about it. The men then decided to take matters into their own hands. Several of the cattlemen wanted no part of the vigilante’s plans and left, but six cattlemen remained. These six ranchers included Bothwell, the ringleader, M. Earnest McLean, Robert “Captain” M. Galbraith, John Henry Durbin, Robert Conner, and Tom Sun.

After the meeting they all decided to ride over to Ella’s homestead and see the evidence for themselves. Arriving in the early afternoon, they found the newly branded cattle and their suspicions were confirmed. John Durbin lost his temper and began tearing down the barbed wire fence and driving the cattle out. Gene Crowder, the boy who Ella had unofficially adopted, watched as McLain and Conners detained Ella outside, keeping her from returning to her house.

The men forced Ella into a wagon, claiming they were going to Rawlins. Then they started toward Jim Averell’s place. The young Crowder tried to go around the men to alert Averell, but Bothwell detained him in the wagon with Ella.

Averell, who was on his way to Casper, was just inside the gate when the men approached. Stating they had a warrant for his arrest, Averell demanded to see the document, at which time Durbin and Bothwell drew their guns. Jim was forced to unhitch his team and climb in the wagon along with Ella, and then the group began to travel north. Crowder was allowed to leave and made tracks back to Jim’s house where he explained to the others what was going on. Frank Buchanan quickly got on his horse and began to follow the vigilantes.

Buchanan followed the group for about two miles as they traveled up the east side of Averell Mountain, then headed southwest across the sagebrush toward Sweetwater River and Independence Rock. Finally, the vigilantes stopped at a gulch on the south side of the river. As Buchanan watched, Bothwell tied a rope to a tree, wrapping the other end around Jim’s neck, while McLain was attempting to put a rope around Ella’s dodging neck. At the sight of this, Buchanan opened fire on the vigilantes, but when the group returned fire, he fled for his life. Returning to the ranch, he told Gene Crowder, John L. DeCorey, and Ralph Coe about the hangings.

Independence Rock

The Sun Ranch, formerly owned by Tom Sun, is still in operation here

Though an investigation into the hangings began almost immediately, the bodies were let hang in the July heat for 2 ½ days. A reporter, who was the first to talk to members of the posse, described it as thus:

“Hanging from the limb of a stunted pine growing on the summit of a cliff fronting the Sweetwater River, were the bodies of James Averell and Ella Watson. Side by side they swing, their arms touching each other, their tongues protruding and their faces swollen and discolored almost beyond recognition. Common cowboy lariats had been used, and both had died by strangulation, neither fallen over two feet. Judging from signs too plain to be mistaken a desperate struggle had taken place on the cliff, and both man and woman had fought for their lives until the last.”

rumored hanging tree

Cattle Kate

Ella Watson, dubbed “Cattle Kate,” by newspapers of the day, was described as a prostitute, outlaw and cattle thief. On July 20, 1889, near the Sweetwater River in Wyoming, she and James Averell were hanged by vigilantes for the crime of cattle rustling. Newspapers carrying the story claimed Ella was a holy terror the equal of any man on the range, and the cattlemen who lynched her acted in self defense to preserve land rightfully theirs. 

Who was the infamous Ella Watson?

 

Ellen Liddy Watson was born on July 2, 1861 to parents Thomas Lewis Watson and Frances Close Watson. Known as Ella, she was the oldest of ten children.  In 1877 Thomas moved his family from Ontario, Canada to Lebanon in Smith County, Kansas, where the family homesteaded the land. 

When Ella was eighteen she married William A. Pickell, a young man who lived on a neighboring farm.  Ella soon discovered that her new husband was not only a heavy drinker, but a violent, abusive man. When she could no longer endure, she escaped to her parent’s home. To put even more distance between herself and her husband, Ella moved to Red Cloud, Nebraska, and filed for divorce.

Looking for better opportunities, she moved to Denver and stayed with her brother for a short time before moving to Cheyenne and then to Rawlins in 1885.

There she worked as a cook at the Rawlins House for two years.

In February 1886 Ella met James Averell, a widower ten years older than Ella. He was in town to file a claim on his homestead sixty miles east of Rawlins near the Sweetwater River.  Because his land was so close to the Oregon and Mormon trails James started a general store and a tavern. He was later appointed postmaster and Justice of the Peace.

James convinced Ella to move to his homestead. She worked in his general store and cooked for his customers at the tavern.  He also thought she should buy the land next to his and homestead her own place.

In March of 1886, Ella’s divorce was final and a few months later, she and James applied for a marriage license, though it isn’t clear if they married or not.

She  settled on her land, built a cabin, and purchased cattle with the money she’d saved. She tried to register for a brand, but the Maverick Law, which was passed in 1884 denied her that right.

Basically Maverick Law said that no one could brand calves unless they received a registered brand from the state. Unbranded calves found on open range had to be branded with an M, making them the property of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA). These young calves were auctioned off to the highest bidder, but the only people allowed to bid were those who were appointed by representatives of the WSGA, and no small rancher or homesteader was allowed to bid on one of these mavericks unless they had a registered brand.

So not only did the WSGA block smaller ranchers from bidding, if one of these ranchers had a calf wander off, the WSGA would round it up, brand it and sell it to one of its many powerful rancher members.

At the same time these big cattle owners filed illegal claim on much of the land. Outraged, Jim Averell as Justice of the Peace started writing letters to the newspaper.

About a mile away from Ella and Jim’s homestead lived Albert John Bothwell, a wealthy cattleman and prominent member of the WSGA. Before Ella and Jim purchased their land Bothwell grazed his cattle all over their land and through the Sweetwater valley. He didn’t own the land, but he acted as if he did and wanted homesteaders and small ranchers off his land. Furious when Ella and Jim bought their land he tried many times to buy it, but was refused.

After Jim wrote his letters to the paper, Bothwell had his hands ride over to watch the couple. Sometimes they put a skull and cross bones on the doors or put up fences where they weren’t allowed.

In 1888, after pressure from the smaller ranchers and homesteaders, the Maverick Law was repealed. Ella bought 28 head of cattle from a man driving them up from Nebraska. In March 1889, she bought a brand from a neighbor that had already been registered.

On July 20, 1889, a stock detective and member of the association rode through Ella’s pasture and saw her now forty-one cattle, recently branded. He told Bothwell that he suspected Ella of illegal branding. Though Bothwell knew that the cattle had been on her property for a year, he saw it as a way to finally get rid of Jim Averell and Ella Watson. He called a meeting and encouraged other cattlemen to ride over to Ella’s and see the evidence for themselves.  One of the men, John Durbin, tore down Ella’s fence and drove away her cattle.

Gene Crowder, the eleven year-old boy Ella had adopted, watched as the men kept her from going into her house and forced her into a wagon.  When she asked where they were taking her, they told her, Rawlins. Gene tried to go with her, but Bothwell forced him to stay behind with Durbin.

Next they went to Jim Averell’s place just as he was getting ready to go to Casper. They told him they had a warrant for his arrest and when Jim asked to see it, they pulled their guns and made him get in the wagon with Ella.

B. Frank Buchanan, a friend and neighbor learned from Gene what had happened and followed the vigilantes on horseback for two miles to a gulch on the south side of the Sweetwater River near Independence Rock. When Frank saw them try to put ropes around Jim and Ella’s neck he opened fire on the men. The vigilantes returned fire and Frank fled for his life.

Jim and Ella put up a desperate struggle, but in the end they were hung. Since ordinary cowboy ropes were used instead of a clean neck break, they were slowly strangled to death.

Though an investigation was begun, the bodies were left hanging in the hot sun for 2 ½ days. They were buried together on Jim’s ranch. He was thirty-eight and Ella twenty-seven.

Bothwell and the rest of his vigilantes were arrested by Deputy Philip Watson. They were taken to the sheriff of Carbon County. They were all arraigned the following day and bail was set at five thousand dollars, and each man was allowed to post bail for the other.

The Grand Jury was set to convene August 25, 1889, but before that could happen, Gene Crowder disappeared. John DeCory, the fourteen year old boy who worked for Ella allegedly went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, but he was never called to testify.  Frank Buchanan also disappeared while in protective custody in Cheyenne. Ralph Cole, Jim’s twenty-year old nephew, who was visiting at the time of the lynching died from possible poisoning on the day of the hearing.

Without witnesses, the charges were dropped and Bothwell and the other men went free. No investigations were made into Ralph Cole’s death or into the disappearance of Frank Buchanan and the two young boys.

Rumors circulated that Bothwell’s men rode to the small ranches and threatened to burn them out or do to them what they did to Ella and Jim if anyone testified against him or the other cattlemen.

Newspapers began to circulate stories about Ella being a whore and a cattle rustler. Jim was portrayed as an outlaw, a murderer and Ella’s pimp, but most of the newspapers  were,  at that time, strongly linked to the WSGA.

In 1891 Jim and Ella’s land was sold for back taxes to Albert Bothwell.

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