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Cattle rustling and horse stealing were common offenses in Garfield
County in the early nineties (1890's), as well as in other parts of
Eastern Washington. The vigilante days were on the wane at that
time, and while many offenders were detected and punished, a goodly
number were never apprehended.
A bold gang of rustlers was organized, apparently in Dayton, in the
early nineties and operated successfully for a considerable time, though
beef steers were selling for ten to fifteen dollars per head. One
member of the gang, George Young, established a slaughter house on the
Patit Creek above Dayton, and operated a market in Dayton. Cattle
were stolen by other members of the gang in Garfield, Columbia, and
Asotin Counties, and many of them were taken to Young's slaughterhouse,
where they were butchered, their hides, bearing the brands of the
rightful owners buried, and their meat sold at Young's shop. Young
was finally caught, convicted and served a term of time at the
penitentiary. He failed to implicate any of his associates.
In the summer of 1894, Billie Lloyd, Bud Pettijon, Chan Taylor and John
Long made arrangements to deliver a car-load (rail car) of cattle to a
ranch on the Tucanon. Lloyd, Pettijon, and Taylor were seen
driving 30 head of cattle belonging to an Asotin rancher toward the
Tucannon. The following is the account of Deputy Allen of Columbia
County describing the capture and arrest of these men, as it appeared in
the Columbia Chronicle:
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company with the sheriff of Garfield County, two deputies, and
four citizens, we went to a place at the head of the Alpowa, as
we expected the gang to come along that evening. They did
not appear, but last evening just as we had finished supper
Lloyd and Pettijon came riding along. Knowing Lloyd well,
I called him by name, told him to throw up his hands and
consider himself under arrest. He pulled his gun, dropped
over on the other side of his horse and commenced shooting.
We fired three shots at his horse, and he started to run, firing
at me continuously. Pettijon also dismounted and started
to run, firing at the other officers. Twice Lloyd came
near hitting me, shooting once under my left arm, and once just
to the right-making this hole."
Here Allen
pointed to two holes in his left pantaloon leg, just below the
knee. One bullet made both holes and cut the
underclothing, but did not touch the flesh. Allen
continued:
"After
a 200 yard chase, Lloyd and Pettijon surrendered. Lloyd
had two flesh wounds, below and above the left knee.
Pettijon was shot twice with a Winchester in the left thigh.
The wound is a bad one and the leg will probably have to be
amputated. None of the officers were hit. We then
went on down the canyon several miles and captured Chan Taylor,
another of the gang who was driving the cattle. I rode
alongside of him and shoved a pistol under his nose. He
saw there was no chance to escape and threw up his hands.
We took the prisoners to Pomeroy, where they could receive
medical attention. In addition to the 30 cattle from
Asotin, they had stolen another 30 head which they were
driving." |
Judge
M.F. Gose of Pomeroy was employed to conduct the prosecution of the
rustlers. Lloyd was tried and convicted at Asotin in April of 1895
and was sentenced to serve three years in the penitentiary. Chan
Taylor entered a plea of guilty at the same term of court and was given
the same sentence. Pettijon was tried at the same term and,
strange as it may seem, was acquitted. Since he was crippled for
life by his wounds, from which he nearly died and had served several
months in jail, perhaps the jury concluded he had been sufficiently
punished.
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