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Show proceedings as these, and the wealth and social standing of the parlies do not palliate thoir lawlessness. The Wyoming editors who ate excusing the big cattlemen on the gronud that suaail ranchers and rustlers have been guilty ot wrongdoiogand bratdin maverick-, would serve tho commonwealth better by demanding that lawlesent'ss te punishtd, by whomsoever coni'jiitUd, and by urging the officia's to maintain the authority and dignity ot the law." , THE CIVIL WAR. Johnson county, the seat of war, is one of the northern counties of Wyoming Wyom-ing and the chief executive officer is Sheriff Augus. Whether cattle were or were not stolen froui the herds of the cattlemen, the latter element had no right to import hired atisassini from Colorado to drive thiovera or settlers out of any couufy. Their purposes must have been well known to Governor Barber, for the covtboy invtders had to pass through or close to his capital, through several other counties and were heavily armed. At best it exposes a rotten government and, if the truth is known, the governor will bi found to have aided and abetted the invasion, judging from the stamp and standard of ! hose who did take the field in person. per-son. While this journal differs from the Herald, wherein it expresses the opinion the cattlemen at this time ought not be turned over to Sheriff Angus, the strictures that journal so forcefully places upon the invaders are to the point.. This Sentinel can see no valid -eason why these invadors should not at once be surrendered for trial. Is there a law for the poor friendless wretch who kills a fello v being, and another for the rich who band together to crash, drive out and murder a few poor devils who are trying to build themselves homes? They have violated the peace of Johnson county, let them there be visited ith their punishment. Aside from this The Herald's remarks sre eo ciearly right this journal put-lis! put-lis! es them in lull- "Of course the Wyoming cattlemen who are nuder the protection of the military ought.not to be surrendered to Site; iff Augus, of Johnson county, at this time. The sheriff Is perleetly right in making a demand tor the prisoners. The law is with him. The cattlemen have violated the laws within the states of thesheriff's jurisdiction. The offense is against Johnson county, of which he is the executive officer whose duty it is to act in such cases to apprehend the offenders and bring them to justice. It is a case which does not concern the Uhited States. The federal troops ought never to have been asked to interfere, inter-fere, and when they were appealed to by the governor, the state was belittled a..d disgraced. This cannot be wiped out by all tnat can be said in behalf of the executix'c, who has demonstrated his incompetency and brought shame upon as brave and proud a people as can be found within the borders of the republic. He has proclaimed to the world that Wyoming is incapable of self-government and said that the state is uneqial to the task of enforcing the laws and maintaining order. "However, we say that whilst Sheriff Angus is right in demanding the surrender sur-render of the men whose custody legally belongs to him, the military is right in refusing compliance. There are some laws on obedience to the strict letter of which wonld be wrong, and this seems to be one of these occasions. In the.pree-ent the.pree-ent state of popular feeling in Johnson county, the surrender of the prisoners would be equivalent to turning them over to the merciless hands of lynchers. Such a thiugasa fair trial would be out of the questiou. Iudeed, nobody believes that the cas would be carried so far as to observe the forms of a trial . The people are so indigntnt over outrage out-rage put upon them, aud so deeply incensed in-censed at the prisoners that they would nut wait the proceises of law, but would sho-.t dowj. or string up the cattlemen in very short order. The law cf humanity should prompt the military authorities to protect the prisoners untii they can surrender them to a civil authority which will give reasonable assurance of affording protection to them. The mistake having been made of calling on the troops, the wrong will have to be continued a little further in older that a great crime may be aoided. "In this connection it may be remarked re-marked that those papers which are finding defense and excuse for the cattlemen cat-tlemen are treading upon mighty dangerous dan-gerous domain. H doesn't help matters in the least that the cattlemen are rich, respeotable, and influential. Ia this instance they are the guilty parties. Without semblance or authority of law they orgniZ"d au armed force and. going iuto ths county began a war of extermination, exter-mination, shooting down citiz3ns, burning burn-ing houses and doing what they could to drive out the inhabitants. If they had not been resisted and speedify. checked a good many murders would have been laid at their dour, and Johnson John-son county teen depopniattd as to all save such persons as the cattlemen per-1 niitted to remain. We sav it is mighty bad business to attempt to justify such ' |
