Adventure, August 3, 1919 — page 189: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A A WORD: from .Clyde B. Hough concerning his story in this issue: Oakland, Calif. At one time I spent a little over eleven months on just such an island as is described in this story. The size of the island, the reef completely around it, the birds and eggs and the method of obtaining water, are all statements of facts. The island in the story is a true, accurate and complete reproduction of the one where I was located.—C. B, Houca. 5) BESS an answer to the inquiry about “Cattle Kate” from one who knew her and the circumstances of her hempen de- parture. Here’s hoping he tells us other incidents of the old days of the West. Denver, Colo. Used to ramble around the map a little myself, putting in about fifteen years of my life looking for the place where the other fellow ‘‘wasn’t.” SINCE settling down I get a lot of fun out of our magazine and frequently read of men I have whacked blankets with in various parts of the West. Was acquainted with a lot of the old-time gun-fighters, who, as a general rule, were quiet, un- assuming men and the best of partners. Have been intending to write a few lines to Camp- Fire for some time but kept putting it off until in a recent issue some comrade inquired for information of “Cattle Kate,’ and as I happened to know her and a little of her history I thought you would be interested. ATE MAXWELL was born north of Des Moines, Iowa. Her father died when she was a little girl, her mother married again, and died when Kate was about fifteen. She continued to live with her step-dad, who abused her something”Shameful, until she was twenty, when she ran away {rom home, tackling one job after another, until she wound up in a dancehall. Kate arrived in Wyoming and got to running with a bunch of rustlers of which she was soon the recognized leader. I met her at her hang-out on the Sweetwater several months before she was lynched. Was about forty-five years old, with a face burnt the color of old brick, black hair streaked with gray, flying loose to the wind, a man’s coat and hat, and two big forty-fives and the grit of a wildcat. ™ Was living with Jim Avery, who, I believe, was post-master at Sweetwater, Six other hard cases made up the gang, Kate being head and shoulders the worst of the bunch, As long as she kept to or- THE CAMP-FTRE A Free-to-all Meeting-Place for Readers Writers & Adventurers dinary rustling the cattlemen overlooked her faults. Later she got to shooting cows and running off the dogies, and then the mob got busy. JN THE Spring of 1899 a bunch of twenty men rode quietly up to her ranch. The gang, with the exception of Avery and her nephew, were all away. Surrounding the house, part of the crowd covered the three of them from the windows, while others broke in the door. Both Avery and Kate were unarmed, their belts hanging on the wall, so got no chance to do any shooting. Avery quit cold, and begged, but Kate fought the whole bunch bare-handed and the boy tried to knife one and got a pistol-butt over the head and was out of it. The two were rushed out to the corral, a wagon- tongue hoisted in the air and both hung with the same rope. It is said that Kate offered to fight the entire mob with one pistol, and was still cursing them until the rope shut her off. The rest of the gang swore vengeance, and in less than a year prac- tically the whole mob had died with their boots on — FRANK L, ScHOTT) "T BERE follows a slightly different ver- sion of the passing of “‘Cattle Kate.” Both the names “Avery” and “Averill” are used. And there’s also a word on McCoy. Shoshoni, Wyo. I note in your last issue that L. B. W. wants to know something about Cattle Kate and some noto- nous outlaw by the name of McCoy. Jim Averill, who helped run the eighth Standard Parallel in this State, lived on the Sweetwater River, some time in the last of the 80’s, with a woman by the name of Ella Watson, who had the nickname of Cattle Kate. She was a courtezan and while living with Averill plied her trade and some of the neighboring punchers and owners paid her for favors received in mavericks. VERY also was a land surveyor and knew too much about the choice bits of Government lands which some of the big cow outfits had fenced up. Between these two things the hatred of some of these outfits grew to such an extent that one day when Averill and Ella were going to the then new town of Casper they were ambushed on the road north of the Sweetwater and near the mouth of Dry Creek and both were hung on a tree which was still standing some four years ago. The required coroner's inquest was held, but the paties were never prosecuted. It was a cowardly and dastardly crime. Cattle Kate was written up 179 Eomicbooks.com ) °