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Hole-in-the-Wall
This quiet ranching country belies its infamous early days
By NEAL BLAIR
Our object was to obtain photographs and a story on Johnson County's famed Hole-in-the Wall country. Getting to the "Hole" itself was the reason for the horses and Warden Backer reckoned that rancher Taylor was a good bet for a story how right he was. Garvin, himself, was one of those rugged, colorful characters that one so often meets among true outdoors-men. He had spent a lifetime outwitting the elements and was proud of his heritage and the history of the area. One story led to another and he told jokes on himself and his neighbors with equal relish.
Garvin owns and operates the Blue Creek Ranch, the first place to the south and along the foot of the mountain after passing through the Beaver Creek gap in the wall. Garvin's great-uncle, Jim Stubbs, bought the Blue Creek Ranch from Butch Cassidy, leader of the "Wild Bunch" at a community dance one night in the the reservation.
People around Barnum figured Rap must be "all right" if Cassidy had trusted him like that, and the little mixed-blood stayed on and became a permanent part of the community.
The story of JohnsonCounty is rich in exciting history and drama. The Hole-in-the-Wall, in the southwestern part of the county has certainly contributed its share of drama. The Hole-in-the-Wall is about 25 miles west of Kaycee and just south of the old Barnum community.
The valley of the Hole-in-the-Wall is one of nature's rare beauty spots. The eastern rim is a sheer red-rock cliff extending north and south for approximately 50 miles. On the west the valley is bounded by the southern end of the Big Horn Mountains. The green of the valley floor presents a contrast of color that makes the red cliffs seem more red and the mountains more blue than ever. The summer of 197(5 had been exceptionally benevolent to the area with a good rain.that laid low in the valley behind the red cliffs. The name itself stems from a natural gap in the rocks on the Murphy Creek trail.
The trail originally belonged to the buffalo, the wolf and the Indian. After the Indians, wolf trappers were the first into the valley. The Murphy Creek trail was a natural wolf run. It was also a "natural" for the wolfers. These men at first referred to the valley as "the country behind the wall," then the trail leading out through the "Hole" as "Murphy Creek Gap."
About 1880 the big cow outfits began pushing cattle into the red-wall country and some of these were trailed in over the rugged Murphy Creek trail. It wasn't long until rustlers found they could slip a few cows at a time up Murphy Creek, over the wall through the Hole and effectively hide them in the myriad of canyons along the slope or in the box canyons of the red wall. After the cattle were put through the hole a few rocks could be thrown in the gap
actively blocking the trail. This same ruse was used to separate cows and calves. Cows with big calves at side were trailed in through the hole. The calves were cut out and the cows pushed back out onto Murphy Creek. With the blocked trail the calves were confined behind the wall to be weaned and branded.
It wasn't long until a few rug ged individuals began to stake homesteads behind the wall. Any homesteader, no matter how honest, was suspect by the big cow outfits. A common practice in those days, among the big outfits, was to burn their brand on any unbranded, unclaimed calves on their range. A few cowhands deducted that they might just as well be putting their own brand on some of these "mavericks" as that of their employer's. Actual rustling was only one small step from this mavericking.
Some notorious rustlers were hands that had been blackballed by the big ranchers. Horses and cattle were the only thing they knew, ranching was their lives, so they naturally turned to making a living as best they could with the tools and knowledge they possessed. Then, there were those who stayed outside the law for the sheer excitement of outwitting their fellow men. The cow business legal or illegal has never been an easy occupation, but it is a way of life many westerners wouldn't trade for all the tea in China.
Few of the big outfits had money invested in land and none of them fenced any rangeland. The range was unsurveyed and no one possessed a title to land. The big ranchers (most of them absentee owners) felt secure. Then, before most of these absentee owners realized what was happening the "little" cowmen and ranch hands began filing on the most advantageous watering places and fencing in small areas. Some began taking advantage of the laxness of the big operations and a long rope was all that was needed to get into the cow business. By now, an intense feeling of resentment was building up against the luxurious living and free spending out siders those foreigners who had never seen the rough side of range life and had no lawful hold on the range.
The big cowmen retaliated whenever they could. They couldn't combat the severe storms and hard winters, such as that of 1886, and droughts took a toll, too. But they could lash out at the little cowmen and homesteaders who so persistently made inroads into their domains. Trouble was brewing and the final showdown came in 1892, but that is another story.
Rangeland sense of justice seemed harsh and sometimes perÂverted to outsiders. As has always been the case all through human history, men beyond the frontier of organized and polished society have meted out justice as they saw it among themselves. Many times, the offender upon realizing the mood of his peers was party to even more severe restitution than originally planned.
People behind the wall still tell of just such a case. A young puncher, nobody knows who he was, had committed some dastardly, cowardly act. As he was quite young and his offense was not directed toward anyone in particular it was decided that he would be given a 50-50 chance of surviving and making a start somewhere else. He could leave the country on the worst outlaw horse in the area and the Blue Creek Ranch had just the horse. Not even a coward liked to be considered cowardly and the kid was a good rider, so he jumped at the chance. After all, he didn't have much choice in the matter.
Instead of a bridle the kid put a hackamore on the outlaw, saddled him and climbed aboard. The old bang-tail headed toward Jupiter and hit the ground on stiff legs, one leg at a time. About the third jump the kid reached down and grabbed a short rein on his hackamore and jerked the old pony's head around hard. The horse went end over end in a cloud of red dust. The boy was still in the saddle when his horse came up and lit running. Everyone noticed that the kid was hanging limply over the horse's neck. After the outlaw winded himself and the judge and jury caught up to him, they found the boy dead in the saddle, both spurs firmly caught in the cinch. They built a crude coffin and buried the kid under the red wall.
No tale of the Hole-in-the-Wall country would be complete without mention of the outlaws harbored there. Of all the "bad men" who passed through the valley or made it a regular hideout, probably the best remembered are Butch Cassidy and his "wild bunch." Cassidy had organized the most far-reaching chain of outlaws since the James Boys. Their activities ranged from Mexico to Canada and from Oregon to Minnesota.
Cassidy's bunch stole horses, rustled cattle, held up trains and stagecoaches and robbed banks and post offices. Nearly every community where they ever pulled off a job has its legend of buried Cassidy treasure. But the truth is, most of their activity was not that lucrative and they spent money lavishly as they went. Most of the bunch were likeable, friendly fellows who left no personal enemies behind the red wall.
There were other famous people, besides outlaws, who lived behind the wall. For instance, Owen Wister stayed with the Tisdales over at the TTT Ranch. Some of the notes he jotted down while there provided the background for The Virginian. He wrote Lin McLean while staying in a cabin at the old Riverside post office. Wister also lived for a time at the Blue Creek Ranch observing western life in the raw.
Today the Hole-in-the-Wall country is still ranch country unspoiled by industrial development or heavy tourist activity. Everyone still has time to stop a spell and pass the time of day with his neighbor. (googlebook)
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