Spring Creek Raid document revealed

WORLAND – The Ten Sleep Pioneer Museum and the Red Reflet Ranch held a benefit dinner, of which half the proceeds were donated to the museum, Saturday, April 2, to reveal a newly discovered document about the Spring Creek Raid.

"The event went very well and was a wonderful time with 55 people attending," Ten Sleep Pioneer Museum Board Chairman Terril Mills said.

The newly discovered document was a letter from George Saban, one of the seven men who committed the murders in the Spring Creek Raid, sent to Senator "Bear" George B. McClellan. Details in the letter confirmed that Senator McClellan supported the murderers as reported in the Riverton News No. 14 Nov. 20, 1909 page 6, "With them were Senator G. B. McClellan and Milo Burke, wealthy cattlemen, who have stood loyally by the defendents (sic)."

In the letter Saban asks for advice and concludes his letter with a thank you for the help that the senator has already given him. "I am going to pay out my part of the expense that you have been to. And I often wonder if I will ever be in a position to repay you for what you have done for me," he wrote.

This short letter proves that the senator supported the murders. "Basically, it brings to light, 'Bear' George's involvement in supporting the raid from behind the scenes," Mills said.

The raid

The Spring Creek Raid occurred on April 2, 1909, during a time when the tensions between the cattlemen and the sheep men were high. According to wyohistory.org, "seven cowmen attacked a sheep camp near Spring Creek, just south of Ten Sleep, Wyo., in the southern Big Horn Basin. The raiders killed three men - roasting two in their burning sheep wagon and shooting the third - kidnapped two others, killed sheep dogs and dozens of sheep and destroyed thousands of dollars of personal property. It was the deadliest sheep raid in Wyoming history."

The three who were killed were Joseph Allemand, Joe Emge and Jules (Joe) Lazier.

Due to Wyoming's inability to prosecute other raiders, the murders did not have much concern with being punished. According to wyohistory.org, "The two ranchers, two cowboys and a former cowboy waiting in the Big Horn County jail, George Saban, Milton Alexander, Tommy Dixon, Herb Brink and Ed Eaton were confident that the cases against them would not even go to trial, and they would soon be released. All knew the dismal Wyoming history of the prosecution of sheep raiders. They also knew of other disastrous attempts to prosecute men engaged in extralegal activities. Those included the abortive attempt to bring to justice the invaders in the 1892 Johnson County War, wherein the governor of Wyoming was a secret supporter of big cattlemen. That case never came to trial, as Johnson County prosecutors were unable to seat 12 acceptable jurors.

"The men jailed in Big Horn County were personally aware of the unsuccessful prosecution of the perpetrators of a July 1903 raid on the county jail in which two prisoners and a deputy sheriff were killed. That conflict was led by George Saban, the same man who was one of the leaders of the Spring Creek Raid. The 1903 case against him and his confederates had collapsed in an atmosphere of intimidation.

"After the Spring Creek Raid, a few Wyoming cattlemen collected a large pool of money to fund the legal expenses of the five defendants. Though there were not many private lawyers in the Big Horn Basin at the time, nearly all were retained by the raiders' supporters. "Bear" George McClellan and other prominent politicians also supported the raiders, as did area newspapers including the Worland Grit and the Basin Republican. These newspapers harshly criticized virtually every aspect of the prosecution. But things had changed in the Big Horn Basin in just a few short years, and all the attempts to frighten witnesses, intimidate judicial authorities and frustrate the selection of a jury failed."

The only raider that was brought to trial was Herb Brink. According to wyohistory.org, "The jury convicted Brink of first-degree murder and sentenced him to hang. After this development, his fellow raiders stampeded to make separate deals with the prosecution. Brink's death sentence was commuted, but five of the seven Spring Creek raiders were sentenced to serve prison terms. The two who testified for the prosecution were provided immunity."

Saban never served his sentence because shortly after the letter was written he escaped. According to genealogyalongtherockies.com, "George (Henry*) Saban pled guilty to second degree murder, sentenced 20 to 26 years in the state penitentiary. On Dec. 15 or 16, 1913, he escaped while being transported from Colter, Wyoming (after completing an assignment on a work crew) back to Rawlins, Wyoming. They had stopped in Basin, Wyoming for the night. He was never heard from again. Despite efforts to locate him by authorities and family alike, none of the various sightings of him proved out."

The letter from Saban to Senator McClellan will be on display at the museum which is open in the summer months. "The museum should be opening around May 1 until October," Ten Sleep Pioneer Museum Director Gloria Cutt said.

The amount of money that the Ten Sleep Museum received from the benefit was unknown at the time of printing but will be used to help keep the museum up and running. The Town of Ten Sleep partially funds the museum, but the small amount given doesn't go very far. "The town helps us; they provide enough money for partial wages," Cutt said.