The Banditti of the Plains
Encyclopedia
Asa Shinn Mercer
Asa Shinn Mercer was the first president of the Territorial University of Washington and a member of the Washington State Senate....
. It is an account of the Johnson County War
Johnson County War
The Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River, was a range war which took place in April 1892 in Johnson County, Natrona County and Converse County in the U.S. state of Wyoming...
in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, United States.
Mercer's unique view
It is written from the unique perspective of Mercer, who had come to WyomingWyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
to edit the North West Live Stock Journal, the official publication of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association
Wyoming Stock Growers Association
The Wyoming Stock Growers Association is a historic American cattle organization created in 1873. The Association was started among Wyoming cattle ranchers to standardize and organize the cattle industry, but quickly grew into a political force that has been called "the de facto territorial...
(WSGA), which represented the monied interests intent on controlling the cattle industry. As the events of the range wars unfolded, Mercer came to sympathize with the homesteaders and turned against the WSGA. The book reflects his pro-settler view, and is an important document of the events.
A banned book
The first edition of this book is one of the rarities of western Americana. Immediately after printed, the Wyoming cattlemen objected and sued. The court ordered it destroyed. While the books were in the court's custody, a number were stolen and smuggled to Denver and later bound. For many years, the Wyoming Stockgrowers' Association, their sympathizers, and their descendants destroyed every copy they came across. Surviving copies are generally valued at over $USD 5000. The second edition simply disappeared somewhere between Denver, ColoradoDenver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
and the Wyoming Stock Growers Association was rumored to have hijacked and destroyed the second printing as it was being shipped.
How Mercer paid
Mercer saw his printing press in CheyenneCheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
burned down; he was harassed, arrested, jailed and had the plates of his book destroyed. His writings were seized in the mails as obscenity; his business was ruined.
Vindication
Mercer made mistakes later history rectified. But his main views of the Johnson County WarJohnson County War
The Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River, was a range war which took place in April 1892 in Johnson County, Natrona County and Converse County in the U.S. state of Wyoming...
were ultimately proved true, and never again did the cattle baron
Cattle baron
A cattle baron is a historic term for a person who possessed great power or influence, generally as owner of a large ranch and many cattle, specifically beef cattle. A cattle baron in the United States was sometimes called a cowman or a rancher...
s attempt to invade Wyoming.