Nate Champion and Nick Rae

In the early 1890's, localized conflicts over resources, accusations of cattle rustling, and cattle management erupted into a shooting conflict in Johnson County in 1892. Large cattle owners associated with the Wyoming Stock Growers Association hired Tom Smith of Texas to employ gunmen to seek out and kill small ranchers accused of cattle rustling. On April 5, 1892, the men boarded a train for Cheyenne, Wyoming, and made their way to Johnson County. The fifty men, known in popular history as the Johnson County Invaders, reached the K.C. Ranch on the morning of April 9, 1892, suspecting that several alleged cattle rustlers were staying there. At sunrise, four men were ambushed, including the two trappers and alleged rustlers Nate Champion and Nick Rae. The gunmen captured the two trappers when they ventured out for water. Shortly after, Rae emerged from the cabin and was wounded by a shot from the waiting men. Assisted by Champion, he crawled back to the cabin, and the two men remained under siege throughout the day. By late afternoon, the gunmen, unable to approach because of Champion's defense, loaded a wagon with flammable material, set it aflame, and pushed it near the cabin. Champion attempted to escape and was shot and killed. Rae had died from his wounds earlier that afternoon. Passerby Oscar Flagg saw the siege at the K.C. Ranch and rushed back to Buffalo, Wyoming, to warn citizens of the attack. Two days later, 200 citizens surrounded the men at the nearby T.A. Ranch. The gunmen surrendered under the protection of the U.S. Army, and they were never convicted for their role in the deaths of Rae and Champion.

Kaycee, Wyoming · United States