Two men named McCauley and Clarke had been incarcerated in Cheyenne county jail on a felonious charge, and big Tom Ryan appeared before the judge at Sidney to arrange for their release.

The court was sitting, and as usual, hitting the evil-doers hard, and Clarke and McCauley were getting their share of the roast. To assail one's friend is to offend the man, and Tom Ryan took serious offense. He knocked the judge off the Bench, literally and figuratively.

It was such an unusual affair that no one thought of interfering, while Tom Ryan walked like a victorious gladiator from the room. He then went to the jail and broke it open, liberating his friends. To each he gave a gun and a pint of whiskey, and they rode over to Greenwood ranch together.

Mose Howard, now (1919) to be found around the Stock Exchange building in South Omaha, was sheriff of Cheyenne County at the time. It took but little thought on his part to know that he must arrest Tom Ryan and his friends, or attempt to apprehend them, and to do so probably meant some very brisk gun fire, with three determined men ; or that he should resign as sheriff. "He resigned.

Sam Fowler was appointed to succeed him, and Sam started for the Greenwood ranch, but on reaching the destination, he did not even hesitate. In the next few days, he rode past the ranch two or three times, but each time he "played his hunch" to ride on. One day, Ryan met a friend of Fowler's, and told him to tell Sam, that he had seen him ride by the ranch several time lately, and. to say to him, that he (Ryan) knew what Sam was looking for. "You also tell Sam that he played his hunch right each time when he failed to stop.