"Bob" Noleman of Alliance was secured, and the Colorado crowd had secured the services of Tuttle and Tash. Tuttle directed the legal process, and Noleman had Webb, who had been very busy condemning the procedure, ask for the writ. Tuttle had wisely anticipated that this would be done, and had put the name of Webb in the original process. Sheriff Hall told him that he was one of the parties defendant, and there was no way by which a defendant could counter with an alternate writ. Noleman stormed at what he considered the high-handed procedure, and he secured constables Gavin and Reed who served the papers. They did not take the cattle however, for they were in process of being loaded on the cars. Sterling had a Winchester, and Elliott had a big-looking gun, and while these never spoke, they seemed to be very effective arguments in favor of letting the loading proceed.

Holliday and Cochran put up a stiff legal fight for the cattle, and had some of them returned, but the lawyer's bills took the most of what was saved, for when the affair was over they were pretty well cleaned of livestock.

The Ross Murder

Cochran determined to make another raise, and turned his attention to northern Colorado. Near the state line, almost directly south of Kimball, lived an elderly couple named Ross, and their son, who had accumulated a nice bunch of cattle, and on these fell the covetous eyes of Cochran.

( )ne mi •ruing they were missing from their usual haunts, and Willie Ross, the young man, went out to look for them. He did not come back and neither horse, rider, or cattle could be found.