Editing Johnson County War (section)

===Early killings===
[[File:Ella Watson.jpg|200px|thumb|[[Ellen Watson|Ella Watson]] was lynched in 1889 by wealthy ranchers who accused her of cattle rustling, a charge that was later shown to be false.]]
[[File:Jim Averell.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Ellen Watson#Life with Averell|Jim Averell]], a Johnson County businessman, was lynched in 1889 for cattle rustling, although he owned no cattle]]
On July 20, 1889, a range detective from the WSGA named George Henderson accused Ella Watson (better known as [[Ellen Watson|Cattle Kate]]), a local rancher, of stealing cattle from a fellow rancher by the name of Albert John Bothwell. The cattlemen sent riders to seize Watson before capturing her husband Jim Averell as well. Both of them were subsequently lynched. This gruesome act was one of the rare cases in the Old West in which a woman was lynched, an event that appalled many of the local residents<ref name="Agnew"/> and paved the way for future events in the war.<ref>Davis (2010) pp. 73-74</ref> County Sheriff Frank Hadsell arrested six men for the lynching and a trial date was set. However, before the trial, threats were sent to the witnesses who were to testify against the aggressors.<ref name=Brumbaugh>Davis (2010) p.76</ref> One of those witnesses was young Gene Crowder, who mysteriously disappeared under unknown circumstances before the trial.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=April 5, 2015 |url=http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/women/averill.html |title=Jim Averill & Ella Watson (Cattle Kate) |publisher=The Spell of the West |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411110749/http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/women/averill.html |archive-date=April 11, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Another, Averell's nephew and foreman Frank Buchanan, disappeared from the county as well after a shootout with unknown suspects, and was presumed to be hiding or murdered.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=April 5, 2015 |url=http://spartacus-educational.com/WWbothwell.htm |title=Albert Bothwell |publisher=Spartan Educational |first=Jim |last=Simkin |year=1997}}</ref> Ralph Cole, another nephew of Averell's, died on the day of the trial from poisoning.<ref name=Brumbaugh/>

Enemies of the WSGA soon fought back. Henderson, the range detective who had accused Watson, was murdered near Sweetwater Creek in October 1890. The cattle barons soon tightened their control and hunted down those who tried to oppose them. The double lynching of the Averells was followed by the lynching of Tom Waggoner, a horse trader from Newcastle, Wyoming, in June 1891.<ref name="DavisR"/> A friend of Waggoner named Jimmy the Butcher, who was once arrested for rustling cattle belonging to the Standard Cattle Company, was also murdered.<ref name="DolsonTwo"/><ref>{{cite web |access-date=May 23, 2017 |url=http://www.cdapress.com/archive/article-5ee0c9f8-5c2d-11e6-866d-dfa9b08b3f85.html |title=SMALL, LARGE RANCHERS WAGED JOHNSON COUNTY WAR IN WYOMING |publisher=CDA Press |first=Syd |last=Albright |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015145941/http://www.cdapress.com/archive/article-5ee0c9f8-5c2d-11e6-866d-dfa9b08b3f85.html |archive-date=October 15, 2017 |url-status=dead }} August 07, 2016</ref> Range detective Tom Smith killed a suspected rustler, and when he was indicted for murder, political connections to the WSGA secured his release.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=April 5, 2015 |url=http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/wars/johnson.html |title=Johnson County War |publisher=JCS Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031171545/http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/wars/johnson.html |archive-date=October 31, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> These killings precipitated more hostilities and violence in the years to come.<ref>David Lavender, ''American Heritage History of the Great West'', New Word City, Inc. (2014). Section V. ASIN B00PJOI4MS</ref>

After the lynchings of their prominent competitors, the WSGA's control over the range was undisputed, until a group of smaller ranchers formed the Northern Wyoming Farmers and Stock Growers' Association (NWFSGA) to compete with the WSGA, led by a local cowboy named [[Nate Champion]]. Upon hearing this, members of the WSGA immediately viewed the new association as a threat to their hold on the stock interests. The WSGA then blacklisted members of the NWFSGA from the round-ups in order to stop their operations. However, the NWFSGA refused the orders to disband and instead publicly announced their plans to hold their own round-up in the spring of 1892.<ref name="Burt p.159"/>

Soon, the prominent cattlemen sent out an assassination squad to kill Champion on the morning of November 1, 1891.<ref>Davis (2010) p.101-102</ref> Champion and another man, named Ross Gilbertson, were sleeping in a cabin near the Middle Fork of the Powder River when a group of armed men went inside.<ref name="DavisR">{{cite web|url=http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/johnson-county-war|title=The Johnson County War: 1892 Invasion of Northern Wyoming |publisher=Wyoming History|first=John W.|last=Davis|access-date=April 3, 2015}}</ref> Only two were able to fit into the small cabin while four others stood by outside. Champion was immediately awakened by the intrusion, and as the gunmen pointed their weapons at him, Champion reached for his own pistol hidden under a pillow and a shootout commenced. Champion successfully shot two of the gunmen, mortally wounding and killing assassin Billy Lykins.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://truewestmagazine.com/wave-of-violence/|title=Wave of Violence|magazine=[[True West Magazine]]|first=Mark|last=Boardman|access-date=May 22, 2017|archive-date=June 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626161643/https://truewestmagazine.com/wave-of-violence/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The rest of the assassination squad subsequently fled. Champion was left uninjured except for some facial burns from gunpowder. In a subsequent investigation of the attack, the names of those involved were leaked to two ranchers: John A. Tisdale and Orley "Ranger" Jones. However, both men were ambushed and murdered while they were riding, which outraged many of the small ranchers and farmers in the county.<ref name="DavisR"/>