Trial of a Horse Thief: Chromolithograph, 1877. Jno. Mulvany; Clay, Cosack & Company, Buffalo and Chicago. (So which one is the horse thief?)

DEFEATED BY COWBOYS

New York Times / March 22, 1886

BISMARCK, Dakota, March 22. -- A desperate struggle between cowboys and horse thieves is reported from the Upper Missouri River country, and it is believed the former are on a general raid in search of men who have robbed them of ponies and cattle. A report which reached here today is to the effect that a party of cowboys came upon a number of horse thieves in the timber on the river bank, about 100 miles north of Bismarck, and after the exchange of several shots the thieves gave up the fight and attempted to escape.

[img_assist|nid=17|title=Dodge City Cow-Boy Band|desc=Members of the Dodge City, Kansas, Cow-Boy Band pose with their instruments while in St. Louis, Missouri in 1885. Instead of using a baton, the band leader used a revolver to keep time. Despite dressing in flannel, cowboy hats and chaps, the band was comprised of professional musicians from Denver, St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City. In 1889 the band traveled to Washington, D.C., to play at the inauguration of President Benjamin Harrison.|link=none|align=left|width=512|height=412]

New York Times / Sep 29, 1898

Dozens Die of Exposure and Others Commit Suicide -- Chicago Man's Sad End.

TACOMA, Washington, Sept. 29. -- Rather than return to Chicago penniless, James Gardiner committed suicide on the banks of the Stickeen River, near Glenora, on Aug. 28. After losing his outfit and becoming broken in health through hardships on the trail, he deliberately blew his brains out when within sight of Glenora, where he could have taken a steamer to Fort Wrangell, and thence to civilization. Gardiner started for Dawson last Spring, and was unfortunate enough to choose the Canadian overland route via Ashcroft, which involves 2,900 miles of overland travel in order to reach Dawson. Five hundred men are stranded on this trail, prolonging their lives by eating horse flesh.