“Sec. 26. It shall be the duty of all persons shipping estrays at once upon the sale thereof to remit to the secretary of the live stock commission the proceeds received for each and every estray, the ownership of which shall be unknown to the inspector to whom a receipt for the same was given. If any inspector shall at any time sell an estray shipped from this state, he shall immediately remit the proceeds thereof to the secretary of the live stock commission. “Sec. 29. The secretary of the live stock commission, upon satisfactory proof of the ownership of any estray sold, as above provided, and for which he has received the money, shall pay such owner the amount received from the sale of such estray or estrays; Provided, That such ownership shall be proven within one year after the publication of the notice of sale of said estray or estrays, as above provided. Proof of the ownership shall be by affidavit of the owner with at least one credible corroborating witness.” Just where the extra judicial power conferred upon the board is given is difficult to see in the above. Yet, it has been freely exercised. This plan, while it worked a great hardship upon many innocent people, did not deter the settlers from attempting to raise and ship cattle to market. Failing in this, more heroic methods were adopted, as delineated in Chapter II. Still unsuccessful in gaining control of the rich valleys of the north, a large number of prominent stockmen met in Cheyenne in the early winter of 1891-2 and presumably agreed upon the invasion as later planned in detail. Money was a prime necessity and a subscription paper was circulated among all the stockmen of the state, who were believed to be in sympathy with the movement, and it is said by some who saw the list, that nearly a hundred thousand dollars was subscribed to this “Extermination Fund,” if we may coin an expression to fit. The cash being provided for, the next thing in order was to gather in the leaders and see upon what ground they stood. True, a good many ranchmen refused to contribute and be a party to the proposed outrage, but enough, in the opinion of the inner circle of plotters, had been committed to force the others into line. The three members of the Wyoming Board of Live Stock Commissioners, J. W. Hammond, W. C. Irvine and Charles Hecht, state officers, were in the city most of the winter. Frank Walcott of Glenrock, came in about or soon after the holidays, and several other leading stock raisers from various parts of the state and from the East were frequently seen in the city. These, in connection with several cattlemen domiciled in Cheyenne, made a large list of interested parties to work for a common end.