At Fetterman they were met by a detachment of soldiers from Fort D. A. Russell, who took the prisoners in charge and escorted them by rail to Cheyenne, where they were quartered for 60 days at the fort, presumably under military guard. Instead, however, of being confined to their quarters, as other men charged with murder are confined, they were given a very loose rein. The cattlemen spent much of their time in Cheyenne, those having families sleeping at their homes, or in the houses of their friends. The hired Texans had the run of the town at night, very often, and pandemonium reigned in the West end. Major Walcott, the commander of the invaders, was released on parole, and made a trip to Omaha and Chicago for the purpose of consulting (the press dispatches said) United States Senator Manderson and other influential persons as to the proper course to take in securing release from the difficulties into which he had led his friends. State Senator John N. Tisdale, another leader of the mob, and others of the gang, were paroled and went to Denver to attend the Masonic Conclave and enjoy themselves. How many others had leave of absence is not known, but it was understood that permits were to be had for the asking. On the way from the north, and after their arrival in Cheyenne, the mob did not hesitate to publicly declare that they would soon get out of their present trouble, and then they would go back to Johnson county in force and “clean the rascals out.” This kind of talk was so common, and certain Republican papers like the Sun and Tribune of Cheyenne, echoed and cheered these sentiments to such an extent that the residents of the northern counties lived for months in anticipation of a second raid upon their homes and property. CHAPTER X. THE KIDNAPING OF THE TRAPPERS JONES AND WALKER--EYE-WITNESSES OF THE MURDER OF CHAMPION AND RAY Believing that Benjamin Jones and Wm. W. Walker were the only witnesses of the killing of Champion and Ray and the burning of Nolan’s K. C. ranch house, prudence dictated the removal of these men from the reach of the prosecuting citizens, and the supreme importance of the work demanded that the conditions of their removal be made liberal and surrounded by no pledges as to the methods to be employed. The injunction was simply: “Get rid of the lying bastards who would swear our lives away.” Accordingly, F. H. Harvey, a lawyer of Douglas, Wyoming, and O. P. Witt, a livery stable keeper of the same place, were employed by the cattlemen, who were backing the invaders, to relieve the country of the presence of these two men at any cost.