And your petitioners further represent that for several years the stealing and misbranding of live stock in the vicinity named has been of frequent occurrence, and has been rapidly growing more prevalent, and that stock thieves continually ride the range and place their brands upon the unbranded calves of other owners and change and alter the brands upon the branded live stock of others, thereby destroying all means of identifying the true ownership thereof. These stock thieves have, during the past year, greatly intimidated and threatened other residents in that vicinity, and have suppressed, by threatened violence, almost all opposition to their unlawful calling and occupation. Their influence, by reason of their numbers, and by their methods of intimidation, has become so great of recent years as to reach the jury box and almost effectually prevent the conviction of any person charged with stock stealing. As one evidence of this the records of the District Court in Johnson county for the five years last past, show that over 50 indictments have been found against different persons charged with the stealing of live stock, and that of this number there have been less than ten convictions. These acquittals have been so flagrant and so contrary to the evidence that the judges have deplored existing conditions and have declared it almost a useless effort and expense to try any person charged with the stealing of livestock. These thieves have grown so bold and so open in their support and defense of stealing that they have notified persons who differ with them to leave the country, and have in many instances enforced their threats by acts of violence, and they further threaten to assassinate those who have fled if they return. In March, 1892, these thieves, together with others whom they had intimidated, met together at Buffalo and organized and arranged for round-ups in violation of law and were endeavoring to execute the same when certain owners of live stock in that vicinity obtained from the United States Circuit Court for the District of Wyoming an injunction order restraining and enjoining the carrying on of these round-ups. The United States marshal and his deputies, who went to the vicinity to serve the order of injunction, were grossly mistreated and embarrassed in the service of the process of the court, and found it unsafe to remain there. One of the deputy marshals, George Wellman, a courageous and honest man, was foully assassinated without cause or provocation, on a public highroad in that county while going to Buffalo to receive instructions from the United States marshal relating to the service of his injunction order.