The commander at Fort Russell was appealed to, and a battalion was sent by him to escort the squatters beyond the city limits.
After that, the good people of Cheyenne took matters into their own hands, deciding to
"Take up arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing, end them."
A vigilance committee, that dernier resort of the order-loving Westerner of that period, was formed.
On January 11, 1868, this committee arrested three men for robbery. The criminals were bound together and placarded with the following notice:
"$900 stole. $500 returned! Thieves F. St. Clair, W. Grier, E. D. Brownell! City authorities please not interfere until ten o'clock A.M. Next case goes up a tree! Beware of Vigilance Committee!"
Comparatively gentle measures, like the above, were useless. Authority in that wild land had to be made of "sterner stuff." Not until the vigilants had hung and shot a dozen men did comparative order prevail. There was many a dark day for the well-wishers of Cheyenne; yet they lost
"No jot of heart or hope,
But pressed right boldly on,"
and gradually peace came out of strife, order out of confusion, and civilization reigned supreme.
In 1869, Cheyenne became the great entrée port of the vast regions north and west.