Back on the Outlaw Trail

It's been a long winter, but we trekked down to the San Rafael Desert this week to give the horses and ourselves a workout.  Seeing the snow-covered Henry Mountains rising over the desert is always a thrill. 

We saddled up at Granary Springs and headed across the wide open spaces toward Robber's Roost (some characteristic cliffs in the area are pictured above).  That's where Butch Cassidy and numerous other outlaws hung out when the lawmen were on their trail.  It's a remote spot, and only the most dedicated of sheriffs were likely to bother traveling that far. 

Here's the Robber's Roost Spring, where the outlaws watered their horses.  As of mid-March, it's still ice-covered, but it's flowing enough to fill a modern-day rancher's cattle tank.  The outlaws claimed the water was good enough for stock, but the gypsum concentration made it taste bad.  Humans went a little farther up-canyon to get their drinking water. 

Our horses drank a little from the new improved tank, but without enthusiasm. 

Here's an old wooden tank, now filled with sand, built by rancher Joe Biddlecomb nearly 100 years ago. 

This old chimney belonged to Jack Cottrell's cabin.  Mr. Cottrell lived and ranched there for a few years around 1900, until his wife started complaining about the isolation.  After he left, outlaws and cowboys took up residence.  According to legend, some packrats were also living there.  A sheepherder using the place for shelter decided to burn out the packrats.  Unfortunately, he also burned down the cabin.  The chimney is all that's left. 

Here's the entrance to Silver Tip Spring Canyon.  Silver Tip was an "old" (about 40) horse thief who had some white hair in his sideburns.  His real name was Bill Wall.  In the 1890's, the horse thieves got a little overambitious and stole a few too many valuable animals.  A possee managed to follow the outlaw tracks from the Green River to the Roost, and on up the canyon toward what was known as the sweet spring, later named Silver Tip Spring.  Silver Tip, Blue John, and Indian Ed found themselves in a ticklish situation, stuck in a side canyon with the possee shooting at them.  Indian Ed was hit with a bullet to the leg.  Blue John returned fire, while Silver Tip climbed the 100 foot sandstone ridge and began shooting over the possee's heads from above.  His shots came a little too close for comfort, and the possee took off running.
Silver Tip later claimed he didn't intend to kill any of the lawmen, since that would likely bring  more trouble than rustling horses, or robbing trains and banks, which was the usual criminal activity indulged in by the Robber's Roosters.  The possee, however, wasn't so sure their lives weren't in danger.  They left and never came back. 
The Robber's Roost hideout was safe once again.

Besides taking in the history of the scenery, we saw plenty of interesting rock formations.  Long sandy stretches in the Robber's Roost Flats  allowed for a pleasant gallop on the way back to the trailer.