Telegrams from Miles City state that Deputy Sheriff King and posse have returned from the Upper Rosebud and brought with them thirteen Cheyenne Indians who were participants in the burning of Alderson's ranch. The facts in the case are as follows: A drunken cow-boy, named Henry Talford, thought it would be extremely funny to shoot a hole through the hat of Black Wolf, a Cheyenne chief. The result was an ugly wound in the head. Returning to his camp Black Wolf's warriors, of course, wanted revenge and started for Alderson's ranch, where Talford was working. When the Indians arrived he had skipped the country and no one being at the ranch they vented their rage on the buildings. In connection with these facts it should be known that these Indians have been peaceful, that they were on their reservation and supposed to be supported by the government, when they were nearly starving to death not receiving one-fifth rations, and the attention of the secretary of the interior had to be called to their deplorable condition by the recent meeting of stockmen at Miles City. Also that Black Wolf is one of the best of Indians and that the attack on him was entirely unprovoked.

We must confess that we have no consuming love for Indians, but justice is justice the world over and any infraction we believe should be punished. The Indians knew as well as any of our readers that they would not have obtained justice by recourse to law and they took the only means obtainable to get revenge. Reverse the circumstances and let the unprovoked attack come from an Indian and the matter would never have ended with the burning of a few buildings. Talford tacitly acknowledged his guilt by skipping the country, and he is the man who should have been pursued and brought back for punishment. Because a man is an Indian it does not mean that he has no rights that a white man is bound to respect. Get at the facts in the matter and let punishment fall on the guilty alone.

The Bad Lands Cow Boy, 4/3/1884

Another Account of this story from the posse.