Portrait of an American Rifleman: Nate Champion

In America, our national government was founded with the ideal of protecting the liberty and property of all in order that prosperity may flourish. As with all governments, men find ways to manipulate those systems of protection in order to assure their own prosperity at the cost of others. Brave souls who oppose these arrangements often become martyrs for liberty. The story of Nate Champion is the story of a martyr.

Nate had come from Texas 12 years earlier to the Wyoming Territory. He worked as a ranch hand and trail rider in the area for the large ranches and eventually became a successful ranch boss. Champion believed Wyoming to be a land of promise and decided to settle, going out on his own in 1892, operating the KC Ranch in Johnson County.

The two previous winters had been hard times for Wyoming cattle ranchers. Due to heavy losses from their herds, the large cattle outfits of the Wyoming Stock Grower's Association had formulated a plan to eliminate the smaller ranchers. The new outfits threatened the dominance of the Association and were staking claim on public land formerly occupied solely by the Association ranchers. Any local ranchers with growing herds were presumed to be rustling mavericks from the larger outfits. A hit list of presumed rustlers and other interferers was developed. Based on his dependable reputation and ranching successes, Champion had become the unofficial leader of the "interferers" and topped the list to be eliminated. The Association's powerful influence had retained Deputy US Marshall Frank Canton and a group of paid gun men from Texas. This mercenary army was known as the Regulators and became active in terrorizing and lynching ranchers in Johnson County.

On a cold wet dawn in April of 1892, Nate Champion was on the KC Ranch, in a cabin, with his business partner Nick Ray and two trappers who were lodging with them. Fifty of the Regulators, led by Canton, had rode all night to strategically position themselves outside of the cabin, which set in open prairie. Frank Canton had already made one failed attempt on Champion's life months earlier in a bushwhack and in the process lost the life of a stock detective and his own 1886 .38-56 Winchester rifle, calling Champion an, "expert shot." (1)

The fight began shortly after the two trappers went out for water and never returned. They had been silently captured by the waiting gun men. Champion's parter, Ray, left the cabin and was immediately shot down by 17 year old Starl Tucker, who liked to call himself the Texas Kid. Ray made it back to his feet and was immediately shot down again by a full volley. Reports say that Champion appeared in the door way firing the Winchester, reloading and then rescuing Ray, dragging him back in to the cabin. Tucker shouted, "By God, he may be a rustler, but he is also a he-man with plenty of guts!" (2)

The mercenary force fired continuously on the cabin. Champion fired back occasionally and by reports of the men, effectively enough to keep them well hidden. In addition to the captured rifle, he had his own .45 Colt, Winchester carbine and the guns of the trappers and Ray. Ray's wounds were lethal and Champion spent much time tending to Ray. Champion, amazingly, kept a diary throughout the gun fight. He lamented that the attackers were well positioned in the stable, river and behind the house and he couldn't, "get at them." (3) After several hours, his partner, Nick Ray, died.

The fight continued but during the afternoon, the Regulators were surprised by a wagon and rider approaching the ranch. It turned out that it was another local rancher who was also on the hit list, Jack Flagg with his son. Flagg realized what was happening and reversed course for the town of Buffalo, 60 miles away. Some riders made chase but were unable to apprehend the two who had abandond their wagon. Around 4 PM, the Regulators filled the wagon with hay and pushed it 75 yards across open ground, with rifles firing on the windows, and set it afire. There was a ravine 100 yards south of the cabin and Champion made a run for it, attempting to use smoke from the heavily involved cabin as cover. He made it all the way to the ravine and ran in to a group of six men who had been waiting since morning. Champion got off one round that never found its mark as he took 10 shots from the gunmen and staggered to his death. Deputy Marshall Canton reclaimed his rifle and a reporter traveling with the Regulators was given the journal kept by Champion. The journal was found in Nate's front pocket, stained with blood and shot through.

Over the course of the day, Nate Champion had wounded three of the Association men and bought the ranchers of Buffalo (next stop on the Regulator's ride) several hours to form a militia, which met them 14 miles south of Town at the TA Ranch. The Regulators dug in as the militia force swelled to over 300 men led by Sheriff William "Red" Angus. The sheriff requested aid from local troops only to find they were under orders not to assist the town of Buffalo from the governor, who was an Association member himself. The militia laid siege to the ranch. Four days later, 107 men of the US Calvary arrived, under direct orders from President Benjamin Harrison to immediately end hostilities, and evacuated the Regulators to Fort Russell in Cheyenne.

The day after Nate Champion and Nick Ray's funeral, a Johnson County Jury declared their deaths premeditated murder, naming Frank Canton and several members of the Regulators as their killers. Johnson County went bankrupt attempting to prosecute. No one was ever convicted for any of the killings in Johnson County associated with what came to be known as the Johnson County War. Some of the Regulators later repented of their deeds and some died by the gun. Many of the Regulators went on to long careers in law enforcement, including Frank Canton who said of Nate Champion, "He came out fighting and died game." (4)



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