The Secret Corral in the Rocks
A Whitman County stock association uncovers a hidden canyon hideout used by a gang of rustlers to hoard stolen hogs.
The detectives from the Stock Association have just unearthed a gang of stock thieves, consisting of eight members. A farmer living west of St. John recently lost a set of harness and discovered it in the possession of a neighbor. When confronted with his crime, the thief confessed and agreed to reveal the identity of his confederates. He conducted the association to the hiding place of the gang, which was in a deep hole, surrounded on all sides by rocks from 60 to 100 feet high, with a narrow entrance only wide enough to admit a wagon. Here, a camp and a lot of stolen property were discovered, including twenty-seven hogs recently stolen from A. H. Hampton. The thieves fed the hogs by driving range horses into the corral, shooting them, and leaving the carcasses to rot for the hogs. The watchers, consisting of eleven members of the Stock Association and three constables, took up positions among the rocks and awaited the return of the thieves. Mr. Hampton secured a large supply of ammunition and returned to 'the rocks' last night.
“The thieves fed the hogs by driving range horses into the corral, shooting them, and leaving the carcasses to rot for the hogs.”
This story captures the rough-and-tumble era of the Washington frontier, where private stock associations often acted as the primary law enforcement for rural property. Today, the 'Stock Association' has evolved into state-regulated agricultural oversight, but the tension between rural property rights and the vast, rugged landscape of Eastern Washington remains a constant in the state's civic identity.
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