A Champion of the Small Ranchers

Nate Champion became a martyr in the Johnson County War.

- MARK BOARDMAN

For some residents of Johnson County, Wyoming, in the 1890s, Nate Champion had the perfect name. He was a champion of the rights of small ranchers in the area. But for others-the cattle barons-he was nothing but a rustler who threatened their herds and profits.

Champion was born in Texas in 1857 but later made his way to Wyoming. There, he was a cowboy and owned a small spread. By the early 1890s, he was leading efforts to organize the small ranchers in Johnson County. The aim: to conduct a roundup of unbranded cattle on the open range. The large ranches claimed that all the cattle were theirs. Legal authorities tended to stay out of the argument, so the barons took matters into their own hands.