It is true that no general organization for law and order was effected
on the western side of the river. But the American instinct for fair
play and a hearing for everybody prevailed, so that while there was no
mob law, the law of self-preservation asserted itself, and the counsels
of the level-headed older men prevailed. When an occasion called for
action, a "high court" was convened, and woe betide the man that would
undertake to defy its mandates after its deliberations were made public!

An incident that occurred in what is now Wyoming, well up on the
Sweetwater River, will illustrate the spirit of determination of the
sturdy men of the Plains. A murder had been committed, and it was clear
that the motive was robbery. The suspected man and his family were
traveling along with the moving column. Men who had volunteered to
search for the missing man finally found evidence proving the guilt of
the person suspected. A council of twelve men was called, and it
deliberated until the second day, meanwhile holding the murderer safely.

What were they to do? Here were a wife and four little children
depending upon this man for their lives. What would become of his family
if justice was meted out to him? Soon there developed an undercurrent of
opinion that it was probably better to waive punishment than to endanger
the lives of the family; but the council would not be swerved from its
resolution. At sundown of the third day the criminal was hanged in the
presence of the whole camp. This was not done until ample provision had
been made to insure the safety of the family by providing a driver to
finish the journey. I came so near to seeing the hanging that I did see
the ends of the wagon tongues in the air and the rope dangling
therefrom.

From necessity, murder was punishable with death. The penalty for
stealing was whipping, which, when inflicted by one of those long ox
lashes in the hands of an expert, would bring the blood from the
victim's back at every stroke. Minor offenses, or differences generally,
were arbitrated. Each party would abide by the decision as if it had
come from a court of law. Lawlessness was not common on the Plains. It
was less common, indeed, than in the communities from which the great
body of the emigrants had been drawn, for punishment was swift and
certain.

The greater body of the emigrants formed themselves into large companies
and elected captains. These combinations soon began to dissolve