Asa Mercer wrote the most banned and hated book in Wyoming history. The “Banditti of the Plains” was published two years after the Johnson County Cattle War and was instantly a target as his former allies sought to destroy every copy they could get their hands on.

The Johnson County War was a range war in Johnson County, Wyoming, from 1889 to 1893, and remains one of the most infamous events in state history.

The conflict began when large cattle companies started ruthlessly persecuting alleged rustlers in the area, many of whom were settlers who competed with them for livestock, land and water rights.

They ultimately hired assassins, known as the Invaders, to go in and murder local ranchers.

“Before Asa Mercer published that book in 1894, he was very close to the Wyoming Stock Growers

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