It was a night that was quiet and still.
From across the prairie you could hear hoofbeats coming.
A thunderous sound came out of the night,
Like a great herd of horses a running.

And who were these cowboys who were riding so fast.
And why were their faces all hidden.
A single purpose they all had in mind,
As across miles of prairie they had ridden.

When the year is 1889 in Wyoming,
And trying hard to make a living is a battle.
You just won't put up with some low down cuss,
Trying to change the brand on some of your cattle.

Now a man by the name of James Averell,
Was a well educated Easterner who came West.
He ran a postoffice, store and saloon in Sweetwater Valley.
And it's said by many that he tried to do his best.

His only mistake might well have been,
The letters he wrote accusing big cattlemen of grabbing the land.
Could that be the reason they came thundering through the night,
A single purposed hard driven band.

Now a lady by the name of Ella Watson,
Filed a homestead claim adjoining Averells you see,
The ideas that some homesteaders would take some public land,
Made prominent cattlemen as mad as would be.

Some people have said that Ella Watson
Was Averell's partner in crime.
But in her attempts to make a new life,
Her dreams were just not going to last.

The ranchers it seems, were very upset.
Because the cowboys brought re-branded mavericks to Ella,
And what about James Averell, this letter writing dude,
Was he just an innocent bystander, this poor fella.

None of this matters on this dark lonely night,
As Ella Watson was taken from her home.
She was thrown in a wagon by these hard desparate men,
After this night no more would she roam.

These men didn't just stop with Ella Watson,
They picked up James Averell along the way.
The reason this happened to this unfortunate pair,
Remains somewhat of a mystery to this day.

They were taken several miles to Spring Rock Canyon,
They bound their hands and around their necks put a rope.
And both James Averell and Ella Watson knew,
That in saving their lives, they had very little hope.

From a lonesome scrub pine on the rim of Spring Rock Canyon,
These desperate men pushed Ella and James to hand until dead.
But it may not be over yet as they would like it to be,
Ella still cries out for revenge it is said.

It has been reported by many that each summer,
On July 20th the anniversary of her demise,
From out of the waters of Pathfinder Lake,
The ghost of Ella Watson will rise.

For the arrests and the trials were for nothing,
And justice was too little and too late.
After the hangings she no longer was Ella Watson,
But became known to the whole world as Cattle Kate.

So if by chance on the 20th of July this summer,
And you're out on Pathfinder Lake don't stay late,
For you might be mistaken for those desparados,
That hung James Averell and poor Cattle Kate.

POOR, POOR CATTLE KATE,
TO SWING FROM A ROPE WAS HER FATE.
WHEN ONE END OF A ROPE IS AROUND HER NECK AND THE OTHER
ATTACHED TO A SCRUB PINE.
AND YOU'RE PUSHED FROM THE RIM OF A CANYON,
YOU KNOW YOU'VE HIT THE END OF THE LINE.

It is a sad story at any rate,
But such is the Ballad of Cattle Kate.