City marshal goes underground, nails a horse thief

Fort Fetterman

John H. Cole was Chariton's city marshal for 10 years, from 1878-1888, but I found this account of what probably was his most widely known exploit in The Beatrice (Nebraska) Republican of June 19, 1886.

The back story is a little garbled in the report, so in order to clarify: A Lucas County horse trader named Victor Cavallin made a deal during 1885 with another Lucas Countyan, Jim McCoy, who was anxious to move west. McCoy was to drive a team owned by Cavallin to Norfolk, Nebraska, where the horse market was hot, then sell it and forward the cash to Cavallin.

McCoy sold the team instead at Burnett, Nebraska, then held onto the cash and high-tailed it for Wyoming, coming to rest in the neighborhood of Fort Fetterman. Marshal Cole took on the case and tracked Mr. McCoy down. Here's the report:

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Fort Fetterman (Wyoming), special to the Omaha Herald: An important arrest was made at the new town of Fetterman some miles southeast of this place, Saturday, by John H. Cole, marshal of Chariton,  Ia., and Charles Trumbull, deputy sheriff of Laramie county, Wyo.

It seems that a year or so ago a team valued at $400 was stolen at Norfolk, Neb., by one Jim McCoy, who subsequently disposed of it for about that figure at Burnett, Neb. McCoy was for some four years a resident of Lucas county, Iowa, before coming west, and was well known by Officer Cole, who has served eight years as marshal of Chariton, and some three months ago the latter began to work up the case.

He soon got track of McCoy and finally traced him as far as Lusk, Wyo., where he fell in with a former pal of McCoy's, who was suspected of knowing all about the theft. Marshall Cole represented himself to be a "tough," and proceeded to work himself into the good graces of the fellow by taking in the town and getting on a tear, taking care, however, to see that the man did most of the drinking.

The result was that the officer was soon in full  possession of the entire facts about McCoy stealing the team, and also learned that he had but a day or two before gone to the new town of Fetterman. Taking Deputy Sheriff Trumbull with him, the two procured a livery team and pulled  out for Fetterman, where they arrived Saturday about noon.

Leaving the driver and team some distance from the present town of tents, the officers proceeded to skirmish around among the campers. They soon spied their man, and before he was aware of it he was in irons.

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The rest of the story?

Jim McCoy was tried for thievery in Nebraska and sentenced to two years in the state penitentiary. 

John Cole returned to his job as Chariton city marshal, but two years later --- in the fall of 1888 --- succumbed to what was described as a case of "California fever," loaded up his family and headed for Westminster in western Orange County where the remainder of his life was spent.

The Cavallin family moved on, too, but Victor remained short some $400 --- the value of the team he had entrusted to Mr. McCoy.