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 Association,” historian and podcaster Clay Gibbons said. “They were his biggest supporter with his Northwest Livestock Journal.”
After the invasion happened, Asa had a change of heart. His book was a very damning account and incriminated the highest names in Wyoming.
“Some people say that Asa did it because he had a vengeance against them,” Gibbons said. “He named names and implicated the very most important people in the state, from the governor to our senators on down.”
Robert Foote, a well-known pioneer of Johnson County, had one of the few surviving books of the “Banditti of the Plains” by Asa Mercer. He wrote a note in his edition that asked it to be returned. This book was discovered in a lock box by Jacqueline Ritchie who, after it was verified by Clay Gibbons and Kenneth Heuermann, donated it to the Johnson County Library. (Courtesy Johnson County Library) 
Asa Mercer wrote a special introduction to his book, “Banditti of the Plains,” that stated he wanted to share the true story of the Johnson County Invasion. His former allies and employers, the Wyoming Stock Association, actively destroyed the book so that it is now one of the rarest and most collectible books in Wyoming. (Courtesy Johnson County Library) 
Johnson County, Wyoming, Sheriff William “Red” Angus was involved in the Johnson County War between the owners of large and small ranches in the area. He signed Robert Foote’s copy of the “Banditti of the Plains” making the book more valuable. It was discovered in a lock box by Jacqueline Ritchie who subsequently donated it to the Johnson County Library. (Courtesy Johnson County Library) 
An extremely rare first-edition of Asa Mercer’s 1894 “Banditti of the Plains,” Wyoming's most-banned book because it exposed powerful backers of the Johnson County War, has resurfaced. It's been donated to the Johnson County Library and Hoofprints Museum. 
The first edition of "Banditti of the Plains" wasn't bound with a protective cover, so many of the rare surviving copies have been recovered to protect them. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily)
A Campaign Of Destruction
The first edition was still hot off the press when it was burned, stolen and otherwise destroyed by the supporters of the Invaders. Stories of theft continued into the 1950s and '60s, making the original edition of Mercer’s books one of the most valuable books in Wyoming.
Because so few first editions survived, it's become one of the rarest and most valuable Wyoming historical books. Two are listed for sale with different online booksellers as of Wednesday, with one asking $5,500 and the other $7,500.
Thanks to a chance meeting, two of these surviving books were returned home to Johnson County, and their historical significance to the Cowboy State is priceless.
Nancy Tabb, the historian at the Johnson County Library, said that Mercer interviewed those who were involved and was an eyewitness himself. As a result, his book is viewed as the most accurate version of the Johnson County War and was hated by those who supported the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.
“When I interviewed people in Johnson County, I heard stories that in the 1950s, the ladies would be playing bridge and when everybody left, so did your Banditti book from your shelf,” Tabb said.
A local P.E. coach tricked his students into bringing in their family’s original Banditti books for extra credit and then all 28 books went missing.
“It’s a touchy book in town,” Tabb said. “Not just people stealing from bridge games, but the books were burned and stolen.”
Originally, according to Gibbons, a thousand books were printed but thanks to the campaign of destruction, Gibbons said that he has only found 28 copies, including one copy in Scotland.
“The book was for sale for a dollar a piece, and they were offering $30 to anybody that owned the book just so they could take it out and burn and destroy it,” Gibbons said. “They did everything they could do to suppress the story because it implicated so many important people in the state and that’s what makes the book so rare.”
A Divisive Book
“It still brings up sensitive feelings,” Tabb said. “In Johnson County, we still have a couple of families that were on the invader side and several families that were on the nesters or rustlers' side.”
Rancher and historian Margaret Brock Hanson was born into a family that had been divided by the Johnson County War and the “Banditti.”
“Looking back at all the hard feelings that this book engenders, we find that the descendants of the people who were involved have intermarried and become friends,” Hanson wrote in a letter preserved in the Johnson County Library archives.
Her own family was an example. When she asked about the cattle war, her dad, who had been on the ranchers’ side, told her, “That was when your mother’s people hired a bunch of paid assassins to come here and murder people.”
“Then my Grandmother Thorn would recite the saga of thieves and murderers of the other side,” Hanson said. “I found that the real tragedy was that good people and neighbors turned against each other.”
Families protected their original Banditti’s as family heirlooms and were heartbroken if they lost their copy.
Rare Book Dealer
Kenneth Heuermann, a rare book dealer in Sheridan and owner of The Back 40, actually got into the antique business because of the Banditti.
“I was fascinated that the 'Banditti of the Plains' had different values for different editions,” Heuermann said. “I’ve been in retail all my life, so I wondered why that was.”
As he learned more about the 1894 Banditti, Heuermann said he was even more intrigued with the book since Heuermann was raised in Buffalo and the book covered an event in his own backyard.
This love of the rare Banditti has led him to opening a booth at the Best Out West Mall in downtown Sheridan selling the exclusively Wyoming rare books he had since discovered.
“As you get experience in this, you realize that it’s very difficult to tell a first edition,” Heuermann said.
When a chance encounter turned into a discovery of not one, but two of the rare 1894 Banditti’s, Heuermann was thrilled. Especially when the originals found a home back in Johnson County.
Kenneth Heuermann first became interested in rare books when he discovered the different values of the “Banditti of the Plains.” This led him to a career in uncovering and selling rare Wyoming books through his book business, The Back 40. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Kenneth Heuermann first became interested in rare books when he discovered the different values of the “Banditti of the Plains.” This led him to a career in uncovering and selling rare Wyoming books through his book business, The Back 40. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Kenneth Heuermann first became interested in rare books when he discovered the different values of the “Banditti of the Plains.” This led him to a career in uncovering and selling rare Wyoming books through his book business, The Back 40. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily) 
Kenneth Heuermann first became interested in rare books when he discovered the different values of the “Banditti of the Plains.” This led him to a career in uncovering and selling rare Wyoming books through his book business, The Back 40. (Jackie Dorothy, Cowboy State Daily)
Chance Encounter
Jacqueline Ritchie, a Texas resident, had just inherited an original Banditti from her father-in-law who had grown up on a homestead in Sheridan County.
“My father-in-law was very interested in collecting historical books and this was a book that he always wanted,” Ritchie said. “Half of the family thought he was crazy when he bought it and then put it in a lock box.”
Ritchie was on her way to Gillette to retrieve the book when she stopped at Longmire Days in Buffalo. It was there that she attended a presentation by historian Nancy Tabb and learned that there were no copies in either the local library or the museum.
Ritchie had planned to donate the book to the University of Wyoming but instead decided it should go to Johnson County where the events had taken place. She then discovered that instead of one original copy, her father-in-law had two.
Local Experts
Heuermann explained that to verify a book is an original does take time and research.
“A lot of people think that if there’s only one copyright on there, then that’s a first edition,” Heuermann said. “That’s not true.”
He has to look at all the factors, including binding and even if certain edits are in the text or not.
“Banditti of the Plains” was published by at least four different publishers, the last one of which was in the 1950s,” Heuermann said. “There are a lot of them that are marked first editions that are not.”
Gibbons, who himself owns an original Banditti manuscript, was the first to confirm that both Ritchie’s copies were original 1894 editions.
Not only were they original, but one of the editions had signatures of two men involved with the Johnson County War — pioneer Robert Foote and Sheriff Red Angus.
“Ken Heuermann brought all of his little instruments and confirmed that Red Angus was a signature, not a stamp,” Tabb said. “According to him, the book also belonged to Robert Foote.”
The other great thing about Ritchie’s copies was that they were in relatively good condition.
“Collectors don’t want a book that has been in a library and had grubby hands all over it,” Heuermann said. “It just it takes most of the value away from it.”
Heuermann appraised both books with values of over $10,000 for both their historical significance and their condition.
Asa Mercer wrote the most banned book in Wyoming. The author of the "Banditti of the Plains” had turned on the Invaders and wrote the truth about their war on the homesteaders of Johnson County. The first edition published in 1894, just two years after the invasion, then copies were banned, stolen, burned and destroyed by those who supported the Invaders and wanted to suppress the story. (Courtesy Johnson County Library) 
Robert Foote, a well-known pioneer of Johnson County, had one of the few surviving books of the “Banditti of the Plains” by Asa Mercer. He wrote a note in his edition that asked it to be returned. This book was discovered in a lock box by Jacqueline Ritchie who, after it was verified by Clay Gibbons and Kenneth Heuermann, donated it to the Johnson County Library. (Courtesy Johnson County Library) 
Robert Foote, a well-known pioneer of Johnson County, had one of the few surviving books of the “Banditti of the Plains” by Asa Mercer. He wrote a note in his edition that asked it to be returned. This book was discovered in a lock box by Jacqueline Ritchie who, after it was verified by Clay Gibbons and Kenneth Heuermann, donated it to the Johnson County Library. (Courtesy Johnson County Library)
Returned Home
For Ritchie, it felt right to donate the books back to their home in Johnson County.
“That whole area is so rich in history,” Ritchie said. “Wyoming is a very unique state, and I just felt that it should stay there.”
Ritchie did not want to make any monetary gain on the book that her father-in-law had preserved and donated the book free of charge.
“Holding the book is almost an unrealistic feeling because most of them were destroyed,” Ritchie said. “It was a valuable piece of history for the state of Wyoming.”
Tabb said that they are delighted to have the rare book in their collection at the Johnson County Library, and the other edition was donated to the Hoofprints Museum in Kaycee where it is on permanent display.
“Banditti still evokes emotions,” Tabb said. “It is an important part of Wyoming’s history.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
