Virgil Rule Rice tracked horse thieves in the snow, participated in shootouts in outlaw slums, and herded cattle with future members of the Hole in the Wall Gang.

He was the first sheriff of the Bighorn Basin, but his story has been almost lost to history.

Rice arrived in Wyoming in 1880, when he was 14 years old. He had joined his mother’s brothers, Robert and Jay Torrey, at Fort Washakie, Wyoming Territory.

By the time he was 16, he was working on his uncle’s ranch along the Owl Creek Mountains in what would become Hot Springs County.

He eventually partnered with his uncle Jay Torrey in the Embar Cattle Co., which was one of the largest ranches in the Owl Creek area and employed many members of the Hole in the Wall Gang before becoming their greatest enemy.

Nicknamed “Bones,” Rice was the Embar’s rifle range foreman. The Fremont Clipper Journalr reported that he was well liked by the men who worked for him.

Chasing horse thieves

In the winter of 1892, Rice, 26, went in pursuit of horse thieves, the Nutcher brothers, who worked for the Embar ranch. He was accompanied by Walter Punteney and Andrew Price, and the three young cowboys tracked the thieves through the snow and mud.

After their trail was snowed in three times, Rice continued alone to Casper and took a train to keep the thieves away, following rumors of their whereabouts.

The Fremont Clipper later reported: “Rice got help from the sheriff and after Nutcher left town they followed his trail; (Joe) Nutcher was located and arrested as he exited the cabin the next morning in daylight; he was immediately taken to Alliance, Nebraska, and Rice took him back and sent him to Lander Prison alone.

“A plot was planned to save Nutcher, but Rice foiled it by taking an unexpected trail and driving so fast that would-be pursuers were unable to catch up.”

The three cowboys received silver-encrusted saddles and gear from Rice’s uncle, Jay Torrey, for retrieving the horses. However, their friendship would soon be threatened when assistant livestock foreman Punteney was accused of stealing cattle from Embar four years later.

Punteney had left Embar to raise his own cattle at the nearby Padlock Ranch, but soon after Torrey accused Punteney of stealing Embar cattle. Punteney not only lost his ranch, but then fled to the Hole-in-the-Wall and joined the outlaws there. Punteny later implied that he had been forced to become an outlaw following false accusations.

Whatever the reason for her downfall, she would become a role model for Rice. Many of his former cowhands, like Butch Cassidy and Tom O’Day, rode horses and even led the loosely organized gang.

The den of thieves

Rice was not afraid to confront those who dared to steal, not only from Embar, but also from local businesses.

On Election Day 1894, the only voting location for residents of the original town of Thermopolis was at Embar, about 30 miles above town at the mouth of Owl Creek. With the exception of three men, the inhabitants of the small town had gone to Embar to vote and attend an electoral ball.

That afternoon, outlaws from the Andersonville cabins, across the Bighorn River from Thermopolis, robbed the store’s safe.

The Fremont Clipper once again reported the incident:

“The owner, Ed Enderly, put up a desperate fight, but was only defeated after being hit in the head with a six shooter that nearly scalped him. They forced him to open his safe and got about two thousand dollars, mounted horses and tried to escape.

“But here, they counted without their host. Slane and the blacksmith, who were in another house, were drawn to the scene by the sound of fighting just in time to open fire on them. A fight ensued which resulted in the capture of one of the bandits, Jacob Snyder.

“The fight was so hot that money was lost due to robberies on the road. This has been recovered. Snyder was held by his captors in the back room of Enderly’s store, but during the night he was recaptured by his friends across the river.

Rice joined the group to recapture Snyder and the men drove quickly from Embar to the slum, known locally as a hideout for members of the Hole in the Wall gang.

“Arriving in the middle of the night, they immediately posted guards and patrolled the town until daylight, then they crossed the river and surrounded all the big huts and demanded the immediate surrender of the detainees,” reported the Fremont Clipper.

“The greatest resistance was encountered in a house of bad reputation which was run there. After much discussion, all hands surrendered and, with them, Snyder who was locked in that house. Snyder was released on bail, but before trial he was arrested stealing livestock from the Embar company, prosecuted and convicted of grand theft.

American folklore inspired

The same year he helped thwart the safe robbers, Sheriff Rice married Elizabeth Lanigan, a Lander socialite. His uncle was his best man and their marriage was talked about in the region. His life seemed blessed.

However, just seven years later, Rice died of “throat complications” at a Casper hospital. He leaves behind his pregnant widow and three little boys. Tragedy struck the family when his wife was declared insane and the children were divided between relatives.

Although Rice is no longer often mentioned, his legacy lives on in fiction.

Rice’s uncle, Jay Torrey, was good friends with the young author Owen Wister. When Wister was gathering stories for his short story and ultimately his novel “The Virginian,” he most likely met Rice because they frequented the same social circles. Some believe that Rice was one of several cowboys that Wister used as a composite for his character, the Virginian.

When his book was released, a first edition was sent by Wister to his friends at Owl Creek. The community eagerly read the novel to see if they recognized any of the characters. After reading it, many claimed that a famous scene was directly inspired by their former sheriff Virgil Rice. The scene that caught the attention of the Virginian’s Wyomingites is this:

It was now the Virginian’s turn to bet or leave the game, and he didn’t speak right away.

This is why Trampas spoke. “Your bet, son of a-.”

The Virginian’s pistol came out and his hand rested on the table, holding it without aiming it. And in a voice as soft as ever, that voice that was almost like a caress, but a little more drawl than usual, so that there was almost a space between each word, he gave his orders to the man Trampas: “When you call me that, SMILE. And he looked at Trampas across the table.
Wister claimed he did not know the origin of the original story he heard told by the cowboys he interviewed. However, residents of old Thermopolis said they knew the man who said those words. They said it was none other than Virgil Rule Rice, a young cowboy and the first sheriff of the Bighorn Basin.

Rice’s old friend and former outlaw Walt Punteney later said it happened in a dark parlor in old Thermopolis and that Rice whispered the words to an impatient card player during a poker game several years ago.

Although most people no longer remember Rice, his words will forever be immortalized in Western fiction.

Jackie Dorothy can be reached at [email protected].