Girls of the Gulch

Madam of the Bulldog Ranches

By Jerry L. Bryant

               During the initial decade of the gold rush, divorce was a newsworthy item in the Northern Hills.

The earliest published record was in November 1877 when Susan Boyd divorced her husband, J.D.  A common reason for divorce was the prolonged absence of the husband. Rosa Deamond waited two years before seeking a divorce from a husband who had wandered off to find riches.

The first published record of alimony in the Black Hills appears to have been awarded in January 1880 when, as part of her decree, Mrs. Ward asked to be paid $4.00 a week. During this same time a hotel room in Rochford was going for $2.50 a day.

There must have been some mysterious laws in those days because a person could get a “partial divorce” which prohibited remarriage. It was exactly this sort of legal tomfoolery that initiated Madam Bulldog’s public life.

Several spots on the map called “Bulldog” are recorded in Deadwood area history. A ranch on the Rochford road is called the Bulldog Ranch. Near Fort Meade National Cemetery there’s Bulldog Road, Bulldog Creek, Bulldog Gulch and the location of New Bulldog Ranch.

John Joseph Erb first appeared in the newspapers in September 1878 when he purchased a ranch on Rochford Road. While the ranch was not a regular stage stop, bull whackers, muleskinners and other hungry and thirsty travelers enjoyed the hospitality of the ranch during that first year.

“The madam

still holds

the fort.”

The madam of the house ran a small saloon and was noted for rustling up a generous plateful of grub. Mrs. Erb (Sarah Ann) was known as Madam Bulldog because she kept two dogs tethered outside to prevent casual bypassers from absconding with her  chickens.

There is no way of knowing what caused marital discord between Sarah Ann and Joe, but there are strong hints that the problem was a younger man.

Other than the initial purchase of the ranch, Deadwood reporters made no comment about the Bulldog Ranch or its owners until a flurry erupted the first week of August 1879 when newspapers noted that “Madam Erb, of Bulldog Ranch” was in town seeking a separation from her husband. Her husband, more than a little concerned about the situation, had taken to following her around town, but on that August day he may have been just a little too close.  

Madam Bulldog stopped at a pawnshop, and Joe, curious about what items might be financing his legal woes, poked his head in the door. Either Sarah Ann was showing the pawnbroker a pistol or she was the fastest draw in the west. She whipped around and flashed a gun in Joe’s startled face. The published version of Joe’s escape was that he “cut out like quarter horse.”

 Reporters must have stampeded down to local saloons to find out what was really happening with Sarah Ann, and the next day they published the grist that makes their mill turn.

The Daily Times began an examination of the situation by informing the public that Sarah Ann had been “obliged to pack revolvers around in every pocket to keep her old man in a proper state of intimidation, but he had stolen marches on her.”

Problems between Joe and Sarah Ann had been brewing for some time. While Sarah Ann was in the city the previous Sunday, August 3, Joe loaded up several teams with the household furniture, rounded up the stock and lit out for Deadwood. On the way, he dropped off the livestock and some of the furniture at Ten Mile Ranch.

 Sarah Ann caught wind of Joe’s actions on Monday and left for the Bulldog post haste. She arrived at the ranch to find her husband had already sold it and when she asked about her belongings the new owner pleaded ignorance. His memory improved when the fair lady pulled out her pistol and shot off his little finger. The new owner suddenly remembered where Joe planned to stash some of the goods.

Sarah Ann started back down the road to Deadwood. Along the way she ran into Paul Rewman, officer of the law, whom she “held up” thinking that he was one of the boys her husband had hired to haul away their belongings. Upon reaching Ten Mile Ranch she used her pistol to convince the proprietor to drive her stock back out onto the road, then returned to Deadwood with them.

On Monday, August 5, Sarah Ann was arraigned before Justice Clark for stealing a pistol from Bogy’s Corral and selling it. A rather mild charge considering all the capers she had pulled in the previous days.

In her defense, Sarah Ann claimed she was under the impression the gun belonged to her husband and that she had a right to it. She was disarmed before she appeared in court, “but whenever she threw her hand behind her the crowd (would) break for the door.”

She was released on $500 bond while she waited for a decision from the Grand Jury. Johnny Mahan and Billy Mather paid Sarah Ann’s bond and townspeople seemed to agree that “the Madam is a whale in fighting her battles. She is bound to have a fair shake, or shoot everybody opposing her.”

The brief interlude between arraignment and court date produced only one short article about Sarah Ann, saying she was “one of the most conspicuous personages on the street” and the most common expression used to describe her was “she’s a holy terror.”

Sarah Ann was scheduled to appear in court on August 13, but she was nowhere to be found. Col. Dunklee and Mr. Carter were indeed worried, as were the boys who put up her bail. Her attorney, Mr. Watson, reassured everyone that Sarah Ann would arrive, “but at dark that evening she was still non est.”

Sarah Ann may not have been available for her court appearance, but she met with her husband in Justice Coleman’s chambers the next day.  It was decided their joint property would be split evenly and a separation was agreed to. As part of that settlement, the case concerning the theft of the pistol from Bogy’s Corral was dropped. Newspapers didn’t say what happened to the bail money.

In most places and most cases that would be the end of it, but two days later Sarah Ann was arrested for attempting to take the life of one John Duckworth. She was held on $500 bond and the case set to be heard by the Grand Jury.

The Daily Times asked readers if it appeared that Sarah Ann was being persecuted. By the time the case actually got to court on September 18, 1879, an additional count of assault with a deadly weapon had been added to the charges. Both charges were dismissed, so perhaps the Times was justified in thinking someone was out to get Sarah Ann.

For almost a year nothing more was heard of the feuding Erbs. Sarah Ann bought a new ranch near the Pleasant Valley area, east of Sturgis, known as the New Bull Dog Ranch. Tim Coleman purchased the old Bull Dog Ranch. Then, in September 1880, Joe Erb brought charges against Sarah Ann for bigamy and a new player entered the scene.

Galen Hill was a local hero of no small fame who stopped a bullet during a stage robbery. Hill was shot through the lungs during the Canyon Springs stage robbery in the fall of 1878. Described as a plucky young man, Hill took a job as a night watchman when his health permitted.

In the early part of 1880, Hill became an officer of the court and in September was assigned to serve a warrant charging Sarah Ann with bigamy. She was now known as Mrs. Hammond.

The 1880 Census shows 31-year-old Mrs. Sarah Ann Erb living in the Box Elder Creek area of Lawrence County and employing four men, including 20-year-old George Hammond. Young Hammond, who had made a name for himself in the Black Hills early on when he was arrested for trying to pass off metal filings as gold dust, was destined to be Sarah Ann’s new husband.

Arriving at the New Bulldog Ranch, Hill rounded up Sarah Ann and George and read the warrant to them. Sarah Ann informed Gale he had done his duty and invited him to get off their property. Gale told the couple he did not work that way and was determined to escort them both to Deadwood. George made a run at Gale and attempted to subdue him, but Gale came out on top. The three of them returned to Deadwood.

Over the next few days, as testimony in the preliminary hearing proceeded, an air of scandal hung over the mining camp. The Black Hills Daily Times stated, “All ready scandal mongers and hoodlums are smacking their lips and rolling their tongues as if gloating on the luscious and daintiest morsels.”

The Times also recognized a major flaw in the case. If Sarah Ann was divorced, how could she be a bigamist? It appeared the worst thing she could be charged with was simple contempt, so the court hearing was postponed for two weeks.

When the appointed time for the trial neared, Officer Galen Hill was again dispatched to the ranch to bring the pair back to Deadwood to face justice. This time Sarah Ann met Gale with a long barreled revolver and George “The Kid” Hammond covered him from behind with a Winchester. Surveying the situation, Gale prudently decided to withdraw “not wishing to force any lady, much less the Madam, to accompany him against her will.”

A brief article in the Times ended like this: “Anyone who wishes the distinction and credit of arresting and returning to town (the) ex-Mrs. Erb, can be accommodated by applying to Gale Hill in care of the justices of this city. The Madame still holds the fort.”

With all the media attention focused on Sarah Ann, it is not surprising that her creditors became a little nervous. Fort Meade Post Trader W.S. Fanshawe heard Sarah Ann had sold out and was getting ready to skip the country owing him $700.

Fanshawe sued Sarah Ann. The court, having recently failed at bringing Sarah Ann back to town, deputized two new soldiers of the law to go to Bulldog Ranch.

Noah Siever and Tom Faught “took to the warpath” and headed down the Pierre Road to bring the madam to justice. When the boys arrived at her ranch, Madam Bulldog treated them in a surprisingly ladylike manner. She informed them “she was very law-abiding and every officer who came to her house and acted like a gentleman would be treated as such, but no man could run a bluff on her, as she was ready to give them as good as they sent.”

Once the boys explained why they were there, Sarah Ann paid them the money she owed Fanshawe and they left the ranch with a strong feeling that Madam Bulldog was more sinned against than a sinner.

 On September 29, Sarah Ann showed up in Deadwood and granted the Times an audience. She said she had been having all manner of problems since Fanshawe had sued to recover her debt at the Fort Meade trading post; people had threatened her and attempted to blackmail her. The Times relayed her statement to the public at large: “She has no thought of leaving the country, only to move a short distance. She is prepared to stay and see it out, pay her debts and be well off when her persecutors are fleeing the country.”

 It became part of the published record that the political powers of Lawrence County considered the Erb family one of its greatest expenses during the past few years, costing the public an average of $1,000 a year.

Sarah Ann was allowed a short vacation from her legal woes as Thanksgiving and Christmas passed without significant media notice. Then, on January 19, the trial that everyone was waiting for began -- the Territory versus Sarah Ann Erb on one count of bigamy. Joseph Miller defended Sarah Ann and twelve men, good and true, agreed to disagree.

The remainder of 1881 was a quiet year for Sarah Ann. The Times had little to say about her until January 1882 when she appeared in court for buying stolen government buffalo coats.

In February 1882 an advertisement said that Sarah Ann had a large amount of ice put up at the Bulldog Ranch near Sturgis.

In March 1882 Sarah Ann opened a saloon in Deadwood appropriately named The Bulldog. The Times noted the sign for the saloon was unique and just as appropriate, with a “painting of a bulldog with the usual heavy jaws and a stump of a tail.”

The opening of her saloon probably coincided with the sale of Bulldog Ranch No. 2. Sarah Ann sold her ranch to Dow Waln, one of the earliest pioneers in the Black Hills.

On March 4, Sarah Ann was back in court, charged with having “purchased and appropriated for her own use, goods and stores belonging to the United States, knowing at the time of purchase that they so belonged.”

She was found not guilty, a finding that apparently did not set well with the editor of the Times, who wrote:

     We would not attempt to say as to whether or not the prosecution has

proved their case, nor are we inclined to strike below the belt, in this particular instance, yet we will say that if the defendant isn’t a bad woman, on general principles, then personal appearance will justify a suit against nature for libel.

 Two days later Sarah Ann was back in court on a similar charge and this time a soldier named Conroy was also implicated. She was held over to stand trial.

On March 20 Sarah Ann was in front of a judge again, this time for assault and battery, and the case was ordered to the Grand Jury.

 The final word on Sarah Ann came in late August 1882 when the Times noted she was seen dealing Stud Poker in Miles City.

Sarah Ann’s woes during the year of 1882 seem to have marked the end of her media fame. Henceforth nothing else was heard about her, at least in the Deadwood news.

Sarah Ann’s ex-husband Joe Erb also vanished without a trace.

George Hammond, who went from passing brass filings to protecting the honor of the notorious Madam Bulldog, became a schoolteacher. His name stands out in the records as a member of the Fifth Annual Lawrence County Teacher’s Institute in December of 1889.

Well, after all, he was quite young when Sarah Ann first captured him.