A follow-up to Susan Ingraham's information:
We know from history that for a number of years Nebraska's Niobrara River area was the home territory for many horse thieves, including the notorious D.C. "Doc" Middleton. The terrain made the area ideal for hiding. Vigilante committees were formed to hunt down anyone who seemed even slightly suspicious. As a result, neighbors sometimes would suspect neighbors and any little action suddenly became the grounds for accusations.
It was said that Newt Turpin, as well as other neighbors, stayed "on friendly terms" with Middleton. Rock and Brown County were sparsely settled and people had to depend on one another. If someone wanted to steal your horses, they could. If they wanted to be good to you, they could. The law was too far away to act as a referee. Harold Hutton’s book The Luckiest Outlaw (The Luckiest Outlaw: The Life and Legends of Doc Middleton, Harold Hutton, Lincoln: Bison Books, 1992) explains that the settlers in northern Nebraska were aware that Doc expected friendliness and frequently could be good-hearted in return. Hutton also described how the Tienken brothers, Holt County’s German settlers, did not have the right attitude and suffered at the hands of Doc and his friends.
