without having to be elected. At about midnight, the posse took up positions along a riverbank outside of town so they could ambush the outlaws when they rode in. Their plans were thwarted though when Bert Benjamin arrived and told them that Ainsley and Cravens were sleeping at the shack near his home. Because there was a risk of civilians being harmed in the event of a gunfight in the town's streets, Deputy Cox asked Benjamin to lead him and his men to the hideout. By 3:00 am, on December 4, 1896, the posse had made it to the wooded ravine, but found that the outlaws had a guard dog. Now that surprising the outlaws was no longer an option, Cox decided to split his men up to surround the place and wait until daylight to demand a surrender. Lund, Benjamin, Sherr and McClain then maneuvered through some brush to a point that covered the front door and window of the shack while Cox, Hunter, and Clarke went around back to watch the backside of the building and a small barn, where the outlaws had left their horses. Gunfight At sunrise, Dick Ainsley was spotted by the posse when he went outside the front door of the shack with a Winchester rifle in his hands. Ainsley first had a look around and then he leaned his rifle up against the shack to wash his hands. A moment later, Ben Cravens appeared at the front of the cabin, also with a rifle in hand. This was the chance Cox was waiting for. With both of the outlaws in view, Cox stood up from his hiding place and shouted: "You're surrounded, throw up your hands!" But, instead of heeding to the sheriff's demand, the outlaws raised their weapons and began firing. After the first shots, Bert Benjamin fired both barrels from his shotgun and then headed for home, apparently in fear, leaving Alfred Lund alone at his position in front of the shack. From there Lund had a good vantage point and could see how ineffective the rest of the posse's fire was, being that they were armed mainly with shotguns, which did not have the necessary range. Cravens was the first to be wounded. He was running for the corner of the shack when a rifle bullet broke his collar bone. Although seriously hurt, Cravens survived the initial shock and continued