persuading the railroad party to delay their actions until a pending court case could be resolved. However, there was bad blood between Crow and Harris, and Hartt had previously threatened to kill any "sandlappers" (a derisive term for homesteaders, equivalent to the modern day "redneck"), and an argument broke out between them. Harris and Hartt simultaneously opened fire at each other. Crow, a skilled marksman who was armed with a shotgun, singlehandedly killed or wounded most of the settlers' party. After the initial exchange of gunfire ended, Crow fled the scene, but was shot in the back about away by an unknown assailant before he could reach safety. Poole and Clark did not participate in the battle and left immediately after the incident, possibly defusing tensions enough to avoid further bloodshed. List of involved persons Marshal's group Alonzo W. Poole, U.S. Marshal William H. Clark, railroad land grader Walter J. Crow, settler (killed) Mills Hartt, settler (killed) Settlers' group James N. Patterson, leader of the group William Braden B. S. Burr James Harris (killed) Edwin Haymaker (died of pneumonia soon after and was considered a victim of the fight) John E. Henderson (killed) Daniel Kelly (killed) Iver Knutson (killed) Archibald McGregor (killed) W. L. Morton Wayman L. Pryor John D. Pursell Aftermath Afterwards, seventeen people were indicted by a federal grand jury and five were found guilty of willfully interfering with a marshal in performance of his duties (Braden, Patterson, Pryor, Purcell, and John J. Doyle, a leader in the Settler's League). They were convicted in federal court (with Judge Sawyer presiding) and sentenced to eight months in prison and fined $300 each. Their time spent in imprisonment was hardly difficult. Three of the men's wives were allowed to live with them, and Susan Curtis, daughter of one of the jailers, fell in love with and later married Braden. Upon their release in September 1881, they were greeted by a joyous crowd of 3,000 in Hanford. Such was the anti-railroad sentiment that the five were looked upon as heroes by many across California, and those killed were considered martyrs who had given their lives for a cause. Nevertheless, the affair brought such a shock that people were sobered. The legal battle had been lost, the railroad had won, and there was not enough public support for changing the policy of granting public lands to railroads. The only concession SP made