The Mason County War, sometimes called the Hoodoo War in reference to masked members of a vigilance committee, was a period of lawlessness ignited by a "tidal wave of rustling" in Mason County, Texas in 1875 and 1876. The violence entailed a series of mob lynchings and retaliatory murders involving multiple posses and law enforcement factions, including the Texas Rangers. The conflict took the lives of at least 12 men and resulted in a climate of bitter "national prejudice" against local German-American residents in the following years. Background Cattle rustling had long been a problem for Texas ranchers by the time of the Mason County War. Organized bands frequently stole livestock but the situation was made worse by the fact that spring trail bosses were often "indifferent to whose cows they drove", picking up "mavericks" (unbranded animals) and even other brands, though the understanding was that they were supposed to return the profits to the rightful owner. Ethnic Germans had immigrated to Mason and Gillespie counties in central Texas beginning in the 1840s, largely as a result of efforts to colonize the Fisher–Miller Land Grant. The Germans often found hardship in the ranching business; though "loyal to their adopted country and government when undisturbed", they "were sorely tried by the rustlers and Indians, who committed many depredations upon their cattle." In 1860, Mason County's first sheriff, Thomas Milligan, was killed by Indians. In 1872, the predominantly German population of the county elected Sheriff John Clark and Cattle Inspector Dan Hoerster. Clark and Hoerster organized a posse to deal with the increasingly severe cattle rustling in the area and reclaim lost cattle. They soon came across a herd stolen by the Backus brothers gang and eight others; the posse captured five of the rustlers, who were taken back to the Mason jail. The captives included Lige Backus, Pete Backus, Charley Johnson, Abe Wiggins and Tom Turley. Beginning A posse member, Tom Gamel, later claimed that Clark and Hoerster suggested lynching their captives. Regardless, a mob of forty attempted to break into the jail on the night of February 18, 1875 with a battering ram after failing to get the keys from the jailer, Deputy John Wohrle. Both Sheriff Clark and the visiting Texas Ranger Lt. Dan W. Roberts were prevented from interfering with a warning they would be shot. Despite this, Clark managed to gather a posse of about six citizens