 A number of tall tales were spun by both sides afterwards in an attempt to make their actions appear morally justified.Parties sympathetic to the invaders painted Ellen Watson as a prostitute and cattle rustler, Jim Averell as her murderous partner in crime and pimp and Nate Champion as the leader of a vast cattle rustling empire, claiming that he was a leading member of the fabled "Red Sash Gang" of outlaws that supposedly included the likes of the Jesse James gang.These claims have since been discredited.