Background
Jack Sully was born Arthur McDonald in Virginia circa 1850.
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Jack Sully
Edit ProfileEducation
Sully graduated from an American or Canadian college and was living in Hamilton, Ontario, by the early 1870s.
Career
He was also elected Sheriff of Charles Mix County, South Dakota. During that decade, he moved to the southern area of the Dakota Territory (to what is now South Dakota) and gained employment as a cowboy. There, he became a skillful horse rider as well as a good shooter.
In 1872, Sully was elected Charles Mix County, South Dakota, sheriff in a landslide, winning the vote 61-1.
However, election observers noted that this tally placed the number of ballots cast greater than the number of people who actually voted. In his early days, Sully also caused the Government of the United States trouble when he cut timber from government-owned property to sell at the market.
By the early 1890s, the cattle rustlers had reached into Canada, with stolen Saskatchewan and Alberta cattle being found in American markets, and vice versa. Law enforcement remained unaware of the perpetrators of the crimes.
By 1900, the rustling gang had accumulated over 12 members, stolen 50,000 cattle and 3,000 horses, as well as killed seven settlers on the Missouri River.
In 1901, law enforcement forced Sully to retreat to Canada, but he returned two years later, in 1903. On an unknown date, Sully was arrested and held at Mitchell on a cattle rustling charge, but escaped from prison and eluded officers until May 1904. By 1906, law enforcement officers had forced Sully"s old gang to disband.
