Trans-Pecos had been running into unexpected difficulties while trying to complete its line across the Drifting Sands country. Besides the ordinary hazards of laying track across that wild section of West Texas, it had had to contend with Slash Hanlons outlaw gang. The last two payrolls had been held up, and the workers at Eagle Camp at the end of the tracks had quit work and were threatening to riot if they were not paid.
