Herb Bassett had a profitable cattle ranch that straddled Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. He often did business with notable outlaws of the era such as Butch Cassidy, Harvey "Kid Curry" Logan, and Black Jack Ketchum, selling them horses and beef for supplies. The park, as Browns Park is known, had been a haven for outlaws long before Butch and the boys started running stolen livestock through there. For decades, stolen horses were trailed through the park to thriving mining communities in Eastern Colorado. Both Ann and Josie Bassett were attractive young women, well taught by their father in the arts of horse riding, roping, and shooting. Both were educated early on in prominent boarding schools, and were intelligent and articulate in their speech, but chose to return to the life of ranching. Many accounts state the sisters always preferred "cowboying" to being a lady.