Dorsey acquired much of the money for the house through corrupt mail contracts, giving him the nickname of Star Route Stephen. In 1881, President Chester Arthur ordered the prosecution of Dorsey and eight accomplices. However, the trial in Washington, DC resulted in a hung jury. Dorsey ran his Mountain Spring cattle ranch, using his famous Triangle Dot brand, content to be on the ranch because "my cattle do not vote." In the late 1880s he established the nearby town of Clayton, New Mexico, which he named for his son Clayton. Dorsey attempted to become a leader of the Republican party in New Mexico, but his debts and lawsuits thwarted his ambitions.
