Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-06-10
moi to San Quentin. Livil

spot to San Quentin. Livil
house at such temperature, man
might even take the life of his mother
in-law. A little farther away there is
rick of alfileria hay, the natural product
of some moister river meadow, and har.
vested for the supply of the vaqueros'
horses. Such "hay" were best handled
with shovel, as it consists largely OF
| vegetable powder, though exceedingly
nutritious. The surroundings are COM
pleted by the spacious circular corral OF
| poles,
Early in the morning, while it is cool, the
Mexican and Indian yaqueros saddle their
| wiry little broncos, gather their riatas
and cow-whips, leap into the saddle and
scour away over the plains, disappearing
| from sight. Toward meridian the Chi
nese cook energies from the cabin, his
shaven pate shining in the sun and his
pigtail gayly Tapping, and with his tele-
scope sweeps the horison. If the black
specks far in the distance are moving
homeward he goes in and hastens on the
dinner. In half an hour the vaqueros
gallop up with their ponies TANKS
smoking and bleeding from the cruel
laceration of the spurs, loosen the
sinches a little, and make their toilet
with comb which is kept hanging in
the switch of an ox-tail. The casual
stranger riding up is saluted with
quiet "6uends dias, after which he
draws up TO the table, as expected to do,
without ceremony. Everything eaten,
to the gammoned pork and the cabbages,
was brought down from San Francisco
After the meal the cigaritos are rolled
and pulled awhile, then the hersdsmen
sinch and are off again like shot, while
John, sly dog, brings out lickerish NOR
sci and discusses it alone. He is not
eligible to sit at table with Greasers and
Diggers, but he has his little revenge.
Meantime, what are the vaqueros DO
ing afar off, Perhaps amusing them
selves by lassoing up the survey stakes,
to keep 1.-THE cusscd farmers" from set
Ting in the vicinity, or to annoy the rail
road surveyors. Perhaps they are pur-
posely herding their enormous droves so
as to trample down some peor mans lit
tie grain patch, his solitary hope of the
year for the maintenance of his wife and
children. The cattlelords do things that
way in the "cow counties" Lumber is
too costly TO be thought of for fencing
by any person not owning fortune.
The farmer watches his hard earned crop
| as long rs human nature can endure, but
there comes night when he must sleep.
In the morning it is field of dust And
SO at last, bullied, badgered, "pastured
out" trampled out, run over, insulted, he
| appeals, perhaps, to the first and last
| law-maker of California, the six-shooter,
and blood is spilled. Yet this Infamous
system is upheld year after year by State
| legislationi And for what purpose?
Simply that these brutal bullies, these
| domineering "ox-born souls" may mo-
nopolize the shambles Of San Francisco
with their mustang beef and cow-heel.
III these bull baiters reared valuable
animals, their infamous tyranny and
stamping out of small farmers would be
more tolerable. But, like everything ac-
climated in California, the Digger, the
mustang, the mission grape, the club
wheat Twill il be so with the AmericanD,
| the cattle are "runts." In a good year
they are eatable, but in droughty times,
after the horns and hide are subtracted,
there is little remaining, and that were
best fed to a menagerie. Day after day
they have to travel out farther from the
water to procure grass, day after day they
grow weaker, until at length they are
mere skeletons, and their instinct tells
them infallibly they cannot accomplish
the journey again and return. Then
they may be seen staggering, feebly
thrusting and fighting about the pools,
and mournfully rolling their hollow eyes
around until they go down in some un-
toward lurch, and yield themselves up to
the ravens, IL indeed those foul birds
have not plucked out their eyes before
they ceased to struggle.-Stephen Poto-
ers, in atlantic Monthly.