The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-02-15
THAT THIEVING STEER.
SAT- LAKE CITY. Feb. IS. 80.

things their own way2 THE Hermit
(see HERALD 11tb) must be one
the cattle men. He seems to |
quite WrathY and inclined TO |
abusive, because l want him to kee
his ragged steer away from my crop
He even wants to dictate what
shall eat and what / shall not ca
law or no law. Presumptuous man
l must take him down a peg or two
Most of all, should be keep hi
temper, for be who loses his tempe
loses the day.
II l lcok after my crops, VIII,
should be obliged to look after Her
mit's thieving cattle? What do
want With his cattle, alive or dead
and what ought they to want witt
my crops, growing or in stack,
should like to knoR2 OF course
know that there are three ways il
which Hermit and his cattle nigh
get my crops, in whole or in partly
purchase, by gift. or by THEFT. II ht
wants them by purchase, let hin
come and say so, like q man. II hi
wants them by gilt. he wont get them,
not all of them. He might get par
Of them, il he would come along and
honestly say be was poor and broken
down, and really needed help II he
wants them by theft, | hope be wont
get any OF them, nor his cattle either,
for l suppose he would send his cattle
for them, and still consider himself q
gentleman and a true Christian. But
can assure you that he would be
laboriDg under very serious mistake.
1t is not the true Christian, but the
bogus Christian who sends his thiev-
ing cattle out to forage on his
neighbours crops.
guess it is the cattle men mostly
who steal cattle. The honest Guilt
water is not that sort Of a man. l
certainly never stole any cattle, but l
have lost some. They are due to me
from somebody. l presume the cattle
men bad them 1t was not the time
of the year for them to trouble cult
vators, but 1 do not charge Hermit
with hooking them. l hope he is a
more honorable man than that.
Now IS to my destiny. l meyer
shot any body's thieving cattle. but I
have been sorely tempted to do so al
times. come by my beef honestly,
whether Hermit comes by his that
way or not. | Go not know about
him, but 1 do know about myself. l
come by my beef a great deal more
honestly than some cattle men con-
tive TO come by much OF their beef,
however they may manage to pick up
their pork. I am rather suspicious
of come of those cattle men, and l
think with very good cause. The
pork and beef that [ eat work hard
for and pay dear for. As work of
supererogation, also pay for some of
the beef that some of those cattle men
eat, and that is the dearest beef OF all
to me, but, ungrateful creatures as
they are. they are not the least bit
thankful for it. II Hermit owns and
eats that ragged, thieving, So steer,
he owns and eats considerable beef
that be has never paid for, and /
suppose never will pay for it, il he can
help it. Some honest cultiVator has
paid for large part Of it, and has re.
ceiyed curses instead OF thanks in
return.
Hermit errs in saying, "Cultivator
wants a law that will give him the
steer the moment be comes on his
uncultivRted land" 1 do rot cult
vate any uncultivated land. l do not
want such a law. l do not want the
steer, as l prefer its room to its
company. Ii l wanted the steer,
that would be some excuse for it
thrusting itself upon my attention
and my land, and I ought not to
complain of the presence of the steer,
but l should be like the cattle men, l
should not COMPLAIN of it. Perhaps
I should, like some of them, thank
kind heaven that it had sent me such
a steer.
II l buy and cow and plant a field,
1 ought to reap and NOW the crop,
and it ought to be as secure from
depreciation, by biped or quadruped.
as lift were in heaven. If not, then
the depredating biped or quadruped
ought to be responsible for the depre-
dalton perpetrated. I give 81 900 for
for a ten acre lot. Why should I be
compelled to pay 81, 50 or So rod
to put a fence all round it before l
can raise a crop on it, just to secure
my crop from my neighbours So,
ragged, thieving steer? Where is the
iuatice of that? Is that miserable
steer more precious, is it of more
value to the community, than my ten
acre lot and any crop that can be
raised on that Let? Virtuslly the
cattle man gays the steer is the more
valuable property. Presumptuous
man! That ragged steer perverts all
sense of justice. Away with it. that
is, the ragged steer. and so be rid Of
its demoralizing influence.
Hermit errs in saying Cultivator
"Wants to destroy what his brother
has worked for" that is, the thieving
steer. The boot is on the other leg.
That thieving steer wants to destroy
what l have worked for, and far
beyond the value of S.. give it oppor-
tunity and time enough. Cultivator
wants that thie7iDg steer to take
itself of home as fast az its legs can
carry it, or, rather, never leave home.
But that is not the policy of the
thieving steer, FOR is it the policy of
the owner of the steer.
Cattle men should take care Of
the.r cattle. Il is the cattle mems
cattle, and not the cultivator's crops,
that do all the mischief and make all
the trouble. The cultivator's crops
will never 60 and Gepredale On the
cattle mems cattle. but the cattle
mems cattle do go and depreda!e
upon the cultiva!or's crops. Hermit
wants more reason. Well here is
more reason, but | dare warrant that
it will not suit him at all. What
righteous reason ia there that the cat
tie man should not be compelled to
fence in his cattle to keep them from
depredsting upon the cultivator' s
crops, rather than that the cultivator
should be compelled to fence in bis
crops to keep the cattle mans cattle
from depredatiug upon them? That
is putting the question upon its
rational and righteous basis. To
compel the cultlvator to fence in his
crops is the old wolf and lamb ar.