The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1883-10-31
FARMERS TROUBLES.
The War of the stockmen and
sCNesters" in Texas.
Dallas Cor. CINCINNATI Enauirer.l

Dallas Cor. Cincinnati Enquirer1
There is trouble brewing in the grazing
districts in Texas, and what the outcome
will be is hard to determine. The rich conn
panies and corp ~orations which organized to
control the great cattle districts are liable to
have to succumb to "mob law or eztermin-
ate their opponents. To give a history of tho
trouble briefly: There has been a mutual dis
like between the stockmen and the "Nestcrs,"
as they are called. This stockmen regarded
the farmers as intruders; they hated
and spurned the men who undertook to pillow
tile sod and cultivate the soil. OF course,
the farmers, were not slow to discover this
fact and reciprocate the feeling. The great
tide Of emigration continuing to pour into
the state, the stockmen began 10 realize that
their interests were jeopardizsd. The con-
test betwon them and the farmers developed
into a strugg lo for existence. There were
concerned the large cattle companies, whose
wealth and magnitude were heralded as
oyerpowering.
Where before appeared a few men In sew
crafty now appeared a corporate body or
strong company, powerful and aggressive.
Their purpose, it is obvious, is to drive out
the farmer by rendering agricultural pur-
suits impracticable, by impeding communi-
cation, monopolizing the territory, and cs-
Tecially the water. The method adopted by
1865 "R ~ 1ANeA 49, 49, ia q
body and then fence in the entire tract. Very
often they owned but a small portion Of the
land inclosed. One instance is given where
10000 acres were inclosed, the company
proving title to only 10000. The farmers
claim an equal interest in the unoccupied
lands, and that they should not DO fenced,
except by the actual owners.
Another aggrnvation and Is
that the wire fences built by stockmen are
las1N - 1919 -
They are great expanders OF distance. Take
n pasture thirty miles square. A son living
about the centre upon one side, and the
father upon the other, would be compelled to
travel sixty miles to visit each other, although
they lived only thirty miles apart. All
these things combined to produce bit
terness, and a spirit of retaliation
and revenge, and the results II not speedily
averted will bring destruction, ruin and Dor
der warfare. The farmers, or"Nesters, "as they
are called, organized, and the wire fence is
being cut TO pieces and entirely destroyed
wherever it is used TO encircle the COW. The
cutting Is principally done in the night,
although large bodies nave been discovered
at work in the daytime. 1t is rumored that
n line-rider in Jack county was lynched
for interfering with a party engaged
in demolishing wire fences. The
stocRmen and their cowboys are
preparing for tho conflict. They are
a class noted for bravery; in fact, the life
they lead, away from society aud the in.
luence of government, soon breed a reck-
lessnsss of life that is akin to desperation.
1t is called bravery, but it is more properly
an inability to appreciate the value of life.
The rifle. pistol and knife are being cleaned
and polished, and who can estimate the
devastation, ruin and bloodshed that will
follow If something is not done to avert the
Threatened diSasterl