The Bad Lands cow boy. [volume] (Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-1886, 1886-10-28
I Legislation for Grazing Region.

It is to be hoped that Con gress win I
before long become sufficiently intellis
gent in regard to the public land
tenn and the eondi ition Of life and busi-
ness in the far west; to see that some leg
islation is urgently needed concerning
thaIoWnerslip and occupancy Of land ill 1
the great central grazing gone, wllers
agriculture is not feasible, and where
the only value Of the soil ais It's capacity
ef furnishing pasture I'd stock Tile
isting land laws, Adopted when Illinois
was the remote West, have little appli-
cability to Montana Or " yoming. Only
very limited areas of the Territories can
ever be occupied under the homestead
and preemption acts. for the reason that
not one acre in a hundred is good for
farming, and those acts contemplate sst-
tlement by farmers only. The stockman
is not consid dered at all. HBean do Moth
ing with the 800 acres which is ali that
heean get title to under the statutes
now in force. That amount Of land
would not pasture enough cattle to sup
port q family a single month. IT takess;
about thirty acres to feed asteer the year
round. What would the stock kInan dol;
with ten or a dozen animals as his only
resource to makeia living He cannot;
farm because the rainfall is not snffici@
ent to raise crops. He must have more:
cattle, or more sheep, and tossnbsist on
them he must use land that belongs to-
the government.
Now if the government gives farming
land in the rich prairie regions to the
settler who Will homestead it, handing
over . patent TO 1850 acres, and selling
160 more for $1.25 to $3.50 per acre, why
should it not make some equally just and5
liberal provision for the settler ia re-
gfons where the land is worth nothing
except for grazing and not more than rs
to 30 cents an aero for that use? The
settler asks no more than land enough;
to support his family as comic fortably and
with as much labor as will a quarter secr
tion in the agricultural regions. Heis
willing to buy this land. but the goyernS
ment viii not sell It. The government,
BY virtue Of its present stupid land sys4s
tenn, makes the stoekman d sort OF Bed
onin, for: II refuses to giife him The own
ership Of fxed abode where lls can
make s living for his family :s5ss3j
The cattle king. with his vast herds,
does not complain Of the present sys-i
tenn, for ho takes possession of as muci
land as he needs, turns his stock upon i'll
and employs his cowboys to look after 1T.
The small stock kman who has only d few
hundred head cannot put his little band
/ OF cattle out on the public range. ! sfor ia
q few months they would besscat tered
far and wide among the herds Of many
different owners. he cannot afford to
90 to all the different round -nps and
identify his animals. What Nc want; ;is
the right either By purchase Of rental
from the government to fence land
enough for an his needs Cd that iiIs eats
/ tie can be kept at home hnt iii great
lly needed for the prosperity off TIL entirs
4 grazing belt is an expansion of ths pres
TENT homestead and preenlpt Hun laws Il
ladapt them to egions essen tially unfll
for farming The new iegtslat ationmtgh
provide that in such sgions : ossssssas
Ishonld consist off four sections f(a5o(
aeresl, with the right of prsamptlon alit
I purchasing as much more .Ais sssitill
Il give pernsneiica stto The sto5 lndnstfs
and would make II fe ttllle Interest et tt,s
Ehssslsnsil to preserve he glaaS on iMIls "
great natufal past Die Eurth