The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-04-23
CIVIL WAR IN WYOMING.

The presence of the military in Wyoming
will prevent the trouble in that part of the
country from assuming serious proportions.
| but in tile meantime ''un plea san tness," 10
| use the old Southern term, will prevail and
| lives will be lost. The situation is not novel.
| II has presented Itself in Kansas and
I Colorado. and there was allowed TO work
/ Itself out. Wyoming is merely going through
crisis which generally accompanies the
transition Of pasture land into the agricul-
tural stage.
The State OF Wyoming contains 600
acres. trifie more than Oregon. OF these
100000 acres have been surveyed, but only
about 100000 acres have been taken up Tor
farming purposes; the fertile portion of the
remainder is still used as a range for cattle.
For many years this range has been Occu-
pied by the great cattle-owners of 81. Louis,
Chicago and Kansas, who have pastured
their beasts on the public domain without
owning or fencing in the land they occu-
pied. During the past few years small
! tracts have been taken up by farmers, who
have tried 70 cultivate a quarter section or a
half section each And simultaneously
many COW bcys have resigned from the
service Of the great cattle-owners and tried
10 ral>e small punches oil cattle on their own
/ account Between these small farmers and
the Independent cowboys on the one side
and the great cattlemen on the other an
| lTrepresSible conflict has arisen. the latter
accuse the former of stealing their cattle,
and laying hands on mavericks, in con-
traVentiOn of the State law, which requires
them to be gathered aud sold at auction for
the benefit of the Cattle-growers' ASsocia-
| ton. The farmers complain that their
crops are destroyed by herds Of cattle,
which roam over the public domain; they
take the old ground that the cattle-barons
should be compelled to buy and fence in their
| range.
| As usual in sparsely settled regions the
| controversy has led TO violence. Men have
| been shot on both sides. Being in the
minority the cattle arons imported from
! Texas and Missouri bands Of fighting cow
! boys 10 protect their ranges; and on the
! other hand, the farmers and independent
! cowboys. who were quite familiar with the
! Shotgun, banded themselves together TO re-
! SIS the invaders, and took the name Of
! ruStlers. These two parties invaders and
! FuSt.erS-have actually been carrying on war
against each other for some months. On a
recent occasion the invaders caught a party
Of rusters at disadvantage aud killed sew
| eral Of them, wheEeupon tie ru5tler5 mus
! tered in great force, caught the murdeTerS,
/ aud would have made short warl. with them
! under DEGREES from Judge Lvnch'S court
but for the appearance on the scene OF sew
! eral companies Of United States troops,
| which took possession of the prisoners and
! are conveying them - q place where they
| can have an Impartial trial. II seems to be
| conceded ali round that nothing can save
the invaders if they are tried in johnson or
! Big Bear counties, where the rGstlers pre-
dominate; and on the other hand that they
are likely TO go free if they are tried at
| Cheyenne, which IS dominated by the cat
| tle-barOns. and iuries are likely TO feel The
| persuasive effects OF money.
The equities of the case would seem TO be
| with the rustlers. No man can acquire, by
| squatting on the public domain, any rights
As against bnna-fde purchasers Of portions
| OF that domain for purposes Of agriculture,
| Caitlemen and sheep-raisers can only oc-
| cupy land in public ownership by federation
and until the land is wanted for more use
tui purposes. In Australia sheep-raisers
| have to pay for their sheepwalks, and,
doing so, they have 4 good title against set
| tiers. But the cattlemen Of Wyoming
| neither pay for the land they use nor allow
settlers to use it to grow crops on. Again,
1t is very serious business for one party to
a land controversy to import mercenaries
from another State to carry on war against
the other party. Americans do not take
kindly to the Hessian business. Bloody
ARRAYS are often unavoidable in contests Of
title to mines or land; but the contestant
| who hires foreign mercenaEies to do his
fighting may be certain that he will forfeit
| public sympathy. 1t is the business Of the
United States Government to carry on the
wars which are waged on American terri
tory; the people would not justify the
Government in transferring that business
! to other hands