Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1892-04-30
THE WYOMING CATTLE WAR.

who was governor of Wyoming under
the administration of President Cleve-
land, writes to the Kansas City Star in
regard TO the Wyoming cattle troubles
as follows:
| The trouble dated back twenty years 10 the
| time when the Indians with their red blankets
| and herd OF buffaloes covered the plains and
| hill sides. As the Indians were driven back
| and the buialoes killed. the white man stepped
| in and stocked the plains with domestic cattle,
| or rather with the wild cattle from Texas,
which they improved By the introduction OF
splendid shorthorn and Hereford bulls. The
Indian was no longer factor and the buffalo
| was extinct. The cattcmen ruled the country
md the cowboys were IN Improvement upon
the Indians just rs their cattle were an i'm
| provement upon the buffaloes.
This. then. was the first step In the civiliZa-
| ton OF Wyoming, hut II was only step and as
| the Indians claimed oil the lands by inheritance
80 the cattlemen claimed all the lands by virtue
OF conquest and discovery, rs they said, and
coolly proceeded TO parcel out the public do
main for their own purposes occupying oil the
streams and taking possession OF MI the water
ways to the exclusion OF any agricultural set
Element And here Is where the conflict began.
, Wyoming is very dry country and there can
| be no settlements OF any moment back from the
streams. To take possession OF the streams
| was the far seeing, intelligent but unlawful work
| of the cattle companies. They very rarely dis
puted among themselves touching locations, but
were combined against outsiders. They were
| loyal 10 the cattle interests and loyal to them
selves and every company had its particular
brand for the cattle and named its ranch after
| the cattle brand, hence the I. A. ranch, the
| Crossbar ranch. the Flat.iron ranch, the Two.
| bar ranch, the Halfcircle ranch, the Goose-egg
ranch and so on The home ranches, rs they
were called, were far apart and the cowboys,
with light colored sombreros standing collars
and buckskin lcggins, astride OF their game
| little prancing ponies, with clanking spurs
dangling from their high-heeled top boots, be-
| spangled ut the top with silver stars and
pointed at the toes like French dancing
masters, were cocks OF the walk" sure enough
| The cattle business was very profitable for
many years, and men who had been poor soon
became very rich and began forming syndicates
and large stock companies, composed Of many
of the wealthy and leading men Of the east.
with o large sprinkling OF leading politicians OF
both parties. for the cattlemen understood the
value Of having friends In court, so TO speak.
Many foreigners were interested in large ranch
es, but in almost every instance the original
cattlemen became managers Of the new com.
panies at princely salaries and built themselves
palatial residences in Cheyenne, Laramie City
and other places, only going out TO the ranches
two or three times year, thus leaving the
foreman and his crew ut each ranch complete
masters OF all they could survey, and they
grasped the situation and loved the power.
Was II any wonder that these now cattle
barOns began to look around for the complete
possession and ownership OF all the land I'D
joining the streams, so that they might per-
petuate and hold their power like the barons OF
old?
Under the desert claim act OF congress every
cowboy entered up quarter section OF land for
his master, ana every master and his wife and
all their relations back through Ohio, Pennsyl-
vnnia, New Jersey. New York and all the New
England states made desert claim entries and
dumped them into syndicate pools, thus rob-
bling the United Stotes, and making II impossi-
BILE for any agricultural settlement 10 even make
beginning. There they then began TO fence
them in with wire fences. Some cattle COM
panies had hundreds OF miles OF wire fences,
inclosing all the government lands on both sides
OF the water courses to the complete exclusion
OF any settlement. They then became land
barons us well as cattle barons, and any at
tempt to locate upon their domain, although IL
was government land subject to entry for home
stead, presumption and other purposes. was
met by charge of cowboys and the half dozen
head OF cows and calves the small holding OF
the poor homeseeker, were gone forever.
The cry went up from these small ranchmen
thus driven out and President Cleveland and
Secretary Lamar took hold OF the matter, re-
moved the territorial officers and ordered the
fences torn down. and down they came. Old
fence wire was very cheap for sometime after.
This was the first CLEAN OF daylight for the
bona flde former settlers, and they began TO get
q foothold on firm, lawful ground, which they
have kept ever since Small farm ranches
can now be seen on many OF the smaller
streams, and there Is some cultivation.
This was gall and NORWOOD 10 the cattle
syndicates and land barons now fenceless,
and the festive cowboy hooted and spurred,
with brace OF rCvolvers strapped 10 his side,
could not break the right OF hay making and
potato planting. To him blowing was mental
and degrading work and hay.making disgrace
full With this feeling OF contempt on the part
OF the cowboys for agricultural labor, II was
not diffcult for the cattle kings TO keep the ad-
venturous settlers on the jump until they
shook the soil OF Wyoming from their feet.
The cattle lived upon the grasses summer and
winter, and the grass is OF such q character that
It cures In the late summer and fall and makes
very nutritious food for the winter. BY over
stocking the plains the winter feed was eaten
up in the fall OF the year and the cattle were
too poor in flesh TO withstand the cold winters,
and so thousands OF them died. This broke up
many ranches and gave another fOothold 70 the
small settlers looking for homes where they
could do o little farming and grow into cattle
raising In q small way, each ranchman or settler
looking after his own little herd and putting up
nay for feed In winter time. Some OF the larger
ranches began to put up hay for special pur-
poses and this was another reason for fencing
In all the streams
That some Of the small settlers were and are
dishonest Is doubtlessly true and some OF the
large cattle syndlcates were and are dishonest
is also doubtlessly true and ns they had the
power 10 punish, physical power ! mean, they
used It unsparingly and the small settler, guilty
or innocent, had in many cases 70 suffer This
brought on o feeling Of personal bitterness
which has resulted In q combined EFFORT on the
part OF the small settlers to defend themselves
against the assaults OF the richer, more power
full and over-grasping companies. When men
combine to defend their rights they are very
apt TO avenge their wrongs, and in something
OF q wild country are not perhaps overparticu-
lar as 10 the method Of revenge
I have no doubt but that rustlers have been
I'M ~ -.