Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1893-09-01
THE COUNTY HAD A JAG.

Iuict years WlLuOub Idiu tuOuBu W
make grass grow had almost petriaed
a solemn expression upon the faces Of
cattlemen in New Mexico and Ailz-
ona, but their weather-beaten visages
cracked and wrinkled with audible
merrlment a week ago when the tickle
clouds that had been drifting dryly
across the sky for a month dropped
penitential tears OF rain. Down in
Deming, and doubtless in all other
towns within the grazing district, the
breaking of the drought was regarded
as a general invitation to come in and
take something. No other invitation
was necessary, except to strangers ard
they received so many that they de-
cided that Deming was the most hos
pitable town on earth. Cattlemen,
rivals In business, met on the street,
the water cascading from their wide
brimmed hats and sloshing out of the
tops of their boots and silently grasp
ed hands'after which they turned into
the nearest saloon. The plunk of sill
yer upeu the counter told the bar
keeper to set 'em up, and broad
smile turned upon the crowd was
promptly and correctly interpreted as
an invitation to everybody to stand
in. Before early candle light Deming
was prevaded by a mellow, genial jag,
and if any man in Grant county went
to bed sober that night he was either
vlgegar- blocked pessimist or out Of
whiskey and long ride from anybody
who had any.
And this is no reflection upon the
habits or morals of the men of New
Mexico. Old Omor had not better eS-
cuse for filling 'the cup that clears to-
day of past regrets and future fears"
than the cattlemen of New Mexico
had when the utter ruin ~ the ranges
was averted by the first big rain OF the
year. When the ranges were FIRST
stocked, the prairles of Southwestern
New Mexico were covered with grass
knee deep, and the cattlemen believed
the pasture ineXhaustible. For sever
al years the rains were regular and
plentiful, and the cattiemen waxed
fat aud multiplied without affecting
the value of the ranges. 1t was free,
open range and everybody who could
secure a spring or waterhole for head
quarters got herd Of cattle and turn
ed them loose upon Uncle Sans pas
ture. The big companies, taking no
account of the large aggregate Of
herds belonging to small outfits, put
on CATTLE enough of their own to
stock the entire range, from the ella
to the Mexican line, and all prospered
well enough until the inevitable peri
odlcal series of dry years began.
The cattle pulled through the flrst
dry year without serious loss, but no
grass matured that year and no seed
fell. The grass was gnawed down to
the roots, and the second dry year
made deserts OF the prairies. The
winds that had caused no discomfort
and had been scarcely noticed when
they blew over a sea Of gramma grass,
now swept flercely over the hot, bare
ground, trampled to powder by thou
sands of hoofs, and hurled clouds Of
dust and sand across the country and
through the streets Of towns. Choked
and blinded with dust that no device
can keep from sitting through doors
and windows, made neryiously irrl-
table by hot, dry winds, the people de-
clared thai tue climate was changing
for the worse, and fell to cursing the
country. And yet it was only the
destruction of the grass that changed
the climate and introduced the sand
storm as a feature Of New Mexlco's
summer weather. When the prairies
were covered with a heavy growth Of
grass, no doubt the ground was cooler,
evaporation was more equal, the rain
that fell did not run off into the
"draws" so quickly, and the westerly
winds OF summer were thereby tenn
pered to a considerable degree.
The third year Of drought saw the
cattle business in a desperate strait,
and the big outfits, realizing that they
had oyerstocked the range, began
thinning out their herds. The pra-
rles were strewn with carcasses of
starved cattle, and a large part Of the
cow-punchers, work was pulling out Of
the water holes the bodies Of animals
that had just strength enough to get
to water, bat not enough to struggle
out Of the mire after drinking their
al and 50 had died.
To the owner Of a small bunch Of
cattle the percentage Of loss was dis
astrous, and his only recourse was to
sell the remnant of his herd at any
price. A month ago small herds were
offered at five and six dollars a head
by men who had become discouraged
and did not believe the drought would
be broken this year. The big outfits,
being able to ship cattle out Of the
49,, p, ,..r ,..cr- not woInooI "a flof Az