The Afro-American advance., 1900-10-06
LII The WEST.
go. 4aai srlse Between Cattle
aa ia the Range
states.

ss.rs 4at .rIse Estween Cattle
ia tise Range
states.
lie ~ rfnuial fight between western
tstzegtea and sheepmen i q study for
=3.h tiIr sychologfst and The eeono-
fsst..N first q ance the interests of
ttt.xe gFfat divisions of the live stock
ntsustry would appear to be In com
mo. Hut. in truth. this can never be.
Cattle and sheep can no more occupy
range in common than oil and wa
ter can float coherentiy. The cow
pnncher hates the shepherd with
hatred that Is deep ana ofttimes pic
turesque. ard the herder begirts him
SET With artillery and suilenly Stands
on the defensive. writes Capt.. James
". McClintoek, in Aiuslee's.
The trouble between the cattle and
xheep industries mainly proceeds from
the natural differences between the
two classes of live stock. Cattle are
housekeeping in their habits. They
are as hard 10 lose as house cat,
unless.Z perchauce, the cheerful and
reckless rustler happens along. A
range cow naturally will make her
run" where she was born. Her own
er and his cowboys expect TO find her
within easily defined limits. usually
along some certain cattle trail that
starts at watering place and leads
back TO higher ground. In ordinary
weather. IL water be enSy OF access,
about all the cattle will be found some
time during the day along the creeks.
i'm the shade or iuxuriantly hook deep
in the mud The night II spent back
on the feeding ground. Drive the cow
away. even 100 miles, and back she
will drift. though her return be to
feeding ground by far the worse. Back
home she will come, though II be 10
starve and die.
sheep. on the contrary. are uecessa-
ri1y nomadic. They are gregarious,
"bunchiBg" by instinct. One man with
his dog can care for even 1000. though
only half that number Is usually al
loited. a flock Of sheep is about as
devastating as prairie fire. Where
II has passed the grass Is gone, even
10 the roots. the sage brush is defo-
liage,i and the track so feeks with the
sleeps peculiar odor that cattle and
horses avoid the ground for weeks
afterward. And he herds in their
ceaseless journeyiug never follow one
another. To use n pat military ex-
preston. they come zen echelon." In
a path parallel TO and abuttlng one
edge Of the strip devastated by the
preceding woolly army. Thus, IL one
flock eat out q half-mile "trip. ten
foeks will leave a barren area FIVE
miles wide The better the feed the
slower the rate of travel The flock
moves on when the grass IL consumed.
No diagram is needed TO show the ef-
feet of such n raid on n cattle range.
The rage Of the cattlemen is not hard
10 imagine.
a quarter OF century ago when the
wild west was virgin land and pasture.
there WAS plenty OF room for both
cattle and sheep. But as the country
has filled up and as the area of unten-
anted or unclaimed land has shrunk.
the two branches of live stock have
been driven In upon each other more
aud more, until they are now In conten-
iion for possession of the same field
Little by little the herders and punch
ers have been forced from the plains
up Into the mountains. Western Kan
sas. Nebraska and the Dakoias, the
western portion Of Oregon and Wash
ington. and all of California. which
were once free ranges. have become less
and less available. Even Colorado and
Utah and portion of Wyoming, be-
cause OF the advance of farmers and
miners, afford a constantly shrinking
pasturage. Both sheepmen and cattle
men have been Obliged 10 seek the
high and untenahle lands In the noun
tains, where the forests and the water
sheds are the only sections that az
ford sufficient feed.
The struggle between them. there
fore. Is waged chiefly In what il known
as the plateau region OF the continent.
From lower New Mexico and Arizona,
and western Texas nnrthward to the
American boundary. aud from the east
ern Montana line westward 10 the sum-
init OF the Cascade mountains. the
sheepmeu and the cattlemen are fight
ranges. The sheep go into the ver-
dant meadows Of the forests. and the
cattlemen seek 10 expel them. The
cattlemen occupy some section where
the gras sseS are Suceulent aud the water
plentiful. only To find the sheep work
ing into the same district, cropping
the grass to it's roots. and tatnting the
air with the smell which the cattle
cannot endure. The closer settlement
crowds IN upon the formerly unset
tied lands the more bitter becomes the
antaRonism. Frequently 1, breaks out
In brief shooting matches, in which the
cattlemen generally prove themselves
the more expert. More often IL eul-
inmates In strained sentiments and
press reports Of trouble threatened
between cowboys and sheep herders." +"
Again II breeds feuds which are fully |
aS swift and decisive as those Of Ken.
tncky.
Twelve aad q Fraction.
The ruler OF small German state |
H.