Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1902-05-22
Row Between Ranchmen and Farm
ers In Northwest Kansas.
Special from Atwood, Ks, to wichita Beacon.

the encoachment of big cattle
ranches, and an armed outbreak
is threatened. The trouble has
already reached such stage
that armed companies of settlers
are riding the country looking
for owners of the big ranches,
and it is likely the state militia
will have to be called out to pre-
serve order. In the early days
of northwestern Kansas thous-
ands of settlers came here and
took homesteads. Many of them
left after the boom collapsed but
good per cent remained in and
proved up" About FIVE years
ago big cattlemen from other sec
tons began to drift in here and
establish ranches. They grad.
ually bought up lands, until to
day nearly all the lands in Raw
Inns and Cheyenne counties and
much in northwestern Thomas
and northeastern Sherman coun'
ties have been acquired.
In making their purchases the
ranchmen always offered settlers
good prices for their farms, inn
provements and all. If the set
tiers refused to sell, then the
'ranchmen would buy all the land
surrounding them and run fences
around their farms. This shut
the farmers out from the adjoin-
ing range, which they had used
for years, unmolested and with
out cost. The ranchmen have
been increasing their holdings SO
rapidly during the past twoyears
that the settlers have become en-
ragged. They believe that 1t has
reached a point now where they
must fight and they are getting
ready to do so. They have done
some skirmishing already. They
will notresort to law, but to arms.
Within the past month enough
arms and ammunition have been
shipped into this section to equip
a good sized army. Secret or.
CARNATIONS have been effected by
the settlers in the various com.
munities and arms and ammuni-
ton have been issued to each
member. The ranchmen them
selves at first issued an order
that none of their employees
should go armed. But the con
dition is such now that the order
has not only been reached, but
the ranchmen themselves. have
supplied their men with arms
Nearley every broncho buster
and settler in this section now
goes armed to the teeth ant
troubly cannot long be averted
The company of settlers neal
this place is composed of ovel
100 men all used to frontier life
and men who were never known
to show the white feather in t.;
fight. The cowboys employed
by the ranchmen are also wild
and wooly."
1t looked as though the war
would open on the C. P. Dewey
ranch few days ago. Mr.. Dew
ey is a Chicago capitalist, whc
has become interested in thu
ranch business. He owns two
ranches in Kansas. One of IL
600 acres is located near Manhat
tan, Kansas. Mr.. Dewey spend:
a considerable portion of his tim,
there during the summer. HI
entertains big crowds of eastern
friends there. In the winter b,
stays in Chicago. The othe1
Dewey ranch is located in Raw
Inns, Sherman and Cheyenne
counties. 1t contains over 100
900 acres and is being enlarged
as fast as Mr.. Dewey can blu,
adjoining land. If he can't blu,
every quarter that he wants, h
simply buys the land around i
and then fences it in. Howey er
he always offers first to give tn,
settler a fair price for his claim
When the Siegel-Sanders Com
mission Co., of Kansas City
went to pieces, Frank Rockefel
Ter took the Siegel-Sanders rancl
here. 1t is composed of abou
sixteen sections of land. TIL,
Rockefeller ranch wasin Dewey.
way and he offered to buy it
Rockefeller refused to sell, s.
Dewey proceeded to buy up al
the land surrounding it and fenc
ed in Rockefellers ranch.