The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-08-16
CR0ND|NG OUT
Cattle KINGS
New York Paper Treats Great
Range War.
DEWEY CASE, AN EXAMPLE
Homesteader Bound to Be
Final Victor.

The fight between the cowboys Of ME-
Chauncey Dewey, a wealthy Kansas
ranchman. and the Berry family, II
which five members of the latter Were
killed few days ago. merely shows how
hard the great land and cattle barons of
the west are dying. 1t means heavy loss
to them if the land on which their herds
have grazed is taken up by the small
Hanchman and farmers. The war between
these two factions has been bitter ore,
jand has cost hundreds of lives. In the
twenty or more years it has been waged
, it has taken several forms, the worst be-
ing that of ''rustling' or stealing cattle
from the big brands BY the small ranch
man.
The big cattlemen were the pioneers.
says the New York Press. They made the
country a possibility for the little fellow.
They built their ranch buildings on the
banks of streams that were absolutely
necessary TO the cattle industry. After
years of occupation they thought ira
dition conceded the right to them 10 claim
the land
After the passing of the buffalo and the
Indian came the idea of irrigating the
semi-arid wastes. Homesteaders thronged
in and pushed the cattlernen further and
further west, until they found their
ranches within the shadow of the eastern
slope of the Rockies. The formation Of
the country at this point is such that irri-
sble. Only in the valley of streams could
the land be watered, and most of these
slopes and fats were narrow and broken.
For this reason the great stock raisers
resorted TO what might be regarded as
sharp practice to hold the desirable land.
Locations we're made along the banks OF
streams under what is known as the DeS-
ert Act, and the sections were strung
along on both sides in ''forties." In this
way they were able to take up the land
along the streams for miles. Cowboys
entered land III their own names and then
quitclaimed to their employers. 1t was
absolute felly for other persons to
locate in the vicinity, as it was impossi-
BILE for them to gain access TO the water
1t was possible in certain cases for the
rancIhman to inclose their ground by
building only a. mile or two of fence. as
canyon walls frequently gave them pro-
lection longitudinally for miles.
The report of great crops Of alfalfa.
corn, and oats brought the little ranch
man to the domain of the cattle kings
They jumped the fences and located
within his Enclosure. Often this was done
1or the purpose of blackmail. If stream
flowed water enough to irrigate an onion
patch two months in a year the land adj
iacent TO il was entered in the hope that
the cattle baron might be willing to buy
off his undesirable neighbor.
The big fellow soon became suspicious
OF the newcomer. The land he had en-
tered was too poor TO afford a living TO
the most frugal of families. The stran-
gers bunch of cattle never grew smaller
by reason of beef consumed at his house.
and his cows has the marvellous habit of
giving birth to calves in twins and trip
lets.
These conditions were responsible for
many of the tragedies enacted on the
great ranges. On the part of the baron's
cowboy cohorts the Winchester was the
only recognized arbitrator. The granger,
often rs ready for go as the cow
puncher stood pat. ran his fences on the
section line and called on Uncle sam to
remove the original locator. The govern
ment sent Colonel John S Mosby, OF
guerrilla fame, to investigate. Colonel
Mosby reported favoring the removal of
every fence post on ground, the title of
VIII still belonged to the government.
The big cattlemans plea is title by ira
dition. and the contention that the labor
of years should not be eonhscated to
make way for the squatter. He also in
sists that the lands he now has under
fence for pasture are utterly unfit for ag-
ricultural purposes. and the profile Of the
ground is a bar TO irrigation. The rains
cease in early summer and do not per-
NIT unwatered crops TO mature. Ire
grass cures by July, and would be worth
less for feed If the frosts caught ii when
green Nevertheless, il makes excellent
pasture for cattle. although entirely
worthless TO the farmer. 1t is these semi
arid wastes that the cattle kings are
fighting for. and their argument is that
the land. extremely difficult of irrigation,
is valuable to no one but themselves.
But the cattle baron is beginning to
realize that his days are numbered His
death knell was sounded in the passage OF
the irrigation act last winter. With every
little stream surrounded by homesteads
and fenced. the sections OF open range are
but death traps to the big herds The
cattle are not only shut of from water.
but they drift Up against the fences in
the winter storm sand perish in heaps.
The bill before congress at the last ses-
sion proposing TO lease government lands
10 csttlemen at a few cents an acre is but
a temporary relief. 1t merely gives an
opportunity TO hold the present herds long
enough to permit disposition Of them
without Cutting the market with COWS
and young steers. But these leases can
not be made permanent In a short time
there will not be vacant land enough 70
Craze 1.-THE of the herds Of the past
The cattle business viii then Be ss II is
In eastern Nebraska and Iowa. ga n
farmer raising only what he can care for
on his own land. This probably VIII make
the aggregate number much larger in the
end Last year Iowa sent more beef cat
tie TO market than the great stock-rais-
ing states Of Wyoming, Colorado. and
Montana combined
tragedy typical of the war betweea
the big brands and the pumpkin rollers"
as the farmers were contemporary
called by the cowboys. occurred several
years ago in northern Wisconsin. 4 man
named Jackson jumped the fence and
located homestead along the ditch or