Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-03-23
RANGE WAR IN
EAST OREGON
STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE CAT.
TILE AND SHEEP MEN is DE-
ScRlBED.

his struggle between tne Cdllle
and sheep men is an economic prob
lem. 1t will know no settlement until
the whole country is under fence. 1t
hogan away over in Texas and the
Indian Territory, and has worked
across the country, until now it is more
active in central Oregon than any
where else. For 20 years there has
been trouble in Colorado Bands Of
thousands of sheep have been shot
down and driven over precipices in
that state The same thing has hap
pened in Wyoming, but that is largely
a fenced country now. The struggle
also existed in Idaho. but was never
so bad. on account of the topography
OF the country. The sheepmen largely
control the district south of the Sal
mon river, while to the north of the
Salmon river there are practically no
sheep. and the cattle own the coun-
try. The mountains between the two
sections of the state form a natural
dead line
In Idaho they have also tried laws
TO prevent the sheep coming within
certain distances of homesteads.
These laws have been measurably sue
cessful. but the only really successful
range law in Idaho, or any other
state. is the dead line
The dead line in Oregon is now
beginning to take very definite shape.
Central Oregon is the cattleman's
country. although certain sheepmen
claim. that it is not a cattle country
at all: that the only feed there was
meant for sheep. Sheepmen are SET
tied mostly to the north in the coun-
ties Immediately south of the Column
bia river, from Wasco 10 Umatilla.
Iii years past the sheepmen of that
section found enough range at hand
for their herds, but when they began
to multiply the range ran short, and 1t
was found necessary TO send them to
the south for feed in the summer
time This was all right to certain
extent, but as soon as they got in the
next mans country trouble began.
The Entertainments We're gradual. 1t
led to bloodshed in Oregon about ten
years ago. At that time the sneep-
men from the north drove their flOcks
into the south fork of the John Day
river, and insisted upon staying there
until the settlers were forced to make
dead line and form a local organ
ization. That was the first range wal
in Oregon. There was considerable
trouble on Canyon creek tributary tc
the John Day, and a CLASH of arms be
tween organized cattlemen and organ
lied sheepmen. The sheepmen hac
not at that time learned their lesson
There was confused state OF affairs
each side carrying off its dead and in
jured, and the courts Of justice die
not have much chance in the matter
The dead line across central Ore
gon, generally speaking, is from BeaI
Valley, in Grant county, to the end OF
the Blue mountains, in Crook county
1t is pretty nearly a solid line; on
one side of it the cattle men live, and
on the other side of it the sheep are
allowed to range. There are settlers
inside the dead line" who have sheep,
but they, being settlers, are privileged
to certain rights, and, moreover, are
circumspect. Such a case is that OF
Aleck Macintosh, one of the biggest
sheep men in Crook county, who lives
inside the dead lines" He is an i'm
mense. good natured Scotchman, who
has a great deal of land of his own.
And vet there are lands to which he
has a deed on which he is not allow
ed to run his own sheep. There are
other sheep men in western Crook
county, some of whom have had sheep
killed at recent times. This is a dis
puted county at the present day, and
the sheepmen are rather inclined to
believe in the automatic.
Crook county, Ore, is the cente:
about which the range war revolves
This county is filled with men who
love to fight, and always have. Thu
old trouble which used to exist in tina
county between the vigilantes and tn
moonshiners may be still living, an
some of them are not too old to loo
for trouble. They have been ther
many years, and they feel as if the
own the country. There is also n
doubt that a certain outlaw spirit i
Crook county is still surviving fro1
the days when the vigilantes reall
owned the country, allowed whol
they liked to reside there, and drov
out whom they pleased. They are b
10 means the strongest element i
Crook county, but in sparsely Sc
tied country they can do many thing
and escape.
In what is known as the high de
ert'' country in the southern part
Crook county and the northern part
Lake and klamath counties, is di
puted territory between the sheep an
cattle men, where many maraudins
have taken place. During the sprln
of 1904 excitement in that country wa
rather tense. And the only man VIII
ever told the story for print got we