The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-04-22

OSAE grass; vast rowing herds; ::
. cowboys and ponies-both ::
of the unbridled variety: ::
bad men whose chief business was to Il
start graveyards. and the glad primeval q
lawlessness that prevails when worlds
are Lew M
MOI so mn1y years ago the Panhandle
wae distinctly world apart, and new
one. With NO-Man's Land on the north.
Indian Territory on the east and New
Mexico on the west civilization could
come only from the south, and it did not
come very fast. Indeed there was still
plenty of territory in that direction to
be subdued-two or three tiers of coun-
ties in fact-before the Panhandle would
be reached. So it was a place apart
an isolated fertile land, justifyng the as
sertion of a tramp that he had lost $780,
900 there in one year by not having cat
tie to eat up the grass.
The cattle came in due time, fighting
back the Apache and the Comanche. pro-
tected by Rangers from Fort Griffin, &C.
companied by stockmen of every nation,
cowboys OF every grade and criminals Of
every breed. That was wild epoch
chaotic and picturesque-a time of indi-
vidual administration and untempered
justice.
1t was also time of mighty domain.
Ranches there were as big as some king
doms. One, the X. l. T., covered a good
portion OF the northern part of the Pan
handle. Another, the Matador, spread Il
itself into five counties. When settle NJ
ment became thicker-when there were II
ranch houses not more than rs to 30
miles apart-oficial allotment of the Ii
lands was made Then there was grand i
gobble. The big stockmen fenced every N
thing with little regard for boundaries Y
and less for the law.
With such examples as these in high
places, it is not strange that general indif-
ference to legal rights and possessions pre-
vailed. Next to cattle-raising, cattle-stealing
was the chief industry. The cowboy proper
was not concerned in such work. He was like
]y to be a clean-handed, straightforward even
If reckless, individual honest according to his
lights. True. loyalty to his employer might
render him trif1e Indifferent as to brands and
marks when strays mixed with the herd, but
1t was the employer and not the cowboy who
profted by such laxity The cowboy was a
retainer who would fight for his ranch, would
die for 1t when circumstances seemed to re-
quire such sacrifice. and the increase of the
ranch herd by any means short of actual raid
and theft was a custom which bore no relation
to disrepute. But individually the cowboy was
likely to be the soul Of honor and good nature,
troublesome only on holidays when he was
moved to ride into the nearest settlement,
drink up all the whisky he could buy, and then,
with six-shooter drawn, go careering up and
down the streets, shooting in random direc-
tons, explaining meantime with noisy and
repetitious adjecttves that he bad man
very bad man from very far up the creek.
The Panhandle was full of bad men in the
early nineties. Most of them had graduated
from other schools of crime and found here
a last resort. Some of them-a good many of
them-had obtained official positions and were
outlaws and deputies by turns, worked con
junctively as BOTH AS rule they were in one
way or another associated with gang.
Local authorities, even when conscientious
we're poorly equipped to cope with such an ele
ment, and it was for Company Ranger Force
consisting of eight men with quarters at ANA
rillo Capt w. j. Mcdonald commanding, to
police this vast wilderness, and to capture and
convert, or otherwise tame, its undesirable
citizens.
Soon after McDonads appointment he was
notified of a marauding band that across in
Hutchinson county. were committing the usual
crimes. They had burned the hay belonging tc
a ranchman on Turkey creek-several hun
dred tons in quantity-they had cut his wire
fences; they had killed COWS for their calves
butchered beef cattle, cut out brands-in a
word, they had conducted the bushes of cat
tie stealing and general depreciation on large
scale.
Taking a portion of his force Capt. McDon
aid went over to investigate. There seemed
to be a good deal of mystery concerning the
identity of the offenders; but mystery of that
sort does not stand very good chance when
it Is operated upon by a man with eyes like
those of Capt. Bill and with nose and pail
of ears of his peculiar pattern. nj short time
he had identified one member of the band in q
young man prominently connected in that sec
tion This young fellow-a dupe, no doubt, OF
professional cow thieves, whose glittering repu
tation as bad men had dazzled him-was the
son of an able and reputable lawyer, member
of the state legislature. The son, supposed to
be cowboy, had become in reality an outlaw
Capt. Mcdonald took him in charge one
day, questioned him, and secured sufficient evi
dence to file complaint. The prisoner was
turned over to the sheriff of Hutchinson coun
ty, and Capt. Bill pursued his investigation. HI
located bunch of stolen calves, herded in thu
brakes of the Canadian river, guarded by an
other member of the gang. The calves were
"hobbled and necked" and their mothers hat
been shot as an easy method of getting rid O
them. Capt. Bill found the dead COWS in a near
by canyon, and he brought man who had los
number of mich cows and calves to iden
tify the property. 1t was no very difficult mat
we'll as his own children. One after another