New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1911-12-13

his fellows. why brand these NAV
ericks at IS per head for this or tina
outfit when the law says they belong
to the man who finds themY'
Lee Virginia looked up brightly
THAT seems right to me-.
"Ah. yes. but wait! We cattlemel
had large herds, and the probabilities
were that the calf belonged to som'
one Of us. whereas the cowboy. having
no herd at all. knew the maverick be
longed to some ones herd. True, tha
law said it was his, but the law dit
not mean to reward the freebooter
Yet that is exactly what it did. Al
first only few outlaws took advan
tage Of 1t. but hard years came on. thu
cattle business became less and lest
profitable, we were forced to lay o6
our men. and so at last the range
swarmed with idle cowpunchers. Their
came the breakdown in our scheme
The cowboys took to 'mavericking'- or
their own account. Some Of them had
the grace to go into partnership with
some farmer and so claim a small
bunch of cows. but others suddenly
and miraculously acquired herds Of
their own. From keeping within the
law they passed to violent methods.
They slit the tongues Of calves for the
purpose Of separating them from their
mothers. Finding he could not suck,
bossy would at last wander away from
| his dam and so become maverick. In
short, anarchy reigned on the range"
But surely my father had nothing
to do with this?"
"No; your father up to this time had
been on good terms with everybody.
He had a small herd Of cattle down
the river, which he owned in common
with a man named Hart
II remember him."
"He was we'll thought of by all the
big outfits, and when the situation be-
came intolerable and we got together
to weed out the rustlers,' as these cat
tie thieves were called, your father
was approached and converted to a
belief in drastic measures. He had
suffered less than the rest of us be-
cause Of his small herd and the fact
that he was very popular among the
cowboys. So far as I was concerned.
the use of violent methods revolted
me. My training in the east had made
me respecter Of the law. Change
the law said. The law is all right
they replied; the trouble is with these
rustlers. Well hang few of 'em, and
that will break up the business
Parts Of this story came back to the
girls mind. producing momentary
flashes Of perfect recollection. She
heard again the voices of excited men
arguing over and over the question of
"mavericking," and she saw her ia
Their as he rode up to the house that
last day before he went south.
Redf1eld went on. 1.-THE whole plan
as developed was silly, and wonder
still that Ed Wetherford. who knew
the hester and the cowboy SO well,
should have lent his aid to it. The
cattlemen, some from Cheyenne, some
from Denver and a few from New
York and Chicago, agreed to finance a
a sort Of vigilante corps composed Of
men from the outside on the under |
that this policing body should
be commanded by one Of their own
Your father was chosen Sec
ond in command and was to guide the
party. for he knew almost every one Of
the rustlers and could ride directly to
their DOORS"
II wish he hadn't done that" MUIR
INJURED the girl.
II must be frank with you. Virginia.
I can't excuse that in him. 1t was
kind Of treachery. He must have been
warped by his associates. They con-
vinced him by some means that it was
his duty, and one fine day the Fork
was startled by messenger who rode
n to say that the cattle barons were
coming with hundred Texas bad men
to clean out the town and to put their
,wn men into Office. This last was
lilly rot to me. but the people believed
to
The girl was tingl1ng now. Il re-
member! I remember the men who
ode into the town to give the alarm.
was scared almost breathless."
II was in Sulphur City and did not
lear Of it till 1t was nearly all over"
lediell resumed, his speech showing :
little Of the excitement whEh thrill
d through the girls voice. ~"Well. the
rst act Of vengeance was 80 Ill con- I
ldered that It practically ended the 8
,hole campaign. The invaders fell
pom and killed two ranchers. one Of ID
Ihom was probably not . rustler at +
u, but q peaceable settler. and the e
Their one they most barbarously c
anged. More than this. they attack b
and vainly tried to kill two settlers
HON they met on the road-German Il
lrmers, with no connection. 50 far as Y
nown, with the thieves. These men v
anal on6 uovo tho alarm In r