The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-05-21

bilious cOwpunchers took advantage
of.
It is easy to see what the cOnse-
quence of such a condition would
be. From all directions all sorts of
men began to push into the business
Hundreds of new brands appeared
on the ranges and a new element
competition for feeding range-de-
velOped in the industry. It soon be-
came a game of dOg-eat-dOg, and the
big dog began to eat the little one.
The big outfits met and combined
against the little ones, and that no
more maverick commissions should
be paid and that any calves rUstled
by cOwpunchers should be for the
! employer, and not for the cowboy.
Furthermore it was made a range
law that no cowboy employed by an
outfit should be allowed to own a
brand of his own.
Action of this sort, intended to put
an end to rustling for the profit of
the individual cOwpuncher, had the
effect of increasing it enormously.
1t introduced a new written law to
supplant an old Unwritten law, and
the consequences were disastrous, for
at once a lOng-drawn-OUt warfare
started between the big COW outfits
and a considerable number of former
ly honest cowpunchers who believed
that their rights were being en-
crOached upon and who soon found
themselves classed as outlaws. Al
lied with them were fanny bad men of
the range country, hOrsethieves and
! n&hnm nrvE1n-r h 800 a. -
cUpatiOn of rustling cattle a lucra-
tive and cOngenial one.
There is no doubt that many of the
earlier rustlers considered that they
were wholly honest and within their
rights in putting their brands o n
mavericks, and from this it was q
natural step to feeling that they
were at worst committing a minor
crime if they took a few calves from
COWS carrying the marks of big out
fits, whose rules they considered IN
, just and arbitrary.
How Rustling Grew
> In some parts of the cattle ranges
5 notably in a few counties in Wyoming
I the rustlers far Outnumbered the lie
ultimate cattle growers. They were
= called thieves and outlaws by thu
cOwmen, but they controlled lOca
government and made the laws. The,
z elected sheriffs and judges, so it wa
I useless for a sO-called syndicate mai
5 to try to get justice in courts, be
d cause he was sure to get what tn
majority, constituted by the rustIer
and their friends, called justice. Tn
term, syndicate men," came froI
= the fact that many syndicates o
eastern men owned outfits in Mon
tana, Wyoming and other cattl
Estates, and the efforts of the rustleH
were likely to be turned principal
against these nonresident owners
The ranks of the rustIers soon b,
came augmented by all sorts of har
and dissOlute characters from th
motley population Of the west. tn
wild frontier life of the years Dr.
ceding the cattle days had attracte
men Of bold nature, who had take
on all the restless and unsettled hal
its of the west and who chafed
RESTRAINT Of any kind. Some Of thel
were from the ranks Of the guild,
and scouts. Others had been buffa.
lskinners, WOlfers and a few pro
pCSSOAo VIII 4uAC s4AO SOA4pdu loA u
saddle. The r~ustler, however, mu
be a rider, a roper and a sure she
for these qualifications were nece
sary to his work at all times.
There was one law Of the rustic
that all adhered to. All organic,
bands Of outlaws have followed Il
same principle from the time Of RO
in Hood and long before him. Tn
was that property Of a small own
or poor man must be respected.
fact, the friendship Of this class W
lsought by, and usually won by, Il
rustler. Many ne8ters, as suUatte
on water holes were called, who q
- no rustling themselves, gave assi'