The Daily Alaska empire., 1932-02-04
SUNSET l1 EgE1 PA PASS


 ted, Preston must be hard worker and had seven stalwart sons.
 Preston, if I owned this ranch I'd never leave it single day, was I Rocks eloquent encomium.
 Wal, I shore hate to leave il myself" returned the other, terSe- ly.
 How many cattle have you?' queried Rock, because he knew this was a natural question.
 Don't have much idee. Ter thousand haid, Ash says. We run three herds, the small one down on the Flats, another hyar in the Pass Ian the third an big herd up in the Foothills.
 Naturally the third means the big job,' said Rock.
 Shore will be for you boys Thar's lot of cattle over thar thet ] ain't mine. Ash said eighty thous- and haid all told in the Foothills But thet's his exaggeratin' figurin'.'
 Gee! So many? In my day half that number would have been a lot But it's a big country Who's in on that range besides you?"
 Wal, thar's several heavy own CTS, like Dabb, Lincoln, Hesbitt, an then slew of others, from home steaders like Slagle an Pringle to two-bit cowpuncher rustlers. It's sort of bed mess over thar. An some of the outfits haven't no use fer n1ine."
 'Ha! That's old cowboy breed. You can't ever chnage it. know Lincoln. But Hesbitt is Q new one to me"
 Yes, te came in soon after me. , replied Preston. shortly. His speech, to Rocks calculating perceptions, had lost heartines sand spontane- lity. But Rock doubted thst he would have observed tnis subtle little difference had he not come to Sunset Pass peculiarly stimulated by curiosity.
 '.Spl Winter told me you'd work ed a new wrinkle on the range, ? went on Rock, matter of -factly wholesale butcherin'."
 "Yes. Always did go in fer thet. Hyar in this country I first set in kilHn' and sellin' to local butchers. Then I got to shippin' beef to other towns not far along the rail- road. An ell told I made it pay . little better than sellin' on the hnof."
 Reckon it's heap harder lwutk."
 we Preston's aint afraid of work" said the rancher. 'But it takes some naanagin' as well. ] made daughter house out of Slaeed's place, an then we do some butcherin' out on the range"
 What stunps me, Preston, < how you get beef to town nj any quantity" responded. Rock.
 Easy for Missourians on these hard roads. We got big wagons an tour-hoss teams In hot summer I've drive at night"
 "So you're from Missouri" went on Rock, with geniality q sort od figure dyou were. once worked with an outfit of Missollrians. They have a lingo of their own, some thin like Texans. Better educated though"
 My girl Thiry went to school tN she was seventeen Preston saif with pride. Wal, you'll wana to unpack an wash up fer supper. 1t was just sunset when ROcl came out of the cabin assigned him Sitting down on the stone steps ol the porch, he found there was ar open plAce between the trees per. hitting unbrdlken view Of the Pass Here, striking him like an h. visible foece in the aar, was the w1]t scene far,olls among riders all opes lthe aputhWest. For riders wander, led from ranoe to range. and rpuns camp Nues nf while on guard or il Ithe bunkhosleee taaeg were Hon* t Ite1l about the outflts with whom they had ridden and the rAnge' they had known. Rock had beer asaed about Sunset Pass more thar once while he was tn Texas. He re called how he had used to rave IGman wonder!
 | From PreskonS ranch the Pas lspread into . xdder stretch q jGrassy knoals tipped with cedASs land Hrassy ffd6aes sl0ping Ike hog backs down from the walls Of gra; and green. Ten miles and more 2 the most beAlakS(ul neadOv aaaI pasture land in the West! Dots am strings and punches of cattle gav life to the scede.
 1 Beyond the grassy levels an lfnounds the Pass changed to a yer dant floor, only lasre and theu jshowing . giint q open paxis, Tn walls leaned away. less rugged an rocky. From the league-wide for tested floor, then, the Pass restrict led to one third that width an a- "A -x<as