Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1934-03-08
OUTLAWS Of EDEN
BY wuua
PETER Is. KYNE rwA~ r@p

hershaw rode his horse out into the
Drown whirling creek waters until they
tapped his stirrups, then turned back
n Joined his wife on the high ground
along the foot of the hills.
"A creek In the summer and fall.
out a good-sized river In the winter
and spring, Lorry." he announced
"Therell be no dry years In this coun-
try, Lorry; and thereIl always be 1
world Of water for summer irrigation.
The partner of his brave dreams
nodded, for she, too, was a child Of the
soil and could understand his enthus-
iasm. The country's laid out like 4
frying pan, Robin. This narrow canyon
Is the handle and the big wiley Is the
pan"
Keeping to the high ground At the
base Of the hills they ~tourneyed down
the Handle to the Pan, fordins numer-
Gus lateral torrents that reared down
the mountninsids to the main stream
below.
Debouching from the Handle into
the Pan tfor 20 they continued TO NJ
lude to the peculiar disposition u the
country Kershaw discovered that the
creek was now. indeed, 4 river. And,
rs was the case In the Handle, u Ii
was In the Pan. Fol- fully I mile on
the west bank Of the stream the
ground was inundated
Gods the ditch-tender In Eden Val
ley, Lorry," he exulted. aOncs = year
for perhaps 4 month. He gives free
surface irrigation ON 4 strip two miles
wide and no man knows how long"
He left her and rode ont into the
sluggish wash to a point within a hun
dred yards OF the main channel From
a foot to six inches deep" he an
nounced, when he rejoined her on the
high ground What a grand soaking
And then = couple OF inches of new
rich silt from the high country back
yonder is left behind to fertiliEe the
grass when the waters recede to the
channel! |"
She smiled upon him, rejoicing with
him In this discovery of unlimited free
grass and water.
On a mesa about forty acres In area,
and backed up against the western
hills, they found the location for their
future home. Perhaps q hundred
stately pine trees grew upon this mesa,
with lush green grass between.
81 can have i GARDEN Lorry muir
INJURED r%apturously.
And there's timber to our hand for
our home and outbuildings.r he added
"Well build 4 grand big log house and
well furnished When this valley has
been surveyed and thrown open to set
tiers wen have a squatter's right to
this site, on account we've been hers
first"
They camped that night In the pins
grove. Side by side, IN ! foot-de<p
carpet Of soft pine needles, they lay
under the stars that night and talked
and made brave plans for their future.
Truly, they were ~ Adam and Eve
In the Garden Of Eden; there, beneath
their heavy wooIen blankets, content In
each Others arms, they saw no vision
OF the Serpent They dreamed not Of
the hatred and envy of humankind that
n day should make them, their chill
dren and their children's children
fight to the death for this dear
silent land; that n day the a Of
a new civilization would engulf them
that one day they should be crowded.
The following morning they ON
tinued their journey down the valley.
Halfway down, the land on each side
Of the creek rose to a slight angle to-
ward the hills on each flank, thus grad
ually narrowing ths area subject to
annual overflow from the creek The
channel OF the creek grew deeper, too;
the man who would irrigate these
lands In summer would have to erect
a very expensive dam to raise the wa
ters above the bank level and divert
them out over his haylands. Unques-
tionably. the upper half Of the valley
was, by far, the most desirable from
every point Of view, and there rose In
the heart Of Robin Kershaw a fierce
desire to own 1t. Yes, he must have
not less than fifty thousand of those
rich acres. He could support a GOV to
every three acres, probably less; that
meant he could run, In the valley
alone, not less than fifteen thousand
head.
"Ill be the cattle king of Eden Val
ley" he told his wife suddenly.
Presently the valley commenced to
pitch downward, the angle of pitch In
creasing gradually as they rode. The
quality of the soil and the quantity OF
grass decreased with the pitch; the
valley commenced gradually to pinch
In until finally they found themselves
riding through a gorge about two hum
dred feet wide, walled In by towering
granite cliffs about a hundred and
fifty feet high. The gorge suddenly
~debouched into a vast, semi-arid plain
into which the surging torrent of Eden
Valley creek poured, gradually fat
tening out In the inhospltable soil
Robin Kershaw turned In his saddle
and looked back. III a Teller wanted
to an there was some other good coun-
try on yonder that wanted irrigation,
he could easy put In a dam In this box