the passing of the frontier-第15章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


had　the　distinction　of　being　one　of　the　first　Indian　wars　to　be　well　reported　in　the　newspapers。　We　heard　a　great　deal　of　the　long　and　trying　campaigns　waged　by　the　Army　in　revenge　for　the　murder　of　General　Canby　in　his　council　tent。　We　got　small　glory　out　of　that　war；　perhaps；　but　at　last　we　hanged　the　ringleader　of　the　murderers；　and　the　extreme　Northwest　remained　free　from　that　time　on。

Far　in　the　dry　Southwest；　where　home…building　man　did　not　as　yet　essay　a　general　occupation　of　the　soil；　the　blood…thirsty　Apache　long　waged　a　warfare　which　tried　the　mettle　of　our　Army　as　perhaps　no　other　tribes　ever　have　done。　The　Spaniards　had　fought　these　Apaches　for　nearly　three　hundred　years；　and　had　not　beaten　them。　They　offered　three　hundred　dollars　each　for　Apache　scalps；　and　took　a　certain　number　of　them。　But　they　left　all　the　remaining　braves　sworn　to　an　eternal　enmity。　The　Apaches　became　mountain　outlaws；　whose　blood…mad　thirst　for　revenge　never　died。　No　tribe　ever　fought　more　bitterly。　Hemmed　in　and　surrounded；　with　no　hope　of　escape；　in　some　instances　they　perished　literally　to　the　last　man。　General　George　Crook　finished　the　work　of　cleaning　up　the　Apache　outlaws　only　by　use　of　the　trailers　of　their　own　people　who　sided　with　the　whites　for　pay。　Without　the　Pima　scouts　he　never　could　have　run　down　the　Apaches　as　he　did。　Perhaps　these　were　the　hardest　of　all　the　Plains　Indians　to　find　and　to　fight。　But　in　1872　Crook　subdued　them　and　concentrated　them　in　reservations　in　Arizona。　Ten　years　later；　under　Geronimo；　a　tribe　of　the　Apaches　broke　loose　and　yielded　to　General　Crook　only　after　a　prolonged　war。　Once　again　they　raided　New　Mexico　and　Arizona　in　1885…6。　This　was　the　last　raid　of　Geronimo。　He　was　forced　by　General　Miles　to　surrender　and；　together　with　his　chief　warriors；　was　deported　to　Fort　Pickens　in　Florida。　In　all　these　savage　pitched　battles　and　bloody　skirmishes；　the　surprises　and　murderous　assaults　all　over　the　old　range；　there　were　hundreds　of　settlers　killed；　hundreds　also　of　our　army　men；　including　some　splendid　officers。　In　the　Custer　fight　alone；　on　the　Little　Big　Horn；　the　Army　lost　Custer　himself；　thirteen　commissioned　officers；　and　two　hundred　and　fifty…six　enlisted　men　killed；　with　two　officers　and　fifty…one　men　wounded；　a　total　of　three　hundred　and　twenty…three　killed　and　wounded　in　one　battle。　Custer　had　in　his　full　column　about　seven　hundred　men。　The　number　of　the　Indians　has　been　variously　estimated。　They　had　perhaps　five　thousand　men　in　their　villages　when　they　met　Custer　in　this；　the　most　historic　and　most　ghastly　battle　of　the　Plains。　It　would　be　bootless　to　revive　any　of　the　old　discussions　regarding　Custer　and　his　rash　courage。　Whether　in　error　or　in　wisdom；　he　died；　and　gallantly。　He　and　his　men　helped　clear　the　frontier　for　those　who　were　to　follow；　and　the　task　took　its　toll。　Thus；　slowly　but　steadily；　even　though　handicapped　by　a　vacillating　governmental　policy　regarding　the　Indians；　we　muddled　through　these　great　Indian　wars　of　the　frontier；　our　soldiers　doing　their　work　splendidly　and　uncomplainingly；　such　work　as　no　other　body　of　civilized　troops　has　ever　been　asked　to　do　or　could　have　done　if　asked。　At　the　close　of　the　Civil　War　we　ourselves　were　a　nation　of　fighting　men。　We　were　fit　and　we　were　prepared。　The　average　of　our　warlike　qualities　never　has　been　so　high　as　then。　The　frontier　produced　its　own　pathfinders；　its　own　saviors；　its　own　fighting　men。

So　now　the　frontier　lay　ready；　waiting　for　the　man　with　the　plough。　The　dawn　of　that　last　day　was　at　hand。



Chapter　VIII。　The　Cattle　Kings

It　is　proper　now　to　look　back　yet　again　over　the　scenes　with　which　we　hitherto　have　had　to　do。　It　is　after　the　railways　have　come　to　the　Plains。　The　Indians　now　are　vanishing。　The　buffalo　have　not　yet　gone；　but　are　soon　to　pass。

Until　the　closing　days　of　the　Civil　War　the　northern　range　was　a　wide；　open　domain；　the　greatest　ever　offered　for　the　use　of　a　people。　None　claimed　it　then　in　fee；　none　wanted　it　in　fee。　The　grasses　and　the　sweet　waters　offered　accessible　and　profitable　chemistry　for　all　men　who　had　cows　to　range。　The　land　laws　still　were　vague　and　inexact　in　application；　and　each　man　could　construe　them　much　as　he　liked。　The　excellent　homestead　law　of　1862；　one　of　the　few　really　good　land　laws　that　have　been　put　on　our　national　statute　books；　worked　well　enough　so　long　as　we　had　good　farming　lands　for　homesteadinglands　of　which　a　quarter　section　would　support　a　home　and　a　family。　This　same　homestead　law　was　the　only　one　available　for　use　on　the　cattle…range。　In　practice　it　was　violated　thousands　of　timesin　fact；　of　necessity　violated　by　any　cattle　man　who　wished　to　acquire　sufficient　range　to　run　a　considerable　herd。　Our　great　timber　kings；　our　great　cattle　kings；　made　their　fortunes　out　of　their　open　contempt　for　the　homestead　law；　which　was　designed　to　give　all　the　people　an　even　chance　for　a　home　and　a　farm。　It　made；　and　lost；　America。

Swiftly　enough；　here　and　there　along　all　the　great　waterways　of　the　northern　range；　ranchers　and　their　men　filed　claims　on　the　water　fronts。　The　dry　land　thus　lay　tributary　to　them。　For　the　most　part　the　open　lands　were　held　practically　under　squatter　right；　the　first　cowman　in　any　valley　usually　had　his　rights　respected；　at　least　for　a　time。　These　were　the　days　of　the　open　range。　Fences　had　not　come；　nor　had　farms　been　staked　out。

From　the　South　now　appeared　that　tremendous　and　elemental　forcemost　revolutionary　of　all　the　great　changes　we　have　noted　in　the　swiftly　changing　Westthe　bringing　in　of　thousands　of　horned　kine　along　the　northbound　trails。　The　trails　were　hurrying　from　the　Rio　Grande　to　the　upper　plains　of　Texas　and　northward；　along　the　north　and　south　line　of　the　Frontierthat　land　which　now　we　have　been　seeking　less　to　define　and　to　mark　precisely　than　fundamentally　to　understand。

The　Indian　wars　had　much　to　do　with　the　cow　trade。　The　Indians　were　crowded　upon　the　reservations；　and　they　had　to　be　fed；　and　fed　on　beef。　Corrupt　Indian　agents　made　fortunes；　and　the　Beef　Ring　at　Washington；　one　of　the　most　despicable　lobbies　which　ever　fattened　there；　now　wrote　its　brief　and　unworthy　history。　In　a　strange　way　corrupt　politics　and　corrupt　business　affected　the　phases　of　the　cattle　industry　as　they　had　affected　our　relations　with　the　Indians。　More　than　once　a　herd　of　some　thousand　beeves　driven　up　from　Texas　on　contract；　and　arriving　late　in　autumn；　was　not　accepted　on　its　arrival　at　the　army　postsome　pet　of　Washington　perhaps　had　his　own　herd　to　sell！　All　that　could　be　done　then　would　be　to　seek　out　a　〃holding　range。〃　In　this　way；　more　and　more；　the　capacity　of　the　northern　Plains　to　nourish　and　improve　cattle　became　established。

Naturally；　the　price　of　cows　began　to　rise；　and　naturally；　also；　the　demand　for　open　range　steadily　increased。　There　now　began　the　whole　complex　story　of　leased　lands　and　fenced　lands。　The　frontier　still　was　offering　opportunity　for　the　bold　man　to　reap　where　he　had　not　sown。　Lands　leased　to　the　Indians　of　the　civilized　tribes　began　to　cut　large　figure　in　the　cow　tradeas　well　as　some　figure　in　politicsuntil　at　length　the　thorny　situation　was　handled　by　a　firm　hand　at　Washington。　The　methods　of　the　East　were　swiftly　overrunning　those　of　the　West。　Politics　and　graft　and　pull；　things　hitherto　unknown；　soon　wrote　their　hurrying　story　also　over　all　this　newly　won　region　from　which　the　rifle…smoke　had　scarcely　yet　cleared　away。

But　every　herd　which　passed　north　for　delivery　of　one　sort　or　the　other　advanced　the　education　of　the　cowman；　whether　of　the　northern　or　the　southern　ranges。　Some　of　the　southern　men　began　to　start　feeding　ranges　in　the　North；　retaining　their　breeding　ranges　in　the　South。　The　demand　of　the　great　upper　range　for　cattle　seemed　for　the　time　insatiable。

To　the　vision　of　the　railroad　builders　a　tremendous　potential　freightage　now　appeared。　The　railroad　builders　began　to　calculate　that　one　day　they　would　parallel　the　northbound　cow　trail　with　iron　trails　of　their　own　and　compete　with　nature　for　the　carrying　of　this　beef。　The　whole　swift　story　of　all　that　development；　while　the　westbound　rails　were　crossing　and　crisscrossing　the　newly　won　frontier；　scarce　lasted　twenty　years。　Presently　we　began　to　hear　in　the　East　of　the　Chisholm　Trail　and　of　the　Western　Trail　which　lay　beyond　it；　and　of　many　smaller　and　intermingling　branches。　We　heard　of　Ogallalla；　in　Nebraska；　the　〃Gomorrah　of　the　Range；〃　the　first　great　upper　marketplace　for　distribution　of　cattle　to　the　swiftly　forming　northern　ranches。　The　names　of　new　rivers　came　upon　our　maps；　and　beyond　the　first　railroads　we　began　to　hear　of　the　Yellowstone；　the　Powder；　the　Musselshell；　the　Tongue；　the　Big　Horn；　the　Little　Missouri。

The　wild　life；　bold　and　carefree；　coming　up　from　the　South　now　in　a　mighty　surging　wave；　spread　all　over　that　new　West　which　offered　to　the　people　of　older　lands　a　strange　and　fascinating　interest。　Every　one　on　the　range　had　money；　every　one　was　independent。　Once　more　it　seemed　that　man　had　been　able　to　overleap　the　confining　limitations　of　his　life；　and　to　attain　independence；　self…indulgence；　ease　and　liberty。　A　chorus　of　Homeric；　riotous　mirth；　as　of　a　land　in　laughter；　rose　up　all　over　the　great　range。　After　all；　it　seemed　that　we　had　a　new　world　left；　a　land　not　yet　used。　We　still　were　young！　The　cry　arose　that　there　was　land　enough　for　all　out　West。　And　at　first　the　trains　of　white…topped　wagons　rivaled　the　crowded　coaches　westbound　on　the　rails。

In　consequence　there　came　an　entire　readjustment　of　values。　This　country；　but　yesterday　barren　and　worthless；　now　was　covered　with　gold；　deeper　than　the　gold　of　California　or　any　of　the　old　placers。　New　securities　and　new　values　appeared。　Banks　did　not　care　much　for　the　land　as　securityit　was　practically　worthless　without　the　cattlebut　they　would　lend　money　on　cattle　at　rates　which　did　not　then　seem　usurious。　A　new　system　of　finance　came　into　use。　Side　by　side　with　the　expansion　of　credits　went　the　expansion　of　the　cattle　business。　Literally　in　hundreds　of　thousands　the　cows　came　north　from　the　exhaustless　ranges　of　the　lower　country。

It　was　a　wild；　strange　day。　But　withal　it　was　the　kindliest　and　most　generous　time；　alike　the　most　contented　and　the　boldest　time；　in　all　the　history　of　our　frontiers。　There　never　was　a　better　life　than　that　of　the　cowman　who　had　a　good　range　on　the　Plains　and　cattle　enough　to　stock　his　range。　There　never　will　be　found　a　better　man's　country　in　all　the　world　than　that　which　ran　from　the　Missouri　up　to　the　low　foothills　of　the　Rockies。

The　lower　cities　took　their　tribute　of　the　northbound　cattle　for　quite　a　time。　Wichita；　Coffeyville；　and　other　towns　of　lower　Kansas　in　turn　made　bids　for　prominence　as　cattle　marts。　Agents　of　the　Chicago　stockyards　would　come　down　along　the　trails　into　the　Indian　Nations　to　meet　the　northbound　herds　and　to　try　to　divert　them　to　this　or　that　market　as　a　shipping…point。　The　Kiowas　and　Comanches；　not　yet　wholly　confined　to　their　reservations；　sometimes　took　tribute；　whether　in　theft　or　in　open　extortion；　of　the　herds　laboring　upward　through　the　long　slow　season。　Trail…cutters　and　herd…combers；　licensed　or　unlicensed　hangers…on　to　the　northbound　throngs　of　cattle；　appeared　along　the　lower　trailswith　some　reason；　occasio