INTRODUCTION xxxiii 



trolled by foreign capital, benefited by this condi- 

 tion of affairs. These "big men," as they were 

 called, illegally fenced and monopolized large areas, 

 varying in size from townships to entire counties. 

 What chance would a local rancher with fifty or 

 sixty cattle have against a million-dollar outfit with 

 perhaps 40,000 to 50,000 cattle? He was merely 

 swallowed up, so to speak, and had no chance what- 

 ever to get his small share. "Might made right" 

 in those days, and it is said that if a man held any 

 title or equity on the range it was a "shotgun" 

 title. Also, the sheep and cattle men had innu- 

 merable disputes about the use of the range which 

 in many cases resulted in bloodshed. If a sheep 

 man arrived first on the range in the spring with 

 his large bands of sheep, he simply took the feed. 

 The Government owned the land and the forage 

 but it had no organization in the field to regulate 

 the use of it. It was indeed a chaotic condition 

 of affairs and ended only after the inauguration 

 of the present policy of leasing the lands under the 

 permit system. These permits are issued and 

 charged for upon a per capita basis. 



The conservative and regulated use of the graz- 

 ing lands under Forest Service supervision has re- 



