CHAPTER XIV 



ON A CATTLE-RANGE 



IN 1883 the Western cattle business was in the hey- 

 day of its prosperity. English and Scotch companies 

 had been formed with substantial capitals to acquire, 

 and they had acquired, large herds of range cattle in 

 Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, and 

 New Mexico. Stock-owning in the wild and woolly 

 West appealed alike to the English investor and to 

 the hard-headed Scotchmen of the North Country. 

 Here was any quantity of fine grazing-land west of 

 the Missouri River belonging to Uncle Sam, that was 

 to be had for the asking^ so to speak. The summer 

 grazing for cattle through the foot-hills of the 

 Rockies was simply magnificent. Had it not sup- 

 ported buffalo in millions, and wapiti, antelope and 

 deer in thousands, for the past few centuries, or 

 perhaps ever since time and creation began ? 



Now that the buffalo were wiped out, and other 

 kinds of graminivorous game were in the process of 

 being civilized off the face of these splendid natural 

 grass ranges of a new western continent, here was 

 obviously the chance of a lifetime for remunerative 

 stock-owning on a large scale. Buy the cattle, 

 register a brand, turn loose a crew of cowboys under 



283 



