the passing of the frontier-第3节

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But　for　long　there　was　no　sign　of　permanent　settlement　on　the　Plains；　and　no　one　thought　of　this　region　as　the　frontier。　The　men　there　who　were　prospecting　and　exploiting　were　classified　as　no　more　than　adventurers。　No　one　seems　to　have　taken　a　lesson　from　the　Indian　and　the　buffalo。　The　reports　of　Fremont　long　since　had　called　attention　to　the　nourishing　quality　of　those　grasses　of　the　high　country；　but　the　day　of　the　cowboy　had　not　yet　dawned。　There　is　a　somewhat　feeble　story　which　runs　to　the　effect　that　in　1866　one　of　the　great　wagon…trains；　caught　by　the　early　snows　of　winter；　was　obliged　to　abandon　its　oxen　on　the　range。　It　was　supposed　that；　of　course；　the　oxen　must　perish　during　the　winter。　But　next　spring　the　owners　were　surprised　to　find　that　the　oxen；　so　far　from　perishing；　had　flourished　very　muchindeed；　were　fat　and　in　good　condition。　So　runs　the　story　which　is　often　repeated。　It　may　be　true；　but　to　accredit　to　this　incident　the　beginnings　of　the　cattle　industry　in　the　Indian　country　would　surely　be　going　too　far。　The　truth　is　that　the　cow　industry　was　not　a　Saxon　discovery。　It　was　a　Latin　enterprise；　flourishing　in　Mexico　long　before　the　first　of　these　miners　and　adventurers　came　on　the　range。

Something　was　known　of　the　Spanish　lands　to　the　south　through　the　explorations　of　Pike；　but　more　through　the　commerce　of　the　prairiesthe　old　wagon　trade　from　the　Missouri　River　to　the　Spanish　cities　of　Sante　Fe　and　Chihuahua。　Now　the　cow　business；　south　of　the　Rio　Grande；　was　already　well　differentiated　and　developed　at　the　time　the　first　adventurers　from　the　United　States　went　into　Texas　and　began　to　crowd　their　Latin　neighbors　for　more　room。　There　it　was　that　our　Saxon　frontiersmen　first　discovered　the　cattle　industry。　But　these　southern　and　northern　riflemenruthless　and　savage；　yet　strangely　statesmanlikethough　they　might　betimes　drive　away　the　owners　of　the　herds；　troubled　little　about　the　herds　themselves。　There　was　a　certain　fascination　to　these　rude　strangers　in　the　slow　and　easeful　civilization　of　Old　Spain　which　they　encountered　in　the　land　below　them。　Little　by　little；　and　then　largely　and　yet　more　largely；　the　warriors　of　San　Jacinto　reached　out　and　began　to　claim　lands　for　themselvesleagues　and　uncounted　leagues　of　land；　which　had；　however；　no　market　value。　Well　within　the　memory　of　the　present　generation　large　tracts　of　good　land　were　bought　in　Texas　for　six　cents　an　acre；　some　was　bought　for　half　that　price　in　a　time　not　much　earlier。　Today　much　of　that　land　is　producing　wealth；　but　land　then　was　worthlessand　so　were　cows。

This　civilization　of　the　Southwest；　of　the　new　Republic　of　Texas；　may　be　regarded　as　the　first　enduring　American　result　of　contact　with　the　Spanish　industry。　The　men　who　won　Texas　came　mostly　from　Kentucky　and　Tennessee　or　southern　Ohio；　and　the　first　colonizer　of　Texas　was　a　Virginian；　Stephen　Fuller　Austin。　They　came　along　the　old　Natchez　Trace　from　Nashville　to　the　Mississippi　Riverthat　highway　which　has　so　much　history　of　its　own。　Down　this　old　winding　trail　into　the　greatest　valley　of　all　the　world；　and　beyond　that　valley　out　into　the　Spanish　country；　moved　steadily　the　adventurers　whose　fathers　had　but　recently　crossed　the　Appalachians。　One　of　the　strongest　thrusts　of　the　American　civilization　thus　entered　the　cattle…range　at　its　lower　end；　between　the　Rio　Grande　and　the　Red　River。

In　all　the　several　activities；　mining；　freighting；　scouting；　soldiering；　riding　pony　express；　or　even　sheer　adventuring　for　what　might　come；　there　was　ever　a　trading　back　and　forth　between　home…staying　men　and　adventuring　men。　Thus　there　was　an　interchange　of　knowledge　and　of　customs　between　East　and　West；　between　our　old　country　and　our　new。　There　was　an　interchange；　too；　at　the　south；　where　our　Saxon　civilization　came　in　touch　with　that　of　Mexico。

We　have　now　to　note　some　fundamental　facts　and　principles　of　the　cattle　industry　which　our　American　cattlemen　took　over　ready…made　from　the　hands　of　Mexico。

The　Mexicans　in　Texas　had　an　abundance　of　small；　hardy　horses　of　African　and　Spanish　breed；　which　Spain　had　brought　into　the　New　Worldthe　same　horses　that　the　Moors　had　brought　into　Spaina　breed　naturally　hardy　and　able　to　subsist　upon　dry　food。　Without　such　horses　there　could　have　been　no　cattle　industry。　These　horses；　running　wild　in　herds；　had　crossed　to　the　upper　Plains。　La　Verendrye；　and　later　Lewis　and　Clark；　had　found　the　Indians　using　horses　in　the　north。　The　Indians；　as　we　have　seen；　had　learned　to　manage　the　horse。　Formerly　they　had　used　dogs　to　drag　the　travois；　but　now　they　used　the　〃elk…dog；〃　as　they　first　called　the　horse。

In　the　original　cow　country；　that　is；　in　Mexico　and　Texas；　countless　herds　of　cattle　were　held　in　a　loose　sort　of　ownership　over　wide　and　unknown　plains。　Like　all　wild　animals　in　that　warm　country；　they　bred　in　extraordinary　numbers。　The　southern　range；　indeed；　has　always　been　called　the　breeding　range。　The　cattle　had　little　value。　He　who　wanted　beef　killed　beef。　He　who　wanted　leather　killed　cattle　for　their　hides。　But　beyond　these　scant　and　infrequent　uses　cattle　had　no　definite　value。

The　Mexican；　however；　knew　how　to　handle　cows。　He　could　ride　a　horse；　and　he　could　rope　cattle　and　brand　them。　Most　of　the　cattle　of　a　wide　range　would　go　to　certain　water…holes　more　or　less　regularly；　where　they　might　be　roughly　collected　or　estimated。　This　coming　of　the　cattle　to　the　watering…places　made　it　unnecessary　for　owners　of　cattle　to　acquire　ranch　land。　It　was　enough　to　secure　the　water…front　where　the　cows　must　go　to　drink。　That　gave　the　owner　all　the　title　he　needed。　His　right　to　the　increase　he　could　prove　by　another　phenomenon　of　nature；　just　as　inevitable　and　invariable　as　that　of　thirst。　The　maternal　instinct　of　a　cow　and　the　dependence　of　the　calf　upon　its　mother　gave　the　old　rancher　of　immemorial　times　sufficient　proof　of　ownership　in　the　increase　of　his　herd。　The　calf　would　run　with　its　own　mother　and　with　no　other　cow　through　its　first　season。　So　that　if　an　old　Mexican　ranchero　saw　a　certain　number　of　cows　at　his　watering…places；　and　with　them　calves；　he　knew　that　all　before　him　were　his　propertyor；　at　least；　he　claimed　them　as　such　and　used　them。

Still；　this　was　loose…footed　property。　It　might　stray　away　after　all；　or　it　might　be　driven　away。　Hence；　in　some　forgotten　time；　our　shrewd　Spaniard　invented　a　system　of　proof　of　ownership　which　has　always　lain　at　the　very　bottom　of　the　organized　cow　industry；　he　invented　the　method　of　branding。　This　meant　his　sign；　his　name；　his　trade…mark；　his　proof　of　ownership。　The　animal　could　not　shake　it　off。　It　would　not　burn　off　in　the　sun　or　wash　off　in　the　rain。　It　went　with　the　animal　and　could　not　be　eradicated　from　the　animal's　hide。　Wherever　the　bearer　was　seen；　the　brand　upon　its　hide　provided　certain　identification　of　the　owner。

Now；　all　these　basic　ideas　of　the　cow　industry　were　old　on　the　lower　range　in　Texas　when　our　white　men　first　drifted　thither。　The　cattle　industry；　although　in　its　infancy；　and　although　supposed　to　have　no　great　future；　was　developed　long　before　Texas　became　a　republic。　It　never；　indeed；　changed　very　much　from　that　time　until　the　end　of　its　own　career。

One　great　principle　was　accepted　religiously　even　in　those　early　and　crude　days。　A　man's　cow　was　HIS　cow。　A　man's　brand　was　HIS　brand。　There　must　be　no　interference　with　his　ownership。　Hence　certain　other　phases　of　the　industry　followed　inevitably。　These　cattle；　these　calves；　each　branded　by　the　iron　of　the　owner；　in　spite　of　all　precautions；　began　to　mingle　as　settlers　became　more　numerous；　hence　came　the　idea　of　the　round…up。　The　country　was　warm　and　lazy。　If　a　hundred　or　a　thousand　cows　were　not　collected；　very　well。　If　a　calf　were　separated　from　its　mother；　very　well。　The　old　ranchers　never　quarreled　among　themselves。　They　never　would　have　made　in　the　South　anything　like　a　cattle　association；　it　was　left　for　the　Yankees　to　do　that　at　a　time　when　cows　had　come　to　have　far　greater　values。　There　were　few　arguments　in　the　first　rodeos　of　the　lower　range。　One　rancher　would　vie　with　his　neighbor　in　generosity　in　the　matter　of　unbranded　calves。　Haggling　would　have　been　held　contemptible。　On　the　lower　range　in　the　old　times　no　one　cared　much　about　a　cow。　Why　should　one　do　so？　There　was　no　market　for　cowsno　one　who　wished　to　buy　them。　If　one　tendered　a　Mexican　cinquo　pesos　for　a　yearling　or　a　two…year…old；　the　owner　might　perhaps　offer　the　animal　as　a　gift；　or　he　might　smile　and　say　〃Con　mucho　gusto〃　as　he　was　handed　a　few　pieces　of　silver。　There　were　plenty　of　cows　everywhere　in　the　world！

Let　us；　therefore；　give　the　old　Spaniard　full　credit　alike　in　picturesque　romance　and　in　the　organized　industry　of　the　cow。　The　westbound　thrust　which　came　upon　the　upper　part　of　the　range　in　the　days　of　more　shrewd　and　exacting　business　methods　was　simply　the　best…known　and　most　published　phase　of　frontier　life　in　the　cow　country；　hence　we　have　usually　accepted　it　as　typical。　It　would　not　be　accurate　to　say　that　the　cattle　industry　was　basically　much　influenced　or　governed　by　northern　or　eastern　men。　In　practically　all　of　its　great　phenomena　the　frontier　of　the　old　cow…range　was　southern　by　birth　and　growth。

There　lay；　then；　so　long　unused；　that　vast