the passing of the frontier-第4节

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！


th　and　growth。

There　lay；　then；　so　long　unused；　that　vast　and　splendid　land　so　soon　to　write　romantic　history　of　its　own；　so　soon　to　come　into　the　admiration　or　the　wonder　of　a　great　portion　of　the　eartha　land　of　fascinating　interest　to　the　youth　of　every　country；　and　a　region　whose　story　holds　a　charm　for　young　and　old　alike　even　today。　It　was　a　region　royal　in　its　dimensions。　Far　on　the　west　it　was　hedged　by　the　gray…sided　and　white…topped　mountains；　the　Rockies。　Where　the　buffalo　once　lived；　the　cattle　were　to　live；　high　up　in　the　foothills　of　this　great　mountain　range　which　ran　from　the　Rio　Grande　to　Canada。　On　the　east；　where　lay　the　Prairies　rather　than　the　Plains；　it　was　a　country　waving　with　high　native　grasses；　with　many　brilliant　flowers　hiding　among　them；　the　sweet…William；　the　wild　rose；　and　often　great　masses　of　the　yellow　sunflower。

》From　the　Rio　Grande　to　the　Athabaska；　for　the　greater　part；　the　frontier　sky　was　blue　and　cloudless　during　most　of　the　year。　The　rainfall　was　not　great。　The　atmosphere　was　dry。　It　was　a　cheerful　country；　one　of　optimism　and　not　of　gloom。　In　the　extreme　south；　along　the　Rio　Grande；　the　climate　was　moister；　warmer；　more　enervating；　but　on　the　high　steppes　of　the　middle　range　in　Colorado；　Wyoming；　Montana；　western　Nebraska；　there　lay　the　finest　out…of…doors　country；　man's　country　the　finest　of　the　earth。

But　for　the　time；　busy　with　more　accustomed　things；　mining　and　freighting　and　fighting　and　hunting　and　trading　and　trapping；　we　Americans　who　had　arrived　upon　the　range　cared　little　for　cows。　The　upper　thrust　of　the　great　herds　from　the　south　into　the　north　had　not　begun。　It　was　after　the　Civil　War　that　the　first　great　drives　of　cattle　from　the　south　toward　the　north　began；　and　after　men　had　learned　in　the　State　of　Texas　that　cattle　moved　from　the　Rio　Grande　to　the　upper　portions　of　the　State　and　fed　on　the　mesquite　grass　would　attain　greater　stature　than　in　the　hot　coast　country。　Then　swiftly；　somewhat　luridly；　there　leaped　into　our　comprehension　and　our　interest　that　strange　country　long　loosely　held　under　our　flag；　the　region　of　the　Plains；　the　region　which　we　now　call　the　Old　West。

In　great　bands；　in　long　lines；　slowly；　towheaded；　sore…footed；　the　vast　gatherings　of　the　prolific　lower　range　moved　north；　each　cow　with　its　title　indelibly　marked　upon　its　hide。　These　cattle　were　now　going　to　take　the　place　of　those　on　which　the　Indians　had　depended　for　their　living　these　many　years。　A　new　day　in　American　history　had　dawned。



Chapter　III。　The　Cattle　Trails

The　customary　method　of　studying　history　by　means　of　a　series　of　events　and　dates　is　not　the　method　which　we　have　chosen　to　employ　in　this　study　of　the　Old　West。　Speaking　generally；　our　minds　are　unable　to　assimilate　a　condensed　mass　of　events　and　dates；　and　that　is　precisely　what　would　be　required　of　us　if　we　should　attempt　here　to　follow　the　ways　of　conventional　history。　Dates　are　at　best　no　more　than　milestones　on　the　pathway　of　time；　and　in　the　present　instance　it　is　not　the　milestones　but　the　road　itself　with　which　we　are　concerned。　Where　does　the　road　begin？　Why　comes　it　hither？　Whither　does　it　lead？　These　are　the　real　questions。

Under　all　the　exuberance　of　the　life　of　the　range　there　lay　a　steady　business　of　tremendous　size　and　enormous　values。　The　〃uproarious　iniquity〃　of　the　West；　its　picturesqueness；　its　vividnessthese　were　but　froth　on　the　stream。　The　stream　itself　was　a　steady　and　somber　flood。　Beyond　this　picturesqueness　of　environment　very　few　have　cared　to　go；　and　therefore　sometimes　have　had　little　realization　of　the　vastness　of　the　cowboy's　kingdom；　the　〃magnitude　of　the　interests　in　his　care；　or　the　fortitude；　resolution；　and　instant　readiness　essential　to　his　daily　life。〃　The　American　cowboy　is　the　most　modern　representative　of　a　human　industry　that　is　second　to　very　few　in　antiquity。

Julius　Caesar　struck　the　note　of　real　history：　Quorum　pars　magna　fui〃Of　which　I　was　a　great　part。〃　If　we　are　to　seek　the　actual　truth；　we　ought　most　to　value　contemporary　records；　representations　made　by　men　who　were　themselves　a　part　of　the　scenes　which　they　describe。　In　that　way　we　shall　arrive　not　merely　upon　lurid　events；　not　alone　upon　the　stereotyped　characters　of　the　〃Wild　West；〃　but　upon　causes　which　are　much　more　interesting　and　immensely　more　valuable　than　any　merely　titillating　stories　from　the　weirdly　illustrated　Apocrypha　of　the　West。　We　must　go　below　such　things　if　we　would　gain　a　just　and　lasting　estimate　of　the　times。　We　ought　to　look　on　the　old　range　neither　as　a　playground　of　idle　men　nor　as　a　scene　of　hysterical　and　contorted　human　activities。　We　ought　to　look　upon　it　from　the　point　of　view　of　its　uses　to　mankind。　The　explorers　found　it　a　wilderness；　the　home　of　the　red　man　and　the　buffalo。　What　were　the　underlying　causes　of　its　settlement　and　development？

There　is　in　history　no　agency　so　wondrous　in　events；　no　working　instrumentality　so　great　as　transportation。　The　great　seeking　of　all　human　life　is　to　find　its　level。　Perhaps　the　first　men　traveled　by　hollowed　logs　down　stream。　Then　possibly　the　idea　of　a　sail　was　conceived。　Early　in　the　story　of　the　United　States　men　made　commercial　journeys　from　the　head　of　the　Ohio　to　the　mouth　of　the　Mississippi　by　flatboats；　and　came　back　by　keelboats。　The　pole；　the　cordelle；　the　paddle；　and　the　sail；　in　turn　helped　them　to　navigate　the　great　streams　which　led　out　into　the　West。　And　presently　there　was　to　come　that　tremendous　upheaval　wrought　by　the　advent　of　the　iron　trails　which；　scorning　alike　waterways　and　mountain　ranges；　flung　themselves　almost　directly　westward　across　the　continent。

The　iron　trails；　crossing　the　northern　range　soon　after　the　Civil　War；　brought　a　market　to　the　cattle　country。　Inevitably　the　men　of　the　lower　range　would　seek　to　reach　the　railroads　with　what　they　had　to　selltheir　greatest　natural　product；　cattle　on　the　hoof。　This　was　the　primary　cause　of　the　great　northbound　drives　already　mentioned；　the　greatest　pastoral　phenomena　in　the　story　of　the　world。

The　southern　herds　at　that　time　had　no　market　at　their　doors。　They　had　to　go　to　the　market；　and　they　had　to　go　on　foot。　That　meant　that　they　must　be　driven　northward　by　cattle　handlers　who　had　passed　their　days　in　the　wild　life　of　the　lower　range。　These　cowmen　of　course　took　their　character　and　their　customs　northward　with　them；　and　so　they　were　discovered　by　those　enthusiastic　observers；　newly　arrived　by　rail；　whom　the　cowmen　were　wont　to　call　〃pilgrims。〃

Now　the　trail　of　the　great　cattle　drivesthe　Long　Trail…was　a　thing　of　tremendous　importance　of　itself　and　it　is　still　full　of　interest。　As　it　may　not　easily　be　possible　for　the　author　to　better　a　description　of　it　that　was　written　some　twenty　years　ago；　that　description　is　here　again　set　down。*

*　〃The　Story　of　the　Cowboy；〃　by　E。　Hough。　Appleton。　1897。　Reprinted　by　permission。


The　braiding　of　a　hundred　minor　pathways；　the　Long　Trail　lay　like　a　vast　rope　connecting　the　cattle　country　of　the　South　with　that　of　the　North。　Lying　loose　or　coiling；　it　ran　for　more　than　two　thousand　miles　along　the　eastern　edge　of　the　Rocky　Mountains；　sometimes　close　in　at　their　feet；　again　hundreds　of　miles　away　across　the　hard　tablelands　or　the　well…flowered　prairies。　It　traversed　in　a　fair　line　the　vast　land　of　Texas；　curled　over　the　Indian　Nations；　over　Kansas；　Colorado；　Nebraska；　Wyoming；　and　Montana；　and　bent　in　wide　overlapping　circles　as　far　west　as　Utah　and　Nevada；　as　far　east　as　Missouri；　Iowa；　even　Illinois；　and　as　far　north　as　the　British　possessions。　Even　today　you　may　trace　plainly　its　former　course；　from　its　faint　beginnings　in　the　lazy　land　of　Mexico；　the　Ararat　of　the　cattle…range。　It　is　distinct　across　Texas；　and　multifold　still　in　the　Indian　lands。　Its　many　intermingling　paths　still　scar　the　iron　surface　of　the　Neutral　Strip；　and　the　plows　have　not　buried　all　the　old　furrows　in　the　plains　of　Kansas。　Parts　of　the　path　still　remain　visible　in　the　mountain　lands　of　the　far　North。　You　may　see　the　ribbons　banding　the　hillsides　today　along　the　valley　of　the　Stillwater；　and　along　the　Yellowstone　and　toward　the　source　of　the　Missouri。　The　hoof　marks　are　beyond　the　Musselshell；　over　the　Bad　Lands　and　the　coulees　and　the　flat　prairies；　and　far　up　into　the　land　of　the　long　cold　you　may　see；　even　today　if　you　like；　the　shadow　of　that　unparalleled　pathway；　the　Long　Trail　of　the　cattle…range。　History　has　no　other　like　it。

The　Long　Trail　was　surveyed　and　constructed　in　a　century　and　a　day。　Over　the　Red　River　of　the　South；　a　stream　even　today　perhaps　known　but　vaguely　in　the　minds　of　many　inhabitants　of　the　country；　there　appeared；　almost　without　warning；　vast　processions　of　strange　horned　kineprocessions　of　enormous　wealth；　owned　by　kings　who　paid　no　tribute；　and　guarded　by　men　who　never　knew　a　master。　Whither　these　were　bound；　what　had　conjured　them　forth；　whence　they　came；　were　questions　in　the　minds　of　the　majority　of　the　population　of　the　North　and　East　to　whom　the　phenomenon　appeared　as　the　product　of　a　day。　The　answer　to　these　questions　lay　deep　in　the　laws　of　civilization；　and　extended　far　back　into　that　civilization's　history。　The　Long　Trail　was　finished　in　a　day。　It　was　begun　more　than　a　century　before　that　day；　and　came　forw