the passing of the frontier-第5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！


he　Long　Trail　was　finished　in　a　day。　It　was　begun　more　than　a　century　before　that　day；　and　came　forward　along　the　very　appointed　ways　of　time。。。。　Thus；　far　down　in　the　vague　Southwest；　at　some　distant　time；　in　some　distant　portion　of　old；　mysterious　Mexico；　there　fell　into　line　the　hoof　prints　which　made　the　first　faint　beginnings　of　the　Long　Trail；　merely　the　path　of　a　half　nomadic　movement　along　the　line　of　the　least　resistance。

The　Long　Trail　began　to　deepen　and　extend。　It　received　then；　as　it　did　later；　a　baptism　of　human　blood　such　as　no　other　pathway　of　the　continent　has　known。　The　nomadic　and　the　warlike　days　passed；　and　there　ensued　a　more　quiet　and　pastoral　time。　It　was　the　beginning　of　a　feudalism　of　the　range；　a　barony　rude　enough；　but　a　glorious　one；　albeit　it　began；　like　all　feudalism；　in　large…handed　theft　and　generous　murdering。　The　flocks　of　these　strong　men；　carelessly　interlapping；　increased　and　multiplied　amazingly。　They　were　hardly　looked　upon　as　wealth。　The　people　could　not　eat　a　tithe　of　the　beef；　they　could　not　use　a　hundredth　of　the　leather。　Over　hundreds　and　hundreds　of　miles　of　ownerless　grass　lands；　by　the　rapid　waters　of　the　mountains；　by　the　slow　streams　of　the　plains　or　the　long　and　dark　lagoons　of　the　low　coast　country　the　herds　of　tens　grew　into　droves　of　hundreds　and　thousands　and　hundreds　of　thousands。　This　was　really　the　dawning　of　the　American　cattle　industry。

Chips　and　flakes　of　the　great　Southwestern　herd　began　to　be　seen　in　the　Northern　States。　As　early　as　1857　Texas　cattle　were　driven　to　Illinois。　In　1861　Louisiana　was；　without　success；　tried　as　an　outlet。　In　1867　a　venturous　drover　took　a　herd　across　the　Indian　Nations；　bound　for　California；　and　only　abandoned　the　project　because　the　Plains　Indians　were　then　very　bad　in　the　country　to　the　north。　In　1869　several　herds　were　driven　from　Texas　to　Nevada。　These　were　side　trails　of　the　main　cattle　road。　It　seemed　clear　that　a　great　population　in　the　North　needed　the　cheap　beef　of　Texas；　and　the　main　question　appeared　to　be　one　of　transportation。　No　proper　means　for　this　offered。　The　Civil　War　stopped　almost　all　plans　to　market　the　range　cattle；　and　the　close　of　that　war　found　the　vast　grazing　lands　of　Texas　covered　fairly　with　millions　of　cattle　which　had　no　actual　or　determinate　value。　They　were　sorted　and　branded　and　herded　after　a　fashion；　but　neither　they　nor　their　increase　could　be　converted　into　anything　but　more　cattle。　The　cry　for　a　market　became　imperative。

Meantime　the　Anglo…Saxon　civilization　was　rolling　swiftly　toward　the　upper　West。　The　Indians　were　being　driven　from　the　Plains。　A　solid　army　was　pressing　behind　the　vanguard　of　soldier；　scout；　and　plainsman。　The　railroads　were　pushing　out　into　a　new　and　untracked　empire。　They　carried　the　market　with　them。　The　market　halted；　much　nearer；　though　still　some　hundred　of　miles　to　the　north　of　the　great　herd。　The　Long　Trail　tapped　no　more　at　the　door　of　Illinois；　Missouri；　Arkansas；　but　leaped　north　again　definitely；　this　time　springing　across　the　Red　River　and　up　to　the　railroads；　along　sharp　and　well…defined　channels　deepened　in　the　year　of　1866　alone　by　the　hoofs　of　more　than　a　quarter　of　a　million　cattle。

In　1871；　only　five　years　later；　over　six　hundred　thousand　cattle　crossed　the　Red　River　for　the　Northern　markets。　Abilene；　Newton；　Wichita；　Ellsworth；　Great　Bend；　Dodge；　flared　out　into　a　swift　and　sometime　evil　blossoming。　Thus　the　men　of　the　North　first　came　to　hear　of　the　Long　Trail　and　the　men　who　made　it；　although　really　it　had　begun　long　ago　and　had　been　foreordained　to　grow。

By　this　time；　1867　and　1868；　the　northern　portions　of　the　region　immediately　to　the　east　of　the　Rocky　Mountains　had　been　sufficiently　cleared　of　their　wild　inhabitants　to　admit　a　gradual　though　precarious　settlement。　It　had　been　learned　yet　again　that　the　buffalo　grass　and　the　sweet　waters　of　the　far　North　would　fatten　a　range　broadhorn　to　a　stature　far　beyond　any　it　could　attain　on　the　southern　range。　The　Long　Trail　pushed　rapidly　even　farther　to　the　north　where　there　still　remained　〃free　grass〃　and　a　new　market。　The　territorial　ranges　needed　many　thousands　of　cattle　for　their　stocking；　and　this　demand　took　a　large　part　of　the　Texas　drive　which　came　to　Abilene；　Great　Bend；　and　Fort　Dodge。　Moreover；　the　Government　was　now　feeding　thousands　of　its　new　red　wards；　and　these　Indians　needed　thousands　of　beeves　for　rations；　which　were　driven　from　the　southern　range　to　the　upper　army　posts　and　reservations。　Between　this　Government　demand　and　that　of　the　territorial　stock　ranges　there　was　occupation　for　the　men　who　made　the　saddle　their　home。

The　Long　Trail；　which　had　previously　found　the　black　corn　lands　of　Illinois　and　Missouri；　now　crowded　to　the　West；　until　it　had　reached　Utah　and　Nevada；　and　penetrated　every　open　park　and　mesa　and　valley　of　Colorado；　and　found　all　the　high　plains　of　Wyoming。　Cheyenne　and　Laramie　became　common　words　now；　and　drovers　spoke　as　wisely　of　the　dangers　of　the　Platte　as　a　year　before　they　had　mentioned　those　of　the　Red　River　or　the　Arkansas。　Nor　did　the　Trail　pause　in　its　irresistible　push　to　the　north　until　it　had　found　the　last　of　the　five　great　transcontinental　lines；　far　in　the　British　provinces。　Here　in　spite　of　a　long　season　of　ice　and　snow　the　uttermost　edges　of　the　great　herd　might　survive；　in　a　certain　percentage　at　least；　each　year　in　an　almost　unassisted　struggle　for　existence；　under　conditions　different　enough；　it　would　seem；　from　those　obtaining　at　the　opposite　extreme　of　the　wild　roadway　over　which　they　came。

The　Long　Trail　of　the　cattle…range　was　done！　By　magic　the　cattle　industry　had　spread　over　the　entire　West。　Today　many　men　think　of　that　industry　as　belonging　only　to　the　Southwest；　and　many　would　consider　that　it　was　transferred　to　the　North。　Really　it　was　not　transferred　but　extended；　and　the　trail　of　the　old　drive　marks　the　line　of　that　extension。

Today　the　Long　Trail　is　replaced　by　other　trails；　product　of　the　swift　development　of　the　West；　and　it　remains　as　the　connection；　now　for　the　most　part　historical　only；　between　two　phases　of　an　industry　which；　in　spite　of　differences　of　climate　and　condition；　retain　a　similarity　in　all　essential　features。　When　the　last　steer　of　the　first　herd　was　driven　into　the　corral　at　the　Ultima　Thule　of　the　range；　it　was　the　pony　of　the　American　cowboy　which　squatted　and　wheeled　under　the　spur　and　burst　down　the　straggling　street　of　the　little　frontier　town。　Before　that　time；　and　since　that　time；　it　was　and　has　been　the　same　pony　and　the　same　man　who　have　traveled　the　range；　guarding　and　guiding　the　wild　herds；　from　the　romantic　to　the　commonplace　days　of　the　West。



Chapter　IV。　The　Cowboy

The　Great　West；　vast　and　rude；　brought　forth　men　also　vast　and　rude。　We　pass　today　over　parts　of　that　matchless　region；　and　we　see　the　red　hills　and　ragged　mountain…fronts　cut　and　crushed　into　huge　indefinite　shapes；　to　which　even　a　small　imagination　may　give　a　human　or　more　than　human　form。　It　would　almost　seem　that　the　same　great　hand　which　chiseled　out　these　monumental　forms　had　also　laid　its　fingers　upon　the　people　of　this　region　and　fashioned　them　rude　and　ironlike；　in　harmony　with　the　stern　faces　set　about　them。

Of　all　the　babes　of　that　primeval　mother；　the　West；　the　cowboy　was　perhaps　her　dearest　because　he　was　her　last。　Some　of　her　children　lived　for　centuries；　this　one　for　not　a　triple　decade　before　he　began　to　be　old。　What　was　really　the　life　of　this　child　of　the　wild　region　of　America；　and　what　were　the　conditions　of　the　experience　that　bore　him；　can　never　be　fully　known　by　those　who　have　not　seen　the　West　with　wide　eyesfor　the　cowboy　was　simply　a　part　of　the　West。　He　who　does　not　understand　the　one　can　never　understand　the　other。

If　we　care　truly　to　see　the　cowboy　as　he　was　and　seek　to　give　our　wish　the　dignity　of　a　real　purpose；　we　should　study　him　in　connection　with　his　surroundings　and　in　relation　to　his　work。　Then　we　shall　see　him　not　as　a　curiosity　but　as　a　productnot　as　an　eccentric　driver　of　horned　cattle　but　as　a　man　suited　to　his　times。

Large　tracts　of　that　domain　where　once　the　cowboy　reigned　supreme　have　been　turned　into　farms　by　the　irrigator's　ditch　or　by　the　dry…farmer's　plan。　The　farmer　in　overalls　is　in　many　instances　his　own　stockman　today。　On　the　ranges　of　Arizona；　Wyoming；　and　Texas　and　parts　of　Nevada　we　may　find　the　cowboy；　it　is　true；　even　today：　but　he　is　no　longer　the　Homeric　figure　that　once　dominated　the　plains。　In　what　we　say　as　to　his　trade；　therefore；　or　his　fashion　in　the　practice　of　it；　we　speak　in　terms　of　thirty　or　forty　years　ago；　when　wire　was　unknown；　when　the　round…up　still　was　necessary；　and　the　cowboy's　life　was　indeed　that　of　the　open。

By　the　costume　we　may　often　know　the　man。　The　cowboy's　costume　was　harmonious　with　its　surroundings。　It　was　planned　upon　lines　of　such　stern　utility　as　to　leave　no　possible　thing　which　we　may　call　dispensable。　The　typical　cowboy　costume　could　hardly　be　said　to　contain　a　coat　and　waistcoat。　The　heavy　woolen　shirt；　loose　and　open　at　the　neck；　was　the　common　wear　at　all　seasons　of　the　year　excepting　winter；　and　one　has　often　seen　cowboys　in　the　winter…time　engaged　in　work　about　the　yard　or　corral　of　the　ranch　wearing　no　other　cover　for