That's
our main dependence for winter range; and now when this drought has
struck us, and everything is drying up, we've had to turn all our cattle
down there on account of water.
"Ever since I took charge of the Pool, Keith and I threw in together and
used the same range, worked our crews together, and fought the sheepmen
together. There was a time when they tried to gobble the Pine Ridge
range, but it didn't go. Keith and I made up our minds that we needed it
worse than they did--and we got it. Our punchers had every sheep herder
bluffed out till there wasn't a mutton-chewer could keep a bunch of
sheep on that range over-night.
"Now, this lease law was made by stockmen, for stockmen. They can lease
land from the government, fence it--and they've got a cinch on it as
long as the lease lasts. A cow outfit can corral a heap of range that
way. There's the trick of leasing every other section or so, and then
running a fence around the whole chunk; and that's what the Pool has
done to the Pine Ridge. But you mustn't repeat that, Trix.
"Milord wasn't long getting on to the leasing graft; in fact, it turns
out the company got wind of it over in England, and sent him over here
to see what could be done in that line. He's done it, all right enough!
"And there's the Cross outfit, frozen out completely. The Lord only
knows what Keith will do with his cattle now, for we'll have every drop
of water under fence inside of a month.
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