American Tewish Archives - American Jewish Archives

crease the rain fall. They also want neighbors to be a power, as it
were, to keep the stock men with their herd[s] away, because as
long as these herds graze by the thousands with wild Texas cattle,
they eat off the grass that retains the moisture in the soil, and
nothing but short, coarse buffalo grass will grow. This is detri-
mental to the soil for farming purposes.
The sections we are going on to are located right on the fresh
cattle trail, and today I learn[ed] that a stock man said that he will
give $200 in cash to any man who will exert enough influence to
keep us from settling here by discouraging us. This was said to
Mr. Sewel Mason, who is one of our staunchest friends and our
neighbor out there. Some of the people here in town are interested
in stock and, of course, don't wish to see us settle there. They are
even sowing discord among our young men by telling them that
they are wasting their lives by going into that section, that it never
rains there, that the ground will produce nothing, etc.
The other party are receiving us, as it were, with open arms.
We are also told that the A. T. & S. F. R. R. will hamper us as
much as possible by detaining our freight, as they are in leag[u]e
with the stock men because it [is] to their interests at present
settlement, on account of taxes, etc., as heretofore mentioned. This
I can already see cropping out, since as yet we have no information
about our freight, which should have been here. The town is situated
on the Arkansas River, and here, from my stopping place, which is
an empty house of Mr. Peters [a local surveyor] situated on a
small elevation (the prairie here is somewhat rolling), I can see for
miles on all sides, and within sight there are great herds of Texas
cattle grazing. These are attended by cowboys who are principally
men of nerve and daring and will be crossed by no one. Every one
carries a belt with a couple of 44 calibre long range revolvers, and
the cartridges -probably a hundred - are encased separately in a
little belt of leather and all attached to the large belt in full view and
easily handled, but they must weigh several pounds, no doubt. They
came in here for dinner today and seem to be all right. Every man
almost in this section carries his shoot iron, as they call it, and many
of them lay down to sleep at night on the floor with all these little
trinkets on their persons. Taking off clothing is out of the question,