XXI. THE FRUITS OF CONSPIRACY

by Andy Adams

　　THE FRUITS OF CONSPIRACYWith a loss of fully fifteen thousand cattle staring me in the face, Ibegan planning to recuperate the fortunes of the company. The cattleconvention, which was then over, was conspicuous by the absence of allNorthern buyers. George Edwards had attended the meeting, was cautiousenough to make no contracts for the firm, and fully warned me ofthe situation. I was in a quandary; with an idle treasury of over amillion, my stewardship would be subject to criticism unless I becameactive in the interests of my company. On the other hand, a dangerouscloud hung over the range, and until that was removed I felt like aman who was sent for and did not want to go. The falling market inTexas was an encouragement, but my experience of the previous winterhad had a dampening effect, and I was simply drifting between adversewinds. But once it was known that I had returned home, my oldcustomers approached me by letter and personally, anxious to sell andcontract for immediate delivery. Trail drovers were standing aloof,afraid of the upper markets, and I could have easily bought double myrequirements without leaving the ranch. The grass was peeping here andthere, favorable reports came down from the reservation, and still Isat idle.The appearance of Major Hunter acted like a stimulus. Reports aboutthe new administration were encouraging--not from our silent partner,who was not in sympathy with the dominant party, but from otherprominent stockholders who were. The original trio--the little major,our segundo, and myself--lay around under the shade of the treesseveral days and argued the possibilities that confronted us on trailand ranch. Edwards reproached me for my fears, referring to the time,nineteen years before, when as common hands we fought our way acrossthe Staked Plain and delivered the cattle safely at Fort Sumner. Heeven taunted me with the fact that our employers then never hesitated,even if half the Comanche tribe were abroad, roving over their oldhunting grounds, and that now I was afraid of a handful of armyfollowers, contractors, and owners of bar concessions. Edwards knewthat I would stand his censure and abuse as long as the truth wastold, and with the major acting as peacemaker between us I was finallywhipped into line. With a fortune already in hand, rounding out myforty-fifth year, I looted the treasury by contracting and buyingsixty thousand cattle for my company.The surplus horses were ordered down from above, and the springcampaign began in earnest. The old firm was to confine its operationsto fine steers, handling my personal contribution as before, while Irallied my assistants, and we began receiving the contracted cattle atonce. Observation had taught me that in wintering beeves in the Northit was important to give the animals every possible moment of time tolocate before the approach of winter. The instinct of a dumb beast isunexplainable yet unerring. The owner of a horse may choose a rangethat seems perfect in every appointment, but the animal will spurn thehuman selection and take up his abode on some flinty hills, and therethrive like a garden plant. Cattle, especially steers, locate slowly,and a good summer's rest usually fortifies them with an inward coat oftallow and an outward one of furry robe, against the wintry storms.I was anxious to get the through cattle to the new range as soon aspracticable, and allowed the sellers to set their dates as early aspossible, many of them agreeing to deliver on the reservation as soonas the middle of May. Ten wagons and a thousand horses came downduring the last days of March, and early in April started back withthirty thousand cattle at company risk.All animals were passed upon on the Texas range, and on their arrivalat the pasture there was little to do but scatter them over the ranchto locate. I reached the reservation with the lead herd, and was gladto learn from neighboring cowmen that a suggestion of mine, made thefall before, had taken root. My proposition was to organize all thecattlemen on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation into an associationfor mutual protection. By coöperation we could present a united frontto our enemies, the usurpers, and defy them in their nefarious schemesof exacting tribute. Other ranges besides ours had suffered by fireand fence-cutters during the winter just passed, and I returned tofind my fellow cowmen a unit for organization. A meeting was called atthe agency, every owner of cattle on the reservation responded, and anassociation was perfected for our mutual interest and protection. Thereservation was easily capable of carrying half a million cattle, thetribes were pleased with the new order of things, and we settled downwith a feeling of security not enjoyed in many a day.But our tranquil existence received a shock within a month, when acowboy from a neighboring ranch, and without provocation, was shotdown by Indian police in a trader's store at the agency. The youngfellow was a popular Texan, and as nearly all the men employed on thereservation came from the South, it was with difficulty that our boyswere restrained from retaliating. Those from Texas had little or nolove for an Indian anyhow, and nothing but the plea of policy inpreserving peaceful relations with the tribes held them in check. Theoccasional killing of cattle by Indians was overlooked, until theybecame so bold as to leave the hides and heads in the pasture, whenan appeal was made to the agent. But the aborigine, like his whitebrother, has sinful ways, and the influence of one evil man canreadily combat the good advice of half a dozen right-minded ones, andthe Quaker agent found his task not an easy one. Cattle were beingkilled in remote and unfrequented places, and still we bore with it,the better class of Indians, however, lending their assistance tocheck the abuse. On one occasion two boys and myself detected a bandof five young bucks skinning a beef in our pasture, and nothing but mypresence prevented a clash between my men and the thieves. But itwas near the wild-plum season, and as we were making preparationsto celebrate that event, the killing of a few Indians might causedistrust, and we dropped out of sight and left them to the enjoymentof their booty. It was pure policy on my part, as we could shameor humble the Indian, and if the abuse was not abated, we couldremunerate ourselves by with-holding from the rent money the value ofcattle killed.Our organization for mutual protection was accepted by our enemies asa final defiance. A pirate fights as valiantly as if his cause werejust, and, through intermediaries, the gauntlet was thrown back inour faces and notice served that the conflict had reached a criticalstage. I never discussed the issue direct with members of the clique,as they looked upon me as the leader in resisting their levy oftribute, but indirectly their grievances were made known. We wereaccused of having taken the bread out of their very mouths, which wastrue in a sense, but we had restored it tenfold where it was entitledto go,--among the Indians. With the exception of an occasional bottleof whiskey, none of the tribute money went to the tribes, but wasdivided among the usurpers. They waxed fat in their calling and wereinsolent and determined, while our replies to all overtures looking topeace were firm and to the point. Even at that late hour I personallyknew that the clique had strength in reserve, and had I enjoyed thesupport of my company, would willingly have stood for a compromise.But it was out of the question to suggest it, and, trusting to the newadministration, we politely told them to crack their whips.The _fiesta_ which followed the plum gathering was made a notableoccasion. All the cowmen on the reservation had each contributed abeef to the barbecue, the agent saw to it that all the principalchiefs of both tribes were present, and after two days of feasting,the agent made a Quaker talk, insisting that the bond between thetribes and the cowmen must be observed to the letter. He reviewed atlength the complaints that had reached him of the killing of cattle,traceable to the young and thoughtless, and pointed out the patienceof the cattlemen in not retaliating, but in spreading a banquetinstead to those who had wronged them. In concluding, he warned themthat the patience of the white man had a limit, and, while they hopedto live in peace, unless the stealing of beef was stopped immediately,double the value of the cattle killed would be withheld from the nextpayment of grass money. It was in the power of the chiefs present todemand this observance of faith among their young men, if the bondto which their signatures were attached was to be respected in thefuture. The leading chiefs of both tribes spoke in defense, pleadingtheir inability to hold their young men in check as long as certainevil influences were at work among their people. The love of gamblingand strong drink was yearly growing among their men, making themforget their spoken word, until they were known as thieves and liars.The remedy lay in removing these evil spirits and trusting the tribesto punish their own offenders, as the red man knew no laws except hisown.The festival was well worth while and augured hopefully for thefuture. Clouds were hovering on the horizon, however, and, while atOgalalla, I received a wire that a complaint had been filed againstus at the national capital, and that the President had instructed theLieutenant-General of the Army to make an investigation. Just what theinquiry was to be was a matter of conjecture; possibly to determinewho was supplying the Indians with whiskey, or probably our friends atWashington were behind the movement, and the promised shake-up of armyfollowers in and around Fort Reno was materializing. I attended tosome unsettled business before returning, and, on my arrival at thereservation, a general alarm was spreading among the cattle interests,caused by the cock-sure attitude of the usurpers and a few casualremarks that had been dropped. I was appealed to by my fellow cowmen,and, in turn, wired our friends at Washington, asking that ourinterests be looked after and guarded. Pending a report, General P.H.Sheridan arrived with a great blare of trumpets at Fort Reno forthe purpose of holding the authorized investigation. The general'sbrother, Michael, was the recognized leader of the clique of armyfollowers, and was interested in the bar concessions under the sutler.Matters, therefore, took on a serious aspect. All the cowmen on thereservation came in, expecting to be called before the inquiry, as itwas then clear that a fight must be made to protect our interests. Noopportunity, however, was given the Indians or cattlemen to presenttheir side of the question, and when a committee of us cowmen calledon General Sheridan we were cordially received and politely informedthat the investigation was private. I believe that forty years have sotempered the animosities of the Civil War that an honest opinion isentitled to expression. And with due consideration to the record of agallant soldier, I submit the question, Were not the owners of half amillion cattle on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation entitled to ahearing before a report was made that resulted in an order for theirremoval?I have seen more trouble at a country dance, more bloodshed in afamily feud, than ever existed or was spilled on the Cheyenne andArapahoe reservation. The Indians were pleased, the lessees weresatisfied, yet by artfully concealing the true cause of any and allstrife, a report, every word of which was as sweet as the notes ofa flute, was made to the President, recommending the removal of thecattle. It was found that there had been a gradual encroachment on theliberties of the tribes; that the rental received from the surpluspasture lands had a bad tendency on the morals of the Indians,encouraging them in idleness; and that the present system retardedall progress in agriculture and the industrial arts. The report wassuperficial, religiously concealing the truth, but dealing with broadgeneralities. Had the report emanated from some philanthropicalsociety, it would have passed unnoticed or been commented on as anadvance in the interest of a worthy philanthropy but taken as a whole,it was a splendid specimen of the use to which words can be put inconcealing the truth and cloaking dishonesty.An order of removal by the President followed the report. Had we beensubjects of a despotic government and bowed our necks like serfs, thematter would have ended in immediate compliance with the order. But weprided ourselves on our liberties as Americans, and an appeal was tobe made to the first citizen of the land, the President of the UnitedStates. A committee of Western men were appointed, which would beaugmented by others at the national capital, and it was proposed tolay the bare facts in the chief executive's hands and at least askfor a modification of the order. The latter was ignorant in itsconception, brutal and inhuman in its intent, ending in the threatto use the military arm of the government, unless the terms andconditions were complied with within a given space of time. TheCheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle Company, alone, not to mention the othermembers of our association equally affected, had one hundred andtwenty-five thousand head of beeves and through steers on its range,and unless some relief was granted, a wayfaring man though a foolcould see ruin and death and desolation staring us in the face.Fortunately Major Hunter had the firm's trail affairs so well in handthat Edwards could close up the business, thus relieving my activepartner to serve on the committee, he and four others offering to actin behalf of our association in calling on the President. I wasamong the latter, the only one in the delegation from Texas, and weaccordingly made ready and started for Washington.Meanwhile I had left orders to start the shipping with a vengeance.The busy season was at hand on the beef ranges, and men were scarce;but I authorized the foreman to comb the country, send to Dodge ifnecessary, and equip ten shipping outfits and keep a constant stringof cattle moving to the markets. We had about sixty-five thousandsingle and double wintered beeves, the greater portion of which werein prime condition; but it was the through cattle that were worryingme, as they were unfit to ship and it was too late in the season torelocate them on a new range. But that blessed hope that springseternal in the human breast kept us hopeful that the President hadbeen deceived into issuing his order, and that he would right allwrongs. The more sanguine ones of the Western delegation had mattersfigured down to a fraction; they believed that once the chiefexecutive understood the true cause of the friction existing on thereservation, apologies would follow, we should all be asked to remainfor lunch, and in the most democratic manner imaginable everythingwould be righted. I had no opinions, but kept anticipating the worst;for if the order stood unmodified, go we must and in the face ofwinter and possibly accompanied by negro troops. To return to Texasmeant to scatter the cattle to the four winds; to move north was tocourt death unless an open winter favored us.On our arrival at Washington, all senators and congressmenshareholders in our company met us by appointment. It was an inactiveseason at the capital, and hopes were entertained that the Presidentwould grant us an audience at once; but a delay of nearly a weekoccurred. In the mean time several conferences were held, at which ageneral review of the situation was gone over, and it was decided tomodify our demands, asking for nothing personally, only a modificationof the order in the interest of humanity to dumb animals. Before ourarrival, a congressman and two senators, political supporters ofthe chief executive, had casually called to pay their respects, andincidentally inquired into the pending trouble between the cattlemenand the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians. Reports were anything butencouraging; the well-known obstinacy of the President was admitted;it was also known that he possessed a rugged courage in pursuance ofan object or purpose. Those who were not in political sympathy withthe party in power characterized the President as an opinionatedexecutive, and could see little or no hope in a personal appeal.However, the matter was not to be dropped. The arrival of a deputationof cattlemen from the West was reported by the press, their purposesfully, set forth, and in the interim of waiting for an appointment,all of us made hay with due diligence. Major Hunter and I had apassing acquaintance at both the War and Interior departments, andtaking along senators and representatives in political sympathy withthe heads of those offices, we called and paid our respects. A numberof old acquaintances were met, hold-overs from the former régime, anda cordial reception was accorded us. Now that the boom in cattle wasover, we expressed a desire to resume our former business relationsas contractors with the government. At both departments, the existenttrouble on the Indian reservations was well known, and a friendlyinquiry resulted, which gave us an opportunity to explain our positionfully. There was a hopeful awakening to the fact that there had been aconspiracy to remove us, and the most friendly advances of assistancewere proffered in setting the matter right. Public opinion is a strongfactor, and with the press of the capital airing our grievances daily,sympathy and encouragement were simply showered down upon us.Finally an audience with the President was granted. The Westerndelegation was increased by senators and representatives until thecommittee numbered an even dozen. Many of the latter were personalfriends and ardent supporters of the chief executive. The rangemenwere introduced, and we proceeded at once to the matter at issue. Acongressman from New York stated the situation clearly, not mincinghis words in condemning the means and procedure by which this orderwas secured, and finally asking for its revocation, or a modificationthat would permit the evacuation of the country without injury to theowners and their herds. Major Hunter, in replying to a question of thePresident, stated our position: that we were in no sense intruders,that we paid our rental in advance, with the knowledge and sanction ofthe two preceding Secretaries of the Interior, and only for lack ofprecedent was their indorsement of our leases withheld. It soon becameevident that countermanding the order was out of the question, asto vacillate or waver in a purpose, right or wrong, was not acharacteristic of the chief executive. Our next move was for amodification of the order, as its terms required us to evacuate thatfall, and every cowman present accented the fact that to move cattlein the mouth of winter was an act that no man of experience wouldcountenance. Every step, the why and wherefore, must be explained tothe President, and at the request of the committee, I went into detailin making plain what the observations of my life had taught me of theinstincts and habits of cattle,--why in the summer they took tothe hills, mesas, and uplands, where the breezes were cooling andprotected them from insect life; their ability to foretell a storm inwinter and seek shelter in coulees and broken country. I explainedthat none of the cattle on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservationwere native to that range, but were born anywhere from three to fivehundred miles to the south, fully one half of them having arrivedthat spring; that to acquaint an animal with its new range, in cattleparlance to "locate" them, was very important; that every practicalcowman moved his herds to a new range with the grass in the spring, inorder that ample time should be allowed to acclimate and familiarizethem with such shelters as nature provided to withstand the storms ofwinter. In concluding, I stated that if the existent order could be somodified as to permit all through cattle and those unfit for marketto remain on their present range for the winter, we would cheerfullyevacuate the country with the grass in the spring. If such reliefcould be consistently granted, it would no doubt save the lives ofhundreds and thousands of cattle.The President evidently was embarrassed by the justice of our prayer.He consulted with members of the committee, protesting that he shouldbe spared from taking what would be considered a backward step, andafter a stormy conference with intimate friends, lasting fully anhour, he returned and in these words refused to revoke or modify hisorder: "If I had known," said he, "what I know now, I never would havemade the order; but having made it, I will stand by it."Laying aside all commercial considerations, we had made our entreatyin behalf of dumb animals, and the President's answer angered amajority of the committee. I had been rebuked too often in the pastby my associates easily to lose my temper, and I naturally looked atthose whose conscience balked at paying tribute, while my sympathieswere absorbed for the future welfare of a quarter-million cattleaffected by the order. We broke into groups in taking our leave,and the only protest that escaped any one was when the York Staterepresentative refused the hand of the executive, saying, "Mr.President, I have my opinion of a man who admits he is wrong andrefuses to right it." Two decades have passed since those words,rebuking wrong in high places, were uttered, and the speaker has sincepassed over to the silent majority. I should feel that these memoirswere incomplete did I not mention the sacrifice and loss of prestigethat the utterance of these words cost, for they were the severance ofa political friendship that was never renewed.The autocratic order removing the cattle from the Cheyenne andArapahoe reservation was born in iniquity and bore a harvest unequaledin the annals of inhumanity. With the last harbor of refuge closedagainst us, I hastened back and did all that was human to avert theimpending doom, every man and horse available being pressed intoservice. Our one hope lay in a mild winter, and if that failed us theaffairs of the company would be closed by the merciless elements. Onceit was known that the original order had not been modified, andin anticipation of a flood of Western cattle, the markets broke,entailing a serious commercial loss. Every hoof of single and doublewintered beeves that had a value in the markets was shipped regardlessof price, while I besought friends in the Cherokee Strip for a refugefor those unfit and our holding of through cattle. Fortunately thedepreciation in live stock and the heavy loss sustained the previouswinter had interfered with stocking the Outlet to its fall capacity,and by money, prayers, and entreaty I prevailed on range owners andsecured pasturage for seventy-five thousand head. Long before theshipping season ended I pressed every outfit belonging to the firm onthe Eagle Chief into service, and began moving out the through cattleto their new range. Squaw winter and snow-squalls struck us on thetrail, but with a time-limit hanging over our heads, and rather thansee our cattle handled by nigger soldiers, we bore our burdens, if notmeekly, at least in a manner consistent with our occupation. I havealways deplored useless profanity, yet it was music to my ears tohear the men arraign our enemies, high and low, for our presentpredicament. When the last beeves were shipped, a final round-up wasmade, and we started out with over fifty thousand cattle in charge oftwelve outfits. Storms struck us en route, but we weathered them, andfinally turned the herds loose in the face of a blizzard.The removed cattle, strangers in a strange land, drifted to the fencesand were cut to the quick by the biting blasts. Early in January theworst blizzard in the history of the plains swept down from the north,and the poor wandering cattle were driven to the divides and frozento death against the line fences. Of all the appalling sights that anordinary lifetime on the range affords, there is nothing to comparewith the suffering and death that were daily witnessed during themonth of January in the winter of 1885-86. I remained on the range,and left men at winter camps on every pasture in which we had stock,yet we were powerless to relieve the drifting cattle. The morningafter the great storm, with others, I rode to a south string of fenceon a divide, and found thousands of our cattle huddled against it,many frozen to death, partially through and hanging on the wire. Wecut the fences in order to allow them to drift on to shelter, but thelegs of many of them were so badly frozen that, when they moved, theskin cracked open and their hoofs dropped off. Hundreds of youngsteers were wandering aimlessly around on hoofless stumps, while theirtails cracked and broke like icicles. In angles and nooks of thefence, hundreds had perished against the wire, their bodies forminga scaling ladder, permitting late arrivals to walk over the dead anddying as they passed on with the fury of the storm. I had been asoldier and seen sad sights, but nothing to compare to this; themoaning of the cattle freezing to death would have melted a heart ofadamant. All we could do was to cut the fences and let them drift, forto halt was to die; and when the storm abated one could have walkedfor miles on the bodies of dead animals. No pen could describe theharrowing details of that winter; and for years afterward, or untiltheir remains had a commercial value, a wayfarer could have tracedthe south-line fences by the bleaching bones that lay in windrows,glistening in the sun like snowdrifts, to remind us of the closingchapter in the history of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle Company.