" he said.
"They ridiculed the idea that the range could ever be farmed. And now
they are homesteading, trying to get hold of land as fast as they can. I
have Indian lands leased, so I am all right."

As a squaw man he naturally owned quite a bit of land, a piece for each
child, and he had three children.

Panicky, some of the stockmen filed on land, but a homestead for them
was just big enough for the ranch buildings and corrals; it still did
not allow for the essential thing--large range for the cattle. They
began to buy from homesteaders and lease lands around them. For years
the livestockman of the West had been monarch of all he surveyed, and
the end of his reign was in sight. Like all classes of people who have
failed to keep step with the march of progress, he would have to follow
the herd.

A strong spirit of cooperation and harmony had developed among the army
of the Brule. They worked together like clockwork. There was little
grumbling or ill-will. Just how much _The Wand_ had done in creating
this invaluable asset to a new country I do not know, but it was a
factor. We were a people dependent upon one another. Ours was a land
without established social law or custom. It was impossible to regulate
one's life or habits by any set rule; and there was no time or energy
for idle gossip or criticism. Each one had all he could do to manage his
own business.

I had been working at high pressure, and as summer came on again I went
back to St. Louis for a few weeks of rest, back down the Mississippi on
the Old Bald Eagle to find my father waiting at the dock. I had half
expected to find the family awaiting roaring stories of the West;
instead, they listened eagerly and asked apt questions about soil and
costs and the future. Things weren't going well for them. Perhaps for
my father and the two small boys the future would point west.

I was surprised to find the general interest that people in St. Louis
were taking in the West and in homesteading. Its importance, something
even of its significance, was coming to be realized. They asked serious
questions and demanded more and more information about the land.
Business men talked about new opportunities there. "Bring lots of new
business, this land movement," I heard on many sides.

After those long months of struggle for the bare necessities, I was
greatly struck by lavish spending. It seemed startling to one from
pioneer country. Where did the money come from, I w