e and not until we acquire a
surfeit of that which is artificial and grow weary of the shams and
deceits of the world do we stop and think or turn again to nature to
find the truth.

In the early days the frontier was the rendezvous for rough and lawless
characters of every description. That time has gone by never to return
in the history of the nation, as the rustlers have either reformed and
become good citizens or long ago left the country by the lead or hemp
routes. The change in the times has been such that never again will it
be possible to return to the conditions that existed in the early
settlement of the west which gave to desperadoes a safe hiding place.

The people now living on what is left of the frontier will, as a class,
compare favorably with those of any other community. There may be
small surface polish, as the world goes, but there is much genuine gold
of true character that needs only a little rubbing to make it shine.

The population being sparse there is comparatively little opportunity
or inclination for wrongdoing. Whatever anybody does is noticed at
once and everything that happens is immediately found out. The
favorite haunt of vice and crime is not in a sparsely settled
community, public opinion to the contrary notwithstanding, but in the
centers of population, in, our large cities where temptation to do evil
is strong and dark deeds find ready concealment in the mingling and
confusion of the throng.

The ranchman deserves to be correctly judged by his true character and
not by any false standard that is artfully designed to misrepresent him
or to unjustly bring him into contempt. He may have a rough exterior,
not intending to pose in a model fashion plate, but in real life where
he is tried there is found under his coarse garb a heart that is honest
and true which responds with sympathy and kindness for anyone in
distress; and his generosity and hospitality are proverbial and stand
without a rival. Men from every position in life, including college
graduates and professional men, are engaged in ranching and whoever
takes them to be a lot of toughs and ignoramuses is egregiously
mistaken.

The strength, virtue and intelligence of the nation is found in its
large middle class of laboring people that is largely composed of
farmers and mechanics, men who work with their hands and live natural
lives and are so busy in some useful occupation that they have no time
to think of mischief