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<br />CD13203
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<br />GRASS, CREAKING WAGONS, TRAILING LONGHORNS 31
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<br />daddy of all cattle, the aurochs of Europe and Asia. They were
<br />larger than the American bison and their flesh was more evenly
<br />distributed. Also not as gregarious or given to stampede or mi-
<br />gration, they were quiet, even to sluggishness. Although extinct
<br />since the seventeenth century they were so prepotent that even
<br />today throwbacks are sometimes seen. In fact one scientist by
<br />throwback selection and reverse evolution evolved a facsimile
<br />of the breed for the Berlin Zoo,
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<br />The post Civil War boom was just too good to continue.
<br />The bubble was destined to burst. There were too many hazards
<br />and handicaps. Here is the list: government land and Indian
<br />policy, overcrowding by influx of settlers; overstocked ranges;
<br />disease and fear of disease; failure or lack of local government;
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<br />unusua y severe wmters. '
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<br />With the reader's help your author will attempt a closer
<br />analysis of the above factors.
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<br />The government land policy was of necessity an overall
<br />policy. It can be compared to the homestead story of the very
<br />lonesome bachelor who' purchased a shawl from the catalog
<br />, house and declared it would fit his choice for a cook ,and help-
<br />mate.
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<br />The following terse listing briefly shows events, rival in-
<br />fluences and trends in government land policies. Rather than
<br />this crude stereoscopical view each individual event could well
<br />have been illustrated by an extended dramatic cinema.
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<br />Back in 1776 land warrants were issued as war bonuses;
<br />these warrants were generally discounted to speculators. The
<br />Mexican War warrants, for example, had a face value of $1.25
<br />but sold for fifty cents an acre.
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<br />The 1841 preemption act sold land to small holders under
<br />fair restrictions.
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<br />The Indian treaty of 1858 is of special interest in the Mis-
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