According to a news story today, a Nevada rancher who has been fighting the U.S. government Bureau of Land Management over grazing rights on “Government Lands” may have won the battle without the impending gunfight that appeared to be on the horizon. His family had been raising cattle on the land before 1870; before the West became a part of the USA, and during the Mexican/American war of 1847. It was a smart move by the government. You do not want to mess with the cowboys of the ‘Wild West’, especially when it has to do with their herds of cattle.
Now, granted that the rancher had outside support from all over the region, including Montana and the Dakotas, still it was a close thing; the F-16s and main battle tanks vs. cowboys with six-shooters and carbine rifles.This is not the first time that the western region of the country had trouble with the government. Right after the start of the settling of that part of North America by migrating American farmers to Oregon and California, the founder and prophet of the LDS church decided to run for President of the USA. This was a very poor decision and alarmed the government in Washington D.C. to the point that a few years later, after the Mormons were driven out of Missouri and settled in the Salt Lake Valley, the government sent an army to invade Utah (mainly to keep an eye them). This resulted in a stalemate after the Mormon brethren attacked the army, burned their wagons, and generally pillaged their supply lines. But, when the dust settled, an even bigger detachment of the Army was allowed to enter Utah and set up an outpost near Salt Lake City.
At that time the Utah Territory was larger than the State of Texas or Alaska. But, the government continued its paranoia by chipping away at the boundaries of the territory until it reached its present size. In the meantime, statehood was granted to the bits & pieces; new states such as California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada were created. In the process, the Feds seized title to 70% of the unsettled countryside. Much later, after giving up the cherished idea of plural marriage, the Mormon founders in a greatly reduced Utah were granted statehood in 1896. But the battle between settlers and the government continued sub-rosa until the start of World War 1.
In my view, this region of the country is the last refuge of the ‘rugged individualist’; the kind of person that started the USA to begin with. I’m glad the rancher stood up for the rights of his family and their way of life for over a hundred years.
Oil on Canvas by Charles M. Russell
