Satisfactory committees were
appointed on organization and other preliminary steps, and books
were opened for subscriptions. Deference was shown our firm, and
I subscribed the same amount as my partners, except that half my
subscription was made in the name of George Edwards, as I wanted him
on the executive committee if the company ever got beyond its present
embryo state. The trio of us taking only one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, there was a general scramble for the remainder.
The preliminary steps having been taken, nothing further could be done
until a range was secured. My active partner, George Edwards, and
myself were appointed on this committee, and promising to report at
the earliest convenience, we made preparations for returning West.
A change of administration was approaching, and before leaving the
capital, Edwards, my partners, and myself called on Secretaries Schurz
of the Interior Department and Ramsey of the War Department. We had
done an extensive business with both departments in the past, and were
anxious to learn the attitude of the government in regard to leasing
lands from the civilized Indian nations. A lease for the Cherokee
Outlet was pending, but for lack of precedent the retiring
Secretary of the Interior, for fear of reversal by the succeeding
administration, lent only a qualified approval of the same. There were
six million acres of land in the Outlet, a splendid range for maturing
beef, and if an adequate-sized ranch could be secured the new company
could begin operations at once.
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