A CATTLEMAN'S ACCOUNT OF THE FIGHTS OF 1884 INTRODUCTION
When the cattle of the West needed new grass, they sometimes found it on lands traditionally claimed by the Indians; but hunting lands could not be grazing lands without the prospect of trouble. In the history of the open range, trouble did in fact often occur. An enmity between cattlemen and Indians became one of the lasting tensions of frontier life, and from this historical conflict of interest proliferated a century of stories, movies, television dramas, and childhood games. In Utah's history one of the most exciting clashes between cowboys and Indians took place the summer of 1884, near the Blue Mountains of San Juan County. The first detailed account of this trouble appeared in the Denver Republican on July 29. Written by Harold Carlisle, himself a cattleman, it was marked by the spirit of complaint and justification but was nevertheless remarkably objective and factual, perhaps because its Dr. Walker is professor of English and director of the Program in American Studies at the University of U t a h .
