Coyote Wells by g.HodgeIn the mid 1870's the overstocked ranges of Wyoming and Montana were starting to show the results of overgrazing. Several large outfits, eyeing the lush grass growing along the Snake River in southern Idaho, began importing cattle into these areas. Further south bunch grass, furnishing grazing year around made the running of cattle inexpensive, varying from $1 to $3 per head, per year, and the cattlemen's work relatively simple. With no barriers, the cattle roamed at will. Calves were branded and then collected after a few years later as fine, fat beeves ready for the mining camps. From 1875 to 1880 the open range spread out like a huge banquet table from above Idaho Falls to the Nevada border, and then things began to change.During his adolescent years in Utah with his polygamist uncle, young Deacon Allen's sole focus was his uncle's intended bride Essene. With the conclusion of the cattle drive bringing him north, Deacon faces the hostile attitude of the wealthy cattle company owners and their hired hands toward the reservation Indians and the settlers's fences. Woefully inexperienced, yet anxious to discover if his adopted Indian mother and half-sister have survived the starvation years on the reserve along the banks of the Snake River, he sets out. With the rigors of the trail helping to strengthen his resolve, Deacon discovers that in a land drawing a clear line between admirable and deceitful men, choosing his friends wisely can mean the difference between life and death.The author tells the story with a mixture of humor and heartache nearly equal to that which accompanies every young boy into manhood.
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