Pour Me Another ~ for Friday Writing Essential ~ LFOW

“Pour me another.”

“That railroad extension must make it a lot easier to market your steers.”

“And it brings you more customers.  But it’s not all so great. Progress brings its own problems.”

“Problems?”

“Well, for one thing, the railroad has brought more squatters.”

“But the homesteaders don’t use up much rangeland, do they.”

“Pour me another. The railroad also brings barbed wire. The squatters put up fences to protect their crops--right across some of the best grazing land. And the railroad isn’t much help getting beef to market if you can’t drive the beef to the train.”

“Well, if it’s just homesteaders and fences you have to worry about, I guess on balance, progress is a good thing.”

“Then there’s sheep.”

“Sheep?”

“Pour me another. Have you ever seen grazing land after a herd of sheep is done with it? They eat the grass right down to the ground and it takes years to recover. Many more sheep, and we can kiss goodbye to raising beef cattle.”

“Well, we have the railroad and we have telegraph. I guess we won’t have to worry about any more progress.”

"I don't worry.  I survive."

"Sounds like some folks put a put a burr under your saddle.  Ever shot a man?"

“Keep the change.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The prompt:  "Let's focus on westerns."