It is interesting that the cattle business in Canada, SD, ND, MT, and some other northern states (at the least) began as large corporate ranches with the management and labor hired.....back in the Open Range era. They went broke, possibly due to the fact that owners might have been more diligent in taking care of those cattle. The land was about as cheap as it could get....much of it virtually free. Bad weather often was the cause of failures.
Later, the 'settlers' started cattle herds, sometimes on 'free' land, sometimes on Indian land they married into or leased. After the reservations were set up (in SD, at least) some people leased parts of that land from the tribes or partnered with Indian families to raise cattle.
Later yet, the homestead act came in. Some agreement with clarence in that some got a chance they would not otherwise have had. Many were on a lark or intending to get wealthy selling their land soon, according to local elders in my area. It didn't always work out well! Some overcame unimagineable hardships to persevere and stay, but most had to get bigger in this arid, harsh climate in SD.
For Hayseeds' education: it is a fact that the originator of our ranch actually helped homesteader neighbors (he was an earlier 'settler') stay and provided food for some. He also bought some land, at a fair price, when they decided they would not stay. It s highly doubtful there was much, if any, land taken away from homesteaders. Willing sellers and willing buyers seem to be required, unless there is unbearable debt, and that was rare in those days in this area. He also encouraged prospctive homesteaders passing through to stay in this area to "help build a community" as he had ridden through much of western SD and neighboring states when buying and selling horses from Clarkson ID to St. Paul, MN and Ft.Robinson, NE before settling here in 1892, and believed this to be the best cattle country that was affordable at the time.
I also get along will with my neighbors, most of whose families survived the very same hard years as my ancestors in this area, with many ranches well over 100 to 125 years in the same families on the same land. We have grandchildren who have friends who are descendants of their great grandfathers friends in this area for five generations or more.
Remember, we cannot choose our relatives, nor do good people wish to control what they waste their money upon, so let up on that mantra about SH, if you want to sound a bit more rational.
I hope you get better control over your bitterness as that will make you feel better and maybe even automatically make you less obnoxious to others.
I'm off to doc appointments, then to a meeting for a few days and won't return till the end of the week.
mrj