The future of Wells Brothers rested on sure foundations.  Except in its new environment, their occupation was as old as the human race, our heroes being merely players in a dateless drama.  They belonged to a period in the development of our common country, dating from a day when cattle were the corner-stone of one fourth of our national domain.  They and their kind were our pioneers, our empire builders; for when a cowman pushed into some primal valley and possessed it with his herd, his ranch became an outpost on our frontier.  The epoch was truly Western; their ranges were controlled without investment, their cattle roamed the virgin pastures of an unowned land.

Over twenty-five years have passed since an accident changed the course of the heroes of this story.  Since that day of poverty and uncertain outlook, the brothers have been shaken by adversity, but have arisen triumphant over every storm.  From their humble beginning, chronicled here, within two decades the brothers acquired no less than seven ranches in the Northwest, while their holdings of cattle often ran in excess of one hundred thousand head.  The trail passed away within two years of the close of this narrative; but from their wide acquaintance with former drovers, cattle with which to restock their ranches were brought north by rail.  Their operations covered a wide field, requiring trusty men; and with the passing of the trail, their first sponsors found ready employment with their former proteges.  And to-day, in the many irrigation projects of the brothers, in reclaiming the arid regions, among the directors of their companies the names of J.Q.  Forrest and John P. Priest may be found.

A new generation now occupies the Beaver valley.  In the genesis of the West, the cowman, the successor of the buffalo and Indian, gave way to the home-loving instinct of man.  The sturdy settler crept up the valley, was repulsed again and again by the plain, only to renew his assault until success crowned his efforts.  It was then that the brothers saw their day and dominion passing into the hands of another.  But instead of turning to new fields, they remained with the land that nurtured and rewarded them, an equally promising field opening in financing vast irrigation enterprises and in conserving the natural water supply.

Joel and Dell Wells live in the full enjoyment of fortunes wrested from the plain.  They are still young men, in the prime of life, while the opportunities of a thrifty country invite their assistance and leadership on every hand.  They are deeply interested in every development of their state, preferring those avenues where heroic endeavor calls forth their best exertion, save in the political arena.

Joel Wells was recently mentioned as an acceptable candidate for governor of his adopted state, but declined, owing to the pressure of personal interests.  In urging his nomination, a prominent paper, famed for its support of state interests, in a leading editorial, paid one of our heroes the following tribute:—­