本文選自于An Outline of American History，是美國國務(wù)院國際信息局出版物，由美國多所大學(xué)教授共同編寫，對于普及美國歷史知識很有幫助，在美國大使館網(wǎng)站上有完整版。本文選自于其中的第二章，屬于典型的非文學(xué)翻譯，翻譯現(xiàn)象較多。

The first great rush of population to the far west was drawn to the mountainous regions, where gold was found in California in 1848, in Colorado and Nevada ten years later, in Montana and Wyoming in the 1860s, and in the Black Hills of the Dakota country in the 1870s.

最初大規(guī)模遷往極西地帶的移民，大多集中在山區(qū)。在那里，加州于1848年發(fā)現(xiàn)了金礦，十年后在科羅拉多和內(nèi)華達州，十九世紀六十年代在蒙大拿和懷俄明州，十九世紀七十年代在達科他的黑山地區(qū)都先后發(fā)現(xiàn)了金礦。

Miners opened up the country, established communities and laid the foundations for more permanent settlements.

采礦者開發(fā)了這些地區(qū)，建立了村鎮(zhèn)，打下了永久定居的基礎(chǔ)。

Yet even while digging in the hills, some settlers perceived the region's farming and stock-raising possibilities.

不過，在山區(qū)采礦的同時，有些移民已看到這些地區(qū)有從事農(nóng)業(yè)和畜牧業(yè)的可能。

Eventually, though a few communities continued to be devoted almost exclusively to mining, the real wealth of Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and California proved to be in the grass and soil.

后來，少數(shù)城鎮(zhèn)雖然專門從事采礦業(yè)，但蒙大拿、科羅拉多、懷俄明、愛達荷等州的真正財富，也和加州一樣，還是在草原和沃土中。

Cattle-raising, long an important industry in Texas, became even more flourishing after the war, when enterprising men began to drive their Texas longhorns north across the open public domain.

在德克薩斯州，養(yǎng)牛早就是重要事業(yè)，戰(zhàn)后尤見繁榮。大膽的趕牛人趕著德州的長角牛，穿過開放的公共地帶，向北走去。

Feeding as they went, the cattle arrived at railway shipping points in Kansas, larger and fatter than when they started.

牛群邊走邊吃，到堪薩斯州的鐵路運輸站時，已長得比出發(fā)時更大更肥壯了。

Soon this "long drive" became a regular event, and, or hundreds of kilometers, trails were dotted with herds of cattle moving northward.

不久，這樣的“長征”就成為常事了。向北移動的牛群，在幾百公里的征途上，留下了無數(shù)的足跡。

Cattle-raising spread into the trans-Missouri region, and immense ranches appeared in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakota territory.

養(yǎng)牛業(yè)迅速超出了密蘇里地區(qū)，在科羅拉多、懷俄明、堪薩斯、內(nèi)布拉斯加和達科他等地區(qū)，都出現(xiàn)了巨大的牧場。

Western cities flourished as centers for the slaughter and dressing of meat.

西部城市因成為屠宰業(yè)和調(diào)制肉類的中心而繁榮起來。

Altogether, between 1866 and 1888, some six million head of cattle were driven up from Texas to winters on the high plains of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.

在1866年至1888年間，大約有六百萬頭牛從德州放牧到科羅拉多、懷俄明、蒙大拿等地的高原上過冬。

The cattle boom reached its height by 1885, then the range became too heavily pastured to support the long drive, and was beginning to be criss-crossed by railroads.

養(yǎng)牛業(yè)的興旺發(fā)達，到1885年已達到最高峰，當時的高原，已經(jīng)不足以供這么多長征牛群吃草的需要了，而且這些草原也開始為縱橫交錯的鐵路線所割裂。

Not far behind the rancher creaked the prairie schooners of the farmers bringing their families, their draft horses, cows, and pigs.

在牧牛人身后不遠之外，有許多草原篷車在吱吱作響，農(nóng)民把他們的妻兒，還有拉車的馬、奶牛和豬群也帶了來。

Under the Homestead Act they staked their claims and fenced them with barbed wire.

根據(jù)《宅地法》，他們?nèi)Χ怂玫耐恋兀⒂描F蒺藜圍起來。

Ranchmen were ousted from lands they had roamed without legal title. Soon the romantic "wild west" had ceased to be.

原來未經(jīng)合法手續(xù)取得土地的牧牛人都被趕了出去。不久，這片具有浪漫氣氛的“西部荒原”，便不復(fù)存在了。

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