The Octopus: A Story of California

While riding, Presley witnesses Harran instructing “some twenty men” (449) of the League in combat tactics, using the rifles Annixter brought and preparing for when the Marshal and his men start ousting ranchers from their properties.

Genslinger visits Magnus and reveals that after investigating, he has evidence that Magnus and the League bribed the Railroad commissioners and established a crooked commission. Genslinger has written an article about the backroom dealing, which is sure to ruin Magnus’s name, and he uses it to blackmail the rancher for $10,000. He also divulges that Lyman was working for the Railroad all along; the Railroad promised to fund his campaign for Governor, long before Magnus approached him about sitting on the commission. After vacillating, Magnus decides to pay the bribe.

At Quien Sabe, Annixter readies to go on a birthday picnic with Hilma, Presley, Mrs. Dyke, and Sidney—but Dyke (who has been a fugitive for weeks) rides onto Quien Sabe. Dyke’s exhausted horse collapses to the ground, and he desperately demands a horse from Annixter; men are pursuing him, and he’s running out of options. Annixter gives him a horse, and he rides to Guadalajara and steals a train engine, taking it down the line and experiencing “for the last time in his life” (480) the joy of his former work. Then, a posse led by Delaney chases him to a wooded hill, where, after a gunfight, Dyke is captured.

The ranchers learn that because their ranches were not included in the Supreme Court test cases, the Railroad will attempt to quickly take possession of their lands and install the dummy buyers. The news increases their talk of establishing a united front, but the idea seems distant on the morning of Osterman’s jackrabbit drive—a pest-control practice in agricultural communities, since jackrabbits can decimate entire fields of crops. The ranchers and their families excitedly gather for the event “in their Sunday finery” (489).

The jackrabbit drive is a popular event, similar to Annixter’s barn dance, and it attracts all of the locals to Osterman’s farm. People on horseback and in their wagons surround the harvested fields and slowly push inwards, driving the jackrabbits into an enclosure meant to corral them. As the drive begins, Annixter reflects upon his overwhelming love for Hilma and how this has transformed both of them, she into a motherly figure who has “fearlessly” (497) shed self-interest.

Thousands of jackrabbits are backed into the corral, and the crowd is astonished at the sight of the writhing mass of bodies. When “the killing [goes] forward” (502), however, the event is undertaken by migrant workers from local farms, while the ranchers and their families retreat to the nearby picnic and barbeque.

After dinner, while most engage in games of physical sport, a messenger arrives with news that agents from the Railroad, with the assistance of marshals, have taken possession of Annixter’s ranch and are on their way to Los Muertos. Believing a show of force will end the conflict, Magnus sends word that he needs the weight of the 600-member League to help him hold off the agents. When called, however, only a handful of men—including Annixter, Harran, Hooven, Osterman, Broderson, and Presley—arrive to help Magnus defend his home from S. Behrman, Delaney, and the Marshals.

The small group arm themselves and take position outside of Hooven’s farm, with Presley left unarmed, only “to watch” (513). When the riders first arrive, Magnus attempts to diffuse the situation, but the discussion becomes heated. The other ranchers, out of earshot, grow nervous. Attempting to safely retrieve Magnus, the ranchers become so agitated that Hooven fires his rifle into the men; a shootout begins. Hooven, Broderson, and Annixter are instantly killed, and Harran and Osterman are mortally wounded.