The Great Land Run

The Great Land Run. Written by Cynthia Kennedy Hensel. Illustrated by Mike Lariccia.

《盛大抢地运动》 辛西娅·肯尼迪·亨塞尔 著 迈克·拉里西亚 绘

It's a crazy idea, but a beautiful day. The sky is clear blue. New grass shines against the red clay, at least where horse's feet and wagon wheels haven't crushed it. 50 ,000 boomers line up on the border of the unassigned territory. Two million acres of the American Midwest and what will become the heart of Oklahoma. They all want to claim a bit of land, so folks are nervous. It's almost noon.

这想法够疯狂，但今天天气真不错 天空湛蓝澄澈 红黏土上的嫩草闪着光，至少没被马蹄和车轮碾过的地方是这样 五万抢地者排在了未分配领地的边界线上 这两百万英亩土地位于美国中西部，后来成为了俄克拉荷马州的核心区域 所有人都想抢到一块属于自己的地，大家都紧张极了 快到中午了

Sergeant Henry James finds a place a little ways back from the border. He plans to wait until the dust from the starting horses settles. Then he'll ride around the wagons. Sergeant James was a Buffalo soldier, one of the black soldiers who fought in the Indian Wars. It's 1889, and that time's done. The tribes are settled onto reservations, the land they were sent to live on.

亨利·詹姆斯中士在离边界不远的后方找了个位置 他打算等到起跑扬起的尘土落定再出发 之后就能绕开人群继续往前 詹姆斯中士曾经是水牛士兵，也就是参与过印第安战争的黑人士兵 现在是1889年，那段战争已经结束了 各个部落都已经安顿在划归他们居住的保留地里了

The problem is, there are a lot more boomers wanting the land that's left than there is land to hand out. Sergeant James sees a girl with wide eyes in a wagon and shakes his head. Wagons aren't made for racing, that's for sure. Ten minutes to go.

问题在于，想要这块地的抢地者，比可分配的土地多得多 詹姆斯中士看见马车里有个眼睛圆睁的女孩，他摇了摇头 马车本来就不是用来赛跑的，这绝对没错 还有十分钟起跑

That girl in the wagon is Lizzie. Her Pa went into the unassigned territory last week and looked at 160 acres with water and trees. The family lived in a sod house back in Bone Dry, Kansas. Now Lizzie is excited about having a log cabin. Pa, sitting up front, says they can start building this afternoon. First, they have to race and stake a claim, because the first one there gets the land. Lizzie's heart pounds, and she eyes the men on fast horses. Eight minutes to noon.

马车里的女孩名叫丽齐 她爸爸上周提前进了未分配领地，看中了一块带水源和树林的160英亩土地 之前一家人住在堪萨斯州干骨谷的草皮屋里 现在丽齐一想到能住上小木屋就兴奋不已 爸爸坐在马车前头说，他们今天下午就能开始盖房子 不过他们得先赛跑抢到地，因为先到先得 丽齐的心砰砰直跳，她盯着那些骑快马的男人 离中午还有八分钟

Joe is one of those men on a fine horse, and he's not worried. He's lived on this land for years and knows every tree and creek. He leases grassland that still belongs to the Indians. It won't be open to boomers, at least for now. He watches a squirrel leap in a stand of twisted oak trees. It's a shame to see the wild land plowed up for crops. No barbed wire fences for him, he just wants a place for a house. Joe pulls out his watch, six minutes to go, and leans forward in the saddle.

乔就是那些骑良马的男人之一，他一点都不慌 他已经在这片土地住了多年，熟悉每一棵树、每一条小溪 他租了一块仍属于印第安人的草场 这块地不对抢地者开放，至少现在不会 他看着一只松鼠在歪扭的橡树林里跳跃 看着这片野地被翻耕出来种庄稼，他觉得十分可惜 他不想要带铁丝网的耕地，只想要一块能盖房子的地方 乔掏出怀表，还有六分钟，他在马鞍上俯身前倾