West bond settlers could find work in two major lines of employment ranching and agriculture or mining. However, these fields were hard for a settler to prosper in and neither were particularly lucrative. Mining was expensive for an individual to do just starting out, without any capital to fund their effort. Working for a Corporate Mine was dangerous, hard work for little pay. Ranching and agriculture also required the capital to gain the land to establish a ranching operation or to obtain the cattle necessary to have a successful agricultural business. Working for ranchers or on cattle drivers was less than ideal for settlers because they provided little pay for their efforts. The industries of the early West made it challenging for new
