Thanks- it is sort of a myth that you just headed west, found an area you liked, drove 4 stakes into the ground and claim it as yours. It was all federal land and you had to go through the deal as outlined above. My folks were homesteaders. The big ranches often operated on open range, that is, it some respects the ranch didn't really own the land. Later on the ranch might have leased the land from the BLM. The same with the wagon trains, the wagons were owned by a company and you were given one to carry your belongings.