1. Rustlers Capital; 2. Salt Creek; 3. Chuck wagon; 4. Tent Town. My
on-line search was futile, i. e. I could not get one definite answer.
Price given below is most I can afford -- thank you for your help.
Must have answer within 48 hours, latest Tuesday May 6th!!!!!!

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 04 May 2003 14:42 PDT

I'd like to give this a shot, but I am stumped by "Rustlers Capital."

Do you have any clue as to what "Rustlers Capital" might mean, in the
context of this puzzle?

Hello puzzleman-ga,

I believe that the answer is Texas.  A fellow Researcher,
pinkfreud-ga, has indicated to me that she believes that there is a
different answer.  (I know that there is support for her possible
answer at least as to clues 2 and 4.)  Accordingly, if you do not like
the answer I have submitted, please post a request for clarification
indicating what you think the problem with the answer is.  That way, I
will be able to determine if my answer might still be correct after
some tweaking, while pinkfreud-ga will know whether her answer might
be a better solution.

I agree with pinkfreud-ga that "Rustlers Capital" is the hardest clue.
 But I believe that Texas fits the bill, since it was the starting
point for four major cattle trails in the Old West.  (This is
apparently one reason that the "Texas longhorn" is so reknowned.)  My
sense is that rustlers could be found whereever there was cattle, but
the "rustlers capital", if anywhere, was Texas.

"Texas Cattle Trails"
PBS: New Perspectives on the West
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/places/trails_ter/cattle.htm

"Cattle Rustling"
Red River Authority of Texas - Wichita Falls, Texas [Note: Wichita
Falls happens to be the home of a hockey team called the "Texas
Rustlers"!]
http://www.rra.dst.tx.us/c_t/History1/CATTLE%20RUSTLING.cfm

"Salt Creek" is more straightforward.  There are plenty of references
to "Salt Creek" in Texas.

"Searched pages from www.tsha.utexas.edu for 'salt creek' texas"
Google
://www.google.com/search?q=+site:www.tsha.utexas.edu+%22salt+creek%22+texas&num=30&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&filter=0

"Chuck Wagon", in my view, is the strongest indication that the answer
is Texas.  The chuck wagon was invented by a Texan, Charles Goodnight
(whose name is also on one of the cattle trails referred to earlier).

"Chuck Wagon Central"
Lone Hand Western
http://lonehand.com/chuckwagon_central.htm

A search for "Tent Town" (in conjunction with the word "Texas" or the
names of other states) on Google reveals various locations known as
"Tent Town" or a "tent town" in Texas and elsewhere.  However, for
some reason this struck me as a clue that was not to be taken
literally -- and so I searched for "Teepee City".  And wouldn't you
know it, Teepee City (or "Tee Pee City") was in Texas.

"Tee Pee City, Texas"
Red River Authority of Texas - Wichita Falls, Texas
http://www.rra.dst.tx.us/c_t/history/motley/TEE%20PEE%20CITY.cfm

My feeling is that, although the makers of this puzzle thought there
was only one answer, Texas is not the only possible answer.  (This is
not like a mathematical puzzle, where the figures can only add up one
way.)  There could easily be two or even several states where -- at
least if you look at them in a certain way -- there was or is a
"rustlers capital", a "salt creek", a "chuck wagon", and a "tent
town".

In any event, I leave it up to your judgment as to whether the answer
suffices as it stands.

- justaskscott-ga


Search terms used on Google (with and without the additional term
"texas"):

"cattle trails"
"cattle rustlers"
"salt creek"
"chuck wagon"
"tent town"
"teepee city"

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Request for Answer Clarification by puzzleman-ga on 05 May 2003 14:55 PDT

Notes to Pinkfreud and Justaskscott: I have no other information than
"RUSTLERS CAPITAL" -- I think what they mean is the state where a city
is located which at one point in history was known as (obviously
cattle) Rustlers Capital (or nicknamed as such). I do believe this is
the most important clue in fact because indeed the other three can be
found in several states. Appreciate your help.

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Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 05 May 2003 15:29 PDT

The term "Rustlers Capital" (or "Rustler's Capital" or "Rustler
Capital") does not seem to be anywhere on the Web or in newsgroups. 
(I searched for those terms on Google, Google Groups, and Ixquick.) 
This is a pretty uncommon term if it does not appear anywhere on all
of those web pages and discussions.  I assume that pinkfreud -- who is
a great Researcher -- has not found this term either.  So I have to
conclude that the term is not meant literally -- if it ever was used,
its use was very obscure.

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Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 05 May 2003 15:32 PDT

I also tried "Rustling Capital" -- no occurrences of that term either.

between justaskscott and juggler, i got the right answer -- thank you!

I believe that Justaskscott's answer is correct.  

"Rustler's Capital" is undoubtedly intended as a generic term for the
whole state of Texas rather than just one particular city. This is
similar to how one might refer to Vermont as the "maple syrup capital"
or Nevada as the "gambling capital."  These states are the "capitals"
of certain things in comparison with the rest of the U.S.A.  In other
words, just as Wisconsin is the "cheese capital" of the United States,
Texas is the "rustler's capital."