'' The Octopus '' itself was based on the Mussel Slough Tragedy of 1880 , which involved a bloody conflict between ranchers and law agents defending the Southern Pacific Railroad . The central issue was over the ownership of the ranches , which the farmers had leased from the railroad nearly ten years earlier with intentions of eventually purchasing the land . Although originally priced at $ 2.50 to $ 5 per acre , the railroad eventually opened the land for sale at prices adjusted for land improvements , leading to the conflict depicted in the book . Norris decided upon the project in March 1899 , and by early April had left for California to research the project . Over the following months he visited the locations of the incident and worked on nearby farms , gaining firsthand knowledge of the wheat farmer ’s life
Mussel Slough Tragedy
Mussel Slough Tragedy
The Octopus: A Story of California