The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-09-19
.6FE4IRS IN h.4NSsfS


From Our Opn Correspondent.
LEAvENwoRTH, Sept. 1G, 1870. Perhaps
the most important interest in this State at
the present time is the Texan cattle trade.
For years past Texas has sought every market
in the world for her surplus cattle. Thou
sands are driven annually to California, Colo
RADIO, and the Northern States, and now that
an outlet is found in Kansas, it is estimated
that over half million beeves are driven in
one year into this State alone. The number
of stock raised in Texas is almost incredible.
Some stock -raisers in Western Texas own as
many as 20, 600 head. The labor of marking
and branding seems to be the sole expense
they entail upon their owners. When we
consider that Texas is larger than Ohio, In
diana, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa put to-
Rether, and is almost one boundless prairie,
covered the year round with the most luxu-
RANT grass, and that its soil is as productive
as the Mississippi bottom, come conception
may be formed of its capacity to produce beef
cattle.
To attract this profitable business is the
object of several rival cities in this State.
Abeline, on the Kansas Pacific Railroad, has
been established as centre of the Texan
cate trade, and extensive stock yards are
built there for the sale and shipping of cattle.
At this time there are $4,000 head pasturing
on the vast ranges which surround this great
cattle emporium. Thither resort buyers from
all the Eastern markets, and sixty car loads
per diem are shipped over the Kansas Pacific
Railroad. In addition to Abeline, various
growing towns above this line, Brookville,
Salina, Solomon City, are also doing con-
siderable share of the same kind of business.
On the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad,
which runs southwark from Junction City,
Council Grove has grown to be an extensive
shipping point.
But since the extension of the Missouri
River, Fort Scott, and Gulf Railroad to the
border of the Indian Territory at Baxter
Springs, dangerous rival to overcome in the
cattle trade has sprung up. Only four months
have elapsed since the whistle of the Iocomo-
tive first sounded in that border settlement
and already an amount Of business has con-
centrated there which speaks we'll for its fu-
ture prospects. Up to September 1st Ii, 900
head had been shipped to Kansas City, and
there are now at least 10000 beeves grazing
on the Indian lands, or within a radius of
twenty miles. A company has been organ
lied for shipping purposes, and extensive
stock yards are being built for the prosecu-
ton of the business.
A lively interest is felt by the citizens of
Leavenworth in this rapidly extending bust
ness, and an effort will shortly be made to
have share in it's profits. Work is being
actively prosecuted on the Chicago and South
western Railroad, and large force of work
men are engaged laying the substructure of
the Kansas and Missouri bridge. On the
completion of these important works, a more
direct communication with Chicago and the
Eastern lines of traffic will be opened from
this city than any possessed by Kansas City;
and then branch line extending from
Leavenworth to Omaha, on the Missouri
River, Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad a dis
tance of thirty miles, will give this city direct
access to Baxter Springs, and thus open up a
branch of business the future of which defes
all calculation.
An interesting fact in connection with the
cattle trade is the continued progress west
ward of the packing business. Twenty years
ago, when New York, Ohio, Kentucky and
other Central States raised the bulk of the
cattle consumed in this country, the principal
packing points were Buffalo, Cincinnati,
Louisville, and some other cities on the Ohio
river. But on the building of the Illinois
Central Railroad an immense tide of popula-
ton flowed into that State, and the vast
prairies of Illinois in q few years pastured nu-
merous herds of beeves, thou
sands of which were annually
driven to Chicago for slaughter. But
recent tables show that the packing industry
has suffered a fearful decline in that city, the
number of beeves packed in Chicago in the
fall of 1864 reaching to 90, 459, while the
numberE packed last fall had fallen to II, ,969
head. This large decrease is to be attributed
to the establishment of large packing houses
in Kansas, as the tendency of this business i:
to follow closely upon the source of supply
In Leavenworth We have four considerable
packing establishments, one of which, owned
by Ryan & Whitaker, from Cincinnati, have
a slaughter house and stock-yards adjoining
the track of the Missouri River Railroad
which are as complete in their appointments
for the various processes of slaughtering
cutting, packing, and rendering as any SINH
lar establishments in the country. Anotherpack
ing firm, d. Kinnear & Co., also do al
extensive business, and have commenced
their fall work of hog slaughtering and pack
ing already. am not able to give your read
ers the figures of the pork packing done il
this city; but, Notwithstanding that the bust
ness is in its infancy, it has already attained
astonishing proportions. The demand 70