Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-07-12
Cattle Raising i'm Texas.


Cattle Raising in Texas.
A correspondent OF the ST. Louis
Republican of the 21st inst, writes as
follows concerning the way in which
cattle are raised in Texas:
As the cattle item seems to be gener-
ally understood as the big thing in this
State, will go through with the bust
ness first, and begin by saying that in
the very rich and fat lands near the
gulf and west OF the Brazos, cattle VIII
keepin good order or therange through
the winter, but in the greater part Of
the State they suffer for food in the
months of January and February, and
sometimes as late as March. A visitor
here will be told by an old settler that
he has seen as fine, fat beef at the end
of winter, from grass alone as ever was
seen in the corn fields of the Northern
Safes. [ will explain this SO that no
one Will fail to understand the matter
properly.
In parts of Texas the grass grows
sufficiently rank and thick to protect
itself from frost during the winter,
and will furnish very good food for
cattle until the spring growth comes
up and grazing is plenty everywhere.
This is only the case where there are
| few cattle ranging, for il the grass Is
eaten Oft short during summer, my
| word for 1t the pastures will be poor
through the winter, and ere the spring
months bring fresh supply many Of
! the broad horn tribe will be stretched
out on the plains to be preyed on by
| the crows. Now all this cattle buis-
ness Is a splendid humbug, in one res
pect, and has done more injury than
good to the State. The ranger fills the
place of the Indian, and is an improve
ment on Mr.. "Lo only in having a
winter skin. He is worth no more to
the State than an Indian who has no
gun and no tomahawk or scaIping
knife. Their number is very limited,
but they have ruled the country with
their wild cattle, which roam every
where, to the injury of every settler
who might choose to come here and
pillow the ground.
Instead of being blessing as many
suppose, this cattle-raising business, in
the way it is done here, is positive
curse to the State, and had it not been
for this very thing the advantages OF
Texas as a farming State would have
drawn a population here long since
more than equal to that of several
States which now have double the
population of this. 1t takes a ranger
four years to raise steer that will be
worth as much as the butchers pay
anywhere in Missouri or Illinois for a
calf of four weeks old. In fact, there
are few cattle here five years old that
will sell for as much as the butchers in
Missouri pay for veal q month old.
The difference is that it costs some
thing to keep calf one month in the
blue grass land, but it does not cost
the ranger here anything to keep a
calf four or five years. His cattle roam
| over and live on land owned by other
people. In this way it is an easy mat
! ter to raise cattle. All one has to do
is to get some COWS, mustang and
branding iron, tuan Indian, and chase
the calves in the summer with a lasso
and burn your name on their sides,
and in four or five years you will have
cattle worth So a head. This is the
way cattle raising is carried on at pres
ent, and until the ranger is played out,
Texas will improve but very little.