The daily gazette., 1876-08-23
The Cattle King of the
Plains.

L ldIlIb.
New York World. ....
The experience of Mr.. lliff, the
seattle king Of the plains, whose
great ranch in Nothern Colorado
includes hundreds of square miles
of bottom and upland ranges, is
tv, ical of the whole. During the
severe winter of lS7I-72 there
were deep SHOWS that remained n
long time, and the storms were in
cessant. In the midst of them Mr..
Tiff visited his ranch and found his
cattle dying and scattered by thou
sands. In spite ofall he could do,
less than half of them were recov-
cred, and those had strayed at
spring time into two different states
and four different territories
More than $50, 900 were expended
in efforts to find them. At last,
in the spring of 1874, 5000 undis-
covered head were charged to
profit and loss. Could these have
been sold the previous fall they
would have brought at least SIS a
head, a total of 800 900. Yet the
Cattle King, and many cattle prin-
ces beside him, make money from
cattle raising on the plains, for
they learn much by experience,
| and the demand is great enough to
warrant all their risks. Mr.. Ilifl
has now more than $4,000 head of
cattle..of all ages, sizes and condl-
tions, Nearly 5000 calves were
branded on this ranch last year,
and he sold about the same mum.
ber of tour-year-old steers and fat
cows. At the avera ge selling price
of S32 a head net, 1000 head
brought him $l28,O0O. He EN-.
ploys from twelve to thirty men
to take care ofhis immense herds
in summer. BY the introduction
of thoroughbred Durham bulls
tho herds are rapidly graded up,
and he estimates the. increase,
outside of purchases and sales, to
be about seventy per cent, per
year. Besides the cattle raised on
radche he deals largely in Texas
and Indian cattle, and last season
advertisedifor 10000 head ofiTexas
cattle to be delivered during the
driving months of 1876. If he
does not obtain this number from
Texas he expects to supply the de-
ficiency with Oregon and Mon
tana cattle, which are beginning
to come east, The Laramie
Plains, higher up, among thc
mountains, are a paradise for stock
especially sheep, and away ever
the mountains toward the Pacific,
there are stock ranches that throw
even lifts in the shade. In the
Humboldt valley,some five hun.
dred and fifty miles east from San
Francisco, one cattle firm, Dun
| ply & Hildreth, have 10000 acres
fenced in. 1t is seven miles across
from their eastern to their west,
ein fence The fences, made of red
wood post and Oregon. pine
boards, post about 5000 a mile, and
there are twenty miles of them
The firm own 10000 head of cat
tie, whibh are mostly shipped te
San francisco. The stock is all
of good quality, and some of the
best blooded animals 10 the coun
try are annually purchased to i'm
prove the grades. The snow here
seleoms falls deep, does not sta,
long, and the grass makes its ap
pearance carly in the spring.
Grass, though, does not seem es
sential to the well being of som,
OF the fattest cattle on the cont
nent. Further down the Hum
boldt valley, where nothing else
but sage brush, grease-wood ano
alkali-dust is to be seen, the Cen
tral Pacific trains have to slacke,
speed to avoid manning heav,
herds, for which the grease.woo,
bush Is alleged to furnish adun