The Beaufort tribune and Port Royal commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879, 1877-01-18
TWENTY MILLIONS IN BEEP.
The UPS and Downs of Cattle Raising on the
Pluis---Herds Great and Small on the
Bordrs Of the Great American Desert.

Plnir---Herds Great and Small on the
Bordrs of the Great American Desert.
A gold share of the best beef in the
Weston markets comes from the plains
of Colo,aGo and Wyoming. The supply
is increasing every year, as the ship
ments from the cattle yards at Cheyenne,
Denver, Deer Trail, Las Animas and
other points show. The best ranges are
now larely occupied, and the valleys of
the PLATE, Republican and Upper Ar
kansas farly swarm with cattle. Some
of the kst known Texas 6rovers have
removedtheir herds from the Red river
country 10 the Platte. John Hittson's s
great ranh on the Bijou, q tributary of
the Plata, where his herd of 40, 900 head
are grazitg, and the ranches of John W.
Lift, J. p. Farmer, and other "cattle
kings" DIV located in Colorado, are ex
amples. The State auditors books show
that ther are half million head of cat
tie in Cobrado and over 200, 900 in Wyo-
ming. As large number escape assess
ment by being transferred over the line,
back andforth, at the proper season, it
would bea fair estimate to say that there
are roud million of cattle grazing in
the two Territo1 es. They are worth
from SD,000,0 600 to $12,000,O00, and
when maketed at Kansas City or Oma-
ha, twies that sum. Last years ship
ments frSm Colorado were estimated at
$4,000 head, worth in market g, 700, 600;
and the shipments from the Laramie
plains inv ysming over %, ,0OO-showing
In round numbers q product OF about
So, 5000 in beef raised for market on
the wesern borders of the "Great
Americai desert"
The slipping season is generally from
August % November. Sometimes the
drovers lold back, as they did last sea-
son, for better prices, resulting IN a
i. great rus> for the market in the latter
Phalf of OGober and the first two weeks
in November, taxing the railroads be-
yond Their capacity. During Octo-
Der there 8re AGO carloads taken East
ward from points on the Union Pacitic
railroad, nost of them being loaded at
Cheyenne and Julesburg, and coming
from the lerds on the Laramie plains
and the latte valley. For the four
months eding with October, 1861 car
loads had been shipped from these
points. he shipments by the Kansas
acifc finn Denver, Box Elder, River
Bend, Ieer Trail, Kit Carson and
Las Anias during two months have
been vef large. One hundred and
fifty-thre carloads were shipped from
Las Anifas alone during October. The
total shiments for the season, from the
above sttions, 1--we probably been 90
600 hea The Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Feline has stockyards at Pueblo,
West LasAnimas, Granada and one or
two othepoints within Colorado. Their
shipmenthave been considerable, but l
could notbtain the figures. Last sea-
son they BOX S,043 head from Las Ami
mas andS, ,O74 from Granada. Large
numbers ound for the Eastern markets
were drisn out of the State, feeding
leisurely long, and finally loaded on the
cars at Ddge City, Great Bend or Wi
chita, froa which stations there were
forwarde6in four months 37,S75 head
1t seems pbable that there will have
been shippl out of Colorado and Wyo-
ming durin this season over one hun
dred and tsnty-five thousand fat beeves
for the mkets OF the Missouri and
MississippivaI Had better prices
prevailed, especially in October, the
exports wcld have been much greater.
Shipping tessed beef to market Is car
ried on at 70 or three points, and Is q
business some magnitude. The
slaughter ouses at West Las Animas
put up an, sent into Eastern markets
over twentthousand head in this way
last winter The prospects are that very
large shiptnts viii be made during the
winter msths. It Will depend on
the market Beef is now low, and all
who are noJbEged to turn their beeves
into moneyill hold on for better times.
Good steerbring but two and one-hal1
cents per R1nd on the hoof, from one
half to OF cent less than last season.
Ordinary xans rule SO low that neither
buyer moreover cares to market them.
The drove en- the plains are giving {
good deal attention to breeding up.
Large nubers of thoroughbred bulls
have beerntrodUced. The old Texas
stock is ia disappearing, and the young
improvedalf breeds, which make choice
beef and s far more marketable, take
their plac As q result there Is an III
creasing inand for the plains cattle
The Texaherders see this, and out O
last seasss "drives from the Re-
river cousy, numbering about $50, OCi
head of1ttle, about one-third, mstea1