Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-12-16
THE CATTLE TRADE
WHAT ST. PAUL rs DOING IN THAT
LIME.


A Business Which Is Already Large But
Will Grow Hugely Through the Trans
fer Observation-Disclosures of the Trade
for the Past Neutrality-suspicious. Aggre-
eating Over 100000.
There is perhaps no branch of trade of
much greater Importance to the city than
that of the cattle trade. And there is none
which has made greater strides and less dis
play than it. Silently the cattle business
has extended and increased till now st. Paul
may be said to have cattle markell mar
ket, it is true, not equal to Chicago in the
amount of business transacted, but good
market for all that and one doing quite re-
spectacle trade. That st. Paul should be-
come market for live stock, it was but
natural to expect from her location upon a
point where converge all the great arteries
of the wide and rich pasture lands of the
Northwest. The grassy prairies of our own
fertile State, the immense expanse of
grazing lands of Dakota, the bound
less pastures of Manitoba, the luxurious
valleys ramifying from the Yellowstone and
upper Missouri; the Montana wilds with
their draws and ''gulches'' filled with sue
culent herbage form, with their beautiful
rivulets and brooks Of sparkling ice-cold
water, Seattle runs unsurpassed for extent
and fertility in any part of the globe. st.
Paul is the natural center of trade from these
points. TO these should be added the pas
lures of northern Iowa and Nebraska, and
there is an extent of territory which will in
time send teeming into our market its herds
of neat cattle and focks of sheep equal to
the present receipts of the Chicago stock
yards. That this will ultimately be the case
any one who daily visits the stock yards of
the city, as does the GLOBE, will readily con-
cede. Day by day, month by month, the re-
ceipts and sales are gradually increasing.
Not only in the amount of business is the
trade advancing, but also in the quality of
stock. 1t was rare a year or two back that
anything but the commonest breed of native
cattle came to this market; but now it is no
uncommon thing to see half blooded and
three-quarter blooded stock in the finest
condition in our sheds. Native cattle have
been greatly improved by breeding to i'm
ported fancy cattle, principally short horns
and occasionally Durhams. The blood in
both cases shows strongly, in symmetry and
flesh, and when brought to the scale more
than compensate for the original cost of the
strain of blood. The GLOBE has noted dur
ing the year some of the finest three year
Odds at Hankey's ever brought into any mar
ket, with 50 much short horn blood in them
that any but an experienced eye would pro-
nounce them as pure; and these have been
collected often from common herds, or at
least where no pretension is made at close
breeding.
The extent of the cattle trade in St. Paul
does not so plainly appear, from the fact
that the business is scattered SO much over
the city. Unlike other metropolitan cities
and great agricultural centers, St. Paul has
no central market, Or rather she has several
There are three stock yards which claim
to be "union yards,'' and besides these there
are some half dozen other minor yards where
cattle are sold and received for sale. In
order to give an accurate idea of the i'm
portance of the cattle trade, it will be ne
cessary to speak of each yard separately.
First then is the
PACIFIC STOCK YARDS
or Hankey's, as they are more commonly
styled. These are situated on Third street,
at the foot of John street, right upon the
st. Paul e. Pacific railroad track and con-
Meeting with every line running into the city.
The yards are centrally situated, almost in
the heart of the city and with railroad facil-
tiles unequalled. They are roomy and Ca
pacous, with warm, well built, we'll venti-
lated sheds, and excellent water, and, nat
urally, from their railroad conveniences are
he receiving yards of the city. Cattle in
transit to other points usually stay over
here for a few days to rest. The following,
taken from the books of the yard, will give
an accurate showing of the business trans
acted. The receipts extend over period of
eleven months, dating from the opening of
the yard.
Receipts at Hankey's Jan. to Dec. 1:
Cattle. Sheep. Hogs. Horses
By st. Paul & Pa
cifc r. r.. $3.50 803 -. ...
By Chicago Mil
waukee & st.
Paul R. r.. 1926 1000 e7S 1858
BY St.Paul&Sioux
City R. r.. 1866 1,24O 2,4OO 1872
By West Wiscon-
sin R. R...... $50 -. 80. 900
By Northern Pa
cihc K. R.. 1870 -. 80.
Total. ....... 1871 4,O43 BOTS 1905
Of the cattle about one-third were pur-
chased for home consumption; the remain
der for shipment principally to Chicago,
Saltwater, Duluth and the lakes. And a
few have been sent to Bismarck and Fort
Benton for government supplies. The horses
principally were Canadian stock and were
4, - kol.o
marck. The cattle received by the Northern
Pacific were Montana herds, e superior class
of beef cattle, mostly four year Odds, feshed
and heavy and as wild as deers. Those ar
irving by the st. Paul & Sioux City road
or less signs of short horn blood and gath
cred up by stock men in Nebraska and
Iowa.
KIEFER's YARDS.
Another yard with excellent railroad
facilities is Kiefer's Union yards at POSTS
Siding on Seventh street, near the Harvester
Works, and abouts two miles from the post
office. The only thing which makes this
yard at the present time less popular than
the first is it's increased distance from the
center of the city and the charge of fifty
cents for transferring cars from the different
railroads which do not pass through the
yards. Like Hankey's, Kiefer's yards are
well provided with splendid sheds, offices
and yards and good water. The yards cover
four acres of land and adjoining are 1856
acres of pasturage. In connection with the
yards is we'll appointed slaughter house,
where cattle are butchered and dressed daily
for city consumption. Since the first of June
there have been sold and killed at these yards
LOGS beeves and 1857 sheep, and sold to
outside buyers 583 headof cattle. The third
yard is
DELANEY's UNION YARDS,