The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1881-01-12
THE RIVER PRESS.
A FLATTERING STATEMENT.
The Magnitude Of the Cattle, Sheep, Horse
Wool and Hide Business Of the
United States.

% - @
The following exhibit, from the CONNER
cial columns Of the Chicago Times, gives the
business of the country in the lines as above
in consid cradle detail
THE GRAZING LANDS.
The great cattle and sheep raising regions
Of the United States begin one hundred ana
fifty miles west Of Omaha, the starting point
OF the Union Pacific railroad, one thousand
four hundred miles west of the Atlantic.
They extended west through Nebraska and
Wyoming over the fertile Laramie plains 70
the Rocky mountains, and a thousand miles
toward the Pacific, through Utah, Oregon,
and Washington territories, where there Is
ample room for more than five times the live
stock now raised. Starting from the warm
shores of the gulf of Mexico, the great Amer
lean grazing grounds run one thousand tive
hundred miles north, over the international
boundary line into Canada. They include
large portions of Texas, which muster five
and a half millions Of cattle; Colorado, with
thirty million acres adapted for the growth
of grain, cattle or sheep; Wyoming, esti-
mated to contain fifty thousand square miles
of grazing; Montana, larger than the British
islands, and q half of it is understood to con-
sist Of fertile valleys and g~rass-covered
plains. Over such a wide area the manage
menti is somewhat diversified; the herds vary
from less than one thousand to more than
fifty thousand head.
PRICES FOR CHOICE STOCK
in this market nave ruled much higher most
of the time than they otherwise would have
done, the only bad breaks in the market &C.
curing in the last week of April and the last
week Of May. In the course of a month val
ues declined fully one cent per pound for fat
cattle, and reached the lowest point, quality
considered, ever known. Ia the latter part
OF May prime to first quality beeyes. sold in
this market at $4.2504.50 per cwt. The
fall trade, and particularly that of the past
two months, has been all that could be de-
sired by the most sanguine breeder and feed
er, current prices being 1@14 cents per ID,
higher than the lowest point of the year, and
k@1 cent above the quotations at this time in
1889. 1t was a notaple feature Of the trade
this year that ordinary shipping steers, or
fair to good natives, averaging from 1900 to
l 1926 pounds, such as are usually taken by
New York and Boston buyers, have not
''dreascd" as we'll as formerly. This is &C
counted for simply by the fact that they were
net fully matured, and lacked the proper
| amount Of corn to make them fit for market,
and whenever there has been chad spell in
the cattle trade at this point, this class
generally suffered the quickest and to by fer
the largest degree. An old and experienced
shipper at the yards claims TO have had q
shrinkage of from eighty-fve to one hundred
pounds to the steer on whole trains Of cattle
between here and New York, this year, and
fifty pound, 'sshrink" per head while in tran
sit making that journey, is about the average
in ordinary seasons. Stock cattle sold at
good prices most of the time, and the figures
realized for tanners stock, or the cheaper
grades of both native and Texas cattle, were
higher as a rule, than in 1879.
RECEIPTS.