Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-06-15
WEALTH In HERDS.
The Chances Of Getting Rich In Handling Cattle ON
the Western Prairies.

4
LINCOLN, Neb., Cor. of the Chicago
Journal:-A member of the Nebraska
Legislature, who owns and operates al
extensive stock ranch in the western
part of the State, sold recently 100 head
of fat cattle for S12, 900. When asked
by The Journal correspondent if this
was not pretty big price, he said:
lone year ago | could not have made
such a sale; it is different now; all meats
have advanced very rapidly within the
past year, and, while the price | lie.
ceived for tins lot of cattle does seem
large, it is really below what could get
by going out of the State for market.
The outlook for high prices this summer
and fall is very encouraging to cattle
owners
Then you apprehend still greater
advance in meats
YES, or, at any rate, there will be no
decline. At present there is scarcely a
carload of stall-fed cattle in the State,
as everything has been picked up and
shipped East. 1t is the same in Wyo-
ming and other Territories. The cattle
all wintered well, owing to the mildness
of the weather, and are now in fair con-
dition, but few are in condition for mar
ket. The shortage of grass this spring
is the reason of this, otherwise the cattle
would have been fat, and shipments
would have commenced early. As it is
there will be few shipments made before
the middle of latter part of july"
''Do you anticipate decline in prices
at that timer
mo; the market for fat stock is very
large, and there viii be no glut, depend
upon it. Some seem to think, because
of the present high prices, famine in
meat is imminent. This is absurd.
There never were more cattle on the
plains than at present The loss during
the past Winter was very light, and the
increase by birth very large, hence there
is an abundance of cattle this year, larg-
er herds than ever before"
''What number of cattle constitutes a
herd?n
II am myself interested in a herd of
$4,000 in Wyoming, but there are still
larger herds; they run all the way from
5000 to $4,000. Such herds as the lat
ter are owned by stock companies usu-
ally, and it takes a big pile of money to
run the business, and plenty of what is
known out West as sand"
''But the profits are very large, are
they not?'
Yes, there is certainly big money in
the business to any one who has good
judgment and little money to begin
with"
Where is the most stock raised?a
There is not much difference in the
Territories in that respect. Wyoming
is a capital stock country; so is Dakota.
In the Black Hills alone it is estimated
there are 100000 head of cattle, while
along the Missouri river north and south
from Bismarck are many large herds.
Western Nebraska is fine grazing
country, the Platte and its tributaries
affording some of the finest pasture land
in the world. The valley of the Yellow
stone is another good place for cattle.
and many thousand head are now feed
ing in that valley
..How about Montana as cattle pro-
ducing country?n
1T is a splendid country for sheep.
and also for cattle. The supply of NUT
ton will eventually come from Montana,
and some of the largest cattle droves
come from that Territory. All in all, /
| look upon the present outlook for
stock of all kinds as being very bright,
and stockmen in general feel very con-
tented and happy over the fiattering
prospects If their business