San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-06-08

droves. and took them on foot 70 New
York. Philadelphia and baltimore
Soon Indiana and Illinois began 10
send off their droves OF one
two or three hundred cattle to the
eastern markets, occupying month or
two on the way, and pasturing ana leeu,
inp them on the road in the fields OF
the farmers. The last Of those Groves
", now remember seeing was in 18Th
though they continued togo some years
after that. ,., Al.
But railroads soon destroyed tho
d,ovo business and took markets near TO
cattle producing regions. About tha
same time, importations Of foreign cat
tle by few enterprising men, stimulat'
ed Others TO efforts in the line OF I'M
proyement. Then few persons, espe'
cinlly in tho grass regions, began to
make the raising OF cattle special
vocation. This, naturally encouraged
others; and when competing lines OF
railroad we're built, western stock was
taken TO the eastern markets for less
money than from many points along
the line. This tended to stimulate the
raising Of cattle. Settlements extend
ed westward and railroads came with
them. St. Louis the great market OF all
the trans Mississippi region, soon be-
cane only way station on the route to
New York, and this gave new life and
value TO the plains of Kansas, Indian
Territory and Texas.
AS late as 1850, stock dealers in west
ern and central Texas, raised cattle
merely as pastime and as an easy
means of obtaining livelihood. The
writer of this article spent g lazy hour
with cattle man in southwestern Texas
in July, 1850. On inquiry as to the
number of his cattle, he replied
that he could not tell within five hun
dred or thousand; that he only
sold what was needed to support his
family, and that was very little, and he
let the rest grow. He was asked how
le enjoyed that kind of life, to which
ne responded-"Oh, get so id
any," -.
1t is not that way now. If our old
friend is there to-day, he knows within
zen head how large his herd Is. lie
md others, in the same business, are
sending out of that country more than
quarter million of cattle every year.
More than that. They are inclosing
yast areas of land with substantial
ences, and infusing fresh and better
blood into their stock. In the Terri |
DRY between them and us men are
easing large tracts of land, and putting
ences around them for cattle raising as
continuing business, and they are
aking in bulls of the best blood.
Here is Kansas, we have stock farms
# acres by the thousand, with barns
nd machinery for feeding. Our small
armers are turning their attention
argely to cattle as means Of permanent
rofit on their fertile lands. In this
Dung commonwealth we have many
erds of as fine stock as can be found
here the first Importation landed. In
Iebraska it is the same, and indeed all
yer the country.
With this wonderful development
ONES. as is always the case, improved
lethods of transportation and preserv-
1g. We put up beef in cans; we have
efrigerator cars and ships; we have
ecent improvement in cattle shipping
ars, we are getting legislatures to act
1 behalf of humanity to stock in tran
tu; and we are shipping beef to
Europe.
The stimulus of this half century
as raised the cattle raising business
ON q mere dependency to national
ldustry, one which the general gov
rnment as well as the state govern
.ent, is trying to protect.