The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1883-09-19
THE carrLg MlLtloNAIREs.
How Their Fortunes Were Made - The
Present Tendency OF the Cattle
RuSineSs.


Certain men, who have been successful
in cattle raising, are seized by the coat col.
lar and dangled before the eyes of the
Eastern public AZ remarkable examples of
what industry and paying close attention to
horned stock will accomplish for any young
man who has the pluck to go West and
work faithfully. If the stories are TO be
believed, the successful men always came
West penniiess. They arrived at certain
towns astride of spawned ringboneo
horse. This worthless animal they traded
for spotted heifer. This heifer is repre-
sented as the foundation of the herd. They
worked, and every cent they earned they
put into female cattle. Gradually they be-
came rich. That is the regulation tale.
The truth is that they invested considerable
money in cattle. They branded all the
calves they could catch. When their herd
was filed with steers tit for the butcher,
they opened a butcher shop in the nearest
town and drove the other butchers, who
did not own herds of cattle, to despair by
the low price of the beef they sold and
finally drove them out of the business.
This accomplished they promptly increased
the price of beef until there was 500 per
centum profit in it. They kept the price
up until the other shops resumed business.
Then down went the price of beef, until the
other butchers could not afford to duh their
knives and saws in cutting roasts and
steaks. Again they shut up their Shops
M 4bta 1,
diseases broke out in the Eastern States
and skyward went the price of beef Fol-
fourteen years l have seen this game played
IN the West. Another exceedingly profit.
able branch of the cattle business was, and
is, the supplying of Indians with beef. An
Indian beef contract is prize it is a
fortune for any Western cattle breeder. A
thin, scalawag Texan steer, that has been
reduced by hard driving and alkaline water
until 1t Is doubtful if he will tip the scales
at 600 pounds, staggers off of the platform
under the weight of | 300 pounds of beef
1t is astonishing how heavy sneer is wher
on employee of the Department of the In
terror weighs him.
A. the business of cattle breeding ages,
tends to separate Into different branches.
AT present some of the men who handle
stock ON the high plains refusa to own any
cows. They have tried raising cattle and
abandoned il as Improbable. These men
procure thr6.year old steers from Oregon ard
Washington. These animals are bought in
the early spring, and ara slowly driven TO
The Wyoming or Colorado ranges, arriving
there i'll October. They are turned loose Oh
the range and allowed to shift for them.
selves. in my opinion this il the safest
branch Of tho cattle business. Tho young
fteers have not obtained their full growth.
They are hearty and strong. 1t is seldom
that any of them die. They are held over
the winter and until the next fall. They
grow in size and weight, and, of course, in
value.
Another brasieli Of tho business is the fat
tening of cattle On hay. Again throe-year-
old steers are selected. They are driven
into a corral, and there get all the hay they
can eat. The mountain hay is SO nutritious
that the steers become as fat MS corn-fed
animals in the Eastern States Ii has been
the custom for several years to ship beef
during the winter when cattle are thin ON
the range, from Kansas City to Denver.
The beef SO shipped is of n good quality.
This spring I saw better beef -that is, fatter
beef-hanging in hatcher shop in Laramie
City, Wy, than / saw in Denver. This
choice beef was fattened ON hay cut on the
Little Laramie River. The business OF
winter feeding steers on the plains promises
% Increase rapidly in the near future. 1t is
aperfectly safe business, and very profit
able. As il increases, SO will the value Of
the hay lands obtained under the Desert
Land act. Fsank W,lkeson u New York
Sun.