Omaha daily bee., 1883-04-12
STEERS STRENGTH.
When the Trade Had It's Birth
and How 1t Has De-
veloped.

tHe ihst low years VI tne Taucniug
business on the western plains has
attracted the attention of cattle men
and capitalists In all parts Of the civil.
lied world. The we'll authenticated
reports of the marvelously rapid
accumulation of fortunes in the cattle
business have drawn to the trans Mis-,
souri, country hundreds of men of
large experience In cattle raising, but
possessed of limited meats, and hun.
dreds of others with abundant capital
but lacking the practical experience.
The unity Of capital and experience Is
not Indispensable, for fortunes have
been made there by men who had none
of the former and very little OF the
latter, but 1t is requisite to the no.
cessful development of the business
that the two 60 hand In hand. This
was not so essential a few years ago
when cattle In unlimited numbers
could be had at from 81 to s. per
head, and when the unclaimed graz
ing lands were boundlens. To en-.
gsge In ranohing at the present
day one must double the
capital required five years
ago, and to conduct the business suc.
cessfully involves an increase In the
expense account of from 40 to so per
cent. It Is this large Increase In or
iglnsl outlay and 10 Incidental expen.
ses that Is so rapidly driving indivl-
dual owners cut of the business and
concentrating 1t In the hands of
large corporations. Ranching as q
distinct industry dates back scarcely
more than q decade. In the inter
vening time millions of homes and
foreign capital have been invested
In the business, which has
o attained gigantic proportions.
The indebted opportunities for profit
able investment in cattle raising on the
plains began to attract attention as
far back as 1875, but the business was
of slow growth until along in 1880,
when there began q veritable ''boom."
1t has Increased in interest up to the
present time, when the demand for
cattle for stocking new ranches far ex-
ceeds the available supply. During
the last FIVE years the advance in
prices has been rapid and continuous
Cattle have doubled and quadrupled
in value. In 1877 from 81 to
So per head was the best that
coula be obtained for cattle on the
ranges. To-day they are salsble
at from $50 to $50, with
sapguine holders naming even higher
prices. This unprecedented advance,
1t must be understood, Is not wholly
due to the urgent demand for cattlefor
stocking new ranches. The canning
industry, which 1t may be remarked
has also grown up within the last ten
years, has furnished a sure outlet TOR
unlimited numbers of this grade of
stock, for which formerly there was no
demand. Then the vastly improved
facilities for getting the cattle to mar.
ket, the gradual grading up with
blooded stock, and the com.
parativs ecarcity during the lsnt
two or. three seasons of native
cattle have all contributed to that en-.
hsncement of values for the last five
or more years has made the ranchipg
business the most certainly profitable
of any In which q man could engage.
That 1t will continue to pay q hand.
some return on the investment there
are the most substantial reasons for be-
lieving, but the time when q man by
the outlay of q few hundred dollars
could retire at the end Of FIVE or ten
years the p~ossessor of hundreds of
thousands has unquestionably passed.
The importance to Chicago of the
range cattle trade can scarcely be meas.
ured. The trade had it's birth In the
summer of 1873 In July of that
year Robert Strahorn shipped from
Pilot Point, Tex, fourteen loads Of
the "long.horns, four loads of which
went to st. Louis, where %. so was
the beat figure that could be realized
them, st. Louis Offering no better
inducement to shippers then than now.
The remaining ter loads came on
to Chicago and sold at 81. Dur
Ing that season Mr.. Strahon
received and sold here 800 loads,
or about 1900 head. From
this small beginning the trade has In
creased until the present time, when,
al 1t may appear, our re-
of range cattle comprise more
than one-third of our annual beef
Last years receipts were
much the largest ever known, amount
Ing 20 BAG 900 Texas through cattle,
and 220, 700 Northern range cattle,
or a total of 567, 600. Two clrcum.
stances contributed to the large In.
crease Of last year. In the first place
the exceptionally mild winter and the
subsequent favorable spring and sum.
put q much larger proportion than
usual Of the range cattle In
condition for market; then the ex.
tremely good prices prevalent drew
out many cattle that under leRs en-
.couragipg circumstances would have
on the ranges.
As to this seasons supply, II Is
pretty generally conceded that 1t will
fall short of 1882, owing to the very
close oulllng of the droves last year,
and the extensive demands for stock.
Ing new ranches. With regard to the
effect upon the western herds of the
rigorous weather of last winter,
enough is now known to enable one
to speak intelligently. A few weeks
ago all sorts of exaggerated re.
ports of the mortality among
cattle on the plains we're float
Ing about, some estimates placing
the loss as high as 20 per cent, but
from extensive contact with Texas
ranchmen, and from direct informa.
ton gained through Trustworthy
sources concerning the losses in the
other states and territories, the writer
feels no hesitancy In asserting that the
losses up to date will not reach 8 per
cent. Owing to the long and severe
uplntau an1 &ka L. -