Omaha daily bee., 1883-06-01
The Cattle Trade OF the West.

taoNo ~ bAo
United States Economist.
The wonderful increase of late years
both In the production and consump-
ton of beef cattle In the United
States, the one obviously keeping
pace with the rapid strides of the
other, has developed In part the cspa.
bilities of the vast western prairies,
p~rovidentially provided beforehand to
meet the wants of a great nation in
creasing In population and advancing
In wealth and power with q rapidity
wholly unprecedented In history.
The original or common cattle Of
the west were introduced into the
country from various quarters, the
earlier immigrants from Pennsylva.
MIA, Virginia and other states bring
Ing a greater or less number or COWS
with them, and the Indians furnish.
Ing q part. OF course, they were a
heterogeneous collection; yet, In the
process of time, In each considerable
district of country of similar forma.
tion and resources, where there was
no effort made at Improvement, the
stock assimilated or acquired oharac.
t~erlstio qualities peculiar to Itself, and
so dissimilar from other sections es
to enable the experienced cattle
dealer to readily determine, by The
general appearance of the stock. the
region of country In which the cattle
were raised. In the more billy and
timbered localities, the cattle were
smaller, of compsct build, hardy,
healthy and easily tatted; whereas, In
the more open portions of the country
where the feed was abundant, the
stock became larger, looHer made,
oosrser, more subject to disease, and
harder to f~atten; but the general eff.
fort made of late years to improve
the stock by the introduction of I'm
proved breeds has rendered these
local characteristics less dlstingulsha-
BILE than formerly.
Although the business of fattenlng
cattle was we'll understood by many
of the earlier pioneers, and to find 8
market for corn was an anxious
thought, yet they hesitsted to engage
In 1t. BY many 1t was considered
that the great distance from market
would render that mode of disposlng
Of their surplus corn iinpracticable;
the long drive to an eastern market
would 80 reduce the cattle In flesh As
to render them unfit for beef; but
some thought otherwise, and trying
the experiment the result was a oom-
plete success. Thus was another
avenue of trade partially opened,
which for half q century contributed
largely to the wealth Of the Scloto
valley. and from this small beginning
the trade gradually, although not
rapidly, increased. The extension of
the railways added still further to the
farmers resources, enabling him to
diversity his pursuits, and assisted In
bringing the corn feeding of cattle,
30 far as Ohio and Illinois were con-
oerned, to Its eliminating point. The
construction of the great through
railroads, though tending to diminish
the feeding of cattle In Ohio, contri.
buted largely to Its wonderful increase
In the western and southwestern
states, sffording them facilities for
reaching an eastern market of which
they had hitherto been deprived.
Though the railroads also facilitated
the transportation Of fat cattle from
Ohio, adding but little to the cost, and
saving to the drovor lear or quite 100
pounds Of flesh on an average, to each
animal, yet, by sffording quicker and
at all times q more certain conveyance
for other things ~ well, particularly
whisky, and the manufacturer of that
article being able to pay more for corr
than the csttle.feeders can afford to do,
they more than counterbalanced the
advantages derived therefrom to stock.
raising. Hence In localities favorably
situated for the sale of corn, the busi-
ness of feeding 1t to cattle has become
a comparatively unimportan. one.
Before the era of railroads to break
the long drive large numbers of stock
cattle were annually driven from the
west into Ohio to be fed there, and
when made fat were sent to an east
ern market, but that trade has now
become obsolete. The large demand
for export for American meat pro-
ducts has given a great stimulus to
stock raising, and the size and extent
of some of the ranches In the west
and southwest are almost marvellous.
New Mexico boasts Of q cattle ranch
| fo.ty hy .ixty ntIaa In stza vhlnh has