Omaha daily bee., 1884-08-11
THE TEXAS FEVER.
A Truthful Statement as to L,SSNS Of
Cattle in the Vicinity Of
Brady Island.
Some Interesting Information Con-
corning the Disease.
MAXWELL, Neb., August s.

MAXWELL, Neb., August 8.
Editor Omaha BEE.
notice In your Issue Of the 9TH inst.
an item headed IAN end of the plagu
} and the Texas cattle fever gradually die
appearing from Nebraska stock, losse
greatly exaggerated" etc. The above re
port is said to taken from John A. Nc
jShane, who started with herd from
Ogallala numbering sixty head, and say.
fifty three out of the sixty are now dead
l don't know anything about the Ogallals
cattle but it Is said Mr.. Searls had
seventy head of graded cattle and learn
from good authority that all of these are
dead. But / am speaking of Maxwell
vicinity. In the first place, Mr.. McShane
has failed to put in an appearance at this
point, therefore l beg leave to correct his
errors. In the statement he has
made, concerning the losses and
cause of the disease amongst
the cattle here and at Brady's Island
he says Lynch and Mccullough lost forty
head each out of herds of not great size.
True, Lynch had only forty head all told,
thirty eight died. He has two skim
milk calves left. But Mccullough had
700 head and 200 of them are dead at
this date and lots more in dying condi-
ton. He also says out of Plumer's herd
of 800 between fifty and sixty head have
died. I would say to McShane he had
better visit Maxwell before making an
other report and get posted concerning
the cattle interest here.
Plumer & Jewett had l, 500 head be-
fore this epidemic set in-52 died last
Sunday out of that Number, and tonight
they count 200 hides taken off dead
cattle from the "P" brand, pastured
from four to ten miles northeast of Max
well, instead of along the line of the
Union Pacific road, as Mr.. McShane
states. This shows how utterly ignorant
this gentleman is when he says all of
those cattle were shipped in from
western Iowa or eastern Nebraska,
when as a matter of fact not one head of
those cattle were shipped in here except
30 head of COWS he speaks of belonging to
Green & Burke, seven of which died
few days ago, south of the Platte river.
Those were culled by Mr.. McShane,
and Mr.. Burke left them at Brady
Island, where they contracted the
disease from the Rankin herd, shipped
from Texas and unloaded at Brady Is
land on the 9th day of last May. Of
course McShanes old COWS were not to
escape because they came from Blair, any
more than the native cattle raised here,
belonging to several parties, besides those
aforementioned. Jeremiah Snyder has
lost so head out of 100, George Roberts
80 head out of 250, and P. F. Dolan %
out of 150, Dolan has 800 head in pas
ture that did not come in contact with
the trail of the Rankin
herd, and are free from the disease as are
also several small herds in this vicinity,
that were not exposed to the trail of the
Rankin herd, which is proof positive that
the disease was contracted from the afore-
said Rankin cattle instead of Western
Iowa and Eastern Nebraska herds, as in
timated by Mr.. McShane in his particu-
lar phase where he says none but those
from the above points were infected with
the disease. This is not only absurd but
ridiculous on the whole, and shows how
ignorant he is in the matter.
1t is we'll known that the Plumer
Bros. were extensive stock raisers, and
is now known as the firm of Plumer 81
Jewett. John Mccullough has been in
the cattle business the last twelve
years; also DR.. A. l.. Flict, and others
too numerous to mention, whose cattle
are on well matured range north of
Brady Island station, where the
Franklin herd was unloaded from cars,
and driven out on this same range,
mingling in with the above herds, and
as Is proven by Professor Hopkins, vet
erinarian of Wyoming territory, who
verifes that the Texas cattle will convey
the disease in their system and although
apparently well, and will
convey the disease to any
northern cattle they come in contact
with. This Rankin herd not only inocu-
lated our native herds here with the dis
ease, but they also infected them with
the Texas wood tick. Cattle that are
sick and dying with. the disease are liter.
ally covered with those ticks, thing
never known to exist in this locality be-
fore. We now believe in Mr.. Hopkin's
theory and find his statement true where
he says one native herd will not carry
lAO oioOdcO W dhoeiiCh hdtiNS hOEos LILO
causes more quiet feeling in the com
munity, as we are in hopes of saving the
cattle that did not come in contact with
the through Texans.
There were about $500 head exposed
to the disease on this range, where
the men in charge of the Rankin herd
held them for several days to rest and
recruit up before driving on their own
range, which goes to show that they lost
the virus in this vicinity before they
were driven of, thereby, perhaps, saving
both ..Rankin's own herd, and all herds
adjoining his range, including Mr.,
Bratt's and others. But assure you the
losses here are suppressed more than
exaggerated. Out of the above number
of cattle there are at least 700 head dead,
and no sign of its letting up,
although not dying as fast as they did
last week.
would write more on this subject,
but 1t might tire your patience, and per-
haps would destroy, or convey it to the
waste basket, but there is no use In sup
pressing the truth of the matter, as it is
well known that the disease is not con-
tagious amongst native cattle, and only
those exposed to the thorough Texans
will be liable to infection. and as you had
no true report of the disease since it
~ II L. IL L. -.