River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-06-25
RANGE AND RANCH CATTLE.
The Magnitude of the Business OF
Keeping Cattle on Land Not En-
braced in Farms.
History Of Its Introduction ON the Great
Plains-Prospects OF Future Expansion.
Range and Ranch.


History of Its Introduction on the Great
Plains-Prospects OF Future Expansion.
Range and Ranch.
In compliance with a resolution
passed by the national house of rep
sentatives, the bureau of statistics of
/ the treasury department has prepared
an exhaustive report In regard to the
range and ranch cattle business of the
United States. The report occupies a
volume of two hundred pages, and is
accompanied with four large colored
maps. 1t contains large amount of
useful information iii relation to the
raising of cattle on land not embraced
/ in farms. Attention is first directed
i in the report to the extent of country
+ that is devoted or which can be devo-
I ted TO this industry, and which is APP
+ parently adapted to no other useful
! purpose. It states this territory en-
! braces about 800 600 square miles
! and constitutes approximately II per
/ cent. of the entire area of the United
/ States exclusive of Alaska. 1t is as
/ large as all that portion of the coun-
/ try situated east of the Mississippi
river, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Its
area is equal TO that of Great Britain,
! Ireland, France, Germany, Denmark,
| Holland, Belgium, Austria, Hungary,
Italy, Spain and Portugal, and one
| fifth of European Russia. A large
/ portion OF this vast territory has a
/ very deficient rainfall, while compar-
| atWely little water is afforded to
| springs and streams, still no portion
! of it is entitled to be called desert,
! as it was by the early travellers.
The expression range and ranch
i cattle in the report applies to cattle
! which, from the time they are drop
| ped until they are shipped to market,
| seek their own food, water, and shell
! ter, as did the buffalo, the deer, and
| the elk before them, and which are
/ subject only to the restraints of herd
| ing. The distinction between the
range" and the ranch" cattle bust
| ness herein observed, is that the for
mer designation applies to the raising
| and tattenlng of cattle upon public
| lands, or upon unfeuced lands gener-
| ally, where the herds of different pro-
| prietors freely range aud intermingle;
! whereas the ranch cattle business is
| carried on within Enclosures belonging
! to cattlemen, on which only their own
| cattle Craze. The very fact that the
| range-cattle business is most profta-
bly, carried on in large way, and that
| its successful prosecution involves or
| ganization and cooperative work, APP
pears to have suggested at an early
| day the conduct OF the business under
corporate ownership and management.
Accordingly this has been one of the
| 1lha1slynH fpafrrnS of fbp INF oil
| most from the beginning. Incorpora-
! ted companies, chartered under the
| laws of this country as well as under
| the laws of foreign countries are now
| extensively engaged in the cattle bust
ness from southern Texas to the north
/ ern border line of the United States.
The raising of cattle in Texas had
| its origin long before the admission of
| that state into the union. The origin
| al or native cattle of Texas are of
| Spanish and Mexican origin. Their
most distinctive physical characteristics
| are long horns, large and vigorous
| lungs, small intestinal organization,
! and small bones. These characteristics
| appear to be the result of the condi-
| tions which for three hundred years
| have constituted their environment
| Texas cattle exhibit some of the mark
! ed self-reliant traits of the wild ami
| NAL, being strong in the instinct of
| seeking food and water, and of self
! protection against the inclemency of
| the weather. In the language of the
! herdsman, they are good ''rustlevs, "
which means that they know how and
! where to find food and water, and
| have the alertness and spirit to seek
them upon the vast plains and in val
| leys and mountain Businesses where
/ they roam, and even beneath the
/ SHOWS, which in the winter, at times,
! in the more nOrtheriy regions, cover
| their feeding grounds.
I Thirty years ago almost the entire
/ area of Texas was one vast feeding
/ ground for cattle, horses and sheep.
! Almost all the cattle of the state were,
according to the popular phrase, Ion
the range" The cattle belonging to
different persons were then as now
known by brands upon their sides,
large enough to be distinguished by
horseman at some distance. This
method ofdesignating different owner
ships still prevails throughout the en-
tire range and range cattle area of the
United States. A general supervision
of cattle within certain extensive dis
/ tricts is had by horsemcn, commonly
known as cowboys" Twice year
the cattle of the different owners and
associated owners are rounded up
4. e., gathered together in close herds;
when the calves are branded and cat
/ lie for slaughter selected out, the rest
being allowed to wander off again
upon the range. During the last
twenty years great change has taken
place in the cattle business of Texas.
About half the area of the state, in
GLIDING the eastern portion, not en-
braced in the range and range cattle
area, has been taken up, and is now
being cultivated as farms. In this
part of the state cattle are raised as
domestic animals, being generally
provided with food and shelter in the
winter The range and range portion
| is also to a considerable extent settled
up by farmers, especially the eastern
and southern portions of the state.
Upon her admission into the union,
Texas retained the ownership of her
public lands These lands have been
surveyed and divided into townships,
sections, and quarter sections in a
manner quite similar to that in which
the public lands OF the United States
have been laid out. Texas has, how
ever, pursued a less conservative
policy in regard to the disposition of
her public lands than has the United
States, and the result is that the
ownership of vast areas has been free
ly acquired for ranch purposes by in
dividuals aud corporations In few
instances single individuals have ac-
quired the ownership of upward of
$50, 900 acres The result of this is
that with the exception of the extreme
western and extreme northern portions
of the state, where herds range on the
public domain, the cattle business of
Texas has become largely q ranch
business. In other words, cattle are,
to a considerable extent, confined to
the lands of the different owners or
associated owners.
AS recently as twenty-five years. ago
Texas cattle were slaughtered in inn
mense numbers for their hides and
tallow, as they now are in various
parts of South America The average
price of 3-year-old steers was from
$3.50 to $3.50 per head. Since means
of transportation have been estab-
lished cattle of the same age have sold
at from S15 to $50 per head. A large
proportion of them are driven north,
where they are fattened for market,
but a still larger number are trans