Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1885-06-09
THE CATTLE BUSINESS.

Inc ICUOkb VI ~
Statistics, in regard to the range and
ranch cattle Of the United States, which
was prepared in reply to a resolution Of
Congress requesting the Secretary Of the
Treasury to transmit to the House in
formation ga to the range and cattle
traffic Of the Western States and Terri
tories, with special reference to the bear.
ing of that traffic upon the internal and
foreign Of the United States"
has just been received. This report is a
complete history Of the cattle business in
the West, and a thorough compendium
of all the necessary information with re-
gard to the present state and future
prospects. The whole pamphlet contains
only 200 pages, and two-thirds of it are
taken up with ffty-eight appendices by
different experts in special departments.
If the only end it served was to acquaint
Congress with the facts necessary for
them to know in order properly to legis-
late upon one of the most important SUBJ
jects likely to come before them at the
next session, it is not too much to say
that the existence Of Q bureau which can
supply this information would be amply
justified. Here are q few of the facts
brought out:
The area specially adapted to cattle
raising embraces most Of Texas and the
Indian Territory, the western portions Of
Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota, the Ter.
~ritories OF Montana, Idaho, Wyoming,
Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, the
States of Colorado and Nevada. and parts
of California, Oregon and Washington
Territory-in all about 1866, 900 square
miles, or about A per cent of the total
area Of the United States. 1t is con.
siderably larger than all the States east
Of the Mississippi put together, and
larger than all Europe, exclusive of Rus
STA.
This area averages about fifteen inches
of annual rainfall, and is all over ], 800
feet above sea level. Most of it is now
unfit for farming purposes, but irrigation
may lead to its cultivation at some future
time.
The difference between a range and 3
ranch is that on the former everybody's
cattle feed Unfortunately, being separ-
ated only at the semi-annual rounding
up, while the latter are fenced off, and
no cattle except those of one particular
owner are allowed upon them. The
ranges are upon the public lands Of the
United States or Of the State Of Texas,
and are used by the cattlemen only upon
sufferance, not by virtue of grants or
leases.
Texas is the great breeding ground,
and the annual drive of cattle from there
northward is about 300, 900 head. Texas
cattle fattened at the Northern ranges
grow larger and are of better quality
than those that remain at home.
This annual drive leads to the necessity
for q trail on which there shall be con.
venient watering stations. The trail in
use has been gradually pushed westward
by settlements until the cattlemen are
anxious that a permanent trail shall be
established by Congress.
The climatic conditions of the whole
region are very fully discussed in the
report, as also are the cost of production
and transportation, the relations of the
cattle business to internal commerce, the
great extent of the slaughtering business,
the export of live cattle and dressed beef
and the alleged encroachment of the
cattlemen upon public lands and upon
the Indian Territory. Altogether it is a
most interesting and valuable pamphlet,
and the members of the next Congress
will certainly not fail to legislate wisely
upon the cattle question from want of
proper information.