Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-11-24
A RUINED BUSINESS.
END OF THE BIG CATTLE RANCHES
OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN VALLEYS.
The Grass all Tsed Jp-No More Food
for the Herds of that Vast Region.
The Disaster Crushing and without
Remedy.

Platte valley. The low, rocky bills were
covered Tho spaces between the sage
bushes were occupied by punches of grass
The treeleSs flanks Of the mountain ranges
were yellow with dried grass, which waved
in the wind. There was grass, and good
grass, everywhere throughout the valley
Heavy crops of hay were cut on the natural
meadows. Cattle. horses, antelope and elk
Tuamed through the valley from Hunters
ranch at tine bridge over the North Platte
TO fifty miles below Fort Steele On every
creek which issued from the mountains pros
porous cattle growers lived IN log houses
The cattle were fat and though the growers
always lied about the per cent. of calves
they branded, it did not seem as though dis
aSter were close at hand
But how is it to-day! The valley of the
North Platte, this famous grazing ground,
is virtually a grasSless desert. | have just
returned from trip through it and the ad-
jacent mountains, and | have never seen a
more valueleSS region to grow or hold cattle
i'll. The grass is tramped out by the hoOfs of
thousands Of hungry and lean cattle, that
walked for months over the arid land in
search of food They roamed for days be-
fore they staggered Close to the snow in the
foot hills. am then they closely followed the
retreating sn Nv banks into the down timber,
into the gre, timber, and finally on to the
summit of tie Sierra Madre mountains.
VALLEY OF DESOLATIoN.
While slowly driving down this gray
valley of deSolatiOn my comrade continually
assured me that there was good grass
in the foothills, and that the cattle which
Grazed there were fat We left the wagon
at Grand Encampmcnt river and took saddle
and rode into the foothills. | was strongly
impressed with the unhealthful appearance
Of the cattle Their hair did not lie smooth
There was a peculiar stare III their eyes
which had long ago learned to recognize
IL fateful The calves sucked the cows FIRE
qucntly and with nervous energy. The COWS,
almost without exception, were lean and
weak The grass, scanty appearing to
eastern eyes at all times had queer, strange
appearance. After riding few miles and
inspecting the grass from the elevation Of a
horses back, ! dlSmounted and carefully
examined it, bunch after bunch, until had
inspected fifty punches The story was told
In no bunch which examined were there
more than twelve stalks of this years grass
The other stalks. from twenty TO sixty to
buitI, were lti0A NttiA El'"lti IL -
not possible for cattle to separate the good
grass from the poor. Three-quarters of the
food that the cattle, which have grazed in
the foothills during the past summer have
eaten consisted of the weather beaten, rain
soaked grass Of last years growth. II is no
wonder that they ventured far into the
mountains in search of fresh and tender feed
Almost daily while hunting in the Sierra
Madre mountains, | saw small bands of
cattle feeding in the mountain parks or in
the green timber These animals were
almost as wild rs elk They fed in the same
localities us the elk and blacktailed deer
did ! judged from the frequency with
which | saw these small herds that there
were many hundreds of them in the noun
tains. What will he the fate of these half
wild animals which We're grazing in the
lofty, pine clad highlands three weeks aSoi
| unheSitatingly answer, not one in ten will
get out of the mountains. Before this time
they are showed in. InStir.t, or may be
superior reasoning power, teaches game
animals TO fly out of the mountains when
heavy snow storms begin to rage Cattle
have not this instinct. They are almost
sure to linger too long i'll the highlands, and
there they die of cold and hunger The
nature of the ground forbids their being
driven out, and, indeed, the cowboys have
no heart TO enter unknown and intricate
mountain systems in search of thrSe sattle,
as they might get lost themselves
PITIFUL SIGHT.
Ny hunting camp was pitched on tue
eastern slope of the Sierra Madre mountains
about two miles from the summit of the di-
vide. Between it and the bare foothills was
jackstraw-like tangle of down timber, and
two wide belts Of green timber. A heavy
snow fell steadily all of one night Realiz-
ing that the hunt was at an end, We packed
up and Travelled down the rugged mountain
fianks, now in down timber, now in green.
We passed many bands of cattle that ran i'll
all directions, excepting the right one, at
our approach. 1t was evident that that they
had forgotten the trails on which they en-
tered the highlands i'll early summer These
cattle are sure to die this winter. In the
treelcSs foothills all the cattle which, had
passed the summer there were trailing for
the lower valley. To the extent Of vision,
both to the north and south. short columns
of cattle could be seen at intervals wading
slowly through the snow. The next day,
curious to see what the cattle would do
when they found there was no feed in the
valley rode TO the lowlandS Before |
got to the base of the foothills | met cattle
walking up the mountain They had been
down 10 the valley, and finding no feed had
ascended the hills, preferriEg to rustic in the
snow rather than TO starve in the snowless,
CRASHES plains. In the valley many hun
dred cattle stood in line along the barbed
wire fences. or at the banks of irrigatiug
bitches, waiting until hunger drove them
back to the snUwClai foothills. Presently
they started, singly. in pairs and in family
columns, and 10y night the valley was again
destitute of cattle 1t was ! pitiful sight to
see the hungry animals reSOlutely enter the
foothills and the deep snow in search Of food.
As it is in this valley SO 1t is in many
others. met and talked with cattle grow
ers who Craze their herds in the north,
in the south, in the west and on the
plains, and, with few exceptions, all told the
same story That the native grasses On
closely grazed grounds were almost extinct;
that the grass had beeu trodden out Of many
valleys: that other extensive areas had been
almost ruine,l 10y OverstOCking and that dis
aster, serious and widespread, menaces the
whole cattle growing industry west Of the
l0lst meridian.
have no doubt that the losses of cattle
now grazing on the ranges of high altitude
will lie sufficiently large this winter to bank
rupt many individual as well as associated
cattle growers And it matters not what the
winter may prove to be, whether mild or
hard the condition of the grass on the range
sharply indicates that large portion of the
cattle cannot rustic through it. They are
doomed to die. There is but little good grass
east of the mountains. Frank Wilheson IN
New York Sun.
An English Family at Home.
An English husband and wife at home, NJ
NarjouX tells US, are an amazing pair-mar-
tyrs to the spleen and addicted to overeating
The mother concerns herself very little with
her children Immediately they are old
enough, they are sent to boarding schools
When the boys grow up they go TO the colo
MES, and when the girls leave school they
start in chase of husbands. II is because