The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-11-06
BUSINESS RUINED
THE End or THE BIC CaV4GE
RANCHES OF tn. EDCEA4
NIOgSTAg& VALLEYS.

The Grass All UseI III No 5lor.
Food fog The Herds or shat Ea~l
Be@ion-Thc Disaster CRUSHING.
and without Isvmcdt.
PLISY. Kan. oct. -I.r.yesr- Tie
cattle growers have had control Is. tte
range on the great plains and In The
Rocky Mountain valleys. They con
trolied the loca. press. Is aIru5- mis-
representation, supplemented Is social
attentions, they virtually dictate. tine
letters written by many of the rsea-
pcndents OF tile Eastern HewsTai. ~.
They created the impression IuJle EG--
tern States and in foreign lands tLat tEo
business OF growing Cuitia Cu the p'a.:s
was highly profitable. ana heavy iuNUst-
meEt OF Eastern and foreign capital FOL-
lowed. Honest and Wel.-.nsorIEg,j Isea
repeatedly warned the eager investors
that serious financial disaster would iu-
oVIt2bly ovJrtake the cattle growing in
dus'ry. These truthful people were de-
nounceu Is ravens who over croa'ej. o-
as sensational writer's, Millions, -.s
Jeus OF millions Of Gp.'a~F, were .-y.stg..
IN ranches and IN branding rurs tGeyr~
before or since ilas Iron sold NJ such h.-a
prices, ard III herds Of cattle that we've
represented 20 be OF Tie plains. -sss-
the day Of reckoning is nigh. Sow tt.a
day when tine grass IA -i.e river vale
and all grass within reach O.. running
water VIII be virtually destroyed, IS rear
at hand.
Iinstauc. the present coLGi..a. e :,
once famous stock growing valley. tie
low, rocky hills were CuvevC! The spa
Ces between the sage bushes were ucga-
pied by punches Of grass. The trs,.sss
Hanks OF the mountain ranges were vel
low with dried grass. which waved il
a
grass, every where throughout The val
ley. Heavy crops o. hay were cut ju
the natural meadows. Cattle. horses.
antelope and elk rosned through Tia
valley from Hunters ranch, at tue bridge
over the North Platte. 10 fifty miles he
low Fort Steele. On every Greet. which
issued from the mountains prosperous
cattle growers lived II log houses. Tie
cattle were fat, and though the growers
always lied about the per cent. OF calves
they branded, II did not Seem "a though
disaster were close at hand. But how is
IL to-day: The valley OF the North
Platte, thls famous grazing ground, is
virtually 4 CRASHES desert. i have last
returned from a trip through i aud tIe
adjacent mountains, and have never
seen more yaiue4"ss region TO gro 3 aT
hold cattle q. Tire grass is t-amrsG ,lt
10y the hOOfs uI thousands or hungry
and lean cattle. that walked f.r .,rr.-
over the aEsu land iu scare. food.
They roamed .ur days before ,Hgv --~E-
SeTed close 20 Ja, snow IN the foothills.
and then they closely followed the re-
treating snVrbGnLs into the down tim
her, INTO the green timber. and finally
on 10 the summit If the Serlg S'alro
mountains. Three weeks EGO there
were hardly any cattle i'm the Upper
North Iiatte vallC-, excepting af tie
Big Creek Ranch. where tnsr, were
1900 under fence, because there was u9
feed for them there. Thousands IF cat
tie we. scattered on the foothills a,t "a
the mountains,
While slowly driving down tins -rsy
valley OF Cesulat.On my ComraGe con- D.
uaily assured ne that there was gooI
grass II tine foothills, ana that tile cattle
which graZst there were far. We left
the wagon ct Grand EnCampuert R.,.r
and took saddle and rode into the lyol-
hills. Was strongly impressed with
the uuheaithtui appearance OF the cattle.
Their hCIr dId npt lie smooth. There wa
4 peculiar stare in their ewes which had
long ago learned 10 recognize Is Iats-u..
The calves sucked the COWS frequently
and with nervous energy. The cows,
almost without exception, We're lean and
weak. The grass, scaaty appearing 90
Eastern eyes st all times, had Z queer,
strange appearance. After riding few
miles and Inspecting the Grass from tie
elevation of horses back, 1 dismCua,ed
and carefully examined It, bunch after
bunch, until L had inspected 6Isv
punches. The story was told. n 10
bunch which l examiued were there
more than twelve stalks Of this years
grass. The other stalks. from twenty 10
sixty 70 each bunch, were last years
growth. 1t IS not possible for cattle 70
separate the good grass from the poor.
Ihree-quarters Of the food that the cat ,
tie, which have grazed II the foothills