The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-11-21

Indiana's Woman Representative at the Cat.
tie Convention In Chicago.

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Indiana's Woman Representative at the Cat.
tie Convention In Chicago.
Chicago Mail tsk
There are nearly five hundred great cattle men
in the city now in attendance on the big national
cattle convention These are the Representa-
tives of fhe great Western cattle ranges of Idaho,
Wyoming and Colorado There are Governor
John l.. Routt, and Adams Earle, and Judd
Brush, and Mitchell, and Sandusky 1.-THE richest
herder in the Mississippi Valley. and Potts. and
scores of Others There the representatives
OF the great English range syndicate. There are
the aristocratic but sturdy looking men from
Kentucky, and Illinois, and Indiana, who own
i'm ported .bulls that cost them up thousands,
and are p0ssessors of cows and calves that are
worth their wei ght.in gold But none Of these
or in the hotel corridors, in the committee
rooms as the one woman delegate Mrs Gen.
H. G, Meredith. She is handsome woman,
who is probably somewhere in the forties. She
sets of her handsome figure with stylish
dresses, and has the best apartments that
the Grand Pacific affords. But this woman deli
egate owns at Cambridge City, Ind, the finest
herd of short-horn cattle there is in the State,
ana breeds. and sells, and pushes her business
along side of the best-known cattle fanciers in
the country. She can discuss constitutional
breeding and high priced beef with any man
here. She knows just how an animals frame
should be bred, and just how 1at and how round
Its bones should be; how its ribs should be-
sprung; how the upper loin should slope, and
the lower. She can tell from its throat-atch
whether the animal has got a pedigree worth
having, and from the shane of its frame around
the heart whether IL is hardy sickly. There
isn't any man among all the famous cattle own
ers and breeders here who knows these things
any better than She or who has more pedigrees
in his head; or who can tell quicker whether
animal is in the record or not; or whether is
could get in the record
General Meredith. when he was alive was one
OF the pioneer fane cattle breeders in the couRr
try. he became rich as the craze for high
priced imported short horns grew until in the
COS and the early 70s he was worth probably
$500000. He had the Airdries and paid out
$4,000 as readily for bull that happened to be
after bis own heart as more conservative men
paid out money for good lands with houses on
them. But the General went broke when the
craze subsidized. His son failed after him, but
the widow. with all her style and grace had q
better head for business than either the husband
or son. She took the herds that were left and
managed them. and. where both men had failed,
she succeeded Her sale few years ago was
the most successful one in the country with one
single exception. Her sleek cattle averaged a
price that had heretofore been .unheard Of She
breeds the wild Eyes," and they are known
wherever fine cattle are, and her herd OF forty
head earn her handsome income every year.
The lady read paper year ago at the national
convention, giving her experiences as a cattle.
breeder 1t was printed everywhere, and prob
ably was read by more men and women than all
the other papers put together.
General Meredith used to own $4,000 bulls
and ran to 900 calves. His handsome widow
has got that folly. She breeds cattle
for money, not for glory. The General was
quxotic from the standpoint of cattle men, The
widow is practical The modern idea in cattle
raising is to raise herd and to breed it up until
it has certain distinctive charaeteristics--of fine
beef, for instance. OF of fine, rich milk, or Of
great beauty. Mrs. Meredith would be happy If
she could sell 70 s;ssy year for $3.50 apiece
The General never satisfied unless r~t s.s.td
have sale once in two years. and could Get
So, 900 to $40, 600 for his cows and bulls Cattle
men are eratiiedif they can take their Gus
TONERS out into their fields and show them q
herd of cattle, each one of which is SO much iiao
every other one that there is no distinguishing
them. This is the latter-day theory; the Gener-
ais was the old-fashioned. Men and women are
getting rich now breeding fine animals All tho
old cattle lords VINO held the Generals views
went broke in 1875