The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-08-15
CATTLE IN THE WEST.
HOW THE BIG CATTLE OWNERS IN
TERESTS ARE PROTECTED.

TERESTS ARE PROTECTED.
An Old and Easy Though Dangerous Way
OF Getting n Herd That Is Rarely Fol-
lowed Nowadays-The Arrangement of
brands and the Roundup.
1t is a MN matter of wonderment
among eastern folk and others unfamil-
lar with the great west and its ways
how the many herds Of cattle that roam
over the immense stretches of unfenced
prairie and hill pasture are kept track
of by their respective owners, and how a
stockman can possess himself of his wan
dering property, assert his ownership
and realize on it when he wishes to. OF
course the cowboys ride the ranges and
endeavor to keep the herd within the
bounds of their employers property,
and they succeed in the main. But
where pasture lots are 10, 90 or even 30
or more miles square and unfenced nat
urally a good many cattle get astray,
wander into other ranges and mix with
other herds.
Time was when a couple or more ad-
venturous young men could start life In
the west or southwest with no capital or
outfit but q horse apiece and a branding
iron, and in a year or SO be wortha good
sized fortune in cattle, but a strong pub
lie sentiment working through the agen-
cy of hempen rope put a stop to this kind
of industry. Cattle thieves hardly exist
today, and so excellent a system has been
perfected among cattle owners that now
adays a man need not lose a single steer
If he is careful about his branding.
Every owner has a different brand,
and the number of brands in any n
cattle state runs upinto the tens of thou
sands. They are most of them of ex-
ceedingly quaint design, and the adver-
Using columns of the western country
newspaper often look much like mummy
scrolls covered with Egyptian hero
glyphics because of the numerous cuts
of cattle brands pictured for the infor-
nation of the ranchers. Sometimes q
rancher despairs of i~nventing a new
brand, and then he uses an old one,
placing it ON a different part of the ami
NAL from that where the owner Of the
original one brands his animals. The
brand is the owners title deed to the
steer, and it is respected.
An association is formed among the
cattle owners in each far western state
to deal with estrays. Oftentimes this
business is looked after by a state board
of commissioners appointed by the gov.
ernor. The various brands used by the
are registered, with minute &C.
curacy of design, position and other par
ticulars, at the Office of the secretary OF
the association or commission. Wher
the roundup is made on each ranch and
all the cattle gathered together for ship
ment, there are always q great many es
trays-cattle that have wandered from
other ranges-among the herd. Some
times there may be strange cattle from
half a dozen or a dozen different herds.
Instead of notifying the owner Il
-tcome over and get his beasts" the es
trays are either shipped to Chicago, Kan
sas City or wherever the market may b,
along with the regular herd or are sen
TO a designated center, where all estray
may be gathered together at the round
MP season. In the latter case, when
sufficient number have been collected
the ''estray herd" is shipped to market
Men are appointed at the stockyards b,
the association or the governor to in
spect the herds as they arrive and t
look after their sale. The estrays ar
sold in the regular way, and the none,
is usually sent direct by t. -aspector a
the market to the owners of the brand
worn by the cattle so sold. This oficia
makes it his business to keep track OF al
the stockmen, and the money realized OF
an est-ay rarely fails to reach the owne
Of the steer.
The amount of money realized at mar
ket on estrays and RENTED to the own
eers through the associations runs from
$1,000 VOC to 5000 900 in every season TO
each of the several big cattle raisin
states. In 1891, for instance, the numbe
of estrays from Montana sold i'm st. Pan
and Chicago was 13. 740, and some $3.50,
600 was realized on their sale and n
united through the association to til
rightful owners.
The fence question is an old and pei
picking one. and many and sanguinar
have been the wars in Texas and othe
cattle states between fencers and fenc
cutters. 1t has been judicially decide
rel that q man must no fence in hi
land under some circumstances. Tn
fence around a 30-mile square lot is az
to be in the way of travellers, and whe
the mail goes that way the fence hs
been declared illegal. But often stool
men don't want to fence. The wester
stockman who raises cattle ON the III
bounded prairie knows nothing of til
harassulent that AFFECTS the suburba
resident whose chickens will fly over tt
neighbor's fences.-New York Sun.
The Trouble LIN Keeping q Persian Cat.
The love of liberty is the ruling pa