Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-03-05
DETHR0NED KINGS
Who Once Ruled the Cattle In.
terests Of Texas.
vERlTABLE MONTE CHRlSTOS.
But Their Occupation Is ecne-Tho Cattle
Business In Texas as Il Was and as
IT'S Nov

The dethroned cattle kings Of Texas
where are they nowi
Many Of them are dead; some Of them I
have disappeared aud left no trace: others |
are now working for salaries, while once |
IN a while one can be found playing |
dominOes nld telling stories about the
pdlmy days between 1876 and 1881.
Geo. Is. Loving, who has been as close
" connected with the cattle interests
OF Texas as any man IN the state. was ia
n reminiscent mood yesterday and talk
ed Of the chnnges that time has wrought
EARLY cattle days IN Texasp he
mused, there are many things that
could be said about them. book could
be written, ana yet the uhlest would
scarcely be touched. Soue thugs, how
ever, that have been published are gross
~ exaggerated, and the cattlemen were
not nearly SO bad as they have been pic
tured.
In 1876 Colonel G. L. Carter aud
started the movement which resulted In
the formation OF the Northwestern Texas
Cattlemcn'e association, of which he was
the president
"The profits were enormous in those
days. cattlemen seldom owned any land,
but would mark of what they wanted of
the state lands and grazing was free,
Ii cost only about 81 TO raise q steer,
and stock cattle sold for S2j, while beeves
brought from SO to 500 OF course
this brought about a state OF affairs
where expenditures were lavish, and
many cattle dealers held high carnival
nt their conventions In st. Louis Kan
sas City or Denver. going In special pul-
ace cars and owning the towns while
they were there
81 won't mention any names because
some of them are dead aud others are
now broken up, aud II would not be FAIR
to the families OF the dead, nor pleas
ant to recall too wildly the oldeu times
to those who are now struggling Tor Il
livelihood.
Business was done pretty loosely, u
record was kept OF the number of calves
branded and when a ranchman went e
sell he took the number Of cattle with
| which the ranch was first stocked, take
| the number of calves branded. deduct
! the numcbr sold. and thus calculate tho
| number on hand. Another way was &c
| calculate that there were FIVE times az
many cattle as there had been calves
| branded
Cattle were seldom counted and lre
| Quently the buyer would not Know IW
two or three years how much sher IS
there was in what lac had bought FFt
| quently the seller would b. periCgtl
honest and yet. stculage and death No
being taken into account, there might mo-
be nearly so many cattle as were sold
Thousands of cattle would be sol
! where neither the buyer nor the scle
had seen the cattle. While, a. rule
there was strict honor among the clite
mon, vet as q thousand cattle made
difference OF SD 600 the temptation &
doctor the books was very great an'
there were instances where large SUM
were lost in that way.
"All range land. as ! have said, wa
free, and the first troubles arose WheI
some of the cattlemen began to enclos
ranches where they had no right exccp
that held by everyone IN common, thri
the fences would be cut and bad feel
ing was engendered between the ranch
men. =,
"Theu vast tracts were sold 10 Euglis
capitalists, experts were sent out an
reported 80 favorably TINT for some tim
ranch investments stood very high I
Fhrlnnd and Scotland This brougli
about a new order OF affairs and CATTLE
men began TO buy their ranches payln
50 an acre As II took ten acres TO th
steer. this required large investment
the old dispensGtion, and money was boz
rowcd AT 10 ana - per cent the interc.
nlone costing more than II had formel
cost TO raise A-ycar-old steer.
For few years the ranches pal'
but cattle decreased IN price, many
the English and Scotch people diacovc
cd that when they counted their catt
they lacked thousands of having wh,
they had bought and paid for, and
1879. the crash came. Affairs could ~
alyays drift along as they had been, an
whom the day of reckoning was az han
mon who supposed themSclve TO be re
found that they did not have n doll
and were hQpelessiy in debt
"In the oldcn time. the cattlem'
lived like kings; fortunes would be MAJ
and lost at the turn OF ~ card, contrac
involving hundreds of thousands of dI
lars would be- made on railroad train
| I'm hotels or on the streets,
MEN would sell two OF three times
many cattle az they owned, When az u
conventions and then buy them up. 4.
transactions were enormous, but u
business had to be placed upon hrm
bnsis sooner or later, and the crash
1Ss5 has had the effect Of putting IL
more substantial footing than ev
before. mn,
mr. leased by the cattlemen, they q
oiI enclosed and there is no more cutti
nj fences There are better taciliu
fnr counting cattle. there Is compar
lively very little dealing IN futures, ~
vel the business is carried on az large
ns il used TO be. The Mulauor COZ
many owns million acres Of land 81
has about 10000 head of cattle, the Ca
ital syndicate Owrs d,OoOuuu acr
~ land and there are other large col
pnnies with great ranches
"ne outlook for the cattle business
very bright cattle have been low
nriGe and the stock has decreased un
tLcre IS more grass than Will feed {
- cattle. This Is a very Favorable indi'
lion and cnttlemen generally are eNpe
4 ing q revival
4 SThe DAYS of palace cars, free gri
inc bie prices and lavish eXpenditt
arc over. but the history Of cattle IA
y inc in Texas has scarcely begun