Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1893-06-20

Since the experiment Of feeding
cattle on cottonBeed meal and hulls
on an extensive scale was begun,
in 1891, the business has made
steady and rapid progress until at
the present time, the number Of
cattle thus fatted for market
amount to 100000 head annually.
Mr.. A. j. Wick, Of New Orleans,
estimates that the annual pro-
duct of the cotton mills OF the
south is sufficient to fatten 1,000,-
00e head of cattle.
The following we take from
an eastern exchange, which goes
to show that it is not only the
western renges on which the cat
tie are getting scarce, but OF the
eastern farms as well: "Cattle
will be scarce and beef high for
two years to come" is the opinion
of one Of the best posted men in
the live stock trade. "The result
is due to natural causes, and effects
every portion of the United States.
For five or six years prices for
cattle have ranged so low that they
have not been profitable for farm
ers who raise from ten to fifty
head, and there are thousands of
such farmers. AS a result the
whole country has been denuded
of these small lots and just found
it out. A cattle crop suitable for
beef cannot be raised under two
and a half or three years, and nat
urally the supply being short pri-
ces will advance. The high price
of hogs will induce farmers to rush
into hog raising and inside of
eight months prices will tumble
even if the corn crop proves a bad
one."
From time to time comes the
report of the increasing fux of
settlers on the public lands, and
the constant contraction of the
ranch cattle supply. Montana
has been a great field for this kind
of cattle growing and so has south
ern Dakota. Reports just at hand
from these regions state that cat
tlemen are closing out their big
herds, by reason of the encroach-
ment of settlers on the public
lands. In South Dakota the herds
are fast disappearing. Last week
the last of the big cattle outfits
in the Black Hills region of that
state, the Keystone Land and Cat
tie company, disposed of their
herd of 5000 head of range cattle,
and in that section of the state
/, big herds are a thing of the past
The herd passed into the hands
of a company which is furnishing
the beef for the Pine Ridge In.
| dian agency and will be used tc
supply the terms of their contract
g South Dakota was formerly a
, splendid range for the carrying
on of the cattle industry, but the
influx of settlers was SO great anC
rapid that the business on a large
. scale could not be properly car
q ried on. All the desirable rancl
locations were taken up, the re
mainder is being fast located b!
people who must have homes, anC
/, the small cattlemen and farmer
9 will soon have complete possession
q of the very little range now re
! naming. 1t seems only a ques
! ton of a few years when Montani
must fall in line with the NOR
a eastern states. OF all the north
g western states Montana is tn
a greatest in the production of rang
cattle, and in the number of bij
$ companies ranging herds. Durinl
the early SOS all eastern Montan
was a paradise for the cattlemeI
but the increase in population
from $4,000 inhabitants in 1880 t
!, 1872, 1853 in 1890 has encroacheC
a upon the ranch counties and driver
q many owner to seek new ranges
During that decade one section
doubled in population, and as
r consequence, the pretty valley o
| the M~usselshell, ten years ago on.
q of the best of ranges, had been al
most entirely cleared of cattle Il
4 make room for the settler. AnC
while there were last year NOR
t cattle in Montana than in any pre-
1 vious year, it can be attributed T.,
3 the fact that until of late Montana
: land was not 30 rapidly taken al
. as at present, while cattle multi
49,.