The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-11-12

and will soon be driven aboard shil
IN New York harbor and sent ;asresI
TIL, with the vo+AsS 1f f~--,,o~ -,
the Atlantlc ocean. This bunch Q
cayuses and bronchos must pass
rigid health inspection in New YorJ
and at the receiving port in Europ.
For year or more the freight depart
ment of the Northern Pacific railway
has labored TO find a market for the
surplus of horses tributary to that line
plant was established by several mer
at Portland, Ore, to slaughter some OF
these animals, but it did not succeed
for the reason that the European gov.
ernments passed prohibitive law
against landing horse meat in packages
OF any kind. This effectua1ly shut out
| the horse market picked and pre-
served in that city, and cut off an in
dustry that promised to be very profit
able to the enterprising proprietor, as
well as a lasting benefit to the horse
ranches on the plains in providing a
market for stock almost valueless for
any other purpose.
1t is only few years since that
tales of adventure, reading like TO-
nance, were written about the capture
and slaughter of magnificent speci-
mems of wild horses in the extreme
west. which We're supposed to be de.
scendants from animals escaped OF
abandoned during the Spanish con.
quests, some drifting to the north II
is different with these herds in Mon.
tana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washing
ton: they are the abandoned results OF
enterprises which were projected on
an extensive scale, within the past ten
or twelve years. Some of the finest
horses in Europe were imported fol-
breeding purposes and on nearly all the
cattle ranches the work was carried OF
extensively. The early completion OF
the Northern Pacific afforded transpor.
tation facilities for reaching the mar.
Rets IN tie eastern dhu niii7dft statesss
and the great ranges heretofore abound.
ing in elk, deer and buffalo. were soon
occupied by large droyes of horses,
many of which We're driven overland
from Arizona. Texas and Mexico, to
fatten on the nutritious buffalo or
bunch grass. Immense fortunes were
made in this way and cattle kings were
numbered by the score; but when the
electric device and cables for street
railway cars were adopted, profits
gradually diminished until instead OF
there being gain there was constant
loss. When the bicycle came into gen
eral use the industry received the fatal
blow. Many who were in the habit OF
using saddle horses found that the bi.
cycle did not require to be broke in
nor did it require feeding or stabling
while in many aspects the machine was
capable of being applied to greater use
than the horse.
According to the secretary of agri.
culture there are 1000, 900 horses be-
tween the Twin Cities and the North
Pacific coast in the states before men,
toned. Several hundred thousand OF
these animals could be disposed of and
not missed; and at an average price OF
$50 per head would yield over So ,O00,-
OOO ,s.,,- .,.---@
The train load just shipped is in
measure experimental, the rail lines
east of Chicago having refused to make
a rate proportionate to the rate adopted
by the lines west of Chicago If the
Central Traffic and Trunk Line associa-
lions would apply cattle rates on
horses (worth about one-third as much
as cattle), the success of the enterprise
would at once be assured; but they have
refused to apply less than their tariff
rate for valuable horses, which is near
ly so per cent. in excess Of the rHty~sy
cattle. Many of the individual lineG
are favorable to the proposition, and it
is hoped that the association will recon-
slider the proposition for reduction to
a basis approXimating the present cat
tie tariff, to apply on animals of low
value in train loads when destined for
Europe. The ocean ships are provided
with stationary pens for the safe hand
ling of live stock, and all that remains
to insure clearing the ranges of the
cheap horses is the adoption of the
rates proposed.
IF the government officials at Wash
ington are successful in their negotia-
tions with the European authorities for
the removal of the restriction against
horse meat in packages from America,
parties having plenty of capital are
willing to open large and expensive
plant, constructed by Marquis de Mores
several years ago, at Medora, N. d.,
for the purpose of slaughtering cattle,
and will add to it picking and can
ming branch, for the purpose of slaugh-
tering these horses. st Paul Pioneer
Press.
--Puss, familiar name for a cat, was