The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-20
BAND OF ROAMING HORSES.
What to Do with Such Numbers Is at
Present n Puzzle.
San Francisco Chronicle.

San Francisco Chronicle
Imagine herd of horses aggregating
5000 for which no practical use can be
found. Stockmen OF the Northwest are to-
day considering what disposition can be
made of this immense number of animals
This great herd roams the prairies OF
Montana, North Dakota. Washington and
northern Idaho They are grazing upon
grass that is required fog the sustenance
of cattle and sheep and practically
worthless for any purpose. The cause Of
this condition is due to the bicycle and to
street-car systems operated by electricity
and by cable, the use of which within the
last few years has so largely done away
with the employment of horses. In some
of the districts named the horses are in
creaSing SO rapidly in numbers that they
ere actually crowding live stock, used for
supplying the meat markets of the coun-
try, off ranges where they find grass on
which to Subsist.
The men who own this vast number of
horses ranging, they do, over such
large expanse of territory, can devise no
means of relief, and they are practically
helpless. Excellent horses, unbroken, can
be bought for from S. to SIS head, but
even at this low figure no buyers can be
found. while the horses, too valuable to
be destroyed and at the same time too X
pensive to keep alive, continue to multiply.
This surplus of 1000 horses consists not
alone of bronchos or cattle horses, but
IN 1t may be found such stock as coach
and ClydeSdale horses nearly all of which,
however are unbroken. Among them are
the descendants of some very high-priced
stations One rancher near Walla Walla,
Wash, has 5000 horses on his range. all of
which are finely bred. These he is willing
to sell at $40 per head, big and little,' as
the saying is among cattle men, which
means colts as well as the grown animals.
He can find purchaser for his stock.
The question which is now agitating
these stockmen is What can be done to
rid the ranges of this immense number of
hcrses in order that pasturage may be pro-
vided for the large herds of cattle and
sheep?"
In 1895 an experiment was tried with a
view of providing way out of the trouble
A plant was established at Portland. Ore,
for the purpose of slaughtering horses and
canning the meat for export to France.
year, however. but its did not succeed.
Horsemen tEen so.eht - induce beef
slaughtering packing and rendering estab-
lishments in the United States,~~to take
horses for Strengthening purposes, but the
o. tempt failed The packing house owners
absolutely declined to add horse slaughter
ing and canning to their beef Strengthening
industry, the ground that if it became
generally known that they We're canning
horse meat the sale of their canned beef
would be materially affected, if not entire
ly destroyed
Proprietors of rendering establishments
refused to go West and buy horses from
the range" for the reason that they were
able to obtain in the cities all the discarded
horses they needed at a few dollars per
head, or at the slight cost of hauling them
from different parts of the cities to their
establishment. Horse owners in the West
were thus again disappointed in finding
market for their stock in large cities, as
they had expected.