The herald., 1896-10-16
SURPLUS OF HORSES.
THERE ARE 125,oOo ROAMING THE
FIELDS OF THE WEST.

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 for the sustenance
Of cattle and sheep and are practically
worthless for any purpose. The cause of
this serious condition is due to the bicycle
and to street car systems operated by elec-
tricity and by cable, the use of which with
in the last few years have SO largely done
away with the employment of horses. In
some Of the districts named the horses are
increasing so rapidly in numbers that they
are 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, as they do, over such q
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 expen-
sive to keep alive, continue to multiply.
AS result Of the liberal policy adopted
by the Northern Pacific and other railroad
companies Of the northwest, after meas
ures were adopted by the government to
circumscribo and keep the Indians within
certain bounds, the great ranges at one
time occupied by elk, buffalo, deer and
antelope were quickly taken up by capital
lists, who, having heard of the fame of this
region as hunting grounds, established
ranches there and began raising stock on
a large scale. Hundreds of thousands of
dollars were invested in cattle and large
herds of stock bought in Texas, Arizona
and other states and territories in the
southwest and driven to the rich ranges in
northern Idaho, North Dakota, Washing
ton and Montana to fatten on the nutri-
tious bunch grass which grows so lux
uriantly there Immense fortunes were
made in this way, and cattle kings were
numbered by the score.
Among theae stockmen were many who
raised large herds of horses, either sepa-
rately or in conjunction with CATTLE When
the Northern Pacific railroad was COM
pleted, much greater accessibility to the
horse markets of the east was possible. So
encouraging was the investment in horses
that many owners increased their herds to
as high as 10000 or 10, 900 head.
Attention was given to raising finer
grades Of horses and abandoning the half
breed and bconcho grades. Large draft
horses at one time found ready sale in
the eastern states and in Europe 1t was
also thought that there would be an excel
lent market for horses in large cities, where
street car companies use these animals for
motive power. For O number of years
there was much profit in raising stock for
street car use, but when electricity and tho
cable system were adopted the profits in
horse raising gradually diminished until,
instead of therc being gains, there was q
constant loss.
Importations of fine breeding stock from
Kentucky and eastern states, as we'll as
from England and Scotland, were made,
but it was found that the horse industry
was on the decrease Shipments to east
ern and middle western states over one
railroad alone dropped from 10000 head
yearly to 1900. To such an extent did
the market depreciate that, instead of max
ing money, horse owners found that they
they stood u good chance of going into
bankruptcy.
Then tho bicycle came into general use
and the horse raising industry received it's
final blow. Those who had been in the
habit of using saddle horses found that a
bicycle did not require to be "broken in, -
nor did it require feeding or stabling,
while in many ways the machine was ca
pablo of being applied to greater use than
a horse
This surplus of 125,00 horses consists
not alone of bronchos or cattle horses, but
in it may be found such stock as coach
and Clydesdale horses, nearly all of which,
however, are unbroken. Among them arc
the descendants Of some very high priced
stations. One rancher near Walla Walla,
Wash, has 5000 horses OH his range, all
of which are finely bred. These he is will
ing to sell at $40 per head "big and lit
tic" as the saying is among cattlemen,
which means colts as well as the grown
animals. He can find no 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
horses in order that pasturage may be
provided for the large herds of cattle and
Sheep" For cattle of this description an
amount OF pasturage is require which n
person other than stockman or one con-
versant with the situation cannot imagine
OF course there is no feeding in that part
of the country for cattle during winter,
for they range out of doors during the en-
tire year; therefore they must depend for
food entirely upon the bunch and other
grass which grow on the prairies and in
the mountains.
In 1895 an experiment was made with q
view Of providing "a way out of the trou-
BILE. A plant was established at Portland,
Or, for the purpose of slaughtering
horses and canising the meat for export to
France. The plant was operated less than
ono year, however, for it did not succeed
Horesemen then sought to induce beef
slaughtering, packing and rendering es-
Establishments in the United States to take
horses for slaughtering purposes, but the
ers absolutely declined to add horse slaugh-
tering and canning to their beef slaugh-
tering industry, on the ground that ii it
became generally known that they were
canning horse meat the sale of their can
ned beef would be materially affected, if
not entirely destroyed.
Proprietors Of rendering establishments
refused to go west to buy horses "from the
range" for the reason that they were able
to obtain in the cities all the discarded
horses they needed ut few dollars Per
head, or at tho slight cost of hauling them
from different parts of cities to their cs-
Establishments Horse owners in the west
were thus again disappointed in finding
n market for their stocks in large cities us
they had expected. New York Herald.