The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-24
LIEVE THE GLUTTED MARKET
FOR HORSES.
SELL THEM AFTER PICKLING'
If EUROPE CAN BE INDUCED TO
OPEN HER DOORS TO THE 9.
MEAT.
FLAX RATES IN IOWA REGION
Will Be Considered by the North
western Freight Managers I'm
Session Here Today.

The very unusual condition Of the
horse market and the discouraging
surplus OF horse flesh in the country
has led General Freight Agent Moore,
of the Northern Pacific to make a
very interesting investigation of the
state of affairs. The horse, as every
one knows, has been driven out of bust
ness by the marvellous strides Of cleo
trlcal science, and the increased rail-
way and street car systems of trans
portatiOn. Horses are a drug on the
market in America, although foreign
countries have not as yet felt the in
fUence. Concerning the matter, Mr..
Moore says:
Five dollars and ten dollars per head
is the price now asked for several humid
red thousand horses, branded, and
roaming the plains, too valuable to
destroy and too expensive to keep alive.
These horses vary in weight from ESQ
lbs. to LOO lbs. each, and as q rule
are branded, on the hip or shoulder,
or some other conspicuous place, to
prevent loss by theft or going astray
in stormy weather. Sometimes these
animals drift hundreds Of miles from
the home ranches, but the owners can
always identify their stock with very
little difficulty. Large droves Of these
horses are destined soon to be killed
and served by butchers to the trade
in Paris and other cities in Europe
A trainload is now en- route over the
Northern Pacific railway from Wash
ington, in cars especially provided with
hay racks and water troughs, and will
soon be driven aboard ship in New
York harbor and sent across the At
lantic ocean. This bunch of causes
hrnnOnO VII
inspection in New York and at the re-
ceiving port in Europe. For year or
more past the freight department Of
the Northern Pacific railway has labor
ed to find market for the surplus of
horses tributary to that line A plant
was established by private individuals
at its terminus at Portland, Oregon
TO slaughter some of these animals
but it did not succeed, for the reason
that the European governments passed
prOhlb1t1ve law against the landing
OF horse meat in packages of any kind
This effectually shut out the horse meat
picked and preserved in that city, and
cut off an industry that promised to
be very profitable to the enterprising
proprietor, as well as d lasting benefit
TO the horse ranchers on the plains in
providing market for stock almost
ValuelesS for any other purpose.
1t is only few years since that
tales of adventure, reading like ro-
nance, were written about the can
ture and slaughter of magnificent spec
linens of wild horses in the extreme
west which were supposed to be de-
scendants from animals escaped or
abandoned during the Spanish cor
quests, some drifting to the North. It
Is different with these herds In Mun-
tana, Wyoming, Idaho snd Washing
ton; they are the abandoned results
of enterprises which were projected On
an extensive scale within the past ten
or twelve years. Some CT the finest
horses in Europe were imported for
breeding purposes and OH nearly all
the cattle ranches the work was car
rled on extensively. The early COM
pletion of the Northern Pacific afford
ed transportation facilities for each
ing the markets in the Eastern and
Middle states, and the great ranges
heretofore Astounding in elk, deer. and
buffalo were soon occupied by large
droves of horses, many of which were
driven over from Arizona, Texas. and
Mexico, to fatten on the nutritious
buffalo or bunch grass. Immense for
tunes 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 a gain
there was constant loss. When the
bicycle came into general use the in
dustry received the fatal blow. MANY
who were in the habit of using saddle
horses found that the bicycle did not
require to be broke in" nor did If
require feeding or stahling NJ
many respects the machine was cap
able of being applied to greater use
than the horse.
According to the secretary of ag-
riculture of this government there are
one million. five hundred thousand
N,5OO,OOO horses between the Twin
cities and the North Pacific coast in
the states. before mentioned. Severai
hundred thousand of these animals
could be disposed OF and not be missed: