Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-09-09
KILL THEIR HORSES.
Northwest Ranchmcn Do This to Save
Their Grass.

Northwest Ranchmcn Do This to Save
Their Grass.
The interesting news comes from the
city of Butte, Mont, that in several
parts of that state horses are so nu-
merous and there is so little use for
them that they are being killed by
ranchmen and their flesh fed to
hogs as food instead of corn. In Mad
ison county several horse meat canning
establishments are now in operation,
and the product is said to be shipped
east and then TO Europe. Horses can
be bought for three dollars head or
even less when purchased in large num-
bers.
These facts suggest the.inquiry as to
what is to become Of the horse. With
the introduction of electricity on street
car lines, where, until few years ago,
horses were practically the sole motive
power, and with the eyer-increasing use
of the bicycle, there seems to be less
use for the horse than ever. This use
of electricity and bicycles makes it
probable that horses will be bred in
very small numbers hereafter.
In the states of Montana, North Da-
kota, Idaho, Washington and Wyoming
hundreds of thousands of dollars have
been invested in cattle, sheep and
horses. Large herds were formerly
driven from Texas and the southwest
to fatten on the nutritious grasses to
be found in the states named, but the
constant increase in the number of cat
tie, especially those of the half-breed
variety, has also caused reduction in
their value.
The establishment of canning fac
tories in Madison county, Mont, where
horse meat is put up is not the first ex-
pertinent of the kind in the northwest.
In 1895 it was made in Portland, Ore,
where horse meat was canned and
shipped to France. 1t was found, how
ever, that the enterprise did not pay,
the demand being insufficient, while
packers of beef refused to add horse
meat to their line of trade because of
the prejudice which would arise.
Reports from Madison county state
also that horses in some instances are
driven into corrals on the ranches,
killed and the bodies dragged out into
the fields, where the hogs can devour
them. 1t seems almost incredible that
this should be the case, but it has come
to be a matter of self-preservation with
the owners of large grazing districts,
where there was danger that the horses
would eat up all the grass, thereby
leaving no fodder whatever for beef
ho cf11
lishments In that part of the state can
not, of course, use up all the horses
that are offered to them; hence it be-
comes necessary to kill the animals and
dispose of them in the manner stated.
1t is not only the half-breed horses
that are found to be a drug on the mar
ket, but such fine stock as Clydesdales
and coach horses are being offered by
ranchmen there for very small figures.
One ranchman in Madison county is
Said to have q herd of 1,70O horses of
Clydesdale and Norman stock which
he is willing to dispose of for SIS n
head. He Is unwilling to sacrifice his
stock for canning purposes, although
the herd is eating the grass required
for the grazing cattle and sheep.
The cattle herds in the northwest
are numbered by thousands, the prices
for which are ridiculously small. The
feed on the ranges is not increasing,
while the cattle are, thus making the
problem of finding feed more difficult.
These immense herds roam the prai-
ries of North Dakota, Washington, Mon
tana and Idaho.
The Montana advices referred to state
that those persons who have established
the horse canning factories believe that
their project will be successful. There
seruss to be little likelihood, however,
that much, If any, horse meat will be
sold In the United States.-N. Y. Her
aid.