The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-13
KENTUCkIAN LEADS A BEEF FROM
WINCHESTER TO NEW YORK
CITY.
FEATURES OF THE JOURNEY.
THE CATTLE BUSINESS OF NEW
YORK HALF A CENTURY
AGO.
DRoVES OF HOGS AND MULES
Sent on Journeys of Hundreds of
Miles Wholly on the
HOOf.
FEATURES OF THE JOURNEY.
DRovEs OF HOGS AND MULE!

fellow, with wealth of gray whiskers
and comfortable convexity of stomach,
said.
You mean that you rode in front of
drove of cattle that faro another
man asked.
No, 1 don't either he protested. Il
mean just what say. 1 led that steer
from Clark county, Kentucky, to New
York city with a rope around his horns,
and walked along in front Of him."
The speaker was Henry F Judy. of
this town, an old-time drover, now re-
tired and taking it easy on the emolu-
ments of a well-spent life. And not
an old man, either, as age goes in this
quiet and pleasant Blue Grass town,
where the combined ages Of ten we'll
known citizens to be found prancing
around the streets almost any day will
exceed 800 years.
That was the first trip I ever made
to New York" continued Mr.. Judy,
and I was younger by flfty-one years
than Isam today. We left here in the
spring with 125 head (about the size
of the usual drove going first to Mays
vile and crossing the Ohio river six
miles above that point. Thence we
NCitL liLOu6A w GoI CA4iCil, NlAlAllCObllC,
GAINESVILLE, and on to the Ohio river
at Wheeling, where we crossed to the
south again, going through a corner
of Virginia, as it was then, and into
Pennsylvania, Waynesburg ConnelIs-
vile, Bedford, Stroudsburg, Shippens-
burg, Carlisle and Harrisburg came
next; then on up to the left of Philadel-
phia, passing through a settlement call
ed Germantown, and from there to
Newark, n. J., where we waited till
night, and went the nine miles to Jer-
sey City under cover of darkness, be-
cause it was easy to drive at night.
At Jersey City we crossed the North
river and drove several miles up to
One HGndredth street, to what was
then known as Bulls Head, which had
been gradually moved up that far as
the city grew. At the time of my first
appearance there it was not altogether
in the country. There were yards there
and taverns, and on Monday the sales
took place. one man being able to sell
200 or 300 head a day. The price paid
q commission man for selling was $3.50
ahead.
After my first trip I became a boss
and had charge of the drove, while I
had some other beginner doing the
leading on foot 1t was a nice job,
though, and help was easy to get at
$15 a month and found, the boss re-
eeiving from $3.50 to 81 day. made
eight trips with cattle to New York
seven on horseback and the first on
foot, and the average time was seventy
five days. 1t usually took us from ten
to fourteen days to get home again, our
route being by rail to Philadelphia
thence to Chambersburg. where we
took stage over the mountains to Pitts
burg, where we took steamboat on the
Ohio for Maysville, and then by stage
home
TT was customary to put from 100
to $50 cattle in a drove and send a
boss and two hands to take care of
them. The distance to New York was
called a thousand miles, but we drove
1T in seventy-five days, and ordinarily
drove from eight to ten miles a day.
We started at o'clock in the morn
ing, and by 2 had reached a stand
where we would stop for the night
the boys putting in the time pitching
quoits. playing cards or flirting with
the girls at the tavern stand. 1t was
easy work, and a man couldn't have
nicer way of making a trip to New
York than that.
The leader was q mascot for the
drove, after they got used to him walk
ing aloEg in front with a rope around
his horns, and he lad great influence
over his followers. When we would
stop for the night the drove always got
into an open place by the road and
every steer laid itself down at once
- ~.
somewhere, and it cid not make any
difference how dark the night might be
or how careful the man might be, it
wasn't possible TO get that leader away
without the entire drove following him.
They treated him pretty much as a
hive of bees treat their queen and
the sharpest thief couldn't have stolen
him and got him away unless he stole
the whole drove.
II don't remember the prices cattle
brought in those days, but I know I
never cracked whip over a lot that
I lost money on. We sold them by
estimate, as there were no cattle scales
then. and fifty-fve pounds was net to
the hundred. 1t cost SO for feed head
OH the trip and the hands were extra.
The usual time to start was about May,
when the cattle lived on the green
stuff. but I have started as early as
get feed at the stands. These stands
were all along the route. and often
times many droVes would stop over
night at them. The road all the way
was strung with cattle from Indiana,
Iowa, Ohio, and other states, and there
was never any need for a person to
lack for company. We never drove
with dogs. but 7 have seen one man
with two dogs drive thousand sheep
easy enough.
I'VE were paid for our cattle in bills
of exchange for which a premium of
s. a thousand was paid when L got back
to- Kentucky. l said I did not renen-
Der the prices we used TO get, but We
only drove big steers weighing from
f.510 to 500 pounds. ard they brought
about so a head. which gave me a
right smart sum to bring home on d
drove of 125 head. Then I always sold
the horse I rode, too. Cattle lost about
100 pounds on the trip. or about what
they do now in trip Of three or zFIr
DAYS by rail Sometimes We drove by
night. for cattle drive better then. and
we always drove from Newark to Jer-
sew City by nigot, ard that country was
so swampy that if a steer got off the
road he would sink out of sight in the
n1fre if we didn't hustle him back to
hard ground in hurry.
"In 1857 I made ARRANGEMENTS with
Tom Hughes, of Fayette county, to
take eiglnty-fve mules TO New Orleans,
another long trip. We started in July
going by way of Nashville and Column
bia. Miss. to Baton Rouge, where the
yellow fever was playing hob with
things, and putting corpse OF sick
uerson in every house we stopped at.
We went on down the coast to New
Orleans, where 1 sold out, averaging