El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-06-20

Stewart L Moore, general freight
agent of the Norther Pacific railway,
ST. Paul, Mimi.
The tide has turned In his favor and
he is bound 20 bring his price In any
market. Think of it. More than ~
600 head of these range horses have
beeo cold in one market, namely, the |
South ST. Paul market, during the
last sixty days. Thousands have been |
sold also at Kansas City, Omaha and !
at various other markets, and large
herds OF these horses, formerly called
worthless animals, are being |
gathered in Montana and
Washington for sales to take
place in St. Louis and Chicago in the
early part of May. Several thousand
herd are already purchased, and are
now being rounded up for shipment to
Minnesota Transfer for q sale advertis-
ed fer this week.
THE CAUSES DOWNFALL.
How did Dobbin of the West dege-
nerate? What was the cause OF his
downfall AID bis singularly reversed
condition?
A dozen or more years ago scarcity
of good horses existed, and the new
settlers and old ranchers OF the plains
began to invest in breeding stock. The
farmers In the Mississippi aud Missouri
valleys did likewise, and in the course
OF few years there WAS slump In
prices. II was not long until there
was a sharp surplus and absolutely no
sale for any but the best horses. 1t
was too expensive for the western
ranchers to "close herd" or hold their
stock in corrals, consequently they
turned their horses loose, regardless OF
their sex, and like bands of gypsies,
those horses began to roam the prairies
and to climb the steep side of the
mountains. The statutes were over
looked or totally ignored, the stations
were set loose among the various
strains OF blood and multiplied the var
ieties of horses on the prairtes until 1t
was out OF the question to herd them,
aud colts were turned loose as soon as
branded. These horses degenerased in
size and quality, and during the early
nineties were generally dubbed "oron-
cho'' and "csyuse'' also the gay and
festive horse" Notwithstanding the
fsct taat some excellent blood flowed
in th cir veins.
Soon poor Doboin was forsaken by
man; his rowing bands multiplied
into millions and the ranges were
overrun. Think of this vast army
stalking the prairies In daylight, and
like specters in the moonlight, eating |
the grasses that were required for the |
sustenance of the cattle and sheep.
Then was DJbbin or the rollicking, |
high-rolling broncho. dubbed q
nuisance.
CREATING A MARKET.
In 1895, incredible as 1t may seem |
10 some, the writer and several others |
conceived the idea OF creating a |
market by advertising Mr.. Cayuse in |
Europe, also in our eastern states,
with view of disposing of him on |
the hoof if posi- ole. if not, then to have |
him sliced up and served in steaks to |
the Frenchmen, and in sausages to |
the Germans. Articles in this |
strain were written and copied in
journals throughout the world, calling |
The attention OF capitalists to these
millions upon millions OF horses herd
ing on the rich grasses of the pains
once occupied by the buffalo, the el6
and the antelope, drinking from the
pure mountain streams and tributaries
of the great rivers In 1896 several
loads were shipped on the hOOf
60 Germany, and about that time there
WAS inaugurated in Oregon the
slaughter of horses fresh from the
ranges, since which date shipments #
picked and canned horse meat have
been made regularly from this horse
meat factory located at Portland to
Stockholm. Sweden, Christiaua, Nor
way and Copenhagen, Denmark.
In 1898 an enterprise of this character
to be handled on large scale was on
the taps, and the only thing thas
prevented its consumm alton and loca-
ton on the ranch of the once famous
Marquis de MOres on the Northern
Pacific railway, In North Dakota, was
the threatened advance in the price OF
horses. To such an extent had the
market deprecated up to this time
that many breeders were forced into
bankruptcy. The electric cars hal
multiplied In mum Der, taking the place
of horse cars, the bicycle had become
a favorite means of transportation and
pleasure and did not require feeding
and stabling; these and other causes
served to humble and degrade poor
broncho, the halfbreed, most shameful
ly. Think OF buying q horse for 81 so
you could buy Thousands OF them at
this price few years ago!
The Montana breeders were the most
energetic and progressive OF any In the
west. They bought sires of thorough
bred and trotsing blood in Kentucky
al aos rra les of Clydssdal Q and Nor
man stations were imported from
Europe. It is said that lunches OF
Mexican horses, mixed with Spanish
blood, strayed to the northern ranges
and mixed up things with the maverick
! 4
gether became woefully mixed in
blood
THE RETURN OF THE HORSE
With the advent of 1900 the boom
began. The low prices VIII ich prevail
ed for several years caused cessa.
ton in breeding in the east; the
bicycle boom began to decline; tho
American war used up thou
sands of horses; the war In Africa