Evening star., 1901-12-14
The Evolution in an Industry That
Interests All.
WESTERN SqOgKkEN As ALLIES
Breeding and Hay Instead of In
dians and the Trail.
BEEF FOR MARKET
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

CH1CAGO, ILL.,, beCemOer lSUl.
Shortly after the Episcopal gathering in
San Francisco a great New York bishop
journeyed eastward across the plains in
company with the owner of cattle upon
thousand hills"
Those are mine,' remarked the cattle
man to the bishop, pointing to great herd
of cattle ranging in a Colorado valley. The
bishop looked with interest at the cattle.
"Ah,' he said thoughtfuly. II don't see
how you get them ready for market" The
catteman smiled. 1t was a long story to
tell the bishop, and the catteman, being
oil few words, bided his time.
The next day the limited train was speed
ing through the beautiful farming region
of eastern Nebraska. The bishop was
keenly alive to all he saw. Great corn
fields spread away for miles over the roll
ing country and openings were dotted with
herds of fat cattle which looked prime for
the butcher.
"These Nebraska cattle look much better
than your cattle in Colorado said the
bisnop. lingering his eyeglass and turning
his kindly and unworldly glance toward his
companion in an inquiring way.
Those cattle there are mine, too" said
the cattleman briefly. "They were back
there six months ago. and he jerked his
thumb towards the west to indicate Colo
rado. 1--WE grow 'em out there and finish
Chicago by easy stages, eating the corn and
hay of the farmers as they go. They will
be in Chicago in thirty days ready for the
butcher. 1t takes six months or more to go
from the range to the market now. 1t
used to take six days.
And thus the bishop absorbed in practi-
cal way, but without grasping its full sig
nficance, the change which has come over
the range cattle industry since the days
when President Roosevelt was a deputy
sheriff on the banks of the Medora river in
Dakota.
The Requirements Today.
In the early times it took money, dar-
ing and physical endurance to be sue
cessful range man. Today 1t takes more
money, a liberal supply of brains, keen
business instincts and experience to make
a success in the same line. The question
Of physical endurance and daring spirit is
not important but as a rule the men
who succeed even today are of the big
frame, indomitable spirit, venturesome dis
position and prompt action as of old; for
the breadth of the prairies and close con-
tact with nature in her widest flights of
fancy seems either to make that kind of
men or else she eliminates the others from
her list of favoriteS.
There were men present in the great cat
tle-growers' convention held in this city
during the past week, who, twenty years
ago, rode the ranges warning the few farm
ers in the country not to give any feed to
stray range cattle driven by stress and
storm to the shelter of fences and ranch
buildings. Today these same men rid
ing the ranges buying all the hay they can
find or making contracts with the farmers
to feed a certain number of cattle during
the winter. .H.
The Rules Twenty Years Ago.
Few and simple We're the rules governing
the cattle business of the western plains
many as twenty years ago. Given
herd of cattle it was comparatively easy
task to find range for such herd. Find
ing range simply meant going to some
place not already crowded and turning the
cattle loose to rustic for themselves.
The trail herds generally arrived at a
given point during the summer some time
and We're allowed to scatter throughout the
country, and the natural topography and
supply of water influenced their subsequent
movements. During the winter two or
three men We're employed by the owner of
these thousands of cattle to ride the range
This range riding generally meant an eff
fort to keep the stock within a certain dis
trict. The district being so large, how
ever, that it was a comparatively easy
matter.
In the spring there was a little more ac-
tlVity at the home ranch. for when the
ground was soft and the grass had not Vet
started to grow, the cattle, hungry for the
first signs of green, got into mud holes or
snow banks and being so weak from the
them were mired down and unable to rise
to their feet. Then the range riders were
expected to dismount from their horses
and twist the tails of the mired stock until
suf11clent ambition was aroused to induce a
scramble for dry ground. Many an old
range COW, not appreciating the effort be-
ing made in her behalf, has turned with
terrible ferocity upon her rescuer and ex-
hausted her remnant of strength in the eff
fort to horn her friend.
In the Depths of Winter
The few settlers In the west at that time
had small patches Of ground under fence
and a stack or two of hay surrounded by
a high corral. In the desperately severe
and binding snow storms of the plains the
range cattle were driven against these
fences and corrals or frequently sought
shelter behind them. They would often
stand In these places until they starved to
death, and the farmer, pitying their con-
dition and disregarding the fact that they
did not belong to him. would, when feed
ing his own cattle, throw little bunch Of
hay over the corral fence to these miser-
able, dying animals from the range.
1t was mistaken kindness in the eyes
OF the cattle owners, for having once OBJ
tanned bite of feed at the hands Of hu-
name rancher, the range animal would stay
starved to death. in the expectation of re-
ceiving further bounty.
The most desirable quality in range
dHiIIdl was CONSIDERED the aO1l1ty to rustic
for food where it was extremely difficult
to get, and the farmers and the cattlemen
made indignant protest when the farmers
discouraged stray cattle from hustling for
themselves. 1t was not uncommon to see
notices posted in various places warning
the ranchers under extreme penalty to re-
frain from feeding range cattle. and these
notices would be signed by either the
roundup association itself, or by some
cattleman whose power was recognized
throughout his country. 90
More Profitable Methods.
There are still certain sections Of the
west where these conditions prevail, but
they are now extremely limited in area.
New methods have been adopted which,
while they may sound more humane and
thus receive Endorsement from those who
saw only the cruel side of the range cattle
business. are also more satisfactory and
profitable to the owner of the cattle than
those which prevailed in the earlier days of
the business. 1t is not humanity alone, or
perhaps in any degree which has brought
about the change in the handling Of range
cattle. The old methods are now imDOSSi-