The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-02-04

Change The Process of Dehornin;
 Cattle.
 People who visit a cattle ranch ant
 watch the cowboys at their duties thes
 days, for the first time since the decline
 of the herds and the attendant cowboys
 ten years ago, writes correspondent
 of the Chicago Record from Prescott
 Ariz., find surprising innovations in the
 made of managing a cattle range
 Economy and commercial prudence are
 al the bottom of these innovations
 and the financial disasters, which de-
 throned many a cattle king from 1887 to 1893, have necesSitated economies where
 there used to be prodigal waste. Tricks of saving, once thought contemptible are in vogue on all up-to-date ranges Nowadays the bones of cattle are saved and sold. No one thinks of leaving the pelt on critter that has been found
 dead on the range. Time was when a cattle baron loftily despised such pinching economy, and he left it for the poor half breed Indians. Even the piles [ over, are collected and are made a source of some revenue. The fertilizer that went to waste on the ranges is sent 1t so much ton to horticultural districts in California and Colorado for use in the orchards.
 New methods are in vogue, by which time and wear and tear on the horses are saved. A half-dozen horses and cowboys do as much work and cover as much territory as the same outfit for merly did in twice the time. The branding of the calves is done by im- proved contrivances that save over one- half the time. These progressive ideas 1n cattle ranching have been brought to the individual rancher, especially where he is in competition with cattle companies having hundreds of thou sands of dollars invested He is able to do business on less capital. Ex-Gov- ernor Wells says that thirty thousand dollars will go as far in cattle ranching to-day as fifty thousand dollars used to do.
 One of the things that strikes per- son who nowadays goes upon south west range for the first time in some years is the general practice of dehorn- ing. The long horned Texas steer has almost passed away. Twenty years ago the cattleman's pride was the length of the widely extended horns on his cattle. The longest horned in the herd were punched out as the select The stockmen in the Indian territory came forward at about 1880 with herds of short horned cattle. Their juicy tender beef caught the buyers fancy in the eastern markets, and from that time the popularity of long horns de- parted. Long horns became a drug in the cattle market Dehorning soon be- came popular and the practice has be- come well-nigh universal in Texas and the territories.
 Dehorning cattle has brought new instrument into the equipment of cat tie range. It Is steel apparatus, with handles about three feet long, and al- together weighing fifteen pounds It is steel apparatus, with handles about three feet long, and altogether weigh ing fifteen pounds. It is known as the "dehorner." It has two sharp knives one stationary and one moveable-and resembles tree-pruning fork. When the handles are apart the knives are
 
 cattle horns When the handles are pinched together the knives close in, and in a twinkling the horns are cut away clear and smooth. The large cattle companies have their own de- horning outfits, but there are gangs, each of five men, that go about the southwest, doing nothing but dehornng cattle at so much head. One of the
 E.. heaves his lariat about a critters hind leg and, by the sudden backing of his pony, throws the animal down. There are two "bulldoggers.' They hold the struggling, believing animal down, by | one man holding on to the tail like grim death, while another man plants { big knee across the beasts neck The | man who manipulates the dehorner is the fourth in the gang. The fifth man stands close at hand with pail of pine tar and brush. The moment the E horns have been cut away and blood | begins to spurt the tar is daubed over the wound. The beast staggers to it's feet and runs madly away. Once in while a fractious, nervous COW will die from the loss of blood and the shock. The time spent in dehorning is not over two minutes from the moment the "bulldpggers" get the critter in hand until they loose it. A gang, or outfit, as they are more properly known on the range, of five men, will dehorn three hundred and fifty cattle day. Car load lots of cattle horns are shipped from Arizona and New Mexico. But ton, glue, comb and phosphate factories are the main buyers of cattle horns. The shippers pay the cattlemen from two to two and one-half cents a pound for the stuff f. O. b.
 Nowadays, also, the branding on a well-regulated cattle ranch is one sys- tematitally and with improved inven- tions. The picturesque scenes that for merly characterized a roping and branding have been supplanted by practical contrivances for saving time and doing neat job. The oldfash- toned way was more artistic, but it is too expensive for this day of sharp competition and economy of time. The old-time vacqueros and cowboys used 7 to spend days and weeks every year in , over hill and vale and through in search of cattle. The cows, steers and calves were leisurely punched, and on certain day were finally driven in herd into the open ! There the master lariat throwers roped 1