Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1903-06-10
Part
Chapter 4.
The Stock Interests BY
Or. 5. D. SwOpo.


The stock interest Of this section,
has been and probably will always be,
the chief industry and most stable and
remunerative occupation of its inhabit-
ants. While the surrounding mountains
possess mineral wealth Of vast impor-
tance which development, will mean
great riches TO the hardy sons Of toll,
who may have the hardihood, and the
nerve TO delve beneath the surface and
uncover the hidden treasure, TO the
vast plains we must always look for our
steady flow of wealth through her stock
interest, The waving fields Of grain
that cover the great Mississippi valley,
and its tributaries are beautiful in their
verdant growth and golden harvest.
They furnish vast quantities of feed to
make fat the beef for the greatest ma
ton on earth. The husbandmen of
these valleys must look to the vast
plains of the great southwest for their
supply of young cattle with which to
fill their feeding barns; for here the
cattle can be grown easier and cheap
er, than any where else upon the face
of the earth. This the sunny South
land, whose protecting hills encircle the
vast plains of chaparral, and meadows
must always be the best breeding
~ ound of the Americas.
When first the hardy pioneer, who
saw the golden mirage of 40, ever and
bevond the toilyome Journey. CROSSED
tine turbid, swift running waters of the
Rio Grande del Norte, and emerged up
on these beautiful plains, vision met
his gaze never to be forgotten. No
herds of cattle had ever cropped the
waving expanse Of perennial grasses.
Here and there band of antelope gaz-
ed in large eyed wonder at their first
sight of the prairie schooner,
which was but the advance guard Of the
after swarm Of humanity that was to
exterminate their great numbers,
They were practically the only herbi-
vorouos animals Of the plains for the
buffalo had never crossed the great riv-
er Of the North, and the mastodon, and
mammoth whose remains We frequent
" unearth has been extinct for ages.
AS our traveller climbed some eminence
a small dust cloud here and there mark
ed the presence Of band of indians
intent upon the chase, and who were
destined to prove the greatest obstacle
T. his future progress. Many a good
farmer who had sod his hocks and cat
tie in the east to strive for greater
wealth, in the gold bearing sand and
reefs Of the Pacific slope, gazed
with admiration upon our beautiful
plateau, and wished for his herds to
crop the waving fields of grass that
grew to his saddle skirts. SGme, tiring
Of the toll and privations of trans
continental trip by way of OK team
motive power, selected watered spot
and turned his few cows loose to be-
come our first stock men. When the
beauties of the golden sunset land, had
dimmed by the months of privatiOn,
toll, and disappointment, others came
and saw, faltered on their journey, and
settled to tend their herds, and defend
their all from savage marauders. Men
of means who had seen or heard Of the
great profits to be derived from busi-
ness, where the gross earnings would
amount to eighty per cent Of the ca
pital invested, began to look for suit
able locations TO establish holdings.
Our gold seekers, though probably the
first English speaking people, were
not the first owners Of cattle on the
plains. Coronado from the west, and
Alvarado from the east, with many
o.her Spanish explorers, had sung the
praises of the land where they found
little gold to reward their labors, and
when the Spanish colonies came, they
brought herds Of Spanish cattle, in
ferior in quality but superior in foraging
propensities. In sequestered nook, by
bublng spring, the Spanish American