The Minneapolis journal., 1906-08-11
Today the Guardians of the Texas
Herds Are Prosaic Characters
Compared with Their Predeces-
sors.
THE LONG HORNED STEER
rs ALSO DISAPPEARING
Blooded Cattle and Scientific
Breeding Have Gradually
Transformed the Stock Of the
State Into Prize Winners. ss
~ HERBERT vANDERHooF.

e.. BY HERBERT VANDERHooF.
Among the many industries which have
lent their Combined aid to make Texas
cattle raising has always held first place
And apparently it will always continue
to do So r.
The mention of the Lone Star state In
evitably suggests the long horned fierce
eyed steer and his devilmay-care guar
dian, the spurred and belted cowboy. with
revolver on hip and lasso ready to swinR,
made familiar to the street bred In
habitants Of big cities by more or less
accurate representations in drama and
story. .--.L -..s-..n-,. .-. -.
! Such at least Is the picture presented
to the mind of the unsophisticated ten
derfoot, whose sole knowledge of the cat
tie plains OF Texas has been, derived from
playwright. Should he, however, visit
the scenes where he has often strayed
in Imagination, he would find the exist
ing conditions strikingly different from
what he anticipated.
For Texas has cast her wild and woolly
days behind her. The modern cowboy
is a far more prosaic creature than his
predecessor of decade ago, and even the
tonishing change, due to the benign In,
fluence Of time and the Christening hand
OF the willy stock breeder. =" -. ,-r
In word, the gaunt, long horned Texas
steer which formerly reigned as lord OF
the plains Is almost an extinct type. The
process Of evolution through which he
gradually. became a valuable market
pste kbss reazed she bey had
meet the demand for improved stock and
they rose nobly to the occasion.
The result Of their breeding labors can
be best seen In the Panhandle Of Texas
,nrof{ fhn DO nd ma o.
ularly because it is acknowledged to be
the most important cattle raising section
of the state, owing to the fact that 1t Is
the least thickly settled portion Of the
country and consequently the chosen
home Of vast and valuable herds.
Great Improvement Of Stock.
The cattle rnisers spared neither palms
nor expense in their efforts to improve
the stock. Capitalists owning great
lavish lavish hi hands 7 on the importation Of well
bred bulls and cows. And as the years
rolled On the effect Of the new strains OF
blood mingling with that of the original
hardy Texas type produced gratifying re-
suits. =, ::. -.
In the Panhandle today the visitor will
find thousands Of the finest cattle In the
world. Favored by the genial climatic
won high l1onors In all parts Of the coun-
try where live stock expositions have
Where the skinny, though agile. Texas
steer of ye olden, time must have hung
his long horned head in shame. or else
tried to butt the judges into eternity,
his meek corpulent descendant carries
off the premier awards of the fat stock
show committees and brings much JOY
to the heart. of. the critical butcher. 1t
must not be forgotten that much Of the
extraordinary improvement in the Texas
steer Is due to the demands Of the local
In the old days vast herds had to be
driven over the cattle trails through Okla
| hor1da, and Indian Territory in order to
! reach the northern markets. With estab-
ltshment 9of the home markets the neGes,
sity for this long and laborious hike"
to foreign fields was relegated to the
background. Texas began to take care
Of her own products and the days OF
| well bred stock became established.
| r. An inevitable result of the movement
Tor better grades of cattle was the grad
%ual abolition of the great ranges. 1t be-
ranches, becoming too valuable for mere
grazing purposes, should be separated
| into smaller ranches and stock farms. It
follows that even in the: big Panhandle
district the face OF the country has been
| much changed.
The new scheme of things presented
fine opportunities for the man who had
only limited amount Of currency to in
| vest. There were not wanting men who
were willing to grasp the chancer thus Of
| fered by fortune and the small stock
farms and ranches found ready pur-
chasers.
/! The Agricultural Possibilities.
While Texas has always been essential
" q live stock state, her agricultural pos
sibiities are such as to demand thought
ful consideration. Cass county and ada
cent counties lying in the northeast sec
tion Of the. state are cases in point.
and ass belt Of TaHas
an ideal climate, with no extremes Of
temperature, the rainfall Is sufficient to
eliminate all danger OF drought and crop
needed. The country aourishes with the
aid Of its own natural advantages
It Is a splendid potato country The
soil iss g free productive, gray loan, with
with red clay, subsoil,g but very fertile
and easily cultivated. The same may be
said Of those counties in the immediate
vicinity Of Cass county.
blackberries, raspberries and STRAWBERRIES
all flourish well in Cass county. AS to
farm and garden products. two and even
three crops car. be grown successfully
oats, alfalfa, sorghum. Irish potatoes.
| sweet potatoes, peas, onions, tobacco,
peanuts. beans, mustard, cabbage. rad
ishss; lettuce tomatoes cueumbers, Dsets.
abundantly. No farmer need suffer from
scarcity Of fruit and vegetables through
out the year. ...
One Of tho Garden Spots.
With excellent transportation facilities
on all sides and splendid market de-
mand. the Cass country can well be de-
Texas. And, best Of all, the land is not
only remunerative in its returns, but is
to be had at cheap rates.
At the present time there are 1000
| acres of rich agricultural lands which
have recently been put upon the market.
This is the first time these lands have
ever been offered for sale to homeseek-
ers and investors Formerly they were
only to be purchased in large sections,
but recently the entire acreage has been
surveyed and subdivided into tracts Of
various sizes. They can now be pur-
chased at $40 an acre. Unimproyed land
can be had at from $3.50 to $40.
AS an example Of how wei the land Is
adapted to a variety Of crops the fol-
lowing statement made by w. T.. Clark
ing:
During the past two years havesculti-
waited fourteen acres in corn, the average
yield being about twenty bushels per acre
during that time. have also cultivated
about eleven acres in cotton for NE past
two years, the average yield being about
three quarters Of a bale, or $38 per acre.
have also raised cabbage, Irish potatoes,
all kinds of garden truck, and find the
land very well adapted for the raising OF
all kinds Of fruit and vegetables,
Hog cholera is practically unknown and
consequently the porkers prove a profit i
able source OF income.ssAn abundant va
riety OF grasses furnish splendid sus-
kA 1,rnr