Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-09-01
WILL CATTLE TRAIL COME BACKf
BY Frederic j. Haskin.

GIdl uuHuI GU Cdlllt kiio t4byg
from a ranch hundreds of miles away, by
the same method that cattle were brought to
market in the days before the railroad were
built.
Although a rail route was available, and
although it would have gotten the cattle to mar
ket in a fraction of the time they actually &C.
oupied in getting here, this herd was driven
overland as millions of cattle were driven in the
early days. Half a dozen cowboys, with a pack
outfit to carry their supplies and beds, drifted
the cattle slowly across mountain and plain, let
ting them Craze there every. evening, riding
herd" upon them every night to guard against
theft and stampede, carrying out every detail
of the technique that was evolved wnen the
whole West was one vast open range without q
rail upon it.
1t was a restoration of an ancient and pic
~turesque scene, but it was not staged Tor any
sensational reason. These cattle were driven to
market overland for the good practical reason
that they were in that way brought to their
destination for about one-fourth OF what 1t
would have cost to ship them by rail. 1t looks
as though Unfortunately high freight rates might
bring back into use the long trail over which
the nations beef travelled to market under its
own power for more than a half century.
The cowboy is such a typically and traditional
ly a Yankee figure that many Americans do not
realize that the American cattle business is real
ly Mexican in its origin and moved slowly from
the far South to the North. In the early part OF
the last century there were no cattle in all OF
the West north of the Rio Grande. Down In old
Mexico, on the other hand, there were enormous
herds of scrubby longhorn stock which had
been introduced by the Spanlards many gener-
ations before.
Meantime a hungry Yankee civilization was
growing up in the eastern half of the continent.
Cattle were raised on the eastern farms. but not
nearly enough of them to feed this growing ma
ton. Enterprising Yankees down in the South
west began to see that there was a future IN the
raising of cattle in the West for sale in the East.
Accordingly they began stealing the herds OF the
Mexicans, bringing them across the Rio Grande
and founding herds of their own in Texas. They
not only found it easy to steal cattle, but they
also found that when these cattle were brought
North they grew larger and fatter than ever they
had on the hot southern ranges.
When Beef Was Cheap.
Tt was easy to get the cattle and easy to raise
them, but reaching the market was another mat
ter. Attempts were made to drive them across TO
Louisiana and sell them, and also to snip tnem
from Gulf ports to eastern markets, but all OIL
these attempts failed. When the civil war
broke out the plains OF Iexas were sWarin nn
Thei. owners had unlimited beef, but very little
money. You could buy a COW for a dollar
During the war these herds were forgotten
and multiplied INTENDED. After the war the
plains swarmed with unbranded cattle worth
little or nothing. Men of foresight hlred cow
boys and began rounding up and branding IN
wild stock. 1t was exciting business, for the
cattle were as wild as deer. A COW or cal1 pc
longed to the man who could put ms Drana On
it first. incidentally, the way was prepared LOT
the long war between the rustlers and the cat
tie barons which presently began. Soon the men
who had begun early had great herds undeT
their own brands, while the newcomers had
none. They wanted to continue the business OF
branding stock whenever it was found uhpranu-
ed, Owners of cattle chose now TO REGARD tnis
as theft. Hence a war which continued for halt
Meantime the herds pushed steadily farther
and farther north. The cattle trail which led
across the Rio Grande and the plains OF Texas
was steadily extended north along the eastern
edge of the Rocky Mountains. And as the heros
moved north, the market for cattle Increased ana
with them the value of cattle. the great Trans,
continental railroads were now pullains Any nau
founded western termini at Dodge CITY, .Wlchita,
Newton and other towns in Kansas: Ihese Pc
came shipping points for cattle, and lncloentai-
ly they became about the widest towns that ever
ora GOD Tho aarth. Resides StOckyarQS ana Cdt-
tie shutes, each of them had whole streets o.
saloons, gambling joints and dance mans, STA r.
lished for the entertainment of the COWBOYS; ~
was during the brief but lurid career OF THESE
cowtowns that the romantic tradition OF ING
wild, revolver-shooting cowpuncner, w wnd non.
ular novels. was established. From the nteratuIe
of the subject one would imagine that the Wnoie
West was a carnival Of gun play. AS d t.
of fact, the wild and woolly stuff was mostly
confined to these few towns and Lasted only q
few years. The cattlemen Of the whole West
converged upon these towns, sold their STOCK
and set out to spend their money. Inc resu,.
was inevitable. You can get 1t anywhere oy
turning loose a large number Oh men q. WIS ~
to spend, whiskey to drink, and no wives ~
make them behave. Every dance ended In a
gun fght. Men rode their horses Into dance
| halls and saloons and shot out the hghts. ~
fessional DULLES went about challenging eacn
other to battles to the death. Lie was Nloien'
The Long Drives.
Resides the cowetowns, the other great market
for beef was the Indian reservations. Inc sovs
ernment by that time TN IL
Wounded up most of the Indians ana put tneAl
on reservations, and whiskey and consumpton
had not vet reduced their numbers greatly.
Hence Uncle Sam had thousands or INDIANS ~
feed, and he fed them largely on peer. frop-
ablv the longest cattle drives and the most pro-
table ones were made from the southern ranges
to the Indian reservations in Montana ana tn1
Dakotas. Some cattlemen with pontlcai pun
would get a contract to deliver a certain IN "a
Nor Of three-year-old beef steers at a point ~
Montana on q certain day. He would organiSe
= trail outfit, go down into Texas or MeAioS
where cattle were cheap, buy his steers, any !,
drive them half the length of the continent -.
was in these long drives that the skill OF 'ne
cowman was seen at its best. Rivers mad TO y.
forded' Indians fought, buffalo herds kept away
from the cattle, stampedes checked. me c1m.
how on these drives was no loose ana orunh.n
fellow flourishing a gun. He was the hi'i
custodian of valuable property. III
or course. the old days of the long iran W.
never come back. There are a Thousand iehoes
across il. But the passing-of-the-cowpoy tneins
has been a little overwritten. Ihere Is w :
great deal of open range in the West anu me
SO stiI1 thousands of men who can throw a rope
and hop-tie a steer as we'll as 1T was ever oone
ma western cowman still knows now 10 oliv'
catt1e long distances and get them TO the Harke
IN GOOD condition, too. Unless frelgnt la'es
drop there will probably be many long drives II
the next few years.