Pueblo chieftain., 1921-09-01
BY Frederic ]. Haskin.

Denver. Colo, Aug. ga herd OF
| several hundred cattle recently reach
! ed this city, from a. ranch hundreds
I, of miles away. by the same method
that cattle were brought to market in
the days before the railroads were
| built
Although rail route was available.
| and although it would have got the
| cattle to market in a fraction of the
| time they actually occupied 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 sup
| plies and beds, drifted the cattle slowly
| across mountain and plain, letting 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 when the whole west was
| one vast open range without rail
upon 1t.
II was a restoration OF an ancient
| and picturesque ecene, but IT was not
| staged for any sentimental 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 it would have cost to
| ship them by rail. It looks as though
inordinately high freight rates might
over which the nations beef Travelled to
| market under its own power for more
| than half century.
The cowboy is such a typically and
| traditionally Yankee figure that many
| Americans do not realize that the
American cattle business is really Mex
| lean in its origin and moved slowly
from the far south to the north. In the
early part of the last century there
1 were no cattle in all of the west north
| of the Rio Grsnds. Down in Old Mex
| leo. on the other hand. there were enor-
| nous herds of scruhhy lonEhorn stock
which had been introduced by the
Spaniards many generations before
Meantime a hungry Yankee civiliza-
ton was growing up in the eastern
half of the continent. Cattle were
| raised on the eastern farms hut not
nearly enough of them to feed this
growing nation. EnterprisinE Yankees
down IN the southwest began to see
| that there was future in the raising
OF cattle in the west for sale in the
east Accordingly they began stealing
! the herds Of the Nexicans. bringing
! them across the Rio Grande and found
| ing 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
When Beef Wa. Cheap
II was easy TO get the cattle and
easy to raise them. hut reaching the
| market was another matter. Attempts
| were made TO drive them across to
Louisiana and sell them. and also to
ship them from Gulf ports to eastern
markets, but all Of these attempts fail
ed When the Civil War broke out the
plains OF Texas were swarming with
cattle for which there was no market.
Their owners had unlimited beef. but
very little money. You could buy
COW for a dollar.
During the war these herds were
forgotten and multiplied INTENDED. At
tor the war the plains swarmed with
unbranded cattle worth little or moth
ing. Men OF foresight hired cowboys
and began rounding UP and branding
this wild stock. II was exciting husi-
ness. for the cattle were as wild az
deer. \ COW or calf belonged to the
man who could put his brand on n
first Incidentally, the way was pre-
pared for the long war between the
rustlere and tho cattle harons which
presently began. Soon the men who
had begun early had great herds under
| their own hrandE while the newcomers
| had none. They wanted TO continue tho
business of branding stock whenever
| II was found unbranded Owners Of
cattle chooae now to regard this az
| theft. Hence war which continued
| for quarter of century.
| 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 az the
! herds moved north. the markets for
| cattle increased and with them the
| value Of cattle. The great transcorti-
| mental railroads were now building
and had founded cEwtorn trrrnini al,
| Dodge city, Wichita. Newton and other
towns in Kansas These became ship
| ping points for cattle. and incidentally
| they became about the widest towns
| that ever Crsced the earth Resides
| stockysrds and cattle shuteH. each Of
| them had whole r,ree,s of saioonr
gambling ioints and dance halls. estah-
| llshed for the Entertainment NJ the
cowboys. II wss during the brief =
| lurid career Of these cowtowns that the
| romantic tradition of the wild revol-
ver-shooting oowpunoher who has fill.
| cd so much space in rhe msga-insF
an popular novels was established
From the literature Of the subject ons
| would Imagine that the whole west
was a carnival Of gun play As mat
| ter OF fact, tho wild and wooliy stuff
was mostly confined to these few
| townF and lasted only a few yesrr
Tho oattlemen Of the whole west con
| verred upon these towns rold their
| stock and set out to spend their money
| The result was Inevitable. You can get
II anywhere by turning loose a large