The boom in cattle of the early '80's was on with a vengeance. There
was no trouble to sell herds that year. One morning, while I was
looking for a range on the north fork of the Platte, Major Hunter sold
my seven thousand heifers at twenty-five dollars around, commanding
two dollars and a half a head over steers of the same age. Edwards had
been left in charge at Dodge, and my active partner reluctantly tore
himself away from the market at Ogalalla to attend our deliveries
of beef at army posts. Within six weeks after arriving at Dodge and
Ogalalla the last of our herds had changed owners, requiring another
month to complete the transfers at different destinations. Many of the
steers went as far north as the Yellowstone River, and Wyoming and
Nebraska were liberal buyers at the upper market, while Colorado,
Kansas, and the Indian Territory absorbed all offerings at the lower
point. Horses were even in demand, and while we made no effort to sell
our remudas, over half of them changed owners with the herds they had
accompanied into the North.
The season closed with a flourish. After we had wound up our affairs,
Edwards and I drifted down to the beef ranch with the unsold saddle
stock, and the shipping season opened. The Santa Fe Railway had built
south to Caldwell that spring, affording us a nearer shipping point,
and we moved out five to ten trainloads a week of single and double
wintered beeves.
Pages:
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283