develDpraent. The increase of population and the opening of railroad 

 comnumicatious with the northern and eastern markets have intro- 

 duced conditions of production and transi)ortation and of supply and 

 demand which the old arrangements will no longer meet. In the coast 

 regions — the theater of the earlier development of this industry — these 

 changes are especially visible. 



The great cattle range of Southwestern Texas is from the Kueces to 

 the Kio Grande, (one hundred and fifty miles;) on the Colorado, fifty 

 miles eastward, cattle change their range with the change of the weather, 

 northers driving them to the timber belts for shelter, while sunshine 

 allures them in immense masses to the open prairies. A correspon- 

 dent of this Department saw 200,000 head gathered within a space 

 of 20,000 acres of lowlands near the mouth of the Kueces Eiver. These 

 migratory tendencies of cattle render the task of collecting and identi- 

 fying them one of great labor and difficulty, requiring the services of 

 large numbers of men and horses. The employes of the cattle-raisers 

 of a district organize hunting parties each spring and fall, in order to 

 brand the calves. Each stock-owner is required by law to have a regu- 

 lar brand and ear-mark recorded in the office of the county clerk. In 

 the semi-annual hunts each calf is branded with the brand of the cow it 

 follows or sucks. A calf not found accompanying any cow is liable to 

 be appropriated by the party who can first brand it. Parties attempt- 

 ing to brand, or otherwise approiniate cattle, without first making the 

 proper record with the county clerk, are liable to a fine of $25 for each 

 otiense. Without such a public record no stock-raiser could protect him- 

 self from depredation by legal prosecution. Of late years parties have 

 driven large numbers of sucking calves from their dams. The increas- 

 ing demand for beef has created a stronger temptation for this illicit pur- 

 suit, necessitating greater efibrts to repress it. 



For the gathering of the animals for sale the same methods are used 

 to some extent, but of late the cattle-raisers have been employing 

 permanent agents in difi'erent parts of the country, i)aying them 50 cents 

 for every calf branded and $1 for every steer herded for .sale. A bill of 

 sale is given to the pui^chaser describing the animals by brands, ear- 

 marks, &c., which must be shown to the cattle inspector, who, in return, 

 issues a certificate to the eftect that the cattle correspond to the bill of 

 sale. He keeps a permanent record of his official transactions, which is 

 always open to inspection. 



Among the noticeable changes made in the cattle business, since the 

 close of the late civil war, is its concentration in fewer hands. The 

 smaller owners fonnd their stocks decreasing, and hence their profits 

 did not meet their expenses. They have generally sold out, either to 

 the larger i^roprietors or to the tallow and hide dealers. But few men 

 now in the business have less than 1,000, branding about 250 calves. 

 The herds range as high as 50,000 ; the number of calves branded being 

 from 20 to 25 per cent, of that inimber. On* these larger ranches are 

 maintained from 2,000 to 3,000 horses, in order to supply the army of 

 vaqueros with remounts. Large numbers of the cattle are killed for 

 their hides and tallow. Some of these dealers sell to purchasers on the 

 spot, while others ship direct to l!^ew Orleans or drive to Kansas. Sev- 

 eral leading stock-raisers are mentioned as wintering from 2,000 to 3,000 

 each on the line of the Kansas Pacific Pailroad. 



The term stock-cattle, in Texas, includes cows, calves, yearlings, and 



two-j'ear-olds. A i^arty selling 1,000 stock-cattle would furnish 250 of 



each of the above classes, and cliarge a uniform price for the whole. 



The present price is $5 per head in specie. Three-year-old steers, or 



3 



