442 REPOET OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



The subjoined telegram, signed by the parties -whose names are appended, has been 

 received by D. H. Frisbie, at Austin, Tex. : 



Cynthiana, Ky., January 17. 

 H. D. Frisbie: 



Wo have every reason to believe, and do believe, that the cattle shipped by Fris- 

 bie & Lake to Texas have never been diseased vith pleuro-pneumonia, and that 

 cows from that herd are now running at large iu this county. 



LUCIUS DESHA, Jr., 

 Presiding Judge of Harrison County. 

 L. M. MAELIN, 



State Senator of Kentucky. 

 R. M. COLLIER, 



County Cleric. 

 J. S. WETHERS, 

 Casliier National Bank of CyntHana. 

 WM. ADAMS, 



Mayor of Cyntliiana, Ky. 



Yesterday afternoon Dr. Salmon, Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, arrived 

 at Austin. Captain Frifsbie, accompanied by Major Holland and a representative of 

 the Siaivsman, called on him at his room in the Hotel Brunswick. Tlie interview 

 was brief and barren of satisfactory results. Captain Frisbie put the same qnestion 

 to him that ho did to his predecessor : "Will you, iu the event that the cattle are 

 found in good health (as I know them to be), give me a certiJicate to that effect?" said 

 the captain. The doctor responded that he did not come here for the purpose of giv- 

 ing certificates, and would not agr^e to what certainly seems a fair and squ.aro pi'opo- 

 sition on the part of the owner of i he Jerseys. With tliis the conference broke up. 

 Captain Frisbie intends to sell his cattle on the 12th of February, at which time they 

 will have been here six weeks. Nobody believes them to be iu the least infected, and 

 the injurious reports as to their being diseased are without the slightest foundation 

 iu fact. 



The above certificates, signed by prominent citizen.^ of Harrison 

 County, Kentucky, together with the letter of Governor Knott and the 

 tone of the Austin press, are sufficient to explain the failure of the effort 

 to have an investigation made of the condition of the Frisbie herd be- 

 fore it was sold, information collected later will now be introduced to 

 show the real iacts of the case. At the time of the sale an advertising 

 bill was distributed on which were the statements of Dr. F. J. Smith, of 

 Austin, who had examined the cattle. These statements were pub- 

 lished side by sidebj- Mr. Frisbie to show that they were contradictory. 

 While the two statements may not bo entirely consistent in all respects, 

 they furnish an indication of the condition of the animals at that time, 

 which is not to be overlooked. Tlie certificate of the stockmen who ex- 

 amined this herd the day before the sale confirms this impression, and 

 demonstrates that the animals were not in a remarkably healthful and 

 thriving condition. 



These documents are as follows : 



Considering that the animals have come such a long trip, and the severe woalhor, 

 tluut! has been hut alight mortality among them. I visited tlie cattle January '2'j, and 

 learned that on]y three had died. Two were down, and in itiy opinion wore tiuablo 

 to get up. The general health of the cattle was better than I cxx^ected to find. 



F. J. SMITH, r. S. 



January 2G, 1835. 



The following is a statement of Dr. Smith iu a circular distributed iu 

 Austin, February 11, 1885 : 



I visited the herd of Jersey cattle owned by Frisbie & Lake, now at Mr. Love's 

 dairy ranch near the city, and found a majority of the herd sick, one dead under the 

 shed, and another down, unable to rise ; a number standing, heads extended, backs 

 arched, increased breathing, hair rough, and the animals in very poor condition. The 

 general condition of the herd is similar to that found iu contagious plearo-pneuuionia. 

 No competent person has been allowed to make a, post-mortem examination. 



F. J. SMITH, 



D. V. S., U. S. yJ. 



