AN ERA OF EXPANSION. 429 



Western fairs served to spread the reputation 

 of the Short-horns well beyond the Missouri 

 River. Shown with his get he never met de- 

 feat. In fact as a breeding bull he had no 

 equal in the Western country in his day. His 

 descendants in the Cowan herd were distin- 

 guished show and breeding animals for many 

 years, and one of his sons contributed much to 

 the success of the late Hon. D. M. Moninger in 

 his great steer-breeding operations in Iowa. 

 In the hands of Mr. Richard Daniels, one of 

 Nebraska's pioneer breeders,* bulls by Loudon 

 Duke 6th rendered capital service,.and one of 

 his daughters, London's Minnie, was a feature 

 of the Short-horn exhibit at the Philadelphia 

 Centennial. 



First National convention. On Nov. 27, 

 1872, the first National convention of breeders 

 of Short-horns ever held in America met at In- 

 dianapolis, Ind., the chairman of the commit- 



* Mr. Ralph Anderson of Falls City was possibly the first breeder of 

 Short-horns in Nebraska, but Mr. Daniels shipped, in 1867, the first speci- 

 mens of the breed ever taken to the State by rail, paying- $200 per car from 

 Chicago. A chute for unloading- had to be specially built at Council Bluffs. 

 Mr. Daniels' initial purchases, like those of most of the other Western 

 breeders, were largely of "Seventeen" blood, and concerning- these he 

 says: "I think they were as good beef cattle as I ever saw." He also 

 brought with this lot a two-year-old steer for which he paid $100 in Michi- 

 gan, keeping him until he was six years old, when he was sold to Shirley 

 Bros, of Omaha for Christmas beef at a high price. Mr. Daniels bought 

 from Mr. Cowan the breeding bull Knight of St. George 8473, that had been 

 bred by W. R. Duncan of Illinois. He was a Phyllis, sired by Minister 

 6363, and cost Mr. Daniels $1,000. Then for many years he bred from sons 

 of Loudon Duke 6th. Speaking of his experience with Short-horns " Uncle 

 Dick," as this veteran Nebraska breeder is familiarly called, says: "If I 

 had to begin life over again I would breed Short-horns. They always paid 



