728 A HISTORY OF SHORT-HORN CATTLE. 



9 



where he had charge of the sale of the Kan- 

 sas Pacific Railway lands and the closing out of 

 the Delaware Indian Reservation he built a 

 residence upon the farm afterward so celebra- 

 ted in the Western Short-horn trade under the 

 name of Lin wood, and for some years gave 

 practically his entire time to the establishment 

 of a herd which in its prime was probably the 

 equal of any that has ever existed in North 

 America. 



At the time Col. Harris made his first invest- 

 ments in Short-horns his personal relations with 

 the Kentuckians were of the friendliest, and he 

 was made a director in their American Short- 

 horn Record Association. He realized that in 

 the Western country Short-horns, to give sat- 

 isfaction to the hard-working farmers of that 

 region, must possess sound constitutions and 

 satisfactory feeding capacity. The leading Ken- 

 tucky breeders of the period, while holding Col. 

 Harris in the highest regard, did not relish his 

 outspoken criticism of many of their herds, 

 many of which he considered too fine and del- 

 icate for practical Western feed-lot purposes. 

 He had no patience with those who gave their 

 adherence to mere pedigree, and proceeded to 

 lay the foundations of his own herd with su- 

 preme disregard of all things except genuine 

 merit in the individual animal. For some years 

 he made occasional purchases of breeding ani- 



