102 THE LUNG PLAGUE OF CATTLE. 



very little food, was sufficient to cause the high mortality among them. No disease is 

 known where these calves came from. 



The. only other person engaged in shipping eastern calves was C. J. Puffer. Last 

 season he obtained his calves in Chautauqua County, New York. This season In- 

 bought 111 in the vicinity of Garretsville, Ohio. He had used great care in select iug 

 only strong, vigorous calves, and in shipping them had unloaded, fed, and rested them 

 at six different places between here and Ohio. He sold them all to a farmer in Came- 

 ron, Mo., Septembers, and none had died since that time. The difference was no doubt 

 due to better animals having been selected in the first place, and then greater care 

 having been given to them upon arriving at the farm. 



COUNCIL BLUFFS. 



The next place visited was Council Bluffs, Iowa. The superintendent of the stock 

 yards, J. F. Boyd, stated that there had not been more than three sick cattle in the 

 yards this season. Since July 1, 152,000 head had passed through these yards to Chi- 

 cago. They were not troubled with Texas fever, as cattle did not come direct from 

 the plains of Texas here, but had been fed in some of the States west of Iowa for a 

 season before being put on the market, and in that case they did not communicate the 

 fever to native cattle. The only disease he had heard of in the vicinity was anthrax, 

 of which a number of cows that were grazing upon "the bottoms" had died in the 

 spring. Owing to the heavy rains, the river had overflowed its banks, and corn and 

 other vegetable matter floating upon the water had been left upon the land when the 

 water subsided. A very rank vegetation sprang up, and cows eating of this rank grass 

 and the partially decayed kernels of corn became affected with anthrax and died very 

 rapidly. As soon as the cause was known, the people in the city kept their cows away 

 from "the bottoms" and no more of them died. 



Dr. Foote, veterinary surgeon, had been employed by the Western Stock Associa- 

 tion of Cheyenne, Wyo., and stationed at the yards to examine all cattle going to 

 their stock ranges in Wyoming and Colorado. Mr. Boyd said that he believed none 

 of the cattle had been found diseased, nor turned back as suspicious. Dr. Foote was 

 not engaged at that now, as cattle were coming away from the ranges to the market. 

 No eastern dairy calves came here, and but very few dairy cows. There were then in 

 the yards 10 car-loads of fat steers from Oregon on their way to Chicago. They were 

 perfectly healthy and free from disease. 



The only feeding sheds in the vicinity were at Omaha, directly across the river, at 

 P. E. Her & Co.'s distillery. I visited these sheds November 19 and was informed 

 that cattle had been fed here every season for the last ten or twelve years. Last 

 season 1,800 head were fed, and there were then in the sheds 1,565 head, the first ones 

 having been put in September 18. It was stated, that last year during the season about 

 30 had died, this year so far 13. They had been shipped long distances in the cars, and 

 some had received bruises from which they died. They were wild, never having been 

 tied up, and became entangled in their chains and were choked. They were said to be 

 Montana cattle which had been grazed one season in Colorado and Nebraska and then 

 sent to these stables. No contagious disease has ever appeared among them, neither 

 were there any animals suffering from lung plague at the time of my visit. They are 

 fed here upon slop and hay, as at other distilleries, for six or eight months, and when 

 fat are sent to eastern markets. The space allowed each animal is 3 feet wide, 7 feet 

 long, and 6 feet high behind, 22 feet high in front. A manure alley 5 feet wide, and 

 a feeding alley 4 feet wide, run between the rows of cattle. Air for ventilation enters 

 by an opening 10 inches wide along the whole length of the shed a*id passes out through 

 'an opening 2 feet wide in the peak of the roof for the entire length of the shed. 

 Swinging doors are placed over these openings, so that they may be opened or closed 

 as becomes necessary. All manure and urine pass by well-constructed drains into the 

 river. 



About one half a mile from this distillery I examined a dairy of 54 cows, belonging 

 to Henry Heuningsen. The cows were allowed to run at large most of the time and 

 mingle with other cattle. The stable was of rude construction yet well drained and 

 clean. The cows were perfectly healthy, and it was stated that none had died. 



The cow-stables in Council Bluffs examined were the following : George H. Hop- 

 kins, Twelfth street, 150 head, of which 75 were giving milk, the others were year- 

 lings and dryeows; Peter Leonard, 24 cows; John Oberholtzer, 62 cows; George 

 Scherrer, North Ninth street, 32 head, of which 20 gave milk; Thomas Harl, near 

 Driving Park, 100 head, 62 giving milk. None of these animals had lung plague, 

 and their owners stated they never had the disease in their herds. The feed given 

 was brewers' grains, wheat, bran, and corn. The stables were rudely built and af- 

 forded little protection from the weather. The cows are kept from year to year ; 

 fresh ones, when required, are bought of neighboring farmers. 



Charles Rockwitz, South Thirteenth street, carries on the rendering works, and 

 stated that last spring, when anthrax was prevalent among the cows, he got about 



