THE LONG TRAIL 689 



their calves could take, and they were such persist- 

 ent milkers that they were apt to go into winter too 

 thin in flesh. They formed, however, ideal mothers 

 for the creation of grade Hereford herds. 



Pacific Coast Cattle. On the western coast the 

 situation was somewhat similar to that in Texas. 

 In the extreme south the Spanish stock still pre- 

 vailed in its natural state, but a steady stream of 

 "settlers" from the middle west, seeking their El 

 Dorado at the end of the Oregon and Santa Fe 

 trails, had driven many a beast of Shorthorn or 

 Devon extraction across the great divide, where un- 

 der climatic conditions favorable to northern-grown 

 animals they had planted the seeds of substantial 

 improvement. Thus it came about that in both 

 Oregon and California a start towards a higher 

 standard had been made at a comparatively early 

 period. In all these instances the cross of the Short- 

 horn on the longhorn had increased the size, leveled 

 the carcass and improved the fleshing capacity of 

 the cattle. 



Shorthorn Crosses in Evidence. The Hereford 

 had no place in the original invasion of the range 

 country. The first great pitched battles with the 

 elements were fought mainly by the Texas long- 

 horns of both the improved and unimproved types. 

 Had they all been of the straight "coast" type, it is 

 possible that the earlier efforts, more especially in 

 the north, might have met with fewer reverses. In 

 those first fierce exposures to unaccustomed rigors 

 the Shorthorns and their grades had to bear an im- 



