PROSPERITY REGAINED 935 



Other Mid-west Sales. At Kansas City on March 

 4 and 5, a sale under the management of E. T. 

 Thornton developed a good demand for bulls, 56 

 selling for an average of $274, the general average 

 on males and females combined being $242. A 

 steady range of values rather than exceptionally 

 high prices prevailed. J. A. Shade sold 49 head 



cattle. Accordingly, when VanNatta & Son advertised a sale of 

 purebred cattle in the fall of 1905 I went over to Fowler. I in- 

 tended to buy one or two head but when the sale was over I 

 found myself the owner of five head of cows with three calves 

 at foot. That winter the cattle were cared for by a farm hand. 

 The next spring I realized I must have a bull, and inasmuch as I 

 could hardly afford to keep a good bull for five cows I went to 

 the sale of Mr. Huxley, at Bunker Hill, and purchased seven cows 

 and a bull (Lord Improver). I had only ordinary farm help look- 

 ing after the cattle, but by the fall following my purchase from 

 Mr. Huxley I was forced to the conclusion that if I was going to 

 handle cattle I must have a man who was experienced in the 

 business. By this line of reasoning I also concluded that if I 

 was going to have an experienced man at a higher cost I must 

 have enough cattle to keep him employed. That fall Mr. Sotham 

 was holding a series of sales at the cattle pavilion in Kankakee. 

 I attended one of these and from the dispersion sale of Mr. Bui- 

 lard I purchased eighteen head of splendid cows. By that time 

 I was getting into the cattle game right. I then hired a first- 

 class man in the spring of 1906. 



"I watched the development of the herd that summer. My 

 business instinct soon told me that while I might grow a few 

 cattle for my own enjoyment if I was going to make any mark 

 in the world I must become an exhibitor. I must get acquainted 

 with cattlemen and have cattlemen acquainted with me. I also 

 found that I must purchase and add to my herd the best bull I 

 could find. That fall I visited the state fair at Indianapolis and 

 watched the judging of the Hereford classes. After the ribbons 

 had been tied which proclaimed Prime Lad 3d the grand champion 

 bull and Prairie Queen the junior champion female of the show, 

 I followed Frank VanNatta to the barns and asked, "Frank, what 

 will buy Prime Lad 3d and Prairie Queen?" And he replied, 

 "Thirty-three hundred dollars." This almost took mv breath 

 away but after I had sufficiently recovered I said, "Why, Frank, 

 you don't mean it, do you?" "Yes," he said, "I mean it," and J 

 could not take off a dollar. I finally secured an option on the two 

 animals until the next week, as I wanted to think it over for a 

 while. I reasoned it all out and eventually went over to Mr. 

 VanNatta's farm and closed the deal. I had heard of a good cow 

 out in Illinois and I sent my herdsman over to look at her with 

 authority to buy. He found an outstanding animal in the cow 

 Phoebe, which we developed and showed so successfully in the 

 fall of 1907. 



"That was my first season out and I only showed five head: 

 Prime Lad 16th at the head of herd; Phoebe, the grand champion 

 female; Prairie Queen, a two-year-old; Diana Fairfax, a yearling, 

 and a calf by Lord Improver. With this aged herd I made my 

 debut into fashionable Hereford circles. I mention this to show 

 that with animals of proper merit one can compete with the most 

 renowned exhibitors, even if he is a beginner and unknown. That 



