CON'TAGIOUS DISEASES OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 215 



We went north froin Parson's to Thomas Brakey's ranch. He lives 

 on the Medicine River, in Barbour County, 32 miles southwest from 

 IIar[)er and 3 miles from Kiowa. We remained with him over night. 



He came from Ciiase County, Kansas, last Septi^mber. with 301) head 

 of fine high grade cattle. In January they were in good condition and 

 thrived well. After a week's sleet and rain in February they began to 

 sicken and die. During the months of February and ^Earcli he lost UO 

 head. Some of them died in good condition and most of them retained 

 a good appetite until death. Tbe majority would tirst show lameness 

 on the left foreleg, would then persist in lying down, and many of them 

 lingered along from two to four weeks before they died. He fed all the 

 corn, sorghum, and millet-hay thej' could eat. Two of them died in the 

 month of May while on grass. On opening them, after death, the fat 

 [)resented a very yellow appearance. Mr. Rider also had 400 head of 

 cattle o'l this same range; he lost 75; they were affected similar to 

 Brakey's. 



Mr. Brakey gathered 200 of his cattle in the round-ups in June and 

 July. About the middle of September one cow was taken sick; she 

 died in a few days. Then others sickened ; some of them lived five or six 

 days, and others would be found sick in the morning and dead at noon, 

 lie took them off the range and turned them into a cane field, but they 

 still continued to die. He lost 15 head. 



October 10, visited Harry Matthews, adjoining Mr. Brakey on the 

 north ; he has held 30 head of cattle in his fenced range for tsvo years. 

 On the 0th instant 110 head owned by Charles Blackstone, of the Eagle 

 Chief Pool, were turned into Mr. Mathews' field. A few days ago a 

 three-year old steer of Blackstone's was found sick; he died last night. 



Pout mortem: weight of spleen, 8 pounds; liver, 18.^ pounds; heart, 

 ■">i pounds ; extensive extravasations of blood into the walls of the right 

 ventricle ; bile thick and grumous ; urine bladder contained four pints of 

 bloody colored nrine; fat the color oi yellow bees-wax; third stomach 

 slightly impacted Avitii dry food. 



A three-year-old white steer was i)ointed out to me, which showed evi- 

 dences of sickness, manifest b}' segregation, a weak, staggering gait, 

 drooping head, and feces covered with mucus. One of the boj'S lassoed 

 him. Temperature, lOG*^; pnlse, 90. October 23, 2 more reported sick 

 and the white one dead. I saw IMr. Ewell, secretary of the P]agle Chief 

 Pool, in Harper on the 25th. He stated that no cattle died in their herd 

 this season. Mr. N. Sherlock, of the same pool, corroborated the state- 

 ment of Mr. Ewell. 



From Mathews we drove through a drizzling rain southeast to the 

 line of the Indian Territory; stopped at W. E. Campbell's cow camp. 

 Campbell's pasture is fenced in, located on the Indian Strip, 3 miles wide 

 and \2h long. The cow-boys told me they lost or 7 out of 3,500 head. 

 They did not show any particular anxiety to be interviewed. We then 

 proceeded to Pryor and Miller's ranch. They own a fenced range in 



