SKETCH OF MODERN AGRICULTURE 103 



in Texas, because apparently cows were more prolific in the 

 milder climate of that state, and inasmuch as young cattle grew 

 more rapidly after being moved north, a territorial division of 

 labor grew up. The ranches of the south supplied the young 

 and immature cattle, and those of the north matured them and 

 prepared them for beef. The points at which the cattle trail 

 crossed the transcontinental railways became great cattle markets 

 and shipping points. These shipping points developed some of 

 the most picturesque features which have become associated 

 with our frontier. Each became a great rendezvous for cattle- 

 men and cowboys of every kind and description. These points, 

 which came to be called cow towns, furnished many exciting 

 scenes and episodes which remain a part of the legend and 

 tradition of the Western states and will doubtless eventually 

 become fixed in our national traditions. From 1870 to 1872 

 Newton, Kansas, was the point where the trail crossed the 

 Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad, and Abilene was the 

 point at which it crossed the Kansas Pacific. These were there- 

 fore the noted cow towns of that period. But as settlements 

 moved westward, the cattle trail was forced to shift westward 

 so as to avoid trespassing upon farm land. Accordingly Great 

 Bend on the Atchison, and Ellsworth on the Kansas Pacific, 

 became the great shipping points. Again, Dodge City on the 

 Atchison, and Hayes City on the Kansas Pacific, were the great 

 cow towns. In 1885 they were Dodge City, as above, and 

 Ogalala, Nebraska, on the Union Pacific. It was estimated that 

 as many as 400,000 head of cattle were driven to these two 

 points for shipment during the year 1884 alone. After 1885 

 the importance of the great cattle trail began to decline. The 

 westward advance of the line of settlements tended to cut 

 off this line of march, but the chief factor of the decline was 

 tht: competition of the railroads, which were built into the heart 

 of the cattle country and which transported the cattle more 



