No. 4.] WORK OF CATTLE COMMISSION. 223 



out. The work of stamping it out cost the State of Massa- 

 chusetts pretty nearly a hundred thousand dollars, but it cost 

 private individuals a very much larger sum. Thus much for 

 that first contagious disease, and for the action of the Board 

 of Agriculture in relation to it. 



The commissioners resigned, and we went without a com- 

 mission until 1868 (it was during Governor Bullock's admin- 

 istration), when one day there went out from the governor 

 to three gentlemen in this Commonwealth a simple notice 

 like this : " You have been appointed a Cattle Commissioner. 

 You must leave home immediately and come to the gov- 

 ernor's department at the State House ; " and the three gen- 

 tlemen were there immediately, as quick as the train could 

 come, and this information was given them: " There seems 

 to be a terrible disease all along the line of cattle transporta- 

 tion. As far as we know, cattle have been coming into 

 the Brighton market in a condition little better than dead. 

 Large numbers have been killed soon after coming into the 

 market;" and he said, "Last night a train load of cattle 

 came into Brighton with many dead cattle in the cars, and 

 others so sick that they could not get up. Every dead one 

 and every sick one was dressed last night, and w^as sold in 

 Quincy market this morning, and something must be done. 

 It is a new thing, and nobody knows anything about what it 

 is." The commissioners then appointed took their oath of 

 office and started out immediately, going to Brighton, and 

 took a survey of the whole field, and finally found that they 

 must go to Albany, and there make an investigation. It was 

 done, and they found that in the cattle yards at Albany they 

 had six hundred sick cattle that were beino; killed as fast 

 as they could be killed by two or three gangs of men, and 

 taken to the bone-yards, where they were disposed of, and 

 there the commissioners learned that this disease was all 

 along the line of cattle transportation from Kansas to Brigh- 

 ton. It was Texas or Spanish fever. The whole country 

 was alarmed. It seemed to be the duty of the Cattle Com- 

 missioners to guard Massachusetts from the hordes of cattle 

 that were coming on ; and all we did there was to make 

 an arrangement with the Boston & Albany Eailroad that 

 no cattle should be received upon their trains unless they 



