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farm, and he informed me that he had lost about twenty head of dairy 

 cows, and that most of his herd had been sick. He opened some of those 

 that died, and found the gall-bladders enormously distended and full of 

 dark-green, inspissated gall, and the spleen enormously enlarged. All 

 those he opened presented similar appearances. The first animal that 

 died was his best and fattest cow, which occurred, as near as he could re- 

 member, in the middle of July. Previous to that, some long-horned steers 

 were seen on the adjoining hills, and two of them came down and mixed 

 with his herd, and were with them for several days. Mr. Linton, man- 

 ager of the Warner ranch, informed Mr. Hutchinson that those Chi- 

 huahua steers were scattered from Colton to his ranch, some thirty or 

 forty being missing. 



" Mr. Gibson, at Niger Canon, five miles above Temecula, lost ten head, 

 some of those roving steers also having appeared around his place. 

 Mr. Brady, three miles from Temecula, lost fifteen head, and he also 

 said that the Warner steers came through in August, and that his cattle 

 began to die before they came through, and a Mr. Hutchinson informed 

 me that long-horned steers were seen on the hills around Temecula as 

 early as the 6th of July. They could not have been stragglers from 

 those that went through in August. 



" Having gained all the information I could at Temecula, and the evi- 

 dence being somewhat conflicting, I now proceeded to the Santa Marga- 

 rita ranch, leaving the Warner trail, as I was informed other trails came 

 through Temecula, some of the cattle going to Santa Margarita and 

 others to the coast ranches around San Juan de Capistrano and Santa 

 Ana. Mr. O'Neil, of the Santa Margarita ranch, informed me that 

 when the Chihuahua steers, sold to Governor Downey, were pastured on 

 the Castile ranch, fifteen miles from Colton, he went to see them, but 

 declined to purchase. 



'"On the 12th day of July, 1888, I delivered cattle to Hardy, of San 

 Diego, and he informed me that he had seen long-horned stragglers 

 at Temecula.' 



"This seems to coincide with the date of the death of Mr. Hutchin- 

 son's cattle. He also said that Colonel Taylor brought cattle from 

 Texas to Cuyamaca and Penasquitos, some of which were of a high 

 grade, and that two years ago they died. The Texans, in his opinion, 

 infected the high grades, which, undoubtedly, were those mentioned by 

 Governor Waterman's foreman as coming from Kansas and Iowa. Mr. 

 O'Neil also informed me that they are constantly killing Texas and 

 New Mexico cattle in San Bernardino City. His own losses had been 

 about ten to fifteen head this fall, which he attributed to cinnabar ore 

 or mercurial poisoning, the mercury having been washed clown by the 

 rains into the drinking-places, and other deaths he attributed to ticks; 

 but I am not inclined to believe either of those theories, because it is well 

 known if an animal is sick and seeks solitude in the scrub, that is the 

 time that the ticks will attack him, and as a cause of death they may 

 assist, indirectly helping to weaken an already emaciated animal. 

 From what I heard from Mr. O'Neil's neighbor, Mr. Foster, I am 

 inclined to think that the poison on his place is Southern fever. 



" From here I went to San Juan de Capistrano and interviewed Mr. 

 Marcus Foster. He said that Mr. O'Neil brought cattle on to the Santa 

 Margarita ranch, which adjoins his, and that they broke down the fence 

 and mixed with his, and he lost one hundred head. Next year the 



