THE LONG TRAIL 681 



it is unfair to assume that the blood of the Spanish 

 cattle was base. Good cattle did come out of Spain. 

 Naturally of good size, some of them reached the 

 heroic in stature. There are yet some native Span- 

 ish cattle in Chihuahua and other Mexican states 

 that are big, rugged, and of considerable merit as 

 beef animals. Cattle of the longhomed type excel 

 as animals of draft. They have amazing energy and 

 endurance and what may be termed "cow sense." 

 When bands of mixed cattle were common on the 

 plains and deserts of the west it was notable that 

 the longhorns led the herds in their migrations. 

 These cattle felt the "call of the wild," had weather 

 wisdom and knew where to find grass and water. 

 They were admirable mothers and their calves sired 

 by "Durham" or Hereford bulls were excellent. 

 Whatever may have been their faults, judged by the 

 standards of latter-day beef-makers, it must be 

 said that they not only served every purpose re- 

 quired of them at the time, but constituted the best 

 possible material for use by those who first sought 

 to put cattle ranches on the map of our new posses- 

 sions. 



The extension of United States authority over the 

 Lone Star State, and the discovery of gold in Cali- 

 fornia in 1849, resulted in an influx of population 

 and capital that soon exerted a stimulating effect 

 upon the production of cattle throughout southern 

 and north central Texas, as well as beyond the 

 Sierra Nevadas. The herds came to be valued for 

 beef, as well as for their hides, horns and hoofs. 

 And thus the infant industry of cattle-growing in 



