CHAPTEE II. 



GREAT LANDS AND GREAT OWNERS. 



Ranches along the Platte River — Herds in Wyoming and Ne- 

 braska — Their Increase and Profits — Cattle-Kings — The Great 

 Stock-Drivers, who they are and how they Operate. 



I "visited the herds of the Plattes and made careful 

 inquiry as to the number of cattle, names of owners, 

 and profits to be derived from cattle-breeding. 



On the Laramie Plains I saw the finest cattle, and 

 one herd in particular pleased me, a drove of 1500 cows, 

 with 2300 calves of various ages. First we came upon 

 a few stragglers, or warders, guarding the herd, who 

 seemed to be sentinels over the calves. Next we found 

 families of two, four, and six, in groups, t%u bunches 

 of a dozen, and lastly the great body of the herd. 

 The cows were Texas, bred to large Durham bulls, 

 and the calves bore strongly the impress of the male. 

 Nearly all had thick necks, sturdy bodies, and seemed 

 very healthy. I saw one enormous bull, and near him 

 a cow with three calves, one a two-year-old, one a year- 

 ling, and one about two weeks old. It was a grand 

 sight, this herd of 1500 cows, 50 bulls, and 2300 

 calves. They were much scattered, covering the prairie 

 for miles, and seemed an endless mass of beef for one 

 man to possess ; yet I was told that the gentleman who 

 28 



