1878 .] 
AMERICAN AGRIC TJLT CRIST. 
451 
AfillSiiflllSf, 
New York, December, 1878. 
The Texas Cattle Drive. 
Ogalalla, Nebraska, the terminus of the Texas 
Cattle Drive, is located on the Union Pacific Rail¬ 
road, 343 miles west of Omaha. The place has fig¬ 
ured considerably in the newspapers during the 
autumn, as being the poiDt where the Cheyenne 
Indians (escaping from the reservation in the Indiau 
Territory) crossed the South Platte River and ulti¬ 
mately secured their freedom. The first house at 
Ogalalla was built in 1870, and though there are now 
not more than twenty buildings, all told, the place, 
during the cattle season, is full of bustle and excite¬ 
ment. The first drove of cattle from Texas reached 
here in 1874. Prior to that time they were driven 
to Fort Kearney, 154 miles further east on the 
ing it. The oattle brought from the southern 
portion of Texas, travel some seventeen hundred 
miles, ana those from the northern part of that 
State, about thirteen hundred miles. It takes an 
even five months to make the journey from the 
southern part of Texas, and from three and one- 
half to four months for that from the northern part 
of the State. There have been cases of forced 
driving, where the cattle have come through in 
ninety days. A forced drive is made when the 
owner of the herd finds a better market at Ogalalla 
than he anticipated, and sells more cattle than he 
has ordered to come up ; in such a case he orders, 
through his agent in Northern Texas, a fresh lot to 
come on as quickly as possible. The proprietors 
or principals generally buy the cattle in Texas on 
time, paying from $3.00 to $4.00 a head, down ; they 
receive cash for them at Ogalalla, and settle up with 
the original owners when they return to Texas. 
They purchase in Texas a cow, for example, for 
$8.00, and the calf is thrown in ; the animals are 
kept on pasture lands, at little or no expense, until 
spring, when the herd is made up for the north. 
Upon reaching Ogalalla the cow brings $13.00 and 
ble portion of their wages with the Spanish Monte 
and Faro dealers. It very frequently happens that 
they do not have enough money left to pay their 
way back to Texas by cars, and are therefore 
compelled to mortgage their next season’s wages ! 
After reaching the extended valley of the Platte, op¬ 
posite Ogalalla, the cattle, while waiting to be sold 
: and delivered on the north bank of the river, graze 
i up and down the south side of the Platte over an 
i area forty miles long and from one and a half to 
four miles wide. At one time this year (July 21st) 
there were fifty-five thousand head of cattle grazing 
! in this valley. There is a space left between the 
\ herds a quarter of a mile or more wide, which the 
cow-boys utilize for camping purposes, they re- 
i maining on this side of the Platte until the cattle 
j are sold. Calves born on the road are invariablj'' 
! shot, and mothers are generally roped with steers 
or cows that have not calved, for if this were not 
j done they would manage to slip away in the night 
and return to the spot where their offspring were 
| shot. Buyers who live a long distance away, shoot 
! the calves born at Ogalalla, as they do not care to 
: drive them over the long distance to their ranches. 
VIEW OF OGALALLA, ON THE PLATTE RIVER, NEBRASKA, THE TERMINUS 
OF THE TEXAS CATTLE DRIVE, 
Union Pacific Railroad. As the country around 
Kearney became settled, a new terminus had to 
be selected, and Ogalalla was decided upon because 
of its geographical advantages. The cattle could 
no longer be driven to any point eastward without 
encountering improved lands, and it was not feasi¬ 
ble to drive them to any point west of Ogalalla, 
owing to the difficulty they would experience in 
procuring water en route. Between Ogalalla and 
Buffalo Station, on the Kansas and Pacific Road, 
from which point the cattle drive leads northward, 
there are nearly a dozen streams or rivers about far 
enough apart to make convenient watering stations 
for the cattle. These streams embrace the Saline, 
South Fork of the Solomon, Prairie-dog, South 
Sappa, North Sappa, Beaver Creek, Driftwood, Re¬ 
publican, Frenchman, and the White Men’s Fork. 
The distance between these rivers is about twelve 
miles, which is a fair day’s drive, but the distance 
from the last river to Ogalalla, on the Platte, is 
about thirty miles. On account of absence of wa¬ 
ter between the latter points, the drive is generally 
made in the cool of the day, or in the night¬ 
time, the cattle being watered at the last moment 
before they are started on this long drive to 
the South Platte. The whole distance from 
Buffalo Station to Ogalalla is 145 miles, and 
about twelve days are usually consumed in mak- 
the calf from $7.00 to $8.00. Owners rarely accom¬ 
pany their stock, but reach Ogalalla by railroad 
several weeks before the cattle arrive, in order to 
make bargains, etc. Tims the owners frequently 
have their herds sold before their arrival. 
The herds leave Texas in the early part of Feb¬ 
ruary, generally numbering from one thousand to 
thirty-five hundred head of cattle, and requiring 
from eight to ten men to manage them. These 
herders receive $30.00 a month, and also $50.00 extra 
upon reaching Ogalalla to defray their expenses 
back to Texas. There is a head herder, who exer¬ 
cises authority over the others, and who is univer¬ 
sally known as the “ Corporell.” Mess wagons for 
the herders are fitted out by the proprietors. They 
generally take with them from thirty to forty horses, 
to meet the wants of the long drive, and often pur¬ 
chase or trade for others on speculation en route, to 
be sold at an advance at Ogalalla. All the horses 
are sold when the cattle are delivered at the end of 
the drive. As fast as the owner disposes of the 
cattle, and the cow-boys can be spared, he pays 
them off, when they at once proceed to indulge in 
what they term “ alittle amusement.” The sharpers 
and gamblers who have reached Ogalalla from vari¬ 
ous points, are always ready to accommodate the 
cow-boys in their search for “amusement,” and 
they are fortunate if they dp not leave a eonsidera- 
The cattle go to the river for water at noon, with 
the exception of a few which remain behind to take 
care of the calves. One cow may often be seen 
watching twelve or fifteen calves, while their 
mothers have gone with the remainder of the herd 
to drink. After the return of the herd the “ watch¬ 
ers” take their turn. This interesting fact is 
vouched for by several old ranchmen. 
In 1874, the first year that Ogalalla was made the 
terminus of the drive, fifty thousand head of cattle 
reached here. Last year, 1877, eighty thousand ar¬ 
rived. The number of cattle brought here this year 
and distributed to the ranchmen, is computed at 
one hundred and twenty thousand. The herds begin 
to come in about the first of May, and continue to 
arrive until September. During the present season, 
the cash prices here have been about as follows: 
Yearling heifers, $8 ; yearling steers, $9 ; two-year 
old heifers, $11; two-year old steers, $13; cows, 
$13; three-year old steers, $16 ; beeves, $19 to $20. 
After the ranchmen have kept the cattle on their 
northern ranges for a year or more, they ship them 
to the Chicago market and make their profit on 
them. The principal cattlemen engaged in the 
Texas cattle drive are : Ellison & Deweese, D. R. 
Fant, Seth Mabry, Captain Littlefield, Millett Bros., 
and W. G. Butler. There are smaller dealers, mak¬ 
ing together about twenty-five. Mr. Ellison, who 
