8 
BULLETIN 87. 
economical as the only hands needed were enough to ride the 
fences to see that they were kept in repair and do a little extra 
work around the home ranches. 
Following this era came a wave of settlement. As all the 
country was fenced as cow-pastures, the people had to settle in the 
pasture claimed by someone. During this era of claim-taking the 
cow-boys of the different outfits, after finding it impossible to bluff 
the settlers out of the country, filed in many cases on the land 
containing the open water of the streams, leaving the smooth up¬ 
land for the settlers who came to farm. 
This wave of settlement came just after the hard winter of 
1885-86 had destroyed fully one-half of the cattle on the plains 
and had caused many owners of cattle to be discouraged and ready 
to quit the business. At the same time an order was issued by 
President Cleveland ordering all men having public lands fenced 
to take down their fences. This, with the crowding of settlement 
and the losses from the storms during 1885-86, caused the majority 
of the large companies to go out of business and be succeeded by 
men with smaller herds. 
Haste of these men in getting out of the cattle business prob¬ 
ably helped to make the period of low prices experienced in 1889- 
93. During these years cattle were considered very poor property, 
still those who stayed in the business found themselves on the top 
wave of prosperity a few years later when ordinary calves sold for 
$15 and $20 per head at five months old. But the old way of 
raising cattle by. turning them loose and leaving them without 
further attention except at round-up time, had passed. The day 
of large herds had also passed and could not be recalled. Today 
a man in eastern Colorado owning as many as 1,000 head of cattle 
is as rare as was the man or company owning 20,000 in 1885, and 
between the South Platte and Arkansas rivers individual holdings 
of less than 500 are the rule. The majority of the cattle in that 
region are held in herds of less than 300. During the eight years 
I have been among the cattle men 011 the Plains the oldtimers 
have spoken of the winter of 1885-86 with awe, and remarked that 
another winter like that was likelv to come at any time, “and 
. 
when it does come it will clean us out,” is the remark which 
usually followed the statement. 
The winter of 1902-03 was the hardest since 1885-86. Old- 
timers say that the reason the losses were not greater then was 
that the cattle are kept closer home and owners are able to get 
their cattle in and feed them. Some who attempted to winter 
without feed lost nearly all they had. Some fed so much that the 
cost of the feed was more than the value of the cattle. The own¬ 
ers of cattle are now compelled by public sentiment to feed so as 
to keep their stock from starving and they did this in 1902-03. 
