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THE STORY OF THE HEREFORDS

An account of the origin and development of the breed in Herefordshire, a sketch of its early introduction into the United States and Canada, and subsequent rise to popu- larity in the Western cattle trade, with sundry notes on the management of breeding herds

By ALVIN H. SANDERS, D. Agr., LL. D.. Editor “THE BREEDER’S GAZETTE Author of “SHORTHORN CATTLE” = “AT THE SIGN OF THE STOCK YARD INN" “A HISTORY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE” “THE ROAD TO DUMBIEDYKES” “THE BLACK SWANS,” etc:

Chicago Breeder's Gazette Print

A DEDIGATION.

The story of how the Herefords leaped into their American fame little more than a quarter of a cen- tury ago constitutes one of the most interesting chapters in the annals of our agriculture. Bred and prized as they had been for generations in their native land, the West of England; introduced as they had been in a small way and at an early day in various eastern and middle states, with indiffer- ent success; their invasion of the cornbelt in the “‘seventies’’; the antagonism they encountered at the hands of ‘‘vested interests’’; their final con- quest of the range; in brief, the winning of their way by sheer force of demonstrated merit into the affections of all admirers of good cattle in the New World forms the subject of a theme that must ap- peal to every student of the history of animal hus- bandry.

Those who conducted this successful incursion into a field once thought to be fully and satisfac- torily occupied were men of force and enterprise and character. It was the good fortune of the writer to know most of them. Much has already been written of their work. Possibly there is little real occasion for me to undertake to add to what

has already been recorded, but the memory of. de- 3

4 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE.

lightful days spent among the ‘‘white faces’’ in the company of these pioneers in a great industry, and of the happy hours about their firesides that fol- lowed each tour of pasture and paddock, impels me to undertake this volume in an effort at express- ing some appreciation of the great service they have rendered to their country.

Much ink was needlessly spilled and bad blood unnecessarily engendered some years ago in en- deavoring to explain why the ‘‘white faces’’ were so long in ‘‘coming into their own’’ in the United States. The lot of the pathfinder in any field is not always cast in pleasant places. Those who first sought to force the Hereford to the front in the west were riding somewhat ‘‘ahead of the hounds.”’ They were in advance of their time. Natural con- ditions were not favorable to immediate success, and, knowing as they did that there was merit in the breed they championed and chagrined at the slow progress made, they were inclined to attribute to unworthy jealousies and conspiracies their fail- ure to compel general recognition. The impatience displayed, therefore, by some of those who were on the original skirmish line is pardonable. We are now far enough removed from the controversies of the old days to get a proper perspective; and viewed in the light of the known facts it is clear that while some difficulty was at first experienced in securing a fair hearing, the real reason why the Herefords did not sooner acquire wide popularity is grounded in more natural. causes.

DEDICATION. 5

When the Indian and the buffalo disappeared from the great grassy west and cattle claimed the open range, the Hereford’s real hour in America had struck, and not before. The world’s grazing breed par excellence quickly found there a congenial home. And when cornbelt farmers began turning to the range for cattle to fill their feedyards, then, but not until then, were the necessary conditions for a wide extension of Hereford breeding in America pre- sented. In the following pages we shall endeavor to trace the trail from its earliest beginnings down to the present time, including such account of the origin and development of the type in Hereford- shire, England, as may seem essential to the intel- ligent reading of American records.

The long and successful career of another great English breed, the Shorthorn, more particularly as relating to its rise and progress in America, has already been sketched by the writer in a previous volume. While we have to do in the following pages with the Hereford alone, a close acquaintance with both breeds has supplied such convincing proofs of the special merits of each that I can only write of one with due appreciation of the other. It will be understood, therefore, that this volume is prepared in no partisan sense. This is not an effort to exploit Herefords at the expense of other good breeds.

Some who might have supplied additional and perhaps more accurate information concerning men and events of the ‘‘auld lang syne’’ have failed to

6 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE.

respond to repeated requests for certain informa- tion, necessitating an approach through channels sometimes perhaps not so reliable, but in these cases every effort has been made to arrive at the truth. While this has led to disappointment in certain in- stances, we are happy to be able to say that for the most part those who have been consulted in refer- ence to data relating to matters that have long since passed into history, have been more than generous in extending assistance. To undertake to mention by name all those who have, at more or less cost to themselves, supplied facts essential to the develop- ment of this long story of the Hereford, would be to burden unnecessarily pages already perhaps too numerous.

To all those therefore who have so kindly and pa- tiently answered the thousand and one questions which have had to be put, not only throughout all America but in England as well, in connection with the preparation of the text, the author returns his most heartfelt thanks. Without their valued help this book would have been a mere compilation of matter that has already been presented in various forms. As it is, the volume represents considerable original research work, and will, therefore, it is hoped, constitute a contribution to the literature of the breed not wholly without justification.

The writer confesses to an abiding appreciation of white-faced cattle as a prime factor in the beef production of our continent, and has undertaken this volume at the urgent request of some of their

DEDICATION. 7

leading advocates, who believe that additional in- formation as to the rise and progress of the breed can be distributed with advantage to the American cattle trade in general and to the Hereford interest in particular. Its preparation has had to go for- ward in addition to other work of a more or less exacting character. It is of course imperfect. Er- rors and omissions are almost certain to creep into the first edition of a work necessarily made up of a maze of facts, names, dates and records of various kinds. If injustice has in any case been done it is not with any such intent. The writer desires above everything else to be always fair and just and to set things down in their right relation. Whatever may be its merits or its faults, this volume is dedi- cated to the Hereford cattle growers of the United States as a slight expression of appreciation of con- tinuous courtesies extended by them during a long series of years.

Tur AvuTHor. Chicago, 1914,

AS TO ANIMAL PORTRAITURE.

Just a word about pictures. As is commonly understood, there has becn decided progress made in recent years in the matter of animal portraiture and photography. In the prepara- tion of illustrations for a volume of this description, where the story extends back for more than a century, one of the regret- table features is the lack of accurate delineations of the founda- tion animals and the more noted show and breeding cattle fig- uring in the history of the earlier years of business. From Mr. W. H. Bustin of Herefordshire we have obtained portraits of some of the men and views of some of the historic homes of the old breed-builders, but when it comes to illustrations of the epoch-making sires we are unable in most instances to give any adequate presentation as to their real individual character. We have to work from -reproductions of old prints or lithographs until we arrive at the time when the camera began to do more or less effective work in animal life.

It will be observed, therefore, that the portraits of many of the earlier celebrities of the breed shown in this volume, are, as a rule, unsatisfactory, in most cases probably overdone, with the relative proportions of the body to the size of the limbs altogether exaggerated. We have probably a mere approxima- tion as to the character of the originals. The color markings are shown with probable accuracy. Some of the old pictures of certain of the more famous cattle seem so atrocious that the author has deemed it best to omit them entirely from this volume. It is only when we turn the corner of the twen- tieth century that animal photography begins to come efliciently to our aid. Readers, therefore, in noting the illustrations in this volume will please bear in mind that with the exception of those presented near the close of the story, the pictures of cattle herein reproduced are simply the best available; not at all the kind that the author would have desired.

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS.

Adams, Geo. H., 651. Adair, Mrs. C., 713. ae cow, heifers and bull,

Albion 76960, 871. Aldrich, W. W., 341. Ancient Briton, 617. Andrews, Tom, 814. Anxiety (5188), 121, 211. Anxiety 3d, Clark’s, 439.

Anxiety 4th (9904) (Gudgell & Simpson’s), 479.

Araminta 4th, 919.

Archibald (6290), 235.

Arizona range views, 741.

Arkwright, J. H., and his favor- ite hunter “Bagpipe,” 171.

Armour, K. B., 669.

Armour, P. D., 373.

Aston, Thomas, 305.

aan Thomas, business card,

At pasture in Herefordshire, 455.

Avondale, The King’s Royal win- ner in 1914, 1076.

Bateman (Lord) and Shobden Court, 162.

se a bred by Mrs. Edwards,

Beau Brummel 51817, 827.

Beau Donald, from drawing by Palmer, 1048.

Beau Donald 5th 86142, 867.

Beau Donald 86th and Perfection Fairfax, 1054.

Beau Fairfax 368360, 929.

Benton’s Champion (Fowler & VanNatta’s), 385.

Bird, Isaac, 737. Black, Dan W., 1035. Black Hall, King’s Pyon, 91.

Black ‘ Prince, Aberdeen-Angus bullock, 405.

Boardman, J. M., 747. Bodwell, J. R., 295.

11

Boice, H. S., 761. Bowie, Alex., 703. Branding cattle on the range, 729. mabe od cows at Hampton Court,

Breeding herd on property of Don Leonardo Pereyra, 976.

Britten, W. E., 247. Britisher, imp. 145096, 961. Brock, S. L., 946.

Brook House, 53.

Bulls at Shadeland Farm, Fa- mous, 495. Burleigh, G. S., H. C., Jno, H.

and Thos. G., 295.

“Butcher Row” in the old city of Hereford, 25.

Bunter G., holding Sailor Prince,

cone Land Company’s herd,

Cameronian, 1031.

Campbell, H. H., 773.

Carey, J. M., 747.

Carwardine, T. J., 119.

Cave, Sr., John, 247.

Chatagr Court, A gathering at,

Champion show herd of G. W. Henry, 557.

Clark, Thos., 353.

Christopher 44565, 819.

Clay, Henry, 259.

Clay, John, 747.

Cleveland, Shorthorn steer, 413.

Clough, H. H., 575.

Clough’s champion world's fair, Chicago,

Cochranes of Hillhurst, and J. A., 501.

Columbus 51875, 827.

Condell, Wm., 1059.

Coningsby (718), 155. cone T. L. Miller’s bullock,

herd 617.

M. EH

at

“Contentment,” frontispiece.

12 INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

Cook, A. B., 953. Cosgrove, C. N., 575,

Cotmore (376)—Reputed to have weighed over 3,500 Ibs, 151.

Cotterell (Sir J. R. G.), country

seat of, 170. Court House—John Price’ on vignt, Harry Yeld on left,

Court of Noke, home of Farr, 193

e

Cow and calf at pasture in Eng- land, 425.

Cows and calves of California Land Company’s herd, 739.

Cows at Hampton Court, 197.

Croome Court and Earl of Cov- entry, 163.

Cross, C. S., 625.

Cross, Kate Wilder, 864. Crossbred animals, 992. Crusader 86596, 850. Cuba and crossbreds, 992.

Cudahy show herd, with Fairfax 16th at head, 1011.

Culbertson, Chas. M., 421.

Curtice, W. H., and his favorite mount, 1048.

Dale, the $10,000 champion, 850.

Darling, first bull bred by J. L. Hewer, 67

Davis, W. J., 953.

DeCote (3060), 121.

De Ricales, A. E., 803.

Disturber 139989, 919.

BON ioe Lord Coventry’s,

Don Carlos 33734, 816.

eT champion,

Duckham, Thos., 247.

Earl, Adams, 443. Earl of Coventry, 163. va W. C., of Wintercott,

Edwards, Mrs., 114. Eggleton Court, home of Arthur E. - 268,

Endale and Holmer at Sheepcote, 189. English breeders examining cat- tle at Stocktonbury sale, 204. Estill, Wallace, 401.

prize bulls

Fairfax 16th 316931, 929 Farmer 426279, 961.

Farmyard at Wall End, Monk- land, 185.

Fisherman (5913), 235,

Fluck, Bert, 879.

Fluck, Harry, 879.

Fowler, Moses, 459.

Fowler (Mr. VanNatta’s), 463. sa es VanNatta’s show herd,

Fraser, Wm., 1028. Funk, Lafayette, 373. Funkhouser, Jas., 625.

Gabbert, Benton, 925. Gainsborough (28303), 1022. Galliers, William, 43.

Galliers, Jr., William, 43. Garfield (Earl & Stuart's), 495.

Gathering at Chadnor .Court, A notable, 227

Giantess, bred by Tudge, 223. Gillett, John D., 373. en Robt., Wm. and Frank,

Good Boy (7668), 246. Good. gaten, A—Matador range,

Goode, Samuel, 167.

Goodnight, Charles, 709.

Golden Treasure, 239.

Gosling, John, 569.

Graves, Clem, 998.

Grateful (4622), 215.

Green, J. B. and G. H., 89. Grove 38d (5051), 137.

Group. ict cattle at A. P. Turner's,

Gudgell, Charles, 475.

Haines, J. W., 285. Hampton Court, 36, 171. Happy Hampton, 251. Harris, Overton, 939. Harvey, T. W., 401.

Harvest scene and apple picking in Herefordshire, 29.

Hastings, Frank S., 784. | Haywood, Henry, 167.

“Hayfields”’ House—Home of John Merryman, 325.

Hazlett, Robert H., 959.

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS 13

Helena, dam of Anxiety, 211.

Heliotrope (Cargill & McMil- lan’s), 894.

Hendry, James and George, 1028. Henry, Geo. W., 925. Henry’s champion show herd, 557. Hershey, Benjamin, 499. Hesiod 2d 40679, 823. Hewer, John, 62. Hewer, John L., 63. Hobbling an outlaw, 729. Holmer, a prize bull, 983. Home of— Coats, Peter, 188. Cochrane, M. H., 503. Cottrill, Sir J. G., 170. Farr (Court of Noke), 193. Galliers, T., 55. King, Mrs., 751. Merryman, John, 325. Monkhouse, J., 111. Price, John, 103. Prosser, J. P., 188. Pulley, C. T., 193. Roberts, Thos., 117. Stone, F. W., 316-7, 319. Swan in Iowa, 705. Tomkins, B., 51. Tudge, Wm., 91. Underwood, Joseph Hall, 291. VanNatta, Wm. S., 922. Yeomans (Stretton Court), 170. Hope (439), calved in 1836, 69. Hope, Col, John, 401. Horace (3877), sire of Grove 3d,

Horace 2d (4655), 207.

Hotspur (7726) and Hotspur (7028), 243.

Hoxie, G. H., 925.

Hughes, A. E., 219.

Hughes, W. E., 747.

Hutcheon, Wm., 814.

Huxley, A. C., 925.

Ikard, W. »., 717. Imboden, John, 1035.

International show prize winners, Some, 1037, 1042.

Iron Prince (22250), Ivington Rose, 201.

1022.

Ivingtonbury—Once the home of * Thos. Roberts, 117.

Jastro, H. A., 737.

Jessamine (Clark's), 823.

Jessica—Descendant of Clay importation, 269.

Judy, J. W., 375.

Keene, Rees, 167.

Kennedy, Mifflin, 687.

King, Richard, 687.

Aine Mrs., residence and ranch,

Henry

Kinzer, R. J., 845. Kleberg, Robert J., 749.

Kohrs, Conrad, and grandson, Conrad Kohrs Warren, 725.

Kreismann, Mrs. F. H., 864. pay om bred by J. Hewer,

Lady Grove and calf Foigh-A- Ballagh, :

Lamplighter 51834, 816. Leigh, George, 509. henge home of Mr. Tudge,

TLeonpre Ered by Mrs. Edwards,

Letham, John, 879.

Letterhead, reproduction of an : old, 333.

Lewis, John, 641. Lewis, T., 167. Lord Wilton (4740), 128, 207.

McBain, John, 761.

McCray, Warren T., 933. McDonald, Wm. C., 761. MacKenzie, Murdo, 777.

Maret (823), Edward Price's,

Maidstone (8875), 239.

Makin, C. H., 625.

March On 76035, imp., 819. ariaey 1911 Royal champion,

Mason, Geo., 1028. Matador ranch, 729, 773.

May Morn—A Royal winner in 1913, 1063,

Meikle, Andrew, 1059. Merryman, John, 323. Miller, T. L., 349.

14 INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

Mills, C. F., 375. Minton, T. S., 247. Moninger, D. M., 401.

Monkhouse, J., the blind breeder and “The Stow,” 109, 111.

Morris, John, 219. Morrow, Geo. E., 375. Mortimer, Thos., 830. Mother and son, 1063. Moxley, H. O., 946.

Nave, Frank A., 659. Nelson, O. H., 703. Michels, enampion steer of 1879,

Noon-time at a water hole, 799.

Old Hereford worthies at sale of Turner of The Leen, 139.

Old town hall in Hereford, 35.

“On the trail that led not back- ward,” 795.

Onward 4th and his trainer Will Willis, 868.

Outbuildings at “Hayfields,” 329.

Pair of steers with old-fashioned horns, 19

Paloduro ranch house, 715. Pendleton, Phineas, 285. Pence and Beau Donald 86th,

Perfection Fairfax, 1054. Perfection Lass 342053, 950. Pierce, Willard, 1059.

Platt, F., 119.

Ponting, “Tom,” 563.

Powell, Jas., 814.

Pree Edward, of Court House,

Price, James, 789.

Price, J. R. and Ned, 513.

Price, John, at Court House, 103. Price, John, of Ryall, 59.

Price, John, and his trophies, 205.

Price, William’s cattle in yard before sale, 205.

arene es 108911 at three years,

Prime Lad 9th 213963, 908.

Prize cattle at International, 1037, 2,

Srise E naine range Herefords,

Protector 117878, 871. Pryor, Ike T., 761.

Queen of the Lilies, 201.

Ranch boss in Arizona, 741. Ranch of the “O R” brand, 741. Ranch of the “S O” brand, 767. Ranch scenes in Texas, 729.

sane scenes in Wyoming, 767,

Range-bred Herefords at Inter- national show, 1042.

Range in the west and round-up, A typical, 805.

Rankin, Sir James, 219.

Rare Sovereign (10449), 246. Rarity at twenty years, 425, Red Rose (John Hewer’s), 159. Repeater 289598, 1007.

Tepe 7th and Miss Repeater 11th, front cover.

Reproduction of an old_ litho- graphed letter head, 33

Reynolds, W. D., 703.

Rhome, B. C. 717.

Roan Boy (Culbertson’s), 385.

Rob Roy, champion at Royal shows of 1908-9, 1031.

Robinson, S., 119. Rogers, Aaron, 119.

Round-up and _ typical range view, 805.

Round-up of beef steers, 799. Roundup of cows on King ranch,

western

Rudolph, Jr., owned by Wyoming Hereford Cattle Co., 413.

Sailor King, pion, 1073 Sand hills cattle, 803. Sanders, Col. Lewis, 259. Sanders, J. H., 375.

1913 Royal cham-

Scarlett, E. C., 830. Scenes on “O R” ranch in Ari- zona, 741,

Scenes on ranches in Wyoming, 67, 791.

meee = Lassie, bred by Logan,

Section of the Matador headquar- ters, is

Shadeland Farm bulls, 495. Shand, Geo,, 1028.

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS 15

Sherman, John B., 373.

Shobden Court and Lord Bate- man, 162.

Shockey, E. S., 998.

Shorthorn bullocks, Types of, 831, Shotover and bull calf, 1017. Simpson, T. A., 477.

Sir Benjamin (1387), 182.

Sir Hungerford (3447), 183.

Sir Oliver 2d (1733), 183.

Sir Thomas (2228), 182.

Smith, C. B., 998.

Smith, Tom, 830.

Sotham, Thos. F. B., 631. Sotham, Wm. H., 277.

Sparks, John, 651.

Spraying cattle in Herefordsshire,

Spring Jack, 251.

Spur ranch view, 715.

Stannard, C. A., 625.

Steers with old-fashioned horns,

Steward, John J., 814.

Stocktonbury—Lord Wilton in center, 128.

Stocktonbury sale ring, 129, 204, Stone, Frederick Wm., 311.

Stone’s, F. W., residence and barn, 316, 317, 319.

siete Court, home of Yeomans,

Stuart, Charles B., 447. Swan, A. H., 703.

Swan farm house at Indianola, Ia., The old, 705.

Taylor, E. H., Ir., 953. Taylor, B. J., 830. Thoughtful (5083), 215. Thomas, C. R., 845. Tod, John, 717. Tod, W. J., 779. Tomkins’, Ben, farm, 51. Tomkins, Ben, and family coat- of-arms, 49. Tow, Cyrus A., 953. Trail, Herd on, 795.

Tredegar (5077), 175. ° Trio of good heifers at ‘“‘Weston- bury,” 189.

Trophies from the shows, 227. Tudges, Sr. and Jr., 93. Tarniery Philip, and Turner, A. P.,

hla Ph A. P., group of cattle,

Two ends and a middle, 1037. Tymeg of Herefordshire peasantry,

Types of “Young Mary” Short- horn ‘bullocks, 381.

Typical western cattle range and pera! view of “round-up,”

Underwood, J. H.,, Geo. and Gil- bert, 289.

VanNatta, Frank, 891.

VanNatta, J. H. and J. W., 946. VanNatta, Willlam §&., 461.

Be a home at Fowler, Ind.,

Wanean: Earl & Stuart’s bullock,

Walford (871), 155. Wallup ranch in Wyo., 791. Walsh, Richard, 717. Washington (8152), 231. Water hole, Cattle at a, 799. Waters, Geo., 814.

Watts, H. B., 998. Wellington Court, 45.

“White faces’’ on a northern range, 809.

Winter De Cote (4253), 175.

Wistaston, home of T. Tomkins Galliers, 55.

Wonderful, stock bull used by Don Pereyra, 983.

Woods Principal, champion bul- lock International Exposition 1901, 1001.

Wyoming ranch scenes, 791. Yeld, Edward, 219.

Yeld, Harry, 103. Yeld, T. C., 75.

TABLE OF GONTENTS.

CHAPTER I—HEREFORDSHIRE PASTURES AND PIONEERS,

The Vale of the Severn—The County of Hereford—Hereford- shire farming—The pastures—Persistency rewarded— Long famous for good cattle—Whence the white face?— Some of the pathfinders—Disinterested praise............

CHAPTER II—EARLY ENGLISH IMPROVERB,

Benjamin Tomkins—John Price—The Hewers—The Jeffries— Knight of Downton Castle—In the Hall of Fame—Pedigree registration established—Color quarrel compromised—Ey- ton’s editorial troubles—Sold for a song—Mr. Duckham’s valuable service—Practical farmers in control...........

CHAPTER III—SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS AND WORK.

The strange story of Sir David—The Reas of Monaughty and Westonbury—The Sir Benjamin era—Tudge of Adforton —Benjamin Rogers—Sir Thomas described—The Prices of Court House—Mr. John Hill’s comment on Horace—Monk- house of The Stow—Lord Berwick—Taylor of Showle Court—Wintercott—Roberts of Ivingtonbury—Carwardine —Anxiety (5188)—Lord Wilton (4740)—-The Turners of The Leen—The Grove 3d—Felhampton Court—J. H. Ark- wright—The Leinthall herd .......... ccc cece eee cece ees

23-46

47-80 THEIR

81-146

CHAPTER IV—BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENC®,

At Oxford and Cambridge—Bristol, Derby and Southampton—. Shrewsbury and Newcastle—Northampton, York and Nor- wich—Exeter, Windsor and Walford—Lewes, Gloucester and Lincoln—Carlisle, Chelmsford and Salisbury—Chester, Warwick and Canterbury—Leeds, and the Battersea Inter- national—Worcester and Sir Thomas—Newcastle, Ply- mouth and the rinderpest........... ccc ccc ccc ence acceas

147-179

CHAPTER V—MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED.

Leicester a turning point as to scale—Quality again triumphs at Manchester—Rogers and his tall herdsman—Stanway, Silver Star and the Australians—Wolverhampton and Car- diff—Hull and Bedford—The dam of old Anxiety—The Taunton Show of 1875—Lord Wilton as a yearling—BSig good classes at Birmingham—Anxiety appears: at Liver- pool—The Bristol winners—The Kilburn International afloat—Lord Wilton and a blundering bailiff—Anxiety

17

18 TABLE OF CONTENTS

heads the two-year-olds—Leonora, the invincible—Buy- ing prize-winners for the States—Historic youngsters at Derby—Wilton blood to the fore—Garfield and Henrietta —Light show at York—The great Shrewsbury Show of 1884—Archibald—“A clever cross’—Maidstone and Anx- iety Arthur—Prizes at Preston—Good Boy and Rare Sov- ereign—Golden Treasure — Newcastle-on-Tyne — Notting- ham decisions—The Windsor Jubilee—Fifty years of prog- OSS) gvetsieieds<a.i6o sa asetare ita ore «ss 10a 9 eV aealeatee sere: s DeVere ima e Adele 180-255

CHAPTER VI—FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS=~

First improved blood in Kentucky—Henry Clay’s importation of 1817—A Hereford owned by Lewis Sanders—lIntro- duced into Massachusetts—Alleged importation into Maine in 1830—The New York importation of 1840—Erastus Corning interested—The herd sold to Sotham—An inva- sion of Kentucky—A militant pioneer—The Maine impor- tation of 1846—Other old-time eastern breeders—The Chamberlain importation—Dowley importation of 1852— The Ohio importation of 1852—Early exhibits by Mr. Aston—Importation of 1860—Frederick William Stone— A Warwickshire man—First Hereford purchases—Guelph and Sir Charles—The Green blood introduced—Wide dis- tribution of the Stone stock—A man of broad sympathies —A strong personality—Hon. John Merryman—Early pur- chases from William H. Sotham—Bulls from Stone of Canada—Importation of Sir Richard 2d—Giantess and progeny—lIllinois in service—Prince of the Wye im- ported—Final dispersion—A man of mark............... 256-337

CHAPTER VII—A FOOTING GAINED IN THE MIDDLE WEST.

Gov. Crapo’s experiments—Humphries and Aldrich active— The Illinois and St. Louis shows of 1871—The Burleighs bring Herefords into Iowa—T. L. Miller, the great pro- moter—Sir Charles—Repulsed by the Shorthorns in 1872— Thomas Clark’s first steps—Clark’s first show cattle— Removes to Illinois in 1887—-Looking towards the range— Success and Dolly Varden—Honors at big shows—George Morgan, “Jim” Powell and “Willie” Watson—American herd book established—Old-time controversies............ 338-367

CHAPTER VIII—FIRST FAT STOCK SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE.

Breaking away from old standards—John D. Gillett, pioneer exhibitor—Some wonderful weights—First fat stock show Herefords—“Baby beef’—The second round—Sherman’s tallow mountains—Shorthorns win again—The block test set up—The show of 1880—Culbertson enters the Hsts— Another “row” over the championship—War to the knife —Falling walls—‘“Last of the Mohicans”—Various types in evidence—Imported Hereford steers—First Angus show

TABLE OF CONTENTS 19

steer—“Doddies” and “Kilts’—“Stars” of a memorable week—The goal attained—Clarence Kirklevington’s year —Regulus and Grace—Rudolph Jr., Nigger, Sandy and Plush—The pendulum swings back—First Angus champion —A melting pot .......... © pis Soslangaesie eee esas as ailaia totaled os Si 38 368-416

CHAPTER IX-—-HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS. ==

C. M. Culbertson—Hereford Park—Anxiety imported—Anx- feties 3d and 4th—Prettyface—Blood concentration— Anxiety’s untimely death—Four yearling heifers sold for $4,000—Anxieties 4th and 5th—Description of Anxiety— Culbertson’s importations of the early “eighties”—Miller importations of 1880—English testimonial to T. L. Miller —Clark’s Anxiety 3d imported—Description of Anxiety 3d—The Anxiety-Peerless nick—Adams Earl and Charles B. Stuart—Importation of 1880—An historic conference— After the Lord Wiltons—Clark goes to England as agent —Sensational shipment of 1882—Sir Bartle Frere and Romeo—Prince Edward and Royal 16th—Venus and Hen- Tietta at $2,500—Clark gets Peerless—John Lewis, herd MANASER! wieeiee 25.4 Fee N SS Sie IS Lees SBR E « 417-867.

CHAPTER X—OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY. Mr. VanNatta’s early experiences—First of the Fowler Here- fords—Tregrehan bought—Fowler—Burleigh & Bodwell— Gudgell & Simpson—“A bull with an end”’—Anxiety 4th and North Pole—Simpson’s discernment—Beau Monde and Beau Real—Best Anxiety bulls go to the range—In- breeding—Don Carlos—An outcross that failed—Sons of Don Carlos—Dandy Rex and Mischievous—Another out- cross failed—Parallel cases of close breeding............ 458-491

CHAPTER XI—PERIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED. ea

Rudolph bought for $3,500—The Grove 3d imported—A rare feeder’s type—Advantages in, old-established herds—Ben- jamin Hershey—Hon. M. H. Cochrane—Will Hutcheon and Cassio—The Leigh and Curry importations—The Grove 3d quartette — Carwardine cows — Archibald — Horace 5th — Royal Grove—J. R. Price & Son—-The Iowa Hereford Cattle Company—Cook of Odebolt—The full list of im- porters of this period—Cattle imported to Canada—The herd book bought from Mr. Miller—More stringent rules BOODlEE xckeenen nuded aweeaens «apes eters wese as ee Te 492-522

CHAPTER XII—THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR.

The great fight of 1882—‘“‘Rudolph’s year’—The scare of 1884 —tThe shows of 1885—The business overdone—One hun- dred dollar tax on imported cattle—The famous invasion of Kentucky—Royal Grove excites admiration—Beau Real unfairly beaten—Sir Bartle Frere wins over Washington Beau Real defeats Fowler.............-. area av eparaianeese oe 623-556

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER XIII—SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS. The Ohio show of 1888—Earl of Shadeland 22d—The big show

moves west—Western shows of 1888—Lady Wilton vs. Princess Alice—New alignment in 1889—-Earl of Shade- land 30th—Gosling upsets Stocking's work—Clark’s “‘clean- up” at Peoria—Cherry Boy champion—tThe eastern circuit of 1890—The shows of 1891—John S. Carlyle—Eastern circuit of 1891—Death of C. M. Culbertson—Hereford con- stitutions in evidence—Death of Anxiety 3d—The eastern circuit of 1892—-Funkhouser enters the lists—World’s Columbian Exposition—Ancient Briton—Sitting Bull— Lamplighter—Anxiety-Peerless again—Miss Beau Real 3d —Annabel—Lady Daylight—Bright Duchess 15th—The championships—Dark days—A desperate depression.....

CHAPTER XIV—DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH.

the fairs of ’94—-Some notable transactions—Charles S, Cross begins showing—Lars and Free Lance—Trade slowly revives in 1896—Ancient Briton goes to Texas— The shows of 1897—-A memorable Minnesota contest—A typical breed battle—‘'The gory hill of Hamline’’—First appearance of Dale—John Lewis and his troubles at Springfield—Beau Real’s Maid, Juno and Dewdrop—Death OE ALES: BAe saccades 5 8 c5 6 ei Senvioregnesctid bala daapovvanh so dy are7e¥ se caataliena

CHAPTER XV—CLEARING SKIES.

The Cross importation—$3,000 for Salisbury—Good buying by

George H. Adams—Over $400 average for 144 cattle— Other sales in the spring of ’98—Beau Donald shown— Dale vs. Sir Bredwelli—Two inbred toppers: Everest and Benison—The Omaha Exposition—Sir Bredwell beats Free Lance—Dale wins again—Thickset and Hesiod 29th— George Adams’ Orpheus—Hesiods again—The great cows and heifers of 1898—-Dewdrop—Dolly 5th—Diana—Car- nation—Group and championshfp prizes—K. B. Armour active—Death of George W. Henry—Another Gudgell- Funkhouser sale—Death of Charles B. Stuart—Spring sales of 1899—The curtain falls on stirring scenes—Incep- tion of the American Royal........... 0.0 cece cece eee

CHAPTER XVI—THE LONG TRAIL.

fhe Spanish Longhorn—Capt. Richard King—Santa Gertrudis

—Packing houses in embryo—Capt. Kennedy—First efforts at improvement—Breeding up the native stock—The Mor- mon cattle—Pacific Coast cattle —Bhorthor crosses in evi- dence—The great migration ............-. sees eee aeons

556-620

621-646

646-678

679-692

CHAPTER XVII—FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE. Making good—First Hereford sale in the west—The Hawes

and Campbell herds—Hereford endurance demonstrated— On the northern range—The Swan Land and Cattle Co.—

TABLE OF CONTENTS

—The Wyoming Hereford Co.—First Herefords in the

Panhandle—Adair & Goodnight—O. H. Nelson brings in .

Herefords—The Price importation—Mrs. Adair acquires the property—-Richard Walsh, Manager—Big demand from Texas—The Prairie Cattle Co—Conrad Kohrs— Herefords good travelers—Joseph Scott—B. C. Rhome— Reynolds Cattle Co.—The Hereford in California—An importation from Australia—Mr. Jastro’s experience—The CHOWCHING herd. cccvawsdis i weeeekicinnesoebakwus eeu pan

CHAPTER XVIII—THE RED ROBE OF COURAGE.

Hereford hardiness hereditary—-Swan’s failure—Al. Bowie’s

The

testimony—Robert Kleberg—Capt. John Tod—The Capitol Syndicate XIT Ranch—Description.of the property—Char- acter of the XIT cattle—Purebred bulls purchased— Herefords predominate—Views of H. S. Boice............

CHAPTER XIX—PROOF PILED ON PROOF.

Carey Co.—The LS cattle—The Matador Land and Cattle Co.—Manager Mackenzie discards grade bulls—A purebred herd establishment—Tod of Maple Hill—The Swensons— Calves for the cornbelt—Richards & Comstock—Big Horn Land and Cattle Co—The Sparks herd—Continental Land and Cattle Co.—The Marcus Daly outfit—The Bell WRanch—Governor McDonald’s evidence—George W. Baker —The H. G. Adams XI Ranch—John Z, Mean—lIke Pryor prefers Herefords—George H. Webster Jr.—James A. Lockhart—The C. B. Company—‘“Look for bone, all you can get”’—-Wallis Huidekoper—Making good in Old Mexico —Scale retained through selection—In-breeding from poor material fatal—The open range gone..............eee0e%

CHAPTER XX—THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE.

Dale and Armour Rose—Other notable winners—Excess fat

vs, real blcom—More money for shows—The International projected—Dawn of the twentieth century—A Hereford- Shorthorn alliance—Spring sales—Death of T. L. Miller Dale sold for $7,500—-Kansas City’s dual show of 1900— Fall sales of 1900—The first International—The big trade of 1901—Tom Ponting closes out—Death of K. B. Armour —Important contests of 1901—Perfection brings $9,000— Sotham’s “criterion” sale—Changes in Hereford headquar- ters—March On 6th and Queenly—Beau Donalds to the front—Clem Graves’ $1,000 average—Broadening the Kan- sas City show—A new International champion—A Beau Brummel-Fowler nick—The Giltners buy Britisher.......

CHAPTER XXI—HISTORY REPEATS.

Lower values at auction—Fall sales of 1903—Death of George

Morgan—Prime Lad and Beau Donald 5th—Three great groups—Death of Benjamin Wilton—Death of Dale—The

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22 TABLE OF CONTENTS

sale season of 1904—The St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904— Aged bulls—The two-year-olds—Senior yearlings—Junior yearlings—Senior bull calves—Junior bull calves—Aged cows—The two-year-olds—Senior yearlings—Junior year- lings—Senior heifer calves—Junior heifer calves—Get of sire (four)—Produce of cow (two)—-Championships— Group prizes—A VanNatta triumph—Death of Gov. Simp- son—Dull days—‘“Individual merit by inheritance’’— Autumn sales of 1906—Cargill & McMillan’s great suc- cess—Passing of Funkhouser, Steward and Scarlett—The Hoxie and other sales of 1907—Perfection Fairfax arrives —tThe bargain counter of 1908—A famous heifer class— An omen of better dayS...........2-ceeeeee eels wsiee es 858-905

CHAPTER XXII—PROSPERITY REGAINED.

An upward trend in 1909—Prime Lads at a premium—More ground regained in 1910—Another Richmond in the field—~ Improvement continues—Death of William S. VanNatta— The judgments of 1911—Auction sales of 1912—Fairfax 16th and Scottish Lassie—Higher levels reached— McCray’s big. average—Other mid-west sales—A big deal on the range—Fall sales of 1913—Fairfax 16th and Beau Perfection 9th at $7,500—-A champion from the south— Opening sales of 1914—McCray’s $604 average—Steady bidding continues—Beau Perfection 24th brings $12,000— The show herds of 1914..... ya: sleyasasabiaxe dove dias Saab ieite “Ohana 906-962

CHAPTER XXIII—IN FOREIGN FIELDS.

Exports to South America—Five hundred Herefords to Brazil —Uruguay—Argentina—Foundations of Argentine im- provement—Shorthorn vs. Hereford—Argentine breeders testify—Cabana San Juan—Las Hormigas—San Gregorio —Duggan Bros.—At Esperanza—La Estrella—Australasia The Cape Colonies ........ 0... ccc cece ee reenter e nes 963-996

CHAPTER XXIV—PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT,

Hints from “Tom” Clark—John Letham’s experience—Scale, flesh and fat—How the Harris herd is handled—McCray’s methods—Mr. Hazlett’s views—Tow’s practical work— Bluegrass management—Fitting for show—An old-time herdsman speaks—-Ed. Taylor's views—‘Jim” Hendry heard: .esisiasewee sy seca anietawielenad a6'5.55 eee eevee ncc cece 99791032

CHAPTER XXV—THE “ROUND UP."

Range-bred calves in the feedlot—The Polled Herefords—Re- cent importations—Distribution of the Herefords—Some interesting tabulations—About Beau Donald—-A story of Perfection Fairfax—His trainer testifies——-The dam of Dale—Harking back to the range—Westward Ho!—A word about herdsmen—An involuntary tribute—As to fashions—Modern English Herefords—Conclusion........1033-1079

“THE COMING OF THE CATTLE”,.........c0ccesecceees 1080-1087

GHAPTER I.

HEREFORDSHIRE PASTURES AND PIONEERS..

A long story this of the Hereford cattle, begin- ning with ten-year-old oxen in the West of England and ending with ‘‘baby beef’’ in the American corn- belt. Two centuries of progress on the other side the Atlantic and one hundred years in North America! Let us waste no words therefore as we approach our subject.

The Vale of the Severn.—High up in the -Welsh hills, that ancient chain of fossiliferous rocks called by geologists the Cambrian Mountains, the peak Plynlymmon rises some 2,500 feet above the surf that rolls in below from the broad blue plain of the beautiful Bay of Cardigan. From these Cymrian heights one may see on the eastern horizon, gate- ways that lead down into a pastoral paradise. On Plynlymmon’s northern slope a little stream sets out upon a roundabout journey to the sea. The new- born Severn—for the little rivulet of which we speak is none other than the fountain-head of that historic English river—lured perhaps by the prospect of dreamy days meandering through rich green valleys and flowery fields, proposes for itself an eastward

course, instead of taking the short westward cut ty

24 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

from its mountain home to mother ocean. Descend- ing first through the rocky defiles of the highlands of Montgomery, gathering force and volume as it races away toward English soil, it debouches at last upon the plain of Shrewsbury. Loitering awhile in that land of the golden fleece, it sweeps past the Wen- locks into the south, down through Worcester- shire into Gloucester, receives the waters of the Avon out of Warwick, and then, as if in sudden re- membrance of its birthplace in the west, and weary. of its wanderings, turns back to lose itself at last in the broad estuary that holds the mighty tides press- ing up the Bristol Channel from the North Atlantic.

The County of Hereford—wWithin this wide- sweeping embrace of the Severn lies Herefordshire —ancestral home of the breed of which we write. It is not an extensive area. The whole countryside lying between the encircling river and the Welsh boundary might easily be stowed away within al- most any one of our great western states, but it is fortunate in the character and intelligence of those who live upon its soil, and is celebrated throughout all Britain for its grass and cattle.

Another important stream flows down from Wales and wends its way independently into Bristol water. While the Severn almost girdles the Here- ford habitat the winding Wye bisects it. On its banks is the picturesque old city of Hereford. Along its sinuous course and that of its tributary, the little river Arrow, one traverses the very heart of Here- fordshire. Here, and along the Lug, the Hereford

4 Copyright photo by Bustin “BUTCHER ROW’’ IN THE OLD CITY OF HEREFORD. Demolished in 1817 except the house in the center of the picture.

26 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

fathers did their work; here their sons and grand- sons carry it on today.

The visitor in Herefordshire is constantly re- minded that a rough rugged country is contiguous. One recognizes the presence of the old red sandstone formation. At intervals you glimpse the blue tops of the Cambrians in the west. Here and there Here- fords graze on precipitous slopes; but the landscape rolls gently for the most part, and the valleys hold wide areas of flat fertile fields. The soil is prin- cipally a heavy red loam, changing to clay or gravel.

It is a land fair to look upon—a land of, good roads, comfortable homes, well managed farms and a hospitable people intensely loyal to the breed of cattle that has carried the name of Hereford around the world. As in other parts of Britain, the farms are mainly operated under lease. The permanent pastures are usually rented by auction, commanding at times as high as $15 to $30 per acre per year from cattle growers.

A mixed husbandry in which live stock has had a leading part has been practiced in Herefordshire as far back as there is record. Small grains, roots, apple orchards, meadow lands and pasturage are always in evidence, but the red cattle with the white faces are everywhere a prominent feature. In recent years fruit farming has been increasing and a much larger acreage is now devoted to that industry, but the raising of live stock is still the most important feature in the farming of the county.

HEREFORDSHIRE PASTURES AND PIONEERS 27

In Herefordshire one sees very few cattle of any other breed, and they are also the prevailing type in Shropshire, Worcestershire and in several coun- ties of central and south Wales. There are also good herds in Ireland, the Hereford cross being highly esteemed in the Irish markets.

The area of Hereford breeding in England has probably not extended during the last twenty-five years. In fact it may have contracted. There used to be a colony of Hereford breeders in Cornwall, but now there are scarcely any there, the demand for fresh milk and dairy products having tended to replace the Herefords with dairy cattle in that part of the country. These remarks apply to Hereford cattle-breeding generally and not especially to the pedigree business, as from the number of cattle re- corded in the recent volumes of the herd book the latter appears to be steadily increasing.

Herefordshire Farming.—tThis district is chiefly pastoral, but on the best breeding farms a mixed system of husbandry is practiced. A large quantity of straw is chopped up and used for stock feeding, mixed with pulped swedes or mangolds. Many cat- tle are wintered upon this diet with a small allow- ance of hay. The system enables the breeders to keep about the same number of cattle in fair condi- tion during the winter months as they can maintain in the summer. Practically, they get six months in- door feeding and six months out at grass, the graz- ing period varying slightly with the seasons.

28 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Ordinary farm practices have not greatly changed within the life-time of the last two generations in Herefordshire. But, every operation is carried out with as great saving of manual labor as possible, and machinery is largely used. Cereals are grown more for the supply of straw than with a view to making the growth of grain a profitable undertak- ing, which it has long ceased to be. The way in which cattle are now fattened for the butcher, how- ever, differs materially from the old days. Early maturity and the demand for small joints, with a small proportion of fat to lean, have reduced the age to which it is profitable to keep the steers. In England, as in our own country, early maturity and constant progress from birth are found to produce the most desirable class of beef. Nearly all the Herefordshire steers now meet their destiny at from eighteen to thirty months old. There are a great many steers reared and sold at twelve to eighteen months old to graziers in other counties for the pur- pose of fattening and on most breeding farms there is no beef made excepting from the draft cows and undesirable heifers, it being found more profitable to breed a larger number of cattle and sell the steers to other people to be fattened.

Probably most of the home-grown wheat, barley and oats (especially the latter) are consumed on the farms. In addition large quantities of linseed and cottonseed, crushed and pressed into cakes, are used, and also compound feeding cakes composed of a

hiss He 2 Tike koa sad e fETES SS a Mee rs <4 a i lites Tsai ih Copyright photos by Bustin

HARVEST SCENE AND APPLE PICKING IN HEREFORDSHIRE.

30 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

mixture of foreign grains and oilseed, as well as large quantities of maize that are imported.

The Pastures.—In view of the good results ob- tained by the Herefordshire farmers from their grazing lands it may be of interest, while upon the subject of the farming of the district, to present a few details as to their method of management.

The principal grasses. now used in forming a per- manent pasture are perennial rye grass, the vari- ous kinds of fescue, cocksfoot, meadow foxtail, sweet vernal, timothy, and smooth-stalked meadow grass, together with clovers: perennial red, peren- nial white or Dutch trefoil and alsike.* But the experienced farmer will tell you that of as much im- portance as the seed is the matter of having the land thoroughly free from weeds, and that liberal dressings of manure in the early life of the young pasture are absolutely necessary to success.

These permanent pastures are sometimes seeded down with a nurse crop and sometimes without. The practice most generally followed is to drill in the barley or oats, and after rolling to obtain a firm seedbed, the seed is distributed and lightly harrowed in, the blades of barley and oats forming a shelter

*A typical mixture for permanent pasture, say 40 Ibs. per acre, would be something like this: Cocksfoot, from 5 to 6 lbs.; crested dogstail, % to 1% lbs.; florin, % to % Ib.; hard fescue, 1 to 2 lbs.; meadow foxtail, 2 to 3% lbs.; meadow fescue, 4 to 6 Ibs.; perennial ryegrass, 6 to 7 lbs.; red fescue, 1 to 2 lbs.; rough- stalked fescue, 1% to 2 lbs.; sheep’s fescue, 1 to 2 lbs.; smooth- etalked meadowgrass, 1 to 3 lbs.; sweet vernal grass, % to % Ib.; tall fescue, 1 to 2 lbs.; timothy, 3 to 5 lbs.; wood meadowgrasa, 1 1lb.; yarrow or milfoil, % 1lb.; yellow oatgrass, % Ib.; alsike, 1 to 1% Ibs.; perennial red clover, 1% to 2% Ilbs.; perennial white clover, 1 to 2 lbs.; trefoil, % to 1 Jb.

Copyright photo by Bustin

TYPES OF HEREFORDSHIRE PEASANTRY.

32 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

for the young grass seeds, first from frost and then from the burning rays of the sun.

It is also common practice in Herefordshire to lay the land down to the coarser-growing kinds of grass and clover seeds for mowing the first year, grazing two or perhaps three or four years follow- ing, and then plowing again for the ordinary rota- tion of cropping. This is considered a good plan, as the land gets a rest during the time it is laid down, and the amount of feed obtained by this method is in excess of that produced by permanent pastures. Speaking of the quality of the Here- fordshire grass the veteran English breeder Mr. John. Hill says in ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’ for May, 15, 1907:

eT am not aware that the grass in Herefordshire is better or richer than in many other of our Eng- lish counties or in Wales or Ireland, but I do know that some parts of the country where some of our best herds of Herefords are located and which have been celebrated throughout the history of the breed, are especially adapted for bringing out its very best characteristics; and-that if cattle are taken from these favored spots on to weak poor land, and are expected to thrive equally well, there will follow dis- appointment, and some deterioration in size and bloom. In such cases with judicious assistance in the shape of artificial food the cattle will carry flesh and thrive, yet there is generally a loss of size and general richness of character which can only be ob- tained where the pasture and surroundings are alto- gether favorable.”

Persistency Rewarded.— What the tenant farmers

HEREFORDSHIRE PASTURES AND PIONEERS 33

of this district have accomplished for themselves through their steadfast devotion to the development and maintenance of their favorite breed affords a lesson that may be scanned with profit by stock- growers of every clime, to-wit: determination by experimentation as to the type of farm animal that thrives best under a given environment, followed by specialization in the direction thus indicated.

Great Britain abounds in apt illustrations of what individual localities can accomplish by adhering per- sistently and intelligently to a type possessing spe- cial adaptation to particular soils or climate. A flood of American gold and a perennial tribute from Smithfield market have indeed compensated these West of England farmers and graziers in generous measure for all the years of labor spent in the devel- opment of their white-faced herds.

Long Famous for Good Cattle—The history of the modern Hereford, like that of the improved Shorthorn, does not run back much beyond a cen- tury. As in the case of the sister breed, all that lies beyond the year 1800 rests largely on inci- dental references by various pioneer writers on British agriculture, and upon local traditions.*

As early as 1627 the author of a description of the British Islands, one John Speed, said in speak-

*Some years ago a valuable volume on:“Hereford Cattle,” which has recently been revised, was written in England jointly by Messrs. James Macdonald and James Sinclair, the latter ths accomplished editor of the London “Live Stock Journal.” It con- tains an Interesting account of the probable origin and evolution of the breed, and the author herewith acknowledges his indebted- ness to this work for the main facts as to the early English history outlined in the opening chapters of this book.

84 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ing of Herefordshire: ‘‘The soyle is so fertile for corne and cattle that no place in England yieldeth more or better conditioned.’’ This quaintly ex- pressed testimony as to the herds of Herefordshire being ‘‘well conditioned”’ is significant because it indicates that the present-day penchant of the breed to maintain flesh well on pasture was characteristic of the cattle of the valleys of the Severn and the Wye long before the type as we now know it was established.

~\ Whence the White Face?—It is impossible to state definitely when or how the white face as a distinct characteristic first made its appearance. The orig- inal local ‘‘breed’’ was probably red, resembling in this respect contemporaneous types existing in the neighboring county of Devon and also in Sussex— which districts, by the way, retain to this day their solid reds, carrying wide-spread horns. That these and the aboriginal Herefords were co-related seems fairly certain, but at an early period the Hereford- shire cattle apparently assumed a larger size. There were stiff soils to be worked and oxen supplied the motive power for the plow as well as for the harvest handling. Cattle were valuable primarily as draft animals. Size and strength were, therefore, essen- tial elements of value, the beef of that age being derived mainly from the sale of superannuated oxen and cows approaching the end of their period of usefulness. In fact it was deemed extravagant to slaughter an ox in his prime—say at six years old— when he could just as well be kept in the yoke until

yuan

ai iit Way c Fy

Copyright photo by Bustin OLD TOWN HALL IN HEREFORD.

Copyright photo by Bustin HAMPTON COURT—From an old print.

36 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

more than ten! And so it is probable that those who were thus unwittingly laying wide and deep the foundations for the vigor of the modern Hereford, selected the largest, widest-chested, most athletic types of bulls for breeding purposes, steadily in- creasing the size of their cattle as compared with the sturdy little ‘‘rubies’’ of North Devon.*

A white breed of cattle with red ears, that was évidently accounted superior to the old black moun- tain sort, had long existed in Wales, and it is prob- able that this proximity accounts for the original introduction of white markings among the Here- fordshire reds. The blending of the blood of those two self-colored races would surely produce broken colors, and during the formative period of the mod- ern Hereford type, brockle-faced cattle liberally splashed with white were in frequent evidence. In- deed a bitter controversy raged at one time between the advocates of the ‘‘brockle faces’’ and the ‘‘white: faces’? as to which was the superior ‘‘breed.’’

A direct introduction of the ‘‘bald-face’’ seems to have been made about 1671 through the medium of an importation of Flemish cattle by Lord Seuda- more. The herds of the Low Countries did not al- ways run so strongly towards the black and white color now so commonly associated with Dutch cattle.

*The Devon breed, doubtless refined far beyond its ancestra) type, still holds its popularity in its native land, and although ¢ small as compared with most of our other improved beef breeds, is yet highly prized by butchers as well as by those who satill use oxen at the yoke.

HEREFORDSHIRE PASTURES AND PIONEERS 37

References to the paintings of old masters reveal the fact that red and white spotted animals were numerous. In fact, various colors were met with in Netherland herds. Hence the statement made by several writers that these Scudamore cattle were ‘‘red with white face’’ is not improbable. As they were apparently well received in Herefordshire they doubtless left their impress upon the native reds, stamping here and there a white face on their progeny.

This Flemish importation into Herefordshire is of special interest when viewed in the light of cer- tain other facts. Similar blood entered into thé foundation of the early Shorthorns. Cattle from the same source and doubtless of a similar type were introduced into Yorkshire and Durham not long prior to the birth of the improved Shorthorn by Sir William St. Quentin and Michael Dobinson and doubtless accentuated the tendency to broken colors that became a permanent characteristic of the Shorthorn breed. It is known that white faces were not altogether rare among the early Teeswater cattle. Jacob Smith’s Bull (608) of Coates’ Short- horn Herd Book, sire of the dam of the far-famed ‘“beautiful Lady Maynard’’ was described by Bates as ‘‘yellow red, white face, white back and white legs to knee.’’

There is a tradition in the Galliers family of a “red bull from Yorkshire with a white face and rather wide horns’’ having been brought into Here- fordshire about 1750, that ‘‘his produce became

38 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

fashionable’’ and that ‘‘he laid the foundation of the present famous breed.’’ While this latter claim is not allowed, in the light of all the evidence there is no reason for questioning the fact of this Tees- water bull’s importation and none whatever for doubting the statement as to his color. That his get may have been appreciated and used for breed- ing purposes is altogether probable. It would ap- pear, therefore, that at least one little link of kinship existed between the ancestors of the first Short- horns and the forbears of the modern Hereford.

Still another candidate for the honor of ‘‘origi- nating’’ the white face appears. The birth of a male calf with a white face in the herd of one of the Tullys of Huntington about the middle of the eighteenth century was considered by the cowman so remarkable, or else that peculiar marking was considered so desirable, that it was at once decided that the calf should be retained on that account for breeding purposes, and one writer, Rowlandson, says that his progeny afterwards ‘‘became cele- brated for white faces.’? Although the Tully cattle became important factors in the subsequent evolu- tion of the breed, it will scarcely do to credit this one calf, as some have seemed disposed to do, with being the real source of the now universal Here- ford badge. He doubtless helped to fix it, but there was already a marked trend towards white mark- ings, including the white face, resulting from the use of the Welsh, Flemish and possibly Teeswater bloods. .

HEREFORDSHIRE PASTURES AND PIONEERS 39

“It comes, therefore, simply to this: that as a re- sult of this crossing of lighter colored animals upon solid reds, white markings were inevitably intro- duced. Obviously some white as well as brockle faces were certain to appear from time to time. This peculiar color combination either then caught the fancy of the countryside or else the first animals so marked happened also to possess superior form, size or quality, and hence were given preference in subsequent breeding operations, the new color being finally established by resort to in-and-in breed- ing. Be that as it may, this ‘‘hall mark’’ of the Hereford came at length to be a recognized, accom- plished fact, and is today, in western America at least, an almost infallible index of the presence of Hereford blood, just as the roan color reveals un- erringly the trail of the Shorthorn.

It was not until comparatively recent times, how- ever, that the present markings were specifically de- fined and generally accepted. Many of the earlier registered Herefords carried the white the entire length of the back—called ‘‘hail-backs’’ or ‘‘line backs.’’ Some were mottled or ‘‘ticked’’ faced, and still others were called ‘‘greys.’’ Even as late as when Mr. Eyton was seeking to establish the Eng- lish Hereford Herd Book in 1846 a feud existed between the followers of the white-faced and the brockle-faced types, the advocates of the latter re- fusing at first to record in the same book with the pale faces. Happily, however, harmony was finally restored, and after the lapse of many years the ad-

40 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

herents of the white-faced sort gained complete as- cendency.

Calves are still dropped at intervals that are so badly splashed with white that they are not retained for breeding purposes, but such instances are rare. Again the white crest is not invariably present. Its absence, however, is not a sign of impure breeding, as some of our ranchmen have imagined. Red hair around the eyes is also sometimes seen.* This is objected to by some, but for no valid reason. It is a mere matter of taste.

Very dark red verging on black is to be avoided. It is too often accompanied by harsh wiry hair which indicates lack of quality. Pale yellow is not to be sought. Some regard it as a sign of delicacy. Both extremes are objectionable. Between these two will be found the golden mean. Cattle with a tendency toward a tinge of orange in the skin are almost invariably mellow handlers and good feed- ers, and these remarks apply to Shorthorns as well as to the Herefords. In any case an abundance of hair is desirable. In winter the Hereford should grow a heavy coat, with hair so long as usually to show a marked tendency to curl. In England where the summers are not so hot and dry as in the States cattle retain better coats throughout the year, so that old-country exhibitors have not the difficulty in

*“Brown-eyed” calves were always great favorites with cer- tain leading American feeders, among others the late John Stew-

ard, one of the most intelligent men ever identified with American Hereford breeding, and a successful showman.

HEREFORDSHIRE PASTURES AND PIONEERS 41

fitting for show, in that particular, experienced by American herdsmen.

Some of the Pathfinders——The names of Richard Tomkins and Benjamin Tomkins (the elder) of King’s Pyon, Galliers of Wigmore Grange, the Tullys, Skyrmes and Haywoods are the ones most frequently mentioned as leading pioneers in the de- velopment of the material out of which the breed was finally evolved. There is ample proof that these and numerous other substantial farmers of Here- fordshire and the adjacent counties of Gloucester, Worcestershire, Salop and Monmouth had long maintained herds generally recognized as possess- ing superior merit for the yoke as well as for graz- ing purposes. References to dairy quality are not infrequent, in fact, they all expected that a cow should be able to rear her own calf, at least.

Ben Tomkins, the elder, was born at the New House, King’s Pyon, Herefordshire, in 1714; began business at Court House, Canon Pyon, about 1738; took Wellington Court in 1758, where he died in 1789, leaving six children. The second son—named after the father—was destined to become one of the most celebrated constructive breeders known in the annals of British agriculture. The father was the intimate friend and contemporary of William Gal- liers of Wigmore Grange and the two are said to have often exchanged breeding stock and to have made excursions to distant parts together in quest of fresh material from outside sources.

William Galliers was born in 1713 and died in

42 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

1779. He is supposed to have introduced and used the white-faced Yorkshire bull already alluded to. His herd is said to have rivaled that of his colleague Tomkins, so that Wigmore Grange is generally called one of the earlier seats of Hereford power. His sons, John and William, carried on the busi- ness, and the first auction sale of Hereford breeding stock of which there is record, was made by the for- mer, Oct. 15, 1795, at a time when values had not yet risen. Prices averaged around £13, the top, £32/5s, being paid by Mr. Turner of Aymestry—the grand- father of Mr. Arthur P. Turner, late occupant of The Leen—for a two-year-old heifer. William Galliers took numerous prizes with fat Herefords at local shows.

There is little but tradition bearing upon the orig- inal herds of the Tullys of Huntington. A bull of this blood seems to have founded the herd of Mr. Tudge, the celebrated Adforton bull Lord Wilton tracing back to him. The first prize ox at the first Smithfield was of Tully blood. The white-faced bull calf already mentioned as one of the originators of the white face probably appeared about 1750.

Certain it is that the Tully cattle were of good scale, for many oxen of Huntington breeding fed for the early fat stock shows made enormous weights and sold for fancy prices. Moreover, it is said that they carried more white than any strain of like prominence in the country. The elder Tully is said to have had three sons, Samuel at Huntington, Jo- seph at Haywood and another at Clyro. At auction

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44 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

in 1814 Samuel sold 16 breeding cows for an average of £51/6s., the best one bringing £100. So many of the modern Herefords trace back to Tully founda- tions that it is safe to rank that stock as one of the important links connecting the known history of the breed with the misty past.

There is little of record concerning the once famous herd of Mr. Skyrme of Stretton. It is said to have been somewhat paler in the shade of red shown than any of its contemporaries, and as it supplied the foundation for many tribes afterwards utilized in forming the breed as known to us, it is probable that the ‘‘yellow red’’ still occasionally seen, comes in part at least from that source. The Tomkins cattle were of the darker red and the Tullys more or less of a mingled red with white, giving rise later on to the Downton Castle ‘‘greys.”’

The Haywoods of Clifton and the Teme, Wor- cestershire, had been noted for generations for the excellence of their cattle, and in 1800 Samuel of that name bred a bull called Prize Fighter that was pitted against one shown by a Mr. Nailes of Leices- tershire (breed not stated) on a wager of 100 guineas and the Hereford won. Paintings in the possession of the Haywoods show this noted bull and also prize bullocks sired by him. One of the latter (mottle-faced) won first at Smithfield in 1816 and was called ‘‘faultless.’’ It was from the Hay- woods that the Jeffries, afterwards celebrated breeders, obtained their original stock.

Disinterested Praise—Toward the close of the

WELLINGTON COURT.

46 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

eighteenth century the red or brown cattle with the white markings of this district had evidently at- tained a high degree of excellence. Writing in 1788, William Marshall, a Yorkshireman who would not be apt to prove a prejudiced witness, said: ‘‘The Herefordshire breed of cattle, taking it all in all, may without risque, I believe, be deemed the first breed of .cattle in this island.’’ He spoke of their frame as being ‘‘altogether athletic,’’ of their supe- riority as ‘‘beasts of draught,’’ of the females ‘‘fat- ting kindly at an early age,’’ and of the fact that at the Hereford fair of Oct. 20, 1788, he ‘‘saw about 1,000 head of cattle, chiefly of the Herefordshire breed,’’ that were ‘‘out of Smithfield by much the finest show I have anywhere seen.’’ When it is re- membered that this was contemporaneous with the -formative period of the Shorthorn it helps to estab- lish the fact that the progenitors of the modern Hereford were at least the equals of the foundation stock of their famous rivals of the north.

GHAPTER II. EARLY ENGLISH IMPROVERS.

The first Smithfield Fat Stock Show was held at London in 1799, and as was the case with the first American Fat Stock Show established eighty years later, proved a Hereford opportunity. In fact, the Smithfield competitions gave a great impetus to the movement that emancipated the breed from being mere beasts of burden into the broad realm of beef- making as a business.

A bullock fed and shown by Mr. Westear won first prize and was sold for £100. He was described as ‘*8 feet 11 inches long, 6 feet 7 inches high, and 10 feet 4 inches girth.’’? Another ox ‘‘seven feet high’’ and with ‘‘a girth of 12 feet 4 inches’’ was also shown. Entries were made by John Ellman and the Duke of Bedford, the latter winning the prize for_ ‘‘best ox fattened with grass and hay only, in the shortest time from yoke.’’ From that day to this the Hereford classes at the annual shows of Christmas beef on both sides of the Atlantic have been the most effective advertising the breed has had.

About this same date the Herefordshire Agricul- tural Society was formed, the original show of breeding stock being held in June, 1799, and one of the chief prizes falling to one of the Tullys of Hunt- ington. This organization did as much to stimulate

47

48 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

local interest in good breeding as the Smithfield did in drawing outside attention to the feeding quality of the steers. Moreover, the utility of the breed as a beef-making proposition—as distinguished from its value in the yoke—was now rapidly becoming recognized, one of the stated objects of the local society being ‘‘to carry the breed of cattle and sheep as to fleece and carcass to the greatest point of per- fection.’’ .

The men who were developing the race at this point may or may not have been generally guided in their work of improvement by the Bakewell ex- periments with the Longhorn cattle and Leicester sheep, out of which the theory of close breeding as a means of fixing a type had grown. But in view of the sensation that had been created by the Dishley discoveries throughout the entire kingdom, it is more than likely that the first great improvers of the Hereford made their earliest advance through the adoption of methods similar to those followed by the Collings, Mr. Bates and other successful manipulators of the Shorthorn type. At any rate, credit has always been given to Benjamin Tomkins, - the younger, as one of the founders of the modern Hereford, and his system was clearly one of blood concentration.

Benjamin Tomkins.—Among those generally set down as the fathers of the nineteenth century Here- fords, seniority is usually accorded to Benjamin Tomkins. For at least two generations there had been ‘a valuable ‘‘breed’’ maintained by the family.

Copyright photo by Bustin BEN. TOMKINS AND FAMILY COAT OF ARMS.

50 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Old Richard Tomkins was famous for his work oxen, and thought so much of his cattle that they were specifically mentioned in a division of his property made in 1720. One cow called Silver, in particular, and her calf, were allotted specially to his son Ben- jamin—commonly referred to as ‘‘the.elder”’ in con- tradistinction to his own son of the same name, ‘‘the younger,’’ the subject of this reference. This in- cident of the Silver cow is significant because the grandson is said to have laid the foundation of his celebrated herd nearly 50 years later, mainly by the use of a sire called the Silver Bull (41). It is not a violent presumption, therefore, to assume that this name indicated a strain of outstanding merit running through the original Tomkins stock, which was carefully preserved and passed on from father to son as a precious possession.

Benjamin, the elder, born in 1714, farmed at Court House and Wellington Court, at which latter place Benjamin junior was born in 1745. The father died in 1789. We have but meager details as to his operations with cattle, but it is supposed that he pre- served the old blood and that Benjamin the younger first established his eminence as a cattle breeder by the use of the Silver Bull mentioned above.

The purchase of two cows at Kington Fair about 1766 is mentioned by English authorities as among the earliest investments of Benjamin the younger. It must of course be understood that this was long before the days of recorded pedigrees and herd books. All that is known is that, according to Mr.

ax s PAR r rt SES = i ; ? a . ve a

VIEW OF THE TOMKINS “STEADING.”’ Copyright photo by Bustin

house and buildings of Black Hall Farm. where B. Tomkins, Jr., began in 1769. and King’s Pyon church tower. In left center, Brook House. where he went to live in 1812 and died in 1815.

On the right,

52 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Eyton, the originator of the English Hereford Herd Book, one of these market cows was a grey. called Pigeon and the other a dark red with a spotted face ealled Mottle, and that they attracted the. notice of young Tomkins—who had begun farming at Black- hall, King’s Pyon—on account of their evident dis- position to take on flesh. It is assumed that other selections were made from time to time from the best contemporary sources as opportunity offered, that in making his purchases the propensity to take on flesh was always kept in mind and that color was quite a secondary consideration.

Upon a mixed foundation therefore, in so far as blood elements were concerned, the Silver Bull, ‘‘a red with a white face and a little white on his back,’’ was used with such success as to attract much attention, and presently the herd came to be noted for three leading ‘‘families’’—the Pigeons, the Mottles and the Silvers. The latter were the color of the bull of that name, the Pigeons were grey and the Mottles were speckle-faced. No at- tempt was made to fix a uniform color. Form and flesh were the objects sought, and by resort to a pol- icy of breeding in-and-in the desired qualities were ultimately well established.

Tomkins occupied the Blackhall farm until 1798 when he removed to his birthplace, Wellington Court, which he had held under lease since his fa- ther’s death in 1789. He resided there until 1812, at which date he moved into his own place, Brook House, King’s Pyon, where he died in 1815.

Copyright photo by Bustin

BROOK HOUSE.

54 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

By the year 1800 the Tomkins herd had acquired more than local fame, and shortly after that date John Price of Worcestershire, who afterwards be- came so famous as a breeder and partisan of the Tomkins stock, made his first purchases. Not many of the bulls used could be placed on record when the work of gathering data for the first volume of ‘the herd book was in progress. The necessary par- ticulars could not be obtained. The Silver Bull has already been referred to. Another of the known successes on the herd was Wellington, dark red with a mottled face and bosom, calved 1808 and said to have been the best stock-getter ever used in the herd. He was bought and used afterwards by John Price, and sold at his sale in 1816 when eight years old for £ 283/10s. Another of the few bulls of which there is record was Sam (144), whose son Ben (96) was also retained for service. There is also record of Wild Bull (145), said to have been by Silver Bull; Phoenix (55), another brockle-face; Proctor’s Bull (316), out of ‘‘a favorite cow’’ Old Pink; Voltaire (39), a white-face; and Wizard (59), a mottle-faced son of Ben (96), sold for 300 guineas. These com- prise about all that is now known of the Tomkins bulls.

Mr. Tomkins was a man of mark, a ‘‘county mag- nate,’’ descended from one of the oldest and most re- spected ‘‘county families.’’ In rural England this has a deep significance especially in the social scheme. He easily became a leader in affairs agri- cultural, not because of the fact jast stated, but by

WISTASTON—HOME OF T. TOMKINS GALLIERS—NOTE BROCKLE FACES.

56 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

reason of his sound judgment in the work of improv- ing the local breed of cattle.

In 1808 he held a sale of 20 cows and jisiters, 12 oxen aud 20 yearling and two-year-old steers, the cows averaging £40, the oxen £23, the year; lings £15 and the twos £20. These cattle were referred to at the time as ‘‘allowed by competent judges to be equal if not superior to most in the kingdom.’’

After Mr. Tomkins’ death in October, 1815, the herd was inherited by his daughters, his two sons having died young. After disposing of a number of cattle privately a sale was held in October, 1819, that reveals clearly the estimation in which the blood was held. A sun ary of the result is ap- pended.

The 52 head sold wale £4,673/14s., or an average of £89/17s./6d. each, but a number were steers, The breeding animals, numbering 28, averaged no less than £149, the total for them being £4,172/6s. The

detailed figures are as follows: “ * Potal. Average.

£ 8. d. £ 8s. 4. 15 COWS sovecuas pines Soe REED b o0 dF OHKEO RE 2,249 2 0 149 18 9 3 two-yesr-old heifers ............4... 283 10 0 94 10 0 2 yearling heifers ..........ccceewcces 156 9 «0 78 4 66 4 Dulle | 232 seni sis os eae we 85034 Se 1,071 0 0 267.15 0 Z Boll CalVes 52 4ne cei Miiseay eve aan sers 362 6 0 181° °2 6 2 heifer calVes. «icsciaa cn so ssiswswcwes ¢ 56 0 0 28 0 0 28 Nea sieasilnidas. cee sweeties ea eda Re 4,178 6 OAv.149 0 0

This average compares favorably with those made about the same-period at the Shorthorn sales of Charles and Robert Colling, the Ketton av- erage (1810) including the 1,000-guinea bull Comet,

EARLY ENGLISH IMPROVERS 57

being £151/8s. on 47 head, and that at Barmpton (1818) £127/17s. on 61 head.

The Misses Tomkins with the assistance of a bail- iff or herdsman carried on the herd for many years with entire success. They took a lively personal in- terest in everything affecting the type and character of the cattle they had inherited.* However, this in- stance of important breeding operations directed by women is by no means exceptional in British agri- cultural history. The practical work performed by Lady Pigot, for example, in connection with Short- horns and other farm animals was scarcely excelled by any of her contemporaries. The Misses Tomkins held many draft sales; their herd was always a popu- lar source of supply, and was not finally dispersed until 1854, forty years after their father’s death. -

John Price.—Chief among the followers of Tom- kins was John Price, a Worcestershire farmer who became enamored of the type about 1804. Born in 1776, he was from all accounts a man of rare mental gifts. Early in life he is said to have become a prime favorite with the Earl of Coventry, and en: joyed the friendship and society of ‘‘gentlemen of high respectability.’’ Succeeding his father as ten- ant of Earl’s Croome, he soon turned his attention to good cattle and bought his foundation cows from the Tomkins herd. About 1811 he gave up Earl’s Croome and purchased a small property known as

*Apropos of the color question: for many years the Misses Tomkins directed that in the case of all bull calves born in the herd those with white “purses” were to be saved for breeding purposes and those with red were to be steered at once.

58 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Ryall, near Upton, in the grassy vale of the Severn, leasing additional acreage for pasture. Some five years later he took up his residence at Poole House, also near Upton. He bred Herefords almost exclu- sively of the Tomkins strain throughout the entire period, following with evident success the close breeding practiced by his illustrious predecessor.

Price was a loyal follower of the sage of Welling- ton Court, not only breeding from close affinities but disregarding color. He had used the great mottle- faced bull Wellington (4), as already mentioned, the white-faced Voltaire and the two greys, Victory (33) and Trueboy (32). He was careful with his records and examination of the early herd books will show that his stock was largely used in the founding and up-building of many contemporary herds. One of the remarkable cows of the Price herd was Toby Pigeon, a daughter of one of Ben Tomkins’ Pigeons. She lived to be nineteen years old and dropped 19 calves, having been accidentally bulled when very young and producing when four years old a pair of twins. It was said at the sale of 1841 that nearly the entire herd then traced descent to this prolific source.

Challenges were common among the British cat- tle-growers in those days and Mr. Price was ever ready to back his cattle with his cash.* In 1839 he

*He attended one of Lord Althorpe’s ram sales in Northampton- shire, and after the dinner gave a challenge to show one of his bulls against any Shorthorn. He _ succeeded in getting up a sweepstake of five pounds each, which he won with his bull Lundy- foot, which, according to the writer of the memoir in the “Farm- ers’ Magazine,” was allowed tg be the “completest” animal any of the company ever saw,

Copyrigh' Bustin

JOHN PRICH OF RYALL

60 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

challenged all England to ‘‘show a bull and 20 regu- lar breeding in-calf cows bred by himself’’ for any sum not exceeding £100 against a like number of any sort and owned by any breeder in the United Kingdom. This led to a public discussion of the relative merits of the Herefords and the Short- horns between Mr. Price and Thos. Bates of Kirk- levington, but the defiance itself was not met.

In October, 1816, Mr. Price sold 116 head of cattle for a total of £6,728/10s., an average of £58, a Tom- kins-bred cow by Silver Bull bringing £215, a two- year-old heifer of the seller’s own breeding making £252, the old stock bull Wellington going at £283, the bull Ryall commanding £262 from Lord Talbot, and the bull Waxy £341/5s. from the same buyer. An idea of the extent of Mr. Price’s breeding opera- tions and the wide distribution of the Tomkins blood made through him may be gleaned from the state- ment that at his three sales of 1813, 1816 and 1841 Herefords to the value of £16,690 were disposed of; and as he made a sale in 1820 of which there is now no record, if the aggregate of that were added it is thought that the total sales at auction alone would reach £20,000.

Mr. Price is said not only to have disregarded color markings but dairy quality as well. His cattle were criticised by some for the ‘‘shortness and rather mean appearance’? of the horns of the cows. He was after something more important. The old Tomkins sort was called ‘‘very wide over their hips and narrow on their shoulders.’’ This Mr. Price is

EARLY ENGLISH IMPROVERS 61

said to have altered, ‘‘getting his cows much wider on the chine, with less gaudy hips.’’ The Hewers.—We have just seen that a Worces-

tershire breeder was one of the originators of the: modern Hereford. The scene now changes to Glou-.

cestershire, Monmouth and Shropshire, first to the east of Hereford, then to the west, and for a time to the north. Herefordshire men truly cannot claim all the credit for their world-famous breed. When to the work of Price is added the achievements of the Hewers in the counties named, and the produc- tion of Sir David in South Wales, it must be con- ceded that even though Herefordshire provided the raw material the neighboring districts are entitled to a share in the honor of having brought the breed to its subsequent high estate.

William Hewer was born in Gloucester in 1757, married a Miss Hughes of Court Morgan, near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, and about 1787 moved to that vicinity, supposedly taking with him some red-with-white-face cattle from the old home of the Hewers to the new. He farmed there for 28 years, when on account of a bank failure he became

financially involved, and leaving his wife and fam- |

ily—excepting his eldest son William—he set out

supposedly to mend his shattered fortunes in Amer-

ica, but died in New York City within six months |

of his landing on this side of the Atlantic.

John Hewer, son of William, was born in 1787 and lived until April 28, 1873. He was reared among the Herefords at Hardwick, near Abergavenny, and

Copyright photo by Bustin

JOHN HEWER.

Copyright photo by Bustin

JOHN L. HEWER.

64 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

it is said that the young man here formed the opin- ion that the white face should be firmly established as.a breed characteristic. He removed to Shrop- shire in 1817 to manage the farm of Purslow, near Craven Arms, taking with him many valuable cattle from his father’s herd and breeding them there until about 1823. William Hewer’s family meantime had taken a farm called The Grove in Monmouthshire, ayid John also managed that until some differences with his relatives caused his removal into Hereford- shire, where, during a long, busy and eminently use- ful career, he occupied in turn Hill House, Aston Ingham; Moor House, Hereford; Brandon Cottage; Hampton Lodge, near Hereford; Lower Wilcroft; Palmer’s Court, Holmer; Vern House, Marden; and Paradise Villa, Marden, where he. died. at the ripe old age of 86 years.

Scale, quality and with the exception of one fam- ily, possession of the white. face distinguished the Hewer Herefords. They were maintained for such a long period of time and the letting of bulls on hire was so extensively practiced that the blood of these cattle hecame perhaps more widely disséminated than that of any others during the period immediate- ly preceding the establishment of the Hereford pedi- gree record. There are said to have been five dif- ferent strains specially valued in the Hewer herd, one of which, called the Loftys, was usually ‘‘tick- faced,’’ not the mottle-face so frequently seen in those days, but one with minute ticks or specks of a bluish tint. The bulls Wonder (420) and Governor

EARLY ENGLISH IMPROVERS 65

(464) had ticked faces, and this peculiarity crops out at rare intervals to this day.

While the exact sources of the original herds are unknown, Mr. Hewer Sr. is on record as having at a very early period in his career obtained five cows and heifers of Tully of Huntington and he had in his herd stock descended from ‘‘Tomkins’ prime cat- tle.’? As in the Tomkins herd the credit for the first great success in the Hewer herd is laid to a bull called Silver (540), calved in 1797, and. de- scribed as ‘‘red with a white face.’’ Like Tomkins, Hewer had recourse to in-breeding. He used sons and grandsons of Silver (540), and one of the for- mer, Old Wellington (507), also red with white face, was particularly prized. Through Young Welling- ton (505), same color, Old Favorite (442), Waxy (403) and others, the blood was strongly concen- trated. John Hewer carried out the same idea in his management, and this persistent reunion of bloods flowing from a common source was largely instrumental in establishing the fame of the strain for prepotency. One of the greatest of the Hewer bulls, Old Sovereign (404), was said to have been the progeny of an own brother and sister, a son and daughter of Wellington. It is claimed that he was acknowledged to be ‘‘the best bull ever bred in the county of Hereford and the sire and grandsire of more prize cattle at Smithfield and elsewhere than any other bull in the kingdom.’’ One of his sons was the celebrated mammoth Cotmore, first prize Here- ford bull at the first Royal of England Show, which

66 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

was held at Oxford in 1839. Old Sovereign lived 15 years and was on hire at different times to some of the best breeders of his day.

To enumerate even a partial list of all the famous individual cattle bred by John Hewer from his father’s stock would be to reproduce too much of the early English record. On account of his fre- quent removals he made many sales, the top figure reached being £346/10s. for the four-year-old cow Lady Byron. The bull Governor (464) was let at £100 the season, Favorite at £200 and Defiance (416) at the same figure. As many as 35 bulls were out on hire in a single year. Sovereign brought in £640/18s. in rentals, Lottery (410) returned £710, Lottery 2d (408) £645/11s. and Defiance (416) £525. Good prices were frequently realized at private sales, the bull Hampton (513) going at £500. In 1840 a lot was sold for shipment to Australia where one of the bulls subsequently fetched 1,000 guineas. The produce of the cow Lofty sold for £1,289.

Some notable instances of longevity and fecundity appear in the Hewer records. Red Rose, by Chance, was John Hewer’s favorite cow. She lived to be 23 years old and John L. Hewer (son of the breeder) says that he believes she produced 20 calves. When 17 years old she had twins to Governor (464). The bull Berrington (435) is said to have sired stock at 21 years. Sovereign got Cotmore at 15 years and Above All (2910) was useful up to 17 years. Sound old stock that, one would say!

In Monmouth the land upon which the Hewer herd

Copyright photo by Bustin DARLING, FIRST BULL BRED BY JOHN lL. HEWER.

Copyright photo by Bustin LADY BYRON, CALVED 1833, BRED BY JOHN HEWER.

68 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

was maintained was gravelly and half mountain- ous. There was no pampering nor coddling. Size and constitution were prime objects and the stock became noted for its vigor as well as quality. John Hewer kept these characteristics steadfastly in mind, and his success probably entitles him to be called the greatest Hereford breeder of his genera- tion.

The Jeffries—No reference to those who devel- oped the Herefords in England during the first half of the nineteenth century would be complete with- out mention of the name of Jeffries. They finished their labors in the ante-herd book days. Most of their cattle were bred on the farms known as The Sheriffs, Lyonshall and The Grove, Pembridge. The stock came originally from the Haywoods of Clif- ton, while the fine old strains of Edward the elder (1720-1807), Edward, junior (1755-1834), and Thomas, senior (1759-1840), were among the best in the district. Thomas, the younger (1796-1843), attained special fame as a breeder, largely through the use of Hewer bulls. He had on hire at different periods such celebrities as Sovereign (404), Lottery (410), Byron (440) and Fitzfavorite (441). The cross of these great bulls upon the old Jeffries fam- ilies produced cattle of splendid scale, substance and quality. :

The first Royal show was held. at Oxford in 1839. In that year a very celebrated bull won the prize as best aged bull, viz., Cotmore (376). He was then only 3 years and 10 months old. He was bred and

Copyright photo by Bustin LADY GROVE AT FOUR YEARS OLD AND CALF FOIGH-A-BALLAGH, Bred by T. Jeffries, winner at the Royal of 1843 and sold for 155 guineas.

Copyright photo by Bustin HOPE (439). CALVED IN 1836—Bred by Thos. Jeffries, sire Byron (440), dam Cotmore’s dam. .

10 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

exhibited by Mr. Thos. Jeffries of The Grove. The old portrait of this bull shows that he was a fine specimen of the immense Hereford bull of the color and type which Mr. Jeffries was very particular in maintaining. Cotmore was a son of John Hewer’s Sovereign (404), his dam also by a Hewer bull Lot- tery (410). He was remarkably big and level, and it is officially recorded that he weighed as an aged bull 35 ewt. or 3920 lbs., probably estimated. This has been claimed as the record weight for all Brit- ish-bred bulls. :

The Jeffries were at this time generally acknowl- edged as reliable and leading Hereford breeders, and Thos. Jeffries was most highly esteemed up to the time of his death in 1844. The farm of The Grove in his time and in that of his successor Benjamin Rogers was the birth-place of many of the best Eng- lish Herefords. The house is an old-fashioned one standing quite by itself; the road leading up to it is through a bye-lane first, and then through fields that must be good and strong by the way The Grove Herefords were always brought out.

Another extraordinary animal bred by Thomas Jeffries was the cow Governess, owned by J. B. Green of Marlow. She is said to have lived to be 33 years old and produced the twin bulls Zeal and Zeal- ous but a few years prior to her death.

Although John Hewer and Thomas Jeffries are generally credited with being largely instrumental in turning the tide of battle on color markings from

EARLY ENGLISH IMPROVERS val

the mottle to the white faces it is not so certain that they regarded the latter as intrinsically superior. On the contrary Wm. Tudge, late of Leinthall, in a letter to the author says:

“‘T have seen several of Hewer’s bulls at different times. I well remember seeing one called Above All at an old Hereford breeder’s place, that of Edward Bowen of Corfton, South Shropshire. He wished: us particularly to see his bull, of which he was very proud. This was a big and good bull, but his char- acteristics did not quite please me, for he had a lot of small ticks of red in the white on his face and forehand in the white on neck and brisket. When I spoke about it the owner said, ‘I like him all the bet- ter for that, and so does old John Hewer. It is his old Lofty cow’s breed.’ Hewer’s son told me some time afterwards that his father really liked this strain best, although he liked his white-faced ones also and was very particular in keeping to their right crossings, and that he, like Mr. Thos. Jeffries, kept very strictly to the white face and right mark- ings for those.’’*

Knight of Downton Castle—Possessed of a fine country seat, Thomas Andrew Knight (born 1759, died 1838) was educated at Oxford University and during a long series of years devoted the resources

of a well trained intellect to the advancement of

*Incidental to this episode Mr. Tudge writes: ‘I had gone to .Mr. Bowen’s as one of two judges of roots for the Ludlow Agri- cultural Society along_with another Hereford breeder, George Roberts of Trippleton, Leintwardine. Mr. Bowen had entered for the best six acres of swedes. It was a very wet day. Of course the swedes were very wet, but he was very anxious we should thoroughly see and measure them, and said, ‘You are two sport- ing gentlemen, but I will show you how to get your knees dry,’ for we were both riding. On returning, as soon as we dismounted, the groom took our horses, the old gentleman himself bragene us some dry old hay to stuff in the Knees of our breeches. e were dry and comfortable directly. I have many times done this since when out riding or shooting.”

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the agricultural interests of the community in which he resided. While he acquired high reputation in the field of scientific horticulture he began studying the problem of how to improve the cattle of the dis- trict sometime about the year 1775. It is said that he desired to obtain a type adapted to ‘‘a somewhat poor and uneven locality,’’ and in his subsequent breeding operations he displayed originality and marked ability. Some of the larger Herefords he declared absolutely unsuited to his purpose because they were too uncertain on their legs for the steep hillsides of some of his pastures. He would have naught to do with ‘‘lambs’ knees”’ or ‘‘sickle hocks,”’ and one authority states that he was so fastidious upon this matter of free action that he would not purchase a bull calf until he had first seen him trot as well as walk. His ‘‘trotting bulls’’ were the butt of frequent jokes from the neighboring tenantry, but he lived to see the importance of strong, well set legs and nimble feet freely acknowledged.

His first selections were from the herds of Tully of Huntington, Tomkins and Skyrme, and from the former he evolved the famous Downton Castle ‘‘greys.’’ Indeed one of his original breeding cows is said to have been white, producing Snowball (246) of the Hereford Herd Book, known also as ‘‘Knight’s White Bull.’? Whether by chance or by design, the mingling of the Tully blood (with its strong tendency to white) with the pale red of the Skyrme stock and the darker Tomkins strain pro- duced a race of greys or roans that possessed con-

EARLY ENGLISH IMPROVERS 13

stitution, flesh and feeding quality and became wide- ly celebrated. Not many of the Downton cattle are on record, but some of the best of the English herds of the herd book period—including that maintained by Mr. John Hill of Felhampton Court—acknow]l- edged heavy indebtedness to them.

In the Hall of Fame.—It is not our purpose to go into great detail as to all those who contributed to the creation of the latter-day Hereford, but we cannot pass on to the herd book period without re- cording at least the names of a large group of intel- ligent, able men who made skillful use of the plastic material at their disposal.

There was for instance the Yeomans family. Rich- ard and John with their famous old-time herds were on the side of the white face as against the mot- tle-face and helped to win the day for the former, while in comparatively recent times, John H. and Henry Yeomans acquired prominence in the exten- sion of the Hereford dominion throughout western America.

James Yarworth, first in Monmouth and later in Herefordshire, commenced breeding in 1802 and for 18 years was a power in the trade. His most noted bull was Trojan (192), shown at Hereford in 1816 and called by the awarding committee ‘‘the finest ani- mal ever shown before the society.’’

W. Walker of Burton near Clifton-on-Terme and his son J. Walker of Lulsley Court, Worcestershire, were men who also helped build up the breed. Prox-

74 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

imity to John Price led to free crossing of the Walk- er cattle with the Tomkins blood.

Rev. J. R. Smythies of Lynch Court began about 1806. He championed the mottled faces and drew largely for his material from the herds of Tomkins, Price, Yarworth, Skyrme, Tully and Walker. He was for a long series of years one of the most en- thusiastic supporters of the breed and as late as 1849 challenged the kingdom to show four two- year-old Hereford bullocks and four yearlings at Smithfield against eight Shorthorns or Devons of like age for 100 guineas, but nothing came of it.

Theophilus Salwey of Ashley Moor, a disciple of Knight, bred Herefords for some forty years and had good success in manipulating the Downton Cas- tle strains. The great show and breeding bull Sir An- drew gave the herd its first repute and Mr. Knight, who frequently saw the herd, testified that many of the animals at Ashley Moor were an improvement upon his own. The herd was dispersed in 1844.

T. C. Yeld of The Broome, who began about 1820, was the son of a Herefordshire grazier and when he took up breeding his practical knowledge of cattle soon brought success. Between 1829 and 1849 he won not less than 25 prizes at the Herefordshire show, but one other breeder—Roberts of Ivington- bury—of that period carrying away a greater num- ber during the same years. He used among other noted sires Mr. Knight’s Snowball (246) ; Red Robin (263), sire of Smithfield winners; Young Cupid (259), a great winner and sire of prize-winners;

Copyright photo by Bustin

76 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

and Tobias (487), a show bull himself and sire, it is said, ‘‘of more prize animals than any other bull that has.ever been in the country.’’ The Yeld fam- ily holds a prominent place in Hereford traditions.

The Turners of Aymestry, Noke Court and The Leen, have written their names indelibly in Hereford trade annals. James, the grandfather, commenced at Aymestry by purchasing at the Galliers sale at Wigmore Grange in 1795. In 1803 he challenged the countryside ‘to show a six-year-old ox for 100 guineas, ‘‘for weight and least coarse meat.’? His son Philip and the latter’s son Arthur P., have helped make modern Hereford history and will be again referred to. The elder Turner used bulls from Jeffries, Knight and other leading contem- porary breeders, and bred the bull Chance (348), the accidental mating of which with one of his own daughters produced the renowned Sir David (349).

Tench of Bromfield, the Messrs. Williams of Thingehill Court and Brinsop, Weymen of Moreton and Stockton, John Morris of Stocktonbury, Jones of Breinton, Sir Hungerford Hoskyns of Harewood Grange, W. C. Hayton of Moreton Court, Bluck, Parry, Kedward, Rocke, Clarke, Longmore, Carpen- ter and a score of their contemporaries should be named and deserve to have their exploits in Here- fordom recounted, but this portion of our story al- ready grows too long and we can pay only this pass- ing tribute to their work.

Pedigree Registration Established—The Here- ford Herd Book of England was established in 1846.

EARLY ENGLISH IMPROVERS T7

It remained for a Shropshire man to take the initia- tive. Mr. T. C. Eyton of Donnerville, Wellington, Salop, did for the Herefords what old George Coates of Great Smeaton, Yorkshire, had done for the equally careless Shorthorn breeders a few years previous.

Mr. Eyton, we are told, had gone into Hereford- shire to buy some breeding cattle for his own use and finding, with the exception of John Price’s rec- ords at Ryall, much confusion existing as to the genealogy of most of the herds visited, determined to begin compiling pedigrees for his own private in- formation. Subsequently on being promised assis- tance by several prominent breeders he decided to collect material for publication.

Color Quarrel Compromised.—Serious difficulties, however, were at once encountered. Some were doubtful as to the utility of such a work. Others pre- ferred to shroud their own particular practices in more or less mystery. Why indeed should a ‘‘trade secret’’ be given away unnecessarily? But worst of all was the keen rivalry of different warring fac- tions. There was first the color line with all its di- vision of sentiment. Those who had used the Tully- Tomkins-Price-Knight and allied strains freely were powerful, and many of that school not only de- clared the mottle-faces best but clearly entitled to a record of their own. Those who had by the use largely of the Hewer and Jeffries and Yeomans bulls got a white-face standard fairly well established were positive that their sort was most desirable.

18 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

After much unprofitable wrangling a compromise was effected. It was agreed that the pedigrees should be arranged in four sections: mottle-face, white-face, grey and light greys, precedence to be given in the order named. Only bulls were regis- tered in the initial volume.

The book appeared in July, 1846, and carried the names of 551 animals. It contained colored draw- ings of four bulls illustrating the varieties rec- ognized: Tomkins’ Wellington (4), mottled face; Price’s Victory (33), grey; Jeffries’ Cotmore (376), white face; and Ricket’s Broxwood (485), light grey.

Eyton’s Editorial Troubles—Much interesting information concerning individual celebrities was incorporated, and but for Mr. Eyton’s patient ef- forts much of this would never have been handed down. The Herefordshire Agricultural Society in 1849 thanked the compiler for the benefit conferred and urged all to extend him support. Notwithstand- ing all this, however, it was six years before he was able to announce the second volume containing the record of 350 more bulls. In this volume he still complained that many breeders had failed to supply desired information, in view of which fact he an- nounced that it was not his intention to carry the work further unless breeders generally came for- ward and heartily co-operated. Whereupon the Herefordshire Agricultural Society passed a memo- rial pledging its members to support and to purchase copies of the work. This was coupled, however, with a request that subsequent volumes be published ‘‘in

EARLY ENGLISH IMPROVERS 719

as cheap a form as possible’’ and that ‘‘the prints be hereafter omitted.’’ Eyton, like many another pioneer before and since, disheartened by such doubtful backing declined to proceed with the work, and but for Mr. W. C. Powell of Hereford, who stepped in at this juncture and bought the copyright, publication would have been suspended for a time at least. Mr. Powell published the first part of the third volume in 1856, but died before the second part was ready for press.

Sold for a Song.—It does not seem to be specially to the credit of the English Hereford breeders of this period that on the 15th of July, 1857, the Here- fordshire Agricultural Society should have voted to pay the heirs of the deceased editor the munificent sum of £10 (less than. $50 American money) for the whole work as it then stood, and immediately there- after voted that if Mr. Thomas Duckham of Bay- sham Court should repay this amount to the society and agree to publish the book annually, he might have it and charge thereafter an entrance fee of one shilling for each animal recorded. As Powell’s solicitor testified that the book had already cost the” deceased over £30, no account apparently ever hav- ing been taken of poor Eyton’s weary wanderings and long months of preparation, the organization certainly drove a bargain ‘sharp enough to satisfy the thriftiest member.

Mr. Duckham’s Valuable Service.—The society not only thus recovered its £10 but it put the Here- ford Herd Book into eminently competent hands.

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Mr. Duckham, who afterwards became an influential member of the House of Commons and rendered dis- tinguished service to the farming interests of his country, brought intelligence and enterprise to the rehabilitation of the herd book, and soon placed it upon a substantial footing. He carried it from 1857 to 1878, at which date it was taken over by a herd book society of which Mr. J. H. Arkwright was the first President, the Earl of Coventry, Vice-President, and Mr. S. W. Urwick, Secretary.

Practical Farmers in Control_—For many years following the establishment of the herd book noth- ing of a reactionary character intervened to retard the steady progress of the Herefords toward their highest development as quick-feeding, early-matur- ing, thick-fleshed cattle of a robust type. These were quiet uneventful years of unconscious but neverthe- less efficient preparation along rational lines for the great days so near at hand, contrasting sharp- ly for the most part with the feverish activity and wild orgy of pedigree speculation which during the latter half of this same period attended the trade in Shorthorns. While the enthusiastic adherents of the great rival breed were working themselves up to the frenzy that culminated in that unparalleled international episode at New York Mills, where one cow of the Duchess family was bid off for $40,600 and 109 head of Bates Shorthorns averaged $3,504, Herefordshire was still pursuing the even tenor.of its way all untouched, as yet, by the blighting breath of any ‘‘boom.”’

GHAPTER III.

SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS AND THEIR WORK.

Having detailed in the preceding chapters the sow- ing of the original seed, we shall now note briefly how a succeeding generation cultivated in Herefordshire the field that was presently to yield such a golden harvest. It is a plain, unvarnished tale of steadfast devotion to an ideal, of faithful honest breeding along intensely practical lines, untrammeled by the bondage that is imposed by the following of fads and fancies. Only the more marked successes can be men- tioned. The task of doing full justice to the rank and file of England’s modern breeders of the Here- ford must be left to old-country scribes. Our work is mainly with the newer and larger field into which the breed has now entered in the Western Hemi- sphere. So, we touch in dealing with the middle and more’modern stages of the breed in its native land those points mainly that connect up directly with the American trade, the object being to give the stu- dent of Hereford breeding as it exists in the United States a general idea of the sources from whence our present-day herd book stock was principally derived.

Certain names are so frequently encountered in the examination of Hereford records that the fol-

81

82 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

lowing statements of fact seem essential to an in- telligent reading of American pedigrees. Wherever ‘‘white faces’’ are bred and catalogued, references to some of these historic names are constantly made, and while the limits of this work will not admit of particularizing as far as some may wish, we shall at least try and locate the ‘‘mountain peaks’’ appear- ing on the English Hereford map prior to the era of extensive American importations.

The student of Hereford records is early con- fronted by such names as Sir David, Sir Benjamin, Sir Thomas, Horace, Lord Wilton, Anxiety, and The Grove 3d; and coupled with the designations of these and other epoch-making sires will be found the names of such men as Rogers, Tudge, Rea, Lord Berwick, Price, Turner, Carwardine, Robinson; Hill, Arkwright, Roberts, Edwards, Taylor, and other distinguished breeders of the golden age of Here- ford development in English pastures. To a brief consideration of some of these animals and person- ages we now turn.

The Strange Story of Sir David.—We are apt to plume ourselves unduly over what has_ been accomplished by man in the upbuilding of the breeds. We credit most of our progress to the acumen of cer- tain distinguished individuals who have left an un- doubted impress upon the plastic material with which they have successfully wrought. We affect profound knowledge of some of Nature’s most sub- tle processes. There are many things we do know about the transmission of hereditary qualities, the

SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS 83

effects of in-breeding, out-crossing, environment, and all those other matters commonly supposed to enter largely into breeding problems. Now and then, how- ever, something quite outside our own little horizon makes its appearance to the utter confounding of some of our pet propositions. Listen to one of the strangest stories in bovine history.

There is nothing more firmly established in Here- ford annals than the fact that the bull Sir David (349) was not only the greatest of his day and gen- eration as a show bull, but as a sire as well. During his own long and sensational career in the flesh, he was the terror of all adversaries of all breeds at shows great and small, national and local; and af- ter his death he lived again in his sons and their sons, such as Sir Benjamin, Sir Thomas, Sir Roger and Lord Wilton, factors every one in bringing the breed to its highest perfection. But ‘‘tell it not in Gath; publish it not in the streets of Askelon;’’ this bull of Hereford bulls, one of the undoubted’ prodi- gies of the bovine ages, had no breeder at all. Not only that but he was the result of a match such as is now and ever has been set down as impossible. He came literally by Chance. A bull of that name (him- self of uncertain paternity) accidentally broke from his box and served an own daughter called Duchess 2d. This misfortune, as it was doubtless regarded at the time by the owner, occurred upon the farm of David Williams of Newton, Breconshire, in Wales, in 1844. From this union a bull calf eventuated in

84 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

February, 1845. Chance himself was not a product of a specially-ordered mating. Any one of several precocious bull calves running with some heifers might have been his sire. His mother, called Vic- toria, had been bred by Turner of The Noke, Leomin- ster, and was deep in the best John Hewer blood run- ning back to old Sovereign. This was rugged old stock, strong enough it seems to withstand even breeding from the very closest affinities. At any rate, this ‘‘double Chance’’ came into the world via Nature’s own route, and he soon began making his- tory.

At the Royal Society’s show at Newcastle in 1846 the ‘‘future great’? was introduced to the public, winning first in the bull calf class. He had been bought at the Newton sale for 100 guineas by Mr. I. N. Carpenter of Eardisland, Herefordshire, who dubbed him Sir David in honor of Mr. Williams, owner of the dam, but Edward Price of Court House had taken a great fancy to the bull and bought him for service at Pembridge. Here he developed into the sensation of the day, his wonderful scale, vigor, flesh and general character marking him as the most extraordinary bull the breed had yet produced. He was a winner at the Herefordshire shows of 1847 and 1848 and at the Norwich Royal of 1849 swept all be- fore him. Later in the season, at Ludlow in Septem- ber, he won the Challenge prize open to all breeds in the United Kingdom, and first prize for bull with four of his get. One of the latter, Pembridge (721),

SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS 85

had also been the first prize bull calf at Norwich. To this day old breeders in Herefordshire recall this show season as ‘‘Sir David’s year.’’? However, he had other years, many in fact and all full of hon- ors. At Ludlow in 1850 he again was crowned champion of all British bulls on exhibition.

Having such a good promise as Pembridge in sight, Edward Price after three years’ use of Sir David sold him to go out of the country. James Lumsden of Auchtry House, Aberdeenshire, Scot- land took him off to the North, to show the canny Scots that there were other great cattle in the world beside their own black ‘‘humlies’’ and the Sittyton, or Cruickshank, Shorthorns. But the wise men of those days in Hereford had enterprise enough to go bring him back to where his wonderful procreative powers might find full sweep for the best interest of the local breed. So he came home. Turner of The Noke, breeder of Chance’s dam, got him. It would be interesting to know all the facts that led to Sir David’s repeated transfers, but it is probable that they grew out of the general competition that evi- dently ensued as to his possession. He next ap- peared as owned by Mr. Higgins of Woolaston Grange, Chepstow, and finally landed in the fine old herd of Lord Berwick of Cronkhill, at which place he did not become useless until his fifteenth year when he was fed off to the butcher.

The Reas of Monaughty and Westonbury.— James Rea, a Radnorshire farmer, was another one

86 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of the pathfinders. He was in a district that was prolific of good Herefords, among his neighbors be- ing the senior Tudge, Ben Rogers, and Monkhouse of The Stow. Mr. Rea had commenced about 1816 with a bull of Knight’s breeding. Then he had Old Court (306), representing a mingling of Tomkins and Tully strains. Blood concentration was in evi- dence here as elsewhere, a son and a grandson of Old Court being used upon the herd. A famous stock-getter of his day, Regent (891), ‘‘with a dark, curly coat, broad forehand and top,’’ was probably the best of the early Monaughty stock bulls, siring many prize-winners. Then came Grenadier (961), succeeded by Chieftain (930) and his two sons Treas- urer (1105) and Pilot (1036), both noted breeders. From Turner Mr. Rea then got Wellington (1112), the sire of many great show beasts.

Thos. Rea, son of James, bred good Herefords for many years at Westonbury near Leominster in Here- fordshire. He bought from his neighbor Ben. Rag- ers, living but a few miles distant, Sir David’s son Sir Benjamin (1387). The bull was then a yearling, or possibly a two-year-old, and was subsequently transferred to Mr. Rea, Sr., of Monaughty. In these herds he did extraordinary service, taking and hold- ing for many years the center of the English Here- ford stage. To his cover Monaughty was indebted for the celebrated cow Queen of the Lilies, champion at the Manchester Royal of 1869 and dam of King of the Lilies (3892), sire of Helianthus (4641) and

SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS 87

other good ones. Thomas Rea bred among other im- pressive sires from Sir Benjamin, Sir Richard (1734) and Sir Oliver 2d (1733), champion at the Worcester Royal of 1863, where he was exhibited by Mr. Arkwright. This latter bull in turn was the sire of Sir Richard 2d 970a—‘‘Old Dick’’ of American Hereford history.

The Sir Benjamin Era—Sir Benjamin was clearly the successor of his sire Sir David as the pre- mier stock-getter of his time, and his progeny soon set still higher standards for the showring. It was at the Chester Royal of 1858 that Sir Benjamin was first flashed by Tom Rea upon the public. He was then but two years and four months old, and had to show in an aged class. He nevertheless stood second to Price’s five-year-old Goldfinder 2d in a class of nine. His get at Westonbury and Monaughty be- came the sensation of their day and at the Worces- ter Royal of 1863 they came to the front with a rush, taking four firsts and three second prizes.

Space will not admit of our tracing here in detail the sale and showyard triumphs of this blood; suffice it to say that a compilation of the results of the lead- ing shows of the period gave rise to the assertion that ‘‘Sir Benjamin was the sire of more winners than any other known Hereford bull.’’ Within a very few years his immediate descendants had won more than fifty Royal prizes; three of his sons, Sir Richard, Sir Oliver 2d and Sir Thomas, had won Royal firsts, and the massive Queen of the Lilies,

88 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

still called by some old Herefordshire breeders the best cow they ever saw, swept all opposition at the Royal and the Bath and West of England shows.

The Sir David and Sir Benjamin bulls had be- come the fashion of the time and indeed fairly in- troduced the modern Hereford. They were dis- tinguished for scale and prepotency, and the blood found its way into nearly every contemporary herd of importance. A good illustration of the vigor of the breed in those days is afforded by a case where one of Mr. Rea’s neighbors, Mr. J. B. Green of Marlow,* sent a very old cow of Jeffries blood, Gov- erness by name, and full twenty years of age, to be bred to Sir Benjamin. The result was a pair of twin bulls Zeal (2342) and Zealous (2349), the lat- ter resembling Sir Benjamin very much in size and general character. All Marlow cattle imported to America in later years were big ones.

The Worcester Royal and the Monaughty disper- sion sale of 1863 gave a wonderful impetus to what we may call the Middle Period of English Hereford history, sometimes called ‘‘the Sir Benjamin era.’’ Undoubtedly this sale had a great effect in stirring up the energy and the interest of the Hereford breeders. The Monaughty herd had been a favor-

*“Joe” Green, as he was commonly called, was a fine old sports- man, and had a somewhat novel method of selling his young bulls. For years he offered them at about 12 months old at a uniform price of 30 guineas. As there were usually about 20 of them, his first customers had a wide range of selection. This practice, by the way, had a counterpart in the west years ago in the famous old-time Shorthorn herd of the late Hon. John Wentworth of Chicago, who had a fixed price of $100 per head upon his bull calves no matter what their breeding, color or in- dividual character.

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90 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ite one for many years for leading breeders to come to when they wanted a first-class sire, and the grand lots of steers sent each October from Radnorshire to top the Hereford great October fair were almost all from the Monaughty sires, distinguished always for their scale and quality. The catalogue announc- ing this sale set forth that ‘‘every animal offered for sale is red with white face and mane.”’

Speaking of Sir David’s incestuous breeding, William Tudge, late of Leinthall, says:

““My experience, and I have known many in- stances, is that they (the in-bred animals) are ex- ceptionally strong in their constitutions, or more delicate than their fellows. Both these cases I have seen repeatedly, and if strong, as Sir David was, when mated with cows of quite another strain the produce has been much stronger than with other sires. This is well borne out by Sir David’s stock, particularly so in the two cows he served in ‘The Grove’ herd, his two sons there, Sir Benjamin (1387) and The Grove (1764), being exceptionally good sires and the one, Sir Benjamin, a marvelously good animal. In the case of The Grove the bull met with an accident when young, and was to a certain extent crippled so that he had not the same oppor- tunity as Sir Benjamin of showing what he could have done.

‘‘T have heard my father say, and he was con- sidered a very good judge, that when he saw Sir Da- vid at Ludlow he was lying down and he looked to him like a mountain of flesh. He always said he was the biggest bull he ever saw of any breed.’’

The English sale and showyard records for long years subsequent to the use of Sir David bear in-

Copyright photo by Bust{n LEINTHALL—Home of the late Wm. Tudge Jr.

* Copyright photo by Bustin BLACK HALL, KING'S PYON,

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contestable evidence of his supremacy as the most prepotent and the most valuable sire of his period, his greatest single legacy to the breed doubtless be- ing the remarkable bull Sir Benjamin, of which more anon.

Tudge of Adforton.—Imperishable renown at- taches to the name of William Tudge of Adforton, in the west of Herefordshire, as the breeder of the far-famed bull Lord Wilton (4740), whose sons, grandsons, daughters and granddaughters by the score have graced so many great herds on both sides the sea. Mr. Tudge was born in 1805 and com- menced his herd on a farm near Knighton in 1832 by buying heifers from Mr. Weyman of Stocktonbury, another one of the many old-time cattle growers who sought to impress the excellence of his stock upon the public by challenging ‘‘all England,’’ offering to show his bull Stockton (237) for £500, and again to show a bull with twenty cows. ‘‘But,’’ says Mr. Wil- liam Tudge, the younger (late of Leinthall), whom the author had the pleasure of visiting some years ago, ‘‘no one accepted the challenge.’’ As a matter of fact these propositions were not often taken seriously. Still they argued at least the confidence of the owner in the superiority of his own stock. Mr. Tudge was fortunate in one of his first stock bulls Turpin (300), bred by J. Morris but bought at 100 guineas from Eyton, founder of the herd book. The Turpin heifers were said to have been ‘‘very thick and deep, with capital broad backs and very curly glossy coats of a dark rich color.’’? These are said

Wa.ldge Sx of Adforton|

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to have formed the real basis of the herd. Later another good getter was found in Nelson (1021) bred by Thomas Longmore, the breeder of Lord Ber- wick’s celebrated bull Walford. Another success- ful sire was The Doctor (1083) from the splendid neighboring herd of James Rea. His heifers ‘‘made grand cows,’’ but with the exception of one rare show bull, Carbonel, the male progeny were not so good. Carbonel was a showyard rival of the great Sir Benjamin (1387).* The Grove (1764), a son of Sir David, was also on hire for one season from his breeder, B. Rogers, and left some choice bulls in- cluding Adforton (1839), sold to Mr. Edwards of Wintercott, a Royal winner in a great class at Wor- cester.

The farm of Adforton was taken in 1861 on the death of Mrs. Tudge’s brother, Mr. Longmore, and it was here that the herd acquired its greatest fame. Another of The Grove bulls, Pilot (2156), developed into a sire of prize-takers, such as the noted cow Lady Adfortont and the Royal prize bull Stanway

*Carbonel, like Sir Benjamin (1387), was passed over at Canter- bury, but at Hereford three months later they were first and sec- ond, and in two first-class bulls a greater contrast was rarely seen—Sir Benjamin with his wonderful scale, depth and weight of natural flesh, but not equal to his rival over the blades and chine, and general neatness, for Carbonel was a perfect model of a bull, so far as he went, but lacked the size of Sir Benjamin. The remark was often heard at the time, ‘“‘What a splendid ani- mal could be made out of the two,” an observation which was well verified in Lord Wilton (4740), for he possessed their blood twice over combined.

tA wonderfully good cow was this Lady Adforton. She stood second to the extraordinary Queen of the Lilies at two Royal shows, and was ie Pilot (2156), a son of The Grove (1764), Sir David's son, very big in her forehand and with _an exceptionally prominent brisket. And thereby hangs a tale. The morning aft- er the return from the Royal, the show cattle were turned out into a meadow just below the house at Adforton. During the breakfast hour there was an alarming scare. A small farmer

SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS 95

(2790). A daughter of the latter, Silver Star, swept all England for a time, and was sold for export to Australia.

The Adforton show string had wonderful success in 1869, and in 1874 the great pair of bull calves Regulator and Lord Wilton were sent into the lists. These two prodigies were got by Sir Roger (4133), son of Sir Thomas (2228), bred by B. Rogers. Regu- lator beat his stable companion at the Bath and West and also at the Royal, but nearer home, at Leomin- ster and Ludlow, Lord Wilton was preferred.*

Regulator was sold to go to New Zealand, and Lord Wilton lived to almost revolutionize the Hereford type in point of head and horn refinement.

This herd was sold in September, 1877, and lead- ing breeders gladly availed themselves of the oppor- tunity to possess themselves of the blood that had produced so many of the finest Herefords the world had yet seen. Still prices were not yet on a high

about 60 years of age came running up all out of breath telling Mr. Tudge, who responded to his call, “one of your best cows is swelled in front something enormous, and will be dead directly unless something can be done to save her.” All hands ran out into the meadow when it developed that it was only Lady Ad- forton’s big brisket that had started the trouble. Needless to say, Bridgewater, the small farmer, never forgot nor heard_the ae of that episode. Lady Adforton was the grandam of Lord on.

*Speaking of Lord Wilton and Regulator, Mr. William Tudge, Jr., says: “After Regulator’s departure to New Zealand, Lord Wilton had nothing else to fear, and took first at the Bath and West at Croydon, the R. A. S. E. at Taunton, and the H. A. S. at Hereford in 1875, and then went to Mr.. Lewis Lloyd’s at Monks Orchard, having been sold by telegram at the Croydon meeting. It is a singular thing that the only times Lord Wilton was ever beaten in his class (when fit to show) was by Regulator and Reg- ulus, both nearly related to Himself, being by Sir Roger and of the favorite Beauty blood, as was also Marmion (3242), the sire of his dam, Lady Claire.”

Regulator’s dam, Belladonna, produced twins in January, 1883, . neliee in January, 1884, and in 1885, at the age of 15 years, twin

eifers.

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plane and values were moderate. The Royal show cow Rosebud, by Sir Thomas, made 155 guineas to Mr. Arkwright of Hampton Court, who called her ‘‘perfection.’? Lord Coventry bought for 140 guineas the famous cow Giantess, which afterwards carried Royal honors and gave birth to the noted twins, Good Boy and Golden Treasure. Giantess was at one time called the best cow of any breed in England. The best bulls made up to 175 guineas, but the 109 head of all ages averaged only £37.

Benjamin Rogers.—Wales did a lot for Here- fordshire. About the year 1833 one Benjamin Rog- ers began breeding the Herefords on the farm of Doluggan in Radnorshire, adjoining Monaughty, the home of the elder Rea, subsequently removing to The Grove, Pembridge, which he made for- ever famous in the annals of the breed. He recog- nized first of all the rare merit of the blood of Hew- er’s old Sovereign, his first stock bull being Sov- ereign 2d (1739). He was followed by Charity (375) of Jeffries breeding, got by Byron (440), dam by Sovereign (404). Then followed a succes- sion of sires of Hewer, Jeffries, Tully, Yeld and other noted strains until in 1855 he sent his Pretty- maid 2d to Mr. Turner’s at The Noke to be bred to Sir David (349), the progeny being the celebrated - Sir Benjamin (1387); but unfortunately for’ his breeder this great bull was sold at an early age to Mr. Rea as already detailed. He had sired Boling- broke (1883), however, before going to Westonbury,

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a bull picked up by Mr. Turner of The Leen, that gave good promise of what was to follow. Mr. Rogers made haste to recover the blood, first by buying from Mr. Rea his famous show bull Sir Richard (1734), Royal winner at Leeds in 1861, a son of Sir Benjamin, and afterward acquiring Sir Thomas (2228), by Sir Benjamin, at the then long price of £409/10s. This bull was bought at the dispersion sale of Mr. Monkhouse of The Stow in 1866. He had been shown with his get with great success, was at that time six years old and proved a cheap bull at the price, leaving at The Grove ‘‘a collection of magnificent stock.’’

Sir Thomas Described.—Sir Thomas was un- doubtedly the best of all Sir Benjamin’s sons, and was described by that gifted writer on British cat- tle breeding, the late William Housman, as follows:

‘‘Sir Thomas has a noble broad true bull’s head, with the sort of horns, well set and strong, which usually accompany a robust constitution. His length is very great, although said to be not equal to that of his sire Sir Benjamin. Judging from the portrait of the latter (one in Mr. Rogers’ possession by Mr. Quintin of Hereford), we should say that if the sire surpassed the son in length, he gained it between the arm and the breast-end, for Sir Benjamin seems to have been enormous there, and we can scarcely imagine a longer middle than that of Sir Thomas without the accompaniment of a slack back, which Sir Thomas’ strong loin provides against in his ease. His hindquarters are wonderful for deep and level accumulation of flesh. Of a placid, gentle dis- position, he has just enough of the pride of bull-

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hood in him to make him arch his grand neck, slight- ly bend his head, look askance, and snort once or twice as a stranger approaches him. This sets off his form splendidly.’’

Mr. Rogers evidently had a genius for cattle breeding. He now sent one of his best Sir Thomas cows, Blossom, to be bulled by Horace (3877)—re- sult, The Grove 3d. Hereford history contains the names of few greater breeding bulls than ‘‘Old Grove,’’ as he was familiarly known in his declin- ing years. After fairly flooding the great show yards of England with his mellow, rich-fleshed prog- eny, he was bought by Mr. Culbertson for importa- tion to America, as will be detailed further on. His bulls out of Spartan dams were a wonderful lot.

Assurance, bred by T. J. Carwardine of Stockton- bury, was another good breeding bull bought and used at The Grove. He was the sire among other capital animals of that sturdy old bull Tregrehan (6232), that also came to America and in the hands of the late William 8. Vannatta acquired great repu- tation. ,

Mr. Rogers was not afraid to ‘“‘double up’’ a good thing, and in Charity 4th (7480), by The Grove 3d out of Daisy by Sir Thomas, he concentrated still further some of his favorite blood. He was unques- tionably one of the ablest cattle breeders of his time, and the breed on both sides of the Atlantic was the richer as a result of his long and successful labors.

The Prices of Court House.—So far as we know, Edward and his son John Price, of Court House,

Copyright photo by Bustin EDWARD PRICE OF COURT HOUSE.

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Pembridge, were not related to John of Ryall,’ the great disciple of Ben Tomkins.

Edward Price’s herd was anchored largely in Hewer, Yarmouth and Jeffries blood. He had the good judgment to acquire Sir David (349), and the famous bull, as already mentioned, made a grand impress. Another Royal prize bull used was Con- ingsby (718), and his get were also good. Then came Sir David’s son Pembridge (721), that was first. at the Royal in 1852. Magnet (823) of Mr. Yeld’s breeding was also used and shown with suc- cess. In fact, Edward Price was a constant exhibi- tor at the national shows for some years, and car- ried back to Court House trophies galore in testi- mony of the excellence of his cattle.

John Price earned his title to fame as the discov- erer and rescuer from the butcher of the bull Horace (3877), one of the latter-day breed-makers. Mr. Price had gone out to Australia for a time, but re- turning to the old home on the banks of the Arrow, he picked up as much of the old Court House blood as could be secured and began breeding. We quote from Macdonald and Sinclair as to his reason for selecting Horace as a sire:

‘‘He considered that breeders at home, while they had unquestionably improved the form and style of the Herefords, had done so somewhat at the expense of the thick mellow skin and beautiful hair which he had been taught to regard as essential features of the breed. The animal in which he believed he per- ceived the means of strengthening these important points was Horace (3877), calved in 1867, bred by

HORACE (3877), SIRE OF THH GROVE 8D.

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Mr. J. Davies, Preston Court. Mr. Price had studied the breeding of this bull, and had marked his char- acter. He found that through Shamrock 2d (2210), of his father’s breeding, Horace inherited a large share of the best Court House blood, Shamrock 2d’s sire being by Goldfinder 2d, his dam by Magnet 2d (989), a son of Magnet (823), and his grandam by Pembridge (721), a son of Sir David (349), a rare combination of prize strains. Shamrock 2d was the sire of Horace’s sire and dam. It was on this bull that Mr. Price staked his fortunes, and if his father had been successful in his choice of Sir David, cer- tainly the present proprietor of the herd can con- gratulate himself that he was equally fortunate when he saved Horace from the butcher’s block. The characteristics on account of which he was selected by Mr. Price have become strongly impressed upon his offspring, and his rare wealth of flesh and mag- nificent quality are carried through successive gen- erations.”’

Horace was sold in his ninth year for £500 to Mr. Frederick Platt of Barnby Manor, in whose posses- sion he died. In point of prepotency it is doubtful if there is record of a more impressive sire, his individ- uality being transmitted with extraordinary cer- tainty. He truly lived again in his greatest son The Grove 3d, already mentioned and to be referred to further in these pages, for if the published portraits of the sire are at all accurate the son was a true chip off the old block. The fame of Horace was still further enhanced by such other sons as Horatius (5390), Horace 2d (4655) and Horace 4th (6490). Speaking of the latter, a critic who saw him as a

COURT HOUSE—JOHN PRICE ON RIGHT, HARRY YELD ON LEFT.

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three-year-old the year he won first at the Royal at Reading for Mr. Platt in 1882 said:

‘‘Horace 4th, by Horace (3877), a sire remarkable for an extraordinary faculty or unvarying ability to impress upon his offspring his own characteristics, and to impart to his immediate progeny the power to further reproduce them, probably owed to the male parent the particular merits which brought him into the first place of honor at Reading. However good, however distinct in excellence the dam might be, the stock of Horace (so far-as the contributor of these notes has been able to observe and to learn) always bore the mark and developed the special style of that sire.’’

At the Smithfield show of 1883 a three-year-old son of Horace, flying the colors of Her Majesty the Queen, captured the championship. This steer the Queen had acquired of Mr. Platt for the sum of £100 and for the express purpose of winning the coveted purple.

Mr. Price meantime bought from Stephen Robin- son of Lynhales* the Tudge-bred Regulus (4076), half-brother to Lord Wilton and a bull of outstand- ing merit. He traced straight back by way of Sir Thomas and Sir Benjamin to Sir David. His get were usually distinguished for ‘‘grandly-sprung ribs and thick loins.’’ Regulus nicked well with the Horace blood at Court House, one of the fruits of that union being the handsome Hotspur (7028), the

*One of Robinson’s cows bred to old Horace produced Horatius (5390), @ bull that left good stock. Mr. Robinson used a lot of valuable sires, including Sir Thomas (2129), Luxury (3233), Regu- lus (4076), Horatius, Highland Laird (7015), Rose Stock (6651), ete, Much good stock of Lynhales origin came to the United States.

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Royal winner of 1885 at Preston. Hotspur’s dam was by Horace 2d, and his own brother Hero (5964) was imported to America for the account of Mr. William Constable of Beecher, Tl. He won great renown in the west as a show bull, gaining high honors on several occasions in competition with bulls of all breeds. Hotspur with his two famous daughters, Venus and Dowager, won a prize at the Bath and West of England Show as a family group against 20 competing entries of different breeds. The Wilton blood was still further introduced at Court House through the use of Monarch (7858), also a Royal winner, one of the best sons of the old bull. Monarch was the result of Mr. Carwardine’s mating the cow Bella with Lord Wilton. At ten months he was sold to Mr. Price at what was reputed to be the highest sum ever paid for a Hereford of that age, and eight months later Mr. Price refused £1,000 for him from exporters.

John Price was not only a great breeder but a successful feeder of Christmas bullocks as well. He was twice winner of the Elkington Challenge Cup at Birmingham Fat Stock Show, and at the time of the author’s visit to Court House in the summer of 1900, the old veteran had a string of good thick steers in training for exhibition purposes.

Mr. John Hill’s Comment on Horace.—It is diffi- cult to exaggerate the value of the impress made upon the English Herefords by Horace and his most famous son, and we feel warranted therefore in pre- senting the following commentary upon the old bull,

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prepared at the author’s request by the veteran English breeder, Mr. John Hill, whose fund of knowledge concerning the cattle of their day is un- excelled:

‘‘Horace was calved May 1, 1867; sire Frugal- ity (1997), dam Lady by Shamrock 2d (2210); grandam Young Lady by Cholstrey (1918); great- grandam Lady by Young Quicksilver. Shamrock 2d was purchased as a yearling by Henry Gibbons of Hampton Bishop as a bull possessing all the points he wanted in a sire for his own herd. He was bred by E. Price of The Court House (the father of John Price, so closely associated with Horace blood in later years), and had two such noted bulls in his pedigree as Pembridge (721) and his sire Sir David (349), both Royal winners, the latter being one of the greatest of all Hereford sires. It is said, and I believe on the best authority and by one who knew Shamrock 2d well, that he was not by any means a typical sire in appearance and ‘was unquestionably an in-and-in bred bull in general appearance,’ but that he had an ‘excellent underline and was good through the heart, full and deep in both fore and hind flank,’ and that ‘no bull perhaps had neater or truer hindquarters. His coat was very dark, but soft as silk and an abundance of it.’

‘“<There was a strong infusion of Pembridge blood in Shamrock 2d, which appears to have had great in- fluence on his grandson Horace and passed on so successfully to his produce. Pembridge ‘had droop- ing horns, slightly tipped with black, and very prom- inent eyes.’ I mention these particulars because it is interesting to follow the character of this bull’s descendants which inherited all the concentrated prepotent force of this well bred sire, and by which

SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS 107

the Horace strain of blood has been so largely rec- ognized. Before leaving the pedigree of Lady, the dam of Horace, it is worth reporting that through such bulls as Sir Andrew and The Knight, both of which were well known prize-winners in their day, the pedigree of this cow can be traced back to Wel- lington (4), whose picture is given in Vol. 1 of the herd book, was bred by Benjamin Tomkins in 1808 and ‘considered by him the best stock-getter he ever bred, his Silver Bull (41) excepted.’

“<The same authority from which I have above quoted describes Frugality as a ‘bull of fair size, short on the leg, thick and square in build.’ His name was given him by his breeder, Mr. Gibbons, ‘because of the calf having remarkable thickness of flesh and being such a rare thrifty fellow to keep himself.’ It will be noticed that the sire and dam of Horace were by the same sire, Shamrock 2d, and therefore half- brother and sister, so that the concentrated blood in that bull was all the more powerful in Frugality, and was undoubtedly passed on to Horace and his descendants.

‘‘John Price of The Court House saw in Horace the making of a great sire, and in his hands, al- though not a show bull himself, Horace made his reputation by his stock carrying all before them both at the fat stock and breeding shows. In 1876 Mr. Price’s exhibition of young animals by him: was so remarkable that Mr. Platt of Barnby Manor gave £500 for him. At the Bath and West of England show in that year no less than ten of his sons and daugh- ters won prizes and honorable mention. The old bull continued his successful career as a sire until he was fifteen years old, and at that advanced age the butcher who slaughtered him remarked that he ‘did not want to kill any better.’ ’’

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Monkhouse of The Stow.—No reference to those rare old worthies, who, by their keen delight in the improvement of their live stock did so-much to pro- mote the improvement of the local breed, would be complete without special mention of Monkhouse of The Stow. Originally from Cumberland, he early displayed a fondness for Leicester sheep and good cattle, and in-the face of a great physical affliction arose to prominence as one of the best breeders of his day in England. He made the acquaintance of John Price of Ryall, who doubtless influenced him in his original purchases, but unfortunately while yet in his prime he became totally blind. However, he did not permit this affliction to overcome his interest in stock-breeding. On the contrary, he went steadily ahead with the Herefords. He is supposed to have commenced about 1840. In later years he came to rely largely upon his neighbor, Mr. Rea of Monaughty, from whom he purchased several bulls in succession, including the afterwards famous Sir Thomas (2228). This bull was still in service in the herd at the time of the death of Mr. Monkhouse in 1866, when the cattle were dispersed. While Mr. Monkhouse could not use his eyes he evidently used his hands to good effect, for it is recorded that his cows were ‘‘exquisite in their touch, but wanted seale.’? As Sir Thomas was very large, the motive of the blind veteran in introducing that bull into the herd was undoubtedly to increase the weight of his cattle. Sir Thomas was purchased at this sale by Ben Rogers at around $2,000. Speaking of the

Copyright photo by Bustin J. MONKHOUSE, THE BLIND BRBEDER OF “THE STOW.”

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work of Mr. Monkhouse, the auctioneers in announc- ing the dispersion sale paid him this tribute:

‘‘His fame was not local, but national, finding its way into every corner of the British Isles, where intellect and knowledge have been directed to the great interest of agriculture, and recording itself by numerous brilliant successes on the pages of the proceedings of the Royal Agricultural Society, as well as those of the chief provincial cattle shows in Herefordshire and adjoining counties.’’

Lord Berwick.—The Cronkhill cattle have numer- ous descendants in the American Herd Book. His Lordship first took up breeding in 1844 with Knight greys procured from Salwey, but the trend towards the white face was setting in so heavily that he turned to Jeffries and Hewer blood. He had from John Hewer the bull Wonder (420), that sired one of the showyard cracks of his day, Albert Edward (859). <A little later he secured the famous Wal- ford (871), that became the gold medal bull of the Paris International Show of 1855 over all breeds, beside being a great winner in Great Britain and- celebrated widely as a sire of prize-winners.

The Herefords were fortunate then as now in the liberty allowed their breeders in the selection of sires. Merit was first and pedigree secondary. The great Walford was succeeded at Cronkhill by the even more renowned Sir David (349), as already noted.

The Cronkhill herd was dispersed in 1861. Its value to the breed is everywhere conceded, and its

Copyright photo by Bustin

THE STOW—HOMBE OF J. MONKHOUSE.

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excellence was attested by a list of 27 Royal prizes won with 33 entries.

In ‘‘Saddle and Sirloin,’’ Mr. H. H. Dixon writes:

‘“‘We could not pass Shrewsbury without seeing Lord Berwick’s Hereford herd. At any other time we should have delighted to linger in those rich pas- tures to which Walford, Attingham, Albert Edward, and Severn had lent so much renown, but the shadow of death was on the house, and the agonies of an illness such as few have borne were about to re- ceive their grand relief at last. * * * Farming was not his only delight when in health. He loved to rear the choicest fowls and drive the best Ameri- can trotters, and he made a rifle at his forge which - one of our first makers, in ignorance as to its origin, pronounced to be nearly faultless. He had suc- ceeded to an incumbered estate, and knowing how to ‘scorn delight, and live laborious days,’ he had the courage to be content with his little home at Cronkhill instead of his stately hall at Attingham, and accomplish the purpose of his life, to leave a clear inheritance for those who were to come after.’’

Taylor of Showle Court.—William Taylor was for many years ‘‘in the money’? at the national shows. He bred the bull Longhorns (4711), that scored such great success as a sire in the herd of Mr. Carwar- dine. The celebrated Anxiety (5188), that probably made a greater impression upon the breed in Amer- ica than any other one animal ever imported, was by Longhorns, and the cows left to his cover at Stock- tonbury proved remarkable mothers. Another great bull bred by Mr. Taylor was Tredegar (5077), that won £379 in prizes, including a championship over

SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS 113

all breeds at the Bath and West of England Show of 1875. He was called one of the best bulls the breed had produced, and sold privately at a reported price of 300 guineas. Both Tredegar and Long- horns were got by Mercury (3967), and still a third bull of note, Thoughtful (5063), was by the same sire. The Tredegar cow Lancashire Lass won premier honors at the Kilburn International Show of 1879 and at Smithfield the same year.

.A large portion of the herd at Showle was de- scended from two cows bought at the Hazel sale near Ledbury about 1822. Cows were also bought from Jeffries, Carpenter of Eardisland (near Pembridge), and other herds of good repute. Within a period of eight years, when training for show was being regu- larly followed up by Mr. Taylor, his fine cattle gained no less than 150 prizes, and specimens of his breed- ing have been imported freely into North and South America as well as into Australia.

Wintercott.—Thomas Edwards of Wintercott in- herited his father’s herd in 1840 when he was but 17 years of age, and although he died at 47 all Britain resounded at one time with the fame of his marvelously perfect show cow Leonora, thrice first at the Royal Shows in 1870, 1874 and 1875 at Hull,. Bedford and Taunton. She was champion at the Kil- burn International at London and champion at Smithfield and Birmingham Fat Stock Shows— drawing in all, £650 into the Wintercott coffers.

With the production of this great cow the breed

Copyright photo by Bustin

EDWARDS OF WINTERCOTT.

MRS.

Copyright photo by Bustin EDWARDS OF WINTERCOTT.

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may indeed be said to have burst into full flower. The cumulative result of a century of devotion to the evolution of a heavy flesh-carrying type was in her exemplified in startling fashion. The advocates of other breeds confessed now that the Hereford had indeed ‘‘arrived,’? and America, the Shorthorn stronghold, was beginning to take notice.

Among the first good stock-getters used at Winter- cott were Croft (937), Tudge’s Adforton (1839), a Royal winner, and Monkhouse’s Tom Boy (354), by Sir Thomas. Upon the death of Mr. Edwards the herd was carried on by Mrs. Edwards, assisted by Mr. Edwards’ nephew, Mr. Allen Edwards Hughes, who in 1881 came into full possession of the cattle. Under his management the renowned Grove 3d bull Rudolph was acquired from Mr. Turner. He was one of the celebrities of his day, and along with his noted sons Sergeant Major (9199) and Washington, bred by Mr. Hughes, was sold for shipment to Amer- ica. His career in the west will be referred to later on. One of the most noted breeding cows of her day was Plum 3d by Commander (4452), of the Winter- cott herd. She produced in succession the bulls President (6111), imported by Hon. M. H. Cochrane, Iroquois by Lord Wilton, sold to Mr. Arkwright, and Washington by Rudolph.

Roberts of Ivingtonbury.—Mr. Roberts attained place in the Hereford gallery of fame largely through the production of the bull Sir Thomas (2228), heretofore mentioned as one of the premier breeding bulls of the period first preceding the ad-

Copyright photo by Bustin IVINGTONBURY—ONCE THE HOME OF THOS. ROBERTS, THE BREEDER OF SIR THOMAS.

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vent of American buyers. His foundation stock was mainly of the Tomkins, Yarmouth, Weyman, Vaughan and Galliers blood. He was regarded as a breeder of exceptional judgment, and when the herd was elcsed out in 1865 a large number of good Sir Thomas cows and heifers were scattered among the best herds of Herefordshire, proving in most cases valuable acquisitions. Sir Thomas was the result of sending the cow Lady Ann to Tom Rea’s at Westonbury to be bred to Sir Benjamin. In Oc- tober, 1864, he was sold at auction at Hereford to ‘ Mr. Monkhouse for 105 guineas.

Mr. Roberts was succeeded in the occupancy of the farm of Ivingtonbury by Mr. Samuel Goode, who purchased thirteen females of the Roberts’ blood. He bred Herefords with success for some twenty years, concentrating the Sir Thomas blood by the use of the bulls Cremorne (5279) and Sir Henry (5597).

Carwardine.—It was at Stocktonbury, the farm of T. J. Carwardine, that Lord Wilton made his mark, and it was upon this same farm that another bull, destined to exert a powerful influence in Amer- ica, was dropped. We refer to Anxiety (5188), of which bull and his descendants there is much to be said further on.

The herd upon which Lord Wilton left such an in- delible impress was founded in 1863 by the purchase of some daughters of Sir Thomas from Mr. Monk- house. The following year some cows and heifers were added from the stock of Mr. Ashwood of Leint-

| Stephen Robinson | | AaronRogers |

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wardine, and in 1865 females were bought from Mr. Connop of Eardisland. Others were obtained from Messrs. Middleton of Shobden and Rawlings of Ten- bury.

Among the earliest sires used at Stocktonbury were Counsellor (1939) from Philip Turner; Heart of Oak, from Rea of Monaughty; De Cote (3060), from Edward of Wintercott; Sir Frank (2762), by Sir Richard, from Thomas Rea of Westonbury, and Longhorns (4711) from Taylor of Showle Court.

Anxiety (5188).—The cow Regina by Heart of Oak, bred to De Cote, produced a bull Rodney (4907) and a heifer Helena. The former was retained for use in the herd. The sister not only developed into a show cow but to the cover of Longhorns gave birth to Anxiety, that was used some in the herd be- fore his sale for export.to the United States, siring, before his purchase by Mr. Culbertson, the bulls Anxiety 3d (4466) and Anxiety 4th (9904), afterward so celebrated respectively in the American herds of Thomas Clark and Gudgell & Simpson. The far- reaching and beneficial effect of the use of the Anxiety bulls in the United States is possibly the most striking phase of Hereford cattle breeding as conducted in the middle west. They supplied the showyard with champion cattle by the score, and were a prime factor in the general refinement of the breed type in America, and particularly in the im- provement of the hindquarter worked out at a sub- sequent period in the west.

Copyright photo by Bustin DECOTE (3060)—From an English sketch.

Copyright photo by Bustin ANXIETY (5188)—From an English sketch.

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_ This influence of Anxiety (5188) upon the breed in the New World renders the following statement as to the bull’s ancestry and individual character- istics (in his earlier years), supplied at the author’s request by the veteran English breeder, Mr. John Hill, formerly of Felhampton Court, of interest:

‘¢ Anxiety was well named—the owner of his cele- brated dam, Helena, the late Mr. Carwardine, of Stocktonbury, had every reason to be full of anxiety before the birth of the calf which was to make his- tory. Helena was a grand show heifer herself, and from what I can remember of her, excessively fat. Being in this unfavorable state for breeding it was very naturally an anxious time for Mr. Carwardine that all should go well with so valuable an animal. Herefords, I believe, will breed and produce their calves safely better than the generality of other breeds of cattle, and this was no exception to the rule.

‘‘Helena calved all right, and the bull calf she pro- duced was named Anxiety. She had a successful showyard career, and Anxiety as a calf at foot went the round of the shows with his dam. There is a portrait of Helena in Vol. 10 of the English Herd Book, and also of Anxiety as a yearling, which gives a very fair idea of their appearance at that time. Anxiety was to the best of my recollection a par- ticularly level, good-fleshed, compact bull, with won- derful hindquarters, but somewhat weak in his neck and effeminate in his head and horns. His eye was bold and prominent. It did not strike me at the time that he was at all likely to be an impressive sire, and he was not the type of bull which we liked in England, because of his rather effeminate appear- ance, but he is just the sort of animal which finds fa-

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vor in the American showyards of today. Time slips quickly by, and one’s memory is not so good as it was, perhaps, and looking back for nearly thirty years one may have forgotten points of an individ- ual animal in which he had no special interest at the time. To make sure I wrote to Arthur Turner of The Leen, the well known Hereford breeder, and asked him for his recollections of the appearance of Anxiety. I will quote his words in confirmation of my own:

‘< “Tf my memory serves me, he was rather small, dark in color, and without the white mane, remark- ably level in hindquarters, but rather light in neck and forequarters. He had a full eye, but rather weak horns. There was nothing grand or masculine about his appearance. He was a sire of some first- rate stock in America, and I think he helped to estab- lish the type of Hereford the Americans have gone in for—what they term smooth cattle.’

‘‘Unfortunately, at that time Mr. Carwardine did not trouble to record his herd fully in the Hereford Herd Book, and as a matter of fact Helena is the only entry of his females in Vol. 10. If, however, we examine the pedigree on the male side, we find she was by De Cote (3060), bred by T. Edwards, of Wintercott, whose celebrated show herd was con- tinued after his death by his widow, who exhibited two of the most remarkable show heifers of that day, Leonora and Beatrice. Perhaps Leonora has had few superiors in the showring. This herd was in- herited by its present owner, A. E. Hughes of Win- tercott, whose name is second to none as an exhibi- tor of Hereford cattle. Anxiety’s sire was Long- horns (4711). This bull was bred by the late Will- iam Taylor of Showle Court, the father of the pres- ent owner of that old-established herd, and was by

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Mercury (3967), bred by the late Philip Turner, of The Leen, father of Arthur Turner, the present owner of that rightly world-renowned herd. Mer- cury was the sire of Mr. Taylor’s grand show bulls, Tredegar and Thoughtful.

“‘T always think Tredegar was quite one of the very grandest types of Hereford bulls I ever saw. He was masculine in character, long, low, and deep, and equally good at all points. Mercury, too, on his dam’s side came from that excellent family which was so highly thought of at the dispersion of Philip Turner’s cattle, when The Grove 3d was sold. His dam was Rhodia by Subaltern (2794), which was also the dam of the Royal winner Gladys, which I purchased as a two-year-old at that sale for 100 guineas for my own herd on the advice of Philip Turner. -His advice was greatly valued on that oc- casion by the writer, who purchased considerably at that sale and was the last bidder for The Grove 3d himself before he was knocked down to his fortunate American purchaser. From this it will be seen that Anxiety owes much of his concentrated good blood to the three great herds of Philip Turner of The Leen, William Taylor of Showle Court, and T. Ed- wards of Wintercott.’’

Lord Wilton (4740).—In the light of latter-day Hereford history Mr. Carwardine’s purchase of Lord Wilton, to follow Rodney and Anxiety, must be pointed out as one of the rarest bits of good fortune of which the story of the breed has record. Mr. Tudge had sold the bull to Mr. Lewis Lloyd of Monk’s Orchard, Surrey, who had successfully shown good bullocks got by him at the Smithfield Show. He was taken to the Kilburn Royal Show of 1879, but had

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not been held in tip-top form and received only a commendation at the hands of the judges. It was here that Mr. Carwardine secured him, giving a bull calf in exchange and receiving £5 besides. He was exhibited afterwards by his new owner at Lord Tredegar’s show at Newport in 1881, where he won first and championship against all breeds and ages and repeated at the same show the following year.

So great has been the influence of Lord Wilton up- on the fortunes of the breed on both sides the At- lantic that we feel warranted in reproducing the fol- lowing interesting commentary prepared for ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’ by Mr. John Hill, and published in the Holiday Issue of that journal for 1900. We quote:

‘“‘The first of his produce which created some no- tice were at the Royal at Derby in 1881, when two bulls and two heifers were winners in their classes; these were Sir Bartle Frere and Romeo, Henrietta and Venus.* The remarkable uniformity of all his produce, especially with regard to their heads and eyes and general character, drew much attention to his merits as a sire, and as his stock continued to be pushed forward at all the leading shows, Mr. Car- wardine’s herd and its constant successes became the chief subject of conversation in the Hereford world, both at home and abroad. The purchase of such a bull at a time when he was almost unknown is one of those fortunate occurrences which is almost be-

yond the power of any man to have foreseen. At the same time the greatest credit must be given to

*This famous quartette was bought by Thos. Clark for Messrs. Earl & Stuart of Lafayette, Ind., and formed part of their im- portation of 1882.

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Mr. Carwardine in the selection, and there is no doubt he had carefully studied the breeding of Lord Wilton and decided that it should blend successfully with the material he had at Stocktonbury.

‘‘Although the final brilliant termination to his work was no doubt to be attributed to his purchase of Lord Wilton, still the bulls which had been pre- viously used must not be lost sight of. Longhorns (4711), from Mr. Taylor’s herd at Showle Court, did excellent service, many of the cows by him making long prices at the sale. De Cote, from the famous Wintercott herd, was of the greatest value in the herd. The grand cow Verbena by him was a capital breeder, many of her produce going to America; her daughter Pauline went to Her Majesty the Queens herd at Windsor and her grandson Chippendale to New Zealand. Delight by Sir Frank, dam by De Cote, was bought at the sale by Mr. George Leigh for ex- portation to America for 150 guineas, and her bull calf by Mr. Turner of The Leen for 185 guineas. De Cote was eventually sold for £64/10s./0d. to the butcher.

‘‘Tt will be seen, then, that Mr. Carwardine’s herd even before Lord Wilton was used was of the high- est merit, and contained the blood of the most noted herds of the past. Before leaving the subject I must not forget to mention the grand show heifer Helena by De Cote, perhaps one of the best animals ever bred at Stocktonbury. She won all along the line— first at the Royal as a calf in 1874 and first as a cow in 1877. Then last, but not least, I must mention the noted bull Anxiety (5188), a son of Helena, by Longhorns, first as a calf at the Royal in 1877 and first as a bull in 1879 at Kilburn—the great Royal International Show—when he was sold to go to America and his place was taken by Lord Wilton.

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Perhaps no two transactions in live stock history of more importance were ever accomplished on the same day by one man, and few that had farther reaching influence on both sides the Atlantic.

‘‘The name of Lord Wilton was given by Carwar- dine to his herd at Stocktonbury before his death, and was on this account adopted by the auctioneers, Messrs. Edwards and Weaver, in their descriptive announcement and sale catalogues on the occasion of the dispersion of this remarkable herd on Thurs- day and Friday, the 28th and 29th days of August, 1884. I say remarkable herd because not only had it met with unprecedented success in the showyards by winning 144 prizes, including 25 Royal and 11 extra and champion prizes, during the ten years pre- ceding the sale, but from having realized such prices at the time of its dispersion that makes it stand out pre-eminently as one of the most sensational sales of live stock ever held. It may be perhaps conveni- ent to give a brief account of the prices realized, and then endeavor to point out a few of the causes which led up to this result and the influence it has had on the breeding of Herefords during the years which followed. The first day’s sale comprised 49 cows with their 39 calves and 8 three-year-old heifers with their 7 calves. These were sold for £8,010/9s./0d. The second day’s sale realized £14,977/4s./0d. The averages by ages follow:

£. 8s. d. 53 cows with 53 calves...........-..500 158 18 11 14 cows in calf .... cc ccc ec eee eee ne ees 108 19 6 BT COWS: wide 6504.5 Geen eaed st a4 Sea eee Les 94 14 9 BE CALVES -o55e js wis Sio:d geeks sulaane so 9 Seiad wie gs eau 67 5 2 18 two-year-old heifers ...........2...00- 163 18 4 20 yearling heifers ..........-eeeeeceecaes 117 7 #1 DE DUNS: es wine ooo: csspusi scsi oie so Sislein Wiese ie a gies 320 10 3

‘The average for 183 head of cattle was £125/9s./ 10d. The total amount of the sale was £22,987/13s./ Od. The highest priced female made 310 guineas,

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Copyright photo by Bustin

THH STOCKTONBURY SALE RING.

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the highest priced calf 300 guineas. Lord Wilton made 3,800 guineas.*

‘“‘There is no doubt that these high prices were the result of many circumstances, but the primary cause was unquestionably the fact of the marvelous impress which Lord Wilton had made upon the herd. First, then, let us look at causes which gave the power of this impress as derived from his breeding. This is his pedigree: Lord Wilton (4740), calved Aug. 30, 1873; bred by the late William Tudge of Adforton; sired by Sir Roger (4133), dam Lady Claire by Marmion (3242); second dam Lady Ad- forton by Pilot (2156) ; third dam Lady Ashford by Carbonel (1525) ; fourth dam Lady by Orleton (901) ; fifth dam Lady by Nelson (1021); sixth dam Lady by Turpin (300) ; seventh dam Lady by Tully Bull.

‘“‘The late Mr. William Tudge is acknowledged to have been one of the most successful and careful breeders of his time, and to have taken especial care in keeping a correct record of his herd. His work is still carried on by his sons, whose herds stand in the first rank of the present day. In turning up an old catalogue I am reminded that I was present at the dispersion sale of the late Mr. Tudge at Adfor- ton on Thursday, Sept. 20, 1877, when on account of increasing years and ill health he gave up the farm. At the foot of the page containing the auctioneer’s remarks in the catalogue there is a note stating that ‘Mr. Tudge’s herd has been awarded upward of two hundred prizes within the last few years.’ For over a half a century the late Mr. Tudge and the late Mr.

*Lord Wilton was bid off at this extraordinary price by a Mr. Vaughan, said to be representing an American buyer. He also bought quite a number of other cattle, but on failure to make good his bidding, the animals were retained at Stockton- bury and at a later date again exposed for sale, upon which occasion Lord Wilton was purchased for 1,000 guineas by Mr. Fenn of Stonebrook House and Wm, Tudge of Leinthall. The bull died in 1886.

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Rea of Monaughty vied with each other in friendly rivalry in the showyard, about equally dividing the honors. The two herds were chiefly derived from the same spring, and much of the celebrated Rea blood was blended into the Stocktonbury herd we are now considering. Sir Roger, the sire of Lord Wilton, was largely used at Adforton, and his stock at the sale were of very great merit and realized high prices. Bannerette was purchased by that ex- cellent judge and Hereford expert, Mr. Thos. Duck- ham, for eighty guineas. My note was: ‘A long good cow, grand outline as was ever put on four legs; first Ludlow and Hereford.’ Minuet by Sir Roger also made 80 guineas, my note being: ‘Beau- tiful cow, good and level all over, grand back and loin, capital thighs, good chine, good coat, and short legs. Received first Leominster and Hereford.’ I must mention two more cows by Sir Roger, as I think it especially interesting to show that particu- lar merit was to be seen in the general produce of Lord Wilton’s sire. Giantess, bought by the Earl of ‘Coventry for 140 guineas, was winner at the Royal and other shows and when shown eventually in 1883 at the Smithfield Fat Stock Show she weighed 20 ewt., 3 qrs., 2 lbs. My note was: ‘Best cow in Eng- land of any breed.’ This cow Giantess was in calf to Marechal Niel (4760) when Lord Coventry bought her, and the heifer calf she afterwards produced was the celebrated cow Golden Treasure, winner of so many Royal and other prizes, and which was first in the family class at the Royal meeting at York. Giantess herself took first prize in her class at the same show, and first as mentioned above at Smith- field, so my note was not perhaps very far wrong. Ladybird, by Sir Roger, I described as ‘a grand cow, mossy coat, rare wide hips, good loins; goes

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back to Lady Adforton and Lady Ashford, Mr. Tudge’s favorite strain.’ She made 65 guineas and her bull calf 46 guineas. Here we have a cow di- rectly akin in blood to Lord Wilton, and evidence that Mr. Tudge considered it his favorite strain. If further proof of the value of the Sir Roger blood is needed it may be mentioned that Rosebud was sold to Mr. Arkwright of Hampton Court at this sale for 155 guineas; she was by Sir Thomas (2228) and he was the sire of Sir Roger. Going back another gen- eration we find that Sir Thomas was by the great bull Sir Benjamin (1387). Sir Thomas won first at the Royal, and other prizes, while Sir Benjamin had for his sire one of the grandest bulls in Here- ford history, the wonderful Sir David (349), calved in 1845, and first at the Newcastle and Norwich meet- ings of the Royal. Is it, with such an ancestry, to be wondered that Lord Wilton had the power of transmitting all the good points he himself pos- sessed and had inherited to his offspring? We have only considered the value of his pedigree on the side of his sire. If we turn to the female line we shall still find the excellent combination of the same blood. His grandam, Lady Adforton, was by Pilot (2156), which was by The Grove (1764), a son of Sir David, the sire and grandsire of Sir Benjamin and Sir Thomas, the bulls which occur on the male side of the pedigree.’’

Lord Wilton ended his days at Mr. Fenn’s, who, together with Mr. Tudge, was his last owner. Com- menting upon the close of the old bull’s career John Hill said in ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’ of Oct. 4, 1905:

“IT saw Lord Wilton knocked down under the hammer at 3,800 guineas, and I was talking only

SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS 133

last week to an ex-master of the Ludlow foxhounds who said that he had given 10 shillings for him. It was a sporting ending for this mighty bull that he should be made use of, after death, to feed a crack pack of hounds.’’

The cow herd at Stocktonbury at the time of Lord Wilton’s purchase had become homogeneous in blood. Longhorns, De Cote, Rodney and Heart of Oak appeared among the top crosses in nearly every pedigree. A ‘‘nick’’ with one cow under such cir- cumstances was apt to mean a successful cross with all. Lord Wilton had, therefore, a capital founda- tion to work upon. When his seal at length was firmly set the most famous Hereford herd of mod- ern times had been created. Like Horace and The Grove 3d he transmitted his individual peculiarities with extraordinary certainty, his special ‘‘trade- mark’’ being neat, drooping, incurving horns, and a refinement which up to that time had not been char- acteristic of the typical Hereford.

Mr. William Housman, who for so many years wrote so entertainingly on Shorthorn and Hereford cattle for ‘‘Bell’s Messenger’’ of London once de- scribed Lord Wilton in the following language:

‘“‘Lord Wilton does not fill the eye as an abso- lutely big bull, but he has ample proportionate length, and like the Adforton bulls in general, a robust character, the bone not too heavy but made to bear a great weight of beef, and he furnishes heavily in the fore-flank and other flesh points. His head has plenty of width across the upper part, not

134 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

too much length in the lower part. The horns of fair medium size for a Hereford, and of inward and descending curve harmonize with the kindly, open countenance, and the hanging lap of surplus skin gives masculine depth from ear to throat.’’

The Turners of The Leen.—There is a weli kept farm not many miles from the quaint old town of Pembridge that has had much to do with Here- ford history. It is known as The Leen, the place where that remarkable sire of stock bulls, The Grove 3d, scored his greatest success.

Philip Turner began breeding Herefords in 1839. His father and grandfather before him had main- tained good herds, and with true British steadfast- ness of purpose Philip went on with the work start- ed by the grandfather at Aymestry Court as early as 1780, and he commenced with a dozen cows and heifers of his father’s own production. He had bulls from Childs, Yeld, Robinson, Roberts and oth- ers of his contemporaries, but also made free use of certain ‘‘toppers’’ dropped by his own cows. Among these were Provost (4067), Spartan (5009), Corsair (5271) and Pirate (6105). The ‘‘hit’’ of his career, however, followed the purchase of The Grove 3d (5051) from his breeder, Ben Rogers of The Grove.

The Grove 3d.—So intimately is the fame of Mr. Turner bound up in his great success with The Grove 3d, and so extensively was this blood intro- duced into America, that we feel warranted in in- troducing at this point a description of the old bull

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136 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

by Mr. Housman, and an account of The Leen sale written by John Hill:

‘“‘The Grove 3d was calved Nov. 5, 1874. He was described by Mr. Housman as being ‘neither a mean-looking bull, nor a bull of remarkably noble appearance, . . . . but he has a well-propor- tioned frame. The bull is a true male. The rise of the chine-line over the shoulder top into the crest of the neck is particularly masculine, and the head, not coarse nor heavy, is still a bull’s head. In his hind-quarters he has inherited from Sir Thomas the width immediately behind the hips and to mid-quar- ter, but does not end off quite so squarely as Sir Thomas did. Few bulls do. This is generally a heifer’s rather than a bull’s characteristic, yet Sir Thomas, who certainly could not be charged with want of masculine character, was as an old bull proportionately as wide and full and square and level as a model fat heifer.’ The Grove 3d had ‘ex- traordinary mellowness of skin and flesh of the best kind and quality for a stock sire; the kind that in- creases fast; his very touch tells that under moder- ate pressure of keep he would soon be thick-fat.’ This is from the pen of one of the finest judges and writers on this subject and no words of mine need be added to such a splendid description of this fa- mous animal, except to say how thoroughly true to life the picture has been drawn.

‘*T will now give a short account of The Leen sale at which the famous bull was sold on the dispersion of Philip Turner’s herd. Shortly before this sale the reputation of The Grove 3d had been increased by the important sale of one of his sons, Rudolph, which George Morgan, the well known leviathan ex- porter of the day, bought for the then large sum of

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138 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

700 guineas, the highest price which had been rea- lized for a Hereford bull up to that date. Seldom had greater interest been taken in a dispersion sale, and all Hereford men were anxious to get one or more of the grand old prizewinning strains of Mr. Turner’s breeding, and especially the last cross of The Grove 3d, ‘which had hit so wonderfully on the Spartan cows.’

‘‘About 1,200 people assembled round the ring- side when Thomas Rogers of the firm of Rogers & Hamar commenced to sell. Mr. Nott of Buckton Park gave 200 guineas for the bull calf from Duchess 5th by The Grove 3d. Rhodia 2d (whose twin-brother was sold for a large sum to Mr. Burleigh, United States of America), went to the Earl of Coventry for 160 guineas and her bull calf, also by The Grove 3d, was bought by George Forester for 265 guineas. Many of the lots exceeded 100 guineas each. The writer of these notes purchased five heifers by The Grove 3d for his own herd at the following prices: 66, 74, 80, 87 and 110 guineas each, the latter heifer being Gladys, one of the Rhodia family of the fa- mous Moreton tribe. The average price for the cows and calves was £68/10s. At this sale T. L. Miller bought several of the high-priced animals for his noted herd at Beecher, Ill. M. H: Cochrane, of Hillhurst, Canada, was also among the buyers from across the Atlantic. George Leigh and Mr. Culbert- son, both from the United States, were large pur- chasers.

“‘After the sale of the females and bull calves which were sucking their dams, of which a brief outline has been given, the great event of the day took place. Discussion had been lively as to what price the old bull, The Grove 3d, would make, and as to whether he would stop in England or cross

Copyright photo by Bustin OLD HEREFORD WORTHIES AT THE SALE OF PHILIP TURNER OF THE LEEN.

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the water. Several Americans had declared them- selves anxious to obtain him, and it was known also that as many breeders desired to retain his services at home. I shall give the account of the contest for him—in the words of a local newspaper published on Sept. 10—four days after the sale:

‘¢<The chief lot in the catalogue was The Grove 3d, and for the possession of this grand bull there was pretty keen competition. . . . The bidding commenced at 200 guineas, and loud cheers rent the air when Mr. Culbertson made a bid of 670 guineas; there was fresh cheering when this sum was in- creased to 700 guineas, and again when it went up to 710, this being 10 guineas beyond the highest re- corded price ever obtained. When this was aug- mented to 800 guineas the enthusiasm became very great, and cries of ‘‘Go it, England !’’ were raised as that sum was bid by Mr. Dearman Edwards and Mr. Hill of Felhampton Court (the writer of these notes). When he was finally knocked down to Mr. Culbertson for exportation there was yet another burst of cheering, although many present expressed their regret that so fine an animal should be allowed to leave the country.’

‘“‘The sum realized for this celebrated bull was 810 guineas, and after retaining him in his own herd for some time Mr. Culbertson resold him to an American herd for £1,200. There is no doubt of The Grove 3d’s being one of the greatest sires of the last century and that the Horace blood was still more largely distributed into nearly all the leading herds of Herefords through him.’’

Philip Turner was succeeded, in turn, by his son Arthur P. Turner, who for a long period of years sustained admirably the name and fame of The

SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS 14]

Leen as a nursery of ‘‘classy’’ Herefords, and came out to America, on invitation of the manage- ment of the Chicago Show in 1906, to act as judge of grade and crossbred bullocks and award the fat cattle championship, his herd being finally dispersed a few years since.

Is it any wonder that British breeders succeed so well in building and maintaining types of high-bred domestic animals, when all the secrets of the art are handed down, as in the case of the Turners, Tudges, and their contemporaries from one generation to an- other for indeterminate periods?

Felhampton Court.—Few of the Herefordshire breeders did more to preserve and improve upon the sound old foundation stocks than Mr. John Hill of Felhampton Court, undoubtedly one of the best informed of all those who have carried on the work of perpetuating true Hereford types. ‘‘ White faces’’ have been bred at Felhampton Court considerably more than a century, the foundation of the Hill herd being laid in the Urwick blood. At an early date the big, heavy-fleshed type attained by Mr. Green of Marlow was drawn upon. Mr. Hill had a special admiration, however, for the old Lord Berwick blood, and bought largely of the best Cronkhill strains. A valuable selection from these was made by Mr. Hill at the Longner Hall sale of 1881 at which he purchased not only a number of cows and heifers, but the celebrated Merry Monarch (5466). This bull was undoubtedly one of the best of his day in England, and was used successfully at Felhamp- .

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ton Court for some years. He was thus described by Mr. Housman: ;

‘“‘Merry Monarch is really a noble specimen of the high-bred Hereford. His broad forehead, full eyes, flat-rooted horns, with their wide and down- ward bend, give him great character, even when only his head is seen, but his head is a faithful in- dex of the mass that follows it. . . . The front is immensely deep and grand to look at, the neck is full of masculine strength, without excess or coarse- ness, the breast large and bulging, yet not throwing any other part into insignificance. The bull, in no forced condition—only fair working order—has beef everywhere, very heavily packed behind the shoulder (where most bulls are deficient), ample, for a lean bull, over the crops, thickly covering his strong loin and level hindquarters, and filling every nook and corner of the frame. The depth at the flank, and armful of heavy flank (it is much more than a handful, and hangs out by its weight), bal- ance the depth of forequarters, and the ribs fore and aft, while they spring out boldly and at once, and allow abundance of room for the vital organs, are not in too great a hurry to curve in again, but extend low enough togive great depth of side.”’

Mr. Hill did not make a practice of feeding cat- tle for show, so that his name does not appear fre- quently in that connection, but it is conceded that few men in England have done more to sustain the best traditions of the breed. Cattle of Mr. Hill’s breeding have been imported in considerable num- bers into the United States and Canada, and the herd has also been extensively drawn upon by dis- criminating buyers for South America.

J. H. Arkwright.—The name of Mr. Arkwright of

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Hampton Court occurs so frequently in these pages that it seems scarcely necessary to make special mention of his successful operations in this con- nection. The herd was one of the oldest in Here- fordshire, having been founded in 1819 by John Arkwright. Among the best sires used were Sir Hungerford and Sir Oliver 2d (1733), a son of Sir Benjamin. Another of the noted stock bulls in this herd was Ivington Boy (4662) by Mr. Tudge’s Or- leans (2161) out of Ivington Lass. The Lord Wil- ton bull Iroquois (7039) of Allen Hughes’ breeding was also in service, and was out of the same cow as the bull Washington, shown with such success in the United States many years ago by Mr. Yeomans. Mr. Arkwright’s name is closely connected with the successful introduction of Herefords into our mid- dle western states through the medium of Sir Rich- ard 2d (4984).

The Leinthall Herd.—We have already referred to the remarkable success achieved by Wm. Tudge of Adforton in the production of high-class Here- fords, including Lord Wilton. For a great many years, as will appear from our notes on the shows further on, the Adforton ‘‘white faces’’ were im- portant factors in the Royal competitions. We have also referred in the preceding pages to Wm. Tudge, Jr., who actively assisted his father in the manage- ment of the home herd before engaging in Hereford breeding on his own account. We have here an- other instance of inherited ability in the successful handling of high-class cattle.

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William had been something of a factor in his father’s showyard successes before beginning breeding on his own account. At the Manchester Royal of 1869 he took out five Adforton animals, including the great heifer Silver Star, bringing home four first prizes and one second, whereupon Mr. Philip Turner of The Leen wrote the young man a letter complimenting him upon having ‘“‘achieved an unparalleled success.’’ The prize- winners were paraded upon that occasion before the Prince and Princess of Wales, the latter now Queen Alexandra. The Princess seemed so pleased with Silver Star that she asked the proud young man to halt while she ‘‘patted’’ and admired the beautiful heifer. This little incident so pleased the veteran breeder of Lord Wilton, that when his son came out of the ring he said, ‘‘It was your doing that Silver Star was put in the show, for as you know I had chosen another heifer. On _ this account I will make you a present of her dam, in order that you may breed another like her.’? In such fashion many of the successful English breed- ers interested and encouraged their sons to follow in their own footsteps.

Mr. Tudge, the younger, began breeding on his own account at Coston Hall in 1869, subsequently re- moving to and achieving his great success at Lein- thall. He commenced with cows of Adforton origin, and at his father’s sale of September, 1877, bought sixteen good cows and heifers, including Rosc- leaf, a daughter of the Royal winner Rosebud,

SOME ENGLISH BREED-BUILDERS 145

and own sister to Marshall Neil (4761). On this same occasion he purchased four of the best bull calves, retaining one of these, Napoleon (5476), for service in his own herd. In 1879 at Ludlow the bull won first prize, and was regarded by his owner as a wonderful promise for a splendid sire, but unfor- tunately lost his life through an accident—the swal- lowing of a piece of wire hidden in his oilcake.

We have before us as we write a practically com- plete record of the prizes won at English shows by the Adforton and Leinthall cattle, but the record is so extended that it is impracticable for us to under- take to present it in this connection. However, many of the more important prizes won by them will appear in the review of the Royal showyard decisions constituting the subject of ensuing chap- ters. Suffice it to say that Wm. Tudge, Jr. sus- tained admirably the reputation of his father’s herd, producing many first prize and champion win- ners, including the celebrated bull Ancient Briton, imported to the United States and champion at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. The fine bull Rob Roy, winner of five consecutive English championships, was also a Leinthall product.

In connection with Mr. Fenn of Stone Brook House, Mr. Tudge bought Lord Wilton at the sup- plementary Stocktonbury sale made necessary by Mr. Vaughan’s failing to take the cattle he had bid off at the great Carwardine dispersion of 1884. One thousand guineas were paid for the famous old sire. Mr. Tudge’s operations, however, cover for the

146 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

most part a later period in English Hereford his- tory than we purpose discussing in this volume, our object being to bring the old-country phase of the business down only to the point where the big American story fairly opens. Latter-day English history we are compelled to leave to others.

At the time the writer saw this fine old herd some years ago Gold Box, a bull of uncommon substance, compactness, flesh and quality, was the chief sire in service. The cattle have since been dispersed, and in his retirement in Hertfordshire Mr. Tudge with extraordinary patience and courtesy answered many questions, and supplied much original infor- mation for incorporation into these pages. His death occurred at Fair Green, Sawbridgeworth, in June, 1914. Another member of this family, Mr. John Tudge of Duxmoor, has also made a name for himself in English Hereford cattle-breeding circles through the production of good cattle of the old blood in Shropshire.

GHAPTER IV. BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE.

English breeders as a rule are good sportsmen. They love the excitement of the showyard and be- lieve in submitting rival claims to the issue of open competition before a capable committee of experi- enced judges. Many and varied have been the changes in their procedure in the development of their different breeds as a result of this old-estab- lished trial by jury. Apropos of this proposition an experienced Herefordshire breeder and exhib- itor, in a recent letter to the author says:

‘“‘There is nothing like an agricultural show for proving up relative quality. I am a great believer in them, for I think there is no trial like a public trial, whether in the showyard or on the race course. Many a man thinks he has a wonderfully good ani- mal until he brings him out in public. He knows what he is really like after he meets competitors. He usually finds his level or very near it, and the owner generally feels better satisfied after try- ing it.

“‘T remember once a gentleman who lived seven or eight miles off me, asking if I would come and see a young bull that he thought was a remarkably good one. He desired to know if I would advise sending him to the Ludlow Show a few miles off.

“<T said, ‘Certainly, send him.’ He was an indiffer- ent animal, but I could see that his owner thought

him a wonderfully good one, so he sent him. It 7

148 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

was a fairly large class, and the bull was not in the first seven noticed by the judges. The owner came to me and said, ‘You made a mistake in advising me to send the young bull.’ I told him that I had made no mistake, that I could see he had no chance of winning, but that I could also see that he thought his calf a very good one, and having one in the class myself (which took second prize) I felt sure he would think, had-he not sent him, that he would ‘have been near winning. He came to me an hour or two afterwards saying, ‘You have given me the best lesson I ever had in my life, for I did think he would about win until I saw him with the others.’

“That is one instance of the good agricultural shows will do, for competition does wonders in find- ing the very good and the indifferent ones, and in the case of male animals this is oftentimes a very great consideration.’’

Easily first in point of influence upon public sen-

timent in England has been from its first establish- ment the Royal Agricultural Society’s annual ex- hibition. It is held in different parts of the country from year to year in order that all localities may in turn profit by the lessons to be learned at this admirably managed show.* In recent years the

*British breeders have probably a keener appreciation of the educational value of shows generally than exists in the United States. Even their local events are most highly regarded, as is instanced by the following incident narrated to the author by Mr. Tudge, Jr., late of Leinthall:

“It was at a Ludlow show that Rob Roy made his first ap- pearance in a showyard. It was that meeting, I believe, that Made him a double Royal champion. I had been trying to sell him, only asking 60 guineas, and could not get it, so I decided to send him to Ludlow show. When he came against others he was very much admired and won first prize. I could then see, and others could also, what a good bull he was. One old Here- ford breeder, Tom Nott, of Beechton Park, who did not often praise my cattle, said, ‘You don’t know what a good bull you have. Keep him and you'll win first at the Royal.’ And he did; so that show at Ludlow made him.”

BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE 149

Royal shows have been so extensively reported that there is little difficulty in gaining access to the rec- ords of these and similar events in the mother coun- try, but it is believed that the presentation of a few notes dealing briefly with the great contests of the period immediately antedating the era of extensive importations to America will be of permanent value and interest as shedding additional light upon the English progenitors of the American Herefords.

At Oxford and Cambridge—Suggestive of the high educational value placed upon the Royal show by the breeders of Great Britain is the fact that the enterprise which was to prove such a fruitful source of profit and pleasure to the nobility and tenantry of the United Kingdom was launched at those great centers of learning, the famous old uni- versity towns of Oxford and Cambridge.

We have already made reference to the fact that Mr. Jeffries’ celebrated bull Cotmore (376) was the Hereford champion of 1839 at the initial show at Oxford. He was a bull that weighed according to English estimates above 3,500 pounds. In the same pastures at The Grove in after years there grazed such different models as Sir Thomas and The Grove 3d. The first-prize cow at the first Royal was called Spot, and was bred by Turner of The Noke, afterwards owner of Sir David. She was by a son of Hewer’s Sovereign.

At the second meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society at Cambridge in 1840, the celebrated old- time Hereford breeder, T. C. Yeld of The Broome,

150 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

claimed the honor of having produced the winner in Napoleon (1334). The Yelds, like the Jeffries, had for some years bred many cattle and possessed some of the best blood in the country, well main- taining the credit of the breed. Mr. Yeld was a great believer in character and quality, and his sale in 1852 was a memorable one to all Hereford pedi- gree men. The Duke of Bedford, who was a great admirer of the Herefords, was the exhibitor of Na- poleon when he won this first prize at Cambridge. The winning cow of that year, Fatrumps, was bred and exhibited by another staunch supporter of the breed, Sir Hungerford Hoskyns, Bart. She, like Cotmore, had Sovereign (404) for a sire, and her dam was a Tully cow by Hewer’s Waxy 2d (403).

Bristol, Derby and Southampton.—<At the Bris- tol Royal of 1842 Mr. John Yeomans appears as the breeder and exhibitor of the winner. Royal (331), a son of Cotmore (376), the Oxford first- prize winner. Royal’s dam, Countess, bred by Turner of The Noke, was also exhibited by Mr. Yeo- mans and won first prize at this same Bristol meet- ing.

At the next show, that of Derby in 1843, Mr. Thomas Jeffries of The Grove had the first prizes with a bull and cow both of his own breeding. The bull, Confidence, had been the winner of the first prize and championship that year at Gloucester, and he again won it there the year following, to- gether with a 50-guinea cup as champion bull. At the Hereford show he won as best two-year-old,

Copyright photo by Bustin

COTMORE (376)—REPUTED TO HAVE WHIGHED OVER 3,500 LBS.

152 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

three-year-old and aged bull, and was sold at The Grove sale to Mr. W. Smith of Buchton Park, a neighbor of Thomas Longmore. He was a son of Jeffries’ Hope (439), a half brother to Cotmore. The winning cow, Lady Grove, was by Charity (375); her dam was by Chance (348), the sire of Sir David.

The next meeting, that of 1844, was held at South- ampton. The winner, Derby (209), was bred and exhibited by another old Hereford breeder, W. Perry of Monkland. The sire was Lion (335). The dam was Foxley, by Paunceford (589), the gran- dam, the Foxley Cow, by Phoenix, bred by the Misses Tomkins; the two sold for 850 guineas. The cow class at this show was headed by Woodlass, shown at eight years old. She was bred by John Price of Poole House, Worcestershire, and was sired by Young Woodman, a son of the famous cow Toby Pigeon, that at nineteen years old had dropped nineteen calves. She was out of a cow by Triumph 8th, a grandson of Toby Pigeon.

Shrewsbury and Newcastle—The Royal show of 1845 was held at Shrewsbury, in a Hereford breeding district and not very far from the Here- ford country proper, so that there was a good muster of the breed. Mr. Thomas Sherriff of Coxall, whose farm lay just on the lower boundary of Shropshire, won the first prize with Emperor (221), bred and exhibited by himself. This was a large class, thir- teen bulls being shown. Emperor was a big bull well marked and of good color. Mr. Sherriff kept

BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE 153

him mainly for service in his own herd, but Lord Berwick used him also. A prominent English breed- er speaking of this bull says:

‘“‘T can remember seeing him and Confidence, the Derby winner of 1843, when staying as a lad with Thomas Longmore, the breeder of Walford (871). It was scarcely a mile from Mr. Smith’s place to Walford village, and not much farther from Wal- ford to Coxall. Confidence I can remember as of a proper Hereford color, rather deep red with curly coat, and prominent eyes; but was a little inclined to be vicious. He was a stylish looking bull, and was used afterwards in several of the best herds. Emperor was a quiet good-tempered bull.’’

The winning cow at Shrewsbury among eighteen competitors was exhibited and bred by Mr. I. N. Carpenter of Eardisland. She was Victoria, three years and eight months old, a daughter of Mr. Jeffries’ Hope (439), the sire of Confidence. She had won first prize as a heifer at Southampton the year before, and was now sold to Lord Berwick. Victoria is entered in Volume 4, page 202, of the Hereford Herd Book as having eight calves, one of them a Royal winner, Albert Edward (859). Vic- toria had previously won various prizes at the Here- fordshire meeting, and also at Tredegar.

The year following the Royal show was at New- castle-upon-Tyne. The Duke (493), winner of the second prize at Shrewsbury, here gained the first. His sire, Speculation, was a very successful stock bull in the Shrewsbury district, his get including winning steers and oxen ‘at the principal fat stock

154 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

shows. The winner in the bull calf class was the afterwards renowned Sir David (349). In the cow class Mr. C. Walker of Sutton Tenbury won first prize with Newcastle Beauty, bred by himself, and a daughter of Baronet (465).

Northampton, York and Norwich.—The Royal of 1847 was held at Northampton, where Symmetry (201), a mottle-face bred and exhibited by Samuel Aston, Lynch Court, Pembridge, won first prize among the aged bulls. Mr. George Pitt with North- ampton (600) won first in the yearling bull class, having already taken first prize at Hereford Spring Show of that year.

At York in 1848 Mr. I. N. Carpenter won first prize with the bull Coningsby (718), bred by him- self, and a son of Quicksilver (353), the winner in the yearling bull class at Southampton. Coningsby had been second the year before at Northampton. He had also won first prize and cup at Lord Trede- gar’s show, and first at Hereford Spring Show. The yearling bull prize upon this occasion was won by Mr. Monkhouse with Guy Fawkes (581) in a fairly large class.

The year following, 1849, when the show was held at Norwich, is generally called amongst old breed- ers:‘‘Sir David’s year.’’? This far-famed bull had won first as a calf at Newcastle in 1846. He had then been bought by Mr. Carpenter, who had a year or so later sold him to Price of Pembridge, as al- ready set forth. Having been in service in the Court House herd he now made his appearance as

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WALFORD (871), INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION AT THE PARIS EXPOSI- TION OF 1855—Irrom an old print.

Copyright photo by Bustin CONINGSBY (718). FIRST AT THE YORK ROYAL OF 1848

156 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

aged bull at Norwich, and an extraordinary good one he was pronounced to be.

Exeter, Windsor and Walford.—In 1850 at Exe- ter Mr. John Monkhouse won first prize in aged bulls with Guy Fawkes (581), bred by himself, and the winner in the yearling class at York. He was a son of Thomas’ Severn, the first prize in the bull calf class at Shrewsbury among eight exhibits. In the cow class Mr. I. N. Carpenter won first with Lucy, sire Viscount (816), bred by Mr. Philip Turner of The Leen, and with a pedigree going back to the Aymestry Court herd. ;

At Windsor in 1851 the great bull Walford (871) made his first appearance at a Royal show, gaining first prize. He was a remarkably big level bull, by many considered the best they had ever seen. His first visit to a showyard was at Ludlow in 1850, with four of his offspring, where he won first prize. He was then the property of Richard Roberts of Stanage, who had bought him of his breeder, Thomas Longmore of Walford, when he was about a year old. It was at this Ludlow show that Lord Berwick saw him, and going the next day to Stan- age he bought him for £100. Walford did great ~ service for His Lordship at Cronkhill, being the sire and grandsire of many Royal and other winners. .

The Windsor Royal was the first time Lord Ber- wick exhibited Walford in England. At the Paris In- ternational Exposition of 1855 he won the gold med- al as the best bull of any breed, his son Napoleon 3d (1019) being awarded a medal for superior merit at

BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE 157

the same exhibition. Walford was a bull of good style and character and beautifully marked. He never met Sir David in competition in the showring, al- though both were in the yard at Ludlow at the same time, but in different classes. When Lord Berwick decided to buy Walford he afterwards said it was impossible, in his opinion, to say which of these two was the better bull. Windsor was a very successful meeting for His Lordship; he won the first prize with his cow Duchess of Norfolk, as well as first with Walford, and first and second with his two three-year-old in-calf heifers. This, with second prize in the yearling heifer class, was a fine record for the Cronkhill herd, and it was achieved among large classes.

Lewes, Gloucester and Lincoln.—The 1852 Royal was held at Lewes, when E. Price’s Pem- bridge (721), by Sir David, was awarded first prize in a large class of aged bulls. He had previously gained first at Norwich Royal and first at Ludlow as one of four offspring with his sire, and at Here- ford the same year he was successfully shown with his sire and dam, the latter a daughter of John Hewer’s Hope (411), and grandam by Hewer’s Sovereign (404).

It seems probable that it was because of the pos- session of these two crosses of Hewer bulls that Pembridge was kept and used by Mr. Price in his sire’s place. This view seems to be confirmed by other facts—Sir David 2d (1065) being a ease in point. John Hewer had quite a lot of big well bred

158 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

bulls that he hired out at different times to a great many Hereford breeders. They combined great scale with hardy constitutions, and were all bred by himself. He always said that they descended from four or five cows of their own ‘‘breed,’’ whose pedigrees went back to the early part of the last century.

The prize cow at Lewes was Lord Berwick’s Grey Daisy, a daughter of Tom Thumb, a grey bull, the cow and her sire’s ‘‘breed’’ going back to the herd of Knight of Downton Castle and the Salwey grey blood, which, however, in a few years Lord Berwick, finding public opinion against it, weeded out. He was very fortunate at Lewes, as he had been at Windsor; besides winning with his cow he had a prize for his two-year bull and first and second prizes for his two in-calf three-year-old heifers. Mr. Philip Turner was second to Grey Daisy in the cow class, so that the grey must have been a very good one, or else the judges at that time were not particular as to color.

At Gloucester in 1853 Lord Berwick won first with aged bull, this time with Albert Edward (859), a son of Wonder (420), dam Victoria, the first prize Royal winner at Southampton and Shrewsbury. Lord Berwick had bought her from Carpenter at the Shrewsbury meeting, and well she had repaid him, for besides dropping this Royal winner she added six more live calves to the Cronkhill herd. Carwardine of Stocktonbury won second here with Malcolm, bred by Turner of The Noke. In the year-

EDWARD PRICE’S MAGNET (823), WINNER AT LINCOLN ROYAL OF 1854— From an old lithograph.

Copyright photo by Bustin RED ROSE, BRED BY JOHN HEWER.

160 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ling bull class Price of Pembridge won first with Magnet (823), bred by T. Yeld, and Lord Berwick was second with Tenant. In cows, Monkhouse was first with Winnifred, by Monaughty (220), bred by James Rea. She produced four calves for Rea, one, Madoc (899), a noted winner at the Ludlow, Here- ford, and local shows. Lord Berwick won first and Philip Turner second with in-calf heifers.

At Lincoln in 1854 Edward Price had first with Magnet, the first prize winner at Gloucester the pre- vious season. His sire was The Knight (185); his dam was by Pitt’s Big Ben. Malcolm, also by The Knight, won second for the second time. In year- ling bulls James Rea was first with Guardian, by Attraction. In bull calves Price had first on Mag- net 2d.

Magnet (823) is said to have been a bull of splen- did style and character, with a wide white mane and very yellow horns, a remarkably nice coat and skin, and capital quality—not a big bull, just of fair me- dium size. His son Magnet 2d was one of four offspring with their sire, all so much alike, with nice soft coats and skins, that they won first at Lud- low and Hereford. Speaking of this bull, Magnet 2d, Tudge of Leinthall says:

“‘T well remember at the Leominster show stand- ing with my father and Mr. Price, whilst the bull calves were being judged. There was some specu- lation as to which would win, my father’s calf Ash- ford (1499), the Ludlow winner, or Mr.: Price’s Magnet 2d, the Royal winner. It was private judg- ing and boarded in, and I being a fairly active lad

BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE 161

they held me up to watch for the verdict. When I said Ashford had won, Mr. Price said, ‘I cannot believe it, it cannot be right,’ for he was a bad loser. But after thinking a minute he came and shook my father’s hand, saying, ‘If I am to be beat- en, I would rather you did it than any other man. We shall see how it is at Hereford next week.’ There it was confirmed.’’

In the cow class at Lincoln, Monkhouse won first with the famous Winnifred, and Lord Berwick was again first and Philip Turner second in the in-calf heifer class.

Carlisle, Chelmsford and Salisbury.—The Royal of 1855 at Carlisle gave Lord Berwick another first prize winner in the aged bull class in Atting- ham (911), a fine good-looking son of Walford (871), that afterwards did first-class service as a sire. The second prize in this class the Earl of Radnor won with Carlisle (923). Speaking of these two bulls the steward of the Royal society in his report bestowed unstinted and probably excessive praise, saying: ‘‘Taking into consideration weight, quality, symmetry and early maturity these are the best animals ever shown.’’ Lord Berwick also won first, and John Monkhouse second, in two- year-old bulls. Winnifred, the great Monaughty- bred cow now ten years and, seven months old, the Gloucester winner, was again first.

The Chelmsford Royal in 1856 developed a double-bred Royal winner as prize-taker for Lord Berwick in Napoleon 3d, the son of the two Royal firsts at Windsor—Walford and Duchess of Nor-

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CROOME COURT AND THE EARL OF COVENTRY.

164 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

folk. Napoleon 3d had been a medal bull at the Paris exposition. Mr. E. Price’s Goldfinder, bred by John Perry, took second prize. Carpenter’s Carlisle Beauty was the winner in the cow class. She had already won a gold medal at the Paris In- ternational Exposition.

At Salisbury in 1857 Mr. E. Williams’ Radnor (1366), the first-prize bull calf at Carlisle, captured the aged bull prize, and Edward Price, with Mag- net 3d, was first in two-year-olds. In the cow class Lord: Berwick’s Carlisle, by Albert Edward, dam Silver, by Emperor (221), took first. Carlisle was afterwards sold to Mr. Thomas Duckhan, the Here- ford Herd Book editor, and sired many prize win- ners.

Chester, Warwick and Canterbury.—It was at the Chester Royal of 1858 that Sir David’s great son Sir Benjamin (1387) first made his appearance in public, winning second prize in the aged bull class. Price’s Goldfinder 2d took first. The latter was five years and eleven months old, and Sir Ben- jamin but two years and four months, so that he was three years and seven months younger than his chief competitor. There were nine exhibits in the class, some of them good ones, as is indicated by the report given in the* Royal Agricultural So- ciety’s journal:

‘‘Aged bulls; 9 entries. These animals displayed such uniformity of character, symmetry and sub- stance that it must have puzzled the judges to dis-

tinguish any of them. The prize bull, the property of Mr. Price, Court House, girthed 8 feet 7 inches;

BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE 165

another highly commended bull, shown by Lord Bateman, girthed 8 feet 9 inches. The latter ex- ceeded in girth the winning bull of the Shorthorn class, the Shorthorn’s girth being 8 feet 7 inches. The two Hereford bulls were a few months the old- est. The prize aged Devon bull girthed 7 feet 8 inches. The bulls exhibited by Mr. Rea, Weston- bury, Lord Bateman and Lord Berwick were all first-class animals, and deservedly received the high commendation of the judges.’’

It was considered that Sir Benjamin did well here, taking into account the heavy metal which he was up against. His sire, Sir David (349), as al- ready related, had now been brought back from Scotland, and the farm of Noke being barely a mile from The Grove Mr. Turner had allowed Benjamin Rogers to send Prettymaid 2d on a visit to the old bull. Sir Benjamin was the result. The next year he sent Damsel by Gaylad on a similar visit, ‘The Grove (1764) being the result. Two wonder- fully good sires they proved to be.

At Warwick the year following Mr. Hill’s Claret (1177), the sire of three winners at Lincoln, was first and Lord Berwick’s Severn second. In the yearling bulls the winner among the bull calves of 1857, Mr. Edward’s Leominster, was only placed third, Mr. Naylor’s Adjutant having first. The winner in bull calves was Maximus, from the Queen’s herd, but scarcely of the orthodox color, having too many spots on his face. The winning cow was Mr. Rea’s Bella, the first prize three-year- old heifer at Chester; she had gone on remarkably

166 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

well. We quote from the report in the Royal Agri- cultural Society’s Journal:

‘‘Cows in milk or in calf; 15 entries. Mr. Rea’s Bella was the admiration of all who beheld her; level as a Devon, yet of the size of a Shorthorn, as was proved by her girth, one inch more than Mr. Stratton’s prize cow Matchless Fourth. Lord Ber- wick’s Beauty was deservedly second. She belongs to a family frequently seen at these meetings, but never before without gaining first honours. Here she was fairly beaten by one of the best Herefords ° we have ever seen.

‘‘Heifers in milk or in calf; 10 entries. Mr. T. Rea’s Czarina was the type of a first-class animal. Lord Berwick’s Ada, like her sister Beauty, was here again of necessity placed in a secondary posi- tion.’’

These reports show how highly the Monaughty heifers were regarded, and made Hereford men more anxious than ever to possess some of the Sir Benjamin blood.

At Canterbury in 1860 the Herefords were not strongly represented. Mr. Edward’s Leominster, by Wellington, the bull calf winner at Chester and third at Warwick, was now placed first. In the two-year-old bulls a son of Noble Boy (1337) was first, and Sir Richard (1734), a good-looking son of Sir Benjamin, was second. In the cow class there was but one representative, Taylor’s Fancy Leominster, a stylish-looking cow with nice Here- ford character.

Leeds, and the Battersea International. At Leeds the next year the Herefords were much _bet-

[ Rees Keene | [Henry Haywood |

[ Lewis | | SamuelGoode |

168 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ter represented. Two Sir Benjamin bulls were placed first and second, the winner, Sir Richard, second prize in the two-year-olds at Canterbury now having first. He was a squarely-built im- pressive-looking bull. The second prize Silvius was a big one. Richard Hill won first in the two-year- olds with Milton (2114), by Chanticleer (1173), by Attingham (911), Walford’s son and a first prize winner himself at Carlisle. In bull calves Mr. Hill also won first with a smart good-looking son of Chanticleer. The first prize cow was Laura, by Silvester (797), a son of Pembridge (721) by Sir David, bred and exhibited by Mr. T. Naylor, Leigh- ton Hall. Laura’s pedigree goes back to the old Tully ‘‘breed.’’ In heifers Lord Berwick bred the winner Adela, by Will 0’ Wisp (1454) and a daugh- ter of Agnes, by Attingham. She was a nice heifer bought by the Prince Consort for the Royal Flemish Farm at Windsor.

In 1862 occurred the great International meeting of the Royal society. It was held in Battersea Park, London, and here the Herefords were strongly rep- resented. The first prize in aged bulls was given to the Royal herd for Maximus (1650), the first prize bull calf at Warwick, a son of Brecon (918). He was not of a true Hereford color, having spots on his face and legs, his ‘‘breed’’ going back to the old mottle-faced Tomkins stock and the.Tully greys. He was a wide, deep, heavy-fleshed bull. The gold medal was given to Mr. Hill’s Milton, the first prize three-year-old bull at Leeds the year before. He

BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE 169

was well entitled to his class prize and to the cham- pionship honors, which he also received, but was not quite of true Hereford color, having more white than usual. He traced back through his grandsire Attingham to some of Lord Berwick’s greys. The first prize two-year-old, Mr. Taylor’s Unity, was of ‘the right Hereford color and a level straight bull that had previously won first prize at Tredegar, the Herefordshire, Ludlow. and Leominster shows. His sire was St. Oswall, dam by King James (978), a son of Walford.

In cows the winner, Matchless, bred and exhib- ited by Mr. H. Coate, Sherborne, Dorsetshire, was also gold medal winner as best female Hereford. She was a very big cow but not of as nice quality as the Prince Consort’s Adela, a prize-winner at Leeds in 1861. The latter was the general favorite for the gold medal prize, being of fairly good. size with splendid quality, in fact, a model Hereford. In three-year-old heifers Mr. J. M. Read, of Glou- cestershire, won first prize with Theora, by Sebas- topol (1381). Her dam was bred by the late Lord Berwick from Cherry 7th. This was a big, very fat and fairly level heifer. Butterfly, bred and ex- hibited by William Tudge, was second. She was a very nice straight heifer with plenty of quality, by The Doctor (1083), bred by James Rea. In year- ling heifers the first prize went to Mr. Baldwin’s Adeline from the Cronkhill herd. Mr. Read took second with another of the late Lord Berwick’s daughters of Cherry 7th, Miss Southam, by Caliban

Ear

Copyright photo by Bustin COUNTRY SEAT OF SIR J. R. G. COTTERELL, BART.

Copyright photo by Bustin STRETTON COURT, HOME OF J. H. YEOMANS.

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Copyright photo by Bustin HAMPTON COURT, HOME OF J. H. ARKWRIGHT.

Copyright photo by Bustin J. H. ARKWRIGHT OF HAMPTON COURT AND HIS FAVORITB HUNTER “BAGPIPR.”’

172 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

(1163). It is mentioned by the judges of Here- fords here that eight winners out of the twenty- four were either bred by Lord Berwick or descend- ed from his herd.*

Worcester and Sir Thomas.—In 1863 the Royal show was at Worcester. Being so near the home of the Herefords there was plenty of competi- tion. In the aged bull class first prize fell to J. H. Arkwright’s Sir Oliver 2d (1733), son of Sir Ben- jamin and a very big level bull with good character, style and quality. Another son of Sir Benjamin named Plato won the second prize in this good class. He was also bred by Mr. Thomas Rea. It is off- cially remarked that ‘‘Thomas Rea may be con- gratulated on breeding two such good bulls combin- ing great size with such good quality.’’

In three-year-old bulls Mr. William Taylor of Showle Court had first prize with Tambourine (2254), bred by Lord Bateman and a son of Car- lisle (923). The second prize bull, Moderator, was also bred by Lord Bateman and also a son of Car- lisle. In two-year-old bulls the Battersea decision

*While this Battersea Park show was in progress ‘at London a world’s exposition was being held in Hyde Park. People from all over the world, mostly in their native costumes, came there and Mr. Edwards of Wintercott conceived the idea of getting the shepherds and herdsmen who were at the Royal from Hereford- shire and Shropshire to dress up in their white smock-frocks, their usual holiday dress in the West of England. He told as many as could to don their best, clad that way, and that he would take them to the exposition and pass them off as foreigners, only they must not speak. Accordingly he took about thirty, who followed him solemnly in Indian file up and down the different avenues. Crowds of Londoners trailed behind asking all manner of ques-

tions, and wondering what country they came from, nor did they find out, much to Mr. Edwards’ delight.

BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE 173

was reversed and the third prize winner at that show, Adforton (1839), a bull of great substance bred by William Tudge and shown by Thomas Ed- wards of Wintercott, was first. He was a son of The Grove (1764), Sir David’s son. The second prize was given to Mr. Baldwin on Battersea, the first prize winner at Battersea. In bull calves Rob- | erts of Ivingtonbury won first with Battenhall, bred by himself and sired by Sir Thomas, son of Sir Benjamin. In a large class of good bulls he was called ‘‘a very nice one, with plenty of hair and quality, and with such thighs, for a young one, as are not often seen; just the style and character a Hereford ought to have.’’

In the cow class Mr. John Perry of Cholstrey had first prize with Beauty, by Noble Boy (1337). Thomas Rea was second with Kate 2d, a good daughter of Sir Benjamin, shown in a large class. In three-year-old heifers William Tudge of Adfor- ton was first with Lady Ashford, bred by himself, a daughter of Carbonel (1525). She had not just a nice head, her horns going up a little, but she was a most perfect animal in all other respects. Mr. Pitt was second, and the Prince Consort’s heifer Adela, with splendid hindquarters, was third. In yearling heifers the veteran Mr. Monkhouse was first with Clementine, sired by Chieftain (930), a heifer of good size, substance and quality. She was well supported by Mr. Roberts’ 2d Duchess of Bed- ford, by Sir Thomas. The third place was taken by Mr. W. Perry of Cholstrey with Lady Duppa.

174 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

In ‘‘Punch,’’ the London comic paper, there was a comment upon this class as follows:

“Well may the gallant veteran o’er his growthy lass wax merry, For he has beat victorious Roberts, and polished off old Perry.”

In the class for heifers under twelve months Thomas Roberts had first prize with Miss Hastings 2d, by Sir Thomas, a grey one bred and exhibited by A. R. Boughton Knight of Downton Castle being second. In special prizes given by the Worcester Local Committee for the best pair of Hereford cows in milk, the first was given to Mr. John Walker of Holmes for Alice Grey and Nell Gwynne, bred by John Hewer. Second prize went to Philip Turner of The Leen for Jewell and Juliet, by Felix (9531) and both bred by himself. For the best pair of heifers in milk or in calf first prize went to the ex- ecutors of James Rea of Monaughty on Diana and Spangle 2d, both by Wellington (1112). The prize for best bull, cow and offspring fell to Roberts of Ivingtonbury on Sir Thomas, by Sir Benjamin, the cow Flower and her heifer calf.

Sir Thomas was by this time forging rapidly to the front. He had a true Hereford bull’s head, wide good shoulders, broad chine, a very straight top, remarkably good hindquarters, as level from the hip to the rump as could be found, with big thighs and straight hind legs. He was a long big bull with no ‘‘dent’’ anywhere. In fact, all the Sir Benjamin stock came out well at Worcester, win- ning three firsts and three seconds on six exhibits, Sir David’s grandson Adforton (1839) well sup-

TREDEGAR (5077) AT TWO YEARS SEVEN MONTHS—BRED BY W. TAYLOR, SHOWLE COURT.

pape:

WINTER DE COTE (4258) AT THREE YEARS—BRED BY MR. BDWARDS OF WINTERCOTT.

176 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

porting them. This show was largely visited by the best Hereford breeders, and the success of the Sir Benjamih and Sir David blood gave a great impetus to the demand for cattle of that extraction. It will be noted that at Battersea the other grand old Hereford sire and contemporary of Sir David, the famous Walford of Lord Berwick’s herd, had ‘sup- plied a large number of winners—eight out of twenty-four. It appears clear, therefore, that these two bulls did much for the breed and later on, when their blood was combined, some wonderful winners and champions were produced. Newcastle, Plymouth and the Rinderpest. — In 1864 the meeting was at Newcastle-on-Tyne. This being considered far from home the Hereford classes were not so well supported there as at Worcester. In the aged bull class a Worcester win- ner, Mr. Taylor’s Tambourine, led. He had won before in the three-year-old class; bred by Lord Bateman he was a son of Carlisle, the winner of the second to Attingham, the son of Walford, at Carlisle. At the two previous Bath and West of England shows Mr. J. A. Holling’s Chieftain 2d had been placed first before Tambourine. They pre- sented a very great contrast—Chieftain 2d an enor- mously big bull and Tambourine much smaller but very neat. Here the decision was reversed and Chieftain, bred by James Rea, was placed third. In the three-year-old class Battersea won first for his owner, Mr. John Baldwin. In the two-year-old bulls Mr. Thomas Duckham, editor of the Hereford Herd

BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE 177

Book, had first prize with a very level good bull, Commodore.

In the cow class Spangle 2d, one of the pair of heifers previously exhibited by Thomas Rea and now shown by his widow, Mrs. Louise Woodgate Rea, won first. Mr. Rea had purchased the cow at his father’s sale for 85 guineas, but owing to his own death through an accident in the hunting field his cattle were sold the following October. At the sale Spangle 2d made 101 guineas to Mr. John Bald- win, and her bull calf called Sir Frank brought 121 guineas. Mrs. Rea also won second in this class with Kate 2d, a daughter of Sir Benjamin that had been second at Worcester. In three-year-old heifers Baldwin won first with Duchess of Bedford 2d, by Sir Thomas, now grown into a grand heifer. In two-year-olds he again had first prize with Miss Hastings 2d, another daughter of Sir Thomas and the winner of the first at Worcester. John Monk- house took a first with Fairy Queen, a daughter of Chieftain, another triumph for the Monaughty *“breed.”’

The next Royal, and the last for two years fol- lowing, was held in 1865 at Plymouth when Mr. J. M. Reed’s Colesborne (2467), a son of Caliban (1163), by Attingham, won first prize. Mr. J. A. Holling’s big Chieftain 2d was placed second to him, and Battersea third. In three-year-olds Mr. Duck- ham’s good grandson of Sir Benjamin, Commodore (2472), won first and Stallard’s Chieftain 3d, a son of Chieftain 2d, received second prize. In the

178 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

cow class Mr. Baldwin won first with his now well known and truly splendid Duchess of Bedford 2d, daughter of Sir Thomas. In three-year-old heifers he again had first with Miss Hastings 2d, another daughter of Sir Thomas, this being her third first- prize Royal win in succession—more honor for the Sir Benjamin blood. Her Majesty Queen Victoria here won first prize on a yearling heifer, Princess Mary by Deception, a son of Sir Benjamin.

This was the last Royal show until Leicester in 1868, because after the successful meeting at Ply- mouth came dire threat of an epidemic of cattle plague, that fatal and contagious rinderpest which had been imported from abroad and had swept off whole herds, paralyzing all efforts to check it except by slaughtering the cattle. Many a happy and pros- perous homestead was completely ruined by its rav- ages, Cheshire county and the dairy districts suf- fering most. Only one lot of Herefords was at- tacked, and that through the thoughtlessness of the owner, Charles Vevers of Ivington, the breeder of the bull Battersea.* Prompt measures on the part

*Mr. Vevers lived only about three field-breadths from Mr. Edwards’ farm of Wintercott. Vever’s mother-in-law, living near Gloucester, wrote asking him to come at once, as her cattle were dying. He went to see them, and returning thoughtlessly went amongst his own cattle without changing his clothing. Of course his own herd was infected; many died and the others were con- demned and slaughtered, and thereby a little story is told of Win- tercott’s application of the law of self-protection.

Mr. Edwards was badly frightened. e had sold his valuable Royal winners, including Adforton, and nearly all that were fit to kill to the butcher, and kept a barrel of whitewash near the house, continually using it about the premises. Vevers very thoughtlessly sent_one of his men to Wintercott to borrow a couple of ropes. Edwards caught sight of him coming, steered him to the whitewash cask, took him by the collar of his coat and the seat of his “brigs,” and put him in nearly up to his neck,

saying, “There, go home and tell your master to come here, and I will serve him the same.”

BRITISH SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE 179

of the government authorities checked the trouble, so that fortunately it went no farther in Hereford- shire. All fairs and markets were declared sus- pended during the autumn of 1865, as well as all meetings of agricultural societies. It was not until 1868, therefore, that the Royal society held its next meeting.

GHAPTER V. MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED.

The three years intervening between the Ply- mouth Royal and the next meeting, held in 1868 at Leicester, was a period during which a material change of sentiment occurred in respect to the type of cattle to be sought. The ‘‘Sir Benjamin era’’ was now passing. It had been characterized by a steadfast adherence to scale coupled with heavy flesh smoothly disposed. More attention was now to be paid to quality, and in this trend Sir-Thomas and his get were destined to receive high public favor.

At the Worcester Royal, Mr. Coleman, the Duke of Bedford’s representative, had expressed himself pointedly and emphatically in favor of paying less attention to mere size, and at the two next subse- quent meetings this sentiment was clearly becoming more prevalent. Sir Thomas had been bought in 1864 by Mr. Monkhouse of The Stow, but owing to the death of that able and distinguished old-time breeder in 1866 his herd had to be sold, with Sir Benjamin’s great son included. Sir Thomas, it will be recalled, was bred by Roberts of Ivingtonbury from a cow called Lady Ann, by Arthur Napoleon (910), he by West Australian (1114), a son of

180

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED 181

Curly (801), a bull imported into the United States in the early days of the Herefords in America by Thomas Aston of Elyria, as will presently be related. Thanks to this cow, Sir Thomas is said to have been remarkably good over the shoulders and chine, Sir Benjamin’s weak points. Sir Thomas was ex- ceptionally long, level and good, not only along his back to his hips, but over the quarter well out to the tail, which was well set on above an exception- ally big thigh and straight hind legs. He had what was called ‘‘a good-tempered looking head, though thoroughly masculine.’’ His chief characteristics he transmitted to most of his offspring, as he was a very prepotent bull. He was hailed as a prospective great improver of the breed, and so it came to pass that when the Monkhouse dispersion was announced many a Hereford breeder thought he would like to possess Sir Thomas. They went by scores to Stow sale with the intention of trying to purchase the redoubtable bull. However, the sum of £409/10s. was rather a prohibitory price to most of them. Still, there were two tenant farmers who contested it to the last, Mr. Geo. Pitt of Chadnor and Mr. Benjamin Rogers of The Grove. It was to The Grove, the birthplace of his sire Sir Benjamin, that Sir Thomas went and a very fortunate purchase it was, for he proved a mine of wealth to his new owner.

The Worcester decisions had a great influence in turning public opinion towards quality and shapeli- ness, more especially after the Battersea verdicts.

SIR THOMAS (2228).

SIR BBNJAMIN (1887).

SIR OLIVER 2D (1733) AT FIVE YEARS OLD—BRED BY THOS. REA AND SIRE OF SIR RICHARD 2D.

Copyright photo by Bustin MR. ARKWRIGHT, WITH HIS FAMOUS OLD BULL SIZ HUNGERFORD (3447).

184 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Several of those had not been popular with the prin- cipal Hereford breeders, for in the case of the champion cow and the aged bull the honors were not given in accordance with the quality in the one, nor the recognized Hereford character in the other. The Worcester show and the Sir Thomas sale fairly ushered in a different era in this middle period of the English pedigree Hereford, and each subse- quent Royal and Bath and West of England show confirmed this fact. It was at those shows, and through the criticism there passed on the judging, that public opinion among the breeders and ad- mirers of the Herefords found full expression.

Leicester a Turning Point as to Scale. — The Leicester Royal show of 1868 well demonstrated the tendency just alluded to, in fact, confirmed it. In the aged bull class Battenhall, the Worcester winner as a bull calf, was the winner again. He was well furnished in all his points, showing excellent quality and good breeding. He had not so much scale as the second and third prize bulls, but his good points were his by rightful inheritance, as he was a son of Sir Thomas and out of Duchess by King James, son of Walford. If he had not the scale of either of his two grandfathers he had grown into a deep thick wide bull that well met the demands of progress.

In the three-year-bull class it was entirely quality that gained the day in behalf of character and sym- metry, as the winner, Sir Hungerford, bred and shown by Mr. John Hungerford Arkwright of

Copyright photo by Bustin FARM-YARD AT WALL END, MONKLAND.

Copyright photo by Bustin WALL END, MONKLAND—Home of the Cave family.

186 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Hampton Court, was not so big as his competitors. But with his nice soft curly coat and mellow touch, his length of body and straightness of back, he was an undoubted favorite with both judges and the public. In the two-year-old bulls the decision was again more for quality than scale, the award being given to the Adforton bull Brandon. The second was a much bigger one from the Royal herd, Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s Prince Leopold, by De- ception, a son of Sir Benjamin bought at the Mo- naughty sale. In yearling bulls another Adforton bull, Landseer (3202), by Artist, a son of Sir Ben- jamin, took the prize.

It was in the cow class that a most marked recog- nition of quality was given to Mr. Arkwright’s Hampton Beauty. She had nothing like the scale of several others in the class, but she, like Sir Hun- gerford, was the decided favorite with both the public and the judges. One of the latter had been judge of Herefords before, but he now sensed the popular feeling and placed Hampton Beauty, rightly named, first. The Monaughty cow from the Royal herd came in for second prize. In yearling heifers it was Mr. Arkwright’s small heifer, Lady Leicester, that had first place. She was far the smallest heifer in the class, but had undoubtedly the most quality. A bigger heifer from Hampton Court only took reserve. A daughter of Deception from the Royal herd was second, with Diadem and Adforton third. In heifer calves Tudge’s beau- tiful Silver Star, seen here for the first time and

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED 187

destined to great fame, had first prize, the second going to a much bigger one from the Kingsland herd. It was surely a great credit to the Hampton Court and Adforton management that each bred and exhibited three first prize winners at this notable show.

Quality Again Triumphs at Manchester. — In 1869, the country now having settled down com- pletely after the rinderpest and owners and cattle breeders breathing more freely after knowing that the dread disease was a thing of the past, the Royal was held at Manchester, and was the most successful meeting up to that time. As at Leicester, quality seemed to be the leading feature in all breeds, in the Hereford perhaps more particularly so than else- where. In the aged bull class Mr. Arkwright’s Sir Hungerford again took first. He had been a great favorite at the Leicester meeting and was even more popular at Manchester, his level even form and splendid quality coming in for almost universal approbation. He was just the type breeders and buyers wanted. The second prize bull, Young Con- queror, from Berrington, one of the late Lord Ber- wick’s ‘‘breed,’’ was scarcely noticed. Sir Hunger- ford was got by a son of Sir Thomas.

In the three-year-olds a new exhibitor, Mr. Morris of Madley, with a son of Sir Thomas called The Stow had the winner. This was not a big bull by any means, but he was squarely built. The second went to Prince Leopold from. the Royal herd. He had scale, but not the requisite quality. In two-

Copyright photo by Bustin HOME OF THE LATE PETER COATS, SHEEPCOTE.,

ce maa . Copyright photo by Bustin HOME OF J. P. PROSSER, TREVITHEL COURT.

Copyright photo by Bustin ENDALE AND HOLMER, PRIZE BULLS AT SHEEPCOTE.

Copyright photo by Bustin A TRIO OF GOOD HEIFERS AT ‘‘WESTONBURY.”

190 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

year-olds a well made bull from Wintercott, Leo- minster 3d, gained first prize. He was a son of Tomboy, a Sir Thomas bull, his dam by the Worcester Royal winner Adforton. He had all the appearances of making a good bull. The others in the class had not the same quality. In bull calves an Adforton entry, Ostorius, a son of the Leicester winner Brandon, was an easy winner. He had fair seale and quality.

The cow class was not so large in numbers, but was exceptionally good. Sir Benjamin’s wonderful daughter, Queen of the Lilies, bred at Monaughty, her dam a daughter of Borderer, bred from James Rea’s best strain, was a magnificent animal of great scale but absolutely level, and with capital quality as well. The second prize, Lady Adforton, bred by Tudge, was a remarkably good cow, a credit to any breed, but here fairly beaten. Among the three- year-old in-calf heifers Diadem from the Adforton herd, a marvelously good heifer by Chieftain 4th (Brandon’s sire) and from Deborah, by Pilot (2156), gained the first prize. She was not so big as some in the class, but had fine quality. She had stood only third at Leicester, not being so well up in condition for show; the winner then, Lady Leicester, was now only reserve.

In yearling heifers the prize-winner came again from Adforton, now to almost a model of what a Hereford ought to be—Silver Star, which had been winner in the young heifer class at Leicester. She was a daughter of Stanway (2790), by Pilot,

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED 191

by The Grove (1764), her dam being by Harold (2029), another son of The Grove, making her rather inbred. Yet she had plenty of constitution and was well-nigh perfect in form.

In heifer calves another Adforton heifer gained first prize. This was Lady Brandon, a daughter of Brandon from Lady Adforton, the winner of the second prize at the Manchester Royal. She had also been second to Queen of the Lilies at the Bath and West of England meeting. This was a wonderfully good performance on the daughter’s part, for Mr. Tudge tells us: ‘‘She was the smallest calf I ever saw born to its natural time. Her mother had only a day or two returned from a local show. We had just loosed her out of her box, my father and I. When she stepped in the fold-yard she calved Lady Brandon standing. I ran up and picked up the little ealf, which was as lively as possible, carrying it indoors on my two hands, and just within a few days of twelve months old she gained first prize at the Royal.’’ A very good heifer belonging to Mr. Thomas Fenn, Duchess of Bedford 6th, was second.

A new admirer of first-class pedigree Herefords, and purchaser of the best to commence a herd with, appeared at this show. He was a Scotch nobleman, the Earl of Southesk, who bought Queen of the Lil- ies, Diadem, and the winning young bull Ostorious.

Rogers and His Tall Herdsman.—Thos. Rogers of Coxall, the owner of a fine herd that is said to have gained upwards of 200 prizes at various times and places, was an exhibitor here, and a some-

192 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

what amusing occurrence took place in connection with the awarding of the third prize to his Coxall Beauty. She was a good heifer, but a little inclined to droop in the back, and Rogers had no doubt told his herdsman who led her in to keep her head well down when standing, so as not to show the fault. The man was very tall, quite six feet, and very thin. The heifer being comparatively small he had to stoop a great deal to keep her head down, which was very conspicuous, much to Rogers’ annoyance. But the more he gesticulated the lower the man held her head, until one of the judges finally said loud enough for all to hear, ‘‘We can quite see what is the matter, my man, but you deserve the prize for the heifer,’’ and she had it.

Stanway, Silver Star and the Australians.— In 1870 the Royal returned to its birthplace, Ox- ford, where indeed, the Herefords were a splendid lot and greatly admired. In the aged bull class Stanway (2790) won first prize. He was the prop- erty of Sir Joseph Bailey, but was bred at Adforton and had here a very easy win, for he was a grand animal girthing 9-feet 4 inches, just 5 inches bigger through the heart than Bolivar, the champion Short- horn. Although Stanway had great scale he pos- sessed first-class quality, and was remarkably level in his lines. It was unanimously allowed that he was the best male animal of all breeds in the yard. He was a son of Pilot (2156), by The Grove (1764), from the same dam as Brandon. Second to him was Prince Leopold from the Royal herd. This was the

: Copyright photo by Bustin COURT OF NOKE, HOME OF THD LATE EDWARD FARR.

Copyright photo by Bustin LOWER EATON—SEAT OF ©. T. PULLEY.

194 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

third time he had occupied the same position at the Royal show, Stow having been once put above him; but they now changed places.

In the three-year-old class Her Majesty the Queen by common consent deservedly won first with Prince Albert Edward (3540), a son of Deception by Sir Benjamin, remarkably good over chine, top and shoulders, with nice style, character and qual- ity, and afterwards sold to go to Australia. The winning bull in the under-two-year class was Mr. Philip Turner’s Trojan, by Franky, Walford’s son from Exquisite by Sir David, a very level nice qual- ity bull and like the winner in the preceding class sold to go to Australia.

In the cow class one of the neatest, prettiest cows ever shown took first prize. This was Thomas Rogers’ Silk. With a coat certainly like silk, she was the smallest cow in the class, quite in contrast with the previous year’s winner, Queen of the Lil- ies, but in the general opinion equally as well en- titled to premier position now. She had splendid quality, was level as a floor, and the other cows looked altogether plain by comparison. In three- year-olds the beautiful heifer from Adforton, Silver Star, won her third first prize at the Royal. She had previously been first at Leicester and Manches- ter, at two Bath and West of England meetings, at Southampton, and at Taunton, and she had won Lord Tredegar’s cup at Newport. The late Mr. Housman, who was a well recognized authority on prize animals of this and a later period, called her

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED 195

‘Sa perfect model of what a show animal ought to be.’? She had plenty of scale, and in type, char- acter and form was called faultless. A daughter of the first prize aged bull Stanway, she very much resembled her sire and 1n her case, as it was in his, she was universally considered and allowed to be the best of her sex in the showyard, of any breed. Mr. Philip Turner’s good-looking Silvia was second to her as before. Silver Star, like most of the win- ners and best Herefords at this Oxford show, was sold to Messrs. Barnes and Smith of Dyrabba, New South Wales, to go to Australia with her companion Lady Brandon, the winner of the second prize in the next class. Right royally did Silver Star repay her buyer; Mr. Smith on a visit to England in 1900, just thirty years afterwards, said that he had now ‘300 Silver Stars, all descended from that one heifer and all marked exactly as she was, of the true Hereford color.’? On his return he sent back to England a photo of 150 of these all facing the camera, and a bonny sight they must have been.

The Hereford display at the Oxford meeting was one of the best ever seen at a Royal show, and the most satisfactory for the exhibitors—the Australian buyers purchasing so many and at such good prices. With them, as with the Herefordshire breeders now, quality was the first consideration. That this was truly the watchword of the hour was thoroughly ex- emplified by the Oxford awards. They were made by Mr. S. W. Urwick and by Mr. Yeomans of Brecon- shire, an uncle of Mr. J. H. Yeomans, now of Wit-

Copyright photo by Bustin PAIR OF STEERS WITH OLD-FASHIONED HORNS.

Copyright photo by Bustin A FAMILY GROUP AT ARTHUR P. TURNER'S.

Copyright photo by Bustin GEO. BUTTERS OF HILL HOUSE HOLDING HIS ROYAL PRIZE BULL, SAILOR PRINCE.

Copyright photo by Bustin. A GROUP OF FAVORITE OLD BREEDING COWS AT HAMPTON COURT IN THE DARLY EIGHTIBS.

198 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

tington, who acted as clerk for the two judges and entered Stanway’s girth on the official sheets at the time as being the largest they had ever known. The bull’s substance was so combined with quality, however, and he was so smooth and level in all his points, that until his girth was taken it was not real- ized how big he actually was. ,

Wolverhampton and Cardiff.—The year following the two great shows at Manchester and Oxford came that at Wolverhampton. This was scarcely equal to the Oxford show in outstanding animals, although the Herefords came out remarkably well in point of numbers shown and in most cases in point of quality also.

The winner in the aged bull class was Monaughty 3d, that had been second to that exceptionally good bull of Her Majesty, Prince Albert Edward, at Ox- ford. He was then scarcely so well up in show con- dition, but now with another year he had grown into a bull of good character and quality, indeed, a type of what a Hereford bull should be. Second to him was the thick, square, good-looking Bachelor, a son of the Adforton bull Douglas from a Sir Thomas cow. In the three-year-old bulls Royal Head, a mas- sive one from Mr. Kingsland’s herd, was first. He had both character and style. The second in the class was Ostorius, bred at Adforton and first at Manchester. The third was a remarkably nice level bull, Mr. Philip Turner’s Provost, a son of Bachelor. He really had the most quality of any in the class. In yearling bulls Mr. R. Hill’s nice-quality bull,

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED 199

Pearl Diver, was first. His sire Triumph was a son of Sir Thomas.

In cows, Ivington Rose, a daughter of Sir Thomas resembling her sire very much in color, character and evenness of form, had first prize, and by general agreement she well deserved it. P. Turner’s Silvia, by Franky, took second place. In two-year-old heif- ers, a large and good class, Turner won first with Rarity, a daughter of Bachelor and a perfect beauty, but shown at the very great disadvantage of being only three weeks too old for the younger class; still she won among a lot of good ones in spite of giving away the eleven months. John Harding took second with Dahlia, a nice daugter of Symmetry. In year- ling heifers he was more successful, winning first with another daughter of Symmetry, Lizzie Jeffreys, in a good class of sixteen. Turner’s Plum, another handsome daughter of Bachelor, very much of the Sir Thomas type, was second. The heifer calves were as good a lot as one often sees together, Thomas Fenn winning with Lady of the Fenn, which dis- played quality, character and style. This Wolver- hampton meeting was a splendid show of pedigree Herefords, and again the greater part of the best were sold to go to Australia.

At Cardiff in 1872 there was another excellent entry of Herefords. There were many good local herds thereabouts and it was also near to the home county. Stephen Robinson’s Bachelor (2941), sold to Philip Turner, was here brought out in greatly improved form and headed the aged bulls. He was

200 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

rich in the blood of Sir David and proved a good sire. His dam was Spinster, by Sir Thomas. The second prize bull in this class was Provost, a very good son of Bachelor only a week and two days too old for the younger class. He was full of quality with style and character. In the bull calf class Thomas Fenn’s Cap Hall, by Severus 2d, was placed first and Regulus (4076) from Adforton, a son of Sir Roger (4133), sire of Lord Wilton and son of Sir Thomas, was placed second, but the general opinion was that this should have been reversed. Regulus was destined to attain much renown.

In the cow class at Cardiff Ivington Rose was again placed first, as she had been at Wolverhampton the year before. She was a grand show cow, long and level, with splendid color and character, quite like Sir Thomas in type. The second prize cow Silk 2d, a neat one, royally bred, was by Battenhall, prize- winning son of Sir Thomas, and her dam, Silk, was first at the Oxford Royal. In three-year-old heifers Mr. W. Thomas won first with Sunflower, a fine sty]- ish good-looking heifer properly put above Turner’s Plum. Mr. Thomas was third also with another good one in a strong class. In two-year-olds Thomas again won first prize with Rosalind, by Sir John 3d, the sire of his two previously winning heifers also. This heifer had been placed below the second and third at Wolverhampton, but now very fairly beat them. In heifer calves Mr. Turner’s Ruby, a daughter of Bachelor, deservedly won first.

Cardiff was the fourth successive meeting of the

QUEEN OF THE LILIES, AT SIX YEARS NINE MONTHS OLD.

IVINGTON ROSE AT SHVEN YEARS.

202 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Royal society at which the Herefords came out in strong force, and with first-rate quality; indeed, they were generally allowed to be the leading breed in each case, and this notwithstanding the fact that large numbers of the best were being sold to Au- stralia and other countries. The breed was now growing rich in good showyard material, so that other good ones each year took the places of those exported.

Hull and Bedford.—After four such successful Royal shows of first-class Herefords as these just mentioned, Hull was rather weak in comparison, being considered so far from their native county, but good animals were on view. In the aged bull class Provost, second to his sire Bachelor at Cardiff, where he was only about a week too old for the younger class, with the extra year’s age now well won the leading prize. Second to him was the big bull Von Moltke, with wonderful depth and width in front, but not showing the square hindquarter and straight hind legs of the winner. In the three- year-olds Winter De Cote, bred at Wintercott, a bull of great scale and substance but wanting in condition, had an easy win in his class. He was a son of the Manchester Royal winner Leominster 3d, from the Wintercott Pink family. In the bull calf class a son of Winter De Cote called Student won first, and well sustained the honor of his sire.

In the cow class Ivington Rose again won first, looking as fresh and as well as ever. In three-year- old heifers the Earl of Southesk’s Desdemona,

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daughter of the Manchester Royal winner, won first, and quite maintained her mother’s reputation. In two-year-olds Philip Turner won both first and sec- ond. Exquisite, by Provost, rightly named, had first, and Satellite, a daughter of Bachelor, second.

At the Bedford meeting of 1874 the Herefords were larger in number than at Hull, being nearer the home county. In aged bulls Winter De Cote took first. He had been the winner in the three- year-old class at Hull. Then he wanted more time and condition; now with another year he came out fit, a deep massive bull. Bachelor, the Cardiff winner, had second place. In two-year-old bulls the Showle Court herd produced an easy winner in Mr. Taylor’s Tredegar. His sire,Mercury (3967), bred by Philip Turner, was by Jupiter,a grandson of Walford. He had the appearance of making, when developed, a grand show animal. In the bull calf class Regu- lator from the Adforton herd had just as easy a win as Tredegar, looking also like making a great bull.

In the cow class Mr. Thomas of St. Hillary, took first with Rosaline, one of his Cardiff Royal winners in the heifer class. Mr. Turner in two- year-old heifers was again first and second, this time with Verbena, by Provost, first, and Isabel, by Mercury and from a daughter of Bachelor, sec- ond.

The Dam of Old Anxiety Appears.—In heifer calves at Bedford Mr. Carwardine of Stocktonbury supplied the winner, Helena, by De Cote, a remark- ably good one as straight as a line from end to end,

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Copyright photo by Bustin JOHN PRICE AND SOME OF HIS SHOWYARD TROPHIES.

206 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

a real show heifer. Her dam, Regina, was by Heart of Oak, a Monaughty-bred bull. Those who follow our story closely will again meet this charming heifer, the future dam of the great bull Anxiety.

It thus appears that three grand animals made their first appearance in public at Bedford show: Tredegar, a champion winner many times; Regula- tor, the companion bull to Lord Wilton, after win- ning at the Bath and West of England sold to go to New Zealand; and Helena, one of Stocktonbury’s greatest celebrities.

The Taunton Show of 1875.—The Taunton Royal of 1875 was an improvement on the Bedford show of the year previous, as that had been over the one at Hull the year before. Several celebrated Herefords were competitors. In aged bulls Mr. Edwards’ Winter De Cote, now a long, deep and massive animal, took first prize for the third time at the Royal shows. He was a bull with plenty of scale, character and style and full of thick heavy natural flesh. Mr. H. J. Bailey’s King of the Dale, a straight lengthy bull also of good scale and fairly good character, but lacking the substance and weight of flesh of the winner, was second. In two-year- olds Mr. Taylor’s good bull and previous winner, Tredegar, took the lead. He had all the character- istics of a high-class Hereford bull, with nice color, character and style, and scored a very easy win.

Lord Wilton as a Yearling—In the yearling bull class at Taunton the prize was conceded to Mr. Tudge’s Lord Wilton, a straight lengthy youngster

HORACE 2D (4655) AT TWO YEARS—BRED BY J. PRICE, COURT HOUSE.

GAUCI'S DRAWING OF LORD WILTON (4740) AT SEVEN YEARS TEN MONTHS. 5

208 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

with wide top, first-class character, beautiful qual- ity and style. At the Bath and West of England meeting at Croydon a month before he had been very much fancied. His owner not being there, Mr. Thomas Duckhan, the editor of the Hereford book, said to an Australian who desired to buy the bull, “‘T know Mr. Tudge very well, and I will telegraph for his price.’?’ A Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Lewis Lloyd’s agent, overheard this and as he related afterward he ran as fast as he could and wired: ‘‘How much for Lord Wilton?’’ Mr. Tudge happened to be in the house upon the receipt of the message, and at once replied: ‘‘150 guineas.’? As the boy went back with this reply he met Mr. Duckham’s mes- senger arriving with the same query as to price. But he was too late, the bull was sold. While Mr. Lloyd did not have the good fortune to reap his due reward as a result of this purchase, as appears further on, his representative is to be credited with having saved this afterwards celebrated sire to England and the United States.

In Hereford cows Thomas Fenn won first, beating the prize cow of the year before, Mr. Thomas’ Rosa- line. The winner, Lady Stanton, had scale, quality and character—a splendid Hereford cow well brought out. In heifers under three years, Mr. James, a south country Hereford breeder, won first prize with Rosebud, a remarkably neat level heifer nicely marked. A very pretty little heifer, she had been second the year before at the Royal to Mr. P. Turner’s Verbena, but she now turned the tables

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upon her larger opponent. In yearling heifers Carwardine’s Helena came to the fore again, an un- doubted winner. She now had splendid character and quality, was exceptionally level and in fine bloom. She was truly called ‘‘the beautiful Helena.’’ Second to her was Mr. W. Taylor’s Cherry, by Mer- cury. In heifer calves Mr. Edwards’ Mabel, by Winter De Cote, was first.

Big Good Classes at Birmingham.—The Here- fords were out in full strength at the Birmingham Royal of 1876. In the aged bulls Mr. Taylor’s Tredegar was looking remarkably well, with his wide table-back and ‘his body well let down at both ends. With his nice markings, character and style, he well deserved his third Royal first. Second to him was Warren Evans’ Von Moltke 2d. He had been alter- nately scoring first and second places with the sec- ond of the previous year, Mr. Bailey’s King of the Dale. They were bulls of very different types. Von Moltke 2d was extraordinarily wide and good in his forehand, exceptionally so in his brisket and over his shoulders and chine, but he was not so square and good in his hindquarters, nor so straight in his hind legs as the first, nor the third winner, Mr. Thomas Myddleton’s Baron 4th. However, he was the biggest in his girth, measuring 9 feet 2 inches.

In the three-year-old bulls Mr. Thomas’ Horace 2d, a bull of character and quality, had first prize. He was by Horace (3877), but had not the length of some of his opponents. He was ‘‘well grown together,’’ however. Second to him was Lord

210 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Compton, a son of Ivington Rose, but not as well filled out as his dam. The next bull class was well contested, Mr. W. Taylor’s Thoughtful now being put first. He was a long deep level bull with great substance and wealth of flesh. Second to him was Sir Edward, a son of Winter De Cote, that had been placed first at the Bath and West of England a month before. Now it was reversed. Mr. Tay- lor’s prize bull of the year before, Taunton, had meantime given way to Sir Edward, a bull of nice style and character but with not quite the depth, length and substance of the other.

In the cow class at Birmingham a remarkably level good cow from Adforton, Mr. Tudge’s Rose- bud, by Sir Thomas (2228), carried first prize. She was a long dark red with splendid character and first-rate quality, a true type of a Hereford cow. Second to her was Mr. Thomas’ famous Rosaline, still a good-looking cow. Three times she had been a first prize Royal winner, as a cow at Bedford, as a heifer at Cardiff, and as one of two offspring at Bristol. She had been second to Lady Stanton in 1875 and was now second to Rosebud, truly a good career.

In three-year-olds Helena again headed her class. This was her third Royal win, and well she deserved it, so marked was her splendid character, style and touch. Warren Evans came second with Lady Blanche, a daughter of his Von Moltke 2d. Like her sire she was grand in front, with thick wide big forehand, broad chine and top, but also like her

same! oane

ANXIETY (5188) AT NINE MONTHS.

HELDNA AT TWO YEARS OLD—DAM OF ANXIETY (5188).

212 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

sire falling away behind. In two-year-old heifers Mrs. Edwards was first with Mabel, a winner of 1875, a heifer of nice character, style and quality. In the next class Mrs. Edwards had two splendid yearling heifers both, like the previous winner, daughters of Winter De Cote. These were Beatrice and Leonora, both of whose dams were by Tomboy. The judges gave first to Beatrice, but the other was the general favorite. They were two grand heifers, Leonora subsequently growing into one of the sen- sational show cows of her time.

Anxiety Appears at Liverpool_—There was a great show of Herefords both in number and qual- ity at the Liverpool Royal of 1877. In the. aged bulls Tredegar came out again in grand form. He looked well at Birmingham, but was still better at Liverpool, being now exceptionally wide and square, with his brisket almost touching the ground. He was called ‘‘a fine type of a first-class Hereford show bull.’’ Horace 2d was his only opponent. He had been a first prize winner at Birmingham, but was now fairly beaten. The winner in three-year- olds here was another of Mr. Taylor’s sons of Mer- cury (the sire of Tredegar), Thoughtful, the bull that had occupied the same position in his class the year before and had again defeated the Wintercott bull, Sir Edward. In the next class, that of two- year-old bulls, the Bath and West of England judg- ing was completely altered; the winner there was not mentioned at Liverpool, and Victor, a son of Winter De Cote, was given first prize. He had only

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received H. C. at the Bath and West and Telescope, unnoticed there, was placed second here. In bull calves the first prize at both the Bath and West of England and the Royal was given to Anxiety, by Longhorns, and a son of Carwardine’s celebrated Helena. Like his dam he had splendid quality, a beautiful coat and a touch as good as could be wished. His head, though, was faulted for the horns going up too much. However, it was con- ceded that he was well entitled to his place in this class. Second to him was another from Stockton- bury, The Sultan, by the same sire. He had not quite the quality and touch of his half-brother. Third prize went to Field Marshal from the Coston Hall herd, an offshoot of the Adforton stock. He was by Cannon Ball, grandson of Sir Benjamin.

In the breeding cow class two champions of re- nown met—Rosebud from Adforton, a daughter of Sir Thomas, that had been the winner at Birming- ham as well as a champion of the county shows, and the hitherto unbeaten Helena from Stockton- bury. It was of course a matter of opinion, but Hereford men generally agreed with the judging. Rosebud was long and level, a rich dark red, nice- ly marked, wide-backed and straight as a line from head to tail. Helena had more depth in front, with nice flesh evenly and well laid on, but was not quite a match for her antagonist. The third prize Giantess, rightly named, for she had very great scale, was evenly made for so big an animal and had first-rate quality and character. In three-year-

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old heifers Mrs. Edwards’ Mabel for the third time won Royal honors, though it was quite a matter of choice between the three tops. A good-looking daughter of Ivington Rose was placed second, and the Adforton heifer Beatrice, winner of several first prizes at local and county shows, was given third. The latter had splendid character and perhaps bet- ter style than either.

In yearling heifers Mrs. Edwards again exhibited Leonora and Beatrice. The latter had been placed first the year before, but Leonora was undoubtedly the better now. A grand heifer she was, with plenty of scale, as level as possible, and with nice charac- ter. In heifer calves Mrs. Edwards was again first with Beatrice 2d from the same dam as the other Beatrice. Second went to Mr. Taylor for Lanca- shire Lass. In a new class for best cow with two offspring .the prize was won by Mr. Taylor with Hazel, a twelve-year-and-ten-month-old cow, with her two sons, Taunton, by Triumph 2d, and Trede- gar 3d, by Tredegar. Mr. Thomas Nott of Letton took second prize with a daughter of Chieftain 3d.

The Bristol Winners—The show of 1878 was held at Bristol. Herefords were not so well repre- sented here as at Birmingham and Liverpool, but many very good ones supported well the honor of the breed. In the aged bulls Mr. Taylor’s Thought- ful, a son of Mercury, by Jupiter, the sire of Trede- gar, satisfactorily filled his half brother’s place. This was his third first prize Royal win; he was first as a two-year-old at Birmingham, as a three-

Dé

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THOUGHTFUL (5083) AT THREE YHARS TEN MONTHS—BRED BY W. TAYLOR, SHOWLE COURT.

GRATEFUL (4622) AT FIVE YHARS—BRED BY AARON ROGDRS.

216 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

year-old at Liverpool, and now at Bristol was win- ner in the aged class. At the Bath and West of England meeting a month before he had to take second place to Aaron Rogers’ Grateful, which not only won first in his class but the championship also, as best bull of all breeds, defeating the great Short- horn champion Sir Arthur Ingram. Thoughtful, through his grandsire Jupiter, was a grandson of Walford, and on his dam’s side, through Sir Frank and Sir Thomas, he was the grandson of Sir David, so that he carries the blood of perhaps the two greatest sires of the breed in his veins. Horace 2d had again to take second place to Thoughtful, as at Bath the year before. He had not the great length and substance of the winner, but was a thick wide good bull.

In yearling bulls the Liverpool winner had to give way to John Price’s Arthur, son of Horace 2d. He was a heavy-fleshed deep young bull, with a curly coat and a mellow thick hide, and a touch that all breeders liked. Anxiety, the beautiful Helena’s son, had the same nice touch, but he had not at this time the same bloom about him that he had at Liverpool, so he must be content with second place. In bull calves Arkwright’s Conjuror, by Concord, his dam from the Ivington Lass family at Hampton Court, a straight nice lengthy bull with true Hereford char- acter, carried the first prize, second going to Stock- tonbury on Lord Oxford, son of Longhorns. Third fell to Wintercott for Royalist’s son, Master But- terfly, from a Winter De Cote dam. The reserve num-

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ber was a nice young bull, King of the Roses from Adforton, his dam Roseleaf being a daughter of Rosebud, the Liverpool and Birmingham Royal win- ner.

In the cow class Lady Blanche had first prize. She had been second to Helena at the Royal and the Bath and West of England, and was a daughter of Von Moltke, a Cardiff winner in 1872, which she resembled, being very big and wide in front but not square and good enough behind. The second prize went to the Earl of Coventry’s Giantess, bred at Adforton. She had stood third to Rosebud and Helena at Liverpool, and was quite a contrast to the first prize cow here, being very big, as her name implied, and square and good in her quarters. While she lacked the flesh of the winner, the latter had too much of it for a breeding cow. Her sire, Sir Roger (4133) and her grandsire, Battenhall, were both sons of Sir Thomas, but the inbreeding certainly did not interfere with her growth nor her constitution. She looked the typical breeder which she later on proved to be. Her calf then, a daugh- ter, Golden Treasure, and her next calf, Good Boy, . each scored three first prize Royal wins and she herself with two offspring won first prize at the York Royal.

In the class for heifers above two and not ex- ceeding three, Mrs. Edwards’ marvelously good heifers Leonora and Beatrice gained first and sec- ond prizes. There was now no question as to which was the better of the two, for Leonora had developed

218 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

into a wonderfully good one and well carried the palm. They were both bred alike, their sire being Winter De Cote and both their dams being daugh- ters of Sir Thomas’ son, Tomboy. Their sire, Win- ter De Cote, was a son of Leominster 3d, first prize yearling bull at Manchester, he by another Tomboy (bred by Mr. Monkhouse), also a son of Sir Thomas, Leominster 3d’s dam being Primrose, by Adforton (1839). He also was a grandson of Sir David. Thomas Edwards of Wintercott was a wonderfully good judge of mating, and certainly worked out an extraordinary herd foundation at Wintercott. In heifer calves Hampton Court furnished two good ones, in a daughter of Ivington Boy, Gaylass 4th, the first prize heifer, and Abigail 2d, the third prize one. A heifer from Showle Court, Empress, by Tredegar, was placed between.

The Hereford Herd Book Society here gave a new prize for the best cow with two of her offspring. In good competition W. Thomas with his old first prize winner Rosaline, with progeny by Horace 2d, the bull calf Goldfinder and heifer calf Rosaline 2d, won first. Cherry, by De Cote, from Stocktonbury, with two smart heifers took second. ;

The Kilburn International Afloat—In 1879 came the Royal Agricultural Society’s International meeting at Kilburn and ‘‘the deluge.’’ Visitors there had good cause to remember it, particularly the lady visitors, for if they stepped the least bit off the plank into the mud, which was from four inches to four feet deep, a boot was left in it.

| S7zelames Rankin |

Edward Ye/d

220 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Planks had to be laid in all directions. From 200 to 500 men and 240 horses were employed for days, starting in relays from 2 a. m. to 9 p. m. to keep the yard passable, the cost in all, labor and material, being £3,329 extra outlay. So Kilburn was not a financial success owing to the almost incessant rain. The only fine weather was a part of the day when Queen Victoria paid her visit. Then there was a little ‘‘Royal weather.’’

In the aged bull class Aaron Rogers’ Grateful was awarded first prize, and later was made cham- pion bull over all. He was a magnificent animal, wonderfully deep and good in front and over his top. His old opponent, Thoughtful, had improved very much with the extra year’s age and ran him rather close, being very long and level and, if any- thing, a little squarer and better around the tail and hindquarters. Grateful, like Thoughtful, had the blood of both the great bulls and much nearer, for his sire, Sir Thomas, was the grandson of Sir David, and his dam, Lady Lizzie, was a daughter of Jupi- ter (3191), grandson of Walford. They were a pair of grand bulls.

Lord Wilton and a Blundering Bailiff.—In this class there was another bull shown in store condi- tion and with a big ‘‘gathered’’ knee. Mr. Lewis Lloyd’s blundering bailiff had sent him there in condition quite unfit, apparently expecting to get a prize merely because the bull had won before, and because his predecessor in the bailiff’s office, who had died rather suddenly the year before, had

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thought so highly of him. This bull was afterwards the invincible Lord Wilton. This farm bailiff was anxious to sell him, and asked Tom Carwardine what he would take to exchange a yearling bull for his. Mr. Carwardine asked, ‘‘What will you give me to do so?’’ The bailiff replied, ‘‘Five pounds.’’ Carwardine then said, ‘‘You shall have him.’’? The master of Stocktonbury afterwards said, in tell- ing the story, ‘‘But I never had the cheek to ask him for the £5. I just stood him a bottle of cham- pagne.’’ And that is how Mr. Carwardine really secured the champion of England, one of the makers of Hereford history.*

Anxiety Heads the Two-Year-Olds.—In the two- year-old bulls Anxiety now got back to his old form, looking wonderfully well, and won first prize in a small but good class, Tom Myddleton’s son of The Grove 3d, Hartington (5358), being given sec- ond prize. He was a very straight good young bull, only wanting a little more condition. He had nice Hereford style and character. The third place was well filled by Thomas’ Goldfinder, which had been put before Anxiety a month before at the Exeter Bath and West of England. In yearling bulls J. H. Arkwright’s Bristol winner, Conjuror, kept his place, winning first prize here and looking well. In bull calves Coomassie from Wintercott won first, and Thomas Fenn’s son of Grateful, Downton Boy,

*It is related of Geo. Morgan that while dickering with Mr. Car- wardine for the purchase of Anxiety he said: ‘Now, ,Master, sell me this young bull and go and buy you a good bull. -

“Which is that?’ queried Stocktonbury. ‘Why, Lord Wilton, replied Morgan. ‘An’ he did it,” George used to add.

222 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

second, with Tom Myddleton’s Victor, by Harting- ton, third.

Leonora, The Invincible—In the cow class the invincible Leonora won first honors and the cham- pion prize of £50 as best Hereford female. She was doubtless the best animal of any breed in the show- yard. Proving not to be in calf she was afterwards exhibited at the Christmas fat stock shows at Bir- mingham and London, at both of which places she won all the championship and extra prizes she could show for, taking all of them it was possible for her to win against all breeds. During her career the value of her first prizes and championships amounted to £650. In fact, she was never beaten except once; that was when her companion Beatrice was put before her at the Birmingham Royal as a heifer calf.

In the cow-and-two-offspring class Carwardine won first with the same three with which he was second at Bristol—Cherry, by De Cote (3060), and her daughters Plum and Apple Blossom, all Car- wardine-bred. The Earl of Coventry was second with the Adforton cow Giantess, by Sir Roger, and her two daughters, Britannia and Golden Treas- ure. In bull calves Herbert Hall’s Dale Tredegar, by Tredegar, very rightly had first prize. His dam was by King of the Dale. J. H. Arkwright with Broadward, by Ivington Boy, was second. Third went to Kimbolton from Stocktonbury and the re- serve to Lord Kilburn, both being sons of Rodney (4907).

LHONORA AT TWO YEARS ELEVEN MONTHS—BRED BY MRS. EDWARDS, WINTERCOTT.

GIANTESS AT BLEVEN YEARS—BRED BY WM. TUDGB, ADFORTON.

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Buying Prize-Winners for the States.—In breed- ing cows a remarkably good one, Myddleton’s Nanette, won first prize. Bred by the exhibitor she was a daughter of Baron 4th, a dark red cow with a splendid coat and skin, thick and mellow to the touch. She had a wonderful weight of flesh all over, with the appearance of a strong constitution. She was sold to George Morgan for Mr. Culbertson of Llinois. The second prize, Perfection, from Win- tercott, was a neat straight cow, but not equal to Nanette. She had a nice bull calf by her side. Third prize was given to Taylor’s Modesty, a daughter of Tredegar, and a level nice breeding cow. In three-year-old heifers Mr. Arkwright’s Gaylass 4th had to give way to one she had beaten before, Thomas Fenn’s Downton Rose, a heifer that had improved immensely and looked here like going on to do still more. She had the same year won many prizes; she was also sold to Mr. Culbertson. Mr.. Arkwright had to stand aside with his last year’s winner, Antoinette, now taking second place, Platt with Lady 3d, a daughter of Horace, gaining first. Arkwright had the first in the next class, however, with one of his Pearls—Pearl 3d, by Ivington Boy. Carwardine was second with a daughter of Anxiety (5188) called Juliet, from Rosaline by De Cote. Thomas Fenn was third with Countess of the Teme

‘by Romulus, a granddaughter of his Lady of the Teme.

The year after the water-logged Kilburn Inter-

national the show went to the far north, at Carlisle.

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The year before Kilburn it had been held in the extreme south, at Bristol. Its migratory meetings thus gave all England a chance to see the show in turn. The weather at Carlisle, as at Kilburn, was very much against the show, but the inhabitants in the north do not seem to mind wet much. More- over, better precautions were taken. One did not hear of any lost ladies’ shoes there, although the fair sex attended each day in large numbers. With their waterproof coats, short skirts, and tight-laced strong boots, they successfully defied the Border weather. .

Considering they were so far from home the ‘‘white faces’? mustered fairly strong and with quality unimpaired. In the aged bulls there was the same pair that had been first and second before, Grateful again taking the first. He looked remark- ably well, almost deeper in front than before, for his brisket now touched the ground, and although seven years old he seemed to have furnished up. Being very active he looked larger and bigger in his hindquarters than before. Thoughtful took sec- ond as at Kilburn, and was looking marvelously fit. He carried out both ends wonderfully well, but was scarcely equal to his opponent in style, which was one of Grateful’s strong points. Third was that good sire Hartington. Certain English breed- ers always claimed him as the best of Grove 3d’s sons. He was a big lengthy bull for his age at this show; he was two years younger than Thoughtful, and wanted a little more time to mature. These

226 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

were truly three grand animals to be shown in one class.

In two-year-olds Mr. Arkwright had an easy win with Conjuror. In the next class Mrs. Edwards’ two Wintercott bulls had first and second; both were sons of Royalist (4921). The winner was Presi- dent from the Plum family, a straight lengthy good bull. A son of Horace (1387) called Horace 4th, was third, and Taylor’s Trafalgar was reserve.

Historic Youngsters at Derby—We now near the dawn of the great American demand upon Here- fordshire. Premonitory signs of the approaching invasion of the trans-Atlantic buyers had already been in evidence, as witnessed by Morgan’s pur- chases of 1880. During 1881 the pot began to boil, and as we come to the younger classes at the Derby Royal of that year we run into names that have a very familiar sound in the United States.

The Derby show was not equal in the number of Herefords to the three preceding shows, but some first-class specimens competed, particularly in the bull calf and heifer classes. Among the aged bulls the veteran Thoughtful had again to put up with second honors, Philip Turner’s level even stylish bull Pirate, by Corsair (5271), taking first prize. Thoughtful was beginning to show signs of age and extended feeding. In two-year-olds the 1880 posi- tions were changed; Taylor’s Trafalgar, that was only reserve at Carlisle, now took first and the win- ner there, Horace 4th, took second, as at the Bath and West of England at Tunbridge Wells. In year-

TROPHIES FROM THE SHOWS—A NOTABLE GATHERING AT MR. PITT'S OF CHADNOR COURT—LORD C OVENTRY AND J. H. ARKWRIGHT IN CENTER.

228 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

lings Rees Keene won first and second with Reward and Return, two capital youngsters sired by Lord Waterford (6045).

Wilton Blood to the Fore—In the bull calf class there were many very superior animals. Such was the general opinion of all Hereford breed- ers. The first prize went to Carwardine on Sir Bar- tle Frere, with his rich dark coat and splendid touch. He had been first also at the Bath and West in a good class. His half brother Romeo took second. Both were from Stocktonbury, both were sons of ‘Lord Wilton, and both were destined to grace the Shadeland pastures of Adams Earl of Indiana. Philip Turner’s afterwards famous Rudolph here occupied third place.

In the cow class Taylor’s Modesty now came to the front. She had not previously been higher than third, but now took the premier position. Fenn’s Maid of the Teme was second, and Myddleton’s Sally was third. In yearling heifers, the strongest female class, there were several remarkably good ones. Carwardine’s Pretty Face, a daughter of Anxiety, and a pretty one all over, a wonderfully taking heifer, was given first. She had a beautiful head and well-nigh perfect lines throughout. She became Mr. Culbertson’s property. Second to her was Taylor’s Lorna Doone, also an admirable heifer.

The heifer calves were also a splendid lot. Here, as in the bull calves, two Lord Wiltons from Stock- tonbury were placed first and second. This famous pair, Venus and Henrietta, were of quite different

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type from the others and were easy winners. They were afterwards bought by Tom Clark for Mr. Earl.

Garfield and Henrietta.—At Reading in 1882 Mr. Platt’s Horace 4th came to the front. He now had great wealth of flesh and a nice touch. Lord Coven- try’s Fisherman was second. He was a big one weighing here over 2,600 pounds. Trafalgar, the Derby winner, was third. In two-year-olds Aaron Rogers’ Archibald, that had been unplaced as a yearling, headed the line. He had now that tre- mendous development of forehand that afterwards made him one of the wonders of his time. John Price’s Garfield, a bull of strong constitution and substance, was first in the yearlings over Carwar- dine’s Chippendale, and was bought by Mr. Clark for Earl & Stuart, subsequently rising to fame in America as a bull-getter.

In the breeding cow class Mr. Taylor was first with his Derby winner Modesty, by Tredegar. She had a new-born calf with her, and well kept up her

‘previous year’s prestige. The second prize winner, Mermaid 2d, bred by Mr. Stephen Robinson of Lyn- hales, was a daughter of Regulus (4076), a level deep cow of great substance, but lacking the style and character of the winner. In three-year-old heifers Mr. Taylor again won first, this time with the wonderfully level heifer Lorna Doone, by Horace, her dam being by Mercury (3967), the sire of Tredegar. Second went to Philip Turner’s Sil- via, a heifer of great substance, level, and with first-rate character. It was merely a matter of

230 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

opinion as to which was the better of the two heif- ers. Silvia with her nice curly coat was put first when they met at Newport in the autumn.

In two-year-olds the Stocktonbury herd took first with Henrietta, a daughter of Lord Wilton. She had been second to her half-sister Venus at Derby. Both were bought for America. Allen Hughes’ Modesty, by Commander, was second to Henrietta. The yearling heifers were a strong class. Major Ashton’s Princess, by Marquis (6057), was placed at its head, as she was at all the leading shows of the year, the second going into Cornwall on Duchess 2d, a daughter of John Price’s Grand Duke (5342). Carwardine was third with Venus 2d, by Lord Wil- ton.

In breeding cows with two offspring Robert Hall won first with Lovely, by Preceptor, and a pair of remarkably nice twin heifer calves by Lord Wilton. The dam and the calves had first-class character and style. The Earl of Coventry’s Giantess won second honors with her calves Britannia and Golden Treasure.

Light Show at York.—The next meeting was at York in 1883. The weather there was much more favorable than it had been for several years pre- vious, but being so far from their native county the Hereford exhibits were not so numerous. In the aged bulls there were but two entries, the Earl of Coventry’s Fisherman and Rogers’ Archibald. The first prize was given to Fisherman, which just pre- viously had won the first at the Bath and West of

WASHINGTON (8152) AT TWO YEARS—BRED BY A. B. HUGHES.

BEATRICH AT TWO YEARS ELEVEN MONTHS—BRED BY MES, EDWAERDS,

232 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

England and had been second at the Royal meeting at Reading the year before. He was a bull of great scale and had a double cross of the two big bulls of by-gone years, Walford and Sir David. In two- year-olds Mr. Arkwright won with Rose Cross, by Conjuror, first at Bristol and Kilburn; his dam, Rosebud, by Sir Thomas, had been first prize cow at Birmingham and Liverpool. He was a long deep dark red bull, wonderfully level in his lines. Sec- ond was awarded to the straight lengthy Chippen- dale, by Lord Wilton. In the bull calf class, a large one by the way, Carwardine’s Monarch, by Lord Wilton, which had been passed over at the Here- fordshire meeting, was now placed first. He was a big straight good-topped one with plenty of style, character and quality, looking better than the two that had previously been placed before him—Wash- ington, by Rudolph, and Albany, by Lord Wilton, now second and third.

In breeding cows Taylor’s Modesty had first prize and another entry from Showle, Adelaide, was sec- ond. Of the in-calf heifers Allen Hughes was ad- judged to have the best in Modesty, by Commander (4452). William Tudge was second with Elsie, by Downton Grand Duke (5878) from Mermaid 2d, by Regulus. Myddleton was third with Lady Mary. In two-year-olds Robert Hall won first with Doro- thea, by Lord Wilton. F. Platt was second with Prettymaid 4th, by Hartington (5358). In year- ling heifers Frederick Platt won first with the well made, stylish Primrose 7th, also by Hartington. A.

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWER 233

P. Turner with Portia, by The Grove 3d, was sec- ond. Thomas Fenn with Downton Beauty, by Down- ton Boy, was third, and the entire class was H. C. or commended.

The next was the best class of the meeting—cows with two offspring. Giantess, now shown with the splendid heifer Golden Treasure and the great young bull Good Boy, had first prize, and a wonder- ful trio they were. Second went to Robert Hall’s Lovely, the last year’s winner, seen now with one of the Reading winners, Theodora, by Lord Wil- ton, and the young bull Lord Ashton, by Chancellor. The third prize was won by William Tudge’s Rose- leaf, by Lord Hythe, her dam being Rosebud, by Sir Thomas, with the young bull Prince Rose, a prize-winner at Reading, and a bull calf Leinthall, by Auctioneer (5194).

The Great Shrewsbury Show of 1884.—Shrews- bury is in the adjoining county to what is called the home of the Hereford; many and many a good Hereford has been bred around Shrewsbury and in the surrounding region, particularly during the late Lord Berwick’s time when Walford, his sons, and grandsons were at Cronkhill. Then there were Meires of Eyton-on-Severn, Hill of Golding, and other noted old-time breeders. Indeed there are still some capital herds in that district, as has been proved at the shows of the present day. The Shrewsbury Royal of 1884 was well supported, the principal breeders sending their best animals to compete, and the entries numbering 144.

234 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Archibald—‘‘A Clever Cross.’’—In the senior bull class Aaron Rogers’ massive Archibald with his extraordinary development of forehand was sent to the top over his old antagonist Fisherman. Archibald had more width even than his grandsire Grateful, but he did not exceed him in the depth of his brisket. In both cases they almost touched the ground. Archibald’s sire, Dolley, and his dam, Miss Chance, were not really good animals themselves, but they mated well. There were Grateful as the sire of the dam, and Stanway as sire of the gran- dam, both grand show animals, and on Dolley’s side were the grandam Lady Blanche and Von Moltke with their wide deep forehands to blend with Grateful’s and Stanway’s straight tops and good hindquarters; between them all they made a great show bull of Archibald.

William Tudge, late of Leinthall, tells of visiting Mr. Rogers’ farm with a view towards buying Archibald, but upon seeing his sire and dam he decided not to make an offer, remarking that one of his progenitors ‘‘had an exceptionally good point where the other was deficient; a clever cross, I thought it.’’ This bull, as mentioned elsewhere, was afterwards brought to America by J. O. Curry and sold to C. K. Parmelee for $6,000. Fisherman, the Earl of Coventry’s bull, had scale and gave the im- pression of being more masculine, his great size and immense substance showing a strong constitu- tion. He was a favorite with many for the prize, but Archibald was a thorough showyard bull. In

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FISHERMAN (5913) AT FIVE YEARS TWO MONTHS—BRED BY T. ROGERS, COXxALL,

ARCHIBALD (6290)—BRED BY AARON ROGERS—Photo by Bustin from painting.

236 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the next class, bulls under three years, Fisherman’s son, Good Boy, told what a good sire can do with a good dam. Good Boy had both and well deserved ‘the first prize that was given him in his class, for like his sire and dam he had great scale and sub- stance. Father and son each weighed about 2,600 pounds, but the son was the better show bull of the two. The second prize bull here was Arkwright’s Rose Cross, a nice level good quality bull, as also was Tudge’s Prince Rose. ‘

In two-year-old bulls, Allen Hughes’ Washing- ton, by Rudolph, headed the list, at that time show- ing a level smooth top. He had a dip in the middle of his back when seen the previous year, but this had now disappeared. Albany, from Aaron Rogers’ herd, a son of Lord Wilton, was second, being a straight good bull but not showing the substance of the winner.

Maidstone and Anxiety Arthur.—The yearling bull class of twenty-one entries at Shrewsbury de- veloped a stubborn contest and brought into the limelight a bull destined to almost unprecedented Royal honors. There were a lot of good ones, and the judges had a tough fight over the first prize, one going strongly for Taylor’s bull Maidstone, an- other going equally as strong for the Stocktonbury bull Anxiety Arthur. Maidstone was a lengthy straight good-looking youngster that had already won at the Herefordshire and the Bath and West of England. He was got by Franklin, one of Lord Wilton’s best sons, his dam being by Tredegar.

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED | 237

The other judge was for the Carwardine bull, a son of President Arthur, his dam by Anxiety, which was a son of the beautiful Helena; he was a thick square bull, exceptionally big, strong and wide over his shoulders and chine and along his back, though he had not the long straight hindquarters of his opponent. Each of the judges pleaded strongly in favor of his favorite, first the one and then the other taking the third judge by the arm and dilating upon the good points. Finally after a very long discus- sion the third man, Mr. Featherstonhaugh, a fine type of the Irish gentleman, gave his vote in Maid- stone’s favor, thus starting Mr. Taylor’s celebrated bull upon a career that has few parallels in show- yard annals. William Tudge’s Leinthall, by Auc- tioneer from Roseleaf, was unanimously placed third.*

*In a letter to the author Mr. Tudge gives the details of this somewhat amusing incident thus:

“At York in 1883’ there had been, as usual, some little differ- ences of opinion as to the decisions in some of the classes. I happened to everhear an Irish gentleman, a Mr. Featherstonhaugh, making what I thought very sensible remarks about the judging, adding: ‘Had I been officiating I should have given some of the prizes differently.’ I said to him: ‘If you were asked to judge at next year’s Royal, would you do so?’ He considered a moment and then said: ‘Yes, certainly I will.’ I had been asked by a member of the council just previously to nominate one or two for next year, so I gave his name as one, and he was chosen to serve with two ‘old hands,’ Mr. Henry Haywood and Mr. Adam Lee, both men of very strong opinions, and who were continually differing in opinion. So Mr. Featherstonhaugh had not an easy time at Shrewsbury the following year.

“It was in the yearling class that they differed most. Hay- ‘wood’s was a straight, lengthy calf, very even from end to end. Lee’s was a thick, blocky one, exceptionally good and wide over the shoulders and top, but short. The two bulls very much re- sembled their two judges, for Lee had a very big, strong chest and was stoutly built. Haywood was three or four inches taller. The Irish gentleman had not a happy time. First one would take him by the arm to his favorite and then the other. Eventually he decided with Haywood, and Maidstone had first; Anxiety Arthur second; Leinthall third. Mr. Featherstonhaugh, a very gentle- manly man, came to me at the ringside after the decision, saying: ‘Nevermore will I become one of three judges.’”

238 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

The breeding cows made up a large class, but Lord Coventry’s Golden Treasure, a daughter of Giantess and a very wide deep massive young cow, had an easy win, although a lot of splendid cows were behind her. Arkwright’s Pearl 3d, by Iving- ton Boy, was second. The York winner, Taylor’s Modesty, was third and Robert Hall’s Royal winner Lovely reserve and H. C. In the next elass Lovely did better, her two daughters by Lord Wilton, Dorothea and Theodora, being first and second in the ring for heifers under three years. In two- year-olds Allen Hughes’ Sunflower was first as be- fore. In yearlings H. W. Taylor had an easy win with Vanity 7th, a remarkably good heifer by Franklin, Lord Coventry’s Plum Jam, by Fisher- man, being second.

The two next were exciting classes. In a contest between four two-year-old heifers Carwardine’s daughters of Lord Wilton, Henrietta, Rosa, Luna and Althea won. In the young class of four three splendid lots were shown by A. P. Turner, John Price and Stephen Robinson, the prizes being given in the order named.

This Shrewsbury show of Herefords was won- derfully prolific of good animals, particularly when the number of very good ones that had been sent abroad during the preceding two years was con- sidered.

Prizes at Preston—The Preston Royal of 1885 was not so well sustained. In -the aged bull class there were only two entries, Good Boy and

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240 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

John Price’s Hotspur, by Regulus. Hotspur had perhaps the best head for a Hereford bull, but aside from that Good Boy probably had the advan- tage. Hotspur won. In the class for under-three- years another Hotspur, son of Lord Wilton, was the only exhibit. His winning was pretty well a certainty which probably accounted for absence of competition. The three bulls were all of Adforton blood, two having Adforton sires and the other having an Adforton dam.

In two-year-old bulls Maidstone, the Shrewsbury winner, very deservedly took first prize. He had plenty of scale and quality, clearly now the making of a grand bull. In yearlings the Herefordshire member, James Rankin, M. P., had first prize for an entry of nice character and straight top, but not any too much in substance. The second prize bull, Arkwright’s Upper Crust, had more admirers.

In breeding cows Golden Treasure again took first, looking exceedingly handsome and well deserv- ing her honors. Taylor’s Rosamond, a first prize cow in the ‘‘offspring’’ class at Shrewsbury, had second prize. F. I. Gough’s high-priced Stockton- bury cow Mabelle, by Lord Wilton, was third, an- other Lord Wilton from. Stocktonbury, Flo, being reserve and H. C. In three-year-old heifers Allen Hughes’ Sunflower was again first, Rankin’s Grace Wilton, by Lord Wilton, second, Gough with Rosa, by Lord Wilton, third, and Rankin reserve and H. C. with another daughter of Lord Wilton. In cows- and-two-offspring the Leinthall herd furnished both

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED 241

first and second in a very strong good class. Rebe, by Napoleon (5476), dam by Cannon Ball (4399), with her two nice daughters of Auctioneer, Rowena and New Year’s Gift, was first and Roseleaf with - her capital son, Prince Rose, and a first-class daugh- ter, Rose of Leinthall, by Auctioneer, was second. Robert Hall, with his previous winner, Lovely, this time with a pair of twin bulls, Sir Julian and Sir Julius, had third.*

In two-year-old heifers Taylor’s Vanity 7th, by Franklin, by Lord Wilton, a remarkably level nice heifer, had first prize, and A. P. Turner’s Kathleen, by The Grove 3d, second prize. The latter was a remarkably good heifer with perhaps a trifle more scale. These were two wonderfully good ones, and at the autumn Newport show the decisions were re- versed. Then Kathleen had a capital coat and Van- ity had very little. Lord Coventry had third prize with Plum Jam, by Fisherman. In yearlings Allen Hughes had first with Ladybird, by Garfield 2d (7648), a big good heifer. Lord Coventry was sec- ond with a nice daughter of Good Boy.

Good Boy and Rare Sovereign.—Good Boy came forward again in fine form and headed the aged bull class in Norwich in 1886, Tudge’s Prince Rose,

*Apropos of the charge that Herefords are weak at the pail, these two Leinthall cows were exceptionally good milkers. hen the champions were being judged in the large ring upon this occasion, Mr. Mitchell, a leading Galloway breeder, called out to one who stood at the opposite side of the ring: “What about the Herefords for milkers, Tudge?”’ The latter answered back: “I am first and second in the breeding cow Hereford class, and I will show any man for the two best milkers in the showyard for £50 with my two Hereford cows.” Mitchell called out, loud enough for all to hear: “What do you say to that, you milking men?” A good many went and looked at the two cows, but no one took the wager.

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242 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

a fine upstanding younger bull, gaining second. In the three-year-old class Maidstone had an easy vic- tory, although there was plenty of competition in the class. Mr. Henry Haywood’s Honeywood, a straight lengthy bull with nice character and style, a son of the Horace bull Truro, was second. In two-year-olds Lord Coventry’s Rare Sovereign, a soon of Good Boy and a first-class type of a Here- ford sire, took first prize. He had plenty of size and quality with level form. Second was given to Mr. George Child’s Warrior True, by Treasure Trove, and third to the Leinthall bull Trojan, by Auctioneer. In the yearling bulls Rees Keene was first on Reliance, by Bangham, the second going to Major Rankin’s Cicero (11077), a son of Lord Wil- ton. Third went to John Price for Plato, a straight useful son of his Royal winner Monarch, by Lord Wilton, with reserve to Richard Green on The Whit- tern’s Prince, another son of Lord Wilton from Per- fection, by Rodney.

Golden Treasure.—In a capital class of breeding cows Lord Coventry’s wonderfully good Golden Treasure well kept up her form and name, again taking first prize. Allen Hughes’ Sunflower, the winning heifer of the past three years, had to give way and take a second. The straight good-looking Leinthall cow Rebe, winner of the herd book prize at Preston, had third, Mr. F. I. Gough’s Mabelle, by Lord Wilton, being reserve and highly commended. The in-calf three-year-old heifer class produced two remarkably good ones in A. P. Turner’s Kathleen,

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244 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

by The Grove 3d, and Taylor’s Vanity 7th, by Frank- lin. At Preston Vanity had first. Now it was Kath- leen’s win. Seldom are two such good heifers seen in showyard competition. In two-year-olds H. W Taylor with another daughter of Franklin, Auri- cula, carried off first prize with a very smart stylish heifer, Mr. Hill of Orleton coming second with Lor- raine, by Viscount (8140).

The Hereford Herd Book prize that had been given for several years for cow and two offspring was this year changed to yearlings, one bull and two heifers, when singularly enough the Leinthall win- ner of first and second the previous year won it again under the new regulation, the award going to the remarkably good young bull Regent (9121), a son of Regal, dam Rhea, by Romulus, all of the old Adforton breeding. The two heifers were New Year’s Gift and Apple Blossom, by Auctioneer. The second prize went to John Price for Goldfinder and two nice heifers, May Queen and Ethel, all by Monarch.

Newcastle-on-Tyne.—North Countrymen next had another opportunity of seeing the Herefords in 1887, and the breed was fairly well represented by sixty-six entries, including many fine animals.

Maidstone again was first among aged bulls, look- ing remarkably well and having a very easy win. Good Boy was not there, so there was nothing to make the running. The third bull at Norwich, Mrs. Edwards’ Magnet, was now second; the three- year-olds being merged here into the ‘‘all aged,’’ he

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED 245

scarcely had a fair chance. This sent Rare Sover- eign, Lord Coventry’s great young bull, down to third. Another three-year-old, Stockton Prince, by Lord Wilton, was reserve. In two-year-olds the Leinthall bull Regent, one of the Norwich winners, a bull of great substance, was an easy first. Big, thick and massive, he was remarkably well developed over the loins, heavy-fleshed and with splendid char- acter. He had won many prizes and would have been hard to beat for championship honors. Mr. A. E. Hughes was second with Pirate, a bull of nice character and quality, scarcely showing the sub- stance of the winner. The Earl of Coventry was third with Minstrel, by Spartan, and reserve with Textuary, by Good Boy, two promising young bulls in a good class of nine. In the young class A. P. Turner won first with Tarquin, by the Lord Wilton bull Sir Edward and from the grand heifer Kath- leen, by The Grove 3d, the winner in the three-year- old heifer class at Norwich. He was a deep thick bull with nice Hereford character. Second prize went to John Tudge’s Alton, a son of Leinthall (8801) out of Coral, by Mareschal Niel, a stylish and attractive young bull. The third prize winner was the Earl of Coventry’s Golden Miner, by Cali- fornian, his dam being Golden Dream, by Fisherman from Golden Treasure, by Mareschal Neil.

In breeding cows and three-year-old heifers Mr. Taylor’s Gem, by Franklin, the third prize two- vear-old of the previous year, now took first, the older breeding cow Myrtle, shown by Sir Joseph

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248 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Spearman, taking second. Allen Hughes’ Sun- flower, the winner of so many heifer prizes and now five years old, had third. In two-year-olds Rees Keene won first with Bangle, by Bangham, dam by Tredegar, a deep thick heifer, but not so neat and stylish as the second, Mr. Crawshay’s Cyfartha Vio- let, a trim-built heifer of first-class quality, her dam being Downton Violet, by Downton Boy. A. E. Hughes had third for Blossom, by Garfield 2d (7628). In yearlings J. H. Arkwright won first with Ivington Lass 24th, a daughter of Rose Cross and a very handsome heifer with splendid Here- ford character and level lines like her sire. The second was H. R. Hall’s Gay Lass, also a very deep thick one, exceptionally level and good all over. The Earl of Coventry was third with Rosewater. These were all remarkably good heifers. Seldom are bet- ter seen together. In the group class for bull and two heifers Stephen Robinson was placed first with The Squire, by Highland Laird, and two nice heifers by Rosestock. .John Price was second on Prince Alfred, by Monarch, and two nice heifers by the same sire. The Leinthall herd had reserve and highly commended for Baron Wilton, by Viscount Wilton, Lady Wilton and Elsie Wilton, daughters of Lord Wilton. These were three grand lots, the judges having difficulty in placing the prizes. Nottingham Decisions The Nottingham Royal of 1888 was a very successful meeting for the society, the attendance being large. In aged bulls the re- doubtable Maidstone again had first prize, but it

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED 249

was quite a matter of opinion between him and Rare Sovereign, placed second. The younger bull, with splendid style, character and quality, had a great many admirers. In the three-year-olds W. H. Cook’s Grove Wilton 3d, sire Lord Wilton, dam Polyan- thus, by The Grove 3d, a remarkably deep heavy- fleshed bull, had first prize. Of great scale and quality, he had strong masculine character and was subsequently given the reserve male championship. Second to him was Lord Coventry’s Rondeau, by Minstrel, a smart bull of good quality. Two-year- olds furnished the champion male Hereford in John Price’s Prince Alfred, by Monarch and out of Playful, by Hotspur. He had been shown in the family class that took the second prize at Newcastle. Prince Alfred was a very heavy-fleshed level good bull of splendid quality and true Hereford char- acter, well deserving all his honors. Lord Cov- entry’s Golden Miner and Taylor’s son of Maid- stone were second and third. In the younger class A. E. Hughes was first with Royal Head, a bull of great scale and good Hereford character. Thomas Fenn was second with Downton Wilton, by Viscount Wilton, a bull of first-rate quality. Lord Coventry was third with Royal Ruler, by Rare Sovereign and from Rosemary, by The Grove 3d.

In cows Sir Joseph Spearman’s Myrtle 6th, sec- ond the year before, was now first. Her Majesty Queen Victoria was second with Mabelle, and Ran- kin was third with Fortune Teller. In the in-calf heifer class Taylor’s Cardiff Lass was first, Ralph

250 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE.

Palmer coming second with Lightfoot and Col. Bridgeford third with Princess. The next class, two-year-olds, was a remarkably good one. Lord Coventry’s Rosewater was first, Arkwright’s Iving- ton Lass 24th was second, and Tudge’s Lady Wil- ton, by Lord Wilton, third—three marvellously good heifers to be in one class. In yearlings R. Keene’s Blanche Bangham was first, Allen Hughes’ Prin- cess second, and The Queen was third with Belle. In the showing for best bull and two heifers H. F. Russell was first with three by Horace Hardwick, a useful lot. S. Robinson was second with a bull by Highland Laird and two nice heifers by Rosestock.

The Windsor Jubilee—The Jubilee Meeting, com- memorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, was held in Wind- sor Great Park on June 24, 1889. It was a splendid exhibition of all breeds, and favored with fine weather. The 121 Herefords were a grand lot.

In aged bulls Mr. Taylor’s Maidstone reached the zenith of his career, again winning first prize. This was his sixth Royal win in succession, and this time he was champion male Hereford and reserve for the Queen’s gold medal. The second was given to John Price’s Radnor Boy, although he was not so general a favorite as the third prize bull, Lord Cov- entry’s Rare Sovereign, the well known son of Good Boy out of Rare Jewel, by Merry Monarch, tracing back to Lord Berwick’s famous old herd. W. H. Cooke had reserve with Grove Wilton 3d. In two- year-old bulls Her Majesty Queen Victoria was first

Copyright photo by Bustin

PRIZE-WINNING BULL HAPPY HAMPTON.

Copyright photo by Bustin ROYAL PRIZD BULL SPRING JACK—Bred by Mr. Arkwright.

252 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

with Favourite (13052), bred by John Price, and a son of his Royal winner Monarch (7858), by Lord Wilton, a young bull of fine style and character and plenty of size and quality, well entitled to his place at first in the class. The Earl of Coventry was second with White Boy, from White Rose by Patriot, a bull with much scale, a good top and straight un- derline. Third prize was given to Thomas Fenn’s Downton Wilton, a son of Viscount Wilton, a nice quality bull like his sire. The yearlings and bull calves, a class of thirty-five, were difficult to judge, first prize eventually being given to Sir James Ran- kin’s Figaro, a straight useful calf by Cicero, son of Lord Wilton. The second went to Allen Hughes’ Endaleé, bred by Edward Yeld of Endale, a son of ” Hilarity from Fraulein Wilton, by Lord Wilton, a deep heavy-fleshed dark-colored calf with more sub- stance than the winner. The third in this very large good class was the Earl of Coventry’s Golden Sover- eign, from Golden Dream, a daughter of the treble Royal winner Golden Treasure,

In a class of nineteen cows and heifers in calf or in milk, the winner was a marvelously good one. This was the Earl of Coventry’s Rosewater, not only first in her class but the champion Hereford female and the winner of the Queen’s gold medal as best Hereford in the yard. She was a daughter of Rare Sovereign from ‘Rosemary, by The Grove 3d, faultless in form, yet with plenty of scale and beauti- ful character and quality. She was called a model Hereford. J. H, Arkwright was second with Curly

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254 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

93d, a straight good heifer by the Royal winner Rose Cross. Thomas Fenn had third with Bravura, by Good Boy, bred at Croome’s Court. In two-year- olds Allen Hughes was first with Princess, a good daughter of Newton Plum, A. P. Turner was second with Veronica, by Sir Edward, and Her Majesty was third with Jenny Lind. The next was a very large and good class of thirty-three, Her Majesty again winning first prize, this time with Rose, by Auctioneer, a very level stylish heifer with plenty of size, good hair and quality, with nice character, and standing square and good all around. Auction- eer had been loaned for a time to Mr. Tait, the Queen’s farm manager, but he unfortunately met with an accident to his stifle joint and had to be de-. stroyed. He had been a very successful sire at Court House, The Brakes and Leinthall. The second went to John Price for Lady Constance, a daughter of Monarch, dam by Auctioneer, so that both win- ners in this large good class were nearly related.*

*We may here record an incident of this Jubilee Royal at Windsor that materially affected two leading English agricultural newspapers, “Bell’s Weekly Messenger” and “The Farmer and Stockbreeder.” With the aid of a dictionary, some Germans had been trying to trade for a heifer with one of the exhibitors, but failed to connect. Shortly afterwards Mr. Alexander Macdonald, the editor of “Bell’s Messenger,” then a leading London agricul- tural paper, came by and asked the exhibitor how he was getting on. The difficulty was explained to him, whereupon he said: “My wife speaks German like a native. I will get her to come and meet you and them tomorrow.” She came, but not the Germans. Macdonald passed by several times, but did not stay to talk. When he sent his report of the show to the printers the railway guard, through some error, failed to deliver it. James Sinclair, editor of the “Live Stock Journal,” had his report out early next morning. Macdonald was much later. The proprietor of “Bell’s Messenger” blamed Macdonald, accusing him of having neglected his duty. He was very indignant and resigned. About a fort- night later he bought a little paper called “Agriculture,” the name of wHich was changed to the “Farmer and Stockbreeder.” at has reese a success, and “Bell’s Messenger” is a thing of

e past.

MORE ROYAL DECISIONS REVIEWED 255

Fifty Years of Progress—We have now noted the results of half-a-century’s competition for honors at England’s national show. From this it is apparent that in the earlier part of that period scale was the leading feature, some enormous weights being recorded. Cotmore, winner at the first Royal show in 1839, weighed 3,500 pounds. At the end of this fifty-year period in 1889, although Maid- stone, Good Boy and Fisherman were considered big bulls, the heaviest of them weighed but a trifle over 2,600 pounds. The decisions at the Worcester show of 1863 and the character of the Sir Thomas stock thereafter shown, first drew attention to the fact that quality was to take the place of mere bulk. Eighteen years later came the Lord Wiltons to the Derby Royal of 1881, where both males and females of that blood were generally acknowledged to rep- resent the acme of Herefordshire breeding at that date. The subsequent use of The Grove 3d bulls upon the Wilton females brought the union of quality and flesh that distinguished so many model Herefords in succeeding years.

We shall now be able to pursue the history of the breed on our own side of the water with a good un- derstanding of the material with which we have to deal.

GHAPTER VI. FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS.

The business of grazing and feeding cattle for market in the United States had its origin in the valley of the South Branch of the Potomac River in the state of Virginia during the closing years of the eighteenth century. The War of the Revo- lution was over; the independence of the colonies was established. Trade and industry had begun to thrive, and a profitable market for good beef loomed up in Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia and New York. The valley was populated by an in- telligent, enterprising and self-reliant people—fami- lies that had inherited from a long line of ances- tors, largely of British birth, a love of the soil, a fondness for good horses, good dogs, good cattle, and in general, the good things of life in the open. Washington himself had set the example. Turning from the presidency to the gentle arts of agricul- ture at Mt. Vernon, he admonished his countrymen that farming was at once ‘‘the most healthful, most. useful, and the noblest employment of man.’’ So over in the valley those who had contributed of their blood and treasure to the colonial cause, now ‘“beat their swords into plow-shares, and their

spears into pruning-hooks.’’ From the aborigines 256

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 257

they already had the key that was to unlock stores of gold greater than even Pizzaro coveted. They had the Indian corn.

“All around the happy village Stood the maize fields green and shining.”

‘‘Squaw farming,’’ while not scientific, was sug- gestive. The possibilities of the corn plant were ob- vious. Its culture by these Virginians led inevit- ably to cattle; and once they had progressed that far it was only a question of a little time until some enterprising member of the community was certain to conceive the idea of engrafting upon their unim- proved stock the blood of the better breeds that were known to graze in the distant pastures of the motherland.

As to who made the original purchases we cannot at this date be entirely certain. Tradition has it that while the foundations of the great industry soon to be carried over the Blue Ridge into the Ohio Valley and the west were being laid in the Old Do- minion, an importation of Herefords was made into Virginia by a Mr. W. C. Rives, but authentic rec- ords in reference to such shipment (if made) are not available. The known fact is that Messrs. Gough and Miller made certain importations of the old Teeswater (Shorthorn or Durham) and other stock into Maryland and Virginia about 1786, ° and that the descendants of these cattle were bred and handled with profit for a long series of years by the pioneer graziers and feeders of that period.

Under the name of ‘‘Patton stock’’—so called be-

258 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

eause first introduced by the Messrs. Patton—the descendants of the Gough and Miller importations became the basis of the great cattle business subse- quently developed in the bluegrass regions of cen- tral Kentucky and southern Ohio.

First Improved Blood in Kentucky.—Careful investigation indicates that the commonly accepted statement that the Gough and Miller cattle were all of the Shorthorn and Durham type is not cor- rect. Examination of various records bearing upon this question indicates that Longhorn and possibly Hereford blood were included in the purchases made by these gentlemen in England. The foundations therefore of the cattle-breeding operations of those who in the early days began the profitable business of converting corn and bluegrass into beef in central Kentucky and southern Ohio, were not entirely laid in the blood of the Teeswater cattle. In the course of our inquiries touching this point and confirma- tory of the above statement, the author submits the following interesting letter written by Mr. B. Har- rison of Woodford county, Ky., and published in the ‘‘Pranklin Farmer’’ in 1838:

‘‘The impression that Matthew Patton, Sr., was the first individual who brought blooded cattle to Kentucky, is incorrect. The facts are, that some two or three Mr. Pattons, the sons, and a Mr. Gay, the son-in-law of Matthew Patton, Sr., brought some half-blooded English cattle (so called), a bull and some heifers, as early as 1785, or thereabouts, and

settled where Nicholasville, in Jessamine county, now stands. The cattle were from the stock of Mat-

\ Hon Henry Clay |

We

| Col. Lewis Sanders | |= ==3 ==>]

260 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

thew Patton, Sr., who then resided in Virginia. These cattle I never saw and know but little about. I have heard them spoken of as being large at that day and have always understood that they were the calves of a bull owned by Matthew Patton, Sr., which he purchased of Gough of Maryland, who was an importer of English cattle. I never saw that bull, but have often heard my grandfather (Matthew ‘Patton, Sr.) speak of him. He described him as being very large and of the Longhorned breed. Matthew Patton, Sr., emigrated to Kentucky about the year 1790 and brought with him some six or more cows and calves of the Longhorned bull before mentioned. I knew these cows very well for I saw them almost every day for several years. They were large, somewhat coarse and rough, with very long horns, wide between the points, turning up con- siderably, their bags and teats very large, differing widely in appearance from the Longhorned stock of the importation of 1817. Some of them were first rate milkers.

‘‘About the year 1795, Matthew Patton, Sr., pro- cured from the beforementioned Gough, through his son, William Patton, a bull called Mars, and a heifer called Venus, both of which were sold by Gough as full-blooded English cattle, but like the importation of 1817, they had no other pedigree. The bull was a deep red, with a white face, of good size, of round full form, of more bone than the popular stock of the present day, his horns somewhat coarse. The heifer was a pure white except her ears, which were red, of fine size, high form, short crumply horns turning downwards. She produced two bull calves by Mars and died. One of these bulls was taken to the neighborhood of Chillicothe, O., by William Pat- ton, and the other to Jessamine Co., Ky., by

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 261

Roger Patton. Mars remained in the possession of Matthew Patton, Sr., until his death, in the year 1803. He was then sold at the sale of his estate and purchased by a Mr. Peeples of the same neigh- borhood, but who soon afterwards changed his resi- dence to Montgomery county, taking Mars with him, where the bull soon after died. Mars, whilst in the possession of Matthew Patton, Sr., served few cows except his own and those of his sons and son-in-law, for the reason that he charged the sum of two dol- lars for each cow served by the bull, which price was at that day considered so extravagant that only a few individuals would breed to him. The bull calves that he produced were nearly all permitted to run for breeders; consequently every person in a large section of country, had an opportunity of breeding to half-blooded bulls, which effected a great improvement in the stock of cattle in a large portion of Clarke county and a small portion of Bourbon county. Mars produced from the half Long- horned cows, which I have before described, stock that would be considered good, even at this day. All the bull calves that were bred by Patton and his family were sold to persons in all the different sections of this state and some to persons living in other states. Mars has been dead 33 years.

“Tn 1803, Daniel Harrison (my father), James Patton and James Gay, purchased of a Mr. Miller, of Virginia, who was an importer of English cattle, a two-year-old bull called Pluto, who certified that he was got by an imported bull and came out of an imported cow, but gave no other pedigree. Pluto was a dark red or brindle, and when full grown was the largest bull I have ever seen, with an un- commonly small head and neck, light, short horns, very heavy-fleshed, yet not carrying so much on the

262 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

most desirable points as the fashionable stock of the present day, with small bone for an animal of his weight. Pluto was kept on the farms of his owners and served their cows and those of such others as were willing to pay $2 per cow, which was not many, as the price was still considered too high. He was bred upon the cows produced by the Patton bull Mars, which produced stock that has rarely been excelled in all the essential qualities of the cow kind. They were unquestionably the best milk- ers that have ever been in Kentucky, taken as a stock in the general, and but little inferior in point of form to the most approved stock of the present day, and of greater size. In the year 1812, or there- abouts, Pluto was taken to Ohio, and shortly after- wards died.

‘“‘In the year 1810, or thereabouts, Capt. Wm. Smith, of Fayette, purchased of the same Mr. Mil- ler the bull called Buzzard. He was a brindle, very large and coarse, taller than Pluto, but not consid- ered so heavy. A number of the Pluto cows, as well as the produce of the Patton bull, were bred to Buzzard, but the stock was held rather in disrepute on account of coarseness and the disinclination to early maturity. Buzzard was sired by the same bull that Pluto was, but came out of a different cow, said to be of the Longhorned stock which Miller had bought of Matthew Patton, Sr.

“About the year 1813, a Mr. Inskip came to Ken- tucky from Virginia and brought with him a large bull called Inskip’s Brindle. He was a large coarse bull, and I have always understood that he was a descendant of Miller’s stock, mixed with the Long- horned stock that Matthew Patton, Sr., left in Vir- ginia when he left there.

‘‘About the year 1814, Daniel Harrison (my

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 263

father) procured a bull and heifer from a Mr. Rin- gold, an importer of English cattle, either of Mary- land or Virginia. They were called the Carey cattle. They were pied red and white, were rather small, light-fleshed, raw-boned stock, and had no claims to merit only for milking qualities. They were good milkers.’’

While the above letter in its entirety is of gen- eral interest, the reference to the bull Mars is es- pecially significant. It will be observed that he is described as ‘‘a deep red, with a white face, of good size, of round full form, of more bone than the popu- lar stock of the present day, his horns somewhat coarse,’’ etc. That might be a description of a Hereford of that period, and as he was bought and used by the Pattons, who introduced the first im- proved blood into Kentucky, it may be that a Here- fordshire cross entered into some of these founda- tion herds. The Longhorn blood was freely used. That has been a well recognized fact for many years. Nevertheless, the Shorthorn or Durham blood pre- dominated strongly in the Patton cattle, and this preponderance became an overwhelming percentage after the importation and use of the cattle soon afterwards brought direct from England into Ken- tucky by Col. Lewis Sanders.

Henry Clay’s Importation of 1817—In 1816 Hon. Henry Clay, of Lexington, Ky., was in Eng- land. In common with other public-spirited Ken- tuckians of that day he was anxious to assist in every possible way in developing the natural re-

264 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

sources of the new state. Hearing that his friend and fellow-citizen, Col. Lewis Sanders,* a large land- owner in Fayette and Gallatin counties, had placed an order in Liverpool for a shipment of Shorthorns and Longhorns with a view towards improving the old Patton cattle, Mr. Clay decided to give the breed that was then attracting so much attention at the Smithfield Fat Stock Show in London a trial in the bluegrass. There is no record extant as to where the specimens were procured, but the forwarding of a cow, a young bull and a heifer of the Hereford breed by the ship Mohawk, which brought out the famous Shorthorn importation of 1817 from Liver- pool to Baltimore, is a matter of recorded history. The comparatively small sum of £105 is said to have been paid for the lot in England.

This importation of Shorthorns, Longhorns and Herefords was destined to have a far-reaching and most beneficent effect upon the agriculture of the middle west. There were no herd books either in Great Britain or America in 1817. While there has never been any question as to the fact that the ani-

*Col. Sanders was a close student of agricultural conditions and a regular reader of English publications dealing with farm topics, Through these he had learned of the great prices Fale by tenant farmers for Shorthorns at the Chas. Colling sale. ommenting on these he said:

“Countess, out of Lady, four years old, brought four hundred guineas ($2,000). Comet, six years old, brought one thousand guineas

5,000). He was bought by four farmers. It seemed to me that if four farmers were willing to pay $5,000 for a bull, there was a value in that breed that we were unapprised of, and that I should endeavor to procure it. I made up an order for six bulls and six cows. My views were then more inclined for a milking than for a good beef breed. The weight of the authorities given by the writers on the subject of cattle at the close of the last and the commencement of the present century was in favor of the Holderness breed as the best for milking, and the Teeswater and Durham as having the hand- somest and most perfect forms. I settled on these breeds.

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 265

mals imported were true to their respective types, pedigrees and purity of blood were held by the prac- tical seekers after bovine excellence in those days in complete subordination to fleshing and milking capacity. Actual value for practical use was the test of good breeding, and so while many of the descendants of these imported Shorthorns were kept pure and free from admixture of other blood, there was more or less cross-breeding practiced.

Mr. Clay placed his Herefords in the capable hands of Isaac Cunningham, owner of one of the largest and best grass farms in Kentucky at that date, and a man of wealth and influence, possessing many good cows of the Patton blood. While for the most part loyal Shorthorn breeders, Mr. Cun- ningham and his contemporaries utilized the Here- ford blood for crossing purposes, and certain of the local herds of ‘‘Durhams’’ were thus ‘‘infected’’— as it was afterwards regarded by those who owned English-bred Shorthorns—with the Hereford ‘‘al- loy.’? Yet the percentage of Hereford blood to Shorthorn blood in use in Kentucky for a long series of years following this importation was as a drop in a full bucket, and as no additional Hereford blood was introduced into the state for many years after, it is not strange that the ‘‘white face’’ was soon merged with and altogether lost its identity in the broad Shorthorn stream that soon swallowed it up.

Looking back over a long series of years after this early Kentucky experiment with Hereford blood, Mr. Clay wrote to Hon. Henry S. Randall,

266 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of New York, one of the leading agricultural writers of the time, in the following vein:

‘¢‘T was induced to discontinue breeding the Here- fords in consequence of an apprehension that I should breed in-and-in too far, which in some in- stances I found to be the case. I could not obtain, conveniently, crosses from other females of the same race.”’

Mr. Clay afterwards wrote:

“‘My opinion is that the Herefords make better work cattle, are hardier, and will, upon being fat- tened, take themselves to market better than their rivals. They are also fair milkers. On the other hand, the Durhams, I think, have the advantage in earlier maturity, in beauty and in the quantity of milk which they will yield. They will also attain great size and weight. The choice between the two races should be regulated somewhat by circum- stances. If one has rich, long and luxuriant grass, affording a good bite, and has not too far to drive to market, he had better breed the Durhams, other- wise the Herefords.’’

In 1846, when Lewis F. Allen founded the Ameri- can Shorthorn Herd Book, he admitted to registry from Kentucky quite a number of animals in whose veins were traces of both Hereford and Longhorn blood, and in subsequent volumes certain descend- ants of. these cattle were recorded. The fact that they had attained true Shorthorn character through the steady use of purebred bulls of that type did not save those tracing to the ‘‘Kentucky woods,”’ as it was termed, from much unmerited vituperation, and at the present day cattle so descended have prac- tically disappeared from Shorthorn records.

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 267

The late T. L. Miller made the claim that inasmuch as the great old-time Shorthorn bullock-breeding herd of John D. Gillett, Elkhart, Ill., father of the export trade in live cattle, was founded upon the blood of these ‘‘seventeen’’ and ‘‘woods’’ cattle, the Herefords really shared in the making of those wonderful animals with which Mr. Gillett at one time astonished the country. This relationship, however, was too remote to be of practical effect as late as the ‘‘seventies’’ when the argument was ad- vanced. The great and lucrative business of mak- ing beef in Ohio and Kentucky and driving it on the hoof across the mountains to seaboard markets was based very largely upon the Shorthorn blood, and yet it is a fact that some of the herds which con- tributedsto the upbuilding of that business had re- ceived Hereford and Longhorn crosses. However, that subject at the present time is one of sentimental rather than of practical interest.

A Hereford Owned by Lewis Sanders.—Unusual interest attaches to the somewhat crude picture of the cow Jessica presented herewith. This is the only illustration we have ever seen of any of the direct descendants of the Henry Clay importation into Kentucky. Our plate is a reproduction of a lithograph made a great many years ago by T. Campbell of Ghent, Ky., who copied it from a paint- ing by Troye. This cow was owned for a time by Col. Lewis Sanders, and the fact that an animal of such distinctively Hereford character was in his possession, illustrates the tendency in the early days

268 A HISTORY OF HEREPORD CATTLE

of cattle breeding in Kentucky to experiment in crossing the breeds. It will be observed that Jessica shows indications of having been a good milker.

We have found this plate in a queer old combina- tion scrap-book and diary kept at one time by Col. Sanders at his farm at Grass Hills. This volume along with many interesting letters and various documents relating to the early introduction of im- proved live stock into the state of Kentucky, has been kindly placed at the disposal of the author by Mrs. N. OC. Brown, a granddaughter of Col. Lewis Sanders, residing at Ghent, Ky. It is to the cour- tesy of Mrs. Brown that we are also indebted for an old daguerreotype of Col. Sanders, from which the portrait appearing in this volume has been prepared. This picture was taken when the veteran advocate of better farming was in his eightieth year. Much interesting and hitherto undiscovered material relating to Col. Sanders’ life and work deals more particularly with Shorthorns, however, and is therefore reserved for publication in a revised edition of the author’s history of Shorthorn cattle, to be undertaken in the near future.

Introduced Into Massachusetts.—The next Here- fordshire blood brought to our shores, and of which we have positive record, came in the shape of a bull and a heifer presented by Admiral Coffin of the Royal English Navy to the Massachusetts Society for the Promotion of Agriculture, probably about 1825. The heifer never bred, but the bull, known as Sir Isaac, becamé the property of Isaac C. Bates

JESSICA—A DESCENDANT OF THB HENRY CLAY IMPORTATION, oNncE OWNED BY COL. LEWIS SANDERS OF KENTUCKY—From an old print.

270 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of Northampton and lived to the great age of nine- teen or twenty years. The document accompanying these cattle set forth that they were ‘‘bred by Sir J. G. Cottrel whose stock was from Mr. Yarworth, and his from Benjamin Tomkins.’’ Ali accounts agree that he made a deep impress upon the native stock of that district. Of his get it was written:

‘“‘Their excellencies were for beef and work, and in these qualities they are said to have been much superior to any other cattle which have been known

here. Their strength was great and their quickness and speed as travelers remarkable.’’

Various local authorities, such as Mr. Cook, of Northampton, and Mr. Sargent, of Springfield, have ~ recorded their high estimation of the Sir Isaac steers as producing beef of better quality than any before seen. There can be no doubt that this bull served as a capital advertisement for the breed not only throughout Massachusetts but, in adjoining states. Mr. S. H. Bates, a son of Isaac Bates, availed himself of the opportunity of carrying on the line in later years by the selection of a bull from the Corning & Sotham herd, presently to be men- tioned.

Mr. Sanford Howard, who was interested in cat- tle breeding in Massachusetts at this time and sub- sequently in the state of Maine, speaking of this bull and his get, bears this testimony:

‘‘These cattle were kept for one or two years in the section of the state where I then resided on the

farm of John Prince, near Roxbury. The cow never had a calf, and was slaughtered. She was certainly

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 271

one of the most extraordinary animals for shape and size ever exhibited at the Brighton, Mass., cattle shows. I saw many of the bull’s progeny in the vicinity where he was first kept, and owned some of them. They made prodigiously powerful and active draft cattle; there was a majesty in their gait and an elasticity and quickness of movement which I never saw equaled and which, together with their beautiful mahogany color and strong constitutions, made them decided favorites with the Yankee team- sters. I shall here remark that I knew many and owned several of the progeny of the imported Short- horn bull Admiral, also presented to the Massachu- setts Society by Admiral Coffin, and I have no hesi- tation in saying that for the ordinary uses to which cattle are applied in the northern section of the country I consider the stock of the Hereford bull decidedly preferable.’’

Mr. Howard’s statement concerning the adapt- ability of the Hereford to New England conditions is not only interesting, but his views were undoubt- edly shared by many of his contemporaries as the type subsequently gained a footing in the state of Maine and other parts of New England, from which

it has never since been dislodged. He says:

‘‘T have never seen Shorthorns which appeared to possess sufficient hardiness of constitution to adapt themselves to so rigorous a climate and the hard labor of the yoke to which oxen in Maine are sub- jected. On commencing stockbreeding operations in the north I purchased from Hon. John Wells, of Boston, a bull of a cross between the Hereford and Shorthorn with a slight dash of the Bakewell. This bull was the easiest animal to fatten that I ever saw. His weight at six years, after having

272 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

been wintered on the coarsest fodder that the farm afforded, was 2,000 pounds.’’

It is not easy to understand this reference to ‘‘a cross between the Hereford and Shorthorn with a slight dash of the Bakewell,’’ as related to a bull bred in New England. By ‘‘a dash of Bakewell’’ pre- sumably the Longhorn blood is meant. Such a cross could, of course, have come from Kentucky, and possibly the Longhorn blood may have existed some- where in New England, but we have no record of its importation there.

It is reported that at the New York State Fair of 1842, Mr. P. N. Rust exhibited a fat ox with Hereford markings, eight years old and at a live weight of what was claimed to be 4,200 pounds. It is difficult at this date to determine just how much credence should be placed upon an apparent exag- geration. Mr. Howard, above quoted, however, writing of this extraordinary bullock, said:

‘‘He is truly a most superb animal. He has both the shape and color and the characteristics of a Hereford. His shoulders are well set, his chine-full, back short, loin and hips very wide, rump long, legs clean and sinewy, and he is considerably heavier than any other animal I have ever seen of so little bone and offal. At the time I saw him Mr. Rust thought his weight would not be less than 3,700 pounds. I saw the man who said he raised this ox, and both he and Mr. Rust agreed that his sire was part Hereford.’’

So far as one may now surmise it may be pre- sumed that this bullock was related in some way to the Massachusetts stock derived from old Sir Isaac.

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 273

Alleged Importation Into Maine in 1830.—In a communication entitled ‘‘Herefords in New Eng- land,’’ contributed to the ‘‘Breeder’s Journal,’™* and published in September, 1886, the late Mr. H. C. Burleigh said: ‘As perhaps very few of your readers are aware, I will say the second, and by far the more important, importation of Hereford cattle into the United States was made by Sanford Howard for the Vaughan Bros., of Hallowell, Me., in 1830, the first being imported by Henry Clay into Kentucky in 1817. The Vaughan Herefords were a splendid lot of cattle, and were kept on the farm since and now owned by Hon. J. R. Bodwell and occupied by Bur- leigh & Bodwell for quarantine and sale purposes.’’ The Vaughan Bros. were men of education and distinction. One, Dr. Benjamin Vaughan, was born in England and educated at Cambridge, and during the American Revolution was a member of Parlia- ment, but his friendship for the colonies brought him to this country. With his brother Charles he settled in Hallowell, Me., on a property derived from their maternal grandfather, Benjamin Hal- lowell. The property had a frontage of one mile along the Kennebec River and a depth of five miles. They established extensive gardens and nurseries, carrying on model farming on a large scale. Mr. Burleigh began breeding purebred Herefords himself in 1865 on his father’s old farm near Water- ville, Me., and it seems difficult to understand how

*This was a monthly magazine established and conducted for some years at Beecher, Ill, by Mr. T. L. Miller and his associates in the interest of the Herefords.

274 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE.

he could have made a mistake in this matter. There is no direct proof that the statement is incorrect, but it seems almost incredible that Mr. Sanford Howard himself, writing on the early eastern Here- fords as late as 1841 to ‘‘The Albany Cultivator’’ should have failed to mention such importation had it actually been made. He had removed to Maine from Massachusetts, as hereinbefore mentioned, and had become superintendent for the Vaughan Bros. in 1830.

One of the best informed breeders of the present day in the New England states, Mr. J. H. Under- wood, of Kents Hill, Me., writing to the author under date of Oct. 18, 1913, touching this importa- tion, says:

‘‘For more than sixty years my grandfather lived within sixteen miles of Hallowell, did business in that city continually, and from 1830 to 1860 was in so close touch with cattle interests in Kennebec county that he must have known the Vaughan Bros. and been familiar with their cattle. In the later ’40’s and early ’50’s Joseph Hall Underwood was specially interested in purebred Herefords and look- ing for breeding stock with which to found a herd. Had he been able to buy such stock of the Vaughan Bros., it seems probable that he would have done so. Furthermore, my father and my uncle, George Underwood, would have been likely to have known about such cattle, had they existed; and they used to talk considerably to me about the early Here- fords in Maine, but never mentioned the Vaughans in this connection.

‘‘Presumably Mr. Burleigh supposed he was stat-

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 275

ing facts when he made reference to the Vaughan Bros. as importers of Hereford cattle, but to my ‘ mind such a reference merely illustrates how easily fairy tales creep into print.

‘‘Howard says that when he left the Vaughan farm in 1837 he sold some of these cattle to J. Win- gate Haines, of Hallowell. Sanford Hewett, one of my neighbors, is a nephew of J. Wingate Haines and was born in 1835. I recently asked Mr. Hewett if the Vaughan Bros. ever owned or imported Here- ford cattle. He said he had never heard anything to that effect, but added that Sanford Howard brought to Maine the first Hereford bull in the state, and that his uncle, J. Wingate Haines, brought in the second one. Mr. Hewett was nine years old at the time Haines bought Albany of Corning & Sotham.

““My theory is, that the cattle referred to by San- ford Howard had enough Hereford blood to give them the appearance of Herefords, that Haines wanted to intensify this blood, hence bought the purebred Hereford bull Albany of Corning & Sotham in 1844. If my reasoning is correct, the ‘Hereford’ bull brought here by Howard in 1830 is the bull which he described in his ‘Albany Cultivator’ article as ‘a cross between the Hereford and the improved Short- horn, with a slight dash of the Bakewell.’ In this case, J. Wingate Haines has the distinction of in- troducing the first purebred Hereford into Maine.’’

In the light of Mr. Howard’s reference to his purchase ‘‘on commencing stockbreeding operations in the north,’’ it would seem to be a fair inference in connection with his failure to mention any trip to England to purchase Herefords, that the cattle bought by him for the Vaughans were grades of the

Sir Isaac blood and brought to Maine from Massa-

276 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

chusetts, instead of from England. The habit of speaking of live stock brought into a state from a distance as ‘‘imported’’ has always characterized ° many sections of the Union, and in this may lie a possible solution of the mystery attaching to this alleged Maine importation of 1830. It is unfortu- nate that the matter does not seem to have been cleared up before the decease of those who could have given direct testimony. As it is, we can only record Mr. Burleigh’s affirmation on the one hand, and on the other present the negative evidence.*

J. Wingate Haines was an Aroostook Co., Me., pioneer, removing from Hallowell to that portion of the state some time in the ’50’s, and taking his cattle with him. He settled at Fort Fairfield, and there are today white-faced cattle in that vicinity descended directly from his stock.

The New York Importation of 1840—Ebenezer Wilson, a beef packer of New York, had in his employ as a cattle buyer in 1839 a young English- man named William Henry Sotham, a native of

*Referring to this incident Mr. Geo. W. Haines, a son of J. Wingate Haines, says:

“I am quite sure that we never had a bull from Sanford Howard, for the first ‘white faces’ of which I have recollection came from the bull Albany that father bought at New York about the year 1841, as near as I can recollect. This bull was kept at Fayette Milis at Mr. Underwood's for at least one sea- son. I have the impression that he was at Wayne one season at Isaac Bowles’. He went to Anson, and I think was sold to a party there. We moved to Aroostook in 1844 taking quite a lot of cattle and pneee with us, but I do not think we took a pure- bred Hereford bul Father afterward got a bull calf from Ken- nebec. Father was born in Hallowell about 1807, and died at Fort Fairfield in 1879. I used to be at the Vaug han farm quite often, but don’t recollect ever hag ng any Heréford. cattle there.”

It will be observed that M aines’ recollection as to date when Albany was taken to Maine varies from Mr. Hewett’s. We

should think 1841 rather early as the first Sotham importation was not made until 1840.

ate Erb 9 er tee Ye ie)

ie, ith actos WM. H. SOTHAM. .

278 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Oxfordshire, who had originally come to the States in 1832, serving for two years following that date as manager of a farm in Medina Co., O., owned by Mr. Henry Coit of Cleveland. In his capacity as a buyer for Mr. Wilson, Sotham gained a close know!l- - edge of the cattle stocks of that day in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and as there was a dearth of good bullocks available his mind naturally re- verted to the various English types with which he had personal familiarity.

The Shorthorn blood had been already introduced throughout those states by the descendants of vari- ous importations. Mr. Cox, an Englishman, had brought the blood into Rensselaer Co. N. Y., near Albany, shortly after the.close of the War of 1812. Two bulls are said to have been imported into the Genesee Valley in 1817. Around 1820 seve- ral importations were made into Massachusetts. In 1823 Gen. Stephen Van Rensselaer, of Albany, brought out valuable specimens. Numerous other lots of Shorthorns came out between 1820 and 1830, including the famous importation of Col. John Hare Powel, of Philadelphia. In the ’30’s, Walter Dun, of Kentucky, and the Ohio Importing Co., landed valiiable shipments. In those days, however, the milking trait was held in high esteem by breeders and importers of Shorthorns, and for some time prior to the beginning of Mr. Sotham’s activities the famous herd of Thos. Bates, of Kirklevington, Yorkshire, England, had become the dominant in- fluence in Shorthorn breeding, an influence that did

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not make specifically for improvement in respect to the special business of beef-making. Most of the Shorthorns of that period in the United States were excellent general purpose cattle, combining scale with level lines, fine style and good dairy quality, but the thick-fieshed type that had been developed so successfully by the Messrs. Booth at Warlaby, Killerby and Studley had not then been introduced.

Erastus Corning Interested—As a buyer of steers for market, Mr. Sotham claimed, and doubt- less with reason, that the Shorthorns as bred in the east at that time were deficient in flesh and feeding qualities as compared with Herefords. He had little or no capital at his disposal, but determined never- theless to find some way to finance an importation, and succeeded after vicissitudes narrated by him- self. Hon. Erastus Corning became chief owner of a lot of twenty-two head selected by Mr. Sotham in England and landed at New York in 1840.

Sotham’s own story of this importation is as fol- lows:

‘*In the fall of 1839 I had just finished buying nearly 4,000 head of cattle in droves for Mr. Ebe- nezer Wilson as they were making their way from the west to Albany. I paid a portion down on each drove to be then delivered at the price stated per hundred at his slaughter house for barreling pur- poses. After contracting for many droves I re- turned to Albany, and as the droves came in we selected some of the best and I took them to Bull’s Head, N. Y., for market. Mr. Wilson barreled a little over 6,000 head that season. The whole of his

280 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

capital was invested in his beef, and the prospects being favorable for high prices he naturally held on to it.

“T had frequently spoken of the Herefords in high praise to Mr. Wilson, and he, being highly pleased with my description, proposed that if I would go to England and get credit for a good lot when I arrived in New York he would meet me there with money enough to pay the whole invest- ment, for which he said he would have ample means from his returns in the spring. I told him that I would do this if I could do it with safety. He assured me that I could, and with this promise I started. I purchased twenty-two head, paid what little money I had of my own and promised to pay all on my return to New York. When [I arrived I found barreled beef had gone down and was much depressed, that much of his had soured and was unsalable, and he had involved himself so much that he was compelled to fail; but he went to the Hon. Erastus Corning, told him in what way he was situated with me, that he knew my judgment was good and that the cattle would therefore be superior.

‘‘On this information Mr. Corning sent Mr. Watts Sherman, then cashier of the Albany City Bank, of which Mr. C. was president, to examine the cattle on board. This gentleman was highly pleased with them and drew a draft on Mr. Corning for the whole amount. I took them to his farm, and they being about the first Herefords ever imported, they raised considerable excitement, but their true merit was but little. known.’’

These cattle were of the old John Hewer blood, and included the cow Matchless that had been a

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prize-winner at the Oxford Royal of 1839. They were placed upon Mr. Corning’s farm near Albany. Speaking of the shipment, ‘‘The Albany Cultivator’’ of that period said: *

‘One of the most important importations of cattle and sheep that has ever taken place in this country. has been made by the Hon. Erastus Corning, of this city, and William H. Sotham, of Jefferson county. It consists of twelve cows, calves and heifers and twenty-five sheep. The cattle are of the Hereford breed from Herefordshire, and the very best animals that could be selected. No one can help being struck by the extraordinary size of the cows, their fine forms and their substantial development, denoting strength and power, and showing the basis of the reputation which the Herefords formerly had for working cattle and now for feeding. The expense of the importation was nearly $8,000.’

The following year Mr. Corning sent Sotham after another lot, but these were unfortunately lost at sea. About this date the New York State Agricul- tural Society was organized, several breeders of Shorthorns being prominent in its management. The Corning cattle were exhibited, a special award was made to the cow Matchless, and a committee recommended that a regular class be made for them. This, it seems, however, was not done for some time, whereupon Mr. Sotham criticised sharply the Short- horn breeders, the fair managers and various agri- cultural writers of the day as being prejudiced against the Herefords.

In a review of the New York State Fair of 1844, published in ‘‘The Albany Cultivator and Country

282 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Gentleman,’’ reference to the Hereford exhibit is made as follows:

‘The only specimens in this class were eleven head from the capital herd of Messrg. Corning & Sotham, Albany. These were splendid animals. The two- year-old bulls and bull calf, which were all of the masculine gender exhibited, were good. They had fine limbs, very spacious chests, round bodies, ete. Several of the cows were very extraordinary. Per- fection is one of the most massive cows of her age to be found anywhere, and Ashton Beauty and Vic- toria, for beauty and finish, can scarcely be sur- passed, if equaled. It is but justice to say that no — on the ground excited more praise than these.’’ ’

The Herd Sold to Sotham.—Mr. Corning was a man of large wealth, deeply engrossed in commer- cial and political affairs, and while he had given ample proof of his interest in the Herefords, he was also a lover and owner of Shorthorns; and as a result of irresistible pressure from Shorthorn sources, Mr. Sotham asserts, after a few years he proposed to sell to the latter all of his ‘‘ white faces’’ with the exception of three heifers, the cow Victoria and a bull. Sotham bought and removed them to a farm at Black Rock, near Buffalo, where he soon became engaged in a controversy over the respec- tive merits of the breeds with Lewis F. Allen, then a breeder of. Shorthorns preparing to start the American herd book for that breed and a man as aggressive and as much in earnest as his new Eng- lish neighbor.

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The Cornings maintained a small herd of Here- fords for many years, making several additional im- portations. The cow Victoria above mentioned lived to be nineteen years of age and produced sixteen calves. Mr. Corning also imported a stock bull from the Turner herd. Cattle from the herd were fre- quently exhibited, and through private sales from both this and the Sotham stock the blood was widely scattered throughout various states.

An Invasion of Kentucky.—Sotham moved his herd from Black Rock to a farm in the famous Gene- see Valley belonging to a banker, Hon. Allen Ay- rault, who afterwards acquired some of the cattle. Although making frequent changes of location, Mr. Sotham maintained Herefords at different places in New York State for many years, and upon one occa- sion made an exhibit (in the early ’70’s) at Louis- ville, Ky., in response to a challenge by Cassius M. Clay. The Clays, it seems, were unable on account of some change in their affairs to make good their .. challenge, so after gaining the prizes offered for Herefords and selling a bull to a Lexington land- owner for $100, Sotham returned to New York. His trade was largely in the east and widely distributed, one of his most noteworthy sales being ten head for $1,000 to Hon. John Merryman, of Cockeysville, Md., who, as appears further on, became one of the most prominent American breeders of his day.

A Militant Pioneer——Sotham was a thorough- going believer in the superiority of the Hereford, but he was financially unable to wage as vigorous

284 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

a war as his convictions would have dictated. His was the not uncommon fate of the courageous path- finder. He was as indefatigable in defending Here- ford interests as he was active in assaiiing those who failed to confess what he held to be the true faith; and while he was for many years a sort of John the Baptist, crying vainly in a forbidding wil- derness, his voice was heard by some who harkened and subsequently became pillars in the Hereford church. He died in Chicago in 1884 at the age of eighty-three years, leaving a son who subsequently became a prominent figure in the American Here- ford trade.

The Maine Importation of 1846.—The state of Maine has harbored Herefords continuously since their earliest introduction in the east, and has within its borders at this writing the oldest American herd of which we have record—that of the Messrs. Un- derwood.

The first of the breed to be brought across the Atlantic directly to Maine, so far as we can defi- ~ nitely ascertain, were two calves imported in 1846 by Capt. Phineas Pendleton, of Searsport.* At that time Capt. Pendleton was master of a vessel en-

*The author is indebted to Mr. J. H. Underwood for the copy of an old portrait of Capt. Pendleton from which we have had made th’ engraving presented in this volume. Writing of his father Capt. Frank Pendleton, of Searsport, says:

apt. Phineas Pendleton was born in Searsport Aug. 29, 1806, and died here July 19, 1895. I cannot tell when he first took command of vessels, but very early in life, as he married when he waa twenty- two years old, and commanded vessels of all classes until he was sixty years old. He was a very public spirited man. I cannot find out anything about the calves he brought from England. He has only one daughter here now, and she is not old enough to remember the particulars about them. He always had a small farm and he enjoyed it even when he got to be old,”

| Capt Phineas Pondleton|

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gaged in the foreign trade, and it is said that while waiting for a cargo in the port of Cardiff, Wales, he made journeys into the country and became im- pressed with the fine appearance of the white-faced cattle seen in that vicinity. He made inquiries of stock raisers there about the sort of cattle which combined in the highest degree the qualities of milk production, beef and working capacity, and was told that the Herefords were superior in this respect. Deciding to take home a pair for breeding purposes the captain engaged the services of a Cardiff butcher, who was well acquainted with the cattle raisers, to assist him in making a selection of a pure- bred bull and heifer of the first quality. The pur- chases were made from two different herds. The butcher who suggested the selections named the bull calf Kimroe and the heifer Kitty.

There is an entry in the old private herd record of the Messrs. Underwood that ‘‘the sire of Kimroe and Kitty was a mature bull, weighing 2,400 pounds.’’ Speaking of this memorandum Mr. J. H. Underwood in a letter to the author says:

“The herd of James Rea, of Monaughty, Knigh- ton, Wales, was noted for its scale as well as for excellences in conformation. In the early ’40’s the famous Monaughty, sired by Old Court, was used in his herd. In view of the very unusual size (2,400 pounds) of the sire of Kimroe and Kitty, I have wondered whether this bull might not have been

Monaughty, or, at least, a bull of Mr. Rea’s breed- ing.

This, of course, is purely speculative, as no pedi-

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grees were obtained by Capt. Pendleton; moreover, in those days 2,400 pounds was by no means a heavy weight for a Hereford bull in England.

This bull Kimroe proved useful until sixteen years of age, his progeny so nearly meeting the require- ments of the Maine farmers of that period that a preference for the ‘‘white faces’’ as against the Shorthorns soon made itself manifest. This fact is substantiated by Mr. Burleigh in the course of the article, from which we have quoted above, as fol- lows:

‘‘It was not until 1854 that any stockman had the courage to take a Hereford bull upon the sacred Shorthorn soil of my native town (Fairfield), as Shorthorns had held full and undoubted sway there. But Henry Lawrence, who was a great judge of cattle, conceived the idea of buying the old Pendle- ton (Hereford) bull Kimroe, then fifteen years old. Quite a number of the best stockmen patronized him largely because they had great faith in Mr. Law- rence’s judgment, not from the appearance of the bull, for the poor fellow had had rough usage since he left his home near Cardiff, South Wales. This poor old bull was used one season and died, but his progeny were not prepossessing in appearance at a tender age, say up to two years old, yet their feeding qualities and net weight were the means of converting many a ‘Shorthorner,’ of which number the writer of this article was one.’’

Convincing testimony as to the excellence of the stock left by this old-time bull has been handed down by Mr. Burleigh. He says:

‘In 1856, although a strong and ardent admirer of Shorthorns, which breed of cattle I had bred,

288 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

handled and fattened from boyhood, I happened by mere chance to obtain some of Kimroe’s stock, i. e., steers of his get, others by sons of him. They fed so rapidly, weighed so heavily and were of such wonderful quality I could hardly believe that my vision was quite right. After being thoroughly con- vineed of the fact that my sight was all right, then I thought I would almost decide to go largely into Herefords, when, ever and anon, my long cherished idea of the perfect animal, the Shorthorn, would cause me for a time to delay my purpose, but not long. I started to breed Herefords in earnest— after feeding Hereford steers about eight years— in 1866.’’

Soon after importation Kimroe and Kitty passed into the hands of John Heagan, of North Prospect, Me. Kitty. produced four calves by Kimroe. Her second calf, Victoria, born in 1849, and her third calf, Waldo, born in 1850, were owned by Samuel 8S. Heagan and in March, 1853, were sold to Joseph Hall Underwood and became the foundation of a herd still in existence.* Victoria is described as ‘‘a

*The author is indebted to Mr. J. H. Underwood for photographs of his grandfather and the two sons George and Gilbert, and for certain data of a biographical nature. The portraits are presented along with one, supplied at our request, of the surviving member of this old-time New England Hereford-loving family, and we are sure that the few notes of a personal nature herewith appended will be found of interest:

Joseph H. Underwood was born in Amherst, N. H., June 13, 1783, and died at Fayette, Me., Nov. 8, 1867. He came to Maine about 1800, taught school and finally located in Fayette, where he began a mer- cantile business which was followed more than fifty-five years. He was also financially interested in tanning, wool-carding and cloth- dressing, was an extensive owner of real estate and carried on a large farm, raised cattle and fatted oxen. In March, 1853, he bought and brought to his farm in Fayette a purebred Hereford bull and cow, and continued breeding Hereford cattle till 1866, when his sons, Sh al and Gilbert, formed a partnership and took over their father’s

A serenading party once had an experience with Mr. Underwood's numer Fas pons albert o Vnderieo Gegge Ts oe Aberin ening was supposed e serenaders that

Albert and his bride were at the old homestead. The newly married

| Geo. Underwood | | el. H. Underwood |

290 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

cow of medium size, of fair milk capacity, an easy milker, and tractable in disposition.’’ Victoria’s breeding to Waldo, a full brother, was not satisfac- tory, although two cows, Rose and Lily, produced by this incestuous coupling, proved to be excellent breeders when subsequently mated with Cronkhill 2d, a bull that Mr. Underwood bought from Messrs. Clark, of West Granby, Mass., in 1859. In 1860, Victoria was bred to Cronkhill 2d-and by him, on May 29, 1861, gave birth to a heifer calf named Hor- tense. <A bull called Albany, bought of Erastus Corning, of Albany, N. Y., was used in the herd in 1864. Hortense was bred to Albany and produced Leonora, calved March 1, 1865. Leonora was sold to Moses B. Bailey, Strong, Me., and by him was bred to Chieftain, producing President 2058. Presi-

people, however, had just gone away, and the only married people in the house were Albert’s father and mother. At the close of the sere- nade, Mr. Underwood _ stepped to the door and thanked the boys for the music, saying, “I think Uncle Rufus Walton would also very much appreciate a serenade, as he has been married since I was.”

Like Miles Standish, Mr. Underwood believed that if a man wanted a thing done well, he should do it himself. In 1838, when the home- stead at Fayette was built, Mr. Underwood was present to give per- sonal attention to the work, and every brick in the walls of the house passed through his hands for inspection. The condition of the house at the present time proves the wisdom of his careful oversight. No paint or preservative of any sort has been used on the walls, yet not a single brick shows indication of deterioration, both mortar and brick remaining firm and smooth after weathering the storms and frosts of seventy-five years.

An incident showing his practical sense was the remark made _ to his son George at the time the latter was about to go to Guelph, On- tario, to buy a herd bull (Wellington Hero). Mr. Underwood said, en : expect to find one without faults, but buy the one that has the

George Underwood was born Sept. 20, 1834, and died at Fayette, Dec. 8, 1906. In early life he taught school. In 1857 he was in Chi- cago, but remained in that city only a brief period. In the early '60’s he was again in Fayette, carrying on his father’s farm and giving personal attention to the management of his father’s herd of Hereford cattle. In 1865 he visited the Hereford herd of Frederick William Stone, Guelph, Ontario, and bought the Hereford bull Wellington Hero. At this time Joseph H. Underwood on account of advanced age trans- ferred the herd to his sons George and Gilbert, and the calves of 1866 are Isted in the private herd book as bred by G. & G. Underwood.

1—WHERE THE HERBFORDS FOUND WATER IN SUMMERTIME. 2—THE OLD MILL AND WINTER WATHRING PLACE. 8—THE HOME OF JOSEPH HALL UNDERWOOD.

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dent sired Rose Bud 6606, the maternal grandam of the $9,000 bull Perfection 92891. The dam of Rose Bud 6606 was Carrabassett Rose 2120, by Kenne- bec Hero 2100, whose dam was Bessie; and Bessie’s dam was Hortense out of old Victoria. Thus we see that Perfection, sire of the now-famous Perfec- tion Fairfax, traces back in one of his lines to the Maine sea captain’s importation of 1846.

The Bailey bull Chieftain, above mentioned, came from the herd of Frederick William Stone, More- ton Lodge, Guelph, Ontario, presently to be noted. In 1869, probably at the time when George Under- wood purchased Ontario Chief and Gentle 10th, Mr. Stone sold to Mr. Bailey a young bull that died soon after delivery to him, and Mr. Stone on learning of the fact at once replaced the dead bull with the bull

Again in 1869 George Underwood went to Guelon and bought of Mr. Stone the young bull Ontario Chief and the heifer Gentle 10th. The introduction of these animals materially strengthened the herd, and the years immediately following were prosperous. About 1876 illness interfered with his active management of the herd and Gilbert Under- wood assumed the duties of carrying on the farm. The partnership was soon dissolved and George Underwood, hoping by a change of climate to improve his health, removed to Virginia, taking there his portion of the herd in 1879. Failing to receive permanent benefit from the Virginia climate, he shortly returned to Maine, his cattle having been sold to a western buyer. During his latter years, although re- taining all his real estate in Fayette, George Underwood was not en- gaged in farming.

He was well known as a correspondent of agricultural papers, and a recognized authority on cattle breeding. In the selection of breed- ing cattle he placed special stress on the form of the head and ‘the expression of the countenance. He was wont also to pay more atten- tion to the limbs than some breeders, insisting on short legs, muscular above the middle joint and strong-boned (not large-boned) below. The animal’s style and symmetry meant much to him, and coarseness, which often accompanies large size, was absolutely tabooed. As a stockman, George Underwood’s continual aspiration and endeavor seems to have been to combine constitution, feed-capacity and beefi- wheal ig those animal attributes which appeal to the artistic tem- perament.

Gilbert Underwood, youngest son of Joseph H. Underwood, was born at Fayette, Me., Dec. 11, 1835, and practically his entire life was passed in the locality of his birth. He grew up in a cattle-ralsing atmosphere training white-faced steers to the yoke, and in winter with his steer teams he hauled to the homestead the annual fuel sup-

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calf Chieftain, although under no legal obligation to do so. Mr. Stone’s letters to George Underwood on this occasion show him to have been a man of ster- ling moral worth.

At the New England Fair of 1870, held at Man- chester, N. H., the Underwoods gained first prize for ‘‘best Hereford bull five years old or over,’’ and at the same show first and second prizes for fat cattle in the Hereford class were won respectively by Jonathan Slade, of Somerset, and Frank Jones, Portsmouth, N. H. In the class for ‘‘working oxen, four years old,’’ Arthur Clough, Canterbury, N. H., was first, and Harvey Dodge, Sutton, Mass., second. These instances are cited by way of illustrating

ply, forty cords of hardwood. The Underwood homestead contained thirteen fireplaces.

Gilbert Underwood possessed a temperament adapted to the suc- cessful handling of animals, and he became an expert ox teamster. The Hereford herd buils were usually trained to the yoke and per- formed a vast amount of farm work in place of oxen. The most notable of these bull teams were Ontario Chief and his mate, Pride of Kennebec. Both these bulls worked single as well as double, and many a time Mr. Underwood has taken in the single yoke one of these bulls to a steep hill near his home where a four-horse team was Pt ine a and the old bull would haul the discouraged horses into the

reeching. .

On the dissolution of the partnership of G. & G. Underwood, Gilbert Underwood in 1877 constructed farm buildings convenient to his por- tion of the tarm lands and there established his herd. His part of the breeding herd comprised four cows—two sired by Wellington Hero and two by Ontario Chief. One of the Ontario Chief cows, Alberta 2d, is worthy of special notice. She was a strictly hay and grass product, probably never in her entire life having eaten 500 pounds of grain, yet she was always in first-class beef condition and when her breeding usefulness was passed yielded a carcass of prime beef, dress- ing 975 pounds. At the head of this herd in 1880 Gilbert Underwood placed Paragon 3d, a bull bred by Frederick William Stone. Four years later Paragon 3d was followed by Eastern Prince, a grandson of Assurance by Longhorns, and in 1888 Eastern Prince was a ee by Careful 2d, a meritorious bull of Burleigh & Bodwell breeding. The next bull leaving a marked impress on the herd was Roanoke, a grand- son of Sir Eveiyn, by Lord Wilton, which remained in the herd until 1905. During the last forty years the herd bulls, with one or two ex- ceptions, have represented in conformation the same general type— smooth, compact and low-set. The Underwood type was fine-boned, filled and finished.

Gilbert Underwood died at his home in Fayette on Nov. 22, 1907. He was a man of unusual Ege magnetism. Children felt at ease in his presence, and animals were instinctively drawn to

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classifications in vogue at that time. New England farmers still take great pride in exhibiting choice oxen broken for the yoke.*

Other Old-Time Eastern Breeders.—It would be interesting to trace in detail the breeding operations of many of these sturdy old pioneer New England breeders but space forbids. In addition to the Un- derwoods and Burleighs the names of such good farmers and cattlemen as the following are met with: Messrs. G. E. Shores, Waterville; W. P. Blake, Walnut Hill; N. H. Churchill, Parsonsfield; Messrs. Wentworth, Skowhegan; Col. Perley, Bridg- ton; L. W. Flint, Waterford; E. R. Holmes, Welch- ville; Ellridge Dill, Phillips; Messrs. Bailey, Win- throp Centre; A. J. Libby, Oakland; M. French, Solon; C. W. Hammond, Aroostook; C. A. McKin- ney, Monroe, and J. S. Hawes, So. Vassalboro, all of the state of Maine. Hawes later removed to Kansas where he maintained for some years a large herd famous at one time as the home of the noted show bull Fortune. Mr. H. C. Burleigh, of Fair- field, was the first of the family of that name that engaged extensively in the breeding, importing and exhibition of Herefords, and his operations will

*In a letter written in 1865 by Mr. R. M. Littlefield, Afton, N. Y., ie George Underwood of Maine we find the following interesting references:

“I have two bulls that will be two this coming spring. I will sell either of them. Duke of Afton is good sized, dark red, white face, line back from a good ‘stock of milkers, girths five feet and six inches, has been fed on grain this winter. Price for him $250. Sprightly is lighter red, good size, girth five feet and eight inches, Roce meet There are two strips of white on the back, but they

io not meet.

“I obtained my Herefords from William H. Sotham when he was breeding them at Owego. Mr..Sotham informs me that the light red Herefords take more prizes in England than the darker ones. Color is a matter of taste with breeders.”

Hall C. Burleigh

a

296 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

come in for further notice later on. He exhibited at the New England shows at the time Shorthorns were being presented by such men as Sumner, Pratt, Griswold and their contemporaries.

Mr. Burleigh tells the story of the struggle the Herefords had in winning their way into popular favor in New England in the following language:

‘“‘These cattle, like the next importations by Sotham & Corning, Albany, N. Y., all met terrible opposition by Shorthorn men, of which your humble scribe was one. Never in the history of any state did the worthy ‘red with white faces’ have stronger opposition than in the ‘Dirigo State.’ But when we look back and see the Shorthorn blood they had to contend against, the best in the known world— such bulls as Young Denton, Comet, Fitz Favourite, and a host of others which stood within three miles of my door in the great grass valley of the Kenne- bec—you will admit with me the little ‘white-faced pilgrims’ had a hard, nay an unequal, battle to fight. It seemed almost like marching a little army of un- trained volunteers against a mighty host of veter- ans strongly entrenched behind fortifications of years in building. But what a mighty change has been wrought in a half-century and less. A few men had courage to try the Herefords; among them were Mr. Joseph Underwood, of Fayette, Me., and Wingate Hains, of Hallowell, Me. The former’s en- terprising sons, G. & G. Underwood, still are breed- ing a large fine herd, and it is a treat to a Hereford man to sit before the open wood fire on a winter evening at their hospitable home and listen as they relate their earliest experiences (as boys) with Hereford steers.’’

The states of Vermont and New Hampshire also

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have a place of honor in the Hereford column. They not only contributed to the upbuilding of the breed in New England in the old days, but in many locali- ties the farmers are still fond of their white-faced steers.

The Chamberlain Importation.— The Messrs. Clark of West Granby were pioneer breeders in Massachusetts, and exhibited Herefords at the state fair held in Boston in 1858. The report of the award- ing committee upon that occasion stated that ‘‘most of these were derived from stock imported from England by William Chamberlain of Red Hook, N. Y., although one was purchased of Mr. Sotham of Owego, N. Y.’’ We can find no record as‘ to the date of this Chamberlain importation, but it has been placed at about 1849. Mr. George Under- wood at one time communicated with a daughter of Mr. Chamberlain in an effort to obtain definite in- formation as to this importation, but obtained noth- ing further than the mere statement that ‘‘the cow Fanny was purchased through a reliable London house as a purebred Hereford.’’ It is regarded as probable that Mr. Clark bought these cattle of Mr. Chamberlain about 1855, including a bull out of im- ported Fanny that was the sire of Fanny 2d.

The awarding committee at this fair spoke of the young cow Miss Sotham, to which they awarded the first prize, as ‘‘a very fine cow, compact, symmet- rical, hardy and of first-rate handling quality. She had a fine bull calf by her side by Cronkhill 3d, bred by Mr. Dowley.’’ Second prize was given to the cow Fanny, imported by Mr. Chamberlain, She is

298 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

described as ‘‘large, with good frame and constitu- tion, an excellent hide and coat, shown in rather low condition, with a beautiful heifer calf at side by Cronkhill.’’

Dowley Importation of 1852.—In the fifth an- nual report of the Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, published in 1858, there is an account of the state fair and cattle show held in Boston, accompanied by reviews of the various breeds on exhibition, including the Herefords. In the course of these references it is stated that ‘‘Hon. L. A. Dowley of Boston in 1852 imported a bull and two heifers which were placed on his farm at Brat- tleboro, Vt. They were both bred by Lord Ber- wick.’’ It is further stated that ‘‘the Herefords owned by the state, and kept at the station farm at Westboro, are from the Dowley importation. Cronk- hill 3d was sired by-Cronkhill, imported in 1852 from Lord Berwick’s stock. His dam was Milton, im- ported at the same time with Cronkhill. The heifer Cora, also out of Milton and by Cronkhill, is now two years old. She is a fine specimen of the breed, possessing remarkable beauty and symmetry of form.’’ Again it is stated that ‘‘the Dowley herd, now owned ‘by Mr. Goodell of Brattleboro, Vt., the herd of Mr. Clark of Boston kept at Granby, and those of Messrs. Sotham and Corning of New York are perhaps the most widely known of any in this country.’’

At this fair these Dowley cattle, Cronkhill 34, then a yearling bull, the cow imported Milton, then

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 299

seven years old and her two-year-old heifer Cora and a heifer calf eight months old were entered ‘‘for exhibition only’’ from the state farm. The only other purebred Herefords on exhibition were those of Mr. O. C. Clark, and included the imported Cham- berlain cow Fanny then nine years old, the four- year-old Fanny 2d, the three-year-old Miss Sotham, the six-year-old Miss Wheeler and the yearling bull Granby. Steers were shown by Thomas J. Field, Northfield, Mass.

It is recorded in the report of this fair that the cow Milton and the heifer Cora were purchased at the Dowley sale in 1855. Milton is described as ‘‘a cow of much substance and fine symmetry, with the exception of a little deficiency in the flanks. The heifer is a superior animal, is almost perfect in sym- metry and as a grazier seldom equalled. The bull is large, of good constitution, generally well made, but with hardly the fullness of eye or the mellowness of skin that is so desirable. The heifer calf is very promising.’’ Milton and Cora were afterwards sold to Hon. John Merryman of Maryland, as will appear further on.

The Ohio Importation of 1852—The second direct importation of Herefords made into a mid- west state was by two English farmers residing in the vicinity of Elyria, O., John Humphries and Thomas Aston. We are permitted to reproduce here Mr. Aston’s business card as used in England.

From this it appears that the latter was a Mon- mouth butcher before coming out to try his fortune

300 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

in the New World. Needless to say, therefore, he knew the Herefords. As a pioneer in the great new field opened up to the ‘‘ white faces,’’ largely as a re- sult of his enterprise, so much interest attaches to this importation that the author makes no apology. for the introduction at this point of the following

: oo

. o> I 2 = 30 J a wnoaawi f

BES OE, CC ie : ! or. r ao = We : | Lobos “Stang ne cae

owes ‘SENT TO ALL ae OF MONMOUTH: ane “NELéMBOUANOOD.

: 23 a —

THOMAS ASTON’S BUSINESS CARD.

sketch of Mr. Aston, kindly prepared by Mrs. Hor- ace Abbe, a daughter residing at Elyria:

‘‘Thomas Aston was born Nov. 1, 1814, near Cole- ford, Gloucestershire, England. AS a boy he was raised on a farm. Tom, his brothers and fourteen horses were sent to work in the coal mines about three miles distant in the winter months, where they would see daylight only on the Sundays. When about sixteen years of age Tom was sent as an ap- prentice to the butchering business at Monmouth, where he was employed for five years. At the age

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 301

of 21 he was married to May Ann Brownel. He wished at this time to go to America, but his mother not favoring this proposition, they started for them- selves in the meat business in Monmonth, where they were very successful. Still wishing for broader fields and larger possibilities for the growing fam- ily of eight children, they decided to come to Amer- ica. He engaged passage on a new sailing vessel named ‘Mary Ann,’ about to make her second trip. Mr. Aston had the ship partitioned off for his fam- ily and a few friends.

““They sailed April 17, 1852, from Bristol, Eng- land, and brought with them seven head of thorough- bred Hereford cattle, fourteen Cotswold sheep, two shepherd dogs and over two tons of luggage. Seven weeks and three days were consumed in crossing the Atlantic, consequently their stock of provisions be- came short and the cattle had to be fed on sea bis- cuits soaked in cold water and on which they seemed to thrive. After this long and severe journey, dur- ing which they lost two of their beautiful herd, they landed in New York.

‘‘Mr. Aston left his family in Oswego county, pur- chased a horse and buggy and drove through the country seeking a suitable place to locate. As the result of this preliminary trip he purchased a farm about two miles east of Elyria, Lorain Co., O., where he resided eighteen years. Mr. Aston was one of the first importers of Hereford cattle, and became a very successful breeder, having exhibited at fairs in thirteen different states. His animals were among the leading prize-winners, some of them sweepstakes over any breed or age, some premiums being given in silver service and medals. The family has now in possession several pieces of solid silver and a number of silver and bronze medals so won.

302 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

“‘In those early days the Herefords raised the fattest calves, and were earliest of maturity. Mr. Aston took great pride in having the handsomest and fattest steers for the Christmas show in the city of Cleveland, fattening them especially for the lead- ing meat dealers and getting for them the best pos- sible prices. He crossed the Atlantic six times, the last time in 1870, with his wife, two sons and one daughter, locating again in Monmouth and later on at Wyshem, Herefordshire, where he died Feb. 20, 1894, at the age of seventy-nine years.’’

John Humphries was born in Somersetshire, Eng- land, Aug. 8, 1795. He was married in 1817 and was the father of several children, all now dead. He was always a farmer and breeder of cattle. While living in England he kept Shorthorns until he be- came convinced of the superior qualities of the Here- fords. Deciding at length to emigrate to America, where he hoped to buy a large farm of his own, he got in touch with his friend, Mr. Aston, and they agreed to come out together. With characteristic English appreciation of the necessity of stock-keep- ing as a means of maintaining the fertility of the soil, they proceeded to purchase for joint account seven Herefords and fourteen Cotswold sheep. This determination on their part in the face of the seri- ousness of their undertaking at that date presents at this distance a pleasing picture of British de- termination and courage. They did not even know their own ultimate destination. The New World was to them virtually terra incognita. The North Atlantic, to be traversed with difficulty and discom-

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 303

fort in an ordinary sailing vessel, rolled between their native land and the American coast.

A granddaughter of John Humphries, Mrs. Jen- nie E. Thornton, writing to the author concerning this undertaking, corroborates the statement above quoted from Mr. Aston’s daughter, in regard to the hardships suffered. Not only was a stormy voyage of seven weeks experienced, in the course of which two of the Herefords were lost, but as the ship was inadequately manned the male passengers were often called upon to help set or fur! the sails and perform other work of sailors. They were on the water much longer than had been anticipated and the ship’s provisions ran short, but thanks to the liberal sup- plies brought by Messrs. Humphries and Aston, all hands, as well as the surviving cattle, were fed. They arrived in New York harbor early in June, 1852, and soon afterwards set out on their journey into the west, locating as near neighbors in the vicin- ity of Elyria, O. The cattle and sheep were at once divided and the stock-raising operations pursued in- dependently, though always with mutual accommo- dation.

We are able to present in this connection an inter- esting old portrait of Mr. Aston, but unfortunately there is none available of his worthy partner in this enterprise, Mr. Humphries. Moreover, we are without any very explicit details as to their Here- fords.

We know that in 1852 they landed the bulls Curly 14, bred by Roberts of Ivingtonbury, and Prince

304 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Albert 477, bred by Yeomans of Stretton Court, and the heifers Victoria 478 and Duchess 15. Curly traced through Fairboy 28, Sir Andrew 54 and Con- queror 97, to Wellington 160, of Ben Tomkins’ breeding and became Aston’s property. Prince Al- bert was by Voltigeur 489, and was taken by Mr. Humphries. Victoria, bred by Mr. Bowen of Monk- land, Leominster, also became Mr. Humphries’ prop- erty. Duchess was retained by Aston. Both heifers came from the Bowen herd and both carried sound old blood derived from the herd of James Rea, of Monaughty. And what is more to the point, they both proved prolific.*

Early Exhibits by Mr. Aston—In 1856, Mr. Aston exhibited his cattle at Pittsburg, Pa., at the United States show at Philadelphia, and at Balti-

*We have been furnished by Mrs. Abbe with a copy of the diary kept by Mr. Aston on this memorable voyage. In view of the real importance of this shipment of cattle as one of the basic incidents connected with the introduction of Hereford cattle into the western states, we reproduce this interesting account of the long journey just as it was set down at the time. We quote:

MY PASSAGE TO AMERICA—1852, " Saturday, 17th of April. Came to King’s Head Hotel and staid all night. Sunday, the 18th. Sailed, with wind favorable at six in the morn-

ig. Monday, the 19th. Lost sight of land. With wind favorable, all is going on very comfortably.

Tuesday, the 20th. The wind changed to westward, blowing very hard with rain. aes brought ona heavy gale. Waves rolling heav- ily, tossing all our boxes and packages one over the other, and knock- ing our poor beasts about the deck in a dreadful manner. One of the cows was dead in the morning, and the other cow almost dead. Was obliged to kill her. The others were very much bruised.

Wednesday, the 21st. Still blowing very hard, and the sea very high. Not able to keep anything steady without lashing. Several of the poor passengers very sick.

Thursday, the 22nd. Wind a little more favorable, but making much speed. The captain afraid to put on too much canvas.

Friday the 23rd. A fine clear morning, but sadly frightened. The cook’s apartment set on fire and would have been very serious had_it not been put out_in time.

Saturday, the 24th. With wind favorable saw a whale at a dis- tance, blowing the water very high. Closed the evening with music and dancing. About 500 miles from Bristol.

Sunday, the 25th. Almost a calm. A steamer passed very close to

in

THOMAS ASTON.

306 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

more, Md., where he sold the bull Curly to a Col. Prince of that city. During this same year Mr. Humphries made a show at the New York State Fair. In 1857 Mr. Aston made a tour of the western shows, exhibiting at Freeport, Ill., Chicago and St. Louis. This same year he exhibited also at Detroit

us and spoke to our captain who told him the name of our vessel. We Hed. prayers on deck at eleven in the morning and at six in the evening.

Monday, the 26th. Weather fine, but the wind unfavorable. All going on well. Busy with the captain giving the passengers allowance.

Tuesday, the 27th. Rain. Wind blowing southward, and rough sea. Passed a boat bound for England. "I killed a sheep and sold part of it to the passengers.

Wednesday, the 28th. Very rough and windy, blowing southwest, but fine. Some of the passengers seem to recover from their sickness. I and all my family suffered very much from sickness for nearly a fortnight, the girls and my wife much longer.

Thursday, the 29th. Wind northwest, blowing very cold, and rough sea. The most favorable wind we have been out in. Sailing about 7 knots an hour. :

Friday, the 30th. Wind changes again southwest. The steward’s mate robbed the cabin of some money, for which he received a dozen lashes and the captain made him parade the deck with “thief” written on his back for punishment.

Saturday, May the 1st: Cold and wet. We passed two vessels bound for some English port. Came on a heavy gale in the evening and lasted all night.

Sunday, the 2nd. The sea very rough and the waves rolling very high and breaking over the deck. Obliged to lash down all our things. Sat down to biscuit and cheese for dinner, the waves putting out all the fire in the cook’s house, and could not have any service in con- sequence.

Monday, the 3rd. Rather calmer, with the wind unfavorable. Saw a lot of porpoises rolling and tumbling very much. The captain gave out the allowance to the passengers. We have not seen any land since the 18th of April.

Tuesday, the 4th. Southwest wind blowing very strong and the sea rolling heavy, washing over the deck.

Wednesday, the 5th. The wind blowing and sea rolling very high, Very cold, but no danger. Our poor beasts very much knocked about.

Thursday, the 6th. A rainy day and cold,

Friday, the 7th. In the morning the wind better and more favor- able, but cold. Supposed to be 1,000 miles from home.

Saturday, the 8th. Wet and cold, with hail storms. A gale came on in the morning and throwed one of Mr. Williams’ children out of bed from the top berth. This ends a week_of rough weather.

Sunday, the 9th. Fine and calmer. Held prayer meeting in our apartments. Mr. Goslin read prayers and Mr. Williams and we answered him, as did Clerk.

Monday, the 10th. Dry and calm westward. Going about 6 knots an hour, the captain giving out the week’s allowance.

Tuesday, the 11th. Fine and mild. The wind a little more favor-

le. Wednesday, the 12th. The wind southwest and a calm sea. Saw @ vessel at a distance, bound for England. All going on well. Going about 7 knots. . Thursday, the 13th. Wind northwest. Captain put down the lead 70 fathoms, but found no bottom. Also let down a bottle of fresh

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 307

and Zanesville, O. In 1858 he had eattle at Rich- mond, Winchester and Norfolk, Va., as well as at Petersburg, N. C. In 1860 he made exhibits at the Ohio and Kentucky state fairs.

Mr. Walter M. Morgan, afterwards a breeder of prominence in Kansas, a son-in-law of Mr. Aston,

water, the cork sealed. Came back with the cork forced in. Came up the contrary way and filled with salt water.

Friday, the 14th. Fine but very cold, the wind northwest. Going on more favorably, the most of us recovering from our sickness.

Saturday, the 15th. We made the sailors a jolly good plum pud- ding for their dinner, for their good conduct. Messrs. Williams, Goslin, Humphries and myself found the ingredients between us, for which they were very thankful.

Sunday, the 16th. On the banks of Newfoundland. Supposed to be about 1,200 miles from New York, 400 miles across the banks, and 800 after. We had a prayer meeting, morning and evening, in our apartments. .

Monday, the 17th. Cold, foggy day, which it is always in this part of the ocean. We were obliged to keep a watch on deck, blowing a aoa for fear some ship should come into us. A great place for codfish.

Tuesday, the 18th. Passed a fisherman’s brig fishing for cod. We let down our boat and the mate and a few others went and bought several fish with them and sold them again to the passen- gers, and we sat down to a dinner of nice fresh cod, which we enjoyed much.

Wednesday, the 19th. We witnessed a funeral at sea. A child about 12 months old belonging to a man of the name of Morgan, from Langarsen, died on the night before. It had been ill some time before. Put it in a coffin with something to sink it, the captain reading the burial service.

Thursday, the 20th. Cold, wet and foggy, something like a No- vember day. The horn obliged to be blown all day, not being able to see need yards before us. The bottom about 40 fathoms, that is, 76 yards.

Friday, the 21st. Cold and foggy in the morning. Cleared up in the evening. Supposed to be getting off the banks, but have seen no land. Nice and calm.

Saturday, the 22nd. Nice bright morn, and warmer. Put down the lead, but found no bottom.

Sunday, the 23rd. The wind a little westward. Held a prayer meeting in our apartment and sang several Psalms.

Monday, the 24th. The wind a little more easterly. Getting wish- ful to be at our journey’s end. Have been out upward of 5 weeks and have seen no land. The wind very unfavorable. Captain giving out the food. Mr. Williams went on deck and the wind blew his hat overboard, and others’, 15 in number.

Tuesday, the 25th. The wind changed again, wet and cold. Going about 6 knots. One passenger very ill. Ourselves have had colds.

Wednesday, the 26th. Fine and milder. Saw a vessel in the distance which made toward us, our captain asking her name. It was the George Brownell, bound for New York, came from France. Full of immigrants, about 400 in number. We gave her three cheers and parted.

Thursday, the 27th. Fine mild day. Saw a piece of timber up- right in the sea, supposed to be a wreck, part of some vessel.

Friday, the 28th. Fine and mild, the wind westward. Still see

308 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

was with the cattle on these tours and says that they were unusually successful in winning prizes. Importation of 1860.—In 1860 Messrs. Humph- ries and Aston made a second shipment, including the bulls John Bull 464, Chancellor 472 and a heifer that never bred. These were safely landed, but several other animals succumbed to the rigors of the Atlantic passage, then a long and trying trip. John Bull was from the herd of E. Price of Pem- bridge and sired by Goldfinder 2d out of Prettymaid 473. Chancellor was by The Grove 62, by Sir David. During the ’60’s Aston bought the bulls Captain 6 and Golden Drop 457 from Frederick William Stone

a lot of porpoises rolling and tumbling. We tried a harpoon in one but missed.

Saturday, the 29th. Fine and getting on the St. George Shoals. Another sand bank. Found bottom at 40 fathoms, about 350 miles from New York.

Sunday, the 30th. On St. George Shoals. Quite foggy, obliged to Les the horn again. Found bottom at 36 fathoms. Held prayer meeting.

Monday, the 31st. Fine and clear. Saw three whales at a distance. one syater supply getting short, 2 quarts instead of 3, and no wind Oo get on.

Tuesday, June the ist. Fine and clear. Saw several porpoises and seven dolphins’) The mate caught one with a fishhook. Saw a number of black fish 5 or 6 feet long, regular customers with large heads. Very best wind. Going a little north. Had a little music this eve. At 11 o'clock we harpooned a fine porpoise weighing about 100 pounds or more. It caused a great uproar in the vessel, all the passengers getting up and coming on deck to see the large sea pig. It was very well worth seeing.

Wednesday, the 2nd. Very fine, too. Cut up the porpoise early. Some of the passengers had some of it for their breakfasts. <A great part of the fish is very much like a pig, only much handsomer. It was very fat. About midday the wind blew very hard, which made us nearly all very ill, Went to bed without any supper.

Thursday, the 3rd. Very fine weather. A strong wind. At about 5 o’clock there was a great outcry to see the pilot, who had come on board, which was very good news for us. The day is very fine About 130 miles from New York, when he came on board.

Friday, the 4th. We engaged a steam tug to tow us in. Then we began to see land, which was a pleasing sight to us. Some of the poor passengers were getting rather short of food, as were our cattle and sheep. One of the Hereford heifers died, and we were obliged to throw her overboard.

Saturday, the 5th. We came in sight of place called quarantine ground, and New York harbor, as handsome a place as I ever saw. Our ship lay there until Monday, the 7th, when we all landed, having been seven weeks and three days on our journey.

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 309

of Canada, the former by imp. Sailor 12 and the latter by Guelph 461.

Mr. Aston sold out and returned to England to live in 1870. By that time the Hereford had become a familiar figure in the pastures and feedlots of Lo- rain and adjoining counties. The seed had fallen upon fertile soil. Butchers reported that the ‘‘ white faces’’ killed well. Graziers agreed that they made weight fast on grass and ripened rapidly when placed in the feedlot. It was here that Thomas Clark, another Englishman and then a young man unknown to fame, first began farming in America and acquired the blood that started him upon his remarkable career as a breeder and exhibitor of Herefords. It was in this vicinity also that George Morgan, another Englishman who was to become a great factor in the American Hereford trade, settled on first coming out from Herefordshire.

Thomas Clark states that the Humphries-Aston stock, while not so refined as we are now accustomed to seeing in America, were good thick-fleshed cattle possessing scale, substance, fine feeding quality and in some cases the cows were excellent milkers. They were more freely marked with white than modern Herefords. Cattle descended from the Humphries- Aston stock were often shown at the local and dis- trict fairs in northern Ohio, and when the newer west finally awakened to the value of the blood Elyria suddenly found herself for the time being the Hereford capital of the mid-west states—a dis- tinction claimed shortly afterwards, however, by a

310 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

town in northern Illinois to be mentioned frequently as our story progresses.

Frederick William Stone—The farm of the On- tario Agricultural College and Experiment Station possesses an historic interest to the lovers of im- proved domestic animals, aside from the credit at- taching to the great work there performed in recent years by a devoted body of men seeking the ad- vancement of Dominion agriculture through the ap- plication of scientific practices. It was in those fer- tile fields that Frederick William Stone once main- tained the largest herd of Hereford cattle of its time in North America. Shorthorns of pure descent and Cotswold sheep of the best British breeding likewise trod the soil of what was then the Moreton Lodge estate. The walls of the old house are now incorporated, in part at least, in one of the college buildings.

From this famous old-time importing and breed- ‘ing establishment many valuable cattle and sheep went out to enrich the farming, not only of Ontario, but of the border states of the Union. Indeed, so marked was the influence of the Moreton Lodge Herefords upon the foundation herds of New Eng- land, New York, Maryland, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri that no account of the upbuilding of the breed in the States can fail to accord the highest recognition to the enterprise and public spirit of this real benefactor of the two great neighboring Anglo-Saxon nations. While the Here- fords never really obtained strong footing in the

FREDERICK WILLIAM STONBD.

312 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Dominion generally, it so happened that at the time the middle western states first set out to establish purebred white-faced herds the Frederick William Stone collection was the largest and best of its kind on the continent and was therefore freely drawn upon by those who were seeking the blood for use upon this side of the line.

A Warwickshire Man.—Mr. Stone was born at Barton-on-the-Heath, Warwickshire, England, in 1814, and came to Canada in 1831 at the age of six- teen along with the Arkells. He took up 200 acres on the Puslinch Plains, which he afterwards in- creased to 248 acres. Some years later he returned to England with the idea of going to Calcutta where his brother had offered him a position as an East Indian merchant. However, he changed his mind and returned to Canada and opened a store on the Brock Road, still retaining his farm. His business prospered and he acquired the estate of 583 acres, 550 of which he sold to the Ontario Government in 1873 for the agricultural college. The entrance to the main building is the original entrance to the house called by Mr. Stone Moreton Lodge, in honor of his mother. After selling this farm to the gov- ernment, Mr. Stone bought an adjoining place of some 200 acres, which he farmed along with one of 248 acres at Arkell until the time of his death in 1895, at the age of eighty-one.

In 1850 Mr. Stone purchased the Wingfield herd of Shorthorns and in 1854 began to import purebred stock direct. His first shipment of Shorthorns was

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 313

lost at sea, but he continued importing them until 1875, exhibiting with great success at the Provincial exhibitions in Canada and in the United States as well. One of his most noted Shorthorn bulls was Grand Duke of Moreton, which after winning vari- ous prizes was sold for $1,000 when six years old.

_ First Hereford Purchases.—In 1860 Mr. Stone attended the Royal English Show at Canterbury and was so pleased with the Hereford cattle that he got his brother to buy some and ship them to Can- ada. These initial purchases were made chiefly from the old established herds of Lord Bateman, of Shob- don, Leominster, and Lord Berwick, of Cronkhill, Salop. Stock bulls from both of these herds were in service at Moreton Lodge in the early days. Sailor 12, bred by Lord Berwick and sired by Severn, a son of the famous Walford, was used with satisfactory results. A number of heifers by Sev- ern were also brought out from the Berwick herd. Probably one of the best known bulls sired by Sailor was Canadian Chief 663, used as a stock bull by Mr. Stone. He left a number of heifers from which most excellent stock descended, one of these being the cow Necklace 4th 1519, that passed into the posses- sion of Hon. M. H. Cochrane, of Hillhurst. The dam - of Canadian Chief, the imported cow Peach, by Al- bert Edward 450, was also of Cronkhill origin and was subsequently sold to Mr. A. H. Seabury, of Lafayette, Ind. Mr. Seabury bought a number of cattle from Mr. Stone, and his herd was one of the earliest established in the state of Indiana. These

314 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

latter purchases constituted the foundation of the herd which afterwards attained prominence in the trade in the States as the property of Seabury & Sample, and it was the excellence of the steers de- rived from this stock that first attracted the atten- tion of the late Mr. Adams Ear] to the Herefords. Guelph and Sir Charles.—From Lord Bateman, Mr. Stone obtained the bull Patriot 26, sired by Car- lisle 51. He also secured from the same source a daughter of Carlisle named Hebe. It is of interest to note in this connection that the mating of this half-brother and sister resulted in the production at Moreton Lodge of the good stock bull Guelph 2023, that sired, among other noted animals, the famous show bull Sir Charles 543, sold to Mr. T. L. Miller, of Beecher, Ill., for $1,000 in gold in 1872. It was with this bull that Mr. Miller made his first energetic effort to attract the attention of cornbelt farmers to the Hereford breed at leading western shows. Guelph also sired the bull Goldendrop 457, that was bought by W. W. Aldrich, of Elyria, O., for use upon cattle derived from the Humphries-As- ton importation into that state. Another son of Guelph, Commander-in-Chief 959, was used in the herd, siring among other animals sold to the States the bull Dalesman 1259, bought for service in the herd of Mr. Seabury. Still another Guelph bull that came to the States was Velvet Jacket 675, purchased by W. W. Crapo, of Flint, Mich., who was one of the earliest breedérs of Hereford cattle in that state and who obtained a number of breeding cows and

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 315

heifers from Mr. Stone. Patriot also sired the bull Admiral 975, sold to Hon. John Merryman, of Maryland.

The Green Blood Introduced.—Further on in the course of his work with the Herefords, Mr. Stone imported from the herd of J. B. Green the bulls Governor 4th 1293 and Portrait 3d 1404, the latter being the sire of the bull Picture 1403, sold to Mr. Charles Gudgell, then of Pleasant Hill, Mo. Mr. Gudgell obtained about the same time a number of females from the same source, including three daughters of Crown Prince 1418, son of Sir Charles 543.

Wide Distribution of the Stone Stock.—There was scarcely a herd in the northern United States ’ founded during this period that did not owe some- thing to the Frederick William Stone collection. It was a source of supply to nearly all of those who were trying to get a start with the ‘‘white faces’’ all the way from Maine to Colorado. Mr. G. 8. Bur- leigh bought cattle from Mr. Stone at the time he was founding his herd in the state of Iowa. Thomas Clark had from Moreton Lodge Sir Arthur 705, by Sir Charles out of Hebe 3d, sold to Mr. Seabury. T. L. Miller had a number of females and some bulls in addition to Sir Charles, and by him the blood was passed on to the western range through the hands of John W. Prowers, of West Las Ani- mas, Colo.

A Man of Broad Sympathies—Mr. Stone took a deep interest in everything pertaining to agricul-

‘yayid plo UB WoIy—HONACIS MU ANOLS ‘WA Gaud ABL

PORTION OF RESIDENCE OF FRED WM. STONE INCO RPORATED INTO A BOY’S DORMITORY AT ONTARIO AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE—ENTh Y PORCH REMAINS UNCHANGED.

318 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ture and was for years a member of the Ontario Board of Agriculture and president of the Agricul- ture and Arts Association. He did not seek public office at all, although in 1867 in the Confederation election he ran in the Conservative interest but was unsuccessful.

Like all the other strong characters which Canada has contributed to North American agricultural his- tory, Mr. Stone possessed the Briton’s in-born lik- ing for good animals, and although deeply engrossed in merchandising he found leisure to devote both time and money in generous measure to the main- tenance of herds and flocks that proved throughout a long series of years a source of satisfaction to himself and of profit to his patrons in both coun- tries.

He is said to have imported the first Suffolk horses, Yorkshire and Berkshire pigs, Southdown and Cotswold sheep into Ontario, as well as the first English and silvér pheasants, Dorking fowls and Aylesbury ducks. On his farm he had a nursery where he grew over 100 varieties of roses, also many different varieties of fruit trees, Austrian pines, spruce, etc.

At the Provincial Exhibition in 1879 at Ottawa, Mr. Stone won a great many prizes and medals, in- cluding the Governor General’s gold medal award- ed to exhibitor receiving greatest number of prizes for cattle. This medal was presented to Mr. Stone by H. R. H. the Princess Louise. During that same year he won two gold, six silver and six bronze

"S.HNOLS "NA GHA LY GUVANUVA AHL ACISNI

320 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

medals, and in 1867 the gold medal at Buffalo for best herd of Herefords.

A Strong Personality—Regarding Mr. Stone’s personal characteristics the author is fortunate in possessing a pen-picture drawn some years ago by another one of Ontario’s immortals, the late Rich- ard Gibson, in the course of a personal letter from which the following passage is taken:

‘‘T knew Mr. Stone intimately. He was a typical English yeoman, stoutly built, with all the at- tributes of his fellows in England, and an aggres- sive color in his cheeks, that good, healthy, ruddy bronze that bespoke health and happiness. He was a storekeeper as well as a farmer, and his wealth accumulated. As Strafford [a famous old-time Eng- lish Shorthorn auctioneer—Ep.] would say when a specimen of one of his favorite families passed before him in the salering, ‘he was well got and well descended.’ A cousin of his was sheriff of his coun- ty and his eldest son was a prominent barrister in London, England. His farming was to him a pleas- ure, until age and cares passed a veil upon his work. He sold the farm to the Ontario Govern- ment, and upon his superstructure the present On- tario College of Agriculture now lives and moves and turns out professors annually, a sure sign of the fitness of the soil.

‘‘As to his Herefords: For years he won every- thing before him. I remember a bull, I think Sir Charles. I reported him as being fit to compete with a ring of all Shorthorns of any age, that is, as regards symmetry and smoothness of flesh, but he was not a typical Hereford of that day. His horns were short and turned in, a la Shorthorn. However, he was a great butcher’s fancy. The herd was un-

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 321

doubtedly the best on the continent at the time I mention.’’*

No better evidence of the esteem in which Mr. Stone was held by his own people can be advanced than the following paragraph taken from an obitu- ary notice published in the ‘‘Farmer’s Advocate’’ of Feb. 15, 1895:

‘“We regret to chronicle the death of Mr. Fred- erick W. Stone, of Guelph, Ont., one of the pioneer importers and breeders of purebred stock on this continent. Live stock husbandry in Canada owes a distinct debt of gratitude to the man who did so much to lay the foundation of the position of pre- eminence which the country enjoys today, the good influence of his enterprise naturally extending to the neighboring republic as well. He was a fine rep- resentative of an old and worthy type of agricul- turists too fast disappearing from view in these days of constant change and ceaseless activity.’’

Hon. John Merryman.—The Merrymans of Ma- ryland came originally from near Monkton in Herefordshire prior to 1650, and their name is in- separably connected with the history of their adopt- ed state. The immediate ancestors of John Merry- man, whose identification with Hereford cattle breeding in America we have now to mention, set- tled upon the Gunpowder some 22 miles north of

*Mr. Gibson adds the following characteristic postscript: ‘The last time I saw the herd old Joe Kirby was in charge. They had many Hereford bull calves and yearlings; also over 100 Cotswold rams. After we had finished going over the cattle and sheep, in the course of which I had indulged in my customary badgering about the ‘white faces,’ I said: ‘Joe, now I want you to drive with me to Guelph.’ ‘I can’t,’ said he, ‘for I have to attend upon some cus- tomers.’ ‘All right,’ said I, ‘but I want to buy you a present; will send it back with the driver.’ It was a sharp knife. Joe under- stood the hint, and no matter afterwards where I met him the proposition was carried out, and if any of your young English epicures were around, lambs’ fries could be had for nothing.”

822 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the city of Baltimore and called their new home Monkton. They acquired many thousands of acres of land both east and west of the stream mentioned and early in the eighteenth century located upon the farm they called, still in honor of the old home, Hereford. It was here that John Merryman was born in 1824. In the year 1847 his parents fell heir to the historic farm of Hayfields near the village of Cockeysville, and here in 1856 he laid the founda- tion for a herd of Hereford cattle that was destined to exert a far-reaching and beneficent influence upon the breed in the United States.

The holding known as Hayfields is situated in the famous Worthington Valley and had been put together by Col. Nicholas Merryman Bosley in the years immediately following 1803, upon which date the purchase of the first 100 acres was made. This was added to from time to time by the purchase of contiguous fields, until 560 acres in all had been acquired. Col. Bosley erected the substantial stone buildings still in service, the last to be constructed being the main farmhouse, a photograph of which is herewith reproduced, built in 1832. The soil was for the most part the characteristic red clay of that region, and rested upon a limestone base.* The

*Speaking of the character of the land and the system of cropping followed Mr. William D. Merryman says:

“The Hayfields soil is part limestone and part rotten rock or isinglass soil. The front, about 300 acres, is limestone and the bal- ance or back place is rotten rock. It is farmed in rotation, corn, wheat, oats or rye, and then set in red clover and timothy hay. Each field is allowed to remain in grass about from three to five years, and is generally pastured the last year. There is one field that has abot a) Cr ap eens ee has not in my time nor within the memory of any of our family been plowed, and it has good bluegrass set on it at all times. It has been used ‘for sheep.” ) . -

HON, JOHN MPRRYMAN.

824 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

forage grown was therefore of the very best, and the place owes its name to the excellence of its meadows. Col. Bosley was a fine type of the old- school landed proprietor of that period; his accom- plishments in the agricultural field were widely rec- ognized in the highest circles, a prized possession of the family at this time being a silver tankard pre- sented to him by the Marquis de Lafayette. Upon his death without issue in 1847 he left the property to his grand-niece, the mother of John Merryman, with a life interest in the estate to her husband, entailing it, after the English primogeniture prac- tice, to their eldest son Nicholas Bosley Merryman, who came into the title by the death of his mother in 1897.

Early Purchases from William H. Sotham.—John Merryman had not been in possession long under his life tenure until he decided that the white-faced cattle of the old West of England pastures would look well on the green slopes of Hayfields, and so in 1856 he made his first selections. In a letter written Aug. 9, 1881, Mr. Merryman said: ‘‘At the New York State Fair held at Watertown in 1856, I purchased from A. & H. Bowen the yearling bull Catalpa and the heifer Lilac. My next purchase was from Mr. Sotham and consisted of 13 cows and heifers and two bulls, including Blenheim 1064.’’

Writing to Mr. George Underwood, July 27, 1875, Mr. Merryman said: :

‘‘My original purchases were made from Mr. Wm. H. Sotham, from whom I got Blenheim, a son of

‘NVNAUUGN NHOL ‘NOH @HL JO ANOH—GSOOH «SAISIMAVH,

326 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Charles 2d, imported by George Clark, of East Springfield, Otsego County, N. Y. (one of the best bulls I have ever seen). Subsequently I purchased from the Board of Agriculture of Massachusetts, imp. Milton, cow Cora and the heifer Promise, both out of Milton, by imp. Cronkhill. Milton dropped a bull calf by Cronkhill that I named Cronk- hill 4th, and bred to the Sotham cows. I afterwards purchased from Mr. Stone Admiral by imp. Patriot, bred by Lord Bateman. Many of Admiral’s calves have proved large milkers and good buttermakers, Agnes giving 5 gallons 1 pound of milk per day, yielding 12 pounds 10 ounces butter in one week; Bohemian Maid, 5 gallons 1 quart milk and 10 pounds 12 ounces butter in one ‘week in January.’’

This is the only reference we find to Geo. Clark as an importer.

Among the females obtained at that time through Mr. Sotham were the imported cows Milton 976 and Miss Tully 534. Milton was bred by Thomas Longmore of Orleton near Ludlow and was got by Wonder 451, of John Hewer’s breeding, out of a cow called Old Milton, whose lineage is unknown. Milton was calved in 1850 and was therefore six years old when purchased. Along with her came her two daughters, own sisters, Cora 1064 and Promise 1107, both by Cronkhill 1745, a bull that came from Lord Berwick’s, a son of the celebrated Walford bred by this same Thomas Longmore and a Royal celebrity of the early ’50’s extensively used by His Lordship at Cronkhill. The other imported cow, Miss Tully, was a three-year-old bred by the famous fighting parson, Rev. J. R. Smythies of

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 327

Lynch Court, whose challenges and aggressive work in improving the breed in Herefordshire were nota- ble features of the pre-herd-book days in England. She was got by Expectation 1205, a bull of Jeffries- Hewer derivation.

These were the cattle mentioned on a preceding page as having been exhibited at the Massachusetts State Fair of 1858. They were bought by Mr. Merryman some time during the year 1859. The cow Milton was still breeding at the age of 16 years, and her daughter Cora was 15 years of age when she gave birth to Milton 2d.

There was also bought from Mr. Sotham the heifer Fashion 720, of his own breeding, got by the Hewer-bred Charles 2d°1065. A bull calf Blenheim 1064, also bred by Mr. Sotham and sired by Charles 2d, was purchased, but the young imported bull Curly 1561 from the herd of John Evans of Knighton, Wales, sired by the Turner-bred Van- guard 142, and also got from or through Mr. Sotham was the first stock bull used. To a service by this latter bull the cow Milton in 1863 gave birth to a bull called Marion 1106, that was used for stock purposes as the herd grew in size.

Bulls from Stone of Canada.—Like most of his contemporaries in the business of trying to start Hereford herds in the States, Mr. Merryman had resort to Moreton Lodge. From Frederick William Stone he had the bull Admiral 975, by Patriot 26 out of imp. Gentle of Lord Bateman’s breeding, and also the bull Canadian 968, by Commander in

328 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Chief 959 (he by Guelph 461) out of Bonny Lass 6th by the show bull Sir Charles 543.

Importation of Sir Richard 2d.—The Civil War necessarily restricted the Hereford breeding opera- tions at Hayfields during the ’60’s, but shortly after its close Mr. Marryman proceeded with his plans. About the year 1869 Mr. Merryman sent an order to England for the purchase of a bull and two heifers in Herefordshire, and in fulfilment thereof Sir Richard 2d, Giantess and Miss Monk were bought. Sir Richard 2d and Giantess were both bred by J. H. Arkwright of Hampton Court, Leo- minster, and although both were got by Sir Oliver 2d 973, by Sir Benjamin by Sir David, they had been mated before importation, the produce at Hay- fields being the heifer Princess Victoria 1057. Miss Monk was bred by Daniel Pearce of Monkhall and the cattle were brought out to Baltimore in charge of Daniel Pearce, Jr.

Sir Richard 2d was about sixteen months old when received and was at once put in serviee. No one dreamed at the time that this youngster was to prove one of the most noted sires in American Hereford history, but amongst the bulls of his day it is probable that Anxiety alone left a more valuable line of descendants in this country. Be this as it may, Mr. Merryman was fortunate enough to draw this rare prize, and kept the bull steadily in service until 1876. That was the year of the United States Government’s Centennial Exposition celebration at Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Mr, Duckham had

OUT-BUILDINGS AT ‘HAYFIELDS."

330 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

been invited out from England to judge the Here- fords. There was a considerable gathering of the supporters of the breed upon this occasion, among those exhibiting being Mr. H. C. Burleigh of Maine. Mr. Merryman had cattle on exhibition, showing Sir Richard 2d against T. L. Miller’s Success. The lat- ter won, owing to better fitting and in an evil hour (for Hayfields) Mr. Merryman agreed with Mr. Burleigh to exchange on even terms Sir Richard 2d for the big 2,850-pound Canadian-bred Compton Lad 1327, sired by Guelph 461 and out of Venus 662, a daughter of imp. Sailor 12. Practically no service was had at Hayfields from Compton Lad and he was sent to the butcher, Mr. Merryman fre- quently consoling himself as best he could by saying ‘‘that is what you get for dealing with a Yankee!’™*

This incident, viewed in the light of Sir Richard’s inestimable service to the breed, again illustrates the folly of disposing of a sire of special value, unless indeed the offer—which was not the case in this historic instance—be of such tempting charac- ter that it would seem sheer nonsense to refuse it. Mr. Merryman had heifers three or four years old at the time, but it was not possible of course for him to foresee the wonderful career in store for the bull he had brought out from Hampton Court and so he exchanged ‘‘Old Dick,’’ as he was after-

°Mr. Merryman had actively espoused the cause of the south during the days when the northern troops were over-running his native state, and was for a time a prisoner at Ft. McHenry. Chief Justice Taney’s dissenting opinion to a Supreme Court decision denying Mr. Merryman his release under habeas corpus proceedings has been regarded as one of the great jurist’s most convincing legal arguments. He was subsequently released without trial. :

.

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 331

wards affectionately termed in the west, for a ton and a half of bull beef on the hoof. The story of Sir Richard 2d’s importation and wanderings, his great period of service in Maine, his career in the Miller, Clark, Earl & Stuart and Culbertson herds in the west, is a bovine romance that will unfold itself still further as we proceed with our story of how the Hereford fought his way into the favor of powerful interests in the cornbelt and on the west- ern range. Had John Merryman done nothing else than import this great getter of grandly fleshed, massive cows possessing wonderfully true Hereford character he would still be entitled to rank as one of the real founders of the Hereford’s good fortune on this side of the Atlantic.

Giantess and Progeny.—The imported cow Gian- tess, of Arkwright’s breeding, above referred to, proved a prolific and valuable breeder and as she was a half-sister to Sir Richard 2d—to which bull _ She was regularly mated—contributed a valuable new element to the Hayfields herd. She was the mother of a line of Princesses—Louise, Charlotte and Beatrice, all by Sir Richard 2d—and also dropped the bull Duke of Edinburgh 1711, by Sir Richard 2d, sold to Col. Lloyd of Easton, Md. She had also the bull Prince of Wales 1709, by Sir Richard 2d. To a service by Illinois 920 she pro- duced Prince Arthur 1708, bought by B. Hershey of Muscatine, Ia.

Illinois in Service.—Shortly after the unfortunate Sir Richard 2d trade Mr. Merryman made a deal

332 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

with T. L. Miller of Beecher, Ill., in which the bull Illinois 920 was acquired. He was a son of the fa- mous show bull Success 2 out of Kate 762, which was bred by Aston of Elyria from John Bull 464 and Queen of the West by Merriman 764. Merri- man was bred by John Humphries from imp. Prince Albert 477 and imp. Victoria 478. Illinois was quite worthy of his good descent, and after being used several seasons was sold about 1880 to A. A. Crane, Osco, Ill. He got many useful bulls, including The Equinox 2758, sold to Mr. Miller, and a number bought by Benjamin Hershey of Iowa for his Ne- braska ranch. Another one of his sons was The Monk 2754, a’ grandson of imp. Miss Monk, a bull sold to Geddis & Bryan of Ft. Logan, Mont., in the days when Herefords were not yet plentiful on the western range. About this same period Mr. Merry- man also sold bulls carrying Sir Richard 2d blood to the Swans for their Wyoming ranch.

Prince of the Wye Imported.—Mr. Merryman vis-. ited England in 1878-79, and while in Herefordshire purchased a few cattle, including the yearling bull Prince of the Wye 1548, bred by Hon. Thomas Duckham. Prince of the Wye was sired by Helian- thus 1549, a son of King of the Lilies 1551. Heli- anthus was bred by the Earl of Southesk at Kin- naird Castle, Forfarshire, Scotland, whose herd of ‘‘white faces’’ was one of the very few ever attempt- ed in North Britain. Along with Prince of the- Wye came a heifer, Winifred 5th 1661, also from Mr. Duckham’s and got by the bull Concord 1662 that

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REPRODUCTION OF AN OLD LITHOGRAPHED LETTER HEAD. *

334 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

was exported to South Africa. While in England Mr. Merryman also bought from Henry Webb two fine Southdown rams for the Druid Hill Park flock maintained by the city of Baltimore. _

Prince of the Wye was in use in the herd until the death of the proprietor in 1881, after which all of the cattle excepting twelve head (including Prince of the Wye) were sold to A. A. Crane, Osco, Tl.

Final Dispersion.—The twelve head mentioned were left to the late E. Gettings Merryman, who continued the herd until 1894 when his brother Wil- liam D. Merryman took charge of them in behalf of his mother, until her decease in 1897. William D. retained the cattle until 1904 when they were dis- persed at auction because Mr. N. Bosley Merry- man, who inherited Hayfields, did not care to farm; and this was the end of an historic herd.

In these latter day operations the bull Prince of the Wye was followed by Prince de Cote 5985, by imp. Winter de Cote 2977 out of Princess 10th by Hopeful 2d 2983, bought of T. L. Miller in 1883. Richard 3d 1716, by old Sir Richard 2d out of imp. Miss Monk, was also used for a few years. About 1886 Earl Wilton 19th 27144 was obtained from Adams Earl. Then came Franklin 31875 of C. K. Parmelee’s breeding, got from S. W. Anderson of West Virginia. William D. Merryman brought into service Double Anxiety 50044, bred by Thomas Clark and bought from 8S. W. Anderson. This bull had a double cross of Clark’s Anxiety 3d, and Mr.

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 335

Merryman says, ‘‘I considered him the best bull ever on the place excepting Sir Richard 2d.’’

A Man of Mark.—Mr. Merryman was President of the Maryland State Agricultural Society in 1857 and under his administration successful fairs were held at Baltimore and Frederick in 1858, 1859 and 1860. He was again elected president of the asso- ciation after its reorganization in 1879. He also served his state in the legislature, and in 1870 was state treasurer. He was the head of the commercial fertilizer house of John Merryman & Co., of Balti- more, and in 1880 was elected President of the old organization known as the United States Agricul- tural Society.

Mr. Merryman’s heart was ever at Hayfields and with the Herefords. This is well illustrated by the following extract from a private letter to a gentle- man of his acquaintance written some years after the founding of the herd:

‘‘T am as earnestly devoted to Herefords as you found me upon my arrival at Owego in January, 1859. At the last annual fair of our state agricul- tural society, in September last, my Herefords had three gold medals awarded them, and nine first prizes, including one for best fat steer. I have now owned 209 Herefords, 181 of which I have bred myself. I claim that they are the most valuable stock for this vicinity, and for the purposes of the south, being hardy, active and better milkers than the Devon, which is the only breed to compare with them for this section and south of us. They have also another great advantage over Devons—their size. I slaughter several steers each year, and have

336 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

never had any weigh less than 60 pounds beef for 100 pounds live weight.’’*

Mr. Merryman probably bred in all 500 Herefords during the years he was engaged in the business,

*While space admonishes that we must not linger too long over these early eastern operations, we feel that in justice to a few other pioneer Hereford breeders in New England the follow- ing notes should be appended:

Between the years of 1870 and 1880 Herefords were brought into New Hamphsire from the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec and from the state of Maine, Arthur Clough of Canter- bury established a herd, drawing material from the herd of Frederick William Stone, and that of A. W. Foster, Waterloo, Quebec. Cattle of Mr. Clough’s breeding were bought by J. S. Hawes during the later ’70’s and doubtless more or less of this blood was disseminated in the west after the removal of Mr. Hawes to Kansas in 1882.

At Sandwich in 1875 Isaac D. Smith was breeding Herefords, having purchased the cow Annie Holmes, bred by Messrs, Under- wood. About this time W. P. Small of Canterbury secured the bull General Grant, bred by Moses B. Bailey, Farmington, Me. It may be of interest to add that General Grant 3154 was a full brother to President 2058, which sired Rose Bud 6606, the mater- nal grandam of Perfection 92891. Herefords appear to have well maintained their popularity around Canterbury. J. P. Kimball was breeding there in the early ’80’s, owning cattle descended from the stock of Mr. Clough and of Mr. Smith of Sandwich. Thomas W. Taylor of Sanbornton was prominent among New Hampshire breeders thirty years ago, starting his herd with cattle of Clough breeding. Like J. P. Kimball, Mr. Taylor was an early member of the American Hereford Cattle Breeders’ Association. About thirty years ago F. W. Towle founded a herd at Freedom, purchasing stock of Burleigh & Bodwell. Mr. Towle was a Boston business man, and has continued to be identified with Hereford cattle. At present New Hampshire boasts the largest herd of registered Herefords in New England, that of the Messrs. Morrison at Oxford.

The first list of membership in the American Hereford Cattle Breeders’ Association presents the name of L. B. Harris, Lyndon Center, Vt. Mr. Harris evidently believed in Hereford blood fresh from the fountain-head, as his herd was made up exclusively of imported stock. Among his cows was Lucy Davies 9787, bred by John Crane, Shrewsbury, Eng. The family of Crane was breed- ing Herefords seventy years .ago. In 1885 the Harris herd was headed by Green Mountain Boy 9815, bred by Crane & Tanner, Shrawardine, Shrewsbury, Eng. In later years Herefords in Ver- mont have made marked progress. One of the largest herds is

FIRST AMERICAN IMPORTATIONS 337

many of the best of which found their way north and west and exerted a useful and valuable influence in the upbuilding of the Hereford trade throughout the nation.

that of E. H. White, East Corinth. One of the most recently established is that of A. J. Higgins, St. Johnsbury.

In 1855 a little band of “white faces” headed by old Cronkhill of Walford parentage, whose sponser was Lord Berwick, invaded the southeast corner of Vermont, and got a foothold in Brattle-

'boro on the farm of Mr. Goodell. Three years previously these pioneer cattle had crossed the Atlantic under the ownership of L. A. Dowley of Boston. While it is now impossible to chronicle what fate befell them in the Green Mountain State, we know that Cronkhill remained there long enough to enrich with his inherited treasures the cattle interests of New England; and the red cur- rent which came to him through Walford, Clungerford and Dine- dor flows on in the Fairfaxes of the twentieth century.

Connecticut’s older shareholders in the American Hereford Cattle Breeders’ Association are C. P. Gaylord, Terryville; Caleb Humiston, Thomaston; W. B. King & Son, Suffield, and L. J. Miller, Cannon. Mr. Gaylord’s herd has long been well and widely known. It was founded on Burleigh & Bodwell stock, and skillful breeding has maintained its excellence. It may yet be proved that the high-priced lands of Connecticut and Rhode Island can pay a profit when stocked with “white faces." The New England . Hereford Breeders’ Association was organized at White River Junction, Vt. Sept. 15, 1914, and this association proposes. to demonstrate the fact that Herefords can thrive on “wooden nut- megs” better than any other breed of cattle on earth.

GHAPTER VII. A FOOTING GAINED IN THE MIDDLE WEST.

From the early eastern stocks mentioned in the foregoing chapter the fame of the Hereford grad- ually expanded westward. But the available supply of cattle was limited and the paralyzing effects of the great Civil War from 1861 to 1865 operated for several years after its close to prevent any wide- spread extension of the work of live stock improve- ment until the business of the country had recovered from the:shock. By 1870 the interest of western cat- tle-growers in Herefords was obviously increasing, and those who believed that there was a bright fu- ture for the breed in.the newer west planned to push their claims for recognition with renewed vigor. .

Gov. Crapo’s Experiments.—One of the earliest introductions of Hereford blood into the state of Michigan was that made by Governor Crapo of Flint, who in 1866 began experimenting with Short- horns, Devons and Herefords. The latter were from the herd of Mr. Stone of Guelph, and included the bull Velvet Jacket, then two years old, and three heifers of like age. The Shorthorns were obtained from Hon. Ezra Cornell of Ithaca, N. Y., and the Devons from good sources in the same state. Speak- ing of the result of Governor Crapo’s experiment,

338

FOOTING GAINED IN MIDDLE WEST 339

Mr. A. S. Harrington in a communication written to the-Nebraska ‘‘State Journal’’ during the year 1881 said:

‘‘The three breeds were treated alike as to food and shelter. The grades grazed upon the same pas- ture in summer and fed at the same racks in winter. The first year sixty native heifers were procured and served, twenty going to each bull, and this is about the number of calves raised each year. The result was that after twelve years’ experience with these three noted and distinct breeds of beef cattle, giving them all an equal chance from first to last, Mr. Crapo adopted the Herefords, and bred the Devons and their grades, and the Shorthorns and their grades, to Hereford bulls. He was convinced that for farmers in general the Herefords were more profitable than the others because they mature earlier, are moré hardy, less liable to disease, are. better feeders and grazers, fatten on less food in their stalls, and keep in flesh at all seasons of the year, and when killed produce more dressed beef to the hundredweight gross live weight, and alive or dressed command a more ready sale where the quali- ties of their meat are known. It must be borne in mind that at the time the experiment was made the Shorthorns were the fashionable breed, and brought large and remunerative prices, as also did the Devons, while the Herefords went begging for buy- ers at mere nominal prices. Mr. Crapo’s foreman and herdsman were both Shorthorn admirers, and did not at first take kindly to the ‘white faces,’ but the Herefords worked themselves up against all op- position from every quarter.’’

Mr. Edwin Phelps of Pontiac also fed Shorthorns and Herefords side by side for several years, and was led to the conclusion that Herefords could be

340 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

fattened on less feed than Shorthorns, and when sold brought more money. He also testified that the Hereford was hardier and more easily maintained. Thomas Foster, of Flint, at one time a breeder of Devon cattle in Michigan, gave them up and adopt- ed Herefords after having become convinced of their superiority for his purposes.

Humphries and Aldrich Active—Of the Ohio breeders of this period one of the most enterprising was the late William W. Aldrich. Born at Dover in Cuyahoga county, he worked on his father’s farm until twenty-one years of age. He purchased from Mr. Bassett, his father-in-law, a farm of 165 acres near Dover, which he operated until 1870. In the meantime he had become interested in the Here- fords, and finally bought the Aston herd.: As the Bassett farm was then some 12 miles from the rail- way, it was not a convenient point from which to carry on the business of breeding, exhibiting and selling cattle. For this reason Mr. Aldrich removed to a place near Elyria about 1870. He at once be- came active in the trade, among his purchases being that of the bull Goldendrop from Frederick William Stone. At the Ohio State Fair of 1870 he sold a bull calf five months old and weighing 500 pounds for $500. In reporting this sale to the press Mr. Aldrich said: ‘‘I have one cow which has raised a calf every year of the last four, and has not ceased to give milk during the time.’’

The Illinois and St. Louis Shows of 1871.— Mr. Aldrich was not slow to grasp the opportunity

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W. W. ALDRICH.

342 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

to exploit his favorites afforded by the columns of the then newly established magazine, the ‘‘ National " Live-Stock Journal’’, of which the late James H. Sanders—who subsequently founded ‘‘The Breed- er’s Gazette’’—was godfather. The Illinois State Board of Agriculture had finally agreed to set up a class for Herefords and offered the same money prizes as for other breeds, whereupon Mr. Aldrich decided to ‘‘carry the war into Africa.’’ According- ly we find him writing to the Chicago periodical above named in the summer of 1871, to this effect:

‘‘T have seen Mr. Humphries, and he will go with me to the Illinois State Fair. We shall not attend our state fair. Illinois has done nobly in offering liberal premiums, and we appreciate it, and will patronize her. I intend to put a bull and five cows and nine calves on that fair grounds which will do stockmen good to look at and handle. Mr. Humph- ries’ stock is in good show condition—the best I ever saw them. I shall bring old Duchess and two calves she raised this summer. I think there will be the best lot of Herefords shown at Duquoin this fall ever shown at any one fair in America.’’

The Ohio cattle were shown that year at Cleve- land, Elyria, the Illinois State Fair at Duquoin, and St. Louis, which was at that date and for years later the leading agricultural show of America. Evi- dently this swing round the circuit was productive of good results, and Mr. Aldrich’s own testimony as to his reception proves that he encountered neither active hostility nor unfairness towards the new type. He says:

‘*At the Illinois State Fair I showed sixteen head,

FOOTING GAINED IN MIDDLE WEST 343

and took first and second prizes on all I had in their class, amounting to $265. George West took first prize on yearling bull and heifer, being two calves I sold him last year, owned at Kinmundy, Ill: There were brought into the ring of sweepstakes herds five herds, all Shorthorns except my own. I took second prize. The Illinois fair was all and more than I had anticipated. The premiums, being equal for all breeds of cattle, gave satisfaction to all breeders. The drouth and location were decidedly against the fair; but everything that could be done on the part of the officers and superintendents of the different departments was done for all exhibitors, and we all enjoyed it, and felt well satisfied.

‘“‘The next was the St. Louis Fair—the fair of all fairs. I took all that was offered on Herefords at this fair. The show of Herefords, Alderneys, and Ayrshires was so much above expectations, that they gave them all additional premiums. I have but one suggestion to make in regard to this fair, viz., that they take pattern from Illinois in giving equal prem- iums to all breeds of cattle, and also build one hun- dred more cattle stalls, and then their fair would seem perfect.

‘‘As this was my first trip west, to attend the Illi- nois and St. Louis fairs, I must say I was very hap- pily disappointed at both fairs; they have got the right men in the right place, and everything moves like clock-work. And another thing, when one meets there such men:as J. H. Pickrell, Edward Iles and Stephen Dunlap of Tllinois, Shrophire of Kentucky and Col. King of Minnesota, it is of no use to look for more obliging and gentlemanly men, or better breeders. I wish here to express my heartfelt thanks to the president, directors and managers of the Illinois and St. Louis fairs, for their kindness

344 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

to me while there, hoping to meet them again at their next fairs.’’

The Burleighs Bring Herefords Into Iowa.— A two-column report of the Iowa State Fair of 1871, held at Cedar Rapids, published in the ‘‘National Live-Stock Journal’’, contains a two-line report on the Hereford show as follows:

‘‘Messrs. J. H. & G. S. Burleigh of Mechanicsville, Ia., had some Herefords on exhibition.”’

We find no reference to the breed’s appearance in Iowa prior to this date. Asa mere boy helping with his father’s exhibits of live stock, the writer at- tended all the Iowa state fairs of the early ‘‘seven- ties’’, and while he has a distinct recollection of the Elliott & Kent and other Shorthorn herds in compe- tition, he now recalls no Hereford entries. That they were sparingly shown in that state as early as 1871 is, however, a matter of record.

The Burleighs here mentioned were brothers of Mr. Hall C. Burleigh of Maine, mentioned in the preceding chapter. The father, John Rogers Bur- leigh, had begun to farm near Waterville, Me., in the early ‘‘twenties’’ upon a tract of land so rocky that his descendants, revisiting the old home and recalling the traditions as to his accomplishments there, marveled that any man could have wrested even a sustenance from such a shallow soil. But typical son of New England that he was, with sound old British blood flowing in his veins, keen and far-see- ing in business, with as high a sense of honor and right living as any man ever possessed, John Rog-

FOOTING GAINED IN MIDDLE WEST 345

ers Burleigh conquered all obstacles and held, with his large family, a prominent position in the com- munity.

In those days there were few Herefords in the elder Burleigh’s country, but he was interested in good live stock, and was considered a good judge of quality and fond of possessing the best to be had. Maine was then the home of many good Shorthorns and his pastures and barns always contained repre- sentatives of that breed. Gradually the Hereford blood found its way into the herds of that state, as already sketched, bringing always a hardiness and feeding quality that rendered it peculiarly adapted to the harsh climate and not over-fertile soil. Cat- tlemen began to make comparisons, and soon the ‘‘white faces’’ were attracting attention everywhere. On the Burleigh farm they found high favor.

In 1852 John Rogers Burleigh moved west, taking with him his two sons, John H. and Gilman 8. An- other son, Hall C. Burleigh, purchased the old farm and followed in his father’s footsteps, constantly improving and increasing the cattle stock. In 1864 a larger and better farm was bought by H. C. Bur- leigh, and with his cattle carrying the Shorthorn blood, of which he was then an ardent admirer, the ‘‘white faces’? soon began to mingle.

Few men in New England studied the relative merits of the two breeds more carefully than did Hall C. Burleigh. Buying and shipping to the Bos- ton market cattle from a large territory and having opportunity to study the cattle through all stages

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of growth and feeding and to observe results at the block, he finally cast his lot with the Herefords, as has already been noted, and through thirty years‘his allegiance to them never wavered. Further refer- ence to his subsequent extensive importations from England will be made in these chronicles.

It was in 1867 that Messrs. John H. Burleigh and Gilman S. Burleigh settled at Mechanicsville, Ia., and in 1869 they decided to engage in breeding Herefords. Their foundation stock was bought mainly from Frederick William Stone, and carried the blood of Guelph 461, Sir Charles 543, and other noted sires of that day. Cupid 692, and his son Cu- pid 2d 691, seem to have been used freely in the newly established herd. Cupid 692 was by Golden Drop, the bull bought by Mr. Aldrich from Mr. Stone and taken to Ohio. Iowa Chief 834, by Stone’s Sailor Prince, was also in service early. They also used the bull Advance 1, the first animal of record in the American Hereford Herd Book. Advance was bred by T. L. Miller, whose great activity in the west began about this time.

John H. Burleigh and Gilman S. Burleigh di- vided their herd after the co-partnership had existed for a few years, the latter engaging extensively in the breeding and exhibition of the ‘‘white faces’’ for a long series of years, and attaining national promi- nence. John H. Burleigh also bred Herefords for many years, until failing health compelled him, shortly before his death in 1892 at the age of 83, to part with his favorites.

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Mr. G. S. (‘‘Gil’’) Burleigh in his time exhibited many high-class Herefords at western fairs. In 1880 he advertised Herefords effectually, with the cow Princess B. 1777, of his own breeding, winning many prizes. She was also a successful breeder, her progeny commanding high prices. Her son, the bull Prince Imperial, sold for $1,000. Moss Rose 1787, another of Mr. Burleigh’s best show cows, was also a good breeder. He was a frequent exhibitor at the old Chicago Fat Stock Show, always making credit- able presentations. In 1883 he had first prize in the ‘cost of production’’ class on the heifer Hattie, of his own breeding and feeding. Another good one was the crossbred heifer Minnie, bought from Bur- leigh & Bodwell as a two-year-old, and exhibited by them throughout the east. This heifer weighed at maturity over 2,000 pounds. Mr. Burleigh owned and used the great bull imp. Anxiety 2d 4580, and his son Troubadour 10220, also Hampton Hero 12- 444 and 2d Duke of Manchester. Anxiety 2d was at one time a feature of the leading western shows and tied the famous Rudolph for his ribbon at St. Louis.

After closing out his herd at auction at Kansas City in April, 1885, with an average of $404.70 for the females and $293.10 for the bulls, G. S. Burleigh moved back to Vassalboro, Me., where he kept a small herd of Herefords for some time, headed by Lancer 94024, a son of Sotham’s Corrector. Mean- time he has also maintained a herd at Mechanicsville, Ta. Since 1905 he has resided at Southern Pines, North Carolina.

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T. L. Miller the Great Promoter—Early in the ‘‘seventies’’ a Chicago business man who was destined to exert a far-reaching influence upon the fortunes of the Hereford in the west became inter- ested. This was the late T. L. Miller, whose farm at Beecher, Will Co., Ill., soon afterwards became the center of the greatest American activity in the Here- ford trade.

Mr. Miller was born at Middletown, Conn., on April 7, 1817. In 1842 he went to Cuyahoga Falls, O., where he was in business until 1856, when he re- moved to Chicago, Ill. Here he was in the fire and life insurance business until about 1870. He had bought the first 320 acres of his farm at Beecher, from the United States Government. Afterwards he added to it until he had 540 acres at Beecher and 207 acres 3 miles to the north. He commenced to improve the farm with buildings in 1862. His near- est railroad station then was Monee, on the Illinois Central. In 1870 the Chicago, Danville & Vincennes Railroad was built, and Mr. Miller bought about 340 acres of additional land to the west of that already acquired and laid out the village of Beecher. He closed out his business in Chicago and went to live on this Highland Stock Farm in March, 1870. A few years later he laid the foundation for his herd of Hereford cattle.

William Powell, an Englishman who later on bred and handled Herefords extensively on his own ac- count, both in Illinois and Texas, was jointly inter- ested with Mr. Miller in some of his earlier ventures

T. L. MILLER.

350 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

in Herefords. An item in the ‘‘National Live-Stock Journal’’ for February, 1872, reads as follows:

‘‘We learn that Messrs. Byers and Campbell, of Nevada, O., have sold to Messrs. T. L. Miller and Wm. Powell of Highland Stock Farm, Beecher, Will Co., Ill, an undivided half interest in three Hereford cows and two bulls and thirty-six purebred Cotswold sheep. It is Mr. Byers’ intention to start for England about April 1, for the purpose of obtain- ing more Hereford cattle.’’

Sir Charles—In the summer of 1872 Mr. Miller bought the famous Canadian show bull Sir Charles (3434), then five years old and weighing about 2,700 pounds, from Frederick William Stone of Guelph, for the sum of $1,000 in gold, which with the prem- ium then commanded by the yellow metal equaled $1,300. This was the first high-priced Hereford brought into the west. Mr. Miller was a great be- liever in advertising, and one of his first acts after acquiring old Sir Charles was to arrange to have him sketched by E. H. Dewey, just then entering upon his career as a live stock artist. This :was the be- ginning of an active campaign of newspaper and showyard publicity that gave Hereford stock its first sharp upward turn in the western cattle trade. Sir Charles’ picture was the frontispiece in the issue of the old ‘‘Journal’’ for September, 1872, and in the following number another of those queer old- fashioned wood cuts appeared bearing this legend: ‘‘Hereford cow belonging to Miller & Powell, Beech- er, Ill.’? She was an old ‘‘line-back’”’ with calf at foot. Sir Charles went to the butcher at 10 years

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old weighing 2,550 pounds, bringing a price per ewt. equal to that paid for the best bullock sold that day and dressing 70 per cent net to gross.

Repulsed by the Shorthorns in 1872.—Pickrell, Kissinger, Ryburn, Shropshire, Allman and Iles were putting up a great Shorthorn show at the Illi- nois State Fair that year, the famous-Baron Booth of Lancaster being the answer of the Shorthorn contingent to the charge that their breed was lack- ing in flesh and constitution. The Baron was an ‘imported mixed-bred Booth-Cruickshank bull—a blending of two bloods which at that date were be- ing virtually ignored by American Shorthorn breeders in all their calculations. It was evident that the fashionable Bates-bred bulls of that time were not of heavy enough calibre to stand the test of close showyard tomparison with the intruders of Herefordshire origin.

Mr. Miller was nothing if not aggressive in be- half of the breed he always called the ‘‘Hur- fords.’’* That Romanesque visage meant fight. The new firm of Miller & Powell went after the arch enemy at the Illinois show just mentioned with Sir Charles at the head of a full show herd which included such females as Beauty, Belle, Sophia, Fair Maid, Violet, Anna and Laura. With these they made a clean sweep in the Hereford class, C. H. West being the only competitor. In those days, and for many succeeding years, the breeds were al-

*This American corruption was matched by a ab abot often heard among the English herdsman—" ’air-y-fords.

352 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

lowed to come together for a ‘‘sweepstakes’’ con- test. The result upon this occasion, however, was adverse to the new and comparatively unknown ‘‘white faces’’, and the drubbing was repeated at St. Louis. But these reverses only served to rouse the ire and re-double the zeal of the new com- mander of the Hereford camp. There would come a day of reckoning!

Gradually matters were shaping themselves for a more successful presentation of Hereford claims. Thomas Clark, then of Elyria, was already giving promise of doing things worth while, and George Morgan, another Herefordshire man, had come to America. Both cooperated with Miller at Beech- er. Mr. Clark subsequently became one of the west’s foremost breeders of Herefords, and Mr. Morgan, as an agent, helped to write important chapters in American Hereford history.

Thomas Clark’s First Steps—In 1869 a young man named Thomas Clark, then in his twenty-sev- enth year, rented an 80-acre farm near Elyria, O., at $5 per acre. Clark was born in Herefordshire, near the Monmouth border, in 1842. His father was a cattle-grower of local repute who used pure- bred Hereford bulls but did not profess to be a handler of the pedigreed strains. The son had come out to, the states in the spring of 1866 and after working for a time on a farm near Pittsfield, O., was employed by a Cleveland butcher having a large city trade. Thrifty, and possessed of an in-born faith in the ‘‘white faces’? of his native

354 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

land, by dint of hard work and economy in the course of a few years Clark found himself in a po- sition to get into business in a small way on his own account. As foreman and cutter in Cleveland he acquired a practical familiarity with what lies under a bullock’s hide that was of distinct ad- vantage in his subsequent career as a breeder and feeder of good cattle. He had an interest in his brother-in-law’s little butcher shop in Elyria, but his own fondness for the fields led him to give most of his time to the 80 acres he had under lease near town.*

*In view of the extraordinary success afterwards attained by Mr. Clark in the American Hereford trade, his own narration of how he first “got on his feet” in Ohio will be of interest and should serve as an inspiration to young men of today. He says:

“The party to whom I engaged myself as a farmhand when I first arrived in America was well acquainted with a Mr. Pro- bert, the owner of a meat market in Cleveland. He also was an Englishman and hearing that I was anxious to obtain employ- ment sent for me to come to Cleveland and see him. I responded and when I met him he said: ‘You are working on a farm? Do you not think you would like a job at butchering?’ I told him I had never done any butchering, adding, ‘But I am open to anything I can do and make a living at. I am out here to do the best I can.’ He said, ‘I will tell you what I will do when your time is up.” I went back to the farm for eight weeks but took sick during that period, losing that much time, so I had to stay ten weeks. As soon as the ten weeks were up, I went back to Cleveland and Mr. Probert said, ‘I can give you a job in the pork room at so much a month and your board.’ I said, ‘I am _ not here to ask for wages. I am here to work, and if I am of any use to you I would like to get something for it and if not, you can, of course, discharge me at any time.’

“I worked in the pork room there for about six months and finally he said to me, ‘I want you to come into the market.’ There were seven of us in the market, cutting. I worked as one of the cutters for about a year. Finally the foreman of the market took sick. I had been there at that time for about twelve months, but had never asked for a raise; but the pro- prietor said to me, ‘Thomas, I am going to give you $20 a month and after awhile I will raise you again.’ I said, ‘I have never asked for a raise and whatever you think I am_ worth I will work for.’ He said, ‘The foreman is leaving and I want you to take charge of the market.’ I said, ‘That is a Mtr big thing for me to undertake. Here are men who have been here 10 or 12 years. It does not look right for me to take hold and be foreman of this market.’ He said, ‘I want you to do it.’ I said, ‘I don’t think I can undertake it. He said, ‘I know you can,’

“When I went in as foreman he raised my wages to $60. I never asked to get a raise because I did not think I could fill that position. It was a big thing for me. I had to weigh meats

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Mr. Clark’s first venture was the purchase of the bull Sir Arthur (705), by Sir Charles (543), from F. W. Stone of Canada. He picked this calf only to find that the owner would not price him. The young man wanted a Cotswold ram also and when he found difficulty in getting the calf he wanted he informed Mr. Stone that he would not take one without the other, whereupon a deal for both was promptly closed. It appears from this lit- tle incident that Mr. Clark’s shrewdness both as a buyer and as a salesman, afterwards so generally

and look after orders and I thought it was more than I could handle. I was about a year there when he said, ‘Thomas, I am going to raise your wages again. I said, ‘That is all right as far as I am concerned; I am very glad, but I didn’t ask you.’ He said, ‘I will give you $75 a month and your board.’ I said, ‘I should not ask you for any more than I am getting, but if I can earn it I am glad to accept it.’ I worked there at $75 a month for the next year. So finally at the end of the year I made arrangements to move to Elyria.

“Mr. Probert came to me one Saturday after the market was closed and said, ‘Is it a fact that you are going to leave?’ I said, ‘Yes, that’s what I intend to do, Mr. Probert.’ I told him I was going to get married and was also going into the cattle busi- ness. I said, ‘I have been among those cattle all my life and I feel out of place in the market.’ He said, ‘I don’t see what you want to do that for.’ I said, ‘Well, I think some day or another I will make a cattleman.’ He said, ‘You need not leave on account of wages, If you want your wages raised I will raise them for you.’ I said, ‘I don’t ask you for a raise. I think you are paying me every bit I am earning but I have made up my mind to start for myself and want to raise some cattle and mean to get a little farm outside of the butcher business.” He said, ‘I think you are making a mistake.’ I said, ‘I may be, but my ambition is to be some place where I can raise cattle.’ He said, ‘I will give you $100 a month.’ I said, ‘I appreciate _your offer and kindness but I have made arrangements to go to Elyria and start a market. I have a brother-in-law up there and I thought as long as we went into the market together I could also run a farm.’ He said, ‘Well, maybe you are right.’ When the time came for me to leave, he said to me when we settled up, ‘Thomas, I hate to have you leave. It may be best for you but I think you have made a mistake. But I tell you if ever you want $500 or $1,000 or $5,000 you can come to me and get it.’ 1 thanked him and then left.

“After this I went into business with my brother-in-law, Mr. Heal. We hadn’t any money to buy a farm but I rented a little land near town. I said to him, ‘I will do the buying of the cattle for you to butcher; or if at any time you want to go out and buy, fo wilt tend the market.’ So I rented the farm and started to raise a few purebred cattle, and that was how I began Hereford breeding.”

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recognized by his contemporaries, had fitting ex- emplification at the very outset of his career. Sir Arthur grew into a good enough bull to win as a yearling at the Ohio State Fair of 1870; and subse- quently sired many prizewinners.

Clark’s First Show Cattle—Mr. Clark’s first females were bought from James Cross, his land- lord, who had a dispersion sale on renting the farm to Clark. These cattle were of the Humphries blood, and Clark’s purchases included the cow Nel- lie, by John Bull, for which he paid $385. She was a big smooth cow with lots of substance and was afterwards shown with success at the fairs. About 1872 Clark met the Shorthorn herd of William Mof- fatt & Bros. at Berea, a district fair. The“ Mof- fatts were showing a mature herd of big cattle. Clark showed Sir Arthur, Nellie, the two-year-old heifer Tulip and two yearlings, winning first prize and the male and female championships. W. W. Aldrich had been Clark’s competitor for Nellie at the Cross sale and after she had defeated Aldrich’s cows the latter wrote to ‘‘The Ohio Farmer’”’ and disparaged Nellie, partly because she ‘‘had no white on the shoulder.”’

The next important purchase was the cow Primrose 2d, by Golden Drop, son of Guelph, the sire of Sir Charles. On the occasion of a visit to the Guelph fair buying sheep, Mr. Clark met the well known Dominion importer and breeder John Snell, who was showing a good roan Shorthorn bull. T. L. Miller had just bought Stone’s Here-

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ford bull Sir Charles, and Snell remarked that he was ‘‘glad that bull had’ left the country as he had always given him a lot of trouble.’’ He was not afraid of the bulls Stone had left. Primrose 2d was successfully shown, and Mr. Clark is au- thority for the statement that she lived to be 21 years old and produced 20 calves. She was in his possession until sold at last to a butcher in Chi- cago for $45.

Removes To Illinois In 1877:—Meantime he west was becoming a‘good market for Herefords, and Clark decided to remove to Beecher, Ill. He had shown every year at the Ohio fairs and always successfully. He made one show at Erie, Pa., while breeding in Ohio and another at Jackson, Mich., in 1876, winning first prize on herd, in competition with seven Shorthorn and Devon herds. This was the first time the Herefords won that prize in Michigan, and the event caused a lot of controversy. John Miller of Canada was the judge. Clark had meantime sold three calves to T. L. Mil- ler and delivered them personally. He was im- pressed with the idea that Dlinois would be a bet- ter location for his cattle business than Ohio and in 1877 when his lease expired he bought 80 acres about one mile from Miller’s farm, 114 miles from the village. He afterwards added 40 acres to the home farm, and subsequently bought 26 acres ad- ditional. The home farm was black loam with clay subsoil. It was rolling prairie, good grass and corn land. Most of it was in permanent pasture;

358 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

in fact, Mr. Clark always kept his own lands large- ly in grass, and leased fields for farming purposes. He brought his Ohio herd, numbering at this time about twenty-eight head, to Beecher. Ten ewes and a ram of the Cotswold breed also came, and he kept sheep on the farm steadily, with much success.

In 1877 Mr. Clark showed a herd at the Northern Ohio Fair at Cleveland, winning all prizes shown for. The Messrs. Potts had a herd of Shorthorns at the same show headed by the celebrated Duke of Richmond, but there was no breed competition that year. Clark bought Success 2d from William Powell shortly before removing to Illinois, but the bull did not suit and was not extensively used.

Looking Towards the Range.——In the spring of 1873 Mr. Miller began campaigning for trade in the far west. He was one of the first to insist upon the Hereford as an ideal range type. In the course of one of his earliest contributions to the agricultural press he resorted to the old English form of argu- ment, a challenge, which he of course knew would not or could not be practically taken up. He said:

“‘Tt is our belief that the Herefords are pre-emi- nently the stock that must be used for improving the large herds of Colorado, Kansas and Texas. As beef producers, in this country at least, the choice will lie between the Shorthorns and the Herefords. In the hands of some it will be the one, and in those of others the other; and that this question may have a fair solution, we hereby pro- pose to any Shorthorn breeder to select 100 or 200 cows in this state, one-half to be served by a Here-

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ford, and the other half by a Shorthorn bull, and the progeny to be cared for alike, and shown at our state fair at 2,3, and 4 years old. We propose fur- ther, to select, in Colorado, Kansas or Texas, from 500 to 2,000 cows, and serve one-half with Hereford and the other half with Shorthorn bulls, and their progeny to be kept alike, and a portion brought to our state fair at 2, 3, and 4 years old, each year. The choice as to how the stock shall be kept we will give the Shorthorn breeders. All are to be kept alike, and the experiment may be from one to five years.”’

Needless to say this defiance caused a lot of com-

ment. In Shorthorn circles it was called a ‘‘bluff.’’ Nevertheless, it worried more or less that large and somewhat arrogant contingent that was dis- posed at that time, and for some years afterward, to look down from the heights of its speculative airship (the New York Mills sale with its $40,600 bid for a single cow had just occurred) with more or less contempt upon any tribe or breed of im- proved cattle of the beef-making sorts that did not descend from the Shorthorn stock of T. Bates of Kirklevington. Indeed during the years 1873-77 the Shorthorn pace on both sides of the Atlantic was so fast and furious that neither press nor the .cat- tle-breeding public seemed to have willing eyes or ears for Herefords. Nevertheless, they were slow- ly but none the less-surely working their way west- ward. Mr. Miller protested vigorously against the apathy of the public in regard to his favorites. He extolled their merits in season and out, in good temper and bad, and what was more to the point,

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he and his little band of contemporaries had com- menced selling bulls to various western ranchmen that gave great account of themselves.

Success and Dolly Varden.—In 1873 Mr. Miller imported from the herd of J. Morris of Hereford- shire the three-year-old cow Dolly Varden, with a bull calf at foot by Banquo (3667), the latter bred by Philip Turner of The Leen. This calf devel- oped into a splendid specimen of the breed and in Mr. Miller’s hands under the name Success ac- quired celebrity, both as a show bull and sire. He doubtless owed much of his character to his mother, for Dolly Varden was not only the best cow of the breed up to that date seen in the west, but she car- ried a lot of sound old blood, the influence of which was apparent. She was ‘got by Stow (3478), he by Sir Thomas (2228), son of Sir Benjamin by Sir David. Dolly Varden and Success advertised the Herefords with great effect.

Success was not a big bull for those days, prob- ably not attaining much over 2,100 pounds in weight when in his best show form. But he was extreme- ly low on the leg, standing but 12 inches from the ground at the brisket and he had a handsome head. His fault was some weakness in the crops, which always gave him the appearance of being somewhat paunchy. Dolly was a big good smooth cow, and had been a winner in England before importation. These were the first Herefords to be imported west of the state of Ohio, so far as we can learn. This famous pair and a lot of well fitted home-bred cat-

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tle were extensively shown by Mr. Miller through- out the middle west, gaining many friends for the breed and resulting in important sales of breeding cattle for the foundation of new herds.

Honors at Big Shows.—At the Northern Ohio Fair at Cleveland in 1876 the herd headed by Suc- cess won first prize over all breeds. This was the year of the Centennial Exposition at Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pa. Although Mr. Miller could not hope to win enough to pay his expenses, so determined was he that no good opportunity to exploit the breed should be lost, that at a cost to himself of some $2,000 he sent his herd, with Suc- cess at the head to this the first world’s fair to be held in the United States. The cattle were much admired, and their class was judged by Hon. Thomas Duckham of England. A bronze medal— but no money—was presented by the Government Commissioners to Mr. Miller for the excellence of his exhibit. It was while at this exposition that the show bull Illinois, by Success, was sold to Hon. John Merryman. At the Illinois State Fair of 1877 Mr. Miller sold Mr. C. M. Culbertson three calves, in- cluding the heifers Sunrise and Sunset for $2,500. At a later date he sold four heifers by Success to Lucien Scott, Leavenworth, Kans., for $4,000.

In 1878 T. L. Miller bought Sir Richard 2d and brought him to Beecher, Tl. Success had beaten him at the Philadelphia Centennial show, because he was in much higher condition, but in the meantime the older bull had demonstrated wonderful capacity

362 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

as asire. Sir Richard 2d was then nearly ten years old and cost $500. After using him two or three years Mr. Miller parted with him to Tom Clark at $400. He was sold by Clark in 1882 to Earl & Stuart of Lafayette, Ind., siring some great calves while at Shadeland Farm, including the famous Elton line of bulls and the Eltona heifers. He passed into the possession of C. M. Culbertson in the fall of 1882, and becoming useless at the age of fifteen years was sent to the butcher in the spring of 1884 at a weight of 2,000 pounds, bringing $5.75 per ewt. on the Chicago market, when $6.75 was the very top for choice corn-fed native steers.

Messrs. Clark and Culbertson bought all of the daughters of Sir Richard 2d they could obtain in the east. They were distinguished for their splen- did substance and scale—big massive cows, wonder- ful ‘‘fleshers’’ on good pasture, and rare breeders. A number of them were fitted and shown. For a young show herd, exhibited in 1882 by Fowler & Van Natta, of which three were heifers by Sir Rich- ard 2d, the sum of $5,000 was refused. One of his most noted sons was Fortune, famous in the hands of J. S. Hawes of Kansas. The show bull Dictator (1989), bred by Mr. Miller and sold to Mr. Field- ing W. Smith of Missouri was by a grandson called Seventy-Six (1093).

‘Old Dick’’, as Sir Richard 2d was commonly called, was not seen in western showyards. He was otherwise and more profitably engaged, throughout a long, busy and in every way illus-

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trious career, as a stock-getter. He was a light- colored bull of medium size, and certainly possessed of genuine old-fashioned Herefordshire constitu- tion. He never weighed to exceed 2,200 pounds. He had a good masculine head with a waxy down- curved horn of medium size, a copper-colored nose, and very prominent eyes. His neck, which was short, was joined perfectly into well laid shoulders. His ribs were well sprung, supplying ample heart room and a broad expanse of back and loin. He was ribbed-up well at the hips, had straight quar- ters with good length from loin to rump, and his tail was perfectly set. His deep body was well carried on straight legs showing ample bone.

George Morgan, ‘‘Jim’’ Powell and ‘‘Willie’’ Watson.— While Mr. Miller was the conspicuous, inflexible leader of the early movement to advance the Hereford cause throughout western America, and succeeded in making Beecher, I1l., the hub of the business during its infancy in the middle west, he was ably aided in the practical management of the cattle intended for sale or show by certain old- countrymen who deserve special mention in this connection.

George Morgan, was a West Herefordshire man, born, in fact, only about four miles from Thomas Clark’s birth-place. His father was a tenant farmer who dealt largely in sheep, but who also had a good knowledge of cattle. He came to the states a few months after Mr. Clark, and leased a farm near Elyria. Shortly afterwards he went

364 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

back to England for Cotswold sheep. He then bought locally a few Herefords, and became a suc- cessful exhibitor and a recognized good judge of sheep as well as cattle. Shortly after Mr. Miller began his investments in cattle he hired Morgan to assist in the buying, handling and selling of the stock. It was while thus engaged that Mr. Culbert- son asked Mr. Miller to allow Morgan to go to Eng- land and buy a bull for the herd which he (Culbert- son) was starting at Newman, Ill. This resulted in the importation of old Anxiety—but that is another story. Morgan’s subsequent prominent identifica- tion ‘with the trade will appear further on.

James Powell was another capable English cat- tleman, a brother of William Powell, already men- tioned as being associated with Mr. Miller. The Powells had a lot to do with the successful introduc- tion of the Herefords in the newer west, and as this volume is written they are still actively interested in the business in Texas. Their father, Thomas Powell, lived upon a 200-acre farm some five miles from the historic city of Hereford, and kept a good herd of unregistered ‘‘white faces’’, so that both James and William—members of a family of nine children—had an excellent practical training in their early years.

James Powell came out to America in 1867 on the ship Louisiana, sixteen days at sea, and like many of his countrymen who afterwards became shining lights in the Hereford trade, he headed for north- ern Ohio. William Powell had come to the States at

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a still earlier date. At Cleveland Tom Clark was encountered, and James got work on a farm near Pittsfield. In 1871 the brothers moved to Beecher, Ill. At that time Mr. Miller had no Herefords. In 1873 William brought out Dolly Varden and her calf, Success, not then weaned. James Powell is the man who fed and developed that famous show bull. He also fed Sir Charles and Sir Richard 2d. A lit- tle later ‘‘Jim,’’ as he was familiarly called, went to C. M. Culbertson, working first with Harry Love- land, who shortly afterwards went to Earl & Stuart. Powell was with Culbertson four years and handled Anxiety and Sir Garnet. While in this employ he made several trips back to England with George Morgan, after cattle for Mr. Culbertson, Benjamin Hershey and the Wyoming Hereford Association. He was with the latter corporation for four years.

“Uncle Willie’? Watson, a canny Scot, came to America with all the prestige of the name of Wat- son of Keillor and apprenticeships under some of the historic herdsmen of Great Britain to his credit. He was with Mr. Miller for a time, and put flesh on the ribs of more than one ‘‘white face’’ that tor- mented competitors at fairs and fat stock shows. He went over, however, to his natural position among the Angus breeders, and at a later day made the farm of ‘‘Turlington’’, in Nebraska, famous throughout cattledom.

Ed Monnington, another Englishman who came with the Earl & Stuart importation of 1881, worked for Mr. Clark for about four years, and was after-

366 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

wards very successful in making up animals for sale or show in a number of other western herds, both Hereford and Shorthorn.

American Herd Book Established—The buy- ing of bulls for the range that now set in had the inevitable effect of starting many cornbelt farmers into the breeding of pedigree Herefords. Included in the number were a coterie of wealthy gentlemen whose operations soon dwarfed into comparative insignificance all that had been previously accomp- lished. Purebred heifers were ‘‘going like hot cakes’’, and leaders in the business, foreseeing a lu- crative trade ahead, now planned a public registry.

The American Hereford Herd Book was con- ceived at a conference held at Beecher, Ill., in the month of August, 1877, at which time and place a committee was named to undertake the publication of the first volume. Mr. Miller, the leading spirit in the matter, gave liberally of his time and money, and with the cooperation of a small but aggressive band of breeders, being actively assisted by Thomas Clark, E. S. Shockey and others in the collection and arrangements of data, he succeeded in produc- ing in 1880 Volume 1 of the herd book ever since maintained for this breed in the United States. The charge for recording in this initial volume was $2, the company standing behind it being known as the ‘‘Breeders’ Live Stock Association.’’

Old-Time Controversies. — We should mention at this point that the press of this period reflected much bitterness on the part of certain prominent

FOOTING GAINED IN MIDDLE WEST 367

promoters of the Hereford propaganda. William H. Sotham was as fond of an argument as he was of the ‘‘white faces’’, and in public and private de- nounced fair managers, judges and editors, some- times with justice and again with rather more zeal than fairness. His particular bete noir was a Bates-bred Shorthorn. All Shorthorns were bad in comparison with Herefords, and he believed that the Bates ‘‘crowd’’ were then ‘‘running’’ every- thing, including all the fairs and the leading agri- cultural newspapers, and that they would not and did not ‘‘tote fair.’? Mr. Miller was equally bellig- erent, finally starting a newspaper of his own called ‘“‘The Breeder’s Journal’’, which he published for several years at Beecher, as an avowed ‘‘organ’’ of the breed. On the Shorthorn side Judge T. C. Jones, of Delaware, O., a sturdy old lawyer-farmer of Welsh descent, replied with vigor and with dig- nity. T. Corwin Anderson, of Kentucky, and others wrote often in defense of the ‘‘red, white and roan’’. J. H. Sanders and George W. Rust, editorial writ- ers, first on the ‘‘National Live-Stock Journal’’ and later on ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’, were regular targets, and of course ‘‘came back’’ with some of the same sharpness which characterized the attacks.

This controversy is of little interest, however, to the reader of today. All the parties to it now sleep beneath the bluegrass sod they loved in common. With this simple reference therefore to the histori- cal fact that such a war of words was waged we proceed with our narrative.

GHAPTER VIII.

FIRST FAT STOCK SHOWS AND THEIR INFLUENCE.

From the beginning of their effort to introduce the breed into the cornbelt and upon the range the advocates of the Herefords had never lost an op- portunity to claim superiority for their cattle over the Shorthorns of that era in point of constitution, feeding quality and general adaptability to the prac- tical demands of those whose object was the eco- nomical production of beef. Fortunately for them, at the psychological moment in their campaign the American Fat Stock Show was established. This afforded them the very stage they needed to demon- strate the value of their bulls as steer-getters, in such a way as to rivet the attention of the entire country. It is impossible to exaggerate the im- portance of the influence exerted by this exhibition not only upon the Herefords and the Shorthorns, but upon the general type of American beef cattle as bred in 1880. We shall here digress long enough, therefore, to outline the part it played in Hereford progress.

The initial American Fat Stock Show was held at Chicago in the fall of 1878 under the auspices of the Illinois State Board of Agriculture, and it is

368

FIRST FAT STOCK SHOWS 369

not too much to say that it marked an epoch in the history of beef-making in the United States. The show was the logical outgrowth cf conditions exist- ing at the time. Such a tribunal was demanded not only for a comparison of the relative values of dif- ferent breeds for producing profitable steers, but to try the general economic issue of big bulk vs. baby beef, then just looming large as a mooted ques- tion.

The exhibition, which was a genuine novelty in this country at the time, was staged in the old Ex- position Building, long since demolished, that stood on the site of the handsome structure that now houses the Chicago Art Institute on the Lake Front, at the point where Adams Street terminates in Michigan Boulevard. Following is a list of the officers and members of the Illinois State Board of Agriculture that took this important forward step in behalf of western stock-growers:

D. B. Gilham, Alton, President; John P. Reynolds, Chicago, ex-President; S. D. Fisher, Springfield, Treasurer; John W. Bunn, Springfield, Secretary ; Lewis Ellsworth, Naperville, Vice-President; H. D. Emery, Chicago; Jonathan Periam, Chicago; Geo. 8. Haskell, Rockford; J. L. Moore, Polo; Samuel Dysart, Franklin Grove; Charles Snoad, Joliet; Emory Cobb, Kankakee; D. W. Vittum, Jr., Canton; Samuel Douglas, Monmouth; David E. Beaty, Jer- seyville; James W. Judy, Tallula; Wm. M. Smith, Lexington; James R. Scott, Champaign; E. H. Bishop, Effingham; B. Pullen, Centralia; M. T.

370 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Stookey, Belleville; J. M. Washburn, Carterville, and John Landrigan, Albion.

Soon after the show was established Hon. Lafay- ette Funk of Shirley, Ill., became a member of the board, and for a long series of years he had imme- diate charge of the cattle classes, endearing himself to all who had to do with the show by his unfailing courtesy and his keen sense of fairness, as well as by the intelligence and industry which he always brought to the work of staging these first great shows of Christmas beef in the United States. Mr. John B. Sherman, then General Manager of the Union Stock Yards, and the late Philip D. Armour, were liberal and enthusiastic patrons of the show at a time when it stood in direst need of financial support.

Col. James W. Judy, the great live stock auc- tioneer of this stirring period in the live stock de- velopment of the west, and for many years a promi- nent figure on the Illinois State Board of Agricul- ture, also rendered splendid service in promoting the success of the Fat Stock Show. Credit should be given in this connection also to Col. Charles F. Mills, who in his capacity as Assistant Secretary of the Illinois State Board of Agriculture and subse- quently as Secretary of that body, did much to systematize the work of organization and in the dis- tribution of facts developed by the annual compe- titions.

Breaking Away from Old Standards.—Recog- nizing the prevailing practice of the feeders of that

FIRST FAT STOCK SHOWS 871

period, the prizelist for the first fat stock show in- cluded classes for ‘‘steers four years old and over.’’ The dominant blood employed by the better class of farmers and ranchmen of the ‘‘seventies’’ was the Shorthorn—not the short-legged, blocky, early-ma- turing sort so familiar to fair-goers of the present day, but the high-headed, up-standing, broad-hooked, long-quartered kind that was not commonly consid- ered marketable as prime beef until the steers had attained the age of four or five years.

Signs were not wanting, however, as early as _ ,1878, of impending changes in the best feedlot prac- tice. Influences were at work tending to convince the younger generation, at least, that it was poor economy to carry a bullock to such weights and ages as was customary at that date. Pioneer mid-west scientists, like the late Prof. George E. Morrow of the University of Illinois, were persistently calling the attention of farmers to the great expense at which added pounds were gained as the steer ad- vanced in age. Enterprising breeders and feeders were already testing the forcing process on younger cattle, and were soon to furnish a fine demonstration of the fact that prevailing methods were wasteful in the extreme, and should be abandoned. While the ‘‘big ones’’ still had the call when the doors opened upon the first show, the more progressive elements in the cattle trade rejoiced that, at last, an oppor- tunity would be given for competitive tests which they believed would prove a valuable object lesson to all concerned.

372 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

John D. Gillett, Pioneer Exhibitor—The late John D. Gillett of Elkhart, Ill., was the acknowl- edged cattle king of the cornbelt at that date. His great red steers, the envy of all of his con- temporaries, topped the Chicago Christmas markets and were the first American cattle to go forward alive to London. He was the real founder of the American export cattle trade, which afterwards grew to such great proportions, reaching its climax in the year 1905, when cattle valued at $42,256,291 were landed in England from United States ports, chiefly for the London and Liverpool trade. The decline of this great trade has, however, been even more rapid in recent years than was its rise; the domestic supply has now fallen below the needs of our own market and prices have risen to a level that makes it impossible to ship cattle abroad at a profit.

The Gillett cattle were to all intents and purposes purebred Shorthorns—not registered, but descended from sound old Kentucky stock. Mr. Gillett was a big man, mentally and physically, and he did things in a big, open-handed way. He owned a great estate of rich corn-and-bluegrass land, maintained a large cow herd for the production of his own steers, and annually sold some of his best bull calves to other enterprising steer-breeders who sought to emulate his example. Chief among these should be men- tioned the late Hon. D. M. Moninger, Galvin, Ia., whose fame as a producer, feeder and exhibitor of prime cattle became second only to that of Mr. Gil- lett himself.

| John B.Sherman |

(VED Beep ,

| Lafayette Funk |

3T4 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

It was to such men as these that the Fat Stock Show made its first and most successful appeal. Mr. Gillett responded to the earliest call for exhibits with several loads, the pick of his beef crop of 1878, and was pleased beyond measure at adding to his laurels as the first cattleman of America by winning the grand championship for best single steer in the show and the same prize for best carload of any age or breed.

Some Wonderful Weights—As coming events . are said to cast their shadows before, it was looked upon as a significant fact upon this occasion that the steer with which Mr. Gillett won this primal Ameri- can championship was not yet four years old and weighed but 2,185 pounds! That would seem to be a right good weight for a ripe steer now, but listen to this account of the sensational class of that old- time show reproduced from the report of the exhi- bition printed in the January, 1879, issue of the ‘‘National Live-Stock Journal’’:

‘‘This was probably the most remarkable group of steers ever seen together in America. There were twelve steers in the class, ranging in weight from 1,980 to 3,155 pounds, and averaging 2,491; and, leaving out the smallest two of the lot, the aver- age of the remaining ten was 2,594 pounds. They were all high-grade Shorthorns excepting one, the smallest steer of the lot, a grade Hereford weighing 1,980 pounds, but although the smallest steer in the ring, he was not the poorest butcher beast by long odds. The largest ox, weighing 3,155 pounds, was shown by Charles Miller, Williamsville, Ill. He was five years old in June last, and attracted uni-

{ Geo.E£. Morrow | | Ghas.E-Mills |

376 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

versal attention on account of his huge proportions; but he was rather coarse, and was especially faulty and ragged in the conformation of his rump.

‘‘The first-prize ‘steer was the third largest ani- mal in the group, and the largest of all the first- prize winners. He Possessed unusual smoothness, fineness, and evenness for so large a steer, and was especially remarkable for excellence in the hind- quarters. Had he been equally good in the fore- quarters he would have been hard to beat in any ring, and, as it was, the placing of the blue ribbon upon him gave very general satisfaction. There were steers in the ring of lighter weight that would ote cut up better, but taking the size and quality

oth into account, the committee, which had in very few™~cases appeared to attach much importance to mere weight, were unanimous in their award.

‘‘The second-prize animal was the heaviest beast in the show that received a prize, and was the second largest animal on exhibition, but he was not equal to the winner in smoothness nor quality. In this ring Messrs. Vanmeter & Hamiltons, of Kentucky, exhib- ited four steers that were much admired, weighing respectively 2,650, 2,610, 2,350 and 2,215, Mr. Mon- inger, of Iowa, exhibited another steer by the side of the first-prize ox, that weighed 2,480; Messrs. Fisher & Whitney, of Michigan, one weighing 23350. Mr. George Grey, of Indiana, showed another beside the second-prize winner, that weighed 2,550. Mr. J. D. Gillett, of Illinois, showed a compact, blocky, well- developed, fine-boned steer, weighing 2,020, and Mr. T. L. Miller, of IHinois, a grade Hex veford, ‘before mentioned, weighing 1,980.’’

First Fat Stock Show Herefords.—It will be observed that there was but one ‘‘white face’’ bul- lock-seen in this extraordinary line of behemoths,

FIRST FAT STOCK SHOWS 377

and as he belonged to a then more or less despised race and weighed only 1,980 pounds, what chance did he stand? None, of course. This was in the grade and crossbred division.

The classes for purebred Herefords developed an animal that caused the vastly interested crowd of farmers, ranchmen, feeders and butchers to ‘‘sit up and.take notice.’? This entry was the good cow Jennie, by Sir Arthur, bred near Elyria, O., and shown by Mr. Miller. She was four years old, weighed 1,595 pounds, and won first in her class and the female championship of the show over all -breeds and crosses. Even the advocates of the Shorthorns and Devons—the only other breeds ap- pearing at this initial show—conceded her superi- ority in point of refinement and wealth of flesh. Jennie was in fact much neater than the average of her race in the west at that date, and by reason of that fact attracted all the more attention to her -breed. It must be remembered in this connection that the efforts of Mr. Miller and his colleagues to popularize Herefords in the west had been made almost altogether with cattle of domestic production descending from the earlier Canadian, New Eng- land, New York, Maryland and Ohio importations.

Aside from Jennie the Hereford class at the first American Fat Stock Show gave no special evidence ‘of strength. Prizes being offered for steers ‘‘four years and over,’’ Mr. Miller exhibited a seven-year- old work ox of John Merryman’s breeding, shown at a weight of 2,010 pounds. This was by way of

378 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

illustrating the fact that a Hereford steer could serve a useful purpose on the farm as a draft ani- mal and then carry a great carcass of good beef to the block. This, the first Hereford bullock to enter the national fat stock show ring in the United States, dressed 6914 per cent net to gross.

Miller also exhibited a three-year-old steer, an own brother to the ox above mentioned, at a weight of 1,705 pounds, and received first prize in the Hereford class over Wm. Powell’s entry. Another steer of the Merryman blood, with the same sire and dam, Sir Richard 2d and Jenny Clark, was the only two-year-old Hereford entry. No yearlings were shown.

‘‘Baby Beef.’’—Portentous of an impending change in type was the fact that in the Shorthorn class James N. Brown’s Sons, Grove Park, Sanga- mon Co., Ill., exhibited a white yearling steer of their own breeding that weighed 1,480 pounds and showed a gain per day from birth of 2.28 pounds. He won first in his class and the yearling champion- ship of the hall.

Here was a lesson in early maturity that ‘‘jarred’’ many of the old-timers tremendously. It indicated that the four-and-five-year-old plan might after all not be an up-to-date method of profitably converting good corn and bluegrass into prime beef. Many were the caucuses held that week over this then- wonderful Shorthorn steer, Duke Sangamon. In the ring, outside the rail, and at the yards were men who said that his marvelous weight for age

FIRST FAT STOCK SHOWS 379

meant revolution—an inevitable ‘‘revision down- ward’’ of the age and scale of prime cattle—and so it proved. His exhibition in point of fact pre- saged the early passing of the tallowy monstrosities then deemed the acme of the feeder’s art, and the Hereford contingent, seeing the opening presented, at once laid plans to go after the prizes with ‘‘white faces’’ of a more modern type.

The Second Round.—History was made rap- idly by these early shows. On the tenth of Decem- ber, 1879, the doors of the old Exposition Building on the Lake Front were again thrown open and an eager throng gathered to see what the twelve- month had developed. Excitement was at fever heat. Breed partisanship—contrasting strangely with the era of good-fellowship upon which we have now happily come—began to show its ugly front, and yet it was apparent that the prime con- sideration still was the matter of size and weight as related to economical production. The Herefords were not yet strong enough to arouse the Shorthorn ranks to a full sense of the danger of their position as the erstwhile ruling race.

Sherman’s Tallow Mountains. — Mr. Gillett’s champion of 1878 had been named John B. Sherman in honor of the general manager of the Chicago Union Stock Yards. Mr. Sherman had evinced a lively interest in the success of the new show and by way of advertising it and stimulating interest he bought a number of the best of the Gillett ex- hibit and established them in comfortable boxes in

380 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the historic section of the yards formerly known as Dexter Park. Thus, not far from the scene of our contemporary exhibitions of fat stock in the International Hall, there were to be seen by gaping crowds during the year 1879, and for several years thereafter, show cattle such as had never before been seen and such also as will probably never be seen again.

These Sherman steers were sent ‘‘down town’’ in December for the edification of the visitors at the second annual show. They walked into the building, although locomotion in their case was no joke, at a weight of over 2,800 pounds each. Need- less to say they were the wonder of the week, so far as the reporters of the daily press, the ‘‘city folk,’? amateur farmers generally, and women and children were concerned, and they got second money in the senior carlot class. There was at that time and for several years following, Omnipotency only knows why, a prize for ‘‘heaviest fat steer,’’? and one of these stock yard monsters usually took down the money.

Shorthorns Win Again.—Mr. Gillett came to the fore again with another brave array of his best and made a clean sweep in the carload classes on fours-and-over, threes, twos and yearlings, ‘‘rub- bing it in’’ by taking both first and second in the three-year-old section. He also gained the four- year-old and the yearling prizes in the sweepstake-

by-ages competition among individual steers of all breeds.

NICHOLS, CHAMPION SHORTHORN STEER OF 1879—From drawing by jewey.

EENTUCKY—From drawing by Dewey.

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Kentucky had been creditably represented at the show of 1878. Ben F. Vanmeter and the Hamiltons had exhibited a quartette of aged Shorthorn steers each weighing over 2,000 pounds and all belonging to the famous family of Kentucky Shorthorns known as ‘‘Young Marys’’—a prolific, and for a long series of years, a useful and profitable dual- purpose type, the cows milking well and the steers growing into fine carcasses of prime beef.

In the battle of 1879 another Kentuckian, Mr. J. H. Graves, won the championship with the grand roan steer Nichols, shown as a three-year-old Short- horn weighing 2,060 pounds. Nichols came back the following year as a five-year-old grade, of which more anon. One member of the awarding commit- tee in this champion contest was Mr. John G. Imbo- den, Decatur, Ill., who has seen continuous service at American fat stock shows ever since as exhibitor, judge or ring steward.*

*At these early shows each entry was carefully measured by a committee appointed for that purpose. The tapeline was ap- plied to no less than fifteen different points, taking in everything that was deemed worth noting in connection with the length, breadth and depth of each animal. This interesting but tedious and not specially practical work was not long continued, for ob- vious reasons.

In the first place, some of the “untamed” beasts brought direct from the pastures to the exposition building resented the un- necesary handling, and committeemen had various narrbw escapes from personal injury. Besides, the show grew so rapidly in ex- hibits that it soon became physically impossible to measure everything in time for the judging.

Mr. J. H. Sanders instituted another scheme by way of illus- trating his reports of the show. He conceived the idea of com- paring cross-sections of competing animals to develop the actual contour of the body. By the use of lead pipe this was success- fully accomplished, and the outlines thus secured were reproduced by BR OeE TS hy to show the difference in the arch of rib between the Hereford cow Jennie and the Shorthorn cow Red Bettie, the chief contestants for the female championship of the show of 1879. From these it would almost seem as if Mr. Sanders’ claim in his

report of that show, that the Hereford should have won, was well supported.

FIRST FaT STOCK SHOWS 383

While not able as yet to land the grand cham- Pionship of the show the Herefords advanced their lines nevertheless, Mr. Miller winning the first prize for four-year-olds in the grade class and worrying the Shorthorn cow Red Bettie badly for the cow championship. This he did with Jennie, carried over from the show of ’78, and presented in such form as to win many friends for the honor she had so worthily gained the year previous.

The Block Test Set Up.—It was at this show of 1879 that the block test was set up. The Short- horn exhibitors did not take kindly to the idea, how- ever, and at first fought shy of it. Miller went after the prize with a grade four-year-old Hereford and won it, his steer weighing 1,963 pounds alive and 1,317 pounds dressed, netting 67.09 per cent. A 1,796-pound Shorthorn dressed 1,179 pounds, or 65.68 per cent, and a 1,614-pound Devon killed out 1,055 pounds, or 65.36 per cent.

The Show of 1880. — The four-year-old-and- over classes were now abolished, but by some pe- culiar inconsistency the grand championship was still left open to stcers of any age—‘‘a tub to the whale’’ presumably, to appease the ire of those who at that time insisted stoutly that beef under four years of age was not the real article. This had, however, an unfortunate issue at the third show. The championship award went to the same steer (Nichols) that had been champion in 1879 over T. L. Miller’s grade Hereford two-year-old Conqueror, and gave rise to an angry controversy.

384 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Nichols had been shown in 1879 as a purebred three-year-old; he came back in 1880 as a five-year- old grade! Mr. Graves claimed that he had entered him in good faith in 1879 as a purebred, aged three years, on the strength of a bill of sale given by the breeder of the bullock, but that subsequent de- velopments had disproved both age and breeding. It was argued that it was manifestly absurd to permit an animal to be shown one year as one thing and be re-entered the following year as something else, and he was accordingly protested, but the board held Mr. Graves guiltless of intent to commit fraud and accepted the entry for the grand sweep- stakes of 1880, which, as above stated, he received. Had he been an outstanding winner, little criticism might have been passed, but candid opinion con- ceded that the Hereford Conqueror, age considered, as a more modern type and the declared two-year-old champion of the Hall, was really entitled to the top honor of the show, as against the 2,500-pound Shorthorn. The Hereford indeed received the vote of one of three judges, and his defeat in the face of the protest that had been lodged against Nichols served to fan the flame of partisanship which now began to illumine the bovine horizon far and wide. Fresh fuel fed the fire as a result of the two suc- ceeding shows.

In the killing contest of 1880 four of the six en- tries were by Hereford bulls. One of these, Mossy Coat, an 1,812-pound grade, dressed 69.29 per cent At this show John B. Sherman again took the

ROAN BOY—C. M. CULBERTSON'S GRADD. FIRST TO WIN GRAND CHAM- PIONSHIP FOR THE HEREFORDS—From drawing by Lou Burk.

386 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

‘heaviest fat steer’’ prize with Nels Morris, a grade Shorthorn tipping the beam at 3,125 pounds! This steer measured 9 feet, 6 inches around the heart, 9 feet, 9 inches at the flank, and stood 5 feet, 514 inches high. He was one of the marvels of his day, and as such was carried over at the yards for another year, coming back to the show in 1881 at the reduced weight of 2,900 pounds, and again winning the prize offered for the heaviest fat steer.

Culbertson Enters the Lists—The Nichols in- cident stirred the Hereford camp to still greater activities in the steer line. Conqueror’s character had convinced them that they now had their antago- nists on the defensive at last, and at the show of 1881 two exhibitors, who afterwards assumed lead- ership in the Hereford campaign, came into the prizelist. These were Thomas Clark and C. M. Cul- bertson. The former we have already introduced ; the latter was a wealthy Chicago business man, an old-time packer at the yards, partner in the firm of Culbertson & Blair, and owner of a great farm in one of the richest corn-growing districts of the world—the deep black ‘‘Broadlands’’ in Douglas Co., Ill. Mr. Culbertson had observed the steady advances of the Herefords and he became one of their most able and enthusiastic advocates. He was a feeder of cattle for the Chicago market, and his first honor won at the fat stock show was the block championship awarded in 1881 to the fine carcass of his 1,835-pound steer, Broad Horns.

FIRST FAT STOCK SHOWS 887

Another ‘‘Row’’ Over the Championship.— Once more the ‘‘old-timers’’ scored a win for the 1881 championship, but under circumstances that did not send the Hereford host home in very good humor. Mr. Gillett continued to cut a big swath in the show, but in the first ring which he entered upon this occasion he met defeat at the hands of the Hereford, Conqueror,* brought over from the show of 1880 with consummate skill at a weight of 2,145 pounds to-head a high-class lot of 24 three- year-olds. A Kentucky Shorthorn shown by Mor- row & Muir was placed second, with Gillett’s Bar- ney third.

At that time there was a ‘‘sweepstake by ages’’ class, entrance to which was not limited, as now, to the winners of the various- ages in the different classes; and so it transpired, that with a new com- mittee working, a 2,095-pound red steer called Me- Mullin, a Gillett entry that had not even been placed in the ring for three-year-old grades, was given the championship of the show for steers of that age, over the bright particular star of the Hereford stalls, which had beaten him earlier in the week. The committee was two hours in doing this, there being twenty-five contestants. The tension about the ringside was extreme, and when Conqueror

finally lost there was wrath in the house of Here- ford.

*Conqueror was bred by Mr. Miller from a bull called Seventy- Six, a son of Sir Richard 2d (4984). The dam of the steer was a .grade Devon. George Waters fed him the first year at Mr. Miller’s sale barn on Root Street near the Chicago Union Stock Yards. Meantime “Uncle Willie’ Watson had gone to work for Miller, and fed the steer for his second appearance.

388 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

To make matters worse a protest by Mr. Culbert- son alleged that this steer McMullin was ineligible to show in the three-year-old ring, that as a matter of fact he was a four-year-old. This was disallowed —further proof, of course, to Hereford eyes that the management was ‘‘packed’’ against their inter- ests. And so the great event of the cattle year, the show for the grand championship of the Hall, came on. The same committee that had preferred the Shorthorn to the Hereford was ordered to tie the ribbon. This was almost more than the Hereford partisans could bear. They made indignant protest, but to no avail. The author remembers well the suppressed excitement of the hours that followed. A good part of the afternoon was consumed by the five men constituting the judicial bench, but from _ the beginning there was only one outcome possible under the circumstances. Only by stultifying them- selves could the jury reverse the previous decision; and yet they knew that a veritable voleano was ready to explode the moment they ordered the prize to McMullin. This they did amidst the mingled cheers and maledictions of the victors and van- quished.*

- War to the Knife—At a meeting of the Here- ford association held at the Grand Pacific Hotel on Friday night after this contest, showing a member-

*At this show Mr. Marshall Field, Chicago’s dry-goods mer- chant prince of that period, offered a prize of $250 for best pen of five cattle of any age or breed, and Mr. Miller won it, a de- cision which atoned somewhat for the defeat of Conqueror. Mr. Field afterwards stocked a Nebraska ranch with Herefords, which for a long series of years were under the able manage- ment of Mr. Thomas Mortimer.

FIRST FAT STOCK SHOWS 389

ship of 34—not many, but militant—Mr. Culbert- son, who now virtually assumed the leadership which up to this time had been exercised by Mr. Miller, called upon the faithful to at once prepare to fight the Shorthorns to a finish at future fat stock shows. Looking towards that end, Mr. Cul- bertson exhorted the members to castrate not less than 300 bull calves, and from this number to select 100 of the best for showing; one or two men should no longer bear the burden; the load was too heavy; the stake was too large. For himself he pledged forty calves as a starter and Mr. J. R. Price fol- lowed with a promise of thirty more. Messrs. Swan Bros. & Frank said they could be depended upon for fifty.

Mr. Burleigh of Maine stated that although he ‘‘hailed from a country where it was said they had to line the rioses of their cattle with steel so that they could graze on the flinty hills, and although they had to bring corn from Chicago to feed them,’’ he would alter every grade calf dropped on his place and he would also alter five purebreds and fit them for this show.

Mr. Clark said that ‘‘gentlemen would do well to bear in mind that if they wanted good steers they must alter good calves.’’

Mr. Gudgell thought that it was best to show purebreds. Hereford breeders would get no credit for the grades, no matter how good. The Short- horn breeders would claim that the good quality all came from the Shorthorn blood. ‘‘We must meet

390 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

them, and beat them with Herefords,’’ he said. He would alter two purebreds—good ones—and there was no breeder present who could not well afford to sacrifice at least one good calf for the cause. Mr. Burleigh also did not like to hear so much talk about showing grades. He wanted pure Herefords, good representatives of the breed, so that there could be no dodging the question, and no excuse for withholding the credit to the Hereford blood. He would alter four and show them.

Mr. Hershey said he did not want to hear any more talk of showing grades. Hereford breeders must show Herefords. In response to a question from Mr. Culbertson as to how many purebreds he would alter, he responded, ‘‘As many as you will.’’ Mr. Burleigh of Iowa said he would alter thirty grades, and ‘‘as many more as he could get.”’

Naturally Shorthorn breeders were satisfied with the way things were going, and at the annual meet- ing of their association, held the same week, the show was warmly commended and its management praised. That Conqueror and the Hereford block- winners had niade some of them somewhat nervous was evidenced, however, by some of the discussion. at this meeting of 1881. For example:

Mr. Streeter said that Shorthorn breeders should ‘‘wake up to the importance of making steers of some of their best purebreds, and bringing them out to compete with the Herefords.’’ The gauntlet had been ‘‘thrown defiantly down by the Hereford men, and we must take it up. We have the material to

T. L. MILLER’S GRADE HEREFORD CONQUEROR, CHAMPION TWO-YEAR- OLD OF 1880—From .drawing by Dewey.

: i AG ae ‘i

EARL & STUART’S IMPORTED PURE-BRED HEREFORD BULLOCK WABASH—From drawing by Dewey.

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‘skunk’ them every time, if we will only bring it out.’’

Col. John Scott, of Iowa, spoke with warmth con- cerning the duty of the Shorthorn breeders of his state to sustain this show as a matter of pride and self-interest. There was ‘‘but one Hereford breed- er in the state, and he was here with his choicest specimens; there were thousands of Shorthorn breeders, but not one of them was represented. The Collings fatted the White Heifer, and showed her all over the Kingdom of Great Britain, and thereby called public attention to the merits of the Short- horn. Modern breeders might profit by their ex- ample.’’

Falling Walls.—The twelve months intervening between the show of 1881 and that of 1882 were crowded with events that stirred both Shorthorn and Hereford breeding circles to their very depths —events which had their inception largely in the lessons being taught by the fat stock show. The old guard that had so long dominated the Shorthorn kingdom began to fear for the safety of the struc- ture they had so laboriously builded. New stand- ards were being forced upon the notice of the country by the yearling and two-year-old rings, and especially by the Hereford entries at the big show that had now become the annual battle-ground for the fiercely contending breeds. The question was as to how long the big, up-standing cattle of the Gil- lett-Moninger-Kentucky type could hold the fort. And there were rumblings, ominous and deep, of a

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coming revolution in the entire method of produc- ing purebred Shorthorns. The words ‘‘Scotch,’’ “‘Cruickshank’’ and ‘‘Aberdeenshire’’ were being heard, although it was still rank heresy to insinuate aught against the sacred nature of the true faith in the ‘‘divine right’’ of cattle descended from the far-famed herd of rare old ‘‘Tommy’”’ Bates of Kirklevington.

“<The Breeder’s Gazette’? was established in De- cember, 1881, with the author of this work in charge of cattle matters. The waning glory and failing merit of the prevailing fashionable type of Short- horns was obvious. The new journal gave space to the truth about the Shorthorn situation, and promptly recognized the practical utility of the Herefords as well. Its influence was thrown in be- half of a new order of things, and clearly reflected the trend of public sentiment, as was evidenced by its instantaneous success.

Col. William A. Harris of Linwood, Kans., had begun Shorthorn breeding operations that were des- tined to change the whole character of the trans- Mississippi trade in the ‘‘red, white and roans.”’ Men like James I. Davidson and Hon. John Dryden of Canada, J. H. Potts & Son of Illinois, J. H. Kissinger of Missouri, and others, led a revolt in the Shorthorn camp in behalf of a_ shorter-legged, earlier-maturing kind of cattle. They found wide- spread popular support, at the same time reaping a whirlwind of wrath and vituperation at the hands of ‘‘vested interests.’’ Meantime memorable acces-

394 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

sions had been made to the ranks of the fighting friends of the Herefords.

Adams Earl and his able and aggressive son-in- law, the late lamented Charles B. Stuart, of Lafay- ette, Ind., Gudgell & Simpson of Independence, Mo., Hon. M. H. Cochrane of Canada, Benjamin Her- shey, a millionaire lumberman of Muscatine, Ia., Moses Fowler, a banker of Lafayette, Ind., and hard-headed practical William S. VanNatta, to- gether with C. M. Culbertson and others, aided and abetted by old-countrymen like ‘‘Tom’’ Clark, George Morgan, William Powell, ‘‘Tom’’ Ponting, John Gosling and others, were all attracted by the exciting and revolutionary proceedings now every- where ‘in evidence at the stock yards, on ‘‘the plains,’ in cornbelt feedlots and at the fat stock shows. They entered into the spirit of the contest, some with the zeal of new converts, others backed by ample capital and favored by every natural condi- tion. Best of all, this took place at the psycholog- ical moment when old Horace, Lord Wilton and The Grove 3d were filling the Herefordshire pas- tures and the Royal Show Yard of England with the most extraordinary specimens of white-faced beauty the breed had ever produced. So it hap- pened that by the time the show of 1882 came around, new importations, new faces and new en- thusiasm had wrought marked transformation.

‘‘Last of the Mohicans.’’—The year 1882 wrote ‘‘finis’? upon the scroll whereon are inscribed the championships won by the old-style cattle; it

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was fitting that the last honor to be paid should fall to Mr. Gillett. Throughout all the Mississippi Val- ley states he had for almost a generation carried high the banner of good blood as an essential ele- ment in successful cattle-feeding. He was now ap- proaching the close of his career as the acknowl- edged leader in his field. He had followed the standards of his time to their highest possible devel- opment and was too far advanced in years either to change his type of cattle or to forsake the Short- horn for any substitute. He made these first fat stock shows possible. He was as gracious in defeat as in an hour of triumph, and bravely fought the battle for the big ones to the very end.

No less than forty-one steers were contributed by Mr. Gillett to the show of 1882, among them being MecMullin, champion of 1881, brought back at a weight of 2,565 pounds. This impressive demon- stration was backed up in royal fashion by Iowa’s crown prince of cattle feeders, D. M. Moninger, Mr. Gillett’s most distinguished disciple, with twenty massive corn-fed bullocks that were rich enough to sate the stomach of the heartiest John Bull in all Britain. Both of these exhibits represented the last word in the open-air, corn-and-grass-made beef of the period. They represented prime-beef produc- tion upon a large commercial scale. The day of the hand-fed, sugar-stuffed, blanketed and pampered beauties from the basement boxes of professional showmen had not yet struck, although near at hand.

Mr. Moninger’s Tom Brown was declared best

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three-year-old grade in the show, and best three- year-old of any sort in the building. The Gillett and Moninger hosts carried away all the carlot prizes, and to cap the climax McMullin was: again, after a long and memorable contest, declared the best beast of any age or breed on exhibition. Various Types in Evidence.—This was a week of intense interest to all students of the industry. The old regime was successfully fighting, but with its back against the wall. The handiwork of the professional fitter was in evidence in both Short- horn and Hereford stalls, but there was as yet no settled standard being followed. John Hope, an artist in the line of bringing out purebred Short- horns for exhibition, had come to the rescue of the falling fortunes of the Bates dynasty by sending over from Bow Park, Brantford, Ont., from the herd of the Canada West Farm Stock Association,* a beautiful big white yearling, weighing 1,620 pounds, which was afterwards to win fame greater than any of his predecessors—Clarence Kirkleving- ton. J. H. Potts & Son, famed in ‘every state fair

*This once-famous nursery of Bates-bred Shorthorn cattle was founded by Hon. George Brown, of the Toronto “Globe.” John Hope, the manager, was an experienced English cattleman, who did much to uphold the fortunes of the Bates-bred cattle during the evil days that fell upon them as a natural result of abuse in methods of breeding met with by a once-noble strain of cat- tle at the hands of numerous amateurs and speculators on both sides of the Atlantic. Hope had no sympathy with those who disregarded individual merit in the animal, or who dealt merely in pedigrees. He was a tower of strength in a time of need, and with this white bullock, by the great Duchess sire, 4th Duke

of Clarence, he made a record not equaled at the fat stock show before or since.

It was to Bow Park, which he had visited during ‘his American tour of 1874, that Mr. John Clay, now head of the live stock commission house of Clay, Robinson & Co., came as manager when he left his loved Tweed-side for America in 1879.

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showyard of the period for their great Duke of Richmond herds of breeding cattle of Aberdeen- shire origin, were also in the running, so that the big case of Scotch vs. Bates, then raging in the Shorthorn breeding shows, here found an echo in the grosser competition for the favor of the steer feeder and the butcher.

Potts’ Red Major defeated Clarence Kirkleving- ton for the yearling championship, and was pro- nounced probably the ripest steer of his age on ex- hibition. This naturally gladdened the hearts of the advocates of the newly introduced Scotch blood; but the great scion of the Duchess-and-Oxford line bided his time, and lived to fight a sensationally suc- cessful battle another day, yet in the future. The Messrs. Graff of Canada also showed a grandly fleshed grade Shorthorn steer called Canadian Champion, that received two votes out of the five cast in the grand championship balloting.

The ‘‘heavies’’ were also to be seen in the same hall that housed such wonderful ‘‘baby beeves’’ as Red Major and Clarence Kirklevington. The stock yards show string was again in evidence—a half- dozen in number, ranging this time up to 3,055 pounds, or within 100 pounds of the record weight of 3,155 pounds of the Shorthorn steer sent to the first show by Charles Miller, Williamsville, IIL, concerning which the reporter of that day naively said, ‘‘he was rather coarse and was especially faulty and ragged in the conformation of his rump.’’ Messrs. Dodge of Ohio helped out the

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‘‘hulk’’ division by sending forward a pair of twin Shorthorns that together marked up 5,250 pounds.

Imported Hereford Steers.—Mr. Miller now had all the motive power needed behind the Here- ford propaganda. The new recruits were buying top cattle freely in Herefordshire for importation, and while gathering breeding stock did not forget the fat stock show. Senator Cochrane of Hillhurst brought out from England the purebred three-year- old. steer Sir Richard (weight 1,765 pounds), and Earl & Stuart imported an extraordinary two-year- old which they named Wabash. ‘‘Tom’’ Clark had bought him for Mr. Earl while in England selecting the great Shadeland importation of breeding stock in the fall of 1881. He found the bullock in offer at an auction sale held in the county of Shropshire (Salop).* The steer was put into quarantine at Portland, Me., at a weight of about 1,250 pounds, and in the hands of Harry Loveland made a phe- nomenal gain, going into the show in the fall at a weight of 1,950 pounds. Mr. Clark says that he was one of the most wonderful ‘‘doers’’ he has ever known. His broad ribs and great depth of flesh in the most valuable parts won for his breed the two- year-old championship of the show.

Sir Richard was sent into the block test and

. *John H. Yeomans was with Mr. Clark upon this occasion, and together they went over the steers to be sold. Mr. Yeomans ad- vised the purchase of a big one, but Clark’s fancy was caught by a younger steer, which he bought. A well known exhibitor at Smithfield paid 55 guineas for the big steer that Yeomans liked, and after the sale asked Clark, who was unknown to him, What he expected to do with the youngster he had bought. Take him to America,” was Clark's reply. ‘“Well,” rejoined the other, “I’m glad of it. He'll make some one trouble.”

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won the carcass championship. Other new exhib- itors in the Hereford class were A. A. Crane & Son and Fowler & VanNatta. Mr. Miller exhibited a lot of grass-fed grades.

Opportunity was given for the display of breed- ing cattle at this show, and the Hereford people made the most of it. Miller brought in his famous show bull Success, then near ten years old; Earl & Stuart presented their newly imported Royal win- ners, Sir Bartle Frere and Garfield, and George Leigh exhibited the imported bull Royal 14th.

The pot was boiling furiously by this time all along the line, in both the rival camps. Practical men were seeking assiduously the rehabilitation of the Shorthorn along up-to-date lines, and Hereford enthusiasm, under the stimulus of an extensive de- mand for bulls from the range and for registered cattle for breeding herds in the middle west, was rising rapidly. It only needed the result of the next succeeding fat stock show to bring to a successful close the long-drawn-out struggle of the Herefords for full and unreserved recognition as a type that had come to America to stay.

First Angus Show Steer.—The year 1883 found still another Richmond in the field and con- tending at the fat stock shows for the favor’ of American cattle-growers. The Aberdeen-Angus polls were beginning to gain a footing and the Messrs. Geary of Canada, who were early importers of the ‘‘doddies,’’ not to be outdone by the enter- prising backers of the Herefords, shipped out from

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Scotland the big level bullock, Black Prince, for ex- hibition purposes. The Kansas City (Mo.) Stock Yard Company held during the first week of Novem- ber, 1883, the first of a series of fat stock shows at Riverview Park, and it is characteristic of the enter- prise displayed by the advocates of the rival breeds at that period that the Gearys went to the expense of forwarding this 2,300-pound steer from the Que- bee quarantine station to Kansas City by express, in order that the new breed might not be unrepre- sented at that show. He arrived in time for the fray, and created a genuine sensation. A three- cornered fight, instead of the duel between the Here- fords and Shorthorns, was thus precipitated, and the black-skins made a hit with killers from the start.

‘‘Doddies’’ and ‘‘Kilts.’”? — It is difficult for those who have through long familiarity become accustomed to such exhibitions to realize the in- tensity of the interest manifested by western farm- ers, feeders and ranchmen in these first pitched bat- tles between the breeds. It is true that the Here- fords had by this time ceased to be a novelty, but the parade of imported black polled breeding cattle, with Black Prince at their head, that was sent through the streets adjacent to the Kansas City yards on the morning of Friday, Nov. 30, 1883, was a spectacle full of thrills to the oldest cattleman present. The long line of silky-black hornless ‘‘beasties’’ that set out from Grant’s old sale sta- ble, accompanied by a pair of ‘‘pipers’’ in their ‘‘kilts,’’ had to the most seasoned frequenter of the

| D./. Moninger |

| Wallace Estill |

| eloha Hope |

| 7.W.Harvey |

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yards all the attractiveness of the old-time circus to the small boy of the country village.*

This Kansas City show brought out many of the entries that had been made up primarily for Chi- cago, and served as an admirable curtain-raiser for the big event staged for the succeeding week on the Lake Front. Potts’ Shorthorn, Starlight, won the championship, although not without angry protest from both Hereford and Aberdeen-Angus sources.

“‘Stars’’ of a Memorable Week.—The caravan that moved up from Kansas City to Chicago in 1883 was a notable one, in fact, a rare good show in itself. When the entries of Gillett, Culbertson, Cochrane, Imboden, Leigh, Burleigh, John Hope and others were added, it was plain that the most extraordinary aggregation of show steers ever as- sembled up to that time in the United States await- ed judgment.

Here was the Kansas City champion, Starlight; Earl’s imported Wabash and Hoosier; Geary’s Prince; Fowler & VanNatta’s Benton’s Champion in his two-year-old form; ‘‘Tom’’ Clark’s curly- coated Tuck; poor old McMullin, twice champion, now to be unnoticed; Culbertson’s Roan Boy, as yet unknown to fame; Clarence Kirklevington; Morrow & Renick’s Schooler; Gillett’s Storm; Cochrane’s Longner Monarch; Ross & Sons’ Grand Chunk; Imboden’s Scratch; Waddell’s famous spayed

*Galloways too were then just coming in, and the representa- tives of both the great Scottish breeds participated in the stir- rg 4 events of this wek. The Leonards, A. B. Matthews, Gudgell & Simpson and M. R. Platt were pioneers in the black cattle movement in the Kansas City territory.

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heifer, Ohio Belle; George Morgan’s string from the Wyoming Hereford Association, and the most amazing lot of yearling grades ever seen together on the continent. In fact, the show had now arrived at full stature, with the classes running bank-full of quality.

The Goal Attained.—Through the early stages of the judging little comfort came the Shorthorn way. Their best three-year-olds had twice gone down before a neatly finished, short-legged, richly furnished 2,125-pound steer of Mr. Culbertson called Roan Boy, got by the Hereford bull Freeport (he by Success 2d) out of a roan heifer by the Shorthorn bull 9th Duke of Forest Hill, and bred by J. H. Spears. This steer was a light roan with the characteristic Hereford white markings. His grandam was a pure white cow of Shorthorn ex- traction. Hereford men would have been quite as well pleased if the Shorthorn color, neatness of bone, and levelness of quarter had not been present, because, in one way, they proved too much. While Roan Boy was recognized from the beginning of the: show as ‘‘in the running,’’ he had no mortgage on first place.* Black Prince was surely dangerous. Starlight, with his good top and light underline,

*It is all but impossible to realize the depth of the feeling engendered by these first big “finish’’ fights between these breeds. The Shorthorn power had gone unchallenged for so many years that their breeders refused to take the situation seriously. Miller and William H. Sotham were called “cranks”; their cattle had no “breeding”; were, in fact, “plain, ugly-horned and peaked- rumped.” No cattle breeder having a pride in the eenersnie of “cattle with a history” or who appreciated beauty and finish in fine cattle could afford to handle these ugly and Sr eae in- truders. In brief, the Shorthorn breeders ridiculed the Here- fords and predicted for them a short-lived American popularity.

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looked good to butchers who counted wastes. Mr. Gillett’s MeMullin was of course impossible. It was almost a crime to bring him back, but he had a pasture-brother called Storm that was possibly the best steer, from the viewpoint of the ‘‘progres- sives’’ of that day, that Mr. Gillett had ever pro- duced, standing much nearer the ground than was customary with the Gillett cattle. Then there was Mr. Earl’s imported Wabash, back again at a weight of 2,350 pounds.

It is doubtful if there has ever been a ring of cattle judged in America where the issue was await- ed with greater interest than this championship of the Chicago show of 1883. The short leet (those drawn for final adjudication) contained not one sin- gle specimen of the old-time type. Their day was almost done. Weight was still in evidence, but it was carried in smaller compass and on shorter legs.

Two votes were finally cast for Roan Boy, and that of the other committeeman for Wabash.* The

*The author, as a young man, had the task of reporting this show, and turning back to our old notes we find the following:

“In Roan Boy’s vacant stall, cool and collected, Mr. Culbertson sat awaiting the result. No outward sign betrayed the intense interest which he, above all others, must have felt in the de- cision. The Hereford yell reached his ears, but scarcely sooner than the swift-footed Clark, who was the first to convey the news of victory and grasp the hand of the man to whom Here- fords owe more than to any other in America. An impromptu levee was in an instant begun; and without the least show of exultation, the fortunate owner of the prize animal, Grant-like, lit a cigar and received the congratulations of his friends, dis- patching ‘Charlie’ to cable the news to Mr. Price, at Bingley Hall, Birmingham, Eng. ‘It was a famous victory’; but the champion’s roan coat reflected a share of the glory back upon his_mother’s Shorthorn ancestry.” :

Roan Boy was sold to H. M. Kinsley, proprietor of the leading restaurant of that date in Chicago, who pronounced the beef the finest he had ever seen. His horns were saved, mounted and pre- sented by Mr. Culbertson to “The Breeder's Gazette,” and have

ever since decorated a space in the walls of the office of that publication.

-DOT ABERDEEN-ANGUS CHAMPION, BRED BY WALLACE ESTILL, FED OUT BY JOHN G. IMBODEN—From drawing by Lou Burk.

BLACK PRINCE—GEARY BROS.’ IMPORTED ABERDEEN-ANGUS—From drawing by Lou Burk.

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long-sought honor had not only been achieved, but backed up as well by a ‘‘reserve’’ vote. The echoes of the Hereford cheers by which this victory was greeted lingered long in the memory of visitors. The ‘‘white face’’ had at last definitely ‘‘arrived.’’ His worth was now definitely acknowledged by the High Court of Last Appeal, and he took his place from that day forward as a fixed factor in American beef-making.

Clarence Kirklevington’s Year—One of the last great products of the Bates Shorthorn blood in North America was the white steer Clarence Kirk- levington, above referred to. He was bred in the purple and had been handled at Bow Park with con- summate skill. Although forced, from calfhood, by all the methods known to English showyard gen- erals, this wonderful specimen of his breed came back to the show of 1884 to register the greatest tri- umph standing to the credit of any steer ever ex- hibited at an American fat stock show. At a weight of 2,400 pounds he was still smooth as a mole, al- though somewhat soft in his handling. His great arched back, tremendous quarters, depth, breadth, and above all, his commanding presence, finely-set head and neck, beautiful horns and general show of “‘blood”’ and ‘‘finish’’ gave to him a distinction at- taching to none of his competitors.

In this steer the old Bates ideal found full frui- tion—individual merit of a high order joined to the aristocratic bearing and ‘‘character’’ which consti- tuted the main asset of the type he represented

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during its declining yedrs. But he had no walk-over at this show. There was Benton’s Champion, Mr. VanNatta’s great long-quartered rich-ribbed cross- bred Hereford-Shorthorn that gained ‘‘The Breed- er’s Gazette’’ Challenge Trophy for best beast in the show bred and fed by the exhibitor.* There was the burly Black Prince again, Gillett’s Storm, and Gudgell & Simpson’s grand Hereford Suspense by Anxiety 4th, which gave tlie first great promise of what that bull was destined to do for the quarters and thighs of western ‘‘white faces.’? There were the Aberdeen-Angus ‘‘blocks’’ entered by James J. Hill of Great Northern Railway fame and T. W. Harvey, the Chicago lumberman, whose Turlington, Neb., herd afterwards attained such celebrity under ‘‘Willie’? Watson. There was Mr. Earl’s Hoosier, by Lord Wilton, and a crack Shorthorn from Ohio named Charlie Ross. But all had to make way for ‘Clarence Kirklevington. He was not only champion alive, but champion dead, beating all opponents on the block as well as on the hoof—an accumulation of honors that still stands as a record for all comers to shoot at.

This was the last grand appearance, however, by the strain of blood which Clarence Kirklevington so impressively represented. We have already seen that the old Gillett type passed into history in a

*This was a diamond-studded shield of gold made from an original design by Tiffany’s—a duplicate of which was offered at the Kansas City show. The object was to encourage those who produced their own show cattle, as against those who, by reason of their command of. money, could go out and buy their show material.

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blaze of glory with the ribbons fiying from McMul- lin’s horns. Fire often flashes into one last brilliant flare before it turns to ashes. So with Clarence Kirklevington. The race of his kind was almost run, but his victories glorified their declining days.

Regulus and Grace.—In 1885 Fowler & Van- Natta again turned the tide, obtaining the coveted premier position with the brockle-faced bullock Regulus. Notable features were the return of the great Anxiety steer Suspense, the appearance of the captivating yearling grades by Earl’s Sir Bartle Frere, Swan Bros.’ sensational Hereford cow Grace, Elbert & Fall’s sappy Shorthorn yearling Cleveland, Morrow & Renick’s famous short-tailed broad-loined Shorthorn-grade Schooler, J. J. Hill’s black Benholm, and Gudgell & Simpson’s Angus Sandy.

Rudolph Jr., Nigger, Sandy and Plush—The year 1886 brought the first two-year-old champion, in fact, developed three two-year-olds whose su- periors as a trio have not since been seen; and most significant fact of all, neither carried Short- horn blood. This was a sweeping away of 1878 standards with a vengeance, both in respect to age, type and blood!

George Morgan, manager for the Wyoming Here- ford Cattle Co., exhibited two of these—one the purebred Rudolph Jr., by the $3,500 imported show bull, ‘‘the mighty Rudolph,’’ by The Grove 3d; the other a white-faced black-poll named Nig- ger. The third was Gudgell & Simpson’s Sandy, a

FIRST FAT STOCK SHOWS 409

purebred Aberdeen-Angus.* There has never been a harder fought match in our national cattle shows than that waged between these phenomenal young- sters for the two-year-old championship of this event, which was eventually won by Nigger.

An account of this historic contest, written by the author for ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette,’’ of Nov. 18, 1886, ran as follows:

“‘The two-year-old contestants constituted the most remarkable ring of the entire week, and it is probably not going too far to claim that no such trio of bullocks of this age as Sandy, the Aberdeen- ~ Angus, Nigger, the champion of the grades and crosses, and Rudolph Jr., representing the purebred Herefords, have ever been seen in one ring since this show began. Morrow & Renick’s Tempest stood for the honor of the purebred Shorthorns, and Mr. Younger’s Choice upheld the Devon colors, but in such extraordinary company they were unequal to the emergency.

‘“We can scarcely imagine a more thankless task than that of deciding as to where the greater merit lay as between Sandy, Rudolph, and Nigger. It was one of those places where the closest judge might well feel disposed to ‘kick himself’ after having given it to either, and we have not the slightest doubt that in finally declaring the superb Wyoming poll the victor the committee felt inwardly that in all probability they had not only wronged the Kan- sas City champion, but sinned against the grand legacy of MRudolph’s loins. Nigger’s greatest strength lay where his rivals were probably the most vulnerable. His quarter and thigh were al-

*Gudgell & Simpson originally handled Aberdeen polls as well as Herefords, one of their greatest black bulls being imp. Knight of St. Patrick, that sired many of the most valuable Angus cat- tle of his day.

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most a model of perfection. Rudolph Jr.’s, although probably as heavy, drooped a trifle and were scarce- ly as thickly filled. while there was a suspicion of a ‘pinch’ from Sandy’s hooks to tail. Forward the Hereford was probably the better of the three, i. e., so far as covering of the shoulder was concerned, Nigger’s shoulder-point and blade being about the only points of. his entire carcass that were not al- most wholly buried in flesh.

‘‘Sandy had two good ends and a middle, his great strength lying in his general symmetry from head to hocks. Not as great behind as Nigger, and possibly not the equal of Rudolph at the shoulder, he was so good in both respects and carried a rib thrown out and down with such a noble arch as to cast a doubt as to the accuracy of any award that placed him behind his competitors. Nigger’s rib sprang well at the start, but flattened somewhat on the side, and this it was (in connection with his grandly-filled flanks) that made him almost a walk- ing parallelogram. But it is idle to attempt by any amount of this sort of reasoning to arrive at any conclusion that should declare either steer of this now famous trio much the best beast of the lot, and if we have said enough to convey to those who failed to see the bullocks the idea that the merit of the de- feated animals was so great as to warrant their sharing almost equally with the winner the glory of this championship, we have accomplished our pur- pose.

‘‘Nigger was the officially-declared two-year-old champion of the show and as good a one as ever claimed that honor, but in the minds of very many unprejudiced judges, who enjoyed an examination of his two great competitors, Rudolph Jr. and Sandy, will be regarded as having thoroughly di-

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vided the honor with the extraordinary white-faced ‘blackskin’ from the western range. As Rudolph’s colors went down before the get of an Angus poll, it is not strange that Harry Yeomans, who helped the Nigger calf into the world about the ides of May, 1884, should feel out of patience with him- self for not having strangled on the spot the pale- faced doddy that lived to plague all Herefordom by trouncing a purebred son of the mighty Rudolph at the Smithfield of 1886. But the Hereford bided his time.’’

By this time competition for the championship of

the show had been limited to the breed champions, and when the ballots in that closing competition were cast it was found that Rudolph Jr. had turned. the tables on Nigger and by a vote of two to one had defeated J. J. Hill’s big Angus bullock Wildy, the latter receiving Mr. Imboden’s vote for the cham- pionship.

This show was also memorable for the presenta- tion by Messrs. Swan & Bosler of Indianola, Ia., of a two-year-old grade Hereford well named Plush, fitted with rare skill by Mr. John Gosling especially for the block test. He was not so formidable on the hoof, but ‘‘died’’ better than had any other steer yet offered on the block at these shows. In fineness of texture, and in delicate intermingling of lean and fatty tissue promising epicurean delights at table, ‘Plush’s ribs and loins were a revelation. He justly received first prize in his class and the champion- ship in the carcass competition.

The Pendulum Swings Back.—Progress toward ‘‘fine beef in small packages’’ received a slight

412 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

setback in 1887, when Mr. Moninger’s red two- year-old Shorthorn Dr. Glick, shown at a weight of 1,855 pounds, was made champion. True, he was not an aged steer, but he was scarcely of the blocky sort toward which late decisions had been tending. There was not as ‘‘toppy’’ a lot on exhibition this year as in 1886, however. Perhaps that accounts for an apparent reaction.

The Galloways were out in good form both at Kansas City and Chicago, and one of them won the carcass championship at the latter show. Sussex cattle, owned by Mr. Overton Lea of Tennessee, were seen also and attracted attention as a profit- able butcher’s type.

First Angus Champion. — Wallace Estill, one of Missouri’s most successful cattle-feeders, had shown in 1887 the yearling purebred Angus Dot, that won prizes and was regarded as about the tidi- est bit of baby beef the west had yet seen. John Imboden bought him at the Chicago show and took him down to his Decatur feedlots to see what could be done during another twelve months’ feeding pe- riod. He came back unbeatable, gaining the 1888 ‘championship with little grumbling from any quar- ter, weighing 1,515 pounds at 863 days old, a living exemplification of what was meant by the expression so often heard, ‘‘the greatest weight in the smallest: superficies.’’ He had been steered by Mr. Estill because he had white markings, not recognized as admissible in Angus breeding cattle. Dot’s chief competitor was John Hope’s champion of the Short-

ELBERT & FALLS’ SHORTHORN | STUER CLEVELAND—From drawing by almer,

WYOMING HEREFORD CATT Core RUDOLPH, JR.—From drawing by a Burk.

414 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

horn class, Brant Chief. Mr. H. H. Clough’s Here- ford Daniel won ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’ Chal- lenge Shield, and Overton Lea’s Sussex Rosewood— conditioned by one of America’s cleverest feeders, John Letham—took the carcass championship, and a wonderfully fine body of beef it was.*

A Melting Pot. — Having now sketched the revolutionary character of this great educational institution to the date when it settled down into a good-natured contest between the types that still hold the center of the stage, we must turn at this point—our special business being with the Here- fords—to details of important importations and to the breeding, showyard and salering operations of those who first distributed Hereford cattle widely throughout the United States. Before taking up this, however, we wish to emphasize the fact that a realizing sense of a very important truth had dawned upon the cattle-growers of the central west as a result of this remarkable series of shows.

Shorthorn breeders were no longer supercilious in their consideration of the claims of the Hereford. Where they had once scoffed they now conceded. On their part the Hereford men saw in Roan Boy, Ben- ton’s Champion and other prize-winners of mixed derivation ample proof of great results to be at-

*This first blood for the Scotch polls roused the Aberdeen- Angus contingent to a high pitch. The brass band at the ring- side started “Yankee Doodle” in honor of the victory of “The States” over Canada, but when somebody tipped it off that the champion black was “all Scotch” and that Hope’s “runner up” was roe by a Scotch-bred bull, a rattling medley of Scotch na- tiona airs | followed, including everything from “Dumbarton Drums” to “Annie Laurie.” We do not seem to have such stirring ecenes in “these degenerate days.”

FIRST FAT STOCK SHOWS 415

tained by farmers and ranchmen by a mingling of the bloods. This was of course the beginning of the end of that intolerance that had characterized the earlier introduction of the Herefords. Mr. Gil- lett and his colleagues had demonstrated at the earliest shows that the Shorthorn had not altogether gone to perdition for practical farm purposes, and that the Herefords were not the one and only cattle worth handling. In short, reason regained her place in the calculations of unprejudiced men, who admit- ted candidly that the Fat Stock Show had pointed .. the way to a due appreciation of all good bloods. Not only that, but the advocates of each knew that they had now to work together towards the estab- lishment of a similar and an earlier-maturing type.

Some day the whole story of the Fat Stock Show should be told. It was the clearing house for all who participated in the work of shifting the basis of American beef cattle breeding from an old to a new dispensation. Old methods were on trial for their very existence. New breeds, new ideas, new faces and big capital kept the fires burning brightly from one year’s end to another. It was a crucible into which all available material, new and old, was thrown and tested. Nobody knew just what the next Fat Stock Show would bring out or demon- strate. This kept the interest in these successive shows at fever heat.

By day the discussions and comparisons went on at the Exposition Building, and at night the war- riors of the week held court at the Grand Pacifie—

416 A TISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Olympian nights, with the ‘‘immortals’’ all in form! Those walls could indeed tell many a tale, were they not dumb, of ‘‘parliaments’’ at which clever ‘‘chair- men’’ ruled the roast; where Drake and Parker served viands and vintages of the best; where wit and wisdom, jibe and repartee, went round; where fields once fought were fought again, and all the problems of the past, present and future were soundly settled, at least for the night.

Indeed it is not too much to say that out of these annual interchanges of ideas, confidences and ex- periences, out of the spirit of good-fellowship and mutual respect that flowed from these impromptu gatherings, and from the touch of opposing stee! at the show itself, there ultimately grew that spirit of fraternity and equality that today is such a marked and happy feature of contemporary cattle breeding.

‘‘All for one, and one for all,’’ the motto of the ‘‘Three Guardsmen,’’ has finally come to be the slogan of those who, far removed from those early scenes of bitter showyard strife, now draw their chairs together each December at the Saddle and Sirloin Club, and thank the fates that they are allies in a common cause—no longer enemies.

GHAPTER IX. HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS.

The history of live stock husbandry affords few parallels to the situation rapidly developed in Here- ford cattle breeding in the western states about the year 1880. Almost like a bolt out of a blue sky the fact flashed upon those who had become interested in the breed that an almost illimitable field for Hereford activity existed in the far west—a field which in extent and possibilities could not then be fully comprehended. If, as was generally believed, a type had now been found that possessed quali- fications for open range service absolutely unap- proached by any other breed, it meant a new and important industry in the middle west—the produc- tion of bulls for a breeding and grazing ground ex- tending all the way from Mexico to the British pos- sessions.

The call was urgent. It came from the mountain valleys and the plains of all western North America. It was a call for vigorous impressive bulls that could stand grief and be depended upon to leave behind a progeny well adapted to the business of converting the wild grasses of the range into mar- ketable beef under the rigorous conditions imposed.

by the soil and climate of those regions. The Short- 417

418 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

horns of that period were doing the best they could to fill these exacting requirements, but were not in many cases able to cope satisfactorily with the iron environment of the open range. The blood was there, however, and constituted a foundation upon which the sturdier ‘‘white faces’? could be crossed with reasonable certainty of securing in the offspring size, shape, rustling power, a uniform color and unsurpassed grazing quality. The Here- ford’s day in America had fully dawned at last.

In preparing to meet the demand that was now full upon them American breeders and importers made drafts upon the Herefordshire herds—greater drafts perhaps than were ever drawn before or since within so short a space of time against any of the improved types evolved in the Old World. In- deed at one time it looked almost like a virtual transfer of a breed from its ancestral pastures, so heavy was the drain. Not only were the importa- tions frequent and the numbers large, but wealthy American buyers dipped deep into the very cream of the old country’s richest breeding herds almost regardless of price. Tempted by the ‘almighty dollar’’ the English tenant farmers let go freely of their best. The reward of a century’s good work was reaped by them in measure fairly unprece- dented.

During the years immediately following 1880 some 5,000 head of registered English-bred Here- fords were transferred to American pastures. It is manifestly impossible to enter into full details con-

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 419

cerning such extensive operations. For the most part the importations consisted of good useful well bred young cattle suited to the needs of those who desired to handle Herefords in a practical commer- cial way; they do not require individual mention in this connection. They came, fulfilled their mis- sion on farm or ranch, and their blood is today scat- tered far and wide wherever white-faced cattle are appreciated. Certain shipments, however, had such historic importance and such far-reaching effect upon the business as to require particular mention.

C. M. Culbertson.—In all probability the most powerful recruit attracted to the Hereford ranks in the central west during this extraordinary era was the late Charles M. Culbertson, a retired Chicago packer, and owner of a 2,300-acre tract of valuable land near Newman, Douglas Co., Ill. Mr. Culbert- son was a man of sterling character, a business man of the best type, well known in Chicago’s high financial circles, and universally respected. Pos- sessed of a strong individuality and pleasing per- sonality, his reputation for integrity and practical business ability gained for him the confidence of all with whom he came in contact. He not only became intensely interested in Hereford cattle breeding, but he was able to exert an influence among a large cirele of friends and acquaintances having similar tastes that proved a potent factor in the great ex- pansion which took place in the Hereford cattle trade in the middle west during the early ‘‘eigh- ties.’”

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Hereford Park.—When in business as a young man in the Wabash Valley Mr. Culbertson had fre- quent occasion to ride horseback through central Indiana and Illinois, and in Douglas county he noted a body of land that at once commended itself to his judgment. Early as the day then was, he foresaw the future that awaited these ‘‘broad lands’? now teeming with their wealth of corn, cat- tle and grass, and he ‘‘entered’’ what was then the nucleus of the estate afterwards famous as Hereford Park. Among his earliest acts and one which yield- ed a thousand-fold return, timber being rather scarce on the place, was the planting of a 15-acre grove of walnuts. The main farmhouse and barns, as well as this grove, were centrally located, the land rising gradually to the north. In selecting this spot for barns, sheds and feedlots advantage was taken of the southern exposure, as well as of a nat- ural amphitheater sloping in all directions south- ward to a central point, where an ample pool such as stockmen usually used in those days afforded an abundant water supply. The various pastures were so arranged that they cornered at or near the feed- lots and the walnut grove, the former affording shelter from storms in winter and the latter a grate- ful shade in the hot summer months. The barns were models of convenience, evincing the practical bent of the proprietor’s mind.

Mr. Culbertson had for some years been an ex- tensive feeder of cattle for market and had accumu- lated a good herd of grade Shorthorn cows, some

OHAS. M. CULBERTSON.

422 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of the John D. Gillett blood. His first purchase of Herefords was made from Mr. Miller in 1877. The first lot comprised about fifteen head, including heifers by Success and Sir Charles. His first bulls were Success 2d, bred by William Powell, Ridge- ville Boy 1476, bred by Tom Clark from Sir Arthur, and Seventy-Six, by Sir Richard 2d. He also bought cows from the herds of Messrs. Blake, Atkinson and Burleigh of Maine, including daughters of Sir Rich- ard 2d. References to his ownership of Sir Richard 2d and to his first Fat Stock Show winnings have already been made in preceding chapters. Finally convinced of the value of the blood for steer breed- ing and feeding purposes, Mr. Culbertson embarked upon a series of importations from Herefordshire and of purchases of ‘‘tops’’ from the best American sources which soon made the herd at Hereford Park the premier establishment of its kind in the state of Tllinois.

Anxiety Imported—One of his first sabia moves was to send George Morgan to England to, select a first-class bull and a few heifers for im-' portation. This was in 1879. Morgan gladly made the journey back to his native haunts, and had the judgment or the rare luck to select the bull which had been named Anxiety by his breeder, T. J. Car- wardine, as narrated in a preceding chapter. Some heifers, a few of them show animals, were also bought. These included Spangle 3d from Mrs. Ed- wards of Wintercott; Nancy 2d, bred by T. Myddle- ton; Apple Blossom, from Stocktonbury and got by

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 423

Rodney; Nancy, also bred by Carwardine and got by Longhorns; and Fancy, of Aaron Rogers’ breed- ing. The yearling bull Sir Garnett 2489, bred by Ben Rogers and sired by The Grove 3d, was also bought.*

Morgan could not possibly have foreseen at that time Anxiety’s real value. No more could Carwar- dine. He had been unbeaten as a calf at the shows of 1877, including the Royal, the Bath and West, the Herefordshire, Ludlow, Leominster, and New- port exhibitions. As a yearling he was first at the Worcestershire, and second at the other important events. As a two-year-old in 1879 he swept the boards at the Royal and was second at the Bath and West. He was recognized as one of the crack young bulls of the day, but there was nothing on which to base any opinion so far as his probable value as a stock-getter was concerned. So Morgan bought him at the very good price of 200 guineas, and in all probability Carwardine thought him quite well sold at that figure, The bull had some slight de- formity in his front feet and ankles, and besides was faulted somewhat by the ‘‘talent’’ about the British showyards as being rather too ‘‘effeminate’’ to ever make a good breeding bull. But alas for the falli- bility of human judgments!

Anxieties 3d and 4th—The cow Tiny, by Long-

*Mr. John Gosling chanced to be in England at the time on a visit home, and quite by accident he met Morgan and Joe Scott in the streets of Liverpool the day the cattle were being loaded for America. Morgan said, “John, come with me and I'll show you the best bull you ever saw.” This was, of course, Anxiety, and Gosling waa so interested that he assisted in the debarkation to the extent of leading the famous bull on board the ship about to sail for America.

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horns—also the mother of Sir Bartle Frere, by Lord Wilton—was even then nursing one of the first of Anxiety’s get at Stocktonbury, a calf that was slated for a great career in the United States. Still another of Mr. Carwardine’s cows, Gay Lass, also by Longhorns, was at the time carrying to Anxiety’s cover the bull of all bulls so far as Ameri- can Hereford history is concerned. The first was Anxiety 3d 4466 (Clark’s), whose daughters at one time ruled our western shows; the other was Anxi- ety 4th 9904 (Gudgell & Simpson’s), one of the best stock bulls ever produced by any breed in any coun- try at any time since cattle annals have been kept.

Prettyface—Yet another Longhorns cow, named Prettymaid, dropped in August, 1879, a heifer by Anxiety that as a two-year-old was to prove the wonder of all England at the shows of 1881 and was to repeat her victories in America in 1882. We speak of Prettyface 5735, first at the Royal, first at the Bath and West, first at the Shropshire and West Midland, first at Hereford, first and champion over all ages at Worcester and champion female of any age or breed, defeating Lady Carew 3d, the best Shorthorn cow of the year in England. She was imported by Mr. Culbertson in 1881, and unlike many breeding animals with distinguished show- yard careers to their credit, she made a wonderful record as a breeder, giving birth to no less than eleven calves in ten years, none of them twins. She was in calf to Mr. Carwardine’s Lord Wilton when imported, and gave birth to the bull usually re-

Copyright photo by Parsons COW AND CALF AT PASTURE IN HEREFORDSHIRE.

Drawn from a photo by Bustin JOHN HILL’S RARITY AT TWENTY YEARS—Note the unmistakable evidences of constitution and flesh held at an extreme age.

426 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ferred to as ‘‘imported’’ Lord Wilton 5739, which was used successfully upon the Culbertson cows. Another son, Autocrat 10927, sired the beautiful show cow Lily, at one time in the hands of Mr. Elmendorf of Nebraska, probably the best Hereford cow of her day in the west.

Blood Concentration.—It is interesting to specu- late as to what Anxiety would have been worth to Mr. Carwardine had he been retained—doubtless cheap at 2,000 guineas, instead of the 200 paid on Mr. Culbertson’s account. It will be borne in mind that he was got by Longhorns and that his two greatest sons and his great daughter Prettyface were all out of cows by the same sire, so that a most interesting example of inbreeding is presented. This is heightened by the results achieved in Amer- ica by Gudgell & Simpson from their remarkable course of close Anxiety breeding presently to be noted. If the animals above mentioned afford any fair basis for prophecy, it would seem as if a con- tinued doubling of the Longhorns blood at Stock- tonbury through Anxiety would have been price- less, not only to England but to America as well. As luck would have it, however, the bull was doomed to cross the Atlantic, to leave but one small crop of remarkable calves, and to run a brief but meteoric career at the leading American shows—a martyr to the cause of advertising the breed at pub- lie exhibitions.

Anxiety’s Untimely Death—Mr. Culbertson had in James Powell a rare good herdsman in whose

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 427

capable hands Anxiety after his arrival at Hereford Park was carried along famously for the autumn shows. He was the sensation of that period. Like Imperial Caesar of old, he came, he was seen, and he conquered. All hats were off to the smoothest thick-fleshed bull of any breed this country had up. to that date seen. On the show circuits of 1879 and 1880 he met no defeats. His winnings in 1879 were: first at Lafayette, first in class and champion at the Illinois State Fair, and first at St. Louis. In 1880: first and champion Hereford bull at the Illinois State Fair and at head of first prize herd, first at Minneapolis, first at the Wisconsin State Fair, first and head of the first prize Hereford herd at St. Louis. Col. William S. King, the famous old-time Shorthorn showman, was a great admirer of the bull, and good-humoredly twitted the Hereford con- tingent by assuring them that Anxiety could not be a purely bred Hereford, saying: ‘‘Those brown spots around his eyes and those great level quarters certainly show a Shorthorn cross.’’ This of course was not taken seriously, but it illustrates the point that a new and improved type of the Hereford had now to be reckoned with by advocates of the Short- horns.

Mr. Culbertson believed that he had the best bull of that day in North America. He had now given the public a chance to see what a really high-class Hereford was like and so resolved to retire him at once from the showyard and to put him in condition for active service. His haste in this regard how-

428 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ever proved fatal. The bull had been brought back from the fairs very fat, and Powell was carrying him along on a comparatively simple diet—some oats, with bran and a little cake. But Mr. Culbert- son gave instructions that the cake and bran be cut out entirely and the bull confined strictly to sheaf oats. It was soon apparent that this was a mistake. In a few days he was taken sick and the owner, who was in Chicago at the time, was so ad- vised. Possibly Mr. Powell himself did not at the moment fully appreciate the gravity of the situa- tion. At any rate Mr. Culbertson did not express any special solicitude. The bull kept growing worse, notwithstanding the faithful herdsman’s best efforts, and a telegram urging that a veterinary surgeon be sent down to the farm at once was for- warded. This brought a quick response, but too late. Anxiety, the pride of two continents, died from impaction of the manifold a few minutes after the veterinarian arrived, lamented by his owner and the entire Hereford cattle breeding fraternity as easily the best bull of the breed seen up to that date in the United States..

Although he had just turned four years old, in recent years he has always been referred to in Here- ford circles as ‘‘old’’ Anxiety, this: merely to dis- tinguish him from the really ‘‘old’’ Anxieties, his sons, that made such names for themselves in suc- ceeding years.

Four Yearling Heifers Sold for $4,000.—Mr. Cul- bertson really got but one short crop of calves from

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 429

Anxiety; the showing interfered much with his work in the herd. His early death had naturally not been anticipated. As it was he left but twelve calves in the herd. Of these, probably the best were the bulls Anxiety 4th 2947 (not to be confused with the Exig- lish-bred Gudgell & Simpson bull of same name), and Anxiety 5th 2948. The former was out of imp. Cherry 24th and was sold to Mr. Culbertson’s old friend Mr. Frank Parmelee, the omnibus magnate, who had a farm on the Des Plaines River near Chi- cago.

In a letter written to the author in 1897 Mr. Cul- bertson said:

‘Anxiety was a particularly good getter of bulls rather than heifers, which bulls in turn were progenitors of show stock of both sexes. Dying as he did one year after coming over I got but twelve calves from him (seven bulls and five heifers), so that he scarcely had a fair trial in this country. Tempted by large prices I parted with the heifers and several bulls when yearlings. Two other bulls were lost to record on going to great ranches in the west. Mr. Earl’s Anxiety 6th never did much, but Parmelee’s Anxiety 4th 2947 and VanNatta’s Anxi- ety 5th 2948 proved potent factors in the upbuilding of the reputations of those herds.

‘‘Anxiety’s greatest sons, however, were Clark’s Anxiety 3d 4466 (alias Sir Garnett) and Gudgell & Simpson’s Anxiety 4th 9904, both imported and both from Longhorns dams. My imp. Prettyface 5735, by Anxiety 2238, had likewise a Longhorns dam, and the bull himself being by Longhorns shows a happy ‘nick’ in that inbreeding and cross- ing, as was the case with The Grove 3d-Spartan

430 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

cross. Prettyface, like her sire, had swept the show- yards of England in 1881 before coming here, and I exhibited her but one season. She gave me eleven calves in ten years (no twins) that were scattered all over the west and in South America.”’

In this connection it may be said that Mr. Cul- bertson probably induced more men of large means to engage in the breeding of Herefords than any other one man ever identified with them in this country.* Mr. Parmelee was one of these. At the time he bought Anxiety 4th 2947 he gave Culbert- son $1,000 each for four of his precious Anxiety heifers—the famous quartette, Helena 2d 2941, Helena 3d 2942, Helena 4th 2943, and Helena 5th 2936, all winners on the big circuit of 1881, and the second one named a daughter of the great Sir Rich- ard 2d cow Anguilla 1522, afterwards sold to Earl & Stuart and possibly the best model of a breeding matron ever seen in the Shadeland pastures, which is saying much.

Anxieties 4th and 5th—The Parmelee bull had been the first prize calf of 1881 at Chicago and at the Illinois State Fair, and second at Minneapolis and St. Louis. Another valuable son was Anxiety 5th 2948, that divided the honors with the calf just mentioned on the same circuit, standing second at Chicago and the Illinois State Fair, and first at Min- neapolis and St. Louis. He was out of the imported

*Another striking instance of this was the case of the late Philip D, Armour, who bought a grand bunch of Mr. Culbertson’s best-bred cows and presented them to his son P. D. Armour, Jr., at whose death they went into the appreciative hands of the late Kirk B. Armour of Kansas City and constituted the founda- tion of the fine herd maintained under William Cummings’ man- agement at Excelsior Springs.

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 431

cow Nancy 2d 2534, and was sold to Messrs. Fowler & VanNatta, Fowler, Ind., in whose large herd he rendered good service, his blood being carried by many of the show cattle sent out in later years from that establishment.

Anxiety would beyond doubt have made a mem- orable record as a sire had he been spared for serv- ice, but unfortunately again for the best interests of the Herefords in the middle west Mr. Culbert- son during the years immediately following the brief period of service in the herd was selling freely of his young stock to Joseph Scott for use on the southwestern range. Hence some of the rare blood went to wear itself out in that exacting service.

Description of Anxiety. We have already stated that as a youngster Anxiety had been faulted a bit in England as being ‘‘effeminate,’’ but good judges here assert that the head itself became thoroughly masculine, although the horns were not so heavy as the average. They were tapering, fairly well spread, pitched forward and a little downward. However, he was not dish-faced, which is usually considered a mark of weakness of constitution, had good width between the eyes and a wide poll. His neck was good until the joining of the shoul- ders. He had a slight depression just forward of the shoulder point which was attributed to the un- natural position in which he had to stand on account of his deformity. His shoulders were splendidly covered, his crops wide and full, his ribs broadly sprung and deep.

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Anxiety had a most extraordinary covering of back, loin and ribs, and was well let down in the flanks. The hips were well covered, with good length of quarter, although a trifle narrow at the tailhead. He had a full twist but his thighs ap- peared somewhat light. The hind legs were fairly straight. He was distinguished above everything else for a wealth of mellow flesh, smoothly spread. He had no white ‘‘mane’’—the absence of which some have erroneously thought indicates impure breeding in a Hereford—and weighed at full ma- turity about 2,250 pounds.

After the lapse of thirty years Mr. Powell’s* com- ment on Anxiety’s conformation is as follows:

‘‘He had a splendid Hereford head—wide between the horns, and set on a short neck, with hardly any white on top. He was wide between the fore legs, with a good brisket, no loose leather. His weak- ness, if any, was in his heartgirth. He was good over the crops with a perfect back and loin. He had a well sprung rib and a perfectly-set-on tail. He also had good straight quarters and short legs, and was a remarkably smooth bull. I think the most he weighed was about 2,200 pounds.”’

Culbertson’s Importations of the Early ‘‘Eigh-

*Powell was of course familiar with “Old Dick,” Sir Richard 2d, and gives this description of him:

“I remember him as a remarkably smooth bull, rather light in color and not weighing more than 2,000 pounds when fat. I consider him one of the best sires of the breed. I fed out several of his calves, both for T. L. Miller and for C. M. Culbertson, and they were always easily recognized by their smooth quarters and splendid coats of hair. I believe he was the sire of more good heifers than bulls. However, in either case he was hard to beat.”

The old bull did not have the best of dispositions. While at Beecher he one day nearly “got” his man, One of the helpers had undertaken to punish him for “bawling” in his box, and “Dick” paid him for it.

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 433

ties.’’—In 1880 Mr. Culbertson brought out thirty head, including the Royal prize-winning cows Downton Rose 4486, bred by Fenn of Stonebroke House, and Nannete 4511, from the stock of T. Myd- dleton. In 1881 came Prettyface .(already men- tioned) and Juliet, both by Anxiety, Perfection 3d, and others. In 1882 the importation totalled 26 head, and included the Royal prize-winning yearling heifer Princess and the fine Philip Turner cow Sil- via 8649 by Corsair 4581, afterwards sold to Mr. Parmelee.

Miller Importation of 1880.—Mr. Miller went to England in May, 1880, and bought 114 head, his largest purchase being from Mr. Samuel Goode of Ivingtonbury, the historic place where Mr. T. Rob- erts had bred, in 1861, Sir Thomas, the grandsire of old Dolly Varden. Six head were purchased from Mrs. Sarah Edwards of Wintercott, who bred the celebrated cow Leonora, which was exhibited at all the leading fairs in England and had been pro- nounced by many competent judges the best cow of any breed ever exhibited in England. Mr. Miller bought a half-brother and a half-sister of this cow. Ten head were purchased from John Price of The Court House, Pembridge. Twenty head were pur- chased from John Hill of Felhampton Court, Church Stretton, Shropshire. Seven head were purchased from Mr. Grassett, formerly of Smythies & Grasset. This Mr. Smythies was a son of the Rev. Mr. Smy- thies, one of the famous advocates of the Hereford cattle in England between 1840 and 1850 who

434 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

challenged the Shorthorn breeders to a test of the feeding qualities of the two breeds in several ways and at different times. One bull was bought of J. B. & G. H. Green of Marlow Lodge. This was Dauphin 18th, a young bull of great scale. Six head were purchased of Mr. J. H. Arkwright of Hampton Court, the breeder of old Sir Richard 2d (4984). Other purchases were made of Mr. Yeomans of Stretton Court, near Hereford, Mr. Thomas Nott of Buckton Park, Mr. Halloway of Letton, Mr. Thomas Lewis of Woodhouse, near Pembridge, and others.

Mr. Miller returned to the United States on July 1, 1880, and finding that there was no way to avoid a quarantine of 90 days arranged for this on an 800- acre farm on the Baltimore & Ohio R. R. near Balti- more, Md., on which no cattle had been for ten years. He then went back to England and shipped the cattle from Bristol by the Great Western Steam- ship Line, on the steamer Gallian, Capt. Moen, mas- ter. They arrived safely, although they had to ride out a severe equinoctial gale. The cattle after pass- ing quarantine were loaded by Mr. Miller’s son, T. EK. Miller, on Jan. 8, 1881, and ran through as a ‘‘special’’ on passenger train time to Beecher, IIl., and unloaded there on the evening of Jan. 10, 1881, every animal in perfect health.*

*In March, 1885, Mr. Miller reported, by way of illustratin: the strong vitality of the Hereford cows, that in the fall of 1880 before the arrival of this large importation of Herefords he offered the old cow Baroness 3d, then over 15 years old, for $250. She was not sold. On April 6, 1881, she dropped a heifer calf, Baby 4029, on May 28, 1882, she dropped Blink Bonny 5986, and on June 5, 1883, she dropped Midget 6911. On Feb. 15, 1884, Baby dropped Banquo by _ Success. n Oct. 18, 1884, Blink Bonny droped Bonny Boy by Success. In February, 1885, Baby had a calf by Success. Thus the fifteen-year-old cow in little more

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 435

English Testimonial to T. L. Miller—In the sum- mer of 1883 Mr. Miller re-visited England, and pur- chased 108 head of Herefords which were shipped from Liverpool on the S. S. Mississippi, Aug. 18. The cattle were unloaded at Quebec, and after being quarantined there were shipped to Beecher. In- cluded in this shipment was what Mr. Miller called his ‘‘testimonial herd.’’

During this visit of the veteran American ‘‘pro- moter’’ of Hereford interests, the English breeders decided to honor him with a testimonial of their appreciation of his persistent efforts at extending the market for their cattle in the United States. The fact was that in his attempted demonstration of the merits of the cattle he had paid little regard to the matter of personal profit to himself. Possibly he did not manage wisely from a financial stand- point; he was not apt to stop to count the cost when he set out to prove something to the public. At any rate, it was generally known that he was not in the best of. circumstances at this time, and as Here- fordshire was already reaping richly where he had sown it was agreed that the proposed testimonial might best take the form of a subscription fund. than four years had an increase of six head, leaving Blink Bonny

and Midget well on in calf again. Old Baroness 3d bred until she was nineteen years old and never had but one bull calf.

Mr. Miller also reported _in 1885 that in February, 1880, he offered the two-year heifer Favorite 3808, bred ay Samuel Goode of Ivingtonbury, for $600, but she was not sold. n Feb, 28, 1881, she dropped Frosty 4022; on Jan, 17, 1882, she dropped Favorite Lad 6762 by Success; on Jan. 20, 1883, she dropped Francis Edward 6501 by Winter DeCote, and on Dec. 13, she dropped Fanny Goode 7400. The first two, Frosty and Favorite Lad, were sold for $900; Francis Edward was retained and _in March, 1885, was due to calve again in three months, while Favorite and Fanny Goode had in the meantime been sold for $1,400.

436 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Accordingly a banquet was held at the Green ‘Dragon Hotel in Hereford, and after the usual com- plimentary toasts and speeches the sum of 200 sov- ereigns was presented to the guest of honor. Sir Joseph Baily, M. P., presided, assisted by Messrs. Duckham and Stephen Robinson of Lynhales. Among those present were Lord Bateman and the Earl of Coventry. With this fund a few cattle were bought and maintained for some time afterward on the farm at Beecher under the name of ‘‘The Testi- monial Herd.’’

Upon this same occasion George Morgan was pre- sented with a silver cup, as an expression of the ap-

preciation in which his services, also, were held in Herefordshire.*

Clark’s Anxiety 3d Imported.—In common with

*Morgan was naturally a very prominent figure in the cattle trade during the days when he was busy executing orders for the pe cree and importation of Herefords for tee lights in the rade. He was big, brawny and bearded, a good liver, and fond of a good dinner and all that went with it. Divers and sundry bottles of wine are said to have been cracked when the Anxiety deal was closed at Stocktonbury. He was nimble-witted too, and many a good story is told to illustrate his fund of humor and repartee—none better perhaps than his come-back at William R. Duncan, one of the famous old-time Illinois breeders and exhib- itors of Shorthorns.

It happened at Indianapolis. Duncan had been expatiating on the glorious traditions and the wondrous history of the Shorthorn breed. He told of the Collings and of Bates, of the Booths, of the great animals sold at fabulous prices, and of the just pride that every owner of a Shorthorn must feel in the possession of some- thing that had such an illustrious past. The Herefords hac no such proud and ancient lineage, etc., etc., etc.

‘When he had finished Morgan was called upon to reply to this reflection upon the “white faces” as a breed lacking the charm of historic interest. Getting on his feet and hesitating for a moment, he said in his usual impulsive manner:

“I am not so sure I can quote ye the first of all references to the Hereford cattle, but I know this—that when Jacob found out that his old father-in-law Laban was giving him_the worst of it in the matter of wages, and when the old man finally agreed to turn over to Jacob all the calves that came ring-streaked or oes. he ‘nipped’ right off, and bought a bunch o’ ’Ereford

3.”

With this biblical shot he sat down amidst laughter and ap- plause that fairly shook the building.

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 437

all other western breeders Thomas Clark had been favorably impressed by the character of Mr. Cul- bertson’s Anxiety. When George Morgan went back to England for more cattle in 1880 Mr. Clark gave him an order to buy a son of Anxiety if possible. The importation was quarantined at Quebec and Clark went down to see the bull. Morgan told him to look through the lot and see if he could find one that suited him, saying that there was one bull he could not have. This was Hero 4874, brought out for William Constable; he was a show bull that be- came a familiar figure at western fairs. Clark had little difficulty in locating a yearling possessing that same smooth flesh that had been so admired in Anxiety. This proved to be Anxiety 3d 4466, but Morgan himself claimed a half interest in the bull. Mr. Clark thought that he had given orders for the purchase of such a bull outright for his own indi- vidual account. Morgan, while denying this, finally agreed that the bull should remain in Clark’s pos- session and that he should not leave the farm unless Clark’s interest were sold. Furthermore, he was to give Clark first option on purchase of the other half. In a subsequent settlement Morgan transferred his interest to Mr. Culbertson. Some months later Cul- bertson went to Clark’s to ask that the bull be sent down to the Culbertson farm for a time. Clark re- monstrated that this was not the understanding with Morgan, and on recalling the terms Culbertson agreed to carry out Morgan’s bargain. Culbertson finally offered to give Clark $10 if he would say

438 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

whether he would buy or sell at a certain price. Clark replied, ‘‘I will give you $20 if you will de- clare yourself.’’? Culbertson finally agreed to give or take $1,200 and Clark promptly agreed to pay it. The bull had cost £100 at Carwardine’s. Thus the dispute was settled, and the bull remained in Mr. Clark’s possession until his death at sixteen years of age.

Anxiety 3d in Mr. Clark’s hands proved to be one of the greatest heifer-getters ever maintained in service in a Hereford herd in the middle west. At an early date Mr. Culbertson gave George F. Baker, Goodenow, IIl., $1,000 for one of his daughters, the heifer Sunshine. Probably the best of the Anxiety 3d females were Peerless 2d, Peerless 3d and Eletta. Mr. Clark was an exhibitor in the western show- yards for more than thirty years, and throughout almost the entire period his show herds were made up of cattle of his own production. In fact, the use of Anxiety 3d in the herd was followed by such gratifying results that it was not necessary to seek showyard material elsewhere.. Mr. Clark’s record as a successful exhibitor of cattle of his own breed- ing has been surpassed by few breeders on either side of the Atlantic, continuity of appearance in the great national showyards considered. He not only bred his own cattle, but personally looked after their fitting for exhibition.

As a three-year-old Anxiety 3d defeated such good bulls as Sir Garnet, Tregrehan, Hero (4874) and other celebrities of that day. He was not shown

CLARK’S ANXIETY 8D—From a drawing by Lou Burk.

440 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

after four years of age on account of breaking down behind. This, while bringing his showyard career to a close, did not affect his usefulness as a stock bull. The prize offered at the Illinois State Fair for the best four animals, get of one sire, was won four years in succession by daughters of Anxiety 3d. His heifers were almost universally noted for their fine size, depth of flesh, quality, smoothness and good breed character.

Description of Anxiety 3d.— Anxiety 3d weighed in good flesh about 2,300 pounds. His most valu- able and.distinguishing characteristic was his flesh- ing, the depth and quality of which greatly resem. bled that of his famous sire. His head was not just ideal, although strong and masculine. His face was perhaps a trifle long. The horn was rather heavy, but well spread, and pitched forward and down- ward with a slight incurve. He stood well on the ground, and possessed more style than his sire. He had good well covered shoulders, excellent neck veins, full crops, richly fleshed back and loin, ribs well arched and well let down, smooth hips, and level quarters which were well filled and of good length. He was also excellent in the twist and thighs.

Anxiety 3d was first shown as a two-year-old, usually standing second that year to Hero 4352. Hero was a very low-legged, deep-fleshed bull with a splendid head, and had been a winner in Eng- land before importation. He weighed about 2,400 pounds, and after Anxiety 3d broke down for show

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 441

purposes Mr. Clark bought Hero from his importer, Mr. Constable, and showed him for two years suc- cessfully, afterwards selling him to go to Ohio for $1,300. Subsequently Hero was taken to Kansas. He was clearly one of the best bulls of his day.

The Anxiety-Peerless Nick.—Thomas Clark had been showing cattle since 1870, when he exhibited an Ohio-bred herd at the Illinois State Fair at Free- port. For thirty-three consecutive years he was ‘‘in the running’’ at the leading western shows. The most valuable purchases of cows and heifers made to strengthen the foundations of his herd were the eight heifers secured out of the Earl & Stuart im- portation of 1881, which he as agent had selected in Herefordshire. By arrangement with Earl & Stuart Mr. Clark obtained out of this importation the Lord Wilton heifer Peerless, that produced to the cover of Anxiety 3d such remarkable animals as Peerless 2d and Peerless 3d, and the noted show and breeding bull Peerless Wilton. Another valu- able heifer out of this importation was the yearling Duchess 2d, that possessed the usual scale of the stock from the herd of Messrs. Green in which she was bred; in Mr. Clark’s herd she became a great cow, possessing wonderful smoothness as well as size. Unfortunately she did not prove altogether satisfactory as a producer. Another of Mr. Clark’s selections from the importation was the heifer Brown Beauty, by Colorado, from the herd of George Childs. She became one of the most valu- able breeding cows Mr, Clark ever owned, her

442 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

daughters and granddaughters contributing large- ly to his subsequent wonderful showyard success. However, none of these selections turned out quite so valuable as Peerless. She grew into one of the greatest cows the American showyard has ever known, and the first time she was brought out de- feated Earl & Stuart’s charming Lord Wilton heifer Venus, that was considered the star of the entire importation to which she belonged. Peerless and her daughters won innumerable prizes and cham- pionships in the hottest competitions at the leading shows of the middle west for a series of years.

Adams Earl and Charles B. Stuart.—Prominent among those most active in promoting the interests of Hereford cattle in America throughout the era of their great rise in popularity must be mentioned Mr. Adams Earl and his son-in-law Charles B. Stuart. Their fine farm of Shadeland on the Wea (pronounced ‘‘We-aw’’) Plains near Lafayette, Ind., became the great American Hereford show place of its time.

The farm comprised about 1,400 acres largely set in good bluegrass sod and with perfect drainage, lying well above the level of the Wabash bottoms. It afforded an ample supply of sweet nutritious grass, such as good Herefords so well know how to utilize. While the farmhouse was unpretentious, expense was not spared in equipping the place well for the breeding of purebred cattle. Numerous small pastures admitted of effective division of the herd by various ages and sexes; large and commo-

ADAMS BARL.

444 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

dious barns were provided, and provision made for many roomy boxes for the breeding bulls, calving cows or animals in training for the shows. A 27,000-gallon reservoir, with pipes to pastures and paddocks, afforded a supply of good water. The sum of $6,000 was expended in improving the road- way leading to the farm. Fences and buildings were immaculate with whitewash. The lots were graveled. In later years, when the herd under the management of ‘‘Uncle John’’ Lewis was the best- groomed and best-advertised collection of Here- fords in North America, Shadeland was indeed the Mecca for all lovers of good white faces.

Mr. Earl was a wealthy merchant of Lafayette owning large tracts of farming land and Mr. Stuart a younger man of fine attainments, a successful lawyer of the same city. Mr. Earl was engaged in farming and cattle-feeding operations at Earl Park in association with Mr. A. D. Raub. They had a good lot of Shorthorns at one time, but Mr. Earl had noted that his friends and neighbors, Messrs. Seabury & Sample, were topping the-Chicago mar- kets frequently with Hereford steers.* After feed- ing out a few on his‘own place he became satisfied that the ‘‘white faces’’ were destined to succeed. He had seen something of the home-bred cattle of that time, but knowing that they were as yet in but limited supply he opened a correspondence with

*Seabury & Sample at a later date built up a good herd of pedigree Herefords. Mr. Seabury lived in the east, Robert Sam- ple, the active manager, was an extensive cattle feeder whose father had been a pork packer at one time interested in the busi- ness with C. M. Culbertson.

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 445

old-country breeders that soon led up to direct im- portations from Herefordshire.

Importation of 1880.—Mr. Earl went to England in company with Mr. Stuart during the summer of 1880. With the assistance of Tom Rogers, a well known live stock auctioneer, Mr. Stuart selected the first shipment of cattle constituting the founda- tion of the Shadeland herd. Mr. Earl owned the farm and throughout the cattle-breeding operations conducted on it had personal supervision of the land and crops; Mr. Stuart held an interest in the herd and directed the breeding and showyard oper- ations.

This importation included the heifers Bonny Ar- row 9425, Fancy Arrow 5432, and Blossom 8th 5394 from the herd of Rees Keene, Pencraig, Monmouth- shire, and Perfection 2750, Perfection 4th 5474, and Picnic 5428 from the stock of F. W. Morris, Shuck- nell Court, Herefordshire. However it soon ap- peared that ‘‘bigger game’’ was wanted. ;

An Historic Conference.—In the autumn of 1881 Tom Clark was on the show circuit, as usual, with a well conditioned lot of American-bred cattle. One of his first shows was made at Lafayette, which was indeed for many years the seat of one of the most important cattle fairs of the middle west. Mr. Earl brought in a few imported animals, but Clark re- ceived the ribbons. He was at that time an entire stranger to both Earl and Stuart but it did not take them long to get acquainted with him, nor did they waste much time in figuring out that the keen-wit-

446 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ted young English-American probably knew a thing or two about Herefords that might be turned at that juncture to their own advantage. Clark was invited to dine at the big mansion with its beau- tiful grounds on the hill in the environs of the city. A big idea was in Stuart’s mind, and Mr. Earl lent willing ear. James H. Sanders, father of the writer of these notes, was present as an invited guest. His- tory was in the making that day.

After the Lord Wiltons.—Lord Wilton and his get were the reigning sensation of the hour in Eng- land. Culbertson had got possession of Anxiety and his wonderful daughter, Prettyface. The ‘‘plainish’’ old-style American-bred sorts, descend- ed from the Stone, Corning-Sotham, Merryman, Aldrich and other pioneer stock, no longer satisfied.

The brains of big men, backed by big bank bal- ances, were becoming fired with ambition to own the best that the old-world pastures and showyards could supply. Shadeland was an ideal place to plant the Hereford standard upon a height that would stamp it ‘‘headquarters.’’ The time was ripe for a ‘‘ten-strike.’?’ Such was the dream by which Charles B. Stuart was obsessed that night, and what is more to the point, in due course of time the dream came true.

Over the coffee and cigars the proposition was developed. Would Clark undertake the journey to England that was to make it a reality? Would he, for a consideration, agree to go abroad at once and see if American gold would tempt Tom Car-

CHARLES B. STUART.

448 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

wardine to let go the best of the Lord Wilton bulls and heifers? This was to be the prime objective, but he was not to stop at that. Incidentally, any other cream he might be permitted to skim was to be taken. Now Clark has never been accused of being shy of mother-wit. He could but be delighted to learn that the Hereford cause in America had gained such aggressive converts. He could not be insensible to the compliment implied in being asked to serve as the agent in such an important matter, involving as it did the responsibility of the handling of much money belonging to someone else; but he had irons of his own in the fire, he was just getting on his own feet financially, his relations with Cul- bertson and others who were now rapidly supersed- ing Mr. Miller in the leadership of the ‘‘party’’ were of the best, and he could not afford to make any mistakes. So he listened to the scheme unfolded that September evening in the long ago. He would take it under consideration. He would give an an- swer later. He must have full liberty as to selec- tions and values. He would want to be permitted to select after his return, by some method mutually. satisfactory to both parties, a half dozen heifers for himself from the lot to be imported. There was much talk, but with no conclusion reached.

Clark Goes to England As Agent.—It was not un- til the prizes were being placed at St. Louis a few weeks later that matters came to a head. Mr. Earl again urged the proposition, and after agreeing to all the terms the plan was arranged as contem-

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 449

plated. The fairs being over, Mr. Clark took pas- sage for Liverpool and was soon in the garden-land of his fathers, armed with the biggest commission of its kind ever fulfilled in Herefordshire up to that time. Indeed it has been claimed, all things con- sidered, that the resultant purchases as a lot had a greater influence upon American Hereford breed- ing than any other one shipment ever made to our shores from the mother country. This, however, is doubtful. It was rich in point of show cattle highly fitted, but not all of these proved profitable.

Sensational Shipment of 1882.—Mr. Clark took plenty of time in locating what he desired, and when in March, 1882, he assembled his purchases for export to America it was agreed by both press and public that no such lot of cattle had ever before left Herefordshire. It was a gaping crowd that watched the long line of Royal winners and other ‘top notchers,’? 125 in number, wend its wav through the streets on the first stages of the journey to the New World. Not less than fifty leading breeders came to see the aggregation headed for America.

It required capital to finance such buying, but Mr. Ear! had full faith both in his agent and in the re- ception such cattle would receive in the west; his confidence was in neither particular misplaced. Some inkling of what was coming preceded the ar- rival of this sensational purchase, and expectancy was everywhere on tip-toe waiting with intense in- terest to see the great importation on its way to

450 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the west, with Royal ribbons flying and the Wiltons at their head. The importation was landed at Port- land and quarantined on H. C. Burleigh’s farm. Sir Bartle Frere and Romeo.—First in the list was the flash yearling, Sir Bartle Frere 6419, first at the Royal show of 1881, for which Carwardine was paid $3,000, the record price for a Hereford bull in England up to that date. He was born on the Fourth of July, 1880, possibly predestined from the beginning to head this triumphal array of Eng- land’s best to ‘‘the land of the free.’’ By another strange freak of fortune on the very same American national holiday another of Mr. Carwardine’s cows, Rosaline, by DeCote, had given birth to the bull Romeo 6420, which also gained great honor and was bought by Mr. Clark to stand at Sir Bartle’s side in the great days that followed at Shadeland. ‘‘Bartle,’’ as he was always known in stable par- lance, was every inch the show bull, having had the rare distinction, before importation of being the ‘‘runner-up’’ to his own sire at Tredegar show in a class open to all breeds, Lord Wilton being nine years old at the time. He had the forward finish and grace that commonly went with the Wilton blood, a wide loin, long quarters, good cover of flesh evenly disposed, neat bone, and the bearing on pa- rade that ever appeals to the galleries. If he was of the ‘‘matinee idol’’ type, Romeo, his half-brother and companion in this trans-Atlantic pilgrimage, furnished an admirable ‘‘foil,’’ for he was a sure- enough ‘‘feeder’s delight’’—low of leg, short of

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 451

neck, round-barreled, yellow-skinned and mellow- fleshed. ‘‘Bartle’’ never left Shadeland except at show time, but Romeo went up on ‘‘Turkey Foot,’’ as the Earl Park place was locally termed, and left a progeny invariably furnished with mellow hides and the best of hair. One of his sons, Equity 2d 12547, out of imp. Pansy 9th by Regulus, was sold at eleven months to go to Missouri at $1,000. Sir Bartle Frere was shown repeatedly and success- fully, and was used steadily as a stock bull until his death. He was specially noted as a heifer-get- ter, his daughters, including all of the long line designated as Lady Wiltons, maturing into beauti- ful cows which were quite the pride of the breeding herd in its palmy days. Of these Lady Wilton 26th and Lady Wilton 27th were perhaps the best.

Prince Edward and Royal 16th.—In addition to these two noted bulls there came Prince Edward 7001, also a yearling and also by Lord Wilton, and out of Lilac by DeCote, hence an own brother in blood to Romeo. He was first shown at Lafayette in his yearling form, defeating Anxiety 4th and Anxi- ety 5th, and he later stood at the head of the first prize young herd at Chicago in 1882. He after- wards acquired a wide reputation in the hands of George W. Henry, a Chicago lumber merchant who maintained for some years a large herd at Rossland Park, Ashkum, Ill. Mr. Henry paid Mr. Earl $1,500 for this bull.

While at Green’s (of Marlow) Mr. Clark found a bull nearly two years old put aside for special feed-

452 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ing. He was a big-framed smooth one and though in very ordinary flesh was evidently not regarded as anything specially good. Asked what he was doing with the bull Mr. Green replied, ‘‘To tell the truth, if not sold soon we shall be sending him to the shambles.’’ A price being requested, the sum of £75 was named. Clark rescued him from the butcher and fetched him to Shadeland.

This was Royal 16th 6459, that fed up to 2,010 pounds for the Lafayette show of September, 1882, where he beat both Romeo and Tregrehan. He headed the Earl & Stuart aged show herd until Sir Bartle Frere grew to maturity, and was used as a stock bull up to the time of his sale in November, 1883, to Mr. A. A. Crane, Osco, IIl., at $1,020. He was got by Chieftain 4516 out of Lady 8th by Zealous 1408, he by Sir Benjamin 36th out of Gov- erness by Sovereign 221. One of his sons, Emperor 3d 11227,* out of imp. Silver Star by Spartan, was sold by Mr. Earl to W. A. Colt of Missouri at ten months of age for $1,000. Another, Emperor, out of the famous Venus, was sold to C. D. Hudson of Missouri for $1,500.

Venus and Henrietta at $2,500.— With Sir Bartle Frere, Romeo and Prince Edward to stand for the Wilton blood in the male line, there came the beau-

*The Royal 16th bulls were growthy ones. In “The Breeder's Gazette” for Oct. 25, 1883, Mr, Earl reported that one of the Emperors, by Royal 16th, the second of that name, out of the imported cow Lofty 7th by John Hill’s Merry Monarch, weighed at eight months old 847 pounds, running with other calves and with no nurse, having been raised with his own mother. While there ig nothing specially remarkable in this it illustrates again the scale that commonly went with the Green blood, and inci-

gentally indicates that the Merry Monarch mother was an excel- lent milker.

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 453

tiful heifer Venus, which had been first at the Royal. With her bewitching head, her light in- curved drooping horns, her phenomenally compact conformation, extraordinary width, depth and shortness of leg, Venus was a strictly sensational heifer of any breed. With her was the handsome Henrietta, also a recipient of Royal honors, a fit maid-of-honor to little Venus. Carwardine received $2,500 of Shadeland’s money for the pair.

Clark Gets Peerless——As if this were not suffi- cient to start a Wilton boom, there came the stun- ning sisters Delight 2d and Peerless, Venus 2d, Venus 3d, Henrietta 2d, Jessie 2d, Gertrude Wilton, Bramble 2d, Ruth Wilton, Rosabella Wilton, Lady C, and Floss—all daughters of Lord Wilton.

In pursuance of his agreement to allow Mr. Clark to select a few heifers for his own herd, Mr. Earl after first reserving Venus and Henrietta allowed his agent to make.a choice of all the rest. Clark selected Peerless and she proved one of the pillars of his fortune as a cattle breeder, as will appear later. Choice was then alternated until Clark got eight head, all taken over at the cost price.

In this historic importation was also included the famous Carwardine breeding cow Tiny, mother of Sir Bartle Frere and Clark’s Anxiety 3d, and good cows from Philip Turner’s, George Childs’, T. D. Burlton’s, and other leading herds..

Garfield. While the object of the purchase and importation of so many Lord Wiltons was to take advantage of the existing popularity of that blood,

454 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

there was also bought from John Price at 600 guineas the bull calf Garfield 7015, by Quickset 6853, he by Regulus by Sir Roger by Sir Thomas, out of Plum 7016 by Challenge 1561. He had been ' first in the calf class at the Royal show, was clearly the best of his year‘in England, and in America de- veloped pronounced substance and prepotency, be- coming widely celebrated as a bull-getter. He had not the finish of Sir Bartle Frere, but presented all those enduring qualities that had made the Here- fords famous—good bone, deep flesh, a rugged mas- culinity, and an iron constitution. He was main- tained in service at Shadeland until his death, and made his greatest success as a cross upon Sir Bartle Frere heifers. The famous Earls of Shadeland were all sired by Garfield, the greatest of them being Earl of Shadeland 22d 27147, a fine show bull and a good sire that left among other fine daughters in the herd Shadeland Cora, Sunflower 2d, Sunflower 3d, and Shadeland Daisy.

John Lewis, Herd Manager.—In June, 1883, John Lewis came out from Herefordshire, and shortly after entered the service of Earl & Stuart. Born in the parish of Eaton Bishop, on Nov. 6, 1833, he had for some years been farming on his own ac- count, breeding a few good cattle and occasionally competing successfully at local shows. Charles B. Stuart and Mr. Lewis made a good combination. Stuart possessed one of the keenest minds ever at- tracted to cattle-breeding problems in the United States. Although a lawyer by profession, he be-

: Copyrngnt photo by Bustin AT PASTURE IN HEREFORDSHIRE. 2

456 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

came an enthusiast upon the subject of high-class Herefords and soon came to know the good ones. Mr. Lewis was an ideal selection as manager of the fine herd to be built up from this choice importation of 1882. <A lover of cattle, a rare judge and skilful feeder, learned in the mysteries of stock-breeding, respected and loved in all his relations, the annals of American cattle-breeding afford few instances of greater success achieved than that worked out largely by Lewis and Mr. Stuart in the production and development of the Shadeland Herefords. During the golden days of the business that fol- lowed this Lord Wilton-Garfield importation, the herd, at one time numbering between 200 and 300 head, was in many respects the most attractive of any on American soil. During the year 1883 the sales at private treaty from the herd aggregated 43 head and averaged over $500. In November of that year 37 head were sold at auction at Kansas City for an average of $576.35, including the cow Perfec- tion 2d to C. D. Hudson, Marshall, Mo., at $1,070, Brunette to Fowler & VanNatta at $1,000, Chris- tabel 3d to Howard Bros., Edgar, Neb., at $1,000, and Royal 16th to Mr. Crane at $1,020. The cattle were always ‘‘fit,’’ the calves well ‘‘done,’’ the young bulls admirably managed, the sappy yearlings and ripe two-year-old heifers sorted by age so as to im- press by a massing of their beauty, the breeding matrons always in shape to admire, and the herd bulls the magnet that drew visitors from all states. ‘Uncle John’’ Lewis is entitled to a very large

HEAVY BUYING IN ENGLAND BEGINS 457

share of the credit for the celebrity attained by this splendidly maintained establishment. At no other Hereford-breeding farm in America has there ever been made a more effective standing “presentation of the breed. It mattered not when one went to Shadeland. It was a show place any day of the year. Mr. Lewis was ably assisted in his work by Tom Andrews, an Englishman who always rendered efficient help in connection with the training of the show cattle. Tom Waters, a brother of Géorge Waters, one of the most famous of the old-time western herdsmen, also worked under Mr. Lewis, having in especial charge the beautiful herd of breeding cows so long the admiration of Shadeland visitors.*

*At this writing (1914) Mr. Lewis, long since retired, still lives near Lafayette. Although in feeble health, at the age of four-score years, the veteran cattleman looks back over a long life well spent among the animals to which he was so ardently devoted, and dreams of the days when his pets were the pride of the countryside.

GHAPTER X.

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY.

Another of the partners in the old Chicago Stock Yards packing firm of Culbertson, Blair & Co. be- came largely interested in Herefords, and was spe- cially fortunate in forming a connection with one of the best cattlemen America has yet produced. The one was Moses Fowler, banker and landowner of Lafayette, Ind.; the other was the late William S. VanNatta. The co-partnership formed between them in 1876 lasted for more than a quarter of a century, and had a far-reaching and in every way a wholesome influence upon the development of the business of cattle breeding in the western United States.

Mr. Fowler had a large body of undeveloped land in Benton Co., Ind., some 25,000 acres in extent, which he wished to put to some profitable use. No plow had ever run a furrow through the native sod. The grazing of cattle was of course the logical solution to this problem, and Mr. VanNatta was the ideal man to handle the practical side of the busi- ness. Neither owned any Herefords at the time.

Mr. VanNatta’s Early Experiences—Mr. Van-

Natta was born in Tippecanoe Co., Ind., in 1830. 458

apes ae”

Ee

MOSES FOWLER.

460 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

For a dozen years or more prior to the formation of the partnership with Moses Fowler, he had been buying and shipping cattle to the eastern markets, chiefty to Buffalo and New York. That was of course a wearisome business then, compared with now, There were long drives to loading chutes, and once on the rails the service was not always of the ex- press sort. ‘‘However,’’ Mr. VanNatta once said, ‘‘we always got there some how and usually found good entertainment and comfortable accommoda- tions while the business of selling was in progress. The methods in vogue then would probably seem somewhat crude nowadays, but we nevertheless found markets that enabled us to turn many an Indiana pasture and cornfield into cash at a good profit, via the live stock route.’’

During this period the only improved cattle of which there was any trace throughout the country generally were the Shorthorns and their grades. These, Mr. VanNatta testified, ‘‘made good cattle when matured, but they were at that time inclined to be leggy and matured slowly, having to be kept until they were three or four years old before they were in a condition to market.’’

In the fall of 1876 Mr. VanNatta went to New Mexico and bought 1,500 steers to place in the big Benton county pastures, and in the spring of 1877 he took up his residence in the town of Fowler. His attention was directed to the new breed of ‘‘white faces’’ and they struck him as being of a type that would be inclined to make more beef off grass and

Se als

WILLIAM 8. VANNATTA.

462 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

at an earlier age than the kind of Shorthorns then available.

It must be remembered that up to this date land values and the price of foodstuffs had been com- paratively cheap. The cost of production of steers was not great, but prices of both farms and food products were then advancing, as indeed they still are, so that it was imperative that the feeder seek an early-maturing, quick-feeding, thick-fleshed class of cattle. The Herefords seemed to meet these re-

.quirments, and it was decided to introduce them on the Fowler lands.

First of the Fowler Herefords.—It was about 1878 that the first Hereford bull was bought from Mr. Robert Sample, who in connection with Mr. Seabury had established a herd in that vicinity. During the following years twenty-five or thirty head, mainly young cows and heifers, were bought from T. L. Miller, they being Mr. VanNatta’s choice of his en- tire herd at that time. Among these was the heifer Princess 1990, by Seventy-six, he by Sir Richard 2d. Princess was out of Prairie Flower, one of Mr. Mil- ler’s best daughters of old Success, and afterwards produced to the cover of Tregrehan the famous bull Fowler. Another one of this original purchase was Viola, by Sir Richard 2d, afterwards shown success- fully at leading fairs against females of all breeds; mated with Star Grove 1st she produced Viola 4th, another extra show cow.

Tregrehan Bought.—In 1880 a few cows and a bull were imported from England with the first lot

A FAMOUS SHOW HERD, BRED AND EXHIBITED BY FOWLER & VANNATTA, WITH BULL FOWLER AT HBAD— From the lithograph by Cecil Palmer.

464 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

brought out by Messrs. Earl & Stuart. Mr. Van- Natta’s instructions to them were to buy for his account as good a bull as they could find, no limit being placed on the price to be paid. Under this commission Tredegar was delivered, but he was a disappointment. Speaking of the incident Mr. Van- Natta said: ‘‘When he arrived I did not care much ‘for him and turned him over to my son Frank to breed grades from, whereupon I journeyed down to Maine, where Messrs. Burleigh & Bodwell had long maintained a good herd of home-bred and im- ported cattle, and from them I bought the bull Tre- grehan, afterwards so celebrated as a sire.’*

Tregrehan, the real founder of this herd, was bred in Cornwall, England. He was sired by Assurance, a half-brother to old Anxiety, both being by Long- horns. He was dropped in 1879 and was three years old when he came to Fowler. Speaking of this pur- chase Mr. VanNatta said: ‘‘We paid a pretty good price, for that time, and when I told Mr. Fowler what he had cost he remarked, ‘You wanted him pretty badly, did you not?’ Two or three years afterwards, when I priced him at $3,000, Mr. Fowler said, ‘I would not be willing to sell him for that price, or any other price.’ I then got back at him by remarking, ‘You want him pretty badly, do you not?’ ”’

Tregrehan was not a big bull, probably not weigh- ing much more than 2,100 pounds, but he was un- usually low on the leg and carried his beef right - down to his hocks. He was a bull of extraordinary

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 465

constitution, very deep through the heart, with full brisket; he was straight on the back to the tailroot, with the exception of a deep cup or dimple in the middle of his back to which many objected. When- ever this was criticised, however, Mr. VanNatta al- ways remarked, ‘‘ Well, if the bull did not carry a great load of meat on his back, he would not have any dimple.’’ His underline was also good, his shoulders smooth, his head and horns masculine and full of character, and his body a mass of flesh. He was quick and active in his movements, and a sire of valuable show and breeding stock.

By this time the firm was carrying from 500 to 2,500 head of steers in the big pastures, and as the Hereford grades began to be available it was found that they gave splendid satisfaction as grazers.

Fowler & VanNatta began showing Herefords in the early ’80’s, in a small way at first at the Lafay- ette and Crawfordsville fairs.in Indiana. In those days all breeds competed and they had many a hard fight with their Shorthorn antagonists, represented by such careful fitters as J. H. Potts & Son, ‘‘Uncle’’ Harvey Sodowsky, and their contemporaries. Tregrehan was sent out at the head of the first herd, and a few years later Fowler & VanNatta’ began making the rounds of the big circuit with cattle largely the get of that bull. They were a party to the famous ‘‘invasion’’ of Kentucky in 1886, show- ing that year Fowler, Viola, Peeress, Miss Fowler and Lassie—one of the most successful herds of that day.

466 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Fowler.—Tregrehan’s son, Fowler, made the rep- utation of the Fowler & VanNatta herd. He weighed in matured show condition near 2,800 pounds, was very smooth and symmetrical, and with his freedom of movement and gaiety of carriage never failed to present a very imposing front. He was a remarkably well balanced bull, having no special faults. He was not only a show bull, but proved a wonderful stock-getter. One of his daugh- ters, Fowler Queen 2d, owned by John Steward, was first in that great yearling class at the Chicago World’s Fair, and her daughter Queenly in her turn afterwards had an unbeaten showyard record. As showing how the blood bred on, her daughter, Prairie Queen, subsequently won first in her class and the junior championship at the Chicago Inter- -national.

Another famous daughter of Fowler was Jewel. Fowler, dam of the great steer Jack, which was the first bullock to win a grand championship over all ages and breeds in his yearling form. This honor came to him at the hands of Mr. Richard Gibson in the show held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Jack repeated his championship, win- ning at*the Chicago Fat Stock Show in his two- year-old form. Jewel Fowler also produced the bull Java, whose get have figured prominently in prize- lists at leading shows. She also produced the fa- mous March On 6th, sold to Mr. Funkhouser when six months old for $1,000, an offer of $7,500 being afterwards refused for him.

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 467

In response to a request from the author of this volume the following statement relating to this cele- brated bull was prepared by Mr. VanNatta’s herd manager, John J. Steward, some years ago:

‘‘Fowler was a calf of medium size. I well re- member taking him in my arms time and again, carrying him from the calfpen to his dam’s stall at suckling time. By this you will see that he started out in life a pet. His dam being an extra good milker the calf was kept up in the barn longer than usual; he was unable to take all his mother’s milk until between two and three months old, and consequently got more handling and notice than the general crop of calves did that early. My old friend George Waters at that time had charge of the Hick- ory Grove Herd, and many a time together we looked at this calf and guessed and prophesied as to what he was likely to make.

‘As most of your readers know, Fowler was bred by Fowler & VanNatta, although Mr. W. 8. Van- Natta was always the actual managing partner. One of his chief ideas often expressed to me in those early years of his cattle-breeding operations was this: ‘I am going to widen out and improve the hindquarters of these cattle.’ So when this calf was dropped, being so strong in that respect he was soon selected for future use in the herd. It almost seemed as though he came on purpose. He got his name Fowler on account of his great promise, being considered good enough to be named after the senior partner of the firm.

‘Before saying more about Fowler let us go back a little further and mention his sire, imp. Tregre- han 6203, quite a noted bull in English showrings and several times a sweepstakes winner after his arrival on this side. He was a very low-down, thick-

468 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

fleshed, deep-bodied bull, with a wonderful width of front, and proved to be a very impressive sire. I might state here how Mr. VanNatta came to buy Tregrehan. He was on a visit to the late H. C. Burleigh in Maine (the importer) and at once on seeing the bull determined to buy him, but could not get a price on him until he agreed to purchase two carloads of cows, which he did; he brought the bull home with him. Tregrehan sired quite a num- ber of show cattle besides Fowler and transmitted to his get the power to breed on and give to his descendants, even to the third and fourth genera- tion, his wonderful constitution, early-maturing qualities, smoothness of flesh and noted showyard style.

‘¢ As will be seen on looking over a tabulated pedi- gree, Tregrehan was bred right to be a right sire; his sire, Assurance 4589, was almost a full brother in blood to imp. Anxiety, both being by Longhorns out of DeCote cows, while his dam traces back to old Sir Benjamin. His dam, Princess 1990, besides be- ing a heavy milker was naturally a thick-fleshed cow and soon got fat when dry. She was a long- bodied, roomy cow, with a well sprung rib, extra long hindquarters, a beautiful head and fine droop- ing horns—just the kind of cow one would expect to be a good producer. An examination of the tabu- lated pedigree of Fowler will show that we have close up not only the Assurance or Anxiety blood through his sire, but through his dam the blood of Sir Richard 2d and old Success, two of the most noted bulls of their day and to which the Hereford breed owes much of its prominence in America to- day by their use in the herds of T. L. Miller, C. M. Culbertson and others of the earlier American breeders. Tracing back further we find the blood of old Sir Thomas in several lines, also that of the

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 469

Hewer Bros. and Messrs. Arkwright and Philip Turner stock, thus clearly showing that Fowler owed much of his greatness to inheritance.

‘*In his yearling form Fowler was such a growthy fellow that to some breeders he looked a bit leggy, though really his make-up then was a preparatory form of the massive bull he finally made, weighing in his five-year-old form 2,800 pounds. His first: appearance in the showring was when two years old, when he stood at the head of the grand sweep- stakes herd at the Illinois State Fair in 1885, which victory he repeated in the following year besides winning in his class at that and several other fairs and defeating such noted bulls as imp. Hesiod, Sir Bartle Frere and others. This winning of grand sweepstakes with the herd he headed was the first time the Herefords had done the trick at a state fair up to that time, and I well remember how hu- miliated the noted Shorthorn showman, Mr. H. So- dowsky, was when ordered to follow the Herefords, headed by Fowler, in the parade. Still, the majority of Shorthorn breeders admired and I may say re- spected the bull, for he could hold his own in the showring among his opponents better than any bull _of his breed up to that time, and some of our battles of the breeds in those days were rather bitter affairs.

‘‘Fowler was a natural show bull, always full of style, his fine head erect, his bright full eye noticing everything around him. I used to think he under- stood the art of posing, for no sooner was he led out of his stall for inspection when he would square himself up and be at the ‘attention’ mark, showing to advantage every good point. His straight top and bottom lines, wonderful heartgirth, deep wide chest, strong loin, and massive hindquarters, sup-

470 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ported on clean straight legs, never failed to draw words of praise from the examiner. The idea which I wish to give of him can be easily understood by those who have seen the engraving after Palmer of the ‘Hickory Grove Herefords.’

‘‘During the years Fowler was fitted and shown he was used heavily in service most of the time. His _ feed consisted chiefly of ground oats, bran and beets, with a small proportion of corn and oilcake. I always attributed his great growth to a generous amount of milk and muscle-making food during the early part of his life. As to his worth as a breeder we have a long list of animals of his get (many noted in the showring) which need little eulogy from my pen. Cherry Boy must stand first and foremost; to speak of him as he deserves would call for a separate chapter. Other bulls of note from his loins were Chicago, Fowler Prince, Lord Fowler and Cherry Lad. Of his many daughters I shall con- fine myself to the mention of only a few: May Fowler, herself a sweepstakes winner and great pro- ducer, was the dam of Mr. Funkhouser’s May Day and grandam of Hesiod 29th. Jewel Fowler was the dam of Java, which sired so many winners for Mr. Jobn Hooker and is now at Sunny Slope in service; she was also the dam of the champion steer Jack, and her last calf was March On 6th, the first prize bull calf at the great Kansas City Show, where he was purchased by Mr. Funkhouser. Rosa Fowler was the dam of Rosa Grove and of the prize- winning heifer Miss March On. Clarissa was also a great breeding cow, and the last three named are still at Hickory Grove. Then comes Fowler Queen 2d, winner at the World’s Fair, and again at Omaha, and now nursing her sixth calf. I cannot close this list without mentioning a few more, such as Lassie (the dam of Mr. Sotham’s great producing cow

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 471

Grove Lassie), Mr. George Redhead’s Gussie Fow- ler, and Mr. Curtice’s fine breeding cow Cherry Girl. The foregoing list clearly proves what I said above relating to the Tregrehan-Fowler blood breed- ing on. Many others of merit I could mention. While on a recent visit to Hickory Grove spending a few days among my old favorites I had repeated opportunities of seeing how many of the good young things now in the herd trace their descent from Fowler.

‘‘In his -thirteenth year Fowler was shipped to the Chicago Stock Yards, though still potent. From continued heavy service and his great weight his hocks became spavined, which seriously interfered with his usefulness; having a big surplus of cattle on hand at the time and the cattle trade then being at its lowest ebb, Mr. VanNatta decided to ship him for slaughter along with a trio of other noted bulls—Anxiety 4th 2947, Star Grove 1st and Hen- gler. Determined to see the last of my old favorite, I accompanied these bulls to the stockyards. Even then, crippled as he was, old Fowler still attracted all onlookers and drew plaudits of praise from the stockyards men by his proud carriage. He weighed then 2,400 pounds, his loin as thick and smooth as ever and his back, as it always was, as straight as a yardarm.”’

Looking back over all of his Hereford breeding operations in his later years Mr. VanNatta often spoke of Fowler as the most valuable bull he ever owned. He was wonderfully prepotent and his blood bred on, for years winning prizes in the hard- est contested fights, extra finish and symmetry be-. ing nearly always present in his descendants. There was about Fowler a certain strong and showy char-

472 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

acter, an individuality peculiarly his own, that stamped him as one of the best of the breed in his day and generation.

Burleigh & Bodwell.—Mr. Hall C. Burleigh of Maine has already been mentioned as one of the earliest New England breeders. He bought his first purebred bull in 1865 and was so pleased with the results of his use that in 1868 he purchased eleven head, then the entire herd of Hon. M. H. Cochrane of Quebec, including the young bull Compton Lad 1327.* Mr. Burleigh at once began exhibiting his cattle at the leading eastern fairs, Compton Lad proving a remarkably successful bull. He was ex- hibited for a period of nearly eight years, and is reported to have won seventy-four first prizes out of seventy-five shown for, seventeen of which were in competition with other breeds. This is the bull that was exchanged by Mr. Burleigh at the Phila- delphia Centennial of 1876 to Mr. John Merryman for the famous Sir Richard 2d, which as has been already stated, sired a wonderful lot of cattle while in use in New England and in 1878 was sold along with 19 females to T. L. Miller.

In 1879 Mr. Burleigh formed a partnership with Hon. J. R. Bodwell and began importing extensively from England. We believe he brought out seven lots in all, most of which were immediately resold for shipment to the west. Prominent among these were the bulls Tregrehan 6306 and Anxiety 2d 4580.

*It has been stated that the late George Shores of Waterville,

One of the pioneer Hereford breeders of Maine, was financiall interested in this purchase alsa 7

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 473

Tregrehan became the great foundation sire of the VanNatta herds. Anxiety 2d was a grand bull in every way. He also was taken west and in the hands of G. S. Burleigh contributed largely to the Hereford advance in the United States.

H. C. Burleigh showed Herefords at the Indiana State Fair as early as 1881, upon which occasion he won class prizes but in the competition against Shorthorns received nothing. It is stated that on complaining of unfair treatment upon this occasion an officer of the society, after telling him that all the officials of the show were Shorthorn partisans, ended by saying: ‘‘I tell you plainly, the Almighty never created a Hereford or an animal of any breed that can beat a third-class Shorthorn on this show ground in the sweepstakes ring.’? Two years later, however, this statement found complete refutation, Mr. Burleigh winning a championship in a ring of thirty-six females with the cow Truth 2d 6605.

In 1883 the Indiana Blooded Stock Co. was or- .ganized with a capital stock of $200,000, Mr. Bur- leigh being president. Messrs. Fletcher and Holt of Indianapolis were largely interested and were in local charge of the herd, which subsequently ob- tained prominence as one of the important collec- tions of the breed in the middle west, making a number of, successful public sales at Chicago and Kansas City. In 1883 this company won ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’? $250 gold challenge shield at the Fat Stock Show with the beautiful heifer Bur- leigh’s Pride, a Hereford-Angus cross weighing

474 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

1,820 pounds at two years old. Mr. Bureligh bred the steer Fisherman, that was successfully shown at Kansas City, Chicago and the New Orleans exposi- tions. He also exhibited the good bullocks Tidy Boy and Rosy Duke, seen at the Fat Stock Show of 1884 and taken back east to form a part of a great col- lection of steers shown there in 1885. Upon the death of Gov. Bodwell in 1887 Mr. Burleigh pur- chased his interest in the partnership herd. He died in 1895 and was succeeded in the ownership of the cattle by his son Thomas G. Burleigh, who still car- ries the herd upon the old farm.

Gudgell & Simpson.—We come now to perhaps the most important story of all—a story that really begins with the departure of ‘‘Governor’’ Simpson of Missouri for Herefordshire in 1881 and which is yet to be concluded. The end is not in sight at this writing.

The foundation of the Gudgell & Simpson herd at Independence, Mo., was laid in 1877. It was then that Charles Gudgell purchased for himself and his brother James R. Gudgell three cows, four two- year-old heifers, and one bull from the herd of F. W. Stone, Guelph, Ontario. These animals were a choice selection and were representative of the best strains from the herds of Lord Bateman, Lord Berwick, and Mr. Williams. This constituted the first herd ofthe breed located in the state of Mis- souri and the second west of the Missouri River. A second purchase was made from the same source the following year. In this lot were a yearling

CHARLES GUDGBLL.

476 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

‘heifer and the imported bull Governor 4th 1293, which had been in use in the Stone herd for a few years. There were also about a dozen young bulls which were sold at auction in May, 1879, at Kansas City—the first public sale of registered Herefords ever held west of the Missouri River. The average ‘price was $256, and the purchasers were men who had never seen a Hereford before that time. Dur- ing 1879 a few females were added to the herd by purchases from breeders in northern Ohio.*

In 1880 a business arrangement was made with T. A. Simpson whereby he became financially inter- ested in the herd, and the business was subsequently conducted under the firm name of Gudgell & Simp- eon. Under this arrangement operations were to be conducted upon a more extensive scale and an im- portation of Herefords from England was at once undertaken. This importation of about sixty head included a yearling bull for herd use, the remainder being heifers, cows and calves.

‘‘A Bull With An End.’’—A second importation was made in 1881 of something over 100 head, con- sisting in the main of females for the breeding herd and about twenty-five head of young bulls for use on a ranch in Colorado in which the junior partners were interested. In this importation came the two yearling bulls Anxiety 4th 9904 and North Pole 8946, destined to accomplish a very great improve-

*Among other early owners of roplsberes Herefords in Mis- sourl were Mr. Fielding W. Smith, J. M. McKim, F. C, McCutcheon and J. R. Henderson. Messrs. Gudgell & Simpson imported and handled Aberdeen-Angus cattle as well as Herefords for a time put Abe i Jor years limited their operations to the breeding of

es.”

T. A. SIMPSON.

478 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ment in the Gudgell & Simpson herd and in the Hereford breed of cattle. Anxiety 4th came from the herd of T. J. Carwardine and North Pole from that of Aaron Rogers, both herds at that time being very conspicuous in the English showyards.

When Mr. Simpson was leaving home for his sec- ond importation and was bidding good-bye to his partner, the senior Gudgell, he asked, ‘‘ What are your parting instructions?’’ Gudgell answered, ‘Tf you find a bull over there with an end to him, bring him with you.’’ Simpson claimed that,Anxi- ety 4th was bought in compliance with and fulfil- ment of this injunction.

A third importation of about 100 head was made in 1882 which consisted mainly of females for the breeding herd. These were taken into a country that had for years been strong in the Shorthorn faith and the following statement by Mr. Gudgell as to the reception met with by the ‘‘white faces’’ is therefore of interest:

“‘At the time of our introduction of the Herefords this locality was a great center for Shorthorns, of which breed there were over 3,000 head of regis- tered animals in Jackson county, Mo., besides a great many in the neighboring counties. As may well be surmised, we had a lonesome time of it in presenting the merits of the Herefords, as well as a lively time in answering the criticisms to which they were freely subjected. While some of the com- petent critics would admit the good features of the short legs, thick flesh and good middles of the Here- fords, they all pounced unmercifully upon their heavy heads, large horns and thick leathery necks,

Ka ? ANXIETY 4TH

(9904),

IM

PO

RTED AND USED BY GUDGELL & SIMPSON—Redrawn by N. A. Throop from an old print,

especially fi

or this volume.

480 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

as compared with these features in the Shorthorns, and turned away in apparent disgust at sight of what they termed their peaked and cat-hammed hindquarters. Being accustomed ourselves to judge of cattle somewhat from the Shorthorn standard (we at that time owned a small herd of this breed), we could not but admit to ourselves that the Here- fords were open to some criticism in the above men- tioned features, and we thereupon resolved to make an effort to correct the defects.

‘After seeing the imported bull Anxiety 2238 at Chicago on his arrival in this country, and being much impressed with his conformation, we were satisfied that the features so severely criticised in the Herefords could be very materially improved. To this end we detegmined to see for ourselves what manner of Herefords they had on the other side of the Atlantic. In -pursuance of this resolution we visited Herefordshire in the following summer of 1880 and brought over a shipment of nearly sixty head. This importation we followed up the next year with a second importation of over.100 head, and again in 1882 with a third importation of a like number. With the exception of some thirty bulls that we brought over for use on a western ranch in which we were interested these cattle were nearly all females, selected for breeding and not for specu- lative purposes.’’ -

Anxiety 4th and North Pole.—After this last im- portation these breeders found themselves in posses- sion of a large herd of females selected from some twenty different herds and representing many strains of breeding and different types. They also had the two bulls Anxiety 4th 9904 and North Pole 8946, which they retained for service after the other

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 481

herd bulls previously used had been disposed of. These two bulls could not be classed as of the same * type, although they were similar in some respects. They were both straight and level in their toplines, with drooping horns (those of Anxiety 4th the more pronounced in this respect), smooth and round over the hips, thick-fleshed, and they had good coats of hair. North Pole was the larger bull and was some- what longer in his legs; he was a bull of great consti- tution. Anxiety 4th, although short of leg, had heavier bone, a feature that was transmitted to his descendants for several generations. The use of these two bulls in this herd of cows developed the fact that North Pole was not a success as a sire of bulls, his bull calves showing the upstanding feature to an unsatisfactory degree. On the other hand his heifer calves were not so affected but were of much more than ordinary merit. Anxiety 4th proved a most satisfactory sire of both bulls and heifers— probably the greatest ‘‘all around’’ breeding bull ever imported.

The mingling of the blood of these two bulls proved one of the happiest nicks known in Ameri- can Hereford history. It has been suggested that North Pole has never been given full credit in con- nection with the extraordinary success that followed the crossing of Anxiety 4th upon his heifers. Cer- tain it is that a great ‘‘hit’’ was scored in the blend- ing of the blood of these two bulls. North Pole had not so pleasing a head as Anxiety 4th, neither was he so good at the thighs, but he was strong

482 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

around the heart, a point where Anxiety 4th was faulted. The latter was so good in his head and so wonderful in his quarters that he corrected any tendency on the part of North Pole’s daughters to perpetuate their sire’s defects in those particulars. It was, in brief, a case where one admirably bal- anced the other.

The breeding of Anxiety 4th has already been set forth. North Pole was sired by Mars 12th 4462, bred by the Greens of Marlow from Wrexham 2411 and Gem 8th 4440 by Dauphin 3353. The Marlow eattle were always noted for their scale and consti- tution. Dauphin was got by Renown 2854, bred by Lord Berwick of Cronkhill.

Simpson’s Discernment.—Along with this second importation there came a young cow, Dowager 6th 6932, that figures extensively in the pedigrees of many high-class Herefords of the present day through her sons Don Carlos 33734 and Don Quixote 37205 and her double grandson Beau Donald 58996. When Mr. Simpson and James R. Gudgell, who ac- companied him on his trip to England, visited the herd of Mr. Thomas Lewis of Woodhouse they found the cattle in very thin condition and by no means attractive in appearance. After glancing over the herd Mr. Simpson asked the price of one young cow that, if anything, seemed thinner in flesh than any others of the herd. The price was given and Mr. Simpson promptly bought her. Gudgell asked him what he wanted with that skeleton and if he was going to start a boneyard? Simpson

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 483

laughed and said, ‘‘That cow is a pretty tough- looking proposition, but she will be all right when she has a little Missouri corn and bluegrass.’’ This statement proved to be true, for this Dowager 6th made one of the finest cows of all their importa- tions and was a most satisfactory breeder. In this case as in nearly all of his other purchases, seeing that he bought for these importations scarcely any cattle that were in high condition or had been fitted for show, the knowledge which Gov. Simpson had acquired of animal anatomy in his earlier vocation was of great advantage to him. He had formerly been in the horse and mule business, in which he bought up young and thin animals and fitted them for market, thus learning to make due allowance for the improvement to be made in a thin animal by the addition of flesh. The fact that an English breeder thought an animal especially fine when in high condition did not have any weight with him in making his selections.

At the time Mr. Simpson bought Anxiety 4th some friendly English breeders disinterestedly ad- vised him to take another bull which was being fitted for show; they urged him so strongly that Mr. Aaron Rogers became impatient with their impor- tunities and told them to ‘‘let Simpson alone,’’ that he knew better what he wanted than they did. Sub- sequent developments made very plain to them and others the wisdom of his selection.

North Pole was used in the herd for about four years and was then sold for steer-getting purposes.

484 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Anxiety 4th served out his period of usefulness in the herd and died when about ten years old. He was never shown at any fair—not but that he would have made a very creditable showing with reason- able fitting but because there was too much work cut out for him to perform. His owners had a nat- ural aversion to the show policy and did not pro- pose to shorten his period of usefulness. Par- tially to compensate for this his owners castrated the first calf from his service and named him Sus- pense, the steer alluded to in a previous chapter, which was exhibited for several years, being a prize winner at the Kansas City and Chicago fat stock shows and at the New Orleans Exposition. Sus- pense was a very smooth and thick-fleshed steer with grand loin, extra heavy hindquarters and very drooping horns, but he was looked upon then from the butcher’s standpoint as rather strong in the bones of his legs, which however were very short, bringing his body very close to the ground.

Beau Monde and Beau Real.—The first bulls by Anxiety 4th to attract attention by their records in the showring were Beau Monde 9903 and Beau Real 11055, both bought and exhibited by Shockey & Gibb, Lawrence, Kans. These bulls had been in- cluded in a sale held at Kansas City in September, 1884, Beau Monde was then a two-year-old and Beau Real but twelve months old. The latter was bought by Mr. Shockey for $300, and matured into one of the greatest bulls ever seen in the west.

Among other bulls, sons of Anxiety 4th, which

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 485

made good records as breeders in other herds may be mentioned Don Juan 11069, Sylvester 11123, Fanatic 27420, Western Eagle 28109, Anxiety Mon- arch 41216, Brainard 41770 and others.

Best Anxiety Bulls Go To The Range— With but few exceptions the bull calves by Anxiety 4th were sold to go to the range. There was but a limited demand for herd bulls and a fairly good market for range bulls. It is the belief of these breeders and of their old herdsman, George Shand, that the best Anxiety 4th bull they ever bred, a full brother to Don Carlos, was sold to a ranchman from Texas. In the later years of his service, when he apparently bred best, the cattle business was suffering a great depression and bulls by the carload, mainly the get of Anxiety 4th, were sold to ranchmen such as Charles Goodnight, Towers & Gudgell, and others.

In-breeding.—The earlier breeding operations in the Gudgell & Simpson herd were conducted much upon the same lines as pursued by various Here- ford breeders, who were religiously abstaining from breeding to close affinities. So scrupulously did they adhere to this policy that for several years they bred the four heifers bought of Mr. Carwardine and sired by old Anxiety 2238 to North Pole. As an ex- periment one of these heifers was bred to Anxiety 4th and produced a very fine calf. Under the the- ories that prevailed among Hereford breeders at that time this calf should have been lacking in some respect as compared with calves free from the taint of incestuous breeding. But such was not the case.

486 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

On the contrary it was so markedly superior to the others from the same cow and those from the other cows by Anxiety 2238 that the eyes of these breeders were opened to the possibilities which might be accomplished by pursuing another course in their breeding operations.

They had already noted that Anxiety 4th himself was the product of a mating of half-brother and half-sister and their investigations of Hereford pedigrees showed them that a number of famous animals of the breed were the product of very close affinities. These facts, together with the further general information which they had that breeding from close relations in other lines of live stock had by no means proved unproductive of good results, led them to think that they too might venture cau- tiously within the field of close breeding and there- by sooner approach their ideal in the breeding of Herefords. The admonitions which they had from their friends among Hereford breeders and the un- favorable criticism of their course by others did not deter them from following up the policy which they had begun, though they did this with extreme cau- tion and with some experiments in outcrosses from other lines of breeding. These various outcrosses through bulls from other herds were not satisfac- tory, so they resorted to the plan of getting some new blood from outcrosses through the dams in- stead of through the sires as is usually done. This they were able to do because they had in their foun- dation stock so many different strains of blood.

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 487

Don Carlos.—As already stated, the policy of close breeding in this herd was undertaken with caution and with much experimenting and some consider- able degree of misgiving. However, when Don Car- los 33734 grew up in the herd and began to be used he was made the main service bull for concentrating the blood of Anxiety 4th and was freely used upon his half-sisters as well as on the cows by North Pole 8946.

Don Carlos was shown at the World’s Fair at Chicago in 1893 when seven years old, and with over 250 calves dropped to his service was given second place in the aged bull class and reserve for sweepstakes bull, as will appear further on. It was the intention to show Druid 46833, a son of Don Carlos, in the aged bull class at Chicago, but he accidentally got greatly frightened at some noisy school children so that he became very nervous and developed a fighting disposition. Consequently Don Carlos was taken as a last resort.

An Outcross That Failed.—In the meantime an- other attempt at an outcross was made through the bull Earl of Shadeland 47th 36644, wearing the laurels of champion two-year-old bull at the Illinois State Fair at Chicago and combining the blood of Garfield, Lord Wilton, and The Grove 3rd. This bull was used for two years on some of the best cows of the herd but did not prove to be a success as a breeder, and as the demand for mature bulls was slack he was finally sold to the butcher. From this bull, however, Gudgell & Simpson got the bull

488 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Roseland 51840, which they used in the herd for a couple of years. He was a good bull and a good breeder but his calves were sometimes lacking in the coat of hair desired in this herd, although his sub- sequent owners were very much pleased with him.

Sons of Don Carlos.——Following Don Carlos and his full brother Don Quixote 37205 came Druid 46833, Beau Brummel 51817, and Lamplighter 51834, all sired by Don Carlos and out of some of the best daughters of North Pole. Lamplighter was shown as a yearling at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago, was first in class and headed the first prize young herd. Beau Brummel, although in poor show condition, was fourth in the two-year-old class. Lamplighter was a medium-sized chunky bull while Beau Brummel was large and somewhat rangy with good head, splendid loin and very heavy quarters. These bulls were used with much satis- faction in the herd and their descendants have fig- ured prominently in the lists of prize winners for the breed in recent years.

During the several years in which these bulls were in use in the herd the imported bull Chesterfield 56697 was also in service. He was a fine individual and had the best of pedigree, but for some reason did not nick with the cows of the herd and was sold for use in another registered herd.

Dandy Rex and Mischievous.—After Beau Brum- mel and Lamplighter came several bulls of their get bred in the herd, the chief of which were Militant 71755 and Dandy Rex 71689. The reputa-

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 489

tion of Militant rests most prominently upon the fact that he was the sire of the two champion show cows Mischief Maker 97907 and Miss Caprice 109725. Mischief Maker was the most sensational animal of this herd when as a yearling she was awarded the champion prize at Kansas City and at the International at Chicago in 1900. Dandy Rex, besides winning many other first prizes in class and in groups, was awarded the championship prize, the Armour trophy, as the best Hereford bull in the show at Kansas City in 1901. He did service in the herd after his competitors in the showring upon that occasion had passed from the field of use- fulness.

Possibly the most remarkable animal bred in this herd was the show cow Mischievous 71758, in the showring every year from the time she was a year- ling until she was a six-year-old cow. She dropped her first calf, that extraordinary heifer Mischief Maker, when two years old and her second calf when three years old and she produced a calf regularly for many years and one pair of twins. In her showing she was either at the top or close to it; at the close of her showyard career at Chicago in 1901 she weighed 2,000 pounds.

These two animals, Dandy Rex and Mischievous, stable and showyard companions, might be taken as living refutations of some of the claimed evils of close breeding. They both had three close-up crosses of Anxiety 4th in their pedigrees, they both successfully ran the gauntlet of the leading shows

490 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

for several years, they both were of great scale, and they both lived to good old ages. It would certainly appear that they were possessed of great constitutional vigor.

Another Outcross Failed.—Another attempt at an outcross through the sire was made in the purchase of Mark Hanna 74230 at the close of his show career at Chicago in 1901. This bull had an infusion of the blood of Anxiety 4th and it was hoped that he might prove a satisfactory sire in the herd. In this the buyers were sorely disappointed and Mark Hanna soon went the way of others to the butcher. This was the last attempt to get an outcross in the herd through the sire. Efforts were continually made to get in fresh blood through cows which had been purchased from other herds, but in the main the blood of Anxiety 4th through his descendants has been steadily concentrated, with no perceptibly bad results.*

Parallel Cases of Close Breeding.—It thus appears that we see repeated in this case the experience of the greatest of modern breeders of Shorthorns, the late Amos Cruickshank of Sittyton, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Those who are familiar with the story will find in Champion of England and Anxiety 4th parallel cases. In his later years Mr. Cruickshank had the same experience as did Messrs. Gudgell & Simpson in trying to find a way to successfully in-

*James R. Gudgell of this firm died on June 2, 1896, and T. A. Simpson on Jan. 4, 1904. The herd is now owned and operated by Charles Gudgell, the original Hereford man of the firm, as- sisted by his son Frank O. Gudgell.

OTHER MAKERS OF WESTERN CATTLE HISTORY 491

troduce fresh blood after a long course of close breeding, finally giving it up. His herd continued to produce great cattle, in spite of this fact, long after the supposed need of fresh blood had been the subject of general comment.

The fact is, that the history of beef cattle breed- ing seems to show that while most great successes have been made through a concentration of the blood of some animal or animals distinguished for desirable characteristics, yet after the policy of breeding in-and-in has progressed to a certain point it becomes difficult, if not wholly impossible, to throw in fresh blood without doing more harm than good. And also, if great care and judgment are used in mating, the close breeding of good animals can be pursued without evil results for a much longer period than has commonly been deemed pos- sible. On the contrary, the case of the gradual ex- tinction and wretched deterioration shown by the last of the so-called ‘‘pure Bates’’ Shorthorns should be a warning for all time against the breed- ing of cattle of indifferent merit from close affinities, especially in inexperienced hands.

GHAPTER XI. PERIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED.

Due to the great demand for Herefords in the northwest, and growing out of the Swan Land & Cat- tle Co.’s operations, there came a subsidiary corpo- ration, of which Alexander Swan was president and George Morgan general manager. It was known as the Wyoming Hereford Association. This company was formed to import and breed purebred Here- fords, and in March, 1883, landed for quarantine at Baltimore an importation of 146 head of young cat- tle ranging from six months to three years of age. The cattle were selected from the herds of J. H. Yeo- mans of Stretton Court, Samuel Goode of Ivington- bury, Green of Marlow, Crawshay of Cyfartha Cas- tle, Hughes of Wintercott, Haywood of Blakemere, Smith of Gattertop and Powell of Shenmore.

Rudolph Bought for $3,500.—This importation is chiefly notable because it was headed by The Grove 3d’s famous son Rudolph 13478, bred by Philip Turner, and like most of the other Grove 3d bulls that attained fame out of a Spartan dam—the cow Primrose 2d, afterwards imported to America by George Leigh.* Rudolph was beyond doubt the

*Mr. Leigh bought Primrose 2d at The Leen sale in September, 1883. She was then due to calve to The Grove 3d and was knocked down at 170 guineas. As she was near to her calving it was deemed

492

PERIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED 493

best young bull of the breed in England in 1882, and various American buyers had their eyes on him. He was owned by Allen Hughes. Tom Clark was one of the American breeders who had in vain tried to buy the bull for ‘‘the States.”’ Mr. Hughes was for years one of the best fitters in Herefordshire, and had Rudolph in training for Royal honors long be- fore show time. Clark saw the bull prior to the ex- hibition and did his-best during a somewhat memor- able night session at the Royal Oak in Leominster to get a price upon him, delivered after the show. He had Alfred Edwards, the auctioneer, and others helping to put the trade through, but Hughes was not to be managed that way, nor in any other just then. Mr. Culbertson was at this time trying to buy The Grove 3d from Mr. Turner privately, but in that was not successful. George Morgan, some months later, offered the then unheard of price of 700 guineas ($3,500) for Rudolph and at that record figure bought him for the American company. This was 100 guineas more than Mr. Earl had paid for Sir Bartle Frere and Garfield. Rudolph—surnamed ‘‘the mighty’’—was the reigning sensation of the west at the shows of 1883, making a greater impression than any bull of the-

inadvisable to ship her at the time. Mr. John Price then owned the noted bull Monarch, by Lord Wilton, for which he is said to have re- fused $5,000, and as a favor he allowed Mr. Leigh to breed Primrose 24 to him. She was then brought to America with her heifer calf at foot, and placed in a combination sale at Kansas City with a reserve bid of $1,500, at which upset price she was bought by George Morgan for the Wyoming association. She produced a bull calf to the service by Monarch that was called (Rudolph 2d, and was used by the asso- ciation for several years. He was said to have been an extra good one and a great breeder. The heifer calf which Primrose 2d had by Grove 3d was reserved by Mr. Leigh and grew into a wonderful cow, but unfortunately she failed to breed.

494 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

breed since Anxiety first appeared. Offers of $5,000 were refused for him. It is doubtful if a more at- tractive bull of any beef breed had ever been seen in American showyards. Morgan had placed him in capable hands for feeding at Camargo, IIl., after release from quarantine, and when the bull put in his appearance in September at the Illinois and Iowa state fairs and held his memorable court at ‘‘the great St. Louis’’ round-up it was con- ceded that any breed that could produce Anxiety and ‘“‘repeat’’ with Rudolph was no longer to be held in scorn. While the whole western cattle-breeding world was still resounding with his praises the bull was shipped to Cheyenne. He was exhibited at Den- ver in 1884 at a weight of 2,600 pounds. The range fell at his feet as had the cornbelt the previous fall, but alas, as in the case of Anxiety, the plaudits of the people were gained at a heavy cost. He died in May, 1885, after a 55-pound tumor had been removed from his breast. He had not proved specially suc- cessful as a sire. His opportunities were limited, but he lacked somewhat in masculinity about the head. :

The Grove 3d Imported.—The purchase of Ru- dolph at a record price and his presence in the west during the summer of 1883 stimulated the already keen interest in Mr. Turner’s famous son of Horace, and Mr. Culbertson decided to renew his effort to secure him for breeding purposes at Hereford Park. The bill was included in the sale of September, 1883, at The Leen, as referred to in a preceding chapter.

z x u SRE ea 2 Z abe ww SAE Sir Bartle Frere. Garfield. Earl of Shadeland 12th. The Grove 3d. Elton Ist. Wilton Anxiety. ‘CECIL PALMER'S FAMOUS STUDY OF SHADELAND STOCK BULLS, PROPERTY OF EARL & STUART.

a 5

496 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Although then about nine years old he was in thrifty condition and it was fair to assume that he was good: for some years’ service, especially since his sire, which he so greatly resembled, had lived to be use- ful up to his sixteenth year. The bidding was started by George Leigh at 200 guineas, and went briskly along well above that figure, the opposition being exhausted only when 810 guineas were offered, at which new record price the rare old bull became Mr. Culbertson’s property. English breeders after- wards offered to take him over at the American bid, but he was not for sale at any price.

Along with ‘‘Old Grove,’’ as he was familiarly known, came six of his daughters, four heifers and one bull calf by Horace, including the last two calves sired by that bull, and a pair of Merry Monarch heifers. The importation was safely landed at Que- bec in care of Mr. Charles Culbertson, Jr., late in September, and after the usual quarantine the cattle were forwarded to their new home in Illinois.

About this same date a quartette of The Grove 3d heifers that had won in Englatd the Hereford Herd Book Association prize for best four calved in 1881 the get of one bull—Hawthorne, Beatrice, Rosina and Ethel—were imported by George Leigh, sold to Mr. Culbertson, and by him resold shortly afterward to Mr. Parmelee.

A Rare Feeder’s Type.—The Grove 3d was re- markable for his easy-keeping, mellow-handling qualities, and seemed to combine. the substance and vigor of the old-time Hereford with the quick-

PERIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED 497

feeding, early-maturing quality so essential in meet- ing the demands of our latter-day beef-makers. His get were noted for the rapidity with which they ripened in response to liberal treatment. Unfor- tunately he did not leave a numerous progeny in America.

The Grove 3d was used by Mr. Culbertson for a time and then was sold to Earl & Stuart. Apparent- ly the service in these two herds did not meet with that extraordinary degree of success which attended it in the hands of Philip Turner. Possibly this is partially accounted for by the fact that unlike the conditions attending his use in Herefordshire the cows with which he was mated in the west repre- sented many and various blood combinations.

Advantages in Old-Established Herds.—It has already been noted that the Stocktonbury herd up- on which Lord Wilton (and Anxiety, with a much more restricted opportunity) was crossed with such phenomenal resylts was quite homogeneous in point of constituent blood elements. There were Longhorns or Rodney, DeCote, and Heart of Oak for the top crosses in nearly every dam of a great son or daugh- ter of Lord Wilton. At The Leen there were the numerous Spartan dams that seemed to respond al- most infallibly to the blood of The Grove 3d, and in their back-breeding the Turner cows had much in common. The more modern instance of the Gudgell & Simpson cattle in America affords further cor- roboration of the idea that most of the great suc- cesses in beef cattle breeding have been attained af-

498 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ter the breeding cows have been brought to a more or less common standard or ‘‘denomination’’ by a persistent retention of the best females produced in the herd through a long series of years, until all ul- timately carry a large percentage of the same blood.

Benjamin Hershey.—Prominent in the trade for a number of years was Benjamin Hershey, a wealthy lumberman owning a large farm near Muscatine, Ia., and a ranch in Nebraska. One of his first invest- ments was the purchase of 30 young bulls from T. L. Miller for $10,000. He was a liberal buyer from Miller, Culbertson and other early breeders and importers, and subsequently brought out cattle on his own account from England direct. He bought 75 head of English-bred cattle on one order, prob- ably the best of these being the cow Lady, of John Price’s breeding and by Truro. Mr. Hershey was an enthusiastic supporter of the claims of the ‘‘white faces,’’ and contributed a quartette of Herefords to the famous showyard ‘‘syndicate’’ of 1882 which were bought by Mr. C. K. Parmelee during the La- fayette fair for over $3,000. He died in Chicago on Aug. 23, 1893, and his herd was closed out the fol- lowing October.

Hon. M. H. Cochrane.—The late Senator Coch- rane, of Hillhurst, Province of Quebec, Canada, at one time figured largely in the Shorthorn importing and exporting trade, his operations in both Bates and Booth-bred cattle being conducted on a liberal scale and at prices attracting the attention of both continents. :

BENJAMIN HERSHEY.

500 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

About 1880 when the west began to show such keen interest in the Herefords, and a little later when the Aberdeen-Angus began their campaign for popular favor in America, Mr. Cochrane imported large numbers of both breeds. While the date above mentioned marked the beginning of his active inter- est in Herefords, he had bought a few ‘‘white faces’’ from Frederick William Stone in the ’60’s, and he was the breeder of the cow Necklace 4th 1519, which was sold to G. E. Shores of Waterville, Me., and produced in the latter’s hands the cow Empress 2078. Empress was sold to J. S. Hawes and became the mother of the great show bull Fortune 2080, by Sir Richard 2d. The Hillhurst shipment from England in 1880 included 49 head selected from the fine old Chadnor Court stock and from the herds of Morris of Lulham, Hill of Felhampton Court, Arkwright of Hampton Court, and Yeomans of Stretton Court. Among them was also the two- year-old prize bull President 8140, bred by Mrs. Edwards at Wintercott and sired by Royalist 2336 out of Plum 3d by Commander 3209. :

In 1881 Mr. Cochrane personally selected a second lot, including some good cows and heifers of the fine old Rarity, Delight and Lovely strains from the Longner Hall sale by the executors of the estate of R. L. Burton. Mr. John Hill of Felhampton Court writing of the presence of Mr. Cochrane as a buyer in Herefordshire at that time said:

“‘Very considerable interest has centered in the sale of the Longner-Herefords, and extensive pur-

a clas. A. Cochrane

( Hon. In. H Cochrane |

502 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

chases were made by the Harl of Coventry, Mr. Cochrane, and for the Felhampton Court herd. It is not too much to say that on the morning following the sale the value of the animals had doubled, and breeders became alive to what was to come. Not only does this statement refer to the Cronkhill Here- fords, but through them to the breed in general. It was this sale which fairly set the ball rolling and it was recognized that Mr. Cochrane, the famous breeder of Shorthorns, would not have come to Eng- land to make personal selections of Herefords unless there was something in the minds of men on the other side of the Atlantic which had convinced them of the truth of what Mr. Miller and others had been for several years previously endeavoring to prove, viz., that the ‘white faces’ of Herefordshire would increase the prosperity of the cattlemen of Amer- ica.’’

It was about this date (1881) that Mr. Cochrane established his Bow River ranch in the Canadian northwest. The cattle were removed in 1884 to an- other and more-southerly range in the Kootenay River. country, where a herd largely of Hereford breeding was maintained for some twenty years, the impress of the early Hereford importations be- ing evident throughout the entire period.

In 1883 the Senator’s son, Mr. James A. Coch- rane, who was closely identified with his father in the Hillhurst management, bought: 40 head, which were shipped from Liverpool on Feb. 8, arriving at Halifax the first week in March. This lot included ’ the bull Cassio 11353, then two years old, bred by Philip Turner and got by The Grove 3d out of

‘A ‘NOH JO HWNOH—LSYNHTIIH

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504 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Duchess 2d by Spartan. Ten Lord Wilton heifers were also secured from Mr. Carwardine. Others were by The Grove 3d, Regulus, Mr. Hill’s Merry Monarch, Pirate, Osman Pasha, Old Court and Bred- wardine.

Will Hutcheon and Cassio. William. Hutch- eon, afterwards with William S. VanNatta and later in partnership with John Steward in breeding Herefords in Missouri, was at Hillhurst at this time and fitted Cassio and a number of his daughters for exhibition at leading Canadian shows. For several seasons they were features of the great Dominion cattle competitions. In fact, Cassio was for some years one of the real stars of the breed in North America, emphasizing in his showyard career and as a stock-getter the early-ripening quality of The Grove 3d blood. He has been referred to as ‘‘the best bull of any beef breed ever shown at Toronto.”’ That of course is drawing rather a long bow, for the Industrial Exposition has staged many grand ex- hibitions where great show bulls have been much in evidence. However, viewed in the light of Cassio’s get in Senator Cochrane’s herd, it must be recorded that he was one of the most valuable bulls of his period on this side of the water.

In 1891 Mr. Francis Green, writing of Cassio in the ‘‘Canadian Live Stock Journal’’ after a visit to Hillhurst, said:

‘In the next box was the celebrated Cassio

(5849), too well known to need any description. It will suffice to say that he has lost none of his won-

PERIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED 505

derful smoothness, and time apparently passes him by with a light hand. The wonderful manner in which he has stood the strain of repeated show prep- aration speaks volumes for his constitution, and he appears none the worse for it, but is still active on his legs. He commenced his showyard career when a yearling at Leominster, England, where he was suc- cessful in gaining first in 1882. After coming to this country he won first and sweepstakes at the Kastern Townships’ Exhibition, and the gold medal for the best bull of any age and breed. In 1886 he was awarded the same honors, and in 1887 he was brought to the Industrial and Ottawa, at both of which places he was again first and sweepstakes bull of any age, and from that time forth he has occu- pied the same position wherever exhibited. But this is not all, for in 1885 he headed the herd that won the Lieutenant-Governor’s medal for the best herd of any breed at the Eastern Townships’ Show, and from that time Cassio and the ladies of his seraglio have had an unbroken chain of victories when com- peting for the herd prize at all our principal shows. We often find that a show bull is not always a suc- cess as a sire, but such is not the case with Cassio, facile princeps in either capacity; his scions con- stantly keep coming to the front, and are remarkable for their quality and the neat heads and horns which are now so fancied in the showring. His merit as a sire was sufficiently conspicuous during the last show season, when he and his daughters walked away with the herd prizes at the Industrial and all other shows.’’

Mr. Cochrane’s Dominion market was limited, so

he adopted the plan of selling at auction in the United States. In November, 1882, at Chicago he disposed of 31 head at an average of $357, not considered a

506 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

particularly successful sale for imported animals. Seabury & Sample bought the Wilton bull Sir Harry at $540. In 1883 nineteen head were sold at the Exposition Building, Chicago, during the Fat Stock Show, for an average of $580, Benjamin Hershey paying $1,000 for Tulip 3d and $1,200 for Lily 2d. At the Chadnor Court sale in England in September, 1883, Mr. Cochrane paid 260 guineas for Rosebloom by Sir Isaac. In January, 1884, another lot, bought by Mr. Urwick, came out from England. Included among these was Sir Evelyn, an own brother to Sir Bartle Frere; at the Hillhurst sale in April he sold for $825, going into the herd of J. S. Hawes. An- other lot, consisting of 17 heifers, was brought out in 1885.

Mr. Cochrane had three breeds of cattle at Hill- hurst at one time. A note written by the author after a visit to the farm during this period reads as follows: .

‘‘A day in the saddle at Hillhurst, Hon. M. H. Cochrane’s famous estate near Compton, Canada, is a treat which will rouse the enthusiasm of the dull- est admirer of fine cattle. From a point in one of the pastures, 1,100 feet above sea level, a landscape of rare beauty unfolds itself to the eye of the ob- server. The Green Mountains on the southern hori- zon, the hills about Lake Memphremagog on the west, the beautiful valley of the Coaticooke at one’s feet, and the undulating fields of Hillhurst with their herds of white faces, blacks, and Shorthorns round about, will impress the visitor as a scene most fitting to be graced by the presence of all that is perfect in the way of bovine beauty.’

PERIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED 507

The Hillhurst importing operations, involving sales in the States in competition with home breed- ers and importers, naturally did not arouse much support from ‘‘the trade.’’ In fact, many of the best of Mr. Cochrane’s cattle were permitted to sell below their real value because it was obviously not the pur- pose of western breeders to encourage speculation in Herefords via the Canadian route.

The Leigh and Curry Importations—NMr. George Leigh, of Aurora, IIL, partly in association with Mr. J. O. Curry of that place, imported be- tween the years of 1881 and 1885, 250 head of Here- fords. There were twelve importations in all, includ- ing many animals that had illustrious careers in the west and from which many valuable cattle descended.

The Grove 3d Quartette.—In Mr. Leigh’s shipment ment of 1882 were the four The Grove 3d heifers, Beatrice, Hawthorn, Ethel, and Rosina, winners at Leominster in 1881. These were sold in quarantine at Quebec in 1882 to Mr. Culbertson at $600 each. They were placed on exhibition at the old Fat Stock Show that fall where they were the objects of uni- versal admiration. Mr. Parmelee, who was at that time a collector of rare specimens of the breed, took them from Mr. Culbertson at $1,000 each. In later years Beatrice, Hawthorn, and Ethel drifted back to Aurora, finally becoming the property of T. F. B. Sotham. Beatrice and Hawthorn became famous producers, and the former was still breeding in 1900 at the age of twenty years, among her progeny being the champion bull Sir Bredwell, by Corrector,

508 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

to be mentioned again. In Sotham’s possession an interesting result of blood concentration was devel- oped through the medium of Hawthorn. Mated to Dr. Grove, by Royal Grove, she became the dam of 2d Beaubois Purity that produced to the cover of Corrector such cattle as Protection, Protector and Lady Plushcoat. .

About the same time that these four The Grove 3d heifers were sold to Mr. Culbertson Mr. Leigh made a sale to Mr. VanNatta of the four fine im- ported heifers Daisy, Border Queen, Sunbeam, and Country Cousin, all bred by William Tudge. Speak- ing of these Mr. Leigh says: ‘‘In my judgment no- body ever had, from a breeding point of view, four better ones. They had immense size, were full of quality and had beautiful character.’’ They cost Mr. VanNatta $600 per head, and contributed a val- uable element to his herd.

Carwardine Cows.—In 1883 Mr. Leigh was a liberal buyer at Carwardine’s dispersion, securing 20 head at a cost of over $10,000. Most of these were sold shortly after. importation. Mr. H. H. Clough of Elyria, O., who was engaged in founding a herd at that old-time American center of Here- ford activity and who afterwards became promi- nent in the trade, took Henrietta 3d and Lady Love that had cost 430 guineas in England. Mr. J. C. Bertram of Aurora, IIl., another of those who were now becoming interested in Hereford breeding, bought the promising young Wilton bull Sir Wil- fred, which he exhibited successfully.

GEORGE LEIGH.

510 A HistoRY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Some of Mr. Carwardine’s most valuable breed- ing cows were brought over by Mr. Leigh. A num- ber of these rare old matrons went into J. O. Cur- ry’s hands, and some of the best of them were after- wards bought by Thomas F. B. Sotham, son of Wil- liam H. Sotham, who was then laying the founda- tions of the Weavergrace herd at Chillicothe, Mo. Among these great English producing dams brought over by Mr. Leigh were such famous cows as the following: Delight, the dam of Peerless, Au- rora Wilton and Delight 2d; Bertha, the dam of the valuable Beau Real bull Kansas Lad; Gwenny, champion over all breeds at Minneapolis in 1886; Gay Lass 9905, the dam of Anxiety 4th; and Stock- tonbury’s favorite breeding matron Coral, the dam of the $5,000 bull Franklin, which was exported to Argentina, and also the dam of Conqueror, bought for the Ontario Agricultural Experiment Station for $2,500, and of Corrector, a bull that Mr. Sotham made famous in the west. Judy Wilton by Lord Wilton and Ruffie 3d by Chancellor, he a Royal win- ner by Horace, also came out in 1883.

In 1883 Mr. Leigh brought out the dam of Ru- dolph and an own sister to that famous show bull; also the good bull Pirate 7161, by Corsair of Tur- ner’s breeding, that had won numerous prizes in England in 1880 and 1881. He was sold to Mr. Curry. é :

Archibald—Mr. Leigh was a keen buyer of tops at this time, and in 1884 brought out at a re- ported purchase price of 1,000 guineas the show bull

PERIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED 511

Archibald 11129, bred by Aaron Rogers. This bull had a long list of prizes won at leading English shows to his credit, and was widely heralded as a sensational animal, which indeed he was. It was claimed, in fact, that he was the winner of more first and championship honors than any other bull of his age living at that time. In some respects he was extraordinary. He had been highly fed for the shows as a two-year-old and he developed ab- normal depth forward. Indeed, as he grew to ma- turity his brisket touched the ground. He was not shown in this country and was sold to Mr. Parmelee, in whose hands he died of a cancerous growth in the breast. As a sire Archibald was more or less disappointing. He did not leave a numerous prog- eny and while some of these fed into thick car- casses and were successfully shown, as a rule his get were wanting in quality and inclined to harsh- ness in touch. However, in the second generation they made some remarkable records. There was ‘his daughter Brenda 15th, for example. Mated by Mr. Sotham with Corrector she produced Benita, mother of the beautiful show heifer Benison. Horace 5th.An exceptionally valuable pros- pect brought to America by Mr. Leigh was Horace 5th 12524, bred by Frederick Platt and sired by old Horace. He was much admired by that experienced judge, Mr. William S. VanNatta, who leased the bull for a short term and bred about twenty cows to him. The resulting calves were a useful lot and the blood thus introduced was doubtless something

512 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of a factor in the success of the extensive Fowler & VanNatta breeding operations. The bull was then sold for $3,000 to go to western Kansas. He was loaded for shipment on a bad blustery night late in the fall against Mr. Leigh’s wishes, and caught cold and died soon after reaching his destination.

Royal Grove.—Mr. Curry acquired many valu- able cattle during the years in which he was en- gaged in breeding and exhibiting Herefords. Hav- ing sold Archibald and having lost Pirate, he im- ported in 1886 the grand young bull Royal Grove 21500, by The Grove 3d and out of a Spartan dam, one of the most promising sons of his great sire, an own brother to Mr. Cochrane’s Cassio and without doubt one of the best young bulls ever imported. He was considered a great bargain at the 200 guineas paid for him in England and $3,000 were refused for him after his landing in America. He was shown at the fairs of 1886 and was an easy win- ner, heading the championship herd over all beef breeds at Minneapolis. His death shortly after im-' portation was a serious loss to Mr. Curry as well as to the breed in this country, and added still an- other to the long list of English-bred show bulls not long surviving importation. Bred to that mar- velous old mother of monarchs, Gay Lass, Royal Grove begot Gaiety Grove, a cow that produced in Mr. Sotham’s herds successful show cattle such as Grace and Sir Comewell, both by Corrector.

J. R. Price & Son.—Mr. Price, although born in the state of Ohio in 1835, was distantly related

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[ NedPrice |) ===

514 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

to John Price of Court House, Herefordshire. In conjunction with his son ‘‘Ned’’ he engaged in the breeding, importation and exhibition of Herefords and in the early ’80’s brought out from England 132 head of cattle in connection with the firm of Finch, Lord & Nelson of Burlingame, Kans. Many of these bulls were taken by Charles Goodnight to the Texas Panhandle, where they were so success- fully crossed upon the JA cows as to attract the im- mediate attention of all the great range outfits in that region.

' During the years 1884 and 1885 the Messrs. Price won upwards of 100 prizes at leading cornbelt fairs and fat stock shows. One of their best breeding bulls was Regulus 2d (6089), bred by John Price and imported by Mr. Culbertson. He was sired by Regulus 3849, son of Sir Roger by Sir Thomas. This bull sired among other fine cattle the steer Regulus, champion of the Chicago Fat Stock Show of 1885, fed and shown by Mr. VanNatta. Regulus 2d was sold to Nathan Hussey for $1,500. Prob- ably the most noted female of the Price herd was Miss Frere, a daughter of Sir Bartle Frere, that was bought at Carwardine’s dispersion sale.

The Iowa Hereford Cattle Company.—This was an English exporting venture capitalized at £30,000. An Anglo-American enterprise of which the late Henry E. Yeomans was manager at Indian- ola, Ia., it represented an effort on the part of sev eral Englishmen to engage in the direct shpiment and sale of Herefordshire cattle to the western

PERIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED 515

United States. Mr. John H. Yeomans of Stretton Court was the home representative of the company, and his brother ‘‘Harry,’’ as above stated, handled the American end of the business. Mr. A. H. Swan was also interested in the venture.

The company entered the trade near its flood tide and sent out some high-class cattle, including the show bulls Washington 22615 and Sergeant. Major 22611, both bred by Allen Hughes of Wintercott and both sired by Rudolph 13478. These bulls were popular winners at the big mid-west shows of 1885, the great contest of the year being the hard battle between the two-year-olds at the Illinois State Fair at Chicago, when Sergeant Major, a bull of fine promise, met and defeated Fowler, Broadbreast and Bowdoin. Long prices were refused for Sergeant Major, but he died in 1886. Washington, although a great winner for several seasons at the head of the company’s show herds, was not specially suc- cessful as a sire. He was out of Plum 3d, the cow that produced Mr. Arkwright’s Iroquois (6111) and Mr. Cochrane’s bull President. The company did not meet with financial success, being caught in the downward swing of values that set in as it was get- ting fairly under way.

Cook of Odebolt.—Mr. C. W. Cook, a large operator in real estate in Chicago and owner of the great 7,000-acre farm of Brookmont near Odebolt, Ia., imported more Herefords into the United States during the boom period of the ’80’s than any of his contemporaries. He is credited with bringing

516 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

over 330 head. He did not undertake as a rule, however, the purchase of show cattle or those in special demand by reason of fashionable breeding. In fact, in some cases his importations included cattle which, while doubtless of well established Hereford breeding, did not measure up to the strict American rules governing pedigree registration of English-bred Herefords. These were comparative- ly few in number, however.

In 1885 the herd numbered 500 head and was claimed to be the largest collection of purebred Herefords in the world at that date. While these importations did not figure conspicuously in the American sale and showyard records of the period under review, they enjoyed a wide distribution among farmers and ranchmen. Mr. Cook, Sr., was succeeded in the ownership of this great Iowa prop- erty by his son, Mr. A. E. Cook, and the herd was not finally closed out until 1914.

The Full List. of Importers of this Period.— Space admonishes that we must now bring this por- tion of our story to a close. We should like to enter into details regarding the operations of a number of other firms, corporations and individuals that figured conspicuously in the annals of the period, but there is so much yet ahead that we shall, for the present, conclude these notes on importations by appending some interesting statistics now present- ed for the first time. In the tabulation the full list of those who participated in these shipments is set forth.

PERIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED 517

At our request Mr. R. J. Kinzer, Secretary of the American Hereford Breeders’ Association, Kansas City, Mo., has compiled a list of all the Herefords imported from Great Britain into the United States between the years 1848 and 1886 inclusive, in so far as is shown by the records of the association. It will be understood that these figures merely repre- sent cattle the pedigrees of which were sent for reg- istry in the herd book, and do not include many of those imported in the ante-herd book days. Fur- thermore, it is probable that at different periods ad- ditional cattle were brought in that were either ineligible to record or whose pedigrees were lost be- fore registration in this country was commenced.

Many different estimates have been made as to the number of cattle transferred from Hereford- shire to the States during the boom days of the early ’80’s. ‘‘Bell’s Messenger,’’ one of the lead- ing agricultural papers of Great Britain at that time, estimated in 1884 that during the five years preceding that date there had been exported to the United States between 3,900 and 4,000 head. It will be observed that this estimate approximates the total number recorded on this side the water as shown by the subjoined tabulation, which we have arranged in the order of the number of animals im- ported by the respective firms, corporations and individuals included. It will be observed that the heaviest importations centered in the territory west of the Mississippi River, the headquarters for the two largest operators being in the state of Iowa.

518 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Mr. Cook, the Messrs. Yeomans and their colleagues and Geo. Morgan led the trade in point of activity during the period under consideration.

IMPORTATIONS OF HEREFORD CATTLE TO THE UNITED STATES FROM ENGLAND BETWEEN 1848 AND 1886.

Number

Importer Address of Cattle

C. W. Cook & Son............-... .Odebolt, Ia. ............ 330 Iowa Hereford Cattle Co..........-- : Indianola, yf: Hoe stare 253 George Leigh & Co..........--..008 Aurora, Ill. ............. 250 Wyoming Hereford Association...... Cheyenne, Wyo. ......... 225 Indiana Blooded Stock Co........... Indianapolis, Ind. ....... 208 ue MS Stuarts .ies ev enescorenwee Lafayette, Ind. ......... 190 TT; G; Miller Coveccc3 cc enansaavieens ¥ Beeener, Tl. yeeewenesiae 170 J OR PHicescccman wwe st 5a ceases Williamsville, In... e Gudgell & Simpson... .....--Independence, Mo. Fowler & VanNatta Fowler, Ind.

Cc. M. Culbertson

'Beecher, Ill. ":: ..Vassalboro, Me. . ie GC, BGrtraie. 2.6.0 ice ancs i Gir eed «Bristol, Tl. 2 ésesscesnaes 87

Bs, Hersey’ ise. 6 io. cavevinvs wes ea veieies Seer 4is an. Muscatine, Ia. .......... 13 e A. "Mle Be CG open cocoa stewwas St. Marys, Kans. ........ 60

Thomas Ponting mie ih tases See Sw avenstiet ayaa .Moweaqua, Ill. .......... 50 FF. W.. Smith.3.2%226 55000004 ors cones Columbia, Mo. .......... 42 Clough, Bros). 265.8. sietisssiie ion 3.24 ane it is 40 Ford. &_Drimmie.. ee . act a

G. E. Hunton.... Merrill & Fifield Foster _& Pearsa! John Borland ..

3. . _O. defatted lode sudizeecaseesuisvayauey sy alious ‘Sheldon, Cc. QMAT oivcccscceventsmanccs DIDDIT TD Iamdora, ’ Ta.

PEBIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED 519

Number Importer Addregs of Cattle Herta Bros. .... Peotone, Ill. D. Hudnall Las Animas, Rinitcin Bros. .. .. Youngstown, ls Cc. Parmelee Des Plaines, Iil. B. a OM Ps: creviacautn piece erie ness bk od eetaie- Sm nate Chicago, Ib. wis sees ev ene Allen Gregory Chicago, Ill. ............ «Price. 25 os os.

. -Rocheport, ie diva AA dence W. Richardson ..: oe osha George F. Baker. W. E. Campbell....... . William Constable Beecher, Ill. William Hamilton ................. Flint, Mich. J. L. Northrup................-..00. C. H. Rollins........ : Chris Wollenberg F. e areca ane Sa

A; CHNOPG. cccase hen esa reae ena Loveland, Colo. : side Wiliam & Hee Creedi ys saearan-sss Youngstown, Oi hh seating W. A, Bright. o.sc«9 cs ese nsawui news Columbia, Mo. .......... A. A Grane Seite te Pe tiadira eS Sc8 lane Serrphaee eee ate Osco, TU. wvcrereinlca geeceaereanea

Alexander Moffit. Joab Mulvane Henry Yeld ......

-Mechanicsville, Ia. .- Topeka, Kans. . Stanton, Nebr.

Thomas Clark slates 24 oa ea ene ees Beecher; In. aia ce 6 oan

A. a Cochrane & Bros.............. Westfield, N. Y.

Gr Ay OCG iss: 2 6m -bie ais bb trims Sy alcenedavdvarnsa Denver, Colo. ... illite

W. M. Morgan & Son............... Irving, Kans. .......... Ota ay eid rei ON a deb See Be ARS URGES ENG GAMES 2 344 oH

Commenting upon the above Secretary Kinzer says: ‘‘As nearly as we can estimate, there were probably not to exceed 200 head of cattle imported into the States before 1880. Figuring on this basis this would leave something like 3,550 head imported between 1880 and 1889.’’

In connection with a subsequent chapter the fig- ures covering the importation of Herefords into the United States from the year 1893 up to date will be presented.

Cattle Imported to Canada.—Supplementary to the above list of importations into the United States Mr. Kinzer has also kindly compiled for us the following table showing the number of Here- fords imported by Canadian breeders from the ear- liest period down to the year 1904, in so far as such

520 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

importations have been recorded in the American Hereford Record:

Number Importer Address of Cattle W. T.. Bensone s<2. eigen os aaa acess Cardinal, Ont., Can, ....... 10 Ce. C. SBrld@es i. ccs: ha oithise eas MRR BE Shanty Bay, Ont., Can. .... 12 M. H. Spehrenes: .. Hillhurst, Can. 7 A. B. Cushing... Dix, Can, .........+.0--o- Dawes & Co.. Lacine, Can. S. W. Dearborn. Oshawa, Ont., L. G. Oshawa, Ont., F. A. ..Weston, Ont., WwW. B. te 8 Sherbrook, Can E. W. - Hillhurst, Can, ... ee R. J. Oshawa, Ont., Can. ........ 20 R. H. Pope Crookshire, Can. .......... 15 James Sharman & Son: ..-Stratford, Can. ............ 12 D. A. Smith......... -Silver Heights, Man., Can 8 F. W. Stone........- waists -Guelph, Ont., Can. ........ w. a Vernon. ... 2. ec ce cnc csceecen Waterville, Can. .......... 11 w. & H. A. Hunter (in 1899)..... The Maples, Ont., Can. .... 6 Ontario Agriculture College (in 1901) Gocleh, Ont., Can. ........ 2 Penhall (in 1902).....-...-000- Villa Nova, Ont, Can. ..... 6 Gniaets Agricultural Col. (in 1904). Guelph, Ont., Can. ......0e 2 POtalewcs cs 6444 1s ese ev ERASE HOS ao PORE De OPER RL Ee OER 368

The Herd Book Bought from Mr. Miller.— While the American Hereford Cattle Breeders’ As- sociation was organized at the Grand Pacific Hotel, Chicago, on June 22, 1881, with Mr. C. M. Culbert- son, President, Mr. T. E. Miller (son of T. L. Mil- ler), Secretary, and Mr. Adams Earl, Treasurer, it was not until February, 1883, that arrangements were made for taking over the control of the herd book from Mr. Miller and his associates. The orig- inal charter was taken out over the signatures of C. M. Culbertson, William S. VanNatta, Charles B. Stuart, Gilman S. Burleigh and T. L. Miller. Vol- umes 1 and 2 of the herd book, issued respectively in 1881 and 1882, were practically published pri- vately by Mr. Miller, although nominally issued from the press of the ‘‘Breeders’ Live Stock Asso- ciation,’’ Beecher, Tl.

PERIOD OF BIG IMPORTS CONCLUDED 521

More Stringent Rules Adopted—At a special meeting of the American association held at the Sherman House in Chicago on Feb. 28, 1883, at which some forty members were present, arrange- ments were made for purchasing the book for the sum of $5,000. At this meeting the rules of entry were amended in important particulars to insure future greater purity of blood. By this time the breed was in such demand, and at such strong prices, that there was temptation to put upon the market animals whose lineage could not be traced in all lines to satisfactory sources. Attention was called to the fact that the English Herd Book So- ciety was annually admitting to registration ani- mals whose ancestors in the female line had not pre- viously been on record. In order, therefore, to pro- tect American buyers from short-pedigreed cattle of either English or American origin it was decided, first, to admit all animals whose sire and dam were already on record in Volume 1 or Volume 2 of the American Herd Book, or in the first thirteen vol- umes of the English Herd Book, and that ‘‘the pedi- grees of all animals not entitled to record in either of the two volumes of the American Hereford Rec- ord, or in the first thirteen volumes of the English Herd Book, under the above rule, shall, before en- try in future volumes of the American Hereford Record, show sire of recorded pedigree in either the English Herd Book or American Hereford Record; and the pedigree of the dam must include name, breeder, date of birth, owner, sire and dam, through

522 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

four crosses, and shall end in the herd of a reputa- ble breeder in England, whose herd is of undoubted purity.’’

In the constitution and by-laws adopted for the government of the association the actual control of the business affairs of the organization was placed in the hands of an executive committee of three, of which Mr. Charles B. Stuart was chairman for a long series of years. Mr. Charles Gudgell served for many years with Mr. Stuart upon this commit- tee. While there was ultimately strong objection to so much power being lodged in its hands all ad- mitted that the affairs of the organization pros- pered amazingly under such direction, the associa- tion finally becoming financially one of the strongest of its kind in the United States.

At the annual meeting of the association held at Chicago in November, 1883, Mr. William S. Van- Natta was elected President, and a special commit- tee appointed for the purpose of raising money for encouraging Hereford exhibits at the Fat Stock Show reported that the desired amount of $2,000 had been over-subscribed.

GHAPTER XIl.

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR.

The very highest degree of excellence, indeed ap- proximate perfection, is required to win blue and purple ribbons in great open competitions. This is the reason why breeders always have a pride in tracing the descent of their cattle, if possible, from ancestors whose titles to superiority have been made clear by notable showyard victories. It may there- fore serve a useful purpose to take up in some detail the roster of great names developed by some of the more memorable contests that occurred during the years immediately following this great influx of Herefordshire’s best blood into the western states, for out of this flood of importations emerged the herds, distributed far and wide, that have since made the blood practically available to all parts of the country upon a legitimate commercial basis.

As we have already pointed out, Sir Charles, Suc- cess, Hero, and the Anxieties led the early line of Herefords in the great battle of the breeds that con- stituted so marked a feature of the western fairs from 1876 to the later ’80’s. They were followed by many British showyard stars of the first magni- tude; but within a comparatively short space of time American breeders were producing by a judi-

cious blending of the various bloods now in their 523

524 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

possession show cattle equaling, if not indeed ex- celling in some respects, the best showyard types evolved in England.

The Great Fight of 1882.—Let us start with a reference to certain old-time exhibitions at impor- tant fairs of the cornbelt states which gave a zest to those events previously unknown—those foolish old days of ‘‘picked-up’’ committees and breed com- petitions, when the shrewdest ‘‘wire-puller’’ or the most successful ‘‘bull-dozer’’ among the exhibitors stood a good chance of obtaining results which in these later times would be impossible.

There was a time when the real battle of the breeds began at two important district shows in the state of Indiana, one at Lafayette and the other at Crawfordsville. Liberal money prizes were pro- vided for open. classes at both places, and this chance to line up alongside the Shorthorns was eagerly accepted by the zealous new champions of the Hereford.

At that date no American newspaper was making any effort to report the contests at these events in any detail, and noting the necessity for such a serv- ice the newly established ‘‘Breeder’s Gazette’’ un- dertook the task, not however without serious mis- givings. The story of the Lafayette show of 1882, told in the issue of that paper for Sept. 14 of that year, would probably bring a broad smile to the seasoned reader of such reviews in these later days, but it nevertheless suffices to reflect clearly a decidedly tense situation.

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 525

The Shorthorn colors were borne by the follow- ing: J. H. Potts & Son, with their Duke of Richmond blood; ‘‘Uncle Harvey’’ Sodowsky, as sly an old showman as ever set foot in a showyard, and owner of that great show cow Jessie Hopewell; Thomas Wilhoit, one of the best breeders and feeders in In- diana, with his famous Knight of Athelstane; Launcelot Palmer of Missouri, with old Loudon Duke of Greenwood; besides Stevenson & Son and Croft Bros., both of Illinois. ;

The Hereford cause now no longer depended upon Mr. Miller, for Messrs. Culbertson, Earl & Stuart, Fowler & VanNatta, Thomas Clark, William Con- stable, C. K. Parmelee, and Benjamin Hershey had got their heads together during the summer months and resolved to go after the enemy en masse. Each of these fitted and sent into the Lafayette, Craw- fordsville, Peoria and St. Louis shows of that year the best of their top cattle—some 70 head in all, and a mighty phalanx it was.

It does not seem to matter much just now as to what happened that week at Lafayette, but it cer- tainly had meaning enough at the time, not only to those who participated as exhibitors, but to the thousands of farmers and cattle growers in all parts of the country who were interested in the warfare being waged at these exhibitions of breeding ani- mals, as well as at the Chicago Fat Stock Show.

The class judging came first. Constable won with Hero over Clark’s Anxiety 3d and Culbertson’s Sir Garnet by The Grove 3d; Earl & Stuart had first on

526 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

two-year-old bull with the massive imported Royal 16th, over Romeo and Tregrehan; Shadeland scored again on yearling bulls with Prince Edward, against Anxiety 4th and Anxiety 5th and others. Culbert- son won first in a strong class for cows with imp. Downton Rose, second going to Shadeland’s imp. Lady 3d*; Clark won in the two-year-old heifers with Peerless, as against Venus; a rare lot of year- ling heifers were headed by Hershey’s Miss Broad- gauge 2d by Horatius, with Earl & Stuart’s Wilton heifer Delight 2d as the runner-up. Prettymaid and Duchess 2d were unplaced in this extraordinary company. It will be noted that the entire outfit of winners was imported.

There was no end of trouble before a committee was finally secured to judge the open classes. With the Hereford men it was ‘‘anything to beat the Shorthorns.’’ It mattered not at all which Here- ford bull, cow or herd might be chosen. The only question was how to prevent the ‘‘Shorthorn crowd from putting up a job’’ to beat them. There were nightly councils of war at the old Hotel Lahr. Scouts were appointed to give warning of attempted unfair tactics. Culbertson was in command of a coterie of comrades under perfect discipline. Man after man tendered by the society to serve as a juror was challenged and rejected, sometimes be- cause he was a cattle feeder instead of a breeder, and sometimes vice versa. Worn out at length by

*While this cow, Lady 3d by Horace 2d, had been shown regularly since eas she had dropped three calves by the time she was five years 0!

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 527

the irreconcilable differences between the spokes- men for the rival hosts, the superintendent finally named a committee without reference to the wishes of either side, and the big fight was then waged with the following result:

In the graded herd.competition Potts was first, Culbertson second and Sodowsky third. In young herds Fowler & VanNatta were first, Potts second and Parmelee third. Constable took the bull cham- pionship with Hero and Sodowsky the cow cham- pionship with Jessie Hopewell.

It might interest some of the younger generation of cattle breeders to know that of the.30 Shorthorns shown in these championship contests there were but two roans, and of course no whites.

“<The Breeder’s Gazette’? commented on the es- prit du corps in the Hereford camp upon this memo- rable occasion, and stated that the Hereford aggre- gation, including so many English Royal winners, would be seen all the way through the central cir- cuit, with their campaign practically directed by one man, working not for himself but for the glory and honor of the breed. This drew out from Hon. J. H. Pickrell, the old-time Shorthorn showman, of Baron Booth of Lancaster fame, the following comment:

‘“Why should 70 cattle travel in one body, under. one major general, to a fair that gives as the highest prize (in class) but $20, unless it is to awe the whole country with its grandeur? It must be a weak cause that needs such bolstering. Let me ask, why make such a war at all? Time settles all things and will in the end tell us what will best shorten a Texas

528 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

horn, what breed will thrive best and make the greatest improvement generally.’’

At Crawfordsville the week following the excite- ment was again intense, and when the gates closed it was found that while some re-distribution of hon- ors had been made the break was so even as to dem- onstrate that it was a case of Greek versus Greek. Potts had first in the big herd competition, Sodow- sky second and Culbertson third. In young herds Earl & Stuart were first, Fowler & VanNatta second and Parmelee third. Tregrehan was champion bull and Jessie Hopewell champion female.

And so the battle raged that year—with new con- verts clearly gained for the ‘‘white faces,’’ and with Shorthorn breeders turning more and more towards the Seotch blood that was bearing so well the brunt of this unprecedented attack upon their position.

‘*Rudolph’s Year.’’—The event of the year 1883 was the appearance of Rudolph, probably the great- est son of The Grove 3d, flashed upon the American public at Des Moines. G. S. Burleigh had his imp. Anxiety 2d on the western circuit, then three years old and shown at a weight of 2,535 pounds. Gudgell & Simpson had a strong herd of Aberdeen- Angus on the road, headed by old Knight of St. Pat- rick, so that the open beef-herd championship was hotly contested. Potts and Robert Miller won first and second respectively, and the Wyoming Here- fords were third.

W. C. McGavock, who had started in with Here-

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 529

fords at Franklin, Mo., sent a show herd out this year headed by Gypsy Boy, a 1,900-pound three- year-old that took first at the Minnesota State Fair and at other shows.

J. S. Hawes of Colony, Kans., and W. E. Camp- bell of Caldwell, Kans., were conspicuous exhibitors this season in the west; at Topeka the latter beat his Shorthorn opponents in the bull championship, and the former gained an open prize for bull with five of his calves. It was here that Campbell first ex- hibited his famous yearling grade heifer, Texas Jane.*

In Michigan, Phelps of Pontiac, William Hamil- ton of Flint, and Thomas Foster flew the Hereford flag. Unfortunately we are without the names of their prize-winners.

The big show of 1883 was at the Illinois State Fair, held that year at Chicago. Rudolph, Tregre- han, Anxiety 2d, Anxiety 3d, and Sir Garnet were there, and Mr. Burleigh’s bull had the honor of standing next to Rudolph. Fowler & VanNatta. gained the grand beef herd championship over the Potts Shorthorns with a lot that included Tre- grehan, Ethel, Viola, Fancy, and Jewel 3d. Tom

*Over Texas Jane’s stall was this placard: “J was born on W. E. Campbell’s ranch Aug. 19, 1882, and was at once christened : Texas Jane. My father was a Hereford thoroughbred ; My mother a wild Texas scrub; The cross makes me easily fed, | And I am able to rustle for grub.

Don’t stare at the meat on my back,

Or be surprised at my snowy-white face; For ’tis all the work of Pa Pa :

That gives me this Hereford grace.”

530 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Clark was already becoming famous for the quality of his heifers and drew first in both the three- and two-year-old classes, and second on yearlings.

At St. Louis the Wyoming herd, with Rudolph at the head, gained the lion’s share of the honors, op- position being offered by J. S. Hawes and W. C. McGavock.

The Scare of 1884—The discovery of. what the official veterinarians called contagious pleuro-pneu- monia among certain dairy and distillery-fed cattle in Illinois frightened most of those who had fitted herds for show in 1884 into keeping their cattle at home, so that the exhibits were more or less meager all around.

Tom Clark and George Leigh ventured out, how- ever, at Chicago. Clark showed Hero this year, a bull that would have stood a lot of competition. He had first in his class, and ribbons decorated the hal- ters of Peerless, Duchess 12th, Silver, Jessie 2d, and Flossie.

While the show season was practically a failure, there was a big trade in 1884 in Herefords all over the west, although prices had begun to sag off under excessive importations which were somewhat below the levels reached a few years previous. At a com- bination sale at Kansas City in September Gudgell & Simpson, George Leigh & Co.,,and Frank Crane sold 70 head at an average of $514.57. It was here that E. S. Shockey bought the Anxiety bulls Beau Monde, at $1,000, and Beau Real, as a calf, at $300.

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 531

George W. Henry bought imp. Royal 16th at the $1,000 figure. W. E. Campbell paid $1,230 for imp. Miss Archibald, and George Morgan gave $1,500 for Primrose 2d.

The Shows of 1885.—At the. Iowa State Fair the Iowa Hereford Cattle Co.’s Washington was the first-prize aged bull, Sergeant Major heading the two-year-old class and the famous cow Melody 10th gaining first among the aged females.

In the competition for the grand beef herd cham- pionship, however, all breeds competing, the S. 8. Brown Shorthorns were first, T. W. Harvey’s Tur- lington Aberdeen-Angus were second, and the Herefords third. ;

At Minnesota J. O. Curry and J. C. Bertram of Aurora, IIl., made exhibits, Mr. Bertram showing his stylish yearling Wilton bull Sir Wilfred and Curry gaining first in the cow class with Delight (the dam of Peerless), then ten years old. Mr. Cul- bertson was also an exhibitor and had second prize here on Helen by Anxiety.

At the old Western National Show at Bismarck Grove, Lawrence, Kans., in those days one of the leading agricultural fairs of the west, J. H. Hawes was first with his famous Fortune, son of Sir Rich- ard 2d. Other exhibitors were Lucien Scott, G. A. Fowler of Kansas City, and Shockey & Gibb of Law- rence.

At the Illinois State Fair, held in Chicago, the Herefords were unquestionably the strongest class

532 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

on the grounds. Washington was the first-prize aged bull and Sergeant Major was again winner over a great string of two-year-olds. The Iowa company’s Melody was adjudged the best cow and Fowler & VanNatta were second with Lark, one of the most notable members of their herd at that time.

At St. Louis Hawes, Crane, and F. H. Jackson of South Bend, Ind., competed; Fortune, shown at a weight of 2,550 pounds, won first, and Crane had second on the good bull Grimley 9443.

The Business Overdone.—During the year 1885, notwithstanding the activity on the surface, signs began to multiply which indicated that the market for purebred Herefords had for the time being been overstocked. Stimulated by the widespread display of interest in the ‘‘white faces’’, importation had followed importation until more cattle were on the market than could be taken care of at prices ap- proaching those prevailing during the years imme- diately preceding. By this time many herds had sprung into existence in nearly all the leading agri- cultural states, and various speculators were bring- ing over cattle which were being offered both at public and private sale. Those who had borne the heat and burden of the day in introducing the breed in the west, and who had already made large invest- ments in the very best of the British show and breeding stock, began to feel the desirability of in some way restricting the number of cattle being of- fered.

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One Hundred Dollar Tax on Imported Cattle. —At the annual meeting of the American Hereford Breeders’ Association in Chicago on Nov. 13, 1885, membership in the association was restricted to American citizens, and a new rule was adopted providing that all imported cattle thereafter offered for entry in the American herd book should pay a recording fee of $100. The object of this was ob- vious—the checking of free importations of the in- ferior or low-grade cattle which were being bought in England in the hope of reselling in America at a profit.

At this same meeting a rule was adopted provid- ing that every animal imported before Nov. 13, © 1885, and every animal calved in America prior to Jan. 1, 1886, should not be eligible to record in the American herd book after July 1, 1886; that application for entry must be made within six months; and that out of every ten bulls dropped as the property of any member’ after Jan. 1, 1886, only nine should be eligible to record, the object of this being to insure the discarding of 10 per cent of the bull calf crop. A resolution was also adopted providing that cattle imported prior to March 1, 1886, by breeders unaware of these new rules should be admitted on submission of proper evidence to that effect. This meeting was presided over by Dr. O. Bush of Sheldon, IIl., at that time president of the association. Needless to say, the radical action aroused some bitterness and provoked acrimonious

debate.

534 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

The results of the trade both at public and private sale in England and America during the year 1885 indicated clearly that ‘‘the bloom was off the rye,’’ so far as fancy prices for anything except the very best cattle were concerned. The fact is, that the pace had been too fast, the business was being over- done. While quite a number of importers and deal- ers were financially crippled during the slump in values that materialized about this date, there was no doubt but that in the long run the period of liq- uidation which now set in was beneficial so far as the ultimate best interest of the Herefords in the United States was concerned. Excellent cattle were now being produced in the United States from past importations, and it was no longer essential that the herds of Herefordshire be heavily drawn upon to supply home demands.

The Famous Invasion of Kentucky.—The year 1886 is memorable in the annals of American beef cattle breeding for the vigorous effort made by the Illinois and Indiana champions of the Herefords to storm the one great citadel of Shorthorn power— the blue grass region of Kentucky. For the span of two generations Kentucky had been wedded to the “‘red, white and roan.’’ Throughout all the years that the ‘‘white faces’’ had been steadily gaining ground north of the Ohio River they had received no encouraging word from ‘‘the Blue Grass.’’ The Alexanders, Renicks, Vanmeters, Cunninghams, Bedfords, Goffs, Clays, Warfields, Hamiltons, and their contemporaries had for years reigned supreme

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 535

in their capacity as purveyors-in-chief to the farm- ers of the Mississippi Valley, and latterly to the ranchmen of Texas and the southwest in general, of all that was deemed best in the way of good cattle. Accustomed for two generations to the patronage of . the leading cattle growers of the west they scoffed at the pretensions of the Herefords, and were slow to admit what their colleagues in the north had al- ready conceded—that the newcomers from Here- fordshire were destined henceforth to divide the honors with their favorites.

The two leading shows of 1886 in ‘‘the Blue Grass’’ were scheduled for Shelbyville and Lexing- ton. At these two points the charge of Pickett’s heroes at Gettysburg was in a bovine sense dupli- cated, and with like results. At the risk of weary- ing somewhat the readers of this volume, the author ventures to incorporate at this point liberal ‘ex- cerpts from his own attempt at telling the story of this undertaking—practically his first reportorial effort in the way of a detailed account of an event of such character. We quote from ‘‘The Breeder’s

Gazette’’ of Sept. 2, 1886:

“THE HEREFORDS IN KENTUCKY. “REPELLED AT SHELBYVILLE BY BLUE GRASS SHORTHORNS,

***And darest thou then To beard the lion in his den, the Douglas in his hall?’

‘‘The sensation of the showyard season just in- augurated, so far as the beef breeds of cattle are concerned, is the ‘nervy’ attempt of leading breed- ers of Herefords to force a hearing in the most

536 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

‘solid’ of all American Shorthorn breeding districts, the Blue Grass country of Kentucky.

‘‘For weeks past the threatened invasion by the ‘white faces’ has been the one theme of conversation among the Shorthorn people of the locality named, and as the clans began to gather for the fray last week the good citizens of Shelbyville suddenly found their quiet little city transformed into a bustling camp of warring factions with but one name upon every lip: ‘The Herefords!’ Verily the Shorthorn citadel was shaken from center to circumference, and as the long line of deep-fleshed wanderers from Herefordshire wound its way through their gates, with Fowler, Sir Bartle Frere, Bowdoin, Prince Ed- ward, and Caractacus as their chiefs, those who had been born and raised with the supremacy of the ‘red, white and roan,’ undisputed and unchallenged were treated to a sight such as the eyes of many who gazed with eager interest had never before regaled themselves. Hundreds of those who came to visit the show had never seen a Hereford, and it is but simple justice to the breed to state that some, at least, who had apparently come to scoff remained to admire; and while the visitors were unable to snatch a victory from out the jaws of what they had all along expected would prove a defeat, they feel that a missionary work has been accomplished that will some day return a reasonable profit.

**It goes without saying that the invading column was a strong one, representing, as it did, the first- class herds of Messrs. Adams Earl, of Lafayette, Ind.; Fowler & VanNatta, Fowler, Ind.; C. M. Cul- bertson and G. W. Henry, both of Chicago, Il.; and, while not so large a combination as the memo- rable white-faced array of 1882, and while by no means including all the best show beasts of the

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 537

breed in the north, it was nevertheless a formidable force for any one breed of cattle to encounter sin- gle-handed, even upon its own soil. The charge was successfully, and we might say, good-humoredly re- pelled, however, with the herds of Col. T. S. Mober- ley, of Richmond, and T. S. Grundy & Sons of Springfield (Ky.), bearing the brunt of the fight. Mr. A. J. Alexander sent a small contingent of young things under the lead of the 37th Duke of Airdrie from Woodburn, and Messrs. J. G. Robbins & Sons reinforced the army of defense with a herd from Horace, Ind., while Shelby County breeders contributed their mite in aid of the general cause.

‘“‘The story of the placing of the prizes in the Hereford class by a local committee follows:

‘‘Five animals eligible to the ring for Hereford bulls three years old and over were on the ground, three of which, it may be observed, were sons of the celebrated Lord Wilton, but one of their number, Mr. Henry’s well known Stocktonbury bull imp. Prince Edward, was off his feed and was not led out. The quartette that did enter the amphitheatre, however, was one of extraordinary merit, and it would have been no easy task for a jury even of ex- pert Hereford breeders to pass upon the bulls with- out considerable delay. The judges were, we under- stand, none of them familiar with the kind of cattle upon which they were required to pass, and we be- lieve we are correct in saying that they did not ‘handle’ a single entry in this ring. Mr. Earl brought forward his $3,000 English Royal winner Sir Bartle Frere (6682), by Lord Wilton (4740), out of Tiny (4467) by Longhorns (4711), with a weight of nearly 2,500 pounds, the first appearance of the bull, we believe, in any American showyard. As stated in ‘The Gazette’ for Aug. 19, this bull has

538 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

achieved a national reputation as the sire of the first-, second- and third-prize grade yearling steers

at the Chicago Fat Stock Show, and in his present form, with his lovely yearling daughters by his side, must be a source of the highest pride to his owner as he is of admiration to the public. He has a head and horn of unusual beauty, full of strong character, and yet as handsome as could be wished. His ribs spring out with a noble arch, showing a back and loin of most extraordinary strength; and on this account, if for no other reason, he is a dan- gerous competitor in any field. The flesh carried by this bull on his top is certainly sufficient to jus- tify at least some of the talk of our Hereford friends about the wealth of meat carried by their cattle in the most valuable parts, for if abundance of choice broiling and roasting beef is any desideratum Sir Bartle Frere is a type of beast that must delight the hand and eye of any man used to handling beeves of fine quality. He carried more flesh than any bull of any breed on exhibition, and carried it all with such smoothness and great show of fine breeding as to stamp him an animal of rare quality.

“Next to this son of Wilton stood Mr. G. W. Henry’s imp. Caractacus (7470), showing rather more white than is deemed desirable in the perfectly marked Hereford, but a bull of great substance and much flesh withal. He is on the short, compact or- der, and if he had some of Royal 16th’s great length would have probably pleased Kentucky cattlemen as well as any bull in the ring. He was bred by John W. Smith, Thinghill Court, Hereford, and was got by Rosarian (6139) (son of Marechal Neil 4485), out of Curly 7th 12250 by The Emperor 12257, he by Mercury (3967), the sire of Longhorns (4711), Tredegar (5077), Thoughtful (5063), ete.

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 539

‘‘Fowler 12099, Messrs. Fowler & VanNatta’s cel- ebrated son of old Tregrehan 6203,:made friends from the beginning; and the encomiums he received at the hands of both the public and members of the awarding committee were the spontaneous tribute paid by unbiased men to an animal that possesses merit of an uncommon kind. Fowler will be re- membered by many of our readers as one of the sen- sational two-year-olds of the Illinois State Fair of - 1885, and at that time was regarded by some good judges as the best Hereford bull of his age in the west. He carried 1,850 pounds at Chicago last Sep- tember, if we remember aright, and while a slight indisposition robbed him of some of his flesh some weeks ago, he has been on the up-grade since, and now lifts the beam at about 2,300 pounds. When it is remembered that he is but a trifle past three years old, and is not in the highest flesh, it will be seen that he is of great scale. He has good length, good rib, good back and loin, covers well on nearly all his points and carries the meat low down on his car- cass. He has marvelous width in front (as has his famous sire), giving great room for heart and lungs, and altogether shows much genuine Hereford char- acter. His dam, Princess 1990, was by Seventy-Six 1093, son of that great old sire imp. Sir Richard 2d 4984.

“Mr. C. M. Culbertson’s Bowdoin 8579 was one of Fowler’s competitors at Chicago last year, and stood next to Sergeant Major in that interesting competition. He came forward at Shelbyville in his three-year-old form as showy as ever, and with twelve months’ development adding to the charms that rendered him a successful bull in 1885. He has done extremely well since returned to Newman from Michigan, and with his great smoothness and style

540 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

is a dangerous antagonist. Like Sir Bartle Frere, he might fill a little better in his flank, and a little more flesh to round him out a trifle behind the shoulder would not be amiss, but he is so neatly turned and so pleasing is the general effect produced upon the eye as one beholds him, that he leaves a most favorable impression. He is a son of the old hero of Stocktonbury (Lord Wil- ton), out of a Remus cow, and was bred by Mr. 8. Goode, of Ivingtonbury.

‘““There was but one ribbon to be awarded and, by a vote of two to one, it was given to Fowler, the other vote being cast for Mr. Henry’s Caracta- cus.

‘“‘No two-year-olds were entered and but a few yearlings, Mr. VanNatta securing the ribbon in the latter ring with Randolph, the son of Tregrehan that won first prize at the Illinois State Fair last fall as bull calf. In bull calves Mr. J. A. Pickett, of Shelby Co., Ky., who is quietly testing the ‘white faces’ in the ‘penny-royal country,’ came to the front with a son of Brant 12314, a Canada-bred sire, in competition with seven head from Fowler & Van- Natta, Adams Earl and C. M. Culbertson.

‘‘Before taking up the cows and heifers the prize for best bull of any age was awarded and developed quite a surprise to the knowing ones, Fowler, Bow- doin, Sir Bartle Frere, Caractacus and all giving way to Mr. Earl’s yearling Earl of Shadeland 9th, a worthy youngster unnoticed by the committee on yearling bulls. This decision seemed to rather ‘paralyze’ our Hereford friends, but it must be admitted that the recivient of the ribbon is not only a choice individual, but richly bred. He is a son of that finely-fleshed and impressive sire Garfield (6975), dam Bramble 2d (6948) by Lord Wilton, and

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 541

while a very elegant young bull the wisdom of rat- ing him higher than the first-class matured animals pitted against him may be called in question.

‘‘Hereford cows were an extra show, and consider- able difficulty was experienced in arriving at a deci- sion. With such animals in the fight as Mr. Earl’s Ada 2d 7006 by Lord Wilton, and Duchess 21st 7551 by Commander (4453), Fowler & VanNatta’s Lark, Ethel, Viola 2d, Miss Fawley, and Mr. Henry’s Ed- wina by Prince Edward, it is not strange that our Kentucky friends split badly on first ballot. The first prize ultimately fell to Mr. Earl’s daughter of Wilton, the second going to Mr. VanNatta’s Sir Richard cow Viola 2d. We should rather have pre- ferred the Commander cow to Ada, on account of her superior smoothness and quality, and in the same respect Miss Fawley, Ethel and Edwina would - have probably beaten Viola; but if substance and weight were the objects sought the decision might have been worse. Both of the prize cows are un- even in their flesh, but they are animals of great depth and constitution and most worthy specimens of the breed. In neatness and finish Mr. Henry’s Edwina surpassed all of her competitors, and if we mistake not by another year will give the cows, at our northern shows at least, a lively race.

‘‘In two-year-old heifers a full chorus of objec- tions attended the sending of the blue to Mr. Earl’s Garfield heifer Erica 5th (dam the Rodney cow Cam- milla 8478), and the red to the same exhibitor’s Sparkle by Tom Clark’s Anxiety 3d. Although both are good heifers there were certainly several to be preferred to Erica 5th. Mr. VanNatta’s grand Anx- iety heifer Peeress and Tregrehan’s daughter Miss Fowler are gems in their way, but neither was for- tunate in getting a place. The decision for first

542 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

place at least was palpably wrong and was so re- garded by the successful exhibitor.

‘In yearling heifers Fowler & VanNatta’s Violet (dam Pretty Maid), an animal of rare ripeness and carrying a grand lot of flesh, was selected to wear the only ribbon offered in this ring. She is another of the get of old Tregrehan, and is a worthy repre- sentative of the bull that has done so much for the great herd at Hickory Grove. Heifer calves were an admirable show, and while probably most people would have preferred Mr. VanNatta’s wonderfully ripe heifer by Fowler, she had to give way to Mr. Earl’s Elena, a promising daughter of Elton 1st 11245, the young Sir Richard bull that is the rising star at Shadeland. Elena is out of the Carwardine cow Flirt 6985 by Rodney, and will improve, but Mr. ‘ VanNatta’s extraordinary calf is so wealthy in her flesh, so grand in her crops, so deep of rib and short of leg, that it is difficult to satisfactorily get by her. We can account for it in no other way than that the committee feared her back might not hold up to the required level.

‘‘The best female in the Hereford class was ad- judged to be Viola 2d, the Fowler & VanNatta cow alluded to above as receiving second in the cow ring. In spite of some unevenness in her back, she is yet a grand strong animal, abounding in flesh, with great show of substance, and being a daughter of the famous ‘‘old Dick’’ must be admitted to be a very valuable cow.’’

These prizes placed, the herd contest followed:

‘‘The work in the classes only served to whet the curiosity of the great throng of visitors for the breed competition to follow, and as the ring for best bull of any age or breed was called excitement reached fever heat. The position of the exhibitors of the

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 543

Hereford was peculiar. They were strangers in a strange land. To three out of five people on the fair grounds their cattle were an utter novelty, and, while it was believed that honest decision would be rendered, it was scarcely anticipated that people born and bred to another ideal in cattle would dis- ecard at first sight all they had been led to admire in a beef animal and award the palm to beasts differing so widely in essential characteristics from the Blue Grass Shorthorn. One man would object that cattle built like these Herefords ‘couldn’t get through mud at all,’ while others condemned for what they pleased to term their ‘lack of style.’ The ‘white face’ failed to carry his head high enough to suit the average spec- tator, while the fact that they were so superior in front, heart, crops, rib, back and loin, and so well let down in the twist, could not atone apparently for any weakness about therump. They were called small, too, by many who had never seen a deep- fleshed, short-legged Hereford weighed, and, while the Shorthorn section abounded in animals deficient in more vital points than those which were objected to in the Herefords, there were few who could ad- mit that the latter were the equal of the old-time favorites. There were some notable exceptions, how- ever, and more than one farmer was heard to ex- press a desire to try the Hereford on Kentucky soil; so that, while it cannot be said that the visitors did more than insert an entering ‘wedge, they have ‘broken the ice’ in such a manner as to lead them to expect a more encouraging reception another year.

‘‘A dozen animals filed into the arena in compe- tition for the male championships of the yard, and as they fell into the semi-circular line formed by the amphitheatre with a Hereford for. a base -at

544 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

either end, the keystone of the solid arch of bulls ominously enough was seen to be a Shorthorn and he the champion of his class. Sir Bartle Frere held the right and the Garfield yearling from Shadeland the left, with the Shorthorns massed from the cen- tre to the right, while Bowdoin, Fowler and Carac- tacus, and indeed the entire Hereford strength (save Bartle Frere) was from the start on the side to which the verdict ultimately assigned them—left. As one scanned the field the one special impression gathered was that the better quality and the deepest flesh lay with the Herefords, the heaviest weights and the finer style with their adversaries. The one were of the low-down, thick-set, kindly feeding sort, the other possessing the greater scale and range with their flesh carried higher from the ground. Col. Grundy’s Red Chief was shown with consum- ‘mate skill, and this in itself, in a region where style and animation count so heavily as at Kentucky shows, was half the battle. The level top and neat well turned quarters of the red Bates-topped Phyllis, coupled with airy style, proved irresistible, and as he donned the blue the great crowd broke forth with tumultuous applause. The nervous tension of weeks found sudden relaxation. The strain was over. Hannibal had been thundering at their gates and in the first pitched battle was sent reeling back upon his base in discouragement if not dismay. The Hereford exhibitors had prided themselves upon the fine quality of their bulls above almost all other features of their exhibit, and believed their oppo- nents to be weakest in their males, so that while not specially surprised at the result they felt that their severest attack had been successfully repelled.

“For best herd of ‘thoroughbred’ cattle, any breed, for beef purposes, to consist of one bull and

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 545

four females, the females to consist of one cow three years old and over, one two years old and under three, one one year old and under two, and one under one year old, the following imposing array com- peted: Col. T. S. Moberley’s Wild Eyes, Prince, Rosalina, Barrington Blanche (Roan Duchess), Juanita 16th (Desdemona), and Desdemona calf; Col. T. S. Grundy’s Red Chief, Grundy’s Young Marys 52d, 63d, 84th, and Mary calf; J. G. Robbins & Son’s Royal Best, Kitty Wells (Amelia), Nora (Adelaide), Majesty and calf; Mr. Adams Earl’s (Herefords) Sir Bartle Frere, Ada 2d, Sparkle (Anxiety heifer), Lady Wilton 8th (by Bartle Frere), and Elena by Elton 1st; Fowler & Van- Natta’s Fowler, Viola 2d, Peeress (by Anxiety 5th), Violet (by Tregrehan), and Lassie by Fowler. These five herds, three Shorthorns and two Herefords, constituted the most interesting exhibit of the day, and the strength of some of the female Shorthorns made it morally certain that victory would perch upon Kentucky banners. The main contest lay be- tween Grundy and Moberley. The Springfield ex- hibitor wisely enough, perhaps, headed his herd with the two-year-old that had become so popular with the committees, and again left the ring a win- ner. Had his older bull been at the head of his lot we should have considered it a stronger herd, but as it was there were many who thought the Mober- ley cattle entitled to the prize. Again did the wel- kin ring with Shorthorn exultations, and again did the Hereford clans retire under the shadow of defeat.

‘‘Three entries came forward in competition for the best herd of ‘thoroughbred’ cattle of any breed, for beef purposes, to consist of one bull and four females one year old and under two, two being

546 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD OATTLE

Shorthorns and one Hereford, Messrs. Moberley and Alexander representing the former and Mr. Earl the latter. The visitors again thought their chances good, as their string was of extraordinary strength, including Earl of Shadeland 9th, Lady Wiltons 6th, 8th and 10th, and Elenora 9th. Mr. Alexander sent 37th Duke of Airdrie, 30th Duchess of Airdrie, 28th Duchess of Airdrie, Wild Eyes Lady 5th, Rosewood 5th and Miss Bates 20th, while Col. Moberley entered 6th Airdrie of Forest Grove, For- est Grove Duchess, one Mary, a Harriet, and a Des- demona. A committee of five inspected the cattle, and balloted as follows: Moberley two, Earl two, Alexander one. Before the sixth man could be found to tie the ribbon a shower set in that allayed both dust and interest in the fight. An umpire was finally secured, however, and casting his ballot for the Rich- mond herd sent the ribbon to adorn the already large collection of trophies won by Col. Moberley with stock from Forest Grove. There were many who regretted that the Herefords had not been al- lowed this prize, not for sweet charity’s sake, but because it was held by a large number of people that Mr. Earl had the best of it on the merits of his stock. But it was not a Hereford day, and Lewis, and the Woodburn people as well, had to put not only a wetting but a beating in their pipes and smoke it.

“‘The only remaining prize was that for bull with three of his get, and as the only Shorthorn entry was of a bull in breeding condition with calves right from the pasture, Messrs. Fowler & VanNatta (the only other éompetitors) carried it away with Fowler.

‘*‘Chewing the cud of sweet and bitter fancy’ the plucky breeders from Indiana and Illinois made

THE SHOCK Of SHOWYARD WAR 547

the best of their Waterloo, and exercising a wise

philosophy parted company with their successful

rivals in the best of spirits. A miniature Hereford

bull (intended as a souvenir watch charm) was

presented to Mr. Earl as the representative of the

visiting Hereford breeders with an address of - thanks for their attendance, and the proprietor of

Shadeland responded in a fitting manner, setting

forth briefly what is claimed for the red-with-white-

face cattle. And so the show ended.’’

Royal Grove Excites Admiration— While the main fight was being waged in Kentucky J. O. Curry was arousing the enthusiasm of all good cattlemen in the north by showing his imported two-year-old The Grove 3d bull Royal Grove 21500. At the Min- nesota State Fair this richly-furnished, furry-coated, low-legged youngster was easily the -best animal of the beef breeds in the ring. ‘‘Harry’’? Yeomans’ Washington was there, but had begun to lose his bloom. His flesh had always been rather soft to the touch, and had now begun to slip; nevertheless, he managed to defeat the good breeding bull Wild Eyes by Lord Wilton, that for some years headed the herd maintained by the Cosgrove Live Stock Co., LeSueur, Minn., of which Mr. C. N. Cosgrove, long identified with the Minnesota State Fair man- agement, was president.

It was at this fair that Mr. Curry presented the bull calf Archibald A., by imp. Archibald and out of the celebrated Coral. This calf was thick and shapely enough, but had that wiry hair and thick hide that seemed so strangely and so unfortunately

548 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

persistent in Archibald’s progeny. Yeomans had old Melody, by John Hill’s Merry Monarch, out again, and although now seven years old and the mother of five calves she was placed first. She was .acow of great scale, weighing 1,900 pounds, and had wonderfully arched ribs. In the herd contest Royal Grove’s superb bloom and character carried the day for the Curry cattle.

Beau Real Unfairly Beaten—At Des Moines manager Yeomans of the Iowa Hereford Cattle Co. had the honor of meeting and beating Shockey & Gibb’s two-year-old wonder, Beau Real 11055 by Anxiety 4th, with Washington. This was in the championships open to all breeds. He was lucky to do it, for the younger bull was ‘‘coming,’’ and the other ‘‘going.’? Harry Loveland was feeding for the Early Dawn people and led Beau Real into the ring this fall weighing near 2,200 pounds at a few days short of three years old. It is not believed that a better backed bull than Beau Real* has ever been

*Writing to “The Breeder’s Gazette” for Oct. 31, 1900, E. S. Shockey referred to Beau Real in the following terms:

“Beau Real, calved Sept. 22, 1883, was rather thin in flesh when we bought him, but the way he responded to good treatment was remarkable. We had many tempting offers for him, but would not part with him. With personal care and feeding we intro- duced him to the showring at Bismarck Grove in 1885 as a year- ling, where he took first in class and sweepstakes Hereford bull any age, thus beginnning a four-year show record in which he de- fled his antagonists to the end. He was once placed second by an ‘expert’ judge on account of the ‘tie’ in his back, and once by another ‘expert’ who said he was ‘too fat to breed. He was never taken out of service to fit for the showring. He never had any special preparation because he always insisted on carrying a@ wealth of firm flesh, transmitting the same feeding and thick- meated quality to his offspring. He was both a bull and a heifer getter, but most of his sons went west to do duty on the range. Those few that had an opportunity, such as Wild Tom, of Sunny Slope fame, and Kansas Lad, with Mr. Armour, prove the breed- ing-on quality so essential in a sire. Among his many magnifi- cent daughters I will mention wu few that were called upon to

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 549

seen in America. In expanse of loin he has certainly never been excelled by any bull of any breed ever seen in the American showyard, and he was smooth, but for a dimple in his back, and heavily wrapped in deep mellow flesh. The decision which sent. first at this Des Moines show to Yeomans’ Blenheim over Beau Real in the class for two-year-old Hereford bulls was not generally approved, not even by Mr. Yeomans himself. Melody 16th again was female champion.

At Lawrence, Kans., Shockey & Gibb had the senior bull prize in Beau Real’s half-brother, Beau Monde. He was a broad-backed bull full of good flesh and with excellent character and quality. He represented a cross of Anxiety 4th upon The Grove 3d blood, his dam being Beauty 2d 9901. The exhi- bition by Shockey.& Gibb of this extraordinary pair of bulls drew marked attention to the great Gudgell & Simpson sire.

At Lincoln, Neb., C. M. Sears of Aurora had first in aged bulls with Prince of Wales 8912 over Hawes’ Fortune and Sir Evelyn. Beau Real was first in two-year-olds and champion male. Two very grand heifers destined to fame, Lady Wilton and Miss Beau Real, were features of this show. The Beau Real herd won the grand championship over all breeds.

sustain their sire’s showyard reputation, such as Miss Beau Real, Miss Beau Real Lad 3d, Curly Lady and Beau Real’s Maid.

“If I were to criticise Beau Real I would say to change his horn a trifle, remove the ‘dimple’ in his back and make him a bit straighter in hind legs. I never saw such a thick broad loin. He was well flanked fore and aft and his quarters were well filled and beautifully finished.”

550 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD GATTLE

Sir Bartle Frere Wins Over Washington.—One of the best cattle shows of 1886 was that at the In- diana State Fair. This was the first meeting be- tween Washington, the ranking aged bull of the western circuit, and Sir Bartle Frere. The latter was in fresher condition, and deservedly won. In two-year-olds Blenheim was preferred to Tom Clark’s Peerless Wilton.

The progeny of the imported cattle were by this time beginning to show ‘‘class.’’ Mr. Earl’s young bulls by Garfield, the daughters of Sir Bartle Frere, and Clark’s Anxiety 3d heifers on one side the Mis- sissippi and the Anxiety 4th bulls on the other were foreshadowing a bright future for home breeding. In a great ring of cows seen upon this occasion Peerless, and Mr. Earl’s Duchess 21st and Ada 2d, had to step back in favor of Clark’s Flossie. The yearling heifers were also a wonderful lot, worthily headed by another daughter of Anxiety 3d, Peer- less 2d. The Shadeland lot won the grand cham- pionship herd prize over all breeds and also the young herd championship with Earl of Shadeland 9th by Garfield, three Lady Wiltons by Sir Bartle Frere, and Edwina 4th by Prince Edward. Mr. Lewis and his assistants had been unusually suc- cessful in the fitting of the Shadeland show stock of 1886.

The Michigan breeders made a good show this year at Jackson. Messrs. Phelps of Pontiac, Merrill & Fifield of Bay City, Hamilton of Flint, Hart of Lapere, Driggs of Palmyra and the newly organ-

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 551

ized partnership of Sotham & Stickneys participat- ing. Merrill & Fifield’s Tom Wilton, an own brother to Mr. Bertram’s Sir Wilfred, headed the three- year-old bulls at Jackson.

Beau Real Defeats Fowler.—Beau Real was first, Blenheim second and Fowler third in the senior bull class at Des Moines in September, 1887. Fowler should probably have been second. His half-brother Ethelbert 16633, out of the Tudge-bred cow Ethel, drew the blue in two-year-olds, while in yearlings his own son Fowler Prince headed the class. Miss Fowler by Tregrehan won by superior bioom over the matronly Hebe 8th and old Melody of the Early Dawn and Indianola herds. The Tre- grehans won again in two-year-old heifers with Violet 19441. The star yearling was Miss Beau Real, whose dam was Bertha by Rudolph, and in the heifer calves Early Dawn drew both first and second with Miss Belle Monde 4th, also out of Ber- tha, and Miss Belle Monde 5th, from a Grove 3d dam, both being sired by Beau Monde. Beau Real was champion bull, and Miss Fowler champion female.

At the Nebraska show Beau Real was first and champion over all breeds, and in the bull-with-get class defeated the Fortunes and Sir Evelyns, shown by Hawes, as well as ‘‘Harry’’ Yeld’s Gift Wiltons. With the late Senator Harris of Kansas as referee Hawes had the female championship, beating Miss Beau Real with Nutbrowne, a daughter of Anxiety 4th. This was a big good show participated in by a number of local breeders, including E. E. Day,

552 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Milliken Bros., A. S. Harrington, C. M. Sears, Wil- liam Baker and C. M. Leighton. John Gosling was one of the judges and was thus early grounding an opinion of the Anxiety blood which he has ever since stoutly maintained.

At Topeka the main fight was again between Early Dawn and Mr. Hawes, Beau Real beating Fortune, now eight years old, in the class, but losing to the latter in the bull championship open to all breeds. This was a rare victory for the son of old Sir Rich- ard 2d, as the opposition included such Shorthorn bulls as Cupbearer and The Baronet.

These old-time breed contests created a lot of excitement and aroused keen interest, but they of course settled no breed difference and sometimes de- veloped amusing situations. At this Kansas show of 1887, for example, after a preliminary examina- tion Col. True, the judge, informed the superinten- dent that he did not care to assume the responsibility of tying the ribbons alone in the herd competition, and asked that another judge be added. Prof. Shel- ton was accordingly called, and an examination and a ballot revealed Col. True’s vote for Clay & Winn’s Shorthorns and Prof. Shelton’s vote for the Early Dawn Herefords. Consultation did not result in agreement, and ex-Governor Glick, a Shorthorn breeder, was directed to decide the tie. As his name was announced as referee, ‘‘I’ve got it’’ and ‘‘T’ve lost it’? came simultaneously from ‘‘Newt’’ Winn and Harry Loveland, who was feeding for Shockey & Gibb. It was even so, for the Missouri

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR 553

Shorthorns were given premier position and the Kansas ‘‘white faces’’ were placed second.

The Illinois show of 1887 was held at Olney. The Herefords were fittingly presented by the two vet- eran showmen Clark and VanNatta, J. O. Curry, George W. Henry, Tom Ponting and others. John Imboden was judge, and in aged bulls properly placed Fowler first. At full maturity he was a bull of the real old sturdy Herefordshire stamp. Masculine, massive, rugged and active, with a com- manding presence, rare depth and spread of rib, and big well filled quarters, he was an outstanding specimen of the type that made the conquest of the range by the Herefords a certainty. Mr. Henry’s Caractacus, thick-fleshed and compactly fashioned but rather light in color, was second. Ponting’s Defiance, by Culbertson’s imp. Lord Wilton out of an Anxiety dam, one of the good bulls of his day, was much admired upon this occasion. Curry’s Horace-Regulus bull Harold was first in two-year- old, and the same owner’s Archibald A. was first in yearlings.

The cows were headed by Clark’s Flossie, seen here with calf at foot and still showing the tradi- tional Anxiety smoothness and wealth of good flesh. Fowler & VanNatta’s eleven-year-old Truth 2d stood next, and Ponting’s low-legged broad-topped ‘‘little one,’’ Gertrude 2d, granddaughter of Gay Lass and dam of Defiance and other good ones, was third. The VanNatta herd had both first and second in three- year-olds with Miss Fowler, by Fowler, and Peer-

554 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ess, by Anxiety 5th. In two-year-olds Clark was handily first with Peerless 2d and VanNatta second on Violet by Tregrehan. Peerless 3d drew the blue for Clark in the yearlings with Henry’s Countess of Rossland next. Fowler & VanNatta won on herd. A new committee made Caractacus champion bull and Peerless 2d champion female of the class. Hark- ing back to J. H. Pickrell’s sarcastic reference to the Hereford ‘‘syndicate’’ of 1882, it was significant of the now widespread recognition of Hereford ex- cellence that a member of this famous old-time Shorthorn breeder’s own family, Mr. A. A. Pickrell, acting as referee at Olney, sent the grand beef herd championship to Fowler & VanNatta.

By this date the fame of St. Louis as the great agricultural show of the middle west had sadly faded. In 1886 there had not been a Hereford on the grounds, and in 1887 but threé were seen, those of Tom Clark, G. W. Henry and Fielding W. Smith. Caractacus was first and champion, and Dictator 2d, son of the famous Dictator, was second. Flossie won as usual in the cow class, but Peerless 2d was made champion female.*

At a show held at Kansas City this year Dictator

*Old Peerless died in the fall of 1887, and her record was so re- markable that it should find full recognition. We quote Mr. Clark's statement of her career made shortly after her death, as follows:

“Peerless was exhibited in England at Leominster show in 1881, and was one of four yearling heifers winning the first prize, also one of a pair of heifers winning first prize at the Lord Tredegar show at New- port the same year. In America, in 1882, Peerless won first prize as the best two-year-old at Hoopeston, III, first at Lafayette, Ind., sec- ond at Sprimenela; Tll., second at Illinois State Fair at Peoria, and first In class and sweepstakes female of any age at St. Louis. In 1883 she was first at Illinois State Fair at Chicago, and sweepstakes female any age. She was then withdrawn from the showyard until

THE SHOCK OF SHOWYARD WAR §55

2d defeated Fortune and Sir Evelyn. In Minnesota Fowler & VanNatta and the Cosgrove Co. were the only contestants, Fowler beating Wild Eyes in the bull section but Cosgrove taking a majority of the prizes on females, including first in the cow class with Bonnyface, a 1,975-pound daughter of Rudolph. In Michigan Merrill & Fifield, Sotham & Stick- neys and Hon. James M. Turner showed under F. H. Johnson of South Bend as judge. Tom Wilton and Clarence Grove, both owned by Merrill & Fifield, were first and second in senior bulls. Sotham & Stickneys were first in two-year-olds with Stock- field’s Wilton by Hall’s Hotspur. Merrill & Fifield won on cows with Lovely 2d and Greenhorn 5th.

1886, when she was first at the Illinois State Fair at Chicago over hot competition.

“The following is a list of her produce and their winnings: Empress 2d 12771 was one of the four yearling heifers shown by me at the Illinois State Fair in 1884 that took first prize in young herd over all breeds. She is now owned by H. H. Clough, Elyria, O., and was shown by him this year at the Loraine County Fair, taking first prize as cow in strong competition; she was also in the herd that took the grand sweepstakes over all breeds. Her next calf was Peerless Wil- ton 12774, which I am now using in my herd on Anxiety 3d 4466 heifers, and for which I refused, when he was eleven months old, $1,500. He was the sire of that remarkable sixteen-month-old bull that took second premium for yearlings at the last Illinois State Fair against much older and larger animals. Her next calf, Peerless 2d 16240, took first prize as a yearling at the Illinois State Fair in 1886, and in 1887 at the Illinois State Fair was first as two-year- old, sweepstakes for the best female of any age, and sweepstakes over all breeds in the two-year-old competition; at St. Louls in 1887 she was first as two-year-old ir her class and sweepstakes for best female of any age, also one of five in sweepstakes herd, Her next calf, Peerless 3d 26664, took second as calf at the Illinois State Fair in 1886, first as yearling at the Illinois State Fair in 1887, and was one of sweepstakes young herd at St. Louis this year. Her last calf (but not least) is a bull named Anxiety Wilton, which bids fair to equal any of her other produce.

“At the time of her death Peerless was within three weeks of drop- ping a heifer calf, which would have made her sixth calf. She was seven years old last May. With her show career and the calves she produced, I would class her as one of the most remarkable cows that ever lived. The cause of her death was an abscess on her kidney, from which she had been suffering most of the summer; although she suf- ee: 50 much, she retained her beautiful form until the day of her

leat

GHAPTER XIII. SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS.

The state of Ohio had thus far been somewhat neglected by the leading exhibitors of Herefords. Local breeders had made creditable shows each year, and new herds were founding, prominent among them being that of H. H: Clough, who restored in full measure the reputation which Elyria had many years before enjoyed as a Hereford headquarters.

The Ohio Show of 1888.—The ‘‘big chiefs’’ of the trade in those days decided to let the Ohio farmers see their best cattle at the state fair of September, 1888. Adams Earl, Fowler & VanNatta, George W. Henry, Tom Clark and C. M. Culbertson entered the state, coming, indeed, the week before and showing at the old tri-state fair at Toledo. They were reenforced at Columbus by the herds of Mr. Clough and F. C. Sayles of Berlin Heights.

Fowler at five years old came in at a weight of 2,800 pounds, still carrying himself like a two-year- old. However, he was side-tracked by the committee in the senior bull class in favor of Tom Clark’s well- brought-out four-year-old, Prince Edward 2d 14117, by Mr. Henry’s Prince Edward and out of Luna 4th by Horatius. This was a thick-fleshed bull par- ticularly good in loin and twist. His sire, Prince

556

Imp. Prince Edward 7001. Annie Laurie. Marie Antoinette. Countess of Rossland. Edwina. GEO. W. HENRY’S ROSSLAND PARK SHOW HERD—From the lithograph by Cecil Palmer,

558 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Edward, with his attractive Lord Wilton head and his level quarters, and now nearly eight years old, was in this ring, but was unable to hold back the younger generation. Clough was showing a very good four-year-old bull called Sylvester 11123, bred at Gudgell & Simpson’s from Anxiety 4th. Sayles’ Cedric 8933 was also seen—an imported Turner- pred bull with the traditional Grove 3d-Spartan thickness of flesh, but lacking the scale of his com- petitors. Fowler was placed second, with Prince Edward and Cedric next in line.

Earl of Shadeland 22d—Mr. KEarl’s Earl of Shadeland 22d 27147, by Garfield and out of Elec- tra 2d by Sir Bartle Frere, second dam being that capital cow Anguilla by Sir Richard 2d, had been made champion at Toledo over bulls of all ages. He was easily enough first in the two-year-old division at Columbus and ‘subsequently was declared champ- ion male ef the breed. A bull of rare balance and quite the sensation of the show season of 1888, Earl of Shadeland 22d had an illustrious career as a prize- winner. Fowler & VanNatta also were proving the merit of their breeding stock in convincing fashion; in this ring they supplied Cherry Boy 26495, son of Fowler and Cherry Pie 2d by Horatius, and des- tined to great fame later on. He was second here to Earl of Shadeland 224. Mr. Culbertson’s Star Grove bulls by The Grove 3d were full of flesh, but had not the size and stretch of their antagonists. Mr. Earl also headed the yearling class with another

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 569

Garfield bull, Earl of Shadeland 30th 30725, out of Snowdrop by Colorado 4252. It may be said in passing that the Shadeland herd contained several Colorado cows that proved most excellent produc- ers. This Ear] of Shadeland 30th was a youngster of fine promise, which he afterwards quite fulfilled.

The VanNatta stalls supplied the winner in the cow class in the nine-year-old Miss Mize 2015, by Sir Richard 2d, full of thick natural flesh and with a beatiful heifer calf at foot afterwards known to fame as May Fowler. Henry’s Edwina, by Prince Edward and with her sire’s loins and quarters, was second. Clark’s Peerless 2d, suffering from a lame foot, was down in third place, while VanNatta’s Flossie and Peeress were out entirely, a fact well illustrating the exceptional strength of this great show. The two-year-old heifers were a revelation to many of the spectators. Peerless 3d had first, Van- Natta’s Polly Pink by Fowler was second, and Cul- bertson’s Grove Maid 17th was third. The yearlings were also a royal lot headed by Earl’s Lady Wilton 26th by Bartle Frere, with Henry’s Lady Pitt 2d next, and Lady Wilton 28th third. In heifer calves May Fowler led. In the bull-with-get class Fowler won. Mr. Earl’s fine yearling, Lady Wilton 26th, was female champion.

In the grand-beef-herd contest, open to all, Mr. Henry’s Herefords were victorious. Mr. Earl won the young herd championship, as well as the open bull championship- with Earl of Shadeland 22d and

560 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the open female championship with Lady Wilton 26th. The fruits of the importation of 1881 were being gathered.

The Big Show Moves West.—The impressive display made at Toledo and Columbus was practical- ly duplicated at Indianapolis. Fowler’s ill luck remained with him, the first prize in the older bulls going again to Prince Edward 2d. In two-year-olds Earl of Shadeland 22d, easily the sensation of the year, was quickly slated for first, and in yearlings Earl of Shadeland 30th duplicated his Columbus winning.

Among the cows the Columbus awards were shaken up, first going to Peeress by Anxiety 5th, second to Edwina, third to Miss Mize, and fourth to Flossie. A different order was also arranged in the two-year-old heifers; Polly Pink moved up from second to first place, Countess of Rossland stood next, and Peerless 3d, that had been first at Columbus, was turned down to third. Other ar- rangements were also made among the yearlings, Lady Wilton 27th, fourth at Columbus, going to the front, Peerless 2d following and Mr. Earl’s Erica 16th coming third. May Fowler duplicated her Ohio victory in heifer calves. In the bull championship open to all breeds Earl of Shadeland 22d carried the honor by direction of Mr. Imboden. In the open herd competition partisans of each of the three leading breeds served on the committee. By agreement of the Shorthorn and Aberdeen-An-

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 561

gus judges the first and second prizes went to the Shorthorns and the ‘‘doddies,’’ Dr. Bush, the Here- ford representative, voting for the VanNatta Here- fords in each case. In young herds first went to the Shorthorns and second to the Shadeland Here- fords.

The four leading herds on the eastern circuit put in an appearance at the Illinois State Fair at Olney, supplemented by a good lot sent by Tom Ponting. The entire Ponting exhibit, including Defiance 21849, by Lord Wilton, were direct descendants of old Gertrude 2d by Ponting’s Anxiety 3d, and the old matron herself was there on view.

Fowler was at last preferred to Prince Edward 2d upon this occasion, Defiance tying the latter for second place. Earl of Shadeland 22d won'by gen- eral consent among the two-year-olds, with Cherry Boy second as before. In the yearlings the Earls of Shadeland 30th and 26th won in the order named. The Garfield bulls were now making an even greater ‘‘hit’’ than the Bartle Frere heifers.

In the cow class Edwina at last forged to the front, and Flossie stood next, leaving Miss Mize, the Columbus winner, and Peeress unplaced. Peer- less 3d was made best two-year-old with Countess of Rossland second, Polly Pink being unplaced. Lady Wilton 27th continued to find high favor and was first in the wonderful yearling class, with her stable mate, Lady Wilton 26th, second. Mr. Henry won the herd prize, and Mr. Earl scored in the

562 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

class for five animals the get of one sire, with his Bartle Frere group after a hard battle with Clark’s Anxieties. It will be remembered that Sir Bartle Frere and Anxiety 3d were half-brothers, both be- ing out of old Tiny 4467. On the following week most of these cattle were seen at St. Louis, meet- ing at that point entries from the herd of F. W. Smith. Fowler had first prize as best senior bull, and the Earls of Shadeland 22d and 30th completed an unbroken string of victories. It is worth noting in this connection that in the yearling class an Anx- iety 4th bull, Don Carlos, of which we shall hear more later on, shown by Mr. Smith, stood next to the great son of ‘‘Bartle.’’

Western Shows of 1888.—The trans-Missis- sippi fairs of 1888 did not develop the strength ex- hibited elsewhere. The show at Des Moines was made chiefly by George Fowler, Maple Hill, Kans., the Kansas Hereford Cattle Co. of Lawrence, A. A. Crane, Osco, Ill., and Fielding W. Smith. Mr. Smith received first in bulls on Dictator 2d; The Grove 3d bull Plutarch 14410, imported by George Leigh and shown by the Kansas company, had second; Mr. Crane’s five-year-old Sir Cherry 7295, bred by Mr. T. L. Miller’s son, T. E. Miller, and sired by Ivington Wilton, stood third. Murdock 28545, by Beau Monde, was the only two-year-old bull. Smith’s future-great Don Carlos at twenty months had to make way for Fowler’s Beau Real 3d, by Beau Real and out of Bertha by Rudolph. Another Beau Real baby was first in bull calves.

564 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

One of the best cows ever seen in America, Lady Wilton 19498, of the Fowler herd, an imported daughter of Lord Wilton, was easily first among the matrons. The Kansas company’s Nutbrowne 5th 17243, by Anxiety 4th and an own sister to Hawes’ famous Nutbrowne 4th, was second. Mr. Fowler succeeded in beating Miss Beau Real in two-year- olds. with Curly 17th, daughter of the Merry Mon- arch cow Curly 16th. Dictator 2d was champion bull, and Lady Wilton the best female any age. The Fowler entries won the young herd champion ship, open to all breeds.

Lady Wilton vs. Princess Alice —At Lincoln the judge, John Gosling, gave Plutarch first over a Garfield bull shown by Howard Bros., Edgar, Neb. Murdock and Beau Real 3d were first in the two- year-old and yearling rings. The cows were placed as at Des Moines, as were also Curly 17th and Miss Beau Real. Murdock was made champion bull, Lady Wilton preserving her Des Moines honor among the females.

In the annual breed contest at Lincoln the Short- horn herd of Luther Adams of Storm Lake, Ta., was given championship honors, with the fanious Cap: bearer at its head. Included in this herd was the beautiful heifer Princess Alice, later to acquire celebrity in the Linwood herd of Senator Harris. In the open class for females of all ages she was preferred to Lady Wilton. ‘‘Newt’’ Winn, a Mis- souri Shorthorn breeder, Alexander Legge, and John Gosling constituted the awarding committee;

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 565

the decision went to the Shorthorns over Mr. Gosling’s protest. George Morgan, who was pres- ent, became particularly wrathy over the ver- dict, claiming that Lady Wilton’s equal had never appeared in a western showyard. ‘‘Uncle Willie’? Watson, then with Mr. Harvey at Turling- ton, said to that rare old ‘‘brither Scot,’’ William Miller, manager for Mr. Adams, the owner of Princess Alice, ‘‘Weel noo, ye’ve just beaten the best coo on the grounds.’’

Beau Real came forward at Topeka. An accident had cost him loss of flesh and bloom, but Beau Real out of form was better than the good Plutarch, and the ribbons were placed accordingly. Murdock won again by default. Beau Real 3d beat his Beau Real brother, Shockey’s Nimrod, in yearlings. Lady Wilton was first in cows by everybody’s consent. Makin Bros. of Florence, Kans., most capable men, who had by this time become established in Here- fords, contributed good cattle to this show. They did not win, but there came a day later on when they had to be reckoned with. Miss Beau Real was ordered by the judge, Capt. Huber, ahead of Curly 17th in the two-year-olds.

The open bull-and-get championship at Topeka was awarded by Col. J. F. True and the late John McDiarmid to the Beau Real contingent, over the Shorthorn Scotland’s Heros and Col. Harris’ Baron Victors. The Shorthorn Cupbearer was made cham- pion bull over all, whereupon the Hereford breeders rebelled and sought their tents, Princess Alice be-

566 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

coming female champion and the Shorthorn group of which she was a member receiving first honors in a one-sided herd contest.

New Alignment in 1889.—Mr. Earl’s whirlwind campaign of 1888 had certainly sufficed to advertise sufficiently the claims of Shadeland as a nursery of prize-winning Herefords. Fowler & VanNatta, too, had won such stores of ribbons that it seemed as if they could well afford to remain under cover for a time, so far as showing was concerned. Neither of these herds was on the circuit of 1889. Some new blood came forward, however, more especially west of the river. The recession of the tide following the ‘‘hurrah days’’ of the big importations had forced a number of concerns to ‘‘shorten sail,’’ and others to go out of business entirely. The Iowa Hereford Cattle Co. had over-extended itself, and the show herd was sold to go to California where it was successfully exhibited. The Early Dawn peo- ple had transferred their interests to others. New men were taking up the cudgels; conspicuous among them at this date in the west was C. H. Elmendorf of Kearney, Neb. The Makin Bros., Florence, Kans., were also now coming to the front. E. E. Day of Weeping Water, Neb., also moved up into the limelight.

At Des Moines Elmendorf, Day, the Makins, the Cosgrove Co. of Minnesota, and Alex. Moffitt & Son of Mechanicsville, Ia., made the Hereford presenta- tion before William Stocking of Rochelle, Ill, as judge. In the aged bulls it was easy to send Makin’s

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 567

Vincent 16691 to the fore. He was a four-year-old son of Sir Evelyn out of imp. Princess of Wales 12073—a wide, compactly built, evenly turned bull, with good quarters and a nice touch. Day’s Prov- ince, another son of Sir Evelyn, was second.

Earl of Shadeland 30th—Elmendorf had bought Earl of Shadeland 30th from Mr. Earl and in his two-year-old form he was a show bull of the first rank, albeit without competition at this particular show. Speaking of this bull at that time ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’ said:

‘‘Hereford breeders will not need to have this bull recalled to mind, as he is well known as the yearling which was counted a ‘coming youngster’ in Adams Earl’s herd through the eastern circuit last year. Well, he has ‘come.’ He had started to ‘come’ when he tied his companion, the phenomenal Karl of Shadeland 22d, for sweepstakes bull at St. Louis at the close of the 1888 campaign, and since that time he has moved along evenly until today he must be pronounced one of the most charming bulls ever seen in an American showyard. There have been bulls stronger in this or the other point, but all in all he is beyond question one of the most uni- formly good bulls of the breed. He is absolutely smooth, with shoulder beautifully laid, neck-vein nicely filled, ribs well arched and deep, quarters long, level and well filled, top and bottom lines per- fect, while back and loin are packed deeply and smoothly with mellow flesh.’’

Besides buying this bull Mr. Elmendorf had secured from Tom Clark Flossie, from Mr. Henry Edwina, and from Fowler & VanNatta Polly Pink, all familiar showyard favorites. All three were

568 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

thrown into the cow class at Des Moines. However, they had already passed their zenith; Flossie was heavy in calf and Polly was growing somewhat rough in her flesh. On the other hand the Makin entry, Mayflower 4th by Fortune, was shown in fine form, and as she was broad, deep, full through the girth and even in her lines, she drew premier place. Day got second on another daughter of Hawes’ Fortune named Cressie, richly furnished, broad- topped and low-legged. Day supplied the winner among the two-year-old heifers in Bright Lass 3d, by Anxiety 4th, the smoothness and quality of the Gudgell & Simpson bull’s get being in evidence. Elmendorf’s Elena 10th from Shadeland was sec- ond. The Day herd drew the blue in yearlings with Mable by Sir Evelyn 2d; Elmendorf’s May Fowler (from the VanNatta string) was in this class, but Mr. Stocking did not seem to appreciate her fully. Earl of Shadeland 30th was champion bull and Bright Lass 3d was sweepstakes female.

Gosling Upsets Stocking’s Work—At Lincoln there was a notable upsetting of the Des Moines ratings. John Gosling as judge had by this time become a fixed habit with the Nebraska State Fair management and exhibitors, and in overturning a number of Mr. Stocking’s decisions of the week be- fore he undoubtedly reflected the best judgment of unprejudiced men.*

*Mr. John Gosling was born in Staffordshire, England, in 1844. He came to thea United States in June, 1870, after having had practical experience in the buying, feeding and slaughter- ing of meat animals. His first work in this country was in John Taylor’s packing house in Trenton, N. J. This employment he

JOHN GOSLING.

570 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

The exhibits of Messrs. Day, Elmendorf and Makin were supplemented by entries from the local herds of Howard Bros., Milliken Bros., Leighton, Harrington, Moon and the Havens Farm, owned by Mr. Arthur Havens, a son-in-law of Mr. C. M. Cul- bertson. It was the largest turn-out of Herefords seen in the state up:to this date.

No less than eight aged bulls awaited judgment, but Vincent proved invincible. Nevertheless, he was pressed for the place by Mr. Havens’ Star Wil- ton 4th, by imp. Lord Wilton out of a Grove 3d

was obliged to discontinue on account_of illness, and in the gummer of 1871 he made a trip back to England, returning with a few Shropshire sheep, paying $25 per head as ocean freight upon them. These he exhibited at the New Jersey State Fair, and then took them to the St. Louis show, but at that time there was no class for such animals. A few years later he brought over 68 Shropshires to Lexington, Ky., and exhibited a part of them at various state fairs for theif. owner, Mr. George Allen, now de- ceased. From 1872 to 1880 he was engaged in the butcherin business at Rockford, Ill. although during that time he ha some connection with both T: L. Miller and George Morgan in the way of assisting in the introduction of Hereford cattle throughout the west. When Mr: Culbertson began importing he made use of Mr. Gosling’s serviees in_various ways during Mor- gan’s absences in quest of cattle in England. It was then that Mr. Alexander H. Swan hired Mr. Gosling to take charge of a herd of Herefords which he had established at Indianola, Ia. It was from this establishment that the famous Fat Stock Show heifer Grace was developed, becoming the champion Hereford heifer at the Iowa State Fair and tying Mr. Culbertson’s cross- bred bullock Dysart for champion honors at the Chicago Fat Stock Show, i

From October, 1881, to September, 1884, Mr. Gosling was trans- ferred to the Omaha distillery barns, and while there fed 6,00¢ head of cattle, for some of which record prices were obtained and remarkable dressings reached, as high as 64 to 65 percent being obtained on grade range-bred “white faces." From Omaha Mn Gosling was sent back by Mr. Swan to Indianola, where he de- veloped the bull calf Storm King, afterwards sold for $1,000 to go to Wyoming. From this source also came the famous champion carcass winner Plush, referred to elsewhere in this volume in connection with the early Fat Stock Shows.

About 1887 the failure of the Swan Bros. caused Mr. Goslin to return to Rockford, where he got together a few Hereford cattle, and fed that splendid steer Sensation for the carcass competition at the Fat Stock Show. Although failing of recogni- tion on the block at the hands of the jidges, r. Gosling’s friends among the Hereford breeders evinced their appreciation of his skill in producing such a carcasg, by. raising a purse of $237.50 which was turned over to the exhibitor ¥ way of consolation. This carcass was the subject of much discussion at the time, and was purchased by A. C. Terry who for many

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 571

dam. Earl of Shadeland 30th had things all his own was among the two-year-olds.

There were sixteen aged cows forward. Polly Pink drew the blue. She might have been smoother in her flesh, but it was exceptionally thick in the right spots, and she also had plenty of scale with a marked show of substance. Another cow that had been unnoticed at Des Moines, Day’s Aurora, was drawn for second. She was of a good Hereford type, level and near to the ground. In two-year- olds there was another shake-up. Bright Lass 3d, the Iowa champion, was passed over for Elena 10th

years maintained one of Chicago’s best retail meat markets on the corner of what is now Jackson Blvd. and Dearborn St. The chef of the Richelieu Hotel had the handling of the beef for the table, and pronounced it the best he had ever served up to that date. This steer was fed oats and barley meal, and did not consume five bushels of corn in all his life. .

In 1892 Mr. Gosling associated himself with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R. at St. Joseph, Mo., in which capacity he_ served until 1896, when he removed to Kansas City, Mo., and engaged in the buying of bulls for the western ranges. He did much of the buying at one time for the LS range at Tascosa, Tex., the calf product of which herd was afterwards so successful at the Kansas City Royal shows. He also bought bulls for Mrs. Adair’s JJ herd at Paloduro, from which stock Mr. Dan W. Black of Ohio acquired calves and fed them to championship honors at the International Exposition at Chicago. Mr. Gosling also bought bulls for the Fowler & Tod outfit from 1897 to 1909 when the herd was dispersed. He also acted as buying agent for the SMS, Spur, Bell and other prominent range companies. His services were also utilized by Mr. Murdo Mackenzie for the buying of the northern-bred contingent of bulls shipped a few years since to Brazil.

John Gosling’s great hobby during all these years has been the beef carcass, and he has made himself one of the recognized authorities of his day and generation upon this subject. During the past ten years the instructors at many of the leading Ameri- can and Canadian agricultural colleges have taken advantage of his intimate knowledge and felicity of expression in this regard, and his lectures to students and various gatherings of farmers and stockmen, discussing the relation of breed and feed to flesh and fat, have been regarded as among the most valuable practi- cal contributions of recent years to the available fund of infor- mation upon that question.

Some years ago at Fargo, N. D., he was giving a meat demonstration, and was called upon to answer some questions, among others: “What kind of a beef bull should one select?” His answer was, “One with a Napoleonic expression, Cloudy! ‘Bully’! A Duke of Wellington physiognomy indicating character! To this join a King Solomon disposition, and you have the bull you are looking for.” This sally was -followed by applause and

572 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

by Elton 1st 11245. Mr. Earl had given the Elton name at Shadeland to a line of bulls owning Sir Richard 2d as their sire, and Elena 10th had surely inherited from ‘‘old Dick’’ some of his deep natural flesh. Her ribs were beautifully sprung, and her loin wide. The Anxiety heifer that had beaten her before was second. Again, in the yearling heifers the previous judgment was disapproved. May Fowler, although set below Mabel at Des Moines,

laughter, and in recalling it Mr. Gosling remarked to the author of this volume, “Such bulls-were Don Carlos and Beau Brummel.” Mr. Gosling always insisted that these and other Anxiety bulls strengthened the Hereford type in respect to the deep back- thigh, “a formation,” according to his view, “which insures the legs getting into the beef quick.” This merit, Mr. Gosling in- sists, was lacking in many of the Herefords prior to the exten- sive use of the Anxiety blood throughout the west. He urges at all time that what is needed is an increased supply of inner

muscle or flesh, as contrasted with carcasses carrying too much outside fat.

One of the most notable tributes ever paid to the subject of this note was that written some years ago by Mr. Cecil Palmer, at one time a leading live-stock artist, making a special study of Hereford form and character. Mr. Palmer said:

“Mr. Gosling’s relation to the Hereford cause has been that of an expounder and defender of ‘the faith.’ Born in Stafford- shire, England, the son of an artist, he brought to his mission the eye of an artist, the inclination and capacity of mind for thorough investigation and complete knowledge of his subject in all its relations, the boundless and untiring enthusiasm of a crusader of old_and the gift of speech. He has been an advance agent of the Hereford man’s present rosper tts Like another John of old, he has been a voice crying in the wilderness, ‘prepare ye the way’. He has not only been priest and prophet of the Hereford religion, but he has been an educator as well, and has peiped to improve the Hereford by helping to educate the

reeder. :

“He could see the faults of the Hereford, if he had any, and he always admitted them. He could see the faults of the Shorthorn or Polled Angus with certainty, and he sometimes mentioned them too. Mr. Gosling is a judge of the beef animal, whether on the farm or in the showring. He knows when to feed and how to feed and what to feed and how much—and he has always been an advocate of the liberal and discriminating use of the knife. He knows how to breed, feed and butcher:

and also how to cook a beef steak or roast, and when it is on the table he is an epicure.

“Years ago he advocated the idea that two years was long enough for a steer to live. Years ago he advised in a letter addressed to the Illinois State Board of Agriculture the aban- donment in the Fat Stock Show of all classes over two years, and the following year, in proof of his theory, fed and exhibited at that show the two-year-old crossbred steer Plush that won not only the two-year-old prize, but sweepstakes on the block.”

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 573

had been made champion female in the Hereford association specials at the Iowa show under the judgment of ‘‘ Willie’? Watson; Gosling now dec- orated her with the blue badge of superiority in an exceptionally fine class of heifers. Mabel was sec- ond. There were onlookers, however, who would have preferred her for first, among these being Mr. Culbertson, who insisted that she was the best Here- ford female of any age on exhibition.

Col. W. A. Harris, whose great herd of Scotch- bred Shorthorns at Linwood, Kans., had by this time come to rank as the best of that breed in America, was recognized on all hands as one of the soundest judges of beef cattle in the west, and it was under his examination at Lincoln that Earl of Shadeland 30th was made champion Hereford bull, and Polly Pink champion over all females. Messrs. Harris and Gosling tied the ribbons in the open championships, the first herd prize going to Wil- liams & Householder’s Shorthorns and the second to the Elmendorf Herefords. Vincent was made champion bull and the famous Shorthorn show cow Fall Creek Rose was preferred to Polly Pink for the female championship of the yard.

At the Topeka fair Elmendorf, Makin and Day had it out again. Vincent and Earl of Shadeland 30th won their ribbons as usual. Mayflower 4th was restored to her Des Moines position as head of the cow class. Elena 10th won again in her division, as did May Fowler among the yearlings.

East of the Mississippi River Clark, Henry,

574 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Clough and George O. Holcomb & Son of Troy, Pa., shipped show cattle to a special event at Buffalo, N. Y., where they were joined by J. S. Northrup of Westfield, N. Y. The latter beat Cedric in the aged bull class with Valiant 25071, bred by Clough and sired by his imiported The Grove 3d bull Alexander 9821. Holcomb was second in two-year-olds with the Garfield bull Earl of Shadeland 24th 30721, de- feating Clark’s Anxiety Wilton 30272. Peerless 3d headed the cows and her stable companion, Horatia 3d, was best two-year-old heifer. Clark won the herd prize, and that for get of bull.

There was also a good show at Detroit this same year, where Mr. Clough and R. G. Hart of LaPeer, Mich., submitted Hereford entries to Mr. Van- Natta’s judgment. Clough’s herd was in best form, and with Sylvester at the head gained most of the honors. On account of these new shows the Indiana State Fair of 1889 had neither Hereford nor Aber- deen-Angus entries.

Clark’s ‘‘Clean-Up’’ at Peoria—The [Illinois State Fair of 1889 was held at Peoria. The Here- ford show was not large, consisting of but 36 head, entered by Clark, Elmendorf, Henry, Ponting, W. J. Lewis and Frank Crane. Ponting’s Defiance won in the first class shown, Lewis receiving second on Quantrille 10774, son of Clark’s Anxiety 3d. Earl of Shadeland 30th beat Anxiety Wilton (son of Peerless) and Crane’s Emerson, the latter by that very excellent stock bull Grimley. In two-year-olds Henry was first with Caractacus Wilton, son of his

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576 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

old show bull Caractacus that had meantime been sold for export to South America.

In aged cows Elmendorf’s Etiquette, by Anxiety 6th out of Flirt by Rodney, wore the blue. In three-year-olds Peerless 3d beat Polly Pink, and in two-year-olds Clark won again, this time with Hor- atia 3d by Anxiety 3d. There was no denying the blue among the yearlings to the same exhibitor, the prize falling to Cora Belle, a heifer that had been bred by Mr. Clark’s neighbor, McEldowney, from Peerless Wilton and Crystal Belle by Cedric. Just by way of ‘‘rubbing in’’ his skill at the game Clark walked off with the second prize on Lottie by Anxiety 3d. May Fowler was unplaced. When on top of all this Clark’s Horatia 4th headed the heifer calves, his cup was full and running over. The Hereford association specials for best bull and best female were sent by the judgment of Mr. Gosling to Earl of Shadeland 30th and Peerless 3d.

Cherry Boy Champion—tThe persistency with which Fowler & VanNatta, Adams Earl and Thomas Clark followed the great shows of the period under review was one of the most interesting phases of this era in Hereford progress in the United States. Fowler & VanNatta banked specially on the prac- tical every-day character of the descendants of Treg- rehan. With ample bone, massive girth, heavy quar- ters and general show of constitution, the VanNatta cattle appealed always to those who had in mind the exacting requirements of the farm, feedlot and the open ranges of the west. The Shadeland stock

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 577

undoubtedly displayed superior refinement. Neat heads and horns, fore-and-aft finish, quality and Wilton character distinguished most of Mr. Earl’s well kept cattle. Mr. Clark, with less capital to back his work, applied his practical knowledge with extraordinary success to his Anxiety-Peerless com- bination, and year in and year out he held his own with marked success against all competition with thick smooth-fleshed cattle of his.own breeding and feeding, coming back with unfailing regularity to challenge all America.

The first tilts of the interesting campaign of 1890 developed the fact that the Clark and Van- Natta herds, contrary to their usual custom, had journeyed westward to try conclusions with the trans-Mississippi country. These were days of in- tense interest to all who were following the fortunes of the ‘‘white faces’’; the excitement attaching to the annual competitions attained unusual heights in the autumn of 1890 because the giants of the eastern circuit went out of their way to cross swords with their brethren of the west. Nothing could better illustrate this than the painstaking character of the reports made by the press at the time. It all seems like a dream at this distance, but as the author re- calls the subjoined notes on the Hereford class at Des Moines, written from personal observation at the time, it is but yesterday. John G. Imboden was the judge.

“The ring for aged bulls brought out Mr. Van- Natta’s Cherry Boy 26495, Mr. Yeoman’s Beau Real

578 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

3d 30769, Makin Bros.’ Vincent 16691, and Elmen- dorf’s Earl of Shadeland 30th 30725. The Indiana bull possesses much of the same character that has carried his famous sire Fowler 12899 to victory in many a hard-fought field—great show of constitu- tion, a wide deep chest, broad chine, well sprung rib, and an abundance of firm flesh, standing square- ly on his pins, moving with remarkable freedom of action, and showing a head and horn of most attrac- tive character. He scarcely has the scale of his sire, but has size sufficient and is of that commanding presence which never fails to impress. He was selected by the judge, after an examination of un- usual thoroughness, to head the class. He has for dam Cherry Pie 2d 17849 by Horatius 7163. A second was found in the first-prize winner of this same ring a year ago—Makin Bros.’ Vincent, by Sir Evelyn 9650, as wide, thick and low as ever, his quarters of exceptional weight, but lacking of course the exceeding freshness of Mr. VanNatta’s active, yet heavy, bull. Mr. Yeomans had hoped to get much further forward with his great son of Beau Real than third, and with a breeder instead of a butcher upon the bench his chances for preferment would certainly have been exceedingly bright; but the bull was finally relegated to a lower rank on account of a lack of firmness in his flesh—an unpar- donable fault of course under the hand of the ex- perienced buyer for the block. As to his depth and even disposition of meat throughout the carcass there can be no exceptions taken, and he shows a loin and covering over the hips that reveal clearly the impress of his wonderful sire. He comes of the same family of cows as did Sergeant Major and his dam was a daughter of ‘the mighty Rudolph.’ Three years ago upon the same spot in a close contest

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 579

Beau Real himself had met and vanquished Fowler, and the revenge wreaked last week by the son of the defeated bull over the progeny of the victor upon the former occasion will be cited as affording fresh proof of the proposition that ‘all things come to those who wait.’

‘‘In two-year-olds Day scored with Cameo, a son of Beau Real, remarkably mellow and deep in his covering. The VanNatta herd supplied the yearling winner, Rare Boy by Cherry Boy out of Rarity by Assurance, a sturdily built, well grown and level- fleshed young bull and, like all the Tregrehans, ac- tive as a cat.

‘‘The aged cow class was a strong one, and was deservedly headed by Harry Yeomans’ Flora, by Godolphin, a grand big yellow quality cow, with a top of the rarest sort, and a fine cow calf at foot by Bellman. The purchase of this great-backed cow at Mr. Fowler’s Nebraska sale, in thin condition at an absurdly low price, and the honors reaped by her at this show, afford striking illustration of the opportunities often presented by these dull times in cattle for good judges to make capital investments. Bought for a song because not sold in show fix, she has easily developed, under the skillful hand of Mr. Yeomans, into the best Hereford cow seen at this exhibition. The same owner had forward the Pont- ing-bred Moweaqua Lass, by Defiance, a gem of a cow with a world of flesh carried near to the ground. Mr. Elmendorf was represented by the well known Anxiety cows Flossie and Horatia 3d, but the former should have been left in pasture. It is unfortunate that a cow that had been almost invincible in her bloom should be forced into the fighting after all her prospects of winning have long since ‘gone glimmering.’ Flossie had served her time.

580 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

‘‘In two-year-old heifers Elmendorf was placed first with Lily by Autocrat, VanNatta second with Jessie by Fowler, and Day third with Mabel by Sir Evelyn 2d. No decision of the week created more discussion than this, and it is not likely that any large number.of people could agree as to how the heifers should be ranked. Many thought Mabel en- titled to head the class on account of her great sub- stance, evenness and quantity of flesh, and superior quarters, but Mr. Imboden faulted her forward as being too open at the top of the shoulder-blades. Lily was certainly more thoroughly feminine in her forequarters, her blades being nicely laid. Though not so strong behind as Mabel, she was rather neater in her bone, and while perhaps a bit hollow in her loin, showed neither the dimple of Jessie in her back nor the slight, very slight, disposition to droop in the middle seen in Mabel. After selecting Lily, for the reasons named, for first, Mr. Imboden hesi- tated long between Jessie and Mabel for second. He recognized the strength of Mr. Day’s fine heifer and evidently disliked to set her so low in the list, but he regarded the open crops as sufficient in the case of a breeding female to warrant him in scaling her down to third. The VanNatta heifer that stepped.into second has the same broad chine and good rib seen in all the members of the Indiana herd.

“In the yearling ring six of the twelve head shown were superlatively good, viz.: Elmendorf’s Dazzle and Tottie, VanNatta’s Gipsy Girl, Makins’ Geneve, Yeomans’ Melody 19th, and Cosgrove’s Wilton Le Sueuress 43d. Mr. Yeomans’ Washington twins, Fair Maid and Maiden Fair, were also heifers of fine promise, but the company was ‘fast.’ Mr. Im- boden worked faithfully upon the shapely six and finally drew the Elmendorf entries for first and

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 581

second and Makin Bros.’ Geneve for third. Dazzle, the blue ribbon heifer, is a granddaughter of Mr. Parmelee’s Sir Garnet, and is well grown, good backed, and level-quartered. Tottie by Saracen, the second-prize winner, is a remarkably thick-loined low-legged heifer with a fine coat. She might be a little nicer in her touch, however, and is a bit rough at the tailhead. Geneve (the unbeaten calf of 1889), by Duke of Hesse, a son of Caractacus, has made a decidedly meaty yearling, but has a trace of un- evenness in her flesh. Mr. VanNatta’s Gipsy Girl is by Blondin, a son of Sidney (he by Sir Bartle Frere out of the great cow Lark and now at the head of Hon, James M. Turner’s herd), and is an elegant heifer, though lacking the age of some of her rivals,

“‘One of the prettiest shows of the week was the line of twelve snappy white-faced heifer calves. Early maturity was written all over them, from their broad heads and protruding neck-veins to their well covered rumps, but VanNatta’s big level Nancy, by Lord Fowler, was scarcely to be denied premier place. She is a good bodied calf with fine back and full lines all around. The Iowa Hereford Cattle Company’s Maiden Fair 2d by Washington, a smoothly covered seven-months calf, made a good second, and Cosgrove’s Wiltona 15th, by Wild Eyes, a tidy level lassie, claimed the third. Makin Bros.’ Minerva 2d, by Don Carlos from an Anxiety 4th dam, a good fleshed, yellow red, was ‘blanked.’ ”’

The male championship of the class developed an interesting duel between Cherry Boy, the first-prize aged bull, on the one side and Mr. Day’s blue ribbon two-year-old Cameo on the other. It certainly is a

high tribute to old Beau Real to record that with

582 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

but two of his get on exhibition at this fair each im turn was found richly enough furnished to give the showy son of Fowler a hard wrestle for his honors. In females there was delay in adjusting the rela- tive claims of the Yeomans cow and the Day and Elmendorf heifers, but the matured animal showed too much spread of top for her younger adversaries and received the ballot for best Hereford female.

At Lincoln, with Mr. Gosling on the bench, Vin- cent was the winner over Earl of Shadeland 30th, Beau Real 3d, and Star Wilton 4th, second place being assigned to the son of Beau Real. Mr. Gosling had never altogether shared in the popular esti- mate of the Elmendorf entry. Cameo was the only two-year-old on exhibition. Makin’s Good Luck was first in the yearlings, and Mr. Havens drew the blue in the bull calf class with a son of Star Wilton 4th out of a The Grove 3d mother, shown at nine months and after this victory sold to Mr. Sears.

Flora was again first in the aged cow class, and Elmendorf was second with Horatia 3d. In two- year-olds Mabel was chosen, being preferred upon this ocasion to Lily. Mr. Havens won a prize at this show for get of sire on four richly furnished calves by Star Wilton 4th.

At Topeka on the following week Vincent was again preferred to Earl of Shadeland 30th. Elmen- dorf had both prizes in the cow class, and Lily was given the premier place among the two-year-olds, although later, in the competition for a Hereford association special, Horatia 3d was placed above her.

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 583

Messrs. Clark and Fowler & VanNatta had shipped their herds from Des Moines to Hamline, where they met local Minnesota competition, fur- nished mainly by the Cosgrove Co. Cherry Boy de- feated Peerless Wilton, no two-year-olds were shown, and in yearlings Mr. VanNatta had first on Rare Boy. In the cow class Peerless 3d received first, with VanNatta’s Celandine second. Peerless 3d was shown this year at a weight of 1,750 pounds. Celandine was the dam of Chicago, a promising bull calf even then in training for the forthcoming World’s Columbian Exposition. In two-year-old heifers Mr. VanNatta’s Jessie, by Fowler, was the victor, and among the yearlings Clark was first with Horatia 4th, own sister to Horatia 3d.

The Eastern Circuit of 1890.—The shows east of the Mississippi commenced this year at Detroit, where Merrill & Fifield, Sotham & Stickneys, James M. Turner and R. G. Hart put up an interesting fight. In aged bulls Mr. Turner’s Sidney 16574, by Sir Bartle Frere out of Mr. VanNatta’s show cow Lark by Rodney, was sent to the front, the second ribbon being placed on Sotham & Stickneys’ Per- fection 30079, a deep-fleshed and attractive son of Sir Wilfred out of Lemon 2d by The Grove 3d. His owners exhibited at this same show the more highly fitted bull Harold 21141, that had been shown so successfully since a yearling as a member of the Curry herd, and expected to win with him. This was in fact his first defeat.

In the cow class Merrill & Fifield had a popular

584 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

first in their beautiful Lovely 2d 21977, as yet un- beaten. In a class of nine two-year-old heifers Soth- am & Stickneys were first with Miss Archibald A 2d, daughter of the young bull Archibald A, previously alluded to in these notes, that had in the meantime been exported to South America. In yearling heif- ers Sotham & Stickneys had first on Purity, second on Mystic and third on Gay Lady. The herd prize and the bull-with-two-of-his-get ribbon both went to Merrill & Fifield. These same herds came together again at the Michigan State Fair on the following week with somewhat varying results, the herd prize falling to Sotham & Stickneys.

At Columbus there was a very light show in 1890, Sotham & Stickneys and Elijah Field, Camden, O., being the only exhibitors. While the Sotham & Stickneys cattle were not seen further in this sea- son’s circuit, this year marked the beginning of a long series of exhibits on both eastern and western circuits by Mr. Sotham, who set out to devote his energies largely to the refinement of the Hereford type, more particularly in respect to head and horn. We shall meet him again.

At the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee Thomas Clark and the Cosgrove herd came down from Ham- line, and were met by the herd of J. J. Williams, the Clark cattle receiving most of the first and champ- ionship awards.

There was little doing at the Indiana State Fair of 1890 in the Hereford class, exhibits being made only by two local firms with no special pretensions

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 585

so far as showyard fitting was concerned. These were the herds of Parkhurst & Son and G. W. Har- ness & Son. Messrs. Harness had first in the aged bull class with Oregon, sired by Careful out of a Prince Edward 2d cow. This bull had formerly been in service in the herd of Seabury & Sample. The Parkhursts showed the Garfield bull, Earl of Shadeland 20th, in breeding condition, receiving sec- ond prize. The Messrs. Harness had first in the two-year-olds on Earl of Shadeland 41st. Park- hursts had first in aged cows with Elzina, and Messrs. Harness second with Perfection, a daughter of old Romeo.

At the Illinois State Fair Cherry Boy had a walk- over again, defeating Earl of Shadeland 30th and Peerless Wilton. Mr. Earl received first in two- year-olds on Earl of Shadeland 47th, by Garfield out of a Sir Bartle Frere dam, broad at the chine, with a good head and well sprung in the rib. VanNatta had second on a low-legged bull of good scale called Armour 36916, by Blondin out of Fancy Arrow 2d. Rare Boy was first in yearlings, and Earl Wilton 36th was second. Mr. Earl’s Captain Grove by Earl Grove 4th out of Cordelia by Colorado, a rich, low-bodied, strong-backed, wide-headed calf, was first among bull calves; he was then sold to Capt. Scarlett, who had some time before succeeded Mr. Yeomans in charge of the herd of the Iowa Here- ford Cattle Co. and was now managing a new Iowa enterprise.

Mr. J. B. Camp, of Harristown, was the judge

586 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

upon this occasion, and in the Hereford cow class created some consternation by sending the blue to Elmendorf’s Etiquette 11247, an extra good cow by Anxiety 6th, but now wanting in bloom. Peerless 3d, that stood second, was the almost unanimous choice of the spectators for the head of the line. She was at this time a show cow of the best type, with nobly arched ribs thrown well down, thick fore-roasts, and full loins. Elmendorf’s Lily headed the two-year- olds, Mr. Clark’s Bess standing second.

Nothing more attractive than a line of well fitted Hereford heifers is ever seen in our western show- yards, and the 15 yearlings at Peoria this year ex- cited universal admiration. Mr. Earl’s Shadeland Cora, by Earl of Shadeland 22d out of a Colorado dam, drew the blue, with Elmendorf’s Tottie slated for the red. Next came nine beautiful calves, the honor falling again to Shadeland, this time on Shade- land Fairy, also by Earl of Shadeland 22d—a calf with exceptional rib, full of flesh and hair, decidedly superior along back and loin. Her weak point was her quarters. Clark was second on Plun, one of the best calves of any breed out this season, a daughter of Peerless Wilton out of Peerless 3d. Senator Harris was called in to award the group and champ- ionship prizes. He ranked VanNatta’s herd first and made Cherry Boy champion bull. The class decision on cows was reversed, Peerless 3d being adjudged best Hereford female in the showyard. The prize for best four animals under four years the get of one sire drew out a strong display, rep-

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 587

resenting the progeny of Peerless Wilton, Earl of Shadeland 22d, Defiance and Grimley, the Peerless Wiltons winning out, with the Ponting cattle second.

The Shows of 1891.—On the western circuit a new Richmond now entered the field—Thomas Higgins of Council Grove, Kans., who had collected a valuable lot of both breeding and show cattle, purchasing among other celebrities Cherry Boy.*

*John Steward prepared for the author about this date the appended sketch of Cherry Boy which is deemed worthy of per- manent preservation in these pages:

“Cherry Boy. was calved April 5, 1886, so is now in his four- teenth year. is dam-was imported Cherry Pie 2d 17849, bred by Mr. Stephen Robinson, sired by Horatius, one of old Horace’s best sons, second dam Cherry Pie, by Docklow, by Above All, bred by Mr. J. Hewer and tracing back through this Cherry Pie fam- ily to Sir Thomas and Sir Benjamin. Cherry Pie 2d was a me- dium-sized cow with an extra fine head, a splendid coat of hair, and altogether showed much breed character. She was a good breeder, having Eersuers to the service of Fowler not only Cherry Boy, but Cherry Lad, many years used by Mr. Ohl, Iowa City, Ia., and Cherry Girl, Mr. J. M. Curtice’s fine breeding cow. I mention these last two animals to show Cherry Boy was no freak, but the result of mating two good individuals backed up by a long line of well bred prize-winning ancestors on_both sides. While here I will call attention to the fact that Cherry Boy and Fowler were both spring and early summer calves; this is worth noticing, for while most breeders mate their animals to have them produce calves in late fall and early winter, and so have long ages for the show calves, I could mention many instances where the best calf of a season’s crop was dropped in the spring or summer.

“Cherry Boy did not have special care or handling until over a year old, which proved to be a mistake. As he was a high- strung nervy fellow, it took considerable time_and patience to get him used to handling for the showring. He was from the start a great feeder and had a good milking mother, which very essentia! trait has been transmitted to the majority of his daugh- ters. Any one who has seen him after studying the make-up of a beef animal, noticing the masculine head, strong jaw and extra wide muzzle, could tell he was a feeder. Add to this his graceful drooping horn and large full eye, his round, well bal- anced body, on straight short legs, wide deep chest, extra full- ness through crops and heartgirth, an oval padded loin, smoothly laid-in hips, full thigh, bulging twist, deep rich dark-red-colored coat of curly hair, and lordly carriage, and the majority of breed- ers would esteem him as an impressive sire. He was a bull all over, proud as a peacock, active as a kitten; he needed neither whip nor prod to shape himself for inspection. I saw him in the paddocks a few weeks since, and while four years had passed since I cared for and fed him, he recognized my voice and was on dress parade immediately. Although of course only the shadow

.of his former self, there was _ still the same proud bearing, or what we used to call Cherry Boy ‘get-up,’ which he always had and which marked attractive showy appearance he has trans- mitted to all his offspring. In a recent conversation with his

588 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

With this son of Fowler at the head of his line Mr. Higgins made his initial show at Des Moines. Cherry Boy had beaten Earl of Shadeland 30th twelve months previous, but now the tables were turned. The son of Garfield in the capable hands of George Mason had put on a lot of flesh which was still smoothly carried, whereas Cherry Boy came back after a heavy season’s service with some loss of bloom. The mellow-fleshed Cameo came along third, and as usual delighted the hands and eyes of good feeders. Cosgrove pulled the blue in two-year-olds with Wildy 15th, by Wild Eyes out of the big cow Bonnyface by Rudolph. He was shown at a weight of 1,665 pounds. John Gosling ex- hibited a few good cattle this season, from his place at Rockford, Ill., and contested with ‘‘Ned’’ Scar-

owner I was told it is the same now as it used to be when I had charge of the herd—the visitor or prospective buyer, nine times out of ten, selects a Cherry Boy whether it be in stall or pasture. “Of his many showyard victories I shall only mention the championship at the Iowa State Fair in 1890, and at the Illinois State Fair at Peoria, where he was champion of his breed and tied the Shorthorn champion Young Abbotsburn for sweepstakes. While fitted for the showring several years in succession, he was always a very sure breeder, and I believe has as Hears calves recorded to his credit in the Hereford record as any bull of the breed. Nearly, if not quite, 300, with still some more to register, makes his record as_a breeder remarkable. Not all of these calves were bred at Hickory. Grove, as in the spring of '91 Mr. Thomas_ Higgins, of Council Grove, Kans., fell in love with Cherry Boy (then in his very best form) and after considerable pariesing, purchasing a carload of females and paying $1,200 for im, took him down to Kansas, where for two years he did very heavy service.

“In the spring of 1893, while preparing an exhibit for the World's Fair, the bull we intended heading the show herd met with an accident which knocked him out, and as Mr. Higgins, on account of ill health, had by this time disposed of his entire herd to Mr. Anthony, Mr, VanNatta started me _on a trip to Coun- cil Grove, with the result that when I returned to Hickory Grove Cherry Boy came back with me. At that time he was seven years old and owing to long continued heavy service and climatic changes we failed to have him in his old-time form and place at the Columbian; he stood at the head of the second-prize herd there, his yearling daughter Cherry Lass being one of the group.

“Of a few of the great number of his Billa hg sons and daughters I shall make brief mention: herry Boy 2d, sweep-

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 589

lett for the red ribbon in this class. Mr. Stocking sent that trophy, however, to Scarlett’s Mountain Dew by Washington. The same exhibitor had an easy first in the yearling ring in Captain Grove, first-prize calf at Peoria a year before, now devel- oping into a well grown, level bull. Elmendorf’s Crusader, by Earl of Shadeland 30th, was second. Cosgrove was strong in bull calves, winning with Wildy 37th over Elmendorf’s St. Louis, son of the famous Lily.

In cows it was Lily vs. Mabel again. As three- year-olds they were about as evenly balanced as they were in their two-year-old form. It will be remem- bered that Mr. Imboden preferred Lily and John Gosling went to Mabel at the Des Moines and Lin- coln shows of 1890. The result of Mr. Stocking’s examination this year confirmed the Imboden rat-

stakes in calf and yearling form at Illinois and Iowa state fairs;: Cherry Lass (full sister of last named,) and Wallflower with Cherry Duchess, winners at Des Moines in 1892, as all were the following year at the Columbian, Cherry Lass afterward being purchased and exhibited by Mr. Sotham; Wallflower and Cherry Duchess, purchased by Mr. George Redhead, the last named being a winner in cow class for him several successive years; Erma, exhibited by Mr. Funkhouser; Rare Boy, Elvira 3d and Minnie’s Cherry, of Sunny Slope fame; Columbus, used several years by Mr. Tom Ponting; then, as recently as the late Kansas City Here- ford show, Lincoln 2d, Clodia and Miss Betsy 2d were all win- ners. To go on with this list would make too long a story, or to mention the many valuable breeding cows of his get scattered through most of the prominent herds of the country, there being very few herds which have not some of the descendants of this famed sire and are proud of the ownership.

“T cannot close this article without some brief mention of two of Cherry _Boy’s greatest sons, the steers Kodack and Cherry Brandy. The former was first in his class, in the first prize Hereford herd, and also a grand sweepstakes herd at the Chicago Fat Stock Show in ’91. Cherry Brandy was sweepstakes of the breed at the World’s Fair Fat Stock Show and also at Chicago the following year, and was conceded by all good judges to have been one of the most perfect steers ever exhibited. When the history of the noted Herefords of this decade is written, who will deny one of the most prominent pages for this grand old bull? Well may any breeder be proud to breed and bring out two such animals as old Fowler and his greatest son.”

590 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ing, and in the subsequent showing for the Here- ford specials Col. Harris of Linwood passed a like judgment. However, it was practically a toss-up between the two. They were a pair of grand good cows in any company. Lily showed rather more finish and feminine character forward than did Ma- bel, and upon this one point the decisions rested. Lily still showed that trace of hollowness in her loins, but her competitor was a bit uneven in her top, and did not stand so well behind. Mabel was a thick massive cow, carrying a great wealth of flesh. A good third was found in Mr. Higgins’ Maid of Orleton, not large, but nicely covered and neat. The same exhibitor’s Ashton Beauty, a cow of marked substance, and Gosling’s yellow-red Fantasma, not large, but meaty and full of quality, were good beasts unplaced.

Cosgrove again came to the front in a ring of six two-year-olds, capturing first with Wiltona 15th and second with Wiltona 22d. Wiltona 15th was an ex- ceptionally well furnished heifer, wide, low and smooth, although she might have been more re- fined about the head. She was round and well cov- ered, carrying her meat well down on the rib, and was an entirely satisfactory first. Wiltona 22d was a larger heifer but not so evenly filled, her size and weight bringing her the red. Elmendorf’s Tottie, with her nice head, good neck-vein, and twist well filled, drew third position. In selecting Mr. Day’s growthy daughter of Sir Evelyn 2d, May- flower, for premier honors among the yearlings a

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 591

choice which many failed to approve was made. Mr. Higgins’ Miss Wilton, a rare thick Beau Real heifer out of the celebrated Lady Wilton, named for second place, would have made a more popular winnner. Elmendorf’s Hypatia, by Peerless Wil- ton, and a March ealf, was third. Critics thought that the ignoring of Scarlett’s good Washington heifer, Fair Maiden 2d, ripe, tidy, and smooth, but at some disadvantage as to age, was a palpable error. She let down a trifle in her back, but was all quality. In heifer calves the Cosgrove people du- plicated their remarkable record in two-year-olds, drawing the blue on Wiltona 31st and the red on Wil- tona 33d, Elmendorf following with a daughter of Earl of Shadeland 30th.

For the best bull in the class Earl of Shadeland 30th and the yearling Captain Grove were the chief competitors, and the big bull won. Lily was chanip- ion cow.

At the Lincoln state fair of 1891 James A. Funk- houser, Plattsburg, Mo., who was soon to become prominent as a breeder and exhibitor and who had already been elected President of the Hereford as- sociation, was called as judge. The herds of Hig- gins, Day and Elmendorf were before him, rein- forced by an exhibit made by John S. Carlyle of Chicago.

John S. Carlyle—It is not often that Scotchmen become enamored of the ‘‘white faces,’’ but Car- lyle was for years one of their greatest admirers. He was a grocer by trade, but made the acquaint-

592 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ance of the early exhibitors at the Chicago shows. During the fairs and fat stock competition we fear his customers often wondered what had become of ‘the boss’’.. Mr. Carlyle was a keen witted, close student of Hereford character, and was never hap- pier than when arguing with owners or herdsmen as to the relative merits of the cattle he so enthusi- astically supported. At length his ambition to be- come an owner, breeder and exhibitor was gratified. While still retaining his Chicago business he bought a farm near Vesta, Neb., and made selections of foundation stock, largely from Shadeland and from the herds near Beecher. While his venture prob- ably did not prosper financially, it is doubtful if any man ever lived who found greater pleasure than John S. Carlyle in the companionship of good cat- tle. This much is said concerning him because he was really one of the characters developed by the era of which we now speak. Carlyle made a brave fight at Lincoln, and later at the Ilinois State Fair, against veteran showmen, and carried home prizes that served him as themes of conversation for months afterwards.*

°Mr, Carlyle’s Earl of Shadeland 12th was a son of Garfield and Tiny, a low-down, deep bodied, thick flesh-carrier, with good head, good back and loin, well filled at heart and girth, and of altogether very taking character. He was presented in every- day breeding condition only, and consequently was “not in it” with his better-fitted rivals. His cow Crystal Belle was of the same stamp, low to the ground, deep and wide, thick in her flesh and sweet in her general appearance. She was a seven-year-old daughter of Cedric by The Grove 3d, and was the dam of Clara Belle, the blue-ribbon winner at Peoria in 1889. For two-year- olds Mr. Carlyle showed Eletta 2d, by Peerless Wilton out of an Anxiety cow, and Princess Louise 5th, by Cedric out of a daugh- ter of Lord Wilton. This latter heifer was nicely conditioned, with a pretty head and neck, extra back and well filled loin, with

ribs richly and evenly covered, and an extra good hindquarter. The plums of this string of cattle, however, were the yearlings

.

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 593

Cherry Boy was preferred by Mr. Funkhouser to Earl of Shadeland 30th, and Cameo came third. Crusader was first in yearlings and Carlyle had first on his bull calf Bobbie Burns over St. Louis. Lily was moved up above Mabel in cows. Carlyle had first and fourth in two-year-olds on Princess Louise 5th by Cedric and Eletta 2d by Peerless Wilton. Tottie was second. In yearlings Carlyle had the great satisfaction of winning with Fa'vor- ite by Anxiety 3d, one of the most charming heifers of the old bull’s get. In calves Elmendorf had first on Blue Belle and Carlyle second on Annie Laurie. Earl of Shadeland 30th had the bull-with- get prize. Carlyle’s Crystal Belle won in the cow- with-produce class. Day took the herd prize. Lily was champion female and Cherry Boy champion bull.

Claude Makin judged the Higgins, Day and Elm- endorf herds at Topeka in the fall of 1891, revers- ing Funkhouser on aged bulls and yearlings. Lily beat Mabel again, for the fourth time that season.

Favorite and Bonnie Sadie. In general appearance Favorite was one of the most attractive heifers we have ever seen, and if early maturity was sought it could be found in this almost perfectly formed daughter of Anxiety 3d. Her head and neck, smoothly covered shoulder perfectly laid, her broad chest and beautiful brisket, combined to make her particularly charming as she met you, and if faulted somewhat back of her hips, one could still apply to the balance of her well developed form a description of a perfectly formed little cow and in no way overestimate her. She was refined in character, and no term so fitly describes her as “sweet.” Bonny Sadie was a granddaughter of Lady Godiva. She was not so fully matured as Favorite, but had a beautiful coat, was very straight in her lines and as smooth as an egg. Four calves completed the lot—two heifers and two young bulls. Of the former Annie Laurie was the better fleshed, but Mr. Car- lyle thought much of Heather Belle. The bull calves Bobbie Burns and What Care I were. sons of Fanny and Crystal Belle respectively. Bobbie was a thick-bodied calf with good back and loin and full in the crops. His companion was not so meaty, but was exceptionally neat and clean-cut in his make-up, and could easily be put in extra form.

594 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Eastern Circuit of 1891—H. H. Clough, Eu- gene Fifield, and the Sotham Co., all of Michi- gan, and Elijah Field of Camden, O., met at De- troit. Mr. Fifield beat Harold and Peerless of Rock- land with Alger. Sotham took the two-year-old bull ribbon with Harold 2d, and had first in cows with Miss Archibald A, besides first in two-year-old heifers on Mystic. At the Michigan State Fair Al- ger'and Harold 2d again won. Fifield’s Accacia was first in senior cows and Sotham’s Miss Archi- bald A was second in three-year-olds. Mystic re- peated her Detroit victory.

At the Ohio State Fair of 1891 Clough, Sotham, Elijah Field, Harness of Indiana, and John Savage of Elyria, O., went before Mr. R. Baker of Elyria as judge.

As both the Clough and Sotham herds were now about to come into national prominence we repro- duce below ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’? comment on this important show. It will be observed that we here meet for the first time, in the bull calf class, Mr. Sotham’s afterwards famous sire Corrector:

‘‘Mr. Clough’s Peerless of Rockland, by Peerless Wilton out of Jessie by Anxiety 3d, led the ring for aged bulls. He is a bull of considerable scale, with a head full of Hereford character, a grand. loi, very heavy quarters and a good hide. Mr. John Savage, Elyria, had second ticket with his Peerless Wilton bull, somewhat smaller, but truly fashioned and full of quality. Messrs. Harness had brought forward Earl of Shadeland 41st, and Mr. Field was represented by Hero 2d. In the two-year-

}

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 595

old Harold 2d Mr. Sotham has something which ap- proximates his ideal of a ‘white face’ bull. He has a beautiful head and horn, refined and yet mascu- line, he is much neater at the throat than the gen- erality of bulls of the breed. He has a well ribbed back which is deeply fleshed, and his quarters are of the improved sort. He was the only entry of his age. Yearlings were headed by the same exhibitor’s Harilton, by Harold out of Gaybird, a daughter of the famous old Gaylass. He is a little shorter in the rib than Mr. Clough’s Kodax, in fact there is a lit- tle less of him, but he has the advantage of the Rockland bull in quality and especially in the char- acter of the his head and horn. Kodax is a bull of depth and substance, with fine loin and level quar- ters. He had second honors in this ring.

‘“Corrector, the latest calf from old Coral, drop- ped by the service of Harold, carried the winning ribbon among the calves for Mr. Sotham, and was followed by Mr. Clough’s Florida, by Peerless of Rockland. Corrector is a very neat, smooth, evenly fleshed calf, well finished about his head and neck and holding a well sprung rib and good loin.

‘“‘Miss Archibald A is a good cow not to show against. Probably this negative putting of the case

-will obviate the necessity of a detailed description.

It is enough to say that she is one of the great young cows of the breed. She is a ‘big little one’ of the stamp which every feeder knows is the most profitable to handle and is full of flesh of prime quality disposed with rare smoothness. She easily stepped to the front in this competition and Mr. Clough’s Millie of Rockland, by Romeo, a cow with beautiful head, grand loin and table-back, stood sec- ond. There were in this ring Mr. Sotham’s Lemon 3d, Mr. Clough’s Jessie, Mr. Field’s Ida Wilton,

596 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

and Messrs. Harness’ Perfection and Jessie, the lat- ter big useful cows but not conditioned for this com- petition. Of Mr. Sotham’s two-year-old heifers— Mystic by Royal Grove Jr., and Purity by Archi- bald—we rather prefer the first-named, and such was the rating they received at Detroit, but Mr. Baker reversed positions on this occasion, which more nearly squares with their owner’s estimate of their merits. It is questionable whether the Michigan exhibitor was entitled to both ribbons in this ring, for Mr. Clough’s Jewel 3d, by Sylvester, is a heifer of much substance, thicker and wider than either of the others but lacking a little of their quality and scarcely so refined in head and horn. Messrs. Harness had in Pet a heifer with a very handsome head and horn got by Earl of Shadeland 41st, and Mr. Field showed Duchess 2d, a growthy heifer of Wilton blood.

“‘From Mr. Clough’s trio of yearlings—Cocoa- nut by Emperor of Rockland, New Years of Rock- land by Sylvester, and Lady Frances by Washing- ton—the first named was selected to wear the red, which here indicates first prize, and this was an- other overturning of a Detroit decision. Mr. Soth- am’s Beaubois Beauty, a handsome little yellow- red, had second place. From the six calves Mr. Clough drew both ribbons with a pretty pair— Actress and Jewel 5th.

“‘Mr. Sotham’s herd, headed by Harold 2d and including Miss Archibald A, Purity, Mystic and Beaubois Purity, was so strong in each member and so uniform in nearly all respects that it proved a little too heavy metal: for the excellent collection from Rockland which was headed by Peerless of Rockland. Messrs. Harness had the ticket for three cows each with her own calf, with Perfection, Jes-

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 597

sie and Pet, the calves being by Earl of Shadeland 41st. The award for the get of a bull fell to Mr. Field on the progeny of Hero 2d, which is a son of Constable’s Hero, the Regulus bull once owned at Beecher. It was rather questionable as between this exhibit and that made by the Earl of Shade- land 41st. Mr. Clough had the ribbon for cow with two of her calves on Jessie 5th, with her massive son Peerless of Rockland by her side, together with her young heifer by Sylvester.’’

At Indianapolis on the following week the Clough and Sotham herds met again, this time with Col. T. S. Moberly of Richmond, Ky., a leading Shorthorn exhibitor of the day, as the arbiter of Hereford fashion. Rightly or wrongly, as one pleases to take it, he reversed the Columbus awards in every class in which there was competition, save only that for aged cows.

In a notable breed contest here Sotham’s Harold 2d gained the two-year-old ribbon—the only one saved to the Herefords out of a nerve-racking con- test all along the line with a great lot of Shorthorns and Aberdeen-Angus.

At the Illinois show of 1891 John Imboden had one of the hard days of his long career in the jury box—especially when the cows and heifers came in view. Clark, Elmendorf, Sotham, Carlyle, John Steward, ‘‘Ned’’ Scarlett and Fowler & Bassett, - Long Point, Ill., supplied the trouble. Fowler & Bassett. were showing Armour 36968, exhibited twelve months before by VanNatta. He was a bull showing more quality than Earl of Shadeland 30th,

598 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

but the old hero of so many contests was still im- pressive enough to win. Probably no greater con- trast could readily be imagined than that presented by these two antagonists in the matter of color. Garfield’s son was a very dark red, too dark in fact, while Armour was a real golden yellow. In two- year-olds Sotham’s Harold 2d forged to the front over Clark’s Phil Armour by Anxiety 3d. Scar- lett’s square-ended mellow-handling low-flanked Captain Grove was the winner among the year- lings. In bull calves John Steward (Fowler & Van- Natta’s former herd manager of whom we shall hear more as our story progresses) took first with a youngster, his own personal property, by Cherry Boy out of a Star Grove dam, that proved too much for Sotham’s Corrector to handle.

The cow class, a memorable one, was headed by Lily, her chief rivals being Peerless 2d and her six-year-old daughter Peerless 3d and Sotham’s “‘big little one,’? Miss Archibald A. Peerless 3d was placed second. The heifer classes were excep- tionally fine, and as indicating the type and quality being produced at that date by home breeders we quote again from ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’:

“In two-year-olds Imboden rather crossed the judgment of a majority of the Hereford-breeding contingent present by sending Fowler & Bassett’s big Victoria Belle to the head of the list. She is a grand-topped heifer of tremendous scale, but plain at both ends. John S. Carlyle’s Princess Louise was slated for second money, leaving Clark’s Hora- tia 4th, Carlyle’s Eletta, and Elmendorf’s Tottie

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 599

unrecognized. The first-prize heifer, while lack- ing in refinement, is richly furnished all along her back from fore-roasts to loin and is besides big and deep through her heart. Princess Louise and Horatia 4th are not cast in so big a mold. They are of-a neater, better-finished type and full of flesh as well. Horatia, with her pretty incurving down- turned horns and sweet countenance, meets you more effectively than either of her rivals, is shown with'a great coat, has nicely arched ribs and excep- tionally neat bone, but in her quarters is not so good as the Princess. The latter is carrying plenty of flesh, but shows that inclination to roll on the rib that is so apt to be developed by quick-feeding cattle. She is of a meaty type, near to the ground, with good width, and deserved all she won, if not, more. Those who thought that a richly meated table-back should not carry a roughish head and un- satisfactory rumps to the post of honor would have set Horatia second.

“It was a charming array of yearlings (eleven in number) that were moved into position, and when it is said that Carlyle had an outstanding winner in his beautifully brought out Favorite little more need be added. This splendid daughter of Anxiety 3d was shown in the very height of showyard form. To the bloom that always attaches to a well fed and finely modeled yearling is added the catchy embon- point of the heifer six months gone with her first ealf.. Nothing is lacking to complete the picture save a little lightness of thigh and a trace of un- evenness about the loin. Generally speaking, how- ever, she is a wonderfully furnished, smooth, thick- fleshed heifer of much breadth and depth, and re- markably developed for age. Indeed, as a speci- men of early maturity she is one of the sensations

600 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of the year—practically a finished cow in her year- ling form. After she had been set aside to head the class there was a spirited contest for second place between Clark’s Plum (dam Peerless 2d) and Scarlett’s Fair Maiden 2d, by Washington, the po- sition finally being held by the latter. The former wore one of those shaggy coats which Clark suc- ceeds so well in growing. Moreover, she begins well and ends well, her pretty face and wide fore- head attracting one from the front and her good thighs satisfying the eye as she goes away. ‘‘The decision which made Carlyle’s Anthie Lau- rie first in heifer calves, and Elmendorf’s Bluebelle second, with-Clark’s Annie (by Anxiety) and Fow- ler & Bassett’s thick Bonnie (by Orphan Boy) un- placed was not altogether satisfactory. Bluebelle is a furry-haired, mellow-handling, well grown calf with typical head and should have been first, with Clark or Carlyle second. Carlyle and Clark both have good calves and richly bred (the former by Earl of Shadeland 12th from the famous Felicia), but we cannot grant the license of either of them to win in the presence of the Elmendorf entry.”’ Elmendorf received the herd prize at the capable hands of David Fyffe, Sotham receiving second. R. C. Auld made Earl of Shadeland 30th champion male and Miss Archibald A champion female. Death of C. M. Culbertson.—While the ‘‘white faces’’ were carrying all before them at the Fat Stock Show held at the Chicago Stock Yards during the first week in December, 1891, Mr. C. M. Culbert- son, the man who had done so much towards the successful introduction of the breed, passed away at Arkansas Hot Springs, whither he had journeyed in

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 601

the hope of securing relief from a complication of disorders incident to advanced age. He had passed the four-score milestone.

Hereford Constitutions in Evidence—The fact that Vincent and Earl of Shadeland 30th were able to come back again at the shows of 1892 af- forded fresh proof of the staying qualities, the con- stitution, and the vigor of the Hereford. Ability to stand up under the pressure of long-continued high feeding for show demonstrates the reverse side of the claim made for the ‘‘white faces’’ as the hardi- est of all the improved breeds of cattle of the beef type. Second only in point of practical interest for cattle-growers to the demonstration of constitu- tion being made during this same period by the Hereford bulls on the open ranges of the far west was the record of such bulls as Fowler, Vincent, and Earl of Shadeland 30th at the shows of the cornbelt states. Animals lacking in real virility would deteriorate quite as rapidly under the ad- verse influences of over-feeding as under the ef- fects of hardships suffered. under the conditions prevailing in the arid storm-swept areas of the tree- less plains and intermountain grazing grounds that supported the cattle industry beyond the 100th meridian. :

At Des Moines, in September, 1892, the sturdy son of Garfield, the Earl of Shadeland 30th, so often mentioned hitherto in these notes, was again awarded pride of place as best aged Hereford bull, but the perennially popular Vincent, now in his

602 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

seventh year, pushed him for the honor. One of Iowa’s most practical stockmen, Peter Mouw of Orange City, who had espoused the cause of the Herefords, won third in this competition with Cas- tello, by Dromio, at six years. As good a bull as Cameo had to fail of recognition. The spectacle of these bulls presenting such form at such ages, after extended periods of high feeding and active serv- ice, recalls those early days in Herefordshire when their prototypes were hurling their weight into the yoke and were in the very prime of their useful- ness at from six to ten years of age.

Meantime, new recruits were constantly joining the Hereford forces. Redhead Bros., of Des Moines, had been convinced of the merit of the breed and had established a good herd with the prize-winning Shadeland-bred Captain Grove, pur- chased from Mr. Scarlett, at its head. He was sent into this competition somewhat out of form, but still good enough to win. Cosgrove captured the red with Wildy 29th, and VanNatta was third with Chi- cago. In yearlings Cherry Boy 2d came to the front, a well developed young bull with rather prominent hips, and Makin Bros. were second on Anxiety Boy. In bull calves the Makins were first with Vincent 9th, a level short-legged son of their rare old bull of that name.

Speaking of the power of the senior bulls to hold their own, we have now to record that Lily once again led the aged cows, Cosgrove following with the dark-colored massive Wilton Le Sueuress 43d,

ry

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 603

and our old friend Mabel coming third. Makin Bros. had bought Mr. Henry’s Countess of Ross- land, by Prince Edward, and they sent her into this class along with Julia Wilton and Stately 10th, all of good Hereford type and quality, but here un- placed. Day got first in the two-year-old heifers on Hypatia by Peerless. Wilton, Redhead Bros. were second on Lulu, by Ponting’s Anxiety 3d from a Blenheim dam, very thick but rather over-done. The Makins’ Stately 13th by Washington, unplaced, would have been preferred by many. VanNatta had both blue and red on a remarkable pair of yearling heifers—Cherry Duchess by Cherry Boy and Anna- bel by Star Grove 1st, the latter destined to rare honors in 1893. John Letham was at this date working with his good friend Steward on the Van- Natta show cattle, and handled here the blue ribbon heifer calf Cherry Lass, own sister to the first-prize yearling bull Cherry Boy 2d and a heifer with a lot of hair and flesh, extra in her spring of rib.

Earl of Shadeland 30th and Lily had the class championships, and we shall see the old bull yet another year in the biggest battle of his career.

At Lincoln in 1892 Mr. Funkhouser again offi- ciated as judge, the show being made up of the en- tries of Messrs. Day, Elmendorf, Carlyle, and Makin Bros. Earl of Shadeland bested Vincent; no two- year-olds were shown. Carlyle won in yearlings on . Bobbie Burns, and Vincent 9th was calf winner. In cows it was Lily once again, with the Makins’ State- ly second, and Mabel third. Carlyle had both first

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and second in two-year-old heifers on Bonnie Sadie and Favorite; the Scotchman was first also in year- lings on Fanny Mack, while Elmendorf drew the blue in calves on Lady Daylight. The champion- ships were as at Des Moines.

The Kansas show of 1892 was not up to the usual mark. Makin Bros. and Elmendorf divided the rib- bons, with Earl of Shadeland 30th and Lily again in the stellar positions.

Tom Clark and Harry Fluck, the latter a high- class English herdsman now starting into Hereford breeding on his own account, exhibited at the Min- nesota State Fair in competition with Cosgrove. It was rather a light show, reflecting the slackness of the trade which had now been in evidence for some time. Clark’s Sanhedrim 46180, an in-bred The Grove 3d two-year-old of Culbertson’s breeding, got by Star Grove 10th out of Grove Maid 18th, was champion male and Cosgrove’s wonderfully deep-fleshed cow Wilton Le Sueuress was adjudged best female. These same herds were seen at Mil- waukee the following week, Sanhedrim again head- ing the bulls, and Clark’s two-year-old heifer Plum was set above the Cosgrove cow.

Death of Anxiety 3d.—During the first week in September, 1892, Anxiety 3d, whose daughters had been so phenomenally successful at the great shows for a number of years, was humanely killed to end his suffering from rheumatic afflictions that. had for some months rendered the old veteran’s life a burden to himself. He was in his twelfth year.

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 605

The Eastern Circuit of 1892.—As usual in those days the ball started rolling east of the river with the annual battle between the Michigan and Ohio herds at Detroit. Clough, Fifield, Sotham and Turner were still in the running. Alger beat Har- old 2d, while Turner’s Peerless Wilton 13th out- ranked Clough’s Kodax. At the New York State Fair George N. Bissell of Milford, N. Y., and George O. Holcomb of Troy, Pa., presented excel- lent herds, the ribbons being tied by John Vander- bilt, manager for Erastus Corning.

In Ohio it was Clough vs. Sotham, with John Hooker of New London as ‘‘runner-up.’’ L. P. Sisson, a West Virginia breeder of Devons, allotted the prizes. Harold 2d was sent to the front as senior bull over Hooker’s Grover Morton. Kodax had no competition in two-year-olds and Corrector scored among the yearlings. Miss Archibald A 2d headed the cows; Clough’s Cocoanut, a Wilton-Anx- iety combination, with handsome front and splen- did loin, was best two-year-old, and the same own- er’s Actress was the blue ribbon yearling.

The Clough and Sotham herds, supplemented by entries of West & Duncan, Windsor, II]., made up the Hereford show the following week at Indianapo- lis. Harold 2d, Kodax and Miss Archibald A 2d were again honored.

Funkhouser Enters the Lists.—A Missouri breeder who now came rapidly to the fore in Here- ford cattle breeding circles put in his first appear- ance as an exhibitor on the big circuits at the Il-

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linois State Fair of 1892 at Peoria. This was James A. Funkhouser of Plattsburg, whose cattle will come in for frequent mention before our narrative ends. It was a large and good class that Harry Yeomans was here called upon to judge.

First of all there was the inevitable Earl of Shadeland 30th, accompanied by his old traveling companion Vincent; also Harold 2d—all familiar ‘‘white faces.’? Their right of way was challenged, however, and, as is turned out, successfully blocked by new antagonists. Mr. VanNatta had always put his money on the Tregrehan blood. He knew its prepotency and the stamina that went with it. But he was wise enough also to know that in the get of Anxiety 5th he possessed another valuable blood element. His imported cow White Spark 2d, of Stephen Robinson’s breeding, got by Horatius 7163, he by old Horace, had produced to the cover of Anxiety 5th in 1885 the bull Saracen 23188, that was used in the herd quite freely. He sired among other good calves the bull Hengler 37003, dropped in 1888 by the imported cow Lady Hartington, by Harting- ton 4010, son of The Grove 3d. This calf had, there- fore, a double cross of Horace, besides carrying the old Anxiety blood, and he developed into a bull good enough to win the blue ribbon in this Peoria compe- tition—not a sensational show bull, but with good Hereford character, broad ribs, and well fleshed, although not just as even along his back as might be wished. Mr. Funkhouser had come into posses- sion by purchase from Tom Clark, of one of the

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 607

Hereford treasures of his time—Hesoid 2d 40679, bred by George W. Henry from imp. Hesoid (he of the guy ropes referred to in our notes on one of the early Chicago shows) and of Curry’s Anita by. Harold. We have already spoken of his sire Hesoid as one of the richest of The Grove 3d bulls. Har- old we recognize as Mr. Curry’s good show bull, and sire of Sotham’s Corrector. Harold’s sire was Highland Laird, son of Horatius, so we observe that Hesiod 2d, as well as Hengler, had two lines to Hor- ace, the sire of The Grove 3d. Like most bulls of this blood Hesoid 2d seemed to lack stretch and scale, but at three years old he here tipped the beam at 1,950 pounds, being compactly fashioned. He was drawn for second place, and in after years made the reputation of the Funkhouser herd as a sire of good Herefords.* The old Earl of Shade- land 30th fell back to third.

This was something of a Grove 3d day, for in two-year-olds Clark’s Sanhedrim, with two lines to the old bull, went to the top of the two-year-olds. Clough’s Kodax was second. Captain Grove and Chicago were passed over. In yearlings Cherry Boy 2d came first, but the second prize winner, Mr. Tod Benjamin’s Wilton Grove, by Sir Wilfred out of Lemon 2d by The Grove 3d, was greatly ad- mired and might have been first instead of second.

rae pprrencie of Hesiod 2d, Thomas Clark tells this interesting stor

7 bought his mother Anita at one of G. W. Henry’s sales. She was carrying the calf which I called Hesiod 2d. He was dropped an immatured calf at seven months, not larger than a jackrabbit. We had to hold him up to suck for three weeks. I sold him with two other, bulls to Funkhouser at eight months ola—$1, 000 for the three.”

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Vincent 9th was best bull calf, with Clough’s Actor second. Clark’s. Lars, a youngster with a future, was one of the ‘‘also rans’’ in this company.

Few better cow classes had been seen in the west than that which was finally led by old Lily, with Peerless 3d in second place. As flesh carriers they were certainly great Herefords; but for quality one could not but go in raptures over Funkhouser’s Petunia 3d or Clough’s Jewel 3d. Clark’s great two- year-old Plum was preferred in the next class to Clough’s Cocoanut. In yearlings VanNatta’s beau- ties, Cherry Duchess and Annabel, were again first and second. In calves the same herd won with Wall- flower. Mr. Funkhouser gained the herd prize.

At the Illinois shows of those days there was a ‘“sweepstakes by ages’’ open to all beef breeds. At this exhibition of ’92 Moberley’s celebrated Short- horn Young Abbotsburn won in the aged bulls, Clark’s Sanhedrim in the two-year-olds, VanNatta’s Cherry Boy 2d in yearlings, and the Makins’ Vin- cent 9th the bull calf championship, all at the hands of that sterling Shorthorn breeder Charles B. Dus- tin. In an open class for best cow with calf at foot Funkhouser’s Petunia 3d, by Anxiety 4th, was chosen.

By this time all interest was beginning to cen- ter upon the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chi- cago, to be held in 1893. With that event the cur- tain fell upon a decade that had witnessed a won- derful development of interest in the white-faced breed.

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 609

World’s Columbian Exposition—This exhibi- tion still unmatched in the field of international events of like character was held at Jackson Park, Chicago, in 1893. As a great live stock department had been provided by Chief Buchanan of the agricultural division practically no attempt was made to hold the usual fairs that autumn in the middle western states.

The Hereford association and the leading exhi- bitors of that period planned a presentation of the ‘‘white faces’? that should fittingly commemorate the success the breed had now achieved. The display was particularly notable for the fact that the champ- ion bull was, for the first time in some years at west- ern shows, of English breeding. This was Ancient Briton, from the herd of the late William Tudge of Leinthall. Likewise noteworthy was the fact that Messrs. Gudgell & Simpson for the first time par- ticipated in the big battles of the ring. We deem this competition of sufficient importance as an inci- dent in American Hereford history to warrant pre- senting substantially in full an account written at the time for ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette.’? We quote:

Ancient Briton.—‘‘ ‘It is the general opinion that Ancient Briton (15034) is the best Hereford bull that has gone out of the country for a good many years.’ Such was the report which came to America last spring along with H. H. Clough’s importation of ‘white faces’ selected and shipped from Hereford- shire by W. E. Britten, at the head of which stood

the bull just named. American breeders are fully prepared to concede that Mr. Clough has in Ancient

610 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Briton the best bull of the breed now on this side the pond, for they have run afoul of him in the Co- lumbian showyard and struck their colors on sight. The decision which placed this admirably fleshed and richly bred three-year-old first in the ring for bulls three years old or over met with unanimous approval. Most of his competitors were bulls of ma- turer years, stock sires of repute and ex-champions, all lacking the freshness and bloom of the imported bull. He was bought of Tudge of Leinthall, com- bines the blood of the two celebrated Adforton Royal winners Lord Wilton and Regulator (4898), being by a son of one and out of a half-sister to the other, and is a bull of fine scale and quality, with his flesh smoothly carried. Next to him was ranked Gudgell & Simpson’s well known Anxiety 4th six- year-old breeding bull Don Carlos 33734, a trifle de- ficient perhaps behind his shoulders, but with the real Anxiety rib and loin and of better quality and character than the third-prize winner, Elmendorf’s massive Earl of Shadeland 30th. The latter has ‘come again’ in surprising form, heavier than ever before, and with substance unsurpassed. Fourth honors fell to Makin Bros.’ good three-year-old Vin- cent 2d 42942, by their famous old Vincent out of Berrington 2d 28255, with Cosgrove’s young Wildy 29th, by old Wild Eyes out of Bonny Face, fifth, and Fleming’s Commodore sixth. Mr. VanNatta sent two valuable bulls into this ring—one the famous Cherry Boy 26495, by old Fowler, and Hengler, by Saracen. The former was once a rival of Young Ab- botsburn for championship honors at Peoria, but while in service in Kansas was necessarily let down considerably, and after passing out of Mr. Higgins’ possession little effort was made to keep him up. Mr. VanNatta bought him back some months ago, but the time was too short to restore his wonted

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 611

condition. His sturdy old sire, the veteran Fowler himself, might better have been sent into this ‘hor- net’s nest’ than his honored son with such a handi- cap. Hengler is a bull of strong parts but Colum- bian winners had to be cast in even a more heroic mold.”’

Sitting Bull—‘‘Two-year-old bulls were a small class of six, at the head of which the judge placed Mr. Fluck’s heavy-fleshed Sitting Bull, not of ex- -tra quality but an exceedingly deep level bull with good ribs, extra flanks, and heavy quarters. He is not a bull of as nice character as Mr. Todd Benja- min’s second-prize winner, Wilton Grove, seen at Peoria last fall as a yearling. While not so heavily fleshed as Sitting Bull, Wilton Grove is much nicer in his head and more satisfactory to the touch. Third prize fell to Makin Bros.’ Anxiety Boy 47708, a son of Juryman 30279 from Ellen Wilton 12710, a low fleshy bull of good scale, exceptionally full in his twist. Fourth honors went to C. H. Elmendorf’s Eureka and fifth to Gudgell & Simpson’s Beau Brummel by Don Carlos.”’

Lamplighter.—‘‘The yearling bulls were headed by Gudgell & Simpson’s Lamplighter 51834, by Don Carlos out of Lady Bird 3d. He is-of a very low meaty type, with good head, well rounded chine, nicely fleshed loins and ribs, covering nicely over the hips on to good quarters. Tom Clark was sec- ond with Lars 50734, whose dam was the famous show cow Peerless 3d. Lars is only a February calf, and consequently lacked the scale of some of his competitors, but he is of a nice tidy type with level well filled quarters. Makin Bros. were third with Vincent 9th 52705, got by old Vincent out of Bar- belle. He is wide and low, with a very deep body, but sags a bit in his top. H. H. Clough’s Actor was fourth and VanNatta’s Chicago Lad fifth.’’

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Anxiety-Peerless Again—‘‘In bull calves Mr. Fluck again scored with Monitor F., the last fruit of the loins of old Anxiety 3d, and as his dam was a Peerless Wilton cow this youngster represents a doubling up of the blood of Clark’s celebrated sire of prize stock. He is a good fleshy deep-ribbed calf, with wide head, well covered shoulders, and plenty of substance. Mr. Cosgrove was a strong second, however, with the Wild Eyes calf Minnesota 2d, a beautiful little bull with almost perfect top and ~- bottom lines, strong in his flanks and quarters and excelling the first-prize calf in the twist. Mr. Clough was third with De Forrest, a very sweet De- cember calf -by Kodax of Rockland, showing per- haps the most perfect head in the ring, but too young to go further forward in the winning. The same herd also supplied the fourth-prize winner, Col. Davis. Fleming was fifth with Barman and Elmen- dorf next with St. Tristram.’’

Miss Beau Real 3d—‘‘It was a great lot of. eighteen cows that were subject to inspection and in some unaccountable manner the judge made his first leet without including one of the best Hereford fe- males in the yard, namely, Lady Tushingham 3d, property of H. D. Smith of Compton, Quebec, Can- ada. Before making his final ratings, however, he discovered that he had omitted that great three- year-old and finally sent her into the prizelist, al- though many would have’ ordered her further for- ward than fourth place, the position ultimately as- signed to her. Mr. VanNatta’s wide-ribbed, com- pact, short-legged Miss Beau Real 3d had the blue ticket. In her foreribs and loins she is certainly an altogether remarkable cow. She is full of substance and quality, although soft in her handling and not standing well on her hind legs. A fair idea of her conformation can be gained from Mr. Morris’ sketch

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 613

appearing in the frontispiece illustration to this week’s Gazette. Mr. Funkhouser’s next choice was Tom Clark’s famous Plum, by Peerless Wilton out of the great Peerless 2d. Her fine middlepiece suf- ficed to carry her thus far forward in competition with cows that are rather better in their shoulders. Third place was assigned to Mr. Clough’s rich but rather roughly fleshed Cocoanut 40726, and fourth as above stated to the big Canadian three-year-old. Some would have placed Lady Tushingham 3d at the head of the class, but when one considers the fact that Miss Beau Real 3d is six years old and is now well along in calf it must be conceded that she has strong claims to the position assigned her upon this occasion. A cow that some would have liked to have seen recognized was Elmendorf’s Miss Wil- ton that was ranked fifth in the line. She is a daugh- ter of the great Beau Real out of the magnificent and very famous Lady Wilton and is a cow of most beautiful character and quality. Gudgell & Simp- son furnished the sixth-best cow in Myrtis 16180, now in her eighth year. Next below her came Cos- grove’s short-legged, thick Wilton Le Sueuress 43rd. The fact is, this was about as hard a ring to judge as was the Shorthorn cow class, and, as was the case in that competition, there were unplaced cows in the lot which in the opinion of some good judges were the equals of the more successful animals. They were a grand good class and an animal had to be a very ‘tip-topper’ to secure any position in the leet.’’

Annabel.—‘‘The richness of the Hereford ex- hibit, so strikingly foreshadowed in the preceding ring, developed itself fully in the class for two-year- old heifers, where two of the best beasts in the en- tire beef cattle section contended for pride of place. We refer to Clough’s imp. New Year’s Gift and Van- Natta’s Annabel. The former, a winner as a year-

614 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ling at last year’s Warwick Royal, was brought out in better bloom than the writer hereof had regarded as possible. She seemed ripe as a peach in England a year ago, and she is of such a refined type that it is surprising that she came out last week so fresh and good in her flesh. Forward she is as sweet as heart could wish. Her lovely countenance, full bosom, perfectly laid shoulders, smooth well rounded chine, deep ribs, and short neat legs com- bine to stamp her a heifer of altogether extraordi- nary quality. Annabel is not quite so ‘ladylike’ in her general make-up, but as a specimen of the sturdy buxom white-faced lassie, she is, to use the current phrase, simply ‘out of sight.’ We have seen heif- ers wider-spread than she, but when one considers her uniform depth and thickness of flesh, her sub- stance and almost perfect balancing of parts, she has to be written down as near a model of her kind as American showyards have ever seen. She is fur- nished at every point, and, while a heifer of stouter build than New Year’s Gift, has yet no suspicion of grossness in her marvelous make-up. She shares with the Angus Abbess of Turlington, the roan two- year-old Shorthorn heifer from Canada, and a year- ling Hereford heifer soon to be named, the honor ‘of being one of the three or four real sensational animals of the show. Star Grove 1st has to be cred- ited with having sired this predestined champion of her class. With Annabel first and the imported heifer second, the Cosgrove’s excellent Wiltonie 33d fit snugly into third place, and Clark’s Jingle was fourth. Fifth and sixth positions in the line were held respectively by Gudgell & Simpson’s Donna Anna 7th and Makin Bros.’ Lady Maud Vincent.’’

Lady Daylight—‘‘Second only in outstanding merit to the great Annabel of the preceding class came Elmendorf’s superb Lady Daylight, an easy

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 615

winner among the yearlings. This exceptionally grand heifer, a daughter of Earl of Shadeland 30th, is from a cow by Beau Real, and she from a daugh- ter of Beau Monde, the dam thus being an inbred Anxiety 4th. She is laid out on a little lengthier scale than Annabel, so that she will never impress one as being quite so blocky as VanNatta’s heifer, but she is modeled on such low level lines and rounds out so beautifully in her barrel and flanks, fleshes down so wonderfully fore and aft, that she is simply a ‘flash’ heifer in any company. John J. Steward brought up from Hickory Grove, along with VanNatta’s string, a sweet little bundle of Hereford femininity known as Fowler Queen 2d, got by old Fowler out of Wilton Queen. She is a charming little witch with her famous ‘daddy’s’ thighs, and landed herself in second place among these Columbian yearlings. Elmendorf had another string to his bow this time—Lady Laurel, by Earl of Shadeland out of his champion show cow Lily, and she was no ‘tail-ender’ either. She was easily third and Mr. Clough’s growthy imported Merlin heifer Dorcas had to stand scaling down to fourth. Mr. VanNatta’s Cherry Lass was pegged at the fifth notch, same owner’s Fairy Browny sixth, Gudgell & Simpson’s Normette seventh, Clough’s Autumn Leaf eighth, and Redhead’s Wallflower ninth—four out of the nine being of Mr. VanNatta’s breeding.’’

Bright Duchess 15th—‘‘The calves were as pretty a show as seen on the tanbark during the week. They were about fifteen in number and so evenly good that some of those that were left out of the prizelist might safely be substituted for the quartette of winners without falling below a World’s Fair‘standard. Messrs. Gudgell & Simp- son were first with Bright Duchess 15th, by Har] of Shadeland 47th—good on her back and carrying her

616 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

flesh well down. Makin Bros. were second with the ripe Roberta, by Beau Real out of Bertha; Clough was third with the pretty Primrose, a December calf by Kodax of Rockland, and Fleming came fourth with Lady Fenn 2d. Mr. VanNatta’s Grove Lassie set down to fifth, was of winning shapes, and Makins’ Prairie Flower, listed sixth, was remark- ably full of flesh and near to the ground. They were a sweet lot throughout and the rear guard was bet- ter than the winners at some shows heretofore seen in the west.”’

The Championships.—‘‘The male championship of the class was conceded to Mr. Clough’s imp. An- cient Briton and the female championship went to Mr. VanNatta’s great two-year-old Annabel with as little discussion. It may be interesting to note in this latter connection that the next best females of the class were rated in the following order: Miss Beau Real 3d, Lady Daylight and Lady Tushingham 3d.

‘‘The herd prize fell to H. H. Clough on the fol- lowing lot: Ancient Briton, Cocoanut, New Year’s Gift, Doreas and Princess; second prize to W. S. VanNatta on Cherry Boy, Miss Beau Real 3d, An- nabel, Cherry Lass and Grove Lassie; third prize to Gudgell & Simpson on Don Carlos, Myrtis, Nor- mette, Bright Duchess 15th ‘and Donna Anna 9th; fourth prize to C. H. Elmendorf on Ear! of Shade- land 30th, Lily, Belle Mode, Lady Daylight and Fair Nell. Relative rank beyond this point was assigned to the various herds in the following order: Cos- grove, Clark, Makin Bros., Fleming, Redhead and Day.

“‘The young-herd prize fell to Messrs. Gudgell & Simpson with the following animals: the bull Lamp. lighter and heifers Normette, Bonnnie Lulu 13th, Welcome 10th and Gertrude 5th. Second went to W.

H. CLOUGH’S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION CHAMPION HERD,HEADED IMP. ANCIENT BRITON—From the draw- ®

ing by Cecil Palmer.

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S. VanNatta on Venture, Cherry Lass, Fairy Brownie, Grove Lassie and Alberta; third to H. H. Clough on Actor, Chestnut Leaf, Autumn Leaf, Jewel 6th and Nutty; fourth to Makin Bros. on Vin- cent 9th, Lady Wiltona Vincent, Lady Geneve Vin- cent, Stately 14th and Stately 10th; and fifth and sixh rank were assigned to Cosgrove and Elmen- dorf respectively.

“<In the class for four animals of either sex under four years the get of one sire, Elmendorf was first with the progeny of his well known Garfield bull Earl of Shadeland 30th, the winning animals con- sisting of Eureka, Lady Daylight, Lady Lavender and Lady Laurel. Second went to the progeny of Don Carlos, shown by Gudgell & Simpson, including the two bulls Beau Brummel and Lamplighter and the heifers Donna Anna 7th and Normette; third to the Cosgrove Company on the get of Wild Eyes, in. cluding the bull Wildy 29th and three Wilton heif- ers; fourth to Clough on the progeny of Nutcracker.

““The first prize for best two animals of either sex, the get of one cow, went to Makin Bros. on bull Vincent 2d and heifer Lady Maud Vincent; second to Cosgrove on bull Bert C. and cow Wilton Le Sueuress 43d; third to F. A. Fleming of Canada; fourth to Elmendorf.’’

Dark Days.—The year 1893 will not soon be for- gotten by those who were in debt or lacked working capital. A financial panic swept the United States from end to end. Money went in hiding. Banks failed. Credits were destroyed. Cash could not be had at one time even with Government bonds as security. The cattle business suffered its full share as a result of this catastrophe. Failures were nu- merous in all lines of business. Confidence was

SOME ROUSING DEMONSTRATIONS 619

temporarily destroyed, and the recovery from the shock was a long and tedious process. Owners of pedigree stock did not escape the general gloom. Values fell rapidly. High-class registered animals sold in many cases at their mere value for slaugh- ter at the yards—a state of affairs which put some people out of business, but which at the same time put others in at a bargain-counter basis. Those who had a little money and plenty of nerve took ad- vantage of such a situation to stock up. What was one man’s misfortune was another’s opportunity.

It came to pass, therefore, that the great Chicago show marked the zenith of achievement in Here- ford cattle breeding circles during the period of their first great enjoyment of popularity in the west. With this description of that event we enter the shadows of an era of profound depression in all branches of pedigree cattle breeding in the United States—a period which brought many enforced changes in the personnel of those engaged in the in- dustry, but an era during which the foundation for a more enduring prosperity was laboriously but successfully laid.

A Desperate Depression—Ten years had now elapsed since the great importing movement had been at its flood. The reaction from the boom had set in around 1885. Although at first a slow or creeping decline, it had been expensive to some of those who had allowed their enthusiasm or their cu- pidity to run away with good judgment. Prices had fallen steadily, beginning with that date except in

620 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the case of top cattle. This, however, was not with- out its redeeming feature. It gave the western ranchmen just the opportunity needed to extend rapidly the sphere of Hereford influence on the open range, and this was taken advantage of to the full- est possible extent. Many speculators and ‘‘but- terfly breeders,’’ as someone happily termed those who are active only when prosperity’s sun is shin- ° ing brightly, already had disappeared from the ranks when the great panic of 1893 fell upon the country practically without warning,

GHAPTER XIV. DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH.

It is easy to swim with a tide that is flowing free. Working up-stream is quite another story. Yet this was the task now before those who fought to main- tain the herds they had developed at such cost dur- ing the golden days that had preeeded. We are un- fortunately prone, in this western country, to run to extremes. The atmosphere of the prairies, the mountains and the plains breeds optimism. Else we would not have done and dared those deeds of might that have characterized our wondrous growth. We had a little too much steam on in our western cattle breeding. The crash of ’93 brought us up to an era of liquidation in breeding stock which had to be got through with sooner or later, and while it left wrecks in its pathway it was the real starting point of the great constructive era upon which we now enter.

Men of faith, men of strength, men of dogged persistence were still behind the Hereford. The names of the more prominent ones weathering the financial gale of 1893 will still figure in our narra- tive, and: we wish in passing to pay tribute to that patient, but for the most part inconspicuous, body of farmer-breeders who from Maine to California

621

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held fast to that which they knew to be good through all these evil days, keeping alive the fires of Here- ford patriotism through this time of storm and stress. It is obviously impractical, however, for us to go up and down all the by-ways that led to the firesides of these steadfast but modest keepers of the faith. Their names are in the records of their national association, and the work they did during the dark days of which we write still lives.

The main thread of our story is. still best fol- lowed along the trail of the leading shows.

At the Fairs ‘of °’94—Ancient Briton had been bought at Mr. Clough’s dispersion sale of 1894 at $1,025 by Redhead Bros., of Des Moines, and was the first-prize and champion bull of the year. Mr. Sotham had by this time established himself at Weavergrace Farm, Chillicothe, Mo., where he had collected a valuable lot of richly bred cattle from va- rious sources. He had bought the bull Alger, that had been a frequent prize-winner in Michigan, and at Des Moines and Lincoln he was ranked next to Ancient Briton. He was sired by the Grove 3d-Spar- tan bull Clarence out of the Tudge-bred cow Green- horn 5th. Funkhouser exhibited this year as a yearling a very remarkable young bull called Free Lance, sired by Beau Real out. of the famous Lady Wilton, that only lacked stronger condition to take highest rank. He was second at the Iowa show to Sotham’s Cordial by Harold 2d, out of a daughter of Coral. Sotham had pinned his faith to Correc- tor as a great sire, and was rewarded at Des Moines

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH 623

by receiving first in bull calves on one of his sons, Chillicothe out of Cherry 24th by Cedric. The Co- lumbian champion female, Mr. VanNatta’s Annabel, had now become Sotham’s property, and headed the cows at Des Moines, defeating that other noted Van- Natta product Cherry Duchess, now owned by the Messrs. Redhead. Elmendorf’s Lady Daylight, commonly called ‘‘Baby,’’ was easily the best two- year-old and beat Annabel for the female champion- ship. The yearling heifers by Hesiod 2d shown by Mr. Funkhouser were up to the best standards ever set in western shows.

At the Illinois State Fair, held at Springfield, where it had now been permanently located, Clark, Sotham, Elmendorf and Funkhouser fought for place under Imboden’s judgment, Ancient Briton leading the senior bulls. Clark’s Lars, son of Peer- less 3d, as a two-year-old weighed near 2,000 pounds and was generally allowed to be the best bull Mr. Clark had ever bred. He had an Anxiety loin, a Peerless head and a Grove 3d shortness of leg. Cor- dial again beat Free Lance, and Chillicothe was first among bull calves. Annabel led the cows, and Miss Wilton, own-sister to Free Lance, was drawn for second. Lady Daylight continued her victorious ca- reer in the two-year-old ring, and her stablemate Lady Laurel, daughter of old Lily, was second. Red- head’s Bright Duchess won the blue in the yearlings, and Clark was first in a strong class of calves with Jessamine, by Peerless Wilton.

Some Notable Transactions—In the spring of

624 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE '

\

1895 William S. VanNatta bought the entire herd of S. W. Anderson of Asbury, W. Va., consisting of 40 females and 10 bulls, with Earl Wilton 31st at the head. The herd of John 8. Carlyle, deceased, was closed out at Vesta, Neb. Thomas Clark sold Sanhedrim 46180 to W. S. Ikard of Henrietta, Tex., -and T. F. B. Sotham acquired the herd of Samuel Weaver of Forsythe, Il.

Charles S. Cross Begins Showing.—In 1895 at Des Moines, the scene of so many notable con- tests, a new name appeared in the entry list, that of Charles S. Cross of Sunny Slope Farm, Emporia, Kans. Taking advantage of the ruinous prices that had been prevailing he began accumulating breeding cattle of a superior stamp, including the great Anx- iety bull Beau Real and several of his daughters obtained from Mr. Fowler of Maple Hill, who had purchased most of the Shockey & Gibb cattle. Beau Real died soon after, however, and one of his sons, Wild Tom, was placed at the head of the herd, which a few years later came into national promi- nence. At two years old the badly named Wild Tom was sent to Des Moines accompanied by a string of heifer calves. The Messrs. Redhead had divided their show material, sending Ancient Briton and fe- males to the Wisconsin State Fair. This left the Iowa show lamentably weak. Harry Yeld was feed- ing the Redhead cattle at this time, and he certainly made the most of his opportunities in their behalf. Wild Tom was a wide-ribbed, short-legged bull of good substance and was made champion, and Red-

| elas. Funk house

| C.H.Makin |

626 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

head’s Venus 6th, by Sir Wilfred, was female champion.

Lars and Free Lance.—lIllinois undoubtedly had the best show of Herefords in 1895, well fitted en- tries being contributed by Clark, Sotham, Funk- houser, Redhead, Todd Benjamin, Fluck and Elmen- dorf.

Clark’s Lars, now three-year-old, came into the ring weighing 2,400 pounds, deep, round and level, after having beaten Ancient Briton at Minneapolis, and was ranked above Wilton Grove. Alger, now beginning to age, had third. Ancient Briton was not shown. Next to Lars the best Hereford bull on the road in 1895 was clearly Free Lance. Mr. Funk- houser’s manager, Will Willis, had handled this bull with consummate skill from a feeder’s standpoint, and sent him into the ring a fit pattern of a high- class show bull. He had style, flesh and finish, and gave Lars a good fight for the championship of the class. Sotham’s yearling Protection, by Corrector out of Coral, a bull of exceptional promise, made a satisfactory leader in the yearlings. Hesiod 20th was best calf.

The great Lady Laurel was the blue ribbon cow, now even a finer type than her illustrious dam had been. Lady Daylight stood second. :Both had calves - at foot. Funkhouser’s Lorena here turned the ta- bles on Bright Duchess. Both were extraordinary two-year-olds. The yearling contest was between Clark’s Jessamine and Sotham’s Grace, the former gaining the judicial favor. Funkhouser’s Dewdrop,

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH 627

by Hesiod 2d, topped:the heifer calves. Clark won on herd, with Funkhouser second. Sotham captured the young herd prize, with Protection, Benita, Grace, Lady Chloe and Lady Plushcoat, all Correc- tors but one, and a finely finished group they were. Clark’s Peerless Wiltons had the get-of-sire ribbon, the Correctors coming second and the Hesiods third. Lars was senior, and Free Lance junior champion. bull. Lady Laurel and Jessamine were the female champions.

Trade Slowly Revives in 1896.—Prices were still unsatisfactory. Sotham sold in April at Weaver- grace 19 bulls at auction at an average of $200, the highest price being $500 for Exemplar to Mr. Tug- gle. Twenty-nine females sold at an average of $145. In October Gudgell & Simpson and Mr. Funk- houser sold 73 head at Kansas City for an average of $168.75, 24 bulls averaging $196 and the tops be- ing $665 for Hesiod 30th to N. W. Leonard and $425 for Hesiod 29th to Scott & March.

On the western fair circuit Sotham, Redhead, El- mendorf and Funkhouser were the leading exhibi- tors. In Minnesota Sotham’s Protection and Grace were champions. In Nebraska Elmendorf led the aged bulls with St. Louis and Funkhouser the young- sters with Hesiod 29th. Lady Laurel was champion cow and Funkhouser’s Dewdrop best heifer. These same cattle were in stellar roles at Des Moines.

Clark’s Lars was champion bull at Springfield, and was thus described:

‘Lars is one of the outstanding animals. His

628 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

shoulders are too prominent, he needs a little filling about the tail and his hair is perhaps inclined to be harsh, but when that is said the bag of the stone- throwing critic is empty of missiles. Such massive- ness on such short ‘pegs’ has rarely if ever been seen in an American showyard. The bull is shaped like a barrel, ‘rotund’ is the word; barring his shoul- ders and his bit of a dip at the tail he is round and smooth as an apple. As a flesh-carrier he presents one of the most striking illustrations of the deep- fleshing qualities of this great breed. It need hardly be recalled that he is a son of Capt. Kidd (of Grove 3d blood) and Clark’s great show cow Peerless 3d.”’

VanNatta’s Actor, with his Anxiety blood clearly revealed in his great loin, was second. Sotham had no competition on Protection in two-year-olds, and in yearlings Clark scored with Littleton, son of Lars. Cherry Duchess by Cherry Boy headed the cows, and Clark’s Jessamine ranked the two-year-olds, with Sotham’s Grace second. Clark won both herd prizes, and Funkhouser had the get-of-sire prize on his Hesiods.

Ancient Briton Goes To Texas—In the spring of 1897 values and public interest in Here- fords began to expand throughout the entire west. There had been four lean years sure enough. Those who had held on and those who had accumulated good breeding stock at the low prices prevailing now began to reap the benefit.

Col. C. C. Slaughter of Dallas, Tex., owner of one of the leading southwestern herds, bought a big lot of good bulls, including Ancient Briton at $2,500. After this sale $1,000 each was refused for three

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH 629

of Ancient Briton’s sons—Christmas Gift, Country Gentleman and Little Briton.

Kirk B. Armour, whose herd at Excelsior Springs, Mo., included a lot of fine old Culbertson cows bought the bull St. Louis at $800, Lady Laurel at $1,000 and Dimple, a daughter of Lady Daylight, at $700.

F. A. Nave of Attica, Ind., shortly to become very prominent in the trade, bought the bull Dale for $1,000 at Harness & Graves’ Chicago sale, where 24 head sold at an average of $226.

Sotham sold 56 head at an average of $214, in- cluding Sir Comewell to Mr. Hornaday of Ft. Scott, Kans., for $840, Col. Slaughter securing Protection, then four years old, at the comparatively low price - -of $450. Scott & March sold 72 calves, from eleven to fourteen months old, in the spring of 1897 for $11,400, for range use.

The Shows of 1897.—The Hereford classes at the leading fairs of 1897 were well filled. New ex- hibitors entered the lists and the average quality of the entries was exceptional. In the west Mr. Cross contributed largely to the success of the Hereford presentation. Mr. Funkhouser’s entries were of outstanding excellence and the newly organized firm of Steward & Hutcheon came forward for the first time with well fitted cattle of an admirable type. John Steward had been for many years Mr. VanNat- ta’s trusty manager. Will Hutcheon had been with Hon. M. H. Cochrane at Hillhurst, and latterly had assisted Steward at VanNatta’s. They had now formed a co-partnership, and engaged in the breed-

630 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ing of Herefords on their own account at Green- wood, Mo. What they may have lacked in capital they made up in sound judgment and practical knowledge of all the ‘‘ins and outs’’ of the fitter’s art. Another real artist in the business of selecting and fitting showyard material, Mr. Ed. Taylor, was in charge of Mr. Sotham’s cattle, and his entries were always presented in the best of bloom.

The trouble began at the Minnesota show when Mr. Cross, Mr. Sotham, and Steward & Hutcheon first crossed swords. Sunny Slope’s sturdy son of Beau Real, Wild Tom, ran away with senior bull honors, and Sotham was second in two-year-olds and yearlings with the Corrector bulls, Sir Bredwell and Thickset. The former weighed 1,900 pounds, was from a Grove 3d-Spartan dam, and joined fine breed character to rare scale. Thickset was a grand type, rich in his flesh, evenly fashioned throughout, with faultless head and horn, gay carriage and shown at a weight of 1,600 pounds at eighteen months. He was out of Grove Lassie by Star Grove 1st, and his grandam was Lassie by Mr. VanNatta’s Fowler. Sotham scored again in bull calves with the double Corrector Excellent, by Exemplar out of the famous Grace. .

A Memorable Minnesota Contest—The females at this show were of extraordinary merit. In fact, the female classes were strong throughout. Public interest in the judging was at fever heat with Prof. C. F. Curtiss on the bench. The writer hereof witnessed most of the contests of this period, and

THOS. F. B. SOTHAM.

632 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the subjoined description written at the time will not only serve to reflect the character of the ani- mals shown, but will indicate the efforts made by ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette,’’ then as now, to keep the public fully advised as to what was transpiring at the great shows of the period. We quote:

‘¢Six superb cows started an argument which was still going on at last accounts, and made the strong- est show of mature females of the beef breeds seen in the yard during the entire week. Messrs. Stew- ard & Hutcheon drew forward a pair of Anxieties that would ornament any pasture in England or America—the six-year-old Maud of Mr. Wm. 8S. Van- Natta’s breeding, by Anxiety 5th from a cow of C. K. Parmelee’s, and Pretty Lady by Don Juan, from the great Gudgell & Simpson herd. Mr. Sotham rested his case upon the beautiful three-year-old Benita, by Corrector from an Archibald dam, and Mr. Cross complicated matters by offering Annette, by Eureka, Robertha, by Beau Real of World’s Fair fame and Makin Bros.’ breeding, and the massive Mary Benjamina, by Richard Grove. Director Cur- tiss said: ‘First to Benita, Annette second, and Maude commended.’ Equally good authority re- vised this to read: ‘Maude first, Benita second, An- nette commended,’ but the ribbons of course fol- lowed the fiat of the awarding judge. Robertha’s peerless head and beautiful forward finish is mar- red by lack of leyelness behind the hips. Mary’s wonderful scale and great quarters could scarcely prevail against the superior smoothness and refine- ment of the three favorites named. Benita is'a cow of splendid quality, with fine head, neck and. shoul- ders, and a table-back. She is a bit upstanding as compared with such as Annette, Robertha and Maud, but is in nice bloom, handles well, and has an ele-

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH 633

gant heifer calf at foot by Protection. Annette is scarcely as breedy a type as Benita or Maude, but on the beef proposition she is a hard nut to crack. Just a little inclined to roll, she is yet compactly fashioned and so full of flesh that she cannot be de- nied position. Maude is a Hereford cow such as breeders often dream about and now and then pro- duce. She is rather soft in her handling and some- what gaudy about the tail-root, but is marvelous in her smoothness everywhere else, extraordinary in her shoulders and heart, strong in her back, has fine width, great depth, good length, low short neat legs. and a good head carried on a thin breeding-cow’s neck. She has also been a prolific breeder. ° ‘‘Beau Real’s Maid did what it has been thought she was capable of accomplishing all summer. In fact she did more. She was not only the blue ribbon two-year-old, but later on was crowned queen of the white-faced females two years old or over in compe- tition with the grand cows just described. Such rec- ognition is sufficient to give Sunny Slope place at once high in the list of nurseries of top-notch Here- fords. A sweeter or more symmetrical white-faced maiden has not been thrown by America’s breeding herds in recent years. Evenly good from horns to hoofs, criticism becomes virtually disarmed as her rare character develops under close examination. Neat in her head and horn and beautifully filled in her bosom, she shows a pair of elegantly modeled shoul- ders, a well rounded chine, wide thick-meated ribs, captivating wealth of loin, and good quarters. In making up her showyard raiment the feeder did not forget his Shakespeare. At any rate the advice of Polonius to Laertes had been heeded. ‘Rich not gaudy,’ in her covering, she brings to the Hereford camp this fall as handsome a body of beef as con- noisseur could covet. Mr. Sotham’s good Lady

634. A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Plushcoat, by Corrector out of a daughter of Dr. Grove, made a strong second. She carries a world of flesh along her rib and across her loin, although not quite true behind. The same stable supplied the third-prize heifer Lady Chloe by old Alger, that went to Texas two years ago to show the Southrons how big and massive a Hereford may be made. Chloe’s dam is a daughter of the celebrated Coral and she is worthy of her high-class ancestry. She has a refined front and is deep in her flesh, but a bit uneven in her back.

‘“‘A month ago Sunny Slope’s buxom Wild Tom heifer Miranda would probably have topped the yearlings seen at this fair, but she was not herself last week and failed to put up her customary show. A good substitute was found, however, in her half- sister (by same sire) Pretty Maid, chosen by Prof. Curtiss to wear the blue. Not so blocky as Miranda, she is yet a strong, well grown, firmly fleshed heifer. Sotham’s Lady Coral (own sister to Lady Chloe), that has inherited a grand loin from her sire Alger, was drawn for second and Steward & Hutcheon were relegated to third with Salina (bred by Mr. VanNatta, and shown by him as a calf last fall), a daughter of the Sotham-bred Eureka. She is of a very wide-ribbed, tidy, low-down type and was slated by some of ‘the boys’ to top the class. She is indeed a beefy one, but somewhat uneven in her back and at setting on of tail. Seven heifer calves were quite as hard to judge as were the cows. Three of these were genuine Klondyke nuggets—rich, yellow, and good as gold in the present state of Hereford trade. There was Sotham’s Georgina (own sister to Grace and Sir Comewell), same owner’s Benison (by Cor- rector from the first-prize cow Benita), and Sunny Slope’s Diana, by Archibald 5th. The Gazette passes

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH 635

up the task of determining the relative merit of these three ripe, sappy, low-legged beauties. It is probable that the judge had a majority of the on- lookers with him, however, when he drew Georgina for first. At seven months she is probably the best- developed calf seen at leading fairs in many years. Mr.Sotham and herdsman Taylor are indeed entitled to warmest congratulations upon the production of such a grand specimen of early maturity. Benison, by the famous Protection, has a truly wonderful back and is also a great triumph for Weavergrace principles. Such a pair are rarely produced in any one herd in one season. Diana is a fully developed cow in miniature, a little wonder in her way. This trio were of a type and had the ribbons gone to them it would have made little difference, so far as the equities were concerned, as to relative ratings. Prof. Curtiss realized this, but found such a lot of good flesh on the growthier Wild Tom calf Dorcas that he braved criticism long enough to pull her in be- tween Georgina and Benison for second, leaving Di- ana hunting for honors elsewhere, which, by the way, she found in good shape a little later in the contest Ho champion calf of any beef breed, as appears be- ow.

‘“Wild Tom was declared champion bull two years old or over and Thickset was made junior champion. Beau Real’s Maid and Georgina were given the sen- ior and junior female championships respectively. Sotham won the young herd prize with Thickset, Lady Coral, Lady Brenda, Georgina and Benison, and also the get-of-bull contest with a company of Correctors.’’

A Typical Breed Battle—These were still the

foolish old days of breed competitions, now hap- pily a thing of the past. It may be interesting,

636 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

therefore, as illustrating what happened under the system then in vogue to reproduce our account of the ‘‘grand sweepstakes—open to all beef breeds’’ at this Minnesota State Fair of 1897:

‘‘Profs, Curtiss and Shaw and Charles Kerr pre- sided at the drawing in this important distribution of cash, and after the revolutions of the wheel ‘had ceased it appeared that on the whole a fairly even divide was secured.

‘‘Sweepstakes by ages came first and Mr. H. F. Brown’s Cruickshank Shorthorn Victor of Brown- dale pulled down the first plum—that for best bull of any beef breed three years old or over. Goodwin & Judy’s Blackcap King was declared best two-year- old, and Mr. Sotham’s Thickset claimed the yearling bull championship of the yard. Honors were there- fore easy up to this point, but Sotham closed up the bull classes with a calf victory on Grace’s sappy son Excellent. The first round therefore ended rather to the advantage of the ‘white faces.’

‘‘Tn the cow class the problem was about like this: ‘Here is a peach, a pear and a plum, all luscious specimens; which is the best fruit?’ A nice query for a state fair association to propound, isn’tit? Re- minds us of our school-boy debates upon such weighty questions as, ‘Which is the most destruc- tive agent, fire or water?’ or, ‘Which is the most dangerous calling, that of a soldier or sailor?’ The jury said they preferred plums. That is they awarded the palm to that model of ‘doddie’ neatness and compactness—Goodwin & Judy’s round ripe Za- ra 5th. The best two-year-old heifer in the yard was found in the comely Shorthorn Browndale’s Ella Kennedy. The best vearling turned up in Mc- Henry’s Pride 7th and the crack calf was declared to be Mr. Cross’ Diana, which as mentioned in our

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH 637

review of the Hereford class above, failed of recog- nition the day previous. It thus appears that the Herefords and Angus had the best of the fight up to this point, winning six (three each) out of the eight rounds. Mr. Brown had two falls to the credit of the Shorthorns, however, and bided his time.

“In the class for best herd under two years, to consist of one bull and four females (latter to be bred by exhibitor), the ‘bonnie blacks’ repeated their remarkable performance of last year, drawing both first and second; Mr. McHenry had the honor of holding the right of the line with his Blackbird bull and blooming bevy of rich-backed heifers, Good- win & Judy receiving second and Mr. Sotham third for the Herefords—more ‘soup’ for the Shorthorns.

‘“‘When Goodwin & Judy plucked the prize for best four (or more) cattle of any age or either sex the get of one bull with Blackcap King, Zaras 5th and 9th and Blackcap 13th (own sister to the King), all by Black Monk, it looked still blacker for the ri- val breeds, and to add to the gloom that seemed settling down over the Shorthorn camp Sotham found second on his Correctors (Sir Bredwell, Thickset, Benita, Lady Plushcoat and Georgina). The Browndale Golden Rules (Spicey 4th, Ella Ken- nedy, Golden Princess and a Waterloo heifer) were third.

‘¢When the grand finale was reached, however, the $650 capital prize, the sun rose bright and clear over the Shorthorn host and equilibrium was re- stored by a decision which sent the grand prize of all to Mr. Brown’s Victor of Browndale, Spicey of Browndale 4th, Ella Kennedy, Waterloo of Browndale 7th, and Golden Minnie. The blacks were close in at the death, Goodwin & Judy claiming the red with Blackcap King, Zaras 5th and 9th, Rose-

638 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE.

bud Rho, and Blackbird heifer calf. Third honors rested upon the Sunny Slope Herefords, consisting of Wild Tom, Annette, Beau Real’s Maid, Pretty Maid and Diana, with Sotham’s Thickset, Benita, Lady Plusheoat, Lady Coral and Georgina fourth.’’

“The Gory Hill of Hamline.’’—It was at this same show that a famous fight over a ‘‘breeder’s stake’’ occurred, calling out the following comment, made at the time by the author:

‘‘This association has in its prize-list another big bone of contention known as a breeder’s stake: ‘For the best beef herd of cattle, six in number, any age, of any breed or sex, owned and bred by the exhibi- tor. Conditions: One hundred dollars entrance fee and $100 added by the society. The whole amount of the stake to be divided as follows: To the best lot, 50 per cent of the stake; to the second best lot, 25 per cent of the stake; to the third best lot, 15 per cent of the stake; to the fourth best lot, 10 per cent of the stake.’ Four exhibitors concluded to go out after this Friday morning, making the value of the stake $500. Prof. Shaw and Mr. Kerr were called and sent the $250 to Mr. Sotham’s Herefords—Sir Bredwell, Thickset, Excellent, Benita, Lady Chloe and Benison—three bulls and three females, placing the Browndale Shorthorns second,. Goodwin & Judy’s Angus third, and Mr. Westrope’s Shorthorns fourth, so that each participant had a place. The judges acknowledged the great merit of Mr. Brown’s Shorthorns as individuals, but awarded the first place to Sotham because, as they expressed it, ‘of their uniformity in the ideal type of a beef animal’; adding that as ‘representing the skill of the breeder in molding refinement, type and finish the winning herd proves Mr. Sotham unequaled in results.’ The even division of the sexes was another point in fa-

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH 639

vor of the Sotham entry, showing good work in breeding both bulls and heifers. There was but one bull in each of the other herds. The jury further re- ported: ‘In a breeder’s exhibit uniformity of ideal type should and did outweigh a collection of prime animals of different types.’ In this respect the Judy Angus entry was backed for second place.

‘“And so the battle of the breeds was ended. Each interest had received ‘distinguished consideration,’ and, while all were not entirely happy, white-winged peace brooded that night over the beef cattle barns on the erstwhile gory hill of Hamline.’’

At Des Moines Funkhouser appeared with a great string of show cattle headed by Free Lance, and Scott & March of Belton, Mo., added to the fame of the Plattsburg establishment by exhibiting in capital form the splendid yearling bull Hesiod 29th. Free Lance was the product of the union of two excep- tional animals, Beau Real and Lady Wilton. The latter had been bought by Mr. Funkhouser at the Fowler dispersion sale at Kansas City in February, 1893, at a low price. It was not certain that she was still a useful breeding proposition, but as these were dolorous days, dollar-wise in the cattle trade, one could afford to take a chance upon almost anything at the prices current. Steward & Hutcheon, George Redhead, Z. T. Kinsell and others rounded out a strong white-faced entry. Funkhouser had the male and female championships with Free Lance and Cherry, by Cherry Boy, both herd prizes, get- of-sire and produce-of-cow. Will Willis’ cup was truly overflowing.

First Appearance of Dale—JIn the east a new

640 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

sensation was sprung by Harness & Graves of Indi- ana. At New York State Fair they had the bull championship on Columbus, by Earl of Shadeland 41st, and at Indianapolis Mr. I. M. Forbes, the well known Shorthorn breeder of Henry, IIl., acting as judge under the Governor of the state, Hon. Claude Matthews, as superintendent, had placed this mas- sive bull ahead of Wild Tom. In the yearling ring these same exhibitors presented a son of Columbus named Dale that not only won first in his class, but the male championship as well. He was the phe- nomenal youngster of the year, and only at the com- mencement of a career equalled by few American- bred cattle of his day and generation.

Tom Clark’s Jessamine easily led the cows at this Hoosier show, but in two-year-olds his grand heifer Juno gave way by Mr. Forbes’ direction to Mr. Cross’ big, smooth, broadtopped Beau Real’s Maid. Jessamine won the female championship and Mr. Clark’s brave array of. the get of Peerless Wilton drew the much coveted get-of-sire award.

John Lewis and His Troubles at Spring- field— At the Illinois State Fair of 1897 ‘‘Uncle John’’ Lewis, Shadeland’s ‘‘grand old man’? tied the ribbons on one of the best Hereford shows of the period of which we write. Clark, Cross, Funk- houser, and Sotham furnished competition that sup- plied the ‘‘thrills.’’ Here is our comment on Free Lance and Wild Tom, the aged bull antagonists, as written at the time:

‘In the senior bull class it was Free Lance 51626

JOHN LEWIS.

642 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

vs. Wild Tom 51592, a little family affair as it were, both animals being sons of the celebrated Anxiety bull Beau Real, and both having been bred on the same farm—the Fowler ranch at Maple Hill, Kans. The Funkhouser bull is possessed of such an over- powering bulk that Wild Tom with all his weight looked a veritable David alongside the Missouri Goliath of bulls; but the giant in this case won. They are animals of such a materially different type that it is difficult to rate them. Tom is short-legged and thoroughly masculine. Free Lance is projected on a bolder scale and his head and horns have even more refinement than usually characterizes the Wil- ton family, to which his famous dam belongs. Tom is six months older than his half-brother and has done heavier work as a stock bull. He rests his claims for recognition rather upon his business ca- pacity than showyard finish. -Free Lance had one of the best mothers ever seen in a Hereford herd— imp. Lady Wilton. He had a back like an English billiard table and a heart girth such as is not seen more than once in a decade. Tom is also possessed of all necessary substance, shows breadth of rib and loin proportioned to his inches and had for dam a daughter of Bredwardine by old Horace. The same breeder who would feel compelled to give Mr. Funk- houser’s remarkable bull a prize over Tom might prefer the latter for breeding purposes, but as to: Free Lance’s showyard strength there can be no dispute.”’

Sotham’s Sir Bredwell was easily first in two- year-olds, but in yearlings there was battle royal. Let us quote again from ‘‘our favorite author’’:

“In yearlings two compact thick-fleshed bulls of outstanding merit had to be reckoned with—Hesiod 29th 66304 and Thickset—the former of Mr. Funk-

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH 643

houser’s breeding and now the property of Messrs Scott & March of Belton, Mo., and the latter bred and owned by Mr. Sotham of Weavergrace. Thickset is the stronger-backed bull, but Hesiod has the greater depth of body. The Corrector has the usual good head and horn of the Sotham stock, but the He- siod is also faultless in the same particulars. Thick- set has a grand chine and rib, but is fairly matched by Hesiod’s well covered shoulders and strong heart- girth. They are indeed a royal pair, and no show- yard decision can add to or detract from the fair fame of either. Hesiod 29th was given first and Mr. Sotham’s bull second.’’

Beau Real’s Maid, Juno, and Dewdrop.— In the cow class Clark’s Peerless Wilton-Anxiety 3d marvel Jessamine, with her furry coat, wonder- ful substance, flesh and finish, was unapproached, but in two-year-olds there was approximate perfec- tion in several quarters. This ring witnessed the meeting of Beau Real’s Maid, Juno and Dewdrop— three of the best white-faced females bred in this country during the period under review. Sotham’s Lady Chloe was in the fight also, but was scarcely thought equal to the job of turning down either of the three first-named. The glorious uncertainty of the showyard, however, here found fresh exemplifi- cation. Sunny Slope’s daughter of Beau Real had met and defeated Lady Chloe at Hamline. Juno had been seen at Indianapolis and Milwaukee and in each case judgment was rendered for Beau Real’s Maid. Dewdrop had met neither of these heifers at Des Moines. Our comment at the ringside follows:

‘‘Mr. Lewis began by throwing Mr. Funkhouser’s

644 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

broad deep daughter of Hesiod 2d entirely out of the running. She has not held just level in her mar- velous back. That must be admitted: but to cast Dewdrop altogether for that fault was a piece of judicial severity such as is rarely seen in a great showyard. This being decided upon, Lady Chloe was listed for third and the question was narrowed down to Beau Real’s Maid and Juno for the blue and red. If some little lack of bloom cost Dewdrop all her chances then by that same token the freshness and finish of Beau Real’s Maid should have landed her where she had been placed twice before this sea- son, in advance of Juno; but the air seemed full of cobwebs about this time all the way down the long line of two-year-old Hereford and Shorthorn heif- ers being judged simultaneously in front of the grand stand, for while Brother Boyden was mixing up the ‘red, white and roans’ in a way that startled the assembled company Mr. Lewis upset things among the ‘white faces’ by sending first to Juno, second to the Maid, and third to Chloe! Juno is a heifer such as any man might well be proud to have produced, and there is of course ample room for honest difference of opinion as between her and Dewdrop and Beau Real’s Maid. The fine scale and beautiful finish and refinement of the Cross. heifer have seldom had a counterpart in western show- rings, and much as we appreciate Juno and Dewdrop we can but defend the right of Beau Real’s Maid to head these ‘crack’ two-year-olds of 1897. They were a great lot and we congratulate Mr. Clark upon his good fortune here in beating probably the hand- somest heifer he has ever shown against. When his list of winnings for the past twenty years upon cat- tle of his own breeding comes to be made up what a story of showyard success will be unfolded!’’

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH 645

Sir Bredwell, Benita, Lady Chloe, Lady Brenda and Georgina, drew the blue for Sotham as best graded herd, uniformity of type being the rock upon which Lewis took his stand. Free Lance was champ- ion bull and Jessamine best female.

Death of Adams Earl—The founder of the Shadeland herd died in January, 1898. The part he had played in the introduction and successful dis- semination of the Hereford blood has been outlined in preceding chapters, but the influence of his work with the ‘‘white faces’’ was so far-reaching that he is by common consent accorded a permanent place in the American Hereford gallery of fame.*

*Mr. Earl was born in Fairfield Co., O., in 1819, and came of New England stock. His parents removed to Indiana in 1836 and settled upon the fertile Wea Plains, upon the borders of which the famous farm of Shadeland is located. Arriving at his majority he undertook about 1844 the marketing of farm products at New Orleans by means of flat-boats floated upon the Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi rivers. He subsequently engaged in merchandizing upon quite an extensive scale at Lafayette and ultimately became associated with the late Moses Fowler in various important enterprises, such as wholesaling groceries, banking, etc. In 1860 he engaged in pork and beef packing and a few years later became a partner in the Chicago house of Cul- bertson, Blair & Co. About 1870 he became the moving spirit in the building of a railway from Lafayette to Kankakee, which is now a part of the Big Four System, Mr. Earl being the presi- dent, general manager, and builder. Meantime, in connection with Mr. Fowler and A. D. Raub, he had purchased 36,000 acres of land in Benton county and spent large sums of money in tiling, fencing, building, etc, and so important were the operations of this syndicate that on their tender of $40,600 to build a court- house at the new town of Fowler the county voted to move the seat of local government to that point.

GHAPTER XV. CLEARING SKIES.

Early in the year 1896 it became apparent that values were rapidly recovering from the low levels established after the financial panic of 1893. Mr. C. 8S. Cross of Sunny Slope Farm, Emporia, Kans., sensing the advent of better days in the cattle trade, had sent John Steward to England in the autumn of 1897 to select a high-class lot of cattle for importa- tion and sale. Needless to add, the purchases were made with strict regard for quality; Steward was commonly recognized as one of the best judges of Herefords of that period. Not only that, but he had a reputation for integrity that insured a faithful execution of his trust. Moreover, Harry Yeld, who had in the meantime gone back to his native land and who was in close touch with the best breeding establishments in Herefordshire, had been advised in advance of Steward’s mission and requested to co-operate in locating and securing options upon some of the best young cattle on the market at that time.

The Cross Importation—The importation, con- sisting of 26 bulls and 15 heifers, was brought out in Mr. Yeld’s charge and passing through quarantine at Garfield, N. J., arrived in time to be put on the

eB

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market, along with a lot of well fitted home-bred stock, at Sunny Slope in March, 1898. The event aroused intense interest in American Hereford cattle breeding circles. It had been many years since any importations of consequence had been made. Prices had not only been so low as to discourage enterprise in that line, but the $100 fee for the registration of imported cattle was still in force, and the owners of large herds descended from the earlier importations were not slow to deny the necessity for any further recourse to the old-country stock. It was strenuously insisted that there was little if any occasion for any such extensive patronage of the English herds. It was claimed that better cattle were being bred and shown in the States than were being produced on the other side of the Atlantic. The extraordinary ex- cellence of the ‘‘ white faces’’ being produced in the herds of such pioneer breeders as Gudgell & Simp- son, Clark and VanNatta and by the owners of valu- able cattle bred from the Culbertson, Earl & Stuart and later importations, as evidenced by the leading shows of that time, certainly gave color to the con- tention that America had really passed the mother- land in the matter of level-quartered, finely finished Herefords.

Notwithstanding this natural opposition to the im- portation and sale of cattle brought out with specu- lative intent, there was now such a widespread wave of enthusiasm in behalf of good Herefords, and so insistent was the demand of the western range for white-faced bulls, that on the 2nd and 3rd of March,

648 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

1898, when Mr. Cross exposed his 150 head of im- ported and home-bred cattle for sale at auction, a crowd estimated as high as 3,000 people faced the auctioneers, Col. James W. Judy, Col. Fred M. Woods and Col. J. W. Sparks, when the selling be- gan. Mr. Cross reserved for his own use the im- ported bull Keep On.

$3,000 for Salisbury.—The highest price paid was $3,000 for the imported two-year-old bull Salis- bury, bred by John Price. He was taken by Mr. Murray Boocock of Keswick, Va., who was at that time engaged in the formation of a Hereford herd, after a sharp contest with George W. Henry of Chicago and C. N. Whitman, the latter representing the owners of the Lucien Scott herd. W.S. VanNatta & Son secured the imported yearling March On, bred by Ed Yeld and sired by Lead On, a famous English stock bull that was unfortunately lost by accident just as he seemed to be entering upon a great career as a sire in the old country. This proved a fortunate purchase, and more will be heard of the bull and his get later on. One of the promising young bulls of the importation was the Turner-bred Saxon, that was sent into the ring with a reserve bid of $1,000. Others would have offered more money, but it was generally known that Mr. Cross really desired to retain the bull for his own use, and with the consent of the company he was therefore withdrawn.

Good Buying by George H. Adams.—Bidding on the best females was active at strong prices,

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the best price being $1,500, paid by George H. Adams of Crestone, Colo., owner of a 100,000-acre range in the San Luis Valley. This top figure was given for the two-year-old imported heifer Luminous, sired by Post Obit (11542). Mr. Adams was a persistent and liberal bidder throughout the entire sale, among his other selections being the three-year-old im- ported cow Leominster Daisy 2d by Lead On, taken out at $1,205. He also bought the good cow Miranda, by Wild Tom, and of Mr. Cross’ own breeding at $905, his total purchases at the sale including 20 head at an average of over $500 each. Mr. Adams was an enthusiastic advocate of the Herefords for use on western ranges, and maintained a fine herd of purebred cattle in addition to some 5,000 head of high-class grade ‘‘white faces.’? He had bought some 50 head of good breeding cattle when the large and superior herd of Thomas J. Higgins had been dispersed in Kansas.

Over $400 Average for 144 Cattle—This sale injected new life into the American Hereford cattle business. The 144 head sold for $58,585, an average of $407, in many respects one of the most extraordi- nary results ever attained on either side the water. Higher averages had been made, but not upon such a large number of animals. The 23 imported bulls brought an average of $616, the 14 imported females an average of $563, and the 107 home-bred lots fetched an average of $341. After the sale a num- ber of the lots changed hands at advanced prices. Mr. Whitman, who had bought the imported bull

650 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Randolph, of John Tudge’s breeding, on the first day for $600, refused an offer of $1,000 for him on the following day.

Mr. Cross was a prominent figure in the trade at this time. He was President of the First National Bank of Emporia, and a man of great enterprise, deeply interested in good cattle. He had first en- gaged in the business of breeding pedigree Here- fords at a time when he secured valuable foundation stock at beef prices. His relations with leading breeders of the cornbelt, as well as with the owners of the largest outfits on the western range, were inti- mate, and he did a large business at private treaty as well as at public auction. Shortly before his phenomenal sale of 1898 he had sold one lot of $3,500 worth of bulls, headed by the show bull Climax, to go to Texas. Unfortunately, as was afterwards developed, Mr. Cross had inherited cer- tain burdens and responsibilities in connection with the business of his bank which ultimately involved him in such loss and humiliation that in a moment of desperation in November, 1898, he took his own life at Sunny Slope Farm, his death being deeply mourned by the entire Hereford cattle breeding fra- ternity. Fortunately Mrs. Cross had participated in an active personal way in nearly all of his Here- ford cattle transactions, having a herd drawn main- ly from Sunny Slope sources. Mr. C. A. Stannard succeeded to the ownership of Sunny Slope Farm

and became for many years a prominent figure in the trade.

\_dohn Sparks |

Us u

[ Geo.H. Adams | (-s=—p5e==54

652 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Other Sales in the Spring of ’98.—Business was now brisk all along the line. K. B. Armour sold a good lot of bulls to go in service in the herd of the Matador Co. in west Texas. Sotham sold 50 head at auction on April 13 at an average of $342, upon which occasion Wayne Ponting paid $1,575 for Ex- cellent, a two-year-old bull by Corrector. On April 15 Scott & March of Belton, Mo., sold 93 head at an average of $215. In May William Humphrey of Ash- land, Neb., bought $9,000 worth of cattle of O. H. Nelson, including 34 cows, at $200 each. H. M. Hill sold 34 head at Kansas City for an average of $393, and Gudgell & Simpson made an average on 60 head of $479. ;

Beau Donald Shown.—The event of the year 1898 in showyard circles was the Trans-Mississippi Exposition at Omaha. Exhibits at the earlier state fairs were light, owners preferring to hold back for the moré important event. Still there were some interesting developments elsewhere. Sotham was without competition in Minnesota, but east of the river few ribbons were won by default. Frank Nave and John Hooker appeared at the York State Fair. Dale had gone on famously and backed up his New York championship by beating down all opposition later at Indianapolis, where the herds of Tom Clark, Clem Graves, Hooker and W. H. Curtice of Ken- tucky were entered. Curtice was showing the mas- sive, heavy-quartered, five-year-old in-bred Anxiety bull, Beau Donald 58996, by Beau Brummel 51817, and in the senior bull class won over Graves’ Cherry

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Ben. Dale had a walk-over in two-year-olds, and was subsequently.made champion bull. Clark was strong this year, as always, in heifers of his own production, and gained the female championship of the Hoosier state with the great yearling Everest, daughter of Lars. At the Ohio State Fair Murray Boocock of Virginia came forward with a herd headed by his $3,000 purchase at the Cross sale, imp. Salisbury, and won most of the prizes.

Dale vs. Sir Bredwell—At the Illinois State Fair of 98 Mr. Nave’s deep-fleshed Dale had gradu- ated into the three-year-old class, and met Sotham’s Sir Bredwell, with Imboden on the bench. These bulls were of totally different types. Dale was broad, short-necked, thick and deep—as compact a block of beef as any breed ever throws—quite lacking in style and gayety of carriage. With a butcher-feeder as arbitrator it was no surprise that he here found favor. Sir Bredwell had scale, stretch, imposing presence and quality. As a breeding proposition most critics would have preferred Sir Bredwell at the time, but Dale certainly lived to vindicate his own prepotency and to confound all critics.

Two In-bred Toppers: Everest and Benison.— The feature of the female classes was the struggle between Everest and Benison. This is the story as it was written at the time:

‘¢Tom Clark never bred a better one than Everest, and those who have followed our western shows for the past twenty years will understand what such a statement means. But Sotham never produced a

654 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

more perfect heifer than Benison; so here was a repetition of that memorable day when Grace and Jessamine met as yearlings in 1895—with the tables turned. In that grea+ trial of strength Mr. Clark won; in this instance the tide of battle turned in Sotham’s favor. Little things sometimes decide such contests. The Clark heifer was hulling the day of this showing. Benison might be bigger but not better. She is a heifer of exquisite finish shown in great bloom. She has a back and loin of marvelous perfection, capital quarters, a twist filled to a finish, model shoulders, and short neat legs. Everest is bigger and thicker, with handsome head, nobly arched ribs deeply covered, and carries her burly body on well set ‘pegs.’ She is wonderful in her wealth of flesh, and barring a little inclination to bunch at the tail-root, is smooth and true in all her lines.’’

The fact that these top heifers were products of blood concentration is of interest. Everest had double lines to both Anxiety 3d and to the great cow Peerless. Her sire, Lars, was the result of the coupling of those animals, and her dam, Eletta 2d, was by Peerless Wilton, a son of old Peerless, out of a daughter of Anxiety 3d. Benita was a double Corrector, her sire, Protection, and her dam, Benita, both being by old ‘‘Dad’’—Sotham’s pet name for the bull that made Weavergrace famous.

The Omaha Exposition—The Herefords were the outstanding feature of the live stock department of the great exposition held at Omaha in 1898, and we feel warranted in again quoting from our own notes on certain phases of this big show:

‘The American Hereford Cattle Breeders’ Asgo-

CLEARING SKIES 655

ciation added $3,000 to the exposition company’s rather meager prizes. This bonus, together with the prevailing activity in the west in white-faced cattle, drew out an incomparable display in this section— the largest and best of its kind ever seen in the United States and eclipsing the average exhibit of the breed seen at the annual meetings of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. The size and quality of the classes throughout—excepting only that for aged bulls—aroused the enthusiasm of visitors to the highest pitch. The great amphi- theater was packed while the Hereford judging was in progress, the spectators evincing keen interest in the work. The difficult proposition of passing upon this record-breaking exhibit was assumed by Mr. Claude Makin of Florence, Kans., and it is a pleas- ure to be able to state that this trying task was dis- charged with singular accuracy and impartiality. A more satisfactory piece of work of this character has rarely been seen in American showyards. Awards were given by wire in our last, except the group and championship prizes, which were not as- signed as last week’s Gazette went to press. We now supply details as to the showing throughout.

‘‘The list of exhibitors included C. S. Cross, Em- poria, Kans.; T. F. B. Sotham, Chillicothe, Mo.; George H. Adams, Crestone, Colo.; F. A. Nave, Attica, Ind.; William S. VanNatta & Son, Fowler Ind.; Gudgell & Simpson, Independence, Mo.; James A. Funkhouser, Plattsburg, Mo.; Scott & March, Belton, Mo.; Cornish & Patton, Osborn, Mo.; C. G. Comstock, Albany, Mo.; Peter Mouw of Sioux Co., Ia.; Z. T. Kinsell, Mount Ayr, Ia.; C. H. Elmen- dorf of Nebraska; Stanton Farm Co., of Nebraska; Steward & Hutcheon of Greenwood, Mo., and E. E. Day of Cass Co., Neb.’’

656 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Sir Bredwell Beats Free Lance.—‘‘There was but one light show in the entire section—that seen in the senior bull class. Dale went back here among the two-year-olds under the rules for com- puting ages at the exposition, so that the tourney was opened by a tilt between Funkhouser’s Free Lance and Sotham’s Sir Bredwell. The pitcher that goes to the well each day is sooner or later broken. The big son of Beau Real and Lady Wilton has dared defeat on many a hotly contested field the past four years, and has borne back to Plattsburg in triumph spoils of showyard war that will furnish a theme for many a fireside tale in the years to come as his many battles royal are recalled. But here he fell before the superior freshness, bloom and character of his younger antagonist. The doughty old warrior’s weight could not prevail against Sir Bredwell’s superior front and smoothly carried flesh. Such is the way of the world. Show bulls meet the common fate. Repeated fittings and pass- ing years render it difficult for even the kingliest of them all to hold their own indefinitely against the rude assaults of active aspirants for leadership among the younger element. At five and one-half years of age Free Lance relinquished showyard sovereignty at Omaha last week to the three-year- old son of Corrector and Beatrice. Bovine monarch never possessed a more regal presence than the newly chosen champion. It may seem a somewhat heartless proposition, that nerve-jarring vivat of the French, but in it is condensed the whole philos- ophy of the inevitable: ‘The king is dead, long live the king!’ ’’

Dale Wins Again—‘‘We now approach the most sensational string of young bulls of any beef breed seen in this country since that memorable day when Fowler, Bowdoin, Sergeant Major, Broad-

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breast, Cedric and the rest of that comely company locked horns at Chicago in 1885. The two-year-old class at Omaha will indeed be long remembered by all who were so fortunate as to be present when the lines were formed. Mr. Nave’s Dale 66481 has already had his portrait painted in these columns this season in the warmest colors at our command. He came here with Sir Bredwell’s scalp at his belt— presented by Imboden in the three-year-old class at Springfield—prepared to meet Sotham’s other well equipped champion Thickset, chief of all bulls of his age of any beef breed at Hamline. He came to meet also that other ‘warrior bold,’ Scott & March’s great Hesiod 29th, brought out by Mr. Godfrey at this show in astonishing form and bloom. He struck also the shield of Sunny Slope’s well clad knight Keep On—fetched all the way from Herefordshire to test the mettle of our western Herefords. And if by chance he were able to successfully run the gauntlet of these his most powerful adversaries, there still remained to be dealt with Gudgell & Simpson’s Don Carlos bull Douglas, and two sons of the World’s Fair champion Ancient Briton. It was a daring undertaking, this single-handed challenge of Dale against the flower of all the great trans-Mississippi herds. Thickset alone of all his foes had been, like himself, doing the grand circuit. The rest had been held in reserve all season for this attack: For weeks and months preparation for this day had been going steadily forward. All the arts known to the feeder’s and fitter’s craft had been exhausted in an effort to place these favorites in the arena in the pink of perfection; and right here The Gazette desires to pay a passing tribute of respect to the capacity, in- telligence and fidelity of the men who had in their immediate charge the ‘making up’ of these bulls. Such patience, skill and judgment as has been dis-

658 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

played in this work deserves the highest commenda- tion.

‘‘More than any other exhibitor in his class Mr. Nave is indebted to the man behind the bull for suc- cess achieved. Dale is a dream—one of those phe- nomenal feeders that occasionally fall into the hands of careful fitters and by their peculiar ca- pacity for putting on flesh with astonishing rapidity and absolute levelness round out into marvelous per- fection of form. As a model carcass he is easily the sensation of the season. Mr. Makin met the general approbation of the great throng that had assembled to witness the contest by assigning the post of honor to this extraordinary bull. Such evenness from end to end, such ripeness, smoothness and rotundity have rarely if ever been seen in the American show- yard. As a feeder’s and butcher’s type he is fault- less. With Dale at the head the problem as to what to do with Thickset and Hesiod 29th became a seri- ous one. It was generally conceded that Keep On in his present form, good as he is, could scarcely hope for a better rating than fourth in such a group of high-class bulls.’’

Thickset and Hesiod 29th—‘‘After an ex- tended examination the judge drew Thickset in for second, with Hesiod 29th in third place. Makin had clearly the four best bulls to the front. As to that all were agreed; but there were many who would have stood the Hesiod in front of the Corrector. This it was argued would have been the logical ar- rangement, as the Scott & March bull is nearer the type of Dale than Sotham’s. In this connection the weights and ages are of interest. Dale and Hesiod stand each other off at 2,040 pounds. Thickset beats them both, pulling down 2,200 pounds. ‘Dale was dropped in September, 1895, Hesiod 29th on Oct. 6,

660 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

1895, and Thickset on Feb. 20, 1896. The latter is big, smooth, mellow, high-styled and strong-quar- tered, wide between the eyes—indicating the good doer that he is—but perhaps a little thin in horn and muzzle. Hesiod 29th, like Dale, will never be a big one, but his was the one perfect head and horn of the entire class. In point of breeding character, as revealed in Mead and face, this bull is the peer of Sir Bredwell. In compactness, breadth and depth of carcass he fairly rivals Dale. Not so perfectly padded at every point perhaps—he has been work- ing as well as preparing for show—he has the same general feeding quality coupled with the front of a bull that should make a royal stock-getter, possibly the most valuable of the class for breeding purposes. Although Mr. Sotham had the satisfaction of having Thickset placed one notch above him, Weavergrace was quick to see the superb character of Hesiod 29th and offered $2,000 for him after the show was over, which flattering proposition was declined with thanks by his appreciative owner. Keep On is smooth and mellow in his flesh, round, low and heavy, but he has inherited a wide-spread horn and a muzzle somewhat lacking in breadth. There is ample distance between his eyes, however, and this certain index of a kindly feeder is backed up by a carcass that is both ripe and rich. Nave’s HBarl of Shadeland 22d bull Gold Dollar 73652 was drawn into fifth place and Steward & Hutcheon’s Rose Chief 68945, smooth, low and with plenty of style, was sixth.’’

_ This competition was of such historic interest

that we here record also what happened among the yearling bulls and calves. Our descriptions will not only give a clue to the individual character of the competing animals, but these accounts of the

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leading shows of that period indicate the blood that was producing the tops and the men who were in the van of Hereford progress. We quote:

George Adams’ Orpheus.—‘‘ A long line of year- ling bulls proved very perplexing, really a more difficult class to judge than the two-year-olds. One either had to begin with Mr. George H. Adams’ big, strong-backed, broad-loined Wild Tom bull Orpheus 71100 or with one of the low-down, blocky sort, of which there were several fine specimens present. As a result of his preliminary examination Mr. Makin drew out a leet comprising the following in the order named: VanNatta’s Lincoln 2d, by Cherry Boy out of Old Lark; Steward & Hutcheon’s Bovic 79124, by Benson 64017; Sunny Slope’s Cli- max 4th, by Climax; Sotham’s Grandee, by Cor- rector; Gudgell & Simpson’s Dandy Rex 71689, by Lamplighter; Adams’ Orpheus, of Sunny Slope breeding. It is worthy of note in this connection that the three bulls at the head were all of VanNatta extraction. Having drawn Dale to the top in the previous class it was not surprising, therefore, that the judge on final examination went to that broad block of ‘baby beef,’ Bovic, for first choice, sending Lincoln 2d down for the red ticket. Bovic was easily the shortest-legged bull in the bunch, carrying 1,500 pounds in about.as small compass and as near to the ground as is ever seen in the showyard. He is exceedingly rich in his flesh, full in his neckveins and remarkable at the twist, a rare feeding type, ripened as nicely as one would expect from two such experienced feeders as John Steward and Will Hutcheon, his owners. Lincoln 2d is a _ grand- fronted bull, strong in his girth, deep and well spread in his ribs, even and rich at the loin, but with hips a bit prominent. Climax 4th was not

662 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

disturbed for third place. He has one of the hand- somest heads carried by any bull seen at the show, a finely arched back well covered, a great loin, is well let down at the twist, and stands on short neat legs. He fails a bit from hip to tail, but has im- proved a lot in his handling and is now one of the great yearlings of the day. In retaining Sotham’s Grandee for fourth Mr. Makin ran counter‘to the judgment of most of the outside talent. Gudgell & Simpson’s Dandy Rex, with his good back (despite a ‘tie’ in it), strong quarters and short legs, and Orpheus should probably have gone in next to Cli- max 4th, but the judge found points of excellence in Grandee and Adams’ other entry, Zapola Chief 70034, that led him to list them in the order named, ahead of Rex and Orpheus. We can scarcely ap- prove of this rating; still Grandee looks like coming into an extra two-year-old and Zapola Chief, with his good head, big chest, depth and thickness of car- cass, is a bull of strong parts.’’

Hesiods Again.—‘‘In bull calves Mr. Funkhouser forged to the front, scoring a double victory on his fine pair of Hesiod 2ds, Hesiod 46th and Hesiod 50th. Makin first picked the big stylish 1,120-pound Hesiod 46th for first, but ultimately turned him down to second and moved up his half-brother into first place, a transposition which met with the gen- eral approbation of the spectators. Hesiod 50th, the winner, is a brother to Hesiod 30th, now the prop- erty of Mr. N. W. Leonard. He is exceptionally wide, low and thick. He carries the splendid head seen in nearly all the get of Mr. Funkhouser’s great. stock bull, has plenty of hair, stands wide behind and is as neat as he is ripe. Hesiod 46th also carries a great coat, shows beautiful character in his head and face and possesses splendid style. He is not quite so level and true in his lines as the first-prize

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calf. His breeding is superb, his dam having been Dream by Washington, second dam the great Miss Beau Real by Beau Real, third dam Bertha by Ru- dolph.

‘“‘The third-prize calf, Cornish & Patton’s Prince Otto, is one of the very best youngsters seen on the circuit this year, and should probably have had sec- ond place. He is evenly good from end to end, hav- ing a fine head, well covered shoulders, an evenly spread back, good depth, covers smoothly over the hips, has straight well filled quarters, low flanks and ample scale. He has been sold to Miller & Balch of Missouri. Steward & Hutcheon were fourth on Dixie, a very wide, smooth, low-legged December calf that has been reserved for use in their choice lit- tle herd of ‘white faces’ at Greenwood. Like their first-prize yearling bull Bovic, Dixie is a son of Ben-

-son 46017, he by Anxiety 4th. Mr. Nave’s Duke of Fairview 4th, good in his flesh, with a furry coat and capital head, was fifth, and Mr. Cross’ Elvira’s Archibald, a strapping big son of Archibald 5th, with great spread of rib and loin, was sixth. A calf in this ring that attracted considerable attention was Gudgell & Simpson’s Beau Dux, especially strong in his quarters and flanks, and sold to Mr. Funkhouser. He was sired by Beau Brummel 51817.’’

The Great Cows and Heifers of 1898—We cannot better reflect the character of the Hereford females of this era than by reproducing the follow- ing account of the female rings at this exposition as published in ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’ the week following the awards:

Dewdrop.—‘‘There were seventeen entries in the cow class, and a hot finish was witnessed between Funkhouser’s Dewdrop, by Hesiod 2d, Sunny

664 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Slope’s Beau Real’s Maid, and Nave’s fine Anxiety- Monarch cow Atoka, of Shadeland breeding. The big Maud Muller, that won first for Mr. Nave at Spring- field, was properly set back to fourth place. Dew- drop and the Maid gave Mr. Makin a lot of trouble. The superb front of the Cross cow was hard to get over. She has weakened a bit at the rump since calving and might be a bit heavier at the thigh, but her grandly spread and deeply covered ribs and beautiful shoulders have rarely been excelled in western showyards. Dewdrop is of rather a blockier pattern and was shown with plenty of hair. She has the Hesiod beauty of head and horn and is extreme- ly short on the leg, with broad ribs deeply laden, in fact, one of the greatest flesh-carriers of any breed in the cattle department. She wants a little between the hips and tail-root, but conformed so closely to the judge’s apparent ideal as respects breadth and depth without height that he at length awarded her premier position. Sentiment about the arena’ was well divided as between this royal pair. Mr Nave’s Atoka, that received third honors, is a cow of beau- tiful lines, in fact almost a perfect parallelogram, her long, level and well finished carcass being car- ried close to the ground on neat bone. Like all of Mr. Nave’s entries she is shown with a great wealth of hair and is in admirable bloom. She has a fine face, excellent shoulders, good finish at the tail, al- though wanting a little behind the hips. She shows rather too much ‘leather’ under the jaws for an ideal show cow, but is so neat, level and symmetrical and is shown in such beautiful condition that she is a prime favorite wherever she goes and had friends here for the blue. She certainly made as strong a third-prize cow as ever held that position in this country. Her stable companion, the massive Maud Muller, was fourth and Sotham’s Benita fifth. The

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latter is a cow of superb breeding character with a table-back, but is criticized sharply in her hind legs.’’

Dolly 5th—‘‘Eleven head of two-year-old heifers were next presented. The tops were found in Mr. Adams’ Luminous and Miranda, Funkhouser’s De- light, Nave’s Dolly 5th, Sunny Slope’s Pretty Maid and Sotham’s Lady Brenda. Close comparison be- tween these fine heifers brought out many differ- ences of opinion. The judge first drew in at the head of the list Delight, but subsequently moved Mr. Nave’s Dolly 5th ahead. Dolly is a heifer of fine scale and substance, showing great width of rib and extraordinary depth of body. Although a bit heavy in her horn she is very nice in her shoulders, full in her neckveins, remarkably heavy in her chine, full in the twist, and stands well on good short legs. Dolly was sired by Java 64045, a brother to Mr. VanNatta’s champion steer Jack, having been sired by Hengler out of Jewel Fowler 49207. Delight re- ceived the red ribbon on account of her scale and great strength of back, her ribs and loin being richly furnished with thick flesh. Her horn is good but she has a trifle too much length of face. She is a daughter of Free Lance. It seemed rather hard to turn down so fine a heifer as Luminous to third place but it must be remembered that she has prob- ably journeyed farther by land and sea during the past year than any other animal at this show. She wasimported from England by Mr. Cross last fall and bought by her Colorado owner at the Sunny Slope sale in March. She was shipped to the San Luis Valley and back again for this show to the Missouri River. She is of scarcely as blocky a type as the heifers that had precedence over her in this class, but will certainly grow into a great cow. Fourth honors fell upon Mr. Cross’ Pretty Maid, by Wild Tom, a heifer carrying a tremendous lot of flesh

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upon a very wide back; but she is a little uneven in her top and quarters. Her half-sister, Mr. Ad- ams’ Miranda, by Wild Tom, is a great block of beef, as nearly without legs as is possible to breed a beef animal. She is wonderful in her neckveins, but does not carry her back altogether level, is growing a bit gaudy about the rump, and stands badly behind, showing the effect of her long rail- way shipment. She was one of the very ripest heif- ers in the lot, and there were many who could not understand why she was turned down to as low a position as fifth. Sotham’s Lady Brenda, with her good heartgirth, nicely arched ribs and strong loin, was sixth in the judge’s rating.”’

Diana.—‘‘The yearling heifers were headed by Diana, the remarkable ‘chunk’ that gained so many victories as a calf for Mr. Cross at the great fairs of 1897. She is almost as extraordinary a carcass as Dale, a feeder’s type par excellence, but wanting the finish of head and horn seen in Sotham’s brown- eyed beauty Benison, by Protection out of Benita. Makin was sorely tempted to put Benison to the fore. She is not big but is one of the finest models sent into western showyards in many years. Femi- nine and finished, she is lovely in her neck and shoul- ders, thick and true in back and loin, evenly filled, well balanced and shapely. The breadth and extra- ordinary thickness of Diana proved an attraction that could not be resisted however, and the wonder- ful daughter of that great getter of quick feeders— Sunny Slope’s Archibald 5th—was left in undis- puted possession of the post of honor. Third place was assigned to Mr. Funkhouser’s Olga, calved Jan. 13, 1897, and sired by Hesiod 2d. She has the Hesiod trademark, a beautiful head and face, an elegant back of even width, well filled at all the feeding points, and like all the Hesiods low on the leg. She

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is shown with a great coat and much wealth of flesh. Gudgell & Simpson were fourth on a Lamplighter heifer known as Mischievous 71758. She is a big, deep-bodied, thick-fleshed one with great chine, fine- ly covered shoulders and yellow skin. Funkhouser’s other Hesiod heifer, Level 71470, was fifth.’’ Carnation.—‘‘There were seventeen heifer calves in line, and Nave had the honor of bearing the blue with the well grown and nicely conditioned Carnation, by Acrobat 68460—of Mr. Earl’s breed- ing—out of Erica 51st 41238 by Garfield, second dam Lady Wilton 26th by Sir Bartle Frere. She shows her fine breeding in her pretty face, and her feeding quality is indicated by her full flanks and neck veins. She has good length and nice quarters, altogether a fine promise for a handsome cow. Mr. Cross got next to the Hoosier heifer with Miss Grove, by Cli- max, a prime block of baby beef, great in her quar- ters and twist, nicely spread on the back, and ‘peg- ged’ near to the ground. Funkhouser drew third on Rollela, another good-backed Hesiod. Sotham pulled fourth out of this hot fire with Silence, by Correc- tor, and Steward & Hutcheon fifth with Queenie, by Benson. Mr. Adams’ furry-haired January calf Graceful Gift ought to have had rank here some- where among these sappy white-faced lassies.’’

Group and Championship Prizes—The grand finale at this epoch-making show is thus set forth:

‘The senior herd prize was awarded to the well- brought-out cattle of Mr. Nave. This enterprising young Indiana breeder should feel very poud of this triumph, achieved as it was in the face of the compe- tition of .so many veteran showmen. The Funk- houser herd was secand, Cross third, Sotham fourth, and Gudgell & Simpson fifth. There were eight con- testants for the young herd prize, the right of the

668 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

line being held at the finish by Mr. Funkhouser with a lot headed by the handsome young Hesiod 50th. The Sunny Slope entries, led by the showy Climax 4th, were second, Sotham third, Gudgell & Simpson fourth, and G. H. Adams fifth.

‘“‘There was a large and interesting show made for the get-of-bull and produce-of-cow prizes. Mr. Sotham succeeded in winning for best four animals the get of one sire on the progeny of Corrector; Funkhouser was second with Hesiods; Cross was third on the get of Archibald 5th; Steward & Hutch- eon were fourth on stock by Benson, and Gudgell & Simpson fifth on Lamplighter. The produce-of-cow prize for best two head of either sex was also gained by Mr. Sotham with Sir Bredwell and Benefice. Mr. Nave was second on the progeny of the Shadeland cow Erica 51st, Sotham third on Grandee and Gene- vieve out of Gaily, Gudgell & Simpson fourth on the progeny of Miss Charmer 4th, and the Stanton Co. fifth on a pair from Hare Bell.

“Sir Bredwell, Mr. Sotham’s three-year-old, was made bull champion after a spirited contest with Mr. Nave’s Dale. There can be no question whatever as to the marked superiority of Dale at the present time, viewed purely from the standpoint of the feeder and the butcher, but Sir Bredwell’s fine breed character sufficed to carry the judge to the older bull. Dale was rated second, Bovic third, Thickset fourth, and Hesiod 50th fifth. Funkhouser’s Dew- drop was made champion female, Nave’s Dolly 5th second, Cross’ Diana third, Sotham’s Benison fourth, and Sunny Slope’s Beau Real’s Maid fifth.’’

K. B. Armour Active—Kirk B. Armour of Kansas City had by this time become intensely in- terested in the Herefords, and had made a large importation from England. He not only brought

K. B. ARMOUR.

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ample means and a genuine personal enthusiasm to the work, but had the assistance of ‘such able lieu- tenants as Frank Hastings, then a member of his ‘‘Packing House Cabinet’’ and subsequently with the Swensons at Stamford, Tex., and of William Cummings, one of the most experienced cattle buy- ers in the west. Mr. Armour made a number of im- portations from Herefordshire in succeeding years. Late in October he made the good average of $385 on 113 head of imported and home-bred cat- tle sold at Kansas City. At this sale Murdo Mac- Kenzie, manager for the Matador Land and Cattle Co., paid $1,000 for the bull Shore Acres. George W. Henry gave $1,000 for the good stock bull Kan- sas Lad. T. F. B. Sotham took Lady Laurel and Frank Nave got Lalla Rookh at $1,000 each. Scott & Whitman bought imp. True Lass at a bid of $1,025. Death of George W. Henry.—It was during this two-day sale that Mr. George W. Henry of Chi- cago died suddenly at the Midland Hotel. Mr. Henry had been one of the most active promoters of Hereford breeding during the ‘‘eighties,’’ but after selling Rossland Park had dropped out of the trade for some years. He had subsequently, however, bought the old Reed Farm near Goodenow, IIl., and was engaged in founding a second herd, under the capable management of Mr. John Letham, when suddenly stricken while in attendance at this sale. Another Gudgell-Funkhouser Sale—At Kan- sas City, on Nov. 15 and 16, 1898, Messrs. Gudgell . &.Simpson and James A. Funkhouser sold 97 head

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of cattle for $27,000, an average of $278. Buying for western range and Texas account was active, and J. M. Curtice took out the twelve-month-old bull Hesiod 50th at $1,400. William Powell, who was now located in Texas, and Hon. John Sparks of Nevada, and O. Harris of Missouri, a man of whom there is much to be heard later, were liberal buyers.

Death of Charles B. Stuart.—Through the death of Charles B. Stuart at Lafayette, Ind., on the 20th of February, 1899, the Hereford breed, and more particularly the Hereford association, lost an ardent, efficient, intelligent, forceful and re- sourceful champion. The vital factor in the up- building of the Shadeland herd, he had been a mem- ber of the executive committee of the herd book society from its first organization, and was serving his seventeenth consecutive year as the ‘‘live wire’’ of that powerful committee at the time of his de- cease. He had seen the business of the organization grow from next to nothing up to the point where its assets exceeded its liabilities by more than $35,000, and volume 22 of the record published in 1900 con- tained 10,000 entries.

Following closely upon the decease of Mr. Earl, as already recorded, Mr. Stuart’s death came as a distinct shock to the Hereford cattle breeding fra- ternity on both sides the water. Overwork and in- cessant application tell the whole story of his break- ing down while yet a comparatively young man. Nervous prostration overtook him while in the flood- tide of professional and business success, and a ca-

672 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

reer of uncommon brilliancy closed ere it had been fully unfolded.

A son of the late Judge William Z. Stuart of the Indiana Supreme Bench, the deceased took up the practice of law after graduating from Amherst College and the Columbia Law School and quickly attained reputation as one of the keenest-witted at- torneys of the Indiana Bar. For many years he was entrusted with the legal business of the Wabash Railway Co., originating in that state, besides be- ing retained in many important cases before the highest judicial tribunals. His wife, who survived him, was a daughter of Mr. Earl, who was one of the leading business men of Lafayette, and Mr. Stuart’s fine judgment and acknowledged talent were in con- stant requisition in connection with the promotion and development of large industrial and financial enterprises. In business and in his professional work Mr. Stuart was equally successful, but he paid a fearful penalty for his assumption of bur- dens beyond any one man’s powers of endurance.

Mr. Stuart had a genius for mastering the details of any subject to which he gave his attention. He became not only an expert judge of Herefords, but as a student of bloodlines and combinations he was confessedly one of the best informed men on either side of the Atlantic. The Shadeland catalogs of his preparation were for years models of their kind and brimming with facts and comments of value to his fellow-breeders. He was partial to the Wilton blood, and the Stocktonbury cattle and this great Wabash

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Valley Hereford breeding establishment proved a mine of bovine wealth to the west. In judicious combination with crosses from Colorado, Sir Rich- ard 2d and Horace (through Garfield and The Grove 3d) the daughters of Lord Wilton and of his famous son Sir Bartle Frere gave American state fairs and fat stock shows some of the most remark- able cattle this country has ever seen. The record- breaking bull Earl of Shadeland 22d was the pride of Mr. Stuart’s heart. America has known few as good in any beef breed.

Happy indeed were the days the overworked at- torney used to snatch away from business and spend among his four-footed pets at Shadeland Farm. Had he devoted more time to the cattle and less to his office he doubtless would have lived a longer life. With a few edibles from the city mar- kets under the seat, and a congenial companion by. his side, Mr Stuart liked nothing better than to turn his back to the town, intent upon a day’s outing at the farm. ‘‘Uncle John’’ Lewis knew upon such occasions that he had come to take luncheon with Mrs. Lewis, and while the good wife of the kindly old herdsman was preparing a collation fit for a premier of the realm, old ‘‘Bartle’’ or Garfield or some of the boxes filled with sappy white-faced ba- bies would be hastily visited. The newest arrival was always an object of interest and if anything was ailing in any way it was certain to receive an early call. The noon-day meal over and the pug puppies duly discussed, the grand: tour was com-

674 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

menced. Mr. Stuart was fond of drawing out his guests when favorite cattle were under examination. Sometimes visitors would hit upon Lewis’ favorite and sometimes upon Mr. Stuart’s choice. Often- times the herdsman and his steadfast friend would already have agreed upon one that was to be put aside as too good to part with. Still there was always ample scope for argument, and Stuart had the lawyer’s real relish for debating the fine points. In this respect Mr. Earl was quite different. He was a man of few words but nevertheless enjoyed these Hereford ‘‘sessions’’ quite as thoroughly as any other member of the party.

Memory recalls few fairer scenes than we have witnessed in the Shadeland pastures. The herd was usually kept in strong condition and carefully sorted by ages, sexes and type. The various bands of cows and heifers never failed to make a great im- pression upon visitors, and in its palmy days Shade- land was easily the great show place of the United States as a Hereford nursery. In the course of all our journeyings to the farm, however, we do not be- lieve that the question as to which was the best cow of the herd in its prime was ever really settled. We once went through the lot with Mr. Earl, Mr. Stuart, John S. Carlyle and John Lewis; we recall readily Mr. Earl’s quiet conservatism, Mr. Stuart’s keen analysis of form, Mr. Carlyle’s brusque opin- ions (usually dashed with broad Scotch wit), and the modest courteous comment of Lewis. Those sunny summer days will come again. The grass

CLEARING SKIES 675

will grow as green. The Wabash in the distance will yet roll its turbid flood through the dreamy woodlands, but the old associations are broken, never to be re-formed amidst earthly scenes.

Spring Sales of 1899.—Sotham opened the ball at Kansas City on March 1 by selling 46 head of cattle. for the fine average of $516. Col. C. C. Slaughter of Texas took out the show bull Sir Bredwell at $5,000, Mr. Frank Nave’s representa- tive, Mr. Keyt, being the ‘‘runner up.’’ Mr. Nave was reported to have offered $7,500 for the famous son of Corrector a few days later, but the bix Texan replied, ‘‘Not for $10,000.’’ Nave got the yearling bull Eye Opener, by Protection, at $1,100. This was the second highest average up to date made on Here- fords in the United States, Mr. Earl having reg- istered $574.20 on 38 head at Kansas City, Nov. 8, 1883.

On the day following this sale Mr. F. A. Nave sold at Kansas City 49 head at an average of $383, the top price being $1,075, given by Mr. Armour for the heifer Armel, by Columbus, the sire of Dale. Grant Hornaday of Ft. Scott, Kans., followed with an of- fering of 38 head which averaged $350, Col. Slaugh- ter taking the Corrector bull Sir Comewell at $1,600. Mr. Frank Rockefeller of Cleveland, O., was a free buyer of good lots at each of these sales. for his ranch at Belvidere, Kans.

While no sensational figures were reached at the April sales at Kansas City by C. A. Stannard and Scott & March, about 200 cattle were sold at good

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fair prices. There were 97 head in the Sunny Slope lot that averaged $177.30, the best price being $555 for the heifer Ashton Bloom with a bull calf at foot by the $3,000 imp. Salisbury. The Scott & March offering of 99 head made $192. This was a specially good lot of breeding cattle brought forward in beau- tiful bloom by the herd manager, Mr. Godfrey.

The Curtain Falls on Stirring Scenes—As the century drew to its close in the autumn of 1899 the apotheosis of the Hereford in America was reached. All that the fondest admirers of the ‘‘white faces’’ had ever predicted for the breed had now come true. The Hereford had entered into full and almost undisputed possession of the great cattle ranges of the west, thus opening up a field infinitely broader than the Herefordshire fathers had ever dreamed.

By judicious concentrations of the blood of the earlier importations a type of cattle had been evolved that in point of finish, levelness and smooth- ness clearly surpassed the Herefords of old Here- fordshire. The appeal to the magic power of in- and-in breeding by men possessing the experience imperatively demanded for its wise application was now manifesting itself marvelously in every show- yard. <A realization of this fact added the joy that always ‘accompanies the accomplishment of a sus- tained purpose to the intense enthusiasm attending the conquest of the grassy empire dominated by the snow-clad summits of the Rockies.

Big men in Texas, big men all through the great

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breeding grounds of the southwest, big men in Colo- rado, big men in Montana and Wyoming, big men in the Dakotas, big men in Kansas and Nebraska, big men in the cornbelt were banded together in the American Hereford Cattle Breeders’ Associa- tion in proud possession of a captured market. They felt their power and proceeded to use it in effective fashion in promoting the general good.

Inception of the American Royal.—The Here- ford association working through efficient com- mittees held a never-to-be-forgotten show at Kansas City, in which 541 highly fitted cattle participated, and nearly 300 head were sold at auction at an av- erage of $317. At this sale John Sparks, after- wards Governor of Nevada, paid $2,500 for the beautiful Armour Rose. Col. Slaughter paid $1,950, after a battle with Mr. Funkhouser, for the young VanNatta-bred bull calf Aaron, and B. C. Rhome of Texas took Beau Donald 2d at $1,200.* <A few days later Mr. Armour bought Aaron from Col. Slaughter at $2,000 plus the choice of any bull calf in his own herd.

*At this sale an episode unique in the annals of such events occurred when the bull calf Bonnie Prince, the property of Mrs. Kate Wilder Cross, widow of Charles S. Cross, was offered. Mrs. Cross had in so many ways endeared herself to the Hereford eattle breeding fraternity that there was a hearty response to Col. Woods’ felicitous appeal in her behalf on the introduction of the calf into the ring. e was quickly run up to $900, at which point the widow of the late Charles N. Whitman announced that she would individually add $200 to the last bid for the calf no matter what it might be. This generous offer was accompanied by a shower of silver dollars tossed onto the tanbark under the leadership of Col. Slaughter, with the compliments of everybody, by way of expressing appreciation of what Mrs. Cross had done for Herefords. Mr. Marshall Field’s representative took the calf at $910, and when to this was added the free-will offering of the company it was found that something cver $1,200 had been

realized. Mrs. Cross subsequently established a herd on her own account which she successfully conducted for some years.

678 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

This remarkable event proved the foundation of the ‘‘American Royal’’, that has ever since focused annually the attention of western cattle growers upon the Kansas City exhibition established under that name. This show really marks the beginning of the end of our story of the permanent establish- ment of Hereford cattle breeding in the United States. What remains to be told relates largely to the Herefordizing of the range, and to the latter- day achievements of the more successful breeders and exhibitors of pedigree ‘‘white faces’’ in the older states. We digress therefore at this point to discuss the introduction and dissemination of the blood on the open range, which after all was the great point towards which all this work with the pedigree ‘‘white faces’’ had really been tending.

GHAPTER XVI. THE LONG TRAIL.

Western ranching had its genesis in the cattle originally introduced into Mexico by the Spanish conquistadores. The admission of Texas and the Gadsden Purchase of 1854 brought within the bound- aries of the United States enormous tracts of arid and semi-arid lands susceptible of a great pastoral development, but insofar as the territory north of the present Mexican border is concerned, cattle- raising as a business (as distinguished from the mere maintenance of the herds as a source of food for their owner and his dependents) was virtually unknown among the rancheros of that period.

After prolonged negotiations and a vigorous po- litical contest, Texas, formerly a portion of Mexico and later an independent republic, was admitted to the Union by joint resolution of Congress, approved by President Tyler on March 1, 1845. As a result of the Mexican War and by the Treaty of Guada- lupe Hidalgo, on Feb. 2, 1848, Mexico ceded the ter- ritory now covered by California and Nevada, also her claims to territory covered by Texas, Utah, the bulk of Arizona, New Mexico, and portions of Wyo- ming and Colorado.

The tract of land known as the Gadsden Purchase, comprising territory lying within the present limits

679

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of the states of New Mexico and Arizona, was ob- tained from Mexico in 1854. It embraced 45,535 square miles bounded on the north by the Gila River, on the east by the Rio Grande, and on the west by the Colorado. It had an extreme breadth north to south of 120 miles. The United States gave $10,- 000,000 for it, and Mexico agreed to cede claims arising from Indian incursions. This land was pur- chased to settle a dispute and to secure a route for the Southern Pacific Railroad. The treaty was negotiated with Santa Anna by James Gadsden, a South Carolina soldier who was Minister to Mexico, in December, 1853, and was finally ratified on Aug. 5, 1854. The sale caused the banishment of General Santa Anna from Mexico.

Throughout the vast interior regions comprised within the lands acquired from Mexico but few at- tempts had been made to invade the deserts, plains and mountains that were the hunting grounds of the aborigines. Along the Mexican gulf and the Californian coasts hides had an established value, but even near tidewater there was no market of any consequence for fresh beef.

The Spanish Longhorn.—Cattle of Spanish deri- vation have never been specially distinguished as flesh-makers. <A pair of horns well adapted for pur- poses of offense or defense, as the case might be, has always been accounted an important character- istic, however, and the Mexican descendants of the animals brought across the Atlantic by the Span- iards neither gained in the one respect nor failed in the other in their new environment. Nevertheless,

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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 longhorned 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

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a commercial sense came into existence in the great southwest.

Capt. Richard King.—While the military cam- paign that carried the American flag to the City of Mexico was in progress, a man who was destined to exercise a far-reaching influence upon the indus- trial development of our new frontier, was engaged in transporting freights and army stores along the west coast of the Gulf and up the navigable waters of the region that constituted the base of our opera- tions. This was Capt. Richard King. Upon the cessation of hostilities he decided to engage in busi- ness ashore, and to this end acquired title to a large tract of wild land lying near the coast between the mouths of the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers. He had conceived the idea that the production of horses and cattle on a large scale in this territory could soon be made a lucrative business, and the idea proved the foundation of not only his own but also of many other fortunes subsequently accumulated as a result of extensive land and grazing operations.

Santa Gertrudis—When Capt. King first rode across the plain from Brownsville to Corpus Christi it was one vast flowery meadow, lovely beyond com- pare. There were then no thickets of mezquite or other brush except the occasional bits along the streams. Later occupancy of the land and the keep- ing out of fires caused the appearance of great thickets of small trees and brush, largely of legum- inous nature, such as the mezquite tree. Within recent years the manager, Mr. Kleberg, has cleared

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again at much expense vast areas of these infring- ing thickets.

The original tract comprised about twelve setios of 4,428 acres each. This aggregated more than 50,000 acres, for the most part flat, treeless and with- out streams or springs of fresh water. There were grasses sufficient to support live stock, and the wa- ter problem was met in a primitive fashion by means of large tanks or reservoirs built along the few drains, impounding the storm-waters ; but as few points could be found where dams would be of any avail these watering places were few and far be- tween. Moreover, the matter of markets had yet to be worked out.

Upon this property in 1854 the headquarters of the now world-famous Santa Gertrudis or King Ranch were established, and here we may fairly say our modern American ranching had its earliest im- portant exemplification. Cattle and horses of the common Mexican types were purchased and roamed at will over the vast arid plain that had the brack- ish waters of the Nueces for its northern boundary. In the meantime the proprietor made an outlet for his cattle by slaughtering them for their hides and tallow, which products he hauled to Corpus Christi, the nearest port on the coast. The offal was fed to hogs, which in turn were slaughtered and the lard shipped by sea. Of course, there was no market available at that period for fresh meats, except for local consumption, and that was chiefly by the own- er’s household and his Mexican herders and retain-

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ers. The horse breeding soon became profitable, the surplus stock finding ready sale in the develop- ing interior of Texas.

Packing Houses in Embryo.—The growing of cattle for their hides was so obviously a wasteful procedure that the attention of capitalists was drawn to the opportunity for profit afforded by such con- ditions. It is said that two plants were established near Rockport, Tex., at a place called Fulton, be- fore the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. One of these was occupied mainly in the canning of fish and green sea turtle, and to this it is stated that there was added a dessicating department for the making of beef extract. The other was called the Coleman Fulton Packing Co., an enterprise carried on by the Coleman Fulton Pasture Co., whose lands are now the property of Charles P. Taft. This com- pany packed beef in salt as pork is packed, their main business being the making or pickling of corned beef. Prominent New York City capitalists, includ- ing ‘‘Commodore’”’ Vanderbilt, are said to have had an interest in one or both of these concerns.

Before these enterprises were started, however, Capt. King and some of his associates had at- tempted to preserve the meat of cattle for shipment by the infusion of brine into the veins of the cattle immediately after they were slaughtered. But on account of the lack of transportation facilties and because of this undeveloped method of preserving the beef the effort was abandoned, and only the hides, tallow and offal were saved.

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Capt. Kennedy.—Prominent among those who early recognized the possibilities of this new indus- try in that region was Capt. King’s old companion in the river and coast-wise steamboat service, Capt. Mifflin Kennedy, who had also decided to re- main upon the border after peace had been pro- claimed. Kennedy engaged first in commercial deal- ings with Old Mexico, but a few years later joined Capt. King in his ranching operations, as will be re- ferred to further on.

First Efforts at Improvement.—While many at- tempts were made by King and Kennedy to improve the quality of their herds, but little headway was made in that direction for many years. In the first place there were no improved breeds nearer than the distant bluegrass pastures of Kentucky. Trans- portation was tedious and expensive, and worst of all it was soon discovered that northern cattle taken to those southern plains almost invariably suc- cumbed to a fever, the nature and origin of which was at that time not understood. The longhorn thrived and multiplied untouched by the mysterious plague, but the northern cattle either died or were left mere wrecks of their former selves. We now know that this was the work of the tick that infects the low-lands of the lower latitudes. It may be said in passing that it was upon this same great Santa Gertrudis Ranch in later years that the veterinarians of the Bureau of Animal Industry worked out many of the original proofs as to the real character of the so-called Texas or splenetic cattle fever. To

686 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Mr. Robert J. Kleberg, who succeeded to the man- agement of the great landed estate left by Capt. King at his death in April, 1885, is credited a large share in this important work of discovering and de- veloping the true nature of the disorder that cost American cattle growers so dearly before a correct diagnosis was established.

Capt. King blazed the way for the great cattle business that afterwards brought such wealth to the Texas commonwealth, and which after the Civil War was extended northward and westward until the an- cient grazing grounds of the bison, leading up in all directions to the rugged walls of the Rocky Moun- tains, were at last converted into one enormous open cattle pasture. His business prospered, and he lived to see his landed estate expand to 500,000 acres. At the time of his decease this was enclosed by a good fence, but the huge holding was divided into but two pastures—one the upper or northern in Nueces county, known by the original name of Santa Ger- trudis, and the other known as the lower or south- ern range in Cameron county. This vast property in more recent years was more than doubled in area, so that Mrs. King, who was the sole devisee and legatee of the estate, ultimately became the mistress of a princely domain of more than one million acres, well stocked with highly-bred Herefords and Short- horns. But that involves the story of Robert Kle- berg’s stewardship, to be referred to further on.

Breeding Up the Native Stock—Following the earlier successes of Capt. King and Capt. Kennedy

| Capt.Mifflinkenedy | === =}

688 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

and their contemporaries in the extreme south of Texas, cattle were introduced into the central and northern portions of the giant state. The founda- tion herds were longhorns, but in the late ’50’s and the years just preceding the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 the owners had made strenuous efforts to improve the breed. Shorthorn bulls, mainly from Kentucky and Missouri, were freely bought, and while the death rate among them constituted a heavy tax upon their enterprising buyers, the persistency with which the policy was pursued at last mani- fested itself in a gradual betterment of the general cattle stock of that entire region; so much so that when the great expansion in cattle ranching set in after the close of the war the pastures lying to the north of San Antonio contained a leaven of ‘‘Dur- ham’’ blood that ultimately leavened a large pro- portion of the entire lump, while on the lower ranges the so-called ‘‘coast’’ cattle were still of the dis- tinctly longhorned type.

The Mormon Cattle—The early Mormon emigra- tion to Utah was a considerable factor in fixing the cattle stocks of that region, for these people took with them good milking cows largely of Shorthorn blood. In the early ’80’s Utah still had many good descendants of these valuable milch cows, and many a ranch was stocked with cattle bought in the Mor- mon settlements. These cattle, however, had the habit of milk-giving too strongly pronounced to make them ideal range stock, as the cows frequently lost parts of their udders from having more milk than

THE LONG TRAIL 689

their calves could take, and they were such persist- ent milkers that they were apt to go into winter too thin in flesh. They formed, however, ideal mothers for the creation of grade Hereford herds.

Pacific Coast Cattle—On the western coast the situation was somewhat similar to that in Texas. In the extreme south the Spanish stock still pre- vailed in its natural state, but a steady stream of “‘settlers’’ from the middle west, seeking their El Dorado at the end of the Oregon and Santa Fe trails, had driven many a beast of Shorthorn or Devon extraction across the great divide, where un- der climatic conditions favorable to northern-grown animals they had planted the seeds of substantial improvement. Thus it came about that in both Oregon and California a start towards a higher standard had been made at a comparatively early period. In all these instances the cross of the Short- horn on the longhorn had increased the size, leveled the carcass and improved the fleshing capacity of the cattle.

Shorthorn Crosses in Evidence.—The Hereford had no place in the original invasion of the range country. The first great pitched battles with the elements were fought mainly by the Texas long- horns of both the improved and urimproved types. Had they all been of the straight ‘‘coast’’ type, it is possible that the earlier efforts, more espetially in the north, might have met with fewer reverses. In those first fierce exposures to unaccustomed rigors the Shorthorns and their grades had to bear an im-

690 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

portant part, for as already stated the blood had been introduced into north Texas before the first herds hit the northern trails. Moreover, by the time the forward movement got.into full swing a consid- erable stream of Shorthorn blood was pouring into the great drive from herds that had been established in the south of Kansas, in the Indian Territory and the Cherokee strip. Such points as Harper, Medi- cine Lodge, Caldwell and Wichita were all on the confines of a great cow country that had recourse for bulls to the Missouri and Kentucky Shorthorn herds. Then, too, the westward drift from central Texas into New Mexico, Arizona, the Panhandle and Colorado included some cattle of an ‘‘improved’’ Texan type.

The Great Migration—As late as the year 1860 the mountains of Colorado still looked down east, west, north and south upon a grassy wilderness that practically knew only the hoofs of the buffalo and the antelope and their pursuers—the hunters and the hunted. Railway iron at length pierced the very heart of this great preserve, however, and the Union Pacific locomotives sounded the end of the old, the beginning of a new regime—the coming of the cattle.

Crossing the Red River the great hegira to the north began in earnest along trails soon to become historic, only to fade away again after the lapse of many years into mere traditions of the past. The herds were headed largely towards El Reno, Camp Supply and Dodge City. From near Muskogee the

THE LONG TRAIL 691

famous Chisholm Trail followed the valley of the Arkansas as far as Wichita and thence on to Abi- lene. The pastures of the Territory, the Cherokee strip and southern Kansas, first felt the pressure from the south, but about the same time a drift set in from central Texas up the valley of the Pecos, in which direction trails soon wended their way out into New Mexico and beyond.

Eastern Colorado and central and western Kansas and Nebraska, constituting a vast realm of free grass, were successfully pastured. The tide of im- migration was rolling steadily into the Rocky Moun- tain region across the plains from the mid-west states. The imaginations of the adventurous every- where were stirred by the stories of fortunes to be made in western cattle. Daring spirits flocked to the scene of the spectacular expansion, and plunged into the game regardless of their inexperience—‘‘the butcher, the baker and candle-stick maker,’’ all anxious to engage in this wonderful new business of cattle ranching. The big pastures and mountain meadows of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado were not long in filling up. Denver, the capital of cow- land, was the scene of feverish activities. Big deals capitalizing alluring propositions were easily han- dled. Goodnight was waking up the Panhandle, and Swan and his contemporaries were enthusing the north. All the way from Helena to San Antonio the pot boiled furiously.

Farther and farther into the interior of this in- land empire, the cowmen pushed their way, and the

692 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

railway and the stagecoach soon sought gateways into the nation’s virgin pastoral possessions. Staid Scotch capitalists, scions of the British aristocracy, and ‘‘tenderfeet’’ of nearly every name and nation joined in the chase—the race to put cattle into every nook and corner of the great big Brobdingnagian West, regardless of climatic conditions or possible consequences.

In the midst of it all the new southwest was not forgotten. The advantages of the lower latitudes as a breeding ground were many and obvious. . All were ready to listen to new schemes for further de- velopment in any direction. Out on the pastures of New Mexico and Arizona soon the cattle found a footing. Far-off Nevada escaped not the hoofs of the on-coming herds, and there was always Cali- fornia. The creatures of a ‘‘wild’’ that was fairly continental in its vast expanse, stupendous in its dis- tances, its heights, its depths and possibilities, gave way in all directions before the grand army of the occupation. The victory was only gained, however, at heavy cost. The gods were at first propitious. Fortune smiled alike, for a time at least, upon the just and the unjust, but the inevitable happened. The bubble of indefinite and unwarranted expansion and improvidence burst. But experience teaches. Better methods gradually supervened, and in the meantime the hardy Hereford had been introduced and cattle ranching took on a more settled character.

GHAPTER XVII. FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE.

It is now impossible either to fix definitely the date when the Herefords made their first appear- ance upon the western range or to locate accurately the place where the earliest experiments in pas- tures limited only by the horizon were really staged. However, it may be stated with reasonable certainty that the time was somewhere near 1870, and the place Colorado. It can also be safely recorded that the initial buying was cautiously approached by men who had no assurance whatever that the ven- ture would prove successful. But it did. Had it not, this volume might never have been published.

In a letter written by Mr. T. L. Miller in 1877 the statement is made that ‘‘it is now ten or twelve years since the Herefords were first taken to the plains,’’ but he gives no names or dates. This would place the period of their introduction at from 1867 to 1869. It is of course easily possible that some of the old Stone, the Ohio or early eastern blood had found its way west at that time. In fact we should think this extremely probable. The state of Colo- rado, being in the direct line of cornbelt emigration, would naturally be one of the first to receive the blood of improved cattle of eastern origin. The Texans of that day bought almost exclusively from Kentucky, and as that state, at that period, had no

603

694 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Herefords of which there is trace it is not difficult to realize that Colorado would logically beat Texas to the ‘‘white faces,’? and such was undoubtedly the case. Mr. Miller himself sold three Hereford bulls in 1873 to George Zweck of Longmont, Colo.— a yearling, a two-year-old and a three-year-old afterwards registered as Plato 590. In 1874 he shipped five bulls to Denver, which were sold to Colorado ranchmen. The first purebred Herefords to go to Texas, so far as we can learn, were a bull (Chief) and a heifer by Miller’s old Success, sold by William Powell, then of Beecher, IIl., in the spring of 1876 to J. F. Brady of Houston. It is said that about this same date a Mr. Hooker took Herefords from Beecher into southern Arizona.

Making Good.—On being asked, ‘‘Why are the Herefords the best cattle for the plains?’’ Mr. Miller answered: ‘‘Because they are the most hardy; they are the best grazers; they mature earlier; they are nearer the ground; they are more compact; they have more hair; they have thicker and softer hides; although shorter on the leg, they are better travelers, and as grazers they become - higher-fleshed and riper steers; they carry their flesh to market with less shrinkage; they are heavier- topped steers, and the best animal in the family of Herefords is the steer.’’

The blood was liked on the Colorado range from the very first, and in 1876 ranchmen who had al- ready tested it there reported as follows:

Judge Downing, of Denver, sold six Hereford

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 695

grade steers in June, that were four years old in the spring, weighing 1,800 pounds each, and twelve others and three heifers, weighing a fraction under 1,500 pounds each. None of them had been fed at all, having made their weights on grass alone, ex- ou they may have been fed hay at times during storms.

Mr. Church, who lived near Denver, had ‘urned off thirty to forty grade Hereford steers for several years, at three years old, averaging about 1,250 pounds each, that had never been fed anything ex- cept what they themselves had taken from the range; and one lot of these steers was sold in Buffalo at 7 cents a pound.

Judge P. P. Wilcox, of Denver, said that his cattle ran with a herd in which there was a grade Here- ford bull, and from him he had several white-faced calves, and that these white-faced calves were as good at two years old as his others at three.

Another prominent stockman in southern Colo- rado testified: ‘‘The Hereford cross on my native cattle has been very satisfactory. They stand the winter well, take on flesh rapidly, and are really the best cattle for these ranges that I have ever had any- thing to do with.’’

Commenting upon these and similar reports and launching a challenge against Shorthorn breeders, Mr. Miller with prophetic vision said:

‘‘There is now open to the world, and brought into the world, a stock country, the like of which was never before known. It changes or will change the whole system of breeding, and the question must and will be solved as to the breed of cattle best fitted for it.’’

Speaking of difficulties tending to restrict enter-

696 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

prise in the placing of good bulls on the open range, Mr. Miller added:

‘“‘One of the great drawbacks to-a more rapid trade has been the difficulty of holding the bulls for use in the owners’ herds. The practice being to run their herds on a common range, the cattle of several owners intermingle. Jones, buying thoroughbred bulls, and his herd and Smith’s running together, Smith gets the use of Jones’ bulls. Very few of the cattlemen have fenced at all. Very few have thought they could herd their cattle, although this is entirely practicable. The introduction of barbed wire has made fencing practicable, and many are finding that herding is practicable.

‘“‘The Messrs. Thatcher Bros. & Co. and the Messrs. Swan both intend to select cows upon which to use these bulls, and herd them during the coupling season, and then place their bulls, until the coupling season returns, in pasture prepared for them.

“The late Mr. Iliff had enclosed some ten or twelve pastures, containing from 1,000 to 3,000 acres in each, for use of cows during coupling season, and out of coupling seasons for the bulls. There are many who have adopted this practice, and the num- ber is increasing. The difficulty in introducing fine stock has been, first, the cost, and secondly, the difficulty of getting the use of them.”’

Whereas Mr. Miller had in the first instance been obliged to ‘‘force’’ the western market by shipping small consignments at large expense, and offering them for sale on their arrival in Colorado, the re- turns soon began to come in so favorably from all quarters that sales were easily made and at ad- vancing figures. Beecher continued for several

years to be the main source of supply. In 1878 Mr.

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 697

Miller sold forty bulls to the Swans in Wyoming, and in 1878 Thomas Clark sold twenty young bulls to J. E. Temple, Chico Springs, N. M. The results of the use of the blood wherever tried proved so satis- factory that numerous inquiries came into the mar- ket for white-faced bulls. Unfortunately not all of those secured were purebred, and many of the grades had little to recommend them except their _ white faces. Nevertheless, it was soon made clear that the breed was destined to materially reduce the risks of cattle-raising on the open ranges.

Prominent among those who became identified with the Hereford cause in the new west at an early date, in addition to those already mentioned, were the Culvers of Colorado, Reynolds Bros., John W. Prowers, J. W. Iliff, John H. Hitson, Thatcher Bros., G. F. Lord, Ikard Bros., T. W. Owen, B. C. Rhome, G. H. Curtis, Hall Bros., Geddes & Bryan, R. S. Van Tassel, J. A. Baker, Jones Bros., Joseph Scott, Lee & Reynolds, W. E. Campbell, Towers & Gudgell and Dickey Bros. The earliest owners of pedigree Herefords in Kansas, so far as is shown by the first volume of the American herd book, were C. W. Kimball of Wichita, W. M. Morgan and J. M. Winter of Irving, F. H. Jackson of Maple Hill, T. H. Cavanaugh of Salina and H. Woodward of Blue Rapids.

First Hereford Sale in the West.—On May 23, 1879, Charles Gudgell sold twenty-five young Here- ford bulls at auction at the Kansas City Stock Yards. It was the day after one of the big Hamilton

698 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Shorthorn sales. This was the first auction sale of Herefords held at Kansas City, and the first west of the Mississippi River. Nine of these bulls were sold to Towers & Gudgell, a range outfit in which Mr. Gudgell was interested, for use on their herd of the OX brand on the Cimmaron River in what was then known as ‘‘No Man’s Land,’’ now Beaver Co., Okla. At the same auction sale at Kansas City one bull was bought by Col. Driskill, at that time one of the leading cattle growers of Texas, who was also buying Shorthorns at the Hamilton sale.

About this same date Charles Gudgell sold the bull Picture 1403 to Jones Bros., Las Animas, Colo., for $1,000. This bull had been bought from F. W. Stone, Guelph, Canada. About the same time J. W. Prowers took some Herefords to his ranch near Las Animas.

The Hawes and Campbell Herds.—Major W. E. Campbell of Caldwell, Kans., and J. S. Hawes of Colony, Kans., established large and excellent herds of purebred Herefords, which were drawn upon heavily, not only by those founding new purebred herds in the Missouri River region, but also by ranchmen further west. Mr. Hawes had been breeding Herefords for a number of years at South Vassalboro, Me., and in the fall of 1881 moved his entire herd of about 100 head to his Kansas farm, comprising at that time some 1,200 acres. During the height of the great demand for the ‘‘white faces”? Mr. Hawes ran his herd up to more than 300 head of well bred pedigree cattle. It was noted for some

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 699

years as the home of the show bulls Fortune and Sir Evelyn. During the years 1883 and 1884 Mr. Hawes sold $50,000 worth of purebred Herefords.

Major Campbell had considerable interests on the range, and engaged with great enthusiasm in the breeding and handling of pedigree Herefords, buy- ing liberally from the best herds further east and exhibiting at the Kansas fairs. One of his best known bulls was The Equinox 2758.

Hereford Endurance Demonstrated.—The winter of 1880-81 was of exceptional severity and losses on the range were heavy. This was particularly true of the ‘‘pilgrims,’’ as the trail herds recently from the south and turned out on the northern ranges were commonly called. The testimony that followed was very largely to the effect that the mortality among the Shorthorns had been greatly in excess of that in the case of ‘the Herefords; and the fact that the ‘‘white faces’’ had passed through this ordeal so successfully now made them hot favorites throughout all parts of the range country.

Writing in June, 1881, Major Campbell said:

‘‘The question is not which is the best beast, the Shorthorn, the Hereford or the Texas bull, but which is the best rustler and most profitable range animal. It does not matter to us what breed of cattle has been most successful in the feedyard or show- yard, for we are interested in neither. What we want to know is which breed is best adapted for range purposes and range purposes only, and all this talk about valuable milking qualities amounts to nothing with ranchmen. In fact, they do not want heavy milkers, but cattle that will give enough milk

700 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

to support their calves and convert the remainder of the feed into first-class beef.

‘As you are aware, I have been breeding Short- horns for years, and I still admire them very much, and have about sixty bulls in use at one of my ranches. At another I am using nothing but pure- bred Hereford bulls. Experience has proved them to be the hardiest and best range cattle I have ever known; and I do not hesitate to say that hereafter I will never buy another Shorthorn bull for range purposes. I have a small herd of thoroughbred and quite a number of high-grade Hereford cows that were out all winter without feed, and today they are in fine condition, most of them being ready for the butcher’s block. I also had quite a number of thoroughbred and high-grade Shorthorn cows that fared the same. Some of them died, and none of them are fat yet. I am now breeding them to Here- ford bulls, against the advice of my Shorthorn friends. That I may be fully understood I will say that I intend reserving all my thoroughbred and high-grade Hereford bulls for my own use. My Shorthorns have done me good, and I do not intend to knock them in the head, as Mr. Miller might ad- vise, but I intend putting white heads on them as fast as I can.’

This undoubtedly reflected with accuracy the opinion of a large number of those who were at that date financially interested in range operations.

It is manifestly impracticable to detail the opera- tions of all those who in the years following this successful test of Hereford endurance, took part in their introduction into the various parts of the range country. The territory covered was too vast and the operations too general to admit of more than pass-

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 701

ing references to a few of the firms, individuals and corporations that figured most conspicuously in the movement that placed the ‘‘white faces’’ firmly upon the western map.

On the Northern Range.—<As late as the early ’80’s the ‘‘white faces’’ were not much in evidence in the northwest. Around Cheyenne there was con- - siderable of the blood, but apart from that vicinity probably not 5 per cent of the northern herds were at that date crossed by Hereford bulls. The great bulk of the cattle in Montana and Wyoming had either come direct from the Pacific Coast or from Texas. Numbers of these had been and were still being crossed with Shorthorn bulls.

A. H. Swan was one of the first to introduce the Hereford blood upon the Wyoming range. His firm, Swan Bros., paid Mr. Miller $10,000 for forty head of bulls in the spring of 1878. A second lot of fifty head followed not many months later. They had previously had some of the blood from Culver and Mahony of Colorado and Wyoming. Mr. Swan’s was a strong personality, and he had a big following; his example in adopting the Hereford was quickly followed throughout all that vast country stretch- ing away from the Union Pacific Railway to the Canadian border.

A meteoric record, that of Alex. Swan. His quick rise to apparent affluence when fortune smiled upon his ventures on the open range, his promotion of the big Scotch company that still bears his name after years of vicissitudes, his plunging in lands

702 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

and sheep and cattle, his alliance with George Morgan, the ‘‘advance agent’’ of the English Here- ford propaganda, his staggering reverses and final fall—all told would make a tale only too typical of the smiling, frowning, fascinating west.*

*Mr. A. H. Swan had gone to Cheyenne from Indianola, Ia., some time around 1876. He had ali the instincts of a promotor— and in his time engaged in many different things, and succeeded in inducing others to join with him in his undertakings. °

He started in business as a grocer at Indianola shortly after the Civil War, but soon developed a genius for speculation. One of his first schemes in Indianola was in connection with the build- ing of a railroad to Des Moines—now a part of the Rock Island system. Afterwards he became a speculator in Warren county lands, After going to Wyoming to embark in the then new busi- ness of cattle ranching he utilized some 2,500 acres as a farm for the purpose of breeding bulls for shipment to the western range. When John Gosling took hold of this farm it was a cattle- feeding plant, but it was soon afterwards changed into a breed- ing establishment with a cow herd of some 600 head.

In 1881, Mr. David Kauffman took an interest in this business and was made manager of this farm. Mr. Gosling was trans- ferred to South Omaha and placed in charge of cattle-feeding at the distillery sheds, where in the course of three years he handled over 6,000 head.

Kauffman retired in 1884, and the Bosler Bros., of Pennsyl- vania, who had become interested with Swan in his range opera- tions, took an interest in the Indianola farm. Mr. Gosling there- upon returned to this farm, when the grade herd was reduced in numbers and additional purebred Herefords were bought from Culbertson’s and other good herds.

A correspondent of “The Breeder’s Gazette,” writing of Swan and his Indianola career, says:

“During the years of his prosperity Mr. Swan was connected with numerous enterprises in and about Indianola. He had in- terests in farms, a coal mine, brick yard, flouring mill, canning factory and a bank or two. He had close business connections with several Engish capitalists and live stock men, and was fond of bringing them to North Farm ‘to see the cattle, The story was recently told me by an old resident that, when it was known that Swan was coming to town, the word would be passed from one to another, ‘Eck’s a comin’, Eck’s a comin’ ’smorning’, and a spirit of suppressed excitement pervaded the little town as if awaiting a visit from the President of the United States. His partners, various employes and other retainers would repair to the railway station an hour before train-time to discuss what ‘Eck’ would do on ‘this trip’ with regard to his numerous local activities. When the train would at last arrive Swan would come off with his following of Englishmen and eastern capitalists and lead the way to the hotel like a lord, passing out greetings and shaking hands on all sides.

“But the end came, when his ambition and _ self-confidence overran his judgment with the inevitable result. That was early in 1887. North Farm went to the Boslers, who held it for a number of years, selling it in parcels, and finally selling the tract containing the main improvements to Mr. Jacob Piffer, in the hands of whose estate it still Hes, Mr. Swan had acquired the farm from an early settler and financier, who had combined its component parts into one body of land. This was D. H. Van Pelt, grandfather of Prof. H. G. Van Pelt, Iowa’s dairy expert.”

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. i] [ WD. Reynolds |} [ Alex Bowie |

704. A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

The Swan Land and Cattle Co—The Swan Land & Cattle Co. was first talked of in the summer of 1882, and was formally organized in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the spring of 1883. Mr. A. H. Swan, accompanied by Mr. John Donnelly, now of the Sioux City Stock Yards, went over and floated the company. Mr. Colin J. Mackenzie, of Portmore, was elected chairman and had under him a strong board of directors. Mr. Finlay Dun was made secretary. The basis of the company was the Swan & Frank Co. holdings. Various other properties were ac- quired, notably those of H. B. Kelly and E. W. Whitcomb. The headquarters were established at Chugwater, Wyo., and there they have remained ever since. The authorized capital of the company was $4,500,000, but only about $3,250,000 was actually subscribed and put in use. The capital today is $1,250,000, thus showing a loss of $2,000,000. The assets, however, are more valuable than the present - capital.

Swan was a ‘‘plunger’’ always, and rising upon what seemed to outsiders a wave of success he em- barked in many enterprises, controlling the Two Bar, Double O, Horse Creek, Kingman and other properties, and borrowing money wherever he could. At the inception of the company Swan had as his assistant in the management Zack Thomasson, a very able man, but he left to join the Ogallala Land & Cattle Co. in Nebraska. Mr. Thomasson remained. only a short time with that outfit, sold out, and in- vested his money in real estate.

Py Lan 4 “4

sod eae So ERENT TEES 8

THE OLD SWAN FARM HOUSE AT INDIANOLA, IOWA.

706 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

The seasons of 1883 and 1884 were prosperous ones on the range, and this company, as well as other properties controlled by Swan, showed excel- lent profits, but a decline of prices came in 1885 and 1886. The summer of 1886 was a dry one. The ranges were overloaded, cattle were thin, and values declined severely. Prices for the Swan native steers in these early years ranged as follows: 1884, $47.06; 1885, $40.24; 1886, $30.15; 1887, $29.43; 1888, $35.24. The great bulk of these were-strong in the Hereford blood, many of them being first crosses on Oregon cows.

The Wyoming Hereford Co.—This organization had no connection with the Swan company proper, except that some shareholders held stock in each. The ranch upon which the purebred Herefords were carried comprised some 30,000 acres on Crow Creek, just east of Cheyenne. George Morgan was engaged as the active manager and made a number of im- portations direct from Herefordshire, as has been referred to in a previous chapter. One of his early operations was the purchase of the entire herd of Mr. J. H. Yeomans of Stretton Court, comprising 200 head which were shipped from Liverpool on April 16, 1883. Another large importation was made in 1884, including 186 bulls bred in England. The herd numbered over 500 head at one time, in- cluding more than 300 breeding cows and a sensa- tional array of stock bulls, among which were Ru- dolph by The Grove 3d, Lord Wilton 2d, Victor by Winter de Cote, and Sir Thomas of G. S. Burleigh’s breeding.

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 707

From this herd large numbers of purebred bulls went out to spread the fame of the ‘‘white faces’’ throughout the northern range. All the more enterprising breeders of Montana and Wyoming had recourse to it, and while it made no money for its owners it placed within the reach of the cattlemen of the north blood that left its mark for many a year. Under different ownership the herd is still maintained.

First Herefords in the Pashandle,—It seems to be generally allowed that the credit for the revo- lutionizing of the blood of the Texas Panhandle herds along Hereford lines is largely due to Charles Goodnight, whose career as a scout and pioneer on the old frontier would supply material enough for a stirring volume on the development of the great southwest. He embraced cattle-breeding as a pro- fession in 1856 in Palo Pinto Co., Tex., beginning with 430 head and handling them on shares until the Civil War. He early set about to improve them; the only way open at that time was through selec- tion, but by this primitive means he succeeded in producing what was doubtless one of the best herds in Texas at that time. When the war came on he joined the Texas rangers, and served against the Comanches and Kiowas.

In 1886 he laid off the ‘‘Goodnight Trail,’’ by way of the Pecos River through Colorado to Chey- enne, Wyo. He settled in 1870 near Pueblo, Colo. From here he removed to the Panhandle in the fall of 1876, establishing in what is known as the Palo Duro Canyon of the Red River the JA Ranch, with

708 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

1,600 graded Colorado cattle and seventy-five head of high-grade Shorthorns as the foundation herd. The latter, known as the JJ herd, were set aside as a breeding plant, and kept entirely distinct from the other herd were bred to purebred Shorthorn bulls. Mr. Goodnight’s headquarters were in Arm- strong county, but the range covered portions of Donley, Hall, Briscoe, Swisher and Randall coun- ties.

Adair & Goodnight.——In 1877 John Adair, an Irishman of considerable wealth, while traveling in the United States met Charles Goodnight in Den- ver. The latter was at that date probably as fa- miliar with the southwest as any white man then living, and he persuaded Adair to join him in the Palo Duro Canyon ranch proposition. A partner- ship was formed by the two men, in which Adair held a two-thirds interest and Goodnight the re- maining one-third.

The country at that time was without railroads, settlers or cattle, and teemed with buffalo. The Comanches, who inhabited this country, had been rather thoroughly subdued the year before by the McKenzie expedition and removed to the reserva- tion in Oklahoma, at that time Indian Territory. The partners, accompanied by Mrs. Adair, who was the eldest daughter of Major General James S. Wadsworth of Geneseo, N. Y., made their trips to and from the new ranch for hundreds of miles across country on horseback and with wagons, and on at least one occasion were escorted by a troop

COL, CHARLES GOODNIGHT.

710 A HISTORY OF “HEREFORD CATTLE

of United States cavalry. Their efforts for the first few years were expended in acquiring the necessary land, herding back the buffalo and bringing in cattle with which to stock the new ranch. The lands were largely acquired from the firm of Gunther & Munson, who had ‘‘located’’ a large territory under the then very liberal land laws of the state of Texas. The greater part of the cattle, as above stated, were originally brought from Colorado and the north and were grade Shorthorns.

From the beginning the active management of the property was in Mr. Goodnight’s hands, and the new firm soon began to buy cattle in large numbers. Out of the herds purchased Mr. Goodnight selected the best for breeding purposes, thereby starting what was known as the JJ herd. These he bred first to purebred Shorthorn, or ‘‘Durham”’ bulls, as he still prefers to call them, and as far as possible

raised therefrom the bulls for the main range or JA herd. ~

O. H. Nelson Brings in Herefords.—In the spring of 1883 Mr. O. H. Nelson, representing the firm of Finch, Lord & Nelson, cattle dealers of Burlingame, Kans., bought in Kansas, Iowa and Missouri be- tween 500 and 600 head of as good young breeding cows as could be secured without buying registered animals. He brought them into the Panhandle of Texas, locating them on a part of the Adair & Good- night range south of Red River on Tule Creek. This was in Swisher county, near where the thrifty town of Tulia is now located. At that date this

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 711

country was of course still unfenced and practically unoccupied. This herd consisted mostly of Short- horns, but a few were one-half and three-fourths blood Herefords. The bulls, some twenty in num- ber, were all good registered Herefords that had cost from $300 to $600 per head. Mr. Nelson reached the range with this herd about June 1, 1883, having been on the trail from Dodge City for six weeks. About August 15 of this same year he sold the cows to Mr. Goodnight for $75 per head, count- ing calves; that is, each cow and calf brought $150, the dry cows and heifers $75, and the bulls were turned over at $250 per head.

This good lot of cattle was turned in with the JJ herd, and the Shorthorn bulls were all taken out and replaced by registered Herefords. These were the first Herefords brought into the Panhandle, ex- cepting a few that Nelson had taken down in the spring of 1882.

The Price Importation.—In the summer of 1883 Finch, Lord & Nelson arranged with J. R. Price & Son of Williamsville, Ill., to make a joint importa- tion of Herefords from England, and sent ‘‘Ned”’ Price over to locate them and see what they would cost. Mr. Nelson was to have joined him later, but owing to press of business did not go, so that Price did the buying and importing. This lot numbered about eighty bulls and twenty cows. Out of this importation there were sold to Adair & Goodnight and delivered at Wichita Falls, Tex., in March, 1884, forty bulls at $400 per head. Finch, Lord &

712 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Nelson took a part of the imported cows as well as some of the bulls to their herd at Burlingame, Kans. Speaking of this purchase Mr. Goodnight in a recent letter to the author says: ‘‘Taking them as a whole, they were the best lot of imported cattle I have ever seen.’’

Mrs. Adair Acquires the Property.—Shortly after this extensive introduction of Hereford blood Mr. Adair died at St. Louis, Mo., in 1885, while on his way out to the ranch from Ireland, and his large interest passed to his wife, Mrs. Cornelia Adair. Two years later the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Goodnight receiving for his interest practically one- third of the land and cattle. The remaining two- thirds has been known ever since as the JA Ranch and is still owned by Mrs. Adair, who though re- siding in London, England, makes frequent trips to the property in the Panhandle. At the time of Mr. Adair’s death the partners owned or controlled for grazing purposes upwards of 1,000,000 acres, and their herd of cattle numbered more than 40,000.

Since this change of blood from Shorthorn to Hereford about 1883 purebred ‘‘white faces’’ have been used continuously on the main or JA herd. Coincident with this change the partners began building up the special JJ herd, resting largely upon the base of the well bred cows bought from Finch, Lord & Nelson. This herd has been crossed ex- clusively by registered Hereford bulls ever since, and has been the main source of supply for bulls for service on the JA’s. To avoid too close breed-

MRS. C. ADAIR.

714 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ing additional bulls are from time to time intro- duced from good herds in various states.

Mr. Goodnight brought his share of the JJ’s on dissolution to his present home in Armstrong coun- ty, branding them +JJ. He bred them up to a high standard, selling them in 1896 to C. C. Slaughter.*

Richard Walsh, Manager.—Mr. John Farrington managed the Palo Duro property from 1887 to 1890. Mr. Arthur J. Tisdall was manager for one year, 1891. He was succeeded by Mr. Richard Walsh, who for eighteen years conducted the business of the ranch with the greatest success and became one of the best known and best liked cattlemen in the southwest. He resigned his position in 1910, spent a year in southern Brazil in company with Mr. Murdo Mackenzie, the former Matador manager, and is now managing an immense newly established ranch in Rhodesia, owned and controlled by the British South Africa Chartered Co. The Palo Duro management at present is in the hands of J. W. Wadsworth, Jr., who has held the position for the last four years. The property now comprises 500,000 acres, completely fenced and cross-fenced into convenient pastures. From 1892 to 1910 emi- nently successful efforts were made by Mr. Walsh to concentrate the property in a solid block. This was accomplished slowly and surely by exchanging lands on the perimeter for those state school lands

*Charles Goodnight at this date (1914) is still Hving and is breeding buffalo and a cross between the bison and the cow which he calls “‘cattalo”. He is successfully farming some 1,200 acres of his ranch, and as always doing all in his power for the up- building of the country he knows and loves so well.

THE PALODURO RANCH HOUSE.

Copyright photo by Edward &. Smith VIEW ON THE SPUR RANCH, AFPTHRWARDS TAKEN OVER BY THE SWENSONS.

716 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

within the range which had been entered upon by settlers in great number during the ’90’s. This diffi- cult and at times delicate task, extending over many years, was accomplished by Mr. Walsh without in- curring ill feeling or serious controversy of any kind, which speaks volumes for his fairness and diplo- macy. The solidification is complete, and today there are no ‘‘strays’’ inside the JA fence.

In recent years particular efforts have been put forth in the way of permanent improvements, par- ticularly as to watering facilities. This work is now nearly complete. The JA herd continues to main- tain the high standard set in 1901 when its carload lot of steers was awarded the championship at the Chicago Fat Stock Show. And in 1904 when its steers were awarded the grand championship at the St. Louis exposition the Hereford had come into his own on this property. There he thrives, there the management believes that he surpasses all other breeds, and there he will doubtless remain.

Big Demand from Texas.—Finch, Lord & Nelson did a big trade in bulls for the Panhandle herds dur- ing the years 1881 to 1888 inclusive, sending into that country during that period no less than 10,000 head. In 1881 the bulls were all Shorthorns, and so they were mostly in 1882, but from that year the proportion of Herefords increased rapidly. Most of these at first were one-half- and three-fourth- bloods, but from 1883 on the firm each year bought registered bulls for their own use and for Adair & Goodnight as well as a few other customers.

(—7ohn Tod | (Richard Walsh |

{B.C.Rhome | |W. S./Kard |

718 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

In the spring of 1884 Nelson bought about 500 head of the best unregistered cows available in Kan- sas and Missouri. In this purchase over one-half were grade Herefords, the others being Shorthorns. This herd was put on a ranch in Hall Co., Tex., and established the subsequently well known ‘‘Bar Ninety-Sfx’’ brand. In a few years this became a very fine high-grade herd of ‘‘white faces,’’ and for several years afterwards whenever a ‘‘white-faced critter’? was seen in that region one did not have .to look at the brand to determine ownership, as there were no others in the country.*

Bulls destined for the Texas trade of this period were commonly assembled at Dodge City, Kans., and then driven down the trail. The distribution commenced on the Canadian River, then at Mobee- tie, then at Clarendon, and thence as far south as Colorado City—about 600 miles from Dodge City. Finch, Lord & Nelson sold to several large ranches as many as 500 head a year each for several years in succession. These included Adair & Goodnight, the Matador Land & Cattle Co., and the Espuula Land & Cattle Co. They also had many customers taking a smaller number, including.W. H. Cres- well, the Clarendon Land & Investment Co., which owned the ‘‘Quarter Circle Heart’? ranch, Nick Eaton of the U—U, Day & Maddox of the YJ, Lee & Reynolds, Lee & Scott, the Hansford Land & Cat- tle Co., Coleman & Co., Robert Moody, and others.

*Mr, Nelson withdrew from the Burlingame firm some years ago, and is now. breeding Herefords on his ranch near Romero, in Hartley Co., Tex. He handles many bulls, bred in the cornbelt states, as well as those bred in the Panhandle of Texas.

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 719

The Prairie Cattle Co.—This corporation began operations by buying in 1880 and 1881 the herds on three different ranges, with considerable bodies of watered lands in each case. One of the first pur- chases was that known as the JJ herd from the Jones Bros. This herd ranged in southeastern Col- orado, from the Arkansas River down to the neutral strip, now in Oklahoma, and should not be confused with the JJ herd of Adair-Goodnight origin. The herd known as the Crosselle was purchased from Hall Bros., whose cattle ranged from the top of the Dry Cimarron down as far south as the Canadian River. The herd known as the LIT, purchased from Littlefield, ranged in the northwest corner of the Panhandle of Texas, with headquarters at Tascosa on the Canadian River. At that time the country was unfenced, and while these cattle were run in separate divisions during some winters they drifted so far as to occasionally overlap one another. But they were always brought back to their respective ranges in the spring..

When the Joneses and the Halls started their herds they had unlimited range with abundance of grass. The buffalo were about gone and the cattlemen were just beginning to realize what a splendid thing it was to have unlimited free grass and water. The range was lightly stocked, the cattle were not dis- turbed, and the result was that they did well and their owners prospered. It has been claimed that when the Halls originally went to the Crosselle, a herd of 1,500 head was turned loose in the fall of the

720 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

year at the head of the Dry Cimarron in Colfax Co., N. M., and in the spring every one of these cat- tle was found in good condition within 15 miles from the spot where they were turned loose. This seems an almost incredible statement, and yet even if ap- proximately true demonstrates what a splendid cat- tle country that region was at that date, in respect to feed, shelter and water. Cattle on the open ranges of course drifted great distances in time of storms when there was lack of natural shelter.

These herds were all started with Texas cows driven up from southern and central Texas. The Jones brothers were probably among the first in their country in the early ’70’s to improve their herds by turning loose pedigree Shorthorn bulls. The Halls a little later did the same. Shortly after- wards the Herefords began to attract attention. But good Herefords were difficult to procure before 1880 and commanded high prices, the result being that thousands of grade Hereford bulls were turned on the range, many of them of inferior quality. There was a keen demand from all parts of the range between 1878 and 1883 for white-faced bulls, and as late as 1884 a good Shorthorn bull without pedi- gree sold for $50 as a yearling, while a white-faced yearling would bring $75 and often prove a very in- ferior animal at that.

The Halls had purchased a few Herefords, but very few before they turned over their property. Probably the first large bunch of Herefords bought for this herd was that purchased in 1886 by W. J.

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 721

Tod, who was manager for the company from 1885 to 1889. These bulls were turned loose on the LIT range, where the cows were practically all a good variety of Texan. These, although only grade Here- ford bulls, were well bred and made a marked im- pression for the better in the herd. Since then the Prairie Cattle Co. has bought almost exclusively purebred Herefords.

During those years the Prairie company was branding from their three ranges over 20,000 calves ayear. In the early ’90’s and for years before there was a great influx of immigration into southeastern Colorado, and before this time the range was be- coming seriously overstocked. The company found that in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado without fences or any control of the range it was unprofitable to run a cow herd. The Prairie people therefore removed all their herds from New Mexico, sold their water rights there, and managed the southern Colorado range entirely as a steer propo- sition, though still retaining a breeding herd in Texas, where they own the land, and in this way the property is managed today. :

The Prairie Cattle Co. owned until very recently 215,000 acres of fenced land in northern Texas, the pastures varying in size from a few sections to 6,000 acres. This ranch carried about 10,000 cattle in the breeding herd, upon which only pedigree Hereford bulls were used, experience having convinced the management that the Shorthorn was unsuitable for the rough conditions the cattle had to undergo. In

722 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Colorado the company owns 32,000 acres of land, scattered over the range, solely with a view of keep- ing the water open. Up to and before 1886 the com- pany had a small herd of Aberdeen-Angus cattle ranging on parts of the New Mexico range, but it was found that the calf crop was usually disap- pointing and the herd was closed out. The com- pany started with a capital of $3,000,000, half of which was fully paid up and the remainder de- bentures. After the dull times and low prices at the end of the ’80’s and the beginning of the ’90’s, the capital was reduced to about half of this sum, approximately where it stands today. The com- pany probably owns at this writing about 38,000 to 40,000 head of cattle, principally steers.

Mr. Murdo Mackenzie managed this property for a short time after Mr. Tod left, and in 1889 was succeeded by James C. Johnstone, who held the po- sition until 1906 when he returned to Scotland. Speaking of the use of Herefords on this herd Mr. Johnstone in writing to the author from Edinburg in May, 1914, said:

“During the years I managed the company I purchased for the herd many hundreds of purebred bulls, all Herefords, for I found that they were bet- ter than any other breed for range purposes. I bought my Hereford bulls principally in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois, and for two or three years bought all the bulls Mr. Kirk Armour bred on his farm at Excelsior Springs. I remember at one of the big sales of bulls in Kansas City I was passing the auctioneer who was selling a bull which was knocked down to a customer at $500. Kirk Armour

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 723

happened to sight me, and called out to the auction- eer, ‘There is a man who has got as well bred bulls as that running by the hundred on his company’s ranch in Texas, and I have seen him buy in the times when he was getting them for from $50 to $60 per head.’

‘‘This method of breeding made a very fine show- ing, and I left a fine white-faced herd of some 10,000 head on the Romero Ranch in the vicinity of Chan- ning, Tex., when I quit the company’s service.”’

Mr. H. Glazbrook, the present manager, in re- sponse to an inquiry as to his experience with the Hereford blood says:

‘“Since 1903, when I first became connected with this company, I have had considerable experience with Hereford cattle, both on the open range in this state and in the pastures of our Texas ranch. Pre- vious to that, in fact since 1878, I had been engaged in the cattle business, mostly in Texas. During those early years we had little but the old longhorn cattle—now practically extinct in that state—and no fences. Not much effort was made to improve the class of stock there until the advent of the barb wire fence, at least not in the vicinity where I was ranching, and I think this applies generally to the whole of the state. When attention was given to improving the breed it was approached chiefly through Shorthorns, and there can be no doubt that this blood greatly improved the herds, though it might possibly be said that any good blood would have done so. I do not remember when the Here- ford first made its appearance in Texas and I can- not remember the first Hereford I saw in that state, but when it did come it came to stay.

‘The Hereford is in my opinion best adapted for range purposes, his hardy constitution and ‘rust-

724 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ling’ qualities being great assets. (By the latter ex- pression I mean his ability to take care of himself.) I never see a Shorthorn on the range without think- ing of the Scotchman, who being partial to the Here- ford for this business, on being asked if he did not admire some range Shorthorns, remarked, ‘Ay mon, they are mighty good cattle for hame’, meaning of course for the barn or some place where they could be taken good care of. Our Colorado range is given up entirely to grazing steer cattle, and when pur- chasing I always endeavor to obtain herds showing strong Hereford breeding. On the Texas range we raise our own bulls from a purebred herd kept for that purpose, though we also buy some. The very best of Hereford bulls are purchased for the pure- bred herd. We have used nothing but purebred Herefords with our herd for about twenty years, - during which time it has not been crossed with other blood. I believe that what has been said about the Hereford deteriorating if bred in line too long is at- tributable to adverse conditions of the range, and not to the breed. Until recently our cattle received no feed except the natural grasses. Lately, however, we have fed to some extent during the winters.”’

_ Conrad Kohrs.—The ‘‘grand old man’’ of Mon- tana, President of the Pioneer Cattle Co., and one of the pillars of northwestern progress and pros- perity, Conrad Kohrs, was one of those who availed himself of the opportunity to test out the Hereford blood by purchases from the Swan-Morgan herd. Seven head comprised his original selection at Cheyenne, and while he has always been a staunch supporter of the Shorthorn he has adhered to the Hereford cross ever since it was first used. He has never been prejudiced as between the different

CONRAD MOE AT SEVENTY-NINE, AND HIS GRANDSON ONRAD KOHRS WARREN.

726 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

breeds, and has made repeated experiments to de- termine which would give the best results on the range. He has not only used the Shorthorn at all times, but has tried the Aberdeen-Angus. In his early experience he accumulated on the Sun River Range one of the best herds of non-pedigree Short- horns in the west. These were descended from good cattle that had been picked up originally in the early days along the old California and Oregon Trail. They were maintained in the Deer Lodge Valley. When the pastures got short in Deer Lodge, he was obliged to move them into the Sun River country. As early as 1879 he branded 4,900 calves on the Sun River Ranch.

The Hereford bulls bought from Swan and Mor- gan were sent into this herd and the best bull calves produced were kept for breeding purposes. The steers from the first cross gave great satisfaction. In the early days, when cattle were few in Mon- tana and grass abundant, Mr. Kohrs preferred the Shorthorns among these crosses because he found that they would weigh more at four years old than the Herefords. But in those days there were no rail- roads and the cattle had to be driven a great dis- tance to Laramie City or Cheyenne on the Union Pacific; this put them in bad condition and they never brought a satisfactory price in Chicago, be- cause they were too large for feeders and not fat enough for good beef. When the Northern Pacific was built Mr. Kohrs moved alot of cattle to Tongue River, about 150 miles south of Miles City, and his

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 727

first shipment over that line in 1882, consisting of 400 four-year-old steers, was made from that point. As the railroad facilities at that time were not very good the cattle were a long time on the road, but with a heavy shrink they weighed 1,585 pounds in Chicago, and brought the top price at that time for range cattle—$5.85. He shipped 700 three-year-old steers that same year which weighed in Chicago 1,365 pounds and which also sold at $5.85. So it is clear that the herd at that time was a good one.

Herefords Good Travelers—Mr. Kohrs says:

“‘T prefer the Herefords on the range because they are great rustlers. They are better on their feet than the Shorthorns and as the grass has grown scarcer and water more inaccessible the cattle have to travel farther than formerly, and we find that the Herefords keep in better condition than the Shorthorns and go through the winter better be- cause they will always hunt for grass when there is any to be had.’’

A number of years ago Mr. Kohrs bought the purebred Hereford herd of the Childs estate. This was a good lot derived largely from the stock of Adams Earl. The pedigrees were not obtained on account of a dispute between the herdsman and the administrator, so the cattle have been bred as a non-pedigree herd, although registered bulls have been constantly maintained in service.* ‘‘Since we

*Associated for many years in the management of the Pioneer Cattle Co. has been Mr. Kohrs’ son-in-law, Hon. John M. Board- man of Helena, the present general manager of the CK ranch. The author feels certain that western cattlemen in general will be particularly interested in the portrait of Mr. Kohrs appearing elsewhere in this volume. It is a recent one, taken with his

randson, who will probably follow in the footsteps of his fathers. r. Kohrs recently celebrated his seventy-ninth birthday at Deer Lodge.

728 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

have had the Childs’ herd’’, says Mr. Kohrs, ‘‘I have found that the crossbred makes a magnificent steer, even better in the first cross than either the Shorthorn or the Hereford. Our Hereford herd at present numbers about 300 head, while our pure- bred Shorthorn herd numbers about 700 head. Still, today our demand for Shorthorn bulls is greater than for the Herefords. Many small breeders are coming in. They have pastures and take care of their stock in the winter time, and they prefer the Shorthorn bull. As far as we are concerned, with regard to the cattle we have on the range, we have for the past four years used nothing but the Here- ford bull. I have found that those who have used grade bulls instead of purebreds in building up range herds were disappointed. Strong-blooded bulls only should be used.’’

Asked by the author as to his experience in cross- ing Shorthorn bulls on Hereford cows, Mr. Kohrs replied:

“‘T do not believe there is anyone in the state who has to any extent tried that cross, because the Here- ford cow has never been plentiful enough in our state and therefore there were not enough to make it worth while to experiment. The only thing I can say so far as breeding the Shorthorn on the Here- ford is concerned is that the herds we have received from Texas, where it was claimed that the Short- horn bull had been used on the Hereford cows, have never been good lots. I presume this is largely on account of the fact that good Shorthorn bulls have not been used. I know that some of the Texas breeders have made a great success in that line, for

Copyright photo by Erwin E. Smith A GOOD CATCH—MATADOR RANGE.

Copyright photo by Erwin E. Smith HOBBLING AN OUTLAW.

730 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

instance, Mr. Burnett of Fort Worth. His herd, bred in that way, certainly is a very fine one, and has been brough to that point through careful breed- ing. On the other hand, I have had lots of experi- ence in breeding the Hereford bull on the Shorthorn cow, and I like the result.’’ -

Joseph Scott.—Another leader in the early line of progress through, the use of white-faced bulls upon the open range was Joseph Scott. Born in Ireland from Scotch parentage, a man of enterprise, high intelligence and thoroughly upright in all his dealings, he operated largely in Montana, and later at Halleck, Nev. He first came into prominence as a member of the firm of Scott & Hank, whose old ad- dress was Mandel, Wyo. They ranged on the Tongue and Little Powder rivers, their brand being S-H. Joe Scott was not only one of the most expert cattlemen ever identified with western ranching, but he was progressive, and early devoted his attention to Herefords, more especially in the Nevada herd. He was a customer of Mr. C. M. Culbertson and others of the pioneer importers from Herefordshire. He also imported cattle direct from England for the Montana ranch about 1880, and in connection with George Leigh of Aurora, IIl., imported 120 head in 1897, about forty head of which went to the Nevada ranch,

Mr. Scott had a long, eventful and honorable ca- reer. He was for several terms President of the Montana Stock Growers’ Association, and devoted a great deal of his time to that work. For many years he made his home at Miles City, and from there he

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 731

went to Spokane, Wash. He underwent all the vicissitudes and ups and downs of the cattle busi- ness, and in his later years often said: ‘‘I was a millionaire before the winter of 1886-87, and a pau- per afterwards.’’ Eventually, however, he left quite an estate. He died and was buried in Italy, and is remembered by all his surviving friends as a man of broad sympathies—one who never tired helping his fellowmen.

B. C. Rhome.—One of the pioneers in purebred Herefords in north Texas was Mr. B. C. Rhome of Fort Worth. He began around 1882 by making pur- chases of William Powell, who as already stated was probably the first to engage in the trade of supply- ing purebred Herefords for the Texas range. Along about 1880 Mr. Powell sold quite a number of bulls to various range cattle breeders, many of which went into southern Texas in the region around San Antonio. Mr. Rhome states that shortly after he made his first purchases Mr. G. H. Mathis and G. P. McCampbell of Rockford also bought cattle from Fowler & VanNatta and the T. L. Miller Co. W.’ S. Ikard of Henrietta began a purebred herd about this time, making selections from the herds about Beecher. According to Mr. Rhome, another early Texas herd was that of F. M. Houts of Decatur, founded upon purchases from Fowler & VanNatta, which included the imported Carwardine bull Wil- fred. One of the most important introductions of Herefords into Texas during the late ’80’s was that of 200 head shipped in by Mr. G. W. Henry of Chi-

732 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

cago. They were placed on sale on Mr. Rhome’s ranch in charge of William Powell. A good many of these died of the fever, but this was nevertheless the source of a lot of good blood scattered through- out different parts of the Texas range country. In 1888 Mr. Rhome and Mr. Powell formed a partner- ship, buying some of the Henry cattle and adding to these a lot belonging to Mr. Powell brought in from Beecher. They bought a son of old Fowler and two bulls from Thomas Clark for breeding pur- poses. In 1890 Rhome & Powell bought the F. M. Houts herd numbering about 50 head. The firm at this time owned about 200 head. On the dissolution of the partnership Mr. Powell established his head- quarters at Channing, Tex., at which place he is at this writing still living.

Reynolds Cattle Co.—This is another one of the big Texas cattle companies. It has holdings at the present time of an estimated value of about $2,500,- 000. Its operations go back to the very beginnings of cattle ranching in the southwest. This com- * pany had its first Hereford bulls from T. L. Miller around 1876, the cows at the time being mainly of the ordinary north Texas type. The Reynolds peo- ple were among the first to take the Hereford blood into Texas. The company now has about 130,000 acres of broken, hilly, but well watered land in Shackelford and Throckmorton counties on which about 8,000 cattle have been maintained in recent years. It also has 300,000 acres owned and leased in Jeff Davis county, carrying about 12,000 cattle. The

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 133

company has in previous years, however, run as high as 50,000 cattle at one time.

Mr. W. D. Reynolds of this company states that they regard the Hereford as the best cattle for range use, particularly on short feed in a drouthy country. Their early purchases of Herefords from the north turned out badly on account of lack of knowledge concerning Texas fever and its causes at that time. They have bought persistently, however, from va- rious breeders, besides producing large numbers of bulls from their own herds. They have at different times used Shorthorn bulls, and in the recent past have introduced a few Aberdeen-Angus and Gallo- ways. Like most of their contemporaries they aim to run about four bulls to 100 cows. Bulls of their own breeding are turned in as yearlings, but when pur- chased from the outside are usually two-year-olds.

The Hereford in California—Beyond the Sierra Nevada Mountains climatic conditions as relating to cattle-ranching differ materially from those pre- vailing in the Rocky Mountain region proper. There is, except perhaps in the extreme southern portion of the state of California, a much greater annual rainfall than occurs on this side of the coast ranges, giving a larger supply of succulent feed. The cli- mate is also milder and more equable. Due perhaps to the fact that the natural conditions do not make such severe demands upon range herds, the Here- ford has not come into so commanding a position on the Pacific Coast as throughout the more arid regions of the western states. The earliest im-

734 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

proved cattle on the coast were undoubtedly Short- horns, and at one time Devon bulls were quite in evidence.

Not long after the Herefords began attaining pop- ularity all along the line from Texas to Montana, the white-faced blood was introduced into both Ore- gon and California and subsequently became popu- lar with those who were handling cattle in large numbers. Particularly was this the case with com- panies running cattle on the ranges of New Mexico, Nevada or Arizona, as well as in the state of Cali- fornia.

An Importation from Australia.—Soon after the demand for Herefords set in among the cattle-own- ers of the coast it developed that owing to the high price of good purebred ‘‘white faces’’ and the high railway freights in the transportation of such ani- mals Mr. Roland P. Saxe of San Francisco made two importations, comprising fifty-six head, mostly cows and heifers, from Australia. A part of these were for Capt. William Kohl and T. J. Janes of San Mateo. It was found that these cattle could at that time be landed in California cheaper than from the eastern part of the United States. We are without information as to the exact sources from which these cattle were obtained or as to their use, but it is a matter of record that the shipments were made and that forty of the fifty-six cattle so imported were from New Zealand. A portion of these ship- ments came from New South Wales.

Mr. Jastro’s Experience.—No one has been more

FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 735

active in the introduction and dissemination of Hereford blood in California than Mr. H. A. Jas- tro of Bakersfield, general superintendent for the Kern County Land Co. Mr. Jastro has maintained since some time in the ’80’s a herd of purebred Hereford cows, which now numbers probably 500 head and runs on this company’s Stockdale range. His aim has been to produce bulls of good quality under natural conditions for use on the extensive Arizona and New Mexico ranches operated by his company. The size of the herd, as well as the pur- pose for which it is maintained, makes it imprac- tical as well as unnecessary to maintain registration for the cattle produced.

Inasmuch as something like 20,000 calves are branded yearly in connection with the operations of his company, and in view of the long and successful experience of Mr. Jastro with cattle in the south- west his endorsement of the Hereford for range pur- poses must carry weight. He testifies that they are hardier, will travel farther for water and keep in better condition on short feed than Shorthorns or any other breed except the Devons. ‘‘In fact,’’ says Mr. Jastro, ‘‘it is my judgment that by carefully supplying the range with bulls of the right stamp the Hereford is really the only breed for range pur- poses where water is scarce and feed at certain sea- sons of the year is short. On the other hand, the rancher who has lots of feed and plenty of water will in my judgment find the Shorthorns more profit- able.’’

736 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Mr. Jastro states that while he thinks there is a tendency towards some loss of size where the Here- ford cross is repeated during a. succession of years his remedy for this is to turn out Shorthorn bulls every third or fourth year, so that cows will get back to their original size. He adds: ‘‘Our best success is in crossing a Hereford bull with cows well bred up in Shorthorn blood.’’

Mr. Mackey, who was at one time manager of the Rancho Del Paso, commonly known as the ‘‘Haggin Grant,’’ and famous for its Thoroughbred horses, at one time introduced Hereford cattle which later found their way to Bakersfield and were merged into the Stockdale herd when the grant was sold.

The Chowchilla Herd.—In April, 1882, Mr. John Clay, of Clay; Robinson & Co., purchased the Chow- chilla Ranch, comprising 116,000 acres of land and the herd of 12,000 head of cattle, for a Scotch syn- dicate. Mr. Clay had visited California some years prior to that date. He states that at the time of his first visit the cattle of California were still strong in Spanish blood—a big, bony, stretchy lot, much heavier than Texas cattle of the same ages. These responded rapidly to the Shorthorn cross. Miller & Lux had brought down to their ranches a lot of Oregon cows which were coarse-boned, heavily- built Shorthorn types upon which they had used Devon bulls in the hope of acquiring more quality. About this time Mr. Clay bought two carloads of bulls by Devon sires and from ordinary Oregon cows from this firm. They were put into the ‘‘Sev-

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738 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

enty-one Quarter Circle’’ herd on the Sweetwater, but the results of their work were swept away in the winter of 1886-87 so that no satisfactory estimate as to the value of the cross could be made.

The first move of the Chowchilla company was the purchase in Illinois of a number of good Shorthorn bulls and heifers for the purpose of re- plenishing the then limited number of purebred cat- tle on the ranch and of increasing the herd. The year following Mr. Clay shipped several carloads of extra Shorthorn heifers from the east, which sup- plied a good foundation for a registered herd.

In the fall of 1884 Mr. Isaac Bird was given full management of the business by Mr. Clay and from that time on the greatest care was given to the breeding of the cattle. In a few years a Shorthorn herd of high quality was established. In due time the blood began to show in the range herd, as all the bulls were purebreds. None but Shorthorns were used until the year 1898, when Mr. Bird purchased several loads of Hereford cows and bulls; and it was at this point that the ‘‘hit’’ of the company’s career was made. The crosses by Hereford bulls on Shorthorn cows were extra good, developing into A-1 stock which was always in good flesh, while at times the other cattle on the range were thin. Speak- ing of the success of this cross Mr. Bird says: ‘‘My thirty years’ experience in the cattle business has taught me that the best steers I ever raised were those bred from Hereford bulls on Shorthorn cows,

the Shorthorn giving them large bone and square rumps.’’

COWS AND CALVES OF THE KERN CO, (CAL.) LAND COMPANY'S HERD. H. A JASTRO, SUPERINTENDENT.

740 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

In December, 1900, the Chowchilla outfit exhibited at the Chicago International one carload of Short- horn calves on which the blue ribbon for the south- ern district was secured. These calves averaged 600 pounds and were purchased by Mr. Judy, of Menard Co., Ill., at $7 per cwt. He in turn fed six- teen head of them for the International of the follow- ing year and on these was awarded first prize for fed yearlings. They averaged at that time 1,260 pounds. At this same show the company exhibited one carload of Shorthorn calves and a carload of half-bred Herefords and drew blue ribbons again.

In 1905 the Chowchilla people sold their beef steers to the Western Meat Co. (Swift & Co.), and’ the tops proving too fat for the San Francisco mar- ket two trains of twenty cars each of these three- year-olds were shipped to the Chicago stock yards on the 15th and 20th of April. The first trainload averaged 1,280 pounds and the second shipment 1,200 pounds, with an average shrinkage of 90 pounds per head in transit. Mr. Charles Robinson (of Clay, Robinson & Co.) wrote at the time in regard to these cattle that no one in the yards could believe that they were grass cattle, owing to their being so fat and such early beef. At least 90 per cent of these steers were half-bred Herefords. Owing to the high price of land the Chowchilla Ranch was sold in 1911 to a colonization company, and the rem- nant of the herd was sold to Miller & Lux in 1912. The cow had to give way to the farmer.

Mr. Henry Miller, of Miller & Lux, was never par-

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742 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ticularly favorable to Herefords, and often said, ‘‘A red Shorthorn is good enough for me.’’ Mr. Bird says: ‘‘Herefords do as well if not better than any breed we have ever handled, and were I to raise cattle again I would always be partial to the ‘white faces.’ At this time there is scarcely a herd in Cali- fornia in which you do not see some Herefords, and I feel that within a few years the number will be greatly increased. I like them, for I know what they did for us. And I may state that our herd of 18,000 cattle was considered in its day the best large herd west of the Rockies.’’

GHAPTER XVIII. THE RED ROBE OF COURAGE.

The winter of 1886-87 was one of the worst ever experienced on the western ranges. It brought wide- spread disaster and an almost complete collapse of the cattle business as then conducted on the open range. The result of this great calamity, which brought ruin to many leading operators, was an increased demand for Hereford bulls. Heavy losses had occurred in different localities during preceding years, and in most cases the comparison as to the relative hardiness of the different breeds had from the beginning been altogether favorable to the ‘‘white faces.’’ When the supreme test came in the winter of 1886-87, while the Herefords them- selves suffered considerable losses, the gen- eral consensus of opinion was that they had stood the test in a manner which demonstrated that they were better qualified to endure privations than any other known type. Not only did the range men turn more generally to the use of Hereford bulls, but what was equally important, they began making better provision for the future maintenance of their herds. There was less overcrowding of the ranges, more businesslike methods of administra-

tion generally, and in the end better results than 743

144 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

had been attained during the wild period of specu- lation that had previously prevailed.

Hereford Hardiness Hereditary.—The breed that passed through this harsh experience so success- fully presents an interesting study in heredity—the persistent transmission of ancestral qualities, even after the lapse of generations. The Hereford of old Herefordshire, the Hereford of a century and a half ago, was bred for the yoke. He was not reared in the lap of luxury. He was not pampered. His was a life of plain living and heavy hauling. No corn and little cake entered into his rations. He tilled the fields of his owner, subsisted mainly on grass, and often worked hard till more than ten years old. Beef-making as a business prior to the time of Tomkins the Younger did not enter specially into the calculation. What this did for the Here- fordshire cattle may be read today in those heavy shoulders and broad chests, those legs and muscles that enable them to tramp the range and win their way through storm and stress and drouth and heat and cold, traversing distances that are hopeless to most cattle of other improved breeds, and through it all maintaining fair condition.*

*Will C. Barnes, author of ‘Western Grazing Grounds,” speak- ing of the superior hardiness of the Hereford says: “Range cat- tle with considerable infusions of Shorthorn blood are never quite so hardy as the old stock, and in the early spring when the heel flies are about they seem to delight in finding the worst bog holes. Once down they often lose all pluck and grit, and where a Hereford would fight her way out to hard ground the cow with the infusion of Shorthorn blood is apt to give up after the first struggle. Even when dragged out by the bog rider she may make no effort to get to her feet, but will lie there and starve, losing herself and her calf to the owner. On the other hand, the long- horn or Hereford when thus dragged out will, if she has a single spark of life left in her, get to her feet some way and chase her rescuer off the range.”

THE RED ROBE OF COURAGE 745

Swan’s Failure—A. H. Swan personally went down in 1887, but the Swan company, which was financed in Scotland, survived. No attempt had ever been made to count the cattle until the summer of 1887, when Mr. Finlay Dun, with his famous paint pot and brush, attempted to tally the herd. Summer showers and other causes soon disposed of the patches of paint and the work was given up, as it was found that cattle were being tallied twice over. The company had, however, purchased a lot of land. The spring of 1887 found the corpora- tion possessed of a herd of cattle estimated at 50,000 head, possibly less. In addition the company had about 576,000 acres of land. A large part of this was intermediate sections of railroad land on the Laramie Plains—a high and exposed plateau. Part of this was eventually allowed to go back to the railroad, the original owner. Today, we believe, the company owns about 270,000 acres of railroad land (intermediate sections) and 40,000 acres of land on the Chug, Sybille and Richeau, and in Goshen’s Hole. Mr. Dun managed the property during the summer, fall and winter of 1887-1888.

Mr. John Clay was appointed manager of the Swan company on the first of March, 1888, and re- mained in charge until July, 1896. Mr. Al Bowie succeeded Mr. Clay, and after him came Mr. Wil- liam Dawson, who resigned in 1912 and was suc- ceeded by Mr. M. R. Johnstone. The company to- day, so far as actual management is concerned, lies in the hands of an executive committee composed

746 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of John Clay, James T. Craig and M. R. Johnson, all practical western men.

The Swan range in the old days extended from Ogallala, Neb., to Fort Steele, Wyo. In a general way the cattle ranged with many others over the whole territory north from the Union Pacific Rail- road (taking the points named as the east and west limits) to the Platte River. In round numbers this was a terirtory 200 miles long and 100 miles wide. Gradually this range has been encroached upon. In 1910 most of the cattle were sold. The company had run quite a number of sheep previous to that, time, and now it is largely a sheep proposition. In five years’ time, at the present rate, the dry-farmers will take all the public lands in Goshen’s Hole, on the Chug, Sybille and other streams. What thirty years ago was purely a grazing area in a region considered arid is now being taken up for farming purposes. Up to date the dry-farmer has not yet located on the higher altitudes of the Laramie Plains.

Al Bowie’s Testimony.—Mr. Bowie, so long identified with the Swan company, has spent the best part of his life upon the Wyoming range, and is a willing witness in behalf of the value of the Herefords under conditions there prevailing. He says:

‘‘When in 1884 we purchased a large lot of Shorthorns as well as several hundred Herefords we were feeding the Shorthorns all the hay they

wanted. In fact, we had to in order to keep them alive, while the Herefords ran to pasture and kept

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748 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

in much better condition than the Shorthorns did on hay. Since that time I have been much more in favor of the Herefords than Shorthorns. They are more quiet, have better coats of hair, stand the win- ter better and running on a poor range show a much less loss under same conditions. Furthermore, they cross well if you have good Shorthorn cows, as we had in 1880—cows that came in from Oregon and Washington. In fact, I have never since seen as good ones.

‘‘In-breeding and poor feed have caused some loss of size and weight among the Herefords, at least that has been my experience. They are not naturally as big cattle as the Shorthorns, but they are more blocky and there will be fewer culls in a big herd. They naturally have shorter legs than Se ae and do much better on short, poor eed.

“The cattlemen and commission men of Chicago will condemn our Herefords in seasons when we have hard winters and poor feed in summers and cattle do not get fat. Then when we have the re- verse in seasons and cattle get fat they think the Herefords all right. Where the Hereford shines is in a feedlot. As T. B. Hord used to say, ‘Fat is a good color.’ He also said, ‘Give the Hereford one cross of blood and three crosses of corn and you have beef good enough for any one.’ ””

Robert Kleberg.—It is given to few men to be afforded the opportunity for such big constructive work as fell to Mr. Robert J. Kleberg, Capt. King’s son-in-law, at the decease of the proprietor of the great Santa Gertrudis property in southeast Texas, to which reference has already been made. Few of those who fall heir to such opportunities rise to their full achievement. The development of

OBBRT J. KLEBHRG.

750 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the lands and cattle in the hands of Mr. Kleberg, however, constitutes one of the most important chapters in the latter-day history of the state of Texas. However, our story of the Hereford cattle is in itself too long for us to enter into great detail as to the modern history of the King ranch. We must therefore sketch rapidly.

The two half-million-acre ranches mentioned in a previous chapter were subdivided into numerous ‘“small’’ pastures, ranging in size from 1,000 acres to 50,000 acres each. This was done for the pur- pose of carrying out certain clearly defined pur- poses in the introduction of purebreds. The under- ground rivers were tapped, artesian wells gushed forth their pure waters wherever wanted, the rail- way finally pierced the great principality, and towns and irrigated farms came into existence where once half-wild cattle and horses roamed the unfenced plains.

Mr. Kleberg was for a number of years a liberal buyer of- registered Shorthorn cattle, purchased from the best herds of the middle west, particu- larly those of Kentucky and Missouri. These of course had to undergo the trying process of becom- ing acclimated, and losses were frequently so heavy as to be altogether discouraging. Mr. Kleberg was one of the first to undertake the risks attending the introduction of high-priced purebred bulls below the fever line, but his persistence and enterprise were finally rewarded. In due course of time dis- covery was made that the cattle tick was the cause

MRS. KING’S NEW FIREPROOF RESIDENCE, UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT SANTA GERTRUDIS.

Ba ded

4 ROUND-UP OF OLD COWS OVER TEN YBHARS OLD. Cattle being sold and delivered on lower ranch of Mrs. King, Cameron Co., Texas.

752 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of the so-called Texas fever. Indeed, it is asserted that the preliminary proofs in this most important discovery were first furnished at the Santa Ger- trudis Ranch. The Department of Agriculture, then under the efficient direction of the late Secre- tary Rusk, took the matter actively in hand, and by a series of investigations established the truth of what had previously been a mere theory in regard to the mysterious origin of this southern plague. At length the process of immunizing the northern cattle against the disease was scientifically worked out, after which the cattle intended for breeding purposes could be shipped from above the fever line with comparative safety.

It was not until after the cattle on the King ranch had been well graded up with Shorthorn blood that the Hereford was introduced. Bulls, as well as heifers, sired by the most noted prize-winning bulls of the north were bought in large numbers, so that at the present time probably 90 per cent of all the cattle on the upper ranch are grade Hereford- Shorthorns, the others being either purebred Short- horns or purebred Herefords. Of the latter there are now about 2,000 head, and of the former about 4,000, kept on the upper ranch for the purpose of breeding bulls for the main herd. The best are re- tained for this purpose and the remainder are sold to be used on ranches in southern Texas and Old Mexico.

Some years ago the Laureles ranch was acquired by the King estate from the Texas Land & Cattle

THE RED ROBE OF COURAGE 753

Co. This was a property of something over 300,- 000 acres which joined the Santa Gertrudis on the east of the upper ranch. Other lands were added until over 1,000,000 acres were included in the two ranches. Since the construction of the railway through the property, several hundred thousand acres have been subdivided and sold to farmers, and four towns with a population of from 1,000 to 5,000 inhabitants each are now located on what was formerly the ranch proper.

Mr. Kleberg joins with most of the other expe- rienced range men in giving the palm to the Here- fords in the matter of maintaining their condition under ordinary range conditions. Nevertheless, he is a great admirer of the Shorthorns, and as above stated still maintains them in large numbers. That they require rather better care than the Herefords, however, in order to secure the best results is freely admitted. It was from the King ranch that Mr. Murdo Mackenzie selected in 1912, 150 heifers and 650 bulls, mostly Herefords, for export to Brazil.

Capt. John Tod.—This veteran Scottish herd manager had his first experience with Herefords be- tween 1883 and 1886 in Wabaunsee and Chase coun- ties in Kansas. From 1887 to 1907 he had charge of the Laureles Ranch of 325,000 acres—the property of the Texas Land & Cattle Co. on the Gulf Coast in Nueces Co., Tex., since sold to the King estate. From 1887 to 1891 Capt. Tod also managed a ranch in the Panhandle.

During a period of some twenty years he handled

754 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

annually on an average probably 10,000 head of grade and purebred Herefords and 20,000 Short- horns, the bulk of the cows being from a Texas foundation. He says that in his experience the Hereford bull is ‘‘far and away the best for range purposes.’’ As a rustler he insists that the Here- ford is ‘‘infinitely better than the Shorthorn, having more vitality’’, and he testifies that ‘‘when Here- ford bulls and Shorthorn bulls are turned out in the spring in very large pastures with Shorthorn cows, the bulk of the early calves are ‘white faces.’ ’’

Capt. Tod states that though it is generally agreed that Hereford bulls have made their greatest suc- cess when the cow herds had previously been more or less improved by the use of Shorthorn blood, it should be explained that in the early days of grading up from common cows, while there were plenty of good Shorthorn bulls used, many of the Hereford bulls resorted to were little better than ‘‘scrubs’’, and were largely grades.

In regard to the assertion that the continued use of one Hereford cross after another upon a herd al- ready well graded up with white-raced blood tends to an ultimate loss of size and weight, Capt. Tod says:

‘*My observation is that ranchmen have not been persistent enough, have got tired out too soon with the long effort necessary, have shut up the purse strings too tightly, and have not kept on purchasing better and better bulls. My experience is that if this is done the seven-eighths or fifteen-sixteenths grade Hereford cows do not show a loss of weight

THE RED ROBE OF COURAGE 155

and size. The Herefords are generally preferred throughout the range country on account of their good constitutions, grazing qualities, prepotency and masculinity. The cows are good nurses, rear their calves as well or better than any other breed, and while doing so keep in better condition. Graziers and feeders have a preference for the steer from a Shorthorn cow, by a Hereford bull, and the nearer to a perfect ‘white face’ the better they like him.’’ The Capitol Syndicate XIT Ranch.—This great ranch was situated in the northwest corner of the Panhandle of Texas, lying in the counties of Dal- lam, Hartley, Oldham, Deaf Smith, Palmer, Castro, Bailey, Lamb, Hockley and Cochran, and consisted of 3,000,000 acres. The state of Texas retained all of the land lying within its boundaries when it was admitted into the Union. To provide an adequate capitol building at Austin the legislature passed an act in 1879 appropriating 3,000,000 acres of land for disposition in that connection, the same to be se- lected from the unappropriated state lands by a commissioner appointed to locate none but agricul- tural or grazing lands. There were at that time 5,000,000 acres from which to make the selection. This was made in 1879 and 1880 and the land was surveyed into leagues, a league comprising 4,428 acres. These 3,000,000 acres lay in a tract averag- ing about 25 miles wide east and west by about 200 miles north and south, the west border being the line between Texas and New Mexico. The property was offered to a responsible party who would enter into a contract to erect a state capitol according to plans and specifications furnished by the state. This con-

156 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

tract was ultimately assigned to a syndicate consist- ing of U. S. Senator C. B. Farwell, John V. Farwell, the well known wholesale dry goods man of Chicago, Col. Abner Taylor, who at one time represented in Congress the first district of Chicago, and Col. A. C. Babeock of Canton, IIl., all now deceased.

Description of the Property.—Generally speaking this tract of land is a level plain or plateau varying from 2,300 to 4,700 feet in altitude covered by a lux- uriant growth of buffalo, mesquite, grama, blue- stem, bunch, sage and other grasses. The soil va- ries from chocolate loam to red sandy loam, with subsoil of practically the same character under which lies a stratum of clay. The Canadian River traverses the tract in an easterly direction through Oldham county and tributary to it the land is rolling or gently undulating. There were a few springs on this tract of land and these and the waters of the Canadian were all that the buffalo and wild animals of the early days could depend upon. Many lake basins are to be found on the plains which contain water for some time after heavy rainfalls. These were entirely inadequate to supply water for the large herds that were put on this tract by the Cap- itol Syndicate, and it became necessary to bore wells, erect windmills over them and provide drink- ing troughs and reservoirs. The syndicate bored about 300 such wells which varied in depth from 10 to 400 feet and averaged about 125 feet. Dams were thrown across ravines or draws to conserve the rainfall. The watering facilities were developed in

THE RED ROBE OF COURAGE 157

this way sufficiently to take care of 150,000 head of cattle. The water in the bored wells was ‘‘free- stone’’ of good quality.

Character of the XIT Cattle—The ranch was first stocked with cattle during the years of 1885, 1886 and 1887. These were cattle of very indifferent quality—some from near the Gulf of Mexico and some from the country lying tributary to and south of the Texas & Pacific Railway. The herd at its maximum size numbered about 150,000 head. There were seven divisions of the ranch and each of the seven divisions had its territory cut into a number of pastures by barbed wire fences. After the ranch had been separated into divisions, which in turn were divided into several pastures, the work of im- proving the herd was undertaken—some time about 1889. The sorting of the cattle with a view to fol- lowing out different lines of breeding was a matter of several years. With such large numbers and such great distances this sorting necessarily took consid- erable time. But by degrees the cattle which in the judgment of the management seemed most suitable for mating with Hereford bulls were put in certain pastures, others which it was thought promised good results from Aberdeen-Angus crossing were placed in certain other pastures, and those that seemed most in need of the Shorthorn blood were quartered in still other pastures, so that an effort could be made to experiment and improve along the lines of these three distinct breeds.

The scarcity and high price of purebred bulls in

758 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the late ’80’s and early ’90’s made their use in any large numbers impossible for this ranch. Many low- grade bulls had been put on the ranch in the late ’80’s, but each year a better class of sires was pro- cured and after 1892 only purebred bulls were pur- chased. With cattle of such an ordinary foundation and with grade bulls improvement was necessarily slow. However, after the introduction of purebred bulls, as was the case on the Matador and other great Panhandle ranges, improvement was rapid, so that when the cattle began to be dispersed on account of sales of land in 1901 the herd for one of such large size was of exceptional quality. At the sale of the last cattle in 1912 it was, for all practical beef purposes, a purebred herd.

Purebred Bulls Purchased.—The Hereford bulls to work this improvement were purchased largely from William Powell, Channing, Tex., the Farwell Bros., Montezuma, Ia., and the T. L. Miller Co., Beecher, Ill. The Aberdeen-Angus bulls came from Farwell Bros., Montezuma, Ia., Anderson & Find- lay, Lake Forest, Ill., George Farwell, Mt. Morris, Ill, and Arnold Bros., Hansford Co., Tex. The herds of John D. Gillett, Elkhart, Ill., and C. 8S. Bar- clay, West Liberty, Ia., furnished the Shorthorns. Besides these a goodly number of bulls were pur- chased each year from individuals who would under- take a contract of getting together a number of good ones from the leading herds of the various beef breeds of the country. In 1892 the company pur- chased from the T. L. Miller Co. forty-four bulls and

THE RED ROBE OF COURAGE 759

111 Hereford cows. Some years later it purchased from Mr. Cook, Odeboldt, Ia., a number of regis- tered Hereford females, and in 1892 from Arnold Bros. fifty-five registered Aberdeen-Angus females and a large number of bulls, besides a number of Herefords and Aberdeen-Angus from the Farwell Bros.

With these purebred females of the Aberdeen- Angus and of the Hereford breeds small herds were established into which were introduced bulls from the best herds of the country for the purpose of raising sires for use on the company’s ranch. In the later years almost enough bulls for its own use were supplied from this source.

Herefords Predominate.— While Mr. George Find- lay of this company was closely identified with Aberdeen-Angus interests, the management made no claim as to superior adaptability for any of the three beef breeds. Mr. A. G. Boyce, the manager under whom most of the early improvements were effected, undertook the work at a time when he was strongly of the belief that the Shorthorns were the best cat- tle. After a number of years’ experience with these breeds it is stated that he ended his career on the ranch in the belief that the Angus were in the first place and the Herefords second, but the manager who followed him, Mr. H. S. Boice, a ranchman of large experience and owner of large herds, was strongly in favor of the Herefords. Of course there were many things to consider in seeking an answer to a question of this kind on a ranch of this charac-

760 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ter.* Two herds might be separated 200 miles apart on such an enormous range, and one year climatic conditions might be more favorable for one herd than the other, and vice versa the next year. But it was the belief of those who had most to do with the property that either of these breeds properly looked after would do well in the Panhandle.

Views of H. S. Boice.—In this connection the fol- lowing narration by H. 8S. Boice, formerly with the XIT syndicate, is of interest. In a letter to the author under date of June 19, 1914, written from Los Angeles, Cal., he says:

“‘ About thirty-five years ago while I was working as a hand on the range in southern Colorado, we had a drouth followed by a very severe winter. In those days range cattle, including bulls, were left to the mercy of the elements. The losses during that win- ter were simply tremendous. The next spring our round-ups showed very plainly the survival of the fittest in the depleted herds and the Herefords, com- pared with the other breeds, were conspicuously numerous, and of the bulls that survived the many

*Sales of large tracts of land were made by the syndicate in 1901 and 1902 to ranchmen who were beginning to realize that the public domain was fast being settled up and that the day when it would be necessary to own the land in order to control the grass was very near at hand. Several hundred thousand acres of the tract were sold to George W. Littlefield, the well known banker and ranchman of Texas, owner of the LFD brand. Another large tract went to W. E. Halsell, large cattle owner of Indian Territory, another to the Matador Land & Cattle Co., another to T. S. Hutton and E. L. Halsell of Kansas City, another to Rhea Bros. of New Mexico, another to F. D. Wight of Trindad, Colo., and another to W. J. Tod, Maplehill, Kans, A few years later, beginning about 1906, a large influx of northern farmers took Place, and a great deal of the land was sold in tracts ranging from 40 acres to a section or several sections. Some idea of the extent of this business may be gathered from the fact that the company has executed and delivered over 2,500 deeds to land from the Capitol Reservation grant, and the lands sold aggregate about 2,000,000 acres.

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762 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

months of grief, the Herefords were about the only ones left. This experience of course made a lasting impression on me in favor of the Herefords and my varied experience since has confirmed it.

‘‘During the year 1897 the H. S. Boice Cattle Co. was organized and purchased the Beaty Bros. ranch and cattle in southeastern Colorado and southwest- ern Kansas. We continued the ranch about ten years, when the settlers came in on us and obliged us to close out our cattle. These cattle were fairly well improved. We eliminated all bulls from the herd except the Herefords and soon raised all the sires required from a fine little herd of select cows in which we kept the best bulls that money would buy. We were very particular in selecting the heavy-boned, big-framed bulls for both the small herd and the large one. When it was known that we intended to use Hereford bulls continuously, without crossing with the Shorthorn occasionally, it was often remarked that our cattle would grow smaller until we would be obliged to cross with the Short- horn. But our experience did not justify the pre- dictions. Our herd grew in numbers until we were branding over 5,000 calves. It became very uniform and attractive in quality and steadily grew heavier in bone, frame and weight and our feeders sold. on the range at the top of the market year after year. The fat cows likewise generally topped the market at Kansas City in weight and price.

‘‘T was connected with the Capital Freehold Land & Investment Co. (XIT outfit) as general manager of their cattle interests in the Panhandle of Texas for seven years, closing out the same in the fall of 1912. When I took charge they were branding about 20,000 calves, much the larger number of which were from their Hereford herd. These cattle were of good quality and had been graded up from the un-

THE RED ROBE OF COURAGE 763

improved straight Texas cows that were placed on the ranch about 1885. Nothing but purebred Here- ford bulls were being used and they were raised from a purebred herd that numbered at one time about 3,000 head. We kept the standard of this purebred herd high by cutting out every year and turning into the large herd everything that showed a lack of quality.

‘“‘I wish to emphasize the fact that the purebred Hereford is a hardier, thriftier range animal than the grade Hereford. As a demonstration of the fact I will say in this instance that our purebred herd was handled just the same and had no better treat- ment than our large graded herd and yet was always in better condition. Both herds had to depend upon the grass and natural shelter of the pastures in which they were located, with simply a wire fence between them. Neither herd was given any addi- tional feed in the winter. Those cattle that became poor and weak were gathered into a smaller pasture and fed cake on the grass.

‘‘During the last six years I have given most of my time to the breeding ranch of Boice, Gates & Johnson, formerly known as the Chiricahua Cattle Co., or CCC outfit, in southern Arizona. It is one of the oldest herds in the state and has been one of the best improved for many years, though we have materially improved it and it is still in the process of improvement. At the beginning of my adminis- tration we bought a select purebred herd to raise bulls from and shipped them to our upper ranch where they are located at an elevation of about 6,500 feet. They have never had any feed except the nat- ural grass and browsing and have always been in better condition than our main graded herd adjoin- ing. When we brought this little herd there, the old foreman, who had been in the business all his life,

764 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

shook his head, knowing the disaster that would fol-

low in turning out purebred cattle to rustle for them-

selves. But since then he has often stated that it was

he bad that all our cattle were not purebred Here- ords.

‘‘We are now able to turn into our main herd 150 choice bulls a year from our purebred herd. The three herds to which I have referred, in Colorado, Texas and Arizona, reached the highest standard in quality for range cattle in the several localities by the same method—careful elimination and selection. In following this method the very best bulls, regard- less of price, should be obtained for the purebred herds. Everything undesirable in quality should be culled out every year and the young bulls turned into the main herd should be most liberally culled, leaving only the big-boned, big-framed, loose-hided, rangy fellows even though some of them may seem a little coarse. The main or large herd should also be constantly culled. By the way, I think most of the breeders of our finest herds of purebred cattle are not as particular as they should be in culling out from their herds the poorer quality and undesirable animals,’’

GHAPTER XIX. PROOF PILED ON PROOF.

As has been already stated the first crosses of the Shorthorn on the Longhorn and other native types had made a marked improvement but, unfortunately for the best interests of a breed which was not solid- colored, the western demand for Shorthorns in the old days persistently prescribed ‘‘red-and-all-red”’ as the only color wanted. The reason was plain. Light or broken-colored bulls left a motley progeny when mated with the black, dun or brindle cows so common in the old Texan stock. Roan is the one distinctive Shorthorn color, the one color never counterfeited by any other breed. White and red- and-white Shorthorns have also always been com- mon.

This range demand for red Shorthorns during the boom days of the business led inevitably to the sac- rifice by the Shorthorn breeders of Kentucky and the central west of thousands of their best bulls, and to the retention in many cases of inferior animals of the right color for getting stock available for range purposes—to the palpable injury of the breed. We have only to observe a ring of Shorthorns at any of our leading shows of today, where perhaps two- thirds of all the best animals will be roan or white,

to realize what was really lost to the breed through 765

766 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the failure twenty-five years ago to utilize the best material at hand regardless of color. It was a condi- tion, however, and not a theory that confronted the breeders of that time, and they pursued the only course then open to them. They were forced to cater to the range, and therefore it may well be said at this time that the rise of Hereford power in the far west was really the beginning of a great renaissance in the popularity as well as in the merit of the Short- horn in the older states, the abatement of the range demand for red bulls proving a real blessing in dis- guise to the old-time favorites. But, to our story.

The Carey Co.—The J. M. Carey & Bro. Co., the owner of the CY brand, at one time ran as many as 40,000 cattle. In recent years on account of their range becoming restricted these men have reduced the number of their cattle to about 6,000 head. They produce enough feed during the growing season to feed their cattle through the winters. Their ranches are well improved and they have about 4,000 acres of irrigated lands. About twenty years ago they purchased from George Morgan, of the Wyoming Hereford Cattle Co., three head of Hereford bulls, paying $1,000 for the trio. These were calves and the buyers did not have much luck with them. At this time their herd was mostly Shorthorns, bred up from Texas stock. In spite of the fact that they did not have much success with the first Hereford bulls pur- chased they have continued to use them until their entire herd has become as thoroughly marked as if registered.

Copyright photo by Stimson PURE-BRED HEREFORDS ON THB CAREY PROPERTY, CONVERSE Cco., WYOMING.

BELOW: VIEW ON THE S. 0. RANCH, CAREYHURST, WYOMING.

ABOVE:

768 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

They corroborate the general testimony to the effect that ‘‘white faces’’ stand the winter better than other cattle and are better rustlers. They report that the weights of their cattle have increased since the early days due to the fact that the Texas blood has been entirely eliminated. Bulls are put in serv- ice at the age of eighteen to thirty months, four or five to the hundred cows. In addition to their range herd they have about 600 head of registered cows. From these they produce their own bulls and sell a large number yearly. These cattle are fed the greater part of the year, the calves and yearlings receiving grain as well as hay. For several years they have been following the system known as ‘‘hand breed- ing,’’ but have recently gone back to breeding in pas- tures on account of the small percentage of calves that they have been getting by the former method.

While adhering to the Herefords for range use the Careys say:

‘‘We have studied the matter for a good many years on small farms, and believe Shorthorn cattle are the best on such places. They mature more quickly. However, the Herefords are hardier and

better where it is not possible to give cattle every care.’’

The LS Cattle—The late Lucien Scott of Leav- enworth, Kans., was an enthusiastic advocate of the Hereford for range purposes. In connection with Mr. W. M. D. Lee he maintained for many years near Tascosa, Tex., in the Panhandle country, an extensive ranch upon which the famous LS brand was developed. As high as 35,000 head of cattle were at one time maintained.

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 769

This land, consisting of 180,000 acres, was located in the Panhandle country and in Oldham and Potter counties. In 1888 Mr. Scott and Mr. Lee dissolved partnership, Mr. Scott purchasing Mr. Lee’s interest and continuing the ranch under the same name. At Leavenworth, Kans.,he had a farm called Ridgewood which he maintained for the breeding of fine cattle of pure Hereford strains. The young bulls from that farm were sent from time to time to the LS Ranch and in that way, and by culling out the poorer of the bulls on the ranch, the herd was gradually improved.

Mr. Scott died in 1893 and left his property to his widow Julia H. Scott. She left the management of the ranch in the hands of her brother Charles N. Whitman, a practical cattleman who was much im- bued with the idea of breeding a finer grade of cattle. They gradually acquired more land until they had 204,000 acres, all in fee simple and all fenced in. The Ridgewood herd had in the meantime been en- larged and improved by the constant purchase of good registered animals. An increasing number of the pedigree bulls were sent each year to the LS Ranch either from the farm or by purchases, until in more recent years nothing but purebred bulls were used. In 1897 Mrs. Scott transferred one-half the poperty to Charles N. Whitman and in 1899 she sold him the remaining other half. Late in the year 1899 Mr. Whitman died and his widow, Mrs. Whitman, continued the business until 1907, when she sold the entire property to Edward F. Swift of Chicago. The LS Ranch, recently divided and sold, was a breeding

770 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ranch solely, the young steers being sold at one and two years old, when their fine quality with uniform color and white faces commanded at all times the top prices. They were frequently exhibited and a great many prizes were won at the Chicago, Kan- sas City and Fort Worth shows.

Mrs. Whitman,* now Mrs. F. H. Kreismann of St. Louis, bears this testimony as to the good results following the use of the Hereford bulls in the Tas- cosa herd:

‘‘As is well known the Hereford blood has always been very prepotent and the greater percentage of calves bred from purebred bulls and off-colored cows will be white-faced. But again, as the quality of the cattle on the ranch became finer and finer they lost some of the hardihood of the Texas rang- ers, and more care in the way of feed and shelter had to be given them. But this extra outlay and expense was more than made up by the much greater price which the young stock commanded. By selling off every year as many of the off-colored and in- ferior cows as possible without reducing the herd too much, and keeping for breeding purposes only such young heifers as markedly showed the Here- ford strain, the herd in a few years was so much im- proved and so decidedly ‘Hereford’ that it became one of the show herds of the Texas Panhandle.’’

*Mrs. Whitman, a woman of high intelligence, had a deep personal interest in cattle-breeding. For a number of years she was frequently seen at the leading cattle sales and shows, often finding upon these occasions a congenial spirit in Mrs. Kate Wilder Cross, widow of C. S. Cross of Sunny Slope Farm, Em- poria, Kans.

Speaking of the quality of the bulls bought for service on this ranch, John Gosling writes: “During the time of Mrs. Whit- man’s ownership I furnished her ranch with as many as eighty bulls in a season, which included in three consecutive years the entire crop by the famous bull Painter, a son of Beau Brummel. Painter was owned by W. W. Gray, Fayette, Mo., and later 4 Mr. Robert H. Hazlett of Eldorado, in whose hands he finishe

PROOF PILED ON PROOF T71

The Matador Land and Cattle Co.—This corpo- ration, one of the largest in the west, was organized in 1882, and its holdings are now reputed to be worth around $6,000,000, under the management of John McBain. It began operations by purchasing between 300,0000 and 350,000 acres of land, and

from time to time added to this until now it has two divisions, one of about 500,000 acres and the

other comprising over 250,000 acres, both in the ‘‘breaks’’ of the plains and mostly rough country. Both ranches are well improved. Besides this the company has on lease about 450,000 acres in Dakota and 150,000 acres in Canada.

The original herd consisted of about 40,000 head of cattle but from year to year it was increased until in 1891, when Mr. Murdo Mackenzie became manager, it had about 65,000 head, the maximum herd during Mr. Mackenzie’s administration being about 70,000 head. The cattle originally purchased by the company were of the ordinary type prevail- ing at that time in southern Texas, and were driven from that section to the Matador range by A. M. Britton and Henry Campbell. Later on the com- pany purchased from 8,000 to 10,000 cattle from Mr. Chisholm in the Pecos Valley. These cattle were to some extent graded up by the infusion of Short- horn, blood, but were not by any means what would be considered good cattle today. Up to 1891 there

his career with pronounced successful results. Indeed _the sons of Painter had much to do with the prowess of the LS calves when exhibited at the Kansas City Royal ten and twelve years ago, and attracted the attention of Landrigan Bros., then at Eureka, Kans., who leased some 90,000 acres of the LS Ranch.

772 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

had been some attempt at improving the herd, but this had been tried by the use of grade bulls. Some of the bulls used were purchased in Kansas, but the majority of them were raised from the herd itself. By this method there must of necessity have been considerable in-breeding, and in any event there could not have been much progress made in the way of grading up from such a foundation by continu- ing this policy. On taking charge of the property Mr. Mackenzie came to the conclusion that in order to obtain the best results some radical changes had to be made, first, in the kind of bulls used, and sec- ond, by culling out all inferior cows undesirable for breeding purposes.

In the old days the Matador sold practically all its steer cattle as two-year-olds to buyers from Da- kota, Montana and Wyoming, and the prices realized were not sufficient to pay the cost of pro- duction. It was decided that something must be done to raise the grade of the cattle to a point where they would be in demand by the Kansas and Missouri feeders. To attain such a standard not only would the inferior cows have to be culled out, but a different type of bull would have to be used. Yet to carry out this plan required considerable money, and at that time money with cattlemen was not as plentiful as it is today. Few had as yet at- tempted to use purebred bulls on the open ranges of the Panhandle or in large pastures, and the ac- cepted idea was that if a herd of cows was brought up beyond a certain grade their reproductive quali-

Copyright photo by Erwin E. Smith A SECTION OF THE MATADOR HEADQUARTERS.

Copyright photo by Erwin E. Smith JUDGE H. H. CAMPBELL, WHO ORIGINALLY LOCATED AND ESTAB- LISHED THE MATADOR RANCH.

774 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ties on the range would be impaired. Referring to this situation, Mr. Mackenzie says:

“‘T realized that several important changes must be made to put the company on a paying basis, that instead of selling off our fat cows we should dispose of those undesirable for breeding purposes, and that we must supply the herd with purebred bulls exclusively. It took several years to accomplish this because the purchase price of the bulls, as well as the running expenses of the company, had to be paid from the revenue derived from the annual sales of cattle. Furthermore, I suggested that in- stead of selling our two-year-old steers to northern buyers we adopt the plan of sending all our steer cattle to northern ranges of our own and holding them there for two years and then sending them to the Chicago market. This policy has been carried out by the company since that time.’’

Manager Mackenzie Discards Grade Bulls—At the time that Mr. Mackenzie took hold of the Mata- dor company there were a few Hereford grade bulls being used in the herd, and not first-class ones at that, the balance being Shorthorn grades and a few Aberdeen-Angus. The Hereford was not altogether yet in favor at that date, many claiming that the produce was smaller both in bone and size than the cross by the Shorthorn. This was undoubtedly the truth in certain instances, but was explained, in part at least, by the fact that many of the so-called Here- fords in use were only grades and in other cases were very inferior specimens of purebreds. Accord- ingly it was decided to change the policy—instead of using grades to breed from purebreds only.

The first pedigree Hereford bulls bought for the

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 775

purebred herd which was then started at the Mata- dor headquarters were obtained from Fowler & Tod of Maple Hill, Kans., about 1892. About the same time other purebred Hereford and some Shorthorn bulls were purchased in Colorado, Kan- sas and Missouri for the main Matador herd, which consisted mainly of Texas cows. This resort to purebreds proved successful, cattle of good con- formation and first-class quality being obtained. Another interesting fact which developed was that the accepted idea that cattle highly-bred necessarily become unproductive was erroneous; no difference whatever was observable in that particular. As an illustration of this, from 100 purebred cows in a pasture where the cattle had nothing but the grass they gathered a calf crop of 99 per cent was one year recorded, and this statement can be verified from the record of the branding in the company’s office at Trinidad.

A Purebred Herd Established—Mr. Mackenzie states that early in his experience in Texas he found that to supply such a large herd of cows as the Mat- adors with a sufficient number of purebred bulls would be a very expensive process, so he adopted the policy of buying purebred cows and holding them on the range for the purpose of breeding at least a part of the bulls required. In this he was successful. He says:

‘“<Tf the Hereford cow is supplied with a sufficient amount of grass she will produce a calf as regularly as the cows on Missouri and Iowa pastures, and at four years old the bull is just as large and of as

176 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

good conformation and quality as any you will find in the grain-growing states. All that is required is care and the culling out of the cows undesirable for breeding, but not only is this care required on the range, but it is required on the farm as well, if one expects to get the best results. I do not wish the breeders of other purebred cattle to feel that I have any prejudice against the other breeds; all breeds to my mind are good in their own place, but in large pastures where cattle have to hustle for themselves I have no hesitation in stating that my experience has been that the Hereford has it over them all.’’

The Matador management has had a marked predilection for the Anxiety blood when obtainable. From $100 to $250 was paid for bulls to be used on the range, and as high as $1,000 for bulls for the purebred herd. Ordinarily about 150 purebred bulls were raised each year for use in the herd. These were reared in the usual range way, although usually placed in an extra good pasture and fed a little dur- ing the winter months. The bulls are turned out when two years old, and the aim is to run four bulls to every hundred cows.

‘‘In this enlightened age,’’ says Mr. Mackenzie, ‘everybody knows that Herefords cannot be equaled as range animals, and we have found that the nearer purebred they are the better they do. Many think that the continuous use of Hereford blood makes cattle small and with poor hindquar- ters. We find this not to be the case where really good northern bulls are used on sufficient range. In order that the Herefords do well during the year round they should have at least 15 acres to every

MURDO MACKENZIE.

178 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

head with a plentiful supply of water at distances not erates than four miles between watering places.”’

Tod of Maple Hill—Prominent among the success- ful cattlemen of the trans-Missouri country 1 is W. J. Tod of Maple Hill, Kans. Experienced in all the varying conditions met with upon the range, as well as in the feedlots of the middle west, a familiar figure at all our leading shows and markets, his experience with the Herefords in connection with Mr. Fowler cannot fail to be of interest.

Mr. Tod originally came out from Scotland and was for several years with the Prairie Cattle Co., but subsequently formed a partnership with Mr. George Fowler of the Fowler Packing Co. In the year 1884 they imported from England a few pure- bred Hereford cows, a few Shorthorn cows, one or two Shorthorn bulls and a large number of Hereford bulls, with a view to using the bulls chiefly on grade cows. During the dull years of 1889, 1890 and 1891 they disposed of these purebreds and a few years later started a herd of grade cows in northern New Mexico using Hereford bulls exclusively. These cows were ordinary Colorado range-bred cows, with the exception of a few practically purebred Herefords. They continued using Hereford bulls in this herd until it was closed out on account of the land being acquired at a price so high that it was thought it could not longer be held profitably. The bulls bought were chiefly of Gudgell & Simpson breeding, and Mr. Tod was careful to buy no bull which was not strong-

J. TOD OF MAPLE HILL.

780 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ly ‘‘Anxiety-bred.’’ The result in the herd was most pronounced, and the improvement in quality, feeding capabilities, style and size most marked.

“‘From long experience,’’ says Mr. Tod, ‘‘we have found that in a range country the Shorthorns have not the constitution nor the rustling qualities that we get in the Herefords. We had not only a better calf crop with the Herefords, but they stood the winter with less feed in better condition than the Shorthorns, and they are undoubtedly better grazers. Now that baby beef is so much in demand we have found that there is no breed of cattle that equals the Hereford in capability of becoming prime fat as yearlings, but it of course must be clearly under- stood that we feed in a manner in the rough. None of our cattle are stabled, nor have we sheds. The only shelter we have is the timber. These are the conditions we have to contend with, and we have found the Hereford equa] to them.’’

While the herd in New Mexico was maintained from 1,000 to 1,200 head were branded annually, and about 3,000 steers a year were fed in Kansas. The greater number of these were purchased in the Pan- handle and in southern Colorado. The range in New Mexico contained about 60,000 acres of fenced land. No young cattle were sold, everything disposed of being fed off in Kansas, and marketed chiefly in Kan- sas City, with occasional shipments to Chicago and St. Joseph.

The New Mexico ranch was located in the northern part of the state and the quality of the grama and

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 781

other grasses was excellent. Some alfalfa hay was used, and the calves had hay and a little cottonseed during the first winter. The cows, however, got only what the range produced. Having a small range it was considered best to keep the bulls only two years, and as the yearling heifers were never bred there was no chance of in-breeding. High-class bulls were bought and turned on the range at two years of age, allowing four to 100 cows. At four years old these were sold to some of the large ranchers in the west, and there was no trouble whatever in disposing of them. Indeed there was recorded a very active in- quiry. It is the judgment of Mr. Tod that there are few cattle handled and fed in the rough capable of making as fine-finished, high-class, high-priced beef at one or two years old as well as Herefords.

As proof of the excellence that can be attained by the use of pedigree Hereford bulls with ordinary range cows Fowler & Tod showed at the Interna- tional Live Stock Exposition, Chicago,in 1905, a car- load of calves, a carload of yearlings, a carload of two-year-olds and a carload of three-year-olds. These four carloads of cattle took three first pre- miums and one second in their respective classes. They were also the champion Herefords, and the three-year-olds were the champion three-year-olds over all breeds. These cattle were all from the same range, and this record was duplicated exactly when four carloads from the same herd were shown at Chicago in 1909.

Some years later the same firm showed a carload

782 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of fat cattle and a carload of feeder cattle from the same herd at the Kansas City Royal Show, and both of these were grand champions in their respective divisions. Inasmuch as these cattle were handled on the range until they were put on feed in Kansas the results demonstrate conclusively what can be done by the careful selection of Hereford bulls to place on good range cows.

The Swensons.—Few brands of Texas cattle are better known or in higher repute than the SMS. The Swenson Bros., of New York City, owners of an enormous property in Jones and five other coun- ties, at one time ran 55,000 head of cattle. That was when they owned the Spur cattle as well as the SMS herd. They have been selling largely of their lands in recent years, but still manage 400,000 acres —250,000 acres of their own and a lease of the 150,- 000 acres of the Spur property, all under wire fence. At this writing they are probably running about 22,000 cattle exclusive of calves, of which they had in 1913 about 10,000 head.

The first registered Hereford bulls taken to the Swenson Ranch were bought from Fowler & Van- Natta in 1884, and they were bred upon a small herd of cross-bred Hereford and Shorthorn heifers, and the bulls from that herd were in turn bred on the SMS main herd which was made up of native, but well selected, Texas cattle. The first Hereford bulls used on the Spur range were introduced the same year by manager C. L. Goff from O. H. Nelson’s.

Speaking of the foundation of the SMS cattle

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 783

manager Frank 8. Hastings says that the early heifers in the herd were carefully selected native cattle, and these were crossed with bulls from an unregistered herd that had been bred up from cross- bred Shorthorn-Hereford heifers mated with regis- tered Fowler & VanNatta bulls. This unregistered herd was probably a little stronger in Shorthorn than Hereford blood originally, but it has been persistent- ly crossed with registered Hereford bulls and now consists of about 1,400 cows which will show an un- dercurrent of only about 5 per cent Shorthorn. This is distinctly a ‘‘white face’’ herd, and probably no herd in the west carries a wider range of Hereford blood. It has had the service of more than fifty head of imported registered Hereford bulls, it has drawn from the Fowler & VanNatta herd, it has had several drafts from the Armour herd and several shipments from the Gudgell & Simpson, the Dr. James A. Lo- gan and other good herds. In recent years it has had drafts from some of the best Texas herds, added to which there has been a ‘‘throw-in’’ each year from a registered herd of the ranch. These registered bulls after a service of two years are thrown into the main herd and scattered over the various ranches.

With this unregistered herd as a bull basis the native type in the main herd soon disappeared, and when Mr. Hastings took charge in 1902 it was dis- tinctly a high-grade Hereford herd, but with some weeds in it. A pruning process has continued al- most to the point of extravagance ever since, until

7.

FRANK 8S. HASTINGS.

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 785

today out of 16,000 breeding cows the nearest ap- proach to an off-color is something spotted showing the result of the Shorthorn-Hereford cross. Fig- ured out in the way of fractions the commercial herd which for ten years has been sending all of its progeny to cornbelt feedlots,with good records both there and in the showrings will show within a frac- tion of 99 99/100 per cent purebred Hereford.

A strong bull tally is a part of the Swenson pol- icy, one aged bull to sixteen cows, and in addition to that all the bulls whether of their own raising or purchased are turned out in their yearling period, though not counted in the breeding complement. Naturally they sire a few calves, but in the main the benefit of turning them out is to acquaint them. thoroughly with the range and to get them accli- mated and so give them a usefulness that cannot be obtained in any other way.

Yearling heifers are not bred at all. The entire yearling crop is pruned 10 per cent every season and that cut is sent to the block. The Swensons con- sider that this early pruning before maturity with a careful subsequent culling as development may suggest, leaves a uniformity of type which could not be obtained by waiting until the cows had served their period of usefulness before pruning. The av- erage winter loss on the ranch, or the average loss from all causes for twelve months, is about 5 per cent.

The Swensons bought the entire Spur property, but never mixed the Spur herd with the SMS and

786 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

later sold the entire Spur head to W. J. Lewis. Asked for a summary of his reasons for preferring Hereford blood for range purposes Mr. Hastings says:

‘‘The Hereford has been the redeemer of the range on account of his hustling ability, capacity for taking care of himself under adverse circum- poe and general adaptability to large pasture work.

The largest investment for improvements on the SMS property has been for water, over $100,000, but the greatest expense item has been for the ex- termination of prairie dogs, the sum of $50,000 hav- ing been successfully expended to rid the big pas- tures of ‘‘dogs.”’

Calves for the Cornbelt.—Beginning about 1904 the Swensons began selling their youngsters to cornbelt feeders, and many a great load of ‘‘white faces’’ bearing their brand has graced the pens of leading shows and markets. In 1912 they deliv- ered 5,000 head to the cornbelt, and not a single buyer was present to receive his cattle. ‘‘With the exception of one man who wrote that he thought the calves a little young,’’ says Mr. Hastings, ‘‘we had a clean sweep of voluntary letters expressing abso- lute satisfaction with the cattle. In fact, our busi- ness is up to a place now where we cannot half sup- ply the demand for the cattle, and we grade them just as one would grade sacks of granulated sugar, that is, our standard has been established and we are able to sell them by correspondence with uni- versal satisfaction.’

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 787

Richards & Comstock.—This firm, at one time very prominent in Nebraska, running as high as 70,000 cattle, bought its first Hereford bulls in 1882, a por- tion of them coming from T. L. Miller. The cow herd at that time consisted of native Montanas. Richards & Comstock were pleased with the Here- ford cross, and used for the most part Hereford bulls ever after. It was their opinion that continued cross- ing from Hereford bulls would not tend to increase the weight, but was apt to decrease it. They admired the Herefords, however, as ‘‘hardy, producing good colors and giving’ the best cross for market pur- poses.’’

Richards & Comstock testified that their outlet va- ried, according to grass and market eonditions. Some years ago they only produced feeders, while again they had good beef. For their feeders they found a market: in Omaha, for good beef they favored Chi- cago. They secured their bulls from various breed- ers in Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and Illinois, paying for them at different times from $75 to $200 per head. They never attempted to raise the bulls required for the herd. They preferred two-year-olds and allowed twenty to twenty-five cows per bull. In selecting Hereford bulls for breeding on the ranch they always aimed to select those that were inclined to be a little coarse and rough, rather than those that were fine in the bone. Their experience was that they had to constantly be on their guard lest they get their cattle ““too fine.’’

Big Horn Land and Cattle Co.—This company, controlling property valued at approximately $750,-

788 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

000, has 18,000 acres of patented land, all under fence. Manager William Marr had his earliest ex- perience with Hereford cattle in North Park, Lari- mer Co., Colo., beginning in 1880, and in a letter written to the author several years ago testified as follows:

‘‘T have used several hundred Hereford bulls and have at present between thirty and forty, the bal- -ance being Shorthorns. I think the Hereford a good cross on big strong rough cows, but no better than a Shorthorn, in fact, I do not think as good on a well bred smooth bunch of cows. It is my experience that Hereford bulls have made their greatest suc- cess on the range and elsewhere when the cow herds had been previously more or less improved by the use of Shorthorn blood. The best cross on the Texas cow was the Shorthorn, afterwards the Here- ford; the latter seemed to smooth them up and give them a uniform color. It has been my experience that with continuous use of Hereford bulls my cat- tle got to weigh less, and for the past six or seven years I have beén using as many Shorthorn bulls as Herefords, and am getting more size and weight.

‘“‘In my neighborhood the Hereford has been pushed more than the Shorthorn by the owners of purebred herds. There were no purebred Short- horn herds, and the Hereford did well on the coarse western cows. They are good rustlers, and on cows with no particular breeding they would get a calf with a white face. My idea of an animal for the range is a cross between the Shorthorn and Here- ford, and if I was starting a herd again I would get Shorthorn cows and Hereford bulls.’’

The Sparks Herd.—The large and _ first-class

Alamo herd maintained for so many years by the

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 789

late Governor John Sparks of Reno, Nev., probably supplied more good Hereford bulls to the ranchmen of California. than any other one herd. Offshoots from the Alamo were numerous, one of them being the herd of Whitaker & Ray, of Gault, and another the Jacks herd at Salinas. Joseph Marsden of Love- locks, Nev., maintained a Hereford herd for many years, and upon his retiring from business this was taken over by a company at Newman, Cal., the herd being successfully maintained at a high standard. .

From the Sparks herd also was obtained the foundation Herefords for the Fred H. Bixby cattle, running in southern California and Arizona. Mr. Bixby has used both the Hereford and the Short- horn blood, and believes that a cross of those bloods constitutes the ideal animal. He is partial to the Hereford, however, and gives four reasons for his preference :

‘“First, the Hereford is the first to fatten; second, the Hereford is a better rustler; third, the Hereford can stand more hardship; fourth, the Hereford as a rule has a better loin.’’

Continental Land and Cattle Co.—Col. William E. Hughes of Denver, chief owner of the ‘‘Mill Iron’’ cattle, one of the important Texas herds, had his first experience with Herefords about 1895 in Collingsworth Co., Tex., and has used the blood ever since. Some years ago he purchased 500 un- registered Hereford heifers from the Adair herd in the Panhandle of Texas, bred up from the well known Palo Duro foundation of Shorthorn cows mated to Hereford bulls. The Continental company has continued to breed these cattle and their off-

790 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

spring to registered Hereford bulls bought in Mis- souri, lowa and Kansas.

During the same time and in the same country the company has bred an equal number of the same class of cows to registered Shorthorn bulls. Col. Hughes gives it as his experience that there is no great difference in the progeny, but ‘‘if there is a difference, it is in favor of the Hereford.’’ In 1906 he exhibited both kinds of cattle at the International show, winning first prizes on both in their classes. ‘‘These yearlings,’’ he says, ‘‘ had an equal chance in feed, range and breed.’’ The Shorthorns aver- aged 1,150 pounds and the Herefords 1,077 pounds, the former bringing $8.35 and the latter $9.75 per ewt. on the December, 1906, market.

While Col. Hughes inclines to the opinion that the Hereford bull is the best ranger and rustler he ’ says that ‘‘it is generally understood that Hereford bulls have made their greatest success on the range when the cow herds had previously more or less Shorthorn blood in them. This is my experience.’’ He also adds: ‘‘I think, however, if the Hereford breeding is kept up for any great length of time there is a loss in weight and size. The Herefords are inclined to get too peaked and light behind. This is obviated by occasional crossing back to the Shorthorn, getting a square rump. The Herefords are generally preferred in the range country be- cause they are less sluggish than the Shorthorns and are better rustlers and rangers.’’

The Marcus Daly Outfit—Manager P. J. Shan-

Copyright photo by Stimson SHERIDAN CO., WYOMING.

THE MONCRIEFFE RANCH.

Photo by Stimson SHERIDAN CO., WYOMING.

.

792 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

non of this Montana property has been using Here- ford bulls for the past ten years on the range cows, and considers them the very best available for that purpose. He is of the opinion that the Hereford bulls have made their greatest success on the range when the cow herds had previously been more or less improved by the use of Shorthorn blood, and agrees with the view that ‘‘continued use of the Hereford tends to loss of size, particularly in the hindquarters of the animal.’’ To counteract this he intended to change to Shorthorn bulls in the sea- son of 1913 and use them for a few years, then re- turning to the Hereford. He adds:

‘Our main reason for preferring the Herefords is that they are the best rustlers and will make a living and breed well in a poor. rough mountain range such as we have here.’’ ;

The Bell Ranch.—Mr. (. M. O’Donel, manager of the Bell Ranch owned by the Red River Valley Co., in San Miguel Co., N. M., had his first experience with the Herefords in the Texas Panhandle shortly after Goodnight started at Palo Duro. He is an- other one of those who while admiring the hardiness of the Hereford still has a warm spot in ‘his heart for the Shorthorn. In response to a letter of in- quiry from the author, Mr. O’Donel writes:

‘While I have never bred purebred Herefords I have used and seen them used on range cows exten- sively for the last twenty-five years. For the past nine years I have had from 300 to 500 white-faced ‘bulls at a time on this range. Comparing the Here- ford with the Shorthorn bull for range purposes, its advantages are: (1) undoubtedly. superior thrift

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 793

under adverse conditions, which I attribute as much to his placid and equable temperament as to his compact and easily nourished frame; (2) his gen- erally superior coat; (3) his popularity with steer buyers, though this is less marked in recent years. His disadvantages are: (1) a want of scale; (2) less breeding activity when young (this latter’ is, I be- lieve, not generally acknowledged, but I am con- vinced of its correctness, although it is partly com- pensated for by the superjor condition that the Hereford maintains in consequence of that fact) ; (3) a weight of horn and lightness and angularity of hindquarter which is not well calculated to re- move these same defects from the native cattle of the southwest.

“‘The popularity of the Hereford on the range is due undoubtedly to his conspicuous, uniform and attractive coloring which proclaims the blood even to the most inexperienced. At the time of the first introduction there was excessive mortality among the Shorthorn bulls, dnd while the Hereford is gen- erally regarded as having saved the situation, his breed sometimes receives the credit for survival which was really due to more judicious stocking of the ranges. I do not know of any range herd in the front rank as regards -quality that has been pro- duced by the use of Hereford bulls alone on the na- tive scrub cow. I am convinced that there is a tendency where one Hereford cross is followed -by another for a long period towards some loss in size and weight. This might perhaps be avoided by the careful selection of Herefords of large frame. The obvious remedy for this is the use of a Shorthorn cross. The exclusive use of Shorthorns has its drawbacks also. Nevertheless, I am free to confess that I do not believe that Herefords can ever be dis- pensed with on the range.’’

794 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

This frank statement from a man who is very partial to Shorthorn blood perhaps carries quite as much weight as some of the more enthusiastic praises bestowed upon the Herefords by their spe- cial advocates.

Governor McDonald’s Evidence-—Hon. W. OC. McDonald, at this writing Governor of the state of New Mexico, in his capacity as manager of twe ranches and live stock éompanies, adds his expression of appreciation of the Herefords as being the best ‘‘doers’’ on short range. He manages properties aggregating perhaps 1,000,000 acres—mostly roll- ing land along the foot of the mountains, where the grass is principally grama. The ranges are now well equipped with windmills and gas. engines, al- though not much of the land is as yet fenced. The cow herds were originally grade Shorthorns, and the first Hereford bulls came from the Richards stock at Watrous, N. M. Since these bulls have been used the Governor states that the cattle have increased in weight. A few Shorthorns have usually been kept, however, along with .the ‘‘white faces.’’ In more recent years the bulls have been bought in Kansas, Missouri and Texas.

George W. Baker.—Another New Mexico ranch- man, Mr. George W. Baker, of Folsom, who is now running about 600 cows and has had at various times as many as 1,500, operates a 10,000-acre ranch under fence with plenty of water and good corrals. Most of the land is rough and broken, carrying wild grass, mostly grama. He puts up

Copyright photo by Erwin E. Smith “ON THH TRAIL THAT LED NOT BACKWARD.”

Copyright photo by McClure 4 PRIZE-WINNING BUNCH OF HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE.

796 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

300 tons of alfalfa annually. His first Herefords came from C. A. Stannard, who bought the Sunny Slope herd, originally made famous by the late Charles S. Cross, and began breeding them to cows that were grade Herefords with a Shorthorn cross. He has used Herefords continuously since, and states that his cattle have increased in weight. He believes the Hereford to be the hardiest and most prolific sire, and that his use results in more uni- form cattle. All of Mr. Baker’s bulls are bought from other herds. After relating his experience, which has been favorable to the Hereford, Mr. Baker states:

‘‘Breeding cattle on the range is a thing of the past in this country. There are a few steers still on the range, and some cattlemen turn their herds out in the summer, but they are closely herded, and range conditions as generally understood do not exist here.’’

The H. G. Adams XI Ranches.—In Meade and Seward counties in Kansas, and in Beaver Co., Okla., Adams & Robert own about 36,000 acres of deeded land and have some 30,000 acres additional under lease. The property is well improved, is wa- tered from windmills and ponds and is situated about 18 miles from the Cimarron River. The land and cattle represent holdings said to be worth at this time around $500,000. In addition to this Mr. Adams has a 7,000-acre place of his own at Maple Hill, Kans., where he handles and feeds steers ex- clusively.

Adams & Robert began with unregistered Here-

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 797

ford cows and bought their first pedigree bulls from Gudgell & Simpson, using since only purebred bulls selected from that herd and from Armour’s and Hazlett’s. They have, therefore, a lot of the Anxiety blood. Their experience coincides with others who testify to the superior hardiness and general adapta- bility of the Hereford for range uses. They do not breed from bulls of their own production, prefer- ring to keep up fresh infusions from good sources. They graze their young bulls through the summer months, and in the winter give them ground kafir corn, cottonseed meal or cake, and hay. Their young cattle are largely sold to feeders in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.

John Z. Means.—Something like 250 sections of land in Jeff Davis and Culberson counties on the west side of the Davis Mountains and 350 sections north of Pecos City and lying on both sides of the Pecos River, well equipped for the cattle business, are controlled by Mr. Means. The entire property is valued somewhere around $1,000,000. Replying to queries submitted some time since, Mr. Means wrote the author as follows:

“‘T own about 15,000 cattle and prefer the Here- fords because they are good, thrifty cattle of the type best adapted to this dry country. We have not had anything to discourage us in breeding to Hereford bulls, and the more we see of them the better we like them. While we have never bred any registered bulls, we bought twenty-nine at one time from Gov. John Sparks, and additional ones at different times from northern herds. The first ‘white faces’ used were from a Mr. Adams of Moffit, Colo., the lot con-

798 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

sisting of two registered and thirty or more grade bulls. The herd upon which our first Herefords were crossed was obtained from R. K. Miley of this state. While I have used some Shorthorn bulls I have preferred the Herefords ever since we began using them.”’

Ike Pryor Prefers Herefords.—One of the best known Texas cattle-growers is Hon. Ike T. Pryor of San Antonio. He bought his first Hereford bulls in 1880 from Towers & Gudgell, and placed them on his ranch in Colorado. Thereafter he followed up this purchase each year with other registered Herefords, principally from Missouri and Kansas, until 1885. Between 1880 and 1884 Pryor Bros. bought large herds of grade Herefords in Colorado, as well as several lots of Shorthorns, and turned them on the open range in the southern part of that state. As already set forth in these pages the hard winter of 1884-85 gave the different breeds of cat- tle on the open range a thorough test of ability to withstand the hardships incident to open range con- ditions. Referring to this experience Mr. Pryor says:

“At least 75 per cent of our high-bred Short- horn cattle died in that disastrous winter, while not over 20 per cent of the Herefords died—all running on the same range. This convinced me that the

Hereford was the best animal a stockman could use for range purposes.

“‘T am the owner today of a large herd of Here- ford cows on the Membres River in Grant Co., N. M. This is a mountainous range and I am using on this ranch exclusively registered Hereford bulls, because of the fact that bulls from this breed of

Copyright photo by McClure BEEF STEERS IN THE ROUND-UP.

NOON-TIDE AT THE WATER HOLE.

800. A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

cattle will follow the cows to the top of high moun- tains, while Shorthorn bulls will remain near the water where feed is usually poor and of course give less service than the Herefords that go out in the mountains with the cattle. I would not think of changing the Herefords for any other breed of cat- tle. So much for the Hereford as a range animal.

‘‘My observation of this breed of cattle is that you can make them into'good beef at any age from six months to a four-year-old. There is no animal superior to the Hereford for making baby beef; in fact, as I said before, it is possible to put him in prime condition at any age up to the time he is fully grown, and this is a strong point in favor of the Hereford, because an animal out of which one can create baby beef at from a year to eighteen months old is the popular type. The farmer can make choice baby beef of a Hereford at from twelve to eighteen months, thereby saving from one to two years’ time, whereas the more you feed a Shorthorn the more he grows, and does not seem to take on fat in proportion to the Hereford of the same age. I can, however, cite instances where one cross of a Shorthorn on a Hereford herd has increased their size for range purposes and probably did not de- crease their vitality.’’

George H. Webster, Jr—The Uracca Ranch, near Cimarron, N. M., is a property of some 80,000 acres of semi-mountainous land divided into summer ranges with an average altitude of 7,000 to 9,000 feet and winter ranges averaging 6,000 feet above sea level. It is mostly in blue grama grass. Steers only are run on this ranch at the present time.

Mr. Webster prefers the Herefords because of their superior constitutions and rustling power,

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 801

but inclines to the opinion that western range cat- tle generally are ‘‘inclined to grow lighter where Hereford bulls are used exclusively.’’

James A. Lockhart.—Another admirer of the Hereford for the west is J. A. Lockhart of Colo- rado, who used the Herefords first in New Mexico from 1888 to 1892 and in Colorado since 1892. He considers the Hereford the best bull to use on the open range in an arid country where drouth and © short grass prevail, as in New Mexico and parts of Colorado. Mr. Lockhart’s firm had 15,000 stock cattle at one time in New Mexico. Only Texas and New Mexico native cow herds were maintained, earrying but little Shorthorn blood.

Mr. Lockhart says that range cattle crossed re- peatedly with Hereford bulls ‘‘gradually grow smaller and with less vigorous constitutions, the remedy being to cross with large-boned Shorthorn bulls or other good cattle.’’ Like most of his brother ranchmen, however, he expresses a decided pref- erence for the Herefords, ‘‘because they are better rustlers and stand grief (short grass, scarcity of water and long distance traveling to obtain the same) better than the Shorthorns.’’

The C. B. Company.—Mr. Julian M. Bassett, man- ager of the C. B. Live Stock Co., operating in Crosby Co., Tex., states that his people began using Hereford bulls about 1900, their first purebreds be- ing obtained from K. B. Armour. The cows at that time were mixed Hereford and Shorthorn, and bulls of both breeds have been used since. Mr. Bassett

802 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

states that the average weight of the cattle is about 100 pounds more at four years old now than was the case twelve years ago. The company closed out its cow herd last year, but in the light of the experience of the management it is believed that if good Here- ford bulls are bought, and close breeding avoided, the cattle will not deteriorate in size. Mr. Bassett corroborates the testimony of others that Hereford bulls are better rustlers and easier kept.

‘‘Look for Bone, All You Can Get.’’—Such is the laconic and eminently sound advice of James Cal- lan of Menard Co., Tex., in the selection of Here- fords for use on the range. In giving us his experi- ence he employs the language quoted in the course of an admonition as follows:

‘*Avoid cheap bulls. Disregard showring de- cisions. Look for bone, all you can get, and then it wi pe fine enough in the offspring raised under range conditions.’’

The Callan company has a property valued (in- cluding cattle) at around $750,000. The two ranches comprise 60,000 acres of live-oak country, and the remainder is open. The company runs a main herd of 3,000 head and bought its first registered Here- ford bulls in 1895. These were largely of Tom Clark breeding. The Callan she stock at that date carried both Hereford and Shorthorn blood, the lat- ter predominating. White-faced bulls have been used ever since and the Shorthorns have been ‘‘cleaned up’’ entirely, the result being ‘‘more uni-° formity of type and color and thriftier animals.’’

Mr. Callan reports weights as 20 per cent heavier

FROM THE SAND HILLS—A PRIZE LOAD WAS DRAWN FROM THIS BUNCH.

MOUNTAIN LAKE AT TOP OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE—A. E. DE RICQLES AT “THE PARTING OF THE WATERS.”

804 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

now than with the old-time natives, but ‘‘not heav- ier than the Shorthorn cross.’’ In his experience the Herefords are ‘‘far the hardiest on the range.’’

Wallis Huidekoper.—Another large operator on the northern range is Mr. Wallis Huidekoper, whose North Dakota and Montana experiences lead him to place a high estimate upon the Hereford. Mr. Huidekoper is running about $100,000 worth of cat- tle on a $350,000 range in Sweetwater Co., Mont., which comprises some 30,000 acres under fence, well irrigated and with modern equipment. His grazing is a good quality of buffalo grass on the hills and flats. Wild hay and alfalfa are put up for winter feeding.

Mr. Huidekoper bought his first Hereford bulls in 1900, his cow herd at that time consisting of half- blood range-bred Shorthorns. He placed four suc- cessive crosses of Hereford bulls upon this founda- tion, and says that the first cross produced the best beef and the heaviest. Each succeeding cross re- sulted in a neater type with less size. Mr. Huide- koper has also used Galloway bulls upon Shorthorn cows with good satisfaction, and uses Shorthorn bulls on Shorthorn cows to keep up a supply of that blood. He nevertheless joins with a large majority of all leading western cattle-growers in regarding the Hereford’s as the most valuable of all blood ele- ments for range purposes. He says: ‘‘They have the heart, they are great rustlers and they hold their flesh well in adversity. If you will watch a large bunch of mixed cattle leave the brush after a winter storm you will see the ‘white faces’ in the lead.’

TYPICAL WESTERN CATTLE RANGE AND PARTIAL VIEW or “ROUND-UP.”

806 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Making Good in Old Mexico.—E. K. Warren & Son, proprietors of the U— brand, own land and cat- tle roughly valued at around $2,750,000, including three ranches covering approximately 900,000 acres of land and carrying on an average 25,000 head of cattle. Their Ojitos Ranch, which is situated in northern Chihuahua in Old Mexico, was formerly owned by Lord Delaval Beresford, a brother of the English Admiral, Lord Charles Beresford, and is a noted property, all under fence with fine improve- ments, good springs and windmills. The Messrs. Warren bought it in 1909. They also own the Pala- tada Ranch which joins the Ojitos, and it is also well equipped.

At the time of the purchase of the Ojitos the War- rens sent down 250 Hereford bulls and 350 head of purebred cows from their ranch at Bovina, Tex. They crossed the bulls upon cows purchased in Mex- ico with gratifying results, as is evidenced by the fact that for three years past they have sold their two-year-old steers at Amarillo at $44 per head, and their three-year-olds at $62.50, the latter being shipped from their Mule Shoe Ranch at Bovina. This bunch of cattle went to the sugar beet mills in Colorado in the fall of 1913 at $62.50 for the threes, which was near the top price for plains cattle at that date. They are said to make a wonderful growth when taken on the plains as yearlings. The Warrens ship all their steers and 75 per cent of their yearling heifers to the plains each year, keep- ing the other 25 per cent on the Ojitos Ranch for

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 807

breeding. The three-year-old heifers which they had spayed brought $50 per head at Bovina in the autumn of 1913, and the two-year-olds $40 per head.

The Warren firm owns also the 250,000-acre Alamo Hueco Ranch in New Mexico, which joins the International line and lies exactly 16 miles north of the north line of fence of the Ojitos in Old Mexico. They first began operations at Bovina in 1902, with the purchase of 40,000 acres of land, and later on added 45,000 acres more. This is what is known as the Mule Shoe Ranch. This land was used for grazing purposes only until last year, when the townsite of Muleshoe and 83,000 acres of land were sold.

Manager C. K. Warren says:

‘“We commenced the purchase of Hereford bulls the first year we went into the business. In our ex- perience this is the only breed of cattle for ranch purposes, especially when cattle are handled in large herds, as they are the best rustlers, have thicker hides, carry the most uniform flesh, stand cold better, produce a larger percentage of calf crop and it takes less feed to carry them than with other cattle. Still we have been putting in every other year a few Shorthorns with good results. They have a little more bone and the cows give more milk for the calves.

‘We have now a herd of purebred Herefords in Michigan from which we are raising and shipping our registered bulls to a purebred herd, not regis- tered, in Mexico. Our purebred herd in Mexico numbers about 800 and from this we are raising bulls that are used for breeding purposes both in Mexico and New Mexico. We have gone out of the

808 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

breeding proposition on the plains at Bovina, and are simply handling our yearlings from that point. We take the bulls away from the herd Nov. 1 each year, and put them back June 15. On good pasture all will winter strong and fat without grain. We brand approximately 5,000 head of calves each year.’’

Scale Retained Through Selection.—Just as the interests of the Shorthorn cattle, as bred in the older states, have frequently been sacrificed through excess of zeal on the part of their advocates, so the widespread popularity of the Hereford in the west has not been without its unfavorable effect in cer- tain cases upon the character of the ‘‘white faces’’ produced under range conditions. So eager were herd managers to establish thoroughly the type that had proved so useful in their business that lack of care in selection of. bulls led not infrequently to de- terioration in size. The best registered bulls were, except during certain years of depression, compara- tively high in price. Furthermore, some rangemen while keen judges of values of cattle en bloc were not formerly expert in the matter of what éonsti- tuted the cardinal points to be sought in an indi- vidual purebred animal. In too many cases the red coat and the white face seemed to be about the only qualifications required. Bone, size, constitution and correct conformation were not always appreciated or demanded. To this rule, however, there were of course many exceptions, but the owners of regis- tered herds in the older states usually outbid range- men for the best individual cattle. As has always

810 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

been the case with Shorthorns, the refuse of the pedigree Herefords, not to mention large numbers of grades, went to the range along with a certain percentage of good ones. Then came the often care- less piling of Hereford upon Hereford, with more or less disregard of individual excellence, within the same pastures and with few infusions of fresh blood. At this time, however, there is a very general appreciation of the fact that by care in the selection of big type bulls resort to other blood may be avoided.

In-Breeding from Poor Material Fatal.—In-and- in-breeding, or close breeding, is the greatest po- tential power for good in the whole realm of animal breeding, but it is attended by good results only where the animals closely mated are of a robust and desirable individual character. The doubling of the blood of inferior or weak specimens of any breed is the shortest of all cuts to absolute ruin. It is apt to intensify faults even faster than it fixes good qualities. Happily, some ranchmen have been wise enough to diagnose this situation and avoid the pit- falls into which certain of their contemporaries fell. Such criticism as has been passed upon some of the range-bred Herefords as lacking in size and quality can in almost every case be traced not to any inher- ent defect in the breed, but to the application of un- scientific methods in the handling of the blood.

In some cases where loss of size resulted resort has been had to a cross back to the Shorthorn. Therefore, the latter breed has in recent years been

PROOF PILED ON PROOF 811

regaining some of the ground it was forced to yield during the days of the overcrowding of the ranges and the appalling losses following severe winters. A good Shorthorn cross undoubtedly tends to re- store bone, scale and stretch to herds that have lost in weight, but it is a somewhat costly remedy and many owners of big herds of ‘‘white faces’’ hesi- tate about incurring the expense and taking the chance of disturbing an established course. These men are finding that by the exercise of care and judgment, more particularly in the matter of bone and scale, they can maintain a high standard of merit through the use of good Hereford bulls of the right stamp without admixture of other blood.

The Open Range Gone.—The open range is now virtually a thing of the past. The fencing of the land and the water has put the big outfits out of business save in cases where they absolutely con- trol large and well watered tracts by purchase or lease. The dry-farmers and the home-seekers have ushered in another era in the evolution of the west, and other types of cattle will now undoubtedly be- come more numerous in that region than they have been in its recent past. At the same time there can be little danger of the Hereford ever losing popu- larity in any land where the conversion of grass into beef is an important business.

GHAPTER XxX. THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE.

The latter day records of the Hereford in the central west may fairly be dated from the great Hereford association show and sale held at the Kan- sas City Stock Yards late in the autumn of 1899, as referred to at the conclusion of a previous chapter. The members of the executive committee of the association at that time were Charles Gudgell, Thomas Clark and H. H. Clough. A special ad- visory committee as to the details of the proposed show consisted of F. A. Nave, John Sparks and James A. Funkhouser. A big sale was also planned, and Tom Smith, C. A. Stannard and T. F. B. Sotham were named as a committee to handle it. The whole affair was a monumental success, no less than 541 animals being listed in the official catalog. The prizelist was so extensive and was supplemented by so many special prizes that it is impossible to make detailed mention of the scores of beautifully fitted prize-winners. Hereford quality and enthusiasm was here at top notch.

Twenty-five years of American breeding had brought the average merit of the show cattle up to the best standards set by the English-bred winners

of the earlier western fairs. Refinement of head 812

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 813

and horn and improved hindquarters and thighs were everywhere in evidence. The west was Here- ford-mad, and Kansas City was the ‘‘white-face’’ capital. The whole countryside in that territory was wild over the wide-backed, rich-fleshed, furry- haired, low-legged, American-bred Herefords which here presented an amazing collection of well-nigh perfect specimens of the breeder’s and feeder’s art.

Dale and Armour Rose.—Mr. K. B. Armour of the Armour Packing Co., a leading Kansas City business man now keenly interested in purebred Herefords, gave a $400 challenge cup for the best bull of any age on exhibition. This was captured by Mr. Frank Nave, Attica, Ind., with Dale 66481. Dale was bred by Clem Graves of Bunker Hill, Ind., being sired by Columbus 51875 and out of Rose Blossom, a cow bred by Thomas Smith of Beecher, IIl., from Clark’s Peerless Wilton. The second dam was the imported cow Blossom, bred by John Price and owned at one time by A. C. Reed of Chicago, who had a farm near Beecher. Blossom was by Auction- eer, a son of Horace 2d. Columbus was bred by G. W. Harness, Jr., of Galveston, Ind., and was sired by Earl of Shadeland 41st (by Garfield) out of Tom Clark’s Pet (by imp. Prince Edward 7001 of Car- wardine’s breeding). Here, then, was rich fruit from the great Earl & Stuart importation.

Dale was not a bull of as much refinement as many of the others produced in the west about this period, but his feeder, James Price, had not allowed his charge to go hungry. Dale had Garfield’s strength

clas. Powell

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 815

of constitution and stood up nobly to the test im- posed. He had put on flesh about as thickly as a compactly fashioned bovine carcass ever carries, and shared with the heifer Armour Rose the adora- tion of the Hereford-worshipping multitudes that thronged this sensational ringside during the most memorable week of American Hereford history up to that date.*

Armour Rose 75086 was a very perfect yearling heifer that had been given by Mr. Armour to the promoters of the Kansas City Coliseum or Conven- tion Hall, a large structure projected in the public interest, to be raffled off for the benefit of the build- ing fund. As the citizens were all enthusiastic over the project, thousands of tickets were disposed of

*The occasional references made in_these pages to various herdsmen prominently identified with Hereford breeding in the west should include some mention of another man whom the author has always held in high esteem.

George Waters, one of the best of the old-time herdsmen, has had a long and successful experience. He was borr on Jan. 4, 1850, at Barton-in-Fabis near Nottingham, England, in the vale of the River Trent. This valley is noted for rich pastures that have not known the plow for many generations. Shorthorn cat- tle and Leicester sheep and their grades, and wonderful droves of fat bullocks and fat sheep have roamed those pastures. Waters’ father was a butcher, and when George was ten years of age rented a farm, carrying on the butchering trade as well.

On Feb. 3, 1870, George left Liverpool for America on the S. S. Nestorian of the Allan Line, landing at Portland, Me., and pro- ceeding direct to Montreal. Here he made a stay of one day and night, taking while there a sleigh ride out to the Victoria Bridge and crossing the St. Lawrence River where men were taking out ice 3 feet in thickness. Some change that, thought the young man, from the green pastures of the Midland counties of old Eng- land! Leaving Montreal he went to Guelph. He walked out to the F. W. Stone farm, Moreton Lodge. Henry Arkell, a native of Glousterskire, England, was then foreman and manager. George applied for work, and Arkell hired him for one month. When part of the month had passed he was engaged for the year. He worked here nearly four years. Waters has lait ig regarded Arkell as the best manager he ever met in charge of a pedigree stock-breeding farm.

From Stone's, George Waters went to Buffalo, N. Y., for one season, but in the spring of 1875 returned to Canada to handle John R. Craig’s Shorthorns at Burnhamthrope, near Toronto. In the fall of that year Craig made a public sale of Bates cattle in Toronto the day following a notable Shorthorn convention, and Waters led into the ring 38 head of cows, heifers, bulls and calves

DON CARLOS 88784, AS DRAWN BY BURK.

LAMPLIGHTER 51834, AS DRAWN BY BURK.

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 817

and the heifer was drawn by a lady resident from whom Mr. Armour brought her back for $1,000. She later went through the sale to Gov. Sparks at $2,500, as we have already mentioned. She was got by Beau Brummel Jr. 65073, of Gudgell & Simpson breeding, a son of Beau Brummel 51817 out of Pe- tunia 6th by Don Juan 11069. Her dam was by Kansas Lad 36932, he by Beau Real out of Bertha by Torro. Beau Brummel Jr. was by the Don Car- los bull Beau Brummel out of a cow by Don Juan by Anxiety 4th, so that Armour Rose was another one of the many proofs now coming forward of the efficacy of the in-bred Anxiety blood of that period.

Other Notable Winners.—Dale’s chief competitors at Kansas City were VanNatta’s Christopher, Sotham’s Thickset, Scott & March’s Hesiod 29th, W.

that sold for $52,600. He then took charge of A. A. Crane’s Here- fords at Osco, Ill. Following this he was with F. P. Crane’s Herefords at Independence and Kansas City, Mo., for something like three years. He was aiso herdsman for Robert Otley, an old-time Shorthorn breeder, for a short time at Kewanee, Ill. He also fed for J. H. Spears at Tallula, Ill., at the time of his clos- ing-out sale in Dexter Park, Chicago, in the spring of 1877, going next to Minneapolis to handle Col. W. S. King’s Shorthorns at Lyndale Farm.

In 1880 Waters commenced work for T. L. Miller, Beecher, Tll, handling first his purebred flock of Cotswold sheep, but in the following May Mr. Miller decided to place his Hereford show steers and some young bulls on exhibition at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago and George was chosen to handle them. These were kept in the back part of a livery barn on Halsted St., op- posite the Transit House until Miller built his stable on Forty- first St. At the close of the Fat Stock Show the steer Conqueror was sold to “Billy” Smith of Detroit. George still thinks Con- queror was the best steer alive and dead he ever saw. Upon his return to Beecher, Mr. Miller having sold some yearling heif- ers to W. S. VanNatta, Waters made an engagement at Fowler and fed. and showed the first Herefords brought out from the Hickory Grove herd—a yearling herd, two heifer calves and the imported bull _Tregrehan.

For many years past George has been in business‘on his own account. After farming and stock-raising at Windom, Minn., for twenty years, on account of the illncss of his wife he sold out and is now located on the south shore of beautiful Lake Pulaski amongst the butternuts, oaks, hard maples, elms and basswoods. Here the grey and red squirrels play and scamper through the trees, and he lives again in memory his boyish days in the Valley of the Trent.

818 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

H. Curtice’s Beau Donald, Mrs. Whitman’s imp. Randolph, Murray Boocock’s imp. Salisbury and other celebrities. A son of Dale called Perfection, that was also destined to fame, won the senior bull calf prize.

Christopher drew second to Dale and was a fa- vorite with many for premier place on account of his superior breed character. He was sired by Eu- reka 58549, a bull of Culbertson’s breeding sired by Kansas Lad out of The Grove Maid 22d by Grove 3d. The dam of Christopher was Columbia, by the show bull Washington out of Miss Beau Real 3d by Beau Real. It will thus be seen that Mr. VanNatta’s great bull was rich in the blood of good Herefords and had two lines to Beau Real. The sum of $5,000 was refused for him during the week, and one of his calves, the bull Aaron, was bought at auction a few days later at $1,950. Sotham’s Thickset, for which $5,000 had been declined earlier in the season, was third. Hesiod 29th came next and Beau Donald fifth. Beau Donald was in his sixth year. He had been bought by Mr. Curtice from H. B. Watts of Fayette, Mo., and was a rare stamp of a good sire— full of character and quality. He was by Beau Brummel out of Donna by Anxiety 4th, and proved one of the greatest sires in Hereford history.

The female classes at this show were real revela- tions. From the aged cows, including Nave’s Dolly dth—first and champion—down to the junior calves the bloom and beauty of the matrons and heifers supplied ample proof that in the hands of the en-

4 ink Se ‘Sebald ceteezoam

IMP. MARCH ON 76035, FROM PALMBR’S DRAWING.

820 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

thusiastic western breeders of that day the good ma- terial that had been transferred so lavishly from English to American pastures in the preceding years had been wisely utilized. Mr. Stannard was coming strong at Sunny Slope and had second prize in cows on the big Lady Matchless 2d by the Don Carlos bull Pride of the Clan. VanNatta’s Clodia, by Cherry Boy out of Clover 4th by Parmelee’s Anxiety 4th, was third. Sotham came next with Lady Charm- ing, by Corrector out of Cherry 24th by Cedric, of which cow we wrote at the time that she possesses ‘‘beautiful character, the sweet head and clean throttle that are characteristic of the Weavergrace cattle, and that furry coat of yellow-red hair, as mel- low-looking as a ripened peach, that has come to be the trade-mark of the Correctors.’’

Tom Clark’s massive Everest, by Lars out of Jes- sie Clark 2d by Anxiety 3d, led the two-year-olds, followed by Sotham’s brown-eyed beauty Benison, Clark’s Winona, also by Lars, and Gudgell & Simpson’s great heifer Mischievous by Lamplighter. Nave’s Carnation, by the Shadeland bull Acrobat out of Erica 51st by Garfield, won in yearlings. The same exhibitor got first in senior heifer calves with Theressa by Dale.

Nave also won the grand herd prize, with Sotham second, Clark third and Gudgell & Simpson fourth. The victorious Indiana cattle again scored in the young herd competition. The produce-of-cow prize fell to Clark and the get-of- ‘bull award went to Sotham’s Correctors.

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 821

Excess Fat vs. Real Bloom.— ‘The Breeders’ Ga- zette’’ special for ‘‘herd shown in best bloom’’ was sent by the Shorthorn judges who decided the con- test to Mr. Nave’s heavily conditioned cattle with Dale at their head—an award which was commented upon at the time by the author of this volume in the following language:

‘<The prize offered by the publishers of ‘The Ga- zette’ for herds shown in the best bloom was award- ed by agreement of Messrs. Leonard and Dustin to the lots shown by Messrs. Nave, Sotham and Clark in the order named. In view of the fact that ‘The Gazette’ has persistently deprecated the awarding of prizes in breeding rings to cattle burdened with excessive fat, and as this prize was offered largely with a view towards encouraging those who do not approve of extreme obesity in these contests, it had been generally believed by those who clearly under- stood our purpose that the herd headed by Dale would be regarded as rather too rich to receive this recognition. The meat of our definition of show- yard bloom was to be found in the clause which stip- ulated that there must be ‘ample evidence of the fact that the bringing out of the beast in suitable showyard form has probably not threatened its physical well being.’ Without questioning the right of Mr. Nave’s thoroughly trained cattle to win in the regular competitions under existing standards of showyard judging, we do not believe that any expe- rienced breeder will contend that breeding cattle can be brought to such ripeness for the block with- out threatening seriously their future usefulness.

‘We have scarcely read the history of cattle- breeding correctly, however, if we accept a herd of cattle in that condition as presenting what a breeder

822 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

should regard as bloom. We respectfully refer those who hold to the contrary to the history of Warlaby. The annals of cattle-breeding afford no more striking example of the deadly effects of ex- cessive fat to breeding stock than is afforded by the decline of merit and fertility of the celebrated Booth Shorthorn herd that once dominated the showyards of all Britain. To those who have given this matter special study there could be but little question that Mr. Sotham’s Herefords were forwarded in a more practical working condition. We are aware that there is some difference of opinion, and a lot of mis- understanding as to what really constitutes bloom in the showring. There is evidently a considerable lack of information upon that subject in cattle- breeding circles. If, therefore, the offering of these prizes by ‘The Gazette’ at this show shall have served to call attention to this highly important: sub- ject, and shall direct the thoughts of breeders and exhibitors towards a study of the matter of putting a reasonable limit upon feeding for breeding shows, they will have served the purpose for which they were provided. The question of who won and who lost in this particular case is wholly swallowed up in the broader considerations involved in the main proposition.’’

More Money for Shows.—At the annual meeting of the Hereford association at Chicago on Nov. 21, 1899, Mr. Sotham presided in the absence of Presi- dent K. B. Armour and was elected President for the succeeding year. The report of the executive committee was a glowing one. The tide of prosper- ity was flowing high. The sum of $15,000 was ap- propriated to be offered as prizes for Herefords at

the shows of 1900. The Kansas City event was to

Teweeeany: yore

HESIOD 2D 40679, BRED BY GHO. W. HENRY AND USHD BY JAS. A. FUNKHOUSER—Dtawing by Palmer.

824. A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

be repeated, $2,000 was matched against a like amount to be offered by the Minnesota State Fair. management, and $5,000 was set aside for a pro- posed new show at Chicago.

The International Projected—For some years leading stockmen had hoped that a truly national, and indeed international, exhibition might be estab- lished at some central point in the middle west. There came into this field about this time a combina- tion of circumstances that resulted in a realization of this dream.

Arthur G. Leonard, a man of action, a man who deservedly had the confidence of his superior officer, John A. Spoor, was at the time General Manager of the Chicago Union Stock Yards. He had at his side as his general agent at this date William E. Skinner, a man of vision who had the confidence of American stockmen. The time, the place, the men and the money were now in conjunction. A general meeting was called at Chicago for Nov. 24, 1899, and was well attended by representatives of the various stock yard and stock-breeding interests. The International Live Stock Exposition Association was formed, and the first week of December, 1900, fixed as the date for the initial show. The committee on rules, regu- lations and classification consisted of Alvin H. San- ders, chairman; T. F. B. Sotham, representing cat- tle breeders; A. J. Lovejoy, representing swine breeders; G. Howard Davison, representing sheep breeders; R. B. Ogilvie, representing horse breed- ers, and D. O. Lively, representing fat stock owners.

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 825

Dawn of the Twentieth Century.—The year 1900 game in with the general enthusiasm unabated, albeit an element of speculation had been creeping into the trade that was causing some anxiety to those who prefer conservative growth and moderate prices to so-called ‘‘booms.’’

Out in Nebraska William Humphrey was running 1,100 head of registered Hereford cattle, the herd being under the management of Capt. E. C. Scarlett. Down at Albany, Mo., Charles G. Comstock had built up at his Grandview Farm ‘‘the largest Here- ford breeding establishment east of the Missouri River.’? Gudgell & Simpson, Funkhouser, Sotham, Cornish & Patten, K. B. Armour, Benton Gabbert & Son, Dr. Jas. E. Logan, O. Harris, H. C. Tay- lor & Son, N. Kirtley, C. B. Smith, ‘‘Hamp’’ Watts, John B. Bell, Miller & Balch, T. H. Pugh, W. J. Boney & Son and many others were vying with one another in upholding the colors of the Hereford in the state of Missouri. Mr. Armour was bringing over 100 head more from England. Kansas City was the center of activity, for it was there that the corn states and the range met most frequently in the course of the transaction of the business of transferring Herefords to the ranchmen now clamor- ing for white-faced bulls.

A Hereford-Shorthorn Alliance.—The executive committee of the Hereford association met in Chi- cago early in January, 1900, to plan the year’s show- yard campaign. The directors of the Shorthorn association were in session at the same time. The

826 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

latter had been so impressed by the big Hereford demonstration at Kansas City on the preceding Ng; vember that they decided to hold a Shorthorn show at the same place during the fall of 1900. This led to a conference with the Hereford committeemen which resulted in an agreement to hold both shows at the same time and place. This action was signifi- cant of the fact that the Shorthorn breeders not only realized the necessity for more aggressive methods in presenting the claims of their cattle for public consideration, but that they had full confidence in the ability of the Shorthorn exhibitors to show cattle of a modern type that would not suffer by close com- parison with the best Herefords. Both associations likewise agreed to get behind their respective classes at the new Chicago International.

Spring Sales.—About 200 head of cattle were put up at auction at Kansas City on March 1, 1900, and brought an average of $331.80. These were from the herds of Stannard, Sotham, VanNatta & Son and Scott & March. The feature of this series was the offering of the show bull Thickset, generally re- garded as the best Sotham had ever bred, and he fell -to the bidding of William Humphrey at $5,100. The Stanton Breeding Farm of Nebraska took another son of Corrector, Grandee, at $1,500, and Sir Come- well, another good son of the same bull, was taken by Humphrey at $1,000. Sotham’s lot of 50 head averaged $454.70. On March 20 and 21, 1900, Gud- gell & Simpson and H. H. Clough sold 99 head of cattle at Independence, Mo., fer an average of

BEAU BRUMMEL 51817, AS DRAWN BY BURK.

COLUMBUS 51875, AS DRAWN BY HILLS.

828 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

$259.15. A lot of good blood went out from this sale to the western ranges, Col. Torrey, John Scharbauer and other western men being free buyers.

On April 25 and 26 Armour, Funkhouser, Dr. Lo- gan and John Sparks sold 115 head at Kansas City at an average of $283.50. Cattle were bought here for several leading range outfits including the Adair and Whitman herds. George Tamblyn gave $1,000 for the imported cow Prudence.

Death of T. L. Miller.— Although Mr. Miller’s* ex- traordinary personal activities in behalf of the Herefords ceased around 1885, he nevertheless con- tinued to take a deep interest in their success. In his latter years he spent much of his time at De Funiak Springs, Fla., at which place he died on March 15, 1900. His remains were brought to Chi- cago for burial, and he sleeps the long sleep in the sylvan shades of Graceland. He had lived to see his faith in the white-faced cattle shared by a majority of all the cattle-owners on the western range and a tidal wave of prosperity sweeping over the Here- ford-breeding business of the cornbelt.

At a meeting of the American Hereford Associa- tion held at Chicago in December, 1901, a resolution of respect to his memory was unanimously adopted, in the course of which the following language was employed:

*In this connection it should be noted that Mr. T, E. Miller, .son of the great western promoter of the breed, was for a num- ber of years identified with his father’s cattle-breeding opera- tions at Beecher, maintaining at one time a herd of his own. He is now engaged in business in the city of Chicago, and the author hereby acknowledges his indebtedness to him for information sup- plied in connection with various transactions.

THE CREST OF ANOTHER- WAVE 829

‘We freely and unhesitatingly accord to him the’ position of originator and leader in the propaganda of the Hereford in America; and to his enterprise and courage is largely due the position the Here- fords have attained in this country.’’

Dale Sold for $7,500.—High-water mark up to that dafe in the way of prices was recorded at Chicago on April 17 and 18, 1900, when Mr. F. A. Nave sold 96 head of Herefords, including his show herd, at the record-breaking average of $671. The champion Dale was taken by his breeder, Clem Graves of Bunker Hill, Ind., at $7,500. O. Harris paid $3,000 each for the young cows Theressa and Russett, $1,000 for the heifer calf Sister Theressa, and $1,400 for the imported bull Bruce. William Humphrey got the imported bull Viscount Rupert at $3,100. Tom Clark paid $1,300 for Perfection. Graves gave $2,600 for imp. Lady Help, $2,100 for Dolly 5th, and $1,600 for Carnation. J. C. Adams, Moweaqua, IIl., took Melley May at $1,000.

The day following the conclusion of this sensa- tional event Tom C. Ponting, Moweaqua, IIl., sold 61 head at his farm for an average of $243, the young Corrector cow Blendress bringing $1,010 from Jesse Adams of Moweaqua. ,

Kansas City’s Dual Show of 1900.—The Here- ford-Shorthorn show at Kansas City under the joint management of the two organizations was a huge success. At the Hereford show of 1899 Shorthorn breeders of distinction had been called to place the prizes, but on this occasion resort was had to talent within the -anks. The committee to award the class

| Capt EC Scarlett | | Jom Smith i

| Edward el Jaylor | | ZhosMortimer |

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 831

prizes proper consisted of the veteran importer and breeder William Powell, W. A. Morgan of Kansas and W. M. Atkinson of New Mexico.

The show was even greater than that of the year before, surpassing in quality anything yet seen in the Hereford section of any American show. In fact, the English Royal has probably seen no better show cattle than the season of 1900 developed in the middle west.

In the bull classes there was a fine specimen of latter-day British breeding presented by ‘‘Tom”’ Sotham, who was a great student and close analyst of Hereford pedigrees. His able and intelligent herd manager, Edward J. Taylor,* had spent the summer

*Edward J. Taylor was born at Stansbatch, Herefordshire, in 1866. His father, John Taylor, collected and sucessfully bred a very useful herd of Herefords and one of the best flocks of Shrop- shire sheep in the country, and as chairman of the Kington Stud Co, did much to improve the class of Shire horses in that section. John Taylor had assisted in the building up of the famous herd of S. Robinson of Lynhales and he personally selected all the foundation females of the afterwards noted herd of R. Green of The Whittern. While in quest of these, and also at home, young Edward had the benefit of his father’s advice, and sound judg- ment, accompanying him to such noted sales as Chadnor Court, The Leen, Stocktonbury, etc. In 1876 the father removed from Stansbatch to Elsdon, a farm of some 400 acres adjoining Lyn- hales and owned by Mr. Robinson, where he remained until fail- ing health compelled him to relinquish business.

“Ed” came to America in 1888, accompanying a small _but select importation of heifers for Merrill & Fifield of Bay City, Mich., and remaining in charge of their herd between three and four years. He afterwards became associated with the Rock- land herd of H. H. Clough, Elyria, O. In the spring of 1893 he was commissioned by Mr. Clough to return to England and im- port a bull and two females to augment his already formidable

erd for the World's Fair at Chicago. Speaking of this event Mr. Taylor says:

“I shall never forget the beam on Mr, Clough’s countenance as he sized up Ancient Briton when I led him off the boat onto the dock in New York. He said, ‘Ed, he’s all right!’ It was a proud day for both of us when he landed as champion at the Columbian.”

After Mr. Clough’s dispersion sale Taylor went to Troy, Pa., and fitted a herd for George O. Holcomb, showing them success- fully on the eastern circuit. Mr. Goodwin, of “The Breeder’s Ga- zette,” commenting on the Hereford exhibit at the New York State Fair, said, in part: 7

“A few years ago we remarked in a report of this fair that

832 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of 1898 in his native land, and acting under instruc- tions selected and shipped out to Weavergrace the young bull Improver 94020, of Arkwright’s breed- ing, for which $1,500 was paid. He was sired by the Royal champion Red Cross, and was descended all- around from long lines of prize-winners. The bull was brought into competition at the Kansas City show with the best products of American breeding, and while much admired for his forward finish and his width and depth, he suffered somewhat by com- parison with the best American bulls when it came to a rear-end examination. Nevertheless he had met on the state fair circuit and defeated such redoubt- able champions as Dale, Christopher and Dandy Rex 71689, Gudgell & Simpson’s great son of Lamp lighter. But upon this occasion Dandy Rex won, with Improver second, Dale third and Christopher fourth.

The sensational young bull of the year was the yearling Perfection 92891, a son of Dale, bred by Frank Nave and sold to Thomas Clark, by whom he was exhibited at this Kansas City show. Benton Gabbert, who bred a lot of good Herefords, includ- ing Columbus, the sire of Dale, had second here on Columbus 17th.

Mr. George O. Holcomb needed to introduce his Herefords to corn.

He made judicious purchases at Shadeland, but they lacked the

finish afforded by feed when set before the panties e has thor-

oughly learned the lesson of showyard fitting, and his herd as

seen on this occasion was one of the best-fitted which has ever

cane under our review, and would rank well up in any compe- on. ‘

In the fall of 1894 Taylor assumed the management of the Weavergrace herd of T. F. B. Sotham. He remained at Weaver- grace until 1902 when he purchased his present farm home at pede Mich., where he still maintains a small herd of his avorites,

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 833

The cows were headed by VanNatta’s Columbine after a hard battle against such marvels as Dolly 5th, Benison, Dolly 2d, Everest, Mischievous and Lady Charming. In heiférs Gudgell & Simpson turned out a most extraordinary lot, in all of which the Anxiety blood was double-distilled. Such speci- mens as Blanche 13th, the two-year-old winner, and Modesty, a senior yearling winner, both by Beau Brummel, such heifers as Sophronisba and Dorana 3d by Lamplighter, and above all such a wonder as the junior yearling winner Mischief Maker, by Mil- itant out of Mischievous, and Cleopatra by same sire, have never been surpassed in one year by any one establishment. When to these are added the heifer calves Honora 2d, Miss Caprice, Donna Ada, Bright Duchess 32d, Silver Lining 5th and Gipsy Lady, all prize-takers in this phenomenal exhibition, little more need be said of the success attending the concentration of Anxiety blood by this firm. Mis- chievous and Mischief Maker were declared best cow-and-calf in the show. The special for best cow- and-two-calves was won by the same pair with Miss Caprice added. The special for best pair of year- ling bulls fell to the same herd on Patrolman and Donald Dhu, and the ribbon for best pair of year- ling heifers went to Mischief Maker and Modesty.

Fall Sales of 1900.—During the Minnesota State Fair in September 117 head were sold at auction for an average of $188, the 53 females averaging $208. During the Kansas City show in October 185 head were sold at an average of $320, Mr. Gab-

834 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

bert’s Columbus 17th going to Frank Rockefeller for $5,050. C. B. Smith paid $1,025 for the Ar- mour yearling heifer Saint Justina. On Nov. 9 the Elmendorf herd was closed out at Omaha, the 66 head offered commanding an average of $207. On Dee. 11 and 12 at Kansas City Messrs. Armour and Funkhouser disposed of 106 head at an average of $350, Frank Rockefeller giving $1,125 for imp. Busybody and $1,025 for Beau Real’s Maid. At Chicago while the initial International was in prog- ress 95 head sold for an average of $419, Moffatt Bros. paying $3,500 for VanNatta’s March On 13th, C. A. Jamison $3,150 for Clem Graves’ Dolly 5th and J. C. Adams $2,800 for Lady Help.

The First International—The Kansas City show, reinforced by contributions from other herds in the States and Canada, was repeated at the formal opening of the International Live Stock Exposition at Chicago the first week in December, 1900.

Dandy Rex headed the aged bulls again, with Dale, Improver and Christopher following in the order named. Dale was made senior champion, however, later in the week. C. G. Comstock’s Gentry Lars, son of Clark’s old champion Lars, headed the two-year-olds, and O. Harris of Harris, Mo., had second on Goodenough by Benjamin Wil- ton. Perfection again led the yearlings, and-Soth- Thickflesh, by Corrector, was best senior bull calf.

Columbine again beat Dolly 5th in aged cows, although the latter was subsequently made senior

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 835

female champion. Harris forged to the front in two-year-olds with the Benjamin Wilton heifer Betty 2d. This grand heifer had been first at Hamline and many thought she should have beaten Blanche 13th at Kansas City. She was certainly a popular winner at the International. Modesty held down the senior yearlings, and Mischief Maker turned the same trick among the juniors. Lady Dewdrop, from the Harris stalls, was best senior heifer calf.

Gudgell & Simpson won the grand herd prize over Dale and his harem. The Anxieties also drew the young herd trophy. Sotham’s Correctors won the get-of-sire contest.

The Big Trade of 1901.—Sotham opened the suc- cessful sale season of 1901 by selling 50 head at Kansas City on Jan. 21 at an average of $423.50. the 26 females bringing an average of $477. Clem Graves paid $1,080 for the Corrector heifer Happi- ness. On the succeeding day Mr. Humphrey sold 70 head from his Riverside herd in Nebraska at an average of $344.50, Mr. Benton Gabbert giving $1,275 for the cow Erica 78th. At a combination sale held at same place on Jan. 23 Clem Graves sold 19 head at an average of $584.20, Mr. J. C. Adams taking the cow Columbia at $1,000, and the heifers Columbia 2d and Carnation at $1,325 and $3,700 respectively. At these sales near 200 head brought an average of $380.

On Feb. 19 and 20 K. B. Armour and James A. Funkhouser sold 104 head at Kansas City at an average of $257. On Feb. 26 and 27 a combination

836 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

sale was held at Kansas City by Gudgell & Simp- son, C. A. Stannard, Scott & March and W. S. Van- Natta at which 202 head averaged $294.30, Gudgell & Simpson topping the sale with an average of $383.50 on 45 head. Mr. VanNatta bought the cow Cleopatra at $1,010 and B. E. Keyt took the bull Pretorian at $1,000. On May 21 at a combination sale at Chicago N. W. Bowen of Indiana bid off Dolly 2d and her heifer calf at $5,000, and Belle of Maplewood 3d at $1,900, both exposed by John Hooker. The average on 98 head was $343.

Among the important private transactions in the spring of 1901 was the purchase in England by Mr. Frank Nave of the four-year-old prize-winning bull Protector at $6,000 and his importation to Indiana. Protector was bred by Allen Hughes of Wintercott and was a rich-fleshed deep-bodied bull got by Al- bion (15027) out of a cow by Rudolph. Capt. ‘“Ned’’ Scarlett, in charge of the Riverside Ranch, Ashland, Neb., sold to C. A. Jamison of [linois the imported bull Diplomat and a large number of females. Diplomat met with an accident, however, and lived but one year thereafter.

During the first five months of 1901 nearly 10,000 registered Herefords changed hands at public and private sale. About 1,000 of these went into Texas alone, and some 2,000 head were taken by Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and Oklahoma.

In October 135 head from various herds sold at Kansas City for an average of $253.25, William

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 837

Humphrey paying $1,005 for Mr. Armour’s imp. Southington and C. B. Stoll of Hamburg, Ia., the same price for Beau Donald 37th. During the first week of December 96 head sold at Chicago at an av- erage of $380, J. C. Adams taking out Harris’ show cow Betty 2d at $4,500, the Stanton Farm being runner-up.

Tom Ponting Closes Out.—An important private transaction of the year 1901 was the sale of some- thing over 200 head of cattle by Tom Ponting, Mo- weaqua, Ill., to William Humphrey, Ashland, Neb., at $35,000. This practically marked the close of Mr. Ponting’s career as a breeder of pedigree ‘‘ white faces.’’ While he had never made any particular effort to force himself or his herd into the limelight, he nevertheless contribtued in a very practical way for a long series of years to the successful extension of Hereford breeding throughout the western states. Mr. Ponting was born in England in 1824, came out . to the States in 1847, and engaged in the Hereford business in 1878. He made his first importation in 1882, buying several head at the Carwardine sale. He at one time imported three head of the old gray sort from J. G. Haynes of Monmouthshire. At this writing (1914) Mr. Ponting is still living at the ripe old age of ninety years.

Death of K. B. Armour.—On June 27, 1901, Kirk- land Brooks Armour, one of the strongest support- ers the Hereford interests had in the west, passed away while yet in the prime of a busy and emi- nently useful life. His first introduction to Here-

838 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

fords was through the gift of a fine collection of purebred cows made by his uncle, the late P. D. Ar- mour of Chicago. The latter had bought a very valuable group of cows and heifers, full of Grove 3d and Lord Wilton blood, from his friend Mr. C. M. Culbertson, Newman, Ill., intending them as an attraction for a country place owned by P. D. Ar- mour, Jr. This young man showed no special fond- ness for the cattle, however, and on this account they were shipped to Kansas City to the Excelsior Farm of K. B. Armour. Here they met with ade- quate appreciation, and with the general revival of interest in cattle-breeding Mr. Armour resolved to materially enlarge and strengthen the herd. He became a heavy buyer of high-class breeding ani- mals from nearly all of the leading herds of the United States, and later on began a series of im- portations from Herefordshire, England, that cul- minated in the shipment of nearly 300 head which landed in Baltimore during the summer of 1901. In this work he had the active personal assistance of two of his most trusted employes, Mr. William Cummings.and Mr. Frank Hastings.

Kirk B. Armour’s brother, Charles W. Armour, succeeded to his Hereford interests and for a long series of years continued to maintain a large herd near Kansas City. On Dec. 10 and 11, 1901, the Armour estate and Mr. Funkhouser made a sale at Kansas City, at which 110 head averaged $338.

Important Contests of 1901.—Interest in the big shows of 1901 centered largely in the competition

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 839

for premier place among the aged bulls. Sotham’s Improver was sent forward in considerably higher condition than he showed during the previous year and made his first appearance at the Iowa State Fair, Des Moines, where he received the blue rib- bon with limited competition. The Minnesota show at Hamline was in those days one of the most im- portant events of the year in Hereford circles, and here the imported bull had to meet Gudgell & Simp- son’s Dandy Rex. Victory rested in this first en- counter with Dandy Rex, and in the class competi- tion at Kansas City later on this verdict met with the approval of William S. VanNatta and Thomas Mortimer as judges. Later in the week, however, at the same show the senior bull championship was sent to Prince Rupert 79539, a son of the now fa- mous Beau Donald, exhibited by W. H. Curtice of Kentucky. The Prince was brought forward in high condition, showed the characteristic good Anx- iety head and horn, and had a lot of scale and the extraordinary loin that has now come to be looked for in all good specimens of the Gudgell & Simp- son breeding. He had stood second to Dandy Rex in the class judging, Improver being third and the Armour entry, imp. Southington, fourth. Curiously enough when the Armour special trophy for best bull of any age came to be awarded Dandy Rex was preferred. The committee which had sent the senior championship to Prince Rupert consisted of Thomas Mortimer and William H. Giltner. The Armour trophy was awarded by Mr. Mortimer and

840 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

William VanNatta, the former returning to his first love after having forsaken him an hour before for Prince Rupert.

At the Chicago International a few weeks later Improver was first and Dandy Rex second, the im- ported bull Protector and Prince Rupert being turned down to fourth and fifth places respectively. This judging was done by Mr. T. J. Wornall, at that time a leading Missouri Shorthorn breeder, and William Cummings of the Armour management. The first-prize two-year-old at the International was Clark’s Perfection. He had not been shown at, Kansas City, and was presented in such capital form, that he ultimately received at this show the senior bull championship.

At Kansas City O. Harris had first prize and senior female championship on Betty 2d. Mischiev- ous had stood second to her in class. Miss Caprice was junior female champion, having been first among senior yearlings. Modesty, by Beau Brum- mel, was the first-prize two-year-old at Kansas City. At this same show Gudgell & Simpson had first- prize aged herd, while Harris showed the first-prize young herd and also the first-prize calf herd. Soth- am’s Correctors were again the winners in the get- of-bull class. Betty 2d repeated her Kansas City winnings at the International. Golden Lassie, by Corrector, was placed ahead of Modesty, Theressa and Mischief Maker in the two-year-olds, and Miss Caprice led the senior yearling heifers. Harris won first prize in both the aged and young herd compe-

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 841

titions, and Sotham had his customary place in the get-of-bull contest.

Perfection Brings $9,000.—Early in January, 1902, Thomas Clark offered 58 head of cattle at auc- tion at the Chicago sale pavilion, the star attraction being the show bull Perfection. This proved to be one of the sensational episodes of this period, a spirited contest for the possession of the noted son of Dale between Thomas Mortimer and Gilbert H. Hoxie resulting in the sale of the bull to the latter at the previously unheard-of price for a Hereford bull of $9,000. At this sale it was announced that Dale had been sold privately to Mr. Jesse Adams of Moweaqua, IIl., for $10,000. Mr. Clark’s entire lot upon this occasion averaged $497, although the great sum given for Perfection was the only extraordinary figure registered.*

*Speaking of Perfection reminds us of “Bert” Fluck. The number of young Englishmen who came out to the States during the period of active importations was large, and many notable successes have been achieved by them. Their stories are always interesting, and in most cases inspiring. In these notes we have taken delight in reciting a few representative narratives of suc- cess achieved by young men who came out with nothing but pluck, a natural aptitude for the cattle business, and an inher- ited attachment for good animals.

Here is the story of “Bert” Fluck, cousin to Tom Clark and Harry Fluck. Let him tell it in his own way:

“My first experience with Hereford cattle dates back to the year 1882, when I was a boy of ten years at home with my father, the late Henry Fluck of Meer Court Farm, Kingstone, Herefordshire, England. Father kept a small heard of twenty breeding cows and always kept the best of sires. It was always my delight to be with him while he was feeding and caring for them as that seemed to be my chosen occupation, which I con- tinued to follow. As I grew older father put more confidence in me. At the age of fifteen years I had complete charge of my father’s herd and all herd records, which I considered quite an honor.

“In the summer of 1888 ‘Uncle John’ Lewis, who was then manager of the Shadeland herd, owned by the late Earl & Stuart of Lafayette, Ind., came back to England on a visit. _He was staying at my home and it being my duty to show him the herd he became deeply interested in me. He said to father: ‘That is the kind of a boy we need in America. He can get a position at any time; you had better let him go back with me.’ ‘John,

842 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

The day following the Clark sale 74 head offered by various breeders at the same place brought an average of $227. At Kansas City on the 14th and 15th of January in a combination sale of cattle con- signed from 23 different herds 171 head averaged $227.70.

Sotham’s ‘‘Criterion’’ Sale—On Jan. 28-30, 1902, Sotham held what he called his ‘‘criterion’’ combi- nation sale at Kansas City, upon which occasion 184 head of cattle sold at an average of $341.70. Mr. Sotham’s own consignment, consisting of 51 head,

I can’t spare him’, said father. ‘Uncle John’ said, ‘Henry, he can do more for himself in America than he can here in England.’ Father said, ‘If he wants to go he can’, thinking at the same time I lacked the sand to start out. However, I met ‘Uncle John’ in Hereford and we talked the matter over, which looked bright to me, so I booked my passage to America on the Cunard steamship Servia, which at that time was a very fast boat.

“We set sail July 26, 1888, from Liverpool, England, and landed in New York, Aug. 5, 1888. From there we took the train for Lafayette, Ind. After arriving there we went out to Shadeland Farm, where the herd was kept. It was a sight to behold. The herd was then at its best; the bull Earl of Shade- land 22d was a marvel. After staying at Shadeland a few days ‘Uncle’ said, ‘I am going up to Beecher to see Tom Clark. You had_ better come along.’ om being my cousin had visited us in England a few years previous when he made his large impor- tation. I was quite young at that time but remembered him well. To Beecher, Ill. we went. There I found another Here- ford herd equal to the Shadeland herd, headed by Anxiety 3d and Peerless Wilton 12774. After visiting there a few days ‘Uncle’ said, ‘You better stay with Tom’, which I did and made it_my home for six years, then returning to England on a visit. Upon arriving back in America I accepted a position as herdsman with the Hugh Paul Galloway herd of Heron Lake, Minn., under the charge of David M. Fyffe, where I remained until Mr. Edward Paul dispersed the herd. David Fyffe informing me that there was nothing to do except farm work, which at that time I did not care to do, I accepted my old position with Tom Clark, where I remained until he sold his farm and dispersed his herd. After the cattle had all gone it became somewhat lonesome for me and I then accepted a position with the late G. H. Hoxie as manager of his Thorn Creek Herd, at Thornton, Ill., where I a lang had charge of my old chum Perfection 92891, staying with him four years. I then moved back to Beecher on a farm which I had bought, and there engaged in raising hogs and feeding steers for the Chicago market. Selling my farm at Beecher, I purchased one at Grant Park, Ill., where I still carry on the cattle- feeding business. I hope to engage in the breeding of pure- bred Herefords when my son is old enough to take the respon- sibility off my shoulders to some extent, as I wish him to follow in my footsteps.”

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 843

averaged $384.30, the top price being $3,995 offered by Mr. S. H. Godman, representing the Wabash Stock Farm Co. of Indiana, for the young bull Goodcross, sired by imp. Improver out of the fa- mous old matron Grove Maid 22d by The Grove 3d, grandam Mr. Culbertson’s celebrated Royal champion Prettyface by old Anxiety. The Correc- tor bull Bequeather was taken by Carruthers Bros. of Ryan, Ia., at $1,100. Mr. Clem Graves sold 8 head at an average of $1,077.50, the top being $2,300 paid by Carruthers Bros. for the Corrector cow Hap- piness. Jesse Adams took Bright Duchess 32d at $1,200 and O. Harris bought Madrona by Earl of Shadeland 22d at $1,050. Nine head offered by S. H. Godman, Wabash, Ind., averaged $586.65, the lot being topped by the Cherry Boy cow Park Blanche going at $1,080 to J. Hartley, Fairmount, Ind. F. A. Nave’s 10 head averaged $336.50. The Egger Hereford Cattle Co., Appleton City, Mo., sent 40 head through the ring at an average of $215; Jesse Adams of Moweaqua, IIl., 12 head at an average of $317; Geo. P. Henry, Goodenow, Ill., 12 head at an average of $285; C. B. Smith, Fayette, Mo., 10 head at an average of $249; Dan W. Black, Lyndon, O., 5 head at an average of $229; Makin Bros., 9 head at an average of $197; E. B. Keyt, Newton, Ind., 4 head at an average of $212.50 and Geo. H. Adams, Cres- tone, Colo., 6 head at an average of $186.

Changes in Hereford Headquarters.—The office of the American Hereford Breeders’ Association which had for so many years been at Kansas City,

844 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Mo., was removed in 1902 to Chicago. The manage- ment of the Chicago Union Stock Yards, in addition to financing the newly established International show, had erected a substantial structure known as the Pedigree Record Building in which quarters free of rent were offered to the various national herd book associations. While there was some opposition to this removal of the Hereford record office the transfer was made, nevertheless. The office re- mained in Chicago for several years, but it was finally decided to re-establish headquarters at Kan- sas City, at which point the herd book is still pub- lished.*

March On 6th and Queenly.—There was a wealth of new material seen on the show circuits of 1902, the heroes and heroines of the immediate past giv- ing way in all directions to fresher candidates for honors. The first clash was at Des Moines with Tom Clark in the judge’s box. A new king had arisen among the bulls. His name was March On 6th 96537, bred by the VanNattas and brought for- ward by Will Willis from the Funkhouser stalls. He was a son of imp. March On, of the memorable Cross importation, out of Jewel Fowler by Fowler. Wide, deep and wrapped in thick mellow flesh he

*In this connection portraits are presented of Mr. Charles R. Thomas and Mr. R. J. Kinzer, the former long-time Secretary of the American Hereford Breeders’ Association, and the latter the present holder of that important office. Mr. Thomas served the association for a great many years, not only handling the heavy work of the office during the frequent periods of heavy registra- tion, but having charge of the association’s interest in con- nection with the holding of a great number of special Hereford exhibits at different shows, as well as the conduct of numerous combination sales under the auspices of the national organiza- tion. Mr, Thomas also visited England and South America in the interest of the association.

el. Kinzer | Ne

[ C.R.Thomas | ESS]

846 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

took rank at once as one of the best American-bred show bulls of his day. VanNatta’s Marmaduke, by the old champion Christopher out of a Cherry Boy Dam, a bull of pronounced substance, stood second. In the two-year-old class John Letham, manager for George P. Henry, won with Prime Lad 108911, a bull which even then gave promise of the greatness that was to come his way. Another showyard model that was to win her way to future championships was the two-year-old heifer Queenly, bred by Stew- ard & Hutcheon and now owned by Messrs. Van- Natta. She topped her class and later was adjudged best female of any age. March On 6th was cham- pion over all bulls.

At Hamline the following week, under Ed.Tay- lor’s judgment, March On 6th was again at the head of his class, but in the bull championship the won- deful character and quality of Prime Lad brought Mr. Henry that high honor. This grand young bull was sired by Kansas Lad Jr. out of Primrose, a cow bred by Arthur Turner and imported by K. B. Ar- mour. Gudgell & Simpson* won the blue ribbons on both senior and junior yearling bulls with Belis-

*George Shand was born near Huntley, Aberdeenshire, Scot- land, in 1845, left Scotland in 1882 and came to Canada, where he lived for three years. He came to Gudgell & Simpson at Inde- pendence, Mo., in March, 1885, when Anxiety 4th was jn_ his prime. He left Gudgell & Simpson’s in 1896 and went to work for Charles B. Dustin in Illinois, staying there until the Dustin Shorthorn herd was sold in 1900. He came back to Independence in 1900 and worked for J. M. Curtice eighteen months: At the end of that time he went to work for Alexander Fraser as fore- man and herdsman of a Shorthorn herd and stayed there for thirteen years, or until Mr. Fraser's death, when the herd was dispersed. He then went to work for W. C. Thompson at Plano Ill., with a herd of Shorthorns, and stayed there until the fall of 1913, when he returned to Independence to make his home with his son-in-law, George Hendry. who succeeded him as head cattle- man on the Gudgell & Simpson farms.

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 847

arcus 126243, by Militant out of a Don Carlos dam, and Bright Donald by Donald Dhu, and had first on senior bull calves for Rex Premier by the champion Dandy Rex. Harris took first in cows with Russett over Modesty. Queenly was first in two-year-olds over Miss Caprice, as well as female champion.

Beau Donalds to the Front.—While this was going on in the west W. H. Curtice of Kentucky, F. L. Studebaker, Warren, Ind., C. A. Jamison, Peoria, Tll., and G. W. Harness, Galveston, Ind., were put- ting up a good show east of the river. At Colum- bus, O., Mr. Curtice appeared with fourteen entries of which twelve were the get of Beau Donald—all young things of real quality. He had Prince Rupert out again to head the senior bulls. The Beau Donald youngsters, however, were the real attraction of the show, and with them the young herd, the get-of-bull and the produce-of-cow prizes were won, Beau Don- alds 39th, 41st and 54th and Belle Donalds 27th, 55th, 56th and 59th specially honored. Belle Donald 59th was made champion female under two years old, all breeds competing, and the Curtice herd won grand championship of the yard over the Hanna Shorthorns and the Bradfute Aberdeen-Angus.

At the Illinois State Fair O. Harris won first in aged bulls with Beau Donald 5th over C. A. Jami- son’s Arlington by Earl of Shadeland 22d and the same owner’s Sailor by Acrobat. Mr. Curtice met heavier metal here, however, in the young herd com- petition and had to accept second to the Harris en- tries.

848 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Clem Graves’ $1,000 Average.—During the In- diana State Fair of 1902 Clem Graves made a sale of 43 head of cattle which resulted in the extraord- inary average of $1,007. This sensational figure was reached largely through the fact that the bull Cru- sader 86596 was run up to $10,000, and knocked off to Ed. Hawkins of Earl Park, Ind. Dolly 2d was taken by the same bidder at $7,000, and Cosmo, the dam of Crusader, at $3,000. Crusader was a richly- bred, low-legged, wide-bodied bull with a grand front and had just been made champion in strong competition.

These prices were so startling that they created a veritable sensation in the American cattle-breed- ing world, and when some time later it developed that Mr. Graves had taken the cattle back there was some doubt created in the public mind as to the genuineness of the transaction at the sale ring at Indianapolis. This being the case, the author has requested Mr. Graves to make public a plain state- ment of the real facts in the case, and in compliance he has furnished the following:

“Crusader, sire Cherry Ben, full brother to Colum- bus, dam Cosmo by Cherry Boy, was at the head of my herd when I sold the Dale Stock Farm to A. C. Huxley. I engaged Col. David Wallace to act as manager of my dispersion sale held Tuesday of the state fair, Sept. 16, 1902. There were fifty-four cattle listed and the sale expense was $103 on each lot. I believed that the class of cattle I had to offer merited this outlay, and the interest in this sale was such that I was honored by the presence of nearly every Hereford breeder of prominence,

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 849

ang. many of the Shorthorn and Angus breeders, as well.

‘‘There were several bidders on Crusader. Among them I recall S. J. Peabody, Gilbert Hoxie, S. L. Wright and James R. Henry, who later in the sale purchased Dale Wilton. Ed. S. Hawkins and C. E. Amsden were the contending bidders up to $10,000, when he was sold to Mr. Hawkins. I learned after the sale that Mr. Amsden, then recorder of Shelby county and an ardent Hereford enthusiast, thinking that Crusader would likely sell at a high figure, had interested a number of Hereford breeders in his sec- tion of the state to join him in the attempt to se- cure the bull, and that one of the bankers at Shelby- ville came to the sale with them to make the settle- ment should they succeed in buying him. If ‘Crusader had been sold to Mr. Amsden the deal would have been closed with cash.

‘‘Mr. Hawkins bought.Cosmo, the dam of Crusader, with Amy Dale at foot and bred to Dale, for $3,000 and several other cattle, his total purchase amount- ing to $17,520. I had sold him cattle in a breeders’ sale at Chicago in the spring of 1902, and he had promptly settled with his check. I had visited his home, a palatial residence situated on a farm of 6,000 acres of Benton county’s richest land, stocked with Thoroughbred horses, Hereford cattle, and a large number of feeding cattle. Col. Wallace made the settlement for the sale and when he informed me that Mr. Hawkins desired time on a part of his pur- chase I had no reluctance in accepting his note. In May, 1903, Mr. Hawkins made it known to his credi- tors who held cattle paper that he was financially embarrassed and invited them to meet in conference at Earl Park. We found that the real estate be- longed to his mother, the live stock was mortgaged, Mr. Hawkins was broken in health, and unable to

DALE 66481, THE $10,000 CHAMPION—BRED BY CLEM GRAVES.

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 851

supervise his business; in short everything was ap- parently going wrong.

‘‘The cattle had received but little care or feed. ‘Cruse’ had been left out doors to sleep on refuse straw where the bush of his tail had frozen fast and been pulled out. The cattle were in a deplor- able condition. We were in council several days before we could plan a course of action. We then de- cided to pay this mortgage. I paid $3,225 of it. We then listed the cattle and selected, each man in his turn from this list, until his claim should be satisfied. I selected Crusader, Cosmo and seven other cows for my claim. I kept the bull till De- cember, 1906, when I sold him to Hon. George Chandler, Baker City, Ore.

‘“‘Crusader was pronounced by capable judges of Herefords to be the best front-ended bull they ever passed on. I never saw a bull that carried his head so well; in fact he was a remarkable specimen of bovine beauty. Crusader was first and champion bull at the Pan-American. He was not exhibited at the World’s Fair at St. Louis, but he met and defeated both the senior and junior champions of that show, Prime Lad at Indianapolis and Mapleton at the Virginia State Fair.

‘‘T am glad to make this statement in order to clear up the doubt as to Crusader selling at all, since he was returned to me. He did sell for $10,000 and was well worth it. If Mr. Hawkins had not become ill, and had not lost heavily in the race-horse busi- ness, I am confident that he would have finished paying out on all the cattle.’’

Broadening the Kansas City Show.—The fourth show since the Hereford association launched the first at Kansas City in 1899, was participated in by

eight different breeders’ organizations. The Amer-

852 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ican Royal, as it has been called in recent years, was now fairly on its feet.

The Hereford exhibit was as impressive as ever. March On 6th was the senior bull champion and Benton Gabbert produced the two-year-old winner in Columbus 33d, a bull of unusual scale and excep- tional substance. Bright Donald was junior bull champion, and Queenly the champion cow.

On Dee. 8 and 9 at Kansas City Benton Gabbert and Dr. Logan sold 76 head for an average of $227. At this sale G. E. Reynolds gave $1,000 for Hesiod’s Best.*

Various breeders consigned cattle to a combina- tion sale at Wabash, Ind., on Dec. 18, at which 63 head sold for an average of $225.70.

A New International Champion—Mr. George Leigh had brought over from Herefordshire one of the biggest white-faced bulls of his time, Britisher, an English showyard favorite bred by Allen Hughes from Albion. He was entered at the Chicago Inter- national of 1902, where he not only headed the senior class by defeating his half-brother imp. Pro- tector, Beau Donald 5th, Columbus 17th, and other good ones, but received the senior and grand cham-

*Reference has been made to the fact that old imp. Hesiod, the sire of Hesiod 2d, had a bad temper. It took two men with ropes and staffs to safely present him in the showyard at an old- time Chicago exhibition. Speaking of this John Gosling is our authority for the statement that the fighting spirit in this fine bull was undoubtedly brought to the surface by the flopping of the long white smocks frequently worn by the old English herds- men. nm windy days the flopping of a smock or of an-overcoat has been known to develop, for some occult reason, the combat- iveness of bulls. Mr. Gos Wal 3 tha it as his opinion, however, that “the width between a bull’s eyes has more to do with a bull’s disposition than the flopping of a woman's petticoat or a smock.” Once the Aehiing spirit is aroused, however, the staff usually has to be brought into requisition as a measure of safety.

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 853

pionship prize as well. He was shown at a weight of nearly 2,800 pounds, and was described at the. time as ‘‘a bull of magnificent masculinity, most massive and imposing in appearance, with head, horn and crest of pleasing character, a brisket that hangs close to the ground, a tremendous spread of rib, showing the most tablelike back and loin of any bull of the breed that has yet fallen under our ob- servation.’? His hindquarters were long and heavy, so bulging that his tail hung over them on that slant that was so noticeable in old Grove 3d. His flesh had begun to slip, however, under the strain of re- peated fittings and the long voyage to America, and he was counted fortunate in going through this show with such signal honors.

Second to Britisher at the Chicago show was Frank Rockefeller’s Columbus 17th, bred by Benton Gabbert and sired by Columbus, the sire of Dale. He sold for $5,050 at Kansas City. He was a great- ribbed bull carrying a lot of flesh on stout, well set legs. Prime Lad had a walk-over in two-year-olds. Harris led the senior yearlings with Goodenough 2d. Bright Donald was best junior yearling. Mr. Henry’s Disturber by Beau Donald 3d was best senior bull calf, and Harry Fluck* had a flash win-

*H, J. Fluck, cousin to Thomas Clark, was born in the city of Hereford, England, on May 21, 1862. His father was a mer- chant in that city, born at Dinedor’s Court, Herefordshire. At the age of two years Harry was taken to the country by his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Fluck of Upper House, Did- ley, St. Deouvrix, Herefordshire, where he was brought up by them. Always imbued with a fondness for fine stock of all kinds, his environments during his boyhood days added zeal to his ambition, for his uncle, who was one of the best all-around stockmen of his time in Herefordshire, possessed one of the good herds of “white faces” at that period. He took no interest,

854 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ner in junior bull calves in Star Wilton by Peerless Wilton 39th.

Russett, Modesty, Betty 2d and Mischievous—all old friends—were ranked in the order named. Queenly presided by common consent among the two-year-olds, Lucile 2d of the Harris herd was at the top of the senior yearlings, Steward & Hutcheon’s burly Madge came forward in junior yearlings, and the same firm had the honor of draw- ing the blue in the senior heifer calves with Beau’s Queen by Beau Brummel.

A Beau Brummel-Fowler Nick.—Queenly’s won- derful wealth of flesh carried her through this show

however, in recording cattle, simply keeping the herd on a rent- paying basis by selling steers and culling out females for the block. Mr. Fluck is somewhat proud of the fact that he is of the third generation of the family of Flucks who were closely identi- fied with the raising of good Hereford cattle. His grandfather, Thomas Fluck, owned one of the good herds of Herefordshire, and produced the foundation sire of our latter-day Anxieties, the bull Dinedor 1382 (395). The celebrated Walford 47 was a grandson of Dinedor.

Harry became somewhat dissatisfied with his prospects at home and after reading and talking to others about the allure- ments of other lands determined to leave his mother country and seek his fortune in America. He landed in September, 1880. In the fall of 1881 he became connected with the Culbertson herd, and his initial attempt for showyard honors was in 1883 with the steer Roan Boy and others. Speaking of this Mr. Fluck says: ‘This was only a preliminary show, and it took six men to lead Roan Boy into the ring. He was exceedingly nervoys. He was not corsidered worthy by the judiciary at that time, but the next year I sprung quite a surprise on the boys. The unex- pected happened. Roan Boy appeared as one of the best models of a beef steer that ever graced a show arena, bape 3 every prize from class prize to grand championship, also winning the gold medal presented by ‘The Breeder's Gazette,’ which under the rules had to be won two years in succession or any three years. We again captured the much coveted prize with a steer named Dysart in 1885 and won it finally in 1886 with the steer Bowdoin. These were three ou Sanding. good steers.”

Mr. Fluck severed his connection with Mr. Culbertson in 1886 to take a more lucrative position with G. W. Henry of Rossland Park Farm, Ashkum, Ill. During his connection with that herd he participated in the invasion of the Shorthorn strongholds of ,Kentucky with a show herd of Herefords as detailed elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Henry’s show bulls were Caractacus and Prince Edward. There was also in the herd such other bulls as Hesiod, Anxiety 2d and Lord Derby. Some of the best females were Edwina, Annie Laurie, Lady Pet and Miss Stewart. Under Fluck’s management Mr. Henry also had the winning steers Long-

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 855

season of 1902 without a slip. She was senior and also grand champion over females of all ages at the International, gaining the honor over the junior champion Beau’s Queen. And thereby hangs a tale: Queenly was by Beau Brummel out of the VanNatta- bred Fowler Queen by old Fowler, and Beau’s Queen was out of the same dam‘and sired by a son of Beau Brummel! And here they stood, sisters in blood, the two lone contestants at the greatest show of the year for the highest honor that could fall to a Hereford female.

The Giltners Buy Britisher.—At Chicago on Jan. 7 and 8, 1903, in a combination sale 90 head were sold for an average of $265, the top price being $3,800 paid by Giltner Bros., Eminence, Ky., for

fellow and Sir Edward. Some of the show bulls at Rossland Park, which Fluck was partly instrumental in producing, were Hesiod 2d, Sitting Bull and Caractacus Wilton. In 1890 Rossland Park was sold and the stock was disposed of by auction.

Mr. Fluck then embarked in business on his own account, buy- ing out the old-established herd of George F. Baker of Oakland Stock Farm, Goodenow, Ill. In 1893 at the world’s fair he showed a good yearling steer which took second prize, a bull calf, and the two-year-old Sitting Bull, which won first in class and was finally made champion over all breeds. At St. Louis shortly after, Mr. Fluck sent down Sitting Bull, the calf and others and took blue ribbons. This same year at the fat stock show in Chi- cago he won a cup offered by “The Breeder’s Gazette” for best steer bred and fed by exhibitor with the yearling Percy that weighed 1,610 pounds. Percy was second to Cherry Brandy at the world’s fair, but won over him at this show two months later. The next year the show was held at Tattersall’s on Wabash Ave., where Percy won this cup again.

Mr. Fluck has shown at every International since its incep- tion, and won a sweepstakes over all breeds‘three years in suc- cession. He bred and fed the grand champion Peerless Wilton 39th’s Defender in 1906, the reserve grand champion Fluck’s Ex- pectation in 1904, and champion herd and the get-of-sire in the same year. At the St. Louis exposition in 1904 he was the only Hereford breeder to win_a championship over all breeds. This was taken by the steer Fluck’s Expectation. Looking back over his career Harry says: “There are two achievements which I am not a little elated over—one to be the first man of the Hereford fraternity to select, feed and show a Hereford steer that was made champion over all breeds, and another to have taken the Herefords into the state of Kentucky in the '80’s and won over Shorthorns in strong competition against many of the illustrious breeders of that day.”

[Wm H. Giltner | [ Frank CGiltner |

THE CREST OF ANOTHER WAVE 857

imp. Britisher.* Tom Clark gave $1,525 for the young bull Perfection Lad by Perfection.

*The firm of Giltner Bros. comprising Messrs. W. H., Robert R. and F. C. Giltner, first engaged in the breeding of Hereford cattle in the spring of 1897, The first cattle purchased were an imported bull and ten Shadeland-bred heifers. This bull proved impotent and after a diligent search for a ‘successor Acrobat 68460, sired_by Anxiety Monarch and out of a daughter of the celebrated Earl of Shadeland 22d, was purchased at a cost of $1,500. This bull was used extensively and successfully until nine years of age, when he was sold for $3,500 to C. E. Clapp, Berry- ville, Va. The next herd bull used by Giltner Bros. was Britisher, assisted by imp. Protector 117878, a one-time English champion imported by Frank A. Nave at a reported cost of $6,000. Britisher and Protector were both sired by Albion 76960, a champion and a sire of English champions,

In the meantime the firm purchased in 1898 forty cows and heifers from Wallace Libbey. These cows were sired mostly by Rantin Robin 60603, he by Earl of Shadeland 12th 20109. The heifers were sired by Welldone 68786, a full brother to the fa- mous Sir Bredwell by Sotham’s Corrector. They nicked kindly with Acrobat and from the beginning a class of young stock was produced which sold at from $200 to $600 each, which “looked mighty good” to the firm, considering the fact that a two-year- old steer was at that time bringing only from $50 to $60.

From their own herd the brothers retained the bull Acrobat's Beau Donald 157648, a son of Acrobat 68460 and out of a cow by Beau Donald 58966. This bull proved most useful and was not only a prominent prize-winner himself all through the south at the leading state fairs but sired Florence Acrobat 283070, the 1909 junior champion female at the American Royal, also first-prize heifer calf at the Royal in 1908 and all leading state fairs that year.

About 1903 Messrs. Hornsby Bros., neighbors of the Giltner Bros., purchased from Gudgell & Simpson the Beau Brummel bull Beau Roland 102767, to be used on their own herd. They allowed Giltner Bros. the free use of this animal, and the blending of Britisher and Beau Roland blood gave excellent results. From this cross was secured Beau Columbus, which was first as calf, first as yearling, second as two-year-old and first as aged bull at the Kansas City Royal and first and junior champion at the 1909 International. British Corker 283072, first-prize aged bull at Denver for two years, was sired by Britisher and out of a Beau Roland cow. British Highball 267816, a prominent winner, which sold to S. B. Burnet for $1,500, was bred in the same way.

While Giltner Bros. have not gone in extensively for show- yard competition, they have brought out each year a good herd of their own breeding. They have directed their efforts chiefly to supplying the immense field presented by the southern states and the export trade. Five state colleges have purchased breed- ing stock from Giltner Bros., as have also the governments of Cuba, Porto Rico and Brazil. They have customers in Argentina, Panama, Santo Domingo, Mexico, Hawaii and Canada. The junior member of the firm, Mr. F. C. Giltner, was for six years a director of the American Hereford Breeders’ Association, of ofc TY haematite he was president from January, 1912, to Octo-

er, .

GHAPTER XxXI. HISTORY REPEATS.

The high prices of 1900, 1901 and 1902 could not hold. Just ten years after the panic of 1893 an- other one of those widespread commercial depres- sions that have so often been registered in our country’s progress was setting in and by 1903 liquidation was general. The cattle business suf- fered in common with all other industries and the Hereford-breeding fraternity did not escape its share of depression. Values declined rapidly, the speculative element liquidated, and during the years immediately succeeding the bargain counter was very much in evidence. As usual in such cases, those who were in a position to purchase good, well bred cattle at low levels in due course of time reaped full reward. The return tide did not set in until about 1909.

Lower Values at Auction—At Kansas City on Jan. 14 and 15, 1903, Charles W. Armour and Mr. Funkhouser sold 107 head of cattle at an average of $245.30, the highest price reached being $625 for the young bull Onward 9th, a son of March On 6th bought by Murdo Mackenzie for the Matador herd. At Chicago on Jan. 29 in a combination sale 68 head sold for an average of $164, the top being $600 for imp. Princess Royal, bought by Amsden & Sons,

858

HISTORY REPEATS 859

Shelbyville, Ind. At another Chicago sale on Feb. 17 and 18 the 66 head averaged only $131.50. On Feb. 19 at Indianapolis 74 head consigned from vari- ous herds reached an average of $169.40, the high- est price being $540 paid by F. L. Studebaker, War- ren, Ind., for the cow Lucy M 2d, by Shadeland Dean. At Kansas City on Feb. 25 and 26 109 head from such herds as Gudgell & Simpson’s, C. A. Stan- nard’s, Scott & March’s and F. R. Rockefeller’s went under the hammer at an average of $164.25, the best price being $385 paid by S. L. Brock for Annabel 5th, by Militant. Nothing could better il- lustrate the trend of the market than the fact that good things offered by Gudgell & Simpson and sired by Beau Brummel, Lamplighter and other noted bulls of the Anxiety blood passed through the ring at around $200 per head. And yet much darker days than these had been experienced in the earlier years and greater gloom was in store for 1904. On Feb. 21 and 24 at Des Moines, Ia., in a com- bination sale 66 head were knocked down at an aver- age of $111.50. Mr. F. A. Nave sold at Attica, Ind., on March 18 50 head at an average of $280.80, the top being $795 paid by W. S. VanNatta & Son for Royal Daisy 2d, the dam of imp. March On, sold in calf to Dale. The famous show cow Benison went to Giltner Bros. at what was called the bargain price of $505. G. H. Hoxie on May 14 sold 38 head at Thornton, Ill., for an average of $300. On May 22 F. L. Studebaker sold 28 head at Wabash, Ind., for an average of $225. On June 16 and 17 T. F.

860 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

B. Sotham at Chillicothe, Mo., disposed of some 1,800 head of stockers and feeders—along with 50 head of pedigree Herefords, the total receipts for the two days’ sale aggregating near $54,000. The stockers and feeders were sold in lots to suit pur- chasers and averaged about $24.30 per head. The pedigree cattle averaged $232. The top price of the sale for the registered cattle was $625 for the two- year-old Clem Graves, by Dale.

In August, 1903, Frank Nave sold his $6,000 bull imp. Protector to Mr. T. A. Fletcher, who was for so many years active in the management of the Indiana Blooded Stock Co. The price was not made public.

Fall Sales of 1903.—Prices did not mend as the season advanced. George H. Adams, Crestone, Colo., closed out 107 head at Linwood, Kans., on July 28 and 29 at an average of $163.65. Mr. Ad- ams was the owner of a 100,000-acre ranch in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado, upon which he carried some 5,000 head of cattle all showing more or less Hereford blood and including at one time 200 head of registered animals.* These had been procured originally from the best sources, such as the closing-out sale of Thomas J. Higgins*

*As early as 1872, Mr. Adams began the improvement of his herd—founded by selection of the best native stocks in 1869—by the use of pedigree blood. He paid J. C. Shropshire of Kentucky $1,060 for two Shorthorn bulls and continued the use of this blood for seven years, when having seen some of the Herefords sent to Colorado by T. L. Miller he concluded that the Hereford poameened superior hardiness. In 1879 he purchased 150 Colorado-

red grade Hereford bulis and later he visited the herd of T. L. Miller and other Illinois and Indiana breeders and purchased $8,000 worth of Hereford bulls. From that time Mr. Adams was one of the most spirited and liberal supporters of the Hereford.

HISTORY REPEATS 861

stock and the great Sunny Slope offering of 1898, where he bought 21 head at an average cost of over $500 per head, including the imported heifer Lumin- ous at $1,500 and imp. Leominister Daisy 2d at $1,205.

Mr. Adams had in the meantime bought the fa- mous Linwood Farm—so long celebrated as the home of the Scotch-bred Shorthorn herd of the late Senator W. A. Harris—and had placed George Morgan in charge. On account of failing health, however, he decided to give up the handling of the purebreds and they were disposed of on the dates mentioned. Many of these cattle were range-bred and not halter-broken. They were necessarily pre- sented in pasture condition and naturally failed to bring their real value, especially at this period of depression. Luminous sold for $600 and her son Orpheus 2d for $400. Tom Ponting was a buyer of useful cattle for his sons Everett and Wayne. The top of the sale was $770 for the cow Lulu with twin heifer calves at foot. She was taken by Mr. Sotham, who had managed the dispersion.

On Aug. 11 and 12 at Wabash, Ind., various breed- ers sold 113 head at an average of $146. At Kan- sas City on Oct. 22 98 head from various Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska herds averaged $163, W. H. Curtice receiving the top price of $600 for Beau Donald 48th. On Nov. 17 and 18 C. W. Armour and J. A. Funkhouser passed 97 head through the auc- tion ring at an average of $155.70. The best price made upon this occasion was $855, which was re-

862 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

garded as a bargain figure for the capital yearling bull Onward 19th, by March On 6th. He was taken by Benton Gabbert. During the International at Chicago 71 head were sold on Dec. 3 at an average of $168.75. The highest mark made here was $1,400 for the two-year-old bull Prairie Donald 139616, offered by the Stanton Breeding Farms, Madison, Neb., and bought by William Reynolds, Lusk, Wyo. Only four females in the entire lot reached the $400 mark. These were all daughters of Beau Donald and bred by W. H: Curtice. At Kansas City on Dec. 10 and 11 C. A. Stannard and Mrs. Kate Wilder Cross sold from Sunny Slope Farm, Emporia, Kans., 100 head for an average of $172.90. Mr. Stannard’s yearling show bull Keep On 26th by imp. Keep On was taken by the Messrs. Harris at $600.

One of the regrettable incidents of this general liquidating movement was the enforced closing-out of the Sotham herd at Chillicothe, Mo., the disper- sion occurring at the farm on Dec. 15. The show bull Fulfiller went to O. Harris at $1,510. He was sired by Improver, and was a son of the beautiful Benison by Protection, second dam Benita by Cor- rector. Protection was by Corrector out of a daugh-

ter of Royal Grove. The 128 head averaged only $120.65.*

*Speaking of this event “The Breeder’s Gazette’ commented

at the time as follows: he results of Mr. Sotham’s life-work as a breeder of Here- fords were scattered on Dec. 15 at sheriff’s sale. William Moffatt, Paw Paw, Ill, foreclosed a mortgage which he held on the herd and sold it out. Mr. Sotham had relied on a promise of financial aid which would have enabled him to save-the cream of the herd and retain it under his management, but this failed him almost at the last minute, when it was too late to organize a local

HISTORY REPEATS 863

ee ate oot

An important private. transaction of this period was the disposition of George P. Henry’s herd at Goodenow, Ill. It went to James R. Henry of Gos- port, Ind., who subsequently resold a number of the cattle to Messrs. VanNatta and S. L. Brock, Macon, Mo. Along with the good cattle obtained from this source Mr. Brock secured as manager Mr. John Letham, in whose hands the herd became the foun- tain-head of many high-class Herefords in the years that followed.

Death of George Morgan.—F or some time prior to the Adams dispersion sale Mr. Morgan, the veteran importer and herd manager, had been in poor health, and late in August, 1903, he died ina hos- pital at Chillicothe, Mo., treatment for a carbuncle having failed to bring relief. Arrangements had been made by Sotham for Morgan to join him in handling Herefords at Weavergrace Farm, but this was not to be.

The name of George Morgan will ever stand con- spicuous among those playing large parts in the introduction of Hereford cattle in the western

company to buy the best of the cattle and hence all have been scattered.

“Mr. Sotham has faced some misfortunes in his life, but it may readily be believed that the bitterest of them was when he stood in the salering and lent all possible aid to the forced dispersion of the herd which had been the pride of his_ heart. Without his assistance buyers were chary of taking hold, but when he entered the ring and guaranteed the transfer of all animals sold and worked earnestly in the interests of the sale the bidding became spirited and an average of around $120 was reached, by young and old, big and little. This is an excellent showing under all the circumstances. Only a tithe of the. real value is usually reached at sheriff’s sales, and considering the number of old cows in_the herd which had been retained on account of demonstrated greatness as producers, and the con- dition of the cattle, sold without fitting or preparation, the result is better than had been expected. rom the cattle and farm implements a total of $17,200 was realized.”

| s.Kate Wilder Gross | |= So =

HISTORY REPEATS 865

states. His relations to various important trans- actions have already been set forth. He was gen- erally regarded as a keen judge of a good animal, and personally selected in Herefordshire some of the greatest cattle transferred to American soil dur- ing the period of extensive importations. In the course of his long career in the business he naturally acquired a great store of information concerning the breed on both sides the water. His facility of expression, his aggressive personality and his keen sense of humor made him the life of almost any company of congenial spirits in which he might be found. The author regrets that he has been unable to procure a photograph of Mr. Morgan for repro- duction in this volume along with other notables of his time. However, his work is his own best mem- orial and title to appreciation at the hands of pos- terity.*

Prime Lad and Beau Donald 5th.—There was a hard- fought battle at the fairs of 1903 between the com- ing and the going champions. Prime Lad, younger and fresher and admirably representing the old warrior Beau Real, was hammering hard on the shield of Beau Donald 5th. In the hands of the Messrs. Van- Natta the Lad was slowly but surely making-up into

*It was sometimes difficult to tell whether Morgan was _ talk- ing in jest or earnest. While haranguing a crowd of cattlemen one night in the early days upon the merits of the Hereford for western range purposes he made a statement substantially as follows, which of course created much amusment:

‘Tl tell you ’ow it is: You see the ’ereford is something like the buffalo; ‘e ’as a ’eavy ‘ead and ‘orn, is deep through the shoulders and chest, and bein’ light be’ind ’e climbs the ‘ills fine.”

As present-day breeders have long since given the typical Hereford two ends as well as a middle, Morgan’s buffalo exaggera- tion may now be treated, as he intended it at the time, as a joke—a good specimen of the ordinary play of his nimble wit.

866 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE.

a wonderful specimen of the breed—evenly balanced and full of character and quality. The old Beau, with his ponderous hind-quarters and extraordinary expanse of loin, impressed yet again the improve- ment being wrought in America in respect to rear- end finish. In the preliminary competition at Se- dalia, under a Shorthorn judgment, he had been pre- ferred by Mr. Wornall to Steward & Hutcheon’s Beaumont, and by Wiley Fall at Des Moines he was set above Prime Lad. At Hamline with W. A. Me- Henry, of Aberdeen-Angus fame, and D. Y. Robert- son, manager of Dan Hanna’s Shorthorns, on the bench Beau Donald 5th defeated both bulls, but at Indianapolis N. H. Gentry ordered Prime Lad to the front—a rating which stood for the remainder of the season, being confirmed at the Kentucky State Fair at Owensboro, at Springfield, at Kan- sas City and at Chicago.

Three Great Groups.—There were at least three overwhelming demonstrations of the prowess of American breeders on the circuits of 1903—the Beau Donalds, which herdsman Hendry continued to send forward with never-failing quality, the Benjamin Wiltons, with which Overton Harris made such a ‘thit’’ during this period, and the get of March On 6th, now coming from the Funkhouser herd and showing outstanding character. At Sedalia Funk- houser had the senior bull championship over Beau Donald 5th with Onward 4th, and the junior bull championship on Onward 8th, be- sides the prize for best four get of the same

piles ie ero tame PRIME LAD 108911 AT THREE YDARS, AS DRAWN BY THROOP.

868 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

sire. At subsequent shows, indeed for a series of years, the depth and width of the Keep Ons and the March Ons attracted fresh attention to the value of the imported blood which John Steward and Harry Yeld had brought out for Mr. Cross in 1898.

The Kansas City and International shows of 1903 were so rich in toppy youngsters that it is impos-

ONWARD 4TH AND HIS TRAINER WILL WILLIS.

sible to enter into details here. Harris, Curtice, Funkhouser, the VanNattas, Stannard, Gabbert, Steward & Hutcheon, Gudgell & Simpson, C. G. Com- stock, J. M. Curtice, the Stanton Farm, the Makins, the Steeles, C. N. Moore, Dr. Logan, C. W. Armour, Robert Hazlett, S. L. Brock, and others were now

HISTORY REPEATS 869

producing show stock as good, if not better than had ever before been seen.

At Kansas City the champion bull was Mr. Funk- houser’s Onward 4th, both his sire and dam—On- ward 6th and Dewdrop—having been champions before him. VanNatta’s Rosalie by March On had the female championship.

At the final round-up at Chicago Prime Lad, Beau Donald 39th, Prairie Donald (by Beau Donald 7th), Right Lad and Benjamin Wiltons 10th and 16th led the bull classes. In a memorable show of cows and heifers the blue ribbons rested with VanNatta’s J.orna Doone (by Christopher), Harris’ Lucile 2d (by Benjamin Wilton), VanNatta’s Rosalie (by March On), and Harris’ Amelia, Arminta and Miss Donald 5th. The Beau Donalds had both first and third in the get-of-sire class, with the Benjamin Wiltons coming in between.

Death of Benjamin Wilton.—The great showyard events of this era contain many references to the splendid character of the sons and daughters of the bull Benjamin Wilton, exhibited by Overton Harris. The bull was bred by Cornish & Patten, Osborn, Mo., and had been owned at one time by John E. Stone, Harris, Mo. He was an in-bred Anxiety, hav- ing been sired by Wilton Anxiety 41810, he by Tom Clark’s Peerless Wilton, out of one of Gudgell & Simpson’s Anxiety 4th cows. He was not a big bull, weighing about 2,100 pounds in breeding con- dition, and was specially distinguished for his extra- ordinary good temper and docility. He sired in his

870 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

time about 250 calves, including Betty 2d, the cham- pion female of 1901, that sold with calf at side for $4,500. He was killed by a stroke of lightning in the spring of 1903. But a few days previous Mr. Jesse Adams of Moweaqua, IIl., had closed a deal with Mr. Harris for some ten head of Benjamin Wilton heifers at an even $10,000. Mr. Harris is said to have sold over $42,000 worth of calves sired by this bull within the space of four years.

Death of Dale.—On Oct. 18, 1903, Dale, the cham- pion show bull, died at Woodland Farm, the prop- erty of his owner, Jesse Adams, Moweaqua, IIl. Mr. Adams had paid the great sum of $10,000 for the bull in 1901. Dale was one of the many valuable legacies left to the Hereford breed in America as a result of the famous old-time importation of Earl & Stuart. He carried a double cross of Garfield com- bined with the blood of Peerless and Prince Edward, and through his son Perfection passed on to the Hereford breeders of the United States a factor of demonstrated value. His dam, Rose Blossom, once changed hands at $5,000. She lived to be fifteen years old, was the mother of Columbia the dam of Disturber, and died two months after the decease of Dale, the property of Mr. G. M. Naber of Naber- lea Farm, Wabash, Ind.

The Sale Season of 1904.—Breeders had now set- tled down to an acceptance of a situation which did not promise exceptional prices. There was grim determination all along the line, however, to hold on to that which was good and await the return of

Copyright photo by Bustin PROTECTOR 117878, BY ALBION 15027, DAM BY RUDOLPH—BRED BY ALLEN HUGHES, IMPORTED BY F. A. NAVE AND SOLD TO GILTNER BROS.

oF 6,9

t photo uy Bustin

Copyrigh ALBION 76900, IMPORTED BY O. 4. JAMISON.

872 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

better times. In February of this year Giltner Bros. offered 53 head of registered cattle at auction at Auburn, Ala. This was one of the first attempts of the kind in that section and resulted in the grati- fying average of $213 per head. On March 2 Mr. C. A. Jamison sold 136 head of cattle at Hamlet, Ind., but the market would not at this time take so many at strong prices. The average was $124, the top being $1,575 paid for the imported bull Albany by M. E. L. Williams, Peoria, Ill.* Events of this spring in the middle west were large offerings of range-bred Hereford calves at auction. On March 17 the SMS outfit sold about 600 head at C. C. Judy’s farm, Tallula, Ill., at an average of from $20 to $30. In May the LS management sold 500 head at Mr. Imboden’s, Decatur, IIl., at an average of around $20 per head.

There were no important incidents at the fall sales of this year. Fifty-six head, consigned from various herds, sold at Kansas City on Oct. 21 at an average of $186.25. The top was $1,330 paid by S. L. Stand-

*Mr. Jamison lived at Peoria, II]. and began his Hereford herd in the spring of 1899 by the purchase of 99 animals of breed- ing age and about 30 calves, all of which were placed upon his large farm near Hamlet, Ind. This purchase included the Cor- rector bull Well Done 66786. A little later 45 two-year-old heifers were bought and with these came another Corrector bull, Sir Comewell 68776, and Reginald 64067 by Mr. VanNatta’s Hengler. Other purchases were made from Mr. Nave, Mr. Armour and other prominent breeders. Mr. Jamison also used the Shadeland bull Sailor 93037 by Acrobat. Subsequently he bought imp. Diplo- mat 47, but he met with an accident which caused his death soon afterwards. Immediately after this event, after consultation with Capt. Scarlett, Mr. Jamison decided to cable an offer for the unbeaten two-year-old bull Albany 132876. The deal was closed at a reported price of $6,000. Albany was bred by Allen Hughes, and was landed in New York along with _the two fine heifers, Lady Barbara and Princess Royal, both of William Tudge’s breed- ing. Mr. Jamison’s operations were on a very extensive acale, and during the winter of 1902 it was stated that although he had sold 229 head during the two years immediately preceeding he still owned over 400 head of Herefords.

HISTORY REPEATS 873

ish for Mr. Funkhouser’s Onward 4th. Luce & Mox- ley took Curtice’s Prince Rupert 8th at $850.

The St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904—While busi- ness depression continued to restrain activity in the trade there was no let-up in the enthusiasm and inter- est of the leading producers of high-class Herefords. There was held at St. Louis in the autumn of 1904 a great exposition commemorating the purchase by the United States from France of the so-called Lou- isiana Territory. A live stock department com- mensurate with the importance and dignity of the occasion was projected and carried out to a success- ful consummation, Hon. F. D. Coburn, the veteran Secretary of the Kansas State Board of Agricul- ture, holding the helm. The various national organi- zations of breeders of pedigree live stock appropri- ated money for special prizes and cooperated in mak- ing the event a monumental success.

There was a comparatively light display of the ‘“white faces’? at the early fairs of 1904. The big guns were being held in reserve, in many instances, for the great exposition contest, which was naturally the outstanding event of the year. As this show ranks with the Chicago Columbian of 1893 in point of historic interest to American cattle breeders, the full account of the Hereford exhibit as presented at the time by ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’ is appended :*

*This account of one of the greatest Hereford battles of modern times is presented not orly for the historical value of the prizelist itself, but because of its descriptions and criticisms, reflecting as they do the standard by which Hereford show cattle were judged at that time. It is from the pen of William R. Good- win, the present managing editor of “The Breeder’s Gazette,” who for a quarter-century past has been reviewing the leading live stock shows of the United States. His work has dealt with

874 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

‘“‘No class of breeders has made more systematic, thorough and painstaking preparations for this world’s fair cattle show than the men who handle the ‘white faces.’ Their reward has been great, for it was a sensational display of the excellencies of the breed. From Kentucky to Nevada they came troop- ing at the call, determined to make plain the fact of Hereford early maturity and bloom in this world’s arena. And admirably did they succeed. From start to finish, from the moment that a Hereford first entered the forum until the last white-faced baby romped from the ring, it was a succession of classes of astonishing strength, with a most notable absence of inferior animals. :

‘‘Never had the feed-bucket been more carefully handled, never had the tonsorial art on the bovine coat of hair, brought to such perfection by Hereford herdsmen, been more strikingly illustrated. It was a beautiful display of Hereford strength and must have exerted a powerful impression on even the

- most careless of observers. The list of exhibitors

who participated in this event follows:

‘‘James A. Funkhouser, Plattsburg, Mo.; W. S. VanNatta & Son, Fowler, Ind.; S. W. Anderson, Blaker Mills, W. Va.; Gudgell & Simpson, Independ- ence, Mo.; O. Harris, Harris, Mo.; W. H. Curtice, Eminence, Ky.; Benton Gabbert & Son, Dearborn, Mo.; Egger Hereford Cattle Co., Appleton City, Mo.; C. N. Moore, Lees Summit, Mo.; J. S. Lan- caster & Sons, Liberty, Mo.; Fritz & Shea, Blakes- burg, Ia.; A. R. Firkins, Worcester, England; Wal- ter B. Waddell, Lexington, Mo.; S. L. Brock, Macon, Mo.; H. J. Fluck, Goodenow, Ill.; C. @. Comstock, id aancemporary wick Wetting Mego AMee nem amaits tes of detail, breadth of field covered, facility of expression and fair-

ness of treatment throughout by common consent it has never been equalled in the whole realm of live stock criticism.

HISTORY REPEATS 875

Albany, Mo.; Steele Bros., Belvoir, Kans.; A. R. Haven, Greenfield, Il.; Steward & Hutcheon, Bole- kow, Mo.; John Sparks, Reno, Nev.; Eagle Farm of Indiana; Dette Bros., Brinktown, Mo.; Carter & Curtner of Indiana; R. S. Burcham, Windsor, Mo.; Mrs. K. W. Cross, Emporia, Kans.; J. Condell, Eldorado, Kans., and H. D. Martin, Shelbyville, Ky.

“Thomas Clark, Beecher, IIl., was nominated and confirmed as judge of Herefords, but later C. A. Stannard, Emporia, Kans., was appointed to work with him.

‘‘Aged Bulls—1, Prime Lad; sire, Kansas Lad Jr.; W. 8S. VanNatta & Son. 2, Bright Donald; sire, Donald Dhu; Gudgell & Simpson. 3, Onward 4th; sire, March On 6th; James A. Funkhouser. 4, Fulfill- er; sire, Improver; O. Harris. 5, Beau March On; sire, March On 5th; C. N. Moore. 6, Actor 26th; sire, Actor 3d; S. W. Anderson. 7, Beau Donald 39th; sire, Beau Donald; W. H. Curtice.

‘“‘The bulls on the prizelist are familiar figures, or well known by name. The repeated trial of strength between Prime Lad and Onward 4th here resulted in another triumph for the former, the March On 6th bull getting a hard setback to third place. Prime Lad had been handled for a couple of years with especial reference to the St. Louis competition and he fulfilled all hopes and expecta- tions. This level-lined shapely quality-sort bull with his large and drooping horn, his neat bone, his bulging buttocks, furnishes many of the ele- ments which popularly inhere in a champion. He is not of the bulkiest pattern, nor is he on the small side. He has matured a little since last season, but has suffered a slipping of flesh from the shoul- ders, while the ‘band’ back of the crops is a trifle more pronounced. He is a bull of flesh and finish,

876 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

balanced at both ends, and strong in the middle except at the point noted. Compared to the low- legged Onward 4th both Prime Lad and Bright Donald looked a bit off the ground, but that is on account of the remarkable brevity of the under- pinning of the March On 6th bull. It would per- haps be asking too much for a bull of his weight, bulk and sappiness to hold his back altogether level, and the remarkably high carriage of head adds to the impression of slackness of top. He is extremely wide and rotund in his turning, magnificent in his head, horn and crest, and great in buttocks and twist. Bright Donald is a little different type, a very straight-lined yellow-red, with strong heavy well-fashioned hind-quarters, a pleasing head and horn and a great weight of mellow flesh, but with a roughness of shoulder that stands against him. Of Fulfiller it may be said that he has not fulfilled his early promise. In his youth he was easily the best bull produced at Weavergrace. He is extremely low and broad and wealthily fleshed, but he does not carry a level topline and his hips are somewhat too wide. Beau March On is a neat-boned bull, of ex- cellent top and plenty of finish, but his underline shows some suggestion of pinch. Actor 26th carries his heavy weight close to the ground and his ribs are well sprung and covered, but he lacks the smoothness of outline carried by Beau Donald 39th. This bull continues to present the bullet-like style of architecture, with tremendous heavy hind end, and his place at the bottom of the list was much of a surprise.

‘*We. depart in this instance from the rule limit- ing comment to prize-winners to note the presence in the ring of the English champion bull Happy Christmas. He is a bull of great bulk and attractive in his fashioning forward, but evidently he has séen

HISTORY REPEATS 877

better days and at this time was not in fit form to cope with such a company.

The Two-Year-Olds.—1, Defender; sire, Perfec- tion; C. G. Comstock. 2, Keep On 26th; sire, Keep On; O. Harris. 3, Donald March On; sire, March On; W. S. VanNatta & Son. 4, Prince Rupert 8th; sire, Prince Rupert; W. H. Curtice. 5, Right Lad; sire, Kansas Lad, Jr.; S. L. Brock. 6, Romulus; sire, Militant; Gudgell & Simpson. 7, Marmaduke ‘Sth; sire, Marmaduke; S. W. Anderson.

‘‘This company called forward some bulls of a lot of size for the age, and a few of them were a trifle too up-standing. Brevity of legs and weight in small superficies are cardinal points of excellence in the Herefords, and are too highly prized and too deeply ingrained in the breed to be lost. Defender has been growing in popularity as he has been strengthening in form. He is perhaps on the large side, yet not coarse nor wanting type. He has a commanding presence, a good horn, splendid crest, great width of top and smoothness of turning, and is particularly heavy and well finished in the hind- quarters. Keep On 26th is quite on the other type, presenting the no-legged breadth and bulk propo- sition in rather spectacular fashion. He has a beau- tifully carved countenance, but a surplusage of bris- ket. His ribs are widely sprung, his loins deeply packed, his rounds very full, but there is a little un- evenness on the top of his hind-quarters. Donald March On is off. the same fashioning block in large degree, holding his widespread frame close to the ground and claiming attention to the remarkable development of thighs and rounds, but a little heavy in his lower lines. Prince Rupert 8th reverts again to the type at the head of the class, possessing stretch, but low of leg; his foreribs could arch a trifle more, but beneath his yellow-red coat he car-

878 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ries a tremendous weight of firm flesh. Right Lad needs to come nearer the ground; he has the head of a feeder, a grand top and a particularly well filled chine and impressive crest. Romulus returns to the blocky sort—a bull of good head and horn and attractive presence.

‘Senior Yearlings.—1, Onward 18th; sire, March On 6th; James A. Funkhouser. 2, Benjamin Wilton 10th; sire Benjamin Wilton; O. Harris. 3, Beau Donald 58th; sire, Beau Donald; W. H. Curtice. 4, Beau Donald 66th; sire, Beau Donald; W. H. Cur- tice. 5, Princeps 8th; sire, Princeps; Steele Bros. 6, Rare Lad; sire, Kansas Lad Jr.; S. L. Brock. 7, Leader; sire, Beaumont; Steward & Hutcheon.

“‘One of the most stubborn contests of the week quickly developed as Onward 18th and Benjamin Wilton 10th assumed positions on the firing line. The latter is a bit the taller, and shows more growth of frame, with clean throttle, a roomy middlepiece that is arched over in strong fashion to carry its weight of beef, loins that are the glory of the Here- ford in its best estate, and hips neatly covered. On- ward 18th is somewhat wanting the scale of his rival, is well rounded on the rib, but a trifle narrow over the shoulders, remarkable in the full-fashioning of his hind-quarters, surpassing the others in this respect, and showing a blockier conformation throughout. A bull’s head, smooth shoulders, level strong back, full flanks, and much heft of hind-quar- ters characterize Beau Donald 58th. Beau Donald 66th is a soggy sort, neat-boned, great-crested, wide of chest, finely ribbed and plump in covering of loins. Such finish at the tailhead as is carried by Princeps 8th is highly desirable, especially when it is Joined with his rotund turn of top, neat hips and nice style; a little more fullness of heart-girth would improve this bull. Rare Lad carries lots of sub-

[ Bert Fluck } | Harryel Fluck |

880 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

stance, is well conditioned and presents a width of front and covering of forerib that are pleasing. Leader is a strong-framed chap, with well distribu- ted mellow flesh and loin of attractive fullness.

‘“‘Junior Yearlings.—1, Beau President; sire, Beau Brummel; Gudgell & Simpson. 2, Onward 23d; sire, March On 6th; James A. Funkhouser. 3, Meteor; sire, Hesiod 17th; Benton Gabbert & Son. 4, Hidrot- ic Alamo; sire, McCord; John Sparks. 5, Actor 30th; sire, Actor 3d; S. W. Anderson. 6, Marchette; sire, March On 5th; S. L. Brock. 7, World’s Fair Winner; sire, Sotham; Dette Bros.

“Brevity of underpinning, levelness of top, and blockiness of build doubtless stood Beau President well in hand when he faced his competitors in this lot. The steaks that can be cut from his swelling rounds would weigh out heavily over the butcher’s block. Onward 23d has more stretch than the ma- jority of the March On 6th progeny, the same mascu- line character, and rotund buttocks. Meteor is a dark-colored red, very round and bullet-like, carry- ing a lot of flesh in smooth form, but a trifle narrow in his head. Hidrotic Alamo charmed with the beau- tiful smoothness of his outlines, his neat-laid shoul- ders and well covered hips uniting to present a bull of much evenness. Actor 30th is a wide-topped bull of good depth, carrying his bulk on hind legs that are nicely modeled. Marchette is one of the egg-like kind with no waste of leg, and nicely ornamented in horn. Length, style, good back and nice quality are present in World’s Fair Winner, but he had a mighty narrow margin in which to make good his name.

‘Senior Bull Calves.—1, Mapleton; sire, Beau- mont; Steward & Hutcheon. 2, Good Enough 4th; sire, Good Enough 3d; O. Harris. 3, Distributor; sire, Disturber, S. L. Brock. 4, Bold Rex; sire, Dandy

HISTORY REPEATS ; 881

Rex; Gudgell & Simpson. 5, Actor 35th; sire, Actor 3d; S. W. Anderson. 6, Haven’s Protector; sire, Pro- tector; A. R. Haven. 7, Advance; sire, Onward 4th; W.S. VanNatta & Son.

‘‘There were nuts to crack among the senior calves. More than a score assembled and the round finally resolved itself into a consideration of the conflicting claims of Mapleton and Good Enough 4th. In this Mapleton we have champion stuff. He has already attained the title of junior champion, and if the fates are kind to him higher honor seems in sight in the future. He is good enough to be discussed negatively. That is to say, if the tail were a bit more neatly set on the rump the man who would throw stones at him would endeavor to pick flaws in a diamond of the first water. In his form, his substance and his finish Mapleton is 18-karat gold. But it required the services of T. J. Wornall as ref- eree to land him in premier position, so hard did Good Enough 4th push him. The latter is a young- ster of wonderful ripeness, with ample style and fin- ish at tailhead, deep flanks and a furry coat. Mr. Wornall agreed with Mr. Clark in sending Mapleton to the top. Barring a little unevenness at the tail- head Distributor is like cast from a bullet mold. Rounds, loins, ribs and head are capital. The cylin- drical form is nicely illustrated in Bold Rex, bar- ring a little flatness of forerib. A big end, a good head and compact well finished form are shown by Actor 35th. Haven’s Protector is a shade darker than the average in coat, of good growth and mel- low in his flesh. There is a lot of growth to Ad- vance, and he shows fair depth of body.

‘‘Junior Bull Calves.—1, Sagamore; sire, Bright Donald; Gudgell & Simpson. 2, Good Enough 10th; sire, Good Enough 3d; O. Harris. 3, Onward 30th; sire March On 6th; James A. Funkhouser. 4, Beau

882 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Donald 75th; sire, Beau Donald; W. H. Curtice. 5, Mapleton Beau; sire, Beaumont; Steward & Hutch- eon. 6, Don Irving; sire, Henry Irving; W. S. Van- Natta & Son. 7, Onward 31st; sire, March On 6th; James A. Funkhouser.

‘“‘A genuinely good one fore and aft is Sagamore, a calf of true lines, set right at the ground, level of top and bottom, and with hind-quarters that carry the twist well down.to the hocks and fill the lower rounds. Good Enough 10th is a calf of more growth, furry-coated and very sappy, a veal ready for the block but not so strong in the back as Sagamore. On- ward 30th and Onward 31st were on the list, the former a little dark in coat, of blocky build and on short legs, the latter a lighter red of choice quality, not so wide as his companion but sweeter and like an apple in his smoothness. Donald 75th is one of those lathe-turned chaps that has the mellowness of a ripe peach. Mapleton Beau is a rather wee one, well lined out and nice in his quality, while Don Irving has scale and length and a real round build over the back with well finished quarters. This was a capital lot of youngsters and likely contains some names that will be widely known to fame in the future.

‘‘Aged Cows.—1, Lorna Doone; sire, Christopher; W.S. VanNatta & Son. 2, Belle Donald 44th; sire, Beau Donald; W. H. Curtice. 3, Priscilla 5th; sire, Lamplighter; Gudgell & Simpson. 4, Romaine; sire, March On 6th; James A. Funkhouser. 5, Dorinda; sire, Beau Brummel; Fritz & Shea. 6, Modesty 3d; sire, Beau Brummel; Gudgell & Simpson. 7, Belle Donald 59th; sire, Beau Donald; W. H. Curtice.

‘*A score of cows, rather variant in size and condi- tion, some in the height of showyard condition and others with sucking calves at foot, made up a com- pany that commanded a large degree of the time of the judges who finally referred the allotment of third

HISTORY REPEATS 883

prize to N. H. Gentry, being unable to agree. Five cows were selected and sent over to one side the arena and there the scrutiny was prolonged. Lorna Doone, thus far the winner of the year, assumed her accustomed place. She had stout friends for higher favor than she received last year, but now all seem ready to do her reverence. Her kindly countenance is ornamented with a horn that is a bit old-fashioned in its turning but not the least homely; the carcass proposition finds its best exemplification in her broad bosom, widespread frame and generous expanse of top. Some little weakness develops on an examina- tion of the thighs, but the cow in her massiveness and trueness to type readily takes high rank. Belle Don- ald 44th is entitled to consideration among the best of them. She is of fine size, marked quality, broad- bosomed, deep-middled, with back hooped like a bar- rel and hind-quarters well filled. By vote of referee Gentry Priscilla 5th was set above Romaine. The former is a very short-legged cow, looking a bit small in her present company, with very sweet feminine head and drooping horns, straight topline and thick flesh. Romaine is another wide-out block, standing right at the ground, with broad turn to the ribs which are literally rolled and padded in smooth flesh. She shows a beautiful face and if she were equally well finished behind would make more trouble for her competitors. Dorinda is a cow of beautiful sym- metry, wanting just a little closer carriage to the ground. She may be a bit light about the neck but few of them are so well proportioned, so grandly finished in the hind-quarters and so chock full of quality. Modesty 3d hugs the ground closely, the head is pretty and the horns curving, the veins are full, the top wide and the thighs well fleshed. It is a little singular that full sisters should find place on this prizelist, and yet such is the fact. Belle Don-

884. A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ald 59th comes from the mating that produced the second-prize cow in this company. She is a year younger, carries much scale, a fine back and great hind-quarters.

‘“‘The Two-Year-Olds.—1, Amelia; sire, Premier; O. Harris. 2, Heliotrope; sire, Princeps; Steele Bros. 3, Twila; sire, March On 6th; James A. Funkhouser. 4, Domestic; sire, Princeps; Steele Bros. 5, Belle Donald 60th; sire, Beau Donald; W. H. Curtice. 6, Cleo March On; sire, March On; W. 8S. VanNatta & Son. 7, Belle Donald 61st; sire, Beau Donald; W. H. Curtice.

‘‘A marvel of a middle is carried by Amelia. Her head is delightful in its femininity, her spread of back is tremendous, its covering deep, but she fails a little at the tail. Heliotrope is a bit higher on the leg, a heifer of ample scale, grand top, neat brisket, well finished hind end and strong thighs. Twila is darker in coat and nearer the ground, with big middle, a rib that is arched to carry weight, a well finished head and horn, but not so neat in the hooks or the rump as Heliotrope. Domestic is a bit smaller than her stable-mate Heliotrope, more compact in form, of admirable outlines, plenty of mellow flesh and a drooping horn. Belle Donald 60th and Belle Donald 61st are an impressive pair, both of size and sub- stance, the former smooth-fronted and square-fin- ished behind, broad of loin but a trifle light of thigh, the latter dark in coat, broad of loin and like- wise wide of hips, and heavily fleshed. Cleo March On is a heifer of remarkable width of carcass and depth, one of the largest-middled heifers that the breed has shown us.

“Senior Yearlings.—1, Arminta 4th; sire, Prem- ier; O. Harris. 2, Iva 4th; sire, Benjamin Wilton; O. Harris. 3, Ravilla; sire, Hesiod 2d; James A. Funk- houser. 4, Belle Donald 74th; sire, Beau Donald; W.

HISTORY REPEATS 885

H. Curtice. 5, Princess May 3d; sire, Princeps; Steele Bros. 6, Belle of Whitebreast; sire, Dandy Rex; Fritz & Shea. 7, Capitola 20th; sire, Martinet; Gudgell & Simpson.

‘‘The leading position in this class was assumed by a heifer in the highest condition. Arminta 4th is a remarkable 4lock, with pleasing countenance, and a smoothness that is carried uniformly through her make-up. It is such width of body, cover of flesh in the high-priced parts and neatness that give heifers call on such honors. Iva 4th is larger than her companion, with the neckvein of a feeder, fine head, well developed thighs, and a big middle, but she is not so neat about the hips. In head Ravilla is hardly the equal of the pair that stood above her; she has enough size, the rib is well let down, the flanks are full and the flesh is ample. Belle Donald 74th is a great hind-ended heifer, but wants swell- ing out a little in the forerib. She stands on ab- breviated legs and her flesh in its mellowness ‘is pleasing. A little more strength of neck would im- prove Princess May 3d, which joins to a hind-quar- ter of exceptional excellence a well ribbed top. Belle of Whitebreast shows a little darker in the coat than her companions on the list; she has a level- ness of form that is taking and her flesh is well dis- tributed. Capitola 20th is low enough but scarcely carries the width of some of those ahead of her. The head is pretty and is ornamented with a set of incurved horns.

‘‘Junior Yearlings—1, Miss Donald 5th; sire, Beau Donald 5th; O. Harris. 2, Kathleen; sire, March On 6th; James A. Funkhouser. 3, Mayflower; sire, Beaumont; Steward & Hutcheon. 4, Belle Donald 77th; sire, Beau Donald; W. H. Curtice. 5, Belle Donald 76th; sire, Beau Donald; W. H. Cur- tice. 6, Lady March On; sire, March On; W. S.

886 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

VanNatta & Son. 7, Miss Donald 3d; sire, Beau Donald 5th; O. Harris.

‘‘Much wrestling produced the prizelist here. It would have been easier were ‘t’other dear charmer away,’ but she was not. She was right there and silently but none the less forcibly demanding con- sideration. For the blue ribbon wearer it may be said that she is a nugget that finds her most notice- able weakness at the rumps. The forerib is phe- nomenal, the face pleasing, the veins full, the flanks well let down, and the back turned out of a mold including the hips, which are imbedded almost ‘out of feel.’ Kathleen carries a little more depth of rib, some greater size, but hardly the width. She is finished about the head and neatly put together in the shoulders. Mayflower was at a double dis- advantage, she was short of age and a suit of hair. The hand found plenty of flesh to make an interest- ing fight with those above her, but a curly coat gives an advantage to the eye that is with difficulty counteracted by the hand. She lacks the depth of her competitors, but is sweet, level on top and rounding in her outlines, neatly finished at the tail and full in neck-veins. Belle Donald 77th stands nearer the ground than the others, is firm to the touch, but not neat at the tailhead. Her half sister Belle Donald 76th is a broad-faced big-framed heifer with even more weight of flesh. Lady March On is a deep and roomy heifer, with a little uneven- ness about the hooks. Miss Donald 3d is a wide- topped one and carries plenty of flesh where it should be laid on.

. ‘Senior Heifer Calves—1, Purple Leaf 2d; sire,

Good Enough 3d; O. Harris. 2, Beaumont’s Queen; sire, Beaumont; Steward & Hutcheon. 3, Miss Don- ald 6th; sire, Beau Donald 5th; O. Harris. 4, Dawn; sire, March On 6th; James A. Funkhouser. 5,

HISTORY REPEATS 887

Blanche 28th; sire, Paladin; Gudgell & Simpson. 6, Dorinne 19th; sire, Dandy Rex; Gudgell & Simpson. 7, Onward’s Elsie; sire, Onward 4th; W. S. Van- Natta & Son.

‘Purple Leaf 2d could win on her coat, if a prize were offered for a furry robe. But she has more substantial claims to consideration in her width and depth and true proportions. Finish at both ends is ample. Beaumont’s Queen is smoothly fashioned, drops her flank to the limit, and shows sweet char- acter. Miss Donald 6th is remarkably mature of form, considerably larger in her middlepiece than the one above her, finely coated and attractive in her countenance. Mellowness sticks out all over Dawn; that yellow-red coat seems commonly to cover a wealth of flesh even and springy to the hand, and it is so in this case. Blanche 28th is of the same hue; she is well spread in hind-quarters and wide enough forward, showing a well rounded chine and excellent forerib. Dorinne 19th is a bit tall in comparison, but well let down in her ribs and padded in her loins. Onward’s Elsie is a somewhat better type, showing a lot of breadth and ample cover.

‘‘Junior Heifer Calves.—1, Miss Donald 17th; sire, Beau Donald Sth; O. Harris. 2, Belle 17th; sire, Paladin; Steward & Hutcheon. 3, Miss Donald 18th; sire, Beau Donald 5th; O. Harris. 4, Estella; sire, Princeps; Steele Bros. 5, Bonita; sire, Lord Saxon; Mrs. Kate W. Cross. 6, Evangeline; sire, Peerless Wilton 39th; H. J. Fluck. 7, Regina; sire, Hesiod 85th; James A. Funkhouser.

‘‘Miss Donald 17th and Miss Donald 18th were separated on the list by Belle 17th. The first named is sweet and sappy and well grown; her companion holds her width evenly, is neatly finished in her quarters and exceptionally good in her body. Belle

888 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

17th is big-ended, wide-backed and carries a bit more scale. Estella is full-thighed and good in mid- dle, but not so smooth in her shoulders or her hips. Bonita was one of the best grown and sappiest in the company, an even calf in make-up with plenty of depth of rib. A little nugget is Evangeline and Regina is on the same order.

“Get of Sire (Four).—1, Curtice on Beau Donald. 2, Funkhouser on March On 6th. 3, Steele Bros. on Princeps. 4, Curtice on Beau Donald. 5, Harris on Beau Donald 5th. 6, Steward & Hutcheon on Beau- mont. 7, Gudgell & Simpson on Beau Brummel.

‘*Produce of Cow (Two).—1, Curtice on Minnie ‘H. 2, Funkhouser on Keepsake. 3, Curtice on Sophia. 4, Funkhouser on Dewdrop. 5, Harris on Iva. 6, Steele Bros. on Lady May 3d. 7, Fritz & Shea on Dorinda.

‘‘Championships.—Senior champion bull, W. S. VanNatta & Son’s Prime Lad; reserve senior cham- pion, Harris’ Defender. Junior champion bull, Steward & Hutcheon’s Mapleton; reserve junior champion, Gudgell & Simpson’s Beau President.

‘‘Senior champion cow, VanNatta & Son’s Lorna Doone; reserve senior champion, O. Harris’ Amelia. Junior champion female, Harris’ Arminta 4th; re- serve junior champion, Harris’ Miss Donald 5th.

‘‘Grand champion bull, Prime Lad; reserve grand champion, Mapleton.

‘“‘Grand champion female, Lorna Doone; reserve grand champion, Arminta 4th.

‘Group Prizes.—Aged herds—1, Harris. 2, Funk- houser. 3, Curtice. 4, VanNatta & Son. 5, Gudgell & Simpson. 6,.Steele Bros. 7, Anderson. Aged herds (females bred by exhibitor)—1, Harris. 2, Funkhouser. 3, VanNatta & Son. 4, Gudgell & Simpson. 5, Steele Bros. 6, Anderson.

‘Young herds—1, Harris. 2, Funkhouser. 3,

HISTORY REPEATS 889

Gudgell & Simpson. 4, Curtice. 5, Steele Bros. 6, Steward & Hutcheon. 7, Harris. Young herds (females bred by exhibitor)—1, Harris. 2, Funk- houser. 3, Gudgell & Simpson. 4, Curtice. 5, Steele Bros. 6, Steward & Hutcheon. 7, Harris.’’

A VanNatta Triumph.—The winning of both the male and the female championships at this crown- ing event in American showyard history with Prime Lad and Lorna Doone as well as at the Chicago In- ternational in December, was a fitting climax to the work of William S. VanNatta. For a quarter of a century he had been a steadfast follower of Here- ford fortunes, through adversity as well as through seasons of prosperity. Never carried away by his own successes beyond the line of safety, never los- ing faith in the ultimate place of good ‘‘white faces’? in the American cattle trade, working away ‘along practical lines at all times, even when pedi- gree cattle were going at beef prices, his hand never wearied, his heart never wavered in the course of his work in behalf of Hereford cattle in the United States. Now ably seconded by his son, Frank, he not only had the satisfaction of receiving the high- est honors of the year, but was secure in the knowl- edge that his work would be faithfully and intelli- gently carried forward.

Death of Gov. Simpson.—As the sands of 1903 ran out the life of one of the greatest of all the Hereford pioneers was slowly ebbing, and on Jan. 5, 1904, Thomas Alexander Simpson passed over the great divide at the ripe age of 82 years. In the years 1880, 1881 and 1882 he had selected for im-

890 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

portation by the firm of Gudgell & Simpson no less than 500 head of Hereford and Aberdeen-Angus cat- tle, including Anxiety 4th. He was a striking figure in any company, tall and imposing, with strength of character stamped in every feature, yet dignified, gentle and modest in his bearing. He was one of the keenest judges of cattle this country has pro- duced. No man was more tenacious of his opinion or less aggressive in its expression. He was broad- minded and tolerant of the judgment of others, while clear and firm in his own convictions. He was a man of such few words and so deprecatingly modest in his manner that first impressions needed revision. When it came to trading, English and Scotch breeders found concealed behind this quiet demeanor a judgment and a shrewdness which they had little expected to encounter. It was diamond cut diamond. No man left behind him in Britain a greater reputation for keen judgment of animal and price than did Gov. Simpson. It was a wonderful lot of cattle he selected of both breeds and no little of the history of the Hereford and Aberdeen-Angus in America originated in the operations under this master breeder’s mind. Gov. Simpson’s name stands high on the honor roll of the great American improvers of beef cattle stocks.

Dull Days.—There is little to be said about the status of the trade in 1905. The business of extend- ing the use of purebred bulls on the western ranges was going on as usual, but there was an almost en- tire absence of speculative spirit. As a matter of

FRANK VANNA'

892 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

fact, it is during just such dull periods, however, that foundations for future successes are always laid by men possessed of foresight and sufficient capital to make selections of good animals when subnormal prices prevail. The business was enter- ing a quiet stage, but a situation which after all was conducive to real progress. Still waters always run deepest.

On April 25 A. C. Huxley of Bunker Hill, Ind., sold 40 head at $170.50, R. C. Cain of the Hoosier state giving $1,000 for the bull Merry Dale. The. usual fall combination sale at Kansas City resulted in an average of $215.25 for 57 head. E. R. Morgan of Kansas gave $1,400 for the Funkhouser bull On- ward 18th. At the same place in December Messrs. Armour and Funkhouser had a fairly good sale of 75 head averaging $200.45, at which Messrs. J. & B. Miller of Iowa gave $1,105 for the Gabbert-bred bull Columbus 60th.

‘Individual Merit by Inheritance.’’—This Sotham slogan found marvelous exemplification at the Kan- sas City Royal and the Chicago International of 1905. At the former show Mr. Comstock had first- prize and senior championship with Defender, son of Perfection, the great son of Dale. Defender had narrowly missed the championship honors in 1904, and at Kansas City a year later could not be denied the place. Another son of Perfection that was to cut a great figure appeared at this same show—the first-prize senior yearling shown by Mr. Huxley, Perfection Fairfax. In the bull calves the senior and junior classes were both headed by sons of

HISTORY REPEATS 893

Prime Lad, both shown by Messrs. VanNatta. The junior champion, Prime Lad 16th, represented the mating of Prime Lad with Lorna Doone. These shows also were full of demonstrations of the won- derful manner in which the Anxiety blood was com- ing on as shown by Curtice, Gudgell & Simpson and others. March On 6th’s get were again seen throughout the prizelist, as were also Gabbert’s young things of the Columbus blood. At the Inter- national Defender was not shown, and Cargill & McMillan led the aged bull class and also had the senior champion in Fulfiller. The Prime Lads led in junior yearling bulls, senior bull calves and junior bull calves. In the cow class Cargill & McMillan’s Heliotrope beat the pair of Belle Donalds as well as Lorna Doone. . &

The sale season of 1906 opened with a public sale by Gudgell & Simpson at Kansas City on Feb. 7, at which 57 head registered an average of $230.50. Early in March Mr. Nave sold 62 head at Attica, Ind., at an average of $208.

Autumn Sales of 1906.—On Oct. 24, 1906, the herd of Mr. Jesse Adams of Moweaqua, III., was sold, the 36 head which remained at that time bringing an average of $230. The top price was $1,000 paid by J. W. Altman of Dubuque, Ia., for the bull Perfec- tion 3d by Dale. The next highest price was $500 by Cargill & McMillan for Lady Real by Perfection 3d. While these values seem ridiculously low com- pared with some of the great prices that had been paid by Mr. Adams for his foundation stock, he

Photo by Hildebrand

HELIOTROPE, CARGILL & McMILLAN’S SENIOR CHAMPION COW AT THB INTBRNATIONAL OF 1905.

HISTORY REPEATS 895

demonstrated to those in attendance by actual fig- ures that even if the prices had been high for some of his original purchases, without exception every cow had produced offspring, from the sale of which the cost was paid and a profit beside. Mr. Adams is the man who gave the bull Disturber 139989 to the American Hereford cattle-breeding fraternity. That alone justifies a large share of the time and money he had lavished upon his herd.

On Nov. 7 John Steward’s cattle were sold at Bolckow, Mo., the 46 head averaging $198.60 and the yearling bull Parsifal bringing $650. On Oct. 12 at Kansas City 47 head averaged $193.65, O. Harris paying the top price of $575 for the Funkhouser- bred bull Onward 31st. The combination sale at Chicago on Dec. 12 resulted in an average of $167 on 51 head.

Cargill & McMillan’s Great Success.— Without un- dertaking any detailed review of the fall fairs of 1906—for we must now hasten our story—it may be stated that Messrs. Cargill & McMillan reaped the highest showyard honors of the year. At Kansas City their best bull, Princeps 4th, was not shown, as it was decided to hold him back for the Interna- tional. Mr. Steward’s Beau Mystic headed the senior bulls, but Cargill & McMillan won in both two-year-olds and senior yearlings. The young bulls Onward 46th and 54th, both by March On 6th and of Funkhouser breeding, were blue ribbon winners here. Mr. Hoxie had the best senior bull calf at Kansas City in Peerless Perfection 10th, sired by

896 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE .-

Perfection, but at Chicago Cargill & McMillan’s Fulfiller 3d was placed above him. This firm was first on both aged and young herds at Kansas City and Chicago. Princeps 4th was senior champion bull at Chicago. Bonnie Brae 3d was junior cham- pion at Chicago and Princeps 4th grand champion. Heliotrope was senior and grand champion female. It was a proud day for ‘‘Jimmy”’ Price.*

*James Price was born in Herefordshire, England, on the first of November, 1869, and worked on his father’s farm until 1890, when he started for America to fight his own battles. He had never been away from home before and did not know a person in America, He landed in Chicago on the first of ‘July, 1890, with a few letters of introduction, among others one to Tom Clark. He proceeded at once to Beecher determined to take the first job he could get, as he had by this time just $10 left. When he arrived at Beecher he met Mr. Clark, who gave him employment. He worked on the farm that_summer and winter, being paid $14 a month. About that time Harry Fluck bought out the Baker herd and rented the farm, and Price went to assist in the care of the cattle.

In the spring of 1894 the young man returned to Mr. Clark. with whom he then remained for three years. Lars was the champion bull of those days. Speaking of him Price says: “I will never forget the day Lars defeated Ancient Briton. It was on the little LaCrosse, Wis., fair grounds the week before the Minnesota State Fair. Prof. Craig did the judging, and Lars held first place after that for three successive years.” These were also the days of the famous sisters Juvenile, Jessamine and Juno. In 1896 Mr. Clark made a show at Madison Square Garden, and from there Price left for a trip home. He returned on the first of April, 1897, and hired to John Lewis of Shadeland, but as he was anxious to feed for show he remained at Shadeland but about ten months. At that time Frank Nave was mak- ing his start. He bought at Shadeland a few show animals and engaged Price. This was in March, 1898. Nave had gathered a few show animals together, including Dale, Atoka, Dolly 5th and Carnation.

_Referring to the conditions at Attica at the time, Price says: “Things were pretty unhandy the first summer, but _in the fall Mr. Nave built a barn, the best one I ever worked in. We made a fair showing the first year, winning the aged herd everywhere, iacluding the world’s fair at Omaha, but the next year we got busy and brought out what I always considered the best aged herd I ever fed, winning everywhere. We also had the two famous calves Perfection and The- ressa. Perfection was the only bull that ever beat Dale while I handled them. That occurred at Indiana when we were showing for grand champion bull over all breeds and Perfection won. He was only a calf at the time. The judges were George Allen, David McKay and Mr. Pickrell, three good men. In the spring of 1900 Mr. Nave decided to sell out, and his sale the 17th of April in Chicago was a record- breakey, including, I think, the best lot of cattle I ever saw go through a gale.

Overton Harris was then making his start in showing and now engaged Price. He had bought a few cattle at the Nave sale. Only a@ small show was made that year, but in 1901 Harris came out with a string hard to beat, winning with three herds everywhere he exhibited. The calf herd that year, Price claims, was_the best he ever fitted. It was headed by Goodenough 10th and included the two: famous ‘‘Amer- ican beauties,” Lucife and Troublesome. In 1902 and 1903 Harris also

HISTORY REPEATS 897

Passing of Funkhouser, Steward and Scarlett.— The year 1906 was marked by the passing of several men who had exerted large influence upon Hereford cattle breeding in the west.

In the decease of James A. Funkhouser the state of Missouri lost one of her most successful breeders. He was one of those who contributed substantially to the improvement which most American breeders believed had taken place in the western states since the Herefords were first largely introduced from England. Mr. Funkhouser was born in 1846. He was a feeder and shipper of live stock, and had a small herd of Shorthorns until 1881. While attend- ing the fair at St. Louis in that year he saw Here- fords for the first time, and they impressed him so

made a good showing. Competition was hard, but he got a good share of the premiums. In 1904 at St. Louis he was “loaded up” with good things, and made a great record.

About this time Mr. W. S. Cargill, a lumberman at LaCrosse, Wis., was about to launch into Herefords. He had bought a few cat- tle, but wanted tops, so he made a trip to the Harris farms and wanted to buy the show herd providing Price would go with them. Harris was willing to sell at a price, but the price was stiff. How- ever Mr. Cargill was game and bought fifteen head, which Price was to pick out. After the International of that year the selections were made and “Jim” transferred the scene of his labors to LaCrosse. When he landed there he found the weather severe, but everything Necessary to take care of a show herd had been provided. The first show made from the Cargill & McMillan herd was at Sedalia, and from there the herd went to Des Moines, where it won the grand champion herd prize over all breeds with Fulfiller and four first-prize females. The same year they won the Armour cup at Kansas City and repeated the following year, which reduced it to possession. In 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1909 the herd still held its own. In the fall of 1908 Price became interested in the herd, Mr. McMillan dropping out, and the firm name was changed to Cargill & Price.

In 1909, having become tired of the show business, Cargill & Price decided to sell out the show herd. This event took place in April, 1910, and involved considerable sacrifice. Price then took a rest, going back to the old home in Herefordshire for three months. On his return he purchased Mr. Cargill’s interest in the cattle, rented the farm and started on his own account. “It was a little up-hill work at first,” writes the veteran showman, “but I am thankful to say that I have now a nice little herd of Herefords and a 160-acre farm to put them on, and all clear. I owe what success I have made all to the Herefords, and strict attention to business, The best ant- mals I ever fed were the bulls Dale, Princeps 4th, Bonnie Brae 3d and Lars; the best females, Heliotrope, Arminta 4th, Amelia. Betty 2d, Dolly 5th and Miss Donald 17th.”

898 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

favorably that he decided to give them a trial. In May, 1882, he purchased from T. L. Miller, Beecher, Ill., a pair of calves—the bull Invincible and heifer Landscape Maid. His first experience in breeding was to produce cross-bred steers, using Shorthorn cows. He was so well pleased that he then bought a few Hereford females. His cross-bred steers were shown successfully in Chicago and Kansas City and sold at good prices for Christmas beef. A few years later he began showing breeding cattle. He was specially happy in his choice of breeding bulls, both Hesiod 2d and March On 6th proving showyard champions, as well as great sires. For the former $5,000 was refused, and an offer of $7,500 for the latter is said to have been declined. Much of the success met by the herd in the showring was due to the careful handling and fitting of Will Willis.

In the death of John Steward Missouri suffered another real loss. He was cut down in the very prime of an eminently useful life. Steward was one of the most sane, most conscientious, most depend- able men ever identified with American Herefords. In partnership with Mr. Hutcheon he was engaged in building up a herd that was distinguished for true Hereford character and quality.

In November, 1906, Capt. E. C. Scarlett was added to the list of the notable dead. He was a man of good birth and education, coming from the old fam- ily estate of Nordan Hall near Leominster, Here- fordshire. He was one of the many natives of that county who came to the west. when the Herefords

HISTORY REPEATS 899

were being actively introduced, and at different times was identified with the management of sev- eral large establishments. He was at one time at- tached to the Iowa Hereford Cattle Co., and was for six years in charge of the Riverside Ranch at Ashland, Neb. Subsequently he was for three years head of the Belton Hereford Cattle Co., Belton, Mo., and lates identified with Mr. Cook at Brookmont Farm. He died at Odebolt, Ia., on Nov. 18.

The Hoxie and Other Sales of 1907.—The most notable sale of the year 1907 was that of Gilbert Hoxie at Thornton, Ill., on June 13, when 42 head brought an average of $308. The bull Perfection, then in his eighth year, went to Clem Graves at $3,900.* A. W. Jenkins of Texas took Prime Lad 5th at $1,100. Mr. Nave sold 70 head in March at an average of $229.50, the top being $1,975 given by S. R. Waters of Missouri for the show cow Nut- brown 9th. In February the Avery-Hines Co. sold at St. Louis 63 head at an average price of $127, the Jamison bull Albany, that had cost $6,000 in Eng- land and now eight years old, selling to Edmunds, Shade & Co. of Iowa at $1,000. In May Mrs. Cross . closed out her cattle at Emporia, 64 head bringing an average of $129. In April Giltner Bros. sold 43 cattle at Nashville at an average of $178.80, and on ‘May 2 Gudgell & Simpson realized $149.75 on 47 head at Kansas City.

*Although Mr, Graves bought Perfection at this sale for $3,900, Mr. Hoxie had not closed out all of his females and per- suaded Mr. Graves to permit Perfection to remain for a time in his service. Some months later Tom Clark negotiated the sale of the entire herd, including Perfection, to W. H. Curtice.

900 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Giltner’s imported bull Protector died in Novem- ber, 1907, at the age of ten years.

Perfection Fairfax Arrives.—First it was Dale, then Perfection, and now the latter’s son Perfection Fairfax, bred by Gilbert Hoxie and sold to Mr. Hux- ley, who had the satisfaction of winning first with the ‘‘future great’’ sire at Kansas City. In addition to that honor Perfection Fairfax annexed at the Chicago International the senior bull championship, which at Kansas City had been sent to Prime Lad 9th. He was shown at a weight of about 2,340 pounds. The VanNattas were first in two-year-old bulls at both shows with Prime Lad 9th. Cargill & Price were successful in carrying off the aged herd prize at both shows, and at Kansas City also had the young herd prize. At Chicago Mr. Brock had first on young herds, the get of Disturber now be- ginning to come forward with great promise.

The Bargain Counter of 1908—This was a hope- lessly discouraging year so far as salés were con- cerned, but the fall shows developed strength. Prices, in fact, were at the lowest ebb of this de- pression, a total of 936 head being passed through the sale ring at a general average of $116.15, as | against an average of $123.70 for 1,358 head sold during the preceding year. Mr. Nave sold 98 head at Attica, Ind., for an average of $124. At a com- bination sale held at Kansas City early in the year 170 cattle were distributed at the absurd price of $88 per head. The general appreciation, however, of the Anxiety blood was well demonstrated even in

HISTORY REPEATS 901

those dark days by the fact that two Gudgell & Simpson bulls made on this same occasion $400 and $430 respectively.* It was at the very bottom of this extreme depression that Murray Boocock of Virginia closed out at Chicago the herd which he had founded some years before at Castalia. The cattle were offered in ordinary field condition and were passed through the ring at practically beef prices. The imported bull Salisbury, that had been bought at the Sunny Slope sale, went under the hammer in his twelve-year-old form at $150. At Kansas City during the October show 52 head sold for an average of $173, W. J. Tod of Maple Hill tak- ing a number of bulls for range purposes. During the Chicago International 49 head sold for an aver- age of $160.

It was during this period that an effort was made to obtain a share of the Argentine business in Here- fords. Secretary Charles R. Thomas of the Hereford association had been sent to South America to ex- ploit the claims of American Herefords and some trial shipments were made. The expenses connected with these experimental efforts, however, were so heavy that not much headway was made in opening up a market in that country.

In December, 1908, W. H. Curtice bought Perfec-

*As indicating how dull the cattle trade can be at times, Mr. Charles Gudgell states that some years ago he wrote a number of letters to various breeders offering and recommending the stock bull Don Quixote, then four years old, just in his prime and 4 sire of proved worth at the price of $100. He was half-brother to the cele- brated Don Carlos, having the same mother, Dowager 6th.’ But after Mr. Gudgell waited several weeks and received no response the bull was shipped to Kansas City and sold for beef, where at a weight of 2,200 pounds he netted more than the price asked.

902 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

tion, then in his tenth year, along with 26 of the best Hoxie cows and heifers. The bull had been successfully shown from calfhood and when let down after his career was ended retained his smoothness of flesh in remarkable fashion. The results of his use upon the Beau Donald herd appear in recent showyard history.

A Famous Heifer Class—The exhibits of Here- fords at both Kansas City and Chicago in the fall of 1908 were dltogether remarkable, contrasting strangely with the profound depression that had been experienced by the trade during the year. It afforded ample evidence, however, of the fact that the fortunes of the breed were still in the hands of men who believed in the future of the ‘‘ white faces.’’ The quality of the exhibits this year was indeed superb, a fine illustration of this fact being the senior heifer calf class at Kansas City, where there were twenty-eight entries, every one of real show- yard character. The society distributed ten extra prizes in addition to the eight regular ones, and by way of good measure added a reserve prize. The winner of the lowest place had been a second-prize calf at a strong state fair that year. It was, as a matter of fact, a real record-breaking display of Hereford excellence—a sensational demonstration of the continued success of American breeders in de- veloping cattle of the very highest type and all the more impressive because brought forward at a time when the immediate financial rewards of pedigree breeding were, to say the least, unsatisfactory.

HISTORY REPEATS 903

Harris had first in aged bulls with Onward 31st, son of March On 6th, a bull weighing around 2,400 pounds. Mr. Nave’s Prime Star Grove, a very smooth low-standing bull, stood next and above Prime Lad 9th. In two-year-olds Cornish & Patten were first on Beau Carlos after a hard fight with Harris, who was showing Dislodger by Disturber. Brock had first in senior yearlings on Distinction by Disturber. Giltners headed the junior yearlings with British Highball, by imp. Britisher and they also won the senior bull calf prize on Beau Colum- bus. Warren T. McCray, Kentland, Ind., a man who was later on to make notable Hereford history, participated in this memorable show, and drew first prize in aged cows on Prairie Queen. McCray had acquired Perfection Fairfax during the year, and while the bull did not win in the strong senior class, he stood at the head of the herd with which Mr. Mc- Cray finally defeated the VanNattas, Harris, Cargill & McMillan and Giltner, in the order named. Van- Nattas’ Prime Lads had first in the class for get of sire, and McCray’s lot by Perfection Fairfax was second. ;

An Omen of Better Days.—The Hereford show of 1908 gathered strength as it moved forward, and by the time the Chicago International was reached in December it called forth the following high en- comium:

‘‘The Hereford breed has just brought to a glo- rious conclusion the most sensational show season ever written into its history. Marshalling their forces in marvelous array at the opening of .the cam-

904 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

paign, breeders of the ‘white faces’ have marched forward conquering and to conquer, sweeping tri- umphantly through the circuit with banners proudly flying, challenging stockmen of America to witness the spuerlative degree of perfection to which the studious breeders of this grazier’s race of cattle have brought their favorites through long years of devoted endeavor. There has been nothing half- hearted about this campaign. It was almost Gideon- like in its generalship. There was no sounding of trumpets before the strife, but when the cohorts were uncovered at Des Moines, the surprise of the attack admirably served to strengthen the battle array which in deliberate fashion must be recorded as the most effective campaign the breed has ever conducted.

‘Figures may make more pertinent this line of comment. Five years ago the Hereford contingent numbered only 94 at the International. Even last year the numerical strength of the exhibit had risen only to 183, while the week just closed witnessed entries that reached almost to two hundred and a half. The pulses of this camp have been stirred to unwonted vigor of beat, and the genial glow of a stimulated circulation has been felt throughout the live stock world. When in the presence of these wonderfully-ripened ‘white faces’ mention is made of this year of drouth and feed shortage one must rub his eyes in bewilderment. Never has fitting been carried so far. Nay, rather should we draw a finer distinction and say that no year has revealed such artistic fitting in the Hereford camp. There is a remarkable freedom from that over-ripe condition which reveals prolonged lingering at the meal tub. For the most part entries are in impressive flesh and most attractive bloom, so that the eyes of the en-

HISTORY REPEATS 905

thusiast may be freely feasted in an inspection of the magnificent arrays of animals of this breed.’’

The judging on this occasion was done by Rob- ert H. Hazlett of Eldorado, Kans., Boog-Scott of Coleman, Tex., and Thomas Mortimer. In the aged bull class a newcomer, Preceptor, by Princeps 8th and shown by Dale & Wight, was assigned pre- mier position over Prime Lad 9th, Prime Star Grove, Bonnie Brae 3d and Harry Fluck’s Ben Bolt in the order named. So good a bull as Perfection Fairfax was here set down to eighth in this notable line of twelve. Bonnie Brae 8th, shown by J. C. Robinson & Son, Evansville, Wis., headed the two-year-olds and was subsequently made senior champion, the junior bull championship falling to Prince Rupert 17th, shown by Luce & Moxley, Shelbyville, Ky. McCray was again first in the aged cows with Prairie Queen, but VanNatta’s first-prize two-year- old Prime Lad heifer Margaret was made senior champion female, the junior championship falling to Donalda, Clem Graves’ first-prize senior heifer. The VanNattas had both the aged and young herd prizes, Giltner was first in calf herds, Cargill & Mc- Millan showed the first produce-of-cow and the Van- Nattas were first with their Prime Lads on four progeny of one sire.

This heartening show was the beginning of the end of the doldrums into which the trade in pedi- gree Herefords had now for several years been wal- lowing.

GHAPTER XXII. PROSPERITY REGAINED.

We have now but to deal with the great revival of the comparatively recent past, and our story ends. In this we must be brief for obvious reasons. In the first place, the tale already grows too long. In the second place, present-day readers do not require, nor probably desire, as full information as to the herds and contests of today as is rightly demanded in the case of the events of more remote periods. There is personal knowledge of contemporary af- fairs. History deals more with the past than the present. Let us, therefore, sketch rapidly.*

An Upward Trend in 1909.—The general average of public valuations on offerings aggregating 1,400 head of registered cattle in 1909 was $127.05. This

*We should not pass over the events of 1909 without noting the decease of Tom Smith of Crete, Ill., which removed from the ranks of the Hereford breeding fraternity a man of Scottish birth who had rendered yeoman service in the up-building of the interest in the “white faces” in the United States. He managed a Hereford herd at Grimley, Worcestershire, England, before coming to the States. He first located at Manhattan, Kans. Soon after this he went to Beecher, Til, as herd manager for T. L. Miller, and later on had charge of the herd of A. C. Reed, which was maintained for some years at Goode- now. Upon leaving this work Mr. Smith established himself on a farm at Crete, where he bred Herefords successfully for many years. He was a thorough cattleman, and while he never figured conspicu- ously in the sale and show lists, in a quiet way he supplied much good material to the breed, including Rose Blossom, the dam of the

10,000 Dale, and of Columbia, the grandam of Disturber. He was a keen judge of values, At Clark’s dispersion sale, for example, he purchased a cow and bull calf for $200 which he afterwards disposed of for $1,400. He was a natural-born trader and many a carload of cattle passed through his hands to the mutual advantage of both buyer and seller. Tom had few superiors as a judge, and his services were in constant demand at the leading shows, confidence in his integrity as well as in his intelligence being general.

908

PROSPERITY REGAINED 907

was significant, not so much because of the slight appreciation in the general level, but as an evidence that the inevitable reaction was setting in. Early in the year Giltner Bros. sold privately the young show bull British Highball to L. B. Burnet of Fort Worth, Tex., at $1,500. In March Cornish & Patten sold 117 head at Osborn, Mo., for an average of $206.90, the Anaconda Copper outfit of Montana paying $1,080 for Beau Carlos. At Kansas City on March 9 in a combination sale 54 head averaged $160, Mr. Cornish giving $775 for the yearling bull Onward 71st. On March 24 Mr. Nave closed out his cattle, 99 head in all, at an average of $140, D. E. McConnell of Nebraska taking out the Prime Lad bull Queen’s Lad at $600.

S. W. Anderson of West Virginia, who had been for many years the leading defender of the faith in the Virginias, dispersed his herd, making an aver- age of $140 on 122 head. In September various Ken- tucky breeders contributed 35 head to a sale at Louisville that averaged $165.70, R. C. Hardeman of West Virginia paying the top price of $1,025 for Curtice’s Beau Donald 87th. In October the com- bination offering at Kansas City averaged $166.50 on 49 head, at which Mr. Cudahy gave $800 for Prime Lad 38th. At Chicago in December 48 head were disposed of at $191, William Reynolds of Wyo- ming buying the Giltner show heifer Florence Acro- bat at $700 and C. A. Tow of Iowa taking Makin’s Principal 6th at $960.

Prime Lads at a Premium.—Enthusiasm again ran

4 & aie jes _ BS. cz i PRIME LAD 9TH 218968, BRED BY W. 8S. VANNATTA & SON.

PROSPERITY REGAINED 909

high at the shows of 1909. The state fairs revealed overwhelming excellence in the Hereford section, and the annual round-up at Kansas City in October was indeed a battle royal.

, The extraordinary career of the VanNatta cattle

in the American showyard is essentially one of the dominant notes of this volume. Indeed, such con- tinuity of successful effort finds few parallels in bovine histories, and no record that fails to reflect this fact would present the truth. Prime Lad ‘‘The Great’’ was now dead, but how his sons were march- ing on! At the Kansas City and Chicago shows of 1909 Prime Lad 9th was first-prize aged bull and headed the first-prize aged herd over the Cargill & Price, McCray, Makin Bros. and J. L. VanNatta group. In the get-of-sire contest four Prime Lads were first, not only at Kansas City but at Chicago, in competition with the get of Perfection Fairfax, Beau Paragon, Princeps 4th, Young Beau Brummel and Prince Rupert 8th. At Chicago Prime Lad 9th not only headed the senior bull class but was senior champion as well. The great Prime Lad cow Mar- garet headed her class at both big shows, and at Kansas City was both senior and grand champion female. Then there was the two-year-old heifer Iva. Moreover, McCray’s Prime Lad i6th youngsters were pulling ribbons in the senior bull calf classes and the best of these, Gay Lad 6th, was one of a pair of calves sold to ‘‘Joe’’ Green for the Charles P. Taft ranch in southeast Texas for $2,500, the transaction taking place at the International. And

910 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

‘‘there were others.’’ Prime Lad 16th and Folly’s Lad were in the money in the aged bulls and Prime Lad 38th was wearing a ribbon among two-year- olds. Then there was that rare heifer Rosette; and all the while John Letham was as proud and happy over it as were the owners. Why not? And the Lads were to be heard from again another day.*

Let it not be forgotten, nevertheless, that wrapped

*John Letham was born at Stonehouse, Lanarkshire, Scotland, in March, 1859. He came to this country when twenty-one years old and started from the ship’s side with $2.50 in his pocket. Two years later he was employed at Youngstown, O., feeding Shorthorns, From there he went to Princeton, Ill., where he had charge of the Shorthorns and Percherons of the late Dr. W. H. Winter. Thence he went to Lea- land, Tenn., among the Sussex of Overton Lea, and here found his first chance to enter the showyards of the west—first in 1887 with Mayfern, a 2,180-pound Sussex cow, again in 1888 with Rosewood, the champion yearling and grand champion carcass steer, following in 1889 by George, winner of “The Breeder’s Gazette” challenge shield for best steer bred and fed by exhibitor.

In the spring of 1891 John Letham went to Mr. VanNatta’s at Fowler, Ind., where he fed Hickory Nut, winner of “The Breeder's Gazette” shield and grand championship, and also the champion herd of three steers at the Chicago Fat Stock Show. In 1892 he fed Jerry Rusk, champion at Des Moines and reserve at Chicago Emergency Show. He was still with Mr. VanNatta in_ 1893, the World’s Fair year at Chicago, when Miss Beau Real 3d headed the aged cow class at eight years and the beautiful Annabel was first-prize two- year-old and champion Hereford female (the reserve going to Miss Beau Real 3d). While it was not Letham’s good fortune to show Cherry Brandy at the Fat Stcok Show that fall, he left him ready for the fray after two years’ careful training, although the steer had never been shown up to that time.

From 1893 until 1900 Letham was not in the arena, but on the latter date he came forward with the two sensational calves from Mr. Henry’s—The Woods Principal and Prince Edward, champion calf and reserve champion, In 1901 The Principal was grand champion and Prince Edward champion grade of the show. This same year Prime Lad was in his yearling form, all three animals being from one crop of calves. In 1902 Prince Edward was grand champion at Des Moines and stood second to Shamrock at Chicago, while Valiant Lad was champion yearling and reserve grand champion. In 1903 Prime Lad won his way to grand champion honors in his two-year-old form, but the herd was dispersed and a new lot had then to be bred or bought. In 1904 came Little Joe, grand champion at St. Louis, and Rare Lad, junior champion bull at Chicago,

Meantime, in the hands of Mr. VanNatta Prime Lad went on and became the St. Louis Exposition and Chicago International grand cham- pion of 1904. In 1905, while still with Mr. Brock, Letham gained th two-year-old and Hereford bullock championship at the Internationa with the great steer Silver Lad, by Kansas Lad Jr. Letham’s skill was well established in the handling of this bullock. Three shows were made with him, He had second as a calf and yearling, and in his two-year-old form at a weight of over 1,700 pounds was the cham- pion white-faced bullock of the year.

In more recent years Mr. Letham has greatly added to his laurels through the great records made by the Disturbers.

PROSPERITY REGAINED 911

up in rich furry robes in these same great classes were stars of the first magnitude from the other great central sources of the time. McCray was com- ing strong on Perfection Fairfax stock. Jim Price was forcing the fighting with the Princepses, Ful- fillers and Bonnie Braes. Harris was crowding all winners with his Beau Donald Sths, besides supply- ing Dislodger and Repeater by Disturber. The Gilt- ners, Clem Graves, Dr. Logan, Luce & Moxley and J. H. & J. L. VanNatta were also in the thick of the fray with finely fitted cattle.

It was truly a wonderful display, that show of 1909—bloom everywhere with excessive obesity clearly, and properly, at a discount as compared with the olden days.

More Ground Regained in 1910.—The improve- ment in prices noted in 1909 continued throughout the following year, 1,214 head of cattle going under the hammer at an average of $144 per head. There were no sales of special note, but the tone through- out was better. On Feb. 22 Mr. McCray sold 47 head at Kentland, Ind., at an average of $175, the top price being $500, reached in two cases, first by -the show heifer Donalda and again by the yearling bull Fairfax 18th, by Perfection Fairfax. J. P. Cud- ahy got the show heifer Agnes at $410. On the 24th and 25th of February at Craig, Neb., Minier Bros. disposed of 76 head at an average of $216.40, the outside figure being the $775 paid for the stock bull Peerless Perfection 22d by Frank Ulrich, who for ten years past had been in charge of the herd and

912 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

who secured at this sale some of the best breeding cows for the founding of a herd on his own account. Thomas Nelson of Nebraska took the two-year-old Pretty Lad at $625 and also the yearling Defiance at $600. On April 14 at Chicago Cargill & Price dis- posed of their cattle at what was felt at the time to be a great sacrifice. The 48 head averaged but $148. Bonnie Brae 15th, a capital two-year-old bull, went to A. L. Weston of Colorado at $990 after a contest with O. Harris. Mr. Weston bought freely of the show cattle. The famous cow Miss Filler 2d by Ful- filler went to Harris at $540. C. A. Tow of Norway, Ia., got Princess 2d at $400. At the usual October sale at Kansas City 69 head went through the ring at $166.45. There were no animals of unusual ex- cellence in the offering. On Nov. 15 Overton Harris sold 69 head at Harris, Mo., at an average of $181. While no sensational prices were paid the bidding was steady, no animal falling below the $100 mark and three reaching $500. The top was $570, paid by the Commercial Land Co. of Oklahoma for Rose Maid, then nursing a bull calf by Repeater. The Bessemer Iron Co. of Alabama bought some of the best cattle, including Prime Lad 48th for $500. J. F. Gulick of Missouri took Harris’ Prince 90th, a win- ner at the shows of 1909, at $500. Frank Nave was also among the bidders upon this-occasion. At the customary combination sale during the Chicago In- ternational 41 head brought an average of $197.50. This occasion was notable for the fact that the firm of E. N. Casares of Buenos Aires, Argentina, paid

PROSPERITY REGAINED 913

the top price of $600 for each of two bulls, Mr. Rob- inson’s Bonnie Lad 11th and Mr. Brock’s Discounter.

Another Richmond in the Field—The Prime Lads, Beau Donalds and other popular favorites were still very much in evidence at the shuws in the autumn of 1910, but tangible evidence was now presented of the appearance of an important new factor in western Hereford breeding operations. We refer to the get of the bull Disturber, bred by Jesse Adams and selected by John Letham for Mr. Brock. At Kansas City in October Overton Harris won the senior bull championship with the two-year-old Re- peater, son of Disturber, and here was the beginning of another new and highly important bloodline in the western Herefords. Repeater at two years old was a bull of impressive bulk and substance, great rotundity of body, immense loin and heavy hind- quarters. Still he was stoutly pushed upon this .oc- easion by Giltner’s Beau Columbus, a bull of some- what similar conformation and very even from end to end. The aged bull class had been won by J. O. Bryant, Savannah, Mo., with the good bull Curtis, by Maynard, showing excellent character and par- ticularly heavy quarters, besides being mellow in his flesh. Prime Lad 9th was now turned down to second. He had been on top for so long that he was of course about due to relinquish the crown. Mr. Tow of Iowa was now coming into the great public competitions as a factor to be reckoned with and received third here in the aged bull ring on Prin- cipal 6th, one of the low-legged kind, well spread.

914 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Fortunately for the north Overton Harris had bought Gay Lad 6th before the bull had been started for the Taft ranch. At this show he was as for- tunate with the McCray bull as he had been with Repeater, receiving first in the senior yearling bull class and subsequently the junior bull champion- ship. McCray forged to the front in the get-of-sire class with a quartette by Perfection Fairfax. He also had first in aged cows and the senior female championship on the great cow Lady Fairfax 4th. At some of the state fairs VanNatta’s Margaret had defeated her, and it was a question all through the season as to where the superior merit really reposed. In two-year-old heifers Luce & Moxley scored with Princess R 10th, daughter of Prince Rupert 8th, after a hard battle with McCray’s Lady Fairfax 9th. It was in the senior yearling class, however, that a really sensational female developed in Dr. Logan’s Scottish Lassie, by Young Beau Brummel. She was one of the ripest and richest specimens ever seen in the Kansas City showyard, and later in the week received not only the junior but the grand cham- pionship of the female classes. Another stunning presentation was that of the Harris Princess twins, daughters of Beau Donald 5th out of a Beau Brum- mel cow. These remarkable heifers bore away both the blue and red ribbons in a strong class.

At Chicago in December the Bryant bull was not shown, and Prime Lad 9th resumed his old-time position at the head of the senior bulls, McCray win- ning second on Principal 6th and Brock third on

PROSPERITY REGAINED 915

Distinction by Disturber. Repeater repeated his Kansas City winning in the two-year-old bull class, as did also Gay Lad 6th in senior yearlings. When it came to the championships Mr. Harris had the rare honor of receiving the senior and grand cham- pionships on Repeater and the junior championship on Gay Lad 6th. John Letham, representing Mr. Brock, whose herd was now established at Lake Geneva, Wis., here made.a phenomenal record for these extraordinary International competitions by winning first in junior yearling bulls on Discounter, first in junior yearling heifers on Disturber’s Lassie 3d, first in senior heifer calves on Miss Annabel by Distinction, and first in junior heifer calves on Lady Viola by Disturber, besides the young herd prize. Mr. McCray again scored with Lady Fairfax 4th and won the get-of-sire competition with his Perfec- tion Fairfaxes. Harris won the aged herd prize, and Scottish- Lassie was junior and grand cham- pion female.

Improvement Continues.—There were 1,203 head of pedigree Herefords put through the sale rings of 1911 at an average price of $160. This was an aver- age advance of $16 per head over a like number during 1910, and indicated that the tide was still running slowly towards better things. That this was the case was all the more plain because of the fact that the offerings of the year were not notably attractive.

The ball was opened at a combination sale at Den- ver, Colo., on the 19th of January, when 50 head of

916 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

bulls were sold at an average of $182. The. best figure made was $475 for Mr. A. L. Weston’s young bull Carlos 2d, taken by Mousel Bros. The Mata- dor Company paid $400 for The Heir’s March On. One of the largest indivdual buyers was M. K. Parsons of Denver. On Feb. 16 Mr. Hutch- eon’s herd was dispersed at Bolckow, Mo. At this sale the average of $326.50 on 13 bulls was en- couraging, and the general average was $233.20. The bull calf Tempter 3d was taken by Makin Bros., formerly of Kansas, but now again breeding Here- fords at Grandview, Mo., at $740. Mapleton 4th was bought by J. Secor of Iowa at $725. Handsome Lad, a double Beaumont, went to J. Wolf of Missouri at $500, and Beaumont himself, nearly eleven years old but looking very fit, was taken by H. D. Cornish of Missouri at $305. A. B. Cook, Helena, Mont., was a good bidder for females, his lot including the great producing matron Queen B, by Beau Brummel, from which Mr. Hutcheon had previously sold six calves for a total of $3,400. On Feb. 17 J. O. Bryant sold 81 head at Savannah, Mo., for an average of $141.70. A. B. Cook was also a bidder at this sale. The top price was $725 made for the Kansas City prize bull Curtis, purchased by Hann & Mayne of Iowa. This price was disappointing. Beaumont 2d sold for $700 to a Kansas steer feeder. On Feb. 18 J. A. Larson sold at Everest, Kans., 62 head for an average of $126.95. A. B. Cook was in attendance at this sale also and was a good bidder on the best animals of- fered, securing ten head. In this case the bulls again

PROSPERITY REGAINED 917

outsold the females, always a good indication of rising values.

Warren T. McCray sold at Kentland, Ind., on Feb. 22, 1911, 70 head for an average of $206. The prices were steady at around $200, with nothing going be- yond $550, the price paid by J. F. Jones, Granville, O., for the cow Mercedes. The young show bull Beau Real 15th fetched $515, the top for bulls. J. P. Cudahy was a good bidder, securing Corrector Fair- fax at $450. At Kansas City on March 7 and 8 59 bulls sold in a combination sale for an average of $174. The best figure reached here was $500 for the yearling bull Guy, consigned by J. A. Gibson. On March 10 W. J. Davis & Co., Jackson, Miss., held a sale at their farm which averaged $220, the bulls selling for $241. J. J. Early of Baring, Mo., reported in April the private sale of the five-year-old prize- winning bull Sunny U. J. to Williams Bros., Ran- dolph, Wis., for $700. Gudgell & Simpson offered 62 head at Kansas City on April 28. The cattle had no great preparation and the general average was $141.30, 18 bulls averaging $172.20. The highest price paid was $330 for Beau Gaston by George J. Anstey of Iowa.

On Oct. 27 Cyrus A. Tow disposed of 49 head at an average of $181.90. The 15 bulls averaged $208.70. Mr. Tow during the year purchased the entire S. L. Brock herd, including some 75 head, thus acquiring possession of the highly prized blood of Disturber. Some of the get of this bull were in- cluded in this sale and they averaged about $110

918 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

above the general average. The top of this offering was $505, given by A. J. Minish for the yearling bull Dismora 2d. Thomas Mortimer topped the females by paying $375 for Lady Peel by Disturber. Mr. Cook of Montana got the show heifer Miss Laura B at $300. Mr. McCray was also a buyer at this sale. At Fowler, Ind., on Nov. 2 and 3 a disappointing sale was made by the executors of the estate of Wil- liam 8. VanNatta, at which 114 head averaged $184. Here, as at most other sales of the year, the bulls did better than the females, 24 head averaging $263 and the top price being $1,005 paid by O. Harris for Donald Lad 7th. Messrs. J. H. & J. W. VanNatta, relatives of the deceased who were breeding good cattle independently at Lafayette, Ind., paid the top price for a female—$505 for Prime Lady 2d. Mr. McCray was the most extensive purchaser, making investments which subsequently returned handsome profits. As the sale was to close the estate, no guar- atitee of any kind could be given, and this fact of course militated against high prices.*

*The well known herdsman, Tom Andrews, who had commenced his career with the first VanNatta show herd, assisted in this sale, and this therefore is a fitting opportunity to refer to his work in gen- eral. Tom has had a long and interesting identification with the fitting of show and sale cattle in leading western herds, Like most of ithe other English boys who came into our cattle business in the "80's, he was born in Herefordshire. This important event in his career occurred on Oct. 6, 1861, in the parish of Dorstone. His father was a farmer, who in 1869 leased a 450-acre tract at Winforton, where he remained for seven years, In 1876 Mr. Andrews Sr. leased a Place of similar size at Weston Court, Pembridge. Reverses over- taking his father in 1880, Tom felt compelled to get out and hustle for himself, so in April, 1881, we find him approaching that Mecca of most of the Herefordshire lads in that day—Beecher, Ill.—in quest of work.

He engaged with T. L. Miller, and_in the fall of 1882 went to Fowler & VanNatta to help George Waters in the fitting of the show cattle sent out successfully on the circuit that year. After this experience Mr. Andrews went to Earl & Stuart for twelve months, and from there to Kansas City with Frank Crane, who was at that

Photo by Hildebrand ARAMINTA 4TH, OF THE CARGILL & McMILLAN SHOW HERD.

Photo by Hildebrand DISTURBER amma Jy peoiNG a gg gl era BY JHSSE ADAMS D USED BY 8. L. BROOK.

920 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

During the Kansas City show 50 head, mostly bulls, were sold at an average of $262. As far as bulls were concerned, this exceeded the average of prices at the sale of 1910 by $95. This was partly due to the presence upon this occasion of ranchmen buying for export to Hawaii. The highest price of the sale was $1,050 for the two-year-old show heifer Banza, contributed by R. H. Hazlett, El Dorado, Kans., and bought by J. P. Cudahy. Cudahy had in the meantime acquired possession of Dr. Logan’s famous champion heifer Scottish Lassie. At this sale Laredo Boy was sold by his breeder, C. L. Browning of Laredo, Mo., to Carl Miller, Belvue, Kans., at $610. He had won a red ribbon in the show. On Nov. 9 Makin Bros. sold 63 head at an average of $146.30, the 12 bulls averaging $208.95. They were topped by Paragon 12th taken by John Gosling at $450. J. P. Cudahy bought Celandine 2d,

time maintaining a sale stable in charge of George Waters. While here Tom went to Quebec to take charge of 60 head of cattle then in quarantine that had been imported by George Leigh. These were intended for the Lee & Crane farm near Independence, Mo. From the quarantine station Andrews came to the Chicago Fat Stock Show with four steers, one of which, a purebred Hereford, won the two- year-old championship over all breeds.

This was perhaps the first job of fitting for which Tom had full personal credit, and he naturally felt proud of his achievement upon that occasion. After this he returned to the Crane farm at Inde- pendence. In the autumn of 1886 he went to England, and after his return was for about three years with Z. T. Kinsell of Mt. Ayr, Ia. In 1895 he was with the F. A. Nave show herd, and in 1896 was en- gaged by Mr. J. H. Miller, Peru, Ind., to take 23 head of cattle to Buenos Aires, South America. In 1902 he showed the F. L. Stude- baker herd. Subsequently he fed for the Messrs. VanNatta of La- fayette for two years. In 1908 he revisited England and on his return assisted with the preparation of Frank Nave’s cattle for the closing- out sale at Chicago. After this engagement he went to Michigan, showing a herd for Merritt Chandler, and in 1910 was with the Cyrus A. Tow cattle. Once again he went back to Herefordshire, and on returning to America was again with the herd of W. S. VanNatta & Son, staying with the ‘firm until the closing-out sale after Mr. VanNatta’s death. It thus appears that Andrews was helping with the first Herefords Mr. VanNatta ever exhibited, as well as with the last. In 1913 he was with the W. H. Curtice cattle in Kentucky, and at the present time (1914) is in the employ of the Messrs. Berry, Mt.. Vernon, Ia. ar

PROSPERITY REGAINED 921

the junior heifer show calf, for $500. It was an- nounced at this sale that Claude Makin, who had been the guiding hand in the firm’s Hereford breed- ing operations for thirty years, would continue in the business, retaining the bull Beau Paragon and a few females. Needless to say, this announcement was received with special satisfaction, because in the course of his long and honorable identification with the ‘‘white faces’? he had been a consistent adherent of ‘‘quality’’ cattle and had gained the goodwill of all with whom he had come in contact. At the combination sale during the Chicago Inter- national 51 head made the gratifying average of $286.30. Twenty-one females averaged $344, this mark being reached largely through the sale of the junior champion heifer Perfection Lass to Mr. Cud- ahy at $2,000. C. M. Largert of Texas bought Mr. McCray’s bull calf Victor Fairfax at $1,000, and William Andrews & Sons of Morse, Ia. gave the same amount for Jim Price’s yearling Bonnie Brae 37th. George Leigh was a good buyer upon this occasion, taking a number of good bulls for the west- ern trade.

Death of William S. VanNatta—The veteran breeder, William S. VanNatta, died at Fowler, Ind., on May 26, 1911, at the mature age of eighty-one years. He was born in a log cabin on the prairies of Tippecanoe Co., Ind., on Sept. 27, 1830. These pages are so full of references to the great Herefords bred by Mr. VanNatta that it is unnecessary to enter into further details concerning his operations

THE LATE WILLIAM 8. VANNATTA’S HOME AT FOWLER, IND.

PROSPERITY REGAINED 923

in this connection. Suffice it to say that, everything considered, he has had no superior as yet in the ranks of American breeders of Hereford cattle. The dispersion of the old herd has already been referred to. In ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’ for June 7, 1911, the author of this volume endeavored to pay a suit- able tribute to Mr. VanNatta’s memory, from which we may here extract the following:

‘‘Mr. VanNatta will live in American agricultural history as one who contributed heavily to the sum total of progress registered in his chosen field dur- ing the span of his activities. His career as one of the greatest cattle breeders this country has yet pro- . duced abounds in inspirations for those who would follow in his footsteps. But the one mountain peak standing out in bold relief in the outlines of his progress is unswerving tenacity of purpose. One can but admire the indomitable pluck, the infinite patience that characterized his unfaltering devotion to the cause he had espoused throughout all the al- ternating periods of adversity and depression. The lesson of his life is just this: It pays to stand by one’s colors; it pays to keep one’s head during ‘booms,’ and one’s nerve during depressions; it pays to be ruggedly honest always. The fact may as well be admitted first as last that, as a people, we are not possessed in high degree of that quality of dogged persistence that finds probably its best na- tional expression in the life of Gen. U. S. Grant. William S. VanNatta became convinced in the early 70’s that the ‘white faces’ were the best beef cattle of the day, and in their cause he enlisted not for ‘ninety days’ but ‘for the war’; and upon that line he fought it out to a finish that not only brought fame to himself but honor to the Hereford name.’’

924 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

The Judgments of 1911.—There was the usual pre- liminary skirmishing at the state fairs of 1911, with various changes in the rating at the hands of differ- ent judges. The Kansas City Royal this year found the new Secretary of the American Hereford Asso- ciation, R. J. Kinzer, in charge of the Hereford ex- hibit as superintendent, Messrs. Shade and Hazlett being the other two members of the managing com- mittee. The judges were Capt. Robson of Canada, S. W. Anderson of West Virginia and Edward J. Taylor of Michigan.

In the class of ten aged bulls Giltner Bros. were first on Beau Columbus, Makin Bros.’ Paragon 12th, that had been very successful earlier in the season, being here turned down to fourth place. J. H. & J. W. VanNatta were second on Tippecanoe, an im- pressive bull forward, with drooping incurved horns and fine spread of back. Beau Columbus was uni- versally admired for his good breed character, great evenness from end to end, strength of hind-quarter and fullness of twist. McCray came into third place with Fairfax 13th. In the two-year-old bulls Harris had an éasy victory with Gay Lad 6th, that proved to be quite the sensation of the showyard year so far as Hereford bulls were concerned. Sired by Prime Lad 16th, son of old Prime Lad, and out of Sister Perfection, own sister to the champion bull Perfection, Gay Lad 6th was regarded as a more spectacular proposition than either of the champions whose names ornamented his ancestral tree. Fair- fax 16th, shown here by Mr. Cudahy, was almost as

[ A.C. Huxley _| | G.H.Hoxie |

926 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

sensational. His beautiful front and wonderful fin- ish all around rendered him an outstanding bull in any company. He was both senior and grand cham- pion. Another remarkable youngster, Cudahy’s Corrector Fairfax, son of Perfection Fairfax and Likely by Corrector, headed a class of seventeen senior yearlings and was subsequently made junior champion. He had a beautiful coat, grand front and quarters that left nothing to be desired—another one of the many top-notchers now coming so fre- quently from Mr. McCray’s herd. Scottish Lassie was senior and grand champion cow and VanNatta’s Donald Lass 9th, first-prize senior heifer calf, was junior female-champion. a

At Chicago under the judgment of Abram Renick and George Leigh Beau Columbus again headed the aged bulls, Paragon 12th, that had passed into the possession of W. A. Dallmeyer of Jefferson City, Mo., moving up to second place. Messrs. Robinson received third on Bonnie Brae 8th. Gay Lad 6th repeated his Kansas City victories, heading the two- year-old bulls and attaining the senior and grand championship. Corrector Fairfax duplicated his Kansas City victories.

In the female section Scottish Lassie was still the reigning favorite, again winning the senior and grand championship. The junior championship fell to Luce & Moxley on Perfection Lass, a heifer with a great top, beautifully balanced and of most at- tractive femininity.

Auction Sales of 1912.—During 1912 there were

PROSPERITY REGAINED 927

957 Herefords disposed of at public sale at an aver- age of $180.40. This was an advance of $20 per head over the previous year. During the Denver show in January 46 head fetched an average of $182.35. On Feb. 22 Mr. McCray sold 70 head for an average of $255, 20 bulls averaging $330 with none of them going higher than $680, which price was paid for Fairfax 13th by a cattle company operating in Old Mexico. On Feb. 29 at Grand Island, Neb., Mousel Bros. and G. G. Clement dis- posed of 44 head at an average of $201.80, on which occasion the young bull Beau Mousel was bought by Mr. DeWitt of Colorado Springs for $1,000. Mr. DeWitt had also been a good buyer at the McCray sale. On March 8 and 9 at Council Grove, Kans., Jones Bros., who were dissolving partnership, sold 158 head at an average of $128.70, bulls again outselling the females, the 22 males averaging $172.50. Ata sale made by W. J. Davis & Co. of Mississippi on March 14 42 head averaged $163.50. A combination sale was held at Kansas City on March 26 and 27, but the offerings were not of the highest grade and the average on 116 head was but $116.35, with a top of $410 for a yearling bull con- signed by the Funkhouser estate. On April 12 at Kingsley, Ia., Messrs. Edmunds, Shade & Co. sold 52 head at an average of $150, the best price being made by the yearling bull Beau Albany, sold to go to Canada at $500.

During the Kansas City show in October a lot of well conditioned cattle were offered, the 49 head

928 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

averaging $303.90 and no exceptional prices being included. A top of $710 was paid by J. M. Curtice for Prince Rupert 39th, consigned by. Luce & Mox- ley. Dr. Logan bought Beau Caldo, bred by Rob- ert H. Hazlett, at $680. On Oct. 22 O. Harris & Sons made a good sale of 64 head which averaged $314. The two bulls Donald Lad 7th and Prize- winner made $1,000 each. Gay Lad 8th brought $1,025 and Gay Lad 2d $1,500, the latter price being paid by W. M. Braddock of Nebraska. The bull average here was $464. Five Gay Lad 6th bulls averaged $772. On Oct. 24 Gudgell & Simpson sold 50 head at Kansas City for an average of $177.60, the bulls averaging $254.30 and the top being $460 for Bright Lord. On the following day C. B. Smith sold 50 head at Fayette, Mo., for an average of $127.50. Nearly half of these went to Montana. Giltner Bros. sold 50 head at Shelbyville, Ky., on Oct. 30 at an average of $176.70, the bulls making $224. The yearling bull Beau Boston went to Texas at $500. At Chicago on Dec. 4 36 head averaged $325, the $1,000 notch being reached by the cow Prime Lady 2d, sold by J. H. & J. W. VanNatta to R. A. Thompson of Alberta, Canada. The highest price for a bull was $975 for Donald Rex by Mr. Zwick of Colorado. On Dec. 17 at Harlan, Ia., Hann & Mayne sold 59 head for an average of $152. The chief attraction at this sale was Beau Perfection 9th, taken by Mr. Cudahy at $1,000. Fairfax 16th and Scottish Lassie—Again passing by the ebb and flow of awards at the state fairs,

Photo by Hildebrand BEAU FAIRFAX 868360, BRED BY W. T. McCRAY.

Photo by Hildebrand

THE CHAMEITy a apg 16TH 316931, BRED BY W. T. McCRAY, SHOWN . P. CUDAHY AND SOLD TO A. B. COOK.

930 “A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

we may summarize the show season of 1912 with the statement that the chief honors of the year, the Kansas City and Chicago championships, were reaped by Mr. Cudahy’s Fairfax 16th 316931 and Scottish Lassie. The former had stood second to Gay Lad 6th in the two-year-old class at both the Royal and the International of 1911, while the Las- sie had been senidr and grand champion female. Fairfax 16th was bred by Mr. McCray. Sired by Perfection Fairfax he was out of Cherry Donald by Beau Donald 33d, the second dam being Mary’s Cherry by Cherry Boy, son of old Fowler. He therefore represented a fine blending of the* blood of the champions of. other days, and in him surely all that was best in his ancestry lived again. At Kansas City under Thomas Mortimer Fairfax 16th was first in aged bulls, senior and grand champion bull and headed the first-prize herd. Scottish Las- sie headed the aged cows and was again senior and grand champion female. O. Harris & Sons ran away with the junior championships on the wonderful senior bull calf Repeater 7th and the senior heifer calf Miss Gay Lad 6th. Mr. Tow had a remarkably fine lot of young cattle on exhibition, largely the get of Disturber, and gained high places in the prize- list.

Coming up to the International in December Mr. Cudahy was still unbeatable, Fairfax 16th again being first-prize aged bull, grand champion and the head of the first-prize herd. Mr. Tow stood secofd with his low-set masculine bull Standard, by Bonnie

PROSPERITY REGAINED 931

Brae 8th. The Giltners were third on Britisher Jr., showing much of the scale of his famous sire, once champion in this same ring. Corrector Fairfax, the junior champion of 1911, led the two-year-olds and Mr. McCray was second with another bull of his own breeding—Byron Fairfax. In senior yearling bulls the VanNattas were first on Graceful Lad and Hazlett was second on Bonnie Lad 26th, by Bonnie Brae 8th. In junior yearling bulls Cudahy’s Beau -Fairfax was first, and Tow’s Perfection Jr., by Per- fection, was second, with. Hazlett’s Bocaldo third. In senior bull calves Messrs. Harris were easily first with Repeater 7th, also taking second on Gay Lad 9th. Luce & Moxley headed the junior bull calves with Prince Real by Beau Real 15th.

The place next to Scottish Lassie in the aged cow class was assigned to the VanNattas’ Prime Lady 2d, McCray having third on Gay Lass Sth. In two- year-old heifers Cudahy headed the line with Per- fection Lass, Tow’s Disturber’s Lassie 4th being at her side. In the championship rings the Kansas City verdicts were approved in the case of Fairfax 16th, Repeater 7th and Scottish Lassie, but the junior female championship was here sent to Miss Re- peater 11th instead of to Miss Gay Lad 6th, the former having been awarded first prize in the junior heifer calf class. Miss Gay Lad 6th, the Kansas City champion, had been placed second in senior calves to Cudahy’s superb plush-coated Pearl Don- ald by Beau Donald 40th.

Higher Levels Reached.—For the third consecu-

932 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

tive year the Herefords sold at auction in 1913 real- ized the highest average attained by any of the beef breeds, a total of 1,311 head bringing $259.30 as against $220.35 for Shorthorns. It should be noted, however, that as a rule about twice as many Shorthorns as Herefords are sold publicly each year.

The year opened auspiciously in the west by a capital sale held during the Denver show on Jan. 23. The success was due in good part to the liberal buy- ing of Mr. A. B. Cook of Helena, Mont., who took out the three-year-old bull Heir’s March On 2d 359789 at $1,350. Bred by T. F. DeWitt of Colo- rado Springs, he had won the bull championship that week. He was sired by The Heir, he by Beau Don- ald 17th. Another youngster by this same bull was taken by D. Firm & Son, La Veta, Colo., at $1,250. Six other bulls by The Heir brought a total of $2,590. The highest-priced female was Defender’s Lassie 2d, taken by Mr. Tow of Iowa at $600.

At Grand Island, Neb., on Feb. 14 and 15 another successful sale was held under the management of Mousel Bros.; 114 head sold for an average of $221, the 73 bulls averaging $241 and the 41 cows $186. Beau’s Contender, consigned by Mousel Bros. and sired by Beau Mischief, topped the sale at $950, go- ing to Wm. Hutcheon of Missouri. The bull calf Beau Lindell 2d was taken by Gudgell & Simpson at $925. ‘

McCray’s Big Average—On Feb. 26 at Kentland, Ind., Mr. McCray had the satisfaction of selling 76 head for an average of $525, the females averaging

WARREN T. McCRAY.

’

934 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

$410 and the 27 bulls averaging $740. For several years Mr. McCray had been making Hereford show- yard history, particularly with the get of Perfec- tion Fairfax. Nine sons of this bull averaged $1,460 upon this occasion. Mr. Cudahy paid $2,500 for Crusader Fairfax. Thompsor Bros., West Point, Neb., gave the same sum for Duke Real, out of a daughter of Perfection Fairfax. OC. A. Tow paid $2,450 for Byron Fairfax, Dr. Logan $1,650 for Rus- sell Fairfax, J. I. Moffat, Carroll, Manitoba, $1,575 for Perfect Fairfax, Charles Adams, Dickinson, N. D., $850 for Albany Fairfax and Watson & Puck- ett, Apple River, Ill., $725 for Prince Fairfax. Con- rad Kohrs, the veteran Montana ranchman, pur- chased a bunch of good bulls at this sale. The day after this event Mr. McCray sold at private treaty Beau Perfection 11th to Downie & Sons of Alberta for $1,750, the prize-winning calf Real Fairfax to A. L. Weston, Golden, Colo., for $2,000 and a month- old calf by Perfection Fairfax—a full brother to: Byron Fairfax—for $1,000.*

*Asked for a statement as to how he became interested in erprond cattle Mr, McCray has supplied the following interesting story: :

“I can hardly remember when-I first became interested in cattle. My prrerte have told me that when I was a little boy in kilts I developed an early instinct for cattle. My favorite game was viding a stick horse and driving “cattleoes,” as I called them at that time. My father handled a great many feeding cattle and I simply inherited my love for them. I can well remember when a small boy of going with my father to the home of Mr. W. S. VanNatta at the old Hickory Grove place to see his cattle, when he was in business with Mr. Fowler. The impression which those big broad-backed thick cows made at that time still: remains with me. I was so enthusiastic about them that I earnestly pleadéd with my father to buy two or three and take them home. He was not influenced to any appreciable extent by my pleadings, however, though I can-well remember making a vow that I would some day have a,herd of my own. ‘

“After I grew to maturity and engaged in business for myself, and had acquired several acres of land, I concluded that it was about time for me to indulge in my desire to own some good

PROSPERITY REGAINED 935

Other Mid-west Sales—At Kansas City on March 4 and 5, a sale under the management of R. T. Thornton developed a good demand for bulls, 56 selling for an average of $274, the general average on males and females combined being $242.. A steady range of values rather than exceptionally high prices prevailed. J. A. Shade sold 49 head

cattle. Accordingly, when VanNatta & Son advertised a sale of purebred cattle in the fall of 1905 I went over to Fowler. I in- tended to buy one or two head but when the sale was over I found myself the owner of five head of cows with three calves at foot. That winter the cattle were cared for by a farm hand. The next spring I realized I must have a bull, and inasmuch as I could hardly afford to keep a good bull for five cows I went to the sale of Mr, Huxley, at Bunker Hill, and purchased seven cows and a bull (Lord Improver). I had only ordinary farm help look- ing after the cattle, but by the fall following my purchase from Mr. Huxley I was forced to the conclusion that if I was going to handle cattle I must have a man who was experienced in the business. By this line of reasoning I also concluded that if I was going to have an experienced man at a higher cost I must have enough cattle to keep him employed. That. fall Mr. Sotham was holding a series of sales at the cattle pavilion in Kankakee. I attended one of these and from the dispersion sale of Mr. Bul- lard I purchased eighteen head of splendid cows. By that time I was getting into the cattle game right. I then hired a first- class man in the spring of 1906.

“I watched the development of the herd that summer. My business instinct soon told me that while I might grow a few cattle for my own enjoyment if I was going to make any mark in the world I must become an exhibitor. I must get acquainted with cattlemen and have cattlemen acquainted with me. I also found that I must purchase and add to my herd the best bull I could find. That fall I visited the state fair at Indianapolis and watched the judging of the Hereford classes. After the ribbons had been tied which proclaimed Prime Lad 3d the grand champion bull and Prairie Queen the junior champion female of the show, I followed Frank VanNatta to the barns and asked, “Frank, what will buy Prime Lad 3d and Prairie Queen?’ And he replied, “Thirty-three hundred dollars.” This almost took_mv breath away but after I had sufficiently recovered I said, “Why, Frank, you don’t mean it, do you?” “Yes,” he said, “I mean it,” and I could not take off a dollar. I finally secured an option on the two animals until the next week, as I wanted to think it over for a while. I reasoned it all out and eventually went.over to Mr. VanNatta’s farm and closed the deal. I had heard of a good cow out in Illinois and I_ sent my herdsman over to look at her with authority to buy. He found an outstanding animal in the cow Phoebe, which we developed and showed so successfully in the fall of 1907.

“That was my first season out and I only showed five head: Prime Lad 16th at the head of herd; Phoebe, the grand champion female; Prairie Queen, a two-year-old; Diana Fairfax, a yearling, and a calf by Lord Improver. With this aged herd I made my debut into fashionable Hereford circles. I mention this to show that with animals of proper merit one can compete with the most renowned exhibitors, even if he is a beginner and unknown. That

936 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

at Kingsley, Ia., on March 6 which averaged $294. At this sale 26 bulls averaged $308 and 23 females $283. The highest price here was $780 paid by Thomas Mortimer for the young bull Beau Match- less. 382372. J. B. Ashley, Audubon, Ia., paid $725 for the bull Rex Dorian 323948. George J. Anstey,

year Phoebe was grand champion in almost every show and Prairie Queen was the reserve champion, and their places were accorded them without much contention. In the spring of 1907 Prime Lad 3d took sick and died after an illness of but a few days. This was a sad blow to my expectations, as I had paid $2,500 for him and had received but little benefit from his use, having but thirteen cows in calf to his service.

4 “T concluded that I could not afford to turn backward, as I had collected an unusual lot of females and had built barns and had arranged my pasture for a cattle business. So I commenced to look around for a suitable successor to the late head of my herd. I addressed fifteen letters to the prominent breeders of Hereford cattle, asking if they had for sale an outstanding two- year-old bull. I found them to be very scarce that year and after investigating the most interesting prospects I decided that Prime Lad 16th presented the greatest possibilities as a sire and show animal. I used him that season and the next fall. I was not sure of my judgment on him as a sire, so I looked around for the bull that sired calves which appeared to me to be the best that were being shown. After visiting a few_shows I de- cided that the coming sire was Perfection Fairfax. I immediately opened negotiations with his owner, Mr. Huxley, and found that he could not be bought without my taking over the entire herd. This I did, counting Perfection Fairfax in the deal at $5,000. This was at a time when cattle were selling low. I afterwards pought the entire herd of Clem Graves, thereby securing Beau Real together with about twenty-five grand matrons of excellent quality and breeding. The well known principle of breeding, that the sire is half the herd, has been more than demonstrated in my experience.

“Prime Lad 3a died before he had an opportunity to contribute much to Hereford history. Prime Lad 16th also died early in life but in the two years that I used him proved his value as a sire and had he lived until old age his name would have gone down in history as one of the greatest of sires. He imparted to his offspring that size and quality, that level smoothness, that beautiful head and character, that boldness and style so much desired. His son, the grand champion’Gay Lad 6th, shows the superlative character and quality he transmitted, and his daugh- ters are uniformly large, smooth, well balanced cows.

“The record made by that grand champion and sire of grand champions—Perfection Fairfax—contributes a page of Hereford history that is truly remarkable, and today he stands the unchal- lenged king of Hereford sires. The uniformity of his descend- ants in all. particulars, their excellent character, their general pleasing make-up, their ability to put on flesh with even smooth- ness, and their good bone and feet have distinguished them and stamped them as a remarkable family, clearly illustrating what influence a strong prepotent sire will have in a herd. Beau Real, a grandson of old Beau Donald, also had the faculty of impartin great uniformity to his offspring and his use added much etreceth to my herd. I have recently added the two-year-old Farmer to my list of herd bulls and I am expecting great results from his use.”

PROSPERITY REGAINED 937

Massena, Ia., gave $575 for Beau Dover. On March 18 Mr. Anstey sold at South Omaha 50 head for an average of $146. At a combination sale held at Omaha on April 16 under the management of W. N. Rogers 69 head sold for an average of $161, the 55 bulls making around $168. At East St. Louis on April 22 a combination sale under the management of Sydney B. Smith resulted in an average of $174 on 36 head of cattle. On April 29 Taylor & Welty sold at Wanatah, Ind., 51 head for an average of $182.

A Big Deal on the Range.—One of the most im- portant transactions in recent years in the range country was the sale in May, 1913, by Montie Blev- ins of his herd at North Park, Colo., to go to Mon- tana at $75 per head with all calves of the crop of 1913 counted. As there were between 700 and 800 head of cattle involved in this deal it was regarded as a notable event. The sale was all the more ex- ceptional because of the fact that there were around 150 head of yearling heifers in the herd and no young bulls at all; the bull calves having already been contracted for. These were of course unregis- tered cattle, but Mr. Blevins had practically brought them up to a purebred basis.

Fall Sales of 1913.—The usual sale at Kansas City during the American Royal resulted in an average of $388 on the 46 head offered; 27 bulls averaging $474. They were a good lot and the demand was excellent. The top of this sale was $1,975 paid by O. Harris & Sons for the second-prize senior bull

938 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

calf Vernet Prince 4th, that had been successfully exhibited by W. J. Davis & Son of Mississippi.* J. B. Burkett of Hereford, Tex., gave $750 for the yearling Proctor Onward. Spooner & Son, Mondamin, Ia., paid $700 for Perfect Donald. On the following day Gudgell & Simpson sold 46 head of females for an average of $232.

On Oct. 22 O. Harris & Son sold at Harris, Mo., 68 head for an average of $373, the 29 bulls aver- aging $518. This good sale resulted largely from the high quality displayed by the get of Gay Lad 6th and Repeater. Gay Lad 12th, by Gay Lad 6th out of a Beau Brummel dam, topped the sale at $2,600, being bought by Johnson Bros. of Colorado. Repeater 18th, just passed twelve months old, brought $2,100 from A. Christensen of Eagle, Colo. Gay Lad 9th was bought by E. H. Taylor, Jr., Frankfort, Ky., at $1,500. Gay Lad 13th and Gay Lad 15th brought $900 each, J. B. Gillette, Marfa, Tex., taking the former and J. EK. Thompson, Mar- tinsville, Ill., the latter. The top for females was $550 for Princess Repeater, also bought by Mr. Tay-

*The Messrs. Davis put a herd of purebred Hereford cattle on La Vernet Stock Farm in January, 1910, by the best Prime Lad and Anxiety cows they could get. They placed at the head of the herd the show and breeding bull Point Comfort 14th 837488, now five years old. The calves produced by him have fully met their expectations. They bought McCray Fairfax, a great son of Perfection Fairfax, to breed on the daughters of Point Comfort 14th, and the few calves to hand demonstrate that this is a good cross. They say:

“Hereford cattle excel all other beef breeds for this climate. They are great rustlers and great breeding cattle. They stand th: long summers and fatten in the winters, go out March 1 on grass in good shape and are money-makers and soil-builders, We predict that in less than five years in this climate, where we can produce two crops on the same land, thereby makjng cheaper feeds and as good cattle, that the south will be able, with Here- ford cattle, to make beef for the world.”

OVERTON HARRIS.

940 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

lor. Mr. Christensen took Princess Repeater 3d at: $510.

At the International sale at Chicago 46 head aver- aged $561, the 26 bulls exposed bringing an average of $626.70. The top at this sale was $2,200 for the senior bull calf Standard 11th, taken by A. B. Cook, Helena, Mont. James Chesney of Evanston, Wyo., gave $2,100 for the two-year-old bull Bonnie Lad 28th; C..G. Cochran & Son, Plainview, Kans., gave $1,130 for Prince Rupert 50th; Thomas Mortimer paid $785 for Royal Mail, and W.:T. Jones of Texas took Diamond’s Donald at $875. The highest-priced female was Defender’s Lassie, taken by O. Harris & Son at $2,050. Mr. Taylor of Kentucky gave $1,250 for the two-year-old heifer Bonnie Lass. On Dec..8 W. E. Hemenway & Son sold 33 head at Steward, Ill., for an average of $154, the top being $500 paid by Meier Bros., Bellvue, Ia., for Prime Star Grove.

William Andrews & Sons and James Price sold at Morse, Ia., on Dec. 17 17 bulls for an average of $321 and 21 families at an average of $269. Eleven head of polled Herefords sold at an average of $332, the entire sale averaging $314. Mr. Price’s Bonnie Brae 69th, a double grandson of Bonnie Brae 3d, | was bought by O. Harris & Son for $925. The Messrs. Andrews had been devoting their attention for some time to the development of the polled Here- ford type and sold upon this occasion the two-year- old polled bull Prime Grove for $1,025, the buyer being Henry Smith of Nebraska. Another polled

PROSPERITY REGAINED 941

bull by the same sire went to Guy Jones of Missouri at $600.

Fairfax 16th and Beau Perfection 9th at $7,500.— In the month of August, 1913, Mr. McCray made one of the great private deals of Hereford history, buy- ing the entire J. P. Cudahy herd. at Belton, Mo., con- sisting of 437 head, and ineluding the gensational winners at the big shows of 1911 and 1912—the bulls Fairfax 16th, Beau Donald 75th, Beau Fairfax, Cor- rector Fairfax, Crusader Fairfax and Beau Perfec- tion 9th.

After this igeuaecton was closed Mr. A. B. Cook ‘of Helena, Mont., whose purchases: of high-class cattle had for several years previous been one of the features of the trade, bought 32 head of the top Cudahy cattle for the sum of $18,000, including Fairfax 16th and Beau Perfection 9th at $7,500, the 30 females being figured at $350 each.

Many other illustrations of the keen demand for good Herefords could be cited from the records of private sales made during the year 1913. The ac- tivity in the trade in the west was specially marked, reflecting the steady trend towards higher values for beef cattle on the hoof at all leading markets. Scharbauer Bros. of Texas, who had for many years been breeding cattle of a character specially adapted for the range trade, reported that they had sold for shipment to the Dakotas in one lot thirteen carloads of bulls numbering 429 head, the trade involving between $30,000 and $40,000. During the fall of 1913 Mr. Richard Walsh, former manager of the

942 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Adair ranch, visited the west and purchased 15 head of bulls for shipment to British South Africa.

A Champion From the South.—An interesting ex- periment in Hereford breeding in the lower Missis- sippi Valley has been going on for a number of years under the direction and ownership of W. J. Davis, Jackson, Miss. -At:the International show at Chicago in December, 1918, Mr. Davis had the satisfaction of gaining the sénior and grand cham- pionship for bulls on Point €omfort 14th 337488, bred by Oscar L. Miles of Fert Smith, Ark. It is true that Mr. Harris did not exhibit upon this occa- sion, having dropped out of the race after the Kan- sas City Royal, where he had won both the junior and grand bull championships with Repeater 7th 386905. Nevertheless, the southern champion had to meet and defeat at Chicago such bulls as McCray’s Corrector Fairfax, Luce & Moxley’s junior cham- pion Prince Real 396530, Beau Fairfax and Prince Rupert 50th.* Point Comfort 14th on the side of his sire ran through Patrolman 4th 133915, bred by Messrs. Ikard of Texas, to the Beau Brummel bull Patrolman of Gudgell & Simpson breeding. The dam of Patrolman 4th was Armour Poppy, bred by K. B.

*Mr. Moxley supplies these facts. concerning the founding of the Luce & Moxley herd: :

“When my father decided to give up active farming on account of his health, Mr. Luce, my brother-in-law, bought the farm, and we founded the firm of Luce & Moxley. He wanted to put the farm in bluegrass, and raise some kind of stock. We debated this question for some time, and then decided on Hereford cattle. Mr. Luce has spent most of his life in the cigar business, being a member of the firm of Powell & Smith Co. untfl he sold out to the American Cigar Co. and became vice-president of it. After about two years he resigned, and has since been interested in several companies in New York bea He tries to get to Ken- eueky ones a year for about six weeks, as he loves the farm and

8 stock.”

PROSPERITY REGAINED 943

Armour from Beau Brummel Jr. The new cham- pion’s mother was Lady Christine, bred by 8S. L. Brock and sired by Disturber out.of a daughter of Kansas Lad Jr. He therefore represented a rich combination of the best northern blood and was indi- vidually of a low-set, rugged type—one of the block- iest bulls seen since the days of Prime Lad 9th.

At this same show Perfection Lass was senior and grand champion female. In James Hendry’s hands she had gone on satisfactorily since passing into Mr. McCray’s possession, and was now a beautiful speci- men of latter-day American Hereford breeding.* At

*The three Hendry brothers, of Scotch extraction, have had successful careers in this country. At one time they were all in the employ of Charles Gudgell. First George came over from England about 1892 and worked for Gudgell & Simpson con- tinuously until 1909, when he left to go into business for himself. Early in 1914 he was engaged by J. M. Curtice to fit his herd for show. George was in full charge of Gudgell & Simpson’s show herd and the breeding herd at Independence from 1898 to 1909, and Mr. Gudgell states that he was instrumental in_ producing -an] fitting some of the best show animals ever turned out from that establishment. Among other celebrities in his charge durin that period might be mentioned Dandy Rex, Mischievous, Mischie Maker, Modesty, Bright Donald and Priscilla 5th. Mr. Gudgell in speaking of George Hendry’s record with the Anxiety cattle re- marks: “He was and is not only a successful feeder, but also has the ability to prepare animals for the showring without injuring their productiveness. He possesses all the faithful qualities of the best Scotch herdsmen, and at the same time is always kind and gentle with his charges, never impatient but pel pad ga and he seems to transmit this to the animals them- selves.’ :

James Hendry, now in charge of the Orchard Lake herd of Mr. McCray, has been with four leading establishments and has a record to his credit of which he may well be proud. He was first with Gudgell & Simpson, leaving them for a year or two to work for J. M. Curtice. He then returned for a few seasons to the Gudgell & Simpson cattle. When he first went to this firm he was on the Greenwood Farm. Druid was then a yearling, assisted in service by a brother to Don Carlos, After the World’s Fair that bull and Beau Brummel were sent to the Greenwood Farm and Lamplighter was placed at the head of the Independence herd. Jim’s second pcriod of service with Gudgell & Simpscn began in the fall of 1900, when he went to their sale barn at Independence. Among the good bulls there at that time was Beaumont. In 1901 he went to take charge of the Beau Donalds for Mr. W. H. Curtice. When Mr. Curtice hired Hendry he told him that he was particularly anxious to have him develop some Feed females if possible, for the reason that while the Beau

onald bulls were acquiring much reputation there was complaint that his heifers were not so good. Hendry certainly succeeded in

944 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the Kansas City Royal Mr. Cook of Montana had exhibited a senior heifer calf named Joy, by Beau Carlos, that received, notwithstanding her youth, the female grand championship over Perfection Lass.

These shows are so fresh in the minds of con- temporary breeders that we leave to some future historian the task of going into detail as to the truly extraordinary character of the exhibits of 1913 as a whole, and of the champion cattle in particular. They will not soon be forgotten by those who were so fortunate as to see them.

Opening Sales of 1914.—Interest in the sales for the new year centered as usual at the Denver show in January. Fifty-eight head were disposed of at this place on Jan. 21 at an average of $223, prices

demonstrating that the old bull’s daughters could also give a good account of themselves, for the Belle Donalds 44th and_ 69th were winners at St. Louis as produce, and others such as Belles .28th, 56th and 60th were also shown with success. Speaking of the old bull’s death and the subsequent purchase of Perfection Mr. Hendry says: :

“When I came back from the fairs one fall Beau Donald was so lame he could not get around and he never recovered, dying that winter. We then tried to buy Perfection Fairfax, but failed. After this we went to Hoxie’s and got ‘Uncle Tom’ Clark to close for us a deal for the purchase of Perfection. I believe today that the Perfection cross is one of the best in our modern Hereforda. I left Kentucky in January, 1911, and old Perfection died in February. I then came to Mr. McCray’s where Perfection Fairfax reigned supreme. There have been many good cattle sold from this herd in the four years that have since elapsed. I can but feel that I have had a little better chance than some of the other ‘cattle boys’, as not many of them have had such good material to work with as the get of Beau Brummel, Beau Donald, Perfec; tion and Perfection Fairfax. I sincerely hope that imp. Farmer’s get will do as well or better, if that were possible.”

The third Hendry brother was ‘the last to come out from England, but he has been in the employ of Mr. Gudgell for the past eighteen years and during the last eight years has been in charge of the breeding ranch at Edmond, Kans. Prior to that time he was manager of the Gudgell farm in Anderson Co., Kans., for seven years. Mr. Gudgell says he is a splendid cattleman, but has devoted most of his time to the management of the farmin persone which include harvesting 1,000 acres of alfalfa an the production of over 1,000 acres of corn and small grains, with general supervision over the breeding herd of Herefords. This is William Hendry—good cattleman, excellent farmer and splendid handler of men.

Good work this, for one family!

PROSPERITY REGAINED 945

being steadily good rather than sensational. On Jan. 28 Mousel Bros. sold at Cambridge, Neb., 57 head for an average of $348, the top being $1,025 for the young bull Mischief 40th taken by John McConnell, Somerset, Neb., who also bought the highest-priced female, the cow Germania 2d, at $710. Messrs. Williams & Lisle sold at Atlantic, Ia., in January 38 head for an average of $167, the best price being $575 for Beau Maid to G. W. Vinton of Exira, Ia. At Grand Island, Neb., Feb. 19-20, a combination sale resulted in an average of $193 on 114 cattle. The best figure reached was $510 paid by N. D. Meysenburg of Nebraska for the bull Freighter 14th. On Feb. 18 George J. Anstey made an average of $206 on 19 bulls and $201 on 41 fe- males, M. A. Spooner & Son paying the top figure, $495, for Miss Albany 5th.

McCray’s $604 Average—Warren T. McCray made a sale at Kentland, Ind., on Feb. 25 at which the extraordinary average of $604 was made on 75 head. Fifty females averaged $577 and 25 bulls.aver- aged $659. The wide distribution of the cattle and the steady range of values at a high level served to emphasize again the extraordinary success attend- ing the handling of this herd.’ The champion Cor- rector Fairfax was bought by J. F. Gulick of Jasper, Mo., at $3,750. King Fairfax was taken by Ed. Kreisher, Mount Vernon, Ia., at $1,050. Don Fair- fax, just turned twelve months, fetched $1,025 from L. O. Hill, Orange, Va., and Dale Fairfax brought $1,000 from A. E. Cook, Odebolt, Ia. The champion

| H.0.Moxley |

| of HvarNatta |

| eSohnW Van Natta |

PROSPERITY REGAINED 947

show cow Perfection Lass, with heifer calf at side, brought $2,450, the successful bidder being L. A. Clifford, Oshawa, Ontario. The heifer Pearl Donald went to A. A. Berry & Son, Mt. Vernon, Ia., at $1,575. W: H. Hunter, Orangeville, Ontario, bought Nora Fairfax at $1,425, and E. H. Taylor of Frank- fort, Ky., paid $1,350 for Teresa Donald.

Steady Bidding Continues.—On March 3 and 4 ata sale from the Funkhouser, Gabbert and other herds at Kansas City 114 head averaged $210. W. A. Dall- meyer, Jefferson City, Mo., received the highest price, $1,000, from Joseph Schmidt, Tipton, Kans., for the young bull Beau Dare. On March 6 J. B. Ashby, Audubon, Ia., sold at South Omaha, Neb., 59 head at an average of $210, the 30 bulls averaging $220. On March 5 J. A. Shade sold 71 head at Kingsley, Ia., for an average of $296, 32 bulis aver- aging $300, with a top of $1,500 paid by Wallis Huidekoper, Willis, Mont., for the bull Bright Lord by Beau Picture. The next best figure was $700 paid for Beau Shade by Henry Strampe of Paullina, Ia. O. 8. Gibbons & Sons sold 50 head for an aver- age of $267 at Atlantic, Ia., on March 11, the show cow Priscilla bringing $730 from Mousel Bros. On March 17 W. J. Davis & Co. sold 41 head at Jack- son, Miss., for an average of $394.85, with a top of $1,300 for the cow Lady Druid 3d, taken by W. P. Connell, Baton Rouge, La. The young bull Vernet Prince 15th was bought for the Louisiana State University at $1,050. At this sale 7 head of young bulls sired by Point Comfort 14th, the International

948 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

champion of 1913, averaged $521.45. The 14 bulls averaged $458.90.

On March 24 Ben Broughton sold at his Sunny Slope Farm near Lakeview, Ia., 52 head for an aver- age of $256. The show bull General B, a son of Beaumont Jr., brought the best price, $950. He was taken by E. Gorman of Dougherty, Ia. On March 27 the Mossom Boyd Co. sold at Chicago a lot of polled Herefords, 19 bulls averaging $445 and 60 females $234, the entire lot averaging $280. The show bull Bullion 4th sold to the Renner Stock Farm, Hartford City, Ind., at $2,025. The bull Gemmation 2d sold to G. E. Pettigrew, Flandreau, S. D., at $1,350. The cattle were widely distributed, the most extensive buyers being the Beaver Lake Ranch Co. of Michigan. At Kansas City on March 31-April 1 113 head of cattle contributed by various western breeders averaged $171. J. W. Johnson of Childress, Tex., paid the top price of $625 for the two-year-old bull Woodrow Wilson, consigned by Messrs. Wads- worth of Missouri. At South Omaha, Neb., on April 8 at a combination sale 63 head averaged $200. The best price paid was $550 by J. W. VanNatta for the yearling bull Donald Fairfax.

The final chapter in the history of the old Brook- mont herd was written at Odebolt, Ia., April 16-17, when A. EH. Cook dispersed all. that remained of this noted herd. The 188 head brought an average of $184, the 24 bulls averaging $287. The cattle were sold in their every-day working condition right from the fields, no attempt having been made at special

PROSPERITY REGAINED 949

fitting for this event. Much interest was shown in the disposition of the three stock bulls Generous, Dale Fairfax and Howard Fairfax. Nearly one- half of the cattle offered were the progeny of Gen- erous, and although nine years old he was contended for by several discriminating buyers who appreciated the character of his get. He finally fell to the bid- ding of Cyrus A. Tow at $925. Dale Fairfax, by Perfection Fairfax, went to A. B. Tyler of Draper, S. D., at $1,110. The top price of the sale, $1,210, was paid by the Messrs. Hancock of Manilla, Ia., for Howard Fairfax.

Reporting from the W. H. Curtice herd at Emi- nence, Ky., early in May Manager Fraser stated that among their recent sales was that of Beau Perfec- tion 23d to A. B. Cook of Montana for $3,000, to- gether with 10 heifers for $2,500. Twenty bull calves were sold to Thomas Mortimer for $4,500.. Beau Perfection 22d, a two-year-old son of old Perfection, and 5 yearling heifers were bought by Col. W. H. Roe of Shelbyville, Ky., for $1,750.* Mr. Fraser re- ported in all the sale of 56 head of cattle at an aver- age of $306, adding that $5,000 had been refused for

*William Fraser, the present manager of the W. H. Curtice herd, was born in Aberdeenshire in 1886, and had his early train- ing with cattle among the “doddies” of his native land. He was also employed at one time in connection with the management of a here of blacks in Staffordshire, England. He next had to do with the handling of the Shorthorns of Sir R. P. Cooper of Shenstone Court, Staffordshire. While employed in these ca- pacities he assisted in the fitting and exhibition of bullocks that were prize-winners at Birmingham and Smithfield.

Coming to America he was first engaged with the Carpenter & Rogs herd. ag time Mr. Fraser had earned for himself a hi place in*the regard of those who-appreciate good work in the training of cattle for exhibition, and he was chosen by Mr. Curtice to follow James Hendry in the handling of the. famous Beau Donald Herefords. ‘

| SMOKING

Photo by Hildebrand CHAMPION HEIFER SCOTTISH LASSIE 305352, BRED BY DR. JAMES E. LOGAN, AND BULL CORRECTOR FAIRFAX 332653, BRED BY ce! -

Photo by Hudevrand

PERFECTION LASS eceriag GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE AT THE 1918 INTERNATIONAL.

PROSPERITY REGAINED 951

the show bull] Beau Perfection 24th, and an offer of $1,000 declined for his yearling sister. A little later a sensational deal with Col. Taylor was reported.

At their public sale on Oct. 20, 1914, Harris & Sons realized an average of approximately $496 on 55 head. The 29 females disposed of on that occasion averaged $493, and the 26 bulls averaged $498. The highest price was $1,800, paid for the bull calf Re- peater 38th, Fred Fleming, Dallas, Tex., being the purchaser. At $1,525 E. H. Taylor, Jr., Frank- fort, Ky., secured the six-year-old cow Harris’ Prin- cess 81st by Beau Donald 5th. Gay Lad 25th, a yearling bull, made $1,500, William Henn, Denver, Colo., being the buyer. Repeater 19th, two years old, and Disturber’s Lassie 5th, three years old, each sold for $1,250, the former going to S. B. Burnett, Fort Worth, Tex., and the latter to E. H. Taylor, Jr. Mr. Taylor also bought the seven-year-old cow Adeline by Prime Lad at $1,050, and the four-year-old cow Disturber’s Lassie 4th at $1,000. Sixteen of the 55 head ‘sold for $500 or more each.*

*Disturber was bought by Mr. Letham when a calf, and he won his way through the senior bull ring at Chicago at a weight of 1,245 pounds a few days before he was thirteen months old. As a yearling he was used heavily and showed in only half-fitted condition, winning third money. As a two-year-old his get were showing so well that again he was not fitted specially, retaining third place at Chicago. Both of these years he was the property of Mr. Brock. It was when Disturber was two years old that Letham showed him with his first calf. This was Distributor, the sire of Repeater, which defeated the St. Louis World’s Fair cham- pion Mapleton and the eastern champion Perfection Fairfax. Then came Distinction, own brother to Distributor. Disturber’s heifers found favor perhaps more generally than his bulls during the first five years of his life, but after that there was probably about an even division of sentiment as to their relative excel- lence. During the year 1910 his get won more blue ribbons than any bull of any breed in the Chicago show, and that too on an exhibit of but thirteen head from the Brock herd.

When George P. Henry sold out his herd he had Kansas Lad Jr., Prime Lad and Disturber. The latter Letham took with him

‘

952 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Beau Perfection 24th Brings $12,000.—In the month of May, 1914, Mr. W. H. Curtice sold 20 head at private treaty to Col. E. H. Taylor, Frankfort, Ky., at the round price of $20,000. The deal in- cluded the sensational two-year-old bull Beau Per- fection 24th, at $12,000, the highest figure as yet reached for a Hereford on either side of the Atlantic. The 19 females were taken at $400 per head. In the course of a letter announcing this remarkable transaction Mr. Curtice says: ‘‘This sale makes a total of 79 head of cattle disposed of since the Kansas City Show last year for a total of $41,135 cash without discount, freights or any extra sale expense whatsoever.’’ Commenting further Mr. Curtice says: ‘‘I do not want the impression to go out that I am out of the Hereford breeding business as I still have 100 head of cattle, and expect to

to Missouri when he went to Mr. Brock. Speaking of the record made by the get of this bull, Mr. Letham says:

“He was the most consistent sire I ever handled. His get were not all show cattle, but everyone was a Disturber—perfectly marked, with good rich mossy coats and thick-fleshed always. In May, 1911, we sold Mr. Tow the entire Lake Geneva herd, includ- ing Disturber, Distributor and Standard. The old bull was then in his tenth year, but even so he carried more top meat than most show bulls and I still valued him at $3,500, a price which I had refused for him when he was three years old, at which time - I had dared to ask $5,000. He made his best success on Kansas Lad Jr. and Prime Lad cows, of which we had only six. Without boasting, I believe that the young Disturber herd which Mr. Tow is showing this fall, thus far undefeated, and containin among the last of the old bull’s get the junior champion bull Disturber Jr. and Disturber Lassie 12th, the junior champion female, and three others that are very uniform, is in my opinion the best I have ever seen. This I mean as an absolutely cold-blooded verdict. Disturber was grandsire to all the Repeaters as well as to Point Comfort 14th, the phenomenal Davis bull, Letham Fair- fax in Mr. McCray's herd, and a lot of others on the road.

“Certainly the old bull’s get are making much Hereford his- tory, and I hope the old fellow is knee-deep in bluegrass and clover, if there are green pastures on the other shore, after twelve years of the best we could give him here. As a two-year- old at Chicago he weighed in at 2,140 pounds, and for seven straight years in breeding shape he stood between 2,250 and 2,300 pounds on grass alone.”

| Wel. Davis _} OLEH Zylorlr: |

954 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

breed Herefords as long as I live, both in Kentucky and in Alberta, Canada.’’

Lord Wilton was knocked down at the Stockton- bury sale for 3,800 guineas, or $19,000, but Mr. Vaughan, who was supposed to be bidding for America, failed to make good his offer and at a sub- sequent sale the famous bull went for $5,000. It should be stated, however, that Sir James Rankin’s bid of 3,700 guineas at Stocktonbury was bona fide, although unfortunately, as it turned out, it was not accepted by the auctioneer.

The Show Herds of 1914.—The show season of 1914 opened impressively at the Forest City Fair, Cleveland, O., the last of August. The Kentucky herds were in prime form, and the old-time cam- paigners—Giltner Bros., W. H. Curtice and Luce & Moxley—were here joined by E. H. Taylor, Jr., who won grand championship on the $12,000 bull Beau Perfection 24th. From Indiana came the admirable herd of J. H. & J. W. VanNatta, and these fitted herds sounded a significant prophecy of the bril- liancy of the fall campaign. The winners were almost without exception of the blood which has hitherto produced the prize-winners in these herds. Ohio and New York divided the Luce & Moxley and the Taylor herds the ensuing wéek, the Curtice con- tingent journeying intact to New York State Fair. Returning from the east the herd of Luce & Moxley encountered only local opposition at the Michigan State Fair while the cattle of Messrs Giltner, Tay- lor and VanNatta joined issue at the Indiana State

PROSPERITY REGAINED 955

Fair with the herd of W. T. McCray, which had opened its campaign at Iowa. The Kentucky breeders concentrated their divided forces at their home fair at Louisville, and had the aid of the Mc- Cray cattle in presenting anew the merits of the breed in the Blue Grass State.

Meanwhile other spectacular exhibitions of the breed had been claiming public attention in the cen- tral west. Iowa summoned to its state fair no less than 15 herds of ‘‘ white faces’’, from Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin and far-south Mississippi. Con- spicuous on the prizelist were the cattle from the herds of O. Harris & Sons, W. T. McCray, Cyrus A. Tow, J. M. Curtice and W. J. Davis of Mississippi. It was clearly one of the bravest shows of the breed, emphasized by its setting at a fair where the Hereford has more than once overshadowed the other breeds in the uniformity of its excellence. Here again the names of the leading winners bring to mind bloodlines which have been most potent for years in the production of the ribbon-winning cattle at the western fairs. After Des Moines exhibits usually divide between the Minnesota and the Ne- braska state fairs. J. M. Curtice, Cyrus A. Tow and A. A. Berry & Son journeyed north to Hamline, where they encountered three local herds not well equipped to meet such competition. Five herds left Des Moines for Lincoln, among them O. Harris & Sons, W. J. Davis & Son, and William Andrews & Sons, and met two Nebraska herds and one from Kansas. This fair provides grand championship

956 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

competitions for all beef breeds, and the Harris champion Repeater 7th gained this honor for the breed.* The Harris heifer Miss Repeater 11th was second best female in this competition, while the calf herd from Mississippi won second in competi- tion for such groups. The participation in the west- ern campaign of the Davis cattle from Mississippi was among the notable features of the season, not only an evidence of the security of the foothold which the breed has obtained in the south, but an illustration of enterprise rarely equaled in our show- yard annals.

Pushing resolutely the widely-planned campaign, the Harris and Curtice herds from Missouri, the Berry, Andrews and Tow herds from Iowa and the Green herd from Nebraska joined with five South Dakota herds in a sensational exhibit at Huron, the capital city. The Davis herd meanwhile had moved its colors to Topeka, along with the. cattle of Biehl & Sidwell of Missouri and Thompson Bros. and O. E. Green of Nebraska, thus affording full classes at the Kansas fair. The exhibit carried to the western fairs brimmed with white-faced ripeness and quality.

*The Messrs. Harris are certainly doing their full share towards sustaining the cause of the Hereford in the United States at the present time. No other evidence is rcquired to demonstrate the great enterprise they are displaying, and the liberal expenditurc they arc making in connection with the up-keep of their estab- lishment, than the fact that there is at the present writing in service upon their Model Farms Repeater 289598 (an admirable photograph of which appears elsewhere in this volume), Gay Lad 6th, old Beau Donald 5th, Prince Perfection and Repeater 7th. Beau Donald 5th is still in service in his sixteenth year, and has sired cattle that have been sold by the Messrs. Harris for more than $100,000.

PROSPERITY REGAINED 957

The herd of W. T. McCray coming up from Louisville, Ky., met the VanNatta cattle from its home state at Springfield, with J. E. Thompson, an Illinois breeder, supplying a few winners. Of all the state fairs this season the breed was least numer- ously represented at Illinois. On the succeeding week the Harris cattle from South Dakota, the Mc- Cray cattle from Indiana and the Curtice cattle from Missouri met at the Missouri State Fair, while the young cattle from the Kansas herd of R. H. Hazlett were winning most of the prizes at the Oklahoma State Fair in competition with the entries of Klaus Bros., from the same state, and several local ex- hibitors.*

*Mr. Hazlett has not been in the limelight as much as some of his contemporaries, but he has been honored with the presi- dency of the Hereford association, is one of the active managers of the Kansas City Royal Show, and is generally recognized as one of the ablest men now identified with the development of Hereford interests in the middle west. A statement, therefore, covering some of his personal experiences will undoubtedly be of much interest, and at our request he has prepared the following, which we have pleasure in inserting at this point:

“Really, my experience as a breeder has been so generally uneventful that I hardly know how to give you any very good idea of what I have done. I have never attempted much in the way of showing cattle. I first knew about Herefords when T. L. Miller and others of the early Hereford breeders were striving to obtain recognition by the management of the Illinois State Fair, Springfield, I1l., being my home at that time. My interest at that time, however, went no farther than just to feel that those men were hardly securing fair treatment and to be pleased when they obtained some recognition through the demonstrations at the fat stock show. In 1885 I moved away from Illinois to El Dorado, Kans., and had little experience and knew little of what was going on in connection with fairs for some years.

“I bought my first Herefords, an entire small herd, near this citv in 1888. This herd had been kept on the farm where they were when I bought them for a good many years and I had fre- quently visited the place and admired the cattle. There were six- teen in the little herd when I bought it—two young bulls some eight to nine’ months old, and fourteen females, less than half of them being of breeding age, the others being yearlings and com- ing yearlings. Wild Beau, a full brother to Wild Tom, that first made Sunny Slope famous as a Hereford breeding establishment, was the sire of the young animals in this little herd. Wild Beau Was by Beau Real and he by Anxiety 4th. One of these young bulls I kept and used in my herd for several years to some ex- tent, on all the older cows except his dam. As I did not want to breed half sisters to this bull I secured a bull with a large per-

958 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

This bare summary of the battlelines of the 1914. show herds would be incomplete without the state- ment that from coast to coast and far into the south the banner of the breed was proudly carried. The Vermont and Virginia fairs staged exhibits that occasioned favorable comment and at some of the southern shows, notably at the Tri-State Fair at Memphis, the breed was surprisingly prominent.

centage of Anxiety 4th blood. The dam of this young bull, which had been named by the man from whom I bought him Major Beau Real, was by Stonemason by Beau Real, so that the first calf I used was a line-bred Anxiety 4th bull. This second bull was Bernadotte 2d, and he proved to be quite a good sire. I used these two bulls for several years, in the meantime having bought now snd again a few females without much thought as to their reeding.

“Up to this time what J had done was without any real rea- son. It just happened that I had Anxiety 4th lines, as I really knew nothing of the science of breeding or for that matter of the prominent families among Herefords. Having daughters of these two bulls in my herd by this time and having the idea that is very prevalent—whether correct or not—that I ought to go outside for some fresh blood or a different line of breeding, I bought a Columbus bull, Dale Duplicate 2d. He was, I think, a little more than a half-brother to the champion show bull Dale, with whose history you are entirely familiar. I disposed of both the old bulls. I also bought another from a popular family at that time, by Improver out of a Corrector dam. Another one -I tried was as close to The Grove 3d as I could ind, having learned that The Grove 3d was considered by many a great sire. I used these bulls until their get were in the neighborhood of two years old and decided that I did not like the results I was getting. Whether this was the fault of the out-crossing or simply that it was not the proper nick with my cows, I am not prepared to say. I only cite the fact here that I did not get the results I hoped for and soon disposed of all three of these animals.

“In the meantime I had been trying to inform myself to as great an extent as possible in regard to the Herefords that seemed to give the best results from a breeder’s point of view. This, to- gether with the experience I had had, led me to return to the Anxiety 4th line of breeding through Beau Brummel bulls and cows. The next bull which I used was Beau Beauty, sired by Beau Brummel out of an Anxiety 4th-North Pole dam. I bought an entire herd of between fifty and sixty head in order to secure another son of Beau Brummel—Beau Brummel 10th, whose dam was much stronger in the blood of Anxiety 4th than the dam of Beau Beauty. Up to this time those two have been my chief stock bulls. Beau Brummel 10th is dead and I am using one of his sons, Beau Sturgis 2d, with good results. While Beau Beauty is living, I am using one of his sons also, Zelpho, on the daugh- ters of Beau Brummel 10th, with very satisfactory results so far.

“T omitted one fact in connection with my herd bulls and that is this: I used a son of Bernadotte 2d of my own breeding for several years and still have a number of his daughters in my herd. This bull was Protocol 2d. ‘He was a very large and very smooth bull, weighing at twenty-four months of age 2,000 pounds, and as a three-year-old 2,600 pounds. Protocol 2d is the only one

960 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

In summary the Hereford show herds of 1914 have acquitted themselves brilliantly. More convin- cing testimony to the successful attainment of ‘‘ white face’’ ideals in America’s eminent nurseries of this breed could not be required. A season’s exhibit

of these bulls that was ever shown at anything except a county fair and he but once at the American Royal, and as neither my- self nor my herdsman had any sort of notion of fitting cattle for the showring our success was limited to getting inside the money.

“For the first few years after I began with the Herefords I did not cull my females at all, but kept them all for use in the herd, and I kept all the males intact to be sold as bulls. Of course, at this time I sold only to farmers and breeders of grade cattle and the importance of selection had not occurred:to me so much up to this time. It was not many years, however, until I became very much interested in the matter of breeding and determined to give it as much thought and attention as was in my power. I decided to eliminate from my herd, through the stockyards, the unworthy males as steers, and the sub-standard females. I have never made much effort to sell females, as I have felt that in order to have a good herd I must keép the best for breeding purposes,

“I have made comparatively little reputation through the showring, though I have shown with credit the last two or three years at our principal state fairs in the west and at the Ameri- can Royal. I bred and showed the heifer Banza, sired by Beau Beauty. She was the on! one that ever beat the renowned Scot- tish Lassie until the present year. Banza, with her second calf at foot, was shown at the American Royal this year, winning first place in the new classification—‘cows in milk .or with calf at foot.” I have shown quite a number of the get of Beau Beauty and Beau Brummell 10th at the western state fairs and have a good many firsts and championships to my credit in those shows.

“Speaking of this reminds me that I have omitted to mention another son of the old Beau Brummel which I bought about ‘the time I was getting rid of those three above mentioned. This was Printer, of about the same breeding as Beau Beauty, largely Anxiety 4th and North Pole. I also have one of his sons in my herd and from his use have had more successful show cattle than from other bulls on the farm. His name is Caldo 2d. His dam was by Lucifer, a Beau Brummel-Anxiety 4th bull, bred by Stew- ard & Hutcheon.” g

The Hazlett herd is in charge of William Condell, whose por- trait appears elsewhere in connection with those of other promi- ent herd managers. Mr. Condell was born in 1882 at Lake Bluff, ii. of Irish and Scotch descent. He was raised at Chicago Heights, ll, both places being near the city of Chicago. When he was ten years of age his father bought a herd of Herefords, and since that time William has always been happiest when busy wtih the “white faces.” On reaching his majority he determined to iden- tify himself with some good herd and endeavor to render efficient service. On removing to Kansas in 1901 a connection with Mr. Hazlett was formed which has continued to the present time. All who are familiar with the management of the herd,. with such cattle as have been exhibited from it, and all who have an ac- uaintance with Mr. Condell will find in the following sentence just about what they would expect from him, in answer to a query as to his methods: “Whatever success I have attained has ver nee trying to please my employer, and putting self into e work,

i : 2 Pboto by Hildebrand

FARMER 426279, IMPORTED 1913 BY GEO. LEIGH AND OWNED BY W. T. McCRAY.

IMP, BRITISHER 145096, AS DRAWN BY THROOP —IMPORTED BY GEO. LEIGH, AND USED BY GILTNER BROS.

962 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

which sustains triumphantly the glorious traditions of the breed in its presentation of thickly-fleshed and perfectly fitted show ring cattle has again been placed to the credit of the master-builders of the breed in America.

GHAPTER XXIII. IN FOREIGN FIELDS.

The question of the future meat supply of the world is one that is now receiving serious consider- ation. Whereas the United States but recently ex- ported large numbers of live bullocks for slaughter at British ports, as well as great quantities of dressed beef, the passing of the open range in west- ern America and the curtailment of beef cattle pro- duction and feeding by cornbelt farmers, due to the steadily advancing price of lards and grain, has with- in a remarkably short space of time converted us from an exporting to an importing nation. Beef and cattle shipments oversea are, for the present at least, at an end.* Our own ports have been opened to the free introduction of meats from other countries, and the first year’s operation under this. new dispensation has seen liberal shipments of frozen meats from Argentina to our Atlantic sea- board markets and the arrival of numerous cargoes from Australasia on our western coast.

Leading American packers are now operating their

*Owing to the abnormal situation developed by the great European war, in progress as this volume is written, our packers are selling big lots of canned, corned and pickled meats to the French and British governments for the maintenance of their embattled forces. But with the return of peace and the resump- tion of normal commercial relations this buying, on an extensive scale, will probably not continue.

963

964 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

own plants at Buenos Aires, and are also entering the Australasian field. They have been forced to do this or lose their Smithfield and other foreign busi- ness, built up in the past from American supplies. Not only have the packers entered these sub-equa- torial markets, but large companies have been formed in recent years to engage heavily in cattle ranching in regions heretofore not stocked. Notable cases in point are the Brazilian Land, Cattle & Packing Co., of which Mr. Murdo Mackenzie, former manager of the Matador business, is the present executive head, and the British South African Char- tered Co., which has engaged as manager Mr. Richard Walsh, long with the Adair ranch at Palo- duro, Texas.

Exports to South America.—It was in January, 1911, that Mr. Mackenzie left the service of the Matador company and went to take charge of this great new venture in South America. Prior to his engagement the board of directors had purchased about 920 head of Herefords and 20 Shorthorns in the United States. All of these cattle except those coming from above the quarantine line were pur- chased from an infected district and were immune, and the cattle purchased from above the quarantine line were sent to the Texas Experiment Station, where they were held for six months and immunized. The cattle arrived in Brazil about the end of July and were placed in pastures in Parana. They stood the trip very well, only five head dying between

IN FOREIGN FIELDS 965

Galveston and the Brazilian ranch. On account of their being immune before shipment it was expected that little trouble would be experienced from tick fever, but in this the buyers were disappointed. So far as could be observed there was no difference be- tween the cattle from above or below the quaran- tine line in the matter of susceptibility to the kind of tick fever prevalent in that country. It was found, however, that the Hereford cattle withstood the difficulties encountered and adapted themselves to all the conditions of that country much better than the Shorthorns. Such is Manager Mackenzie’s testimony, and he adds:

‘“‘T consider that there is a great future for the cattle business in Brazil; all it requires is persever- ance and push and the importation of the best breeds of cattle to make this country second to none in the cattle. business. The climate is all that could be desired. Water is plentiful and well distributed over the range country, the annual rainfall being about 42 inches. There is practically no cold weather and grass will grow almost the year round. There is a great abundance of grass, but it is not so nutri- tious in some parts as it is in others, and in some parts not so nutritious as the grass you find in the range country of the United States.’’

Five Hundred Herefords to Brazil—Through its representative, Alex. Mackenzie, son of Murdo Mackenzie, the Brazilian company purchased in Texas during the summer of 1914 500 head of Here- fords, which were shipped for breeding purposes to the company’s extensive ranches. This was a record

shipment of American pedigree Herefords to a for-

966 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

eign country. It consisted chiefly of bulls about eighteen months old. It is understood that the total price paid was $65,000, or about $125 per head. The cattle were selected from herds below the quaran- tine line owned by J. W. & D. L. Knox of Jacksboro, R. H. MecNatt of Fort Worth, M. W. Hovenkamp of Keller, W. N. Burns of Blanket, F. C. Vaden of Sherman, J. H. McCaskey of Decatur, J. P. Morris of Coleman, C. Sloan of Fort Worth, F. L. Smith of Graford, R. J. Johnson of Newcastle, J. T. Day of Rhome, J. O. Rhome of Kopperl, Ed Hayden of Moran and S. D. Penny of Watauga.

Although every animal was immune to Texas fever they were subsequently required to undergo immuni- zation against another species of tick fever in Brazil, with the prospect of a considerable mortality.

The property of this company, consisting of some 10,000,000 acres of land, lies in the southern part of Brazil, the head offices being at Sao Paulo, which lies at an altitude of some 2,500 feet above sea level and is 60 miles inland. At last accounts it was esti- mated that the syndicate had acquired over 200,000 head of cattle, which number was likely to be in- creased to half a million. The entire country, how- ever, is infested with ticks, and this complicates somewhat the problem of improving the native cattle with imported bulls. The Brazilian cow is a good- sized animal, much larger than the old-time Texan, and the entire country is covered with a wonderful growth of grass which is kept down by burning, the

IN FOREIGN FIELDS 967

cattle following the prairie fires wherever they occur. When a strip of country is burned off the animals, attracted by the smoke, set out for it, and a few days after the fire has passed the entire country is green.

The fact that the Hereford has been chosen as the most likely type to successfully cope with the condi- tions there prevailing, is simply another tribute to its capacity to endure the hardship to which range cattle are usually subjected in all countries.

It may seem somewhat fanciful to speak of men- tality as being a determining factor in the adapta- bility of a breed of cattle. However, there is no doubt that the peculiar mental qualities of the Herefords have contributed markedly to their success upon open ranges in general. In the mountainous regions of the western United States where mixed herds of other breeds were already in possession, when Here- fords were introduced they very soon made them- selves known by climbing to the highest slopes that carry grass. Ever afterwards, as long as the mixed herds persist, it may usually be noted that the cattle highest up on the grass-covered mountain-sides have white faces. .

There is a sort of courage and resolution about the Hereford that makes him combat stormy weather away from, the shelter of bank or tree or cliff and hunt for grass when cattle of more tender nature, developed under man’s continuous and solicitous care, even though they may never have been fed, will be found waiting in the bottom of the canyon or in

968 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the shelter of a tree hoping that someone will come along that way. This fact as much as anything else has served to earn for the Herefords the admiration, and even affection, of their cow-boy caretakers. Uruguay.—Here is another place where Here- fords find high appreciation. Uruguay is a fine little country, in marked contrast to the flat and feature- less Argentine plains being made up largely of roll- ing lands, in some parts almost hilly, though nowhere rising into real mountains. Rocks are often seen cropping out of the pastures or rising in good-sized cliff-like walls along the crests of the hills. Uru- guay is a land of springs and many fine small streams, with also a few sizable rivers. We have nothing just like it in North America, although the high country in Texas somewhat resembles it. How- ever Uruguay has a milder climate than Texas, with cooler summers and warmer winters. Uruguayan soils are good, but not so fat as those of the great plains of Buenos Aires. They support perennial grasses with fewer bur clovers and other legumes than are seen in Argentina. Alfalfa pastures are as yet infrequently seen in Uruguay. :

Perhaps’ because of the more or less hilly nature of the country, perhaps because the pastures are less productive than those of Argentina, the Herefords are the most popular cattle of all breeds tried in Uruguay and are most frequently seen. They appar- ently make more fat on Uruguayan grasses than do the Shorthorns, the nearly universal cattle of Argen-

IN FOREIGN FIELDS 969

tina. Uruguay has a fever line in the north, and above the line there are yet vast numbers of native Spanish cattle, greatly in need of improvement. Hereford blood is the kind most sought to effect this improvement. There is experienced the same diffi- culty that our own breeders have met in attempting to put northern cattle into southern pastures. The non-immune cattle quite often die when exposed to fever ticks. Wilson Bros., of Montevideo, who are large importers of cattle for breeding purposes, have expressed their opinion that northern Uruguay and Brazil could use many thousands of United States-bred Hereford bulls if they could be bought with any assurance of immunity from fever.

The truth is that our American breeders of both Herefords and Shorthorns have no adequate concep- tion of the enterprise that has already been dis- played by South American cattle-growers in the matter of elevating the standard of their cattle stocks, probably because nearly all of their buying has been done in Britain. Writing under date of Aug. 15, 1913, Mr. William Tudge stated that ‘‘Col. F. Braga, the leading Uruguyan breeder, has at the present time 800 head of pedigree Hereford cows and has just imported (on June 21) the most valu- able lot of Hereford bulls, 27 in number, that ever left England at one time.’’

Argentina.—The chief cattle-rearing states of Argentina are Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Pampa Cen- tral, Santa Fe, Entre Rios and Corrientes. South

970 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of the Rio Negro few cattle are seen because of the aridity of the soil and the poverty of the grasses. Along the Andes, however, are fine rich pastures as far south as Santa Cruz. On these pastures are seen chiefly the native Spanish cattle, some of them of magnificent type being used largely for transport purposes, as it is a great sheep-growing country and the wool must be hauled a long way to market.

The province of Buenos Aires is chiefly low, black, fat land, and is devoted mainly to Shorthorn cattle, the few herds of Angus, Herefords or other breeds being quite inconspicuous amid such immense num- bers of Shorthorns. In Cordoba more Herefords are seen, but even there Shorthorns largely preponder- ate. In Entre Rios the improved herds are chiefly Shorthorns, although along the northern edge will be found more of the Herefords and also many of the native Spanish long-horned cattle. Corrientes has a few estancias given over to cattle of good blood. Among these will be seen Angus, Herefords and Shorthorns, but in the main Corrientes is given over to the wild, unimproved Spanish native, living to be six years old before going to the salederos or salting works. These native cattle never reach the frigorificos because of their lack of quality. In northern Corrientes some cattle of Zebu or East Indian blood have come and are welcomed because of their tick-immunity.

Argentina is the only country beyond the seas that produces Indian corn in a large commercial way.

IN FOREIGN FIELDS 971

For many years past the proprietors of the great estancias have been buying Shorthorns in Great Britain, not only with great freedom but with a de- gree of enterprise unparalleled in the history of the British export business. The policy seems to have been to procure the best absolutely regardless of cost. For a long series of years buyers for the Ar- gentine have been taking out the very tops of British herds.

It seems probable that the main reason why the Hereford has not as yet acquired such a dominating influence in Argentine cattle-ranching as in the United States is due to the fact that conditions throughout much of the interior of Argentine are not as forbidding as in the case of our own Rocky Mountain regions. This is simply another way of saying that the necessity for resorting to the pe- culiar qualities for which the Hereford is specially noted do not exist in Argentina to the same extent as with us. Where climatic conditions are favorable, and where food is abundant, it is not commonly claimed that the Hereford has any outstanding ad- vantage over the Shorthorns. It is where the facing of grief has to be met that the Hereford practically gets away from all competition.

Foundations of Argentine Improvement.—In Vol- ume 35 of the ‘‘ Anales de la Sociedad Argentina’’ it is stated on the authority of Dr. Zeballos, a former Minister of Argentina to the United States whose acquaintance the author of this volume had the

972 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

pleasure of forming many years ago, that the cattle trade of the River Plate had its remote foundation in the introduction in 1553 by the brothers Goes (Portuguese) of seven cows and a bull into Para- guay. The cattle were from Santa Catharina, Brazil. Space will not admit of our endeavoring to trace the gradual growth of the industry during the suc- ceeding centuries of Argentine development. The point of real interest to us at this time is the fact that, so far as published herd book entries show, it was not until the year 1862 that the first introduc- tion of the pure Hereford blood was recorded. In that year Don Leonardo Pereyra imported the bull Niagara, and in 1864 brought out the first two cows of the Hereford breed. In 1868 Mr. Juan Miller brought out the first Shorthorn bull, Tarquino, and several cows to his Nueva Caledonia ranch, thus founding the primal herd of that breed in Argentina. Without undertaking to present the details as to the subsequent importations, a general idea of the extent to which Herefords were introduced and bred during the years following this original importation may be gleaned from the statement that there were re- corded up to the year 1907 in the first four volumes of the herd book established for the registration of pedigree Herefords 364 bulls and 649 cows. Promi- nent among those engaged in promoting the inter- est in the ‘‘white faces’’ in Argentina was Mr. Arthur Yeomans, of La Norumbega, Buenos Aires Province.

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Shorthorn vs. Hereford.—The author put to a well informed and entirely disinterested authority in Argentina not long ago the query, ‘‘How do you account for the fact that the Shorthorn seems to be so much more popular in your country than the Hereford?’’ This is a point of so much interest that we can do no better than quote his reply verbatim:

“This question of yours, though natural and easily put, is the most intricate to be answered. It has agitated ourselves for more than two decen- niums, and on their side hundreds of reasons have been adduced, all to no effect. Cool ciphers have shown the good qualities of the Hereford and its adaptability for an outdoor grazing life, dozens of times, and still the Shorthorn bears the palm a long way. Hereford enthusiasts have been dying away, without seeing their efforts crowned; large parts of considerable fortunes have for years been laid out with Herefords, at small returns, while the luckier rival was booming; and still at the slightest touch among the advocates of the Hereford the old fire of violently subdued enthusiasm breaks out again to the highest glow. As an observer, how- ever, I should mention:

‘‘First: That there is a great majority of Short- horn breeders, and the largest extensions of the most fertile pasture land are.devoted to Shorthorns, while the Herefords (owing to their hardiness and good feeding qualities under adverse conditions) are generally reared on poor pastures, consequently competing at disadvantage.

“‘Second: That the very pronounced hereditary power makes the people compare most commonly a first-cross Hereford with a fourth- or fifth-cross Shorthorn, to the great detriment of the former.

974 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

“Third: That a portion of the original native cattle, before and during the time of grading, pos- sessed white heads (such animals being named ‘pampa’ out here), and that these ‘pampas’ are much disliked. And as the Hereford with his strong generic prepotence gave white heads even in the first cross, these two different classes of white heads were mixed up by an ignorant population.’’

Argentine Breeders Testify—The fact that Ar- gentina now looms so large in the matter of the world’s beef supply, has led the author to endeavor to assemble the views of leading advocates of the Hereford in that country. The courtesy of our southern neighbors is proverbial. Some of the wealthiest and most deeply-engrossed of those who have stood by the Hereford cattle in the Argentine, in the face of many discouragements, have done us the honor to reply at length and in most interesting fashion to our inquiries as to the status of the ‘‘white faces’’ in the great South American repub- lic. In view of the interest now attaching to the evolution of the cattle business in that country we feel that no more interesting contribution to con- temporary cattle literature can be made than the submission herewith of liberal extracts from trans- lations of their replies.

Cabana San Juan.—Reference has already been made to Don Leonardo Pereyra as the pioneer im- porter. The fact that his holdings of Herefords upon various estancias had extended up to 30,000 head at the time his statement was made lends weight to the following language:

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_“You ask me what reasons justify in the Argen- tine Republic the apparent supremacy of the Short- horns as a race, the superiority of the Herefords being unquestionable as regards strength, hardiness, health, resistance and adaptability to all kinds of camps.

“*T believe it is only a matter of personal prefer- ence. I acknowledge that such a motive has no weight as a commercial argument. It must also be borne in mind that the generality of our breeders have, for some time past, dedicated themselves to breeding Shorthorns, as these were more abundant than Herefords. The former spread thus easily over the country and today the owners of Shorthorns, although the origin of their cattle in this country may not be a pure one, have continued crossing with imported animals or with more or less pure bulls for such a long period that their herds are almost pur sang. Such breeders naturally are loath to give up the results of many years of assiduous work.

‘‘T think, nay, I can assure, that there are Short- horn breeders who are intimately convinced of the necessity of starting in the direction of a breed which, like the Hereford, offers them more endur- ance, is better adapted to all zones, shows greater resistance in times of drouth and during cold winters, than are displayed by the Shorthorns. Yet this conviction is an inward one; it is not openly avowed. Things will most likely continue in this state until the Hereford breeders, who on their side persist in their propaganda, do succeed in establish- ing their opinion, as I understand has happened in the United States. The Hereford breeders have kept up the struggle for a very long time; but they were few, compared with the number of their rivals, and the upshot so far favors the predominion of the Dur- hams. During recent years, however, a reaction has

“VNIINGDUV OLNI SQUOUHAHH AO UALUOdWI LSUld AHL ‘VUAHUHd OGUVNOG1 NOG JO ALUAdOUd GHL NO duaqH ONIduaUa

IN FOREIGN FIELDS 977

begun, a reaction which is based or caused by the evidence gathered in bad times, when cattle are put to the proof by protracted drouths, intense cold, scarcity of pasture, ete.

‘‘The San Juan Farm, established forty-five years ago, has always kept a valuable stock of pedigree sires. The development of both Hereford and Dur- ham herds in our estancias has allowed me to com- pare the qualities of the two breeds, and I have reached the following conclusions: the Hereford cattle produce more and keep in better condition than the Durhams. I now possess from 25,000 to 30,000 head of Hereford cattle. The figures in my books speak eloquently in their favor, showing they give higher profits than an equal number of Dur- hams, although the latter have always grazed on a better camp (Tandil Leofu) which is situated in the same region, near the Tandil Mountains, where the Hereford cattle run (San Simon). I can therefore harbor no doubts. Facts have convinced me, and they certainly carry out my assertions.’’

We have the pleasure of submitting herewith several engravings which will demonstrate to the American reader that Herefords of the very first quality, equal, in fact, to the best of the breed in any country, have been utilized by Senor Pereyra in his extensive breeding operations. These illustrations have been prepared from a beautiful set of photo- graphs sent to the author along with the manu- script from which the above statement is extracted. We have also been furnished with a detailed state- ment concerning the leading stock bulls used in this noted herd, the list including a large number of Royal English prize-winners taken to the Argentine

978 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

‘at high prices. We regret that space will not per- mit of our setting forth the bloodlines of these im- ported cattle, but it must suffice to say that all of the great producing strains of the breed in Here- fordshire were represented.

Las Hormigas.—Senor A. Ayerza, owner of Las Hormigas, established in Conchitas in the District of Quilmes, Province of Buenos Aires, in the year 1896, began with four pedigree cows imported from England, and with fifteen bred in Argentina, the produce of imported English cows. The first bull used was Eaton Defender, bred by Sir Joseph Pulley, Bart., of Lower Eaton, and was followed by the famous Red Cross, bred by Arkwright of Hamp- ton Court and winner of many important prizes at English shows.

The natural increase from births in this estab- lishment during a period of eleven years was 425 head. Comparing the ‘‘mestizacion’’ or effects of crossing with both‘‘ Durham’’and Hereford bulls, Sr. Ayerza, after having practical experience with both breeds and having produced as many as 6,000 head of grades of both breeds decided to give up using ‘‘Durhams’’ and only employ Herefords. Referring to this he said:

‘‘Above all I must tell you that the mestizacion in my establishment has been made principally with purebred pedigree bulls, but few of a ‘mixed breed’ having been used, but even those had been crossed

at least four times. As to the cows, although they had some Hereford blood (only the color), yet on

IN FOREIGN FIELDS 979

account of their poor development and form they were no better than the ordinary native cattle. With these 2,000 head as a base they gave, in the first instance, as a result steers which at three and a half years old were sold for the freezing establishment at the same price as Durham steers of the same age and fleshiness, but which had better blood on account of their mestizacion. I am certain that this result could not have been obtained with purebred Durham bulls. and cows in the conditions of de- velopment and mestizacion to which I have just made reference.

‘‘One point of great importance in the use of Hereford cattle is their rapid increase; for, com- paring the annual increase of the Hereford cattle which I possess’ now with that of the Durhams which I had, I can affirm without fear of mistake that said increase is from 18-to 20 per cent more. I have also noted that in the case of this breed a breeder can with impunity, by means of crossing, produce an animal of pure blood without the least fear of losing in the smallest degree any of the strength and rusticity which belong to the breed, and which in my experience with the Durham can- not be obtained, because this animal once arrived at the grade of pure blood becomes exceedingly weak and unable to resist our system of rearing cattle in the open air, especially during the win- ters of the southern parts of Buenos Aires. If, for example, during the last winter I had in my estab- lishment the Durham cows which I formerly had, I am quite sure that more than three-fourths of them would have died (as happened with my neighbors) whilst I only lost an insignificant part of my Herefords. You may be almost certain that a red native cow served by a pure Hereford bull will produce an animal with hair, short legs and

980 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

somewhat of the roundness of body of the parent bull, which characteristics you will not find in the case of a Durham. I am fully persuaded that given the same conditions as to blood, pasture and care of the cows served by purebred bulls of either breed, the breeder of Herefords will obtain a larger number and a better type of animal in half the time.

‘‘There are many factors to be considered to account for the superior popularity of the Durham:

‘‘Wirst: As there are few breeders of Herefords there are consequently few pure bulls to employ in the mestizacion, and this fact obliges many breed- ers to have their cows served by animals which have been only once crossed. These bulls with the facility with which they give to their produce the hair of the Hereford cause the offspring to have the name of Herefords without in reality possessing a drop of pure blood.

‘‘Second: As everybody recognizes the strength and rusticity of this breed it becomes a reason why the breed is raised in those camps, where on account of their bad quality Durhams could not live, and therefore the want of grass, a bad climate, and bull of very little pure blood are the reasons why the produce show a want of development, causing one to believe on account of their color that they possess a high grade of mestizacion, when in reality they possess none.

‘‘Third: A great deal is also to be attributed to the constant adverse efforts of the partisans of the Durhams against the Herefords. It is plain that the partisans of the Durham, being so numerous and powerful, those of the Hereford who are in a great minority are not listened to.

‘‘For my part I can bring forward as a witness my commercial books to show that I sell annually

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to the freezing establishments for exportation to London from 10,000 to 13,000 steers, and I have never sold Durhams for a higher price, nor of less age, nor fatter than Herefords; with this peculiarity, that although both be fed on the same land the Herefords have fattened sooner, and I have never had a single animal of the Hereford breed rejected on account of a suspicion of tuberculosis, which ed is found largely developed in the Durham reed.

“‘One of the baseless reasons which the breeders of Durhams use in running down Herefords is the following which I have pleasure in giving you: In our great Palermo shows of 1890, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 a grand special or champion prize was established to be awarded to the best bull for producing the best meat breed. During these nine distinct struggles the Durhams won five times and the Herefords four. I must tell you that in those different competitions the number of Durham bulls was four or six times more numer- ous than that of the Herefords, so that the triumph was greater for the latter. At the present day we cannot, unfortunately, compete in the same condi- tions, because a champion prize has been established for each breed, through the influence of the partisans of the Durhams.

‘“‘T have data given me by pedigree stock breed- ers of both breeds which says that given an equal number of cows and time, the Herefords have pro- duced in the proportion of one and a half times more than the Durhams.’’

It should here be stated that the foregoing testi- mony, as well as that which follows it, was pro- cured by the author of this volume several years

ago, when this work was first projected. While

982 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

general conditions in respect to the relative posi- tions of the two breeds in Argentina have not ma- terially changed since these interesting communica- tions were originally written, it is but fair to state that several years have elapsed since they were placed in the writer’s hands. It would appear therefore that Hereford breeders in Argentina find themselves up against about the same proposition that faced the early American breeders and import- ers in the United States—the Shorthorn power being entrenched at every point, making it an up-hill fight for the advocates of the ‘‘white faces.’’

San Gregorio.—Senor D. A. Villfane, proprietor of the San Gregorio estancia, substantiates what has already been said by his colleagues. His reply in part is as follows:

“‘One cause of the unpopularity of the Hereford is that he so easily imprints his type on the common classes, half-blood crosses are sent to market, and his premature product resulting from a hurried re- finement served the Durham breeders to emphasize their anti-Hereford propaganda. As the Hereford type is easily imprinted, any product with a white face and horned was ‘Hereford,’ but what kind of Hereford? Of these I am no advocate, but I am a very great lover of the Hereford of quality.

‘‘Again: In the shows the number of Durham animals exceeds the Herefords, and the public natur- ally rushes to wherever their attention is thus forci- bly directed. The Durham undoubtedly will have its epoch; indeed it is enjoying it at the present moment, but then as it is only a fleeting custom (or shall I call it fashion?) it shall vanish like all other

PRIZE BULL HOLMER 22229, BRED BY PETER COATS AND TAKEN TO THE ARGENTIND BY DON LEONARDO PEREYRA.

984. A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

fancies and eventually the Hereford will again be in the ascendant.”’

Duggan Bros——Mr. Edward C. Duggan of this firm says:

“‘The result of the Hereford crossing is undeni- able to all those who have’tested it. We have ex- cellent herds resulting from crosses made with pure Hereford bulls and low-grade Durham cows, and we have also obtained in much less time excellent results with crossings made with pure Hereford bulls and Durham cows of high breeding. It frequently hap- pens that many breeders in order to buy the Here- ford cows separate from their herds all the inferior and useless cows, and placing these with Hereford bulls, wonder afterwards why they did not obtain a product of the ‘cold storage’ type and preach to the four winds that the crossing is not good. These gentlemen do not notice, or do not wish to recognize, that these same cows if mated with an excellent Durham bull would never give a superior product, but they expect the Hereford to do in one crossing that which they would not seek from the Durham in five.

‘*In a country like ours, which possesses every variety of climate, soil and pasture imaginable, it is a positive fact that in the cattle as well as the sheep there exists practically only one breed—in cattle the Durham and in sheep the Lincoln. It is somewhat difficult to determine to what can be attributed this strange anomaly. In the case of the Hercford we think it is mainly due to the slizht knowledge of the breed. As the Hereford bull from the first crossing imprints his color on his offspring, it occurs that many persons think that every animal with a white face is a Hereford, although he has nothing else but the aforesaid characteristic. This- lack of

IN FOREIGN FIELDS 985

knowledge in connection with what we have written in the above paragraph about the little certainty prevailing among the majority of breeders proves that the crossing must be the chiet’ cause of the small acceptability of this mixture compared with the Durham. We must here draw attention con- cerning the fact that all our neighbor live stock breeders, as well as ourselves, who have proved both species under similar conditions, are all adherents of the Hereford. We have herds of pedigree and numerous rounds of both crossings which enable us to speak of the matter with some authority.

‘We have ascertained that the Hereford bull serves a greater number of cows than the Durham. Again, the Hereford cow gives a larger percentage of calves, there being comparatively few cases of sterile and tuberculosis cattle. Further, that the Hereford lives longer than the Durham, is more easily fattened and the ‘cold storage’ pay for good Hereford steers is a price equal to that offered for good Durhams. The fact of the Hereford being easier to fatten is of great importance, because on the same pasture you can place one-third more ani- mals than you can of Durhams. Another strong feature for the Hereford is that it will fatten on the same good pasture even at the time when it is with calf, but the Durham, which is thin at this stage, will not improve while she is suckling and in the majority of cases will not improve without special care. Lastly, on pasture land where Durhams die the Hereford not only lives but keeps in a fair con- dition. As this last statement may seem, exagger- ated, we will add that on more than one occasion during bad winters we have had Durham and Here- ford cattle on the same pasture separated by a fence, but we have been compelled to assist the Durhams, taking them to other pastures in better

986 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

condition, while the Herefords remained to the end of the winter and exhibited a better condition.”’

At Esperanza.—Sr. Miguel G. Salas, one of the Argentine advocates of the Hereford, imported in the year 1882 fifty cows and one bull, and formed with these animals his first herd at Esperanza. This importation was followed periodically by -others, which were used for renewing the blood, avoiding the necessity for close breeding. Of the bulls pro- duced from the stock a number were prepared for sale when they were two years old, and the re- mainder utilized for improving the stock of ‘‘Creole’’ cattle, which he owned on different estates. Of the effects observed, it is said: .

‘‘The result of the crossing with the ordinary cattle was at first mediocre, but lately has been very satisfactory, the steers realizing prices which rival with the best obtained from among the Dur- hams. Notwithstanding all this, there are some ob- jections raised on the part of market buyers for the Hereford cattle, and this opposition against such an excellent breed is chiefly based on the existence of two prominent features pertaining to this class of cattle, which have contributed to lessen their popu- larity here.

‘“‘First: The amazing facility with which the Hereford attains the coloring without more admix- ture than that resulting from a half-pure Hereford bull with an ordinary cow, which at once produces the characteristic color—red with a white face. But then an animal with so little strain of noble blood, although it has the color of the pure breed, naturally cannot have its other distinguishing features; and from these circumstances persons not very expert in

IN FOREIGN FIELDS 987

the knowledge of the breed form wrong conclusions, considering the Hereford badly developed and diffi- cult to fatten, ete.

‘‘Second: Itis a general opinion that as to rustic- ity this breed has no competitors, and in view of this fact the breeders allotted the poorest pastur- age to the Hereford. In consequence of this the re- sult was soon apparent, for the cattle thus treated— as was natural to suppose—did not attain to the size of their competitors, the Durhams, and from this circumstance arose the conclusion of the sup- posed inferiority of the Herefords, and this without once giving thought that the Durhams would have literally perished had they been grazed on similar pasture to that of the Hereford cattle. Now it is common knowledge that when placed on good pasture and being of a good cross the Herefords can compete favorably with the Durham or any other breed of beef, and if to this fact we add the dehorning, the Hereford can be converted into a polled steer, as beautiful and docile an animal as any Durham.

‘‘The actual proprietor of Esperanza, Sr. Juan Cobo, had at about the same time established his Durham Stock Farm with the same number of ani- mals, but he remains nowadays with only the Here- fords, which he prefers to the Durhams.”’

La Estrella—The author acknowledges with thanks the receipt of a long and particularly inter- esting statement from Dr. Emilio-Frers on the gen- eral subject of the status of the Hereford in Argen- tina, including an even-tempered and_ scholarly analysis of the relative claims made for the two leading breeds in that country. Our only regret is that we have not space to publish this in full,

988 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

To condense it would only be to rob it of its vital interest.

Dr. Frers’ experience began in the year 1882 when he took over the La Estrella establishment, at which time the cattle stock included a small herd of 50 or 60 Hereford-crossed Shorthorn cows and some- thing over 3,000 head of ‘‘Creoles,’’ showing some little blood. He decided to begin the work of im- provement, and for this purpose selected the Here- ford bull. He was fortunate enough to secure as his first purebred sire the imported bull Gordon, bred by Lewis Lloyd, that carried a double cross of Lord Wilton. He was procured through Mr. Yeomans, who stated at the time that ‘‘no Here- ford bull of better blood had crossed the equator up to that date.’? His descendants at La Estrella certainly did high credit to his ancestry. During 1887 and 1889 several good lots of bulls were brought out from England. Since that date none but pedigree sires have been used in the herds. At the time this communication was written by Dr. Frers the herd numbered some 4,700 head of cat- tle, of which 119 head had pedigrees. Besides these there were between 400 and 500 cows which were already highly crossed, and which would be classed as of the pure blood. In fact, something over 2,000 of the cows were more than seven-eighths Here- ford blood. Animals from this establishment have repeatedly been shown at the Argentine expositions with great success.

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Dr. Frers has taken special pride in the Here- ford steers he has shown, and these have not only been frequent winners, but have sold at fancy prices. Speaking of the value of the Hereford for the meat trade, he says:

‘“‘The Hereford steers are rapidly coming into favor, notwithstanding the prejudices of many breeders and exporters. Until a few years ago the average price obtainable for them was considerably less than that for the mixed-bred Durham. It was said that their net yield was less, but if so the reason was obvious. All white-faced animals pro- duced by Creole cattle and those of the lower grades in general, were classed as Herefords, even though they possessed no other charactertistic than the red and white color. Those highly bred in Hereford blood were very few in numbers. Indeed the Dur- hams, with which they were compared, reached vastly superior refinement. It should be borne in mind that the proportion of the Hereford to the Dur- ham is one to seven throughout the country. At the present time good Hereford steers command as high prices as any others at the public market, as well as for export. At recent cattle shows we have been triumphant. I have contributed three- quarters and seven-eighths blood Hereford bullocks that have secured on many different occasions the gold medal as the best lot of steers without dis- tinction as to breed, in competition with the best Durham steers.

“In my opinion there appears to be a great future for the Hereford breed in this country, although I think it will never entirely dislodge the Durham. Indeed, I see no reason why it should do so. I think the Herefords equal them both as to value and economy of production. The Durham is some-

990 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

what more precocious. A Hereford steer will not give at three years the same weight and quantity of beef, but at four years this difference disappears. The Hereford is, on the other hand, more hardy. This is the outcome of a biological law. Precocity and rusticity are difficult to reconcile, and it is here the Hereford offers some advantages. He resists better the causes of general mortality, sickness, cli- matic variances, etc., in a higher degree, and this is the reason why where we have hard grasses, where the Durham cannot sustain himself and dies, the Hereford lives, sometimes weak perhaps, but still he survives. He fattens quicker when grazing, and preserves his condition better where hardships have to be met with, as is common in our country. The Durham is without doubt better suited for stall- feeding, but the Hereford has the advantage over him in grazing.’’

Australasia Australia and New Zealand cut a large figure always in the world’s supply of meats, more especially in the matter of mutton. In the production of Merino and cross-bred wools they hold a commanding position, and their exports of frozen mutton reach great totals. Cattle-growing is in- deed subordinate to flock husbandry, and yet, as British colonies with good grazing available, they have naturally transplanted from the mother country the blood of the Shorthorn and Hereford in quanti- ties that have resulted in the establishment and maintenance of many first-class herds. The bulls have made their impress upon the general cattle stocks. While the Shorthorn probably is to be found in larger number than the Hereford, the latter has

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met with special favor, as elsewhere, wherever harsh conditions have to be met, so that in those remote regions, as in lands lying nearer to our own bound- aries, we find the ‘‘white face’? as an important factor in the cattle business. Only lack of space precludes our going into details in this case as to their introduction and dissemination.

The Cape Colonies.—There are comparatively few Herefords in South Africa. A few have been im- ported into Cape Colony and Natal from time to time from England, but no herds of any size have been established. Mr. Walsh took out a small lot of Texas-bred ‘‘white faces’’ to Rhodesia in the fall of 1913, and expects to make further shipments.

One of the largest early importations of English Herefords into the colonies was that of the Trans- vaal Government in 1903. Then twenty-seven cows and heifers and four bulls, from good Herefordshire strains, were imported. Included amongst these was British Gold, by Gold Box (15339), presented to the Transvaal Government by the Earl of Coventry. This bull proved a useful and impressive sire. After this importation a few more cows and heifers were taken out for the Government and it was proposed to gradually increase the herd, which is located upon the Experimental Farm at Potchefstroom. The young bulls bred from imported females have been sold to farmers throughout the colony, and have been much sought after. Mr. Abe Bailey also es- tablished a herd in Cape Colony some years

A POPULAR CROSS IN CUBA—ZEBU BULL ON A GRADE HEREFORD COW.

IN FOREIGN FIELDS 993

ago. These were the first herds of importance in South Africa so far as we can learn.

Speaking of the general cattle-breeding situation in these regions, the Director of Agriculture for the Transvaal Government, writing to the author of this volume several years ago, said:

‘‘Though a great portion of South Africa is by no means a dairying country, and so far very little has been done in the way of dairying, even in dis- tricts suitable for it, yet for some reason or other the first thought of the farmer when purchasing cattle is the amount of milk they will yield, the second consideration being the suitability of the steers for trek purposes. The carcass of the animal, the proportion of carcass to live weight, and early- maturing qualities have been greatly neglected. As a matter of fact, it would be far’ better economy on the part of many farmers if they were to go in for beef production pure and simple, and I have little doubt that before long they will do so. When they arrive at that stage Herefords should prove most useful.

‘“‘The native cattle—Afrikanders, as they are called—are very poor carcass animals and very poor milkers, though the little milk they do give is extremely rich. They are hardy and excellent for trek purposes. I enclose photographs of a bull and three young heifers.

‘‘The favorite breeds of cattle, other than Afri- kanders, in South Africa at present are Frieslands, Shorthorns, Devons, both North and South, and Ayrshires, but there are few herds of any size and merit of any of the breeds, and it would probably be hard to find any other part of the world in which cattle-breeding is, speaking generally, so backward as in South Africa.

994. A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

‘‘Until recently animals were allowed to run semi- wild upon the veld, and the only regard which the farmer had for his stock was that it should in- crease as rapidly as possible, and afford the mini- mum amount of trouble and expense.

‘In many ways this is a trying country for stock, as in the winter, whilst the days are hot, the nights are bitterly cold. We are also bothered by many parasitic diseases caused by bacteria and protozoa, and conveyed by insects. The fact that South Africa once carried such an enormous herd of large game leads me to believe that when the various diseases have been overcome, and more sensible systems of management adopted, South Africa will be a good cattle country.’’

We reproduce herewith the photographs showing an Afrikander bull and females, kindly supplied by this correspondent, and in addition a plate show- ing the result of a cross of a Hereford bull upon a native African cow, from which it will be seen that the youngster, while nursing, is almost as large as his mother.

Mr. Walsh, who has selected something over 4,000,- 000 acres of land in Rhodesia for the British South Africa Co., believes that cattle-breeding can be suc- cessfully conducted in that region. It is not a well- watered country, that is, in the dry season, which is the winter. The summer or wet season is in November, December and January, during which time the weather is very hot, although not unbear- able because the altitude is 1,500 to 5,000 feet above sea level. An abundance of water is to be had by

digging or boring at a shallow depth. At the

AFRIKANDER COW AND HEIFERS.

AN AFRIKANDER BULI..

996 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

present time there are very few cattle in Rhodesia, probably not more than 6,000 head in the country, attributable to the rinderpest and South Coast fever which some years ago decimated the herds of the country to the extent of nearly 90 per cent. There is some difficulty in introducing better blood into Cape Colony on account of strict veterinary regula- tions, but it is believed that the next decade will nevertheless see a very large increase in cattle pro- duction in various parts.

GHAPTER XXIV. PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT.

This volume is designed purely as a record of accomplishments in the Hereford breeding field, and not as a treatise on feeding and general herd man- agement. Nevertheless, it is certain to come into the hands of beginners, young and old, who may appreciate some practical suggestions on the hand- ling of the Herefords, made by experienced men.” A limited number of pages are therefore given here- with to a presentation of brief statements specially prepared for this purpose.

Hints from ‘‘Tom’’ Clark.—There is general recognition of the far-reaching influence of Thomas Clark upon the fortunes of the Hereford in the New World. During his long and active association with the work of breeding, feeding and showing the ‘“white faces,’’? he was ever in the front rank in point of actual accomplishments. He is now retired so far as enduring the heat and burden of the day is concerned, but as steward of the ring at the Chi- cago International he annually renews his youth by maintaining touch with those who are now bear- ing to still higher levels the standard of the breed which he did so much to uphold in bygone days.

997

| C.B.Smith | | E. S.Shockey |

| Clem Graves | | Hamp BWatts |

. PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 999

Asked for a word as to the practical management of the breeding herd he replies:

“In regard to my method of handling a breeding herd, I shall first of all tell how I would handle the breeding bull. He should be kept in good breeding condition. I think some breeders keep their breed- ing bulls too thin. I believe a bull will sire calves with stronger constitutions and better flesh carriers’ if he is maintained in good flesh. In managing my breeding bulls I kept them away from the cattle as much as possible, giving them good roomy stalls with small yards adjoining so they could get all the exercise needed to keep them straight on their legs and active. I fed equal parts of ground corn and oats with a little bran and oilmeal added, and fed three times day about all they would clean up. But be sure that they clean it up at all times. Also eh good sweet hay; I prefer clover to any other

ind. .

‘‘T managed my breeding cows as follows: I pre- ferred to breed them so that they would have calves from Jan. 1 to April 1, except a few that I wanted to have calves for show purposes. Those I would breed to calve from Sept. 1 to Jan. 1. All cows that would not have calves until February and up to April I kept alone in a yard with an open shed well bedded, so that they could go in and lie down comfortably. If kept in that way they are more healthy and their calves will be stronger and more thrifty. Besides you save labor and feed. I believe that the less you move cows around while pregnant the better. Two or three weeks before they were due to calve I took them up and put them in loose boxstalls, and fed them liberally on ground corn and oats with a small allowance of oilmeal. After calving let the calves run with them for three

1000 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE .

or four weeks in the boxstalls so that they can suckle whenever they wish. But I would turn the cow out in the morning, and put her back in the stall at noon and feed her after the calf had nursed. Then I would turn her out again until evening, when I would put her back in the stall for the night with her calf. After the calf is four weeks old separate cow and calf, suckling the calf twice a day. Place shelled corn and oats in a trough where the calf can go and eat at will. You will be surprised how quick it will begin to eat.

‘When grass came I turned cows and calves out together on pasture and let them run until flies got bad, and then took the calves up and fed as before, bringing the cows in mornings and evenings and let- ting the calves suck. I separated my bulls from the heifers, and fed the bulls all they would eat of ground corn and oats, equal parts, with a little oilmeal.

“‘T would not breed heifers until eighteen to twenty months old, so as to have them near three years old when dropping their first calves. I would breed them so as to have their first calves in the spring if possible, in order to get them quickly on grass, which will make them give more milk for the calves.’’

John Letham’s Experience.—It is now near thirty years since the author first formed the ac- quaintance of a feeder contending for honers at the old Fat Stocks Shows in the Chicago Exposition Building on the Lake Front who impressed him as a man of exceptional capacity. During all these years this acquaintance has been continued, and with ever-increasing respect on our part for his

judgment in all that pertains to sound methods of

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1001

beef cattle management. We refer to John Letham. He has had a long and successful experience, and we doubt if a better or more practical statement touch- ing the right handling of a breeding herd has ever been put on paper than that which he has prepared at the author’s request, and is submitted herewith:

‘“‘The management of a breeding herd is not a very complex problem if you keep close to nature.

om * ee,

THE WOODS PRINCIPAL, CHAMPION BULLOCK INTERNATIONAL EXPO- SITION 1901—Bred by Geo. P. Henry and fed by John Letham— Weighed 1,645 pounds as a yearling: sold at 50c per pound.

Abundant pasture and pure water easily reached in summer, well ventilated barns for the cows and young calves and good, dry, well bedded open sheds for the yearlings and two-year-olds in winter are all that are necessary for success. If these simple re- quirements were followed we would hear but little about abortion, tuberculosis, scours, foul-feet and many of the troubles that plague the caretakers and

1002 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

dishearten the owners. It is astonishing in going over the country how many cattle one finds which have insufficient pasture and filthy water, or only water at intervals. And yet they are expected to make good returns for their owners. In winter the conditions are deplorable even with men who mean well. Many of the costly bank barns are hotbeds of disease. Ventilation was never once considered by the architects and drainage was entirely forgotten, even where the cupola is a work of art resembling Joseph’s coat of many colors. Go into such a barn at 5 a. m., where 50 to 100 cattle are housed. The hot, moist atmosphere meets you; it is past being unsanitary; it is impure, death-dealing to man and beast alike. At 8 a. m. these cattle are turned out into a yard resembling a hog wallow, there to stand jn the storm or zero weather till 4 p.m. And breed- ers will talk about having bad luck! This is not an overdrawn picture. It is only too common and sure- ly means the survival of the fittest in the end! ‘‘When managing a breeding herd, the bull is half the herd at all times, so we turn to him first. A paddock of 2 acres or less with a comfortable shed and boxstall in one end makes the ideal quar- ters for the herd bull. The shed should have a loft above to hold the hay and straw, so as to be handy in winter and to keep it cool in summer. Then you can have the breeding pit under cover in the shed. In many of the states no door is necessary. Let it open to the south and the bull will generally use good judgment. Should the young bull be lonesome turn a cow safe in calf with him for company. In this way you will conserve his virility and lengthen his life and usefulness. Feed him enough to keep him strong and vigorous all the time without load- ing him up with a lot of superfluous inside fat or out- side tallow. Blood, bone and flesh are what you

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1003

want in a herd bull. After getting his growth he should never vary 100 pounds summer or winter. This letting down and building up procedure is always disastrous. So far as my experience goes the single service gets as many calves as the double or triple service, provided the cows are in proper season and healthy. <A radical change of pasture during a dry spell, ergot on the grass, changing to silage, heavy feeding of cottonseed meal, etc., have been the causes of charging up many a bull with unsatisfactory service.

‘‘The pregnant cow should always be the herds- man’s special care. She only drops one a year on an average. To save a good calf means to save a large part of the herdsman’s salary, sometimes a year’s salary. And right here is where you find the greatest difference in herdsmen. Keeping the cows bred up and saving the calves, far more than makes or loses the salaries of the best men. When the matron that is due has been on grass and raised naturally little need be done, the calves usually coming strong and healthy. The calves dropped on the green sod seldom get infected. Of course you have always the maggot, the screw worm or coyote to remember, depending on your location. The commonest evil is too much new milk at birth. Stale milk has killed many a calf. Therefore see to it the mother is properly stripped once daily even at pasture, and more especially should there be a re- tention of the placenta. It is astonishing how little the calves need to live on during the first week and how much damage can be done by too much, espe- cially if the milk is stale or the mother at all feverish. In winter the calf cot is all-important. It should be cleaned and aired out every day and a little slacked lime sprinkled. It is always worth what it cost in the field. Do not wait till your

ae

1004 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

calves get the scours, coughing, wheezing and run- ning at the nose, then rush to town for disinfectants and diarrhoea medicine and have a general house- cleaning and a lot of sick calves. Prevention is al- ways wise.

‘‘The young calf is better beside the dam from 3 to 6 weeks of age. Then it can be put in the calf cot and nursed twice daily, 12 hours apart. This is especially good with a heifer’s first calf. It de- velops her udder and makes her a better mother in the future. Supply the calf cot with the choicest morsel or hay and have shelled corn, oats, bran and a little oileake in silage, so they can nibble at will. What good millers they are and how they enjoy doing their own grinding! But a word of caution about silage: Never let a young calf get frozen or musty silage. Alfalfa is rapidly replacing roots and silage, but I still believe good silage the best substitute for milk.

‘“‘The yearlings and two-year-olds in the open sheds need lots of roughness and should have some grain. Never let them stop growing a day if you expect to raise good young cows at the least pos- sible expense. And remember that water is an all- important factor in winter as well as summer—not once every other day or a bellyful of ice water once a day. What a mint of money is lost in the cattle business in this country for want of water summer and winter!

‘‘Alfalfa and silage are rapidly changing feeding conditions throughout this country but the general principles are still the same. It is still the good herd bull and the breeder who stays close to nature, watching the little details which the other breeder ignores, that forges ahead and gets the ripe persim- mons. ‘The eye of the master maketh his cattle fat and the righteous man is merciful to his beast.’ ’’

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1005

Scale, Flesh and Fat.—Discussing the important subject of size and real flesh as against mere outside fat, the veteran English breeder, Mr. John Hill of Felhampton Court, in a letter written to the author some years ago commented upon type and the points to be observed in his judgment in selecting breeding animals in language which we deem worthy of preservation here:

‘‘About the time of what may be called the ‘Here- ford boom’ in the early ’80’s there were several pop- ular sires which were especially adapted to get early- maturing cattle, and their progeny were unusually successful in the showring. Many breeders ‘went mad’ over these special strains and further set the seal on a type which had an extraordinary aptitude to fatten, put on flesh evenly, and mature early. Of course this is exactly what is wanted, but the great- est possible care is at the same time required to pre- serve scale and lean meat, and this was too often lost sight of both by breeders and by the judges in the showring.

‘‘With reference to breeding for scale, it may be worth noticing that in old days when the breed was remarkable for this characteristic, the females were not usually of such dimensions as might have been expected that the dams of the large oxen would have been. But there was a peculiar look about them which can hardly be described, which expe- rienced cattlemen can at once recognize. The words, ‘she looks like a good breeder,’ convey a particular meaning. Such cows are essentially feminine in their appearance, of moderate size, with well sprung ribs, roomy bodies, lengthy hind-quarters, often light in their fore-quarters, of clean-cut sweet-looking heads, with mild intelligent eyes. Usually she car-

1006 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ries a good bag and is always a good handler. When looking for a suitable mate, at ance discard any bull that has not got a good masculine head. I do not be- lieve that an effeminate-looking bull, however good he may be in his quality and carcass, can ever make an impressive sire. Some few of them may get heif- ers, but never in my experience have I known them to get good bulls. A bull should carry himself majes- tically, and ‘look a bull all over.’ ”’

How the Harris Herd Is Handled.—The records of latter-day Hereford breeding in the United States present no instance of outstanding success more not- able than that afforded by Overton Harris and his sons with their Model establishment at Harris, Mo. Asked for a brief resume of the methods employed in the handling of their cattle, Mr. Harris says:

‘‘Our Hereford breeding herd since its establish- ment twenty years ago has been handled in as prac- tical and economical a manner as we have known how to practice. Our pastures are more or less pro- tected by timber, and many cows in our herd have never seen the inside of a barn or shed. Located in one of the best bluegrass regions of the world, the summer ration of our herd is bluegrass—plenty of it and nothing else.

‘‘During the early winter stalk fields and blue- grass which has not been heavily grazed furnish an abundance of feed. Later, corn fodder, clover and timothy hay are supplied as required to keep the breeding herd in strong thrifty condition. In the late winter and early spring months cows that are heavy milkers, and we have many such in our herd, are given a little extra feed—anything in the form of corn chop ur cottonseed. We find that the rugged hardy constitutions of the Herefords do not require

REPEATER 289598. BRED BY E. W. & A. M. HEATH—USED BY 0. HARRIS & SONS.

1008 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

that they be provided with expensive barns for win- ter shelter; in fact, we do not even find it necessary to provide sheds of any kind for them. We have never, even during the most severe winters known in this section of the country, found it necessary to give our older cattle protection, and we have never had losses from exposure. By this method our breed- ing herd is carried through the year at a minimum cost and maintains a very thrifty and healthy con. dition.

‘‘Calves, except those intended for show purposes, are allowed to run with their dams on the pasture during the summer. When old enough to wean they are placed in a pasture or yard by themselves and are given a light grain ration during the winter, and except in the most severe weather are never housed at all. During the second summer bluegrass is their chief diet and they seldom if ever taste grain again. Our heifers are bred at from eighteen to twenty-four months of age and it is seldom that we find it necessary to give a heifer any assistance in the way of feed while nursing her first calf, except what she gathers herself. Young bulls generally require a light feed of grain once a day during their second summer to insure the best development and growth.

‘‘Our herd and stock bulls, all of which have at some time been grand champions in the leading shows, are not kept in extremely high condition after we are through exhibiting them. They have the run of small grass paddocks. This gives them an oppor- tunity for plenty of exercise and an abundance of fresh air and a sun shed, our aim being to keep them in strong vigorous condition. Beau Donald 5th, now sixteen years old, has been handled in this manner and is still active and doing good service.

‘Our experience with close in-breeding has been

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1009

very limited, as we have never looked with a great deal of favor upon such. a practice. It is our belief that it should only be undertaken in the hands of the most skillful breeders, and then only with such animals as are practically perfect in every respect. We have never kept an accurate account of the exact cost of maintaining our breeding herd, but we do know that our Herefords have made us plenty of money, as well as being the source of a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction.’’

McCray’s Methods.—Warren T. McCray, Kent- land, Ind., has by common consent arrived at a posi- tion in the Hereford business attained by but few of his contemporaries. This is scarcely due to luck. Such success does not come by chance. In response to a request for a word as to the general line of treatment accorded his cattle he submits the fol- lowing: }

‘‘Regarding the management and feeding of a herd I would suggest that one of the most necessary attributes of a successful cattle manager and feeder is a liberal endowment of good wholesome common- sense, or it might be more nearly correct to say good cattle-sense. There is a distinction between the two that comes naturally and they in whom the two are combined are the most successful cattlemen. I have never made any great discovery in the feed- ing and management of my herd. One’s success or failure depends upon the care and watchfulness of the feeder. He must be regular, attentive and watch- ful. He must know the particular characteristics of each animal under his care and cater to them, so that the animal will at all times do its best.

‘‘T am a great believer in the out-of-door life for the breeding herd. Nature has made laws which

1010 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

have never been improved upon by man. The only thing to watch is that the cattle have plenty of feed and water. Do not over-stock the pastures. Leave plenty of feed in them for fall and winter. Last winter I kept a bunch of dry cows on a good blue- grass pasture until the middle of January and they were as fat as one would wish when removed.

‘“We commence feeding our calves as soon as they are old enough to eat and keep this up until they are past the yearling stage. I have several small lots or grass paddocks and the young bulls are divided up and placed in these over night, but in the day time they are put in their stalls to protect them from the flies and heat. We commence to breed the heifers when they are from twenty to twenty-four months of age, and begin to use the bulls lightly when they are about fifteen months old. I have never .practiced in-and-in-breeding to any great ex- tent as I always considered it a dangerous proposi- tion. However, I am now conducting some experi- ments by breeding some daughters of Perfection Fairfax to some of his sons which had dams with a decided out-cross and whose strong characteristics I want to maintain. I am hoping for satisfactory results but at this time I am not qualified to speak from experience on that subject.

‘‘T have found a great deal of pleasure in the pur- suit of cattle-breeding. The acquaintances and friendships formed among cattlemen are the most loyal and lasting that can be made. The business has also been most profitable, but aside from this there comes great pleasure and satisfaction in the feeling that one is really doing something in the world that is worth while, in trying to produce and improve an animal that contributes more to the sup- Bon and material welfare of humanity than any other.’’

Photo by. Hildebrand THE CUDAHY SHOW HERD, WITH FAIRFAX 16TH AT HEAD.

1012 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Mr. Hazlett’s Views.—Robert H. Hazlett, Eldo- rado, Kans., is known as one of the close students of the best contemporary methods and practices in — the handling of Herefords for profit. Out of the fullness of years of successful practical work, in answer to our appeal for some hints from his book of experience with especial reference to his observa- ~ tions as to the effects of blood concentration, he writes:

‘*T shall state in the beginning that I believe in giving the young animals a chance. With this in view I try to grow them out as much as possible, keeping them at all times in good thrifty condition —not striving to make them fat, but on the contrary to produce real development by feeding for flesh, bone and size.

‘*‘Speaking of the heifers, specially: From the time they are weaned they are kept separate from all other cattle, in pasture in summer and in corrals, with open sheds for protection from storms, in win- ter. During the time they are not on pasture they are fed a grain ration consisting of a small percent- age of corn, a larger percentage of barley usually, and a considerably larger percentage of oats. All this feed is ground and fed mixed with kafir corn and cane silage or cut cane fodder and alfalfa hay. In addition to this mixed feed they have as rough feed cut cane and alfalfa hay with occasionally a feed of prairie hay as a change of ration. They get practically no grain during the summer, although at times when the weather is dry and the grass not very nutritious it is necessary in order to keep them in condition to give those under one year old a light feed of grain once a day. The older ones have no grain in summer. It is my opiziion that better breed-

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1013

ing animals result from being handled in this way than if they are allowed to become stunted in any degree because of lack of proper nourishment during the developing period.

‘“After the breeding cows are two years old, with an occasional individual exception for a short time, they get no grain ration whatever, either summer or winter. They have the bluestem grass pasture for summer feeding and are wintered mainly on sorghum and alfalfa. Most of this feed is run through the cutter, and lately the sorghum is fed in the form of silage. Except those near calving and those having young calves, the cows are not put in barns at all, but for protection run to sheds open to the south during the winter months. Whether in pastures in summer or in lots in winter, I like to keep the aged cows, two-year-old heifers, yearling heifers and heifer calves separate.

‘‘The bull calves are fed and handled in much the same way as the heifers, except that they are not allowed to run with the dams in pastures beyond the time they are around four to five months old. After that and until they are weaned they are kept in lots near the barn, the cows being brought in and the calves suckled twice a day. After being weaned they are not fed in open lots as are the heifers but are tied up and fed, each one by himself. We have what we call a ‘bull barn’ for these weanlings where they remain until:sold. Around this barn are sev- eral lots in which these calves are kept, a few in each lot. They are in these open lots practically all the time, except when brought in for their feed of grain. I find that they do better when I feed them separately in this way than when I attempt to

‘feed a number of them together. In the open pens they get the benefit of fresh air, sunshine and exer- cise.

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PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1015

‘‘From the time our herd bulls are from twenty- four to thirty months old, being practically matured, they have a very light grain ration, usually once a day, with alfalfa hay, prairie hay and cane fodder. Each has a separate lot and an open shed, never being kept in barns. They are not kept fat, but in good thrifty condition.

‘*My first purchase of purebred Herefords was that of an entire herd consisting of only fourteen females, cows, heifers and heifer calves, and two bull calves. One of the cows was by Stonemason by Beau Real by Anxiety 4th. This cow was the dam of one of the bull calves, his sire being Wild Beau by Beau Real. Wild Beau was a full brother to the famous Wild Tom. All the younger females in the little herd were sired by Wild Beau. I retained this calf, out of the Stonemason cow, and used him on all the cows and heifers except his dam. I was without ex- perience as a breeder at that time and knew practi- cally nothing of different bloodlines or the different families, but the results of this very conservative close breeding were quite satisfactory and my young bulls found ready sale at fair prices from the begin- ning. I did not offer for sale any of the cows or heifers.

‘*To avoid breeding heifers to their own sire I soon bought another bull, a very good individual with a greater concentration of Anxiety 4th blood than anything in my herd at that time, and the re- sults from his use proved very satisfactory. In fact, there is no doubt but that there was an improvement in the produce of my herd from his use. Later, when the heifers sired by this bull were coming of an age to be bred, having the prevailing idea that too close breeding was to be avoided I bought two young bulls of different breeding from my.cows and from each other. One of them was a son of a famous show

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bull. Each was a good individual and of a family very popular at the time. These were used in the herd but with quite disappointing results, so much so that I disposed of both of them. Before they were sold, but after I had ‘decided to dispose of them, I bought a third out-cross, a show bull with quite a record, a half-brother on his sire’s side to a very famous prize-winner which was grand cham- pion at the larger state fairs, the American Royal, and the International. This purchase was also an outstanding individual, but the results in my herd from his use were even more disappointing than those from the use of the two preceding him and he also was disposed of. I then decided to return to the Anxiety 4th breeding through sons of Beau Brummel and others tracing to Don Carlos, by Anxiety 4th, and have continued in the same line to the present time.

‘‘From my experience with out-crosses I am com- pelled to believe that whatever success I may have attained as a breeder is due largely to the fact of persistent close-breeding. At least, so far the re- sults of such close-breeding as has been practiced at Hazford Place have been very satisfactory. Un- doubtedly some other elements have incidentally entered in, for instance, selection and environment. Both of these, however, are necessary to real suc- cessful constructive breeding in any herd.

‘*While it may possibly be true that the persist- ent promiscuous breeding of closely related animals, without discrimination or selection, may bring greater disaster than the persistent mating of pro- miscuously bred animals, yet from my observation and experience, if only worthy animals, those of good conformation, quality and breed character, are used for breeding purposes the ultimate results: are - bound to be better in the closely bred herd, produc-

Copyright photo by Parsons LORD COVENTRY’S DOLLY MOUNT—ROYAL CHAMPION OF 1911.

Copyright photo by Parsons SHOTOVER AND BULL CALF—JOHN TUDGH’S ROYAL CHAMPION OF 1904.

1018 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ing offspring more uniform in type and more uni- formly equal or superior to either sire ordam. After all, this is only another way of saying that ‘like be- gets like or the like of some ancestor.’

‘(If it is possible that close-breeding in itself will produce a weakness or defect in the offspring when both sire and dam are of outstanding merit, neither having this weakness or defect and both tracing back to the same ancestors of equal merit, there must be for such a result a demonstrable scientific reason. So far investigators and students of the science of breeding have not discovered any physiological or other scientific reason. If neither sire nor dam, however closely related, has a certain or particular defect or weakness and none of their ancestors has been affected with such defect or weakness their offspring will not have it as a result of this mating. The quite common notion that it is otherwise, and that defects and weaknesses are the necessary re- sults of blood concentration, undoubtedly had its origin in sentiment and survives on ‘common report,’ scarcely anyone having attempted to solve the prob- lem by persistent, patient, personal effort.

‘‘Custom may make law, but tradition never estab- lished or created a physical or scientific fact, nor can folk-lore make or change a law of nature.’’

Tow’s Practical Work.—Cyrus A. Tow has to his credit a marked success in breeding and devel- opment of ‘‘classy’’ Herefords in the recent past. In fact, he has proved quite a ‘‘disturber’’ in the calculations of his competitors at leading shows. He tells the story of the breeding of his cattle in simple language:

‘It is about eight years ago since I became the owner of my first registered Hereford cow. It was

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1019

bread and butter with me, so every cow had to make good. The cows of breeding age will care for themselves if given half a chance. We always aim to care well for the younger ones. Our cows are all run on grass in summer and those giving milk or heavy in calf are housed in ‘winter. We feed nice clean oat straw in connection with silage for winter roughness. The young calves and year- lings are always run in paddocks around the barn where they get their feed. We always keep our calves separate from their dams. They are suckled in barns or yards. Our yearling heifers and short two-year-olds are left to run in open sheds in winter and are fed their silage and hay in racks. We breed everything at the halter and never breed a heifer younger than nineteen months. Our young bull calves are separated from the heifer calves at about four months old. We try and grow them all alike, giving them all an equally good chance to make good. Our herd bulls are housed in winter and grained daily the year around, except for only a few months in summer when grass is good their grain may be shut off. They have boxstalls to run in when in the barns.

“In regard to the ‘doubling in’ of blood in the breeding of cattle, I am very much opposed to the practice as a general proposition. I know that in some cases it has brought good ones, but we some- times forget to mention the cases where it has failed. I may add that the cattle business has been a suecess with me thus far, and I believe that the beef cow is as sound an investment as a farmer can make.”’

Bluegrass Management.—Luce & Moxley, Shelby- ville, Ky., of Prince Rupert fame, figure prominently in the showyard annals of recent years in all the

1020 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

great competitions. Their success in the bluegrass country has been pronounced. Mr. Moxley briefly outlines their herd management in the following terms:

“In this part of the state we usually have good bluegrass for grazing from May to middle of Decem- ber. Our Herefords need no attention as far as feeding goes during this season. The calves that come during this season are left with their dams until bad weather comes, when they are taken to the barn and if old enough are weaned and fed a mixture of corn, oats, bran, and either cottonseed meal or oilmeal.

‘“‘The cows with calves at side are fed silage, cottonseed meal and a little hay. These cows are kept up at night and run to shock fodder in the day- time if the weather is not too bad. The dry cows are left out and run to a strawrick and shock fodder, unless we have a mean spell of weather, then they are fed a little hay. We aim to start our cows into the winter in the best shape possible. The cows that calve in the early spring are taken up a month before calving and fed the same as the cows with calves at side. By putting the younger calves in pens with older ones they soon begin to eat a little feed. We take the best of care of our calves until they are about fifteen months old. It is our expe- rience that if we do this we have very few of the cheap kind. All of our breeding is done by halter. We have a small herd and find this plan quite satis- factory.’’

Fitting for Show.—The selection and making-up of cattle to be entered in the public competitions is not a topic that lends itself readily to treatment in cold type. No hard and fast rules can be given,

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1021

Especially is this true of any attempt at giving ex- plicit directions governing the feeding of the ani- mals intended for show or sale. And yet there is constant call for suggestions upon this subject from those who are without experience.

An Old-time Herdsman Speaks.—The name of Jim Powell is often mentioned in preceding chapters of this volume. None among the older generation of feeders is better qualified to talk upon this subject than he. We are glad to give space to a short dis- course from him, prepared at our request:

‘In starting to select a herd for showing I should get yearlings. In selecting these get smooth heif- ers with plenty of size, something that will make big cows. I would notice especially that they had good heads, with not too large horns, and that they were good in their heart-girths, and had good level backs with straight hind-quarters, and that they came down well in the round and that the tail was not set on too high. I would try to get them as near the same size and type as possible.

“‘Upon the selection of the bull a great deal de- pends, for he is more than half the herd. You want a bull to have a good bull’s head, not feminine, wide between the horns, and with a short thick neck. He should be wide between the legs, with a good com- pact brisket. Be sure that he has good big bone, something that can carry weight. Another very im- portant point to notice is that he is good in the heart-girth, and has a good level back and straight quarters. He should have a good thick mellow hide ies good coat of hair, which denotes the good

eeder.

‘Tn feeding a herd I have found that corn and oats

Copyright photo by Bustin IRON PRINCE (22250), BRED BY CAPT. HEYGATE.

Copyright photo by Bustin BRED BY A. P. TURNBR AND USED BY

GAINSBOROUGH (28303), STEPHEN ROBINSON.

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1023

ground together in the proportion of two-thirds corn and one-third oats is a good winter feed. Alfalfa, timothy or clover make good roughness. In the summer I would reverse the ratio, making it one- third corn and two-thirds oats. In starting a young herd about 2 quarts of chops, 1 of bran and a half pound of cottonseed cake three times a day is a good feed. This can be increased to 4 quarts of chops as soon as the cattle get on their feed. However, dif- ferent animals vary so much in the amount of feed they require, that it is impossible to give any stated quantity. Always be sure your feed-boxes are empty before feeding,-as cleanliness is important. Never give an animal more than it will clean up. If any is left in the box, take it out before feeding again. If they do not seem anxious for their feed skip a meal. A little sulphur with their feed twice a week is good to give them an appetite and also to keep them healthy.

“‘Now, I think calves should have nothing but the cows’ milk until they are three months old. Then commence to feed a little cottonseed cake, with oats and bran, as I think cake is the next thing to milk for young calves. When they are six months old, they should have about 2 quarts of oats and bran and a half pound of cake three times a day, besides the cows’ milk. Then they will not lose their calf fat after weaning.

‘‘Tn training young cattle much patience and time are required. In the first place tie them up in their stalls and handle them in there. Then commence leading them out. Have a buggy whip in your hand and make them stand when you want them to. A light cut on the nose will do this. Try to make them stand with their front feet well under them, not spread apart, and then they will show a good level back. Make them stand at ease. Do not try to

1024 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

do too much at once, as the calf may become sulky. They should have plenty of exercise.

‘“‘The young bull should have a boxstall, with a good yard to run out in, so as to keep him good on his feet. In the spring, when the grass is good, I would let the herd run out day and night, feeding them twice a day. When the weather gets warmer I would keep them in by day and turn them out by night.

‘When the herd is brought back from the fairs great care must be taken to let them down easily. Feed twice a day, taking away about one-third of the feed. In a week or two, this may be cut down to one-half. But do not stop feeding, as you want to keep your herd in good thriving condition. In place of the corn chops, I would now feed about 2 pounds of cake with roughness, and this should carry a herd through.”’

Ed. Taylor’s Views.—Edward J. Taylor has not only picked and trained champions, but is often called to pass upon the entries in the great show- yards of these modern days. He has kindly set down his views on the preparation of cattle for exhi- bition purposes as herewith submitted:

‘*Much has been written from time to time regard- ing the fitting and handling of cattle in preparation for the showring, and few trainers agree as to the variety of feeds and methods pursued in the under- taking. Like the old lady who kissed her cow, it’s everyone to their notion. There are no set rules to work by. Animals differ very materially in their dispositions, aptitude to fatten, ete. But there are a few fundamental principles which apply quite gen- erally to the art.

“First of all, the man must be in love with his occupation and charges, and gain their confidence.

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1025

He should also be a good and impartial judge, and as quick to see the defects in his own cattle as in those of others. One who gets so enraptured with his own as to think they are the only pebbles on the beach is sure to be a bad loser, or as Burns puts it: If nature’d but the ‘giftie gie us, to see oursels as ithers see us.’ Eternal vigilance must be the fit- ter’s watchword, and regularity and system cut no small figure in the game.

‘‘Having selected the prospective winners and provided comfortable quarters, a light, well-venti- lated basement, with well-bedded, roomy boxstalls, makes a nice place and he should be ready for busi- ness. In fly time the windows may be curtained through the heat of the day, and no unnecessary disturbance should be allowed around.

‘‘T think that the calves are the easiest fitted mem- bers of the herd, and I shall touch on them first. Given plenty of milk and a mixture of grains, if they are of the right kind they will put on plenty of bloom. Calves seem to have a weakness for shelled corn, and this mixed with equal parts of ground oats and bran and kept where they can have access to it at will for the first three or four months of their lives will put them in shape so that one can select those most likely. Occasionally an out- stander puts in an appearance, about which there is no question when only a day or two old, but this is the exception rather than the rule. When the calves are about four months old I think it better to feed the corn ground, and add a small amount of oilmeal, feeding what they will clean up at once. Absolute cleanliness of feed-boxes and stalls is es- sential with all, especially with calves.

‘“‘The yearlings receive similar treatment to the calves. Some prefer to continue with the milk por- tion of the ration while others think it time to call

1026 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

a halt when they graduate from the calf class. With a few exceptions I usually followed the latter course. It is when he gets to the two-year-old and older cattle that a fitter’s discretion is put to the test, and right here many a one has met his Waterloo. The time has come now when corn must be handed out sparingly. More oats, a little barley if obtainable, succulent feeds such as roots, and anything that will aid them to hold their own without a tendency to obesity or patchiness should be used. Ground or cracked wheat is very helpful at this stage, but should be fed sparingly to start with. A double handful of bright clover hay, cut fine with a chaff cutter and mixed with each feed of grain, lightens the ration and makes it more easily assimilated in hot weather. I prefer to dampen the feed just enough to make it gritty, not sloppy.

‘‘Eixercise is a very important’ matter. A small pasture lot handy to the barn so that the females can run out nights through the hot weather, and suit- able yards for the bulls are indispensable. All should be well halter-broken and taught to stand properly and show to best advantage. The feet should have close attention and be trimmed when necessary. The coat and skin must be kept clean by brushing and dampening occasionally; too fre- quent washing dries the hair and causes it to become thin. I never advocate rasping and paring the horns and polishing as we so often see them; it savors too much of the artificial. I think they look more natural with the rough shell and scratches taken out, and just wiped over with an oiled rag.

“‘There are many small details in connection with the business, and it is a difficult matter to touch on all, but I have tried to cover the ground in a general way. When a boy at home I have often heard my father say, ‘One-half gocs in at the mouth.’ And

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1027

while there is a good deal of truth in the assertion I think that is a pretty big percentage. As an illus- tration I recall a remark made by my old friend Robert Ewart, of Browndale fame, in regard to a cow I was showing at the Minnesota State Fair some years ago. In those days all breeds competed for championship-by-ages and she was a formidable candidate for that honor. After looking her over carefully he turned to me and said, ‘If the old bull (meaning her sire) had done half as much for her as you have, she would be a world beater.’

“In preparing cattle for the auction ring the chief object is to have them in as good flesh and as pre- sentable as possible. Fat hides a multiplicity of faults, and while many breeders claim to discrim- inate against highly finished animals for breeding I notice these are invariably the ones which com- mand the highest prices. Whenever a sale falls flat and prices rule low the reporter’s comments usually state the cattle were too thin to warrant the appreciation they deserved, or something to that effect. So there is little to be said other than to have each lot number in good consistent breeding condition (not overburdened, of course), well broken to the halter. Having been washed a day or two previous, and their coats dressed up for the occa- sion, they should present a good appearance and bring their full value. The vendor who values his reputation will of course guarantee all animals to be breeders.’’

‘*Jim’’ Hendry Heard.—The extraordinary success

"attained by the Beau Donald and Perfection Fair- fax cattle in the hands of James Hendry is so uni- versally recognized, that the matter herewith ap- pended, setting forth a few of the ideas of that astute herdsman on the subject of training cattle for the

PRACTICAL HERD MANAGEMENT 1029

showring, will undoubtedly be read with interest by all who follow the fortunes of the breed in public competitions.

‘‘I came to America in 1892. Before I came to this country my experience with cattle was very little, but what I had was with Angus, with Alex. Geddes, Blairmore, Glass. I started with the Here- fords at Greenwood, Mo. I was but a helper then. The first summer I used to wish I had the cattle back in Scotland away from flies and heat. But as fall crept on and homesickness left me I began to see I was mistaken. The old imported cows came up in the fall so fat and sleek, and the nice curly calves by their sides made me think I was in the land of promise and made me forget heat and flies.

“‘T went to Kentucky in the fall of 1901 to take charge of the Beau Donalds and Mr. Curtice had a line-up of calves which was very easy to pick from. They were low-down, chunky fellows with coats of hair like velvet. I always try to get a calf with good back, not too long coupled, nice short head and good straight hind legs. I commence as soon as I think the dam is not giving enough milk and help out with a nurse cow—not too much to start with, one nurse cow between two calves until grass. Then if prospects are good for show calves, which can be told by this time, I give them a fresh nurse cow and dry up the dams. When about six weeks old I commence to put a little cracked corn and oats in a trough where they can learn to eat. In summer time I keep them in a dark, clean, cool stall away from flies, with plenty of water beside them. But in the winter months I turn them out in a dry lot with plenty of sunshine. But do not stand them in the mud a foot deep all day and expect them to do their best. The better care and feed you give them

1030 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the first year of their life the better herd of cattle you have. It does not take so much when they are calves. Remember, it is not every calf that comes up to my estimation as a show calf by any means, because they have to have a good constitution and stand up to every meal and bawl for the nurse cow. Bull calves are harder to handle than heifers. They are more restless and sometimes you have to put them in single boxstalls or tie them up.

‘‘And for fitting older cattle I might say a good deal. But of course there are differences in cattle. Some get too hard and the next too soft, so one has to gauge the different feeds on them. I do not be- lieve in too much corn. More breeding cattle are ruined on corn than anything else. I generally mix my feed—bran, 100 pounds; corn, 150 pounds; oats, 150 pounds; cut hay, 30 pounds, and oilmeal, 10 pounds. Towards show time I add a little mo- lasses or something sweet and it makes them eat a little more. And it helps their hair to grow. But remember, never feed them more than they will clean up at any time. Water is as important as feed, as they have to get plenty all the time. Keep your stalls clean and well disinfected all the time, because they love a good clean stall the same as we do a bed. In your spare time in winter get a good stiff brush and brush them, as it makes the hair soft and curly. Use it as much as possible against the hair. Some people try to say that too much brush- ing will take out the hair, but I have never found it that way, as the more brushing you give them the better fix you get their hair in. I do not mean to use a curry-comb but a good stiff brush. A curry- comb is liable to pull out the hair.

‘*As show time draws near wash them once a week. It helps them and also the calves. It breaks them so that when you wash them at the fair they are

Copyright phote by Parsons ROB ROY, CHAMPION AT THE ROYAL SHOWS OF 1908-9,

____ Copyright phote by Parsons CAMERONIAN, CHAMPION AT THD ROYAL OF 1906.

1032 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

not so liable to get homesick as the calf generally does the first two weeks after you leave home. The best way to fit a herd is to stay right with it and raise your calves and keep showing them until they are mature cattle. Then you can see something you have done, and are not moving every year as some of the boys do. They cannot know in that length of time what success they are to have, as some years we have better prospects than others.

“In conclusion, I love to raise show cattle from babyhood up. And no one loves them more than I, but when the buyer comes along I am willing to sell and swish him success, and try and raise a better one.

GHAPTER XXV. THE ‘‘ROUND-UP.”’

In the limited space now remaining it is im- possible for us to take up in detail the winnings of Hereford bullocks at the International show since its establishment, and the achievements of the western-bred white-faced calves in cornbelt feedlots generally. A volume could be prepared on this one phase of the Hereford trade. Indeed, the value of well bred ‘‘white faces’’ in the baby beef business constitutes their one highest claim to the permanent consideration of the Ameri- can public. They will get fat quickly if from well bred stock, and their record in the pens at the big Chicago show, as well as at the Kansas City, Den- ver, Fort Worth, St. Joseph, So. Omaha, Sioux City and So. St. Paul shows and markets, needs no de- tailed exploitation in this connection. It is a part of the current literature of the cattle business that is at all times accessible to the readers of the live stock press.

‘‘Tom’’ Sotham was probably one of the first to exploit in a commercial way the transferring of range-bred Hereford calves direct to cornbelt farms. During the season of 1898 he purchased more than 2,000 calves in Texas to fill orders for customers in

1083

1034 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the middle west, paying $24 to $25 per head at that time at the point of shipment, charging his cus- tomers a commission of $1 a head for the service. He also assisted ‘‘Dick’’ Walsh in an auction sale of 400 JJ calves at Kansas City in November, 1898, at which a $37 average was made. The results of the feeding of these calves in good hands were so satisfactory that a large trade of this sort developed, which still stands as an important feature of the business of cattle feeding in the older states.

“‘Dan’’ Black of Lyndon, O., by virtue of his vic- tories with Texas-bred calves at the International, contributed largely to the up-building of this trade. John G. Imboden, C. C. Judy and others have also been instrumental in bringing many feeders in direct contact with the southwestern producers. Mr. Im- boden feeds regularly himself, and his intelligence and fairness are so generally recognized, and his ex- perience as a butcher, exhibitor and judge at leading shows of the past twenty-five years has been so ex- tended, that we have asked him to say a word at this point on this general subject.

Range-bred Calves in the Feedlot—Mr. Imboden says:

‘‘T have demonstrated the value of the range-bred Hereford calf and yearling for the cornbelt feedlot in a number of instances during the past twelve years. About the year 1900 I purchased in southern Texas at Beeville 50 Hereford steer calves. They reached my place about Dec. 20, when the thermome- ter was about 15° below zero. The change in alti- tude and temperature from southern Texas near the

\ Johnimboden |

IN

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oe [ DWBlack _ | eS oes

1036 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

gulf to Illinois did not unfavorably affect them. They made a satisfactory growth and gains from the beginning, and at the International the next year 15 head were first in class from the southern district. I have fed other Hereford calves from southern Texas, and they invariably did well.

“In 1906 I exhibited at the International 15 Hereford yearling steers averaging 1,174 pounds at $8.90 per cwt. They were first in their class from the southern district, and champion Hereford yearlings of the show. These steers were bred-by Boog-Scott Bros. They were the top out of 50 calves that averaged 375 pounds Dee. 15, 1905.

“In November, 1904, 05, ’06 and ’07, I sold at my place several thousand southern calves and year- lings. They came covered with the Texas fever ticks, were put in the barn with native cattle, and when sold were shipped as far east as New York, and south to Virginia. I never heard of a case of Texas fever that developed from exposure to these tick-infested calves and yearlings that left Texas se north after Nov. 1. They invariably fed well.

‘‘Ror a number of years I fed Hereford calves and yearlings from the noted ‘6666’ herd, bred and owned by Mr. S. B. Burnett. These yearling and two-year-old steers have been exhibited at the Chi- cago International, and have made quite a record. A number of times the two-year-olds were the champion Herefords of the show, and at the Inter- national of 1913 the ‘6666’ Hereford yearlings that I fed were the champion Hereford yearlings of the ave They averaged -1,100 pounds and sold at

‘‘All the Herefords I have sold I have handled in very much the same way; I have had them about

Phovos by Hildebrand

TWO ENDS AND A MIDDLE—PRIZE LOADS AT THE INTERNATIONAL LIVE STOCK EXPOSITION.

1038 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

11% months on feed and about 10 months on full feed. The calves and yearlings have made about the same average gains—from 600 to 700 pounds. I feed principally corn and cob meal and linseed or cottonseed meal. I have fed and exhibited and won first in class with Hereford calves bred in Wyoming and Colorado. I think the heaviest load of Here- ford yearling steers ever shown at the International were Colorado-breds that I fed in 1907. These steers had a foundation of Shorthorn in their breed- ing and averaged 1,270 pounds.

“‘T find the Wyoming- and Colorado-bred calf has more bone and scale than the Texas-bred calf, but the growth and development of the southern calf coming to the higher altitude of the cornbelt is more noticeable than those of the Wyoming or Colorado calf coming to a lower altitude. I am now feeding 20 Matador yearlings for the International of 1914. These steers were champion Hereford yearling feeders at last International, their weight then be- ing 818 pounds. They have been on full fed since March 10; they averaged on May 1, 1,180 pounds.

‘“‘The average feeder of course is not interested in the production of show steers, but with the in- creasing demand for lighter cuts of prime beef, the prevailing high prices of all feeding cattle, and the high average cost of all feed products that enter into beef production, the successful feeder of the future must consider early-maturity, economy of gain and value of product, and where these are con- sidered the Hereford calf or yearling, whether range-bred or farm-raised, for the cornbelt feedlot has no superior.

‘With the present-day demand for lighter cuts of prime beef and the increased advance of the ini- tial cost of all our feeding cattle, and a high aver-

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP’”’ 1039

age cost of all feed products that enter into the production of beef, the successful feeder of the fu- ture must seriously consider the question of early- maturity, cost of production and value of product produced. When these questions are considered, the favor in which the Hereford calf, whether range-bred or farm-raised, is held by the cornbelt feeder is merited, from the fact that for early- maturity, economy of production and value of product the Hereford has no superior.’’

The Polled Herefords.— That hornless cattle are popular among feeders goes without saying. The polled characteristic is certainly not without its de- cided advantages. Indeed, this fact has had much to do with the success met with by the Aberdeen-An- gus and Galloways in this country. Dehorned Here- fords are common at the stockyard markets and

in our great fat cattle shows.

At the time Gov. Simpson made his selections of pedigree cattle in Herefordshire for importation to the States, he was also buying Aberdeen-Angus. In fact, Messrs. Gudgell & Simpson originally had one of the best collections of black polls in the west. Gov. Simpson at that time endeavored to locate a naturally polled white-faced bull somewhere in Herefordshire for importation for experimental purposes, but in this was not successful. Had he succeeded, the polled Hereford might have become a feature of American cattle-breeding at a much earlier date.

In the year 1901 Mr. Warren Gammon, Des Moines, Ia., circularized the members of the Ameri-

1040 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

ean Hereford Cattle Breeders’ Association, asking. if any hornless ‘‘freaks’’ had ever appeared in their respective herds. As a result of this correspond- ence 14 head of registered Herefords that had never developed horiis were brought to light. They were the property of reputable breeders, so that there could be no question as to their pure descent. Ten of these were females, and four were bulls. Mr. Gammon bought all of the latter and seven of the cows, and began mating them, with the result that practically all the calves dropped were polled; and it is stated that these polled bulls when mated with horned Hereford cows gave 50 to 75 per cent of hornless calves. This was the beginning of the Polled Herefords of the present time.

A national organization was formed about 1907, with a membership of five. In 1913 this had grown to 296, and the herd book now maintained by the organization shows a total registry of over 4,000 head. Mr. J. E. Green, Muncie, Ind., has been the President of this association from the beginning. Up to 1911 the founder of the type, Mr. Warren Gammon, served as Secretary, but he has now been succeeded by his son Mr. B. O. Gammon, who esti- mates that there are at this writing between 5,000 and 6,000 head of these cattle in the country. The movement corresponds identically with that which resulted in the foundation and formation of the Polled Durham association, whose members are handling hornless cattle of the pure Shorthorn or: Durham blood, both cases representing an effort

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP’’ 1041

to dispense with the horned characteristic of each breed without resort to artificial means.

Recent Importations— In a previous chapter there was presented a tabulation covering the early importations from England, and extending down through the entire period of active buying on the other side by American breeders. After the $100 registration fee on imported cattle was put in effect importations practically ceased for a time. This so-called ‘‘tax’’ was repealed by the associa- tion in 1891. From the accompanying supplementary

IMPORTATIONS OF HEREFORD CATTLE TO THE UNITED STATES FROM ENGLAND SINCE 1893.

Date Importer Address Number 1893 H. H. Clough............. Elyria, O. .......ce see eeee 3 1893 Gudgell & -Independence, Mo. . Lvov 1 1898 CC, S. Cross. -Emporia, Kans. .... 43 1898 K. B. Arm Kansas City, Mo. ven 85 1898 Shadeland "Eto Co Lafayette, Ind. ............ 1 1899 K. B. Armour............. Kansas City, Mo. .......... 152 1899 W. G. Busk Coleman, Tex. 17 1899 Geo. Leig Aurora, Ill, .... 70 1899 A. J. Libby & Son. -Oakland, Me. .. 1 1899 John Sparks -Reno, Nev. ....... 8 1899 T F. B. Chillicothe, Mo. 1 1900 F. A. Attica, Ind. 30 1900 John N. Taylor........ ll T Huntsville, Mo. 6 1900 A. E. Reynolds........... Denver, Colo. ... 38 1901 K. B. Armour. ‘Kansas City, Mo. ° 219 1901 W. G. Busk... -Coleman, Tex. ... 11 1901 C. A._ Jamison Peoria, fll. ........ 1 1901 Geo. Leigh ...........-6- Aurora, Ill... .. ccs eee eee 25 1901 T. E. Miller............ eOels Parks VW ed os sos marcas 1901 F. A. Nave...........506- Attica, Ind. ......... Pere 7 1901 T, H. Pugh.........-..06- Carthage, Mo. BS REDS ae TS 6 1902 Geo. Leigh ... bee ewAUFOFa, TU ccc ce cecum 107 1902 W. B. Tudee......... ..Craven Arms, Salop, England 13 1903 nares W. Armour. ..Kansas City, Mo. ......... 112 1904 A. R. Firkins Worcester, England ....... 1 1913 Geo. Leigh ............006 Aurora, Tl. cess cinscencnnes 50 4 perms GCL esis hike oS Sw wtstepecte ine a ale olb wv oeda eV nie 0.6 olen by Osho letere 3°82 SSue erases 1,010

tabulation it will be observed that during the decade ending with 1913 but one animal was imported. More recently there have been indications of a possible revival of this business, although not on any ex-

*MOHS IVNOILVYNUGLINI FHL LV saqu0aTaae GQuUd-GONVU ONINNIM-AZ1Ud PusiqepiH 4q sydvis0o;~yT

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP’’ 1043

tended scale. The importation made by Mr. Leigh in the summer of 1913 included the good show bull Farmer, purchased and now owned by Mr. McCray. Mr. Leigh undertook an additional importation dur- ing 1914, but the embargo laid on exports by Great Britain on account of the European war interfered with purchases and shipments. A special license for the exportation of pedigree animals has to be obtained from the Privy Council pending the ter- mination of hostilities.

Distribution of the Herefords.— Believing that an approximate general idea of the distribution of pedigree Herefords in different parts of the United States would be of interest, the author requested Secretary Kinzer of the Hereford association to prepare some figures covering this point. These are submitted herewith. The figures are based on

APPROXIMATE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGES OF REGISTERED HEREFORDS IN THE VARIOUS STATES.

State Percent Number State Per cent Number TOW. ida aseeieiiawsee 16.5 19,800 Arizona ......... 1, 1,200 TEXAR se ivcewsior 14, 16,800 New Mexico..... 0.75 900 Missouri ........ 11.5 14,800 Oregon .......... 0.75 900 Kansas ......... 10. 12,000 California ....... 0.75 900 Tllinois .......... 9. 10,800 Wisconsin ....... 0.75 900 Nebraska ....... 6. 7,200 Tennessee ...... 0.5 600 South Dakota.... 5. 6,000 Utah ........... 0.5 600 Indiana ......... 3. 3,600 Maine ....... .. 0.5 600 Wyoming ....... 2.5 3,000 Virginia ........ 0.5 600 Minnesota ....... 2.2 2,640 Michigan ........ 0.5 600 Colorado ........ 2.2 2,640 Idaho ........... 0.5 600 West Virginia... 2 2,400 Washington ..... 0.25 250 Montana ........ 1.5 1,800 Arkansas ....... 0.25 250 Kentucky .. 1.2 1,400 Mississippi : 0.25 250 North Dakota 1 1,200 Nevada ......... 0.25 250 Oklahoma ...... 1,200 North Carolina... 0.25 250 Ohio ......-.605- 1 1,200

an estimate of a total of 120,000 head of registered cattle now living, and include all states in which

there are 250 head or more.

1044 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

Some Interesting Tabulations——It had been the purpose of the writer to undertake at this point a detailed analysis of the various bloodlines and com- binations entering into the production of the greatest Hereford sires and show bulls of these lat- ter days, but again we are faced with the fact that such endeavor must be deferred from an absolute lack of space. All that has preceded leads up logic- ally to such a procedure, by way of drawing conclu- sions based upon the lessons of the sales, shows, breeding operations and importations herein re- corded, but this must now be reserved for another occasion or for such students as may see fit to work them out from the mass of facts contained in the foregoing chapters. There are several other mat- ters still to be touched upon, and we have either to end this part of our study here or face the necessity of beginning another volume. This one is already too fat. We shall, therefore, content ourselves with merely inserting at this point a few tabulations that suggest themselves as of special interest at this time in connection with contemporary sale and show-

yard events. PERFECTION 92891.

Garfield 7015 Columbus Earl of Shadeland 4ist $3378) Gertrude Wilton 19017 51875 | pet s6054 Prince Edward 7001 Dale 66481.. eee ee ee See ae er Rose Blos- { Peerless Wilton 12774....... Peericcs 10902 som 39225 Blossom 12866............... aon eae Anxiety Hoosier Tori mf Anxiety 2d 4580.............. alee Melley May Isabel 4577.........sceceesees Porat Asst President 2058............... { Phlertain 360 Rosebud 6690: Kennebec Hero 2106 Carabassett Rose 2120....... Necklace 6th 2106

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP’’ 1045 FAIRFAX 16th 316931. Gcicaiaesinte ‘olumbus Perfection pono { Dale SB .-------- f Outi as BIBS Hoosier Tom 77382 Podtucato Melley May 41752... Rosebud 6606 D Fairfax 179767 Fairfax 84159........ poe ea Imp. Berns Belle 138483 { Leander 83622 iC ay | Lavender 111575 Beau Donald 58996.. \ Donn Brummet bist; Beau qanald 33d Sir Carroll’s Earl Sir Carroll 2d 40067 Cc Grove Maid 56110 Earl’s Grove Maid 46193 nerey Denald Fowler f2 188271 silane Cherry Boy 26495 ..) Cherry Pie 2d 17849 ays Very Beau Monde 9903 52077 ( Lady Mary 4th 36936 Lady Mary 2d 24493 REPEATER 7th 386905. Distributor { Disturber 139989......... { Columbia 1672 a A ansas La r. 751 Repeater 289508... Elfin, Lease ADSI azsscaiisd { Shadeland Elfin 51387 ( Missouri Chief 2d 1046 { Hesiod 17th 56467 Mina 184085--+) evelyn 126208 Rajah 91721 yn 126208 .......... Pretty Face SED eau Brumme! Beau Donald { Beau Donald 58996 ...... Donna $3785 F ir Carro 40087 saneia Peinceesn Sophia 56115 ............ Earl’s Lilian 2d 46194 ; Valentine Sist 266423 Lottie Macon { Sir Macon 63698 ......... Portrait 12245 189290 Queen Bess 92820........ Ree oa ly BEAU PERFECTION 24th 394173. Garfield 7015 {eal of Shadeland rtrude Wilton 19017 Colambus 41st 33378 Prince Edward 7001 lea cS rE Jeseie 4th 10007 Dale 66481 . {Pia Wilton eee ee $ "[ Rowepiog. | Blossom 12886 Auctioneer 9572 C= |e | a a oi fade ms ec Blowdy 12867 38 J Anxiety 2d 4580.... { Anxiety 2238 b>] Hensley ares ice 4658 2 (Isabel 4577......... Corsair 4581 Melley we Juliet 4578 Chieftain 2059 | Carrabass 2058..... Leonora 2060 Rosebud eos | Cieranassett Rose /( Kennebec Hero 2100 Necklace 6th 2105 af Beau J Donald {Pet Besw a Brummel Bon Carles 33734 s Id enna 33735........ Anxiety 4th 9904 = arts Paes Dowager 6th 6932 3 Cinderella Sir Carroll 2d 40067 | Fine pineal aa 61048) Wilton’s Grove Earl 2d of Pine P’rk 41081 65 Maid 2d 51158 Wilton’s Gr've Maid 33276 a Beau Dor Donald {rot Bean Brummel pon Carice 5 bak o Id Anxiety 4th 9904 é ch 187362 ener $8735 ........ Dowager 6th 6992 Minnie i Sir Carroll 2d 40067 { Bar eeeopane Sth 16900 Lily Princess of Earl of Pine Park 41080 Pine Park 46199 (Lily Princess 26729

1046 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

DISTURBER 139989.

Don Carlos $3734 Beau Donald { Beau Brummel 51817 Belle 24629 nxie' 9904 Beau Donald Donna 33735 Dowager 6th 6832 $d 86140 ‘euavesun { Sir Carroll 2d 40067. . Ret of Shadeland 9th 16900 61048) iton's rove Earl 2d of Pine Park 41081 Maid 2d 51158 Wilton’ "8 Gro Grove Maid 33276 Earl of Shadeland j Gertrade O18 eon 19017 Columbussist54 Be 78 Prince Edward 7001 Columbias J) ee pein ra ‘ie! 7 Rose Blossom + Peerless Wilton 12774 Peerless 10002 uctioneer Blossom 12866....... Blowdy 12867 PERFECTION FAIRFAX 179767. Earl of Loteceiend Columbus 51875... ee Dale 66481....... "(Bet Salot Wilton dark eerless Wilton Perfection 92891... Rose Blossom 39225 } Bigssom 12868 Hoosier Tom 7732. . parity 22 4580 Melley May 41752 President 2058 Rosebud 6606...... Carabassett Rose 2120 ; ir Edwar Fairtax e4150 ..,.J salisbury #4174...) Promise 3d 84164 "| Decima 84153 ...... ia Imp. Berna 133482. Renown 18902 Leander 83622...... Lady Horace Wilton Belle 138483...... { 2 ee —— ; ainter Boy 833 Lavender 111575... Alpha 111578

About Beau Donald— The history of cattle- breeding abounds in surprising developments in connection with the careers of various celebrities. A number of these tales have already been related, but none is of deeper interest than the story of old Beau Donald’s early history and subsequent extraordinary success as a sire. Some details are therefore sub- mitted.

Mr. Charles Gudgell says:

‘‘Beau Donald had no nurse cow nor special fit- ting as a calf, but was treated in exactly the same way as our other calves at the time. As a calf he was remarked for his generally sappy appearance and make-up, and was naturally thick-fleshed with-

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP”’ 1047

out necessarily being fat. He was built close to the _ ground and had a hide on him as the saying is, ‘like

a bull pup’s’. At a little past a year old he gave promise of having a decidedly drooping horn, a characteristic which along with natural thick flesh he has transmitted to his descendants in a remarkable degree.

‘“‘He came from one of our very best families. His sire and dam, grandsires and grandams were all extra good. Beau Brummel’s record as a breeder is well known, but when it is noted that Donna 33735, the dam of Beau Donald, is out of Dowager 6th 6932, a cow that was also the dam of Don Carlos and Don Quixote, it can readily be seen that he was no accident, but came by his good qualities honestly. Dowager 6th was bred by Mr. T. Lewis, Woodhouse, the well known English breeder from whom we se- cured her, and was one of the best cows in all our importations. She was a very smooth, medium- sized cow and had a decided droop to her horns (a feature we desired to cultivate) and transmitted the same characteristic to all her produce. Donna 33735, mother of Beau Donald, also had a pronouncedly drooping horn. She was a straight-lined, low-down cow of the breedy type and above the average size

and weight. She died at the age of seventeen years.’”*

There was nothing special to be observed in the make-up of the calf in his earlier days at the side of his dam, but as he came along into bullhood he was picked up by H. B. Watts, a man who had ever a

*The somewhat unsatisfactory portrait of Mr. W. H. Curtice appearing in this volume shows him mounted on his favorite saddle horse, Champagne, so called because of his peculiar color. Like all Kentuckians, Mr. Curtice has a fondness for a good saddle horse, and in speaking of Champagne he states that he can.go a running walk at a 9-mile-an-hour gait “without shaking the rider in the least.” Moreover, this horse is a successful weight- carrier, having won several prizes over large fields in the blue- grass shows with Mr. Curtice up.

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP”’ 1049

keen mind and eye. While it was therefore not mere chance that guided him in this selection, it is doubt- ful if his vision was prophetic enough accurately to forecast the youngster’s brilliant future. Certainly Gudgell & Simpson would not have let him go had they been able to read the stars aright. They knew he was one of the best yearlings they had ever bred and really intended to reserve him for their own use, but the trade was then passing through a period of acute depression. Judge Watts apparently caught Gov. Simpson napping one day and bought the youngster for $125! Watts’ own story of Beau Donald’s ‘‘discovery’’ and purchase as told to the writer is substantially as follows:

‘‘Some time in April, 1914, I went to Independ- ence and told Gov. Simpson I had come to select a yearling bull to head my herd, and asked him what he had on hand. He replied, ‘Fifty-six as good year- ling Hereford bulls as anybody in America, but they are so d—m cheap and low that I propose to make steers of them rather than sell at prevailing prices.’ We then got in his old spring wagon and drove out to the farm. Going into the pasture where the bulls were grazing, he said, ‘Now, Watts, there’s the lot. Pick your bull, and I’ll see if you know a good one.’

‘‘The Governor had certainly stated facts when he said they were a good lot of yearlings; indeed, they were exceptionally good. After looking over the lot for fully an hour I finally selected two bulls, and asked the Governor to show me their dams and give me the sires of the two before I would determine which calf I would take. We drove over into another pasture where the cows were quartered. He drove close to a massive cow and said: ‘This is Donna, the

1050 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

dam of the smaller bull of the two you picked. She is by Anxiety 4th and out of Dowager 6th, which makes her a full sister to Don Carlos.’ I said, ‘Gov- ernor, we won’t look: for the larger bull’s dam; I want the small calf. What is your price on her?’ He replied: ‘Watts, confound your little picture! You’ve picked the best bull in the bunch, a bull that I thought of keeping to breed from ourselves. How- ever, I like you and you can take the calf at $125. I told him I thought the figure a little high, as low as cattle were selling at that time, that I had thought when I left Fayette that $100 would buy the top. He said: ‘I can’t take it, that is one of the best calves I ever bred. I will take $100 for the other calf you picked.’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I want this calf.’ He replied, ‘Well, if you promise not to tell what you gave for him you can take him, and if he don’t make one of the most impressive sires in the country, send him back, get your money, and Simpson will say he has no cattle sense.’

‘*Beau Donald was shipped to Fayette the follow- ing week, and it was then that I first learned his name, as I had neglected to ask it of Gov. Simpson. A week or so after getting him rested I led him to the courthouse yard in Fayette so that my cattle friends could see him. All thought him a wonder. From the time I bought him until sold to Mr. Curtice I never saw or knew him to attempt a vicious act.

‘‘Beau Donald was intensely bred in the re- nowned Anxiety 4th blood, and came naturally to transmit so unerringly to his offspring his marvel- ously straight lines, strong front and superb quar- ters, together with all his elegant style, finish and symmetry. As a yearling he was bred to eight or ten cows, getting all with calf. He was kept in good thrifty growing condition until two years old, and

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP”’ 1051

then my son Will (now my partner) concluded to develop him. He fed well from the start, and in October, 1895, at thirty-one months old, he weighed 2,200 pounds. In fact, at that time and for two years afterwards he was a great show bull. On Aug. 12, 1897, I received a wire from Secretary Thomas at Kansas City, asking me what amount would buy Beau Donald. Not caring to sell him at any price, I concluded to put the price so high no ‘one would think of paying it, cattle at that time being extremely low. I priced him at $1,000.

‘“‘The next day Mr. Curtice came to my farm, and told me he had asked Mr. Thomas to see the bull. My son brought him to the lawn, and I don’t think the old fellow ever did or ever could make the show he did that afternoon. Curtice looked him over and said, ‘Turn him out, I never saw a bull I’d pay $1,000 for.’ I replied, ‘Very well, I’m glad to hear you say that; and rather than sell you Beau I’ll give you a check for $100 to release me from my proposi- tion.” He had me take him to the train and just as the whistle sounded for the station Curtice said, ‘Put, Beau in the barn for a few days, and then ship him to my address in time for him to reach the fair at Shelbyville on Aug. 24.’

‘“T thought so much of Beau Donald that for fear he would get hurt in transit I got in the car and rode through to Kentucky with him, feeding, water- ing and keeping the bedding under him. As I fre- quently said to Mr. Curtice, ‘I am the architect of your fortune.’ ’’

This interesting narration may be supplemented by a brief statement from Hendry, Mr. Curtice’s former manager, who says:

‘‘When a calf Beau Donald was recognized by Mr. Simpson and herdsman George Shand as a good

1052 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

mellow-hided, short-legged calf. Shand, my old Scotch friend, when showing him to any one, always caught hold of his hide to reveal the looseness of it. I can remember seeing him first on a visit to Independence from the Greenwood Farm in the fall of 1893, when he was still nursing his dam. He was weaned when about seven months old. The following summer he was with a bunch of bulls Mr. Simpson used his knife upon, passing by Beau Donald.

‘‘The bull landed at Shelbyville the week of the fair there. Mr. Curtice started to take him home, but being advised by some of his friends to show him had his old darkie, Joe, take him to the fair grounds, where he received the blue ribbon next day and sweepstakes over all breeds, although some of the Shorthorn men told Mr. Curtice he was no breeding bull, but simply a mess of beef. These same Shorthorn men say today, however, that he was one of the greatest breeding bulls that ever came into Kentucky. The following year Mr. Curtice showed him at Lexington, Ky., Shelbyville, Ky., Co- lumbus, O., and Wheeling, W. Va., winning first place with him at the places named. In 1899 he showed him on the same circuit with about the same results. He then took him the same fall to the Kansas City show and sale with a bunch of his calves, which averaged $629 a head, and the follow- ing year did about the same, always bringing in a ribbon from the big shows with the old bull. After that Mr. Curtice decided to keep him at home and show his get.

‘‘Beau Donald was never used very hard, having about forty cows a season. He always ran in the pasture with the younger bulls of which he was king. This reminds me of an anecdote of the old bull. On bringing him home his son, Prince Rupert

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP”’ 1053

79589, from the show circuit we turned him into the pasture with his sire from whom he had been sepa- rated for three months. I accompanied them to the pasture, being a little afraid that the young bull. would be too much for his dad; but to my surprise it went the other way. The old bull rolled the Prince over, and held him to the ground, I scarcely being able to pull him off by the ring, and from that day Prince Rupert never ventured within twenty-five yards of him.

‘‘Beau Donald’s disposition was good. Any child could handle him by the ring. He was always ready for the feed bucket, which is also a trait of his de- scendants.’’

A Story of Perfection Fairfax—Mr. A. C. Huxley bought the imported cow Berna in calf to Perfec- tion at the Hoxie sale at Thornton, Ill., May 14, 1903, for $365. She was due to calve in October and as the cow was a good individual and a heavy milker and as Perfection had been many times champion Mr. Huxley had # right to expect sortie- thing particularly choice. The calf arrived on the first of October, and was about as disappointing a prospect as could be imagined. In the first: place, he was small and so crooked that herdsman Willard Pierce used to put one hand on one of the calf’s knees, take hold of the foot and push on the knee and pull on the foot until the tendons fairly cracked, all in an effort to straighten the legs’ of the future champion. This was done twice a day for two weeks, and in the course of about six weeks his legs were about normal.

This, however, was not the only difficulty with

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP”’ 1055

the youngster. He was a disgusting light yellow- red in color. Now this pale red has from time almost immemorial been tabooed by Hereford breeders. While Pierce was still operating on the legs of the ‘‘future great’? Mr. Huxley had a visit from Mr. E. W. Furbush, a piano manufacturer of Boston, Mass., who had a farm at Freedom, N. H. ’ He was a reader of ‘‘The Breeder’s Gazette’’ and became an admirer of good Herefords. He arranged a visit to Mr. Huxley’s farm, desiring to secure a cow with a bull calf at foot. The proprietor offered to trade imp. Berna and calf for a $500 piano, but the visitor replied that he ‘‘would not have a cow on his farm that would not produce a better calf than that.’’ Mr. Furbush was not alone in having a poor opinion of the calf at this time.

Huxley was expecting to show a full herd at the fairs of 1904 and had two other bull calves that were receiving extra attention with a view toward exhibition. Meantime Perfection Fairfax was run- ning around with the other calves on the place quite neglected. As time passed, however, Huxley and Pierce engaged in arguments as to which of the two bull calves in preparation was the better, and finally Pierce remarked, ‘‘If you will get another nurse cow, I’ll just take the yellow calf _ and beat all the others.’’ The nurse was finally procured and under the stimulus of this additional milk the young bull began spreading out into fine form. Best of all, in the spring as he was shedding his coat, lo and behold, he was a fine rich red!

1056 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

This was of course a very welcome surprise to the owner. From that time there was never much ques- tion as to his destiny.

At the fall fairs of 1904, Perfection Fairfax was probably the heaviest calf in his class. At the In- ternational his official weight was 1,220 pounds. This is certainly remarkable in view of the late start he had. At the Kansas City Royal of 1905, just as Mr. Huxley was leading Perfection Fair- fax out of the ring with the purple badge that meant the junior championship of the show, friend Fur- bush came up and congratulated him upon the win- ning, and his surprise can be. better imagined than described when told that this was the calf that he had said was too mean to have around his New England farm. Mr. Huxley was offered $2,000 for Perfection Fairfax as a calf and $3,000 as a year- ling; he declined both propositions. Out of a pos- . sible thirty-one first prizes shown for as a calf, year- ling and aged bull he won thirty firsts and one second. As a two-year-old he was not shown. Mr. Huxley having disposed of Beau Donald 33d, his chief stock bull at that time, could not spare Per- fection Fairfax from the breeding herd. Beau Donald 33d, it will be remembered, was also a most successful stock bull, the progenitor of the Lady Fairfax line, two members of which, Lady Fairfax 4th and Lady Fairfax 9th, made enviable records.

The later career of Perfection Fairfax is too ‘familiar to call for extended comment in this con- nection. Messrs. Harris, Curtice and McCray were

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP”’ 1057

all interested in trying to secure him after Mr. Huxley decided to close out his herd, but McCray was the successful bidder. Mr.. Huxley closed out his cattle, not because of any lack of interest in them, but in order to fulfill obligations elsewhere and in another field which he could not justly ignore. He is now located in Minnesota and has recently informed the writer that he expects to re-enter the business in the near future. Meantime, comment- ing upon the record of Perfection Fairfax, Mr. Huxley says:

‘Several of the old breeders used to tell me that Perfection Fairfax was not the type to prove a great sire, a fact which goes to show how risky is the occupation of the- prophet in such matters. I think the first calf that he sired was Diana Fairfax, which Mr. McCray showed, and she proved a win- ner. I do not believe there has been a bull of the breed that has been a winner himself and after- wards sired so many good bulls and heifers as has Perfection Fairfax. I claim that the reason why he is entitled to be called the greatest bull of the breed, living or dead, is because he sired both good bulls and good heifers all of his own stamp, so that almost any one can distinguish them from the get of other sires. I regard it as particularly fortunate for the breed that he fell into the hands of Mr. McCray, because in that herd he has been given opportunity to be mated with a grand lot of cows. I -look hack with pride on Perfection Fairfax, and have vivid recollections of the various hard-fought battles we had before reaching the top.’’

‘His Trainer Testifies — Willard Pierce takes a keen enjoyment in the progress of the Perfection Fairfax

1058 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

stock. Here is his own account of the old bull’s early career:

‘‘Mr. A. C. Huxley bought at the Hoxie spring sale of 1903 three cows—imp. Berna, Dauntless and Miss Peerless. All were bred to Perfection. Daunt- less and Peerless dropped heifer calves. Berna dropped a bull calf in October, 1903, which was named Perfection Fairfax. He did not look like much of a calf, as he was rather slim and thin. But in February he seemed to be developing into some- thing better than we had expected, so we decided to put him on a nurse cow. He kept on doing well. His stablemate, Beau Dale 2d by Beau Donald 33d, was much the better calf to start with. But time went on and by May there was not much difference in them. By fall Perfection Fairfax had the best of him. We always raised a small patch of beets. Of these Perfection Fairfax was very fond, and I gave him plenty of them at all times. When he was shown at Chicago as a calf. he was weaned. Not many of the show calves are weaned at that time.

‘‘The first show we made was at Columbus, O., where he stood first and was junior champion. He stood that way all around the eastern circuit until Chicago, where he was second. :

‘‘The bull wintered well as a yearling, and I could fairly see him grow and widen out. He never had a sick day during the four years I fed him. His constitution was wonderful, and I believe that has much to do with making his offspring all good feed- ers and good show cattle. I believe constitution is the greatest thing to consider when we come to feed cattle for the showring. One thing more about Per- fection Fairfax was that he was very quiet—what I would call a lazy bull. He would never fret about anything.

THE ‘ROUND-UP’? 1059

‘‘When he was a yearling we went to some county fairs where he was champion, and then to Colum- bus, where he was first and junior champion. As a two-year-old Perfection Fairfax was not shown. We used him as our herd bull, but never let him down from show shape. As a three-year-old we showed him and came near cleahing up the most of the boys. They realized he was ‘some show bull’ at three years old, and by that time we knew he was ‘some breeder’! But there is one thing very funny to me about Perfection Fairfax, and to think of it

[W2 CondelL. || Willard PBerce|| Andrew Meikle. |

often makes me smile. When Mr. Huxley and I showed him lots of the breeders would grant that he was a good show bull, but usually added that he would be no breeder: I meet these same breeders around the fairs now, and I often say in a joking way: ‘Perfection Fairfax is a good'show bull, but he’ll make no breeder.’ I usually spring this when I see his get head towards their stalls with blue rib- bons tied to them, and sometimes the red, at our very biggest fairs.

‘When Perfection Fairfax was a four-year-old

1060 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

we never intended to'show him. But then Mr. Me- Cray bought out Mr. Huxley, and decided to show him instead of Prime Lad 16th, though he was never fed to be shown that fall. It is surprising to see him so fresh at eleven years old. And I doubt very much _ if any of the bulls which showed with him nine or ten years ago can come up and beat him now in the showring. I do know that they have a hard time to beat his get, although it was this same Perfection Fairfax which was ‘a show bull, but would never make much of a breeder.’ ’’

The Dam of Dale.—Too late for incorporation in our text at the proper point we received the follow- ing interesting recital from Clem Graves, the breed- er of Dale, as to the mother of that famous bull:

‘‘In appearance Rose Blossom was like the Gar- fields. Her color a rich red, neither light nor dark, her form thick-fleshed, evenly balanced and.set on short legs, her face broad, with full eyes and the short ‘Berkshire’ nose, the identifying feature of the Garfields. She was sold to Mr. Harness, Gal- veston, Ind., when a yearling and her calves, Little Phil and Hopeful, were dropped at his farm. I pur- chased her in the spring of 1892, paying $75 for her. This was a time when the breeders were overstocked on account of the depression in the cattle trade in 1891 and 1892, when I saw a 1,200-pound grade Shorthorn cow sell for $14 and good yearlings sell for $8 a head.

“‘T showed Rose Blossom in 1896 at Toledo, and the leading county fairs in Ohio and Indiana. At that time many of the fairs did not classify the beef breeds, Shorthorns, Angus and Herefords all show- ing together. She was defeated but one time and then by a Hereford cow of great scale and even finish. Vivien, the first calf Rose Blossom brought

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP’’ 1061

me, I sold when six years old for $500. This cow was the mother of two heifers. One was Armel, bought by A. P. Nave for $220 in my first public sale at the Palmer House Stables at Chicago in 1897. He sold her a short time afterward to K. B. Armour for $1,000 and she was one of the attractive mem- bers of that celebrated herd. The other heifer, Viola by Columbus, I listed in the sale at the Kansas City Royal in 1899, where she was purchased by Col. Slaughter and Thomas Mortimer for $1,250, selling next to Armour Rose, which brought the highest price in that very spirited sale.

‘*You will note from the full list of the progeny of this famous cow, herewith appended, that three years elapse between the birth of Vivien and Dale. This is a long period for a young cow to pass not breed- ing and I was almost at the point of disposing of her, all in ignorance that the story of Dale, Perfec- tion, Perfection Fairfax, on down to Joan Fairfax, was already written ‘among the things that are and the things that shall be hereafter.’

“The story of Dale is now a matter of common knowledge. There are two points in his showyard career that I wish to emphasize: in 1897 he was the first Hereford to win the grand championship, all breeds competing, at the Ohio and Indiana state fairs; and after five years of showing when he was matched against Perfection, Christopher, Dandy Rex and many other famous bulls he won the purple rib- bon in his final appearance in the showring at the International in 1901. Dale rests in the burying ** ground of the little Christian church on Jesse Adams’ farm, his grave cared for by Amy Adams.

‘‘Mr. Adams purchased Columbia from me for $1,100 and Columbia 2d for $1,325 in a breeders’ sale in Kansas City in January, 1901. He bred Columbia

1062 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

to Beau Donald 3d, bringing Disturber. This was the initial trial of the Columbus-Beau Donald cross. This same line of breeding is now in practice in the herd of Mr. Curtice of Kentucky. I sold Rose Blos- som in 1902 for $500, to the Wabash Cattle Co. Her

record follows: i ae he a ce Phil 41937 by Earl of Shadeland 41st

“1891—April 18—cow—Hopeful 46919 by Earl Wilton 47th 46333.

“1892—Aug. 26—cow—Vivien 51183 by Earl of Shadeland’ 33398. This heifer became the dam of Armel and Viola, sold to G. McWilliams in 1898 for $500.

“1895—Sept. ie heals 66481 by Columbus 51875. Sold to F A. Nave, Nov. 1897, for $1,100. Bought in Mr. Nave'’s dispersion for 3, 500. Sold in 1901 to Wabash Cattle Co. or

“1896—Sept, 18—bull—Earl Wilton 69585 Ry Columbus 51875. Sold to A Wolcott, Concord; Mich., in 1896. No record of price, I think $200.

“"1897—Oct. 4—cow—Columbia 76779 by Columbus 51875. Sold to J. C. Adams, 1901, for $1,000. The dam of Disturber.

Rammer on 16—cow—Columbia 2a eee by Columbus 51875. Sold

C. Adams, 1901, for $1,32

ee aero '21—-cow—Rosamond vie by, Cherry Ben 56767. Sold to Wabash Cattle Co., 1902, for $300.

“1900—Dec. 25—bull—Dara 117715 by imp. Freedom 76005. Sold to Wabash Cattle Co. for $135.

“1901—-Nov. 13—cow—Rose yee i 135358 by Le Roy 70778. Owned by S. H. Godm:

Harking Back to the Range. —As this chapter is called a ‘‘Round-Up’’ we feel warranted in intro- ducing at this point certain facts concerning the operations of another one of the ranking western. outfits of the days when the range cattle business was getting squarely upon its feet. We refer to the famous old-time firm of Lee & Reynolds. Their operations were not only extensive, but they always advocated the use of well bred bulls. The author had prepared the following statement as to their work for inclusion in a preceding chapter, but the copy was inadvertently mislaid until it was too late to incorporate it, in this edition, in its proper place. It is deemed of sufficient historical

Copyright photo by Parsons THRDE-YEAR-OLD HEIFER MAY MORN, A ROYAL WINNER IN 1913.

1064 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

importance, however, to be given space at this point, rather than be omitted entirely.

This firm started business at Camp Supply in° the Indian Territory in the fall of 1869 as post traders at that military camp. Their consignment of six or seven cars of merchandise from New York was the first through freight which crossed the bridge at Kansas City, shipment having been timed to reach there just at the opening of the bridge, and was sent through from New York to Hayes City without breaking bulk.* The firm continued busi- ness at Camp Supply and at other points estab- lished and owned by them in the Territory, and at Fort Elliott in the Panhandle of Texas—there being four or five of these stations—until the year 1881, when the co-partnership was dissolved and the prop- erty divided. During this time in the Territory there were two Indian wars, one being the final round-up of the Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas and Comanches, upon their reservations at El] Reno and Fort Sill, where the red men and their descendants have ever since remained peaceably occupied and intent upon the struggle for existence.

Lee & Reynolds commenced establishing a herd of cattle about the year 1876, placing in service purebred Shorthorn bulls purchased of Frederick William Stone of Guelph, Ontario. This first herd

*Mr. A. E. Reynolds, following up this abipment; in company with one man similarly mounted, rade a mule from Hayes City to Camp Supply, 180 miles, sleenine on the ground en route, with the saddle for a pillow and: the blankets used under the saddle as his bedding; and as there had been a blizzard across the country at that time, he has a very vivid recollection that it was rather a painful cold journey, and somewhat limited as to commissary.

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP’”’ 1065

was sold in 1880 to Mr. Bud Driskell, and about that time Mr. Lee purchased for the firm a tract of land on the Canadian River at or near the New Mexico line from Messrs. Gunter & Munson, and contracted for a herd of cattle from Reynolds & Mathews of Albany, Tex. These cattle were the beginning and basis of the herd carrying the LE brand which afterwards became well known. In the dissolution of the firm and division of the property, this herd and the lands were taken by Mr. Reynolds, and the Reynolds Land & Cattle Co., was formed to operate at that point in the Panhandle. Other lands were accumulated to a total of over 250,000 acres; the herd was enlarged to the capacity of the ranch, or about 12,000 head, and was bred up by the use of purebred bulls exclusively, and by care and attention the quality of the herd was im- proved until it was probably excelled by none. The first bulls used were purebred Shorthorns, mostly from Mr. Stone’s herd, and these were followed by purebred Herefords from the same source. Others were obtained from Messrs. Gudgell & Simpson, and firms of like prominence.

This company operated until 1902, when the lands were sold through their manager to the Prairie Cat- tle Company of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the cattle to Mr. J. J. Hagerman, and moved to a point near Roswell, N. M. All of the cattle were so disposed of, excepting a few hundred purebred Herefords which were brought to some lands owned by Mr. Reynolds near La Junta, Colo. This herd was run

1066 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

there a few years, when the better portion of it was sent to the mountains near Delta, Colo., where they are now a part of the herd of the E. J. M. Cattle Company at that place, in which Mr. Reynolds is still interested.

During the operations in the Panhandle of Texas the firm bought at one shipment fifty registered bulls from the principal Hereford herds of Eng- land. These were turned upon the range. In reply to an inquiry from the author as to the results of the use of the Shorthorn and Hereford bulls upon the LE herd, Mr. Reynolds says:

‘“‘The cattle bearing the LE brand in the Pan- handle were originally Texas cows from the vicinity of Albany, Tex. The first cross on these cows was made with Shorthorn bulls. We used these bulls about two or three years in the herd before they were displaced to any great extent with Herefords, so that we might say the basis of the herd was a cross of Shorthorn blood on the Texas cattle, followed by the Herefords on these cows. There can be no question but what we got good results from this method.

“‘T noticed evidence in the herd for many years of the original use of the Shorthorn bulls, even after we had been using exclusively Herefords in the herd. I think the chief evidence of the breed- ing back to the Shorthorn blood, was shown in the diminished size of the horns of our white-faced cattle, occasional Shorthorn markings on _ the bodies, such as roans, and occasionally a red spot on the face or nose, which clearly showed the Short- horn strain. We changed to the Herefords on the theory that they were the more hardy animals for

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP”’ 1067

range use, as well as being in themselves as good if not better than the Shorthorns. I certainly should at this time prefer to take my chances with the Herefords if I were going into the cattle-raising business, chiefly on account of the probability of their greater endurance.’’

Westward Ho!—With the passing of the open range the establishment of real ‘‘quality’’ herds in the newer west bids fair to result in a material ex- tension of the field of pedigree Hereford breeding in the United States. The character of the herds that have been founded in recent years in the Rocky Mountain region, as illustrated by the exhibits at the Denver show, indicate clearly that the produc- tion of top cattle of this favorite western type is likely to become a large and important industry in connection with the further evolution of the cattle trade of the mountain and inter-mountain states.

Typical of this new condition is the case presented by the persistent purchase of cattle of the highest class by Mr. A. B. Cook. He is engaged in concrete construction work in a large way in Canada and our own Northwest, but has lived in Montana since the early ’80’s and knowing what has been accom- plished in the past by the Herefords on the open ranges of that region, he finally decided to assem- ble a herd of the best registered ‘‘white faces’’ ob- tainable, in order to see what Montana climate, Mon- tana bluegrass and alfalfa hay, Montana oats and barley and Montana sugar beets, coupled with proper care and attention, would do for the highest type of modern American-bred Hereford. His great enter-

1068 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

prise in securing valuable material for this purpose is deserving of all praise, and at our request he furnishes the following statement as to his opera- tions:

‘Look back a few years and remember the range cattle shipped from Montana—cattle three to four years old that had never even tasted hay until they were en route to the eastern market. Could you beat them any place on earth, raised under similar conditions?

‘‘My first effort in connection with the establish- ment of a registered herd was to buy the best foundation stock procurable. I visited most of the dispersion sales for several years, buying only cows that were outstanding, and all as near one type as possible. First I would select from pedigrees, going through the catalogs thoroughly and selecting only cows whose breeding suited me. I then passed on them as individuals. If the cow came up to my standard I invariably bought her in the ring, if not, no matter how cheap she went, I would not buy. It was quality I had to have. Often I would only find one cow that suited me at a sale, other times two or three, and sometimes a carload. I had my standard and the cows I bought must come up to it.

‘‘My greatest problem was the selection of herd bulls. I was fortunate in my first selection—Beau Carlos 248915, one of the greatest of the breed, sire of the grand champion Joy and other winners. Up to this time I have never sold but one of his heifers and I have since tried to re-purchase her. The se- lection of the balance of my herd bulls caused me considerable trouble. I traveled thousands of miles, inspecting many animals. The right breeding I wanted first, then conformation and type. This com- bination was hard to find, but I finally succeeded,

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP”’ 1069

far beyond my expectations, in securing Fairfax 16th 316931, undefeated grand champion bull of America during 1912, Beau Perfection 9th 368012, Beau Perfection 23d 394172, Premier 2d 311882, and Standard 11th 411222.

‘We try to keep our breeding cows in good thriv- ing condition, breeding them to the bull with which _we think they will nick best. We are not always successful in this, but the percentage is good and we keep trying until we do hit it. We try to keep our calves growing. The calf, once stunted, never regains what it has lost and never makes as good an animal as if it had been kept growing and de- veloping steadily.

‘‘No enterprise that I have ever been connected with has given me greater pleasure than the raising of purebred cattle. When it comes to real enjoy- ment here is where I get mine.’’

A Word About Herdsmen.—The author cannot bring this volume to a close without a word on the subject of the men who have the actual care of herds. Upon them rests to a marked degree the responsibil- ity for success or failure. We have taken pleasure all the way through this narration in referring from time to time to various individuals who have con- tributed largely toward the accomplishments of the cattle of their employers. Unfortunately in a vol- ume such as this it is quite as impracticable to men- tion by name all those in this profession who are really entitled to this recognition as it has been to make a record of the operations of all owners and breeders of good ‘‘white faces.’’

A number of portraits of some of the better known

1070 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

herdsmen are presented. Others would have been shown had the author succeeded in obtaining the necessary photographs. In several notable instances most capable men have shrunk from this publicity, even though it was unsought on their part. It will of course be understood that the portraits shown have been made from photographs supplied at the special request of the author. A long period of ob- servation of the work of men of this type on both sides the water has convinced us of the justice of generous recognition of their efforts. While as a rule they receive full consideration at the hands of their employers and of cattle breeders in gen- eral, the author has such a keen appreciation of the importance of the part they play in the work that he believes frequent note should be made of their valuable services.*

An Involuntary Tribute—One more little story and we close. As is commonly known, most of the

*We are reminded at this point that we have not yet sup- plied certain details concerning the work of George Mason, an- other of the “old guard” of good herdsmen. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Sept. 2, 1852, worked with Angus herds in Scotland for about ten years and came to America in 1882, bring- ing over an importation of Angus cattle for Geary Bros. in Can- ada. He spent three years with the herd of Mossom Boyd and came to the United States in 1889 to the Hereford herd of C. H. Elmendorf, Kearney, Neb. where he remained six years.

At the Chicago World’s Fair the show herd in George’s charge included Earl of Shadeland 30th, Lily, Lady Daylight and Lady Laurel. In the fall of 1895 he went to the herd of W. S. Van- Natta and in the fall of 1897 to C. S, Cross, Emporia, Kans., thence to John Hooker, New London, O., for about eighteen months. After that he spent several years with Angus and Shorthorn herds and later a year with the Hereford herd of John E, Painter, Rog- gen, Colo. He now has charge of the Herefords on Highland Ranch, owned by K. H. Zwick, near Pyramid, Colo.

Fred Corkins, who tended Dale and other celebrities for Jesse Adams, ought not to be forgotten, and among contemporary workers we should not omit to mention William Burlton, now with Mr. Tow; “Andy” Meikle, who went from Cudahy to Harris, and “Bob” Johnson, who has made up many Hereford as well as black polled champions.

THE ‘“ROUND-UP”’ 1071

eattle buyers for the packing houses at the stock yards have a special fancy for Aberdeen-Angus bullocks. While good bidders for prime Herefords, they sometimes like to find a little fault. In this connection the following incident is of interest as illustrating this inclination on the part of some of those who ride the alleys at the yards in quest of good steers. It happened at the International some years ago at the time ‘‘Dan’’ Black exhibited his best load of JJ cattle. The Krambeck blacks had been given the grand championship over them, which Hereford men generally characterized as a mistake, pointing out that Irwin Bros. bought Mr. Black’s Herefords but only took the ribs and loins of the Angus. The latter were killed at Swift’s and the former at Armour’s. ‘‘Billy’’ Kay, a son of old Scotia, was at that time with Swift’s; in fact, he had been with the company some twenty years. He fell into a warm dispute with John Gosling as to the relative merits of the breeds and being some- what ‘‘put to it’? for a rejoinder to some of the Hereford arguments advanced, finally blurted out:

‘¢ All yer Herefords are guid for is to mak’ money for the farr-mers’’—with a fine Scotch burr on the latter word. Some time afterwards ‘‘Billy’’, who owned land in Oklahoma, decided to buy some Here- ford bulls for his own use.

As to Fashions.—Fortunately there is little oc- casion for warning the friends of the ‘Hereford against the pitfalls of fads and fashions in dealing with the pedigrees of their breeding animals. In

1072 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

the first place they have always utilized the tabu- lated pedigree—a form of presenting bloodlines that sets forth the facts in their proper relation. Their colleagues in the Shorthorn and Aberdeen- Angus world have not always been so wise. By the method of pedigree-printing long in vogue among the latter one of the maternal lines was paraded in such way as to build up a more or less mythical basis of family or tribal prestige which, however convenient it may have been, was wholly misleading and tended to exaggerate out of all rea- son the importance of a certain fractional part of the real pedigree. Some remote female ancestress gave name, and in many cases supplied almost the sole measure of value to great groups of cattle, to the exclusion of the immediate ancestors on both sides of the house.

In so far as they use ‘‘family’’ nomenclature at all, Hereford breeders commonly group their breed- ing animals under heads that convey a definite meaning. They have their Wiltons, Anxieties, Grove 3ds, Garfields, Beau Donalds, Perfection Fairfaxes, Disturbers, Repeaters, etc, thus laying stress where it of right belongs, on the great producing bulls; and as a rule they have followed a great bull’s blood only so far as it appeared to make good in his descendants.

The record price for a Hereford bull has already been noted. The American top for a Shorthorn bull was higher—$17,900 for the 14th Duke of Thornedale—but in his case the bidding was influ-

yright photo by Parsons SAILOR KING, CHAMPION OVER ALL BREEDS PRINCE OF WALES

PRIZE—AT THE ROYAL OF 1913.

Copyright phete by Parsons MARINER, CHAMPION AT THE ‘ROYAL DUBLIN SHOW OF 1911.

1074 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

enced to a very large degree by the mere fact that he was of the so-called pure Duchess line. Unlike Beau Perfection 24th, it is more than doubtful if His Grace of Thorndale could ever have gained a prize on his own merits in any great showyard. How- ever, the breeders of Shorthorns long ago got over that folly and are today doing a good business on the sound basis of inherited individual worth.

It is sometimes well to recall the mistakes of others, because weeds grow in every garden and as Mr. John W. Cruickshank of Aberdeenshire once wrote to the author, ‘‘the weeds produced even by the good sorts should be carefully avoided.’’ Popu- larity, however attained, breeds the tendency to save and exalt all the material that emanates from a given source. There is temptation at times to throw the mantle of a great and deserved blood popularity dver the defects of animals that by the rigid tenets of the Hereford faith should be dis- carded. We counsel all true friends of the ‘‘white face’’ to stand steadfastly against any such prac- tice. One of the fundamental elements in Hereford success has been freedom from fads and fancies. Their breeders have never been dragged as slaves at the wheel of an indefensible fashion or pedigree speculation. They have the blessed privilege of buy- ing and using any bull, out of any herd, in England or America, so long as it comes up to herd book requirements, and there are none to say ‘‘thou shalt not!’? In this liberty lies the seed of all true progress, all lasting success.

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP’’ 1075

Modern English Herefords.—It will be noted that our detailed narration of the Herefordshire side of this story ended with the general suspension of im- portations about 1890. Writing as we are for Amer- ican readers and limited as we must be in the matter of space, it has been found quite impracticable to refer specially to what has been doing in more recent years in the old home of the breed. The truth is that our own breeders have felt for a long time past that they had actually passed their colleagues across the sea in the matter of the elevation of the Hereford standard of merit.

And yet the old blood is still doing its wondrous work over there in the beautiful Severn vale. Handed down from father to son, as in the days of old, prized and preserved as the proudest pos- session a Herefordshire farmer can boast, undis- turbed by the ceaseless rise and fall of prices, un- moved by any extraneous influence whatsoever, the descendants of the Hereford fathers, staunch de- fenders of their heritage, are still producing cattle the equal of any that have hitherto been seen in their native pastures or in the great forum of the Royal showyard. This is clearly indicated by the illustrations of recent prize-winners reproduced in these pages.

And in acknowledging our debt to these steadfast men of Hereford, notwithstanding the claim that we have evolved here a more uniform type of cat- tle, let us not be hasty in declaring our inde- pendence. Great as have been our results in the

1076 A HISTORY. OF HEREFORD CATTLE

blending and doubling of the Anxiety, Garfield and other bloods of the old importations, we do not have to go back far to meet the March Ons in the hands of VanNatta, Funkhouser and their contem- poraries; and—lest we forget— Kirk Armour brought out from England in comparatively recent

o by Sports and General Press Agency, London AVONDALE, HIS MAJESTY THE KING’S ROYAL WINNER OF 1914.

years the mother of Perfection Fairfax! So let ‘us, while rejoicing in the marvelous character: of our modern American-bred Hereford, not forget that the highest development in the future, as in the past, is most likely to attend-a resort to the best material the entire breed affords, regardless of in- ternational boundaries or blue water.

Complete liberty of selection, limited only by the

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP’”’ 1077

entire Hereford body, both at home and abroad, is the surest way of retaining present excellence and insuring future progress. Proud as we may well be of what we have already accomplished, let us not wrap ourselves up in the mantle of infalli- bility or self-sufficiency but rather keep minds and hearts open for the reception of all that is of proved goodness wherever and whenever it may be found.

Conclusion.—And so our story ends—leaving- off, as it began, with a reference to the old home across the sea. It seems but yesterday that we wandered first among the green fields and apple blossoms of Hereford, but this attempt at following the for- tunes of the white-faced cattle has surely led us far and held us long. Our survey of their origin, devel- opment and wide distribution up to date, incom- plete and fragmentary as it is, must now be brought to a conclusion. Not even all the ‘‘high spots’’ have been touched. Much that should by right have found a place in a volume of this character remains untouched. There is therefore only this to be said:

Nothing that any man has ever done to further the cause of the Hereford cattle, whether it be set forth in written page or not, can ever be really lost. The Herefords of today are the sum total of all the effort that has been put upon them from the days of Ben Tomkins and his predecessors up to now. The mark of every owner, for good or for evil, is on the breed as it stands. Whether public acknowl- edgement be made or not, the impress of even the least of those who have assumed the responsibility

1078 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE

of handling these good cattle has been left upon them. The Herefords of today are what they are by reason only of the skill, or lack of skill, of those who have received them as an inheritance from the generations gone before. And if we may judge of the work of American Hereford breeders as a whole by the type as it exists in our western states as we bring these notes to a conclusion, we may-conscien- tiously enter up the verdict: ‘‘Well done, good and faithful servants.’’

The history of live stock husbandry affords no ac- count of stewardship more honestly, more faith- fully fulfilled. American breeders in particular, prone as they are to be influenced by the coming and going of remunerative prices, and not specially inclined to travel in the footsteps of their fathers in any calling, have certainly in this case kept the faith, conserving loyally the material handed down by those who have gone before. Mindful of the debt they owe both to the past and the future, they have not only upheld the highest standards of the olden days, but possibly have set the mark of finish, breed character, quality and prepotency at levels never heretofore attained.

But, after all, the most appealing note developed by this narration is that which records the courage and the bravery of the Hereford wherever there has been peril to be faced on cattle ranges!

Throughout all the world, wherever, in order to improve upon a native stock, there has been a for- lorn hope to be led—whether on the ice-bound banks

THE ‘‘ROUND-UP”’ 1079

of the Saskatchewan, in the desolation of dusty deserts, under equatorial suns, in Australian bush or upon African veld—there has the lion-hearted Hereford practically walked alone!

Over-lord of the grazing world! Pathfinder of the sands and snows! Filler of feedlots and generous provider of prime beef! From the grass-roots of the plains and prairies that have known the touch of thy hardy hoof more gold has sprung than has ever yet been wrested from all the rocks and rivers of thy vast western kingdom!

THE END.

THE GOMING OF THE GATTLE.

[PuBLisHER’s Note.—While the author of this volume was writing the concluding paragraphs of the chapter entitled “The Long Trail’, he began, purely for his own mental diversion, a Hiawathan imitation having as its motive the dramatic phases of the expulsion and virtual extinction of the Indian tribes, the buffalo and the countless other “children” of the western wilder- ness that followed the general occupation of the ranges. The first crushing reverses suffered by the cattle, the lessons learned by the pioneer cattlemen through over-stocking and general lack of foresight, and above all the re-formation of their lines under the leadership of the hardy Hereford, supplied the material for its elaboration.

The real story is, of course, already concluded, and the author naturally feels that none but himself can have any special interest in “The Coming of the Cattle’. The publishers do not assume to pass upon the presence or absence of literary merit in the composition. It was, as above indicated, not intended for publica- tion. They do believe nevertheless that as an unconventional portrayal of the Hereford’'s greatest achievement up to date, the adherents of the great grazing breed may possibly wish to possess the fanciful picture painted.]

Ever as the evening shadows

Deepen o’er the plains and prairies, Ever as the darkness gathers

’Round the foot-hills and the mountains, in the fire-light there are phantoms,

In the pine-trees mystic murmurs,

Spirit voices calling ever

From the land beyond the sun-set.

There is moon-light on the mesa, Stars are shining o’er the sages, And the night-wind from the desert Bears upon its wings the wailing Of the red men in their lodges, Of the dwellers in the caifions, Of the children of the vegas, Of the bison on the meadows, Of.the grizzlies in the gulches, Of the wolves upon the barrens; And forever in the gloaming As the Great Bear watches o’er them Can be heard their plaintive story Of the peace upon the ranges, Of the fatness of the grazing, Of the plenty in the valleys, Of the shelter in the forest In the days before the coming Of the pale-face and the cattle.

1080

Countless moons had passed. above them, Nature’s creatures of the dry-lands, And their comrades of the high-lands. Generations came and vanished;

Still there came naught to appal them.

Feared they not the fangs of winter, Nor the flaming breath of summer, For the North-wind was their keeper And the South a loving mother;

And the wandering breezes told not, And the rippling rivers sang not

Of the evil days impending.

But the thunder clouds were hanging Heavy o’er the hapless races.

Moons of plenty shine not always, Bluest skies at last are blackened, Lightnings hover in the sunshine, Longest trails must have an ending. And there came the day of waking.

Signs portentous in the heavens, Fires by night and clouds at noon-day,

Copyright phote by Erwin E. Smith “Fires by night and clouds at noon-day.’”’ -

Told of trampling hosts advancing, From the distant Rio Grandé. 1081

Hoofs were heard along the Brazos, Horns were tossing on the Pecos! From the far-off Southern pastures, From the waters of the Concho, From the grassy realms of Texas,

Day by day in countless numbers Pressed the cattle to the conquest. Northward, Westward, ever Northward, Toward the sunny plains of Kansas, Toward the walls of Colorado.

Night by night their bed-grounds found them Nearer still and always nearer

To the nameless unknown perils

Of the Northland they had entered

On the trails that led not- backward.

Not the pangs of thirst nor hunger, Not the Northern storm-clouds’ warning, Not the stampede in the darkness,

Not the seas of fire that threatened

On the wind-swept blazing prairies Stayed them in their great migration

As they journeyed ever onward

.. Toward the sand hills of Nebraska, Toward the Bad Lands of Dakota, Northward, Westward, ever Northward.

And the Chinook came to cheer them. Higher still and ever higher

Newer pastures bloomed and beckoned. Where the Yellowstone was flowing, Where the wide Missouri -wandered, Where Montana’s peaks were gleaming, Where the Big Horn dreamed of battle, Where Wyoming’s highest ranges

Led up to the lofty passes,

To the parting of the waters,

Came the cow-men and their é¢attle, Came the bronco and the buster,

Came the camp-fire and the cabin, Came the round-up and the branding.

Where the silent snowy summits

Guard the Colorado’s sources,

Where the darkly-frowning forests

Hide the Rio Grandé’s fountains,

Lo, the west wind came a-sighing, 1082

Copyright photo ty Erwin E. Smith “Came the bronco and the buster.”’

Came a-telling of the coming

Of the cattle to the empire

That belonged to Montezuma

In the days before the Spaniards. Told of hoof-prints of the Longhorn And of lowing herds a-basking

In the sunshine everlasting, Where the antelope and bison

And the cliff-men of the cafions Had for ages all unbroken Roamed and reared their happy children.

Vainly had the dread Mojavé, Vainly had the high Sierra Stayed the coming of the cattle

On the trail of Coronado;

For they failed not in their daring *Til beyond the burning desert Far beyond the jagged sky-line

In a flowery land and fruitful Billows beating on the sand-dunes, Thundering on the rocky headlands, Marked the ending of the grazing.

From their ancient haunts the hunted Creatures that the wild had nurtured, Driven from their lands and waters, Now in sullen stealth retreated

To their secret rocks of refuge, Calling on their sleeping war-gods: Prayed that elemental furies

Might be loosed upon the ranges.

And the strangers all unconscious

That the earth would soon be shaking With the anger of the heavens

Went their way in peace and feared not.

As the eagle from his eyrie

Hurls himself upon his quarry,

As the arrow from the cord flies, As the lion on his prey springs, As a wounded herd bull charging, So the wilderness revolted;

So did Manitou awaken,

Swift to punish and to chasten.

1084

Through the North-land Arctic demons Rode the frozen ice-bound ranges; Through the Southland fiery dragons Scourged the earth with blazing horrors. Then the drifting to the death-traps! Hopeless struggling of the helpless! Herds a-wreck from drouth and famine! Bleaching bones to tell the story!

As the spear by shield is shattered, As the shore turns back the waters, As the rock resists the torrent,

So the wild enforced her mandates, Claimed her tribute of the reckless, Taught the lesson of the ages. Nature brooks not mad defiance!

But the earth renewed its fruitage. Sunbeams dancing on the ranges, Waters from the purple mountains, Soft airs from the Western ocean, Called the grasses from their slumbers, Clothed again the world with verdure. And again the herds were gathered, Not with folly in the councils,

Not with blind chiefs in the saddles. Children scorched by fire have wisdom.

On the trails that led not backward Once again the cattle entered; Once again the herds were scattered Far and wide across the pastures; At their head a pale-faced stranger Staunch of limb and lion-hearted, From beyond the deep sea waters, From the distant shores of England. His the heritage of ages

From the hills of grim Glamorgan; His the power that was descended Through the Hereford generations, From the wearing of the burdens

Of the yoke of heavy hauling, From a life of toil and travail

In the service of his masters.

Proud the bearing of this chieftain

As he armed them for the battle; Wrapped them in red robes of courage, Bound them by the ties of kindred

1085

As of tribes by blood united;

Filled them with his dauntless spirit, Taught them how to meet privations, Taught them how to face the northers, Winter’s stress and summer’s terrors;

Copyright photo by Erwin E. Smith “At their head a pale-faced stranger.’’

Fought their fight through many perils, Led them bravely through all dangers, Grasped dominion of the ranges,

Held them in secured possession, Brought the cattle to their kingdom.

1086

As the leaves fall in October,

As the stream dies in the quicksands, As the snow melts in the sun rays, So the children of the open,

Of the mountain, plain and valley,

Copyright photo by Erwin E. Smith “Fled before the conquering cattle.’’

Fled before the rail and rifle,

Fled before the conquering cattle, Farther still and ever farther

To the bosom of the river

That is bearing them forever Through the land of the Hereafter.

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