UNIVERSITY OF B.C. LIBRARY 3 9424 05125 133 5 ^ICBAGE llEM VhCCESSlh G-CNE Lpl-E1»G u.e.c. UBRARY THE LIBRARY THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 witin funding from University of Britisii Columbia Library http://www.archive.org/details/westerngrazinggOObarn WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES A HOEWaCO.EALTIMO Water color by N. Brenizer Lupine {Lupmus) Western Grazing Grounds AND Forest Ranges A HISTORY OF THE LIVE-STOCK INDUSTRY AS CONDUCTED ON THE OPEN RANGES OF THE ARID WEST. WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE USE NOW BEING MADE OF THE RANGES IN THE NATIONAL FORESTS BY WILL C. BARNES INSPECTOR OF GRAZING U. S. FOREST SERVICE s®: CHICAGO: THE BREEDER'S GAZETTE 1913 COPYRIGHT. 19i;i. SANDERS PUBLISHINt; CO. All rights reserved. TO ALBERT F. POTTER. Associate Forester and Chief of Grazing United States Forest Service, who, through his practical experience on the western ranges, and genius for organization, buih up from the very foundation, without precedent or guide, a system of controlled grazing on the national forest ranges, that will always be a monument to his ability, judgment and foresight. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PREFACE 15-19 LIST OF BOOKS CONSULTED 20 CHAPTER I— THE EARLY WESTERN P.ANGE. Early events — The genesis of the trail herds — The buf- falo— The stockman's westward advance — The inevita- ble happens — The era of re-adjustment — Advent of the sheepmen — Range wars — A sample attack — Govern- ment control of grazing lands — Curtailment of the open range — The new era 21-32 CHAPTER II — PROGRESS OF THE RANGE BUSINESS. The southern steer trade — Southern steers in the north — Curtailment of northern movement — Southern lamb trade — Grasses and forage of the southern ranges — Alfileria — Semi-desert range of the south — Higher ranges of the southwest — Southwestern grasses — Black grama grass — Sacaton — The sages — Prickly pear — Feeding mistletoe — Mountain forage — The northern desert ranges — The northern range — Features of north- ern range — Spring ranges — Carrying capacity of ranges — Horses the worst grazers — Range for cattle 33-80 CHAPTER III — COMING OF THE SETTLERS. Extension of holdings — Displacing stockmen — Early settle- ment in the Great Plains region — The settlers' second attack on the arid region — Success of the settlers — The Mormons — Nesters — Dry farmers 81-90 CHAPTER IV— LIVE STOCK ON THE RANGE. Live stock in United States— Live stock in western states — Short-horns on the range— The advent of Herefords — Early horses of the plains — Stockmen's horses — Mus- tangs— Wrong use of names — Sheep introduced — Early shepherding — Impress of the Merino — Securing mutton type — Angoras — Hogs on the ranges 91-113 CHAPTER V — HANDLING CATTLE ON THE RANGE. Number of range outfits — Past and present range condi- tions— Old time equipment — The bog rider — Developing water — Range methods — Herds not large — Branding the calves — Night guard duty — Brand inspectors — Loading for market — Loss of "downers" — Hay-fed cattle — Rule for measuring hay 114-139 7 O WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES CHAPTEH VI — HANDLING SHEEP ON THE IIANGE. Lamb feeding — Rise in price for lambs — Advance in wool prices — Increase in cost of production — Grazing leased lands — Double profit from sheep — Time of shearing — - Weight of fleece — Dipping — Time of lambing— Lambing grounds — The herder's work — Marking — Castrating — Docking — Night herding — Following the "drop band" — Lambing in tents — A critical period — Moving to mountain pastures — Weight of lambs — Shipping the sheep — Size of bands — Bedding down at night — Sheep in fenced pastures 140-160 CHAPTER VII — GOATS ON THE RANGE. Kids are tender — -Little herding needed — Common goats breed best — Shearing and dipping 161-163 CHAPTER VIII — DETERMINING THE AGE OF STOCK. The mouth test for cattle — Horn buttons — Rings — Age of horses — Age of sheep 164-172 CHAPTER IX — RANGE STOCK MANAGEMENT. Objections to repeated use of bed grounds — Salting stock — Salt and sulphur — Kind of salt to use — Effect of exces- sive salt — The salt lakes — Making a salt lick — Salt- hungry cattle raid camps — Source of friction- — -Experi- ments with salt — Bulls on range — Number of bulls to cows — Age of usefulness — Dehorning cattle — Dehorning the calves — Value of dehorned cattle — Marking cattle — Ear and lip tattoo — Earmarking — Castrating — Usual methods — Keeping tab on sex — Earmarks — Brand books — Brands — Names of brands — Changing brands — Pick- ing over brands 17-'5-198 CHAPTER X — COST OF RUNNING STOCK ON RANGES. Cost of grazing cattle — Cost with sheep — Basis of estimates — Investment necessary — Other cost factors — Cost of raising sheep — Factors equalizing costs — Tables of Tariff Board 199-J07 CHAPTER XI — STOCK ON RANGES IN NATIONAL FORESTS. Timber the first consideration — Liberal policy followed — Improving the ranges — Elimination of tramp stockmen — Tramp sheepmen in California — Changing from cattle to sheep — Cattle vs. sheep — The permit system — New settlers — The cash value of permits — Permits non-sal- able and non-transferable — Permits for more than one year — Drifting of stock onto forests — Fencing privi- leges— Fees moderate — Possibility of competitive bids — ■ Result of competitive bids — Exchanging lands — Stock losses less — Policy of Government growing in favor ... 208-225 TABLi: OF CONTENTS V CilAPTEH XII— THE CAKIO OF THE KANOIO. Bui'iiiiiy off a range — Range erosion — Over-stocking' — Suc- cess in handling the range — Restoring former range conditions — Reseeding a range — Over-grazing vs. close grazing 2l!6-:;45 CHAPTER XIII— POISONOUS PLANTS. Herders should be posted — Remedies — Permanganate of potash — Poisons do not affect all animals alike — Bloat — Loco — Loco symptoms — Remedies — Larkspurs — Lupines — Death camas — Water hemlock — Aconite — Scrub oak — Pingue — Rubber weed — Ergot — Sneeze weed — Choke cherry — Sleepy grass — Fox tail and squirrel tail grass. 246-273 CHAPTER XIV — SYMPTOMS AND REMEDIES. Bloat — Remedies — Loco — Remedies — Larkspurs — Lupines — Camas — Water hemlock — Oaks — Ergot — Sneeze weed — Choke cherry — Pingue — Kafir corn and sorghum 274-281 CHAPTER XV — DISEASES OF LIVE STOCK 282-285 CHAPTER XVI— THE DISEASES OF CATTLE. Blackleg — Remedial measures — Texas fever — Scabies or mange 28«-303 CHAPTER XVII — DISEASES OF SHEEP. Scabies — Remedies — Dips in use — Lip and leg ulceration. .. 304-309 CHAPTER XVIII— DISEASES OF HORSES. Colic — Engorgement or obstruction colic — Wind colic — Azo- turia — Remedies — Snake bites — Glanders or farcy ... .310-319 CHAPTER XIX— INSECT PESTS. Insect pests — Heel flies 320-326 CHAPTER XX— PP.EDATORY ANIMALS IN THE WEST. Coyotes — Wild cats and lynxes — Wolves and mountain lions — Bears — Trapping and poisoning predatory animals — Scents — Poisons — Prairie dogs — Poison for killing prairie dogs 32 7-3 IT CHAPTER XXI— SADDLE HORSES ON THE RANGE. Type of horse for range work — Gaits — The American saddle horse 348-354 CHAPTER XXII— HORSE EQUIPMENT FOR RANGE WORK. Saddles — Bits and bridles— Blankets — Rope — Spurs and Quirts — Hobbles — Pack saddles — Hitches — Now for the hitch 35.-1-37,^ APPENDIX. Grazing bill — A few definitions 377-384 ERRATA. Page 172. Lines 22 and 23. Read "This gives the sheep eight incisors, the same as the cow, and two more than the horse." Page 254. Line 20. For "paunching or riimenotomy" read "tapping." Page 255. Line 4 and subsequent. For "canula" read "cannula." Page 277. Line 6. For "eight ounces of water" sub- stitute "one to two drams of distilled water" for the hypo- dermic dose. Page 279. Add to Symptoms of Ergot. "The poison in cattle acts more slowly, causing sloughing sores about the fetlock, and may induce sloughing of horns, tail or hoofs. Abortion may also be caused. These facts are perhaps a little more noticeable in the central west than in the range country, but are indicated in both regions." Page 312. In lines 12 and 13 substitute "one dram of calomel" for "two drams." A safer dose still is raw lin- seed oil. Page 313. Line 20. For "a teaspoonful of ordinary morphine or opium" read "laudanum or tincture of opium." The hypodermic dose for an adult horse is three to six grains, four grains usually sufficing. By mouth, two to ten grains is the rule. A teaspoonful of ordinary morphine or opium would prove fatal. Page 319. At the close of line 19 insert the following: "All cases of this disease should be reported immediately to local and state authorities. State and federal laws pro- vide for the control of the disease, but ranchmen in par- ticular are apt to be careless relative to the observation of the law. For that reason the disease often comes from the far west." LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Lupine (Lupinus) in Colors Frimtispiece The Old Type of Texas Long-horn Steer 23 The Certain Result of Overgrazing 32 A Typical Southwestern Mountain Valley Range in the Yel- low Pine Region 37 A Desert, or Mesquite Range, Near Tucson, Ariz 41 Alfileria (Erodium cicutarium), "Filaree" 42 Galleta (Hilaria rigida), Pronounced Guy-et-ta 44 Needle or Dogtown Grass (Aristida longiseta) 45 Buffalo Grass (Bulbilis dactyloides) 46 Curly or Creeping Mesquite (Hilaria cenchroides) 47 Bermuda Grass (Capriola dactylon) 4S Blue Grama Grass (Bouteloua oligostachya) 51 Hairy Grama Grass (Bouteloua vestita) 52 Black Grama Grass (Muhlenbergia porteri) 53 Sacaton (Sporobolus airoides), Sometimes Called Salt Grass. .. 55 Sweet Sage or "Winter-fat" (Eurotia lanata) 56 Service Berry (Amelianchier alnifolia) 59 Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus parvifolius) 60 Semi-Desert Sage Range in Wyoming 62 Prairie June Grass (Koeleria cristata) 67 Bluestem or Western Wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii) 68 Mountain Bunch Grass (Festuca viridula) 69 Bridges Built to Cross Sheep Over the Boise iRiver in Idaho AND Black's Fork, Utah, Uinta National Forest 71 Bluegrass (Poa pretensis) 73 Foxtail ( Hardeum murin'um ) 74 Broncho Grass (Bromus rubens) 75 Festuca Myuros (Sometimes Called Poverty Grass) 76 A Typical Western Stock Ranch (in Utah) S3 Type of Short-horn Bull 93 Type of Devon Bull 94 Type of Hereford Bull 94 Type of Angus Bull 95 Type of Galloway Bull 96 A Pen of Shropshires 100 A Pair of Lincolns 101 Hampshire Sheep 101 Rambouillet Rams 102 A Cotswold Ram 105 A Band of Common New Mexico Goats 107 11 12 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES Angoras on Brushy Hillsides in Arizona 108 The Chaparejos with the Goat Skin Front Are More Theatri- cal than Practical 117 The "Bog Rider" at "Work. Pulling a Cow Out of a Bog Hole . . 121 A New Mexico Round-up Outfit and an Old-Time Chuck %Vagon 1^4 "Stoop as You Near the Average Cow Pont." 12 5 The Cattle are Bunched in One Great Herd at the Round-up Ground 127 A Day Herd 128 A Round-up Outfit Branding Calves 129 "They Are Roped and Dragged to the Fire" 130 Putting a "Butt" Brand on a Calf 131 "A Quick Jerk and the Animal Lands Upon Its Side'' 132 The "Sqeeze Chute" for Branding and Dehorning 133 ■U'estern Inspectors Examining Brands of Steers 134 Yearling Steers in Yards at Magdalen a, N. M.. Awaiting In- spection 135 Loading Fat Steers in Colorado 137 A Sheep Wagon or Camp on Wheels in Wyoming 140 An Arizona "Sheep Wagon" — Burro Packed with Grub and Water 141 "An Average Hand Shearer Will Clip 60 to 70 Sheep Per Day" 145 "The Improved Machines Enable a Shearer to Handle 200 Sheep in an Eight-Hour Day" 146 Pens and Yards in Which Sheep are Dipped and Handled in Northern Arizona 148 A Band of Range Lambs and Ewes on a Hot Day 149 The "Galvanized Ewe" or Orphan Lambs Artificially Fed 150 A Lambing Tent in Oregon 153 In Heavy Timber "Cuts" May Occur, and the Band Should Not BE so Large as on the Open Range 155 A Herder Can Look After Many More Sheep on an Open Range Than on a Broken Range 157 A Coyote-Proof Fence in the Wallowa Mountains. Built by the Forest Service in Oregon 158, 159 A Pen of Angora Kids in New Mexico 162 Teeth of the Calf 164 Teeth of the Cow 165 Teeth of the Horse 168 Teeth of the Sheep 170, 171 "Hog Tied" — A Horse Tied Down for Branding or Doctoring... 182 Ear Marks 185 Brand Books 18G, 1S7, 1.S8, 1S9, 190, 191 Brands 192, 193, 194, 196, 197 "Down These Trails the Water Fi.vally Tore" 228 Old Stock Trails Washed Out, Forming Arroyos in Meadow Land 229 An Arizona Range After a Hard Spring 231 A Range of "Snake" or "Fire"" "^"eed Which Is Sometimes Mis- taken for Feed 237 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 13 Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomkrata) 239 Timothy (Phleum pratense) -'59 Red Top (Agrostis ai-ba) -■!'• Hungarian Brome Grass (Bromus inermis) 2 11 Woolly or Purple Loco (Astragalus mollissimus), in colors, Facing page 25() White Loco or Rattle Weed in Flower (Aragallus lamberti) . . 2 57 Loco on the Range Near Albuquerque, N. M 258 A Locoed Animal Will Step High Over Anything — Even a Rope or a Trail 2 60 A Typical Locoed Animal 261 Purple Larkspur (Delphinium bicolor), in colors . I'^acing page 264 Death Camas (Zygadenus venenosus), in colors .. .Facing page 266 Water Hemlocck (Cicuta vagans), in colors Facing page 267 Aconite (Aconitum columbianum), Monk's Hood, in colors, Facing page 268 Portion of a Steer's Hide, Showing the Texas-fever Tick 295 Dorsal and Ventral Views of the Texas-fever Tick 299 Dipping Cattle in Oklahoma for Texas-fever Ticks Ii02 After Being Dipped, the Sheep Pass Through a Dripping Pen at the End 307 The Heel Fly ( Hyporderma lineata) 322 A Bogged Down Cow Overlooked by the "Bog Riders" 323 'l^HE Camp of Two Government Hunters in the Boise National Forest 328 A Coyote in a Trap 329 "The Lion is Difficult to Trap But Easy to Capture with Hounds'' 331 A Prairie Dog Mound in an Alfalfa Field 341 Note the Nose Marks Made in the Wet Soil When the Prairie Dogs Repair Their Mounds 341 Distributing Prairie Dog Poison 345 An Awkward Way to Mount 352 The Proper Way to Mount — "Ready to Swing Into the Saddle". 353 The Low Horn Texas Tree, Weight, 40 Pounds 355 The Swelled Fork Tree 355 The McClellan Saddle 356 The California Saddle 356 Spanish Bits 358 StuRS 362 The First Step in Hobbling 363 The Second and Third Step in Hobbling 364 Pack Saddles 366 The Hitch 371, 372 Pack Pockets 374 A First-Class Job of Packing 365 Packing Down a Mountain Side 367 A Handy Bed Pack, Sometimes Called the "Oregon Wind" 369 PREFACE. Every author believes that the book which he is plac- ing before the public will "fill a long-felt want," and success or failure depends very much on how closely he has been able to gauge the nature of the "long-felt want." In writing this book, I have had in view the de- mand for some practical work on the grazing side of their profession by the young men who are entering or preparing to enter the Forest Service of the United States. The science of forestry is a new one to the most of us, and the conditions here are so very different from those in older countries, where it has been studied for many years, that we are forced to meet and solve many new problems for which there are no precedents or es- tablished rules. Among the most perplexing questions which the student of forestry must cope with here is that of utilizing the area included in the National For- ests so as to get for the people the full value of all its resources. One of the greatest of these resources is the feed and forage which will furnish sustenance for millions of cattle, horses and sheep. Like the "wheel that will not turn with the water that has passed," this feed must be used as it grows each season or be forever wasted. It cannot be stored or saved for future use. From the first settlement of this country the pioneers have used the vacant lands about them for grazing their stock with little or no supervision or restraint, and no 15 16 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES scheme which presumes to lock up these grazing areas against the coming of the settlers' herds will ever meet with the approval of the American people. It is true we must have trees and lumber, but we must first of all be fed, and the meat-producing powers of the grasses growing on these forested areas are entirely too valu- able to be overlooked or ignored. Therefore it is well that this has been recognized at the beginning of our forestry work, and careful plans laid to utilize every spear of grass and bit of forage where it may be done without defeating the original purpose of establishing the National Forests. Heretofore those handling the grazing side of this work have been drawn from that class of men who have all their lives been identified with stockraising — practical men accustomed to the range and understand- ing the needs of stockmen from a utilitarian rather than a scientific standpoint. But this source of supply can- not always be depended upon. The author believes the two matters go hand in hand, and that there is room for the trained forester and the trained grazing man on the same platform. Scientific as well as practical for- estry demands men educated especially for the work, and the young fellows who are graduating from our forestry schools will eventually fill the places on the for- ests now held by graduates from the western school of "hard knocks," the course of which, for most of them, covered many long and weary years before they re- ceived their diplomas. These young graduates cannot of course have any great knowledge of the practical side of the stockman's work, because so much of it must be learned from actual experience and every-day life on the ranges. Never- PREFACE 17 theless the author believes it possible to put the ex- perience of thirty years' handling live stock on the open ranges under all sorts of conditions into a book that will be of some practical use and benefit to these stu- dents and others engaged in the work. So far as pos- sible, I have endeavored to write things down from the practical point of view, and to put them in language that would not smother their meaning in a haze of scien- tific or professional expressions. The chapters on poisonous plants and range grasses will, I trust, be found of value, not only to the forest man but to the stockman. In my experience I have found few stockmen who could identify by their proper names even the commonest grasses on their ranges or the various plants poisonous to stock, and I hope that the illustrations and plates scattered through the work will furnish a means of identifying them that will make the book of value for that, if nothing more. It is possible that the trained botanist will find errors in my classifi- cation of some of the plants. I have made every effort to check up each one of them and make certain they were correct, but in several instances I found that the scien- tists themselves did not all agree as to their proper names. In the chapter on diseases of animals I have only tried to show the plainest symptoms of the ordinary diseases that afifect live stock as they appear to a stock- man and not a veterinarian. It is of course impossible to have a veterinarian at hand for every sickness that the stockman finds among his domestic animals, and it is to cover these emergency cases that I have written. Most of the remedies are those to be found in every stock-owner's cabin, and if not they should be there. To the forest ranger, out in the hills with his saddle 18 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES horses and possibly a milk cow or two, I deemed this information of unusual value, because of his isolation and dependence upon his own efforts to relieve the suf- fering animal. Most of these remedies have been tried by myself or used by others under my own observation. In handling the various sections of the country in regard to the ranges it has not been possible to cover every state, but I have taken some specific well-known range . and "let it answer for that region as a whole. Doubtless many readers will wonder why such and such a plant or bush, prominent on his immediate range, has not been mentioned. Because of lack of room, many forage plants and grasses have been omitted, but I be- lieve those which have been included are the species most generally found through the range country, and it was out of the question to mention them all. In run- ning down the local names for many grasses and browse I have found different names for the same plant very common. Buck brush in California is not the buck brush of either Arizona or Montana, while there are as many different kinds of bunch grasses as there are states in the West. The chapter covering saddle horses, saddle equip- ment and packing is for the jjenefit of the beginner who may want some information on these subjects as a guide to his investments in such things. The author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to many friends for advice on matters connected with the work, and especially to Mr. Frederick Coville, Dr. A. S. Hitchcock, Dr. R. H. True and C. D. Marsh of the Biweau of Plant Industry and James T. Jardine of the Forest Service, whose kind suggestions upon matters on which they are so well posted has been of great benefit. PREFACE 19 I have also received much assistance which I desire frankly and gratefully to acknowledge, from the many Government publications written by such well-known authorities as David Grififiths, F. Lamson-Scribner, V. K. Chestnut, E. V. Wilcox, Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Ver- non Bailey, James T. Jardine, Richard W. Hickman, D. E. Salmon, Herbert T. Osborn, C. D. Marsh and others, who are always so reliable and thorough in their inves- tigative work. In identifying the various plants and grasses the work "American Grasses," by F. Lamson- Scribner, constituting Division of Agrostology Bulletins Nos. 7, 9, 17 and 20, has been of the greatest assistance and frequently consulted. The labor involved in getting together the material for this volume has been consideral)le, but the pleasure derived and the information gained, made it indeed a labor of love and well worth while. If the book is of use to the young men who are taking up forestry as their life-work, in assisting them to a better understand- ing of some of the many problems which they will meet in handling grazing matters upon the forests, or to stock- men themselves in managing their herds, the writer will feel well repaid for his work. WILL C. BARNES. AWishington. D. C, July, 1913. 20 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES LIST OF BOOKS CONSULTED. The author gladly acknowledges his indebtedness to the writers of the following publications, among the many others which he has consulted in getting together the material for this book: "American Grasses/" Buls. 7, 9, 17 and 20, Division of AgrostologJ^ Department of Agriculture ; F. Lamson-Scribner. "A Protected Stock Range in Arizona/' Bui. 177, Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture ; David Griffiths. "Coyote Proof Pasture Experiment^" Cir. 160, Forest Service, Depart- ment of Agriculture ; J. T. Janline. "Destruction of Wolves and Coyotes/' Cir. 63, Bureau of Biological Survey ; Vernon Bailey. "Diseases of Cattle/' Issued by Department of Agriculture. "Diseases of Horses," Issued by Department of Agriculture. "Forest Trees of the Pacific Slope/' G. B. Sudworth. "Insects Affecting Domestic Animals/' Bui. 5, New Series, Division of Entomologj', Department of Agriculture ; Herbert Osborn. "Loco Disease of the Plains^" Bui. 112, Bureau of Animal Industry; C. D. Marsh. "Methods of Eradicating Cattle Ticks," Cir. 110, Bureau of Animal Industry ; L. A. Klein. "Pasturage System for Handling Range Sheep/' Cir. 178, Forest Service ; J. T. Jardine. "Principal Poisonous Plants of the United States/' Bui. 20, Di- vision of Botany, Department of Agriculture. "Scabies of Cattle/" Farmers' Bui. 152 ; Richard W. Hickman. "Scab in Sheep/' Farmers' Bui. 159; D. E. Salmon and C. W. Stiles. "Some Poisonous Plants of the Northern Stock Ranges/' Year- book, Department of Agriculture, 1900 ; V. K. Chestnut. "Stock Poisoning Plants of Montana/' Bui. 26, Division of Botany, Department of Agriculture ; V. K. Chestnut and E. V. Wilcox. "Texas or Tick Fever and Its Prevention^" Farmers' Bui. 258 ; John R. Mohler. "The Larkspurs as Poisonous Plants," Bui. Ill, Part 1, Bureau of Plant Industry ; G. H. Crawford. "The Prairie Dog of the Great Plains/' Yearbook, Department of Agriculture, 1901 ; C. Hart Merriam. "The Red Desert of Wyoming/' Bui. 13, Division of Agrostology, De- partment of Agriculture ; Aven Nelson. "Thirty Poisonous Plants of the United States," Farmers' Bui. 86 ; Chestnut. CHAPTER I. THE EARLY WESTERN RANGE. From the time of the Pilgrim Fathers down to the present day one of the greatest resources of the United States has been the natural grasses and forage plants upon which millions of domestic animals are annually supported. Owing to the nature of the grasses and herb- age, the business of the grazier was not developed in the eastern portion of the United States to the same ex- tent as in the states lying west of the Missouri River. The climatic conditions in the eastern states made it impossible to utilize the grasses all the year round, ex- cept by harvesting them and storing the crop away for winter use. In the more arid sections west of the Missouri, known as the region of the Great American Desert, are found grasses that cure on the ground in the pure dry air, while a shortage of rainfall allows them to lie on the ground without serious deterioration. Here in this desert coun- try are also found the great family of the sages and many other forage plants of more or less value known as "browse" the "cha-mi-za" of the Spanish herders. Early Events. — As early as 1800, before the tide of settlers had crossed the summit of the Alleghanies, the Spanish had established themselves on the far west coast from San Diego north, and their herds of cattle, 21 22 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES sheep and horses covered the ranges in great numbers. In 1834, according to Dana in his "Two Years Before the Mast," a single trading vessel picked up in one trip no less than 40,000 steer hides at three California ports, San Diego, Monterey and Santa Barbara. Little effort was made by these early graziers to grow feed for their animals. They simply allowed them to scatter over the hills and plains of the Pacific Slope where the unlimited ranges afforded plenty of feed to meet all in- crease without danger of overstocking. With the gradual settlement of the coast country, due to the rush of gold seekers, and the increase in the herds, the owners began to crowd over the summit of the Sierras with their stock into Nevada and across deserts and mountains into Arizona. While this east- erly movement was taking place on the western slope, the hardy pioneers from the eastern part of the United States were pressing slowly out across the Mississippi River. They passed through Missouri and across the Missouri River into Kansas, where on those great sweep- ing plains the tide spread out fan-shape, working slowly and steadily westward. To the northwest they drifted through the states of Minnesota^ the Dakotas and Mon- tana ; to the southwest through what is now Oklahoma, across the staked plains of Texas to western Kansas and to Colorado. Another stream flowed in the track of the Mormon expedition, which in 1847 blazed the trail across the plains in an almost due westerl}^ course through the center of the then trackless and practically unknown American Desert until Utah was reached. The Genesis of the Trail Herds. — Probably the cradle of the range grazing business was in the great state of Texas, where the raising of cattle and horses, and later THE EARLY WIvSTERN RANGE 23 sheep, on the wonderfully grassed plains that stretched for unbroken leagues wherever one went, was under- taken on a business basis. V>y the time the first Pa- cific railroads began to work their way across the Kan- sas prairies, Texas had increased her herds until there was a glut of stock all oxer the state and it was almost worthless because of the lack of a market. In 1867 began the movement to relieve the Texas ranges of their surj)lus cattle by establishing those great The Old Type of Texas Long-horn Steer. trails from the south up through the staked plains, across the Indian Territory into Kansas. There they met the iron horse and found an opening to the eastern mar- kets. Thousands of long-horned steers grazed their way over the grassy plains, starting in the early spring from the southern ranges. There was no hurry and no 24 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES crowding of the animals ; they slowly fed their way to market, gaining flesh with every day's drive, seldom making more than eight or ten miles a day and arriving at their journey's end almost ready for beef. As the railroads forged westward the tide of emigra- tion followed. Farms were taken up ; lonely stations grew into towns and cities, and the cattlemen, seeking constantly the unfenced open ranges and fresh feed for the herds, moved westward with the end of the road. The Buffalo. — The first Pacific railroad, with its line of settlements, acted like a wedge in splitting the great herd of bufifaloes that covered the country in the early days in almost countless numl)ers. Gradually their annual migrations from the north to the south and back again ceased until there were two distinct bufTalo herds : a northern and a southern. Each was gradually exterminated through many causes, the chief of which doubtless was the wanton and incomprehen- sible lust of civilized man for killing. However, in the final analysis it was simply the sur- vival of the fittest, and the cattle and sheep belonging to the settlers were far more valuable as meat producers than the bufi:'aloes. The Stockman's Westward Advance. — In the latter part of the '70's the A\'est awoke to the opportunities ofifered for raising cattle and sheep upon the open ranges that lay west of the ^Missouri River, from the Mexican to the Canadian line. Great cattle companies were form- ed in the East and also in Europe, whose promoters went into Texas and bought thousands of long-horned cattle and moved them north onto the vacant ranges. iMillions were invested in the enterprise and for a few years millions were made, principally in speculation, promotion, and on paper. Till': i:ARr.v \vi:sTi-:RN rangI': 25 The stockmen of the West were a ])rodigal as well as a restless lot. With an almost unlimited world in front of them they resented the crowding- that began to de- velop, and there was a constant pushing forward fur- ther and further out into the prairies. They disputed with the Indian and the buffalo for the occupancy of the land, with the result that always follows wdiere the white man comes. The red man, and his friend the bufTalo, slowly melted away and eventually the advance guard from the far eastern coast met the tide of pioneer? from the west coast. In the Southwest they met along the Rio Grande in New IMexico and Colorado, while to the Northwest those that crowded over the Cascades in Oregon and Washington met the advancing tide from the East pouring over the backbone of the Rockies, and — ■ the frontier was no more. The Inevitable Happens. — Not an acre of the land was left unoccu])ied, and ranges that for permanent and regular use would have been overstocked with a cow to every 100 acres were loaded until they were carrying one to every ten. Into western Kansas, Nebraska, eastern Colorado, out into the Red Desert country of ^\'yoming and Utah, up across Montana and the two Dakotas clear to the Canadian line, they pres- sed in their mad search for grass. No one provided any feed for the winter, the owners preferring to risk the losses. Gradually the native grasses disappeared. As fast as a blade of grass showed above the ground some hungry animal gnawed it ofif. A few men sounded a note of alarm, but the most of the owners declined to realize the approaching disaster and drifted along in their fancied opulence. Then came the inevitable. The winter of 1886 saw 26 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES the almost total extinction of the industry in the north- western states. Thousands of cattle went into that win- ter never to see the spring flowers again. Great cattle companies with managers riding back and forth to the frontier towns in coaches and six, drawing princely sal- aries for doing nothing, went out of existence. Millions of dollars were lost beyond hope of recovery. A few years later, in 1893, the Southwest went through the same experience, and still greater losses were piled up against the industry. The Era of Readjustment. — Then there was a grad- ual readjustment of the business. Many of the great companies operating on borrowed money went to the wall, and the remnants of their herds were bought up by men whose faith in the business still was strong. From that time to this the business of raising cattle upon the open ranges has been a fluctuating one. Man's greed to obtain something for nothing has never yet been able to content itself with a moderate profit. Each man looked upon the grass of the range as something which he must grab before anyone else could reach it. Hence the grasses were given no chance to grow, and a few good years were followed by a bad one which wiped out all the profits. What the winter storms did not kill the "bog holes" caught in the spring. The Advent of the Sheepman.— Along in the early '90's the sheepmen began to gain a foothold on the ranges, especially in the northwestern states. Gradu- ally they forced the cows back from their old ranges, and many long-headed cowmen in sheer self-defence turned their cattle into sheep and joined the ranks of the wool-growers. The sheepman was much more able to cope with the elements than was the cattleman. He TiiK i:ak[a' wkstekn range 27 had his herd under his eye at all times, and could move it to better feed before the animals became too weak to travel. He also found out much earlier than did the cattleman that buying feed against a hard winter was money well invested. In many ways the sheepmen profited by the bitter experience of the cattlemen, and avoided many of their pitfalls. Thus the ranges were divided and in many of the states, especially Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, the sheepmen gradually forced the cattle interests into the background. Range Wars. — Bitter range wars followed. All over the Rocky Mountain region the conflicts between the two interests have cost many lives, both human and animal, together with great financial losses. Dead-lines were drawn by the cattlemen across which no sheepman could cross with his herd and not pay dearly for his temerity. In Arizona the Tonto Basin war waged for three years and cost more than thirty lives, besides keeping a whole country in a state of terror in the meantime. In western Colorado, especially in Routt county, the con- flict between the sheepmen and cattlemen over the use of the ranges has been a serious menace to both sides. In the Blue Mountains of Oregon thousands of sheep were killed by irate cattlemen, and in the Green River district of Wyoming there have been frequent whole- sale slaughterings of sheep. The sheepmen in turn swept across the ranges oc- cupied by cattle, leaving a wide swath as clean of vegeta- tion as if a fire had passed over it. Fierce conflicts fol- lowed such action. Herders were killed, camps raided or "shot up" and the sheep were taken from the herders 28 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES and scattered to the four winds a prey to coyotes. On one occasion several thousand were forced into a stream full of quicksands and boggy places, in which hundreds stuck and died like flies on sticky fly-paper. Saltpetre was scattered plentifully over salting grounds used by the cattle, which the salt-hungry sheep eagerly sought, and the saltpetre, harmless to the cattle, killed many sheep. A Sample Attack. — Once in northern Arizona ten bands of sheep, each with about 2,500 head, had swept across the ranges along the little Colorado River, ha- rassed by the cattlemen every foot of the way. But with an armed force of forty or fifty men as a guard, they were never seriously checked in their westward march. One night the whole outfit camped in one of the beau- tiful open parks under the shadow of the San Francisco peaks. The ten bands were bedded down in peace and quiet, when a hundred or more range horses, wild as deer, were driven among them, followed by fifteen or twenty cowboys whose yells and shots from their six- shooters sent the half-crazed horses down onto the sheep like a cyclone. The horses had been previously placed in a corral, and the boys had worked hard for several hours throw- ing and hog-tying a lot of them to prepare them for the "ceremony." Several horses had been decorated with dry raw hides tied hard and fast to their tails, while huge cowbells had been strapped about the necks of fif- teen or twenty more. The herders sprang to their feet and met the oncoming horses with shots from their rifles. This served rather to make the work of the ani- mals even more destructive, for they tore back and forth across the park into and out of the bands, leaving a Till': i:.\ur.v \vi'.sti:rx range 29 wake of dead and maimed sheep and throwing the whole 25,000 into one ahnost inextrical)le mass of bleating, ter- rified animals. As soon as the horses were well launched into the sheep the rascals who engineered the job swung around the place to a safe distance, while the horses finally drifted on into the darkness, leaving some dead; but this was a small loss in those days of cheap range horses. It took the sheep-herders a full week to untangle the mess and separate the various brands and marks into their respective ]:)ands. Nor were the sheepmen back- ward about obtaining revenge so far as lay in their power. While some of these predatory losses were great, still in the end they obtained the grass for their sheep, and had the satisfaction of knowing that their enemies suffered by the devastated ranges far more than did they from the loss of a few sheep. Happily, however, the days of such deeds have pas- sed. Today looking back over it one wonders what we were all thinking of and how it was that more lives w^ere not lost than were. Only those who have passed through these times can fully appreciate the reasons and causes which led up to such apparently lawless acts. There was no legal justification for any of them, and they were certainly discreditable to all concerned. In spite of all such attempts to curb its progress, the sheep industry has gone on almost without a pause, until today it is too firmly intrenched in the West to be disturbed or forced back by any other class of domestic stock. Government Control of Grazing Lands. — Then came the demand for some sort of Government control of the ranges. It came from the cattlemen at first, and for sev- eral years the sheepmen have refused to admit its value 30 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES or necessity. The results of rej^ulated grazing upon the various National Forests have however been a good ex- ample of what could be accomplished by some reasonable range control. Conflicts have been avoided; depleted ranges have been restored, and it is the boast of the For- est Service that not a single hostile shot has been fired between the two interests, nor any stock maliciously killed on the National Forests, since they were estab- lished. Today many of the leading sheepmen of the country believe that the permanence of their business will be guaranteed by a general supervision of the grazing ranges by some authority whose presence will prevent overstocking, too early grazing and complete destruction of the range, together with guaranteeing its fair division between all users. The only question in the matter is one of enforcement. On this point the sheepmen dif- fer. An obstructive majority demands to be let alone, although admitting many of the claims made by the more progressive. They are fearing they know not what in the administration of the law. They realize that the case is urgent, and that the patient needs attention. They concede the necessity for calling a doctor, but cannot agree as to w^hich doctor they should have. A law covering this question, drawn by men of both sides and believed to be as fair and just as such a law can be made, has been introduced in Congress. A copy of this bill is printed in this work to show exactly the points involved. Its passage depends wdiolly upon the amount of support it receives from the stockmen them- selves. At present the cattlemen are almost a unit for it, while a majority of the sheep interests are opposed to it. That it will some day become a law seems certain. TiiF. i:.\Rr,v \vf.sti:rx range 31 The Curtailment of the Open Range. — Within the last eight years the inroads made by irrigation systems and dry farmers have been serious, from the point of view of the stockman using the range. Vast areas hith- erto supposed to be fit only for grazing have been torn up by the farmer's plow, and while not all of it has been farmed, there is so much fencing on the ranges that por- tions of the rest cannot be utilized successfully. This is especially true in the Dakotas, New Mexico, western and northwestern Texas and Colorado, where thousands of cattle and sheep have been crowded from their ranges and forced onto the market, owing to the advances of "the man with the hoe." Still there are millions of acres that under no condi- tions now known to civilized man can possibly be used for any other purpose than for grazing stock. Hence its preservation from destruction, that it may continue to furnish its portion of feed for the western stockmen's herds, is a most vital problem for this country. The New Era. — The day of the "all-year-round" open range business has almost gone. In its place must come a proper utilization of the natural forage, supplemented by the crop of the farmer when, through drouth in sum- mer or pitiless storms in winter, the natural grasses and forage cannot be obtained. There may possibly be few- er but better cattle and sheep under these conditions. There will be more wool to the sheep and a higher grade, more weight to each steer and less waste in long horns and legs, fewer cheap horses and more worth $150, and more stockmen-farmers with great haystacks in the feed- yards as an insurance against winter losses. This briefly is the history of the open range stock business in the western United States. First came the 32 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES boom days, between 1877 and 1886, and then a period of reaction up to 1890, when the wool-growers began to gain a footing on the range. This was followed by a readjustment of the business to common-sense methods which, while bettering the industry in many ways, still lacks somewhat in permanence and stability. The final touch of some proper Government control or supervi- sion of the ranges would tend to place the industry upon a first-class business footing. The Certain Result ol' Overgrazing. CHAPTER II. PROGRESS OF THE RANGE BUSINESS. In the phraseology of the western stock-raiser, there are two distinct ranges — the southern or breeding range, and the northern or finishing range, sometimes called the steer range. Rroadly speaking, the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico and the southern half of Colorado constitute the southern or breeding range. The rest of the Rocky Mountain states form the northern or finishing range. After the great die-off in 1886 the stockmen of the northern range practically abandoned the raising of calves and turned their attention almost wholly to the handling of steers. The long cold winters were not well suited to the raising of calves under open range condi- tions, but the quality of the grasses found on those ranges gave a growth and finish to the young spindle- legged steers brought up from the southern breeding ground that made them almost ecjual to the corn-fed ar- ticle. The Southern Steer Trade. — Thus there grew up a regular trade between the two sections^ and young steers by the thousands were moved northward every spring from the southern ranges. The animals began their long journey in the cars, but owing to the lack of rail- road facilities the majority of them left the road and finished the trip on foot. 33 34 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES Cheyenne, Wye, was for several years a great point for the unloading of southern steers northward-bound, and later on Orin Junction, through the extension of the tracks, became the center of this business. Here the steers, thin in flesh and sore from their rough usage in the cars, were unloaded. After being decorated with their new owner's brand — some were branded in the Denver yards as they passed that point — they were started out on the trail for their destination. As the shipments were generally timed to bring them there with the early spring grass, they grazed their way, picking up in flesh from the day they started, so that by the time they reached their owners' ranges they were "on the mend" and gaining weight rapidly. Steers thus brought up were generally kept on the range for one winter and two summers, being marketed the second fall. Many of them, however, were "double- wintered" and not shipped until the third summer. If the season had been a good one this class of steers was eagerly snapped up by the exporters for foreign trade, being considered without any further finishing equal in every way to corn-fed cattle. Alany of the "single-win- tered" steers were also taken for this trade, but the larger part of them went to the feedlots of the cornbelt states like Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Ohio. Here with a short season of corn they come back onto the market a truly finished product. Southern Steers in the North. — At the beginning of the business the shipments were about equally divided between yearlings and two-year-olds. A few winters' ex- perience, however, satisfied the steermen that yearlings were not able to stand the first winter so well as two- year-olds, and eventually the majority of the shipments 'ROGRKSS OF Tlir: RANCF. IIUSIXF.SS 35 were confined to twos and threes. Tlie manner in whicli these young- southern steers "spread out" under the in- tluence of the hixuriant mirtliern grasses was surpris- ing. Steers that under ordinary conditions in tlie .^outh would never have weighed more than 900 ])ounds reached Chicago tipping- the l)eam at 1,250 pounds. The writer has seen shipments of his own steers — miserable little runty affairs sent up from Arizona, unloaded in the Chicago yards. After two winters in Montana, they had become great full-ribbed broad-backed fellows which but for the brand and ear-mark he never could ha\ e believed were the same animals. They were sold in .Xrizona for $12.50 each and brought in Chicago more than $75 per head, netting the c(Mn])any owning them about $40 each. Once thev reached the ranges there was very little loss on these two-year-olds from either weather conditions or other causes. The most severe losses were incurred during the shipment from the southern ranges. In order to reach the northern ranges early enough the steers ■were started on their journey in April and May when they were thin and weak. If cold storms were encoun- tered on the road the cattle were easily chilled, and died like flies. In 1894 one shipment which I recall lost 25 per cent of the bunch (>ne night in the Cheyenne yards, owing to a cold sleety rain which chilled them to the bone. Hundreds died even with plenty of hay before them Curtailment of Northern Movement. — Since 1906 this trade in southern steers has fallen off to a very great extent, due to several causes, the principal one being the curtailment of the open ranges in the Xorth through va- rious reasons — settlers and the inroads of the sheepmen — until the annual shipments do not amount to one-fifth of what they once were. 36 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES Meantime the northern cattleman has learned that with a full feedyard at his elbow he too can raise calves. The larger herds are gone, but there are thousands of small ow^iers who have gone back to breeding stock and are engaged in raising a superior grade of cattle for their ranges. The southern breeders now have found another out- let for their steers in the corn-producing states. There land in some sections is thought to be too high-priced to raise cattle on, and the farmers find it cheaper to go west and buy steers as yearlings or in many instances as calves, and force them to a quick finish on the very best of beef-producing materials. A Southern Lamb Trade. — The sheep interests in the Southw^estern ranges have opened up a trade in lambs which on the whole has been very profitable. The lambs raised there, especially in New Mexico, were found to be well suited for winter feeding. The lamb feeders around Fort Collins, Colo., and other points, where in recent years this branch of the business has grown to the dignity of a great industry, w^ere quick to realize their value. Probably three-quarters of a million lambs are shipped each fall from New IMexico ranges into the western lamb-feeding districts and even to the far east- ern feedlots. Their good health, fine feeding qualities and handy weight when fed makes them well fitted for market feeding purposes. The feeding is principally on alfalfa hay, wath addi- tional rations of corn, kafir and similar grains. On a well balanced ration of Kansas corn and plenty of alfalfa the gains in weight made by these hardy little fellows is remarkable. They come into the markets along in Feb- ruary, i\Iarch and April, just at a time when there is 38 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES little competition from other sources and generally bring the top prices. Some have made fortunes for their owners. Grasses and Forage of the Southern Range. — There are two distinct types of range in both these great di- visions of the West. While the greater part of the south- ern range is what is known as desert range, there is also an area of country classed as mountain range. This latter forms probably one-fifth of the total available range. On the desert ranges, which lie at lower altitudes. we have a great variety of stock forage with compara- tively little grass. A typical desert range is the great stretch of country in southern Arizona lying in the foot- hills of the Salt and Gila Valleys. This range is gen- erally all below an elevation of 3,000 feet and lies in the region of long hot summers and cool pleasant winters. To the uninitiated there seems to be but little feed for stock but, given the usual summer rains, which should begin in early July, the stockman knows his herds will not sulTer for feed. With the summer rains come a rapid growth of weeds, brush and other forage plants upon which the stock thrive. Mesquite beans (Prosopis) furnish feed of a high nutritive value, and it is a strange sight to see the cat- tle and horses eating the long yellow pods, often get- ting down on their knees to reach the beans lying all over the ground under the low-hanging boughs of the trees. Under ordinary climatic conditions there are two crops a year of mesquite beans, the pods of which are rich in nitrogen. The Indians in this region grind the beans into flour from which they make bread. Then there are many families of sage, which all stock PROGRESS OF Till': RANGE liUSINESS 39 appear to relish, while the leaves and tender branches of the mesquite and catclaw (Acacia (ircggii) and the blossoms and frnit of the Spanish l)a}()nct (\'ucca) fur- nish no small part of the available forage. The Alfileria Plant. — If the season is a good one here the winter rains will set in along in Xovcmber and De- cember, and 1)\- the first of I-'ebruary the alfileria (l^ro- dium cicutarium) will begin to make its a])])earance upon the deserts \\lK're i)reviously there seemed to be noth- ing living, h'roni a surface as bare of vegetation as a floor, this splendid forage plant will spring up almost in a night. Sheep and cattle fatten on it as if fed alfalfa hay. Alfileria was doubtless introduced into this south- ern region through the migrating sheep from California, where it has been known for many years. The seeds hanging to the wool of the sheep were scattered over the ranges and, finding a climate and soil peculiarly well fit- ted for its reception and growth, it spread rapidly, and now covers a great area of the desert ranges. Alfileria also is known as "heron's bill" and "pin clover." The plant belongs to the geranium family, has a little I)ink star-like bhxssom, and is a native of the hot, dry region about the Mediterranean. The name "Erodium" is derived from the Greek word "erodius," a "heron," from a fancied reseml)lance of the fruit to a heron's head and bill. With plenty of moisture it grows very rapidh-, and in six weeks' time the barren desert will be covered with a carpet of rich green. Having reached an average height of from 6 to 10 inches it begins to cure, and in six weeks more it is gone. The change from bare earth to green and back to bare earth is remarkable. As soon as it ripens and dries, the winds break it ofT at the ground and it blows into 40 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES great piles much like tumble weeds in the open plains further north. Arroyos and washes will be filled full to the top ; it banks up against trees and thickets of greasewood in huge windrows and in a short time disap- pears with an almost magical suddenness. Alfileria thrives best on a decomposed granite soil, and while it will grow above 3,500 feet it does not grow tall enough above that altitude to be grazed by stock, cling- ing very closely to the ground and forming a dense green cover which furnishes but little feed. Contrary to gen- eral belief the cold weather does not kill it out, as the writer has seen it near Las Vegas, N. M., over 7,000 feet above sea level growing year after year where the win- ter temperature frequently falls to 10° or 15° below zero. It has also been carried by sheep into northern states — Idaho, Utah and Alontana — but as a rule does nothing more than spread over the ground in a thick close-cling- ing mat of green. Besides this there are many weeds peculiar to the region, all of which stock like, and a few are almost equal to alfileria for sheep feed. By the middle of April the feed begins to dry up on the desert, and the stock is moved back into the foothills and mountains. Hundreds of thousands of sheep are grazed every winter on this desert feed, and every spring the shipping of lambs from this region to the eastern market reaches a quarter of a million head. The Semi-Desert Range of the South. — There is still another type of desert country in this region of which the San Simon Valley in southeastern Arizona is a fine sam- ple. Beginning in the neighborhood of Wilcox, Ariz., this range stretches east into New Mexico to a point about halfway between Deming, N. M., and El Paso, Alfileria (Erodium cicularium), "Filaree." I'KOCKl'-.SS OF llll': RANCIC BUSINESS 43 Tex. It generally lies between 3.500 and 5,000 feet ele- vation, and is characterized by open ])rairie, broken here and there by rout^ii nnumtains. While there is coni- ])aratively little snrface water here, well water can be obtained in plenty at moderate dei)ths, and windmills fur- nish waterins;- facilities sufficient for all the stock. This area may ])roperly be classed as a semi-desert country with considerable .q'rass. mostly the gramas (I)OUteloua) and species of llilaria known \ariously as Galleta (guy-et-ta). black l)unch grass and curly mes- quite. There is also sacaton ( Sporobolus airoides), sometimes but erroneously called salt grass, and many \arieties oi sage (Artemesia.) There is an immense growth of yucca (Spanish bayonet), of which both the llower and the long banana-like fruit are greedily eaten ])y cattle. In the foothills there are several varieties of edible bushes like .Mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus) and the catclaw and nies<|uite found elsewhere. Owing to the presence in many portions of both these desert regions of a grass known as needle or dog- town grass (Aristida) and ])orcupine grass (Stipa spp.), the sharp awns of each of which work into the wool and finally into the very skin of the animals, sheep cannot be successfully grazed in these lower desert ranges, excepting in the immediate valley of the Salt and Gila (He-la) Rivers and north of them. In southern Arizona I have seen the meat from sheep killed by local butchers, so badly inflamed and festered by the sharp awns of these grasses as to be unfit for use. Higher Ranges of the Southwest. — In the foothills and mountain ranges of the Southwest is found a great ^■ariety of grasses and forage plants. These ranges gen- erally lie about the 5,000-foot line and, as elsewhere all ■■'\' 11/ CU M' Galleta (Hilaria rigida), Pronounced Guy-et-ta. Needle or Dogtown Grass (Aristida longiseta). X !-/-'»' ->y Buffalo Grass (Bulbilis dactyloides). i \ 1 :^