22 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN August 2025 aurorapharmaceuticalinc Follow us! ad022503 Aurora Pharmaceutical, Inc. ©2025 Quality You Trust. Value You Love. Scan to learn more www.aurorapharmceutical.com the biggest investments came from Europe. Alvin Sanders, a famous early livestock journalist and author, reflected on these novice cattle producers: “Farther and farther into the interior of this inland empire, the cowmen pushed their way, and the railway and the stagecoach soon sought gateways into the nation’s virgin pastoral possessions. Staid Scotch capitalists, scions [decedents] of the British aristocracy and ʻtenderfeet’ 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 [gigantic] West, regardless of climatic conditions or possible consequences.” The expansion started out in a fairly straightforward but short-lived way, which came in the form of the great cattle drives, mostly from South Texas to new railheads in places like Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and Missouri. Cattle started moving north in quantity, starting in 1867, with cowboys following trails laid out by cattle industry pioneers, including the Chisholm, Shawnee, Western, Potter-Bacon and Goodnight-Loving trails. Kansas had some of the busiest cow towns with Dodge City and Abilene becoming particularly famous. However, some continued on these same trails through Kansas up to railheads in Nebraska, which included Ogalala, Kearney and Schuyler. Although they would linger for several more years, the age of the great cattle drives only lasted 17 years (1867 to 1884), effectively ending when Kansas barred cattle drives from entering the state starting in 1885. The citizens of Kansas had grown weary of wild cowboys raising a ruckus in their towns with drunkenness, gambling and prostitution. Texas cattle also carried ticks, which were a vector for splenetic fever, also known as Texas fever. Farm cattle brought to Kansas by settlers had no immunity to this disease, so it often resulted in death of farmers’ cattle. Missouri had not barred cattle drives, but farmers often took matters into their own hands to make sure Texas cattle didn’t come in contact with their farm cattle. Robert Kleberg of King Ranch finally diagnosed the problem, and started dipping cattle in 1891 to eradicate ticks. In addition, ticks didn’t survive the harsh winters when cattle were taken north to start cow herds. As cattle moved north, producers started aggressively upgrading their herds with red-hided Shorthorns, which were generally a dual-purpose strain of the breed. However, what was thought to be an inexhaustible grass resource soon became over stocked. Novice managers also made no preparations for winter supplemental feeding no matter how far north they were managing cattle. The cost of this lack of proper management would come due sooner than later, which will be explored in future articles. ~NC~ STOCKING THE WEST CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21
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