The Cattleman's Pages of History

The Cattleman cover showed a serious-looking young beauty standing with her equally beautiful horse. Neither was identified for the readers.

➤ One of the largest ranch deals of the year was closed during [November], when Frank Corn, of Fort Worth, purchased the 66,100-acre ranch in Crosby and Garza counties, Texas, known as the Major W. W. Watt’s ranch. [3,400] cattle were included in the transaction. The deal involved approximately $1,000,000.

➤ The business of the Executive Committee’s quarterly meeting included the selection of a new venue for the upcoming convention. Originally scheduled for San Antonio, that city had notified the Committee “that owing to the mobilization of many thousand soldiers at that place it would be impossible for [them] to properly care for the 1918 Convention of the Cattle Raisers Association of Texas. Representatives from El Paso, Dallas, Galveston and Tulsa, Okla., each presented a case for their respective cities. After much deliberation, Dallas was selected.

➤ The range report in November was a bit discouraging, with most counties reporting little to no rain and varied cattle condition as a result.

The Cattleman cover depicted “the traditions characteristic of the Christmas season in the days of the open range” in an oil painting by Peter Hurd, titled ‘Sheepherders Christmas.’

➤ James F. Downs, Ph.D., wrote an interesting article on the beginnings of livestock, saying “No greater gift did early man make to his descendants than the domestication of animals. From beginnings long before the invention of writing, perhaps before the development of permanent houses and most certainly before the wheel, primitive man built the foundation herds of all the world’s livestock industries…”

➤ Then, as now, calf scours concerned the cattle raisers. G.W. Hicks, D.V.M., offered his expertise for controlling this disease, stating his belief that it is a problem of management and saying that “good nutrition and good sanitation will prevent the disease entity in most cases. Many treatments have been recommended. As is true, in most disease entities, early treatment produces the best results.”

➤ Oddly enough, the December issue also included the spooky legend of the West Texas Murder Steer, along with the story of the McDade Christmas murders of 1883.