The Cattleman's Pages of History

The Cattleman cover: “Capt. S.B. Burnett, cattleman, banker and treasurer of the Cattle Raisers Association of Texas. Capt. Burnett is Fort Worth’s largest individual purchase of Liberty Loan Bonds, his investment being $100,000.” [U.S. participation in WWI was financed by the sale of Liberty Bonds. Participation was considered a patriotic duty.]
➤ “The second quarterly meeting of the Executive Committee of the Cattle Raisers Association of Texas, at Amarillo, June 12, will long be remembered, by those who attended, as one of the most unique meetings in the history of the Association. The meeting was called to order by President James Callan at the Mission Theatre at 9:00 a.m… and recessed at 11:00 for a visit to the Palo Duro Canyons, the beauty spot of the great Panhandle… At the end of our journey, hidden away among the cliffs and gorges in a cave which bears the name of the ‘Devil’s Kitchen’ we found an abundant supply of [food and drink] which make an outing of this nature so pleasant. Following a hearty meal and pow-wow with the representative cattlemen… the committee was again called to order… and for the first time in the history of the Association an executive meeting was held in a cave…”

The cover was a photograph taken by Audie Rackley. “Angus cattle are featured in this month’s issue of The Cattleman and our cover reflects the kind of commercial Angus that have made the breed so popular in the Southwest. The scene is on the Bill Allison ranch near Sonora.”

➤ “The Colt pistol and Winchester rifle are usually credited with having won the west, but anyone who knows ranching would argue that point. Windmills not only won the west, they made the west worth winning. Without them the cattle industry would still be clustered around creeks and lakes while vast areas of West Texas would have been left to the rattlesnakes and paisanos.”

➤ “This may be the month the fireworks start on the potentially explosive issue of antibiotics in livestock feed. [The FDA] is very much interested in what the scientists have to say.”

➤ “Texas Tech’s Southwest Collection [was] selected as the repository for the personal papers of the late George M. Slaughter, a member of a prominent Texas ranching family. The Slaughter papers are expected to be of special interest to historians, for the casual comments they contain on wind, weather and windmills, and for the cost accounting sheets on yearlings delivered in Kansas City.” ❚