s was seeking
investment in ranching, and everything augured for a brighter future.
That very summer the trail had absorbed six hundred and fifty thousand
cattle, or possibly ten per cent of the home supply, which readily
found a market at army posts, Indian agencies, and two little cow
towns in the North. Investment in Texas steers was paying fifty to one
hundred per cent annually, the whole Northwest was turning into one
immense pasture, and the feeling was general that the time had come
for the Lone Star State to expect a fair share in the profits of this
immense industry.

Cattle associations, organized for mutual protection and the promotion
of community interests, were active agencies in enlarging the Texas
market. National conventions were held annually, at which every
live-stock organization in the West was represented, and buyer and
seller met on common ground. Two years before the Cattle Raisers'
Association of Texas was formed, other States and Territories founded
similar organizations, and when these met in national assembly the
cattle on a thousand hills were represented. No one was more anxious
than myself that a proper appreciation should follow the enlargement
of our home market, yet I had hopes that it would come gradually and
not excite or disturb settled conditions. In our contracts with the
government, we were under the necessity of anticipating the market ten
months in advance, and any sudden or unseen change in prices in the
interim between submitting our estimates and buying in the cattle to
fill the same would be ruinous. Therefore it was important to keep a
finger on the pulse of the home market, to note the drift of straws,
and to listen for every rumor afloat. Lands in Texas were advancing in
value, a general wave of prosperity had followed self-government and
the building of railroads, and cattle alone was the only commodity
that had not proportionally risen in value.

In spite of my hopes to the contrary, I had a well-grounded belief
that a revolution in cattle prices was coming. Daily meeting with men
from the Northwest, at Dodge and Ogalalla, during the summer just
passed, I had felt every throb of the demand that pulsated those
markets. There was a general inquiry for young steers, she stuff with
which to start ranches was eagerly snapped up, and it stood to reason
that if this reckless Northern demand continued, its influence
would soon be felt on the plains of Texas. Susceptible to al