Chapter 18
The Beginning of the BoomThe great boom in cattle which began in 1880 and lasted nearly
five years was the beginning of a ruinous end. The frenzy swept all
over the northern and western half of the United States, extended
into the British possessions in western Canada, and in the receding
wave the Texan forgot the pit from which he was lifted and bowed
down and worshiped the living calf. During this brief period the
great breeding grounds of Texas were tested to their utmost
capacity to supply the demand, the canebrakes of Arkansas and
Louisiana were called upon for their knotty specimens of the bovine
race, even Mexico responded, and still the insatiable maw of the
early West called for more cattle. The whirlpool of speculation and
investment in ranches and range st
