Chapter 20
Holding the FortAs in many other lines of business, there were ebb and flood
tides in cattle. The opening of the trail through to the extreme
Northwest gave the range live stock industry its greatest impetus.
There have always been seasons of depression and advances, the
cycles covering periods of ten to a dozen years, the duration of
the ebb and stationary tides being double that of the flood.
Outside influences have had their bearing, and the wresting of an
empire from its savage possessors in the West, and its immediate
occupancy by the dominant race in ranching, stimulated cattle
prices far beyond what was justified by the laws of supply and
demand. The boom in live stock in the Southwest which began in the
early '80's stands alone in the market variations of the
