History of the Beef Cattle Industry in Illinois

I. INTRODUCTION

Topography of the Land

"As a whole, the surface of the State of Illinois is nearly level. The prairie regions which cover a large part of the state are only slightly rolling, except in those places where streams have worn valleys. These are shallow in the eastern and the northern parts of the state, deepening gradually as the great rivers are approached. Nearly all the waters of Illinois find their way to the Mississippi river. Along this river, as also along the larger streams of the state, the lands are cut into abrupt bluffs or sharp spurs which, nearing the sources of the streams, gradually become softened into rounded hillocks, sinking at last into the low banks. Through such waterways as these form, flow streams usually gentle in current, often sluggish, and sometimes becoming even stagnant. Over a large part of the state, ponds and "sloughs", or marshes, formerly abounded. In these the water was renewed only by the rains that fell occasionally. Under hot suns these ponds, having neither inlet nor outlet, quickly became foul, particularly where stock resorted to them to drink and cool themselves, as they did almost universally throughout the state a few years ago, and do even now in some parts.

"For years such ponds furnished the principal, almost the only, water supply for stock in large areas of this state. The constant use of such impure water greatly injured the quality of the milk and butter of cows, and doubtless had a baneful effect upon the health of the animals that drank the foul water and those who used the milk and butter.

"With the drainage of the land and the introduction of a pure supply of water, came the disappearance of certain diseases of cattle and of human beings, particularly the so-called milk sickness and kindred maladies, and a marked improvement in the flavor and keeping qualities of milk and butter. Although the change thus far has been great, there are yet districts in which there has been little improvement in the conditions of the land, of the water supply, or of the people. Stock are still compelled to depend, for their water supply, upon streams and pools that almost invariably become stagnant in the warm and dry days of the latter part of summer each year."[1]

Inquiries addressed to hundreds of intelligent and careful observers, nearly all of whom were practical stockmen, elicited information showing the following:

"From all parts of the state, correspondents wrote that the ponds and streams become stagnant in the warm months of summer, a few making exception of those years in which rainfall has been heavy during the summer months. Stagnant water is found more generally in the southern than in the northern part of Illinois; chiefly, perhaps, because the cultivation and drainage of the land has not become almost universal as it has in the northern districts."

In several counties artesian wells afford a most copious supply of water of good quality. In Iroquois and other eastern counties, such wells have been bored to a depth of from 150 to 200 feet and obtained an unfailing flow of water impregnated with minerals. Stock show a strong liking for such water after becoming accustomed to its use, and it is the belief of those who have had opportunity for observing the effects of its continued use, that this mineral water serves to keep the animals free from disorders which formerly prevailed in that region. This seems to be especially apparent in regard to malarial disorders.

People

About 1820, the State of Illinois was being rapidly settled by people from the eastern states. Prior to this time, very few white settlements had been made in the state. These early pioneers, drawn from the population of the eastern states, were composed of almost all nationalities. They pushed their way across the mountains of Pennsylvania and Virginia in crude wagons, drawn by oxen, bringing with them their household goods and a few milk cows. They came into Illinois, built new homes, and laid out new fields on the broad, unsettled prairies.[2]

Beginning with the year of 1800, when there were only a few people in the state, the population has increased very rapidly, as is shown by the following statistics, taken from the United States Census Report (special supplement for the State of Illinois):

Cattle and Cattle Feeding[3]

When Illinois was first settled, almost the whole of the middle and the northern parts of the state were covered with a rank growth of native grasses, which furnished an ample supply and variety of forage of fair quality. "In the southern districts were heavy forests, but in the central and northern sections were but few groves or other timber growths to afford shelter to stock." The prairie grasses that grew in the central and northern districts were usually devastated by fire during the fall. However, the general fencing and cultivation of the land put a stop to the burning of these dead grasses of the prairies, and soon groves of oaks sprang up and covered many uncultivated spots. The leaves which stayed on these trees throughout the winter until spring, furnished valuable shelter to stock from the raw winter winds.

At the beginning of the settlement of Illinois, very little attention was given to the cattle interest. The pioneer settlers, however, had brought a few milk cows with them from the eastern states, but these cows were kept for milk only, no thought being given to beef production. After a few years, a few pure bred cattle were brought in, at which time some attention was given to beef, as well as to milk production, not for the beef produced, however, but principally to give a ready market for their grain crops.

The practice of raising beef cattle to market grain continued from then until near the end of the nineteenth century, when cattle feeding was no longer profitable as a grain market, and the question was: "How much beef can be produced from a bushel of corn?"[4]

"Despite the seemingly adverse character of the climate, Illinois has been, for some time, little, if any, behind other leading states of the Union in stock growing. In 1850, this state stood sixth in milk cows, and seventh in work oxen and other cattle. In 1860, it was tenth in work oxen, fifth in milk cows, and second in other cattle. In 1870, it was twenty-sixth in work oxen, fourth in milk cows, and second in the supply of other cattle. In 1880, it stood thirty-sixth in work oxen, second in milk cows, and third in other cattle. Iowa then had 240,280 and Texas had 1,812,860 more cattle than Illinois.

"The average value of milk cows in Illinois in 1884 was $35, and of oxen and other cattle, it was $28.04, while the average value of milk cows in Iowa was only $31.75, and of other cattle $26.00. The blood of the Shorthorns was used more largely than that of any other breed in the improvement of the cattle of the state. The first, and for some years, the only representatives of pure races of cattle in this state were Shorthorns, and to this date they exceed all other breeds in number."

The growth of the cattle interest in the State of Illinois, from 1850 to 1884, inclusive, is shown by the following statistics, taken from the United States Census Reports. The first figures of close accuracy on the number of cattle in the state were those gotten in 1850.