Shiner Gazette. (Shiner, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 33, Ed. 1, Wednesday, January 11, 1899 Page: 2 of 8
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fcft
That Will Prove Quite Interesting
to Texas Taxpa > crs
CONMISSIONER KIBBES REPORT
lie Speaks of the Condition of the Fish
and 0ster Industry on the Coast
sf tlw Lone Star State
Texas Property Values
Tlio annral roport of Stato
CouiptiolloL Finley for the fiscal
year ending Aug 31 1898 con-
tains the following statistical in
foimatiou
It fellows the total numbor of
cattle to bo 5415757 hoid an in
cieasc of 358101 head over 1897
Thoir avctago valuo is 1025 por
head thoir total valuation boing
55489202 In 1897 tho avoiagc
valuo por head was 842
I he report shows that there are
1500033 head of horses and I
mules in tho state thoir total
uation being 28835515 This
is a dcoicaso in numbor under j
those toported iu 1897 of 42514
head and a decrease in valuation
of 20l > 2633 I
There are 15002 jacks and jon
nets in tho stato with a total val-
uation of 434312 Thoir valuo
per head in 1897 was placed at
4057 and iu 1898 at 2398 j
Although thoro has beoii a do
creaso of 152875 in tho number
of sheop as compared with 1897
tho increaso in valuation for 1898
amounts to 523022 over tho to-
tal valuation of 1897 The total j
number is 1950808 thoir total
valuo being 2089599
Tho total number of goat3 is
S29 627 with aitotaUvaluatiouvof
aifaenigTrJol Om
cents por head
Tho total numbor of hogs has
decreased 321724 since 1897whilo
the total decrease in valuation for
thut industry amounts to 210
747 Notwithstanding this largo
decrcasethero ato 1051999 head
of hops in tho state valued at
1193809 their average valuo
being 142 per head
Thero aro probably 2000000
or moro dogs in tho state but the
fcotal number rendered by countv
asseSSQVs for 1898 is only PCSlo
Their totafrnfcie 1r85303
Tho total number of carriagos
wagoim and other vohiolesis 319
237 an increase of 3332 ovor
1897 Thoir total valuation is
7588541
Tho total valuation of goods
and merchandise is 31656930
Other total assossod valuations
aro as follows Material and man-
ufactured aiticlos 1171402 a
decrease of 36853 manufac-
turers tools and implements 8
318911 a decrease of 2190653
sngines and boilers 3613068
an increase of 110288 amount
of monoys of banks 8260698
credits other than banks brok-
ers etc 13318920 money of
other than banks brokers otc
5865036 valuo of bonds and
stocks othor than United States
bonds 1058517 Yaluo of tho
shares of capital stock compan-
ies 2497426 valuo of propor
ty of corporations other than
capital stock companies 660
009 miscellaneous proporty20
741732 a decreaao of 2668089
Tho total valuation of property
in the state is 851619395 a not
decrease of 275410 from 1897
The bonded debt of Texas aggro
gates 3992030
1lali and Oyster Industry
It is roliably estimated that
thgro are 1500nun employedin
the fishoiios of Texas and that
they received over 500000 for
their product t during the past
twolvo months While soining is
tho most inipoitant method of
catching fish the trotlino and
handlino add materially to tho
catch Tho annual report of I
P Kibbo Texas lish and oyster
commissioner ju > t issued states
that tho total aica of fishing
grounds along tlis Texas eoa t is
2171 square miles Tho main
shipping points along tho coast
for fish and o stois aro Galves-
ton Port Lavaca Bockport and
Corpus Christi The principal
fish marketed ato redfish rod
snapper trout and sheophoad
while Spanish maokcral pom-
pano jackfish flounder bluofish
oioakors whiting rocklish and
bass aro caught iu limited quan-
tities during tho different Seas-
ons
Oyster culture in Texas waters
has become an impoitaut indus-
try within tho past few years
Commissioner Kibbo says in life
ropoit About the year 18f0 tho
Galveston Oystei company trans-
planted a large quantity of oy
stois removing them from Mata
gorda bay to Galveston bay It is
toported that thisolfoit proved a
failure and that thoy not only
lost the plant but also tho spat
of tho season Tho total destruc-
tion of this bod has never been
satisfactorily explained although
several theories havo been ad-
vanced
Tho Tigor Island Oyster com-
pany of Port Lavaca planted
over 4000 barrels of seed oysters
in Match 1897 and in November
these oysters woro in lino condi-
tion Moro than onefourth woro
of averago sizo marketable oyst
eis which if loft in reef would
pot havo boon utilized at any timo
as oysters in this reof had not
been found in marketable condi
ton > Thojpj o j nlanting
Wag tatafflfit jP
rol nndtho market1 price for
good oysters boing from 75q to
125 p6r barrel a good margin
is loft for gathering and market-
ing I
It is claimed by some that oy-
sters will grow in almost any lo-
cality and fypon any bottom a
colloctor for tho spat being tho
only essentiaj While this is truo
to somo extent my observation
does not bear out this theory all
together Food supply and a
limited amount of fresh water
aro necessary olemonts VVhilo
they do well on somo mud bot-
toms on othew thoy dio as quick-
ly as on saud A deposit of fpr
oign mud or soil will often kill
out a bod although a good bod
will sometimes be ontiroly sur
roundod by a natural mud bot-
tom In changing oysters from
one locality to another depth and
temperature of tho wator should
bo obscrvod as well as otlur nat
ural surroundings If any groat
chango is heeossaiy is will bo
found that young oysters will
stand it much better than tho
grown Owing to the mild cli
mato and tho longgrowing soa
sons in ihis state tho oyster is
very prolific Tho spawn is less
liable to injury from tho cold and
a good spltfor oach year is moro
certain
It is said that undor favsrablo
circumstances somo oysters ma
ture in three years from the spati
but four ydars will ordinarily pro-
duce a marketable oystor whore
favbrably located on any part of
tho Texas coast Tho only onomy
to the oyster that is to bo dreaded
is tho drum fish Under tho pres-
ent Texas law any citizen of tho
stato has tho right of locating as
much as fifty acres or land cov
orod with water for an oystor
bod Tho locator must pay a
surveying feo of 10 and a rent
of lOo por aero for tho first five
years and 25c por aero thereafter
Thorods no laqk of Jsecd oysters
witltin easy roaoh of good grounds
along tho Texas coast It is
claimed that with tho climac ad-
vantages and ovor 300 milocs of
coast Texas is enabled to offer
inducements to tho oystor indust-
ry equal if not superior any
othor stato in tho union Tho
following will show tho number
of square milos of natural oyster
beds or rcers and tho bays which
they aro located along tho Texas
coast Sabine lake oiio square
mile Galveston bay 50 square
milos Matugorda bay 45 square
miles San Antonio bay 1 square
mile Kspiritu bay 6 squsro milos
Aranas bay 15 square miles
Corpus Christi bay 13 squaro
miles Lnguua Madia 2 squaro
mile3 Total 137 squaro miles or
87680 acics
To 1otttlou Legislature
Tho ravages of piairio dogs aro
unparalleled in tho history of
Texas Their natural onomios
coyotes foxes andwolves have
boon about killed off and those
post voi ous littlo animals aro mul-
tiplying by the millions Poison
appoars to bo a cottgouial diet for
thorn for thus far it has had little
or no effect in diminishing thoir
towns or putting any sort ot n
stop iu their depredations
The Midland Livo Stick Re-
porter says in its last issuo A
monster patition will go from
Taylor county to tlio governor and
the legislature calling attention
to tho ravages of tho prairie dog
and praying for legislation look-
ing to its extermination
No law that is not compulsory
will meet tho situation ns foreign
land owners will refuse voluntary
action and tlio lav must compol
overy county in tub infoutod dis
tricts to act
Notless thaffltalf tho grass in
dnfflraml
t fe d h1si v l
he not only consums tho grass but
destroys tho roots when tho grass
is oxhaustod
The different counties north of
Abileno aro thoroughly in accord
with this movement and nil aro
willing to boar the burden of a
tax either per capita or by tho
aero that will in tho end rid that
country of this most destructive
animal
People thoro say that had thoy
not boon so oxtioinoly anxious to
rid north Texas of othor animals
that lived on prairie dogs and
which did far loss harm to tho
grazer and agriculturist tho post
would not now bo onehalf as bad
as it is
As a matter of fact it takes
now two acres of land to do the
Work ono did not long ago for the
support of cattle beforo tho dogs
became as numerous as they are
at present As a cattleman said
Gvo Us coyotos foxes wild-
cats mountain lions or any sort
of wild beast you may name that
will livo inToxas but do some
thing to aid the pooplo in tho west
to freo their lands of tho prairie
dog
Killing of a Big Wolf
Ono of the biggest wolves that
has beou scon iu Denton county
in many a day was caught and kill-
ed near Drop Tho wolf for
years had boon tho terror of the
neighbor hood being hold respon-
sible anynumber of dean calves
and slaughtered poultry W E
Finloys started him aud fwp boys
of tho neighborhood caught him
with a lariat and hold him until
tho dogs caught up Tho brute
weighed seventyfour pounds
was 2 foot 6jnchqshigh and meas-
ured 5 fcot 4 inohos from tip to
tip
<
Throo shinglo mills valued at
12000 burned at Fulton Ark
TTest on Cattle
George West ono of tho rep
resentative stookmon of tho south-
west in speaking of present con-
ditions in tho cattlo businoss said
Tho recent rains havo put the
bost season in the ground down
in Livo Oak county that I havo
known in ton years time and
gives tho stock interests in that
Bection tho promise of an early
spring and a splendid grass crop
I boliovo that cattlo in our soction
aro going to winter all right At
tho samo time thero is a great
doal of shortago of grass the pas
ures as a rule aro very lightly
Btocked and incases whoto stook
mon havo not sufliciont food on
tho rango to cany tneir animals
through all that I know who aro
so Bituatod havo mado arrange-
ments to rough feed so that thero
is not likely to bo any sovoro loss
Groat changes havo comointo
tho cattlo businoss during tho last
year or two and if thote is any
ono factor that has become firm-
ly established it is that tho day
of tho scrub animal is gone by
forever
I note tlio position that tho
government has taken in exclud-
ing Moxican cattlo unless thoy
will bear inspection and I wol
come this action as tho fororunnor
of groat things for tho livo stock
interests Ono of tho hardest
things that wo have had to con
tond with in times past has been
tho constant stioam of scrub
stock that has boon permitted to
enter Toxas from Mexico and mix
with our herds to tho end that
where many of us havo been
spending thousands of dollars for
tho purpose of fusing now aud
bottor blood into our herds tho
common Mexicans havo been a
clog on our efforts and have pre-
vented tho rapid advancement in
gradejthat would otherwise havo
west
This however has not beon
tho only bad feature that has re-
sulted from this importation of
common cattlo Ono of tho most
serious results has been in tho
standing and roputation that our
stock have had on tho northorn
markets as a rosult of tho ship-
ment of these cattlo as Texas cat
tlo Thoy aro classed as Texas
just tno samo as our onehalf or
threequarter bred animals that
wo havo boon carefully grading
up for years and result iu pull-
ing down tho grade and classifica-
tion of our best stock to nearly
their ownjovel tho buyers natur-
ally taking advantago of tho situa-
tion to got our stock as cheap as
possible
Ono good thing about tho
boom of a year ago has beon that
tho southwest has been pretty
well oloaned out of stock of this
character which has beon shippod
to tho territory and tho history
of cattlo in the territory during
tho past season is a pretty good
evidence to thoso who had the
misfortune to handlo the low
grades that tho timo has gone by
whenmoney can be made out of
but woll
anything a graded ani-
mal
Tho margin betweon tho poor
grades and tho best grades of
quarantino cattlo used to be a
narrow one say 30 to 50 cents at
the outside but it has beengrad
ually widening until today it is
1 and often 150 por 100
I can see nothing but good
times in storo for the stockman
in this Section Tho present win
tor and the coming spring aro go-
ing to work off tho cattle that
havo congregated in tho territory
and that havo had to be carried
over and with tholniout tqf tlio
way and tho find range prospects
wo now enjoy throughout tho sec
tion 1 look for a continuation of
our prosperous conditions far
somo time to com o
Market prices on good cattlo
aro certainly all that could bo de-
sired and I believo tho record will
show that thoy aro higher today
than thoy havo boon at any timo
at tin s season of the yoar during
tho past ton years The prospect
is that good cattlo from tho feed-
lots will mako good monoy for
tho fcodew As for the poor stuff
thoy have lost money for overy
ono that has handled thom and
theo havo beon traded in and re-
sold from ono to anethor but
must soon go to market now and
meot their fate which will prob-
ably bo an unhappy ono for the
men handling them That how
ovor can bo helped and is ono of
tho lessons that has been woll
taught duting tho past two years
and must be accepted as a guide
in future
Dr Carroll Resigns
At tho closo of oiio of tho ablest
sermons of his life Dr B II Car-
roll on tho 1st tendered his resig-
nation of tho pastorato of tho
First Baptist church Waco It
was a great snrpriso to nearly all
the members of tho congregation
Tho First Baptist church of Waco
is ono of tho first of tho denomi-
nation to bo organized iu Toxas
It has grown undor Dr Carrolls
preaching during a long course of
years to bo a powerful and influ-
ential body The congregation
mot on that afternoon and ac
ceptod tho resignation A com
mittoe of fifteen was appointed
with Dr Caiuoll us chairman to
solopt a now pastor thus giving
the retiring pastor tho loading
voice in tho naming of his own
successor Tho doctor says after
so long service ho desires to withy
draw from tho active ministry
t > A a
HclllOVollCKS v
El T Goodwin a wolltodo
cattleman living near Morgan in
Bosquo county reocntly purchas-
ed a tensection pasture in Foard
county ta which place ho expects
to move his cattlo numboring
some 400 or 500 head from Bos
que county in a short timo Mr
Goodwin undoitook several
months ago to remove tho ticks
from his cattlo with they wero
praoitally coveredby a free uso of
a solution of nino parts of cotton-
seed oil to ono part of korosono
oil applying with a paint brush
Ho succeododho says in absolute-
ly killing all the ticks so much
as there cannot as much as one
tick be found on any of his cattle
Ho ox poets to havo thoso caftlo
inspected pioprratory to shipping
thom to Foard ccjijntyi which is
abuvo tho quarantine lino and as
tho cattlo aro freo from ticks he
ooos not oxpoct to be roquirod to
dip them
J A Honea and1 Wat Cham-
bers two AVaco bojs wont gun-
ning in tho northwestern portion
of McLennan county and roturned
with a wagon load of swans The
boys found the swans feeding
around tho tanks and had no
trouble in shooting them They
sold the swans to pro prietors of
eating houses who servod thom
to thoir gue3ts
On Dccombor 17xlast Miss Bos
Bio Phillips and Mr Bon Johnson
of Bonliam hied themselves away
to tho Indian territory and wero
wedded The marriage was kept
secret until a few days ago Their
parents had thom soouro a Texas
liconseaud they wore remarried
Mrs p PwJllceVson of Nava
sota has filed a petition in bank
ruptpy w i hr3000 liabilities and
no assets < Slio is the first woman
to file a bankruptcy petition in the
Galveston district
1
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Habermacher, J. C. Shiner Gazette. (Shiner, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 33, Ed. 1, Wednesday, January 11, 1899, newspaper, January 11, 1899; Shiner, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth111389/m1/2/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .