Volunteers Up To Their Necks
In Cattle Scattered By Flood

DALLAS —(AP)— Swimming for their lives, tens of thousands of cattle have made it to high ground along four flooded Texas river valleys only to be stranded by mud, silt and debris from the record deluge.

Ropers and volunteer cowboys late last week were corralling strays from South and Central Texas ranches where a million or more head of cattle grazed before the recent floods flattened fences and pens.

Now, as many as 50,000 cattle and calves have drifted downstream like an Old West cattle drive gone haywire. They've dodged floating logs, snakes and other animals as well as fire ants.

"Somewhere between one and five percent of the million head is not an unrealistic number for cattle being moved downstream," said Joe Paschal, a livestock specialist at the Texas Agricultural Extension Service at Corpus Christi.

Although cattle float well, ranchers worry that many of their weaker calves may have drowned.

"There are submerged trees and fences, other things they can hang up on. They can get water in their lungs, they can get bit by fire ants," said Trey Hamlett, manager at the Luling Foundation farm where hundreds of strays have been rounded up from the San Marcos River.

"The fire ants float on top of the water in big balls, and they get around the cow's eyes and nose," explained Hamlett, who has about 100 volunteers corralling stranded cattle. "The cow's hide is thick, but the ants are still a problem to them."

Downstream on the flooded Colorado River, ranchers have moved many cattle to high ground. The river was expected to crest at Wharton Friday morning at 48.5 feet, well above the record 46.1-foot mark set during December 1991 floods.

"We are sheltering animals that have been brought to us by the city," said Dr. Carlos Bonnot of the Wharton Veterinary Clinic, adding that some cattle were already on the loose. "We are also at maximum capacity with our large animals — there are a total of 60 here and at a barn."

Two lawmakers Thursday urged U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman to help provide winter forage to Texas ranchers and farmers whose hay crops were wiped out.

"Specifically, we ask that the $200 million in livestock feed assistance contained in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill be expanded to include harvested and baled hay," Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Phil Gramm wrote.

Cattle roamed the streets in Gonzales, downstream on the Guadalupe River from flood-ravaged San Marcos. Ranchers estimate up to 16,000 head were missing from Gonzales County alone and up to 15,000 cattle are wandering the San Marcos River Valley.

"Around Gonzales, there's a major feedyard that the high water did not hurt because it's on a hill. But they grazed a lot of livestock down at the river and a lot of their fences and cattle are missing. Fences are flattened," said Paschal.

He said brand inspectors from the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association in Fort Worth were helping identify strays. But only about two-thirds of cattle are branded and some will never be matched with their owners.

"I talked to one rancher who said he owned 500 cows Saturday and he hopes he owns 400 now," Hamlett said.