XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana by Michael M. Miller

Abstract

Reviewed by: XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana by Michael M. Miller Renée M. Laegreid XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana. By Michael M. Miller. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2020. Pp. 268. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index). The XIT ranch in the Texas Panhandle holds an indelible place in the history of post-Civil War cattle ranches, both in fact and in lore. Despite its relatively short existence (1882–1912), cities, museums, and businesses in Texas still celebrate the cowboy and cattle drive legacy of the XIT. Miller’s goal in XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana is to move beyond this romanticized view of the ranch and show “the true story of how the backup plan for a group of Chicago land developers, with support of an international cartel of investors, grew into a cattle ranch that sprawled from Texas to Montana” (1). He does so by constructing a corporate [End Page 211] history of the ranch, clearly situating its origins, operations, and, ultimately, its demise within the context of Gilded Age industrial capitalism and the rise of what he terms imperial ranches. The chapters move chronologically, with Miller’s narrative constructed and driven by corporate correspondence, documents, letters, and ledgers; each chapter clearly and consistently connects the ranch’s history to corporate interests and decision-making processes. Miller begins by introducing the origins of the ranch, a three-million-acre land grant in the Texas Panhandle set aside by the legislature, from which proceeds from its land sales would finance the state’s new capitol building in Austin. A group of Chicago businessmen known as the Syndicate agreed to market and manage sales. But construction costs ballooned, and land sales failed to materialize. Miller traces the morass of Texas tax policies, political players, and controversies over building materials that pressured the Syndicate to increase profits. By 1885 they abandoned their original plan to sell the land and decided instead to use it to raise cattle. The timing was fortuitous; their entrance into the cattle business occurred alongside the rise of powerful organized lobbying groups and organizations—the first Cattle Convention and The Bureau of Animal Industry (a sub-agency of the Department of Agriculture) both emerged in 1884. Syndicate members used their extensive national and international business networks, as well as ensuring that its men held political influence at national and local levels, to protect their interests. While 1885 was not a great year to start ranching, with overstocked ranges, falling prices, and extreme weather that led to the “big cattle die-off” of 1886–87, Miller shows how modern management strategies allowed the XIT to overcome these challenges and emerge more competitive by developing efficient land, cattle, and crop management strategies. In 1890, the XIT expanded into Montana’s “Big Open,” the last of the “free” livestock ranges located between the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, as part of a business strategy to exploit shifts in transportation, production, and consumer demand. The Montana plan lasted until 1898 when it inexplicably suspended operations. It reopened in 1902, then shut down permanently in 1912, as did all XIT operations, when the Texas real estate market shifted and the Syndicate returned to its original and now profitable mission of selling the land grant’s three million acres to small ranchers, farmers, and speculators. Michael M. Miller provides a meticulously researched and intensely focused study on the men and business strategies behind the mythic XIT ranch. Although one would hope that by now readers who enjoy western history understand that the post-Civil War cattle business was, indeed, an industry, Miller not only reinforces that point, but also shows how the XIT dominated this era of imperial ranches with near hegemonic power, [End Page 212] utilizing their network of financial and political forces to help shape agricultural enterprises in Texas and the West into the twenty-first century. Renée M. Laegreid University of Wyoming Copyright © 2021 The Texas State Historical Association