Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-06-19
from the Live Stock Journal
Rauchmen and Ranches I'm Colo.
RADIO.

My ideas of ranchmen were destined
to. be greatly disappointed. Instead Of
a wolf skin cap, with buckskin pants
and other trappings like | imagined
backwodsmen and Indians wore, with
last. though by no means least, huge
knife and revolvers to be easily seen, and
a certain daredevil, rOlicking mien, gen
erally, l met as refined, cultivated, gent
lemanly men as are to be met with any
where The knife and revolver were
the exception, and not the rule. | saw
but one man carrying a revolver where
it could be seen, and he blushed and Of
fered an excuse for carrying one at all.
Life and property were as secure in Col
orado, from Pueblo to Denver, north as
far Fort Collins as in Illinois.
1t is understood that a ranch may be
a farm, with cultivated fields and mead
.ows, or it may mean only the Tudest hut
for the herder, with a corral made Of
anything that will secure his flock, or
herd, or band; SO there is a wide differ
ence in the Specification of the term
ranch"
But it was my pleasure to see some
thing of life on a ranch and as an idea
to some extent prevails that ranch life
is something horrid, allow me to tel
what / saw on Colonel NJ. II. Fitch's
ranch, three miles west of Pueblo, on
the Arkansas river. Colonel Fitch went
from Milwaukee TO Pueblo three years
ago. He was a successful business man.
in poor health. His wife was a Chicago
girl, unaccustOmed to country life even
in illinois. They are intelligent, cult
waited and refined
TAey 1--we in an adobe house, on the
banks OF the river. The house is well
furnished with furniture Just as we have.
Their table was neatly laid. with snowy
white damask and. silver, cut-glass and
china; hot in use only when they had
company, but every day. Lighter rolls,
better beef, finer potatoes, better coffee,
yellower butter, nobody has. Leisure
for reading and social enjoyment, and
their lives run smoothly on.
They have band of nearly one hun
dred horses, and a herder to look after
them. Sheep are the principal stock
kept, and number between four and five
thousand. The herders are all furnished
ratiOns, but do their own cooking. liy-
ing near their corral of a night, and with
their bands during the day upon the
herd ground. Colonel Fitch has five
or six ranches, and controls thou
sands of acres of range. They plow
none at all. They don't plant a tree.
Thoy don't milk a COW. They keep
chickens, but buy butter and milk and
yegetables-only trifle higher than Il
the Chicago market. There is no NEED
of doing more; it pays them vel
enough: Ranchmen and their wives are
farvarrr-rrlraA lib T17sv,-sr. -
and their families are.
| visited fine sheep ranch near Fort
Collins, belonging to to Mr.. William y.
Bachelor, and found a similar state o.
affairs. They control immense vaIleys
and mountain pastures and with 'SpriBg
Canon for water, and mountain pasture
for the summer range, and valleys Of
glorious grass for winter feed, a success
is assured. They find no fault with
ranch life, but rather prefer it TO
living in the States. There is a fascins-
ton in the climate, scenery, and CniyeT.
sal intelligence of those who are around
them, together with the fact of doing
well financially, which would 60 q long
way in reconciliDg discomfort, if there
were any. l found as many pictures
and flowers there as here. Music and
painting and poetry are cultivated thep;,
by ranchmen, as generally as here; and
the frills and fiummeries of fashion were
the same. l could see no difference,
even away out from the towns and cities.
They are all alive out there, and up with
the age. That is the only class that
goes there the stupid and timid never
undertake the change. r. u. BELL
BRIGHTON, Illinois.