The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1875-11-05
Tiff, the C0ttle King.

JULEsRCKG, Oct, 1S.-I propose to give
some account of the cattle king of the w est
and the ''boss ranche'' Off country. The
cattle king is none other than J. w. Iiiff,
whose rancho is i'll northern Colorado.
This rancho is i56 miles long and begins t
Julesburg on the east, and extends to
Greeley ON the west. it includes bottom and
upland ranges, and has several camps or
ranches The chief ranch is nearly south
of Sidney and about forty miles from Jules
burg. At this rancho there are houses and
sheds. and some more than two sections OF
land fenced III. MI the cattle bought Dy
Mr.. Ilitf arc turned over to him and branded
at this place. Here are his private stock
yards, with cOrrals, chutes, ana all the
necessary conveniences for handling cattle.
1t is on the South Platte River, and of
course has fine watering facilities, while
from the bottom land adjacei,. plenty of
hay may be cut for the of the horses
employed in herdiug. He cuts no hay for
his cattle. They live the entire year on
the rich native grass Cn his range, and with
tie exception of n severe winter now and
then, the percentage of loss is not very
great. MIR. lliif is thorough cattle man,
and from his long experience has n perfect
kno Wedge Of the business. He has bought
and now owns some twenty thousand acres
of his present range, and will undoubtedly
purchase more land as soon rs it comes into
market. lie now owns 5000 head of cat
tie, and will have this humber after his
sales for the present year aie completed
The number of calves branded this year on
his rauchc will be from A, 500 to ), 600 head,
and his sales Of three and four year old
steers and fat COWS the present fall will
probably amount to about the same number.
He told me he expected to realize the sum
of $33 per head net on his sales this year.
4 ut a hrinU
the snug little sum of Sl4S, 500. To take
care Of this immense herd he employs from
twelve to thirty five men-very few usually
in the winter and the largest number dur
ing the ''round ups" i'll the spring. At
the present time he has twenty-four men
employed and is cutting out of his herd the
four-year old steers and fat cows which he
intends to ship. While engaged at this
work the same men are gathering the cows
with unbranded calves, which they put into
the corrals near by, and after the calves are
branded they are turned loose with the
herd again. His herd is rapidly being
graded up by the introduction of thorough
bred Durham bulls. In addition to the
cattle raised on his rancho, he deals largely
III Texas and Indian cattle, and has now
advertised for 30, 600 head of Texas cattle
to be delivered at his rancho in July of
mex. year. Mr.. Iliff estimates the increase
of cattle from his home herd-outside of
purchases and sales-to be about 20 per
cent. per year, and about equally divided
AS to gender. His shipping points are at
Pine Bluffs and Julesburg on the Union
Pacific, and at Deer's Trail on the Kansas
Pacific. Lest any one shr uld come to the
conclusion that this business is all profit
and that the expenses do not amount to
much, let me further state that Mr.. lifts
policy is to keep his expenses as low as
possible, having the keeping and safety of
his cattle constantly in view. Last year |
think;the expense of herding, &c, amount
ed to less than $l5. 900, and will amount to
a sill less sum this year. But the losses
from thefts and death some years are
frightful. The winte: of'71-2 think was
very severe. There weIe deep SHOWS over
his range that remained on the ground
n long time, and the storms were incessant.
In the midst of these storms Mr.. Tiff visited
his rancho and found his cattle literally
dying by thousands. On the island in the
South Platte River he found and drove off
into the sand Hills on the south side after
great exertioa. some 2. 700 head, and of this
number less than half have since been re-
covered. Their bleaching bones now Will
ten the pains in the vicinity where they
were frozen and starved to death, and those
that were recovered were found in two diff
ferent States and four different Territories
IN the Union. More than $24, 600 were ex-
pended in trying TO find them. Nor was
this all. II was impossible to tell for
number of years how much the loss had
been. His books showed nearly five
Thousand head unaccounted for. No trace
of them beyond skeletons could be found,
and at last-in the spring of 1874, think
it was-this number was charged to profit
and loss account, aud the books balanced
for new start. This large number would
probably have averaged at least $50 per
head could they have been sold the fall
previous, and at this rate they would have
amounted to 500, 600. I estimate his
capital invested i'm the cattle business at
SOD coo, and yet from its very nature he
is liable to lose half of it during the coming
season. Like other business ventures, if a
man goes into it Of course lie takes the
chances. s.-Omdhd Herald.