The Portland daily press., 1877-12-21
Colorado Letter-III.
A Days Ride Acros, the Plains-Holt's
Ranch-The Finest Estate in Colorado
A Sheep Ranch Described.
HOLT's RANCH. COLORADO,
Dec. IL, 1877.

OpIihSc duu az oiSut v ClVCh, u nss Woro iaiily
on our way to Holt's ranch, forty-two miles
distant. My companion, who had kindly
taken me as passenger, was an intelligent
ranchman formerly of Maine, but whose four
years experience of life on the plains had made
him a repertory of valuable information re-
specting this country. Our equipage consisted
of light spring wagon of Portland manufac-
tura (for the best handiwork OF the east ID con-
sidered none too good for these western folk),
drawn by a span of native ponies to whom the
unravelling of fifty or sixty miles OF prairie
road per day seems only matter of course. I
had fine opportunity Of receiving the full i'm
pressions of a winters day on the great plains.
The morning sunlight mellow, pure and gold
en-, lay on the mountains like a benediction.
Each outline stood clear against the sky, while
the heavy shadows lurking in their deep can
yons and furrowed sides contrasted strangely
with the dazzling whiteness of their snowy
SUBMITS. Seventy miles south the Spanish
Peaks, irsing like twin icebergs from the plain,
cleaned through the crystalline air with such
startling clesrness that they seemed scarce five
miles away, aud far beyond. in the extreme
southwestern horizon the ssrrated peaks of the
snowy range were flashing their rival splendors
into the azure dome from countless icy facets
as the morning sun played his level beams full
on them.
Far eastward. range upon range like the
face of some fossil ocean, stretched the rolling
prairie, treeless and seemingly trackless, the
home of mystery. The whole tone of the land
scape seemed in some sort Asiatic. The trans
parent atmosphere, which is perpetual aston
ishment; the sky above so blue and deep and
unfathomable the "audible silence" and this
air of surrounding mystery-all breathed Of
Asia; at least Of Yankeedom it surely savored
nothing. A serene and sweet and infinite
tranquility-or solemnity-is the prevailing
key note to this landscape. and the sky so pure
and tender seems to rebuke one; and how pitt
full seems Jest in the presence of those noun
tains.
As we rode smoothly along over the prairie,
ranches were now and then in sight, and flocks
of sheep attended by their faithful shepherd
whose sheep-camp stood in the lee of some
sheltering hill. Sometimes we crossed dry
streams of the glacial period with only bed of
sand to mark their former course. The road
was excellent with neither dust nor mud, and
except sometimes for dust, believe the roads
of this country are always excellent. At noou
we eat our lunch and at little before sunset
arrived at our destination, Holts ranch, which
in its extent and great variety Of natural re-
sources is undoubtedly the fnest estate in this
country of magnificent ranches.
There are five capital requisites to a first
class RANCH all essential to tho carrying on of a
Los hur; 70 fba hso oIo L.
lack of any one of these may, iu the long run,
make wide difference in the net profits
These prime requisites are:
1st The control of large area of country
we'll sodded with the most nutritious grasses.
I'd. Abundance of pure running water, free
from any alkaline tant and well distributed
over the range.
Sd. Sufficient hay meadows and irrigable
| land.
4th. A general southern exposure With some
| natural shelter from storms.
9th. Convenience to railroad, fuel, sawmill.
etc., and good market for buying supplies.
The grasses of these high plains, although
| sweet and nutritious all the year round, are
short and fine, affording but scanty bulk PEI
| acre as compa red with an Eastern pasture. II
| is estimated that not less than ten acres of ay-
| erage grazing land here are needed to keep
| COW or OK in good condition throughout the
| year, and about half as many for sheep. But
the grower should not only acquire absolute
| control of sufficient range for his present
focks, but also for their prospective increase
through term of years, and to insure against
scarcity of feed in a possible season Of
drought. Otherwise in few years, when his
| focks or herds have increased and the country
has been fully stocked, he may b. obliged
| either to pay exorbitant prices for additional
range, or curtail his buSine at its most profit
able stage. The importance, also, of pure
| rnnning water well distributed over the range,
i cannot be over-estimated. Not only is the
| quality and quantity OF wool seriously i'm
paired by running sheep on an alkaline
range, where beth the soil and the water are
strongly impregnated with mineral salts, but
fatal diseases are thereby induced. Wells are
extremely unreliable in this country, and are
almost sure to give out 10 the dryest seasons
when most needed. Besides, unless the water
is pumped with windmill, the shepherds, who
are not fond of pumping, are apt to think the
sheep are not very thirsty. But windmills are
an expensive luxury, and frequently get out o
repair.
| of nearly equal Importance with the water
supply is the hay stock, for this is the wool
growers insurance against loss by severe
storms in winter. Although the great major
ity of winter days are clear and comfortably
warm, yet it is rare winter during which
there does not occur storm sufficiently severe
to render it hazardous to turn sheep out on the
range for at least two or three days, and there
are in some years as many as six or seven days
in the aggregate, between November and April
when the f1ocks could not be safely sent out to
| Craze. Then is realized the worth of hay.
stack, and woe betide the luckless shepherd
that has none. His sheep may not actually
starve to death yet they will lose strength and
flesh to such an extent as to fall an easy vic
tim to the next ''cod snap" or prolonged storm.
AT least six tons of hay for every thousand head
Of sheep wintered, should be cut and stacked
near the corrals each summer ready for winter
use. Neglect to take these precautions is one
of the most common and disastrous mistakes of
the inexperienced wool-grower. A single win
ter's experience usually sufices to teach him
his error, though it is sometimes happens that
the extreme scarcity of hay in the grazing re-
gions, and probable total lack Of hay land on
his own ranch combined with the hope that
next winter won't be so bad" leads him to re-
peat the neglect year after year, and always
| with the same'disastrousfresult until the bal
ance on the wrong side of the ledger growing
larger than he can'carry, he sells out in dis.
| gust and condemns the sheep business.
As to the 4ih and 9TH requisites to first
class ranch above enumerated, their impor
tance will be obvious at glance. The estate 1
am now visiting satisfies all these conditions in
the fullest degree.
| The owner, Mr.. William 7. Holt is a native
of Maine and lawyer at the New York bar,
where he practiced his profession until 1872,
when he was compelled by i'll health to make a
radical change of climate. His case was of
chronic asthma, and the singularly pure dry
air of Colorado proving most beneficial, he
moved here in 1873 and built himself the house
in Colorado Springs which described in pre-
vious letter. His examination of the natural
resources of the then Territory, having con-
vinced him that the growing of live stock on a
i large scale would proye the most safe and nrof