The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1877-10-05
Letter from Kansas.


MEssRs. EDIToRs:-I have been for a
fortnight i'll this country for sort of a
vacation, and finding here some of
your old constituents, have considered
it worth while to submit to your readers
some account of the most prosperous
sheep rancho in Kansas, the more so
that it is owned and carried on by three
men from Addison County. The loca-
ton of the range, or rancho (the terms
are used nearly indiscriminatcly here,
though the former really means the pas
ture ground and the latter the whole
equipment, including houses and culti-
waited lands), is on Cedar Greek, about
five miles from the town of Russell and
three from Bunker Hill, both being sta
tions on the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
The distance is trifle over two hum
dred and fifty miles from Kansas City.
and seven hundred and fifty from Chi
cago. Let me put in here a word about
the curious habit have noticed of not
calling things by their right names in
this country. For instance came over
a railroad called the Hannibal & St.
Joseph, though it runs from Quincy to
Kansas City. The last named place is
called Kansas City because it is in Mis-.
souri,. Then came here on the Kan
sas Pacific Road, so called because il
don't go within thousand miles of the
Pacific. Getting of at Russell hunted
up Cedar Creek, which is not creek
but trilling brook, and is named Cedar
because it never had so much as one
cedar on any part of ii that | could heal
of. AT the rancho | found the firm OF
Eaton & Clifford, which is composed O.
Allen S. Eaton, formerly of New LA
ven "Gore;" Henry O. Clifford. who
used TO live in that part of New Havei
called "The River" and Oliver w. Ea
ton, who spent some years in dodgins
about among the stones in the extreme
south part of AIOnktOn, between "Bar
numtown" and the New Haven line.
believe they were all pretty good farm
ers in Addison county, Vermont, ant
used to know as much as most mel
about sheep-a knowledge which la
stood them in good stead in Russell
county, Kansas, in an entirely difleren
set of circumstances. But ! suppose
sheep is sheep whether one cuts tn,
: wool in Vermont or the Great West.
} was about this Cedar Creek ranch,
for some days, and by dint of question
/ ing the partners AT odd times | mad
myself familiar with their doings sine
they have been in the west Two o
them had been engaged in selling Yer
mont rams in the west before they SET
tied down. In October, 1873, the
, bought about 2,l00 Mexican sheep ii
, Colorado and winiered them thirt
miles east of Colorado Springs, at tn
head of Big Sandy. In August, 1874
5 they started for this country, arriving tn
herd before them at the rate of eight o
nine miles day. In thirty-eight day
they struck Wolf Greek in Osborl
County, Kansas, having made the thre
, hundred and twenty-five miles with tn
, loss of not more than two or three sheep
During all this journey the sheep picke,
up their living as they went, and ende,
+ the trip in better condition than the
{ began it. On Wolf Creek the liri
bought eleven hundred and twenty acre
| of land, eight hundred acres of whic
I they still own. Most of this they pre-
5 cured from the railroad company q
f about four dollars per acre. On a
eligible site they erected comfortabl
: dwelling, perhaps the best rancho hous
= in two counties. At once upon arriI
t ing, the firm bought as many wethel
: ms they could comfortably handle-abou
/ 1850 Mexican and merinos crossed
and fed them for market. Each wethe
S received about two bushels of corn dul
G ing the winter, and picked his ow
: grass. No hay was fed. The corn COZ
}, thirty cents per bushel, and the shee
i showed its effects by weighing one hun
: dred and five pounds on an average
S the Chicago market. The result to III
= product is thus stated: The wethC
o cost two dollars; his corn sixty cents
n his fare TO Chicago sixty-seven cents
C total, three dollars and twcnty-seve
# cents. lie brought an average of ii,
dollars ten cents per hundred pound
o or five dollars and thirty-five per sheel
o making the whole profit about tw
II thousand six hundred dollars on ii
&c transaction. In the meantime the cw,
It in the flock brought from Colorado h0
II each produced a lamb, which, being ha
= merino, was worth not less than tw
+" dollars. The following winter the fir
IS fed two thousand wethers, paying iwei
ty-three cents per bushel for corn, b