Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1879-06-24
For the SPECTATOR.
Ranch Life In Colorado.
FLoRIssANT. Ell PAso Co., I
COLORADO, June 9. 1879. {

| FLoRIssANT. Ell PAso Co., !
COLORADO, June 9, 1879. {
Imaginative individuals, when pic
turing ranch life in the West, are apt
to invest it with romantic charms not
its due. They go into ecstacies over
their fanciful ideal of primitive life in
the western world, and, Cowper-like,
sign 1or a lodge in some vast wilder
ness.
How delightful, they say, to be free
from the tiresome restraints of etiquette.
and to be released forever from the hate
full conventionalities of society! Now,
for the benefit of all such enthusiastic
| persons, as well as for the in formation
of more practical individuals, I shall
endeavor to give description of this
life from an attentive personal observa-
ton.
First, as to the manner in which
ranches are settled, and titles acquired.
There are, throughout this State, inn
tracts of unsurveyed land, upon which
any one is entitled to locate. The would
be ranchman selects a valley suitable
for grazing, and having chosen a site
near stream, proceeds to build. His
house is usually one story high, is COM
posed of roughly hewn logs and mud,
and invariably has dirt roof. The inte-
rlor arrangements are rude, and to East
ern eyes extremely uncomfortable. The
outhouses consist of q small stable and
corral, and sometimes an ambitious fell
low will erect hog-pen and chicken
coop. Having made these improve
ments, the ranchman is regularly in
stalled, and spends the remainder of
his time in watching his cattle.
By.and-by, the United States Sur
veyor comes along and lays off the
country into sections of square mile
each.
The land is then said to come into
market, and the ranchman IS entitled to
one hundred and sixty acres as his
homestead. He also has the right of
pre-emption over the remainder; that
is, he has the refusal of it at S1.25 per
acre. When he has complied with these
conditions, he receives title directly
from the government. The ranchnan
gets his living almost entirely out of
the profits received from cattle, horses,
and hay. The cattle and horses Craze
out the year round, and the owners can
| only recognize them by their brand.
Hay, by constant irrigation, can be
grown in meadow lands, and readily
yields s2S per ton. The general char
acter of the soil is poor. 1t seems to
consist almost entirely of pulverized
granite, formed by system of disinte-
grafton which is still apparent in the
rocky districts. Few grains attain per-
fection vegetables are extremely rare,
and fruit is a luxury seldom seen. Irri-
CATION is resorted to whenever possible,
and copious supply of water seems
absolutely necessary for successful farm
ing.
The mountains are full of deer, wolves,
elk, bear, and other 'Uarnaiats," and the
streams abound with excellent trout.
There are few birds, however, and ex-
perience has shown that it is almost
impossible to raise domestic fowl.
There is nothing for them to eat, and
many things to eat them. The only
varieties of timber which attain any
size at this altitude $3.50 feet are fir,
hemlock, and pine.
The ranchmen lead a life of har dship,
which can only be appreciated when
tic work, such as washing, cooking, &C..
but must also be proficient in many
trades. Practical knowledge is abso.
lutely necessary for men who are called
upon to build their own houses, to make
most of their furniture, to repair har-
ness, wagons, &C., and finally to shoe
| their own horses. AS a rule, they are
wide-awake, energetic men, accustomed
| to make their own way in the world
asking favors of none. They have to
| combat a climate extremely severe,
soil miserably unproductive, and sit
uation which is lonely to desolation.
And yet, in disposition, they are cheer
full; in hospitality. they are generous;
and in hopes of future wealth, are
buoyant.
I have failed to hear from these men
asingle complaint of hard times, though,
contrasted with them, the agricultural
population of Virginia, from whom so
many groans are heard, are rolling in
wealth.
Would that we could impart this en-
thusiasm, this energy and vim, this
spirit of confidence in self and others,
into the Old Dominion. How soon
would a new order of things-a new
era of prosperity-attest its beneficial in
f1uence. How soon would glorious facts
refute the doctrines of miserable sore
heads, who, bemoaning the present state
of affairs, assert that Virginia is forever
dead. A. u. 5.