Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-04-26
A E CATTLE RANCH.
vaHderbllt's Latest Reported Enterprise
-.-What Barnum, the Snowman,
Says About It.

tell you all about 1t. This remark
was addressed to a Times reporter who
had called on Mr.. Barnum at his "bie
show" on Third avenue, to ask him
about the consolidation of the Her.
mosilla and Huerfano ranches in Col
Orado, which resulted in creating the
most gigantic stock-raising enterprise
in the world. Miss Jeal and hel
piebald horse rode through the hoops
and Mr.. Barnum then went into the
ring and said his ring-master kept
him, like an old Fourth of July can.
non, to FIRE off whenever there was a
big crowd gathered. Then he thanked
the vast audience for their patronage,
and leaving the arena, took the re-
porter into his private office. The
reporter said he wanted to know some
thing about a large enterprise that
Mr.. Barnum was going into in Colo
RADIO, by which two great ranches were
to be united. I'm not going into il
now, said the great Snowman. I've
been into it nearly ten years, and have
only just got out of it-sit down and
I'll tell you all about it. Ihave moth
ing to do with the Hermosilla Ranch.
but about ten years ago myself and
David w. Sherwood bought the Huer-
fano Ranch, which extends for about
sixteen or seventeen miles on both
banks of the Huerfano river, in
Southern Colorado. The ranch is
th|irty-six miles from Pueblo, and con
tains, | think, between 1900 and
1000 acres of the very finest stock
raising land. Sherwood was a Bridge
port man, and a friend of mine, and
was a cattle mamie knew all about
raising cattle and | didn't, but | had
the money aud was willing to put ii
into the speculation. We bought the
ranch from Major George W. Scho-
field, and we ran the place as a stock
farm for nearly ten years, as | said.
We bought some of the very best
Kentucky bulls of the Durham breed,
and some Of the finest picked Texas
cattle, and began to breed them to-
gether on a large scale. You know
we never fed our cattle on any grain
food at all, and the fact is the only
expense we had to meet was the wages
and keep of the herders and the men
who looked after the ranch. Would
you believe it, we raised oxen out
there up till they we're four years old,
and were ready for market, at a cost Of
four dollars a head. Now, then, this
Craig Ranch, or the Hermosilla
Ranch, as it is called, belonged to
Colonel VIM. Craig, and is a magnif-
cent piece of property, running along
the Huerfano river on both banks a
distance of twenty-five or thirty miles,
and it is Immediately adjoining the
other ranch I've just been telling you
about. Well, Sherwood and myself
ran that ranch Of ours until about a
year and a half ago, and we had about
five or six thousand head of cattle on
it, and then Sherwood came to me and
said he wanted to extend the business
he wanted to organize a stock COM
pany, get more land, and raise and sell
more cattle. | didn't feel much like
going into any stock company concern,
so we proposed that one of us should
sell out, that he should buy my share
Of me, or | should buy his share of
him. Very much to my amazement
he bought me out, and, although l had
put the price up on him pretty high,
he accepted it, and Of course | had to
let it go when he met me at my figures.
However, as | say, he surprised me,
but | didn't care much, as | didn't
care about having my grandchildren
go out there to count calves"
Sherwood, you see" said Mr.. Bar
mum, was a pushing sort Of man,
had some financial hackers, and took
it. He has been at work ever since
on this idea of his for a great stock
raising company. and organized it un.
der the name Of the Colorado Cattle
Company, and now they have bought,
or are about to close the purchase Of
this enormous Craig Ranch, to be ad-
ded to the other. He has done it in
conjunction with some friends he has
picked out, and now some big fish
have come into it and Bought out
some of the small holders, and it is
in the hands ofa few capitalists. You
know, Eastman, one OF the cattle
kings, is in it, and Mr.. Vanderbilt,
and, | believe. Mr.. John b. butcher
and Sherwood. | believe Sherwood
has got a quarter interest in the whole
thing. They are going TO do an enor-
nous business, but the main part OF
it is in the hands of Mr.. Vanderbilt
and his associates;i the Vanderbilt
capital is the main thing. They have
got such an enormous place that they
can raise cattle a good deal cheaper
than | did, because they can put
them into larger herds without being
at much more expense for herders
to tend them, and they'll probably
raise oxen cattle there at So a head
that cost me 81. Then, too, they are
going TO SOW a large part of it with
grain crops so as to feed their cattle
with a little corn. Instead of doing
as | did, giving their cattle nothing
whatever and getting $32 to $36 {
head for thera, they'll feed them q
little grass or corn food and fatter
them and get $50 to $65 a head fol
them. We're my cattle fit for market
Oh, yes. they were in good marketin,
condition, but you know when YOU
can put a little meal into them it fat.
tens them up splendidly, and makes
them ready at once for home con
sumption. Corn has been raised fol
years on the Craig ranch. You see
he formerly had that ranch at a tim,
when people went overland to tn,
Pacific coast, and sold grain at tina
time to trains at $40 TO $l2 a bushel
and then again he used to sell largl
quantities to the government 70.
Indian supplies and for the use of tn,
troops kept on the plains and in tn,