The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1881-12-27
THE CATTLE KINGS REALM.
A Hundred Thousand Acres Stretch
ing Twenty-Five Miles.
Denver Republican


Thinking that some hing of interest
might be written concerning represen-
tative cattle ranch in the Arkansas Val
ley, your correspondent accepted an in-
vitation extended him by the largest In
dividual cattle owner now living in Bent
county to visit his thoroughbred breed
ing ranch, at Prowers's Station, twenty,
seven miles east of West Las Animas.
The sun had not yet risen and the moon
still shone when / left the train and
found myself at Prowers's. A large
stone barn, corrsls, wind mill, a neat
stone house, newer house of the same
material, nos yet finished, both surroun
ded by a Tegnlarly planted grove of
young cotton-w -woods-these were the
home improvements on one of the lar
gest cattle ranches in the State. An
early morning ride had given me keen
appetite, and good rancho breakfast
with its real tenderloin steaks and deli
cious old fashioned gravy was as keenly
enjoyed The morning meal finished,
in company with the owner l visited the
short-horn herd, which still stood ia the
corral. In this there are forty thor
oughbred short-horn cattle-hulls, heif-
ers and COWS. These are bred with the
greatest of care, and from them each
year number of thoroughbred bulls
are turned out that sell, before they are
one year old, at all the way from 800
to $500 each. Besides this herd OF
thoroughbred cattle which is Kept at
home, the same gentleman has on the
range in the main body of his cattle q
large number of thoroughbred and high.
grade bulls. A few miles farther up the
river he has another 6ue stock ranch de-
voted to the breeding Of pure Herefords
His herd of thoroughbreds in this va.
riety numbers thirty-four head. These
two ranches, and several others owned
by the same gentleman, making up q
river frontage of eighteen miles, and In
cluding a number Of very productive
meadows, are situated on the south side
of the Arkansas. and are all under fence
Directly opposite those, beginning al
Fort Lyon and reaching down the river
a distance of twenty-five miles and ex-
tending back far enough to include an
expanse of $4,000 acres, is another pas
ture under fence, the titles for which are
in the same name Here then are forty
miles of water front and hundred
Thousand acres OF pasture under fence,
all owned by one man. The fencing or
these ranches will sum up over LOG
miles. Northward to and even beyond
the Kansas Pacific, and southwark to
the Cimarron and beyond into The Pan.
handle of Texas, Craze his cattle, more
than $4,000 in number. Already this
autumn he has shipped LOO fat steers
whose average weight has not been less
than l,2Go pounds, and he will yet shil
from 500 TO 700 more quite as good
His sales of cattle this year will reach
/ $50, 900, perhaps $4,000.
Tais is but one ranch. There are q
number ofothers on the Arkansas be-
tween Pueblo and the State line that are
but little less in extent. This shows
how rapidly the hest lands in the Arkan-
sas Valley are passing into the hands oi
very few men. As 1t is now, half q
dozen men own the bulk OF the bottom
lands and through these control most OF
the grazing lands for miles on either
side of the river, from Pueblo to Kan
sas,