Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-03-24
TEAAS CATTLE KINGS.
sketches of Some of the Great Ranch.
men of the Lone Star
State.
Charley Goodnight Owns ,bs u,o..
Ranch and Richard King the
Most Cattle.

II NuN
Galveston, March lo-.Tha 49,
ranch in the world is that urges
a omnlies goodnight, who has zoe, o0l
acrss surrounded 10y 80 miles wv ~
os,peu wire fence, at the headwater,
y, tne hed river In the Panhandle
Colonel Richard King, down in IN,
corner OF the state next 10 tho ynIf
mas more cattle than Mr.. Goodnight
pu. North Texas men insist that fhs
lattef has the best water and the hoe,
grass, and IN fact the largest and f,nes,
ranch in the world, and that is sayino
a great deal. &c cay ing
Another very large ranch is that n,
miller & Lux, in the San .Toachim
valley, which consists of 600 0O1 acres
OIL Fenced pasture. The Matador Cattle
company have over half million
acres under fence, but it is in several
separated tracts. This propertv was
recently purchased by them for 81 ;
12o'vVV. Their principal range lies in
tne Panhandle, in Motley county and
s. 0OO, 900. '"''e' az
mr.. Goodnights experience has been
quite remarkable. He used TO be n
banker at Pueblo, Col, and while
there bought Il bunch of cattle-a
thousand or so--and gave them To his
Wl'e. III proved To be IA very wise in
res'ment and wiser gift, for i'm the
financial depression that followed the
panic OF 1878 he failed, and in lS78
found himself penniless, even the
fanch on which his wifc's cattle were
pastured being surrendered to his cred
itors, After settling his affairs health
was very much impaired, and he
drove the cattle down into the Pan.
handle of Texas, where they could find
ifee range, and he could rusticate n
willie. p"
While there he discovered what he
then insisted, and other peonle have
since acknowledged TO be the finest
ranch in the world, and as lands were
worth next to nothing, he prevailed
upon John Adair, an Irish millionaire
10 I0ah MN the money to purchase the
land and more cattle. The result was
= partnership arrangement 10y which
AGAR furnished the funds, and Good
hlght had third interest in the prop
erty acquired. Although it was only
seven years ago that he failed COM
pleteIy, Goodnight is now worth more
than million dollars, and no money
would buy him out. Adair comes over
from Ireland to visit the ranch every
year. and finds the $500, 900 he loaned
Goodnight has quadrupled under the
lniiuence OF Texas atmosphere. The
ranch will carry three times as many
cattle as are now pastmed upon it
;ome go, 1000 and the herd IL being in
creased and improved in quality each
year.
Although Goodnight has perhaps
-he largest and best ranch in the
world, the cattle king who looms up
wen over him. is Colonel Richard
King OF Corpus Christi, whose ranch
n Nueces county, way down in the |
'ther corner of the state on the prai- |
les or salt meadows that border the |
suii, contains more cattle, horses and |
heep than were ever owned before by |
single man.
Colonel Kings history is even more |
than Charley Goodnight's.
lie is an Irishman and came to Amer
ca when mere youth as cabin boy
N an ocean steamer. lie landed at !
'harleston or Savannah some time i'm
he early torties and became mate on IA
teamboat on the CEattahooche river.
When the Mexican war proke out he
allied to Brownsville on Il government
'essel, and finally went ashore in that
own, where for a time he kept sa.
Don or dance-bouse. But he didn't
Ike the business, and after the war,
a company with a man named Ken
edy, purchased a small boat, and run
up and down the Rio Grande river
arrying freight for the government
nd private parties. They made con-
Iderable money, and jointly invested
heir proceeds in lands and cattle, so
nat in 1886, when they retired from
ne river, they had a fine ranch and o
.rge herd of stock,
Colonel King has two ranches, living
bout fifty miles from each other. In
ne--his old, original ranch-upon
'hich he lives, near the town OF Santa
Gertrude, Nueces county. he has l60,-
DO acres under fence, and in the other ,
bout 600 600 acres, which is now being
lclosed by Il whole train load of {
arbed wire. He has from 5000 to
10, 600 cattle-he don't know just how
900 sheep and 5000 horses
nd mules, and employs about 800 or
10 men, mostly MeXicans, TO look {
.hNi liO usually --O,Dpu
cad of horned cattle TO market every {
vice as many sheep mutton, from
'hich his income may be easily esti- {
lated.
A gentleman who was telling me OF !
)me of his peculiGrities the other
ay, met the colonel at the recent cow '
mt Austin, and asked him
ow many calves he branded last year. I
~ don't know responded King, 4
that's something / never find out. / Z
t the assessor make his own re-
rms"
HOW THE CATTLE KING LIVES. Q
Colonel Kings residence at Santa !
ertrude is one of the finest in Texas, 4
: in the South, for that matter, and
rince couldn't entertain more royalty
ian he does. His house Is surround
| by handsome little cottages in
hich his guests are lodged. Each
sitor has cottage to himself-uniess
lie company happens to be. very large
and u well-trained colored servant Is
instantly on hand TO minister to his t,
ants. The cottages, In addition Il
being luxuliously furnished, each a
,ntains sideboard which is filed I
it'll the choicest wines, liquors and e
CARS, and Il saddle horse is hitched at Il
post in front for the guest to ride, X
ould he be so disposed; and carriages u
e subject to his call If he should pre- p
r them. Every luxury and eonve- u
ence that money can purchase Is "
divided, and the place is so popular h
at the colonel usually has an army al