Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-02-14
A NOBLE AMONG COWBOYS.
The Earl of AylesfOrd Living in Western
Teas Until His Debts Are Paid.

A live. s'sure-cuough" Earl is an object
OF interest anywhere, and one would sup
pose that on the staked Plains OF IeXas,
place the very last you would look 10
find him. he would be not only the SUBJECT
Of curiosity and comment, but a person
of distinguished consequence. 1here IS
an Earl ont here and he passes for good
fellow. but that's all. The democratic
oovgbov reDudiates his title and calls him
.stbe Judge" which fits his LOrdship no
better than it does many Of the Judicial
persuasion.
Years ago. from the time when Texas
was first discovered by sam Houston and
Davy Crockett until the Texas and Pacific
Railroad made the country accessible, the
Staked Plain was supposed to be a barren
desert dry and dreaFy, and the reckless
pioneers who tried TO cross it left their
bones upon the sand as testimony to its
dangers. Gen. John Pope made trans
continental survey in 1882 under the au-
thOritv Of an act of Congress introduced
by Thomas II. Benton, and his trail passed
through this place, which is situated be-
side three great, wonderful wells Of ice
cold water, thirty feet wide and fifty feet
deep, whose source is somewhere In the
mysterious bosom of nature. and whose
surplus is swallowed greedily by the
thirsty sand. In old days the DuuaI0
shared the blessing with the lndlahs' ana
Eutu the DlDUCEEb WIZ AAto9NN N--~
nent with fleets of prairie sch0Oners USED
to anchor here for rest and recuperatlOn
after struggling with the dangers OF one
desert and before attempting tue Difficult
ties Of another.
The ranchman has discovered that Gen.
POpe was wrong when he marked this
, cAIntrv of on the map as worthless and
uninhabitablc, for to-day the land is re-
deemed from the coyote and prairie dog,
and is the pasturage of nearly a million
cattle Welding revenue that as large IN
proportion to the capital invested here as
any section Of similar area in the world.
The cOw-man claims that for grazing the
St&ked Plain has no superior, and he viii
argue all night or until the bottle is empty,
to convince you that Wyoming and Mon
tana are not nit for cattle to live on IN
cOmparisOnI Esssss9 $40
The noted Earl Of Aylestord is here. lie
made his appearance last August IN
charge Of an agent OF Jay Gould. A
pleasing location at the head OF a creek
twelve miles north Of this village seemed
to strike his fancy, and he bought large
tract Of the Texas and Pacific land grant
and settled down, as he says, to stay. He
Insists that this is to be his future and
permanent home, and that no induce
ments could coax him back to the fOgs Of
London.
Why did he come here, and why does
he stayS By referring to Burke's Peerage
you will see that the seventh Earl of
AyesfOrd is Mr.. Heneage Finch, and that
he nherits his title from a famous jurist
of that name. He was born in 1919, and
came into his estates, which are among
the largest and most profitable in Eng
land, about the time he reached his ma
iOrity. In 1871 he married Edith, the
daughter of Col. Peers Williams, NJ. p,
Of Temple House, Berks, and has two
children, Hilda Gwendolin, born in 1872
and Alexandra Monica. born in 1870, to
whom the Princess of Wales is gOdmOther.
The Earl has three brothers, Clement
Charles and Daniel. all officers in Her
MaieStv-s service. He was an intimate
satellite of the Prince of Wales, accom-
panying his Royal Highness on his India
expedition, and being his companion in
many famous frOlics that Her Majcsty's
subjects are willing to forgive and forget.
At one time the Earl was said to be the
greatest spendthrift in Europe, and when
the Crown Prince of Russia visited Eng
land he entertained him on a scale of in
ordinate extravaganza,
After being divorced from his wife, the
Earl was b8uished from society and linn
tied to an allowance Of $4,000 year. He
came to America and, after spending
some time IN New York. sought place
in which TO bury himself, and finally Sc
lected Texas. Mr.. Gould sent a land agent
out with him and when location for
ranch was decided upon, the Earl depOs-
tied $50, 600 IN the bank at Big Springs and
commenced the erection of a house upon
his property. 1t is a plain, Imprinted
frame affair, one story and attic, with
seven rooms. The interior IS plastered
and handsomely decorated.
In looks, the Earl is as fine a specimen
of manhood as one often encounters. He
is six feet two in his stockings. broad and
gray flannel shirt and cream-cOlOred cor
durOys are very becoming, and a scarlet
tie under his chin gives a good contrast to
his Sun-burned face.
He had not been here long when his two
brothers, the Hon. Clement Finch and the
Hon. Daniel Finch, arrived, bringing with
them a retinue of five servants, grOOms
cooks and Wallets, twelve dogs, coach
and dog cart, and a gOOdly quantity OF
cOmmIssary supplies. Clement remained
but few weeks and returned to England.
but Daniel shares the Earl's exile and
appears to enjoy life on the frontier as
much as his celebrated brother. Although
the Earl has $1,000 acres of land, he has,
so far, purchased no cattle, and shows no
signs of making such an investment. The
popular opinion is that he lacks the means.
There are twenty horses in the stable but
no cows. The $50, 900 which was deposit
ed in August is pretty nearly exhausted,
but draft on England for 10000 was
placed in the bank for collection on the
1st OF January, which is supposed to rep
resent the EarIs annual allowance, and
the people expect him to purchase a herd
of cattle when the cash comes back.
The Ear! and his brother spend their
time riding, hunting and having fun with
the cowboys, with whom they are very
popular. There was good deal of guy.
ing at first, but his LOrdship took it so
4Hr~ 4 lodi
and aptly in kind, that it soon ceased and
the COW punchers now regard the seventh
Earl Of AYlesfOrd as one of them. and
treat him accordingly. As l have said,
they call him 'sthe Judge and his brother
1.-THE hid" and the familiarity does not
end there. Scarcely knife is lifted at
the Earl's table without the companion
ship OF some cowboy from a neighbOring
ranch. and the boys for miles around
know that a fresh bottle is opened when
ever a guest enters the house. Many
night has the Earl sTARt beside the camp
fires OF in the cabins of the herders, and
as often has shared his bed with them.
Although they profess contempt for the
aristOcracy and pretend 10 despise his
title, one can detect an admiration that
approaches reverence for their noble COM
paniOn, and not one Of them but viii re-
sent any reflections cast upon his name.
Only once during his stay here has he met
with accident or injury, and that was
when he attempted to separate a couple
Of fighting cowboys in a Big Springs sa-
loon and received a crack over the head
with bottle that laid him fat on the
floor.
The Earl avoids the society Of the vii
lage and has persistently refused to visit
any one of the houses in town. There
was church fair held not long ago and
his attendance was urged, but he declined
the invitation and enclosed a $50 bill
Herewith. he often speaks of his life in
England and his trip with the Prince to
India, and entertains the cowboys around
the camp fires at night with stories of his
hunting adventures in all parts Of the
world He reYerently alludes to his
mother as 1.-The old girl" but was never
heard to mention his wife or refer to his
matrimonial experience. He is a liberal
patron Of the business houses of Big
Springs, which consists mostly of saloons,
and owns an establishment of the sort
himself, which he bought on speculation
some time ago and rents for $40 a month.
The people generally think we'll of him,
but do not expect him to remain as per-
manent resident. They think he Will go
back to England when his debts are paid
and his property is released, If he doesn't
break his neck in the mean time. That
portion of his anatomy is considered in