St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-05-12

ranch IS DOunOe0 Dy the OOTpuS
Christi Bay for forty miles, and by
barb-wire fence for three hundred
miles more. 1t covers zoe, 900 acres
in extent, and 100000 head of cat
tie and 5000 brood mares wander
over its different pastures.
The property is under the ruling of
Robert ]. Kleberg, Mrs. Kings SON.
in-law, and he has under him sup
erintendent, or, as the Mexlcans call
one who holds that Office, a major
domO, which is an unusual position
for a major-dOmo, as this major
domo has the charge of 800 cow
boys and 1900 ponies reserved for
their use. The widows ranch, as
the people call it, is as carefully or
gained and moves on as conserva
tive business principles as bank.
The cowboys do not ride over its
range with both legs at right angles
to the saddle and shooting Joyfully
into the air with both guns at once.
Neither do they offer the casual visi-
tor pucking pony to ride, and then
roll around on the prairie with
glee when he is shot up into
the air and comes down on his col
lar-bone; they are more likely to offer
him as fine Kentucky thorough
bred as ever wore a blue ribbon
around the Madison Square Garden;
and neither do they shoot at his feet
to see if he can dance. In this way
the Eastern man is constantly find
ing his dearest illusions abruptly dis
PEELED. 1t is also trying when the
cowboys stand up and take off their
sOmbreros when one is leaving their
camp. There are cowboys and cow
boys end l am speaking now of those
I saw on the King ranch.
The thing that the wise man from
the East cannot at first understand
is how the 100000 head of cattle
wandering at large over the range
are ever collected together. He sees
a dozen or more steers here, a bunch
of horses there, and a single steer or
two mile off, and even as he looks
they disappear in the brush, and as
far as his chance of finding them
again would be, they might as well
stand forty miles at the other end of
the ranch. But this is very sim
pie problem to the ranchman.
Mr.. Kleberg, for instance, receives
an order from firm in Chicago call
ing for 1000 head of cattle. The
breed of cattle the firm wants is
grazing in a corner of the range
fenced in by barb wire, and marked
pale blue for convenience on a beau
tiful map blocked out in colors, like
patchwork quilt, which hangs in
Mr.. Kleberg's Office. When the order
e l,
pony to tell the men near that par
ticular pale blue pasture to round up
1000 head of cattle, and at the same
time directs his superintendent to
send in few days as many cowboys
to that pasture as are need to hold"
1000 head of cattle to the railroad
station. The boys on the pasture,
which we will suppose is ten miles
square, will take ten of their number
and five extra ponies apiece, which
one man leads, and from one to
another of which they shift their sad
dies as men do in polo. and go direct
ly to the water tanks in the ten
square miles of land. A cow will not
often wander more than two and a
half miles from water, and SO, with the
water-tank, which on the King ranch
may be either well with a wind
mill or damned canon full of rain
water, as a rendezvous, the finding
of cattle is comparatively easy, and
ten men can round up 1000 head in
day or two. When they have them
all together, the cowboys who are
to drive them to the station have
arrived, and take them off,
At the station the agent of the
Chicago firm and the agent of the
King ranch ride through the herd
together and if they disagree as to
the fitness of any one or more of the
cattle, an outsider is called in and his
decision is final. The cattle are then
driven to the cars, and Mr.. Kleberg's
responsibility is at an end.
In the spring there is a general
rounding up and thousands of steers
are brought in from the different
pastures, and those for which con-
tracts have been made during the
winter are shipped off to the mar
kets, and the calves are branded.