The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-05-28
The Largest Cattle Ranch in the
United States.


The largest ranch in the United States,
and probably in the world, owned by one
person, is in Texas, and belongs to Mrs.
Richard King. 1t lies forty-fve miles
south of Corpus Christi.
The ladies who come to call on Mrs.
King drive from the front gate, over as
good a road as any in Central Park, for ten
miles before they arrive at her front door,
and the butcher and baker and iceman, if
such existed, would have to drive thirty
miles from the back gate before they reached
her kitchen. This ranch is bounded by
the Corpus Christi Bay for forty miles, and
by barb-wire for three hundred miles more.
1t covers 700, 600 acres in extent, and l0O,-
900 head of cattle and 5000 brood mares
wander over its different pastures.
This property is under the ruling of
Robert J. Kleberg, Mrs. Kings son-in-law,
and he has under him a superintendent, or,
as the Mexicans call one who holds that
Office, a maior-domo, which is an unsual po-
sition for major-domoas, this major -domo,
has the charge of 300 cowboys and 1900
ponies reserved for their use. The
"Widow's' ranch, as the people about call
it, is as carefully organized and moves on
as conservative business principles as a
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 visitor bucking pony to
ride, and then roll around on the prairie
with glee when he is shot up into the air
are more likely to offer him as fine Ken
tucky thoroughbred as ever wore blue
ribbon around the Madison Square Garden;
aud neither do they shoot at his feet to see
if he can dance In this way the Eastern
man is constantly finding his dearest ilu-
sions abruptly dispelled. 1t is also trying
when the cowboys stand up and take of
their sombreros when one is leaving their
camp. There are cowboys and cowboys,
and am speaking now of those | saw on
the King ranch.
The thing that the wise man from the
East cannot at first understand is how the
100, 900 head of cattle wandering at large
over the range are ever collected together.
He sees dozen or more steers here, bunch
of horses there, and a singl steer or two a
mile off, and even as he looks at them they
disappear in the brush, and as far as his
chance of finding them again would be-
they might as well stand forty miles away
at the other end of the ranch. But this is
very simple problem to the ranchman.
Mr.. Kleberg, for instance, receives an
order from firm in Chicago calling for
1000 head of cattle The breed of cattle
the firm wants is grazing in corner of the
range fenced in by barb-wire, and marked
pale blue for convenience on beautiful
map blocked out in colors, like patch
work quilt, which hangs in Mr.. Kleberg's
office. When the order is received, he sends
Mexican on pony to tell the men neal
that particular pale blue pasture to round
up 1000 head Of cattle, and at the same
time directs his superintendent to send in a
few days as many cowboys to that pasture
as are needed to "hold" 1000 head Of cattle
on the way 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 saddles as men do in
polo, and go directly to the water-tanks in
the ten square miles of land. A COW viii
not often wander more than two and half
miles from water, and so, with the water
tank, which on the King ranch may be
either we'll with windmill or a damned
canon full of rain water as a rendezvous,
the finding of the 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 dis
agree 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 ON to the cars, and Mr.. Kleberg' S
responsibility is at an end.
In the spring there is general rounding
up, and thousands and thousands of steers
are brought n from the different pastures,
and those for which contracts have been
made during the winter are shipped off to
the markets, and the calves are branded