The Portland daily press., 1895-07-29
QUEEN OF THE RIO.
A Congressional District All in One Wo.
mans Hands.

One representative in the next con-
gress will be nominated and elected by
a woman. She is the widow of Capt
Richard King, and she owns principality
in southern Texas Her landed estates con-
slst OF about 1880, 900 acres-that is to
say, nearly 200 square miles. For taking
care OF this vast domain a small army
of men is required. Their votes are con-
trolled by the mistress, who is to all in
tents and purposes a queen The records
OF the land office at Washington reveal
some extraordinary facts with rela-
tlon to that part OF southern Texas, which
seems on the map to intrude into Mexico,
terminating in point at the mouth of the
hlo qrande. This region nearly as big
as New England, comprises four great
counties and is owned by our famiies-the
hlngs, the Kennedys, the Collinses and
the Armstrong; Much the largest of the
four shares belongs in fee simple to Mrs
King.
The ancient road from San Antonia to
brownsville has been closed by Mrs.
Kings fences, and there are no gates.
There is no road law in that country.
The only way to get from Brownsville to
Alice is by a stage route of 40 hours. The
stage carries mail for large part of Mex
leo. In the entire distance there is not
single settlement, because the territory
traversed belongs to Mrs. King. The re-
gion is wholly wild, being used for cattle
grazing. Mrs. King is referred to by r
ID. Davis, in one of his articles, who re-
marks that it is difficult to imagine
solitary family occupying an area larger
than one of the eastern States-an area
that would in the East support a State
capital, with governor and legislature and
numerous small towns, with competing
railway systems and rival base ball Mines
The owner of this principality is
generous and liberal minded woman, about
20 years of age. She does much good and
takes care of her people To each laborer
on her estate she gives a COW. Her ranch
OF Santa Gertrude is is the largest in the
world; it is bounded by Corpus Cristi
bay for a distance of forty miles and by
barbed wire fences for a distance of 800
miles or more. From her front door to
her front gate is thirteen miles and she
can drive in her carriage 65 miles in a
straight line without going off her prem
ises. Her house looks like castle on the
Rhine-a typical baronial mansion. 1t
is situated ON slight eminence, sur
rounded by the modest dwellings of her
dependents and by fields of waving corn.
Beyond on every side is a green wilder
ness of mesquite and cactus
The chateau is as completely furnished
and as handsomely equipped as any man
sion on 9Th avenue in New York. No lux
ury that money can buy anywhere is lack
ing to the widow, who, by the way, is the
daughter of the first Presbyterian mission
ary to the Rio Grande.
Corpus Christi is the terminus of rail-
way, and from that point a continuous
stream OF wagons carry ice and other
necessaries to the ranch. Mrs. King lives
for several months of each year in a palace
at Corpus Christ. Her son-in law, ]. r.
Kleberg, is general manager of the ranch,
on which are 200 900 cattle of improved
breeds. Long trains of freight cars are
made up at Corpus Christi to carry Mrs.
King cattle to the East.
70 run the vast estate costs about
500, 900 year For every 20 miles of
barbed wire fence there is man to make
repairs and see that no break occurs. In
the old days to cut fence was an offence
likely to result in the death of the perpe-
traitors of the act Three hundred cow
being set aside for their use. Every
spring all the calves are rounded up for
branding They are driven into a pen
through wooden shute, each one is
caught blythe legs and thrown on it's side.
Then one of dozen irons that are
kept red hot in an open fire is pressed
upon that animals nose. All brands are
of a family has one. Mr.. Davis speaks of
a girl who came out in society in New
York three winters ago, and who is
known in Texas only as "the owner of
the triangle brand.' Nobody can get
water in that country save by good will
of the owners of the great estates, and no
one can travel without their permission,
inasmuch as there are no public roads.
Thus it comes about that the region is
entirely shut up and unused to any ex-
tent for agriculture though it is extraor-
dinarily fertile.y