The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-08-14
A Texas Queen.
Washington Euening Star.

woman. one IS INC WIDOW VI CapGalu
Richard King, and she owns princi-
pality in Southern Texas. Her landed
estate consists Of about l 800, 900 acres
that is to say, nearly 1900 square
miles. For taking care of this vast
domain small army of men is -equir-
ed. Their votes are controlled by the
mistress, who is to all intents and pur-
poses queen.
The records of the land office at
Washington reveal some extraordinary
facts with relation to that part Of
Southern Texas, which seems on the
map to intrude into Mexico, terminal
ing in point at the mouth of the Rio
Grande. This region, nearly as big as
New England, comprises four big
counties, and is owned by four fami
lies-the Kings, 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 Antonio
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 is by stage route Of for
ty hours. The stage carries mail for
large part Of Mexico. In the en-
tire distance there is not a single set
Element, because the territory travers-
ed belongs to Mrs. King. The region
is wholly wild, being used for cattle
grazing. Mrs. King is referred to by
Richard Harding Davis in one Of his
articles, who remarks that it is diff
cult to imagine solitary family occu-
pying an area larger than some of the
Eastern States-an area that would in
the East support State capital, with
Governor and Legislature and numer-
Gus small towns, with competing rail
way systems and rival baseball mines.
The owner of this principality is a
generous and liberal-minded woman,
about sixty years Of age. She does
much good and takes care of her peo-
pie. To each laborer on her estates
she gives a cow. Her ranch of Santa
Gertrudis is the largest in the world.
1t is bounded by Corpus Christi bay
for distance of forty miles and by
barbed wire fences for 800 miles more.
From her front door to her front gate
is thirteen miles, and she can drive in
her carriage sixty-fve miles in a
straight line without going off her own
premises. Her house looks like a
castle on the Rhine-at typical baronial
mansion. 1t is situated on slight
eminence, surrounded by the modest
dwellings of her dependents and by
fields of waving corn. Beyond on
every side is a green wilderness Of
mesquite and cactus.
The chateau is as completely fur
nished and as handsomely equipped as
any mansion on Fifth avenue in New
York. No luxury that money can buy
anywhere is lacking to the widow, who,
by the way, is the daughter Of the
first Presbyterian missionary to the
Rio Grande. Corpus Christi is the
terminus of railway, and from that
point continuous stream Of wagons
carry ice and other necessaries to the
ranch. Mrs. King lives for several
months of each year in palace at
Corpus Christi. Her son-in-law, Rob
ert J. 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. Kings cattle to
the East.
To run the vast estate costs about
100000 a year. For every twenty
miles of barbed wire fence there is a
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 perpetrators Of the
act. Three hundred cowboys are
regularly employed, 1900 ponies being
set aside for their use. Every spring
all of the calves are rounded up for
branding. They are driven into pen
through wooden chute, and, as they
leave the chute, each one is caught by
the leg ana thrown upon 1tS SlQe.
Then one of dozen irons that are
kept red-hot in an open fire is pressed
upon the animals nose. All brands
are registered, and sometimes each
member Of 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 extent for
agriculture, though it is extraordi-
narily fertile.
D.