Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1895-08-08
A TEXAS QUEEN.
MRS. RICHARD KING OWNS 1000
SQUARE MILES,
And She Controls an Army Of Employees
Whose votes VIII Elect n Member of
Congross-He Castles and Prin-
cipality.

one representative in the next Congress
will be nominated and elected by woman.
She is the widow of Capt Richard King,
and she owns a prinCipality in Southern
Texas Her landed estates consist of
about 10000 acres-that is to say, nearly
1000 square miles. For taking care of this
vast domain small army of men IS re-
quired. Their votes are controlled by the
mistress. who is to all intcnts and pur-
poses a queen.
The records of the land office at Wash
ington reveal some extraordinary facts
with relation to that part of Southern
Texas which seems on the map to intrudo
into Mexico, terminating in point ut the
mouth of the Rio Grande. This region,
nearly as big New England comprises
four great counties and is owned by four
familiCs-the Kings the kennedys, the
Collinses and the Armstrong;. Much the
largest of the four shares belongs in fee
simple to Mrs. King.
\ WILD REGION.
| 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 to Alice Is by
. a stage route Of 80 hours. The stage car
/ rcs mail for a large part Of Mexico in
! the entire distance there is not single
| settlement, because the territory traVeIsed
wholly wild being used for cattle grazing.
I Mrs King is referred to by Richard Hard
! ing Davis in one Of his articles, who re-
marks that it is difficult to imagine a soli-
/ tary family occupying an area larger than
! some of the Eastern States-an area that
would in the East support a State capital
with governor and legislature and numer-
Gus small towns, with competing railway
systems and rival base ball mines.
A LIBERAL PROPRIETOR.
The owner of this principality is gcner-
Gus and liberal-mnded woman, about 60
years of age She does much good ana
takes care of her people. TO each laborcr
on her estate she gives a COW. Her raucA
of Santa Gertrudis is the largest in the
world. 1t is bounded by Corpus Christi
bay for a distance Of 40 miles and By
barbcd wire fences for 800 miles more
From her front door to her front gate is
II miles. and she can drive in her carriage
65 miles in a straight line without going of
her own premises. Her house looks like a
castle on the Rhnc-a typical baronial
mansion. 1t is situated on "A slight emf
hence, surrounded by the modest dwell
lings of her dependents and by fields OF
waving corn. Beyond on every side is d
green wilderness of mesquite and cactus
BEAUTIES or THE CHATEAU.
The chateau is as completely furnished
and as handsomely equipped any man
sion on Fifth avenue in New York. Nc
luxury that money can buy anywhere is
. lacking TO the widow who. by the way
is the daug liter of the first Presbyteria,
missionary to the Rio Grande. Corpu!
Christi is the terminus of a railway an,
, from that point a continuous stream o
, wagons carry ice and other necessar ie
to the ranch. Mrs. King lives for severa
, months of each year in palace at Corpu
Christi Her son-in-law, Robert J. kic
berg. is general manager of the ranch, OF
which are 100000 cattle of improved breeds
Long trains of freight cars are made u
at Corpus Christi to carry Mrs. King
cattle to the East.
To run the vast estate costs about 500
900 a year. For every 90 miles OF barbe
wire fence there Is a man to make repair
and see that no break occurs. In the oil
days 10 cut a fence was an offence likel
to result in the death of the perpetrato
= of the act. Three hundred Owboys ar
regularly employed, 1900 ponies being Sc
? aside for their use Every spring all G
the calves are rounded up for branding
They are driven into a pen through
= wooden chute, and, as they leave tn
chute, each one is caught by the leg an
- thrown upon its side
THE TRIANGLE BRAND.
Then one of a dozen irons that are lter
! red hot in an open fire is pressed upon tn
animals nose. All brands are registcre,
l. and sometimes each member of a famil
has one. Mr. Davis speaks of girl VIII
l. came out in society in New York thro
winters ago, and who is known in Texa
It only as "thc owner Of the triangle brand
Nobody can get water in that countr
e save by good will of the owners of I'll
= great estates, and no one can travel witt
out their permission, inasmuch as thcI
are no public roads. Thus it comes abol
l., that the region is entirely shut up an
:. unused to any extent FOR agriculture
9 though it is extraordinarily fertile.-Wasl
e. ington Evening Star.
:.
FASTEST IN THE WORI D