The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1897-02-12
AN ELK RANCH.
The Only One in the World Is In
tho Mountains of Colorado.
Unique Enterprise of Capt. Marcus Coon
Ills Interesting Description Of His
Farm and Its Strange
Stock.

One of the StranroSt enterprises IN the
country is an e.! farm ia Colorado.
/ Few people have ever heard of IT, The
msn who took it into his head 10 START
Jais oldest Ui eli iar:ls a. garegtir un-
| GertCok the work more Tor the love of
doing something that. no oEe cise would
care TO attempt than for u.oocr-mada"
/ purposes. lie has carried QUO bis ..els
IN a quiet, con eryatiye mcEucg. La-ln"
some fear al first as to as ua.rctr
success. Tut low that there isr1lorg
Ct any question Of faiiu7o, ard Capt.
Marcus Coon Las farm with herd on
it that people win go thousands Of
miles TO see, he has decided to let those
who cannot make personal visit know
/ about il. This he has done in thcs state
mcnt which follows:
81 own an elk farm. As far as know
there is not another such farm in tic
world. There may possibly be men who
hold elk in captivity, and VINO Keep them
for breeding purposes to q certain e.
| tent; but to have regular farm, Ther,
there are nothing but elk, where irav
are looked after, kept in condition, and
treated just the same as any cattle
that is a thing which DO not believe
anyone has done before me.
Some idea of the extent to which
work my farm may be gained from the
fact that each year | raise for my elk
alone enough hay to bale up $50 tons
and garner from 800 to SEQ bushels OF
grain.
"On this farm, which is $500 feet
above the level of the sea, the elk roam
through the timber land and across the
rolling meadows just as though they
were not captive. But they are safe
enough, nevertheless, for have them
fenced in with fiye-strand barbed wire
! fence.
In my time I have followed many
lines Of work and farmed in different
parts of the country, but l have never
had such experience as l am now pass
| ing through. The elk is such strange
animal, but in time they get to be just
as gentle as milch COWS.
at has been four years now since !
first took the notion of tanning the elk
and raising them just as other people
raise cattle. 1t took me year to LIl
the farm in order, to capture the
animals with which / started, and
place them in the enclosed ranch.
to that time | did not know whether
idea was feasible; was afraid tha I
should have a good deal of trouble ic
domesticating them.
''fo he sure, the worst worry Of my
life began from the moment caught
the first elk for the herd. 1t was not
that they were wild and unruly; on The
contrary, they were too tame. Al
though the farm is large enough, The
animals seemed to know by instinct that
they were prisoners. They have to b'
pettod like children. In the matter o
feeding, too, | have TO use the utmost
care. Ia the summer it is easy enough
for they may wander at viii and picl
up suitable food from stubble field aHC
timber land. But during the winte,
their food must be especially prepared
: chopped and sometimes sweetene,
when they do not readily take to it
But from the first year everything
seemed to favor my project. The num
bers increased rapidly, and We're aug
mented from the neighboring forest
from time to time,
while wandering at will on thei
native tracts, the elk of all sizes aHt
ages seem to be perfectly able to talk
care of themselves and their horns
But when once they get On a farm the.
seem to forget all this. The youn!
, steers, especially, get into no end 0
, trouble, and break their horns in tn
, most distressing manner. As thes
; broken horns and tadly spreading
? prorgs injure the general G2peaeaDc
OF the herd, have contriyod Ecac
of regulating and controlling dc h2ln'
grow "a. This is done by means Of Il boa
Ike wooden frame, light and easily car
ried by the elk. The horns a:p guill,
in their growth by this frame, and +
a'5o keeps the animal from getting int,
had places in the timber beIt. Then
q too, when the horns are stili in the mili,
they are very soft ana easily Damaged
Yhey have to be watched with the great
= est cauti2n, and iron rust must ht
/. mixed with their food, as it has
, strengthening quality.
, "But, although under usual condi
tions ell. need no more care than cows
there comes q tilneUhen this changed
After Tie second year OF their iife OF
the farms the males sometimes Eet a%iJ
during the heated terms. This u3!J
o temper is liable to be communicates,
through the herd unless each refractory
animal is at once removed and isolated
So when any elk shows disposition tC
kill everything oh&t comes within his
/ | reach, we secure him with ropes ant
\ cut off his horns. This renders him les