The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-18

~ SHS NOeNSi, du dTHl6I guard Oh Inc DOX
ana a mounted escort of from ten to fif-
ty men ALARMED to the teeth, the OWL
er OF santa Gertrudes rode to Corpus
Cnrlstl. Many times Was this party
curing THESE trips. Capt. King was
always foKemost in the fighting, a stern,
t ie res assa feiertless man, well xersed
IN tae Ways A9f the frontier. NotWith-
standing many shairhreadth escapes. how
ever, ne vas never even wounded, and
MS name sbeeanpe a terror to the bandits
ana outlazEs who roamed the plains of
southern Iexas during that period.
A GREAT RANCH
Santa Gsrtrudes ranch is divided into
PRESIDED pres over by a foreman. and he is
held responsible for the conduct of the
business of5the ranch w thin his jurisGic-
tion The general management of the
fancn is lhs the hands of Robert j. Kla-
berg, MIS- Kings sGn-in law and a broth
7 er OF RudQlph9 Kleberg. the representa-
i've from the Eleventh district of Texas.
Mrs. King herself. however. never loosens
the reins she holds over her affairs. and
SAe Is tneo real manager of the entire
property, nothing Of any Importance be-
Ing done without consulting with her.
her jurisdiction not only includes the
management of the ranch, but she is the
political ruler of three counties, a coz
gresslonal district, judicial District and
the municipal affairs of every town and
village within the sphere of her influ-
ence. Without the King support no man
dares aspire forsofiee in that section of
the world, and with the King support ne
Is practically elected as soon as noEn1-
While Mrs King has built for herself
the hnest private residence in the town
OF corpus Christi on the edge of the gulf,
she still spends at least half of her time
at, the ranch, especially during the busy
season. Twice at least every year she
makes a trip over her property and 1t IS
IKE taxing an extensive journey. for
mir q
straight line and yet remain within the
barped Wire fence which 1ncloses every
acre Of her domain. The. ranch is as
large as. the state of Delaware, and near
ly twice IS large as Rhode Island 1t
would hold ten cities the size of greater
New York. and Is far more extensive in
area and Imposing wealth than the prin
c1palft1eS of Germany, from which have
come the ruling families of Europe
A SHREWD WOMAN.
Mrs Harriet M King, the owner Of this
great property, is woman OF simple
tastes and rather d limited experience
with the world at large, but she possesses
unusually keen business instinct and
6hrewd judgment, which she applies to
all the affairs of life in which she is in
terested No one. ever gets the best of
her, and, although she is exposed to the
schemes of all kinds Of adventures and
applicants for money and assistance, she
seldom yields to opportunities, pFeferr1ng
TO give according to her own ideas and in
.eSted.
In a quiet WAY she has assisted the
communities where he interests lie and
being woman of strong religious con
VictlonS, has done much for The PresbY-
terrain church near her home. She en-
tertains no idea, however, of any great
benefactions ito follow her death, and
It is doubtful Whether she considers her
mission to beEQfher than the conservation
and Strengthening of the wonderful prop
erty left to her in trust by her husband.
The ranch eis constantly kept at a high
state of pf1duetiveness, from the cattle
mans pointoofl View. Artesian water has
been found AT moderate depth upon her
lands, and foVeg thirty flowing wells fur
nish water for the live stock during the
dfoughty Season An unexpected Source
of wealth has recently appeared upon
this ranch IN the shape of oil. 1t is be-
lieved thabpneTof che great oil pools Of
the Texas coast underlies Santa Ger
trudes. Oil has been discovered a few
miles from her land and it is not UNI
likely that flowing wells of this product
Will add to the income of the ranch
within very short time. The buzz sea
son now, however, is in ohe spring, when
the calf roundup is in progress, and in
the fall when. the beef cattle are being
shipped to market. The annual shipments
from this ranch vary, of course, with the
season, but it is not an uncommon thing
for 10000 head of fat beeves to be sold
by Mrs. King each year. The income of
the ranch is probably between S3C0. 600
and 100000 every twelve months.
LIKE "A DAIse-ESTA ATE
Life at Santa Gertrudes reminds one
of the stories of feudal estates of old.
The bell from the main house summons
the people to quarters for meals for la
Dor, for schooling and for worship, and
at the dining table the various squads
which make their appearance are graded
in the order of their feeding according to
their Importance and social position upon
the ranch. The rule of Mrs. King is alb
solute. Her wishes are law Each vii
1age is complete in itself, and even the
outlying settlements are provided with
their school houses and churches. The
foreman who rules in each is generally a
! married manswho has long been upon the
| property. He is the business. political
and social head of his particular settle
ment. The ranch houses are rough and
unpainted, but airy and comfortable, as
is necessary in-this semi tropical climate
Around the ranch houses are the bar
racks for cowboys nuts for the Mexicans
and stable$ Cor the saddle and work
ehorses. &
The government of this great domain
is maternal in it's character 1t is a des-
potism In its way, but all the employees
are looked after furnished with food
lodgings, schooling, religious instruction,
and, in faett5 everything except their ac-
tual clothing 3 Everything done at Santa
Gerdudes is done by the order of Mrs.
King, and everything on the ranch, from
the barbed wire fence on the outside
boundaries 70 1.-THE time of her hundreds
OF employees, belongs absolutely to her.
1T is not harsh rule, however; quite the
contrary, fer. while every man, woman
and child Must 90 what is asked of them
the disposfbienIof the owner is beneyo-
lent and kindly, Except in extreme cases
the law OF the commonwealth seldom
penetrates within this ranch Civil dis
putes are settled and misdemeanors~ nun
lsheo without reference to the courts as
constituted by the state
With all the wealth that is represented
by the King ranch, it is but a trife to
that which would be created should this
ranch be divided up among 1860 owners.
all eager to take advantage of the post
bllfties of soil AMI climate to build homes
Tor themselves and families and to other
wise organize after the fashion of a
thlckly settled community of prosperous
people. 1t is these large. land holdings.
made possible by the Indifference of the
state OF Texas to her future welfare
winch have held back the DEVELOPMENT of
thls southwestern Texas country.
CIR ASlSHRPpF g ny. rrxyU,