Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-02-02
Ranch Kings OF Mexico.

4 EQIl the AN0W lOih, IItSSs
'MeXic is the land of vast estates
said q New Yorker just returned from
there. the other day. There are, in the
rural portions OF the country at least,
only two classes OF s~ociety-the very poor
and the very rich. Many of the pro-
prietors of these great estates are Ameri-
cans, For instance, f.. ID, Morgan Is
president OF a company which owns and
operates the Corralitos grant. This grant
comprises a million acres OF land, located
In the state OF chihuahua. The company
has 10000 head of cattle on this grant,
and It's mines employs 500 men. One hum
dred and seventy-five miles OF private rail-
road transports the ores, cattle n sup
pixies of the estate. Among the mines Is
one, the San Pedro, which Is worked out,
having been exhausted by the natives
years ago. In the depths of this mine Is
an ancient Catholic church. 1T Is no more
than a chamber in one of the Slopes of the
mine, but II Is whitewashed n always
illuminated with candles. There Is an
altar and a confessional there, an oficiat-
Ing priest, and regular services, attended
by the poems OF San Pedro, a typical Mex
lean town. X Is a rather popular church.,
as the roof does not leak. and Il needs very
few repairs.
But. enormous as are the holdings OF
the Corralitos company, they pale into in
significance when compared with the es-
tate Of their next door neighbor, Senior
Tarrazzas. This iordly Mexican holds un-
disputed sway over a territory larger tina
the whole of New England. Upon his
illimitable ranges roam 100000 cattle, 1,000,-
coo sheep and SOC, 900 goats. As for the
number OF horses I'm his modest bunch, an
incident which occurred on his birthday, a
few months since will illustrate their
number. He arranged a series OF festiv-
tiles at one of the home ranches on this
enormous estate in celebration OF tho
happy event. At a certain railway station
the guests from the city were met with
c~onyeyances to take them to the ranch,
and as a guard OF honor, escorting the
wagons, there were 500 vaqueros. all in
pure white clothes and mounted on pure
white seeds. They were FALL the kings
horses and all the kings men, and the
size OF the herd that could furnish 600
! white horses for the occasion can be esti.
mated.
'farrazzas has several palatiai ranch
houses scattered over his vast domain. but
his official home is on the outskirts of the
city of Chihuahua, and was erected at q
cost Of 100000. The stately old grandee II
the greatest cattle and land owner In the
world. and one Of the richest men on the
western hemisphere. He Is gray-halged,
dignifed, reserved. No one knows how
much money he has, nor where he keeps
II, nor what he intends to do with IL. He
lost 81, 10000 worth OF cattle last year by
drought. and 1t never feazed him. But he
takes no stock In either OF his sons, not
because they spend money, but because
they spend 1T foolishly. The older n IL q
confirmed gambler, and, 1t Is said will get
rid Of 100,0 600 at the gaming tables In q
single night. The youngster went On q
prolonged spree lately and. It Is said. blew
In $780, 900 In one drunk.
However, the old senior believes In keep.
ing the money In the family. The Oldest
son married his sisters daughter for this
laudable reason. Senior Tarrazzas was q
governor of Chihuahua in the revolutions
airy days, when there wasn't much law to-
bother anybody, and he came into posses-
sion of his vast estates IN those troubled
times,
Chihuahua, by the way, which has per-
haps 100000 inhabitants, has a capital
town of the same name. containing 5000
people, and here the state government has
just completed an opera house which Is
one of the largest and finest In America.
It's stage is the second In size In the world.
claim the ~Chihuahuans, and the whole
cost $500, 900, with peon labor. This seems
for a moment to lift art to a level with the
church In Mexico. 1t Is of a piece with
the great cathedral In Mexico City, where
you will see the poor, ragged, filthy natives
kneeling to pray before that enormous
golden altar, hundreds of feet high. Yes,
our n~eighbors to the south are a curious
people,"