The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-07-24

s uc SOlu upon The
premises. When the town was laid
out and people began to settle here
local option vas a novelty in this
part OF Texas. 1t has proved a yalu-
aple restriction, however, and has
caused the citizenship and moral
standard of the town to be of the
very best type.
town is the special pride of
MRS. King, and she has contributed
TO its growth and advancement in
many respects. Recently she gave
$4,000 to found a school. The
ranch is completely surrounded nv
her broad acres, except where home
seekers have come in and purchased
from her small tracts of land for
farming purposes. Before this town
was established, Mrs. King bestowed
valuable favors upon Corpus Christi.
which was at that time the nearest
town to her ranch.
Several thousand Mexicans are
kept constantly employed upon Mrs.
Kings ranch. She has spent prAc-
tically all of her life upon the from
tier, and, perhaps, no one has a
better understanding of the true
character of the lowly Mexican of
this border section than has this re-
markable woman. In the early days.
when the frontier territory was IN
tested with bands of cattle thieves
and smugglres, her husband made
long trips up the long cattle trail
to Kansas, and was often called to
remote parts of his ranch and to
distant towns, leaving her to protect
the home, assisted by a few devoted
Mexican servants.
In the early SOS when the noto-
rious Mexican brigand, Cortina, was
laying desolate a wide strip of ranch
territory in the lower Rio Grande val
ley, being at the head of an army
of more than 500 men, who were all
of desperate and heartless character,
the report reached the King ranch
that this horde of outlaws was pre-
pairing to march against Corpus
Christi. 1t was said that the herd of
cattle upon the King ranch we're to
be the special objects of the theirs
of the band upon the proposed in
cursion. Although Cortina and his
men spared not the lives of Ameri-
cans who came within their clutches,
the news of their proposed north
ern raid did not cause Mrs. King
to display the slightest fear. She re-
manned at the ranch and gave her
husband what assistance she could
in preparing for the expected at
tack. Even in the early days when
Captain Richard King was known to
Tho no0r1D 80 fh> LOvIo,, 30, ..@.
who was fearless, and in fact that he
stood his ground and surrounded
himself with a force of men who
could be depended upon to put up
a strong defense caused Cortina to
reconsider his plans and he never
attempted his raid towards the north.
The willy old brigand did succeed,
however, with his men in capturing
the town of Brownsville.
Captain King died a good many
years ago. He did not live long
enough to see his vast acreage prop
erty double, even q%uadruple in value
located his ranch here in the days
when the range was open and free.
1t was not necessary for a cattleman
to W more than a few sections of
land. His herds could Craze over
the broad expanse of territory in
every direction so long as tney did
not come into conflict with the
brands of some other ranchman. In
those days land in this part of Texas
was worth only a few cents per acre.
The future possibilities of the land
We're realized by Captain King, and
he purchased enormous tracts dur
ing the time that it was selling for
a mere song. His landed possessions
at the time of his death, were said
to be soIhthing more than 500, 900
acres, all in one body.
Mrs. Kings familiarity with ranch
matters fitted her for continuing the
big business after the death of her
husband. So successfully has she
managed the affairs of the ranch that
the size of the property has increased
more than 100000 acres since it
has passed into her active control. r..
j. keleberg, her son-in-law, looks
after the details of the property. He
has given special attention to inn
proving the breed of cattle and other
live stock upon the ranch. In the
stables are horses of fine pedigree,
while all trace of the original long
horn breed of cattle has been
eliminated from the herds.
1t is related here that a few years
ago Kelberg was in the northern part
of Texas on a horse-buying trip
when he met Mrs. Adair and Lady
Winton, who informed him that they
were on their way down to visit Mrs.
King. Mr.. Kelberg Immediately sent
a telegram to his ranch superin-
tendent reading about as follows:
Meet Mrs Adair and Lady Witnon
at tonight's train"
This ranch superintendent was not
familiar with titled names and he
set it down at once in his own mind
that Lady Winton was a thorough
bred horse which Kelberg had bought
on his trip. He had one of the
men about the rancn drive the car
riage to the station to meet Mrs.
Adair while he looked after the
more important duty, as he thought,
of meeting Lady Winton."
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