The Penn's Grove record., 1909-10-22

DEAR Mr.. EUMMERILL
Since writing my former letter I have
changed my residence from the ranch
where we spent the first six weeks Of our
sojourn in Colorado, to the town of Ar
where we secured a coy little furnished
home Of four rooms. First | must write
of our visit on the ranch.
After W. had become comfortably
settled, / did some accommodating. I
found the first morning after arrival
that the Rockies were temptingiy near(O
and thought, to muster an appetite, /
would 60 over and take a look at the
great mountains / had read and heard
| 90 much about. When / returned about
met by smiles on all sides. 1t is a great
Joke for these westerners who live close
to the mountains to get a fellow-to walk
| his legs off trying to get to a place which
looks about a mile or so away but which
is in reality IL or 10 miles. The longer
| walked that morning. the farther away
the mountains seemed to get, : The alti-
tude being SO high and the atmosphere
SO clear, that many a tenderfoot has been
fooled the same way | was.
After my return / started out to in
spect the ranch, which consists of 120
acres, mostly wheat and alfalfa. Every
| where | went | heard the rush of the
irrigating bitches, which supply the
| ground with moisture. AS a rule the
| weather here close to the mountains is
very dry, but this year / am told more
rain fell than for the last 10 years.
Large lakes are made, some controlled
L. nu1 4r@ -.-E -
bitches are built covering the entire
acreage of the ranches. During the grow
ing season the ~irrigating is done every
day. Small gullies n made in the
| bitches and the water damned off so as
to allow the water to flow ove the land.
Some of the lakes in addition to water
ing the crops are stocked with fish and
furnish lots of sport and good eating
from their waters. One large concern
has now in the course of construction an
] irrigating lake which covers 400 acres
and which will supply thousands OF acres
heretofore too dry to cultivate.
Wheat and alfalfa are the main crops
in this section. The alfalfa which is not
grown SO extensively in the east is used
by the large dairymen out here the same
as silo is fed to the cows in the
East. Three crops are gathered from
one sowing, the third almost as large
and valuable as the first.
My first few days on the ranch were
spent in the alfalfa fields helping stack
the second cutting. Stacking hay out
here is far different from what it is in
East. The hay (alfalfa) is cut and
shocked and after being cured is put into
stacks by means of bull-rakes. These
implements are built like forks which
are pushed under a shock of hay, the
horses behind, and placed Oh another
large fork attached to a large beam lying
flat on the ground. By the means OF
a block and fall and horse power the
whole load of hay is lifted to any height
and placed On the top of the stack. The
man on the stack has no trouble in bal
anclng it as the stacker puts a whole
load anywhere, the rake being regulated
for a high or low stack. Through the
winter the hay is sold to dairymen at
$40 per ton. Many ranchmen out here
feed most of their own hay to their own
cattle.
A short time ago l had the pleasure
Of helping to break a broncho. The colts
in the East would be considered tanned
along eide of some OF the little wild
horses out here. OF course broncho-
busting is fast becoming a thing of the
past, the horses not being allowed to run
wild as in former days. There is enough
of the wild broncho blood left in some oil
the critters, however, to make it interes.
ting for a tenderfoot like I was. We
used no saddle at first. yours truly pre-.
nag she bare ta~skaassg W slide ~
aA as199t a week we had lie ,lstie IeilUn
broAeo e the saa1ie and amer holss /.
lave never ridden. No ship Or SPURS
needed, but gooG reing.
AttsE tie novelty II ranch lie had
R 5rE 81 s ag>9ssd s6s
I pnt ssfoIa" Ii ,the lisjis town OF
@s79 We to- e newspapers, sig
,esyso tights, large
eata icei5 paved St!ssts
I hours ride b
Convenient / vent
lefe aSpeesiBp Is % be somewhat ike
f~h4adsipiia u regards to the printing