The Washington times., 1922-07-17
'RANCHER GIVES
BULK Of HUGE
. ESTATE To GIRL
Burk Burnett, Pioneer Oil and
cattIeman, Makes Grand
daughter Wealthy.
By International News Service.

FORT WORTH, Tex, July IL
By provisions of the will of the late
Burk Burnett. picturesque million
| aire cattleman, Anne Burnett. his
twenty-year- old granddaughter, be-
| comes one of the richest girls In
America. The win Of the pioneer
rancher bequeaths to her the bulk
of an estate valued at more than
81 100000.
Tom L. Burnett. son Of the far
famed cattleman. was cut off with
"paltry" $4,000 per year and this
amount. the will provides. shall be
forfeited In the event the son con-
tests the probation Of the document.
At no time during his life, the In.
strument provides, shall Tom Bur-
nett have any voice in the manage
ment Of the vast estate.
The scorn of his father was
brought down on the head of young
Burnett. II is said by friends close
to the family. because Of his unre.
strained "wildness." Tom, say con.
fidants of the family, refused to al.
ways follow the, wishes Of his father.
He also Is a rancher and recently was
divorced from his wife, formerly
Lucille Mulhall, a professional horse
woman who takes part in rodeo
shows. The younger Burnett's mar
rtage to Miss Mulhall Is understood
to have been opposed by his father.
Burnett Was Capitalist.
Captain Burnett, who died at the
age. of seventy-four, was a rancher,
banker and capitalist. In the early
seventies he was a cowboy without
funds and started his herd on bor-
rowed money. When he died he
owned three great Texas ranches,
including the -Four Six" He also
owned two Fort Worth skyscrapurs .
and stock In many banks and other
| corporations. During the world war
he put 100000 in Liberty bonds.
The elder Burnett married a
daughter OF a leading Fort Worth
banker and later was divorced from
her and married again. The
wealthy rancher In his will provid-
| ed that Tom shall have no voice or
part in the management of the Bur-
nett estates. He will not even get
the $4,000 annually II he protests
or tries to break the will, reads an.
other provision.
About eight years ago Captain
Burnett was tried and acquitted in
King county for the killing OF a
ranch employe. He was said to
have fired in self defense. He was
a dead shot with a pistol and rifle.
Only during the last year a report
had been going the rounds that II
was not Burnett who shot the man
but a friend who was with Burnett.
Burnett, according to the story,
realized he would stand a better
chance Of acquittal than his friend,
so ne grabbed the gun from his
hands and when people entered the
washroom where the shooting oc.
| CURED the captain, gun in hand, de.
clared that 1t was he who fired the
shot.
Endows City Park.
| Burnett left a maintenance fund
of $50, 900 for a park he recently
donated to the city. Sisters, nieces,
other relatives and friends were left
sums up to $4,000 in cash and
| several old ranch hands were re.
membered. Four OF these ranch EN-.
| ployes were given IS 900 each, two of
whom, in addition, will draw 500 Q
month for life. His secretary was
left $4,000.
Texas cowboy and rancher. When
| ySuhSCi dNCu dll lUt udnktTS
OF frontier life, shot buffaloes,
fought Indians, and at the same
time kept adding to his fortune. He
was born in Bates county, Mo. in
l849 and his family removed to
| Texas when he was a boy.
In 1871 Burnett. then hardly past
his majority, took 1900 head of
cattle to Abilene. Kan. He had a
dozen men with him. Burnett
bought a small ranch Of 10000
acres at Burk Station. He became
close friend Of Chief Quanah
Parker and from him, after negotia-
tons with the Government. leased
100000 acres at 6h cents an acre.
Later he bought the big -Four Six"
| ranch
In 1914 Burnett added the Dixon
Creek ranch Of 1000 acres to his
holdings. When he died his ranch
property totaled nearly 100000
acres. all stocked with pure bred
cattle. He was fortunate in oil es
well as cattle, some of the biggest
Texas wells having been drilled on
his property.
Captain Burnett remained in
| close touch with his ranch and busi
| ness affairs almost up to the day he
| died. Administrators Of the prop
erty have announced they expect
no contest over his will.