XIV. ESTABLISHING A NEW RANCH

by Andy Adams

　　ESTABLISHING A NEW RANCHI hardly knew Fort Worth on my return. The town was in the midst ofa boom. The foundations of many store buildings were laid on Mondaymorning, and by Saturday night they were occupied and doing aland-office business. Lots that could have been bought in the springfor one hundred dollars were now commanding a thousand, while landscrip was quoted as scarce at twenty-five cents an acre. I hurriedhome, spoke to my wife, and engaged two surveyors to report oneweek later at my ranch on the Clear Fork. Big as was the State andboundless as was her public domain, I could not afford to allow thisadvancing prosperity to catch me asleep again, and I firmly concludedto empty that little tin trunk of its musty land scrip. True enough,the present boom was not noticeable on the frontier, yet there wasa buoyant feeling in the air that betokened a brilliant future.Something enthused me, and as my creed was land and cattle, I made upmy mind to plunge into both to my full capacity.The last outfit to return from the summer's drive was detained on theClear Fork to assist in the fall branding. Another one of fifteen menall told was chosen from the relieved lads in making up a surveyingparty, and taking fifty saddle horses and a well-stocked commissarywith us, we started due west. I knew the country for some distancebeyond Fort Griffin, and from late maps in possession of thesurveyors, we knew that by holding our course, we were due to strikea fork of the mother Brazos before reaching the Staked Plain. Holdingour course contrary to the needle, we crossed the Double MountainFork, and after a week out from the ranch the brakes which form theborder between the lowlands and the Llano Estacado were sighted.Within view of the foothills which form the approach of the famousplain, the Salt and Double Mountain forks of the Brazos are not overtwelve miles apart. We traveled up the divide between these tworivers, and when within thirty miles of the low-browed borderland ahalt was called and we went into camp. From the view before us onecould almost imagine the feelings of the discoverer of this continentwhen he first sighted land; for I remember the thrill which possessedour little party as we looked off into either valley or forward to themenacing Staked Plain in our front. There was something primal in thescene,--something that brought back the words, "In the beginning Godcreated the heavens and the earth." Men who knew neither creed norprofession of faith felt themselves drawn very near to some greatcreative power. The surrounding view held us spellbound by its beautyand strength. It was like a rush of fern-scents, the breath of pineforests, the music of the stars, the first lovelight in a mother'seye; and now its pristine beauty was to be marred, as covetous eyesand a lust of possession moved an earth-born man to lay hands on allthings created for his use.Camp was established on the Double Mountain Fork. Many miles to thenorth, a spur of the Plain extended eastward, in the elbow of which itwas my intention to locate the new ranch. A corner was established, ameridian line was run north beyond the Salt Fork and a random one westto the foothills. After a few days one surveyor ran the principallines while the other did the cross-sectioning and correcting back,both working from the same camp, the wagon following up the work.Antelope were seen by the thousands, frequently buffaloes weresighted, and scarcely a day passed but our rifles added to the larderof our commissary supplies. Within a month we located four hundredsections, covering either side of the Double Mountain Fork, andembracing a country ten miles wide by forty long. Coming back to ouroriginal meridian line across to the Salt Fork, the work of surveyingthat valley was begun, when I was compelled to turn homeward. A listof contracts to be let by the War and Interior departments would beready by December 1, and my partners relied on my making all theestimates. There was a noticeable advance of fully one dollar a headon steer cattle since the spring before, and I was supposed to havemy finger on the pulse of supply and prices, as all government awardswere let far in advance of delivery. George Edwards had returned a fewdays before and reported having stocked the new ranch in the Outletwith twelve thousand steers. The list of contracts to be let hadarrived, and the two of us went over them carefully. The governmentwas asking for bids on the delivery of over two hundred thousandcattle at various posts and agencies in the West, and confiningourselves to well-known territory, we submitted bids on fifteenawards, calling for forty-five thousand cattle in their fulfillment.Our estimates were sent to Major Hunter for his approval, who in turnforwarded them to our silent partner at Washington, to be submittedto the proper departments. As the awards would not be made until themiddle of January, nothing definite could be done until then, so,accompanied by George Edwards, I returned to the surveying party onthe Salt Fork of the Brazos. We found them busy at their work, theonly interruption having been an Indian scare, which only lasted a fewdays. The men still carried rifles against surprise, kept a scout onthe lookout while at work, and maintained a guard over the camp andremuda at night. During my absence they had located a strip of countryten by thirty miles, covering the valley of the Salt Fork, and westill lacked three hundred sections of using up the scrip. The river,along which they were surveying, made an abrupt turn to the north, andoffsetting by sections around the bend, we continued on up the valleyfor twenty miles or until the brakes of the Plain made the land nolonger desirable. Returning to our commencement point with still onehundred certificates left, we extended the survey five miles down bothrivers, using up the last acre of scrip. The new ranch was irregularin form, but it controlled the waters of fully one million acres offine grazing land and was clothed with a carpet of nutritive grasses.This was the range of the buffalo, and the instinct of that animalcould be relied on in choosing a range for its successor, the Texascow.The surveying over, nothing remained but the recording of thelocations at the county seat to which for legal purposes thisunorganized country was attached. All of us accompanied the outfitreturning, and a gala week we spent, as no less than half a dozenbuffalo robes were secured before reaching Fort Griffin. Deer andturkey were plentiful, and it was with difficulty that I restrainedthe boys from killing wantonly, as they were young fellows whose veryblood yearned for the chase or any diverting excitement. We reachedthe ranch on the Clear Fork during the second week in January, andthose of the outfit who had no regular homes were made welcome guestsuntil work opened in the spring. My calf crop that fall had exceededall expectations, nearly nine thousand having been branded, whilethe cattle were wintering in splendid condition. There was little ornothing to do, a few hunts with the hounds merely killing time untilwe got reports from Washington. In spite of all competition we securedeight contracts, five with the army and the remainder with the IndianBureau.Then the work opened in earnest. My active partner was due the firstof February, and during the interim George Edwards and I rode a circleof five counties in search of brands of cattle for sale. In the courseof our rounds a large number of whole stocks were offered us, butat firmer prices, yet we closed no trades, though many brands werebargains. It was my intention to stock the new ranch on the DoubleMountain Fork the coming summer, and if arrangements could be agreedon with Major Hunter, I might be able to repeat my success of thesummer of '74. Emigration to Texas was crowding the ranches to thefrontier, many of them unwillingly, and it appealed to me stronglythat the time was opportune for securing an ample holding of stockcattle. The appearance of my active partner was the beginning ofactive operations, and after we had outlined the programme for thesummer and gone through all the details thoroughly, I asked for theprivilege of supplying the cows on the Indian contracts. Never didpartners stand more willingly by each other than did the firm ofHunter, Anthony & Co., and I only had to explain the opportunity ofbuying brands at wholesale, sending the young steers up the trail andthe aging, dry, and barren cows to Indian agencies, to gain the heartyapproval of the little Yankee major. He was entitled to a great dealof credit for my holdings in land, for from his first sight of Texas,day after day, line upon line, precept upon precept, he had urged uponme the importance of securing title to realty, while its equivalentin scrip was being hawked about, begging a buyer. Now we rejoicedtogether in the fulfillment of his prophecy, as I can lay little claimto any foresight, but am particularly anxious to give credit wherecredit is due.With an asylum for any and all remnants of stock cattle, we authorizedGeorge Edwards to close trades on a number of brands. Taking with usthe two foremen who had brought beef herds out of Uvalde County thespring before, the major and I started south on the lookout forbeeves. The headwaters of the Nueces and its tributaries were againour destination, and the usual welcome to buyers was extended withthat hospitality that only the days of the open range knew andpracticed. We closed contracts with former customers without lookingat their cattle. When a ranchman gave us his word to deliver us asgood or better beeves than the spring before, there was no occasion toquestion his ability, and the cattle never deceived. There might arisepetty wrangles over trifles, but the general hungering for a marketamong cowmen had not yet been satiated, and they offered us their bestthat we might come again. We placed our contracts along three riversand over as many counties, limiting the number to ten thousand beevesof the same ages and paying one dollar a head above the previousspring. One of our foremen was provided with a letter of credit, andthe two were left behind to make up three new and complete outfits forthe trail.This completed the purchase of beef cattle. Two of our contractscalled for northern wintered beeves, which would be filled out of ourholdings in the Cherokee Outlet. We again stopped in central Texas,but prices were too firm, and we passed on west to San Saba andLampasas counties, where we effected trades on nine thousand fivehundred three-year-old steers. My own outfits would drop down from theClear Fork to receive these cattle, and after we had perfected ourbanking arrangements the major returned to San Antonio and I startedhomeward. George Edwards had in the mean time bargained for tenbrands, running anywhere from one to five thousand head, payingstraight through five to seven dollars, half cash and the balancein eight months, everything to be delivered on the Clear Fork. Weintentionally made these deliveries late--during the last week inMarch and the first one in April--in order that Major Hunter mightapprove of the three herds of cows for Indian delivery. Once I hadbeen put in possession of all necessary details, Edwards started southto join Major Hunter, as the receiving of the Nueces River beeves wasset for from the 10th to the 15th of March.I could see a busy time ahead. There was wood to haul for thebranding, three complete outfits to start for the central part of theState, new wagons to equip for the trail, and others to care for thecalf crop while en route to the Double Mountain Fork. There were oxento buy in equipping teams to accompany the stock cattle to the newranch, two yoke being allowed to each wagon, as it was strength andnot speed that was desired. My old foremen rallied at a word andrelieved me of the lesser details of provisioning the commissaries andengaging the help. Trusty men were sent to oversee and look out formy interests in gathering the different brands, the ranges of many ofthem being fifty to one hundred miles distant. The different brandswere coming from six separate counties along the border, and on theirarrival at my ranch we must be ready to receive, brand, and separatethe herds into their respective classes, sending two grades to marketand the remnant to their new home at the foot of the Staked Plain. Thecondition of the mules must be taken into consideration before thearmy can move, and in cattle life the same reliance is placed on thefitness for duty of the saddle horses. I had enough picked ones tomake up a dozen remudas if necessary, and rested easy on that score.The date for receiving arrived and found us all ready and waiting.The first herd was announced to arrive on the 25th of March. I met itten miles from the ranch. My man assured me that the brand as gatheredwas intact and that it would run fifty per cent dry cows and steersover two years old. A number of mature beeves even were noticeable andyounger steers were numerous, while the miscellany of the herd ran toevery class and condition of the bovine race. Two other brands wereexpected the next day, and that evening the first one to arrive wascounted and accepted. The next morning the entire herd was run througha branding chute and classified, all steers above a yearling and dryand aging cows going into one contingent and the mixed cattle intoanother. In order to save horseflesh, this work was easily done in thecorrals. By hanging a gate at the exit of the branding chute, a mansat overhead and by swinging it a variation of two feet, as the cattletrailed through the trough in single file, the herd was cut into twoclasses. Those intended for the trail were put under herd, while thestock cattle were branded into the "44" and held separate. The secondand third herds were treated in a similar manner, when we foundourselves with over eleven thousand cattle on hand, with two otherbrands due in a few days. But the evening of the fourth day saw a herdof thirty-three hundred steers on its way to Kansas, while a secondone, numbering two hundred more than the first, was lopped off fromthe mixed stuff and started west for the Double Mountain Fork.The situation was eased. A conveyance had been sent to the railroad tomeet my partner, and before he and Edwards arrived two other brandshad been received. A herd of thirty-five hundred dry cows was approvedand started at once for the Indian Territory, while a second onemoved out for the west, cleaning up the holdings of mixed stuff.The congestion was again relieved, and as the next few brands wereexpected to run light in steers, everything except cows was held underherd until all had been received. The final contingent came in fromWise County and were shaped up, and the last herd of cows, completingten thousand five hundred, started for the Washita agency. I still hadnearly sixty-five hundred steers on hand, and cutting back all of asmall overplus of thin light cows, I had three brands of steers cutinto one herd and four into another, both moving out for Dodge City.This left me with fully eight thousand miscellany on hand, withnothing but my ranch outfit to hold them, close-herding by day andbedding down and guarding them by night. Settlements were made withthe different sellers, my outstanding obligations amounting to overone hundred thousand dollars, which the three steer herds wereexpected to liquidate. My active partner and George Edwards took trainfor the north. The only change in the programme was that Major Hunterwas to look after our deliveries at army posts, while I was to meetour herds on their arrival in Dodge City. The cows were sold to thefirm, and including my individual cattle, we had twelve herds on thetrail, or a total of thirty-nine thousand five hundred head.On the return of the first outfit from the west, some three weeksafter leaving, the herd of stock cattle was cut in two and started.But a single man was left on the Clear Fork, my ranch foreman takingone herd, while I accompanied the other. It requires the patience ofa saint to handle cows and calves, two wagons to the herd beingfrequently taxed to their capacity in picking up the youngsters. Itwas a constant sight to see some of the boys carrying a new-born calfacross the saddle seat, followed by the mother, until camp or thewagon was reached. I was ashamed of my own lack of patience on thattrip, while irritable men could while away the long hours, nursingalong the drag end of a herd of cows and their toddling offspring.We averaged only about ten miles a day, the herds were large andunwieldy, and after twelve days out both were scattered along the SaltFork and given their freedom. Leaving one outfit to locate the cattleon the new range, the other two hastened back to the Clear Fork andgathered two herds, numbering thirty-five hundred each, of youngcows and heifers from the ranch stock. But a single day was lost inrounding-up, when they were started west, half a day apart, and Iagain took charge of an outfit, the trip being an easy one and made inten days, as the calves were large enough to follow and there were nodrag cattle among them. On our arrival at the new ranch, the cowsand heifers were scattered among the former herds, and both outfitsstarted back, one to look after the Clear Fork and the other to bringthrough the last herd in stocking my new possessions. This gave mefully twenty-five thousand mixed cattle on my new range, relieving theold ranch of a portion of its she stuff and shaping up both stocks tobetter advantage.It was my intention to make my home on the Clear Fork thereafter, andthe ranch outfit had orders to build a comfortable house during thesummer. The frontier was rapidly moving westward, the Indian was nolonger a dread, as it was only a question of time until the Comancheand his ally would imitate their red brethren and accept the dole ofthe superior race. I was due in Dodge City the first of June, theranches would take care of themselves, and touching at the Edwardsranch for a day, I reached "Dodge" before any of the herds arrived.Here was a typical trail town, a winter resort for buffalo hunters, nosettlement for fifty miles to the east, and an almost boundless rangeon which to hold through Texas cattle. The business was bound toconcentrate at this place, as all other markets were abandoned withinthe State, while it was easily accessible to the mountain regions onthe west. It was the logical meeting point for buyers and drovers; andwhile the town of that day has passed into history as "wicked Dodge,"it had many redeeming features. The veneer of civilization may havefallen, to a certain extent, from the wayfaring man who tarried inthis cow town, yet his word was a bond, and he reverenced the pure inwomanhood, though to insult him invited death.George Edwards and Major Hunter had become such great chums that I wasactually jealous of being supplanted in the affections of the Yankeemajor. The two had been inseparable for months, visiting at The Grove,spending a fortnight together at the beef ranch in the Outlet, andfinally putting in an appearance at Dodge. Headquarters for the summerwere established at the latter point, our bookkeeper arrived, andwe were ready for business. The market opened earlier than at moreeastern points. The bulk of the sales were made to ranchmen, who usedwhole herds where the agricultural regions only bought cattle by thehundreds. It was more satisfactory than the retail trade; credit wasout of the question, and there was no haggling over prices. Cattlecompanies were forming and stocking new ranges, and an influx ofEnglish and Scotch capital was seeking investment in ranches and livestock in the West,--a mere forerunner of what was to follow in lateryears.Our herds began arriving, and as soon as an outfit could be freed itwas started for the beef ranch under George Edwards, where a herd ofwintered beeves was already made up to start for the upper MissouriRiver. Major Hunter followed a week later with the second relievedoutfit, and our cattle were all moving for their destinations. Thethrough beef herds from the upper Nueces River had orders to touchat old Fort Larned to the eastward, Edwards drifted on to the Indianagencies, and I bestirred myself to the task of selling six herds ofyoung cattle at Dodge. Once more I was back in my old element, exceptthat every feature of the latter market was on an enlarged scale.Two herds were sold to one man in Colorado, three others went undercontract to the Republican River in Nebraska, and the last one was cutinto blocks and found a market with feeders in Kansas. Long beforedeliveries were concluded to the War or Interior departments,headquarters were moved back to The Grove, my work being done. Inthe interim of waiting for the close of the year's business, ourbookkeeper looked after two shipments of a thousand head each from thebeef ranch, while I visited my brother in Missouri and surprised himby buying a carload of thoroughbred bulls. Arrangements were made forshipping them to Fort Worth during the last week in November, andpromising to call for them, I returned to The Grove to meet mypartners and adjust all accounts for the year.