Five Historic Ranches of Texas. CAS Shoot Bend of Trail XIT

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1 Five Historic Ranches of Texas AS Shoot Bend of Trail Texas isn t the only state with big ranches, but it has had some notably large ones with a lot of history and personality attached. It s hard to beat the stories associated with the spreads down there in Texas. By financing the purchase of 3 million acres of panhandle grassland, organizers of the apitol Syndicate actually paid to build the Texas State House in Austin, the second largest apitol in the United States. One town in Texas changed its name to Burkburnett, Texas in honor of the owner of the Four 6 s ranch. There are a lot of large ranches in Texas, but we will focus on five that grew up with the state. Sometimes I say that a cowman of open range days who claimed never to have put his brand on somebody else s animal was either a liar or a poor roper. Ike Pryor 1 XIT The XIT Ranch covered parts of ten counties along the New Mexico border in the western Texas panhandle. It was rumored that the name XIT actually stood for Ten in Texas, but in actuality it was a brand designed by an experienced cow puncher to prevent rustlers from easily changing it. The ranch was fenced to comprise of 3,050,000 acres purchased from the State of Texas, 5 an area larger than the state of onnecticut. A deal was struck to purchase the land in return for financing the construction of the Texas State House. The Texas State House grew in size during design and construction, eventually having about 8 acres of floor space, and so did the bill. Finally, the deal was struck and the acreage for the XIT was purchased for $3,224,593.45, a little over $1 per acre, not really that great a deal at the time. To pay the bill, the apitol Syndicate organized by John V. and harles B. Farwell of hicago, was formed and bond shares were sold to investors in the US and England. When the ranch perimeter was enclosed by barbed wire and cross fenced, it is said that a 240 car train would be required to haul the 6000 miles of barbed wire and fence posts, one car alone would be needed for gate hardware. The first cattle rolled in during 1885; at one time, the ranch ran 150,000 cattle. 5 However, it was difficult to pay back the costly bonds when they came due and eventually the land was subdivided and sold to pay off the debt. The organizers of the XIT venture did hold onto smaller spreads up into the 20th century. Total cost of erecting the TEXAS state capitol, which was completed in April 1888, was $3,744, Of this amount, the apitol Syndicate's expenditures were $3,224,593.45; about $500,000 was assumed by the state. 4 Not a great deal to say about the trail. In fact, I think it is the easiest part of cow punching...of course, we had some storms and some bad nights, but the trail life is easy compared to ranch life. Gene Ellison, XIT cowboy 1

2 If he stole it to eat it, tell him to enjoy it and bring me the hide. If he stole it to sell, bring me his hide. olonel E. P. Hardesty to his cowboys regarding anyone caught killing his cattle 1 Five Historic Ranches of Texas XIT A ranch the size of onnecticut XIT Ranch JA Ranch Pitchfork Land and attle ompany 6666 Ranch 100 miles State of onnecticut For omparison Texas and onnecticut county overlay maps From U.S. ensus King Ranch Shaded areas approximate size and location of the Texas ranches featured

3 Sequence of this stage, courtesy of Joe ross & Kari Lynn High Lonesome Drifters ody, Wyoming R1 R2 R3 R4 P4 P1 P2 P3 A B D SENARIO # 1 10 Pistol, 10 Rifle, 2 Shotgun Pistols loaded with 5 rounds each and holstered, stand at Window A. Rifle loaded with 10 rounds and staged at Window. Shotgun, action open and empty, is staged in Window D. Start at With your hands on sill of Window A. When ready say: Keep an eye out, us cowpokes are not too popular in this town! At the buzzer, move to Doorway B. Draw pistols and engage pistol targets as follows: shoot P1, P2, P3 with 3 rounds each and P4 with 1 round, in any order. Retrieve your Rifle, and from Window, put 10 rounds on the four targets using the following sequence: R1, R4, R2, R4, R3, R4, R1, R2, R3, R4 Make rifle safe on sill of Window. Move to Window D, retrieve shotgun and engage and knock down all four targets in any order.

4 The King Ranch The King Ranch wasn t always associated with deluxe Ford trucks with nice leather seats. aptain Richard King founded the ranch in At the time he knew almost nothing about cattle ranching; he was a New York jeweler s apprentice who stowed away on a ship to Alabama 2. He arrived in Texas, learned the river boat trade and in 1847 served as a riverboat pilot for Zachary Taylor s army during the war with Mexico. 1 His ownership of the steamship business on the Rio Grande help finance his ranching ventures. He recognized the land south of the Nueces River and north of the Rio Grande for its ability to support large herds of cattle. He bought land constantly, and consolidated his holdings. He bought cattle to populate his ranch, once convincing an entire Mexican town (whose population included vaqueros) to move to Texas along with the cattle he bought and work for him. 1,3,8 Things were rough during the 1870 s. King bought 30 Henry rifles and kept guards manning the watchtower of his homestead. He customarily travelled with a dozen armed companions. King s philosophy was always to buy land, and never to sell: during his lifetime, he made purchases of 60 parcels of land. At his death in 1885, he was the richest man in Texas with 500,000 acres. 6 The staff on the King Ranch constantly worked to breed cattle crossing native longhorns with Brahmas and short horns to form the first American breed of cattle. 1,4,8 He worked diligently to eradicate the tick that carried disease to herds in the north. Today, King Ranch, Inc has diversified interests ranging from agribusiness to oil and gas, hunting leases, saddle works, fine leather sales and it is co-owned by aptain King s heirs and other stockholders. It covers approximately 825,000 acres in south Texas. 4 Was it civilized in those days? Well it didn t seem so wild and wooly to us then, but anybody now had to go back to living like they did then, I reckon about half of us couldn t stand it. Weasley Stevens, King Ranch cowboy 1 SENARIO # 2 R1 R2 R3 10 Pistol, 10 Rifle, 2 Shotgun R4 P4 P1 P2 P3 A B D Pistols loaded with 5 rounds each and holstered, stand at Doorway [B]. Shotgun, action open and empty, is staged on Window sill D..Start at Doorway B. With your rifle at cowboy port arms, when ready say: Grab your Henry s (Winchesters) and cut loose on these raiders! At the buzzer, engage the rifle targets in any order placing at least two rounds on each. Move to Window A and make rifle safe on sill. Draw your pistols and from Window A engage each of the four targets at least twice...in any order. Holster pistols and move forward to Window D. With your shotgun: knock down at least two targets. If you choose to earn a bonus of 10 seconds, you must engage all shotgun targets and knock them down in any order.

5 The J-A Ranch J It is surprising that the J-A ranch survived the year of its origin, 1876, when you consider the odd couple who started it: frontiersman harles Goodnight, whose claims to fame include inventing the chuck wagon and co-founding the Goodnight-Loving Trail, and John George Adair, an Irish aristocrat who, legend has it, wore silk pajamas even while camping. Despite their differences, their partnership arrangement Goodnight ran the ranch, Adair put up the money produced one of Texas most beautiful and well-run spreads, in the Texas panhandle. 2 At one point the JA encompassed some 1,300,000 acres, but over time chunks were sold off. In the early days, Goodnight used the natural box canyon of Palo Duro to corral livestock. The canyon was controlled earlier by the omanche. Goodnight is given credit for inventing the chuck wagon to support his drives and for isolated herd management. Old Blue, a 1400 lb long horned steer was a legendary figure on the J-A. He led cattle herds on several drives north with an even, steady pace. attle became so used to hearing the bell he wore around his neck that it had to be muffled at night time. Each time the bell sounded, the herd rose, ready to start once more to cover up to 30 miles in a day. 1 In 1887, after feuding with the Texas Legislature over various things, Goodnight decided he was sick of land and men and asked Adair s widow, Lady ornelia Ritchie Adair, to buy him out. She did and then promptly gave the ranch to her son James W. Jack Ritchie. 4 She never liked the idea of ranch ownership in America. When Jack died, he passed it on to his son, M.H.W. Monte Ritchie. Ritchie was a U.K. native, who despite his grandmother s wishes stayed with the J-A in America because of his love for ranching, and the Texas life.

6 Position B Storyline: The J-A Ranch paragraphs Position A SENARIO # 3 10 Pistol, 10 Rifle, 2 Shotgun Pistols loaded with 5 rounds each and holstered, stand at Position [A]. Shotgun, action open and empty, is staged in your hands. Rifle loaded with 10 rounds and is staged on horse. Start at Position [A]: With shotgun in your hands, when ready say: Keep the Running Iron hot, boys (or girls)! At the buzzer, load shotgun and engage the two center shotgun targets, engaging front-most one first. If you knock down the front or rear target WITHOUT knocking down the one engaged, it is a procedural violation. Make shotgun safe on horse. From Position A with your Rifle, put 10 rounds on the five targets using a continuous sequence as follows: XIT, Pitchfork, J-A, King, Four 6 s. Make rifle safe on horse. Move forward to pistol Position B and engage the five targets continuing in the same sequence order as with rifle. Do not double tap! SENARIO # 4 10 Pistol, 10 Rifle, 4 Shotgun (possible reload for rifle) Pistols loaded with 5 rounds each and holstered, stand at Position [A]. Shotgun, action open and empty, is staged on the horse. Rifle loaded with 10 rounds is directed downrange. Start at Position A: With rifle pointed downrange, when ready say: There s rustlers! Bring me their hides!! At the buzzer, from Position A, engage the all rifle targets in any order. Do not triple tap! HOWEVER, you must call out the names of the ranches associated with the brands BEFORE or DURING engagement of the target in the same order. For instance: Pitchfork! bang, bang King! bang, bang, etc. If you engage one or more targets before calling it s (their) name, or call the name incorrectly...it is worth a procedural. However, you may erase the P by reloading one round in the rifle and hitting any target after firing the faulty sequence. Make rifle safe on the horse. Pick up shotgun and engage all shotgun targets. Make shotgun safe on the horse. Advance to Position B and expend all ten rounds with the revolvers on the five targets no triple taps!

7 The 6666 (Four Sixes Ranch) Founded in King ounty, the 300,000 acre Four 6 s Ranch is associated with fascinating myth and fact. According to legend, Missouri cowman Burk Burnett won a ranch in a high-stakes card game and named it after his hand: the Four Sixes. Yet Burnett himself denied the lively Wild West story, as do his ancestors, who say he bought the ranch from the Louisville Land and attle ompany and named it after the brand already imprinted on his first herd: ,8 Ranch acquisition didn t come easy for Burnett, he participated in several cattle drives and parlayed his good business sense and skill with animals into a grubstake with which he purchased land and cattle. Just as fascinating as the legend of the ranch, aptain Samuel Burk Burnett s character is almost bigger than life. He was described by an English friend to be a Devilish noisy, but a deuce handsome chap. While growing his ranch, north Texas was a tough area, populated by rustlers and thieves. When he found some of his steers rebranded and located in another herd, Burk cut them out and drove them home. He was confronted by three hardcases: Jack King, Pat Wolford, and Jim Garrison. When King went for his gun, Burnett quickly put a.45 slug in his head. 1 The other toughs fled. In 1893, rustler Farley Sears, who had previously killed his own brother, stole calves belonging to Burnett and other ranchers. Sears was arrested but released...he threatened to kill Burnett and confronted the rancher in the men s room of a hotel in Paducah Once again Burnett dropped his adversary with a fatal shot, then won acquittal through self-defense. 1 Old Burk Burnett wasn t through being a larger-than-life Texan. When oil was discovered on his Wichita ounty land, he centralized the ranch under new management and moved to Fort Worth. There, he built the city s tallest building, helped to found the First National Bank, donated a city park, and when he died in 1922, willed a fortune to Texas hristian University (TU). 1 The Four 6 s thrives today with its cattle breeding, oil production, a quarterhorse breeding program, and granting hunting leases. SENARIO # 5 10 Pistol, 9 Rifle, 2 Shotgun *Optional Paper Target to be used with prizes. 10th rifle round Pistols loaded with 5 rounds each and holstered. Shotgun, action open and empty, is staged on the horse. Rifle loaded with 9 rounds and is staged in the window. Start at Window: With hands on your pistols, When ready say: This town is full of rustlers and robbers! At the buzzer, draw your pistols and expend all rounds of one pistol on square targets, the other pistol on round targets. No triple taps. Holster pistols. Retrieve rifle and move to doorway. Engage rifle targets with a continuous Nevada sweep beginning with leftmost target. Make rifle safe on horse. Retrieve shotgun and engage the stationary shotgun target and then popper with bird. If you break the flying bird, no further action is needed. If you miss the launched bird, you must make it up with the hicken on a Stick. Make shotgun safe on horse.

8 The Pitchfork Land and attle ompany The Pitchfork was established in 1883 in Dickens and King ounties in the Texas panhandle. Today it is situated on 170,000 acres, not counting additional acreage in Wyoming. As teenagers in post-civil war Mississippi, friends and distant cousins Eugene F. Williams and D. B. Gardner left their families plantations in search of more interesting and lucrative opportunities. Williams ended up in St. Louis, where he joined the Brown Shoe ompany, eventually becoming a partner. Gardner headed to Texas, where he worked on ranches first as a cowboy, then as a foreman and finally saved enough to buy part of a modest ranch of his own. In 1881 Gardner heard that the Pitchfork brand was for sale for $50,000 and got another man, ol. J. S. Godwin, to invest. The next year, Williams arrived and bought Godwin s share; together, he and Gardner founded the Pitchfork Ranch near Guthrie. 2 Though cattle have always been the ranch s main source of revenue, the Pitchfork is known for its horses though not the kind originally envisioned. Its first quality horses were Thoroughbreds brought to the ranch by Williams polo-playing children. But Thoroughbreds didn t suit the cowboys needs, and in 1940 the Pitchfork switched to quarter horses, producing some of the finest in the country. The hallmark stud on the Pitchfork was a grey American Quarterhorse.Its offspring yield the typical white haired, black tailed, grey horses so often seen on the ranch. 7,8 General manager Bob Moorehouse revived the use of the chuck wagon and other traditional animal husbandry methods that worked for that terrain on into the 21st century. 7 Today the Forks (as it is called) is still owned by Williams descendants. The ranch s hunting program began in It allows limited hunts for whitetail deer, mule deer, quail, dove, turkey, geese, wild hogs, and varmints. Hunters appreciate the 165,000 acres (250+ square miles) of contiguous hunting terrain. 3 oyotes troubled the ranch more than two legged desperadoes, so much so that they hired a professional trapper, Jack Beachley, who averaged collecting a coyote a day for over three years Pistol, 10 Rifle, 2 Shotgun SENARIO # Pistols loaded with 5 rounds each and holstered. Shotgun, action open and empty, is staged in your hands. Rifle loaded with 10 rounds and is staged on the horse. Start at the rail: Start with shotgun in your hands, when ready say: Get the coyotes before they get the cattle! At the buzzer, load shotgun and you must engage the two of the three shotgun targets. If you choose to knock down the bird launching popper, you must engage the flying bird. If you break the flying bird it is a 5 sec bonus, but does not count toward your total shotgun target requirements, you must successfully engage one other target. Make shotgun safe on horse. Retrieve your rifle and move to doorway, put 10 rounds on the three targets using a sequence as follows: 2-1-2, 2-1-2, starting at either end. Do not triple tap! Make rifle safe in window. From the window, engage the four pistol targets, starting wherever you desire, but engaging the targets in counterclockwise rotation. For instance: 1,3,4,2 or 4,2,1,3. ontinue rotation until all rounds are expended. Do not double tap!

9 References and Extra Readin for Interested owpokes 1 O Neal, Bill. Historic Ranches of the Old West. Eakin Press, Austin, TX Davies, Erin. The Biggest Ranches FROM THE FABLED KING TO THE FORMIDABLE 06, THE TWENTY MOST STORIED SPREADS IN TEXAS. TheTexas Monthly. August, Adapted from the hicago Manual of Style, 15th edition H. Allen Anderson, "XIT RANH," Handbook of Texas Online ( accessed February 20, Uploaded on June 15, Published by the Texas State Historical Association. 5 Haley, Jay Evetts. The XIT Ranch of Texas and the Early Days of the Llano Estacado (The Western Frontier Library Series) University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK Graham, Don. Kings of Texas, the 150 year Saga of an American Ranching Empire. Wiley. NJ Pfluger, Jim. Pitchfork ountry The Photography of Bob Moorhouse. National Ranching Heritage enter. Lubbock, TX layton, Lawrence. Historic Ranches of Texas. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX Websites for the ranches featured: Photos of old ranch life for your private enjoyment: