USA > New Mexico > History of New Mexico : its resources and people, Volume II > Part 67
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In 1890 occurred the marriage of Mr. Wedgwood and Miss Virginia Idalgo, and their children are Robert, Tom and John. Mrs. Wedgwood died of typhoid fever in August, 1900.
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Mrs. W. M. Armer, living at Kingston, New Mexico, is one of the most prominent representatives of the goat-raising industry in the country, as is indicated by the fact that she won nine prize ribbons at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, and also the gold medal for the best display of mohair. Much has been written about "self-made men" and the credit they deserve, but certainly none such are more entitled to praise than is Mrs. Margaret Armer for her successful development of an im- portant business in New Mexico. She is a native of California, where her girlhood days were passed. In early womanhood she married and her husband, a miner, died at Saw Pit Gulch, leaving to her care six small children. Her possessions consisted of a tiny home and a little herd of goats, which the family had kept as a source of milk and meat supply.
It now devolved upon the mother to support her children, and she de- termined that her herd of goats should do this. . For a time she sold goat milk and cheese and now and then a kid. Little by little she was able to increase her goat hierd. There also came a demand for the fleece, textile manufacturers using more and more of the long silken Angora fleece for the making of mohair, and thus Mrs. Armer found another source of in- come from her herds. She began buying pedigreed goats, has continually bred up her herds and is today the owner of some of the finest stock in the country. She also added to her ranch from time to time. Her place, "Silver Tip," is admirably located, being eleven thousand feet above sea level and embracing thousands of acres of brush-clad hills, while there is also plenty of water on the place.
Mrs. Armer exhibited a large herd of her goats at the Exposition in St. Louis, and the magnificent herd carried off many prizes over various competitors, with a gold medal for mohair. She has also won ten first prizes at the Royal Stock Show in Kansas City, with a large number of second and third prizes during the last four years. There are now on an average of about two thousand goats on the ranch. Mrs. Amer was the pioneer in this industry in this part of the Territory. She came to Kings- ton in 1880 and in 1885 embarked in the business, her ranch being about two miles from the town. She is now carrying on the industry largely for the fleece, and in the management of the ranch has displayed superior business ability and executive force, resulting in the acquirement of splendid success.
Cattle Raising and Dairying .- The breeding of cattle has undergone marked changes for the better within late years. Not only is far better care taken of range cattle, but many sections, especially in the Pecos valley, are making specialties of such blooded stock as Herefords and Shorthorns. Chaves, Eddy, Dona Aña, Grant, Luna, and other counties in Southeastern and Southern New Mexico are taking the lead in both numbers and quality.
There are steady markets for New Mexico cattle in the east and Cali- fornia, heavy shipments having been made in recent years to that state for the purpose of replenishing her herds. The average prices have been about $15 for yearlings, $18 for twos, and $21 for threes, with $16 for dry cows. At these prices thousands have been shipped from Grant and Luna coun- ties to the Pacific coast.
Dairying in New Mexico has kept pace with the demand, in the vicin- ity of cities and towns where the products are sold in the form of milk and cream; but, although there has been a considerable increase in the pro-
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duction of butter and cheese, the home supply does not yet meet the de- mand. In 1889 105,000 pounds of butter and cheese were manufactured, and in 1899, 381,000.
Horses .- The following from a recent report of Hon. Will C. Barnes gives a good résumé of the present status of this branch of the live stock industries :
"New Mexico is gradually drifting back into horse breeding again, and, instead of the cayuse of the olden days, we find the best possible grade of blooded stallions being used and imported by the progressive stockmen of the Territory, and before many years we will be raising a superior class of horses for driving and draft purposes.
"While New Mexico grass will raise a good animal, no one should attempt to raise more horses than he can take care of during the winter months. The great mistake that was made years ago by horse breeders here, as well as all over the western states, was that they depended alto- gether on the native grasses to grow their horses. Now, this is a poor plan, for to make a good horse requires good feed and constant feeding. No man can hope to raise a horse that will weigh 1,200 pounds upon 500 pounds of grass. The horse can and will do well during the summer months on the grasses alone, but in winter they should be kept growing by hay and grain rations, so that they are never at a standstill. The men who raise the horses for the eastern and foreign markets keep their horses growing from the day they are born, and, consequently, they attain a size and shape that bring the highest prices in the markets. New Mexico must raise fewer horses and better ones. To this end alfalfa is the king of feeds, and nowhere in the west can this wonderful forage plant be raised more satisfactorily than here with us. Supplement the grass in winter with liberal quantities of alfalfa and we will turn out horses the equal of any."
Poultry and Poultry Products .- Kansas and Nebraska are the chief sources of supply for New Mexico in the matter of fowls and eggs, and thousands of dollars are annually drawn from the Territory which might be spent at home. The advantages of the industry here are the rarity of poultry diseases and high prices. The consequence is that the number of fowls has increased 250 per cent from 1890 to 1900, and the egg product from 280,000 to 840,000, and vet the present production does not nearly supply the demand.
Live Stock Interests by Counties .- In the raising of sheep, which is New Mexico's chief source of wealth among her live stock industries, the counties of Union, Guadalupe, Rio Arriba, San Miguel and Valencia take the lead. Of the total number of sheep in the Territory, about seventy-five per cent are in these counties, which also produce approximately three- quarters of the crop of wool.
In the production of both sheep and wool Union county is the leader in New Mexico. It is estimated that it has 600,000 sheep, and at Clayton, the county seat, 3,000,000 pounds of wool are sold annually. From that point and from Folsom 100,000 lambs are annually shipped out of the county to Fort Collins and other Colorado points, where they are fed for the market. Of the 60,000 cattle on the range many are a good grade of Herefords, and a number of model stock farms are to be found in the county. Of late years quite a number of cattlemen have been raising al- falfa for feeding purposes, the river bottoms, especially along the Cimar-
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ron, being used for that purpose. The sheep growers will undoubtedly soon follow this example. It is also to be noted that the cattlemen are rapidly improving their stock by importing registered cattle from the states. The raising of goats and horses is another industry which is growing on account of the adaptability of the county to its favorable prosecution.
In 1903 one-seventh of the wool grown in New Mexico came from Guadalupe (then Leonard Wood) county, the number of sheep being esti- mated at a little under 600,000. The bulk of the wool product is known as Delaine-Merino, and is of high grade. In this county a considerable profit is also derived from the breeding of high-class Merino and Shrop- shire bucks for stock purposes. As to cattle, which number some 25,000, there are many fine herds of Herefords. The raising of Shetland ponies and Angora goats are important specialties. The whole eastern part of the county, which is dotted with springs and covered with gramma, is a good ranching section, while the valley of the Pecos river is almost ideal. -In the latter section ranchmen secure title to a water front, and then run their herds and flocks on the well-grassed plains and mesas extending back from the river for miles.
Rio Arriba county will probably rank third as a live stock county. It is estimated that 500,000 sheep graze over its hills and produce 2,000,000 pounds of wool annually, having as company some 50,000 cattle and 25,000 goats. It is not unusual for one owner to shear 15.000 sheep at one time, and drive them to Chama, where there is a large dipping tank. Cattle do remarkably well, and of late goats have proven very profitable, especially in the more mountainous districts.
Of the average production of wool in the Territory, say 18,000,000 to 20,000,000 pounds per year, San Miguel county grows fully ten per cent. Las Vegas and other markets in the county handle nearly half the crop of New Mexico, which comes largely from the eastern half of the Territory. That city is now one of the most important wool-scouring centers in the Southwest, having five or six large plants in operation. Of the 4.000,000 sheep in New Mexico the county possesses about 400,000. In consequence of its mountainous condition and its abundance of water and grass, the percentage of loss in the raising of sheep is reduced to a minimum, and mutton hrings a good market price at all times. The market price for lambs of the first feeding ranges from 3 to 4 cents per pound, netting the grower from $1.25 to $1.75 per head.
The rich valleys and the great plains and mesas of San Miguel county make it a favorite section for the owners of small herds of cattle, as well as the proprietors of the large ranches. Its climate is also mild, and every condition is favorable for the breeding of fine stock. The Bell ranch, com- prising 800,000 acres along the Canadian river, is considered one of the finest breeding grounds in America. The usual run is from 20,000 to 50,000 Hereford and Durham cattle, and the ranch, besides the usual cor- rals and stables, comprises a store, a postoffice, and a stone residence hav- ing 200 feet front, with a 100-foot ell. The establishment is located about eighty miles east of Las Vegas, and its magnitude mav be inferred when it is stated that there are probably not more than 80,000 head of cattle in the county. The city of Las Vegas is the headquarters of the Cattle Sani- tary Board of New Mexico, and perhaps a majority of the cattlemen of the Territory also make it their headquarters or their home. While their herds
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may range in Union, Guadalupe, Colfax and Mora counties, the manage- ment and conduct of large operations in the cattle, as in the sheep business, are centered at Las Vegas.
Because of its mild winters, cool summers, good water, nutritious grasses and sheltered valleys and canyons, Valencia has attracted the ad- miration of the sheep and cattle grower. As a sheep country it is only exceeded in importance by a few counties in New Mexico, the number of animals credited to it being 400,000. Cattle and horses do well, and of late considerable attention has been given to Angora goats.
Quay is an admirable grazing county, and on its ranges are some 200,- 000 sheep and 50,000 cattle. Tucumcari has become an important wool shipping center, the grade of wool produced in the county being above the average.
Among the live stock industries of Taos county that of sheep raising precedes all others. About 200,000 sheep graze on the free range, and 10,000 goats browse on its mountain sides. The country is too' broken to admit of great expansion in cattle raising, although there is good pasturage for milch cows in the fertile mountain valleys, and dairying is undoubt- edly a coming and profitable industry. Hogs are raised successfully, and the county is a good section for the fattening of lambs and beeves.
Socorro county, the largest in New Mexico, furnishes vast ranges covered with abundant grass, over which graze some 250,000 sheep, 150,000 head of cattle, 50,000 horses and 15,000 goats. Its winters are mild, and altogether it is one of the greatest stock-raising sections in the Southwest.
Lincoln county has 200,000 head of sheep (many of them of improved stock), 85,000 head of cattle (blooded Herefords to a considerable extent ), 10,000 goats (the greater part high-grade Angoras), and 3,000 horses. It is therefore no inconsiderable factor in the live stock development of New Mexico.
Experts in the cattle business insist that the Pecos valley, particularly its lower portions embracing substantially Eddy and Chaves counties, pre- sents the greatest inducements to breeders of fine cattle of any one known district in the Southwest. Throughout this section of the Territory the raising of live stock was the first industry developed, as it is still the great- est in capital invested and value returned. Its mild climate, abundant water supply, and low, protected situation, early marked it as an admirable range country, and the same features, added to the splendid development in water supply through artesian and irrigation projects, now stamp it as a splendid country for the breeding of blooded cattle, which in turn are to improve the great herds of the ranges.
The altitude of Eddy county is 3,200 feet, the lowest in the Territory. From the foothills of the Guadalupe mountains, in its southwestern part, extends a plain for a distance of 95 miles east and 65 miles north and south, the Pecos river flowing through its central portion. An abundance of water is found over this vast range, at depths varying from 20 to 400 feet, and practically every available acre of grazing land is occupied by herds and flocks. Among the fine stock farms of this region are those of Colonel C. C. Slaughter, General R. S. Benson, and George H. Webster, Jr. The two first named are breeders of Herefords, Shorthorns and Dur- hams. Mr. Webster's specialty is the fattening of lambs and hogs with alfalfa and kafir corn, and his experiments have been wonderfully success-
Vol. Il. 32
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ful, both in the way of exemption from the usual diseases and in obtaining the highest prices in the Kansas City markets. To give an idea of the extent of the cattle business in Eddy county, it may be stated that during one season, 30,000 head of steers were sold from the ranges for northern feeding grounds, and about the same number of beeves fattened on the ground were shipped, while some 15,000 head of yearlings were sold in the home markets at from $15.50 to $16.50 per head. The Eddy county cattle are generally bred into close Hereford grades, thus giving blood, bone and beef. In the county are 200,000 head of sheep, well graded to Merino and Shropshire strains, thus covering a wool and mutton cross. The an- nual wool product amounts to about 1,000,000 pounds.
The same conditions prevail in Chaves as in Eddy county. The fat- tening of young beef cattle on alfalfa is being extensively prosecuted near the town of Hagerman, and the whole county is becoming famous as a breeding ground for Hereford and Shorthorn cattle. The breeders of Herefords largely devote their attention to the raising of young bulls, with which to supply the home ranges, although the demand is extending to Mexico and Colorado. There is also considerable crossing between Here- fords and Durhams. The cattle of Chaves county are valued at $4,000,000, and the number of its sheep is placed at 250,000, while there are annually marketed about 1,500,000 pounds of wool and 500 carloads of beef cattle and sheep.
Colfax county also is acquiring fame in the breeding of fine cattle. Although 85,000 head of cattle graze on its mesas and in its valleys, it is best known for the high grade of Herefords raised on the stock farms of Charles Springer, near Springer, and W. C. Barnes, near Dorsey. Among the most heavily stocked ranges are those along the Red river in the Catskill and Vasquez region.
The estimate has been made that about 3,000,000 acres of mountain and table lands in Doña Ana county are devoted to grazing purposes, and this may well be a fact when it is known that 250,000 head of cattle and 150,000 sheep are ranging over its surface. Among the Organ and San Andreas mountains, in the eastern part of the county, considerable progress is being made in the breeding of high-grade Angora goats.
Grant county is especially prominent in the breeding of cattle and horses. In the neighborhood of $800,000 worth of cattle are now shipped annually from the county. There are few extensive horse farms, their breeding generally being conducted in connection with the cattle ranches, much of the product consisting of ponies which are used by the cowboys and herders. Within Grant county are about 50,000 head of sheep, and the raising of hogs and goats is also carried on quite extensively. Good crops of corn are raised along the middle Gila, which, in default of an immediate market, is put into pork with profitable results. The raising of Angora goats is becoming quite important, and thousands of acres of rough mountainous country covered with a luxuriant growth of scrub oak (their favorite food) are being given over to the hardy browsers. The climatic conditions are also ideal for breeding and hair-growing. There are a number of flourishing goat ranches in Grant county, the largest, perhaps, in New Mexico and the Southwest being located about ten miles north of Silver City, under the proprietorship and management of the Bear Creek Angora Goat Company.
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The eastern portion of Mora county is devoted almost entirely to stock raising, consisting largely of mesas well watered, grassed with nutri- tious gramma and blue joint, and broken by canyons into sheltering valleys. About 150,000 sheep, producing some 750,000 pounds of wool, 30,000 cattle and 6,000 goats, are supported by this noble stretch of range.
More than 3,000,000 acres in Otero county are open range, and over this vast public domain, as well as over numerous individual ranches, graze the 75,000 sheep, 40,000 cattle and 20,000 goats credited to this southern section of New Mexico. Wells are being drilled by the larger cattle own- ers, who are not already thus protected against a failure of water supply, and the ranges are well equipped with buildings and modern appliances, although the owners of the stock are generally residents of other counties. The Angora goat is especially prolific in the table lands and foot hills of Otero county, and the mohair crop is of a wonderfully fine and long variety.
San Juan is not a county of great open ranges, or one where it is feasible to conduct great live stock operations; the country is too diversi- fied, two-thirds of it is included in the Navajo Indian reservation, and the balance is divided largely into river and mountain valleys. But for the dairyman and the small live stock dealer, for the breeder of fine cattle and the feeder of all kinds of stock, it is unsurpassed in New Mexico. Alfalfa is quite extensively cultivated in the valleys of the San Juan and its northern tributaries, and in the La Plata valley, especially, a large num- ber of beef steers are fattened on it for the home and Kansas City mar- kets. Hogs live throughout the winter on alfalfa hay, and thrive on the growing grass, only in the last stages of fattening requiring a little grain to harden the flesh. Nowhere else can hogs be raised cheaper, or more profitably. It is said. also, that it costs less to raise cattle, sheep and goats in San Juan county than in any other part of the West, as the herds and flocks are driven across the line into the fine stock ranges of southern Colo- rado, in the spring, and back again to their home feeding grounds in the winter. where they have the benefit of mild and open seasons. Half of the 100,000 sheep of the county are thus fed, and about 10,000 cattle annui- ally. Many of the cattle are high-grade thoroughbreds, such as Short Horns, Herefords, Red Poles and Poled Angus. For dairy purposes many of the farmers are acquiring first-class Jerseys and Holsteins.
The C. C. Slaughter Cattle Company, of which George M. Slaughter of Roswell is general manager, was incorporated under the laws of Texas. In 1899 Mr. Slaughter came to the Territory and bought one thousand acres of farm lands. a mile and a half east of Roswell, then devoted to the raising of alfalfa and fruit. He put upon the ranch a herd of regis- tered Hereford cattle headed by the famous Sir Bredmell, No. 63,685, champion of the Omaha Exposition of 1898; also the imported Ancient Briton, No. 55,749, World's Fair champion in 1893. He also had some twenty-four blue ribbon cows topped out of the best herds in the United States, including Viola II, valued at fourteen hundred dollars, and none of the cows cost less than five hundred dollars. The herd is now increased to forty lead, and is headed by the bull, Columbus Slaughter, son of the famous Sir Bredmell. The bulls produced here are taken to Texas and put on high-grade Hereford cows, and bulls from this increase are used for the grading of Texas herds. Upon this one thousand acre farm there are produced annually some forty-five hundred tons of alfalfa, which is
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used to winter six hundred bulls, which are in service on Texas ranches. The company also has about twenty thousand cattle in range in Texas. The saddle horses used on the four hundred thousand-acre ranch, located fifteen miles east of the New Mexico line, are brought here and wintered on the ranch, and are taken back to Texas in the spring. Upon this farm, near Roswell, there is also sixty acres in a commercial apple orchard, one- half of the apples being Ben Davis and the other half Missouri pippins, and they bore in the year 1906 for the first time.
The farm is irrigated by three ditches out of North Spring river, and is all under irrigation. The company also has five hundred acres on South Spring river, adjoining the famous Hagerman orchard. The Slaughter Company likewise owns thirteen hundred and sixty acres six miles south of Roswell, fenced and watered, and just outside the original district of the Hondo project, but will eventually be in the Hondo reser- voir district. In addition, there is one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the town of Portales and one hundred and sixty acres under the Portales spring, which is sub-irrigated and is used for a hay meadow. All of the interests of this company in the Territory are managed by George M. Slaughter, who makes his residence in Roswell, and who is prominent and influential in business affairs. He is president of the American Na- tional Bank at Roswell, has extensive city interests and is individually in- terested in alfalfa lands comprising two hundred and forty acres.
George R. Urton, who, for a number of years, has been engaged in the cattle industry in New Mexico, was formerly identified with the Cass Land & Cattle Company, which was organized in Cass county, Missouri, at Pleasant Hill. The principal organizers were John C. Knorpp, living in Kansas City, Missouri, and Zenas Leonard, W. G. Urton, Ben Duncan, Lee Easley, Harvey Russell, Perry Craig, J. D. Cooley, William Meyers and one Choate, all of Pleasant Hill, Missouri. Of these, Mr. Easley received cattle near Fort Griffin. Texas, and drove them across the staked plains to the ranch, sixty miles north of Roswell, in the spring of 1884. George Urton and J. D. Cooley assisted in driving the first band to this country, numbering about twenty-three hundred head. They drove these cattle in the spring of 1884 and thus established the cattle industry of this part of the Territory. Lee Easley was the prime mover in the enter- prise and the first manager, and continued to act in that capacity for two years, after which Mr. Cooley was manager for a year. On the expira- tion of that period W. G. Urton was made manager, and so continued until 1901, since which time Mr. Cooley has been manager. This is now one of the largest cattle industries in the country, with over twenty thou- sand head of cattle.
After the organization of the company George R. Urton became one of its stockholders, and so continued until 1898, when he sold out. Dur- ing that time he also acted as range foreman. In 1898 he purchased a ranch about sixteen miles northwest of Roswell and engaged in the stock business on his own account, there remaining until 1900, when he sold the ranch to C. L. Ballard. In the winter of 1900 he embarked in the cattle business near Kenna and bought a ranch on which he now has about six hundred head of cattle. He favors the lease law, for under existing con- ditions the stockmen do not know where their cattle are, and under the law they would then be in a position to know just where their cattle are,
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