686 A HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



Mr. Robert J. Kleberg, who succeeded to the man- 

 agement of the great landed estate left by Capt. 

 King at his death in April, 1885, is credited a large 

 share in this important work of discovering and de- 

 veloping the true nature of the disorder that cost 

 American cattle growers so dearly before a correct 

 diagnosis was established. 



Capt. King blazed the way for the great cattle 

 business that afterwards brought such wealth to the 

 Texas commonwealth, and which after the Civil War 

 was extended northward and westward until the an- 

 cient grazing grounds of the bison, leading up in all 

 directions to the rugged walls of the Eocky Moun- 

 tains, were at last converted into one enormous open 

 cattle pasture. His business prospered, and he lived 

 to see his landed estate expand to 500,000 acres. At 

 the time of his decease this was enclosed by a good 

 fence, but the huge holding was divided into but two 

 pastures one the upper or northern in Nueces 

 county, known by the original name of Santa Ger- 

 trudis, and the other known as the lower or south- 

 ern range in Cameron county. This vast property 

 in more recent years was more than doubled in area, 

 so that Mrs. King, who was the sole devisee and 

 legatee of the estate, ultimately became the mistress 

 of a princely domain of more than one million acres, 

 well stocked with highly-bred Heref ords and Short- 

 horns. But that involves the story of Eobert Kle- 

 berg 's stewardship, to be referred to further on. 



Breeding Up the Native Stock. Following the 

 earlier successes of Capt. King and Capt. Kennedy 



