FIRST HEREFORDS ON THE RANGE 721 



Tod, who was manager for the company from 1885 

 to 1889. These bulls were turned loose on the LIT 

 range, where the cows were practically all a good 

 variety of Texan. These, although only grade Here- 

 ford bulls, were well bred and made a marked im- 

 pression for the better in the herd. Since then the 

 Prairie Cattle Co. has bought almost exclusively 

 purebred Herefords. 



During those years the Prairie company was 

 branding from their three ranges over 20,000 calves 

 a year. In the early '90 's and for years before there 

 was a great influx of immigration into southeastern 

 Colorado, and before this time the range was be- 

 coming seriously overstocked. The company found 

 that in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado 

 without fences or any control of the range it was 

 unprofitable to run a cow herd. The Prairie people 

 therefore removed all their herds from New Mexico, 

 sold their water rights there, and managed the 

 southern Colorado range entirely as a steer propo- 

 sition, though still retaining a breeding herd in 

 Texas, where they own the land, and in this way 

 the property is managed today. 



The Prairie Cattle Co. owned until very recently 

 215,000 acres of fenced land in northern Texas, the 

 pastures varying in size from a few sections to 6,000 

 acres. This ranch carried about 10,000 cattle in the 

 breeding herd, upon which only pedigree Hereford 

 bulls were used, experience having convinced the 

 management that the Shorthorn was unsuitable for 

 the rough conditions the cattle had to undergo. In 



