708 A HISTORY OF HKREFORD CATTLE 



1,600 graded Colorado cattle and seventy-five head 

 of high-grade Shorthorns as the foundation herd. 

 The latter, known as the JJ herd, were set aside as 

 a breeding plant, and kept entirely distinct from 

 the other herd were bred to purebred Shorthorn 

 bulls. Mr. Goodnight 's headquarters were in Arm- 

 strong county, but the range covered portions of 

 Donley, Hall, Briscoe, Swisher and Eandall coun- 

 ties. 



Adair & Goodnight. — ^In 1877 John Adair, an 

 Irishman of considerable wealth, while traveling in 

 the United States met Charles Goodnight in Den- 

 ver. The latter was at that date probably as fa- 

 miUar with the southwest as any white man then 

 living, and he persuaded Adair to join him in the 

 Palo Duro Canyon ranch proposition. A partner- 

 ship was formed by the two men, in which Adair 

 held a two-thirds interest and Goodnight the re- 

 maining oncrthird. 



The country at that time was without railroads, 

 settlers or cattle, and teemed with buffalo. The 

 Comanches, who inhabited this country, had been 

 rather thoroughly subdued the year before by the 

 McKen^e expedition and removed to the reserva- 

 tion in Oklahoma, at that time Indian Territory. 

 The partners, accompanied by Mrs. Adair, who was 

 the eldest daughter of Major General James S. 

 Wadsworth of Geneseo, N. Y., made their trips to 

 and from the new ranch for hundreds of miles 

 across country on horseback and with wagons, and 

 on at least one occasion were escorted by a troop 



