60 THE BEEF BONANZA. 



stables, corrals, and fuel for many years to come. 

 The hills in the vicinity afford the best grazing, and 

 we can have a range ten miles in extent. There is a 

 little town nine miles off, and a school-house four miles 

 distant. The valley "in which the ranch is located is 

 well settled, and there is no danger from Indians. 

 The cattle would be grazed in the hills, and driven to 

 and frorri the ranch every day. The three great requi- 

 sites for a good ranch are wood, water, and grass, and 

 these we have in abundance. If you can sell out wbere 

 you are and bring $5000. West with you, I am sure you 

 will never have a better opportunity to engage in a 

 lucrative business. I will make you a proposition, as 

 follows : you can put in $2500, and I will duplicate it 

 and add $1000 for bulls. For $5000 we can get 400 

 head of Texas cows to start with, and I will add a suf- 

 ficient number of Durham bulls to breed them. I will 

 erect all the necessary buildings, purchase machinery, 

 wagons, horses, etc. I will own the ranch and fixtures, 

 and you be at the expense of taking care of the herd 

 and give me half the increase. With your two boys 

 to help as herders, it would only be necessary at the 

 beginning to hire one man. The hay you could get 

 put up at a cost of $1 per ton, or by hiring an extra 

 man in haying time it would cost you 50 cents per ton. 

 I would put in say 200 head of Texas cows, and you 

 200 head. I might add, on my own account, 100 or 

 200 head, but if I did it would be at no expense to 

 you, and make no difference in the division of profits, 

 you having half the increase and gain of everything. 

 It is likely if we started with 400 head in 1877, 1 would 



