OF THE SADDLE AND SIRLOIN CLUB 135 



A CATTLE CRUSADER FROM CALEDON 



49. One of the pioneer managers of the great cattle holdings 

 of the boom days of cowboy and grassland was Murdo Macken- 

 zie. Born in Tain, Scotland, in 1850, he gained his first experi- 

 ence as plowboy and farm laborer. In his late teens he entered 

 into an apprenticeship in the North of Scotland Bank, studying 

 at the same time in a lawyer's office. From this position he 

 turned quite naturally to the assistant factorship of the 500,000 

 acre estate of Sir Charles Ross at Balnagowan, County of Ross. 

 Here he was placed in charge of the agricultural interests in 

 particular, although he retained an agency for the North of 

 Scotland Bank. It was part of his duties to attend to the rents 

 and leases of some 500 towns on Sir Charles' estate, in addi- 

 tion to handling the cropping and grazing lands. 



In 1885 he crossed the waters to America and became man- 

 ager of one of the ranches of the Prairie Cattle Co., in Colorado. 

 Four years later he succeeded Mr. W. J. Tod to the manager- 

 ship of the entire holdings of the company in southeast Colorado, 

 what is now Oklahoma, and in the Panhandle district. On Jan- 

 uary 1, 1891, he was called to the Matador Land & Cattle Co., 

 and assumed the position of manager of its extensive grazing 

 lands and herds in Colorado and Texas. Mr. Mackenzie 

 brought to bear on the big range problems all of those instincts 

 that have made the Scot truly constructive from an agricultural 

 standpoint wherever he has gone. At the time that he took 

 charge the herd consisted of about 65,000 head, and the total 

 holdings were reputed to be worth about $6,000,000. About 

 750,000 acres were operated by the company on its southwest 

 range, 500,000 acres being in one parcel and 250,000 acres being 

 in the other. In addition to this the company leased 450,000 

 acres in Dakota and 150,000 acres in Canada. 



The original cattle were of the distinct Texas type, southern 

 stock graded up to some extent by the use of Shorthorn blood. 



