Written Thursday February 5th, 2004
We enjoyed the King Ranch Tour last Tuesday. As we headed north out of Harlingen we were soon in King Ranch territory. You know you are in King Ranch by the fence posts. They intersperse steel posts with mesquite posts throughout their ranch. They use a heavy gauge fencing but never barbed wire because it injures animals and then they can lose them to infection or it is costly to treat them. On a ranch the size of Rhode Island it could be difficult to even find them. The ranch has been stocked with exotic deer (Niglai) and we spotted one on the ride through the ranch. We also saw Caracara (a Mexican bird), Harris Hawks, Egrets, Cranes, and a Coyote.
One of the things our guide related on the trip was the procedure required by law to burn off a cane field. They burn them off as part of the harvesting process. By burning it off all that is left is the cane that can then be easily gathered but before they can burn they must post a sign in all four corners of the field in both Spanish and English their intent to burn it. And then they must use a loudspeaker and announce it before they set a torch to it. It seems they have burned up a person or two, which accounts for the policy. I understand that it is a spectacular fire when they set it ablaze.
Back to the ranch?
When Richard King had his vision of a cattle ranch 150 years ago he knew he would need help so he went to Mexico and hired some hands. He built them homes on the ranch that remain today and this group of homes is called the colony. The descendants of these cowboys still work the ranch. Lolo is one of these cowboys now retired. See Webshots. Automation has changed the ranch of course whereby it used to take 250 cowboys to run it they now have 45. The King Ranch has been in existence since before Texas was a State and remains in the King family today.