RANCHING
________________________
THE LINDAUER CATTLE
COMPANY OF NEW MEXICO
Issued April 4, 1889, uncancelled, near fine
condition
Western Banknote and Engraving Company,
Chicago
Price: $350.00
_________________________________________________________
THE
LARIMER
COUNTY
STOCKGROWERS ASSOCIATION, 1884 Ц 1956.
Larimer County,
Colorado
Bylaws and History of the Association.
Brands of the Members.
A Brief History of the Ranches.
A Map of Larimer County
Showing
Location of Operation and Headquarters of the Association Members.
First printing: July, 1956.
Lithographed by Don-Art Printers, Fort Collins,
Colorado. Original illustrated
covers; spiral bound, with fold-out map; 108 pages.
Fine condition.
Price:
$100.00
___________________________________________________
RANGE CALL
(Rio Blanco County, Colorado)
LaRoy H. Purdy, Recreation Supervisor.
Publication published with the assistance of a W.P.A. Project
and sponsored by the Rio Blanco County Council of Adult Education and
Recreation, 1938.
Original illustrated wrappers; 32 pages; illustrations;
articles. Meeker, Colorado. Dedication to Nathan C. Meeker.
The Rangely Rodeo. Range Call Rodeo Program. Rio Blanco County's
Ranching and Agriculture. White River Valley.
Very good plus condition. PRICE:
$25.00
_______________________________________________
GUIDE
MAP OF THE GREAT TEXAS CATTLE TRAIL from Red River Crossing to the Kansas
Pacific Railway. Reprint.
Introduction
by Herbert O. Brayer
The Branding Iron Press: Evanston,
Illinois, 1955. Number 336 of 750 copies. Portfolio designed by
David T. Vernon. One foldout map; six foldout illustrations; 21
pages. Near fine condition.
Price:
$25.00
__________________________
IRON MOUNTAIN RANCH COMPANY
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Incorporated under the Laws of the State of Wyoming
Issued December 21, 1900
Signed by John Coble as president and Frank Bosler as
secretary
"In the late 1800s when John Coble decided to
leave his home in
Carlisle
,
Pennsylvania
, and go west, he hoped to begin a life of prosperity in the cattle business.
Coble spent time along the North Platte River in
Nebraska
, working on cattle ranches before moving to
Albany County
,
Wyoming
to take a job with another
Pennsylvania
native, Frank Bosler. That choice defined Coble's life.
Frank Bosler was a
prominent cattle rancher in
Wyoming
and a member of the Wyoming Stock Growers' Association and Cheyenne Cattlemen's
Club. He hired Coble as the operations' manager for the Iron Mountain Ranch near
Chugwater. Whether Bosler was involved in the Johnson County War is unclear,
however, his animosity towards the neighboring homesteaders resulted in him
hiring the legendary Tom Horn.
Tom Horn's
reputation followed him wherever he went. He did not hesitate to brag about the
number of men he killed and it did not matter to him whether the killings were
justified or not. He killed for the game of it. Horn resided at the Iron
Mountain Ranch and became close friends with John Coble.
On July 18, 1901,
Horn was riding the Bosler range when the murder of fourteen-year-old Willie
Nickell took place. Nickell , while walking his father's horse though an open
gate on his father's farm, was shot twice in the back. Kels Nickell, Willie's
father, was the original target for the murder and according to Chip Carlson's
book, Blood on the Moon, the person or person's who shot the boy turned
the body over and when they realized they killed the wrong person, laid the
boy's head on a rock, Tom Horn's signature.
The prime suspect at
first was Victor Miller who had an ongoing feud with Nickell. When questioned by
the sheriff, Miller said he was having breakfast with his family. The alibi
checked out and suspicion turned to Tom Horn because of his killing reputation.
In January 1902,
United States Marshal, Joe LeFors met with Horn in
Cheyenne
under the disguise of wanting him to do a "job" for him. After two
days of conversation and in a drunken state, Horn admitted to LeFors that he
killed Willie Nickell. Horn's confession and circumstantial evidence led to his
arrest.
John Coble believed
LeFors tricked Horn into making the confession; therefore, he put together a
well-esteemed group of attorneys to prove his friend's innocence. The trial
began the following October after his arrest. After two weeks, the jury found
Horn guilty. A year later, and a day short of his forty-third birthday, Horn met
his maker by hanging.
Coble paid a hundred
thousand dollars for Horn's defense. Some of the money he used came from Bosler
to purchase cattle. When Bosler learned that Coble used the money towards Horn's
defense instead of buying cattle, Bosler was outraged.
Although Bosler
hired Horn to protect his cattle from rustlers, he did not believe in Horn's
innocence, nor did he want to bring any suspicion to himself. In 1904, Bosler
fired Coble and never wanted anything to do with him again.
Coble traveled
throughout the
Midwest
working on various ranches, but the loss of his good friend and his job at the
Iron Mountain Ranch sent him into a downward spiral. He wrote Bosler several
letters begging for money. One of his letters stated that if Bosler continues to
refuse to send him money he would kill himself. The threat meant nothing to
Frank Bosler. On December 4, 1914, Coble wrote the following letter to his wife:
Elko
,
Nev.
, Dec. 4, 1914.
Dear Elise:
Believe me, I
have tried to pull through. I am ALL IN, I AM ALL IN. Believe me - I am yours
until the end, and I cannot make good.
Lovingly,
SIGNATURE
(Illegible)
Elko Independent 12-4-1914
Coble then took his
Smith and Wesson .32 revolver, walked into the ladies bathroom at the Commercial
Hotel/Cassino in
Elko
,
Nevada
, put the revolver to his head and pulled the trigger.
Coble became a
broken man when Tom Horn was put to death and when he lost his position at the
Iron Mountain Ranch. His prosperity and his promising life disappeared. Coble's
legacy is that of a distraught man who could no longer deal with his own
demons."
A significant document related
to Tom Horn and the Johnson County War of Wyoming. Near fine condition.
Price: $1,000.00
_________________________________________________
Johnson
County Cattle War, Wyoming
THE POWDER RIVER LIVE STOCK COMPANY
Stock
certificate #178, issued December 13, 1884, uncancelled; two folds, near fine
condition. Company had ranges near old Forts Reno and McKinney, Powder
River, Johnson County, Wyoming. Incorporated in Colorado. In spring
of 1886, this Company had 24,000 head of cattle on the Powder River range.
This Company was impacted by the "Johnson County War," where Tom Horn
gained his notoriety. George Rex Buckman, a noted Colorado Springs
promoter, was secretary of the Company and signed this historical
document. Price:
$450.00
__________
FOUR JAY CATTLE COMPANY
Stock Certificate Number 8, issued August 20, 1889, incorporated
under the laws of the Territory of Wyoming. The Four Jay Company was part
of the British investment in the American Frontier, its incorporators being
mostly from Scotland and England (re: Page 223, WHEN GRASS WAS KING, by Maurice
Frink, W. Turrentine Jackson, and Agnes Wright Spring). Cattle brand of Company in
both vignette and corporate seal. Condition: two folds, otherwise, fine
condition. Price:
$350.00
__________
AN
ECHO FROM THE PAST: A First-Hand Narration of Events in the Early History of the
Arkansas Valley of Colorado. By Dr. Warren Edwin Hickman.
Printed by The Western Newspaper Union, 1914, first edition. SIGNED BY
AUTHOR. Book in its original tan printed wrappers; square-bound; 179
pages. Condition: wrappers are lightly sunned, a wee bit of aging,
otherwise, very good; pages are clean and bright; spine is tight, strong.
Hickman relates accounts of ranching in the Spanish Peaks area of Colorado, with
locales such as La Junta, La Veta, and Las Animas as some of many places where
memorable characters were met. Hickman also recalls many adventures with
local Native Americans, many of whom became his friends. An endearing,
personal look at the history of the lower Arkansas Valley Price:
$350.00
__________
UNION CATTLE COMPANY
Bond #214, issued November 1, 1886; uncnacelled, several folds,
most coupons still attached; very good plus condition. Company organized
under the laws of the Territory of Wyoming. Price:
$300.00
__________
THE GRAND VALLEY RANCH AND CATTLE COMPANY
Stock Certificate # 118, issued January 10, 1889, uncancelled;
two light folds, near fine condition. Most interests were in control of
the Hallett family. Hallett Peak, near Bear and Dream lakes in Colorado,
was named after the founders of this Company. Price:
$350.00
__________
RANCH
NOTES IN KANSAS, COLORADO, THE INDIAN TERRITORY AND NORTHERN TEXAS, by
Reginald Aldridge, with illustrations. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.,
1884. Original blue cloth binding with gold embossing on front cover and
spine; 227 pages. Printed by Spottiswoode and Co., New-Street Square and
Parliament Street. Plus, 12 pages of advertisements in rear of back.
Condition of binding: strong; however, covers show wear; bumped corners.
Pages are clean and bright. overall condition: good plus. Price:
$450.00
____________
Contact
us
or
(970) 349-7079
Top
__________________________________________________
