CROOK COUNTY JOURNAL'S ANNUAL NUMBER.
23
the season, and his opinion, based on a
life time of study and practical experience,
is well worth the weight it universally
carries with it. He keeps a careful, vigi
lant eye on all the interests of the com
pany and things generally go about right.
If anything gets wrong he soon puts it right.
He thoroughly controls the situation, and
always has the hearty co-operation of his
subordinates, as well as the management
of the company. With Henry Hahn as cap
tain and Charley O'Neil as first lieutenant,
everything must move with precision and
accuracy.
While the chief industry at this great
ranch is sheep raising, yet the company
has some very fine bred cattle, and own
some of the best real estate in Crook
county. It is making a specialty of Here
ford and Shorthorn Durham cattle, and now
has a large number of these breeds on
. bnd. Through years of experience, these
breeds of . cattle have been established as
the best for this section of country. While
each has advantages over the other, either
is recomended to the stockmen starting
in business in this country. They are suc
cessful breeders, hardy, large, mature, and
are ready for the market early, and perfect
ly adapted to the climate.
The company has from 15,000 to 20,000
head of sheep, and raise annually for the
market 1200 to 1500 thoroughbred rams of
the Rambouillette breed. There rae several
fine breeds of sheep raised in this coun
try, but it is being established that the
Rambouillette Merino stands at the head.
For size, amount of wool produced, the tex
ture of the wool and the hardiness of the
sheep, and for general breeding purposes
this breed seems to be in the front. The
day of small sheep and large numbers are
possibly drawing to an end in this coun
try; a large number of men engaged in
the business, and smaller flocks, must of
necessity be the outcome of the rapidly
settling up of the country. Then the sheep
that will produce the most wool to the
head, all other things being equal, must
be the breed of the future for this coun
try. The Rambouillette will doubtless lead.
The Prineville Land and Livestock Com
pany claim, and probably justly so, that
it is producing the finest specimens of this
breed in Eastern Oregon. The location of
its ranch is so splendidly adapted to the
industry that there is no reason why it
should be excelled in its line. It has the
two ranges at its door the summer and
the winter. In many points in the state
the summer range lies among the can
yons and mountains and the winter range
lies out on the desert, hundreds of .miles
away. The desert country has been ranged
upon until the feed is scarce, and necessi
tates shifting from point to point during
the entire winter season. The long drive
back from the desert to the lambing
grounds in spring, the ewes heavy with
lambs, the climbing among the rocks and
cliffs of the hills and canyons of the over
taxed summer range, gaunts and sets back
the sheep until they are sooner or later
bound to become a diminutive breed, what
ever may be the blood. Not so with the
sheep of this company. Its winter and
summer ranges lie close to each other. It
is only a step from one to the other. No
fatiguing drives, no hardships, no over
taxed ranges, but beautiful meadows and
pure water, and ample protection from the
storms of winter and the suns of summer,
make this mountain home the ideal for
sheep raising, and no wonder the splendid
results !
Out of an abundance of precaution, the
company cuts and puts up an average of
one thousand tons of hay annually, and no
extraordinary change in the weather finds
them unprepared, and the sheep are al
ways certain to receive both food and
shelter, of the very best, in all emergencies.
The company has a large number of men
in its employ. In the entire system of
ranches convenient and comfortable build
ingst both for the men and the stock, are
provided, and the equipment of the com
pany for its industry has reached as near
to perfection as money and experience will
accomplish, and with the continued spirit
as heretofore manifested, which is certain
to be kept well to the fore, the Prineville
Land & Livestock Company will ever re
main in the front of the great industries of
Crook county, and while the valleys of the
lower Crooked river will rival the world as
a farming and hay-producing section, the,
hills and mountains at the source of the
stream will continue to produce the finest
wool and supply the stockmen in the val
leys with the best grade of fine bred stock
to be found in the state of Oregon.
P. B. POINDEXTER.
Mr. Poindexter is a native of the state of
Oregon, being a son of J. N. Poindexter,
one of the early sheriffs of Lane county.
He lived in Eugene and Portland until 1882,
when he came to Eastern Oregon. In 1887
he opened a restaurant and lunch counter,
and by his untiring energy and careful at
tention to details, he has made himself
a master of his business. He has been
eminently successful, and in the summer of
1900 erected the "Poindexter Hotel," one
of the largest buildings in the city. Be
sides being a competent and obliging land
lord, Mr. Poindexter is an enthusiastic
Nimrod and earnest disciple of Isaac Wal
ton. He always knows where to find the
best shooting and where to catch the
largest trout. His hotel is a natural head
quarters for hunters and fishermen. Mr.
Poindexter is a member of a large number
of secret orders and is the head of an in
teresting family. He is one of the solid
men of Crook county.
GREATEST SHEEP RANCH IN THE
WORLD.
Owrwd by a Livestock firm in Crook County
By Paul De Lanay.
I had taken a long day's ride on my
whe 1 through the scorching sun and blind
. ing dust. Towards evening I came into a
beautiful valley of green meadows and
bubbling streams. There was a freshnesss
in the air mingled with an odor of sweet
perfumes from the new-mown hay. Al
falfa and natural meadows were upon
either side of the level road, and along
the hillsides in the distance large bands
of fine-bred sheep browsed on the dainty
grass, under the watchful eye of their
herder accompanied by his faithful dog.
Every turn of the wheel left the desert
farther in the rear and brought me into
a prettier and more habitable region. It
was like approaching an oasis a garden,
and the road broadened into a boulevard,
and then I noticed a beautiful grove of
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