THE SANTA GERTRUDIS CATTLE BREED

BY: Vivien B. Shoemaker

The first time you notice deep cherry-red beef cattle grazing on fertile, irrigated pastures and scattered out among the cactus on the foothills along U. S. 89 north of Nogales, you may do a double take. These cattle seem vaguely familiar, but there's something different about them.

On most of the Arizona range you'll find the chunky, blocky red cattle with white faces, Herefords, or black Aberdeen Angus. These cattle in Santa Cruz County are red, all right. But they're solid red. And they stand a little higher from the ground than the more familiar beef breeds. They seem to be a little longer, too.

These cattle are Santa Gertrudis, the first new breed developed anywhere in the world during the last century, and the first and only beef cattle breed ever developed in the United States.

The largest Santa Gertrudis population west of Texas, where the breed originated on famed King Ranch, is concentrated on several ranches along U. S. 89, between Tumacacori and Nogales.

Largest of these are San Cayetano Ranch owned by Charles C. Day of Tumacacori, and Baca Float Ranch, Inc., of which Talbot (Tol) T. Pendleton of Nogales is president.

The ranches are contiguous, since all were originally part of the Baca Float. A ranch road, complete with accompanying foot bridge for crossing the Santa Cruz River at flood time, is proudly labeled "Santa Gertrudis Lane," for it leads to ranch headquarters of the various cattle operations.

Santa Gertrudis cattle are shown on the blue ribbon circuit and are winners wherever entered. San Cayetano raises purebred Santa Gertrudis, currently shown only at the big Arizona National Livestock Show in Phoenix each January. Bulls and cows from San Cayetano are sold to ranchers for upgrading and converting, by four crosses, grade cattle of any breed to Santa Gertrudis quality herds. Culls are handled as a commercial operation.

The Baca Float corporation is a big beef-producing operation raising steaks on the hoof to order for specialized markets wanting tender, lean beef with very little fat.

Baca Float Ranch has a history as interesting as that of this new breed of cattle. Its name descends from Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca. 'Cabeza de Vaca' was a sort of hereditary title; fittingly, it means 'cow's head.' Cabeza de Vaca (c. 1490-c. 1557) was among the earliest explorers of the American Southwest. He got to Arizona more or less by the same route the Santa Gertrudis now raised on the ranch named in his honor arrived. He was transplanted from the Gulf Coast of Texas. Only his journey was not nearly as comfortable as those of the new breed of cattle.

He was one of the survivors of the ill-fated Narvaez expedition that left Spain in 1527, reached Florida, and then was later shipwrecked off the coast of Texas. Four men survived and, escaping from Indian slavery, journeyed westward, perhaps as far as California but certainly through what is now New Mexico and Arizona, and ending up in Mexico.

Their stories of the Pueblo Indians, whom they were probably the first white men to see, gave rise to the legend of the Seven Cities of Cibola, which Fray Marcos de Niza later did such a fine job of magnifying that the Southwest gradually was fully explored.

THE SANTA GERTRUDIS IN ARIZONA BY VIVIEN B. SHOEMAKER

The king of Spain, to express gratitude to the explorer, granted de Vaca the equivalent of what is half a million acres of land today. Heirs of his lineal descendant, Luis Maria Cabeza de Vaca, eventually undertook to claim this grant.

In 1821 the Mexican government granted the heirs rights, or 'floats,' for selecting five tracts of approximately 100,000 acres each, to be located near Las Vegas Grandes (the big meadows) of New Mexico. The heirs were unable to secure all the land authorized, due to conflicting grants.

In 1860 the U. S. Congress passed an act authorizing selection of equal acreage in square bodies on any part of public lands in New Mexico, part of which later became Arizona.

Float No. 3, the Santa Cruz Valley tract, originally was for 200,000 acres; it was named for the explorer, whose name had now become de Baca, and was called the Baca Float.

SANTA GERTRUDIS LANE

Incorrectly located by surveyors in 1866, the float has been a cause for litigation nearly ever since. The case ended up in the U. S. Supreme Court and finally was settled in favor of Baca heirs. The 1916 decision was disastrous for many settlers and homesteaders, invalidating their titles to land in the near Tubac, Tumacacori and Calabasas. Plenty of hard feelings exist to this day, due to this decision.

In 1929 Tol Pendleton, a native of West Virginia who had won a reputation as an athlete at Princeton, was in the oil business in Texas. Weldon Bailey, son of 'silvertongued Joe,' Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey of Texas, told him about the Baca Float, by then a 100,000-acre property with clear title. According to Bailey the ranch had a river running under it, and a tremendous irrigation potential. It could be bought at a bargain; notes and mortgages were coming due. One mortgage, held by a bank on 50,000 acres, had been written off as hopeless to collect. Cattle were selling for 3 cents a pound.

"I guess I was a fool," Pendleton says, "but I've never been sorry I bought the ranch. My friends felt awfully sorry for me; in fact, when they saw the ranch they thought I'd gone crazy. It hadn't rained for nearly a year. It was pretty bad."

In those days a lot of ranchers figured it was cheaper to run cattle on government and state leases than own land and pay taxes.

For awhile Pendleton figured his friends were right, but he held on by the skin of his teeth during the depression. He had to decide whether to quit the oil business or the ranch. The ranch won. He finally rescued it from outstanding loans and paid off its debts. His brother Jim came out to help him, and proved to be one of the ranch's real assets, according to Pendleton.

To save as much of the ranch as he could, he whittled away at its outskirts, selling off acreage to the north and east. Today Baca Float Ranch, Inc., owns 55,000 acres.

And all of it is in Santa Gertrudis beef production, in one way or another. The whole thing started at King Ranch.

Pendleton has been interested in the beef cattle breeding program of King Ranch since he went there in 1915.

King Ranch in southeastern Texas began with a modest 15,500 acres bought in 1853 by Capt. Richard King, steamboat operator and businessman. Before his death in 1885 it had expanded to 500,000 acres. Today, under the management first of King's son-in-law, Robert Justus Kleberg, and later of his grandson, Robert Justus Kleberg, Jr., it covers 940,000 acres in Texas, and has branch operations in other states and countries.

Oil leases and horses have produced a tidy revenue for King Ranch, but it is primarily a meat factory.

It was originally stocked, as were all southwestern ranches, with Longhorns, the wild Mexican cattle with magnificent horn spreads.

These rugged cattle could survive just about any where, under any conditions. After all, they'd been making their own living since their ancestors arrived from Spain. Cortes (1485-1547) stocked his great Mexican estate with cattle from Spain, significantly naming is Cuerna vaca, or 'cow horn."

As the population increased, and the western development increased, a market developed for beef; the Long horns provided plenty of hides and tallow, for which there'd always been a good market, but they were a little shy on beef production. And what they produced was pretty tough. The American palate was getting past the jerky and buffalo meat stage, even in the West. So about the middle of the 19th century cattlemen started importing beef cattle from Europe, chiefly from Great Britain. Leading beef breeds (black Aberdeen Angus, whitefaced Herefords, white Charolais from France, red Shorthorns or Durhams) as well as leading milch breeds, belong to one species of cattle, Bos taurus. The Longhorn belonged to this species, of course, but by the time it had run wild for generations, and the other breeds had been carefully developed through careful breeding programs based upon an outstanding foundation sire, there was mighty little family resemblance.

Across the world from Europe another species of cattle, Bos indicus, developed. There are several distinct breeds of these Zebu or Brahman cattle, too, most of them sharing certain characteristics: long legs, a hump on the back, sweat glands not found in Bos taurus breeds. These sweat glands probably developed as a survival factor in the extreme heat of their native Arabia and India, compared to the moderate temperatures of Europe and Great Britain.

Brahman cattle are best known to the American public through rodeos, for the intelligent, big, slippery-skinned, humpbacked Brahman bull is the biggest challenge a bull rider can face. To cattlemen they are known as among the most intelligent, tractable, disease-resistant, hardy cattle in the world.

On the King Ranch the process of grading up the Mexican cattle, or Longhorns, started back in 1880, using registered purebred Hereford and Shorthorn herds. The breeds were kept separate. By 1916 King Ranch was stocked with 25,000 Shorthorn cows and 25,000 Hereford cows of either very high grade or pure blood. Comparisons were made, of course; each breed showed certain advantages depending on range and drought conditions. In 1910, however, something new had been added. Tom O'Connor, a successful Texas cattleman, gave King Ranch a halfbred Shorthorn-Brahman bull. This was only four years after A. P. Borden, manager of the Pierce Estate, imported the first Brahman cattle breeds from India.

FOLLOWING PAGES "HERD OF SANTA GERTRUDIS CATTLE" BY WESTERN WAYS. On the Cayetano Ranch owned by Charles C. Day, about one mile south of Tumacacori. Taken in pasture across the Santa Cruz river bed from the east end look ing towards the west ranch house in center and Tumacacori Mountains in background. 4x5 Super Speed Graphic camera; Daylight Ektachrome; f.16 at 1/60th sec.; 135mm Optar lens; October; good direct light; ASA rating 64.

King Ranch turned this halfbred Shorthorn-Brahman bull into a pasture with purebred Shorthorn cows. He was black, and enormous, characteristics inherited from his Bos indicus heritage. His heifer calves were turned back and bred to Shorthorn bulls. All of his male calves were castrated except one red bull calf, Chemera.

"It was very noticeable that these part-Brahman cattle were superior range animals and seemed to meet the most trying range conditions much better than the other cattle," says Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. "Apparently, hot weather did not affect them. They remained fat during the periods of protracted drought.

"The cows showed themselves to be wonderful mothers, giving large quantities of milk during all the year, thus insuring a much larger and fatter calf in any period than the Shorthorn cattle in the same pasture.

"They did not seem to suffer from flies, mosquitoes, screw worms or other insects; and they were also much larger, heavier and fatter than the Shorthorns running on the same range. The steer calves, carrying various percentages of the blood of these crossbred Shorthorn-Brahman cattle, developed into big-horned, fat cattle right off the grass. It was noticeable from the beginning that no 'dogie' or stunted cattle resulted from this cross.

The crossbreds were not altogether uniform, and some showed dropping rump, an undesirable characteristic in beef production. But the scientific breeding experts at King Ranch decided these were the best and hardiest beef range cattle that had been on their range up to this time. They set out to determine the most desirable combination of the two species, and it was established that three-eighths Brahman and five-eighths Shorthorn was just about perfect. This practically eliminated the hump, and produced maximum size, hardiness, ability to fatten, highest dressing percentage, and highest resistance to heat and insect pests.

One of 52 Brahman bulls King Ranch bought from Borden was named Vinotero. His cow herd was pastured near one of the ranch headquarters outfits, and he was mated to a cow in one of the ranch milk herds. This cow was about 1/16th Brahman, a descendant of the original O'Connor half-bred bull. She was a good milk cow, bloodred in color with white undermarkings.

She produced a red bull calf. He was outstanding even as a youngster, and so full of fun around ranch headquarters he was named Monkey. He was branded in 1920, and turned into a breeding herd of the best sixty first-cross red heifers on the ranch.

His first calves demonstrated his exceptional transmitting qualities, both in good fleshing qualities and cherry red color. All of his calves were outstanding in comparison to other calves on the ranch, regardless of breeding.

And so, in just ten years from the arrival of the first Brahman blood on King Ranch, a foundation sire for a new breed of beef cattle was developed. Before his death in 1932 Monkey sired more than 150 useful sons, selected for the outstanding characteristics of Monkey.

All purebred Santa Gertrudis cattle anywhere in the world can be traced from Monkey. In 1940, only 30 years after the O'Conner half-bred Shorthorn-Brahman bull arrived at King Ranch, the Santa Gertrudis breed was recognized as a new breed by the U. S. Government.

The name derives from the Santa Gertrudis land grant originally conferred by the King of Spain, now the headquarters division of King Ranch.

To get some notion of what this accomplishment meant in planning and work, compare it with a new automobile model. The automotive industry, working with moulded metals, can retool in a few months and bring out a new model. King Ranch, working with germ plasm, and a species requiring four years for each generation, brought out a new, improved model in record time, genetically speaking only 30 years.

Cattlemen quickly recognized the advantages of this new breed for varying range conditions. Due to the demand for purebred bulls, no individual can buy more than 10 from King Ranch, and no females are sold.

To insure quality breeding cattlemen formed the Santa Gertrudis Breeders International Association in 1951. It set up standards of excellence for the breed, and now has 1,100 members in 48 states and 44 countries. Among cattlemen favoring the breed are Winthrop Rockefeller, on Winrock Ranch in Arkansas, and E. E. Fogelson, Greer Garson's husband, on Forked Lightning Ranch in New Mexico.

Not every red cow is a Santa Gertrudis, by a long shot. Nor is every animal in a herd, no matter what its breeding pedigree, good enough to be called a Santa Gertrudis. Unlike most breed associations, the Santa Gertrudis International does not register an individual animal simply because of its pedigree. Cattlemen must keep careful breeding records and follow an established program of four crosses required to develop a Santa Gertrudis that will be classified as a certified purebred, the association's highest rating. These animals have 15/16 Santa Gertrudis breeding and, when mated, breed true, producing yet meeting the breed standards of 3/8 Brahman and 5/8 Shorthorn, and showing the desirable characteristics set up for this new breed.

To develop a Santa Gertrudis herd, a cowman uses Santa Gertrudis certified bulls. Mated to cows in his base herd, regardless of beef breed, heifers will be 1/2 Santa Gertrudis in this first cross. These heifers, mated to a purebred bull, produce heifers that are 4 Santa Gertrudis for the second cross. The third cross of purebred bulls on these heifers produces heifers with 78 Santa Gertrudis breeding; and the fourth top cross is 15/16 Santa Ger trudis, rated purebred, and bulls and heifers can be classified as such. It is customary for cattlemen following these programs to put one notch in a heifer's ear for the first cross; two notches if she's a second cross; three notches if she's a third cross; four notches for a fourth cross with a prayer that the resulting animal rates certification. At the age of 18 months each individual animal resulting from a 4th cross, 4th cross, or the get of a purebred bull and cow, must be classified by an expert, provided by the associa tion. This classification is done at the ranch, at the expense of the rancher. Only individual animals, regardless of breeding pedigree, which meet the breed's standards of excellence are branded with the coveted S, emblem of a purebred Santa Gertrudis.

You'll find Santa Gertrudis herds in varying degrees of grading up on ranches throughout Arizona. But it's down 'Santa Gertrudis Lane' and between Tumacacori and Nogales that you'll find the largest concentration of them west of their home territory in Texas.

And they're a right pretty sight, those red cattle on green pastures, and brightening the desert areas with their backdrop of mountains. Take time to see for yourself, the next time you travel 'down Mexico way.'

OPPOSITE PAGE

"PUREBRED SANTA GERTRUDIS CATTLE" At San Cayetano Ranch owned by Charles C. Day at Tumacacori, Arizona. The ranch is down Santa Gertrudis Lane to the east about one mile. The lane is one mile south of Tumacacori Mission. Picture was made in the pasture to the east of the stables and corral. Southern tip of Santa Rita Mountains in distance. Picture is of a Purebred Registered family: Bull-Pinata; Cow-Peach; Calf-Mansa. 4x5 Super Speed Graphic camera; Daylight Ektachrome; f.11 at 1/100th sec.; Optar 135mm lens; October; ASA rating 64.

"CATTLE ON BACA FLOAT RANCH" On Baca Float Ranch owned by T. T. and Jim Pendleton, about four miles south of Tumacacori Mission. 45 Super Speed Graphic camera; Daylight Ektachrome; f.11 at 1/100th sec.; 135mm Optar lens; October; sunny day; ASA rating 64.

OF THINGS BOTANICAL

The names of potted plants evade me - I scarcely ever know them. But of this I'm very sure: I could never grow them! Floriculture, sad to say, Is quite beyond my knowledge I didn't earn my B.A. From Agricultural College. When, on few occasions, I have need to buy a posey, I wander through the florist shop Inquisitive and nosey Sniffing every blossom Till I find one that is rare, Then I point to it and say, "I'll take that one, over there!"

TRAVEL NOTE

To those who write letters on postcards En route in a car: We wish we could read what you scribble Whoever you are!

LAY-AWAY

With my vacation on the wane, I start to plan another trip, Perhaps to Norway's scenic fjords Or round the world by ship; A visit to the Taj Mahal, Fishing in the Alpine streams It would be sad to get back home Fresh-out of travel-dreams!

TURNING POINT

Again the sun Blares from the brassy sky. Sudden timpani rolls of thunder Shiver the earth. The farmer raises bowed head In hopeful unbelief. Light staccato Of shimmering drops Deepening to downpour Rain!

LOYALTY TO ENVIRONMENT

In summer time, a desert's realm Is pained by heat that seems as hot As if The Devil held the helm Of some machine, he'd made, to blot With blighting heat, a desert's air. Yet as a peaceful, tranquil lair For desert creatures lizards, toads, Coyotes, hares no desert goads Those creatures from its hot expanse To cooler place to thus enhance Those creatures' lives with less of heat. For despite the hotness that they meet, No desert creature cares to roam For all intensely love their home.

FAIR EXCHANGE

When the rain came To the little plot of grass It bestowed a fortune of freshness And restored her natural grace. When the rain left It carried away from the place A supple scent of grass Into space.

KEEPING THE RECORD STRAIGHT!

I am in Monument Valley and find that there was a mistake in my reporting on changes here, in the June issue of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS. I would like to correct it.

Harry and Mike (Mrs.) Goulding gave the school section, including the well-known Trading Post and Lodge as an endowment for scholarships, to benefit Indians of the Four Corners area. Knox College of Galesburg, Illinois, accepted the endowment on April 1, 1963. Some years ago the Gouldings made a part of the land available for hospital, school, and church, built and operated by the Seventh Day Adventist church. The fine work will continue there.

The Gouldings still live in Monument Valley and the Lodge, with its tours will be operated as usual with Harry at the helm. Maurice and Rosemary Knee manage the operation for the college.

Harry and Mike have always felt that Medicine and Education were the primary needs of the Navajos. After some 40 years of building a world-wide reputation for this unique spot, they have dedicated it to their friends, the Navajos.

NOSTALGIA:

The January and March, 1965, issues of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS are responsible for acute cases of nostalgia suffered by my wife and myself. We know Arizona well, being seven-year residents of Tucson (19551962), and feel that we belong to it wher ever we happen to be living.

I especially appreciated the Santa Catalinas article (January 1965) because it revived memories of my assignment as Site Engineer at the 684th Radar Squadron, which required traveling the 100-mile round trip from Tucson in a daily commuter assault on Mt. Lemmon via Hitchcock Highway.

Freeway commuting is quite boring compared with the uniquely fascinating challenge presented by General Hitchcock's twisting ribbon to the sky.

The Tucson issue (March 1965) was just superb. A worthy tribute to one of the West's friendliest towns. We purchased all available copies of the Tucson issue at local news agencies for use in our personal campaign to acquaint friends with Southern Arizona and encourage them to see this beautiful part of America first.

YOURS SINCERELY

It is hoped that all visitors share our love for Arizona. We made the mistake of leaving, and will not rest peacefully until we can return home again to Arizona.

ARIZONA RECAPTURED:

In 1958, whilst in America we travelled through Arizona, visiting that state's many beauty spots. Each year since that time, we have received the ARIZONA HIGHWAYS through the kindness of the Hartzell Family of Hartford City, Indiana, and we have been able to recapture the wonderful days spent in Arizona through the superb coloured plates in your magazine.

We have long intended writing to tell you of our appreciation and that of our many friends in different countries of the world, who feel they have come to know one part of America at least, through this wonderful magazine.

FROM SOUTH AFRICA:

In various numbers of your magazine I have seen words of admiration for your wonderful state, and praise for the fine contributors, the writers and photographers and artists, for the way in which they have presented their material. Your State of Arizona is beautiful. Your contributors are excellent in their respective fields.

We in South Africa also have marvelous scenery of a wide variety, and also good photographers and artists.

But a magazine such as yours requires more than the availability of fine material and the willingness of high quality contributors. There must be behind the scenes an editorial staff of remarkable quality, which your magazine obviously has, but which we in South Africa have yet to find and put to work.

People have congratulated you on your pictures, your articles, and the individual numbers of your magazine. But I have not yet seen congratulations on your excellent editorial staff. May its members have a long and useful and happy life in the service of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS!

"IN BLUE CANYON WHITE MOUNTAINS" BOB PAYNE. Photo taken about

Four miles from sharp downgrade in road entering Blue River Canyon going south from Alpine. Flowers shown in this photo are cutleaf Coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata. Blooms brilliant yellow with greenish yellow center June through September, 5000 to 8500 feet elevation, Sunflower family. No. 2-70 Busch Press camera; Daylight Ektachrome; f.32 at 1/25th sec.; 210mm Symmar lens; July; Weston Meter 400; ASA rating 50. about five miles west of Show Low. Here the photographer was at the right place at the right time to catch the graceful reflections of clouds and trees in the water. 5x7 Deardorff camera; Ektachrome E3; f.22 at 1/50th sec.; 6" Dagor lens; September; late afternoon light; Lunasix 19 meter reading; ASA rating 64.