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Why, my
OlvORADO Is f.iKt making strenuous M4 for
what might be called the heavyweight cham
pionship of the prodigy class. If a year ago
anybody asked a Colorado man, and partlcu
larly one from Gunnison county. If his state
and shire possessed anything remirkable
enough to entitle them to consideration from
the world at large, the Instant reply would be:
bov don't you know that Gunnison county,
stat.- of Colorado, Is the one place In the universe wnere we
do raise anything remark.ible ? Don't you know that out
there we raise more hundredweight of potatoes to the acre,
more l.fiui pound steers to the square mile, and more bad
cow punchers to the square foot than all the rest of this
mundane sphere combined? Anything remarkable about
Gunnison county. Colo.? Well, you hear me talking!"
The conceit of Colorado was always strong and rrady to
outcrop, for the people who dwell there know they have a
good country, and they also know If the grass on the range
Is good they can Independently laugh the rest of the, world
to scorn. Ami now, for a reason, their good opinion of their
state has Increased. Now If you wander out Into the vicinage
of tho Gunnison ranges and happen to remark of the prodlcal
thing of the world that you have happened to see 'n your
wanderings, the Gunnison man will smile at you with ths
smile of one who Is conscious of his Immeasurable superior
ity In the question under discussion. He will hook up a pair
of bronchos to a light, springy buckboard and will drive you
over a road of many miles, through a country of broad,
pleasant ranches, wide ranges. Immense herds of blue blood
.ed Durham and Herefords. substantial ranch houses, and
big corrls, through a valley of many miles to a ranch up
near the headwaters of Oblo creek. It Is a big combination
cow and hay ranch, 72." acres In extent.
Have Eastern Girls Beaten.
"You can sit ami tell me all day about the eastern girl
who at 8 can play Mendelssohn on the piano," says the
Colorado man; "you can warble to me for a week about
the Ohio girls who worked as street car conductors, but here
Is something that I'm golns to show you that's got all these
things beaten a mile. Look."
You look. The first thing you see Is a large eight rail
horse corral full of horses ranging from the old, brok -n down
cow pony to the wild colt Just In from the range. There Is
some kind of n commotion going on In the corral, and you
take a reserved seat on the fence rails and watch, after the
manner of the country. An IS year old girl with a gorgeous
pompadour of golden hair has roped a wild horse In the cor
ral and Is warping him up to the snubbing post, foot by
foot, with the skill and nonchalance of the old, hardened
men " twisters." She Is attired In the regulation chaps and
sombrero of the broncho twister, but you look at the white
shirt waist and the pompadour of gold and wonder.
" That's Tilly," says your guide. " Come on." He leads
around to the other side of the corral. " Yah! " he cries.
" T,ook at her sit right In the middle of him, eh? Can't she
sure ride him, though? Good girl, Pearl! " he cries en
couragingly to the girl who is sitting calmly In the saddle
whtle a frantic young broncho tries by all manners of tricks
that are given to vicious bronchos to throw her up against
the clouds or grind her under him as he throws himself.
Presently the exhibition slackens, the broncho grows tired,
and It suddenly becomes evident that the girl " buster " Is
about 10 years old, that shethas a glorious wealth of golden
hair, and that she Is beautiful. " Number two," says the
guide. " This way, please." There la another girl, In over
alls splitting wood near the ranch house. Inside the house
there is still another attending to the womanly duties of
housekeeping. Hoth are young and good looking.
Out In the hayft Id, a half mile from the house, there Is
found a girl, wonderfully like those before seen, seated on a
horse rake. A mower runs In another part of the field. The
driver Is a girl. A stacker is building a pile of alfalfa thirty
feet high near by, and two more girls are occupied In Its
operation.
" Cut whore are the men of the ranch and the old folks? "
blurts out the astonished visitor.
" These are them," says the Colorado man, his enthusiasm
running riot with his grammar. " You've seen the entire
personnel of this ranch, from the lowliest hayforker to the
boss man. This is our prise feature before the world today.
These eight girls own at least, nearly own and run this
ranch all alone."
And this is why Colorado has Increased Its self-estlmatlon.
The eight girls are all sisters, and their name Is Vldal. Their
ages range from in to 25.
They came Into sole and undivided possession of the big
ranch ut the death of their father, three years ago. Vldal
pere was a pioneer among the ranchers of the Gunnison val
ley. He acquired the raneh by homestead and purchase, but
when he died he left his affairs In bad shape and his land
heavily mortgaged. The girls were left orphans at his death,
their mother having died some time before. Confronted with
the problem of saving the old home from the grasp of the
man who held the mortgage, their sorrow of bereavement
was greatly added to.
Undertake to Raise Mortaaae.
But they were made of the stuff that Colorado Is Justified
In being proud to have In some of Its fair citizens. The ranch
LP ' 'A UA t& i
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was there, the stock was on the range to be taken care of,
the hay crop must be gotten In, the baling must be done.
They were unable to hire the help to have It done. Po they
turned In, all eight of them, and did It themselves. They
were scattered far when this resolve was made. Four of
them were In Denver, one was visiting In Kansas, the three
others were at school In Gunnison. Hut they all came back
to the old ranch at the call of the oldest sister and went to
work. '
Being all born and bred on a ranch, they knew fullv what
ranch work meant. They knew It was no place for dainty
skirts, low slippers, or long sleeved dresses. , There Is one
article of apparel that Is nlghly essential to the ranch work
er's Intelligent prosecution of his duties. It Is a divided
garment, so It occurred that a tailor in Gunnison suddenly
was In receipt of an order for eight pairs of overalls to be
delivered at the Vldal ranch. This was three years ago.
Since that time, each working day in the busy season on the
ranch, the eight girls have sallied forth from the ranch house
arrayed In the attire that conventionality has emphatically
prescribed as being man's exclusive property. For three
years they have run the ranch entirely without assistance.
They have punched cattle, broken bronchos, cut, stacked,
and baled hay, and done all the work that Is Incident to a
ranch such as theirs.
J J
Another Year Will Lift Debt.
So well have they prospered and so fortunate have they
been with their crops that the mortgage on the ranch la now
nearly cleared; and another year, If the alfalfa grows long
and strong and the herd gets fat, will see the debt, which
the plucky young girls took It upon themselves to pay, en
tirely settled. To this end the girls are bending all their
efforts. In the winter, when there is little work to be done
on the ranch, Tlllle, Josle, Pearl, and Sophia And employment
In Denver, returning to the work of the ranch In the spring
as soon as the occasion demands. Their savings from their
earnings all go Into the common fund of the family to help
raise the mortgage.
With the attention which the girls' pluck and endeavor
has attracted have come many whisperings of romances
concerning the pretty girls In the ranch on Ohio creek.
is rumored that Dollle. the oldest one, and manager of the
ranch, was engaged to be married at the time of her father's
death. The wedding was to have occurred almost three
years ago, but the man Is still waiting. " The ranch must
be cleared .of the mortgage before any of us marries," was
the resolve of the girls, and Dollle broke off her engagement.
More than One Interrupted Romance.
The eligible young men of Gunnison valley heard this
edict with sorrow. Here were eight .young women of whom
six. at least, were of the ages when it Is exactly proper to
go a-woolng them. And they were all beautiful, as well.
Each Sunday night there were tied at the hitch rati of the
Vldal ranch from six to eight horses. There were offers of
marriage galore. More than one rich young rancher offered
gladly to assume the debt of the ranch If only the particular
one of the sister with whom he was smitten would say
" Yes." But the answer that ach of the girls gave to her
suitor was always the same: "Wait; we will pay It off
ourselves." i
And they are going to do It, too, and it is for these things
tecUbal who
operate a mammotl) ranch
that Colorado is proud of them. Another year, provided for
tune Is with them, the Vidal ranch will be their free prop
erty. What will be the result when the girls have fulfilled
their self-assumed obligation and are free to do as they
please Is what is causing much comment In the country ad
jacent. If the word of the people of Gunnison valley Is to be
taken for much, things are going to happen when thiB event
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comes to pass. It Is alleged that there are two romances
mixed In the ranch debt the culmination of which rests upon
the day that the last dollar of the mortgage is paid. Then,
says Gunnison, will not only be a day of rejoicing for the
eight brave girls, but also for several young men whose
ranches lie Immediately adjacent to the one at the head
waters of Ohio creek.
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volution of the Magnificent 'Regalia of tbe popes.
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It Was injtha First Century.
Th Caeula.
Pop In the Fourth Century.
In the Sixth Century.
Stava Fourth Century.
Shepherd's Crook, Fourth
Century.
In tho Time of Chsrlmen
ho Great.
In tho eleventh Century.
Pope with His Mant o.
1
HE apparel of the Jewish priests was the
I forerunner of the robes of the great Roman
I I pontiffs, the latter being Indeed the same with
JL I only such alterations aa time and changes in
liturgy prompted.
The casula. the holiest of all the ecclesias
tical vestments, shaped something like a bell,
Is an olden time Gallic relic which from time
iniinmorlal hud played a part In the attire, particularly of
the lower ranks of Galllo society, during bud weather. How
ever, in the second century it was worn by Roman matrons
and senators, and tradition has It that the apoutle Peter
wore such a garment at the time of his death, which was
afterward preserved as a rtltc. This latter fact served aa its
introduction to the wardrobes of the priesthood.
The dalmatlca, or stole, with wide flowing sleeves, was
worn by Pope Sylvester I., and was termed a Levltical robe,
and was also worn by the lower clergy.
The pallium, a short little mantle wbloh was wound spir
ally round the body, back, and shoulders, was originally
given by the emperor to the pope as a garment of honor to
the bishops. It was of the finest linen or flues t white wool,
adorned with gold and purple stltchlngs, and survives today
in the embltxn conferred on patriarchs, primates, and arch
bishops aa a sign they share In the plentltude of the episcopal
offl.ee.
The shepherd's crook was flrst carried In the fourth cen
tury, although it did not ait that time assume a fixed form and
underwent many changes.
Headgear was not particularly ornate at the flrst and the
most that the clergy aspired to was a hood. This, however,
gradually took on more and more decorative effects until
at last in the twelfth century the greut bishops and arch
bishops appeared In ornamental head wear much after tbe
fashion of the contemporary princes of the world. And soon
after came the great, richly bedecked mantles with the gor
geous hoods falling from shoulder .down the back, mantles
whioh appeared In a variety of forms and fashions and which
survive to the present time In tone of their modifications.
It was only In the twelfth century that the pope bad
begun to assume the state and brilliance of his later career.
When Pope Gregory became head of the church he assumed
that the importance of his post entitled him to the use of
the regal tiara and the high papal hat dates from his reign.
This was the beginning of the various accretions to the papal
splendor of garb, which was held as symbolical of his earthly
and heavenly powers and rank. Today the same theory holds
and his robes and all his vestments are chosen'ln part to rep
resent temporal might, the throne, and In part to represent
divine might, the altar.
Pop. of tho Twslfth C.ntury. W . Sn.ph.rd'. Crooa, W.th the Aol.nt H.t. Twartth Pspal H.t e In. Tw.lfth Pop. with Modsm H.U Tw.lfth -Impis Crown, Thlrt.snth. Pop. with Ooublo Crown. Th. Tr.pl. Crown. r' With th. Most Mod.rn stylo fl
Twslfth Century. .Csntury. Csntury., C.ntury. v C.ntury.; Sh.phsrd'o Crook
V"
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