b'o u rh i s t o r yWe tend to learn little from success. The lessons we remember besttheir first encounter was love at first sight for her. In what would be a very hurt the most.Richard Kings first big year of land acquisition, 1852, is whenproper, Victorian courtship of four yearslike her parentstheir engagement his eventual empire got its start but could have just as well been stopped infor marriage was announced at the end of 1884. Four months later, Captain its tracks. The deed he accepted as proof of ownership of the southern halfKing died in San Antonio, leaving the entirety of his fortune to his wife, Henri-of Padre Island, after rendering payment, proved fraudulenta transactionetta, who immediately turned over management to her future son-in-law.that should have ended his early ambitions. He quickly learned the valuetheRichard King, the poor New York immigrant who escaped servitude at age absolute requirementthat he forever forward be represented by only the besteleven and never spoke of the family into which he was born, left his wife the legal counsel, especially in land matters that involved multiple nations andbiggest estate in the history of Texas, to that point: $564,784 ($19 million to-that dated back a century or more to the King of Spain. day) in real estate, $496,700 ($13.6 million today) in livestock and other prop-In 1881, Captain King lost one of his frequent lawsuits in a Corpus Christierty, a total of $1,061,484 ($32.6 million today), minus $500,000 in debtsa courtroom to a young attorney named Robert Justus Kleberg, II, whom he ap- net worth of $506,148, or $16.9 million in todays dollars.proached the very night after the trial with an offer to come to work for himRobert J. Kleberg, II (Sr.), was by no means a man of the range.A son of right away. The young lawyer was the son of Prussian aristocracy whoseEuropean aristocracy and letters, educated at one of the countrys most pres-family emigrated to Mexican Texas in 1834, co-founding the town of Cattigious universities, his connection to the land and livestock he would manage Spring, and bringing to Texas its first piano, along with a collection of finesteadily evolved over his four years working for Captain King prior to his art and antiques. After graduating from the University of Virginia Law School,death. At first, he didnt speak much Spanish and was a so-so horseman. After Kleberg returned to Texas to practice law in Corpus Christi, by way of Cuero. a season or two under the scorching South Texas sun and in its stifling hu-Conflicting stories have circulated about Klebergs first trip to the ranch,midity, Klebergs preferred dress in woolen legal suits and ties, traveling on a which turned out to be much more than an interview for legal work. One,buckboard rather than horseback, gave way to the reality of life in the desert. more dramatic version, says that Kleberg accompanied Captain King to theHis sole determination was to protect and expand the hard-won empire into Santa Gertrudis in the middle of the night on a buckboard (an open carriagewhich he had married and was now operating. Robert Kleberg would apply with two axles), whereupon arrival the two were served coffee and cakes byevery ounce of determination, study and effort into his new role leading the Alice Gertrudis King, the last daughter still living at the ranch with her par- Santa Gertrudis, as he did in law school and in his first career as an attorney.ents. While this version is conveniently packaged for a TV movie, for example,Among Klebergs first actions as manager of the King estate was to relieve the true distance in time of a 50-mile journey in the middle of the night inthe business, and Mrs. King, of debts that had become unmanageable, which 1881 makes this account impossible. required defying the sage advice of Robert E. Lee to never sell land. Twenty According to a recounted letter that Kleberg wrote to his parents about histhousand acres were liquidated, allowing the ranch to operate unencumbered introduction to the Santa Gertrudis, and more importantly to Alice King, aftertoward a larger future. Kleberg welcomed a new partner in the development the Captains visit the evening after the trial, he wrote to Kleberg inviting himof the ranch, Uriah Lott, who shared his vision for success: to drill water wells to the ranch on a day of his choosing. He was met at the train depot, locatedon the ranch, and to establish a railroad that would connect Brownsville to two hours by carriage from the ranch, by Captain King, with whom he shared aCorpus Christi, and on to Houston and the rest of the United States.most delightful trip to the main house. There they dined on good things to eatIt was a struggle of nearly 15 years, following his assumption of management and drink, remarking that the Captain lived like a prince, all the way down toof the ranch, for Robert Kleberg and partner Uriah Lott to strike the liquid the employment of a full-time French chef. While Kleberg made no mention ofgold of cattle ranchingfresh water! After years of failure, drilling technology meeting Alice on that introductory visit, she would later tell her children thatcaught up to the needs of the ranchers to reach the deserts very deep freshwa-86THE COASTAL BEND GUIDE TheCoastalBend.com'