Coad early refused to follow the custom, and the calves of other fellows found in his herds were left unbranded.

One time a calf belonging to the Coads crawled through the bars, into Mitchell valley, and was found by a bunch of fellows from higher up the river. That Coads might understand the custom, they singed the hair on one side of the calf with big letters "M-A-R-K" and on the other side "C-O-A-D," Coad did not like it, but he took the hint.

By 1879 the North Platte valley had become ' too tame for Colonel Coffee, he determined to try the wilderness once more. Near the present site of Ardmore, on Hat creek, he found Hugh Jackson. He told Hugh that he was looking for a new location, and with the courtesy of the first cowmen, he asked Jackson if he would like a neighbor. Being assured that he would be welcome, Coffee went up Hat creek, looking for a suitable place. He estimated his speed, and took note of the time by his watch, until he had reached, as he thought, about fifteen miles -- that being a neighborly distance.

There he and his wife and boys, Charles T. Jr., the youngest was only six months old, settled down in a cabin on what proved to be section fourteen, township thirty-three, range fiftyfive. There the O-Ten-Bar brand and ranch was born. Coffee still has the place, and twenty-two thousand acres around it, vast herds of cattle, a bank in Chadron, and various other matters to occupy his attention.