PAGE 6
CROOK COUNTY JOURNAL
JULY 12, 1917
THE PASSING
OF THE
GREAT WEST
Karly Reminiscences of the Slock
Industry In Onlrnl n1 Kastern
Orrgiin
(By Ben Amis)
There was once a time in this
(treat livestock region when grating
land was nobody's land, yet every
body's land and that was not more
than thirty years ago. Then the
greater portion of Central Oregon,
the livestock center, was all Wasco
County, extending east from the
crest of the Cascade Mountains to
the Grant County line; south from
the Columbia River to Lake County.
It was then a vast sea of bunch
grass, sage brush and covered every
where with cattle, horses and sheep.
It was very sparsely settled and
every settler owned either sheep,
horses or cattle.
There was no end to bunch grass
or limit to the range one controlled.
It belonged to anybody and every
body. "It was first come first served.
The summer range belonged to
the first stockman who could get to
it. The forest ranges were then in
a virgin state. All kinds f vegeta
tion grew in tangled masses. Pea-
Tine grew like alfalfa. There were i
sunflowers so thick sheep were
driven through them with difficulty.
Wild roses grew in Jungles that no
man could penetrate. Squirrel corn,
or skunk cabbage, grew so high and
thick that stock avoided going
through It generally. All kinds of
grasses grew so luxuriantly that it
could have been easily cut with a
mower.
In the years 1884-5 sheep, horses J
and cattle were ranging by the hun-j
dreds of thousands in the Ochoco
forest east of Prineville. Summit!
Prairie was then a big meadow and j
was a paradise for the stockmen, j
Only a few homesteaders lived there, j
Sheep from Grass Valley, Bake
Oven, The Dalles, Gilliam County,
Condon and many other points were
ranged around Summit Prairie. So
many sheep were taken to this sum
mer range that in 1888 the ranges
were practically devastated. The
rose jungles disappeared for all
time, and the other vegetation was
soou cleaned out early In the season I t
until It became quite a serious
matter.
In those days fences were few
and far between. The sheepmen
traveled as the crow flies. If they
steered from a certain course, it
was for water. There were no such
things as dusty lanes In those days,
nor a time schedule made by Vncle
Sam to follow closely. Mutton buy
ers rode out to the ranches, bought
their mutton and then drove them
overland In droves of five, ten or
fifteen thousand to the nearest ship
ping point, Ontario being a favorite
place.
Little hay was raised In a great
many places, alfalfa was not gener
ally cultivated and in some local
ities not even heard of. Cattle and
horses lived on the high bunch
grass, but some of the hard winters
killed them off like flies. In a
mild winter they wintered through
in good condition.
Every spring the stockmen and
their cowboys assembled to take an
Inventory of their possessions. This
was called the spring rodeo, and was
tor the purpose mainly of marking
and branding calves and looking
after the general condition of the
old stock. Such an outfit consisted
of a camp wagon and cook, a cavar
ango, or horse boy, who kept the
saddle horses together, and the, cow
punchers. In number from seven to
twelve or more. These were gen
uine cowboys, not your screen imi
tation, but men who lived on horse
back and in the saddle from year to
year. No outlaw horse was too
suorty for their mount, in fact their
saddle horses were trained to be
wild and glassy-eyed. If they did
not buck on a frosty morning some
thing was radically wrong. Usually
if one outlaw bucked, they all buck
ed, it was a general invitation for a
rough house. It was common to
see a dozen or more mustangs
plunging madly and the bucarroos
yelping like Piute Indians as they
left camp tor the day's ride. A
cowboy would cover anywhere from
50 to 90 miles in one of these dally
rides but seldom would such a day's
chore fatigue or subdue the wily
broncho. The boys had to be care
ful in unsaddling lest the outlaws
should deal them a blow with their
hind feet. The outlaw horse never
could be broken. Usually they be
come old and stiff from constant
hard bucking which put them on
the pension list for saddle horses.
A pension consisted of life on the
ranges without molestation.
iit.jw !i I1 :i;i.:(M,ii.!fi..il!iir.;i:iiiiR ww iO1 1 1 1 1
At The Round-Up
... f
The Ittiumlup
The roundup was a great event
tor the cattlemen and especially the
cowboys. From a certain point the
cattle were collet-ted for a few tluys
until a large herd was gathered to
gether. Each outfit had a foreman
and each cattleman had his cowboys
there to see that he got his iron on
the right brute. The calf seen to
nurse a certain cow was roped and
branded and marked with the same
Iron as its mother. ' Corrals were
seldom used and could hardly be
used if had. The saddle horn was
the snubbing post in use in those
days. The roping was marvelous.
To catch a cow or calf, the noose
was thrown in front of the animal
which jumped through It like a cir
cus dog Jumping through a hoop,
but as the animal's hind feet were
SPECIAL EDITION GALLEY 12
about to pass through the loop there
was a quick jerk and at the same
time another loop was tossed over
the animals head. In five minutes
the beast would be on the ground
ready for the ironing process. The
iron was a simple straight rod with
a slightly bent end. With this in
strument the cowboy could make
any letter or other mark in vogue as
a brand. It was light and could be
carried on the saddle. A few days
on a roundup sufficed to brand and
mark alt cattle within a radius of
ten or fifteen miles, then the opera-:
tions were repeated in an adjoiuing
vicinity.
The "Slick Kitr"
The "slick ear" belonged to the
first man who could get his I Iron
on It. Anything was a "slick ear"
after It was weaned from Its mother.
It huppened to be a culf that was
overlooked In the roundup or else
was not gathered In at all. So II
was an animal without a murk or
an owner and was public property.
A hunter In quest of other game
often bagged one ot these. Some
times they grew to be two or three
years old before being detected.
They were quite common in the
early cattle days In this country and
evry winter many ot the settlers
went gunning for"sllck ears" and
In this way obtained meat for the
winter. Beet was dirt cheap those
days. A good big four-year-old
steer could be bought for twenty
five dollars and for less If prospects
for a bad winter were In sight. But
at that It was the golden days In
Central Oregon for the stockmen.
Many accumulated fortunes, retired
and moved away and the cowboys
have grown old now and many of
them like their outlaw ponies are
resting on the ranges of eternal
peace.
Itange ReKMTlel
As a general rule each stockman
In those days respected all others'
ranges which they "claimed" as
"theirs" because they were first on
It, but it was respected Just as much
as though it were deeded, The
sheepmen made and agreed upon
certain lines and they ranged their
stock accordingly. Occasionally a
luxy sheep herder would "full"
asleep and allow his Dock to cross
the dead line. Of course the sleep
lug process would be only feigned.
At any rate whenever the flocks
trespassed over the line It was some
such excuse offered. The cattlemen
allowed their cattle to roam at will,
having no herder. They would nat
urally drift to the fores is In spring
time and back again In the fall
when they would be rounded up and
some placed In enclosed pastures
Thousands of acres of public land
were fenced In many, places and here
bunch grass would grow thrmi tent
high, and made excellent winter
pasture.
Wild Home ami Cattle
Horses were not only wild, but
as wild as elk or any other wild
animal. Horses wore not worth
much thirty years ago, good sad
dle pony could be bought from five
dollars up. But they ran like wild
year after year, some dying of old
age without a brand or even ever
being roped. They ran In herds
and when they sighted a human be
ing I hey snorted and were out of
sight as quick as their fleet feet
could carry (hem, and they were
fleety and tough as Iron. It was a
wiry' saddle horse Unit could keep
in sight of them. It was a strenu
ous Job to corral them as I bey would
plunge headlong Into any obstruc
tion to evade being turned fruiil a
certain course. Many were citugtit
and conquered and they were worth
the effort for a good hardy driver
or riding horse I lien was to his
muster what tho auto toiluy la to
Its owner. When once on one i t
their bucks unit started for a ceriuln
place you were sure to arrive theri
without full, There were no blow
outs, punctures or broken axles, cr
oilier grief.
Iluxlneu Warn Itlw
Hollars uliiuiHt grew on trees lit
the early days of the slin k IniliiHtry.
They grew on the hills If not on
trees, on (he shepa" bucks u ml on
the cattle herein. U wits big busi
ness for (he country tiierchnnt. Tim
pntronuiie of a big cuttle or sheej
man wus ulnuwl like a gold mine tos
Hie country store keeper. Me (111
not buy In fifty cent packages or
pound lots hut bought by whulexal-i
and - retail, bringing along six or
eight-horse freight mil din to lual
buck his puri'hiiHcK,
The fanner who cultlvnted th
soli for a livelihood sold his buy t
the stockmuu every year at gool
prices. Consequently they also
prospered us they only hail lo stm k
tho hay and the sheepmen bought It
and drove their flocks to II and fe.i
it.
The patronage of the stockmen
was heavy and was good In all lines.
There were no railroads ftud all
their products were freighted or
driven on hoof to The Italics.
Much hay was In demand both In
the country and In the towns which
stimulated farm operations and good
prices. The tight-wad was con
spicuous for his absence It seemed.
At any rate money was easy and
plentiful and flowed In streams la
the different channels.
The cowpunchers never had uso
for money and it burned their fin
gers so they flung It to the breexe
as soon as they struck town. They
believed In free clrrulution of
change and they did It freely, Sheep
herders also scattered their dollars
like wheat when they blew In.
There was always plenty of work
with stock, everybody hud money or
could get It esstly, were happy, and
business was good.
That was tho lust of the Great
West, absolutely. As the sun went
down along In the lute nineties, so
did the great west and the real big
free range stock buslueas puss on.
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printing at right prices.
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UNION STOCK YARDS
North Portland Oregon
Russell B. Caswell
Harry H. Cofoid
Cattle SalcMts
D. Leo Gholsoo
Hog sail Skeep Sakmis
Kid well & Caswell
Livestock & Commission
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North Portland, Oregon
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