THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2. 1956
HERALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FALLS. OREGON
Alex Zeveiy Recalls Life
In 'Good Old Days' Here
By RUTH KING
A told by Alex Ztvely Jr.
(Editors Note: Alex Zeveiy of
lakevlew. raised In the Klamatli
country, Is the son of pioneer par
ents, Alex and' Martha Zsvel;'
whose lives and those of their
children were closely interwoven
with this area in the days ol the
stockmen's wars, stage robberies,
steamboats and cattle rustlers. In
thLs article, he reveals some per.
sonal experiences of those times.)
A noonday meal of cold wild
duck and drop dumplings and the
. . !
N 7
Alex Zeveiy Jr.
steady black eyes of a pretty girl
above a shotgun barrel probably
averted trouble between a cattle
baron and a family of settlers . in
the northernmost tip of Siskiyou
County in the dnys when a water
hole was as precious as gold In a
leather poke.
The log building that marks the
apot where that meal was served
still stands among the rocks and
the sagebrush on the fringe of sand
dunes near the California-Oregon
line.
The Modoc War of 1872--73, last
local struggle of the Indian against
the encroachment of the whiles in
the Klamath country was history,
but newcomers still shuddered at
Ules of the war in the Lava Beds.
The grasslands of the region, the
streams that angled - across the
valley and the easy access south
to Montague, nearest-railroad load
ing point, attracted both stockmen
and those who turned a furrow
for seeding grain.
It was in this setting that Pres
ley Dorris, lor whom the present
town of Dorris is named, and his
hard-riding cowboys met Mary
Zeveiy, the nervy, handsome
daughter of Alex and Martha Zev
eiy and sister of Alex Jr., Pearl
and Robert. '
It was her trigger finger that
turned the tide of the controversy
between Presley Dorris and her
family for the right of the Zevely'a
to establish a home on land that
Dorris claimed for his range herd.
Dorris and his riders rode the
linaon a vast area of land on the
west side of Lower Klamath Lake.
11 was inside this line that Mary's
father decided to file a homestead
claim on unsurveyed ground and
build a home.
On a May morning in the early
days of that settlement era, the
Zeveiy family, livestock, blankets,
wagon and household gear, turned
up around a blazing sagebrush fire
inside a new Dorris-bullt barbed
wire fence, its gate padlocked.
The Zevelys had made the transi
tion from the old to the new loca
tion by the simple expedient of
crawling beneath the wire, banding
over the wagon's contents and the
youngest children, dismantling the
wagon and driving the livestock
around the end of the fence where
it met an arm of the lake. They'
were there to stay.
Flapjacks sizzled In a skillet, the
foam still floated hish on a pail
of warm milk and the Zeve'.y live
stock nipped at the young meadow
prn&s inside the enclosure when the
first Dorris henchmen came by.
Tom Brown, a Hot Creek Indian,
trailed by two tall tribesmen and
two small brown boys, was the
fir.u to arrive to give the bos"
ultimatum, "get off or look for
trouble." Brown's cattle grazed
with the Dorris herds.
Brown scorned the printed per
mit for settlement shown by the
senior Zeveiy and left. The Zev
eiy permit for homesteading was
for land partially surrounded by
water, an ideal spot for a stand
against intruders, so the family
waited.
They threw up a temporary fence
of sagebrush. Father Zeveiy. a
ghostly figure in white sheets, stam
peded the Dorris cattle driven
through 'the fence on moonlight
nights and daily repaired the
fence.
A pole cabin.'was started with
the family all belpiug cut timber
except Mary and young Zev. It
was on one of these treks to the
timber that Mary gave warning to
Tom Brown and his henchmen
that she would brook no nonsense
where the family real estate was
concerned-.
Shotgun in hand she blasted
away at the soles of several pairs
of moccasins propped by their
owners along the fence and scared
the hecklers back into the brush
lands. The Zeveiy garden was trampled
into the ground by cattle mean
dering through gates left open, and
other depredations harassed the
family until July 10. when, with
the sun scorching the land,, the
showdown came.
Pres Dorris, in a buckboard,
flanked by five mounted buclt
aroos, rolled up to the now fin
ished cabin in a cloud of dust.
His first words, "Well. Zeveiy.
we've come to move you off,"
shouted in the direction of the
cabin doorway, brought the senior
Zeveiy to the stoop, gun In hand.
They also brought black-eyed Mary
and her double-barreled weapon.
Her back against a fence post,
she leveled both barrels at the
cattleman's head. Not one man
said a word. All had heard of the
plucky girl who had shot at Tom
Brown.
Her eyes roved over the riders
and their boss while her right hand
fondled the hammers on her gun.
Her gaze moved to the lead cow
hand who sat his sleek black mare
without stirring a finger. His lips
parted in a flashing smile and the
girl protector of the Zeveiy acres
smiled back.
He said a word and the quintet
of riders, before the startled eyes
of their cattle boss, whirled their
mounts and rode away.
Mary dropped a curtsy toward
the buckboard.
Her voice was cold against the
summer heat. "Mr. Dorris, if you
Intend to move us off, I wish you'd
hurrv as dinner is getting cold."
"What is it?" asked the cow
man. "Right now it's cold duck and
dumplings, and you're welcome to
It," came the answer.
The black team, hitched to the
buckboard was tied to the fence
and Dorris ate at the Zeveiy
table. It was the last time a move
was made to Intimidate the Zeveiy
family.
Dorris and Zeveiy became good
friends and the rider on the black
horse returned to woo "the shoot
ingest woman in the valley."
On a fall day when the1 aspens
were red and yellow on Uie creek
banks. Mary rode away with Pros
Dorris' top cowhand and in the
magistrate's office in Yreka, be
came the bride of Henry Baldock,
and the two lived long to laugh
about the days when Mary smiled
above a shotgun.
.., tit, mm
JUNE GADDY of Alturat looks on triumphantly at KCNO'i Ted (Ache Payne washes the
family dishes at her home. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Claude Gaddy of Alturas, Miss
Saddy won a sot of dishes from Ingraham's Hardware for her letter describing her "aches and
pains" and enclosed a March of Dimes donation which was judged winner of the radio contest
over KCNO. Photo by Chas. E. Goulden
I M I ft.
4-H NEWS
THE RANCH COOKS
The meeting was called to order
by President Mark Dearborn. Roll
call was read and we answered'
by what we've made. Minutes were
read and approved. Old business
and new business were discussed.
We have to hand our cards in
the next meeting. Refreshments
were then served. They were ham
burger's made by Mark Dearborn.
The meeting was then adjourned
to play games.
Paul Dearborn
News Reporter
Teachers Plan Conference
A little "White Hoise Confer-1 "The educational conference will
ence" on education has been ached- bo a general open meeting."
uled for Friday. February 24. atlo'Harra said, "so that all Inter
Mills auditorium, starting at 8 estcd persons can hear first hand
that ara before Congress at this
tune."
0
p.m.
Tom O'Htura, chairman ol Klam
ath Falls School District No. 1,
has been named zone chairman
of the Sinio Board of Education.
In his correspondence with O'Har
ra, Knapp asked that the confer
ence be set up, as a public meet
in?, to provide for discussion of
all matters pertinent to national
education problems.
Mrs. Art Moore and Mrs. Hael
Todd have been named as local
conveners. They held their first
meeting Tuesday with O'Hprra and
Arnold Grn l:pp. superintendent of
schools. In preparation for the Feb
ruary 24 conference.
Speakers will include Mrs Vic
tor E. O'Neill who was a local
delegate to the White House Con
ference on Education in Washing
ton. D C. Another delegate to the
Washington conierence will be
asked by the Ftate Board of Edu
cation to appear on thn program
with Mrs. O'Neill, O'Hnrra said.
accounts of the White House Con
ference-as well as participate in
discussion of all legislative bills
Actress Obtains
Divorce Decree
LOS ANGELES ift Chinese-born
Hollywood film actress Marie
Tsien has obtained a 'divorce from
Ernest Tsien, Vancouver, B.C.,
importer, who, she says, held fast
to the ancient customs of their
native China but took advantage
of modern telephones to make her
conform.
"I am now an American citi
zen." Mrs. Tsien testified, "but my
husband wanted me to be like the
women In China. He wanted abso
lute obedience and he had to know
where I was every minute awny
from him. I had to report to him
by telephone many times a day."
The Tslens were wed in Shang
hai in 1947. She Is 25, he 40.
DANIKL BOON KDTIltKS
FORT HOOD, Tex. W Dnn'I'
Bonne is hanging up his firearms
to become an automobile sales
man. Cnpt. ' Daniel H. Boone,
a greal-great-Kieat-nreat grandson
of the famous frontiersman, has
retired after 'X years of continuous
service with the Army. He's a fire
arms expert hjmsclf and was a
member of the U. S. pistol team
in Austria for two years. He has1
bought a home at nearby Temple '
where he will work as an aulo-i
mobile salesman.
KNKK ORNAMKNT8
DEVALI.S BLUFF, Ark. lAV-The
sign outside Jack Huflman's place
reads: "Hundreds of well-shaped
knecz Come In and feel around."
There's a simple explanation, of
course. The knees are cypress tree
knees, cut in the White River
bottoms. Boiled and peeled, they
make unusual ornaments.
Chas. J. Cizek
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OAMOff POTATO COMMISSION
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EVEN LITTLE BROTHER in the Don Hummel family ikims'over
the Ice like a bird on the wing when skatin' time comes. Nippy
nights and smooth ice spots are bringing lovers of the sport
out in numbers. The Hummels, left io right, Don Hummel, as
. sistant branch forester for the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company,
DayjcL4, inirpnt of father,. Don,. 10, Mrs. Hummel and Jennifer,
8 years old. The family home is at 3857 Boardman Street.
TLEADS GUILTV
. HOUSTON, Tex. ifi James Les
ter Coleson. 32, pleaded guilty be
fore Dist. Judge Langstdn G. Kins
to an Oct. 27 burglary In which
only an icepick was taken and (tot
a two-year sentence. Then he went
before Dist. Judge A. C. Winborn,
pleaded guilty to felony theft of an
.TddliiK machine Sept; 4, setting an
other two-year sentence. But the u
sentences win run concurrently.
ooooooooooo oToiro'o'o'o (1 0 51
NOTICE
It There anyone In Klamath
Falls named Goldie Kidder wha 3
married Bill O'.Mclley of Troy, 3
C Montana? Pleat act In tautk
r "..v-
with Marie Barton at A ft u rot.
o California.
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