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Show 2 - FRAGRANT TIMES - MAY 1 5, 1 998 ORAL HISTORY FROM THE CASTLE VALLEYAREA Fred McCoy, a miner from the Cripple Creek, Colorado mining boom, moved into Beaver Basin in the La Sal Mountains where he found copper, but was drowned out by which he wintered on the desert. Some of the Taylors at the Dewey sheep camps lent him a horse, telling him his burros were at Sagers Wash. He soon found his burros, then returned the horse to the Taylors saying, “’l‘ank you, tank you.” My burros so ‘clad’ see me, they ‘chust prayed and prayed.’” In the 1920’s and 30’s, Gus Smelzer was known to the Pace and Buchanan children of Castle Valley and Sally’s Hollow as ‘Diamond Gus.’ The nickname, derived from a water. he was a great teamster and drove 4 or 6 horse team freight for Pace Bros. between Cisco, Castle Valley and Sally’s Hollow. There were a number of freight wagons at perpetual drop at the end of his nose, fascinated them because it never seemed to drop off but just hung there. this time hauling supplies from Cisco down the Colorado River, via Dewey, to the ranches in Professor, Fisher and his grubsteaks. In his later years he ran the hotel and cafe at Pat Dyer, a prospector, hayed at the La Sal ranches for Cisco, Utah. Every Christmas, dressed up in a long Castle Valley and to the mines. AMr. Scarf and his wife ran a boarding house at Dewey for the Teamsters and other travelers. Scarf was an ill-tempered, tight-listed man who never ate cereal, but insisted his wife serve it to take the edge off of hungry morning apetites. Once Fred McCoy, a hills, prospected at Miner’s Basin. Once when I was putting pleasant, easy going man was having breakfast at the sheep up there on public range, Old Turner, then in his 80’s coonskin coat and straw hat, and drunk as a skunk, Dyer delivered presents to everyone in town. Old Man Turner, omery, unpredictable, and old as the Smurf ’3. Mrs. Scarf had served huge bowls of cereal to took a shot at me and killed two sheep. He really hated everyone before bringing on the ham, bacon, eggs, and hot sheepherders. When Turner was 90, he was still living at biscuits. Scarf sat silently, his head hanging over his bowl, refusing to eaL'By and by McCoy spoke up, saying, “I wish to Hell you’d get through with your God damn prayin’ so I Miners Basin, alone and almost helpless. Bert Buchanan of Pace Bros. was then a county commissioner and got funds to send the old man by stage to a rest home in Provo. Bert can eat my mush before it gets cold.” asked me if I would stop by and help him catch the stage at John Foster, or Pegleg John, now 89 years old, lives near Grand Junction, Colorado. He prospected, mostly for Castleton since I was going up there anyway. When I reached his cabin, Old Man Turner was sick and had fallen on vanadium before Worid War I, staying out in the hills six the floor. I helped him into bed, explaining thatI was to get months at a time with his string of donkeys. He’s a very nice man but quick tempered. Pegleg lived mostly on him ready to take the stage to Provo. Turner said, “No Outlaw Mesa, the mesa being named after him. Once he refused all assistance. So I informed Bert Buchanan, who had ordered a cook stove from Montgomery Ward, then decided to order a wife too, and darned if he didn’t get them both. The wife was his first as well as his fourth. He was married twice to make a special trip to Miner’s Basin from the Pace Ranch in Castle Valley to help the old man leave for the rest home inbetween. Foster had lots of good claims staked out on Outlaw Mesa. He was somewhat of a hermit and didn’t like to be bothered or pushed around by people. He carried a shot gun everywhere he went for protection and to scare off any claim jumpers. He used to duel with some fellow across the sheepherder son-of-a—bitch is going to run me out,” and in Provo. (From Lorraine Mitchell is oral history interviews with Sid Pace and Lester Taylor. This historical material was made available by the Moab BLM) canyon. One time Foster caught a big Swede stealing vanadium and shot him. Afterwards, he said, “I made a good Swede out of him; blowed his head off.” Pegleg boasted of killing other men too, but said, “I never smoked a cigarette or took a drink of whiskey in my life.” Tim the Trapper was an uncle of Jack Pogue who lives in Moab, Utah. He hunted and trapped his way from Arkansas to Moab, arriving with a team of burros and buckboard, five hounds, and a buckskin horse. Tim always reeked of skunks. Summers he worked for Bar A sheep camps in the La Sal Mountains and waters trapped the Dewey-Dolores River area. Besides being a professional trapper, Tim was a professional drinker. Whenever he was on Castle Valley Times The Castle Valley Times is available at cost for those who wish to receive it. The printing and mailing costs are just covered by the $10 per year requested. Other incidental expenses incurred in getting out the CV Times have been covered by donations. If you would like to receive the Castle Valley Times, please contact Jack Campbell at (435) 259— 5115 or write to Castle Valley Times, HC 64 Box 1903, Castle Valley, UT 84532. one of his periodical drunks in the summer, one of his female hounds always quit him and hid out at Bar A. When Tim sobered up she always left willingly with him. Gus Smelzer, the “Holland Dutchman,’ a small, stooped, banty-legged, sharp nosed man was a well known figure in the La Sals. Gus built the old original Bar A fence for the Pittsburg Cattle Co. He owned 50 or so head of cattle, red and white milk stock, which he sold to Pace Bros. A prospector, grubsteaked by Grand Junction railroaders, the ‘Holland Dutchman’ and his burros were a familiar sight making rounds between the ranches and mines, constantly visiting and wandering. The broken English spoken by Gus was a source of amusement to everyone. One spring he walked from Castle Valley to Dewey hunting his burros “Castle Valley Wew Points.” Castle Valley resident Dave Porterfield has opened a Website called “Castle Valley View Points.” The web address is: www.gj.net/~talldave Dave welcomes e-mail comments. He hopes to provide a forum for Castle Valley issues plus other information of interest to residents and property owners in the valley. Some CV Times material will be available at this site, and some of Dave’s material may appear in the CV Times. Having information available both in the printed and electronic media will help get information to a broader range of CV residents and property owners. |