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Show History of cattleman Don F. Hill (The following is a continuation of the story honoring Uintah Cattleman, Don F. Hill). "About 1900 Pa built a trading post at the head of Bitter Creek near Baxter Pass. All of our playmates were Utes. McCook lived down the creek. He was a real good frineds of Pa's. I recall Ernie Colorows" children, Laughin' John, Blind Frank, Jim and Bob. There was a bunch of Serawops too. So called Little Dick family." "Pa built houses for the men at Dragon and mother cooked for a lot of the workers. In 1939 there was not enough ore to pay to keep the railroad working so they quit and tore up the track." "In those days we had a lot of fun along with our hard work. We rodeoed at Vernal, Fruita, Meeker and Rangely plus a few rodeos we made ourselves. People were far apart and had to go a long way to meet other people. In the ranch country rodeos were a way of getting together. Charlie and I were Pretty good hands." "One little incident that happened in Rangley just about ended my riding career. I was up on the hill back of town hen my horse started to buck. He Peeled down off that hill and all I could see was a clothesline back of a house and we were headed straight for it. I knew I was about to get my throat cut. Before I hit the first wire I grabbed it and hooked it over the saddle horn. The bronc wheeled and I grabbed the next ne and did the same. We took up the bill about where the college stands with a" the clothesline and some of the Posts. I was afraid to go back to town as J knew someone had seen me so I just 'eft the clothesline up on the hill and ent home." "When the Rangely College was dedicated, there were some buildings named for the oldtimers. Hill Hall was named for my father. Blakeslee Building was in honor of my mother." "I helped set up the Taylor Grazing Act, now the BLM. Must have been around 1935. That was about the best set of rules that ever helped the cat- tlemen. Before that there wasn't a rule to guide anyone. The cattle had a certain range, but the sheep went any place they saw a spear of grass. We worked on that for several years. Seems like now there's sure a lot of extra rules and regulations that don't mean much." "Charlie and I shared the same brand but Pa and Mother had their own Pa branded a Lazy AW. Mother owned one of the earliest recorded brands in Colorado, "65." Both brands are still in use. "Julia and I retired from the main work in ranching a long time ago. Maybe 1970. We started coming to Arizona for the winter in 1960 and back to the ranch in the summer. The summer of 1976 I was hit by a heart . attack the day after we arrived ana that was the last time I have been there and don't expect to ever see it again." "We've had the privilege of seeing the West transformed from a sparsely settled, rough and tumble country into a land'of great cities and completely mechanized farms and ranches. Ninety is a let of years. I think liked it better the way it used to be." |
