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Show 2 - DIVERSE TIMES - FEBRUARY 15, 1997 HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT OF NORTHERN SAN JUAN COUNTY, orchard at once, built good cabins and corral, with good fence —trom the writings of Frank Silvey surrounding this crop. The second year he had considerable hay ground and soon after had big hay stacks for the winter months. About 1895 Dave Goudelock settled on the head of (This continuing series is from the Silvey writings which capture much of the color and feeling of the eariy settlers in the general Moab area of southeastem Utah.) Cottonwood where he made a very good ranch. After a number of years Goudelock, Cooper and Martin fused all their interests together and formed what was called the Indian UTAH Creek Cattle Company. A few years later they sold out all their interests to the Scorup—Sommerville Cattle Company, the present owners today. COMING OF THE BIG COW OUTFITS The summer of 1883 at the Blue Mountains, Spud OUTLAWS Hudson, Peters, Duddley Reece and Green Robinson sold out their cattle interests to an English syndicate headed by the Carlisle Brothers and they got thirty-five dollars per head for yearlings, range delivery for the greater part. Peters ran all on the left hip, as his cowbrand, and it was decided to run this brand hip, side and shoulder, placing one bar in a place on all increase of the Carlisle Cattle Company. So this was the start of a brand of the largest herd of cattle in eastern Utah or western Colorado. Spud Hudson, soon after the sale of his cattle left for his old home near Trinidad, Colorado. Green Robinson went to the settlements of Utah, and again bought more cattle (about a thousand head) and drove them to Coyote where he located for a short time and employed John E. Brown as a company cowboy to help him look after his cattle interests. Early in the spring of 1885 the writer got ajob as cowboy from The western central portion of San Juan County is mountainous around the Blue, and Elk Mountains while the western portion lying along the rims of the Colorado River and Cataract Canyon is "cut up" by large and small vallleys, mesas, canyons, and rims. On the last terrace or rim of the Colorado River which has precipitous walls of alternate layers of red and white sandstone (known as The Dolores, and La Plata formations) are located the small sunken valleys...so called by the old time cowboys as they have no outlets. As this part of San Juan County is very isolated, only a few cowboys and rarely a few scientists ever sees the district At a point near the Elk Mountains there is a "secret" crossing of the Colorado River, known as the Butler Trail crossing. Mont Butler was the leader of the noted Robbers Mack Goode, Carlisle cow foreman. Mack was an old Texas Roost btmch, that operated in southwestern Colorado and a cowboy and his crew of Allen, Tom Roach, Jim McTurner, Hickory Dennis, Jim Moore, were among these. Later came Latigo Gordon and Bob Kelly, making a total crew of about twelve men. part of San Juan County driving stolen cattle via this secret trail and crossing of the Colorado River. In this great isolated region these stolen or "wet" cattle were held on virgin grass lands, then sold to a southern Utah We started to drift cattle out to Dry Valley about May cattle buyer. This outlaw Robbers Roost gang operated first, and the final drive ended near the foot of Peter's Hill. At this roundup it was estimated we had near ten thousand head of cattle on the bunch ground, and during this drift in Dry Valley we branded many calves and two hundred and fifty head of straight Mavericks and that year the calf tally was five thousand three hundred. The calf tally was this year perhaps greater on account of more or less Indian troubles in the two previous years. During this summer Charles H. Ogden and Jim Blood, representing Pittsburg Cattle Co. capital came and after some delay, bought the cattle and ranch interests of Philander Maxwell, Tom Maxwell and Grandpa Maxwell, Billy McCarty, Green Robinson, the Rays and Neals Olson. The cattle were all tallied over and branded two circles on each rib (Billy McCarty's old brand), which was changed two years during the years 1894 to 1899. Finally nearly all the cattle were sold and shipped out of San Juan County and southwestern Colorado and sheep took their place. At the end of 13800 this outlaw bunch disbanded and scattered to the four wrn . ~ Prior to the organization of the so—called Robbers Roost bunch, the writer rode with and knew the members fairly well. They were ajolly bunch, and had good qualities as well as bad. Mont Butler, "Kid" Jackson, A1 Akers, "Butch"- Cassidy, "Kid" Parker and Bert Madden were all members of this outlaw bunch and to say the least, they were all sure enough cowboys and cowhands.‘ Next month: “Stolen Horses.” Much appreciation to the later to the Cross "H" and this old cattle brand is still being rim by the La Sal Livestock Company. Charles H. Ogden Times-Independent for giving permission to reprint these selections from the History and Settlement of Northern San Juan was at that time manager while Jim Blood was range County. Utah, from the writings of Frank Silvey, an early pioneer in this area. foremen, and this company was known as the Pittsburg Cattle Company. During the late fall of 1885, D. M. Cooper and Mel Turner settled with small bunches of cattle, on Indian Creek near the mouth of Cottonwood at the Dugout. A trapper and prospector by the name of George Johnson Wilbourne (the original Indian Creek Johnson), had trapped some there, but had made very little attempt at any permanent improvement, so Cooper and Turner were the first to attempt a bona fide settlement. Shortly after this came V. P. Martin, Brewater, Davis, Wilson, Harry, Green, Lee Kirk, Henry Goodman and others. In 1887 John E. Brown settled here, planted a fine An interesting Silvey quote: "The Colorado River those days, with the exception of the May and June run-off, was as clear as a mountain stream. The vegetation we had in those days [1898], held the water back so that it generally reached the main washes with little damage." |