OCR Text |
Show 2 - LIVELY TIMES - JULY 15, 1998 HISTORY FROM THE CASTLE VALLEY AREA STOCK RAISING In its infancy the cattle industry was the main economic force in Moab. The first successful attempt to begin stock raising in Grand County was made by the Taylor family. In 1879 several members of the Taylor family, in search of new cattle range, came to Moab Valley—then known as Little Grand Valley. They liked this section so well that they decided to locate here. In 1881 the Taylors moved their families here under the leadership of Norman Taylor. They drove several hundred head of cattle into the valley. Today the Taylor Livestock Company is one of the area’s largest, and the oldest and most historic tattle spread in Grand Cormty. Their lands include the Bar—A Ranch on the LaSals, farming lands in Fisher Valley, and desert grazing lands near Arches National Park. Their operations would overwhelm the original founders. After the Taylors came, many settlers brought herds of cattle with them and gradually built up large herds. ‘It’s roundup time" began ringing through the valleys and hills twice a year—once in the spring and once in the fall. In the spring cattle were rounded up, calves branded, and moved to the summer ranges. In the fall herds were gathered, counted, and steers were cut out for shipping. Small owners formed pools for the market gathering. Sometimes there were ten or fifteen different owners in one pool. The ranchers on the north end of the LaSals and the Cisco desert trailed their herds to the railroad at Cisco. West Grand County and big cattle companies in Indian Creek and the southern LaSals trailed their herds to the Thompson railhead. These herds had to go through Spanish Valley. Moab was a real bottleneck. A thousand to fifteen hundred head of cattle kicked up a lot of dust on Moab’s sandy Main Street. As the town became more settled, the drovers found a new route—over Graveyeard Hill and along the hills east of Moab. Whichever route they chose, there was always the river to cross. It took hours to get all the cattle across. Until 1956 Al Scorup from Indian Creek kept alive the traditional cattle drive of the West, driving his herd from Indian Creek Ranch to the railhead at Thompson. The chuck wagon was stopped under the trees north of the old ranch TRANSTION TO SHEEP Curing 1895-96 a majority of the cattlemen sold out their interests and the cattle were shipped to Montana Among those selling out were the Carlisle Cattle Company, the Taylor Brothers, Henry Goodman, Harry Green, R.L. Kirk, and others. At this time sheep started to come in. There were many factors working to bring about this change. Among them was the extended drought, the low price of cattle, and cattle rustlers. Up until the yiar 1890, old—time rustlers had worked on the cattle companies considerably by catching mavericks. Mavericking those days was considered legitimate and little attention was paid to that rather shady proceeding. The first bunch of sheep in eastern Utah or western Colorado were put on the north end of the LaSal Mountains by Arthur Taylor in August 1895. They were under the guard of Joe Bush, a United States deputy marshal. The herders feared trouble with cattlemen and thus hired a guard Soon after this, more sheep came and a number of local former cattlemen went into the sheep business. Within a few years sheep out-numbered cattle by many times. Their source of supply gone, the Robbers Roost bunch and others carrying on the cattle rustling trade disbanded and left the country for greener pastures. Sheep herds increased and shearing plants were built at Dewey, Thompson, and Cisco. In 1908 Cisco was preparing to shear 100,000; Thompson 40,000; and Dewey, 25,900. All these sheep fed on high country grasses in the summer and spread over the desert areas in the winter. A number of herds from western Colorad’s high country moved onto the Cosco desert during the summer-herds numbering 5,000 to 10,000. Their owners paid no attention to range rights based on tradition or lease. When they left, the range was barren. There soon developed the inevitable and legendary feud between sheep and cattle ranchers. The tension was there but held in check until 1910: The first range war between sheep and cattlemen that ever occurred in grand County broke out at the Court House with no loss of property, no stock killed, and no men seriously injured. The encounter was an old-fashioned ‘fist and skull fight.” A far more serious incident occurred on February 24, 1921. Charlie Glass, a Negro foreman of the Lazy Y Cross Ranch owned by Oscar L. Turner, had a confrontation with house and the townspeople were invited to sour dough Felix Jesui, camp-mover for the sheep outfit owned by biscuits and big juicy beefsteaks. Cattle are no longer trailed to the railheads, but are William Fitzpatrick. Shots were fired and Jesui died. Glass was arrested, tried, and acquitted. The jury reached a verdict trucked directly from the ranches to Grand Junction, on one ballot. Citizens indicated that they approved of the Colorado. Cowboys worked hard all during the summer months. In the winter they ‘holed in” and let the cattle graze at will until spring. verdict. Sympathy was with the cowboy protecting his range. More Sheep, p. 3 An early-day cowboy, William Cooley, stated in his history: Castle Valley Times The Castle Valley Times is available at cost for those On the range we wore woolen underwear, a jumper, and overals but many of us cowboys wore trim “Oregon City” pants with a Stetson hat. Also if one must be frilly dressed up for instant action one must have a .45 colt six shooter, belt and scabbard as well as silver mounted spurs. 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) 2595115 or write to Castle Valley Times, HC 64 Box 1903, Castle Valley, UT 84532. |