| Show THE SUNDAY MORNING JULY 14 1940 r OGDEN ad' Lucky At Dice Gets Out of Task of ' r Executing Murderer Ogden Old Timer Relates Experiences of Early Western Days (Editor's note: George C —Dad" Streeter of 90 Thirtieth lived through some of the most exciting days of the old west in Wyoming As a roving cowboy and expert bronc buster he knew and worked with such famous western characters as Buffalo BiU Butch Cassidy Calamity Jane Cattle Kate and others In the following article he relates how he once ivas forced into a dice game- where the loser had to track down and kill an alleged murderer how he once saved his life in a sudden blizzard and tells an interesting story of honor among i - lilBIl - v Indians) 4$ "I was on my way to Lander Wyoming about 1876 and stopped for the night at a cattle ranch on the Sweetwater where I learned of the hanging on the night before of Jim Averill and Kate Maxwell (Cattle Kate) at their ranch only a few miles from there Everybody at the ranch was greatly excited and not inclined to pay much attention to me and being tired I went to bed early "About midnight I was awakened by a large party of heavily armed men who came into the bunkhouse where I was The spokesman said: We a vigilance committee have assembled for the purpose of appointing a committee of one to track down and kill Mr Hendricks the leader of the gang of cutthroats that cold bloodedly and without provocation murdered two of our neighbors We have decided to shake dice (aces high and high man out) the loser to do the job and the others to pay his expenses As proof of the job having been done he must bring back the gentleman's ears (the left one has a knife slit the right one a swallow fork caused by a horse bite) for our inspection' I "During this explanation dressed and ran for the door but was promptly brought back The speaker said 'No you don't' and pushing the dice across the table to me added 'You start the game' "I protested saying I would have nothing to do with it He said 'Oh yes you will and you better get busy' I took the dice and shook but not an ace The turn came around to me again Now there was only four of us left in the game and I was trembling so hard that I had to put my hand over the top of the cup to keep the dice from jumping out before I was ready and all the time I was praying that I might be lucky just for this once My prayers were answered for I shook an ace and that let me out of the game "The fellow who was stuck took it good naturedly saying he would perform his task to the best of his ability I don't know what I would have said or done if I had lost the game Probably died of fright or started for South America I did not sleep any more that night and left early next morning "About ten o'clock I met a stranger and we rode along together for some distance until we came to a creek He dismounted to get a drink and was in the act of mounting his horse again when a shot was fired from the brush nearby The bullet pierced his shirt under his left arm killing his horse I yelled 'Come and get on with me' He jumped on behind me and after taking him to a safe distance I told him to get off as I did not feel ' "DAD" STREETER He knew early characters safe carrying him any farther for I knew it was Mr Hendricks by his earmarks Snowbound In Mountains "While I was at the Big Squaw's ranch in Wyoming Mr Harris the foreman offered me a job of rid-in- e the general roundup in the SDriner The time for starting was only about two months away and during that time I was to try to hold the saddle horses in the near vicinity so that they would be easy to find when we wanted them Mr Harris had recently bought some of them and they not being at home on that part of the range were hard to hold Not having a corral to put them in nights i always had a big job the next day Catherine them ud again I pre vailed on Mr Harris to let me take a team and go to the mountains close bv to eet a load of lodge poles They grew so thick and were so tall and slim that one load would build an enclosure large enough to hold all the horses and that would save a lot of hard riding "The next day the sun was warm and beautiful a typical snrinsr dav I hitched a large team of mules to the running gear of a wagon loaded my bed roll and two days' rations and started i arrived at the timber a little before night located the poles thatateI wanted to cut tended my team supper and went to bed "I enjoyed a good night's sleep but when I undertook to throw the covers back to get up in the morning I found them weighted down under several feet of snow I succeeded in digging my way out and I found the snow almost neck deep and still falling So I went to work to prepare my camp as best I could to stand a winter seige "I first led the mules around and around my bed and in and out among the trees of a quaking aspen by grove that happened to be close we to tramp the snow down so that would be able to move around a little Then I hitched a mule to my bed and pulled it out and got it on top of the snow Then I took my axe and lopped a great many of the branches of the quaking aspen trees down low enough ' for the mules to reach The small swigs and bark were for them to eat and they seemed to relish them fairly well Anyway they ate them withr out complaining "I got out my grub and found that I had four pieces of soda bread about the size of a baseball enough fat pork to make four sandpound wiches and about one-ha- lf of jerked elk meat I divided it into FRED'S PIOHEER TAUEHH Og den's Most Unique lEEIi PAiLOi VISIT OUR OPEN AIR DANCING PAVILION Entertainment Every Night WHERE GOOD FRIENDS MEET 214 25th Street STANDARD EXAMINER PIONfcfcR tDfllUN four equal parts resolving that no matter how hungry I became I would make it last me four days that bv that time there t would come a thaw followed by ai tne snow nam freefce to crust the to weight of my support enough was my only chance of team This escape Thai Weber county had to con "I had no matches with which to tend with the problem of the transstart a fire so I spent most of my warm to ient' and unemployed Is evident time in bed not only keep but also because If I laid quiet J from the resolution passed by the did not suffer as much from huncounty court on January 2 1894 ger: "The fourth day came wunout which prohibited any railroad or any signs of relief and after eating common carrier from bringing Into my last sandwich I got my rifle out the county any indigent persons of the bed thinking that I would resolution stated that the county wallow out in the snow in search would hold common horor To any person my of game of some kind ror I discovered that I had only carrier liable for any amount the two cartridges I felt so discour- County would be required to spend aged that I sat down on my bed to furnish such indigent persons realizing my helplessness "I had not been sitting there their board lodging or transportation! long when a blue grouse came and lit in the top of a tree almost diMayor Brough of Ogden appeared rectly over head I raised my rifle before the court on March 13 1894 and fired without getting up and and stated that he understood that Mr Grouse came tumbling down 5000 unemployed men would be almost at my feet I ate one half of shipped out of San Francisco in the him and saved the other half for near future and that a large porthe morrow tion of them would be shipped to "The next day after eating the Ogden 40 of them having arrived last of the grouse I decided to that day take the rifle and the only remainIn the minute books of the couning shell and see if I could find ty commissioners for August 29 something larger than a grouse to 1904 we find the following entry: shoot at I had traveled about two We have our usual callers of the hundred yards when I spied a large transient and hobo birds of the elk peeking around a tree at me passage increasing m numbers as I fired and actually hit the bulls- - the fall season approaches We pass eye and the elk died almost with them along with words of good out a struggle Then I went to cheer and sometimes a little finan camp for a mule to drag him into cial aid camp and if you ever tried to lead a mule up to a dead animal you finally left and did not return and know what a time I had "Well I finally succeeded in get I was not disappointed that he did ting him to camp I ate my fill of not warm elk meat which I greatly enHonor Among Indiana joyed I skinned the hind legs by "I recall an experience with In cutting around the leg next to the dians which happened while I was body and turning it down I was able to take the hide off without crossing the Wind river on the cutting it up and down Then I Shoshone reservation I was cross cut it off about one foot below the ing the river on the ice with hock and tied a string around that wagon load of beef When almost end making a very good pair of hip across my wagon broke through boots or snow waders the ice into shallow water I went "As the weather was extremely to an Indian camp close by and cold the elk carcass soon froze bargained with an old squaw to solid and after that all I could do chop a channel in the ice for my was eat the frozen chips as I chop- wagon to the bank To guard my ped them out of the carcass with outfit until my return the next my axe I subsisted entirely on that morning I said: 'Come see Here frozen elk meat for 14 days Then are 20 pieces (quarters) and when the weather moderated a Chinook I come back we count 20 I give wind came up melted the top of you one but if any beef gone you the snow several inches down and no get some' it froze hard that night making "When J returned next morning the snow like a pavement I found the channel chopped and "After chopping my outfit out of the load had not been disturbed the ice I hitched up my team and although they could have devoured in about four hours I was safe at it in a few moments and there the ranch where everybody had wouldn't have beea anything given me up for dead A rescue could do about it For there were party had started out to find me not less than 100 half -- starved In knowing where I had intended to dians standing around waiting my go But it was as impossible for coming "The cause of their starved conthem to come up as it was for me dition was the scarcity of game to come down "During the 18 days that I was caused by the hard winter Even snowed in I had one caller— a the jack rabbits one of their main large grizzly bear (judging from his sources of food supply were very tracks and the trail he left in the scarce an dthe rations they drew snow) came one night and rolled from Uncle Sam amounted to very my bed over He evidently wanted little Where did they get that to see what was under it I was great sense of honor? Surely not very thankful that he handled it from the white man for I am with care for he did not tear the afraid if put to the test that I tarpaulin or spill me out and I would steal before I would starve" will give you my word that I layed Demand for coconut straw braid But quiet and scarcely breathed if he had listened he could have for making straw hats is increasheard my heart beat— I could He ing in the Bahamas 'VAGS' APPEAR SOTIYHODERiJ" N EARLY PIONEER WITH DAYS i NEW INDUSTRY Large Auto Body Plant Grows From Old-Tim- e Smith Trade About 25 years ago L C (Ren) Williamsen who had taken over the Pioneer blacksmith shop of his father cautiously moved out on a new industrial frontier the manufacture of automobile bodies He didn't make a business of it then rather taking occasional small orders for "bug" or racing model bodies for light cars He had two helpers Today Ren Williamsen is con auto ducting the only custom-bui- lt Denver and between body factory San Francisco and this year he ts to produce approximately one body a day He employs 40 to 45 men He has pioneered a thriving business His products range from small delivery truck bodies to mammoth freighters lacking only the engine to make them powerful competition for railroads At one time In his shop during the sumnkr when men can work in the yard Ike can be at work on 13 of the big semi-trailor trailer bodies or 25 smaller ones' In the winter when all work must be done Inside he can have from three to five bodies under construction simultaneously In 1933 when the truck became real competition for the railroads Mr Williamsen's business spurted and he enlarged his shop at 2050 Washington In 1939 he purchased his facilities to meet increased production demands At the Williamsen plant the slogan is "From Idea to Highway" Business men conceive the type of auto or truck body they believe will fit their needs best and take the specifications for them to the plant There designers draw up the plans x and the work goes ahead rapidly until the product is finished ready to fit onto a chassis or to have an engine inserted Since early 1939 Mr Williamsen has been building chasses as well as bodies His products include s c h o o 1 busses bakery and beer delivery trucks linen supply trucks plain vans and refrigerated trucks and trailers whin are capable of maintaining an interior temperature as ' low as five degrees below zero on a trip from Ogden to the Pacific coast Most of his work is now on' commercial bodies Some of his larger jobs made with light chasses and aluminum bodies cost as much as $4000 when completed The Williamsen Auto Body Co with Ren Williamsen at its head is truly an industrial pioneer And Mr Williamsen himself is one of these "bosses' who directs the company from the plant floor with his sleeves rolled up and the muscles of his blacksmith's arms constantly rolling as he works at the side of his employes He leaves the office work to men with less desire to see a dream become a realizav tion ex-pe- er Another Ogden fD©N i it f if'th' tfSitWt$$)fl' ' ' Li Jul Steps Forward In Progress The Williamsen Auto Body Company — a real pioneer in auto body work for the past 25 years and now the largest builder of commercial truck bodies in the Intermountain West— takes another forward step with the announcement of the distributorship of WAYNE GAllON Dump Oodles All-Stc- el USES Williamsen 2050 Washington Blvd end Hydraulic Hoists Body Company Phone 1355 4 m m 4 ii m m w 9 f: |
