|
The upper valley of Green River, famous as the scene of
many historic events in the days of the fur traders, was early recognized
as one of the finest grazing fields in the Rockies. Most of this section
lies within the bounds of the original Uinta County. It is a well-watered
basin about one hundred miles in length and fifty in width, and from a
scenic point of view is one of the most beautiful regions of the Interior
Basin. From one of the tributaries flowing in from the west it received
the name of the Piney Country.
The first permanent settlement in this valley was made on the Fontenelle,
its most southern stream. Rising in a range known as the Fontenelle
Hogbacks, it flows south and then in an easterly direction to Green River.
In 1872 a "squaw man" named John Smith settled a few miles above the mouth
of the stream. He had about five hundred sheep and was given the name of
"Sheep" Smith. His wife had brought him three halfbreed children from a
former union, and the oldest son, Edward Edwards, is now living on the
other side of the valley near Pinedale.
The next family to move in were the Pomeroys. Justin Pomeroy was a native
of Massachusetts who with his wife and three children had come to Green
River City in advance of the railroad. In 1873 they settled at the mouth
of the Fontenelle. The oldest son, Roney, was married and brought with him
his wife and little daughter Eva. There were four children born to them in
the mountain home, one of whom, Frank, still lives on the Fontenelle. The
mother and Eva, wife of Cyrus Bowman, are the only survivors of this
pioneer band of settlers, and live in Whittier, California, as does also
the daughter Fannie who became the wife of William Tomlinson, a man long
in the Blyth & Fargo Store at Evanston. The youngest daughter, Florence,
now Mrs. George Viesco, lives in the state of Washington.
In the course of time Roney Pomeroy and his brother Alfred moved up higher
on the Fontenelle and engaged in stock raising. In 1890 they sold out to
Charles Robinson who had extensive interests at Opal, and for some years
made their homes at Evanston, from which place they all moved to
California. Alfred Pomeroy, Jr., is now engaged in the cattle business on
Ham's Fork and his mother resides in Ogden. Alice Pomeroy, daughter of
Justin Pomeroy, married a Mr. Mathers and made her home in Buffalo,
Wyoming.
Daniel B. Rathbun was the next to take up land on the Fontenelle. He was
born in the state of New York, in 1837, and went to California in 1869.
After some years spent in the gold fields of the west he came to Green
River City, where he married Hattie Fuller, a lovely and highly
accomplished young woman who was teaching school at that place. In 1879
they settled between the Smith and Pomeroy ranches, and lived there until
1881 when the family moved to Evanston because of better educational
advantages for their six children. They built the home on Lombard Street
that is now owned by job Goodman. This home as well as the one on the
Fontenelle was always the center of hospitality to which young and old
contributed. Mrs. Rathbun died in 1892. He was one of the most prominent
citizens of Uinta County, and was for many years a member of the board of
county commissioners. He died in 1914, at the home of his daughter Hattie,
wife of Fred Wurtelle, an eminent physician of North Platte, Nebraska. The
oldest son, Dan, has a fine ranch at Mason, where Bert, the youngest son,
lives. Elmer Rathbun is in business in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Henry has met
with success in New York City, and Lyon is located in Whittier,
California.
In 1877 a man by the name of Charles Holden opened a law office in Green
River City, and established a newspaper called "The Daily Evening Press".
He was a native of Illinois, as was also his wife, who was endued with
much of the pioneer spirit of her famous uncle, Daniel Boone. Four years'
service in the Civil War followed by some years of experience on the
western coast, had admirably fitted Mr. Holden for Wyoming life, and
forseeing that ranching offered a surer future for his five children than
did the pursuit of journalism, he decided to move his family to the Piney
country. When Alfred Pomeroy came to the railroad town with a load of
produce consisting of hay, butter and eggs, and offered the Holdens the
use of his ox-drawn wagons for the return journey, the invitation was
gladly accepted, and the family with all their earthly possessions, valued
at less than $500, were conveyed to the cabin of Roney Pomeroy, whose wife
and daughters were absent on a visit to Kansas. That autumn Mr. Holden
moved his family a few miles farther up the stream into a cabin owned by a
"'squatter" named Rumsay. They bought this cabin and proceeded to
homestead the surrounding land, making it a part of what later became the
Holden ranch. Minnie Fontenelle Holden was the first child to be born o
white parents in the valley. There were seven children in all, five of
whom lived to maturity. In 1891 the son Charles met a tragic death that
shocked the entire west. While serving as deputy under Sheriff Frank James
he was in pursuit of a desperate criminal, and was shot from ambush.
Another son, Clarence, who was seven years old when the family came to the
valley, is the pioneer resident of this section. The original Holden ranch
belongs to the son Howard, and is run by Dave Alpenalp, who married Mr.
Holden's daughter Josephine.
For twenty years Charles Holden, who was commonly known as judge Holden
because of his service as justice of the peace in this precinct, was a
member of the school board, and his efforts in all lines of educational
and patriotic work have left their mark upon the state. His last years
were spent in Riverside, California, where his wife died in 19o7. Judge
Holden died an 1913, and his daughters, Minnie and Ella, still dispense in
the lowlands the same gracious hospitality that characterized their
mountain home.
Other early ranchers on the Fontenelle were John Holland, who moved to
Jackson's Hole, and George McCray, who married a niece of Ariel Hanson.
Ariel Hanson was a nephew of A. C. Beckwith of Evanston. In 1872 he came
out from New York to work in the Beckwith Lauder store at Echo. He married
Agnes Salmon of Coalville, Utah, and after living several years in Green
River City they, in 188x, bought the claim of Shade Large, a "squaw man,"
who had settled about ten miles from the mouth of the Fontenelle. Large
later moved to Henry's Fork. Mr. Hanson served as justice of the peace for
several years, and in 1890 moved with his family to Evanston. There were
nine children, six of whom are still living, as is also the mother, who
makes her home with the youngest son, Chester, in Whittier, California.
An Indian known as "Old John" spent much of his time in the valley. He
worked for the ranchers and showed his friendship for them in many ways.
In the summer of 1882 he gave them a warning that a raid was about to be
made by some renegade Indians from the Wind River Reservation, under the
leadership of an Arapahoe known as Popoagie. It resulted in a few cattle
and horses being driven off, but there was no serious trouble. Curious to
relate, the Indian wives of the "squaw men", whether from fear or from a
sentiment of loyalty toward their own people, left their homes and went
with the Indians. A few weeks later saw them back, very reticent as to
their experiences, but evidently well satisfied to return .to
civilization.
Until 1879 ranchers on the Fontenelle and the neighboring streams depended
for mail upon irregular trips to Green River, at that time the base of
supplies. In 1879 a weekly mail service was started, and "Johny Karnes," a
half-breed, who had a ranch on La Barge Creek, was given the contract to
carry the mail. Mrs. Holden was the first postmistress. After the
construction of the Oregon Short Line a tri-weekly service was put on from
Opal, and in i88--> it was made daily. This has been extended to Pinedale.
A well-known name on the Fontenelle is that of Jacob Herschler, who came
to the valley in 1888. He combined cattle and sheep raising, and met with
deserved success. His wife was the sister of Mrs D. B. Rathbun. Mr.
Herschler died in 1921 and is survived by his son Edgar, who holds the
ranch property, and his daughters, Mrs. James Fuller and Mrs. Francis Lee.
La Barge Creek flows into Green River about ten miles north of the
Fontenelle. It was named by General Ashley in 1824, in honor of Joseph La
Barge, father of a famous Missouri River captain.
In 1877 N. S. Miller, a native of Denmark, moved with his family from the
town of Green River into the LaBarge Valley, and settled on Swan Creek.
There were already a few ranchers in the valley, John Karnes, who had a
Shoshone wife, and three other "squaw men", Harnes, who was known as
"Dutch George", Charles Butman and a man named Kutch. Karnes joined
Holland when he went north from the Fontennelle, and they became the first
settlers in Jackson's Hole. After the death of Kutch his widow and
children went to the Wind River Reservation, and one of the daughters who
had shown skill in moulding clay, went to New York city, to study
sculpture, and is said to have met with marked success. Mrs. Miller, with
her characteristic kindness, took a great interest in these Indian
children, and did much to make their lives brighter and more useful. A
postoffice was opened in the Miller home and was given the name of Viola.
In the early '80s a school was organized, and it is interesting to note
that Miss Kate Smith, now principal of the west grade school of Evanston,
began her career as a teacher in the schoolhouse on Swan Creek, a small
stream emptying into the La Barge. There were five children in the Miller
family, three of whom are living in Kemmerer-Ingar, wife of Charles
Christman ; Mary, Mrs, James Petrie, and Stella, Mrs. Peter Petrie.
Another daughter, Mrs. Sorena Read, lives in Ogden, and the only son,
Vigo, has extensive ranching interests near Daniel. Mrs. Miller makes her
home in Salt Lake City.
In 1882 a cattle company under the name of Post & Warren took up land at
the mouth of the La Barge and established the Spur Ranch. They bought up
many smaller herds, and before five years had passed had the distinction
of being the biggest cattle company in the Rocky Mountains. The moving
power of this concern was Francis E. Warren, who was governor of Wyoming
in both territorial and statehood days, and who has since the year 1890
been a member of the United States Senate.
In 1884 John McNish, a descendant of a pioneer Wisconsin family,
homesteaded near Viola and developed a successful ranch. The only
surviving member of this family, in which there were two children, is Mrs.
Nora Venus Chalmers, who lives in Edmunton, Alberta.
Another La Barge rancher was Hyram Smith. James L. Bess, who had three
daughters and one son, was postmaster at a settlement that bears his name.
The streams known as South, Middle and North Piney Creeks find their
sources in the melting snows of the western slopes of the Star Valley
Range, and at a distance of from fifty to sixty miles pour their waters
into Green River. About ten miles north of the most northern of these,
Cottonwood Creek flows in from the same direction, and still farther north
is the mouth of the historic Horse Creek.
In the summer of 1878, as judge Holden was returning from Green River City
with a load of supplies, he was met by a stranger on horseback who
inquired the distance to Huckleberry Flat. He was told that it was ten
miles farther up the stream, and as night was coming on and he was
unacquainted with the country, he accepted the invitation to share the
Holden camp, though with considerable reluctance, as he had hoped to join
his wife and two sons, who had gone ahead with their supplies. His name
was Edward Swan, and he was moving from Idaho to the Piney country. This
chance encounter resulted in a life-long friendship, for Mr. Swan settled
on the Middle Piney, where he was soon joined by Otto Leifer, a Montana
cattleman, who took up land above him. Leifer's ranch was known as the
"Circle"
These two men brought in about seventeen hundred head of stock, by far the
largest herds in the basin at that time. There were four children in the
Swan family, only one of whom is now living, Grant Swan of Salt Lake City.
Mr. Leifer also moved to Salt Lake City where he died some time ago.
Amos W. Smith, a native of Missouri, came out to the Piney country in
1879, and worked on the Budd ranch. Foreseeing the future of the region he
took up land on his own account, and within a few years had one of the
best ranches in the west. In 1894 he purchased from Mr. McKay the ranch
known as "67". The country is deeply indebted to Mr. Smith for his efforts
toward improving the grade of both horses and cattle. At the time of his
death in 1919 he had several thousand head of fine stock. His success was
a cause of satisfaction to all who knew him, for no man ever worked more
unselfishly for the general good than did this unassuming cattleman who
was noted for his silence and kindness of heart. In 1885 he married Hattie
Griggs, sister to Norris Griggs who was in Mr. Smith's employ, and who
later took up land on the same stream. Mrs. Smith survives her husband.
Joseph A. Black, a native of Indiana who had acquired considerable
experience in the cattle business in other western states came to the Budd
& McKay ranch in 1881. In 1890 he took up land and was very successful. He
married Miss Mary Jaycox, daughter of a rancher, and five children were
born to this union. Some twenty years ago the family contemplated moving
to California and went west to look up a suitable location. Mr. Black's
verdict on returning was that he "could make more money sitting on a rail
fence in Wyoming than in working twelve hours a day in California."
However, as the necessity for work grew less the family moved to the more
genial region of South Pasadena.
A successful rancher on the Big Piney and well known throughout the state
is Oscar Beck, who has held many important positions. Among others who
deserve mention are John Angus, Cyrus Fish and Oscar Curtis.
In 1879 Daniel Budd, a Civil War veteran from the state of Pennsylvania,
with his partner, Hugh McKay, brought about a thousand head of cattle into
the North Piney Valley. Some years later a store was opened under the name
of Budd & Sons, and a postoffice established that was called Big Piney,
around which has grown up a thriving town. The well-built business street
contains a fine bank, two good hotels, a variety of firstclass stores, a
garage and other institutions. The school building is a handsome
structure, and there are two churches, the Episcopal and the
Congregational. There are many pleasing homes in which may be found
abundant evidences of culture. The Piney Examiner, an up-to-date weekly,
is published by George Hopkins, a member of an early Evanston family.
A mile beyond Big Piney is a settlement called Marbleton. It was founded
by Charles P. Budd, son of Daniel Budd, as an outfitting depot for the
northern region, and has a splendidly stocked store and good hotel.
A prominent name on the Middle Piney is that of Daniel C. Nowlin, who
entered the stock business there in 1881. He was elected to the fifth
legislature of the state.
The Fear ranch was founded in 1889 by Frank A. Fear, a leading citizen of
the valley. His wife, whose maiden name was Jesse Stringer, added much to
the social and educational life of the settlement by her fine musical
training.
Another prominent man is Zechery T. Noble, who, with his brother Eugene,
settled in the Piney district in the early '90s, and later took up land on
Fall River. The Nobles, who came from Iowa, had a wide experience in
cattle raising before coming to western Wyoming, and their success was to
be expected.
In the spring of 1883 a young easterner named Charles F. Ball, who had
spent about a year in Wyoming, was joined in Cheyenne by his father,
Daniel B. Ball, fresh from New York City. On the roth of March they set
out with horses and wagon on an eventful trip westward. On the Laramie
Plains they encountered a blizzard that heaped up the snowdrifts so high
that they had to spread their blankets to make a passage for their team.
Game was everywhere, and thousands of antelope were seen on the Red Desert
east of Rawlins. The water in Green River was high, but the horses swam
safely across, only to be drowned in crossing Ham's Fork. Daniel Ball
entered the employ of Charles Robertson at Opal, and the son went to work
f or the Oregon Short Line. The following year a brother, Frank D. Ball,
came out, and his father bought a herd of cattle from Charles Robertson
and drove them to Cottonwood Creek, where they were the first settlers.
The winter of 1888-89 is still known to the old settlers as "the hard
winter", and losses were so heavy that the Balls, like many others, had no
money to meet their payments. However, the difficulty was met by the
capture of live elk that were sold to eastern parks. Among those who
bought from the Balls were the Vanderbilts, George Gould, Austin Corbin
and Dr. Webb. Charles Ball worked for a time with the surveyors in the
Yellowstone Park, and in 1890 took up land near his father. The Balls were
descended from John Ball, who came to America from Hull, England, in 1635.
Mary Ball, mother of George Washington, was of this same family, and
passed on to the great Father of our Country the same virtues that have
brought success to these energetic and persevering pioneers of the Green
River Valley.
H. V. Cleophus, an Indian trader, settled at the mouth of the Cottonwood
about the year 1890. He and his wife were French people of fine family and
great culture, and their mountain cabin was renowned for its many objects
of beauty and art. A striking example of success in the palmy days of the
stock industry is the story of James Mickelson. As a young man, in 1882 he
came out to work for Ariel Hanson, and later took up land on the La Barge.
In 1890 he became foreman of the Spur Ranch. Five years later he bought
from Otto heifer his ranch and stock. A cash payment of $5,000 was made
with the understanding that the balance was to be paid from the sale of
cattle the following three years. These payments were promptly met, and at
the time of the last payment Mr. Mickelson's herd was just about the same,
as far as numbers go, as at the date of the agreement. Mr. Mickelson was
married about 1900 to Miss Mildred Avery, and there were born to this
union three children, one of whom died in early childhood. The son James
has charge of the estate, which at the time of Mr. Mickelson's death, in
1921, was one of the largest in the west. Mrs. Mickelson, with her
daughter Mildred, is living in Big Piney.
Because of its gently sloping banks which make it easy to take out water
for irrigation, Horse Creek is one of the most valuable streams of the
valley. The quality of the native hay of this region is exceptionally
fine. One variety known as "nut grass" is particularly rich in nutriment.
One of the earliest settlers in this valley was a man named Daniel, and
the postoffice established a short distance from the mouth of Horse Creek
was named for him. A thriving town has grown up with business houses,
attractive homes and a good school. Sargeant Inn, a hotel that has gained
a wide reputation, is a memorial to Dr. L. Sargeant, a practicing
physician from the state of Maine, who established a fine ranch at Merna,
a few miles up the stream. W. S. Roy, who came from Canada, had a
prosperous cattle ranch adjoining the Enos place, and the Townsend, Hall
and William Todd ranches are all valuable properties. Another prominent
early settler was Dr. J. D. Montrose, physician and rancher. Other early
ranchers were A. J. Sommers, Apperson, Angus and Vandervort.
One of the foremost men in the region is D. H. Scott, who has a valuable
ranch north of Daniel. Mr. Scott has served many terms as .chairman of the
Lincoln County board of County Commissioners, and has freely tendered his
services to all good causes.
Another prominent rancher is T. D. O'Neil, who came from Cheyenne in an
early day.
About five miles north of Daniel is the state fish hatchery. It is located
on a remarkable stream called "Forty Rod", which has never been known to
freeze over. Some four miles north of the fish hatchery the ranchers, Luke
Dickenson and Charles Beckel, took up land which is now part of the
Harrison Stockgrowing Company's ranch. Fred W. Harrison, who came here in
1911, is manager. He is the son of Dr. and Mrs. F. H. Harrison of
Evanston. Miss Nell Byrne of Evanston has taken up a homestead adjoining
this ranch on the north.
A man named Albert Bayer was foreman of the Spur Ranch from 1888 to 1899.
He took up a ranch on Piney Creek, and contracted with the government to
carry mail on a route running between Pinedale and Lander. The trip across
the Wind River Mountains had to be made on snowshoes during several months
of each year, and called for the greatest heroism. His son, Charles D.
Bayer, is now in charge of the Federal Biological Survey in Wyoming.
Another mail carrier on this forbidding route was W. E. Enos, a romantic
figure in the valley, who lived on a ranch near Daniel. Many were his
thrilling adventures. The final scene of his earthly life came in January,
1924. He had contracted blood poisoning, and at the request of a Pinedale
physician a telephone message was sent to Rock Springs to summon Dr.
Lozier in consultation. The road was impassable owing to deep snows, but
the government granted the use of a United States mail plane, and above
the frozen landscape it winged its way to the bedside of this faithful
servant, who had never been swerved from duty by storm or cold. Mortal
effort did not avail, and on silent wings the spirit took its flight.
In the Green River Valley the feeling between cattle and sheep men did not
reach the heights of bitterness that characterized some sections. To be
sure, there was a "dead line", and woe to the reckless sheep man who dared
to drive his herds across this invisible barrier ! Nor did the "cattle
rustler" ever get much of a foothold here, try as he might to ply his
lawless trade. And yet it was a known fact that many herds were augmented
by stray cattle belonging to droves en route to the western states, and
inquiry as to the right of the new owners was never pushed far.
The ten years prior to 1900 saw a great change in ranching methods
throughout Wyoming. Before that time the cattlemen pinned their faith to
the open range. Then co-operation among ranchers in the building of
irrigation ditches began, and farming was combined with stock raising.
Better cattle as well as improved land values resulted, and there followed
a season of wonderful prosperity. In spite of fluctuations in the market
and other discouraging conditions, the future of this region is assured.
For many years Rev. F. L. Arnold, pastor of the Presbyterian Church of
Evanston, Wyoming, was superintendent of schools in Uinta County. It was a
position with a salary too small to excite the ambition of the ordinary
office seeker, though a welcome addition to the meager stipend of a home
missionary, and Mr. Arnold accepted it at the request of both political
parties, looking upon it as means of furthering the causes ever dearest to
his heart religion and education. His visits were heralded with pleasure,
and a service was always arranged at some convenient ranch or schoolhouse
that attracted people from miles around. His interest in children endeared
him to young and old alike, and he kept alive the spirit of friendship by
remembering them with books and papers as long as he lived in the state.
One of the child friends of Mr. Arnold writes from her home in California:
"The helpful influence of this wonderfully good man has been a guide post
to more than one character that was cast in the mould of that log
schoolhouse."
The first teacher on the Fontenelle was an Irishman named T. D. O'Neil.
Many of the teachers were from eastern states, and but few of the ladies
were allowed to return to their former homes, but have become the wives of
the ranchers and have enriched the life of the region.
In the summer of 18i9 a young theological student was sent out by some
religious workers in Chicago to establish Sunday schools in the
inaccessible districts of the Rockies. His name was Newell Dwight Hillis.
He spent a Sunday in Evanston, where he talked over the work with Mr.
Arnold, and then proceeded to the Piney country. All who heard him were
impressed with his earnestness and ability, although there was no way of
foreseeing to what heights of literary and pulpit eloquence this gifted
youth would climb. Mr. Hillis was for many years pastor of the Henry Ward
Beecher church in Brooklyn, New York. Other Sunday school workers followed
and in most of the settlements some one was found to carry on the work out
of which several churches grew in time.
In 1921 the legislature of the state of Wyoming passed a law creating two
new counties to be known as Sublette and Teton. The former was made up of
portions of Lincoln, Fremont and Sweetwater counties, and the western
portion, consisting of about one-half, was originally a part of Uinta
County. The southern boundary is about five miles north of La Barge. At
the election following the creation of these counties there was a contest
between Big Piney and Pinedale for the county seat, in which the latter
won by a small majority.
Sublette County belongs to the Third Judicial District of Wyoming, of
which judge Arnold has been judge since the year 1914. The first court was
held in the Pinedale schoolhouse June 11, 1923. The importance of the
occasion in the opinion of the people, was shown by the number of
spectators that had gathered from near and far. In an appropriate
introductory address Judge Arnold called their attention to the early
history of this county which bears the name of one of the greatest western
fur traders and explorers, Captain William Sublette. He spoke of his
bravery, his patriotism, and his strong sense of justice, qualities
recognized by white men and Indians as well, who nicknamed him "Fate", and
he reminded his hearers that it was in the cultivation of those traits
that success for state and nation lies.
A prettier site for a town could hardly be imagined than the location of
this dean, attractive county seat. It lies one hundred five miles north of
Rock Springs on a splendid state road that was fathered by the Lions Club
of that city. One of the loveliest of mountain streams, known as Pine
Creek, because of the trees that follow its entire course, flows through
the town. "The procession of the pines" begins at the waters' edge and
marches back over the rolling slopes to the mountainsides, circling on
their way the lake that was named for the explorer Fremont. The mountain
bearing his name looks down from a distance, and on all sides are historic
landmarks eternal in their grandeur, Old Flat Top, Mount Bonneville and
other famous peaks of the Green River Range, and to the west the Gros
Ventre Mountains. Some ten miles south of Pinedale, Pine Creek unites with
New Fork and flows into Green River a short distance above Big Piney.
Pine trees have been set out on the streets of Pinedale, giving to it an
air all its own. In their branches hang electric bulbs for which the power
is furnished by the falls of the stream. The town boasts of three good
hotels, the oldest of which, The Pines, is kept by A. G. Fardy and wife,
who came to the valley in 1910.
The settlement of Pinedale may be said to date from the year 1900, when a
postoffice was opened about a quarter of a mile south of the present town
in the home of a rancher, Charles Peterson. It was a one-room shack, with
a stick chimney daubed with clay. Soon after the permanent site of the
town was decided upon a man named Ed. Graham was made postmaster. The mail
was brought from Opal. The town is supplied with excellent stores and
supports a weekly paper called the Pinedale Roundup, to which much of its
prosperity may be traced, as it publishes contributions from enterprising
settlers as well as the news.
About 1910 the Congregationalists erected a neat edifice and organized a
church, of which Rev. J. W. Naylor was the first resident pastor. He is
still remembered for his self-sacrificing ministry that has left its
impress on the region. Mr. Naylor died at the home of his daughter in
Atchison, Kansas, in 1923.
Next to the church, and painted like it in white with green trimmings,
stands the schoolhouse of three convenient rooms, where the best of
educational advantages are given. Pinedale has a forest ranger station, in
charge of E. E. McKee, who is also president of the Pinedale -Commercial
Club, a live organization that is doing much for the good of the
community. One of the first forest rangers was Harry E. Hall, who died in
1915, and whose widow, Sarah E. Hall, is noted as a fisherman. Mrs. Hall
makes the avowal that she desires no better sport than to go out on Lake
Fremont with a party that know nothing of fishing for an hour before the
game warden makes his rounds, and whose coming is a signal to divide her
boatload of speckled beauties among her less skillful companions, that no
one be caught with more than the law allows.
About eleven miles north of Pinedale is a beautiful ranch called Rustic
Lodge. It was built by Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Clark, who took up land
there in 1891. Mr. Clark died in 1918, and the son, who bears the same
name, is in charge. Mrs. Clark has spared no pains in the cultivation of
native trees and shrubs, as well as the introduction of fruits and
vegetables which were considered unadapted to the high altitude, but
which, under the wizardry of her care, are flourishing and have become an
object lesson as to what can be accomplished. Her flowers are wonderful
and the place shows how much can be done by taste and effort. Mrs. Clark's
mother, Mrs. Daniel Schultz, came out in the same year as did the Clarks,
and took up land near by. Lying about five miles north of Rustic hodge is
a ranch known as the "Cross-Bar", owned by Perry W. Jenkins, a native of
Indiana and a graduate of several of the higher institutions of learning.
Receiving his M. A. from Columbia University, he entered the profession of
teaching, his chosen field being mathematics and astronomy, in which he
gained distinction. In 1905 he came to the Piney country in search of
health, and his well trained mind and broad interests soon made him one of
the leading citizens of the state. Mr. Jenkins has represented his
district in three sessions of the legislature, where he fathered the bill
creating Sublette County. His aims and activities are shared by his
interesting family, consisting of a wife and four daughters. They have a
cottage on the beautiful Lake Newfork, a short distance from the ranch,
where he recently discovered the remains of a prehistoric animal most
interesting to geologists. With his characteristic breadth of vision Mr.
Jenkins invited the Boy Scouts of the state to spend two weeks in July,
1923 and 1924, on the lake. The invitation was accepted by a large number
and the time was spent between excavating the fossil remains, lectures on
astronomy and other subjects, and the general good time that boys enjoy.
A few miles north of the source of Horse Creek, tributary of Green River,
there rises a stream that flows to the Pacific. After emerging from the
Hoback Canyon it is known as the Hoback River, but the upper part of the
stream is called Fall River from the many beautiful cascades that
diversify its course. Here came in 1879 Eugene Alexander, a man already
rich in mountain lore, who had worked as a freighter across the mountains
and later driver of the Holiday Stage Company. He was well acquainted with
Bridger, whom he met for the last time at Independence Rock in 1868 or '69
he "couldn't exactly say which" He described him as quiet in general
company, but "when you once got the old man started his stories came free,
and they were good ones too". A cherished memory of Alexander's was a
meeting, with Father de Smet when the priest made his last trip to the
mountains. The author had the privilege of meeting this old mountaineer at
Pinedale in 1923, and she was assured by many that no one had done more
toward promoting the settlement of the region than had he. By many besides
his immediate family he is affectionately called "Grandad". In 1889 he
took up land on Newfork River just below Lake de Amelia, which is also
called New Fork Lake.
One of the interesting events of the cattle country is the annual roundup
held in the fall. A convenient spot is selected and a foreman chosen who
is vested with as much authority as a baseball umpire. A grub wagon is
provisioned by the ranchers and each cattle owner sends from one to three
riders to look after his interests. At the direction of the foreman the
riders scour the country for scattered cattle, some of them taking their
places as night herders to prevent the cattle that are brought in from
straying away. The roundup often lasts two weeks or more, and by the time
every canyon and gully has been explored there are often as many as five
thousand head gathered in. Then comes the big day when out riders are
stationed around the herd and men are sent in to separate the animals
according to their brands. The "mavericks", or calves that seem to have no
family connection are distributed by the foreman among the cattle men to
be branded with their herds. Formerly the branding was done at the
roundup, but of late years this work is done on the ranches.
There is an indescribable fascination in the lives of these residents of
the Green River valley. In the great American novel, "One of Ours", there
is a word picture that fitly illustrates the boundless hospitality, where
Albert Usher, the young marine, who had gone through life as an orphan,
tells the hero of the tale that he supposes that "there are good women
everywhere, but that Wyoming has the world beat."' He goes on to say that
he was brought up on a ranch in the mountains, and there wasn't a home in
Pinedale or DuBois where he would not be welcomed like a son if he
returned. Even the chance visitor is impressed with the kindness of
spirit, and can well believe that when the door of friendship is once
opened it is never closed.
Back to: Uinta County, Wyoming
History
Back to: Uinta County, Wyoming
Genealogy
|
Uinta Townships
Uinta Genealogy Resources
Wyoming Genealogy Records
|