Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1918-08-15
Peoples Forum
BarnhilI in the Cattle Country
Lakeview, Ore, Aug. 8, 1915

Barnhill In the Cattle Country
Lakeview, Ore, Aug. 8, 1918
Editor Tidlngs:
Lakeview i5 a village about two
thirds the size of Jacksonville, tuck
ed under the western edge of the
Warner Range, a forbidden, barren
ridge beyond which the mysterious
desert stretches for $50 miles east.
ward to the Idaho line. Goose lake
three miles south is said to be drying
up and its receding shores are being
filed on by enterprising homestead
ers. Hay is selling at $500 a ton
and one rancher is buying range
horses at $500 each and feeding
them to his hogs. Crops were very
light this year. Some fields Of grain
we're destroyed by grasshoppers. In
the Examiner office was shown the
grasshopper egg masses infested by
2 grub which 1t is hoped will mater
tally deciminate the next crop of
hoppers.
This is the old stamping ground
of Lawyer Moore, Electrician Rus
ell and some other Ashlanders. Rev.
Van Fossen and Mrs. f. e. Russlll
are here now, but | haven't had time
tc look them up and see how they
are behaving. Rev. Howell Isaac Is
pastor of the Presbyterian church.
tG: at present is visiting his folks in
Los Angeles.
The nearest postoffice to the west
Is BLY,, so miles distant. Klamath
Falls is 60 miles farther. Coming
over from the later city today we
passed through many miles of open
yellow pine forests, also a great deal
OF sage brush plains, some level,
some rolling and rocky, with scat
tering juniper trees. The valley of
Drew's Creek, Lost and Sprague
rivers have narrow strips of green
marsh grass marsh land. At Bo.
nanza they are pumping water % to
30 feet onto 1000 acres at a cost o.
S1,25 per acre per year.
For many miles we passed thru
marsh grass grass land. At Bo-
the house where the Heaveners used
to live when they were missionaries,
was pointed out. Also the house of
a half breed, whose mother saved the
whites by giving timely information
during the Modoc war.
Stock raising is the chief indus.
try of this part of Oregon. One of
our passengers was a.sheep herder, a
red-headed lr.shman, who spoke BIT
terly of EnSland's oppression of the
Emerald Isle. If given home rule,
he said, the Irish would gladly fight
for Great Britain. He was asked IL
the sheep and cattle men ever had
any fatal encounters:
"oh, they kill one every once in a
while" he replied. Last spring the
biggest sheep man in these parts Nc
Kenzie, who lad 10000 head, with
quarter of million dollars, met up
with a chunk of lead. There's n
pile of rocks over him now, with an
iron pin in the top, over in Dry PraiI
rie, where the argument ended"
0vertaking a road hog caused our
driver to grind his teeth in impotent
rage.
The 1T outfit used to be Just
like that he muttered. when
they were driving a bunch of cat-
tie along the road they wouldn't di-
vide EN- up for no auto. Work yer
wey through, they would say, settin
back on their hosses. and laffin'.
finally | got one of them there big
sirens fixed onto my machine, the
kind that makes a helluva racket, !
end the next bunch of TT cattle | |
met | waited until / had worked
into the middle of them and then | |
cut loose with that siren. You'd
orter seen them critters scatter in
every which way The punchers got
hot as hell and one feller swore he
would lick me. | climbed out of the
car and said didn't believe he could
do it, He didn't try"