The Sidney herald., 1955-11-03

" AAAAGa ~ k44A0 GOA4EG u
took out 1000 cedar posts that
winter as did also the Gould boys
who were now living on the N. E.
"a of Sec. 8, Twp %, N. r. SO E.
(place now owned by Klemmer)
Bill and Al Kelch also got out
about a thousand posts that win
ter. Father helped me after my
sister was born Feb. Is, 1886. He
was a wonderful axe man and
could do more work with an axe
than any man I ever worked
with. l was no match to him any
time even after I became a man
and he was well past so.
1t was while I was herding
sheep at the Landing camp in
the spring of 1885 that a couple
OF men came to my camp, one
whose name was Hall and the
other William Kelch formerly a
blacksmith at Buford. Kelch was
now living on the Little Missouri
and was DESTROYS of securing a
homestead and making a home on
the valley. From the hill on the
S12 of 29-22-59 we looked over
the valley and Kelch said he
would 60 down to the ranch and
see if he could get over. He did
and later homesteaded the S. Wa
of Sec. %, Twp. % N. r. 59E,
lying just north of the present
site of Sidney.
His brother came on shortly af-
ter this and took up the NWA of
the same section. His son Delas-
kie Kelch then living in Mich
gan came on later and took up
the NEM of the same section and
made his home there for some
years. Later Sylvester Kelch, an
elder brother came on and took
up a quarter, same being the
south tier Of forties in "a Twp %
N. r. SO E. The Kelch family has
all disappeared except the young
est son of Delaskie Kelch, one
Everette Kelch who still resides
in the valley.
Mrs. Matte Mack and son Wal
ter together with her sons Will
liam and Richard Gould took
their departure in the fall of 1888.
Crossing the river at the Elms
(present site of the Sidney bridge
they went overland to Nebraska.
They have never visited here
since. Walter is dead and William
is at Monteer, Missouri while
Richard is at Harlingen, Texas.
He too is dead - 1885.
OF the men with whom I
got acquainted early in 1884 was
one by the name of Fred Ronsel-
vile who lived near where the
Lone Tree Creek comes out of
the hills. Ronselville had a num-
Der of horses which he was cred
tied with having acquired after
nightfall. 1 knew nothing about
this matter but l did know him
personally. He was putting up
hay on the east side of the river
and 1t was claimed he was caught
killing a calf which belonged to
the 101 outfit in the fall of 1886.
Anyway he assigned his horses
and made tracks for Canada but
returned the following spring af-
ter the hard winter and no at
tempt was ever made to prose-
cute him. He was afterward ia
ken for a deer and killed at Will
liston.
There was a family by the
name of Duff living at Newton
who sold out to a man by the
name of James Griffin for whom
I worked in the summer of 1884.
The Duff family having left about
that time I knew very little
about them. Griffin however, be-
came interested in the POSSIBLE
ties of making big money in the
sheep business and he invested
heavily in sheep which he let
on shares to William M. Meadors
who moved to Crane Greek and
built a ranch near the hay mead
wv. Between the scab and the
hard winter of 1885 = 81 they
did not last for many years and
it was very much of an up hill
climb to break even and 1 doubt
if they ever did.
Austin Diltz had come to the
valley from Helena where he
had been engaged as a freighter
and had some twelve head OF
horses. At some time in his trav-
els he had met up with j. w.
Gilmore and had suggested that
he would like to get some sheep.
Gilmore had told him that when
he had a band of sheep loose he
would keep him in mind. He was
as good as his word. In the fall OF
1884 Gilmore came to Newton
with a flock of about two thou
sand head which he turned over
to Diltz to run on shares. Diltz
received the sheep, built camp in
the grove west of the present site
of Epworth on Fox Creek and
started in business at this point