Ranching in the Tetons (eBook)

Chapter 2

The Ranches

When Jed’s father, Spence Berg, passed away, he left the majority of the Bar B to Jed. His Father’s death was followed two months later by the death of his mother, Elizabeth Moulton Berg, leaving Jed’s sister Mollie as the only other living family member. Mollie Berg inherited a portion of the ranch and half of her parent’s considerable life savings. Jed inherited the remaining interest in the ranch and half of his parents’ savings upon the death of his mother. Both Jed and Mollie found themselves with financial security and the responsibility of operating a large and successful ranch. Mollie was twenty years old, a pert blonde with deep blue eyes and a way about her that men immediately noticed. She was responsible for keeping the house and supervising the meal preparation for the five ranch hands. The actual cooking was ably done by Ralph Covington, the ranch’s long-time cook. Mollie accepted her responsibilities, and performed them well. Her only downside, as far as Jed was concerned, was her attachment to Chuck Scott, the son of a local sheep rancher, Zanuck Scott. Chuck was a drinker and carouser and seemed headed for trouble. The relationship between them was not to Jed’s liking.

The Bar B was located at the mouth of Pole Canyon. The nearest town was Easton, about five miles north of the ranch. The ranch consisted of 1500 acres of prime pasture, hay, and grain land. The ranch’s water supply came from Pole Creek and the String Canal, and much of the hay land naturally irrigated with sub water. The place easily supported 1500 head of brood cows and their off-spring.

The ranch house, located on a hill just west of the canyon mouth, was built by Jed’s father over 40 years earlier. It was a large log structure with main living area, kitchen, dining room, 8 bedrooms and 5 full baths, all updated to 1950 standards. The living room was dominated by a large natural stone fireplace which was the focal point of the room, and the house for that matter. Day-to-day management of the ranch remained with Jedidiah, an arrangement left over from before his father’s death, and something he enjoyed. It remained an outlet for his boundless energy. He enjoyed accomplishing the many responsibilities involved with the ranch, and had the help of his five ranch hands, including both Zeb and Zeke Walters.

The Circle W had been purchased from a local rancher by Zac Waterman with funds his father had given him as his inheritance. Later, when his father and mother were killed in a car accident, his sister Kailey had moved from Bend, Oregon to live with him at the ranch. She was just under 6 years of age when their parents died. It had been difficult for her to deal with their parent’s death, and the changes brought about by the move, although Zackary had done everything he could do to help her adjust.

After several years of operation, Zac had made the ranch very profitable. The Circle W spanned some 2500 acres in the southwest corner of the valley, with the Teton River providing the main water supply. Smaller streams coming from the south and west mountains provided additional irrigation and water supply for stock. Unlike the Bar B, the Circle W was almost entirely pasture and hay land, supporting over 2500 well-fed cows and calves.. Zachary operated the ranch with the assistance of Kailey, even though she would much rather ride the ranch on her Appaloosa than spend time keeping the books, cooking, and house chores. In addition, six good hired men took care of the day-to-day operation under the direction of the foreman, Harvey Chandler. The house was taken care of by Alanda Vivas, a longtime housekeeper at the Circle W. Alanda had arrived before the death of Kailey’s mother and quickly became a mother figure and confidant for Kailey.

Both ranches were operated with modern machinery. Horses now played a minor role, but when needed, they became important to daily operations. Nearly all the ranch hands, as well as Jed, Mollie, Zac, and Kailey, had horses at their disposal at all times. The horses’ benefit to the ranches was the primary reason for their existence, but they were also used for forays into the Teton Mountains for pleasure and hunting elk, deer, moose, bear, mountain lions, and occasionally a stray bison from Yellowstone Park roaming the Teton Mountains.

After meeting Zac at the Timber Restaurant, Jedidiah returned to the Bar B to see if any news had arrived from Kansas City. The news was not good. Zeb had called and said the Charolais Bull sale had been called off and he had been unable to find another seller. He couldn’t find out why the sale had suddenly been cancelled. Zeke’s body had been released by the sheriff and was being shipped home for burial, and Zeb would be on a flight home the next day. Zeke’s killer had not been confirmed, although Harvey Chandler continued to be held as the only suspect.

The evening was cold and blustery, announcing a front moving in from the northwest. Cold temperatures and snow, possibly a large amount was in the forecast. Concern for the happenings in Kansas City was overshadowed for the moment by the need to prepare the ranch for the inclement weather moving toward Teton Territory.

After leaving the Timber restaurant, Circled W ranch owner Zackary Waterman went immediately to the ranch and made a call to his foreman Harvey Chandler, who was being held in the Kansas City jail. The story Zac got from Chandler was somewhat consistent with what he had been told by Jed. It seems Harvey had located some Charolais bulls, but had not made a deal to buy them. He had noticed Zeke at a local service station gassing up his rental car, and took the time to ask him what he was doing and where he was staying. Later, Harvey went to Zeke’s Hotel room to see if he and Zeb would like to have dinner with him. That’s when he found Zeke’s body, panicked, and ran from the room. The police had tracked him down, based on a description from Zeb Walters, who had seen Harvey leave Zeke’s room. He was now being held in jail awaiting trial for murder unless the ongoing investigation could prove him innocent.

After talking with Harvey Chandler, Zac realized he could do nothing until the investigation was closed, and decided to spend his time and energy preparing for the coming cold front and possible heavy snow. With Chandler out of the picture, he would have to take charge and work with his hired men to make the necessary preparation to care for the ranch’s 1500 pregnant cows and their last year’s calves. The latest weather forecast called for temperatures as low as 30 degrees below zero accompanied by lots of snow. Before turning his attention toward preparation for the incoming weather, Zac called Jedidiah at the Bar B and told him of the conversation with Harvey. Jed appreciated the information, and the two men agreed to stay in touch as more information came to light from the investigation of Zeke’s murder.

Early the next morning, Zac rousted the hands to an early breakfast prepared by Alanda Vivas with the help of Kailey. During the breakfast of fresh fruit, pan cakes, Denver scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, farm ham, and hot coffee, Jed alerted his men to the pending weather situation, and of the continued absence of Harvey Chandler. Each man was assigned a task in preparation for the incoming weather. Water holes were to be cleaned of ice, extra hay moved near the stock, horses moved to the barn, younger calves moved to the large enclosed shed, tractors checked for battery condition and adequate antifreeze. The ranch’s two Caterpillar DC-6’s were to be moved inside the large machinery shed near the house, where they would be readily available to clear snow and/or move hay to needed locations. Kailey and Alanda Visas were to prepare sandwiches and thermoses of hot coffee for the men’s use. Zac’s talent for organization soon had the men off to their assignments, allowing him to consider whether or not he had forgotten anything important.

Kailey came to her brother and asked, “What about our neighbor, Jed? Does he need help, now that Zeke is gone?”

Zac impatiently blurted out, “‘He is no worse off the than we are, with our foreman in jail!”

Kailey said, “I would like to just talk with him to make certain, and to offer our neighborly help. I will take one of the pickups and check with him this morning.”

Knowing of his sister’s strong will and independence, Zac didn’t object. In fact, given the circumstances, it seemed like a good idea to maintain contact with Jed at the Bar B.

The drive to the Bar B took Kailey over an hour, as the storm was making the roads slick and difficult to navigate. As she neared the large entry gate to the Bar B, she was suddenly overcome with a feeling that something was wrong. She drove immediately to the large log ranch house on the hill, parked her pickup next to Jed’s garage, and then proceeded to the main door. As she reached the door, Chuck Scott threw it open, and moved past her on a dead run. After shouting at Chuck to ask what was wrong, to no avail, Kailey cautiously walked through the open door into a darkened living area. She was unable to make out much of anything. As her eyes started to adjust to the diminished light, she saw a form on the floor near the door to the kitchen, and ran to determine what or who it was. As she came nearer, a low moan told her someone was hurting and needing help. She found a female lying face down with blood coming from a large gash on her right temple. As she turned...