Chapter 10

I mounted my horse and took off for home. I still had to face Pa with what had happened today. So far Dean seemed to be okay how I was managing the ranch. I was planning out how I could present my actions. I wasn’t too worried. There was the woodland that belonged to the ranch. There were thousands of cords that could be cut. It wouldn’t be a big income stream, but steady.

I didn’t intend to have the timber land clear cut. I figured that the ties under the rails of the railroad would eventually rot, so I intended for when they began to deteriorate I would have ties available for their replacement. I worked closely with Randy for almost a year and knew how his mind worked. Prepare for the now, but look at the big picture. So any tree that would make a railroad tie wasn’t to be used for firewood. I would try to get Pa to understand this.

I pulled into the yard. One of the hands came out and took my horse as I headed for the kitchen. Reesa and Mable looked up and immediately began putting supper on the table. They had already eaten. Reesa observed, “You’re a lot later than I expected.”

“I know, but it couldn’t be helped. There was a lot going on. First let me tell you that the cost of shipping our cattle will be going down to where it was months ago. That is going to put ten percent more in the bank than it was on the cattle we shipped just last week. The railroad is now owned by Randy Palmer and Mr. Simpson’s Bank. Randy will be the one who manages the railroad crew. I guess they will collaborate on everything else”

Mable asked, “Are you involved in any way?”

I hesitated to answer, but then said, “Yes, and Pa won’t like it. I bought the contract for cutting wood for the railroad.”

“For how much?”

“$1,500 dollars. There is some wood already cut and stacked. I haven’t met the woodchoppers yet. I’ll ride up there tomorrow. I may put them onto the wood lots here on the ranch or I may just use the Bruce men. It’ll take a while to recover the cost, but then our only income won’t be just from cattle.”

“Dave, your father is awake. You had better tell him now. If you wait until tomorrow the fact that you waited will upset him.”

“How is he doing, anyway?”

“Getting him outdoors today made a big difference to him. That’s why he is still awake.”

“Good, you know Ma, Pa and I were at odds over a lot of things, but it was depressing to see him just laying bed unable to move.”

“Think how it was for me?”

“I know Ma.”

I headed for the bedroom as soon as I finished eating. Reesa followed me in and sat in the corner. “Hey, Pa, you’re looking pretty bright tonight. I’ve got some things to tell you. You know the cattle shipping fees that have been increasing wildly? I went to town to see Randy Palmer because he was the one who brought the railroad in several years ago. Anyway, he was doing something about the increase today. Seems when he deeded the land over to the original builder there was a clause that there couldn’t be more than a ten percent fee increase in a year.

“That was triggered last week, so the land came back to Randy automatically when he raised the rates. Randy had the present owner in his power so he was clearing it up legally today. Also Simpson at the bank had lent considerable sums to Stark, on the train and equipment. Simpson foreclosed today and as long as Randy had Stark in hand, he took over the rolling stock that was collateral for the loans.

“Rail service isn’t even going to be interrupted and the train is running tomorrow as it should be. What I’m saying is. the the last two increases were wiped out when Start asked for the third one this year, he was in default.

“There was one asset that Stark still owned and I bought that from him before he left. It is the contract to cut firewood to run the train. There is some wood already cut and the contract was up for sale. I used the ranches money to purchase it. Lord knows we have hundreds and hundreds of acres of woodland we can cut west of the home ranch.

“Figuring in the cost of everything, I believe I can recover what we paid for it within a year. After that it would give the ranch income every year. We’ve had bad years when cattle weren’t bringing much. We know the train will run and money from that would be insurance for us survive.”

Dean made some noise and I took it he was in agreement with what I had done was a good move, although I couldn’t understand Pa’s effort at words. “Anyway, Pa, the shipping cost to send a car load of cattle has gone back to where it was months ago. That’s a total of ten percent more money in our pocket from now on. I have decided to ship two carloads of cattle instead of one this month. Also it looks also as if we can get along without one of the men. Sam was going to leave anyway, so I’m not replacing him. Is that fine with you?”

Dean nodded and I continued, “There are other ways of expanding the ranch I’ve got in mind. Randy has taught me to look at the whole picture to improve one’s station. He tells me you have done really well to settle this end of the valley and keep such large a large land area under your control.

“He warns, though you can’t just hang on without looking ahead. I’ve thought about what we have here and I’m trying to think of different ways to solidify our hold on it all. I’m hoping you’ll get well and get back to taking control of raising cattle. That will allow me to look around for different opportunities. Randy went with bringing in farmers. I don’t see that as an option here. We don’t have the flat land or the same good soil for crops on this end of the valley. Better not to attempt it.”

Dean again made motion with his hand this time that he approved. “So, Pa, that’s where we are right now. I’m heading out in the morning and will be gone all day to look at the cordwood I purchased to run the railroad with. I’ll give Buck his orders before I go.

“I’m going to have Reesa ride up to the old logging camp and see how the choppers are doing tearing down the old camps for salvage. They should be about done. The day after, we’ll see about getting what they salvaged down so they can begin building homes for themselves to live in this winter. I’ll be in and talk again. If not, I’ll have Reesa keep you posted. Good night, Pa.”

I paused at the door for one more glance at Pa. He raised his hand in acknowledgement. Reesa went over and patted Dean on the shoulder and tucked the blanket a little closer. She then followed me out.

That night as they snuggled in bed, Reesa said, “Dave, Honey, you’re a good son. You’re keeping your father notified about what is going on. You’re also boosting his moral by including him in the ranch workings and telling him he is expected to return to being in charge. I was afraid when I first came, he would give up. When he gets back to being well again, there is no way he will return to the sometimes unlikable person he was.”

“You’re doing your part as well, Reesa. He dotes on you and his eyes lit up when you came in after me. That is the same way yours lit up when I came home tonight, so I know just how he feels. Love you, Sweet. God, am I tired. Another busy day tomorrow.” I leaned over for his goodnight kiss and was immediately asleep. Reesa was too.

In the morning, I woke up with Reesa wrapped around, and over me. “You can’t get up until you make me happy we are married.” Later, but not much, “I’m happy now.”

I quickly went down to breakfast.”Morning Ma, thanks for having breakfast ready. I have a long ride today. I’m not sure when I’ll be back. I’ll talk to Buck a minute before I leave. Oh, one more thing, Reesa is riding up into the hills. Make sure she puts on her pistol and that it is loaded.”

“Are you expecting trouble?”

“I can’t think of any, but I want her safe.”

“Does she know how to handle a gun?”

“Yeah, Montana made sure of it. He would go to the ranch after he moved in with Nina and teach her and Patty. Both are good. Have you got a couple of biscuits I can take with me? I won’t be where I can get anything before I get back.” Twenty minutes later I was on a horse and jogging along toward town. I cut off to the wooded land to the south and up into the hill country. I was soon in heavily forested land.

Thinking to himself, I had better go in and talk to the Federal land agent within a few days. Randy Palmer had put his money into buying land outright, but I thought I would just get rights to cut wood and timber, and make sure I had control of the water.

There was no doubt eventually, the Federal Government would want to take over the open land. Ranchers would have to lease it if they wanted to use it. I would ask about that when I came down out of the hills today. For today, I would come down on the other side of town, where the train stopped to load the tender with wood for the daily run. I passed the boundary that marked the ranch to the east and cut further up into higher ground. A half hour later I could hear axes working.

I paused at the edge of the opening of the cutover timber land. There were stacks and stacks of piled cord wood. I sat there watching the three choppers, leaning on the horn of his saddle. It took twenty minutes for one of the choppers to spot me. Work stopped and I urged the horse forward. “Men, howdy.”

“You lost? Don’t often see a man on a horse up here.”

“No, I don’t think I’m lost. Are you the crew cutting for the railroad?”

“Yeah, we work for Ben Stark.”

“Stark’s gone. I bought him out.”

“He leave any money? He owes us.”

“He didn’t say anything about that.”

“He was up here three days ago and paid us up, but owes for what we’ve chopped since.”

“That’s why I’m here. How many cords you got stacked up?”

“Two hundred and seventeen. Four of those haven’t been paid for.” Dave nodded, indicating he would accept their figure.

“Who moves the wood down to the landing?”

“We do. We get a dollar a cord and you furnish the mule. We do need a better mule. This one is done. One cord goes down everyday so’s you know we can ride on the wagon after working all day and we’re some tired by then. One day a week we just move wood because the railroad uses more than one cord a day.”

“Do you know where Randy Palmer’s office is on Main Street?”

“Yeah, we see him out and around and always he says hi. You might tell us your name seeing as you are our boss.”

“The name is Dave Ferris. My Pa runs the Ferris Ranch.”

“I’ve heard of it and seen some of your hands in town. They have a reputation for being tough and quick on the jump. Been told to stear clear of them. Never had no trouble, but always been careful when in the same bar and they come in.”

“From now on, go up and introduce yourselves, and I’ll tell them to buy you a round. Do you men have families?”

“We never been so lucky. If and when we have need, we pay for it.”

“Maybe you’ll have some luck. I just married me a wife a few weeks ago and I’d about given up hope.”

“How’d you meet? Maybe I can use the same line.”

“I hope not. We met while the bank was being robbed. That was a few months ago.”

“Oh, I place you now. You had a bit of tangle with some bank robbers.”

“Yeah. Tell me your names. I have them from Stark but can’t put a face to you.”

“I’m Mike Bascomb, that’s Red Tyler with the red hair, and the big guy is Samson, at least that’s what he goes by. Samson, what’s your moniker?”

“Sam.”

“Sam don’t talk much, he sure do know how to cut wood, though.”

“What about the mule you say you need. What’s the matter with it?”

“We been borrowing it. It was sickly today. That’s why we want a new one.”

“Okay, I can do that. In fact, see Randy Palmer and tell him what you need. He raises mules and will fix you up.” The men went back to work and I watched them for another while.

Finally I waved and headed down to inspect the wood yard at the landing. Reaching there I could see this was a big enough area to stack all the wood I had purchased from Stark. I knew I wouldn’t get paid for it until the wood came down and was on the landing.

Randy’s office door was open and he saw Dave come in. “Dave, come on in, I was just thinking about you. How’s the wood chopping business?”

“Good, I think, I just came down from the hills. I’ll tell you something, I sweat some last night. I bought two hundred cords of wood without verifying that there was any such amount.” Dave paused and then grinned, “I think I got a little bonus. According to the woodchoppers there is a total of 213 cords that I bought and paid Stark for. The choppers have cut four more since Stark last paid them and I told them to continue cutting. I believe they are pretty honest. Would you pay them out of your office here? I’ll set up an account to draw on.”

“Tell you what, I’ll keep the books on your wood, but I’ll give them a slip to present to the bank. That’s the way Stark paid all his men. What else can I do for you?”

“Mules, I don’t know much about them. The choppers have been bringing wood down one cord at a time. It wasn’t with them today. They said it was sickly and borrowed to boot. I suspect it is just old.”

“You’re right. A cord of wood was all it could handle. I’ve seen it work.”

“Let me ask you another question; could a bigger wagon that would carry two cords be handled with two good mules?”

“Not sure, it might strain them some. Why are you in such a hurry to sell the wood?”

“Not really, but winter is coming and there will be wood left in the woods cut and stacked. There is room to stack what I have and more in the wood yard. I’d feel better if it was out of the woods, Of course once it is here on the ground it is the responsibility of the railroad to pay for it. Would the railroad take possession? I could wait for it to be paid if it was a problem.”

“Dave, the railroad is solvent and yes the company would pay at the end of the month for what was brought down and stacked.”

“Good, I can tell Pa we have money coming end of another month. I’ll need two mules for that. Do you have a pair I can buy?”

“Raoul and Ralph have been working with a fine pair of medium sized ones. They are pretty docile and should be just what you need.”

“I’ll need at least one more for the ranch and maybe two. I’m planning on keeping the Bruce men busy and I’ll need mules for them. I shouldn’t need that for a few days until I see what’s needed. I’ll tell you when to deliver the mules as far as town, and I can send one of the Bruce men to pick them up. I’m going to build a wagon with a rack on it that will carry two cords at once out at the ranch. I’ll bring that in and hitch the two mules to it when it is put together.

“While I’m here, would you give me the specifications on railroad ties? The Bruce men are cutting the school wood and next year’s fire wood for the ranch. I’ve turned over forty acres of mostly wooded land to them and I don’t want to cut something that would make a rail tie into firewood.”

“Good thinking. Sure, I’ve got the specs right here. There can’t be much deviation on the finished tie or they will be rejected.”

“I didn’t ask, but you are in charge of the railroad now, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, Simpson talked me into it. It’ll be something new and I’ll play with it until I get sick of it and then find someone who is experienced to take over.”

“I’m glad. This valley knows that you’ll do great with it. I and everyone else has the most confidence in you.”

“Thanks, Dave. When do you want the mules? I can deliver them to the ranch. I’d like to see Dean. He would be glad to see me, wouldn’t he?”

“Yes, bring the pair of mules to the ranch and it surely would make Pa’s day. I guess I’ll get along home and see Reesa.”

“That’s an unusual nickname.”

“I’ll tell you how it came about again. The first sounds Pa made was ‘sa’ and we couldn’t figure it out. Pa was acting he wanted ‘sa.’ A few days later we made out ‘reesa’ and got onto he was trying to say Teresa. He was asking for her. If he gets better, it is all because of her.

“She is making his life bearable by keeping him interested. She reads and talks to him. She told him all about growing up Mexican and how she was treated and then coming to live with Patty at your house. He probably knows more about you than I do by now. Everyone at the ranch uses Reesa for a nickname and it makes Pa happy. The doctor says he may come out of this quite well, but it will take a long time.

“Reesa is a joy to have around.”

Before I reached the ranch house, I could see Reesa coming down from the North in back of the new school building. He stood in is stirrups and waved. Reesa did the same and then they kicked their mounts in the ribs and raced for home. Reesa beat Dave by a few lengths and she was waiting for him as he pulled up while she was already off, hitching her horse.

“Hi, Sweetheart, how was your day?”

“Dave, it was great. I really like those people. I never saw anyone work harder than they do. They’ve got the old cabins torn down and the salvage sorted into piles. The poles used for the framework are all sorted by length. The back of the cabins were just slabs. They don’t think that those can be of any use. There is however, enough boards sawn for both the sides and ends. There will be enough to build a home big enough for all to live in. They said they would have to rive new shakes for the roofs, though.”

“The material is ready to be brought down?”

“I’d say so. They asked if they could use the ranches’ big farm wagon and a pair of horses the next two days. Boyd Bruce is going to begin squaring timbers for the foundation just as soon as they have what they saved piled up down near where the building is going to be. They said they would have shelter within the week. They said they hoped you wouldn’t mind them doing that first before they started on putting up the cordwood for the school. I told them to do as they planned. How was your day?”

“Good, Reesa. That Stark whom I bought the wood and contract from, was at least honest with me. There was even a little bonus in an extra four cords already cut and piled. Randy is in charge of the railroad at present and I told him I was bringing all the wood down out of the hills. I will to get paid as soon it is down and piled at the landing. I think I can go into the winter with this operation giving us a little surplus.”

“Quite the businessman, aren’t you? I’ll bet Dean will take notice.”

“I’m just following how Randy does things. Of course I have Pa looking over my shoulder. I’m trying to prove myself to him so that when he gets well and returns in charge of the cattle, he’ll let me look for more opportunities to make this place pay. Randy has made his end of the valley pay by turning a lot of it into farmland. I can’t do that here because the land isn’t that good. Cattle will always be our main operation, but that isn’t to say that we can’t supplement our income in other ways.”

“What do you have for ideas? You must have something in mind.”

“Yeah, I have, but it might not work out. It will take awhile to put together. Right now it is just an idea. Back up in the hills to the West there is a valley with some flat land. There are many big springs in it and the hills come close together on the south end. I think a dam could be constructed at the juncture to back up the water and make a pond.

“The land falls away so it might be possible to build a water wheel to run a saw mill. The land flattens out below where I believe the mill and pond can be built. Later, if some of the land was cleared, it might be turned into cow range. For now it would be a good place to set up a sawmill.

“Wood ties for the railroad are always going to be needed, and what wood is there, can be cut into cord wood, if it doesn’t make lumber. There is always a sale for charcoal at so much a bushel. This is on the far reaches of the ranch and it has been seven or eight years since I’ve been up there.

“We’ll ride up there when things get settled down. I also have to see how much area is left for the railroad wood choppers. They have permit to cut that section of timber for the railroad. I’m going into the land office for what I need to cut here on the ranch. I’ll ask about filing on the timber for logging permits, and I’m going to file on that pond sight anyway in case someone else has the same idea. I think that is the only water on the ranch that hasn’t been filed on so we will gain control of most of the valley West of Ferris town.”

“Are you going to bring those wood choppers in to cut on the ranch?”

“Yes, starting at the town boundary coming toward the ranch. I’ll use the Bruce choppers to work in a different area; maybe up in the hills I was just talking about. I’m not going to cut willy-nilly and I want to have a buyer at hand for what we produce from the mill before we start.”

“Dave, I want to ride over every bit of the ranch with you. When we have a son, I want to be able to tell him all about how his father and mother planned for his future.” We had been standing in the yard talking and now I followed Reesa up the steps onto the porch. “Mable must have supper started. Go talk to your Pa while I get it on the table.”

I walked into his Pa’s room. Dean heard him enter and opened his eyes. “Pa, I’ve been riding all day. I checked out the wood and woodlot I bought yesterday. I guess Stark was afraid to be nothing less than honest with me. He knew who I was and had heard about that time I had trouble in the bank. I actually made out pretty well.

“There is another thing I thought of that will make us a few bucks just as soon as you get on your feet and take over the cattle again. You know that valley up in the far reaches of the ranch where that swift running creek is? Well, how about putting a saw mill in there? The railroad is always going to need ties. If we cut trees big enough to get one tie out of it but not big enough for two, there is always cord wood and maybe charcoal. On the sides of the steepest mountains there is timber. In the valleys there is a lot of old growth trees. There are a percentage of the trees that will saw out furniture grade.

“I don’t think wood for the boiler to power the train will be a safe long-term deal. Back east they are moving trains with coal as more and more mines open up.

Dean looked mystified Dave explained, “Randy was talking about that with Stark. They guessed it would be within the next five years. That’s okay. We’ll still make money on the wood contract. I’m looking at supplying railroad ties. That’s why I’m thinking about having a saw mill right in the middle of our woodlands.

“When the wood market goes to hell, we’ll saw ties and I’ll find someone to make charcoal. That’s a market that will continue. Charcoal is easier to work with than coal in certain businesses and will always be in need. So overall, to me a sawmill makes sense. We have the forest of mixed woods we can use for the market for ties and lumber, and wood for charcoal. We have wood choppers that are all pretty young. We can buy mules from Randy. All we would need is some people to build a dam and run the saw mill. I’ll begin asking around.”

Pa, looked half-way convinced. I continued,” I need you to get well Pa, to take back the cattle business. Hell, our prospects are just as good here in this end of the valley as Randy’s were when he started at his end.” Dean’s faced twitched and the smile that had been small because of his illness was definitely much bigger. I took Pa’s’ hand and could feel a little strength in it.

Reesa asked how things went with Dean. “Good I think. Pa was interested and I got a bit of a smile, more than yesterday in fact. I grasped his hand and I swear there was some pressure applied. You know I really feel he is going to get well. I’ll bet by next spring he will be back on a horse.”

“Dave that is wonderful. That should be about the same time you and I’ll have a child. I’m looking forward to it so much.”

“You’re kidding me!”

“No, Mama said I’m pregnant. After she counted the days going backward. I’ve been made so happy, I haven’t kept track. I’m not telling anyone yet and don’t you either. I’m hoping it isn’t a false alarm.”

“I have faith in Nina.”

“Better to have faith in yourself. You did it to me.”

“Um. I think it takes two.”

Just then Mable came in as I was kissing my pregnant wife, both of us so happy with Reesa’s condition. Reesa flushed and Dave stammered, “I talked to Pa about expanding and building a dam up on the Northwest slope. I think that is about the in the center of our woodland. There is a bit of flat land there for a mill site. The dam won’t have to be very big. To pipe the water down to a water wheel should be easy. It is very steep getting down to the mill site and that is where the power comes from, not so much the water amount.”

“Dave, how do you know that?”

“I worked for Randy Palmer and he had all kinds of books around. I guess I read them all during the year I worked there. Now I have to find an engineer to see if it is feasible to build a dam and water wheel. I will need a mill and men to operate it. We have six choppers now, but I may need more to keep up with the railroad contract and cut timber for the mill.

“I’ll talk to Randy because he knows how and where to start on something like this. More importantly, it is the who to hire. The Bruce’s come from a depressed area and may know some families back there, who would move out here and take up chopping for us.

“Dave, how are you going to finance this?”

“I don’t know yet. I wish Pa was able to talk. For all his miserable way of acting, he is a good cattleman and always has been solvent. I’m showing a little more profit right now, but that comes from being able to ship the cattle at the reduced rail cost. We made a lot of money on the last two carloads. The hands are working better since Pa isn’t here to holler at them. I’m down two hands and the work is still getting done with no complaints at all.”

“Dave, Mable gave you her half of the ranch and she didn’t see that it upset Dean that much either.”

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The next year brought many changes to our life. Randy Palmer helped a lot by giving advice and even co-signing for a bank loan after the mill engineer helped me write a loan proposal for putting a saw mill on the back side of the Ferris property. There was no land suitable for homesteading. Logging off the mountainous land was inherently dangerous for it was steep and treacherous.

Always, I was thinking of putting in a saw mill on the backside of the ranch. With the pair of young mules, the choppers for the railroad were gaining on delivering the stacked wood to the landing near the railroad. I was paid when it arrived. It wasn’t that much income, but it was a start. I just needed a larger operation of some sort.

Randy contacted lumber mills and asked about timber companies known for outfits that lumbered in areas such as we had. After talking to a half dozen, it came down to Matthew Hodges and his family of two sons. He came and spent a week in the woods cruising the timber and the landscape. I had Randy Palmer with me when it was time to hire. Hodges was just finishing up a logging operation and was looking to finish out his life before retiring with one more sizable contract that would last six the eight years.

A road had to be blasted to get the mill machinery in to the Mill site and to get the sawn lumber out. The road into the back country was fully as good as the road into town because of the heavy travel. A few of the mill workers were married and those who were, built homes with a garden spot. None of the loggers in the woods were married yet. They who worked cutting trees closest to the mill lived in a bunkhouse. The crews who were further out had slab shelters with a cookie to feed them.

Randy had been selling goods out of his auction barn for several years now. With him being tied in with the railroad as he was, he knew what would sell and what wouldn’t. Ties for the railroad was a commodity that would sell. I had a steady sale for firewood for running the train which would last for another four or five years. Coal would then be used for the trains operation after changing the grates. Wood to fire them would be closed out.

There was a decent mill site to set up the mill and there was a place where the creek could be dammed for water to run the mill. It didn’t have to be very large because there was plenty of water in the creek that went on past the mill site. Water was diverted to the small pond and then there was an attached to a mill race that went down to the water wheel

In the woods, Matt engaged a person to come mark the trees to be cut. Very seldom marking the sections for clear cutting the timber lots. There was some fine hardwoods that were furniture grade, plus softwood for construction, and of course the steady market for ties. The soft woods were used mostly in home construction.

The logging permit was for ten years in length with the chance for renewal. I wanted the young straight trees left so in thirty to fifty years, the timber would be worth that much more.