Memories of Lisle Tame, Dead Indian Ranch

We left Cambridge by a county road that led to a crossing of the Snake river about thirty-five miles northwest of the village. It was out of our way, but it was back country and Something new to see. We crossed the Snake river on a ferry - a flat-bottomed scow and if I remember it was the type that used the river current to propel the ferry across the river. We followed back-country roads in a southwesterly direction to Baker, Oregon, where we got onto a major hi-way and on back to the Rogue Valley.

We continued to look at quite a number of properties, mostly ranches. One I remember, was along the Little Applegate river and reportedly had a gold mining claim on the stream. Whence found the place, it had a fairly good house and barn and some other improvements, but very little land that was level enough to dig a well on. So we went on looking. Finally, one day in early summer, 1939 I ran onto Harry Moore, real estate agent, who said he'd like to show us a ranch he thought we'd like. So, I went back to Talent (Mr. Moore contacted me in Ashland) and I got Irma and we drove to Ashland, picked up Mr. Moore and drove up Dead Indian road, all the way up in high gear-Harry said that's the first time he had ever ridden that road in high gear and on across Dead Indian Creek, turned right at the Walter Hash ranch and to the Charles Blake place, the house and barn being about one mile from the turn-off from the Lake-OF-The-Woods road. The place was vacant, except for some few cattle in the meadow. Harry told us the ranch was rented to Austie Baron, cattle Queen. That she used it for summer and fall pasture for a few cows with new calves, needing special care, and for a holding pasture at gathering time, that Mr. Blake would probably consider a trade for a property he could let someone run for a small amount. That as a pasture he was getting a very small income. Sounded like about enough to pay the taxes and insurance on the buildings. The meadows one-half mile square north and west of the buildings, were as green as old Erin and Mt. Pitt Just beyond, with its snowy mass Jutting toward the sky, was Just about the prettiest sight (and still is) in all of Oregon. We fell in love with the place. Gave it the once over, drove to the lower meadow, one mile east of the buildings and separated from the main body of land. There was, so Harry told us, one hundred sixty acres of cut-over timber on the ridge southwest of the buildings a quarter section Mr. Blake had homesteaded when a young man. We didn't give any thought to the possibility of timber. The beautiful meadows, the numerous springs-one near the house-flowing quite a stream. We told Harry to contact Mr. Blake, who lived in Ashland, being too old to carry on a ranching business. This Mr. Moore did and soon brought Mr. Blake down to see the property we owned in Talent. The discussions were brief. We learned that both properties were clear of incumberences and all taxes paid to date. The deal moved swiftly. We each directed Billings and Son to proceed with preparation of deeds, we each tendered abstracts of title and in very short time, after Attorney Billie Briggs examined the abstracts we exchanged deeds and the properties changed ownership. I'll admit I was influenced by the fact we were at last acquiring a ranch, a dream I had held In my heart for many years. We decided to not move onto the ranch for the time and I found a young family who were interested in moving onto it on a share basis. Roy Hill and wife Alcy were eager to get back at ranching, since their fling at it in Wallowa County several years earlier. We decided on sheep. I bought an old model T one-ton truck with high sides. The Hills, Roy, Alcy daughters Tharon and Wanda Lou and Son Royce. Royce was "Sonny" to all of us. The Hills moved onto the ranch and Roy and I began looking for ewes in the Klamath country. Roy had been working, at orchard work for about thirty-five cents per hour. They got a Federal loan bought five or six milk cows, to have living expenses, I bought a one-hundred dollar teem which Roy took over and we were looking to buy a hundred or more ewes which we found In the Klamath country. They were getting on the aged side of life, but they gave us a start.