In 1979 I quit the Highway Patrol, we sold our home in McPherson and moved to the Merrill Ranch 38 miles southwest of Medicine Lodge, KS in Comanche county. We lived there from June 1979 to November 1980 and I had not been back for a visit since we left. Mary had stopped by there once or twice. So we made plans to head down there and spend a night with Dee and Phyllis Scherich. On the way down we came across a cotton field and Mary had never seen one so we stopped near Isabel. Mary picked about six bolls of cotton and then on the trip she worked with them to remove the seeds. She said she is going to plant some next year.
The seeds and finished product.
West of Medicine Lodge on hwy 160 we pulled over to a scenic overlook.
We traveled 18 miles west on hwy 160 then turned south at the Deerhead road. There is no town there, just a building. A few miles south of there is a road where you can turn right. From there to the ranch you cross over 10 cattle guards.
Off in the far distance you can see the ranch houses.
Mary and Phyllis sitting on the deck.
This is the view from the deck looking southeast.
Looking south towards the other houses.
An oil well in the background which is one of about ten on the ranch.
Sunrise Friday morning.
Bringing in some calves for feeding. These were just weaned from their mothers and waiting for a buyer to pick them up.
Early morning on the ranch.
Young cowboy on a Shetland brought these calves in.
Real cowboys on the ranch.
On this ranch the old headquarters for the Comanche Pool still stands. This was called Evansville around 1880 which was 100 years before my time.
Each western state has its early history a famous cattle spread that overshadowed all others. Kansas had the Comanche Pool, which was located near Medicine Lodge, the largest cattle ranch in the state's history.
The ranch was started by four men: Jess Evans, Wylie Payne, Richard Phillips, and Major Andrew Drumm, after an Army order, issued from the Indian Territory, stated that no more Texas cattle drives were to cross the Oklahoma Strip.
The best source for facts about the Comanche Pool is an old newspaper published in Medicine Lodge, the town closest to ranch headquarters and the only town of any size in south-central Kansas at the time of the pools organization.
Evans, Payne, Phillips, and Drumm talked to the handful of ranchers who were already in south-central Kansas, then they moved in large herds of their own, starting the ranch with some 26,000 head. The idea was for "members" (the four mentioned above were by far the largest holders) to range their cattle as one great common herd. A Board of Directors was formed, with Wylie Payne as treasurer. All expenses incurred and profits received were in direct proportion to the number of cattle a particular rancher owned compared to the total number of the whole herd.
The ranch house and main headquarters, called Evansville were built among the rolling hills 38 miles southwest of Medicine Lodge. Warehouses were maintained in different parts of the ranch territory, to hold supplies sent out from Kansas City by Major Drumm to outfit the three principal horse camps.
Mrs. Frank King, Coldwater, whose husband worked for the pool and had been in Evansville many times, remembered how Major Drumm usually arrived at Evansville in a fine black surrey driven by his personal valet. She also recalled that a barrel of currants was included in the freight one day. "A little cub bear came out of the trees and got into the currants. He came back tot he barrel so many times that he got real friendly and had the run of the place."
To cover the territory, the pool kept a sizable herd of horses. According to the paper, "of their 400 saddle horses, they came through the winter (1882) with a loss of only eight head. Most of the horses were wintered on the Cimmaron in Oklahoma. It was described this way: "They fenced in a strip one- half mile wide up and down the river all winter, and when spring came those horses were generally fat. Other wild animals wintered in the trees too. There were antelope, deer, bears and lots of wild turkeys."
For more information go to:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kscomanc/comanche_pool.html
and
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kscomanc/evansville.html
Feeding the calves.
Just as they were getting the last of the calves in for feed the saddle on the Shetland came loose pitching the young cowboy off and the saddle went under the pony. One of the other cowboys roped her and removed the saddle. It broke one of the stirrups so he ended up riding without them. Yes he got back on with the knee torn out of his jeans. Cowboys are tough! I didn't get a picture of him.
Dee took me for a ride up the Indian Creek pasture.
The feeder on the truck was empty so we stopped to fill it back up. They contracted for 150 tons of the dried by-product of corn from an ethanol plant. In the winter they feed this to the cows by dumping it out on the buffalo grass in a long line. They have over 800 cows to feed.
This is the house where we lived in 1979. Another ranch hand lives there now.
This is where Dee & Phyllis used to live. There is a hired hand and his family there now.
Some of the ranch equipment.
Phyllis and Dee's home on the hill side. Note the butterfly on the flower.
After lunch all four of us took off in the pickup for a scenic ride through some of the pastures. They are constantly fighting the cedar trees and have a hard time keeping the pastures cleared.
This was an old dugout where someone lived at one time. Phyllis, Mary & Dee
Yours truly included.
Cactus in bloom.
They have two of these machines to cut cedar trees with.
One of the many old buffalo wallows.
The cedar tree problem. They have a hard time getting to some of them due to the rough terrain.
A cleared area.
Some cut trees. They burn some of these areas when conditions allow and even have there own fire truck.
A view from the top.
Delicate plants.
More of the top view.
Their house from several miles away. The second picture gives you more of an idea how far it was and we were still two miles for the south border. (Oklahoma)
Beep! Beep! I finally got a picture of a road runner.
This is Bam Bam their fire truck.
All good things have to end and we left about 3 PM and headed for Dodge City. This is the sign at the entrance to the ranch houses.
Don Smalley is one of the Troopers I trained while I was on the Patrol. They live on a farm site south of Dodge City. We are god parents to their son Bradley and he was born while we were at the ranch. He is a big man now. Here is a picture of him with a quilt his grandmother made and just gave to him.
Here is a picture of Brad, Bonnie, Don and Mary. Bonnie is Don's wife.
I was up at sunrise again and was out on the front porch drinking coffee when these deer appeared on the horizon. I quickly got my camera.
And no they are not metal cutouts!
We went into Dodge the next morning for a tour. Don was in the Navy on a submarine torpedo ship during the Vietnam war.
Bonnie's brother brick beside Don's.
We then went to Boot Hill museum. I had never been though this but is really worth the time. Don and Bonnie were good tour guides since both were raised in and around Dodge. Don delivered newspapers to the old bank that is on display there. He layed the paper on the tellers window. Brad's full time job is a grain inspector but in the summer he is one of the gun fighters and today was a bartender in the Long Branch saloon. He was also in a play in the saloon that evening.
The gentleman playing the piano worked with Don's dad.
They put me in jail!
Well it was time to get out of Dodge! We had a great time and a good visit. We headed for Wichita and the Hyatt Hotel downtown by the river. A view from our room.
We went for a walk along the river to loosen up after our ride from Dodge. It was a great day for a walk.
The Hyatt.
The America 3
In 1995 in San Diego we saw Bill Koch's all female team and their ship.
Saturday evening we went to Old Town and dined at Whiskey Creek Steakhouse. Sunday morning we had breakfast at the Hyatt then started towards home. We stopped in Andover for church but the Mass was just getting over so we continued on to El Dorado where we attended Mass. We continued north to Cassoday then took K-177 through the Flint Hills to K-4 through Eskridge then home. It was really a great 4 day vacation.
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