Bob Powers

Many fine venison steaks and roasts were enjoyed, and the manner in which the game was dressed and cared for made it prime eating. A couple of flour sacks of deer jerky were usually prepared, and a few pieces stuck in a jacket pocket made the stomach more comfortable on many a long ride. Jerky is made by cutting meat in long, narrow strips, and cutting across the grain to make it more tender. Plenty of salt and pepper was used, the pepper being used primarily to keep the flies off. These strips were hung over a wire or cord until dried, and then stored so the air could freely circulate through it. Besides being carried as a snack, a fine gravy and delicious stew were made from either deer or beef jerky.

Often the deer season would end while the cattle were being pushed out through the low country. If a storm hit about the same time, the deer were forced to migrate from the high country. Sometimes, the cowboys happened across a dozen or so big bucks who would just stand and watch them as if they knew perfectly well the season had closed. The weather at this time of year could change overnight, from sunshine and brilliant fall colors among the quaking aspen and oaks to a blanket of snow on the ground and a howling wind. Camping out was not much fun in rough weather, so special haste was made to get the stragglers down the trail and onto the home ranches.

As the cattle drifted down from the plateau, Stanley Smith usually opened a gate to one of his fields along Highway 178. Every few days, after a fairly large bunch of cattle had collected there, the other cattlemen cut out their stock and took them on to their ranches. A few hurried trips were made back to the mountains to "cut tracks." This was accomplished by riding enough of the country to determine, by recent tracks, if any cattle had been left behind. They would track down those cattle, which, for some reason, had not been chased out by foul weather.

The cattleman's life was not all a bed of roses. A person had to be fitted for this type of work or he would not stay with it. The cattle business has often been said to be more than just a business; it's a way of life. This was certainly so with the South Forkers. There were a lot of hot, dusty rides. Cowboys, at times in the desert, got so dry they could not even talk. Water holes were few and far between, and tradition kept them from carrying a water bag or canteen. On fall trips, they almost froze to death, as there was no way to wear enough clothes to keep warm and still be able to work on horseback.

These cattlemen regretted seeing more of the back country opened up each year. The concept of "Multiple Use" was good and the Forest Service was wisely practicing it. The thousands of people who enjoyed the Kern Plateau were also entitled to this wonderful experience of camping in the high country, but to some, the peace and quiet were gone.

These old-timers were not anti-social, but it was hard for them to get used to lining out a bunch of cattle down a trail and having them all come back at you after hearing the roar of a trail bike. Having to untangle a Honda-shy bronc from a bunch of small lodgepole pines made a man wonder if he was not born fifty years too late.