Outline of interview with: by David Finch

Transcription

1 Outline of interview with: Hugh McLaughlin 1 audio cassette by David Finch Tape 1 Side Biographical information about Hugh McLaughlin. 005 Discussion of the "New Bunkhouse" as they called it in 1927, with individual rooms upstairs. It was quite new when they arrived. It was overflow accommodation for the men when the cookhouse was full. 020 Mr. Andrews was in charge of the stud horses in Bill Pender was another man that was there in The cookhouse was one large room upstairs and the men ate in the west room on the main floor. The cook was a Chinaman in He thinks there was a rectangular table in the cookhouse in 1927, about 16 feet long. 050 Archie McLean hired Frank McLaughlin to run the Bar U ranch in They branded cattle at the Rigg place in In November, 1927, they "counted them over to Burns." 070 The McLaughlin's came from Wyoming and Frank was foreman of the IV Ranch from 1907 to Idea: Children at the Bar U: riding, carrying water. Hugh was 14 years old when he was at the Bar U. He started school and lasted a few weeks and quit to go riding with the riders on the range. Hugh's job was to carry water from a spring to the cookhouse. 080 Story: child falling while going to get water from the spring. "There was a nice little spring along them willows there, must have been over towards the Olsen house. But anyway, it was just kind of a round spring like that. There was a little bit of a decline and gravel going down into the bottom. I took a real crapper going down there one day with a bucket so I can remember it pretty well. We used to haul it over with a horse and a stoneboat." 095 Story: 14 year old boys' chore was to cut water holes for bulls with an axe. 110 McLaughlin's were at Bar U from June, 1927 until about March of The McLaughlin's stayed in the Bar U house that burned down.

2 125 Mrs. Ethel McLaughlin cooked for the family at the house and his 16 year old sister Doris McLaughlin was living at the ranch at that time too. 135 Haying was done with push pole stackers in 1927 at the Bar U. McLaughlin's were using an overshot stacker at that time on their ranch at Pincher Creek but the Bar U was still using the push pole stacking system. 145 Hogan was the name of one of the haying contractors in Summer of 1927 was a very wet and haying was very hard. The crews put up hay at the Bar U flats as well was on the Bar U farm on land down to the Pekisko Trading Post. 155 There was no tractor at the Bar U in Trucks in 1927 at Bar U: "There was an old Ford truck there, that was used very little. It was the roughest thing I ever got in, in my life. And it was rough. I'll tell you. It was worse than any wagon that you ever got into." 165 Electricity at the Bar U in Story: The Chinaman cook was a mean one in "He was a Chinaman, and a mean one too. I pretty near seen him get one of the hired men one day though. They were just going in to supper, the kids used to go down there to eat sometimes, and he was pouring tea. He was walking around the table, pouring everybody tea. And this fellow was a little bit late sitting down and he walked up behind the Chinaman and goosed him in the ribs with both thumbs. I could tell you what the Chinaman said but maybe I better now. He said 'God damn, son of a bitch.' He was going to kill him or stab him. He didn't like it one bit." 185 Food at the Bar U in 1927 included meat, vegetables and pie. 190 The Chinaman grew a great garden, close to the cookhouse, just south or east. 195 Story: Chinaman was "a working fool." "He did a lot of work. He was a working fool. Sometimes, half past three in the morning, he'd be scrubbing the floor down there. It was just rough floor, pretty rough. I don't know if he ever went to bed or not." 200 Cookhouse table was long with benches on each side. 205 Story: bullet holes in walls upstairs of cookhouse. Cookhouse upstairs had been plastered. "There was two or three bullet hole marks that they said, Charlie Millar, shot into it at one time. They were still there, you could see them plain." 230 There was an outhouse near Bill Penders as well as near the old house that burned down.

3 235 An old log barn burned down after they left. 240 Story: House that burned down in "The house burned down maybe a month or so before we left.[february or March, 1928] On a Sunday morning about 11 o'clock. I remember the time the boys used to come in from, get back about that time from hauling hay. They had all kinds of help and they had a real bucket brigade going pretty quick, but they never seemed to be able to get to the source of it. But we got, 95, 98% of the stuff out of the house. Didn't seem to be able to stop the fire. It had been built on to a lot, just by the general look of it. We chopped holes in the roof and put scads of water with the men that was around there. But we couldn't seem to be able to get it stopped." 265 Wages in 1927 at the Bar U for men was $40 per month. Wages in 1927 at the Bar U were $30 and then $35 for 14 year old boy, Hugh. He went out on the range with the riders. 280 Charlie McCullough mended the harnesses all winter of 1927 and Ronald Thomas was the blacksmith the winter of 1927 and The Bar U supplied horses for work and each man took a few that he rode and did not let others ride. Hugh had 2 or 3 horses that he rode. 320 Predators were not a problem in the winter of 1927 and Coyotes were around but they did not seem to bother the animals. 330 Grain was fed to some fall calves. 335 Story: Milk cows were not too tame. "They had a couple of mile cows. I remember my Dad hauled them in with a saddle horse, so they weren't too tame. We had a fellow by the name of McKenzie, was of Scotch decent, big husky fellow. I see him sit down to those cows and one of them would go to kick him and he'd just reach over and grab the other leg and they didn't kick him anyways. Norman McKenzie, I think was his name. And they had a chore boy, his nick name was Tubby. He did a few chores, hauled manure and fed a few pigs, that sort of thing. Anything to help around." 350 Animals at the Bar U in 1927 included pigs and chickens. 355 Story: Chickens got necks rung by Chinaman for not laying eggs. "There was wooden bridge right by the chicken house and after you crossed the bridge you got to the dairy barn. Anyway. We used to cross the bridge pretty regular on the saddle horse, back and forth. And Dad seen these chickens laying all over and he couldn't figure out what was going on. One day he heard quite a commotion and he opened the door and the hen was supposed to be setting and the Chinaman was working her over cause she didn't set. He'd just ring her neck and throw her out the door. He had a bad temper, that guy."

4 385 Slaughter house was down the creek, and they slaughtered as often as they needed meat. There was an ice house but he does not remember much about it. There were large barrels of corned beef and they changed the brine in them. 400 Winter work included making two or three trips to haul hay. 410 Winter riding occupied five or six riders in Bar U was a typical ranch in the 1920s. 435 Horses: there were a lot of horses in late 1920s. The ranch sold a bunch of horses late in Horses: 1927 show horses: King and Bandy and Dexter. 450 There was no polo in the late 1920s. 460 California cart described. It is visible in the photographs that accompany this interview. "I know my Dad and Archie McLean, one time, went over to Nanton in it and had time to get back, the snow was so deep. Come over some big ridge, so they had a pretty rough trip back. A two horse outfit." 480 Thrashing was bad in the fall of 1927 and the men that left the Bar U to get work on thrashing crews did not do very well and came back looking for work. 490 Supplies came from High River. 495 Pekisko Trading Post mentioned and Mr. Baines. Mr. Smith was the postman. 510 Story: Winter of was quite severe. "After winter set in, there was a storm there about the 16th of October, you didn't leave the ranch very far, anybody, unless you had to." 530 Entertainment included riding, forking hay, cards and crib. 535 Alcohol showed up at Christmas time "but they didn't stop working and have a booze party, I'll tell you that." 545 Story: Harness mender liked alcohol. "The old fellow that mended harness, he liked it pretty well. But he'd just be once or twice he'd go on a bat. The rest of the time he was tending to business." 555 Cars: there were only very few in Cattle: in the spring of 1928 they sent some cattle to Black Diamond to feed then since they were short of feed at the Bar U.

5 575 Cattle: shipped from Cayley in late Stoney natives worked at the ranch fixing fence in Mark Dixon was one of the natives at the Bar U. Story about tobacco. "He was always getting a smoke off old Bill Pender, one of the old cowboys there. So this day Bill saw him coming and one of these outfits had sent around some of this imitation tobacco, and Mark asked Bill 'Got any tobacco?' and Bill says 'Lots of it, Mark, lots of it.' So he handed him this stuff and Mark put it in his pipe or cigarette, lit her up and it flared up. Another match and about the same thing. He'd be puffing away and about the third time he says 'God damn, no good.' he says." Tape 1 Side Stoney's shot coyotes in that area. 010 Jonas Rider was a great roper but he was not there in Stoney's camped along the creek, upstream from the Bar U. Stoneys moved their camp and their kids were on travois. Stoneys used tipis and a few tents in Stoneys took trout out of Pekisko Creek. 040 The Andrew's boy, about 15 years old, took trout out of Pekisko Creek. 055 Summer of 1927 was wet and the Highwood River was high as was the creek. They used the Sullivan Ford and the Green Ford. He met George Pocaterra. 080 Guy Weadick gave Frank McLaughlin a pair of chaps as a present. 090 Wet summer of 1927 created foot rot for horses due to the moisture. Discussion of methods used to heal feet that were afflicted with foot rot. 100 Percheron studs in 1927 were named Warrior and Highwood. There were about 45 "old crippled mares" but they were giving good colts. 120 Children: 14 year old boy liked Bar U. "Being able to ride with the big guys. Always liked cattle and liked cowboying. It has been the highlight of my life, really, that year there." 135 Children: shot coyotes and magpies at Bar U along the creek in Game: very little game in the Bar U area in the 1927 period. 170 Coyotes: has yet to see a coyote kill a cow or calf. 190 House fire at Bar U in Frank McLaughlin lost his razor and tarpaulin in that fire.

6 200 Idea: As much like an old ranch as possible, horse era. Idea: Water buckets for hauling water around the ranch. Idea: Cut wood, old posts and rails with buzz saw and motor. 230 Herb Millar worked for Burns in 1928 and later. 260 Coal came from local mines, but it was quite soft and poor quality. 270 Caterpillar tractor at the Bar U in 1927 was never used. 285 California cart description. Bert Sheppard has one and knows about them. They were high wheeled and rode very well, perhaps with good springs. 300 Archie McLean was manager of the ranch for the bank in Story: stealing harness from a dead horse. Bandy and Dexter the name of an old team of horses. "He just got up in front of the bunkhouse, dropped over dead, died right there. Went in for dinner and come out after and one of the fellows who was working there, he took a piece off a harness, must have broke something on his. And old Bill Pender saw it and he was really upset. He said 'Anybody that'd steal harness off a dead horse would steal shit from a blind hen.' Kind of funny. I'll always remember that." 330 Story of a green ranch hand that almost got into trouble with a team. 340 Riders did not carry guns on the range in Accident: young man got foot crippled. Mr. Burns helped him through the hospital and offered him a job if he wanted one. 365 Story: Burns worried that cow's tongues would wear out on salt blocks. Mr. Burns visited the ranch and he did not like block salt in He was worried that they'd wear their tongues out licking it. 395 Poisonous weeds on the Bar U had to be kept fenced to keep cattle out of them for their health. The were springs and had to be kept well fenced to protect the cattle. 460 End of interview.