Down at Big Springs, besides the Shiedley ranch, were the Walraths, whose ranch dates back to 1873. The Walrath ranch was owned by A. J. and Baggage Walrath. Their herd was a comparatively small one at the time, but it later grew to large proportions. Baggage Walrath has gone on, to the Final Roundup, but A. J. still lives in the land where he has seen the transition. The veteran of the plains can be found at Julesburg, and has a rich fund of reminiscence.

A. J. Walrath, when he first saw the South Platte and the Lodgepole, drove an ox team. From whacking bulls he has seen the coming of the mule teams, the railroad, the automobile, truck and tractor, and recently (1919) there passed overhead thirty flying- machines in one dav. This, all in the span of one life.

The Stone ranch, with its six thousand cattle branded C on the left hip. quite fully occupied the territory east of Ogallala, but Russell Watts built a ranch near there which was retained as headquarters, although his

HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

herds of three or four thousand cattle were to be found principally on Snake Creek and the Niobrara, where the brand WW on the left hip and side were held during the summer seasons. In the winter he brought them to the ranges nearer to the home ranch.

Sparks and Timmon, who had ten or twelve thousand cattle on the ranges of Gooseberry creek, Nevada, maintained offices at Cheyenne, and part of the time had cattle on the same range occupied by Watts, in Nebraska, on the Running water and Snake creek. Their herds used to mingle in the early days, but the territory was later left to others. The Hart ranch had occupied the Snake creek country, and as conditions were changing, smaller herds began to come, and ranches of only a few hundred head became quite common.