Chuck Wagon, Ranch House,
Wagon Train; the cook had one of the toughest jobs of the Old West. Not only was he responsible for providing
meals, but they better be good ones if he didn’t want to find himself staked
out over an ant hill, or worse, lynched.
Provisions, many times, ran scarce which meant nothing could be wasted,
it had to be transformed into something belly filling, and definitely not make
anyone ill. We take for granted
supermarkets with every food item imaginable; we take for granted that
restaurants and fast food joints are just around the corner. Not so easy for all, not just the Utah,
pioneers of the 1800s, and early 1900s where the next meal might be sucking on
cactus juice, or roasting rattlesnakes.
Which brings me to the
tale of Harry (or Henry, presuming that was his full name) Hopkins; cook for
the LC (Lacy (ey) Coleman) Cattle Company.
After the horrors of being a soldier during the Civil War Era, Harry
decided to move to Colorado, join a ranch, be a cowboy; and he must have been a
darned good cook. Eventually, he found
himself in San Juan County, Utah; continuing the cowboy life and running the
kitchen there as well. “Wash, a Ute Indian, reported a white man had
been killed by lightning near the head of Devil Canyon. Investigation showed that Hopkins, the L.C.
cook, had been shot in the back – supposedly by an Indian. He was found by Hickory Dennis and another
cowboy lying face down with a pair of field glasses in his hand. Before coming to the country he had been a
cook for the riders on the Disappointment range in Colorado, at the time
several Indians had been killed in a fight with the cowboys. The Utah Settlers felt certain that the Utes
had taken revenge on this inoffensive man.” ~from Saga of San Juan San
Juan County DUP; page 94.
History of San Juan
County by Albert R. Lyman filled in
more of the story (page 62-63); “"In the late spring or early summer,
while the new settlers were farming at South Montezuma, and making such
preparations as they could to move to Monticello the next spring, the Ute known
as Wash came in reporting a dead white man somewhere up the creek. Parley Butt
went with him and found the body of a man named Hopkins. He had been cooking
for the L. C. outfit and someone had apparently
shot him from ambush while he waited on a log fence for the outfit to return. He had crawled a short distance from the fence
before he died." Only 3/10ths of a
mile from the grave is an old corral; could this have been the “log fence”
where Harry was shot, and he crawled with the last of his life energy to where
he is buried now?
Back then, the Indians
blamed the white people; white people blamed the Indians; cowboys from
competing ranches blamed each other, the Mormon settlers or the Indians. Since all the people from that era are long
dead and buried, and history is usually written by the victors, we'll probably
not find out the true story, unless someone finds a written confession from
dear old great grandpa.
Now some folks asked me,
“Why do you care so much about him?”
Simple answer really, because I can, and someone should. One of the basic fears we have about dying is
not being remembered; not having our life story passed on, or even our grave
visited. While an Eagle Scout Project by
Cameron Palmer gave Harry a trail marker and information board; it wasn’t cared
for after a while. The plastic covering
over the information sheet did not protect the paper, so it is extremely faded
and illegible (May 2016); by November 2016, someone had torn it down
completely. I found out that local Sue
Morrell and her husband often ATV up to the grave, fixing the fencing if
needed. While another visitor had placed
plastic flowers near the headstone; Roy and I cleaned the dead leaves and
debris away to make his name seen clearly.
So, to honor the memory of
this Old West cook, I give to you my recipe for “Cowboy Stew for the Crock
Pot”. I’d like to imagine I would have
made a good ranch cook myself, but then again, electricity has spoiled me.
Cowboy Stew for the Crock Pot
Ingredients:
2 lbs. lean roast beef,
cut into 1 inch pieces
4 russet potatoes,
unpeeled and cut into 1 inch pieces, parboiled
2 large carrots, peeled
and cut into ¼” slices, parboiled (or use 8 oz. bag of baby carrots)
1 large onion, rough cut
into 1/2” pieces
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. paprika
2 (28 oz.) cans vegetarian
beans
2 cups barbeque sauce
Preparation:
In 6 qt. crock pot, set on
low, mix together beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, salt, pepper and
paprika. Spread beans over top, then bbq
sauce. Cover, let cook 6-8 hours; beef
will be very tender. Serve with
cornbread or biscuits.
Note on leftovers, if
there are any; the gravy will thicken and become richer.
Mary Cokenour
Thanks for so doggedly following up on this story. I bet even more info comes forth now.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome; someone has to keep the history alive. It's not just about some of the "chosen few", it's about everyone.
Delete