The following stories were recorded in the Mineral King Preservation Society office on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.
Three Rivers-Mineral King Cattle Tales
Compiled by Sarah (Barton) Elliott
Barton family lore passed down from Jason and Mary Barton and son Bob Barton and wife Muriel. Retold over the years by my grandparents, Bob and Muriel, and their son (my father) Jim Barton.
Cast of characters:
- Jason Barton (1864-1938)
- Mary (Allen Griffes) Barton (1864-1960)
- Milton Montgomery “Mont” Barton (1867-1910)
- Harriet “Hattie” Ann (DeMasters) Barton (1869-1953)
- Robert Hardin “Bob” Barton (1899-1977)
- Muriel (May) Barton (1903-1990)
- Robert James “Jim” Barton (1924- …)
Story #1 - Would You Like Onions With That?
The word around the Mineral King camp was not to buy the milk that came from Mary Barton’s milk cow in the evenings as the cow had a habit of grazing in the wild onions in the meadows along the East Fork of the Kaweah Rivers during the day, giving the milk a pungent, oniony taste. Drink the milk from the morning batch, those in the know advised.
Story #2 - Mont and the Milk Cow
Mont Barton (Jason’s youngest brother) and wife Hattie would take respite from the hot Three Rivers summers at South Fork Meadows, at the headwaters of that branch of the Kaweah River and two-and-a-half miles south of Hockett Meadows. They would take their milk cow so their children would have fresh milk to drink all summer. When that area became part of Sequoia National Park in 1890, rules were put in place that only “pack stock” were allowed on the trails. So Mont worked with his cow that winter to teach her how to carry a pack. Back to South Fork Meadows she went with the family the next summer, legally, because she was no longer a “milk cow”; she now carried panniers filled with supplies and was a full-fledged member of the pack string.
Story #3 - Spelling It Out
Deer hunting season in Three Rivers and Mineral King could get a bit out of hand. For several years in a row, Jason would lose at least one cow to some hunter who couldn’t seem to tell the difference between a mule deer with antlers and a big, brown Jersey cow with horns. Jason solved this troubling issue one deer season in a diplomatic way by taking red paint and labeling C O W on the sides of all his cows. Problem solved. It became apparent that the hunters simply needed labels on their animals.
Story #4 - Close Call
Bob Barton (Jason’s son) would take his cattle to Mineral King in late spring by herding them on horseback from his North Fork ranch in Three Rivers to Mineral King. He supplied the summer cabin community with beef and milk each summer. He and his cowhands would spend the night 13 miles up the Mineral King Road at “Last Chance,” Jacob and Mary Trauger’s place, where they would put their bedrolls in the middle of the road on the downhill side, otherwise the cattle would turn around and go home while they slept. It was a hard day’s work and Bob slept soundly there on the hard-packed, dusty dirt surface. One year, he awoke in the morning and found tire tracks across his pillow. A close call, and he never even heard a vehicle. Muriel and young son Jim (my dad) would drive up in their Model T Ford and meet Bob and crew at Traugers’ with a hot, home-cooked supper then continue on to their cabin where the family would spend the summer. Bob would arrive the next day and turn his cattle loose in the Tar Gap area, erecting the drift fence he had in place there but would lay down flat each winter.
Story #5 - Cap
One summer’s day, two men stopped by the cabin and told Bob some of his cows were out and wandering about the upper valley. Bob looked at his dog and said, “Go get ‘em, Cap.” Off Cap went. The men watched incredulously as Bob turned to go back in the cabin and asked, “Aren’t you going to get your horse and go too?” Not necessary, Bob said. He then walked with the men up the road a short way and soon met the cattle coming down the road with Cap close at their heels. Cap herded the cows on by, taking them back to the Tar Gap side of the canyon. One of the men offered $300 on the spot to buy Cap, quite a bit of money in those days. But no deal. Cap was family, and selling Cap would be akin to selling son Jim. It wasn’t ever going to happen.
Story #6 - When the Cows Got Cold, Summer's End in Mineral King
Bob had to be sure he was in Mineral King in the late season when the first cold snap arrived, signaling the end of summer. This was because on that first freezing morning every year, the cows would start down the road headed to their warmer winter pasture in Three Rivers, with or without Bob.
The End
The End. And as my dad Jim would say, “Believe it or not, these stories are even mostly true.”