BIG SANDY RANCH
Historic Leckie Ranch
Sublette County, Wyoming
by Judi A. Myers – 1988

 

The historic stage stop, post office, townsite and ranch of Leckie, now known as Big Sandy Ranch, is located in southeast Sublette County, Wyoming, 43 miles from the nearest incorporated town, Pinedale. Established in 1897, Leckie had previously been the site of glacial advances, mountain men's fur trapping, wagon train ruts, gold prospecting and hay cutting. This ranch site at the confluence of the Big Sandy River, Dutch Joe Creek and Squaw Creek is a microcosm of the history of the county and the history of the West.

 

NATIVE AMERICANS

 

The Big Sandy Basin which surrounds the Leckie Ranch saw the earliest trails of Indian tribes and was on the most direct route from the Upper Green River Valley to South Pass. It was the homeland of the Shoshone Indians and provided summer camps for the Bannock, Crow, Gros Ventre and Blackfoot. Sheepeaters lived high in the mountains. Indians ranged over every part of what is now Sublette County from the edge of the high glaciers to the desert. They hunted to survive. It was then as it is today, one of the greatest wildlife habitats ever known. [#3 Summer 1976, p22] These natives left arrowheads, knives, awls, scrapers, steatite pottery, manos and other artifacts behind in the area of the Big Sandy Ranch.

 

EARLY EXPLORATION AND FUR TRADING

 

The first authentic record of white men going through the Big Sandy Basin was when part of the Astorian Exploration Group returned from the Pacific where they had established a fur trading post and traveled overland to the east. Led by Robert Stuart in 1812, they passed through the New Fork and Big Sandy section on their way to 'discovering' South Pass. [#3 3-3-27]

 

Famed Mountain Men Jedidiah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick were the first serious fur trappers to come into the area. In the employ of the Ashley - Henry Party and leading 11 men, they very likely checked the beaver supply on the Big Sandy River before proceeding to the Upper Green. The year was 1824. By 1827 William Ashley brought the first wheeled vehicle - a four-pound cannon - through South Pass, [#6 p 30] and up the trail to the Green River.

 

Rendezvous was held each summer from 1825 to 1840 when the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and the American Fur Company brought wagon loads of staples and whiskey from St. Louis to the Rocky Mountains to rendezvous with anyone who had furs, mainly beaver, to trade. For the trappers, mountain men and Indians it was a once-a-year grand celebration with feasting, drinking, fellowship, brawls, contests and carousing. Rendezvous was held in what is now Sublette County in the years 1833, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1839 & 1840. All of these years and more drew men back and forth through South Pass, past the Leckie Basin and across the Big Sandy.

 

In July, 1832, Captain Benjamin Bonneville, on a trapping and exploring expedition, brought the first 4-wheeled wagons over South Pass and into the Daniel area. His route would have passed the Big Sandy Basin.

 

In 1836 missionary wives Eliza Spalding and Narcissa Whitman were the first white women to cross the Rocky Mountains. They journeyed over South Pass and passed the confluence of Squaw Creek and Big Sandy before attending the Rendezvous on the Green River near Daniel.

 

In 1842 General John C. Fremont spend one week in what is now Sublette County. He traveled past the future site of Leckie before camping at Boulder Lake and climbing Fremont Peak.

 

ERA OF TRANSIENT WAGON TRAINS

 

Although wagon trains of emigrants began coming over South Pass as early as 1843, they did not use the Big Sandy Basin until the Lander Cut-off was built in 1858. The Lander Cut-Off of the Oregon Trail was the first engineered wagon road west of the Mississippi and shortened the trip to the west coast by 5 days while providing water, grass and wood. As many as 300 wagons a day passed by the future sight of Sam Leckie's homestead.

 

Perhaps not all visitors were in transit past the Leckie Ranch. From about 1860 - 1863 there was a Fort Aspenhut located northwest of South Pass. It's exact location is unknown. However, anyone who has traveled the old Lander Cut-off would agree that the Big Sandy Basin would have made an excellent location, providing grass, water, firewood and wildlife. [#4, p53]

 

GOLD RUSH

 

In 1868-69 the gold rush in the South Pass area brought in close to 5,000 people. Some of the multitude of prospectors journeyed up the Sweetwater River and through the Big Sandy Basin in search of the mother lode. North of the Basin in the Twin Buttes area there remains to this day a "Lost Gold Mine". In 1870 miners came into South Pass City with rich gold dust, having been driven off their claim by the Indians. In 1889 a man with an old prospector's map returned to the area for 2 summers but could not find the mine, although he and the local guides he hired found pilings and evidence of mining.[#3, 12-5-29] There is also documentation that the Basin was the source of wild hay for the gold miners. Jules Lamreaux hauled hay from the Big Sandy Openings to South Pass from 1868 until 1874 [#7 April, 1959, p76]. In the same area Dutch Joe Himmelsback and Dutch John Penny cut hay. All three left their names for posterity as landmarks in the Basin. [#8]

 

THE FIRST RESIDENTS

 

In the 1890s Kenneth Meek, a remittance man who had been a member of a wealthy English family, brought sheep into the Big Sandy Basin. His sport was fox hunting, so he imported hounds to run the coyotes as he had run the foxes in England. Meeks Lake is named for him. [#8]

 

South of the Leckie Ranch are the "Jackamoor" [#3, 1-5-22] or Jackamire [#3, 2-14-29] Hills. Although not on the ranch itself, they are in close proximity. Old timer Abner Luman recalled that in the 1880s "Jack Mahar was a squaw-man and had a notorious reputation as a cattle and horse thief. He kept his booty in these sequestered hills where few persons penetrated and escaped with their lives." [#3, 2-14-29] Modern USGS topographic maps label it "Jack Morrow Hills".

 

The oldest reported homesteaders in the Leckie area were William and Elizabeth Apperson who, in 1889, "moved into the Big Sandy Basin and put up the hay for their stock of 25 cows and 21 horses. 1889-1890 was a bad year as the snow got so deep they could not get to their hay in Lumbard Meadows. They shoveled snow so the cows could get down to the frozen grass. They lost everything but 2 cows, 2 calves, 2 yearling heifers and 1 horse." [#9] According to old-timers, the Appersons were 11 miles northwest of Leckie and were so near starving that they pried planks off their cabin floor to reach the grain that had fallen below. That winter was known throughout what's now Sublette County as the worst ever. The Appersons moved on in the spring.

 

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE LECKIE RANCH

 

Samuel Leckie homesteaded what is now the Leckie or Big Sandy Ranch about 1894, probably in partnership with James Jensen.

 

Reports that the homestead was a purchased relinquishment from Pat Rowlin [#27] are not validated by Government Land Office records. Sam established a post office, with his wife Jennie as the first postmaster in 1897, a store, roadhouse, stage stop and saloon, The Sheepherder's Delight. Sam became postmaster in 1902 [#14]. He raised cattle until about 1904 when he turned to sheep for which the ranch became noted. [#27].

 

What was true for the mountain men, was true for the early settlers: "They were in the Rocky Mountains, by God, with no lawmen to tell them what to do, no tax men to charge them for doing it, & no preachers or high-falutin' women to tell them that a man's pleasure wasn't right." [#5 p55]

 

Sheepherder's Delight was a watering hole for the sheep tenders going into or out of the mountains. The meeting of herders was not always cordial. Sam Gibson and Lon Posten had already had considerable range dispute when they met at Leckie in October, 1904. "The boys decided, after having several rounds of drinks, to settle the question once for all... Bystanders prevailed on them to do the fight right, a hundred miles away from any law enforcement agent. The rules were agreed upon and a referee appointed.    The rules provided that when one knocked the other down or drew blood, the fight was to immediately stop... but only long enough to go inside, get a drink and then return to the field of battle." [#3, 3-29-28] The men "stripped to the waist and proceeded to the battlegrounds in front of the Delight where they fought furiously for three hours of 'stand up and knock down' fighting with bare fists ... As one would stumble over a rock or get knocked down the other would go to his assistance and help him to arise when they would square off and go at it again… The loungers-about sat on the fence and on boulders and never once interfered in the fray. The combatants were badly battered up and blood flowed freely.  As darkness approached they decided to call it a temporary draw, took a final sup together and proceeded in opposite directions to care for their flocks, both agreeing to fight it to a finish when next they met." [#3, 10-20-04] There is no record of the fight continuing.

 

Sam Leckie did not witness the fight. He was in the Rock Springs hospital for treatment of blood poisoning in his leg at the time. [#3 10-20-04].

 

The Pinedale ROUNDUP's first editor, C. Watt Brandon recalled that the Sheepherder's Delight Resort "was the scene of many killings in the early days, and as you stepped into the log store, or adjoining saloon, many bullet holes in the wall logs and about the doors carried an interesting history as they were pointed out to visitors...Sam was generally the quickest with his gun."

 

But not the fall of 1905. One year after the sheepherder's fight, Sam Leckie was killed. "Orrin Moore, in the employ of Posten brothers, had trouble with Mr. Leckie in the store and was ordered out and fired at several times. He proceeded to his wagon, secured his Winchester, and returning fired at Leckie who was standing in the door, hitting him between the eyes, and literally tearing off the top of his head." [#3, 9-20-05] The bullet hole, "after passing through Sam Leckie, some canned stuff and lodging in the wall, with the lead protruding, told a terrible story." [#3, 3-29-28]

 

Mrs. Annie Leckie, Sam's new 20-year old wife, [#26] immediately gave "orders that no more liquor be sold on the premises". She certainly had troubles enough. She was left with 4 children: Jeannette and Mary from Sam's previous marriages, and two boys who she and Sam had - Lloyd and Sam, Jr. who was not born until 7 months after his father's death [#28]. Her own father, Enoch Stiers who made his home at Leckie, had just shot and wounded George Lofman, a sheep camp mover, and was himself on the way to Lander to the sheriff.

 

Mr. Stiers or Star's conflict began because of the roving herds of sheep that constantly moved over Leckie meadow. Lofman got into a wrangle while in the "Sheep Herder's Delight Resort, and in full view of the motto sign, 'LIVE WHILE YOU LIVE, FOR YOU'LL BE A LONG TIME DEAD'... Lofman decided he would clean the place out, so he proceeded to his wagon to get his gun." Star saw him go after the gun, so stepped into the house and secured his own "with the result that when Lofman came insight, Star shot him in the arm, causing the gun to drop. Two other shots took effect, one piercing the lungs close to the heart." [#3, 9-20-05] Star was released because he was past 60 years, had a good reputation, and Lofman, who recovered, refused to prosecute. [#3, 9-27-05]

 

Annie Leckie left Tom Thomson in charge of the ranch and the post office [#14] for the winter, took Jeannette and Mary out of school in Utah and went to Washington, DC, where Sam's sister Mary lived. Sam's will provided that Mary become guardian of his children [#27]. Mary already had an interest in the ranch and had lived there the summer previous to Sam's death. [#3, 5-3-05, 9-20-05, 5-30-06] She took over management of the business and the family [#27]. During the winter Orrin Moore was convicted of murder and sentenced to 99 years. [#3, 1-17-06] (He escaped 4 years later [#3, 3-31-10]). In the summer of 1906 Annie, Mary and the children returned to the ranch. [#3, 8-29-06] The post office was discontinued August 15, 1906, and officially transferred to Olson [#13]. Old timers disagree; they say it became the Big Sandy post office established September 18, 1906.

 

The main part of the Leckie ranch was and is located in Section 17 of Township 30N, Range 104W. The Leckies also had interests in Sections 4, 6, 8 and 9. Portions of the ranch were homesteaded and finalized or patented by James Jensen in 1903, Samuel Leckie in 1903, Eliza J. Miller in 1905 (This is probably the same Elizabeth J. Leckie mentioned in other deed transactions - an earlier wife of Sam's), and Mary Leckie-Roberts in 1929. [#15]

 

Mary Leckie was a dominant personality. She assumed control of the ranch and the children. The 1910 census reveals that she was the 'Head of Household' with Annie as her 'partner'. All four children - Jeannette, 12; Mary, 9; Lloyd, 6; and Sam, Jr. 4 years old - were living with the women. Sometime soon after the census, Lloyd and Sam contracted diptheria.   Dr. Oliver Chambers came up from Rock Springs and is credited with saving his future son-in-law Sam's life. Lloyd had died by the time the doctor arrived and his body preserved with salt. He was buried on the ranch (possibly in a snowbank) until he could be exhumed and taken to Rock Springs where the family had a cemetary lot. [#10]

 

In 1913, a month after her father, Mr. Stiers, died, Annie Leckie married Andrew Knudsen and is not heard of again in connection with the ranch. [#3, 3-6-13, 4-10-13] Mary was left as ranch owner and children's guardian. In 1915 she surprised her friends by marrying Jack Roberts, a man who had "recently purchased an interest in the Leckie Sheep Company." [#3, 11-11-15] She kept her maiden name in the form of Mary Leckie-Roberts, and was always respectfully addressed as Mrs. Roberts. People who worked for her said that it was a convenience marriage. [#11] Mr. Roberts was very quiet and retiring, while Mrs. Roberts was garrulous. [#12]

 

RAID LAKE MASSACRE

 

Three years before Sam Leckie was murdered, sheepmen of Wyoming were shocked to hear about the conflict with cattlemen not far from the Big Sandy Ranch. Tom Thomson, the Leckie's future winter-foreman, was herding sheep in Bonneville Basin when cattlemen organized a raid against the woolies. For many years the cattlemen had drawn an arbitrary "Dead Line" past which the sheepherders were forbidden to pasture their flocks. As the cattle needed more grass, the cowmen drew the line further south.   In 1902 the line was moved 15 miles south and the sheepmen ignored it.    They pastured on their former summer range. To complicate the problem, out-of-state herders were moving their sheep onto the forest areas traditionally used by local sheepmen.

 

In July, 1902, the local flocks owned by Sedgewick and Thomson had become mixed with the Peterson sheep from Utah. The sheep were corraled and the separation process was beginning when 100 masked cattlemen rode into camp, blindfolded and bound the herders and began clubbing the sheep to death. Recognizing their neighbor's animals, the cattlemen concentrated their hatred on the Utah bands. Tom Thomson had escaped capture when the ranchers rode in, and having his rifle, could have done considerable damage. His brothers, however, were among those tied in camp and fearing retalition, he remained silent. Estimates are that 2000-4000 sheep were annihilated. [#8, 20, & 21] A Mexican herder, Sam Gaserious, was murdered and his body sunk in little Soda Lake. [#22] Charles Osterman, a sheepman, committed suicide, having become degranged from worry over the affair. [#21] As a result of the Raid Lake Massacre, the National Forest began granting grazing permits, thus eliminating 'Dead Lines' and non-local sheep. This summer pasture in the Wind River Mountains was later utilized by the Leckies.

 

FIGHTS, ACCIDENTS AND DEATHS

 

Perhaps caused by its distance from law and order, the Big Sandy Basin has been the site of several conflicts.  The Gibson-Posten Fight, the George Lofman shooting and Sam Leckie's murder were well publicized and previously mentioned.

 

Joseph Salozar, a herder in the employ of W.B. Dunton drowned in the lake near the Leckie ranch in the summer of 1914. [#3, 8-6-14] No details of this death were printed.

 

Lander Johnson was murdered just south of the Leckie Ranch in the early 1920s. Johnson, owner of the Johnson Sheep Company, had an argument with one of his herders who wanted either tobacco or wages. Finally Johnson agreed and said, "I'll go to the truck and get it. The herder 'smelling a rat', and thinking Johnson was going for a rifle, grabbed his own gun and shot Johnson. [#16]

 

In 1926 one of the Leckie Sheep Company herders was accidentally shot in the right hand.   [#3, 8-12-26]. As Mary Clark recalled, "A young Mexican herder shot himself and came into the ranch. Jeannette and I had to take him to the hospital. We had a flat tire and neither of us knew anything about tires so we rode the rim into Farson where there was a garage. We finally arrived in Rock Springs. That was a long way to go with a wounded man and I was scared to death he'd pass out on us. But we made it and he recovered." [#12]

 

One old-timer remembers Mrs. Roberts patrolling the ranch with a shotgun. Another said, "She had no choice if she was going to protect the place. Mr. Roberts was out with the sheep and people from Rock Springs would squat on the land, camp and do what they wanted." She used the gun as a scare tactic. A neighboring rancher feuded with her and backed off. Another man came to check the drinking water that came out of Squaw Creek. "Mrs. Roberts ran him off, scared him to death." [#11] Some threats to the ranch were real. In 1931 a gang of bandits were raiding ranches in the area. The ROUNDUP reports that the loot found was from the Hay, Thompson, Juell, Larson and Robert Jack sheep camps. Jack Johnson and Bronc McCann were found guilty of the thefts and sent to jail. [#3, 7-2-31 & 7-16-31].

 

MRS. MARY LECKIE-ROBERTS

 

Ask anyone who worked or visited on the Leckie ranch in the 1920s and 30s what was unique about the ranch and the answer is always the same: 'Mrs. Roberts'. "She was in full command of that ranch as Mrs. Roberts. I think circumstances made her tough. She could be a lady, too," said a family friend. [#18] Another ranch visitor remembers that Mrs. Roberts was a "Washington D.C. socialite by her own definition. If you ever met her you would never forget it. She had complete control of everything that she had anything to do with. She could talk and was really quite a charming and interesting lady." [#10] Because of her Scottish heritage, the neighbors nicknamed her "Highland Mary", but only behind her back [#16].

 

A ranch helper in the 1920s said, "She was anxious for people to develop all of their potential. She could be real tough, but on the inside she was really very kind. She was something different than I ever had in my life before. She knew about world things and was up on politics." [#12] Doris Burzlander earned her college tuition washing laundry for the dude ranch and said of Mrs. Roberts, "She ran the ranch with an iron hand and made it pay. She saw sheep wouldn't make it so she got dudes." [#11]

 

Even though Mr. Roberts worked with the sheep, Mrs. Roberts would invite the herders into the house, give them milk and cookies and ask about conditions on the range. "She knew how to get information." [#12]

 

Cooking with mutton was one of her specialties. "She used to make pies out of mutton fat. She'd render it down and use it for her pastry. Dried fruit or berries for the filling. In August we'd go out and pick blackberries." [#12] She also made an 'elegant' mutton stew.  [#10] During the dude ranching days, one employee remembers baking all their own bread. One day she was slicing the bread and Mrs. Roberts came by. In her Scottish accent she said, "You dinna slice the bread so thin. Butter and jam are expensive, bread is cheap. With one thick slice they eat only one helping of butter and jam." [#11]

 

An old-timer who hayed for Mrs. Roberts remembers when Mr. Mack homesteaded a piece of land up Sheep Draw. "You're suppose to stay so many days per year on your claim and Mack didn't. So, Mrs. Roberts turned him in. Then she had one of her herders stay up there and got the claim for herself!" [#16] Courthouse records bear out this story and remains of the Sheep Draw cabin can still be seen.

 

THE SHEEP RANCH

 

Although the Leckies ran sheep exclusively for over a quarter century, it wasn't until 1925 that the ranch was officially named "Leckie Ranch and Sheep Company". "Mrs. Roberts always said, 'They can put you in debt quicker than anything, but they can also pull you out of debt because they have two crops: the lamb crop and the wool.'" [#12] In the late 1920s wool was 6-7 cents a pound and wether lambs were contracted to a New Mexico company for $12.50/hundred. [#3, 3-7-29] Mary Clark helped in the house during the haying season and Bill Williams worked in the Leckie hay field. "It took us about 15 days. Mrs. Roberts had maybe 200 acres." [#16]

 

The ranch ran about 2 herds or 2000 sheep that spent very little time on the ranch itself. The sheep went by on their way to the mountains in the summer and again on their way south to the desert near Rock Springs for the winter. The Leckie ranch was the migration route for other bands of sheep as well. A dipping vat - a concrete pit filled with creosote and water - was located east of the ranch buildings and herders paid a fee to swim their sheep through during outbreaks of scab [#25]. The Leckie brands were the Circle L (which Arambels now own), the Circle L L and the Hourglass Bar. The brand was painted yearly on the mid-side of the hip. "I helped not only brand sheep but dock them," said Wally Chambers. "I saw it the original way - biting off the testicles with your teeth. We spent all day docking this bunch of lambs and we were cold and hungry. Guess what we had for lunch? They were all fried up. I tried 'em." [#10] and circle S.

 

The ranch itself is near the confluence of Squaw Creek, Dutch Joe Creek and the Big Sandy River. The ranch buildings paralleled Squaw Creek and were all log. "It was a beautiful location," said Mary Clark. "The original house sat out and the road to Lander was up above." [#12] The main house had a living room, bedrooms and kitchen. Just off the kitchen was a delightful feature - a breakfast room with windows all around so you could look out and see the mountains. [#10] In the living room "you tripped over all the bear heads and bear rugs and everything on the floor," recalls Mary Clark. "I stubbed my toe more than once." [#12] To the north was an L-shaped building that stored sheep outfitting equipment. It burned down in the 1930s. There was a bunkhouse and tack shed, corrals and barns. The cattle provided milk and meat. The horses were used to herd sheep, hay, and carry dudes. Chickens provided the eggs.

 

The growing season is less than 2 months at 7800 feet. Some old-timers remember a garden and some don't. Only radishes and onions could have been grown.

 

THE DUDE RANCH

 

Mrs. Roberts had many friends and associates from the east who were interested in vacationing on her ranch. In 1927 she decided to take in paying guests. She started out small and gradually had several cabins built. She ran the dude ranch herself, feeling that was her way to help get them out of debt. [#12] The little one-room houses for the dudes weren't fancy, but Mrs. Roberts would put a touch of class to them. Each guest family was assigned a cabin and she had names for each one. [#10] Cabin names were Sacajawea, Lincoln, The Ritz [rumored to be named after a cat house in Rock Springs - #30], Big Chief and Lindberg. [#31]

 

Laundress for the Dude Ranch in the late 1930s was Doris Burzlander. "The wash house was by Squaw creek. We'd get the water out of the stream. I'd be up by 4:30 or 5:00 and put 3 or 4 boilers of water on the wood stove. It was an old gas-powered wringer. We had 40-50 dudes and I did all the washing - sheets, towels and their personal clothing, too. It all had to be hung out. On bad days Mrs. Roberts would bring me my lunch so I wouldn't leave my post. I'd wash Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I'd iron Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. On Sunday, my day off, I'd take the kids up on a picnic. The first summer my wages were $40.00 per month plus room, board and tips. The tips were good - that's what made me stay. I'd earn about $100 in wages for the summer and $400-500 in tips.

 

"One time the dude kids put water snakes in my wash machine. I said out loud, 'Oh, I guess I'll have to kill these snakes.' and those kids ran in and said, 'Oh, don't!' They wanted to use the snakes to scare someone else.

 

"One of the boys used to race his horse across the creek and splash us when we went over the plank to our cabin at night. Finally I took a sheet and shook it at him. His horse bucked him right into the creek and that ended the nightly baths he'd been giving us!"

 

After Mrs. Roberts died in 1941 and her nephew Sam Leckie and wife Margaret took over the operation of the sheep ranch, they gave up the dude business.

 

SANDY VALLEY IRRIGATION PROJECT

 

Early day promoters eyed the Big Sandy Basin as the ideal location for a reservoir to irrigate the Sandy valley. The reservoir would have inundated what is now the Leckie Ranch. Less than a year after Sam Leckie was killed, the ROUNDUP editor wrote, "The Leckie ranch is situated in a basin surrounded by high hills, and is a perfect reservoir site, and will undoubtedly some day be used for that purpose." [#3, 5-30-06] A few months later the newspaper ran big headlines and announced: "The Leckie basin is to be made into an enormous reservoir for segregating the Sandy desert...206,000 acres to be placed under water... The nearby mountains cause an unusually heavy snowfall, which has for untold ages been melting and running to waste thru the great valley of the Big and Little Sandy rivers." Eden Irrigation and Land Company obtained water filings, permits, surveys, storage rights and canals. Bonds were issued for the project. [#3, 11-28-06] The company also had Robert S. Lemon, a "glib, fast talker using every convincing wile that he possessed. He painted rosy pictures of a bright, prosperous future ... He assured (settlers) that ample water was immediately available for irrigation and much more was in storage. He produced maps and pictures showing Reservoir No. 2 at the Leckie ranch." The picture was actually a snow covered meadow. There never was a reservoir at Leckie's ranch. [#17, p5] Nothing ever came of the project, although there was a renewed effort to colonize the land in 1926. The company "eventually failed from poor management." [#17, p3 & 4].

 

WEATHER

 

Annual average precipitation in Sublette County and the Big Sandy Basin is presently 8 - 12 inches. "The southwest margin of the Wind River Mountains indicate past periods of aridity greater than the present." [#2 p25] In 1852 Stansbury said, "From Little Sandy to Big Sandy, artemesia covers the whole face of the country which has a dreary, barren aspect." The ranch vegetation consists of willows, sagebrush, native grasses. The records of early explorers note the presence of much more snow in the mountains during the 1800s than at present.   In August, 1835 Reverend Samuel Parker wrote that the Wind River Mountains were covered with perpetual snow. [#2 p25] The high elevation of the Leckie Ranch guarantees an abundance of snow. It was the policy of the earliest rancher as it is for present-day owners to winter in a less severe climate. Often a winter-tender was left on the ranch to feed the cows and horses. From October, 1905 to May, 1906 Tom Thomson was in charge of the ranch and "put in a marvelously dull winter back in the hills, with the outside world only visible to him as snowshoes would allow." [#3 5-30-06]

 

ANCIENT FORCES

 

The Big Sandy Basin has been the site of geological change. Three separate glacial advances have occured in the Wind River Mountains and two of them - the Bull Lake and the Pinedale stages - have passed through what is now the Leckie or Big Sandy Ranch. These are 'valley' glaciers, "tongues of ice that originated high in the mountains, advanced down the valley and extended a few miles beyond the mountain fronts." [#1 p.4]

 

During these glacial periods, the Big and Little Sandy Creeks built up the slope of their channels and produced a broad, alluvial plain for their waters and for the glaciofluvial sediments they carried. [#2 p.47] "West of Leckie's Ranch, Big Sandy Creek cuts through two moraines" believed to be Bull Lake glacial substages. "Farthest downstream is the Lower Leckie Ranch moraine, the oldest moraine in the area, which was formed by a glacier about 12 miles long. The boulder-strewn dissected front of the moraine rises gently from ... about 4 miles west of Leckie's Ranch—and extends in a broad arc over 1.5 miles wide from the border escarpment to Little Prospect Mountain ... The moraine front and outwash plain have been extensively dissected by streams."[#2 p. 51]

 

The Upper Leckie Ranch moraine of Bull Lake II glacial period extends downstream from Leckie Ranch for about 2.5 miles. This Upper moraine has a front that is "remarkably straight and masks a fault ... in the underlying bedrock." [#2 p 52 & 551 Not far from the ranch, the Big Sandy and Little Sandy Lakes are at the intersections of three sets of faults." [#19, p148] One-half mile downstream from the end of the Upper moraine begins the 3.5 miles of Lower Leckie Ranch Moraine of the Bull Lake I period. [#2 p52 & 66] "The compound nature of the Bull Lake stage is also exhibited near Leckie's Ranch on Big Sandy Creek where two massive and distinctly separate moraines block the valley." [#2 p.97]

 

The small flat on which Leckie's Ranch is situated at 7,800 feet altitude has a sandy, silt loam soil an erosion surface called 'Black Rock'. Just west of the Lower- moraine at 7400 - 7700 feet is 'Spring Creek' erosion surface. The soil zone on the Lower moraine is 6 -10 inches thick and glacial drift of clay is stained with limonite. The surface contains scattered crystalline boulders. These boulders can rarely be disintegrated by a hammer blow, however buried boulders can be crumbled by hand. [#2 p20 & 55] Commercial-grade black jade exists along the entire Big Sandy drainage. This type of jade can be used for desk or counter tops and sculpturing, but not for translucent jewelry. This jade existed before the mountains were formed and was moved by glaciers. Jade mines exist near the ranch. [#24].

 

ANIMALS

 

The land of Sublette County has traditionally supported bison, elk, deer, antelope, mountain sheep, wolves, coyotes, fox, wolverine, martin, mink, beaver, otter, lynx, bobcat and grouse. Leks - grouse strutting grounds - only used in the early morning hours in the spring are found in the ranch area. The wild bison, the wolf and the woverine are gone, but the shiras moose, never seen by early settlers until close to 1920, is now in abundance. Since ancient times the animals have used the deserts of the south for winter range. One of their migration routes would have been past the Big Sandy Basin.

 

RECENT OWNERS

 

Courthouse records reveal that the Leckie ranch was often in debt. There are numerous mortgages and mortgage-releases. On May 7, 1954 Sam and Margaret sold the ranch to Newell V. 'Hod" Sanders, famous for his Clover Club Potato Chips. Cattle were run on the place in the summer and Hod's foreman, Howard Bloxham, said of the ranch, "If heaven is any better than this, I don't want to go." [Bloxham's delightful story and poem are attached]. Potato chip employees often took their family vacations at Big Sandy. Once a year a "men-only" antelope hunt was held. A huge stone fireplace made of petrified wood adorned the 'Big House' but never worked properly. [#23].

 

In 1971 Sanders sold the ranch to Warren J. "Renny" Burke who operated a cattle and guest ranch. Renny tried to preserve the historic setting of the ranch or to rebuilt a structure as it was. Electric lines were buried and there was no major earth moving. Because of poor craftsmanship, the 'fossil' fireplace was mostly cement. After it was torn down, Renny used the stones for an outdoor garden and displayed the slab that had the Hourglass Bar brand imprint. The main ranchhouse was meticulously restored to it's original, pre-plastered, pre-divided design. [#29]. In 1987 the ranch was sold to Peter and Brigid Flanigan.

 

"The Leckie Basin is one of the most elegant pieces of real estate in Wyoming. Three of the most prized streams come together on the ranch - the Big Sandy, Squaw Creek and Dutch Joe. They all join just below the main ranch house. Behind you is a fairly significant mountain - Prospect. On the west side of this valley is a lovely hay meadow and willows. As you look across this valley you see the Wind River Mountains, a beautiful backdrop." [#10] It is no wonder that the Flanigans are preserving the integrity of this historic and fascinating ranch.

 

BIG SANDY RANCH REFERENCES

 

#1 Mears, Brainerd, Jr. et al. A GEOLOGICAL TOUR OF WYOMING, Circular 27, Geological Survey of Wyoming, Laramie, 1986.

 

#2 Moss, John, EARLY MAN IN EDEN VALLEY, A Museum Monograph. Univeristy of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1951.

 

#3 PINEDALE ROUNDUP

 

#4 Brown, Robert H. WYOMING, A GEOGRAPHY. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 1980.

 

#5 Blevins, Winfred. Quoted in "Traveler's Guide - Pinedale" by Roy Bongartz in EARLY AMERICAN LIFE Magazine, June 1979.

 

#6 Gowans, Fred R. ROCKY MOUNTAIN RENDEZVOUS. Brigham Young University, 1976.

 

#7 Annals of Wyoming, Wyoming State Historical Department, Cheyenne.

 

#8 Roberts, Kenneth D. "Historical Data File 1650, Recent History". Typed report, US Forest Service Office, Jackson, Wyoming, 1965.

 

#9 Wilson, Etta Andrus Swain. "Andrus-Swain Letter 5 & 6". Typed manuscripts in personal file of Judi Myers, 1979.

 

#10 Chambers, Dr. Wally. Personal interview, 3-7-88.

 

#11 Burzlander, Doris. Personal interview, 1-16-88.

 

#12 Clark, Mary. Personal interview, 10-12-87.

 

#13 Gallagher, John & Alan Patera. WYOMING POST OFFICES, 1850-1980. The Depot, Burtonville, MD. 1980.

 

#14 Sublette County Artists Guild. MORE TALES OF THE SEED-KE-DEE. Walsworth, 1976. "Neither Snow Nor Rain" by Dele Ball.

 

#15 Sublette County Courthouse records. County Clerk's Office.

 

#16 Williams, Bill. Personal interview, 11-10-87.

 

#17 Wright, Ora and Lenora. OUR VALLEY. Gann Publishing, Portland. 1987.

 

#18 Sell, Raymonde. Personal interview, 9-21-87.

 

#19 Branson, E.B. and C.C. "Geology of the Wind River Mountains," BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS. Jan, 1941. Vol 25 #1, pp120-151.

 

#20 Thomson, Bill. Interview, 1968. File #1680 at USFS Regional Office, Ogden, Ut.

 

#21 FREMONT CLIPPER, Lander, Wyoming newspaper. 8/1/02 and 8/15/02.

 

#22 Lovatt, Harry. Personal Interview. 11/12/87.

 

#23 Sanders, Clover. Personal letter. 4/2/88.

 

#24 Long, Max. Personal Interview. 4-10-88.

 

#25 Hay, Leonard. Personal Interview. 4-12-88.

 

#26 Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910 - Population. Department of Commerce and Labor.

 

#27 Beard, F.B., editor. WYOMING TERRITORIAL DAYS TO THE PRESENT. Vol III. pgs 340-342. Chicago & NYC: The American Historical Society.

 

#28 Leckie, Maxine. Interview with Wally Chambers. 4-2-88.

 

#29 Burke, Renny. Personal Interview. 4-18-88.

 

#30 Huffman, Van. Personal Interview. 5-23-88.

 

#31 Bloxham, Afton. Personal letter. 4-19-88.