Ranch History

After Claude Bundy Reyman and Minnie B. Goll (Reyman) were married in 1892 they found out what hard times were all about.  Both were born in Burt County, Nebraska.  Minnie in Tekamah and Claude was born on a farm five miles from Tekamah.

Soon after they were married they traveled from Tekamah to Valentine, Nebraska in a covered wagon, drawn by a team of horses.  Claude had signed up for a homestead consisting of 640 acres of sand hill land in Cherry County, Nebraska, sixteen miles east of Valentine.

Besides my Minnie and Claude, Claude's youngest brother, Uncle Abe came along on horse back, but he rode in the covered wagon a part of the time.  His chief mission was to go ahead at times in order to stake out the road which they were to travel.  He also enjoyed shooting an occasional rabbit or prairie chicken which they would cook on a camp fire.  I think Minnie said that it took them two weeks to travel a little over the three hundred miles. they had to go.

Their new home consisted of a small four room house and a shed where the horses were kept.  There was also a well on the place.  They probably had a "hand pump" not sure about this.

Minnie often said that they were lucky that even though their house was small it was well built and they were better off than may of the neighbors.  Claude and Minnie had money saved up for emergencies.  Minnie had taught school for eight years.  Minnie and Claude first met in college when they both were attending summer school in Shenandoa, Iowa.

Uncle Abe soon rode his pony back home to Tekamah.  Several years later he came back to the home stead.  This time Uncle Abe came on the train, which went as far as Valentine at that time.

Meanwhile the ranch had grown more than double in size.  Minnie had taken a home stead of 640 acres and Claude had leased a school section, and the place was stocked with cattle, horse, sheep and chickens.  Claude bought a beautiful white Arabian Stallion.  At one time the ranch had hundred horses and about three hundred cattle, and hundred sheep.  The ranch could have handled more, but the meadow grass land was limited, so could not produce enough hay for a bigger herd.  Also the farm land wasn't adequate to produce much corn or other grain crops.

The second time Uncle Abe came he decided to stay longer.  There were two or three kids in the family now, so Minnie was kept busy in the house.  Claude needed help with the out side chores so he was glad to have some one like Uncle Abe to assist him.  There were cows to milk, horses to brake for riding and driving cattle to field, sheep to shear etc.

When the men weren't busy working they took time off to hunt prairie chickens, or ducks.  during the summer there was a neighborhood rodeo about every Sunday.  The Reyman Ranch often furnished the Arabian bucking horses - the worst buckers in the neighborhood!  It took one of the best cowboy riders in the country to ride one of the wild horses from the Reyman Ranch.

Claude and his brother Abe got along fine at first but Claude became irritable when his younger brother started giving him advice and bossing him around.  The straw that broke the camel's back was what Abe said to Claude when the two of them were "tailing up" an old cow who was two weak to get up by herself.

They had built a wooden frame above the cow which held the pulling rope.  This rope had a hook fastened to a rope around the cow belly to pull her up on her feet.  If she could stand up each day, maybe there would be a chance that she would be strong enough to walk, otherwise she would die.

This is what Uncle Abe said to Claude that day when they were working with the sick cow.  "Claude, if you weren't so stingy, you'd feed your cows better so they wouldn't get down like this".

Claude was very angry.  Too angry to even answer.  But later on after Uncle Abe had gone hme, and the old cow had died Claude had his revenge.  Minnie was always ashamed of what Claude did.

Here is the story:  Uncle Abe had gone to the post office in his home town and when he got a package from Wood Lake, he knew it was from the Reyman Ranch.  He said to his friends who were stand by, "wait, I want you to see what is in the package.  My brother, Claude, always sent me something nice for my birthday".

His friends waited expectantly, but could not understand the look of disappointment and disgust on Uncle Abe's face.  So they came closer to see his present.  What they saw was the "old dead cows tail"!

The Reyman Ranch consisted of the following:

640 Acres - Claude home stead
 640 Acres - Minnie's homestead
 640 Acres - Hazels homestead at age 21
 640 Acres - Bruce's homestead
 640 Acres - Claude bought Shepard's Section
 640 Acres - Bruce paid back taxes on two section which he acquired
 640
 640 Acres - School Section

Total 5120 acres