“It was a good life that John D. Flournoy was searching for when he first rode into this high country in 1871. One of the thousands of young Missouri men drawn west on the Oregon Trail, Flournoy wandered into California and worked as a cowhand in Yolo County in 1865. When feed provisions fell drastically low in Yolo County as the winter of ’71 approached, John saw an opportunity. He and a partner offered to winter ranchers’ cattle up in the lush grass of the 4,000-foot elevations of Modoc County. The venture yielded resounding success when they drove the fattened, healthy cattle back down to Yolo County in the spring. So the next year, the partners bought all the cattle they could – 600 head – and herded them up to the grasslands near what is now the town of Likely. Unfortunately, Flournoy didn’t realize that the previous mild winter had been a fluke of nature. The winter of ’72 came early and in full force. In the hard, cold weather, all of the cattle died except one. Flournoy and his partner kept the lone steer alive through the bitter winter by feeding it bark they stripped from willow trees.”
– Jim Keen, Great Ranches of the West Author & Photographer
This beautiful award-winning 12×11 fine art, hard bound, coffee table book featuring over 30 ranches in 17 states with nearly 600 photographs will make a wonderful addition to any home or office, and be a showing of your support for America’s struggling farm and ranch families.
