OUTLAW BEGINNINGS

Butch Cassidy and the Hay Springs Ranch
“when a young man the fellow gave no signs of the desperate career he subsequently adopted”

Some of the earliest recorded events of Robert LeRoy Parker’s aka “Butch” Cassidy’s life revolve around what was known as the Hay Springs Ranch and Pat Ryan. According to the stories Young Parker’s first job away from home at age 13 was with Pat Ryan at the Hay Springs where he worked for one or two seasons from 1879 to 1880. Most authors have assumed this meant ranching and herding cattle as a young ranch hand.

Hay Springs is about fifteen miles Northwest of Minersville and fifteen miles South of Milford on the eastern edge of what is known as Milford Flat, a broad area between the Mineral Mountians on the East and the Picacho, or Star Mountains range to the West. The Beaver River in the 19^th century meandered its way through the middle providing lush grass and meadows on either side.  The first settlers in the area were Joseph Clements and Rufus Stoddard. Clements a small time rancher had a dugout in the willows next to the springs. Rufus Stoddard homesteaded just south of Clements; also close to the springs. Both settled there in 1870 – 1871. The two adjacent homesteads became a camping spot for freighters and other travelers between Beaver and the eastern Nevada mines at Pioche. The heavy growth of natural grasses and plentiful water found in the area during the pioneer freighting days. Stoddard also operated a small saloon which provided travelers with liquid refreshment.

The Ryans came into the area sometime after 1873 when rich silver mines were located in the Star Mountain range, just west of The Springs. Brothers Dennis (Denny) and Pat Ryan invested heavily in several small mines. They were attracted to the springs as a spot to build a smelter and an excellent spot for ranching. A small smelter was built at the western edge of the springs, and for a time in 1875 and 1876 a small smelter town was established near the smelter with Stoddard’s saloon as the center of town.  The Ryans purchased 400 acres of prime grazing land just to the west of the springs for their ranch and John Ryan, the third Ryan brother was put in charge of the ranching operations.

The Ryan ranches eventually took up a large part of western Beaver County. During the 1880s the Ryan-Ream company for a time was the largest cattle operation in the State running over 20,000 head of cattle at a time throughout Beaver County in several ranching locations.  When young Bob Parker went to work on the ranch, Hay Springs was primarily the Ryan’s horse ranch. All of the Ryans, but especially Pat Ryan were heavily involved in horse racing, and in raising purebred horses. An 1887 Salt Lake Herald article described it as a “perfect oasis in the desert, consisting of 400 acres. Here are kept hundreds of excellent cattle and a fine stable of horses.” The reporter then went on to describe the stables with its prize racing horse “Black Pat,” a speedy 4 year old, which the Ryans had trained with their experienced horse trainer Bob Branton. Ryan horses were regularly raced locally, at the Sale Lake races, and elsewhere in Utah.

John Ryan managed the ranch, with his brother, Pat Ryan helping, that is when Pat was not in Frisco, Utah helping to manage the famous Horn Silver mine or at the Ryan saloon. In addition to the ranch house, corrals and stable, John Ryan also built a complete horse racing track. While the ranch was used for raising the family’s fine race horses, they also raised and trained horses for their cattle operation and for freighting.

It was here at the Hay Springs Ranch that Bob Parker learned to love and train horses. It is doubtful that as a small 13 year old Parker was always out herding cows as many have claimed. Rather he was probably mostly employed at the ranch in the stables as a stable hand, grooming, training, and riding the Ryan’s racing horses, an occupation and past time that Parker pursued for many years in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming before becoming an outlaw. These skills also proved useful in many of Butch’s getaways.

There is some evidence that Parker may have been used and trained by the Ryans as a Jockey for some of their races at the ranch and elsewhere. In 1898, commenting on Cassidy for the Salt Tribune, Pat Ryan told the reporter that: “when a young man the fellow gave no signs of the desperate career he subsequently adopted, but that on the contrary he was quiet and inoffensive. . . . and while he was hard on the horse on which he was mounted that was about the only offense for which he was rebuked when he was in Mr. Ryan’s employ.”