Explore the Issues: Native Americans Wildlife and Sportsmen Oil and Gas Exploration Protecting the Past

Interview with Waldo Wilcox Former Range Creek ranch owner This transcript contains language that may be considered offensive. The language has been retained to give an accurate historical record of his remarks. Ken Verdoia: Why don't you tell me a little bit about how the Wilcox family first came to Range Creek. Waldo Wilcox: When they first come here? Well, when they first come here, they just was visitin'. And like my, on my mother's, McPherson family, they had a range right across the river in what they call Florence Creek, a little canyon like this. And at that time it was full of Indian stuff too. But on my mother's side, they was here right shortly after the first white people come here. I think they come in 1883 and I think the first people come 'tween 1880 and 83'. And then my dad's family was over on the Hill Creek side and my mother and dad had it and they had Florence Creek and the government bought it and the [Ouray] Indian Reservation so they had to go someplace, so they went up here on the Tavaputs Plateau and bought a piece of ground and then that was in 1941. In 1951 we decided to buy the south end of the Nutter outfit and that's what this was. Ken: Help me understand what it was like doing a start up ranching operation here in the early 1950's. Waldo: There was no roads here. Everything had to come in on a horse -- wagons, mowin' machines, everything. And when we first bought the place the only house we had to live in was that little log cabin there. And we made a few improvements since, but really, the best part of my life is I lived the same as pioneers did, with horses and wagons. When I was a kid, back in here there was no roads and then now we're ridin' in airplanes. Ken: How does a land like this get into a man, become part of you. . . Waldo: Well, after you've lived here as long as I did, you're about a half hermit. You don't see many people. You don't want to see many people. Ken: At an early age you must have become well aware the ancient Indian sites all around. Waldo: Well, they was, I growed up with em'. And like one time my uncle lived in Salt Lake and he wanted to take me to the museum up there and show me a dead Indian. Well, hell, I growed up with the dead Indians. It was nothing new to me. Ken: Tell me about the notion of respecting those sites. Waldo: Well, I give them both, my mom and dad credit for that. He said that we didn't own them dead people. We owned the land, and like I said before, I don't want some damn hippy digging me up and pickin' the gold out of my teeth when I die. Ken: But a lot of people probably wanted an opportunity to explore or even take artifacts from those places. Waldo: They, they did but we couldn't let them in here for more reasons then one. We didn't want people runnin' up and down the canyon when the cows was here. And I think that Indian stuff, I want my grandkids to see what I seen. Ken: A man spends fifty years living this close, he gets an opportunity to see things other people don't see. Tell me some of what you've seen that stays with you, those memorable things you've seen. Waldo: Well probably that mummified one that I was telling you about that was wrapped like Egyptians. And they say that the Fremont Indians buried their dead laying down flat. I've never seen a flat one here. They're always doubled up and they're only about that tall. Ken: So, you think the Fremont were the first people? Waldo: No. I think the little ones, ones I call the little people, was here. And I think the Fremonts come in, like up here on the Fortress, that's proof that somebody come in killed them out. You can see what they was doin' up there. And then I think the Fremonts come in and killed them others out and the Utes come and killed the Fremont's, but that is just a guess. There's nobody can tell ya. There was no written history about it. Ken: Do you ever try to figure out what they were trying to say in their rock art? Waldo: I think it was a religion. I think they was a religious people and I think it was their Gods. Did you see these red, white and blue ones down here? But, nobody knows what any of it meant. People can tell you that but I wouldn't believe them either. Ken: Think we'll ever figure it out? Waldo: Nope. (Pause) the Egyptians they wrote things down, but these people didn't. You don't know what they looked like or anything about them, outside they's little. Ken: Tell me about this emblem on your chest. (The Wilcox "brand" from cattle ranching days.) Waldo: Well that's my cow brand. That's about all I got left of my cow, is my brand. And last summer when I was over here, the head man for Natural Resources from the state of Utah asked me if I'd give the Indians the history of the ranch. And one of the Indian ladies wanted to know what that was on my shirt, and I said I had my brand on there so when they started scalping these archaeologist for destroying their sacred land they wouldn't scalp me too. Ken: Your name has been around the world with stories associated with Range Creek and the preservation of the ancient Indian artifacts. You are in fact a very famous man. Waldo: Well I wouldn't say I'm famous because we do, done what we wanted to do. To be famous you'd have to do something you didn't want to do. Ken: What do you think people who live in the city can never understand about Range Creek? You've created your own special place on this planet. Very few people do that. Waldo: Well I've, I've thought about that a lot and you're the first person that ever mentioned it. But I did have my own place. I was God, Devil, and King and all of it right here. Ken: What else should the world know about Range Creek that they haven't already learned from the news stories? Waldo: It's the greatest place on earth. I really don't know what to tell you on that. It's just… Ken: It will always be known as Waldo's place, you know that. Waldo: I hope so. But I can't take all the credit for it. My dad, I think my mother and dad, both, should have the credit for it because we, my brother and I, we just doin' what they taught us to do. Ken: You know, city folk would look at you and say you've got to be half out of your mind… Waldo: To even want to live here. Ken: …to take this on. What are they missing? Waldo: Like I had a person tell me once that the government should make a law that people couldn't live out here like I'm doing. Ken: What'd ya tell them? Waldo: I hoped I outlived it. You know…when they brought the, all the media down here and there's, I think there's two hundred people and I just couldn't stand it. And they stopped up the canyon here and I thought well, it will be an hour, at least, fore they can get them loaded up and I'm going to get, get back here out of sight and relax. And I thought I was out of sight and some woman spoke to me from behind and she says "Are you going to the bathroom? Isn't there historical site back here?" And I looked back and I said "Ma'am, it would be a historical site either way." Ken: So, I have to ask, is oil and gas in the future of Range Creek? Waldo: If I lease my oil right to someone, yeah. Ken: Is that something you would be amenable to? Waldo: I'll tell you what I'll do. Before I let somebody come in I will give the State first chance on buying them. And if they don't, if Range Creek don't mean that much to them, I'm going to get every damn dime I can. The Governor asked me, Olene Walker, she said "why didn't you let us have them mineral rights?" and I says "Well, if you want to do some checking, they "Jewed" me down on the price. Half. And that's the way we settled it. I'll keep the minerals, and sell them to who I can, when I can," and so that's just the way it says. And she says "well, what are you going to do with them?" And I said "I'm gonna drill a gas well right in that damn pit house where you're standing." (CHUCKLES) She just hung her head and shook her head. (CHUCKLES)