Los Gatos High School - Wildcat Yearbook (Los Gatos, CA)

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A Legend of Los Gatos Before California was known to the world and before there were many people living there, a great many tragedies took place which never have and never will be known. Stories of the bravery and self-sacrifice of the gold- hunter 'have since gone over all the world. It is right that these men should be remembered, for it takes courage and enterprise to settle any new country. We seldom hear of those who came to California to follow any other pursuit than that of gold-hunting. However, there were people who came here and heroically carried on less adventurous occupations and it is thru a man who was not a gold-hunter, so the story goes, that Los Gatos received its name. The Santa Clara valley was then, as it is now, a very beautiful and fertile valley. Then, in the spring, instead of being one huge bouquet of prune blos, soms, it was a vast, sunny stretch of green grass which extended with lawn- like smoothness in every direction. The valley was an ideal place for sheep. So, altho neither the valley nor the surrounding mountains were noted for gold, there was much sheep raising. With the aid of the dogs, large numbers of sheep could be cared for by a few men and so there were very few people inhabiting this country. Andrew Ward was one of those few people who kept a lonely vigil over a Hock. With him was his wife and his young son, Billy, who was one year old. The Ward's Valley home was about where Gilroy is now. Every sum- mer they moved up into the foot-hills, and occupied a snug cabin near the banks of the Los Gatos creek, on the spot just above where the concrete bridge is now. The summer in which the events about to be related happened was an unusually disappointing one to Mr. Ward. He had not been well and some of the sheep had wandered off into the mountains. He did his best to find them but could not. His custom was to take the sheep back to their winter home about the first of October. However, this year, on account of the missing sheep, he had not considered returning but had spent all his time in hunting the missing animals. - About the middle of November, he rode down into the valley to ask his employer to send up some men to help him, and then he returned home to await the coming of the reinforcements. There were many wild cats in the mountains and he knew that it was possible that the lost sheep had been attacked by these animals. The know- ledge of their presence in the mountains increasd his anxiety. November passed and the first of December came. The weather began to change and al- most before he knew it, Mr. VVard found that an early winter was coming on them. Still the men did not come to hunt the sheep. Finally Mr. NVard became desperate and decided to go to the valley and warn his employer of the danger of leaving his Hocks unlooked for any longer. He planned to start on Wednesday, the third of December, and on Sunday night it had rained very hard. The creek rose rapidly and Mr. Ward knew now that whether the lost sheep were found or not, he would need help to get the others down into the valley safely. ' So on Wednesday morning he started out with the rain literally pouring and the clouds looking as if the supply in them was limitless. As he rode along, he saw at least twenty wild cats within a half mile of his little home. He felt a great longing to go back to his wife and baby. The cats might be- 30

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last the belligerents were forced apart and firmly with a sharp word and ges- ture and then turned to survey the damage done to Duke. His leg was badly hurt and apparently he could not walk. Madam, I-ah,-can-can not express my regrets -stammered the Col- onel. Pray do not try, Sir, the fault lies with my dog, came the dignified ans- wer from the lady. The people dispersed and left the two to themselves. Both were plainly embarrassed by this turn of events. At last the Colonel said. I fear your dog is hurt. He is small and light and I could carry him to your home with great ease. I dislike to trouble you, Sir, but I would appreciate it very much if you could carry him, was Miss Sophie's prim answer. Without more ado the Colonel picked up the whining dog and proceeded on his way. He and Miss Sophie walked to her gate and then, still holding the dog, he said, Sophie, don't you think we might arbitrate ? She looked up with a little smile and a slight twinkle appeared in the depths of the gray eyes. She answered him slowly. I think we might, Jonathan. I was to blame anyway, and very stubborn and unreasonable. No, no, argued the Colonel, I was hasty and hot headed, but have long since regretted that I let such a small matter part us. Never mind, now, Jonathan. Let's bury the past and forget all that oc- curred. Yes, let's go back to the old times before our foolish quarrel, was the Colonel's reply. But I never did think women ought to vote anyway. I really was not in earnest, came shyly from Miss Sophie. After his first few words the Colonel had set Duke down on the sidewalk. The two people passed on into the house, their faces beaming in joy and Duke sat forgotten by the gate. DOROTHY POMEROY. 29

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come bold on account of the storm and cause trouble with the sheep or even bother the cabin. But he knew that he must go on, for the fate of hundreds of valuable sheep depended on his getting help. He arrived safely in the val- ley and found that his employer had forgotten all about his request. The trip down had been a difficult one, for the path was slippery and hard to find. In many places the creek had risen very high. He was very anxious to get back to his wife. He knew that the storm was likely to bring danger with it. Five men were found who would return with him. But they all had busi- ness to attend to and it would be four days before they could leave. Mr. Ward was in a perfect ferment of impatience at the delay. Two days passed. He was filled with an unusual dread and apprehension. On the morning of the fourth day, after passing a sleepless night, he de- termined to return ahead of the other men who were to start on the next morn- ing. So in spite of the objections of the others who demurred at his going alone in such a wild storm, he set out on his lonely trip full of fear and fore- bodm g. U HK Ik 241 :lf wk wk lk as Ik lk ak ik 21 251 In the meantime, Mrs. W'ard was having anything but a happy time. She fully expected that her husband would be back in a day and a half. When he did not come, she was almost afraid even to think of the dangers he had to encounter. As the days went on, the unusual storm seemed to increase rather than to lessen. The creek rose until it threatened to overflow into some of the sheep corrals which were quite near the bank. The sheep had to be fed regularly and it was a difficult task for a woman to accomplish in a driving storm. To add to the loneliness, Mrs. Ward saw that the wild cats were com- ing very near the house-something which they never had done before. She also noted that the sheep were restless. She knew that if the storm prevented the cats from getting food otherwise,, they would not hesitate to attack the sheep or even her and her child. At night she looked out of the window of the little cabin and saw blackness everywhere except, here and there, a pair of shiningseyes which she recognized to be those of the dreaded animals. As the evening of the fourth day since the husband's departure came on, she was almost frantic with fear for her husband and herself. The storm raged and the sheep were more restless than ever. As darkness descended, the shriek of a wild cat could be heard at intervals. To her lonely and im- aginative mind the sounds were multiplied to ten times their real number. Suddenly at about eight o'clock in the evening there was an ear-piercing shriek in the direction of the corral, accompanied by the terrified bleating of sheep. Mrs. Ward realized that either the wild cats had attacked the sheep or else the creek had come into the corrals and, in its rush, had swept along some cats which were prowling around outside. She knew that something must be done, for the sheep were some of the most valuable in the country. If many were lost, it would take Mr. WVard a lifetime of hard work to pay for them. She rushed out into the night and tried to slam the door after her. How- ever, the wind caught it and Hung it wide open. Without noticing this, she went down toward the creek to see just what was happening. She found that the wild cats were, indeed, in the corral and were attacking the sheep. She had her rifle with her and shot at several cats but they seemed to spring up from all around. She was afraid of being attacked herself. So she opened 31