When I first saw Big Red, he stood at least a foot higher than anything in the herd. With head held high and horns curved upward he looked like the king of the herd. Measuring cattle by weight was not known at that time. Had they weighed him I'm sure he would have weighed 1100 pounds.
Grandpa Jonathan Heaton, at one time, bought sheep for his sons who lived at Moccasin. He purchased cattle from the Findlay Cattle Company. The Findlay brand was a circle with a straight stem under it. The Heaton Brothers added a bar to the bottom of it and the "circle, stem, bar" became known as the "old Pipe brand". When the brothers divided up their cattle, Charles got this brand.
In about 1925, a young steer bearing this brand strayed away from the Pipe herd. Perhaps he got with a herd of wild cattle or he may have just wandered and drifted down the Kanab Creek, coming up through Sowatts to the Big Saddle country. There were no fences at that time between Pipe Spring and the Kaibab Mountains. So Big Red apparently claimed the whole country as his own, growing bigger and bigger each year without becoming captured. They tried every year to trap him but each time their efforts failed.
One day in October 1930, a telephone call came to Charles Heaton at Moccasin, reporting that Big Red had been trapped a few nights previously when he came in a corral for water at Big Saddle. Carlos Judd 'and Denzil Frost had left Ryan that morning with 150 head of cattle and they wanted someone to meet them at the Johnson Run Gap about 4 or 5 O'clock to take him off their hands. It was almost noon then, so dad sent me to get him. I saddled a pony dad had bought from Lee Esplin when he was just a colt. I knew he was well trained and dependable. We called him Old Bar 7 N. When I reached Fredonia, I could see the dust of the herd coming so I rode on out to meet them, Nearing the herd, I could see Big Red just as they said. He did stand a foot higher than the others. He was all red and had horns that curved upward. It had to be him.
We moved Judd's cattle on up to the Gap and the Arizona-Utah line. Then they helped me to cut Big Red out of the herd and start him westward on the wagon road next to the fence marking the line. After leaving the herd, I realized that he was as smart as he was big. He would run fast ahead and try to hide from me, I was able to spot him each time, but if it had been country familiar to him, I could never have caught up with him and would have lost him for sure.
We finally reached the bottom of the Kanab lane just as the sun went down. I knew it would soon be dark so I had to find a corral to put him in for the night. I drove him to George Mace's corral. It was still light enough that I could see the gate was open. I drove the steer in easily, but found I had no right to start breathing a sigh of relief. For to my surprise, he ran straight on through the corral and leaped the 5 foot fence on to the other side just like a deer.
It was dark then and he was lost. I couldn't leave him for he would just head back to the Big Saddle country. The sky was beginning to get light in the east. The moon was on my side, it would soon be up, Big Red thought he was hid. We both waited. Sure enough, as the moon rose it threw a tableau across the valley and spotting Big Red was not hard this time. He stood very still, thinking he was hidden. I was able to get almost to him before jumping him out. We then resumed the chase following the old wagon road between Kanab and Moccasin.
This could have worked beautifully but there were several gates along the way to open and close. When we would come to one, Big Red would leap right over it and then try to hide while I had to get off my pony and open the gate, lead the tired animal through, and close it while keeping one eye on Big Red. Once he ran too fast for me and hid in some trees. It took some time before I spotted him and we moved on again. Another time he tried to hide around a bend in the wash.
We finally reached Moccasin during the wee hours of the morning. Everyone was asleep - no one was out to help, I finally drove him into the lane, then on up the lane and up the hill to Grandma's 7 or 8 foot stockade corral, He was a very tired steer, having traveled 45 miles that day from Big Spring, I drove him in and barred the gate,
The day was almost too much for old Bar 7 N. An ordinary horse would never have made it. It took some time to get him back in shape again, He had traveled at least 60 miles that day.
As for Big Red, he was sold to the cattle buyer, John Adams, for $35. Cattle were sold by the head at that time. It was during depression years so my father was happy to get the $35. That was a good price at that time.
- Annie M, Heaton
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