RANGE magazine - Features

An easy catch. After roping and throwing the big bovine, Scott gets ready to medicate for pink eye. Headlight, Scott’s sorrel gelding, holds the rope tight.

The 71 Ranch is located under the shadow of the Ruby Mountains just out of the old town of Halleck in northeastern Nevada’s Elko County. The views down the long, narrow valley and tall swaying, cottonwoods near the main house make this one of the area’s most handsome settings. The ranch has a long history. In 1879, Joseph Scott and Caleb Hank formed their cattle company, Scott

An easy catch. After roping and throwing the big bovine, Scott gets ready to medicate for pink eye. Headlight, Scott’s sorrel gelding, holds the rope tight

and Hank, probably getting its name from Scott’s operation in Idaho, which was begun in 1871. The pair then went on to purchase the local Clover Valley 71 brand that remained with the ranch for many years.

When Scott died in 1914, Union Land & Cattle Company purchased the holdings at public auction. The ranch has seen several owners and has been managed by competent superintendents including William Smiley who described the bitter winter of 1889 when this region saw lows in the minus 60s. Despite all efforts, Smiley and his crew were unable to move all of the cattle. The ranch lost nearly half its stock to the freezing cold.

Since 1995, Ellison Ranching Corporation, one of the largest and continuously run cattle ranching operations in Nevada, has owned the ranch. Long-term manager DeLoyd Satterthwaite retired in July after heading the Ellison interests for a dozen years.

Scott throws the lariat for a few practice tosses before heading out to the fields to rope and doctor yearling calves.

Mule deer spend most of the year in the rugged Ruby Mountains that loom over the ranch. In winter, they keep to the lower valley and share 71 Ranch feed and meadows with the cattle.

Preserving Nevada’s western culture and ranching history is important to me as a photographer. I was raised in rural northwestern Nevada where ranching is still prominent and I come from a line of South Dakota ranchers on my father’s side. There is a special texture of this lifestyle that lends itself to film. Endurance, quality, peace, and pride—those are the characteristics I found in the people and the place at the 71.

Cynthia A. Delaney is a freelance photographer specializing in wildlife and images of the West. She also teaches photography at Great Basin College in Elko, Nev. She can be found at <earthfocus@rabbitbrush.com> or 775-738-4266.