The Four Nines

Just last fall after the snow had already begun, my brother and I had driven out to cowboy country to visit John Ware's original homestead location near Millarville. There is nothing there anymore that would tell you he lived there except for a cairn. My brother and I like going on hikes, but with the new snow we decided to go look for a piece of history instead. We'd actually gone there with my dad as kids. My dad was very impressed with John Ware's accomplishments against the odds in his life, and I suppose I was and still am too.

Now John Ware was an innovator of his own destiny, but it didn't seem like it would be so when he came into the world. He was born on a plantation in South Carolina as a slave. With the end of the Civil War and as a free man, he moved west to Texas and found work on a ranch. He honed his skills as a cowboy and eventually was hired to drive cattle up to the foothills southwest of Calgary. After reaching his destination, he realized that experienced cowhands were in demand, and so he stayed.

He worked around Alberta with many of the ranches in the area. He managed the horse herd for Quorn Ranch on Sheep Creek as it was known then (it is now called Sheep River). My brother and I visit this area for our hikes, and it is a very wonderful place to see. I like to think that John Ware fell in love with the country as well as being an in-demand, skilled cowboy. For those who are not from around here, we have been a farming and ranching community from the 1880s due to businessmen coming from other areas leasing land for cattle grazing. There are still many operating farms and ranches here to this day. We in fact came upon a cattle drive when we were heading back to the city.

The cowboys bring the cows back home after letting them graze over the crown lands for the summer. It's interesting to see the job is not done much differently than it would have been done in John Ware's time.

Anyhow John seemed to be quite a well known and liked fellow as his name still echoes in Alberta history, and he was also noted in the MacLeod Gazette on June 23, 1885 as follows:

"John is not only one of the best natured and most obliging fellows in the country, but he is one of the shrewdest cow men and the man is considered pretty lucky who has him to look after his interest. The horse is not running on the prairie which John cannot ride."

John started a ranch near Millarville and registered his brand as 9999 and then in 1898 he re-registered it as three 9s. His brand is on his cairn as well. My brother said he could make out some 9s, but they were hard to see as we couldn't get as close as we would've liked. When we were kids and came here, there was no cairn although it went up in 1970, and I also don't remember as many homes around the area.

As children we walked around the area in the dark before heading back to the city, and I remember none of us wanted to leave as you could almost feel that history was made here. It had a special feel to it; almost like they were still there carrying out their business. Now when we re-visited, there are fences, so you can't go and walk around where the homestead would have been. I didn't get the magical feel I did as a child, but then we couldn't get so close and personal as we did back then either.

As for his home life, John Ware married Mildred Lewis in 1892. They had six children and moved to build another ranch in 1902 near Brooks. I am planning a trip to that ranch as well as I have never been to that location. There are many places in Alberta commemorating John Ware as well: Mount Ware, Ware Creek, John Ware Ridge, John Ware Junior High School in Calgary, John Ware Building in the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (which also has the Four Nines Dining Centre).

I think John Ware had spirit inside him that made him a hard working, adventurous man. He was driven to succeed against all odds and took the opportunities to make his and his family's life better. He had the pioneering spirit in making his mark in the West and forever branding his memory and name here.

References: Bonikowsky, Laura Neilsen (January 27, 2013) John Ware the Canadian Cowboy The Canadian Encyclopedia https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-ware

Agriculture in Alberta: A Brief History Part 1 April 12, 2014 Retrieved from https://www.calgarystampede.com/blog/2014/04/12/agriculture-in-alberta-a-brief-history-part-1/