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From the Files of the Lassen Historical Society: Bird Flat

A view of Honey Lake, just south of Milford and north of Bird Flat, in the late 1800’s

by Susan Couso

In the spring of 1858, John Byrd and his 13-year-old son, Austin, came to the Honey Lake Valley with seven or eight hundred head of cattle and horses. He settled on a tract of land situated about halfway between Milford and Doyle, with more livestock than any other rancher in the area. This property is now called ‘Bird Flat’.

Byrd’s wife, Clara Morrison Byrd, had died before he came to the valley, so Byrd set about establishing a new life for himself and his son. But his huge fortune began to dwindle almost immediately as the local Native tribes discovered what seemed to be ‘free’ livestock.

John Byrd, also called ‘Jack Byrd’, ‘Uncle Jack’, and ‘Captain Byrd’ had been born in Virginia about 1821. He has been described as a former Army Captain, although old records to show his Army years are difficult to find. ‘John Byrd’ was a very common name.

But as the Honey Lake Valley citizens formed a volunteer militia to combat Native American raids on local settlers, Byrd was selected to be the captain of the group.

Byrd’s cattle had a huge range to roam, up into the mountains to the west and out across the Nevada line to the east. The local Native population saw no reason to starve when cattle spread throughout their area, and soon, the usual troubles began.

On one of these raids alone, Byrd claimed to have lost 120 cattle. So, in 1860, he and other ranchers in the valley hastily formed an armed militia to stop their losses.

Meanwhile, Captain William Weatherlow was leading another group of men who were on their way to Nevada to suppress the Paiute population at Pyramid Lake. Weatherlow pressed John Byrd’s group to combine and follow them to the fight, but some of the men in Byrd’s group objected. They were there to find and bring back their livestock, not start a war.

Weatherlow stayed at the Byrd ranch for two days, jerking beef and making other preparations, before taking his group of twenty-six well-armed men on to Pyramid Lake.

As the Battle of Pyramid Lake, sometimes called the Battle of the Truckee, raged on, Byrd’s group searched for their livestock and the culprits who had continually raided the Honey Lake Valley, but with minimal success. They ventured into the Pyramid Lake area after the first battle there and saw little activity. After a two-week stay, the militia returned home.

Through 1865, the deprivations on the settlers continued, and even worsened. Again, the Honey Lake ranchers set out to see what they could do to lessen their misfortunes. Skirmishes with the Paiutes continued with casualties on both sides, and there seemed to be no end to the difficulties. Many local ranchers suffered a great loss of livestock.

Problems seemed to plague Byrd’s dream of life in the Honey Lake Valley. During 1858 and 1859, the area suffered a drought, and then severe cold winters including a deep layer of frozen snow and fog that lasted for six weeks and left the cattle unable to forage for food.

The livestock suffered greatly. Stung by his losses, in 1866, Byrd gave up on the Honey Lake Valley. He sold his property here and drove his entire herd of remaining livestock north from the Honey Lake Valley. He went through Idaho, where he ran into more difficulties as the Snake River Indians helped themselves to some of his stock, and eventually settled in Walla Walla, Washington.

In Walla Walla in 1891, he petitioned the Court of Claims of the U.S. Government to recover $41,950, for his losses while living in the Honey Lake Valley. His petition was denied, and Byrd died in Walla Walla in 1892. His son, Austin, inherited his estate.


If you are a fan of our weekly history stories you should join the Lassen County Historical Society! It’s a fun way to be a part of our county’s rich history. When you sign up, you’ll receive regular Historical Society newsletters with interesting stories and information. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in area history.

Through your membership you help preserve local history. You can download a membership application by clicking here.

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