Q: What made you decide to raise Brahman-type cattle?

A: By 1977, when Jim Rapley gave up his grazing lease on our property, I bought half his herd and my dad’s herd and started my own. Going it alone I could learn new things, innovate. Of course I could make mistakes too, and I did. At first I tried crossbreeding Angus cows with short-horned bulls. There were calving problems.

On a whim I bought a Brahman bull. Brangus (the Brahman/Angus cross) are tough, long-lived. They’re more like deer. They browse on brush. They adapt to anything and still bring back a calf. At sale time they weigh 100 pounds more than other cattle. That’s a new pick-up truck.

Q: What’s your plan for the cows and horses when you move?

A: When the grass changes, June and July here on Mindego, the grass will be prime there, so it’s a good time to ship the cows to Idaho. We’ll take the horses too.

Editor's coda

Though he’s been a man of the mountain, Chris True’s fascination with “his toys” is clearly visible at Mindego Hill. He waxes poetic talking about an 18-wheeler, piled with hay at the Mindego ranch entrance. Nearby, like a mechanical herd, stand a huge enclosed horse trailer and an assortment of well-used trucks and tractors. Half the house he built for himself is given over to an engine hoist and a tangle of automotive tools. Evidence of a lifetime of wheeled projects lies scattered just beyond the deck. There’s a Roman-style chariot Chris claims could be pulled by a trained bull and the original 1954  Willys jeep that gave him his first thrill as a driver. Like the livestock, these “toys” are destined to move to Idaho when the time is right.