The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1869-09-10
MONTANA.
cWHl9fEN yon fnH NEW HoRfn-wIsf.1
NUMBER TWO.


NUMBER TWO.
During the winter of 1878 snow did not
lie more than few days in the va'lies Of
Deer Lodge, Bitter Root, Big Hole, Beaver
Head. Sinking Water, jefferson, Madison.
Gallatin. Prickly Pear, Ten Mile and Flint
Greeks. The cold was not intense, except
for few days in December and January
Cattle and horses in the open air, withou, !
any feed, except such rs they got on the
prairie. gained steadily In condition all win.
ter, and came out fat in the spring. The
winters of 1850 and 1s50.G0, were very
similar. averaging. probably, a little colder
and little more snow, but quite pleasant in
the main. The winter of 1S0O-6l showed
gradual increase in cold and snow over the
former years, but still stock did well, and
the winter would not have been called q bad
one in Iowa or Illinois. The winter of
1861 was one Of great and unusual severity,
the snow falling from the depth of six inches
to two feet, varying in the different vallies,
and in different parts of the same valley
the points of least snow in tho respective
vallies being from Willow Creek to Scarkal'o
creek. (abovc Fort Owen, in the Bitter Root
valley; from the Race Track to the "Dcer
Lodge" or Warm Springs, in Deer Lodge;
from the Backbone" down to the mouth
of the river on Big hole; from Little Bea-
yer Head Rock down the river to the mouth
of Pipcstonc creek, and the lower portion of
Sinking Water valley; the valley of White
Tail Deer creek; the valley of North Boul-
der creek and of tho Three Forks of the
Missouri and vicinity; Crow Creek valley
and the lower end of Prickly Pear valley.
At any and all Of these points it is unusual
for snow to lie for more than few days.
even during the scvercst winters. have
observed. however, that the full of snow is
very capricious and irregular. For instance,
the deposit of snow in given locality may
hc quite small during bad winter, and in
the following one, even though much mildcr,
the snow fall at that point will be double or
treble as much, while some other points,
which had deep snow during the first, will
b. comparatively free from 1t during tho
second winter. This is more especially no.
ticed in the higher vallies and in the passes
leading from one to another.
But to return to the winter of 1862 !:
There was an unusual amount of high winds,
which, although piercing cold ard cxccs.
sively disagrccaLle, was the salvation of the
stock, as it blew the snow off tho ridges and
points, enabling stock to get at the grass;
quite number of cattle died, tlIougl, only
email proportion of the number in the Ter
ritory ut the time, and most of them were
lost BY lack Of proper hcrding. We la,l
at the time about eighty head Of cattle at
Gold Greek, and when tho deep snow and
cold weather set in, We (l,aving no feed for
them fully expected to lose half or more Of
them, but VIC put them in narrow, deep
canyon that comes in to tic river opposite
Gold Creek. which lay north and south, and
as the prevailing winds were from the west,
they were sheltered from the piercing blasts.
The snow being mostly blown off tho
points, We would drive them up on them in
the day time where they would feed until
night, and then so down into tho canyon
among the willows and tall rye grass to lay
at night. BY this means VIC only lost tl'rc.
head. although the snow In tho bottoms was
three feet deep, with three crusts on 1t.
These crusts were caused by very singular
freaks of tho weather. The first crust was
caused the 2ed Of January, '6e, by warm,
drizzling rain, that fell in the night, the
weather having been intensely cold for some
time; 1t began to turn warm In the evening
with gusts Vt warm, moist mir, and rainc.l
slowly during the night, and in the morning
suddenly turned cold, and in four hours
became colder than ever; VIC hsG no thcr.
momctcr, but it must have been 30 or IS :
below zero. The snow was about twelve
inches deep when tho thaw began, and il
sank to about eight inches. The change
to cold again put a crust on it that would
almost bear y man-only imagine how We
felt about our cattle jus: then. The bitter
cold continued, little fine frost, like snow,
falling nearly every night until there was
about eight or nine inches on top of tho
crust. when, on February 10th, it turned
warm all at once with the same curious
warm, moist winds as before, and continued
three days, raining same MS before, and then
turned as suddenly cold, continuing 50 until
about March 81, when il turned warm again
and put the third crust on top Of the snow,
lit having showed some in the interim. }
These warm winds and rains evidently come
direct from tho Pacific ocean, but how and
why they happened along in this singular
way they did, Is ahead Of me, and I'll leave
this matter to bc accounted for by more ex.
perienced metcorologists than myself. t7.
think our success In saving our cattle
was In no small degree owing to their hav.
ing had no water during some 90 days of
the sstcrcse cold aud deep snow, the streams
were frozen over % solid that there was no
air holes andtWe would not cut holes for
them 10 drink ct, because, bcing satisfied
that they would drink % much ice coad
watdr that Il would cause them 10 stand aad
shives u6til thcy bssams % chilled that they
xoulA and could not move .ahout In search
Of Nrnsa and vomh ah0rflv reriah We