The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1880-09-03

sheep. and some. who, from perence or bad forul
met with hears losses. perhaps not more than 25 p
cent; but have never heard of singls instance
which there has been abs5luts loss in period Of
three or four years One man, driving large band
Bheep from the South year Two ago, Was caught
the winter in nnfayorable place. and lost one half
two thirds of his flock bus at the end Of three year
when he to balance his books, ne found that IL
remnant of his band had done so well that his profits hs
been aboue % per cent year his original nvestmen
In regard to these statements of larg
profits, and particularly those derived fror
the rapid increase of the focks, it shoul
be observed that they do not apply to Mon
tana alone, but TO Texas and Colorado, AM
in fact al countries where there is an un
limited range of pasturage at merely COS
and little or no cost Of winter feeding.
a more general view of the resources 0
Montana for wool-growing is contained il
the following letter of Mr.. Paris Gibson
kindly furnished to Us i'll compliance witt
our particular request. His statement 0
the facilities furnished the WOOL grower o
Montana through the navigation of the
Missouri River, is of special interest:
Montana derives its advantages fof pasfora
sheep -husbandry from the following:
/. From its want of rain throughout the yeal
except in May and june which makes the grasses
| summer-cure. before the frosts of autumn occur
thus securing to them all their nutriment for win
| ter grazing.
., From IFS prevailing winds during winter
| which keep large portion of its grazing lands
free from snow; the most remarkable being the
warm wind from the Japan current in the Pacific
Ocean, called here the 'sChnook, p the influence of
which is felt east far as the mouth of the Big
Horn River, or in longitude 1O7o. The frequent
occurrence of fhese=warm currents Of air renders
| the accumulation Of snow almost impossible, and
continued cold weather Of very short duration.
5. From its mountains, foothills. and buttea,
and from lie generally irregular features of the
country. The whole surface being to great ex-
tent hilly and broken, and without forests or trees
except on riyer-oottoms or IN the ravines, the
winds are sure to keep bare at least half of the
grazing Land, during the stormiest winter wealth
er. No equal portion of country that borders up
ON this continental range of mountains affords az
much sheep -pasturage as Montana This is due
to the fact that. as you so North, the hills and
ASS"
gentle declvities, thus adding immensely to the
area of pasturage. Probably in no other country
can so rich a growth of grass be found upon the
mountains and foothills
There is a great variety of grasses, the chief Of
which are the buffalo or gamma grass, the bunch
grass aud blue-joint There appears to be a great
variety Of these grasses already enumerated, and
they varYsery much in quality and growth, ac-
cording to the altitude Of the spot upon which
they arefound, and the nature of the soil.
The extreme northern part of Montana is in ey-
cry respect equal to the southern portion for
sheep-grazing, owing to the friendly 'sChinook y
which tempers the climate adjacent to the Rocky
Mountains far to the north of the forty-nnth par
allel.
Montana abounds in streams of water, and the
purest streams are everywhere found among the
hills and coulees or rayines.
That Montana produces a most superior quality
OF wool is due to its excellent grasse. its pure wa
ter, and It's healthful climate.
Many of the diseases generally incident to sheep
husbandry are unknown here, although it requires
the same rigorous treatment to eradicate the scab
as elsewhere, when once the flock has taken it.
Much of the increase from the focks Of Califor-
MIA is now being driven to Montana, that State
having reached its maximum limit in sheep-ras-
ing. Many sheep are now annually driven from
Oregon and Washington Territories, owing to the
better profits to be derived from the business in
Montana
The navigation OF the Missouri River from its
junction with the Mississippi, nearly 5000 miles
through the heart Of Montana, gives to sheep-hus-
bantry in this Territory its great superiority over
all other Territories and all States west of the
Mississippi River.
It is impossible to emphasize this advantage too
mitch. 1t enables the Woel-grower here to ship
his own wool in sacks. just he packs it, and just
as it is shipped from Wisconsin or Michigan, while
the wool-groWer in Nevada, Utah or Wyoming
must compress his wool into the smallest compass
known in the transportation OF WOOL or pay rates
of freight that are absolutely intolerabe. The
Montana Wool-groWer ship his wool to Boston,
New York or Philadelphia at $I.50 per hundred
pounds, because the Missouri River connects him
with many rival railroad lines leading eastward.
while the WOOL growers Of Utah, Nevada, Oregon
and Washington Territories must pay at least three
times as much to ship their product to the same
The completion The Northern Pacific Railroad
will also do mitch for the wool growers in south
arn Montana, as the competition between that
road and the Utah and Northern Railroad will in
sure to them advantageous rates
The grade hEerino sheep are the kind in general
favor here The compactness of fleece derived
from the Merino stock, when combined with a
small percentage of the Southdown or Cotswold
type, furnishes coat for the sheep that is almost
impervious to winds and storms while the body Of
the sheep is large and strong.
Although the clip Of Montana the present year
viii probably not exceed 100000 lbs, from this
time forward the increase win be very rapd.
The most direct route from Fort Benton. the
head OF navigation on the Missouri, to the sea-
board is by steamboat to Bismarck, thence by the
Northern Pacific Railroad to navigahle water on
the Lakes.
When. a few, years hence, the wooi-growers OF
Montaua wish to market their Wethers at the East
they can drive them from the main range Of the
Rocky Mountains, following the general course OF
the Missouri River, distance Of about LOO miles
to Bismarck, over a country upon every rod Of
which, there is a rich growth Of buffalo grass. Twc
men and two dogs are all that would be required
for each band of 1000 sheep. Making from eigh
to ten miles day. they woald reach Bismarck il
good condition to be whrled through to New York
/ All this could be easily accomplished between
/ spring and fall.
in q communication to the Benton REC
ORD, Mr.. Gibson says;
sat present Montana i scarcely known at tn
| eastern sea-board as a irool-Iroducing section
the clip OF the present year not exceeding 1000,
600 or l,25o,ooo pounds; but its superior advanta
! ges are becoming sufficiently known by its owl
/ fock-masters and those Of California. 1t cal
hardly be doubted that the annual clip of wool il
this Territory will reach high 5o,00Oooo lbs
/ before the year 1890. The surplus sheep of Cali
forna viii be driven in large numbers to Monta
ma for some years to come, or until the unoccupie
ranges Of the Yellowstone. the Musselshell, the Ju
dith Basin, the Teton. and the AIarias are com
pletely taken up. All that part of Montana boune
ed on tile North by British America, on the East
Dakota, on the South by Wyoming, and on tn
West by the Rocky Mountains. embracing an are