New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1885-03-25

off, clearing tie track with great
trouble. They seemed perfectlywild
with cold and fear, and several of
them attacked the train men, causing
the latter to fly to the nearest protee-
ton.
Near Miles CITY curious spectacle
is to be seen. The whole valley on all
sides of the town is. filed with cattle
that have comein from the range to. es-
cape the cold Among the short,
stubby rose-bushes that grow along
the banks of the Yellowstone and
Tongue rivers is a sea of heads, be-
longing TO the astonished animals that
are seeking what protection the scant
shrubbery affords. Even in the streets
OF the town great droves of cattle me-
ander back and forth, as the tall
houses on either side have the appear
ance, if not the reality. of conveying
warmth. The weather in the city
must be at least ten or fifteen degrees
warmer than out on the prairies, and
no doubt the cattle feel the difference,
and will hang around until it moder-
ates sufficient to allow return to.the
regular grazing grounds. But there is
= great deal of suffering among them
for food. for there is not enough in the
town nor in the valley surrounding it
to make even one square meal for the
immense crowd. of animals now CON
gregated hereabouts.
A number of cattle, among which
were some pilgrims, went OUT on the
ice of the Yellowstone river opposite
town yesterday afternoon to drink at
one of the water-holes cut in the ice
for the purpose of supplying the town.
The old rustlers went at the thing in
the right way. and 9uenched their
thirst without any difficulty;; but
the newcomers, the Texans, to
whom it was a new experience. were
not so fortunate on their side, and
forty-five of them fell into the aper-
ture. one after another, and were
swept under the ice and drowned
Scores of others that fell in but, man
aged to get out in some way, were so
badly moistaned with the cold! water
that they froze to death shortly after
ward. Numbe1less bodies arc living
along the river bank, farther up stream;
frozen stiff, having evidently come to
their deaths in this way. Cattle men
are taking the matter in hand, and
cowboys have been detailed to patrol
along the river opposite these danger
GUS places, in order to prevent like &C
cidents.
The cold weather appears to have
brought myriads of coyotes and prai-
RE wolves from somewhere, as the
whole territory is literally alive with
them. These scavengers formerly fol-
lowed in the wake Of the mighty buffalo
herds that once filled the plains of
Montana, but now that they have re-
| turned it must be that no more buffalo
are to be found, and the cattle are to
supply their place. These miserable
brutes are committing great ravages
on domestic cattle, partic ularly the
calves. The latter are weak, tender,
and stunted with cold, and can not
keep up with their stronger parents.
The coyotes watch these calves, and if
one becomes tired and lays down in
the snow to rest he is sure to be set
upon by a score of ravenous wolves
and torn to pieces. Some cattlemeE
from the Judith basin report great
havoc among the calves and yearlings
of that section, and that the wolves
are unusually ferocious and daring
since the advent of the cold snap. A
number of like casualties are reported
from the Powder river ranges. The
county authorities find they are COM
PEELED at last to give their attention to
the growing evil, and they are there
fore offering free strychnine to all who
will use it in the determination of
these pests. AS there is bounty Of
fered for every wolf killed, also a
ready market within the territory for
the skins, many of the cowboys are en-
tering into the business of wolf-poison-
ing, which yields them handsome
largess in addition to their regular
pay as herders. Unless something is
done to rid the country of coyotes and
wolves, or at least to reduce them in
number, next seasons profits in the
cattle business in Montana will not be
nearly so large as heretofore.
just the Leg for Arctic Climate.
All Smith Sound explorers have
something to say of the Esquimaux
with the wooden leg. Everybody
knows, of course, that timber does
grow III that part of the world, and
the man with the wooden leg must be
quite curiosity to the Ellesmere Land
Esquimaux, who occasionally visit
their friends on the Greenland coast.