Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-02-17
COUNTING HORNS.
Picturesque Scenes on a Mon
tana Cattle Range.
How the Animals are Counted, Identified,
and Separated.

In letter from Fort Kcogh, Montana,
to the Pittsburg Commercial Gazette
correspondent writes cntcrtainingly about
the cattle business and life on the ranges.
He says. In receiving, say, one thousand
head of ''pilgrm" cattle from the States
(of value not less than S2j, ,000), brand.
ing them at the stock yards with an X on
the left hip, for instance, and turning
them loose upon the range the owner
either understands the business or has an
answering trust in Providence. A por-
tion Of his herd may be seen occasionally
during the season by himself or his cow
boys, but other portions may drift away
fifty or a hundred miles, sometimes more,
before the next 'round-up." Even then
it may be impossible to find them all E"
The ranges are divided into "districts.
and each district is worked by a sepcratc
company of cowboys, numbering any
where from twenty to sixty (morc occa-
sionally), according to the importance of
the district All who have range cattle
within the limits Of that district arc rep
resented, either personally or otherwise,
in the roundup party. Every member
of which exercises his ability for the
advantage of his neighbor as we'll as for
himself. The district may be two hundred
miles long and scvcnty-fve miles wide,
and the cowboys move from six to ten
miles each evening gather the cattle
from the hills surrounding the camp, the
next morning divide the stock into
punches, each bearing the brand of sep
crate outfit, brand the calves with the
marks borne by the mothers they follow,
and, in cases where the ownership of the
calves can not be determined, they, in
this territory, receive the brand of the
outfit that holds the range upon which
they are found Now, in the district
where those TX" cattle live the represcn-
tatvcs of that brand will see as far as
possible to the holding and branding of
the stock belonging to their outfit. Then
the cattle that are disposed of will be
thrown into herd according to the 10.
cality Of their ranges, and driven toward
their regular grazing grounds. Those
that belong in the vicinity of the camp
will be left there, and the "round up"
party moves on.
The above has special reference to the
spring roundup, which takes from sixty
to ninety days. In addition to the fall
'round-up," the beeves are "cut OUT
separated from the other stock-and
driven by members of their respective
outfits to the points of shipment. tbs at
these shipping points that the value of
the stock inspector is seen, He examines
the brands of every animal shipped from
his point, and if some of those "Xn cattle
are being shipped with the bccves of some
other party he notes the fact, reports to
the Secretary of the Stock Commission
the whole lot goes to market, and in due
course the owner of the "X' cattle re-
ceives the proceeds OF his "strays" on the
basis of the price at which the main body
Of the shipment is sold The number of
animals thus found is large. "Strayo"
that belong in Montana have frequently
been shipped from points on the Union
Pacific in Wyoming, and vice versa, on
the Northern Pacific. 1t is not consid-
cred surprising for cattle to drift 100 to
$50 miles from their customary range.
Thus are range cattle looked after, and
though it may take years for the "N''
outfit, or any other, to secure all their
stock, they are more than likely to do so
eventually, excepting where the "crit-
tcrs' are stolen, killed by wild animals
or die on the range. The inspectors are
thoroughly familiar with the brands of
the Northwest, watch closely for stolen
stock, do much toward bringing offend
ers to Justice, and are stationed at the
principal stock-handling points, The
detectives arc equally instrumental in
furthcring the success of this great sys-
TEN. About five thousand different brands
have already been recorded in the office
of the Territorial Treasurer at Helena.
Even the Indians have their brands and,
with the multiplicity of devices that arr
used under the acts of 1864, to distn-
guish stock, it is no easy matter to keep
them all in mind In the effort to rid
Montana Of dangerous wild animals boun-
ties were paid during 1864 on more than
5000 wolves, 1900 coyotes, 500 bears
and 100 mountain lions. During 1885,
| the hountirS Wrrc still greater