The Butte daily miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1885-18??, 1886-01-01
SHEEP IN MONTANA
An Interesting skstah oi tho orisia q The
Industry.
Its Slow But Sure Growth Outlined
Some Statistics.

Some Statistics.
Tho Value Of llontsna wools-Fresdom
From Disease-Facss Of Value.
It is believed that the first sheep
brought into Montana were owned at
the st. Peters Mission, which was estab-
Gshed in 1850, near the mouth of Sun
River. However that might have been,
the first authentic statistics are found in
the Territorial Auditors report for 1858,
which gives the number of sheep and
goats in the then nine Counties as 1, 752,
which were assessed at total valuation
of $0,6S5.5O, or about $3.50 per head.
One-third Of this number was given in
by Madison County, while Madison,
Deer Lodge and Meaghef Counties con-
tanned over three-fourths of all.
This industry, in common with most
others il the Territory, did not advance
very rapidly for the next ten years. But
in 1881 they were assessed 26O, 402 sheep,
at total valuation Of $729, 228.5O, or
$3.50 per head. The last AUDITORS re-
port shows that for the year 1884b93, 1893
sheep were given in for assessment,
which were valued at 81 ,69s, l4s, or $2.85
per head. There are to-day in the Ter
ritory over $50, 600 sheep, without doubt,
and the valuation for taxation this year,
1888, in some counties is placed at 1928
per head. The sheep counties are now:
Meagher, with ~ per cent. of all in the
Territory; Choteau, with IA per cent,
and Custer, with 10 per cent. In the
country now embraced by Choteau,
Meagher, Custer and Dawson Counties,
the great growth Of the business in the
future will be found. Madison County,
which in 1888 had about IS per cent. of
the sheep Of the Territory, in 1884 had
but little over 2 per cent. At present
Dawson, jefferson and Silver Bow Coun-
ties have each less than per cent. of
the total number.
WHENCE THEY CANE.
The sheep that were brought to the
Territory came from various directions,
but mainly from California and Oregon.
They were generally grade Merino,
many quite high grade. Some of the
early breeders, however, brought in
coarse rams-C otswold, Southdown and
the like from Canada and the eastern
States-hence producing at the start all
grades, from coarse to fine, in the larger
flocks of the Territory. Later, large
numbers of Merino rams have been used
and our wool grades, now largely fine,
and fine medium-in many focks fully
95 per cent. of the wool being of these
grades. Of the flocks of the Territory,
there are probably very few that are less
than half-blood, while, AZ rule, they
will run from half to full blood Merino.
These sheep shear at from four and q
half to seven pounds, depending upon
the breed and condition in which they
have been kept.
! An average Of Ave and a-half
pounds for the whole number will not be
far out of the way. There are bands
noted in reports every year that shear
eight and nine pounds, but they are
sheep that have not been shorn for from
fourteen to sixteen months, and often
have feeces full Of sand or dirt, the re-
suit Of a drive, perhaps, from the Pacific
slope.
A few small focks Of thoroughbred
Merinos there are in this Territory thal
win average : shearing Of from ton Z
twelve pounds for q years growth, bu
their number Ia no small that thew have