The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-05-18
MY RANCH LIFE In MONTANA.
ny WALTER b. YosT.


scription of his western life and will
prove interesting to our readers, to
many of whom he is well known.
The uncle mentioned is Thomas A.
Grimes, who has since married Miss
Eva Hayes, formerly of this town
and who are now residing at the
scene of this production. Mr.. Yost
is an intelligent and brilliant young
student, and his powers Subscription
are above the average for one of his
age,
In the winter of 1887, my health
having become impaired by too close
application to my studies( p my un-
Gle insisted on taking me to his home
in the Prickly Pear Valley, of Mon
tana,
We were nine days on the road
from Grafton to Helena, having been
showed up four days at Beaver Can
on, Idaho.
My uncle kept bachelors hall and
had very pleasant home but no
wife, and the cooking had to be done
by some of his men, | was very
soon christened "the kid by the
outfit" and installed as maid of
all work" found application to a
cook stove about as disagreeable as
application to my books had been,
and had various experiences, serious
and comic. Ihad as much difficulty in
rounding my biscuits as l ever had
in squaring roots.
My first pies and cakes were dis
respectfully referred to as "pizen
things" and thrown up more than
once, to my intense disgust.
Believing, however, that pluck and
perseverance would conquer all
things | kept on experimenting I'M
til | was voted first class Chef.
Each week used to spend whole
day making up supply of light
bread, doughnuts, cookies and pies
enough to last seven or eight men
till next baking day. This was not
much of picnic for boy of IA, but
| did not do the cooking all the time
| was in the West / had plenty of
variety.
Churning was one Of the varia-
tions and | hated that even worse
than cooking, but managed to keep
the family in butter and sold $3.50
worth of it besides. The climate is
so dry that all the cream that rises
to the top of pan of milk can be lift
ed by fork like batter cake, it is
SO stiff and thick, so it may readily
be seen that churning was no pic mic
either
The part liked best was range
riding" rounding up the horses and
cattle, which took couple of months,
camping out with blanket for a bed
and saddle for a pillow. 1t was
fun for the boys when / would ride a
"broncho" but not much for me.
The most fun was branding calves
at the fall 'round up
Night herding was romantic for a
while but got monotonous.
[ killed number of ducks, geese,
prairie chickens, jack rabbits and a
few coyotes.
l "raised the wind" raising onions.
My uncle having set quarter of an
acre for onions, / had four rows for
helping weed, pull and top them
(and hard tedious work it was. J
They grow as large as pint cup,
from the seed, in few months. /
got $135 for my four rows.
AS the weather is very fine in
Montana till the middle of December,
the most of the blowing is done in the
fall, with four horse sulky plows.
The land mellows during the winter
and early in March (spring having
come 'for keeps" them the ranch
men have only to harrow their
ground and get in their grain. Their
planting is all done with patent
drills, the rancher riding up and
down the broad acres at his ease. A
drag or roller is then run over the
ground to level it for irrigation.
From June till November there is
little or no rain, and water is brought
by head bitches from streams fed by
melting snow high up in the noun
tains. The men sometimes irrigate
all night when the water is getting
scarce and the weather hot. The
head of the main ditch is often ten
miles from the ranch it supplies.
1t is troublesome work but it
makes the crops dead sure GER
tainty" In the fall the grain
is cut with three and four horse
binders, working day and night
The binders have automatic carriers
on them so as to dump the sheaves
in piles of a half dozen each.
Then comes the threshing. 1t is
done with steam threshers, knock
ing out from 500 to $500 bushels
a day.
An average is 45 bushels of wheat,
70 bushels of oats, 81 bushels OF
barley, 600 bushels of potatoes, and
IS bushels of peas per acre Peas
are raised in large quantities instead
of corn, which will not grow very
well in Montana. They are used for
feeding hogs and the pea fed pork is
much better than that fattened on
corn. There are also fine strawber-
ries, raspberries, currants, gooseber-
ries, and blackberries raised in large
quantities. A near neighbor clear
ed over $1,000 off of an acre of Der
ries.
The buildings of ranch consist
Of house called shack, wagon
sheds, stable, corrals, granaries, and
root house made of sods, the walls of
which are four feet thick; the milk
is kept in it during the summer and
Vegetables in winter.
The mercury goes up into the at
tic in the summer and down into the
basement in winter, but one feels the
heat and the cold less there than
here, because of the perfect dryness
of the air.
Every place has its advantages
and disadvantages but l think Mon
tana has fewer of the latter than any
other Of the States West of the Mis-
sissippi. In short you get more