The weekly tribune., 1894-02-09
MONTANA CATTLE AND SHEEP.
The Shipments Of Cattle to the Chi.
cagO Market Foots Up 1884,
121 Head.
Nearly Half n Million Head of Sheep
Were Seut to Market in
1898.

For some time this paper has been
trying to get from reliable sources some
figures as to the number of cattle that
were shipped from the Montana ranges
to the eastern markets, says the Stock
Growers journal. This has been
harder task than might have been ex-
pected, but from official sources figures
have been gained that can be relied
upon.
The second week in November this
paper, figuring from the number of cars
carried by the roads running from st.
Paul to the markets, estimated that the
100000 mark had already been passed
| This was an error, as will be seen by
glancing at the figures of the actual
hauling done by the Montana roads,
The error was no doubt due to the fact
that the eastern roads did not carefully
separate their Montana business from
their northwestern business.
The Great Northern road carried from
its twelve cattle shipping points in Mon
tana 15S trains of cattle and 1,U2O cars
of sheep, which would make the average
$40 head of cattle and 100000 head Of
sheep taken from the Montana ranges
adjacent to the Great Northern road.
The Northern Pacific road carried
from Montana points 5,3O1 cars Of cattle
and 1908 cars OF sheep, making the
shipment OF this road average 1l6,7Sl
cattle and POI 900 sheep. This would
make a total output of the Montana
ranges as figured from the carrying OF
} both roads 1Si,12l cattle and 10000
sheep. This does not reach the figures
that it was supposed would be Mon
! tana's cattle run before the November
shipping was over, and it IS due to the
, fact that the November shipments
dropped off wonderfully, in fact, traffic
managers of the western roads are great
ly disappointed at the way in which
s their live stock traffic fell off during tht
= month of November. Complete return
. show that month was the poorest No
g vember III this respect for number o
D years. The decrease in the number o
= cars hauled as compared with last yea
e was 2,54S. 1t was G.lOI less than in No
:. vember, 1891, and 3,5OJ cars less than il
e that month IN 1870.
y Last years run of cattle from Mon
}, tana was hundred and seventysi
thousand. The prediction was made a
the opening of this season that the ru
of cattle would not exceed one hundre
and fifty thousand head. That tigur
: has been passed and no doubt with wha
has been shipped from Montana owe
- the Burlington road the figure will reac
up toward the two hundred thousan
u mark. Secretary Preuitt of the Nor
J. tana Stock association, interviewed d
g the opening OF the shipping season pre-
o dicted that the run of Montana cattle t
e market would exceed the run of lS9:
d and in this he has been shown to hav
Is been correct, for notwithstanding IN
Il desire of owners TO hold off shipments
T. conditions were against it. In almos
:, all respects the season Of 1888 has bee
70 one of disappointment 10 cattle owner
W in Montana. The winter WAS severe ih
II spring long and cold, the sunme
drouthy, the water scarce. the gras
70 short, and most aggravating of all. III
10 financial panic caused the average price
10 of beef for the season to be about OF
s. dollar per hundred pounds less tina
:; =; last year. Light cattle and light price
~ have prevailed all summer, but II
y necessity of having some money force
o, the shipment of cattle to market agains
~ the better judgment of the owners an
: kept up the run when otherwise it wou
II have dropped below the market fl
previous year.