Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1896-12-03
noNTANA WOOL MARKET.
fss.rsy Sass. 900 PsaA for Shsse y tbs Last
Sixty Days.
(Billinsn Gaxstte.l

lDtiuu&A 0aEo<te.l
The sheep shipping season In Bill
lings says the Gazette, In drawing to
q close and as near a. can be esti-
mated a round 100000 head OF mar
ketable sheep viii have been for
warded from Billings at it's termiaa-
ton. The Northern Pacific reports,
with what are still to he shipped,
2f0 cars. or about 81 900 head while
the b. 4 M. has shipped within the
past four weeks l25 caB OF over
81 900 head, their cars being little
larger than those of the Northern
Pacific. This of course, does not In
clude all of the B. & n. shipments
and 1t is therefore a conservative es-
innate to place the number of head
shipped to market at 100000. Be
sides this number about $4,000 head
of stock sheep have been purchased
ON the Billings market by the ranch
ers and fiockmasters OF Nebraska
which, averaged at $l.50, a fair esti-
mate, would make 930, 200. The
sheep shipped to market, con-
sidering the advance in price since
the election, will average. we are in
formed by men familiar with the
market, 81 per hundred, 30 1t will be
seen that the returns from this
source are fully $2OO.OOO Add to
this the $50, 1000 received from the
stock sheep and IL will be seen that
nearly a quarter Of a million dollars
has been paid out in Billings during
the past sixty days from the sale OF
sheep.
The local market In becoming u
better one every year. Buyers can
purchase here nearly as cheaply as in
Oregon and at other points west and
besides, they realize that the sheep
in this vicinity are clean and free
from scab, a consideration that has
much weight with them. At pres
ent there are two foreign buyers on
Evans, Snyder & Buell. of Chicago,
and L. p. Southworth of Nebraska
There are also a number of local
dealers and thus the fiockmaster is
assured of a ready sale In Billings "
he does not desire to take the chances
of shipping direct to the market.
The season is about over now, as il
il becoming unsafe to drive on ac-
count of threatened storms but there
is still an active demand for sheep
and the supply is scarce. w. j.
Stratton, the broker, returned yes
terday from a trip to the Lake basin
country, where he went with orders
for 5000 head, but although he
offered $l.3O for lambs and $2.25 for
young wethers he was unable to
make any purchases. There has
been a sharp advance in prices since
the election, wethers being worth
from 75c to- 81 more than they were
three weeks ago. The following
items bearing on the market during
the past week will be of interest.
Rufus Thompson, the Highfield
fiOckmaster, sold his band of 400
head of wether and a few ewes, to
/ L. L. SOutnWOrt0, ldBC SATURDAY, I,
the price paid being, $500. Mr..
Thompson says this is fully 81 per
head more than he could have sold
for three weeks ago and rightly
attributes the rise to Mckinley q
election. The sheep will he fed for
the market.
John r. Cooley OF the Musselshell
delivered 800 head of lambs yester.
day to Bailey & O'Donnell and 3OG
head OF wethers to L. r. .Southworth
while Thos. McGirl delivered 2,OOC
head Of wethers to John Flemming.
George Pirrie. the Halbert flock
master. arrived In the city yesterday
and has a band of $500 head u
wethers on the way to Billings
He is in doubt whether to sell here
or ship to Chicago but will probabl,
do the latter.
Jos. Sims of Lavina, who recently
shipped 1000 head of lambs to Min
neapolis to feed for market. has re
turned and purchased another band
from Voolfolk & Hicharfison. whicl
he will also ship and feed.