The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-03-19
YALE, CATTLE KING
Cattle of This Section Now Go to SUP
ply Montana Ranges.
THOUSANDS EVERY YEAR
6ut There Are More In the Coun-
try Than Ever-CattIe p ais
ing In Years Gone By
Winter of '6l.
THOUSANDS EVERY YEAR

The recent purchases by ex-senator
Roach OF Minnesota Of a large number of
I cattle in this section for his Montana
ranges has led to considerable inquiry as
to the number OF cattle that have been
bought in this section this winter for
shipment to ranges to the East.
ID. NJ. Drumheller, who was formerly
7 one OF the largest dealers In cattle In the
upper country. and who Is still thorough
~ posted on the subject of stock raising.
said the other day:
MIR. Roach bought a large number of
cattle In this section, and there have been
two other large buyers here within the
last few days. l do not deal In cattle any
more. except to buy for others. I have re-
ceived requests TO buy about 5000 head
lately. but shall not bother with them.
There is not much money in the cattle
business any more except for the men
who have range cattle. They play against
n snowbank and II they are lucky for
few years at a stretch they make big
money. because they are at little ex-
pense."
What do you mean by playing against
n snowhankT"
Il mean that the cattle are liable to all
die IL there is a hard winter. In Montana.
where the mercury goes down to % de-
grees below zero. the cattle are never
fed. but have to hustle on the range all
winter. BY this I mean the range cattle
belonging 10 men who have large bands.
The cattlcmen have been playing I'm great
luck for the last few years. as there
have heen but few winters that were dis
astrous 10 range cattle. II there should
come a winter like the winter OF lSsi-2 "a
would fix them. During that winter about
66 per cont Of all the cattle I'm this sec
ton persisted. In the Crab creek country
1 saw 1900 head OF dead cattle along the
xtrtfb % nttt
OF bands OF 5000 head less than 200 sur
V!ved. The whole country was strewn
with dead cattle.
TERRIBLE WINTER OF 81.
1T was the hard winter Of 1861. though.
that knocked the cattle. | was living at
Walla Walla. The cattle all died from
starvation and exposure to the terrible
weather and all the horses. and even the
cayuses, which are supposed TO be able to
hustle living In any kind OF weather.
persisted. There was no hay to be had at
any price. and oats were worth 20 cents
a pound. A few cattle were pulled through
by feeding them oats. but IL was mighty
expensive feeding. oats at $50 a hundred.
| remember one old fellow who lived on
the Tukannon who kept some OF his cat
tie alive by feeding them on boullion made
from the carcasses of the cattle that
died. lie had large kettle. and as the
cattle died he would cut them up and
make soup OF them. and this he gave TO
the surviving cattle to drink. They drank
II with relish. and he tUfd me theat they
actually got 50 they would eat the meat
The Indians lost all their ponies. with
the exception OF few. A party OF In
dams coming over the Blue mountains
got showed In and the large number Of
ponies they had with them were left I'm
the mountains to die. the Indians making
their way down to the valley as best they
could. In the spring these ponies were all
found alive and hearty. Although ne
snow was deep In the mountains IL was
not crusted and they were able to paw
the snow away and get the grass.
I'm the valley II was different. We had
three months of snow at Walla Walla.
Snow fell for a solid month. We had a
slight chinook. which caused the sn0w TO
settle. and after Il settled down IL was
81 inches deep. and with a crust so hard
that a man could walk on top OF IL with
out breaking through. The stock was all
helpless. ana starved or froze to death
The farmers burned all the fence rails
for firewood. Rails sold readily at $50 a
hundred. Flour was worth s2i a hundred
For 40 days the mercury was y degrees
below zero and IL was so cold at times
that the mercury froze solid. That was
the hardest winter In the history OF this
section ana the winter OF issi-2 was the
hnrdest one that has ever occurred
since
MORE CATTLE THAN EVER.
Are there as many cattle I'm the coun-
try now there were before the ranges
were fenced upT' Mr.. Drumheller was
asked.
There are three times as many now as
there were when the whole country north
Of Snake river was one vast cattle range
Then you could ride two or three miles
and count two or three thousand cattle
on the hills In that distance. These cattle
belonged TO a few men. who had several
thousand head each. one passing through
the country and seeing the cattle on the
ranges would think the country was alive
with cattle. and there were "a lot OF them
but not nearly 50 many as there are now
The difference Is that one passing through
the country does not see the cattle. Ev-
cry farmer has some. and as the hundreds
of farms. all having cattle, few OF which
are ever seen by one passing through.
the aggregate Is great-much greater
than IL was when the cattle were all TO
be seen on the range. One can ride
through the Palouse country now on the
train. and where he would have seen
thousands OF cattle IS years ago he will
not see as many dozen now. But there
are more cattle there now than there
were then. only he does not see them. 1
went ali through Iowa 10 years ago. and
being cattleman naturally kept my eyes
open 10 see how many cattle there were
In the country. / did not see but a few
hundred all told. And yet Iowa had az
that time more cattle than any other
state In the Union with the single excep-
ton OF Texas. They numbered hundreds
OF thousands, but they were not to be
seen.
The days OF hig bands OF cattle in this
country are over There are stilI some
hne ranges In Montana and Wyoming.
and Texas continues 10 be a great coun-
try for range cattle. Every year several
thousand cattle are bought from the far
mcrs OF this secte. supply the Montana
ranges. As a rule the cattle thrive there
in winter on the buffalo grass which is
a. sweet and nourishing as hay. "-Spo-
kane Spokesma n Review
Ask your physician, your druggist and
your friends about Shiloh's Cure for Con
sumption. They viii recommend H.