Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1897-03-31
CONDITIONS OF STOCK.
Losses Reported In Some Of the Northern
Counties In the State.
Anaconda Standard

anaconda Standard.1
GREAT FALLS, March 24.-I,eports
from Valley county Indicate that
stocknen of that section have suf-
fered material losses during the last
few weeks and that the industry has
received a blow from which ii will
take ver years to recover. The
ranges there stretch along the Da-
kota line and the severe storms and
frequent billiards. which have swept
have extended across Valley and in
to the eastern portion of Choteau
county. The snow has been very
deep and for weeks at a time thecOld
has been intense. AS u natural re-
suit stock has suffered severely and
the losses have been great. In re-
ferring to the subject the Glasgow
Gazette of Saturday last says:
Large cattlemen will lose the
money made in past years in Valley
county this winter by severe weather
and heavy SHOWS. So great has
been the destruction recently wrought
that the Bloom Cattle company
have offered ranchers $3.50 a head
to feed stock until they are able to
rustic for themselves. Many small
stockmen are taking advantage of
this liberal offer around Saco and
some of them are feeding as many as
100 head. At the ranch of Fred
Groves, near Hinsdale, 125 cattle
drifted i'm a short time ago and now
there are not more than % standing.
On Cherry creek, within three miles
of Glasgow, a bunch OF so or 100 went
into the brush about one month ago
and there is not one alive now. At
Milt Harrah's ranch on the same
there some time ago are now dead.
Reports from Malta are that losses
on the range in that section have
been heavy. East of here it has
been worse, the snow having fallen
more heavily. This has not injured
the small stockmen, as they have
had an abundance of hay for their
cattle, but it has put IA hump in the
back of the cattle kings. An idea OF
the winter IA he gained from the
ranches trying to get hay and have
to be driven out of the road to per-
nit wagons to pass. They are very
poor and many of them have died.
Just what the loss will be to the
stockmen is hard to determine before
the spring roundup, but it seems
that it cannot fall much short of ~
or GU per cent
1t is only fair to add that the con.
dition described i'm the Gazette does
Fergus or Cascade counties, where
stock is reported in good condition,
Everything considered. In
eion with "a Standard reportertoday
James Whitman said:
81 am prepared to say that tn,
loss of cattle in Teton county this
winter winter will not exceed 10 pei
cent, unless there is a radical change
for the worse within the next few
weeks. In ChOteau county, particu
larry in the eastern portion, the loss
will be heavier, and possibly may
reach IL per cent in Fergus county
but i'm Cascade county / am fully con
WINGED that the loss at this time will
not exceed 3 per cent. Taking the
severe weather of November into
,,naiIarnffn rnnilav- thsa an mood
record and one which cattlemer
should be satisfied with. l believe
the reports of losses in Valley county
are overdrawn, and yet that section
has been swept by many severe
storms this winter. The Chinook
winds which cleared the ranges o.
snow in Cascade, Teton and Choteau
counties had little effect on the noun
tains of snow in Valley and for that
reason the stockmen down thers
have suffered mor severely. Cattle
are improving every day now and i
the present weather is continued fol
three weeks longer the stock inter
ests of Northern Montana will bt
safe. AS far as sheep are concerned
they are all right. OF course there
have been some losses, but these
were largely due to ignorance oil
carelessness on the part of fiockmas
ters."
1--WE are unaquainted with Mr.
Whitman and do not know upon
what authority he bases his state.
ment that losses among cattle in
Fergus county will reach fifteen pei
cent, but believe him to ha We erred,
Prominent stockmen who have been
i'm Lewistown the past week state
that losses will not reach seven per
cent, while the loss among sheep is
but tritiing. ED. ARGUS.)