Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1897-05-08
CATTLE LOSSES HEAVY
UPON SOME RANGES
Not Only the Severity of the Winter
But Disease as Well Has
Killed Of the Cattle.
MONEY THAT WAS WELL SPENT
A Belief That There Is 10 BE a Num-
Der Of Seasons Favorable TO
Stock Raising Is Rife
Among Stockmen.

Chamberlain, May 1.-The first
roundup parties to start out on the an
nua spring roundup Of the western
South Dakota Stock Growers associa~
ton will leave Fort Pierre May 10, on
going direct to the mouth of White river
to work up that stream II another GO
ing down the Missouri river to yellow
Medicine creek, then up that creek 10
White Clay buttes. The round-ups on
the north and south sides OF Bad river,
and lower Cheyenne, will begin May 10;
on the lower Belle Fourche n south
side of the Cheyenne river May Is, ana
on the upper Belle Fourche May 20. The
middle White river and interior round
ups will mmence Jun j. Except in
limited areas cattle are expected 10 DE
found in very fair condition., consider
ing the fact that The winter just past
was the most severe for many years.
OF course, losses were very heavy in
some localities. =. Ct. Sheffield, range
foreman of the Flying V Cattle COM
pany, recently visited the range in the
northwestern portion of the state Tor
the purpose of ascertaining the ondi-
ton OF stock. He was absent two weeks
and during that time rode over a great
er part OF the northern cattle range ~
ing between the Belle Fourche river on
the south, the Sioux reservation on the
east, the Wyoming line on the west and
as far north as the Moreau river lie
saw many dead cattle, both native and
those which had been shipped In, and
said the loss of range cattle In that sec
ton would be heavy. The cattle IN the
range visited by him were principally
those that had drifted from Montana,
the cattle of the Flying V n other
companies and individuals having drift
ed south and east to the Cheyenne river
and perhaps farther. Nevertheless he
h purchase OF more cattle.
Mr.. Sheffield proited by his past ex-
perience In the cattle business n has
q large bunch of cattle at his Grand
River ranch that he has fed through the
winter, but which have now been
turned out TO live on the new grass.
Last season he expended over 81 600 for
moving machines, hay rakes, wagons.
harness and labor, and put up several
hundred tons Of hay. He was laughed
at for his pains, but now the laugh is
turned. He has cattle, while those who
laughed have suffered losses.
The losses would nave been greater
on other parts of the range had IL not
been for the belief hat was quite gen
eral last fall among stockmen that the
winter would be an unusually severe
one, and those who were IN a position
to do so put up all the hay they could
and prepared shelter for their stock in
the event of serious storms. with
scarcely an exception who
did this have reason to congratulate
themselves on their foresight. One or
two instances, however, have been
brought to the attention OF the writer
OF stockmen losing the greater portion
of their cattle, although they had suffi-
cient feed. A disease. thought by some
to be blackleg, attacked some herds and
well nigh annihilated them. A small
stockman in the coded Sioux lands lost
all but one or two 70 his herd of about
sixty head Of cattle from this disease.
He had put up enough hay last all win
ter and has therefore reason TO consider
himself unfortunate.
The Indians on the Sioux reservation
were perhaps the heaviest losers be,
cause of the storms of last winter. Some
years ago the idea that they could be
encouraged 10 become successful farm
ers was practically abandoned, not
wholly because the red men were too in,
dolent to properly cultivate their farms,
but principally for the reason that the
land embraced In their reservations i,
not OF the best and is hardly fit for ag-
r%icultural purposes unless irrigated by
meal of artesian wells. Therefore Ii
was natural that the government should
them in stock raising, for
which their reservations are remark
ably we'll adapted. Breeding cattle
were issued to the Indians by the gov
eminent, and when their cattle were fit
for market the government purchased
them, paying therefor the highest mar
ket price. The cattle were her killed
and ~butchered and once more Issued to
the ndian with other r~ations. Under
this fostering are of Uncle Sam many
OF the red men became the owners or
large herds OF cattle, and it was rare
indeed to find an Indian who did not
own at least a few head.
But last summer and fall comparatively
few Of the indian possessed sufficient en-
ergy 10 put up hay or make other prepar-
atoms for the hard winter which they
themselves were the loudest in proclaim
quence the first few hard storms scattered
their cattle like ohaff before the wind, and
the storms which followed at frequent in
pleted the work of destruction.
Many OF the Indian cattle strayed TO the
ceded portion OF the reservation and got
among the herds OF the white cattlemen.
but the latter could not feed them without
danger Of running short OF feed for their
own herds. and In consequence hundreds
or indian cattle were deliberately starved
to death. This spring the Indians hunted
up the dead carcasses and skinned them
hauling the hides to market here and thus
deriving a slight revenue from the dead
AS before stated, outside of limited
areas, such as those mentioned, where
storms appeared more severe than on 9th
er portions OF the range, cattle came
through the winter in fair condition. For
many years the cattle business has been
Dakota ranges rave made Immense nro.
tts. For year after year cattle graZed on
the range winter and summer without be-
losses occurred except from naturaI
causes. Prior to last fall ii Is many years
SINCE cattlemen even thought of putting
and shelter Of their stock, SO mild were the
winters and so slight the snowfall. and
tney are FAR from being discouraged be-
eduse they experienced one unfavorable
Their faith in the belief that there will
again be a number of seasons favorable TO
inc raising OF stock Is evidenced by the
fact that cattlemen. especially those of
the larger companies, which experienced
me heaviest losses last winter. are pur-
the southwestern markets to place on the
g Of the northwest. The managers Of
the Sheidley Cattle company will place
10000 head of young Arizona cattle on
their south Dakota range. A. J. Day OF
Spearfish has gone to Texas to begin hin
ping cattle north.
He recently purchased 5000 head, and ex-
poets to increase this to 10000 head. They
viii be placed on his Grand river range.
chase large numbers, while some who in
tended doing so will wait until the prices
Of cattle In the southwest, which advanced