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 he a Mum
Der OF Seasons Favorable to
Stock Raising Is Rife
Among Stockmen.

Chamberlain, May 1.-The first
roundup parties to start out on the an
nual spring roundup Of the Western
South Dakota Stock Growers associa-
ton will leave Fort Pierre May 10, n
going direct to the mouth of White river
to work up that stream and another GO
ing down the Missouri river to Yellow
Medicine creek, then up that creek to
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 and south
side OF the Cheyenne river May is, n
on the upper Belle Fourche May 20. The
middle White river and interior round
ups will ommenc June i. Except in
limited areas cattle are expected TO be
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. $. q. Sheffield, n
foreman Of the Flying V Cattle conn
pany, recently visited the ~ 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 ly-
ing between the Belle Fourche river on
the south, the iou reservation on the
east, the Wyoming line on the west ana
as far north as the Moreau river. lie
saw many dead cattle, both native ana
those which had been shipped In, n
said the loss of range cattle In that sec
ito would be heavy. The cattle on the
range visited by him We're principally
those tina had drifted from Montana,
the cattle of the Flying V and other
companies and individuals having drift
ed south and east to the Cheyenne river
and perhaps farther. Nevertheless he
advises the purchase of more cattle,
Mr.. Sheffield profited by his past ex-
perience In the cattle business ana mas
a large bunch of cattle at his Grand
River ranch tina he has fed through the
winter, but which have o been
turned out to live on the new grass.
Last season he expended over $1,000 Tor
moving machines, hay rakes, wagons,
harness and labor, n put up several
hundred tons of hay. He was aughed
at for his pains, but now the laugh rs
turned. He has cattle, while those who
laughed have suffered losses.
The losses would have been greater
on other parts of the range mad IL not
been for the belief that was quite gen
eral last fall among stockmen mat the
winter would be an unusually severe
one. and those who were III a position
to do so put up all he hay they could
and prepared shelter for their STOCK III
the event of serious storms. with
scarcely an exception VINO
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 sufl-
cient feed. A disease. thought by some
to be blackleg. attacked some herds ana
well nigh annihilated them. A small
stockman i'm the coded SiouX and lost
all but one or two 70 his herd of about
sixty head of cattle from his 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 TO become succession 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 sg-
r%icultural unless irrigated by
means of artesian wells. Therefore IL
was natural that the government should
encourage 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 mt
for market the government purchased
them, paying therefor the highest mar
ket price. The cattle were then killed
and butchered and nee more issued to
the Indians with other rations. Under
this fostering care 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
W at least a few head.
But last summer and fall comparatively
few OF the Indians possessed sufficient en-
ergy to put up hay or make other prepar-
atoms for the hard winter which they
themselves were the loudest in proclaim
ing was surely coming, and In conse-
quence the first few hard storms scattered
their cattle like chaff before the wind. and
the storms which followed at frequent in
tervals for several months thereafter com
pleted the work of destruction.
Many of the Indian cattle strayed to he
coded 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
W herds, and In consequence hundreds
of 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
very profitable, and stockmen on the South
Dakota ranges have made immense pro-
fits. For year after year cattle graZed on
the range winter and summer without be-
Ing fed a pound of grain or hay, and no
causes. Prior to last fall IL is many years
since cattlemen even thought of putting
up hay or otherwise providing for the care
and shelter of their stock, so mild were the
winters and so slight the snowfall, and
they are far from being discouraged be-
cause they experienced one unfavorable
Their faith in the belief that there will
again be a number of seasons favorable to
the raising of stock is evidenced by the
fact that cattlemen. especially those Of
the larger companies, which experienced
the heaviest losses last winter, are pur-
chasing vast numbers OF young cattle in
the southwestern markets to place on the
ranges of the northwest. The managers OF
the Sheidley Cattle company will pace
10000 head of young Arizona cattle on
their South Dakota range. A. j. Day of
Spearfish has gone 10 Texas to begin ship
ping cattle north.
He recently purchased 5000 head, and ex-
poets to increase this to 10000 head. They
will be placed on his Grand river range.
A number OF other stockmen will also pur-
chase large numbers, while some who in
tended doing so will walt until the prices
of cattle I'm the southwest. which advanced
in expectation of A brisk demand, are more