The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-04-10
w. T. LaF gillette, After Careful
Investigation, Makes This
Statement.
WINTER NOT A HARD ONE
Interviews With Stockmen Living West
Of River Serve to Contradict SEN
sationaI Stories of Severe
Losses.

trail South Dakota and correspondents
to the daily newspapers have been
writing all sorts of reports concerning
the loss Of live stock On the ranges
between the Missouri river and the
Black Hills. Many Of these reports
would lead people to think that in To-
calities the loss was so or 90 per cent,
andAn some instances total.
For the past two weeks this writer
has taken the trouble to interview live
stock producers of cattle, sheep and
horses with the purposes Of getting the
facts concerning the losses between
Bad river on the north and the Nebras-
ka state line, where thousands Of head
of cattle and sheep have ranged win
ter n summer for the past eight or
ten years.
In December there was a heavy fall
of snow from Pierre south to the Ne
Draska state line extending west from
the Missouri river fifty miles and about
the same distance east. Farther west
in the state the snow fall at no time
exceeded eight inches until the foot
hills OF the Black Hills were reached,
and there 1t was much deeper and re-
NAMED on the grOund until very re-
Gently. Experienced cattle and sheep
men whose stock was ranging fifty and
seventy miles west of the Missouri
river when the now fell in December
pesun TO make arrangements for get
ing thelr cattle and sheep to their
ranches, where they had more or less
nay, which they had cut the last season
and prior years. If there was not hay
ana reed enough at the ranches to WIN
ter the cows and young cattle they
would cut out one, two, three or five
hundred head and drive them east Of
the river snto the farming districts of
the state, Where they purchased feed
TO winter them. 1t is a safe estimate
10 state tlat $4,000 head of range cattle
were W1ntered among the farmers of
Brule county alone, while others were
shipped to the eastern part of the state
nr Iowa.
Average Loss 3 to 6 Per Cent.
I 1t is true that the loss on the Da-
kota ranges yearly among the cattle
vary from 3 to 6 per cent, and in some
among new beginners it will
exceed that, but those who produce
n handle northern cattle usually
nave a nominal loss. Among the reIi-
able men who have successfully han
died n cattle west of Chamberlain
AS W 4 d1lu bdu river districts
this writer quotes the statements of a
few for public information. Harry
Ham. of the successful Ham firm of
rather and two ons, who own several
thousand head, makes this statement:
w e have been in the cattle business
here for fifteen years. Starting with
q small bunch in southern Lyman
county and l am sure our loss is lighter
the past winter tha it was six years
81 on "a Mo h yyn f&l 49, . ,
COWS In u bunch the past three
months, but u 8 and 4~-year-old steers
have run on the range, and the past
four weeks we have been riding all
the time n have seen hundreds of
head of ours that look as we'll as they
did a year ago.. I do not believe our
loss will be greater than s per cent.
on the entire bunch. I do know Of one
or two men who brought in young
Texas cattle late last summer and had
no feed for them and their loss will be
heavy. One man will probably lose half
his bunch.''
Henry Brodly, who owns several
hundred head of cattle and about 1000
head Of sheep that range neal his
ranch 100 miles west Of Chamberlain,
said: II had a letter from my partner
at the ranch a short time ago and he
says If we have a dry April our loss
will be no heavier this year than any
other year. I do not believe our loss
will exceed s or 6 per cent, and the ex-
perienced cattlemen in that section Of
the range do not expect more than
their usual loss"
Lost Two Head Out of 27O,
f. p. Ganaway Of the firm Of Germ &
GanaWay, who own about 800 head of
cattle, said: I'VE have 270 head of cat
tie at our White river ranch and thus
far we nave lost only two head. We
have wintered $40 head in Brule county
with only a loss of six head. We have
about 100 head of 3-year-old steers that
have u on the range all winter and
from the best reports we get our loss
there is not more than 5 or 6 per cent"
Major X. Il. Somers, Indian agent at
Lower Brule. said: Myself. brothers
and cousins have several hundred head
of cattle that. range south of White
river in Lyman and Gregory counties
and from the best information I can
get U loss all around wont exceed s
or 6 per cent"
Ma-tin Johnson, a conservative and
successful sheep man, whose ranch ia
eighty miles west of this CITY. saws.
Il own several thousand head Of sheen
and my loss is lighter this wear than
several other winters. The cattle men
in our section of the country will NOT
nave o per cent. loss, but on the Rose
bud reservation. where the snow Was
U deeper. I should not be surprised
II some men lose as much as 90 or Ok
percent"
Major S. Winter of the firm of Winter
q Kaufman, avs "Out Of our bnnch5
OF several hundred head of cattle r do
not think III loss will be 10 per cent
while some other mems losses will he
less than that. However, 1 know Of
one or W men with small punches
who have had no range experience that
viii 40 or so per cent. Of their
doggy's that were brought into this
country late last season."
New Men Are the Losers.
t&t g. M. Lockwood. who is Interested
With his son in 800 head of cattle north-
west OF Chamberlain thirty miles. saws.
Our loss will not be S per 4 al.
though we have fed hay the past six
weeks to more than half of our bunch y
Hugo Schilling, manager Of the Gan
adlan Cattle company. with a ranch
n.White river, forty miles west. saws.
we will be about as heavy losers a.
any In U section of ountry owinp
70 ne fact that we put In eyerai9hIins
dred young cattle rather late in tho
season. but I do not think i loss viii
exceed 15 per cent
~. K Selland, whose White r,ver
ranch Is seventy miles west. eava fba