The Dickinson press., 1904-02-20
RANCH TALK.

uAFNiNSbo sfS~s
Chas. f. Ellis of Mandan, n. OAK,
offers for sale or trade some fine regis
tered bulls, North Dakota bred. There
are four Herefords and three Galloways,
all excellent individuals. I-I6-tt
According to the Department of Agri.
cultures estimates of farm animals in
the country January I, 1904, there is an
increase of 3l5,5qo milk COWS and a de.
crease of ~I,22o,7oS other cattle, making
a net decrease Of ol5,l18 cattle OF all
kinds. Sheep show the greatest shrink
age, the decrease being put at l7,334,732
head. The horse population shows an
increase Of 1856 head. These figures
ought to be anything but discouraglng
| to owners Of live stock. Perhaps the
greatest surprise is in the deacrease Of
cattle, the popular idea having been
that supplies would show a large gain.
Sheep growers surely ought to take
| courage from the heavy decrease in
| numbers, while horse men do not seem
to have gotten the country we'll supplied
with equine stock
In Montana the snow has been quite
deep this winter, according to reports
from Wibaux and Ekalaka.
Within the next two or three months a
number Of live stock associations will
hold their annual meetings. The Cattle
Kaisers' Association OF Texas will meet
at Fort Worth March 8 and Q. Many
feeders and buyers from all over the
United States will be there desiring to
make contracts for spring delivery. The
Western South Dakota Stockgrowers'
Association at Rapid City, S. D. April H.
and The Montana Stockgrowers' Associa'
ton at Miles City, Mont, April 10. All
the above are members Of the National
Live Stock Association, which will hold
its next meeting at Denver, Col, Janu'
airy 10, II, IL and l3, 1905.
Straw stacks are a great help to many
of the farmer stock-raisers this winter.
Geo. He~ttenbaugh, stock inspector fol
Stark county, has completed about hal
his work and has found but two "sus
pect" cases of cattle scab.
t Cotton is up to nc in price and sheep
r men have good reason for believing tina
wool will bring a good price the coming
season.
I.C.F F. Parker returned Wednesda
from a trip to Thirty-Mile creek. He re
ports some losses, both in sheep an
cattle, out that way.
1ohn Reid: The past month has bee
= severe on stock in the Bad Lands. Stron
native steers have fallen off a great de;
" and unless we have very favorabl
weather from this time until grass grow
= there cannot help but be quite a loss.
John Hartinger is n of those peop'
# who spits things out just as they seem
= be to him and he does not have mue
=. patience with those fellows who try
!, make it appear that they have more stoe
d than they really have or who report tn
is they have had no losses when their neig
bors all know differently. Mr.. Harti
ger says: "When you talk ranch, lii
,e to talk a little too. What do you THU
NJ of the storm we had Feb. 1. think
Fl will kill the scab and perhaps somethi1
es else-with some people. have not be
ne around very much, but where ha
IN been there have been some cattle stu
in the snow, and all the cattle saw
he the storm were blinded in the eyes wi
frozen snow and that was not good
.st them, Frank Fowler started home frc
6c nv place in the storm with 7 head
he cattle, got about half way and the cat
he turned back. 1 noticed their eyes a
lat faces were plastered with frozen sno
H. which makes me think that the Gait
in men who try to III their stock throu
M the winter without hay and sheds m
N. have lost a few head during the Feb.
nd storm.
Ias The loss of sheep in the w. w. Phip
lst band from the storm of Feb. I will r
raj be as great as first reported and may I
exceed 900. The storm came up sudds
ly-about 10 o'clock a. m.-and at Il
ny, time the sheep had just got nicely
o.. grazing in a newly plowed snow ro'
Iii. Mr.. Phipps had gone on ahead with I
snow pillow and was out three fourths
id. a mile when he noticed little gusts
in wind and storm indications in the we
we 1t had been quite warm and pleasa
led Looking back he saw only a few hundr
sheep had come over the hill in the 70
the after him and he tied his horses a
-. hurried back and found that the bulk
-; his sheep were within a quarter of a m
~ of home and becoming very uneasy.
add to-the trouble already in sight,
herder was an inexperienced man v
had come for a few days to relieve
CE regular fockmaster. The storm was n
,m- furious, and the sheep ~unmanageat
md and the best that could be done was
IRE. hold them in a bunch. The little ba
of farther out had to be left to shift
the themselves and were quickly scatter
to the four winds. Mrs. Phipps and
der boy came out and all four worked "
the band until nearly shutdown at VIII