The Dickinson press., 1906-10-06
Billings County Homes.

eastern corner OF Billings county:
John Clark, former Dickinson resi-
dent, has desirable ranch location on
the east side of Rainy butte. One of the
good features of the place is a large
spring which has been piped from the
butte side to the house and on to the
stables and yards. Mr.. and Mrs. Clark
have been out from the city nine years
and seem satisfied with their lot. Mr..
Clark and partner purchased $4,000
worth of the c. {. Mead horses this year
and have been retailing them in car lots,
in addition to those owned by Mr.. Clark
individually. The ranch also runs some
SEQ head of native cattle. OF late Mr..
Clark has been breeding black cattle
and he has many fine beef steers which
will bring good prices in the markets.
At the new {. Z. Mead ranch, seven
miles up the Cannon Ball river from New
England, is is spIIendidly appointed stock
thicket of box elder trees in bend of
the river, where stock can get the finest
kind of shelter during stormy wiRter
days. Mr.. Mead's horse corrals are the
best arranged Of any in the country and
adjoining country. The calf sheds and
corrals are also conveniently planned.
A spring in the bank of the river can be
piped into the house, and the same bank
affords coal for the place and the neigh
bors round about. MIR. Mead has several
large bands of sheep out on shares and
the most of his cattle are placed out
either by the year or on shares He sold
200 horses this year and is reducing his
home herd of cattle to few hundred
head. Few ranchers have, in IS years,
met with the success that c. c. Mead
has. His brother, John F. Mead, of Ran
dolph, Vermont, who has an interest in
the business, has been at the ranch the
past summer, and will join his family in
Los Angeles the coming month.
Eleven years ago E. E. Cook located
sheep ranch few miles west of the
Rainy buttes. His house is located in a
deep gulch and piped with fine spring
water, the overflow of which goes to
troughs below where the sheep are
watered and fed in stormy weather. Mr.,
Cook is adding large room to his dwell
ing this fall and appears to be arranging
for all the home comforts there are
His horse barn is constructed of logs.
and Bad Lands timber also enters
largely into the construction of his sheds,
which will accommodate 2Ioo sheep and
his 20 head of cattle. He has 800 tons Of
hay in the stacks which is probably a
great deal more hay than he will feed
the coming winter. Mr.. Cook always
folders his lambs in winter and he
always has good success with them.
One of the attractive spots on the Cook
homestead is a 1o-aere field on the
plateau above the house where 5000 or
6ooo thrifty trees are growing. The
2-year-old cottonwoods are and Iosf fen
tail and those out years areaI5 and rs
feet high. This year Mr.. Cook set 800
ash, elm,. box elder and cottonwood
trees, in addition to several varieties of
fruit trees, and s. per. cent ived. He
cultivates for garden truck for few
Years and then Sets the. strip to trees.
His native pines and Bad Lands cedars
are also doing we'll, but out of 100 east
ern :spruces set this year only 20 lived.
TMr. Cook. hasscurrants, plums, straw
berries, etc., that are doing well, his
berry patch yielding something like 100
quarts this year. Mr.; and Mrs. Cook
are located nine miles from New Eng
land but in their business this distance
from town is mo drawback.
On the north fork of Cedar creek, in
the southeastern corner of the county,
w. B. Galligan, proprietor of the w
ranch, is located: Several hundred head.
of fine native cattle Craze contentedly
about this ranch. Mr.. Galligan is per-
haps the Oldest cattleman in the country,
having been riding the range and caring
for range stock continuously for "a years.
He is from Texas and in the early seven
ties was trailing herds north across In
dian Territory, in the days when the
/ IvIS
got chance at them. This veteran also
Dodge and Wichita, Kansas, and is per.
fectly familiar with early day grazing of
Texas cattle in Kansas summers and
their sale to Missouri feeders in the fall.
He was with the Hash Knife Cattle CO.
in 1884 and subsequent years, and was
through the Cedar creek and Cannon
Ball river country in 1883 when the vast
buffalo herds were being slaughtered.
The Hash Knife put 500 Texas cattle in
this northern country first and made their
initial beef shipment from the little stock
yards at Dickinson the fall of 1883. The
prices were fine and the company went
wild over their profits. The following
year, when the Eland stock yards were
constructed, the company loaded l2,o84
head of beef cattle for market at Dick
inson. This was the year when the ship
ments reached 10000 head, beef herds
being driven in from Wyo. and all parts
of the southwest. In 1885 Mr.. Galligan
delivered 5000 beef cattle for the Hash
Knife at the DeMores slaughtering plant
in Medora. John w. Goodall received
the cattle for the Marquis. The Hash
Knife increased their northern herds to
5000 for the winter of 1867, the most
severe of any in the history of the coun-
| try. In those days no hay or shelter was
provided for stock, and but 1870 of this
southern company's cattle survived.
Their northern herds were never re-
plenished. Il:
IN 1899 MIR. Galligan concluded that
he had acted as foreman for other people
long enough and started in to build up
his present ranch. It was slow work and
not until a year or two ago did he get all
the buildings and sheds arranged just as
he desired.
The w G ranch is noted for its neat
ness and perfect arrangement in every
particular. Mr.. Galligan has sheds and
J, barns for 400 Or 500 head Of stock, and
Il hn Ia rrvo -,,,o of hoe,