The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-02-23
Cattle Kings Lose Their Grip on
Favorite Stronghold in N. D.

schafer, N. D., Feb. 23.--Among
the causes that have made for the
100000 decrease in the cattle supply
OF the country, reported by the depart
ment of agriculture. the passing of the
ranches i'm western North Dakota
takes no insignificant place. But five
years ago there were more than half
million cattle ranging between the
Missouri river and the Montana line.
This wear there are barely 100,00
Stock ranching on large scale is
practically finished in the last, best
stronghold of the cattle kings east of
the Rocky mountain states-western
North Dakota. Where formerly they
''cut OUT their beef by the thousand
each fall and shipped them east to
dominate the markets, last year the
farmers filled the elevators with TO-,
100000 bushels Of grain.
The prairie trails made by the In
dian and buffalo, worn deep by the
herd and the cowboy, have broadened
out into roads and the rumble of
thousand wagons heavily laden with
wheat, has succeeded the tramp,
tramp, of the big herds of a decade
ago. The barb wire fence is checking
off the rancher's domain of a million
acres into an infinite number of quar-
ter section farms.
A threshing rig has threshed $4,000
bushels of grain at Medora in the very
heart OF the bad lands" An old
time rancher has recently carried off
a prize at the National Corn EXPOSE
ton. The railroads are building
| through the slope country, and the
last chapter of the story, When Cattle
Was King in western North Dakota
speeds to close.
Hemesteader Triumphs.
For five years now the homesteader
has been relentlessly narrowing abe
| free range. No place has been too re-
| mote, too unattractive for him. He
has built his sod shack not only on
the level prairie, but down in the
coolies" and draws" on the gumbo
| flats and sandy knobs. At every stand
| he has uttered the same dictum,
move on to the cattlemen, and
there has beSn nothing for the cattle
| men to do but move.
The big outfits have all sold out.
| Some Of the smaller concerns, the
scorned hester of the big days, are
| still holding out and, by close herding
on the patches of prairie yet untaken
and drawing back farther and farther
into the rough country along the Mis-
souri,, succeeded in grass-feeding
| few hundreds here and there This
year even these have been forced to
| put up hay and provide grain to help
out the range through the winter.
| In retreating begrudgingly the cat
| tie men have not ceased to say, "A
man is fool who attempts to farm
west of the Missouri" But for five
succeeding seasons now the land has
Yielded good returns and the farmer
has been acquitted of the charge of
| fault judgment. Last years bumper
crop of all grains and an average yield
| of twenty to twenty five bushels OF
wheat to the acre clinches the matter
and brings conviction to the last
| doubling Thomas. Next year will see
| yet greater influx of settlers, any
| thousand more acres converted from
pasture to field, and the raising of
| cattle on the free range will dwindle
to its very end.
1t is a picturesque life that is pass
| ing in the slope country. The lonely
| homesteader. cooking his bacon dinner
in "the little old sod shanty ON the
| claim is a tame substitute for the
cowboy lashing his "bronc'' over the
prairie to bring a wild-eyed steer to
earth.
A little more than generation ago,
the first herds were brought up the
long trail from the Rio Grande to be
! finished off on the plains of western
North Dakota. They were double
| wintered and then shipped to market
in prime condition. The success of the
venture brought other herds of Texan
| long horns and soon the Long X outfit
had run in its $4,000, the Turkey Track
10000, the W-Bar $4,000. the oX's and
101's a half hundrea Thousand each
and cattle were ranging to the Cana
dian border.
The prairies covered with rich ma
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