The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-03-21
A. K. Ranch, Glendive, Mont

|
The enclosed newspaper article i
as follows:
Mature seems to have entered in
to a conspiracy with the incoming
host of dry farmers to finally chang
the character of this country entirel,
from it's old stock days.
The present winter is described a
1.-The worst in twenty years in thi
section for stock on the range" bu
at the same time it is realized tina
conditions for good crop year wer'
never better than at present-seem
ingly very patent illustration o
the old saying, cts an i'll wind tina
doesn't blow someone good.'
Much Loss of Stock.
1t is impossible for any one to tel
as yet how much range stock has suf
fered, but is is certain that large
losses have occurred, especially
among cattle. Sheep have Jared bet
ter, it is said, and horses have done
remarkably we'll. One we'll known
stockman said last Saturday that he
had a band of colts that had been on
the range all winter, and he was sur.
prised to find them looking as sleek
and fat as could be, though their
legs plainly showed injuries from
paving through the ice to get to
their feed.
Even to those stockmen who have
not, perhaps, suffered great losses, it
has been an exceedingly expensive
winter. Some of the sheepmen have
been fedding heavily. One flockmas-
ter has been obliged to order several
carloads of corn, so that profits on
the woolies have largely gone glim-
mering this season.
Shows Badly Crusted.
The trouble has been, of course,
in the crusting of the SHOWS, which
have lain heavy on the bench lands.
Here in the city one does not real
lied the depth of the snow outside.
And while these conditions would
hardly cause a passing unpleasant
ness to the farmer who could easily
house his comparatively small herds
for feeding in snug barns and sheds,
to the stockman with hundreds OF
head ranging broadcast, the crusted
snow has meant disaster and loss.
This weeks heavy fall of snow, all
over Dawson county, is a great thing
for the farmers-the greatest thing
that could happen. 1t will mean
that the ground will be thoroughly
soaked previous to seeding time, with
enough moisture stored from last
fall and as a result of the spring
thaws yet to come, to carry the crops
we'll along into the summer. With
like a normal rainfall dur
ing the growing months, this ought
to be wonderful crop year for Daw-
son county.
Concerning stock conditions in
general throughout the state, the
Helena Record has the following to
say
Losses Above the Average.
''The worst winter in twenty
years." was the opinion expressed to-
day by one of the big stockmen OF
the state Cattle losses, he said, will
be considerably above the average,
and the range stock is coming
through in pretty bad shape. Not
only has it resulted in the death of
hundreds of head of stock, but the
wolves have killed hundreds more.
The region in which the winter
has spelled disaster to the cattlemen
begins about fifteen miles north of
Fort Benton and from there to the
Canadian boundary and eastward to
the Dakota line, taking in portions of
Choteau, Hill, Blaine, and practical
ly all of Valley county,, and, dipping
southwark, includes Dawson and
Custer counties.
1T has been a good winter over
head, but bad underfect," said this
stockman. There was a heavy fall
of snow in November, followed by a
thaw and then a freeze. Then more
snow fell and then came another
thaw in January. This sheeted the
ground with ice, and made it practi-
cally impossible for the cattle to
reach the, grass.
Shelter All Gone.
"The influx of settlers has added
to the troubles of cattlemen. Every
sheltered spot on the range, every
waterhole, and all the bottoms have
been filed upon. In former years the
stock drifted to these sheltered
places, but this winter they had to
and, in addition. could not break
through the crust of ice.
'The wolves have pulled down
hundreds of animals. From the
mouth of the Judith river eastward
through brakes of the Missouri to
Dakota, the range has been infested
by them. l know of several ranch
men with small holdings who were
forced to sell out. 1t was~a case of
getting what they could or leaving it
all for the wolves. don't under
stand it. The bounty is higher now
than ever before and trappers could
make good money killing wolves,
but fewer men are in the business
now than when the bounty was three
dollars head.
Sheepmen Better on.
"Sheepmen have come through
the winter in better shape than the
stockmen. The majority of them
had plenty of hay, they were forced
to feed it., but it has kept their losses
from being much above normal.
Seattle shipments from Montana