Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-03-20

but knew "Old Mack" who for years.
Kept a pig on the West side, and the
only M in the county? Mack always
kept Budwelser and kept 1t cold;
though he was never known to put up
or purchase ice. In 1891 there was to
be held here q term Of court, the 50.
loon on the East side was kept by a
man named sE'ixby, who was a "Jok-
or" A few days before the opening of
court Mack was in Bixby's saloon
when Bixby asked him If he had re-
ceived '''one Of these letters from
the Judge" Mack asked: What let.
ters?" Bixby took a letter from the
back bar which he proceeded to read
to Mack us follows:
Bismarck, N. b, June 1891.
Mcssrs. Barnard 4 Bixby,
Medora, N. d.
Dear Sirs:
/ expect to hold a term of court in
your city this month, and as l under
stand that you are keeping a saloon
there / ask that the same be kept
closed during my presence in town. !.
Yours truly
w H. WINCHESTER,
" Judge.
Mack said that he had received no
such letter. Bixby said that the Judge
must have overlooked him; but that
he was going to keep his place closed
and advised Mack to do the same.
Sunday came and found Bixby out Of
beer. During the day u party was
made" up to visit the West side to in
terview Mack. l think Leslie was Of
the party. | well remember that there
was q clean cut young lawyer from
Mandan. Gle is there yeti with the
party. When W. entered the place
both Mack and the room was found
to be rather dirty. There was dirt
everywhere. l don't thing u friend
from Mandan had ever visited such
l place.. nc was looking for a place
to sit down and then would look at
his trousers, which were spotless. He
appeared very much embarrassed, but
we told him that he would get used
to such things if he remained in the
West. We called for beer but Mack
said he could not sell us any as the
Judge had written Bixby a letter to
close during court, and that out of
respect for the Court he had done so.
1t required some of Leslie's finest or
atory to convince him that no such
letter had been written by the Judge;
that he would not compromise HIM
self in such a way; that Bixby had
been selling by the back door, ant
only wanted Mack to close SO he
(Eixby) could get all the trade. Les.
lies argument and the expectation of
cash from the crowd was too much
for Mack to withstand. Soon we had
beer in plenty.
Mack had deserted a family in Still
water in the early sos. He came West
as cook on a boarding "a He next
went into the restaurant business, and
then went to cooking on Johnnie
Goodhall's roundup. He was a very
1issipated person and once when in.
toxicatcd Mitch tied him in a knot and
fastened him to a sage brush. When
he had slept off his jag he swore of
drinking and commenced to save. He
uICu Ill lClSs dI otlllW 0IVl, ., N1 l1lIlss
where he had gone when i'll expecting
to find his children. When the admin
,.strator searched his house six thou
sand dollars in certificate Of deposits
we're found in an old trunk. It's only
right and proper that we say no Ill
of the dead. In this case I must say
that | consider Old Mack to have
leen one Of the most inhuman of men.
He lived for thirty years within one
days travel Of his family and never
made an effort to visit them or as,
certain il they we're dead or alive.
None Of his children have ever been
located by the administrator.
Just what year the first stock was
placed Oh the ranges Of Billings coul-
ty, or by whom, ! do not know to a
certainty. II | am not mistaken $. M.
crris, n Of the ranch managers,
told me that II. B. Wadsworth shipped
n the first cattle and the year was
1881. 1t could not have been much
sooner for the Indian wars were not
over until about this year. j.. W. Fol
lis, II Of the old range fOremen.
tells me that the Berry Boice Cattle
Co.. and Towers & Gudgell brought
small herds of mixed stock here from
Colorado in 1883. | am satisfied that
Ferris & Merriiield were holding cat
tie at the Chimney Butte ranch Us
early as that year, and that Theodore
Roosevelt and GregOr. Lang shipped
in stock the same year.
In a copy Of the Bad Lands Cow
Boy of October, 1884, | find the follow
ing brands advertised: r. w. Casey,
slipping Bottom Ranch, Badger Cattle
Co., Little Missouri Horse Co., w. N.
Thompson & Co., Lemoyne Cattle Co..
SOHO Cattle Co., Chimney Butte
Ranch, Bullion Creek Ranch, N. p.
Ref. Car Co., Surfing Or elk Ranch,
Berry Boice Cattle Co., r. G. Paddock
Custer Trail Ranch. Towers & Gud-
CELL. Fad Lands Cattle Co.. Neimmela
Ranch. AS the foregoing were abor
all the early day ranches, it Is pre-.
sumed they we're all stocked by "a.
The question now arises from whence
came the cattle? The same copy"Of
the Cow Boy tells us that during the
year the N. p. had shipped to the
ranges in western Dakota and Mon
tana from Iowa, Wisconsin and Min
nesota 100000 head Of yearlings and
two year Odds; many of which num-
Der must have been on the ranges
when the severe winter of 1867 IN