Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-01-06

II took Horace Greeleys advice and
went West and for "a years l have been
in the same place in Montana. Until
few years ago l was cattle raiser
Was q small cattleman, you know. and
so head was about my limit. In those
DAYS we never expected that homestead
ers. dry farmers we call them. woui1
take up the land. The cattle got their
feed year in and year out anywhere they
CHANGED to roam and everyone's cattle
were scattered across the ranges to-
.ether. Sometimes my cattle would
wander Of. one or two or more, for over
100 miles and / would know nothing
about these until / received my check
for them.
You see we used to have two round-ups
a year; one in the spring when the calves
were claimed by their owners and brand
ed and one in the fall when the steers
| fit for beef were singled out and shipped
| 10 the market. If steers were found
miles away with strange brand anc
! they were fit for beef they were shipped
I right along with others and the inspector,
| who knows all brands. made note OF all
! the brands no matter where they came
! from and the owner was paid the price
| whether he rounded up and shipped the
steers or whether they were sent in from
| some distant point to which they had
| wandered.
Now that the dry farmers have come
! and taken up land. cattle must be kept
within fences and many old cattle raisers
( have gone to ranching- The railroad
/ owned every other parcel of land, and
We who never expected the land to be
taken up have had to buy some OF the
| lots from the railroad To protect our own
! interests. ] have a ranch now and keep
! only - head of cattle or about that. Just
for milk and butter. / have only it
horses now: just enough to carry on the
ranch WORK raise alfalfa for the SEQ
In a good yea: ard they arc most all
good on the Yellowstone river where nl*
ranch is | get about $40 worth Of Sc q
from each acre. How many ares We /
last season had about 500. You und:r-
stand alfalfa grows without care in my
state. You VIII read all sorts Of exrert
advice sent out By the experiment s:2-
tons on how 70 SOW alfalfa. but th;.,
don't amount to anything n me. l Just
go OF, with tie seed and throw it any
way end il comes up: you can't stop It
Once ] sowed it on spring snow just
thav-ing eff ard IL took Sire. My Oldest
acreage was planted - years ago ard
now it is so healthy and has such rank
bcttor7 that il grows ECO thick for the
n,trroses Of cctting the seed and ] a.,i
going TO run & plow through it and try
10 thin il out. have never planted a =
falfa ia ore place more than once ard II
every case il improves from GEAR TO y =
The roots 80 down into the sand: sill =
rr,nhcr &c feet, thesc roots look Ike
horse .adish you have in Maine, only
they go down deeper each year.
Il get one crop OF alfalfa hay with the
seed and as second crop afterwards. Mea
who don't harvest seed get three crops.
We don't have any barns out there: the
hay lies out until il is FED and We thro",
it onto the stack by machinery. This
rain does not hurt it at all. Alfalfa must
be raised on sandy soil where the roots
can get down deep; it will not Go well
where there is hard pan the thin harl
upper sell you have in many places in
Maine. this clay loan. Yes, ] think it
would take root in a sand bank if it was
started at the right time Of year an
got water enoueh-as much water 80
think you have here in Maine. One year
we lost So per cent. of our cattle and be-
cause of the snow. We seldom have as
much snow as you have here now. That
year we had six weeks of II and mo one
ever dreamed we would have SO much
and there was not ton of hay in Rose
bud county. After that the cattle raisers
got wise and began to raise alfalfa. but
we have never had such a winter since.
My ranch covers s0o acres on the yell
lowstone river in Rosebud county and in
Township 5, Range %. My postof1ice ad-
dress is Forsyth: that is y miles away.
I married soon after went West-a
. Pennsylvania woman. Ny daughter y
years Of age is married and have two
grandchildren. Ny sen, = years old. was
, married the week before I started East
and l don't know whether l could have
left Il it hadn't been for that. ON my
way hone I shall look for sister who
is living in Denver; l didn't know where
, she was until ] came East.
Yes. Horace Greeley's advice is still
!, good-just the way he put it. GO
: West. Young Man" it isn't so good
for an old man. one wants to 60 out
there young and grow up with the
country and the values. There are
chances there in eastern Montana,
where | am. for homesteaders now
and there is work enough on the
ranches for young men SO that they
can get along for a time by hiring
tielr labor to the people already
there"
: The accompanying pictures show
, Mr.. Kimbail and scenes at his home
He is II years Of age but looks much
, younger than the photograph makes
, lin appear Despite his five wounds
. received in the civil War he is ac-
tive: ne carries his stature of six fee;
, and four inches well as the average
man of 60 years. In Montana he was
never i'll and his excellent health he
, ascribes to Montana and his outdoor
life. The picture showing the stack
of hay illustrates the method of
stacking the alfalfa by machinery as
fast as it is raked up and deposited
upon the great fork seen in the pic
ture about to drop mouthful on to
the stack. Another picture shows the
ranch house with the bunk houses for
the help. and stables for the horses
in the distance. His son and wife APP
pear in the group standing about the
automobile Mr. kimball said he did