Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-12-03
BY ERIC THANE


~The Cattle King Of Eastern Mon
tana"-thus history has titled Pierre
Wibaux, whose bronze statue stands in
the town named after him 1t Is sig
nificant that he was called king"
Other men were seattle barOns," but
Pierre Wibaux was a cattle king" In
the heyday Of his empire Of grass he
had his brand on more than 100000
head Of stock.
Wibaux. descendant of a prominent
French family was fresh from his ma
tive land when he drifted into eastern
Montana in the year 1883. The TO
nance of cattle raising attracted him,
and at once he invested $4,000 in a
thousand head Of stock. He was, as re-
ported at the time, Lousy with the
tainted needful "a condition woe
fully reversed after the disastrous biz
yards Of the winter Of 1861. But
until that time his herd. under his
careful management grew and flour
ished. He established his home ranch
on Beaver creek, not many miles from
the present-day town OF WlbauX,
county seat Of Wibaux county in east
ern Montana, and became the social
business and financial arbiter for the
region. The Wibaux home spread was
noted far and wide as the epitome OF
western luxury, and Pierre Wibaux
became In fact a king, with an empire
Of grass greater in size than many
European nations.
He employed q young army OF ran
MES to care for his vast herds; settle
mentS were far and few, with oppor-
tlnities for relaxation strictly limited,
and as a result the boys blew off steam
in the only town within reasonable
distance. This settlement was the pro-
genitor Of the modern town of Wibaux.
Previous to the Frenchman's arrival,
Dawson county, one Of the first coun-
ties in Montana, was divided into vot
ing precincts. Number four was called
Keith, and so, too, was dubbed the
settlement Of shacks and sod-hutS
lying within it. Keith grew and flour
ished; doomed with the arrival of the /
railroad. and presently was designated /
by the title OF 'MingusVtlle" Wibaux /
had taken on a partner. one Gus Grisy, /
whose wife's name was Min" 1t was /
to honor the couple that this new 4
name was selected. With true western
gallantry the lady was given first place. /
Mingusville Was Dive
Mingusville was a lurid dive, reputed
one Of the hell-holes of creation, and
even without the exaggeration of no
toriety. 1t must have Appropriated the
fictiOnal towns which appear so often
in western stories and cowboy movies.
At first it had but one place Of ac-
commodation for transientS, a loft over
the main saloon. You slept there IF
you had the courage" Medora, over in
Dakota, found a rival In Mingusville.
Medora was a coW-town Of reasonable
proportions, without peer for general,
all-around wickedness until MinguS-
vile began to flourish, when the two
towns raced neck and neck for the
doubtful honor of toughest town north
of the Rio Grande."
Nedora, however, early evidenced
indications Of literary culture. A news
paper, The Badlands Cowboy" was
established there. but after a brief eX-
istence. folded. The citizens of Pierre
WibauX's kingdom thereafter for some
time depended for their literature on
whatever letters came to them from
the east-or mail order catalogues,
those omniscient sheep Herder's
Bibles" which have had an influence I
upon the west yet untouched by any
historical research.
The rannies off the range, gallop- 1
ing into MinguSville in search of adj
venture, expressed themselves with
their siX-guns. Storekeepers COM
planned that as soon as a new sign y
was put up it was shout out of its l
frame. One enterpriSing merchant, To- {
Gated at the end of the street where
the boys were accustomed to break l
their guns after the first volley, picked y
up the empty cartridges and construct
ed a sidewalk from them in front of / q
his store-probably the strangest side v
walk that ever existed in the west o
WibauX had in the town of Medora o
3 neighbor whose name was destined to e
star among the great men of all time u
Theodore Roosevelt Roosevelt land II
I'd in Mingllsville for the first time
1t about the period of Wibaux's adj Il
1ent. He was compelled to spend a "
light at the saloon, before mentioned tE
his stay rendered unpleasant by the 10
act that he was compelled to whip II
! bully. A year later Roosevelt re- a
urned, this time to find lodgings of II
! more comfortable nature Here @
'oung Roosevelt, still fresh from the er
,aSt and unSchooled in the ways of
alkaI etiquette" had his first Sc
iOuS lesson in when to keep his mouth ca
hut. At midnight his bed partner was Sc
by group Of armed, masked to
men and taken away. Roosevelt's in of
Tuiry concerning the incident, the next or
lay, was cody ignored, and when he tw
vas persistent, he was told politely m
,ut none the less firmly that -Four NJ
Eyes, it amt none Of yore business, la
N you'll stay healthier If yuh keep w
ore mouth she'll" III
Marketed Stock There IN
Later, Roosevelt drove his stock to %
dlngusvllle. He shipped from there tn
ather than from Medora because the ID