Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-09-03
By WALTER ED TAYLOR


~ LD-TTNGE eastern MOntans
Al cattlemen gathered around the
corraIs at sale Of registered
~ Hereford bulls I'm Billings re-
Gently recalled that 81 years ago
this spring the Montana cattle industry
was digging itself out of what Is prob
ably the most memorable winter In its
history. In the words of one old timer,
'aThese modern dudes Just don't know
what real tough winter Isl"
MOntana,s hardest winter was the
winter Of 1886-87 and In the history of
the state the date is as important as
1915 in French history or 1865 in the
story of Great Britain. It Is always re-
ferred to by old timers as "the terrible
winter" and it was indeed terrible. 1t
marked the turning point In the his
tory Of the cattle industry In the state;
1t marked the closing of the frontier
and the beginning Of q new era of
development. Before that winter the
cattle business had been conducted as
a boom industry, carried on in many
cases In ny-by-night, get-rich-quick,
-take-the-hin manner. The
winter Of 1886-87 ended that phase Of
the cattle business forever.
When the winter had passed many
thought the industry was ruined for
good but the final result was that the
cattle ranchers emerged on a sounder,
saner, more profitable basis of oper-
alton than ever before and the annual
cattle output Of the nineties was al
most twice that Of any year preceding
"the terrible winter"
During the years 1885 and 1885 the
steadily falling price Of beef in east
ern markets set the stage for the cruel
drama which was to be played on Mon
tana cattle ranges In the winter of
1861. In 1885 beef prices dropped
considerably and In 1886 went even
lower. Many Montana cattlemen felt
that prices had reached rock bottom
and could not go lower and that they
would improve the following year. Near
" every stock grower held over as
many cattle as he could and some even
shipped cattle in for winter feeding
in spite of the fact that forage was
low and there was a plague of grass
hopperS in some sections of eastern
Montana. The situation was made even
more serious by the hardness of the
fall rains which, when they did come,
in October, were too late to do any
good to the range. In the wake of such
q combination Of Ill luck, range fires
occurred In several sections to further
deplete the supply of forage. Wolves
and coyotes were exceptionally plenti-
full that year and began to prey on
the herds early In the fall. Thus did
nature marshal her forces TO present
the most unlovelv side Of her character,
and as October faded into November,
1885, every cattleman ON the range
prayed that the winter would be a mild
one.
The SHOWS began In mid November
and were the worst that even the old
est old timers had ever seem going ON
unabated for weeks on end. The tenn
peratre dropped to zero and below
and remained there. In the words Of
Granville Stuart, EFT was as though the
Arctic regions had moved down and
enveloped U.s." Snow fell almost every
day during the months of December,
January and February. The severe cold
made riding the range q physical inn
possibility and the cowboys were ma
r0oned for months In isolated cabins.
often without sufficient supplies.
Tragedy doomed on every side as the
cattle gave up the search for food and |
huddled together to die by the thous- |
ands In coulees and river-bottom /
shelters. Some even wandered into
towns, attracted by the hay in livery |
barns. Their pitifui wailings made the 1
days and nights hideogs for humans