Livestock and the Open Range; Railroads Link Montana to the Nation.

Livestock and the Open Range; Railroads Link Montana to the Nation

Chapter 8: Livestock and the Open Range Montanas Grasslands Montana had excellent grasslands winter snow not as deep or long-lasting as in Colorado & Wyoming, winds often blew snow off grasses, plenty of water & shelter. Blue grama (top), buffalo grass (middle), western wheatgrass (bottom), etc. provided great forage for cattle. Since most land had not yet been surveyed, nobody owned it so anybody could use it for free.

The Birth of Open-range Ranching Montana cattle ranching began in 1850s with the Grant family buying lame/exhausted cattle from wagon trains on Oregon Trail. Montana gold rushes created great demand for beef as wild game around gold camps was soon hunted out. James and Granville Stuart (right) drove 76 cattle to Bannack in 1862 and opened a butcher shop made great profits.

Longhorns Government shrunk reservation boundaries and pressured tribes to cede reservation land to make more room for cattle ranches. First cattle drive from Texas to Montana was by Nelson Story in 1866 he used his gold profits to buy 600 longhorns, then drove them north. This began a period of many great cattle drives from Texas to Montana cowboy Teddy Blue Abbott (right, at age 18) reported once seeing 29 herds with a total of nearly 60,000 cattle on one section of trail.

A Longhorn, Nelson Story, and the Nelson Story Mansion in Bozeman, Montana

1880s Open Range Cattle Boom Northern Pacific Railroad was completed through Montana in 1883 gave ranchers access to markets all across U.S. Series of mild winters in early 1880s ranchers didnt have to provide hay for their cattle. Ranchers filed homestead claims that had water sources a claim was only 360 acres, but if yours had water, you really controlled thousands of acres of open range that surrounded it. Open-range ranches were huge: 10,000 cattle needed 2.5 million acres of land, and some ranches actually had 40,000 cattle!

Cattle on the open range at Montanas historic Grant-Kohrs Ranch (near Deer Lodge) in the 1880s

The Roundup Cattle drifted and got mixed up with neighboring herds, so every spring and fall, roundups were held. At the roundup all cattle were sorted out, new calves were branded, then each herd was taken back to its home range. Roundups lasted weeks; cowboys rose at 4:00 a.m. and worked all day, every day, until all cattle were rounded up, calves branded, herds separated, etc. After fall roundup, cattle ready for sale were trailed to railhead for shipping.

Branding calves at a roundup on the open range

Who Owned Montanas Ranches? Some of the biggest ranches were owned by outside investors: from Missouri, Nebraska, Texas even New Hampshire, England, Scotland, Norway, & France. Much of the money made by Montanas ranches went to stockholders whod never been here. Large ranches actually owned by Montanans included the Pioneer Cattle Company owned by Granville Stuart, Reese Anderson, & Conrad Kohrs had 12,000 cattle. Frenchman Pierre Wibaux built a large ranch along Mt.-Dakota border & made Mt. his permanent home. Most ranches were small as few as 50 cattle.

Pierre Wibaux Wibaux County and its county seat, the town of Wibaux, are both named for this Frenchman who became one of Montanas biggest ranchers

Ranches on Reservations Ranching helped Indians expand economic opportunities. By 1900, nearly of Blackfeet Reservation families owned cattle; Northern Cheyenne tribe purchased 1,000 cows & 40 bulls in 1903 grew into a herd of 12,000 by 1913. White ranchers often let their herds trespass on reservations. Most Indians preferred ranching over farming it was a way that Indians could be like white men and yet not be white men said one historian.

Modern Crow cowboy John Real Bird; the history book When Indians Became Cowboys

Cowboys About 2/3 were white; about 1/3 were African American, Indian, Metis, Hispanic, etc. Many were teenagers Charlie Russell (right) was 16 when he started as a cowboy, some even younger. Had to work in bitter cold, wicked heat, put up with wind, dust, rain, bugs, accidents, etc. Pay was $20-$40 per month (plus meals provided). Some cowboys saved enough to start their own ranches. Camaraderie, friendship may have been biggest perks of the job.

Women & Family Life Like men, women on ranches had to work hard hand-washing all laundry; cooking; bookkeeping; growing food crops; raising chickens, pigs, milk cows, etc.; mended fences, helped herd cattle Ranch life could be lonely might go months without company. Evelyn Cameron (right): British immigrant homesteader to eastern Montana whose black-and-white photos of early homesteader life are now famous.

Sheep on Montanas Rangeland First sheep brought to Montana by Father Ravalli at St. Marys Mission in 1847; sheep industry here really began in 1869 with 1,500 sheep driven from Oregon to the Beaverhead Valley. By 1869 there were 60,000 sheep on the Musselshell River alone. In Wyoming, cattlemen and sheepmen clashed violently in Montana, many ranches ran both cattle and sheep, so conflict was less common. Sheep were cheaper to raise than cattle & produced wool that yielded annual profits.

A large herd of sheep; by the 1890s, both sheep and cattle badly outnumbered humans in Montana

The Sheepherders Most were experienced sheepmen from other countries: Scotland, Portugal, the Basque region between Spain & France, Mexico, or (less often) Ireland, Norway, or England. A sheepherder mostly worked alone (with his dog) for months at a time. Traveled on horseback but did most work on foot with flocks of 1,500-3,000 sheep. Job mostly entailed watching for danger and responding when needed.

Exterior and interior of a sheepherders wagon; a Basque sheepherder with his wagon and sheepdogs

Horse Raising Many ranches bred horses, as well as cattle and sheep. Indians often preferred raising horses over cattle (horses had been a traditional measure of wealth for Indian families). British ranchers in Montana raised war horses to sell to the military and polo ponies to sell back in England Evelyn Camerons husband, Ewan, originally moved them from England to eastern Montana to raise polo ponies. Copper king Marcus Daly raised thoroughbred race horses at his Bitterroot Stock Farm.

Problems of the Open Range Natural dangers: prairie fires, predators, blizzards, floods, etc. Mavericks: unidentified calves that wandered off from their mothers rule was that mavericks should be branded by whatever ranchers property they were found on. Cattle rustling (theft): rustlers rounded up other peoples cattle, changed the brands, then drove them into Canada or Dakota Territory and sold them. Ranchers sometimes became vigilantes against rustlers Stuarts Stranglers (organized by Granville Stuart) killed at least 15 suspected rustlers in Montana in 1884, plus more in Dakota.

Vigilantes like Stuarts Stranglers often tracked down rustlers and shot them, or hanged them from the nearest tree; when actual lawmen arrested rustlers, they were hanged in a more formal setting

Ranchers Organize Cattle ranchers formed the Montana Stockgrowers Association; sheepmen organized the Montana Wool Growers Association. These groups worked with the territorial legislature to pass laws regulating grazing on public land, hired detectives to check brands, got legislature to created Board of Stock Commissioners to enforce branding laws, etc.

The Hard Winter of 1886-87 500,000 cattle on Montanas open range in 1885; autumn 1885 was very dry, water holes dried up. 600,000 cattle, plus large herds of sheep in Montana by spring 1886. Summer was hot and dry in 1886. Winter arrived with heavy snow winds made snow hard as cement. Most ranchers hadnt stored hay to feed cattle in winter. Snow began to melt in December, then froze hard; temperatures that winter dropped as low as -63 degrees F.

The Hard Winter Tens of thousands of cattle froze or starved to death. 5,000 cattle strayed into Great Falls, eating garbage and sapling trees that the city had just planted. Estimated 362,000 cattle died that winter (60% of total Montana herds) some ranches in eastern Montana lost 90% of their cattle; most in central Montana lost about 40%. Some ranch managers reported heavier losses to cover up their own mismanaged records. Winter of 1886-87 was a turning point no more open range ranching.

Charles M. Russells famous Waiting For A Chinook (or The Last of 5,000)

Recovering from the Hard Winter Surviving ranches began putting up hay & planting barley to feed cattle during winter. Reduced size of herds, focused on breeding better-quality cattle. Fenced ranges to keep cattle from wandering. Reduced supply of cattle actually helped ranchers by driving up beef prices & profits. Sheep had weathered the Hard Winter much better than cattle by 1900, Mt. had 6 million sheep (most in the U.S.). Advantage of raising both sheep & cattle: if market for cattle was down, ranchers could profit by selling mutton and/or wool.

Legacy of the Open Range Open range era was short-lived but left a lasting legacy in culture cowboy movies, books, & songs; rodeos (originated in Mexico from vaqueros Mexican cowboys); dude ranches (Montana had over 150 by the 1930s). Montana ranchers lives are still shaped by land, weather, and market conditions. Must continually learn to be better stewards (caretakers) of the land and their animals.

Chapter 9: The Railroads Life before trains: in the 1860s, it took 3-4 months to travel to Mt. by land or 2 months by steamboat. Stagecoach from Helena to Virginia City, Mt., took 18 hours (at best) to make the 120-mile trip. Delivery cost for shipping goods to Mt. was often more expensive than the goods themselves. Montanas towns & industries needed railroads to grow. The U.S. also needed what Mt. had: gold, silver, copper, wool, cattle, etc.

1881: The Utah & Northern RR First transcontinental railroad in U.S. was finished when Union Pacific joined the Central Pacific in Utah in 1869. Union Pacific began building a railroad north from Utah to Montana parallel to the old Corinne Road in 1872. Construction was slow & expensive due to remote and rugged terrain. First Utah & Northern train reached Butte, Mt. on December 26, 1881.

Railroads Further Reduced Indian Lands Treaties with tribes in 1850s had included permission to build railroads. 1882: govt. agreement with Crow tribe reduced Crow Reservation by 1.5 million acres & gave 400- foot-wide right-of-way to the Northern Pacific RR Ten years later the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy RR also got a right-of-way across Crow land Crow wound up losing another 3 million acres by 1905. 1887: Blackfeet, Assiniboine, & Gros Ventre agreed to sell 17 million acres, including the sacred Sweetgrass Hills to allow construction of Great Northern Railway. Much of the $1.5 million promised to the tribes was never paid.

The Northern Pacific Railroad NP had been chartered by the govt. during the Civil War instead of money, the govt. gave the NP land grants 39 million acres in all, 13.3 million acres in Montana many railroads got land grants, but this was the largest-ever. For every mile of rail laid in Mt., the NP got 40 square miles of land to use, develop, sell, or lease. Construction was slow and delayed by panic of 1873 (stopped at Bismarck, N.D.), then began again in 1879. Construction through Montana in 1882-83. September 8, 1883: NP held ceremony (attended by former president Grant) at Gold Creek, Mt. to drive last spike joining east & west.

A map of the Northern Pacifics route; an NP locomotive covered with snow

Ulysses S. Grant driving the golden spike to finish the Northern Pacific at Gold Creek, Montana, and the site where the last spike was driven.

1887: The Great Northern Railway Great Northern was built by railroad tycoon James J. Hill, a.k.a. the Empire Builder. Didnt receive land grants, but attracted big private investors (like the Rockefellers). Great Northern ran from Minnesota to Seattle route across Montana was called the Hi-Line because it was northernmost transcontinental route in U.S. Montana Central (also partly owned by Hill) linked the Great Northern to Butte. Crossed the mountains at Marias Pass near present Glacier Park, then dipped south to Kalispell, then west to Seattle construction finished in 1893.

Hills Great Northern Railway was famous for promoting travel to Glacier National Park, which its Empire Builder route passed right through

1907: The Milwaukee Road Third transcontinental railroad through Montana (after NP and Great Northern) was the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad better known as the Milwaukee Road. Known for flashy orange cars & modern steel bridges. Entered southeast Montana in 1907, reached towns not served by NP then traveled through Miles City, Harlowton, Great Falls, Butte on way to west coast. Aggressively marketed homesteading land in eastern Montana developed towns like Baker, Plevna, Ismay. Best known for electrified rail line from Harlowton to Avery, Idaho.

A spur line of the Milwaukee Road went to Great Falls, where one of the companys most impressive depots was constructed.

The Milwaukee Road used electric locomotives like this one still on display in Harlowton, Montana to cross the Rocky Mountains. Electricity was generated for the locomotives from substations like the one shown below.

The Milwaukees Electrified Line Used electric motors to electrify the rails & move trains over steep terrain on down grade, motors reversed & acted as dynamos, returning power to the lines. John D. Ryan (president of Anaconda Copper Mining Co.) sat on board of directors for Milwaukee Road formed Montana Power Co. in 1912, then arranged for Milwaukee Road to switch from steam to electric power so it would be a major Montana Power customer shrewd! Control of both Anaconda Copper and Montana Power made Ryan the most powerful man in Montana economically and politically.

The Men Who Built the Railroads Most railroad workers were young, single men often immigrants (Irish, Chinese, Japanese, Bulgarian, Swedish, Norwegian, Italian, etc.). Had to live in tents/traveling bunkhouses. Poor living conditions bad food & water, often no heat, no chance to bathe, etc. Chinese & Japanese worked for less pay than whites and often performed dangerous jobs, like blasting rock from cliffs. Whites were paid more because they belonged to unions complained that Chinese & Japanese stole jobs by working for less but the reason for that was that unions wouldnt allow them to be members!

A Northern Pacific construction crew (left) and a group of Chinese railroad workers (right)

No story of Montanas railroads is complete without the story of Fort Bentons famous dog, Shep

Railroads Crisscross the Land By 1910, Montana had nearly 4,300 miles of railroad tracks by 1920, most small towns in Mt. had rail service. Major railroads in Mt.: Milwaukee, Burlington, Northern Pacific, Great Northern also ran branch lines off their main routes to reach small towns. Independent short line railroads filled in the gaps: Montana Western ran 20 miles from Conrad to Valier; Montana, Wyoming, and Southern ran 25 miles from Bridger to Bearcreek, etc.

Railroads Changed Everyday Life Railroads connected towns & people. Could order new farm equipment, furniture, clothes, etc., and have them shipped to you. Trains delivered washing machines, telephones, cars, etc. Refrigerated train cars delivered fresh fruit, vegetables, seafood stores could now carry wider varieties of foods. Fancy restaurants in larger towns opened, offering foods from far away delivered by train. Trains themselves served fancy menus as well (see right).

Railroads Transformed the Landscape The Northern Pacific, Great Northern, and Milwaukee Road created towns as they built their railroads across Montana (getting people to settle along the rails helped the railroads make money). Forsyth, Livingston, Glasgow, Harlowton, Havre, Lima, etc. were created as bases for railroad maintenance & operation. Milwaukee Road aggressively marketed eastern Montana as a great place to homestead farms. Montanas population grew from 39,000 in 1880 to 243,000 by 1900, largely because of the railroads in this way, the railroads helped Montana become a state by increasing the population to the required level.

An example of how railroads marketed to homesteaders to get them to move to Montana this one was from the Milwaukee Road. Note that the farmer is plowing up gold coins out of the Montana soil!

Railroads Fueled an Industrial Boom Railroads brought in machinery & equipment that industrialized Montana mining & smelting equipment, sawmill equipment, etc. Railroads then shipped silver ore, copper, cattle, sheep, & wool back east to market.

Silver and Copper Boom Montana was 2 nd -largest silver producer in U.S. by 1883; 25% of U.S. silver came from Mt. by 1889. Copper smelting industry in Montana began at same time that electricity & telephones spread around the world so copper was in high demand. By 1900 Butte & Anaconda were producing 61% of copper in U.S., 23% of copper in the world this role in the Industrial Revolution made Butte-Anaconda important to making the U.S. a modern superpower. All of this was possible because the railroads were here to bring in equipment and ship out finished products from Montana.

Coal and (Political) Power Coal was needed to fuel the trains Northern Pacific RR developed coal mines near Bozeman, Red Lodge, and (later) Colstrip; Great Northern mined coal near Stockett and Sand Coulee (outside Great Falls); Milwaukee Road mined coal near Roundup. James J. Hill of the Great Northern had great political and economic power he and other big businessmen like John D. Ryan used their influence to shape laws in ways that benefited their corporations. Farmers & ranchers in eastern Montana complained that they paid overly high rates to the railroads, but mines got special lower rates this led to conflicts in the legislature between agricultural counties and more powerful industrial counties.

Left: the ACM Coal Mine in Belt, Montana. Right: remains of coal mine near Sand Coulee, Montana.

Livestock and the Open Range; Railroads Link Montana to the Nation.

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