P a g e 3 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r HISTORY OF PARK COUNTY-continued From The Livingston Enterprise, January 1, 1900: Cattle Raising in the Upper Yellowstone Region. The pastoral area of this region outnumbers the tillable lands at least ten to one, therefore our livestock products constitute the bulk of our agricultural wealth. It is especially adapted to stock growing, as it has a milder climate than any other portion of the state. The light snowfalls are soon melted or blown away by high winds, thus leaving the luxurious pasturage fully exposed, making a model winter range that is unexcelled in any other part of the northwest. As the Yellowstone river runs throughout the length of this region, its windings enclose fertile bottoms and narrow valleys, bounded on either side by a very rough and broken mountainous country, cleft by deep, winding ravines and narrow canyon-like valleys. The creeks that open into the river every few miles hold foaming torrents throughout the year. Some of the river and creek bottoms are thickly timbered with cottonwood, while the slopes are often covered with a growth of pine and cedar. In this manner of alternate growth the cattle find feed and shelter by equal protection in summer and winter. Our cattlemen think this is the best country in America for their interests, basing their opinion on the following facts: Our rangefattened beeves bring better prices than cattle from any other state that have been fed on nothing but natural grasses, and that cattle are here grown with less expense for care and less loss in numbers from exposure. Experts say that this right combination of food and climate makes perfect beef, as good, sweet, juicy beef cannot be grown either in a hot climate or in the opposite extreme. On this last theory there is no need of discussion, for experiments have proven its truth. Cattle raised by this method are hardier and endure the shipment to market with less deterioration in weight or physical condition than do those of different climates. Cattlemen here make no arrangements to feed or shelter their stock during the winter. Their ranges, being broken ground, cleft with frequent coulees and gulches allow shelter from heavy storms and sufficient grazing until the storm has subsided, after which they sally forth to pasture on the ridges and knolls, which the wind has made bare, or if necessary they can rustle through a foot or more of light snow to the abundant grasses that remain unharmed beneath. The cost of raising a steer to marketable age— four years—is variously estimated at from $4 to $9. In carefully managed herds it will probably average about midway between those figures. This cost arises chiefly from the wages and support of cowboys, and the cost of branding at “round ups.” When ready for market a steer on the range is worth from $40 to $55, according to the ruling standard of beef prices. When cattle were only worth $25 men got rich in this region, but since the advance in prices many have found themselves suddenly wealthy.
4 Publizr Home