OCTOBER 2021 Ghost Towns and History of Montana Newsletter From the Big Timber Pioneer Oct. 24, 1929 G R A N T - K O H R S R A N C H "They were a rugged set of men, these pioneers, well qualified for their selfassumed task. In the pursuit of wealth a few succeeded and the majority failed,...the range cattle industry has seen its inception, zenith, and partial extinction all within a half-century. The changes of the past have been many; those of the future may be of even more revolutionary character." Conrad Kohrs, 1913 Dreams of wealth lured the first cattle men to Montana. The range was open and unfenced, and they could fatten their cattle on the lush bunchgrass and push on to new pastures when the old areas were overgrazed. The main obstacles were buffalo and the Indians, and by the 1860's both were fast being overcome. Photo Courtesy of NPS.gov Many of the herds were built through trade with westward-bound emigrants, who gladly swapped two or more trail-worn cows for a single wellfed one. In the late 1870's cowboys drove herds of rangy longhorns up from Texas to the better grazing lands of Montana, adding a Spanish strain to the English shorthorn breeds already established there and greatly multiplying the herds. By 1885, cattle raising was the biggest industry on the High Plains, and Accessed via: www.montananewspapers.org
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