A Visit to the Ranch in Montana

For several years a cousin in Virginia has told us about the great summers they spend at her brother John’s ranch, where she grew up in Eastern Montana, and invited us to visit if we’re passing through on I-90.  It never worked out until Summer 2014 when we emailed that we’d be passing in a week or so and would they still be there?  A return email came quickly and invited us to join them and they even had planned a parking place and an electric plugin for our Sprinter RV at the ranch headquarters.  Definitely couldn’t say no to that! 

So, a week later we turned off I-90 and drove through Miles City, the commercial supply town for the whole area, crossed the Yellowstone River and headed past a few farms and ranches on a paved two lane road about 20 miles until we reached the landmark we’d been told in the email.  We turned onto a good gravel road, heading west about 10 miles to the ranch.   We passed through high Montana prairie, a few good-sized hills and many rocky buttes.  When we came to the top of a hill, an iron ranch sign told us we’d made it and we turned down toward the house, where we were met by a very excited dog carrying a stick in his mouth!  Shortly my cousin came out and showed us where to park and hook up to electric, then we were off to meet her brother John and his wife, Linda.  Everyone was very cordial and pleased that we’d come.  We got a quick tour of the house, the corrals and barn then were invited for dinner.

We really enjoyed getting to know this family and learn about their ranching and farming work.  They have two large family ranches with two of their adult children living on the other ranch several miles away.  My cousin has told me a lot about her childhood on the ranch and her family history here is fascinating.    John’s Irish father came to Montana in 1923 and was originally a sheepherder herding other ranchers’ sheep.   He married the schoolteacher (the daughter of an Italian-born coal miner) at the local one room schoolhouse in 1937 and in 1938, they bought their first land and he was now able to graze his own sheep on his own land!  Quite an achievement in those years of the Depression, when many farmers and ranchers in Montana and elsewhere were going broke and moving off the land!

The ranch started with the purchase of a half section homestead where John’s father had been a hired hand in 1930 and where the couple lived in a sheepherder wagon with their infant son.  They then bought a full section (640 acres or one square mile) homestead and moved into a homestead shack.  This became the original ranch where John and my cousin were raised.  On the original ranch, they had about 150 cows and 2000 ewe sheep so in summer that increased with newborns to 300 cows and 4500 ewes and lambs!   

 

Dogs are guarding the huge flocks of sheep

They also grew wheat and hay but their income mostly came from sheep and wool.  Their ranches have expanded and now comprise 60 sections--60 square miles—plus several more leased BLM and railroad sections of land!  Most of the land is above 2500’ altitude.  They now have 450 cows and 400 ewes plus bulls and buck sheep for breeding along with horses.  Today, for getting around this huge ranch, pickups, SUVs and small 4WD utility vehicles are replacing the horses.  And that dog with his stick, sure loves to jump in and ride along on a new adventure!

The Angus beef with the ranch's brand and more sheep and one of the Guard Dogs

Roughly 5000 acres are under cultivation with the rest virgin prairie and hills.  Their dry farming crops include corn, wheat, sunflowers, safflower and hay.  The grazing sheep are guarded 24/7 by several guard dogs that are wild and not interested in contact with humans.  When supplemental feed is dropped off for them, the dogs are very wary and won’t come close.  They are able to defend the herd against most predators unless the sheep become too spread out.  There are many wild animals living on the ranches.   

We saw a number of different birds including sage hens, loggerhead shrikes, hawks, golden eagles plus groups of pronghorn, whitetail deer and the bigger mule deer.  Owls are common and they see beautiful snowy owls in winter!   Rodents of all kinds are seen often including pack rats and mice.  Badgers, skunks and porcupines also occur.  Predators include a few bobcat, coyotes, hawks and golden eagles.   

Pronghorn Antelopes and a Sage Hen

Golden Eagle in flight

Wolves were around in the 1900s but those packs were eradicated.  Recently introduced wolves in western Montana have not migrated east yet.   Prairie dogs also make their home here and there is a large prairie dog town west of the ranch.  Areas with prairie dog towns become barren quickly since the “dogs” eat all the vegetation then move on to new territory.  John tries to discourage prairie dogs on the ranch since it takes decades for the land to recover after a prairie dog town is abandoned. They see some elk moving east, probably to escape wolf predation in western Montana.  There are no bears in this part of Montana.  Grasshoppers are still a problem and ranchers have crop dusters spray to control them now, but in the 1950s there were terrible grasshopper invasions that flew in huge clouds and ate every living plant devastating huge areas!

On our second day, John took us on a tour and showed us a lot of the ranch lands, structures and stock ponds, some with his solar-powered wells. 




The history here goes back to the Native Americans when we walked to old Indian tepee circles in the Buffalo Camp area that has large high rocky outcrops which you can certainly imagine as a perfect hide for hunting or protection. 

Stones left from an Indian Tepee ring

Surface coal veins visible in the landscape

There are many surface coal veins in several areas and no doubt the Indians and later, the settlers, used this resource for fuel.   Early settlers built a rock-sided dugout cabin in one area many years back but today only overgrown partial rock walls remain.   

Remains of a rock-sided dugout cabin

Man made graffiti and natural erosion on the rocks

We also visited the one room schoolhouse that John and his sister attended with other neighboring ranch kids which is on their property.  It was still in use until about 10 years ago when they ran out of ranch children to teach!   The teachers in these country schools changed every couple years because the government felt the kids needed to be exposed to different teachers and different styles of teaching.   

The school building is still in relatively good shape with a good roof and inside, the student’s desks, blackboards, an American flag, the teacher’s desk and award ribbons from Rosebud Treasure County Fair competitions are all still in place.  The cover of the January 1, 2001 Newsweek magazine with a full page photograph of newly elected President George W. Bush is pinned to the school bulletin board!   We studied a colorful NASA poster of space shuttle mission shoulder patches through Atlantis in 1997!       A time capsule, for sure!   

Blazing Star wildflowers

High school for the ranch kids was in Miles City and if college was in the cards, it meant a move to Great Falls, Billings, Bozeman or even Colorado.  Church was either in Miles City or Jordan when ranch work and weather allowed.  Winters are tough here but not as bad as in the 1970s.  Eastern Montana is still in a long term drought—very cold but less snowfall than in the past.  One local story is that an ice jam in the Yellowstone River running through Miles City was flooding the town so badly in wartime 1943,that the Army Air Corps bombed the river to break up the ice!  Ranch family life, according to my cousin, was being together as the norm in ranch families, normally eating all 3 meals together and socializing in the evening with family talk, radio and TV.  More people lived in the nearby communities in years past than now and neighbors visited more often.  There were 4H meetings, school activities, community dances, Homemaker Club and just friends dropping in for a visit.  The nearest store and gas station was about 15 miles away and the owner was also a mechanic and TV repairman.  The community hall was across from the store with hardwood floors for dancing, a stage, upright piano, benches and pot belly stove.  Dances, parties, community plays, meetings and elections were all held here. Unfortunately, that facility was torn down in the 70s.

My cousin told us a little about her childhood on the ranch and I was curious about her duties.  She was the only daughter with two brothers.  Many girls of her age were encouraged to ride horseback and work on the family ranch.  Her father was “old school” and didn’t want women to work alongside men in the fields or work with livestock so her duties were purely domestic.  Even though her parents admired other female ranchers, they didn’t want it for her.   When she wasn’t in school, she helped her mother with all the work around the house.  That included house cleaning, cooking, laundry and yard work including the vegetable garden.  She churned cream for butter, made lard from pork fat, butchered chickens, canned fruit, vegetables, fruit and pickles and sewed everything from clothes to lambing jackets that kept newborn lambs warm.  Things have changed in their lifetime since now John’s daughter does much of the ranch livestock work!  

Going into town, meaning any of the 3 nearby towns, for the children was a rare and exciting occasion usually less than 10 times a year for shopping, church, the County Fair and 4H activities.  Her dad went to Miles City more often to buy parts for ranch equipment and to sell calves and lambs.  A trip to Billings to see family was a once a year highlight and extended family came to the ranch on occasion. The big social event of the year for the ranchers here was the County Fair where the kids exhibited 4H and school projects and the family attended the rodeo, enjoyed the carnival and were reunited with old friends from around the area.  The other big activity is the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale, which originated from the sale of wild horses to the U.S. Cavalry at Fort Keogh in Miles City.  Later it became a rodeo and also a sale for rodeo stock. Unbroken horses were ridden by volunteer riders and rodeo promoters would buy these bucking horses.  Now it is primarily a big rodeo and the ranch families still look forward to it all year!

 

Miles City was founded in 1876 and was a lot like Billings in the 1920s in population and industry.  But Miles City lost its feed lots and an oil refinery in the mid-1930s and a decline set in.  A state college was planned in Miles City but it was rejected by the city and the college went to Billings.  Miles City now has a community college. There is a VA Hospital in Miles City and a general hospital but Billings now has a more extensive hospital operation.  The coming of the Interstate Highway (I-90) and Walmart’s location in Miles City has diminished local shopping opportunities and moved them to the larger shopping centers of Billings.  Miles City’s population has increased considerably because of an oil boom in the last decade.  A couple of fracking companies have built large facilities in Miles City bringing in many new workers and their families.  The city is also benefitting from the huge Bakken fracking operations in nearby North Dakota and real estate in Miles City has become much more expensive.  There are several good museums in Miles—the Range Rider Museum is an Old West museum focusing on cattle ranching and the WaterWorks Art Museum contains work by many of the premiere artists of the country. We plan on visiting both in the future.


 

There are several reservoirs on the ranch and the remains of a sheepherder's wagon used as a dwelling

Birds flying over one of the reservoirs

I asked my cousin what a “Day on the Ranch” was like and the difference in work by the season of the year.  Here’s the program!

“Spring---Farming—seeding spring wheat, barley and other crops.  Livestock—lambing happens in April and requires constant watching (John is the “night man”) ewes who are ready to lamb, helping if necessary, segregating newborn lambs, castrating and docking their tails and gradually integrating them and their moms back into the herd.  Heifers give birth to their first calves in March and have to be carefully monitored.  Cows calve pretty much on their own in April.  Then the herds have to be dispersed to their summer pastures.

Summer—Farming—As weeds grow up in the summer fallow, the fields are sprayed, probably 3-4 times.  Custom combiners are hired for August wheat harvest and any other crops that are ready.  In July, hay is cut, baled and stacked for winter feed. 

Livestock--Cows and calves are gathered and calves are “worked”—branded, castrated and vaccinated.  Close monitoring of pastures for water, grazing and predators.  Herds are moved from pasture to pasture as grass is grazed.  Bulls are turned in with the cows for six weeks and then gathered back up away from the cows.  Lambs and calves are contracted to be sold usually during the summer months.  Any improvements such as well drilling, fencing, construction have to be done during good weather.  Fences have to be examined and repaired.

Fall—Farming—Seed winter wheat, final spraying for weeds, harvest corn.  Livestock—Bucks are turned in with ewes.  Calves and lambs are weaned and sold, keeping back some heifers and ewe lambs to replenish the herd.  Dry ewes are sold.  Cows are pregnancy tested and dry cows are sold.  Equipment is winterized.  Herds are brought close to home for winter.

Winter—In addition to feeding the livestock daily, equipment is tuned up and repaired in the shop.”

There are two Indian reservations south of Miles City for the Crow and Cheyenne tribes.  The tribes are the poorest people living in Montana and according to my cousin, this is not because of lack of resources, but because of their social system. They are mostly dependent on Federal Government payments and have little work.  Alcoholism and drug addiction is rampant.  My cousin’s high school played against an Indian high school in sports and Cheyenne kids were 4H members so they knew each other and she is sad that many talented Indian kids she knew in grade and high school had no goals in life and frequently became addicted.

The geology of the land here is fascinating.  There are many hills and rock outcroppings, frequently with surface coal veins. Sandstone, mudstone, siltstone are all common rock types.  The most distinctive area we saw was Buffalo Camp with relatively high rocky hillsides, an area of old pioneer names and initials carved into the sandstone hillsides and sagebrush, cactus, yucca and grassy areas.  One hillside had many examples of small 1” diameter cannonball concretions—perfect iron balls like shot, but natural-- tunneled into the sandstone similar to the ones we saw in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, in North Dakota, only much smaller.   Despite the large area of the ranch’s land, there are many areas that are unusable for farming because of geology, steep hills, the soil, surface water and other factors. 

Thanks to a Montana Dept. of Transportation highway rest stop west of Miles City, we photographed a geologic history sign which

I have condensed here.  “65 million years ago (the late Cretaceous period), the inland sea receded as the Rocky Mountains rose, pushing the shoreline further east.  Great rivers meandered through the coastal plain in a warm and humid climate depositing sediment now known as the Hell Creek Formation.  Tan sandstones, siltstones and mudstones are common. Dinosaur fossils are also common. Triceratops, a massive Hadrosaur, Tyranosaurus Rex and several other dinosaur species fossils have been found, contributing to scientific knowledge of dinosaurs.  There is also evidence that a great meteorite or asteroid struck the earth about

65 million years ago nearby.  It may have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs or it hastened their path to extinction.”  John told me that he thinks there are dinosaur fossils on the ranch but hasn’t yet found them!  

Visiting the ranch was a great experience for us!  We wish we could have stayed longer and learned more about this operation and this part of the country. As city dwellers (city slickers?), we have a lot to learn but we certainly admire the many years this family has lived on the land and with their hard work, carved out a good living and healthy lifestyle.  We’d love to return some day! 

The Rest of the Story--Homesteading!

Homesteading in Montana—Montana was the most heavily homesteaded state in the U.S.!   Most of the ranches in John’s area were originally homesteaded.  152 years ago, President Abraham Lincoln signed the original “Homestead Act of 1862” after the Southern states seceded from the Union, allotting 160 acres of surveyed government land to heads of families over 21 years of age and a U.S. citizen or an alien who had filed for citizenship.  They also could not have borne arms against the United States Government or given aid to its enemies. Homesteaders included newly arrived immigrants, Eastern farmers without their own land, young couples, single women and former slaves!   After 5 years living on the land, digging a well, building a house of required size, putting in fences and cultivating at least 20 acres and “proving up,” you received the title.  The purpose of the act was to encourage immigrants to become permanent settlers and populate the West.  The “Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909” increased the acreage from 160 to 320 acres—a half section.   In 1912, the waiting period was decreased to only 3 years and allowed an absence from the land for up to 5 months per year.  The first homestead in Montana was filed on 1 August 1868 near Helena, MT.  The first woman to homestead in Montana, Margaret Maccumber, filed in September 1870.  Montana homesteading began in earnest in the early 1900s.  The Homestead Act was finally repealed in 1976 except in Alaska where it still existed until 1986!  270 million acres or 1/6^th of the U.S. land area was claimed and settled under the Homestead Act!

“Proving Up” your Homestead—at the end of your 5 years (later only 3 years) you had to complete a “Proving Up” form.  You needed to prove the required improvements had been made by having two neighbors swear:  that they’d known you for 5 years; that you are a U.S. citizen and head of household; that you lived on and farmed the land claimed for all 5 years and that you had built a house on the land and what kind of house it was. After getting your witnesses’ signatures, you submitted the form to the nearest Government Land Office and soon received your patent certificate signed by the President of the United States then you could record your deed with the county register of deeds.  Your monetary cost for your land would be a total $18 in filing fees!  The news of the “free land” spread quickly throughout the United States as well as Europe and many other countries, and brought many people looking for good land and a better life.

The Great Depression in Montana-- Between 1900 and 1909 a flood of new immigrants settled in Montana.  Between 1909 and 1919, 82,000 homesteaders came to Montana alone!  This boom happened across the West but more people homesteaded in Montana than anywhere else!   World War I increased demand for wheat and prices went up.  But In 1917 there was no rain and grasshoppers, cutworms and grass fires caused great damage.  Drought plus 100-110 degree temperatures and hot winds made life miserable.  Then a Depression in 1917-19 caused many homesteaders to move on.  By 1920 over 11,000 farms were abandoned.  Between 1920-26, half of Montana’s banks failed due to bad farm loans!  Montana had the highest bankruptcy rates in the U.S. during the 1930s--the years of the Great Depression.