Watch This Before Buying Cows

[Mark Reynolds]

it was Charlie Russell in 1886 in Montana. From the stories I imagine cattle in the Dakotas died by the thousands that winter too. That winter Ben Snipes a cattle barron in eastern Washington lost tens of thousands of cattle.

I seriously thought it was SD for the sketch, but it was more than very bad for MT, SD, ND and extended further. I think everyone within the area lost well more than half (was it at least 2/3?) of ALL existing herds. Many lost 95% if I recall correctly. Changed the face of the livestock industry permanently. That sketch has left a permanent impression and influence on the way I think of the livestock owner lifestyle. It's definitely not for the faint of heart.

 

[Dave]

I seriously thought it was SD for the sketch, but it was more than very bad for MT, SD, ND and extended further. I think everyone within the area lost well more than half (was it at least 2/3?) of ALL existing herds. Many lost 95% if I recall correctly. Changed the face of the livestock industry permanently. That sketch has left a permanent impression and influence on the way I think of the livestock owner lifestyle. It's definitely not for the faint of heart.

Charlie was cowboying I believe in the Judith Basin. It was before he became famous for his art work. I have known several people who had family who knew Charlie and even had some of his art work.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

Charlie was cowboying I believe in the Judith Basin. It was before he became famous for his art work. I have known several people who had family who knew Charlie and even had some of his art work.

I've gotten to see some of the art work by Charlie, as well as Remington. It's been a long time since I've gotten to see any at this point. Don't see them mentioned east of the Mississippi much.

 

[Dave]

Actually the wife and I are going to to Great Falls MT to the Charlie Russell museum at some point this summer. I have been there before but she never has been. It is on her bucket list. His original works are great.

 

[Travlr]

Actually the wife and I are going to to Great Falls MT to the Charlie Russell museum at some point this summer. I have been there before but she never has been. It is on her bucket list. His original works are great.

That's a great bucket list item. We've gone to the Will Rogers Memorial Museum just east of Tulsa, and I recommend it. An amazing guy. So Russel and Remington museums are next on the list.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

I don't remember the year, although I think it was around 1880. Remington (or Russel?) drew a sketch in response to a question a livestock barron asked him about the status of his herd in South Dakota. The now famous sketch/piece of artwork is titled "The last of 10,000". Its a depiction of several wolves circling a emaciated cow that is succumbing to the elements that SD has thrown at it that winter/spring that coupled a warm up with an ensuing blizzard that soaked the cattle and froze them in place.

Ops! It is "The last of 5,000". Or, "Waiting for a Chinook"

 

[Mark Reynolds]

View attachment 47078

Ops! It is "The last of 5,000". Or, "Waiting for a Chinook"

 

[Dave]

I read of an Indian who lived with his family in the middle of no where Montana that winter. Said he hunted that winter with an ax. Went out and looked for a hump in the snow. Dig down a little and there would be a dead cow. Used his ax to chop off some frozen meat to take home to feed the family.

 

[bird dog]

The Russel museum is spectacular and one of my favorite things when I visited Great Falls 7 or 8 years ago. We went during the week on a slow day I guess as there were only a couple of us there. The very nice lady taking care of the place pretty much gave us a personal tour and had many stories of the pictures and where they came from. We had planned on staying a hour but were there almost three.

 

[SmalltimeOkie]

Regarding the locust trees. I have a couple locust thickets and then a handful of a different species of locust trees that stand alone. How do you get the locust tree thickets to grow as standalone trees without brush hogging down all the runners and suckers that come up from their root systems?

The thorns on the locust tree thickets haven't ever been big enough to cause much of an issue. The thorns on standalone locust trees are insane. They are hard and often 3-5" long also have no idea how to actually kill those trees. Seems you can cut them back to the ground twice a year and it's just like foreplay for them.

I have plenty of shade for my cows. There are mature 30-50 year old Oak, Cyprus, Elm, Pine and Maple trees on the property plus a bunch of smaller thickets of stuff I haven't identified around the ponds.

Two questions with the annoying thickets that I end up brush hogging twice a year: Is it worth trying to keep a couple of the locust trees for the cows/bees? How the hell do I successfully kill them? I saw someone say I could get some feeder hogs and fence them in those areas. Supposedly the hogs would root and tear up the ground and root systems enough to kill the thickets?

 

[bird dog]

Kill the trees you don't want with the basal bark method using remedy, reclaim and diesel. If they are small, you can spray the foliage with the same mix except you can use a surfactant instead of the diesel. I personally would not keep any of them. All they are is trouble.

 

[kenny thomas]

If you want to cut them do in the winter after leaves fall. Then spray the cut surface of the stump with a Remedy diesel mix. It will take the herbicide down into the roots and kill it all.

 

[Ouachita]

View attachment 47078

Ops! It is "The last of 5,000". Or, "Waiting for a Chinook"

I think that blizzard is also known as the childrens blizzard. I was given a book about it when I was a teenager.

My paternal great great grandparents arrived through Port of Galveston in 1859 and settled in Dakota Territory. That's where my great granddad was born in 1860.

They lost almost all of their herd in this blizzard and moved to Santa Fe around 1890. My great granddad had 10 kids with his first wife. She died when he was 50yo. He remarried and had 10 more. My granddad was number 17, born in Santa Fe in 1914. They move to near Mena Arkansas in 1930. Great granddad died here in 1936. Granddad died in 2010.

 

[gcreekrch]

I think that blizzard is also known as the childrens blizzard. I was given a book about it when I was a teenager.

My paternal great great grandparents arrived through Port of Galveston in 1859 and settled in Dakota Territory. That's where my great granddad was born in 1860.

They lost almost all of their herd in this blizzard and moved to Santa Fe around 1890. My great granddad had 10 kids with his first wife. She died when he was 50yo. He remarried and had 10 more. My granddad was number 17, born in Santa Fe in 1914. They move to near Mena Arkansas in 1930. Great granddad died here in 1936. Granddad died in 2010.

Prolific!

 

[Dave]

The Russel museum is spectacular and one of my favorite things when I visited Great Falls 7 or 8 years ago. We went during the week on a slow day I guess as there were only a couple of us there. The very nice lady taking care of the place pretty much gave us a personal tour and had many stories of the pictures and where they came from. We had planned on staying a hour but were there almost three.

I have several Russell prints hanging on my walls. The biggest is "Camp Cook's Troubles" . I believe it is 1912. I don't know the title to the other one. It is a Canadian Mountie alone in an Indian village sitting on his horse with his rifle in some Indians face. I had (lost in a house fire) one I have heard it called, "It Ain't Meat Until it is in the Pot". A man scratching his head looking at a dead bighorn ram laying on a edge below him. It looks like things go seriously down after that ledge.

 

[Dave]

These are 2 of the prints in mentioned. I couldn't find a picture of the third one. The first one is hanging in my living room. The second one is the one I lost in a house fire.

 

[Dave]

Found a picture of the third one. It is"Single Handed". Painted in 1912. I have seen the original of this one. The print is nice but the colors on the original are really amazing.

 

[Dave]

I also have 'Heading up Frenchglen" by William Matthews. Interesting note on this. We were at some friends house who had recently moved to Baker City from down in the Frenchglen country. They had the same print on their wall. I mentioned that I had that one too. They said that they know both the artist and the cowboy in this picture. I believe it was a picture of the old historic MC ranch. Ian Tyson did a song about the MC.

 

[Travlr]

I also have 'Heading up Frenchglen" by William Matthews. Interesting note on this. We were at some friends house who had recently moved to Baker City from down in the Frenchglen country. They had the same print on their wall. I mentioned that I had that one too. They said that they know both the artist and the cowboy in this picture. I believe it was a picture of the old historic MC ranch. Ian Tyson did a song about the MC.


View attachment 47101

Love that image. Never seen it before or heard of Matthews. Now I'll have to look for that artist.

 

[bird dog]

One of the things that impressed be about the museum was how much more vivid the colors were. Prints don't do them justice. Some of the pictures looked like they were in 3D.