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EARLY HISTORY
PART 3
CHINOOK
(Chinook Indian tribe in Oregon)
Chinook is an Indian word meaning "snow-eater". And eat
snow it can. It can turn a bitter cold below zero day into
a shirt sleeve day in a matter of hours. Even more
spectacular have been the times when one goes to bed at
night with the temperature reading 25 below zero and
several inches of snow on the ground. About midway through
the night, the covers are kicked off and dad, or mom, gets
up to check the fires to make sure they haven't 'gotten'
away. At the light of dawn a roaring noise awakens the
household and upon investigation it is discovered that the
snow has completely gone, the "dry" creek is running bank
full of water and the temperature is reading 45 above.
The Roy area lies in the chinook belt, an area which generally does
not extend more than 200 miles from the mountains.
Chinooks do occur elsewhere. In Africa, Europe and South
America they have different names, but they are the same
occurrence. Chinooks occur in all seasons but are most
noticeable when they happen during bitter cold weather.
The where's and why's of a chinook are not yet fully understood by
scientists. A chinook begins out over the Pacific Ocean
and consists of warm air moving easterly. As it is forced
over the mountain ranges it cools as it rises. If there is
sufficient moisture, precipitation will occur as it
condenses. Heat is released from this process of
condensation which results in the air on the eastern side
of the mountain being warmer than that on the western
side. Chinook conditions occur when a pressure situation
results in a steady flow of air from the west or
southwest. A high pressure system to the south and a low
to the west, moving across the mountains, can create the
chinook wind.
Just before a chinook occurs the cold air layer becomes very thin
and thawing begins on the mountain slopes before the warm
air reaches the plains area. A chinook can remain
stationary in a particular area, moving back and forth.
Frost can form in the warm damp air and when it comes in
contact with the still cold ground, ice begins to build up
and can make for very dangerous road travel.
A tell tale sign of a coming chinook are the appearances of
mirages.
MIRAGE
Some crisp mornings when the sky is clear and the air is
sharp, one steps outside and views a landscape unlike
anything ever seen before. The hills to the east rise up
in the sky in shapes and forms usually seen only in
fantasy paintings of the prairie mesas of the south.
Dovetail Butte becomes a lone mountain peak. As one
watches the shapes change. Some float upward and break off
from the main stem and then dissipate. Others widen and
flatten and before them, the illusion of lakes of
shimmering water appear.
To the north the Little Rockies become obscured as the Missouri
River rises from the bottom land and floats amid
"badlands" turned upside down.
In the early years when homesteaders were finding their
way across country a mirage could complicate matters. A
landmark could become lost amid the rising and falling of
distant hills, trees and rocks. A lone homesteaders shack,
in the distance, would loom up, near-by, but upon
approaching it, it would always seem farther away, until
it faded and upon reality was found to be a large rock; as
related in the following narrative by Con Anderson:
MIRAGE
In those earlier years, before the air became dusty and
filled with carbon from gas used in cars and tractors,
mirages were seen quite often.
How this act of nature was performed is beyond my ability to
explain. The first I saw was in 1911, and from the front
of Dad's homestead shack.
By 1911 there were a great many homesteaders in the Roy area, but
most of them at that time were south and east of Roy.
From our shack, normally, we could see only two
homesteaders small houses, but on this occasion, while
standing in front of our 12x12 residence, we could see
about twenty five. The landscape east of us had raised
right up and for a distance of twenty or more miles, was
plainly showing many homesteaders small houses.
On another occasion, while going to my homestead on Armells Creek
near the Missouri River, another miracle by nature was
performed.
My dad and I were on our way to this homestead and incoming up over
a hill or rise in elevation in the road and looking
ahead of us, Dad said, "A new homesteader has built a
shack near the road, and lo there it was. It had to be
about twelve by twelve, as most of them were built at
that time. It seemed to be about a mile ahead of us, but
as we drove further it became smaller and as we reached
it, it was only a brown granite rock, about three feet,
nearly square.
Jim Steidley, who came to teach the Indian Butte school in
1961-62 from Oklahoma, saw his first mirage one winter
morning, and it left him speechless. He had risen to a
completely different world, than the one he'd become
accustomed to... "A queer, awesome feeling".
According to Webster a mirage is defined as an optical phenomenon
produced by the presence of a stratum of hot air of
varying density across which the observer sees reflections
of distant objects, usually inverted and often distorted.
When the stratum of air is located directly above the
heated area, such as a desert or road, it reflects the
sky, which to us looks like a pool of water.
It is an atmospheric phenomenon in which the air appears to move in
ascending waves.
Whatever--the mirage is a fascinating, unpredictable, mystical and
wonderful illusion that few in the world are privileged to
observe, as those in northeastern Montana can.
AURORA BOREALIS-
NORTHERN LIGHTS
A "Northern Light Show" can be spectacular when clear
night skies become alive as the colorful rays of light
shoot clear across the darkened sky with an ever-changing
array of color. Often in the early morning, the color will
fade and it will appear as though the sun is rising out of
the north, instead of the east. Most shows occur during
the months of March and September, the equinox months.
The Aurora Borealis begins with a sun storm, or flare, which sends
out electrically charged particles that cause the gases,
of which air is comprised, to glow in the vibrant colors.
As these particles near earth, the magnetic field which
surrounds our glove channels these electron particles into
streams of light which can be from a few miles to a
hundred miles long. The larger the sun storm the larger
the Northern Lights display and the further south it can
be seen.
South of the equator is its counter-part, called the Aurora
Australis.
SUNDOGS AND RAINBOWS
Sundogs, like rainbows, are caused by moisture in the air.
Sundogs differ from rainbows in that they are formed by
ice crystals instead of water.
A sundog is always viewed when looking in the direction of the sun,
while the rainbow is always viewed when the sun is to the
back of you!
Another phenomenon are halos seen around the moon or sun at times.
These, too, like sundogs, are caused by ice crystals. A
halo usually signifies a storm coming in. Many times the
same condition that causes the halo will cause the lights
of Roy to glow visibly 20 to 40 miles away or the lights
on a vehicle traveling down highway 191 will shoot into
the air in a column many feet high. Yardlights on the
scattered ranches become long beams stretching into the
night-time sky. On occasion the lights from the towns of
Lewistown, to the southwest, and Havre, to the north and
even Grass Range, to the south, will light up the sky and
be visible from our area.
INDIAN SUMMER
Indian summer is a sheer delight in this area, an idyllic
time of year. The first cold snap and frost, has ended the
garden chores; harvest is usually complete.
There's a crisp, pure, tingly feel in the air; a snap and sparkle
peculiar only to this time of year. The fields and country
surrounding are a mixture of brown plowed sod, golden
stubble, green patches, yellow cured grasses and silvery
sage. The trees have donned their autumn colors of gold,
bronze and red. The sky is a pure blue. The smoke lazily
rises and drifts down coulees. Birds are on the wing,
gathering for their flight south. The days are getting
shorter and evenings are longer and quieter. Along the
river all of these colors and aromas and quiet gentle
sounds are contained and reflected within its channel as
it continues its journey east and south.
It's a very favorite and special time of the year. A time to take
inventory, reflect and to be still.
The weather and the skies and the special phenomenon associated
with them are indeed fascinating topics. When the sit-coms
on TV are boring--get out and view that spectacular show
going on outside!
SOME STORMS I CAN WELL
REMEMBER
by Charlotte Coulter
Some of the earlier ones were: February 5, 1933. That one
came up quick on a beautiful sunny day and caught so many
people away from home. They took their shelter wherever
they could and stayed several days. A lot of stock drifted
under and smothered.
A truly bad one on March 28, 1938. It was all over Central Montana
and a lot of cattle were lost. One bunch of cows camped at
the Mountain View School, near Heath, lost 34 head.
Probably the worst storm I remember was April 5, 1955. School
Election Day! So many people were caught away from home.
Cars and buildings were drifted under.
We had a whole two years of blizzardy winters from December 17,
1977 to March 2, 1979, nothing but snow and one perpetual
windy nightmare, both of those rotten winters.
But the one storm I'll never forget was the 26th of January 1969.
Kay was taking nurses training at St. Vincents. It was Sunday and
she was home for the weekend. As the radio was predicting
severe weather to hit Central Montana in the afternoon,
Roy and Mickey left early to take her back to school. It
had been a very nice day, but about 2:30 p.m. the sky
clouded over, the wind blew and it looked just plain
weird. About 3 it really turned it on.
I tried to call St. V's to have Roy stay at Clarkes, but the
operator said owing to the storm they couldn't reach
Billings. I did the chores; put the sheep in the sheds and
got the cattle in around the barns. After that, everything
happened at 10 minutes after the hour. At 10 past 4 Larry
Emery walked in. He, Sandy, Mark and Chip Styer had been
feeding Altenhofen's cattle on the Puckett place and had
gone in the ditch, on the hill where Floyd Emery now
lives.
After taking our 4-wheel drive and pulling them back on the road, I
didn't even try to turn around. I backed almost half a
mile home, without going in the ditch. I
don't know how I maneuvered that, just too scared to turn
the steering wheel, I guess.
At 10 after 5, Roy called and said, "I'm here in Roundup at the
Sheriffs office and they won't let us come home. Roads are
closed." So while we were talking the strangest thing
happened. Three streaks of lightning broke through the
clouds and the thunder just boomed along the ground; kinda
like being under a bridge when a lumber wagon rolls over.
I tried to explain that to Roy, but he couldn't hear it or
understand. He just said "You've been alone too long".
I was just beginning to believe him when all the neighbors Started
to call, nobody wanted to admit they were crazy; just
wanting to find out who else was! "You can't believe what
I just saw and heard!"
"Oh yes I can, I heard it too."
Marvin Brimer had stared home on the road by Bill Davis's and had
gotten stuck and tried to walk home across the open land.
He had gotten lost and returned to the road. He sat down
by a fence post and gave up. By the lightning he then saw
Slim Wylands "dog camp" about a hundred yards away. He
made it there and very gratefully sat out the storm with
Slim and the greyhounds.
At 10 after 6, a lady called from the Red Barn. They had gotten
stuck on the corner southwest of our house and walked back
to Woodards. No one was home and the only heat was from an
electric oven. They were very wet and cold and were afraid
if the power went off they would freeze to death. They
were Mel Larson, Dave and Nancy Holthors who were working
at the Black Butte Ranch and were trying to get to Roy. I
finally told them I wouldn't start out alone, but if they
could get someone from Roy to go, I'd take our 4-wheel
drive and show them how to get across our pasture.
She called Cliff Emery and he made it to the Red Barn around
the road. They called at 10 after 7 to say they were
starting back and would call me when they got to Roy. I
watched and waited. All of the neighbors were on the
phones wanting to know if everyone was at home out of the
storm. I could see the top of the yard pole, but not the
bottom, or the pickup sitting 40 feet from the house. It
was a real mess.
About 9:10 they walked in. I never saw anything like it. Cliffs pickup
had drowned out on top of the Demo hill and they had
walked 3/4 of a mile into the storm and 1/2 mile with it
to their backs. Nancy's face was a mask of ice, with a
long ice-cycle hanging from her chin. Mel and Cliff were
wearing caps and insulated coveralls; had gloves and were
warm and okay. David had a cowboy hat, no gloves and a
light jacket. His hands and ears were frozen white. I ran
a sink full of warm water and he started to thaw his hands
in it.
We sat Nancy down by the stove. I thawed the ice from her face with
my hands. We finally got her rubber boots off and her feet
were badly frozen. We put them in a pail of warm water and
every time it felt cold to her we'd put in a little more
warm water. Her jacket was frozen solid. We finally got it
peeled off of her and wrapped her in hot quilts. About
11:00 she started shivering. None of them had eaten since
noon, so I made soup, fried spuds and ham with plenty of
coffee. The men finally bedded down on the davenports and
a big chair and amazingly went to sleep.
Nancy was so miserable I put her in a bathtub of hot water and
turned the bathroom heater on high. She had tried to dress
warmly; had on a warm jacket and heavy wool sweater,
overalls, wool sox and a pair of her husbands worn-out
thermal underwear. He had been throwing bales in them and
the front of the legs were worn through.
The next morning she had blisters the size of my hand. I called the
doctor and he said there wasn't much that could be done;
keep her as comfortable as possible. How??, but I tried.
I never want to live through another night like that. Before
breakfast the next morning, the sun was shining. Jim
Murphy came looking for them with a snowplow. Roy and
Mickey came galloping in with my little red Mustang. And
so ended another Montana blizzard.
Roy took Nancy to a doctor in Lewistown where they couldn't do much
for her either. Then we were on our way into another week.
I've often wondered about Nancy and David, but never heard
from them again.
VALENTINE WEATHER
STATION
by Carol Sluggett
In the spring of 1984 Carol Sluggett and Frank Cimrhakl
contacted the National Weather Service office in Great
Falls to see if Carol could get a station down at
Valentine. At the time they told them that they were not
starting any new stations.
In the early part of August 1984 the National Weather Service
called Carol to ask if she was still interested in a
station and she told them yes.
They delivered the station on August 24th. There was some question
as to what to call it and it was decided, before Joe
Johnson left, that he would check into the name. If okay
it would be called Valentine, if not then it would be
called, "Roy East". In a few days he called back and said
that there had been a station at Valentine from 1911 to
1941 and that Carol's station would be named Valentine.
Joe also told her, at that time, that the station she
received came from north of Mosby on the Musselshell
River. Carol had been keeping records prior to the
re-opening of the government weather station (years 1972
to 1984).
B.M. Bean was the weather observer in the Valentine area from 1911
until his death June 1, 1928. Lena
Faulds
then became the weather observer and held the job until
Milo Messenger took over on October 1, 1933. Lester Bevis
began reporting the weather statistics on September 9,
1936 and did so until W.J. Trimble took it over on June
12, 1941. The station was closed four months later.
The year with the most snowfall was 1977 with 88". The year with
the most precipitation was 1975 with 20.80". The coldest
day was minus 50 on January 31, 1918. The hottest day was
110 degrees on June 27, 1936. Altitude of the Valentine
Weather Reporting Station is 2800 feet.
50 YEARS OF WEATHER
STATISTICS
by Frank Cimrhakl
The National Weather Service from Great Falls delivered a
weather reporting station to Frank Cimrhakl, a cooperative
observer, on April 21, 1938. This station is known as Roy
8 NE and is used to take daily readings of precipitation,
snowfall, hail, high winds and minimum and maximum
temperatures.
April 21, 1988, marked the 50th anniversary of weather observation
from this station.
This report covers the years 1939 to 1987 - 49 years -1938 and 1988
not being used because they begin and end in April and are
not full years.
The following are some very interesting recorded statistics:
-- The
average yearly precipitation is 13.94. Due to the last
few dry years, the average dropped from a high of 14.38,
-- The
dryest year was 1952 with only 7.03 total precipitation.
Other dry years were 1960 with 8.79 and 1961 with 10.61
for a total of 19.40 in two years.
--
When the drought broke on May 11, 1962, and before the
end of May, we had 7.58 precipitation, followed by June
with 5.03, July with 2.08 and August with 3.67 or 18.36
in less than four months. That was an almost equal total
of the two previous years.
-- On
May 8, 1962, Jense Yde had an auction sale 18 miles
North of Roy. After two years of dry weather, he was
telling everyone that the drought would be broken and
big rains start in three days. How true that was!
--
From the dryest years to the wettest in 1978 with 25.15
precipitation was the most in one year and June, 1944,
with 8.16 was the wettest month. The greatest one-day
precipitation was 2.24 on September 12, 1985.
-- The
most snowfall in one year was 91 inches in 1977, and the
least was 14 inches in 1956 - an average of 44 inches.
-- In
1955 probably the worst snow storm was on the 3rd, 4th,
and 5th of April with 28 inches of snow and 3.48
precipitation.
-- The
lowest temperature was on January 24, 1969, at 41
degrees below zero, and the longest cold spell was from
December 11, 1949, to February 1, 1950, which was much
below zero every day with blizzards almost every day.
-- The
coldest one day was December 29, 1968, when minimum was
33 below zero and maximum at 24 below. This was the
lowest maximum recorded during one day.
-- The
highest temperature was on August 5, 1961, and August 6,
1983, with readings of 107 degrees above zero.
-- The
longest growing season was in 1963 with 157 days -May 22
to October 26. And the shortest season was in 1958 with
92 days - June 25 to September 25 - an average of 125
days.
The
National Weather Service Station in Great Falls
furnished the following State highlights and extremes:
--
Heron, Montana, has the most annual precipitation of
34.21 and the least is at Twin Bridges with 9.13.
--The most precipitation recorded in one year was at
Summit with 55.51 in 1953 and the least was Belfry
with 2.97 inches in 1960.
--
The greatest one-day precipitation was 11.50 at Circle
on June 20, 1921, and Circle went on to have the most
in the month of June, 1921, with 16.79.
--
Lowest temperature recorded in Montana was at Roger's
Pass on January 20, 1954, at 70 degrees below zero and
the highest was at Medicine Lake on July 5, 1937, and
Glendive on July 20, 1893, at 117 degrees above zero.
Of the 176 reporting stations in
Montana, 93 report less and 83 report more
precipitation than Roy 8 NE.
On May 21, 1981, the only tornado in 50 years touched down on this
ranch 15 miles NE of Roy, cut a swath one and a half
miles long North and South and about 100 yards wide
through timber and rangeland. Ponderosa Pine were
uprooted and many broke off. Up to 500 trees were
damaged. This tornado missed Bea Murray's ranch by
less than a mile. No one living in this area since
homestead days ever heard of such terrific
destruction. A plane flying near Robinson Bridge
observed the tornado in action and called the National
Weather at Great Falls by radio. The plane was never
identified. This was the only tornado reported in the
state in 1981.
In 1971, I was presented with the John Campanius Helm award by Bill
Rammer, Meteorologist from the National Weather
Service.
In 1981, I was presented with the Thomas Jefferson award by Dave
Olsen, Meteorologist; Mac McFee, Field Representative;
and Larry Owen, Weather Forecaster. Cameramen from
KFBB-TV filmed the presentation and it was shown on TV
that night.
On April 21, 1988, I was presented with a 50-year Edward H. Stoll
award by Dave Olsen, Dave Taylor and Bill Rammer, who
is now retired. Edward H. Stoll has a record of 76
years as a weather observer, which is the most years
for one observer in the Nation.
MOBRIDGE WEATHER
STATISTICS
Government weather records have been
kept at the Mobridge reporting station since 1965.
Bill Higgens was the first weather observer; Lewis
Harrell has had the job since 1973.
The following statistics are from 1965 to 1988:
Hottest summer - 1966 -
67 days 90 degrees to 109 degrees and 1967 - 67 days
90 degrees to 102 degrees.
Hottest day recorded-
August 6, 1983 - 111 degrees.
Coldest winter - 1966 and
1978 with 57 days below zero readings.
Coldest day recorded-
January 24, 1969- -48 degrees.
Wettest year- 1986 -
21.97 inches precipitation.
Wettest month - September
1986 - 7.15 inches precipitation.
Driest year- 1979 - 9.82
inches precipitation.
Most snowfall in one year
- 1975 - 69 1/4 inches.
Least snowfall in one
year - 1974 - 7 inches.
Month with the most
snowfall- January 1971 - 37 inches.
Year with the longest
growing season - 1987 with 151 days from April 22nd to
September 18th.
ROY
FLOODS --June 1962
WEATHER BRIEFS FROM
YESTERYEAR
1885-January. Fred Uplinger from the Crooked Creek
area, in town. Reported stock looking well in that
area --only a few calf losses.
1908-May and June. A big flood along the Missouri.
The river ran from hill to hill. Everyone fled to the
hills and lived in tents.
1918, August 1. Roy Enterprise: The drouth was much
worse north of the river near the Canadian line. Wheat
about 4" high and so dry that engines are setting it
afire along the tracks.
I. W. Gilmore reported some rain last Tuesday.
1918, October. Cattle prices getting lower. Horses
shipped out by Ben Manning, Joe LeClaire, Horse Shoe
Bar and others from across the river because of poor
range. No water.
1919, August, Valentine. Worse hail storm ever
seen. Tore up and battered roofs and windows, killed
chickens, destroyed crops and a truck...hail stones as
large as eggs. ..Ted Brooks on Sage Creek severely
injured when hit on the head by one.
1919, December-Judith Basin Farmer. The winter of
1896-97 not as severe as 1919. Winter began earlier in
1919. It began in November and was storming yet
through December. In 1896 it was nice up until
Christmas.
Great cattle losses...no chinooks...shortage of coal
and a glare of ice covering the country.
1922-23. The Fritzhers and the Sandstroms had a few
head of cows. They had to go to Valentine for straw to
feed them, but enroute home their horses (the ones
that pulled the wagon that hauled the hay) ate most of
the straw before they could get home to feed it to the
cows.
1923, April. Ed Evers, cattleman from Musselshell
country, north of Roy, reports cattle came through
winter in fine shape. Small losses.
1923, July 26. A lightning bolt entered through a
barn door where two men were unharnessing horses and
struck them. The horses were killed instantly and the
two men, A. M. Stendal and Joe Ferdet, were knocked
unconscious for sometime and were unable to walk for a
time afterwards. A lad, Vernon Marsh, who was entering
the barn a horseback, was hit. The horse and rider
were knocked to the ground. L.M.A. Wass, an ex-service
man rushed across the street and applied artificial
resuscitation to the boy and is credited with saving
his life, though he remained unconscious for many
hours. Alfred Halver, in a barn across the street, was
also knocked down, but was uninjured. The Roy
Enterprise was also hit. The storm started about 10
a.m.
1926, May 26. Frank Potterf, 17 year old son of
Oscar Potterf of Roy, while working for Porter
Strausburg, about 3 miles north of Armells, was struck
by lightning about 5 o'clock last evening and though
unconscious from the shock for several moments is
recovering, but complains some of a numb feeling in
one limb.
Porter Strausburg and Frank were both working in the
field and when it started storming left the field and
started for the barn and while unhitching the team at
the barn door the bolt of lightning struck and killed
one of the horses, knocked another one down and at the
same time stunned Potterf. Mr. Strausburg coming in
just a few moments later found the boy in a dazed
condition but on his feet and as quickly as possible
brought him to Roy where he is now convalescing at the
home of his parents.
1933, February. Severe storms. Only one sack of
mail go through. Had to 'shovel out' the railroad.
Many frost bitten toes and noses.
1933, June. Calvin Birdwell and his grandson, Chet
Jr., and the horse they were riding, all killed when
struck by lightning.
1947, April. The worse flood since the big flood of
1907, the old timers say...Reports that the Bill
Baucke ranch on the Missouri River the worse
hit--everything gone, house, bunkhouse, farm
machinery, wagons, hayracks-all gone...located a jeep
below a cake of ice...No one living there in the
winter.
Ivar Mathison reported 4 ft. 7 in. of water in his
home, ...Lived for 3 days in a tent on the hills...Had
moved cattle earlier so no loss there...Mathison
watched one cake of ice smash into the house and tear
a room off. Olaf Rindal's grainary with 500 bushel of
wheat and oats completely under water.
Kendall ranch buildings on south side of the river
completely gone.
Humor: Kendall scolded his wife for not leaving the
ice house door open before they ran for the
hills--they'd have had their summer supply.
Mathison had one cake of ice 5 foot high, 33 foot
square deposited in front yard. It was suggested he
cover with straw and use it for his summer's supply of
ice. Mike Machler...3 miles from the river said the
noise of cracking ice was terrific.
Only the tops of the cottonwood trees at the Joe Legg
place were visable.
John Umstead lost 84 head of cattle on the Knox place.
He had taken them there to winter them.
Ray McNultys and son, John Link and Mr. and Mrs. Joe
Hopkins ran for the hills and camped out. Had taken
horses and cattle out the day before and turned them
loose in the hills.
1949-Headline in Argus Farmer states: Air Age Helps
Relieve Fear of Being Snowbound....through the long
hard winters in the Missouri Breaks country. Central
air service maintaining daily check on isolated
ranches. Bill Rogers and Bob Kellogg found 800 head of
cattle that might otherwise have been lost ...Check
for families needing help because of illness food
shortage. Ranchers requested planes to look for cattle
stranded...Three times landed to answer an emergency
call. Ranchers who have found service invaluable were
the Tobins, Carl Hedman, Kendalls, Arnold Smiths,
Norskogs...The Glen Light children, flown to Dodson to
go to school. Other ranchers visited: McNultys, Joe
Mauland, Charles Jensen (who was running out of feed,
flyers notified commissioners who ordered plows out to
clear road to bring in feed), Jimmy Gibbins ranch
(delivered pump parts), Harry Fords, Jess Woodcock.
1950, February. One of the longest spells of cold
weather and snow in the area's history began to break
up. Ranchers searching through breaks country north of
Roy for cattle that had been isolated by deep drifts
...Quote from Argus Farmer "But to ask anyone what
their losses were is not considered manners, and the
reply usually is that they are not suffering, but you
should see their neighbors cattle".
Road to Roy busy all day bringing hay...high price
...from as far away as Powell, Wyo....Road to
Lewistown open most of the winter....snow drifts 10
foot high ...many people snowbound since
Christmas....Even those ranchers that stored feed
report calves froze,
older cattle frostbitten
hooves....Many good bulls emasculated because of cold
weather damage...Many dead cattle seen...for 56 days
thermometer never got above zero....Cattle die of
coccidiosis due to water shortage, starvation and
cold.
1955, April 3, 4, 5. Worse snowstorm ever. 28" of
snow. 3.48" of moisture. 8 foot of snow in places.
Snowbanks bury buildings and cattle. Sheds collapse,
corrals level full.
1959, August. The earthquake which devastated a
portion of Yellowstone Park in mid-August was keenly
felt in this area. Houses shook, animals went crazy
when this happened in the middle of the night.
1961. Area livestock industry in throes of the
toughest years ever. Long unbroken drouth of summer
has shriveled range grasses...cut hay
production...dried water holes up. No stocks of hay
available.
1962, June. Worst flood ever hits Roy....cattle
stranded. ...houses damaged...tops of fence posts
covered with water...water tore away parts of the
roads ..10" of water on Roy Main street....water
inside houses...Mr. and Mrs. Ben Burnett forced to
leave home...car buried in water up to the door
handles...a reservoir brimfull and running over the
same one that had 8 cows die in, in 1961-because of
lack of water...Water, water everywhere....15 foot
culverts blown out of highway at Armells Creek due to
the flood. Flood was the worst on Box EIder Creek
since the big flood of 1908.
1977. A wet year. Most moisture arrived too late to
help crops stunted by a cool growing season. River was
the lowest many old timers could recall; 11.25 feet in
July. Ice-j am raised it to 26.56 feet on December
15th (Flood level at 25 feet). Ice went out March 7th,
- froze over on November 21st.
1977-78. A winter of deep unending snow. It started
the first part of November in '77 and did not quit
snowing until April of 1978.
1979, Feb. 26th. Total eclipse of the sun. Roy,
Montana was the best place in the world in which to
view the solar show. Hundreds of people, scientists,
astrologers came from the world over to observe the
phenomenon. It began at 8:30 a.m., lasted 2 hours and
20 minutes and there were 154 seconds of total
darkness.
1980, May 18. Mt. St. Helens in Washington State
erupted and a few days later the Central Montana area
became covered with a fine coating of volcanic ash.
Visibility during this time became poor. The condition
lasted a few days, with no ill effects. One amusing
event occurred that is worth mentioning. The David
Kalina and Jeff Willmore families went fishing at a
reservoir at Frank Sirokys during the "fall out" time.
For whatever reason the fish would leap out of the
water, at them, as they walked around the dam many
landing on the shore.
1981, May 21. The state's only reported tornado
hits in the Roy area. It uprooted trees in an area
11/2 miles long, 100 foot wide at the Cimrhakl ranch,
north of Roy.
1986. Precipitation above normal. Short growing
season, 112 to 114 days. Year was on the cool side,
Many damaging winds in the area, tore up sheds on the
Lund and Zahn ranches, roof off of Ralph Willmore and
Bob Cimrhakl houses, destroyed bale stacks at about
everyones places, steel granary entirely gone at B & B
Ranches (John Umstead), electric poles snapped.
1987. Hordes of grasshoppers and drouth conditions.
Hay shipped in.
1988. Another drouth year, very little moisture.
Grasshoppers again very damaging.
EXCERPT FROM A DIARY KEPT BY MARIE ZAHN
Winter of 77 & 78 (Feb. 22, 1978)
This was a record breaker!
It began November 19th. We hauled hay over in south
pasture for the cows but snow got too deep to get over
there, so got Laddie and went and brought them home.
Our last trip to Lewistown was December 14, 1977,
which was the last time to this date! It was thawing
to the west a lot, but not so much here, however
Crooked Creek was all over the bottoms on Dec. 15 and
we got fresh water in the dam, which we really needed,
and it must have risen 4 feet. Bonnie and Mark came
December 16 and we took pickup and went for a Xmas
tree. The North Ridge road had been plowed and we
stopped at Greens but snow was knee deep in the timber
and about 8" on the level. It was warm but hadn't
thawed from Turners on. Got a few greens and went on
past Wilder. We walked back a little ways but very
hard going and Mark cut a small tree. The only one
that looked suitable. We started home and when we got
up by Shanklins we found a tree in the road! Wilbert
and Hap had lost it. They had gone down that ridge to
where Hap had spotted some last fall. Mark and Bon
took the two to Billings and Hap got a lovely big one
for us! More snow. The kids all got home on Xmas Day.
New Years day Dad and I took pickup and met Betty at the Corner. We
had dinner at 2:00 p.m. Last time I have been away
from home to date.
We dug pickup out and Dad got to Roy for supplies on Jan. 6. Farm
Strike had closed all businesses in Roy, but he got in
anyway and that's the last trip the pickup made to
date. The following day we only got to barn and
unloaded 4 bales that were left on it and fed them and
a few from behind the barn. Terrible storm. I fed
everything left at the barn including a couple of
bales I had put in the mangers. Pickup wouldn't go
anymore.
Jan. 9, 1978 I chased the cows to the little hay pile down below
the barn and dragged bales out for them for for a
week. Then I dug out the tractor which was almost
buried and during this time Dad's back was so sore he
couldn't do anything. He'd bought a new battery for
the tractor and we got it put in and dug out the old
platform and put it on the tractor so we can haul 11
bales on the tractor. This lasted until Feb. I when we
could no longer make it and had to dig out chains for
the tractor. This is a great help, unless of course,
it high centers and then you dig it out.
Very high humidity all this cold winter 89-100%. On Feb. 6th it
drizzled all day and froze as soon as it hit the snow.
There's 1/2" crust of ice all over the snow. This is
going to wreck it for the horses. They'll never paw
that deep snow with ice crust. From the 7th to the
12th we had hell trying to get enough feed for the
cows. Heavy snow fell the 11th, about another foot of
loose fluffy stuff. Montgomery came and plowed us out
and to the haystack.
Feb. 12th Shoveled out pickup and got load of hay that
night. Called Garde Petersen's semi ....
RAILROAD
by I. Willmore
One of the biggest and
most successful propaganda campaigns ever launched was
that of the railroads in the early years of this
century. There were so-called "wishing trains"; trains
that were stocked with exhibits, posters, pictures of
scenery, calendars -- all to entice settlers to the
country through which these land-grant railroads had
land to sell. This propaganda was so extensive and so
ingrained that even after the dreams had failed and
many had left because of the years of disaster, there
were still those that voiced the very words that had
brought them here many years earlier.
The beginning of the railroad into Roy began in 1910 when the Oscar
Stephens land was sold to a land division of the
Milwaukee-St. Paul Railroad. In December of 1911 a
large headline announcement from St. Paul stated that
the railroad would be built to Roy "at once". This
announcement also hinted at extending the line to the
Musselshell.
It was announced on January 28, 1913 that "the townsite of Roy will
be sold March 8." In February Articles of
Incorporation of the Roy Land Co. were filed with the
county clerk and recorder. The company organized to
conduct a general land, farming and livery business at
Roy and was capitalized for $20,000. Directors .were
Harry F. Hunter of Chicago and Lillian Stephens of
Fergus.
March 11, 1913--News article -- "The Milwaukee Land Co. held the
first of its new townsite sales at the Bijou Theater
last Saturday afternoon (Mar. 8), Roy and Forest Grove
being the main attractions. The theater was packed and
the bidding spirited. There was keen competition for
business lots at Roy, the first choice going at $440."
More such sales were scheduled to come up in the future; Armells
was to be sold on May 10th of that year.
And so the building of the railroad began. It was an exciting
procedure, followed closely by all. Day by day
progress bulletins preceded the railroad into town.
Building a railroad was not an easy task. It took young, strong men
who didn't mind extremely hard, physical work. The
laying of the track began with the building of the
track bed; hauling gravel, making cuts, surfacing the
track bed, making road crossings and bridges--all done
by men and horses and or mules with shovels, fresnos,
elevating plows, dump wagons, slips and dynamite.
There was the track itself to lay. Then there were
depots to build, telegraph lines to erect, stockyards
and water tanks to build and right of way fences to be
put up.
The usual railroad camp, that followed along as work progressed,
consisted of horse tents, blacksmithing tents, cook
tents, sleeping tents, etc. On many of the gang crews
there was little English spoken as many of the men
were newly arrived emigrants from Europe.
On February 3, 1914, instructions were given to Roy goldsmith,
James Everin, to "begin work at once on the golden
spike." By April the 13th, the railroad was in
operation to
Fergus. John Stephens received the first freight -- a
load of hay.
Tuesday April 28, 1914--Roy Enterprise "The railroad
is completed into Roy, the Y is being finished today.
A crew of carpenters started to work on the depot this
morning and the first train, which consisted of
fourteen cars of freight was pulled in last night and
Roy is a busy town today."
It wasn't long before passenger service was added. Thus began the
years of railroading in Roy. Not only was freight
brought in, but the products of the area were taken
out and hauled to far away markets. There were cans of
cream and milk, cases of eggs and crates of chickens,
carloads of cattle, sheep, horses, grain and potatoes,
tons of turkeys; all shipped out to other
destinations.
On August
10, 1916, 100 double deck carloads of sheep (20,000)
brought from Malta were shipped to Helena.
March 1917,
a carload of potatoes shipped by Dengel. August 1918,
200 cars of cattle bound for the Chicago Market
shipped out plus 35 cars of cattle for another
destination.
Sept. 1918,
10,000 more sheep from Malta shipped out, plus 12
carloads of cattle.
May 1919,
Two carloads of potatoes shipped out by the Roy
Mercantile.
In December of 1918 rumors were flying that the
'railroad will be in Valentine by summer of 1919, for
sure.'
The winter of 1944, 4000 ton of hay was shipped out of Roy,
destination mostly to Washington State.
After WWI and again after WWII traffic slowly dwindled on the
railroad. Better roads made it more attractive to
travel to Lewistown and other places by auto. The
mighty herds of horses that were shipped out by the
thousands were gone and trucks that could load at the
ranches and go straight to market began to take over
and soon semi's were doing the job of moving cattle
entirely. Ft. Peck had covered the productive river
bottoms and there was no longer the seed and potato
crops to ship out. The railroad was dying and in 1970,
56 years after the steel was laid to Roy an era came
to a close.
Through the years many depot agents and section workers lived and
made their homes at Roy. Some of the depot agents
were: H.M. Underwood, 1916; W.A. Rowland, 1916 to
1936; J.T. Plumb, 1936 to ?; then in later years there
were Jim McCarthy, 1963-64; D.R. Hildahl 1964; E.W.
Stewart, 1966; Lee Wise, 1967; Glen Smith, 1967, Tony
Jackson, Emil Landa, Ruth Denny, R.S. Plum. Some of
the section workers throughout the years: J.E. Miller
(Armells 1918), Steve LaRocque, Jim LaRocque, Mr.
Jones (Armells); C.R. Doolan (Armells, 1915-1916;)
Clay Smith, Ario Wilcox Section foreman in the 1940's.
COWBOYS - CATTLE
ROUNDUPS
"THE LAST OLD TIMER"
The steers now days
don't carry horns
Like these old "Texas billies,"
That used to wear a cow-horse down
And give the Cowboys Willies.
Cowboy'n's done on
foot these days,
They feed ' em grain by hand,
Can't find a real cow-horse no more,
And a man can't read a brand.
By Ben
Garthofner 1934
HORSES -- HORSES
by Marie Zahn
I don't think any animal
has contributed more to mankind than the horse. The
most prized possession of the Indian and horse power
to the white man. To this day, the horse is still a
necessity to the ranchers and the well-bred animals of
the modern day are very popular and valuable in sports
of racing and rodeo and the show ring, as well.
Mary Pollard has collected a number of articles from local
newspapers which tell of the demise of the range
horses in this area, where once there was free range.
I might add that this was a thrilling experience to
run horses; to out - maneuver these animals took skill
and good saddle horses.
The post war drouth and recession of 1919, saw many
horses turned loose in this area to
fend for themselves; some came from farmers in the
Judith Basin and local owners. The drouth and poor
economic conditions forced many homesteaders to leave,
broke and disillusioned. Big cattle outfits went
under, as well, but the horses prospered and
multiplied.
By 1927-28, the economy boomed and moisture returned. Cattle and
sheep were claiming the grass and the horses had to
relinquish their range. Gathering and shipping or
trailing them out was a big job for the cowboys. There
were markets in foreign countries, out of state
locations; some choice saddle stock went to the US
Remount stations and many were destined for the
canneries.
The first sizeable shipment at Roy came from the dispersion of the
lazy F T horses in the estate of Ben Manning. These
range horses were gathered and swam across the
Missouri River, loaded on the Chicago Milwaukee & St.
Louis Railroad at Roy in August of 1927. Eight cars
went to the Butte Packing Company and 5 cars to St.
Louis, Missouri.
The next spring, roundups in lower Fergus County began with F.S.
Johnson and his partner, Charley Miller of Little
Crooked, Athearns and John Mayberry, Roy Hanson and
the DAY horses, Johnny Matheson dispersing the George
Davidson estate of the 4P brand, George Hamilton
gathering the Thurlo McCain estate (T bar M) horses,
Sam Sherman and Hank Griener and the local owners
participating.
The first of June, 200 head or eight cars went out from Roy by
rail. The following shipment of 20 cars went to
Wisconsin and Illinois.
Seven hundred head, contracted by Chappel Brothers,
Inc. of Rock Island, Illinois were trailed to Hays,
via Rocky Point, swam the Missouri River at the Wilder
crossing, where they joined several thousand head
being held on the Indian Reservation range until they
could be handled by the eastern packing plant. Sam
Sherman rounded up and bought horses in Phillips
County for two months, for this buyer.
W.W. Weyand of Chinook bought 80 head, the top end of the Davidson
herd and trailed them to Chinook, where they would
break and sell them to the local ranchers.
Shipments went out of Roy almost on a weekly basis for two months. This
reduced the horse population to make way for cattle
and sheep.
Drouth returned in the 1930's. Six hundred head of CBC, Chappel
Brothers horses were gathered off the Reservation,
swam across the Missouri River and shipped out of Roy
in 1934. In June of 1935, 350 head were put across the
river at Joe Bell's and trailed to their new ranch
southeast of Mosby. Fourteen head were lost in
crossing the river.
A week later, 27 cars of horses left from Roy by rail bought by A.B.
McCullough of Ft. Smith Horse and Mule Auction Company
of Ft. Smith, Arkansas to their large ranch holdings
at LaPlant--Ft. Pierre, South Dakota. Unloaded at Ft.
Pierre and trailed to LaPlant, the location of the
ranch.
After the Grazing Districts took over the range lands, it was no
longer feasible to run horses in this area. The. last
of the range horses were disposed of by the ranchers
in the early 1950's.
SOME REMEMBRANCES OF
THOSE EARLY DAYS
OF RIDING ON THE RANGE
by Ernest Harrell
There were skirmishes between the sheepmen and the
cattlemen. The sheepherder usually got the brunt of
the "war" maneuvers. It was open range at the time. I
remember once when Steve LaRocque was herding for
Carmikle, a cowboy came in and scattered the sheep all
over. I worked for cattle outfits, but I thought that
was getting pretty mean. I didn't like it.
There were shearing corrals at Little Crooked. Murray Cottrell
herded for one outfit.
I remember my first rattlesnake scare. I was camping out, by Zahns.
I laid still for an hour before I realized it was the
seeds in a weed pod doing the rattling. A fan weed I
think it was.
The second scare was for real. Larry Jordan and I were camping out
and the snake crawled in bed with us. Larry saw the
snake first and hollered and BOY! did we scatter.
At one camp our cook was Bob Allen. He was kinda-------
PHOTO-DESCRIPTION
-
The raging waters of Armells Creek near where it
empties into the Missouri river, during the damaging
floods of June 1962 ripped these huge culverts out
of highway 191, near Mobridge, and twisted them,
like pretzels.
-
The Roy town became isolated as the water rose.
-
This photo was taken the winter of 1949-50 on the
road going south of Roy towards Black Butte, near
where the Floyd Emery's now live.
-
The highway east of town, looking west.
-
Building the railroad to Roy. April 27, 1914 the day
the train reached Roy.
One of the
first train engines to Roy. Charles Oquist is the
man standing on the left.
The Roy
Depot when it was new. Facing west. The water tank
is remembered
-
by several from their youth. In summer time the
town milk cows sought shelter from the summer heat,
and in winter huge icicles hung from it.
-
This photo was taken in the summer of 1928 and shows
but a few of the thousands of head of horses that
were rounded up and shipped out of the country. In
the very early days a steady market was considerably
stimulated by Spanish-American and Boer Wars. Later
many were slaughtered, others were used for the
cavalry and others were used in France, for food.
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