Looking for information about a cattle drive in 1919
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I’m looking for information about a cattle drive carried out by the Les Sprinkle crew in May and June of 1919. According to a book by Janet Allison about William and Mary Rose Davies, Sprinkle bought 5000 cattle and herded them from Idaho to Chinook, then up the North Fork to a leased summer pasture in Canada. This was after a couple of very bad years of severe winters and drought that practically took Sprinkle out of the sheep business.
In the fall of that year the cattle came back south in blizzards. The majority of the cattle went to a cow camp that Sprinkle leased on Rocky Boy reservation. The winter was so severe that those cattle died. Another 1600 cattle were kept at the Sprinkle home ranch, and lacking pasture or hay, it cost $178,000 in cake and hay hauled in from Chinook to keep the cattle alive—a sum greater than the value of the cattle.
I’ve searched the “Chinook Opinion” for that period but never found any stories about the cattle drive. Found lots of articles describing the bad winters and drought. I am looking for any written materials or anecdotal information that might have been passed along through family members.
If anyone has information about that cattle drive I would appreciate the opportunity hear or see it. I am trying to develop a story about the drive and the aftermath when so many cattle were lost. You can leave a message for me at the “Journal” (357-3573) or call me at home (357-4174). Email a message to: bcjnews@itstriangle.com.
