WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI EIVER. 719 



1866 about 450 liead were driven from Oregon over the old Mullen 

 wagon road to the St. Peter's Mission, near the Missouri, where they 

 were kept for several years with varying success. The band was com- 

 posed of breeding ewes, and was brought in for experimental purposes. 

 About 1876 the industry was put on a firm footing; large importations 

 were made from California, Oregon, Washington, and Utah, and in 1880 

 many bands were permanently located. 



The winter of 1880 and 1881 being very severe, the losses were ex- 

 ceptionally heavy, and the industry was given a blow from which it 

 required several years to recover. Since then the business has advanced 

 rapidly and upon a sound safe basis. 



The first importations of sheep were principally of the coarstr breeds 

 of Cotswolds, particularly those brought from Oregon and Washington. 

 The California sheep were of much finer grades and decidedly smaller. 

 The wool-growers were quick to detect the breeds not adapted to this 

 climate. The fine, greasy, wrinkly, light-boued, Spanish Merinos were 

 at once condemned as unfit to stand the rigors of our winters, and on 

 the other hand the large, leggy, coarse, open-fleeced Cotswolds had the 

 fatal defect of light fleeces and were not well adapted to grazing in large 

 bands. French Merinos, Shropshires, and Southdowns were experi- 

 mented with until now the Montana wool-growers have nearly succeeded 

 in producing a distinct class of sheep that possess the good qualities of 

 all the others and the defects have been greatly overcome. Generally 

 speaking, there is not a wool-grower in Montana who is breeding to-day 

 to one distinct breed of sheep, but they are breeding the Spanish Merino 

 on the Cotswold ewe; then a French Merino grade (half-blood) on that; 

 then the Shropshire on that grade, and are producing a sheep that has 

 size, strength, and constitution, and a medium wool averaging from 6J 

 to 7J pounds per fleece. 



As the mutton market is continually improving and ready sales of 

 mutton sheep are easily made, it is quite probable that a slightly larger, 

 coarser grade, that will mature early, wiU be bred from that which is 

 now used. 



As a civilizing and reclaiming factor the sheepmen have a prominent 

 place in the history of the State. In the first place the shepherd neces- 

 sarily must keep in advance of populous settlements. He requires 

 numbers of men for lambing, haying, herding, etc. Buildings must be 

 erected, goods and machinery must be shipped in, and in fact the 

 greater part of the money received for the clip is expended in the 

 neighborhood of the ranch during the year. 



Up to a certain point the presence of sheep is therefore a blessing. 

 It can become an evil, however, as it has in some communities. It is 

 a well known fact that sheep drive cattle and horses from the ranges, 

 as these latter animals have a decided repugnance to feed upon past- 

 ures trampled by sheep. In connection with this "trampling" it may 

 be remarked that much injury is done to ijastures in dry weather, the 



