142 THE PORTRAIT GALLERY 
THE ROUNDUP ON BEAR CREEK 
52. This landscape showing the “Roundup” on the ranch of 
the Pioneer Cattle Co. in the Bear Creek Valley, Dawson Co., 
Mont., was presented by Mr. Kours (53) upon the occasion of 
completing fifty years of ranching in Montana, in 1913. 
A PATRIARCH OF THE NORTHWEST RANGE 
53. The grand old man of northwestern cattle progress and 
prosperity was ConraD Kours, president of the Pioneer Cattle 
Co. of Montana. Mr. Kours was one of the leaders in the 
introduction of the Hereford to the northwest range and wielded 
an enormous influence in placing beef production on a firm 
financial foundation. He was born in 1835 in Schleswig-Hol- 
stein, and came to America about 1850. He first settled in Iowa 
but in 1863 went west to rise to prominence during the early 
days of the cattle boom. His original cattle were improved 
by the use of Shorthorn bulls but with the coming of the Here- 
fords, he became a firm believer in the use of the Hereford top 
cross. His original selection of Herefords comprised seven 
head, secured from the Swan Land & Cattle Co., in 1884. His 
herd at this time was one of the best groups of non-pedigree 
Shorthorns to be found in the west. These were accumulated 
on his Sun River Range and descended from good cattle he had 
picked up along the old California and Oregon trails. They 
were first maintained in Deer Lodge Valley but due to the 
shortness of the pasture, he was obliged to move them in 1878 
into the Sun River country. In 1879 he branded 4,900 cattle 
on this ranch. 
When the Herefords were introduced, Mr. Kours retained 
the best cross-bred bull calves for breeding purposes, while the 
first cross steers gave him great satisfaction. The cattle were 
earlier maturing than any he had previously had, and he found 
