EARLY HISTORY OF CHERRY COUNTY, NEBRASKA

     There are twenty-six counties in the sandhills section of Nebraska of which Cherry County is the largest. The sandhills section is a portion of the plains region listed by early geographers as the Great American Desert. It comprises about one-fourth of the area of the state. This section, regarded with derision for many years, is now recognized as one of the best and safest cattle countries in the American nation. Cattlemen proudly speak of it as "God's Own Cow Country." Nature has provided an abundance of water easily obtained, nutritious grasses and natural shelter. This combination makes a normal home for large numbers of cattle and horses.

     With the passing of the open range days very few cattle of the kinds owned during that time remained in the county. The few cattle brought into the new county by incoming settlers were mostly of the Shorthorn and Durham breeds. These future cattlemen learned a most valuable lesson from the practice of the open range days. Then, no feed was provided for the main herds during the winter with the result that a heavy loss occurred every spring. The early settlers realized that by providing sufficient feed to carry their herds over until the coming of grass this loss could be largely eliminated. With this in mind they selected the best hay land for their homesteads. Much of the hill land and dry valleys remained government land until the Kinkaid law went into effect in 1904. This land furnished cheap pasture which was a great aid to the settlers while they were building up their herds.

     The road that has led the pioneer cattlemen of Cherry County to success has not been an easy one. Few of these early settlers had much capital with which to start a business but with a keen sense of the possibilities of the country, unwavering faith and willingness to make whatever sacrifice was necessary, they filed on their hay claim homesteads, built their sod houses and started on the long hard job of building a great and prosperous cattle country. During the first years they had little to sell. Prices were very low. Their cattle were almost their only source of income but they promptly took advantage of any meager opportunity to earn additional income. Some planted and cared for groves of trees on timber claims for non-residents. Others gathered bones to take to town to sell and still others hunted and trapped during (68) the winter. The future cattleman considered himself fortunate if, by all his efforts, he was able to earn enough to provide a "grub stake" for his family during the winter. As he looked ahead over the coming years he dreamed of an improved herd, a modern home and financial independence. He was willing to wait and work until that dream was realized. By his side stood the faithful wife or mother who never faltered on that long hard trail to success. In his mind was a picture of schools, churches, better equipment, homes and herds; but in his most optimistic dream he never envisioned the many good things the future held in store for him and his loved ones.

     Students who read this history will understand the conditions confronting the early cattlemen if they remember that when these men filed on their homesteads the land was virgin prairie. There were no houses, barns, fences, wells, windmills, gardens or fields. All of these had to be provided from a very meager income. The country was just one vast wide open space inhabited by the wild things of nature, its beauty unmarred by fence or plow.

     After selecting a location, building a house and such other buildings as his means would permit, the early cattleman turned his attention to making a living and caring for his small herd. It was the custom of the open range man to brand his cattle with a brand by means of which he could identify them. This brand must have been previously registered with the proper authorities. Following this custom the new settlers, who were to become the ranchmen of the future, selected brands for themselves. Until the 1890s applications for brands were made to the county commissioners who kept a record of all brands allowed in the county. When a brand was allowed to an individual no other person could use that brand in the county.

     The first brand allowed in Cherry County was that of John H. Shores, +F. The second was allowed to Harper and Larkin Cleveland. Sam Hudson was given the third, his bow and arrow brand. Many of the brands selected by the new cattlemen had formerly been used by the large ranches in the open range days. In the late 1880s the brand law was changed, thereafter requiring that applications for brands be filed with the secretary of state.

     In 1890, The Nebraska Stockgrowers Association was organized. Its purpose was to promote the welfare of the live (69) stock industry. It established a system of brand inspection at a the public markets for the protection of stock owners. It holds a convention each year at which time problems of the industry are discussed by able speakers. It publishes a magazine devoted to current conditions of the live stock business. The Nebraska Stockgrowers Association is a member of the National Stockgrowers Association. These associations are ever on the alert to protect and promote the interests of this great branch of agriculture. They take an active interest in bills before congress which affect the live stock industry and they are prepared at all times to appear and place before members of congress the facts on the matter in question.

      Early in the history of the cattle industry in the sandhills an unexpected misfortune overtook it. A disease which came to be known as "blackleg" appeared. It attacked in summer or fall, always with fatal results, and sometimes as many as half the calves in a herd were lost. The early cattlemen did not understand the cause, treatment or prevention of the disease. Various treatments were tried with little success. The most common treatment, called "rowling," consisted of cutting a hole in the skin under the neck and tying a leather thong which had been soaked in kerosene or acid around that portion of the skin obtained by making the hole. Another measure was to bleed the calf while still another was to chase the affected animal to make its blood flow faster. A change of pasture was made whenever possible.

     This disease killed hundreds of calves until in the nineties the government perfected a vaccine which greatly reduced the loss. The vaccine was soon widely used and at the time this history is written loss from blackleg is practically unknown.

     No sooner had blackleg been conquered than another disease appeared. This disease, called "scabbies," in reality, plain old fashioned itch, affected the skin. The government soon found a cure for this infection and within a few years it also was eliminated.

     A third disease called "abortion" or "Bang's disease" has been present among cattle from almost the earliest settlement of the county. This disease is the most destructive of the three and has cost ranchmen hundreds of thousands of dollars in the loss of live stock. The government is still making extensive study of it and now has a recommended vaccine. Its results cannot be completely guaranteed at this time but loss (70) from Bang's disease has been greatly reduced and stockmen are hopeful that its prevention has been accomplished.

     When the open range cattle had been moved out of Cherry County in 1885 there remained, in round numbers, about 15,000 head belonging to the settlers. There is no record of any purebred cattle in the county until 1889. Prior to that time cattlemen selected the most promising calves in the herd and saved them for sides. In 1889, however, Pete Rousche, who owned a ranch on the Loup River a few miles west of Brownlee, brought in a number of registered Hereford bulls. Messrs. J. R. Lee and George Higgins, both of Brownlee, each purchased a registered bull from Mr. Rousche. By the late nineties the more progressive stockmen were buying better sires for their herds.

     The University of Nebraska College of Agriculture took an active interest in providing better sires for the herds of the state. In 1900 the college purchased small herds of registered Hereford, Angus, Shorthorn, and the dairy breeds. These herds were used in class work at the college and exhibited at the meetings of Organized Agriculture which were held each winter at the college. The splendid animals in these herds were an inspiration to stockmen who saw in them the kind of cattle they hoped to produce. But the supply was limited. There would not have been enough to go around if all the stockmen had been able to buy them.

     In 1890 Dr. J. M. Lambly of Ainsworth established the first purebred herd of Hereford cattle in the sandhills. In 1899 Charles Faulhaber of Brownlee established the first herd of purebred Herefords in Cherry County. The struggle of these early purebred breeders was not an easy one. Purebred animals required extra care and expense in feeding. Prices were very low; the demand for this product had not yet been developed to any great extent. For example, in 1906, seven years after Mr. Faulhaber had established his herd of purebred cattle, he sold thirty-three two-year-old purebred bulls for $1,000, or about $33 per head, to P. H. Young of Simeon. Mr. Young used these bulls in his herd and later sold several of them for $75 each.

     Conditions had begun to improve by the late nineties. Eastern stockmen brought a few registered bulls to Cherry County for sale. At first most of the bulls brought in were Shorthorns but Angus and Herefords soon followed with Herefords taking the lead for several years. Men raising (71) Shorthorn cattle gradually changed to either Angus or Hereford so that at the present time the Shorthorn breed has almost disappeared from the county.

     The purebred Hereford business established in 1899 by Charles Faulhaber was soon taken up by other stockmen who saw a growing need for better sires. This resulted in the formation of The Northwestern Hereford Breeders Association in 1914. Ed Belsky of Merriman was secretary of this association for many years. In 1944 members of this association living in Cherry County owned thirty-one established herds of registered Hereford cattle. These herds not only supplied the local demand but some animals were also sold into nineteen other states including California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

     The demand for registered sires has grown to such an extent that only animals of pure blood are now used in the commercial herds of the county. Each spring and fall The Northwestern Hereford Breeders Association and individual breeders of pureblood cattle hold public sales of registered cattle. There is keen competition for the outstanding animals at these sales.

     In 1895 the cattle population of Cherry County numbered 56,327 head but there was still room for many more. Stockmen were not only improving the quality of their herds but they were also increasing their size. By 1905 there were 143,224 head in the county.

     On March 14, 1913, occurred the most destructive blizzard in the history of the county. Hundreds of cattle perished. Great numbers drifted into the lakes and were drowned or frozen to death. As a result of this storm the census of 1915 showed a decrease. Only 128,155 head were reported to the assessors that year. By 1925, however, the number had again grown to 187,225 head and in 1935 the number had increased to 210,262.

     The year of 1934 brought the most severe drouth the county has known. Until that year no serious hay shortage had been experienced but that year the crop was reduced from 10% to 50% of normal. Even the wet valleys produced only about half of the usual crop. The price of cattle was so low that many stockmen were on the verge of bankruptcy. To relieve the situation the federal government bought large numbers of cattle at a stated price for each class of animals. The price for calves was $8; for yearlings $12; and for cows about (72) $20. This purchase of cattle by the government proved to be a real benefit to the cattlemen in two ways; it enabled them to reduce their herds to a size which could be adequately fed on the limited hay crop and at the same time allowed them to rid their herds of inferior and old animals for the above prices. This latter benefit resulted in a thorough housecleaning and an improvement in herds that might otherwise have taken years to accomplish.

     This government purchasing program was put into effect in all counties stricken by the drouth. In Cherry County 25,605 cattle were sold for which the government paid a total of $388,764, an average price of $15.18 per head. The government disposed of this meat after being processed by packing companies to supply food in sections made destitute by the drouth. Fortunately 1935 was a wet year and meadows and pastures soon returned to normal. By 1944 there were 232,000 cattle assessed in Cherry County, giving to the county the distinction of having more cattle within its boundaries than any other county in America. The quality of the herds had been greatly improved by the removal of the culls sold to the government. This culling, however, had been in progress in a general way for many years. Inferior cows and those no longer useful had been shipped to market each year. This plan of culling is still followed at the present time but on a much larger scale. Many stockmen begin culling by removing inferior heifer calves at weaning time and again when they are past one year old. Others cull their heifers at one year and again when they are two years old.

     In the early days it was the custom to hold the steers for sale until they were two or three years old. At the turn of the century prices were low but the price level reached its lowest point in 1904. That year the author sold two-year-old steers for 82.85 per hundred pounds weighed up at Wood Lake. From then on, however, the price gradually rose until the close of World War I. In 1906 cattlemen of the county were elated when A. E. Morris of Wood Lake sold three-year-old Hereford steers off of grass for $5 per hundred pounds weighed up at Wood Lake. This was the first sale made at that price in the county. In 1912 Ed Ralya of Dewey Lake sold two-year-old Angus steers for $7.50 per hundred weighed up at Wood Lake. This sale also set an all time high price record. In 1918 Cherry County grass steers sold in Omaha for $15.00 per hundred. It was about this time that the (73) demand changed to smaller cuts of meat because of the high price resulting from the war and stockmen established the general practice of selling their cattle as yearlings or calves.

     The nature of the soil of Cherry County is such that it is not a suitable country for sheep raising. As a result few sheep have been produced within the boundaries of the county. The table lands north of Valentine are suitable for farming and the farmers there combine crop farming, dairying, some stock, poultry, and hog raising. The hogs raised on these farms are remarkably free from disease and they provide a substantial portion of the cash income. It was formerly the custom of most ranchmen to raise a small number of hogs to provide a part of their meat supply but this practice has been largely discontinued at the present time.

     Many of the early settlers brought good horses from their eastern homes into the county with them but loss among these horses was high because of the change in climate and feed. Most of the Horses used by the early settlers were small and of inferior quality until registered Belgian, Shire, and Percheron stallions were brought in to improve the strains. This process was begun at about the same time that purebred sires were being placed in the cattle herds. Purebred saddle horse sires have also been used for a number of years to improve the quality of the saddle horses which will always be an important part of the equipment of a great livestock county.

     In 1910 the University of Nebraska established a sub-experiment station of 1,124 acres at Valentine. Forty acres to be used as a site for the station buildings were deeded to the University by the people of Valentine. The balance of the land was formerly a part of the Fort Niobrara military reservation. The U. S. Government sold this tract of 1,084 acres to the University for $1.25 per acre. James Cowan was the first superintendent in charge of the station from its founding until 1919 when E. M. Brouse was placed in charge. The station has rendered an important service to the development of the live stock industry. From feeding tests begun by Mr. Brouse in 1923 has come the knowledge that native hay ration for calves should be supplemented with some grain, cotton seed cake or soy bean cake. The station has also maintained a high class herd of dairy cows.

     From the first stockmen needed long time credit in (74) building up their herds and ranches. Men interested in this problem studied the situation in this country and then went to Germany to learn the method used in that country of making loans on real estate to farmers. Their studies resulted in the creation by Congress in 1916 of the Federal Land Bank System. The United States was divided into twelve districts with a Federal Land Bank located in each district to make loans on real estate available to farmers and ranchmen in all of the forty-eight states. One of these Federal Land Banks was established in Omaha to serve Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. The law provided that National Farm Loan Associations should be organized in the various counties. These associations received applications for loans on real estate from farmers and ranchmen and forwarded them, together with their recommendations regarding the desired loan, to the Federal Land Bank in the district. The Federal Land Bank employed a force of men called "appraisers" to study the application, examine the land described, and recommend, reduce or reject the loan, according to his best judgment. Upon approval of the loan by the Federal Land Bank, the money was sent to the local National Farm Loan Association where it was delivered to the borrower. Farmers and ranchmen were quick to take advantage of this source of long time credit. Loans might run as long as thirty-four and one-half years with no renewals. A small payment on the principal of the loan at each interest payment finally paid the loan in full. Within a short time the Federal Land Banks were doing a large volume of business. Then interests opposed to the system instituted a suit, which finally reached the supreme court of the United States, to test the legality of the law. No loans were made by the Federal Land Banks while the suit was pending but the supreme court declared the law constitutional and loaning was resumed.

     In addition to loans on real estate farmers and ranchmen needed long time credit on personal property. To supply this need Congress created the Federal Intermediate Credit Bank system in 1923. This system and the Federal Land Bank system were united and called the Farm Credit System. A Federal Intermediate Credit Bank was located in each of the twelve Federal Land Bank districts, usually in the same building. Citizens were given the right to form corporations for the purpose of receiving applications for loans on personal property to be financed by the Federal Intermediate Credit (75) Bank. This bank likewise employed a force of appraisers, one of whom investigated the property offered as security and made his recommendation. If the application was approved by the Federal Intermediate Credit Bank, the money for the borrower was sent to the corporation which had taken the original application.

     Many agricultural people soon availed themselves of this service which has been improved and made more convenient as experience has shown the way. At the time this history is being written the agency taking applications for loans on personal property is known as The Production Credit Association. One of these associations is The Valentine Production Credit Association of which J. C. Quigley is president and Charles Lewis is secretary-treasurer. In the same building as The Valentine Production Credit Association are located the headquarters of The Cherry County National Farm Loan Association of which P. H. Young is president and J. L. Stilwell is secretary-treasurer. These associations are owned and controlled by the farmers and ranchmen who do business with them.

     In addition to the long time credit agencies Cherry County has six strong commercial banks. Two of these, The First National Bank and the Nebraska State Bank are in Valentine; the Bank of Wood Lake is in Wood Lake; The Kilgore State Bank is in Kilgore; The Bank of Cody is in Cody, and The Anchor Bank is in Merriman.

     Stockmen realized from the first that they must have sufficient feed to carry their herds safely through the winter in order to prevent loss. As is common with all crops the hay crop in Cherry County varies from year to year. While there has never been a total failure of the hay crop in our county, the production has been reduced in various years by drouth, fire or grasshoppers to such an extent that there was insufficient feed for the winter. Out of a misfortune that befell Frank Guilfoil of Hyannis in 1909 has come a safety ration for cattle and horses that has removed most of the fear of a shortage of feed for winter. That year Mr. Guilfoil had on hand a large herd of mature steers which he planned to carry through the winter. Late in the fall a prairie fire destroyed his hay. Prices were such that he did not wish to sell his steers. He had seen cattle wintered in Texas on the range by feeding them a ration of cotton seed cake each day. This had never been tried out in Cherry County but having an (76) abundance of range, Mr. Guilfoil decided to ship in a sufficient quantity of cotton seed cake to feed his herd until spring arrived. The result was very satisfactory. The cattle were in good condition at the end of the feeding season.

     Within ten years this practice was followed to some extent in most herds in the county. It is now possible to save labor and shorten the winter feeding season by feeding a ration of cotton seed cake or soy bean cake on the range for a time at the end of the grazing season before bringing the herds into winter quarters. Thus another important safeguard has been developed for the principal industry of our county.

     The marketing plan of the early stockmen was to ship their cattle to the public market or sell to local buyers who in turn shipped them to market. Owners of small herds who did not have a sufficient number of cattle for sale to fill a railroad stock car usually sold to local buyers while owners of larger herds more often shipped direct to market. Omaha was the first principal market center but Sioux City and Chicago now receive great numbers of Cherry County cattle.

     In the 1890s buyers from the market centers began coming to Cherry and adjoining counties to buy cattle to be shipped to market. Stockmen, realizing that these buyer must make a profit on the cattle they bought, united their shipments in order to have one or more car loads. About 1900 a few farmers began coming to Cherry County to secure cattle for their feed lots. As the herds increased in size, more owners shipped direct to Omaha, Sioux City, or Chicago. Stockmen looked forward to the trip to the city as a vacation which broke the monotony of ranch life. Often a group of neighbors shipped their cattle at the same time so as to all enjoy the trip together.

     In the early 1920s stockmen of Cherry County built the first public sale stock yards in Norfolk, Nebraska. When the yards were ready for business in September, 1922, a trainload of the best cattle available was sent to Norfolk to be sold by the pound at public auction. Hay for the cattle was taken along and the stockmen accompanying the train did their own yard work. The cattle were unloaded at sundown the evening before the sale, fed, and bedded down for the night.

     The sale had been widely advertised and by early morning interested people began arriving to see this trainload of (77) sandhills cattle. The writer was in the safe office when a banker from a nearby town called his bank and said, "Tell the boys to get down here. There is the finest trainload of cattle for sale here that I have ever seen in my life."

     Another incident occurred which showed the effectiveness of the advertising. A group of boys about ten years of age collected near the chute where the writer was helping to unload the cars. One of them said, "Mister, do you live around here? There is going to be the biggest sale here tomorrow you ever saw. They are going to sell a whole trainload of cattle from the sandhills. If you want to see a lot of fine cattle, you better be here."

     The sale was a decided success and great interest in sandhills cattle resulted. The next year the same stockmen sent another trainload to Norfolk and the second sale was as successful as the first. Sale yards were soon successfully established in other towns along the railroad. Many of them are still in business at this time.

      Up to this time there was no plan for coordinating the needs of the feeders and the producers. The herds of the sandhills were gradually being improved but there was no systematic plan for advertising this fact among the farmers of the corn belt. In 1933, former governor, S. R. McKelvie, purchased the Pat Piper ranch twenty miles south of Valentine. As publisher of The Nebraska Farmer, Mr. McKelvie knew the value of advertising. He recognized the opportunity for coordinating the needs of cattle feeders and the stock growers. He saw them as partners, so to speak, in the production of finished beef for the tables of America. Accordingly, in May, 1938, he called a meeting in Valentine at which was organized The Sandhills Feeder Cattle Producers Association. The entire sandhills section of Nebraska was included in the association. The charter members numbered 150. Each member was instructed to prepare a list of cattle for sale and to include his place of residence, brand, and distance from shipping point. These lists were compiled into a printed bulletin which was mailed to feeders in the corn belt. Expenses were defrayed through a small fee from each member. Inquiries from corn belt feeders soon began to come in and these were also compiled in bulletin form and mailed to members of the association. The plan was an immediate success and offices for disseminating information were soon established at various points along the railroads. Membership (78) in the association grew rapidly until at this time all sections of the sandhills are represented. More than twelve thousand bulletins listing cattle for sale are now distributed every summer.

     Mr. McKelvie was elected president of the association and has served continuously since that time. P. C. Shockley was elected secretary. R. A. Baker has served as treasurer since the beginning of the organization. F. M. Reece is secretary at the present time. All officers serve without pay or expense. A manager and clerk are paid during the selling season. This association is the largest of its kind in the United States. Farmers in the corn belt and ranchmen have a growing acquaintance in each other's circles. This represents an important accomplishment in the development of the livestock industry.

     For many years the men and women of agriculture in the United States have sought a plan which would place agriculture on an equal basis with labor and industry. Rural people paid too high a price for their purchases in proportion to the price received for goods sold. Following the Civil War an association known as The Grange was organized. It flourished for a number of years and had a large membership among farmers. The Farmers Alliance was organized in the 1890s and it also had a large membership. This organization drifted into politics and very little benefit was realized by farmers.

     As time went on various measures in the interest of agriculture were introduced in congress but no definite program was set up. During President Hoover's administration congress created The Farm Board. It was given wide powers and made a real effort to help agriculture but with little success. When the drouth and depression of the 1930s came agriculture was prostrate. Realizing the serious condition congress enacted laws under which a much wider farm program was undertaken and an effort was made to place agriculture on a comparable basis with labor and industry. A series of loans and payments to farmers and stockmen enabled them to carry on. Every county in the agricultural area of the United States has a committee made up of farmers and stockmen which has a voice in making the agricultural program more useful and practical. It now has a definite program which will be improved as experience shows the way.

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