The arrival of cattle from Texas to the Whetstone Agency was always of great interest to those Indians who were located at the mouth of Whetstone Creek and the surrounding area.  The cattle were kept at the agency and released to the Natives as needed by Captain Poole, the Indian Agent assigned to the Whetstone Agency.

The cattle for Big Mouth’s band were slaughtered and prepared by a professional butcher and this work always claimed their undivided attention.  Mounted upon their ponies they would assist in driving from the general herd the required number of cattle.

Then, as attentive and interested spectators of the killing, they made sure that all the Indian ladies were in attendance to carry home such parts as were rejected by their “civilized” brothers.  According to the Natives, these were considered great delicacies.

Fire Thunder and Swift Bear received their beef on the hoof and delighted in the treating them like buffalo.  They would drive the cattle near their camps, and, riding at full speed, shoot them with rifles or bows and arrows.  They enjoyed the pleasures of the chase.

Spotted Tail again and again refused to concern himself in transporting to his camp his supplies of bacon, sugar, coffee, etc., but with his cattle it was a different matter.  His young warriors were always on hand to receive them, usually from fifty to sixty head at a time, and took pleasure and interest in driving them to their camp.

At this time none but Texas cattle were purchased for the Indians.  They were brought from their native prairies, and were wild as any untamed animal.  They had wide, branching horns, long legs and land bodies peculiar to their breed.  Seldom did they ever weigh, at best, over a thousand pounds gross weight.

They were as fleet as an elk, and as easily frightened.  The approach of a wolf or a strange dog would often start the whole herd to run.  This resulted in a stampede which took a good horse and a fearless and bold rider to overtake them.

But the Mexican herders who had accompanied them from southern plains were equal to the emergency.  One of them riding up to the side of the leader would apply the stinging lash of his long whip to the animal’s side, forcing him to sheer off from a direct line, and the rest of the herd would follow.

He soon had them running in a circle.  This was called the “mill,” and would be made smaller and smaller, until the cattle impeded each other’s further progress.  Their long horns would knock against each other in wild confusion, and they finally stopped.  In the language of the cowboy, “they were brought to a round up.”  Then one would be allowed to quietly escape in the right direction, and the rest would follow.

At this time (1870 – 1880) traveling on the west side of the Missouri was not considered safe, especially for those with whom the Indians were not familiar.  Because of this, the contractors supplying beef cattle to the various agencies and military posts on the Missouri, usually crossed their herds to the eastern side of the river at or below Fort Randall.

The cattle destined for Whetstone Agency generally came by this route and had to recross the river at the agency.  To induce them to do this was an undertaking attended with many difficulties.

Like most other animals, whether wild or domestic, they became very much alarmed when first coming in the vicinity of Indians.  A knowledge of this fact was of great value to the Indians in their stealing expeditions.  Their wild whoop and shaking of blanket or robe would set the most sobbed-sided horse or cow on a perfect rampage.

When the herd was to be crossed at Whetstone, the usual process was to find a bold bluff, intersected by a wide ravine which led to the water’s edge.  The herders would drive the cattle to the head of this ravine and start them gently toward the river, increasing their speed until, as they were about to enter the water, the leaders were at a full run.  They would then be plunged into the swift current by their own inertia and by those following behind.  The opposite bank would be clear, except for some work oxen.

While on the shore from which the cattle were starting, mounted men would be stationed who, by shouting and discharging fire arms, would try to keep the animals moving in a line to the opposite bank.  The task of getting them to swim across the river was more difficult in the spring and fall when the water was cold.

Herders would spend up to three or four days in trying to “make a crossing,” as it was called.  They were assisted by the practical knowledge of the professional herder who had started the herd north from Texas, the knowledge of the frontiersman, and by the Indians, who were the most expert of all.

If the cattle were struggling in the river, a herder would jump on the back of a cow and tried to keep him in a direct course for the opposite bank.  He did this by knocking with a club on his long horns when he attempted to turn, which the critter generally did.

Driving a herd a herd of cattle from Texas to Whetstone required the most unusual and important skills that a cowboy possessed.  Some cowboys would ride in front of the herd and by singing a song or whistling, he could lead the herd in any direction.

 

Author Author Clarence Shoemaker, originally published in the Gregory Times-Advocate on October 23, 2024