"Head five miles that way,...and then go five miles that way,...’bring back every critter ya find!"

"Head five miles that way,...and then go five miles that way,... ’bring back every critter ya find!" “I was part of a brand crew in North East Wyoming and South East Montana around the turn of this century. We were gathering 10,000 acres at a time, on a ranch that covered several counties and two states. As we headed out that morning towards the Montana bad lands, the boss told us to head out five miles that way . . . etc. I was wondering how we were supposed to know when we reached five miles? After all, my roots are back east where 100 acres is a big farm. “Nevertheless we gathered up everything we found and headed them back to the portable corals set up near the camp. We had a chuck wagon, ranch bedroll wagon, a remuda of horses and we slept in wall tents on the prairie. We moved camp about every other day, covering 20 some miles between camps. As I recall we branded 300 cows a day for about two weeks. “The country we were working was so rough, yet beautiful and vast. It really impressed me as to the scale of the workplace where we were going to spend the days ahead, gathering the cow calves for branding. From Ridge Montana (population about 15) up to Rocky Point and Lightning Flats, I have the greatest memories of some of the roughest countryside. The West really lives on in this small hideout of our country.”