Life on the prairie can be adventurous and harrowing. Two newspaper anecdotes about a Raleigh, North Dakota rancher might seem straight out of the 1880s rather than the 1960s, except for the helicopter. More on that later.
The rancher began a 65-mile cattle drive the morning on this date in 1963. He and half a dozen cowboys herded 600 head south from Raleigh in Grant County to a winter pasture near Isabel, South Dakota. The Bismarck Tribune published front-page details of the cattle drive, and reported that “Memories of the Old West came to life” when the journey began. The cattle drive took five days and crossed the Cannonball and Grand rivers.
According to a Tribune columnist, the cattle arrived without incident, but had been a little rough on the cowboys. A young colt had kicked one of them, breaking his foot. The same colt tossed the rancher, who suffered three cracked ribs.
The columnist also wrote of the hospitality the party experienced along the way, as they spent their nights at welcoming ranches. One rancher opened the fences on his land and moved his own cows so the cattle drive could proceed without trouble. Other ranchers helped the herd at the Grand River. The Raleigh rancher’s mother provided hot lunch each day, driving back and forth from the Raleigh ranch.
Living remotely on the prairie has always come with disadvantages, like being far from help. According to the Morning Pioneer newspaper, the rancher fell ill a few years later, stranded at his ranch due to a springtime blizzard in 1967. Snow drifts made roads impassable. The Morton County and state Civil Defense offices coordinated a response with the Army National Guard. The adjutant general sent a helicopter out to the ranch, which was on the Cannonball River about 17 miles from Raleigh. The rancher was flown to Flasher, North Dakota, then driven to Bismarck and hospitalized, and was soon in good condition.
Dakota Datebook by Jack Dura
Sources:
- The Bismarck Tribune. 1963, November 29. Page 1: Raleigh men start long cattle drive
- The Rapid City Daily Journal. 1963, November 29. Page 22: Cattle drive starts
- The Bismarck Tribune. 1963, December 5. Page 1: Browsing around with Jack E. Case, Trail tale
- Morning Pioneer. 1967, May 4. Page 1: Isolated Raleigh man is rescued
- The Bismarck Tribune. 1967, May 4. Page 13: Ill rancher flown out
