Browning Blackfeet Comprehensive Plan (2)

(continued 2)

“When spring arrived the homesteaders began to break the sod and almost universally made a fatal mistake in the semiarid land. The Spalding Deep Tiller used by many could plow 18” deep in the ground. Most homesteaders plowed as deep as they could and thus destroyed the sub-moisure pack where the seed bed lay. The plowing was back-breaking labor even with the often used horse-drawn plow. Shear after shear waas broken in the rocky terrain during the turning of the sod. Repairs required the services of a blacksmith as there were no welding operations in those days.

“Even with the setbacks, more homesteaders arrived each year. Many were induced to make the trip by special incentives offered by the Great Northern Railroad. One plan offered the prospective homesteaders a one-way ticket to any point on the railroad at a special reduced rate. However, the special rate wasn’t available for those who decided they wanted to return. A second incentive plan allowed a man to load his machinery, household goods, family and stock into one car and be shipped to a point on the Great Northern route as a special immigrant car rate.

“These promotions were well received and Northern Montana and the Browning area mushroomed in population. New homesteads were planned to be as diversified and self-sufficient as possible. Despite this planning, most dirt farmers found it necessary to work part-time on the railroad or on threshing crews even during the first few years when there was adequate moisture and the crops were good. The makers of the Homestead Acts had imagined that the 100 or 320 acres would provide as good a living in the West and Mid-West as they had in the East. What they failed to account for was the much reduced annual rainfall that resulted in northern plains crops of such low yield that they generally were not sufficient to support a family.

“Most of the newcomers were not rich men; they only had a thirst for success. Crops were going well in the early part of the homesteader era and farming looked like a good investment. Banks began to spring up in almost every town along the ‘high-line.’ Browning was no exception as J. H. Sherburne started the First National Bank of Browning in 1917. With the reservation thrown open to settlement, money was loose and the homesteaders borrowed heavily to purchase more land and machinery. With their land as the collateral, very few homesteaders were turned away from the banks. Even in the early stages of this era, farmers could borrow up to $10.00 per acre at 10 to 12 percent interest. A lot of money went out to the farmers but very little money came back to the banks.

“Relinquishment advertisements began as early as 1914, but it wasn’t until 1917, when the precipitation dropped to only 10”, that the trouble really started. The following year the moisture dropped to 8” and the next year the moisture was down to 7”. In many cases those crops that grew, despite the minimal rainfall, were hailed out. Then, to top off the other misfortunes the black [Spanish] flu swept the country in 1918 and thousands of Montanans were struck down. The Browning area was hit hard and many died due to the lack of antibiotics. Neighboring districts of Hay Lake, Headlight Butte, Cut Bank, Long Lake and others fared no better than Browning.”

[See Wallace Stegner’s “Wolf Willow” or “The Big Rock Candy Mountain” for accounts of this period. Stegner grew up along the High-Line. His father was hard-pressed enough to turn to boot-legging, but both Stegner’s parents survived the flu. A contrasting story might be the history of the Thronsons, a white family who starved out of homesteading and moved to Babb where they operated a store and tourist cabins -- still there.]

“During the good years many homesteaders had mortgaged heavily in order to purchase more land and equipment. With the arrival of the drought, the only alternative for many was to declare bankruptcy and pull out. After cut-worms ruined the crops in 1920-21 even more were convinced that there had to be a better place. They turned their horses and equipment over to the banks and departed to try their luck elsewhere.

“Few banks could survive under those conditions and those of the Montana ‘high-line’ were no exception. The crash began in 1920 with the First National Bank of Cut Bank the first to close its doors. During the summer of 1921 the Farmers State Bank of Cut Bank was forced to close because the First Security National withdrew support from all its country banks. A second factor in the closing of this establishment was that the Farmer’s State made several unsuccessful attempts to re-open. The Glacier County State Bank opened in the Farmers State building in 1922. About three months after opening their doors, the bankers received the Great Northern payroll, close their doors and left for California. This financial experience made it difficult to borrow more than $30.00 in the entire area.

“Cut Bank wasn’t the only community experiencing this financial disaster as the banks in Shelby and Sweetgrass also closed their doors. For some time the First National Bank of Browning was the only financial institution in operation. Several bankers from throughout the state looked over the situation and considered opening new facilities but none were immediately established.

“It was during this period that many Indians had been pressing the government for the right to patent their land. In 1918 their wish was granted and those who obtained trust patents could now trade their land to another Indian on the reservation or he could sell it to anyone if he obtained a fee patent.

In 1919 the government realized that the acreage allotted the Indians was not enough to sustain them so an additional 80 acres of farm land was given to each Indian. Much of the new allotments were in choice locations and, as a result, some Indians had patents forced on them so they would have to sell their land. In any case, most of them didn’t understand what the patent process was and they sold their property for unbelievably low prices. It wasn’t unusual for a man to trade his acreage for one horse.

(to be continued)