blackfoot-valley

which were in short supply. Grain was raised in limited quantites by dry- farming methods, cropping a plot one year and letting it lie fallow to recharge moisture during the next. The grain was threshed in a small circular corral by horses trampling it underhoof while a man cracked a whip to keep the horses circling. The pounding separated the kernels from the stalks. Then, after the straw was pitchforked over the fence, the grain could be swept up and sacks filled. All farms kept livestock, which most often became their main source of income. Settlers acquired small herds of Shorthorns, which they drove in from the upper Missouri River area. Upon arrival, they were turned loose on native pastures below the timber line, which provided sufficient feed for much of the year. To bring them through the cold season, they cut the native wild grasses with scythes and piled it into stacks that became the animals’ winter feed stations. Stock raising, while it most often could offer the potential of earning more money in a shorter time than could agriculture in the region, was no picnic. (Has it ever been?) Diseases such as blackleg periodically de- pleted many herds. One rancher is reported to have lost a whole year’s crop of calves to it. Until a vaccine was developed, several folk remedies were tried, one of these being the cutting of small slits in an animal’s hide and in- serting pieces of garlic under them. A minority of the early settlers engaged in dairying as a means of mak- ing a living. Butter intended for sale was stored in specially built cellars lined with rock. During the fall, they loaded the year’s butter into wagons to be sold in mining camps in the area and even as far as Helena for the same. Butter for home use was packed into firkins (tight wooden containers with about a fourth the capacity of the large barrel) and stored either in cellars or submerged in a cold running stream. The early homes were built of logs, utilizing plentiful lodgepole pines that grew on the slopes surrounding the valley. Some of these houses are still standing in the Helmville area. Cabins were originally lighted by home- made beef-tallow candles, later to be replaced by kerosene lamps until elec- tric lighting became possible. Soap was made by women from ashes and tal- low, or from lye when available. One of the most eagerly awaited events was the arrival of the mail. As may readily be imagined, in this out-of-the-way area people were starved for news from the outside, not to mention letters from relatives and friends. The first mail came in pouches carried on horse- back, except in the winter when carriers back-packed it in on skis. Years later, the schedule was increased to twice a week using a horse team and wagon. 123