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Rose Stoneberg of imberCreek compiled the followinginformation and historicaldocuments, typed up by herdaughter Sierra StonebergHolt. Its an exceptionally goodread

Roping the Bearsouth of Saco

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Tonight: Isolated showers and thunderstorms before7pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. East wind 5 to11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers andthunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny and hot, with a

high near 97. Northeast wind 5 to 8 mph.

Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers andthunderstorms, mainly after 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with alow around 67. Northeast wind 7 to 10 mph.

Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89. Northeast wind 5 to 7mph.

Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers andthunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63.

Northeast wind 6 to 9 mph.

Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers andthunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. East wind5 to 9 mph becoming south southeast in the afternoon.

Saturday Night:A chance of showers and thunderstorms.Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61.

Sunday:A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partlysunny, with a high near 88.

Monday:A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.

Tuesday:A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.

Mr. Nankeman designated as The Place. CM Russell, who liked hispaintings to have realistic settings, had visited the site with some ofthe Circle C cowboys. A butte resembling the background butte inthe painting is located about a mile south of the actual roping.

Phillips Sheriff Recalls Day Russell Got Picture Subject, 11-7-1937 Great Falls Tribune?; Malta, Nov. 6 (Special) Prominently displayed in the office of Sherriff Ray L. Campbellof Phillips county is a copy of Charles Russells painting Loops andFast Horses are Surer than Lead. The picture is a group of cowboyswho have roped a bear and portrays an incident that occurred in theLarb Hills in which sheriff Campbell participated. It is generally known that most of Russells pictures are takenfrom actual happenings, but few persons can recall as vividly asSheriff Campbell the experience that resulted in the painting whichis one of Montana artists most colorful.The incident occurred on June 1, 1904 at the head of Larb andTimber Creeks south of Saco. Campbell was cooking for the Squareroundup crew. J.H. Milner of Fort Benton owned the brand andW.W. Jaycox was manager. Joe Reynolds, well known early dayPhillips County cattleman, was representing the Long X. WallaceCoburn was repping for the Circle C. Otto Able and Frank Howewere among the riders, and Charles Shufelt, later drowned, was onhis first job with a cattle outfit. In all there were about 20 riders onthe roundup.

40 Horses Missing It had been raining during the night and early in the morningof June 1, the nighthawk reported to Jaycox that about 40 head ofhorses had gotten away during the night and were still missing.

Jaycox sent several of the cowboys out to gather the horses, the restof the men going about the duties of rounding up cattle for branding. Jaycox rode to the top of hill and after looking around thecountry discovered the missing horses coming toward camp atbreakneck speed. He shouted that they were not being driven bya man, and started toward them on the lope. About the same timethe men who had been sent to find the horses approached anddiscovered that a huge brown bear was lumbering along behind thehorses at a remarkable speed. Shufelt, astride a big bronc, got in close to the bear who took aswipe at his horse and pulled out a pawful of his tail. The frightenedbronc stampeded and Shufelt spent the next several interestingminutes trying to stay aboard. Reynolds and Howe made severalcasts with their ropes, but every time they succeeded in getting arope over the bears head it would throw it off. Finally Reynoldsmanaged to get a rope on his hind foot, giving Howe a chance to get

one over its head.Not a Gun in Crowd The frightened horses held the furious bear while the menkilled her with rocks as there wasnt a gun in the crowd. Campbellroasted a piece of the meat, which wasnt particularly enjoyed.Wallace Coburn got the hide and a short time later related the storyto his friend, Charles Russell, who was inspired to paint the picture. Campbell says that every detail of the incident is brought out in

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the picture. It shows Reynolds and Howe just after roping the bearand Shufelt trying to control his horse. Two riders are approachingthe scene. The cowboys returned to the Square ranch on July 1 and wereinformed by Jaycox that they would have about eight days riding todo in the Missouri River Breaks. He advised them to travel light andsaid that a man would stay at the ranch to look after their war bagsand belongings. Returning to the ranch eight days later the men discoveredthat someone had stolen two horses, hitched them to Jaycox springwagon and driven off with everything moveable. The man delegatedto stay at the ranch was gone.Cambells $85 handmade saddle and Navajo saddle blanket weregone as were guns, clothing and the bed rolls of the entire outfit.Some time later the horses were found, but none of the cowboysbelongings were ever recovered.

Story of Russell Painting of Lassoed Bear is Related, GreatFalls Tribune? Feb. 15, 1939, Poplar, Feb. 14 (Special) This is the story of the killing of the big bear, painted by CharlesM. Russell, told by Bill McClammy of Poplar, one of the cowboyswho caught the bear. In 1904, about 15 cowboys of the D.H.S. andSquare outfits had two wagons camped in the Larb Hills south ofHinsdale. One night the night-hawk of the Square outfit lost partof his remuda. He came in with about half of the horses in themorning. He told the cowboys something scared the horses duringthe night, but they all made fun of him, saying he had gone to sleepon the job. They started on a circle at daylight, with W.W. Jaycox,foreman of his circle, who died recently at Hinsdale, leading. Whenthree or four miles from camp they found the saddle horses lost thenight before. Jaycox started two men back with the saddle horses.Then one of the outfit saw the bear. The bear was just a little way

from the horses. The men decided to catch him and all started out. The bearstarted for the badlands and first one and then another cowboy quitthe chase. Frank Patterson stuck to the chase and called back:Come on, I got him. He had chased the bear into a deep, narrowcoulee and the bear had turned. They tried to rope him but he wouldthrow the rope. Finally someone roped a front foot and another ahind foot, and then they stretched him out. Patterson jumped off hishorse and cut his throat with his jackknife. They left the bear and

a bunch of Indians camped on the creek skinned it and brought thecowboys the hide and quarter of the meat. They thought it was acinnamon bear and it weighed between 500 and 700 pounds.

Wallace Coburn, one of those present, told Russell about thebear about 1914 and Russell painted the picture. Here are the names of the cowboys in that group: W.W. Jaycox,foreman of the Square outfit, living at Lanark; Ray Campbell, sheriffof Phillips County, Malta; Bernard Gibbons, Malta; Dan Martin,Frazer; Frank McDonald, died at Poplar; Q. P. McClammy, Oswego;Doc Corigan, Malta; Jim Ivy, died at Frazer; Orman Broom, Hinsdale;Bob Ader, Hinsdale; Frank Howe, Arizona; Bill McClammy, Poplar;Joe Reynolds, Frank Patterson and Morman Swain.

William J. Nankeman Memorial Rock In the Larb Hills south of Saco on the spring roundup of 1904the cowhands of the Square and DHS cow outfits successfully

lassoed and killed a large grizzly bear. Joe Reynolds, skillful ropeartist from the Long X, lassoed its hind paw and Frank Howe rep pingthe Circle C dropped his loop over its head. While they pulled inopposite directions, Frank Patterson curved some well-aimed rocksand then applied his jackknife and subdued the powerful bearwithout firing a shot. This unparalleled roping event was picturedby Montana cowboy artist Charles M. Russell, Master Clerk andRecorder of the free open western range in one of his most famouspaintings which he titled Loops and Swift Horses are Surer thanLead. This monument commemorating the fiftieth anniversary ofthe epic event is presented as a memorial gift to the citizens of theSaco community and the Historical Society of Montana by WilliamJ. Nankeman, Saco, Montana, 1954. In honor of Montana Cowboyartist Charles M. Russell, Pioneer cattlemen and cowboy riders.Square Brand cow outfit established 1884 by Milner LivestockCo. Fort Benton, Montana Territory, Cowboys riding range: W.W.Jaycox, Foreman; Ray Cambell, Cook; Bill Ator; Arman Broome;

Doc Corrigan; Bernard Gibson; Frank Howe; Bill McClammy; FrankMcDonald; Frank Patterson; Joe Reynolds; Charley Shufelt. DHSBrand cow outfit established 1880 by A.J. Davis, S.T. Hauser andGranville Stuart, Helena, Montana Territory. Cowboys riding range:Jim Swindle, Foreman; Joe DeGrew, cook; Jim Ivy; Dan Martin; Q.P.McClammy; Joe Parky; Nate Quinn; Al Shaw; Norman Swain; BillTodd; Jim Vail; Virginia Bill.

Pioneer Cattleman in Montana: The Story of the Circle C Ranch

by Walt Coburn, 1968, University of Oklahoma Press There was another incident that gained Frank Howe a certainmeasure of immortality. In 1916, Charles M. Russell painteda picture of three cowpunchers roping a bear in the Larb Hills ofMontana. The painting was titled Loops and Swift Horses are Surerthan Lead. The cowpuncher in the foreground on the bald-facedroan horse, head-roping the bear, was none other than Frank Howe.The cowpuncher on the white horse, who had roped the bear by thehind legs, was Joe Reynolds, part owner of the Long X outfit. Thethird rider on the spooked horse was the Shufeldt Kid who rode therough string for the Bear Paw Pool. The bear roping had taken placeduring the fall roundup a year before the painting was done. Wallace Coburn had told the bear-roping story to CharlieRussell, and the artist, who was stickler for correct detail, took apack trip with Wallace into the Larb Hills. He took Frank Howe alongto get the factual background for the painting. The scene of the bearroping was near the place where a few years earlier Wallace Coburnhad killed a silvertip grizzly she-bear and her three nearly growncubs without moving from where he was crouched behind a deadtree. That was some sort of record for bear hunting. Through Russells painting, Frank Howe attained his placein the sun. Even in Arizona, where he later went to ramrod theoutfit Will and Bob Coburn owned near Globe, Howe was knownas the cowhand who roped the bear. The glass showcase thatheld an old gun collection at Charlie Collins Saddle Shop at Globe,Arizona, displayed a somewhat pocket-worn, fly-specked card withthe inscription: Bucket of Blood Saloon, Dodson, Montana. FrankHowethe Man Who Roped the Bear, Owner and Proprietor. HaveOne on the House! Never a man inclined to hide his candlelight under his bed tarp,

this raconteur of the Montana cow country sang his own saga andfashioned his own legend from the warp and weave of the tall talestold at roundup campfires and in ranch bunkhouses on a long winterevening.

Now, for a truly colorful recount...

read to the end for a good chuckle!

Phillips County Museum by Walt Coburn in True West In 1916, Charles M. Russell painted a picture of threecowpunchers roping a bear in the badla nds country of Montana, andfollowing are the true facts behind this painting he titled Loops andSwift Horses are Surer than Lead.

On June 1, 1904, the Milner Square roundup with Bill Jaycoxas wagon boss, was camped in the Larb Hills near the head of Larband Timber Creeks, north of the Missouri River. It was the springcalf roundup and consisted of around twenty cowpunchers. Rain had been falling off and on during the night, and when thenighthawk brought in his remuda at daybreak and drifted them intothe rope corral, he was missing about forty head of saddle horses.

That morning at breakfast the luckless nighthawk was the buttof a lot of rough joshing and hoorawing because of the horses hehad spilled and like as not the wagon boss, Bill Jaycox had chawedhim out for sloughing off on the job, accusing him of bushing up inthe lee of some rimrock to get out of the rain that mebby he hadbetter pack a lantern instead of a midnight lunchhow come hehadnt kept close track of the bell horses that were apt to stray off

during the night, taking their bunch quitters alongdeaf? Ray Campbell, who was the roundup cook and in his own right, opined that the nighthawk must be toJaycox agreed he was shore-hell stuck with a nightnighthawk, and that was about the size of it. It wasnt only the rain and thunder and lightninthe nighthawk kept trying to explain, that kept scattefrom hell to breakfast. It was somethin else that the horses every time I let em scatter out to graze. horse down hazin them scattered bunches back into

The nighthawk suggested to Jaycox that it mighto have a cowhand lope over to the DHS roundup tha couple of miles away and see if their nighthawk horses during the stormy night. Ill swear on a stack of Bibles, the harassed nigthat it was some sort of spook that was boogerin night. Mebby a bunch of horsethieves, or the halflive in the Larb Hills. Alibi Ike, Bill Jaycox snorted his disbelief. and only night blind, bell-deef nighthawk in the MontaSpooks and horsethieves, Injuns on the war trail! loco weed with your Bull Durham? Jaycox tosscoffee cup in the big dishpan and headed for the ropthe remuda, to rope out his horse for the morning the wagon boss manner of announcing that breakfait was time for the cowhands to catch their morning

Jaycox detailed several men to hunt for the then led the rest of the twenty-odd cowpunchers ocircle, dropping them off in pairs to work the rough

country. It was one of those chilly mornings with spottyfrom the black-bellied thunderheads driven by a rawHills was typical badlands country cut by deep box caridges and sandstone rimrock, spotted with scrub piand thorny clumps and tall thickets of wild berry busdistant was the wild plum thicket where the previobrother, Wallace Coburn, had killed a big female silvher three big cubs one evening at sundown, theresome sort of a record for bear hunting. Jaycox and his circle riders were about three ocamp, scattering his men as he went along. He hadReynolds, who was repping for the Reynolds LongHowe, the Circle C rep; and young Charlie ShufeldShufeldt Kid, a bronc rider who rode the rough string While riding along a scrub pine hog-back ridgethe missing horses. They were bunched up and runcamp like they had been found by the men detaileBut there was no sign of any horsebackers hazincamp, and as Jaycox watched the running bunch those horses had been spooked and were running snighthawk had claimed. Jaycox motioned towards the running horses, circle riders that the nighthawk was correct as hell. At about the same time Bill Jaycox had sigh

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horses, Joe Reynolds and Frank Howe and Shufeldt Kid had caughtsight of them at a much closer range, and saw what was causing thestampede. It was a big bear following a short distance behind thefrightened horses at a seemingly clumsy loping gait but surprisinglyfast. Head him off! Frank Howe shouted and took down his ketchrope, shaking a loop out as he gigged his horse with the spurs. JoeReynolds and the Shufeldt Kid were already spurring their horses toa run, loops built in their ketch ropes. The three riders traveled at ahigh lope to head off the big bear. Let it be said here and now for the benefit of any readerunfamiliar with the Montana cow country or unaccustomed to theinstinct of horseflesh, that the sight and pungent odor of a bear wassynonomous with danger. Even a gentle broke saddle horse wouldbecome badly frightened at bear scent. The animal stench of a bearwould flare any horses nostrils and doubl y terrifying was the sight ofa charging bear. That warning instinct of danger was especially trueof the cow country range horses which were at the mercy of prowlingwolves and coyote packs, mountain lions and bears, any hungrybeast of prey in search of fresh meatbut bears in particular. At sight of the three rapidly approaching horsebackers theloping bear halted in its tracks. When the riders came nearer,coming at him from three separate directions to hold him trapped,the bear reared up on its hind legs, prepared to do battle. The Shufeldt Kids green-broke bronc showed less fear thanthe broke cow horses of the other two men. The Kid was a goodbronc rider, wild and reckless as they came, and he spurred thebronc close as he swung his loop. As the loop left his hand thebronc whirled and the bears forepaw combed a bunch of hair fromthe horses tail. The loop missed its throw by a narrow margin, and

the spooked bronc bogged its head and commenced pitching andsnorting. From then on the Shufeldt Kid had his hands full to keepfrom being bucked off and set afoot while his loose horse stampeded. Frank Howe spurred his frightened horse close enough totry his luck. His big loop settled down over the bears head, butbefore Howe could jerk up the slack the bear pawed the loop off withone swift swipe of its paw, and Howes horse whirled and tried tostampede. Joe Reynolds spurred his horse near enough to try his luck.As his loop went across the head of the bear, still on its hind legs,the bears paw shook off the loop. Joes horse shied off and tried topitch but Joe yanked his head up as he crowhopped and tried for afast getaway. Frank Howe then spurred in for a second try. As he threw hisloop, his horse shied off and the loop missed. The bear suddenlydecided to make a run for it. As he dropped down on all fours and started off at his fast

clumsy lope Reynolds spurred his reluctant horse in pursuit. Theyclosed the gap, Reynolds roped the bear by a hind leg, jerked up theslack and reined off. Thrown off balance, the bear rolled over on itshindquarters and was dragged along by the saddle horn. Frank Howe spurred in close, swinging a hungry loop thathead-roped the bear. Howe jerked up the slack, taking his dallywraps around the saddle horn as he reined off. The noose jerkedtight around the bears thick neck, and the next moment he wasstretched out, choking down.

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The choked animal sounds and the close-upthe hairy pelt put terror in both rope horses and Reywere hard put to handle them. For a while, it was odds in favor of the fighting bear whether or not thorses would force their riders to turn loose their dasaddle horn to prevent a pile up of bear, horses, an By that time several cowhands had ridden up,loops built and each man trying to control his frighte Shoot the bear! Gods sake! Shoot him in tHowe cried out, and Joe Reynolds was secondincolorful profanity. But nary a cowpuncher there packthat morning, having left their guns behin d in warsac Finally, at long last, with the bear choked dowthe angry snarls were no longer heard and the strethad quit struggling. A cowhand named Frank Patterand opened the big blade of his jackknife. Other foot grabbed big rocks and began beating on the bePatterson was struggling through the thick matted the throat of the slowly dying beast. It was not untithroat had been cut and its skull beaten in by rocks beyond all doubt that Frank Howe and Joe Reynolddally wraps around their saddle horns to slacken th The bear was turned over to Pete BeaucCanadian Metis breed, who was camped on thewolves. Pete and his squaw skinned the hide and except a hind quarter which the outfits divided betw Petes squaw tanned the hide and gave it to Wplace in his trophy room at the Circle C Ranch.Thewas full grown female they judged to weight betwepounds.

Ray Campbell, in later years Sheriff of Philliwas then working as roundup cook for the Milnedescribed the bear roast he cooked as being toSomewhat of an understatement, according to Dowas repping for the 76 with the Milner Square wwhen he cut off a big hunk of the roasted bear meof his jackknife and shoved it into his mouth, it had awas as tough as chawing on an old cowhide. The lo


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at the scene. The roping of the bear took place in 1904 and it has been overforty years since I heard the story as told by Frank Howe and JoeReynolds. Let it be said that Frank Howe was a natural story telleraround the roundup camps and bunkhouses, and while I had heardhim relate the story of the bear roping many times, he never told theexact same story twice, and I have only vague recollection of hismentioning that Frank Patterson was riding a half-loco horse. Frank Howe and Joe Reynolds have long since departed onthat last ride across the Big Divide, and Bill Jaycox has long goneto the Shadow Hills. I doubt very much if any of the cowpunchersworking for the Milner Square or the DHS outfits are still alive. Tothe best of my recollection Sheriff Ray Campbell has gone on theLong Circle. It was Wallace Coburn who told the story of the roping of thebear to his lifelong friend, Charlie Russell. Since the cowboy artistwas a stickler for details he had Wallace take him on a pack trip tothe actual scene in the Larb Hills where the roping took place, andthey took Frank Howe along to explain how it really happened. In his painting that bears the date 1916, Charles M. Russellhas captured the badlands country of the Larb Hills in perfect detailas I remember it. The clumps of wet sagebrush in the foregroundwere typical of the badlands. The only discrepancy in the paintingis that Frank Howe is wearing a cartridge belt and holstered six-shooter. None of the cowhands had a gun that day. In the 1916 painting, the bear depicted is a silvertip grizzly.Thus Charlie Russell made use of his artists prerogative to changethe big Cinnamon Bear to the more ferocious silvertip grizzly.

the tougher it got, swelling one side of his jaw for all the world like alump-jawed steer. He was about to choke down, when all of suddenhe puked up the big hunk of swole-up bear meat, and his unhingedjaws popped back in their sockets loud as a .22 pistol shot. Docsaid if anybody ever mentioned bear meat to him again hed bend asix-shooter barrel across their boneheaded skulls.

From Rose Stoneberg: The roping of the bear in the Montana badlands of the Larb Hillsthus made its notch in cow country history. The story was told morethan once by Frank Howe around roundup camps and bunkhouseswhen I was present to listen. The pertinent facts of Frank Howesversion of the three cowhands roping the bear are identical with thestory Ray Campbell told in a written statement made at Malta when he

was Sheriff of Phillips county in 1954, at the time Mr. W.J. Nankemanof Saco, Montana was compiling historical data for the plaque on aboulder monument at Saco, in commemoration of the roping of thebear and the Charles M. Russell painting depicting the event. I have also in my files a duplicate of a statement relating thestory of the bear roping made by Jim Swendell, wagon boss of theDHS roundup, and Q.P. McClammy, a cowpuncher working for theDHS. Since Jim Swendells version of the roping is somewhatvague regarding the identity of the actual ropers, and brings FrankPatterson, one of the Milner Square cowhands into the picture,allow me to quote a few paragraphs of his statement regarding theroping of the bear. They started out on circle at daybreak with W.W. (Bill) Jaycoxleading circle. When three or four miles from camp they found thesaddle horses, lost the night before. Jaycox started two men backwith the saddle horses. Then one of the cowboys saw the bear.The bear was just a little ways from the horses. The men decided to catch the bear and started out. Thebear started for the badlands, and first one cowboy and thenanother cowboy quit the chase. Frank Patterson, who was ridinga somewhat locoed horse was able to get the horse to do mostanything, due to the fact that he was somewhat locoed. He stuckto the chase, whipping the bear at every other jump with the end ofhis lariat. He chased the bear into a deep narrow coulee and calledback, Come on, I got her! The bear then turned, making a strike atPattersons horse. The bear missed the horse, but caught the tailand pulled her claws full of hair from the horses tail. They tried to rope the bear but the bear would push the ropeback over her head. Finally someone roped a front paw, then another(roped) a hind leg. They stretched her out. Somehow, none of thecowboys happened to have a gun that morning, whereupon afterthrowing several well aimed rocks at the bears head, Patterson

jumped from his horse, and cut the bears throat with h is jackknife,having a tough time doing it. From then on the Patterson horse was called the Bear Horsebecause he followed the bear. Save for a few minor discrepancies the main details ofthe roping of the bear are much the same. Put the two versionstogether and you might get the true story, but undoubtedly it wasJoe Reynolds of the Long X and Frank Howe of the Circle C whowere the actual ropers, with the Shufeldt Kid (Charlie Shufeld t) there

august 13, 2014 (wednesday)

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